RTHK: "Purged" North Korean official reappears A senior North Korean official reportedly purged after talks collapsed between leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump appeared at an arts performance with the country's top brass, official media reported on Monday. Kim Yong-chol, the North's counterpart to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in nuclear talks, was sent to a labour camp following the collapse of the Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi in February, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper had reported on Friday. But late on Sunday Kim Yong-chol was among the country's top leaders - including Kim Jong-un, his wife Ri Sol-ju, senior members of the ruling party and top military officers -- at a "performance given by amateur art groups of the wives" of military officers, North Korea's official news wire KCNA said. A picture carried by the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed the official sitting five seats down from Kim Jong-un, with both his hands covering his face. South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee in April said Kim Yong-chol had been censured over his handling of the Hanoi summit, despite the fact he had recently been named a member of the State Affairs Commission, a supreme governing body chaired by Kim Jong-un. But Kim Yong-chol's name was included among those named by KCNA as attending the Sunday event. Absent from the list, however, was Kim Hyok-chol, North Korea's special envoy to the United States who -- according to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper -- was executed by firing squad for "betraying the supreme leader" after he was "won over to the US" during pre-summit negotiations. Kim Hyok-chol was the North's counterpart of US special representative Stephen Biegun in the run-up to the Hanoi summit. Some previous South Korean reports of North Korean purges and executions have later proved inaccurate. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. 2D crystals conforming to 3D curves create strain for engineering quantum devices OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 3, 2019--A team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory explored how atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) crystals can grow over 3D objects and how the curvature of those objects can stretch and strain the crystals. The findings, published in Science Advances, point to a strategy for engineering strain directly during the growth of atomically thin crystals to fabricate single photon emitters for quantum information processing. The team first explored growth of the flat crystals on substrates patterned with sharp steps and trenches. Surprisingly, the crystals conformally grew up and down these flat obstacles without changing their properties or growth rates. However, curvy surfaces required the crystals to stretch as they grew to maintain their crystal structure. This growth of 2D crystals into the third dimension presented a fascinating opportunity. "You can engineer how much strain you impart to a crystal by designing objects for them to grow over," said Kai Xiao, who with ORNL colleagues David Geohegan and postdoctoral researcher Kai Wang (now at Intel) conceived the study. "Strain is one way to make 'hot spots' for single photon emitters." Conformal growth of perfect 2D crystals over 3D objects has the promise to localize strain to create high-fidelity arrays of single photon emitters. Stretching or compressing the crystal lattice changes the material's band gap, the energy gap between the valence and conduction bands of electrons, which largely determines a material's optoelectronic properties. Using strain engineering, researchers can funnel charge carriers to recombine precisely where desired in the crystal instead of at random defect locations. By tailoring curved objects to localize strain in the crystal, and then measuring resulting shifts in optical properties, the experimentalists compelled co-authors at Rice University--theorists Henry Yu, Nitant Gupta and Boris Yakobson--to simulate and map how curvature induces strain during crystal growth. At ORNL, Wang and Xiao designed experiments with Bernadeta Srijanto to explore the growth of 2D crystals over lithographically patterned arrays of nanoscale shapes. Srijanto first used photolithography masks to protect certain areas of a silicon oxide surface during exposure to light, and then etched away the exposed surfaces to leave vertically standing shapes, including donuts, cones and steps. Wang and another postdoctoral researcher, Xufan Li (now at Honda Research Institute), then inserted the substrates into a furnace where vaporized tungsten oxide and sulfur reacted to deposit tungsten disulfide on the substrates as monolayer crystals. The crystals grew as an orderly lattice of atoms in perfect triangular tiles that grew larger with time by adding row after row of atoms to their outer edges. While the 2D crystals seemed to effortlessly fold like paper over tall steps and sharp trenches, growth over curved objects forced the crystals to stretch to maintain their triangular shape. The scientists found that "donuts" 40 nanometers high were great candidates for single photon emitters because the crystals could reliably tolerate the strain they induced, and the maximum strain was precisely in the "hole" of the donut, as measured by shifts in the photoluminescence and Raman scattering. In the future, arrays of donuts or other structures could be patterned anywhere that quantum emitters are desired before the crystals are grown. Wang and ORNL co-author Alex Puretzky used photoluminescence mapping to reveal where the crystals nucleated and how fast each edge of the triangular crystal progressed as it grew over the donuts. After careful analysis of the images, they were surprised to discover that although the crystals maintained their perfect shapes, the edges of crystals that had been strained by donuts grew faster. To explain this acceleration, Puretzky developed a crystal growth model, and colleague Mina Yoon conducted first-principles calculations. Their work showed that strain is more likely to induce defects on the growing edge of a crystal. These defects can multiply the number of nucleation sites that seed crystal growth along an edge, allowing it to grow faster than before. The reason crystals can grow easily up and down deep trenches, but become strained by shallow donuts, has to do with conformity and curvature. Imagine wrapping presents. Boxes are easy to wrap because the paper can fold to conform to the shape. But an irregularly shaped object with curves, such as an unboxed mug, is impossible to wrap conformally (to avoid tearing the paper, you would have to be able to stretch it like plastic wrap.) The 2D crystals also stretch to conform to the substrate's curves. Eventually, however, the strain becomes too great and the crystals split to release the strain, atomic force microscopy and other techniques revealed. After the crystal cracks, growth of the still-strained material proceeds in different directions for each new arm. At Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhili Hu performed phase-field simulations of crystal branching. Xiang Gao of ORNL and Mengkun Tian (formerly of the University of Tennessee) analyzed the atomic structure of the crystals by scanning transmission electron microscopy. "The results present exciting opportunities to take two-dimensional materials and vertically integrate them into the third dimension for next-generation electronics," said Xiao. Next the researchers will explore whether strain can enhance the performance of tailored materials. "We're exploring how the strain of the crystal can make it easier to induce a phase change so the crystal can take on entirely new properties," Xiao said. "At the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, we're developing tools that will allow us to probe these structures and their quantum information aspects." ### The title of the paper is "Strain tolerance of two-dimensional crystal growth on curved surfaces." The DOE Office of Science supported material growth and structural and optical characterizations, which were performed at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a DOE Office of Science User Facility. This research also used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, also a DOE Office of Science User Facility. Work at Rice was supported by an Office of Naval Research grant. UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE's Office of Science. The single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, the Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https:/ / energy. gov/ science . --by Dawn Levy This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP) is in Germany to attend the 2019 Climate and Security Conference slated for Tuesday June 4, 2019. The Hon. Foreign Minister who arrived in the German capital, Berlin on Monday 3rd June, 2019 at the invitation of her counterpart, German Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Heiko Maas will participate in a high-level panel discussion on political responses to the threats climate change poses for international peace. She is also expected to deliver the keynote address on the topic, Climate Change and Socio-Economic Conflicts. While in Berlin, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (MP) will hold bilateral talks with Dr. Jan Hecker, the Foreign Policy and Security Advisor to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Rt Hon. Markfield, Minister of State for Asia and Pacific, Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. The Ghanaian Foreign Minister was accompanied by Director of the Europe Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Doris Brese, Director - Office of the Honourable Minister, Carolyn Oppong-Ntiri and other officials from the Foreign Ministry. The delegation, led by Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey was met on arrival by Ghanas Ambassador to Germany Gina Ama Blay and senior officials from the Berlin Mission. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Nearly all applicants for US visas will have to submit their social media details under newly adopted rules. The State Department regulations say people will have to submit social media names and five years worth of email addresses and phone numbers. When proposed last year, authorities estimated the proposal would affect 14.7 million people annually. Certain diplomatic and official visa applicants will be exempt from the stringent new measures. However, people travelling to the US to work or to study will have to hand over their information. We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect US citizens, while supporting legitimate travel to the United States, the department reportedly said. Previously, only applicants who needed additional vetting such as people who had been to parts of the world controlled by terrorist groups would need to hand over this data. But now applicants will have to give up their account names on a list of social media platforms, and also volunteer the details of their accounts on any sites not listed. Anyone who lies about their social media use could face serious immigration consequences, according to an official who spoke to The Hill. The Trump administration first proposed the rules in March 2018. At the time, the American Civil Liberties Union a civil rights group said there is no evidence that such social media monitoring is effective or fair, and said it would cause people to self-censor themselves online. US President Donald Trump made cracking down on immigration a key plank of his election campaign in 2016. He called for extreme vetting of immigrants before and during his time in office. On Friday Mr Trump vowed to impose gradually rising tariffs on Mexico unless the country curbed illegal immigration at the US southern border. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Former President John Dramani Mahama has paid a visit to some victims of last Wednesdays downpour in and around Adabraka, Sunday, June 2, 2019. Mr. Mahama embarked on the visit together with the Member of Parliament for Korle Klottey, Dr. Zanetor Rawlings, the NDC National Chairman, Mr. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo and some other top NDC officials. Several parts of the capital city after last Wednesdays downpour were submerged, leaving many residents around Odawna and Adabraka displaced. Areas affected were the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Kaneshie and Avenor, Adabraka, some parts of West Legon, Dzorwulu among others. The former president while interacting with victims emphasized the need for swift measures to be taken before the situation gets out of hand. He said, The situation may get out of hand if we dont speed up the drainage efforts. He also called on the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), to speed up relief efforts for the people in the affected areas. "We urge the authorities not to give up as they continue to unblock the drainage so that the water will flow when the rains comeOne of the major after-effects of flooding is the possibility of the outbreak of cholera and we dont want to see cholera in this place. Mr. Mahama visited residents living around the Odawna, Adabraka Sahara and West Legon. Source: Ghanaweb Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Government has made three new appointments at the top management level of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). They are Mr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, Acting Commissioner for Domestic Tax Revenue Division; Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), Acting Commissioner, Customs Division and Ms Julie Essiam, Acting Commissioner, Support Services Division. A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday said the three have been appointed in line with the new changes being made at the Authority aimed at mobilizing revenue. In line with that, the new appointees are expected to drive a number of critical transformational changes including modernising and digitising tax processes and systems as well as increase the quality of tax payer services. Below is the full statement In line with ongoing reforms by Government at the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to improve performance, consistent with the 2019 Budget (paragraph 288), there have been changes at the Top Management level of the institution. Also, about one thousand four hundred and eighteen (1,418) employees are being rotated to other areas of the organisation. Further changes will be made to retool GRA for the critical task of mobilizing revenue to finance improvements in the lives of our people. The reorganisation has been necessitated by three (3) main factors: First, the Institution has grown significantly over the years, and current revenues of approximately GH38 billion make it one of the biggest Institutions in Ghana. This has created the need for much stronger, world-class structures.Secondly, the number of employees of the GRA has increased significantly to about 7,000 and another 5,000 have been added through NABCO to shore up the authoritys revenue mobilization capacity, bringing the total employees to 12,000. GRA is now one of the largest employers outside the Civil Service. Thirdly, there has been increasing need for better domestic revenue mobilization in order to realise the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda. With Ghanas Revenue to GDP of 12.6%, below the West Africa average of 19.9%, there is the need to raise domestic revenue in a more efficient way in order to meet the countrys commitments. GRA revenues have failed to reach budget targets, and over the last three years there has been an accumulated gap of about GH3.5 billion.Given all of the above factors, it has become necessary to make changes to the Management and organisational structure to make it a much better performing institution. These changes are expected to bring several improvements in the institution. This includes bringing the best of private sector practices and combining that with public sector technical expertise to ensure that GRA is a better functioning institution. Additionally, these changes are expected to improve the overall level of professionalism and engender a customer-friendly mindset at GRA.In line with expectations, the new team will be expected to drive a number of critical transformational changes: Modernising and digitising tax processes and systems; Introducing big data and block chain technologies to improve compliance; Expanding the tax base to encompass more effectively the informal sector and professional classes (currently there are over 6 million eligible tax paying individuals, however, only about 2.5 million have been registered and only about 1.2 million are active direct tax payers); and Developing a stronger culture of performance and accountability; Enhancing staff integrity and anticorruption measures; Increasing the quality of tax payer services; Respecting the client (taxpayer); Creating a fair and firm tax organisation that ensures equitable treatment of every tax payer; Tackling revenue leakages across both Domestic Tax and Customs; Ensuring that best practices are shared, to create a truly world-class organisation. To drive this transformation, changes have been made at various levels across the entire organisation involving about one thousand four hundred and eighteen (1,418) employees who are being rotated to other areas of the Institution. At the leadership level, the following new appointments have been made: Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah Acting Commissioner for Domestic Tax Revenue Division Colonel Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), Acting Commissioner, Customs Division Julie Essiam, Acting Commissioner, Support Services Division We take this opportunity to thank the current leadership team at GRA who have brought GRA thus far. We wish the Commissioner-General and his new team success as they take the reins to lead GRA to the next level. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Anglo Gold Ashanti has released its facilities at their former North Mine to support the Knust- Obuasi campus project. The project is a joint initiative of AGA, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the Obuasi Municipal Assembly. This was revealed by the Managing Director of the company, Mr. Eric Asubonteng at a Town Hall meeting organized by the mining giant with Stakeholders in Obuasi. The school is expected to start in September. The program which was held at the Obuasi Sport Club brought together Management of the Mining Giants including Mr Graham Ehm, Executive Vice President Group Technical and Planning, Managing Director of AGA Obuasi Mine, Mr Eric Asubonten, Operations Manager, Mr Frederick Nsarko, and the MCE and DCE of Obuasi Municipal and Obuasi East District Assemblies, Hon. Elijah Adansi-Bonah and Hon. Faustina Amissah respectively, Adansi Traditional leaders led by Nana Serwa Bruwaa, Queen Mother of Akrokerri, Assembly members, Media, and other representatives of the Communities in Obuasi. Mr. Eric Asubonteng also gave updates on various projects that are underway to bring the company back into full operations. He said workers in the mines are putting up their very best to ensure that between now and the end of 2019, a lot would be done to get the company to a point where it can operate at about 50% capacity whiles the plant would be able to produce 2000 tones per day of materials mined from underground. He said moving forward, the company is looking at recruiting more from the Obuasi community as it has already employed about 1,167 locals out of, 1,870 current workers which are expected to rise up to 2,500 or more in future. The General Manager also mentioned that AGA has submitted it's labor plan to the Minerals Commission in which the organization structure has been clearly spelt out to train more youths to help grow and develop more Ghanaians including people from Obuasi. He assured the audience that in the company's bid to diversify the economy of Obuasi, the company is bringing on board all businesses in Obuasi by awarding some major contracts to contractors from Obuasi including renovation of 1,500 house units in Obuasi. Other contracts include catering services being awarded to Mawuli Catering services, Cofcans, Afrikana, Yaw Fosu and others, other security contracts have also been awarded to Obuasi based security forces. The Education and Health sectors are areas the company is highly focused on to ensure socio-economic development within the Municipality as well as the District level. On his part, the Executive Vice President Group Technical and Planning, Anglogold Ashanti, Mr. Graham Ehm gave his general remarks on the redevelopment of the mine by revealing to the gathering that a previous meeting had taken place in Accra recently between Government, Management and shareholders of the various mining companies which CEO of Anglogold Companies Worldwide was present and views were collectively shared on how to develop Obuasi into a more conducive place for indigenes. He also indicated that management and it's investors are much excited about the progress seen so far as it is more clearer that the company is working well with Traditional leaders, Government and all other stakeholders including community members. He said the management was overwhelmed after visiting the deeps or underground section of the mine to witness greater development which has already been done. Mr. Graham emphasized greatly on what the outcome of the successful cooperation between the company and it's stakeholders to be able to revamp the Obuasi Mine would go a long way to ensure development in Obuasi and Ghana at large. He also praised Adansi Traditional leaders and Government for their interventions in the initial stages to bring the redevelopment of the Obuasi Mine into a reality. He maintained that the company would then be able to produce it's first household gold by December 2019 while a lot of work is required to ensure increments of up to 4,000 tones per day by the end of 2020. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Parliament has passed the State Interests and Governance Authority Bill, 2019, into law to allow for the establishment of an Authority to oversee the state's interests in State-owned Enterprises (SoEs), joint venture companies and other entities. The law is also to ensure that SoEs adhere to good corporate practices to promote growth of industry and commerce. The Minister of Planning, Professor George Gyan Baffour, moved the motion for the third reading of the bill on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, and was supported by the Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei. Committee's report According to the report of the Finance Committee of Parliament signed by the Chairman of the Committee, Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, the new law would reform the governance structure of all entities. "This is because none of the interventions of government to help streamline the operations and activities of the state entities have had the intended impact. "As a result, we have resolved to adopt the single entity model to help harmonise guidelines and policies to oversee and administer entities in which the State has interest," he said. According to the report, many SoEs have consistently underperformed in relation to their objectives, while others continued to incur losses, prompting an assessment of the corporate governance framework of the SoE sector from 2013 and 2015. It said the assessment, which focused on 39 wholly-owned SoEs, revealed an aggregate loss of approximately GH15 million as of the end of the 2012 financial year. Coordination According to the report, the Authority would enhance coordination in the management of state interests and ensure a clear line of accountability from SoEs and other interests. "It is expected that this will boost performance and enhance the profitability of the entities and ultimately lead to increased returns to the state in the form of dividends and surpluses," it said. The report said after the reorganisation of the entities, any staff found to be misplaced would be absorbed into another public service organisation where his or her expertise would be most needed to address any job losses. On debts owed the SoEs, the report said the State Enterprises Commission was in the process of compiling an up-to-date debt position of the SoEs, adding that the Authority would be mandated to report on the financial status of SoEs including their debt portfolios annually. The initial cost of setting up the Authority, the report said, was estimated at GH15,151,076 which included compensations of employees, use of goods and services as well as capital expenditure. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament for Bawku Central Mahama Ayariga has begun a showdown with the Special Prosecutor Martin Amidu, stating he cannot avail himself in court Tuesday to be tried for alleged tax evasion and abuse of office. Mr Amidu in March filed his first case against Mr Ayariga and subsequently wrote to the Speaker of Parliament to release the MP to appear in court on June 4 to answer some criminal charges against him. But the MP who just returned from Abuja on parliamentary duties have responded to the SP describing the invitation as inappropriately hence will not honour same. Justifying why he cannot attend court session on Tuesday, the MP said absenting myself from sittings of parliament for a certain number of days without the Speakers permission, could be grounds for my removal from parliament. In a terse response to the SP dated June 2, Mr Ayariga raised key constitutional issues, stating unequivocally that the Speaker of Parliament has no right to release a sitting Member of Parliament to be arraigned in court. Be informed that any conduct on your part that in anyway impedes or obstructs my right to be in parliament on 4th June and represent the good people of Bawku will amount to contempt of parliament, Mr Ayariga stated. I believe you have read article 122 of the constitution. The language of article 122 does bind even the Speaker of parliament, he added. The MP contended that Amidus letter inviting the Speaker of Parliament to engage in an unconstitutional conduct could cause the Speaker to also be cited for contempt of parliament. Source: 3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video MEDIA REPORTS from Liberia suggest that the West African nations Vice President, Jowel Howard Taylor, has threatened to resign by midday on Monday, June 3, 2019. Local newspaper, Frontpage Africa reports that the decision of the wife of Liberias former warlord leader, Charles Taylor, was in protest against growing and unending distrust between her and President George Manneh Weah. Mr. Weah and his vice have not had good working relationship since assuming office in 2018. From the early days of their regime, Mrs. Taylor had to offer a public apology to Mr. Weah after it emerged that she traveled to Rwanda without his permission. The latest confusion, DGN Online understands, is over the Veeps alleged link to the planned June 7, 2019, protest action in Liberia dubbed: Save The State. Organizers of the planned protest action are planning to use the occasion to free Liberia from the hands of President Weah and his corrupt officials whose actions and inactions have reportedly escalated economic hardship in West Africas oldest democracy. The Vice President, according to the source expressed disappointment over the manner in which she has been disrespected by people close to the presidency, particularly in the wake of the latest accusations that she is involved in the planning of this weeks Save-the-State protest, according to a report monitored on Front-Page Africa. Some well-known Liberian journalists have also been reporting about the Vice Presidents likely resignation. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Chief Imam for Bole, capital of the Bole District in the newly created Savannah Region, Mohammed Sulemana Iddrisu, has heaped high praise on the Nana Akufo-Addo government for the numerous projects undertaken in the relatively short period it has been in office. According to Mohammed Iddrisu, the variety of projects, and the pace at which they are being delivered, is unprecedented in the annals of Bole and its surroundings. The people of Bole cannot thank Government enough for all the things they have done in this short period that they have been in charge, and we pray that Allah will continue to be with them for them to do even more for Ghana, he indicated. Mohammed Iddrisu was speaking at a durbar organised in honour of the Vice President of the Republic, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, at Bole when he joined Muslims in the Savannah Region to pray as part of the 2019 edition of his nationwide Ramadan tour. Enumerating a long list of programmes being implemented by the Akufo-Addo government, such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One Village One Dam, One District One Factory, Free Senior High School, and the provision of infrastructure to educational institutions, Mohammed Iddrisu urged the people of Ghana to support Government efforts to rapidly develop the nation, indicating that greater support would speed up the pace of implementation. The Bole District has enjoyed major infrastructure developments in the past two and a half years since the NPP assumed the reins of state. These include markets (Mankunah, Tinga and Mandari); lorry park (Bamboi); three (3) classroom block with toilets (Kpenayiri and Daboyiri); and a Dining Hall for St Anthony of Padua School. Other projects are: two dams (Teslima and Chibriyor) under the One Village One Dam programme; an eight-acre prayer area for Muslims; construction and spot improvements of several key roads; and the construction of a warehouse at Bole under the One District One Warehouse project. As well, Bole District was the first of five districts to begin the Planting for Export and Rural Development programme, a decentralized National Tree Crop Programme to promote rural economic growth and improve household incomes of rural farmers through the provision of certified improved seedlings, extension services, business support and regulatory mechanisms. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Members of the Muslim community in Sawla, capital of the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district of the newly-created Savannah region, have praised government for the many interventions made over the past two years to make life better for ordinary citizens of the country. The residents are particularly delighted about interventions in the agriculture sector, which has made farming easier and more rewarding. Shaib Braimah, Zongo Chief of Sawla, made these known when the Vice President of the Republic, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, joined members of the Muslim community in Sawla for Asr prayers when he toured the Savannah Region on Sunday 2nd May 2019 as part of his nationwide Ramadan Tour. In a speech read on his behalf, the Sawla Zongo Chief thanked the Akufo-Addo government for implementing people centred-programmes. Your Excellency, we cannot press you for projects without saying some good things that you and your government have done so far. We want to thank your government for the many good policies you are implementing to make life better for the people of Ghana. We the Muslim Ummah of Sawla cannot and will not forget about Planting for Food and Jobs. We cannot, and will not forget about Free SHS. We cannot and will not forget about School feeding programme. He asked for Allahs guidance and protection as the country prepares for the upcoming elections, adding, May Allah bless the President of the Republic of Ghana, may Allah bless the Vice President, may Allah bless our beloved country Ghana. Vice President Bawumia reiterated his call for continued religious acceptance and peaceful coexistence among persons of different religious persuasions, pointing out that in unity lies strength. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NPPs Nasara Coordinator for Asante Ayem-North, Alhaji Issaka Suleman has disclosed that the Agogo Zongo Community had earlier warned their Member of Parliament [MP] but he did not listen. According to him, the community is not happy with Andy Appiah-Kubi over failed promises for the past years. They are very angry with the MP but we hope to solve this issues soon, he said in an interview on NEAT FMs morning show 'Ghana Montie'. The indigenes of Agogo Zongo Community in the Asante Akim North Municipality of the Ashanti Region on Saturday, June 1, 2019 rejected gifts from the MP for the area, Andy Appiah-Kubi over failed promises. The MP had dispatched a pick up load of items to be given to the Muslims who are expected to climax this years Ramadan on Wednesday June 5, 2019. Listen to interview Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/ Twitter: @Washman5/ Instagram: Washman007 Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) today joined Members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Nkonya in the Oti Region to mourn the late National Chairman of the NDC, Dr. Kwabena Adjei. National Organiser of the NPP, Sammi Awuku who led the NPP delegation comprising National, Regional and Constituency Party Executives said the NPP was saddened by the loss of Dr. Kwabena Adjei who served the nation in various capacities including a lecturer in academia and a Minister of state in Politics. On behalf of the leadership of the NPP and its rank and file, we once again express our deepest condolences to the family of the late former National Chairman of the NDC party the NPP National Organiser said. Among the NPP leadership who accompanied the national organizer were the National Youth Organiser, Henry Nana Boakye and the third National Vice Chairman, Michael Omari Wadie. The Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu as well as the Volta Regional Minister Archibald Letsa were also in attendance. Dr. Kwabena Adjei popularly known as Wayo wayo passed on at the Korlebu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Tuesday, March 12, 2019 after a short illness. Born on March 9, 1943, Dr Kwabena Adjei is credited with several unique achievements as an executive appointee and an NDC party man from 1987 to 2019. Especially, it was during his supervision as National Chairman that the NDC returned to power through Election 2008, which was marginally won by the late President J.E.A. Mills. He succeeded Dr Obed Asamoah as National Chairman of the NDC in 2005 at the famous Koforidua Congress which also saw General Mosquito (Johnson Asiedu Nketia] becoming General Secretary of the party. When he entered politics in 1987, Dr Adjei was instrumental in stabilizing the governance of the Volta Region where appointee changes had become the order of the day and a destabilizing force in 1987 and discharged his obligations as a Deputy Minister or as a substantive Minister wherever he was appointed. Among other things, he is credited for being politically instrumental in defusing the time bomb planted by the breakaway Reform Party to weaken or disintegrate the NDC around 1998-99 and led the NDC to resurrect from its slumber and shutters in opposition to a marginal electoral victory in 2008. Dr Adjei led the NDC to retain power in 2012 and was deposed by Mr Kofi Portuphy as chairman. He hailed from Nkonya Ntsumuru in the Volta Region and was an academician, politician and a businessman. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga Central Constituency, Hon. Isaac Adongo, has described as "laughable", assertions by the Electoral Commission (EC) that it is impossible for the commission to rig any election in favour of a political party. The NDC MP, also believes the conduct of EC Chairperson, Madam Jean Mensa, can spark a revolution as she is fomenting unnecessary tensions with her posturing, thereby disrespecting the constitution and Ghanaians. When I hear comments like the EC cannot rig an election and cannot cheat for somebody I laugh. Elections are not rigged on the day of the election; it is not the day of the elections that rigging takes place, he stated. ...in other countries that there have been revolutions, it is not that they dont have constitutions; they have constitutions but what happens when the anger of the people goes out of hands? That constitution that you are talking about is for them and if they feel that the way the constitution is being implemented does not inure to their benefit, you will see an uprising, he indicated. The EC Chairperson, Madam Jean Mensa, a couple of weeks, sought to assure the nation that it is practically impossible to rig the elections considering how the countrys electoral system was so extremely scrutinised and monitored by the political parties. According to her, no official at the EC had that power or the force behind him or her to alter election results to favour one political party. Commenting to the issue and the impending limited registration ahead of the 2020 general elections, Hon. Adongo, who was contributing to a panel discussion on Radio Golds Alhaji and Alhaji political show now on Pan African TV, claimed the EC is scheming to rig the 2020 election by making it easy for one political party to have easy access to the forthcoming limited registration exercise in their strongholds. If Ghana, as we know the demography, a particular political party stronghold has more members on the register because it has been easy for them to register, while the other political partys stronghold is restricted or made impossible to register; you have rigged the election in advanced. Then you can have a fair election on the day of the election but the outcome will not be fair, so when we say you are going to rig an election as EC, we dont mean that you will be stuffing the ballot boxes with ballot papers; we mean that you would have undertaken activities prior to the election and even during the election which pre-determines the outcome of the election and that is what we want to guard against, he added. He therefore charged the Electoral Commission (EC) to give a level play field to all the political parties in the upcoming limited registration exercise. We dont want that to happen, so Jean Mensa must understand that for every step of the way, the totality of the views and concerns of stakeholders must be brought on board in order not to create an electoral process that has already pre-determined the outcome and expect is to now go and validate that outcome that you want to happen on the day of the elections; that will not happen, he cautioned. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Member of Parliament (MP) for Sagnarigu constituency in the Northern Region, Alhaji A.B.A Fuseini has revealed that majority of his colleagues in Parliament are very broke contrary to public perception that they are fabulously rich. According to him, the situation becomes worse when his colleagues leave Parliament - they turn paupers. He attributed this turn of events to financial pressures mounted on them by their constituents whiles in Parliament. Parliamentary seats always become hot cake for people yearning to serve their constituents because of the respect and goodies that come with the title 'Honorable' during elections . MPs are perceived to be fabulously rich because they have good salaries and are able to support their constituents who run to them for financial assistance amidst driving in fuel-guzzling vehicles. This perception has turned out not to be true, as the MP for Sagnarigu constituency says majority of current and former MPs silently languish in poverty. In an interview with Joy FM, the vociferous lawmaker explained that due to the pressures from constituents, some of the MPs run into debts. According to him, MPs only depend on their ex-gratia to settle their debts to prevent embarrassment leaving them nothing to cater for themselves and their families. "I can tell you that the lives of many former MPs is not much to write home about, many of them have left Parliament and have become destitute . . . I can tell you that when MPs are still active in offices, the kind of pressures they undergo from constituents is unimaginable, it leaves a vast majority of them in debts. Sometimes what they will get as ex-gratia will be used to defray debts, leaving them with nothing to take care of their families, he revealed A.B.A Fuseini lamented that they commit their finances in helping other people during funerals, weddings and building of houses leaving them nothing to depend on. "Our politics is increasingly monetized, to the point that the pressure is on the MPs to provide anything. Im telling you as we speak, MPs are supposed to be building houses for people in some constituencies, they will ask you for cement, roofing sheets, wood, they will ask you for even sand, in addition to school fees, funerals, weddings, personal problems, just mention it. MPs are burdened with all these responsibilities and in the face of it how much is MPs earnings," he bemoaned. He intimated that even when constituents businesses collapse, the MPs will be expected to provide money for them to start businesses. "MPs are burdened with all these responsibilities and in the face of it how much is MPs earnings," he asked. Source: Mynewsgh.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Though Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy are being praised for their decision to smoke the peace pipe after their recent altercation at the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), some music stakeholders still have misgivings about their action. Social media was Thursday night awash with pictures of Stonebwoy and Shatta Wale together for the first time since their altercation on stage. Reports indicated that the two dancehall artistes were made to smoke the peace pipe by one Kofi Amoa-Abban. IF it be Possible As Far It Depends On You, Live Peaceably With All Men.. Romans 12:18. The Wise Shall Inherit Glory.. But Shame Shall Be The Promotion Of Fools.. Proverbs 3:35 #GhanaFirst #PeaceAndUnity, Stonebwoy said when he shared his photograph with Shatta Wale on Thursday. Unity is strength, Love is the key to many doors, Brotherhood is Loyalty, Peace is Freedom .. My brother and I got a great vision for Ghana music and we taking it to the world (love emoji) .. @stonebwoyb, Shatta Wale also said on his social media platforms. The reconciliation photographs also captured others, including Stonebwoys manager Black Cedi, Bulldog and broadcast journalist Nana Aba Anamoah. The peace broker, Mr. Kofi Amoa-Abban, has been described as a Ghanaian oil and gas entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the founder and CEO of Rigworld Group, an oil service firm with operations across West Africa. He reportedly impressed upon the two dancehall acts to give peace a chance. However, some music stakeholders and showbiz followers doubt the peace will last. One of such people is Pop Skinny, a former Shatta Wales right-hand man. If you are smart like me, you will know that this peace will not last. Hypocrisy Nkuaa Ghana. Posing for the camera. Peace, he reportedly said. But music video director and CEO of Solid Multimedia, Ezekiel Tetteh, also shared his opinion on Facebook, pointing out that some people will always complain about everything (laugh emoji) They fight you complain. Now they are trying to make peace and you are still complaining, so what at all do you want? Oh my Ghana people. Chale lets help promote peace and unity. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here In this volume, Nicholas R. Jones analyzes white appropriations of black African voices in Spanish theater from the 1500s through the 1700s, when the performance of Africanized Castilian, commonly referred to as(black speech), was in vogue. Focusing on Spanish Golden Age theater and performative poetry from authors such as Calderon de la Barca, Lope de Rueda, and Rodrigo de Reinosa, Jones makes a strong case for revising the belief, long held by literary critics and linguists, that white appropriations and representations of habla de negros language are racist buffoonery or stereotype. Instead, Jones shows black characters who laugh, sing, and shout, ultimately combating the violent desire of white supremacy. By placing early modern Iberia in conversation with discourses on African diaspora studies, Jones showcases how black Africans and their descendants who built communities in early modern Spain were rendered legible in performative literary texts. Accessibly written and theoretically sophisticated, Joness groundbreaking study elucidates the ways that habla de negros animated black Africans agency, empowered their resistance, and highlighted their African cultural retentions. This must-read book on identity building, performance, and race will captivate audiences across disciplines. By 1893, the Supreme Court had officially declared women to be citizens, but most did not have the legal right to vote. In, Kristy Maddux provides a glimpse at an unprecedented alternative act of citizenship by women of the time: their deliberative participation in the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893. Hailing from the United States and abroad, the more than eight hundred women speakers at the Worlds Fair included professionals, philanthropists, socialites, and reformers addressing issues such as suffrage, abolition, temperance, prison reform, and education. Maddux examines the planning of the event, the full program of women speakers, and dozens of speeches given in the fairs daily congresses. In particular, she analyzes the ways in which these women shaped the discourse at the fair and modeled to the world practices of democratic citizenship, including deliberative democracy, racial uplift, organizing, and economic participation. In doing so, Maddux shows how these pioneering women claimed sociopolitical ground despite remaining disenfranchised. This carefully researched study makes significant contributions to the studies of rhetoric, American womens history, political history, and the history of the Worlds Fair itself. Most importantly, it sheds new light on womens activism in the late nineteenth century; even amidst the suffrage movement, women innovated practices of citizenship beyond the ballot box. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East Moscow Region district ex-head charged with fraud denied release from detention RAPSI 16:16 03/06/2019 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Monday upheld extension of detention of ex-head of the Moscow Regions Serpukhov District Alexander Shestun charged with fraud and bribery until June 13, RAPSI reported from the courtroom. In April, the Krasnogorsk City Court in the Moscow Region forfeited 10-billion-ruble ($150 million) worth assets owned by Shestun to the state. The court therefore granted a motion lodged by the Prosecutor Generals Office to seize more than 670 real estate items in the Moscow Regions Serpukhov district and 22 cars. This property status does not correspond to his income, prosecutors stated. Shestun has registered his property in the name of his relatives or trustees to evade declaration and suppression of his actual material position. Some property items have been sold, and the funds received have been converted to his own use or the use of his cronies, according to the prosecution. On January 18, the Investigative Committee reported that investigators received evidence that Shestun owned land plots worth 2.2 billion rubles ($33 million) aside from other assets found earlier. According to case papers, between 2008 and 2014, the Serpukhov District administration headed by Shestun illegally transferred four land plots in a local village to the company Center. Damage caused by these actions was estimated at 62 million rubles (about $925,000), investigators claim. Shestun was put in detention. He pleads not guilty. Russian public member asks OSCE to pick up on Marshal Zhukovs bust toppling in Ukraine RIA Novosti 14:08 03/06/2019 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) Chair of the Russian Civic Chambers humanitarian cooperation commission Yelena Sutormina has turned to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) over the toppling of the bust of Marshal Georgy Zhukov in Ukraine, according to the Chambers press service. On Sunday, Ukrainian nationalists tore down the bust of Soviet military hero Marshal Zhukov in Kharkiv. The citys mayor said that the statue would be reconstructed on a donation basis. The Civic Chambers member has called OSCE to draw attention to this glaring fact, the statement reads. Moreover, Sutormina has urged Ukrainian authorities to publicly condemn vandals and bring them to responsibility. According to the public member, Zhukov is a hero not only for Russia and Ukraine but for the whole world. Nationalist ideas are always destructive, she stated. Zhukov led the Red Army in the final assault on Berlin in the Second World War. Smithtown, NY -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/03/2019 --The purpose of a group life insurance is to cover an entire group of people. Typically, the policy offers coverage for the employees or members of the group. It is usually provided as part of a complete employee benefits package. Cafaro Insurance Agency has been an industry leader in providing employee benefits, including popular group life and group disability insurance options. Due to its increasing demand, group life insurance in Farmingdale and Melville, New York has become a vital part of employee benefits. As such, the policy has become an expectation among most recruits. As an independent insurance broker, Cafaro Insurance maintains a good rapport with top-rated insurance carriers who specialize in providing a variety of insurance products tailored to meet the needs of the businesses. Available in a variety of options, one can choose the right insurance product that is typically designed to meet one's particular employee needs. The policies are available at an affordable rate, and the cost of insurance is much less than for an individual policy. The insurance cover will be provided to many members under a single master life insurance policy. According to labor's law, the employees are entitled to enjoy the coverage offered by a group insurance policy. Recent research has shown the employees who are offered this insurance coverage are more loyal to their respective job and organization that those who don't get such coverage. Term insurance is considered the most common form of group life insurance. One can get group term life in the form of yearly renewable term insurance. When group term insurance is provided through the employer, the employer usually pays for most of all premiums. The amount of the coverage is typically equal to one or two times one's annual salary. For more information on NYS disability insurance in Hauppauge and Melville, New York, visit http://www.cafaroinsurance.com/nys-disability-ins-family-leave-farmingdale-smithtown-melville-huntington-hauppauge-ny/. About Cafaro Insurance Agency Cafaro Insurance Agency provides its services to the people of Melville, Farmingdale, Huntington, Hauppauge, as well as its neighboring regions. Fort Lauderdale, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/03/2019 --Synthax [InfoComm 2019 booth 5150], distributor of premium German interface manufacturer RME, German converter manufacturer Ferrofish and personal monitor mixer myMix, has announced at that it now distributing Switzerland-based Appsys Pro Audio to the U.S., Canada and Latin America, effective immediately. Synthax will highlight Appsys products at its booth 5150 during InfoComm 2019 from June 1214, 2019, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Designed in Switzerland and manufactured in Germany, Appsys is known for creating and developing professional audio equipment in close collaboration with its customers to meet their specific needs. The company manufacturers a range of ADAT products, including extenders, splitters and repeaters as well as digital format converters including its popular Multiverter MVR-64. "Appsys will play a key role in the Synthax portfolio of brands," said Mathias von Heydekampf, Managing Director of Synthax. "With its innovative audio networking solutions and its high build quality, Appsys products will continue Synthax's mission as masters of networking. We are proud and excited bring Appsys products to a wide network of users in the U.S. and Canada." Swiss Army Knife: The Multiverter MVR-64 At this month's InfoComm, Synthax will highlight one of Appsys most popular products, its Multiverter MVR-64 digital format converter. Dubbed the any-to-any converter, the Multiverter lets users interface their gear to any signal source with the ability to convert between a wide selection of digital interfaces all at once. The Multiverter supports a stunning 64 channels of conversion for ADAT, MADI optical, MADI coaxial, MADI-TP, AES50, Dante/AES67, and is extensible to future interfaces via break-out boxes. Users also have remote control over MIDI, MIDI over MADI, USB, RS485, AES50 Aux Data channel and network socket. The MVR-64 boasts 12 store and recall presets, a headphone amp which allows users to monitor any incoming signal as well as a test tone generator which simplifies troubleshooting when it comes to complex setups. Appsys also offers a Sample Rate Converter Hardware Module to accompany the MVR-64, allowing users to add even more power to their Multiverter. The module features 64x64 channel asynchronous, bi-directional conversion between two arbitrary sample rates and interfaces. A Variety of Applications The Multiverter is a perfect solution for a wide variety of applications. Touring bands can use the Multiverter in their rack with their standard I/O knowing that when playing live, they'll be able to connect to any front of house or monitor console. Broadcast trucks can use the Multiverter to receive a MADI feed from the live event and convert it to Dante while recording via a Dante virtual sound card. In post-production or recording studio applications, the Multiverter can be used to bring all digital audio together by integrating a client's gear with a studio's existing setup. For peace of mind, the Multiverter MVR-64 comes complete with a triple-redundant power supply and can be powered with industry-standard 4-pin XLR plug battery packs. The Multiverter MVR-64 is available now and priced at $2,999 MAP. Check out Appsys Multiveter MVR-64 along with the latest RME, Ferrofish and myMix products at Synthax booth 5150 during InfoComm Orlando, June 1214. For more information on Appsys, visit: https://appsys.ch/en/ For more information on RME, visit: http://www.rme-audio.de/en/ About Synthax, Incorporated Synthax Inc. is the exclusive USA distributor for RME digital audio solutions, Ferrofish advanced audio applications, myMix audio products, and ALVA cableware. We supply a nationwide network of dealers with these products for professional audio, broadcast, music industry, commercial audio, theater, military and government applications. For additional information, visit the company online at http://www.synthax.com. Carmel, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/03/2019 --Touche, a company specializing in the sale of beauty products in Carmel, CA, announced it has begun a partnership with BizIQ, a digital marketing company in Phoenix, Arizona that specializes in providing its services to North American small business clients. This new business partnership with BizIQ will provide the company a variety of new ways to reach out to brand-new audiences and potential customers in its area. BizIQ employs search engine optimization (SEO) strategies in its web marketing efforts that can help people find reliable sources of information about facial cleansers in Carmel, CA. BizIQ has also developed a brand-new website for the company, as well as an in-depth content marketing campaign that features monthly blog posts and better overall communication with potential clients throughout the area. The new website BizIQ created for Touche offers relevant, timely and informative content that focuses on cosmetic and skincare subject matter like anti-aging products in Carmel, CA. All content on the website is the result of work by skilled copywriting professionals. The site also offers multiple channels through which people can easily contact the firm to learn more about its products. "We're thrilled to begin working with BizIQ to improve our digital communications and marketing," said Pamela Konecny of Touche. "This is a big step forward for us as we seek to take greater advantage of the internet with our sales and marketing tactics. We look forward to seeing the results of this partnership." About Touche Founded in 2016, Touche offers a relaxed environment in which people can enjoy having their makeup applied, and benefit from the company's wide selection of natural, environmentally friendly products made by such brands as Societe. For more information, visit http://www.toucheus.com/. To learn more about BizIQ and its expertise regarding local search engine optimization, or to view its extensive list of service options, please visit http://www.biziq.com/. Share Tweet Pin 18 shares Note all articles are independently researched and written by myself. However, if you buy via one of the links it may be an affiliate and I may earn a small commission. If you want something hip, stylish and swinging, then do check out the classic 20th-century fashions at the Dorian Boutique. After running a 1960s boutique in Paris, Archibald Mark moved to Montreal and opened the Dorian Boutique, described as a space dedicated to the golden age of European chic. The designs are inspired by European cool from the 1920s through to the 1960s, with the latter years seemingly more dominant and for me, the more eye-catching. But if you have an interest in any of those decades, from the roaring twenties through to the swinging sixties and the psychedelic era, then this is a store worth checking out. Thankfully, you dont have to travel to Montreal to discover the clothing. The shops sells some brands I have mentioned before (like the Marmalade Shop and DNA Groove for example), but its the Dorian limited edition ranges that really jumps out. Made exclusively in Italy and Spain and in very small quantities, they are wonderful and authentic retro designs with real authenticity for their eras. As a taster, here are a few of the designs you can pick up right now. At the top of the page, you can see the Lola sweater, the Domino short sleeve cardigan, the Agnes straight skirt and the Paula cigarette trousers. Further down is another Domino cardigan plus the Olimpia pencil skirt. Thats followed by a Lola sweater and the Agnes straight skirt and below that, the black Patricia 50s-style high waisted cigarette trousers and a bottle green & cream Lola boatneck sweater. The two-tone 1960s dresses are courtesy of the Marmalade Shop, as is the red rounded collar dress, just three examples of the dresses also available at Dorian. Finally, if you like the idea of something in line with the French new wave, check out the Lola sweater and the Patricia cigarette trousers by Dorian plus the Stefano trousers, the Passito jacket and the Siena shirt, which are all by DNA Groove. All are available online right now and prices, of course, vary. But if something catches your eye, you can check out the price and postage at the Dorian Boutique website. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. Six years after it reported serious procedural irregularities in the process of allocating blocks for mineral exploration, the CBI will begin a Preliminary Enquiry into the granting of licenses to private parties in 2010, during the UPA government's tenure, to explore for and mine atomic minerals. Alleging a major scam in the process of granting licenses, as only government or government companies are allowed to mine atomic minerals in view of their strategic significance, the CBI is probing various senior government officers involved in the grant of licenses without due diligence. A Geological Survey of India report indicates that the mineral resources in the area, where licenses were granted for offshore blocks, include monazite, an rare-earth containing mineral prescribed in the schedule to the Atomic Energy Act. "Officers practiced a pick-and-choose formula in granting 50 mining leases for atomic minerals to companies within the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area... most of the mining activities have been stopped since 2013," a source in CBI said. The CBI source said that officers allegedly took advantage of lack of provisions governing handling of monazite, which is usually found along with atomic minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, etc., The government had enacted the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development & Regulation) Act, 2002 in 2003 to develop, regulate, and exploit the mineral resources available in the territorial waters, continental shelf and other maritime zones of India. In 2006, the Offshore Areas Mineral Concession Rules were framed. Both the act and the rules came into force in 2010 and 62 blocks were notified for grant of exploration licenses. In a first for the country, blocks were notified for grant of exploration licenses. Earlier, no activity related to exploration and consequently mining in offshore areas had been ever undertaken. But after the CRZ notification was issued by Ministry of Environment and Forest in 2011, all blocks fell under the CRZ areas and attracted restrictions, the source said, adding that only the mining of rare minerals not found outside the CRZ was permitted. In March 2011, 16 applicants for allocation of blocks were short-listed as per the approved guidelines for 62 exploration blocks. "A committee found out that block numbers 3 and 32 in the Arabian Sea were the same, more than one block was applied for by applicants, many of the blocks notified overlapped with onshore areas, and associated companies of the same group applied for the same block. Despite this, the then Controller General, Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) went ahead with issuance of order for grant of exploration licences," an internal document noted. In July 2011, the Chief Vigilance Officer conducted preliminary enquiry and submitted a report highlighting various lapses in the whole process. "Due diligence was not made while scrutinizing the applications; that the document submitted with the applications were very preliminary in nature... for technical collaboration, a very preliminary e-mail has been taken as evidence by the screening committee," the document noted. In March 2013, the CBI made preliminary enquiry into the matter and submitted its report highlighting serious procedural irregularities. In 2016, the administering authority annulled the notification issued on June 7, 2010 and all consequential actions for grant of exploration licenses were withdrawn. However, in November 2017, a government counsel made a submission in the Delhi High Court based on "incorrect interpretation" of the October 6, 2017 amendment to the CRZ notifications on the instructions of an officer in the Mines Ministry, according to the document, adding that these instructions were never examined nor approved by a competent authority. The counsel informed the court that there has been material change in CRZ regulations and now there is no impediment for the order dated April 5, 2011 for grant of exploration license to be processed further in accordance with law, said the document. The court set aside the notification issued in 2016 and a direction was given to the appellants to take further steps to process the grant of exploration license pursuant as per order April 5, 2011. As a consequence, two deeds for exploration licenses were executed in a hasty manner, the document added. The CBI had charge sheeted the officer concerned. In April 2019, the Centre wrote to the CBI for initiating a preliminary enquiry regarding certain irregularities noted by the Mines Ministry related to the allocation of exploration licenses and the subsequent signing of the deed of exploration licenses in favour of certain companies. The Centre filed an additional affidavit bringing on the record its policy decision of banning all the mining activity of atomic and rare minerals through the private parties. A former senior government officer challenged the CBI's enquiry in the Delhi High Court, which, on May 31, stayed it. The Centre challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, which stayed the high court order, paving the way for the CBI to begin its probe. Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to commence construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya and declare Ram Setu as a national monument. In a letter written to the Prime Minister on May 31, the day he assumed office, Swamy said that the Union government has the right to take over anybody's land in public interest and requested it to assure the Supreme Court that just compensation will be given to all parties in the Ramjanmabhoomi - Babri Masjid land dispute and allocate the "disputed" land for building the Ram Temple. "There is no bar in law which stands in the way of the Government of India allocating the 67.72 acres of land in Ayodhya to anybody which has a public character for building the Ram Temple. The government can inform the Supreme Court that compensation, as decided by the court, will be paid to the winning appellant," he said. Swamy argued that the Narasimha Rao government had nationalised the entire land, both disputed and undisputed, therefore the Supreme Court should only be concerned about compensation. "As per the amendments in 1993 and in 1994, a Constitution Bench of the SC upheld the nationalisation as valid. Thereafter all the parties except the Ramjanmabhumi Nyas Samiti accepted the compensation paid by the government for the land nationalisation," Swamy wrote. He said the Centre should assure the apex court that just compensation will be paid to the decided title holder as determined by it. "In fact, as a generosity, both the parties can be paid compensation if they withdraw their respective appeals in the SC before adjudication," he said. In the four-page letter, Swamy also demanded that the "Ram Setu" should be declared a National Heritage Monument under the 1958 act. "The Ram Setu satisfies all the criteria laid down in the Act for such a declaration. "The issue was cleared by the Ministry of Culture but did not come up for approval at the Cabinet level for whatever reason. My request to you is that the Union of India counsels in the Supreme Court be directed to make a statement that the government has agreed to recognize the Rama Setu as a National Heritage Monument," he said. Attacking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the way she is reacting to "Jai Shri Ram" chants, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mukul Roy said on Sunday that the Trinamool Congress supremo has "lost her mental stability". The Trinamool, on the other hand, said the chant was being used to "spread terror" and alleged that by resorting to the slogan, the saffron party was "tarnishing" Lord Ram's name. "It is strange that someone is reacting against some chant. If anyone says 'Ma, Maati, Maanush' (Trinamool's slogan) in front of me, will I lose my cool? By using undesirable words on hearing the slogan, Trinamool is destroying Bengal's culture," Roy said. Banerjee on Thursday lost her cool for the second time and chased a group of youth shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' in front of her convoy enroute Naihati in the North 24 Parganas district. Referring to Banerjee's speeches during the recent Lok Sabha poll campaign, Roy said it was not Bengal's culture to utter something like "will slap the Prime Minister" or "will make the Prime Minister do sit-ups". "I have mentioned earlier that there is some sort of an imbalance in her state of mind," Roy said. Countering BJP's allegations that the Trinamool members have a problem with "Jai Shri Ram" chants, West Bengal Urban Development Minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim said: "There is nothing wrong in 'Jai Shri Ram' but if people resort to spreading terror by chanting it, it becomes a crime." Elaborating further, Hakim said there is "no problem in saying Allah Hu Akbar" but when terrorists kill innocent people and utter "Allah Hu Akbar", it becomes a crime. The people of Bengal are used to "Jai Ma Kali" and "Jai Baba Taraknath" chants, but the BJP workers' behaviour is not in sync with Bengal's culture, he said. "They (BJP) are tarnishing the name of Lord Ram by chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' this way. His name is uttered in temples and it is pronounced with devotion. The way hooligans standing on roads are shouting Lord Ram's name to showcase their strength is utterly disgraceful," Hakim said. Even those who believe in Hindutva are protesting against it, Hakim added. Meanwhile, BJP MP from Barackpore Arjun Singh on Sunday announced that he will send 10 lakh postcards to Banerjee with "Jai Shri Ram" written on them. In a counter, state Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said that he is planning to send 20 lakh postcards to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah with "Jai Hind" and "Jai Bangla" written on them. Hours after getting him to issue an apology, the Gujarat BJP on Monday slapped a showcause notice on its Ahmedabad legislator Balram Thawani for kicking a woman and asked him to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. Even as the Naroda MLA, who was caught on camera roughing up and kicking a woman on a street, insisted he did not hit her intentionally, his party strongly condemned his behaviour. State BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said: "We condemn this behaviour which is shameful and unbecoming of a people's representative." He said Gujarat BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani had issued Thawani a showcause notice to "explain in three days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him". This came several hours after Thawani apologized for his behaviour, while in a rapprochement of sorts the woman in question on Monday evening went ahead and tied a rakhi to him. "Vaghani immediately called up Thawani on Sunday night on knowing about the incident and directed him to issue a public apology. He has also sought his explanation," Pandya told IANS earlier. Nitu Tejwani, a municipal ward in-charge of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had gone to Thawani's office in Naroda as part of a group protesting over water supply. A video that went viral of the lawmaker kicking the woman shows Tejwani fallen to the ground after being roughed up by another man. Witnesses confirmed that Thawani came out of his office when this man was beating her and joined him in kicking her. This only stopped after a passer-by intervened and slapped the MLA. Talking to reporters, Tejwani, who also filed a police complaint against Thawani and others, claimed that she had gone to meet the MLA to represent about the water supply issue in her area. She added: "Without reason and without saying anything, he (legislator) came out and started kicking me and beating me up and even slapped me." She claimed that her husband, who came to her rescue, was beaten up with sticks. Other women protesting over the issue were also roughed up, she said. Thawani admitted that he did kick the woman but insisted that it was in self defence and he did not intend to hit anyone. "I got carried away in a fit of anger. I have apologized for my mistake. I will say sorry to her," the BJP MLA said. The Congress asserted that the ruling party as well as Chief Minister Vijay Rupani should personally apologize. "The BJP must take strict action against the MLA," Congress' Gujarat affairs in-charge Rajeev Satav stated. "It is time women are protected from BJP leaders." NCP's Reshma Patel, who had quit the BJP over six months ago, met Tejwani at the Civil Hospital where she was admitted. Condemning the "MLA's behaviour", she said she would stand by Tejwani's "fight for justice." Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- According to a new market research report "Europe Cloud CRM Market by Vertical (Nonprofit and Higher Education), Nonprofit (Education, Research and Innovation, Social Affairs, Children and Youth, Art & Culture, and Others), and country (UK, Germany, France, and Switzerland) - Global Forecast to 2024" published by MarketsandMarkets, the Europe Cloud CRM Market expected to grow from USD 9.0 billion in 2019 to USD 12.0 billion by 2024, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.86% during the forecast period. The adoption rate of Europe cloud CRM solutions is expected to grow significantly, especially in the nonprofit vertical, due to the rising adoption of digital payment systems and mobile fundraising apps to raise their funds. Browse in-depth TOC on "Europe Cloud CRM Market" 9- Tables 12- Figures 131- Pages Browse Full Report @ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/europe-cloud-crm-market-85515652.html Among verticals, the nonprofit vertical to grow rapidly during the forecast period Increased digitization and government compliances for nonprofit organizations are increasing the demand for CRM in the nonprofit vertical. The majority of non-profit organizations in France are using social media and have a positive opinion about the adoption of digital technology. Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) in Germany are adopting digital payment systems and mobile fundraising apps to raise their funds. The transformation of the fundraising process may have a positive impact on the adoption of new technologies by NPOs to raise funds more effectively. NPOs in Switzerland are obliged to the government policy for establishing trust among people and raising investments across the globe while working with a limited budget and using effective training programs. CRM adoption would help NPOs in improving their training procedure under a limited budget. In Switzerland, NPOs are mandated to evaluate and publish their activities in annual reports and conduct related research to serve society effectively. The requirements of effective monitoring, research and precise evaluation of activities can be achieved with the use of a cloud CRM solution. The adoption of CRM solutions would enable NPOs to collaborate effectively with donors and beneficiaries and better manage and maintain meaningful data and insights. Among nonprofit sub-verticals, the children and youth sub-vertical to grow at highest CAGR during the forecast period The children and youth sub-vertical is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Several NPOs that are focused on welfare of children and youth are expected to grow in the future. The youth population in various countries is more accustomed to the digital communication media as compared to the earlier generation, hence NPOs working for children and youth are expected to go for the CRM software to manage customer relationships. Among countries in Europe, the UK to account for the largest market size during the forecast period The UK is expected to be the main revenue contributor to the Europe Cloud CRM Market. The growth of the CRM market in the UK is expected to grow, as GDPR compliance in the UK would present huge demand for cloud CRM software. The GDPR compliance is expected to boost the demand for CRM software in the UK. The GDPR compliance requires certain precautions to be taken, some of the modern CRM software come with features that help organizations adhere to the GDPR compliances. Strict GDPR compliance in the UK is expected to boost the demand for the CRM software during the forecast period. In the Europe Cloud CRM Market, the key market players and innovators include Microsoft (US), Oracle (US), ELCA (Switzerland), 1CRM (Canada), Cirrus Shield (France), Zoho (Chennai), SAP (Germany), Hubspot (US) Unit4 (Netherlands), Cocomore (Switzerland), Curexus GmbH (Germany), ALISTON Consulting (France), Absys Cyborg (France), SugarCRM Inc. (US), Vtiger (India), Bexio (Switzerland), Bpm'Online (US), TYPO3 (Germany), and eWay CRM (US). About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, and strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: 1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- Global Air Traffic Management Market report 2025 focuses on the major Types and Applications for the key players. The study report also provides analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market. The market research report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of global industry. Air Traffic Management Market is poised to retain substantial gains over the forecast timeframe on account of requirement for safe, reliable, efficient, and integrated movement of air traffic. Increasing airplane movements owing to rising air passenger traffic along with expanded network of air routes are expanding the industry share. The increasing number of airborne flights owing to significant increase in the low-cost carriers are positively influencing the market growth. Request table of contents this Report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-toc/upcoming/3297 Industry players are continuously investing in R&D for developing advanced and efficient communication technologies for improving their market share. For instance, in February 2019, the U.S. Air Force awarded USD 59 million contract to Northrop Grumman for carrying out the engineering & manufacturing development (EMD) of embedded GPS and inertial navigation systems. The air traffic management market share based on component is segmented into hardware and software. The software segment is expected to grow significantly on account of the requirement for advanced software solutions for carrying out appropriate integration with hardware. Moreover, the advancements in software for improving user experience along with enhancing compatibility with modern hardware are further expanding the segment share. Request for customization @ https://www.gminsights.com/roc/3297 Based on application, the air traffic management market share is segmented into navigation, surveillance, communication, flight data processing systems (FDPS), and aerodrome operations management. The communication segment is expected to grow at a significant rate to felicitates communication between the pilot and the air traffic controller. The proliferation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services combining voice and data services along with improvements in transmission and communication systems are playing a major role in segment share expansion over the projected timeframe. The growth in the North America air traffic management market can be attributed to the increasing investments by government agencies in the defense and military sector. Additionally, the defense operations require precise and efficient air traffic management for carrying out specialized missions. For instance, the U.S. Defense budget for 2019 amounted to around USD 690 billion. Browse Complete Report@ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/air-traffic-management-market Europe will account for a significant share in the air traffic management market. This can be credited to the proliferation of low-cost carriers across the region. The region also witnesses significant growth in air passenger travel on account of improving sector along with improving disposable income. Additionally, the aviation governing bodies are continuously engaged in forming new policies and enacting certain recommendation for ensuring smoother airlines operations, thereby expanding the regional share. The air traffic management market based on airport is segmented into greenfield airport and brownfield airport. The growth in the brownfield airport can be credited to the increasing investments by government agencies and industry players for carrying out modernization of existing airports. For instance, in 2013, the Hawaii Department of Transportation announced its plans for modernizing its airport with a project worth at USD 1.6 billion. Few players operating in the air traffic management market include ADACEL, Harris Corporation, Inmarsat Aviation, Frequentis, Indra Sistemas, NATS, Northrop Grumman, and Park Air Systems. Industry players are continuously engaged in R&D for developing new products for expanding the market share. About Global Market Insights: Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. Contact us: Arun Hegde Corporate Sales, USA Global Market Insights, Inc. Phone:1-302-846-7766 Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688 Email: sales@gminsights.com Web: https://www.gminsights.com Uxbridge, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- An unrivalled supplier of gate and fencing accessories, Birkdale Sales offers GATEMATE door and gate furniture in a wide range of designs and styles. Their gate furniture is perfect for use in both commercial and residential properties. With these products, customers can not only improve the security, but also add value to their properties. All of the door and gate furniture that the company provides are manufactured with robust materials and cutting-edge technology. To ensure strength and durability, the furniture is thoroughly tested on various stringent parameters. Highly versatile, the furniture is perfect for use in any environment and can withstand volatile weather conditions and extreme temperatures without any wear or tear. The company offers a variety of GATEMATE door and gate furniture including GATEMATE locking bars, GATEMATE hasp & staples, GATEMATE pedestrian gate kits with auto catch, GATEMATE butt hinges, GATEMATE band & hook hinges, and many more. To provide their customers with quick services, they offer same day dispatch on all orders placed before 5pm. Individuals looking to get state-of-the-art door and gate furniture can contact the team at Birkdale for more information. Birkdale is one of the most sought-after suppliers of gate and fencing accessories in the market. The company has served thousands of customers with their one-of-a-kind products and first-class services. In addition to GATEMATE door and gate furniture, Birkdale also offers handles & decorative furniture, signs, butt hinges, reversible hinges, locks & security and many others. Talking about their products, one of the representatives from the company stated, "We offer a wide range of door and gate furniture that is quality approved and can be easily installed without any hassle. All of our products are manufactured with the best materials available and ensure longer service life. These products are built to meet the high demands of professionals, while offering precision engineering. Best-in-class, our products require little to no maintenance. We are not limited to the UK and Ireland only! We sell to distributors and stockists in Continental Europe too." About Birkdale Established in the mid-1980s as a fencing contractor, with supply to trade outlets commencing 10 years later, Birkdale has become the leading UK wholesale supplier of gate and fencing accessories. Known nationwide for their unbeatable quality and unrivalled customer service, Birkdale have a huge network of stockists and sell the largest range of gate and fencing accessories on the market today. For more information, please visit: https://www.birkdalesales.com Contact Details: Birkdale Sales, Granville House, Wallingford Road, Uxbridge UB8 2RW T: 0345 450 9000 F: 0345 450 9085 E: mail@birkdalesales.com Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- Caprylic Acid is a naturally produced acid found in palm oil, coconut and in bovine and human milk. Caprylic Acid is a part of fatty acid and it is also known as octanoic acid. This exists in the form of oily liquid which is minimally soluble in the water. Caprylic acid also contains the properties of antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory. The major factor which is driving the market of Caprylic acid is increase in the awareness for health and nutrition's. Now a day's people spent good part of their income on the health and tries to consume as health food as he can. They are turning towards organic foods and nutrition's which is helping the market of Caprylic Acid to grow. Apart from this the government and federal regulations for environment is also forcing the companies to move towards natural resources and companies are moving towards the natural resources in order to produce the Caprylic acids. Furthermore government is promoting the incentives programs to encourage the growth in the renewable natural fatty acids. The Americas will be the major revenue contributor to the caprylic acid supplement market throughout the forecast period. Due to the growing demand in the organic personal care products and food and beverages products by health-conscious consumers, caprylic acid market is experiencing high growth in the Americas. The global Caprylic Acid market was xx million US$ in 2018 and is expected to xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% between 2019 and 2025. This report studies the Caprylic Acid market size (value and volume) by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Ask for PDF Copy of this Report at https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1122417/global-caprylic-acid-market Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Caprylic Acid in these regions, from 2014 to 2025, covering North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam) South America (Brazil etc.) Middle East and Africa (Egypt and GCC Countries) The various contributors involved in the value chain of the product include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, intermediaries, and customers. The key manufacturers in this market include Oleon Wilmar International Acme Chem Ecogreen Oleochemicals Hallstar Pacific Oleochemicals P&G Chemicals Solazyme VVF By the product type, the market is primarily split into Coconut Oil Palm Oil Algal Oil Others By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments Food Additives Medicine Rubber and Latex Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Get Customized Report at https://www.qyresearch.com/customize-request/form/1122417/global-caprylic-acid-market About QYResearch QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry. Northbrook, IL -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- According to the new market research report "Data Acquisition System Market by Offering (Hardware, Software), Lifecycle Application (R&D, Field, Manufacturing), Vertical (Automotive & Transporation, Aerospace & Defense, Energy & Power, Environmental Monitoring, Food & Beverages), Region - Global Forecast to 2024", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Data Acquisition System Market is expected to grow from USD 1.8 billion in 2019 to USD 2.2 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 5.0%. Major factors driving the DAQ system market include the rising adoption of Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) and Smart Factory, using the data acquisition system. Ask for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=160241507 The hardware segment is expected to hold the largest share in the global DAQ system market during the forecast period The DAQ system market has been segmented on the basis of offering into 2 categories: Hardware and Software. Among hardware, external chassis and module holds the largest size of the DAQ system market. Moreover, the growth of DAQ system hardware is attributed to its wide use due to the modular design and various combinations can be arranged to satisfy a wide range of customized experimental setups with the help of data acquisition hardware. The Field DAQ is expected to grow at the highest CAGR in the global DAQ system market during the forecast period Among all lifecycle applications, the market for field DAQ is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This growth is due to increasing use of DAQ system on field in testing various automotive components thereby reducing the development time of the product. Competitive pressure is forcing engineers to perform product development faster, thus driving demand for field data acquisition. Field data acquisition includes rugged devices that allows to take accurate measurements as close to sensors as possible, even under a full range of environmental conditions. Data acquisition on field is used to record data such as strain, force, displacement, acceleration, pressure, temperature, speed and noise. These data are further filtered and analyzed to verify design parameters verses the actual performance of the product. Furthermore, the same data help decide test criteria for laboratory conditions. Data acquisition devices in field application help reduce the developmental time of the product. Asia Pacific is expected to hold the largest share of the DAQ system market during the forecast period The market in APAC is expected to witness the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The market in China is expected to grow mainly because the number of automotive manufacturing units in China is increasing, which is expected to create a huge demand for DAQ system. The demand for process automation & instrumentation is very high in APAC owing to the increasing investment in power transmission and distribution. China, India, and Japan are considered as largest electricity generators in the APAC. Browse in-depth TOC on "Data Acquisition System Market" 74 Tables 48 Figures 155 Pages Request Sample Pages of the Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=160241507 Key players in the DAQ system ecosystem include National Instruments (Texas), Keysight Technologies (US), Siemens (Germany), HBM (Germany), Yokogawa Electric (Japan), ABB Ltd (Switzerland), Honeywell International (US), Rockwell Automation (US), AMETEK Inc (US), Emerson Electric (US),etc. About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Shelly Singh MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- There is a rising demand for flies repellent containing natural active ingredients. At present, the market size of flies and other insect repellent products containing synthetic active ingredients is more than the market size of products containing natural active ingredients. Flies repellent products made from natural active ingredients are harmless to humans. The global Flies Repellent market was xx million US$ in 2018 and is expected to xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx% between 2019 and 2025. This report studies the Flies Repellent market size (value and volume) by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018 and forecast data 2019-2025; This report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share and growth Rate of Flies Repellent in these regions, from 2014 to 2025, covering North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Turkey etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam) South America (Brazil etc.) Middle East and Africa (Egypt and GCC Countries) Get your Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1102075/global-flies-repellent-market The various contributors involved in the value chain of the product include manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, intermediaries, and customers. The key manufacturers in this market include 3M S.C. Johnson & Son Reckitt Benckiser Group Godrej Consumer Products Spectrum Brands Holdings New Avon Coghlan's ExOfficio PIC Corporation By the product type, the market is primarily split into Sprays/Aerosol Cream & Oil Others By the end users/application, this report covers the following segments Online Offline Get Detail Report Inbox within 24 hours @ https://www.qyresearch.com/index/detail/1102075/global-flies-repellent-market Benefits of Purchasing QY Research Report - Analyst Support: Get you query resolved from our expert analysts before and after purchasing the report - Customer's Satisfaction: Our expert team will assist with all your research needs and customize the report - Inimitable Expertise: Analysts will provide deep insights about the reports - Assured Quality: We focus on the quality and accuracy of the report Get Full Report for $3,350 delivery time within 24 hours @ https://www.qyresearch.com/settlement/pre/a5230638eced1d9e4f83f4cf87af3177,0,1,Global%20Flies%20Repellent%20Market%20Report,%20History%20and%20Forecast%202014-2025,%20Breakdown%20Data%20by%20Manufacturers,%20Key%20Regions,%20Types%20and%20Application About QYResearch QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry. Pune, Maharashtra -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- Foliar fertilizers are steadily gaining ground in the agriculture industry as an effective multifaceted solution to enhance plant vitals. Increasing importance of crop nutrition, backed by the rising government initiatives continues to influence the demand for foliar fertilizers. Sales of foliar fertilizers are expected to increase on the back of the increasing demand for agricultural produce worldwide. These insights are according to a new study on foliar fertilizer market by Fact.MR. According to the report, demand for foliar fertilizer is projected to expand at a CAGR of 4.0% with respect to volume during the period of forecast, 2018-2028. Steady demand for foliar fertilizer is likely to translate into significant sales volumes crossing 3,400,000 metric tons by the end of the assessment period. Effective training programs provided by the governments regarding the use of foliar fertilizer continues to remain instrumental in driving the foliar fertilizer sales worldwide. Moreover, subsidy provisions by governments in fertilizer space has translated into increased farmer confidence in using the foliar fertilizer, says the report. For instance, the government of India has declared a subsidy of around US$ 10,000 Mn in 2018 encouraging the farmers to improve the agricultural yield. Rising awareness regarding benefits of foliar fertilizer is expected to contribute to the growing sales volumes of the product in the coming years. Request Sample Report @ https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=1031 Foliar fertilizer sales with nitrogen composition are likely to be on an upswing on the back of the growing demand for the nutrient in crop rejuvenation. Nitrogen, a key element in crop health, facilitates efficient photosynthesis, protein production and overall plant physiology. Fact.MR report opines that sales volume of foliar fertilizer with nitrogen composition is estimated to cross 1,800,000 metric tons by 2019 end. On the contrary, the demand for potassium foliar fertilizer is projected to grow at a relatively rapid pace in the light of high pest and disease resistance and fruit quality enhancing properties. Potassium foliar fertilizer also facilitates rapid formation and movement of sugars, starches and oils in crops, in turn, enhancing the plant nutrition. Sales of mineral foliar fertilizer are expected to gain increasing momentum across key regional markets. Mineral foliar fertilizer are expected to account for a major share in the overall foliar fertilizer market as compared to the organic foliar fertilizer. However, organic foliar fertilizer is expected to gain traction on the back of larger profit margins that they offer. Against this backdrop, manufacturers and suppliers of organic foliar fertilizer are introducing new products. For instance, Gronn Gjodsel AS has introduced Pepton 85/16, an organic foliar fertilizer featuring high nutritional content. The demand for foliar fertilizer in enhancing fruits and veritable health is expected to soar at a significant pace during the period of forecast. However, sales of foliar fertilizer for cereals and grains are expected to account for a larger value and volume share in the foliar fertilizer market. Browse Full Report @ https://www.factmr.com/report/1031/foliar-fertilizer-market Sales of foliar fertilizer are likely to remain concentrated in the Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region, particularly in the emerging economies of China and India. The APEJ region's growing agriculture industry coupled with the increasing population rates are expected to create avenues for foliar fertilizer manufacturers, according to the report. In addition, the demand for foliar fertilizer in Latin America, particularly in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, is projected to expand at a robust rate throughout the forecast period. Albeit nutritional benefits, foliar burn is expected to challenge the growth of the foliar fertilizer market. Foliar fertilizer feeding permits the nutrients to enter the vascular system of the plant through direct stem and lead absorption. However, improper foliar fertilizer application, can be detrimental to the plant's health. In bright sunlight, application of foliar fertilizer can result in foliar burns owing to liquid deposition on leaf, resulting in heat amplification. This aspect is likely to dent farmers' confidence about foliar fertilizer and impact the sales. You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.factmr.com/checkout/1031/S Table of Contents Covered in the report are: 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Foliar Fertilizer Market Global Review 1.2. Wheel of Fortune 1.3. Opportunity Assessment 1.4. Strategy Review 2. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Introduction and Definition 2.1. Market Introduction & Definition 2.2. Market Taxonomy and Segments Captured 3. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Dynamics & Overview 4. Actionable Insights and Analysis 4.1. Prominent Plant Nutrients 4.2. Importance Of Fertilizers 4.3. Functions of major nutrients 4.4. Nutrient removal for different crops 4.5. Nutrients Requirement at different stages 4.6. Nutrients Application by crops 4.7. Fertilizer Consumption by Region-2017 4.8. Fertilizer Production by Region-2017 4.9. Fertilizer Consumption & Production by Key Country 4.10. Supply Demand Scenario 4.11. Regional potential balance of nitrogen, phosphate and potash 4.12. Global Agricultural Land Scenario 4.13. Major catalysts of change reshaping global market 4.14. Impactful Trend Transforming Global Foliar Fertilizer Market 4.15. Challenges & Opportunities 4.16. Comparison between Mineral & Organic Fertilizer 4.17. Farmers Sentimental Analysis 4.18. PESTLE Analysis 4.19. Porters Five Forces Analysis 5. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Analysis and Forecast, 2013-2028 5.1. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Value (US$ Mn) and Volume (MT) Analysis 5.1.1. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Value (US$ Mn) Analysis by Composition 5.1.2. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Value (US$ Mn) Analysis by Crop Type 5.1.3. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Value (US$ Mn) Analysis by Nature 5.1.4. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Value (US$ Mn) Analysis by Region 5.2. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Analysis and Forecast by Composition 5.2.1. Market Share Comparison, By Composition 5.2.2. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By Composition 5.2.3. Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Composition 5.2.4. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis by Composition 5.3. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Analysis and Forecast by Crop Type 5.3.1. Market Share Comparison, By Crop Type 5.3.2. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By Crop Type 5.3.3. Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Crop Type 5.3.4. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis by Crop Type 5.4. Global Foliar Fertilizer Market Analysis and Forecast by Nature 5.4.1. Market Share Comparison, By Nature 5.4.2. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By Nature 5.4.3. Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Nature 5.4.4. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis by Nature And Continue.... New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- The latest report Military Aerospace Engine discusses everything a business owner needs to know about the Military Aerospace Engine market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026. The document offers an insight into what the target customer's needs and wants. Industry experts have extracted data from various sources on size, share, growth rate, production volume, production capacity, import and export status, distribution channels and more and have analysed it thoroughly. By properly assessing the competitors and their offerings the study aims at empowering business owners to step ahead. 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To conclude the status of import and export, supply chain management, distribution channels, production volume, production capacity, product price, profit, sale and others elements are covered in the report. Continued Browse the report description @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/united-states-military-aerospace-engine-market About MarketExpertz Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges. Contact Us: John Watson Head of Business Development Market Expertz | Web: www.marketexpertz.com Direct Line: +1-800-819-3052 E-mail: sales@marketexpertz.com News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/03/2019 -- Global Automotive Sealants Market analysis mainly introduces the changing market dynamics in terms of covering all details inside analysis and opinion, volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and their price change details, cost/revenue structure. Additionally, the analysis offers a detailed breakdown of key market growth drivers and limitation along with impact analysis of the same. Asia Pacific will account for a significant share in the automotive sealants market. This can be credited to the increasing vehicle production across the region. Moreover, the presence of major automobile manufacturers including Suzuki, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai among others offering a wide portfolio of vehicles catering to diversified customers further expands the business demand. Request For Table Of Content @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-toc/upcoming/3309 Based on vehicle, the automotive sealants market share can be classified into PCV, LCV, and HCV. The PCV will account for a significant share owing to the rising vehicle production globally. Additionally, improvements in sealants including water-proof capabilities, UV resistance, and chemical stability further expands the segment share. Increasing investments by automobile manufactures to upgrade vehicle manufacturing technologies along with adoption of technologically advanced materials for vehicle production are expected to further boost the revenue generation. Based on material, the automotive sealants market share can be categorized into epoxy, acrylic, rubber, silicones, polyurethane, and others. The silicones will account for a significant share owing to the benefits offered by the material including superior adhesion and bonding. The material is also ideal for inducing enhanced NHV properties in vehicles. The higher temperature resistance along with superior design flexibility further expands the segment share over the study timeframe. Based on application, the automotive sealants market share is segmented into interior, exterior, and others. The interior segment will account for a significant share owing to the requirement for appropriate adhesion and boding for multiple vehicle interior components. Additionally, the proliferation of a diversified range of electronics and interior trims along with expanding customization alternatives to the consumers further supports the industry share. Make an inquiry before buying this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/3309 The automotive sealants market share based on distribution channel can be segmented into OEM and aftermarket. The rising cases of automobile accidents across the globe are boosting the aftermarket growth over the projected timeframe. Additionally, the requirement for replacements and refurbishments of sealants after a certain driving age owing to wear and tear further expands the segment size. Most of the automotive sealant manufactures are investing in innovative manufacturing processes for producing advanced sealants based on biotechnology for complying to the stringent efficiency norms. Renewable technologies are gaining significant popularity in the market share owing to reducing reliance on petrochemical products along with improving the sealants adhesion properties. Browse Full Report Summary @ https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/automotive-sealants-market Few of the key industry players include H.B. Fuller Company, PPG Industries, DowDuPont Inc., 3M Company, Henkel AG & Co., and EFTEC AG. Industry participants are adopting multiple strategies including strategic acquisitions and joint ventures for expanding their market share. For instance, in 2016, Henkel AG in collaboration with Anand Group announced the construction of its adhesive and sealant manufacturing plant in India. About Global Market Insights: Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, an international team of researchers from Sweden and the United Kingdom assessed the heritability of dog ownership in the Swedish Twin Registry, the largest twin cohort in the world. The results show that genetic variation explains more than half of the variation in dog ownership, implying that the choice of getting a dog is influenced by the genetic makeup of an individual. The relationship between humans and dogs is the longest of all the domestic animals, yet the origin and history of perhaps our most iconic companion animal remains an enigma, said Uppsala Universitys Professor Tove Fall and colleagues. Dogs were the first domesticated animal and have had a close relationship with humans for at least 15,000 years. Today, they are common pets in our society and have been linked to increased well-being and improved health outcomes in their owners. A dog in the family during childhood is associated with ownership in adult life. The underlying factors behind this association could be related to experiences or to genetic influences. We aimed to investigate the heritability of dog ownership in a large twin sample including all twins in the Swedish Twin Registry born between 1926 and 1996 and alive in 2006. The researchers analyzed data from 35,035 twin pairs from the Swedish Twin Registry. Studying twins is a well-known method for disentangling the influences of environment and genes on our biology and behavior, they explained. Because identical twins share their entire genome, and non-identical twins on average share only half of the genetic variation, comparisons of the within-pair concordance of dog ownership between groups can reveal whether genetics play a role in owning a dog. The team found concordance rates of dog ownership to be much larger in identical twins than in non-identical ones, supporting the view that genetics indeed plays a major role in the choice of owning a dog. We were surprised to see that a persons genetic make-up appears to be a significant influence in whether they own a dog, Professor Fall said. As such, these findings have major implications in several different fields related to understanding dog-human interaction throughout history and in modern times. These kind of twin studies cannot tell us exactly which genes are involved, but at least demonstrate for the first time that genetics and environment play about equal roles in determining dog ownership, added Dr. Patrik Magnusson, of Karolinska Insitutet. The next obvious step is to try to identify which genetic variants affect this choice and how they relate to personality traits and other factors such as allergy. The study has major implications for understanding the deep and enigmatic history of dog domestication, said University of Liverpools Dr. Keith Dobney. These findings are important as they suggest that supposed health benefits of owning a dog reported in some studies may be partly explained by different genetics of the people studied, added Dr. Carri Westgarth, also from the University of Liverpool. _____ Tove Fall et al. 2019. Evidence of large genetic influences on dog ownership in the Swedish Twin Registry has implications for understanding domestication and health associations. Scientific Reports 9, article number: 7554; doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-44083-9 Schrodingers cat, a thought experiment envisioned by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger in 1935, is a paradox that applies the concept of superposition in quantum physics to objects encountered in everyday life. The idea is that a cat is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive source and a poison that will be triggered if an atom of the radioactive substance decays. Quantum physics suggests that the cat is both alive and dead, until someone opens the box and, in doing so, changes the quantum state. Now a team of physicists from Yale University and the University of Auckland has figured out how to catch and save Schrodingers famous cat by anticipating its jumps and acting in real time to save it from proverbial doom. The discovery enables physicists to set up an early warning system for imminent jumps of artificial atoms containing quantum information. For a tiny object such as an electron, molecule, or an artificial atom containing quantum information (a qubit), a quantum jump is the sudden transition from one of its discrete energy states to another. In developing quantum computers, researchers crucially must deal with the jumps of the qubits, which are the manifestations of errors in calculations. The quantum jumps were theorized by Danish physicist Niels Bohr a century ago, but not observed until the 1980s, in atoms. The new experiments peer into the actual workings of a quantum jump for the first time. The results reveal a surprising finding that contradicts Bohrs established view the jumps are neither abrupt nor as random as previously thought. These jumps occur every time we measure a qubit. Quantum jumps are known to be unpredictable in the long run, said Professor Michel Devoret, from Yale University and the Yale Quantum Institute. Despite that, we wanted to know if it would be possible to get an advance warning signal that a jump is about to occur imminently, added Yale Universitys Dr. Zlatko Minev. The scientists used a special approach to indirectly monitor a superconducting artificial atom, with three microwave generators irradiating the atom enclosed in a 3D cavity made of aluminum. The doubly indirect monitoring method, developed by the team for superconducting circuits, allows the researchers to observe the atom with unprecedented efficiency. Microwave radiation stirs the artificial atom as it is simultaneously being observed, resulting in quantum jumps. The tiny quantum signal of these jumps can be amplified without loss to room temperature. Here, their signal can be monitored in real time. This enabled the physicists to see a sudden absence of detection photons (photons emitted by an ancillary state of the atom excited by the microwaves); this tiny absence is the advance warning of a quantum jump. The beautiful effect displayed by this experiment is the increase of coherence during the jump, despite its observation, Professor Devoret said. You can leverage this to not only catch the jump, but also reverse it, Dr. Minev added. This is a crucial point. While quantum jumps appear discrete and random in the long run, reversing a quantum jump means the evolution of the quantum state possesses, in part, a deterministic and not random character; the jump always occurs in the same, predictable manner from its random starting point. Quantum jumps of an atom are somewhat analogous to the eruption of a volcano, Dr. Minev said. They are completely unpredictable in the long term. Nonetheless, with the correct monitoring we can with certainty detect an advance warning of an imminent disaster and act on it before it has occurred. The teams paper appears in the journal Nature. _____ Z.K. Minev et al. To catch and reverse a quantum jump mid-flight. Nature, published online June 3, 2019; doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1287-z SINGAPORE, Jun. 3 (ChinaMil) -- On June 1, Chinese defense and security experts made statements on Chinas position regarding hot topics, including new mode of defense cooperation, maritime security cooperation, and cyber security, at the ongoing 18th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, and proposed valuable advice. Major General Ci Guowei, chief of the Office for International Military Cooperation of Chinas Central Military Commission (CMC), addressed a special session on New Model of Defense Cooperation during the dialogue. He said that China is fully aware that its peaceful development is closely linked with the future of the Asia-Pacific. China advocates active bilateral and multilateral security dialogue and cooperation, and strive to facilitate regional cooperation in both economy and security. China adopts a holistic approach to security governance that addresses both symptoms and root causes. Major General Ci Guowei pointed out that China advocates positive interactions between major countries for defense cooperation. Only when major-country relations remain generally stable could the Asia-Pacific enjoy relative tranquility. Major General Ci stressed that China advocates building an open and inclusive architecture for defense cooperation. Military blocs left over from the cold war are the choices of only a small number of countries and do not represent the preference of the majority of regional and international communities. Ci added that the Cold War mentality delineated by ideology and friend-foe camps has become outdated. In addition, Major General Ci expressed that China should focus on practical cooperation in non-traditional security. Compared with traditional security issues, non-traditional security is an area where countries have more consensuses and more joint engagement. Therefore, for greater mutual trust, we should proceed from the lower-hanging fruits and continue our cooperation with non-traditional security as the priority, he added. Regarding maritime security and cooperation, Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, director of the Center for Security Cooperation at the CMC Office for International Military Cooperation, said that China attaches great importance to maritime security. The reason for China to propose jointly building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road is to facilitate maritime connectivity, pragmatic cooperation, as well as to promote common security through economic development. Senior Colonel Zhou also said that the Chinese armed forces remain committed to working with their foreign counterparts to safeguard maritime peace and tranquility. China has also conducted extensive dialogues and consultations with relevant countries on maritime security. Undoubtedly, these consultations and dialogues as well as cooperation, will play a positive role in promoting maritime security and avoiding maritime incidents and conflicts. In addition, Senior Colonel Zhou said that close-range military activities that are considered unfriendly or even hostile by the other party should be reduced or avoided to prevent maritime conflicts. In the future, Asia-Pacific nations should be further encouraged to carry out dialogues and exercises to avoid dangerous military operations both at sea and in the air. When talking about cyber security issues, Xu Manshu, a professor with the National Security Academy of PLAs National Defense University, said that the rapid development of information technology has brought new challenges to both national and global security. The international community hopes to find measures to reduce risks of instability. Preventing conflicts and crises in cyberspace requires all parties to continue in their efforts to find way out of security impasse and consolidate mutual trust. Professor Xu also suggested that countries should establish an information notification mechanism to exchange concerns about cyber security and information about network policy changes on a regular basis, in order to gain a better understanding of their differences, divergences and common grounds in cyber security. Thereafter, a communication mechanism at the working level may be established, in a bid to maintain diversified communicative channels, ensure emergency handling and coordination during crisis, and avoid misjudgment. The 18th Shangri-La Dialogue was held in Singapore on May 31 and was attended by defense ministers, military officials, experts and scholars from about 40 countries. HullWipers patented Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) system uses adjustable seawater jets under variable pressure to remove fouling, instead of brushes or abrasives, minimising the risk of damage to expensive anti-fouling coatings. Our ROV is a good fit to support the initiatives of the Panama Canal Authorities to provide a green solution for vessels in transit, said Simon Doran, HullWiper managing director. Our system boosts vessel efficiency and fuel savings to reduce CO2 emissions, whilst minimising the risk of damage to expensive anti-fouling coatings and the spread of marine biofouling. Talleres Industriales managing director, Lino Arosemena, said: We are excited to introduce HullWiper in the Panama Canal area, says Our company has been serving the area for half a century, and now more than 1,200 vessels we attend to every year will have the opportunity to use this new service. HullWiper now operates from ports in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Singapore, Spain, Netherlands, Egypt, Australia, UK, United Arab Emirates and on an ad hoc basis at key locations across the Middle East. New operations in Mauritius are coming in the second quarter of 2019 and it is available for lease where HullWiper does not have its own base. The contracts include Total Tyra redevelopment project, an inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) campaign for Repsol Sinopec, a decommissioning contract with Spirit Energy, a scale squeeze scope for Premier Oils Huntington field. Aberdeen-headquartered Boskalis Subsea Services said these contracts have led to the company creating around 30 new jobs since February, bringing the total workforce in Aberdeen up to more than 80. The company has booked 750 vessel days with their bespoke dive support vessels, the BOKA Atlantis, BOKA DaVinci and BOKA Constructor for 2019. A further 1,000 days are booked for 2020 and beyond, with more than 600 coming from an IRM project in the Middle East. The subsea services firm has also taken more space at their new purpose-built offices in Westhill, Aberdeenshire. The 10-year lease is now for 8,565 square feet over two floors with capacity to accommodate further growth. As predicted in a recovering market, the major players are going after the larger contracts and there is a natural space for a more agile, responsive service that is committed to the highest standards in health, safety, quality and environmental performance along with first class project execution, said Stuart Cameron, managing director of Boskalis Subsea Services. In addition to the recent contract awards, Boskalis Subsea Services has secured Master Service Agreements with most of the operators in the North Sea. Last year, Boskalis decided to give the UK more focus which has driven the growth in Aberdeen, where we are able to offer our customers diving services, SURF delivery and, of course, specialist IRM solutions, Cameron said. Increased transparency on safety was one of five areas of focus outlined by DNV GL ceo of maritime Knut rbeck-Nilssen at a press briefing for Nor-Shipping in Oslo. rbeck-Nilssen highlighted the report into the fatal sinking of the converted ore carrier in 2017, which took some two years to be released and questioned why preliminary findings could not have been released earlier. Now two years is really quite a long time if you think about it if you think about what can happen from the time accident occurred to recommendations being made. I think this is two year wasted time, he said. With DNV GL also having vessels converted from VLCCs on its books it undertook its own investigations. We did our own internal investigations because we had converted VLCCs and we came up with preliminary findings at the end of 2017. I see no reason why the official investigators could not have released their preliminary findings at that stage and we could have had access to that information, he said. rbeck-Nilssen said the Norwegian Maritime Authoritys issuing of a preliminary report within days of an incident involving the cruise ship Viking Sky earlier provided a good example of what should happen. I think that is the way to go and think we have to take that fast learning on board, he said. The comments came as part of push on maritime safety as it is threatened with being overshadowed by challenging markets, demanding environmental regulations, and new technologies. In a time when shipping is rapidly transforming, I believe it is crucial to put our primary focus on safety, making sure it is at the core of all changes whether it is ways of working, technology, or regulations, said rbeck-Nilssen. I have five proposals that I believe could benefit our industry and improve safety at sea. Firstly, to develop holistic regulations with safety at the core this is a challenge to the IMO and the classification societies when they are developing rules. Secondly, to improve the safety culture within shipping companies. Thirdly, to apply barrier management lessons from other industries. The fourth proposal is to increase transparency on incident findings. And finally, to unlock data silos for deeper insights into incidents and near-misses. China's foreign ministry has denounced a U.S. report that accuses China of being a "revisionist" power undermining the international order. The ministry deemed the claim made in America's first Indo-Pacific Strategy report as groundless. "China has always been safeguarding the international order," ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said. "China is the first country which signed on to the Charters of the United Nations, and has participated in more than 100 international organizations." Geng said China had signed over 500 multilateral treaties and contributed the largest number of peacekeeping troops of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council. "By contrast, the U.S. has been conducting unilateralism, protectionism and hegemonism," he said. "It withdrew from the Paris climate pact, which over 190 countries signed. It exited the Iran nuclear deal, the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, and many other international organizations. Although a member of the WTO, it violates international trade rules by using the weapon of tariffs. So who's the destroyer of the international order?" Press Release June 3, 2019 De Lima pays tribute to rights advocate Bob Bernstein Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has joined the people across the globe in mourning over the demise of renowned human rights champion and founder of Human Rights Watch (HRW) Robert "Bob" Bernstein. De Lima, a known human rights defender here and abroad, said Bernstein will always be remembered for his generous contributions to advancing human rights and freedom globally. "It is with deep sadness that I heard the news about the passing of Mr. Bob Bernstein, a staunch human rights defender and founder of Human Rights Watch (HRW). My deepest condolences to his family and loved ones," she said. "Mr. Bernstein's death is a great loss not just to the HRW family, but also to the global human rights community," she added. Bernstein has passed away at the age of 96 on May 27. His son confirmed that he died of respiratory failure. Bernstein, also a known publisher, devoted much of his life to human rights, a passion that reportedly deepened in the 1970s when he visited Moscow with a delegation of American publishers where he saw limitations on free expression. His human rights activities earned him numerous prestigious accolades, including the United States' first Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights, which was presented by President Bill Clinton, and a Social Justice Award from The New Press, to name a few. De Lima said she believes that Bernstein's vision and legacy for the causes of freedom, democracy and justice will continue to live in the years to come. "He will continue to inspire millions of us in protecting victims of abuses and defending dissidents against tyrants," said the former justice secretary. "Because no matter what our religious beliefs may be, no matter what professions we hold, no matter what our status in society, we are all called upon to respect the value of human rights and dignity," she added. Press Release June 3, 2019 Hontiveros joins pre-Independence Day celeb with Fil-Ams, calls for greater patriotism, defense of democracy Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Saturday, June 1, joined Filipino-Americans in a pre-Independence Day celebration event in California, sharing some of the Senate's legislative achievements while calling for the continued defense of Philippine democracy. In an event organized by Kalayaan, a non-government organization based in the United States, Hontiveros called on her countrymen and women to "come together and create spaces for meaningful conversations on issues that are important to the country." "While we may have differing opinions on where our country is going and the current state of governance, we are all bound by our love for the Philippines and our common desire to make lives better for Filipinos. I am hoping that for you, this means protecting women from misogynistic attacks, preserving our territories and natural resources from external incursions, protecting innocent people from the excesses of the police and the military, ensuring the freedom of the press as well as saying no to fake news," Hontiveros said. "The United States has consistently demonstrated to us, and as it is demonstrating to us now with the fascinating developments over the Mueller report, that a democracy, to be vibrant and strong, needs checks and balances. A President Donald Trump in the White House needs a Nancy Pelosi and an Alexandria Ocasio Cortez in Congress. In the same vein, a President Duterte in Malacanang needs as many independent and strong-minded legislators in the Congress as possible - all for the healthier and more sustained balance in the democratic systems of each country," Hontiveros added. Hontiveros, who is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Women and Vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Health, shared some of the Senate's legislative achievements in the 17th Congress, chief among them were the Expanded Maternity Leave Law, the Mental Health Law, and the Strengthened Anti-Hospital Deposit Law. She also discussed the Safe Streets and Public Spaces Act, which lapsed into law last April 21. The measure penalizes wolf-whistling, cat-calling, and all forms of street harassment by giving the intended victim the ability to call out the harasser in real time, and seek out help from the authorities and deputized personnel. "I am very happy to be the principal sponsor and author of these landmark measures. I thank my fellow Senators for helping me realize these important pieces of legislation. It demonstrates our hardwork, and is a reminder to countrymen and women that their faith in us was not misplaced," Hontiveros said. The pre-Independence Day event was held at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott. Press Release June 3, 2019 Hontiveros files resolution to investigate murder of labor organizer Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, on Monday condemned the murder of labor leader and fifth nominee of Partido Mangaggawa (PM), Dennis Sequena, who was shot dead in Barangay Bunga, Tanza, Cavite on Sunday. Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1062 authored by Hontiveros urged the Senate to investigate the killing of Sequena and other labor leaders and organizers. "I am deeply saddened by the murder of our fellow advocate Dennis Sequena, who lived his life advocating for Filipino workers and their families. We hope that the authorities are doing their best to bring peace and justice to the Sequena family," Hontiveros said "We have seen a pattern of intentional attacks on our laborers and farmers. We have been unable to protect our workers from the onset of this culture of violence and impunity enabled by the administration," she added. Hontiveros recalled the 2016 shooting of a PM trade union leader, 35 year-old Orlando Abangan and the 2018 strafing incident in Barangay Bulanon, Sagay City in Negros Occidental where nine (9) workers affiliated with the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW) engaging in a "bungkalan" activity or land cultivation in a hacienda were killed. "The Philippines is a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and is bound to protect the right to life of every human being. The right of our workers to organize themselves to rally for their quality of living should not come at the cost of their freedom and most importantly, their lives," Hontiveros said. Data by the the Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that the labor force participation rate is at 60.6% of the population. "Majority of Filipino families are of the working class. An attack against our workers is an attack on all of the Filipino people. We must find the masterminds behind these violent ploys, and hold them accountable for their assault on the Filipino people," she said. "We have a long history of unresolved agrarian and labor issues. As we continue to find solutions that will result in fair and just systems, it is the government's obligation to safeguard the freedom and rights of our workers, and to ensure that in doing so, they are free from all forms of violence," she said. Press Release June 3, 2019 5 things a kids' CongreZZ wants for their future MANILA -- "Why do we need laws?" Kian Jimenez, 10, asked Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan Monday, June 3. Kian is one of 14 kids who visited the Philippine Senate as members of the duly-elected KidZania CongreZZ, the legislative branch of KidZania. KidZania Manila is an interactive mini-city where kids take on roles in 65 establishments similar to the real world like airline pilot, pharmacist, and magazine writer. Having their own kid-sized city with their own set of rules, the Honorable CitiZens of KidZania elect their peers to a representative body of government that cares for their welfare and their city. These young legislators representing the five Ministries of KidZania went to the Senate to present the following manifestos to Senator Pangilinan: 1. A clean and safe environment Juhi, Angela, and Gale of the Ministry of Environment "We believe that everyone must have access to clean and safe environment," said Angela De Guzman. "We believe that everyone should also be responsible for their actions that might impact our environment," said Gale Julian Cera. "We believe that everyone, especially the Filipino children, must know how to take care of the environment and should encourage others in doing their part as well," said Juhi Chandiramani. "Because we only have one world to live in and we should save it," they said. Senator Pangilinan agreed. "We must address plastics, pollution -- smoking, water, air, noise pollution. It should be crime-free. Children should be able to walk [around the city] safely." 2. Accessible quality education Happy, Renz, and Jiada of the Ministry of Education "We believe that education plays a vital role in our lives as it shapes our future," said Happy Aguilar. "We believe that every Filipino child should have the right to accessible quality education," said Jiada Javier. "We believe that education is crucial in informing us of the [bad] things that happen in our society, learn from it, and make sure to control it from happening again," said Renz Emperador. "Because quality education is the key to success in building the whole nation," said Happy. Senator Pangilinan then asked what their proposals are for accessible quality education to which Happy replied, "We should have something that interests the children and suitable for the generation in today's world. If something interests the child, they would enjoy learning it." 3. Fair compensation Kian, Liz, and Andrea of Ministry of Labor "We believe that everyone must learn the importance of working hard, in earning fair salary," said Andrea Sta. Maria. "We believe that everyone is entitled to fair salary compensation. We believe that people should learn how to save and spend their money wisely," said Kian Jimenez. "Because the value of hard work is a value that anyone can pass on to their children and having fair salary can pay for better home, food, and other needs," said Liz Castigo. Senator Pangilinan shared how human beings are the number one resource of any organization. "You have to make sure that your workers are paid well, given fair salary," he said. 4. Access to and responsible use of technology Patricia and Riley of Ministry of Information Technology "We believe that everyone should have easy access to technology, regardless of social status," said Patricia Balatbat. "We believe that everyone should use technology responsibly and in a good way," said Riley Catral. "We believe that more technological jobs should be made available in our country," said Patricia. "Because having advancements in technology will help our country solve information accessibility and could create more jobs," they said. Senator Pangilinan asked how they propose to go about their manifesto to which Patricia replied, "I want to encourage [children] to do it themselves instead of adults doing it for them." 5. Anthem, language, and history Kim, Kate, and Jillian of the Ministry of Culture "We believe that Filipino children must learn the National Anthem of the Philippines by heart and show respect to it whenever it is being played," said Kate Amarille. "We believe that it is important for Filipino children to learn Filipino, our National Language, and its importance in connecting everybody and we believe that learning and embracing the history of our country is important for Filipino children, so they can understand how our culture and traditions came into existence," said Kim Amarille. "Because Philippines is our country and knowing our culture shows how proud we are as Filipino citizens," said Jillian Salinas. Senator Pangilinan stressed the importance of identity in culture, and asked, "Can you imagine if we don't know who we are?" "Mind-blown!" the kids replied. So why do we need laws? Senator Pangilinan said laws are like the rules in one's home. "Rules are there to benefit those who are covered by those rules... Laws are there to help us, so that we may benefit from these laws, so that it may benefit the citizens. Laws are crafted for the general welfare," Senator Pangilinan said. With these 8- to 15-year-old CongreZZ kids who ask the hard questions and who are clear about what they want, the future can only be bright. Press Release June 3, 2019 Bill authorizing UP to sell land in Brgy. Krus Na Ligas gets Senate nod A bill authorizing the University of the Philippines (UP) to sell a portion of its land to the Quezon City local government has been approved on third and final reading in the Senate. Senate Bill No. 2234 was approved with 19 affirmative votes, no negative vote and zero abstention. The bill authorizes UP to sell a parcel of its land in Barangay Krus Na Ligas to the local government of Quezon City not exceeding 22,467 hectares at a fair market price that is acceptable to the University. The bill was authored by Senate Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Chiz Escudero, chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture. Under the bill, the authorization shall automatically be revoked if the University and the Quezon City local government would fail to agree on the terms and conditions of the sale within one year from the effectivity of the act or when full payment would not be received by the University within one year after the execution of the agreement. Upon transfer of ownership of the parcels of land in Barangay Krus Na Ligas from the UP to the Quezon City local government, the latter shall immediately fence off the property of the University to segregate it from the area being sold. The Quezon City local government shall create a technical working group to identify the legitimate residents of Barangay Krus Na Ligas, who shall be qualified buyers of the parcels of land in Barangay Krus Na Ligas. The technical working group shall also assist the University, at the expense of the Quezon City local government, to resettle all other settlers found in the remaining property of the University that is adjacent to the parcels of land in Barangay Krus Na Ligas. Press Release June 3, 2019 Senate approves Community Service Act The Senate today passed on third and final reading a bill seeking to decongest the country's jails by authorizing the court to require community service instead of jail terms for minor offenses. Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, and sponsor of the measure, cited the timeliness of the measure's approval, considering that the country's jail congestion rate is at 436 percent "making it the world's second highest most overcrowded prison in the world, next to Haiti." Senate Bill No. 2195 or the proposed Community Service Act, substitutes SBNs 590, 1448, and 1452 authored by Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Sonny Angara and JV Ejercito, and Gordon, respectively. Under the measure, the court may require a defendant to render community service for as long as the offense is punishable by arresto menor and arresto mayor. Under the Revised Penal Code, offenders who are meted arresto mayor must serve a jail term of one month and one day to six months, while those who are punished with arresto menor must complete one day to 30 days in jail. The measure further states that defendants shall render community service in the place were the crime was committed. They shall be placed under the supervision of a probation officer, and must also undergo counseling under the social welfare and development officer assigned by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). This will give the defendants "a chance to change, rehabilitate and reintegrate themselves into the community," Gordon said. Upon the completion of community service, the court shall then order the defendant's release unless there is a need for detention for some other crime. If the defendant, meanwhile, violates the terms of his or her community service, the court is authorized to order his or her re-arrest. The defendant shall then serve the full time of his or her penalty in jail, or at home under the surveillance of an officer of the law as provided in Article 88 of the Revised Penal Code. "If he violates the terms of community service, the court shall order his re-arrest and the defendant shall serve the full term of the penalty, as the case may be, in jail," Gordon said. The community service privilege may only be availed of once, to ensure that it will not be abused, Gordon added. Resolution approved to determine sea lines between Phl, Indonesia The Senate today adopted a resolution concurring in the ratification of the agreement between the Philippines and Indonesia regarding the delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ) boundary. Senate Resolution 1048 was adopted with 20 affirmative votes, no negative vote and zero abstention. The agreement establishes the boundary line that delimits the overlapping Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines and Indonesia. Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said the adoption of the resolution would resolve and protect the rights and well-being of Filipino vessels and fishermen arrested, detained or meted punitive actions for fishing in Indonesia or another State's EEZ. Senate President Vicente Sotto III has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to look into the plight of fishermen currently detained in Indonesia and to direct the concerned authorities to pursue the immediate resolution of their cases. Under the agreement, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its Indonesian counterpart, the Geospatial Information Agency and the Hydro-Oceanographic Office of the Indonesian Navy shall work together to determine the actual delineation of the sea points and geodetic lines between the two countries. Summerset Group has bought land to build two new retirement villages, and expects to invest about $290 million developing the sites. The retirement village operator and developer bought an 11-hectare site in Whangarei and an eight-hectare property in Cambridge for undisclosed sums. Summerset expects each new village to have more than 200 units and about 70 serviced apartments, plus rest home and hospital care facilities. The company will spend about $150 million developing the Cambridge site and $140 million on the Whangarei village. "In the last 18 months we have focused on buying a mix of broadacre sites in urban fringe locations, retirement destinations, and high growth regional centres," chief executive Julian Cook said in a statement. "When added to our urban sites such as Ellerslie, St Johns, Parnell, and Lower Hutt we have a good mix of new villages across New Zealand." The company noted the impact of slowing housing markets in Auckland and Christchurch in its first-quarter sales, but moved to reassure shareholders at its annual meeting in April that demand for its product remains robust and will continue to grow over time. The two new acquisitions take Summerset's landbank to 12 properties, and it has 26 villages operating or under development. The Cambridge acquisition is subject to Overseas Investment Office approval. Summerset shares last traded at $5.54, and are down 24 percent over the past 12 months. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY Signs A$20m Corporate Debt Facility 24th December 2021 Morning Report Goodman Property Trust (NZX: GMT) GMT to develop North Shore facility for NZ Post 23rd December 2021 Morning Report SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) EXPANDS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH GIG Spark New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPK) Spark to take full ownership of Connect 8 22nd December 2021 Morning Report Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZX: PCT) Wynyard Quarter Stage 3 Commenced AMP Limited (NZX: AMP) Announces Delisting from the NZX Main Board 21st December 2021 Morning Report Greymouth Petroleum says it will meet with officials soon to arrange the surrender of part of its Kowhai petroleum mining permit in Taranaki. The High Court last week endorsed a condition of the original 2009 permit that required Greymouth to relinquish non-producing parts of the 68 square-kilometre licence after 48 months, ultimately extended to 90 months. The condition was not in breach of the Crown Minerals Act, and nor were the areas to be surrendered restricted only to parts of the permit that had been drilled, Justice Robert Dobson ruled. Greymouth, the second-largest New Zealand-based gas producer after Todd Corporation, had previously offered to surrender a strip down the western side of the permit equivalent to almost 39 percent of its area but had resisted calls from New Zealand Petroleum & Minerals to surrender a broader area. Executive chairman Mark Dunphy said the courts decision, which also prevents NZP&M revoking the permit, had provided important clarity on how the dispute can be resolved. Well be in touch with the regulator and we would hope that the consensus that we would expect now exists, should exist and that we will achieve a timely resolution, he told BusinessDesk. The eastern part of the Kowhai permit is very important to us. The Kowhai permit PMP 51378 - runs from the coast, taking in Waitara, Tikorangi and Huirangi to the south. The northern part of the permit adjoins Greymouths Turangi permit to the east, while the south-eastern part adjoins Todds Mangahewa acreage. Kowhai produced about 5.5 petajoules of gas in 2018, according to government data. It and Turangi field delivered 17 PJ of gas that year, about 10 percent of the national supply. Greymouth had gone to the High Court seeking a judicial review to prevent NZP&M requiring it to surrender parts of the permit the regulator considered non-producing. It also disputed NZP&Ms claim that the permit could be revoked after Greymouth had not submitted a work programme acceptable to it at least three months ahead of the due date for the new plan. Dunphy said Greymouths operating practice wasnt to take on city hall, but the company felt it had to act in the face of what it considered an uncompromising and inconsistent approach by the regulator. The company had drilled six wells at Kowhai and had produced more than the reserves estimated at the time the permit was granted. In contrast, he said the partners at the OMV-operated Great South Basin permit off the Dunedin coast had just been granted a further permit extension, having never drilled a single well, despite that being a required within the first five years of that permit being granted in 2007. While a surrender obligation is usual with exploration permits, it is unusual once a mining permit has been granted under the Crown Minerals Act. The court heard a similar obligation was imposed when the offshore Tui mining permit was granted in 2005, but in that case the areas to be tested and surrendered if commercial hydrocarbons werent discovered was clear. In the Kowhai case, the court heard Greymouth had been keen in 2009 to get commercial production underway, but the regulator was unwilling to grant the relatively large mining permit, when the Kowhai field in the south was limited to such a small part of it. Greymouth volunteered the surrender condition to expedite the decision. Justice Dobson found the mining permit would not have been granted at the scale it was, unless the regulator was able to revisit that justification, once the results of further drilling could be taken into account. These circumstances demonstrate that the flexibility for the decision-maker to grant a PMP over a larger area than is initially justified, subject to subsequent revision of the justification for doing so, is a flexibility that is desirable in appropriate circumstances to advance the purposes of the statute. I am not persuaded that imposing a requirement for subsequent reduction in the area of a PMP is contrary to, or inconsistent with, the purposes of the CMA. The hearing in March heard that, early in the life of the permit, NZP&M became aware that Greymouths board was reluctant to confirm the area to be surrendered, in-part due to the terms of the firms banking covenants. Greymouth also appeared to believe the north-eastern part of the field adjoining its Turangi permit also held producible reserves. While it had offered to surrender western parts of the permit, it resisted NZP&M calls to surrender a broader area. Justice Dobson noted the evidence of reservoir engineer Mike Adams that surrendering the area demanded by NZP&M would mean surrendering the almost certainly gas bearing western flank of what is the Turangi field to the east. Adams, now chief executive of NZ Energy Corp, was a consultant to NZP&M when the permit was granted. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY Signs A$20m Corporate Debt Facility 24th December 2021 Morning Report Goodman Property Trust (NZX: GMT) GMT to develop North Shore facility for NZ Post 23rd December 2021 Morning Report SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) EXPANDS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH GIG Spark New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPK) Spark to take full ownership of Connect 8 22nd December 2021 Morning Report Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZX: PCT) Wynyard Quarter Stage 3 Commenced AMP Limited (NZX: AMP) Announces Delisting from the NZX Main Board 21st December 2021 Morning Report New Zealand shares snapped a five-day decline, as Auckland International Airport chalked up a record. Vector and Chorus were among stocks recovering from a recent sell-off over regulatory fears. The S&P/NZX Index increased 46.01 points, or 0.5 percent, to 10,117.99. Within the index, 24 stocks rose, 21 fell, and five were unchanged. Turnover was $162.8 million. "The market might finish up for the day. It'll be the first time this week, but there's really not a lot driving it," said Grant Williamson, a director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. Auckland International Airport rose as high as $8.78, ending the day at $8.765, up 1.7 percent on 2.3 million shares, almost twice its 90-day average of 1.2 million. The country's major gateway has climbed 22 percent so far this year, outpacing a 15 percent increase by the benchmark index. Williamson said the stock is widely held, but he was at a loss to explain the recent strength, given the dividend yield at 3.5 percent was less attractive than other utility or infrastructure companies. Vector led the market higher, up 2.5 percent at $3.73 on 126,000 shares. Auckland city's electricity and gas distribution network operator ended the week down 2.4 percent after a draft Commerce Commission decision declined assistance to help reduce the risk the firm faces from solar and other technologies that may reduce load on its network. Telecommunications utility Chorus rose 1.6 percent to $5.78, recovering some of its loss over the past fortnight since a draft consultation paper from the Commerce Commission spooked some investors into thinking the network operator may face a tougher regulatory framework than they thought. Retirement village stocks bounced back from recent selling pressure, with Ryman Healthcare up 2.2 percent at $11.58, Summerset Group rising 0.7 percent to $5.54, and Metlifecare increasing 1.4 percent to $4.47. Williamson said there was a bit of bargain-hunting after the retirement stocks were weighed on by a slowdown in Auckland's property market, which is seen as a tailwind for the sector. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare rose 0.3 percent to $15.40 on a volume of 1.5 million shares, more than twice its 90-day average. Williamson said the shares were sold off when some investors were disappointed by its record profit announcement earlier this week. Fonterra Shareholders' Fund units rose 1.3 percent to $3.99, having dropped to a record low yesterday after Fonterra said April milk collection was down by about 10 percent from a year earlier. Fonterra Cooperative Shares advanced 1.3 percent to $4. Spark New Zealand was the most traded stock on a volume of 3.9 million shares, still down on its average of 5.8 million. The shares rose 1.5 percent to $3.815. Goodman Property Trust increased 1.4 percent to $1.855 with 2.4 million units changing hands, while Argosy Property was up 1.2 percent at $1.32 on a volume of 2.2 million. Of other stocks trading on volumes of more than a million shares, Meridian Energy fell 0.7 percent to $4.24, Kiwi Property Group was down 0.3 percent at $1.575, Pushpay Holdings decreased 0.3 percent to $3.79, and Precinct Properties New Zealand was unchanged at $1.62. Synlait Milk reported the biggest decline for the day, down 3.1 percent at $8.87, its lowest close since December. A2 Milk was up 1.2 percent at $15.80. Sky Network Television hit an all-time low $1.19, ending the day down 1.6 percent at $1.20. Infratil fell 0.7 percent to $4.27 after saying the issues the Commerce Commission plans to assess when considering the company's joint purchase of Vodafone New Zealand were in line with expectations. Infratil said it believes there are strong reasons for the deal to be cleared. Separately, Infratil sold Snapper for a nominal sum, and said its Longroad Energy investment has started building a Texas solar project. WEL Networks more than doubled its annual profit, driven by an expanding fibre business and increasing power connections. The company's 2023 bonds, paying 4.9 percent annual interest, closed at a yield of 3.45 percent, down 25 basis points. The Local Government Funding Agency's 2025 bonds, paying 2.75 percent interest, were the most active debt security with 1.3 million notes traded. The yield was unchanged at 2.07 percent. (BusinessDesk) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY Signs A$20m Corporate Debt Facility 24th December 2021 Morning Report Goodman Property Trust (NZX: GMT) GMT to develop North Shore facility for NZ Post 23rd December 2021 Morning Report SkyCity Entertainment Group Limited (NZX: SKC) EXPANDS STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH GIG Spark New Zealand Limited (NZX: SPK) Spark to take full ownership of Connect 8 22nd December 2021 Morning Report Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited (NZX: PCT) Wynyard Quarter Stage 3 Commenced AMP Limited (NZX: AMP) Announces Delisting from the NZX Main Board 21st December 2021 Morning Report The defense ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan on Sunday vowed to maintain close cooperation in diplomatic efforts to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea. They made the pledge in a joint statement after more than 90 minutes of talks on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The three sides stressed the need for North Korea to fully abide by its international obligations in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions that call for "verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization. They also pledged to cooperate in preventing North Korea's smuggling of oil on the high seas. 2017 North Korean nuclear test 10 times larger than previous tests, new study finds WASHINGTON-- North Korea detonated a nuclear device in 2017 equivalent to about 250 kilotons of TNT, a new study estimates, creating an explosion 16 times the size of the bomb the United States detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. The new assessment of the 2017 explosion's size is on the high end of previous estimate ranges. The 2017 test was an order of magnitude larger than the previous five underground tests at North Korea's Punggye-ri test site, according to the new study in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. The new study took into account the geology of the test site to estimate the size of the explosions from distant seismic recordings of the blasts. "From 2006 to 2016 North Korea steadily increased the size of the events, from somewhere around 1 kiloton up to around 20 kilotons. The very early events looked like they didn't work very well, because they were unusually small. And then in one year they jumped up to 250-ish kilotons," said Thorne Lay, a seismologist at the University of California Santa Cruz and an author of the new study. "The scary thing is that this was such a big device." North Korea has been testing nuclear devices underground since 2006. The 2017 nuclear test caused a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey, and produced sound waves recorded by seismometers around the world. These reverberations are clues to the size of the blast, but determining the size of the explosion from a distance based on seismic recordings is not simple, said Lay, who has served on the Air Force Technical Application Center Seismic Review Panel tasked with advising on nuclear testing for over 25 years. Unknown characteristics of the nuclear devices, the test sites and their geologic context create large uncertainties in estimates of explosion size. Previously published scientific estimates of the 2017 test's size have ranged from 30 to 300 kilotons. The U.S. intelligence community has estimated the size of the explosion at 140 kilotons according to a report in The Diplomat magazine. U.S. intelligence typically applies an uncertainty range of a factor of two to reported estimates. A reported yield of 100 kilotons, for example, would include the caveat that it could be as small as 50 kilotons or as large as 200 kilotons. The new research puts the magnitude of the 2017 test in a range of 148 to 328 kilotons. Steven Gibbons, a geophysicist with the program for Array Seismology and Test-Ban-Treaty Verification at NORSAR and a researcher unaffiliated with the new study, said the new research accurately determines the relative size of the six tests made by North Korea from 2006 to 2016. "I think the uncertainty the authors quote is quite a realistic range," said Gibbons. "The ratios between the exact numbers are quite accurate, so if the North Koreans told us, for example, that the second test shot in 2016 was exactly 25 kilotons, we could calculate the others accurately from it." Knowing the size of the tests relative to each other is itself useful information, Gibbons said, demonstrating steady progress in North Korea's nuclear program. "In 2006, when there was this little rumble, many people were quite dismissive that North Korea had the technology to do this properly, but I think from the progression we've seen with the increases of yield, it's been a very well-executed weapons development program," Gibbons said. "When you got to 2017, there's no question that this is an incredibly destructive weapon. Even at the lower end of this uncertain yield, it's a horrific weapon." A 250-kiloton explosion could plausibly be produced by either a boosted fission bomb or a modest fusion device, Lay said. The fission bomb detonated at Hiroshima released a blast equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT by splitting apart atomic nuclei. Fusion devices, also known as thermonuclear or hydrogen bombs, derive their enormous explosive power from combining hydrogen nuclei to form helium and can yield as much as 50,000 kilotons. Inherent uncertainties The researchers had information about how sound travels in different types of rock from previous research. "There are differences, depending on the rock conditions under the test site, in how loud the sound is when you are listening far away," Lay said. "It would be different in granite than in say, sandstone. So we calibrated by setting tests off in our own diverse rock environments and recording right next to the source." Other factors like the depth of the explosion, geometry of the access tunnel, tectonic history of the region, and temperature and fluid content of the rock also influence the rate at which sound waves created by the explosion are dampened, Lay said. Only a tiny amount of the energy generated by the blast is converted to sound and travels away from the test site as seismic waves. Because of North Korea's seclusion, details of the underground geology are not well known. The area experiences very few natural earthquakes that can reveal information about properties of the underlying rock. Researchers used satellite images and other information to estimate the type of rock at the North Korea test site. The researchers used the explosions from the nuclear tests North Korea conducted beginning in 2006 to calibrate models of how much explosive force transferred to the rock at the test site and how the sound waves traveled through the planet. The echo of the explosion off the surface of the test site distorts the sound recorded far away. The distortion is affected by the depth and size of the explosion. If the echo were not present, the outgoing sound from the six test explosions would be similar. The researchers used this idea to estimate the relative sizes of the bombs by finding a combination of depth and yield that compensated for the reflection of the sound from the surface. "They've modeled what the reflection would look like for different yields and depths and solved for what the signal would look like if you didn't have to account for this returning wave. The most impressive thing in the paper for me is how similar these waveforms are. This is what gives me confidence that they've done a good job," Gibbons said. Rebooting cold war strategies The new study revived modeling strategies developed in the early 1980s to resolve suspicions that the Soviet Union had cheated on the Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests by testing bombs larger than the 150-kiloton size threshold for testing they agreed to in 1974. The treaty had been signed but not ratified by the U.S. Senate. The Regan Administration publicly aired intelligence concerns that Russian tests exceeded the size threshold, because observed sound waves produced by the tests were bigger than known test shots at the U.S.'s Nevada test site. But seismologists believed the signals from the Soviet tests were bigger because they transmitted through the earth more efficiently. "The mantle under the Nevada test site is very hot and has processes that dampen down the sound. It is very different from the former Soviet test site in Kazakhstan, where the rock under the test site is old and cold and transmits sound very efficiently, without much loss," Lay said. During negotiations for the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, U.S. and Soviet scientists travelled to the test sites in Nevada and Kazakhstan and conducted joint tests. Measurements at the test sites confirmed geologists' methods for estimating the extra dampening effect in Nevada compared to the Soviet test site. The new study applied some of the same methods validated in the 1980s to the North Korean tests. "The methods were nothing particularly new. The difference is that the quality and availability of the data is much better now than 40 years ago," Lay said. Gibbons said the new study's results are likely as close as scientists outside North Korea could to the true size of the nuclear tests without data from the test sites. "I think the authors have pushed it to the limits with this paper. I would be surprised if we can get tighter constraints on the absolute yield without additional information," he said. ### Founded in 1919, AGU is a not-for-profit scientific society dedicated to advancing Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. We support 60,000 members, who reside in 135 countries, as well as our broader community, through high-quality scholarly publications, dynamic meetings, our dedication to science policy and science communications, and our commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce, as well as many other innovative programs. AGU is home to the award-winning news publication Eos, the Thriving Earth Exchange, where scientists and community leaders work together to tackle local issues, and a headquarters building that represents Washington, D.C.'s first net zero energy commercial renovation. We are celebrating our Centennial in 2019. #AGU100 Notes for Journalists This paper is freely available through June 30. Journalists and public information officers (PIOs) can download a PDF copy of the article by clicking on this link: https:/ / agupubs. onlinelibrary. wiley. com/ doi/ epdf/ 10. 1029/ 2019JB017418 Journalists and PIOs may also request a copy of the final paper by emailing Liza Lester at llester@agu.org. Please provide your name, the name of your publication, and your phone number. Neither the paper nor this press release is under embargo. Paper Title "Yield estimates for the six North Korean nuclear tests from teleseismic P wave modeling and intercorrelation of P and Pn recordings" Authors: Dimitri P. Voytan and Thorne Lay, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA Esteban J. Chaves, Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI?UNA), Heredia, Costa Rica John T. Ohman, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs here held an emergency meeting on Friday over the first confirmed case of African swine fever in North Korea. North Korean authorities reported the outbreak to the World Organization for Animal Health the previous day. The ministry says over 20 pigs were culled after more than 70 died from the virus at a farm in North Korea's Jagang Province near the border with China. As part of efforts to prevent the disease from entering the South, the ministry designated 10 areas close to the border with North Korea as special management zones and began quarantine measures. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also called for all-out efforts to prevent the virus from spreading. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made his first public appearance since overseeing a missile test 23 days ago on Saturday, when he toured weapons factories in Jagang Province. Kim also visited a youth education center and criticized officials there by saying it was "pathetic" to see a building that was renovated three years ago look more than a decade old, according to the Norths official Korean Central News Agency. He complained that "no water came out of the showers, faucets were missing and lights were not set up properly" and accused senior officials of having no interest in fixing such problems. North Korea is on the verge of completing construction of an underground facility at a solid-propellant missile plant in Hamhung, South Hamgyong Province. The North assembles and stores missile fuselages and engines in various underground facilities, dodging South Korean and U.S. surveillance. "We've detected the completion of a new large underground facility, or expansion of an existing facility, outside the perimeter of the Hamhung missile plant," a military spokesman here said on Friday. The Hamhung plant has been growing for several years and came into the spotlight last July when the regime was engaged in denuclearization talks with the U.S. Images from Google Earth show stages of the construction process of the underground facility northwest of the plant. In images from July last year, building materials and dirt were piled up near the presumed entrance, and dirt was piled up on the access road. But images from this February show that the area had been cleaned up and some parts paved in concrete. Daimler pulls plug on car-sharing program From:ChinaDaily | 2019-06-03 11:31 German carmaker Daimler is pulling its car-sharing program out of China as of June 30, in a sign of falling recognition of the business model that was believed to be a new way for consumers to experience driving and eventually leading to less people buying cars. The company has already suspended its service called car2go, which allows users in major cities to drive shared smart-branded cars paid for on an hourly rate, according to a company statement. It said in the statement that the decision was because of changes in China's market environment and in user needs, but did not elaborate further. Daimler introduced the car2go program in the city of Chongqing in Southwest China in early 2016, and later expanded locations to include cities like Shenzhen, in South China's Guangdong province, and Chengdu, in Southwest China's Sichuan province. At its zenith, the program had around 250,000 registered users in Chongqing alone, making it one of the cities in China where the service was most popular, according to media reports. Analysts said high operating costs of vehicles, expensive rates and the limited number of cars as potential reasons for the program's demise. The Economic Observer newspaper said Daimler offered some 800 vehicles, basically two-seat smart cars, in Chongqing, where there are three other car-sharing companies that offer more choices of vehicles at cheaper prices. A report on China's sharing business said there are around 1,600 companies offering similar services, with a combined fleet of up to 130,000 vehicles, with most of them being electric. Analysts said that there is not a clear and proven business model for car sharing and many of the companies are affiliated to carmakers, which sold vehicles to them for winning government subsidies and amassing credit as demanded by the authorities. A JD Power report said car sharing is in the early stage of development in China and customers are not brand sensitive. According to the report, customers are far more concerned about whether it is convenient to find and return vehicles, and about competitive pricing rather than the brand. It found the top factors that discourage people to use shared cars are handling traffic accident-related problems and untidy cabins. Pei Lin, an auto product director at JD Power, said: "The nature of sharing means customer experience will be a key differentiator. If the service providers cannot offer high-quality and carefree services, customers will stay away." Despite current setbacks, the sharing model still has potential if well managed. A JD Power survey shows that 70 percent of its respondents said they are sure or likely to give up their own cars if mobility services including car-sharing and ride-hailing meet their expectations. Page Content While in Barbados on a working visit, attending the 2019 Understanding Risk (UR) Caribbean Conference, Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley. Mia Amor Mottley became Barbados' eighth and first female Prime Minister on May 25, 2018. Prime Minister Mottley also serves as Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs, Investment, Minister of National Security, and the Civil Service. During the visit, discussions were held on how the reconstruction process is going on Sint Maarten and working with the World Bank. Advocating for the spreading of the insurance pool by increasing the number of countries that participating in a common regional insurance scheme. The two leaders also spoke about the possible future collaboration through the exchange and sharing of knowledge between Barbadian and Sint Maarten professionals. The areas of possible collaboration that were discussed were Education, Disaster Management, Justice, and Hospitality, specifically defining standards of excellence in the service industry. On the invitation of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin attended the book launch of former Prime Minister of Jamaica PJ Patterson My Political Journey. The book covers Jamaican development after colonialism, Caribbean regionalism through CARICOM and bringing back value and ethics to politics by raising the standards of how Caribbean politicians conduct themselves. Before the visit concluded, Prime Minister Romeo-Marlin extended an invitation to Prime Minister Mia Mottley to be the keynote speaker at the CDEMA Conference, which is slated to take place on Sint Maarten during the period of December 2 to December 6, 2019. In Photo L-R - Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin and Prime Minister Mia Mottley System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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Described by some locals as the worst in a lifetime, Afghanistan's drought had a devastating effect on rural populations last year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an overview of Afghanistan aid operations in 2018. "With crops failing and limited water supplies, as well as increased malnutrition and illness, hundreds of thousands of people left their homes to seek help near major cities," OCHA said. The misery was only compounded this spring when rains finally did come, as downpours led to deadly flooding in provinces across the country. OCHA found that the number of people in need of some form of food assistance in Afghanistan rose from 3.3 million at the start of last year to a projected current level of 13.5 million -- or 47 percent of the population -- as of February 2019. That group has been affected to varying degrees, according to the OCHA, but none were at immediate risk of famine -- though a failed harvest in 2019 could change that. OCHA said aid humanitarian groups were able to reach about 6.5 million people last year on a budget of $471 million. Despite the impact of the drought, conflict remained the largest driver of humanitarian need in Afghanistan last year, OCHA said. According to the UN, 3,804 civilians -- including more than 900 children -- were killed in Afghanistan in 2018, with another 7,189 wounded. It was the deadliest year on record. "An increase in mass casualty incidents, escalating hostilities and the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance all contributed to record-high numbers of trauma cases in 2018," the OCHA report states. Another compounding factor was a wave of Afghans returning from Iran as the economy there slowed down amid new US sanctions, cutting demand for Afghan workers. While returns from Pakistan were at an all-time low, with only 46,300 recorded in 2018, 775,000 Afghans came back from Iran during 2018, according to OCHA. Chinese warships cause surprise in Sydney Harbour Sydney, June 3 (AFP) Jun 03, 2019 Australians enjoying a sunny winter morning were surprised by the sight of three Chinese warships steaming into to Sydney Harbour Monday, forcing the prime minister to reassure jittery residents. Amid heightened concern about Beijing's growing clout and military muscle flexing, the appearance of a Chinese flagged task group and around 700 sailors came as a surprise. "It may have been a surprise to others, but it certainly wasn't a surprise to the government," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, trying to dampen concerns. "We have known about that for some time," he said of the visit during a trip to the Solomon Islands. Morrison described it as a "reciprocal visit because Australian naval vessels have visited China." "They were returning after a counter drug trafficking operation in the Middle East." The vessels appeared to be the Kunlun Shan, a Yuzhao class landing ship; the Luoma Lake replenishment ship and Xuchang, a modern frigate that is believed to be fitted with surface-to-air and anti-submarine missile systems. The timing of their visit has also been questioned. It comes on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the violent suppression of Tiananmen protests. Then, the regime gunned down hundreds of its own citizens and jailed thousands for demanding political change and an end to state corruption. The sailing also comes just days after it was revealed that a Chinese warship had recently confronted an Australian vessel in the South China Sea and Aussie helicopter pilots had been targeted with lasers. "I think any reading into timing could be subject to a bit of overanalysis," said Morrison. Since coming to power, President Xi Jinping has invested heavily in the People's Liberation Army Navy -- in a bid to project Chinese influence across the Pacific and beyond. "Chinese naval visits to Australia have more typically been a lone frigate, not a task group with an amphibious assault ship and 700 personnel," Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at Australian National University, tweeted. "Sydney is hardly a convenient stopover on their way home from the Gulf of Aden. What's the story here?" Iran president rules out talks until US acts 'normal' Tehran, June 3 (AFP) Jun 03, 2019 Iran's president on Monday ruled out negotiations with Washington until it acts "normal", after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is ready to talk to Tehran without preconditions. "The party that has left the negotiating table, the party that has trampled the pact must return to a normal" behaviour, Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech. "If the enemy truly realises that the path it took was wrong, that will be the day to sit at the negotiation table and fix any issue," the president added. Tensions have spiked in recent weeks between Tehran and Washington, which last year pulled out of a landmark Iran nuclear accord and imposed tough sanctions on the Islamic republic. But Washington's top diplomat appeared to soften the US stance on Sunday, saying "we are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions." Washington is "certainly prepared to have (a) conversation when the Iranians will prove they are behaving as a normal nation," Pompeo said in Switzerland, which represents Washington's interests in Iran in the absence of bilateral relations. Pompeo however gave no indication that lifting sanctions would be on the table. On Saturday, Rouhani insisted that Iran would not be "bullied" into talks with the United States, saying "total respect" was needed for negotiations to take place. Boko Haram attacks military bases in Nigeria, steal arms: sources Kano, Nigeria, June 3 (AFP) Jun 03, 2019 Boko Haram jihadists have carried out multiple attacks on military bases in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, overrunning three of them and stealing weapons, security sources said Monday. Fighters believed to be from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the IS-linked faction of Boko Haram, stormed four bases from Friday through Sunday in the latest spate of attacks targeting the army, sources from the military and militia said. There were no immediate details on casualties. In the latest incident, on Sunday, the insurgents made a failed attempt to seize a base in the town of Dikwa following a predawn attack. "The terrorists attacked troops in Dikwa around 4:00 am (0300 GMT) but the attack was repelled without casualty on our side," a military officer, who did not want to be identified, told AFP. The fighters came in 13 trucks fitted with heavy machine guns, said a second officer, who gave a similar account. Dikwa which lies 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, is home to more than 70,000 displaced people who live in several camps where they rely on food and humanitarian assistance from aid agencies. Late on Saturday, the jihadists blasted into a base in the town of Marte, 40 kilometres away, pushing troops out after a prolonged gunfight, the two military sources said. The militants ransacked the base, carting away weapons abandoned by fleeing soldiers and setting fire to it. The soldiers withdrew to Dikwa. As they retreated towards Lake Chad, the Islamist fighters sacked another base in Kirenowa village, 30 kilometres from Marte. - Soldiers evacuated - "The soldiers in Kirenowa have been evacuated to Dikwa after the attack by the terrorists", the first officer said. The jihadists were believed to have launched the attacks from their Lake Chad enclave where the Nigerian military has intensified aerial attacks on ISWAP camps. Troops in a base in Dalwa village, 16 kilometres outside Maiduguri, were dislodged after a six-hour battle with ISWAP fighters which continued into Sunday, said the military sources and an anti-jihadist militia. The fighting forced Marte residents to flee into Maiduguri, arriving in trucks on Sunday, according to residents of the city. However, troops returned to the town late Sunday with reinforcement from Maiduguri, the sources said. ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that have left scores of soldiers dead. Boko Haram's decade-long insurgency has killed 27,000 people and displaced about two million in Nigeria. The violence has spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the Islamist group. Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Who are the French jihadists sentenced to death in Iraq? Baghdad, June 3 (AFP) Jun 03, 2019 Iraq has handed death sentences to 11 French nationals and a Tunisian for joining the Islamic State group who were detained by US-backed fighters in neighbouring Syria and transferred to Baghdad early this year. The suspects, who have 30 days to appeal, were tried according to Iraq's counterterrorism law -- which can dole out the death penalty to anyone who joined a "terrorist" group, even if they were not explicitly fighting. Below are profiles of the 12 detainees. - Leonard Lopez - Even before IS, 32-year-old Leonard Lopez was known to French authorities for his activity on Francophone jihadist website Ansar al-Haqq in the 2000s. In July 2015, the native Parisian travelled with his wife and two children to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, according to French investigators. Lopez, known as Abu Ibrahim al-Andalusi after joining IS, was sentenced in absentia in 2018 for his involvement in Ansar al-Haqq but is also wanted on other charges. He co-founded the jihadist-linked Sanabil Association, dissolved in late 2016 by French authorities. "All those who have been directly or indirectly involved in the attacks since January 2015 have been directly or indirectly linked to Sanabil," authorities said at the time. Lopez was sentenced to death on May 26. - Kevin Gonot - Kevin Gonot, 32, entered Syria through Turkey to join IS rival and former Al-Qaeda branch Al-Nusra Front, according to a "confession" published by Iraq's judiciary. He then pledged allegiance to IS, fighting under the name Abu Sufyan, before being arrested in Syria with his mother, wife, and half-brother Thomas Collange, 31. He said his father was killed in IS's de facto Syrian capital, Raqa. Gonot was sentenced to death on May 26. He told the court he "regretted" going to Syria, where he was wounded in the Kurdish city of Kobane in 2015 and later transferred to IS's de facto Iraqi capital Mosul for hospitalisation. He previously told investigators he fought in both countries. Gonot is married to a niece of brothers Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain, who notoriously claimed the attacks of November 2015 Paris attacks and were killed in Baghouz -- IS's last bastion in east Syria. French courts have already sentenced Gonot in absentia to nine years in prison, according to the French Terrorism Analysis Center (CAT). - Fodil Tahar Aouidate - Fodil Tahar Aouidate, 32, was sentenced to death on June 2. Described as violent and ready to die for IS's extremist ideology, he made a first trip to Syria in 2013 and returned in 2014 with 22 members of his family to join IS, according to the French judiciary. Originally from the city of Roubaix in northern France, he was registered as a "fighter" on a IS document presented to the court. After 130 people were killed in IS's 2015 Paris attacks, Aouidate appeared in a video saying it was his "great pleasure and joy to see these unbelievers suffer as we suffer here". Authorities also linked him to Belgium's Salafist movement, including the Paris attacks mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud. France convicted two of Aouidate's sisters for "financing terrorism" for sending 15,000 euros to relatives in Syria. - Mustapha Merzoughi - A former French army soldier, Mustapha Merzoughi told Iraqi interrogators he joined IS after "research on social media and websites by IS and Al-Nusra Front". Fighting under the name Abu Omran al-Faranssi, he is originally from Toulouse -- the hometown of the Clain brothers. He travelled to Syria after quitting his job and getting divorced in the northeastern French city of Metz. In Syria, he created a new family with five children. He underwent "compulsory religious and military training" in Mosul and was handed a "Kalashnikov and a monthly salary of $200" to serve as a doctor. Merzoughi told investigators he "pledged allegiance to a masked IS leader in Mosul", claiming that many senior jihadists worried about being "recognised or identified by foreign fighters they feared were spies". He was sentenced to death on May 27. - Yassin Sakkam - Yassin Sakkam, 29, left France in late 2014 to fight with IS, posting online pictures of himself carrying arms and speaking to multiple media outlets about IS. Originally from the southern city of Lunel, he was sentenced to death in Baghdad on May 29. Prosecutors said he joined the Tariq Ibn Ziyad brigade, an IS unit described by US officials as "a European foreign terrorist fighter cell". Recruited by a Moroccan, Sakkam said he pledged allegiance to an Egyptian IS member and volunteered to be a front-line fighter. Under the nickname Abu Salman al-Faranssi, he said he fought in battles against the Free Syrian Army rebel group. He later grew disillusioned and tried to flee, "but it was hard to find a smuggler because I was not a civilian but a terrorist", he told the judge. France has been seeking his arrest since 2016 and Kurdish authorities detained him in Syria in 2017. - Karam el-Harchaoui - Karam el-Harchaoui, 33, was sentenced to death on May 28. He left for Syria in 2014 from Belgium and fought under the name Abu Abdallah. According to Belgian daily HLN, his younger brother and their Belgian wives were also IS members. The slender man, whose face was freshly shaven at trial, married two Belgian women he met on Facebook, bringing them both to Syria. Harchaoui turned himself over in January 2018 to US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria after his brother, also an IS member, was killed in a bombing. - Salim Machou - Salim Machou, 41, was also a member of the infamous Tariq Ibn Ziyad brigade, which US officials say carried out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and Brussels. He was sentenced to death on May 26. - Vianney Ouraghi - Vianney Ouraghi, 28, left France for Syria in 2013 and joined Al-Nusra before jumping to IS when the latter declared its "caliphate" in 2014, according to CAT. The son of a French mother and a Franco-Algerian father, he was sentenced to death on June 3. Sporting thick glasses and a light-brown goatee at court, he spoke to the judge in classical Arabic, which he picked up during studies in Cairo. Married to two Syrian women, Ouraghi pleaded that he was only an "IS administrative officer" in charge of "widows and families" of the jihadist group. But the judge countered with an IS administrative document listing him as a "fighter". - Brahim Nejara - Brahim Nejara, a 33-year-old from Meyzieu near the city of Lyon in eastern France, was involved in IS's foreign fighter operations, according to CAT. He helped foreign fighters join IS in Syria, persuaded one of his brothers to commit an attack in France, and was associated with Foued Mohamed-Aggad, one of the suicide bombers at the Bataclan theatre in the 2015 Paris attacks. He was sentenced to death on May 28. - Bilel Kabaoui - This 32-year-old hails from Sevres, around Paris, and travelled to IS territory in the summer of 2014, according to CAT. Sentenced to death on June 3, he pleaded with the judge that a friend had mislead him and told him he could leave Syria at any time. "Five years ago I was super stupid. I was convinced that I could leave Syria when I wanted to," he said, adding that IS had declared him medically unfit to fight due to asthma. He said he had been a "health-care aide" in the northern Syrian city of Manbij, and a jailer in one of the jihadists feared courts, which routinely dealt out corporal punishments and summary executions. Kabaoui surrendered to US-backed Kurdish forces in October 2017 on the advice of French intelligence, he said. He claimed he had asked his family in France to contact French intelligence to find a way for him to return with his wife and three children. - Mourad Delhomme - Mourad Delhomme, 41, is of Algerian origin and was arrested last year in Syria's eastern Deir Ezzor, according to the CAT. Labelled a "jihadist veteran" by French intelligence, he was sentenced to death on June 3. On the stand in Baghdad, Delhomme said he was "known within IS as the one who never pledged allegiance or worked" for the ultra-extremist group. He told the judge he entered Syria to save the wife of a friend taken captive by rebels after her husband died fighting in the ranks of IS. Delhomme told interrogators before the trial he joined the Tariq Ibn Ziyad brigade. - Mohammed Berriri - The youngest in the group, 24-year old Tunisian Mohammed Berriri was first presented as a Frenchman. He was sentenced to death on May 29. After leaving the French city of Nice by car, he arrived to Syria when he was 20. After fighting under the name Abu Abdallah al-Tounssi, he told the court: "I regret joining IS but I don't regret going to Syria, because there I opened by eyes." After serving three years as a "border guard" of the jihadists' self-proclaimed "caliphate", he told the judge he obtained a written permission from IS to leave the fight -- but then unexplicably lost the document. al-kmo-emd-sbh/mjg/dco/dv What emerged intact from the massacre of defenseless students and other citizens in Beijing's Tiananmen Square was not communism, but a version of authoritarian capitalism on a grand scale. It is a model that appeals to autocrats all over the world, including in countries that succeeded in throwing off communist rule 30 years ago. by Ian Buruma Chinas massive protest movement in the spring of 1989, centered in (but not confined to) Beijings Tiananmen Square, seems to have been the anti-Communist revolt that failed. As the brutal crackdown on and following June 3-4 played out, political freedom was being won in Central Europe first in Poland and Hungary, and then, beginning that fall, in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and, albeit violently and rather undemocratically, Romania. Within the next two years, the Soviet Union, cracked open by Mikhail Gorbachevs reforms, finally imploded. These democratic revolutions followed the People Power rebellions a few years earlier in Northeast and Southeast Asia. Bliss it was to be alive in those days. Francis Fukuyama was not the only American who believed that liberal democracy had triumphed forever. There was no alternative to what was widely seen as a natural symbiosis between capitalism and open societies. One couldnt exist without the other. Once the middle classes had their economic freedom, true democracy would surely follow. Such was the sense of liberal post-Cold War triumph at the time that many Western countries, especially the United States, saw no reason any longer to contain the animal spirits of free enterprise with much government regulation. This was also the message brought to post-communist Europe by various evangelists of neoliberalism. China appeared to be the outlier. Apart from such backwaters as Cuba and North Korea, only there had Communist rule prevailed. China continued to be ruled by the Communist Party of China. But was that really a victory for communism? In fact, what emerged intact from the massacre of defenseless students and other citizens was not really communism at all, but Deng Xiaopings version of authoritarian capitalism. Deng had been praised in the West for renouncing decades of Maoist autarky and opening China for global business. He unleashed capitalist enterprise with the words Let some people get rich first, a phrase that gained currency as To get rich is glorious. This was the ideology that needed to be defended from students protesting against corruption and demanding political reforms. That is why Peoples Liberation Army tanks were used to crush the revolt. It was a savage response, but as one of the Party leaders said: As for this fear that foreigners will stop investing, Im not afraid. Foreign capitalists are out to make money and theyll never abandon a big market for the world like China. China never looked back (literally as well as figuratively, because the events of June 3-4 are unmentionable). The economy soon steamed ahead. And the educated urban classes, from which most of the student protesters in 1989 sprang, benefited enormously. They were offered more or less the same deal as the better-off citizens of Singapore, or even Japan, even though neither of these countries are dictatorships: stay out of politics, dont question the authority of the one-party state, and well create the conditions for you to get rich. Even educated young Chinese now have little or no knowledge of what happened 30 years ago. And when they do, they often react to foreigners who broach the subject with prickly nationalism, as though talking about it were a sign of anti-Chinese animus. One suspects that this defensiveness might be the result of a slightly guilty conscience: many people have benefited from a shabby deal. In 2001, a year after Vladimir Putin came to power in Russia, I traveled from Beijing to Moscow and wrote an article comparing Russia favorably to China. I assumed that Russia was well on its way to becoming an open democracy. I was wrong. In fact, Russia became more like Deng Xiaopings China, albeit a less successful version. Some people became immensely wealthy. Parts of Moscow give the impression of a new gilded age. Something similar has happened in Central European countries. Hungarys prime minister, Viktor Orban, has been most the most vociferous ideologue of illiberal democracy, a system of oppressive one-party rule in which capitalism can still thrive. It looks as if the right-wing populist demagogues of Western Europe, and even the US, would like to follow this example. Like Donald Trump, they are all more or less unreserved admirers of Putin. Of course, this was not the way it was supposed to happen. The assumption was too strong, especially in America, but also in most other Western countries, that liberal democracy and capitalism were inseparable. We now know that this is not true. It is perfectly possible to be a rich entrepreneur, or even just a well-off middle-class consumer, in a one-party state where basic political freedoms are stifled. We should actually have known this all along. Singapore offered a perfect example of authoritarian capitalism. It was dismissed, because Singapore was too small, or because Asians were not interested in democracy, as Singapores rulers never ceased to point out. The Chinese protest movement in 1989 proved that this was not the case, either. Democratic reforms that would guarantee freedom of speech and assembly were of great interest to the students in Tiananmen Square. What happened in China after the protests were crushed points to another truth. China was not an outlier in 1989 at all. Illiberal capitalism has since emerged as an attractive model to autocrats all over the world, including in countries that succeeded in throwing off communist rule 30 years ago. The Chinese just got there first. Ian Buruma is the author of numerous books, including Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo Van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance, Year Zero: A History of 1945, and, most recently, A Tokyo Romance. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is deeply concerned about the possibility that events that threaten the law and order situation in the country, will unfold. This concern stems from positions taken and utterances made very recently by certain parties, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said in a letter to the General S H S Kottegoda, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. As the highest ranking official vested with responsibility for the maintenance of law and order, we expect you will ensure that all necessary measures are taken to maintain peace, law and order and prevent the occurrence of unlawful and disruptive activities that will disturb the peace of the communities, the letter added. We also need to understand whether all allegations against those who are suspected and accused of engaging in terrorist activities have in fact been investigated and that the administration of justice process has been complied with and that we can have confidence that all suspicions are being adequately investigated irrespective of the positions being held by those who are suspected to be involved, the letter further noted. Eastern Province Governor M L A M Hizbullah and Western Province Governor Azath Salley have resigned from their positions a short while ago, the President's Media Division said. The Governors had handed over the resignations to the President today (June 03) in the wake of several protests which demanded their removal along with Minister Rishad Bathiudeen. Parliamentarian Ven Athuraliye Rathana Thera commenced a hunger strike last week demanding that these politicians be removed from their positions over their alleged links to the Easter Sunday bombings. President Sirisena continues to disown any prior knowledge of the advance intelligence received on the attack, rather than talking about the measures he has taken to prevent such attacks. The President and the PM have been giving contradictory perspectives on the attack. by Col R Hariharan The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) investigations into Easter Day blasts have revealed the following details: On 21 April 2019, St. Anthonys Shrine Kochchikade, St. Sebastians Church Negombo, Zion Church Batticaloa, Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo-2, the Kingsbury in Colombo Fort were targeted in a series of co-ordinated terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, there were smaller explosions at a housing complex in Dematagoda and Tropical Inn, a guest house in Colombo suburb of Dehiwala. In all 258 people were killed, including at least 46 foreign nationals and three police officers, and at least 500 were injured in these attacks. As Amarnath Amarasingam in his detailed analysis titled Understanding the Easter Attacks in Sri Lanka published in the May-June 2019 issue of CTC Sentinel, said The Islamic State-claimed attack stunned terrorism analysts because there had been no known history of jihadi violence in the country. Several of the attackers were well educated, and two were the scions of a very wealthy family, providing the cell with advantages in its plotting. There were indications, however, from as early as January 2017 that individuals associated with the National Tawheed Jamaat [NTJ] were becoming increasingly supportive of the Islamic State[IS ] and mobilizing to violence that was missed by local law enforcement. The Sri Lanka attacks may be early evidence that the Islamic State is taking an important and renewed interest in South Asia, following losses in Syria and Iraq. Though over a month has passed after the attacks, Sri Lanka has not fully recovered from its aftershock. People have been stunned after they learnt that the government had failed to act upon detailed information about the impending terrorist attacks received from Indian intelligence 12 days in advance. The NTJ attack has exposed lots of grey areas in the leadership at both the national level and administrative level. The President chaired a meeting of the National Security Council and declared a state of emergency after two days of the attack. The government banned the NTJ and Jamathe-i-Milathu (JeM) a social media based radical outfit whose members were also involved in the attack. About 200 foreign Muslim clerics have been expelled and new regulations to bring madrasas under government control are underway. President Sirisena continues to disown any prior knowledge of the advance intelligence received on the attack, rather than talking about the measures he has taken to prevent such attacks. The President and the PM have been giving contradictory perspectives on the attack. President Sirisena told Parliament Our intelligence services are doing a good job 99 per cent of those responsible have been arrested and within the next three days the rest of them will be taken in. However, the PM declared on the same day, As I have mentioned on several occasions the threat is not over as yet. This is because we are subjected to global terrorism. Though persons involved have been arrested in Sri Lanka, there are other ways these terrorists can intervene in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told the Parliament that it would take a minimum of two years to eradicate the new terrorist organization. Considering the IS connection somewhere down the line which had been inspiring Thawheed radicalism, the FMs assessment is probably more correct. So Sri Lanka is probably in for a long haul. Five weeks after the attack , the President summoned a monthly meeting to review the progress of the tasks implemented to strengthen national security, as well as to welcome ideas and suggestions from the participants. PM Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa were among those who attended the meeting. The meeting was attended by relgious leaders, governors of provinces, leaders of political parties, university vice chancellors, professors, chief of defence staff, defence secretary and commanders of tri forces. Apparently, the unwieldy meeting was a more of a PR exercise to assuage public outrage at the tardiness with which the government was acting. Clearly, the President Sirisena-PM Wickremesinghe standoff that started in October 2018 when the President made an abortive bid to sack the PM seems to haunt the government functioning. Confusion also seems to prevail on a number of procedural issues ranging from the absence of counter terrorism law, proscription of extremist organizations and ministerial responsibilities. It took five weeks for the parliamentary select committee (PSC) to start a probe into the handling of the terrorist attack. Chief of National Intelligence (CNI) DIG Sisira Mendis informed the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC), that after he received information about the attack from Nilantha Jayawardena, Director, State Intelligence Service (SIS), he briefed the Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando the next the next day. The Defence Secretary advised him to inform the IG Police to act upon the information. It is evident everyone in the bureaucratic chain had treated the information without the urgency it deserved. The newly appointed Defence Secretary General Shantha Kottegoda told the PSC that the suicide bombings could have been averted had the extremist organizations been proscribed on the basis of intelligence reports received in 2014 indicating the casual approach to handling extremist threat. Probably, there exists no standard operative procedure for handling intelligence or it is not being followed. This is surprising considering the country had successfully defeated powerful LTTE insurgents a decade ago. On the otherhand, it is not surprising if we consider the number of cases of misuse of intelligence and police resources to serve personal and political ends now pending in various stages of prosecution. Even in handling anti-Muslim backlash there seems to an element of confusion. A week after the terrorist attack, mobs brought from outside attacked Muslim owned shops and houses in three towns in Northwestern province, while police watched on helplessly. Leaders from all religious groups have appealed for peace and calm in its aftermath. Police have rounded up around 30 people for rioting. Politicians continue to bay for removal of All Ceylon Muslim Congress leader and Commerce minister Bathiudeen for alleged links to NTJ. Under these circumstances, it was surprising to see President Sirisena pardoning the well known Muslim baiter Gnanasara Thera, leader of the Buddhist fringe group Bodhu Bala Sena, who was serving a six year sentence for contempt of court. The timing of his pardon was all wrong from the internal security point of view; but perhaps there was a political angle to it. Col R Hariharan, a retired MI officer, served as the head of Intelligence of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 90. He is associated with the Chennai Centre for China Studies, South Asia Analysis Group and the International Law and Strategic Analysis Institute, Chennai. E-mail: haridirect@gmail.com All Muslim Ministers, State and Deputy Ministers have decided to resign from ministerial positions, Minister Rauff Hakeem said today (Jun 03). He made these remarks while addressing a media conference at Temple Trees this evening. "We will not allow the government to weaken despite resigning from our ministerial portfolios. We will work to protect the government while being back benchers in future," Minister Hakeem told reporters. Parliamentarians Rishad Bathiudeen, Rauff Hakeem, M.H.A. Abdul Haleem, A.H.M. Fowzie, Kabir Hashim, and several other key lawmakers attended the media conference. DGAP-Ad-hoc: Dexus Finance Pty Limited / Key word(s): Real Estate Dexus Finance Pty Limited: Successful completion of Security Purchase Plan 03-Jun-2019 / 03:24 CET/CEST Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Dexus (ASX: DXS) ASX release 3 June 2019 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE IN THE UNITED STATES Dexus announces successful completion of Security Purchase Plan Dexus Funds Management Limited as responsible entity of Dexus ("Dexus") refers to its announcements made to the Australian Securities Exchange ("ASX"): - on 2 May 2019, relating to a fully underwritten $900 million institutional placement ("Institutional Placement"), and a non-underwritten Security Purchase Plan ("SPP") to eligible Dexus Security holders in Australia and New Zealand to raise up to $50 million and - on 8 May 2019, relating to the despatch of the SPP booklet to eligible Dexus Security holders in Australia and New Zealand. Dexus Funds Management Limited as responsible entity for Dexus confirms the successful completion of the SPP following the closing of the SPP offer at 5pm (Sydney time) on 29 May 2019. The SPP closed oversubscribed raising approximately $63.9 million. As permitted under clause 3.7 of the terms of the SPP, Dexus has decided to increase the $50 million cap on securities issued under the SPP to allow for all valid applications to be satisfied. The issue and allotment of the new securities ("New Securities") will occur on Wednesday, 5 June 2019 at an issue price of $12.10 per security ("Issue Price"). The Issue Price is the same price paid by institutional investors under the Institutional Placement completed on 3 May 2019. The New Securities will rank equally with existing fully paid Securities and will carry the same voting rights and entitlement to receive distributions, including the full distribution for the six months ending 30 June 2019. The SPP offer was sent to 26,774 eligible Security holders and valid applications totalling approximately $63.9 million were received from approximately 4,640 Security holders. This represents a participation rate for those eligible Security holders of 17.3% and an average application worth $13,800. Holding statements will be issued to eligible applicants on Thursday, 6 June 2019. In relation to the A$425 million Guaranteed Exchangeable Notes issued 19 March 2019 ("Notes"), Dexus advises that the issue and allotment of new Dexus Stapled Securities under the SPP will not result in an adjustment to the exchange price of the Notes. For further information please contact: Investor Relations Rowena Causley +61 2 9017 1390 +61 416 122 383 rowena.causley@dexus.com Media Relations Louise Murray +61 2 9017 1446 +61 403 260 754 louise.murray@dexus.com Information and Explanation of the Issuer to this News: About Dexus Dexus is one of Australia's leading real estate groups, proudly managing a high quality Australian property portfolio valued at $28.9 billion. We believe that the strength and quality of our relationships is central to our success, and are deeply committed to working with our customers to provide spaces that engage and inspire. We invest only in Australia, and directly own $13.9 billion of office and industrial properties. We manage a further $15.0 billion of office, retail, industrial and healthcare properties for third party clients. The group's $5.0 billion development pipeline provides the opportunity to grow both portfolios and enhance future returns. With 1.7 million square metres of office workspace across 53 properties, we are Australia's preferred office partner. Dexus is a Top 50 entity by market capitalisation listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (trading code: DXS) and is supported by 27,000 investors from 19 countries. With more than 30 years of expertise in property investment, development and asset management, we have a proven track record in capital and risk management, providing service excellence to tenants and delivering superior risk-adjusted returns for investors. www.dexus.com Download the Dexus IR app Download the Dexus IR app to your preferred mobile device to gain instant access to the latest stock price, ASX Announcements, presentations, reports, webcasts and more. Dexus Funds Management Ltd ABN 24 060 920 783, AFSL 238163, as Responsible Entity for Dexus (ASX: DXS) Important notice and disclaimer Important information This announcement is issued by Dexus Funds Management Limited ('DXFM') in its capacity as responsible entity of Dexus (ASX:DXS) ('Dexus'), comprising Dexus Diversified Trust, Dexus Industrial Trust, Dexus Office Trust and Dexus Operations Trust. Not an offer This announcement is for information purposes only and is not, and does not constitute, an invitation, solicitation, recommendation or offer of securities for subscription, purchase or sale in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not financial product advice and does not and will not form any part of any contract or commitment for the acquisition of Dexus Stapled Securities. This announcement is not a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other offering document under Australian law (and will not be lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) or any other law. No action has been (or will be) taken to register Dexus Stapled Securities or otherwise permit a public offering of the Dexus Stapled Securities in any jurisdiction outside of Australia and New Zealand. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States and may not be distributed or released in the United States. The stapled securities to be offered and sold under the institutional placement and security purchase plan offer by DXFM ('New Securities') set out in this announcement ('Offer') have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act'), or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and any other applicable securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States (which Dexus has no obligation to do or procure) or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction exempt from or not subject to, such registration requirements and any other applicable securities laws. In addition, the New Securities to be offered and sold under the security purchase plan offer by DXFM will only be offered and sold to eligible Security holders in Australia and New Zealand in 'offshore transactions' (as defined in Regulation S under the Securities Act) in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act. 03-Jun-2019 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de GIGAS HOSTING S.A. / Key word(s): Quarter Results GIGAS HOSTING S.A.: EBITDA through March totalled 639 thousand euros, nearly doubling last year's and outstripping its budget by 27.6% 03-Jun-2019 / 10:00 CET/CEST The Company releases its first quarter 2019 results EBITDA through March totalled 639 thousand euros, nearly doubling last year's and outstripping its budget by 27.6% - Gross customer revenue in the first quarter of 2019 amounted to EUR 3.04 million, up 42.3% year-on-year and 9.8% above budget - Gigas will attend to the 15th Edition Spring European MidCap Event in June Gigas (GIGA.MC), a Spanish multinational cloud computer services company, released its results for the 1Q of 2019 today, showing a significant interannual growth in both customer revenue and EBITDA. Customer revenue (gross sales) in the first quarter of 2019 amounted to EUR 3.04 million, up 42.3% year-on-year (from EUR 2.13 million in 1Q 2018) and 9.8% above budget (EUR 2.77 million, see price sensitive information disclosed on 15 January 2019). Net revenue in 1Q 2018 amounted to EUR 2.47 million, up 34.2% year-on-year (from EUR 1.84 million) and 1.3% above the budget (EUR 2.44 million). EBITDA through March totalled EUR 639 thousand, nearly double the EUR 307 thousand obtained in first quarter of last year and reaching an EBITDA margin of 25.8%. It also outstripped the EUR 501 thousand budgeted by 27.6%, thanks to revenue growth but more so to cost containment and synergies. Gross income totalled EUR 1.91 million in the first three months of 2019, leaving the gross margin at 77.2%. The gross margin narrowed from the year-ago figure because of the acquisition of two companies in 2018, both of which command thinner gross margins than GIGAS, and due to the addition of two new datacenters (Barcelona and Bogota, inherited from the acquisitions) and the increasing inclusion of third-party software licenses in the Company's products. Net debt at 31 March 2019 amounted to EUR 1.47 million (excluding the EUR 2.5 million of convertible bonds subscribed by Inveready which are in the money and, therefore, expected to be converted). Taking budgeted EBITDA for the full year (EUR 2.55 million), this gives an EBITDA ratio of 0.6 times. In summary, reported sales and EBITDA for the first quarter of 2019 were significantly higher-than-budgeted, increasing the company's profitability, thanks to the successful integration of the two companies acquired and the efforts made by management to streamline costs. GIGAS continues to assess potential acquisitions to speed up its growth and contribute value to its shareholders. Analysts are still upbeat on GIGAS shares, with all seeing upside potential. Just this morning, GVC Gaesco raised the (12-month) target price to EUR 10 from EUR 9.10 per share, (the closing price yesterday, 30 May 2019, of EUR 7.28 per share). The Company will attend to the 15th Edition Spring European MidCap Event in June About Gigas.com Gigas is a Spanish cloud computing company listed on the Mercado Alternativo Bursatil (Spanish Alternative Equity Market or MAB) since 2015 (GIGA.MAB). Founded in 2011, it has become one of the world's leader providers in the sector, according to Gartner's "Magic Quadrant for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service" report. Gigas, which offers cloud computing solutions to large corporations and SMEs alike, is widely known for its cutting-edge technology and unrivalled technical support. The company has data centres in Madrid, Miami and Santiago de Chile and offices in Spain, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Miami, Panama and Mexico. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. NOAA awards $175 million to the University of Maryland for Earth system studies The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a five-year $175 million cooperative funding agreement to the University of Maryland for collaborative research in Earth system science. The agreement funds the new Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS), a national consortium of more than two dozen academic and nonprofit institutions. CISESS builds on NOAA's long-term partnership with UMD, which includes the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites from 2009 to 2019 and the Cooperative Institute for Climate Studies from 1984 to 2009. CISESS will be led by three principal investigators: Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm and E. Hugo Berbery of UMD and Otis Brown of NC State University. "We are extremely proud to lead CISESS," said CISESS Executive Director Miralles-Wilhelm, who is interim director of UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) and chair of UMD's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. "Through CISESS, we will better understand how the natural atmosphere-ocean-land-biosphere components of Earth interact with human activities as a coupled system." CISESS will have two primary locations: in College Park, Maryland, at UMD and adjacent to NOAA's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction; and in Asheville, North Carolina, collocated with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information and hosted by NC State University. Brown, a research professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at NC State University, will serve as director of the Asheville location. "This is an opportunity for the University of Maryland to further advance its national leadership in Earth system science research and innovation," said Mary Ann Rankin, senior vice president and provost at UMD. "We look forward to the great work that will emerge from this new institute as it helps NOAA and UMD protect the nation's environment, security, economy and quality of life." In support of NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, CISESS research activities will cover three themes: satellite services, Earth system observations and services, and Earth system research. The activities proposed for the themes are interconnected and tightly coupled to allow for rapid feedback, prototyping and development. For example, CISESS researchers will use environmental data from satellites to develop new, more accurate products that help NOAA improve weather and climate forecasts and build resilience to extreme events. The researchers will also monitor the oceans, the atmosphere, and the cryosphere and share that information so that it can be used in environmental decision-making. Overall, CISESS will provide the capabilities and expertise to improve systems for data access, quality, management, processing, analysis, assimilation, modeling, dissemination and visualization. In addition to advancing research, CISESS researchers will educate and train students and scientists in this field and pursue outreach and engagement activities with the scientific community, decision-makers and the public. "The creation of CISESS demonstrates the importance of pursuing Earth system research to help improve how society perceives and is affected by the natural environment," said CISESS Deputy Director Berbery, a research professor in ESSIC. "The capabilities and strengths of CISESS institutions offer an innovative organizational approach commensurate with the breadth and complexity of the challenges of the Earth system to our environment and global society." In addition to UMD and NC State, academic members of CISESS include the University of Alabama; the University of North Carolina System; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Alabama; the University of Alabama in Huntsville; the City University of New York; George Mason University; Oregon State University; Howard University; the University of Michigan; the University of South Carolina; the University of Georgia; University of California, Irvine; South Dakota State University; Florida International University; and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Additional institutions in CISESS include the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the Nature Conservancy and the Research Triangle Institute. "We are at a crucial juncture in our efforts to observe, understand and predict changes in climate and weather," said Amitabh Varshney, dean of UMD's College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. "This new cooperative institute positions the University of Maryland and our partners to make rapid and transformative progress in this area that has enormous impacts on life as we know it." ### Media Relations Contact: Abby Robinson, 301-405-5845, abbyr@umd.edu University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences 2300 Symons Hall College Park, MD 20742 http://www. cmns. umd. edu @UMDscience About the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 9,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $175 million. This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Ominous and dangerous signs neglected By B. Anton Jeyanathan View(s): View(s): The failure of the intelligence gathering apparatus of the Police Department is being discussed in different forums. Questions are being asked as to who was responsible for the failure to act on the intelligence available well ahead of the Muslim extremists attacks on Easter Sunday. Every nation maintains specialised units to gather intelligence about any enemy threat. Information is gathered by covert and overt methods. Overt methods are generally freely accessible if the intelligence officers look for such information. Newspaper articles, publications, leaflets and any other notification by the target organisation, and public meetings organised by target groups, are sources of overt information. Another source of overt information is through interrogation of suspects arrested in connection with offences relating to national security. Interrogation by local police is unlikely to yield much information, but when such suspects are interrogated by Officers of specialised units such as the CID, TID and Special Branch, valuable information can be extracted. Covert Information Information through covert or secret means is a professional task, where the enemy organisation is targeted and penetrated by way of planting an agent or informant, who will be working for the intelligence agency for financial or other benefits Penetrating or infiltrating an organisation is an onerous, painstaking and risky task. Cultivating an informant or an agent from the targeted enemy organisation is replete with danger until the informant or agent is tested for many years, as he could turn out to be a double agent. Intelligence evaluation Intelligence is the refined and polished information gathered through overt and covert methods. It needs to be evaluated, collated, analysed and communicated. The evaluation process must be done in a timely fashion. Otherwise, the volume of raw information collected becomes unmanageable. Once a proper evaluation is conducted, the next step is collation. Collation The evaluated information before being processed into intelligence should go through an important phase of collation. Ferreting out useless, irrelevant information, orderly filing and arranging of collected materials are the important aspects of collation. Analysis Once a proper evaluation is completed, the most critical aspect in an intelligence process, the task of analysing, begins to arrive at some sort of pattern and meaning. Communication/Distribution Once the intelligence officers entrusted with the task of collecting, collating and analysing information/intelligence received, arrives at a reasonable conclusion, the outcome has to be communicated to the superior authorities, who should be informed on a Need to know basis. Writing on the Wall The activities and the intelligence gathered from foreign sources on the Muslim extremists elements had been communicated to government and law enforcement officers. In addition, Muslim religious leaders, who were totally against the radical Muslim movement, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), also had been providing information. Strangely, no action has been taken by successive government, intelligence agencies or the law enforcement agencies to monitor the activities of the groups leaders or detain them for questioning. Killing of two constables The killing of two police constables who were on a night duty at Vavunitivu in the Batticaloa district was conveniently foisted on the LTTE and a suspect from Kilinochchi was arrested and remanded. It is reliably learnt that the arrest was made by TID officers. There has been no proper investigation or intelligence gathering as to how or who committed the killings. If the law enforcement agencies, assisted by the Intelligence units, had gone deeply into the case, they would have perhaps stumbled on information that the killings were committed by Muslim extremists, who later carried out the Easter Sunday attacks. Mawanella Several Buddhist statues were damaged in the Mawanella area, and some Muslim youths were arrested. Some of them were reported to be leading members of the NTJ. However, the law enforcement agencies could not detain these suspects for a longer period and go deeply into their activities due to alleged political intervention, and they were released on bail. Vanathavillu The large haul of explosives and dynamites was detected in Vanathavillu in the Puttalam district and some Muslim youths who were connected to the Mawanella case were arrested. Due to political interference, the Police could not conduct a thorough investigation to establish a connection between the Mawanella incidents and the explosives. Attack on ministers Secretary The coordinating secretary of Minister Kabeer Hashim was shot and seriously injured. Here too, the Police did not go deeply into the reason for the crime. According to information, this was also carried out by the extremists connected to the Easter bomb blasts. According to the information available, the intelligence unit of the Police had vital information passed on by Indias intelligence agency by about April 4 this year. It appears that the intelligence arm of the Sri Lanka Police and the government members did not take this information with the seriousness it deserved. The activities of the NTJ have been known to the law enforcement agencies, but they had failed to probe deeply into their activities. Being in possession of information passed on by religious leaders of this country as far back as 2014, the militant group, backed by some political heavyweights, had established itself not only in Kattankudy, but in other areas as well. The ominous signs known to the police and the government had been ignored and discarded. Responsibility and accountability The failure of various agencies to foresee the impending carnage despite the availability of intelligence is a serious matter that should be severely dealt with while the persons responsible should be held accountable and punished. (The writer is a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police) Since the beginning of the Revolution, thanks to Fidel's vision, the national agricultural sector is where a system of science, technology and innovation has been promoted the most; however, we have not achieved the results that we should have in Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here You have arrived at this page because the page or post you were looking for no longer exists. Please check our main navigation pages for other content: Home Page WHILE the Kingdom of Eswatini awaits the outcome of the seven-horse race to play host to what is probably the African Unions (AU) most ambitious new-born project, the agreement that creates the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) officially came into force last Thursday. What this effectively means is that AfCFTA, which is said heralds the birth of the worlds largest trading market of 1.2 billion people, is now in operation, meaning that the intra-African trade that has been lip-service in post-colonial Africa since the days of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the precursor to the current AU, has taken effect. The birth of this new-kid-on-the-block, is the reason African leaders, will reduce too much reliance on the volatility of commodity prices that impact on raw materials that make the bulk of the continents exports. With the coming into effect of the agreement creating AfCFTA, signatory member countries are expected and required to remove tariffs on 90 per cent of goods earmarked for exports. However, this is not expected to happen overnight and might take years to achieve, if this will be ever possible in a continent forever existing on potential that, decades after liberation from colonizers, it has not fully realized. The continental market, according to African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, has a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$2.5 trillion (approximately E37 trillion). Of the 55 member States of the AU, 52 have signed up to the agreement and Nigeria, the continents most populous country and boasting the largest economy, was preparing to put pen to paper. The kingdom is competing with Egypt, Ghana, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Kenya and Senegal to host the AfCFTA Secretariat, which in other words is the headquarters of this organ of the AU. Except to hope that, from a patriotic viewpoint, Eswatini emerges victorious, I shall deliberately avoid delving into this contest for a number of reasons that I will also not share with readers of this column, given the absence of free speech within these shores. As I see it, the import of this newest organ of the AU, that ironically was birthed in an unlikely host country, Rwanda, is if eventually it will impact the poverty-stricken populations of this rich poor continent. Since the days of the Old Boys Club thats the name we christened it during my school days - which the OAU evolved to be instead of championing the causes of the masses of Africa, has largely been a failure, hence it is home to some of the poorest countries on earth with all their mineral wealth in tow. The continent has not developed exponentially to the amount of natural resources that have been exploited since regaining liberation from colonial masters that have been catalytic in the development of other economies beyond Africa. In some instances, there has been retrogression in the quality of life of the people relative to the era under colonisation since the path to wealth in Africa is taking up a career in politics. Yet, this continent is second to none in mineral wealth. As I see it, very few AU organs are functional because African leaders too often sign up to things that they are not really committed to. Take the Convention on Human and Peoples Rights, for example, an organ to motor this was created and is hosted but The Gambia. Yet Africa has the worlds worst record when it comes to respecting human rights. Has any leader ever raised their voice to question this, yet the relevant organ has to remain well resourced irrespective that it is not delivering anything on its mandate of inculcating a culture of human rights and policing violations. What happened to the single African passport also launched the same time as the AfCFTA agreement, or was it all hyperbole? Yes, African leaderships fondness for playing to the gallery to impress their self-importance is legendary. Most often than not, the challenge is enforcing some of the ethos to which the AU member States have bound themselves. That countries sign up and proceed to ratify conventions is not binding them to respect and domesticate these into their respective domestic legal frameworks. This omission aside, most often African leaders have no respect for these self-same conventions and are not censored or sanctioned for this. That is why sovereignty in Africa means an exclusive privilege available to dictators and despots, through which they nonchalantly annul Gods injunction that all men and women are born in His image and are equal, while arrogating to themselves and their group the right to think and speak for the people in perpetuity. Poverty and disease that is second nature to Africa just did not happen. Often these are mastered by the very leaders who have the knack of elevating themselves above their nations. These leaders no longer steal but believe they are entitled to ransack their treasuries and exploit their natural resources and economies exclusively for enriching themselves, their families and cronies. That has been the nature of post-colonial African politics. Given where Africa is, in spite of all her riches in respect to mineral resources, an impoverished and d seased continent, the question has to be posed why AfCFTA will turn out differently. For it is a fact that African leaders are well invested in their economies. And they use their political clout to benefit themselves and their families and blind loyalists. Yet, had they acted in the best interests of their people, by now pricing of commodities and minerals would be determined in Africa and not in Western capitals like oil-producing nations are regulating prices for crude oil. MBABANE What is happening to our beloved city? This is the question that many parents residing in the capital city failed to get answers to following the spate of murders of teenage girls within Mahwalala, a location in the outskirts of Mbabane. The parents conceded that for the longest time, Mbabane was known for trivial and petty crimes but not where the lives of young girls were in danger. This is disturbing really. We have always thought these crimes were rife in other parts of the country, not Mbabane. Could we have a serial rapist and murderer on the loose? Why is he targeting young girls who have a bright future ahead of them? Our hope is with the police to get to the bottom of this. We cant live in a society engulfed by fear, some of the parents who called this publication said. At least three female parents called this publication to voice out their frustration on the non-apprehension of the suspect(s). Moving What if its one person who will be moving on to the next location? We cant live like this. The police should act fast, one parent said. In light of the recent crimes, security has been beefed up at Mahwalala following the murder of yet another teenage girl on Friday. The Form I pupil of Saim Christian High School is said to have been suffocated and raped while in a rented flat in the area. The death of the pupil brings the number of killed pupils to three, following the killing of two others about three months ago. Both children aged 13 years, who were pupils at Nkwalini Primary School, were also raped and murdered around the same location. Residents raised their concerns during a community meeting which was held at Saim Christian High School yesterday, adding that the killings were putting the area in bad light. Chairperson of the Mahwalala Committee, Thandi Mkhonta, sought responses from the residents, adding that they needed to come up with a solution. Responding, the residents said it all started with the parents who were allowing their children to roam around the street in the thick of the night. Another concerned resident said he had met up with three teenagers during the weekend, walking along the same area where the pupil was killed. It was two boys and a girl, he said. The resident said he immediately stopped to find out what the teenagers were doing at the awkward time of the night and he was told they were from practice. By Trend As of May 31, 2019, the process of issuing compensations carried out in accordance with the decree by President Ilham Aliyev On additional measures to resolve problem loans of individuals in Azerbaijan, has been implemented by 91.4 percent, Trend reports referring to information provided by Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan (FIMSA). According to FIMSA, 95.5 percent of individuals out of the total number of the citizens entitled to to the compensation (602,347 people) have received it. Citizens who have not yet applied for the compensation for various reasons (persons outside the country, deceased, etc.) amounted to 27,500 citizens, 20,500 of which are clients of liquidated banks and non-bank credit organizations, and the remaining 7,000 are clients of operating banks. According to the financial regulator, persons who have not received compensation before May 31 may apply to their banks and the national postal operator, providing necessary documents for receiving the compensation. FIMSA also noted that about 13,000 applications of citizens are being considered and will processed by the Chamber of the Appeals Committee on the principle of reservation. The payment process was carried out in six tranches by the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry in the amount of 600.1 million manats. Of the funds allocated, 288.8 million manats were directed to overdue loans, while the remaining amount of 311.3 million manats was transferred to citizens' cards. As part of the decree, 107 million manats were sent to repay debts on credit interest and penalties from over 126,000 debtors who are clients of banks and non-bank credit organizations. In order to expedite the execution of the decree and the transparency of the process, 685,000 citizens made 1.7 million requests on the electronic portal created by FIMSA. The total number of views on this portal made up about 3 million. More than 117,000 calls were received from 966 call centers. Duqm Naval Dockyard (DND) has completed its first dry docking project, the repair, overhaul and dry docking (ROH DD) of the fast expeditionary transport ship - the USNS Choctaw County. DND, a joint venture (JV) between Babcock International and the Oman Dry Dock Company (ODC) was established in Duqm, Oman in June 2017 and is a strategic location in Babcock Internationals global support footprint. The completed contract for the US Military Sealift Command (MSC) represents another significant milestone in the JV and demonstrates the capability of DND for future work packages with the US Navy, said a statement. The work, which was carried out in No. 2 Dry dock at Duqm, involved complex work on hull systems, internal systems and the ships stern ramp, which is a key feature of these flexible platforms, enabling the swift embarkation and disembarkation of vehicles, stores and personnel in challenging conditions where pier side support may not be available. The USNS Choctaw County is a Spearhead Class Fast Expeditionary Transport, used by US Military Sealift Command for the fast transport of troops and material in the Middle East theatre of operations. Al Stangroom, Babcock Omans managing director, said: With an on cost, on time contract delivery, our team at Duqm has the proven expertise and capability to successfully deliver complex warship and auxiliary contracts, including dry docking of specialist vessels like USNS Choctaw County. We have already undertaken successful contracts with US and Royal Navy warships, confirming that DND is well positioned, both in geographical and in technical support terms, Stangroom said. Said Hamood Said Al Maawali, chief executive officer of ODC, said: Our experienced commercial repair team has worked hand in glove as partners since June 2017, and I welcome the additional warship repair capability that is now represented by the increasingly mature JV. The successful completion of this contract is a major step forward, demonstrating Duqm is a competitive and fully capable dockyard for the maintenance, overhaul and repair of customers warships, Al Maawalia added. Representatives from Duqm Naval Dockyard and Babcock are attending the Future Surface Fleet 2019 conference in Portsmouth UK, from June 4 to 6, to showcase the facilitys proven through-life support capabilities. TradeArabia News Service Batelco, Bahrains leading digital solutions provider, said it will be the first telecom provider in Bahrain to launch commercial 5G network in the kingdom. The service will be available in key locations and gradually rolled out in more areas throughout the kingdom depending on customer demand and requirements, the company said. In reaching this technological milestone, Batelco will also be among the first in the region to deliver commercial 5G network services for its customers. Batelco is very proud to launch this technology in the kingdoms market due to the importance of 5G technology in enabling the digital economy and enhancing the telecom sector, the company said. Batelcos development of 5G has been carried out in collaboration with key partners with strong commitment from all concerned to ensure the successful delivery of the commercial launch. The communication landscape is changing rapidly requiring the latest in digital technology that can meet the current and future requirements of residential customers and the enterprise sector. Batelco is always keen to be the first in delivering the latest services for its customers in the local market in line with the latest developments in digital technology, it said. Batelco CEO Mikkel Vinter said that Batelco is very happy to launch 5G in Bahrain and very proud to be first to provide the service. Delivering the latest in digital technology to our customers is our top priority and a crucial part of our corporate digital strategy. Batelco is committed to supporting the telecom sector in line with the Kingdoms vision for the digital economy as well as working on unleashing the great potential of 5G technology which impacts all aspects of life and which in turn will elevate the definition of telecommunications in our community, he added. TradeArabia News Service Qatar Petroleum has awarded the FEED (front end engineering design) contract for the North Field Expansion Projects offshore pipelines and topsides facilities. The scope of this FEED, which was awarded to McDermott Middle East, includes engineering design for eight unmanned wellhead platform topsides, four 38-inch trunk lines and four 28-inch intrafield lines, and is expected to take 12 months to complete. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, president & CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said: The offshore topsides and pipelines are an important component of the North Field Expansion Projects implementation. We are pleased to have McDermott take part in this important effort. Al-Kaabi added: This award comes on the heels of a series of announcements for other components of the project that are all important milestones towards delivering our strategy of increasing Qatars LNG production capacity from 77 to 110 million tons per annum, which is progressing well and according to plan on all fronts. Qatargas, a global LNG company, is entrusted with executing this mega-project on behalf of Qatar Petroleum. Qatargas has a well-proven track record of delivering such major projects and in operating various onshore and offshore facilities in the North Field with world class reliability and operational excellence. TradeArabia News Service Dubai-based international airline Emirates first scheduled A380 services have touched down in Boston and Amman for the summer season peak. The first scheduled A380 service landed in Amman on June 1 at 1555hrs local time and the second A380 service from Dubai to Boston landed at 1350hrs local time. Led by Captain Arif Al Reyami and Jordanian First Officer Laith Saudi, the A380 Amman service was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute. Emirates will operate its A380 aircraft to and from Amman until 26 October to cater to the increased demand for travel during the peak summer period. The airline has adjusted its schedule on one of its three daily flights (EK 903/904) with the A380. Emirates A380 operations to Boston also coincide with high customer demand during the peak summer and winter travel season and will see overall capacity increase around 45% between 1 June to 30 September 2019 and 1 December 2019 to 31 January 2020. The move to deploy the popular A380 on both routes demonstrates the airlines flexibility to optimise the usage of its fleet to cater to passenger demand within its network. Emirates has been flying to Jordan for over 33 years, and has carried over 5 million passengers to and from Amman. Emirates has been serving Boston since 2014, consistently growing passenger demand over the past five years to and through Dubai. With the A380 being introduced for the summer, travellers have more choice to explore unique A380 destinations on the Emirates network, as well as experience the ultimate in travel comfort on the airlines flagship aircraft. The Emirates A380 flying to Amman is set in a three-class configuration, and will have 427 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck over the months of June and July, 76 flat-bed Business Class seats and 14 luxurious First Class Suites. First and Business Class customers can catch up, network and enjoy an extensive range of beverages and delicacies in the Onboard Lounge. The Emirates A380 flying to Boston is also set in a three class cabin configuration, offering 14 private suites in First Class, 76 seats in Business Class, and 426 spacious seats in Economy Class. First Class passengers can relax and revitalise in one of the two A380 Shower Spas, and First and Business Class passengers are welcome in the Onboard Lounge to enjoy canapes and beverages prepared by the onboard bartender. Passengers in all classes can enjoy complimentary meals and beverages, Wi-Fi, hospitality and service from multi-national cabin crew and Emirates award winning ice with up to 4,000 channels of movies, TV programs, music and podcasts. The Emirates A380 to Boston will operate until 30 September 2019 and will then resume on 1 December 2019 to 31 January 2020. Emirates flight EK 237 leaves Dubai at 0815hrs and lands in Boston at 1350hrs. EK 238 departs Boston at 2310hrs and arrives in Dubai at 1925hrs the next day. The Emirates A380 will operate until 26 October 2019 to Amman. Flight EK 903 departs Dubai at 1400hrs and arrives in Amman at 1555hrs, while the return A380 flight, EK 904 leaves Amman at 1800hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2200hrs. Emirates is also offering Greek travellers the unique chance to fly on the iconic A380. The airline deployed the double-decker aircraft to Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos on 31 May with the commencement of the peak summer travel period to meet high passenger demand to and from Greece. The A380 will operate to Athens until September 30, 2019. The Emirates A380 has become one of the most recognised and admired aircraft in the world and more than 115 million passengers have experienced the airlines flagship since 2008. Emirates currently has 110 A380s in service and 13 pending delivery, and is set to receive six A380s this financial year. TradeArabia News Service Flydubai celebrated its 10th anniversary this month with a special flight from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Beirut, Lebanon, marking the milestone moment. Ten years ago, flydubais first flight took off from Dubai International Airport bound for Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, on 01 June 2009, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the history of aviation in the UAE. The special flight was met with a celebratory water cannon salute upon arrival in Beirut. Onboard were passengers who had flown on flydubais first flight who reminisced about the inaugural flight. Commenting on the 10th year anniversary, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of flydubai, said: For many years, the Government of Dubai recognised the need for another carrier to serve our country. In 2009, we were able to achieve this thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Flydubai was launched with a mandate to open new markets and make travel more accessible to more people. I am happy to see flydubai deliver on that commitment which has seen the airline connect 71 previously underserved cities to Dubai allowing a population of 1.5 billion easier access to one of the worlds leading aviation hubs, he said. "Celebrating flydubais 10th anniversary, I am pleased to see the airline become another Dubai success story and look forward to their continued success in the years to come. I would like to thank all those who have worked tremendously hard to enable the airline to deliver this wonderful team effort, added Sheikh Ahmed. Reflecting on the last 10 years and looking to the years ahead, Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of flydubai, said: "Flydubais commitment to making travel more convenient and more affordable has only grown stronger over the past 10 years. We realised early on that travel is about bridging the distance between people and we will continue to change the way people travel around the region. We are pleased to see that more than 70 million passengers chose to flydubai since the start of our operations. "I thank our employees and passengers for being part of our journey and look forward to many more years to come as we mark our 10th anniversary celebrating bringing people together, added Al Ghaith. Flydubai has grown its operations from six aircraft operating out of Terminal 2 at Dubai International (DXB) in 2009, to operating more than 1,700 weekly flights from its home base in Terminal 2 with flights to select destinations operating out of Terminal 3 (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC). Since commencing operations, flydubai has created a network of more than 90 destinations in 47 countries across Africa (12 points), Central Asia and the Caucasus (10 points), Europe (28 points), the GCC and the Middle East (26 points) and the Indian Subcontinent (18 points). - TradeArabia News Service Air Arabia Egypt has announced plans to launch of a new direct flight from Sharm El Sheikh to Naples, Italy, starting from July 15. The flight will operate once a week, on Mondays, departing Sharm El Sheikh International Airport at 12:45 hours local time and arriving at Naples International Airport at 16:30 hours local time. The return flights depart Naples International Airport at 17:20 hours, arriving in Sharm El Sheikh International Airport at 20:50 hours local time. Adel Al Ali, group chief executive officer, Air Arabia, said: Sharm El Sheikh and Naples are two cities rich in history and by linking the two through our affordable flights, we are creating the opportunity for more people to discover the two destinations. In addition to supporting the tourism sector of both cities, the new service will also contribute to the business and trade ties between two nations on the Mediterranean coast. Air Arabia has over 170 international and domestic routes from its hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt. - TradeArabia News Service 2019 is the year to take serious action against inequalities. The advanced version of the UN Secretary-Generals 2019 report on the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals rings alarm bells - the global response has not been ambitious enough to achieve inequality targets, despite the progress made by some countries. The report finds that the most vulnerable people and countries continue to suffer disproportionately. At this pace, the world will not end extreme poverty in 2030. What has been achieved so far? We are seeing a range of initiatives that countries are taking to tackle inequalities and the legacies of discrimination; be it through social protection schemes or innovation in monitoring vulnerability. In Lao PDR, the Government has taken steps to reach those furthest left behind, regardless of ethnicity and language, by focusing on poverty reduction in remote and poor areas. It has set up a poverty monitoring system and a National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly. Bhutans 12th Five Year Plan has identified 14 vulnerable groups through a Vulnerability Baseline Assessment which will be specifically targeted and is drafting a National Disability Policy and National Gender Equality Policy. In Northern Nigeria more than 23 percent of households in Boko Haram areas are headed by women. Here the challenge is to enable them, and the most vulnerable, to be involved in crisis response decision-making. The leave no one behind agenda also means working to build trust between the military, police and communities. The Citizens Platform for SDGs in Botswana and Bangladesh have promoted the interpretation of leaving no one behind for localities within their own contexts, with dialogues informed by evidence and social mobilization. Rising inequality is not a natural or inevitable condition. This means we can do something to change it! It happens within and among countries. It is a product of policies, laws, institutions, social-cultural norms and practices, governance deficits, and the unequal distribution of wealth and power. Inequality provokes societies to move to the extremes, making it hard to find a common ground, posing a serious challenge to peace, security, and the social contracts of nations. Inequality then turns into an existential threat. Four ways to address inequality First, we will not be able to bend the curve of inequalities, unless we deliberately invest significant portion of our resources, including from national budgets, on people who have been marginalized such as women, young people, indigenous groups, persons with disability, older persons; seeing them not just as beneficiaries, but also as agents of change in their communities. Second, most experts, across different fields and organizations, recognize the centrality and even the primacy of SDG 10 in the 2030 Agenda. Only solutions that are integrated in nature will have a gravitational pull on inequalities. Investing in nature-based solutions has deep impact on several SDGs, including those related to food, health, climate, energy, and biodiversity, engaging in particular, women and young people. We must identify and invest in those solutions. Third, as the place of highest inequalities, and the site of both economic opportunity and disparity, cities have a critical role to play. Optimal policies to reduce inequalities must have the ability to go sub-national and local. Fourth, a fundamental deterrent in our fight against inequalities is the very structure of our production patterns, with the share of labour progressively diminishing compared to the share of capital. The fourth industrial revolution and the surge of Artificial Intelligence may further accentuate deepening inequalities. Global governance is needed to help mitigate such potential risks. To continue the momentum, we will be engaging in discussions with the UN Member States on inequality in the upcoming High-level Political Forum in July. The topic will again be central during the 45th G7 Summit, in Biarritz, France in August. UNDP will launch the Human Development Report on inequality later this year. The 74th session of the UN General Assembly should be an historic moment to strengthen our resolve, with a greater sense and pace to meet the ambition of leaving no one behind. United Nations, Jun 2 (UNI) Mozambique and its people desperately need support to recover from the powerful back-to-back cyclones that recently tore through the southern African country, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a donors conferenc, as he also sounded the alarm about the urgency of tackling climate change. The Government-led International Pledging Conference, which opened on Friday, wrapped up today in the coastal city of Beira, one of the areas worst hit by cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which struck this past March and April respectively, killing hundreds and impacting close to two million. The post-disaster needs assessment carried out by the UN Development Program (UNDP), the European Union, the World Bank and the African Development Bank, estimated that Mozambique would need some $3.2 billion. dollars for post-cyclone reconstruction in affected areas. Cyclone Kenneth made landfall on April 25 inflicting substantial damage to the economic and social life in the Cabo Delgado province. With maximum sustained wind speed of 225 km/hour and gusts that reached 270km/hour, the storm ripped off roofs and generated heavy rainfall resulting in massive flooding. That disaster came as the country was still reeling less than two months after Cyclone Idai devastated central provinces, killing more than 600 people, unleashing a cholera epidemic, wiping out crops in the Mozambiques breadbasket, forcing a million people to rely on food assistance to survive, and causing massive destruction of homes, schools and infrastructure in one of the worlds poorest countries. Sending warm greetings to the Conference, Mr. Guterres said in a message that he was certain he shared with all a deep sense of distress at the loss of life, the devastation and the suffering caused by the deadly cyclones. He reiterated his condolences and deep solidarity with the Government and the people of Mozambique, especially the communities most affected by these natural disasters. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to all those who have contributed and continue to do so to alleviate the suffering of the people who have been deprived of their goods, houses, infrastructure and livelihoods, said Mr. Guterres, noting that the UN and its humanitarian partners had been on the ground since the start of the crisis. The world bodys support to the Governments efforts included contributing to the coordination of international support; distributing food, drinking water and medicine; and providing shelter to those displaced. But Mr. Guterres stressed that while the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) allocated $24 million to Mozambique, it was necessary to recognize that to face the scale of the disaster, large additional resources are needed. The means at our disposal are not at all enough. We face enormous challenges: peoples basic needs remain unmet; the risk of disease outbreaks is evident; and the negative impact on food security due to the loss of crops will be very significant, he said in his message. He also noted that in order to strengthen the response to the tragedy, the United Nations launched an emergency humanitarian appeal of $282 million, which remained deeply underfunded. Against this background, Mr. Guterres reiterated his appeal to the generosity of the international community, saying this is the moment to translate into concrete gestures our solidarity with a country affected by one of the worst weather-related catastrophes in African history and which also warns us about the urgency of tackling climate change. UNDP actively supported the Conference, with policy and technical expertise, having provided assistance in recovery efforts from the very beginning. Going forward, UNDP said it would be working with all partners to advance recovery and help build resilience. About 700 participants from international organizations, development partners, private sector and civil society organizations were expected to be present at the conference. Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi and several senior ministers also were expected to participate. UNI XC JAL 0931 Bagley Named UW Faculty Fellow for Academic Policy and Leadership The University of Wyomings Office of Academic Affairs has named Department of Chemical Engineering Professor David Bagley as Faculty Fellow for Academic Policy and Leadership. In that role, Bagley will provide leadership and guidance for policy development, including ongoing review of university regulations on academic personnel and development and review of key standard administrative policies and procedures related to those regulations. Dave has provided outstanding leadership across many aspects of shared governance, and I am thrilled that he will be working with the Office of Academic Affairs, faculty and administrators to advance the academic mission of the university, Vice Provost Tami Benham-Deal says. Bagley completed his B.S. in chemical and petroleum refining engineering in 1984 at Colorado School of Mines. After working at Procter and Gamble Co. in Cincinnati for three years, developing softer and stronger toilet paper, he obtained his M.S. (1989) and Ph.D. (1993) in environmental engineering from Cornell University, along the way serving as a supply officer for the 402nd POW Camp in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm (1991). After graduating from Cornell, Bagley worked as an environmental engineer with CH2M Hill Inc. in Deerfield Beach, Fla. In 1994, he started his career in academia, joining the faculty of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2005, Bagley joined UW as an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and was appointed head of that department in August 2007, a position he held through December 2010. In July 2008, Bagley was promoted to professor and, in January 2011, he was appointed head of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, a position he held through March 2015, when he returned to the professoriate in the newly created Department of Chemical Engineering. Over the course of his career, Bagley has published 55 peer-reviewed journal articles, and he supervised/co-supervised eight Ph.D. students and 34 masters students. He was awarded the Harrison Prescott Eddy Medal in 2000 by the Water Environment Federation for his research in sustainable wastewater treatment, and he continues his research on developing sustainable engineered systems to support human habitat. Bagley has taught 21 different courses from freshman through the graduate level across four areas of engineering: civil engineering, environmental engineering, chemical engineering and petroleum engineering. Bagley also designed the minor in process control and instrumentation, available to UW engineering students starting in 2019-2020. He received Mortar Board Top Prof awards in 2007 and 2016; the Dr. David O. Cooney Outstanding Teacher Award in Chemical Engineering in 2017 and 2019; and was named an honorary marshal for the December 2018 UW commencement. Bagley is a licensed professional engineer in Florida, Ontario and Wyoming. He recently served as a member-at-large on the UW Faculty Senate Executive Committee (2018-19) and chaired the University Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion Committee in 2017-18. He also has served as a governor-appointed member of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council (EQC) since 2012, and chaired the EQC from 2015-17 and again in 2019. He and his wife, Catherine, are parents of two UW alumni -- Megan in 2010 and Stephen in 2013 -- and they make sure their grandsons, Ian and Connor, always have the latest UW apparel. UW Professor Named Co-Editor of Journal of Urban Mathematics Education Jacqueline Leonard University of Wyoming College of Education Professor Jacqueline Leonard recently was selected from a pool of nominees to be a co-editor of the Journal of Urban Mathematics Education (JUME). Leonard will work with scholars to submit manuscripts on novel urban mathematics education research to the journal and promote an environment in which scholars are encouraged to push beyond established boundaries to transform the research landscape. I am honored to serve in this capacity to provide representation from a woman of color who was there at the beginning and who is committed to critical theory and social justice frameworks that are important in the current era, Leonard says. Leonards position with the journal started May 1 and will continue until August 2022, when the editorial team will be up for reappointment. The first issue from the newly established team, Vol. 12, No. 1, is expected to be published in the spring or summer of 2020. Her association with the journal started in 2008, when an article she wrote was included in the inaugural issue. As an editor, Leonard will support the authors of at least five manuscripts as they navigate the publication process each year. She also will solicit manuscripts from presenters at conferences, as well as scholars who are doing interesting work on urban mathematics. She also hopes to work with junior scholars to provide mentorship as they progress through the publication process. I know a lot of mathematics education faculty in urban settings, as well as scholars who write on issues related to urban education in other educational settings. I hope to encourage submissions from these individuals to enhance the quality of manuscripts submitted to the journal and to offer themes that these faculty and scholars could address, Leonard says. JUME is sponsored and published semiannually by the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture at Aggie STEM at Texas A&M University. The refereed and peer-reviewed journal publishes data-based qualitative and quantitative studies, action research, research syntheses, integrative reviews and interpretations of research literature that focuses on mathematics education in urban settings. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. . . 2022 , . 1 . , 2020 .... Liberias first activity as a partner administration of the WCOs Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme for Customs took place in Monrovia, Liberia 20-24th May 2019. During the week, WCO experts facilitated a workshop on integrity development. The workshop was attended by senior representatives from 11 different competency areas within the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), all with responsibilities related to the Revised Arusha Declaration, governance and integrity in Customs. An expert from the Turkish Ministry of Customs and Trade provided the workshop participants with practical applications of integrity initiatives. The working group drafted an outline of the priorities and key areas that will serve as the foundation of LRAs integrity strategy and action plan, which will be supported by the WCO A-CIP Programme through the year 2023. The working group identified three key elements or areas on which to focus efforts: human resource management (building on the work conducted under the former WCO WACAM project), morale and organizational culture (specifically, knowledge and change management), and regulatory framework (focusing on duty free policies and procedures). The Commissioner General of LRA expressed his full support for the workshop, its output, along with the identification of teams within LRA that will take forward specific action points. This was also fully endorsed at the end of the mission by the Commissioner Customs. In an effort to increase donor coordination, the weeks activities were conducted in parallel with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund who were in Monrovia to assess customs modernization matters, including integrity. The WCO Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme was launched in January 2019 and is financed by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). It aims to provide support to beneficiary countries in the implementation of new measures to fight corruption and promote integrity in accordance with the ten areas of the Revised Arusha Declaration. For more details, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org ESO contributes to protecting Earth from dangerous asteroids The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) coordinated a cross-organisational observing campaign of the asteroid 1999 KW4 as it flew by Earth, reaching a minimum distance of 5.2 million km [1] on 25 May 2019. 1999 KW4 is about 1.3 km wide, and does not pose any risk to Earth. Since its orbit is well known, scientists were able to predict this fly-by and prepare the observing campaign. ESO joined the campaign with its flagship facility, the Very Large Telescope (VLT ). The VLT is equipped with SPHERE -- one of the very few instruments in the world capable of obtaining images sharp enough to distinguish the two components of the asteroid, which are separated by around 2.6 km. SPHERE was designed to observe exoplanets; its state-of-the-art adaptive optics (AO) system corrects for the turbulence of the atmosphere, delivering images as sharp as if the telescope were in space. It is also equipped with coronagraphs to dim the glare of bright stars, exposing faint orbiting exoplanets. Taking a break from its usual night job hunting exoplanets, SPHERE data helped astronomers characterise the double asteroid. In particular, it is now possible to measure whether the smaller satellite has the same composition as the larger object. "These data, combined with all those that are obtained on other telescopes through the IAWN campaign, will be essential for evaluating effective deflection strategies in the event that an asteroid was found to be on a collision course with Earth," explained ESO astronomer Olivier Hainaut. "In the worst possible case, this knowledge is also essential to predict how an asteroid could interact with the atmosphere and Earth's surface, allowing us to mitigate damage in the event of a collision." "The double asteroid was hurtling by the Earth at more than 70 000 km/h, making observing it with the VLT challenging," said Diego Parraguez, who was piloting the telescope. He had to use all his expertise to lock on to the fast asteroid and capture it with SPHERE. Bin Yang, VLT astronomer, declared "When we saw the satellite in the AO-corrected images, we were extremely thrilled. At that moment, we felt that all the pain, all the efforts were worth it." Mathias Jones, another VLT astronomer involved in these observations, elaborated on the difficulties. "During the observations the atmospheric conditions were a bit unstable. In addition, the asteroid was relatively faint and moving very fast in the sky, making these observations particularly challenging, and causing the AO system to crash several times. It was great to see our hard work pay off despite the difficulties!" While 1999 KW4 is not an impact threat, it bears a striking resemblance to another binary asteroid system called Didymos which could pose a threat to Earth sometime in the distant future. Didymos and its companion called "Didymoon" are the target of a future pioneering planetary defence experiment. NASA's DART spacecraft will impact Didymoon in an attempt to change its orbit around its larger twin, in a test of the feasibility of deflecting asteroids. After the impact, ESA's Hera mission will survey the Didymos asteroids in 2026 to gather key information, including Didymoon's mass, its surface properties and the shape of the DART crater. The success of such missions depends on collaborations between organisations, and tracking Near-Earth Objects is a major focus for the collaboration between ESO and ESA. This cooperative effort has been ongoing since their first successful tracking of a potentially hazardous NEO in early 2014. "We are delighted to be playing a role in keeping Earth safe from asteroids," said Xavier Barcons, ESO's Director General. "As well as employing the sophisticated capabilities of the VLT, we are working with ESA to create prototypes for a large network to take asteroid detection, tracking and characterization to the next level." This recent close encounter with 1999 KW4 comes just a month before Asteroid Day, an official United Nations day of education and awareness about asteroids, to be celebrated on 30 June. Events will be held on five continents, and ESO will be among the major astronomical organisations taking part. The ESO Supernova Planetarium & Visitor Centre will host a range of activities on the theme of asteroids on the day, and members of the public are invited to join in the celebrations. ### Notes [1] This distance is about 14 times the distance to the Moon -- close enough to study, but not close enough to be threatening! Many small asteroids fly past the Earth much closer than 1999 KW4, occasionally closer than the Moon. Earth's most recent encounter with an asteroid took place on 15 February 2013, when a previously unknown asteroid 18 metres across exploded as it entered Earth's atmosphere over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. The damage produced by the subsequent shockwave caused injuries to about 1,500 people. More information ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world's largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". Links Contacts Calum Turner ESO Public Information Officer Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6670 Email: pio@eso.org This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. By Jun. 02, 2019 Paducah Lifeline Ministries, Inc., is a faith-based residential and non-residential substance abuse treatment center that treats clients from Kentucky and the surrounding states. The new building has been made possible because of donations from members of PLMs Board of Directors and their partnership with Kenny Hunt and his company, A&K Construction. This is a dream five years in the making made possible by the passion of our board and a few close friends," said Executive Director Terrye Peeler. The local non-profit organization PLM and its womens counterpart, Ladies Living Free (LLF), have been serving this area since 2004. To find out more about PLMs program or how you could support them, visit their website at www.paducahlifelineministries.com or call Associate Executive Director Ashley Miller at 270-443-4743. PADUCAH - Paducah Lifeline Ministries (PLM) will be joined by A&K Construction and the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce to break ground on a new facility. The event will take place on Monday, June 10, at noon, on the mens campus located at 2806 Morgan Ln. in Paducah. A reception will follow the ceremony. The community is invited to attend this special event. By WestKyStar Staff Jun. 02, 2019 | 05:15 PM | PADUCAH Dr. Jackson was named as the 14th President of Murray State University (MSU) by the Board of Regents on March 1, of this year. Previously, Dr. Jackson had served as Interim President since August 16, 2018. Prior to assuming the presidency, Dr. Jackson served as President of the MSU Foundation. He has also served as Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement in 2006 and was the Universitys chief development officer and was responsible for state and federal governmental relations. In addition, he served as the director for the Universitys $70 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, Hold Thy Banner High: The Campaign for the Students of Murray State University. Dr. Jackson was initially hired by Murray State University in 2005 as the Director of Gift Planning. From 1997 through 2004, he served the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a State Senator, served in Senate leadership as the Minority Whip and held other appointed roles in government. In addition, Dr. Jackson has extensive experience as a corporate executive and in investment banking and financial advisory fields. Dr. Jackson has a B.S. in Finance from Murray State University. He holds an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Antioch University and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in Higher Education Leadership from Western Kentucky University. Leadership Paducah Class #32 graduates will also be recognized at the breakfast. The Power in Partnership monthly breakfast meeting will be Thursday from 7:30-8:30 am at the Julian M. Carroll Convention Center, in the Ohio Room. The cost is $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Non-Power Card holders should make reservations by Tuesday, June 4, by 5 pm to the Chamber at www.paducahchamberchamber.org, call 270-443-1746 or email info@paducahchamber.org. Murray State University President Dr. Robert Jackson will be the featured speaker for the June Power in Partnership monthly breakfast of the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce. The breakfast will be held on June 6 at 7:30 am at the Julian Carroll Convention Center. MSU is also the sponsor. Hundreds of new Illinois laws go into effect this weekend By Bill Hughes Jun. 01, 2019 | 07:03 PM | PADUCAH A budget workshop will be held on June 10 for county leaders to discuss the $890,000 budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year, and possible solutions.At last Wednesday's McCracken Fiscal Court meeting, Deputy Judge-Executive Steve Doolittle suggested a five percent reduction in the proposed budget of nearly $30 million.Judge-Executive Craig Clymer told West Kentucky Star the budget workshop will discuss what might be done to prevent having to dip into the county's savings fund again, like they've done since 2012.Clymer said that instead of raising property taxes in previous years or setting the compensating rate - which would maintain the same amount of tax revenue as the year before - the Fiscal Court has been taxing less."And now finally, it's caught up with us to do something. And then this pension crisis that's pending - we're gonna be in a real bind within a couple of years if we don't get something done with that," Clymer said.Counties are having to contribute more to the state's struggling pension system after legislation was passed in 2018, and McCracken County's payment for the next few years is expected to keep climbing since the General Assembly didn't provide any relief in the 2019 session.Clymer said, "I think what we calculated is about $600,000 more at the end of the year, then in the range of $700,000 to $800,000 in two years, and it would be well over a million in the third year. We just can't sustain that. You know, you're either cutting services or you raise revenue."The new Judge-Executive is confident that the city and county will work together to allow the city to form a convention and visitor's bureau that can charge a transient room tax on lodging. This would likely give the county about $1 million in extra revenue.He said another possibility is changing how 911 services are supported, since more and more people have eliminated wired telephones and are using cell phones. It's likely the city and county will work together to establish a fee on cell phone services to replace that lost income. He said the county will also investigate applying for more state and federal grants to provide funding for equipment for 911 or the Sheriff's Department.Changes and reassessment of some property by the PVA office is estimated to bring in approximately $170,000 per year, which is lost revenue that could have been collected in each of the last few years, Clymer said.Doolittle and Clymer met with department heads recently, and all of them have their wish lists, and they hope to be able to provide what they can.He said, "We're trying to see if we can give them something. We've got a bunch of good employees that deserve better, but when the money's not there, we need to have that savings account. We're quite low on our reserve fund, because it has been tapped quite heavily over the last seven years. We can't keep 'kicking the can'"Clymer said they would like to avoid tapping into the savings account like in previous years, since there are months when tax revenue is down but expenses stay the same, and the savings account needs to be available as a cushion from month-to-month.The budget workshop is set for 3:00 pm on June 10, with the regular scheduled meeting at 5:00 pm. On the Net: By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 03, 2019 | 01:09 PM | GRAVES COUNTY It's official. Jon Hayden is running for Graves County Sheriff. In front of a large crowd at Kess Creek Park on Monday, Hayden officially announced his candidacy. I have been offered and accepted to be the Democratic nominee for the office of the Graves County Sheriff in this year's general election, Hayden proclaimed. Hayden, who retired as McCracken County Sheriff in 2018 after three terms, was appointed to replace Sheriff Dewayne Redmon in February, after Redmon died. We have begun building a foundation of fundamental values within the Graves County Sheriff's Office, which include a good solid work ethic, transparency, professionalism, tenacity in solving crime, compassion and honesty, Hayden said. If you want to know where we're going, I would only ask you look at the direction the department is headed. I have always believed that a good predictor of future performance should be judged one's own actions, work history and job performance, not just words. Hayden, a native of Graves County and graduate of Fancy Farm High School, has been in law enforcement for 30 consecutive years. After deciding not to run for a fourth term in McCracken County, Hayden and his wife Melissa moved back to Graves County last year. Members of the western Kentucky law enforcement community were at the announcement, including sheriffs from several neighboring counties. Click the photo to watch the short film. The animated short film, Bao, was selected Best Animated Short during the 91st Academy Awards, or the Oscars, at the Dolby Theatre, in Los Angeles, the United States, in February. Bao was written and directed by Domee Shi, a China-born Canadian director, and it was produced by Pixar Animation Studios. The video explains the relationship between Chinese culture and family affection, and it touches the hearts of international viewers. Shi, who was born in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality in 1989, moved to Toronto, in Canada, with her parents when she was two. In 2011, after she graduated from Sheridan College, Shi began working as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios. She helped animate several films, including The Good Dinosaur,Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4. Shi became the first female to direct a short video for Pixar, and the first China-born writer and director of a short film for Pixar. Her cross-cultural, female-centric family story in Bao struck a chord with both viewers the judges of the Oscars. "To all of the nerdy girls out there who hide behind their sketchbooks, don't be afraid to tell your story to the world," Shi said in her acceptance speech during the 91st Academy Awards. In Bao, a Chinese mother suffering from empty-nest syndrome gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy. She excitedly welcomes this new bundle of joy into her life, but Dumpling starts growing up fast, and she must come to the bittersweet revelation that nothing stays cute and small forever. The short film explores the ups and downs of the parent-child relationship through the colorful, rich, and tasty, lens of the Chinese immigrant community in Canada. Shi said her inspiration was derived mainly from her own experiences as an only and overprotected child while growing up in a caring family. "It's mostly inspired by my mom, because I spent a lot of time with her. When I left for school and Pixar, it was hard for her to let go ... Traditionally, Chinese parents don't directly say 'I love you' to their children. They express their love through other ways, such as making delicious foods for their children, or fussing over them," Shi once told Xinhua News Agency. With Bao, Shi set out to make a short film that would profile real Chinese culture, yet appeal to all viewers. "We didn't use dialogue in the short film because I wanted this story to be as universally understood as possible. You strip away language as a barrier so your story can be understood by people of all ages, all backgrounds and all cultures. I think it is true to the Chinese culture as well. At least, that's my experience; they always showed their love and communicated it through their actions," Shi explained. She led a production team of more than 100 people as she brought her story to life. "There are cultural differences. We had to explain to our American crew why we had to do things a certain way, and what a traditional Chinese home would look like," she said. She invited her American colleagues to visit the local Chinatown, so they could better understand Chinese culture, Chinese food and the lives of Chinese people. "I feel honored, and lucky, to be the first female director of a Pixar short film. Pixar has always been supportive of me as a creative storyteller. I hope I am the first of many to follow. Things are changing in the animation industry. In some American animation schools, 75 percent of the students are women," Shi said. Shi is grateful for her parents. Her father, Shi Lei, is an artist and distinguished professor at Chongqing-based Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. It was her father who first guided and encouraged her to draw. "I shed tears when I first watched the short. It was full of love between parents and children," Shi Lei said. Her mother, Zhong Ningsha, who received her Ph.D. in education from the University of Toronto, is good at cooking. Zhong always cooks delicious foods for her daughter. Domee Shi invited her mother to serve as cultural consultant of Bao. Domee Shi said, "I invited my mother to give several classes to our crew members, showing them how to make dumplings, and we recorded the whole process of her making dumplings. She told me she liked the short, and she watched it many times." Now, with the success of Bao, Domee Shi is on the fast track to animation stardom, with a feature of her own at Pixar. (Women of China English Monthly May 2019 issue) Were looking for people who can serve as a role model Staff needed for new scheme aimed at cutting crime This article is old - Published: Monday, Jun 3rd, 2019 Applications are now open for people interested in taking part in a new project aimed at diverting low level offenders away from a life of crime. Arfon Jones will be launching the Checkpoint Cymru programme in the Autumn in a bid to cut crime, reduce reoffending rates and free up more police and court time. The concept was developed by Cambridge University and its already up and running in Durham. As part of the programme offenders are offered the chance to avoid prosecution by signing a four-month contract and committing to seeking help from rehabilitation services. They will be supervised by a skilled navigator which may include people who have overcome addictions to drugs and alcohol and will face prosecution if they break the contract at any time. At the same time, Mr Jones will also be introducing another initiative based on a different pilot project, the Bristol Drugs Programme which sees those caught with small amounts of drugs steered towards educational awareness courses. Those who take part can avoid a criminal conviction. Mr Jones will be appointing a total of nine navigators who will be based at the three North Wales Police custody suites in Caernarfon, St Asaph and Llay. He is also looking for an overall manager for the programme and the closing date for that role is Monday 10th June. Evidence has shown that a high proportion of offenders have underlying issues such as substance misuse, mental health, financial or housing problems which have their origins in traumatic experiences, explained Mr Jones. By addressing the underlying causes of their offending behaviour those signing up to the programme are less likely to reoffend as has been clearly demonstrated in Durham. In terms of the navigators, were looking for people who have this life experience. They might, for example, have an understanding of what it takes to turn things around after their lives were blighted by alcohol or drug addiction or they may have been struggling with debt. Were looking for people who can serve as a role model and an inspiration for those wanting to follow in their footsteps. Both schemes are a way of supporting people to make better lifestyle choices and realise their own potential. The launch of the programme is being overseen by Inspector Iwan Jones who has been seconded from North Wales Police to get it up and running. Insp Jones explained that the aim of the programme is to break vicious circle by addressing what is at the root of the problems. He said: One of the primary concerns of Checkpoint is to stop that revolving door of reoffending that takes up so much police and court time, as well as causing misery to the victims and the families of the offenders. We will be providing pathways for offenders to change their lifestyle that revolves around crime by understanding the reason behind the criminal behaviour. Many of the people who fall foul of the law are victims themselves and many of those currently caught up in the revolving door in and out of the criminal justice system are women. All too often they are victims of domestic abuse. It may be that they go out and steal in order to feed or clothe their children which can subsequently lead to a short prison sentence and their children ending up in care. A lot of the people involved will have more than one issue so its taking a holistic approach to a persons situation and conducting a needs assessment so they can get appropriate support to overcome their problems. The scheme is aimed at people who commit the less serious offences and its certainly not a soft option. Insp Jones added: The aim is to cut reoffending which will be better for everybody. Its better for the offenders and their families, its better for the victims of crime, better for the police and better for the courts. But most importantly its better for communities across North Wales. More details about the Checkpoint Cymru project can be found on the police and crime commissioners website here. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 00:45:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, June 2 (Xinhua) -- As the traditional festival Eid al-Fitr is just around the corner in Pakistan, the demand of the country's traditional leather sandals locally known as "Peshawari Chappal" has soared with local artisans getting orders from Pakistan and beyond. Peshawari Chappal, which is also known as "Keri" in a local Pashtu language, took its name from the northwest city of Peshawar where it originated from. It is distinguished by two overlapping leather strips that cover the foot and a back-side strip with a buckle to tie according to the foot size and level of comfort. The sandals used to be worn by ethnic Pashtun people in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region in the past, but with the advent of social media, its popularity in other parts of the country and internationally has increased many folds. Nowadays, markets are flooded with Eid shoppers taking keen interest in different designs and varieties of the traditional footwear, said Ihsan Khan, a local artisan in Peshawar, adding that although the sale remained good throughout the year, but during Eid season it was touching new heights. "I have received many orders from across the country over the past several days due to Eid festival, while I have also hired additional skilled workers to meet the deadline of the booked orders," Khan told Xinhua. He said that the traditional footwear is being ordered from countries in Europe, Afghanistan, and Gulf countries as it is no longer confined to any specific culture or age group and is being loved by all social classes ranging from politicians to laborers. The shoes gained much popularity at a national level when Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was noticed by his followers wearing the same traditional shoes during his public appearances, giving boom to the sale of the traditional footwear. Peshawari Chappals are usually worn with Shalwar Kameez, a type of suit with loose trousers and a long shirt since Shalwar Kameez is the most common dress during festivities and important events in Pakistan. Apart from that, urban youth also like to wear it with Jeans and T-shirt. "It's durability, comfortability, as well as adaptability with different attires, made Peshawari Chappals my favorite choice," said Haider Ali, a resident of eastern Lahore city, told Xinhua, adding that he has ordered some 10 pairs for himself and family friends on the festive occasion of Eid. "Besides as Peshawari Chappals are handmade, they are well stitched and can be ordered in customized sizes as well as colors and designs," Ali said. Walladin Shinwari, a local manufacturer who has been associated with the business for more than 25 years, told Xinhua that although his business is doing great currently, but recently several famous Pakistani brands too initiated the sale of Peshawari Chappals, a trend being seen as a threat to business of local manufacturers as they can't afford to hire a large number of workforce and machines as compared to wealthy franchises. "Local manufacturers are looking for government's assistance for the introduction of new techniques and machinery so they could compete with famous brands domestically and internationally," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 02:30:36|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close The Frecce Tricolori air squad of Italian Air Force perform during a ceremony marking the Italian Republic Day in Rome, Italy, June 2, 2019. Italian President Sergio Mattarella marked the 73rd Republic Day on Sunday, urging civil servants to promote social cohesion as the Frecce Tricolori air squad colored the sky of Rome with a traditional acrobatic performance. (Xinhua/Alberto Lingria) ROME, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Italian President Sergio Mattarella marked the 73rd Republic Day on Sunday, urging civil servants to promote social cohesion as the Frecce Tricolori air squad colored the sky of Rome with a traditional acrobatic performance. Mattarella presided over a military parade held along the Imperial Fora, together with Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, the defence minister, the speakers of both houses of Parliament, and high-level army representatives. As usual, the ceremony had been opened by the president laying down a flower wreath before the Unknown Soldier monument in the nearby Piazza Venezia. "The plurality and diversity our Republican Constitution has meant to ensure live in the loyal cooperation between State and local authorities, and in the synergy between various levels of government," Mattarella remarked in a letter to Italy's prefects. "The prefects -- who are actors of social and institutional cohesion -- have the duty to promote an efficient synthesis of these complexities, and to put themselves at the service of territorial needs," he added. The president explained the sense of a "cohesive and supportive community" needed efforts to mediate between different interests across the society, which was the "heart of the function exerted by prefects in many sectors... aimed at finding a balance point to put the greater good before personal interests." "This task is even more sensitive today, and especially in some areas of the country, where the economic uncertainties seem to offer no solid perspectives to many workers," Mattarella stressed. Sunday's ceremony in the historic center culminated with the exhibition of the Frecce Tricolori Air Force acrobatics team performing their fly in formation over the city, leaving behind smoke trails in green, white, and red -- the colors of the Italian flag. In a national referendum held on June 2, 1946, Italians chose republic instead of monarchy as constitutional framework for their country. That was also the first time Italian women were granted the right to vote. The date is therefore celebrated in Italy as the birth of the new state in the aftermath of World War II. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 02:35:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Libyan navy on Sunday announced rescuing 73 illegal immigrants, and recovering two bodies off the country's western coast. "A coast guards patrol found a broken rubber boat with no engine some 14 km off the coast of Garrabulli town," said the navy spokesman Ayob Qassem. "Altogether 73 illegal immigrants, including eight children, were rescued. Two bodies of a woman and a child were recovered," the spokesman said in a statement. Garrabulli town is located some 55 km east of capital Tripoli. The statement added that the boat carried more than 80 illegal immigrants, and the rest are still missing. Libya is a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe, due to the state of insecurity and chaos in the country. Improved weather conditions have increased the flows towards Europe. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 02:55:46|Editor: yan Video Player Close TRIPOLI, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Libyan Justice Ministry announced on Sunday that it has won a lawsuit filed by a foreign investor seeking 120 million U.S. dollars in compensation. "The lawsuit department has won an appeal of the verdict issued by the international arbitration tribunal in Paris in December 2016 in favor of Salim Ben Mokhtar Ghania, German investor of Tunisian origin," the justice ministry's lawsuit department said in a statement. The department won the appeal after presenting the evidence proving "fraud and collusion between the investor and Libyan officials with the aim of misleading the arbitration tribunal for personal interests," the statement added, without revealing details of Ghania's investment. The lawsuit department of Libyan Ministry of Justice represents the government and handles lawsuits filed against the country inside and abroad. According to the Libyan audit bureau, foreign companies abroad have filed 142 lawsuits against Libya since 2011, demanding compensations of 9 billion euros (10.5 billion dollars). Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 04:31:10|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ATHENS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Greek conservatives of main opposition New Democracy (ND) party won the second round of local elections on Sunday, which had turned into a crucial test for all parties ahead of the early national polls which will most likely be held on July 7. ND backed candidates won 12 out of 13 regions across Greece and the overwhelming majority of the 332 municipalities, according to the official results released by the Interior ministry, with 75 percent and 62 percent of votes counted respectively. ND had won a strong lead in the first round on May 26 which coincided with the European Parliament elections. Following the conservatives' victory also in the European battle with 33.1 percent of votes against 24 percent for the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA party, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has decided to proceed to snap national polls. After the second round of local elections, he will visit Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos to initiate the procedures for early elections, Tsipras said on the night of May 26. The general elections will most likely be held on July 7, the government said last week. An opinion survey released on Sunday evening showed that SYRIZA was trailing ND in the battle for the national elections as well. Should ballots for general elections were held this Sunday, the conservatives would win with 31.5-36.5 percent of votes against 22.5-27.5 percent for SYRIZA, according to a survey conducted by polling firm Pulse for local SKAI television. The centrist Movement for Change (Kinima Allagis- KINAL) would rank third with 6.5-9.5 percent of votes and the Greek Communist party KKE would follow with 4.5-6.5 percent. The last two parties passing the three percent of votes threshold required to enter the next parliament would be the far-right Chryssi Avghi (Golden Dawn) and the right-wing nationalistic Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution), receiving 4-6 percent and 3-5 percent respectively. The survey was carried out in the period May 30-June 1 on a sample of 1,358 voters. On Sunday evening Tsipras congratulated all new mayors and regional governors and sent the message that the war is not over. "In life and politics it is important to know how to win, but also how to lose and stand on your feet to continue fighting," he told media on Syntagma square standing next to SYRIZA's candidates who lost the battles for the Regional Governor of Attica and the municipality of Athens. ND candidate Giorgos Patoulis defeated outgoing Regional Governor of Attica Rena Dourou by 66 percent against 34 percent, according to the official results. And conservative Kostas Bakoyannis won the battle for the municipality of Athens with 65 percent of votes against 35 percent for SYRIZA's Nassos Iliopoulos. Both Patoulis and Bakoyannis in line with ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis' statement following the results called on all Greeks to unite to work for a better future on local, regional and national level. "The map was painted in blue again, but this is not the color of our party, but the color of our country," Mitsotakis said on Sunday night. "We will all move forward together for a city of Athens which unites us," Bakoyannis told the cheering crowd. Bakoyannis, scion of a political dynasty, is the nephew of Mitsotakis. His late grandfather served as Prime Minister. His mother Dora Bakoyannis has served as Mayor of Athens and Foreign Affairs Minister. The contests for the post of the mayor of Athens and Regional Governor of Attica are traditionally key races in Greek elections, as half of the country's population lives in Athens and its suburbs. In the mayoral race in the port of Piraeus, the incumbent Yannis Moralis was re-elected with 58 percent of votes. Abstention in Sunday's elections reached 60 percent, up from 41 percent on May 26. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 05:01:20|Editor: ZX Video Player Close Russia's Ilyas Kurkaev (R) spikes during the FIVB Men's Volleyball Nations League match between Russia and Serbia in Novi Sad, Serbia, June 2, 2019. Russia won 3-2. (Xinhua/Predrag Milosavljevic) BELGRADE, June 2 (Xinhua) -- After a dramatic show, Russia defeated hosts Serbia 20-25, 26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10 in Novi Sad on Sunday in their third match of the FIVB Men's Nations League. Russia demonstrated better blocking and won the first set. But Serbia equalized with strong serves and lots of errors made by the Russians. The two teams wrestled for the advantage throughout the third set. Serbia came on top at 19-17, but soon trailed at 20-21 and Russia got in front once again. After a tough struggle, Serbia manage to equalize at 2-2. The home team established an early lead in the fifth set, but the Russians caught up at 7-7 and proceeded to win the match. Russia marked two victories and a defeat so far, while Serbia lost all three matches of the first week on home court. Serbia will try to improve the score on June 7 against Germany in Canada, while Russia will play at home against Portugal on the same day. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 05:11:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A renowned economist said that U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to impose a 5-percent tariff on all imposed goods from Mexico "raises a danger" to the U.S. and global economies "well beyond" his tariff measures to date, which should be a "wakeup call" to financial markets. In an article published on Friday, Adam Posen, president of the Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics, said threatening Mexico with a tariff over the migration issue -- despite the overall trade agreement in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) -- "marks a turning point." If tariffs can be raised by "unilateral presidential decree," linked to border policy not the economic relationship, Posen said, markets will realize that it's not likely for the U.S. president to deliver a trade deal with its trade partners. He added that "no government will want to make a deal with the United States at all." "By weaponizing tariffs, Trump makes evident that he is driven in trade policy by his ideological and perhaps political agenda rather than any tactics to improve U.S. bargaining leverage," Posen said. The U.S. president on Thursday said he would impose a 5-percent tariff on all imported Mexican goods beginning June 10 so as to pressure the country to halt undocumented migrants crossing the border, and will gradually increase tariffs until the problem is remedied. The proposed measures, Posen said, have already led to a "widespread selloff," which is different from previous cases. That even some of the safe-haven flows are going into German government securities and the euro, away from U.S. Treasuries or dollars, strongly suggests that "concerns about the U.S. economy are rising," he said. The macroeconomic impact of the latest actions is likely to be much higher now than the direct effect of the tariffs themselves, Posen warned. First, he expected a "significant persistent" equity market drop, which will have wealth effects on consumption and investment. Second, the delay and diminishment of productive cross-border investment, including investments into the United States, will worsen. Additionally, he argued, the direct impact on the auto industry is bound to be "sharp and fast," if the 5-percent tariff is implemented. "By citing a national emergency over a long-term problem like immigration in order to punish an ally like Mexico, President Trump has abused his authority to invoke emergency measures in the face of a genuine national security threat," Posen said. "If the Republican Senate Majority does not show backbone in standing up to President Trump on this abuse, and if it lets stand the administration's usurpation of Congressional prerogatives in the trade and foreign policy areas, that alone will reinforce the markets' correct perception that the world has become too uncertain for many investments," he continued. Posen said that markets are awakening to an "overlooked or underpriced systemic risk." "Market anxiety should spread as other countries start invoking Trump's brand of national security excuse to engage in protectionism against the United States and others," he said. "Such actions could easily spiral into a global free-for-all of retaliation and protectionism." Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 05:41:31|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli missile strike targeted a Syrian air base in central Syria on Sunday, state TV reported. The Syrian air defenses intercepted two of the missiles that targeted the T-4 air base in the central province of Homs. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded in the attack, the report said, adding that a weapon depot was hit and damage was caused to buildings in the facility. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 05:46:34|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAMASCUS, June 2 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli missile strike targeted a Syrian air base in central Syria on Sunday, state TV reported. The Syrian air defenses intercepted two of the missiles that targeted the T-4 air base in the central province of Homs. One soldier was killed and two others wounded in the attack, said the report, adding that a weapon depot was hit and damage was caused to buildings in the facility. The attack is the second Israeli strike to target Syrian sites within 24 hours. A total of three Syrian soldiers were killed and seven others wounded on Sunday by Israeli missile strikes on military sites in southern Syria. A military statement said the first Israeli strike started at 3:22 a.m. local time Sunday and targeted military sites in the southwestern countryside of the capital Damascus. It said the Syrian air defenses intercepted some of the missiles, which came from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Less than an hour later, the Israelis renewed their attack by firing several missiles on the eastern countryside of Quneitra province near the Golan Heights, killing three soldiers and wounding seven others, said SANA. Israel has repeatedly targeted Syrian military sites on pretext that it's targeting military sites that belong to Iranian-backed militia groups. The Syrian government has repeatedly charged that Israel supports the terror groups in Syria and its repeated strikes are nothing but a way to lift the rebels' morale. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 06:51:51|Editor: yan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Switzerland on Sunday that Washington is ready for unconditional talks with Tehran, according to a press release issued by the State Department. The United States is prepared to engage "in a conversation with no preconditions," Pompeo told media during a joint press conference with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in Switzerland. "We're ready to sit down with them," Pompeo added. However, the top U.S. diplomat also emphasized that Washington would not change its effort to reverse Iran's "malign activity." Pompeo's remarks came one day after Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the talks between Tehran and Washington would be likely if the latter shows respect. "We favor logic and negotiations if they sit at the negotiation table with full respect and follow international regulations," Rouhani said, according to official IRNA news agency. Rouhani's words slightly deviated from the earlier position of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the United States, calling it would be "fruitless and a loss." By implementing "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran, the Trump administration has called for the renegotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Washington chose to abandon May last year, as well as Tehran's developing missile program and its regional role. Over the recent weeks, Washington has ratcheted up pressure against Tehran by a series of sanctions, designations and military threats. Iranian authorities have stressed that Tehran would not sit for negotiations under Washington's threats or sanction pressures. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 07:34:03|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close Photo taken on June 2, 2019 shows a yacht sailing in the Liujiaxia Reservoir in Yongjing County, northwest China's Gansu Province. A sharp contrast of colors is clearly shown when two rivers, silt-free Yellow River and its contributory Taohe River that flows with large amount of mud and sand meet in the Liujiaxia Reservoir which is widely-known for its clear water. (Xinhua/Ma Ning) Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 09:27:34|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Air defenses of the Saudi-led Arab coalition intercepted a Houthi drone aimed at a pro-government military base in Yemen's southern port city of Aden on Sunday night, a security official told Xinhua. The Houthi drone was shot down before having the chance of attacking the pro-government Ras Abas military base that houses thousands of newly-recruited pro-government forces in Buraiga district, western Aden, according to the official, who asked to remain anonymous. So far nobody was reported injured, according to the official. Meanwhile, the Houthi-affiliated Masirah television network claimed responsibility for "an explosion of a drone over the skies Ras Abbas military camp in Aden." The Houthi TV channel said that the targeted camp is used as a training center for the newly-recruited pro-government forces backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition. "A drone attack of the type Qasif 2k targeted a ceremony and a military parade of the invaders and coalition's mercenaries at Ras Abbas camp in Aden," it said. No confirmation statements have been released by government troops or the Saudi-led coalition so far. Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Houthi rebels captured the capital Sanaa and ousted the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015. The conflict has caused what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis, killing more than 10,000 people and leaving 14 million Yemenis at the brink of mass starvation. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 09:47:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Snapshot taken from a video shows Secret Service agents outside the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on June 2, 2019. A man was taken down near the White House on Sunday after U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire, according to a Xinhua reporter on site. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A man was taken down near the White House on Sunday night after U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire, according to a Xinhua reporter on site. The man was entering a lockdown area north of the White House shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump departed from the South Lawn for a foreign trip. Secret Service agents gave verbal warnings before opening fire. The condition of the man is unclear yet. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 10:13:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close YANGON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's Yangon regional government is planning to implement a sky train project in Yangon, calling on public cooperation to ensure the accomplishment in a legal format, according to the Ministry of Transport and Communications Monday. The project, called the Yangon Urban Mass Rapid Transit, was on Sunday made public in Hlaingthaya township, an area with a large nomadic population with high density. As the first phase connecting the eastern and western parts of Yangon, the 18-km-long sky train project will start from Hlaingthaya Station along the Yangon-Pathein road, cross over Hlaing River, run along the north of Bayinnaung Bridge and stop at Parami Station. The sky train is claimed to be based on standard models of Thailand and Indonesia and the period for survey and design phase will last until 2022, experts said, adding that the project, which will ensure minimal impact on the environment and the community, is targeted to be completed by 2027. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 10:48:27|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of White House Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett will step down "shortly," U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday. "Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly," Trump said, adding that he will name Hassett's successor as soon as he returns from a trip to Europe. The president in the tweet also thanked Hassett "for all he has done" and said he is a "true friend." Trump didn't say whether Hassett resigned or was fired, nor did he elaborate on the reason for the personnel change. Hassett, a 57-year-old Republican from Massachusetts, was sworn in on Sept. 13, 2017 as the 29th chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. Starting Monday, Trump will embark on a week-long European trip to visit Britain, Ireland and France. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 11:28:47|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close CAIRO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Experts in the Islamic world spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's message on enhancing cooperation between China and Islamic countries. Xi sent a congratulatory message on Friday on the opening of the 14th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi city of Mecca. In his message, Xi said China attaches great importance to the friendly relations with Islamic countries and looks to the OIC as an important bridge for cooperation between China and the Islamic world. Xi also said that China stands ready to work with the Islamic countries to enhance political mutual trust and promote practical cooperation and dialogue among civilizations, to jointly create a better future for the friendly ties between China and the Islamic world and to contribute to advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Abdullah Al-Salloum, a Kuwaiti economist, said Xi's message is "classic in diplomacy." "Xi's message speaks of values that we all should encourage," he said. Iraqi political analyst Nadhum al-Jubouri said "China is a country that respect its commitments and abide by its neutrality." He said the message shows the Chinese president's "wisdom and successful leadership." Improving relations, mutual understanding, support and cooperation is "the best way to serve the interests of the Islamic peoples and Chinese people," al-Jubouri said, stressing closer ties between Islamic countries and China are also important for the global development with the spirit of "tolerance, brotherhood and peace." He called upon Islamic countries to cooperate more with China, and expressed the wish that China will further support Islamic countries and help them overcome economic crises. Al-Jubouri hailed the Belt and Road Initiative as "a brilliant idea," saying it shows China's determination to support other peoples within balanced relations of mutual trust in order to create "a harmonious and interactive world that believes in common destiny and better future." Adnan Abu Amer, head of Department of Political Science and Media at Ummah University in Gaza city, said China can help find out appropriate solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli issue. "The most important thing is that China believes in the principle of partnership, understanding and friendly relations far more than control," he said. The large trade volume between China and Islamic countries determines that China would care much about what happens in the region, said Samy Kamhawy, an expert in Chinese affairs from Egypt's largest daily newspaper Al-Ahram. He said that the OIC needs to promote cooperation between the organization members and China through international deals and joint work. He believes China will have a unique role to play among the Islamic countries, as it could work as a mediator to help settle problems that occur from time to time among Islamic countries. "China ... can play a big role via its diplomatic policies to help reduce the differences and ease the tensions in the region," Kamhawy added. Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development, said: "I would like to remind you that respect is a cultural characteristic in China, and this has always been observed since the beginning of exchanges with Arab and Muslim traders back in the eighth century." Bouchiba said President Xi's message on the OIC summit is therefore "a continuation of China's great esteem and respect for the Muslim world." (Xinhua reporters Wang Wei in Kuwait City, Zhao Yue in Gaza, Zhang Miao in Baghdad, Chen Binjie in Rabat, and Wu Danni in Cairo also contributed to the story.) Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 11:43:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close TOKYO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks dropped sharply Monday morning as the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar hurt exporter issues and negatively impacted the broader market. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 239.43 points, or 1.16 percent, from Friday to 20,361.76. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 15.56 points, or 1.03 percent, at 1,496.72. Oil and coal product, securities house and nonferrous metal-linked issues comprised those that declined the most by the morning break. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 12:19:04|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close CANBERRA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Elderly people who take antidepressants or opioids are more than twice as likely to suffer a fractured hip after falling, an Australian study published on Monday found. According to the media release of the University of South Australia (UniSA), more than 28,000 Australians over the age of 50 were hospitalized with hip fractures in 2018. Their study revealed that the risk of fracturing a hip was significantly higher among those who were taking multiple psychotropic medicines -- mood and conscious-altering medications that are used to treat conditions ranging from depression to dementia. "Antidepressants, opioids, anti-epileptic medicines, benzodiazepines (which are used to treat anxiety) and antipsychotics (which are used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) all increase the risk of hip fractures," lead author Libby Roughead from UniSA said. "Combining them increases the risk even further, up to five times in the case of starting antidepressants and anxiety medicines together." This equates to one extra hip fracture for every 17 patients aged 80 years and older who are treated for a year. This risk of falling can be lowered by reducing medicine use, exercising more and using other interventions such as occupational therapy and podiatry, the researchers said. Australians are among the highest users of antidepressants in the world, with approximately 10 percent of the adult population taking them each day. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 12:54:16|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) announced Sunday that it had lifted restrictions on employees of Huawei and its affiliates to edit and peer-review IEEE's research papers. The move came after the New York-based international technical organization decided Wednesday to bar Huawei staff from participating the research paper peer-review process because of the U.S. Department of Commerce's export control restrictions on Huawei. The IEEE's initial restrictive approach triggered extensive criticism from the international research community. The China Computer Federation said Thursday that it would suspend cooperation with the IEEE's publications division. In the new statement, the IEEE said employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in its publication process as it has received the requested clarification from the Department of Commerce on the application of the export control restrictions to the IEEE's publication activities. All the IEEE members, regardless of their employers, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE, according to the statement. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 12:54:18|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close CANBERRA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced 250 million Australian dollars (173.8 million U.S. dollars) in infrastructure funding for the Solomon Islands. Morrison on Sunday became the first Australian leader to visit the Solomon Islands since 2008. The Australian prime minister on Monday announced a bilateral infrastructure program worth up to 250 million Australian dollars in grant financing over the next decade and an easier path for islanders to get work in Australia. The grants will allow the island nation to fund small infrastructure projects. "This is important because having secured the stability, it is now time to really build into the economic success of Solomon Islands," he told reporters in the capital Honiara. Under the new employment scheme, the Australian government will spend 2.7 million Australian dollars over three years covering the up-front costs for islanders who want to work in Australia such as passports. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 13:19:24|Editor: Yang Yi Video Player Close NANJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An east China university has invented a test paper for quickly diagnosing a plant blight disease, which has assisted the production of prime fruit in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Aksu apples and Korla pears are hotly sought-after fruit on Chinese and foreign markets since the Aksu and Korla regions in Xinjiang have a temperate continental arid climate and long sunshine hours which are ideal for growing the succulent and sweet fruit. However, a bough blight disease has posed a major threat to production. First discovered in 2016 in Ili, Xinjiang, the disease has since spread. About 500,000 fruit trees are infected in the region every year, triggering some 68 million yuan (9.9 million U.S. dollars) of economic losses annually for local apple and pear growers. The test paper developed by the Nanjing Agricultural University in east China's Jiangsu Province provides a fast and accurate method for detecting the bacterial blight in apples and pears. "During our field investigation, we found that blight bacteria is often confused with decomposing bacteria and canker, which affects treatment," said Hu Baishi, a professor in charge of the plant quarantine research group at the university. He said the researchers then decided to develop a quick test method that can be easily done in the field, saving growers the trouble of sending samples to a lab. The speed test paper is about the size of a lipstick tube and can detect antibodies, providing instant results of diseased tissues for early prevention. The university has provided 10,000 test strips to fruit growers in Xinjiang. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 13:49:37|Editor: Li Xia Video Player Close KUNMING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Police from the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, have jointly busted a major drug trafficking ring, catching 17 suspects and seizing 43.7 kg of drugs, local authorities said Monday. Police in Longling County, Yunnan, were tipped-off in early January that a drug trafficking gang led by a man surnamed Pu had been trafficking drugs to Guangxi via Yunnan. An investigation showed that the gang had been buying drugs abroad, then transported them to the city of Baise in Guangxi, and traded them with a local drug gang led by a man surnamed Wei. Police from Yunnan, Guangxi and Guizhou formed a task force to jointly investigate the case. On April 12, more than 100 policemen were deployed in Yunnan's Longling and Dehong prefecture, and Guangxi's Nanning, Baise and Binyang. They apprehended 17 suspects and seized 43.7 kg of drugs and seven vehicles. Further investigation is underway. Yunnan, bordering the Golden Triangle, is a major front in China's battle against drug crime. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 15:55:43|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close CHANGCHUN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have sequenced the whole genome of 3,800-year-old wheat seeds unearthed from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, decoding the food crop's spreading route into China. Four Chinese institutes jointly conducted the research. The scientists extracted DNA from seven ancient wheat seeds discovered from Xiaohe and Gumugou cemeteries in Xinjiang, which is an essential geographic intersection between the East and the West. Cui Yinqiu, a professor of the School of Life Sciences in Jilin University, involved in the research, said the dehusked and well-preserved seeds randomly selected from the archeological sites have the genomic similarity with wheat currently grown in southwest China. The scientists proposed that the common wheat dispersed from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in west China to the Yangtze River valley in central and eastern China. The research provided detailed information on the origin, dispersal and genetic improvement for the cultivation of present-day wheat and was published on the latest issue of the international science journal "The Plant Journal." Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 16:31:02|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close KHARTOUM, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC), Shams-Eddin Kabashi, on Monday denied news on dispersing the sit-in in central Khartoum, amid reports that 10 civilians were killed. Kabashi's remarks came after Sudanese security forces stormed a protest camp in central Khartoum early on Monday. In recent days, Khartoum has witnessed security incidents near the army's general headquarters, where thousands of Sudanese protesters have been staging a sit-in since April 6. Protesters are demanding that the country's TMC hand over power to civilians. The TMC, chaired by Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, is tasked with running the country's affairs following the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir. A spokesman for the TMC reportedly said on Thursday that the protest camp in the capital has become "a threat to the country's national security" and vowed to take "legal action" against what it called "unruly elements" at the encampment outside the defense ministry. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 16:36:04|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close NEW DELHI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced free travel for women in the Indian capital in government-owned buses and the Metro trains run by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. "The objective is to encourage the women to maximise the use of public transport. Public transport is considered as the safest for the women, and women safety is our top priority. It's not mandatory for every woman to avail free travel. Those women who can afford to pay for their travel, are free to do it," said Kejriwal while announcing his government's decision to the media. The chief minister further stated that the expenses incurred on providing free travel to women would be borne by his government. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot reportedly said that the state government will soon buy more buses to ensure smooth travel by women. "The process of procurement of new buses will take around 2-3 months," he was quoted as saying by TV reports. According to rough estimates, the state government will bear around 1,200 crore Indian Rupees (172 million U.S. dollars) annually in providing free travel to women. The move is seen as politically motivated, as the Delhi state goes to polls early next year. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 16:46:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. top aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company Sunday confirmed that some 737 aircraft involving MAX and NG models may have risks from faulty parts that would result in "a potential nonconformance." Boeing said one batch of slat tracks with specific lot numbers produced by a supplier was found to be improperly manufactured. At least 21 737 NGs and 20 737 MAX airplanes have been identified to be most likely to have the parts in question, said Boeing, which noted that it has not received any in-service issues related to this batch of slat tracks. Slat tracks are used to guide movable panels called slats located on the front edge of an airplane's wings to provide additional lift during takeoffs and landings. Boeing said it is cooperating with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on fixing the newly-found problem while contacting 737 operators, advising them to inspect the slat track assemblies on certain airplanes. The company suggested inspections be conducted on an additional 112 NG and 159 MAX models, saying one or two days would be required for the replacement work if necessary. A separate service bulletin will be issued for 737 MAX operators to do inspections before the MAX fleet returns to service, Boeing said. Boeing 737 MAX aircraft have been grounded globally since March this year after two of the planes crashed in two fatal accidents that killed 346 people in Ethiopia and Indonesia in nearly six months. Boeing has since been under close examination about its flight safety, and pressured to upgrade the software of a flight control system. It has not submitted the software upgrade to the FAA for approval. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 16:51:20|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close SEOUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States held talks in Seoul Monday over security situations on the Korean Peninsula, according to Seoul's defense ministry. During the dialogue, South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan shared their assessment on the recent Korean Peninsula security situations, confirming their commitment to support for the bilateral diplomatic efforts for the complete denuclearization of and the peace settlement on the peninsula. Jeong and Shanahan agreed to strengthen close consultation and cooperation in various areas, including the sharing of information on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear and missile activities. The defense chiefs expressed worry about the DPRK's recent launch of short-range missiles, the Seoul ministry said in a statement. On May 9, the DPRK launched two unidentified projectiles, which South Korea saw as short-range missiles, from an area in the northwestern region. It came five days after Pyongyang fired several short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast. The projectile test-firings came after the second summit between top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in late February in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Despite the stalled talks, Pyongyang and Washington showed a willingness to continue denuclearization negotiations. Jeong and Shanahan assessed that the first-half Dong Maeng Exercise militarily supported diplomatic efforts for the denuclearization and contributed to the firm defense posture of the allies. The combined forces of South Korea and the United States conducted their joint annual Dong Maeng military drills in March to replace the large-scale Key Resolve command post exercise and the Foal Eagle field training drill. The Dong Maeng means alliance in English. The two defense ministers agreed to end the summertime Ulchi Freedom Guardian war game of the allies, promising to strengthen communication and cooperation in drawing up the new second-half joint military drills. The DPRK has denounced the South Korea-United States annual military exercises as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion. Seoul and Washington pushed to scale down and shorten their joint military exercise to support the ongoing peace process on the peninsula. Regarding the transfer of the wartime operational control of South Korean troops from Washington to Seoul, Jeong and Shanahan paid attention to the strides that have been made to meet the requirements, expressing anticipation for the verification result of Seoul's initial operational capability. South Korea's wartime operational command was handed over to the U.S.-led UN Command after the three-year Korean War broke out in 1950. The country regained its peacetime command in 1994. Seoul was supposed to retake the wartime operational control in 2015, but it was delayed amid rising tensions on the peninsula. Seoul and Washington agreed in 2014 to the conditions-based wartime command transfer. The conditions included South Korea's capability to lead the allies' combined forces, its capability for initial response to the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats, and the security stability on the peninsula. South Korea's initial operational capability would be tested during the second-half joint annual military exercise of the allies allegedly slated for August. Jeong and Shanahan agreed to appoint a South Korean four-star general, who does not double as the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) chairman, to head the future South Korea-U.S. combined forces command (CFC) following the wartime operational control transition. The post has been assumed by the top commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). They also agreed to relocate the CFC headquarters to Camp Humphreys, a U.S. military complex in Pyeongtaek, 70 km south of Seoul, from Yongsan Garrison in the capital city. The Pentagon chief arrived in Seoul Sunday for a two-day visit, after visiting Singapore to attend a regional security forum, the Shangri-La Dialogue. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 17:01:33|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China's traffic management authority has called on travelers during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday to help create a good environment for the national college entrance examination, as the two events happen to overlap this year. The traffic management bureau of the Ministry of Public Security issued a notice asking drivers planning to travel during the holiday to mind their driving and honking especially when they are near exam sites to minimize the disturbance to the exam takers. It also suggested that holiday travelers avoid the rush hours of the exam traffic if possible. The national college entrance examination, or gaokao, will run from Friday to Sunday, while this year's Dragon Boat Festival, also called the Duanwu Festival and traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on Chinese lunar calendar, also starts on Friday. More than 10 million students have applied to take part in the exam this year. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 17:11:50|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese dance drama "The Railway to Tibet" will return to the stage of the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on June 5, in commemoration of the 70th founding anniversary of the People's Republic of China. Produced by NCPA, the drama is themed on the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which links Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China with the rest of the country. Starting operation in 2006, the railway is the world's highest and longest railway built on a plateau. Featuring elements of Tibetan dance, the drama extols friendship between railway building soldiers and local Tibetans during its construction. The NCPA production made its debut in 2018 as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 17:16:56|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close KHARTOUM, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) Shams-Eddin Kabashi on Monday denied dispersing the sit-in in central Khartoum. "What has happened was a military operation that targeted a specific area near the sit-in square that represented a center of corruption and a source of security disturbance," Kabashi told Arab media outlets. "When the forces started cleaning that specific area, dubbed Colombia, some elements escaped into the sit-in area which caused tension inside the area," he noted. Earlier on the day, opposition groups and unofficial institutions said a huge military force attacked the sit-in area amid intensive gun fire. The major opposition Freedom and Change Alliance issued a statement Monday in which it accused the TMC of launching a treacherous attack against thousands of male and female protesters at the sit-in area in front of the army's general headquarters with gun fire. In recent days, Khartoum has witnessed security incidents near the army's general headquarters, where thousands of Sudanese protesters have been staging a sit-in since April 6. Protesters are demanding that the country's TMC hand over power to civilians. The TMC, chaired by Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, is tasked with running the country's affairs following the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 17:27:04|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump landed here on Monday to start his three-day state visit to Britain as widespread protests against him are set to take place. Trump, who landed at the Stansted Airport accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is expected to hold talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and attend a D-Day commemoration. Queen Elizabeth II will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace later. Massive protests have been planned on Tuesday against the visiting U.S. president. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that his country should not be "rolling out the red carpet" for Trump during the trip. Khan said he believed the outgoing prime minister should tell the president he was "wrong on a whole host of issues" such as his views on women and immigration. Trump visited Britain last year as massive protests took place across the country. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 17:42:21|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close FIROZ KOAH, Afghanistan, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of six militants have been confirmed dead and three others sustained injuries as clash erupted between government forces and the Taliban fighters in Dawlatyar district of the western Badghis province, said an army statement released here Monday. The security forces, according to the statement, launched cleanup operations in Somak area of the restive district on Sunday and so far, besides killing six insurgents and injuring three others have also destroyed several hideouts of the militants. Some local Taliban commanders including Mullah Gul, Bacha-e-Malang and Mullah Ghafor are among those killed during the ongoing operations, the statement said, adding the operations would last until peace and stability return to the troubled area. Taliban militants who are active in parts of Ghor province with Firoz Koah as its capital haven't commented. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 17:52:26|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Several people were either killed or injured after a bomb struck a bus along a busy road in the western side of Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, a witness said. "We heard a huge blast at 1:30 p.m. (local time) along Dar-ul-Aman road near national parliament building. The whole place has now been sealed off," witness Mohammad Mustafa told Xinhua. The target of the attack was a running bus and the bus caught fire after the explosion, sending a thick black smoke above the site, he said. "The targeted bus was carrying government workers. The blast has left casualties and details will be shared with media soon," Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior Affairs, told local media. Rahimi said the explosion was caused by a sticky bomb attached to the vehicle. No group has claimed the incident so far. Over the past months, Afghanistan, especially the capital Kabul, has witnessed waves of terror attacks by the Taliban insurgents and Islamic State (IS) outfit opposing the government. On Sunday, two civilians were killed and 24 people were wounded after three explosions targeted a students bus and the responding police in western Kabul. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 18:02:30|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close MANILA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines and South Korea agreed on Monday to conclude the negotiations of a comprehensive and future-oriented free trade agreement (FTA) by November this year. The Philippines and South Korea announced that negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement between the two countries were officially launched in Seoul on Monday. Philippine Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez represented the Philippines while South Korean Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee represented South Korea, the Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines said. At the launch, Lopez said both countries "recognized the potential to advance economic relations by enhancing trade and investment flow between them through removal of impediments to closer trade and creation of business and investment opportunities." "Today's event was borne on the back of a number of meetings between our leaders and officials that had served to convey our mutual interest for an FTA," Lopez said in a statement. For the Philippines, he said the FTA means "We can achieve improved market access for our agriculture products such as banana, pineapple, and mangoes as well as industrial products and other services." Lopez said both countries "are working on better reciprocity of tariff rates and market access of our agricultural and industrial products to improve the balance of trade with South Korea." He said his counterpart, Yoo, conveyed that the FTA "is a significant step forward to a stronger economic partnership" between the two countries. Yoo also noted that the Philippines "is a very important trade and investment partner for South Korea," Lopez added. "Both ministers committed to concluding the negotiation of a comprehensive and future-oriented FTA by November 2019," Lopez said, adding the FTA "will create favorable conditions for exporters, investors, industries, workforce, as well as the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) of both countries." At the sidelines of the launch of the FTA negotiations, Lopez said the first meeting of the Philippines-South Korea Joint Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation (JCTEC) also took place. "The JCTEC is equally important as it will tackle a broader perspective of economic cooperation between the two countries," Lopez added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 18:07:34|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close SAN FRANCISCO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese artists are bringing an exciting art exhibition featuring a thousands-year-old Chinese tradition to help American people learn more about the ancient Asian civilization, said a U.S. city mayor in East San Francisco Bay Area on Sunday. The delegation of the World Tour Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Federation (WTCPCF) has brought a show by talented artists from all over China to Livermore, which focused on the artistic works demonstrating China's diversified landscapes, wildlife and even the pottery techniques, said Mayor John Marchand of Livermore city in East Bay Area, California, about 75 km southeast of San Francisco. The 12th annual East-Meets-West International Art Exhibition is open at the Livermore Library Civic Center from June 1-30. It is "really a remarkable show reflecting the depth and breadth of the artistic talent, where there's a variety of different artistic techniques that we can learn from one another," Marchand said. He went on to say that the Chinese artists came to Livermore on a special tour trying to combine art with technology because Livermore is "a city that is on the cutting edge of technology." Livermore is home to two U.S. major national laboratories, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the California site of Sandia National Laboratories. Apart from technology, Marchand said, "we have a very vibrant art culture and a very rich performing art, visual art and the art of music." Fuhai Gu, executive vice chairman of the WTCPCF, said he had attended a forum on smart cities two days ago in Silicon Valley and the main topic of the forum was about science and technology. "It's a very good topic and I found there are not only a lot of scientists in Silicon Valley, but also a great deal of people who have true love for art, including Mayor Marchand, who himself is a chemist," he said. "This has laid a good foundation for people of the United States and China to cooperate in the future, and with more exchanges and communication, we will launch even more activities to promote the development of science and thrive art," Gu said. Lily Xu, chair of the World Tour Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Federation Silicon Valley Committee (TWTCPCFSVC), said the delegation of the Chinese artists aims to deepen art exchanges between China and the United States. "This year, it's the first time for us to bring international artists to the Smart Cities Forum in Silicon Valley, which is a great success," she said. "We want to set up a platform for both Chinese and American artists, whether they are good at classical art or contemporary art, to meet face to face for deeper communication," Xu said. "We hope not only the Chinese artists come to America, but also we can help more American artists to go to China to explore with their own eyes," she added. The WTCPCF aimed to promote the Chinese painting and calligraphy art to countries around the world. Since 2010, it has visited more than 20 countries across the globe and more than 10,000 Chinese painters have participated in the exchange program, according to the event's official website. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 18:42:52|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A total of 85,000 international students studied in postgraduate programs in China in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 12.28 percent, the Ministry of Education said Monday. Among 492,200 international students studying in China last year, 52.44 percent were studying in degree programs, up 6.86 percent from 2017, said a press release from the ministry. The growth of international students in engineering, management, science and agricultural science all reached 20 percent, indicating the increasing attraction of science programs in China, the statement said. The international students in China came from 196 countries and regions and 52.95 percent of them were from 64 countries along the Belt and Road. About 63,000 of them were sponsored by Chinese government scholarships, the ministry said. Meanwhile, the number of Chinese studying overseas reached 662,100 last year, 53,700 more than that in 2017, the ministry said in March. Among those, 65,800 were sponsored by public funding while 596,300 were self-funded. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 18:42:54|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Trade frictions between China and the United States pose challenges as well as opportunities to Chinese listed firms, according to Yi Huiman, head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The frictions will force listed companies to strengthen innovation, improve independent research and development capabilities, raise product competitiveness and achieve sustainable development, Yi said. According to Yi, listed companies in China operated stably in 2018, with their operating revenue up 11.48 percent year on year to 45.45 trillion yuan (about 6.6 trillion U.S. dollars), though their net profits dipped slightly by 1.82 percent. Yi also stressed the importance of improving the quality of listed companies, saying that the CSRC will adhere to market principles, rule of law and internationalization, and deepen supply-side structural reform of the capital market. The CSRC will focus on the quality of information disclosure, improve corporate governance and strengthen the supervision of major shareholders and senior executives, he said. It will optimize regulatory arrangements for merging and acquisitions, and expand exit channels through restructuring, bankrupting and delisting, he noted. The CSRC is working on a plan that seeks to greatly improve the quality of listed companies in three to five years, Yi said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:03:05|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close MOSCOW, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has continued to deepen, and the fruitful results of pragmatic cooperation have increasingly benefited the two countries and their peoples, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui has said. The two sides have established a comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination based on equality, mutual trust and support, common prosperity and lasting friendship, and have continuously achieved new heights in their bilateral relations, Li told Xinhua in a recent interview. The diplomat made the remarks ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's forthcoming state visit to Russia and his attendance at the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. "China is ready to work with Russia to implement a series of important consensuses reached by the two heads of state, so as to keep promoting the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union, further consolidate the social foundation of the friendship between the two peoples for generations, and facilitate greater development of the bilateral ties," Li said. The Chinese and Russian governments have agreed to translate their high-level political ties into pragmatic cooperation, the diplomat noted, citing the bilateral trade volume of over 100 billion U.S. dollars last year as a positive result of their joint efforts. "In recent years, China-Russia economic and trade cooperation has seen new breakthroughs both in scale and in quality, with its internal impetus ever growing," Li said, noting that cooperation in the energy sector and infrastructure construction has achieved fruitful results. Meanwhile, China and Russia have witnessed ever growing trade in agricultural products, and bilateral cooperation in tourism and on the two countries' local levels have also flourished, according to Li. Li also mentioned that the two countries have established the "Yangtze River-Volga River" and "China's Northeast-Russia's Far East" regional cooperation mechanisms and set up relations between 140 pairs of sister cities and provincial-level regions. China and Russia will strive for the goal of achieving a trade volume of 200 billion dollars as soon as possible, Li said. To that end, the two sides will continue to carry out large-scale strategic projects in the fields of energy, aviation, aerospace and infrastructure, and tap the potential in regional cooperation, small and medium-sized enterprises and other fields, he added. In addition, Li noted that China and Russia have demonstrated the willingness and determination to cooperate under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Recalling the annual mutual visits by the two heads of state, Li said that support from China and Russia for each other in hosting diplomatic events fully reflects the high level and particularity of their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia, and the two countries will hold a series of grand events for celebration. "It will surely push China-Russia relations in various areas to a new height in history," Li said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:13:09|Editor: Wu Qin Video Player Close LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- British manufacturing sector plummeted in May, hitting a 34-month low, according to a survey released Monday by IHS Markit/CIPS, a London-based global information provider. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for May dropped to 49.4, down sharply from 53.1 in April, below the neutral 50.0 benchmark for the first time since July 2016. Meanwhile, export orders went down at the quickest pace in over four and a half years due to Brexit uncertainty. Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, said: "The UK manufacturing sector was buffeted by ongoing Brexit uncertainty again in May. The headline PMI posted 49.4, moving back into contraction territory for the first time since July 2016, the month directly following the EU referendum result." Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply, said: "Concern for manufacturers has deepened this month as the sector's performance shrank in May and tumbled into contraction." "Supply chain managers voiced their deep anxieties over Brexit's continuing impacts as some supply chains were re-directed away from the UK resulting in a drop in total new orders for the first time since October," Brock said. "A slowdown in the global economy and trade wars hotting up could tip the scales even further next month and increase the likelihood that the UK manufacturing sector will remain in contraction territory," Brock added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:13:11|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close U.S. President Donald Trump (C) attends a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London, Britain, on June 3, 2019. Trump arrived in London on Monday to start his three-day state visit to Britain as widespread protests against him are set to take place. (Xinhua/Ray Tang) LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in London on Monday to start his three-day state visit to Britain as widespread protests against him are set to take place. Trump, who landed at the Stansted Airport accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is expected to hold talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and attend a D-Day commemoration. On Monday, Trump will be given a tour of Westminster Abbey and will also meet Prince Charles. In the evening, the Queen will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace for the president and the First Lady. Speaking ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, the first to be hosted for a U.S. president since 2011, May said that the UK-U.S. relations have underpinned the countries' security and prosperity. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that his country should not be "rolling out the red carpet" for Trump during the trip. Khan said he believed the outgoing prime minister May should tell the president he was "wrong on a whole host of issues" such as his views on women and immigration. Trump responded in a tweet calling Khan a "stone cold loser." Protests are planned in several British cities during his ongoing visit, including London, Manchester, Belfast, and Birmingham. Protesters in London is expected to gather at Trafalgar Square and "follow Trump" to various locations including Whitehall. A spokesperson of Stop Trump movement said: "This protest is going to include some big-name speakers and also a lot of space for grassroots voices." "The groups that Trump's divisive and discriminatory agendas impact the most tend to be those who have the least means and opportunity to make their voices heard - so this is a chance to redress that balance," the spokesperson said. Trump visited Britain last year amid massive protests. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:33:18|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close Afghan security force members are seen at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, June 3, 2019. Five people were confirmed dead and 10 others sustained injuries as a bomb blast targeted a mini-bus in the western edge of Kabul city on Monday, Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah) KABUL, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Five people were confirmed dead and 10 others sustained injuries as a bomb blast targeted a mini-bus in the western edge of Kabul city on Monday, Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said. The blast targeted a mini-bus carrying the employees of the Independent Commission for Administrative Reforms on Darul Aman road at 01:30 p.m. local time, leaving five persons dead and 10 others injured, Faramarz told reporters. The Independent Commission for Administrative Reforms is a government body authorized to bring reforms to the government entities and institutions. Faramarz, however, said that more details would be released after completion of investigation. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses say that the casualties could be higher as the mini-bus caught fire after the blast. However, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told reporters that a sticky bomb attached to the mini-bus went off, causing the casualties. Subversive activities, mostly in the shape of suicide bombings, roadside bombs and sticky bomb blasts are in constant increase over the past couple of months in Afghanistan and only on Sunday two civilians were killed and 24 people were wounded in triple blasts in Afghan capital Kabul. Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) group have claimed responsibilities for series of deadly bombings in Kabul over the past few days. No group has claimed responsibility for Monday's blast in the fortified Kabul city where its residents are getting preparation to celebrate Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy fasting month, probably on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on moon sighting in Lunar calendar. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:43:25|Editor: Wu Qin Video Player Close CAIRO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt called on all parties in Sudan to exercise self-restraint and return to dialogue to achieve the aspirations of the people, the country's foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. "Egypt closely follows the recent developments in Sudan and its repercussions on the region," according to the statement. Egypt stressed the importance of exercising self-restraint and returning back to dialogue and negotiations, it added. It reiterated full support for Sudan in this critical condition, noting Egypt backs all endeavors exerted to achieve better future for the Sudanese people based on stability, security, prosperity and welfare. Spokesman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC), Shams-Eddin Kabashi on Monday denied news on dispersing the sit-in in central Khartoum. Protesters are demanding that the country's TMC hand over power to civilians. The TMC, chaired by Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan, is tasked with running the country's affairs following the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:48:31|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China seeks to safeguard and enhance the liberal international order, not threaten it, a think tank expert told Xinhua, refuting the view of some American politicians. Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization, said the remarks labeling China a menace to the liberal international order was untenable. China has been a beneficiary, contributor and opportunity creator of the liberal international order, he noted. He said after joining the World Trade Organization, China's gross domestic product has rocketed from 11 trillion yuan (about 1.59 trillion dollars) in 2001 to over 90 trillion yuan in 2018, lifting 800 million Chinese people out of poverty. Over the process, China has also contributed to the world prosperity by becoming a powerful growth engine of the world economy and the largest trade partner of 130-strong countries and regions, Wang noted. Moreover, China is the second-largest donor to the United Nations and the UN peacekeeping projects. In addition, China has contributed more than 70 percent to the global poverty reduction rate and China is committed to the Paris Agreement while Washington has backed off. On May 9, Wang and his debate partner Kishore Mahbubani, a public policy professor of the National University of Singapore, won the Munk Debates about "Is China a threat to the liberal international order." During the debates, Wang and his partner managed to have some audience change their negative attitude toward China when it comes to the country's relations with the liberal international order. In an interview with Xinhua, Wang said China has created enormous opportunities for other countries' development. The United States, for instance, has founded more than 70,000 companies in China by the end of 2018 with sales revenue reaching 700 billion U.S. dollars, far above the so-called U.S. trade deficit with China. Citing a World Bank report, he said the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) proposed by China is expected to help lower global trade costs by 1.1 percent to 2.2 percent once all the BRI transport infrastructure projects are completed. Wang said the "threat" argument was created intentionally by Washington as an excuse to suppress China's development. "Stuck in the Thucydides' trap mentality, some American politicians are trying to hamper China's development, hoping to maintain its competitive edge and monopoly position on technology," he said. "The United States itself is becoming the threat to the liberal international order," he said. On the contrary, China acts as the defender, facilitator and active advocator of the liberal international order. China's peaceful development is in line with the interests of all countries, Wang noted. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 19:58:39|Editor: Wu Qin Video Player Close OTTAWA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Nicole Walker and her brilliant stallion Falco van Spieveld produced one of the two double-clears that helped clinch a home victory in the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Canada at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley on Sunday. Ireland finished second and the United States slotted into third ahead of Mexico in fourth and Israel in fifth place. However despite his side's overwhelming success, Canadian Chef d'Equipe Mark Laskin said, "It was a bit bittersweet. It's great to win here, especially on our home field, but there were two parts to this equation. The first part we took care of, but the second part we just missed." Laskin was referring to the fact that Canada has missed the qualification for the Nations Cup Final to be held in Barcelona in September after they finished third and last in the 2019 North/Central America & Caribbean League. Mexico, winners of the previous two legs of the series, and United States were the only two teams to win qualification from this region. With three first-round clears on the day's competition, Canada grabbed the advantage, and they held on so firmly that anchorman, Mario Deslauriers, didn't have to ride again in the second round because the win was already secured. Ireland, the US and Mexico were all sharing second place with eight faults apiece going into round two, and when the Irish added no more faults they would be runners-up while the US had to count four more faults to finish third on 12. Mexico finished another fence further adrift, on 16 faults despite a superb double-clear from Salvador Onate. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 20:08:43|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing has received over 1.81 million visits since opening on April 29, according to the expo's organizer on Monday. The expo's four major venues have seen nearly 4.48 million visits, among which the China Pavilion has received about 1.36 million visits, said Ye Dahua, deputy directer of the expo's coordination bureau. Ye said that the expo has also held 675 activities that have attracted a total of 910,000 visits. The China Pavilion Day will be held in the expo on June 6, said Yu Jianlong, commissioner general of the China Pavilion. About 950 participants from home and abroad will be invited to watch theatrical performances and visit a flower show in the pavilion, Yu said. The China Pavilion, located in the 503-hectare expo site at the foot of a section of the Great Wall, has become one of the most popular tourist destinations since the expo opened with average daily visits of 41,000. Themed "Live Green, Live Better," the expo is open until Oct. 7 and features a vast collection of flowers, fruit trees, Chinese herbal medicines and plant landscaping techniques, as well as ideas for green development. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 20:13:47|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Monday advanced in the battles against the rebel groups in Idlib province, the last major rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria, a war monitor reported. For the first time since the army started its wide-scale offensive in northwestern Syria in late April, the army units advanced in the southern countryside of Idlib, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The UK-based watchdog group said that intense battles are taking place between the army and the rebels of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the southern countryside of Idlib. It said the Syrian army advanced and captured a farm and a town after heavy shelling and airstrikes, adding that the rebels are trying to retake the fallen areas. The Observatory said that nine rebels were killed as well as four Syrian soldiers in the battles Monday. It said that that the Syrian warplanes carried out 89 air raids on Monday against the rebel positions in Idlib and the nearby Hama countryside. These areas of the countryside of Hama, Idlib and the Aleppo countryside are included in a de-escalation zones' deal established in September 2018 by Russia and Turkey. The deal didn't materialize as battles have escalated since late April. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 20:13:49|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The award ceremony of an art competition among Mongolian primary and secondary school students to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Mongolia diplomatic relations was held here on Monday. Some 120 works of art were submitted to the competition from 10 schools by first through eighth grade students. The top nine participants of the competition were awarded certificates and cash prizes respectively. The competition under the theme of "Mongolia-China Friendship through My Eyes" was organized by Mongolia's state-owned news agency Montsame and sponsored by the Chinese embassy in Mongolia and the Chinese Cultural Center in Ulan Bator. Chinese Ambassador to Mongolia Xing Haiming said that such events will deepen the mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples. The competition is part of a series of activities organized to celebrate the friendship between Mongolia and China, with the aim to contribute to further development of bilateral relations between the two countries, said Shoovdor Batbold, deputy director of Montsame, at the award ceremony. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 20:59:21|Editor: mingmei Video Player Close Photo taken on June 3, 2019 shows a giant panda at Caojiapu International Airport in Xining, capital city of northwest China's Qinghai Province. Two giant pandas, named Hexing and Shuangxin, who were from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, arrived in Xining on Monday, becoming the first giant pandas to settle down in the plateau city. (Xinhua/Wu Gang) XINING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Two pandas arrived at Caojiapu Airport in Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, Monday, becoming the first pandas to settle down in the plateau city. The two pandas, named Hexing and Shuangxin, were from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. After their arrival, they were transported to the panda house in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wild Zoo in Xining. Two more pandas will arrive in Xining Wednesday, according to a source of the zoo. Qinghai Province will launch a series of education activities about giant pandas in the following three years. To make the pandas adapt well to the climate and environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the zoo has arranged individual outdoor and indoor spaces and a rest area for each panda. A 30-square-meter room for fresh bamboo storage has also been built in the panda house. To ensure the freshness of the bamboo, all the bamboo will be transported to the zoo regularly by air. The zoo will conduct physical checks for the pandas every month. The panda house in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Wild Zoo is scheduled to open to the public later this month. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 21:29:40|Editor: Wu Qin Video Player Close NAIROBI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has pulled out of the men's volleyball Africa Games Zone Five qualifiers, citing financial constraints. Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) vice president Charles Nyaberi confirmed that the three-day tournament which started on Monday, will now have just four teams - hosts Kenya, defending champions Egypt, Rwanda and Burundi. "Tanzania are out unfortunately. They made a late withdrawal, which even surprised us because we had already entered them in the draw. We have reports indicating they could not secure enough money for the trip, but we will wait for further directions from the Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB)," said Nyaberi. Tanzania becomes the third team to withdraw from the regional qualifying tournament after Sudan and Ethiopia. "Tanzania's last minute decision will not water down the level of competition because they were the lowest ranked side. The competition must continue and interestingly, the remaining four teams are the strongest," said David Lung'aho, Kenya's volleyball technical director. The winners of the five zonal tournaments across the continent will qualify for the eight-team final of the 12th Africa Games to be held from August 19-22 in Rabat, Morocco. Apart from the zonal winners, CAVB will nominate two highest ranked teams to join the finals. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a press conference at the Castelgrande closing a bilateral meeting with Swiss counterpart on June 2, 2019 in Bellinzona, southern Switzerland. (Xinhua/AFP) WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Switzerland on Sunday that Washington is ready for unconditional talks with Tehran, according to a press release issued by the State Department. The United States is prepared to engage "in a conversation with no preconditions," Pompeo told media during a joint press conference with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in Switzerland. "We're ready to sit down with them," Pompeo added. However, the top U.S. diplomat also emphasized that Washington would not change its effort to reverse Iran's "malign activity." Pompeo's remarks came one day after Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the talks between Tehran and Washington would be likely if the latter shows respect. "We favor logic and negotiations if they sit at the negotiation table with full respect and follow international regulations," Rouhani said, according to official IRNA news agency. Rouhani's words slightly deviated from the earlier position of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the United States, calling it would be "fruitless and a loss." By implementing "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran, the Trump administration has called for the renegotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Washington chose to abandon May last year, as well as Tehran's developing missile program and its regional role. Over the recent weeks, Washington has ratcheted up pressure against Tehran by a series of sanctions, designations and military threats. Iranian authorities have stressed that Tehran would not sit for negotiations under Washington's threats or sanction pressures. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 21:44:49|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close BAGHDAD, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An Iraqi court on Monday gave verdicts of death to two more Frenchmen over charges of joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group, a judicial source said. With the two new rulings, the number of French IS members who were sentenced to death during the past few days has been brought to 11. According to the Iraqi law, the convicts have 30 days to appeal against their verdicts, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The two Frenchmen were among 12 French citizens who were handed over to Iraqi authorities by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January. Thousands of fighters and supporters of various nationalities joined the extremist IS group when it took control of large swathes in Iraq and neighboring Syria, but after its defeat in both countries, hundreds of IS loyalists were killed or captured. Hundreds of IS militants were handed over by the SDF to Iraqi authorities over the past few months after the defeat of IS militants in Baghouz, the last IS-held area in the Euphrates River region in Syria's eastern province of Deir al-Zour. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 21:49:51|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close KIGALI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Rwanda on Monday launched the construction of 2,000 affordable housing units for average income earners, as part of the government's efforts to address affordable housing "crisis" in urban areas in the country. Access to affordable housing in urban areas of Rwanda most especially in the capital Kigali is quite challenging for low income earners, said Rwandan minister of infrastructure Claver Gatete at the launch of 2,000 affordable housing units in Nyamirambo sector, Nyarugenge district in Kigali. "With the construction of these affordable housing units, we expect average income earners in Kigali to easily find an affordable and decent accommodation at an affordable price," said Gatete. Gatete also said that the housing units will be constructed with environmentally friendly building materials, which will be produced locally. The targeted home owners are those within the income bracket of between 220 U.S. dollars per month and 771 U.S. dollars per month, according to developers. The units will sit on a 30-hectare piece of land between Nyamirambo and Rebero sector in Kigali and the entire project will cost over 50 million U.S. dollars and will easily accommodate about 10,000 residents, according to them. According to last year's Housing Market study conducted by research institute International Growth Center in Kigali, about 700,00 new housing units are needed by 2028, where 70 percent of them lay in affordable housing category. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 21:49:53|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli is expected to meet the nation's leading businessmen on Friday to exchange views on challenges facing them in doing business, a senior official said on Monday. An invitation to the meeting was given to the businessmen by Selemani Jafo, the Minister of State in the President's Office responsible for Regional Administration and Local Government. "Five leading businessmen from each district in the country have been invited by the President to the meeting where they will have an opportunity to discuss various issues," Jafo said in a statement. Jafo said the meeting will be held at State House in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, and urged regional commissioners to submit names of five businessmen from each district that will attend the meeting. Godfrey Simbeye, the Executive Director of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, thanked the president for organizing the meeting with businessmen saying it was a good direction. "Although we have not been given the agenda of the meeting, we hope that the head of state is interested to hear challenges facing businessmen in the country and look for solutions," Simbeye said in an interview with Xinhua. Simbeye said President Magufuli held a meeting with stakeholders in January in the minerals sector who told him about challenges facing them. "The President resolved most of the challenges facing businessmen in the mineral sector," said Simbeye. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 21:59:56|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. call for talks with Iran is merely "wordplay," Tasnim news agency reported Monday. "Washington's latest expression of readiness for talks with Tehran without any preconditions is wordplay which is not to be taken as a yardstick for action," Abbas Mousavi, the ministry spokesman, was quoted as saying. "The yardstick for U.S. intention for negotiations is a change in general approach and actual behavior toward the Iranian nation," Mousavi added, in a response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks on talks with Iran. Pompeo's emphasis on the maintenance of "maximum pressure" on Iran indicates that Washington is adopting the same "wrong approach" of the past, the Iranian spokesman noted. A day earlier, Pompeo said in Switzerland that the United States is "prepared to engage in a conversation with Iran with no preconditions." But Washington would continue working to rein in Iran's "malign activity," he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:05:02|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, on Monday strongly condemned the violence in Sudan that escalated on Monday. "The Chairperson strongly condemns the violence that erupted today, which led to reported deaths and several civilian injuries," the AU said in a statement issued on Monday. Chairperson of the 55-member pan African bloc also "called for an immediate and transparent investigation in order to hold those all responsible accountable," the statement read. Faki further called on the Transitional Military Council (TMC) of Sudan "to protect the civilians from further harm." The AU Chairperson made the urgent call hours after an allegation by Sudanese opposition groups and unofficial institutions that military force attacked the sit-in area amid intensive gun fire. Spokesman of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC), Shams-Eddin Kabashi on Monday denied news on dispersing the sit-in in central Khartoum. Protesters are demanding that the country's TMC hand over power to civilians. The TMC is tasked with running the country's affairs following the ouster of former President Omar al-Bashir. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:25:07|Editor: Xiaoxia Video Player Close PARIS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The resignation of the leader of France's center-right opposition on Sunday has pushed the party to seek for a new chief to bring back its glory of the yesteryears. Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the Republicans (LR), announced on Sunday his decision to quit as the party's chief following the conservatives' humiliating defeat in the European elections. Still struggling to find a way to recover from a financial scandal that broke during the 2017 presidential campaign, the conservatives' "disastrous" performance on May 26 is likely to be a further sign that challenges are ahead for the former ruling party to retake its top spot in the domestic political mainstream, while questions linger over the conservatives' ability to rebuild their ranks before the upcoming elections. The LR won 8.48 percent of the vote in the European Parliament elections in May, coming in fourth, behind the National Rally, President Emmanuel Macron's Republic on the Move (LERM) party and the Greens. "Victories are collective, defeats are solitary. That is the way it is. I have to take my responsibilities ... I have decided to take a step back, I'm stepping down as president of Les Republicans," Wauquiez said on TF1 television. "During the past week, I did everything to try to meet those of good will. But I see ... that there is a risk of a return of leadership wars and desires of revenge. I do not want to be an obstacle at any price," he said. Once one of France's two main political parties, the Republicans have been weakened by internal leadership in-fightings and hit by corruption scandals since former President Nicolas Sarkozy failed to secure a second term in the 2012 presidential election. Furthermore, Wauquiez's party has lost supporters to the ruling LERM party, which Macron created in 2016 to attract voters holding different political views. "The presence of ex-LR figures in key government economic posts, the right-leaning emphasis of Macron's policy agenda, and the susceptibility of large numbers of former LR voters to the gravitational pull of Macron have made LREM the natural party of the centre-right for now at least," commented Jim Shields, professor of French politics at Warwick University. "Macron's particular permutation of Gaullism, that of holding the line against an insurgent far right as a republican monarch, appeals to a lot of people, especially LR's natural constituency," he added on France 24 television. Torn between identity-based politics that far-right leader Marine Le Pen defends and a more pro-business and liberal approach pursued by Macron, LR supporters are in need of a leader who can find the balance between the two platforms, a leader such as Valery Giscard d'Estaing, Jacques Chirac or Nicolas Sarkozy, according to political analyst Camille Langlade. "To find again its place, the right-wing party needs (new) ideas, reflections, but especially a leader ... something the party sorely lacks today," she told the BFMTV news channel on Monday. In a televised interview on Sunday, Wauquiez stressed that "the (political) right has to be rebuilt." "I do not want democracy to become just that choice between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen," he said. However, the party's dismal performance in the European elections and the absence of a strong leadership may pave the way for another duel for the Elysee Palace in 2022 between Macron and Le Pen. "Who is the personality that is able to federate all the sensibilities of the French right? It does not exist. Who will have the power not to run for president in 2022 but to give the Republicans the feeling that (he or she) can help them build a party that would win in the presidential election? It does not exist," said Jean-Michel Aphatie, a political analyst. "It is an extremely sick party. And the concern of the one who will take over (its leadership) is to regain the voters who left either to the National Rally or to the Republic on the Move, or who abstained," he told local broadcaster Europe1 on Monday. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:30:13|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOGADISHU, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Monday it has facilitated the return of 17 members of the armed forces of Somaliland and Puntland who were captured in the armed conflict that broke out in May 2018. Simon Brooks, head of ICRC's Somalia Delegation said the charity flew the released persons to Hargeisa in Somaliland and Puntland's Garowe, respectively "The concerned authorities initiated and agreed on the process. We offered our services to both parties and confirmed our readiness to facilitate -- at their request -- the return of 17 now former detainees," Brooks said in a statement issued in Mogadishu. Before their release, ICRC said its delegates spoke in private with the former detainees to ensure that all agreed to be returned. The ICRC was not involved in the negotiations that preceded the release. Armed clashes between Somaliland and Puntland erupted in May last year in Tukaraq area of the Sool region, resulting into deaths, injuries and displacements. The two regional Somali states have clashed previously since 2002 over control of disputed regions in northern Somalia. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:35:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close HARARE, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Two Parliamentary portfolio committees on Monday begin public consultations on the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency Bill which seeks to promote ease of doing business in the country and establish a single interface for investors by providing a one-stop investment center. The center shall have representatives of entities that play a role in the licensing, establishment and operationalization of investments. The bill also seeks to create an agency to replace and take over the functions presently entrusted to the Zimbabwe Investment Authority and the Special Economic Zones Authority and the Joint Venture Unit in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The Portfolio Committees on Industry and Commerce and Foreign Affairs and International Trade will be on the ground till Friday where members of the public, interested groups and organizations will present their views on the bill for inclusion in the committees report to the National Assembly when the bill comes up for debate. The one-stop investment center will have representatives from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority, the Environmental Management Agency, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Companies Office, National Social Security Authority, Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, State Enterprises Restructuring Agency and specialized investment units and other relevant line ministries. The bill was gazetted on April 5, 2019. Among other functions, the bill enjoins the State to treat foreign investors fairly and equitably and guarantees that the property of investors will not be expropriated. Where the property is expropriated for a public purpose, the expropriation should be done in accordance with the law, in a non-discriminatory manner and a payment of effective compensation. All laws, regulations and policies that affect investors should be made public promptly, while the free inward and outward transfer of funds will be provided for. The bill also lays out circumstances where such transfers may be prevented or delayed, for example in a bid to protect the creditors of an investor and in order to assist financial regulators or law enforcement. Investors will also be called upon to respect the country's laws and to desist from environmentally unfriendly practices, maintain independent accounts and ensure that services and products comply with national and international standards. They will also be expected to respect cultural heritage and custom. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:40:22|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's State Information Service (SIS) denounced on Monday a report by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) accusing the army of alleged human rights violations during the ongoing anti-terror operations in the North Sinai province as "fabrication and propagation of lies." "The content of the report included many alleged cases that are entirely unsupported by a real evidence," the SIS, the country's official body that regulates foreign media and oversees their accreditation, said in a detailed 11-page document. The report claimed that 54 interviews were conducted with local residents from Sinai without clarifying much essential information to validate their truthfulness, the SIS added. The SIS reiterated the rights group' report didn't specify whether the interviews were carried inside or outside the country. In a 134-page report issued on May 28, 2019, the HRW accused Egypt's army and police forces of committing "serious and widespread" abuses against civilians in North Sinai during anti-terror operations. In the SIS's response to the HRW's report, it added the rights group has based its sources on social media website like Facebook rather than using trusted materials. Egypt has been fighting against a wave of terrorist operations that killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the military-ouster of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood group. The anti-security attacks in Egypt had mainly centered in North Sinai before spreading nationwide and targeting the Coptic Christian minority as well, leaving dozens of them dead. Most of the attacks were claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the Islamic State extremist group. Security expert Mohamed Attiya told Xinhua that the HRW's report is "unreasonable and baseless." Lacking all standards of logic and neutrality, HRW gave no evidences for its allegations against the Egyptian forces, narrating one-sided opinion for the events, with no credible sources or documents, the security expert added. Emad Mahrous, another security expert, said that the Egyptian armed forces and security authorities succeeded in destroying the infrastructure of terrorist organizations and groups in Sinai and restoring normal life and peace for citizens. He added the Egyptian government has paid nearly 800 million U.S. dollars as compensations for the civilians who were affected by the establishment of buffer zones at the border with the Gaza Strip and around Al-Arish airport. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:40:23|Editor: yan Video Player Close DAR ES SALAAM, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Minister for Finance and Planning Philip Mpango admitted in parliament on Monday that new loans secured by the government for implementation of mega projects was among reasons contributing to an increase of the national debt. Mpango said the national debt increased from 49.86 trillion Tanzanian shillings (about 21.7 billion U.S. dollars) in April 2018 to 51.03 trillion shillings in April 2019. Asking parliament to approve his ministry's 11.9 trillion shillings budget estimates for the 2019/2020 fiscal year, Mpango mentioned mega projects including construction of the terminal III of the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam and the standard gauge railway. However, he said, the national debt that increased by 2.35 percent during the last 12 months was sustainable, adding that of the total debt, 13.25 trillion shillings was secured domestically while 37.78 trillion shillings was sourced from outside the country. Mpango told the House in the capital Dodoma that the ministry evaluated the national debt annually to measure its sustainability. He said in 2018/2019, the government allocated 1.41 trillion shillings for payment of domestic loans' interests. Mpango added that the government allocated 1.66 trillion shillings for payment of foreign capital debt and that 1.23 trillion shillings has been paid by April 2019, which is equivalent to 74.10 percent of the target. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:45:36|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOGADISHU, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Somali forces on Monday killed two al-Shabab militants and injured three others in an offensive in the country's southern region of Gedo, officials said. Abdi Aziz Ali Omar, deputy commander of Somali national forces unit 49 told journalists that the forces launched an attack on al-Shabab's base in Bardhere town in Gedo region. "Our forces launched an attack this morning on the militants in Ali Hared and Jungle villages in Bardhere, we took the control of the two villages and inflicted heavy casualties on the extremists, killing two of them and injured three others," Ali said, adding that their forces are pursuing the remnant of the militants. Residents said there was fierce fight between government forces and the militants in Bardhere town. "Government forces attacked the militants in Ali Hared town, the two sides exchanged heavy weapons but government forces are in the town now and the militants withdrew from it," Awil Hasan, a local resident told Xinhua by phone. The offensive came three weeks after Somali forces killed 18 militants in an operation in Somalia's southern region of Middle Juba. Somali forces backed by African Union Mission in Somalia have intensified operations on al-Shabab militants in central and southern Somalia to flush out the militants from those regions. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:50:42|Editor: yan Video Player Close HELSINKI, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming Finnish left-center coalition government led by the Social Democratic Party rolled out its policy program on Monday that underlines the idea of the "economy serving the people" in the Nordic welfare state. The 190-page document created in three weeks of talks pledges to make Finland carbon neutral by 2035; underlines the need to reduce inequality; and promises more spending on education, pensions and social services. The new government plans to increase permanent public expenditure by 1.2 billion euros (1.35 billion U.S. dollars). Under the coalition agreement, the Social Democrats will have 7 portfolios, the Centre Party 5, the Greens 3, the Left Alliance 2 and the Swedish People's Party 2. The names of the 19 ministers would be confirmed by the parties later this week. Besides the Social Democratic prime minister, the finance minister will come from the Centre Party, the foreign minister from the Greens, the education minister from the Left Alliance and the minister for justice from the Swedish People's Party. Five party leaders met the media and citizens at Helsinki's Oodi Central Library on Monday. Antti Rinne, leader of the Social Democratic Party who is expected to be the new prime minister, told the gathering that the plans are based on increasing the employment rate to 75 percent in the 15-64 age group by 2023. He said that in the 2030s the employment level should reach 80 percent in Finland. The government will invite the employers and the unions to submit plans for increasing the employment levels from the current 72 percent. Rinne said that some of the additional spending depends on the success of the drive to increase employment levels. One additional billion euros could be spent if the world economy causes a recession in Finland or a temporary recession hits locally. Green Party Chairman Pekka Haavisto said the program is probably the most ambitious in the world on climate issues. Finland aims at becoming carbon neutral by 2035 and carbon negative soon after that. Center Party Chairman and outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipila noted that initially it was difficult for his party, which was the biggest loser in this May's European Parliament elections, to join the coalition talks, but that the party had attained its goals in the government program. Sipila said he will continue as a backbencher in parliament and will not accept any leading roles in politics. The Centre Party will elect a new chairman in September. The new government will cancel several measures introduced by the outgoing center-right cabinet, including the activation requirement for the unemployed, which has met with major resistance. Left Alliance Chairman Li Anderson said "a new page has been turned" after 10 years of public spending cutbacks. In education, the government will raise the mandatory school age to 18 years. This means that secondary education will be totally free of charge. Even though there have been no tuition fees so far, pupils have had to pay for their books at the secondary level. That cost will now disappear. Universities will have some of their deleted funding restored. In a policy change, the use of the second national language, Swedish, will again be compulsory for Finnish speakers in the matriculation exams that end secondary school. Swedish had been made optional in 2005. Six percent of Finns are Swedish speakers. A national health care reform will be carried out on the basis of 18 regions taking the responsibility that municipalities have so far had. Contrary to the plans of the previous government, private health care producers would only have auxiliary roles. The government will invest in major infrastructure projects, especially railroads. The plans will be partially financed through the sale of government property. In a gesture full of symbolism, representatives of the coalition parties and their parliamentary groups later gathered in a resort hotel in nearby Espoo. The Hotel Korpilampi was the very place where tripartite (government, unions and employers) cooperation was reconfirmed in 1977, under the then Social Democratic Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa. NORDIC COOPERATION IN DEFENSE The government program defines Finland's approach to defense and security as "an active policy of stability to prevent military threats." It specifically states that the country would not allow the use of its territory for hostile purposes against other countries. The program says that bilateral and regional defense cooperation with Sweden will be widened. Pekka Haavisto, the likely future foreign minister, elaborated that the extent of this widening will, of course, depend also on Sweden. The program envisages the strengthening of defense cooperation with Norway and broader transatlantic cooperation. Rinne said that the program means "no change in the relationship between Finland and NATO." However, the wording about NATO was altered from the program of the previous government. The new program notes that "national leeway and maintenance of options of choice" form the basis of Finland's security policy. The possibility of applying for NATO membership is maintained. "Finland continues comprehensive cooperation with NATO based on companionship." A functioning cooperation between the EU and NATO is in line with Finland's interests, the program concludes. The European Union is defined as "the main framework for Finland's external relations" and as "a security community". It is in the interest of Finland to strengthen the unity and external abilities of the EU, the program says. Finland aims to maintain good and constructive relations with "China, Russia and the United States," and to act in such a way that the tensions seen in great power relations would not impair "rules-based multilateral cooperation and respect for international law," the text says. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 22:50:44|Editor: yan Video Player Close LUSAKA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's governing party on Monday said it was putting in place a social media monitoring system to track any abuse of social media by party supporters. Davies Mwila, secretary-general of the Patriotic Front (PF), said during its sitting on June 2, the party's highest body, the Central Committee, resolved to bring social media abuse to an end by supporters. "I wish to state here that the era of social media abuse in the party is over. Let me make it clear that the party promotes the healthy usage of social media and will do all it can to ensure that our members do not become victims or perpetrators of social media abuse," he said in a statement. He said the creation of the social media monitoring system team will help in tracking any abuse of social media and that those found to abuse social media, and sowing seeds of discord in the party will not be tolerated. "We have a duty to ensure that social media reinforces our vision, ideals and unity as a party. The party takes great exception to an emergency tendency where people want to believe that they can take to social media to insult, defame and bully those they do not agree with," he added. The party's highest body has since directed provincial chairpersons in all provinces to get in touch with the secretariat to facilitate the creation of provincial and district social media blogs which will be registered with the party. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:11:03|Editor: yan Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Xinhua (June 3) -- Ethiopia and the World Bank on Monday signed a 350 million U.S. dollar finance assistance agreement to transform the lives of pastoralist communities in Ethiopia, state media reported. The agreement was signed at Ethiopia's Ministry of Finance by Ethiopian finance minister Ahmed Shide and Carolyn Turk, Ethiopia country director of the World Bank Group, Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporate (EBC) reported. The World Bank Group approved 280 million dollars in credit and 70 million dollars in grant to support Ethiopia's efforts to advance the livelihoods of 2.5 million pastoralists, the EBC said. The combined 350 million dollar assistance aims to help activities that reduce long-term environmental degradation and vulnerability of communities to droughts. It also plans to help facilitate social services access such as water points, veterinary facilities, as well as to finance construction of roads, livestock markets, irrigation projects and to develop partnership between private companies and livestock herders. An estimated 11 percent of Ethiopia's 105 million people live in mainly pastoral areas. Last month, the World Bank approved 200 million dollars in financial assistance to support Ethiopia's ongoing energy sector reforms and encourage private-sector participation in the renewable energy sector. Ethiopia plans to raise its current 4,300 MW electricity generation capacity to 17,300 MW by 2025, with power generation projects in hydro, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass sectors. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:16:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday urged all relevant parties to fully and effectively implement the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying that it was the only realistic and effective way to ease tension and solve the Iran nuclear issue, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson. Spokesperson Geng Shuang made the remarks at a news briefing when asked for comment about the recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said Iran had again stayed within key limitations set in the JCPOA. China highly appreciates the IAEA carrying out supervision and verification based on an objective and neutral attitude, Geng said. He stressed that all relevant parties to the JCPOA had maintained close communication and consultation, and the parties emphasized that they would be firmly committed to maintaining and implementing the agreement and fulfilling their responsibilities and obligations. "China will work with relevant parties to continue making efforts for that goal and firmly safeguard its own legitimate rights and interests," he added. According to reports, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that the United States was ready to talk with Iran with no preconditions, while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran possibly would like to talk with the United States if the latter would show its respect to Iran, but would not do so as a result of coerce. "We once again called on relevant parties to remain restrained and strengthen dialogue," Geng said, adding that conflict and confrontation are not the way out for resolving the issue, and dialogue and consultation are the only correct way. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:16:19|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Sweden's Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson (1st R) attends a news conference at Uppsala District Court in Uppsala, Sweden, on June 3, 2019. A Swedish court ruled on Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not be detained for alleged rape, the country's prosecution authority said. (Xinhua/Rob Schoenbaum) STOCKHOLM, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A Swedish court ruled on Monday that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will not be detained for alleged rape, the country's prosecution authority said. The decision, however, does not mean that the prosecution must be terminated, Swedish News SVT reported. There is no requirement that he be brought to Sweden. Hearings may still be conducted in the United Kingdom. A detention hearing was held at Monday morning at Uppsala District Court. Sweden's Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson had requested that Assange be detained in order to face trial over rape allegations dating back to 2010. The investigation dates back in 2010, when Assange was accused of sexual molestation, coercion and rape. At the time, Assange denied the accusations but refused to be questioned in Sweden, fearing that Sweden would then extradite him to the U.S. to face conspiracy charges. Assange fled to Britain soon after and was granted political asylum by the Embassy of Ecuador, where he had lived until April 2019. The misconduct and coercion cases were dropped in 2015 when the statute of limitations expired. The investigation into the alleged rape does not expire until August 2020, but was closed in 2017 after an assessment that Assange could not be extradited to Sweden for the foreseeable future. In April 2019, Assange lost diplomatic immunity and was arrested by UK authorities, making it possible for Sweden to resume the investigation. He was sentenced to 50 weeks in UK jail on May 1 for breaching his bail by entering the Ecuadorian embassy in London seven years ago. The UK is also currently pursuing an extradition request made by the U.S., in relation to Wikileak's release of a number of military and diplomatic documents. The U.S. Justice Department said in May that it has filed 17 new charges against Assange, including receiving and unlawfully publishing classified military and diplomatic documents in 2010. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:16:20|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close BEIRUT, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The United States is unwilling to lose its global dominance, taking aggressive and hostile measures against many countries, including trade frictions with China, said Lebanese experts. It is not the first time that the United States waged such "wars", Hanna Gharib, head of the Lebanese Communist Party, told Xinhua. "For the United States, no other country is allowed to advance technologically and scientifically. These are not new wars. It waged such wars against a lot of countries in the world such as Japan and Iraq," Gharib said. In an escalation of trade tensions, the United States increased tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent as of May 10, and has threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports. In response, China raised additional tariffs on a range of U.S. imports on June 1. Gharib also slammed the United States for taking so-called protective measures because of the big trade deficit with China. "The trade deficit is not only existent with China. It exists between U.S. and most of the countries in the world," he said. Lebanese political researcher Adnan Bourji assured that U.S. protectionist policy towards China will lead to a worldwide economic slowdown. He added that Americans themselves will be impacted by these policies, with estimations that the Americans "will incur over 2,000 dollars per family annually due to this protectionist policy." "The agriculture sector will also be the most impacted in the United States. This policy is irrational and illogical while it cannot succeed and stay in the long term," he added. Similarly, Gharib said this war will not only impact China but also populations all over the world including the American people, and warned that it is "a very dangerous indicator." Besides, Washington's aggressive and unilateral measures globally and specifically in the Arab region were also criticized by the experts. Doureid Yaghi, vice president of Lebanon's Progressive Socialist Party, said that the United States wants to impose its conditions on the world without submitting to any agreements or treaties. Gharib noted that the Arab world already had its own disappointing experience with Washington, adding that the United States targets any Arab country that does not support its goals in the region. Yaghi praised China for adopting an approach based on boosting development all over the world and mutual benefit and interests among countries, mentioning the Belt and Road Initiative, which meets the interests of all people involved. Bourji said economic policies all over the world are in need for change. "This phenomenon should be spread in the world in the coming period, the phenomenon of cooperation, mutual benefit and openness with everybody being capable of winning according to their work and capacities," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:21:24|Editor: yan Video Player Close TOKYO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The promotion event of the 20th Conference of the Overseas Chinese Scholars, known as "CHINAOCS Preparatory Week," was held in Tokyo on Monday along with the establishment of Tokyo representative office, the sixth of its kind set up overseas. Zeng Bo, member of the standing committee of the Dalian municipal committee of the Communist Party of China, said at the meeting that the establishment of Tokyo representative office will offer help to Chinese overseas students in Japan in terms of integrating themselves into the development of China. The office will also provide a full range of support to Chinese students who studied abroad and returned to China to start entrepreneurship, Zeng said. The CHINAOCS Preparatory Week was first held in 2000 in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. The 20th version of the event is jointly sponsored by China's Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the provincial government of Liaoning and other organizations. Xia Mingjiu, minister counselor of the Chinese embassy in Japan, said in his speech that the city of Dalian has played an important role as a bridge and bond in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship of Chinese students overseas by building the important platform of the CHINAOCS Preparatory Week. He said that the preparatory week plays an important role in promoting overseas students' return to China to start their own businesses. He hopes Chinese overseas students will integrate their ambition of making China strong and serving their country. Cao Jing, director of Dalian high-tech entrepreneurship service center, gave a detailed introduction of the preparatory week and the environment of entrepreneurship and innovation of the Dalian high-tech zone. Over the years, the event has attracted more than 35,000 Chinese overseas students from 63 countries and regions and over than 7,000 overseas students have returned to China to start their own business through the event. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:36:35|Editor: zh Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China and France should well implement the consensus reached between their leaders, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said over a phone conversation on Monday with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic counselor to French President Emmanuel Macron. He said the two countries should respect and give consideration to each other's core and just concerns to uplift bilateral pragmatic cooperation to a new level and further enhance the China-France comprehensive strategic partnership under the new circumstances. Currently, unilateralism, protectionism and bullying behaviors are impacting the world economic order severely and imposing negative influences over global governance as well as world peace and stability, Wang said. China and France, as independent and influential major countries in the world, should strengthen strategic coordinations and join hands to play due roles in maintaining world peace and order, he said. At the upcoming Group of 20 (G20) summit scheduled for June in Osaka, Japan, China and France should push for a concerted and positive call for safeguarding multilateralism, opposing unilateralism and protectionism, maintaining the multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at the core, carrying forward the spirit of partnership, and promoting the balanced and inclusive development of the world economy, he said. The Chinese foreign minister noted that China is willing to work together with France to continuously push for the implementation of the Paris climate change agreement and promote the green, low-carbon and sustainable development of the world. Bonne said that Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to France in March this year was very successful and France would keep close high-level exchanges with China, fully respect each other's interests and concerns, continue to enhance mutual trust and deepen pragmatic cooperation. Both France and China are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and both countries highly value and always adhere to multilateralism and international cooperation, Bonne said. The tow sides should strengthen coordination and cooperation on major global and regional issues, such as the G20 affairs, climate change and the Iran nuclear issue, Bonne added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:41:37|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIRUT, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The first phase of the project of expanding Beirut Airport was launched on Monday, the National News Agency reported. "We aim at providing the Lebanese and tourists with facilities that allow passengers to complete their travel procedures in an effective way," Public Works and Transport Minister Youssef Fenianos told reporters at the airport. A fast track will be installed for the airport during the summer, he said. Lebanese officials have on many occasions called for expansion of Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport in an effort to better serve the increasing passengers. According to a study released by the airport in March 2018, as many as 10 million passengers are expected to travel through the Beirut Airport by 2020, which has the capacity of hosting only 6 million passengers annually. In 2018, Lebanese Finance Ministry approved 18 million U.S. dollars in funding the expansion of the Beirut Airport. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:41:39|Editor: yan Video Player Close BEIJING, June 3 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday refuted a report of the U.S. Defense Department alleging that China undermines the international system as a revisionist power. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang issued the rebuttal in responding to a query on the first Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, released by the U.S. Department of Defense recently. The report has made an unwarranted accusation against China, which is totally unacceptable, Geng said, adding that as the first country to sign the UN Charter, China had always been the defender of the international order and will continue to maintain the international system and order with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter as the core. Noting that unilateralism, protectionism and bullying prevailed in U.S. actions, Geng listed the major international agreements and institutions that the United States had walked away from, including the Paris Climate Accord, the Iran nuclear agreement, and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. "As an important member of WTO, the U.S. has blatantly violated the multilateral trade rules and regularly wielded tariffs as a big stick," Geng said. He urged some personages from the United States to focus on the peace, stability and development of the region and the world, instead of the unwarranted accusation and smearing of China. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:41:40|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, June 3 (Xinhua) -- There is much room for growth in the trade and investment cooperation between Russia and China, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. China is a very close partner of Russia and the volume of bilateral trade is constantly rising independently of the international economic environment, Peskov told Russian news channel RT. He recalled that the Russia-China trade topped 100 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, a significant volume for the Russian economy. There is still a lot of room for enlarging the volumes of Chinese investment in Russia, Peskov said, adding that he hopes that given time, the investments would continue to increase. The economic partnership between Russia and China is a significant dimension for the global economy, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:46:43|Editor: yan Video Player Close COLOMBO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Three ministers and five deputy and state ministers resigned from their portfolios in Sri Lanka on Monday to pave way for an impartial investigation into the Easter Sunday terror attacks which killed over 250 people. The ministers tendered their resignations calling on authorities to conduct a swift and thorough probe as well as to safeguard the minority Muslim community against rising racial hatred. The Muslim ministers said they were giving up their portfolios but would continue to be in government in order to protect it. Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education, Rauff Hakeem, who was one of the ministers who resigned told journalists in capital Colombo their resignation were also given in to safeguard Sri Lanka's image globally and to maintain peace among all communities. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:46:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia and Timor-Leste vowed on Monday to enhance bilateral relations in trade, tourism and education, a Cambodian spokesman said. The commitment was made during a meeting here between Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn and Timor-Leste's Foreign Minister Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares, said Ket Sophann, spokesman of the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The spokesman said trade volume between the two countries was relatively small and the two ministers agreed to encourage the chambers of commerce of the two countries to work together to promote this sector. The two countries also planned to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on tourism cooperation, Sophann said, adding that for education, Cambodia would provide 10 scholarships to Timor-Leste students in October. During the meeting, Soares sought Cambodia's support for Timor-Leste's application for a membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the spokesman said. Timor-Leste announced its intention to become the ASEAN's 11th member in 2011. "For Cambodia's stance, as Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen has said, Cambodia supports Timor-Leste's candidacy for ASEAN membership," Sophann said. "However, because ASEAN needs a consensus, Timor-Leste has to seek support from other ASEAN countries." Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-03 23:51:50|Editor: yan Video Player Close RABAT, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan security services arrested on Monday three members of a suspected terror group linked to the Islamic State (IS) militant group in the southeastern cities of Errachidia and Tinghir. "The suspected people aged between 26 and 28 were planning to carry out terrorist schemes," said a statement of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), Morocco's intelligence bureau. "Initial investigations revealed that the three extremists have adopted IS propaganda and tried to recruit and enlist other elements in preparation for their terrorist schemes," the BCIJ added. The suspects will be brought to justice upon the completion of the investigation, the statement noted. Investigations are still underway to arrest others with suspected links to the cell. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 00:17:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close GAZA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Islamic Hamas movement announced on Monday that it decided to intensify its electronic fund-raising of Bitcoin, calling on the world to support the movement and its armed wing al-Qassam Brigades. Abu Obeida, spokesman of the al-Qassam Brigades, said his group plans to send hundreds of millions of messages to the cell phones of millions of Arabs, Muslims and "the people of the free world." The messages will be in eight different languages, including Russian, Turkish, Indonesian and Malaysian, he added. "These messages aim at facilitating the process of electronic fund-raising (Bitcoin) of the resistance group. We call on everyone to deal with these messages, share it and publish it everywhere," Obeida noted. The Hamas armed wing launched a campaign on Jan. 29 to earn financial support for the first time through the currency of Bitcoin "to fight Israel's attempts to prevent all kinds of support for the movement." Hamas has been going through a financial crisis for several years which it blames on an almost 12-year Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 00:22:14|Editor: yan Video Player Close WASHINGTON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), said Monday his stepping down is not related to President Donald Trump's decision to hike tariffs against Mexico. Asked in an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box" morning program whether Trump's announcement of the Mexico tariffs led to his departure, Hassett said, "No, I mean this is something that's been in the works for a little while." "If you look at the history of the CEA, it's very normal for the chair to move on after two years," added the 57-year-old CEA chief, who wrote Trump a resignation letter Friday. Hassett was sworn in on Sept. 13, 2017 as the 29th head of the CEA. The CEA chair said that he resigned partly out of "respect for the institution," and that "there is also just wanting to go back and spend time with my family." Hassett told Trump in the resignation letter that he looks forward to spending some more time with his family and hopes "to continue to be a resource to you from the outside." He also said he will stay in his role until the end of June to help ensure a smooth transition at the CEA. Noting during the CNBC interview that the longer one works in the White House, "the harder it might be to be objective," Hassett said, however, his departure and Trump's threat made Thursday to impose tariffs of 5 percent on all Mexican imports are separate issues. "I think it's appropriate that we just separate them." Trump tweeted Sunday that Hassett "will be leaving shortly," adding that he will name a "very talented replacement" as soon as he returns from a trip to Europe, which takes him to Britain, Ireland and France. Hassett refused to speculate on who his successor might be when pushed by one of the CNBC hosts. "The CEA is going to be fine," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 00:42:22|Editor: yan Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, June 3 (Xinhua) -- With two South African state-owned enterprise (SOE) CEOs having resigned in two weeks, South African expert advised the government to consider partially privatizing SOEs. This advice followed the resignation of South African Airways (SAA) Chief Executive Officer Vuyani Jarana and Eskom CEO Phakamani Hadebe. Jarana's resignation letter to the board made it clear that lack of funding for SAA prompted the resignation. "Lack of commitment to fund SAA is systematically undermining the implementation of the turnaround strategy. I spend most of my time dealing with liquidity and solvency issues," the CEO said. Jannie Rossouw, Head of School of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand, said on Monday. "We all know SAA has been in fanatical problems for a very long time, if government is serious about these companies' financial survival, it must start privatizing some of these companies." He said that while Eskom was too big to be allowed to fail, government would not be affected if SAA is privatized. "Eskom is a national strategic company that supplies electricity, it must be helped. SAA can be sold, it is a luxury, the government can sell it today without the economy being affected." he said. When Jarana was appointed CEO in November 2017, he was tasked to implement a long term strategy to return the airline to financial and operational stability, but without adequate funding, the turnaround strategy would not succeed. Jarana said that a 5 billion Rand (344.7 million US dollars) funding secured from the government in 2018/19 financial year was "used to fund creditors." SAA also received 3.5 billion Rand emergency funding from local banks and that money helped to operate from December 2018 until now before it would be depleted in June. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 01:07:33|Editor: yan Video Player Close BUCHAREST, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The opposition National Liberal Party won the most seats, thus 10 of the Romania's 32+1 seats in the European Parliament, according to the final count of the Central Electoral Bureau on Monday. The main ruling party, the Social Democratic Party, won nine seats, followed closely by the USR PLUS 2020 Alliance which won eight seats. The other three parties to the European Parliament, the PRO Romania Party, the People's Movement Party and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania each won two seats. According to Marian Muhulet, spokesman for the Central Electoral Bureau, the election turnout is over 51 percent, as more than 9 million of the some 18 million voters cast ballots. The National Liberals won 26.19 percent of the votes, followed by the Social Democrats with 21.82 percent and the 2020 Alliance 21.69 percent. As far as the referendum proposed by President Klaus Iohannis and held together with the elections, the two questions related to anti-corruption and justice were both supported by majority votes. Romania held elections for the European Parliament on May 26, with 13 political parties and three independent candidates competing for the 32+1 seats of the eastern European country in the European legislative body. The final results showed that the public support of the Social Democrats had dropped significantly, with nearly 20 percentage points less than the 45 percent in the national general elections two and a half years ago. The National Liberals won 6 percentage points more than the 20 percent they got in late 2016. The votes lost by the main ruling party were mainly harvested by the 2020 Alliance, whose support rose from less than 9 percent to over 21 percent in two and a half years, almost neck-and-neck with the two largest parties in the country. The elections are not only a competition for the European seats by the various political forces of Romania, but also a new demonstration of their strength after the national elections at the end of 2016. It is also a prelude of the presidential elections at the end of the current year. Demonstrators hold placards as they protest against US President Donald Trump's visits, outside of Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. (Photo by Ben STANSALL/AFP) LONDON, June 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in London on Monday to start his three-day state visit to Britain as widespread protests against him are set to take place. Trump, who landed at the Stansted Airport accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is expected to hold talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May and attend a D-Day commemoration. On Monday, Trump will be given a tour of Westminster Abbey and will also meet Prince Charles. In the evening, the Queen will host a state banquet at Buckingham Palace for the president and the First Lady. Speaking ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, the first to be hosted for a U.S. president since 2011, May said that the UK-U.S. relations have underpinned the countries' security and prosperity. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that his country should not be "rolling out the red carpet" for Trump during the trip. Khan said he believed the outgoing prime minister May should tell the president he was "wrong on a whole host of issues" such as his views on women and immigration. Trump responded in a tweet calling Khan a "stone cold loser." Protests are planned in several British cities during his ongoing visit, including London, Manchester, Belfast, and Birmingham. Protesters in London is expected to gather at Trafalgar Square and "follow Trump" to various locations including Whitehall. A spokesperson of Stop Trump movement said: "This protest is going to include some big-name speakers and also a lot of space for grassroots voices." "The groups that Trump's divisive and discriminatory agendas impact the most tend to be those who have the least means and opportunity to make their voices heard - so this is a chance to redress that balance," the spokesperson said. Trump visited Britain last year amid massive protests. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 02:13:04|Editor: yan Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- HIV infection rates continue to increase in one-third of the European Economic Area (EEA) countries (EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), despite an overall decline in HIV prevalence in the whole area, said an EU envoy on Monday. Between 25,000 and 30,000 new cases are reported every year in the EEA countries, Deputy Head of European Union Delegation to the United Nations Silvio Gonzato told the UN General Assembly. "These are alarming statistics." Around 800,000 people were living with HIV in the EEA countries in 2018, and about 14 percent of those had not yet been diagnosed, he said. Currently in the EEA countries, 86 percent of all people living with HIV are diagnosed, 91 percent of all people diagnosed are receiving treatment, and 92 percent of all people diagnosed and on treatment are virally suppressed, said the ambassador. The epidemic continues to affect disproportionally the most vulnerable who are already socially marginalized, like sex workers, undocumented migrants, people who inject drugs, prisoners, and those often affected by multiple infections, he said. "As such, health and social policies must work hand in hand to reach those most at risk. We need to increase solidarity with the most vulnerable amongst us, and ensure a stronger focus on prevention strategies, training and health services, including for men having sex with men and for transgender people." He stressed the importance of strengthening public health systems. "We welcome the development of national and regional HIV/AIDS strategies addressing the challenges and capacities of each country, and the acceleration of plans to achieve universal health coverage." He noted that the EU and its member states are at the forefront of the fight against HIV in partner countries through its longstanding support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Funding from the European Commission and EU member states represents about half of the total funding to this global health initiative. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 02:18:08|Editor: yan Video Player Close SARAJEVO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An Eurowings plane landed on Monday at Sarajevo International Airport (SIA), connecting Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH's) capital Sarajevo and German capital Berlin. Planes will depart from SIA twice a week, on Monday and Friday, SIA said in a press statement on Monday. SIA pointed out that the successful cooperation between SIA and this low-cost German carrier is continued by the introduction of the new line. The new line directly contributes to strengthening the economic image of the country and the development of tourist potentials, and offers a wider choice when it comes to European and world destinations, SIA added in the statement. This connection is of special importance to many citizens of BiH who live and work in Germany, but also for tourists from this part of Europe who are increasingly visiting BiH. The low-cost airline already links Sarajevo with two cities in Germany, Cologne and Stuttgart. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 02:38:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks during a press conference in Rome, Italy, June 3, 2019. Giuseppe Conte on Monday warned the two ruling coalition parties to confirm their commitment to the government program, or he would be ready to remit his mandate. (Xinhua/Alberto Lingria) ROME, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday warned the two ruling coalition parties to confirm their commitment to the government program, or he would be ready to remit his mandate. In a press conference in late afternoon, Conte said he aims at speeding up the cabinet's action on a wide range of issues in the second phase of the legislature. This would require a stronger cohesion of the two political forces sustaining the cabinet -- rightwing League and populist Five Star Movement (M5S) -- to show a stronger cohesion than that showed in the past 12 months since this government was sworn in on June 1, 2018. "The prerequisite is contained in a clear formula: sincere cooperation," Conte told the press conference. "I am asking both forces to make a choice, and make it clear if they still want to honor the obligations of the (government's) contract," said the prime minister. Tension between the two coalition parties supporting Conte's cabinet has run high since the European elections were held in late May. Anti-immigrant League earned over 34 percent and resulted as the most voted party in the country, while the M5S on the contrary lost much of its consensus. These results completely overturned the balance of power between the two forces, further feeding fractions and squabbles between the allies and their leaders -- League's Matteo Salvini and M5S' Luigi Di Maio, respectively, who both serve as deputy prime minister. "Unfortunately, the campaign mood has not yet died out, and this is not helping the government's action," the Italian prime minister explained. He specified that his personal relationship with all the ministers in his cabinet and with both his deputy prime ministers were "excellent." "Yet, working in the country's exclusive interest means something more than having good personal relationships," Conte stressed. "It means being ready to take on a much broader temporal horizon and a more constructive attitude," he added. the_guitar_mann/iStock(NEW YORK) -- Boeing told officials with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that certain parts on its grounded 737 Max passenger planes may have been improperly manufactured, the administration revealed. The FAA released a statement on Sunday, saying the aircraft maker had expressed concern for as many as 148 parts on the 737 Max and 737 Next Generation, a previous model of the aircraft. At least 32 Boeing Next Generation aircraft and 33 Boeing Max aircraft could be affected in the U.S., according to the FAA. It said 133 Next Generation and 179 Max aircraft could be affected globally. One part in particular, the leading edge slat tracks, may have been improperly manufactured and may not meet all applicable regulatory requirements for strength and durability, according to the FAA statement. "The affected parts may be susceptible to premature failure or cracks resulting from the improper manufacturing process," the statement said. "Although a complete failure of a leading-edge slat track would not result in the loss of the aircraft, a risk remains that a failed part could lead to aircraft damage in fight." The FAA said it would issue an Airworthiness Directive to mandate Boeing's service actions to "identify and remove the discrepant parts from service." The FAA said the parts in question were manufactured by a Boeing sub-tier supplier, but it did not provide supplier's name. Boeing said it contacted all 737 operators and told them to inspect the slat track assemblies on certain airplanes. "Slat tracks are used to guide the slats located on the leading edge of an airplanes wings. Boeing has not been informed of any in-service issues related to this batch of slat tracks, Boeing said in a statement Sunday. If operators find the parts in question, they are to replace them with new ones before returning the airplane to service." Kevin McAllister, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplane, said the company would do everything it could to help operators with any potential issues. "We are committed to supporting our customers in every way possible as they identify and replace these potentially non-conforming tracks," McAllister said in a statement. The 737 Max was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes involving the model. An Ethiopia Airlines crash in March killed all 157 people on board, marking the second deadly crash of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane in just five months. The FAA issued an emergency order to ground the jets earlier this year, citing satellite-based tracking data that linked the Ethiopia jet's movements to those of Lion Air Flight 610, which killed 189 people when it crashed off Indonesia in October. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 02:43:16|Editor: yan Video Player Close KIEV, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Chairman of the Ukrainian National Bank Council, Bohdan Danylyshyn, said Monday Ukraine is to repay 3.5 billion U.S. dollars of foreign debt over the next four months. "Ukraine will need to repay foreign debt worth 1.8 billion U.S. dollars during the three months of summer and another 1.7 billion U.S. dollars in September," Danylyshyn wrote on his Facebook page. He is sure Ukraine will meet these obligations but would need government borrowing, as well as the international reserves of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), which are reduced due to the payment of 1.7 billion dollars of the sovereign debt at the end of May. According to the Ministry of Finance, overall Ukraine plans to pay 6.3 billion dollars of the external debt in 2019. This includes the 660 million dollars worth of bond repayment in September. Also, Ukraine's debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund this year is estimated at 1.2 billion dollars and payments to other international financial institutions are about 0.8 billion U.S. dollars. Ukrainian Ministry of Finance hopes to attract 4 billion dollars of foreign loans to fulfill these obligations. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 02:48:18|Editor: yan Video Player Close MOSCOW, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Monday that the increase in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) may exceed the expected 1.3 percent this year. "The forecast for the whole year is 1.3 percent. But we see that the figure may turn out to be better than we now expect," Oreshkin said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to a Kremlin transcript of the meeting, Oreshkin said he expects the economic growth to pick up by the end of the year, but did not give an explanation. The Russian GDP expansion has been slowing down from the 2.3 percent in 2018, which the ministry attributed to an austere global situation, volatility in commodity markets and a decline in demand for Russian export products due to the slowdown of the global economy. The Russian central bank forecast the GDP growth to be between 1.2 percent and 1.7 percent this year. Budgetary funds will be used to boost government spending, including investment, and subsequent years might see higher economic growth rates as national projects are implemented, the bank has said. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 03:08:27|Editor: yan Video Player Close GENEVA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevedo, on Monday pledged support for Africa's continued economic integration following the continent's recent free trade agreement, at a meeting of the African Group of the WTO. "I want to congratulate you on the entry into force of the AfCFTA. The rapid progress that you have made here is hugely welcome. It shows how much you value trade and greater integration," said Azevedo. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement came into force on May 30 after it was ratified by 22 countries -- the threshold for it to take effect. It has laid the foundation for what could be the world's largest free trade zone by the number of participating countries, covering more than 1.2 billion people with a combined gross domestic product of 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. The WTO chief stressed his commitment to supporting Africa's continued economic integration, through the AfCFTA and through the world trade body, to further fuel the continent's growth and development. "Clearly, there is a lot of work ahead of us. I hope that the Africa Group will remain at the forefront of these debates. I am ready to assist in whatever way I can," said Azevedo. He said the WTO is in contact with the African Union and is exploring ways in which it can work more closely in specific areas where it can provide more technical support. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 03:13:34|Editor: yan Video Player Close TUNIS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- A Tunisian navy unit on Monday rescued seven Tunisians aged between 25-35 off the coastal city of Sfax in eastern Tunisia, the Agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported. The migrants set sail on Sunday night from the coast of Skhira and tried to illegally sail into Italy, a statement from the Defense Ministry was quoted as saying. The rescued Tunisians were transferred to the Sfax naval base and handed over to the National Guard in the region to receive legal procedures. Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry said in a separate statement that military patrols deployed in Ben Guerdane area last weekend arrested 25 sub-Saharans who were trying to cross the land borders between Tunisia and Libya illegally in both directions without any identity documents. Ten of them came from Sudan, six from Mali, three from Guinea Bissau, three from Cote d'Ivoire, two from Senegal and one from Niger. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 03:58:56|Editor: yan Video Player Close CAIRO, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Minister of Defense Mohamed Zaki discussed on Monday bilateral ties with visiting Rwanda's Foreign Minister Richard Sezibera. The ministers discussed the threats to the safety and stability of countries in the region, as well as the prospects for cooperation in defense and security, official Ahram Online news website reported. The Rwandan foreign minister praised Egypt and its political leadership's support of African countries, especially during Egypt's chairmanship of the African Union (AU) in 2019. For his part, the Egyptian minister of defense hailed the deep-rooted historical relations between Egypt and Rwanda, expressing Cairo's desire for further cooperation on all levels. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took over the rotating AU chairmanship in February at the opening of the 32nd AU summit of heads of state and government at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. Egypt believes that the chairmanship of Sisi would give a new impetus to ongoing endeavors of the Union in different arenas. Source: Xinhua| 2019-06-04 04:39:15|Editor: Shi Yinglun Video Player Close LAGOS, June 3 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 terrorists were killed following a joint operation by forces from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and Niger, a Nigerian military spokesperson confirmed on Monday. Timothy Antigha, a Nigerian army officer who is also the chief spokesman for the multinational forces, said in a statement reaching Xinhua that the terrorists were killed by troops operating around Arege, Malkonory and Tumbum Rego general area. He said the operation was part of the ongoing offensive operations to clear Islamic State (IS) terrorists from the Lake Chad Area. "Unfortunately, four personnel of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) were wounded during the firefight and have been evacuated for urgent medical attention," he said. The Nigerian officer said the MNJTF remains committed to delivering the mandate of the force and called for continuous support and solidarity of the good people of the Lake Chad region. MNJTF, in February, launched a new operation to push back Boko Haram insurgents to the Lake Chad fringes. Stagiunea de marti seara. Primul concert al anului 2022. Recital de chitara. Dragos Ilie. Din Texas/ SUA la Bucuresti Marti, 4 ianuarie 2022, Stagiunea de marti seara invita la un recital de chitara sustinut de Dragos Ilie. Muzicianul s-a remarcat ca unul din cei mai charismatici [citeste mai departe] Open source According to estimates by Ukraines Ministry of Social Policy, more than 3 million Ukrainians are permanently abroad, and 79 million people leave for seasonal work. On the other hand, the National Bank (NBU) predicts that in the current year the dynamics of labor migration would slow down. This slowdown would not change the situation when Ukraine leads among European countries in terms of the projected reduction of personnel for 2019 due to labor migration (about 1.4%). PricewaterhouseCooperss study showed these results, where our country ranked first. Poland is the most eager country to host Ukrainian labor migrants, this is the unequivocal leader. According to the official estimates, there are about 2 million people in this country. In 2018, almost 329,000 foreigners got work permits in Poland: 70% of them were from Ukraine. Within the framework of a visa-free permit, Poland allowed Ukrainians to work for up to 6 months for a year, and then they canceled testing for the foreigners employment. Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and even Germany also took similar visa concessions, reasonably expecting to attract higher wages to those Ukrainians who now work in Poland (which is why the local employers are certainly not enthusiastic). Russia has not accepted about 1 million people, who migrated due to the hostilities in eastern Ukraine and not only issued their citizenship to 360 thousand Ukrainians since 2014 (plus 77 thousand temporary residence permits and 65 thousands of residence permits). Now it has decided to issue a simplified procedure of issuing passports to residents of occupied Donbas. How do countries facilitate labor migration? Methods of attracting largely depend on the "quality" of the staff. For unskilled or low-skilled personnel, this means simplification of the migration regime. The visa-free regime made seasonal labor migration to EU countries easier. According to Zhanna Balabanyuk, CEO of R & C Kyiv Group LLC, in terms of the qualified personnel, there are labor quotas. For example, Israel sets a quota for 20,000 Ukrainian builders. We should not forget about the reduction of qualification requirements for foreign personnel. So, from December 2018, Germany opened up employment opportunities for Ukrainians, recognizing Ukrainian diplomas and reducing the requirements for language skills. The world struggle for labor resources not only heated but has also become extremely aggravated in recent years. Therefore, the developed countries will continue to do everything in their power to actively attract labor resources, including from Ukraine, Vasyl Voskoboinyk, President of the All-Ukrainian Association of International Employment Companies, notes. Firms conduct searching Foreign employers perform the second part of work they offer relatively high salaries, provide social packages, help with arranging for a new place. IT specialists and to a lesser extent engineers are in high demand. Builders, drivers, and representatives of other working specialties are usually not offered this, although they would get compulsory insurance. However, foreign companies are forced to search for personnel on their own or through intermediaries. They most often work through recruiting agencies, because it is customary to pay the costs of finding and attracting personnel to external contractors. A significant part of employers use direct search in the country and themselves are looking for staff through job search sites, freelancers exchanges, social and professional platforms, public events (exhibitions, conferences) and through direct work with universities: competitions, scholarships, grant programs, internships for students, Zhanna Balabanyuk claims. For individual companies, attracting migrant workers is somewhat different and depends directly on the business model of the enterprise. If we take for example transnational corporations, we will see that people from many world countries work there. At the same time, the offices of these corporations are located all over the world, employees can easily move from country to country. Today it is a normal practice for global business. But if you drop to a lower level, the issue of attracting migrant workers is different. In Poland, some employers hire only Ukrainians, because it is easier to manage a homogeneous team of workers, labor productivity is higher when staff can easily communicate in the same language. Such companies create the conditions for labor migrants to concentrate as much as possible at work and spend a minimum of time on domestic issues. Important nuances A significant part of labor migrants do not work completely illegally, and their rights are not always protected, which they learn about only when, for example, an accident occurs. Also, the usual situation is irregular working hours (6 days a week, 10-12 hours a day), non-compliance with safety regulations, the performance of work hazardous to life and health, untimely, and incomplete payment of wages. On the other hand, a significant part of labor migrants finds work through the rumor mill, on the recommendations and advice of friends or relatives who have already had experience working abroad. According to Polish studies, only 10% of labor migrants are looking through Polish employment agencies. For its part, Ukraine is trying to protect labor migrants on the state level. The Ukrainian parliament has registered the bill 10272, which offers a real tool to combat the frequent cases of deception of Ukrainians when looking for work abroad. The sanctions include a complete ban on intermediaries to receive any financial reward for mediation in the employment of our citizens in other countries. Ukraine is calling labor migrants back Ukraine has simplified the recruitment of personnel from abroad. In 2018, employment for citizens of the CIS countries was facilitated. Previously, after issuing a permit for the use of labor, they had to leave Ukraine temporarily in order to immediately return with a note about crossing the border. In March 2019, Ukraine has simplified a procedure to obtain D-type visas (long-term visas for more than 90 days) to non-residents from the EU and the US. This is very important for the IT industry since we have few industries that can afford to attract expats. Over time, our country would be able to become an attractive place not only for foreign IT professionals in the industry with relatively high salaries but also for other occupations. Read the original text at 112.ua. Why Volodymyr Groysman has not resigned and would he unite with former PM Yatsenyuk? Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman remains in his office. The Verkhovna Rada has failed the draft resolution on the dismissal of the head of government, and thus the current prime minister and the Cabinet of Ministers would most likely work until the end of the parliamentary election campaign (parliamentary elections are scheduled for July 21). Only 97 MPs voted for the corresponding decision with the necessary minimum of 226 votes. Groysman did not want to resign The presidential election is not a reason for the prime ministers resignation. I think we will work until October, PM Volodymyr Groysman said in early May. However, the inauguration speech of the newly elected President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, criticized the Cabinet of Ministers, corrected these plans. After a meeting with parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy, former PM Arseniy Yatsenyuk and members of the government on the evening of May 20, Groysman stated about his resigning. According to sources 112.ua in the factions, the resignation was unexpected. "Even in the morning, the prime minister talked about his own plans for the next week, but after Zelenskys speech, he was advised to resign so that the newly elected head of state would deal with the IMF and partially discredit himself... It was planned that Stepan Kubiv (First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and simultaneously Minister of Economic Development and Trade since 14 April 2016, - ed.) ,would become acting Prime Minister; and the IMF would not meet with him. This would teach Zelensky a lesson," the interlocutors say. However, parliamentarians were not in a hurry to release the head of government. Petro Poroshenko Blok said they first want to know about the motives of Groysmans decision. National Front failed to present one opinion on this. Part of the MPs was ready to dismiss the current prime minister in order to leave everything to Zelensky, however, the majority of the National Front members prime minister is inevitable in difficult times. The majority of the polled MPs were inclined to believe that there would be no resignation. Groysman and Yatsenyuk would not unite Last winter, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman announced his intention to take part in parliamentary elections. I plan to take part in the next parliamentary elections. I will take part in them to fight for making specific decisions, Groysman said. It was rumored a party of two prime ministers would be created a joint campaign against the parliamentary elections of current Prime Minister Volodymyr Groisman and former head of the government Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his National Front party. However, lengthy negotiations ended in vain, and the leader of the front-line soldiers faction Maksym Burbak noted that we are different parties because Groysman decided to create a separate political force. Read the original text at 112.ua. Open source The Russia-backed militants violated the ceasefire regime five times while using the Minsk-banned weaponry. The press service of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ reports this. In Donetsk region, the enemy fired three times at the Ukrainian positions. They fired with 82 mm mortar and grenade launchers of various systems near Marinka village, with 82 near Pisky settlement, with anti-tank grenade launchers and small arms near Hnutove village. In Luhansk region, the occupants violated the ceasefire regime twice. They opened fire at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with 82 mm mortars, grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns, and small arms near Mayoske village. The pro-Kremlin militants have fired once with anti-tank missile complex, anti-tank grenade launchers and anti-aircraft mount ZU-23-2 near Kamyanka settlement since the beginning of the day, June 3. No casualties among the Joint Forces operation have been recorded. The official will represent the country at the session appointed for June 5; the Ukrainian side will claim its key positions on how to solve the conflict in Donbas Open source The second president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma will lead the delegation of this country in the Minsk trilateral talks group; he'll represent Ukraine at the session of the group on June 5. President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that on a briefing on June 3. Zelensky admitted he planned to resume the negotiations regarding the Joint Forces Operation in the Normandy Format and unblock the Minsk process. The first session is to take place June 5; the Ukrainian side will claim its key positions on how to solve the conflict in Donbas. 'We don't have a lot of time to stop the war and continue Minsk [process]; I want these offers to be unified by the clear deadlines of completion of this or that point', he said. As Zelensky's press office reported, the leader of the state met with the members of the Ukrainian delegation in the Minsk group. The officials discussed the ways to speed up the negotiation process and the necessary steps for that to happen. Among them was Kuchma who stated he would insist on the ceasefire during the harvest time in summer. Previously, Kuchma withdrew from the Minsk talks group due to his solid age; in August 2018, he had turned 80. Open source One Ukrainian soldier perished away in Donbas combat zone on June 3. The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports this on Facebook. The man was a member of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces brigade and had the rank of a senior sergeant. He died in action. We have lost a person, who was fighting for Ukraine, who was a patriot of his Motherland, who was a real warrior. We will cherish the memory of the true Hero-Defender in our hearts forever. The Ukrainian Air Assault Forces Command express their sincere condolences to the relatives and close friends. We are grieving together with you, the report said. According to the report, the man was from Zaporizhzhia. A wife lost her husband, and a daughter and a son lost their father. Earlier, the Russia-backed militants violated the ceasefire regime five times while using the Minsk-banned weaponry. In Donetsk region, the enemy fired three times at the Ukrainian positions. They fired with 82 mm mortar and grenade launchers of various systems near Marinka village, with 82 near Pisky settlement, with anti-tank grenade launchers and small arms near Hnutove village. The original story included references to possible occupation of southern and western regions of Ukraine that border Romania Anatoliy Matios, the Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine promised to start the investigation into the recent scandalous article. In it, the author assumed the occupation of some western and southern regions of Ukraine by Romania in 2022. Matios posted this on Facebook. 'I hereby report that tomorrow (June 4, - 112 International), I'l put it on the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations, this data on preparation (...) to especially tough crimes that aim to disrupt the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state', he wrote. He referred to the original story at Information Resistance NGO's website; that included references to possible occupation of Chernivtsi region and part of Odesa region. They border Romania. Due to these allegations, Matios claimed he planned to convene a session with the leading officials of Ukraine's Defense Ministry, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the State Security Service and the Foreign Ministry. Besides, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation urged Volodymyr Zelensky to punish nationalists, who demolished the bust of USSR Marshal Georgy Zhukov in Kharkiv The Russian Foreign Ministry is sure that the demolishing of the bust of Marshal Georgy Zhukov is a challenge for new President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, as Maria Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, reported on Facebook. the demolishing of the bust to Zhukov in Kharkiv is a serious challenge for a new authority, Zakharova wrote. Besides, she condemned the putting of Russian journalist Vladimir Pozner on the list of Myrotvorets website. She emphasized that the new Ukrainian authority will have to put punctuation marks in the sentence to condemn or to keep quite. Meanwhile, the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation stated that the new Ukrainian authority should find and prosecute vandals, who demolished the bust, as TASS news agency reported. We urge a new political leadership to stop to appease the citizens, who stick to the radical technologies. It is necessary to condemn publically these actions as well as to find these vandals to make them to be prosecuted with the full force of the law, Chambers representative Elena Sutormina reported. She noted that the nationalist ideas never benefit but only bring destruction. I hope that the administration of Mr. Zelensky understands it. Besides, we urge the OSCE to note this glaring fact, Sutormina added. On June 2, representatives of a number of far-right organizations and parties demolished the bust of Marshal of the USSR Georgy Zhukov in Kharkiv. The scandalous politician and ex-president of Georgia assumed he would come back to his home country in a month or three Former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili Open source Former Georgian leader and the ex-governor of Odesa region Mikheil Saakashvili said he would return to Georgia in the near future. He said that in an interview with 1+1 TV channel. 'In a month or three', Saakashvili said when asked how soon he planned to go to his homeland. On May 28, Mikheil Saakashvili got his Ukrainian citizenship - again. This is mentioned in the decree of President Volodymyr Zelensky who reinstated the citizenship of the former Georgian leader. On May 29, Saakashvili returned to Ukraine. On July 26, 2017, President Petro Poroshenko, by his decree, ceased Ukrainian citizenship of Saakashvili. On January 29, the Supreme Court began to consider the legality of this decision. On February 12, 2018, the border guards expelled the ex-president of Georgia from Ukraine to Poland as part of the readmission procedure. The scandalous politician said he had no plans to continue his political career in Ukraine, let alone to run for the Parliament. June 3, the judicial authority will also look into political persecutions of Ukrainians in the Russian-occupied territories, - Deputy Foreign Minister Olena Zerkal UN International Court in the Hague Open source The UN International Court in the Hague will consider Russia's appeals on the Court's jurisdiction in the lawsuit 'Ukraine vs Russia' - specifically, in the case of Russia sponsoring militants in Donbas and political persecutions of Ukrainians in the Russian-occupied territories. Olena Zerkal, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine posted that on Facebook. '... we will stand before the international court again. This is our first case before the UN International Court in applying and explaining the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination that we passed to the Court back in early 2017', she wrote. According to Zerkal, the session will kick off at 10 a.m. Monday, June 3. She added that other members of Ukraine's lawyers' team will turn to the court along with her, too. In September 2018, Russia passed the UN International Court its remarks, where it claimed this authority 'did not have the jurisdiction' to consider the case. The Press Secretary of the Head of State Yuliya Mendel said that the results of the work done by Zelensky over a period of 100 days can be discussed President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Open source President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky would hold a big press conference following the results of the first 100 days on the post, as Press Secretary of the Head of State Yuliya Mendel said, RBK-Ukraine reported. She noted that the results of the work done by Zelensky over a period of 100 days can be discussed. You can expect big conference after the 100 days of the presidency. There will be some results, Mendel said. Therefore, the press conference is expected in August. President Zelensky appointed a journalist Yulia Mendel to the post of his press secretary. This was stated in the decree as of June 3, 2019. As it was reported earlier, Zelensky appointed Maksym Donets as Deputy Head of the Department Head of State Security Service of the President of Ukraine of State Security Service Department. In addition, Oleksiy Otserklevych became the Head of State Security Administration. Moreover, the president dismissed Volodymyr Dakhnovsky, the First Deputy Head of State Security Administration of Ukraine. Vyacheslav Shumny was appointed to this post. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, at Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels EU External Action European Commission suggested continuing the term of sanctions against Russia for the annexation of the Crimean peninsula and Sevastopol. The package of sanctions will be in force until June 23, 2020, as Interfax referring to Bloomberg reports. It should be noted that the proposition of the continuation of the sanctions made Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. According to the draft document, the European Union does not recognize and continues to condemn the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol. As we reported earlier, following the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated that EU would continue observing possibilities to sanction Russia for issuance of Russian passports to the residents of occupied Donbas. According to her, this question was discussed not only with the representatives of the Eastern Partnership but also at the beginning of the Foreign Affairs Council. Open source Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which lies from Russia to Germany is constructed by 57%, as Gazproms information office informed, Interfax reported. It was specified that as of early June, 1391 kilometers of pipelines were laid under the Baltic Sea. It is expected that the pipeline will connect Slavyansk compressor station in Leningrad region, Russia, with Greifswald on the Baltic coast of Germany. As it was reported earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that the European Commission would not be able to block the construction of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Ukraine is adamantly opposed to the construction by calling it politically motivated and suggesting the EU to create a consortium with the involvement of European companies to manage the existing more efficient transportation route through Ukraine. A number of EU countries have expressed their disagreement with the Nord Stream 2 project in particular Poland and Lithuania. The President is sure that the Russian Federation should stop to interfere in the inner affairs of Ukraine, commenting such events Open source President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the issue on demolishing of bust of USSR Marshal Georgy Zhukov should be solved by Kharkiv Mayor Georgy Kernes. Besides, Zelensky stated that Russia should stop to interfere in the inner affairs of Ukraine, as 112 Ukraine reported citing Zelenskys Spokesperson Yulia Mendel. It concerns not only the memorial to Zhukov but also the Zhukov lane, which still exists. Volodymyr Zelensky urges the authorities of Kharkiv to solve this legal conflict as the clear discussion with society should take place. The decision, which will be acceptable for each of the sides, should be made, Mendel said. She emphasized that Kharkiv Mayor should take responsibility as the main arbiter in this situation but not take one of the sides. We also heard that Russia has begun to comment on this situation with the demolishing of the bust. Here, Volodymyr Zelensky wants to emphasize that it is another demonstration that Russia interferes in the inner affairs of the sovereign state and urges not to do it anymore, she added. On June 2, representatives of a number of pro-Ukrainian organizations and parties demolished the bust of Marshal of the USSR Georgy Zhukov in Kharkiv. The Russian Foreign Ministry is sure that the demolishing of the bust of Marshal Georgy Zhukov is the challenge for new President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation stated that the new Ukrainian authority should find and prosecute vandals, who demolished the bust. The agreement on launch of free trade zone between Ukraine and Turkey is ready by 99%, as Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bondar said, Eurointegration reported. Talks which are being conducted between the experts will continue for some time, as the issues with concern tariffs on agricultural products and certain part of services remains uncoordinated. Obviously, we can not make concessions which would damage the national business. In this case, no need to wait for immediate political decisions, we should prepare to make our deal balanced and in compliance with our national interests, while comfortable for the Turkish party, he said. 99% of the agreement is ready. Some details which influence the figures remained, he stressed. As it was reported, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the work on the creation of free trade zone between Ukraine and Turkey till the end of the year. Five-year-old Kyrylo who died from injuries caused by drunk police officers on June 3, 2019 Social networks Five-year-old Kyrylo, who was allegedly shot by the drunk police officers in Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, died in Kyiv as 24 channel reported referring to the doctors. After he was injured, Kyrylo was taken to Kyiv for further treatment in a neurosurgical centre. He was in a critical condition. He was on artificial lungs ventilation machines. As it was reported, the police detained two suspects in the deliberate infliction of grievous bodily harm to a 5-year-old boy in Pereyaslav-Khemlnytskiy under article 208 of the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine. Reportedly, according to the ministry, on May 31, a boy with physical injuries in the form of a severe closed-head injury, brain contusion, internal brain hematoma and a fracture of the temporal bone was delivered to the intensive care unit of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky hospital. According to police officers, around 4:00 pm on May 31, four children were walking alongside their place of residence. The 5-year-old boy, due to carelessness, slipped and fell on the asphalt concrete pavement and stone, as a result of which he suffered a head injury. The leadership of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky police department of Kyiv region was suspended from duties after the death of five-year-old Kyrylo, injured by the police officers, as the website of Internal Ministry reported. I want to express my deep condolences to the relatives of Kyrylo. It is a horrible tragedy. As a father, I can't even imagine the grief and desperation of the parents when their child dies. At the same time, as the Head of National Police, I assure you that we will cooperate with the investigation. Such actions are incompatible with the pledge and dignity of a police officer. We expect the severest punishment for the perpetrators, Serhiy Knyazev, National Police Head, said. Five-year-old Kyrylo, who was allegedly shot by the drunk police officers in Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, died in Kyiv. Reportedly, according to the ministry, on May 31, a boy with physical injuries in the form of a severe closed-head injury, brain contusion, internal brain hematoma and a fracture of the temporal bone was delivered to the intensive care unit of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky hospital. According to police officers, around 4:00 pm on May 31, four children were walking alongside their place of residence. The 5-year-old boy, due to carelessness, slipped and fell on the asphalt concrete pavement and stone, as a result of which he suffered a head injury. Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy announced the final voting to take place on the plenary session on June 6 Andriy Paruby, the Head of Ukraines Parliament Open source The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will consider the bill 1098 on temporarily investigating commissions, which will regulate the impeachment procedure in Ukraine. Spokesperson of the parliament Andriy Parubiy said this during session broadcasted by 112.Ukraine. After that I plan, it will be approximately at 1:00 p.m., we will consider the draft law 1098 on temporarily investigating commissions and temporarily special commissions. I would like to remind you that the committee had an informed discussion, the committee for many hours, and I took the positive decision there, Parubiy said. According to the spokesperson, many amendments were added to the bill, but their total amount was less than 1000, as some MPs had withdrawn their propositions. Parubiy announced the final voting to take place on June 6. I hope that we will hold the discussion from Tuesday afternoon, the whole Wednesday and will approve at 10:40-11:00 a.m. on Thursday. The previous experience of amending gives us the reasons to account on that we will manage to consider the amendments, which were suggested by the MPs of Ukraine, over one day and a half, the spokesperson of the Verkhovna Rada added. Earlier, the bill on impeachment created by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was published on the website of Verkhovna Rada. The bill was registered in the Parliament on May 29 under the No. 10340. According to the source, a decree on appointment of Yulia Mendel as presidents press secretary was published on June 3 Volodymyr Zelensky and Yulia Mendel thebabel Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed a journalist Yulia Mendel to the post of his press secretary. This was stated in the decree from June 3, 2019, published on the website of the Administration of President. "To appoint Yulia Mendel as a press secretary of the president of Ukraine," the document reads. Yulia Mendel is 23 years old. She was born in Kherson city and studied journalism in Kyiv. In a different time, she worked on ICTV, Espresso TV, and Inter TV channels. She has been cooperating with The New York Times for several years now. She has written articles for Ukrainian Forbes and American Politico. In 2016, Mendel became a heroine of the news about sexual harassment. On her Facebook page, she has written about indecent comments in her address from an unknown man. This post caused an uproar and gathered hundreds of comments with discussions whether it was worth to tell publicly about such situations. As it was reported earlier, Zelensky appointed Maksym Donets as Deputy Head of the Department Head of State Security Service of the President of Ukraine of State Security Service Department. In addition, Oleksy Otserklevych became the Head of State Security Administration. Moreover, the president dismissed Volodymyr Dakhnovsky, the First Deputy Head of State Security Administration of Ukraine. Vyacheslav Shumny was appointed to this post. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Viktor Kononenko from performing his duties at the position of the Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The decree 349/2019 is published on the website of the head of state on June 3. To dismiss Kononenko Viktor Ionasovych from the position of the Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, the decree said. Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Petro Tsyhykal from the post of Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. This is stated in the decree of the head of state. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed personnel decrees on the leadership of the Security Service of Ukraine, as the press service of the head of state reports. In the decree, Zelensky dismissed Vitaliy Malikov from the position of first Deputy Head of the SBU. The second document is the dismissal of Oleg Valendyuk, who worked as Head of the SBU's headquarters in Kyiv city and Kyiv region. Zelensky also dismissed Vitaliy Mashkov from the position of Head of the Antiterrorist Center under the SBU. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv region, May 29, 2019 Presidential Administration press office President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky sent the letter with a request to urgently consider the draft law on the restriction of MPs immunity to Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy, as 112 Ukraine reported citing Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Representative of President in Parliament. Last week, the draft law #10340 on a special procedure of the removing of the President of Ukraine from the post (impeachment) was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by President of Ukraine to fulfill his promises. Moreover, President of Ukraine sent a letter to Verkhovna Radas Chairman with a request to urgently consider the draft law on the amendment of article of the Constitution of Ukraine on the immunity of the MPs, Stefanchuk said. He added that the president registered the draft law on the voting rights of military last week. I want to appeal with the request that all these issues need the exceptional preparation and consideration and defined by the president as urgent. So I ask to find a possibility of the cooperation on these draft laws. Parliamentary Speaker Andriy Parubiy assured: Of course, all legislative initiatives of the president, defined as urged, will be considered in the session hall. As we reported, President Zelensky submitted the draft law on impeachment to the consideration. Besides, he will sign the law with the norms on impeachment if the document is of good quality. The bills on impeachment and on the lifting of parliamentary immunity are prepared, as Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Ruslan Ryaboshapka stated. 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There has been a lot of discussion about animal protein lately, primarily when it comes to beef, poultry, and the rapid growth of plant-based or lab-grown alternatives. What many consumers fail to realize, however, is that aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector in animal protein production, with a market value of $13.3 billion. By 2030, 62% of food fish will come from aquaculture taking place within existing water systems as well as on land. Despite its massive footprint, however, its an industry lacking in technological development, not for lack of demand though. Aquaculture is still very fragmented, but most important are the differences between species and territories. For example, salmon aquaculture in Norway is technologically advanced, while shrimp production in Vietnam is more rudimentary. While there are still few technology companies in the market, we are excited to see new entrants. The more technologies become available, the more farmers will be comfortable using them, which will benefit the whole industry. We are often asked who are our competitors are, and the truth is that while we dont have direct competitors, we do have a fierce one and its called the status quo, XpertSea CEO and co-founder Valerie Robitaille tells AgFunderNews. XpertSea combines a smart device that gathers aquaculture data with an intelligence platform that analyzes the data and provides actionable business insights. Having access to this information allows farms and hatcheries to optimize production and make data-driven decisions around when to feed and what to harvest all with the aim of maximizing profitability, according to Robitaille. Since the revival of marine species aquaculture in the 1970s, warm water producers have relied on manual inspection and intuition when making critical decisions about growth, health and harvesting, said Robitaille. These traditional methods have often led to disease, bad feeding regimes, and harvesting organisms too early or too late. The result is inefficiency, waste, and financial losses. The Quebec-based startups first customers were shrimp farms and hatcheries in Asia and Latin America. Its since expanded its offering to Europe and North America, as well as diversifying the platform to provide intel for fish such as tilapia, sea bass, and salmonids. Animal health providers, feed and genetics companies, as well as research centers and universities have also employed XpertSeas technology. For this food tech spotlight, we spoke with Robitaille to learn more about how the startups technology hopes to change the aquaculture industry. When did you launch and what growth stage are you at currently as a company? In 2011, Cody Andrews and I began developing commercial applications using optics and photonics in marine environments. We received immediate interest from aquaculture producers and so XpertSea was founded to transform aquaculture into a modern, efficient and sustainable source of food for our planet. Our platform is in use in over 50 countries and we have local representatives and partners in Europe, Asia, and South America. In the past year, we closed a Series A, doubled our workforce, ramped up R&D, and launched a new growth platform that offers hatcheries and farms an all-new set of tools and capabilities for managing their operations efficiently and profitably. What is your product? Our AI-based solution enables aquaculture producers to automate animal data collection, monitor organism health, and address problems early. The hardware component consists of smart aquaculture equipment called the XperCount, which is a portable device that can count, size and weigh tiny aquatic organisms with greater than 95% accuracy in minutes. The XperCount feeds data into an online Growth Platform, which analyzes many variables and gives producers access to key information about their production from anywhere at any time. This allows them to optimize growth, adjust feed and additives, harvest at the right time, and ship accurately. What are some of the challenges that youve faced and how did you overcome them? Modern aquaculture is a young industry thats technologically far behind agriculture. As an early developer of technologies for aquaculture, we had to travel the world and explain the huge impact that reliable data can have on production and profitability. Its not uncommon for us to be in India or Vietnam talking to a shrimp farmer about how artificial intelligence and computer vision can transform her business. On the technical side, we needed to build a team capable of inventing and innovating entirely novel solutions using advanced technologies. To create a device that can count, size and weigh tiny organisms as they swim about, our engineers had to combine machine learning, optics, computer vision, Internet of Things, Big Data and several other technologies. Then they visited farms and hatcheries around the world so the AI could study individual species for months at a time and learn to assess them accurately. Whats been the most surprising aspect of your startup journey so far? Ive been amazed by the number of people willing to help move our business forward. I think one reason for this is the importance of our mission: using Canadian know-how to help feed the world. Aquaculture will be essential to feeding everyone, and I believe thats why our mission resonates with so many audiences, from consumers to farmers to investors. Are there any other startups that you looked to for guidance or as a model when you were getting started/as you scale up? We look at what the AgTech industry has achieved and we see the potential for aquaculture to make similar strides in adopting technological innovation. Were inspired by many companies, especially those using data to empower farmers. Companies like Farmers Business Network, Granular, Blue River Technology, and The Climate Corporation come to mind. Whats your fundraising experience been like? How have your investors added value beyond capital? What do you look for in an investor? We were very fortunate that early believers like angel investor Hamnett Hill, YUL Ventures, and Founder Fuel believed in us and our vision back in 2014 and are still active in our business today. Our most recent Series A integrated an amazing group of diversified investors, and we could not have hoped for a better balance of industry and technology knowledge. Obvious Ventures, Real Ventures, and edo Capital bring tremendous value and support to our technology direction, our business model and our expansion across the 40 markets we currently operate in. Aqua-Spark is the leading aquaculture investment fund, and the network and knowledge they bring in the aquaculture space is amazing. Has there been a lot of investor interest in aquaculture technology? When raising the Series A, we encountered many investors interested in aquaculture, and many of the big players took our meetings. While they were intrigued by the industry, there was too much they did not know to de-risk their investment to a level that was comfortable. I think as aquaculture becomes too important to be ignored, many more investors are becoming educated about the industry. This can be seen in the increasing number of venture deals being made in aquaculture lately. Have you entered or won any tech competitions? If so, was it beneficial? We entered a few competitions, winning some but not others. The value of a competition depends on the events credibility and the audience thats paying attention. Its important to consider the opportunity cost: it can be time-consuming to prepare for these events when there is so much work to do in the actual business, so these opportunities have to be chosen wisely. Any other advice for other startups out there? Surround yourself with the right team; its often been said because its true. Having people who are engaged and who you can trust is key. You should never underestimate how important a positive work environment is to company culture. I recommend seeking talent with varied backgrounds and with different work experience. Look for people who can bring new ideas and ways of doing things to the table, people who are curious and can learn and adapt. Once you have them, do your best to hold on to them. Know your business inside and out. Investors feel more confident when talking to someone who knows what theyre talking about. I would take the time to learn all the parts that go toward making your startup a viable opportunity. Finally, look for investors that have the industry knowledge and network specific to your companys needs. Weve been lucky to have supportive investors from the start, which has made a world of difference. PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) Kayla Oblisk/Facebook(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) -- A Kentucky mom says her son was left unconscious after catching a rare and potentially deadly disease from a tick bite. Kayla Oblisk said her 2-year-old son, Jackson, came down with a case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a rare infectious disease, after being bitten by a tick. "They just pulled it off and moved right on," Oblisk told ABC affiliate WHAS-TV on Friday. "We didn't think anything else of it at that point." The family didnt think much of it at first, but they started to worry when Jackson began running a fever. Oblisk took him to the doctor when she started to notice light pink spots all over his body. "My kid wouldn't get up, he wouldn't eat he wouldn't drink, he was running a 105 degree fever," Oblisk said. "We couldn't get him to do anything, if you touched him he screamed." She said someone mentioned that Jackson might have Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but Oblisk said it was too rare to believe. The chance of getting bit by a tick with the bacterial disease is one in 20,000, according to WHAS, but thats exactly what Jackson had. The rare disease left young Jackson unconscious for nearly a week. He woke up for the first time on Friday -- his second birthday. "I'm so glad that as a parent I said to myself, 'Ya know something isn't right,' and followed it," Oblisk said. "Just celebrating the fact that we are almost positive that he is going to be okay." Oblisk said Jackson is on the mend, but now shes struggling to pay his medical bills. Her family created a GoFundMe campaign to help with the expenses. Guys, Jackson has already passed his out of pocket maximum of $12,500 in the past 4 days, the campaign said. Help his parents out any way you can whether you can or can't donate please share. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Credit: Al PereiraSurf rock met punk rock on Friday night when The Beach Boys played the 1977 Ramones gem "Rockaway Beach" with a special guest drummer, Marky Ramone, as the finale of their concert at the Paramount theater in Huntington, New York. The performance helped celebrate the release Friday of Beach Boys frontman Mike Love's new cover version of "Rockaway Beach," which will appear on his just-announced forthcoming solo album, 12 Sides of Summer, due out July 19. You can check out a professionally shot video of the performance now on Love's YouTube channel. As previously reported, Love's studio version of "Rockaway Beach" is available now as a digital single and via streaming services, and you also can listen to it on YouTube. 12 Sides of Summer also will feature covers of The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," The Dave Clark Five's "Over and Over and Over Again," ABBA's "On and On and On," Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Girl from Ipanema" and the 1964 Rivieras hit "California Sun," which The Ramones also recorded. In addition, the album will include updated renditions of The Beach Boys' "Surfin," "Surfin' Safari" and "It's Ok," the latter of which features previous Love collaborators Hanson. The Beach Boys kick off a European summer tour on June 14 in Bizkaia, Spain, and are scheduled to return to North America for more concerts starting with a July 25 show in Asheville, North Carolina. Check out the band's full itinerary at TheBeachBoys.com. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. This past weekend, Brooklyn resident and New York Times metro reporter Annie Correal conceived a delightful experiment, born of an abundance of soup and a general faith in her fellow New Yorkers. The premise was simple: she wanted to send a container of unaccompanied lentil soup on the G train to a friend who would intercept it a dozen stops away. The motivation was practical (she'd made too much soup), but the implications were philosophical: What kind of city do we live in, and is it one where a bag full of lentils can ride an uncrowded train without human supervision on a Sunday afternoon? Correal tweeted a brief summary of her plan on Sunday, followed by a photo of her soup beginning its voyage from Carroll Street. A note pinned to the bag explained to any curious passengers that it was a meal for a friend. Then she waited. About 20 minutes later, the soup made it to Greenpoint Avenue without a hitchdefinitive proof that the fabric of New York remains intact, or that many G train riders agree with Bobby Flay about lentils. Regardless, it was the hottest soup on a subway story since Princess Nokia tossed a butternut squash bisque on a racist L train rider. On Monday, we reached out to Correal to get some background on her successful experiment. While in transit to her office (carrying soup, for herself), Correal dashed off a few thoughts about what she'd learned. Her reflections on the experience, lightly edited for clarity, are included below: First I didnt think this was going to get noticed in the way that it did when I tweeted it, though I guess there is always that possibility. But it was not meant as a stunt or a gotcha or a way to say anything at all about the MTA. Nor was I doing it in my capacity as a journalist. What happened was I made too much soup. I offered some to my friend who likes leftovers. Like, he will eat things most people will not, though I should say this was relatively fresh. I had made it a few days before in an attempt to eat out less that didnt go that well. So he said, 'yes, but I cant come get it right now.' And I said I could just send it on the G and then I was like, 'waitI could just send it on the G!!!' I put it in a royal blue tote bag and pinned a note to it. Stuff like peoples lunches and sometimes their shopping bags get left on the subway all of the time, so I didn't think it would raise alarm. I guess to avoid scaring anyone, I could have put it in a clear bag. Anyway, I pinned the note on it explaining it was a meal for a friend who would pick it up in Greenpoint. It said, please do not remove, thanks! Inside was a plastic spoon and, in case my friend preferred to eat his lentils one by one, some chopsticks. I figured the worst that could happen would be that I would be out a Tupperware and a tote bag. And someone would eat it or throw it away. He checked how long it takes for the G to travel between our respective stations. Carroll Street and Greenpoint Avenue. It was 21 minutes. I told him at 5:07 I had left it on the last car of the train and took the photo I sent, noting it was near the middle of the car. He waited, checked the first train that came in nothing. It was on the second train that came into the station. He rushed in and grabbed it, taking that video, which he sent me at 5:29. So yeah, it looked like it had taken just over 21 minutes, as promised. I tweeted the video with the caption, It worked! And people started liking it and retweeting it. I think this resonated just because this is the kind of thing that twitter is fun for. Someone tweeted something like Lentil Twitter is blowing up which made me laugh. I think also lentil soup is so humble and homey it was an odd juxtaposition. And also, the G train has an enduring bad reputation. I am old enough to remember a time when it would take what felt like 20 minutes for it to arrive. And then theres the fact that it sometimes gets canceled on the weekend or runs in sections, disrupting plans and relationships. So its cool when it just works exactly as it is supposed to like it did for the soup. As a postscript, Correal also noted that the subway was relatively empty at the time of her experiment, which might've had something to do with its success. She says she does not endorse using the subway as a delivery service for soup or any other items, noting the potential for disruption. Her friend said the soup was delicious. We've reached out to the MTA for their take on soup train, and we'll update if we hear back. Only in New York. Godspeed little bag. pic.twitter.com/p9pucFis0q bb (@BryanByczek) June 2, 2019 UPDATE: A spokesperson for the MTA, Max Young, tells Gothamist, "While we love both soup and sharing food with friends, leaving an unaccompanied bag on a train could disrupt thousands of people and divert first responders time from other important work. Wed ask our customers to not repeat this experiment, and to avoid leaving unattended objects on the subway." We the Commuters is a weekly newsletter about transportation from WNYC and Gothamist. Sign up below for essential commuting coverage delivered to your inbox every Thursday. Loading... A pair of rainbow pride flags outside a Harlem bar were set on fire early Friday, and the NYPD is currently investigating the incident as a possible bias crime. The Alibi Lounge's owner Alexi Minko vowed, "To the homophobic coward, we will make our mission to find you!" In an Instagram post showing the damaged flags outside Alibi, Minko added, "It's #pridemonth motherfucker!" Minko said someone came into the bar, located at 2376 Adam Clayton Boulevard, around 12:30 a.m. on May 31st and screamed, "Fire!" "When we look[ed] out," Minko recalled to WCBS 2, "we could see both flags completely blazing. Minko told NY1 that "he and a handful of customers ran outside and put the small fire out," while police also told WCBS 2 that the rain also helped tamp down the fire. Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the NY State Police to assist with the investigation. In a statement, the governor said, "I am disgusted by the burning of a Pride flag outside an LGBTQ bar in Harlem early yesterday morning. This was a despicable and cowardly act made worse by the fact that it happened on the eve of Pride month. There is no place for hate in New York and those responsible for this repugnant behavior must be held accountable. I am directing the State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to immediately provide the NYPD with any resources needed to assist in an investigation of this incident. Rather than divide New Yorkers, this despicable act will only strengthen our commitment to tolerance, equality and justice for every individual." Neighbors and patrons of the bar were shocked at the act. Dwayne Nash, a regular who lives nearby, said, "It's incredibly disheartening. I have chills thinking that someone would think it was ever okay to make that expression... burn a flag that symbolizes acceptance for everyone who's born and is expressing their love." Alibi "is an incredibly welcoming space," Nash said. "It's a celebration of what means to be black, gay, lesbian, transgendered." Nash's boyfriend Omar Matos wasn't going to let the flag burning bring him down, saying, "If anything it makes me stronger, it makes me want to hold my boyfriend's hand even more, kiss him even more, and appreciate him even more, how lucky we are to live in a country who allows us to be who we are." "Harlem is known [as] a place for love.... Everybody's been welcome to this community," said Assembly Member Al Taylor, who represents New York's 71st Assembly District. "We have a president who stirs up hate, and it's unacceptable... He goes to lowest level every time. he's created an atmosphere that fosters hate." With reporting by Jessica Gould, WNYC At last years Queens Pride Parade, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs meteoric rise to Congress played out on the streets of Jackson Heights, as her supporters far outnumbered those for incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley. It was this parade that helped propel her to victory! the MC of the parade proudly announced to the crowd on Sunday, as the congresswomans supporters marched down 37th Avenue. This years festivities featured a new insurgent candidate endorsed by Ocasio-Cortez: 31-year-old public defender Tiffany Caban, who is aiming to win the Democratic primary for Queens District Attorney, the most powerful position in the borough, and arguably more important in the day-to-day lives of Queens residents than a member of Congress. If you dont know, now you know. Tiffany Caban is going to be our next Queens District Attorney! Ocasio-Cortez announced after embracing Caban on Sunday. But unlike Ocasio-Cortez, whose campaign was bolstered by Crowleys dismissal of his opponent, Caban is facing off against six other challengers in the Democratic primary on June 25th, including one of the women leading the parade term-limited Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, who along with a powerful campaign war chest bolstered by heavy donations from the real estate industry, is the only candidate in the field to have won a competitive race for county-wide office. Richard Brown, the previous Queens District Attorney, died in office earlier this year, after having never been opposed in a primary during his twenty-eight years in office. Queens has not had a competitive race for District Attorney in at least sixty years, and its prosecutors office has been criticized by nearly every candidate in the race for being mired in an old-fashioned tough on crime way of doing things, especially when it comes to minority and immigrant communities. This is literally a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have a clean break from the justice system that weve had in Queens. One that has fed into mass incarceration, one that has continually disserved and oppressed and marginalized our black and brown, low-income, our LGBTQIA+ and immigrant communities, Caban told Gothamist. "We have an opportunity for some bold transformative, change. It just takes out-organizing everyone else." If the parade itself was any indicator of voting intention, then Caban would be the clear frontrunner. She had the largest marching contingent of any of the four leading candidates who attended on Sunday, including retired Judge Gregory Lasak and City Councilmember Rory Lancman. Katz had around a dozen supporters in tow, while Lancman and Lasak were each accompanied by smaller groups. A queer Latinx who lives in Astoria, Cabans base of support is centered in western Queens. Thats where long-standing immigrant and activist groups in Jackson Heights and Corona have connected with newer, ascendant groups like the Queens chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, who run strong in neighborhoods like Astoria and Sunnyside. Caban has led the field in small donations as well. Thats her, thats who were voting for, Esah Ali enthusiastically told his friends as Caban and her supporters marched past them on 80th street and 37th avenue. Ali, a Forest Hills lawyer who had interned in the Bronx DAs office and who has a family member working for the Queens District Attorneys office, said he was voting for Caban because he was disillusioned with the Democratic party in Queens, and that Cabans lack of experience working as a prosecutor was an asset to her candidacy. Caban has seen the system, shes seen the good, the bad and the ugly, on the public defenders side. We need true representation in this borough from someone who has lived a life like us, Ali said. (Scott Heins / Gothamist) Caban has been hit relentlessly by her opponents for her lack of experience as both a prosecutor and someone who has managed an office with hundreds of employees and millions of dollars at their disposal. Ive been in elected office for twenty-five years. I stand out because people trust the borough president right now, people trust who I am. I have a track record, Katz told Gothamist, before the parade began. Every morning I wake up, I answer to every constituent in the borough of Queens. Katz, who has never practiced in criminal court, has the backing of the hobbled Queens Democratic Party, as well as major labor unions in the borough, and Governor Andrew Cuomo. She has endorsed similar ideas as many of the reform candidates in the race, like Caban and Lancman, including ending prosecutions for marijuana possession and radically overhauling the boroughs bail policies. The next District Attorney has a lot of discretion on how they do their job and how they protect people, Katz said. People know with me, they always get what they see. I say what Im going to do and do what Im going to say. Katz, who has raised the most money in the race, is also the target of the first negative ads in the primary. Former judge and Queen prosecutor Gregory Lasak, who is running as the continuity candidate, has sent out mailers asking Who would you trust with the safety of your loved ones, your children? alongside an unflattering photo of Katz. Another refers to Katz as a career politician with a blank resume in the criminal justice field. Lasak has the backing of the boroughs law enforcement community and has been reticent to criticize the office hes been closely involved with for over thirty years. He represents all the communities, and not just one special interest like some of the other candidates, said Lasak supporter Leonard Damico. Some of the other people are pandering to specific groups, while judge Lasak, the experienced candidate, has seen all walks of life come through the criminal justice system, and knows how to treat people fairly. With millions of dollars in the race and at least four candidates almost certain to receive a double-digit percentage of votes, and no public polling available, the race remains deeply unpredictable. With Lasak and Lancman spending heavily on television advertising, its becoming increasingly likely that several candidates will split established voting blocs. Katz, Lasak, and Lancman are all aiming to connect with their bases in middle-class white neighborhoods in central Queens and suburban neighborhoods in eastern Queens. Lancman has also invested time and energy in connecting with black neighborhoods in southeastern Queens he spent Sunday morning speaking in churches there while Katz has the backing of Democratic power brokers in that area. Well-funded candidate Mina Malik, a former prosecutor whose campaign has failed to generate much momentum after she tried to have several candidates removed from the ballot, also spent Sunday campaigning in churches in southeast Queens and has focused much of her campaigning there. Lancman, who was running as the left-most candidate before he was outflanked by Caban, feels as if he still has the wind at his back. I was the first one to announce with a bold and audacious criminal justice reform agenda, and I havent deviated or wavered in that, Lancman said as he made his way through the Pride festival. I was able to frame this race around reform. I have a willingness to put my money where my mouth is. As much as Caban was the clear choice of this years Pride parade, the true star of western Queens politics remains AOC, who spent her Friday bartending on Northern Boulevard in support of workers rights and her Sunday on the receiving end of a long line of supporters clamoring for a photograph. (Ocasio-Cortez skipped marching in the parade on Sunday on account of a cold, but did appear at the street fair later to meet with rapturous parade-goers). AOCs endorsement of Caban has given a financial boost to Cabans campaign, which reportedly struggled early with organizational issues before steadier hands at endorsing organizations like the Working Families Party and VOCAL-NY helped give her the structure to compete borough-wide. If Lancman, Lasak, Katz, and Malik end up splitting the contested terrain of the rest of the 2.3 million-person borough, and Caban cleans up in western Queens and Brooklyn-adjacent neighborhoods like Ridgewood, its possible she walks away with a victory even more stunning than AOCs. Then again, with Governor Cuomo, whos extremely popular in his home county, now coming to the aid of Katz, the borough president still appears the frontrunner. Sitting on the sidewalk of the festival, exhausted after hours of greeting supporters, Caban reflected on the insurgent campaigns that have swept through Queens this year, starting with AOC and continuing with the destruction of the much maligned-Independent Democratic Conference at the state level. Folks in our community have felt empowered and have been saying, No, we will be heard, Caban said. And this feels like a continuation of that organizing and it has become really, really powerful. This year's Governors Ball was blessed with good weather on Friday and Saturday (though the fields were soggy from recent rainstorms), but the skies fully opened up on Sunday and delivered a torrential rainstorm, lightning, and thunder. The big weather event happened after an earlier delay because of weather concernsaround 11:30 a.m. Gov Ball organizers announced that the lineup had shifted, and the gates would open at 6:30 (around six hours later than planned). At approximately 9:30 p.m. they announced a site evacuation, and just before 11:30 p.m. organizers sent out the following statement: After close consultation with NYC officials and law enforcement, it was deemed necessary to cancel the event for the safety of our festival goers, artists and crew. We are as devastated as our fans by this decision, but nothing is more important than the safety of all attendees. While the festival is always rain or shine, we cant proceed in weather as severe as tonights storm and lightning. Evacuation procedures were followed, and at this time, the island is clear of all guests. They have also announced details about refunds: "All customers who purchased a Sunday ticket and Sunday transportation ticket through the Gov Ball ticketing page will receive a refund directly to the account used to purchase. All customers who purchased a 3-Day Pass and 3-Day Transportation pass directly through the Gov Ball Ticketing page will receive a partial/pro-rated refund directly to the account used to purchase. At this time we expect all refunds to be processed within 21 days." Following the cancellation, attendees uploaded photos and videos from the concert site as they tried to navigate a way home. One Instagram video shows concertgoers vandalizing an art installation as security guards use force to intervene. The video below (you need to swipe to the second video) appears to show a security guard throwing a punch at one attendee, while other concertgoers are dragged to the ground. The uploader wrote, in part, "Prior to the video teens and adults decided to take apart the structure... 'rent-a-cops' decided to BEAT helpless individuals. As you see, some officers decided to brutally PUNCH KIDS and assault adults that did nothing to warrant the action." We've reached out to Gov Ball organizers and we're told they have "shared this video with our team to assess." We'll update when we have more information on this. Below, a tweet (and Instagram) storm following the cancellation announcement: People stuck on Randalls island for #governorsball - ferries stopped running. Nowhere to go. Thunder and lightning. People scared - its a disaster. Theme for this year is #youredoinggreat - not kidding. Like Stuart smalley was running this shitshow pic.twitter.com/i1hS3SGG0r Paula Froelich (@Pfro) June 3, 2019 So #GovBall cancelled Beastcoast right before their performance, security came onstage and cursed us out and we were thrown out into a major storm on a flooded/muddy island where we were trapped for the duration of the storm. pic.twitter.com/2qDOp18FsY Black & Jewish (@AfroBlueBenj) June 3, 2019 The above uploader described the chaotic post-cancellation scene well, writing, "So Governors Ball basically ended the way Jurassic Park began. Except without the dinosaurs and with a giant stampede of people tearing down all barriers and fences and walking across the bridge into Manhattan because the organizerswho were cautious enough to cancel the first half of the day because of the possibility of severe weather conditionsdidnt have a solid plan for an emergency evacuation in case those severe weather conditions decided to show up." While the masses we're all, "Oh shit we're gonna die," people in the VIP section thought everything was handled wonderfully! (This is also how things will play out five minutes prior to a meteor hitting earth.): The Strokes have not announced any make-up shows, but posted a statement, saying, "We are glad that everyone stayed safe but were just as disappointed as you are that we didnt get to play tonight." But at least one young man handled the cancellation in stride, appreciating what Mother Nature was putting down, and declaring: "...the apocalypse was lit." Renowned chef Thomas Keller's court battle over allegations of pregnancy discrimination within his restaurant empire kicked off Monday in Napa Valley Superior Court. Plaintiff Vanessa Scott-Allen names Keller, two of his restaurantsPer Se in Manhattan, which you may know from its "devastating" NY Times "bong water" review, and French Laundry in Napa Valleyan employee, and the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group in her 2016 lawsuit, claiming that staff blocked her job transfer when they found out she was going to have a baby, and eventually let her go because of it. According to the Associated Press, Scott-Allen joined Per Se in 2011, climbing from kitchen server to head waiter by 2016, and earning a six-figure salary. In January of that year she and her husband took a trip to California, where she met with the French Laundry's general manager, Michael Minnillo. He reportedly told her that the French Laundry would "love" to bring her onboard: She completed the transfer work in February, and was slated to start on April 1st, 2016. Things allegedly became problematic when she discovered she was pregnant, however. After Scott-Allen told her employers, the news solicited the following email from Minnillo, according to court documents reported by the AP: "Apparently she is pregnant. She never mentioned this to me. I am confused how to proceed." To which Julie Secviar, head of TKRG human resources, allegedly replied: "Well, unfortunately not much we can do. What was committed verbally or in writing?" According to the AP, Secviar and Minnillo set up a "sham interview" for Scott-Allen, a workaround that would allow them to dismiss her as "not the right fit" without firing her outright over her pregnancy. (Minnillo allegedly admitted to this in a deposition.) According to the Napa Valley Register, the interview took place on April 4th, 2016, after the job was supposed to have begun, and included numerous questions about Scott-Allen's pregnancy: Did she think she could work while pregnant? For how long? When was her due date? How long did she expect her maternity leave to last? Ultimately, Minnillo told her that the French Laundry had "no position" for her, even though the restaurant allegedly had three open roles at the time. Unfortunately, she'd already been induced to sign a "Notice of Resignation" in March, purportedly a part of internal transfer protocol, but in practice a means of forcing her departure while shielding the company from blame, Scott-Allen contends. Her lawsuit asks $5 million in damages for the defendants' alleged sex discrimination and violation of pregnancy disability leave. "This is one of the last bastions where it is OK for women to be discriminated against," Scott-Allen's attorney, Carla Minnard, told the AP. The "culture of misogyny in fine dining" persists, she added, alleging that TKRG management "found out [Scott-Allen] was pregnant and figured out a way to backpedal." A spokesperson for TKRG said the company cannot comment on pending litigation. Those of you who were smart enough to ignore uncertain weather conditions and hit Rockaway Beach this weekend may have been rewarded with a rare whale sighting. On Sunday around 9:15 a.m., Twitter user Justin Hendrix spotted a leviathan of uncertain species cruising by the shore around Beach 97th Street. He tweeted a video of its giant flipper, popping up to wave hello. "I was just as excited as my kids, who are 6 and 8. I've lived in New York nearly 20 years, and I've never seen a whale," Hendrix told Gothamist. "It was swimming down the shore slapping the water with its fins." Hendrix speculated that the Rockawhale may have been pec slapping, a maneuver whales use to communicate and/or flirt. A whale scooting by to wink cheekily at you from the waves? Let's lean in for a closer look. Astounding, certainly, but maybe also alarming for those of you who remember the beached humpback found dead at Rockaway in 2017. Thankfully, Sunday's sea titan did not strand itself, and according to Paul Sieswerdaformer curator at the New York Aquarium and founder of the citizen science group Gotham Whalehumpbacks, reportedly the most common species in New York waters right now, may swim close to shore for feeding purposes. "They come up for what the local fishermen call prey balls," Sieswerda explains. Our whale neighbors have a particular fondness for menhaden, or bunker, fish: Predators chase these into dense clouds, "perfect gulping size for humpback whales," Sieswerda said, particularly in shallow waters where the quarry have fewer escape options. Then the humpbacks come "lunging through the bait ball with their mouth[s] wide open," he continued, snapping up all the snacks in one go. Whale at Rockaway Beach NYC! https://t.co/nhAEorAjKS Justin Hendrix (@justinhendrix) June 2, 2019 That menhaden have returned to New York's waters with such force probably explains why whale numbers have jumped up dramatically in recent years: Gotham Whale counted 272 whale sightings in 2018, a staggering improvement on 2011's five sightings. Sieswerda attributes the increase to government efforts to protect endangered whale populations, and also to clean up the Hudson River. Reached by phone this morning, Riverkeeper boat captain John Lipscomb told Gothamist that although local "water quality has improved dramatically since the 1950s, before the Clean Water Act" of 1972, that "enormous" progress has flattened out in recent years. Certainly, cleaner water in New York Harbor and in the Hudson has contributed to a more favorable environment for fish, but Lipscomb attributes the recent uptick in menhaden to harvesting regulations placed on plants that make fish oil and fishmeal. That, plus warmer water temperatures pushing spawning stock further up the coast, means more menhadenand more of their predatorsoff our shores. It's still a sign of environmental improvement, Lipscomb said, in that it indicates a deeper understanding of how our ecosystem and its food chain work: "The whales are here as a result of good news." More whales in the water could mean more whale-boat collisions, although Sieswerda said his group hasn't witnessed any in the vicinity of New York Harbor. "I sometimes say these whales are playing in traffic and it's a real concern," he noted. In early May, for example, an adolescent female washed up on a Long Island beach, dead from an apparent boat strike. Still, Gotham Whale spotted seven specimen near Rockaway Beach on Sunday alone. If you see a whale during your summer beach jaunts, please consider filling out this reporting form, so Sieswerda and Gotham Whale's citizen scientists can glean a better picture of the city's resurgent whale community. And please also share your pics to the Gothamist Whale Tail tip line (tips@gothamist.com) so we know it happened. The venerable White Horse Tavern, which has been serving drinks since 1880, is set to unveil its new menu on Tuesday evening following weeks of renovations. The former no-frills bar will also have an updated menu. While they used to offer buffalo wings, jalapeno poppers, and tuna melts, they'll now be serving up oysters, grilled lobster, and pork and prune terrine. They'll still have a burger on the menu, but it'll cost you a little more (the website's previous menu had the burger at $12, and the new one will cost $16). The intention is to "turn it into a first-class gastro pub," as new proprietor Eytan Sugarman recently told The NY Post. "We are keeping prices accessible, but the dishes will be elevated, he said. The tavern wasnt known as a food-driven place before." The paper also notes that the chef behind the new menu is Ed Szymanski, formerly of the Beatrice Inn. He told the Post that he looked through the New York Public Library's massive trove of recipes, particularly from the 1920s and 1930s, when putting together the menu. "Its a humble and honest restaurant," he said. "Were not planning on deviating and turning it into a super trendy place." On Monday, Sugarman told Gothamist over email, "Chef Ed Szymanski and I have been working very hard to create a menu here at The White Horse Tavern that both satisfies the appetite of the community while still staying true to some of the original offerings." When we walked by on Monday morning, the White Horsewhich had been covered with paper for weeks during the renovationslooked like it's almost ready to open for business. The paper was gone, though from the outside it's hard to say what is different. However, we did spot a copy of the new menu propped near a window, which includes cocktails such as Palomas and Gin Rickeys priced at $15, a $9 Scotch egg, and grilled lobster for $28. (Beers are reportedly staying at the same price.) The menu is propped up in the window. (Jen Chung / Gothamist) It's unclear what all of this will mean for the community that gathered around the bar. Many White Horse regulars came by during the daytime to clink beers, have lunch, and chat before leaving in the evening, when a different crowd rolled in. These days, the White Horse doesn't open until 5 o'clock, and many locals have relocated to another nearby bar. Earlier this year, the bara former haunt of longshoremen and literary figures alikewas sold to the infamous landlord Steve Croman, along with the rent-stabilized apartments above it. Croman recently did a stint in prison for tax and mortgage fraud, and agreed to pay $8 million in restitution to former tenants. Sugarman, the new leaseholder for the restaurant, has several establishments around the city, including the ritzy Midtown steakhouse Hunt & Fish Club, the barbecue spot Southern Hospitality, and Made in New York Pizza, whose curled pepperoni recipe has been the subject of controversy. Since news of the White Horse's sale broke, West Village locals have been worried changes might come to the historic barsome even held an "Irish wake" before new management took over. Sugarman has held that he has "no intention of making any dramatic changes" save for fixing "what needs to be fixed," as he told the State Liquor Authority Licensing Committee of Community Board No. 2 at a meeting back in March. At the same meeting, he also commented that he wanted to make "a little bit of a better burger," presaging the menu changes we're seeing now. vmargineanu/iStock(HOUSTON) -- Remains found in Arkansas are confirmed to belong to 4-year-old Maleah Davis, a Houston girl who had been missing for one month, officials with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Scientists said Monday. The cause and manner of her death are pending. Community activist Quanell X said Maleah's mother's ex-fiance, Derion Vence, confessed to dumping the 4-year-old's body in Arkansas, ABC Houston station KTRK reported on Friday. Houston detectives then rushed to Arkansas, where remains were found in a garbage bag on Friday, said police. The body could not be immediately identified, pending an autopsy. Maleah, whose disappearance captured the attention of the nation, was reported missing on May 4. Vence, who was caring for Maleah while her mother was away, had told police the little girl was abducted by three men, including one who knocked him out during a carjacking. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, however, quickly said detectives didn't believe his story. Investigators found the family's car in Missouri City, Texas, and authorities said cadaver-sniffing dogs detected the scent of human remains inside. Vence was arrested on May 11 and charged with tampering with evidence, said police. "We are all saddened by the confirmation of the identification of the remains," Acevedo said in a statement on Monday. "However, we are heartened by the fact this sweet child can now receive the proper burial she deserved." The chief vowed that police and prosecutors will work "to ensure the person(s) responsible for her death, and the attempted cover-up of her death, are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law." Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. " " Who's a good boy? Who wants a treat? Who randomly gets called Fido ... and why? Hero Images/Getty Images You may have met a furry Ace, Bandit, Jack or Sparky. You may have even met a Bella, Max or Cinnamon but the chance of being introduced to Fido are much, much lower. These days Fido doesn't even make the top 100, but the once-popular name for male dogs has become a generic shorthand for "dog" itself, much like Kleenex has for tissues or Dumpster has for large trash bins. So just why is the dog name Fido such a part of the American lexicon? The credit goes to Abraham Lincoln, America's 16th president. While he was still a pre-commander-in-chief and still living in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln's household included several dogs and cats. Lincoln's law partner, William Herndon, wrote about the dog's role in Lincoln's life, musing about Honest Abe that "if exhausted from severe and long-continued thought ... he would get down with a little dog or kitten to recover." Advertisement " " Before moving to the White House, the Lincoln family allegedly had several photographic portraits made of their beloved dog Fido, though historical research calls the timeline specifics into doubt. nostri-imago/Flickr/CC BY 2.0 One particularly therapeutic dog was Fido, a mixed-breed dog of yellow hue whose name is Latin for "faithful." Fido became Lincoln's near-constant companion about five years before the then-lawyer became president. According to the Presidential Pet Museum, Fido enjoyed scraps from Lincoln's plate at meals, patiently waited outside the barber shop or any other establishment Lincoln patronized, and generally became well known as a good-natured "dog around town." In 1863, as he prepared to move to the White House, it became apparent that Fido was a little too friendly, and perhaps ill-mannered, for high office. (A 1954 profile of Fido published in Life magazine called him a "frisky mongrel.") The Lincolns also worried that the bustle and noise of life in Washington, D.C., might upset the dog. Upon moving to the White House, the Lincolns welcomed a dog named Jip, as well as goats named Nanny and Nanko, into their lives. To ensure Fido had a good life back in Springfield, Lincoln decided to have John Roll, a local carpenter, and his family take care of Fido, leaving them detailed instructions for the dog's proper care and spoiling. Fido was never to be chided for having muddy paws in the house and he was to be given scraps from the table at mealtime. Lincoln even gave the Roll family a couch he built himself; an outsized sofa custom-made to accommodate the 6'4" lawyer, it was Fido's favorite couch to sleep on. And to help soothe the sense of loss his sons and presumably, he himself felt, Lincoln had Fido's formal portrait taken with the relatively new photographic technology. " " A vintage Civil War-era print shows Abraham Lincoln pictured in front of his former Illinois home, riding on horseback as a crowd cheers. The inscription reads: "Abraham Lincoln's Return Home, After His Successful Campaign For The Presidency Of The United States, In October, 1860." John Parrot/Stocktrek Images/Getty Images (Or so the story goes. Historian Dr. James Cornelius, the curator of the Abraham Lincoln Collection at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, uses local historical research to call into question the date Fido's portrait was actually taken, and points to the Life magazine profile as the first mention of that specific motivation for the picture's creation.) Regardless of its provenance, the photo made its way into numerous newspaper and, shortly thereafter, Fido both the dog and the name skyrocketed in popularity. The name's meteoric rise continued during Lincoln's presidency and was further fueled by his assassination in 1865. As mourners flocked to Springfield for the president's funeral, Roll returned to Lincoln's home with Fido and let the mourning public meet the dog. One person later wrote that petting Abraham Lincoln's former companion "brought me comfort in this time of grief, as touching this dog must have brought the President comfort during his life." Just as Fido's master was killed by another man, so too did Fido meet an unfortunate end at the hands of another. In 1866, a year after Lincoln's assassination, Fido ever the trusting and people-loving dog came across a man apparently sleeping on a sidewalk. Fido started to lick the man's face, which prompted the man, who was drunk at the time, to awaken, panic and pull a knife at the sight of the dog's mouth so close to his face, stabbing Fido in self-defense. With the popularity of the name peaking in the late 1800s, Fido made its way into the public consciousness during an era when mass media was taking hold in the country, and remained there for years to come. While Fido met a tragic end, his name lives on in popular culture, signifying the Platonic ideal of a friendly, faithful pooch. Advertisement Advertisement Now That's Interesting Over the years, the presidential residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. have kept all sorts of pets in the White House, from bears and horses to hyenas, sheep and, allegedly, even alligators. Chris Buhalis at the Ravens Club Townie bar by James M. Manheim From the June, 2019 issue Chris Buhalis is taking a few weeks off in May from his weekly Tuesday-night gig at the Ravens Club to travel to Italy and sing at a Townes Van Zandt festival there. It's hard to imagine a non-Anglophone crowd trying to wrap their heads around Van Zandt's more abstruse lyrics, but if anyone can put them across, Buhalis can. While he's there, he tells me, he wants to stop in Florence and see Michelangelo's David. "Seen the Mona Lisa too?" I ask, quoting Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues." "No," he says, "but I have heard Doc Watson play 'Columbus Stockade Blues,'" finishing the third stanza of that great blues standard. "We'll play that one in the second set." Buhalis is a tradition bearer: he knows a seemingly unlimited number of songs and tosses them out when he thinks people ought to hear them. During a set at the Ravens Club, he asked if I'd heard the Oklahoma "red dirt" songwriter Tom Skinner. I hadn't, but I really liked the Skinner song he sang, "Christal," about a ramblin' girl who left him to "fill his days with things like words and melodies." I'm always fascinated by these feats of musical memory, by the ability to come up with the right song at the right time. At the Ravens Club Buhalis may repeat a few songs from week to week, but mostly he plays "whatever comes in my head. I'm not coming in here to do my 'act,'" he says, miming a bit of air guitar. Much of the audience is pretty tuned in to what Buhalis is doing. There's a townie crowd that has moved over from the Old Town Tavern, where Buhalis also plays, now that they can afford craft cocktails (or who go to both places). They sit at the bar and gradually gravitate toward Buhalis as his sets proceed, and by the end he gets a good round of applause. A contingent of grad students sits mostly ...continued below... at the high-tops on the opposite side of the room; they may be less interested in the music, although they want it to be there.The mix is good, and the room is nicely laid out-you can be close to the music and hear it all, or you can sit at the back and eat at one of the few worthwhile places downtown where almost all the entrees are still less than $20.Though Buhalis doesn't stress the political element, it's unmistakably there. Guy Clark's "Immigrant Eyes" ("The thing I like about songs," Buhalis says, "they're a lot like people-walls don't work on 'em") and Blaze Foley's bitter "Oval Room" ("He's the President, I don't care," the lyrics of the Reagan era declare) showed up on one night's set. [Originally published in June, 2019.] YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. A record high temperature is expected in Yerevan Wednesday and Thursday, according to Head of the Meteorological Service Gagik Surenyan. Surenyan said on Facebook temperature in the Ararat Plain and Yerevan will reach +38 39 C from June 5 to June 6, something he described as historic. This kind of temperature has never been recorded in the first ten days of June in Ararat plain and Yerevan during our entire meteorological history, he wrote on Facebook. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump arrives on June 3 in the UK on a first official visit and later will depart for Ireland and France, TASS reported. During his European tour Trump will meet with Queen Elizabeth II and UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Head of the Irish Government Leo Varadkar, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron. The trip, combined with a state visit to the United Kingdom, is timed to the 75th anniversary of the landing of the Allied forces in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The main celebrations will be held in Portsmouth and Normandy itself. Donald Trump, together with First Lady Melania, was invited by Queen Elizabeth II. According to representative of the US administration, they will attend a ceremony at Buckingham Palace, where they will be able to meet with the British monarch and other members of the royal family. On the same day, the President of the United States and the First Lady will visit Westminster Abbey, where they will lay wreaths at the grave of the Unknown Warrior located there. In the evening, dinner is scheduled with the Queen. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump has demanded Russia, Syria and Iran to stop bombing the Idlib Province in Syria, after hearing word that they are doing so. Trump tweeted: Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP! Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing to the United Kingdom, Trump said: I dont like whats happening in Syrias Idlib. They are indiscriminately killing many, many peaceful civilians. The situation in Idlib escalated in early May, and militants have launched mass attacks at governmental forces since May 21. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. The four-day sitting continues in the Parliament of Armenia on June 3. A number of issues are included in todays session agenda. The lawmakers will continue debating the bill on making amendment in the Tax Code proposed by the Prosperous Armenia party. Several bills, which were discussed during the previous session, will be put up to voting. The presentation of the annual report of the activity of the Central Bank is also included in the session agenda. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Three people have been killed when a small plane crashed after taking off from Medicine Hat, Canada, CTV reported. The plane was returning to Saskatchewan, but later it disappeared from radars. It was found about 30 kilometres east of Medicine Hat. Investigation is underway. No other details are reported. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament today approved at the final hearing the bill on amending the law on State Duty whereby a 14,000 dram per ton duty will be set on imported cement from Iran. 85 lawmakers voted in favor, while 16 were against and 3 abstained. The bill was passed as a group of construction workers were staging protests outside the parliament building. The demonstrators were arguing that the law will increase the prices of cement. Babken Tunyan, chair of the economic affairs committee of the Armenian parliament said they will definitely meet the demonstrators and discuss the matter. Earlier in April, the bill was voted down by the opposition. The Prosperous Armenia Party wanted the country to also have a state duty for importing clinker, a component for manufacturing cement. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Armenia Airways is launching its inaugural regular flights with Yerevan-Tehran-Yerevan starting June 15th. Initially the airline will offer the flights every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, but from June 24th the flights will be operated every day, Armenia Airways said on Facebook. The flight will be operated with a BAE 146-300 aircraft. This is the first time that our airline will operate a flight. We currently have two aircraft but we will use only one yet. It is a 112 seat plane, Armenia Airways CEO Arlen Davudyan told ARMENPRESS. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Member of Parliament Sisak Gabrielyan from the ruling My Step Alliance has proposed amendments into the bill on providing compensations to the victims of the March 1 -2 2008 unrest in Yerevan. According to the proposed changes, the compensations will not cover those police officers who have been injured during the events but have been criminally prosecuted and havent been cleared of wrongdoing. The MP said the proposals have been approved by the state-legal affairs committee. The police officers who were injured during the events and have been prosecuted can receive the componesation only if the criminal proceedings are dropped or the person is cleared from wrongdoing by the court of law. Other changes into the bill include clarifications of what constitutes medium or severe injuries. Citizens eligible for compensation will have to submit medical expert conclusions to the government. The bill is co-authored by Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan and Vice Speaker Lena Nazaryan. Families of those who died as a result of suffering injuries during the abovementioned events will also be covered. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament adopted at final hearing a bill on introducing new mechanisms in combating human trafficking in the existing law. The new law provisions a lump sum financial support to underage victims of trafficking. The bill was passed unanimously. The law also provisions a regulation that creates the foundation for developing a guidance procedures for child victims of human trafficking and a clear circle of cooperation between regional and state governmental agencies. The single financial support will be 250,000 drams for victims of abuse who are under the age of 18. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. NATO launched its Saber Guardian 2019 international military drills in Romania on June 3. The opening ceremonies were held in five different military training grounds across the country simultaneously, according to Radio Romania. The scenario of the exercises include the crossing of the Danube River, launching Patriot and Stinger missiles, engaging a simulated enemys land attack and capturing an air force base. Nearly 8000 soldiers from Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Romania and the US are participating in the drills. Saber Guardian 2019 is an exercise co-led by Romanian Land Forces and U.S. Army Europe that takes place from June 3-24 at various locations in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Among the many different training events at SG19, there will be vehicle road marches, a medical exercise, multiple river crossings and an air assault. SG19 is designed to improve the integration of multinational combat forces. Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan STEPANAKERT, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. On June 4, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh, the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the ceasefire regime on the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, in the south-east direction of Martuni town, Artsakhs foreign ministry told Armenpress. From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistant to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Mihail Olaru (Moldova) and staff member of the Office of the CiO Personal Representative Martin Schuster (Germany). From the opposite side of the Line of Contact, the monitoring will be conducted by Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, his Field Assistant Ognjen Jovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Personal Assistant Simon Tiller (Great Britain). The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members. Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan YEREVAN, 3 JUNE, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 3 June, USD exchange rate up by 0.10 drams to 480.20 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 1.17 drams to 536.58 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.02 drams to 7.35 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 3.29 drams to 607.21 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 229.52 drams to 20001.72 drams. Silver price up by 1.28 drams to 223.55 drams. Platinum price up by 2.54 drams to 12212.08 drams. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. The Foreign Ministry of Artsakh has issued a statement over the recent ceasefire violation by Azerbaijan, during which an Armenian serviceman was killed. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Artsakhs Foreign Ministry, the statement runs as follows, On June 1, the Azerbaijani side blatantly violated the cease-fire regime, as a result of which a serviceman of the Artsakh Defence Army was killed. This premeditated killing was preceded by a disinformation campaign with fabricated accusations against Artsakh of alleged shooting of positions of the Azerbaijani army, which resulted in the death of an Azerbaijani serviceman. In this regard, it should be noted that the Press Service of the Artsakh Ministry of Defence immediately reacted to the disinformation and assured of the strict compliance by the Artsakh side with the cease-fire regime. It is obvious that this disinformation campaign by Azerbaijan aimed to create the necessary information background for the subsequent violation of the cease-fire. Both episodes are links in the same chain and may indicate Azerbaijans unwillingness to comply with its obligations to strengthen the cease-fire. The attempt by the Azerbaijani side to initiate an escalation of tension serves as yet another evidence of the urgency of introducing an international mechanism of control over the cease-fire in the area of the Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict. As part of these efforts, it is necessary to finally start the implementation of the agreements reached in Vienna and St. Petersburg in 2016 on investigating possible cease-fire violations, as well as on expansion of the office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office with a view to increasing their monitoring capacities. Such a mechanism will allow not only to promptly respond to possible incidents, but also avoid mutual accusations of violations of the cease-fire regime and prevent the escalation of tension under false pretexts. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh expresses sincere condolences to the family and friends of deceased serviceman of the Artsakh Defence Army Sipan Melkonyan''. YEREVAN, JUNE 3, ARMENPRESS. Judge of the Court of Appeal of Armenia Vazgen Rshtuni, who examines the complaint against the decision of the court of 1st instance not to drop criminal charges against Robert Kocharyan on the grounds of immunity, has recused himself. ARMENPRESS reports head of the investigative group on March 1 case Hrach Musheghyan had submitted a motion for the judge to recuse himself. The reason for the investigator to submit a motion for recuse is the position of the mentioned judge on Kocharyan's case which he had expressed in the past. The March 1 case refers to the 2008 post-presidential election unrest in Yerevan when eight protesters and two security officers were killed in clashes during large demonstrations against alleged vote rigging. Kocharyan was the outgoing president at that time. He is accused of unlawfully ordering the military to interfere and disperse the protests. Robert Kocharyan is charged with overthrowing Constitutional order and accepting particularly large bribe. Other indicted officials are: ex-Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan (overthrowing Constitutional order). In 2008 Ohanyan served as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces; Yuri Khachaturov (overthrowing Constitutional order). In 2008, Khachaturov was the Deputy Minister of Defense; Armen Gevorgyan (conspiracy to overthrow Constitutional order, accepting particularly large bribe and money laundering). Gevorgyan served as Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration. Gevorgyans most recent government position was Deputy Prime Minister. Yuri Khachaturov is an Armenian general who served as Secretary General of the CSTO until being recalled by Armenia for criminal proceedings in 2018. They all deny wrongdoing. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan And in handing down a number of explicit commitments, he offered the PNG people a checklist by which he and his administration now being formed - can be judged in the coming weeks and months. First of all, he said he is up for change. There is no indication in the statement that he sees his role as anything other than a disconnect from the ONeill era. So what were the most significant ideas and issues Marape decided to open with? It will make a big difference to both the governors and the governed to know what the prime minister has on his mind. I guess its inevitable he will attract the usual low life trolling, mocking, attacking and denigrating, but lets hope he does manage to find the time and patience to communicate in this way. Marape promises to continue to communicate with the nation using this medium. But before I move to that, let me pause for a moment and be a bit grateful that PNG now has a prime minister willing to commit his thoughts, values and aspirations to social media. And in that more was plenty for the rest of us, and indeed for the world beyond Papua New Guinea, to chew on. True, they were rather provocative words, and they were repeated in his statement, but there was more much more that Marape had to say. PORT MORESBY - Following James Marapes election as prime minister, on Sunday he issued a declaration on Facebook that soon had the foreign media (and social media) agitating over just one phrase. On his way to work yesterday, Marape stopped his car at Hohola, walked to a disabled man, gently raising him to his feet and hugging him. The man, Thomas Pori Helo, was said to be a diehard supporter. Even more now. This was not an unusual act of compassion by Marape "I am set for the bigger and greater challenges in changing the course our country must travel on for better development for our people, he said. I have a band of like-minded leaders sitting on both sides of the national parliament and we are driving an agenda to grow the economy in a safe, secured and educated country where all citizens are making an honest productive living. It is a clear indication of his intent to draw talent from both sides of the aisle, as the Americans say. This is good news for PNG because, if the Marape era is to be characterised by something akin to a unity government, it will have the opportunity to work in a more Melanesian style than the adversarial dynamic of the Westminster system upon which its parliament is structured. And, as Martyn Namorong writes below, if this Melanesian form of parliamentary practise can be successfully achieved, it will be culturally and politically more congruent with how Papua New Guinean society functions. Marape also showed astuteness in explaining why he had chosen particular members of the caretaker cabinet ahead of appointing a full ministry, anticipating criticism that this group seemed to pay more tribute to the immediate past than the future. I did a caretaker arrangement to appreciate the political structure we had, he said, but this week I will fill in ministers I assess can work in key sectors for productivity and not just for political convenience. How this eventuates in practice will provide us with an early marker of whether the promised bipartisan approach to parliament will be implemented. Much talent rests amongst those steadfast MPs who, at some considerable cost, refused to join ONeill in his depredations people like Juffa, Kua, Kramer and Morauta. Now let me turn to the word that dare not pass DFATs lips corruption. Marape dared let it pass his lips, and its presence hovered over much of his declaration, especially here: I will instruct the new justice minister to bring Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in the first instance, so let us all play by the rules now going forward. He told both private and public sectors what the new regime would mean for them in this context. Our contractors now have a prime minister who expects nothing in return for giving state contracts. All we expect is: do your fair bidding with the right price and get your job done. Dont offer inducement to me or any ministers or public servants in the chain of procurement and contract management. And further: Public servants and politicians, earn your salary and dont ask for special favours. It must start now if it hasnt started yet! And for the big guys, a long distance early warning: To multinational companies who operate in our resources sectors, I am not here to chase you away but to work with you so that we can add value to the benefits that emanate from the harvest of our natural endowment. All projects agreements that are in compliance [with] and congruent to all our laws will be honoured [and] I will be meeting with key resources sector and I request you all to assist me as to how we must grow my Papua New Guinea economy. Marape said he has a fresh team of PNG advisors looking into all resource laws and that he intends to tailor new legislation for implementation in 2025. Thus having neatly assuaged any fears about sovereign risk, he took a step towards a different future for resource exploitation in PNG. At the same time, anticipating what Corney Alone writes in his piece below, Marape said he will ask the National Procurement Commission to ensure contracts under K10 million are strictly reserved for citizens and local companies and that contracts above that threshold must also have local partnership involvement. For local [small to medium sized enterprises] and contractors, we have a special incentive plan for you, said. Tidy your company books, pay your honest tax and, if you want to go the next phase of your business, we will inject very soft term loans (possibly 5% repayment rate over a 40 year period). Prepare to be part of our program to resuscitate our businessmen and women. Marape added that he will be asking all young educated PNG citizens for their views on Governor Gary Juffas motto to Take Back PNG. We will organise for your voices to be heard, he said. I dont buy into outside advisors, we have an intelligent and experienced pool in country, let us mobilise into cohesive units. Calling himself the chief servant of my country, Marape said he was willing to make hard calls and asked citizens to offer him a good law and order environment including stopping tribal fights (with a plea to his own province, my Hela, please!). Tomorrow night, at a time to be advised but surely ahead of the State of Origin rugby league clash, Marape is expected to deliver a state of nation address on radio and television. But for now, he stated, you can see where my mind is and those of you who want to work with me please align here or offer me better solution to make PNG the Richest Black Christian Nation on earth, where no child in all part of our country is left behind. The Queen has a secret passage in Buckingham Palace. Photo: Getty Images Shes one of the most famous women in the world, so it makes sense that Queen Elizabeth has a secret passage in Buckingham Palace. Just like something out of a magical Harry Potter movie, the 93-year-old gets around her London palace by using a hidden tunnel which connects her private living quarters to the centre of the palace. The White Drawing Room is the location for many state meetings held by the Queen, and where the Trump family were seen entering the palaces ballroom for their white tie banquet this week. Its also where the Queen broadcasts her famous Christmas Day speech from. The Trumps are seen entering the ballroom from the white drawing room ahead of their state banquet with the royals. Photo: Getty The Royal Collection Trust uploaded a picture of the room to Instagram, announcing that the White Drawing Room is one of 19 State Rooms in the palace that will be open to the public to view from July 10 until September 29. However, theres something different about the White Drawing Room, as its the location for the Queens secret passage and guests will find it nearly impossible to spot. A closer look at the secret cabinet Last year, Good Morning Britain went into the White Drawing Room, where in the corner, a seemingly normal cabinet was pulled to one side. Last year, Good Morning Britain went into the White Drawing Room, where in the corner, a seemingly normal cabinet was open at the side. Photo: ITV Behind the secret cabinet door is another door, which leads to the Queen's private residence. Photo: ITV Taking a closer look, the cabinet opens up to reveal another door behind it, which leads to the Queens private residence. If the cabinet had not been left ajar, guests would have no idea there was anything suspicious about it, as it appears to be just the same as any other cabinet in the room. According to Hello!, all of the ornaments on the cabinet are glued to the surface, so nothing falls and breaks when it is opened and closed. Buckingham Palace also talk about the hidden tunnel on their official website, saying the Queen enters the room via a hidden door disguised as a mirror and cabinet before receiving guests. For larger events, the room is often used for key guests to be presented to The Queen before everyone moves into the surrounding State Rooms to mingle, the website reads. Story continues Got a story tip? Send it to lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or sign up to our daily newsletter here. A 63-year-old blind man and his guide dog are dead after being hit by a car in country Victoria. The pair had been walking along the Calder Highway at Wedderburn about 6.40am on Sunday when they were hit by a car travelling in the same direction. The man, named as Raymond Meadows, and his dog Gerry died at the scene. "At that time of morning, it was dark, Senior Constable Paul Nicholl told Nine News. There's no moonlight, no street lighting at all and unfortunately the motorist travelling towards Melbourne didn't see him. Police say Raymond Meadows was not far from his house when his wife heard the collision. Source: AAP Tragically, it appears Mr Meadows was aware of the dangers posed by the dark country road. He is believed to have been wearing a hi-vis vest with flashing lights when he was fatally struck. The driver of the Toyota Corolla, a man aged in his 20s, stopped at the scene and was taken to hospital suffering from shock. The Herald Sun reports Mr Meadows was not far from home when the incident occurred and his wife rushed to the scene after hearing the crash. The 63-year-old was the second pedestrian to die on the state's roads within 12 hours. Raymond Meadows and his dog Gerry were fatally struck by a car on Sunday morning. Source: Nine News Another man, 62, was hit by a bus at Notting Hill, in Melbourne's southeast, about 7.45pm on Saturday. He died at the scene and police have spoken to the driver. Victoria's road toll sits at 139 compared with 88 at this time last year. Police are investigating circumstances around Mr Meadows death and anybody with dashcam vision is urged to come forward. Anybody with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 888 000 or submit a report online. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. At least 19 people were killed Sunday in a car bomb near a bustling market and mosque in a rebel-held city in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said. Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, in the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor. "Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. Shoppers buying clothes and gifts ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday were among those killed, said Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital. He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives. "The emergency rooms were full, we placed corpses on the floor," he said. "It is a real catastrophe before the Eid al-Fitr holiday," which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, said Berro. An AFP photographer saw a large crowd gathering at the scene of the attack, charred vehicles dotting the side of the road. Rescue workers searched through mounds of rubble, looking for bodies, he said. Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion torched the neighbourhood. "The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out," he told AFP. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which came a day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa. Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres of northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of Islamic State jihadists while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region. Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs Syrian rebels serving as police officers. Syrians inspect a car that reportedly exploded in a market in the northern city of Azaz The United States said Monday it was committed to welcoming Chinese nationals for "legitimate" studies but acknowledged increased visa scrutiny after Beijing warned its students of risks. Amid an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies, China's education ministry pointed to an uptick in visa denials and delays. It told students applying to US universities to brace themselves and "strengthen risk assessment." A decrease in Chinese students could be costly to the United States. China is by far the biggest source of international students on US campuses, with 360,000 attending last year. Many pay costly full tuition. The State Department said it had increased scrutiny after identifying a rising number of cases in which foreign intelligence co-opts students during their time in the United States. "At the same time, we're committed to providing the highest quality service to legitimate travelers -- who constitute the overwhelming majority of our visa applicants -- so they can receive swift, thorough and clear decisions regarding their visa applications," a State Department spokeswoman said. "We welcome Chinese students and scholars to the United States to conduct legitimate academic activities," she said, saying that most applicants receive full five-year visas. Xu Yongji, deputy head of a department overlooking foreign academic exchanges at China's education ministry, said that visa denials have "damaged the dignity" of Chinese students and cast a "cold spell" over research collaborations and academic exchanges. From January to March, more than 1,350 Chinese students had applied for US student visas but 182 were "unable to make the trip as planned" due to visa issues, accounting for 13.5 percent of all applicants, Xu told state broadcaster CCTV. Citing data from the China Scholarship Council, Xu said this was a marked increase from just over three percent of applicants who experienced visa issues in 2018. China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the US had been setting "unnecessary obstacles" to people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. - Major economic impact - Chinese students contributed $14 billion to the US economy in 2017, according to a trade group. India is the second largest source of students but the gap is significant, with fewer than 200,000 Indians studying in the United States. US complaints about technology and intellectual property theft by China have been a major bone of contention in the trade war between the two countries. FBI director Christopher Wray said in April that Beijing had used Chinese graduate students and researchers, among others, in its economic espionage efforts in the United States. "China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation in any way it can from a wide array of businesses, universities and organisations," Wray said. "They're doing it through Chinese intelligence services, through state-owned enterprises, through ostensibly private companies, through graduate students and researchers, through a variety of actors all working on behalf of China." Last month, Republicans in the US Congress introduced legislation aimed at barring Chinese military scientists from obtaining visas to study or work in the United States. US universities such as Stanford are popular with Chinese students, who contributed $14 billion to the US economy in 2017 Students at a ceremony in Yankee Stadium graduate in 2012 from New York University, which welcomed more international students than any other US university in 2017 * "Most Popular Intellectual Property Law Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , December 2021. * "Most Popular Copyright Blawg" of all time according to Justia rankings , December 2021. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. Already low hopes for a US peace plan in the Middle East dimmed further Monday as President Donald Trump acknowledged widespread doubts and his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested Palestinians weren't ready to govern themselves. The Trump administration, which has staunchly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has seen a surprise bump in its rollout after the right-wing prime minister failed to form a coalition, triggering new elections. The United States will lay out an economic component of the plan on June 25-26 in Bahrain but has said that the political plan will come out only "when the timing is right." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a closed-door meeting last week with Jewish leaders that was leaked to The Washington Post, frankly acknowledged obstacles to the peace plan. "It may be rejected. Could be in the end, folks will say, 'It's not particularly original, it doesn't particularly work for me,' that is, 'It's got two good things and nine bad things, I'm out,'" he said, according to the newspaper, which said it heard a recording. Asked about his remarks in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Pompeo again conceded that observers could look at Trump's track record and perceive that the plan will be "fundamentally one-sided" toward Israel. But, he said: "It is just simply not true." "I think there will be things in this plan that lots of people like," he said. Trump, asked about Pompeo's doubts on the plan gaining traction, said: "He may be right." "I think we have a good chance, but we'll see what happens," he told reporters. Trump, who has repeatedly sought to boost Netanyahu's political prospects, said that Israel was "all messed up" and that it was "ridiculous" that the Jewish state is heading to its second election this year. - Palestinians not 'capable' of governing? - The Bahrain conference is expected to see pledges to boost the troubled Palestinian economy from Gulf Arabs -- who, despite not recognizing Israel, have formed an indirect alliance due to shared hostility toward Iran. In turn, the political plan is expected to avoid calling for the creation of a Palestinian state -- the key goal of decades of sometimes intense US diplomacy. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser who is spearheading the plan, in an interview with news site Axios said that the Palestinians "should have self-determination" but suggested they were not ready for a full state. "The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing," Kushner, who has close family ties to Netanyahu, said when asked if he believes the Palestinians can govern themselves without Israeli interference. Kushner said the Palestinians "need to have a fair judicial system ... freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions" before the Palestinian territories can become "investable." The Palestinians have rejected US mediation and are boycotting the Bahrain conference, saying Trump is not an honest broker. Trump, whose evangelical Christian base strongly backs Israel, has broken precedent by recognizing both Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the Jewish state's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. - Economic plan less controversial - David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Trump administration likely would have presented the economic and political plans together if it were more confident of success. "The decision of the administration to split them into two, which hasn't gotten as much attention, is very telling. It says that the economics are less controversial and there is more skepticism about resolving these core issues that often seem zero-sum -- if one side has it, the other does not," he said. "In a strange tactical sense, the Israeli election is actually good news for the administration because it gives them a public rationale when talking to the media to say, well, we can't do it now because there is a new Israeli election," he said. But he questioned how much Arab donors would commit without prospects for a peace deal on the core political issues. And he said the Israeli vote presented another potential sticking point -- by the time a government is formed, it could be October or November, when the United States itself will be heading into election season. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a leaked conversation, acknowledged doubts that a peace plan for the Middle East will succeed Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and adviser, visits Buckingham Palace with his wife Ivanka Trump Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing voters for the second time this year after failing to form a coalition The execution of nine French jihadists on death row in Iraq would be a disgrace for France and leave an "indelible stain" on the mandate of President Emmanuel Macron, a group of prominent French lawyers said Monday. With controversy growing in France over the sentences handed out to the nine for joining the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, the 40 lawyers urged Paris to keep the men alive, irrespective of their crimes. A court sentenced two more French citizens to death on Sunday, meaning that nine French jihadists are now at risk of execution in the country. "We have taken a historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of Emmanuel Macron," said the lawyers, who included some of the country's best known legal professionals such as William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth. It would mean allowing a "legal assassination which is now proscribed by the majority of countries on the planet with the exception of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China and the United States," said the open letter, published on the website of radio station Franceinfo. "It equates to renouncing our engagements by permitting the overseas implementation of the death penalty," they added. "It would be a great disgrace for our country to make these death sentences possible." The French citizens were handed over to Iraqi authorities in January by a US-backed force fighting the jihadist group in Syria. Hearings for the last two suspected French IS members to be tried in Baghdad were set for Monday. France has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial before local courts, while stressing its opposition to capital punishment. French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye insisted Sunday that officials were intervening "at the highest level" in the cases. A Baghdad court sentenced two more French citizens to death on June 2, meaning nine French jihadists are now at risk of execution in Iraq US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has suggested in an interview that the Palestinians are not ready to govern themselves ahead of the expected release of his peace plan. Speaking to US news site Axios, Kushner also said he was not concerned over whether the Palestinians do not trust him since they will base their decisions on whether the plan will improve their lives. "The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing," Kushner said when asked if he believes the Palestinians can govern themselves without Israeli interference. According to excerpts from the interview published late Sunday on the Axios website, Kushner said the Palestinians "need to have a fair judicial system... freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions" before the Palestinian territories can become "investable". Kushner told Axios that the Palestinians "should have self-determination", without saying whether that would mean an independent state or some lesser form of autonomy. He has previously hinted that the plan will not endorse creating a Palestinian state. In the Axios interview, Kushner said "I think that it's a high bar" when asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from any Israeli governmental or military interference. "If you don't have a proper government structure and proper security when people are living in fear of terror, that hurts Palestinians," he said. The Palestinian leadership has already dismissed the upcoming peace plan, saying Trump's actions so far have shown him to be blatantly biased in favour of Israel. Those actions include declaring the disputed city of Jerusalem Israel's capital, cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in Palestinian aid and closing the Palestinians' de facto embassy in Washington. "I'm not here to be trusted," Kushner told Axios, adding he differentiates between the Palestinians and their leaders. He said he believes the Palestinian people will look at "the facts and then make a determination: Do they think this will allow them to have a pathway to a better life or not?" The interview was recorded before Kushner's visit to Jerusalem last week, a trip that also included stops in Morocco and Jordan. The peace plan was previously delayed over Israel's April 9 general elections and could now face further postponements related to Israeli politics. Israel will go to the polls again on September 17 after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition, and such a plan is considered too sensitive by many analysts to introduce during an electoral campaign. US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner has suggested in an interview that the Palestinians are not ready to govern themselves The United States said Monday it had lost hope for human rights progress in China 30 years after the crackdown on Tiananmen Square as Beijing, in rare official comments on the bloodshed, insisted it had "immunized" itself against turmoil. As China tried to impose a media blackout ahead of Tuesday's anniversary of the 1989 assault on pro-democracy protesters, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saluted the "heroic protest movement," which he said still stirred "the conscience of freedom-loving people around the world." "Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that China's integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed," Pompeo said. "Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith," he said. An estimated one million Uighurs have been placed in detention in Xinjiang, a massive incarceration that China describes as vocational training to reduce radicalism. On June 4, 1989, Beijing's communist rulers sent tanks and troops into Tiananmen Square, the symbolic heart of Chinese power, to crush a student-led movement that had been growing for seven weeks and featured a Goddess of Democracy statue that resembled the Statue of Liberty. Hundreds of unarmed civilians, and possibly more than 1,000, were killed. "We urge the Chinese government to make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history," Pompeo said, calling on China to "release all those held for seeking to exercise" fundamental rights and freedoms. - 'A political success' - With younger Chinese having no direct memories of the Tiananmen movement, Beijing has gone to exhaustive lengths to prevent commemorations, with authorities detaining activists and livestreaming services conspicuously down for "technical" reasons. But in an unusual step, China acknowledged -- and justified -- the Tiananmen crackdown in remarks geared at foreign audiences. The English edition of the state-run Global Times tabloid called the handling of Tiananmen and its aftermath "a political success." "As a vaccination for... Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future," it said in an editorial published Monday. And Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, speaking Sunday at a regional forum in Singapore, defended the crackdown when he responded to an audience question. "That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence which is a correct policy," he said. China's economy has soared since Tiananmen to become the second largest in the world, with the United States under president Bill Clinton welcoming Beijing into the global trading order and hoping that rising prosperity would bring improvements in human rights. President Donald Trump has voiced regret over China's trajectory on economic grounds as well. He has slapped tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods and accused Beijing of rampant theft of US technology, setting off an accelerating trade battle. The Trump administration has raised human rights repeatedly with China, although it treads much more lightly when addressing rights issues in US-allied countries. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that the United States needed to look inward and be more consistent on human rights as it tackled China's record. "Unlike 30 years ago, when America stood with the brave Chinese people in the face of repression, we hear deafening silence from the White House at best and voices fanning the flames at worst," Menendez told a Tiananmen commemoration event at the National Endowment for Democracy. Police officers stand behind barriers as Tiananmen Square is closed off for the 30th anniversary of China's crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators Pro-democracy protesters are gathered at Tiananmen Square on June 2, 1989 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that hopes for a China that better respects human rights have been dashed in the three decades since the Tiananmen Square crackdown Pope Francis apologised to the Roma people on Sunday for the Roman Catholic Church's "discrimination" against them as he wrapped up a visit to Romania. Making up around 10 percent of Romania's 20 million people, many Roma are marginalised and live in poverty and have suffered centuries of discrimination and insults. "I ask forgiveness ? in the name of the Church and of the Lord ? and I ask forgiveness of you. For all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you," the pope said in a speech to the Roma community in the central town of Blaj. "My heart, however, is heavy. It is weighed down by the many experiences of discrimination, segregation and mistreatment experienced by your communities. History tells us that Christians too, including Catholics, are not strangers to such evil," he said. "Indifference breeds prejudices and fosters anger and resentment. How many times do we judge rashly, with words that sting, with attitudes that sow hatred and division!" Earlier, the pontiff beatified seven Greco-Catholic bishops jailed and tortured during the Communist era. "The new blessed ones suffered and sacrificed their lives, opposing a system of totalitarian and coercive ideology," he told some 60,000 worshippers attending mass on a "Field of Liberty" in Blaj. "These shepherds, martyrs of faith, garnered for and left the Romanian people a precious heritage which we can sum up in two words: freedom and mercy," added Francis, while praising the "diversity of religious expression" in mainly Orthodox Romania. Regime officials detained the beatified bishops overnight on October 28, 1948, accusing them of "high treason" after they refused to convert to Orthodoxy. The Greek-Catholic Church was outlawed under 1948-89 Communist rule. - Buried in secret - The bishops died of maltreatment, some still in jail, others in confinement in an Orthodox monastery. They were then buried in secret -- to this day the whereabouts of four of their graves is unknown. The bars of the cells where they were held were symbolically incorporated into the throne built specially for the papal visit. The bishops followed the Eastern Rite Catholic Church which emerged from an Orthodox schism at the end of the 17th century when the central region of Transylvania was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire. While retaining Orthodox practices they recognised Roman Catholic papal authority -- unacceptable for the Communist regime which took power following World War II. Under a 1948 decree formally abolishing the Eastern Catholic churches, Greco-Catholics were forcibly obliged to return to the Orthodox fold. Under such stark political repression, most Romanian Catholics -- who numbered more than 1.5 million in 1948, abandoned their faith and their community has shrunk to around 200,000 today in a country of 20 million, almost nine in 10 of whom profess Orthodoxy. The politics which has seeped through Romania's modern religious history has poisoned inter-faith relations -- even if the papal visit has softened feelings to a degree. "No matter where we go, to the town hall, to the police or to school, doors get closed," a 72-year-old Roma, who gave his name as Ion, told AFP. Roma, originating from northern India, suffered around five centuries of slavery before the practice was formally abolished in 1856. But they remain a mainly poor and marginalised community -- even if recent years have seen roads paved and homes getting running water and electricity. - Seeking inclusiveness - Francis's arrival in Blaj to wind up his visit was part of his attempt at inclusiveness on his three-day visit to one of what remains Europe's poorest states. Although Romania has developed apace since obtaining EU membership in 2007 there remain some "urban or rural ghettos where nothing has changed," according to sociologist Gelu Duminica, who heads the anti-discrimination Impreuna (Together) association. Duminica and others in Blaj saw it as no coincidence that Francis, often seen as a defender of the rights of the most marginalised, chose the Barbu Lautaru district of Blaj, whose inhabitants are mainly Roma, to launch his appeal for tolerance and social inclusion. "The pope's visit is a message for those who are marginalised, disregarded or not accepted by others," said Mihai Gherghel, an eastern Catholic priest, who supervised the construction of the Blaj church where Francis celebrated Sunday mass. Pope Francis met with members of the Roma community Pope Francis, seen holding an icon, said the beatified Catholic bishops, victims of political oppression, were "shepherds, martyrs of faith" whose gifts to the Romanian people in the early days of Communist rule were "freedom and mercy" Romanian faithful in traditional dress turned out in their thousands to attend the pontiff's service in Blaj, notably home to thousands of Roma, a long marginalised community A Romanian couple in Blaj hold a Vatican flag as they attend Pope Francis's mass Disgraced former deputy mayor of Auburn City Council Salim Mehajer has been arrested for breach of bail less than two weeks after being released from jail. He was arrested at his Lidcombe home, in Sydney's western suburbs, about 2.30pm on Monday. It is alleged the 32-year-old businessman contacted witnesses in ongoing cases using his mobile phone. Salim Mehajer arrives at Parramatta District Court in Sydney late last month. Source: AAP He was remanded in custody at Burwood Police Station and will front Burwood Local Court on Tuesday. Mehajer was released from Cooma Correctional Centre at the end of last month after serving 11 months behind bars for electoral fraud. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. [ dynamic duo ] 06.02.19 Two Shorts Andy Warhol Sightings Its Andy Warhol, wearing a black, woolen cape, in a hamburger joint in California and chatting up a college kid. Hes being personable and seems to expect the student to pay his tab. Not that Andy Warhol isnt good for the cash, but he isnt sure how to go about settling the check. Should he wait for the waitress? Should he approach the counter? Hm. Up until this point no one has asked him for money. Is it because they want to give him his Coke and hamburger for free, like he has a special coupon? Andy Warhol cocks his head. He sticks up for a local indigent vet, also in the hamburger joint, who has forgotten his money. He gets his new friend the college kid to pay for the vets meal. Andy Warhol has a lot of compassion for those returning from the war, or even for those who were stationed up in Alaska. Up there its so cold people can rarely go outdoors in the morning and enjoy cappuccino and talk with friends. He and the vet take a picture together. Andy Warhols regular entourage is unable to film the encounter because they are at the Amish market taking part in cheese-making. Andy Warhol takes his stuffed lion out for a walk. No one stops him to make dumb cracks about Pittsburgh, his hometown. He rests in the town park on a bench near a vintage statue of Theodore Roosevelt. He takes over the local newspaper, known as The Daily Trout, one hand tied behind his back, and goes fishing. Andy Warhol visits the elementary school and talks to the children about what life used to be like before we all had electricity. Meanwhile, back in the city, when Andy Warhol is shot, there is this sudden absence. Somebody has to temporarily take Andy Warhols place in the lively diorama lodged in the minds of art lovers all over the world, next to other lions. The mercury-colored cloudlike balloons Andy Warhol favors wander mote-style across his closed eyed, hidden by dark sunglasses. These are the same sunglasses donned by Andy Warhol that time he was going down the Mississippi in an old riverboat. This is the tie Andy Warhol wore when he was having lunch with Andy Griffith, who was not wearing a tie. Andy is giving Andy some sound advice about a quandary in his love life. Just ask Elvis with his cowboy gun. Time, Andy, fleeting, etcetera, etcetera. Playing with Dolls I never played much with dolls in my twenties, or even my thirties. I had a child in my forties and sometimes then I would get into it, wheeling those babies round and round, rocking and lullabying, changing their diapers. We had a lot of cloth diapers that wed twist around the dolls, bears, the occasional monkey. We lined up and arranged our babies on the walnut coffee table in a tangled game of solitaire. My childhood lamb Lammy gazed down with her smudged, plastic smile, down upon us from her wide-screen picture enclosure in the sky. Lammy had gotten stranded in a heated zone in attic days. Everyone can see where this is going. Our only giraffe grew bigger and bigger. We drove this surviving tall one down the street with her jangly neck jutting out the moon-roof. The town cheered, fanning us with palm fronds. The town thought we might be moving in a new aesthetic direction. In my fifties, after years of repeated false starts, my child was really gone for good. All Im left with is this papery snowman. His breath takes the form of an awakening. Every seventh word out of his crooked crayon mouth hails from outer space, I mean by that from a time out of time. I know the father of this effigy and its not Zeus. I miss you, my warbling child. US President Donald Trump on Sunday told Syria and Russia to stop "bombing the hell" out of Syria's last jihadist stronghold Idlib. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" he said on Twitter shortly before he was to depart for a state visit to Britain. His comments came after Syrian NGOs on Friday decried international inaction in the face of mounting violence in the northwestern region. As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces in northwest Syria have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkey's border, the NGOs said at a press conference in Istanbul. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday that almost 950 people had been killed in the latest clashes in Idlib. A September deal was supposed to avert a full-out regime offensive on the province and adjacent areas held by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. But the jihadists have refused to leave the area, and the deal is on the verge of collapse as Syrian and Russian forces allied to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad ramp up air strikes and rocket fire. Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed in Syria to back the Assad regime. The worsening unrest in Idlib comes with tensions soaring between Iran and the United States. The stand-off has been simmering since the US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty Iran reached with major world powers. President Donald Trump told Syria and Russia to stop bombing Syria's last jihadist stronghold Idlib, tweeting "What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" A Swedish court on Monday rejected a request to detain Australian whistleblower Julian Assange over a 2010 rape case, complicating the prosecutor's efforts to request his transfer from Britain. The court said it shared the prosecutor's opinion that the Wikileaks founder was suspected of rape and "that there is a risk that Julian Assange will fail to appear or in some other way avoid participation in the investigation". But it ruled in favour of Assange's lawyer and said a detention order was not "proportionate," given that he is imprisoned in Britain and the prosecution could therefore proceed with the investigation in other ways. Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson had told the court that Assange had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be detained and questioned in Sweden. She asked the court to order Assange's detention in his absence, a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located. It would have been the first step towards issuing a European Arrest Warrant to request Britain to extradite Assange to Sweden. "The purpose of this detention is to be able to complete the investigation and bring Julian Assange to justice," Persson said. Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per E Samuelson, meanwhile argued that a detention order was "meaningless" as Assange was not currently a flight risk. He said it was not proportionate to ask for someone's detention merely to conduct a questioning session. Assange, who holed himself up in Ecuador's embassy in London for seven years to avoid a British extradition order to Sweden, was arrested by British police on April 11 after Quito gave him up. He was subsequently sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions when he took refuge in the embassy. Following his arrest, Swedish authorities reopened their 2010 rape investigation, which had been closed in 2017 with the argument that it was not possible to proceed with the probe as Assange could not be reached. - Next steps - The court's decision means the prosecutor is now unable to proceed with the European Arrest Warrant to request Assange's transfer. Persson said she had not yet decided on whether to appeal. She said the investigation would still proceed and she would issue a European Investigation Order to interrogate Assange. She didnot indicate when such an interrogation could take place and said the prosecution would proceed on a "step by step" basis. Assange's lawyer Per E Samuelson welcomed the court's decision. "I'm glad that the Uppsala District Court showed that in Sweden there is rule of law," he told AFP. "If you follow the law then it's very clear that this is how it's supposed to happen. But I had my doubts because there is a lot of pressure in Sweden against Julian Assange," Samuelson said. - Health concerns - Assange is currently also the subject of a US extradition request, where he is facing a total of 18 charges, most of which relate to obtaining and disseminating classified information over the publishing of military documents and diplomatic cables through the website WikiLeaks. He could be sentenced to 175 years in prison if convicted on all 18 counts. Last week, a scheduled hearing on the US extradition request in London was pushed forward with chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot referring to Assange was "not very well," and stating that the next hearing could be held at Belmarsh prison, where Assange is serving his sentence. The day before, WikiLeaks expressed "grave concerns" over the condition of the organisation's founder and said he had been moved to the prison's health ward. The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, on Friday said the various drawn-out legal procedures against Assange amounted to "psychological torture". Assange is currently also the subject of a US extradition request, where he is facing a total of 18 charges A couple have died in mysterious circumstances after falling seriously ill on their dream holiday together in Fiji. David and Michelle Paul, from Fort Worth in Texas, became sick after arriving on the tropical island some time between May 22 and 25. Family of the couple, who shared a two-year-old son, were particularly shocked at their sudden death because both were fit and healthy. David and Michelle Paul died in mysterious circumstances while on holiday in Fiji. Source: WFAA Ms Pauls sister-in-law Tracey Calanog told news outlet WFAA Mr Paul had been in the air force and his wife was a former student athlete. "They were planning an amazing vacation," Ms Calanog said. "They knew something was going on in their body and were able to get to the hospital. The cause of the couples death has yet to be revealed and remains under investigation. The couple were described as fit and healthy. Source: WFAA The family have speculated they may have been affected by a deadly virus. The pair also owned a dog, Zooey, who they boarded in a kennel before they left. Ms Calanog eventually tracked her down after calling on help from local community members via social media. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. Russia has told the United States that it has withdrawn most of its personnel from Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said Monday, two months after telling Moscow to "get out" of the crisis-plagued Latin American nation. "Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela," Trump tweeted during a state visit to Britain. US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, where Washington has thrown its weight behind a campaign to oust the Moscow-backed socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. Trump called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela in March, after Moscow -- in a significant show of solidarity for Maduro's badly isolated government -- deployed around 100 soldiers to the country. The Kremlin has not responded officially to Trump's claim. However, state defense contractor Rostec played down any changes, dismissing an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal saying that the overall Russian presence had been reduced from as many as 1,000 personnel to a few dozen. The numbers cited by the Journal "were exaggerated dozens of times over," a statement from Rostec said. "As for technical specialists, they periodically arrive in the country for the repair and maintenance of previously supplied equipment. For example, technical maintenance was recently completed on a batch of aircraft," Rostec said. A Rostec spokeswoman told AFP that "around 10 people work in our Venezuela office and that's always been this way." According to the Journal report, however, Rostec once had a far bigger presence in Venezuela, training troops and advising on weapons contracts. That relationship has withered as Moscow recognizes the inability of Caracas to pay. Washington has subjected Venezuela, a once rich country whose economy is now in a state of chaos, to economic sanctions in an attempt to force Maduro from power. US President Donald Trump had called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela Sudan's protest movement called Tuesday for fresh rallies and rejected the military rulers' election plan after nearly 40 people were killed in what demonstrators called a "bloody massacre" by security forces. Protest leaders called on their supporters to take part in "total civil disobedience" to topple the ruling military council following the deadly dispersal Monday of a weeks-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum. The Transitional Military Council ousted veteran president Omar al-Bashir in April after months of protests against his authoritarian rule and had agreed a three-year transition period to a civilian administration. But army ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the plan had been ditched and an election would take place under "regional and international supervision". "The military council decides on the following: cancelling what was agreed on and stopping negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and to call for general elections within a period not exceeding nine months," Burhan said. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests against Bashir, rejected the call. "It's not the putschist council, nor its militias, nor its leaders who decide the fate of the people, nor how it will transition to a civilian government," it said. - Eid prayers for 'martyrs' - The SPA said Monday's action against the sit-in amounted to a "bloody massacre" and urged the global community "to isolate and stop dealing with the so-called military council". It also called for an independent investigation into the killings under international supervision. The Transitional Military Council said it "regrets" the events, calling it a "clean-up operation" that went wrong. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors -- which is close to the protesters -- said 40 people had been killed on Monday and Tuesday, mostly at the sit in. Hundreds were wounded. Among the dead was an eight-year-old child, it added. An 18-year-old was also killed on Tuesday "by the bullets of the military council's militias" in the southern town of Rebek. The Sudanese Doctors Union accused security forces of attacks on hospitals and staff across the country, and alleged some women had been raped in an area of the capital without giving details of how the group had learned of the assaults. A bid by the UN Security Council to condemn the killing of civilians and call on the military and protesters to work together was blocked by China, who was backed by Russia, during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday. Eight European countries -- Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, The Netherlands and Sweden -- instead issued their own joint statement criticising "the violent attacks in Sudan by Sudanese security services against civilians". The United States, Britain and Norway earlier issued a joint statement condemning the military's election plan. Top US envoy David Hale, under secretary of state for political affairs, also underlined the importance of a transition to a civilian-led government in a phone call with the Saudi deputy defence minister, Khalid bin Salman, the US Department of State said. African and Western governments have been strongly supportive of the protesters but Arab governments, led by Saudi Arabia, have backed the military rulers. Moussa Faki, head of the African Union Commission, also backed "an immediate and transparent investigation". - City centre deserted - Tensions remained high across Khartoum Tuesday, with heavily armed members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, thought to have been largely behind the crackdown, deployed in large numbers. Protest leaders said the large square outside army HQ where demonstrators had camped out day and night since April 6 had been cleared. Despite the security presence and internet outages, residents of some areas of the capital still came out to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival a day early and to protest. In Omdurman, just across the Nile from Khartoum, a witness said by phone that the Rapid Support Forces were trying to disperse demonstrators who had put up barricades by "firing live rounds in the air". "We gathered in our square as we usually do every year but the Rapid Support Forces and the police fired teargas and soundbombs at us and after the prayers the youth closed the main street by putting up barricades," a resident of the Bahri area told AFP. Other streets around the city centre were almost deserted, with many markets and shops closed and almost no cars on the roads. Flights into Khartoum were disrupted as airlines monitored developments on the ground. Protesters block a main street in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to stop military vehicles from driving through the area on June 4, 2019 Close-up map of Khartoum Sudanese security forces ride in the back of a pickup truck through a main avenue in Khartoum as the military continued to disperse protesters by force in Sudan's capital on June 4, 2019 Sudanese protesters had been camped out for weeks outside the army headquarters, calling on the military rulers to cede power to a transitional authority Locals set tyres on fire and block a sidestreet leading to their neighbourhood in the Sudanese capital Khartoum to stop military vehicles from driving through the area on June 4, 2019 For the second time in three years, Lake Ontario water levels have set a record. The lake reached 249.02 feet Monday, according to the International Joint Commission's Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board. That tops the previous high of 248.95 feet in 2017 and is nearly three feet higher than the historical average for this time of year. The board said the lake levels will continue to rise over the next several days, but will reach the peak within the next three weeks. Outflows have increased from 321,400 cubic feet per second to 332,000 cubic feet per second, which could provide some relief to communities along the lake. "Outflows from Lake Ontario continue to be increased as rapidly as conditions allow," said Frank Bevacqua, a spokesman for the commission. Flooding has been reported along the lake. Sodus Point in Wayne County has been threatened by high water levels. The village of Fair Haven in northern Cayuga County prepared for a repeat of 2017. Thousands of sandbags were deployed, and additional measures have been taken to prevent flood damage. Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in May due to the rising water levels. The declaration covers eight counties along Lake Ontario: Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence. Last week, Cuomo launched a task force to examine ways to bolster the shoreline and support economic development projects in communities along the lake. U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer have urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be ready to approve a major disaster declaration if the state submits a request. The International Joint Commission has been criticized by Cuomo and other elected officials for not doing enough to prevent flooding. While the commission blames heavy rainfall and inflows from Lake Erie for the high water levels, some state and local officials believe Plan 2014 is the culprit. Plan 2014 is a water regulatory strategy adopted by the commission in 2016. U.S. Rep. John Katko, among others, say Plan 2014 has led to flooding along the lake in two of the last three years. The commission, a bi-national agency tasked with overseeing shared boundary waterways between the U.S. and Canada, has six new members three from each country. The new U.S. commissioners include Jane Corwin, a western New Yorker and former state assemblywoman. She is the U.S. section chair on the commission. The new commissioners have been touring Lake Ontario communities to observe the high water levels. They were in Buffalo and Greece, a Rochester suburb, last week. Katko, R-Camillus, recently met with the commissioners and said they will visit Cayuga, Oswego and Wayne counties in the coming weeks. Online producer Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. AUBURN Bill DeTomaso was watching "Saving Private Ryan" with his father, Tony DeTomaso. The 1998 movie opens on Omaha Beach as American forces launch D-Day, the invasion of France that would turn the tide of World War II in Europe beginning on June 6, 1944. As the action raged bullets, dirt and blood flying across the screen Bill leaned over to Tony. "Was it that bad, Dad?" "You will never know." Tony, who passed away in 2011 in Auburn, was one of the first to storm those beaches as a member of the 299th Combat Engineer Battalion, a unit of mostly central and western New Yorkers. Sixty-three were from the Auburn area. And according to Bill and several others interviewed for this story, including the Cayuga County Veterans Services Agency, not one of "the Auburn boys," as they became known, is here to see the 75th anniversary of D-Day. In their absence, Bill said, one of his father's fears about that day may be closer to coming true: "People are gonna forget." The invasion saw more than 150,000 Allied troops land along 50 miles of coastline in France's Normandy region. More than 4,000 of them died. Six were Auburnians in the 299th: Nicholas V. DeAngelis, Leo A. Indelicato, John R. Spinelli, Thomas J. Phillips, Claude D. Brown Jr. and Lawrence A. Roberts. About a third of the battalion, overall, was killed, missing or wounded. The 299th began engineer training at Camp White, Oregon, in March 1943, according to material from a 2014 exhibit about the war at the Cayuga Museum of History & Art, as well as a speech about the battalion given there that year by Maj. Gen. John P. Herrling. The 660 men would move on to Fort Lewis, Washington, Fort Pierce, Florida, and Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, for further training. In April 1944, the 299th landed at Cardiff, Wales, to make final preparations to rid Europe of the Nazis. Bill said his father and fellow engineers were trained to clear the obstacles placed along the coastline by the Germans, and create 50-yard gaps. Those obstacles included barbed wire, underwater mines and hulking metal structures, known as Czech hedgehogs, that could stop tanks in their tracks. Getting to them, however, meant disembarking their boats amid curtains of German machine gun fire from the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc overlooking the beaches, among other threats. Tony, then 18, was in Company B, which landed some of the first Allied forces on Utah Beach that morning. Assigned to Company A, which was assigned to Omaha Beach along with Company C, was Dominick DeBenedetto, also of Auburn. His son, Dave, said Dominick was wiring explosives to clear some obstacles when the primer cord was struck, detonating them and killing his whole squad except for him. It was also on Omaha Beach that DeAngelis was wounded and loaded onto a boat, then killed along with Spinelli when the vessel was bombed, according to the museum exhibit. Dominick was later hit in the back with machine gun fire, Dave said, and recuperated at a hospital in England before rejoining the 299th to fight at the Battle of the Bulge that December. The battalion would advance across Belgium and Germany with the 1st Infantry Division to northern Munich. It was there when the Nazis surrendered on May 8, 1945, ending the war in Europe. Much of what Dave knows about his father's service didn't come from him, though. He shared stories with his son over the years, but Dave had to fill in the blanks using books and the 299th's website, he said. Likewise, Tony didn't talk to his son about D-Day until Bill, a Marine, went to Vietnam in 1969. Even then, Tony only opened up to him through letters, Bill said. "'You're gonna see some bad things,'" he recalled his father writing, his voice breaking. "But I didn't go through anything like him. Thank God." If the brutality the 299th endured on those beaches becomes lost on future generations, Bill and Dave said, it may be because the ones who survived it had such difficulty sharing it. The soldiers Dominick saw drown with their feet sticking out of the water because they were top-heavy with explosives and other gear. The 4-inch hole Tony saw in a man's head. The red shore. The screams. "I always worry these guys are the only ones who will know exactly what happened," Dave said. Both Tony and Dominick felt the effects of their service for the rest of their time on earth. Tony suffered frequent migraines, Bill said, a result of demolishing bridges with the battalion. For Dominick, it was nightmares, Dave said. Still, the two got on with their lives. The 299th held regular reunions for decades. And in 1994, Tony and Dominick were instrumental in raising a monument to the six Auburnians of the 299th who died during D-Day outside the Cayuga County Office Building. Two additional monuments to the battalion stand in Veterans Memorial Park and Market Street Park. Dominick passed away in 2015, making him the last of "the Auburn boys," Tony believes. But while the story of D-Day in Cayuga County has become the story of the 299th, several men from the area serving with other units and armed forces were also there. One of them was Bruno Del Favero, of Auburn, one of five brothers who fought in the war. He served with the 1st Infantry, more popularly known as "The Big Red One" because of the red numeral on the shoulder patch of its members. His daughter, Jeanne, said Bruno served in a mine platoon, planting or removing them. Bruno's service spanned 1940 to 1945, from before America entered the war to its end. After action in North Africa, Sicily and elsewhere, he, too, began training for D-Day in England. Jeanne said her father recalled Gen. Dwight Eisenhower speaking to the men of Bruno's 16th Regiment, one of the first slated to reach Normandy, and trying to calm their considerable nerves. Unlike many veterans, Bruno was forthcoming about his service, his daughter said, until his passing in 1994. But he often concluded his stories with the same saying: "War is hell." "There were men dropping on either side of you, and you didn't know if you were going to make it through that morning," Jeanne said of D-Day. Auburnian Martin Byrne, a radioman on a Navy landing craft gunner, was one of the quieter ones, said his daughter, Patti Wilson, of Minoa. Like Dave DeBenedetto, she discovered most details of her father's service secondhand in her case, a service record kept by Byrne's parents. Also like DeBenedetto, however, she understands why she didn't hear those details from the source. "There's no way anyone could understand it unless they were there," she said. When it comes to details on Byrne's action during D-Day, Wilson said, that service record was scant. His only words about the invasion were: "It was a complete success." "They really were the greatest generation," she said. "And if it weren't for them, we wouldn't enjoy the freedoms we have today." As that generation diminishes in number, the memory of its significance to history may just hang in the balance. Locally, a proclamation recognizing the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the Auburn men who served there will be read at the 5 p.m. Thursday, June 6, meeting of Auburn City Council. Material from the Cayuga Museum's recent World War II exhibit will also be worked into a display in the lobby of Memorial City Hall that will remain there for two weeks, City Clerk Chuck Mason said. Neither the county nor Auburn's veteran posts, meanwhile, currently have any events planned. And at Veterans Memorial Park, Bill DeTomaso plans to observe the anniversary alone. That's how he's done it the past few years, he said, and that's how he expects he'll do it this year. "If you forget about what happened," he said, "time has a way of repeating itself." D-Day veterans from Cayuga County 299th Combat Engineer Battalion John Brannick Claude D. Brown Jr. James Burke Anthony J. Butera Giacomo Cappello Anthony T. Contrara Steve Cook Joseph M. Costello Joseph H. Coyle Daniel G. Cristodero Nicholas V. DeAngelis Dominick A. DeBenedetto Anthony N. DeTomaso Chester W. DiBari Sam J. DiFabio Byron E. Dustman Nicola A. Falcicchio Wallace F. Filkins Edward Galbally Anthony N. Gasparo John H. Gleason Harold E. Green Charles W. Hawelka Charles W. Hurlbut Jr. Leo A. Indelicato Melchior LaRosa Joseph C. Leonti Harry L. Lull Angelo Manna Frank J. Morabito Joseph J. Morabito Richard L. Nash Wilson J. Near Jr. Larry Netti Thomas J. Netti William L. OBrien James F. OByrne Thomas G. OConnell Carmen D. Ottaviano Raymond C. Painter Henry J. Pearson Jr. Anthony A. Petrosino Thomas J. Phillips James B. Ramage Carl H. Reese Lawrence A. Roberts Steven Rusinko Sam V. Scolaro William J. Secaur Carmelo Signorelli Charles W. Smith Dominic A. Spano John R. Spinelli Herbert M. Steigerwald Bruce A. Stigner Anthony Surace William J. Titus Saverio G. Trinca Samuel J. Vella James Walter Francis C. Weinch George J. Wilson Jr. List provided by the Cayuga Museum of History & Art Other units Bruno Del Favero, Auburn: 1st Infantry Division, 16th Regiment Donald G. Bentley, Moravia: 1st Engineer Special Brigade Ned Jarvis, Auburn: 69th Signal Battalion Edward De Felice, Auburn: 101st Airborne Division Frank Sciortino, Auburn: 53rd Infantry Battalion, 4th Armored Division Gerald Stevens, Moravia: 1st Infantry Division Robert McAllister, Moravia: 1st Infantry Division William A. Shaw, Auburn: 1st Infantry Division Martin Byrne, Auburn: U.S. Navy amphibious forces John R. Noga, Auburn: U.S. Navy William F. Donovan, Auburn: U.S. Navy John E. Adamus, Cayuga: 336th Combat Engineer Battalion Richard Drury, Cayuga: 83rd Infantry Division Ted Gelsi, Cayuga: 2nd Armored Division Charles B. Parker, Auburn: U.S. Navy (Editor's note: List includes all known D-Day veterans from Cayuga County, but may not be comprehensive.) Lake Life Editor David Wilcox can be reached at (315) 282-2245 or david.wilcox@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @drwilcox. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. McVities owner Pladis has unveiled limited-edition Jaffa Cakes Pineapple Cake Bars for summer. The NPD is available at Tesco and Asda stores now (rsp 1/five-pack) and will be rolling out to other stores this month. Each bar contains 97 calories, in line with Public Health Englands new 100-calorie snacking guidelines. Our McVities Jaffa Cake Bars range has become one of the fastest-growing products in the cake category over the last few years, helping to make McVities the number one brand in cake bars, and Jaffa Cake Bars the nations favourite cake bar, said David Carey, senior brand manager for McVities Cake at Pladis UK&I. Were excited to build on this momentum with a new zesty, potentially controversial, flavour, which were sure will spark debate with consumers around one of the countrys most loved brands. McVities has previously launched other fruity flavours as part of its Jaffa Cakes cake bars range, including a limited-edition Lemon and Slime flavour for Halloween. A Fairbury man was found uninjured after concerns he encountered trouble while kayaking on the Little Blue River last week. Just before 6 p.m. Friday the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office was contacted by a concerned family member who reported Alan Mathews had went kayaking and not returned. A press release from the department stated Mathews went on the Little Blue River from the Highway 15 Bridge south of Fairbury at approximately 6 a.m. and had not called to be picked up in Marysville, Kan. It was reported that Mathews had also missed his 3 p.m. work shift. An attempt to reach Mathews by cell phone was unsuccessful as the phone was turned off. A ping of Matthews cell phone showed the last location the cell phone was operable was nine miles east of Fairbury on the Little Blue River. Due to the strong current of the river, the press release stated there were concerns that Mathews had possibly encountered an unknown emergency situation. Search and Rescue efforts were coordinated with the Fairbury Rural Fire Department, Nebraska State Patrol Air Division, Nebraska Game and Parks, Washington County Kansas Sheriffs Office, Marshal County Kansas Sheriffs Office, Jefferson County District 33 Ambulance Department, and the Jefferson County Communications Center Dispatchers. An air boat assisted in patrolling the river while the Nebraska State Patrol Air Division searched the river by air. At 7:42 p.m. the Nebraska State Patrol Air Division located Mathews on the river bank in Hanover, Kan. A Deputy with the Washington County Sheriffs Office was dispatched to the scene, along with the Washington County Ambulance. Mathews was reported to be uninjured. The family of Mathews was contacted and directed to the scene. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. In honor of Fathers Day and wonderful fathers, role models for their children and others, here are ten ways to be a great dad: 1) Respect your childrens mother. 2) Spend time with your children. 3) Earn the right to be heard. 4) Discipline with love. 5) Be a role model. 6) Be a teacher. 7) Eat together as a family. 8) Read to your children. 9) Show affection. 10) Realize that a fathers job is never done. After children are grown, they will still look to their father for wisdom and advice. A dad is very important to his children and his influence lasts a lifetime. When a dad has a close relationship with his children, they are more likely to be well-adjusted, have positive self-esteem, do better in school, and develop good relationships in life. Fathers are role models for their kids, whether they realize it or not. A father who encourages his children to do their best will see his children make good decisions. Fathers play an essential part in the lives of their children as they grow, continue in school, enter the workforce, and perhaps marry and build their own families. Kids grow up quickly. Missed opportunities are forever lost. Summer 4-H camping Great fun, camp food and friends...the summer camping season promises to be a blast. Nebraska 4-H camping facilities are the Eastern Nebraska 4-H Center, Gretna, and the State 4-H Camp, Halsey. 4-H enrollment not required. Website: http://4h.unl.edu/camp/ Locally, we offer two camps at Camp Jefferson near Fairbury - Camp Renegade for 8-10 year old kids, might be their first overnight experience, June 18-19, fee: $40.00; new this year is Camp Venture, June 20-21, for the next level campers, fee: $60.00. 4-H membership not required. Contact the Extension Office for registration forms due June 7. Dont miss out on this summer fun! Livestock information 4-H & FFA youth are reminded of the June 15 deadline for livestock I.D. sheets; bring ID sheets to the Extension Office. Each 4-H and FFA youth exhibiting beef, sheep, swine, dairy, goats, poultry or rabbits at the Gage County Fair or Nebraska State must complete YQCA training each year, on-line or in-person. Deadline for YQCA compliance is June 15; we must have a copy of completion certificate at the Extension Office. Anytime 4-H summer learning 4-H summertime learning continues on June 4, 1 p.m., Cake Decorating Workshop, Carolyn Schlakes home. June 7 Making a Difference for our Environment/trash pick up along the trail hosted by Josiah Harvey, 9-10 a.m. June 9 Pie & Muffins Workshop by Emily & Lori Rempel, 2:00 3:30 pm, Extension meeting room. June 10 Cats & Dogs & 4-H Kids by Angela Zarybnicky, 1-3:30 p.m. June 10 Fondant Makes a Beautiful Cake by Sandi & Randi, 7-8:30 p.m., Extension office. June 10 Its Grow Time Workshop & Contest, 9-11 a.m., Extension office. June 11 Beginning Sewing, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Extension office. Call 402-223-1384 for online registration sites. Clover Kids Camp Just for kids ages 5-7 enrolled in Clover Kids June 27, Clover Kids Camp, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., 4-H Building. Contact the Extension Office for online registration site. In addition, the 2019 Clover Kids packet is ready to pick up at the Extension Office. Available for check-out The Big Book of 4-H Cloverbud Activities with fabulous projects and non-competitive fair exhibits. 3 Gs Open Horse Show Excitement is building for kids who ride horses! Its show season! 3 Gs 4-H Club hosts their annual show on Saturday, June 8, 9 a.m., fairgrounds in Beatrice. We have the showbill; for more information contact Annie Erichsen, 402-587-0693. The public is invited to attend. My Favorite Quote: Children can find other children to be pals. Children need fathers to be fathers. Garrison Keillor Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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. If Planned Parenthoods St. Louis health center cannot provide abortion care, this will be the first time since 1974 that safe, legal abortion care will be inaccessible to people in an entire state. https://t.co/WVFzLjG0CW Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) May 28, 2019 If Planned Parenthoods St. Louis health center cannot provide abortion care, this will be the first time since 1974 that safe, legal abortion care will be inaccessible to people in an entire state. https://t.co/WVFzLjG0CW Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) May 28, 2019 If Planned Parenthoods St. Louis health center cannot provide abortion care, this will be the first time since 1974 that safe, legal abortion care will be inaccessible to people in an entire state. https://t.co/WVFzLjG0CW Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) May 28, 2019 On Tuesday, Planned Parenthood's president, Leana Wen, issued a panicked tweet because if the state of Missouri doesn't renew by Friday Planned Parenthood's license for its clinic in St. Louis, Missouri will be the first state that doesn't have a single abortion clinic Ocasio-Cortez: There'd Be 'As Many Planned Parenthood Clinics' As Post Offices If Male Politicians Could Get PregnantWen tweeted,Wen also quavered that such an occurrence would constitute a "real public health crisis" and attacked the Trump administration, snapping,On May 24, Missouri governor Mike Parson signed HB 126 into law. He stated,He added,The bill states:The bill also states that the physician must determine whether the heartbeat of the unborn child can be detected, and if that is possible, the prospective mother must be given the option of hearing the heartbeat and be informed that unless there is an emergency, no abortion shall be performed:The bill adds that a physician will be punished if he/she does not conduct a fetal heartbeat detection test, and if an abortion is performed subsequent to the detection of a heartbeat, the physician will have his/her license revoked:istration for the healing arts in accordance with the provisions of section 334.100. Imagine a world without Italy: Painting without Leonardo. Sculpture without Michelangelo. Literature without Dante. No Verdi choruses or Puccini arias. No Fellini films or Ferrari roar. Heavens uncharted, vines unplanted, tables bereft of pasta, pizza, and a Sicilian cake so divine that its bakers swore it could make the dead breathe again. Western civilization would surely have sprouted elsewhere, but the planet would have been a paler place, a rainbow stripped of its most vibrant hues: Raphaels luminous blue, Valentinos luscious red, espressos inky black. More than a country, Italy embodies a culture that has transformed art and architecture, language and music, food and fashion. Its borders contain more of UNESCOs designated cultural treasures than any other nation. Its inhabitants created the first universities, banks, public libraries, and law and medical schools; mapped the moon (in 1651); split the atom; produced the first modern histories, satires, sonnets, and travelogues; invented the first working compass, battery, barometer, microscope, radio, and thermometer; garnered twenty Nobel Prizes; and bestowed upon the world the eternal gift of music. Humanity, Mussolini bragged, is indebted to Italians for the majority of its accomplishments. For once, he wasnt exaggerating. Alone among nations, Italy has conquered the worldnot once, not twice, but three times. The Roman Empire extended its might over territories spanning a quarter of the globe. Christianity, with Rome as its capital and Italy its cradle, planted the seeds of a religion that now counts 2.3 billion membersabout one of every three people on the planet. The Italian Renaissance transformed art, architecture, and philosophy in an explosion of creativity that ushered in the modern age. Italy has so profoundly permeated our collective unconscious that even if you have never set foot on its soil, youve touched and been touched by its heritage. Musicians everywhere play the do-re-mi notes invented by an Italian monk. Italian paintings, sculptures, and buildings adorn cities on every continent. Italys food, arguably everybodys favorite, nourishes souls as well as bodies. Its wines soothe and stimulate. Its films, cars, and fashions transport us above the mundane and the mediocre. Leonardos Mona Lisaoutranks all other masterpieces as the worlds most famous painting. Ferraris Cavallino Rampante (Prancing Horse) outshines other brands as the most recognized logo. But why Italy? How did a scrawny peninsula smaller than California, home to less than 1 percent of the worlds population, leave such an outsize imprint on Western culture? What sparked endless innovations and inspired a multitude of masterpieces? Was it a miracle? Serendipity? Luck? Destiny? After decades of up-close but admittedly unscientific observation, I credit la passione italiana. This fierce drive, three millennia in the making, stems from an insatiable hunger to explore, discover, create, pursue beauty, feel deeply, love and live with every fiber of ones being. It blazes to life in the Sistine Chapel, surges through a Rossini aria, preens in Bulgari jewels[ Jon: or on a Milan catwalk], deepens a vintage Brunello, spices a tangy penne allarrabbiata(pasta with an angry sauce seasoned with chile peppers). Discover more Italian passions in 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. She began interweaving hemp string and rope, then photographing, drawing and enlarging the images onto canvas. Forget what you think you know of knit-art. This exhibit grasps the chaos of grief, sorrow, inventiveness and renewal of senses into a new artistic threshold. Date & Time: through July 7 Location: Yellowstone Art Museum Tickets: Call YAM at (406) 256-6804 or see artmuseum.org for more information. Michel T. Desroches While his paintings reflect faces on the canvas, Michel T. Desroches hopes to evoke a visceral reaction from both subject and spectator. Desroches quickly paints with a certain feeling in mind, capturing the raw impression with the brush rather than forming features on the face with line work. As an art therapist, Desroches has a desire to portray the sentiment of humanization and finding the emotion behind the face. Date & Time: through July 7 Location: Yellowstone Art Museum In east-central Montana and North Dakota, below average temperatures this spring have limited "evaporative moisture loss, and soil moisture deficits are only slightly dry. Thus, even in these areas fine fuels and live fuels are still green, and will likely remain so moving into at least the first half of June," according to the NIFC fire potential report. "Since green up has occurred east of the Continental Divide, fire potential there will remain typically low in the Plains region until at least the middle to end of June," the report says. In Billings the average May temperature of 53.4 was 2.2 degrees below average. Miles City saw its coldest May on record. The town's average daily temperature of 50.4 was 5.5 degrees below normal. Sheridan, Wyoming, saw its third coldest May on record, with an average daily temperature of 48.1, a departure of 4.4 degrees from the typical monthly average. In Livingston, the average temperature of 48.3 was the 10th coldest on record. A fire at a house on Miles Avenue injured three people Monday morning in Billings. The victims were rescued from a house on the 800 block of Miles Avenue where a fire broke out sometime around 9 a.m. One person was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Two others were evaluated on scene, said Battalion Chief Kevin Johnson of the Billings Fire Department. Firefighters were able to enter through the front door after arriving to see flames and heavy smoke coming from the home. The fire may have started in the basement, but it remains under investigation, according to Johnson. Multiple pets were inside when the fire started. Johnson said he believed at least one animal was able to get outside. More information was not immediately available, Johnson said, speaking at the scene of the fire. Firefighters were working to salvage what they could from the fire and could be seen bringing personal items out of the house later in the morning. The home had visible smoke damage on its western side near basement windows. At one point four fire engines, a ladder truck and multiple American Medical Response ambulances were all positioned along the street. The Billings Police Department blocked Miles Avenue off to traffic at Eight Street West during the response. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 3 Sad 18 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Billings YWCA will be closing its child care program as the advocacy group turns toward addressing more family-focused needs. Based on current enrollment, 24 slots will be lost in the child care program. The group which supports women and children, especially victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking will continue to offer a 16-slot preschool program. This has been a multi-year conversation that weve been having, said YWCA director of programs Erin Lambert. Its really just thinking differently about how were serving the early child care needs weve got in our community. The YWCA will be adding a family engagement coordinator tasked with helping families find child care, enrolling school-age children, talking about developmental needs and available resources, and addressing physical health needs. The move follows a trend for the group, pushing into affordable housing and other whole-family issues. The YWCA hired a housing navigator in January, which Lambert said has helped 50 individuals secure housing, and opened a 24-unit affordable housing complex in August. Museum's rotating exhibits The Museum of the Rockies began changing exhibits out of concern in 2014 that visitation had flattened out at about 101,000 a year, according to Pat Leiggi, director of Paleontology, Exhibits, & MOR Exhibitions. The idea was to bring exhibits to the museum that Montanans might otherwise not see, as well as to benefit Montana State University students and staff. The pilot was so successful that it has become a regular feature. "The difficulty is trying to get these exhibits at the time we need them," he said, and to ensure they fit through the doors. They are also expensive, costing about $300,000 just for the exhibit, not counting any marketing. The idea has paid off, increasing visitation to about 198,000 last year. He slammed his fists onto the table, gets in my face, and says f--- you, mayor. Orr said Gordon had expressed concerns the visit would interrupt relations with China, which has had a tense relationship with Taiwan since the mid-20th century. Gordon addressed these concerns in his statement Monday, saying he "had been trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation" and concerns that "Wyoming not be used as a pawn between Taiwan, China and the United States." "I hope to sit down with the Mayor soon and hear out her concerns so we can have a positive relationship going forward, to ensure the potential visit by the Taiwanese President is carried off with all proper protocol, that public safety needs are met, and taxpayer money is spent appropriately," the statement said. On Sunday, Orr described a different situation. It would have been one thing for him to say, Hey, I see things that you dont see, lets talk about this. And instead for him to not only attack someone, but be flat-out condescending and, frankly, chauvinistic, was very disheartening and yet, very telling. According to a spokesman, Gordon called Orr on Monday afternoon to apologize, which Orr accepted. A nursing home industry group says it generally supports transparency and takes no position on release of the list. David Gifford, vice president for quality with the American Health Care Association, said the inspection reports on which the CMS lists are based are only one measure, and people should also consider other factors such as staffing levels and clinical outcomes. In Quitman, Texas, the Heritage Healthcare Residence did not prevent the septic system from backing up, causing a foul-smelling black substance to come through the drains and seep into the kitchen floor near food-preparation areas. In an interview, officials of the company that currently owns the nursing home said they had corrected all the problems after purchasing the facility in February. Suzanne Koenig, president of the company that now runs the nursing home, renamed the Heritage House Healthcare Centre, said she'd be concerned about releasing the list since "it doesn't really focus on what is going on in the facility." The auto industry is especially vulnerable; of U.S. auto exports, about 35% of the value-added comes from imported inputs, according to Deutsche Bank Securities Chief Economist Torsten Slok. Note also that the U.S. auto industry is already in trouble. Announced layoffs for the first four months of this year in autos are the highest since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. 3. We don't know the full economic cost of the tariffs, but it would be painful for the United States. Two years ago, a research and consulting firm calculated an estimate for the costs of a similar (20%) tariff on Mexican imports: "Over three years, the bill comes to $286 billion in lost value to the U.S. economy and a loss of 755,000 American jobs. Two-thirds of those job losses would be at the expense of low- to medium-skilled workers." 4. It's not clear the tariffs are legal. The White House said its legal justification for the tariffs is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. This 1977 law is mostly related to sanctions; it has never been used for tariffs, and some trade lawyers have suggested that it does not give the president power to do so. A mountain lion, or pair of lions, that have been seen and photographed in Red Lodge for several days are being monitored to ensure residents are safe and that the cougars eventually leave town. We are continuing to monitor and track it to make sure it stays out of trouble, said Bob Gibson, Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks information officer in Billings. It doesnt seem to want to move on. The situation could be worsened by the fact that Red Lodge is home to wild turkeys and whitetail deer, which are also cougar food. The big problem in Red Lodge is people are feeding deer and turkeys out their back door, Gibson said. Feeding wildlife is against the law in Montana. If we could get the prey out of the way the predators would move on, he added. The same thing goes for bears, too. Three emergency responders lost in a plane crash last year near Mandan have been honored with an award given in their memory. The Daughters of Colonial Wars of North Dakota presented Bismarck Air Medical with the American Heroes Award announced Monday. The award honors emergency medical personnel of Metro Area Ambulance and Bismarck Air Medical, and also pilot Todd Lasky, paramedic Chris Iverson and nurse Bonnie Cook, who died in the Nov. 18 crash in rural Morton County near Harmon Lake. "The American Heroes Award embodied virtues of duty, courage, patriotism, sacrifice in service to their home, community and county," the award's announcement said. Recipients can be police, firefighters, first responders, active or retired military or community leaders. Lasky, Iverson and Cook were also honored at the 2019 National EMS Memorial Service in May in Maryland. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A local soup kitchen is looking for volunteers to ensure it can stay open during dinner hours this summer. Heaven's Helpers Soup Cafe, at 220 N. 23rd St. in Bismarck, is a free-of-charge soup kitchen that serves people in need in the community. Volunteers serve the friendly cafe, but their numbers have been lacking as of late. As soon as the warm weather hit, all of our volunteers just went whoosh, theyre out enjoying North Dakota, founder and executive director Mark Meier said. We need about 28 volunteers every day just to be able to make this run. Volunteers sign up for two-hour shifts, and do everything from waiting tables to chopping vegetables. I feel so blessed every time Im here, said Sheila Cleveland, who has been volunteering with Heavens Helpers since January. Its just so rewarding to work here, it really is. Aside from working with other volunteers, interactions with people in need are what the cafe is all about. There was a gentleman who came in who wasnt able to see and couldnt tell what was on our salad bar, so I just took him along and explained to him we have these things, what do you want? and I dished up a plate for him, Cleveland said. That always stuck with me. Heavens Helpers has been serving the Bismarck community since 2009, when it moved into its former location on Memorial Highway. In January 2018, the kitchen moved to its current location. To me, seeing the young children volunteering is the best part, Cleveland said, glancing at two young girls working meticulously in the kitchen. I almost get emotional because its just so sweet to see the younger ones like that, their hearts. Heavens Helpers relies entirely on donations and volunteers, and the current lack of volunteers would cause the kitchen to be unable to provide for those in need during crucial times of the day. Without volunteers to work from 6-8 p.m. this summer, the cafe's current hours of 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday would change to 11 a.m.-5 p.m., causing the cafe to miss dinner. The volunteer time is every two hours, and those two hours are the fastest youll ever have, Cleveland said. A lot of the time I sign up for two and stay for four. I would encourage anyone to come try it, and once you do, youll probably be hooked. For more information about Heavens Helpers or to volunteer, visit soupcafe.org, contact mark@soupcafe.org or call at 701-751-SOUP. Love 5 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 0 The nearest law enforcement office for the small town of Edmore is about 40 miles away in Devils Lake. For Edmore Superintendent Frank Schill, this is a concern. The district has about 50 students and, like many small, rural schools in the state, no school resource officer. With school shootings making headlines including the May 7 shooting at a Colorado high school that left one student dead Schill said his district is evaluating options to enhance school safety, including the state's yet-to-be-established armed first responder program. North Dakota lawmakers passed a bill this year that would allow schools to develop a plan with the state Department of Public Instruction for an armed first responder, who may not be anyone with direct supervision of students. Under the program, schools must provide a "security system plan," which requires approval from local law enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security's North Dakota office. The person selected by the school to take part in the program must also undergo training. It's not clear how many schools will sign up. State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler said her department, the attorney general's office and Homeland Security's office in North Dakota are drafting rules to govern the program. Baesler said she hopes the agencies will have a draft of the rules done by June 13. They will then be sent for input from her school safety partners, an impromptu group she formed after the Parkland, Fla., shooting in February 2018. The group includes the state teachers union, North Dakota United. The armed first responder program likely will not be in place by the the fall, as that is when DPI and the other agencies expect to have an outline of the program to the Legislature's administrative rules committee for approval, according to Baesler. "We want to make sure we do it well rather than do it quickly," she said. Small school districts in North Dakota were supportive of the armed first responder bill this year because of issues including law enforcement response time and the lack of school resource officers, according to ElRoy Burkle, executive director of North Dakota Small Organized Schools. Burkle said he's aware of some districts that are up to 50 miles away from law enforcement. He surveyed his members this year about whether they would be interested in the option of having an armed first responder, and eight schools responded that they would. "It provides the local school districts with an option to consider and they make the call," said Burkle, who testified in support of the bill. In the absence of a school resource officer, some districts have taken advantage of active shooter response training, such as Alert, Lock-down, Inform, Counter and Evacuate, or ALICE, training. Schill said he took the training about three years ago in Devils Lake, which then opened up discussions about school safety in his district. "It really opened my eyes, which I shared with my board, (that) the traditional lock-down training really wasn't intended for an active shooter. It was really intended for the drive-by shootings in California," he said. His school board then decided to do ALICE training with teachers, staff and students at the school. Now, they do monthly active shooter drills in conjunction with fire drills. Schill said there haven't been any active shooter incidents since he's been superintendent but that having an armed responder could be an effective tool. "The (school) board sees there's a potential need for a first responder but have not committed to going that route because they don't know what the details look like at this time," he said. The armed first responder bill was brought by Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, who saw the need when he was Burleigh County sheriff. He said the sheriff's department had schools in its jurisdiction that he "knew we couldn't respond to in a timely manner." "I think it's a good bill. I think it's going to serve a purpose and I think some communities are going to utilize it that's the most important part," he said. (Reach Blair Emerson at 701-250-8251 or Blair.Emerson@bismarcktribune.com) Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. With 110 beers and Chicago-style pizza, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom is coming to Bismarck. Construction will begin at 3940 Trenton Drive in the next two months with an expected completion date of late 2019 to early 2020. The construction will be for an over 11,000-square-foot shopping center, with the south side being mainly Old Chicago. There is still 6,000 square feet available for leasing. Randy Rhone is the franchise owner of the upcoming Old Chicago in Bismarck. Rhone explained how the northeast side of Bismarck lacks food options, so he believes it will be a good addition to the area. This location will host around 70 employees in Old Chicago alone. Rhone will be looking for bar, kitchen and restaurant managers and full- and part-time employees in the upcoming months. Rhone also owns of Dickeys Barbecue Pit in Minot and Mandan, Big-O tires in Mandan, Little Caesars in Bismarck, Mandan, Minot and Dickinson and Edible Arrangements in Bismarck. Love 35 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 3 Angry 12 Virgil A. Johnson died peacefully May 31, 2019. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 5, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 106 Osage Ave., Bismarck, with Pastor Julie Anderson officiating. Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 4, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck, where a prayer service will begin at 7 p.m. Virgil was born March 9, 1930, on a farm in Suring, Wis. He was the 10th child of 13. When he was born, the doctor told his mother that this one would never make it. Anyone that knows Virgil with all his escapades and accidents, know that he sure proved that doctor wrong. June 30, 1947, he married his 4-H sweetheart, Marie Alice Krause (Mary). They were one month shy of 72 years this year. To this union five children were born; David, Daniel, Cynthia, Mark and John. In 1949, Virgil and Mary, with son, David, moved to southern Wisconsin. Thus began his life long career in cheese making. First in Seneca, then moving to Stitzer, he opened his first cheese plant in 1950. There he made various cheeses including: swiss, provolone, mozzarella, cheddar, and butter. From 1962 to 1983, Virgil opened cheese plants in Selfridge, Wishek, Timber Lake, S.D., and Dickinson. With all of this product needing to be hauled, Virgil opened a trucking line in 1970. By 1972, so much travel between the Dakota's and Wisconson became too much time away from his family. So, Virgil packed up his family and headed west to Bismarck. After moving to North Dakota, Virgil opened up his whey plant, Whey-to-go (later known as Dakota Country Cheese). By 2010, with prices low, costs high, and a scarcity of farmers-at the age of 80, Virgil decided to retire, and on June 26th, 2010, the last batch of cheese was made. Being born and raised on a farm, Virgil always had a love for the land. In his earlier years he was often planting trees. He loved his tractors, his 4-wheelers and planting potatoes. Prior to his death, Virgil was able to put in 61 hills of potatoes for the year. (Dad, they are all up.) Virgil was an avid hunter and fisherman. He fished the Mississippi, where he had a cabin, going down to it each weekend. He never could out fish his wife. Virgil would moose hunt in Canada, elk hunt in Colorado and deer hunt in Wisconsin and North Dakota. He almost always had his wife at his side. They would be ruffing it in a tent, staying in a motor home or eventually at his cabin in Colorado. Virgil grinned from ear to ear when he could open up his boat on the Missouri River. He loved a challenge, whether it be trying to go up the rapids in Canada, taking on an extra 50 loads of milk during the holiday season, or tinkering with old equipment - that you wouldn't think should ever work again. He was a life time member of the Bismarck Mandan Elks Lodge and Fraternal Order of the Eagles. Left on this earth with many cherished memories are his wife, Mary; children, Daniel, Cynthia, Mark, and John; sisters, Neva Hodge Lemorande, Dora Slang, Laurel Herich; sister-in-law, Judy Philipsen; grandchildren, David (Brenna), Lisa (Richard), Sarah (Nick), Maggie (Ryan), Alexis, Emily, Virgil, and Matthew; great-grandchildren, Liam, Dane, Soren, Sophie, James, Zoe, and a little boy in Oct; his hunting partner, Colleen, best friend and hunting partner, Ron Helstad; and all of the Green Bay Packer Fans; the tent people and river friends. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Lars and Angeline (Reed); brothers, Lars Jr. and Verna, Kenneth and Alice, Clyde and Doris, Ronald and Wilhemina, and Dale; sisters, Wilma and Joe Valinta, Audrey and Hank Kralovitz, Beverley and Erling Arneson, May and Virgil; Olick, and brother-in-law, Arnold Herich; his son, David and his wife Cheryl; and grandson, Nicholas Johnson (Grandpas Farmer Boy). Captain, you will be missed. In lieu of flowers, plant a potato, a tree, or donate to a charity. Go to www.parkwayfuneral.com to share memories of Virgil and sign the online guest book. FARGO The state of North Dakota received global exposure recently in an out-of-the-ordinary place 30,000 feet in the air. A 25-page supplement in last months issue of American Way, the in-flight magazine for American Airlines, highlighted the states economy, recreational options and quality of life. North Dakota Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman said a magazine in every seatback pocket, on every American plane, amounts to a lot of visibility. Thats a big group of people that now have hopefully a visual, an image, an awareness of our state, she said. American is the worlds largest airline, carrying about 200 million passengers a year, including 16 million during the month of May. Charley Johnson, president and CEO of the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the magazine spread likely had an impact on travelers, even with competition from electronic devices. Any kind of articles... about this being a great state and us, as a metropolitan area, being a good community, theyre all extremely helpful, he said. Carsten Morgan, vice president of special projects at Ink Global, the company that publishes American Way along with 20 other airline magazines, traveled to North Dakota in early spring to scout areas of interest for the Spotlight segment. He said many peoples perceptions of Fargo are still based on the movie of the same name, released two decades ago. The real story is much more enlightening, Morgan said. State's contribution North Dakota has been on Morgan's radar for about a year as a place in the midst of an economic renaissance. The states economy is diverse, he said, citing agriculture, energy, technology and health care sectors. He said he was also impressed with the innovation taking place at North Dakota State University and University of North Dakota. That really blew us away, he said. Nearly a dozen institutions, organizations and companies from both ends of the state bought ads in the special section, including NDSU, UND, Sanford Health and Scheels. The state spent $59,000 for a recreation and lifestyle ad, along with one focused on its emergence as a leader in unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, Otte Coleman said. North Dakota has been featured before in Delta Sky, the in-flight magazine for Delta Airlines, in 2015 and 2010. In those instances, a financial commitment from the state was required ahead of time. That wasnt the case this time, she said. Attracting tourists, workers Otte Coleman said timing was good for the spread because it could inspire people to travel here this summer. Its also a good fit because of the markets into which American flies Chicago and Dallas, by way of Fargo and Bismarck. Dallas is important because many energy workers take those flights regularly, she said, while North Dakota has been working to attract visitors from Chicago for several years. Ads run regularly in Chicago-area publications, and a large vinyl wrap is in place at Chicagos Union Station displaying North Dakotas vast, scenic spaces. According to Johnson, tourism and jobs go hand in hand. Marketing aimed at attracting visitors, he said, promotes the same assets used by economic development and workforce experts to entice people to move here. Youre lifting all the boats, so to speak, he said. The magazine spread will, no doubt, lift the states profile to some degree, but Otte Coleman said they wont be able to tell an exact return on investment. We arent quite there yet, she said. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 North Dakota's Public Service Commission will hold a public hearing later this month on a proposed wind farm and related transmission line. Ruso Wind Partners LLC, a subsidiary of Southern Power, has applied for permitting of its Ruso Wind Project and 10-mile transmission line. The proposed $250 million to $280 million project would comprise 60 to 63 turbines with a capacity of up to 205 megawatts. Plans also include access roads, communications systems, cabling, permanent meteorological evaluation towers and a substation. The project would cover about 16,200 acres about 6 miles northwest of Ruso, a tiny town in Ward County, southeast of Minot. The $5 million to $7 million transmission line would connect to a planned substation to be built in McHenry County and interconnect to a grid through the Ruso Wind Switching Station, run by Great River Energy. The PSC's public hearing is set for 9 a.m. June 17 at the Sleep Inn & Suites at 2400 10th St. S.W. in Minot. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. KHARTOUM, Sudan Security forces attacked the camp at the center of Sudan's protest movement, opening fire, torching tents and killing at least 13 people in an assault Monday that swept away the months-long sit-in demanding the military yield power, witnesses and protest leaders said. Protesters were seen in videos posted online running through streets lined with tents, heads down and ducking as the sound of gunfire filled the air. Smoke rose from the sit-in, located outside the military headquarters in the capital, Khartoum. One video showed policemen swarming around a protester sprawled on the pavement, beating him with sticks. By mid-day, security forces controlled almost the entire camp, pushing out protesters and sealing off the area, two activists said. Other forces attacked similar sit-ins in Khartoum's sister city Omdurman and the eastern city of al-Qadarif, activists said. The assault appeared to be a coordinated move to crush a protest movement that in April forced the military to remove Sudan's strongman, Omar al-Bashir, after 30 years of rule and then stayed in the streets to keep up pressure on the generals who took his place. "This is a critical point in our revolution. The military council has chosen escalation and confrontation," said Mohammed Yousef al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals' Association, which has spearheaded the protests. "Those are criminals who should have been treated like al-Bashir," he said. "Now the situation is either them or us, there is no other way." For months, tens of thousands in the camp and other protest sites have been demanding a speedy transition to civilian rule. Tensions have mounted as negotiations between protest leaders and military officials yielded little progress. The talks focus on the makeup of a transitional "sovereignty council" that would run the country for the next three years. Protesters demand the military have only limited involvement in the council, but the ruling generals have resisted relinquishing power. The assault on the protest camp came a day before Muslims mark the Eid holiday ending the month-long fast of Ramadan. Just over a week earlier, the head of the military council ruling Sudan, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, met with his two top allies, the president of Egypt and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. Those leaders backed al-Bashir's removal and have thrown strong support to the military council. They are also deeply opposed in general to street movements along the lines of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. The military's only comment on the morning assault came in televised remarks by Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the military council's spokesman. He said the forces were targeting an area near the sit-in where authorities have alleged criminal activity takes place. He said people from there into the main protest site, leading to clashes. He did not say if the military's goal was to break up the entire sit-in camp. Monday's attack began in the early morning. Dura Gambo, an activist, said large numbers of troops had besieged the sit-in area and arrested protesters trying to leave. "They have used the heavy rain yesterday and moved in the early morning to disperse people," she said. Amal al-Zein, another activist, said security forces set fire to the tents in sit-in area. "They are surrounding the sit-in from all directions," she said. The Sudan Doctors' Committee said medical personnel and injured people were trapped in clinics in the area, and demanded that they be allowed to leave. "Wounded people are lying on the ground the reception area as there are not enough beds," said Azza al-Kamel, a doctor at the Royal Care hospital. An Associated Press journalist heard gunshots and explosions and saw buses and soldiers on foot blocking roads leading to the protest site. Civilians were not allowed to walk in the streets, including women and children. Videos circulating online appeared to show protesters standing at low brick barricades in the street, then being driven back by walls of blue-clad security forces carrying sticks. Hundreds of people were arrested, according to al-Zein and another activist, Hisham Shalabi. Photos posted online from the scene showed dozens of men and women lined up on the pavement, sitting or lying face down, under guard by troops, apparently under arrest. The break-up of the sit-in threatens to escalate the struggle between the protesters and the military to a new, more volatile level. Until now, negotiations over the transition had kept a tenuous level of peace. But after Monday's attack, protest leaders suspended the talks with the military council and called for a general strike and "total civil disobedience." The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters in the negotiations, called for toppling the military council and urged people to take to the streets in protest. The embassies of the United States and Britain expressed concern about reported attacks on civilians. The U.S. Embassy in Sudan called on Sudanese security forces to stop what it said were "attacks against protesters and other civilians." The embassy said via Facebook that apparent attempts to move against the protest camp in the capital are "wrong" and that it holds the country's Transitional Military Council responsible for the attacks. Ifran Siddiq, the British ambassador in Sudan, said he is "extremely concerned" by the heavy gunfire he had heard from his official residence in Khartoum and the reports that Sudanese security forces were attacking the protest sit-in site. "No excuse for any such attack," he said on Twitter. Magdy reported from Cairo Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a wall on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to memorialize the 58,000 men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War by engraving their names on the wall for all to see. Every day, people from across the world come to pay their respects for those who fought and died for the freedoms we all hold dear. While hundreds of names have been added since it was built, the memorial still does not include the Lost 74 74 sailors who perished 50 years ago today in the sinking of the USS Frank E. Evans during the Vietnam War. The honor and gratitude owed to them is long overdue. After serving multiple tours off the coast of Vietnam, the USS Frank E. Evans was sent to participate in a nearby training exercise. During practice maneuvers on June 3, 1969, the ship collided with an aircraft carrier and sank, killing 74 sailors who were aboard the ship. Each of these service members were deployed and died in the service of our nation, yet their names have been left off the Vietnam Memorial wall. While the incident occurred about 100 miles outside of the official combat zone, the ship and a majority of the deceased sailors had previously provided naval gunfire off the coast of Vietnam, including during the Tet Offensive. The ship also was set to return to combat after the exercise, and the other ships in the Evans group returned to Vietnamese waters following the exercise. During one of my radio town halls last year, a family member of Richard Grant, a North Dakota resident and survivor of the USS Frank E. Evans disaster, approached me about the issue. I was deeply moved by the story, and I introduced an amendment to last years National Defense Authorization Act to inscribe the names of the 74 sailors to the memorial. While the measure unanimously passed the House, it failed to pass the Senate. Despite this setback, the bills passage in the House helped boost momentum for this effort in Congress and around the country. One of my first bills as a United States senator was the reintroduction of the USS Frank E. Evans Act with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. Since its introduction, we have gained broad bipartisan support, including from Senators John Hoeven, Doug Jones, Steve Daines, Pat Roberts, Bob Menendez, Mike Braun, Amy Klobuchar, Shelley Moore-Capito, Jon Tester, James Lankford and Jeanne Shaheen. The list of supporters continues to grow. Some have asked about the time, effort, and design necessary to add 74 names to the Vietnam Memorial. While I understand the logistical headache some in Washington think this may cause, I know it is worth it. I am confident that service and sacrifice of these sailors is worth memorializing. Doing the right thing by honoring the sacrifices of our friends, neighbors, and loved ones who have laid down their lives to protect our nation is more important than the objections of Washingtons bureaucracy. Just like the nearly 60,000 people who died in Vietnam, these 74 heroes left home to give their country their all, and they did not return. My colleagues and I stand with the Lost 74 as we fight to make sure their names are lost no more. Kevin Cramer is the junior senator from North Dakota. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This is Up and Down, where we give a brief thumbs up and thumbs down on the issues from the past week. Up The state Board of Higher Education made a good choice when they selected Joshua Wynne as the University of North Dakotas interim president. Wynne is the dean of UNDs medical school. The Tribune would have preferred the board pursued a quicker course in selecting a president to replace Mark Kennedy. Wynne knows North Dakota and UND and should be a good leader for the university in the interim. Hes been at UND since 2004. Down The Bismarck Tribune has been encouraging the state to reduce flaring for some years. The oil industry and North Dakota were making progress and had reasonable targets for reducing flaring. However, those efforts have been faltering for the last two years. A lot of money has been spent on improving infrastructure, but production continues to outstrip the ability to handle natural gas. We agree with Republican Rep. Vicky Steiner who said "We need to find an excess flared gas solution immediately." Up The Bismarck City Commission has decided to allow Anne Cleary to build a small home in the Cathedral District in Bismarck. Many residents opposed the small home feeling it would look out of place in the neighborhood that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They are proud and protective of the historic area. Others believe the infill project will provide economic benefits to the city. The Tribune believes Cleary has put a lot of thought into the home and taken into consideration how it will fit into the neighborhood. We think the commission made the right decision. Down The North Dakota Attorney Generals Office has reached a settlement with the Green Health Docs clinic. The clinic had been advertising that it could help provide a medical marijuana card to those seeking it for medical reasons. People complained to the attorney general after paying up to $200 and being rejected for the card. The attorney general settled with the clinic with Green Health Docs paying $21,800 to 112 consumers. A majority of consumers each paid the clinic $200, but about 20 of them paid $170. Many seeking the marijuana card are desperate for help with their pain. To promise to help and not deliver is more than bad faith. The clinic has closed. Up A bill passed by the 2019 Legislature to provide $175,000 for burials of military spouses and eligible dependents at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery south of Mandan will be helpful. Its more than sad that some spouses and dependents cant afford to be buried next to their loved one. The veterans served their country and their families deserve the opportunity to be buried next to each other. The Legislature did the right thing. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Tika R Pradhan is a senior political correspondent for the Post, covering politics, parliament, judiciary and social affairs. Pradhan joined the Post in 2016 after working at The Himalayan Times for more than a decade. Adopting Splunks Analytics-Driven Security Platform as Your SIEM Early detection, rapid response and collaboration are needed to mitigate todays constantly advancing security threats. Read this white paper to learn why analytics integrated into a modern SIEM solution can turn your masses of machine data into unrivaled threat intelligence that catches attacks before they happen. More than decade after the conclusion of the critically-acclaimed HBO series Deadwood, a finale has been released that brings the gold-rush era drama to a close. The Deadwood film premiered on HBO last week, and fans of the show will find much to remember and appreciate in this conclusion. Much remains familiar in Deadwood a decade later; the surviving characters are older, but the dynamics and cadences of their interactions remain. The series concluded with an epic clash between the forces of progress and change and the established order in the camp. The film picks up these conflicts again, reintroducing George Hearst, who returns to Deadwood as a senator from California but the same instrument of inevitable progress that he was when he left. The movie has the same strengths as the show, including the perennial themes of love, liberty, law, and order. For a review of the original series that touches on these elements, see A Law Beyond Law: Life Together in Deadwood. And even though the show is set more than a century ago, the clash between crony capitalists and a truly free market economy on full display has much that resonates today. It is relatively rare to see a banker cast in heroic terms, for instance, but thats precisely what we see in the film. A bank, rooted in the community and in relationship with the town, becomes a key bulwark against tyranny. The Shakespearean vulgarity of the dialog remains, and sometimes borders on the Yoda-esque (Shot in my arm, I have been!). In its conclusion, Deadwood remains an extended and worthwhile meditation on power, and the special dangers of the confluence of political and economic power, and the concomitant need for virtuous and principled structures of individual and communal responsibility. The City of Baltimore has been dealing with ransomware for weeks. They were brought back to the stone ages at least in principle. Residents were forced to come to offices and pay in cash in order to make sure they made payment deadlines for various city services and fines. Typically ransomware infections spread by phishing or the more targeted spear phishing which act as the attack vectors of social engineering. The New York Times reported an NSA exploit which leaked named EternalBlue was to blame but many experts think this is likely not what happened. Baltimore city leaders publicly blamed the NSA and the NSA denied they are responsible. The reality is all software which includes operating systems like Windows and MacOS have holes. Yes, even, MacOS, as we detailed yesterday, has holes which need patching. The only responsible party in the end is the organization which gets hit. You see even if NSA figures out how to exploit holes in software, are they to blame for the holes? Even if you feel they are what good does it do you? Baltimore could have avoided ransomware had they just followed the cybersecurity basics. Its worth mentioning, one of the worst attacks caused by these exploits was NotPetya which caused over $10B worth of damage before companies had a chance to patch affected systems. Running an organization on old or unpatched software is a recipe for disaster. When companies patch, they announce what the patches are, and hackers pay attention. They scour the internet, looking for people who ignore these warnings. We issued our second warning about BlueKeep earlier this weekend for this exact reason. Weve put together a simple checklist of cybersecurity essentials for every organization. It is a must read for all business owners and managers. We hope you find it useful. In addition you may enjoy, How to Secure the 2020 Election. David Kaye (previously) has served as the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression since 2014 a critical half-decade in the evolution of free speech both online and offline; in Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet a new, short book from Columbia Special Reports, Kaye provides a snapshot of the global state of play for expression, as governments, platforms, and activists act out of a mix of both noble and corrupt motives to control online discourse. Kaye's work is informed by his compassion for the real problems of harassment and incitements to violence; his skepticism for the ways that profit, self-serving rationalization, and a desire to avoid political embarrassment all animate the drive to control online expression; and a sense of the real technical and procedural problems emerging from the drive to deputize the platforms to decide who may speak and what they may say. Speech Police documents the emergence of a system of shadow governance, in which our civics and politics have moved online, onto platforms that thanks to decades of antitrust malpractice control the ability of billions of people to discuss their views and mobilize to create change. And while governments are often critical of the failings of platforms to address all kinds of bad speech, from the glorification of terrorist atrocities to the spread of conspiracy theories to the enabling of campaigns of harassment and even genocide, these same governments are only too happy to entrust these platforms with even more public duties to police our speech, despite their incompetence to date. Kaye carefully unpicks the ways that the platforms profit-driven motives dovetail with politicians' drive to suppress revelations about corruption and wrongdoing, and how this produces pathological outcomes, from Facebook's suppression of warnings about genocidal violence and amplification of calls for more pogroms in Myanmar to Twitter and Youtube's complicity in covering up war crimes in Syria. The platforms want to keep their advertisers happy and they want to increase profits by locating sales offices in every country, even those with terrible human rights practices, and this distorts the other moderation priorities of the platforms, like suppressing racist and sexist harassment. Kaye finishes the book with a set of sensible suggestions for improving these outcomes, modest proposals that would allow for insight into the platforms' moderation policies and practices, that could inform the debate about what we should do next. We're at a critical juncture, in which the long-overdue techlash is being co-opted to put more power in the hands of Big Tech, in the guise of forcing the tech giants to take on more responsibility. Getting this right will have implications for decades, and Kaye's work here is crucial to understanding the tactics, rhetoric and stakes in one of the most consequential free speech debates in human history. Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet [David Kaye/Columbia Global Report] (Image: Bill Kerr, CC-BY-SA) Here's James Burke reporting on the 20th August 1977 launch of Voyager 2. It ends with an amazing 20-second shot that would be ridiculously difficult to execute with a modern journalistic workflow, but so easy to fake you'd never trust it even if they did. One chance, and if James Burke had missed, there would have been no chance of a re-shoot. Taken from Connections(1978), Episode 8, "Eat, Drink and be Merry". Copyright BBC, starring James Burke. His sign-off, "destination Moon or Moscow," is really something! [via @Rainmaker1973] In 2016, Pamela Taylor lost her job as director of the Clay County (WV) Development Corporation when she posted a Facebook update that read, "It will be refreshing to have a classy, beautiful, dignified First Lady in the White House. I'm tired of seeing a Ape in heels." Last week, Ms Taylor was sentenced to 10 months in prison and two months under house arrest, and ordered to pay $10,000 in fines and $18,149.04 in restitution after she admitted to fraudulently filing for FEMA compensation, falsely claiming that her home had been damaged in the 2016 Clay County floods that killed 23 people, and billing the federal government for compensation for nonexistent expenses incurred in renting accommodation that she never had to rent. It's your timely reminder that racists rarely have just one thing wrong with them. "Defrauding federal programs is always an egregious act," said Mark Tasky, special agent in charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General, in a statement. "Disaster relief fraud is even more serious because of the limited nature of the funds intended to assist Americans in their time of greatest need." Woman who called Michelle Obama an 'ape' sentenced to jail for defrauding FEMA of $18K [Janelle Griffith/NBC] (via Reddit) The reason Google Assistant (that's the product you invoke when you say "OK Google" to your device) works reasonably well is that the Pygmalion team a small army of linguists work long hours handcrafting variations on common phrases ("set a timer for five minutes," "remind me in five minutes," "in five minutes, remind me") and grammars that allow the system to correctly respond to your queries. These linguists (who have to have at least a bachelor's degree, though many have attained master's degrees and doctorates) are not googlers, though: they are contracted to Google by an employment agencies, including Adecco. That means that even though they work on the same campuses as Google employees and ride the same Google Bus to get to work, they only receive a fraction of the wages and benefits that employees earn, and they're not even allowed to use the wifi on the Google Bus during hours-long commutes. But that's just for starters. The Google Assistant linguists say that their googler supervisors used the dangled promise of being hired by the company to bully them into working huge amounts of off-the-clock overtime, to hit performance metrics that would be considered when they applied for full-time work. Googlers who spoke anonymously to Julia Carrie Wong for The Guardian said that they were tacitly incentivized to get unpaid work out of contractors, and were open mocked when they raised concerns about the ethics of the situation. Some contract linguists reasoned that the unpaid overtime was a trade-off against being able to list Google on their resumes in future jobs, only to discover that the fine-print in their contracts stipulated that they couldn't do that, instead, they'd have to say they worked at "Google by Adecco." Google and Adecco have launched investigations into allegations of unpaid overtime which is a form of wage theft and illegal under federal labor law and have called on contractors who worked unpaid hours to submit time-sheets for compensation. One of Wong's sources said that they didn't keep track of these hours and there's no way for them to claim them back. Google has long been notorious for its two-tier system: well-paid googlers on the top tier, and "temps, vendors and contractors" (TVCs) on the bottom. The associate linguist was one of several who said that they took the position at Google in hopes that they could eventually convert to a full-time position. Several members of Pygmalion are former contract workers, including the current head of the team, who took over when Ha, the executive who founded the team, moved on to another project. "People did [unpaid overtime] because they were dangled the opportunity of becoming a full-time employee, which is against company policy," a current Googler said. "There's a particular leveraging of people's desire to become full time," said another. "When I was hired, I was very explicitly told that there is no ladder," a current contract worker said. "'This is not a temp-to-hire position. There is no moving up' But the reality on the team is very much one where there is clearly a ladder. A certain percentage of the associate linguists will get project manager. A certain percentage of project managers get converted to full time. We watch it happen, and they dangle that carrot." One Googler who successfully converted to a full-time position after working as a temp on Pygmalion said that at times the bargain was even made explicit. In April 2017, they recalled, Ha attended a meeting of outsourced Pygmalion project managers in London and "explain[ed] that the position was designed for conversion and that we should be proactive in asking for more work in order to achieve this". 'A white-collar sweatshop': Google Assistant contractors allege wage theft [Julia Carrie Wong/The Guardian] (via /.) (Image: Cristiano, CC-BY) Axios reporter Jonathan Swan has a reputation as a fawning interviewer, but he made Trump son-in-law and nepotism hire Jared Kushner very uncomfortable this weekend. A particularly excruciating moment: Q) Has Trump ever said anything racist? KUSHNER: "Absolutely not. You can't not be a racist for 69 years then run for president and be a racist." Q) Was Birtherism racist? KUSHNER: "Um, look I wasn't really involved in thatthat was a long time ago."pic.twitter.com/GzdB9pafCi Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) June 2, 2019 The classic example of this interviewing technique "repeat the question to highlight a comically evasive answer" is embedded below. It's the BBC's Jeremy Paxman grilling UK politician Michael Howard. Action starts four minutes in. Paxman vs. Howard is a well-loved performance, but the reason you don't see this technique every day is not because cable news interviews are softball (though they are). It's because a well-prepared interview subject can really punish it with a good answer. It's a haymaker, the crudest possible follow-up question, for use against someone forced by circumstances or stupidity to leap into your fist over and over again. Props to Swan, though, for actually doing it. The fact he was so deferential and eager with Trump himself makes it better that he was so plainly contemptuous of Kushner. There's good analysis of the interview at NYMag: A mom in Brazil became concerned as she watched the viewing numbers on innocent backyard clip her daughter posted to YouTube suddenly climb hundreds of thousands of views. The child posted a video of herself and a friend playing in the family pool. YouTube's recommendation engine had been suggesting the video as recommended content to viewers who'd just watched other videos that contained sexually oriented video content. YouTube's AI sexualized her kid and pushed her image to pedophiles. This happens a lot, apparently. "YouTube's algorithm has been curating home movies of unwitting families into a catalog of semi-nude kids," tweeted Max Fisher at the New York Times. "YT often plays the videos after users watch softcore porn, building an audience of millions for what experts call child sexual exploitation." "I asked YouTube why not just turn off recommendations on videos of kids? Your system can already identify videos of kids automatically," says Fisher. "The recommendation algorithm is driving this whole child exploitation phenomenon. Switching it off would solve the problem and keep kids safe." YouTube's CEO is a woman, Susan Wojcicki. From Max Fisher and Amanda Taub at the New York Times: YouTube's automated recommendation system which drives most of the platform's billions of views by suggesting what users should watch next had begun showing the video to users who watched other videos of prepubescent, partially clothed children, a team of researchers has found. YouTube had curated the videos from across its archives, at times plucking out the otherwise innocuous home movies of unwitting families, the researchers say. In many cases, its algorithm referred users to the videos after they watched sexually themed content. The result was a catalog of videos that experts say sexualizes children. "It's YouTube's algorithm that connects these channels," said Jonas Kaiser, one of three researchers at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society who stumbled onto the videos while looking into YouTube's impact in Brazil. "That's the scary thing." The video of Christiane's daughter was promoted by YouTube's systems months after the company was alerted that it had a pedophile problem. In February, Wired and other news outlets reported that predators were using the comment section of YouTube videos with children to guide other pedophiles. That month, calling the problem "deeply concerning," YouTube disabled comments on many videos with children in them. But the recommendation system, which remains in place, has gathered dozens of such videos into a new and easily viewable repository, and pushed them out to a vast audience. YouTube never set out to serve users with sexual interests in children but in the end, Mr. Kaiser said, its automated system managed to keep them watching with recommendations that he called "disturbingly on point." And here is YouTube's response today: An update on our efforts to protect minors and families. There's a lot of yada yada in there. they're pushing an update on the day the New York Times is pushing this story. Here's a snip from the YouTube blog post about the changes they say they're making to fix this horrible oversight: Over the last 2+ years, we've been making regular improvements to the machine learning classifier that helps us protect minors and families. We rolled out our most recent improvement earlier this month. With this update, we'll be able to better identify videos that may put minors at risk and apply our protections, including those described above, across even more videos. More from observers on Twitter and reporters, below. We talked to child psychologists, sexual trauma specialists, psychologists who work with pedophiles, academic experts on pedophilia, network analysts. They all said YouTube has built a vast audience maybe unprecedented for child sexual exploitation, with grave risks for kids. Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 YouTube, to its credit, said it has been working nonstop on this issue since a similar issue was first reported in February. YT also removed some of the videos immediately after we alerted the company, though not others that we did not specifically flag. Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 YouTube's algorithm also changed immediately after we notified the company, no longer linking the kiddie videos together. Strangely, however, YouTube insisted that the timing was a coincidence. When I pushed, YT said the timing might have been related, but wouldn't say it was. Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 I asked YouTube why not just turn off recommendations on videos of kids? Your system can already identify videos of kids automatically. The recommendation algorithm is driving this whole child exploitation phenomenon. Switching it off would solve the problem and keep kids safe. Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 Initially, YouTube gave me comment saying that they were trending in that direction. Experts were thrilled, calling it potentially a hugely positive step. Then YouTube "clarified" their comment. Creators rely on recommendations to drive traffic, they said, so would stay on. ? Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 On a personal note, I found reporting this emotionally straining, far more so than I'd anticipated. Watching the videos made me physically ill and I've been having regular nightmares. I only mention it because I cannot fathom what this is like for parents whose kids are swept up. Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 As I reported last year with @kbennhold, YouTube's algorithm does something similar with politics. We found it directing large numbers of Germans news consumers toward far-right extremist videos, with real-world implications. https://t.co/f2e61KIO6p Max Fisher (@Max_Fisher) June 3, 2019 Advertisers saying this kind of stuff is unacceptable and then continuing to buy ads unchanged is the "thoughts and prayers" of digital media https://t.co/Z5XaYYVa93 Brian Morrissey (@bmorrissey) June 3, 2019 Congratulations to all executives software developers at @YouTube. Your recommender algorithm has figured out how to algorithmically curate sexualized videos of children and to progressively recommend them people who watched other erotic content. https://t.co/eOHScAWomz pic.twitter.com/5oY9ol4Kau zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) June 3, 2019 YouTube isn't just monetizing the malicious slander of women. They're not just radicalizing a generation of young men into extremism. They are literally turning innocent kids into fodder for pedophiles. https://t.co/0o6olStmli Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) June 3, 2019 "Best minds of our generation" have developed machine learning algorithms that connect pedophiles and amplify white-supremacists, misogynists and anti-vaxxers. Piece says YouTube wouldn't turn off recs because the company said "recommendations are the biggest traffic driver." pic.twitter.com/mrCnkTaHjA zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) June 3, 2019 Here's my just out piece in @Sciam on YouTube's recommendation algorithms. Chromebooks are about 50 percent of the K-12 market and they come with YouTube. https://t.co/BNXlcaSTRR zeynep tufekci (@zeynep) June 3, 2019 District court finds man guilty in the killing of transwoman Bidesh Karki faces 10 to 15 years in prison after being convicted of involuntary culpable homicide in the killing of Junu Gurung. News / National by Staff reporter Two Zimbabwean men digging for sand were buried alive after a heap of sand collapsed on them in Lebowakgomo, an area of South Africa's Limpopo province.Police said two other men were found alive by rescuers and sent to hospital in a critical condition.The incident happened on Tuesday this week, Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe told The Star newspaper.The men were digging up sand for road construction when a river bank collapsed on them."The Police Search and Rescue Team was summoned and reacted swiftly. The search continued until all four victims were recovered," Ngoepe said.According to Ngoepe, it was two late to save two men aged 34 and 39 who died at the scene. Two others were rescued clinging to life and rushed to hospital."The preliminary police investigations have revealed that both deceased are Zimbabwean nationals and they will be identified soon after their next of kin are informed," Ngoepe said."Members of the community are advised to ensure that adequate safety measures are in place when operating in this type of environment to prevent this type of incident from happening," Ngoepe added. News / National by Gibson Nyathi Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi was at the weekend interjected by an animal rights activist as he addressed a diamond conference in Las Vegas, United States for lifting the ban on the hunt of elephants in his country.The angry protestor sprang from her chair as the Botswana president was addressing and accused him of having blood on his hands."How can you say you care about wildlife when you lifted the ban on killing elephants? By lifting the ban you are condoning the killing and murder by local and foreign trophy hunters," shouted the activist.She added that the move was inhuman protesting, "killing the elephants is not the answer, lifting the ban is not the answer. .. this is not the answer, you have blood on your hands."Masisi calmly responded to the activist saying he would like to invite her to Botswana to witness the country's animal conservation efforts."I wish she could sit down so I could talk to her. We in Botswana have done tremendous amount of work out of our commitment to wildlife, to nature, to environment, to protect all our species," said Masisi.Botswana, carrying a third of Africa's elephants, last month lifted a five year ban on the hunt of elephants saying the jumbos' population had swelled so much that it was affecting the livelihoods of farmers.It is estimated that Botswana is home to about 130 000 elephants.Masisi's predecessor Ian Khama had issued the ban on elephant hunting in 2014 following concerns of declining wildlife populations. News / National by Mandla Ndlovu Read his full statement below: Former MDC Youth leader Shephard Dube has urged claimant to the Ndebele throne King Bulelani Lobengula Khumalo to set up a bank account where he can receive tribute from his subjects.Dube said him and his family will be contributing ten United States Dollars a month towards the Bulelani's treasury.Dube added that the recognition of Bulelani by political leader was a sign that the Kingship issue was unstoppable.The people of Matabeleland have chosen to have a King. And it is folly for the government to try and stop that. I am not for kings, I prefer democracy but it has so far failed. ZANU PF keeps on rigging and undermining our votes. For now, until democracy begins to work in Zimbabwe, I will recognize King Bulelani as the sole and true representative of Matabeleland. On behalf of myself, my 2 kids and my wife I will contribute $US10 per month towards the King's treasury. I, therefore, call on the King to setup a bank account for me and my family to contribute towards the Kingdom.From the look of things, Bulelani Lobengula has become the defacto King of Matabeleland/Mthwakazi. Government of Zimbabwe may not recognize him, it makes no difference. Its just like MDC not recognizing ZANU PF. It wont stop ZANU PF from ruling... Bulelani is King and his Capital is Bulawayo, government recognition is of little to no consequence.... This is what happens when the state fails. People will create their own Parallel States. I am not a monarchist but I would Rather pay my Taxes to "King" Bulelani than Mnangagwa's government.All it will take for King Bulelani to usurp the control of Matabeleland from both National and Local Governments is becoming charitable. Remember the people of Matabeleland have little to no respect for the government of Zimbabwe, and the local authorities are insignificant because of centralization of Power by the National Government. If he was to set up a Charity Organisation that deals with food security and education, all the people including monarchy-skeptics like myself will turn our hopes to him and disregard the government of Zimbabwe completely. Breaking the social contract between the people and the National Government.If the Government of Zimbabwe wants to cab the influence of King Bulelani, they will need to recognize him as King/Traditional Leader and enact a law that clearly defines the role and power of a Matabeleland King. If they Ignore the issue, he may become political and that will upset the levers of Democracy... We have seen it in KZN South Africa, where a King often dabbles into politics and cause social and political instability.King Bulelani who is currently the defacto leader of Matabeleland is not setting up a traditional or ceremonial position of King. He intended to do so but the Government blocked him. By insisting that he is King, and with the following he has, it seems as though he is now running an Extra-Legal institution, with more power than he intended. The recognition by Nelson Chamisa, Welshman Ncube, Dumiso Dabengwa, Nkosana Moyo, and Matabeleland Chiefs springboarded him to the status of Defacto King. At this rate, in a post-ZANU PF era he may become both Dejure and Defacto. He justs need to keep at it. Opinion / Columnist Thousands of people thronged the White City Stadium on Friday the 31st of May 2019 and Manxeleni on the 1st of June 2019. It occurred there, and indeed, Zapu was reborn, rediscovered and emotionally and spiritually revived. It was total pain and grief to accept the reality that indeed Dumiso Dabengwa was no more but a strong call from his voice to refuse to succumb to all the pressure resonated clearly. And the people heard it and responded.As humbly stated by the Acting President, comrade Isaac Mabuka on Friday at White City Stadium, Dumiso Dabengwa foresaw and rejected an orchestrated attempt to wipe out from Zimbabwean history everything about Zapu. The turnout proved to be a deep rooted respect, appreciation and a resounding endorsement of a life sacrificially lived for the benefit of other people and no doubt, antagonistic to a "good riddance send-off gesture" by a brutally repressive system of ZAnuPF. The people demonstrated their deep rooted sense of loss of a genuine revolutionary stalwart.The party's Secretary General, cde Strike Mnkandla clearly stated that the Zapu leadership, its membership and indeed all Zimbabweans have a mammoth task to make sure that the reforms that were agreed upon during the Government of National Unity are implemented. Zapu stands resolutely convinced that before any truly free and fair general elections are held, those reforms agreed upon must be carried out. Comrade Mnkandla farther reminded the crowd that Gukurahundi genocide remained a painful issue to Dumiso Dabengwa's life. It cannot be perpetually dismissed or just be talked-off. Human life is sacred. It cannot be brutally terminated willy-nilly to the convenience or pleasure of the armed.Dabengwa fought, survived and won many military battles. He commanded many soldiers. He planned and strategized to liberate not only Zimbabwe from the racist minority regimes of Ian Smith and apartheid South Africa, but the greatest battle that the " Black Russian" fought was his withdrawal from Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF under very difficult conditions. To us in Zapu, it was one of the most difficult and most demanding battles that the gallant son of the soil ever fought. Not only was this a persistent threat to his physical being but it was a continuous psychological torture that he had to bear with during the last years of his life. This battle faced and still faces dismissal coupled with multitudes of deliberate distortions. It calls for tact, vision, patience and even more sacrifice.The people who attended these two gatherings had their political consciousness reignited by the embarrassing denial of accepting genuinely who the late Dumiso Dabengwa was by the ZanuPF government. Throughout the entire bereavement period ZanuPF, the State controlled media and all government departments never linked Dumiso Dabengwa's name to Zapu, his political party. Such blatant naivete is a shameless display of ruthless repression. It is typical of all genocidists. Hitler's chief propagandist Josef Goebbels must be their source of inspiration but one is tempted to believe that he did have some sense of shame if he is compared with the ZanuPF propaganda machinery. They expected the crowd to listen to them while they totally ignored the reality on the ground. It was not surprising that their main speaker was booed.The people of Zimbabwe will forever cherish and be thankful to the Umkhonto weSizwe Veterans for their sincerity and accurate historical facts about Dumiso Dabengwa and Zapu. Minister Ayanda Dlodlo's cries of "VIVA UMKHONTO WESIZWE VIVA: VIVA ZIPRA VIVA: VIVA DUMISO DUMISO VIVA and VIVA ZAPU VIVA:". It was not a cry against anyone but a spiritual and indeed a revolutionary response to Dumiso Dabengwa's resonating call for democracy, freedom and respect of human rights. Zapu rededicates itself to these values as we shall forever remember Dumiso Dabengwa.Mkhululi Zulu: Zapu Presidential Spokesperson. Resimercial is more than just a buzzword: The way Americans work has been profoundly changed by the mobility of the tools we use to do our jobs. In a world where many of us can work full-time from any spot with Wi-Fi, the design of commercial spaces is changing fast. Until recently, residential designers may not have had NeoConthe annual trade show at Chicagos Merchandise Mart geared toward commercial design and about to start its 51st edition next weektop of mind. But that is changing, and fast. Designers, youve been warned: As resimercial design expands, so do the diverse and numerous types of products (think: sofas that charge your smartphone) NeoCon will have on display. The view of Chicago from C.H. Robinson's HQ Matt Carbone As always, the shows programming, exhibitors and keynote speakers are organized around the latest trends and mainstays in the field. New to the show this year are designer-led tours co-sponsored by the International Interior Design Association. Julie Engstrom, senior technical project designer at the New Yorkbased design firm Vocon, is one of the first-ever Inside Design tour guides, leading guests through transport company C.H. Robinsons offices on Webster Avenue. The utilitarian warehouse loft comes with its own version of a town square and over 1,800 sit-to-stand desks. As designers, we all have our kit of parts we use; the key to each client is knowing which tools to use, Engstrom tells Business of Home. Were so used to seeing a tenant floor in a high-rise or even an office park. You dont typically see a four-story atrium. The firm aimed to balance a big corporate feel with smaller break areas or relaxation spaces, says Engstrom, speaking to how corporate spaces have shifted given the rise in tech mobility, even if an employee typically works from the evermore-ancient desk. The Inside Design program will include tours of other major buildings in the Chicago area. Chicago is such a great city from a design and architecture standpoint, Byron Morton, VP of NeoCon sales, tells BOH. All of the leaders of the design world are here to attend NeoCon; its natural to take the show into the city and focus on the groundbreaking projects here. That includes one with some recognizable Golden Arches. The new McDonalds headquarters in the Windy City has about a dozen outdoor terraces for employees to get some fresh air and work outside. Thats just one of the several new perks that come with another one of the latest trends in workplace design, which is not outside in, but inside out. On and off campus, NeoCon aims to meet designers wherever they areincluding, for more working Americans now than ever, anywhere you can sign into Wi-Fi (hotel lobbies and local coffee shops, cheers to you). Were always trying to develop an aha momentthis year I think were gonna hit it out of the park with NeoCon Plaza, says Morton. The plaza features a Gensler-designed boardwalk and many, many pieces by Holland, Michiganbased office furniture brand Haworth, encouraging attendants to enjoy the outdoors as they work, socialize and network. As workplace stress rates are higher than ever, focusing on the design of where we stay and work will be a solution more and more companies will turn to. Employees are working longer hours, engaging in workplace politics and socializing, reported CNBCeach a stressor that conscious design could solve. (Especially the easier access to some vitamin D.) Because of an emphasized focus on hospitality this year as a response, the show will also feature a number of high-end residential/hospitality design brands, including Wolf-Gordon and Buzzispace. Its a great time in the commercial environment, driven by generational change, economic change and the kind of work being done, says Morton. NeoCon will be held at The Merchandise Mart (222 W. Merchandise Plaza, Chicago) from June 10 to 12. Register here. Brian M. Wilbur/U.S. Naval Forces(WASHINGTON) -- The USS Abraham Lincoln is currently the most-watched aircraft carrier in the world. Since its expedited deployment to the Middle East last month, the ship has become the focal point of tense U.S.-Iran relations. The Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force of B-52s were deployed to the region in response to U.S. intelligence that indicated Iran or its proxies were planning to attack U.S. forces and interests in Iraq and Syria, as well as at sea. ABC News was among the first group of media outlets permitted aboard the ship since its arrival in the Middle East, getting a first-hand look at operations that U.S. officials say have deterred Tehran from direct attacks against American interests. "I'm just here to do what has been asked of me and that is to deter Iranian aggression, ensure free flow of commerce through the important strait and narrow waterways, and then to ensure that our forces are protected and defended if required," said Adm. John Wade, commander of Strike Group 12. "The threats are credible, and that's why we are here," Wade told ABC News. On Saturday, the Lincoln carried out joint exercises with a B-52 bomber and F/A-18s from the carrier. The bomber is one of four that the U.S. deployed to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as part of the mission to deter Iran, along with 1,500 additional U.S. troops and Patriot missile batteries. Navy officials would not reveal to ABC News how close the carrier was to Iranian shores, but the Lincoln's commanding officer, Capt. Putnam Browne, said the ship was "close enough" to provide a presence without threatening Tehran. It also remains to be seen whether the carrier will transit through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. "Anytime you go through the straits you have higher levels of security, any straits. So we would elevate our level of security," Browne said. But he added that Iranian forces have been "fairly professional in the last couple of years" which he expects to continue "should and if" the Lincoln goes through the straits into the Persian Gulf. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, nearly $20 million barrels of oil pass through the Strait of Hormuz every day and keeping the waterway open and navigable is a top priority for the U.S. Navy. In the past, Iranian gunboats have shadowed American ships as they pass through the strait -- which at its narrowest points can be just 2 miles across. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Back to Bhardari Sabhas No public consultations are held, and people have to obey whatever rules are made. Photo Courtesy: Shutterstock Booze Brands Showing Their Support During Pride Month 22 Alcohol Brands Showing Their Pride in Support of the LGBTQ+ Community Product photos from retailer sites. Pride Month is an opportunity for you to live your life unapologetically. Even if you dont fall under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, that doesnt mean you cant show your support as an ally, parading around and spreading awareness in various ways. This year, even with vaccinations on the rise, things are still a bit different. The COVID-19 pandemic still has routine in-person celebrations parades, festivals, rainbow gatherings of sorts to be altered, leaving many to be more creative with their planning. You might see smaller marches and glitter-filled festivals, and you can definitely still join together virtually with friends, family members, or complete and total strangers from the comfort of your own home. And if you're going to have a drink in your hand (which, of course), go for one that gives back. RELATED: Best Gay Pride Collections Below, youll find a few booze brands that are going above and beyond, from their colorful labels of love to their charitable donations with each purchase, thatll help you embrace the true meaning of Pride this year. Absolut Absolut prides itself on being a brand that shows its devotion to just causes not only during the month of June, but every day of every single month. Its multi-year partnership with GLAAD in support of the work it does to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, along with several events and activations across several points in the country, are just some of the ways the brand is helping to encourage a more inclusive, colorful world. "Absolut's commitment to celebrate the LGBTQ community all year long, and not only during Pride month, is a shining example of how brands can bring inclusivity, diversity, and acceptance to the forefront of their mission," says Zeke Stokes, GLAAD's Chief Programs Officer. Its customized rainbow bottle, which includes a Taking Pride in Diversity statement on the back, is now a permanent bottle in the Absolut collection to remind everyone that Pride is more than just a month-long celebration. From $20.97 at Drizly.com DuClaw Brewery Canned farts of the legendary four-legged fantastical creature are back. This years production of DuClaw Brewerys Sour Me Unicorn Farts, crafted with the flavors of Diablo Doughnuts legendary Fruity Pebbles doughnut (and sprinklings of edible glitter) in mind, is a special one, according to Chris Wood, DuClaws director of brewery operations. Our industry is fighting right now, and we are incredibly grateful for the demand, he said in a press release. Weve tweaked the recipe slightly to better show off the Fruity Pebbles flavors of the doughnut, and were excited and ready to get it out there. As for its availability, you can find Unicorn Farts in DuClaws distribution area of 19 states and DC by early June including: AL, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, NJ, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, WV, & Washington, DC. From $12.99 at Drizly.com Elysian Brewing It was back on June 4th, 2018 that the Supreme Court sided with the owner of a cake shop who decided they didn't want to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. And it was a year later that Elysian Brewing decided to go against the grain, celebrating marriage between any gender by using their Elysian Capitol Hill location as the venue for a loving LGBTQ+ couple eager to tie the knot. Their Pride brew, Cake Topper Brut IPA, was born that day, and it's been re-released in 2021. But if you're looking for more than just love in a can, Elysian is also releasing limited edition Pride boxes, each with a 6-pack of Cake Topper, cupcakes from Cupcake Royal, as well as some exclusive merchandise and stickers from the brewery. Unfortunately, these are only available if you're in the Seattle area (but if you are, get 'em during pre-sale at the link below beginning June 17 and bring them home from Elysians Capitol Hill location on June 24 and 25.) Find out more at ToastTab.com Smirnoff Smirnoff, a proud ally of the LGBTQIA+ community with various brand efforts over the years, is showing their Pride this year by aligning with The Phluid Project, a gender free concept "committed to challenging the ethos of traditions past that inhibit freedom and self expression." With every purchase of their "Color the Future" cocktail kit a team effort with Cocktail Courier $10 will be donated to the fashion brand as they encourage people to what wear feels good and not what society makes us feel like we should. As for what's in the kit, you'll receive a bottle of Smirnoff No 21. vodka, along with cocktail ingredients, and a few other special, sparkly surprises. Find out more at CocktailCourier.com BABE Wine BABE wants you to have the ultimate summer with a steady stream of rose flowing through your veins. Naturally, the best way to encourage the masses to do so is by recruiting Drag Race standout Rose to get the crowd amped up. Im so excited to be partnering with BABE Wine to kick off the Summer We Deserve," she said in a statement of the brand's latest campaign. "It truly is a match made in heaven! Get ready honey, cause its out with the old, and in with the BABE! BABE Rose, that is! Summer has officially begun! As part of their Pride efforts to give back to the LGBTQ+ community, BABE will be donating $1 from every case of its limited edition tie-dye rose cans to the ACLU, a longstanding nonprofit created "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." From $28.99 at DrinkBabe.net Goose Island Beer Company Co. Multi-talented Chicago drag queen and RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars 5 winner Shea Coulee is back, back, back again with her very own beer for Pride 2021. Last year's collaboration between Coulee, Goose Island Beer Company Co. and DoStuff Media was so successful that the appropriately named Shea Coul-Ale has a shiny, new upgrade in the form of Shea Coul-Ale: Royal Edition: a light, tropical tasting wheat ale perfect for the summer season. As for how the beer gives back, $2 from every single sale of Shea Coul-Ale will go to Brave Space Alliance, the first Black-led, trans-led LGBTQIA+ Center located on the South Side of Chicago. Find out more at GooseIsland.com Loverboy Loverboy, a boozy brand of canned hard teas and spritzes conceptualized by Summer House's Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula, is going full rainbow this June with some limited edition merchandise that'll help bring out your Pride. Whether you opt for a crew, tee/tank, bucket hat, or pair of heart-shaped sunglasses, 50% of all profits from their Pride clothing will be donated to the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), an organization that "seeks to build the capacity of local LGBT AAPI organizations, invigorate grassroots organizing, develop leadership, and challenge homophobia, racism, and anti-immigrant bias." It's the easiest way for you to show a little love (and while you're filling up your cart, a few cases of their sugar-free bevs wouldn't hurt either). Find out more at DrinkLoverboy.com Teneral Cellars Teneral Cellars specializes in producing delicious wine, but they're also about community and equality. In honor of Pride, they're releasing their "Love is Love" series, intended to honor the history of pride and to "uphold the legacy of women and allies of the LGBTQA+ community." Ten dollars from the sale of every three-pack of the collection sold will go to supporting The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI) Safe Spaces certification, which helps to identify entertainment venues, restaurants, bars, stores, businesses and other public venues that are making an effort to be safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. The "Love is Love" collection showcases three delicious wines: Overflowing with Pride Barbera, Uprising Chenin Blanc, and Loud and Proud Merlot, all sourced via sustainable farming practices. Each bottle also features unique, collectible artwork created by women designers. From $28 at TeneralCellars.com Ogden's Own Ogden's Own, the largest independently-owned distillery in all of Utah, is showing its Pride by unveiling a special-edition label for its famous Five Husbands Vodka that features five famous members of the Utah LGBTQ+ community. The vodka will be available this June, with proceeds directly supporting both Equality Utah and the Utah Pride Center, to help support local LGBTQ+ initiatives. "Since the beginning, Ogdens Own has been about supporting the LGBTQ+ community here in Utah through not only our words, but our actions, and we feel that this is our strongest statement to-date," said CEO and co-founder Steve Conlin. Ogden's Own has also served as the official sponsor of the Utah Pride Festival for some years now, and long served to increase awareness and public support for LGBTQ+ issues. From $40 at Gacraftspirits.com EFFEN Vodka EFFEN Vodka is stepping right up to that rainbow plate this Pride, going all out as part of their partnership with non-profit organization Allies in Arts. The ultimate goal of their newly crafted Pride 365 bottle is to "champion creatives in some of the most underrepresented communities, all year-round," and with every single bottle created, a donation will be made to Allies in Arts in support of their mission: "empowering creative voices and providing fair-paid work for artists who identify as womxn, BIPOC and LGBTQQIA2S." As for the design of their bottle that's not to be missed? Give it up for Sam Kirk, a Chicago-based, LGBTQQIA2S artist and street muralist that wanted to highlight both the intersectionality and exuberance of the Black and LGBTQQIA2S communities. Queer nonbinary Afrolatinx artist Acacia Rodriguez and trans artist and activist Kyle Lasky have also developed two different sets of vinyl bottle decals that can be used to give your EFFEN Vodka a quick glow up. Find out more at EffenVodka.com Athletic Brewing Company Not much of a drinker? Not a problem. Professional climber and all-around champion Alex Johnson has collaborated with Athletic Brewing Company (known for their nonalcoholic beers) on a special brew just for Pride Month. Aptly named Rainbow Wall in honor of a favorite climb of Johnson's and the colors of the LGBTQ+ community, all net profits from purchases of this specially crafted blood orange IPA will go directly to Athlete Ally, a national non-profit "whose mission is to foster equal access, opportunity, and experience in sports for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression." Right now there are a record-breaking number of anti-LGBTQI+ bills, many targeting access to health care, and even banning LGBTQI+ Individuals from participating in sports, Alex Showerman, a queer trans woman and Athletic Brewings Director of JEDI and Non-Profit Partnerships, said in a statement. This beer not only celebrates out and proud athletes, like Alex, but the proceeds will go to support Athlete Allys advocacy efforts and training work to create safe spaces for LGTBQI+ folx within sports. Athletic Brewing projects a whopping $20,000 donation to Athlete Ally from this incredible collaboration, to which the funds will be used to "create a coachs symposium this fall that will train coaches on how to create safe spaces for youth, high school, and college athletes to feel safe coming out in." From $12.99 at AthleticBrewing.com Sam Adams American brewer Sam Adams is here to remind us this Pride that love truly does conquer all. Theyre using that message as part of their branding for the annual limited release of Love Conquers Ale, a unique blackberry basil lime gose meant to represent the spirit of Pride, bringing the unique ingredients together harmoniously to celebrate love. "We knew we had to do something powerful this year to bring the meaning behind Love Conquers Ale to life," Carissa Sweigart, Leader of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at The Boston Beer Company, said in a statement "We couldn't think of a better brewer to share such a personal and special recipe with than New Belgium Brewing - a team with a long standing history supporting the LGBTQ community. By co-brewing Love Conquers Ale together, we hope to spread unity, love and togetherness to even more people. And we're proud to continue to support the important work of our partners at GLAAD, who are at the forefront of change, as we celebrate our peers as members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community." More importantly, during the month of June, Sam Adams will donate $16 from every 4-pack of Love Conquers Ale you buy to GLAAD, a non-profit "founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of LGBT people." And as it says right on their site, that's "100% to support their inclusion efforts, so drink up!" Find out more at SamuelAdams.com Barefoot It was in 1988 that Barefoot took its first stand by donating in support of the Golden Gate Business Association of San Francisco. This year, Barefoot, an ongoing supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, is celebrating Pride with a sparkly makeover of its packaging with a rainbow Pride flag and transgender Pride flag bottle design. Proceeds from purchases of these special products will go towards the efforts of two incredible organizations. First, we have Free Mom Hugs, a non-profit "consisting of parents and allies who love the LGBTQ+ community and work toward full affirmation and equality." Barefoot's second partnership is alongside the National Center for Transgender Equality this year, a separate non-profit with the goal of "advancing the equality of transgender people in the U.S." Find out more at BarefootWine.com Tom of Finland An easy way to go gay with your vodka choice is by selecting one under Tom of Finland. Named after the legendary artist whose male leather homoerotic creations have become a mainstay in LGBTQ+ culture, the 95% wheat/5% rye booze "supports freedom of expression/sexuality by donating money back to the Tom of Finland Foundation." 5% of all sales go straight to expressive freedom, particularly in the form of erotic art, as well as general tolerance for all individuals. From $36.99 at Drizly.com Dented Brick Dented Brick's Disco-Nut Rum is back again this year, continuing their initial collaboration with the Utah Pride Center and The Pride Center at Equality Park in Florida. For every bottle of this coconut flavored goodness that's purchased, a portion of all proceeds sold will be donated to support these organizations. Did we mention it's also perfect for all those Pride selfies you plan on taking because it's filled. With. Glitter? Because who can say no to alcohol filled with edible glitter? From $19.99 at Drizly.com So Gay Rose Looking for confirmation as to how gay this rose really is? Well, it's right there in the name. Powered, produced, and fulfilled by the Eliqs platform, So Gay Rose came to life with the intention of fully reclaiming the phrase "so gay" and flipping it into a way that encourages you to be your true self without judgment from others. A portion of all proceeds from any cans of So Gay Rose purchased will go straight to The Trevor Project, a top resource for LGBTQ+ members in crisis and their goal of ending "suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people." From $48 at SoGayRose.com Tank Garage Even local businesses are stepping up to the plate to show their Pride in any which way they can. Tank Garage has whipped up a California red appropriately called Self Love as a reminder to "love the fuck out of yourself, for yourself." "Healing starts with self-love," it reads on their website. "What that means will be different for everybody, but ultimately, its about developing acceptance and appreciation for who we are in this fucked up world. Maybe that means pursuing emotional or spiritual growth. Maybe its putting a stop to making those unfair comparisons and sacrifices for things that dont matter. Because in the end, the only path to true happiness is through you." Tank Garage thought a focus on self-love was important, especially after the rollercoaster of a year we've had as we faced off against the COVID-10 pandemic. As a spiritual successor of sorts to their recent "Love and Pride" blend, this wine was also created to raise funding and awareness this time for mental health as a part of their ongoing Tank Cares charity initiative. Tank Garage will donate $1 from every bottle of "Self-Love" sold to the National Alliance of Mental Illness & Health to help support self-love and mental health. And for those who arent planning to hit up Napa anytime soon, you can grab your own bottle online. $40 at TankGarageWinery.com Gay Beer You dont need to be a member of the LGBTQ+ community to gulp down a Gay Beer, especially this year. We created Gay Beer to be the premier craft beer brand to represent a community of beer drinkers that are overlooked by other beer brands, says co-founder Jon Moore. We wanted to offer a product that would authentically market to a more diverse and inclusive consumer base, and those who enjoy drinking well-crafted beer. Their Pride campaign for 2021, titled "Where the People Are," was developed with the intention of capturing "the celebratory and resilient lifestyle of the queer community as we come out of what was a devastating and tragic year for so many people." "As New York City returns to life, we wanted to present how diverse and connected the community can be," Moore told AskMen. "We all look forward to celebrating again with friends, families, chosen families and allies. The images invoke a vintage nod to the heritage of the queer community. The vivid personalities of our cast are meant to represent the joy and strength in being yourself, out and proud." Despite only being around since December 2018, the brands been doing an excellent job fulfilling its mission to reflect upon the gay communitys history and pride with its product. And in just a few years, Gay Beer has extended their distribution across the country to 32 states. Frankly, the golden lager is just that good, and not just a ploy to get gays away from their stereotypical vodka sodas. Not to mention, a portion of the proceeds continuously go back to support LGBTQ+ advocacy, making it a worthwhile purchase all-year round. $14/six-pack at Taprm.com Old Bakery Beer Brewery Last year saw Old Bakery Beer Brewery cranking out limited edition rainbow cans of its Citrus Wheat Pride, with $2 going towards the St. Louis Effort for AIDS with each case sold. In 2020, Old Bakery is back to their old efforts, albeit with a different flavor in mind. Working with St. Louis Effort for AIDS again, known now as Vivient Health, their brew of Blueberry Cream Ale is now available for purchase throughout the month of June. $2 will be donating per case equivalent sold of the beer, similar to what was done in 2019. Find out more at OldBakeryBeer.com Crystal Head Vodka Crystal Head Vodka is taking the colors of the rainbow and using them to celebrate diversity and equality through their latest release. As a proud ally to the entire LGBTQ+ community, they partake in year-round work alongside various organizations such as Stonewall Sports Program, The Test Positive Awareness Network, Kaleidoscope Trust, and Lurie Childrens Hospital Transgender Youth Program. And while proceeds from the purchase of this limited edition colorful skull arent set to go towards any specific organization at this time, the brand hopes their efforts the focus on color as a form of expression and their #MADEWITHPRIDE campaign are a way to gather those from all the around the country who are interested in coming together in solidarity this Pride. Their new "Made with Pride" t-shirt, however, created through a collaboration with Gay Pride Apparel, is now being sold with a portion of proceeds going directly to the Human Rights Campaign. $55.99 at Caskers.com 101 Cider House If beer and liquor arent your thing, crack open a crisp Ginger Rouge instead. The limited edition release from 101 Cider House, developed in honor of this years Pride celebration, is a sugar-free concoction made with apples, cherries, ginger, and damiana. "Here at 101 Cider House, we're all about color, says CEO Mark McTavish. This month, we want you to raise a can of this deliciously juicy, mildly spicy, and delectably herbal cider and celebrate your true colors. In a world of sameness, dare to be something different. And whichever flag you wave, fly it high and with pride." And while youre getting loose off this juice, know that your purchase isnt for naught 100% of all Ginger Rouge sales will be donated to Equality California in support of their fight for LGBTQ+ rights. Find out more at 101Cider.com Lyre's Even if traditional booze isnt for you, Lyres Non-Alcoholic Spirits is an easy option if youre still looking to clink a virtual glass alongside your alcohol-consuming pals. The brand has partnered with True Colors United, founded by Cyndi Lauper in 2008 to implement innovative solutions to youth homelessness that focus on the unique experiences of LGBTQ young people, as part of their Pride efforts this year. Any purchase made during Pride Month at Lyres.com using their 10% discount code will be matched, with all saved money donated towards the American nonprofit. Lyres Non-Alcoholic Spirits is proud to team up with True Colors United to mark the beginning of our efforts to support LGBTQ organizations in the United States and globally, Lyres CEO and founder Mark Livings previously said in a statement. We hope that our fundraising efforts will positively contribute to True Colors incredible work to provide essential services and connector tools to young members of the LGBTQ community. The Lyres brand was born from a quest to give people the freedom to enjoy their drink, their way, and we hope that people imbibe Lyres with pride. Find out more at Lyres.com You Might Also Dig: Dice engraved with the words buy and sell During times of extreme uncertainty, as we are facing now, its important for investors to review their portfolios and try to reduce risks. Morgan Stanley has warned in a recent note that it sees a global recession within nine months if President Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese exports and Beijing retaliates. With this backdrop in mind, lets try to find out if Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS)(NYSE:BNS) is a dividend stock that you should keep in your portfolio. Generally speaking, banks fates are closely tied with the health of the economy. When the economy is growing, companies are expanding and consumers are borrowing, banks make more money. In contrast, when the economy shrinks, banks become stricter with their lending practices, as their balance sheets take a hit from defaults and loan restructurings. This generality, however, doesnt apply as much for the top Canadian lenders, including Bank of Nova Scotia, as it does for banks south of the border. The reason is that Canadian banks operate in an oligopoly where the competitive pressures are limited. This, combined with their strong balance sheets and a sound regulatory environment, makes Canadian banks a much safer bet during times of economic distress. Weakest recovery Bank of Nova Scotia, the third-largest lender by market size, has had the weakest recovery among the top five lenders this year, gaining just under 2% so far. That rebound comes after a more than 15% plunge in its share price last year. That pullback was largely driven by investors concerns that the lenders aggressive acquisition drive will erode profitability in the short run. That concern proved right, as evident from Scotiabanks latest earnings report. The lender missed on analysts estimates for the second quarter due to higher provisions for loan losses tied mainly to takeovers, leading to a 63% jump in provisions across the bank. Provisions for credit losses were higher than analysts estimates of $873 million, including $151 million tied to takeovers in Peru and the Dominican Republic. Story continues Scotiabank spent more than $7 billion on acquisitions last year to bolster its businesses in Chile and in wealth management in Canada, while selling a number of international operations in the Caribbean and El Salvador. But despite this weakness in the short run, Scotiabanks underlying performance remains quite strong, and I dont think investors should sell its stock, even if the risk of recession grows. Ultimately, the lenders recent acquisitions will start to improve its bottom line, providing more depth to its earnings. After the latest acquisitions, Latin America now accounts for 34% of the banks overall net income. According to CEO Brian Porter, the banks financial performance will improve in the second half, helped by a greater contribution from the emerging markets, along with a better expense management and improving capital ratios. Bottom line Trading at $69.39 at the time of writing, BNS stock yields 4.7% and pays a $0.87-a-share quarterly dividend. The payout is attractive enough to hold on to this stock even if the Canadian economy hits a recession. The lender has the firepower to emerge stronger from any potential economic shock. More reading Fool contributor Haris Anwar has no position in the stocks mentioned in this article. Bank of Nova Scotia is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019 Gold bars For as long as stock exchanges have existed, precious metals have been a benchmark for security. Now, as uncertainty mounts in the markets, and even the most stable of asset classes prove vulnerable to an increasingly fearful sentiment among investors, it would appear that gold and silver could yet again provide the safe haven that stockholders inevitably turn to. Though gold prices were wavering last week, ending the last week of May fairly flat, its likely that investors will follow the same old route they usually do when things get tough by investing in precious metals insulated from more volatile asset types. If what some analysts predict comes true and the markets grow more turbulent as the year progresses, gold and silver stocks very well could surge in the latter half of 2019. Newmont Goldcorp (TSX:NGT)(NYSE:NEM) Up 4.2% in the last five days, this freshly merged giant in the precious metals and mining space is enjoying the flight to quality that is so predictable in a spooked market. Indeed, the stock has been climbing, more or less, since the middle of May, and will likely to continue to do so as investors seek out places of safety as the year progresses. An expected earnings growth rate of 40.4% over the next one to three years puts Newmont Goldcorp front and centre on the growth investment radar. While a trailing 12 month P/E of 76.43 times earnings and P/B of 2.6 times book do suggest an overpriced ticker, Newmont Goldcorps healthy balance sheet, solid track record, and forward annual dividend yield of 1.69% add up to a sound purchase overall. Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD)(NYSE:EGO) A very low P/B such as Eldorado Golds 0.2 times book can sometimes suggest one of two things: either this stock is attractively undervalued or theres an underlying issue. Up 20.62% in the last five days, at first glance, Eldorado Gold looks alarmingly like a surging stock with not enough assets. Lets break that down. With solid Q1 results detailing output growth spread across its sites in Turkey, Canada, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Brazil, assets clearly arent an issue here, with enough growth to satisfy a precious metals investor that their money is in good hands. Indeed, an expected uptick in earnings over the next three years of 76.3% should be reason enough to include Eldorado Gold on a top stock list for growth in the precious metals space. Story continues The bottom line Although investors should take care to select healthy, growing companies in the metals and mining space, pundits can expect a flight to quality if other asset classes take a further battering later in the year. With plenty of opportunities for oil stocks to take a hit and some banking stocks falling out of favour after missing estimated growth rates, gold and silver (even if their prices grind lower) are likely to emerge as safe havens, thereby driving up the share prices of select companies. More reading Fool contributor Victoria Hetherington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019 The son of an elderly couple says he wants two major airlines to stop blaming each other and take responsibility for abandoning his parents in their wheelchairs for half a day, with no help to access food, water or a washroom. Mohan Karki's parents, who don't speak English and require assistance to travel, were found almost 12 hours after being dropped off at a service counter at the Vancouver airport just not by the airlines responsible for assisting them during their trip, WestJet and Cathay Pacific. "We were thinking they were somewhere in the corner of the airport ... not knowing where to go," said Karki. "My parents told me, 'We never left this place' 12 hours they were there. They tried to communicate with some other people, passersby, and nobody responded to them. Maybe they couldn't understand what they were saying." On Feb. 23, Chhaya and Narayan Karki, aged 66 and 69, were on the final leg of a trip from their home in Kathmandu, Nepal to visit their son and his family in Edmonton, with a stopover in Vancouver. Mohan Karki said Cathay Pacific told him it delivered his parents to the WestJet customer service counter at the airport, and WestJet was to transport the pair to the gate for their final flight to Edmonton. Rosa Marchitelli/CBC When his parents failed to arrive, a worried Karki spent hours on the phone trying to track them down. They didn't have a cellphone. "For about six or seven hours, I kept on calling both airlines, but they never found my parents," he said. Karki then called the RCMP. It took officers 20 minutes to find the couple, located just steps from the service counter. The couple had placards with Karki's name and phone number, in case of an emergency. No one responded when they tried to get help by holding them up, he said. According to an Ontario-based advocate for people with disabilities, services for those who need assistance travelling are "unreliable and inconsistent" because airlines are allowed to set their own rules instead of being told to meet specific standards. Story continues "It is appalling treatment the regulator should make it clear that [airlines] can't pass the buck to each other," said David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance. Left at the wrong gate for 8 hours Thanh Phan shares that frustration; the same thing happened to his 76-year-old mother at the same airport. In August, Niem Thi Le, who has trouble walking and doesn't speak English, was left in a wheelchair for eight hours after being dropped off at the wrong departure gate by WestJet. Le was on her way home to Hanoi, Vietnam after visiting family in Victoria. WestJet was supposed to connect her with China Southern Airlines for her next flight. "My mom told me that the wheelchair attendant just left her there without talking to anyone. I was shocked this is a human being," Phan said. Rosa Marchitelli/CBC An employee with another airline eventually noticed Le sitting alone, found someone who could speak Vietnamese and brought the woman to the China Southern Airlines counter. That airline contacted Phan and suggested he call WestJet to find out what happened. He did, asking if someone could help his mother until he could get there himself. "I said, 'Could you please help her give her some food and drinks.'... They said, no, they didn't do anything wrong and that's not their business," Phan said. He called China Southern Airlines back and it agreed to help, bringing Le a hamburger and a drink. 'They did not think it's a serious problem' Phan complained to customer service and WestJet apologized, saying it would review its internal process. But he said the airline never got back to him to explain what happened. WestJet also told him travellers who don't speak English shouldn't be travelling alone, he said, though they offered him a $100 travel voucher. "It's very frustrating because they blame passengers, and they did not think that is a serious problem." Submitted by Thanh Phan WestJet 'reaching out to the families involved' Both Phan and Karki are still demanding an explanation from the airlines involved in their respective cases. "We sincerely apologize for the stress and worry that these guests and their families experienced," WestJet's media relations manager Lauren Stewart wrote in an email to Go Public. "The nature of these incidents is serious, and we are in touch with both airline partners involved to investigate and make enhancements to our processes to prevent this type of incident from happening again. We are also reaching out to the families involved." Mike McArthur/CBC The airline says it provides mobility assistance to more than 900 guests per day. Cathay Pacific told Go Public it was sorry to hear what happened to the Karkis, adding it followed "standard operating procedure" when it delivered the couple to WestJet staff and exchanged wheelchairs. "The proper turnover to WestJet was made by our staff. Additionally, we are in the process of reviewing this situation with WestJet and we will apply learnings from this experience to future transitions between our airlines," wrote Julie Jarratt, the airline's communications director. 'I dread entering Canadian airspace' Lepofsky, who is blind, said he's had his own problems travelling. "I dread entering Canadian airspace if I'm travelling alone not because the service is always bad, but because it's not reliably and consistently good." Airlines have a duty to accommodate passengers with disabilities under Canada's human rights laws, he said. But when that doesn't happen, it's tough to figure out where to turn for help. CBC "There are multiple agencies involved," Lepofsky said. "The Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Transportation Agency and you could be kicked from one to the other, trying to figure out where you're supposed to go." He added: "The Canadian Transportation Agency, where you're often kicked to, does not, from the perspective of people with disabilities, have a good track record in this area." Proposed rules require airlines to take responsibility The CTA says it's aware some of the standards are out of date and a binding set of rules is needed. Until now, accessible transportation has been governed by mostly voluntary codes of practice. The agency has proposed new accessible transportation regulations for airlines and all travel providers. The new rules would be legally binding and impose penalties up to $25,000 for non-compliance. And if another proposed law passes, the Accessible Canada Act, that fine could jump to a maximum of $250,000. "They need to make sure that passengers don't fall between the cracks," said Scott Streiner, chair and CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency. Gary Morton/CBC Under the CTA's proposed rules, airlines would have to provide people who need assistance a place to wait, near personnel who can assist them and will "periodically inquire" about the person's needs. Airports would be responsible for providing assistance from curbside to check-in, while the airlines would be responsible from check-in to boarding. Streiner said the proposed recommendations would have helped in both cases. The agency plans to have the final regulations published before summer and hopes to have the majority of requirements in place in about a year. "Persons who require wheelchair assistance, including older Canadians, absolutely are covered by these regulations," Streiner said. "We want to make sure that there's no confusion about who's providing assistance and that people aren't left without assistance." As for Karki, he said that the next time his parents visit, he won't leave them in the hands of the airlines. Instead, he'll try to match their itinerary with other Nepali-speaking travellers. After hearing from Go Public, WestJet called Karki last week, promising an explanation once it looks into what went wrong. Phan said WestJet has yet to follow up with him, adding that his mother is now afraid to travel and will no longer come visit. Submit your story ideas Go Public is an investigative news segment on CBC-TV, radio and the web. We tell your stories and hold the powers that be accountable. We want to hear from people across the country with stories you want to make public. Submit your story ideas at GoPublic@cbc.ca. What to do when faced with the second coming of Donald Trump? Well, if you're the United Kingdom, you throw the royals at him, and as many as you can. When the U.S. president begins a three-day state visit on Monday, he's expected to have lunch with the Queen and Prince Harry and take tea with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, a.k.a. Charles and Camilla. In the evening, Prince William and Kate Middleton will be among the guests attending a state banquet the Queen is hosting in Trump's honour at Buckingham Palace. "It is part and parcel of diplomacy when the royals are deployed," said Christopher Meyer, a former U.K. ambassador to the United States from 1997 to 2003. "And if Trump likes that and is flattered by it, why not?" Trapped in an existential crisis born of the Brexit debate, Britain's ruling classes are still trying to reassure themselves that the so-called "special relationship" between Britain and the U.S. is both meaningful and maintainable in the Trump era. "It's more complicated than it used to be," said Meyer in a fine example of typical British understatement. "I had the relatively more simple Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to deal with compared with the erratic course that Donald Trump has taken." Matt Dunham/AFP/Getty Images An estimated 250,000 Brits demonstrated against Trump's working visit to the U.K. last July, a fraught affair during which Trump waded straight into the politics of Brexit, which he backs. He gave an interview to the Sun newspaper, insulting British Prime Minister Theresa May by trashing her negotiating skills and praising the leadership qualities of her archrival in the Conservative Party, Boris Johnson. More anti-Trump demonstrations are planned this week with protesters expected to again unloose the famous Trump baby blimp, a giant diaper-clad balloon fashioned in Trump's image. A number of key politicians have declined the Queen's invitation to attend the state dinner for Trump, among them the Liberal Democrat Leader Vince Cable, the Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow and the leader of the official opposition, Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. Story continues "Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honour a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric," Corbyn said in April. Theresa May issued the invitation on behalf of the Queen soon after Trump was elected, drawing condemnation from critics who accused her of selling out British values in her eagerness to secure a trade deal with the U.S. in a post-EU world. That world, of course, has yet to emerge. The divisions between those wanting to leave and remain in the European Union are more defined than ever and adding to the sense of political paralysis here. At odds on key issues The sense of Brexit-based need adds to Britain's difficulties as it attempts to navigate the Trump presidency. The country is at odds with the United States on a number of key issues. "First and foremost is on Iran," said Heather Conley, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "This is where the U.K. has remained very faithful to its position with the other EU member states on preserving the Iran nuclear agreement." Lily Martin/CBC Britain is also finding itself under pressure from Washington as it considers allowing the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei to build part of its 5G network. Trump is expected to raise the issue this week with a threat to limit U.S. intelligence sharing with the U.K. if it proceeds. "This is going to be a very fine balancing act between maintaining an economic relationship with China in a post-Brexit environment, as well as maintaining close ties to the United States," said Conley. It's a lot to hope that a few days of royal exposure and pomp and ceremony will restore the special relationship to a warmer and more equitable footing. U.K. politics in disarray Washington certainly has an advantage given the disarray at Downing Street just now. Trump will meet with May on Tuesday, just days before she is due to hand in her resignation as the leader of the Conservative Party, having been forced by her own party to set out a timetable for her departure earlier this month. She'll stay on as caretaker prime minister while her party holds an internal contest to choose her replacement. Trump has already waded into that one, giving yet another interview to the Sun newspaper praising Boris Johnson for the job. Matt Dunham/Associated Press Trump also said he might meet Nigel Farage, populist leader of the Brexit Party and professional thorn in the side of the Conservative government for some years. Christopher Meyer said more salt on the Brexit wound is the last thing Britain needs. But he's also not comfortable with demonstrations against the U.S. president. "Because if you disrespect the man, in the eyes of many Americans, maybe a majority of Americans, you disrespect the office of the presidency and you just don't want to do that." It is a worry especially now, he said, on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings when so many allied soldiers fought and died together on the beaches of Normandy during the Second World War. Saint John's Cherry Brook Zoo has been cleared of animal cruelty allegations involving the "rage killing" of guinea pigs, but the zoo has lost up to $200,000 in funding because of the controversy and is once again at risk of closing, says its executive director. Martha McDevitt says between 40 and 70 per cent of the animals might have to be euthanized if the zoo shuts down because many of them are elderly and other facilities won't want them. "We are in a very, very scary place," she said. "One thing I can say about this city is people will step up, they're here to help, I've seen it time and time again. Here we are, we need help." The SPCA investigated complaints that the zoo improperly euthanized guinea pigs last December and Crown prosecutors opted not to lay any charges, said McDevitt. Earlier this spring, Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) also investigated and concluded there was no evidence to support the claims, she said. "We have been exonerated and vindicated," but the impact has been "devastating," said McDevitt, talking publicly about the issue for the first time. CBC During the investigations, staff were advised to remain quiet so as not to interfere in the process, she said. "It was incredibly hard," she said. "These animals are like family, they're like our little babies." It has been especially difficult for zookeeper Megan Gorey, who was accused of "rage killing" the guinea pigs and feeding them to the snakes. She said it's been "heartbreaking." I had to move. I've been attacked in public. I have lived for the last about six months a very unsafe life on completely baseless allegations. - Megan Gorey, zookeeper "The only true facts about the entire matter are that we do use guinea pigs for our feed program," which is governed by a strict set of rules, she said. Gorey acknowledged "a joke" was made, but she said it wasn't as portrayed on social media and the "lies being spread." Story continues "People who have really hard jobs and I know most people wouldn't understand this situation we make jokes at difficult times when we're uncomfortable with something that we have to do," she said. "I know paramedics face the same issue." Gorey said she has managed to withstand the controversy because of the good reputation in the community but not without "great personal cost." "I have had to completely change my life," she said. "I had to move. I've been attacked in public. I have lived for the last about six months a very unsafe life on completely baseless allegations." Will keep fighting for the animals Although some of the people on social media had good intentions, "they were misinformed" and have "caused quite a bit of damage" with their accusations, said McDevitt. The zoo has lost some partnerships and fundraising. "They didn't want to jump on board with it while things were flying around on social media," she said. Now the zoo is struggling to recoup "hundreds of thousands of dollars" lost due to the furor online. "The stakes are very, very high right now," said McDevitt. "But we're not ending the fight," she said. "The animals need us and we're going to be there every single day." She's hoping the city and community will step up to help financially through sponsorships or fundraising. Meanwhile, board members have been meeting with anyone who has lingering concerns to answer any questions. McDevitt also invited citizens to go to the zoo to see the animals and meet the staff. Contrary to government claims, latest Indo-Pacific Strategy report includes Nepal in its State Partnership Program Government officials denied any knowledge of the programme and pointed to the Army, which also denied knowledge about the partnership The federal government is facing an angry backlash and the prospect of more legal action by Canadians trying to bring their parents or grandparents into the country. Outraged applicants are considering their next steps after learning the government made a secret settlement with more than 70 litigants and granted them coveted spots to apply to sponsor their family members. CBC News reported on the lawsuit resolution this week, which included a confidentiality clause barring the parties from publicly disclosing details. Legal actions were launched in Toronto and Vancouver after the new online application process went live on Jan. 28 a process that left tens of thousands of people frustrated and furious because they couldn't access the form or fill it out fast enough. Shishir Shivhare, who has been trying unsuccessfully to sponsor his parents in India for seven years, is one of those now considering legal action. He said this year's application process came down to how fast someone could type. He said he thought that process was unfair but he called the government's move to quietly settle with some applicants "outrageous." "What I felt personally was shock," he told CBC News. "Happy ... for those people, but I felt it's unfair and it felt like a third world country, where things can be manipulated and deals can be reached on something which was a government process. "In a way, they invalidated their own January process, because if they're reaching a deal with someone that means they admitted there was a flaw to it." This year, the federal government offered 20,000 spots for sponsoring parents or grandparents, and confirmed that more than 100,000 had attempted to access an online form to express interest. The online form opened Jan. 28 at noon ET, and closed less than nine minutes later. Erind Shkurti, who has been trying to sponsor his mother from Albania for three years, was among those who lost out. He's also considering legal action not to "undo" the spots the 70 or so litigants received from the settlement, but to challenge what he called "conflicting and contradictory messaging and rationale" from the government. Story continues He has written to his local MP, Liberal Omar Alghabra, expressing concern about the settlement noting the irony in the fact that the changes to the application process were designed to ensure people weren't disadvantaged because of their geographic location, or because they couldn't afford courier fees. Frustration over 'secrecy' "It seems to me that what our government has done with this settlement is just state that being able to pay a few hundred dollars for a lawsuit can actually get you a spot in the program," he wrote. "This is very frustrating to hear, especially with all the intended secrecy and justification behind it." NDP MP and immigration critic Jenny Kwan said her office has been on the phone non-stop recently with people outraged by the settlement. She said the fact the government offered a "side deal" proves its system is inherently flawed and unfair. "With this side deal, the minister is effectively telling Canadians that you have to take the Liberal government to court to be treated fairly," she said. " And it shouldn't have come to this. All the families want to do is be reunited with their loved ones. They should have a process available to them that is fair, and people should not have to go through such pain and anguish." Kwan said some people bought new computers or upgraded their internet connections to take their best shot at filling out the online form. They're now angry the government tried to keep its "fix" under wraps. 'Inappropriate, troubling' Kwan said the government should lift the cap on the spots for family reunification. She said it's a myth that parents and grandparents are a drain on the economy, since many bring financial assets and the ability to help with child care. Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel said the legal settlement is an admission the process was flawed and criticized the government for using entry to Canada as a legal bargaining chip. "It's not a prize to be given away. It's not a settlement, and I find this very inappropriate and very troubling," she said. A government official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said the government opted to settle the legal challenges because the number of applicants was relatively small, because they included plaintiffs with disabilities and because a court proceeding could have suspended the entire set of applications. Plagued with problems The parent and grandparent sponsorship program has been plagued with problems for years. The Liberal government moved to a first-come, first-served online application system this year after scrapping a controversial lottery system for reuniting immigrant families. The lottery system was contentious, with critics claiming it essentially gambled with peoples' lives. The lottery process had replaced another first-in system which itself was unpopular because it led to a "mad rush" every January, with people lining up overnight at the doors of processing centres or paying placeholders to stand in line and deliver applications prepared by consultants or lawyers. Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen's office said the government is committed to family reunification and will continue to listen to a variety of stakeholders to ensure it moves forward with the program in "a thoughtful and responsive way." "Any specific comment on the litigation would be inappropriate at this time," reads a statement from Hussen's office. When Delray responds to a call, it's the paramedics who are the ones that get a helping hand a helping paw, actually. Delray is a five-year-old black Labrador that supports paramedics through Psychological Awareness Wellness Support, playfully abbreviated as PAWS, a program offered by Alberta Health Services. Delray and Erica Olson, the program coordinator, travel across Alberta to talk with paramedic crews after a challenging call, teaching them about the impact of the job on their mental health. He is a calming force in the room, Olson said. A connection with Delray can offer paramedics a morale boost or help them process information. "His job is to actually be a natural dog, but to be comfortable enough to do that in a lot of different environments," Olson told CBC's Edmonton AM. Dave Bajer/CBC The feedback from paramedics has been overwhelmingly positive, said Olson, who is also a paramedic. "Anything from, 'this was the best part of my day,'" she said, "to 'thanks for bringing a support that makes me see how much AHS and EMS care about my psychological health.'" Olson said Delray is social and resilient a perfect combination for the job. He always seems to muster the energy to support another paramedic, even after a long day of meetings. A Canada-wide survey found first responders were four times more likely to develop a mental disorder than the general population, including post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. It's important that Alberta Health Services show paramedics it's investing in their mental health with initiatives like PAWS, said public education officer Kaylee Pfeifer. "It really opens the doors of communication when people can see that there's something being done," she said. Thousands of women and leaders from around the world are coming to Vancouver this week for one of the largest international gatherings on gender equality. Tickets have been sold out for weeks and there are more than 1,500 names on the waiting list for the Women Deliver conference, which focuses on the health, rights, and well-being of girls and women across the globe. More than 6,000 leaders, advocates and influencers are expected to attend the event, held at the Vancouver Convention Centre. "This conference will be something we all look back on as the moment the world got smaller by growing our networks and uniting us," said Genesa Greening, president of the B.C. Women's Hospital Foundation. The focus for 2019 is power as a driving force behind progress and change. Evan Mitsui/CBC The discussion topics range from the power of data collection and technology to economic growth to gender-based violence. Women Deliver last held a conference in 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event was regarded as a tremendous success for pushing issues of gender equality onto the global stage. Canada was chosen for this year's conference because of its reputation as "one of the countries in the world that steps up for girls and women," according to a spokesperson with the organization. The event kicks off Monday at the Vancouver Convention Centre with opening remarks by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and conference CEO Katja Iversen. It runs until Thursday, June 6. Sarnia's mayor is concerned that the State of Michigan will shut down a pipeline that carries propane and crude oil to Sarnia from Western Canada. The Line 5 pipeline is owned by Enbridge and it crosses the Straits of Mackinac. The pipeline has been a source of concern for environmentalists. Last year, it was gouged by an anchor. Michigan's attorney general has warned that the state would move to close the pipeline by the end June if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer didn't reach an agreement with the company to build a new pipeline encased in concrete. The mayor, Mike Bradley, wants to see the pipeline replaced. He said losing it would be a blow to Sarnia. "Well there would be no question. There would be great economic disruption," said Bradley. "I mean the alternative, if you think about it is a convoluted one, but to have tanker trucks or rail cars constantly coming into this community is one that is not environmentally friendly." Radio-Canada Enbridge has told Whitmer that the new pipeline can be in service by 2024. The pipeline would reside in a tunnel underwater to replace the current twin lines. "Line 5 is safe and critical to Michigan and we therefore continue to operate it," said Enbridge in a news release on Thursday. Bradley also believes that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas. "I'm not a defender of Enbridge. I'm not here to be their spokesman but my understanding following this issue closely that they've been making all sorts of alternative, very expensive plans to deal with the concerns by the attorney general," said Bradley. "It may be if those plans are acceptable to the State of Michigan then they can move forward and let the pipeline continue and make steps necessary to upgrade it," he said. The United Way of Dunn County is looking for sponsors to help families in need in the community this holiday season. To help all an interested sponsor has to do is reach out by phone call (715-231-3066), email (smarson@uwaydunn.org) or stop by (1620 Stout Rd., Menomonie, WI) and the United Way can connect you with a family. A University of Wisconsin-Stout apparel design and development class project may help women in Haiti find employment. Program director Sheri Marnells Garment Engineering and Production class designed a wrap skirt pattern and made 50 skirts as demo models for Hope Sewn, a Minnesota-based mission that helps Haitian women sew items to support themselves and their families. The adjustable skirts can be made from pieces of fabric and sold to tourists. It fits a wide range of people, said junior apparel design and development major Cambria Sinclair, who served as plant manager for the class project. It adjusts at the waist, hip and lower hip with D rings. The skirts can be used for a wide range of things, including an apron. It could be a memento from a trip or a gift to bring back to others. The skirt was designed and developed in three sizes, small, medium and large, and would fit sizes from 2 to 16. Each skirt size is adjustable by three more sizes. Hope Sewn was started in 2018 by Ron and Chris Lyrek of Loretto, Minn., who provided nine sewing machines, supplies and a generator and shipped them to Haiti to start Hope Sewn. Their daughter, Rachel, graduated May 4 from UW-Stout with a packaging degree. Hope Sewn connected with Marnells class when Ron Lyrek toured campus with his daughter and learned about the apparel design and development program. We are trying to do everything we can to help these women out in Haiti, he said. We are really excited for this opportunity and project. Ten women are sewing for Hope Sewn in Minoterie, Haiti, where there is 80 percent unemployment. They are excited to know there are students in America who want to help them out, Ron Lyrek said. The skirts would cost about $7 to make and retail for about $30. If they can sell one skirt, that would give them two or three days of salary, he said. Other products made by the women include dog leashes, feather pillows and cosmetic bags. They make about $4 per day on items they sew, but Ron Lyrek hopes to get that up to $6 per day. Students voted to do the project. We wanted to give back, Sinclair said. We wanted our project to help people in need. Marnell encourages students to pick a project they want to work on. I personally believe in giving back and collaborations, Marnell said. This shows our students know the importance of helping others. The class collaborated with the Stout Typographical Society, which did the screen printing of the graphic design. Students created an assembly line. Each skirt has 20 pieces of fabric. Their final exam was to create a production manual. Sinclair, of De Pere, said she really liked finding out how manufacturing worked. It really taught me how to problem-solve. Some students may travel to Haiti this summer to show their project to the Hope Sewn participants and possibly visit a large garment manufacturer, Ron Lyrek said. Kennedy Gorres, a junior apparel design and development student from Maple Lake, Minn., enjoyed the project because it allowed her to work with a company. She served as the floor manager overseeing production. Its good we are able to give back, Gorres said. I think the company is awesome for what they are doing for Haitian women. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The solar power generation firm owned by Senator Loren Legarda's son will soon receive its congressional franchise to operate. Congress on Monday ratified a measure providing a 25-year franchise to Solar Para Sa Bayan Corp. of Legarda's son, Leandro Leviste. It will now be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature. Leviste's firm cleared the House of Representatives in December 2018, and the Senate on May 27. Under the law, Congress has the power to grant franchises to companies providing public services such as utilities and media. Solar Para Sa Bayan promotes itself as a social enterprise looking to provide cheap electricity to Filipino households, particularly in areas which remain without access to power, through renewable energy sources. Unlike existing utility firms with separate power generation and distribution companies, the Leviste-led electricity provider will take on the construction, installation and establishment of connections, as well as the operation and maintenance of "distributable" energy resources via a microgrid system. This is also different from the current practice that puts power firms on the wholesale electricity spot market, where the rates are set through daily trading. Krishana Prasain is a business reporter for The Kathmandu Post covering markets. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2018, she spent 3 years in New Business Age magazine covering business. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) President Rodrigo Duterte certified as urgent the bill requiring a mandatory Reserve Officers Training Corps program for grades 11 and 12 students in public and private schools nationwide. In a letter addressed to Senate President Vicente Tito Sotto III on Monday, Duterte called for the immediate enactment of the proposed measure. The directive was issued just four days before the 17th Congress officially adjourns on June 7. The mandatory ROTC program, according to the document, will restore basic military and leadership trainings for the youth in order to invigorate their sense of nationalism and patriotism. Under the measure, ROTC will be a requirement for graduation for all students in both public and private high schools. Those physically or psychologically unfit or are part of the school's varsity team are exempted from mandatory ROTC training. Students who are undergoing a similar military training or those who get an exemption from the Department of National Defense will also be exempted. This is a developing story. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) President Rodrigo Duterte is not backing out of his earlier promise to increase the pay of public school teachers, Malacanang said Monday. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, in his media briefing, said the countrys economic managers are already working and are in search of funding sources for the planned salary hike. The President is not reneging on his commitment. But as you know, there (have) been many things that occurred during the three-year term, Panelo told reporters. The President is working on that. Hopefully, that can be responded to. Our economic managers are doing everything to see how things can be done, he added. As the new school year kicked off Monday, some teachers renewed their calls for salary increasesomething the President had promised educators during his term. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers, in particular, challenged Duterte to issue an executive order for the pay hike. But Panelo stressed the government has yet to establish a concrete funding source for it. Let's see, because I've already talked with the Secretary of Finance, budget managers. They said they're working on it, the spokesman noted. The chief executive in January renewed his promise of a pay hike for teachers, saying this could finally happen this year. Policemen and soldiers received doubled salaries in 2018, but Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno, who was then Budget Secretary, said there was not enough money to do this for public school teachers. READ: Teachers urge Duterte to hike pay as promised Panelo, however, could not provide an exact timeline on when it can be released. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde said it plainly. The recall of broadcaster Erwin Tulfo's security escorts was not a coincidence and was partly triggered by his threats and tirades against Social Welfare Chief Rolando Bautista. "I'm sure we'll all be lying to you kung sasabihin natin na walang kinalaman iyon. It has something to do with his comments to the Secretary of DSWD," he said in a media briefing on Monday. He said that while not the primary reason, it was an important factor in the recall of Tulfo's security escorts from PNP's Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG). The 8 police details of Erwin, his brothers Raffy and Ben, and his sister-in-law ACT-CIS Party-list Representative Jocelyn Tulfo were withdrawn on Saturday. This happened after Erwin berated and threatened Bautista, a former Army Chief, on his radio-television program for failing to grant him an interview. The police chief said the security detail given to personalities is a privilege not a right and can be revoked anytime. "Kung ikaw na nagbibigay ng protective detail sa isang tao, yet ikaw mismo ang tinitira niya, then what would you feel? Protective security is a matter of privelege. Hindi pwedeng abusuhin ang pribelehiyong binigay sa kanila," he said. Albayalde and Bautista are both products of the Philippine Military Academy. PSPG Director PCSupt Filmore Escobal said the review of security detail is done periodically. The police security granted to the Tulfo brothers, known for their scathing commentaries, were supposed to last until June 12 as they were exempted during the election ban. Albayalde said good moral character is also a consideration in the PNP's decision to retain security for the Tulfo brothers. Meanwhile, the military also pulled out two marines assigned to Ramon Tulfo, the special envoy to China. Armed Forces of the Philippines Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Edgar Arevalo however insists the action had nothing to do with Tulfo's brother Erwin's criticisms, but in response to a perceived lack of personnel in the Marine Corps. Ramon Tulfo told CNN Philippines that his brother Erwin will issue a public apology. Erwin had earlier apologized for his "excessive rants," but refused to take back his remark that Bautista is inefficient. "I learned about it when I was in Japan with the President. I said, 'Oh my God, my brother committed a grave mistake.' He admitted he was wrong," he told "The Source" on Monday. The eldest of the Tulfo siblings took responsibility for the mistakes of Erwin. "My father was a respected military man and he taught us to respect authority. Along the way, perhaps we couldnt handle success. Im sorry. Probably theres a lesson to be learned here. What goes up comes down, what comes down goes up. The universe is a perfect balance, the yin and the yang. Im not justifying what Erwin did, Im just saying he was wrong, completely wrong," he said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The shipment containing over 25 tons of plastic waste from Hong Kong is now en route to where it came from. The vessel SITC Nagoya containing the tons of trash, misdeclared as "assorted electronic accessories," left the Mindanao International Container Terminal (MICT) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, around noon Monday. On May 27, the Environment Bureau and Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong told CNN Philippines it will reach out to Philippine authorities to investigate the waste shipment. The repatriation of the trash from Hong Kong comes as 69 container vans of garbage were shipped back to Canada on Friday. This is a developing story. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Columnist Ramon Mon Tulfo said the controversial advertisement deal between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and state-run Peoples Television Network was manipulated by his brother Ben and Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. Ang kawawa dito si [former DOT Secretary] Wanda [Tulfo-Teo] because Wanda was clueless all along. Ben and Andanar manipulated the whole thing, the eldest Tulfo sibling told CNN Philippines The Source on Monday. Wanda is the younger sister of Mon, who is serving as special envoy for public diplomacy to China. [Translation: Former DOT Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo is to be pitied here because Wanda was clueless all along. Ben and Andanar manipulated the whole thing.] Mon said Andanar and two TV executives he did not name should have spread out the advertisements instead of concentrating them on 'Kilos Pronto,' a blocktimer program on Peoples Television produced by Bitag Media Unlimited, owned by Tulfo-Teos brother, Ben. At the time, 'Kilos Pronto' was hosted by Bens brother, Erwin, and broadcaster Alex Santos. Mon said that their sister could not be faulted for corruption but for being clueless and for not having the brightest people around her. He added that he recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte that Tulfo-Teo be sacked for incompetence. Initial reports said Tulfo-Teo was fired from her post after the controversy, but it was later announced that she resigned. Tulfo-Teo was embroiled in conflict of interest allegations for approving an advertisement deal between the DOT, which she then headed, and Peoples Television. READ: Tulfo-Teo: No conflict of interest in P60M tourism ads on brother's show on PTV-4 The Commission on Audit (COA) found that the deal, which it flagged for lacking documents, paid out 60 million to Bitag Media. Tulfo-Teo has repeatedly denied having knowledge of the deal and that it would benefit her brothers production company. Andanar has also denied having a hand in it, despite reports saying that he reached out to the DOT under Tulfo-Teo for a partnership in marketing Philippine tourism. Tulfo-Teos camp has also said that Peoples Television chose the time slot for the ads, picking 'Kilos Pronto' as the show that would carry the DOTs advertisements. Despite the COA and Senate Blue Ribbon committee chair Richard Dick Gordon seeing graft in the ad deal, Ben still refuses to return the 60 million his company earned through the controversial agreement, even if Mon has advised him to do so. He has his own mind. In fact, when I said, Ben, I think you should return the money. He said, F*** you. Dont tell me what to do, Mon said. The special envoy has previously called Ben the black sheep of the family in a 2018 column about the ad deal. The ad deal is a specter that continues to haunt the Tulfo siblings whenever their names return to the headlines. This issue was brought up again by social media users after Erwin unleashed a string of insults against Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista for failing to take his call. Erwin has since apologized for his excessive rants against Bautista, but refused to retract his criticisms. Mon said his brother would issue Monday an unequivocal public apology. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The day began peacefully as schools welcomed over 27 million students back to start a new academic year, the Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief said. P/Gen. Oscar Albayalde, PNP Chief, said they have not monitored any threats to schools on the opening of classes though they increased their deployment of personnel to over 149,000 from 120,000. The deployment included force multipliers such as barangay tanods and civilian volunteers who will remain on duty until next week, Albayalde added. The opening day of classes this morning went smoothly with no untoward incidents, the chief said. Apart from ensuring safety, Albayalde said officers will attend to parents and teachers should they need police assistance. He urged the public to remain vigilant and to approach police personnel for any concerns. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The government will not allow any move that will block the sale of millions of pesos worth of jewelry seized from the family of late President Ferdinand Marcos, Malacanang said Monday. Should the Marcos family attempt to stop the public auction, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the government will block the move as it is the right thing to do. If they do, then we will oppose it. Because it's the right thing to do. The proceeds have to go to the Filipino people in urgent need of government aid, Panelo said in his media briefing. The spokesman added the concerned parties should just follow authorities directive. As far as we're concerned, these properties have been declared to be ill-gotten. That's why precisely, it is to be sold. If that was the decision, then we have to abide by it, he added. Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte approved the Presidential Commission on Good Governments (PCGG) request to auction off 704.79 million worth of jewelry from what is known as the Hawaii collection. The jewelry pieces of congresswoman and former First Lady Imelda Marcos were seized in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the family fled in February 1986 after a "people power" revolt booted the former strongman from power. The collection includes several diamond-and gem-studded tiaras, bracelets, and necklaces. CNN Philippines AC Nicholls and Chad de Guzman contributed to this report. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) After posting bail for estafa and large-scale recruitment charges, Peter Advincula, also known as Bikoy," has returned to police custody to present evidence on his allegations against the opposition, the Philippine National Police (PNP) chief said. Advincula, who said he is the hooded person in the video series entitled Ang Totoong Narco list, initially spread rumors on people close to the President allegedly linked to illegal drugs. He later on said all allegations were false, adding that he was hired by the Liberal Party to discredit President Rodrigo Duterte. Philippine National Police chief PGen. Oscar Albayalde said Advincula has submitted a desktop computer and cellphone as evidence. Advincula earlier said he exchanged text messages with the chief security of Senator Antonio Trillanes, whom he said masterminded the anti-Duterte videos. Lahat ng sinasabi ni Bikoy [Everything Bikoy has said] will all be validated, lahat ng mga pangalan binanggit niya [all the names he mentioned] will be part of our investigation, the chief said. P/BGen. General Amador Corpus, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief, said they have also requested security footages from the establishments Advincula mentioned were allegedly used as venues to meet up with the opposition senators. Advincula has also requested for protective custody, Corpus said, but they are still assessing threats to his life. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) The Senate approved on Monday a bill raising the taxes on cigarettes, which came six days after President Rodrigo Duterte called for its passage. Voting 20-0-0, the chamber approved Senate Bill 2233 which will further increase the excise tax on tobacco products. The measure was amended to include "heated tobacco products" and "vapor tobacco products" like e-cigarettes to be also subject to excise taxes, following amendments proposed by Senator Ralph Recto. The Department of Finance is counting on the measure to help fund the implementation of the Universal Healthcare Act, which seeks to cover all Filipinos with health insurance and offer basic health services. This is seen to cost 257 billion for the first year, with 195 billion covered by the national budget. The 62 billion gap is eyed to be funded by higher duties from cigarettes and alcoholic drinks. Once signed into law, SB 2233 will jack up the excise tax on cigarette packs from 45 by Jan. 1, 2020 to 60 by 2023. The following year, the tax will rise by five percent annually. The rates for e-cigarettes are lower, with a minimum of 10 per refill of vapor products less than 10 milliliters. The government currently levies a tax of 35 per cigarette pack, as provided under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law that took effect last year. On May 28, President Rodrigo Duterte certified the measure as urgent, saying it was a much-needed bill to fund expanded medical services and benefits to Filipinos as provided under Republic Act 11223. House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro said last week that their chamber is open to adopt the Senate version just to make it to the deadline, doing away with the need for a bicameral session to harmonize the two tax bills. The 17th Congress closes this Friday, which will bring all pending bills back to zero. Tuesday would be the last session day for the House and Senate after June 5 was declared a holiday as the Muslim community observes Eid'l Fitr or the end of Ramadan. Once adopted by the House, the Senate bill may be sent to Malacanang for Duterte's signature. Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here. Anup Ojha is a reporter for The Kathmandu Post primarily covering social issues and human interest stories. Before moving to the social beat, Ojha covered arts and culture for the Post for four years. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Broadcaster Erwin Tulfo on Monday issued an unequivocal apology to Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista for cursing and threatening the former Army chief. "Ako po at ang buong pamilya Tulfo ay nagpapakumbabang humihingi po ng kapatawaran kay retired general at ngayo'y Secretary ng DSWD, Rolando Bautista, sa pagmumura at pambabastos ko sa kanya on air... Nawa'y mapatawad ninyo ako bilang isang tao na may mga kamalian at pagkukulang din," he told CNN Philippines. Despite his on-air apology, Tulfo said he is ready to apologize to Bautista personally so everyone can move on from the issue. Aside from the DSWD Chief, he also apologized to the Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association, who threatened to file libel and defamation charges against the broadcaster. Tulfo attacked Bautista on his radio-television program for failing to grant his request for an interview: "Sampalin kita 'pag nakita kitang buang ka eh, wala akong pakialam ke retired General ka, mudmurin ko yung mukha mo sa inidoro. Dagdag ka sa problema." , he apologized for his "excessive rants," but refused to take back his remark that Bautista is inefficient. Erwin, along with his brothers Raffy and Ben, are known for their scathing commentaries. He said the family has been contemplating tempering their remarks. "I think I have to tone it down, I have to change my style kahit na sinasabi na it is kind of a Tulfo-brand of journalism. I think we have to change that. My brothers agree with me, Mon, Raffy, Ben, we really have to tone down because times have changed," he said. Ramon Tulfo, Special envoy to China and the eldest of the Tulfo siblings, said his family failed to react well to their success. "My father was a respected military man and he taught us to respect authority. Along the way, perhaps we couldnt handle success. Im sorry. Probably theres a lesson to be learned here. What goes up comes down, what comes down goes up. The universe is a perfect balance, the yin and the yang," he told CNN Philippines on Monday. Despite Tulfo's apology, the police will not reinstate their family's recalled security escorts just yet. "The pull out of their security details has already been decided. The renewal of their security detail will depend on the recommendation and validation of the threat on their lives by the concerned office. In their case i believe it's NCRPO. Which will further be evaluated by the Directorate for Intelligence," PNP Chief PGen. Oscar Albayalde said. Albayalde on Monday admitted that eight of the Tulfo brothers' security were pulled out partly because of his threats and tirades against Bautista. Related: Tulfo's threats vs DSWD Chief factored in recall of security escorts (CNN) At least 13 protesters were killed and several others injured on Monday when the Sudanese military opened fire to break up a sit-in, according to a local doctors' union. Protesters had congregated outside the Defense Ministry in Sudan's capital Khartoum, opposing the interim military council that has ruled the country since a coup ousted long-time President Omar al-Bashir in April. The Sudanese opposition suspended talks with the ruling body after the crackdown. "We have halted all political communication and negotiations with the putschist council," the Declaration of Freedom and Change Alliance, an umbrella group for opposition groups and protest leaders, said Monday. "The leaders of this council are criminally responsible for all the bloodshed that took place since April 11th," the statement added. The opposition leaders vowed to take the generals to court. The Declaration of Freedom and Change announced a general strike and civil disobedience starting Monday. It called on "honorable" members of various security forces to protect the people from the "militias of the putschist council" and to support a civilian transitional authority. They also called on the international community "not to recognize the military coup and to side with the Sudanese revolution." The casualties were hit by "live bullets" on Monday, an opposition union, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) said on their Facebook account. The committee said security forces have surrounded the hospitals to which the wounded and dead bodies were taken. A spokesman for the Sudanese Transitional Council said that the military "didn't disperse the sit-in by force" but that the security crackdown was instead on a gathering in a nearby "dangerous" area. Small fires and billowing clouds of black smoke could be seen in video taken in the capital on Monday. Other video showed people fleeing as guns went off. Protesters were also seen burning tires after security forces attempted to break up a sit-in. Deema Alasad, a 25-year-old dentist from Khartoum, who took part in a sit-in outside the military headquarters, said the government's paramilitary force, as well as members of the intelligence and security services, arrived in the area early in the morning. "They hit us and then they started shooting live ammunition, after putting the entire sit-in under siege," she said, describing the gunmen as "snipers." One woman, who asked not to be named, filmed video of a man lying on the ground, his arms trying to shield him from the blows of security forces who were beating him with sticks. "I saw security forces chasing a car and stop it by force at gunpoint and hit the driver and his companion with sticks. And one of them yelled at me to stop recording. I filmed it from my window at 7:23 am," she told CNN. Alasad said the protesters were "unarmed civilians." "It is our right to protest and our right to express that we don't accept what is going on," she said. Activist Fathi Abdo told CNN he witnessed around 20 people getting shot on Khartoum's main streets and near army headquarters, where protesters have staged a mass sit-in for months. The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella organization of trade unions, also said in a tweet that security forces had used live bullets and "excessive force" on protesters. In April, Sudan's former leader Bashir was arrested and forced out of power in a military coup after the country became engulfed in protests opposing his three-decade rule. Irfan Siddiq, the British Ambassador in Khartoum, called for an end to the violence. "Extremely concerned by the heavy gunfire I've been hearing over the last hour from my residence and reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties," he said on Twitter. "No excuse for any such attack." An interim military council said it would lead the country through a transition period of up to two years, but protesters vowed to remain in the streets until a return to civilian government was guaranteed. Since then, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in front of the military headquarters in the capital Khartoum. In May, nine people were injured when soldiers stormed a pro-democracy sit-in, eyewitnesses said. This story was first published on CNN.com, "At least 13 killed as Sudan military storms Khartoum sit-in." It had 28 votes. That's what this year's major tax reform and property tax relief bill could have commanded in the closing days of the 2019 legislative session, according to a final tally compiled by supporters of the bill. And that is five short of the 33 that Speaker Jim Scheer of Norfolk has required sponsors to demonstrate before he'll return a contested bill to the legislative agenda after its first three hours of floor debate. It's the number needed to bust through a legislative filibuster. Five votes short is getting closer. And now Sen. Lou Ann Linehan of Elkhorn and members of her Revenue Committee already are preparing to make some changes to bridge the gap. Most of the members of the committee huddled in a brief executive session upon final adjournment of the 2019 legislative session on Friday and Linehan's message was full steam ahead after a brief timeout, beginning with a committee get-together sometime in late June. Let's get both the property tax and state school aid reform package (LB289) and the proposed new business tax incentives proposal (LB720) ready for prime time at the beginning of the 2020 session next January, she said. They're both out there now sitting on the floor, ready to make an early appearance on the 2020 legislative agenda. And now the plot thickens. Some members of the committee appear ready to attempt to combine the two bills together so that they share a common fate. Stalling the tax incentives bill in the closing days of the legislative session this year has given supporters of substantial property tax relief considerable leverage since the state's current incentives package is due to expire at the end of 2020. Let the bargaining begin. This is a solid legislative committee that includes the major players on both property tax relief and state school aid reform with seats at the table along with Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, sponsor of the business tax incentives plan. Linehan and Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, chairman of the Education Committee, constructed most of the tax and state school aid reform package. Sens. Tom Briese of Albion and Curt Friesen of Henderson, the property tax relief warriors, are there. And so are three additional metropolitan Omaha senators, John McCollister of Omaha, Brett Lindstrom of Omaha and Sue Crawford of Bellevue. It's hard to find a shrinking violet in that array. So the struggle to score a breakthrough that was waged while the Legislature was in session is far from over. Just hit the pause button, and not for long. Even though committee members remain respectful of one another after five months of hammering all of this out in executive session discussions during the day and into the night, it might start to get a little more hardball inside the committee now that a hostage is in the room. This ain't tiddlywinks. And the clock is ticking in terms of the amount of rural representation and power in the Legislature as the 2020 census approaches and legislative redistricting looms straight ahead. * * * Finishing up: * Chuck Hagel will address Boys State and Girls State participants in Lincoln on Friday evening. * Ernie Chambers: "This (legislative) session will end as it started me being me and you being you." * Speaker Jim Scheer told senators that "distrust" contributed to the failure of the major property tax relief and business tax incentive proposals when decision time came at the end of the legislative session. * Among other informal reviews of the session delivered during remarks on the legislative floor, Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln said "everyone ran to their corner." * When the U.S. Department of Justice openly ignores an order issued by a federal judge, aren't we in dangerous territory now? * President Donald Trump's trip to London on Monday should be compelling television. And so will be the Yankees-Red Sox in London later this month. * Gotta guess the British might be naturally opposed to Yankees. * Gonna miss that Roby dude; super athlete and apparently a good guy. Go forth, Isaiah, and conquer. * And, whoa, what about those Minnesota Twins! Reach the writer at 402-473-7248 or dwalton@journalstar.com. On Twitter @LJSDon. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 I want to share a little inspiration with you today. One of the advantages for our funds and our communities of affiliation with Nebraska Community Foundation is gaining access to a wider perspective. That applies to the technical expertise from other volunteers and NCF staff, but it also means a wider perspective from beyond Nebraskas borders. Recently 14 Nebraskans attended a gathering in Washington D.C. hosted by the Weave project of the Aspen Institute. New York Times columnist David Brooks leads the Weave project. His goal is to tackle the social isolation that is rampant in America today and is creating division, mental health issues, and significant social roadblocks. We were invited after Brooks was in Nebraska in March to see how the NCF network is weaving people together. He was impressed enough to include our state in this event, as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. The conversation in D.C. was a unique opportunity to connect Nebraska communities to others doing work that is similar to what we do here but in some wildly different circumstances. For example, I had a conversation with a couple of young guys who are doing housing development in D.C. It was striking how similar the affordable housing discussion is in rural Nebraska and our nations capital. And yet, the reasons and the realities couldnt be more different. The event was a reminder that we are sheltered to some degree in Nebraska. While none of us are naive enough to think that Nebraska doesnt have poverty, hunger, or discrimination, it was eye-opening to hear the stories we heard. Yes, we do have those problems here, but it was clear that not everybody has the social fabric that Nebraskans enjoy. That gives us a competitive advantage in meeting those challenges. And I think its fair to say that there is also a Nebraska character that gives us a head start on making things better for ourselves and our neighbors. My first takeaway from the experience was gratitude. Grateful to do community development here. Grateful to live here. Grateful to raise my child here. But heres the thing: gratitude comes with responsibility. We cant just say, Arent we lucky? and call it good. No, with the privileges given to us by our parents, our neighbors and our state come the obligation to pay it forward. And today, as you are reading this, there are people across our state doing just that. Volunteers like Rick with the Columbus Area Future Fund, Diane at the Butler County Area Foundation Fund and Kurt in the Butler County Foundation Fundand people like them in 250 other towns. They are paying it forward in our counties, giving their time and energy to build a better future for your kids and grandkids. Thats the magic of community development when done well. People turning gratitude into a sense of positive responsibilitythat makes someone else gratefulthat makes them want to do their partand so on. The perspective that these 14 Nebraskans brought back from D.C. will be a step in that direction, I promise you. K.C. Belitz is the chief operating officer of the Nebraska Community Foundation. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram The Bulgarian freelance investigative journalist Hristo Geshov said he received threats and at least two news outlets published articles attacking him and shared explicit videos and photos of him after he reported on an allegedly illegal water supply and sewage system at the Chiflika resort complex in Troyan, central Bulgaria. He also said that unknown men briefly abducted him on May 14, 2019 and released him after a news website removed his story. The police and his publisher started an investigation into his claims of abduction. In an interview on May 18, 2019, conducted in Bulgarian and translated into an English summary for CPJ by the local investigative site Bivol, Geshov said that he received an anonymous threat on social media and that separately, some Bulgarian news outlets published sexually explicit videos of him and described him as a threat to the country. Geshov said that on February 25, 2019, three days after his investigative report was published on the regional news site Zov News on February 22, he received death threats on Facebook. A private message, from a user the journalist does not know, said, Ill put your head on a stake, and I will rip your stomach out and walk your guts around the streets of Troyan as the last memory of free speech. In May 2019, the newspapers Blitz and TroyanPress published articles attacking Geshov. Both outlets mentioned his investigative reporting in Troyan. The tabloid Blitz published articles in print and online, which CPJ has reviewed, on May 14, 15, and 16 along with sexually explicit videos of Geshov, and described the journalist as disgusting, perverse and as someone who does harm to Bulgaria. On May 14 and May 15, 2019, a local online news site in Troyan, TroyanPress, published photos, and on May 23, 2019, it published an article that compared Geshov to animals. The videos and pictures were widely shared on other online outlets and social media, according to Geshovs statement and CPJs review of the platforms. Geshov is under police protection after authorities started an investigation into a former mayor after one of the journalists reports on a separate issue. The journalist was given protected witness status on March 20, 2019, after a public prosecutor started an investigation into Danail Valov, the former mayor of Cherven Bryag, in northern Bulgaria. Valov was removed from office following Geshovs investigations in 2018 on alleged corruption in Cherven Bryags municipal government, including irregularities involving European Union funds. Geshov was beaten outside his home on May 10, 2018, after he reported on the alleged corruption, CPJ documented at the time. In his statement to CPJ, Geshov said that he was contacted by an unknown individual on May 14, 2019, who threatened that if Geshov failed to follow instructions, the journalists mother and sister would be killed. Geshov said that on May 14, he left without his police protection and drove to a location specified by the unidentified individual. There, he met three men who drove him in their car all night, until his report on the illegal water supply was removed from the Zov News website the following day. On May 14, 2019, Zov News and Bivol said that Geshov had disappeared. Zov News editor-in-chief Maria Dimitrova told the daily newspaper Sega that Geshovs mother and sister had contacted her earlier that day saying they were unable to establish contact with the reporter. Dimitrova told the news website Mediapool that she received a phone call early on May 15 from a man who did not identify himself, who asked that she remove the article and the video of Geshovs investigation on the alleged illegal water supply and sewage system in exchange for Geshovs release. Dimitrova told Mediapool that she removed the article from Zov News and the video from YouTube on May 15, 2019. CPJ could not independently verify the journalists account of his abduction. In a written statement to CPJ on May 17, 2019, Zov News said that it was investigating Geshovs disappearance. Geshov has testified about the incident to the Bulgarian national police, Mediapool reported. The police and the prosecutors office have not publicly commented on the case, according to the report. The Bulgarian Ministry of Interior, which oversees the police, did not respond to CPJs emailed questions. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram New York, June 3, 2019 The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemned the sentencing today of Masoud Kazemi, the editor-in-chief of the monthly Sedaye Parsi political magazine. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh of Tehrans Revolutionary Guard Corps Branch 28 court found Kazemi guilty on national security charges of spreading misinformation and insulting the supreme leader and other Iranian officials, and sentenced him to four and a half years in prison followed by a two-year ban from working as a journalist, according to news reports. The charges stem from posts that Kazemi made on Twitter in November 2018 relaying his reporting on corruption in Irans Ministry of Industry, according to those reports. With this heavy prison sentence Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps is clearly signaling that any journalist who reports on government corruption will face a similar fate, said CPJ Deputy Executive Director Robert Mahoney. Masoud Kazemi is a journalist informing Iranian citizens not a criminal undermining state security. He should be released immediately. Kazemi was initially arrested in November, but was issued bail, his lawyer said on Twitter. On May 22, Kazemi arrived at the Revolutionary Guard Corps Branch 28 court to stand trial on anti-state propaganda charges when the judge announced new charges against him and sent him to Evin prison, CPJ reported at the time. CPJ emailed the press office of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which oversees domestic journalists and media, but did not immediately receive a response. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp LinkedIn Email Telegram The Committee to Protect Journalists and eight other civil society organizations sent a letter to members of the United Nations Security Council about the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in Cameroon. The letter was sent ahead of the U.N. Regional Office for Central Africa briefing to the Security Council, due to take place on June 4. The letter highlighted the increasing violence across the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions, where schools and hospitals, teachers and medical staff are under attack. The letter noted that journalists have been detained and at least four are behind bars in relation to their reporting of the crisis, while member of the media face regular threats of arrest and attacks. The letter can be read in full here: This story has been corrected to include the correct title of Carlisle Fire Department President Michael Snyder. When fire company leaders start to talk about doing things together, they know to avoid a dirty word merger. When many people hear merger, officials said, they hear obliteration of tradition and history, power struggles and inter-municipal squabbling. A lot of people have long-term relationships with the fire station they are currently serving, and if you take away that fire station, theyre no longer interested, Carlisle Fire and Rescue President Michael Snyder said. Current trends, though, including lack of volunteers and increased training requirements, may mean departments need to combine forces to survive. Snyder hopes to convince Carlisle-area firefighters that they can talk and think regionally without raising the scary topic of full mergers. Heres a look at the successes and challenges fire departments in Carlisle, Mechanicsburg and Shippensburg face in trying to combine forces. Better together?: From fire to police, emergency service providers face specter of regionalization Its becoming a reality in Shippensburg, under discussion in Carlisle, and causing waves in Mechanicsburg. Discussions range from fire and EMS Everyone has to give something up Firefighting is primarily about keeping the public safe, but there is also a communal aspect that makes firehouses feel like family and is part of what some volunteer firefighters value, Snyder said. We need to have the ability to explain and change gradually, instead of top-down edicts, because that usually doesnt go very well, he said. When mergers are forced on a fire company, they dont always go as smoothly as planned. Last year, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale stepped into a contentious consolidation in South Williamsport that one company had called a forced merger. DePasquale said there was not proper record keeping when assets were transferred from one firefighters relief association to another as part of the merger. Also in 2018, a planned merger of three fire companies in Reading Township, Adams County, went awry after one of the companies decided that, instead, it wanted to merge with a different fire company in another township. According to Jerry Ozog, executive director of the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Institute, it often comes down to control. For consolidation of different organizations to come together, everyone has to give something up, he said. Merger drama in Mechanicsburg Mechanicsburg has seen first-hand how mergers can be challenging. When the borough decided to implement a fire tax in 2012, it directed a merger of Washington and Citizens fire companies because it didnt want taxpayer money going to duplicate services, borough manager Roger Ciecierski said. At first, the idea seemed to have the support of both companies. Over time, however, the consolidation slowed and then stalled. By fall of 2018, it had reached a crisis point as officials from Citizens fire company balked at a full merger. The borough council even passed a vision statement saying the consolidation was unsuccessful and suggesting a new volunteer fire company should be formed with both current companies invited to join and transfer assets as part of a borough plan. While the exact reasons for the disagreement remained unclear, Citizens President Doug Boyd said in December that his companies ideas were not given a chance during the merger process. Boyd said there were advantages to keeping two companies and giving volunteers the choice of companies with separate chiefs and locations. There was also a dispute between the borough and Citizens over the companys alleged failure to turn in required background checks. Boyd declined to comment for this story, referring questions to Borough Fire Chief Gary Neff. More recently, there are some signs tensions may have eased. The two companies held a combined training at an abandoned home in April, and Neff said there had been a turn for the good in cooperation for the merger. In an interview for this story, Ciecierski called the combined training encouraging and said the borough would still love to have Citizens on board with the merger. Ciecierski said the borough will put an organizational structure in place for boroughwide fire operations, but the companies will still have control of operations within that structure. Draft bylaws will soon be completed, after which both fire companies will hold their first joint meeting, according to May borough council minutes. The community really doesnt care Taking a step back from the details that can bog down mergers, Ozog urged fire company leaders to not forget a simple fact: the goal is to serve the public, which needs effective fire and emergency services no matter where it comes from. The community really doesnt care who shows up, he said. Mechanicsburg might be a case in point. The borough has two fire companies to cover just 2.6 square miles. Washington and Citizens fire companies already respond to most of the same calls, Ciecierski said, so the public wouldnt experience much change in fire response if the two companies merged. Carlisle Fire Chief Jeffrey Synder said he thinks its important to keep the history and identity of each department, but also believes solving recruitment problems and effectively serving the public is paramount. We have that identity, but the bottom line is, we have to provide that service in a timely manner, we have to be efficient in what we do, and we have to be cost-effective, he said. Under one roof in Shippensburg If the barriers to mergers are tough to ignore, so are the problems that motivate talk of joining forces. Shippensburgs three fire stations Vigilant Hose, Cumberland Valley Hose, and West End all face the standard shortages of manpower, management and money, Borough Fire Chief Randy ODonnell said. Lack of senior leadership was especially a problem. We recognize that if we dont make significant changes in how we operate, were going to fail as leaders, he said. Gradually, the companies began working together on training, use of each others equipment, standard operating procedures and agreements among the municipalities they serve to share workers compensation. Quote We recognize that if we dont make significant changes in how we operate, were going to fail as leaders." Shippensburg Fire Chief Randy O'Donnell Now, theyre ready for a bigger step: by the end of 2019, Cumberland Valley Hose will move into Vigilant Hoses station on Walnut Bottom Road something that shouldnt have a major impact on response time since they are only 1.5 miles apart. As a result, the companies will be able to share buildings, equipment and leadership, ODonnell said. That also means the Cumberland Valley firehouse on King Street will no longer be operational. I really appreciate the effort that the company leadership has put into this, he said. I know a lot of communities struggle, argue and fight, and these guys and girls have really taken a professional attitude toward it and theyre making the best of it. Like other leaders, however, ODonnell said they wont eliminate fire station identities, including their names and colors. Talking together in Carlisle Carlisles two fire companies Union and Carlisle Fire & Rescue are participating in a committee with other central Cumberland County fire companies and municipalities to find ways to work together and provide more efficient service, Jeffrey Snyder said. For instance, they may be able to facilitate classes in Cumberland County for training requirements, limiting the need for volunteers to travel to HACC, Central Pennsylvanias Community College to meet those requirements, Michael Snyder said. There are also certain specialized skills that require extensive training, such as cutting through a car involved in a severe crash, and departments could share specialists rather than requiring each company to have someone with every relevant expertise, he said. Were talking about, regionally, what can we do that is cost-effective, Jeffrey Snyder said. We all have the same concerns keeping volunteers and recruiting volunteers. Overcoming the obstacles Despite the reluctance throughout Cumberland County, Ozog said it isnt impossible to overcome loyalty concerns to form fully merged fire departments. He pointed to United Hook & Ladder Company in Adams County, which formed in 2009 when New Oxford and Abbottstown fire companies merged and added Bonneauvilles company in 2016. They all have the same painting on their apparatus as one United Hook & Ladder Company, he said. If done right, regionalization can actually help with recruitment and retention because there is a centralized administration that can focus its resources on that goal, he said. Thats particularly true when it comes to recruiting millennials who are less concerned about local history and identity. The young guys dont care about that stuff, he said. They like the physical aspect of being a firefighter. We recognize that if we dont make significant changes in how we operate, were going to fail as leaders. Shippensburg Fire Chief Randy ODonnell Daniel Walmer covers public safety for The Sentinel. You can reach him by email at dwalmer@cumberlink.com or by phone at 717-218-0021. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 HARRISBURG Amid growing demand among mothers and hospitals for breast milk, Pennsylvania is considering regulating milk donation to ban unsafe practices in sharing breast milk. The state House of Representatives voted 191-1 on Monday for legislation prohibiting the sale of human milk in Pennsylvania by any entity that isnt licensed by the state Department of Health. The bill goes to the Senate. The legislation sets standards for screening donors and requires licensed milk banks to follow policies and procedures that are set by professional associations or the law. That includes keeping records of donor and milk screening and how the milk was processed and stored, as well as having a medical advisory committee of health personnel who are experienced in neonatology, nutrition, infectious diseases, biologics manufacturing and blood or tissue banking. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Church leaders pulled Kay aside one Sunday and told her she was excommunicated for failing to forgive her husband. Her conservative Mennonite church demanded that she take a registered sex offender back into her home, that she forgive and forget what he had done to their 1-month-old baby and her sibling who followed. But Kay had tried that blind forgiveness before, and she couldn't do it again. She'd gone to counseling with him, brought the kids to him for supervised visits, eaten meals with him. But this time, he needed to prove to her that he was trustworthy, and in the year since he'd been off probation, he'd ignored her rules and pushed the boundaries and pointed fingers at her for breaking up the marriage. And so she didn't welcome him back, despite pressure from the church and his family. And then, on that fall day in 2007, she was kicked out of the only community she'd ever known, suddenly facing a future as a single mother of four because she wouldn't let an abuser raise her children. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is identifying Kay and her husband only by their middle names to protect the identity of their children, some of whom were victims of sexual abuse. The Sunday after Kay was excommunicated, her husband was welcomed back into their Lancaster County church, Kay, now 47, said in a February interview. She was ostracized. "Everyone just turned their backs on us," she said. Forgiveness is paramount in many Amish and Mennonite communities. "In a setting like that, if it's confessed and forgiven, you are supposed to forget it." Those conservative Plain faiths take literally the words Jesus spoke in the Lord's Prayer "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" and believe a person who fails to forgive will not receive forgiveness from God but rather eternal damnation. Pastors in Plain communities expect church members to offer complete forgiveness to anyone who has wronged them and once the matter has been dealt with in the church, true forgiveness means never speaking of the issue again, former members said. To many, such complete forgiveness and restoration is a beautiful ideal. But some say the Plain faith's forgive-and-forget philosophy makes it next to impossible to hold offenders accountable or warn others about their behavior particularly people who have sexually abused children. "In a setting like that," Kay said, "if it's confessed and forgiven, you are supposed to forget it." The radical forgiveness of the Plain faiths has made headlines for decades. In 2006, a 32-year-old man burst into an Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, and shot 10 girls; five died. The attacker then killed himself as police closed in. That evening, Amish elders visited the man's family to say they held no grudges. They went to the shooter's funeral and offered condolences to his widow, making news worldwide. The Plain faiths frequently cite examples of extreme forgiveness in the Bible, like Jesus and the martyr Stephen, who both forgave their killers. And while many Americans view forgiveness as the end of a long emotional healing process, many Amish and Mennonite churches view forgiveness as the start of that process. Forgiveness must be granted, and with forgiveness comes reconciliation and restoration. "If we do not forgive, how can we expect to be forgiven?" a group of Amish wrote in response to inquiries about their response to Nickel Mines. The Amish and Mennonite practice forgiveness in countless small ways every day, so forgiving major calamities is a natural extension of a well-tuned habit. While Plain communities are often lauded for their radical forgiveness, there is a darker side to the deep-rooted belief, former church members said, in which it is used to silence anyone who continues to discuss another's forgiven sin. A forgiven sin is "a dead topic, it can absolutely never be mentioned again," said Hope Anne Dueck, co-founder of A Better Way, an Ohio-based Christian organization that combats child sexual abuse. "If it is mentioned again let's say (a wife) went to the church and said my husband needs long-term counseling, he needs long-term accountability she would be told she's bitter, she's unforgiving and she's the one who needs dealt with. Because he's said he was sorry, and this is not to be mentioned again." A man who confesses to church leadership that he sexually abused children might be required to go through a period of "probation" or "proving" in which he loses his full rights of church membership and receives additional supervision and mentoring. At the end of that time, the man often makes a general confession before the church, said Trudy Metzger, a former Mennonite and sexual abuse survivor. "The apology will sound possibly something like, '(I) have struggled with immorality,' so we're not calling it out for what it is," Metzger said. In some churches, the nature of that immorality child sexual abuse is never discussed. Protection There's often no system for separating that offender from children after he is forgiven, Metzger said. "That wouldn't be reflective of a forgiving spirit; that would look like we don't believe that they've really repented, that they're actually forgiven," she said. "Now, parents who are aware, some will be very proactive, and there will be the whispers, you know, in the crowd, and they will know but in some cases, there's really no awareness." Today, some Plain leaders say they're learning from their mistakes, learning that forgiveness can be coupled with ongoing accountability and protection for children. In Lancaster County, a committee of Old Order Mennonite and Amish elders works closely with law enforcement and child welfare officials on abuse cases. One elder on the committee, who asked not to be named because of the Plain aversion to self-promotion, said during a March interview that he and other committee members visit church leaders to impart the importance of reporting abuse to law enforcement. When a molester confesses his sin to the church and claims he can stop, "We know that is not the truth," said the committeeman. "They need more than just a confession." Any such awareness that abuse needs to be reported to law enforcement came too late for many adult survivors, advocates say. If there's progress, they say, it's only because of the outside pressure they've brought. Twice a year, many Plain churches hold communion services that essentially give church members a clean slate. The rite focuses heavily on forgiveness, and on a passage in which Jesus told the Apostle Peter that a repeat offender should be forgiven not seven times, but seventy times seven. "We would say before communion, 'I have peace with God, my fellow man, and I desire communion,'" Metzger recalled. "Once peace has been expressed, the issue may not be brought up again. So now we have made it so that twice a year, everything gets cancelled out in church. If you do (bring it up), you are not forgiving." When Kay refused to forgive more than a decade ago, the church welcomed her husband back and kicked her out for failing to forgive him. "I was dumbfounded," she said. "I was like, 'Seriously?'" Kay returned from grocery shopping one day in 1994 to find her husband, Shirk, with his penis in the mouth of their 1-month-old daughter, according to the criminal complaint that led to his guilty plea. Kay doesn't remember what she said to him, just that the baby was crying, so she picked up the infant and comforted her. Afterward, Shirk apologized and said it would never happen again, Kay said. "I believed him," she said. She dropped it, and they had two more children together as the years slipped by. She never witnessed any additional abuse, and she thought her husband had stopped. But then, in April 2000, he suddenly confessed to her, and to church authorities, that he was still sexually abusing the children. "They held a seminar, and they talked about how that is sin, and I did want to be free before God and confess it and get freedom," Shirk, now 50, said in an April interview. "I didn't want something hid that should have been confessed and taken care of." He told church leaders at Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church in Ephrata what he'd done; they told him to confess it in front of the congregation. "I did confession in church and made the confession in church and everybody stood and said they forgave me," Shirk said. "I thought it was all good, but I found out that doesn't make everybody happy." He laughed. "After that, I found out a lot of people carry a lot of hatred for that sin and it's hard for people to forgive." At first, life went on as normal after his confession, Shirk said. He felt forgiven and accepted in his community. No one reported his actions or confession to law enforcement. "When he confessed it to whoever it was at church, they didn't do anything," Kay said. "They did not report it. All he had to do was make a confession in front of the church. And it was a very general confession. I don't think he ever mentioned he was sexually abusing the children." The matter was considered closed, Kay said. Church leaders did not return calls for comment on this story. Kay tried to forgive and forget. She became pregnant with their fourth child that summer. And then Shirk started to unravel. He stopped sleeping and began to make nonsensical phone calls, sometimes all through the night. At one point he became so unpredictable that Kay fled to his parents' house, concerned for her safety. Shirk ended up in a psychiatric hospital, Kay and Shirk said. Kay soon went to visit. She wondered if Shirk's mental breakdown could be connected to his abuse of the children. She asked a nurse if that was possible. The nurse, mandated by state law to report child abuse, alerted the authorities. Kay tried to bring the kids to visit their father the next day, only to discover the children weren't allowed near him. "I was confused," Kay said. "I was like, 'What is going on?' And this whole time I was so brainwashed that I was still defending him." Now, she sees that moment as "God's way of protecting us and preventing more abuse." The Lancaster County Children and Youth Social Service Agency became involved, and the kids spent a few weeks staying with relatives until a Mennonite family within the church was approved as a foster family, Kay said. After he was released from the hospital, Shirk came home to live with her which was allowed as long as the kids weren't present. The church's pastors began an intense time of mentoring and training with the couple, giving them sessions on child rearing and marriage, all designed to keep them together. Shirk's family "sent us away for the weekend so I could satisfy him," Kay said. The pressure to stay together did not fade when Shirk was charged with child sex crimes in October 2000. He confessed during an interview with police and pleaded guilty the following month to four misdemeanor charges. He was sentenced to five years of probation and 15 years on Pennsylvania's sex offender registry. "I never knew there was anything like this that you could get into so much trouble," Shirk said. "I never knew it was so much trouble in all my life." He was appalled by the court system, law enforcement, child services. "This got way out of hand," he said. "For a little bit of touching that I did wrong. I know that it can be a big emotional thing for the girl, and it can affect their life ever after and stuff like that, and I don't want to belittle what I did." But, he said, the state doesn't know how to handle "these things." "There is no forgiveness for one thing," he said. "The state has no forgiveness, and therefore the church has no forgiveness, because the state is on their case that they'll put the preacher in jail if they don't report it." In this case, the church leaders Shirk confessed to did not face charges. Some men in the Mennonite community have told Shirk they're sorry for what he's gone through, he said, and confided that they've committed similar acts. "They said they were glad their situation didn't get into the public like mine did," he said. He added later: "I believe they were repentant of what they'd done and that they were living a good life." Shirk said he stopped molesting children after his confession in the church. But if he could do it over, Shirk said, he would not confess in church. Instead, he'd find a friend to confide in, and he'd ask that man to help him stop, to hold him accountable without triggering the state's justice system. "I believe what they're doing to men is way far worse," he said. "I mean, my daughters that I molested, yeah, as far as I know they are living a normal life. But I sure am not." After his conviction, Shirk was banned from seeing the children. Choice Kay, due to give birth to her fourth child, faced a choice. She could continue to live with Shirk and give all four of her children to the foster family, she could move in with the foster family, or she could take her children back and kick Shirk out. "I knew what the church wanted, and that's not what I chose," Kay said. She told Shirk he had to move out. For the next five years, Shirk was legally required to stay miles away from the children. "We had boundaries and that felt good, that felt safe," Kay said. But on the day his probation ended, he sent her a dozen roses. "That day I was so ticked off," Kay said. "I was like, 'No, you're not walking back into my life.'" Shirk expected to reconcile. "There is no room for a man molesting his children," he said. "But there ought to be forgiveness in the way (that) a man can live his life normal if he has confessed and had victory over it, there ought to be a way out." He and Kay tried some counseling after his probation ended, but, he said, she wanted "nothing to do with me." Kay ran afoul of the church, she said, when she refused to reconcile with Shirk after his probation ended. A few months after she was excommunicated, she picked up and moved with her children to a new town for a fresh start. She found work at the meat counter of a grocery store, found a new Mennonite church and a private school for the kids. There was some pressure from the new church to reconcile with her husband, she said, but not to the level of her previous congregation. "Every church wants the credit of getting the couple back together again," she said. Shirk, who works as a carpenter, kept trying to reconnect with Kay and the children. He feels she is obligated to forgive him. "I wouldn't expect a woman to live with a man who is drunk and beating on her. I wouldn't expect that. But when the church has gotten together and said this man needs forgiveness, it would have been in her place to do that," he said. He worries that Kay's salvation is in jeopardy because they haven't reconciled. "I just don't understand how that is going to work out on Judgment Day," he said. In 2016, Kay took out a no-trespassing notice against Shirk to keep him off her property. He violated the order in March 2018 and had to pay a fine, court records show. Nevertheless, on Valentine's Day this year, Shirk showed up at Kay's house and parked in the driveway across the street. He blew the horn. Kay ignored him. Eventually, he left. The next day, she found a balloon tied to a water bottle, stuck in the snow across the street. "I'm done," Kay said. She wants all of it to end the back and forth with Shirk, the silence in the Mennonite community about sexual abuse, the crimes that are passed from one generation to the next. Kay said she was herself sexually abused by a family member when she was between the ages of 12 and 14. "He wanted to see what girls look like," she said. "He climbed in bed with me and was groping my breasts and he wanted to take it further than that and I put a stop to it." She didn't tell her parents for years, she said. When they found out, they made sure Kay was never alone with that family member, she said. "But as far as taking it to the pastor, that did not happen, at least not that I'm aware of," she said. "You don't talk about things like that. You keep it quiet and sweep it under the rug." She hopes that by speaking out, and by moving the kids away instead of reconciling, she can help prevent additional abuse, both in her own family and in others. She's found a strength within herself that she didn't know she had, and she's reconnected with God at a new church, a place where sex offenders aren't allowed. She still wears a head covering, mostly out of respect for her parents, although most in her church do not. Kay is hopeful for the future, and knows God has plans for her, good plans, free from abuse. "Since I was abused, and my kids, I was all the more determined to put a stop to it," she said. "The Bible talks about generational sins and I said, 'It is stopping right here.'" Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Rajesh Khanal is a business reporter for The Kathmandu Post covering insurance, the capital market, trade and macroeconomic issues. Khanal has also taught economics at a number of colleges in Kathmandu. In northern York County, one police department covers 150 square miles and eight municipalities. By contrast, Cumberland County has one inter-municipal department, the West Shore Regional Police Department. Even that force only covers two municipalities the boroughs of Wormleysburg and Lemoyne. Other towns or municipalities either have their own police department or rely on state police for coverage. One of the main advantages to using regionalized police is reduced costs, according to Northern York County Regional Police Chief Mark Bentzel. All of the police officers are centralized at one station to reduce building costs. Having one chief eliminates the cost of salaries for multiple chiefs. A regionalized department may also be able to eventually reduce staffing costs through attrition, since each small area no longer needs to provide its own 24/7 coverage, Bentzel said. You dont need to have as many officers receive specialized levels of training, such as accident reconstruction or handling child abuse investigations. Where it Stands: How much municipalities may pay for state police coverage Cumberland Countys 15 municipalities without a police force are still waiting to see whether Pennsylvanias 2019-20 budget will make them pay You can see how the savings begin to add up, he said. A 2013 Sentinel report also found that consolidation of police departments generally reduces costs. Still a regional police force isnt guaranteed to be affordable. In 2017, leaders of Bath Borough in Northampton County withdrew from the Colonial Regional Police Department, citing cost. Bath was required to spend more than $400,000 almost one-fourth of the boroughs budget to remain part of the department under the cost-sharing arrangement, according to the (Allentown) Morning Call. Bath considered using state police instead. A state proposal could make regional police a more attractive option by making it less affordable to rely on state police coverage. Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed requiring such towns to pay for state police on a sliding scale based on population. South Middleton Township would need to pay nearly $2 million under the proposal. Quality control Money, though, isnt the only advantage to possible consolidation. Criminals dont confine themselves to a regional boundary, and officers in the same department are able to more easily notice a pattern or solve a series of crimes throughout a larger area, Bentzel said. There is also more manpower available to respond to a major incident. State Police fee plan gets new attention, may cost South Middleton $1.6 million HARRISBURG The latest effort by Gov. Tom Wolf to impose a fee on municipalities that rely on state troopers, instead of a local police force Still, there are some concerns. While Mechanicsburg Borough Manager Roger Ciecierski is pushing for a merger of the boroughs two fire companies, he has more concerns about regional police mergers. A major worry for Ciecierski would be police response time if officers for a large swath of Cumberland County were working out of one regional police station. (The public) wants someone to be there in a timely manner, he said. Youve got to balance whats the best way to do that. Bentzel acknowledged that response time has to be considered. If police were responding from their station in Dover Township to the furthest corner of their coverage area, it could take as long as 25 minutes. That is absolutely unacceptable for a response time, he said. However, Bentzel alleviates that concern by assigning officers to cover specific geographical areas for the duration of their shifts. They remain in that area through their entire patrol. The department also has protocols in place for which officers would respond as backup for a major incident to ensure that no area is completely without a police presence, he said. I (am able to) reduce my response time dramatically, he said. Daniel Walmer covers public safety for The Sentinel. You can reach him by email at dwalmer@cumberlink.com or by phone at 717-218-0021. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Cumberland County Board of Elections will see demonstrations of potential new voting machines at its meeting Tuesday. The meeting will be at 11 a.m. at the Cumberland County Board of Elections, 1601 Ritner Highway, Suite 201, Carlisle. We want to be able to see the options being considered for the county, said Al Whitcomb, Cumberland County Board of Elections chairman. This gives us the perfect opportunity to see how they work, test them out, and gauge the durability of the machines. The Pennsylvania Department of State informed counties that they have until December 2019 to select new voting systems that provide a paper verifiable ballot. According to the Department of State, these systems allow for more accurate and reliable post-election audits. In Pennsylvania, every voting system and paper ballot must include a plain text that voters can read to verify their choices before casting their ballot. Election officials will also use the plain text to perform post-election audits and recounts. The new voting machines are to be in use no later than the 2020 primary. The members of the board will not decide which voting machine to purchase at this public meeting. However, a decision is expected to be made by the fall. Email Tammie at tgitt@cumberlink.com. Follow her on Twitter @TammieGitt. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Locals who followed 90 Day Fiance and are now following up with 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? are used to catching glimpses of Cumberland County when stars Ashley Martson and Jay Smith are featured in an episode. The show follows international couples as the foreign half of the pair comes to the United States on a 90-day fiance, or K-1, visa. The couples must marry before the the visa expires in 90 days or the visiting partner has to return home. The follow-up show, 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After? revisits the couples after theyve made it to the altar, according to the shows website. Martson is from Mechanicsburg where Smith, whom she met in Jamaica, joined her. As the show told their story, Smith made a few visits to GQ Barbershop on North Hanover Street in Carlisle. Barbershop owner Kendell Cook tells us what it was like behind the scenes. Q. How did you get connected with 90-Day Fiance? A. It was a coincidence that I was introduced to Jay from 90 Day Fiance by a friend of his wife, Ashley. Her friends son gets his hair cut at the shop and, at the time, they were looking for a local barbershop where he could get a good haircut, so she recommended our barbershop and the rest was history. Q. What does a typical day of filming look like? A. A typical day filming was fun. The film crew were very friendly and cooperative with all the barbers and customers. They worked around our schedule and helped us to get prepared for the filming. They told us to be ourselves and we were allowed to film and give our own personal feedback. The producers of the show love the shop and appreciated us working with them. Q. How would you describe your role/interaction with Jay? A. My role and interaction with Jay as his barber were normal, pretty much the same as any other day in the barbershop. We talked about the issues he was going through and we tried to give him the best advice we could have dealing with marriage and being a newlywed Q. Whats the strangest or funniest thing that happened during filming? A. The funniest thing on set was the producers filling us in on what was going on in Jay and Ashleys marriage and how things werent that good. We had no idea of what was going on and was surprised to find out Jay wasnt being honest in the relationship Q. Where does your TV career go from here? A. Well, where our filming career goes from here, theres no telling but we definitely appreciated being able to be a part of a national televised network and getting the exposure for the barbershop in our area. Its an experience that will be apart of our barbershop forever. Email Tammie at tgitt@cumberlink.com. Follow her on Twitter @TammieGitt. Love 5 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Lower Allen Township Police are looking for two men they say stole crab meat on two occasions from the Weis Markets in the 1100 block of Lowth The following people were sentenced on May 21 in Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas. All sentences include costs and run concurrently with other sentences unless otherwise specified. Probation is unsupervised unless indicated otherwise. Driving under the influence offenses generate different mandatory-minimum sentences based on an offenders prior convictions in the past 10 years. 75 Years Ago Board members and staff of the Childrens Welfare Board resigned as a group on June 1 citing a lack of cooperation from the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners. In other news, Myrl Scott Myers, a Mechanicsburg native and Dickinson College graduate, has been appointed as the senior consul general in India. Myers had served with the diplomatic corps since 1907. His new post will be in Calcutta. The 14th summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Mecca, Saudi Arabia was hosted by Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. Key Highlights of Summit Agenda : The official agenda of meeting was to address current issues in Muslim world and recent developments in a number of OIC member states. Also, amid soaring tension between Iran and the US and its Gulf allies the OIC summit discussed the regional security issues. The Mecca summit supported Palestinians and backed Saudis in Iran standoff. : The official agenda of meeting was to address current issues in Muslim world and recent developments in a number of OIC member states. Also, amid soaring tension between Iran and the US and its Gulf allies the OIC summit discussed the regional security issues. The Mecca summit supported Palestinians and backed Saudis in Iran standoff. Background : In December 2017, The United States President Donald Trump broke the decades of established protocol by recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital. In May 2018 US embassy was transferred from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The suit was soon followed by Guatemala. : In December 2017, The United States President Donald Trump broke the decades of established protocol by recognizing as Israels capital. In May 2018 US embassy was transferred from to Jerusalem. The suit was soon followed by Guatemala. Political leaders and heads of state from Islamic nations unanimously condemned countries including United Sates decision of making illegal and irresponsible decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In a joint statement at OIC summit in Saudi Arabia, the leaders called on countries that have moved their embassies to Jerusalem (by recognizing it as Israels capital) to rethink their strategy and which OIC considered as a serious violation of international law and international legitimacy. About Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue also known as Quad is an informal strategic grouping consisting of India, US, Australia and Japan recently met in Bangkok in Thailand. Key Highlights of Meet Renovation of historic Chisapani fort begins All three governments have allocated budget for the preservation of the fort. Approximately 85,000 teachers are graduates of distance learning (ID) programs, Education Minister Ecaterina Andronescu said at a meeting with school inspectors from Caras-Severin County. The share represents over one-third of the total number of educational staff, according to official data. The information has been disclosed as part of an argument supporting the need for vocational training of those working in the education sector, especially those who have completed such distance learning programs. When you use distance learning, you learn somehow by keeping a distance from books. As a result, we need to bring them into a professional training program. All of these things are extremely important, the minister said. Each teacher has to attend vocational training programs at least once every 10 years and the urgency is for ID graduates, Ecaterina Andronescu added. Teachers must regularly go back to a university for these training sessions, both to refresh their knowledge in the field they teach, but also to keep up to date with modern, digitized teaching methods. She explained that renewing school and teaching methods is all the more necessary in the current context, as it is about an adaptation to the reality in which children live today, to todays school children: We have in our schools a generation that is radically different from the generation 15 years or 20 years ago. They have other expectations; they have other acquisitions before they get to school because most of them grew with their fingers on the tablet. For those who are closer to the psychological components the visual memory component is much more developed and through the visual memory they acquired knowledge before starting the school and now we bring them back to the pencil and chalk; that cannot be done. We must try to modernize ourselves. How? Thats why we have money to buy smart boards in every class, but thats why we need to help teachers work with them. Aboneaza-te la newsletter aici. Iti multumim ca citesti cursdeguvernare. Minister Andronescu revealed that in 2001, at the moment when the school digitalisation program has been introduced, only 8% of teachers had ever opened a computer. Romania has the largest number of unskilled teachers in the EU, in recent years Romanian school children registered disastrous results in PISA international tests (almost 40% are functionally illiterate); accreditation exams for teachers show that the teachers level of training is not very high either, school drop-out rate fluctuates from year to year between ranking second and third largest in the EU, less than 50% of high school graduates complete their studies and obtain the baccalaureate diploma in due course. DEAR ABBY: I am in my 20s, married and seven months pregnant. My problem is my overbearing and manipulative mother. She guilt-trips me, uses social media to shame me and has tried to harm herself and blame me for it, saying I caused it because I'm a horrible daughter. Now that I am expecting my first child, she's trying to control everything. All the boundaries I set are being pushed and crossed. This is causing a lot of stress for me. What can I do to get free of my crazy, overbearing mother?! -- NEEDS FREEDOM IN SOUTH CAROLINA DEAR NEEDS FREEDOM: Recognize that as an adult, YOU are now in control. Stress isn't good for you or your baby at a time like this. As a mother, your first responsibility will be to your little one. If your mother has tried to harm herself in the past -- regardless of her reasons for it -- surely others are aware of it. Because she is toxic and unstable, you have every right to distance yourself from her drama. Draw the line. Accept that you can't please everyone, and that includes your overbearing mother. DEAR ABBY: My brother-in-law has been living with my husband and me for three years. We have been helping him out for about 11 of our 15 years of marriage. I don't want him here anymore. My husband tells me that I need to be patient. I think I have been patient long enough. My cousin said to give his brother an ultimatum, but he has a temper, and he doesn't have normal arguments. He doesn't hit, but he automatically yells. Because of that, I have been avoiding issues with him that have been bugging me. How should I go about telling my husband it's his brother or me? -- WANTS HIM GONE DEAR WANTS HIM GONE: Unless you are prepared to follow through on your ultimatum, I don't think you should put it in those terms. A gentler way to phrase it might be to tell your husband that he has been a wonderful, supportive brother, but he has been doing his adult brother no favors by fostering his dependence upon both of you. Point out that what's been going on for the last three years has been extremely unfair to you, that you no longer wish to live this way, and that it's time to set a certain date when either his brother is out of your home -- or you will be. DEAR ABBY: How do you think people feel about receiving greeting cards that have a charity organization's name and address on the back of the card? I receive beautiful cards from charity organizations to be sent out by me and have often wondered if people think you are too cheap to buy your own cards. These cards include birthday, get well, Christmas, etc. I hate to throw them away, but I would like to know how people feel when receiving these cards. -- SENDER OF GREETINGS IN VIRGINIA DEAR SENDER: Speaking for myself, when I receive a card from someone, I am far more pleased that the person thought of me than how much was spent on the card. It's the thought that counts, remember? DEAR ABBY: I mentioned to two friends that my best friend was thinking of moving. One of them told the main office of the company they work at. When my best friend found out, she said I had betrayed her, and she no longer wants to be my friend. I love and miss her. I have tried everything to repair our friendship. She'll say hello when I see her, but she no longer calls or visits me. What can I do to get back in her good graces? I have apologized, but nothing seems to help. Please advise. -- NEEDS MY FRIEND DEAR NEEDS: If your friend didn't warn you that the discussion about her moving was IN CONFIDENCE, she has no one to blame but herself for the word getting out. Perhaps you should remind her of that fact. I can't guarantee that it will repair your relationship, but if it's the truth, she should hear it. DEAR ABBY: I am almost 62 and struggling to get through the day at work. It's not because of the work itself, but I am extremely unhappy in the work environment. I have been here more than 20 years, and I have a real problem with the work ethic of the younger employees. They come in to work anywhere from a half-hour to two hours late. One of them takes hourlong breaks, two-hour lunches and then leaves early. Another comes to work and complains nonstop about her drive, her ex and all her aches and pains. (She just turned 40.) I go home every night frustrated and so stressed out I snap at my poor husband. I really want to retire. It wouldn't be a financial burden, although we would have to cut back on a little spending. My husband won't offer an opinion, but I know I'd be much happier and healthier if I did. Any advice? -- STRESSED AND TIRED DEAR STRESSED: You might be happier and healthier if, rather than retire early, you talked to a licensed mental health professional about how to manage your stress. You can't control the behavior (or misbehavior) of your younger co-workers. That's your boss's responsibility. If their lack of punctuality and poor attendance doesn't bother your employer, you should not be letting it affect you. And as to the woman who complains about her aches, her pains and her ex -- why are you listening to that garbage? You have only a few more years until you reach an age at which you can retire with all the benefits you have earned -- and without having to cut back. Please consider what I have said and ride it out. DEAR ABBY: I recently had a phone conversation with a cousin who lives on the other side of the country. We talk once a month. She has always been judgmental and negative about our cousins, aunts, uncles, etc., who -- for the most part -- she rarely communicates with. In the past, when she would put them down, I'd cut the conversation short because I didn't want to listen. During our last chat, she started in on my brother. That's when I lost it. I gave her a piece of my mind and hung up. Since then, she has texted and called a few times, but I haven't responded. I feel bad for what happened, but at the same time, I refuse to listen to her talk badly about and judge other family members. How should I handle this? Should I respond to her? In one of her texts she said she "didn't mean to upset me," but I don't consider that an apology. -- HATES JUDGMENT IN OHIO DEAR HATES JUDGMENT: Yes, you should respond to your cousin. She needs to understand that you are changing the rules regarding further conversations with her. Explain that it has always made you uncomfortable when she said unkind, judgmental things about family members, and that when she started in on your brother, you finally reached your limit. Tell her that in the future when you talk, it must be about positive things and not family members. After that, the ball will be in her court. See if she follows through. DEAR ABBY: I have a son from a previous relationship, and have been in a relationship with a man I'll call Bryan for a year. Not long ago, Bryan confided to me that he and his brother had been molested by a female relative. I don't know her. I have only met his parents. This female relative has been asking about my son on social media because she has seen him in pictures with Bryan's family. I want to tell her to back off, but so far, I have held off. I'm afraid if I do, I will cause problems because his parents don't know what I know. My protective instinct has become very alert. I may be wrong, but I feel like she sees my son as a future target. What should I do? -- MAMA BEAR DEAR MAMA BEAR: Listen to your protective instinct. Talk with Bryan and tell him the woman's questions are of concern to you, that you don't want her to have any information about or contact with your child, and then make sure your wishes are respected. If she receives any message to back off, it should come from him, not you. DEAR ABBY: On behalf of all new moms, please help with this question. Why does every woman in the world, it seems, feel entitled to ask new moms if they are breastfeeding their babies? How should new moms respond politely to this question? If you say yes, you may or may not be lying. If you say no, you will be judged. If you give an evasive answer, people will assume you are not and you will be judged as well. It seems to me that all substances excreted by the body should be off limits in social situations. -- MY BUSINESS IN TEXAS DEAR MY BUSINESS: Judgmental people can get to you only if you allow it. While there are valid reasons why babies should be breastfed, it isn't always possible, and women should not be quizzed by strangers about whether they are. My mother used to advise readers who were put off by prying questions to say, "If you will forgive me for not answering that question, I'll forgive you for asking." Even though you asked for a polite retort, in a situation like this, MY response would be, "If that were any of your business, you would already know the answer!" DEAR ABBY: A couple years ago, when we moved to a home with more privacy than our previous home, my husband decided to walk around naked all the time. It's not that I'm a prude, but I don't find his furry 60-year-old body attractive in broad daylight. Quite the opposite, in fact. I have asked him many times to please put something on, and he either ignores me or gets mad. I avert my eyes when he's sashaying by me. Is there anything else I can do to reason with him? -- SEEN ENOUGH ALREADY DEAR SEEN ENOUGH: Probably not. Since you can't change him, why not join him one day a week? You have nothing to lose but your clothes -- and it might solve the problem. DEAR ABBY: My psychiatrist's office called and left a very sensitive voicemail about my bulimia on a message machine shared with other individuals. Our voicemails are sent transcribed to everyone's email accounts. Since my complaint (which was an argument during which the nurse who left the private information hung up on me), human resources and the office manager have contacted me to try to alleviate the tension, but I have received no apology from anyone for violating HIPAA or embarrassing me. Should I throw in the towel and find a new doctor or revoke my contact information from their files? I don't know how to proceed from here. -- PERSONAL TO PUBLIC DEAR PERSONAL: If you provided a shared phone number as your point of contact, you should not have blamed the person who left the message for using it. I see no reason to change doctors, but you should definitely alter your client information so this doesn't happen in the future. That said, does your psychiatrist know one of his/her employees hung up on you? If not, the doctor should be informed, and you should be offered an apology. DEAR ABBY: As guardians of our 5-year-old grandson, we have been given all rights, no terms. He has a father who is "on again, off again" and makes zero financial contribution. I want to cut him off because consistency and effort are important to me, and he shows none. My husband, on the other hand, says the boy is young, and I should give his father some time because contact once every other month is better than none at all. Our grandson enjoys him when he is here, but he doesn't miss him or ask for him once he's left. Should I allow this inconsistency and instability to continue? -- PARENTS AGAIN IN CALIFORNIA DEAR PARENTS AGAIN: I think your husband is right. While the father's presence may be sporadic, at least your grandson knows that he is cared about. As he grows older, he may or may not start asking why his dad isn't around more. Deal with it then. The boy's stability is coming from the home you and your husband are providing for him, and that should be your focus. DEAR ABBY: I'm close to my brother and his wife. My friend "Dotty"-- who is estranged from her husband -- thinks my brother is hot, so when she sees him (without his wife) she greets him with a quick kiss on the lips. I have told her I don't think my sister-in-law would like it if she saw her do that. Since then, Dotty has asked him to do repair work at her house (without pay) and he agreed because he is kindhearted. I told her subtly that I didn't think that was a good idea. Is her behavior toward married men normal? -- TOO FRIENDLY IN HAWAII DEAR TOO FRIENDLY: It is, for a woman who is friendly, outgoing and on the prowl. You may be dropping hints about what Dotty is doing to the wrong person. The next time you talk to your brother, tell HIM what you think about your friend's behavior, and ask him what he thinks his wife would think about it. DEAR ABBY: I suffer from a debilitating, rare, chronic illness. Two years ago, my parents convinced me to move across the country to live with them in a city I've never lived in. They promised it would be "only for a year," they'd pay the cost of moving and finance a "year of wellness." I was to receive acupuncture, massage therapy, physical therapy, help from doctors, a personal trainer, etc. They paid to move me, but have not followed through with any of their promises to help treat my disorder. What's more, I have had to fit an entire apartment's worth of furniture and other items into a small bedroom, and I'm not allowed to use the rest of the house. Now that I am here, I can't afford to pay to move back east or possibly find a place to live or work without being established in this new city. Is there a way to address the predicament I am now in and the fact that they relocated me without keeping their promises? I'm extremely shy and have made no friends in this town these past two years. -- DESPERATE DAUGHTER DEAR DAUGHTER: You should not be isolated the way you are. And you need more help than I can give you in a letter. From your description, you are a prisoner in your parents' home. Contact your doctor back east about what has been going on. Of course, if you have friends there, you should alert them, too. You will not get better living as you are. For your parents to have promised help and reneged is inexcusable. If there is an organization that supports your rare illness, it should be contacted too. Please do not wait. DEAR ABBY: I'm 22 and I'm dating this amazing guy a couple of years older than me. He really checks off so many things on my "list," I can't help but be attracted to and appreciate him. He is a good guy, good looking, real smart and our values match up. We also have a really good vibe together. Here's the issue: He is not as tall as I would prefer. He's not super short, but we are the same height and when I wear shoes with a small heel, he's slightly shorter. I don't know why I'm still thinking about the height thing when I could really see us together long term. Am I being superficial? What should I do? -- UNSURE IN PENNSYLVANIA DEAR UNSURE: Ask yourself this: Is your self-confidence so lacking that you would seriously allow his height to bother you? If the fact that you would be self-conscious wearing heels with him could deter you from a long-term relationship, you should let him go because your values are not as alike as you would like to think. DEAR ABBY: My husband passed away nine months ago at the age of 52. I miss him every day. Recently, a man who was a friend of ours asked me out on a date. I must be honest -- the last nine months have been very sad and lonely, so when he asked me, I experienced a mixed bag of emotions. Would it be wrong to accept his invitation? And how do I deal with the guilt I'm feeling because I would like to go out with him? -- MUST BE MOVING AHEAD IN VIRGINIA DEAR MUST BE MOVING AHEAD: Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your husband. It's not surprising that the period since his passing has been difficult for you. There is no set timetable for grieving the loss of a loved one. If you feel the time is right to have companionship again, you should not feel guilty about it. Go, girl, go. DEAR ABBY: I am 19 and love my boyfriend a lot. He is very sweet and would do anything for me. However, I am beginning to think there may be someone else. The someone else is male. My boyfriend has become very secretive lately with his phone, and I've noticed he's followed a lot of male modeling accounts on Instagram. Should I confront him about it, or am I overthinking things? -- CONFLICTED IN IOWA DEAR CONFLICTED: You are not overthinking. Because you are having doubts about your boyfriend's faithfulness, ask him why he has become secretive with his phone and why he is viewing male models on Instagram. Unless he's trying to become a model, it is possible that he may be bisexual. If that's the case -- and you are correct that he would "do anything" for you -- he should level with you about it. P.S. If you have been having unprotected sex with this young man, I urge you to be tested for STDs as soon as possible. DEAR ABBY: I'm a 15-year-old girl in my sophomore year. School is going really good, I'm getting my grades up, I made the varsity lacrosse team, and I have amazing friends. But our school tells us that during our sophomore school year, we should start to look at colleges. Neither of my parents went to college, and I'm not sure what I should be doing to prepare. I'm only an average student, and I don't really know what I should ask my guidance counselor or look for in a college. What do you think I should do? -- STUDENT IN NEW YORK DEAR STUDENT: That your parents didn't go to college doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't. If your grades need improvement, ask your teachers what you need to do to earn better grades. Make an appointment with your guidance counselor and explain exactly what you have told me. When you do, I am sure the person will be glad to help you. DEAR ABBY: My best friend is being married, and the wedding invitation lists the attire as "black tie." I understand this usually means the men should wear tuxedos. Several of the men who have been invited have told me they plan to wear dark suits instead. Is this appropriate for a black tie event? I suppose there's no way to force anyone to wear something they don't want to, but I'm wondering if black tie is a requirement or a suggestion. -- WEDDING ATTIRE ETIQUETTE DEAR ATTIRE: If an invitation specifies "black tie," it means that formal attire is preferred. The rules of etiquette dictate that guests should comply. However, breaking a rule of etiquette is not a felony. If these invitees prefer not to go to the expense of renting a tux, ask your best friend if he/she would be offended if they wore dark suits and conservative ties to the wedding instead. DEAR ABBY: I am a 70-year-old male former teacher and social worker. I stopped dating 30 years ago because the only women I had loved had all dumped me. I felt I was only a temporary convenience to them. Since then, I haven't been romantically involved with anyone so I would not be dumped again. However, I am lonely for female companionship and afraid I'll die without ever having had another girlfriend. I'm not attracted to women my age, and I don't see younger women being attracted to an overweight old guy who isn't even scraping by on Social Security. Dating services don't screen their members. Is there a solution for this problem? -- HOPELESS IN MISSOURI DEAR HOPELESS: I'm sorry women in your age range don't qualify, because it would be easier for you if they did. To be appreciated for the person you are, you will have to meet through mutual friends, church or an activity you enjoy -- something that will allow women to see the strengths you have. However, if that doesn't open some doors and some hearts, because you're looking for unconditional love, consider adopting a puppy. DEAR ABBY: My middle-schooler noticed that the family of one of her classmates is struggling financially. The boy wears eyeglasses with a crooked frame and one missing lens. His clothing and shoes are shabby and worn. Not knowing the student or his family, I know my options are limited. They rely on public transportation, and none of the other students know where they live. Education is paramount to getting out of this jam. Without something as simple as glasses, I'm afraid it can't be done. Do you have any recommendations on how to help get this student a pair? Since I don't know the family, how do I even offer a ride to an optometrist's without fear of being labeled a kidnapper? -- TRYING TO HELP IN THE WEST DEAR TRYING TO HELP: A diplomatic way to handle it would be to discuss this with your daughter's teacher or the school principal. I agree a child who can't see the blackboard has little chance of academic success. If you would like to provide transportation or pay for glasses for the boy, speaking with school staff would be the path with the least potential for embarrassment. DEAR ABBY: I am currently in a relationship that's great except for one thing. She knows what "buttons" to push to make me angry, and she'll continue to push them. No matter what I do, she's in my face. It just seems she wants to argue until I reach the point of exploding. I try to walk away, go to another room, ignore her, tell her she's making me angry -- yet she continues. I'm all for being able to walk away and then talk about it later -- and I have confronted her on this. What do I do? -- FRUSTRATED IN FLORIDA DEAR FRUSTRATED: What do you do? You break up with this toxic individual who enjoys goading you to the point of exploding, and find a woman who is a lot more compatible. DEAR ABBY: I'm 29. I had a son six years ago and left my ex because he didn't want to be a father. He chose to party instead. I had to file a name change for my son, and custody was hard to fight for because the father refused to show up. Since then, I've worked two and sometimes three jobs just to stay ahead. My child hardly sees me. I work so much that my son has stopped calling me "Mommy" and instead calls me by my name. I feel hopeless and that I'm working for nothing. Have I made a mistake working so much? -- MOMMY IN MARYLAND DEAR MOMMY: If you are working those long hours in order to pay your bills, you are doing what a parent is supposed to do -- providing for your child. Because your ex isn't doing his share, get on the internet and research "child support for single mothers." Resources are available to help you. As to your son no longer calling you "Mommy," I would have to ask where he got the idea he would call you anything else. (Have you asked him?) Rather than accept it, make clear that he has only one mommy, you are it, and you will not tolerate being called anything else. DEAR ABBY: I've been seeing someone for six or seven months, but we have been together for only three. He's quite the package, except he can't handle confrontation and doesn't communicate well. His way of handling uncomfortable conversations is to avoid them, while I, on the other hand, tend to be very communicative. Is there a way for both of us to be happy when dealing with difficult conversations? Is there anything I can do to make him more comfortable with them? I should add that he hasn't been in a relationship in forever. I'm happy with him, but communication is important to me. -- VERBAL IN THE WEST DEAR VERBAL: Has it occurred to you that this man may not have been in a relationship "in forever" BECAUSE he can't deal with uncomfortable conversations? For many women, that would be a deal-breaker. While not all men are comfortable with long, heartfelt conversations, the only way to arrive at a compromise is to talk with each other. Give him more time because your relationship is still new. But if he isn't capable of opening up, recognize it as an important red flag if you are contemplating a long relationship with him. 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 Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging think tanker, aspiring novelist, hanger on of academia, parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, Speedboat, proudly banned from Twitter so officially more dangerous than the Taliban, eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me. Himachal Pradesh: Fishing ban till July 31 June 03,2019 | Source: The Tribune Fisheries Minister Virender Kanwar today ordered a ban on fishing in all reservoirs till July 31. He said the Department of Fisheries would organise special camps, where staff would be deputed to keep a check on such activities. As many as 16 camps at Pong Dam, 16 at Gobind Sagar Dam, 3 at Kol Dam, 1 at Chamera Dam and 1 at Ranjit Sagar Dam had been put up. Kanwar said under the Close Season Relief Fund Scheme, Rs 3,000 per month would be provided to fishermen working in the reservoirs during the ban. Karnataka: Ban on fishing imposed in Karnataka for 2 months June 03,2019 | Source: ANI News The Karnataka government on Friday issued an order banning mechanised fishing activities off its coast for 61 days to facilitate breeding of aqua fauna in the Arabian Sea. The ban, which will come into effect from tomorrow and continue till July 31, was issued considering the safety of fisherman during the monsoon season as well. According to D Thippeswamy, Deputy Director of Fisheries in Mangaluru, no mechanised boat will be allowed to carry out fishing activities in the sea during the ban. "The ban will apply to boats having on board or outboard engines above 10 hp. It will not apply to traditional and motorised boats fitted with outboard engines less than 10 hp capacity," he told ANI. The official said, "Monsoon season is considered as the breeding time for fishes and if we allow fishing during this period, it will affect their growth in future. That is why we are imposing a ban on fishing activities." According to the order, fishermen found violating the ban will not only be fined under the Karnataka Marine Fishing (Regulation) Act, 1986, they would also be deprived of diesel subsidy for a year. Two provinces present policies and programmes State 2 prioritises mechanisation of agro sector and Sudurpaschim focuses on programmes for high economic growth rate Province 2 Governor Ratneshwor Lal Kayastha (left) reads the government's policies and programmes during the provincial assembly meeting in Janakpur on Sunday. Post Photo: Santosh Singh France has vowed to take the necessary steps to try to prevent Iraq carrying out the death penalty against three [9 on June 3, 2019] French citizens convicted of fighting with the Islamic State group (IS) on Sunday. The French foreign ministry said on Monday [This piece was published on May 29] that France is opposed in principle to the death penalty at all times and in all places. It said the detained men were receiving consular assistance to ensure they had legal representation ahead of an expected appeal, which they have 30 days to lodge. It added, however, that France respects the sovereignty of Iraqs institutions and that IS members had to answer for their crimes. The French government has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria should face trial locally, refusing to repatriate them despite the fact they are at risk of capital punishment. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has referred to them as "enemies" of the nation. French authorities have repatriated a handful of children and plan to continue on a case-by-case basis. The French trio - Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou - were extradited to Iraq from Kurdish-held north Syria in February and military sources at the time said that 14 French citizens were among 280 Iraqi and foreign detainees handed over by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia. All three convicted Frenchmen rejected the ruling and asked to be tried in France, but judges ignored their request, a court-appointed lawyer told the Reuters news agency. Iraq is conducting trials of thousands of suspected IS members, including hundreds of foreigners, with many arrested as the group's strongholds crumbled throughout the country as Iraqi forces and a US-led international coalition rolled back the militants' gains. Iraq's courts have condemned many suspected IS members to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. Rights groups have raised concerns over the trials of suspected IS members in Iraq. According to Human Rights Watch, trials have generally been rushed, based on a defendants confession and have not involved victim participation. Prosecutions of Islamic State suspects in Iraq are proceeding based on a deeply flawed and vague counterterrorism law, HRW said in March. Amnesty International described the mass-execution of 38 people under charges of terrorism in 2017 as abhorrent. | 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 Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Midway through debate over whether to abolish New Hampshires death penalty, Sen. Sharon Carson issued a warning. If you think youre passing this today and (Michael) Addison is still going to remain on death row, you are confused, she said, referring to New Hampshires lone death row inmate. Mr. Addisonss sentence will be commuted to a life sentence. The Senate voted to pass the repeal measure after an impassioned campaign that supporters said had more to do with the principle than one person. Now, as the dust settles, the question of Addisons fate persists. Addison, convicted in the 2006 slaying of Manchester police officer Michael Briggs, is still fighting his conviction through state and federal appeals. But advocates on both sides of the debate have conceded that Thursdays repeal could spell the end of his death sentence. The law passed Thursday deliberately applies only to capital murder convictions from that day on. What the courts do with it, though, is far from clear. For now, many are looking to other states. Enter Connecticut. In 2012, the Legislature repealed its capital punishment, 3 years after a previous effort had been vetoed by the governor. But the state still bore the scars of recent tragedy: the 2007 murders of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 17 and 11-year old daughters during a home invasion. To exempt the convicted perpetrators Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky from escaping execution, lawmakers explicitly limited their repeal bill to future convictions. But the courts thought otherwise. In 2015, the state supreme court invalidated the death penalty in State v. Santiago, pointing to shifting contemporary standards of decency after the repeal. In a flash, Hayes, Kominsarjevsky, and nine other death row inmates had their sentences commuted to life without parole. The Connecticut case featured heavily in New Hampshires repeal discussions this year and last: an example of repeal applying backward whether or not lawmakers allowed it so. Whether or not it would apply to New Hampshires case is a different story. To start, there may be a difference in court philosophy. Connecticuts 4-3 decision was driven by the concept of an evolving standard of cruel and unusual punishment, and a recognition that a death penalty repeal bill even a non-retroactive one heralded a societal shift. It is not unlike the way the U.S. Constitutional equivalent of cruel and unusual punishment has been interpreted, said Miriam Gohara, a clinical associate professor of law at Yale who has spent 16 years defending death row inmates. Its evolving standards of decency, she said. Meaning that by todays standards, would this punishment amount to cruel and unusual punishment, or in the language of the Connecticut state constitution, would it be excessive or disproportionate punishment? In Connecticut, the answer was yes, if by a slim majority on the court. But New Hampshires highest court has historically taken a different tack. In one of several decisions to deny Addisons appeal and uphold his capital punishment sentencing, the New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected the idea that the death penalty was at odds with the state constitutions cruel or unusual punishment prohibition. For that, they used something of an originalist argument. Given that, at the time the State Constitution was adopted, capital punishment was a sanctioned penalty for specific crimes and that the plain language of the constitution anticipates its use, the framers could not have considered capital punishment to be cruel or unusual, the court wrote. Whether or not the repeal of the law in question changes that calculus is difficult to predict. The short answer is: Its up to the court, said Buzz Scherr, criminal justice professor at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. Just because the Connecticut Supreme Court did that does not have any binding authority over the New Hampshire court. Scherr said the New Hampshire Supreme Courts earlier decisions to speak directly to the constitutionality of capital punishment could give weight to the state in upholding the sentence, even despite the appeal. The language of the Addison opinion is different than the language in the Connecticut Santiago opinion, he said, pointing to the common norms of decency argument used in that state. New Hampshire has in the Addison cases said they think the death penalty is constitution based on common norms of decency. I could see the court going either way, Scherr added. I dont think its a clear place one way or another. Of course, for any of this to be tested, the argument would need to be raised in court on appeal. Presently, Addison is appealing his conviction on habeus corpus grounds. Progress on that petition, launched in 2016, has ground to a near halt in Merrimack County Superior Court amid a flurry of mostly-sealed petitions over the years. But its existence has put a stop to a key catalyst: the one-year countdown clock between the end of Addisons appeals and the possibility of an execution. Neither Michael Weisman, a Philadelphia-based lawyer representing Addison in his present stage of appeals, nor Associate Attorney General Jeffrey Strelzin would comment Friday on potential arguments around the retroactive sustainability of the death penalty after repeal. Without a motion to respond and with progress in the courts slowed to a crawl Strelzin said the Department of Justice has no position to take. Were not contending anything at this point, he said Friday. But with plenty of time before the Superior Court comes to its next decision, and the ability of plaintiffs to add to their arguments, the shape of those arguments could appear in court soon. Just not too soon. | 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 Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde Concord Monitor, Staff, June 2, 2019 A man who has confessed to killing more than 90 women across the US was indicted Friday in Ohio for the strangulation deaths of two women decades ago. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said 78-year-old Samuel Little has confessed to killing 21-year-old Mary Jo Peyton in 1984 and 32-year-old Rose Evans in 1991 in Cleveland. He has been charged with four counts of aggravated murder and six counts of kidnapping. 'There are no words to describe the pure evil that exists within Samuel Little,' O'Malley said in a statement. 'His heinous disregard for human life is incomprehensible.' If all 90 confessions are confirmed, Little would be the deadliest known US serial killer, surpassing the likes of John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy and Green River's Gary Ridgway. He told authorities he killed five women in Ohio, including three who lived around Cleveland, during a murder spree that began in 1970 when he was 30 years old and ended in 2005, O'Malley said. The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Office's Cold Case Unit was able to identify Peyton and Evans as Little's victims and is trying to determine with other law enforcement agencies the identity of the third woman, O'Malley said. The FBI in February released sketches drawn by Little of some of his victims based on his memories of them. Agents who have interviewed Little said he remembers his victims and the killings in great detail, including where he was and what car he was driving. The FBI said Little targeted 'vulnerable women who were often involved in prostitution and addicted to drugs'. The FBI has been working with federal, state and local agencies to match Little's confessions to unsolved murders across the country. Ector County District Attorney Bobby Bland in Odessa, Texas, said 50 cold homicide cases have been closed as a result of Little's confessions and that most of the remaining unsolved slayings occurred in California. 'He's talking about things, cases that happened up to 50 years ago, and he's giving details on all these different murders, and none of the statements he's made have proven to be false.' Little was convicted in California of three slayings in 2013 and pleaded guilty to another killing last year in Texas, where he's currently incarcerated. In December 2018, it was reported that Little pleaded guilty to the 1994 murder of Denise Christie Brothers in Odessa - the case that initially led to his extradition to Texas and spurred him to confess. At the time, authorities said Little used the confession as a bargaining chip because he wanted to move from the California jail to one in Texas, though they did not give his reasons for wanting the transfer. In September 2018 Little was transferred to Texas to face trial for Brothers' murder. Authorities also said Little admitted to the Texas murder after Bland agreed to waive the death penalty in that case, a concession made 'to gain his trust,' the prosecutor said. His murder spree took place across a dozen states. The former boxer also known as Samuel McDowell was first arrested at a homeless shelter in Kentucky in 2012 and extradited to California to face drug charges. Once there, DNA evidence linked him to three cold cases and he was convicted in 2013 of murdering three women in Los Angeles between 1987 and 1989. All three had been beaten and strangled. Agents say Little, who uses a wheelchair and is in poor health, will likely remain incarcerated in the state until he dies. When Little first requested his transfer he only mentioned the Brothers murder, but his attitude changed after he met Texas Ranger James Holland, who was dispatched to extract the confession. The two men formed an unlikely bond and what followed were a series of near-daily admissions in which Little often recalled the exact car he was driving during the murder, and even sketched some of the victims. Little usually stunned or knocked out his victims with powerful punches before he strangled them while masturbating. 'With no stab marks or bullet wounds, many of these deaths were not classified as homicides but attributed to drug overdoses, accidents, or natural causes,' the FBI said in a statement in November 2018. That, coupled with queries over the dates, means it is proving difficult to connect Little to some of the killings. In the case of the 1972 murder of an unidentified Jane Doe, Little described the signs he saw, the dirt roads he drove and the U-turn he took, and then explicitly pinpointed the spot where he left the woman's body, all of which was on point with what police knew about the murder site. 'The FBI is working with the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Texas Rangers, and dozens of state and local agencies to match Little's confessions with evidence from women who turned up dead in states from California to Florida between 1970 and 2005,' the report read. 'Little's run-ins with the law date back to 1956, and there are clear signs of a dark, violent streak among his many shoplifting, fraud, drug, solicitation, and breaking and entering charges. But law enforcement has only recently begun unraveling the true extent of his crimes.' In one murder confession of a 20-year-old Florida woman, Little told an investigator 'God put him on this earth to do it.' During the course of an interview in May 2018, Little 'went through city and state and gave Ranger Holland the number of people he killed in each place,' FBI crime analyst Christina Palazzolo said. 'Jackson, Mississippi - one; Cincinnati, Ohio - one; Phoenix, Arizona - three; Las Vegas, Nevada-one...' Palazzolo said. On November 15, the Marion County, Florida Sheriff's Office closed the cold case of the 1982 homicide of Rosie Hill, 20, after Little also confessed to that killing, the agency announced in a Facebook post. Prior to Little's confessions, the deadliest known US serial killer was believed to be Gary Ridgway, the so-called 'Green River Killer' convicted of 49 murders who is serving a life sentence in Washington state. Little grew up in Ohio, dropped out of high school and lived a 'nomadic life,' shoplifting or stealing to buy alcohol and drugs, the FBI said. His criminal record dates back to 1956 with arrests for shoplifting, fraud, drugs and breaking and entering. He was accused of murdering women in Mississippi and Florida in the early 1980s but was not convicted. | 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 Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! "One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed, but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde The planned Thu Thiem Urban Area in HCMC's District 2 seen from above. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran HCMC is soliciting investment to build a VND4.9 trillion ($210 million) financial, banking and trade center in Thu Thiem New Urban Area. The complex will spread over nearly 14,500 square meters and be built between 2019 and 2021, according to its Department of Planning and Investment. It will require two land parcels in Thu Thiem, in District 2 east of the Saigon River, for two towers of 20-50 floors. Compensation payments for the land have been made, the department said. The project is one of 210 projects the city has prioritized for investment this year. The department said many investors have expressed interest in it, both domestic and foreign. The domestic firms are Refrigeration Electric Engineering Corporation (REE), state-owned HCMC Finance and Investment Company (HFIC), hospitality company 216 Corporation, and real estate firm Van Phu Invest. The foreign firms include Australian property developer Sakkara, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC and U.S. architecture company Steelman Partners. HFIC is currently working with Fulbright University Vietnam and city agencies to draw up a plan to develop the city into an international financial hub. Its research team will come up with an assessment of the current status of HCMC as a national financial hub to formulate specific policies and action schemes for this plan. Thu Thiem, touted for the last two decades as the next central business district, was originally a densely populated but underdeveloped area in the last century. Plans to develop the area began in the late 90's, and land acquisition began in 2002. An international design competition was held, and in 2003 the submission by U.S. design firm Sasaki Associates was selected. Since then the project has been mired in delays, with resettlement of land-owners proving difficult and legal troubles arising from missing title deeds. Work likely to begin soon on most North-South Expressway sections It is estimated that the country needs about $480 billion for infrastructure investment by 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Thanh. Construction of eight sections of the North-South Expressway is set to start next April after the government chooses investors. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) expects that by then, 70 percent of the land acquisition will be done. The time taken to approve feasibility studies has been reduced by three to five months, and progress are being made as scheduled, according to the ministry. Both local and foreign investors have expressed interest in the project. Thirty four firms 24 Vietnamese, six Chinese, two Japanese, one French and one South Korean have collected bidding. South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Group last week showed its investment interest in the project at a meeting with the MoT. The ministry will select five investors with the best profiles before narrowing down to one for each project. This process is expected to end next April. 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 the public-private partnership (PPP) model. Construction on two public-funded projects is set to start in July, and the third in November. They are expected to cost VND118 trillion ($5.06 billion), with VND55 trillion ($2.36 billion) coming from the government. Together, the 11 sections stretch 654 kilometers as part of the 2,000-kilometer expressway running from Nam Dinh near Hanoi to Vinh Long Province, southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The expressway is scheduled to be completed in 2025. Government guarantees are among the 10 points the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) listed in a document it recently sent to relevant ministries and agencies to collect opinions for its PPP bill. It said that the absence of guarantees related to minimum returns and foreign exchange risks have kept investors away from large projects like the Dau Giay Phan Thiet and Tan Van-Nhon Trach road projects. Thus, the MPIs proposal on government guarantees, if approved, might help remove some bottlenecks in the participation of foreign investors in major transport infrastructure projects like the North-South Expressway. Fast-growing Vietnam is facing an infrastructure bottleneck. With the state lacking the budgetary might to finance the nations much-needed highways, tracks and airports, the government is increasingly looking towards the private sector to fill in the financial shortfall. It is estimated that the country needs about $480 billion for infrastructure investment by 2020, but the state budget can only meet one third of the actual financial needs. Admiral Nguyen Van Hien speaks during a meeting to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Vietnam's People Navy at Cam Ranh Port in Khanh Hoa Province in 2015. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen Party inspectors have called for disciplinary action against senior Navy officers for violating regulations on using defense land. The Central Inspection Committee, the party's top watchdog, has asked the party's decision-making Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee to take disciplinary action against Admiral Nguyen Van Hien, former Vice Minister of National Defense, and Vice Admiral Nguyen Van Tinh. Hien and Tinh were former members of the Party Central Committee. The committee also issued an official warning to Rear Admiral Le Van Dao at a three-day meeting that closed in Hanoi last Friday, the committee said in a statement Monday. The Communist Party of Vietnam has four modes of punishment against members: reprimand, warning, demotion and expulsion. In April, the committee had concluded that the Standing Committee of the Peoples Navy's Party unit had committed several serious violations. It had violated the principle of democratic centralism, broken working regulations, and been negligent in leading, managing, inspecting and supervising, resulting in violations on using national defense land. Their violations resulted in major financial losses and badly affected the reputation of the Communist Party and the Peoples Navy, the committee said. Over the past three years a sweeping corruption crackdown spearheaded by Party chief and President Nguyen Phu Trong has ensnared scores of high-profile officials, especially in the energy and banking sectors. Last year a large number of officials and businesspeople were prosecuted for corruption charges. In April 2018, Colonel Dinh Ngoc He became the first senior military official to be imprisoned. He was sentenced to 12 years for "abusing power in the performance of official duties" and "using fake documents." In July two senior Air Force officers and the party units they were affiliated to received official warnings for mismanagement of military land. Several top former officials in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, the latter considered the country's third most important city, are also being investigated for mismanagement of public land. Pham Van Thuy, Vice Chairman of Son La, is held mainly responsible for the serious violations in the national exam fraud last year. Photo by VnExpress/Duong Tam Son La vice chairman and the provinces top education official have to shoulder blame for last years national exam fraud. Pham Van Thuy, Vice Chairman of Son La and head of the northern highlands provinces 2018 national high school exam organization team, has received an official warning from the Central Inspection Committee, the Party's top watchdog, at a three-day meeting that closed in Hanoi last Friday. The committee said in a statement Monday that it has also urged the Party's decision-making Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee to take disciplinary action against Hoang Tien Duc, director of the Son La Department of Education and Training. Both officials allowed serious violations in the national exam fraud that shocked the nation last year, the committee said. It also reprimanded Cam Ngoc Minh, former Chairman of Son La Province, for his culpability in the case. The committee concluded that the Standing Committee of Son Las Party unit had committed several serious violations. It had violated the principle of democratic centralism, broken working regulations, and been negligent in leading, managing, inspecting and supervising, leading to violations in organizing the 2018 national high school exam in Son La Province. Their violations resulted in serious consequences, badly affected the reputation of the Vietnams education sector and sparked outrage from the public, the committee said. The Standing Committee of Son Las Party unit was asked to learn from the experience and take measures to avoid mistakes in the future. The exam fraud was first discovered after the Ministry of Education and Training released the official test results of all candidates nationwide on July 11. Son La was among a number of northern mountainous provinces, including neighboring Ha Giang and Hoa Binh with unusually better results, triggering public suspicion. New reports from the ministries of Public Security, and Education and Training in March this year reaffirmed that 44 candidates from Son La had their exam results altered. Prosecutors in Son La have so far charged eight provincial officials with "abuse of power or position in performance of official duties." Some synthetic drugs disguised in tea packages are seized by Nghe An Police after they were smuggled across the border from Laos. Police have arrested three persons allegedly involved in smuggling narcotics from Laos across the border to Nghe An Province and Ho Chi Minh City. Police of Vinh Town in Nghe An Province stopped a motorbike and arrested Lao national Mua Ba Cho, 35, and Mua Ba Va, 31, a Nghe An resident, on Saturday as they were transporting 15 kilograms of synthetic drugs from Laos to Vinh. At the same time, another group of police arrested Hoang Nghia Van, 44, also from Nghe An, while he was waiting for the duo in the neighboring Ha Tinh province. Thet seized his car and $16,000 in cash. The raids followed a period of surveillance based on suspicions aroused in early May that the three arrested men were engaged in a cross-border drug trafficking ring, with Van providing the money for Cho and Va to transport narcotic drugs from Laos to Vinh, before they transporting the drugs to customers in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest city which is a day travel to the south. Vietnam has become a key trafficking hub for narcotics from the Golden Triangle, an intersection of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, the world's second largest drug producing area after the Golden Crescent in South Asia. On May 23, Vietnamese border guards and Lao police caught three Lao nationals planning to smuggle 100,000 ecstasy pills from Laos to Vietnam. Drug trafficking and consumption have persisted and worsened in Vietnam over the last few years though it has some of the worlds toughest laws, including death sentence for smuggling. Passengers board an aircraft at Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by Shutterstock/Huy Thoai. There were two cases of theft and another case of attempted theft by Chinese nationals on Vietnam Airlines flights in just the last month. On May 8, a Vietnamese passenger on a HCMC-Hong Kong flight complained to the cabin crew when the plane was landing that he had lost $300 and HK$2,700 ($344) from his luggage. The chief flight attendant reported the incident to local police. Two other Vietnamese passengers said they saw a man steal the cash and filmed it on their phones. On checking the accused man, officers found the money on him. The second theft took place on a flight from the south central resort town Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City on May 26 when a passenger filmed a person opening a handbag in the overhead compartment and rummaging through it. He immediately reported the incident to the flight crew who asked passengers sitting close to the Chinese man to check their luggage. One of them said he had lost a wallet containing VND30 million ($1,281) and some bank cards. The crew handed the accused man over to security authorities at Tan Son Nhat Airport. The Tan Binh District police said he is in custody pending further investigation. An attempted theft occurred on a flight from Jakarta to HCMC, when a passenger was caught rummaging through a bag in the overhead compartment. When an attendant approached, he quickly put away the luggage and went to the toilet. The owner of the luggage said nothing was missing. Several Chinese nationals have been caught for thefts aboard flights in Vietnam in recent years, but authorities have yet to take effective measures to stop this. A Vietnam Airlines spokesperson said staff are being trained to be more alert. The carrier also warns passengers not to keep money and other valuables in their cabin baggage. Theft is a criminal offense in Vietnam if the value exceeds VND2 million ($87). Vietnam to buy six military drones from Boeing: US defense department Boeing subsidiary Insitu has received an order for six unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from Vietnam, the U.S. Department of Defense said Saturday. Insitu would manufacture six ScanEagle UAVs worth $9.7 million for the Vietnamese government, the department said in a statement. It would also provide components and spare parts and training in their use, and send experts for a certain period for technical support. The contract will be executed by March 2022. Yeong Tae Pak, Boeings marketing director for defense sales in Southeast Asia, had said last March at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition in Malaysia that the sale of UAVs to the Vietnamese Coast Guard would be supported through U.S. Foreign Military Financing. The five-foot-long ScanEagle is a long-range, low-altitude reconnaissance drone. It can operate above 15,000 feet and hover over a battlefield for extended missions of up to 20 hours, depending on its configuration. In February the U.S.s Indo-Pacific Command chief, Admiral Phil Davidson, said in a statement that Vietnam is acquiring equipment from the U.S., including Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAVs, Beechcraft T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft and a second decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard cutter. In August last year a local newspaper quoted an unnamed U.S. State Department official as saying that Vietnam had signed contracts to buy U.S. military equipment worth $94.7 million. Vietnams Foreign Ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the report. Last March the USS Carl Vinson arrived in Da Nang on a historic visit, the first to Vietnam by an American aircraft carrier since 1975. It delivered six Metal Shark patrol boats to Vietnam. Wood apple juice factory turns boon for rural women Established with an initial investment of Rs460,000 five years ago, the factory now provides jobs to 100 women Women prepare bael (wood apple) to be processed at Myagdi. Post Photo: Pratap Ranamagar Organizations or individuals doing business with crawfish, a delicacy but a banned invasive species, will face punishment. On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh directed agriculture, defense, finance and trade authorities to inspect the sales of crawfish in the country, despite it being listed a foreign species banned from being imported since 2013. Vietnam's 2018 Law on Biodiversity also prohibits all activities related to its breeding and distribution. Binh, also head of the National Steering Committee on the Prevention and Control of Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Counterfeit Goods, said government agencies have to look into all activities related to breeding and trading of the species and punish anyone violating the rules. Vietnamese scientists have labelled crawfish as a species harmful to agriculture after a pilot breeding program in the northern province of Phu Tho in 2012. The species reproduce quickly and can withstand environmental changes. With their strong claws, they easily cut paddy stalks, feed on many species of young plants and burrow and destroy embankments, said Bui Quang Te of the Research Institute for Aquaculture. "If crawfish spread across fields in Vietnam, they could spread diseases and viruses that could damage the crops," he said. Dang Huy Huynh, former head of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, said "crawfish feed on almost all kinds of aquatic species and compete for food with local species, and if they live together in the same environment, it is possible that some local fish or shrimp species could disappear." Despite the ban, the import and distribution of crawfish have continued unchecked because they have become a favored delicacy among the Vietnamese. Crawfish used to cost up to VND1 million ($43) per kilogram in restaurants, but thanks to its popularity, prices have dropped to VND250,000-500,000, traders told VnExpress. China and the U.S. are the two major exporters of the crustacean to Vietnam. Managing the trade of crawfish from China, however, has been a hard task because usually they are imported in small quantities via border gates. Carrie K. Zalewski and Maria S. Bocanegra were confirmed by the Illinois State Senate late Friday (5/31) as the newest members of the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC). Zalewski is serving as Chairman. Chairman Zalewski was appointed to a five-year term on March 29, 2019 by Governor J.B. Pritzker and Commissioner Bocanegra was appointed to a four-year term on April 8, 2019. "I would like to thank Governor Pritzker and the Illinois State Senate for this opportunity to serve the citizens of Illinois," said Chairman Zalewski. "As Chairman of the ICC, I am committed to engaging with all interested parties and stakeholders in an open and transparent manner as we tackle the challenges that lie ahead." Chairman Zalewski is an accomplished, well-respected attorney who has served on the Illinois Pollution Control Board since 2009. Over the past decade she has decided complex environmental cases under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, shaped critical rulemaking and worked to properly balance the interests of Illinois businesses and residents while protecting Illinois' land, air, and water. She was appointed under Democratic and Republican governors and earned the respect of her peers and stakeholders directly involved in Board decisions. Previously, Zalewski served as Assistant Chief Counsel for the Illinois Department of Transportation. She also worked in private practice. She earned her Juris Doctor at the Chicago-Kent Law School and her Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Commissioner Bocanegra brings to the ICC an extensive record of public service. She most recently served as Arbitrator at the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission where she managed a docket of nearly 3,000 claims, presiding over various matters including pre-trials, trials, settlements, dismissals, attorney fee disputes along with collateral issues involving Medicare and Social Security. "I look forward to working alongside Chairman Zalewski on this important commission. I am aware of the complexities facing this position and the important balancing of the interests that must be achieved," said Commissioner Bocanegra. "To that point, I am grateful to Governor Pritzker and members of the Illinois Senate for their confidence in me." Previously, Bocanegra held the Public Seat on the Labor Advisory Board for the Illinois Department of Labor, participating in critical meetings regarding various laws and issues affecting Illinois workers, including those laws enforced by the Department of Labor. She also worked in private practice handling workers' compensation and personal injury claims. Commissioner Bocanegra earned her Juris Doctor from DePaul University College of Law and her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Quincy University. About the Illinois Commerce Commission The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) is a quasi-judicial body made up of five Commissioners. Through its Public Utility Program, the Commission oversees the provision of adequate, reliable, efficient and safe utility services at the least possible cost to Illinois citizens served by electric, natural gas, telecommunications, water and sewer public utility companies. Through its Transportation Regulatory Program, the Commission oversees public safety and consumer protection programs with regard to intrastate commercial motor carriers of general freight, household goods movers, relocation towers, safety towers, personal property warehouses and repossession agencies. The Commission's Rail Safety Program also inspects and regulates the general safety of railroad tracks, facilities and equipment in the state. To learn more about the Commission, its offices and bureaus, click here. If you are a consumer who needs help resolving a utility dispute call 800-524-0795 or file an online complaint here. For a complaint related to transportation, call 217-782-6448. ICC CONTACT: Victoria Crawford June 1, 2019 Office: (217) 557-5819 Victoria.Crawford@Illinois.gov Marianne Manko Office: (217) 782-5793 Marianne.Manko@Illinois.gov NW Natural Holding Company's (NYSE: NWN) subsidiary, NW Natural has completed its North Mist Expansion Project and is now providing no-notice storage to Portland General Electric's (NYSE: POR) Port Westward plants to balance renewable power on the grid. "We've worked diligently to complete this innovative, one-of-a-kind service. I'm proud of everyone involved as we place one of the largest projects in our utility's history into service," said David H. Anderson, president and CEO of NW Natural. "We believe this is an important step in supporting our region's move to more renewable power while also enhancing grid reliability." The $149 million project includes a compressor station, a 13-mile pipeline, and a new 3 Bcf reservoir. Through this storage service, PGE will be able to draw on its natural gas resources from NW Natural's facilities in Mist, Ore. to meet its fueling needs and rapidly respond to peak demand and variability of wind, hydro and solar generation. The facility is contracted for an initial 30-year period to Portland General with renewal options of up to 50 years beyond that. "Our customers are counting on us to be clean energy leaders and keep our electric grid as reliable and affordable as possible," said Maria Pope, PGE's president and CEO. "The North Mist Expansion gives us more flexibility to continue adding renewable resources without compromising our ability to keep the system resilient and reliable." NW Natural will recover its cost of service for the investment, inclusive of its authorized cost of capital, with immediate earnings under an established tariff schedule that was previously approved by the Oregon PUC. ABOUT NW NATURAL HOLDINGS Northwest Natural Holding Company, (NYSE: NWN) (NW Natural Holdings), is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and through its subsidiaries has been doing business for 160 years in the Pacific Northwest. It owns NW Natural Gas Company (NW Natural), NW Natural Water Company (NW Natural Water), and other business interests and activities. NW Natural is a local distribution company that currently provides natural gas service to approximately two million people in more than 140 communities through more than 750,000 meters in Oregon and Southwest Washington with one of the most modern pipeline systems in the nation. NW Natural consistently leads the industry with high J.D. Power & Associates customer satisfaction scores. NW Natural has 19 Bcf of storage in Oregon with 3 Bcf supporting renewables. NW Natural Holdings' subsidiaries own and operate 34 Bcf of underground gas storage capacity. NW Natural Water currently provides water distribution service to approximately 23,000 people through 7,900 connections. To date, NW Natural Water has acquired five water distribution utilities with several additional acquisitions pending. Upon closing current outstanding transactions, cumulatively, NW Natural Water expects to have invested $70 million and serve nearly 45,000 people through approximately 18,000 connections in the Pacific Northwest. Additional information is available at nwnaturalholdings.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This report, and other presentations made by NW Natural Holdings from time to time, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipates," "assumes," "intends," "plans," "seeks," "believes," "estimates," "expects" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the following: plans, objectives, assumptions, estimates, timing, goals, strategies, future events, investments, performance, capital expenditures, stability, reliability, customer and business growth, weather, customer rates or rate recovery, adoption of renewable energy and our ability to provide effective supporting resources, infrastructure availability and development, gas storage development or costs or timing related thereto, the water utility strategy and the related pending water acquisitions, plans of third parties, timing or effects of future regulatory proceedings or future regulatory approvals, and other statements that are other than statements of historical facts. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. NW Natural Holdings cautions you therefore against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future operational, economic or financial performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are discussed by reference to the factors described in Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors", and Part II, Item 7 and Item 7A "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk" in NW Natural Holdings' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in Part I, Items 2 and 3 "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk", and Part II, Item 1A, "Risk Factors", in NW Natural Holdings' quarterly reports filed thereafter. All forward-looking statements made in this report and all subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral and whether made by or on behalf of NW Natural Holdings, are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and NW Natural Holdings undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for NW Natural Holdings to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Today (5/31), Enel S.p.A. ("Enel"), acting through its renewable subsidiary Enel Green Power Brasil Participacoes Ltda ("EGP Brazil"), closed the sale of 100% of three fully operational renewable plants totalling 540 MW to Chinese company CGN Energy International Holdings Co. Limited ("CGNEI"). The overall consideration of the transaction paid to Enel upon closing is equal to the assets' enterprise value and amounts to approximately 2.9 billion Brazilian reais, equivalent to around 660 million euros at current exchange rates. The three renewable assets that were just sold are the solar plants Nova Olinda (292 MW), located in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Piaui and Lapa (158 MW), situated in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia, as well as the 90 MW Cristalandia wind farm, also in Bahia. The consideration paid to Enel for the sale of these three assets is subject to adjustments in line with the standard market practice for this type of transaction. In line with the Group's 2019-2021 Strategic Plan, this transaction aims to maximise and accelerate value creation by rotating assets to free up resources that can be invested in new projects, while Enel will continue plant management activities on the assets sold. The Brazilian renewable market is rich in opportunities for the Group, which wants to keep growing in the country, including by financing its new investments through the Build, Sell and Operate (BSO) model. All three plants have long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) in place. Lapa and Nova Olinda are supported by 20-year supply contracts that provide for the sale of specified volumes of energy generated by the plants to the Brazilian Chamber of Commercialisation of Electric Energy (Camara de Comercializacao da Energia Eletrica or CCEE). Cristalandia is supported by 20-year PPAs with a pool of Brazilian electricity distribution companies. Nova Olinda is located in the municipality of Ribeira do Piaui. The facility, which is comprised of around 930,000 solar panels in an area of 690 hectares, can generate over 600 GWh per year. Lapa, which is located in Bom Jesus da Lapa, is composed of two facilities, Bom Jesus da Lapa (80 MW) and Lapa (78 MW). The park, which is comprised of about 500,000 solar panels, is able to generate around 340 GWh per year. The Cristalandia wind farm is located in the municipalities of Brumado, Rio de Contas and Dom Basilio. The wind farm is capable of generating around 350 GWh per year. In Brazil, the Enel Group is active in the generation, distribution and transmission sectors through Enel Brasil and its subsidiaries. In the renewable generation sector the Group is the country's largest solar and wind player in terms of installed capacity and project portfolio with around 2.4 GW (1,269 MW of hydro capacity, 752 MW from wind, 370 MW from solar), and has approximately 1.9 GW of capacity (wind and solar) in execution. Furthermore, in the country's conventional generation sector the Enel Group operates around 320 MW from CCGTs. In the distribution sector, the Group is the largest player in Brazil with over 17 million end users served by its subsidiaries in Sao Paulo, Ceara, Rio and Goias. Enel also owns and operates two transmission lines with a total capacity of 2,100 MW connecting Brazil to Argentina. Enel Green Power is the Enel Group's business line dedicated to the development and operation of renewables across the world, with a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector with a managed capacity of more than 43 GW across a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, and hydropower, and is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into renewable power plants. The employers' associations and the trade unions, ver.di and IGBCE, have agreed on a comprehensive collective agreement for "Future and job security" for the employees of the new E.ON in Germany. The agreement is an important step in implementing the "Collective Policy Statement" on the planned transaction between E.ON and RWE agreed between the company and the unions in May 2018. Among other things, it includes provisions on attractive severance payments for employees leaving voluntarily, early retirement arrangements and the possibility of switching to a holding company for further employment and qualifications. The collective agreement is subject to the antitrust approval of E.ON's acquisition of innogy and will not become effective until the transaction is closed. Johannes Teyssen, CEO of E.ON: "We are consistently implementing what we agreed with ver.di and IGBCE in May last year with the participation of the Group Works Councils. With this agreement, we have reached another, particularly important milestone on the way to the planned integration of innogy. Based on the proven agreements in both groups, we have created a new, forward-looking collective agreement for the new E.ON. It gives all employees of E.ON and innogy the greatest possible certainty that the necessary job cuts will be made in a socially responsible manner and that we will continuously prepare our workforce for the challenges of the future. I am very pleased that we can continue the traditionally good cooperation of the collective bargaining parties in the design of the new E.ON." In a next step, transfer collective agreements will be negotiated in the event of a change of employer. At the same time, attention will be focused on the operational negotiations for the implementation of the proposed transaction. This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by E.ON Group Management and other information currently available to E.ON. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. E.ON SE does not intend, and does not assume any liability whatsoever, to update these forward-looking statements or to align them to future events or developments. With summer just around the corner, Delmarva Power has been hard at work, prepping its systems and testing its processes and procedures, all part of the company's efforts to provide safe and reliable service for its 527,000 electric customers and 134,000 natural gas customers this summer. "We stay committed to providing safe, reliable, and affordable energy services for our customers year-round," said Gary Stockbridge, Delmarva Power region president. "Through our continued approach of preparing early and consistently, the men and women of Delmarva Power stand ready and able to answer the call in keeping customers' energized all summer. As hurricane season and warmer temperatures begin to arrive, we look to provide customers the tools and resources they need to stay safe and increase savings during the summer heat." Delmarva Power's work to prepare for the summer is part of the company's ongoing efforts to maintain and modernize the local energy grid. In fact, these efforts delivered customers the lowest frequency of electric outages ever in 2018 a 34 percent decrease over the last five years. In addition to the money spent to enhance the system, Delmarva Power completes hundreds of tasks to prepare for the summer season, including system work, testing and drills. Delmarva Power employees across the region also are ready to respond to severe summer storms or emergencies, if needed. As part of the Exelon family of companies, Delmarva Power can call on resources from sister companies in the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Illinois to restore power faster after major storms. As Delmarva Power prepares for summer, customers should prepare too. Before severe weather hits, customers should: Assemble an emergency storm kit. Include battery-powered radio or TV, flashlight, a first-aid kit, battery-powered or windup clock, extra batteries, special needs items, medications, a multi-purpose tool, cell phones with chargers, and a list of important and emergency phone numbers. Have a supply of bottled water and easy-to-prepare, non-perishable foods available. Keep a flashlight with fresh batteries on each floor of your home. Identify an alternate location for you and/or your family in case of an extended outage. Review the manufacturer's instructions for safe operations of your generator. Do not connect a generator directly to your home's wiring. Never use a generator indoors or any enclosed area. Download Delmarva Power's app at delmarva.com/mobileapp to keep informed during a storm. Immediately report a downed wire or service issue by calling 800-898-8042, visiting If severe storms hit, Delmarva Power has many online resources to keep customers informed. The company's interactive outage map, available at delmarva.com , and its mobile app provide customers information about outages across the company's system and give an estimate of how quickly power is expected to be restored. Being prepared is a responsibility everyone should take seriously. If a severe storm hits, monitor local weather reports regularly and follow the advice of local emergency management officials.Immediately report a downed wire or service issue by calling 800-898-8042, visiting delmarva.com , or through the company's mobile app. If you smell natural gas, leave the area immediately and then call Delmarva Power at 302-454-0317. More tips, resources and safety information are available at delmarva.com/storm. Higher temperatures can lead to higher energy bills, and Delmarva Power provides a variety of programs to help every customer save money and energy. Customers can learn more about these programs at delmarva.com/waystosave In addition, customers can save energy and lower their bills this summer by following a few simple tips: Turn it off: Turn off all unnecessary lighting and devices. Manage your thermostat: Keep thermostats at a constant, comfortable level when at home. Raise the thermostat setting for days of extreme heat to save even more. Install a programmable thermostat to automatically adjust your home's temperature settings when you're away or sleeping. Keep shades, blinds and curtains closed: About 40 percent of unwanted heat comes through windows. Simply closing blinds and curtains, which act as a layer of insulation, can reduce heat in your home. Use ceiling fans to circulate air: For those without air conditioning, use ceiling fans or portable fans with the windows partially open to circulate fresh air into your home. For those with air conditioning, fans can be used to evenly distribute cool air. Use appliances wisely: Run appliances that produce heat (like clothes dryers, ovens, and dishwashers) at night when it is cooler. By completing a few simple steps, together we can be ready, stay safe, stay cool, and use less energy this summer. To learn more about Delmarva Power, visit The Source, Delmarva Power's online news room. Find additional information by visiting delmarva.com , on Facebook at facebook.com/delmarvapower , and on Twitter at twitter.com/delmarvaconnect . Delmarva Power's mobile app is available at delmarva.com/mobileapp Delmarva Power is a unit of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC), the nation's leading energy provider, with approximately 10 million customers. Delmarva Power provides safe and reliable energy service to approximately 527,000 electric customers in Delaware and Maryland and approximately 134,000 natural gas customers in northern Delaware. June 1 Charles J. Caster, 42, of Filer, Idaho was arrested on U.S. Highway 93 for fugitive felon from another state; motorcycle fender violation; and possessing, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle. No bail ------ Kenneth P. Cook, 34, of Napa, California was arrested at Elko County Jail on a felony warrant for robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, burglary while in possession of a gun, assault with a deadly weapon, grand larceny, third-degree arson, driving with a suspended license, and contempt of court. Bail: $166,965 ------ Billy L. Davis, 35, of Spring Creek was arrested at Spring Creek Parkway and Lawndale Drive for driving with a revoked drivers license for DUI, speeding 11-15 mph over limit, and driving under the influence. Bail: $2,985 ------ Judith Felix-Verdugo, 31, of West Valley City, Utah was arrested on Interstate 80 for failure to appear on a traffic citation. Bail: $420 ------ Brandi L. Garcia, 37, of Elko was arrested at Elko Motel for domestic battery. Bail: $5,140 ------ Amisa James, 18, of Elko was arrested at Elko City Park for minor purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverage in premises where sold, minor in possession of alcoholic beverage in public, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Bail: $1,850 ------ Cierra S. Jones, 19, of Elko was arrested at Hamilton Stage and Four Mile Road for felony possession of a controlled substance, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, and furnishing or attempting to furnish a controlled substance to a state prisoner. Bail: $10,640 ------ William B. Leppala, 77, of Crescent Valley was arrested at 10th and Chestnut in Carlin for driving under the influence. Bail: $1,140 ------ Hope M. Ordaz, 18, of Elko was arrested in Elko City Park for minor in possession of alcoholic beverage in public, minor purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverage in a premises where sold, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Bail: $1,850 ------ Jennifer Pastoor, 39, of Twin Falls, Idaho was arrested on U.S. Highway 93 for possessing, receiving or transferring a stolen vehicle; motorcycle fender violation; and possession of a hypodermic needle. $21,255 ------ Casey J. Ross, 22, of Carlin was arrested at 10th and Fir streets for felony possession of a controlled substance, and use or possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail: $5,640 The charges above do not imply guilt. Under the law, everyone is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 A Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ken Wolter/shutterstock.com The abortion debate is at the center of U.S. political dialogue. Voices from both sides flood social media feeds, newspapers, radio and television programs. In the last year, attacks on reproductive rights sharply increased. In 2019, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Kentucky and Mississippi successfully passed so-called heartbeat bans to prohibit abortion as early as 6 to 8 weeks. Alabama is the first state to pass a complete abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest. Due to ongoing legal challenges, these bans have yet to go into effect. One important groups voice is often absent in this heated debate: the women who choose abortion. While 1 in 4 women will undergo abortion in her lifetime, stigma keeps their stories untold. As an obstetrician/gynecologist who provides full spectrum reproductive health care, I hear these stories daily. Unintended pregnancy Unintended pregnancy remains most common among poor women, women of color and women without a high school education. Women living in poverty have a rate of unintended pregnancy five times higher than those with middle or high incomes. Black women are twice as likely to have an unintended pregnancy as white women. Barriers to contraception play a major role. Among women with unintended pregnancies, 54% were using no birth control. Another 41% were inconsistently using birth control at the time of conception. Forty-two percent of women with unintended pregnancy choose to end their pregnancies. The women who choose abortion Abortion is a routine part of reproductive health care. Approximately 25% of women in the U.S. will undergo an abortion before the age of 45. The Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy institute in New York City, has been tracking these data for the last 50 years. American women have abortions with similar frequency to women living in other developed nations. The bulk of abortion patients are in their 20s. Women of all races and ethnicities choose abortion. In 2014, 39% of abortion patients were white, 28% were black and 25% were Latinx. Similarly, women of all religious affiliations choose to end their pregnancies at similar frequencies. Most of these women understand what it means to parent a child. More than half of abortion patients in 2014 were already mothers. Poor women account for the majority of abortion patients. Fifty-three percent of women pay out-of-pocket for their abortion. The rest use private or state-funded insurance plans. Women choose abortion for multiple reasons. The most common reason cited is that pregnancy would interfere with education, work or ability to care for dependents. Financial stress also plays a major role in womens decision-making. Seventy-three percent of women reported that they could not afford a baby at the time. Nearly half cited relationship difficulties or wanting to avoid single motherhood. More than a third of women felt their families were complete. Twelve percent chose abortion due to their own health problems. For example, one of my patients and her husband were thrilled to find out she was pregnant for the first time. Then she received the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. She had to choose between lifesaving chemotherapy and radiation or her pregnancy. Safety of abortion Nine in 10 women who receive abortions undergo abortion in the first trimester. Only 1.3% of abortions happen with pregnancies past 20 weeks of gestation. When performed legally by skilled practitioners, abortion is a safe medical procedure with a low complication rate. The risk of major complications such as hospitalization, infection, blood transfusion or surgery in first-trimester procedures is less than 0.5%. The risk of dying in childbirth is 14 times higher than the risk of dying from safe abortion. Studies show that abortion is not linked to long-term health complications, including breast cancer, infertility, miscarriage or psychiatric disorders. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the nations leading professional organization of obstetricians and gynecologists, has reaffirmed the safety of abortion. Conversely, the negative impacts from abortion restrictions are well-documented. Women unable to obtain abortions are more likely live in poverty or depend on cash assistance, and less likely to work full-time. Since 2011, politicians have enacted over 400 pieces of legislation restricting this medical procedure. Access to safe and legal abortion is an essential part of health care. Most Americans agree. Sixty-four percent of Americans, regardless of pro-choice or pro-life status, would like to see the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision upheld. Another 79% want abortion to remain legal. As a physician, the health and livelihood of my patients depend on it. ___ This is an updated version of an article originally published on July 27, 2018. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Barcelona under a haze of pollution in February. Joan Sanchez Spain is among Europes worst offenders when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. Between 1990 and 2017, these increased by 51.7 million tons, the highest rise in absolute terms in the entire EU. As a percentage, emissions grew by 17.9% while the EU collectively reduced them by 23.5% during the same period, despite a 58% hike in GDP. Spain is not alone. Five other countries out of Europes 28 have been unable to reduce emissions effectively: Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and Portugal, according to an official inventory which has just been released by the European Environment Agency. Emissions in Spain rose wildly until 2007, then fell sharply when the economic crisis hit Cyprus, whose emissions soared by 57.8% in this period, and Portugal by 19.5% are the worst culprits in percentage terms. But neither carries as much economic weight as Spain within the EU. The report states that the increase in Spain is due mainly to road transportation, the production of electricity and heat, residential emissions and services. Emissions in Spain rose wildly up until 2007, by more than 50%, says the economist Jose Santamarta, a member of the Observatory for Sustainability who explains this was due to economic growth coupled with a lack of change in the energy mix. And there was one additional factor: the rise in emissions from increased road transportation due to a larger number of vehicles on Spanish roads. The report confirms a years-long trend showing that Spain has been less successful than others at breaking the ties between economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the only time emissions began dropping significantly was at the onset of the economic crisis in 2008. However, Santamarta is optimistic about the future because of the current Spanish governments plans to boost renewable energy production. Not only will clean energy become cheaper, there will be a significant increase in electric vehicles. UK and Germany The report highlights positive developments in both the UK and Germany, which together account for 50% of the net reduction of greenhouse gases in the EU in the last 27 years. This is mainly due to Germany increasing energy efficiency and the changes in the iron and steel sector after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The report also underlines the positive step of exchanging coal-based electricity for natural gas and the strong focus on renewables and improved management of organic waste. Cyprus and Portugal are the worst culprits, but they do not carry as much weight in the EU as Spain With regard to the UK, the report applauds the exchange of oil and coal for natural gas and, as in Germany, improved waste management and the shrinking of the iron and steel industry. In global terms, almost all the sectors in the EU reduced their emissions, though emissions from transportation is still an area that needs to be tackled. For the fourth year running since 2013, carbon dioxide emissions from road transportation increased in 2017, both in commercial and private vehicles, says the report. English version by Heather Galloway. A gathering in memory of Veronica on May 31. My life is not your porn, reads one of the signs. It makes me sick to think what a person must be going through to decide they no longer want to go on living, says a worker at the Madrid factory of Iveco, the Italian commercial vehicle manufacturer. Was there nobody to tell her that it would be all right, to take the sting out of the situation? Was she really that alone? he wonders. He is talking about Veronica, a 32-year-old factory employee and mother of two young children, who killed herself on May 25 inside her home in Alcala de Henares, in the northeast of the Madrid region. She had been under pressure for more than a month after colleagues began sharing intimate videos of her. At first, a group of around 20 had access to the images. This later ballooned to more than 200. The company employs around 2,500 people at its Madrid factory. Was there nobody to tell her that it would be all right? Co-worker of the victim Investigators are still trying to determine who sent the material out in the first place, although the prime suspect is a former boyfriend. The videos were made five years ago, before Veronica got married. It wasnt even the first time it happened. Those same files made the rounds a few years ago, but Veronica managed to put a stop to it then, said three co-workers. But this time, she couldnt stop it. For 10 days, the factory corridors echoed with laughter and people came up to Veronica to check for themselves that she was the woman in the videos. I think that nobody really realized the gravity of what was happening, it was viewed as a joke, says one worker. But for Veronica, it was a period of unrelenting humiliation and anguish. One employee remembers hearing her saying out loud on one occasion: I cant take it anymore. The Iveco plant where Veronica worked. Uly Martin Things got worse. Her sister-in-law found out, then her own husband, with whom she reportedly had an argument the day before her death. On May 23, at a meeting with the heads of human resources, Veronica explained the situation and provided a name. The reply was that this was a personal matter, according to a lawyer who works for the labor union CC OO. Soon after, she was offered a transfer to a different section or a period of sick leave. The union says this was not enough, and that they went to see her on Friday with a formal complaint to file before the company, but she had already gone home. On Saturday she was dead. Probes Police and prosecutors are investigating the case, and a court in Alcala de Henares has launched its own probe after the victims father took legal action. Meanwhile, the Spanish Data Protection Agency is investigating whether there was a breach of privacy laws. And CC OO said it would take the matter up with work inspection over a violation of gender equality legislation and of occupational hazard prevention laws. An ex-boyfriend of Veronicas who had been targeted by the police walked into a Civil Guard station in Mejorada del Campo on Thursday to provide testimony, but he denied being the person who sent out the sensitive material. He was let go, and a judge is assessing whether to summon him to a hearing. I think that nobody really realized the gravity of what was happening One of Veronicas co-workers at Iveco But the man whose name Veronica mentioned to human resources was someone else. It was someone who worked with her at Iveco. On Friday, a company memo said that Iveco would be launching an internal investigation with someone from the outside and asked for cooperation. Since the Monday after the suicide, a group of employees has been congregating outside the front door to show their dismay, and to ask that people refrain from criminalizing the entire staff. We are not all guilty and we are not all accomplices, wrote a group of 20 workers, mostly male, in a note sent to news agencies. Feminist groups in Madrid staged protests at Plaza de los Cubos, with signs reading accomplices. Asked who these accomplices are, the reply by one protester was: Whoever sent it, whoever shared it, whoever saw it and did nothing, and whoever knew about it and also did nothing. English version by Susana Urra Ciudadanos general secretary Jose Manuel Villegas in a file photo. Victor J Blanco (GTRES) The center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) party announced on Monday that it was ruling out any negotiations with far-right party Vox to form governments. The decision was taken by the partys executive committee today, and will mean that the group will try to do deals firstly with the conservative Popular Party (PP), and exceptionally, with the Socialist Party (PSOE). There will be no three-way talks, said Jose Manuel Villegas, the partys general secretary, during a press conference on Monday after the meeting, at which the more progressive wing of the party called for the chance of deals with the Socialists to remain on the table and for there to be limits laid down for the far right. There will be no three-way talks Ciudadanos general secretary Jose Manuel Villegas After the inconclusive regional elections in Andalusia last December, a government was eventually formed by the PP and Ciudadanos, with the support of the votes from Vox (see sidebar). Thanks to more polls with no clear winners, a similar scenario has since been replicated all over Spain, with not only a general election on April 28 that saw the PSOE win but without a majority, but also at many of the May 26 regional and municipal polls. Ciudadanos leader Albert Rivera had vowed not to support Pedro Sanchezs bid to be voted back in as prime minister at an investiture vote, but it appears that the partys position is softening with regard to doing deals with the PSOE elsewhere in Spain. The social-liberal wing of the executive committee on Monday expressed its reticence to repeat the deal that was done in Andalusia in other parts of Spain. Such an agreement would be necessary in regions such as Madrid, Murcia and Aragon. In Castilla y Leon, the PP and Ciudadanos have enough seats to form a government between them. The strategy is aimed at forcing Vox into accepting deals that the party negotiates with the PP if the far-right group refuses, the left would be able to take power The more centrist wing of the Ciudadanos executive committee, meanwhile, is calling for deals to be done with the PSOE. Despite their insistence, however, the partys position has not moved significantly. The preferential partner for the party which began in Catalonia as a reaction to the pro-independence movement, but soon became a national group will still be the PP, Villegas explained, and only where deals cant be reached with the PP will exceptional attempts to make agreements with the PSOE. The party leadership also agreed today that they would not negotiate three-way governments with Vox or Podemos, the latter a left-wing, anti-austerity party. The strategy is aimed at forcing Vox into accepting deals that the party negotiates with the PP if the far-right group refuses, the left would be able to take power. Villegas added on Monday that Ciudadanos would not refuse to appear in a photo with representatives of Vox, but only at a meeting where they would be presented with the agreements reached with the PP, and not as part of a negotiation. Vox to block budget in Andalusia EVA SAIZ, Seville Far-right political party Vox announced on Monday that it will not lend its support in the Andalusian regional parliament to the budget plan of the new government, which is made up of the Popular Party (PP) and Ciudadanos (Citizens). The latter two groups need the votes from Vox if they are to pass legislation, but the ultra-nationalist party is withholding support on the regional accounts on the basis that they are a "mere exercise in continuing what was already there." Speaking on Monday, the Vox spokesperson in the Andalusian regional parliament, Alejandro Hernandez, said that the budget "could have perfectly well been presented by a Socialist government." Vox is planning to present an amendment to the entire plan, on the basis that it contains "no political changes, just changes to the numbers." The party claims that the budget does not meet the 37-point agreement signed with the PP in order to guarantee their support for the investiture of Juan Manuel Moreno as regional premier. "[The budget] is removed from everything that the new government said that it was going to do," Hernandez added. Vox was the surprise success story of the Andalusian regional elections in December, picking up 12 seats. The Socialist Party, which had governed in Spain's most-populous region uninterruptedly for 36 years, won the most votes but fell short of a majority. This allowed the PP and Ciudadanos to form a government, but only thanks to the support of Vox. The three parties hold 59 seats in a house where 55 are needed for a majority. Ahead of the Andalusian elections, Vox campaigned for the repeal of Spain's gender violence law and historical memory law, and a hardline stance on immigration. The proposed budget for the region includes maintaining 4.2 million of funds for gender violence, a 1 million increase for migration policies and a reduction of 6.9% in spending on historical memory. Vox has avoided discussing specific points of the budget that it believes are not in accordance with the deal it signed with the PP, but instead is objecting to the entire plan. "All of the activities and programs that do not have a clear public and social interest will not be supported," said the party. "But this is not about a specific program, but rather the overall project." Vox is also demanding a seat at the table to negotiate both with the PP and Ciudadanos. Ahead of the formation of the Andalusian government, the far-right party was only in talks with the PP. Now, the group wants to sit down "with the government, which is made up of two parties." English version by Simon Hunter. The defense sector expects that authorized public bodies will manage to clear the situation with the reasons of the refusal to take into operation new BTR-4 armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) by the Ukrainian Armed Forces made at the production facilities of the Ukroboronprom State Concern from European steel of NATO standard ARMSTAL-500 and paid attention to the fact that the armored vehicles made from this steel is being successfully used by the Armed Forces. "As far as I know, military acceptance inspection department requires confirmation of the chemical composition of foreign armor, from which they are going to melt corps for the BTR-4 APC under the public defense procurement. In particular, this concerns Finnish MiiLux Protection armor. According to the military department, it does not meet the requirements of the design documentation," Director of Defence Express news and consulting company Serhiy Zgurets, whose estimates were given on Thursday, May 30, on the website of the publication, said. The expert considers the situation with turmoil around the procurement of European armor by the defense-industrial complex endangered by the disruption of the public defense procurement as "extraordinary." In this regard, Zgurets said that the developer of the design documentation of the Morozov Design Bureau in Kharkiv allows for the manufacture of the BTR-4 and BTR-3 hulls four types of armor: the Ukrainian 71 armor, produced by Lozova Forging-Mechanical Plant, a member of the industrial group UPEC, and PJSC Metinvest, as well as its foreign analogs. "There are three such analogs Polish, Belgian and the already mentioned Finnish MiiLux Protection 500," he said, emphasizing that the quality of European armor purchased by the national defense industry complex is confirmed by appropriate certificates. The expert said that according to the Finnish company, Miilux 500 armor is used in more than 40 countries for the production of military equipment and complies with the NATO standard Stanag L1 - L5. At the same time, in Ukraine today hulls of Kozak armored vehicles manufactured by PrJSC Practika are manufactured from it, and in 2014, at Lozova Forging-Mechanical Plant's facilities, 14 BTR-4 hulls were produced from the European armor "as an experiment", successfully previously tested and operated today in the Armed Forces, he said. Zgurets also recalled that Lozova Forging-Mechanical Plant, producing corps from 71 armor and burdened today, including with staff problems, consistently disrupts the execution of the public defense procurement for the supply of the BTR-4 APCs to the Armed Forces. "Of the dozens of hulls ordered, in 2018 only some of them were delivered to the Armed Forces. The same picture for the past period of 2019," he said. For PJSC Metinvest, in his words, "with enormous smelting work for civilian purposes, production of armor for armored vehicles is of little interest." Meanwhile, numerous questions have appeared in relation to the armored vehicles made from Ukrainian 71 armor during its operation in the Armed Forces, which were confirmed by multiple complaints of the public customer, Zgurets said. As the director of Defence Express said, the situation with the public defense procurement forced Ukroboronprom to take over the production of hulls for APCs from foreign armor, for which new facilities were created at Zhytomyr Armor Plant, Morozov Design Bureau and the Malyshev plant. According to him, "now is the time to ask ourselves the question how did we get to such a life, and why do some like 71 armor very much, while others say that it is heavy, expensive and it is risky to make armored vehicles out of it." The expert did not rule out that "the foreign armor initiative was paused until the final clarification of the relationship between the Ministry of Defense and the enterprises of Ukroboronprom." he tariff commission of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia has approved a 20% discount for tariffs of shipping freights to Mariupol and Berdiansk seaports, Deputy Infrastructure Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Lavreniuk said at the Ukrainian Port Forum 2019 in Odesa on Thursday last week. According to him, this will provide additional cargo traffic to the ports and ensure their uninterrupted operation. "Last week, the tariff commission of Ukrzaliznytsia decided to offer a 20% discount on railway tariffs to the Mariupol and Berdiansk ports on the Sea of Azov. This will enable the mentioned seaports to lower the price and they will become competitive with the Black Sea ports," Lavreniuk said. He said that the Infrastructure Ministry is working to return cargo flows to the ports of the Azov region, allowing them to continue development, despite the negative impact of the illegal actions taken by Russia in the Azov basin. Former president of the largest mobile communications operator Kyivstar Peter Chernyshov has invested UAH 332,250 in the Revizion service calculating Net Promoter Score (NPS) for small and medium-sized business (SME), he wrote on his Facebook page this weekend. "One of the companies where I am not only an investor, but also a mentor is Revizion. There are others, and some not in Ukraine, but I will open secrets gradually," Chernyshov said. He also said that many different restaurant chains are already working with the company, including: Tarantino Family, La Famiglia, FEST holding, Savva Libkin restaurant chain, Pesto cafe, as well as large distribution companies and public institutions universities, clinics, hospitals and transport companies. In particular, according to Chernyshov, the Revizion service has signed a contract with Ukrposhta, and its introduction is now beginning in many branches. According to the information in the unified register of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs, Chernyshov contributed UAH 332,250 to the company's charter capital and received a 15% share. At the same time, one of the co-owners and final beneficiaries of Revizion LLC is the son of former governor of the NBU Valeriya Gontareva and co-owner of the Medikit service for telemedicine Anton Gontarev. His contribution to the charter capital of the company amounts to UAH 598,050 (27%). According to Chernyshov, the main advantage of the Revizion over its competitors is in the detailed statistics, the simplicity for the service user and the coverage of all communication channels. Air Serbia has resumed regular flights on the route Belgrade-Kyiv-Belgrade from June 2, 2019, according to the company's booking system. Flights will be carried out three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. In particular, the plane will depart from Belgrade (Belgrade Nikola Tesla International Airport) at 07:00 in the morning (local time, 08:00 Kyiv time) on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and at 18:05 (local time, 19:00 Kyiv time) on Sundays. Flights from Kyiv (Boryspil International Airport, Terminal F) will be operated at 10:35 Kyiv time on Tuesdays and Thursdays and at 21:40 Kyiv time on Sundays. The duration of the flight will be 1 hour 45 minutes. The price of a one-way ticket without luggage will start from $150 (about UAH 4,000 at the current rate). Air Serbia is Serbia's state-owned airlines, headquartered in Belgrade. Its former name was Yugoslav Airlines. Russia-led forces mount 5 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donbas in past day, no casualties Ukrainian army positions came under five attacks in Donbas over the day, there were no casualties, the press center of the Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook on Monday morning. "There were five ceasefire violations, including three involving 82mm mortars prohibited by the Minsk Agreements. The Joint Forces suffered no casualties," the press center said. According to Ukrainian army intelligence, one hostile was killed on June 2. Under a request of Ukraine's Special Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) the Solomiansky district court of Kyiv has decided to freeze property of ex-National Guard Commander Yuriy Allerov and other persons involved in the case, First Deputy SAPO Head Maksym Hryschuk has told Interfax-Ukraine. "The petitions were filed and, on May 22, 23 and 24, the investigating judges of the Solomiansky district court decided to freeze the property of Allerov and two other suspects in the proceedings," he said. At the same time, the list of seized property is not specified yet. As reported, on May 17, 2019, Kyiv's Solomiansky district court has set measures of restraint Allerov, the director of a construction company and an appraiser changed with embezzling UAH 81.640 million from the National Guard's main directorate. Allerov was freed after paying UAH 4.8 million bail. Bail was set for the construction company director at UAH 2 million, and UAH 1.5 million for the appraiser. The government of the Netherlands is seeking explanations from Malaysia after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad cast doubt over Russia's guilt in the MH17 flight crash earlier this week, according to the Dutch news website NOS. Mahathir agreed with the conclusions made by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) but said doubted that it was Russia that fired the missile which downed the plane. He wanted to see evidence first, Mahathir said. The website quoted him as saying that he did not think such a disciplined side as Russia was responsible for the launching the missile, and irrefutable evidence was needed before blaming it. During a meeting at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan Mahathir said he doubted that Russia was involved in the MH17 crash in Ukraine in 2014, due to lack of irrefutable evidence. Russia does have the type of missile, which shot down the plane, but so does Ukraine, and firm evidence is needed of it having been launched by Russians, Mahathir said on Friday, according to the Malaysian news outlet The Star. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 MH17 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over Ukraine's Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed. On October 13, 2015, the Dutch Safety Board commission, which investigated the crash, concluded that the plane was down by a Buk surface-to-air missile. In 2018 the Netherlands and Australia recognized the results of the JIT inquiry published in May, which claimed that the missile may have been smuggled from a Russian military base near Kursk. Leader of the Batkivschyna faction at the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Yulia Tymoshenko has called for holding negotiations on returning Ukrainian citizens held behind bars in Russia and in the Ukrainian territories currently not controlled by Kyiv "from scratch." "It is necessary to immediately start negotiations again from scratch. The Minsk Agreements have reached an impasse. There has been no exchange of prisoners, and these statements were used simply to screen the total corruption and sharing resources between those surrounding the former president," Tymoshenko said during a meeting of the conciliatory council of the leaders of the parliamentary factions and groups on Monday. Tymoshenko recalled remarks by high-ranking Russian politicians that the negotiations should be started again from scratch, including following the election of a new Ukrainian president. "Now everything needs to be restarted, and this should be done immediately," she said. Zelensky: Ukraine has concrete proposals to be voiced at TCG meeting on June 5 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that concrete proposals for resolving the conflict in Donbas would be voiced at a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on June 5. "Our group does have concrete proposals ... I want all these proposals to be determined by understandable deadlines for their implementation," Zelensky said at a briefing in Kyiv, introducing the second president of Ukraine (1994-2005), Leonid Kuchma, who will again lead the Ukrainian side in the TCG. He also said that the next meeting of the TCG will be held on June 5. Kuchma, in turn, noted that he could not but agree with such a proposal [to head the Ukrainian delegation again], since indeed Ukraine is experiencing not the easiest times. He stressed that it was his way to be responsible for the decisions made. "Today's meeting with the president of Ukraine suggests that I have such an opportunity even with the group that was created within the Normandy format to make a contribution," he added. At the same time, Kuchma noted that if this group makes any decisions, they should be implemented. "I cannot act as a ceremonial bystander," the official added. 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 View Results Acting Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Ivan Bakanov has stated that the SBU would adequately respond to all facts of pressure on businesses, in particular identify its employees involved in such illegal actions. "People who run a protection racket for shadow businesses sometimes forget and put pressure on an ordinary business. It is clear that we must respond to such facts, act quickly and effectively," Bakanov said at a briefing in Kyiv. According to him, there is no need to change the legislation for this, but one should simply act within the framework of those laws that already exist. "I appeal to journalists and the society: if you know of any facts of such pressure, please contact us, we will work on these materials with a great pleasure," Bakanov said. Zelensky will declare firmness of Ukraine's course for EU and NATO in Brussels President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during his first foreign visit to Brussels on Tuesday, June 4, will declare that Ukraine's course towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration remains unchanged, presidential spokesperson Yulia Mendel has reported. "There will be the first foreign visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky tomorrow. Of course, this is a foreign visit to Brussels to once again declare the same position Ukraine's course for European and Euro-Atlantic integration," Mendel said at a briefing in Kyiv. She also said that Zelensky would meet with the European leaders and the NATO Secretary General in Brussels. European Commission proposes extension of sanctions against Russia over Crimea until 2020 The European Commission proposes that sanctions against Russia for the annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol be extended until June 23, 2020, Bloomberg reported on Monday with reference to an internal EU document. The EU "does not recognize and continues to condemn the illegal annexation of the Crimea and Sevastopol," the agency said. PACE Standing Committee approves resolution complicating imposition of sanctions against delegations, Assembly to consider it on June 24 The Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution that can change the organization's rules regarding the imposition of sanctions on delegations, said Volodymyr Ariev, the head of the Verkhovna Rada delegation to the PACE. "The Standing Committee has adopted a draft resolution that could change the PACE rules. Voting will take place at the Assembly session on June 24. This is a poor option that complicates the sanctions procedure, but does not completely eliminate it, as Russians demanded," he wrote on his Facebook page on Monday. "Even if the resolution is voted, the opportunity to impose sanctions in a curtailed version will still remain," wrote Ariev, adding that the Ukrainian delegation was against the approval of this resolution. He also noted that the Ukrainian side would be working over the next three weeks to convince the Assembly not to adopt this resolution. On Tuesday, June 4, at 13.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "Resumption of OJSC Odesa Port-Side Chemical Plant's Work and Development Strategy." Participants include: Vice-President of the Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE), Honorary President of the Board of All-Ukrainian Energy Company Vitaliy Kolesnikov; ULIE adviser and consultant Dmytro Berezovsky (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration of journalists with editorial IDs on the spot. Supply chains are shifting to Southeast Asia due to the regions growing economies and consumer markets, especially with trade tensions and rising production costs affecting other markets, according to the bank. Pham Hong Hai, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, said: The changes in global trade are causing businesses to revisit their supply chain investment and capacity strategies, but we have yet to see this convert into wide-scale shifts to Southeast Asia, South Asia or other parts of the world. Rather than see a wide-scale shift to ASEAN, multinationals due to trade tensions have multiple supply chain strategies with a mixture of localisation, offshoring and re-shoring activity emerging, according to Hai. Shifts in supply chains have been a multi-year phenomenon due to structural changes in production technology, labour costs, and emerging consumer markets. Over the past decade, ASEAN and Vietnam have been perceived as a strong production option for multinationals given its role within existing supply chains, growing consumer base, and strong trade and investment ties, he added. Countries where infrastructure and production networks are already in place such as Vietnam are likely to be the main beneficiaries of a shift in production capacity. The hot buttons that will matter for both large and small firms include how ASEAN and Vietnam can deliver competitive production costs, and how technology and innovation are being introduced to improve productivity. At a government level, this will require educating international firms about regulatory frameworks, tax incentives, and free trade zones, along with demonstrating improvements in ports and rail and other transport infrastructure. It will also require ASEAN governments to demonstrate a pathway to longer-term initiatives to remove the non-tariff barriers around the flow of goods across ASEAN, the development of skilled labour; and intellectual property protection, cybersecurity, and movement of commercial data across borders. ASEAN is the USs fourth largest trading partner, with nearly 4,700 American companies in the region. It is the top destination for US foreign direct investment in Asia. A recent US Chamber of Commerce report found that 80 percent of US firms in Southeast Asia are looking to increase investment in the region over the next five years. The EU is ASEANs second largest trading partner and largest source of FDI. China continues to be ASEANs largest trading partner (15 percent of its total trade), while ASEAN is Chinas third largest trading partner. In the last five months, Vietnams FDI attraction reached a total value of US$16.74 billion, up 69.1% over the same period last year. The FDI pledges from foreign investors increased regarding all three components, including registered capital for new projects, additional capital for existing projects, and capital contribution and share purchase. Currently, there are 131 countries and territories with valid investment projects in Vietnam, of which the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan and Singapore claim the top three places. However, since the beginning of the year, FDI inflow from China into Vietnam has been surging significantly, with Chinese investors projects beginning to make the list of large projects subject to being licenced each month, including the US$280 million ACTR tire manufacturing project in the southern province of Tay Ninh and a US$214.4 million project by the Advance Vietnam Tire Co., Ltd in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang. During the January-May period, China committed US$2.02 billion worth of investments in Vietnam, with the sharpest rise seen in the registered capital for newly licenced projects, closely approaching the total pledges of more than US$2.46 billion for the whole 2018. Throughout Vietnams 30 years of FDI attraction, China has been the seventh largest investor in the Southeast Asian country with a total registered capital of nearly US$15 billion, which has shown a rapid uptrend over recent times. Specifically, in 2018, China ranked fifth among the countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In the first five months of 2019, China rose to third and fourth place, depending on each month, and even claimed top spot on the scale for newly registered capital. It is clear that Chinese investors interest in the Vietnamese market has moved to a new level. Recently, Vietnam and China organised many two-way trade and investment promotion activities aiming to introduce high-quality projects and calling on Chinese enterprises to expand their investments in Vietnam. A number of Chinese companies have chosen Vietnam as their destination thanks to its modern infrastructure and high quality labour forces at reasonable prices. For its part, Vietnam always wishes to receive new investment flows from China, especially projects with high technology content, prioritising the fields of mechanical engineering, electronics, new materials, pharmaceuticals, supporting industries, information technology, infrastructure and clean energy. The hike in FDI inflows from China into Vietnam caused little surprise as it was anticipated due to the impact of the ongoing US-China trade war, as well as many Chinese enterprises wishing to leapfrog opportunities brought about by Vietnams participation in many new-generation free trade agreements. Therefore, it is necessary for Vietnam to proactively choose to attract FDI projects with high technology content, ensuring the principle of generating high added value for the economy in accordance with Vietnams FDI attraction policy in the new period. In her commemorative speech, current NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan praised him as a fervent patriot, a competent leader, a well-versed man of culture, a close associate of President Ho Chi Minh and a talented son of Hanoi. He was elected to the first National Assembly of the new Vietnam in January 1946 and was later named Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. One of his major contributions was leading the National Assembly to formulate and adopt the first constitution of Vietnam, the 1946 Constitution, in which national independence and the peoples happiness were enshrined. As head of the parliament, he and the NA Standing Committee strongly advocated the governments foreign strategy of reconciliation with the French in order to expulse Chiang Kai-sheks troops. Chairwoman Ngan stated that Nguyen Van To had devoted his entire life to the cause of illuminating the people and liberating the nation. She added that he was a bright example of thriftiness, modesty and a simple way of life with no regard for personal wealth and fame. Speaking at the ceremony, Professor Nguyen Lan Dung, a long-time NA member, said that the anniversary was an occasion to remember a respected scholar, a patriot whose whole life was dedicated to serving the nation. On the occasion, the National Assembly Office also held an exhibition featuring valuable materials from the life and career of Nguyen Van To. Accordingly, among the 147 submissions for the final phase, seven journalism pieces have claimed the A prize, 23 works received the B prize, 42 works got the C prize, and 34 works were given the consolation prize. These are typical works in terms of both content and format with strong impact on public opinion. Many of them show good social impacts, winning high appreciation in public opinion concerning the presss role in investigation, giving praise, and constructive criticism. All the prize winners have met the criteria of the awards, such as closely following the political tasks of the country, sectors and localities; faithfully reflecting the countrys political, economic, cultural, social, defence, security and foreign affair aspects, as well as the implementation of the Party and State resolutions and directives in 2018; criticising and combating negative acts, corruption, and wrong views of hostile forces; and informing on the important international events in an accurate and timely fashion. This year saw the participation of 120 journalists associations and 222 coordinators, and is the second consecutive year that the organising committee has received entries from all 63 provincial journalists associations. The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held in Hanoi on June 21, marking the 94th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day. An Iranian lawyer has been jailed for 30 years after setting up a channel on the popular social media platform Telegram, highlighting human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic. Amir Salar Davoudi was convicted by a revolutionary court for propaganda against the state and insulting officials and is set to be flogged 111 times. According to his lawyer Vahid Farahani, Davoudi was also accused of collaborating with an enemy state after giving an interview to Voice of America Persian-language television. Speaking to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran in April, Farahani warned his client was accused of forming a group to overthrow the state. Davoudis wife, Tannaz Kolahchian, who is also a lawyer, tweeted that his sentence was unfair but added that her husband would not be appealing. The Islamic Penal Code would require a 15-year mandatory sentence for having started the Telegram channel. Called Without Retouch, Davoudi used the channel as a platform to highlight human rights abuses. Exiled Iranian lawyers have signed an open letter denouncing Davoudis outrageous ruling that completely derides all principles of the legal counsel in Iran. The letter called Davoudi one of the most honorable lawyers across Iran. He has been convicted merely for defending victims of the judiciary and security agents, political prisoners and the oppressed, as well as audaciously criticizing the corrupt, cruel and inefficient political and judicial system in Iran, the letter said. It was signed by Hossein Ahmadi Niaz, Massoud Akhtari Tehrani, Mohammad Mostafaei and Mehrangiz Kar. Agents of the judiciarys security and intelligence center arrested Davoudi, who counted a number of political prisoners among his clients, in November. Security agents also searched Davoudis home and office and confiscated his belongings. He had been taken in for questioning on previous occasions and warned not to inform the public about politically sensitive cases, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Davoudi is the third renowned defense lawyer currently behind bars in Iran for performing his legal work. Prominent defense attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh is currently serving a 38-year prison sentence that has received international condemnation. Fellow defense attorney and civil rights activist Mohammad Najafi is serving a three-year prison sentence but faces a total sentence of 19 years. In addition to defense attorneys being detained in Iran for peacefully doing their jobs, other detainees held on politically motivated charges are being forced to choose their counsel from a list of state-approved lawyers. gawrav/iStock(NEW DELHI, India) -- Helicopters searching for eight mountain climbers from the same expedition in the Indian Himalayas spotted five bodies Monday morning, an official confirmed to ABC News. The missing climbers, which include two Americans, were part of a 12-person expedition on Nanda Devi, the second-tallest mountain in India, at 25,643 feet. Authorities have been working on search efforts, although some have been thwarted by bad weather conditions, according to Pithoragarh district administrator Vijay Kumar Jogdande. A rescue team including doctors is at the Nanda Devi base camp, but could not go up the mountain on foot Sunday due to avalanches. Helicopter rescue operations resumed Monday morning, leading to the news that five bodies had been seen. Rescue teams also spotted empty red tents at around 19,000 feet. There had been avalanches in that region. Authorities are doing a technical assessment to determine their next steps given the difficult terrain and high altitude. Four of the group members -- Mark Thomas, Zachary Quain, Ian Wade and Kate Armstrong -- split off to climb its east peak, while the other eight went to climb an unnamed peak, according to Jogdande. The four who headed towards the east peak were airlifted out from around 16,400 feet after getting stranded. They are now back in Pithoragarh, per Jogdande. They had last been in contact with the other eight in the group on May 24. That group was supposed to return to base camp on May 26, but did not, which authorities learned on May 31, Jogdande said. The eight missing climbers include two Americans -- Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel -- as well as four people from the U.K., one from Australia and one from India -- Chetan Pandey of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, according to Pithoragarh additional district magistrate R.D. Paliwal. The other missing are Martin Moran, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard payne from the U.K. and Ruth McCance from Australia. It has been a particularly deadly climbing season in the Himalayas this year, with over two dozen deaths, although primarily on Mount Everest, where short weather windows paired with crowds and inexperience created catastrophes. Eleven people died on the world's tallest mountain this season. Other deaths in the mountain range this year occurred on the mountains Makalu, Lhotse, Annapurna, Cho Oyu and Kanchenjunga, officials previously told ABC News. Copyright 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. Iran continues to face serious problems with the import of medicines and medical equipment as a result of sanctions imposed by the U.S., according to Behrouz Bonyadi, a lawmaker who sits on the parliamentary health and treatment commission in Tehran Sanctions have definitely affected transactions for medicine and foodstuff, he told the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA) on Sunday, June 2. Despite some claims to the contrary, most reports consistently point to a shortage of both drugs and kits. Washington has repeatedly insisted, however, that exporting medicine and foodstuff to Iran is exempt from its sanctions. Bonyadi also added that countries such as Switzerland have announced readiness to help Iran to procure medicines and medical equipment. Figures from the Iranian Chamber of Commerce show imports last year included $1.24bn worth of medicines from 80 countries, with $213m from Switzerland and even $33m from the U.S. Citing the effect of sanctions, deputy health minister Qassim Janbabaei told ILNA on Sunday: We are struggling with the shortage of radiotherapy devices. He added, however, that Iran hoped to import 32 devices by March 20 next year, to relieve the shortage in part." Janbabaei added that sufficient heart batteries and cardioverter defibrillators had been delivered to the medical centers across the country. Last week, Mojtaba Najafi of the Islamic Republics Food and Drug Administration told ILNA that there were no specific obstacles to importing radiotherapy devices to Iran. However, prices for medical devices are a different matter. Recent reports indicate that the cost of medical equipment and supplies has increased four to five times. That is in line with how much the Iranian rial has depreciated against major currencies in the past 18 months. But in fact, it should not work that way when the government supplies cheap dollars and euros to importers of essential goods, including foodstuff and medical needs. In February, Tehrans prosecutor-general, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said the government allocated $3.5bn in subsidized currency for importing medicines and medical equipment, but it was not clear how it was spent. Reports of financial corruption in drugs and medical equipment supply lines are rife. In January neurologist Hamid Reza Janqorban, and his dermatologist wife, Azadeh Sajjadiyyeh, were sentenced to a total of 30 years in jail and ordered to pay a fine of 1,200 trillion rials ($28.5m) . Dubbed as the sultans of medical equipment by media, the couple were found to have bought nearly half a million fake devices from China costing $73m. These were then re-labelled and sold domestically as UK-made products. The court was told the pair had paid $7.3m commission to more than 220 physicians and specialists across the country to utilize their products. Iranian politicians affiliated with various political factions have been speaking against negotiations with the United States in recent days. Some Iranian officials say there could be no talks with the United States until sanctions are lifted. In one of the latest remarks in this regard, Iran's powerful hardliner Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi has said on Monday June 3 that U.S, officials are "begging for negotiations" with Tehran. Referring to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks on Sunday about the United States' readiness to hold "talks with Iran without any preconditions," Raeesi said: "We see that U.S. official are begging to hold talks with Iran. This proves Supreme Leader [Khamenei's] insight and expertise," ISNA quoted him as saying, reminding that Khamenei has always called for resistance against America's reneging. Stressing that "today it is America who needs to negotiate," Raeesi said that the United States will withdraw from its positions "if we insist on our principles." President Hassan Rouhani had reacted Sunday evening to Pompeo's remarks on readiness for unconditional talks with Iran if Tehran "behaves like a normal nation." Rouhani said, "Those who have overturned the previous negotiating table should return to negotiations," adding that "Until then, we have no solution other than resisting and steadfastness." Rouhani was referring to the U.S. pull-out from the nuclear deal with Iran in May 2018. Pompeo, however, had added that the United States shall continue its policy of maximum pressure on Tehran until it returns to negotiations. In another development the leader of the traditional conservative party, The Islamic Coalition Party, that enjoys grassroot support among Iranian businesses and in the Bazaars, said on Monday: "U.S. President Donald Trump is looking for a fool in Iran to hold negotiations with." Badamchian, a former MP with strong links to Khamenei's office, added that "No one in President Hassan Rouhani's administration will be prepared to hold talks with America." Meanwhile, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad zarif posted an emotionally charged video of a little boy in a tweet in which the boy's mother says as a result of U.S. sanctions, she cannot buy a new prosthetic leg for her son as he grows. Describing U.S. sanctions as economic war, Zarif wrote: " EconomicTerrorism against Iran targets innocent civilians. Like this little boy, whose heartbroken mother can't get him prosthetic legs as he grows. They're sanctioned. This is @realDonaldTrump's "economic war". And war and talkswith or without preconditionsdon't go together." Following rising tensions in the Persian Gulf region, officials in the United States and Iran have called for holding talks, but U.S. wants unconditional talks and Iran insists on lifting sanctions first. Iran knows that negotiating now would mean the U.S. has the upper hand. This comes while Iran's threats and deployment of new U.S. forces in the region could potentially lead to an unwanted war any moment. On Sunday, some of the U.S. forces deployed to the region took part in a limited exercise in the Arabian Sea. While Iranian gunboats patrol the Persian Gulf and have been seen carrying missiles according to U.S. officials, on Monday USS Abraham Lincoln which is in the region but has not entered the Persian Gulf was host to groups of reporters some 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. Aware of the sensitivity of the situation, Captain Putnam Browne, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, told The Associated Press: "You don't want to inadvertently escalate something." Asked why the Lincoln hadn't gone into the Persian Gulf, Rear Adm. John F.G. Wade, the commander of the carrier's strike group, said that his forces could "conduct my mission wherever and whenever needed." However, he declined to further discuss his mission. In late May, the White House ordered several B-52 bombers and other aircraft to fly to the region, as well as deploying 1500 more troops following attacks on international shipping which has been attributed to Iran by the U.S., Saudi Arabia and some Arab leaders. While Saudi Arabia has been garnering support against Iran during the summits it held in Mecca over the weekend, Iran's regional ally, Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned that any war against Iran will not remain limited to the Persian Gulf and "will burn Israel, Saudi Arabia and U.S. interests in the region," IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency reported him as saying. In the meantime, Iran is losing patience as sanctions imposed on it following the U.S. pull-out from the nuclear deal (JCPOA) have paralized its economy, making oil exports and international banking almost impossible for Tehran. In what appeared to be Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's first direct response to U.S. President Donald Trump's recent denial of intention to change the regime in Iran, Khamenei said on Wednesday May 29 that Tehran will not negotiate with "European countries and others," over "the honor of the revolution," while also denouncing negotiation with America as "harmful." Khamenei used a very strong word for honor, "namoos," which means in Persian, the honor of one's female family members. The honor of revolution could mean its most important principles, such as the Iranian version of "Islamic solidarity"; namely establishing its leadership in the region by supporting anti-Western, anti-Israeli groups. Khamenei said: "The media hype about negotiations" is about "negotiating with America" and not about "returning to negotiations" over Iran's nuclear issue. Khamenei who was speaking to a group of academics in Tehran said he has no objection to "negotiating with Europeans and others," possibly meaning the Japanese, but added: "our problem with such negotiations is about the topics to be discussed." According to his official website, Khamenei reiterated: "We will not negotiate about the honor of the revolution. We will not negotiate about our military capabilities", adding that the other side wants a deal not negotiations. Khameneis reference to a deal means reaching an overall understanding or accommodation with the U.S. What Irans Supreme Leader is saying is that we can only talk within the framework of the nuclear deal and no other issue. This is exactly what the Obama administration did, hoping that the nuclear agreement could later lead to more bridge-building. But that is exactly what President Donald trump says was wrong with Obamas Iran policy; not demanding a change of behaviour on Irans part. "They want us to compromise over our military capabilities. There are only two words about such negotiation. They say we want this, and we say No!" Khamenei said. Then he remembered an anecdote: "Somebody went to ask for someone's daughter's hand. And when he came back, he said everything went ahead very well except two things: I said I want your daughter and they said: No way!" Khamenei stressed that Iran will not negotiate with America as "Not only such a negotiation is not useful, but it is rather harmful." Elsewhere in his speech Khamenei said Tehran will use certain tools to confront the mounting U.S. pressures, adding that these tools are not necessarily military. According to Khamenei, suspending the fulfillment of parts of Tehran's obligation in the nuclear agreement with the West as announced on May 8 was part of Iran's measures to cope with the pressures. He said "if you do not use these tools, America might add to its pressures." Following Trump's withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran, the United States has imposed backbreaking sanctions on Iran leading to a fourfold devaluation of the Iranian currency and reducing Iran's oil export to about 400,000 barrels per day in May. Trump wants a new agreement with Tehran that would also cover limitations on Iran's missile program and its military intervention in the region. During recent weeks, following the escalation of tensions between Tehran and Washington, the Islamic Republics leaders have ruled out negotiations with the United States over Iran's nuclear issue, ballistic missile program and its regional ambitions. Trump had said on May 27 that Washington is not after regime change in Iran, but it is determined to block Iran's access to nuclear weapons. Trump added that the U.S. is not planning to do any harm to Iran and that the two sides can reach a new agreement. Khamenei in his Wednesday's speech stressed that Iran is not after nuclear weapons, adding that doing so would be against Iranians' religious beliefs. Khamenei who has the final say in Iran, insisted last week that "Negotiating with America is like poison, and negotiating with the Trump administration will be doubly poisonous." In the meantime several countries, and most recently Japan, have suggested to mediate between Tehran and Washington. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is going to visit Tehran during the next two weeks and hold talks with Khamenei and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani. Radio Farda, Jerusalem - Israel Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says the Islamic Republic of Iran transfers $700ma year to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Celebrating Jerusalem Day on Sunday, June 2, Netanyahu said: Every year, Irans foreign Ministry transfers over $100m under diplomatic cover, by seemingly innocent means, to Lebanon and from there to Hezbollah. Speaking at a ceremony in Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem, and commemorating Israels capture of Jerusalem in 1967, Netanyahu said that these vast sums are used for Iran and its proxies hostile activities in the region. Our neighbors know this, all the Arab states know it, and that is one of the things bringing them to a renewed closeness with us, Benjamin Netanyahu said. Although Netanyahu did not elaborate further, it seems that he was referring to Saudi Arabia and its allies in the Persian Gulf who are believed to be growing ties with Israel. Netanyahu added: Irans backing for Hezbollah and other armed groups in the region also threatens Arab states, which has brought them closer to Israel. These enormous amounts are used to fuel the endless aggression by Iran and its satellites in our region. In an apparent warning to Tehran, he said: Those who try to harm us will be hit several times harder. Netanyahus speech yesterday also highlighted the two rocket attacks from Syria into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday night. The rockets were fired by the Syrian army from Mount Hermon which borders the Golan. Israelis occupation of the Golan Heights is not recognized internationally except by the United States after Donald Trump declared the area Israeli in March, going against decades of U.S. policy. Only one of the rockets reached the area held by Israel but did not explode and caused no casualties there are more than 30 Israeli settlements in the Golan, home to around 20,000 Israelis. Around 20,000 Druze Arabs also live there, having stayed after Golan was captured by Israel in 1967. Retaliating to the attack, Israeli Defense Forces hit the Quneitra region in Syrian-controlled Golan with missiles, killing three soldiers and wounding seven others, Syrias state-run media Sana reported, citing a military source. The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that one of the Israeli missiles hit an assembly center for the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iranian forces in the south of the Syrian capital city, Damascus. In their later reports through Sunday, the Syrian opposition maintained that up to 10 members of forces allied with the Islamic Republic of Iran were killed in the Israeli missile attacks. Neither Iran nor the Lebanese Hezbollah, have confirmed the Syrian opposition reports, so far. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 Trend: The Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson, in accordance with its mandate, plans to conduct the next ceasefire monitoring on the line of contact on June 4 in the territory of the Khojavand district, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, his field assistants Ognjen Jovic and Simon Tiller will carry out the monitoring on the territory of Azerbaijan. The Personal Representative's field assistants Mihail Olaru and Martin Schuster will carry out the monitoring on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan occupied and controlled by the armed forces of Armenia. 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. Details added (first version posted on May 31 at 14:31) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31 Trend: An Azerbaijan-Poland business forum has been held at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda attended the forum. The presidents made speeches at the forum. Speech of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: - Dear Mr President, Dear guests, business forum participants! Mr President, I welcome you once again. Within the framework of your official visit to Azerbaijan today, a broad exchange of views has been held, various topics have been discussed, and we can already say that the visit is very successful. I am sure that this visit will give a powerful impetus to the further development of Polish-Azerbaijani relations. Our meetings are held on a regular basis. I am very pleased to remember my visit to Poland. We also meet and talk at international events, and these meetings are of great benefit to our bilateral relations. Today, representatives of business circles of Poland and Azerbaijan are meeting within the framework of this business forum today. And this is natural because our high-level political ties allow the business community to stay in touch as well. I am aware that several agreements will be signed within the framework of the forum. This suggests that the forum will have tangible results. In the future, of course, there will be more such agreements because mutual interest is quite big. Business circles simply need to get to know each other better. It is necessary to explore business opportunities. I believe that the visit of President Duda is very important in this respect because the lack of information may sometimes prevent business people from establishing close ties with each other. We are very interested in increasing our trade. A fairly broad exchange of views was conducted in this respect today. Specific steps are being taken to expand export-import operations. Last year, a trade house of Azerbaijan was opened in Poland. I consider this an important step, and products made in Azerbaijan will be represented there by means of this trading house. We have had an exchange of views on investments. I believe that there are also opportunities here, we simply need to focus on the right directions in order to achieve efficiency in the field of investment. I think that cooperation can be very useful for business people. In general, the business environment in Azerbaijan is very positive, and there is a lot of progress in this direction in recent years. This is also acknowledged by the World Bank. The World Banks Doing Business report 2019 ranks Azerbaijan 25th in terms of the business environment and is among top 10 most reformist countries. Therefore, a lot of work is being done in terms of investment. Investments in the oil and gas and the non-oil sectors are worth tens of billions of dollars. Foreign investment is protected at the proper level, which is important for any country. As a result of the improving business environment, business people feel confident and countries receive more benefit. The economic reforms carried out in Azerbaijan in recent years allow us the opportunity to expand our financial capability. The external public debt is at a low level and we are trying to further reduce it. Currently, it accounts for 19 percent of the gross domestic product. We actively cooperate with international financial institutions, and they positively assess the reforms being implemented in Azerbaijan. The infrastructure projects implemented in our country further improve the business conditions, because where there are roads and communications, business people certainly feel comfortable. In recent years, great attention in Azerbaijan has been paid to the implementation of infrastructure projects. I believe that the results achieved in this area suggest that these projects are paying off and bringing comfort to people. They also facilitate the work of business people. All of the work related to road construction, gas supply and electricity creates excellent conditions, including those for businesses. In recent years, the development of the transport sector in Azerbaijan remains a priority issue, and we have had an exchange of views on this. The modern transport infrastructure established in Azerbaijan is significant both within the country and in regional terms. The steps taken in recent years towards creating the East-West and North-South transport corridors are already bearing fruit. We have created a modern transport and logistical infrastructure. Of course, this is of great importance, it brings great benefits to the business community because business development would be out of the question without the transport infrastructure. Azerbaijan traditionally pays great attention to the development of the energy sector. However, our main goal is to develop the non-energy sector. In short, the diversification of the economy is a priority for us, and in recent years tangible steps have been taken in this direction. I believe that as a result of the joint activities of the business circles of Poland and Azerbaijan, attention will be paid to this area as well. We have already achieved results in the field of agriculture. An agreement has been signed. Poland's experience in this area is very important for us. Agriculture is of great importance for the development of our country, including the creation of jobs. I believe that we have good opportunities for extensive cooperation in this area. Tourism has developed rapidly in Azerbaijan in recent years. Polish citizens can come to our country on the basis of a simplified visa regime. I think that it is necessary to make mutual presentations. In other words, our people should get to know each other better so that tourism develops at a higher rate and mutual visits are made. Thus, high-level political connections make it possible to achieve good results in business as well. Currently, trade between us does not fully reflect our potential. In order to increase our trade, it is necessary to be more active first of all, the business community. We, in turn, always support them. The participation of President Duda and myself in today's business forum is further evidence of this support. I wish Polish and Azerbaijani business people further successes. I hope that cooperation between our countries leads to good results. Thank you!" Details added (first version posted on May 31 at 13:47) Baku, Azerbaijan, May 31 Trend: Following the ceremony of signing documents, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda have made press statements. Statement of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev: - Dear Mr. President, Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen! First of all, Mr President, let me sincerely welcome you to Azerbaijan. You are welcome to our country! This is your first visit to Azerbaijan. I am sure that this visit will give a powerful impetus to the development of Polish-Azerbaijani relations. I remember my official visit to your country. Two years ago we met in Poland and we exchanged views on the further development of our bilateral relations during that meeting. I believe that in two years we have come a long way; a format has been created for successful cooperation in various fields. In particular, I would like to point to the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership between Poland and Azerbaijan. This is a very important document reflecting the essence of our relations. We really are strategic partners. Our political connections are at a high level. This is clearly confirmed by mutual visits at the highest level. We have no disagreements on the topics on our agenda. We want our bilateral relations to develop in all areas. I believe that we need to work harder in the economic sphere because the trade turnover between us is still not sufficient even though there is potential. We talked about this today and determined that our trade should grow at the next stage as a result of regular meetings among business people. The business forum due to be held today is a very important tool for achieving this, of course. I know that there is great interest in the forum both in Poland and in Azerbaijan. I believe that the business circles of Poland and Azerbaijan, having established close ties, can benefits both themselves and our countries. I believe that there is no disagreement between us in terms of investment. We should work harder in the issue of mutual investment. There is wonderful investment climate in our country. I hope that Polish companies carefully consider these opportunities. At the same time, I recommend that Azerbaijani companies consider the opportunities available in Poland so that the economic and trade relations established between us can be expanded. Last year, a trade house of Azerbaijan was opened in Poland. This is an important albeit a small step. I believe that from now on larger steps will be taken in this direction. We have also exchanged views on cooperation in the field of transport. It was noted that the East-West and North-South transport corridors are of great importance for our countries. Azerbaijan is doing its part of the work in this direction. The existing transport and logistical opportunities are creating a new situation. So Azerbaijan is becoming one of the transport centers, and I am sure that the volume of cargo transported through our territory will also increase. A thorough exchange of views has been held on cooperation in the field of energy. There is also great potential in this area. There is mutual interest. Relevant agencies and companies are currently working on this issue and negotiations are underway. We have also had an exchange of views on cooperation in other sectors. There are good opportunities in the fields of agriculture, tourism and others. There are certain achievements and new opportunities, so we should take advantage of these opportunities. In a one-on-one meeting with, I also shared my opinion on the situation in the region. I expressed the position of Azerbaijan on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This conflict must be resolved on the basis of the norms and principles of international law. The occupying forces must leave the Azerbaijani lands and the territorial integrity of our country must be restored. This is also required by historical justice and international law. In a nutshell, the success of the visit is already a reality. I am confident that the agreements reached in the second half of the visit will also give a powerful impetus to our overall bilateral cooperation. Our cooperation will develop the way we want it. The fact that the visit has been a success is already evidence of strong political will on both sides. You are welcome again, Mr President, and I wish you a pleasant visit. Thank you!" Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 Trend: On June 3, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made a phone call to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani presidential press-service. President Aliyev thanked President Putin for naming the Surgut city airport of the Russian Federation after the prominent oilman Farman Salmanov, and emphasized that the decision was received by the Azerbaijani public with deep gratitude. The successful development of Azerbaijan-Russia bilateral relations in various fields was underlined, and the achievements were hailed during the conversation. The presidents exchanged views on various issues relating to the development of bilateral relations, and prospects for cooperation, as well as future contacts. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend: The killing of Agil Omarov, an officer of the Azerbaijani army, while the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs were in the region, was planned for the purpose of provocation, Sahiba Gafarova, Azerbaijani MP from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, told Trend. She added that by making such provocations, the Armenian side wants to exacerbate the situation on the frontline, hinder the negotiation process, and preserve the existing status quo of the ongoing conflict which has lasted for more than 25 years. Gafarova stressed that the invader country Armenia is not interested in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenias statements on holding peace talks, respecting the cease-fire and the like, are aimed at misleading the international community. In reality, the Armenian side is trying in every way to disrupt the negotiation process. "If Nikol Pashinyan continues to repeat the mistakes that his predecessors made, then this will lead to serious problems," she said. Gafarova stated that the international community should condemn this provocation of Armenia, and put serious pressure on the country to change the status quo. The press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry stated that on the morning of May 30, during the OSCE Minsk Group's visit to Azerbaijan, Armenian Armed Forces once again violated the ceasefire regime. An officer of Azerbaijani army, Agil Omarov was killed by an Armenian sniper on the same day. 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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. Details added (first version posted on 11:42) Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 Trend: President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received a delegation led by EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar. They exchanged views on the negotiation process on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the EU in a number of areas, including in transportation, energy and economic ones was hailed, prospects for bilateral relations were discussed at the meeting. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The banking summit of Austrian Raiffeisen Bank will be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on June 26, 2019, Trend reports via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. The holding of the summit is the sign of an increasing interest worldwide to results of implementing efficient socio-economic reforms in Uzbekistan, which are aimed at improvement of financial investments climate and at the increase of overall well-being of the population, reads the message. Tashkent banking summit will allow for the strengthening of partnership between financial institutes of two countries, as well as for the expersts of Uzbekistan to ger acquianted with latest trend on the international capital markets, the report said. --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Tehran, Iran, June 3 Trend: Iran Customs Administration has lifted the export ban of goods, except for dairy products, through the Iran-Iraq Soomar boarder. Managing Director of Kermansah Customs Khalil Heydari has issued an announcement to all executive customs offices that exporting goods, except dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt are allowed, Trend reports citing Mehr News Agency. "In regards to resolving obstacles in exporting goods through Soomar boarder, hereby export of goods are allowed from June 1,2019 and the Iraqi side is ready for Iran's export goods. It should be noted exports of dairy products are still to be avoided," the announcement stated. Tehran, Iran, June 3 Trend: Creating diversity in petrochemical products would increase the chance of more export and development of Iran's economy, an Iranian MP said. "We should move towards completing the chain of products with determination and create diverse petrochemical products to expand country's economy," said Ali Adyani Rad, member of Iranian parliament's energy committee, Trend reports citing IRNA. "Iran's petrochemical industry is going forward thanks to our human resources and foreign pressure can't stop this development," he said. "Officials have predicted the possible US sanctions against Iran's petrochemical industry, therefore, despite limitations, the necessary measures have been taken," he added. "The US won't be able to limit Iran's petrochemical exports," he noted. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Kheyraddin Nasirzade Trend: As of May 31, 2019, the process of issuing compensations carried out in accordance with the decree by President Ilham Aliyev On additional measures to resolve problem loans of individuals in Azerbaijan, has been implemented by 91.4 percent, Trend reports referring to information provided by Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan (FIMSA). According to FIMSA, 95.5 percent of individuals out of the total number of the citizens entitled to to the compensation (602,347 people) have received it. Citizens who have not yet applied for the compensation for various reasons (persons outside the country, deceased, etc.) amounted to 27,500 citizens, 20,500 of which are clients of liquidated banks and non-bank credit organizations, and the remaining 7,000 are clients of operating banks. According to the financial regulator, persons who have not received compensation before May 31 may apply to their banks and the national postal operator, providing necessary documents for receiving the compensation. FIMSA also noted that about 13,000 applications of citizens are being considered and will processed by the Chamber of the Appeals Committee on the principle of reservation. The payment process was carried out in six tranches by the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry in the amount of 600.1 million manats. Of the funds allocated, 288.8 million manats were directed to overdue loans, while the remaining amount of 311.3 million manats was transferred to citizens' cards. As part of the decree, 107 million manats were sent to repay debts on credit interest and penalties from over 126,000 debtors who are clients of banks and non-bank credit organizations. In order to expedite the execution of the decree and the transparency of the process, 685,000 citizens made 1.7 million requests on the electronic portal created by FIMSA. The total number of views on this portal made up about 3 million. More than 117,000 calls were received from 966 call centers. Follow the author on Twitter: @1nasirzade Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: About 1,000 tons of tomatoes have been exported to Russia and the Gulf countries from Mirjaveh County of Irans Sistan and Baluchestan Province since the end of November, Mohsen Kahrazehi, Director of the Department of Agriculture of Mirjaveh County, told IRNA, Trend reports. According to Kahrazehi, the county has been exporting its tomato since 2017. Noting that safflower has been planted in a 285-hectare area belonging to the county, Kahrazehi added that 500 tons of safflower will be harvested this Iranian year (started March 21, 2019). Mirjaveh County of Sistan and Baluchestan Province has 3,200 hectares of gardens and 7,000 hectares of sowing areas. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: Some 70 hectares of territory was allocated for the construction of a sugar plant in Kazakhstans Aksu city of Pavlodar region, Trend reports referring to Pavlodarnews. "Russian company Bma Russland developed the feasibility study of the project, the technical specifications on connection to engineering networks systems were also received. Currently the budget and design documentation is being developed," the report said. "Furthermore, the negotiations with potential investors, i.e. companies from Russia, China and Spain are taking place," reads the message. The construction of the plant is to be finished by 2021. The preliminary cost of the project is estimated to be $150 million. Furthermore, Pavlodar region possesses all necessary resources for the project realization, i.e. cheap electricity, large river and an increase of irrigated land area. "The plant is to process up to 6,000 tons of beets and to manufacture 100,000 tons of sugar per day, which accounts for 20 percent of Kazakh market demand. The manufactured product is also to be exported to Russia, China and Europe," the statement said. (1USD = 383.31 KTZ on June 1) --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: Some 701,000 tons of oil products were exported from the western ports of Irans southern Hormozgan province during two months (March 21 May 21) of this Iranian year (started on March 21, 2019), Head of the Ports and Maritime Administration of Lengeh county of Hormozgan province Qasim Asgarinasab said. During the reporting period, 859,000 tons of oil products were transported via cabotage system, which is a 267-percent growth, Asgarinasab added, Trend reports referring to IRNA News Agency. In general, 1.83 million tons of oil products were transported to the western ports of Hormozgan province during the second month. Some 274,000 tons of that volume accounted for non-oil products, which is 37 percent more compared to the second month last year, he said. Asgarinasab noted that 255,000 tons of products were exported from Lengeh county during the reporting period. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is fundamental for development of the gas market in Bulgaria, Teodora Georgieva, executive director of the ICGB project company, said in an interview with Trend. I am very excited that we had the chance to organize the start of the construction works at that place just a few meters away from the IGB route. I would not exaggerate if I say this is a historical moment with great importance for the gas market in Bulgaria, the region and whole Europe. Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria is fundamental for the development of the gas market in Bulgaria, she said. Georgieva noted that this project is a game changer and it is first one that will actually lead to the real diversification of natural gas supply sources which has been waited for years. Bulgaria and its neighboring countries will have access to alternative Caspian supplies and LNG from different sources, she added. We have successfully overcome many challenges and difficult moments until reaching the construction phase and be at IGB groundbreaking ceremony. For the strategic importance of the project speaks the support we received from so many stakeholders and they were with us at the ceremony. I would like to mention just a few of our guests - Bulgarian Prime Minister, Greek Prime Minister, European Commission, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Energy Ministers of Greece and Bulgaria, Regulators, Ambassadors, Representatives of Socar, TSOs and many more. All guests who attended the IGB groundbreaking ceremony demonstrated the great support with their presence and once again confirmed the importance of the project. However, we still have a long way to go and hard work ahead, said the executive director. The groundbreaking ceremony for IGB was held in Kirkovo, Bulgaria May 22 this year. IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets. The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. Other parts of the interview are available through the following links: Executive director: IGB to require over 11,000 pipes (Exclusive) New tender coming for Interconnector Greece-Bulgarian in June: executive director (Exclusive) IGB can hold additional market test for assessing demand for expansion (Exclusive) Construction of IGB to start both in Bulgaria and Greece simultaneously (Exclusive) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Azerbaijan has exported 772.64 million cubic meters of gas to Turkey in March 2019, increasing by 30.73 percent as compared to 591 million cubic meters in the same period in 2018, Trend reports citing Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority. The countrys share in Turkeys gas imports in March 2019 stood at 17.98 percent, as compared to 12.51 percent in March 2018, reads the report. Thus, as of the first quarter of 2019, Azerbaijans gas exports to Turkey totaled 2.264 billion cubic meters. The total volume of natural gas exports to Turkey stood at 4.296 billion cubic meters in March 2018, or 9.08 percent less than in the same period in 2018 (4.725 billion cubic meters), according to the Energy Market Regulatory Authority. Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus gas pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum). The country has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from the Azerbaijani Shah Deniz gas and condensate field. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: The volume of jet fuel exports from Turkey to Turkmenistan in March 2019 stood at 19,852 tons, accounting for 1.44 percent of the countrys total exports of petroleum products during the reporting period, Trend reports citing Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK). Among other Central Asian countries, Turkey exported 1,185 tons of jet fuel to Uzbekistan, which holds 0.09 percent of the countrys exports of petroleum products during the reporting period. Turkey has exported a total of around 1.386 million tons of petroleum products in March 2019, including 277,815 tons of gasoline 187,182 tons of diesel fuel, 131,315 tons of fuel oil, 347,883 tons of jet fuel, 416,438 tons of marine fuels and 22,008 tons of other petroleum products, reads the report. This is while total volume of petroleum imports by Turkey in March 2019 stood at more than 3.697 million tons, including 2.504 million tons of crude oil, 1.068 million tons of diesel fuel, 61,524 tons of fuel oil, 31,928 tons of jet fuel, 1,533 tons of marine fuels and 29,970 tons of other petroleum products, said EPDK. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Sara Israfilbayova Trend: Azerbaijan exported 222,900 tons of crude oil to Turkey in January-March 2019, Trend informs with reference to a report posted on the website of Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK). The volume of crude oil exported from Azerbaijan to Turkey in March 2019 amounted to 15,900 tons, according to the report. The share of Azerbaijan in the total imports of crude oil by Turkey was 0.43 percent. Turkey, in turn, exported 240,200 tons of aviation fuel to Azerbaijan in March 2019, the report said. In general, during this period, Turkey imported approximately 2.5 million tons of crude oil. Turkey receives oil from Azerbaijan through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline. The total length of the BTC pipeline is 1,768 kilometers, of which 443 kilometers run through the territory of Azerbaijan, 249 kilometers run through Georgia, and 1,076 kilometers go through Turkey. The construction of the pipeline began in April 2003, and it was first filled with oil on May 18, 2005. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IsrafilbekovaS Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: The enterprises situated in the industrial parks of Irans Zanjan province exported the products worth $203 million last Iranian year (started on March 21, 2018), Executive Director of Industrial Parks Company of Zanjan province Iraj Ahmadi told reporters in Iran. Some 44 enterprises in industrial parks exported the products, Ahmadi added, Trend reports referring to IRNA News Agency. He added that among the most exported products are zinc ingots worth $103 million. "Most of the products produced in Zanjan province are exported to Turkey," Ahmadi said. Some 32 industrial parks operate in a 3,500-hectare area in Zanjan province. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday disclosed a new problem involving Boeing Cos grounded 737 MAX, saying that more than 300 of that troubled plane and the prior generation 737 may contain improperly manufactured parts and that the agency will require these parts to be quickly replaced, Trend reports citing Reuters. The FAA said up to 148 of the part known as a leading-edge slat track that were manufactured by a Boeing supplier are affected, covering 179 MAX and 133 NG aircraft worldwide. Slats are movable panels that extend along the wings front during takeoffs and landings to provide additional lift. The tracks guide the slats and are built into the wing. The 737 MAX, Chicago-based Boeings best-selling jet, was grounded globally in March following a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash after a similar Lion Air disaster in Indonesia in October. The two crashes together killed 346 people. Boeing has yet to submit a software upgrade to the FAA as it works to get approval to end the grounding of the 737 MAX. In a statement issued after the FAA announcement, Boeing said it has not been informed of any in-service issues related to this batch of slat tracks. Boeing, the worlds largest plane maker, said it has identified 20 737 MAX airplanes most likely to have the faulty parts and that airlines will check an additional 159 MAXs for these parts. Boeing said it has identified 21 737 NGs most likely to have the suspect parts and is advising airlines to check an additional 112 NGs. The NG is the third-generation 737 that the company began building in 1997. The affected parts may be susceptible to premature failure or cracks resulting from the improper manufacturing process, the FAA said. The FAA said a complete failure of a leading edge slat track would not result in the loss of the aircraft, but a failed part could cause aircraft damage in flight. The FAA said it will issue an Airworthiness Directive to require Boeings service actions to identify and remove the parts from service. It said operators will be required to perform this action within 10 days, but can continue to fly the planes during the 10-day period before the parts are removed. Several powerful explosions have occurred and fire started at T-4 military airbase in Syrian province of Homs, source reported earlier. Later, a Syrian military source reported a missile attack by Israel, Trend reports Sputnik. Syrian state media reported on Sunday night about missile attack targeting T-4 military airfield in Syrian Homs province. A source in Syrian military said that the missile attack was conducted by Israel. Syrian air defence reportedly managed to shoot down two missiles. However, according to the source, one person was killed and two were injured as a result of the strike. "Our air defence repelled the Israeli attack and destroyed two missiles out of those attacking the T-4 airfield," the source said. An ammunition depot as well as several other buildings and equipment were damaged after the attack, Syrian Arab News Agency reported, quoting a military source. NATOs secretary-general commended North Macedonia on Monday for making the reforms necessary to join the transatlantic military alliance next year, reports Trend citing to Reuters We are ready to welcome you, Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. NATO members signed an accord in February allowing the ex-Yugoslav republic to become the 30th member of the U.S.-led group after a deal with Greece ended a long dispute over its name. The ratification process normally takes a year. It is important to commend North Macedonia for the reforms you have implemented, Stoltenberg added. Macedonia plans to raise defense spending to 2% of Gross Domestic Output by 2024 from 1% now. Three other ex-Yugoslav republics - Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro - have already joined NATO, as have other countries in the Balkan region including Albania, Bulgaria and Romania. Russia says that by taking in Balkan members, the alliance is undermining security in the region. The European Commission formally recommended last week that North Macedonia should start negotiations to join the bloc. Yemens Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a drone attack on a military parade for Saudi-led coalition forces in the port city of Aden, the groups Al Masirah TV said early on Monday, Trend reports citing Reuters. The Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel later quoted sources that the air defenses shot down a drone west of Aden. There was no official comment from Saudi Arabia or the coalition. Local officials told Reuters that the coalition foiled an attack targeting one of its military camps in Aden. No details were provided on any possible casualties. The 2019 World Transport Convention (WTC 2019) will be held from June 13 to 16 at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, to showcase the latest technical developments in the transport industry, Trend reported citing Xinhua. Themed "Green and Intelligent Mobility for Future Transport," the four-day convention will consist of various sections, including keynote speeches, a transport expo, academic forums and competitions, one of its organizers, the China Association for Science and Technology, said at a press conference in Beijing Monday. The WTC 2019 will highlight activities about cooperation among the Belt and Road countries. Advanced products and technology in fields such as smart transportation, automatic drive, the Internet of Things and green travel will be exhibited. Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent and Huawei will also be involved. More than 10 international transport organizations and 40 academicians from home and abroad will participate in the convention, according to Liu Wenjie, secretary-general of the convention's executive committee. As of May 31, more than 4,700 people have signed up for the event, and the number of participants is expected to reach 7,000, Liu said. The WTC has been successfully held in 2017 and 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Britain on Monday for a state visit, with his interventions on Brexit, outgoing Prime Minister Theresa Mays successor and a row over Chinas Huawei set to overshadow the pomp and a banquet with Queen Elizabeth, reports Trend citing to Reuters Trump and his wife, Melania, will be treated to a full display of British royal pageantry during the June 3-5 visit: lunch and a formal dinner with Queen Elizabeth, tea with heir Prince Charles, and a tour of Westminster Abbey, coronation church of English monarchs for 1,000 years. Beyond the ceremony, though, the proudly unpredictable 45th U.S. president also brings demands: He has praised a more radical Brexit-supporting potential successor to May and his envoys have urged a tougher British stance toward Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit, Trump wrote on Twitter minutes before Air Force One landed. Before he set off he repeated his message that there was an opportunity for a very big trade deal between the two countries in the near future. In what is likely to be the most unconventional state visit in recent memory, Trump has already waded far into British domestic politics. In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, Trump said the next British leader should send arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage to conduct talks with the EU. Trump repeated his backing for those candidates to succeed May who have said Britain must leave on the due date of Oct. 31 with or without a deal. Brexit is the most significant geopolitical move for the United Kingdom since World War Two and if it ever happens then London will be more reliant on the United States as ties loosen with the other 27 members of the EU. At a meeting with May, Trump will also warn Britain that security cooperation could be hurt if London allows Chinas Huawei a role in building parts of the 5G network, the next generation of cellular technology. Britains so-called special relationship with the United States is an enduring alliance, but some British voters see Trump as crude, volatile and opposed to their values on issues ranging from global warming to his treatment of women. South Korean divers in Hungary prepared on Monday for an attempt to reach the wreck of a pleasure boat which had been carrying mostly South Korean tourists when it sank in the Danube last week, killing at least seven people, reports Trend citing to Reuters Another 19 Koreans and two Hungarians are missing and presumed dead following the collision of The Mermaid tourist boat and a larger cruise liner in heavy rain on Wednesday in the worst accident on the river in over half a century. A flood has prevented Hungarian divers from reaching the wreck or recovering other bodies, prompting South Korea to send its own recovery team which took over the operation on Monday with help from Hungarian personnel. Early on Monday, a diver was being prepared by a team on a barge while South Korean rescue personnel manned several rubber speedboats on the fast flowing river. The (dive) will be put into operation from 8:00 (local time) today to test the possibility of underwater work as soon as the preparations are completed, the South Korean rescue team said in a statement. The point of entry is on the barge located at the scene of the accident. Today, diving is not about attempting to enter the ship, but for understanding the situation first. The South Korean rescue team plans to recover bodies while the shipwreck is still on the river bed, having overruled Hungarys proposal to lift the hull out of the water first. Hungary offered salvaging the ship first, Korean defense attache Shun-Keun Song told a briefing on Sunday. (But) during that operation the ship can be damaged or there is a chance to lose the remains of the dead. The (dive) will be put into operation from 8:00 (local time) today to test the possibility of underwater work as soon as the preparations are completed, the South Korean rescue team said in a statement. The point of entry is on the barge located at the scene of the accident. Today, diving is not about attempting to enter the ship, but for understanding the situation first. The South Korean rescue team plans to recover bodies while the shipwreck is still on the river bed, having overruled Hungarys proposal to lift the hull out of the water first. Hungary offered salvaging the ship first, Korean defense attache Shun-Keun Song told a briefing on Sunday. (But) during that operation the ship can be damaged or there is a chance to lose the remains of the dead. A captain of another boat on duty nearby at the time of the accident told private news channel TV2 on Sunday that the Ukrainian never radioed the smaller vessel and only sent an emergency signal after the collision. We stay tuned to our ship radio, which scans multiple frequencies simultaneously, Zoltan Tolnay said. We heard nothing of any kind of an attempted takeover maneuver, warning, or danger signal on the radio. He said that when the Ukrainian captain did radio for help after the accident, he used an unintelligible mix of Russian, English and German words. I only learned from a later Hungarian shipping statement that there had been a disaster. Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Monday that West Street Capital Partners VII, a fund managed by the companys merchant banking unit, will acquire Capital Vision Services LP, to bolster their portfolio in the healthcare services sector, reports Trend citing to Reuters The fund will buy Capital Vision, which manages MyEyeDr. optometry centers, from private equity firm Altas Partners LP and Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Goldman Sachs said. Goldman did not reveal terms of the deal, which was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal. The paper said it was valued it at $2.7 billion, including debt. Capital Vision supports independent optometrists and practices affiliated with the optometry practice management company MyEyeDr. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019, Goldman Sachs said. Mexico can reach an agreement with the United States to resolve a dispute over migration that prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten punitive tariffs, Mexican officials said on Monday as diplomatic talks were set to begin in Washington, reports Trend citing to Reuters Mexican officials spoke to reporters as a senior Mexican delegation prepared to start discussions with their U.S. counterparts. Mexicos Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said if Washington imposed tariffs on Mexican imports, it could be counterproductive to stopping immigration flows across the U.S.-Mexico border. The discussions will include a meeting of Mexican Agriculture Minister Victor Villalobos and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday, Mexican officials said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan is also expected to participate in talks, Mexican officials said. Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will meet this week, as will Ebrard and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Large-scale rallies with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be held in Istanbul, Trend reports referring to Turkish media June 3. The purpose of the rallies is to support the candidate for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Binali Yildirim during the repeated municipal elections, the report said. The rallies will be held June 15-16. The rallies with the participation of the president and ministers will be held in three districts of Istanbul. Earlier, Erdogan said that holding repeated municipal elections in Istanbul doesnt contradict the principles of democracy. On April 17, Turkeys Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) officially announced the results of the municipal election in Istanbul. According to YSK, the candidate for the position of the head of the Istanbul municipality from the opposition Republican Peoples Party Ekrem Imamoglu received 4.169 million votes, while the candidate from the Justice and Development Party Binali Yildirim received 4.156 million votes. YSK issued a mandate to Ekrem Imamoglu for the position of the Head of the Istanbul municipality, while AKP recently officially appealed to YSK to hold the repeat elections in Istanbul. Shortly after the elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the results of the municipal elections in Istanbul may be annulled. Meanwhile, Deputy Chairman of AKP Ali Ihsan Yavuz said that the ruling party demanded to hold new municipal elections in Istanbul. The municipal election results in Istanbul were almost completely rigged, President Erdogan said earlier. He noted that the ruling Justice and Development Party appealed to YSK to identify the perpetrators. Meanwhile, the Justice and Development Party presented facts of falsification of 11,000 votes in Istanbul in favor of the candidate of the opposition Republican Peoples Party Ekrem Imamoglu. Thirteen political parties took part in the municipal elections held on March 31. These included the Felicity Party (SP), the Independent Turkey Party (Bagmsz Turkiye Partisi), the Communist Party of Turkey (Turkiye Komunist Partisi), the Patriotic Party (Vatan Partisi), the Great Unity Party (Buyuk Birlik Partisi), Free Cause Party (Hur Dava Partisi), Republican Peoples Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi), Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalknma Partisi), Democratic Party (Demokrat Parti), Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi), Iyi Party (IYI Parti), Peoples Democratic Party (Halklarn Demokratik Partisi) and Democratic Left Party (Demokratik Sol Parti). It was reported that Imamoglu was leading the race with 4.159 million votes, while the candidate from the ruling party Binali Yildirim had 4.131 million votes in Istanbul. The coalition of the ruling party and the Nationalist Movement Party gained 51.67 percent of votes in the municipal elections throughout the country. Following the elections, candidate of the Republican Peoples Party Mansur Yavas became Mayor of Ankara. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The Turkish Air Force and the Armed Forces continue operations against the militants of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) in northern Iraq, Trend reports referring to Turkish Defense Ministry. On June 3, five PKK terrorists were eliminated as part of the operations. The operations were carried out in the Zap district in northern Iraq. On May 28, the Turkish Air Force and the Armed Forces launched a large-scale operation dubbed 'Pence' (Paw) in the Hakurk region in northern Iraq. On May 30, Turkey expanded the area of military operations in northern Iraq in the Avashin-Baysan and Metin districts. On March 27, the Turkish National Intelligence Organization and the country's Air Force conducted an operation to eliminate Riza Altun, the closest ally of Cemil Bayik, the leader of the PKK terrorist group. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has lasted more than 25 years, claiming more than 40,000 lives. The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by the UN and the EU. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Baku, Azerbaijan, June 3 Trend: Jeremy Little, Consul, U.S. Embassy in Baku For the last two years, it has been my privilege to serve as the Consul at the Embassy of the United States of America in Baku. Living and working in Azerbaijan is a pleasure as I experience your rich and ancient culture every day, including through talking to Azerbaijani citizens who want to travel to the United States to experience my countrys culture. One of Americas key values is our diversity. U.S. citizens and lawful residents come from literally every country and speak nearly every language in the world. The importance of diversity was reflected in United States law in 1990, when 50,000 immigrant visas were made available each year to those selected in the Diversity Visa (DV) Program. And its free to apply. An individual selected as part of the DV Program receives a rare and valuable opportunity. They, along with their spouse and all unmarried children under 21 years old, can apply to immigrate to the United States, where they can work and live permanently and ultimately qualify to become U.S. citizens. Unfortunately, dishonest and corrupt individuals in many countries use the DV Program to try to take advantage of people, including in Azerbaijan. Recently I have seen an increase in the number of individuals applying here in Baku through so-called Green Card organizations and other companies. But in spite of what these companies often say, using them to submit your DV Program application does not increase your chances of being selected at all, costs you money, and in reality can significantly harm your chances of immigrating or even traveling to the United States. Once applicants give their biographic information to one of these companies, they often continue to enter these people year after year, even without permission. If applicants are selected, these Green Card companies charge outrageous fees for them to access their account -- something that is free if they apply on their own. Often these companies enter incorrect applicant information. A person could be selected in the DV Program, pay large fees to a Green Card company, and then be disqualified because their application contained inaccurate personal information. Who knows your personal details better than you? Why risk putting your application in the hands of someone who doesnt care about you, but only wants your money? Remember these three important tips when applying for the DV Program: 1. Make sure you are listed as the primary contact person on the application fee, 2. Make sure only you have the entry identification number, 3. Your chances of being selected are not better if you are paying someone for help with your application. They might actually ruin your chances, and take your money! Applicants who need English language help when filling out the application can easily guarantee the security of their information by ensuring only they are listed on the application as the primary contact and only they hold the entry identification number. Last of all, we are here to help! If you have questions about the DV Program, go to the U.S. Embassy website, at https://az.usembassy.gov/. If you believe you have been a victim of an unscrupulous Green Card company please reach out to us directly at [email protected] Remember that the U.S. Embassy has no connection to any third-party organization or company offering help with your DV Program application. You will not get better information from them and you will not improve your chances of being selected. The Diversity Visa Program is an amazing opportunity, and we want anyone who is interested in it to apply, free of charge! The US State Department approved a potential sale of F-16 fighter jets and support equipment to Bulgaria in a deal worth more than $1.6 billion, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a press release on Monday, Trend reported citing Sputnik. "The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Bulgaria of F-16C/D Block 70/72 aircraft with support for an estimated cost of $1.673 billion", the release said. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last December that Washington was committed to collaborating with Sofia to ensure its acquisition of F-16 fighter aircraft meets the countrys budget limits. Over the last 25 years, the US has provided over $200 million in security assistance to Bulgaria to bolster its military capabilities. Future investments will continue to prioritize Bulgaria's development and interoperability with NATO countries, according to Pompeo. Meanwhile, Soviet-made MiGs aircraft amount to a huge part of Bulgaria's combat aircraft fleet. Their replacement with newer NATO-compatible fighter jets has been reportedly on the agenda of the country's authorities over the past decade. In 2017, local media reported that Sofia had signed a deal with Russian aircraft company MiG to repair its aircraft. However, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry has denied this information. In December 2016, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry filed requests to the United States, Sweden, Italy and Portugal to submit commercial offers over deliveries of a new type of fighter jets. In April 2016, the Bulgarian government approved the acquisition of a squadron of new multirole fighter aircraft and two naval patrol vessels. The combined procurement costs amount to 3 billion Bulgarian leva (over $1.7 billion). KYODO NEWS - Jun 3, 2019 - 10:40 | Japan, All, Feature An increasing number of offices are adding greenery to their environments, finding it a good way to reduce stress among employees and enhance their corporate image to make them more attractive to potential recruits. Adding green not only means the introduction of indoor plants but also involves various original and creative designs that seem to have an impact on employee wellbeing. Nextbeat Co., an information technology startup founded in 2013, has a vine tree covering a 2.5-meter-diameter ring hanging from the ceiling of the entrance at its head office in Tokyo. "You can see greenery everywhere," said a woman visiting the office, referring to the green spaces on each floor. The sun appears to shine brighter due to the presence of plants. In the lounge where employees relax, a tree dubbed "everfresh," which survived a typhoon in a forest in Okinawa in the southernmost prefecture of Japan, stands as a symbol of company vitality. "Greenery helps employees feel refreshed and improves concentration," Akane Hosokawa, a 34-year-old public relations official for the company, said. When a customer visits the office, "the greenery is often the first topic of conversation," she added. Among the 60 new workers who joined Nextbeat in April, some attributed their choice to the green office environment. Companies are paying greater attention to working environments as they have been legally required to screen for stress-related illnesses since December 2015. They are finding that the promotion of employees' health by adding plants to the workplace reduces stress and increases their productivity. Following the global financial crisis caused by the bankruptcy of U.S. financial services company Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008, many companies removed indoor plants from their offices to cut costs, according to Daiichi Engei Co., which creates green environments in offices and commercial facilities. Recently, however, the introduction of greenery is increasing as part of work-system reforms. A demonstration experiment led by Kahori Genjo, an associate professor at the Graduate School of Engineering of Nagasaki University, found that the indoor presence of greenery relaxes people and eases their drowsiness or discomfort because it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system -- sometimes called the rest and digest system -- in the autonomic nervous system. Daiichi Engei not only offers interior designs to create a green office, but it also suggests environments combining aromas and calming sounds -- birds chirping on Yakushima, an island in Kagoshima Prefecture known for its wildlife and cedar forests, and the Shirakami Sanchi mountain range in northeast Japan, along with the sound of murmuring creeks. Prime Assistance Inc., a Tokyo-based provider of roadside assistance services, maintains a green reception area and customer call center and farms out the management of plants to experts who water and trim them or replace them twice a month. Although the service costs around 200,000 per month (about $1,800), the green environments "contribute to business activities by facilitating discussions among employees," a company official said. Genjo, the associate professor, encourages companies to even use cheaper artificial plants that can have similar employee benefits. "Although it is costly to maintain and care for natural plants, using artificial foliage plants still generates definite favorable effects," she said. Beijing: People in many provinces of China have claimed to have seen the UFO. The claim has been made at a moment when the country is undergoing military exercises. People have shared photos related to it on social media. Notable is the practice by Chinese Marines in the Bohai Sea and Bohai Straits on Saturday and Sunday. Shortly after the practice, people on social media have claimed the UFO was visible. World Cup 2019: Bangladesh create history as they cross the 300 mark Some people on social media have shared the video saying they have seen the UFO. According to the news of the Global Times, people in several Chinese provinces have claimed on social media that they have seen an unidentified flying object or UFO in the sky, with the flashing line looking behind. The limit of visitors of Great Wall of China is restricted to 65,000 Like Twitter, people at Weibo, China's social media platform, have been adding photos and videos of the UFO, claiming that they saw a flashing flying object at about 4pm on Sunday morning. Reports of the UFO spotted from Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces have been reported in the media. The news said that no official explanation has been given in this regard so far. Beijing: Chinese authorities have announced the introduction of a daily quota of 65,000 tourists in the Great Wall of China's baadling section since June 1, aiming at local and foreign Is to limit the number of tourists. Chen Fi, director of the Badaling district office, told the press on Friday that the number of tourists coming to the scenic area of the "Great Wall is much higher." World Cup 2019: Bangladesh create history as they cross the 300 mark He said that, "about 1 crore visitors had come out last year." CNN report says that though there is a population of 1 crore Swedes or Austria, the average number of visitors per day is 27,000, the new frontier . But the discomfort is in the unbalanced dispersion of this number. Chen was quoted as saying that the number of visitors varies greatly during the "Week and holidays." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to visit Siachen today He said, "the" Badaling has recorded a maximum of 1 lakh visitors a day, while on an average daily 10,000 visitor arrivals. There are only a few thousand tourists during the off-season. New online ticketing here in addition to "quota The system is also implemented, which can also be purchased from the official video chat page with the official website of Badaling. These tickets can be purchased seven days in the past. Human language and communication skills are unique in the animal kingdom. How they developed in the course of evolution is being researched, among other things, using the alarm call system of vervet monkeys. East African vervet monkeys warn their conspecifics against predators with special alarm calls that mean "leopard", "eagle" or "snake". In a recently published study, scientists from the German Primate Center (DPZ) - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research have investigated how the closely related West African green monkeys react to unknown sounds. To do this, they flew a drone over a group of West African green monkeys and later played them a sound recording of the drone noise. From the reactions of the animals, the researchers were able to conclude that the animals learn very quickly what the drone noise means. However, the monkeys did not create a new alarm call, but used a call that the East African vervet monkey uses to warn against aerial predators like eagles. This suggests that the call structure is conserved and was determined long ago in the course of evolution (Nature Ecology & Evolution). There are three main predators that pose a threat to East African vervet monkeys: leopards, eagles and snakes. For each of these predators, the monkeys have developed special alarm calls to which the animals respond with appropriate strategies: When the call for "leopard" is uttered, they climb a tree, when they hear the call for "eagle", they search the sky and hide and when the call for "snake" is uttered, they stand on two legs and remain motionless. The closely related West African green monkeys also emit alarm calls for leopards and snakes, however none for aerial predators. With these animals, the team around behavioral scientist Julia Fischer from the German Primate Center has now carried out a playback experiment in order to investigate the evolution of the alarm call system and ultimately to draw conclusions about the development of language. The drone experiment West African green monkeys occur near the DPZ research station Simenti in Senegal. Julia Fischer and her team have confronted these animals with a new potential threat from the air: a drone, which they flew over the animals at a height of 60 meters. The sounds of the drone were recorded and later played to the animals. The researchers wanted to find out how quickly the animals learned the meaning of the sounds. In the playback experiment, the animals reacted to the drone sound with alarm calls, some searched the sky and hid. These alarm calls were very different from the sounds the animals made in the presence of snakes and leopards. However, the calls resembled the alarm calls that East African vervet monkeys utter when an eagle approaches from the air. Fast auditory learning "The animals quickly learned what the previously unknown sounds mean and remembered this information," says Julia Fischer, head of the Cognitive Ethology Laboratory at the German Primate Center and lead author of the study. "This shows their ability for auditory learning." Vocal production conserved during evolution The West African green monkeys have warned their conspecifics of the new threat from the air with a call that sounds very similar to the calls that the closely related East African vervet monkeys utter when threatened by an eagle. "The structure of the alarm calls seems to be deeply rooted in the evolution of vervet monkeys," Julia Fischer adds. ### By Park Hyong-ki The Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) has decided to provide $400 million in project financing to LS-Nikko Copper to develop a copper mine in Chile, the policy bank said Monday. The project financing includes $240 million in loans for the Korean-Japanese joint venture to use for the development of the mine in Tarapaca in northern Chile, bordering Bolivia. The copper mine is going through its second phase of development, the Eximbank noted. Besides LS-Nikko Copper, Canada-based Teck Resources and Japan-based Sumitomo Metal Mining are currently participating in the development, securing funds from their respective banks. The two companies, Chile and a consortium from Germany have invested a total of $4.7 billion in the Tarapaca copper mine. Backed by the state-run Eximbank, LS-Nikko will be able to secure 100,000 metric tons of coppers from the mine over the next ten years. The country imports 1.7 million tons of copper on average a year, according to the Eximbank. "Countries are competing to secure copper as they seek to further develop their infrastructures, including electricity grids," said an Eximbank spokesman. gettyimagesbank A Florida State University researcher has found gender inequality in U.S. states is bad for everybody's health. In a new study published in the American Sociological Review, FSU Assistant Professor Patricia Homan developed a new structural sexism approach to the study of gender inequality and health. Her approach goes beyond sexist mistreatment by individuals to examine how the degree of systematic gender inequality in power and resources -- i.e. structural sexism -- in a society can impact people's health. "Researchers have known for decades that the experience of being sexually harassed or discriminated against can have a harmful effect on a woman's health," Homan said. "But much less is known about the broader health consequences of living in a social environment where power, resources, roles and opportunities are unequally distributed along gender lines." Structural sexism can be evident in major social institutions, such as the government and the economy, in interpersonal interactions and relationships, such as marriages and in individuals' beliefs and identities. Homan established concrete ways to measure structural sexism within U.S. states, within heterosexual marriages and at the individual level and examined its effects on men's and women's health. To conduct her research, Homan compiled data from multiple sources including the U.S. Census and the National Longitudinal Study of Youth. Based on a sample of more than 3,300 U.S. adults, Homan found that at the state level structural sexism resulted in worse health outcomes for both men and women alike. Those living in states with the highest levels of structural sexism, such as Utah, Wyoming, Mississippi, Louisiana and Oklahoma, reported higher levels of chronic conditions, worse self-reported health and had worse physical function at age 40 and 50. "This means that at the macro level structural sexism is universally harmful for population health," Homan said. To illustrate the magnitude of the health effects, Homan noted, that women exposed to high levels of structural sexism in their home state had roughly twice as many health issues as women living in states with lower levels. Put differently, a woman living in a state with high structural sexism looked seven years older in terms of her health profile than her counterpart in a state with low levels of structural sexism. Homan found the states with the lowest structural sexism were Maryland, California, Massachusetts, Vermont and Hawaii. Homan created several measures of state level structural sexism designed to capture the degree to which men and women are unequal in four arenas of society -- political, economic, cultural and physical/reproductive. The measures included: the gender wage gap, gender differences in labor force participation and poverty rates, the proportion of state legislature seats occupied by men, the prevalence of religious conservatives in each state -- which is linked to traditional gender roles and the exclusion of women from leadership positions -- and the proportion of women who live in a county without an abortion provider. "Public health scholars and international human rights organizations consider reproductive choice and access to a full range of reproductive health care services to be a fundamental human right," Homan said. "It's also considered a precondition for women's equal citizenship and participation in social, political and economic life." Homan said there are several policy implications to consider as a result of her research. "The first thing we need to realize is that gender inequality in the United States is not only a human rights issue, but also a public health problem," she said. "Therefore, gender equity policy is health policy." This means that policies aiming to close the gender wage gap, increase women's political representation, protect and expand access to reproductive health services, or otherwise promote gender equity, also have the potential to improve health for all members of society. ### People admitted to NHS hospitals with a cardiac arrest over the weekend do not face a higher risk of dying compared to those admitted during the week, according to new research presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Conference in Manchester. The research led by Dr Rahul Potluri, founder of the ACALM study unit at Aston University, investigated 4,803 people going to hospital with a cardiac arrest. The team looked at five-year survival for people suffering a cardiac arrest and being treated in an NHS hospital. They found that there were no differences in survival for those admitted on the weekend. The research was adjusted to account for external factors which could influence death rates, such as age, gender, ethnic group, and the most common causes of death in the UK. A cardiac arrest is when an electrical fault in the heart occurs, causing it to suddenly stop pumping blood round the body. The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are around 1 in 10, but with swiftly-administered CPR and the use of a defibrillator, a huge difference can be made to the chances of survival. This study follows on from work previously presented at the BCS conference suggesting that there is a 'weekend effect' in people going to hospital with heart failure or atrial fibrillation, the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm. However, the presence of cardiac arrest teams working 24 hours a day, all year round, could be responsible for the same standard of care and outcome of those suffering a cardiac arrest whether they are being treated in the week or at the weekend. Dr Rahul Potluri, Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology at Aston Medical School, said: "No matter which day of the week someone goes to hospital with a cardiac arrest, they have the same chance of survival, and that should be hugely reassuring to the public. "By no means is the weekend effect a blanket phenomenon. We know that it does exist for people affected by other heart conditions. It's therefore important to tease out who is affected by the weekend effect through research in order to ensure that specialist healthcare services are delivered when and where they are needed most." Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation said: "This is a success story, and shows the life saving importance of specialist teams working in the NHS. A cardiac arrest is a medical emergency and statistics show that for every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, a person's chance of survival decreases by around 10 per cent. "If you see someone who has suddenly collapsed and is unresponsive, it is vital that you call 999 and start administering CPR immediately to increase their chances of survival. When the emergency services arrive, you can rest assured that you've done your bit and the specialists are ready and waiting to take over." Dr Shajil Chalil, Consultant Cardiologist at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and co-author, said "You can't choose when you're struck down by a devastating cardiac arrest. But our research potentially highlights the major value of cardiac arrest teams in hospitals set-up to ensure optimal care for these heart patients every minute of every day." ### To request interviews or for more information please call the BHF press office on 020 7554 0164 (07764 290 381) or email newsdesk@bhf.org.uk. Notes to editors: Cardiac arrest patients presenting to hospitals at weekends are not subject to the weekend effect: Insights from ACALM Big data, United Kingdom, presented at the BCS Conference, 3rd June 2019 by Dr Rahul Potluri, Aston University. Abstract available on request. About the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) BCS is the voice for those working in cardiovascular health, science and disease management in the UK; we aim to promote and support both the healthcare professionals who work in cardiology and the patients for whom we want to encourage the best possible treatment. Our members are healthcare professionals, working in the field of cardiovascular health. (Adds company quote and NEW YORK dateline) By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON/NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy Inc said on Monday it would buy natural gas from Apache Corp's Permian assets using a price mechanism linked to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) it ends up selling and not the typical U.S. gas benchmark. The deal is the first sign Cheniere, by far the largest U.S. LNG seller, may move away from its signature LNG pricing mechanism in future offtake agreements with LNG buyers by decoupling from the Henry Hub price used for U.S. gas. "Producers want this because it will give them better realizations than what they will see in the North American market," Anatol Feygin, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Cheniere, told reporters after an investor meeting in New York. Gas use is growing rapidly around the world as countries seek to wean their industrial and power sectors off dirtier coal. But in North America, Feygin said domestic demand is "unlikely to grow meaningfully," while production - especially associated gas output from oil wells - keeps increasing. To service its LNG sale agreements, Cheniere buys U.S. gas to use as feedstock for its two LNG plants in Texas and Louisiana. It then sells LNG to long-term buyers who pay about 115% of the Henry Hub price plus a liquefaction fee of around $3 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). This formula protects Cheniere from fluctuating U.S. gas prices and covers its cost to transform gas into LNG through the liquefaction fee. By striking the agreement with Apache to buy gas at an LNG-indexed price, however, Cheniere is giving itself flexibility to sell LNG using a different pricing structure, industry sources said. It is another sign that U.S. LNG producers are expanding the ways they attract buyers in a global market that is growing fast but is far from being as liquid and transparent as the crude market. "LNG export projects are being delayed because of the limited demand for (Henry Hub)-indexed LNG supply ... limited but not non-existent," one industry source said. "If U.S. LNG projects can sell on other indices, then it will likely lead to an increase in U.S. LNG exports in the long term." Story continues NextDecade Corp, developer of the Rio Grande project in Texas, signed a deal with Royal Dutch Shell Plc that prices some LNG to Brent crude - a mechanism more commonly seen with veteran LNG sellers Qatar and Australia. Tellurian Inc, another LNG developer, signed an offtake agreement with trading house Vitol, which is priced to the Asian Japan/Korea Marker (JKM) LNG benchmark. Cheniere was the first U.S. company to bring its LNG export project into production in 2016 at Sabine Pass in Louisiana. On Monday, the company said it decided to build a sixth liquefaction train at Sabine. (Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki in London; additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York; editing by David Evans and Marguerita Choy) Alphabets GOOGL self-driving unit, Waymo is leaving no stone unturned to bolster presence in the autonomous driving space. Reportedly, Waymo plans to bring autonomous trucks to the Phoenix area. Initially, these autonomous trucks will start driving on freeways and later expand to other areas. The latest move of the company gives a glimpse into the execution of the self-driving truck project. With autonomous truck services, the company intends to explore opportunities beyond ride hailing services on the back of robust self-driving technology and artificial intelligence techniques. Commencement of Testing In August 2017, the company had begun testing self-driving trucks in Arizona. In addition, Waymo tested self-driving trucks in a handful of other locations in the United States, including the San Francisco area and Atlanta. In 2018, the company announced plans to use self-driving trucks to deliver freight services, in a bid to further expand its scope in this particular space. In the truck and freight industry, driver wages account for large part of the total cost. Consequently, Waymos autonomous trucks are likely to benefit the industry by cutting down driver wages. Despite the alluring benefits of self-driving technology and vehicles, some inevitable challenges prevail in the market. The foremost problem plaguing this technology is the chance of mishaps on road. However, in order to avoid any emergency or untoward incident on road, self-driving trucks have two trained safety drivers who can take over if required. This will aid the company in countering the major challenge related to self driving. Further, its strong focus on innovation will aid in removing technical hurdles. Growth Opportunities We believe growing autonomous driving initiatives are likely to aid Alphabet to penetrate into the global self-driving car and truck market. Per Grand View Research, this market is projected to witness a CAGR of 63.1% between 2021 and 2030. Story continues Further, per Zion Market Research, this market is expected to witness a CAGR of 25.7% between 2018 and 2024, and hit $26.58 billion by 2024. Alphabet is currently riding on growing initiatives in this particular market that are likely to aid it in rapidly penetrating this space. In regard to this, Waymo unveiled its first paid self-driving taxi, Waymo One in Arizona, which currently serves people in suburbs of Phoenix, namely Chandler, Tempe, Mesa and Gilbert. Moreover, the company simplified the system by creating an app via which riders can avail the service. Waymos efforts toward licensing its technology to automakers for direct selling to customers remain a key catalyst. Additionally, it is reportedly seeking outside funding in order to expand the autonomous vehicle business unit. Therefore, Alphabets strong endeavors toward enhancing the self-driving service with commercial autonomous driving cars, trucks and taxis will continue to give it a competitive edge against competitors. Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus Alphabet Inc. price-consensus-chart | Alphabet Inc. Quote Zacks Rank & Key Picks Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Facebook, Inc. FB, IAC/InterActiveCorp IAC and AXT, Inc. AXTI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Long-term earnings growth for Facebook, IAC/InterActiveCorp and AXT is currently projected at 20.2%, 20.5% and 15%, respectively. Will you retire a millionaire? One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, 7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report IAC/InterActiveCorp (IAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Facebook, Inc. (FB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report AXT Inc (AXTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Fixes typo in headline) By Idrees Ali SEOUL, June 2 (Reuters) - The Pentagon has told the White House that the U.S. military will not be politicized, a U.S. official said on Sunday, amid a controversy after officials directed the United States Navy to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight during a recent speech by President Donald Trump in Japan. The White House military office directed the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet to minimize the visibility of the USS John S. McCain, a warship bearing the name of Trump's former political rival, during a speech by the president in Japan last week. While the directive was not implemented after senior Navy officials found out about the request, the incident has raised questions about the politicization of the military, which has traditionally been seen as being apolitical. "Secretary (Patrick) Shanahan directed his chief of staff to speak with the White House military office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defense will not be politicized," Lieutenant Colonel Joe Buccino, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. "The chief of staff reported that he did reinforce this message," Buccino said. Concern has increased about the politicization of the U.S. military under Trump. He has given a number of overtly political speeches to military audiences and the military has been drawn into a mission along the border with Mexico, which some critics have described as a political stunt rather than a national security necessity. The USS John S. McCain controversy led acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to ask his chief of staff to find out what happened. On Sunday he told reporters that after reviewing the facts, he did not plan to call for an inspector general investigation into the incident. "There is no room for politicizing the military," Shanahan told reporters travelling with him to Seoul. Shanahan said he had spoken with late Senator John McCain's wife in the past few days about the incident but declined to give details of the conversation. Story continues He said that his chief of staff did not have prior knowledge of the White House directive and reiterated that a search had not found any emails to his staff about it. Trump said on Wednesday he had not been aware of the request. The USS John S. McCain was initially named after the late Senator McCain's father and grandfather, who were both Navy admirals. In 2018, the Navy added Senator McCain to the official namesake of the guided missile destroyer. McCain, the unsuccessful 2008 Republican presidential nominee, was shot down during the Vietnam War and tortured by his North Vietnamese Communist captors during more than five years in captivity as a prisoner of war. Trump has long criticized McCain on a variety of fronts, and has kept up his attacks on McCain even following his death in August. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Alex Richardson) Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. DUBLIN, Ireland, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (AVDL), a company focused on developing FT218 for narcolepsy, today announced the appointment of Gregory J. Divis as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Divis has served as Interim CEO since January 2019. Since being named Interim CEO at the beginning of 2019, Greg has done an excellent job leading the Company through rapid restructuring while directing our focus toward the successful development of FT218, our novel once-nightly therapy for narcolepsy patients, said Geoffrey Glass, Chairman of Avadels Board of Directors. Under Gregs leadership, we have successfully executed on a series of restructuring initiatives to simplify our business and restore our financial and operational health. While these initiatives required a number of difficult decisions, they have positioned Avadel to maximize the value of the Company and progress our lead clinical candidate, FT218. The entire Board is highly confident in Greg and his ability to continue leading the Company. Mr. Divis joined Avadel as Chief Commercial Officer in January 2017. He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in March 2018, and named Interim CEO in January, 2019. Prior to joining Avadel, he served as an Executive in Residence at Linden Capital Partners, a healthcare-focused private equity firm. From 2010 to 2014, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Lumara Health, a specialty branded pharmaceutical company focused on womens health, where he led the successful turnaround and transformation of the business resulting in a series of transactions culminating in the sale to AMAG Pharmaceuticals. Previously, Mr. Divis served as Vice-President, Business Development & Lifecycle Management at Sanofi-Aventis and as Vice-President and General Manager, UK and Ireland, for Schering-Plough Corporation. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa. I am grateful to the Board for their support over the last several months and their confidence at such a crucial juncture for the Company," said Mr. Divis. In FT218, we have a highly promising once-nightly therapy with the potential to significantly improve the treatment paradigm over the standard of care therapy in a market that exceeds $1.5B. I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead for Avadel as we work collectively to advance FT218 for benefit of all the patients that deserve a once-nightly therapeutic option to control their narcolepsy. Story continues About Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc: Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (AVDL) is a branded specialty pharmaceutical company. The Companys primary focus is on the development and potential FDA approval for FT218, which is in a Phase 3 clinical trial for the treatment of narcolepsy patients suffering from excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and cataplexy. In addition, Avadel develops and markets a portfolio of sterile injectable drugs used in the hospital setting. For more information, please visit www.avadel.com. Cautionary Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements relate to our future expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, objectives, results, conditions, financial performance, prospects, or other events. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words or phrases such as will, as we continue, objective, future success, potential, opportunity and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof (if applicable). Our forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions that are made within the bounds of our knowledge of our business and operations and that we consider reasonable. However, our business and operations are subject to significant risks and as a result there can be no assurance that actual results of our research, development and commercialization activities and the results of our business and operations will not differ materially from the results contemplated in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from expectations in our forward-looking statements include (i) the risk that we could experience failure or delay in completing the Phase 3 REST-ON clinical trial for our FT218 product, or that if the FDA ultimately approves such product, the approval may not include any period of market exclusivity; (ii) the risk that the review of our FT218 REST-ON program that we initiated in the first quarter could result in changes that increase the cost of the program and further delay its completion; (iii) the risk that, even if we successfully complete the development of FT218 and begin its commercialization, it may not receive market acceptance, or new, announced alternative products in development may be approved and may be viewed as more effective than FT218 or otherwise receive greater market acceptance; (iv) the risk that servicing our $143.75 million Exchangeable Senior Notes due 2023 may require a significant amount of cash, and we may not have sufficient cash or the ability to raise the funds necessary to settle exchanges of such 2023 Notes in cash, repay the 2023 Notes at maturity, or repurchase the 2023 Notes as required following a fundamental change event described in the indenture governing the 2023 Notes; and (v) the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors section of Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 which we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 15, 2019. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are not guarantees of future performance. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Contacts: Michael F. Kanan Chief Financial Officer Phone: (636) 449-1844 Email: mkanan@avadel.com Alex Gray Burns McClellan Phone: (212) 213-0006 Email: agray@burnsmc.com Source: Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc By Lisa Barrington DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain, a U.S. ally that hosts the Navy's Fifth Fleet, has warned citizens and residents that following anti-government social media accounts could result in legal action, hardening a government campaign against critical online voices. The interior ministry sent text messages to Bahraini phones late last week warning that "following accounts which are biased or incite discord could expose you to legal liability". The government had said in mid-May that "promoting" views on such accounts would result in legal measures being taken, but singling out the specific act of following critical accounts for legal action is a new development. Since a 2011 Shi'ite Muslim-led uprising in which dozens died and saw troops sent in from neighboring ally Saudi Arabia, Sunni-ruled Bahrain has pursued a wide-ranging security crackdown. Hundreds have been imprisoned and stripped of their nationality, sometimes in mass trials, and the main opposition parties have been banned. Most opposition figures are now either imprisoned or have fled abroad. U.N. and rights groups have accused authorities of torture in detention. The latest crackdown on dissent has targeted Bahrainis, mostly abroad, running social media accounts. The push began in mid-May when the interior ministry said it was taking legal steps against people running accounts from "Iran, Qatar, Iraq and some European countries such as France, Germany and Australia". It urged people to avoid dealing or interacting with such accounts and said legal measures would be taken against people "promoting their messages". Then on Thursday, the ministry tweeted that following and circulating "inflammatory" social media accounts that promote "sedition" would expose people to legal liabilities. "Closing them immediately is a national duty," it said. An expanded ministry statement on Saturday said these instructions do not impinge on freedom of speech as such content "intends to harm civil peace and the social fabric". The statements did not identify the accounts, but social media posts started circulating on Whatsapp and pro-government Instagram pages identifying intended accounts, activist sources told Reuters. Story continues Among those highlighted were the named Twitter accounts of German-based human rights activist Sayed Yousif al-Muhafdha, Australian-based activist Hassan al-Sitri, British-based activist Saeed Shehabi and opposition media outlets Lulu TV and Bahrain Mirror. At least two men, Muhafdha and Sitri, were charged in May by Bahraini authorities in connection with running social media accounts. The recent pro-government posts identifying the accounts accused some of these activists of being funded by Qatar. Since 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have imposed an economic and diplomatic boycott on Qatar over allegations that Doha supports terrorism, a charge Qatar denies. The origin of these posts could not be verified. Earlier this month, an article of a state terrorism law that imposes prison terms and fines on those guilty of "promoting any crime carried out for a terrorism purposes" was expanded to encompass anyone "promoting, glorifying, justifying, approving or supporting acts which constitute terrorist activities" inside or outside Bahrain. The Bahraini government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; editing by David Evans) US Bitcoin millionaire Alex Johnson and his wife, Luna, have spoken about the night that teenage model, Ivana Smit, plunged to her death from their apartment in Malaysia. In their first interview since they went in to hiding, the pair told MailOnline about a threesome with Smit, 18, but insisted they had nothing to do with her demise in December 2017. They were arrested when Smits naked body was found 200ft beneath their apartment and spent two weeks in custody, suspected of drug use and breaching immigration rules. They were released without charge as blood tests showed no trace of drugs and their visas checked out. However, a post-mortem revealed Smit had taken cocaine and alcohol and had high levels of PMMA. The Johnsons US Bitcoin millionaire Alex Johnson and his wife, Luna, have spoken about the night that teenage model, Ivana Smit, plunged to her death from their apartment in Malaysia. In their first interview since they went in to hiding, the pair told MailOnline about a threesome with Smit, 18, but insisted they had nothing to do with her demise in December 2017. They were arrested when Smits naked body was found 200ft beneath their apartment and spent two weeks in custody, suspected of drug use and breaching immigration rules. They were released without charge as blood tests showed no trace of drugs and their visas checked out. However, a post-mortem revealed Smit had taken cocaine and alcohol and had high levels of PMMA. The Johnsons strongly denied that they gave the model drugs or took some themselves on the night of her death. Two police inquests established the cause of death as accidental, but a subsequent autopsy in Holland suggested that bruising to Smits arms and head had been sustained before she fell from the balcony, MailOnline said. The couple did not attend the inquest to give evidence over the death and left Malaysia for Singapore before arriving in the USA, moving from address to address across the country, through Georgia and into Florida. Smits family believe that her death was no accident and are preparing a private law suit against the Johnsons. Luna Johnson, 32, said: Ivana was our friend and we both had relationships with her. She came with us willingly that night. I wished I had more time to know her. I lost a friend. Alex Johnson, 45, a Bitcoin trader in Kuala Lumpur and the founder of crypto venture Everus World, added: We have enjoyed the company of other women over the course of our marriage. I honestly dont give a s*** what anybody thinks any more. We are numb to it We have had a year and a half of this. We have lost everything and started over again. I dont care anymore. The post Bitcoin tycoon Alex Johnson breaks silence on death of model appeared first on Coin Rivet. Tsumeb West Mine development property, past-producing Tsumeb Mine and numerous copper targets on strike to historical Uris and producing Tschudi mines (operated by Weatherly International plc); Ten separate vanadate mineralized prospects and past-producing mines are situated within extensive land package west of Tsumeb Mine; First time this extensive land package has been assembled by a junior resource company with exploration and development focus; Board and managements extensive success in Namibia will be leveraged to enhance shareholder value. OAKVILLE, Ontario, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Broadway Gold Mining Ltd. (Broadway or the Company) (BRD.V) (BDWYF) (BGH.F) is pleased to announce that the Company is expanding its effort to identify world-class deposits and has acquired an 85% interest in an extensive land package in Namibia, Africa. The land is known for hosting both large high-grade polymetallic deposits (Tsumeb Mine) and stratabound copper-silver-cobalt deposits (Zambian Copper Belt, Kalahari Copper Belt), as well as unique deposits of gold, vanadium, germanium and uranium. Namibia is a mineral-rich country with world-class base-metal and uranium deposits. Broadways management team has successfully worked in the country for over 19 years, and delivered a number of unique opportunities to shareholders during this time, says Duane Parnham, Executive Chairman of Broadway. Over the years, Namibia has grown into an excellent, development-friendly jurisdiction with mining companies like B2 Gold, Dundee and others successfully operating in the country, and we look forward to establishing a strong exploration presence. We believe our access to the Tsumeb mining camp will give us another opportunity to show that we can upgrade a promising project to development or alternatively attract a major partner like Kennecott, a division of Rio Tinto, at our Madison copper project located south east of Butte, Montana. Story continues Four Exploration Prospecting Licences (EPLs) 6074, 6075, 6257 and 6999 have been purchased with known mineralization over a total strike length of 30 kms west of Tsumeb, Namibia. Within these licences, which cover 56.3 square kms (see Figure 1), ten former vanadium mines and prospects occur as well as three former copper mines, five of which produced unknown amounts of vanadium in the early half of the 20th Century. All the past-producing mines and prospects on the EPLs are hosted in the Tsumeb Super Group and include the Alt Bobos, Bobosberg N and S, Torassen, Uris, Karavatu, Tsumeb West, Tsumeb and Freisenberg mines. The four EPLs also cover numerous copper occurrences that extend from and surround the Tschudi copper mine (49.7 Mt of .8% Cu) (from published reports by Weatherly Mining), and this copper horizon extends east to the Tsumeb Mine, which produced 30 Mt of 10% Pb, 4.3% Cu, 3.5% Zn, 100 ppm Ag (3 oz), 50 ppm Ge (germanium) with other amounts of Sb, Ga, Cd by-products from 1905 to 1996 (from production records published by the Geological Survey of Namibia). Unmined zones still remain to the side of the main mine workings and will be followed up in a planned exploration program. The Tsumeb West Mine known for copper, silver and vanadium production lies within the EPLs. Tsumeb West was briefly mined in 2007-2008. The Tsumeb smelter, owned and operated by Dundee Precious Metals of Toronto, and the town of Tsumeb (44,000 pop.) sit on the eastern boundary of the property. Figure 1: General geology and licenses is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d8923036-6bda-4874-9d51-16f153124f86 Figure 2: Regional geology and copper vanadium occurrences of the Tsumeb Mine area is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0a6b4a2b-19b0-4518-984c-af926855c4cb Approximately 35 kms east, the four EPL licences surrounding Tsumeb, the Abenab and Christina mines were larger producers of vanadium (please see information published by Golden Deeps Limited of Australia, including its news release dated April 8, 2019, and the Geological Survey of Namibia). These deposits, on the properties of Golden Deeps Limited, are all hosted in Neoproterozoic sediments and the majority of the vanadium occurs in the Tsumeb Super Group of rocks in brittle fracture zones and breccia pipes. The figures quoted in this news release are taken from a publication by the Geological Survey of Namibia. Broadway has signed license transfer agreements with three separate Namibian corporations to acquire an undivided 85% interest by paying a total of US$50,000 and issuing three-million common shares. The agreements are subject to TSXV approval and successful transfer of 85% interest in the EPLs into a Namibian corporation 100% controlled by Broadway. Qualified Person The properties referenced in this news release have been inspected in the field by Robert S. (Bob) Middleton, P.Eng., Broadways Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Middleton has also reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. About Broadway Gold Mining Ltd. Through its wholly owned Montana-based subsidiary, Broadway Gold Corp. together with Kennecott Exploration Company (Kennecott), part of the Rio Tinto Group, signed an Earn-In with Option to Joint Venture Agreement on its Madison copper-gold project on April 30, 2019 , and are focused on the exploration and development of the Broadway and Madison mines, and the delineation of the porphyry source of their mineralization. The Company has staked an area of four-square-miles in the Butte-Anaconda region of Montana, a porphyry-based mining district, and is permitted for mining and exploration. Approximately $20 million has been invested prior to the Kennecott JV in the exploration, development and bulk sampling of the Madison mine since 2005. Whereas the Broadway mine produced 144,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.32 oz/ton Au from 1880 to 1950, the Madison produced bulk samples of 13,242 tons at an average grade of 25% Cu and 0.32 oz/ton gold from 2005 to 2011 (see Broadway news release dated October 17, 2016, citing historic production figures from Coronado Resources Ltd.). Broadway and Kennecott are expanding known copper and gold zones that are open to depth; working a surface exploration program that has identified new anomalies along the two-mile contact zone; and planning to drill porphyry targets identified by soil geochemistry, geophysics, and the discovery of latite porphyry in holes C17-24 and C17-C27 (see Broadway news release dated January 22, 2018 ) that appear to be of significant size with intercepts to-date measuring up to 234 meters, open in all directions. For more information: Duane Parnham Executive Chairman Broadway Gold Mining Ltd. 1-800-680-0661 IR@broadwaymining.com www.broadwaymining.com Media: Adam Bello Primoris Group Inc. +1 416.489.0092 media@primorisgroup.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release or other future plans, objectives or expectations of Broadway 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. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Broadway's plans or expectations include risks relating to the actual results of current exploration activities, fluctuating commodity prices, possibility of equipment breakdowns and delays, exploration cost overruns, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, regulatory changes, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by Broadway with securities regulators. Broadway expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. 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. The winner of Britain's Got Talent will perform at the Royal Variety Show (Credit: Thames / Syco Entertainment) Britains Got Talents Colin Thackery has said he would die a happy man if he wins the chance to sing for The Queen. The final of the ITV talent show airs tonight at 7.30pm and will see the winner scoop 250,000 as well as the chance to perform at The Royal Variety Show 2019. Chelsea pensioner Thackery, 89, is bookmaker William Hills favourite to be voted the champion with odds of 4/6, after winning the nations heart singing Vera Lynns Well Meet Again in the semi-final. Read more: Amanda Holden laughs off 'BGT' cleavage complaints He said: "I served my Queen for 25 years, so if I thought I would have the chance to sing to her, I would die a happy man. "It is very difficult for me to put into words how much it would mean. I cannot even imagine being on that stage in the presence of royalty. It would be absolutely marvellous. Oh, and I'm looking forward to spending time with the judges too - especially the ladies." But Thackery faces tough competition, not least from wildcard act Libby and Charlie. The young dancers received a standing ovation from the BGT judges after they were given a last minute opportunity to perform in the semi finals when magician act Brotherhood pulled out due to health and safety fears. WILDCARD UNVEILED! Congratulations to Libby and Charlie who, after tense deliberations between the Judges, will join our talented ten in Sundays grand #BGT Final! pic.twitter.com/31bYCZznSr Britain's Got Talent (@BGT) June 1, 2019 Charlie flew back early from a family holiday in Greece after getting the call from the show. Second favourite to win is mystifying magician X who made it through to the finals after electrocuting hosts Ant & Dec as part of his act. Also hotly tipped to do well are police dog handler act Dave & Finn with their mind reading act, despite some viewers complaining they had fixed the results of their trick during the semi-finals. Story continues Whatever happens tonight I love you Finn, youre my hero and Ill never forget how you saved my life #BGT #BritainsGotTalent pic.twitter.com/nnxxBWsqab Fabulous Finn (@K9Finn) May 27, 2019 Magic acts are proving a big hit this year with young magician Ben Hart also a strong contender to win the final. But he has also faced added scrutiny performing his card tricks in the live semi-finals, with eagle-eyed viewers taking to social media to reveal how he had pulled it off. Check out man of mystery @itsbenhart working his magic on a plain old coffee cup during rehearsals for tonight's Semi-Final Now we really can't work this one out... #BGT pic.twitter.com/AyBaksptzE Britain's Got Talent (@BGT) May 30, 2019 Daredevil act Jonathan Goodwin has terrified judges Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams with his death-defying act involving fire and crossbows. The escapologist has claimed he could die on TV if his trick backfires in the final. .@TheDaredevil says he's got something even BIGGER prepared for the #BGT Final We're not sure we're ready! Congrats on making the Final, Jonathan pic.twitter.com/LELKYQO91e Britain's Got Talent (@BGT) May 31, 2019 Members of magical troupe 4MG - Harry Nardi, Theo Mallalieu, Josh Horus and James Samuel - all met at school and describe themselves as the boyband of magic. Flakefleet Primary School choir had previously been the out-and-out favourite to win the competition with their adorable singing and dancing act which moved judge Walliams to tears at their first audition and prompted him to hit his Golden Buzzer. Mark McMullan has wowed with his impressive singing voice and also won hearts when he dedicated his audition to his brother, who suffers from Locked-in syndrome and finds listening to Mark sing one of his few remaining pleasures in life. Singing comedian Siobhan Phillips, 42, has the nations parents on her side thanks to her hilarious song which sees the funny side of the stresses of being a new mother. And stand-up Kojo Anim has also one praise for his observational comedy. As well as deciding the winner, the live final will also feature a performance from former winners Diversity and BGT superstar Susan Boyle will duet with Michael Ball. Britains Got Talent 2019 final will air at 7.30pm on ITV. June 3 (Reuters) - China has reiterated its support for Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and said that implementing it is the only way to resolve the Iran nuclear issue, official Xinhua news agency said on Monday, citing a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson. In May 2018 President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the accord between Iran and six powers including Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, then reimposed tough U.S. sanctions on Iran, saying the deal was flawed. Under the agreement, reached before Trump took office, Iran reined in its uranium enrichment programme in exchange for a lifting of most international sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Heinrich) * US leader heaps praise on potential successor to May * Comments on Brexit, Conservatives strain diplomatic norms * Trump, Melania to get taste of pomp, royal pageantry * President will warn Britain against dealing with Huawei (Adds May comments in paragraphs 4 and 5) By Steve Holland and Guy Faulconbridge WASHINGTON/LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in Britain on Monday on a state visit laden with diplomatic peril, having already humiliated outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May over Brexit and challenged her to be tougher in dealing with China's Huawei. Trump and his wife, Melania, will be treated to a display of British royal pageantry during the June 3-5 visit: lunch with Queen Elizabeth, tea with heir Prince Charles, a banquet at Buckingham Palace and a tour of Westminster Abbey, coronation church of English monarchs for 1,000 years. Beyond the pomp, though, the proudly unpredictable 45th U.S. president also brings demands: He has praised a more radical Brexit-supporting potential successor to May and his envoys have urged a tougher British stance towards telecoms giant Huawei. May said it was a "significant week for the special relationship and an opportunity to further strengthen our already close partnership." She also said the UK-US security relationship was "deeper, broader and more advanced than with anyone else" in comments released by her office before Trump's arrival. In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, Trump said the next British leader should send arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage to conduct talks with the EU. Britain must leave the EU this year, Trump said. "They've got to get it done," he said. "They have got to get the deal closed." "If they don't get what they want, I would walk away. If you don't get a fair deal, you walk away." Trump repeated his backing for those candidates to succeed May who have said Britain must leave on the due date of Oct. 31 with or without a deal. Those candidates include former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whom Trump praised in an interview with the Sun newspaper on Friday, along with former Brexit minister Dominic Raab and interior minister Sajid Javid. Story continues Trump said it was a mistake for the Conservatives not to involve Farage, the Brexit Party leader, in talks with Brussels after his success in European Parliament elections last month. "I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer - he is a very smart person," Trump said. "They won't bring him in but think how well they would do if they did. They just haven't figured that out yet." On the Brexit divorce bill, Trump said: "If I were them, I wouldn't pay 50 billion dollars. That is a tremendous number." A meeting with either Johnson, favourite to succeed May, or Farage, a bombastic anti-establishment campaigner, would be seen as a snub for May who is bowing out after failing to negotiate a Brexit deal that parliament could ratify. British officials are privately concerned that Trump could heap further ignominy on May, who battled in vain to unify her ruling Conservatives behind a deal and cried while announcing the end of her premiership in Downing Street last month. BREXIT On his last visit to the United Kingdom, in July last year, Trump shocked Britain's political establishment by hammering May's Brexit negotiation for being too weak with the EU and by praising rival Johnson as a "great" potential prime minister. Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday the United States did not want to "get in the middle" of Brexit or a discussion of the next government's policies. Bolton dismissed concerns about Brexit: "You know, America declared its independence once we made out okay," he quipped. Brexit is the most significant geopolitical move for the United Kingdom since World War Two and if it ever happens then London will be more reliant on the United States as ties loosen with the other 27 members of the EU. At a meeting with May, Trump will warn Britain that security cooperation could be hurt if London allows China's Huawei a role in building parts of the 5G network, the next generation of cellular technology. The Trump administration has told allies not to use its 5G technology and equipment because of fears it would allow China to spy on sensitive communications and data. Huawei denies it is, or could be, a vehicle for Chinese intelligence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Britain last month it needed to change its attitude towards China and Huawei, casting the world's second largest economy as a threat to the West similar to that once posed by the Soviet Union. Britain's so-called special relationship with the United States is an enduring alliance, but some British voters see Trump as crude, volatile and opposed to their values on issues ranging from global warming to his treatment of women. BLIMP A blimp depicting Trump as a snarling, nappy-clad baby will fly outside Britain's parliament during the visit while protesters plan a "carnival of resistance" in central London. "Trump is coming to Britain to commemorate the defeat of fascism after D-Day while at the very same time pursuing a dangerous far-right agenda and fanning the flames of hatred," said Matt Bonner, its designer. The first day of the visit, Monday, culminates in a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace - where men wear white tie coats with tails and women evening gowns. Jeremy Corbyn, the socialist leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, who has declined an invitation to attend the state banquet, scolded Trump for getting involved in British politics. "President Trumps attempt to decide who will be Britains next prime minister is an entirely unacceptable interference in our countrys democracy," Corbyn said. The second day will focus on politics, including a breakfast with business leaders, talks with May in 10 Downing Street, a news conference and a dinner at the U.S. ambassador's residence. On Wednesday, Trump joins the queen and veterans to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the southern English city of Portsmouth, and also makes a trip to Ireland. He will attend official D-Day ceremonies in France on Thursday. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by William Maclean and David Evans) Frankfurt skyline. Credit: Getty Images The UKs ongoing Brexit turmoil has not dented its appeal for foreign investors. According to EYs European Investment Ranking survey, Britain held its place as the most attractive country in Europe for foreign investment projects, while Germany slid behind France to third place. However, the survey found that both the UK and Germany suffered a 13% decline in the number of foreign projects they attracted compared to the year before. For Germany, that was the first drop since the consultancy began its survey in 2005. The UK attracted a total of 1,054 investment projects by foreign companies, EY said the UK was able to maintain its number one place on the table despite Brexit thanks largely to US investors, who increased their investment in the UK from 2017. While US companies increased their investment in Germany by 3%, other key countries, like China and the UK each carried out 12 percent fewer projects in Europes largest economy. Foreign direct investment in Europe dropped for the first time in six years, showing a 4% decrease to 6,356 FDI projects in 2018. "The fact that foreign investment in Germany is falling is a warning sign Germany is no longer the growth engine of the European economy," said Hubert Barth, management board chairman of EY in Germany. "With economic growth of 1.4%, Germany finished just 24th out of the 28 EU member states last year. And for 2019, the prospects are anything but rosy. EY discovered a surge in the number of foreign companies with negative opinions about Germany. Their main criticisms were about the countrys rigid labour laws, high labour costs, and corporate taxation. On the other hand, they appreciated aspects like a highly-skilled workforce, transport infrastructure, and general stability. "Political stability and predictability are a great asset for a location," said Bernhard Lorentz, Head of Government & Public Sector for Germany, Switzerland and Austria. "But a competitive tax system, economic and political optimism, and openness to new technologies are also important factors. Germany has some catching up to do here." READ MORE: Manufacturers slam no-deal Brexit as 'economic lunacy' Post-vaccination T cell responses detected to 91% of vaccine neoantigens, including CD8+ T cell responses to 53% of vaccine neoantigens Conference call and webcast to discuss results TODAY at 8:30 am ET CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genocea Biosciences, Inc . (GNCA), a biopharmaceutical company developing personalized cancer immunotherapies, today announced best-in-class clinical results from its ongoing Phase 1/2a trial for GEN-009, the companys lead neoantigen vaccine candidate. The results were presented in a poster over the weekend at this years Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO 2019). The full poster is available on the Genocea website here . In the poster entitled A phase 1/2a study of GEN-009, a neoantigen vaccine based on autologous peptide immune responses, Roger B. Cohen, M.D., who is Associate Director Clinical Research at the Abramson Cancer Center, Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and the principal investigator in Genoceas ongoing GEN-009 clinical trial (GEN-009-101), highlighted the following results: In the five patients for whom immune response results are available to date, GEN-009 monotherapy elicited T cell responses to 91% of the vaccine neoantigens administered. GEN-009 has proven to be unique among neoantigen vaccines in its ability to elicit ex vivo CD8 + T cell responses, which were observed for 47% of vaccine neoantigens. Inclusive of the results seen after in vitro stimulation, the CD8 + T cell response frequency was 53%. GEN-009 has been well tolerated to date, with no dose-limiting toxicities. Dr. Cohen commented, I believe that these data could represent a breakthrough in the development of neoantigen vaccines. The Genocea data indicate that using the patients own T cells and antigen-presenting cells to select vaccine neoantigens results in higher immunogenicity than previously reported results using in silico methods. I look forward to investigating GEN-009 in combination with checkpoint inhibitors to explore whether this higher immunogenicity translates into greater clinical greater efficacy than seen with other neoantigen vaccines. Story continues Chip Clark, Genoceas President & CEO, also commented: These data clearly differentiate ATLAS, our neoantigen discovery platform, from first-generation, machine-based approaches. As we continue to say, targets matter, and these data highlight the necessity of selecting the right neoantigens to drive immune responses in cancer patients. We believe that ATLAS holds the potential to benefit the clinical efficacy of both GEN-009 and GEN-011, our neoantigen-specific T cell therapy program, and to enable additional immunotherapy modalities. About Part A of the GEN-009-101 Clinical Trial ( NCT03633110 ): GEN-009-101 is a multicenter Phase 1/2a study being conducted in patients with melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), and urothelial carcinoma; in Part A of the clinical trial, enrolled patients had no evidence of disease at the time of vaccination. Each patients GEN-009 vaccine consists of 4 to 20 synthetic long peptides administered with the adjuvant poly-ICLC (Hiltonol). Unlike in silico methods, Genocea uses its ATLAS platform to query the patients own immune cells to characterize (as stimulatory, irrelevant, or inhibitory) antigens from each patients tumor and then selects only stimulatory neoantigens for vaccine inclusion. Part A of the trial is expected to result in as many as 9 evaluable patients. Conference Call and Webcast TODAY at 8:30 am ET Genocea will host a conference call and webcast to discuss the clinical results presented at ASCO at 8:30 am ET TODAY. Interested participants may access the conference call by dialing (844) 826-0619 (domestic) or (315) 625-6883 (international) and referring to conference ID number 9068006. To join the live webcast, please visit the presentation page of the investor relations section of the Genocea website at https://ir.genocea.com/events-and-presentations . A webcast replay of the conference call will be available on the Genocea website beginning approximately two hours after the event and will be archived for 90 days. About Genocea Biosciences, Inc. Genocea is a biopharmaceutical company developing personalized cancer immunotherapies. Our unique ATLAS technology platform allows us to identify immunotherapy targets based on each persons tumor antigen-specific T cell responses. Using ATLAS, we can both optimize neoantigens for inclusion in our immunotherapies and exclude so-called inhibitory antigens that appear to exert an immunosuppressive effect on the patient. We are advancing complementary programs built from ATLAS insights: GEN-009, our neoantigen vaccine candidate for which we are conducting a Phase 1/2a clinical trial across a variety of solid tumor types, and GEN-011, our neoantigen-specific adoptive T cell therapy, for which we intend to file an Investigational New Drug Application in the first half of 2020. To learn more, please visit www.genocea.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the expectations for GEN-009 and intentions for filing an Investigational New Drug Application for GEN-011, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Genocea cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that change over time. Applicable risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading "Risk Factors" included in Genocea's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and any subsequent SEC filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and Genocea assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Contact: Jennifer LaVin 617-715-6687 jennifer.lavin@genocea.com (Bloomberg) -- Google faces its first serious antitrust probe from the U.S. since 2013, but years of fending off challenges in the European Union have given the internet giant a playbook to fight such attacks. The Justice Department is preparing to open an antitrust probe into the Alphabet Inc. unit, according to a person familiar with the matter. Google, with a sprawling empire of businesses that could feasibly be targets, is in the dark about the focus of the investigation and hopes to learn more this week, according to another person familiar with the situation. The shares fell 6.4% at 10:00 a.m. in New York Monday. Both people spoke on condition of anonymity, and the company declined to comment on the probe. At stake is the internet giants position as one of the most profitable companies in history. Despite the opacity surrounding the U.S. focus, Google already has a well-defined set of arguments for pushing back against antitrust challenges, honed over years of doing battle with regulators, especially the EU. The EU has brought three major cases against Google, including how it ranked shopping-comparison sites in search results, requirements for how customers use its display ads network, and its practice of requiring phone makers that used its Android software to pre-load those phones with other Google apps. In arguments to the European regulators, statements from executives during Congressional hearings and interviews with Google reps, a broad outline of the companys antitrust defense is already visible: Google sees itself as a series of free, accessible and extremely helpful services that enable people around the world to learn information and connect with each other Google says that, unlike Facebook Inc., its core products arent trying to get people to spend more time on them in return for questionable social value By indexing the web and making its information easily accessible through Googles search bar, the company argues it provides an invaluable service to billions of people around the world -- all for free Story continues These assertions, known as a consumer welfare argument, have worked for the company in the past. Six years ago, the Federal Trade Commission decided against penalizing Google even though the agencys staff said the company was unlawfully maintaining a monopoly in search and search advertising. Google may also look at the playbook it used with the FTC investigation, where the company ramped up lobbying in Washington and funded academics to defend it, said Maurice Stucke, a former Justice Department lawyer who teaches antitrust law at the University of Tennessee. With the latest investigation, Google might say, weve dealt with this in the past, and we got through it. We had a game plan. We can do it this time as well, he added. Digital Ad Market Google has a large or majority market share in several important industries including online advertising, internet browsers, mobile operating systems and e-mail. But the company argues the global nature of the internet means it doesnt actually have the power that its critics say it does. Its real competitors are other internet giants, like Amazon.com Inc. or Tencent Holdings Ltd., the company has said. One area where U.S. investigators will likely look closely at Google is its role in the online advertising ecosystem. Google sells much of the online real estate available to advertisers, such as search ads and spots that play before YouTube videos. But it also controls the system that many advertisers use to place and track ads on non-Google websites through its DoubleClick unit. Google will likely point to Amazons recent entry into this space as an example of how online advertising is still a competitive market. Amazon said last week it would buy the assets of bankrupt Sizmek Inc., which was a competitor to DoubleClick before it ran into financial trouble. Googles share of the online advertising market has also fallen. Though the company still holds the biggest share of U.S. digital advertising spend, its piece of the pie has actually declined to 36.2% this year from 40.8% in 2016, according to research firm eMarketer. Amazon and Facebook are still growing, with 8.8% and 22.1% respectively. Changing Approach Theres pressure for antitrust enforcers to shift from the consumer welfare standard. Instead of focusing on whether prices are rising for consumers, advocates for a more robust approach have argued that other factors should play a role in shaping enforcement decisions, such as privacy, control over user data and the ability to discriminate against rivals that depend on their platforms. Their ideas are starting to find a home with politicians on both sides of the political spectrum. Republican Senator Josh Hawley has advocated for tougher antitrust scrutiny of the big tech companies since his days as Missouri attorney general. During U.S. Attorney General Bill Barrs confirmation hearing in January, Hawley asked Barr to look at the companies in his new role. On the Democratic side, presidential primary candidate and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has said outright she would break up big tech companies including Google if elected in 2020. Theres a lot of competition amongst big companies, Googles Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai told tech news site Axios last year. For the first time, I think there is more international competition than ever before, and I think thats going to hold true." And because the internet is open, competition is always one click away, the company has argued, adding that if Google stops providing consumers with the best experience, they can easily switch to other products. Cutting Deals If all else fails, Google has shown itself to be more than willing to cut a deal. In Europe, Google agreed to make changes to several of its major products while also paying multi-billion dollar fines. None of those changes have significantly hampered the companys growth, and the fines barely hurt its stock price. Despite years of aggressive European lawsuits and regulations, Googles core business of selling advertising based on data it collects on its users has not been disrupted. Google has also learned some tough lessons. In 2014, the company thought it had a deal with then EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia over complaints it had unfairly funneled search users to its own products. But Almunia couldnt get support from others in the European Commission, and the deal fell apart. Almunias successor, Danish politician Margrethe Vestager, soon took up the torch, leading to years of investigations and wrangling. Googles Kent Walker, then the companys general counsel, was in the room when the Almunia deal was cut. Now he heads all of Googles policy and legal work, making him the point person for dealing with the Justice Departments investigation. Its unlikely Walker will let the same thing happen twice. To contact the reporters on this story: Gerrit De Vynck in New York at gdevynck@bloomberg.net;David McLaughlin in Washington at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, ;Sara Forden at sforden@bloomberg.net, Linus Chua For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. By Uday Sampath Kumar (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google said on Sunday it had resolved the network congestion in the eastern United States that affected services in Google Cloud, G Suite and YouTube. Google said it would conduct an investigation of the outage and make appropriate improvements to the company's systems to prevent or minimize future recurrence. http://bit.ly/2Wl1F9u Earlier on Sunday, Google said it was experiencing high levels of congestion, adding that the incident began at 3:25 p.m. EDT. Google said it had identified the root cause, but did not elaborate. Snapchat, which also experienced outages, said it was aware of the issue. DownDetector.com - an outage tracking website - showed that the number of Snapchat-related complaints had peaked at more than 48,000 before falling to about 1,800 as of 9 p.m. EDT on Sunday. Snapchat's parent company, Snap Inc, said in its annual report it used Google Cloud, but neither company responded to questions about whether the Snapchat outage was linked to the Google Cloud issues. During the outage, many users took to Twitter to complain about it under the hashtag #YouTubeDOWN. "When Snapchat and YouTube are both down and you don't know where to go next #YouTubeDOWN #snapchatdown," a user going by the name Jasmine tweeted https://twitter.com/Jasmine48853116/status/1135292781205872641. (Reporting by Uday Sampath Kumar and Ishita Chigilli Palli in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) (Bloomberg) -- Huawei Technologies Co. said CNEX Labs Inc. owes it almost $85.7 million and that the Silicon Valley startups co-founder stole critical and secret technology related to data storage. While working at Huawei, CNEX co-founder Yiren Ronnie Huang misused confidential information, Huawei lawyer Michael Wexler told jurors at the beginning of a trial in federal court in Sherman, Texas. He poached employees and he misused trade secrets. Lawyers for Huang and CNEX said they were the victims of a plot by the Chinese telecom company to steal Huangs ideas. CNEXs lawyer, Deron Dacus, accused Huawei of three years of bullying and intimidation and said CNEX was entitled to $24.5 million for the theft of its trade secrets. The dueling tales of corporate espionage, disloyalty and intrigue will be presented to an eight-person jury over the next three weeks in a courtroom about an hour north of Dallas. The trial is likely to give some insight into a company thats at the center of a global battle between the U.S. and China thats sucked in political allies and businesses. It also marks a rare instance of Huawei accusing someone of stealing its secrets. The Chinese maker of networking gear is fighting allegations from the Trump administration that it stole critical phone-testing technology from T-Mobile USA Inc. Huawei has denied wrongdoing. The dispute in Texas is over solid state drives, which are made up of chips called Nand flash memory that store information on semiconductors. They access data much more quickly than traditional magnetic disk-based technology. Its critical to storing and retrieving the massive amounts of data kept on cloud storage. Huang, who had worked in the field for decades, was hired at Huaweis FutureWei unit in Santa Clara, California, in January 2011 to oversee a group researching storage techniques that could be integrated into Huaweis networking products. Huawei said that it hired Huang for his expertise only for him to start a competing firm with proprietary information developed at the company. Other former Huawei employees left to work at CNEX, including one that Wexler said was paid by Huang to make off with a hard drive of information. Story continues Huang said his hiring was a ruse so Huawei could steal his know-how. Huangs lawyer Bryan Kohm told jurors they would see a series of Huawei emails showing the companys plan. CNEX lawyer Dacus said CNEX had no knowledge of and never had any Huawei documents. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant, who is presiding over the trial, also is overseeing a Huawei lawsuit against the U.S. government. The company is asking the judge to rule that a ban on federal agencies and contractors buying its gear is unconstitutional. Huawei and CNEX have been aggressive in their accusations against one another. In a court filing, CNEX lawyers claimed a high-ranking Huawei executive led the effort to steal Huangs technology, and the firms general counsel Matthew Gloss claims Huawei has tried to bury us with litigation. CNEX has the backing of a Republican congressman whose Texas district is to the west of Dallas. Representative Mike Conaway called it yet another example of a Chinese company, backed by the Chinese Communist government, attacking American businesses in our own court system. Huawei called CNEXs statements about the Huawei executive unsubstantiated and said it was confident the full facts will vindicate Huawei from these misleading claims. The case is Huawei Technologies Co. v. Huang, 17-893, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Sherman) To contact the reporters on this story: Dennis Robertson in Sherman, Texas at drobertson28@bloomberg.net;Susan Decker in Washington at sdecker1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, John Harney For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. (Adds analyst comment, background; updates share price) By Tamara Mathias June 3 (Reuters) - Humana Inc said on Monday it would not bid for Centene Corp, quelling speculation that it would acquire the health insurer that has already agreed to buy smaller rival WellCare Health Plans Inc for $15.27 billion. Centene shares fell 6.9% to $53.75 before the bell, while Humana rose 2% to $250. WellCare shares remained unchanged. Humana said https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/49071/000119312519163308/d754845d8k.htm it was making an exception to its "no-comment policy" to confirm it would not bid for Centene "in light of the significant investor speculation and persistent market rumors". SVB Leerink analyst Ana Gupte said that Humana needed to respond to speculation that had been creating "undue pressure" on its stock. "Shorter term activist shareholders of Centene may be disappointed by it, but large long-only institutional share holders of both Centene and Humana are likely relieved," she said in an email. Last month, Reuters reported hedge funds Corvex Management LP and Sachem Head Capital Management LP had built stakes in Centene and were exploring challenging its acquisition of WellCare. Centene's acquisition of WellCare would create a major new player in government-sponsored healthcare, serving 22 million members across 50 states. It would allow it to bulk up its government-backed Medicare and Medicaid businesses, while reducing exposure to Obamacare healthcare exchanges. Centene and WellCare shareholders are set to vote on their deal on June 24. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli) Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So we'll take a look at whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in China Resources Beer (Holdings) Company Limited (HKG:291). What Is Insider Buying? It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.' Check out our latest analysis for China Resources Beer (Holdings) The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At China Resources Beer (Holdings) In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when CEO & Executive Director Xiaohai Hou bought HK$4.2m worth of shares at a price of HK$27.78 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of HK$34.30 per share to be enticing. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. Happily, the China Resources Beer (Holdings) insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. The only individual insider to buy over the last year was Xiaohai Hou. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below! Story continues SEHK:291 Recent Insider Trading, June 3rd 2019 China Resources Beer (Holdings) is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying. Insider Ownership Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Insiders own 0.05% of China Resources Beer (Holdings) shares, worth about HK$60m, according to our data. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership. What Might The Insider Transactions At China Resources Beer (Holdings) Tell Us? It doesn't really mean much that no insider has traded China Resources Beer (Holdings) shares in the last quarter. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Overall we don't see anything to make us think China Resources Beer (Holdings) insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. But note: China Resources Beer (Holdings) may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. * Show about undercover commandos sets sights on Gaza * Despite boycott calls, Netflix season airs early '20 By Dan Williams TEL AVIV, June 2 (Reuters) - "Fauda", an Israeli TV series that has become a Netflix hit for its unsparing portrayal of undercover commandos who pose as Palestinians to pursue Hamas guerrillas, promises to dig deeper into the conflict in its third season. The first two seasons took place mostly in the occupied West Bank. This time, showrunners Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz have set much of it in the Gaza Strip, where the armed Islamist faction rules and has fought three wars against Israel. "This is going to be much more dark, much more emotional," Raz, who also plays Fauda's tortured lead character, told Reuters at a dusty, smoke-wreathed underground Tel Aviv power plant repurposed to look like a Hamas tunnel and bunker network. The show, which has bilingual scripts in Hebrew and Arabic, has been praised internationally for its gritty realism - the New York Times listed it as one of the best shows of 2017 - while being criticised by pro-Palestinian campaigners who describe it as gung-ho, pro-Israeli war propaganda. The title means "chaos" in Arabic and is the commandos' codeword for when an operation goes awry. The creators acknowledge that they come to the conflict from an Israeli perspective: "At the end of the day, Lior and I - we're both Jews, Israelis, Zionists. We cannot be fair. This is not a joint narrative," Issacharoff told Reuters. Nevertheless, they say it succeeds because the Palestinian characters are nuanced and complex. Palestinians, they hope, could enjoy it too. "We want to bring people to watch this story and the plot that we are writing. We are not trying to change the world," Raz said. "We can try to make people to start to talk to each other and to try to understand each other much better." On the set, Israeli Arab actors playing Palestinian militants milled about in camouflage uniforms wielding replica Kalashnikovs. In between exchanges of dialogue in Arabic, they took instruction in Hebrew from the director. Story continues Some pro-Palestinian activists have called for a boycott of Netflix for broadcasting it. "The series was not written by Europeans or Americans or Africans. It was written by the aggressors, by the criminals themselves," said a commentary on the Arabic website Vice. Yet Yasmeen Serhan, a Palestinian writer in London, wrote in the Atlantic that she found herself unable to stop watching, even though "it sometimes had me yelling at the screen". (Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi Writing by Dan Williams Editing by Peter Graff) Hong Kong: FS to attend economic forum Financial Secretary Paul Chan will depart for Russia on June 5 to attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The forum will be held between June 6 and 8. It offers a global platform for members of the business community to meet and discuss key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole. Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong on June 9. Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau will act as Financial Secretary during Mr Chans absence. This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. ROME, June 3 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has threatened to quit on Monday, saying his fractious coalition needed to swiftly decide whether they want to go to early elections or carry on governing. Conte told a packed news conference that his government faced a complex 2020 budget process later this year and that the country needed the confidence of financial markets. Heavily indebted Italy faces the possibility of European Union disciplinary procedures this week for a breach of EU fiscal requirements. Conte said the government should respect EU budget rules until such time as they are changed. (Reporting by Giselda Vagnoni Editing by Mark Bendeich) BALTIMORE, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Laureate Education, Inc. (LAUR) (the Company) announced today that it has closed on the previously announced sale of its institutions in Spain and Portugal. At closing, the Company received net proceeds of approximately $908 million, which it intends to use to repay indebtedness, including full repayment of the remaining balance outstanding under its 2024 Term Loan. Commenting on the closing, Eilif Serck-Hanssen, Chief Executive Officer of Laureate, said, We continue to make strong progress on the simplification of our portfolio. Of the $1.5 billion in asset sales proceeds expected in 2019, we have already collected $1.3 billion year-to-date, allowing us to significantly reduce our debt levels and improve our financial profile. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes statements that express the Companys opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or projections regarding future events or future results and therefore are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws, which involve risks and uncertainties. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as seek, intend, expect or similar expressions that concern the Companys strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements are based on the Companys current expectations and assumptions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements, which are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations are set forth under the caption Risk Factors in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. Story continues About Laureate Education, Inc. Laureate Education, Inc. is the largest international network of degree-granting higher education institutions, primarily focused in Latin America, with approximately 850,000 students enrolled at over 25 institutions with more than 150 campuses, which we collectively refer to as the Laureate International Universities network. Laureate offers high-quality, undergraduate, graduate and specialized degree programs in a wide range of academic disciplines that provide attractive employment prospects. Laureate believes that when our students succeed, countries prosper and societies benefit. This belief is expressed through the companys philosophy of being Here for Good and is represented by its status as a certified B Corporation and conversion in 2015 to a Delaware public benefit corporation, a new class of corporation committed to creating a positive impact on society. Investor Relations Contact: ir@laureate.net Media Contacts: Laureate Education, Inc. Adam Smith adam.smith@laureate.net U.S.: +1 (443) 255 0724 Source: Laureate Education, Inc. * Loss-making carrier in talks with Boeing about order for 25 jets * Airline's owner to examine turnaround plan at next board meeting * Malaysia Airlines to remain full-service carrier, form more JVs (Adds CEO comments) By Jamie Freed SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines is looking at its order for 25 Boeing Co 737 MAX jets "very carefully" in light of the global grounding and plans for the first delivery in July 2020 could be delayed, the carrier's chief executive said on Monday. "I think our introduction to service will slide," Malaysia Airlines CEO Izham Ismail told Reuters on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. "We are having a discussion and conversation with Boeing." Malaysia Airlines has been trying to transform its operations as it recovers from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The Malaysian government is considering whether to shut, sell or refinance its loss-making national carrier, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in March. Malaysia Airlines has been losing domestic market share to low-cost rival AirAsia Group Bhd and faces stiff competition in south-east Asia. Izham said Malaysia Airlines' board had approved a restructuring plan in February that would be debated at the next board meeting of its owner, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which is chaired by Mahathir. Izham declined to divulge specific details of the plan. However, he said Malaysia Airlines would cut costs but remain a full-service carrier and planned to form more alliances like a joint venture with Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) agreed last week. The venture with JAL on Malaysia-Japan routes, if approved by regulators, will help the carriers better align their flight schedules and could later be expanded to cover U.S. routes, he said. The two carriers also plan to look at cooperation in ground handling, cargo, lounges as well as executive secondments, Izham said. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman) By Jamie Freed SEOUL (Reuters) - Malaysia Airlines is looking at its order for 25 Boeing Co 737 MAX jets "very carefully" in light of the global grounding and plans for the first delivery in July 2020 could be delayed, the carrier's chief executive said on Monday. "I think our introduction to service will slide," Malaysia Airlines CEO Izham Ismail told Reuters on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. "We are having a discussion and conversation with Boeing." Malaysia Airlines has been trying to transform its operations as it recovers from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in what remains a mystery and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. The Malaysian government is considering whether to shut, sell or refinance its loss-making national carrier, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in March. Malaysia Airlines has been losing domestic market share to low-cost rival AirAsia Group Bhd and faces stiff competition in south-east Asia. Izham said Malaysia Airlines' board had approved a restructuring plan in February that would be debated at the next board meeting of its owner, sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd, which is chaired by Mahathir. Izham declined to divulge specific details of the plan. However, he said Malaysia Airlines would cut costs but remain a full-service carrier and planned to form more alliances like a joint venture with Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL) agreed last week. The venture with JAL on Malaysia-Japan routes, if approved by regulators, will help the carriers better align their flight schedules and could later be expanded to cover U.S. routes, he said. The two carriers also plan to look at cooperation in ground handling, cargo, lounges as well as executive secondments, Izham said. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman) Trucks wait in a queue for border customs control to cross into the U.S., at the Zaragoza-Ysleta border crossing bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez By Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Saturday hinted his country could tighten migration controls to defuse U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods, and said he expected "good results" from talks planned in Washington next week. Trump says he will apply the tariffs on June 10 if Mexico does not halt the flow of illegal immigration, largely from Central America, across the U.S.-Mexican border. His ultimatum hit Mexican financial assets and global stocks, but met resistance from U.S. business leaders and lawmakers worried about the impact of targeting Mexico, one of the United States' top trade partners. In a news conference in the Gulf of Mexico port of Veracruz, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico could be ready to step up measures to contain a recent surge in migration in order to reach a deal with the United States. A major Mexican delegation led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard will discuss the dispute with U.S. officials in Washington on Wednesday, and Lopez Obrador said he expected "good results" from the talks, and for a deal to emerge. "The main thing is to inform about what we're already doing on the migration issue, and if it's necessary to reinforce these measures without violating human rights, we could be prepared to reach that deal," Lopez Obrador said. His comments follow those of Jesus Seade, deputy foreign minister for North America, who told Reuters on Friday that Mexico wanted to sharpen existing measures to curb the flow of Central Americans trying to reach U.S. soil. Trump's threat to inflict pain on Mexico's economy is the biggest foreign policy test to date for Lopez Obrador and a tall order for Mexican authorities struggling not only to contain migration but also to fight record gang violence. Mexico's economy relies heavily on exports to the United States and shrank in the first quarter. Under Trump's plan, U.S. tariffs that could rise as high as 25% this year. 'NO TRADE WAR' Story continues Lopez Obrador said Mexico would not pursue trade wars with the United States, but noted that his government had a "plan" in case Trump did apply the tariffs to ensure the country was not impoverished. He did not provide details of the plan. "We're doing all we can to reach a deal through dialogue," the veteran leftist said. "We're not going to get into a trade war, a war of tariffs and of taxes." He nevertheless noted that Mexico reserved the right to seek international legal arbitration to resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, some Mexican business groups have urged the government to strike back against any Trump tariffs. On Friday, Mexico's top farm lobby said Lopez Obrador should target agricultural goods from states that support Trump's Republican Party if the American leader carries out his threat to punish Mexico for the migrants heading north. Apprehensions at the U.S. border with Mexico have surged in recent months, though Mexican data also show more deportations and detentions at Mexico's southern border with Guatemala, mostly of Central Americans trying to reach the United States illegally. Those statistics are likely to figure in the Mexican government's argument that it is addressing the problem. The bulk of migrants are fleeing widespread violence and poverty in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Many seek asylum in the United States when they cross the border. Trump is pushing Congress to change U.S. law to make it more difficult for the migrants to claim asylum. The U.S. president, who has embraced protectionism as part of an "America First" agenda aimed at reshaping global trade, said in a tweet on Thursday he would ratchet up tariffs on Mexico "until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied." The plan would impose a 5% tariff on Mexican imports starting on June 10 and increase monthly, up to 25% on Oct. 1. Lopez Obrador was asked in the news conference whether he would allow Mexico to become a so-called safe third country, which would allow U.S. authorities to send migrants back to Mexico and make them apply for asylum there. He did not answer the question, but pressure has grown steadily on his government to give ground on the issue. Following an agreement with Lopez Obrador, U.S. authorities have since January begun sending migrants back to Mexico to wait there while their U.S. asylum claims are being processed. The number of ports of entry for returnees under the so-called Remain in Mexico policy has gradually increased, and policy experts say it could be expanded to more cities. (Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Paul Simao and Alistair Bell) FILE PHOTO: The flag of Mexico changes in front of a large U.S. flag in front of the New York Stock Exchange September 4, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo By Sharay Angulo MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican and U.S. officials were preparing on Sunday for upcoming talks aimed at averting a major trade clash after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose punitive tariffs on all Mexican goods in an intensifying dispute over migration. Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday she would meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, as the two governments begin holding talks to resolve the issue in the U.S. capital in the coming week. Trump says he will apply tariffs of 5% on Mexican goods on June 10 if Mexico does not halt the flow of illegal immigration, largely from Central America, across the U.S.-Mexican border. The U.S. president lashed out on Twitter on Sunday morning, calling Mexico an "abuser of the United States, taking but never giving," and repeating his tariff threats. He doubled down a few hours later. "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border. Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years," Trump wrote. "We want action, not talk. They could solve the Border Crisis in one day if they so desired. Otherwise, our companies and jobs are coming back to the USA!" The tariffs will gradually rise to 25% if Mexico does not comply with Trump's demands. That threatens major economic damage to Mexico, which sends about 80% of its exports to the United States. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hinted on Saturday that his government could agree to tighten migration controls to defuse Trump's threat, and said he expected "good results" from the talks in Washington. Speaking on Sunday afternoon at an event to mark the start of construction on an oil refinery in southern Mexico, Lopez Obrador did not refer directly to the trade dispute, but said he wanted to send a "memorandum" to the American people. "The Mexican government is a friend of the United States government. The president of Mexico wants to stay friends with President Donald Trump. But above all, we are friends of the American people," Lopez Obrador said. In words directed at the U.S. public, he added: "We want nothing and no one to break our beautiful and sacred friendship." Story continues DELEGATION Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is heading the Mexican delegation, which includes Marquez. Marquez said she spoke to Ross during the inauguration of El Salvador's new president on Saturday, without giving details. Ebrard is expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for talks on the crisis on Wednesday, although Mexican officials say they will be holding other meetings beforehand. Trump's ultimatum has hurt Mexican financial assets and global stocks, but it met resistance from U.S. business leaders and lawmakers worried about the impact of targeting Mexico, one of the United States' top trade partners. In his Sunday Twitter broadside, Trump also hit out at U.S. companies operating in Mexico. "Our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border, will be brought back into the United States through taxation (Tariffs)," Trump wrote. "America has had enough!" Lopez Obrador said on Saturday that Mexico would not engage in a trade war, but noted that his government had a "plan" in case Trump did apply the tariffs, without providing details. He also noted that Mexico reserved the right to seek international legal arbitration to resolve the dispute. Some Mexican business groups have urged the government to strike back against any Trump tariffs. On Friday, Mexico's top farm lobby said Lopez Obrador should target agricultural goods from states that support Trump's Republican Party if the U.S. president carries out his threat. Apprehensions at the U.S. border with Mexico have surged in recent months, although Mexican data also show more deportations and detentions at Mexico's southern border with Guatemala, mostly of Central Americans trying to reach the United States. The bulk of migrants are fleeing widespread violence and poverty in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Many seek asylum in the United States when they cross the border. Trump is pushing Congress to change U.S. law to make it more difficult for the migrants to claim asylum. (Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Peter Cooney) Most people have dreamed of someday being rich. Its hard not to be envious of the wealthy as they move through life without the stress and concern caused by money woes while buying luxuries without a second thought. However, the dream of being among the highest earners in the country might look very different from one state to the next. GOBankingRates surveyed over 5,000 Americans to find out what level of annual income makes you rich. Respondents could choose from these six options: $100,000 or more, $200,000 or more, $500,000 or more, $1 million or more, $5 million or more and $10 million or more. In a separate study, GOBankingRates found how much pre-tax income a household has to make to be among the top 5% highest-earning households in each state by analyzing the Census Bureaus 2017 American Community Survey (ACS). The results show that across the country, many Americans have different definitions of rich. Alabama Income needed to be in the top 5%: $170,906 Income residents believe makes you rich: (tie) $500K and $1 million Alabamans were tied for the most common response, with over half of the states respondents answering either $500,000 or more and $1 million or more. Interestingly, a recent GOBankingRates study found that Alabama is one of the states where youre considered wealthy making less than $100,000. Alaska Income needed to be in the top 5%: $223,728 Income residents believe makes you rich: (tie) $500K, $1 million and $10 million Alaskans couldnt quite make up their minds on what it takes to be rich, but the two estimates that received the most responses are well below the $223,728 needed to be among the top 5% of the states earners. Arkansas Income needed to be in the top 5%: $160,675 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Residents of Arkansas dont appear to be letting the fact that they have one of the lowest average household incomes in the country to change what they consider to be rich, with the most common answer calling for at least seven figures in annual income. Arkansas is the state with the third-lowest income threshold to enter the 5% at $160,675. Story continues Arizona Income needed to be in the top 5%: $195,113 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Arizona inhabitants might set their sights high for what qualifies as rich because theyre thinking about what it takes to get by, day by day. Another GOBankingRates survey found that the everyday costs of living were the top cause of financial stress in the state. California Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Even if you do get the $1 million annual salary that Californians believe makes you rich, it probably wont last long if youre living there. California is one of the most expensive states to live in. Colorado Income needed to be in the top 5%: $228,672 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more While $1 million or more was the most common response, $500,000 or better was a close second. Combined, those two responses made up over 50% of all answers from Coloradans. Connecticut Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Residents of Connecticut have good reason to see $1 million as a definition of rich its one of the states where $1 million goes the fastest in retirement. Delaware Income needed to be in the top 5%: $211,732 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Residents of Delaware see earning a million or more a year as being rich, and its on the higher end when it comes to income needed to be a part of the top 5%. District of Columbia Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $200,000 or more The nations capital has an unusually low perception of what qualifies as wealth, given that the income needed to be in the top 5% of earners tied for the highest in the study. Florida Income needed to be in the top 5%: $196,433 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more Although the state of Florida as a whole had a lower perception of wealth than most, there are certainly pockets of much greater wealth in this state. Click to See: The Best and Worst States to Be Rich in America Georgia Income needed to be in the top 5%: $202,025 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more Georgias most common response was $500,000 or more, but not by much. Some 26% of those polled selected $500,000 or more, just barely edging out the almost 25% who answered $1 million or more. Hawaii Income needed to be in the top 5%: $238,820 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more That Hawaiians see rich as having less than $1 million, which is interesting considering the high costs of living, home prices and median incomes on the islands. That $500,000 salary is still more than $200,000 short of what it costs to get a median-level home in the state. Idaho Income needed to be in the top 5%: $167,204 Income residents believe makes you rich: $5 million or more Residents of Idaho had the highest response rate for $5 million or more, with more than 26% of those polled giving that answer. Meanwhile, it was also the state with the lowest response rate for $1 million or more with just over one in 10 residents considering that amount to be the threshold for wealth. Illinois Income needed to be in the top 5%: $227,304 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Illinois residents are certainly no stranger to wealth, with over 17% of respondents answering either $5 million or more, or $10 million or more. Indiana Income needed to be in the top 5%: $173,021 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Residents of Indiana think $1 million or more equals wealth. Seven figures will go a long way in the Hoosier State: Indiana is one of the cheapest states to live in the country. Iowa Income needed to be in the top 5%: $180,304 Income residents believe makes you rich: $5 million or more The Hawkeye State sees $5 million as the threshold for what makes you rich, but you can certainly live the good life on less. Kansas Income needed to be in the top 5%: $189,252 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Kansans were right in line with most of the country, with 30% of respondents answering that $1 million a year or more would make a person rich. Click to See: How Much You Need to Be in the Top 5% in Each State Kentucky Income needed to be in the top 5%: $167,532 Income residents believe makes you rich: $200,000 or more Kentucky was the only place in the study aside from Washington, D.C., where residents believe only $200,000 or more makes you rich. Louisiana Income needed to be in the top 5%: $182,288 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Although $1 million or more is the most common response in the survey, it could be a sign that many Americans have a skewed perspective on how much wealth rich people really have. According to Bloomberg, the annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 1% of earners in the U.S. is only $478,000. Maine Income needed to be in the top 5%: $178,516 Income residents believe makes you rich: $10 million or more Maine is the lone state where the majority believe $10 million or more is what it takes to be rich, with just under one in four respondents choosing this answer. Maryland Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Marylands top answer of $1 million or more is a little deceptive as the states residents were clearly of different minds. There were four different answers $200,000, $500,000, $1 million and $5 million or more that all got between 18% and 23% of responses. Massachusetts Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Massachusetts is among the top states for both median income and median home price, so the states residents likely know a thing or two about being rich. Michigan Income needed to be in the top 5%: $187,384 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Just under one in four Michiganders felt that making $1 million or more makes you rich. Minnesota Income needed to be in the top 5%: $218,790 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more The Land of 10,000 Lakes is also the land of pretty reasonable expectations about wealth. While $1 million or more was the most popular answer selected, over 39% of respondents believe that $200,000 or more or $500,000 or more is all thats needed to be rich. Mississippi Income needed to be in the top 5%: $154,295 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the country, with the lowest median income and highest poverty rate in the country, but that hasnt stopped its residents from expecting much more: They see rich as starting at seven figures a year and up. Missouri Income needed to be in the top 5%: $181,527 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more If you ask residents of Missouri what makes a person rich, theyll say $1 million or more. That could be surprising, given that Missouri has a lower cost of living than much of the rest of the country. Montana Income needed to be in the top 5%: $176,370 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Montanans were most likely to answer that $1 million or more was necessary to be considered rich. They also believe in allowing you to hang onto a bigger portion of it, as the state has one of the lowest overall tax bills in the nation. Nebraska Income needed to be in the top 5%: $185,422 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more The Cornhusker State was among the 33 states that felt that $1 million a year or more is what makes a person rich. Nevada Income needed to be in the top 5%: $184,901 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more The Silver State had one of the highest response rates for the $500,000 and more category, with 29.51% of Nevadans feeling that was what it takes to make a person rich. New Hampshire Income needed to be in the top 5%: $229,425 Income residents believe makes you rich: (tie) $1 million and $10 million New Hampshire residents appear to have higher expectations for wealth: More than 73% of respondents believe it takes at least $1 million to be rich. New Jersey Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Residents of New Jersey might think of $1 million or more as rich due in part to the states heavy tax burden. New Mexico Income needed to be in the top 5%: $173,396 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more New Mexicos $1 million or more definition of rich might be surprising as the state has the second-highest poverty rate in the nation. New York Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more The fact that New Yorkers were among the 10 states that answered under $1 million might seem odd given how wealthy the residents of New York City are, but that might be explained by the fact that New York has the highest level of income inequality in the country aside from Washington, D.C. North Carolina Income needed to be in the top 5%: $188,470 Income residents believe makes you rich: (tie) $500K and $1 million The Tar Heel State registered a tie between $500,000 or more and $1 million or more, with almost 24% of those polled for each. The next most common answer was $5 million or more with 17.91% of responses. North Dakota Income needed to be in the top 5%: $203,744 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Some 40% of North Dakotans in the survey felt that $1 million or more was the level at which you were rich. Ohio Income needed to be in the top 5%: $183,823 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Ohioans see $1 million or more as the threshold for being rich, but theres a lot of residents falling well short of that level: Their state was home to seven of the 25 poorest ZIP codes in the country. Oklahoma Income needed to be in the top 5%: $175,805 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more The $1 million or more a year that a majority of Oklahomans believe makes you rich is a bit surprising, considering that the cost of a median-priced home in the state is one of the lowest in the nation. Oregon Income needed to be in the top 5%: $199,256 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more Although 25% of Oregonians answered $500,000 or more as the annual salary that makes you rich, that was only slightly more than the 23.86% who had much higher expectations with $10 million and higher. See: The 10 Best Short-Term Investments for 2019 Pennsylvania Income needed to be in the top 5%: $206,534 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more More than 23% of Pennsylvania residents believe it takes $1 million or more to be rich, and another 24% chose either $5 million or $10 million as the base threshold for being rich. Rhode Island Income needed to be in the top 5%: $214,529 Income residents believe makes you rich: $500,000 or more Rhode Island saw $500,000 or more as being the definition of rich, but not a single Rhode Island resident felt that earning $200,000 or more the lowest response rate for that tier in the survey constituted being rich. South Carolina Income needed to be in the top 5%: $174,555 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Just under 30% of South Carolina residents responded that you need to earn at least $1 million a year to be rich. South Dakota Income needed to be in the top 5%: $176,511 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more South Dakotas most common response was $1 million or more, but the state had an almost equal number say $100,000 or more, $200,000 or more and $5 million or more is the income necessary to be rich. Tennessee Income needed to be in the top 5%: $179,962 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Tennessee actually had three answers within 4% of each other: $1 million or more was the top answer with almost 23% of respondents choosing that answer, but $500,000 or more and $5 million or more both tied for second at 19.28%. Texas Income needed to be in the top 5%: $218,061 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Texans perceptions of wealth might be skewed by their unusually high levels of debt: The states $185,000 plus in per capita debt was one of the highest amounts of debt in the country. Click to See: 20 States Where the Rich Get Richer Utah Income needed to be in the top 5%: $202,202 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Utah actually had the highest response rate for the $200,000 or more option, despite the fact that it wasnt even the most common response in the state. Vermont Income needed to be in the top 5%: $192,323 Income residents believe makes you rich: (tie) $500K and $1 million Vermonters might have a pretty healthy perspective on wealth as the state has the fifth-lowest unemployment rate in the country. Virginia Income needed to be in the top 5%: $250,000 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Virginians have one of the 10 highest median incomes in the country, and that might be contributing to their perceptions of what qualifies a person as rich. Washington Income needed to be in the top 5%: $229,199 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Washingtonians might need $1 million a year or more just to buy a house as the states median home price of $345,200 is the sixth-highest in the country. West Virginia Income needed to be in the top 5%: $155,823 Income residents believe makes you rich: $100,000 or more West Virginia was the only state in the survey that saw $100,000 or more as being all you need to be rich. That could reflect the fact that West Virginia has one of the lowest average household incomes and the lowest median home price in the country. Wisconsin Income needed to be in the top 5%: $182,897 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more Over 26% of Wisconsin residents claimed that $1 million or more makes you rich. Build Your Way to the Top: 9 Safe Investments With the Highest Returns in 2019 Wyoming Income needed to be in the top 5%: $182,268 Income residents believe makes you rich: $1 million or more If your dreams for living rich include living somewhere with real space between you and the neighbors, Wyoming might be the place for you: It has the lowest population density in the lower 48 states. Click through to see the states where you dont need to make six figures to be rich. More on Wealth Chris Jennings contributed to the reporting for this article. Methodology: GOBankingRates posed the question, What level of annual income do you think makes you rich? to 5,021 Americans through Google Consumer Surveys from Feb. 6, 2018, to Feb. 8, 2018. The survey had a 4.3 percent margin of error. In a separate study, GOBankingRates found how much pre-tax income a household has to make to be among the top 5% highest-earning households in each state by analyzing the Census Bureaus 2017 American Community Survey (ACS). This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Heres How Much You Need To Earn To Be Rich in Every State * Paris wants board seats on French subsidiary - sources * Wants say on future CEO appointments - sources * Renault to hold board meeting on Tuesday (Adds comments, details, background) By Laurence Frost and Giulio Piovaccari PARIS/MILAN, June 3 (Reuters) - Talks on Fiat Chrysler's proposed merger with Renault became mired in politics on Monday, as France sought more concessions to maintain government influence over the new carmaker's management and French assets, sources told Reuters. Italian-American FCA is in negotiations with Renault and its biggest shareholder, France, over the $35 billion merger proposal it pitched last week to create the world's third-biggest carmaker. France, which owns 15% of Renault, has broadly welcomed the deal on condition it safeguards domestic jobs and plants - but political sensitivities have only increased as talks progress. John Elkann, scion of the Agnelli family whose Exor holding controls FCA via a 29% stake, has sought to placate the French and Italian governments, while also keeping shareholders including Renault's alliance partner Nissan on board. The FCA proposal would see both carmakers acquired by a listed Dutch holding company owned 50-50 by current FCA and Renault shareholders, after payment of a 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion) special dividend to FCA shareholders. Responding to criticism from some analysts and French industry leaders that the deal undervalued Renault and its 43.4% stake in Nissan, Paris pushed for better terms. The approach bore fruit over the weekend, as FCA discussed a Renault dividend and stronger job guarantees among concessions designed to secure France's support. They include a Paris headquarters for the combined carmaker's Europe, Middle East and Africa region and its global chief executive, current Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, as well as a seat on the board for the French state, people with knowledge of the matter said. As the two sides appeared to be converging on a deal, with the Renault board meeting on Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron's government upped its demands, two people close to the negotiations said. The government is now pushing for a significant board presence on the French subsidiary that would oversee Renault assets and plants, the sources said - as well as an effective veto on future CEO appointments after Senard, who is 66. Story continues French officials want to be able to ensure that the job guarantees and "merger of equals" philosophy underpinning the deal are respected, sources close to the Renault board said. Renault, FCA and the French government all declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations. As officials, bankers and lawyers were absorbed in what may be a final deal push, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was jeered on Monday by some of the 1,044 former Alstom workers being laid off by General Electric - which had promised to safeguard their jobs when it acquired the business in 2015, along with their plant in Belfort, eastern France. "It's understandable that the French government is pushing here and there, but FCA probably isn't ready to re-open the whole deal," one source close to the tie-up talks said. "If it drifts back towards a quasi-French nationalised business, things may start to fall apart." In Italy, where the government has consistently said it supports the deal, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's right-wing League Party expressed annoyance with the French position. France should sell its Renault stake to meet EU deficit limits rather than seek more influence, the party's economics spokesman Claudio Borghi said. "By what right, in the Europe of liberalism and privatisations, can the French state negotiate seats on the board of a car company?" FCA and Renault have also stressed they want to preserve the Renault-Nissan alliance - already strained by the arrest and ouster of chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is now facing trial in Japan on financial misconduct charges he denies. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said on Monday the carmaker would conduct a "fundamental review" of its relationship with Renault if its tie-up with FCA went through. However, he conceded that FCA's arrival could bring "opportunities for further synergies". The claimed 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in cost and investment savings would depend partly on FCA access to technology jointly owned by Nissan, executives acknowledge. Renault had no comment on Saikawa's statement, company spokesman Frederic Texier said. But a source close to the French carmaker's board said it could have been worse. "If you want to say no, you say no," he said. ($1 = 0.8925 euros) (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Laurence Frost; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter) PLC UUTECHNIC GROUP OYJ INSIDE INFORMATION June 3, 2019 at 14:05 Uutechnic Group has Sold AP-Tela Oy and Focuses on Mixing Technology Plc Uutechnic Group Oyj has sold the share capital of AP-Tela Oy in Kokkola with the price of EUR 3.5 million to a Finnish engineering workshop, who will inform about the acquisition later. The price was fully paid in the transaction. The effect of the transaction on the Group`s equity and profit is approximately EUR -0,3 million. AP-Tela Oy`s turnover for the last financial year was approximately EUR 5.9 million and the company has 30 employees. This transaction is part of the Uutechnic Group`s strategy of focusing on Mixing Technology. From now on Group includes the parent company Plc Uutechnic Group Oyj, Uutechnic Oy in Uusikaupunki Finland and Stelzer Ruhtechnik International GmbH in Warburg Germany. Uutechnic Group will publish a half year report on July 31, 2019. Uusikaupunki, June 3, 2019 PLC UUTECHNIC GROUP OYJ Board of Directors Further information: Jouko Peraaho, CEO Plc Uutechnic Group Oyj, +358 500 740 808 www.uutechnicgroup.fi Uutechnic Group is focused on improving the competitiveness of its customers by providing them advanced equipment technology and unique service concept worldwide in the field of mixing technology. The main industries are hydrometallurgy, mining-, pulp and paper-, food-, fertilizer-, other chemical industries and environmental technology. Plc Uutechnic Group`s subsidiaries are Uutechnic Oy and Stelzer Ruhrtechnik International GmbH. This announcement is distributed by West Corporation on behalf of West Corporation clients. The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Plc Uutechnic Group Oyj via GlobeNewswire HUG#2245526 June 3 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. - Gmail, YouTube and other services that rely on Alphabet Inc's Google's technology were disrupted for several hours on Sunday by what the company said were "high levels of network congestion." https://nyti.ms/2Z6uALn - The chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin A. Hassett, will depart "shortly," President Trump said on Sunday, winnowing another advocate of traditional conservative positions on trade from the ranks of Trump's advisers. https://nyti.ms/2YZ02eg - The Trump administration considered imposing tariffs on imports from Australia last week, but decided against the move amid fierce opposition from military officials and the State Department. https://nyti.ms/2YXCZ3A (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom) We Can Put the Quality Into Homesharing, Say Hotel CEOs Hoteliers for years watched the niche homesharing market grow from afar, observing that lodging offered to customers was predominantly illegal and offered little assurance of a quality guest experience. But as the homesharing accommodations grow in popularity, hotel chains now think they can do it better than established players. One reason is we are not permitted to stand away from the business, Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson said during a panel discussion at the 2019 NYU Hospitality Industry Investment Conference in New York adding that homesharing companies normally outsource the quality of a stay to hosts and renters, thereby absolving them of any blame when something goes wrong. When Marriott Homes & Villas launched in April, the hotel group cemented itself as a main competitor of Expedia-owned HomeAway and Airbnb, which recently acquired HotelTonight in its own bid to enter the traditional hotel market. During Marriotts pilot testing for its home rental product in London last year, the chain drove more guests for property managers on listings that were also featured on Airbnb and Booking.com thanks to its loyalty program, Sorenson said. The managers to us are like franchisees, and they are connecting with us, he added . Getting more properties depends on the business we drive to them. Each of Marriotts rentals are managed by a third party, similar to U.S. hotel group Choice Hotels, which entered the homesharing space three years ago. Vacation Rentals by Choice Hotels now offers more than 30,000 properties across dozens of U.S. destinations, according to its website. The regulations and tax laws can differ from beach town to beach town, so its helpful to have that local knowledge, said CEO Patrick Pacious, who later echoed Sorensons sentiments on the power loyalty programs hold with customers. Faith in Chinas Economy Trade tensions between the U.S. and China may be having a damaging impact on both countries economies, but panelists seemed optimistic about growth opportunities in China long term pointing to the development of Shanghai over the past decade as a tourist destination. Story continues The key challenge for hoteliers is that, similar to U.S. and European markets, local Chinese groups are expected to dominate real estate in the country, said Accor CEO Sebastien Bazin. A significant amount of real estate in China today is also state owned, putting the onus on companies to find the right partners to build with. Its fine to accept it and penetrate the market with them. They are too powerful for us to beat, Bazin said. As China shifts from solely lower midscale offerings to more luxury brands, its also feasible aforementioned state-owned companies will control 70 percent of the luxury market in China, he added. On the U.S. side of the spectrum, panelists argued the political standoff has put a strain on inbound tourism. Visits from Chinese tourists to the U.S. specifically dropped 5.7 percent in 2018, according to Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian. But a greater concern to inbound tourism is the strengthening U.S. dollar. Currency matters and the U.S. dollar continues to be very strong, said Hoplamazian. We have a structural barrier where we will be fighting against a strong currency for a relatively long period of time. Before the introduction of Brand USA in 2010, the U.S, additionally did not have an organized way to promote it as a destination, he concluded. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rio2 Limited (Rio2 or the Company) (TSXV: RIO; OTCQX: RIOFF; BVL: RIO) announces the results of voting at its Annual and Special General Meeting of Shareholders (ASGM) held Tuesday, May 28, 2019. A total of 49,229,337 common shares were voted, representing 41.64% of 118,239,464 shares issued and outstanding as at the record date of the meeting. Shareholders voted in favour of all items put forward by the Board of Directors and management. All seven of the individuals nominated for the board of directors were elected as set out below: VOTES FOR % VOTES FOR VOTES WITHHELD % VOTES WITHHELD Klaus Zeitler 44,584,465 97.14% 1,311,188 2.86% Alex Black 45,851,197 99.90% 44,456 0.10% Ram Ramachandran 44,558,668 97.09% 1,336,985 2.91% Albrecht Schneider 45,843,798 99.89% 51,855 0.11% Sidney Robinson 45,825,398 99.85% 70,255 0.15% Drago Kisic 45,844,597 99.89% 51,056 0.11% David Thomas 44,584,467 97.14% 1,311,186 2.86% The Company is pleased to welcome Mr. Drago Kisic to its Board of Directors. Mr. Kisic is a founding member and shareholder of Macro Group in Peru (Macroconsult, Macroinvest, Macrocapitales Safi, Macro Assets Management and Macro Wealth), and President of the Board of Macrocapitales SAFI, Banco Pichincha Peru S.A., Bodega San Nicolas, Inmobiliarias Cerro Lindo SAC and Alto Las Vinas SAC. From 1975 to 1981 he worked as Senior Economist for the Banco Central de Reserva del Peru and was Chairman of the Board of the Comision Nacional Supervisora de Empresas y Valores (CONASEV) between 1981 and 1982. Between 1982 and 1985 he acted as Advisor to the Executive Director of the World Bank in Washington DC, USA. In 1998 he was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President of the commission of border integration in the peace negotiations between Peru and Ecuador. Mr. Kisic was a director of Rio Alto Mining Limited (TSX) (between 2010 and 2015) and Tahoe Resources Limited (from August 2015 to February 2019). Drago Kisic holds a B.S. from Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru and a Masters degree (B-Phil) from Oxford University. Story continues Mr. Daniel Kenney did not stand for re-election at the ASGM. Mr. Kenney served on Rio2s Board since 2016, during which time he provided valuable legal advice to the Board of Directors. The Company thanks Mr. Kenney for his years of service as a director. Alex Black, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rio2 Limited, stated, I would like to personally thank Dan for his valuable contribution as a founding director of Rio2 and look forward to working with him going forward as the Companys legal counsel. I also would like to warmly welcome to the Rio2 team, Drago Kisic, who I worked closely with at Rio Alto Mining Limited where he made a solid and important contribution to our business activities in Peru during the development, construction and operation of the La Arena and Shahuindo Gold Mines. At the ASGM, shareholders also voted in favour of (i) reappointing Grant Thornton LLP as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and authorizing directors to fix their remuneration; and (ii) approving and ratifying the 2018 Rio2s Stock Option Plan. To learn more about Rio2 Limited, please visit: www.rio2.com or Rio2's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF RIO2 LIMITED Alex Black President, CEO & Director Tel: +1 (604) 260-2696 Email: info@rio2.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced two new initiatives that will build on its ongoing efforts to protect retail investors. The Teachers Initiative and the Military Service Members Initiative will build on the Commissions past efforts and focus additional enforcement and investor education resources on behalf of teachers, veterans, and active duty military personnel stationed domestically and abroad. Teachers, active duty military, and veterans provide tremendous service to our country, often at great personal and financial sacrifice to themselves and their families, yet far too often are targeted and fall victim to securities fraud and other misconduct, said Chairman Jay Clayton. These new initiatives reflect the Commissions dedication to fighting fraud and to educating retail investors. My colleagues and I are particularly focused on ensuring that our teachers, veterans, and active duty military, who often leave financial planning to others, know the financial services they are getting, what they are paying for those financial services, and to call us if something doesnt seem right. The initiatives build upon Chairman Claytons commitment to protecting the most vulnerable market participants and the SEC Enforcement Divisions long and successful history in pursuing securities fraudsters who target teachers, active military, and veterans. We look forward to continuing to partner with state securities regulators, as well as other state and federal law authorities, on these important initiatives. The initiatives will increase proactive outreach to these groups to educate them about savings and investment, investment fees and expenses, retirement programs specific to educators and service members, and the red flags of investment fraud. The initiatives will be led by the Enforcement Divisions Retail Strategy Task Force in partnership with the Commissions Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. These efforts will build upon the Commissions existing Teacher Investment Outreach program, led by the SECs San Francisco Regional Office, and the Commissions longstanding commitment to serving active military and veterans through investor advocacy and outreach (www.sec.gov/spotlight/military.shtml, www.sec.gov/page/spotlight-military-investment-options and www.investor.gov/military). Story continues The Enforcement Division is committed to fighting for our countrys educators, service members, and veterans, who may be vulnerable to fraud in the securities markets, said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SECs Enforcement Division. Teachers and members of the military community have already made tremendous financial sacrifices for our country and can quickly face financial ruin as the result of securities fraud, added Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SECs Enforcement Division. Education is the cornerstone of investor protection, and we have no more important constituents than our teachers and members of the military, said Lori J. Schock, Director of the SECs Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. We look forward to working together to help these important groups make the best investment decisions right for them and protect themselves from fraud. State securities regulators have long recognized the importance of protecting those who serve our communities and our nation from financial exploitation. These public servants dedicate their professional lives to helping others and they deserve to know that their state and federal governments are working together to provide them the tools and resources necessary to protect their financial future, said Michael S. Pieciak, President of the North American Securities Administrators Association and Commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Every investor in Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. Insiders often own a large chunk of younger, smaller, companies while huge companies tend to have institutions as shareholders. Companies that used to be publicly owned tend to have lower insider ownership. Kansas City Southern has a market capitalization of US$11b, so it's too big to fly under the radar. We'd expect to see both institutions and retail investors owning a portion of the company. Our analysis of the ownership of the company, below, shows that institutional investors have bought into the company. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner, to discover more about KSU. Check out our latest analysis for Kansas City Southern NYSE:KSU Ownership Summary, June 3rd 2019 What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Kansas City Southern? Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. We can see that Kansas City Southern does have institutional investors; and they hold 88% of the stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at Kansas City Southern's earnings history, below. Of course, the future is what really matters. NYSE:KSU Income Statement, June 3rd 2019 Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Kansas City Southern. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. Story continues Insider Ownership Of Kansas City Southern The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board; and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board, themselves. Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group. Our information suggests that Kansas City Southern insiders own under 1% of the company. Being so large, we would not expect insiders to own a large proportion of the stock. Collectively, they own US$66m of stock. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling. General Public Ownership The general public, with a 11% stake in the company, will not easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. Next Steps: I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph. But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. (Adds Justice Department reaction) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. senators on Monday asked the U.S. Justice Department to disclose if President Donald Trump or anyone else in the White House has sought to interfere in the continuing review of the proposed $26 billion merger of T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp . The six Democratic senators, including presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker, cited media reports that senior White House officials may be trying to influence the Justice Department's investigation of anti-trust issues in the deal. The letter, which went out Monday, cited Trump's reported effort to push regulators to attempt to block AT&T Inc's acquisition of Time Warner. "In light of the potential implications of this transaction for American consumers, we write to reiterate that the departments decisions should be based on an impartial analysis of the facts and the law, and must be entirely free of improper political influence," the letter said. The White House declined to comment while Justice Department spokesman Jeremy Edwards said the review process was "free from any improper political influence." The deal won support from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission last month but still needs approval from the Justice Department. The senators' letter cited Reuters' report last month that said the departments antitrust division staff recommended the deal be blocked. The letter also referred to a Fox Business report that senior White House officials were supportive of the transaction. "The prospect of department leadership ignoring a career staff recommendation to block a transaction based on more than a year of investigation and allowing an anticompetitive merger to proceed under pressure from the White House is deeply troubling," the letter said. A majority of FCC commissioners plans to vote to approve the deal after the companies agreed to sell Sprints prepaid brand Boost Mobile. The final decision on whether to allow two of the four nationwide wireless carriers to merge lies with political appointees at the Justice Department, headed by antitrust division chief Makan Delrahim. Story continues T-Mobile, whose parent company is Deutsche Telekom AG , and Sprint, which is controlled by Japans SoftBank Group Ltd, did not immediately comment. In April, the White House declined Democrats' request to disclose documents that could show whether Trump sought to intervene in the AT&T Time Warner review. Trump, a long-time critic of AT&T unit CNN, on Monday wrote on Twitter "that if people (stopped) using or subscribing to @ATT they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway." AT&T declined to comment. Its shares were up 1.1% in trading Monday. (Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Trott) An aerial view of cargo trucks lining up to enter the United States near the US-Mexico border at the Otay Mesa crossing point in Tijuana, Mexico (AFP Photo/Guillermo Arias) Washington (AFP) - Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration on Sunday as a top aide warned that the US president is "deadly serious" about imposing tariffs on imports from the southern neighbor. The attacks came despite efforts at conciliation by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said Sunday that "the president of Mexico wants to keep being a friend of President Donald Trump; but above all, we Mexicans are friends of the American people. "Let's pledge not to let anything get in the way of our beautiful, sacred friendship," Lopez Obrador said in Tabasco. Trump's surprise threat Thursday to place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 percent, shocked Republican allies in Congress. It also rattled world markets, already shaky over trade war fears, with no solution in sight to a US-China dispute that has seen tariffs exchanged on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods. Trump has made clamping down on legal and illegal immigration a signature policy of his administration, and is facing a rising flow of migrants fleeing poverty and gang violence in Central America. "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving," Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday. Unless Mexico stops the "invasion," he warned, he would use tariffs to bring back "companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border." The New York Times reported that the move -- pushed by immigration hardliners -- was opposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, a White House intermediary with Mexico. But Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Trump was "absolutely deadly serious" about proceeding with tariffs. Story continues "I fully expect these tariffs to go into at least a five percent level on June 10," he said on "Fox News Sunday." The number of migrants reaching the US border is "huge, the situation is real and the president is deadly serious about fixing the problem," he said. Mulvaney said Kushner and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet with Mexican representatives in Washington this week, as would Lighthizer, to spell out what the Mexicans could do to avoid the tariffs. In Mexico, Commerce Secretary Graciela Nunez said she would hold talks in Washington Monday with her US counterpart Wilbur Ross after the two met at the swearing-in in San Salvador of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who meets with Pompeo on Wednesday, led a delegation to Washington on Friday. - Dialogue sought - "There is willingness on the part of US government officials to establish dialogue and reach agreements and compromises," Lopez Obrador told a news conference in Mexico City on Saturday. He said he doubted the tariffs would ultimately take place. "It is in everybody's interest to reach an agreement," he said. But on Sunday, Trump said he wants "action, not talk." "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border. Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years." US officials are insisting Mexico act more aggressively to stop migrants moving through the country from Central America long before they reach the US border. Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, said Trump wants "a vast reduction" in the number of migrants reaching the border. He said the US wants Mexico to intercept migrants on its southern boundary with Guatemala, taking action against what he described as cartel-owned bus lines moving them north, and coordinate with US authorities on asylum. "At any given moment we have 100,000 moving through Mexico," McAleenan said on CNN's "State of the Union." "These crossings into Mexico are happening on a 150-mile stretch of their southern border. This is a controllable area. We need them to interdict these folks before they make this route all the way to the US," he said. (Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump, newly arrived for a state visit to the U.K., criticized CNN in a pair of tweets as very bad for U.S. and suggested a boycott of owner AT&T Inc. could force changes at the news network. The comments were the latest of many presidential broadsides directed at news organizations that have displeased Trump with their coverage, and at CNN in particular. The Justice Department earlier this year lost an appeal in its effort to derail AT&Ts acquisition of Time Warner Inc., which brought CNN under the telecom giants purview. Soon after landing at Stansted Airport outside London on Monday, Trump tweeted that he had just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. He said he turned the network off after watching it for a short while. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesnt owner @ATT do something? Minutes later, the president added in another tweet that if people stopped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. AT&T declined to comment, but anchors on CNNs New Day program reacted to the tweets. Alysin Camerota said the president was riveted by the show and had tweeted about CNNs global reach, and co-anchor John Berman wished Trump a good morning. (Updates with CNN anchors comments in final paragraph.) To contact the reporter on this story: John J. Edwards III in Geneva at jedwardsiii1@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Elizabeth Wasserman For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2019 Bloomberg L.P. WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump targeted AT&T in a pair of tweets on Monday, urging customers to drop the telecommunications company over its ownership of cable news network CNN. Trump, who was in London at the start of a state visit, reiterated his complaints about CNN, a Time Warner property now owned by AT&T that the president has frequently criticized for what he sees as negative coverage of him and his administration. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; editing by Jason Neely) * Trump says "no deal" Brexit should be an option * Says could work very quickly on a U.S.-UK trade deal * U.S. ambassador says would include agriculture, healthcare (Wries through, adds U.S. ambassador on trade deal) By Paul Sandle and Stephen Addison LONDON, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Britain should refuse to pay a$50 billion European Union divorce bill and "walk away" from Brexit talks if Brussels does not give ground. Trump told the Sunday Times newspaper ahead of a state visit to Britain, which starts on Monday, that Britain's next leader should send arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage to conduct EU talks. Once Britain leaves the EU, which Trump said must happen this year, then he would go "all out" to agree a trade deal. "They've got to get it done," he said in the Sunday Times interview. "They have got to get the deal closed." British Prime Minister Theresa May will step down shortly after this week's Trump visit, having failed to win backing for the Brexit divorce deal she negotiated with the EU. Trump said her successor should pursue a "no-deal" Brexit if he or she could not get more concessions from Europe by the end of October, when Britain is due to leave. "If they don't get what they want, I would walk away," he said. "If you don't get a fair deal, you walk away." The 13 candidates already in the leadership race are split between those willing to accept a "no-deal" and those opposed. In the "no deal" camp are former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whom Trump praised in an interview with the Sun newspaper on Friday, along with former Brexit minister Dominic Raab and interior minister Sajid Javid. Trump said the United States could work "very, very quickly" on a trade deal if Britain was not constrained by a transition period agreed with Brussels. ALL ON THE TABLE The U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, said any such trade deal would include agriculture and healthcare. "In a trade deal, all things that are traded will be on the table," he told the BBC on Sunday. Asked if that included healthcare, he replied: "I would think so". Story continues Concerns have been raised in Britain about accepting U.S. agricultural standards, notably chlorine-washed chicken, and about opening up its state-funded healthcare system to U.S. companies as the price of a trade deal. "American products would come over, and be allowed to come over," Johnson told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. "You give the British people a choice, if they like it they can buy it, if they don't want it, they do not have to buy it." FARAGE Trump said it was a mistake for the Conservatives not to involve Farage, the Brexit Party leader, in negotiations with Brussels after his success in European Parliament elections. "I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer - he is a very smart person," Trump said. "They won't bring him in but think how well they would do if they did. They just haven't figured that out yet." Farage, who led the unofficial campaign to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum, wants to leave the bloc without any agreement. His new Brexit party swept to victory in the United Kingdom's European parliament election last month, prompting him to demand a seat at Brexit negotiations. However, none of the candidates seeking to replace May are expected to offer an olive branch to a longstanding rival who has the potential to split the right-wing vote in Britain. Trump also said he would have "to know" Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn before authorising U.S. intelligence to share its most sensitive secrets with a hard-left government. He said Britain must be careful not to jeopardize intelligence-sharing by letting Chinese firm Huawei Technologies Co Ltd into its 5G mobile phone network. ($1 = 0.7910 pounds) (Reporting by Stephen Addison and Paul Sandle Editing by Chris Reese and Alexander Smith) The red carpet should not be rolled out for President Donald Trump,according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The US leader is set to make a state visit to the UK this coming week. His visit is expected to be met with mass protests, with thousands likely to take to the streets in opposition to the controversial 45th US President. Ahead of touching down in Britain, Trump has attempted to publicly interfere in UK politics, claiming the UK should crash out of the EU without a deal and send The Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage to negotiate. London Mayor Sadiq Khan compared the language used by Mr Trump to that of the "fascists of the 20th century". Writing in the Observer, Mr Khan said: "President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. "The far-right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years. "Viktor Orban in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage here in the UK are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but with new, sinister methods to deliver their message. "And they are gaining ground and winning power and influence in places that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago." The first day of Mr Trump's state visit to the UK will see him have a private lunch with the Queen, tea at Clarence House with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Of Farage, President Trump said it was a "mistake" not to involve Brexit Party leader Mr Farage in negotiations, saying he has a "lot to offer" and is someone he likes "a lot". Mr Trump added: "He is a very smart person. They won't bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just haven't figured that out yet." The president, who will arrive in London on Monday, said the British Government has to "get the deal closed" Story continues Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) He suggested: "If they don't get what they want, I would walk away... If you don't get the deal you want, if you don't get a fair deal, then you walk away." Mr Trump added that if he was in charge, he would not pay the EU divorce bill, and he claimed it is not too late to "sue" the EU to give Britain greater "ammunition" in the talks. He told the paper: "If I were them I wouldn't pay 50 billion dollars. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number." Meanwhile Mr Trump vowed to "go all out" to secure a free trade deal between the UK and US within months of Britain leaving the EU. Defying diplomatic norms for the second time in as many days after telling The Sun he backs Boris Johnson to become the next prime minister, Mr Trump also said he would have "to know" Jeremy Corbyn before authorising the sharing of highly sensitive US intelligence. US president Donald Trump urged Britain to be "very careful" about involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in its new 5G network (AFP Photo/FRED DUFOUR) London (AFP) - US president Donald Trump urged Britain to be "very careful" about involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in its new 5G network, in an interview published Saturday ahead of his state visit to London. Asked about reports that Britain is planning to give the firm a limited role, Trump told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Well, you have other alternatives and we have to be very careful from the standpoint of national security." He added: "You know we have a very important intelligence gathering group, that we work very closely with your country (Britain) and so you have to be very careful." The US has long voiced suspicions that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government and thus a global security threat -- charges strongly denied by the firm and by Beijing. Prime Minister Theresa May's government has insisted a decision has not yet been made on Huawei's involvement in building a 5G network in Britain. Trump said he believed "things will all work out, you'll see". In a wide-ranging interview, the president also repeated previous criticism of May's strategy for taking Britain out of the European Union. She is due to step down in the coming weeks over her failure to deliver Brexit on time. Trump suggested her as-yet unchosen successor should abandon talks with the bloc if they do not get a better deal. "I would walk away. If you don't get the deal you want, if you don't get a fair deal, then you walk away," he said. - Protests planned - Trump on Friday used another newspaper interview to endorse former foreign minister Boris Johnson to succeed May. Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is boycotting a state banquet with Trump, called it an "entirely unacceptable interference in our countrys democracy". On Saturday, the president suggested another leading Brexit supporter, Nigel Farage, should help negotiate with Brussels. He said that Farage, whose Brexit party caused a major upset in recent European elections, "has a lot to offer". Story continues Trump will be welcomed to London on Monday by Queen Elizabeth II at the start of a three-day state visit that will also include talks with May and a ceremony marking 75 years since the D-day landings. Large protests are planned and London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Sunday it was wrong to be rolling out the red carpet. Writing in The Observer newspaper, Khan -- who has had several Twitter spats with Trump -- said the president was "one of the most egregious examples" of a growing global threat from the far-right. He said leaders such as Hungary's Viktor Orban and Farage "are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but are using new sinister methods to deliver their message". Khan said Trump's "divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon -- equality, liberty and religious freedom". Trump's Mexico tariffs set a dangerous precedent for policy, with potentially huge effects Yesterday, President Trump announced plans to enact new tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico, with the intent of addressing illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. Imports will be subject to a 5 percent tariff beginning on June 10, 2019 and will gradually escalate to 25 percent by October 1 if a resolution on immigration is not reached. In doing so, President Trump will reverse 25 years of open trade relations with Mexico, starting back in 1994 with the North American Free Trade Agreement. This type of move continues the Administration's push away from free trade arrangements, which began early last year with tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. It also raises some concerns that Mexico may retaliate and place its own tariffs on goods imported from the U.S., though Mexico's president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has thus far insisted that he only wants to seek a resolution with the U.S. In many ways, the impact of these new tariffs will be similar to previous tariffs, with each wave causing disruptions in targeted industries and in overall economic growth. However, the details of the U.S. relationship with Mexico and the motivation for tariffs on these imports presents some unique challenges to the outlook. On U.S.-Mexico trade and the complications with tariffs on Mexico Historically, the U.S. has been one of Mexico's largest trading partners; the nearly $350 billion that the U.S. imports each year from Mexico ranks only behind China in terms of top import origins, and the $265 billion it exports to Mexico is second to Canada for export destinations. Motor vehicles and parts make up the largest category of imports from Mexico, making up over one-third of the total, with computers and electronics, industrial equipment and agricultural products also in high demand from U.S. consumers and businesses. Mexico ranks second behind China in terms of import origins Story continues The most direct effect of these newly announced tariffs is that the cost of importing these goods will now begin to rise, and businesses will have to decide whether to bear the burden of these costs themselves or pass them on to end consumers in the form of higher prices for finished products. In this sense, this new set of tariffs operates similarly to the tariffs on goods coming from China or the broad tariffs on steel and aluminum that were implemented in 2018. The hitch with Mexico, however, is that much of the trade that crosses borders is trade that occurs within a single company's supply chain. Because of Mexico's close proximity to the U.S. and the free trade environment that has persisted for a quarter of a century, U.S. companies frequently open factories in Mexico to produce components, then move parts across the border during the production process. Torsten Slok, the chief economist and managing director at Deutsche Bank Securities, notes that two-thirds of all imports from Mexico is related-party trade, which is trade within firms with at least 10 percent of the ownership of the trading partner. What this means is that these tariffs on imports from Mexico are going to predominately hurt U.S. companies. This is particularly true in the auto industry, as parts like engines and transmissions are imported from Mexico in order to complete production and sell in the U.S. As these tariffs escalate, it will have a crippling effect on the already struggling auto and truck manufacturing sector, particularly in the short-term when businesses are unable to adjust their supply chains. Over time, firms may begin to rethink how they manufacture and assemble goods, and will likely settle on more domestic manufacturing within the U.S., albeit at a higher cost to producers and consumers. A dangerous precedent, spillover effects and the impact on the macroeconomy Despite the possibility that companies may begin to relocate back to the U.S. over the long-term in response to these tariffs, officials from the Trump Administration have been insistent that improving domestic manufacturing conditions is not the end goal. Traditionally, tariffs have been used at various times to resolve a number of different issues in foreign trade, either protecting domestic industries as in the case of the steel and aluminum tariffs, or attempting to correct perceived bad behavior as in the case with China. Tariffs on Mexico's goods represent a significant policy shift in this regard. The stated target for removing these tariffs hinges on illegal immigration, and as such, this move represents an attempt to use tariffs as a blunt tool to fix a foreign policy dispute with another nation. Economic pressure has been used in the past by the U.S. to pressure foreign governments to act, but these moves typically take the form of sanctions. Sanctions require approval from Congress before they can be used on another nation, and are usually reserved for nations that have a contentious relationship with the U.S. President Trump has the ability to implement tariffs without the consent of Congress, and now appears to be willing to tie U.S. trade policy to some of his other political objectives. This sets a dangerous precedent for the U.S. economy and vastly complicates the business investment decisions of companies. This is likely to cause a significant reduction in business confidence, even in areas that aren't directly involved in importing from Mexico, and suggests that any global component of a supply chain could be targeted if the U.S. enters into a dispute for any reason with the involved country. In addition, the tariffs on Mexico came with little warning, and businesses have only a short period of time to adjust before they take effect. These types of policy moves introduce an incredible amount of uncertainty into the business environment. Designing and implementing complex global supply chains is a lengthy and expensive process, and once they are in place, it can be difficult to adjust to sudden swings in policy. As a result, businesses may pull back by either suspending or calling off current investment plans until this situation works itself out. As a result, there are likely to be a significant amount of indirect effects from this policy on overall macroeconomic activity, particularly on the goods side of the economy. While much of the tariffs in 2018 came during a time when the economy was performing well and were easier to absorb, these current tariffs come at the wrong time for the U.S. and for that matter the global economy. While GDP growth was strong during the first quarter, goods activity in manufacturing, trade and retail either slowed significantly or declined outright at the start of the year in the U.S. Global data has been just as poor, with manufacturing and trade numbers across many of the world's largest economies struggling. While it is not clear that these tariffs will stay in place and there are legal questions about the ability of the President to use tariffs to achieve these immigration goals, the threat of what may come from this has become a significant risk to the outlook for the overall economy. Image sourced from Pixabay See more from Benzinga 2019 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. By Tracy Rucinski SEOUL (Reuters) - JetBlue Airways Corp is in discussions with Airbus SE about the European planemaker's plans for a longer-range version of its A321neo family as it prepares to jump into the transatlantic market, Chief Executive Robin Hayes said on Monday. The sixth-largest U.S. carrier has 85 A321neo aircraft on order, of which it has already decided to convert 13 into a longer-range version called the A321LR for its planned launch of daily flights from New York and Boston to London in 2021. But if the low-cost carrier decides to fly to other European cities such as Brussels or Amsterdam, it will need a plane with more stamina. It is studying the A321XLR, which Airbus has been promoting ahead of a formal product announcement in June. "London is the biggest opportunity because it has the highest fares, but there would be other opportunities if we had an airplane that had more range. The XLR gives us more range," Hayes said on the sidelines of a global airlines meeting in Seoul. "We're still working through how many aircraft it would be (but) any XLRs would be linked to the planes we have on order today," he told Reuters in an interview, adding any purchases would be converted from existing orders rather than generating completely new ones. No decision has yet been taken. JetBlue is betting on its Mint business class product for narrowbody aircraft to succeed in the highly competitive premium transatlantic market. As of now, its U.S. customers have to fly to London on rival carriers where business class seats can cost as much as $12,000. In the United States, JetBlue has argued that its Mint seats have driven a 50 percent decline in premium fares on some competing routes, and by sticking with narrowbody jets Hayes believes seats will be full. U.S. carriers like American Airlines Group Inc and United Airlines service London with widebody aircraft that Hayes said can be tough to fill during off-peak travel. "The transatlantic market is very seasonal. In the summer you tend to do very well but in the winter you're flying a bunch of empty seats, so the LR helps us manage significantly the risk of the winter because we're not flying such an expensive airplane." A handful of Europe-based budget carriers have tried to penetrate the transatlantic market in recent years, but only cash-strapped Norwegian Air is still standing. Story continues Hayes said he expects to work on code-share agreements with partners that have a strong presence in Europe, where the airline wants to eventually build up its brand. A number of JetBlue's 50 airline partners have already reached out, he said. (Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Tim Hepher, Christopher Cushing) ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (AP) A U.S. aircraft carrier ordered by the White House to rapidly deploy to the Mideast over a perceived threat from Iran remains outside of the Persian Gulf, so far avoiding any confrontation with Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces amid efforts to deescalate tensions between Tehran and Washington. Officers aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln repeatedly told The Associated Press on Monday they could respond rapidly to any regional threat from their position, at the time some 320 kilometers (200 miles) off the eastern coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. However, after decades of American aircraft carriers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil traded at sea passes, the U.S. Navy's decision to keep the Lincoln away is striking. "You don't want to inadvertently escalate something," Capt. Putnam Browne, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, told the AP. The White House in May deployed the Lincoln and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. also plans to send 900 additional troops to the Mideast and extend the stay of another 600 as tens of thousands of others also are on the ground across the region. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trump's withdrawal last year of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment activities in return for lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall. Trump has argued that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, or halt its support for militias in the Mideast. But amid the escalation, the U.S. alleges without offering evidence that four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates were attacked with limpet mines. Meanwhile, Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched coordinated drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. Story continues The U.S. itself has made a point to show its arsenal in the region. On Sunday, the U.S. Air Force announced a B-52 conducted a training exercise with the Lincoln that included "simulated strike operations." That came as Monday marked the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic. Thousands in Iran commemorate Khomeini's death by visiting his golden shrine south of Tehran. This year, Iranian military officials reportedly plan to guard it with HAWK surface-to-air missiles, the same kind the U.S. delivered to the Islamic Republic in the Iran-Contra scandal. However, in recent days, the Trump administration has stressed it is ready to speak to the Iranians without preconditions. Iran in turn has demanded the U.S. show it respect. Though officials repeatedly declined to discuss it, keeping the Lincoln out of the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf helps to de-escalate the situation. Transits through the strait, which at its narrowest point is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide, often see the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard's naval forces shadow American warships. They've also run snap missile launches, fired machine guns and flown drones over American carriers. To Iran, which shares the strait with Oman, they view the American naval presence akin to Iranian forces sailing into the Gulf of Mexico. But the U.S. Navy stresses the strait is an international waterway crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Asked about why the Lincoln hadn't gone through the strait, Rear Adm. John F.G. Wade, the commander of the carrier's strike group, said that his forces could "conduct my mission wherever and whenever needed." He declined to discuss any specifics about that mission, though he said Iran had presented "credible threats" to the region. "They do impose a threat to our operations, but also to the safety and security of commerce and trade going through the Strait of Hormuz and that's why we are here," Wade said. The Lincoln hosted journalists from the AP and other media outlets on Monday. They spent some four hours aboard the vessel after a two-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates and were greeted by camera-carrying sailors who documented every part of their time onboard. The Lincoln famously served as the backdrop of then-President George W. Bush's May 2003 speech declaring combat operations over in Iraq, a banner reading "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" hanging behind him. The majority of the war's casualties came after. On Monday, F/A-18s flew maneuvers over the carrier. Accompanying the Lincoln to the Mideast are three destroyers the USS Bainbridge, the USS Mason and the USS Nitze as well as the guided-missile cruiser the USS Leyte Gulf. Capt. William Reed, the commander of the carrier's air wing, laughed off any notion the situation was stressful. "It's just another day at the office," he said from the carrier's hangar as airmen worked on the ship's F/A-18 fighter jets. Capt. Chris Follin, the commodore of the destroyer strike group traveling with the Lincoln, didn't express any concern, either. "I wouldn't want to go against that," he said, nodding toward the ship's sailors and warplanes. "Our mission is just to keep the peace." ___ Associated Press writer Fay Abuelgasim contributed to this report. ___ Folow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP . LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 2, 2019 / Carinsuranceplan.org has released a new blog post that explains why insurance companies use a person's credit score to determine thecar insurance costs. For more info and free car insurance quotes, visit https://carinsuranceplan.org/how-insurance-companies-use-credit-information-as-a-rating-factor/. Almost all car insurance companies use the credit score as a rating factor. The only states were insurance companies are prohibited to use credit information to determine policy rates, are California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. Insurance companies consider a person's credit score will provide more info on how risky it is to provide coverage. Drivers with good or excellent credit score, pay significantly lower insurance rates, than those that have a low, or poor credit score Independent studies have evaluated the impact of credit score over a driver's insurance rates. These studies concluded that: On average, drivers that have a poor credit score can expect to pay twice as much for car insurance rates than drivers that have an excellent credit score. Improving the credit score from poor to good, can save 32% on insurance premiums. Improving the credit score from good to excellent can save an additional 27% on car insurance rate. For more details, money-saving tips and free quotes, visit https://carinsuranceplan.org/ Carinsuranceplan.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Insurance companies use the credit score to determine how riskyis to provide coverage to a client," said Russell Rabichev,Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. Story continues Contact: cgurgu@internetmarketingcompany.biz SOURCE: Internet Marketing Company View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/547400/Find-Out-Why-Credit-Score-is-an-Important-Rating-Factor-for-Car-Insurance-Companies PLATTSMOUTH A 20-year-old Plattsmouth man, Charles I. Null, was seriously injured in a single-vehicle accident on Sunday morning. According to Cass County Sheriff William Brueggemann, the accident occurred shortly before 10:30 a.m. on Rock Bluff Avenue, just north of Horning Road. Investigators determined that Null was driving south on Rock Bluff when his Nissan Xterra left the roadway, hit a tree and rolled into a pasture on the west side of the road, according to Brueggemann. The accident was called in by nearby residents who heard the accident, went to investigate and located the vehicle. Deputies from his department, along with Plattsmouth Fire and Rescue staff responded to the call, according to Brueggemann. It was determined that extrication equipment was needed to remove Null from the vehicle and that a medical helicopter was also requested to transport Null to a hospital. Rock Bluff was temporarily shut down for the helicopter to land and the removal of the vehicle. The helicopter transported Null to the University of Nebraska Medical Center with what Brueggemann described as serious injuries. The investigation also determined that Null was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident and that speed may have been a factor in the crash, according to Brueggemann. The investigation is complete, he added. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Pakistans leading lawyers association has threatened strong protests if the governments misconduct case against a Supreme Court judge who was critical of the countrys powerful military goes to trial. Amanullah Kanrani, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, says they will protest at courthouses if legal action is taken against Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa for allegedly failing to declare foreign properties in his wealth statement. We are not against accountability, but we are against discrimination and actions rooted in deceit, Kanrani told journalists in Islamabad on June 3. Justice Isa is being punished for sins he never committed, he added. The lawyers will rise against such moves, and the entire nation, too, will resist. Kanrani warned that, unlike previous protests in the streets, this time they will agitate inside courts and, if needed, lock courtrooms. This time around, the lawyers will be dragging those who have violated the countrys laws and constitution, he said. He asked the government to withdraw the case against Isa by June 14 or face unprecedented protests. The government might contemplate using bullets instead of batons [to disperse our protests], but we will be ready to face them, he said. The protest call comes days after Isa -- widely considered a trustworthy judge -- questioned federal authorities over a legal complaint, formally called a court reference, that could potentially lead to his removal from office. After the Pakistani media reported on the reference last week, Isa wrote a letter to President Arif Alvi questioning why the governments reference was selectively leaked to the press. Selective leaks amount to character assassination, jeopardizing my right to due process and fair trial, Isa wrote on May 28. [It] undermines the institution of the judiciary. In a statement on June 2, Pakistans Law and Justice Ministry and the prime ministers office confirmed that the government has filed references against Isa and another senior judge on the Supreme Judicial Council for not declaring foreign properties. Comprising five of the most senior Supreme Court and High Court judges, the body is tasked with trying senior judges. But the governments legal action against Isa has drawn strong reactions from opposition politicians and lawyers. Additional Attorney General Zahid Ebrahim, a senior government lawyer, resigned on May 29. Unless resisted, it will cause irreparable damage to the institution [of the judiciary], which is the protector of our fundamental rights and the bedrock of our fledgling democracy, he wrote in his resignation letter. Many have linked the complaint to Isas recent landmark ruling, which criticized the role of Pakistans powerful military in an anti-government protest in 2017. On February 6, Isa directed the Pakistani government, intelligence services, and the militarys media office to operate within their legal mandate. The constitution emphatically prohibits members of the armed forces from engaging in any kind of political activity, which includes supporting a political party, faction, or individual, the ruling said. The ruling decided a suo moto case regarding a sit-in protest in late 2017. Islamist group Tehreek-e Labaik Pakistan (TLP) had paralyzed the capital, Islamabad, and the neighboring city of Rawalpindi for weeks. In April Pakistans Defense Ministry, the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e Insaf (PTI) and several other government departments and individuals, petitioned the court to review Isas February 6 ruling. Legal observers are now watching whether the countrys top court moves to hear the governments case against Isa or asks him to revise the ruling. With reporting by The Express Tribune, Dawn, and Samma Colorado Springs-based Braxton Technologies, with 100 employees, has won a five-year contract worth up to $100 million from the Air Force Space Command to develop software to control satellites and ground stations. Its the biggest contract ever for the downtown firm. The deal calls for Braxton to deliver what the Air Force has sought for at least five years a redesign of the ground-based software system so it can control multiple satellites. The new systems goal is to fight and win a war that extends into space, according to a 2017 presentation by the commands Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles. We are excited to embark on this partnership which will enhance our ability to drive speed in our processes, to deliver capabilities to support the warfighters, and develop innovative solutions that add resiliency to fight and win a war that extends into space, said Joshua Sullivan, material leader for the centers Enterprise Ground Services project office, in a news release. Every military satellite now is controlled by its own custom ground-control system. The new system controlling multiple satellites will enable the Air Force to avoid specialized training that airman now need for each satellite, and it will reduce the time for satellites to be moved in orbit to respond to an enemy threat. The Air Force asked Congress for $20 million in 2016 to begin transitioning to a new common ground system for controlling satellites. Braxton has been working on developing that system, which also has elements to defend against cyberattacks, through two previous phases of contracts over the past two or three years. The initial phase of the current contract, which began May 10, is valued at $20 million for the first year but can be extended four years. The work will start at the Navy's Blossom Point Tracking Facility in Maryland. Braxton plans to hire up to 10 people to complete the contract. Five or six more will be added by its subcontractors Space Ground Systems and Ingenicomm (both owned by Braxtons corporate parent, with about 150 employees), Aurora Cybersecurity, ASRC Federal, Bluestaq, Kratos, Rocket Communications and SAIC, said Ken ONeil, president of space, simulation and command and control services for Braxtons parent company, Braxton Science and Technology Group. The contract is a big, huge deal for Braxton Technologies, which was started in California in 1994 and moved to Colorado Springs after it was acquired in 2008 by The ONeil Group, ONeil said. Contact Wayne Heilman 636-0234 Facebook www.facebook.com/wayne.heilman 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: No foul play is suspected in the death of a soldier assigned to the Mexican border, the U.S. Northern Command said Monday. The soldier, who wasn't from a Colorado Springs unit, died over the weekend near Nogales, Ariz. The cause of death and the soldier's identity have not been made public. U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs oversees the deployment of U.S. troops to help Border Patrol and immigration officials along the border. President Donald Trump ordered the deployment last year in response to illegal immigration. About 5,000 troops from the Army and National Guard now are at work on the border. The troops have no law-enforcement duties, instead providing technical and logistical support designed to free up Border Patrol agents. Joe Barrera, Ph.D, is the former director of the Ethnic Studies Program at UCCS, and a combat veteran of the Vietnam War. Local officials from the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments have warned that a smoggy summer could push the region over federal air quality limits for ozone, and environmental activists are pointing fingers at the coal-fired power plant in downtown Colorado Springs. Clean air activists argue that the Martin Drake Power Plant could make or break whether ozone concentrations exceed a threshold mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency, triggering a violation that could lead to vehicle emissions testing and other costly mitigation measures. The power plant is El Paso Countys single largest stationary source of another pollutant, nitrogen oxide, that is a major component in ozone formation, according to data from the state Department of Public Health and Environment. Ray Nixon Power Plant, near Fountain, is a close second, the data show. It is clear that Drake and Nixon are the biggest sources (of nitrogen oxide), and theyre the easiest sources to fix, said Robert Ukeiley, a Boulder-based senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversitys Environmental Health Program. Youre not going to convince people to get out of their cars. Thats just not happening. Utilities maintains that there are too many factors at play when ozone forms to say that the plants are significant contributors to the problem. Plus, data from the state shows that, altogether, cars and other vehicles emit more nitrogen oxide than Drake and Nixon combined. Drake is scheduled to be shuttered no later than 2035, although its controversial emissions have long spurred local activists to call for an earlier closure. Utilities CEO Aram Benjamin has said that the closure could come sooner as the provider brings more solar power and battery storage into its energy portfolio. But the looming air quality violation is adding a new twist and an immediacy to the pressure to wind down operations at the plant, said Lee Milner, a local parks and open space advocate who previously served on the Pikes Peak regions air quality committee. Cars and other vehicles produced about 9,900 tons of nitrogen oxide per year, or about 51% of the emissions in the county, when the EPAs last National Emissions Inventory was compiled. Drake and Nixon accounted for about 3,480 tons of nitrogen oxide emissions, or roughly 20%, according to the 2014 inventory. However, the plants nitrogen oxide emissions have been slashed by more than a third since then, as Utilities has installed new low-nitrogen oxide burners and other emission control technologies, said Chris Welch, Utilities interim permitting services supervisor. One of Drakes three units was also decommissioned at the end of 2016, Welch said. Weve done a lot over the years to reduce our (nitrogen oxide) emissions, and we only see that trend continuing in the future, Welch said. He added that Utilities is also weighing potential operational changes to limit nitrogen oxide emissions from the plants on days that the states public health department predicts elevated ozone levels. Last year, Drake emitted about 1,290 tons of nitrogen oxide, Ray Nixon emitted about 915 tons and Utilities natural-gas fired Front Range Power Plant emitted about 330 tons, according to data that the provider submitted to the EPA. There are about a dozen other sources in the county that produce more than 10 tons per year of nitrogen oxide, including Fort Carson and UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central; however, all of those sources annually emit about 100 tons or less, according to the most recently available data from the state. More recent data on vehicle emissions in the county werent available. Welch said he hasnt seen evidence of a direct correlation between Drakes emissions of nitrogen oxide and high ozone levels. But Maureen Barrett, an Evergreen-based engineer who runs an air quality consulting business, said its extremely unlikely that Drakes emissions dont raise local ozone concentrations, given the laws of physics. The main component of smog, ozone is a colorless, odorless gas that forms when nitrogen oxide and other pollutants, known as volatile organic compounds, mix in the sunlight. Common sources of volatile organic compounds include household products such as paints, cleansers and aerosol sprays, according to the EPA. Ozone is found naturally in the stratosphere; but when it occurs near the Earths surface, it can cause difficulty breathing, shortness of breath and coughing and exacerbate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis, the EPA reports. In 2018, Colorado Springs two area air monitors measured levels above the federal limit of 70 parts per billion on seven occasions, according to the state health department. On six of those days, there was at least one other factor that could have led to the spike, the state reports. Either wildfire smoke was drifting in from blazes in other parts of the state or Western U.S., or a stratospheric intrusion had occurred, causing ozone from the atmosphere to descend to the Earths surface. On one of those days, both were happening. The Pikes Peak region is still technically in line with federal regulations because compliance is based on a three-year average of the fourth highest readings at the two monitors, meaning the three highest smog days each year are dropped. In the late 1980s, the EPA found that the Colorado Springs area had violated air quality standards for another pollutant, carbon monoxide. As part of an extensive plan developed by local governments to bring levels below mandated limits, county residents were required to have their vehicles emissions tested until the beginning of 2007. If the area is found to be noncompliant with ozone standards, stricter permitting requirements for businesses could also be required . Such regulatory requirements have been tightened in Denver because of federal ozone violations. The Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments, the regions air quality planning agency, has hired an environmental program manager and revived its air quality committee to see what can be done so that the EPA does not designate Colorado springs as a nonattainment area. The air quality committee is working with Utilities and promoting simple steps that people can take in their daily lives to reduce ozone, such as biking to work instead of driving or waiting to mow the lawn until the evening instead of during the day. We cant put all our eggs in one basket, said Andy Gunning, the councils executive director. The sources come from so many different places the transportation sector, industrial processing stuff, oil and gas that we dont really have in our region, but we have coming in from elsewhere that its not wise to really focus on just one source. Weve really got to take a more comprehensive view of all this. But others, such as air quality committee member Francois Raab, say that limiting nitrogen oxide emissions from Drake and Nixon is a better short-term solution to avert noncompliance with the EPAs ozone rules. To reduce emission, you have to target the source of emission. Targeting a single source is easier than targeting hundreds of thousands of sources, from a practical standpoint, Raab said. Youre going after hundreds of thousands of drivers. Or youre going after two power plants. "Rural America, as it is, is dying. It needs to change." That's the opening salvo of a new ad from Senator Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign focused on farmers and rural America. The ad, entitled "Serfs on Their Own Land," runs through myriad issues important to workers in the agriculture industry such as farm bankruptcies (which have been rising), farmer suicides, concerns about weakening antitrust laws and pollution by factory farms. And delivering that message, along with Sanders, is Clear Lake resident and lifelong farmer Chris Petersen. Ad background Part of the ad is actually shot at Petersen's farm, which he has lived and worked since the late 1970s. He said he's known the Sanders campaign folks and the senator very well for a while now and actually supported them during the 2016 campaign (Petersen was a national delegate in Philadelphia) but the prospect of him appearing in an ad only came up a few weeks ago when Sanders had his agriculture rollout at the fairgrounds in nearby Osage. Petersen said the ad was important for him. "I think its very important with whats going on in agriculture. Give it time going this direction and theres going to be a washout. I dont know if its going to be as bad as the 1980s but there are bad things coming if things dont change." According to Roger Ouellette, an Iowa communications director for the Sanders campaign, the team was looking for a new way to reach out to crucial voters. "This digital spot will be targeted to Iowa, as well as other farming states. Notably on Facebook, we will be able to hyper-target the accompanying text with the video, messaging not just to Iowa but drilling down to county and local levels." Someone seeing the ad in Cerro Gordo County would be notified that the ad was actually shot in Clear Lake. Sanders' agriculture policy, which has been dubbed "Revitalizing Rural America," has three main components that would: attempt to level the playing field for farmers and farmworker, move to empower agriculture workers to combat climate change and help foster investment in rural communities. That first tranche would begin by trust-busting agribusinesses as well as reforming seed-patent laws as well as rebuilding regional agricultural infrastructure by funding local development and incentivizing local co-ops. Among other things: The second part of Sanders' agriculture policy would focus on enforcing the Clean Air and Water Acts for large, factory farms while providing debt relief to farmers interested in transitioning to sustainable practices. Finally: The third segment of the Sanders plan would aim to expand rural healthcare networks, provide more access to rural broadband and allow for immigrant farmworkers to report workplace violations. Importance Senators Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren had piqued Petersen's interest with their agriculture policy (both want to crackdown on conglomerates such as Bayer-Monsanto) though he didn't feel like they went into enough detail. "I feel the working class is being taken advantage of and, to me, Sanders was the only one with the courage to stand up and say whats wrong and offer some solutions for change," Petersen said. For all the solutions that Petersen believes are necessary for small family farmers to rebound: He would argue that fair pricing and pay is of the utmost importance. He thinks that family farmers should be able to get a profitable price out of the marketplace and that domination of the industry by corporations and large-scale family farms makes it tougher to do so. (According to the USDA: Large-scale family farms with at least $1 million in gross cash farm income made up only 2.9 percent of U.S. farms but contributed 42 percent of total production in 2015.) Petersen argues that the other Democratic candidates in the 2020 Presidential Campaign could benefit from talking more about these sorts of issues because farmers are willing to listen. "People out here are fed up. Theyre fed up with inadequate policy. Trade policy. You name it. And theyre searching for someone who will help them," he said. As for who that someone is for him, Petersen is clear in the ad: "This time around we have a guy who is not afraid to say what needs to be said and is gonna have the courage to stand with family farm agriculture." Love 1 Funny 4 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Mason City Police Department is requesting help identifying a man suspected of stealing a vehicle around 11 a.m. on Monday from a convenience store located at First Street Northwest and North Monroe Avenue. A male and female, along with two young children can be seen on a security camera inside the store. After making a small purchase, the man allegedly drove off in an unlocked, unoccupied car which had been parked in the lot. The car was later recovered near the 1200 block of North Washington Avenue. Anyone with information regarding the identity or location of the male suspect is asked to call the police department at 641-421-3636 or contact CrimeStoppers at 800-383-0088. Lisa Grouette is a Photographer/Breaking News Reporter for the Globe Gazette. Reach her at 641-421-0525. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 4 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A southern Minnesota producer of hydroponic water grown tomatoes is looking to expand into Iowa, according to Mason City's mayor. Mayor Bill Schickel announced on Facebook in his "Monday Minute," that Bushel Boy, based out of Owatonna, Minnesota, is proposing to build a $35 million facility in the city's industrial park south of 43rd Street Southwest and east of Pierce Avenue. The project would sit on 80 acres and, if approved by the city, will bring in about 50 jobs, according to Schickel. The city council on Tuesday night will look at approving an application for a Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy grant from the state Department of Transportation to construct a two-lane road serving as frontage for the proposed facility and intersecting 43rd Street. The estimated cost of the road and accompanying storm sewer is $1.1 million, according to the city council meeting packet. If the RISE application is approved by the DOT, the state will fund 80 percent of the project. The city will still be expected to pay about $223,000 for the remaining 20 percent. The city will also have to extend water and sewer to the area. That money will come from the city's Tax Increment Financing account, according to the council packet. City Administrator Aaron Burnett said that construction would be a bit easier because it's an open area and accessibility is easier there. Burnett also stated that a RISE Grant application is typically made near the end of a project. Bushel Boy President Steve Irland said the 29-year-old business is still considering offers but the promise of new facilities to open in is exciting because the company employs a lot of newer technology as well as more conventional agricultural methods. Irland added that Mason City has courted the company aggressively and city officials have been easy to work with. On top of that, Irland also singled out the availability of utilities offered in the Mason City proposal. The business previously expanded in 2015 and 2016 on its existing site in Owatonna and it currently sells in grocery stores such as HyVee, Whole Foods and Target. For now, Bushel Boy's timetable is to get into the ground some time this year but Irland recognized that it would be more likely for everything to be completed in Summer 2020. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 5 Dave Loebsack put his thumb on the scales. Loebsack is retiring from Congress; the 66-year-old Iowa City Democrat will have served 14 years representing Iowas 2nd District in the U.S. House of Representatives when his term ends next year. This past week, Loebsack endorsed Rita Hart in the nascent race to replace him. The primary election is still more than a year away, but Loebsack has made it known which candidate he supports. "Rita Hart is a farmer, educator, and former state senator who truly understands what Iowa and our district needs. But most of all, Rita Harts a problem solver who will fight day in and day out to bring people together and get the job done, Loebsack said in a statement. I know shell continue to champion the priorities weve worked for together like giving our veterans the care and support they need, expanding rural broadband, and providing more opportunities for vocational and skills training for Iowans. The move essentially clears the Democratic field for Hart, a former state senator and candidate for lieutenant governor. Sure, other Democrats could still get in the race. But any such candidate would face a significant uphill climb against Hart as she carries Loebsacks endorsement, not to mention her own qualifications as a well-known figure in the district. Whether thats a good thing for Democrats remains to be seen. The party has some recent experience with field-clearing primaries that did not go well: namely, the 2014 U.S. Senate race. Bruce Braley, who represented the 1st District in Congress, did not face a primary challenge in that 2014 race. Meantime, then-state Sen. Joni Ernst emerged from a competitive primary with momentum; she went on to defeat Braley in the general election. Should Democrats feel gun-shy about clearing a primary field in this 2nd District race? I put that question to Pat Rynard, publisher of the political website Iowa Starting Line, during a recent episode of "Iowa Press" on Iowa Public Television. Rynard said that while a competitive primary may be a good thing, its not like the Democratic Party is shooing away other potential candidates. Its more, Rynard said, that those other potential Democratic candidates view Hart as a formidable candidate and feel it may not be worth their effort to face her in a primary. When Loebsack announced his retirement, the 2nd District seat instantly became a toss-up in the view of national political forecasters. Loebsack has represented the district since his upset election in 2006, but Republican President Donald Trump won the district in 2016. Republicans will make a concerted effort to flip the seat in 2020. It would appear it will be up to Hart to keep the seat in the Democrats hands, and it looks like she will head into what figures to be a tough general election without having a similarly difficult primary. Whether that affects her chances in 2020 remains to be seen. Iowa Republicans criticize new tariffs Iowas top elected Republicans, U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Gov. Kim Reynolds, are expressing opposition to President Trumps threat to apply another round of tariffs on Mexico this time with the goal of pressuring Mexico into action on immigration policy. A White House statement said the new 5 percent tariff would be applied June 10, and that Trump would lift them only after Mexico takes actions to alleviate the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Grassley, Ernst and Reynolds issued statements disagreeing withh the strategy. "Trade policy and border security are separate issues. This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent," Grassley said. He added the new NAFTA agreement, formally called the USMCA, would be jeopardized as a result. Ernst and Reynolds also noted the potential for a negative impact on the agreement at a time when Iowa farmers already are facing multiple headwinds that are driving down the price of corn and soybeans. "If the president goes through with this, Im afraid progress to get this trade agreement across the finish line will be stifled, Ernst said. She added this "isn't the right path forward" to fixing illegal immigration. Reynolds said the immigration issue should not be resolved "on the backs of Iowa farmers." "Iowans are frustrated with Washingtons inability to reform our countrys immigration system and address the crisis at the border, but I am asking the President to rethink this approach," she said. Erin Murphy covers Iowa politics and government for Lee Enterprises. His email address is erin.murphy@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter at @ErinDMurphy. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Estimados amigos, Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia. Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro. Gonzalo Raffo de Lavalle Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras. Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada. Helenio Herrera History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. Karl Marx If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. Sun Tzu We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity. Paulo Coelho The months of May and June mark, among other annual celebrations, that rite of educational passage referred to as graduation. Fifty years ago high school graduation, along with public education, took on a new dimension in Helena during the spring of 1969. Why? Because a longstanding private educational institution closed its doors after their high school commencement ceremony concluded. That high school was Helena Central High School, which was owned by the Catholic Church. Thus, a major transition and a new chapter was about to begin in the history of public education in Helena. Catholic high schools The Catholic Church and its educational components have a longstanding history in Helena. The church started its education journey in the 1880s by opening St. Vincents Academy, a girls high school and boarding facility, locating it on Warren Street the site of what is now the former St. Johns Hospital. The church also opened a boys high school at about the same time Immaculada Hall which was located on the west side of Warren Street, across from St. Vincents Academy. In 1909-1910 the high school boys were relocated to Mount St. Charles Boys High School and College after the completion of the construction of St. Charles Hall. Now a stately 110 years old, this was the first of many buildings that form the mosaic of what has evolved into the Carroll College campus. Anecdotally, the name St. Charles College was changed to Carroll College in 1932. The devastating 1935 Helena earthquakes severely damaged St. Vincents Academy, resulting in the decision to demolish the building. Faced with a relocation issue, a subsequent decision was made to place the students of St. Vincents in the St. Helena grade school, a facility that was located directly north of the St. Helena Cathedral, and had been, up to this point, used as a Catholic grade school. Although St. Charles Hall had been damaged in the quakes, it was not razed. After the completion of the 1935-36 school year the church made yet another decision: relocate and merge the high school boys attending St. Charles/Carroll to St. Helena School, thus creating a coeducational high school. This facility was subsequently named Cathedral High School. For the next 18 years the high school students were housed in St. Helena School. (In the 1960s the school was renamed the Bishop Gilmore School.) Because of the growth in the high school population, an addition facing 11th Avenue was constructed in 1954 on the north side of the existing school. There was another transition point in 1965 when the high school students attending Cathedral High moved to a new catholic high school, which was renamed Helena Central. That new 1965 building forms the nucleus of what is now Capital High School. Faced with a serious financial decision the Catholic Church opted to close Helena Central in 1969, ending decades of Catholic high school education. Helena High School Leading up to 1969, Helena High School had experienced a notable set of transition periods also. Construction on the first Helena High School commenced in October 1890. However, legal and political discord over the buildings costs delayed the completion of this majestic building, which was located on the southwest corner of Warren and Lawrence streets. Ultimately the project was finished in 1893. For the next 42 years this building remained the home of Helena High School. In the early 1930s, due to an expanding set of educational and spatial needs, the school district decided to construct a new Helena High School. The building which is now the Helena Middle School was completed in 1935. No sooner had the doors opened to the new school than the devastating 1935 earthquakes struck, causing extreme damage to this new structure. Subsequently, a monumental rebuilding/relocation effort was undertaken. The displaced student body was relocated to passenger rail cars that were donated by the Northern Pacific and Great Northern railroads. Additionally the placement of a temporary new set of railroad tracks which were laid to approximately the 1100 block of Lyndale Avenue occurred to accommodate these mobile classrooms. This was to be Helena High School until 1937, when students returned to their reconstructed facility. As the educational needs of Helena High continued to grow and change during the 1940s and 1950s, the decision by the school board to build a new high school resulted in the construction a third iteration of Helena High School, which opened in the mid-1950s. Although a number of additions have been constructed since then, the original section remains. The transition Concomitant with the closure of Helena Central was the decision by the Helena Public School District Board of Trustees to purchase the 4-year-old high school building from the Catholic Church. The Trustees knew that although they had purchased a relatively new building, it did not begin to comport with the spatial requirements of a AA high school, which was needed due to the expanded high school student population. A bond issue was passed shortly after the purchase to construct the requisite building space needed to bring the building up to AA high school standards. Because of the influx of Helena Central students, coupled with the limited space at Helena High, the school district placed Westside Helena freshmen and sophomores in the existing building and temporarily named it Sunhaven. This arrangement remained in place until the addition was completed in 1973. Starting in the fall of 1973, what would be the first graduating class albeit juniors started attending the newly renamed Capital High School. Thus, the class of 1975 was the first graduating class of Helenas second public high school. Educational needs and population growth continue to march on as our community prepares to welcome a new public high school in East Helena. Yet another chapter is about to begin in the Helena-area annuals of public education. Hal Jacobson is a former state legislator and member of the Lewis and Clark Heritage and Tourism Council, which produces the monthly "Nuggets from Helena" column in the Independent Record. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 1 Multiple Montana Hotshot firefighter crews will dispatch to Alberta Wednesday as the province deals with more than two dozen large wildfires. Helena, Lolo, Bitterroot and Flathead national forest Hotshots will leave from Great Falls. Rogue River Hotshots from Oregon will join them, said Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest public affairs officer Kathy Bushnell. The crews do not yet know much about where they will go or their mission once they get there, which is not uncommon at this stage, she said. More than two dozen fires are burning in Alberta and 10,000 people have been forced from their homes. The government agency Alberta Wildfire reports the largest blaze is out of control about 450 miles north of Edmonton and had burned 887 square miles at the end of last week. Smoke from the fires drifted into several Western states last week, causing air quality in Helena to reach "unhealthy" levels for nearly a day. Reporter Tom Kuglin can be reached at 447-4076 @IR_TomKuglin Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 2 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Montana Supreme Court held a meeting on Tuesday, May 28 to select the chairman of the Districting Commission. This decision will have a decade-long effect on the Montana Legislature and U.S. Congress. For the first time in 30 years Montana may gain a second congressional seat to represent us in D.C. After a history of partisan squabbling and political gamesmanship led to much squandering of legislative time, the 1972 Constitutional Convention adopted a districting commission made up of five public members. Partisan legislative leadership select two Democrats and two Republicans. These four members in turn are to select an impartial commission chairperson to serve as a tiebreaker. At our initial meeting we Republican commissioners asked Montanans to suggest the names of people they felt could serve as an impartial tiebreaker. The Democrat commissioners agreed. After just a week we received 21 applications. However, we failed to reach an agreement on a chairman and under the Constitution the choice became that of a majority of the Montana Supreme Court. On Tuesday we Republicans asked the court to be patient, inform the public of who was on their short list and provide the public with a meaningful opportunity to participate in the process as required by Article I, Section 8 of the Montana Constitution and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The court did not heed our request, but we continue to feel that a future, more rigorous public participation process would aid in the selection of an impartial chair who will be the voice of the public on the commission rather than the voice of the parties like we four political appointees. We now pivot to working with newly appointed Chair Sheila Stearns and the task of creating the rules for us to work by. We thank Chairwoman Stearns for her willingness to join us in service to the people of Montana. She has a long record of leadership and public service to our state. We hope she will follow the good precedent established by Chairman Jim Regnier during the last cycle in seeking public input on the rules, that is, the line-drawing criteria, that we will follow. Good districts are generally recognized to be representative of communities of interests and it is our belief that the best expression of those communities are our existing communities, whether they be our cities, counties or reservations. These lines should be respected. A rigorous process, public involvement, and clear, uniform rules and criteria will guarantee an outcome that is fair and will be supported by the public. Partisans will likely be disappointed at times when the consistent application of the rules results in a less than favorable outcome to their party, but that is the result if the chair serves as a neutral arbiter. We Republican commissioners look forward to the work ahead with our Democratic colleagues under the leadership of Chair Sheila Stearns. We ask the public to please pay attention as our work begins and hold us all accountable. Republicans Jeff Essmann and Dan Stusek will serve on the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy In response to finding chronic wasting disease in a white-tailed doe in Libby, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is working with local officials and staff from around the state to determine a response. We know the residents of Libby and folks around Montana are concerned about this discovery, said FWP wildlife program manage and regional CWD expert Neil Anderson. However, CWD is a slow-moving disease, and so while we want to be prompt in addressing public concerns, we want to be deliberate in determining how we are going to respond. Earlier last week, initial test results from a Libby white-tailed doe came back positive for CWD. Results of a second confirmation test are expected early this week. This is the first time CWD has been detected in the wild, west of the Continental Divide in Montana. CWD is a progressive, fatal disease affecting the nervous system of mule deer, white-tailed deer, elk and moose. If left unmanaged, it could result in long-term population declines within affected herds. All the states and provinces that border Montana, other than Idaho and British Columbia, have found CWD in their wild cervids. Like many wildlife diseases, CWD can spread more quickly where animals are artificially congregated, as is common with deer in towns. Its unlawful to feed wildlife in Montana, in part, because of the concern about wildlife diseases. Libby police officers are also staying vigilant on looking for sick deer in town, said Libby police chief Scott Kessel. If people have a current sighting of a sick or injured deer they can contact dispatch at 293-4112 extension 0. FWP is working closely with Libby police and other local government officials. For people in the Libby area who have general information on sightings of sick deer, please call the hotline set up by FWP at 291-6539 and leave a message with your name, number, the location of the animal and the time you saw it. While theres no evidence CWD can infect humans, the Centers for Disease Control recommends not consuming meat from an animal that tests positive for CWD. The CDC also recommends testing deer, elk and moose harvested from CWD-positive areas for the disease prior to consuming. In accordance with FWPs CWD response plan, an incident command team has been assembled to respond to the detection. The incident command team is based in Kalispell and is working to determine deer numbers and distribution in and around Libby. CWD is part of a group of diseases called Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). TSEs are caused by infectious, mis-folded prion proteins, which cause normal prion proteins throughout a healthy animals body to mis-fold, resulting in organ damage and eventual death. CWD was first found in wild deer in Montana in October 2017. To date, CWD has been detected in Carbon, Liberty, Hill, Blaine, Phillips, Valley, Daniels, and Sheridan counties. To prevent the spread of CWD within Montana, FWP establishes CWD Management Zones in areas where CWD has been found. Whole carcass, whole head or spinal column from any deer, elk, or moose harvested cannot be removed from these zones unless the animal has tested negative for CWD. For more information about CWD in Montana, visit fwp.mt.gov and click on Chronic Wasting Disease Management. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 DECATUR Decatur Memorial Hospital was awarded an A from The Leapfrog Groups Spring 2019 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes DMHs efforts in protecting patients from harm and providing safer health care. The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, injuries, accidents, infections and other harm to patients in their care. This A rating represents the commitment our staff makes every day to patient safety, said Timothy D. Stone Jr., president and CEO, Decatur Memorial Hospital. We are humbled by again being recognized for quality by a national organization like The Leapfrog Group. To be recognized nationally as an A hospital is an accomplishment the whole community should take pride in, said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. Hospitals that earn an A grade are making it a priority to protect patients from preventable medical harm and error. We congratulate hospital leaders, board members, staff, volunteers and clinicians who work so hard to earn this A. Developed under the guidance of a national Expert Panel, the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade uses 28 measures of publicly available hospital safety data to assign grades to more than 2,600 U.S. acute-care hospitals twice per year. The Hospital Safety Grades methodology is peer-reviewed and fully transparent, and the results are free to the public. Decatur Memorial Hospital was awarded an A grade today when Leapfrog announced grades for the spring 2019 update. To see DMHs full grade details, and to access patient tips for staying safe in the hospital, visit hospitalsafetygrade.org and follow The Leapfrog Group on Twitter and Facebook. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Dispensaries are staffing up, remodeling, and wasting no time preparing for new foot traffic as Illinois becomes the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana. Illinois lawmakers approved a bill Friday that, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker's promised signature, will allow the state's 55 medical dispensaries to apply to sell recreational marijuana. Additionally, the dispensaries can apply to open a second location. That means more than 100 dispensaries could be selling marijuana by the beginning of next year. Dispensaries are renovating their spaces and streamlining their processes to serve more customers. Dispensary 33 in the Uptown neighborhood got a glimpse of what recreational sales volume could be like on April 20, when a festival celebrating marijuana was held outside the dispensary and patients flocked to the store for deals. "We're going to have to staff up because now you're going to have to perform like 4/20 almost every day," said general manager Paul Lee. "This is a different game. This is recreational ... Now you're including everybody." Dispensary 33 is redoing its interior to make room for displaying more cannabis products, and is looking for space to open a second location. Marijuana company Ascend Illinois has dispensaries in Springfield and Collinsville, and plans to apply to open two more under the upcoming law, said CEO Chris Stone. "We've located specific sites that we will be adding a recreational license too and looking to open up on Jan. 1 when it becomes legal," he said. Ascend Illinois employs 54 people between its two dispensaries, and Stone said he expects that to grow. The company has already been working to staff up and expand the inside of its facilities in anticipation of the growing medical cannabis program. Mission Chicago South Shore Medical Marijuana Dispensary, one of the few dispensaries on the South Side, is readying its building -- inside and out -- for the recreational market. "As we speak, we're painting a mural on the outside of our building," said general manager Rick Armstrong. "We're branding so people can see we are a dispensary." Inside, the dispensary is building a classroom to be used for marijuana education, adding registers and planning to double employee count to 20 by year's end. It's also changing the shop's set up to be more self-serve, arranging the products by type -- topicals in one section, edibles in another. Customers will come in and see cards describing each product, just like you might see in a wine shop, and take that card up to the register for checkout. Consultants will be taking orders on iPads, or customers can preorder online. All the different shopping methods will help Mission control the flow of customers, Armstrong said. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Just before parachuting into Nazi-occupied Europe, Fayette Richardson asked himself an existential question: "My God, Most Powerful, what am I doing here?" The thought had to be on the minds of myriad soldiers on June 6, 1944. It was D-Day, the launch of a long-awaited campaign by the U.S. and British armies to free the nations of Western Europe that Hitler had conquered. Mounted from airfields and ports in Great Britain, it was the largest amphibious assault in history. More than 155,000 Allied troops landed at Normandy, France, that day. Code-named Operation Overlord, it dramatically changed the course of World War II. Seventy-five years later, the ranks have thinned of those who braved machine gun fire on French beaches that were marked on their maps with American names like Utah and Omaha. Richardson died in 2010. But fortunately for us and for future generations, he and other veterans kept diaries, wrote memoirs or recorded their recollections. Oral history was in its infancy when Stephen Ambrose began tape recording D-Day veterans, observed Toni Kiser, assistant director for collections management at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans. "Ambrose, who began collecting the oral histories housed in our archives, was a distinguished historian," Kiser said. "He recognized that official accounts couldn't capture all the subtleties of an historic event like D-Day. They are bound to reflect the generals' perspective. He wanted to know how it looked to the GIs, who were on the beaches or dropped by parachute. What was it like to see a buddy you have trained with for months get killed minutes after they rushed out of a landing craft?" Kiser said Ambrose, a historian and author perhaps best known for his books "Band of Brothers" and "Citizen Soldiers," had a knack for convincing veterans that every scrap of their experience was worthy of being preserved. "Ambrose noted that the voices of those who fought at Gettysburg are silent. But historians and ordinary Americans will still be able listen to D-Day's veterans long after the last are gone," she said. Leonard Lomell, a sergeant in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, explained why he participated in Ambrose's D-Day oral history project at the University of New Orleans. "I've kept a low profile for 50 years, as have most of my men," Lomell is quoted as saying in "Voices of D-Day," a collection from that project. "We weren't heroes, we were just good Rangers, as we believed the record would forever show." But after encountering inaccurate accounts of D-Day by those who weren't there, Lowell realized that time was running out for those who were there to set the record straight. So he did. Here, then, is the story of those beaches told by those were there _ the voices of D-Day. "I'D LIKE TO VOLUNTEER, SIR." As a boy in Machias, N.Y., Richardson was fascinated by airplanes and war movies. At 17 he enlisted, but didn't qualify for pilot training. Instead, he was asked to join a parachute regiment's Pathfinder team: those who jump first and guide those who follow. It was strictly voluntary, his commanding officer said. "I think of Errol Flynn and how he and David Niven volunteered to do things in 'Dawn Patrol,'" Richardson recalled. He told his commanding officer: "I'd like to volunteer, sir." Richardson's written account was excerpted in "I Wouldn't Want to Do it Again" by Joel Baret. Richardson and others of the 101st and the 82nd Airborne Divisions were dropped inland, just after midnight. Their mission was to frustrate any German counter attack on the beaches where the American forces would land. Richardson quickly realized that real-life combat is infinitely more brutal and tragic than Hollywood's version. At dawn, he and few others set off on their assignment, only to encounter a German staff car. The Americans froze, then Richardson yelled, "Shoot! Shoot!" Three Germans were killed in a hail of fire, and the GIs moved on. Yet Richardson couldn't stop thinking about the incident. "It could not be that these ordinary men, riding along an ordinary road on an ordinary day could be shot like that, killed," he wrote. "These men who had been alive and going about life's business a moment before could be dead. I could not accept it." "WE BELIEVED IT WAS A JOKE." By then, an armada of 4,000 ships was off the Normandy coast, and landing craft were ferrying tanks, infantry units and combat engineers toward the shore. Louis de Valleville, a teenager who then lived on a farm near Utah Beach, could scarcely believe that France's liberation was at hand. "Some person came through the flooded area out at about six in the morning, coming through this swamp, and said all of the sea is covered by boats," he told Baret, the author of "I Wouldn't Want To Do It Again." "And we believed it was a joke." Gen. Theodore Roosevelt was aboard a landing craft headed for Utah beach. The son of President Theodore Roosevelt, he was confronted with a colossal snafu upon stepping ashore. "About 10 minutes later, after we got ourselves protected, General Roosevelt got us all together _ battery commanders, battalion commanders _ and told us we weren't where we were supposed to land," Joe Blaylock, who served in the 20th Field Artillery, recalled to an interviewer for the University of New Orleans. "He gave us the coordinates of where we were, and everybody checked it on their map, and he said, 'We'll start the war from here!'" Roosevelt, a World War I veteran who walked with a cane, started striding up from the beach. Meanwhile, a detachment of parachutists attacked the de Valleville farm, where the Germans had stationed an artillery battery. There was a firefight between the Americans and Germans. In the confusion, Louis Valleville's older brother Michel was shot by an American soldier who mistook him for a German. "We cannot explain in American, they cannot explain in French," Louis de Valleville told Baret, the author of "I Wouldn't Want To Do It Again." Somehow his family got Michel to a hospital, and he survived. "D-DAY HAS COME" The first report of what was taking place in Normandy came from Berlin. But it said that the invaders landed farther up the French coast, which vindicated the Allies' disinformation campaign. To throw the Nazis off the scent, they flipped German spies who spoon-fed false information to Berlin and also dropped dummy parachutists on D-Day. The first bulletin from London was terse: "D-Day has come," a BBC announcer said. It mirrored the mood of his audience: hope mixed with trepidation. In 1940, the French Army had collapsed in the face of Hitler's invasion, and the British Army barely escaped by being evacuated through the port of Dunkirk. So it was natural to worry lest British soldiers be headed to a similar disaster when they were mobilized for D-Day. Americans woke to the news of D-Day. A prayer service was held in Chicago at the corner of State and Madison streets, and in Philadelphia, the Liberty Bell rang. Rushing to put out an extra edition, pressmen in Griffin, Ga., put three pages of the Evening News on the press upside down. Send them out as is, the publisher ordered. For a while, it seemed that subsequent editions would bring dreadful news. Roosevelt's men fought their way through the Germans' defenses and were moving inland. British and Canadian troops were advancing on their sector of the shoreline, but a disaster was unfolding on Omaha beach. "LET'S GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" In heavy seas, only a handful of the tanks made it to the beach, and the bombers that were to take out the German batteries dropped their bombs too far inland. "The plans made back in England just didn't exist in reality when we hit the beach," Sergeant Harry Bare from Philadelphia told an interviewer for the University of New Orleans, "Fire rained down on us, machine-gun, rifle, rockets from the bunkers on top of the cliff." Frank Colacicco, a major in the 1st Infantry Division, saw the slaughter from a landing craft that was taking his unit in. "We could see it all," he told Max Hastings, the author of "Overlord," a book about D-Day that draws on interviews with those who were there. "We knew that something was knocking the tanks out, but we kept asking, 'Why don't they clear the beach? Why aren't our people getting off?'" John Raaen from Arlington, Va., said he witnessed an indelible act of compassion when his Ranger unit landed. Others ran for cover, but not Father Joseph Lacey. "He stayed right down at the water's edge, pulling men who were dying out of the water so perhaps they could live a bit longer," he told an interviewer for the University of New Orleans. At his command post on the cruiser USS Augusta, Gen. Omar Bradley considered aborting the Omaha landings. But U.S. destroyers came perilously close to shore to shell German positions, and onshore a few officers slowly got the troops moving. "There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead and those who are going to die," said Col. George Taylor, who was born in Flat Rock, Ill., and was interviewed for the University of New Orleans project. "Now let's get the hell out of here!" Gen. Norman Cota, who was born in Chelsea, Mass., was told that one group huddling on the shoreline was Rangers, according to his account in "Overlord." He shouted: "God damn it, if you are Rangers, then get up there and lead the way!" Spotting an abandoned bulldozer, Cota asked for a volunteer to drive it. A hand went up, and James Gilligan, a combat engineer, helped the redheaded GI load the bulldozer with explosives to blow a hole in the walls the Germans built across an exit from the beach. "The last I saw of (the volunteer), he was hightailing along the beach toward the draw, coolly sitting erect on the dozer, still with the complete load of TNT, seemingly protected by magic from harm," Gilligan recalled to an interviewer for the University of New Orleans. "By the time I got there walking, the mines were gone and the walls were down." Troops poured through the opening, and by nightfall the Omaha beachhead was secured. The Allies held only a few miles of shoreline. Their front lines wouldn't reach Richardson, the parachutist, until June 10. "The ground troops have finally reached us," he recalled in his written account. "We've been surrounded for nearly five days, almost out of ammunition, with rumors that the invasion has failed, that we are done for. Now, we are saved." Tough battles lay ahead before Germany surrendered the following spring. But after Overlord, the end was never in doubt. On June 6, 1944, 2,499 Americans and 1,914 soldiers of Allied nations were killed. Many of the GIs are buried under white crosses and Stars of David in a U.S. military cemetery on a bluff above Omaha beach. In the Visitor Center there is a quote from Gen. Bradley that, with simple eloquence, tells the D-Day story. "The battle belonged that morning to the thin, wet line of khaki that dragged itself ashore on the channel coast of France." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 SPRINGFIELD Illinois dioceses have condemned the General Assemblys passage of an abortion repeal-and-replace measure headed for the governors desk. Both chambers approved the Reproductive Health Act, which proponents and opponents agree will be the most liberal reproductive health care law in the nation, during the final days of the legislative session. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement he will sign the bill. In Illinois, we trust women to make the most personal and fundamental decisions of their lives and now, that will be the law of the land, even as its under threat in other states, Pritzker said. But Cardinal Blase Cupich, head of Chicagos archdiocese, said in a statement Saturday that the acts passage marks a sad moment in our history as a state. We have worked to make the case for a consistent approach to human dignity in Illinois and will continue to do so even as elected officials single out unborn persons for particular disregard, he said. It remains our hope that Illinois will eventually distinguish itself as a safe place that welcomes not only those seeking a new life or second chance, but also the most vulnerable among us who deserve a chance at life. Joliet diocese Bishop R. Daniel Conlon called the Reproductive Health Act a horrific piece of legislation; Rockford diocese Bishop David Malloy called it horribly misnamed; and Springfield diocese Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said in a statement lawmakers passed the bill in a gravely immoral action. Paprockis statement was in response to the Houses passage of the Reproductive Health Act on May 28. Andrew Hansen, Paprockis spokesperson, said this is the relevant statement to use in response to the Senates approval of the measure as well. "I condemn the gravely immoral action of the Illinois House of Representatives in passing Senate Bill 25, labeled with a highly misleading title as the Reproductive Health Act, purporting to declare abortion a fundamental right. Christians have rejected the practice of abortion from the earliest days of the Church. Children are a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their conception. They not only have a right to life, but we as a society have a moral obligation to protect them from harm. Legislation that deprives children of legal protection before they are born, allowing for the murder of children at any stage in the womb, even up to the moment of birth, is evil." I pray for our state legislators, entrusting them especially to the intercession of Saint Thomas More, a public servant who preferred to die at the hands of civil authorities rather than abandon Christ and the Church. May we also keep unborn babies and newborn infants, as well as all mothers, in our prayers and work to improve the dignity and quality of life of all people, especially the most vulnerable. Following are the complete statements released by Illinois dioceses: Statement of the Archdiocese of Chicago The passage of Senate Bill 25, eliminating even the minimal limitations on abortions under previous law marks a sad moment in our history as a State. We have worked to make the case for a consistent approach to human dignity in Illinois and will continue to do so even as elected officials single out unborn persons for particular disregard. It remains our hope that Illinois will eventually distinguish itself as a safe place that welcomes not only those seeking a new life or second chance, but also the most vulnerable among us who deserve a chance at life. We are resolved to let women and families in the Chicago area know they have alternatives to abortion. We will continue to provide help during their pregnancies and throughout their journey as parents. Our ministry in Cook and Lake Counties has taught us that when teenagers in underserved communities experience an unplanned pregnancy without proper support, the consequences for the health and well-being of mother and child can be grim. But, we have also seen that a brighter outcome is possible when support is provided. Catholic Charities and its partners serve hundreds of young women and developing families every year. They nurture the mother and therefore the baby by providing classes in health and child development. They encourage the new families toward independence by providing childcare and making referrals for education, housing and employment. As a young woman, served by a Catholic agency said, It was like a second family when I came here. My Doula took me to doctors appointments, explaining what all the papers and procedures meant, how my baby was developing, the changes my body was going through and how to eat and exercise to stay healthy. Today, her son is thriving in the organizations early childhood program and its family support program helps her stay on track with personal goals. She will begin a bachelors degree program this summer. With loving encouragement, she has turned stressful circumstances into a positive, hopeful future for herself and her son. Women have a real choice when they are given the support they need to bring their children into the world and parent them, supported by a society that truly values them. We will give that support to all who seek it in the hope that by offering them a choice, we will build stronger families and a better Illinois. The Diocese of Belleville has not released a statement as of Sunday, June 2. Statement of the Diocese of Joliet The misnamed Reproductive Health Act, Senate Bill 25, is a horrific piece of legislation that will lead to more children dying through the violent act of abortion, even at a point when they are able to survive outside the womb. Science indicates that life begins at conception, and to deny the life of certain human beings at young ages is an attack on human rights. No persons life should be in jeopardy simply based upon his or her age. Only in the womb do our laws allow some humans to be accorded the full rights of personhood and some not. Additionally, this legislation is not in the best interest of women as it removes abortion clinics from regulations for serious medical procedures. The Church is committed to upholding the dignity of women but does not believe that abortion is a solution when challenging situations arise. Rather, working towards a society where both mother and child are cared for is the true path of justice and compassion. I am aware that some of the legislators who voted in favor of this legislation believe that it violates their own conscience. Yet, for them party loyalty, even on such a weighty moral issue, has seemingly trumped conscience. Abortion is an illogical and inconsistent policy for anyone who stands for human rights. To allow one person to decide whether another person lives or dies is even more capricious than the death penalty or war. Ironically. as Illinois expands the legal and even constitutional right to abortion, many of its neighboring states have moved to restrict abortion. Clearly, we are a divided society on this issue. The Catholic Church stakes its position on the ultimate belief that God creates every human person and endows each of them with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Diocese of Peoria has not released a statement as of Sunday, June 2. Statement of the Diocese of Rockford Today is a dark day in the history of the State of Illinois. With todays vote by the Illinois Senate to approve the horribly misnamed Reproductive Health Act, that body has declared that abortion in Illinois is a fundamental right. This legislation strips the unborn of any protection or rights under the law, and demonstrates a grievous disregard for the care and human solidarity we owe to the most vulnerable among us. This legislation disregards the advances of science that demonstrate the development and the shared humanity of unborn children. In the face of this reality, our State will allow abortion at any time during the 9 months of pregnancy for any reason. It also mandates the cooperation of those who support the gift of life by requiring all insurance plans subject to regulation by the State of Illinois to cover abortion services. This action takes us one step further down the path which devalues our shared humanity and the dignity we bear as human beings from our creation. The State of Illinois and we as its citizens are better than this. I thank all who have called, written or visited their legislators to express opposition to this terribly misguided legislation. I urge that we continue to pray, to lobby and most especially to teach our children, the next generation, that respect for the right to life must be rebuilt and reclaimed in the years to come. Statement of the Diocese of Springfield Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 COLLINSVILLE -- A second push to designate Southern Illinois' Cahokia Mounds as a national park has received the backing of St. Clair County. The County Board unanimously voted to support the Cahokia Mounds-Mississippian Culture Initiative at its monthly meeting last week. The movement calls on Congress to pass legislation deeming Cahokia Mounds to be a national park in partnership with the state of Illinois while also requesting President Donald Trump to do so through an executive order. The 2,200-acre area near Collinsville was first protected in 1923 when the state legislature authorized the purchase of the park, which once was an ancient Native American city somewhere between 1050 and 1350. It was later designated as a state historic site in the 1950s and earned National Historic Landmark designation in the 1960s. This isn't the first time supporters of the mounds have mounted the effort, in 2016 an unsuccessful bid to have the park made into a National Monument by HeartLands Conservancy, a Belleville-based non profit, gained support state-wide and at the national level. It was hoped that then President Barack Obama would declare the mounds a national monument before leaving office, but that designation never came. HeartLands is at the head of the push for National Park status once again. The conservancy believes the mounds are not only historically important, but could also boost the surrounding area through tourism. In order to be considered for a National Park unit, a site must meet several criteria: nationally significant natural, cultural or recreational resources; be a suitable and feasible addition to the National Park System; and must be in need of protection and have no other protection from other government agencies. Heartlands released a feasibility report in 2014 with the help of archaeologists and Native American groups to show the mounds could meet those criteria. The report was "optimistic" on the chances that it would be approved but noted there may not be enough land around the sites to be designated. St. Louis Public Radio reported recently that U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, and other local congressional representatives have led efforts to create legislation for the park. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CHICAGO Planning to travel by air on your summer vacation? You won't be alone. A record number of passengers are expected to fly this summer despite the fact that three major U.S. airlines aren't able to operate their full fleets because Boeing's 737 Max jets remain grounded. The Transportation Security Administration predicts that 263 million passengers and crew will fly between May 23 and Labor Day, a 4 percent increase compared with last year, TSA spokesman Mark Howell said. The agency expects a similar increase in traffic at Chicago's airports, Howell said. Last summer, about 9.4 million passengers and crew passed through O'Hare, making it the nation's third-busiest airport, he said. Midway saw about 2.3 million passengers and crew. The agency works with airlines to try to predict when the busiest periods will be and make sure they have enough checkpoints open and staffed, said Howell, so the the shift in manpower isn't expected to dramatically increase wait times at airport security lines. "Don't chance it, especially as we get into the summer season," he said. This summer, the TSA is also sending some of its employees to work with the Department of Homeland Security at the southern U.S. border. The employees who volunteered to work at the border amount to about 1 percent of the TSA's workforce, said Howell, who doesn't expect there to be a big impact on wait times at airports. The forecasts of record passenger counts come even as three airlines with a big Chicago presence are going without their 737 Max jets. United Airlines, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have all pulled flights on the 737 Max from their schedules into August, resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights. The 737 Max jets have been grounded by aviation authorities around the world since March, after the second in a pair of deadly crashes involving the aircraft in less than five months. The crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed a total of 346 people. Boeing said it has completed a software fix for a flight control system linked to both crashes but still needs approval from aviation safety officials around the world before the jets can fly again. The summer travel season got off to a busy start on May 24, the Friday before Memorial Day, when the TSA screened nearly 2.8 million passengers and crew at airports nationwide, making it the busiest travel day on record. In Chicago, O'Hare International Airport and Midway Airport saw nearly 101,000 and about 35,000 passengers and crew that day, respectively, Howell said. O'Hare nearly equaled its busiest day on record, March 24, 2006, when the TSA screened 105,776 people. Although wait times at security checkpoints across the country backed up at peak times on May 24, about 96 percent of flyers waited 20 minutes or less, Howell said. Passengers may also notice more canine teams at airport security. The TSA has more of the dogs, which are trained to detect explosives, check passengers approaching security checkpoints during especially busy periods, Howell said. O'Hare has 14 teams of dogs and handlers, up from 4 teams five years ago. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The key is to let nature lead the way, says Jean-Eric Paquet, the European Commission's Director General for Research and Innovation As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ Bertha Mvati is a 33-year-old high achiever who once thought she would not amount to anything. She was an average student in primary and secondary school with dreams of becoming a journalist. However, when she joined the Uganda Christian University for a diploma in Finance, Ms Mvati fell in love with finance. And as they say, the rest is history. In 2009, she landed an internship at Vehicle and Equipment Leasing Limited (VAELL) Kenya. The internship has since culminated in Bertha Mvati being named the Managing Director of the regional asset leasing, maintenance and consulting company. She shared her story with Saturday Magazine. My name is Bertha Mvati. Growing up, ours was pretty much an average family. My mother, who hails from Tanzania, was a Kiswahili teacher at State House Girls High School, while my father, a Kenyan, owned a small business. My parents made sure we were comfortable. In as much as they had their own struggles, they didnt want their children to know. My mother had to do two jobs to supplement her income to ensure we were comfortable Recently, when I was named the Managing Director of Vehicle and Equipment Leasing Limited (VAELL) Kenya in March this year, all I could think of was my long and tedious journey towards heading the largest leasing firm in East and Central Africa. It is a journey that at first was dominated by self-doubt and low expectations, but eventually changed for the better. ROLE MODEL My appointment reminded me of my personal journey that saw me rise from a mere intern to one of the youngest women to ever hold such a senior position in the organisation. To imagine that I was an average student in both primary and high school, coupled with my parents struggles to ensure that together with my siblings they gave us the best they could afford, was overwhelming. We were fortunate that our parents ensured we had good education. My mother is hardworking and diligent; a value she has instilled in all of us. Seeing how hard my parents worked, I was brought up only knowing that hard work pays. That fanned my zeal to work hard. Besides, as the firstborn, this meant that I had to work hard to set a good example to my siblings; thus I really had to concentrate on my studies. AVERAGE ACHIEVER Unfortunately, that didnt pay off at my high school level as I did not perform very well in my Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. In primary and high school, a lot of emphasis is put on top academic performance, and average students like myself had already been put in a box of non-achievers. This only confirmed to me how unsuccessful I would be. I remembered how I wanted to be a journalist but this childhood dream was proving to be unattainable with my average results. How could I ever amount to something? I found myself with no ambitions. My parents suggested that I start off with a Diploma in Business Administration as I figured out what to do with my life. Thats when I moved to Uganda and joined the Uganda Christian University, where I did a Diploma in Finance. INTERNSHIP Soon, as I continued with my studies, things changed and I started falling in love with finance. I started performing well in college, a fact that boosted my morale and passion for success. My brilliant performance is one of the reasons why I got a position as an intern in 2009, at VAELL, where I worked for three months. It was a new dawn for me as I got promotion after promotion, which was an indicator that I was headed somewhere. I started writing goals that I could achieve. At VAELL, I was appointed as the Head of Finance, and this made me realise that I could now aim higher. On the other hand, I knew if I were to continue climbing the corporate ladder, I had to advance myself academically. So, I enrolled for a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance option) at the Uganda Christian University. I am currently studying for my masters degree in finance. VALUES, ATTITUDE I attribute my success to my staunch faith. I come from a family with strict Christian values; thanks to my parents who instilled Christian values in us, which I believe have propelled me to where I am now. I am passionate about my work and Im always motivated. My I can do it attitude and responsibility have greatly contributed to [get me to] where I am, something I learnt while growing up when my parents left me in charge of my siblings. Currently, I am in charge of 10 branches and about 100 employees. I oversee the companys operations and strategy implementation, offering financial solutions to a broad range of clients and managing their assets. I also boast of close to 10 years experience in the leasing industry across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda with specialisation in fund raising, credit risk, operations and asset management. GOAL Previously, I was the Regional Head of Finance at VAELL, overseeing the group finance and operations across Africa. The other day I was going through my journal and realised that I had jotted down I wanted to be an MD by December 2018. This dream eventually materialised in March 2019. However, when I was writing it, I had no ambition of becoming an MD of such a prestigious organisation. I just knew that I would become an MD, but wasnt sure of which company. Being a strong believer, I believed God would make a way. In the past, I have set some goals that I wanted to achieve by the age of 30, some of which have come to pass. Others havent, but I am not losing hope. Iran regimes leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that Iran would not be negotiating with the United States after U.S. President Donald Trump re-iterated his previous invitation to Iran. However, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has expressly voiced the opposite intention. He said last week that negotiations would be possible but indicated that he thought that the United States is desperate to meet because it is more in need. Regimes president Rouhani said during a meeting with the cabinet that it was the United States that left the negotiation table in the first place and that the path is open before them. Officials on the Supreme Leaders side are saying that President Rouhani is allowing himself to be taken in and duped by the United States. They are saying that the Iranian president is showing his weakness by simply entertaining the idea of negotiating with the great enemy. The newspaper that is commonly known as the Supreme Leaders mouthpiece, the Keyhan, wrote: When Rouhani himself describes negotiating with the promise-breaking-U.S. as stupidity, what good will it bring to have a referendum about negotiations? Is the issue with the lack of an agreement or a lack of respecting it? Why should we bring back the ball that is already in the court of the enemy to our court? However, negotiating with the Iranian regime is a waste of time and resources. It cannot be trusted and it cannot keep its word. We know this is the case because it systematically goes back on its word and ignores its obligations. For example, the Iranian regime, under UN Security Council Resolution 2231, is obliged to stop any development of long-range missiles that have the capability of carrying a nuclear weapon. It has chosen to ignore this resolution, showing once again, that it cannot be trusted. It also has other obligations, such as to stop executing prisoners that were children when they committed their alleged crime. The regime continues to do so. The regime has no way out of its current impasse and conditions in the country will continue to deteriorate for as long as the mullahs still have a grasp on power. It is currently cracking down on the people even more than before because it is trying to quash dissent. For the situation to move forward, there is no need for military involvement. The people are perfectly capable of bringing about regime change, but they need the support of the international community. Europe could end its policies of appeasement towards the regime and listen to the people. European leaders that value human rights, equality and democracy could insure that the Iranian regime is held accountable for its blatant abuses of power. The United States could continue exerting economic pressure. It is just a matter of time before the regime falls. DANVILLE -- The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging interested individuals and groups to attend an upcoming workshop to gain information and resources for redeveloping brownfields. The free brownfields resources workshop is being presented by the Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Program at Kansas State University, in partnership with the Illinois EPA and Indiana Brownfields Program. The workshop is designed to assist communities in identifying the resources and opportunities available to resolve environmental and redevelopment issues often associated with brownfields properties. The free workshop will be held on Tuesday from 8:30 a.m to 4 p.m. at the Danville Area Community College Auditorium, 2000 E. Main St., Danville. The workshop is recommended for any local/regional government officials, economic and community development organizations, not-for-profits, community groups, real estate developers, commercial real estate brokers, lenders and others working to promote economic development in Eastern Illinois and Western Indiana. Attendance includes a free lunch, but advanced registration is required. Online registration and workshop materials can be found at: www.ksutab.org/education/workshops. Brownfields are abandoned or under-used industrial and commercial properties with actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment. The Illinois EPA Remedial Project Management Section manages the brownfields loan programs and offers technical support to communities through the services of its Brownfields Representatives. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 First Mid named Community Lender of the Year MATTOON First Mid Bank & Trust recently was named the Central/Southern Illinois Community Lender of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administrations Illinois District Office for the sixth consecutive year. First Mid reported that this award is presented to the community bank with the best overall performance record for lending to small businesses in Central and Southern Illinois in 2018. We are honored to be recognized for our continued commitment to small businesses, fully recognizing the positive impact they have on the economy and quality of life in our communities, said Chief Credit Officer Eric McRae. The U.S. Small Business Administrations Illinois District Office honored the states top small businesses and lenders at an awards ceremony at the Union League Club of Chicago on May 16. Fire Equipment Service & Sales has new owner MATTOON -- Illini Fire Equipment of Urbana has acquired Fire Equipment Service & Sales, Inc. in Mattoon. FESSI was owned by Gary and Donna Kastl, who retired from the fire protection industry after 30 years of service. Its operations will continue in Mattoon, with Amy Lewis serving as president of both companies. The acquisition will add FESSIs Mattoon location to Illini Fire Equipments current locations in Urbana, Bloomington and Robinson. Both companies will continue to meet the fire protection needs of their customers, bringing expanded lines of service and efficiencies to both markets. Both Illini Fire Equipment and FESSI have served their respective communities for over 60 years. FESSI was originally founded as Decker Fire Equipment prior to being acquired by the Kastls. Illini Fire Equipment was founded by Walter Carlson, and continues as a third-generation family business. For more information contact Amy C. Lewis, CPA Business Manager/President Illini Fire Equipment at 217-367-9521. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Monday, June 03, 2019 Marco Serna, A Leading Northern Congress Contender But Father's Legacy Hovers, Plus: Lighting The Rez Marco Serna The line keeps forming for the Dem nomination for the northern congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan who is seeking next year's US Senate nod. The latest additions are Santa Fe County District Attorney Serna made his announcement (video In 1985, Serna and his family purchased a jewelry store in Espanola. Rumors and news accounts followed over the years of Serna trying to sell jewelry to commission employees and to people having business with the commission. Serna consistently denied any wrongdoing. That was just one of the ethics controversies that erupted involving Eric Serna in his long career and, like it or not, fairly or unfairly, it will be an issue for Marco Serna. Most Democratic primary voters are over 50 and well remember the events of yore, or will, when reminded by Marco's foes. Eric Serna is also the only Dem to ever lose a run for the northern seat, falling to Bill Redmond in a special election in '97. Redmond made ethics a central issue. Will the "sins" of the father be visited on the son? That's the question hovering over the Progressive Prosecutor who would be a congressman. LIGHTING THE REZ First, this from PNM and then a reader analysis: A PNM line crew recently traveled to Indian Wells and Dilkon, Arizona to participate in a project that is electrifying homes throughout the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona. This project, called Light Up Navajo, began on April 6 and ended May 18, and the goal of the project was to connect two hundred new customers to the energy grid. The Navajo Nation and the American Public Power Association, in partnership with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), launched Light Up Navajo in the Spring of 2019. The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American territory, yet among the 55,000 homes located on the 27,000 square mile reservation, around 15,000 families do not have electricity. They make up 75% of all un-electrified households in the United States. That in the year 2019 the Rez makes up 75 percent of the homes in the USA without electricity is, well, a national disgrace. Las Cruces reader Larry Gioannini of Las Cruces weighed in on this when we first reported on the numbers: How much less would it cost to provide each home on the reservation with a photo-voltaic or wind turbine electric system? In 1996 Sierra County Co-op wanted about the same amount to extend their lines an 1/8 of a mile to my place as a PV system would cost. The owner at that time went with the PV system and I am still benefiting from his decision. We asked PNM for a response to Larrys comment but they had none. NO LIMITS, PLEASE Reader Jim McClure writes: Joe, I agree that term limits are a bad idea. Unelected bureaucrats already run circles around our elected representatives, and term limits would give them even more power. But Congressional seniority is not what it used to be in the absence of appropriations earmarks. your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019 This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com) The line keeps forming for the Dem nomination for the northern congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Ben Ray Lujan who is seeking next year's US Senate nod. The latest additions are Santa Fe County District Attorney Marco Serna and Robert Apodaca , a consultant to nonprofits and small businesses and who has a long background in government administration. Apodaca , a former top administrator with USDA in NM, made a solid entry with his video . Serna, the Santa Fe County district attorney, came in dubbing himself the "Progressive Prosecutor." That's a new one. His announcement received good coverage but the Alligators were quick to point out what they saw as a misstep.Serna made his announcement (video here ) at the Espanola jewelry store his mother operates. But hold on. Marco's father, Eric Serna, once a controversial political power player, ran into problems with that very same jewelry store when he was serving on the old State Corporation Commission:That was just one of the ethics controversies that erupted involving Eric Serna in his long career and, like it or not, fairly or unfairly, it will be an issue for Marco Serna. Most Democratic primary voters are over 50 and well remember the events of yore, or will, when reminded by Marco's foes. Eric Serna is also the only Dem to ever lose a run for the northern seat, falling to Bill Redmond in a special election in '97. Redmond made ethics a central issue.Will the "sins" of the father be visited on the son? That's the question hovering over the Progressive Prosecutor who would be a congressman. Officials from Breckenridge, Colorado, on Monday announced the selection of Lincoln-based Allo Communications to run the town's fiber-optic network. Breckenridge, a ski town about 80 miles southwest of Denver, has approved spending up to $25 million on a fiber-optic network to serve its roughly 4,500 full-time residents. It expects to have the first homes and businesses online sometime in the fall. Rather than operate the network itself, the town has signed an exclusive deal with Allo to provide internet and other services. The deal is similar to the one Allo signed with Fort Morgan, Colorado, in 2017. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Police say they arrested a 43-year-old man Friday night after he kicked an officer in the stomach and a paramedic in the leg, then tried to punch out the windows of an ambulance. Wilhelm L. Anderson, of 5501 Sea Mountain Road, was jailed on suspicion of two counts of assault on an officer or health care professional. Officer Luke Bonkiewicz said shortly after 8 p.m. police went to 21st Street and Folkways Boulevard after a report from Lincoln Fire & Rescue personnel saying an intoxicated man was being combative. Lincoln Fire & Rescue had been sent there to check on a man down, he said. Today's mugshots Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Like President Uhuru Kenyatta once said, Ile Upuzi ambao uko Kenya ni mwingi. On that note, a Matatu tout plying the Nairobi-Githurai 45 route has reportedly sold ten hectares of land to raise funds for Deputy President William Rutos Presidential campaigns. According to a report by a local tabloid, the tout identified as John Adan is the proud owner of a whopping 25 hectares of land in Moyale. And seeing as DP Ruto is generous with his money, John Adan wants to return the favour. Ruto needs a lot of money as most of his, he spends on serving God, he also needs money to deal with his critics. Adan told Word Is that the intentions of selling the land were not personal but for the welfare of hustlers and the nation-at-large. The tout also wants to hand over his contribution to Ruto in person and not through brokers. I dont want him to send brokers to me because they are the cause of problems facing this nation, John is quoted as saying. I have never met the deputy president but I look forward to so that I can give him the money, he said displaying land selling transaction papers. So committed to Rutos presidency is John Adan that he almost beat up his wife when she tried to prevent his customer from purchasing the land. I nearly differed with my wife because she was not for the idea, but you see Ruto must rule this nation, we need money to deal with critics, he said. Adan also warned people against associating the DP with corrupt practices saying he(Ruto) has worked hard to get his own money plus his current position. RED CLOUD A south-central Nebraska man accused of cattle rustling has been given three years' probation. Court records say Austin Petr, 28, of rural Blue Hill had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft in Clay County and to felony attempted theft in Webster County. Authorities say Petr sold calves Jan. 13, 2017, at a Clay County sale barn that had been stolen earlier that day from a property in Webster County. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The now-former special counsel Robert Mueller made it clear Wednesday in what he hopes to be his last word on the subject: President Donald Trump's claim of "total exoneration" is flat-out false, and Trump's mantra of "no collusion, no obstruction" is, especially on obstruction, the opposite of what the investigation actually found. In fact, Mueller strongly implied that Trump would have been indicted had that option been available. And Mueller also made it clear that it's up to Congress to take it from here without, however, his further participation. At least if it's up to him.(1) Mueller's emphasis in his statement was on Russian interference in the 2016 election. That's what he started with and what he ended with. Make no mistake: That itself, in the context of 2019, is a rebuke of Trump, who has either denied or played down that foreign attack, and whose lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has already openly begun shopping around for additional foreign help in the 2020 campaign. It is also a rebuke of Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, who as Norm Ornstein notes is right now blocking a bill to fight such interference in the future. The memo was declassified on Trump's order the following month. It's hardly surprising that the Justice Department had slapped a top-secret classification on a document that called its own professionalism into question. It's fairly common for journalists to openly list secure drop boxes and public PGP keys that allow sources to send them sensitive information via encryption. It's a bit more subtle than Assange's constant begging for exclusive information, but the motivation is exactly the same. It's troubling that the U.S. government takes issue with the nature of interaction between Assange and one of his sources. Do we really want the government inserting itself into the relationships between journalists and sources? Such interactions are usually protected, particularly in cases where the overall public interest significantly outweighs the public interest in prosecution. In this case, the information was about previously undisclosed realities of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it provided the basis for countless articles by major media outlets in America and around the world. It came in with a bang, but the era of the 1960s rock n roll radio DJ seems to be fading further away, to a whisper. The death of radio legend Dex Card marks the closing of one more chapter of that era. Card was perhaps best known for his time on Chicago radio as a DJ and host at WLS-AM in Chicago from 1964-67, where he hosted the Silver Dollar Survey, which was essentially a live show that countdown the top 40 songs of the day. In Racine and Kenosha, Card was likely more known as the owner of several local radio stations, including WHKQ in Racine (later known as WEZY), which he bought in 1986. He also bought WRJN in Racine and WFNY in Gloversville, N.Y., that same year for $1.5 million. Card also was the general manager of WLIP in Kenosha. Card sold those stations in 1988 and moved to Florida. Many people who knew him in Wisconsin lost touch with him. The recently retired WRJN husband-and-wife team of Tom Karkow and Janet Hoff worked for Card in the 1980s. Karkow said he would occasionally call Card to see how things were doing. He was very gracious and talked to me about WRJN and things we did back then, Karkow said. Local radio, thats what it was all about back then. When Card died on Sept. 11, hardly a word was written or tributes played to honor his passing. Its difficult to find an official obituary. Karkow has been recently trying to archive some of WRJNs history when he stumbled upon the knowledge that his old boss had died. Its not a total surprise, but it hits you, Karkow said. Its a realization that a lot of the people that you worked with over the years and worked for, theyre not around anymore. Hoff, who worked for Card at WLIP and WRJN, was surprised when she heard the news. I was wondering why nobody had made a big deal out of it, Hoff said. An era had gone by. David Cole, general manager at WGTD, the radio station operated by Gateway Technical College, was hired by Card at WLIP in 1980 and said he was also surprised when he heard about Cards death from Karkow. My recollection is he kept his personal life pretty private, separate from his professional life, Cole said. It was a quiet ending to a man who was the main afternoon DJ at one of the biggest radio stations in the country. Anybody who lived around here in the 60s and listened to the radio knew who Dex Card was, Hoff said. He was part of the biggest radio broadcast in Chicago in those days. Lots of stuff that has come after hasnt come close to popularity of WLS at that time. When radio was king To be a radio DJ during the time Card was at WLS meant playing songs such as The Beatles I Want To Hold Your Hand, the Rolling Stones (I Cant Get No) Satisfaction, Diana Ross and the Supremes Stop! In the Name of Love, The Beach Boys Good Vibrations, for the first time for most listeners. Scott Childers, Chicago radio historian and on-air DJ for WERV-FM, based in Aurora, Ill., and WSSR-FM, based in Joliet, Ill., said that during Cards day when those acts would come to town, local DJs would be the ones doing the interviews. Lets say The Beatles, for example, if they came to town these were the guys that were able to get the interviews, Childers said. The fans couldnt get to The Beatles, but they could get to the disc jockeys so they became kind of the local heroes when you think about it. Childers said those radio hosts would become local celebrities, appearing at the grand openings at different businesses, and at parties where they would likely make more money for those appearances than they did from the radio station. What these guys did so much, especially during the 1960s, was sock hops as they called them and they were just teen dances, Childers said. So they would go from one (sock hop) to the next, to the next, to the next and sometimes theyd hit two or three in one night. During Cards time, WLS had a reach that could stretch from southern Wisconsin to northeast Indiana. Childers said Card recognized the popularity of those sock hops. In the case of Dex, he took a lot of that money and realized just how well these clubs did, he ended up starting a few of his own teen nightclubs, Childers said. For many years he had that as a business as well and he also had a concert business. This was all after he decided to get out of the regular grind of radio. According to Journal Times archives, Card owned a club in Racine in 1968 called the Wild Goose, located at 2005 Lathrop Ave. Childers said Card saved a lot of his money from radio. That likely was the reason why he was able to move into the business side. He was very quiet, but he always stayed busy, Childers said. He may have had the first penny or the first dollar that he ever earned. Rather than some of the jocks of the day that may have spent a lot of their money on cars and whatnot, he actually was smart and invested a lot of his money. Owning stations Fast-forward to 1980. Cole said he had recently graduated from college, was laid off from his first radio job and was living with his parents in Manitowoc. Cole was preparing for a trip to Washington, D.C., while looking for a new job so sent a resume to WLIP. Cole said Card called him and convinced him to swing by Kenosha on his way to D.C. I didnt even have a tie on or a jacket or anything, Cole said, adding they went to a restaurant and talked. When I got back from vacation I was offered the job. What Cole liked about Card the most, he said, was his radio programming philosophy. Back then, I think local radio news had a much more prominent position in the community in terms of people relying on us for local news and information, Cole said. This was a music station back then and his instructions to the jock staff was Make sure you dont lose my audience between newscasts. Thats an indication that he felt that the music stations reason for existence was not to play music, it was for local news and information. Cole said he didnt know anything about Cards past at WLS when he was hired. He was a very personable guy, he had this deep baritone voice, Cole said. But at times he could be rather crude he was very direct in his style. Hoff, who worked at WLIP with Card before going to WRJN, agreed. He was kind of a character, a very strong personality, very much in charge of everything, Hoff said. The one thing about Dex is you knew where you stood with him he didnt pull any punches. In the 1980s, Card left WLIP. Cole said he didnt stay in touch with him. After he left I was working in the newsroom at WLIP, and it may have been a weekend, and Dex drove through the parking lot and it looked like he had a female acquaintance with him and it was a convertible, Cole said. And it looked like he was pointing out where he worked and the where the station was he didnt stop or didnt come in or anything like that. When WRJN was being sold, Karkow remembers being nervous about the stations future until he heard Card was the buyer, which calmed his anxiety. Dex was a very good businessman and he knew radio, obviously, after having been in it for so many years, Karkow said. He knew how to run a station. He was big time radio at the time, no question. It was only a short time, but it was an honor to work for a guy who had that kind of background, that kind of stature in the business and knew what he was doing in terms of radio. Anybody who lived around here in the 60s and listened to the radio knew who Dex Card was. He was part of the biggest radio broadcast in Chicago in those days. Lots of stuff that has come after hasnt come close to popularity of WLS at that time. Janet Hoff, retired WRJN radio personality Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Just adding interesting stuff to the blog in my spare time, so pardon the miscellany and lack of any organization. If you need to email about something (not hood ornaments) that isn't relevant to the comment section, e mail me at jbohjkl@yahoo.com, which will be responded to pretty fast on weekdays Images used IAW Title 17 U.S. Code 107 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107 This is under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license.See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/legalcode Binod Ghimire covers parliamentary affairs and human rights for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2010, he has reported primarily on social issues, focusing on education and transitional justice. TAYLOR Chris and Sherry Hardie continue to increase their wine production and sales at their Brambleberry Winery, Weddings and Country House Hotel business about 10 miles south of Taylor. And they anticipate major growth in the wedding and wedding receptions part of their business, thanks to the Grand Wedding Pavilion that was completed last summer and which is open from May through October. The 40- by 100-foot pavilion can hold up to 275 people, has commercial-grade rest rooms and also can be rented for other events. Groups of up to 400 can be accommodated by renting an additional tent. Two outdoor wedding ceremony sites are available, but the ceremony also can be held inside the pavilion. In the last three years, weve been doing small weddings at Brambleberry, Sherry said. And now with this (large pavilion) facility, we can also have large weddings here. We have a restaurant license, which allows us to prepare food for small special events, Chris said. We do not cater large weddings that needs to be done by a licensed caterer. Homemade pizzas and cheese and meat trays are served in the Brambleberry Winery tasting room on Saturdays and Sundays. The Hardies will celebrate the sixth anniversary of their winery with a free concert from 4 to 7 p.m. June 22 in the new pavilion. It will feature Joanna Johnson of Chili, Wis., the 2017 U.S. national Scottish fiddling champion, and her mother, Deb Johnson, who plays guitar. Chris writes a weekly column that appears in the La Crosse Tribune, and he and Sherry also write a weekly wine column for the Tribune and the Winona Daily News. Chris, former executive editor of the Tribune, is CEO of the 7 Rivers Alliance, a regional economic development organization. Brambleberry Winery, Weddings and Country House Hotel started in 2006 when we received our bed and breakfast license, Chris said. We remodeled and added on to the farmhouse that once belonged to my great-grandparents Ray and Hilda Hardie. I grew up on the farm. The country hotel part of the business has four guest rooms available for rent Thursday through Sunday. Chris and Sherry opened the winery in 2013 after adding on to the farmhouse on their 115 acres of land, where they also raise Scottish Blackface sheep, Scottish Highland cattle, goats, donkeys and chickens. Chris makes more than 50 wines from what he said are the finest juices from around the world, from places such as California, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, Germany and Chile. Because Brambleberry imports so much juice, Chris said, People can come here and find wines they wouldnt expect to see at a Wisconsin winery. The Hardies are growing some of their own Frontenac grapes. But we dont have our production high enough yet to make wine from them, Chris said. I make more than 20 different reds, he said. I also make white wines and a variety of what we call our Sweetie wines, grape and fruit blends. I also make two special ice wines. The Hardies sell their wines in the winerys tasting room for prices that range from $13.95 to $29.95. They also serve beers made by Sand Creek Brewing Co. in Black River Falls. The winery is open from noon to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. In the winter months, its open Saturday and Sunday. Chris said he made about 6,500 bottles of wine last year, and production and sales have been increasing. Thats partly because some retail outlets have begun carrying Brambleberry wines in the past three years. Brambleberry wine is available at Mocha Mouse in Black River Falls, the Peddlers Wife in Hixton, Overflow Eatery in North Bend and Target Bluff German Haus in Camp Douglas. Its also available on tap at Growler Guys, a tap room in Eau Claire. Were certainly looking to grow wine sales at retail outlets, Chris said. A lot of that has been from (retailers) who have approached us because theyve had our wine and like it. Hosting weddings and other events at the new pavilion also will boost Brambleberry wine sales, Chris said. The sweeter wines sell the best at Brambleberrys tasting room, Sherry said. But our passion is actually the dry reds. We have at least 20 dry reds and are well-known for them. We excel at that. But we have delicious wines for every palate. Brambleberry Winerys two biggest-selling wines are two Sweeties raspberry sangria and a tropical coconut blend. Also for sale in the tasting room are wine glasses, accessories and apparel such as T-shirts and hats. BRAMBLEBERRY WINERY, WEDDINGS AND COUNTRY HOUSE HOTEL WHAT: A winery, wedding (and other events) venue and country hotel owned by Chris and Sherry Hardie. WHERE: N3684 Claire Road, Taylor. Its about 10 miles south of Taylor, and also is east of Ettrick and Beach Corners. WHATS NEW: The Hardies business began in 2006 when they received a bed-and-breakfast license. It expanded with the opening of their winery in 2013 and again in 2018 when they completed their Grand Wedding Pavilion. MORE INFO: Call Brambleberry at 608-525-8001 or visit www.brambleberrywinery.com or Brambleberrys Facebook page. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The notion that human trafficking is an overseas problem or happens elsewhere was quickly dispelled by Melissa Kadrmas, commander of the La Crosse Coast Guard Auxiliary and featured speaker at a recent First Free Church justice event in Onalaska. Trafficking is going on in every county in Wisconsin, she said, pointing to the 200 cases reported last year. And the number one event for human traffickers in Wisconsin is Oktoberfest, right here in La Crosse. Kadrmas told the stunned audience that traffickers often rent hotel rooms and Air B&Bs in areas featuring major venues, and in Wisconsin, the La Crosse Oktoberfest tops the list. Tasked mainly with boater safety by the Department of Homeland Security, the Auxiliary is also trained to spot human trafficking activities. Its scary out there, Kadrmas told the several dozen attendees, trafficking is the fastest growing enterprise in the world. According to Kadrmas, trafficking affects more than 100,000 children aged 11-15 in the United States every year, most of them girls. Its hard to judge a dollar value, she said, but trafficking has soared to an estimated $32 billion to $150 billion industry. Kadrmas urged listeners to get involved in local organizations such as New Horizons, the La Crosse Task Force to Eradicate Slavery and First Frees Set Me Free Shop that sells merchandise made by trafficked survivors. Pastor Dave Konkol, First Frees Justice and Missions pastor, voiced a similar appeal. We want people to really understand what International Justice Mission is all about, he said. Its the largest Anti-Slavery organization in the world, and its Christian. Konkol admits that the subject matter is anything but casual table conversation but recognizes its reality. Were going to share some tough things with you tonight, said Konkol as he introduced a short documentary that explained how the group partners with police departments world-wide to break up trafficking networks. The film contained footage showing a police raid of a brothel in the Philippines accompanied by International Justice Mission. As of 2016, The group says it has rescued more than 28,000 victims. Jackie Johnson of La Crosse, who has been a supporter of the justice project for the past three years, noted the vulnerability of the victims. The outcast is the one who gets roped in, she said, pointing out that the group advocates for the needy in the hotspots around the world. UW-L connection As a freshman in high school, Kaylee Mulholland of La Crosse thought she knew a lot about the world until she heard a speaker from International Justic Mission. By the time she entered the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, she had already researched the organization and the problem of worldwide slavery. Coincidentally, the mission had just opened a chapter on the UW-L campus and Mulholland jumped at the chance to join its leadership team. Last fall, UW-L students joined with mission chapters around the country to fast for 24 hours and contribute $24 per person to the organization. Their efforts resulted in enough funding to finance six rescue missions. Hannah Dekeyser from Lomira, Wisconsin, who attended First Frees event with several other young women from UW-L, said she was moved by what she heard. I definitely feel I want to get involved in the UW-L chapter, she said after the meeting. Its cool to get involved together. K.J. Newkirk from Denver and a sophomore noted that the campus environment at UW-L seemed to be sympathetic to the marginalized of society. La Crosse has a lot of people interested in helping, she said. We now have a Social Justice minor which helps in finding out what you can do. She added that the evening at First Free helped to put faces on the raw statistic of the estimated 40,000 people currently enslaved worldwide. The First Free event was underwritten by Thrivent Financial. More information on International Justice Mission can be found at IJM.org. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Vernon County Fair Association will again sponsor the Fairest of the Fair contest. The Fairest will serve as the official hostess for the Vernon County Fair, Sept. 11-15. The Fairest will also represent Vernon County Fair in the state Fairest of the Fairs contest held January 2020. Candidates must be a resident of Vernon County or the majority of their activities take place in the county. They must be a resident of the state of Wisconsin for at least a year prior to entry. They must be 18 years of age by Jan. 1, 2019, since the Fairest will be required to travel. Candidates must have a sponsor for the contest. Any business, youth or civic organization may sponsor a candidate. Sponsor fee is $30. The Vernon County Fair Association will reimburse travel expenses for fair-related activities and offer a cash award of $1,000 to the chosen candidate. The contest will be held July 20 in Viroqua at the Vernon County Fairgrounds.The coronation will be part of the fair kickoff breakfast on July 20. To obtain more information and the official entry rules for the contest, contact the Vernon County UW-Extension office, 608-637-5276 or download from the web at www.vernoncountyfair.com. Entry deadline is June 28. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Overture Center for the Arts in Madison is teaming up with the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center for the 2019 Rising Stars talent search. The Overture also will partner with theaters in Oshkosh and Wausau. This will mark the first time that local auditions for the Rising Stars program will be held in La Crosse. This is an exciting opportunity for Viterbo University to offer auditions in our region and highlight the talent of local artists, said Michael Ranscht, director of the Fine Arts Center. We have a wealth of talent and creativity in the Coulee Region, and this is a great way for us to share that with the rest of the state. Sandra Gajic, Overtures president and CEO, said: Our goal is to discover, develop and celebrate the wealth of diverse talent in Wisconsin and provide more performance opportunities for local artists. Through the audition, callback, workshop and final performance in our state-of-the-art Overture Hall, artists from all disciplines will have the opportunity to grow and share their art with others. Participants of all skill levels and talents (ages 6+) will have the opportunity to develop their talent with guidance from industry pros. The competition is free for participants. There will be three age categories with $750 cash prizes, and one grand prize winner will receive a $1,000 prize, booking opportunities, a digital marketing consultation, and the chance to perform at the Overture Center during the 2020-21 season. Auditions will be held at four statewide locations, each with a panel of local celebrity judges to be announced. Acts selected from the preliminary auditions will be invited to the callback on Saturday, Aug. 17. The workshop on Sunday, Aug. 25, will give those moving on another opportunity to perform and receive constructive feedback from industry professionals before they head to the finals at Overture Center on Saturday, Sept. 14. The finalists will come together on the grand Overture Hall stage to perform for the community, win cash prizes and be seen by talent buyers. This project is supported by Arts Access, a component fund of the Madison Community Foundation, Madison-Kipp Corporation, and Dane Arts with additional funds from the Edres Mfg. Company Foundation, The Evjue Foundation, Inc., charitable arm of The Capital Times, the W. Jerome Frautschi Foundation and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation. 2019 Overtures Rising Stars statewide schedule The auditions: Saturday, July 13, at The Grand Oshkosh, Oshkosh Saturday, July 20, at The Grand Theater, Wausau Saturday, July 27, at Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Saturday, Aug. 3, at Viterbo University Fine Arts Center, La Crosse Registration: Visit www.overture.org/Risingstars. Callback: Saturday, Aug. 17, in Overture Hall at Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Workshop: Sunday, Aug. 25, at Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Finals: Saturday, Sept. 14, in Overture Hall at Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Laurence Berg, District 18 supervisor on the La Crosse County Board, resigned May 15, citing health issues in his letter. I have enjoyed my time on the board and I will miss interacting with my colleagues, Berg said in his letter. Give my regrets to everyone. Berg was re-elected April 2018 with about 60% of the votes. District 18 includes Ward 1 of the town of Medary, Ward 4 of the town of Onalaska and Wards 11 and 12 of the city of Onalaska. He was also a member of the Judiciary & Law Committee. The county is looking for a new supervisor to fill the vacancy. The part-time position requires supervisors to attend three monthly meetings at a minimum: the policy planning meeting, the standing committee meeting and the regular county board meeting, as well as respond to constituent concerns. Those interested in representing District 18 can submit a letter of interest to the county clerks office before 4:30 p.m. Friday, June 14. The county board chair will interview select applicants before a group of supervisors the week of June 24, said Tara Johnson, La Crosse County Board chair. The interviewing committee will rank each applicant and make its recommendations to the chair, who will chose which applicant goes forward to a full county board for approval, Johnson said. Johnson said she was looking for candidates with strong communication skills, an open mind and the willingness to listen, learn and interface between District 18 constituents and the county. I want someone who is invested in bettering the community as a whole, Johnson said. Applicants must be 18 years or older who are or plan to become residents of District 18 prior to being sworn in. Jennifer Lu is the La Crosse Tribune environmental reporter. You can reach her by phone at 608-791-8217 and by email jennifer.lu@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A retired priest of the Diocese of La Crosse was charged Monday with fourth-degree sexual assault, three weeks after being accused of assaulting and propositioning a woman outside the La Crosse Public Library. A library security worker reported Msgr. Bernard McGarty, 94, to police May 15 after a victim came forward regarding an incident that occurred after library closing hours on May 11. The victim stated a man, who identified himself as Bill, took her arm and placed it on his genitals, according to the criminal complaint. Upon pulling up library video surveillance footage, staff members were able to identify the perpetrator as McGarty, who was previously charged with disorderly conduct in 2014 after exposing himself to a masseuse in Wausau and asking the masseuse to rub his genitals. Footage from May 11 showed McGarty handing the victim $20 and pulling her hand onto his lap, according to the report. The victim stated McGarty said he would like a little kiss and before departing asked how he could get a hold of her, according to the complaint. When police questioned McGarty at his residence, he stated he and the victim spoke briefly and confirmed giving her $20 because she was in need of money, as she is homeless. He denied making physical contact, despite being told of the video evidence, or asking for a kiss. Attorney Cheryl Gill entered a not guilty plea on McGartys behalf Monday. Judge Todd Bjerke set a $500 signature bond and asked Gill to bring McGarty in for booking by the end of the week. I will try, your honor, but as you may know Msgr. McGarty is 94 and he has some difficulty getting out and about, notwithstanding this particular charge, so Ill try to get him in here, Gill said. I know hes been out and about, Bjerke replied, instructing that McGarty needs to be booked by Friday. A pre-trial is scheduled for Aug. 8. Jack Felsheim, director of communications and public relations from the diocese, previously issued a statement regarding the case: On May 16, 2019, the Diocese of La Crosse learned of a recent situation at the La Crosse Public Library involving Msgr. Bernard McGarty, 94, a retired priest of the Diocese of La Crosse. According to diocesan policy Msgr. McGarty, from this moment forward, is on a leave of absence from public ministry while this current situation is being investigated. Due to this being an ongoing investigation, the Diocese of La Crosse has no further comment at this time. Emily Pyrek can be reached at emily.pyrek@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 4 Angry 4 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Health Tradition will host a forum Friday in La Crosse about closing the gap between urban and rural health care. The recent 2019 County Health Rankings report showed gaps in health care between suburban-urban areas and rural counties in Wisconsin. In southwestern Wisconsin, La Crosse County was ranked sixth among the states 72 counties in terms of health factors that drive healthy lifestyles, such as lower tobacco and alcohol use; access to quality care, education, employment and social support; plus housing and water-air quality. But surrounding counties ranked between 19th and 59th. The forum will be 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Friday at The Waterfront Restaurant & Tavern. 328 S. Front St. Registration is required at www.eventbrite.com/e/closing-the-urban-rural-health-care-gap-tickets-62264248042#tickets. Participants will include Dr. Tim Bartholow, chief medical officer of Health Tradition; Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse; Wally Orzechowski of the Southwest Community Action Program; Dr. Paul S. Mueller, head of Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare in La Crosse vice president of Mayos vice president for its Southwest Wisconsin Region; and Dr. Erik Gundersen, medical director of Kwik Trip Center for Health and incoming president of the Wisconsin Medical Society. The event is organized by WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com, non-partisan news organizations that regularly convene discussions of important public issues. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The Mississippi Valley Conservancy invites nature-lovers to learn in the library and in the field about the lives of monarch butterflies and their connection to the Holland Sand Prairie through a two-part program. The first will be an interactive discussion and presentation by Carol Labuzzetta, environmental educator and outreach and education program manager at the Conservancy, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. June 10 at the Holmen Public Library Community Room, 121 Legion St. W., Holmen. No registration for this event is required. The second will be a guided hike at the Holland Sand Prairie from 10 to 11 a.m. June 15, meeting at W7781 Cty Rd MH, Holmen. Mike Nied, member and volunteer at the conservancy, will lead. Advance registration is required by June 12. Register and learn more at www.misissippivalleyconservancy.org/events/monarchs or call 608-784-3606 ext. 4 for more information. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded Kraemer North America LLC a $17 million contract to replace deteriorating guide rails at five Mississippi River locks and dams in the La Crosse and Winona region. Much of the concrete structure around the rails is cracked and needs to be replaced, said Kimberly Warshaw, project manager. Safety is really one of the biggest reasons why were doing this project. Tow rails, attached horizontally to the lock chamber wall, anchor and guide unpowered barges through the 600-foot lock chambers. The Corps installed tow rails in the 1960s, when commercial shipping moved to longer boat and tows, Warshaw said. The barge chain, too long to fit into the lock chamber at once, had to be split up and locked through in two trips. That meant that while the barges connected to the boat could move through on their own, boat-less barges needed to attach themselves to the tow rail to lock through. If the tow rail should fail, barges could drift away or get pulled by strong currents towards the dam gates, said Scott Snelling, technical lead on the project. The tow rail at Lock and Dam 7, near La Crescent, has broken twice in recent years. In 2011, one of the wheels on the traveling mooring bitt, which connects the barge to the tow rail, was ripped from the rail by a barge caught in a powerful current, Snelling said. In 2014, the rail started bending toward the water, causing the traveling mooring bitt to fall out. The rail has been repaired, so its no longer the highest priority, though the contract also includes the option to work on Lock and Dam 7, Warshaw said. Tow-rail replacement locations include the locks and dams near Alma, Wis., Minnesota City, Minn., Fountain City, Wis., La Crescent, Genoa, Wis., and Eastman, Wis. Kraemer North America, headquartered in Plain, Wis., is a civil contractor on road, rail, and marine construction projects. In 2018, the Corps gave Kraemer an almost $1.3 million contract to repair Lock and Dam 6s traveling mooring bitt system. Construction will take place this winter and next winter so as not to disrupt river traffic, said Patrick Loch, Corps spokesperson for the St. Paul District. Jennifer Lu is the La Crosse Tribune environmental reporter. You can reach her by phone at 608-791-8217 and by email jennifer.lu@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe The L.A. Greek Film Festival opens, Bob Baker's marionettes take up residence at Oxy, Golden Road throws a Pride Prom and John Early hosts a screening of Paul Bartel's final masterpiece. You can also check out Nat Geo flicks, go to a music festival curated by Troye Sivan and Charli XCX or reminisce about the 1980s L.A. punk scene. MONDAY, JUNE 3 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9 Los Angeles Greek Film Festival UCLA's James Bridges Theater -- 235 Charles E. Young Dr., Westwood Egyptian Theatre -- 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood The festival showcases new films from Greece and Cyprus, as well as works by international filmmakers of Greek descent. The festival opens with The Right Pocket of the Robe by first-time feature film director Yiannis Lapatas, which follows a lonely monk who questions his life after losing his only companion, his dog. A Q&A follows with actor Thodoris Antoniadis. COST: General admission tickets run $15 - $70; MORE INFO Through MONDAY, JAN. 13, 2020 Linda Vallejo: Brown Belongings LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes -- 501 N. Main St., downtown L.A. This exhibition features works from the L.A.-based Chicana artist whose career spans more than 40 years. View her newest works alongside selections from several recent series including Make 'Em All Mexican, The Brown Dot Project, Datos Sagrados, The Brown Oscars, Memories of Mexico and Cultural Enigma. COST: FREE; MORE INFO MONDAY, JUNE 3; 7 p.m. (doors) Andrew Bird The Wiltern -- 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown The multi-instrumentalist and songwriter plays in support of his latest album, My Finest Work Yet. Madison Cunningham opens. COST: Tickets start at $40.50; MORE INFO Through SUNDAY, JUNE 30 Four-course Anniversary Tasting Menu Providence -- 5955 Melrose Ave., Hollywood To celebrate its 14th anniversary, Michael Cimarusti's high-end eatery offers a special tasting menu. Book your reservations now because spots fill up quickly. The price excludes tax, beverages and gratuity. COST: $105 per person; MORE INFO TUESDAY, JUNE 4; 7:30 p.m. The Moth StorySlam Senator Jones -- 2020 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica As the Westside StorySlam moves to a new location, storytellers take on the theme "chemistry." They'll tell five-minute tales about complex reactions, sparks, sizzles and fizzles in the lab called life. Lauren Weedman hosts. COST: $15; MORE INFO TUESDAY, JUNE 4; 4 - 5 p.m. Bob's Petite Theater Residency Oxy Arts on York -- 4757 York Blvd., Highland Park Occidental College's new community venue welcomes Bob Baker's puppet theater for the summer while the marionettes prepare for their new permanent home in Highland Park. The residency features 10 free puppet shows followed by workshops on Tuesdays. Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis. COST: FREE; MORE INFO TUESDAY, JUNE 4; 7:30 p.m. What Can the Ancient World Teach Us about Feminism? The Barbara and Lawrence Fleischman Theater at the Getty Villa -- 17985 Pacific Coast Hwy., Pacific Palisades Women throughout history have found ways to advance and protect their rights even during the most oppressive eras. Co-presented with Zocalo Public Square, the event examines how women resisted misogyny and defended themselves against discrimination in ancient societies. Panelists include: University of Miami archaeologist and editor of Ancient Maya Women Traci Ardren; UC Santa Barbara classicist and scholar of ancient Greek literature Helen Morales; and Cal State L.A. historian China Ping Yao. Moderated by Madeleine Brand, host of KCRW's Press Play. COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO TUESDAY, JUNE 4; 8 p.m. Shelf Life Dynasty Typewriter -- 2511 Wilshire Blvd., Westlake Watch the never-released final feature film from late director Paul Bartel (Eating Raoul). The dark comedy is based on a theater production about three siblings who are taken into their parents' bomb shelter when JFK is assassinated in 1963 -- and never come out. Fast-forward 30 years and the now-adults have created their own world, from memories, imagination and TV snippets. Comedian John Early hosts and moderates the evening with guests/co-stars/co-writers of the film, O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein and Jim Turner. COST: $10; MORE INFO WEDNESDAY JUNE 6; 8:30 p.m. Grease: Sing-along Level -- 4th floor, 888 South Olive St., downtown L.A. Get ready to hand-jive: Rooftop Cinema Club screens the 1978 musical about the kids at Rydell High, with a cast led by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Ages 18+. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. so you have time to grab your headphones, find seats and enjoy cocktails, food, games and the view. COST: Tickets start at $17; MORE INFO WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5; 7 p.m. Bauhaus Spirit: 100 Years Of Bauhaus Art Theatre Long Beach -- 2025 E. 4th St., Long Beach The documentary looks inside the philosophy of the 1919 Bauhaus architecture school, which was noted for its utopian design and belief in creating a peaceful society that everyone could be a part of. COST: $9 - $12; MORE INFO THURSDAY, JUNE 6 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9 The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts (Lovelace Studio Theater) -- 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills Douglas Adams' absurdist satire takes place after Earth is completely destroyed to make way for an intergalactic bypass. The last human, Martha Dent (a switch from the original character Arthur Dent), and her sidekick, Ford Prefect, search the galaxy for the meaning of life. Directed by Madeleine Dahm, the stage production integrates puppetry, stylized movement, miniature sets and live music. Audience members are encouraged to come dressed in their best sci-fi costumes and take photos at a selfie spot. Use the hashtag #ZaphodsCloset for a chance to win two tickets to a performance of your choice in The Wallis' 2019/2020 season. COST: $20; MORE INFO Broken Social Scene plays three nights at the Fonda Theatre in support of the band's latest EPs. (Courtesy of Arts & Crafts) WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 - FRIDAY, JUNE 7; 9 p.m. Broken Social Scene Fonda Theatre -- 6126 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood The Toronto-based collective performs in support of its two recently released EPs, Let's Try The After, Vol 1 and 2. Sasami, Hand Habits and Superet open on respective nights. COST: $39; MORE INFO THURSDAY, JUNE 6; 5 - 9 p.m. OC Palate: A beer and food event Heritage Museum of Orange County -- 3101 West Harvard St., Santa Ana The OC Brewers Guild presents a night of curated beer and small-plate food pairings. Meet the brewers and sample from more than two dozen breweries including Left Coast Brewing, Lost Winds Brewing, Bruery Terreux and Tustin Brew Co. The ticket price includes all beers and bites. COST: $100; MORE INFO WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5; 8 p.m. - midnight Dance Yourself Queen: Pride Prom Chloe's at Golden Road Brewing -- 5410 W San Fernando Rd., Atwater Village To kick off Pride Month, dress in your most creative prom gear and step into a glitter-filled room with a DJ and drag performances throughout the evening. Golden Road is also brewing a pub-only Pride beer called Slay All Day, available at its L.A. and Orange County locations during June or until supplies last. COST: FREE admission; MORE INFO WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5; 8 p.m. More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk Largo LA -- 366 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Grove John Doe, the founding member of punk band X, and music executive Tom DeSavia have teamed up for a sequel to their first book, Under the Big Black Sun. The new book delivers a personal account of the L.A. punk scene from 1982 to 1987 with 50 rare photos. Contributors include artist Shepard Fairey, filmmaker Allison Anders, actor Tim Robbins and pro-skater Tony Hawk. Hawk, Charlotte Caffey (GoGos guitarist) and journalist Pleasant Gehman will join Doe and DeSavia at the Largo reading and Q&A. COST: $30+ fees; MORE INFO THURSDAY, JUNE 6; doors 7 p.m. Go West Fest The Wiltern -- 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown Pop performers Troye Sivan and Charli XCX co-curate, host and headline the festival, which was inspired by a 1979 Village People song about finding a utopia free of homophobia. Performers include Allie X, Chika, Quay Dash, Dorian Electra, Gia Gunn, Carlie Hanson, Leland and Pussy Riot. A portion of the proceeds will benefit GLAAD. COST: General admission tickets start at $55; MORE INFO THURSDAY, JUNE 6 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9 National Geographic: Eyes on the Planet Aero Theatre -- 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica The American Cinematheque teams with the Nat Geo channel for free screenings of episodes from two of its most popular series. Thursday's program features the limited series, Hostile Planet, and a discussion with director Sophie Morgan, executive producer Guillermo Navarro and director of photography David Reichert. Friday, there's a screening of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman (with Freeman in attendance). On Sunday, the channel presents the documentary Free Solo with subject Alex Honnold and co-director Jimmy Chin in person. The series ends with the film Baraka in 70mm (paid event). COST: FREE - $15 ; MORE INFO TOMS in Venice presents a solo show ME:WE with works by Claire Salvo. (Image: Courtesy of Claire Salvo / TOMS) THURSDAY, JUNE 6 - SUNDAY, JUNE 9 ME:WE TOMS -- 1344 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice The shoe boutique presents an art show with nine portraits of survivors of sexual assault by artist Claire Salvo. Each work is accompanied by the survivor's story, in their own words. Salvo also hosts a painting workshop on Thursday from 6 to 7 p.m. RSVP to storeevents@toms.com. COST: FREE; MORE INFO How are you spending your week? Let us know on Twitter @christineziemba and @LeoHasACat. Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Last year In his State of the City address, Mayor Garcetti called homelessness "the greatest moral and humanitarian crisis of our time." "It is time for tents to come down in our neighborhoods," he said at the time. "We need to stand up emergency shelters fast and we need to do it now." Garcetti then unveiled his A Bridge Home initiative, a plan he said would "radically transform the way that we build emergency shelter and help us accelerate the pace of bringing people out of tents and back home." The mayor's goal is to establish a temporary, emergency shelter in each of the city's 15 council districts, totaling at least 1,500 beds. The expectation was that these bridge housing sites would be fast-tracked "from application to construction, allowing those that meet legal and environmental standards to open their doors in as little as 32 weeks," according to the program's website. So what happened next? Expectations met reality. NIMBYism reared its head in communities from Venice to the Valley. Construction costs soared higher than anticipated. Site proposals sat in limbo. Some were dropped. Others just recently moved forward. In the first year of A Bridge Home, city officials say four sites have opened with 222 total beds for homeless Angelenos, though those numbers fluctuate based on which officials you ask (more on that later). The objective is to have all bridge housing sites at least under construction by July. The latest numbers from the most recent L.A. city and county homeless count are expected to be released soon -- and the news is expected to be bad. According to Garcetti, homelessness has gone up in the city. We should have a clearer idea of how much by early next week (the number in L.A. County in 2018 was 52,765). In the meantime, here's a look at how one specific piece of the city's efforts to combat homelessness has struggled and changed -- and what city leaders have learned in the process. A BRIDGE HOME, ABRIDGED El Puente, located near Union Station in downtown L.A., was the first bridge housing facility to open under Mayor Garcetti's A Bridge Home program. (Courtesy Mayor Eric Garcetti via Twitter) When Garcetti announced A Bridge Home (ABH) last April, he framed it as a solution to bridge the gap between sleeping on the street and finding supportive, longer-term housing (hence, bridge housing). Once in these facilities, homeless Angelenos would be provided food and shelter, as well as access to health, employment and wellness services as they awaited placement in supportive housing. Once they'd moved on and their bed opened up, another person in need could use it while they started the process of finding housing. As an incentive, the mayor set aside $20 million to be spread evenly among L.A. council districts to build ABH sites, with the promise of enhanced community services, like increased street sweeping and police patrols, to ease residents' fears that the shelters would lead to more crime and tank home values. READ MORE: LA Counts Its Homeless, But Counting Everybody Is Virtually Impossible The same week of the announcement, the L.A. leaders declared a homeless shelter crisis, which paved the way for the city, theoretically at least, to stand up shelters quickly on land it owns or leases. That's because a state law dealing with emergencies allows some red tape to be bypassed. Garcetti then took another step intended to keep the plan moving quickly: On May 30, 2018, he signed Executive Directive 24, designed to streamline the study, planning and building phases among the various city departments involved in construction projects. "Bureaucracy will not slow us down," Garcetti vowed. Although other forces, like entrenched NIMBYism, can -- and did in several instances, as we've reported. But enraged residents weren't the only holdup. EXPECTATIONS VS. REALITY City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Mayor Eric Garcetti are among the city leaders who broke ground in a South L.A. bridge housing project this April. (Courtesy Mayor Eric Garcetti via Twitter) The bigger challenge? According to Christina Miller, L.A.'s deputy mayor for city homelessness initiatives, that's been higher site and building costs than the city anticipated. "We can't control some of the cost of doing construction in the city," Miller told LAist this week. "We're in sort of a construction boom right now. And so those are things that are out of our control and that we've found to be challenging as we looked at the initial assessment of what it might take to stand up these programs." That $20 million city fund for bridge housing the mayor announced a year ago is tapped out, Miller said. Now the city is looking to state grants and county partnerships to keep ABH projects moving forward. "In many respects, (it's) a little too late and very short from where we need to be," City Councilman David Ryu said of the initiative. "That's why we are pushing aggressively and heavily to make sure that we increase the outreach, and that we increase the building of housing for those experiencing homelessness." WHERE SITES ARE BUILT, APPROVED AND PROPOSED We've been tracking the progress of ABH shelters since September, when the first site opened in Councilman Jose Huizar's district. You can explore our map below for the scope of projects and where they're at in the process. You might notice no bridge housing sites have been proposed in District 12, which includes Northridge, Chatsworth and Porter Ranch. That's because there's no councilmember there to propose one. Mitch Englander resigned from his post in October and the district is holding a primary election for the seat on June 4. While Councilman Paul Koretz previously proposed a few sites for District 5, which includes Westwood and Bel Air, the locations were deemed infeasible and no projects are currently being studied in the district. Just last week, Councilwoman Nury Martinez submitted her first ABH proposal, seeking a study on a Metro-owned parking lot in Van Nuys, where "there appears to be underutilized parking," according to a motion. Councilman Joe Buscaino, who represents the communities of Watts, Wilmington and San Pedro, said he answered an initially negative community response with "over 150 community meetings and three large information fairs which helped gain widespread support." The three proposals he's made would create 300 shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness in his district. One is under construction and two more are being assessed. "Once ABH is in place in every council district and thousands of people are taken off of our streets and given the services they need, the City will see a significant and positive change," he told LAist. "I wish the program better reflected the urgency declared in [Mayor Garcetti's] executive directive." Here's the status of ABH facilities still underway according to the city's most recent "weekly dashboard" that tracks the program: Six sites are being studied, nine have been approved and five are currently under construction. Note: Our map doesn't include some sites that predate the mayor's program but are now counted by city leaders (more on that below). A STEEP LEARNING CURVE The anti-shelter crowd in Venice was loud and clear at a public forum with city leaders in October. (Carla Javier/LAist) For Councilman Ryu and other city leaders who've worked to get these shelters built in the communities they serve, Year One of A Bridge Home brought a fair share of lessons. "Building anything in the city of Los Angeles, as we know, is very difficult," Ryu said. "It is proving cumbersome, (but) we're getting better. We're learning some of the pitfalls... and making sure that we avoid them so we build it even faster the next time." Ryu experienced some of those pitfalls in Sherman Oaks, where things quickly went downhill -- before anything was actually decided. Flashback to summer 2018. Ryu asked the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council and the community homeowner's association to find sites they thought could work for bridge housing. They suggested 5161 Sepulveda Blvd., land owned and operated by the U.S. Army Reserve. L.A. City Councilman David Ryu (back right with mic) attempts to speak to a crowd of riled up residents at a public meeting in Sherman Oaks in September. (Screengrab courtesy Facebook video by Rick and Robin Marcelli) An open house Ryu hosted in September to discuss the idea with community members turned ugly fast. Angry residents organized a protest and the meeting quickly spiraled into shouting and chants of "recall!" "We brought it to (residents) well before -- well before -- any decisions were made, because I wanted to be fully transparent. I wanted the community to engage early on," the councilman said. "Clearly there was so much mistrust, they felt that it was already a done deal when no city study was even done." No study was ever done, in fact. Army Reserve officers, who district officials said were initially receptive to the idea, fell silent and city staff couldn't set foot on the land to assess it. After about seven months and zero movement, Ryu called it a day in Sherman Oaks. LA EXPLAINED: Why Does LA Have So Many Homeless People? WHAT HAPPENED IN KOREATOWN Members of the local Korean community protest on June 3, 2018 against a proposal to erect a temporary homeless shelter in Koreatown. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) Then there was City Council President Herb Wesson, who last May led the charge by announcing the inaugural ABH project would be in Koreatown. The proposal was to build the shelter on a city-owned parking lot in the heart of the neighborhood. Community members protested in the streets and threatened to recall Wesson. A few weeks later, he walked back the plan and said he'd restart the process with a focus on community input. It was another 10 months before new sites were approved. (Courtesy HBG Steel/Azria Home) One is a 70-bed shelter set to be built on a corner of Lafayette Park on the edge of Wesson's district. The second was approved for the parking lot at Wesson's district office on Western Avenue in the Harvard Heights / Arlington Heights area. That shelter is slated to house women and children with up to 18 beds. Combined, the projects have an estimated pricetag of $7 million, all of which is coming from the state's Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) fund, according to a district official. Wesson said his experience was a lesson not just to him, but to the rest of the city's councilmembers as they worked to find sites in their own districts. "It gave people, examples, answers to the types of approaches they could take when they were dealing with their community," he said. "I think it also showed them that they had to be tough, that they had to have resolve and that they had to be determined that this was not going to be some easy thing." PUSHBACK IN VENICE L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin (seated left) and Mayor Eric Garcetti (seated right) talk to Venice residents about the plan to build a bridge housing facility in the neighborhood during a meeting in October 2018. (Courtesy Councilman Mike Bonin via Twitter) Last June, Councilman Mike Bonin proposed a shelter for Venice at a former Metro bus yard, with plans to house 100 adults and 54 youth experiencing homelessness. Meetings were held, rage was displayed, but Bonin kept the project rolling. It was approved in December and a District 11 spokesman said at the time that the site was likely to open in the spring (as in about now). But in January, a Venice homeowner and business group sued, claiming the city had rushed environmental reviews. Four months later, the case is still pending, but a Los Angeles Superior Court judge recently denied an injunction to halt construction. On May 16, Bonin's office said construction would begin in a few weeks and the site would open late this summer. "Venice has been an active part of the city's efforts to combat homelessness for years, and unfortunately there are those in the community who often resort to legal action to try and prevent solutions like bridge housing from moving forward," Bonin told LAist. "Many, many more people in Venice, however, are committed to finding sustainable solutions and helping people move off the streets and into housing for good." During Wednesdays Town Hall meeting on bridge housing, when I was talking about a formerly homeless veteran I met, someone yelled out dont humanize it! If there is any issue I work on that demands to be humanized, it is our homelessness crisis. pic.twitter.com/1leiMz2YNd Mike Bonin-Official (@MikeBoninLA) October 19, 2018 Adding to the troubles in District 11, construction of a bridge housing site for veterans at the West L.A. Veterans Affairs campus was delayed after contractors "inadvertently disturbed an underground pipe containing asbestos" late last year, V.A. officials confirmed this week. Work on the site was halted while the area was cleaned up and monitored for hazardous conditions. The V.A. said they hope to wrap up those efforts this month and turn the project over to the city. A spokesman for Councilman Bonin said the goal is to have the site open by the end of summer. HOW THE TEMPORARY SHELTER PROGRAM HAS "EVOLVED" The rendering shows the design for a bridge housing site in South L.A., proposed by City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson. City leaders approved funding in December and broke ground in April. (Courtesy Mayor Eric Garcetti via Twitter) Miller said the program has come a long way and "evolved" from the mayor's initial goal of 15 emergency shelters and 1,500 beds. One notable change: the once "temporary facility" program now includes permanent shelters. When the mayor and city officials first started pitching bridge housing to communities, the understanding was that the sites would be open three years max. The phrase "temporary emergency homeless shelter" appears 23 times in the mayor's executive order and the city's ABH website assures residents of that three-year timeframe. The reality? Some sites are set to stay open longer. For example: A former mental health facility in Canoga Park, which received $1.3 million from the bridge housing fund and another $3 million in state grants, according to Jake Flynn, a spokesman for Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who represents the West Valley. But it's L.A. County, not the city, that will actually renovate and operate the shelter, which Blumenfield refers to as "a permanent facility for temporary housing," Flynn said. "We got creative," Flynn said. "We essentially bought the property for the county to operate." The agreement is for the county to "provide no less than fifteen years of homeless services," according to a press release in March. Flynn said the move was borne out of the historic lack of permanent homeless services in the Valley. District officials simply took advantage of the available money to secure a longer-term need. "We need every solution we possibly can find," Miller said. "While the initial onset of the program was to look at temporary structures that would come down after a period of time... we recognized there was a lot of other potential out there to partner with the county, to partner with the private market, and to really be creative in what our solutions look like citywide." WHAT QUALIFIES AS AN ABH FACILITY? This bridge housing site in Westlake, known as Casa Azul, officially open its doors Tuesday, May 7. The facility has 28 beds for women on the first floor and houses five families on the second floor. (James Bernal for LAist) If you're confused about what is and is not an "A Bridge Home" shelter, you're not alone. Not even city leaders are on the same page. Take 1215 Lodi PIace, located in Councilman Mitch O'Farrell's 13th District. Miller and others in the mayor's office say it's an ABH site, though it received no funding through the program. The site is owned by the YWCA, which converted it to a bridge housing facility without the city's involvement, according to the City Administrative Office. "The YWCA facility is bridge housing, however it is not part of the 'A Bridge Home' program the Mayor announced last year," said Tony Arranga, a spokesman for O'Farrell's office. "ABH provides housing and wrap around services for its residents, and enhanced services in the surrounding community. The YWCA program does not include the latter." Miller said city staff assessed some sites, including the YWCA site, and found they did not require "the full suite of resources that come with the prototypical A Bridge Home project." But she contends that it still counts. "It is a project that we think of as being under the umbrella of our A Bridge Home program," Miller said. "This is about getting people off the streets, in the community that they are living in and making sure that the sites are accessible, safe, enriched with services, and create a pathway for them to permanently resolve their homelessness and that's what YWCA does." There's a similar issue in District 4, where two Hollywood projects that predate the mayor's program are now classified as ABH sites by his office. One is the Aviva center, which is being upgraded to provide bridge housing to young women. The other, a 30-bed women's shelter, was first proposed by Councilman Ryu in November 2017 and broke ground the following November. A spokesman for Ryu's office said a proposed shelter in Los Feliz "is the only 'A Bridge Home' site [that's] a part of the Mayor's initiative." WHAT'S NEXT? (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images) It might be taking longer than expected to get off the ground, but there are signs that the ABH program is working for those who have been helped so far. The first shelter to open under the program was the El Puente site (previously called El Pueblo) across from Union Station. Service providers there say eight residents have transitioned into housing and another eight were recently matched. And despite the NIMBY backlash that makes the news, city leaders and community organizers say more residents are recognizing the need and stepping up to support building sites in their neighborhoods. "What we've learned is that when we share accurate and clear information about what bridge housing is and how it operates, people were willing to support it," said Gabriela Garcia, deputy director of organizing for the United Way's Everyone In campaign, which has been an advocate for the program this past year. "With a number of sites in the pipeline, we see a real path creating hundreds of beds that will bring people indoors and save lives." In February 2019, Councilman David Ryu filed a motion asking the city to explore the feasibility of a bridge housing site for what's currently a parking lot and open land owned by the Department of Recreation and Parks on the southeastern edge of Griffith Park in Los Feliz. (Courtesy Councilman David Ryu's office via Google Maps) That's playing out in Los Feliz, where a site is being studied on the southeastern edge of Griffith Park. Councilman Ryu said he's "ecstatic" that the idea has been embraced by the community and credits an emphasis on transparency and consistent outreach. "That's why I think we're starting to see a change in a shift in neighborhoods understanding the gravity of this situation and the need for everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch in," he said. "Homelessness didn't happen overnight. It happened over decades. And homelessness is not going to be solved overnight. It's unfortunately going to take years. And it's a long road ahead of us." Miller said that, despite the setbacks, ABH has grown "far beyond what we really expected it to be." "We're scaling up all those program components at the same time, at a magnitude which no other city is doing to this scale," she said, "and we're really, really proud of our work." And as the media -- and the public -- await the release of figures showing that homelessness has risen in the city and county, Miller said the system L.A. has built to get people off the streets "is working better than it's ever worked before." "Now, it's really time to turn our attention to how we keep people from experiencing homelessness in the first place, which is being done now," she said. "To scale that even greater is really going to be the task of next year." Reporters Josie Huang and Libby Denkmann contributed to this story. UPDATES: Tuesday, June 4, 2:10 p.m.: This article was updated with information about asbestos cleanup at the bridge housing site under construction at the the West Los Angeles V.A. campus. 12:15 p.m.: This article was updated to clarify the timetable for the city's bridge housing construction goal. This article was originally published at 7 a.m. on June 3. 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10 (1) Jul 08 (2) Jul 07 (1) Jul 06 (1) Jul 03 (1) Jul 01 (1) Jun 28 (1) Jun 24 (2) Jun 20 (1) Jun 19 (1) Jun 18 (1) Jun 15 (1) Jun 14 (2) Jun 11 (1) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (1) Jun 07 (1) Jun 06 (1) Jun 04 (2) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (2) Jun 01 (1) May 31 (3) May 30 (1) May 29 (1) May 28 (2) May 26 (1) May 25 (1) May 18 (1) May 17 (1) May 15 (1) May 09 (1) May 07 (2) May 02 (1) May 01 (1) Apr 30 (1) Apr 27 (1) Apr 26 (2) Apr 23 (1) Apr 22 (1) Apr 19 (1) Apr 18 (1) Apr 12 (1) Apr 11 (1) Apr 09 (1) Apr 07 (1) Apr 05 (1) Apr 01 (1) Mar 30 (1) Mar 27 (1) Mar 25 (1) Mar 22 (2) Mar 19 (1) Mar 18 (1) Mar 16 (1) Mar 15 (2) Mar 13 (1) Mar 12 (1) Mar 11 (1) Mar 10 (1) Monday, April 1, 2019 The question in the title of this post is the headline given to this Connecticut public radio show which aired today. I am very grateful to Professor Jenny Roberts, who was part of the show, for sending me the link to the show and also for providing this summary: As you may know, Connecticut's proposed bill has some really interesting social justice/equity provisions not only with expungement, but also with who will actually get the licenses in Connecticut. The show also explored issues of how those affected negatively by drug laws over the years might now get funding, etc, to start a marijuana business. State Sen. Gary Winfield, who is sponsoring part of the legislation, is on the whole time and well worth a listen, and a Boston Globe journalist joined for one segment on the Massachusetts social equity situation. Here is how the show's website describes the 50-minute segment: With recreational marijuana on sale in Massachusetts, Connecticut lawmakers are looking at legalizing recreational cannabis more seriously than ever. Meanwhile, research continues to show that the enforcement of drug laws in recent decades has disproportionately impacted communities of color. This hour, we ask: if Connecticut legalizes recreational marijuana, can it do so in a way that corrects some of this history of discriminatory enforcement? We talk with Judiciary co-Chair Senator Gary Winfield, who is calling for putting equity at the front of legalization efforts. And we check in about how racial justice has or hasnt come along with legalization in states that already have legal weed, from Massachusetts to California. https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/marijuana_law/2019/04/can-legal-weed-counter-decades-of-discriminatory-drug-enforcement.html Over at the Washington Post, Christopher Ingraham has this great new piece fully titled "Where the war on weed still rages: In some U.S. counties, more than 40 percent of all arrests are for marijuana possession." The title highlights the piece's themes, but the text and a map therein reinforce the point in various ways: Marijuana possession led to nearly 6 percent of all arrests in the United States in 2017, FBI data shows, underscoring the level of policing dedicated to containing behavior thats legal in 10 states and the nations capital. But the figure obscures the considerable variations in enforcement practices at the state and local levels. In many areas of the country in 2016, more than 20 percent of all arrests stemmed from pot possession, according to newly released county-level arrest figures from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data. The figure exceeds 40 percent in a handful of counties, topping out at nearly 55 percent in one Georgia county. The data tracks arrests, not individuals, so theres no mechanism for winnowing out repeat offenders. Nor does it include arrests for the sale or production of marijuana. But the numbers still illustrate how marijuana enforcement continues to make up a big part of many police agencies caseloads. The findings reflect, in part, a few simple realities: The federal government incentivizes aggressive drug enforcement via funding for drug task forces and generous forfeiture rules that allow agencies to keep cash and other valuables they find in the course of a drug bust. And because marijuana is bulky and pungent relative to other drugs, its often easy for police to root out. But given that recreational marijuana is legal throughout the West, and that two-thirds of the public supports legalization, critics view such aggressive enforcement tactics as wasteful, ineffective and even racially biased.... Nationwide, a few clear patterns emerge in the county-level arrest statistics from 2016, the latest year for which data is available. A swath of mostly conservative states, running from North Dakota through Texas, is home to many counties where marijuana enforcement accounts for 10 percent or more of all arrests well above the national average. But those conservative states are by no means alone. On the East Coast, New York and New Jersey stand out for relatively high arrest rates for marijuana possession. In New England, New Hampshire the Live free or die state also shows a high number of arrests relative to its neighbors. States that have legalized marijuana, on the other hand, tend to have lower arrest rates. Colorado and Washington, where recreational use had been legal for two years at the time the data was taken, few counties attributed more than 2.5 percent of their arrests to marijuana enforcement. Not a single county in California, which legalized the drug in 2016, met that threshold. Alabama and Kentucky which are not known for liberal marijuana policies also appeared to place a low priority on marijuana possession enforcement. The data shows that Dooley County, Ga., has the highest rate of marijuana arrests in the nation. Out of 422 total arrests in 2016, 230, or 54.5 percent, were for marijuana possession. The next highest was Hamilton County in New Yorks Adirondack Mountains, where 43.5 percent of the 130 arrests logged in 2016 targeted marijuana offenders. Thats followed by Sterling (42.1) and Hartley (42.0) counties in Texas, with South Dakotas Edmunds County (33.3 percent) rounding out the top five. While these counties are all small and rural, some larger counties in and around big cities also reported unusually high arrest rates. In Chesapeake, Va., (population 233,000), for instance, 23 percent of its nearly 3,600 arrests were for marijuana possession. In Marylands Montgomery County (population 1 million), just outside of Washington, D.C., about 20 percent of its 24,000 arrests were for pot.... Another notable component of the study is whats missing. Individual police agencies share arrest statistics with the FBI as part of its Uniform Crime Reporting Program. But participation is voluntary, and different states use different systems to report crime and arrest data, which means that some jurisdictions have more complete coverage than others. The map above omits all jurisdictions where the reporting rate is less than 90 percent, which eliminates large parts of some states and removes others, like Illinois and Florida, completely. Not all marijuana arrests lead to convictions or prison time. But an arrest can be highly disruptive in and of itself: Legal fees, bail and bond costs, time lost from work and the potential for pretrial detention can take a heavy toll on arrested individuals. In a number of cases, suspects have been inadvertently or deliberately killed while in police custody for possessing small quantities of pot. In one recent high-profile case, a Pennsylvania man was crushed by a bulldozer as he fled from police attempting to apprehend him over 10 marijuana plants a quantity that is legal in other parts of the country. In my article, "Leveraging Marijuana Reform to Enhance Expungement Practices," I gave justified credit to work being done at the state and local level in California to ensure marijuana reform is operationalized as a form of criminal justice reform. I am pleased to see this work continuing, especially as described in this news release from the LA DA titled "Los Angeles, San Joaquin County District Attorneys Announce Code for America Partnership to Reduce, Clear Cannabis Convictions." Here is how the release starts: District Attorneys Jackie Lacey of Los Angeles County and Tori Verber Salazar of San Joaquin County joined with Code for America today to announce a cutting-edge, criminal justice reform partnership to automatically clear more than 50,000 eligible cannabis convictions under Proposition 64. The two counties are among the first in California to take part in Code for Americas pilot program that proactively identifies convictions that qualify for resentencing or dismissal under the voter-approved initiative in November 2016. We have partnered with Code for America to take on this monumental effort in the states most populous county, District Attorney Lacey said. As technology advances and the criminal justice system evolves, we as prosecutors must do our part to pursue innovative justice procedures on behalf of our constituents. This collaboration will improve peoples lives by erasing the mistakes of their past and hopefully lead them on a path to a better future. Helping to clear that path by reducing or dismissing cannabis convictions can result in someone securing a job or benefitting from other programs that may have been unavailable to them in the past. We are grateful to Code for America for bringing its technology to our office. The war on drugs led to decades-long racial disparities in cannabis-related arrests and convictions, said Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. We have a responsibility to right these wrongs by utilizing the latest innovations in technology, such as Code for Americas Clear My Record initiative, to ensure that people who have been disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs get the second chance they deserve. Since the passage of Propositions 47 and 64, the San Joaquin County District Attorneys Office, in partnership with the Public Defenders Office and the Superior Court, have worked collaboratively to successfully implement the law in a timely and efficient manner, said San Joaquin County Public Defender Miriam Lyell in joint statement with District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar. We have seen firsthand the capabilities of the Clear My Record tool to facilitate the record clearing process and provide a much-needed service to our community, restoring families along with tremendous cost savings to the People of the State of California. This powerful tool represents the best of public-private partnerships: harnessing the power of technology to create new pathways of opportunity for members of our community with convictions. In the digital age, automatic record clearance is just common sense, said Jennifer Pahlka, Founder and Executive Director, Code for America. Thanks to the leadership of District Attorneys Lacey and Salazar, weve shown how records clearance can and should be done everywhere. When we do this right, we show that government can make good on its promises, especially for the hundreds of thousands who have been denied jobs, housing and other opportunities despite the passage of laws intended to provide relief. Clear My Record changes the scale and speed of justice and has the potential to ignite change across the state and the nation. Both offices have been working with Code for America since July 2018 to develop a system that examines cannabis convictions. There is estimated to be approximately 50,000 eligible convictions in Los Angeles County. There are an additional 4,000 eligible convictions in San Joaquin County. Recognizing that Californias record clearance process was not designed for the digital age, this historic partnership demonstrates a growing momentum for technology-assisted record clearance in California. It builds on last months announcement that Code for Americas Clear My Record technology helped San Francisco dismiss and seal more than 8,000 cannabis convictions. Last week, the Colorado Supreme issued a lengthy split ruling in Colorado v. McKnight, 2019 CO 36 (Col. May 20, 2019) (available here) which concludes that the state's marijuana reform initiative impacted criminal procedure rules related to drug-detection dog sniffs. The court's ruling is summarized this way before the lengthy majority and dissenting opinions begins: In this opinion, the supreme court considers the impact of the legalization of small amounts of marijuana for adults who are at least twenty-one years old on law enforcements use of drug-detection dogs that alert to marijuana when conducting an exploratory sniff of an item or area. The supreme court holds that a sniff from a drug-detection dog that is trained to alert to marijuana constitutes a search under the Colorado Constitution because that sniff can detect lawful activity, namely the legal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana by adults twenty-one and older. The supreme court further holds that, in Colorado, law enforcement officers must have probable cause to believe that an item or area contains a drug in violation of state law before deploying a drug-detection dog that alerts to marijuana for an exploratory sniff. The supreme court concludes by determining that there was no probable cause in this case to justify the sniff of the defendants truck by a drug-detection dog trained to alert to marijuana, and thus, the trial court erred in denying the defendants motion to suppress. The supreme court further concludes that the appropriate remedy for this violation of the Colorado Constitution is the exclusion of the evidence at issue. Thus, the supreme court affirms the court of appeals decision to reverse McKnights judgment of conviction. Six months ago, a Chinese scientist was widely criticized for helping make the first gene-edited babies. Now, new information suggests other people may be interested in doing the same kind of work. William Hurlbut is a bioethicist at Stanford University in the United States. He told The Associated Press (AP) that a fertility center in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, wrote to scientist He Jiankui by email. Hurlburt said the center wanted training in gene editing and asked He for information on the process. The Chinese scientist reportedly had often asked the Stanford doctor for advice. Hurlburt told the AP that He told him he had heard from scientists from more than one country, and families with inherited health problems. He said that they had messaged support and interest in changing the genes of human embryos. Hurlbut gave the AP an email he said the Dubai clinic sent to He in December. It shows what eagerness there is out there for this technology, Hurlbut said, and the need for some sort of enforceable governance of it. Other researchers have also heard of people wanting to edit embryos. Jennifer Doudna is with the University of California, Berkeley. She is the co-inventor of the CRISPR gene-editing tool that He used in his research. Doudna said the reports that others want to edit embryos are entirely credible. She said scientists need to work on establishing policies for how and when such work should happen. She added that the technology is not ready for clinical use in human embryos. But, she said, research should continue. Doudna receives money from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports the APs health and science reporting. Last November, He reported that he had changed the genes of twin girls when they were embryos. He claimed he did this before the girls were born to help them resist possible infection with the AIDS virus. International standards for gene-editing Ever since then, scientists and policy leaders have been debating the need for international standards, or controls. Editing embryos genes is illegal in many countries because it risks damaging other genes. The changes in the genes also can be passed to future generations. It is unknown how editing one generation will affect the next. Many scientists condemned Hes work. Some have also criticized researchers who were thought to have known about, or strongly suspected, what He was doing. Hurlbut and two other employees at Stanford University were cleared of any wrongdoing. Rice University in Texas is still looking into whether Hes former advisor, Professor Michael Deem, may have been involved. Hurlbut, said some people have expressed support for He and his research. If you call (He) a rogue scientist who did this all by himself, you miss the truth, Hurlbut said, adding, then you fail to see whats wrong with the way science is governed around the world. The Chinese scientist has not been seen publicly since shortly after he spoke at a conference in Hong Kong in November. The APs efforts to reach him by telephone and email were unsuccessful. Hes claim has yet to appear in a scientific publication, but the babies existence seems to have been confirmed by investigators in Guangdong province. According to Chinas official Xinhua news agency, investigators said He avoided supervision of his work and violated research norms out of a desire for publicity. There has been no information on how the two girls are doing. Information is also lacking on the second pregnancy He achieved with a gene-edited embryo. This one is thought to be about seven months along now. International committees have been formed to look into how to deal with the issue. Im Anne Ball. And Im Jill Robbins. Marilynn Marchione wrote this story for the Associated Press. Anne Ball adapted for VOA Learning English. The editor was George Grow. What do you think of about gene-editing embryos? Is it a good idea, or not? Write to us in the comments section below. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story gene-edited adj. genes, containing DNA, that have been changed before being put back in a body bioethicist n. a person who studies the ethics and implications of certain biological and medical procedures, technologies and treatments inherited adj. to have (a characteristic, disease, etc.) because of the genes that you get from your parents when you are born eagerness n. very excited and interested credible adj. able to be believed : reasonable to trust or believe rogue adj. used to describe something or someone that is different from others in usually a dangerous or harmful way achieve v. to get or reach (something) by working hard clinic - n. a place where people get medical help twin n. either one of two babies that are born at the same time to the same mother according to prep as stated, reported, or recorded by (someone or something) Pardeep Singh Kaleka has examined how people across the United States react to mass shootings. Seven years ago, a white supremacist invaded a Sikh religious center in Wisconsin and killed six people, including Kalekas father. His father died holding a knife he had tried to use in an attempt to stop the shooter. Now, whenever a gunman attacks another U.S. city or town, Kaleka leaves a supportive message on social media. Often times he will then travel to the affected community to help others face the pain he shares. Kaleka has been to Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Kaleka also has visited other communities affected by violence. Weve become kind of a family, he told The Associated Press. The number of U.S. mass shootings has increased in recent years. The most recent attack happened last Friday, when a gunman killed 12 people in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Changing the lives of thousands As a result of the shootings, a community of heartbreak has formed, touching and changing the lives of thousands of people. The attacks have also changed how Americas talk about and prepare for such danger. Today, the terms active shooter and shelter in place need no explanation. More schools are holding exercises to prepare students for the possibility of a shooter. And even some religious centers now have armed guards. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was once largely linked with soldiers who had terrible memories of violent battles. Now, some U.S. police officers and firefighters affected by the violence they have seen are seeking treatment. Healing centers have opened to offer survivors therapy and a place to gather. Support groups of survivors of mass shootings have formed. Government officials, doctors, police and other leaders who have experienced these crises are also doing what they can to help. Many offer support and guidance to the next town that has to deal with a mass shooting. Stephen Scaffidi had been mayor of Oak Creek, Wisconsin for just four months at the time of the Sikh religious center attack in 2012. He remembers a call that night from the mayor of Aurora, Colorado, where 12 people had been shot and killed at a movie theater less than three weeks earlier. Scaffidi said, He gave me the best advice I could ever receive in that moment: Be calm. Reassure your community. And only speak to what you know. Dont pretend to be an expert on something that youre not." Last year, a shooting at a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, resulted in the deaths of 17 people. Two days later, Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky met with the mother of a 6-year-old killed by a gunman in 2012. The woman offered the mayor advice about the future. Three months later, it was Hunschofskys turn. She sent a message to the incoming mayor of Santa Fe, Texas, where a school shooting had left 10 dead. She told me this is not going to be the hardest day and harder days are coming, recalled Santa Fe Mayor Jason Tabor. Prepare for that. She was 100 percent right. Mass shootings represent a small percentage of all killings nationwide, but the magnitude -- or size -- of their effect sets them apart. In 1999, the Columbine, Colorado shooting shocked Americans with its unforgettable images of students fleeing from their high school. Today, the public sees and hears about these events as they take place, through live video feeds on social media. Jaclyn Schildkraut is an expert on crime. She says Americans no longer see mass shootings as unusual events. We really dont have a consistent, prolonged conversation about these events and how to prevent them, she said. Schildkraut is with the State University of New York at Oswego. Effect of mass shootings on the survivors Studies have offered suggestions about the emotional effect of mass shootings. The National Center for PTSD estimates that 28 percent of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop the condition. And about a third develop acute stress disorder. Laura Wilson is an assistant professor at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. She examined information from 11 studies of PTSD symptoms among more than 8,000 people. Wilson said, Mass shootings are a different type of trauma...Most people have a hard time reconciling the idea that a young, innocent person made the good decision to go to school, was sitting there, learning and was murdered. That does not make sense to us. And yet, some people do not fully understand the lasting emotional wounds of those who escaped physical harm. Stephen Benning is a psychology professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He led a PTSD study of survivors of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting that left 58 people dead. Most of the survivors had a friend, family member or co-worker ask them why they were still troubled -- as early as 45 days after the event. Almost everyone had someone say, Get over it. Why are you letting this bother you? Benning said. In March of 2019, two student survivors of the Parkland school shooting killed themselves. Around the same time, the father of a 6-year-old girl killed in Newtown died of what appeared to be suicide. He had set up an organization in his daughters name to support research on violence prevention. Christine Hunschofsky says that after the Parkland suicides, many people sought mental health help for the first time. The communitys wellness center, established after the attack, extended its hours. A similar program, the Resiliency Center of Newtown, is a gathering place for those dealing with anxiety, depression and PTSD. Although the school attack happened over six years ago, the center still gets new visitors, and after every mass shooting, more people stop by. Stephanie Cinque is leads the center. She said, You dont just get over it and move on Your heart hurts every time a new tragedy happens." She added, "You know what those people who are going to have to go through and what the community is going to go through, and thats hard. Im Caty Weaver. And Im Ashley Thompson. Sharon Cohen and Lindsey Tanner reported on this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto adapted the story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. How do communities in your country deal with this kind of tragedy? Write to us in the Comments Section. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story supremacist n. a person who believes that one group of people is better than all other groups and should have control over them therapy n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses reassure v. to make someone)feel less afraid, upset, or doubtful feed(s) n. a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content consistent adj. of the same quality prolonged adj. continuing for a long time acute adj. very serious or dangerous symptom(s) n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present trauma n. a very difficult or unpleasant experience that causes someone to have mental or emotional problems usually for a long time reconciling v. finding a way of making two different ideas or facts exist or be true at the same time bother v. to cause someone to feel troubled, worried, or concerned anxiety n. fear or nervousness about what might happen Ciddicis Pizza is expanding out of Albany and planning to open up a third location in downtown Corvallis, at 140 NW Third St., in July. Were excited. Weve been here for 33 years. Our goal is to open a few more, said Hamid Siddiqui, owner of the business that is becoming a local chain. (His familys last name was given an Italian-style treatment for the name of the pizza joint.) A fourth Ciddicis location for Lebanon or east Linn County is being planned, though thats further out in the future. Corvallis locals already familiar with Ciddicis are eager for the new addition to the dining scene, said Steve Boyd, project coordinator for the restaurant. Boyd is helping with permitting and other aspects of the Corvallis Ciddicis location. I had a guy stick his head in the other day and ask, When are you open? Boyd said. Corvallis, as a college town, has slightly different demographics than Albany, of course. But Siddiqui is confident that theres room for another quality pizzeria. Boyd said that Corvallis includes plenty of commercial and industrial businesses, and large orders from those types of customers have become a specialty for Ciddicis in Albany. The Corvallis Ciddicis will use the same type of stone slate ovens used in Albany. Ciddicis is known for having a crisp crust. People like our pizza. Theres no reason to change that, Siddiqui said. The Corvallis location will have a separate full bar and grill with its own menu. The previous tenant of the Corvallis site was a steak house that had Western-themed decor. Thats being removed from the restaurant portion of the Corvallis Ciddicis. Boyd said the Western theme will remain in the bar portion, at least for now, to keep costs down. But Boyd also was curious if the decor will appeal to Oregon State University students and other residents from rural locales Corvallis doesnt have a true country bar. There are a lot of ag students, a lot of people come from Eastern Oregon to attend OSU, Boyd said. Plus, some aspects of the previous tenants design remain appealing, Boyd said, such as the bar, which is covered in pennies. Thats pretty cool, Boyd added. Ciddici's opened its second location, off of Belmont Avenue near Linn-Benton Community College in south Albany, in 2011. Kyle Odegard can be reached at kyle.odegard@lee.net, 541-812-6077 or via Twitter @KyleOdegard. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The proprietor of Hideaway Distillery in Lebanon is on the right side of the law unlike a few of his family members during the Prohibition era. Here's how to find it. GOTHENBURG All three Union Pacific tracks were struck and one damaged during a one vehicle rollover which injured three Gothenburg residents during the early morning hours of Saturday, June 1. According to a press release from the Dawson County Sheriffs Office, around 5:20 a.m. a Chevy Silverado pickup was southbound on Road 413 and did not stop for the stop sign. The Silverado continued across Highway 30 and entered the ditch. It then continued south and struck all three railroad tracks. The Silverado rolled and ejected two occupants, no seat belts were in used according to the press release. All three occupants were transported to Gothenburg Health by Gothenburg Fire and Rescue. The driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old was transported by Life Flight to Kearney. A 20-year-old passenger was transported to Omaha by Life Flight. A third passenger, a 17-year-old was treated and released. According to the Sheriffs Office the accident remains under investigation. Lenovo already sells a dual-screen laptop/tablet hybrid. Asus and HP have dual-screen laptops on the way. And Intel is showing off Twin River and Honeycomb Glacier concept designs that could be used by PC makers for future dual-screen devices. And Microsoft? It looks like the company may have one too. According to The Verges sources (and confirmed by ZDNets), Microsoft held a staff meeting recently where employees got an early look at a new dual-screen device thats code-named Centaurus. Its said to have been in development for a few years, and we first heard that codename in December. Centaurus is likely to be more of a laptop or tablet-style device than a smartphone-sized handheld. It wont fold up and fit in your pocket. And itll probably ship with Windows Lite, which is expected to be a stripped down version of Windows that will compete with Googles Chrome OS by offering a simple, secure operating system capable of running on a wide range of hardware. Its unclear if or when Centaurus will be released, how much it will cost, or even what youre supposed to do with it. But this isnt the first time Microsoft has considered releasing a dual-screen device: the company was said to be developing a pen-enabled dual screen device called Courier a decade ago, but Microsoft pulled the plug on the project in early 2010. This time things might be different or they might not be. On the one hand, Microsoft would hardly be the only company to release a dual-screen and/or foldable device in the next year or two. On the other hand, none of those devices have really been around long enough to tell if theres actually enough consumer demand to help justify the relatively high price tags that tend to come with innovative hardware. A Texas-based televangelist is facing scrutiny following a recent TV interview in which he defended his use of three private jets and referred to the public as a bunch of demons that he needed to avoid while preparing his sermons. Kenneth Copeland, head of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, was confronted by reporter Lisa Guerrero of Inside Edition in May while in his car outside an event in Branson, Mo. Asked why he needs the private jets, Copeland responds: If I flew commercial, Id have to stop 65 percent of what Im doing. Guerrero then asks Copeland about a past statement attributed to him, in which he allegedly said he doesnt use commercial airlines because he doesnt want to get into a tube with a bunch of demons. Copeland appears to become angered by the question and denies comparing people to demons. Dont you ever say I did! the preacher snarls at the reporter. Copeland normally declines to address questions about his purchases, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The preachers organization operates 22 churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and runs a 1,500-acre campus that includes an airstrip and a hangar for its planes, the report said. According to the newspaper, Copelands third jet, a Gulfstream V, was purchased in January 2018 from Hollywood star Tyler Perry. But the preacher tells Guerrero in the interview that he got a good price on the aircraft and didnt overspend. When asked to disclose a specific price, Copeland declines. Thats really none of your business, he tells Guerrero. Neither Copeland nor his ministry responded when the Star-Telegram sought their reaction to the Inside Edition interview, the newspaper reported. Copeland is far from the only religious leader linked to expensive purchases. In December, a South Carolina pastor spent $200,000 on a Lamborghini as an anniversary gift for his wife. Pastor John Gray, leader of the Relentless Church in Greenville, was widely criticized on social media but still defended the purchase. Pastor buys his wife this expensive car, Gray said. First of all it wasnt a pastor who bought the car, it was a husband that bought the car. Get that in your spirit. He also addressed the speculation that he used some money from the church to pay for the Lamborghini. Did this man use any money from the church to do this? Gray asked. And the answer is no; absolutely not. And God, take my life on this live feed if I did. Last May, Louisiana-based preacher Jesse Duplantis announced he was seeking donations so he could purchase a $54 million private jet. I really believe that if Jesus was physically on the Earth today, he wouldnt be riding a donkey, Duplantis said at the time. Hed be in an airplane preaching the gospel all over the world. According to the United States original 1950 urban classifications, rural America is crushing it. Its home to about as many people as urban America, and its growing faster. So why do headlines and statistics paint rural areas as perpetually in decline? Because the contest between rural and urban America is rigged. Official definitions are regularly updated in such a way that rural counties are continually losing their most successful places to urbanization. When a rural county grows, it transmutes into an urban one. In a way, rural areas serve as urban Americas farm team: All their most promising prospects get called up to the big leagues, leaving the low-density margins populated by an ever-shrinking pool of those who couldnt qualify. Imagine how unfair a sport would seem if one team automatically drafted the others best players the moment they showed any promise. Thats essentially what happens when we measure rural areas as whatevers left over after anywhere that hits a certain population level is considered metropolitan. It distorts how we see rural America. It skews our view of everything from presidential politics to suicide to deaths caused by alcohol. Preparing to decorate graves, May 1899. Library of Congress In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country. The holiday was Memorial Day, and this years commemoration on May 27 marks the 151st anniversary of its official nationwide observance. The annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead. Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday. Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Unions former enemies, saying, It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South. Im a scholar who has written with co-author Daniel Bellware a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holidays birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday came into being. Generous acts bore fruit During 1866, the first year of this annual observance in the South, a feature of the holiday emerged that made awareness, admiration and eventually imitation of it spread quickly to the North. During the inaugural Memorial Day observances which were conceived in Columbus, Georgia, many Southern participants especially women decorated graves of Confederate soldiers as well as, unexpectedly, those of their former enemies who fought for the Union. Civil War Union Gen. John A. Logan. Library of Congress Glass negatives Shortly after those first Memorial Day observances all across the South, newspaper coverage in the North was highly favorable to the ex-Confederates. The action of the ladies on this occasion, in burying whatever animosities or ill-feeling may have been engendered in the late war towards those who fought against them, is worthy of all praise and commendation, wrote one paper. On May 9, 1866, the Cleveland Daily Leader lauded the Southern women during their first Memorial Day. The act was as beautiful as it was unselfish, and will be appreciated in the North. The New York Commercial Advertiser, recognizing the magnanimous deeds of the women of Columbus, Georgia, echoed the sentiment. Let this incident, touching and beautiful as it is, impart to our Washington authorities a lesson in conciliation. Power of a poem To be sure, this sentiment was not unanimous. There were many in both parts of the U.S. who had no interest in conciliation. It struck me that the South was holding out a friendly hand, and that it was our duty, not only as conquerors, but as men and their fellow citizens of the nation, to grasp it. Finchs poem seemed to extend a full pardon to the South: They banish our anger forever when they laurel the graves of our dead was one of the lines. Not just poems: Sheet music written to commemorate Memorial Day in 1870. Library of Congress Almost immediately, the poem circulated across America in books, magazines and newspapers. By the end of the 19th century, school children everywhere were required to memorize Finchs poem. The ubiquitous publication of Finchs rhyme meant that by the end of 1867, the southern Memorial Day holiday was a familiar phenomenon throughout the entire, and recently reunited, country. General Logan was aware of the forgiving sentiments of people like Finch. When Logans order establishing Memorial Day was published in various newspapers in May 1868, Finchs poem was sometimes appended to the order. The blue and the grey It was not long before Northerners decided that they would not only adopt the Southern custom of Memorial Day, but also the Southern custom of burying the hatchet. A group of Union veterans explained their intentions in a letter to the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph on May 28, 1869: Wishing to bury forever the harsh feelings engendered by the war, Post 19 has decided not to pass by the graves of the Confederates sleeping in our lines, but divide each year between the blue and the grey the first floral offerings of a common country. We have no powerless foes. Post 19 thinks of the Southern dead only as brave men. Other reports of reciprocal magnanimity circulated in the North, including the gesture of a 10-year-old who made a wreath of flowers and sent it to the overseer of the holiday, Colonel Leaming, in Lafayette, Indiana, with the following note attached, published in The New Hampshire Patriot on July 15, 1868: Will you please put this wreath upon some rebel soldiers grave? My dear papa is buried at Andersonville, (Georgia) and perhaps some little girl will be kind enough to put a few flowers upon his grave. President Abraham Lincolns wish that there be malice toward none and charity for all was visible in the magnanimous actions of participants on both sides, who extended an olive branch during the Memorial Day observances in those first three years. Although not known by many today, the early evolution of the Memorial Day holiday was a manifestation of Lincolns hope for reconciliation between North and South. ___ This is an updated version of an article originally published on May 25, 2018. Richard Gardiner, Associate Professor of History Education, Columbus State University This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Missouri finds itself in the national spotlight for all the wrong reasons again this time, by giving new rights and opportunities to rapists. By signing House Bill 126, which bans abortions even in the case of rape, incest or human trafficking, Gov. Mike Parson has spoken loud and clear. He wants rapists in Missouri to have more power over their victims. He wants a womans decisions over her health care to be criminalized. These positions are extreme and cruel. I join the probable majority of Missourians who are appalled by this new law. But I also know this law represents another emotion for Missouri women fear. One of the biggest fears a woman has is for her personal safety the fear of being assaulted or raped. Weve come to accept the reality that we must protect ourselves from it. Weve come to accept that we have to be prepared in everyday situations. This is why women carry rape whistles and pepper spray, and have emergency apps on our phones. We carry our keys between our fingers and wear nail polish that can detect date-rape drugs. If we go for a run, weve been told to leave one earbud out so we can hear someone coming up behind us. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. [June 03, 2019] Media Alert: Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo, June 3-6, in Toronto, Canada Gartner (News - Alert) , Inc. (NYSE:IT): What: Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2019 When: June 3-6, 2019 Where: Beanfield Centre at Exhibition Place, Toronto Members of the media can register for the event by contacting christy.pettey@gartner.com or katie.costello@gartner.com. Details: Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo is the one event series that thousands of CIOs and their leadership teams consider indispensable. More than 900 Canadian CIOS and senior technology executives will come together to shape the future of IT and business strategies. IT Symposium/Xpo brings together a community of IT leaders, technology visionaries and Gartner experts to examine the industry's most critical trends to help organizations build and execute world-class IT strategies. Connecting the Digital Journey Digital business transformation is upon us. Now is the time for organizations to be more adaptive to change, and leaders need to bring new practices, develop new capabilities and create new ways to succeed - the ContinuousNEXT approach. During the opening keynote, Gartner's leading analysts will connect the dots on the digital journey - from culture to technologies to strategy to operating models, so every CIO and IT leader can adapt to a world of continuous change. At IT Symposium/Xpo key influencers will take the stage to provide their unique view f the emerging trends shaping IT, business strategy and leadership: Guest Keynotes include: Mark Bowden , Human Behavior and Body Language Expert, TRUTHPLANE , Human Behavior and Body Language Expert, TRUTHPLANE Peter Hinssen, Author, Entrepreneur and Expert on Disruptive Innovation Author, Entrepreneur and Expert on Disruptive Innovation Rick Mercer, Comedian, The Rick Mercer Report Comedian, The Rick Mercer Report Patty McCord, Former Chief Talent Officer, Netflix CIO Experience Guest Speakers: Susan Greenfield , Expert on the Human Mind and Renowned Brain Researcher , Expert on the Human Mind and Renowned Brain Researcher Bruce Kirkby, Photographer & writer, Canadian Adventurer This year's agenda delivers more than 100 sessions across three tracks, covering the priorities most critical to CIOs: Business Strategy Leadership Technology & Information These tracks will help CIOs and senior IT executives stay ahead of the latest trends in artificial intelligence (AI), data and analytics, security and risk, block chain, customer experience, cloud computing, digital transformation, work, people and culture and more. IT executives from the Government, Higher Education and Financial Services sectors will find a full day of industry-specific and cross-industry sessions on Monday, June 3. The conference kicks off on Tuesday, June 4 with the Gartner Opening Keynote - Beyond Digital Transformation to ContinuousNext. Over the next three days, attendees can choose from keynotes, CIO Stories, breakout sessions, attendee meetups, workshops and roundtables and our Signature Series sessions, including the 2019 CIO Agenda: A Canadian Perspective. IT Xpo, an exhibit showcase teeming with leading providers of IT solutions aimed at driving business imperatives, will highlight the next steps in technology through live demonstrations, face-to-face meetings with exhibitors, and fast-paced presentations . For complete event and registration details, please visit Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo. Follow news and updates from the event on social media using #GartnerSYM. About Gartner Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities and build the successful organizations of tomorrow. Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 15,000 organizations in more than 100 countries - across all major functions, in every industry and organization size. To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit www.gartner.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005001/en/ [ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ] When I asked Pocan what has surprised him most about Congress, his answer was, Just how much time is utterly wasted in airports and airplanes. Theres nothing Congress can do about how far its members have to travel or how often weather or mechanical difficulties cause flight delays and cancellations. But Congress can give its members a more sensible schedule, which might even provide the added bonus of leading to stronger bipartisan relationships. The House is rarely in session for a full, five-day week which means members often spend part of the workweek flying back and forth rather than getting to know each other outside of the Capitol. Pocan is advocating for a change to that schedule. Under his suggested calendar, the House would be in session for two consecutive five-day weeks, followed by two consecutive weeks at home. That would provide more time on the floor, more time in Washington and more uninterrupted time at home. Maybe well stay over the weekend and get to know each other God forbid that would happen, he said. The new schedule would also give lawmakers a more focused period of time to meet with constituents in their districts. RACINE The man accused of stabbing the mother of his children, and stabbing and killing her boyfriend, was formally charged Friday afternoon. Lapiate P. Boones cash bond has been set at $1 million and he is barred from contacting anyone involved in Thursdays reported attack at a duplex on the citys far northeast side including his two children. Boone faces multiple felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide for allegedly killing Gene Smith, 35, which carries a sentence of life in prison if convicted. Boone also faces an attempted first-degree intentional homicide charge for the alleged stabbing of Joy Reid, 36, with whom Boone has two children. Reid suffered injuries to her face, right arm and back and was taken via Flight for Life to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa. Racine Police said on Friday that Reid is in stable but critical condition. Boone also is charged with felony counts of battery, mayhem and stalking and a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. After an initial court appearance Friday, a preliminary hearing was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. Helmi Hamad, Boones defense attorney, argued that because Boone did not have a criminal history (other than a forfeiture for disorderly conduct) and has been employed as both a bus driver and truck driver in the past decade, then the bond should have been set at $2,000 with house arrest and a GPS tracking requirement. I appreciate your argument, Court Commissioner John Bjelajac said. Im also staring at a complaint that is egregious, to say the least. He denied the defenses bond request before granting the prosecutions request for a cash bond of $1 million. Under the terms of the bond Boone, 39, of the 3800 block of North Bay Drive (where the incident occurred), also is not allowed to possess any firearms or knives and must provide a DNA sample to the Racine County Sheriffs Office. He remained in custody Friday night at the County Jail. Also Friday, charges were filed against Boone for allegedly disobeying a restraining order filed by Reid and for threatening her. According to that criminal complaint: On Nov. 2, Reid told police that Boone had arrived where Reid was living, despite the restraining order that was still in effect through September 2020. Police reported that they were told Boone was trying to kill Reid. Hours later, as Reid left a friends house, Boone allegedly forced himself into her car while wielding a knife, saying Im going to kill you. Stabbing incident On Wednesday, Reid went to visit her children. The children, ages 12 and 16, were living with their father, Boone, in the North Bay Drive duplex, east of Main Street and south of Three Mile Road, according to a criminal complaint. Reid also lived there until September, but had moved out due to problems in their relationship and reported abusive behavior. Reid was at the home from about 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday when she and Boone began to argue. During an argument, Boone allegedly stabbed Reid in the back of one of her legs with a kitchen knife. She immediately left with her children, and the 16-year-old drove her to the hospital for treatment. After she was released from the hospital, Reid and her boyfriend, Smith, took the children back to the duplex to get their school bags and some clothing. Boones car was not there. They went inside and did not find Boone, so the children and their mother began to pack some items. At about 12:49 a.m., according to police, Boone returned home and allegedly began hitting Reid with a large pole in the living room. Smith tried to get between the two, but Boone began hitting him, too. The fight moved into the kitchen, where Boone allegedly grabbed a knife and began stabbing Reid and Smith, who tried to intervene. The three went through the kitchens back door and into the backyard, where Boone fled, leaving Reid on the ground. Smith returned to the house, where the children tried to use towels to stop his bleeding. He was stabbed in the chest, upper thigh and head. Smith was found near his phone trying to call 911 when paramedics arrived. He died from his injuries before he could be treated at the hospital. Reid remained in the backyard where she was found in the grass by a Racine Police officer. A knife was located nearby. She reportedly told an officer that Boone had stabbed her. Remembrances Police tape, flowers and memorial signs were observed outside the home on Friday. Several signs read: Prayers, not stares XO! Family members of Boone and supporters of the victims were in the gallery during Fridays hearing at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, but none of them spoke during the hearing and declined to speak with reporters afterward. A prayer vigil has been scheduled for Sunday evening to show support for the victims and families involved in the Thursday morning incident. The vigil, organized by the Racine Interfaith Coalition, is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sunday in the 3800 block of North Bay Drive. Im also staring at a complaint that is egregious, to say the least. John Bjelajac, Racine County court commissioner Managing Editor Stephanie Jones contributed to this report. RACINE Five years after a Racine man was killed during a robbery at an American Legion Post tavern, police are still looking for answers. Cold case There was a No guns allowed sign outside the front door. Two men ignored the sign. They entered American Legion Post 546, 1234 Douglas Ave., near closing time, at about 1:30 a.m. on May 31, 2014. Wearing hoodies and covering their faces, they each wielded firearms. Less than a minute later, the bar and a 47-year-old patron, Joseph Walker, had been robbed. The bartender said that the assailants fired two shots: one aimed at her, one at Walker. One of the bullets missed. The other killed Walker. The two men fled. Due to grainy surveillance video and their covered faces, there wasnt much of a description to go with, other than the assailants appeared to be young black males. The perpetrators have never been found, and law enforcement has never announced any significant suspects in the five years since. Related incidents Walker, who was 47 at the time, was the only fatality in a string of 2014 robberies that included thefts from a pair of Family Dollar stores and from Bohl Automotive. Police were able to connect suspects to the other robberies, but nothing stuck for the incident at Post 546, which is why they are reaching out again as they try to identify the killer and his accomplice. The crime remains unsolved, a news release said Friday. The Racine Police Department remains committed to finding those responsible for this senseless crime and holding them accountable. A $5,000 cash reward was offered in June 2014 for anyone with information that could lead to finding the killers, and that money remains available to anyone who comes forward today. The community surrounding the Legion post was shaken after the killing. When it comes to humanity, these types of organizations are out here to serve the community. For anyone to capitalize (on) that, as a criminal, is just wrong, Army veteran Rory Burns told The Journal Times in December 2014, after the American Legion spent $7,000 to improve security at Post 546. The victim Walker, who had five children, was remembered as a quiet, family man. He was between jobs at the time of his death, but had previously worked at Cree Lighting. His sister said that he was the peacemaker in the family, according to a Journal Times article from June 2014. As a child, Walkers mom had moved the family from Chicago to avoid the gangs and violence there. We wanted them to have a better life, Walkers mother, Beulah Walker, said at the time. Im not going to dwell on the ifs and whys there had to be a reason for God to take him home. That will give me more peace than thinking of the ifs and whys. Tips Racine Police investigators are interested in any additional information that anyone may have about this crime. Citizens with information are encouraged to call the Racine Police Department Investigations Unit at 262-635-7756. Those who wish to remain anonymous may contact Crime Stoppers at 262-636-9330, or text 274637 (CRIMES). Text message should begin with RACS. Ongoing struggle Still, in Chicago and elsewhere, its always been an ongoing struggle although maybe thats overstating it but in Chicago there were no Native American professors, no one teaching about Native American culture studies or art-making, Gibson said. While in Chicago, Gibson also served as a research intern at the Field Museum, where he worked with Native American collections before heading back to the formal art classrooms where he studied painting and sculpture. Eventually he taught himself many of the techniques he now uses, such as beading or painting on hides. Really, its just practice, he said. The studio now has a team of assistants who help to fabricate everything. I imagine its similar to any artist studio where we have our own modifications to traditional techniques so that we can do what we need to do with them. Along with wall hangings and garments, some of Gibsons most noted works are made from re-purposed punching bags, a holdover from the days when he was most torn about his place in the art world. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. We have just about every ecosystem there is in Wisconsin short of the North Woods on the property, Scianna said. Even before the school was created, some high school students had been keeping their animals in the pig barn and would come to take care of them. Other animals like sheep, goats and a calf have also been kept on the property. Eighth-grader Gunnar Sperle, who keeps five pigs at the property, said he liked the idea of going to a school where he could be with them. The school started with 20 students in grades seven through 12. Next school year, it will have 30 students, and there is a waiting list. Eventually, organizers hope to enroll 40 to 50 students. In addition to students who are interested in agriculture or love the outdoors, some students are attracted to the schools small size. Others are academically advanced and want a chance to go at their own pace. Its smaller, and then I have more of an opportunity to go outside more often, said seventh-grader Cain Clark, who has pigs elsewhere and has sold pigs to students who keep them at the farm. Abortion has been legal in all 50 states since the landmark case of Roe v. Wade in 1973. But with the recent ascent of conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court and other high courts, more than a dozen states have passed laws restricting abortions, setting up a legal battle that could lead to a challenge of Roe v. Wade. In just the last few weeks, five states have banned abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected and one state has banned virtually all abortions. Idaho has not yet jumped into the fray by enacting more restrictive abortion laws like these other states, but some state lawmakers want to. Abortion in Idaho: whats allowed? Abortion is allowed in Idaho with the following restrictions: Illegal after viability, which is when the fetus can survive outside the womb. Mandatory counseling and 24-hour waiting period. Minors under age 18 need consent of one parent/guardian or the court. Third trimester and partial-birth abortions allowed only if the womans life is in danger. State law requires Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to annually report on induced abortions performed in the state. Since 2000, the highest annual number of abortions was 1,650 in 2009. The lowest: 801 in 2000. In 2017, the most recent year available, Idaho reported 1,285 abortions. Of those: 1,024 were performed in Ada County, 258 in Twin Falls County and three in Valley County. 39 were performed on women ages 10 to 17; 108 ages 18-19; 731 ages 20 to 29; 360 ages 30 to 39; and 47 were age 40 or older. 38 of the 39 minors who had an abortion received written consent from a parent or guardian, one received consent from a court. 92.3% of the abortions were performed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. 56.7% were surgical procedures, 43.3% were nonsurgical chemically induced abortions. 99.3% reported no complications. Idaho does not report the number of abortions performed due to life endangerment, rape or incest. In comparison with neighboring states, Montana in 2017 reported 1,561 abortions performed, Utah reported 2,923; Oregon reported 8,506; and Washington reported 17,080. Nationally, 926,200 abortions were performed in 2014, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Abortions in Idaho represent 0.1% of all abortions in the U.S., according to Guttmacher. Idahos abortion rate of 4.2 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age is among the lowest in the nation. The national average is 14.6. Idaho holds back as other states advance legislation So far this year, more than one dozen states have passed a barrage of laws restricting abortion. Earlier this month, Alabama passed a near total ban on abortions by making it a felony to perform an abortion except in cases where the womans life is in danger. Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Ohio each passed a fetal heartbeat bill that bans abortions if a fetal heartbeat is detected. On Thursday, Louisiana became the fifth state to enact a fetal heartbeat bill when its Democratic governor signed a ban on abortion as early as six weeks of pregnancy, the Associated Press reports. Some states have passed abortion ban trigger laws, which go into effect immediately if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Shortly after Roe v. Wade was decided, Idaho enacted a trigger law calling for mandatory prison terms for women having illegal abortions and the doctors who perform them. That law, which would have gone into effect if the high court ruling were reversed, was repealed in 1990. While other state legislatures are aggressively passing more restrictive abortion laws since President Donald Trump took office in 2017, Idaho has not. In 2017, the Idaho Legislature printed three abortion-related bills. Two passed: one clarifies language on an existing ban on using aborted remains or stem cells for medical research, the other bans prescribing abortion-inducing drugs via telehealth. Another bill requiring additional information be provided to women considering a chemical abortion did not get a committee hearing. In 2018, the Legislature passed two abortion-related bills. One requires Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to collect data on abortion-related health complications, the other requires the health department to provide additional information to women considering a chemical abortion. In 2019, the Legislature printed three abortion-related bills, of which, two passed. One clarifies language in the abortion complication reporting law passed in 2018, the other updates the states partial-birth abortion ban to align it with federal law, which prohibits partial-birth abortions except when necessary to save a womans life. One proposal that did not gain traction this session is the Idaho Abortion Human Rights Act sponsored by North Idaho Republican Reps. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, and John Green, R-Post Falls. The proposal would repeal the section of state law that prohibits prosecuting women who get abortions and doctors who perform them with murder. The draft bill did not get a print hearing, the first step of the legislative process. Scott told the Statesman this week they plan to bring the bill back next session. During a May 18 Kootenai County GOP legislator town hall in Hayden, Green said their proposal would would remove the exception for abortion from the murder statute. This would say in Idaho abortion is murder. We will treat it as murder. If you participate in a crime, you will be prosecuted. Green said the main push back he got on the bill, is we cant make abortion a criminal act in all cases because we cannot punish the mothers for participating in abortion. So, what we are saying is we cant punish a mother for murdering her child, Green said. There are arguments that say women are coerced or pressured, Green continued. I see these women on TV celebrating their abortions. Were they pressured into it? They are partying because they think they have this right to take a human life without consequence. During the same town hall meeting, Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur dAlene, was asked if Idaho is going to pass a bill banning abortion after five weeks, also called the heartbeat bill. I would love to see Idaho ban abortion from the beginning, she said. I am excited to see some of these other states take some bold action. Souza said there is one thing inhibiting Idaho from taking such bold action and banning or further restricting abortion. The reason we are in more of a jam here in Idaho is because we have a federal court judge here who is extremely liberal and then it gets sent to the 9th Circuit. Need I say more? she said, referring to the California-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Idaho. What about Idahos representation in congress? At the federal level, Idahos newest member of Congress, Rep. Russ Fulcher, started working on anti-abortion legislation and issues as soon as he was sworn in at the beginning of the year. Fulcher is already co-sponsoring six anti-abortion-related bills. The other three members of Idahos all-Republican delegation, Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Rep. Mike Simpson, have consistently stated they oppose abortion. Shortly after being sworn in, Fulcher on Jan. 17 gave his first speech on the House floor. Im often asked why I came to Congress, and Ive asked myself that very same question, he said. Its certainly not for the money, and its not for the notoriety or the scrutiny that comes with that. Ultimately for me, it comes down to the honorable purpose of supporting the divinely inspired principles behind our founding. Being a voice for those unavailable or unable to speak. Theres none more vulnerable or unable to speak than the unborn. And there is no more noble cause than protecting or promoting life. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 TWIN FALLS St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Centers Emergency Room sees an average of 105 patients each day. Garth Blackburn, who took over as manager of patient services in the emergency department in April, is determined to transform how staff communicates with those patients, and how patients understand the care they receive. Our best interest is the patient, Blackburn said. He explained, however, its not the role of Emergency Department personnel to fix problems but to identify health issues and enable patients to find the right path to regain their health. Were generalists, he said. His own background confirms that knowing a bit about everything is perfect for working in the emergency department. Blackburn started his professional career as manager of a national chain clothing store in Twin Falls. When that company ran into financial issues and began closing stores, he decided not to move his family from Idaho and began searching for a new job. He took a personality test. You should be a nurse, the results said. Blackburn took the insight seriously and enrolled in classes at the College of Southern Idaho. It changed everything in my life, he said. After graduating, Blackburn was hired at what was then St. Benedicts Hospital in Jerome. In a hospital that size, you do everything, he said. It was a great way, I felt, to learn the basics of everything. St. Benedicts experienced ownership changes, and Blackburn was seeking more experience, so he applied at St. Lukes in Twin Falls. Offered a position in the emergency department, he eagerly accepted. Another opportunity arose in 2011, as electronic health records were becoming standard practice. The time Blackburn spent as an informatics analyst or clinical informaticist gave him a chance to build relationships with many leaders and educators in emergency departments throughout the region as the computerized system was implemented and evolved to its current form, providing a truly coordinated single chart for each patient. Also on his plate, of course, were his family responsibilities. Blackburns wife, Andrea, works at St. Lukes Magic Valley. The couple has four children. Blackburns skills as an actor keep him active in local community theater, as well. Earlier this year, the position of emergency department manager opened up at St. Lukes Magic Valley, when Jeff Carl resigned. Blackburn applied for the position, not because he was unhappy with his job at the time, but because it would return him to what he really loves: emergency medicine. Garth is recognized for his compassion, strong communication skills and calm demeanor under pressure, said Marlys Massey, senior director of patient care at St. Lukes Magic Valley. Coupled with his exemplary clinical and decision-making skills; this positioned him as an ideal leader for our busy emergency department. In the past few weeks, hes spent quite a bit of time reading complaints, or grievances. Hes noticed problems with lack of communication by staff and patient misunderstanding of expectations when they visit the emergency department. We have to work on the way we communicate with people, Blackburn said, adding that changing the culture of the emergency department will be challenging. He brings excitement and fervor to that challenge and looks forward to helping patients find where they need to go on their road to health and how to get there, he said. Love 13 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Grief support Visions of Hope bereavement support group, 1:30 p.m. Mondays at Brookdale Senior Living, 1367 Locust St. N., Twin Falls. The support group is open to anyone in the community who is grieving a loss. Free. Information: Courtney at Brookdale, 208-735-0700, or Tonya at Hospice Visions, 208-735-0121. Recovery class Stanton Healthcare Magic Valley is offering a 10-week course of Her Choice to Heal by Sydna Masse, to help individuals find healing after an abortion. Classes are held at 7 p.m. Mondays at Twin Falls Reformed Church, 1631 Grandview Drive N. Registration is available the first night of the class. Post-abortion recovery classes are open to anyone in the community who has experienced the pain of abortion. For a complete class schedule or more information, visit stantonmv.org or call 208-734-7472. Grief support Harrisons Hope grief recovery support group, 11 a.m. Tuesdays at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W. The class is for anyone who has lost a loved one to find comfort in understanding your grief. Information, senior center, 208-734-5084. Seniors wellness The Twin Falls Senior Center will host wellness presentations for seniors at 530 Shoshone St. W. Each program will begin at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday: Skin Cancer Awareness program by Heritage Independent Living. Friday: Specialty Therapy for Vertigo presented by Serenity Transitional Care. June 10: All about the Dairy Group with Siew Guan Lee, University of Idaho Extension Twin Falls Countys family and consumer sciences educator. June 13: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder discussion by Heritage Home Health and Hospice. Free; 208-734-5084. CPR, infant safety Infant safety and cardiopulmonary resuscitation class, 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in Oak Rooms 2-4 on the lower level of St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. New parents, grandparents and caregivers learn CPR and what to do if an infant chokes. Free; registration is required. 208-814-0425. Grandparents support Gran-Group, 1 p.m. Thursdays at the Twin Falls Senior Center, 530 Shoshone St. W. The open group offers information and support for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Information, senior center, 208-734-5084. Grief support Visions of Hope bereavement and grief support, 5 p.m. Thursdays at Hospice Visions, 1770 Park View Drive, Twin Falls. The grief support group is open to anyone in the community who has experienced a loss. Information: John or Tonya, 208-735-0121. Grief support Grief Share class, 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Lighthouse Church, 960 Eastland Drive, Twin Falls. Anyone who has lost a loved one or a friend is welcome to attend. Enter through the east doors at the rear of the main building. For information, contact the church at 208-737-4667. Childbirth St. Lukes Magic Valley prepared childbirth bootcamp, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the Oak Room at St. Lukes, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. This session is for those unable to attend the five-week prepared childbirth classes. Topics: wellness during pregnancy; labor process with relaxation and breathing techniques; videos of deliveries and labor positions; and care of the postpartum mother and newborn. Cost is $25 and pre-registration is required, 208-814-0425. Breastfeeding Free Breastfeeding 101 class, 7 p.m. June 10 in Oak Room 4 on the lower level of St. Lukes Magic Valley Medical Center, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. The class is for new mothers and breastfeeding mothers wanting to review their skills. Babies and your support person are welcome. Free; pre-registration is required, 208-814-0425. Bariatric support Magic Valley Bariatric Support Group, 7 p.m. June 10 in Oak Room 1 on the lower level of St. Lukes, 801 Pole Line Road W., Twin Falls. The meetings are facilitated by licensed bariatric health-care professionals. Registration isnt required. Information: 208-381-3641. Rides for treatment The American Cancer Societys Road to Recovery program provides free transportation to and from treatments for people with cancer who do not have a ride or are unable to drive. There are several volunteer drivers in the Mini-Cassia area who donate their time and the use of their car so patients can go to their treatments. To schedule a ride to treatments, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 to be matched with a volunteer driver. Alzheimers support Magic Valley Caregiver Support Group, presented by Alzheimers Association, Greater Idaho Chapter, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. June 11 at Bridgeview Estates, 1828 Bridgeview Blvd., Twin Falls. The group meets on the second Tuesday every month. Information: facilitator Yolanda Martinez, 208-404-6720. Grief support Idaho Home Health and Hospice offers a free support group, Journey Through Grief, 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every month at 222 Shoshone St. E., Twin Falls. This support group is for the community to come together to encourage each other, find ways to heal, and walk through the pain of grief and loss. The program is facilitated by Idaho Home Health and Hospice, Lejla Becirovic, bereavement coordinator and medical social worker. Information: 208-734-4061. Seniors wellness Savvy Senior Series, 3 p.m. June 12 at Syringa Place Assisted Living, 1880 Harrison St. N., Twin Falls. Topic: Science of Scams. The free programs are on the second Wednesday of each month through October and are open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For reservations, contact Connie at 208-308-4751 at least 24 hours in advance. To do for you is a listing of health-related activities, events and education. Submit information by noon Thursday for publication in the following Mondays edition to ramona@magicvalley.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Three major developments happened over the weekend. All bode well for President Donald Trump and that dirty word nationalism. You know what nationalism really means? Its pretty simple. Youre a patriot. You love your country and your family. You want to keep your children safe at night. And you dont want your country or culture to commit mass suicide. I call that common sense. Recently, I reported Trump-like candidates were winning all over the world. Dont look now, but it happened again. Nationalism routed globalism all over Europe this past weekend. Trump-like nationalist candidates swept to victories in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Hungary, Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands. And guess who was in the middle of it all? My friend Steve Bannon, former Trump campaign architect. Bannon was in Paris on May 27 to celebrate nationalist victories across the continent. Bannon is bringing the Trump mindset to the entire world. In France, President Emmanuel Macrons party suffered an embarrassing defeat to nationalist Marine Le Pen. In the U.K., Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage won a landslide victory in the EU Parliament, leading a Trump-like party that was established just six weeks ago. Amazing. It also appears likely that Boris Johnson, the Trump-like former mayor of London, will emerge as the new prime minister of Britain. In Italy, Matteo Salvinis nationalist party became one of the leaders of the EU Parliament, winning an astounding 28 seats. Bannon and new EU political stars Salvini, Le Pen, Farage and Hungarys nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban are in talks to form a team of international nationalist leaders. Why is this happening? To paraphrase former Bill Clinton campaign guru James Carville, its all about open borders, stupid. Liberals, leftists and assorted socialists, communists and globalists have left the borders open all around the world. But the citizens of each country at least the ones who love their country want the borders secured. We want walls. We want extreme vetting. We support and value immigration but only for immigrants with talent, skills and education who will contribute and assimilate, not for immigrants who come illegally, demand welfare from cradle to grave and spew hatred at us while they plot our destruction. The second development of the weekend was The Hill reporting that three political election experts with great track records have produced separate models for the 2020 election. All three predict a Trump reelection. Of course, they do. Its about the open borders, stupid. Finally, we learned last weekend that a nonprofit group, We Build the Wall which raised more than $20 million to fund Trumps wall actually completed a nearly mile-long section on private land near El Paso, Texas. Private citizens built a serious border wall in a matter of days. This new wall will shut down $100,000 per day of drug smuggling. Who led this remarkable group? Bannon, Kris Kobach and triple amputee military vet Brian Kolfage. Bravo. Proof the wall will get built even if Trump voters have to fund it ourselves. Its all about the open borders, stupid. Wayne Allyn Root is a CEO, entrepreneur, best-selling author, nationally syndicated talk show host on USA Radio Network and the host of The Wayne Allyn Root Show on Newsmax TV nightly at 8 p.m. ET. Love 4 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 John F. Kennedy once said, Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike. Politics set aside, here in the Magic Valley cyclists can find opportunities in several places. One iteration is fat biking. It is not a new sport but it is up and coming. Whether you crave carving through the ancient lava flows in the Snake River Canyon or pedaling long winding trails in the South Hills, there are copious places to visit on a bike. If exploring is your modus operandi, ecstasy is your reward. And no matter where you go, take some friends along for the journey and be sure to take your fat bike. The off-trail model with oversized tires can confront every obstacle. They have become popular for navigating snow and sand, bogs and mud. Heavy Hitters Auger Falls Within Twin Falls city limits; 23 Trails, 1 black, 14 blue and 8 green trails The Snake River formed through several epochs. Around 14,500 years ago, the Lake Bonneville Flood event gave the canyon its depth. Today, activities ranging from paddle boarding to bicycle riding are abundant in and around the canyon. The Auger Falls trail system offers 23 trails. And the spectacular local system is only a 15-minute drive from downtown. Single track riding is popular throughout Idaho, and the Auger system offers plenty of it. Trails such as Haunted Forest, Matties and Porcupine are sandy and smooth, with a few smaller rocks, but on a fat bike you will hardly notice them. If you are seeking more challenging terrain, Eagle Trail, Acid Trail, Rock Creek Trail and Blue Bottle offer bigger features along their routes that can be eaten up with a hard tail fatty with only moderate effort. Suspension fat bikes plow through the trails even more easily, allowing for fast laps and ample smiles. Riders can travel the majority of the trails from east to west (out and back) from the parking lot. The Eagle Trail hugs the Snake River on the north side, and the Acid Trail and Rock Creek Trail hug the canyon cliffs on the south side. One could spend all day sessioning the trails or opt to enjoy a quick lap on a lunch break. Indian Spring South Hills; 25 trails, 5 black, 12 blue, 5 green, and 2 access roads The South Hills rise prominently from the Magic Valleys floor, where farm roads disappear and dirt trails emerge. The quiet countryside offers an expansive, sage-laden desert. As the elevation rises, the views become more awe-inspiring, as does the fat biking. Nestled in the slopes and canyons of the Rock Creek drainage, the Indian Spring trail system is a riders paradise. Starting from the parking lot at 4,265 feet, trails Swami, Sugarloaf and Sweet N Low meander around small lava rocks, sage and greasewood bushes; the pedaling is intense from the first stroke. Higher on the trails, larger rock outcroppings dominate the landscape as the single track bobs and weaves over and around the edifices on trails Brennan, Backdoor and Matts Gulch. Providing soft and fast riding with the Magic Valley below, the top portion of Indian Spring is challenging, but deeply rewarding. Trails Hot Shot, Smittys and Sly Gulch crest near the top of Indian Spring Road. Dont forget to wipe the mud from your tires for the downhill. Some sections hide from the sun and slosh mud up into the derailleurs, but the risk is worth the reward. Indian Spring is a vast system with miles of trails to potentially get lost on, but if you point your fat bike due north, you will end up back in the parking lot eventually. Off the beaten path Water Canyon Declo Hills, 1 blue trail Driving east on the I-84 corridor, the Magic Valley countryside has abundant farms lining the valley below Mt. Harrison and Cache Peak. These two peaks precipitously rise from the valley floor, shadowing small towns below such as Declo and Almo. Traveling south from town on Highway 77, look for the left-turn at East 500 South to find a hidden gem of a trail tucked away on the southern slopes of East Hills High Point. Meet Water Canyon trail Note: The Water Canyon trail is on private land owned by the Skaggs family beginning from the cattle guard at the trailhead. The land on either side of the road is for cattle grazing, however the trails near the top of the East Hills High Point are said to be on public land. Beware of signs that state NO TRESPASSING and stay on the access road. The Declo Hills trail is a fast downhill double track/gravel descent, but the climb up is arduous; bring an oxygen bottle. A nice feature of Water Canyons uphill death-march is that many offshoot single tracks weave along the climb. Exploring a 5-minute detour while your buddy navigates the road tantalizes your senses as the high point comes into view around mile two. Rain runoff cuts deep fissures into the gravel road due to its steepness, but pedaling smart with good line choices rewards riders at the top with a magnificent view of the Magic Valley below. Now comes the fun part. What takes most riders a solid two hours or more to ascend will take 30 minutes or less to descend. Cow patties and washed-out channels are the two main obstacles perhaps stopping any rider from a true downhill world record at Water Canyon. Wildcard Cottonwood Creek South Hills, 1 green trail Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to follow North Cottonwood Creek Road 2 miles south to a right turn, then park .2 miles further south next to Cottonwood Creek. Here you will jump on your fat bike and seek out ear-to-ear smiles, smooth grassy double track and not a single soul in sight. As always, should you or any members of your biking team not have fun, nobody back at the brewery will believe where you just rode. Cottonwood Creek trail, (not to be confused with Cottonwood Canyon), is an out and back double track offering something very different than marked trails and immense single track in the Magic Valley. The parking lot, (grass field), is your first clue that you have stumbled upon the right place. The creek is calming as your fat bike tires whisk across the dirt and grass trail; climbing is gentle to start. Southern Idahos blue sky meets the green blue-grass as Cottonwood Creek trail hugs the water line for about a mile. Fat bike tires will slip some on the muddy sections, but can easily power through whereas 2.5 inch tires would have a tough time. A surprise water feature awaits the bold, a refreshing reminder that Idahos runoff is still ice-cold. But it's not too deep and sure to shallow as spring turns to summer. When you come to a fork in the road, take it, Warren Miller said in a ski film once, as will be the case for the fork around mile 1.5 in Cottonwood Creek. Go right; a very steep ascent leads to heaven. Go left, and follow an old cow track farther down the rabbit-hole in the canyon. Either ride leaves you giddy with excitement. But like all good things, what goes up must come down. The right fork ride will beat your hands up some without suspension and the left fork allows your brain to function on autopilot due to smoothness. Dont forget the river crossing! It will surprise you and your team on the descent. Nevertheless, the soft grass you floated over on the way up is not slippery on the way down. Apres after the ride Bouncing back down dirt roads or cruising super highways, the Magic Valley and surrounding hills are unique with abundant places to ride. Twin Falls and southern Idaho are not made up of only farms and cows. The history of the outdoor lifestyle is prevalent throughout the state. So grab a fat bike, grab a friend or five, but be sure to secure an adventure two wheels on gravel, grass, dirt and snow will take you to places you may have never imagined. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Introducing The Main Index There are now over 43,000 individual posts here on A Light In The Darkness. They have all been individually added into Main Index categories. To get the full experience out of A Light In The Darkness and its very extensive library of items, covering virtually all things paranormal, supernatural etc ... we recommend that you flick down the Main Index, which runs down the right hand side of the blog page ... to find the indexed category in which the subject matter you seek is located. Alternatively, why not use long search bar you will find towards the top of the blog page ... ENJOY A sinner saved by the grace of God given to those with faith in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. Period. American Consumer News, LLC dba MarketBeat 2010-2021. All rights reserved. 326 E 8th St #105, Sioux Falls, SD 57103 | U.S. Based Support Team at [email protected] | (844) 978-6257 MarketBeat does not provide personalized financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security. Our Accessibility Statement | Terms of Service | Do Not Sell My Information 2021 Market data provided is at least 10-minutes delayed and hosted by Barchart Solutions. Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes, not for trading purposes or advice, and is delayed. To see all exchange delays and terms of use please see disclaimer. Fundamental company data provided by Zacks Investment Research. "Abortion is not naturally controversial; it has been constructed that way," writes sociologist Ziad Munson in his book Abortion Politics. In it, he traces the history of abortion in the US, as well as how the controversy surrounding the issue has been constructed and by what forces. Credit: Published by Polity "Abortion is not naturally controversial; it has been constructed that way," writes sociologist Ziad Munson in his book Abortion Politics. In it, he traces the history of abortion in the U.S., as well as how the controversy surrounding the issue has been constructed and by what forces. The meaning of abortion has changed over time, writes Munson, an associate professor of sociology at Lehigh University. The lesson of this history, he writes, is that: "...there is nothing natural about how we think about the abortion issue or the role it plays in politics and society....Instead, abortion has been constructed as a controversial issue because of a variety of historical events, the decisions of various individuals, organizations and social movements over the course of the country's history, and the ways in which social environments have changed over time." As a scholar who studies social movements, Munson focuses his examination on both sides of the debate. He calls each movement by the name each has designated for itself?pro-choice and pro-life?without any claim as to the accuracy of those names, a choice consistent with social science research, particularly related to social movements. In the book, Munson details the history of abortion in the U.S. from the country's first half-century of existence when "abortion was neither illegal, rare or controversial," to the first criminalization laws brought about by physicians in the 1850s seeking to solidify their status as keepers of specialized knowledge, to the liberalization laws of the 1950s opposed by the Catholic Church. The women's movement of the 1960s framed access to abortion as an equal rights issue and the emerging pro-choice movement resulted in the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. The decision established a woman's right to an abortion up to fetal viability and banned restrictions on this right at any point during a pregnancy if the "life or health" of the mother might be endangered. The companion case, Doe v. Bolton, defined the "health" of the mother to include emotional and psychological well-being, in addition to physical. After Roe v. Wade, the pro-life movement accelerated rapidly, describes Munson in a new paper, "Protest and Religion: The U.S. Pro-Life Movement," published last week in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics. In the article, Munson explores religion as a key force shaping?and being shaped by?the pro-life movement. He outlines four major stages of the pro-life movement: the start of the movement in the 1950s and 1960s: the accelerated activism after Roe v. Wade; the movement's increasing identification with the Republican Party throughout the 1980s and 1990s; and, what he labels the "routinization" of the movement from the late 1990s through to the present. Munson argues that the role of religion in the pro-life movement has at times been overstated. He also maintains that religion has been a source of tension and conflict within the pro-life movement and religious belief has become nearly indistinguishable from the partisan political landscape in which the pro-life movement is "now firmly rooted." Religion and the Pro-Life movement The national movement to oppose legalized abortion began in 1967 when the National Conference of Catholic Bishops formed the Right to Life League, writes Munson. Catholic Church leaders eventually realized that their goals would best be accomplished by a secular organization and severed the League from the Catholic hierarchy renaming it the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) and appointing a secular leader. Scholarship has established that the Roman Catholic Church created the right-to-life movement?rebranded as the pro-life movement after Roe v. Wade?by providing the early organizational infrastructure, funding, a vast communications network, people-power and political clout. In "Protest and Religion: The U.S. Pro-Life Movement," Munson writes that this analysis "...underscores the important way that religion's impact on pro-life protest is not limited to being a source of motivational beliefs. The Catholic Church as a formal organization played a key role in facilitating the mobilization of the movement." Munson's view is that religious motivations, while important to the pro-life movement, are overemphasized as a causal factor in the mobilization of protest. "The focus on religious belief as a source of motivation cannot explain why only a very small fraction of tens of millions of religiously devout and politically conservative Americans will ever engage in active protest against abortion," writes Munson. "My own research has found," he continues, "that movement activism has actually sparked a change in religious beliefs for a significant number of activists, rather than religion being the original motivation for such activism." As Evangelical Protestantism and the Christian Right began to rise in the U.S. in the 1980s, significant numbers of Protestants joined the pro-life movement, impacting both the movement's trajectory and electoral politics. Munson writes: "The institutional wedding of the Christian Right to a formerly Catholic movement had an enormous impact on the electoral fortunes of the country as well, helping to move the pro-life movement into the center of the Repulican Party while at the same time splintering the traditional Catholic bloc of the Democratic coalition..." Antiabortion attitudes have become a "litmus test," says Munson, of ideological purity for Republican politicians so much so that "...there are times when it can be difficult to differentiate movement beliefs, motivations, and activity from party beliefs, motivations and activities." Dynamics within the pro-choice and pro-life movements The core belief at the center of the pro-choice movement is that a woman's life is of equal value to a man's and the ability to make decisions regarding medical care is key to achieving equality, asserts Munson. He writes that the core ideological belief of the pro-life movement is that human life begins at at the moment of conception and that this life, being morally equal to any other human life, is entitled to the same legal protections as another human. Each side rejects the core beliefs of the other side. Yet, the majority of the general public falls into what activists call the "mushy middle," taking a more fluid, less black-and-white view the issue. "...the attitudes toward abortion held by most Americans fall somewhere in the middle of these two points of views," writes Munson. "Surveys of abortion beliefs consistently show that the majority of Americans believe abortion should be legal in some, but not all, circumstances." Both sides must contend with the more extreme elements of their groups as well as the "purists" who view any compromise as "selling out," despite that fact that the majority of the public does not support the core beliefs of either side without caveats. "...the radical flanks of both the pro-choice and pro-life movements have at times hindered their ability to make progress toward their goals," writes Munson in Abortion Politics. "The dynamics within each movement, then, can be just as important as the conflict between the two movements..." For example, on the pro-choice side, the "...goal of 'free abortion on demand, without apology,' alienates a significant segment of the public and sometimes makes it difficult for the pro-choice movement to achieve more modest goals such as legislation protecting clinic staff and patients from harassment, or taxpayer funding for some abortion services," writes Munson. On the pro-life side, violent direct action, such as the bombing of abortion clinics in the the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, "...tarnished the image of the pro-life movement in the eyes of many Americans," writes Munson. He also describes how an unwillingness to compromise impacted the trajectory of abortion rights in the early 1980s "...when pro-life forces were unable to agree on the wording of a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution, therby squandering a very real chance at overturning Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton." The abortion divide: different worldviews, increasing partisanship In his book, Munson lays out the basis for different beliefs about abortion, identifying three areas where differing worldviews determine where one might stand on the issue and why: gender, sexuality and identity. When it comes to identity, pro-life and pro-choice attitudes have increasingly signaled identities that line up along partisan lines. "To say one is pro-life is a signal that one identifies with the Republican Party; to say one is pro-choice is to identify with the Democratic Party," he writes. And yet in the 1970s and early 1980s, this partisan alignment was not the case. "If anything," writes Munson, "Republicans were more supportive of abortion rights than were Democrats until at least 1987." The increased partisanship has lined up with an acceleration of polarization in the U.S. Congress since the 1980s, which Munson details in the book, writing that "...the abortion issue has been a critical part of the polarization story..." "Abortion differs from most social issues in that public attitudes about it are more polarized than ever," writes Munson. "As the country has moved toward increasing consensus on issues ranging from women's equality to civil rights for minorities, from gun control to premarital sex, people have become increasingly divided about abortion..." So, where is the nation headed on this issue? The lesson of Munson's book is that, when it comes to the abortion, change can be counted on. Munson writes: "...the abortion debate is, and always has been, defined by the changing connections between the issue and other social and cultural divide in the American social fabric." It is "...in the end, a surprisingly empty vessel into which movements, politicians, and regular Americans have poured their anxieties and concerns." More information: Ziad Munson, Protest and Religion: The U.S. Pro-Life Movement, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics (2019). Ziad Munson, Protest and Religion: The U.S. Pro-Life Movement,(2019). DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.684 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Taking antidepressants or opioids more than doubles the risk of a fall and hip fracture in older people, according to a paper published today in Australian Prescriber. Lead authors Professor Libby Roughead and Dr. Kerrie Westaway from the University of South Australia outline the impact of mind-altering drugs on older people and their contribution to falls. Psychotropic drugs are used to treat a wide range of conditions including depression, pain and dementia but their side effects include drowsiness, dizziness and blurred visionfactors which increase the likelihood of falls and fractures, the researchers say. "Antidepressants, opioids, antiepileptic medicines, benzodiazepines (used to treat anxiety) and antipsychotics all increase the risk of hip fractures," says Prof Roughead. "Combining them increases the risk even further, up to five times in the case of starting antidepressants and anxiety medicines together." This equates to one extra hip fracture for every 17 patients aged 80 years and over who are treated for a year. "We suggest to prescribers they consider whether patients really need some of their medicines anymore. For example, an SSRI antidepressant may no longer be required if a patient is fully recovered from depression. Similarly, it may be possible to stop an antipsychotic in someone with dementia. Doctors should try stopping one medicine at a time, reducing it slowly over weeks or months," says Prof Roughead. This risk of falling can be lowered by reducing medicine use, exercising more and using other interventions such as occupational therapy and podiatry, the researchers say. Researchers used data from the Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) in a matched case-control study, comparing 8828 veterans with hip fractures with 35,310 people of the same age and gender, examining their medicine use in the previous six months. The average age of the cohort was 88 years and 63 percent were women. In 2018, an estimated 28,000 Australians over the age of 50 were hospitalized with a hip fracture. Of those, five percent die in hospital and more than 10 percent are discharged to an aged care facility. Explore further Antidepressant use in seniors linked to risk for hip fracture (HealthDay)For frail and elderly patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancer (aGOAC), low-dose chemotherapy is noninferior to high-dose chemotherapy for progression-free survival, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology, held from May 31 to June 4 in Chicago. Peter S. Hall, Ph.D., from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and colleagues randomly assigned 514 patients with aGOAC who were unsuitable for full-dose epirubin/oxaliplatin/capecitabine due to age or frailty but fit for oxaliplatin/capecitabine. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to dose level A, dose level B (80 percent of level A dose), and dose level C (60 percent of level A dose). The researchers found that at 12 weeks, noninferiority of progression-free survival was confirmed for level B versus A (hazard ratio, 1.09; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.89 to 1.32) and level C versus A (hazard ratio, 1.10; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.90 to 1.33). Compared with level A or B patients, level C patients had less toxicity and better overall treatment utility outcomes (percentage with good outcome: 43 versus 35 and 36 percent, respectively). Level C yielded the best overall treatment utility even for younger, less frail, and better performance-status patients. "We hope our finding helps patients make a more informed choice, between low-dose chemotherapy and no chemotherapy at all, with the knowledge that that low-dose chemotherapy can prove beneficial and still allow them to maintain some quality of life while slowing the progression of the disease," Hall said in a statement. Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Copyright 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. (HealthDay)The U.S. pathologist workforce decreased in both absolute and population-adjusted numbers from 2007 to 2017, according to a study published online May 31 in JAMA Network Open. David M. Metter, M.D., from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues used data from the American Association of Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies' Physician Specialty Data Books and the Canadian Medical Association Masterfile to examine the trends in the U.S. pathology workforce from 2007 to 2017. The researchers found that from 2007 to 2017, the number of active pathologists in the United States decreased from 15,568 to 12,839 (17.53 percent), while there was an increase in Canadian pathologists from 1,467 to 1,767 (+20.45 percent) during the same period. Similarly, the number of pathologists per 100,000 population declined from 5.16 to 3.94 in the United States versus an increase from 4.46 to 4.81 in Canada. Pathologists decreased as a percentage of total U.S. physicians from 2.03 percent in 2007 to 1.43 percent in 2017. Wide geographic variation was also noted in the distribution of U.S. pathologists, with the fewest in Idaho (1.37 per 100,000 population) and the most in Washington, D.C. (15.71 per 100,000 population). The diagnostic workload per year per U.S. pathologist rose by 41.73 percent during the study period compared with a 7.06 percent increase in diagnostic workload for Canadian pathologists when adjusted by new cancer cases per year. "The U.S. pathologist workforce is now, per capita, smaller than the Canadian pathologist workforce," the authors write. "Given the potential negative health care consequences of a pathologist shortage, efforts to understand the etiology of the shrinking U.S. pathologist workforce should be initiated by policy makers, health care delivery systems, insurers, and physicians." Copyright 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Rwandan family using an efficient cookstove as part of a large-scale delivery trial. Credit: DelAgua Health A large-scale program to deliver water filters and portable biomass-burning cookstoves to Rwandan homes reduced the prevalence of reported diarrhea and acute respiratory infection in children under 5 years old by 29 percent and 25 percent, respectively, according to new findings published today in the journal PLOS Medicine. The results suggest that programmatic delivery of household water filters and improved cookstoves can provide a scalable interim solution for rural populations that lack access to safe drinking water and rely on traditional fires for cooking. "Until now, there has been limited evidence of the effects when these products are delivered at scale," said Evan Thomas, Director of CU Boulder's Mortenson Center for Global Engineering. "The study demonstrates the viability of bringing water filters and cookstoves to vulnerable households and will help inform future national initiatives." Unsafe drinking water and household air pollution are major causes of mortality around the world. An estimated 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, more than a third of whom rely primarily on open wells and untreated surface water that can be contaminated with human and animal feces. Cooking indoors on traditional open-fire stoves with solid biomass fuels such as wood and charcoal has been linked with pneumonia, low birth weight and impaired development in children. Household air pollution is also associated with pulmonary and cardiovascular disease in adults. More than 80 percent of Rwandans rely on firewood as their primary fuel source. "After neonatal disorders, pneumonia and diarrheal disease are the two leading killers of children under 5 years of age in Rwanda and much of sub-Saharan Africa," said Professor Thomas Clasen of Emory University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the health impact study. "The results of this randomized controlled trial provide strong evidence that effective interventions can be successfully delivered and embraced by a population at risk, even in remote rural settings." In the fall of 2014, over 101,000 households with nearly half a million people from the poorest economic quartile of Rwanda's Western Province were selected to receive a Vestergaard Frandsen LifeStraw Family 2.0 table-top household water filter and an EcoZoom Dura high efficiency portable wood-burning cookstove together with community and household education and behavior change messaging. Each household was visited approximately every 4 months for a year following the distribution. The program was financed and led by the social enterprise DelAgua Health (in partnership with the Rwanda Ministry of Health) and branded "Tubeho Neza," which translates to "live well" in Kinyarwanda. "DelAgua is delighted that the study has confirmed some of the health benefits of a well-designed large scale intervention as well as the acknowledged reduction in carbon emissions," said DelAgua Chairman Neil McDougall. "Key to this success has been the ongoing education and support of Rwandan Community Health Workers (CHWs). Without CHW involvement, the intervention would not have demonstrated the same health and other benefits and as such their involvement is integral to the success of this and similar future projects," Among children under 5 years of age, the intervention reduced 7-day prevalence of diarrhea by 29 percent and acute respiratory infection by 25 percent, although intervention use decreased throughout the study period. Drinking water quality also improved in the intervention arm, but adult and child personal exposures to fine particulate matter remained unchanged despite increased outdoor cooking. The reported respiratory-related health impacts were surprising, however. Other biomass-burning stove intervention studies found no effect on self-reported respiratory symptoms among cooks and/or children, leading to efforts to shift to cleaner fuels such as LPG. Moreover, investigators in the Rwanda study reported no reduction in personal level exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from the stoves among adult cooks or children. They suggested that the impact on respiratory infection could be attributable in part to an immunological boost from experiencing fewer enteric infections. Overall, the results suggest that the program was effective in improving drinking water quality, and reducing risk of diarrhea and respiratory illness among children under 5, pointing the way toward an interim solution for healthier living while cleaner cooking solutions are developed and scaled to reach the poorest. "These results should have important policy implications in Rwanda and beyond. We see strong evidence that the intervention provides significant benefits that might continue to accrue if the program continues to be supported," said Thomas, an associate professor in the College of Engineering and Applied Science who designed and managed this program for DelAgua from 2012 through 2016. Thomas first started working in Rwanda in 2003 with Engineers Without Borders while studying at the University of Colorado Boulder. CU Boulder's Mortenson Center supports 70 graduate students working in 24 countries globally on water, sanitation, energy and infrastructure. More than a dozen new international engineering programs have been added to the center's portfolio in recent years, including partnerships in France, England, Australia, Ecuador and China, offering all interested students the opportunity of a global experience. The new paper was co-authored by Corey Nagel from the University of Arkansas, Miles Kirby and Laura Zambrano of Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Ghislaine Rosa of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Sanctus Musafri of the University of Rwanda and Dr. Jean de Dieu Ngirabega of the Rwanda Biomedical Center and East African Health Research Commission. CU Boulder Professor Karl Linden and alumna Christina Barstow contributed to the program's design and research. A) Vibrating interface of the Vibrating Auditory Stimulator; B) Matlab GUI for stimuli presentation and control; C) Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) values obtained for auditory and auditory-tactile speech in noise stimulation at the group level; and D) in individual subjects [subject 6 showed an improvement from 0.3 to -3.0 SRT(dB)]. Credit: Institut fur Medizinische PsychologieMedizinische Fakultat A novel study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience provides the first evidence that a simple and inexpensive non-invasive speech-to-touch sensory substitution device has the potential to improve hearing in hearing-impaired cochlear implant patients, as well as individuals with normal hearing, to better discern speech in various situations like learning a second language or trying to deal with the "cocktail party effect." The device can provide immediate multisensory enhancement without any training. "Despite recent advancements in hearing aid and cochlear implants, the most widespread surgical implant to restore audition, hearing-impaired users still encounter significant practical and social challenges with or without aids," explained lead investigator Amir Amedi, Ph.D., Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, and The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. "In particular, they all struggle with understanding speech in challenging, noisy acoustic environments, especially in presence of a competing speaker." The number of sensory deprived patients and auditory deprived patients is expected to rise so it is crucial to develop efficient techniques for auditory recovery designed to convey the missing information to patients. "We live in a world that is becoming steadily more multisensory and we really need to understand the mechanisms underlying multisensory perception and integration. Providing relevant information using the sense of touch can significantly help hearing," commented Dr. Amedi. In this current proof-of-concept study investigators hypothesized that they would be able to improve speech understanding under challenging conditions by exploiting the ability of the brain to integrate information coming simultaneously from different senses. They designed a minimalistic auditory-to-tactile sensory substitution device (SSD) that transforms low-frequency speech signals into tactile vibrations delivered on two fingertips. They asked a group of non-native English speakers to repeat a series of sentences, which was degraded by embedding them in speech-like noise. As expected, when participants could rely only on audition, their understanding of such sentences was poor. Crucially, however, their sentence understanding significantly improved when they paired the degraded speech signal with complementary vibration delivered on the participants fingertips. The vibration conveyed a specific set of frequencies known as fundamental frequencies that characterize speech signals. The reported improvement at the group level was 6 dBa major difference considering that an increase of 10 dB represents a doubling of the perceived loudness. These results are especially relevant when compared to earlier SSD studies showing effects in behavior only after demanding cognitive training. "Our results carry important implications for further research, as well as possible clinical and practical solutions," noted co-author Tomasz Wolak, Ph.D. Eng, Head of the Bioimaging Research Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, World Hearing Center, Warsaw, Poland. "The ability to 'hear through one's fingers can significantly help hearing. Our approach suggests that multisensory stimulations providing the same type of information (in this case spoken language conveyed through touch in addition to hearing) should be processed in the same brain region (in this case spoken language centers), ultimately then predicting that multisensory stimulations (both sounds and touch) should enhance perception. According to lead author Katarzyna Ciesla, Ph.D., World Hearing Center, Warsaw, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, "The most compelling aspect of our study is the fact that learning to use such speech-to-touch sensory substitution device did not require any training. We believe it can also serve as an aid for the elderly population, which finds it challenging to follow extensive training regimes. This might be the first study showing such immediate relevant enhancement of a sensory substitution device and suggests the brain is much more multisensory than the common wisdom." "This study is a major step forward to introduce multisensory plasticity of the brain as an innovative paradigm to maximize the potential of patients to compensate for their sensory loss," commented Bernhard Sabel, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. Next the team plans to further improve the device and training regimes in order to reach the goal of 10 dB enhancement and to test for human brain mechanisms using an MRI-compatible version of the device in various populations (both hearing and hearing-impaired people). Explore further Playing sound through the skin improves hearing in noisy places More information: Katarzyna Ciesla et al, Immediate improvement of speech-in-noise perception through multisensory stimulation via an auditory to tactile sensory substitution, Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience (2019). Journal information: Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience Katarzyna Ciesla et al, Immediate improvement of speech-in-noise perception through multisensory stimulation via an auditory to tactile sensory substitution,(2019). DOI: 10.3233/RNN-190898 Police agents at Tanger-Med Port foiled on Saturday an ecstasy trafficking operation. Policemen seized a total of 568,000 ecstasy pills that were aboard an international cargo truck registered in Morocco and coming from the port of Algeciras, Spain, national police said in a statement. The trucks driver and his assistant, aged 48 and 26, respectively, have been arrested and remanded in custody, the statement said. Investigations are underway to determine possible ramifications of this case. In Rabat, the police arrested the same day, on the basis of precise information provided by the services of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), three individuals, including a couple, for their alleged involvement in drugs and psychotropic substances possession and trafficking. The first suspect was arrested at the Rabat train station upon arriving from a Moroccan northern city, said the Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) in a statement. The search operation revealed the individual was in possession of 2,280 psychotropic tablets. Immediately afterwards, another individual subject to an international arrest warrant, and his wife, were arrested. The two are suspected of being the main traffickers of the drugs seized at the train station. These operations fall within the framework of the fight against the trafficking of psychotropic substances and efforts to hamper their infiltration to Morocco. They are also part of efforts to dismantle international networks trafficking this type of drug, considered a transnational crime. Credit: University of Pittsburgh A team of specialists at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh have performed UPMC's first in-utero surgery to close an open neural tube defect in a baby months before her birth. When Allee Mullen was pregnant, her baby was diagnosed with spina bifida, a birth defect in which the baby is born with the spinal cord exposed to the air because the overlying bone, muscle and skin do not form properly during development, causing moderate-to-severe physical disabilities. There are several types of spina bifida, and Mullen's baby was diagnosed with a myelomeningocele, the most serious form of spina bifida. Spina bifida affects about 1,500 babies born each year in the United States. At UPMC Children's Hospital, physicians close defects like this one in 10 to 20 infants each year following delivery. This procedure has been performed at several centers across the United States but has not been available in this area. In January 2019, an interdisciplinary team of maternal-fetal medicine, obstetric anesthesiology, neonatology and pediatric neurosurgery specialists from both UPMC Magee and UPMC Children's performed and assisted during the complex surgery on Mullen and her unborn baby, who was at 25 weeks gestation at the time. "This surgery is risky, but research shows that babies who are closed in-utero have better neurologic outcomes than babies treated after birth," said Stephen Emery, M.D., director of Center for Innovative Fetal Intervention, UPMC Magee. A randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that, compared to surgery after birth, fetal surgery resulted in improved leg function and halved the risk for hydrocephalusfluid buildup in the braina common complication of spina bifida. "Being able to perform this surgery in-utero offers many benefits to the baby, but one of the most important is improving the chances a child will be able to walk on their own," said Stephanie Greene, M.D., director of Vascular and Perinatal Neurosurgery, UPMC Children's Hospital. Two months following the prenatal surgery, Mullen's baby girl, Emery Greene Mullen, named after the lead surgeons, was born. "Our initial tests show that Emery has almost entirely normal leg function. It can take up to a year to rule out hydrocephalus, but we are very hopeful. The neurologic outcome is definitely better than if her surgery had been done after birth," added Greene, associate professor of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "Pregnant women diagnosed with fetal spina bifida might very well be candidates for the in-utero procedure," added Emery, associate professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, & Reproductive Sciences, Divisions of Ultrasound and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, UPMC Magee. "We are excited and proud to now offer this service at UPMC Magee to patients living in the western Pennsylvania and tri-state regions." "To be the first patient in Pittsburgh, I hope mothers will learn about my story and the hope for Emery's future, and if they are in the same position as me, they will know there is an option and it is close to home," said Allee Mullen. "I thank Dr. Emery, Dr. Greene and the entire team for what they did for Emery and our family." For more information, please visit the Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center webpage. Explore further Bioengineering an alternative to open fetal repair for spina bifida More information: N. Scott Adzick et al. A Randomized Trial of Prenatal versus Postnatal Repair of Myelomeningocele, New England Journal of Medicine (2011). Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine N. Scott Adzick et al. A Randomized Trial of Prenatal versus Postnatal Repair of Myelomeningocele,(2011). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1014379 Credit: CC0 Public Domain An immunotherapy drug could prove just as effective as chemotherapy in prolonging the lives of patients with advanced cancers of the stomach or food pipe. For some, the immune-boosting treatment offered improved survival compared to standard treatment. The immunotherapy, called pembrolizumab (Keytruda), was most effective for patients whose tumours carry high levels of a molecule called PD-L1, according to the unpublished clinical trial results that will be presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago in the US. But this was only seen when the immunotherapy drug was used alone. When combined with chemotherapy, it added no extra survival benefits to patients. Dr. Hugo Ford, a Cancer Research UK-funded stomach cancer expert, said the results were "interesting," but added that more data was needed on the potential survival benefits of immunotherapy for some patients. Dr. Josep Tabernero, who led the study from the Vall d"Hebron Barcelona University Hospital and Institute of Oncology in Spain, said there remains a "significant unmet need for treatments for these cancers." He believes that offering pembrolizumab as a first line treatment could provide "a new opportunity" for people newly diagnosed with cancers of the stomach or food pipe. Finding the best responses Immunotherapy drugs like pembrolizumab work by boosting patients' immune systems to recognise and attack cancer cells. The clinical trial included people living with advanced cancer located in the stomach or at the border between the stomach and the food pipe (oesophagus), also known as gastro-oesophageal junction cancer. Of the 763 patients on the trial, 7 in 10 had stomach cancer and 3 in 10 had cancer at the border of the oesophagus and stomachin all cases, the tumours didn't carry a molecule called HER2. Patients were randomly split into 3 groups and were given either: chemotherapy pembrolizumab chemotherapy and pembrolizumab combined Results show pembrolizumab was as effective as chemotherapy in prolonging survival in patients with advanced cancer. And for those whose cancer cells carry high levels of an important molecule called PD-L1, 4 in 10 patients (39%) taking pembrolizumab were alive 2 years after treatment, compared to just 2 in 10 (22%) of those treated with chemotherapy. But the study found that combining the two treatmentsa more expensive optionwas no better than just treating patients with chemo. Further evaluation needed Ford said the results suggest that adding pembrolizumab to chemotherapy provides little benefit, while adding significant extra cost, even in tumours with high levels of PD-L1. "But giving pembrolizumab alone to patients with tumours that have high levels of PD-L1 does look interesting, greatly improving survival. Further evaluation will be needed to strengthen and confirm this data," he added. Serious side effects were also less common among patients treated with pembrolizumab alone. 17 in 100 people taking pembrolizumab experienced severe side effects, compared with 69 in 100 of those taking chemotherapy. But Ford cautioned about an overall message of immunotherapy being kinder to patients. "We need to be careful about saying that the toxicity of pembrolizumab is less than chemotherapy, because while that may be true for most, some patients treated with immunotherapy get very severe and enduring side effects," he said. Where did these results come from? The ASCO annual meeting is the largest gathering of clinical cancer experts in the world. Researchers share preliminary and more advanced results. These come from small, early stage studies through to large randomized clinical trials. In some cases, the results will go on to change how patients are treated. But most of the results are yet to be published in a scientific journal, so only offer an early glimpse of what these trials may later confirm. Explore further Immunotherapy boosts survival outlook for lung cancer patients: study More information: Front-Line Pembrolizumab Is Promising Alternative to Chemotherapy for Advanced Gastroesophageal Junction and Gastric Cancers. Front-Line Pembrolizumab Is Promising Alternative to Chemotherapy for Advanced Gastroesophageal Junction and Gastric Cancers. www.asco.org/about-asco/press- rnative-chemotherapy Pembrolizumab with or without chemotherapy versus chemotherapy for advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma: The phase III KEYNOTE-062 study. abstracts.asco.org/239/AbstView_239_251955.html (HealthDay)Older adults with impaired vision are at increased risk for perceived discrimination, which in turn is associated with poorer emotional well-being, according to a study published online May 30 in JAMA Ophthalmology. Sarah E. Jackson, Ph.D., from University College London, and colleagues analyzed data from 7,677 participants (mean age, 66.7 years; 52.4 percent female) in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to assess the association between perceived discrimination among people with visual impairment and well-being. The researchers found that participants with poor eyesight had increased odds of reporting perceived discrimination versus those with good eyesight (odds ratio [OR], 1.41). Additionally, participants self-reporting both poor eyesight and discrimination had increased odds of depressive symptoms (OR, 2.14) and loneliness (OR, 2.17) as well as lower quality of life and life satisfaction compared with those reporting only poor eyesight and no discrimination. At the six-year follow-up, prospectively reporting perceived discrimination was associated with an increased risk for depressive symptoms among participants with poor eyesight (OR, 1.72). "Action to address discrimination may help mitigate the increased risk of poor well-being in this population," the authors write. Explore further Ageism linked to poorer health in older people in England Copyright 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Credit: CC0 Public Domain A new study shows how a non-profit research organisation has been deployed by its backers from major food and beverage corporations to push industry-favourable positions to policy makers and international bodies under the guise of neutral scientific endeavour. The study, published today in the journal Globalization and Health, analysed over 17,000 pages of emails obtained through Freedom of Information requests made between 2015 and 2018. The documents captured exchanges between academics at US universities and senior figures at a non-profit organisation called the International Life Science Institute, or ILSI. Comprising of 18 bodies, each of which cover a specific topic or part of the globe, ILSI has always maintained its independence and scientific rigour, despite being funded by multinational corporations such as Nestle, General Mills, Mars Inc, Monsanto, and Coca-Cola. Founded by former Coca-Cola senior vice president Alex Malaspina in 1978, ILSI states on its website that none of its bodies "conduct lobbying activities or make policy recommendations". As a non-profit organisation ILSI is currently exempt from taxation under US Internal Revenue codes. However, researchers from the University of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of Bocconi, and US Right to Know, found emails explicitly discussing tactics for countering public health policies around sugar reduction, as "[T]his threat to our business is serious". These include exchanges with an epidemiology professor at the University of Washington, as well as the US Centre for Disease Control's then director of heart disease and stroke prevention, all strategising how best to approach the World Health Organisation's then Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan, to shift her position on sugar-sweetened products. "It has been previously suggested that the International Life Sciences Institute is little more than a pseudo-scientific front group for some of the biggest multinational food and drink corporations globally," said the study lead author Dr. Sarah Steele, a researcher at Cambridge's Department of Politics and International Studies. "Our findings add to the evidence that this non-profit organisation has been used by its corporate backers for years to counter public health policies. We contend that the International Life Sciences Institute should be regarded as an industry groupa private bodyand regulated as such, not as a body acting for the greater good." In one email, Malaspina, who also served as long-time president at ILSI, described new US guidelines bolstering child and adult education on limiting sugar intake as a "real disaster!". He writes: "We have to consider how to become ready to mount a strong defence". Suzanne Harris, then executive director of ILSI, was among the email's recipients. James Hill, then director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado, was involved in a separate exchange on the issue of defending industry from the health consequences of its products. Hill argues for greater funding for ILSI from industry as part of "dealing aggressively with this issue". He writes that, if companies keep their heads down, "our opponents will win and we will all lose". The FOI emails also suggest ILSI constructs campaigns favourable to artificial sweeteners. Emails reveal Malaspina passing on praise from another former ILSI President to a former Coca-Cola employee and the Professor, describing both as "the architects to plan and execute the studies showing saccharine is not a carcinogen", resulting in the reversal of many government bans. The FOI responses suggest that ILSI operates strategically with other industry-funded entities, including IFIC, a science communication non-profit organisation. "IFIC is a kind of sister entity to ILSI," writes Malaspina. "ILSI generates the scientific facts and IFIC communicates them to the media and public." "The emails suggest that both ILSI and IFIC act to counter unfavourable policies and positions, while promoting industry-favourable science under a disguised front, including to the media," said Steele. In fact, the emails suggest ILSI considers sanctioning its own regional subsidiaries when they fail to promote the agreed industry-favourable messaging. Correspondence reveals discussion of suspending ILSI's Mexico branch from the parent organisation after soft drink taxation was debated at a conference it sponsored. Mexico has one of the highest adult obesity rates in the world. Email conversations between Malaspina and the CDC's Barbara Bowman are open about the need to get the WHO to "start working with ILSI again" and to take into account "lifestyle changes" as well as sugary foods when combatting obesity. Further exchanges between Malaspina and Washington Professor Adam Drewnowski support ILSI's role in this. Drewnowski writes of Dr. Chan that "we ought to start with some issue where ILSI and WHO are in agreement" to help "get her to the table". In a further email, Malaspina points out that he had meetings with the two previous heads of the WHO, going back to the mid-90s, and that if they do not start a dialogue with Dr. Chan "she will continue to blast us with significant negative consequences on a global basis". The tide has begun to turn against ILSI in recent years. The WHO quietly ended their "special relations" with ILSI in 2017, and ILSI's links to the European Food Safety Authority were the subject of enquiry at the European Parliament. The CDC's Bowman retired in 2016, in the wake of revelations about her close ties with ILSI. Last year, long-time ILSI funder Mars Inc. stopped supporting the organisation. Much of the study's correspondence precedes these events. "It becomes clear from the emails and forwards that ILSI is seen as central to pushing pro-industry content to international organisations to support approaches that uncouple sugary foods and obesity," added Steele. "Our analysis of ILSI serves as a caution to those involved in global health governance to be wary of putatively independent research groups, and to practice due diligence before relying upon their funded studies." Explore further Study reveals how soda industry influence helped shape obesity policy in China More information: Sarah Steele et al, Are industry-funded charities promoting "advocacy-led studies" or "evidence-based science"?: a case study of the International Life Sciences Institute, Globalization and Health (2019). Sarah Steele et al, Are industry-funded charities promoting "advocacy-led studies" or "evidence-based science"?: a case study of the International Life Sciences Institute,(2019). DOI: 10.1186/s12992-019-0478-6 Credit: CC0 Public Domain Some doctors fear litigation and professional ruin if they are seen to have overprescribed opioids to terminally ill patients, according to a University of Queensland researcher. Palliative care expert Professor Geoffrey Mitchell said opioid overuse and some states' new assisted dying legislation had put end-of-life care clinicians created a "perfect storm" of fear for clinicians involved in end-of-life care. "Some are choosing to abandon end-of-life care altogether rather than risk professional ruin should they persist in the use of any opioid therapy," Professor Mitchell said. "The fear is that the use of medicines to minimise suffering and distress at the very end of life may hasten death and be construed by critics as euthanasia by stealth. "The reality is that the person is dying. "While treatments such as opioids may theoretically shorten life marginally, it is the disease that causes death, not the treatment." Professor Mitchell said a study he co-authored should alleviate doctors' fears and help ensure patients received proper medical care. "The research indicates regulatory bodies are not seeking to blame practitioners when a patient dies in the presence of opioid administration," he said. "In fact the researchers found no such criminal proceedings had been brought in Australia against doctors. "It is reassuring that doctors' intentions to alleviate suffering and adhere to good clinical practice has been respected." Professor Mitchell said an overcautious attitude could result in people suffering needlessly at the end of their lives. "The study identified 12 cases in publicly available electronic databases across all Australian jurisdictions, and of those, only two had adverse findings recorded, and neither led to criminal proceedings," he said. "This indicates regulatory bodies are not seeking to blame practitioners when death occurs in the presence of opioid administration. "Practitioners should use treatments and doses that are clinically indicated to alleviate the person's suffering. "Opioids should not be avoided, and the minimum dose that achieves pain relief or reduction of chronic breathlessness should be prescribed. "Clinical practice that seeks to alleviate suffering will be respected by the law and not punished. "Practitioners can be assured that the law does not constitute a hazard to safe practice, but an ally to be valued." Professor Mitchell's opinion piece was published today in the Medical Journal of Australia. The systematic review, published in October 2018, was led by Professor Lindy Willmott and Professor Ben White from Queensland University of Technology's Australian Centre for Health Law Research. Explore further Generalist nurse practitioners and physician assistants may prescribe disproportionate share of opioids Jyoti K. Jaiswal, MSc, Ph.D., a principal investigator in the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at Children's National and the study's senior author. Credit: Children's National Research led by faculty at Children's National published online June 3, 2019, in Nature Communications shows that the sudden appearance of symptoms in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2 (LGMD2B) is a result of impaired communication between different cell types that facilitate repair in healthy muscle. Of particular interest are the fibro/adipogenic precursors (FAPs), cells that typically play a helpful role in regenerating muscle after injury by removing debris and enhancing the fusion of muscle cells into new myofibers. LGMD2B is caused by mutations in the DYSF gene that impair the function of dysferlin, a protein essential for repairing injured muscle fibers. Symptoms, like difficulty climbing or running, do not appear in patients until young adulthood. This late onset has long puzzled researchers, as the cellular consequences of dysferlin's absence are present from birth and continue through development, but do not impact patients until later in life. The study found that in the absence of dysferlin, muscle gradually increases the expression of the protein Annexin A2 which, like dysferlin, facilitates repair of injured muscle fiber. However, increasing Annexin A2 accumulates outside the muscle fiber and drives an increase in FAPs within the muscle as well as encourages these FAPs to differentiate into adipocytes, forming fatty deposits. Shutting down Annexin A2 or blocking the adipocyte fate of FAPs using an off-the-shelf medicine arrests the fatty replacement of dysferlinopathic muscle. "We propose a feed-forward loop in which repeated myofiber injury triggers chronic inflammation which, over time, creates an environment that promotes FAPs to accumulate and differentiate into fat. This, in turn, contributes to more myofiber damage," says Jyoti K. Jaiswal, MSc, Ph.D., a principal investigator in the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at Children's National and the study's senior author. "Adipogenic accumulation becomes the nucleating event that results in an abrupt decline in muscle function in patients. This new view of LGMD2B disease opens previously unrealized avenues to intervene," adds Marshall Hogarth, Ph.D., the study's lead author. A research team led by Jaiswal collaborated with Eduard Gallardo and Jordi Diaz Manera, of Hospital de la Santa Creu in Barcelona, Spain, to examine muscle biopsies from people with LGMD2B who had mild to severe symptoms. They found that adipogenic deposits originate in the extracellular matrix space between muscle fibers, with the degree of accumulation tied to disease severity. They found a similar progressive increase in lipid accumulation between myofibers predicted disease severity in dysferlin-deficient experimental models. What's more, this process can be accelerated by muscle injury, triggering increased adipogenic replacement in areas that otherwise would be occupied by muscle cells. "Accumulation and adipogenic differentiation of FAPs is responsible for the decline in function for dysferlinopathic muscle. Reversing this could provide a therapy for LGMD2B, a devastating disease with no effective treatment," predicts Jaiswal as the team continues research in this field. Promising off-the-shelf drugs include batimastat, an anti-cancer drug that inhibits the extracellular matrix enzyme matrix metalloproteinase. This drug reduces FAP adipogenesis in vitro and lessens injury-triggered lipid formation in vivo. In experimental models, batimastat also increases muscle function. Explore further Stabilizing dysferlin-deficient muscle cell membrane improves muscle function Credit: CC0 Public Domain Scientists at UC San Francisco have developed a personalized digital meditation training program that significantly improved attention and memory in healthy young adultsa group already at the peak of brain healthin just six weeks. The intervention, called MediTrain, utilizes a closed-loop algorithm that tailors the length of the meditation sessions to the abilities of the participants, so they are not discouraged by their initial attempts to focus attention on their breath, a time-honored meditation technique. Scientists tested the program in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at UCSF with 59 participants between 18 and 35 years old. The results were published Monday, June 3, 2019, in Nature Human Behaviour. The magnitude of the effects on attention and memory, which were unexpected for healthy young adults, were similar to what has been seen in previous studies of middle-aged adults after months of in-person training or intensive meditation retreats. The app-based program, however, required just 20 to 30 minutes of cumulative practice each day, composed of many very short meditation periods. In the beginning, participants were prompted to pay attention to their breath for just 10 to 15 seconds at a time. As they improved over the six weeks, the application challenged them to increase the amount of time they could maintain focus, which averaged several minutes after six weeks. "This is not like any meditation practice that exists, as far as we are aware," said senior author Adam Gazzaley, MD, Ph.D., professor of neurology, physiology and psychiatry and executive director of Neuroscape at UCSF. "We took an ancient experiential treatment of focused meditation, reformulated it and delivered it through a digital technology, and improved attention span in millennials, an age group that is intimately familiar with the digital world, but also faces multiple challenges to sustained attention." MediTrain made some concessions to tradition. Before they began, participants listened to recorded meditation instructions from Jack Kornfield, Ph.D., a meditation teacher who co-founded Spirit Rock Meditation Center north of San Francisco, and an author on the study. Then, they used the techniques on their own, without spoken instruction and with their eyes closed. But MediTrain had other digital features that aren't present in the traditional practice of breath meditation and that may have been the reason why it achieved such strong results over such a short period and with such a healthy population. For one thing, it underscored the need to pay attention by requiring participants to regularly check in on how they were doing. At the end of each brief meditation segment, participants were asked to indicate whether they had been able to pay continuous attention for the allotted time, pressing a button on the left side of an iPad screen if the answer was no, and a button on the right if the answer was yes. For those who said yes, the application adapted to a slightly longer meditation period; for those who said no, the period was shortened. The researchers believe the participatory nature of the design was important. "Not only do you learn how to maintain focus on your breath, but you are also required to introspect on how well you're able to do that," Gazzaley said, "We believe that's part of the active ingredient of this treatment." MediTrain also gave everyone regular feedback, with progress reports during the training sessions, at the end of each day of training and at the end of each week. The results were impressive. On their first day, participants could stay focused on their breath for an average of only 20 seconds. After 30 days of training, that rose to an average of six minutes. This improvement, in turn, conferred better performance on other, much more complicated tasks that scientists use to assess sustained attention and working memory. Not only did the MediTrain participants perform more consistently on attention tests than the placebo group, the scientists also found a correlation between how long participants were able to focus on their breath and how consistently they performed on these tests. The MediTrain group also performed better than the placebo group on a test of working memory, measured after the intervention. "We thought it was a long shot to see these types of improvements in a group this young and healthy," said David Ziegler, Ph.D., director of multimodal biosensing in the technology division at UCSF's Neuroscape, and the first author of the paper. "But it speaks to the power of the method." Using electroencephalography (EEG) to record brain activity in a subset of the participants in each group, the researchers identified parts of the brain, particularly in the front, that altered their activity as participants learned to stabilize their attention with meditation training. According to Ziegler, "These frontal brain areas, which are important for controlling attention, showed greater moment-to-moment consistency in their activity after the meditation training." They are also known to strengthen their activity when other areas of the brain called the "default mode network," that are associated with distracted thinking and self-preoccupation, get weaker. Deactivation in the default mode network is also associated with better performance on tasks that require focused attention. The researchers said that MediTrain, which has been patented by the University of California, holds promise for a younger generation that is accustomed to digital devices but faces multiple challenges to sustained attention from heavy use of media and technology. The breath meditationa seemingly simple, yet quite demanding taskworked as well in cultivating sustained attention as other more intellectually and physically challenging training programs that have been developed at Neuroscape, a translational neuroscience center at UCSF engaged in technology creation and scientific research to better assess and optimize brain function for all people. Its very simplicity may fill a particular need created by the frenetic pace of today's world. "Many of us struggle with challenges to our attention, which seem to be exacerbated by modern technology," Gazzaley said. "What we've done here is flip this story around by creating and studying a digital delivery system that makes cognitive benefits of traditional focused attention meditation more personalized, accessible and deliverable." More information: Closed-loop digital meditation improves sustained attention in young adults, Nature Human Behaviour (2019). www.nature.com/articles/s41562-019-0611-9 Journal information: Nature Human Behaviour Closed-loop digital meditation improves sustained attention in young adults,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-019-0611-9 Credit: CC0 Public Domain When considering the role of the key immune molecule interleukin (IL)-17, the phrase "too much of a good thing" springs to mind. Because unlike some of its more sedate cytokine cousins which studiously direct the immune response to destroy invading pathogens, IL-17 can get a little carried away. So much so that excess inflammation caused by IL-17 has been implicated in autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and multiple sclerosis. It is because of this destructive side of IL-17 that a research team led by Osaka University decided to examine exactly how mRNA-degrading protein Regnase-1 helps rein in the unruly cytokine. In an article published this month in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the researchers describe how their results could provide some relief for patients suffering from IL-17-associated diseases. Regnase-1 acts like a pair of scissors, chopping up inflammation-associated gene products so they can't be expressed. By targeting genes turned on in response to inflammation, Regnase-1 prevents the body's immune system from going haywire. However, through a process called phosphorylation, Regnase-1 is modified and thus its activity is abolished, allowing the expression of target genes. While external stimuli were known to activate this modification, previous studies had not determined exactly how phosphorylation occurs. By altering or deleting Regnase-1 phosphorylation sites in mice, the researchers set about determining why phosphorylation was induced and how this process contributes to the regulation of IL-17-associated inflammation. Interestingly, the researchers found that IL-17 can trigger the phosphorylation of Regnase-1, resulting in excessive inflammation. Lead author of the study, Hiroki Tanaka, explains: "Using the mouse models, we showed that Regnase-1 is phosphorylated in response to IL-17 stimulation. The phosphorylated protein is expelled into the cytosol, where it can no longer interact with its target gene products." This loss of interaction means that the target genes are expressed, causing inflammation. However, the two mutant mouse lines showed a reduction in IL-17-induced inflammation, along with decreased disease severity in an experimental model of autoimmune encephalomyelitis. "Our results confirm that phosphorylation of Regnase-1 plays an important role in the regulation of various inflammatory responses," says senior author Shizuo Akira. "Based on these findings, we propose that Regnase-1 plays a critical role in the development of IL-17-mediated inflammatory diseases. This is exciting because it means that we may be able to design therapeutic agents that block the phosphorylation of Regnase-1, which may prove effective in the treatment of IL-17-associated autoimmunity." Explore further The subcellular dynamics of RNA stabilizing molecule in response to inflammation More information: Hiroki Tanaka et al, Phosphorylation-dependent Regnase-1 release from endoplasmic reticulum is critical in IL-17 response, The Journal of Experimental Medicine (2019). Journal information: Journal of Experimental Medicine Hiroki Tanaka et al, Phosphorylation-dependent Regnase-1 release from endoplasmic reticulum is critical in IL-17 response,(2019). DOI: 10.1084/jem.20181078 Hedy Kindler, MD Credit: Robert Kozloff, UChicago Treatment with the drug olaparib significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death from metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to findings from the recently completed, international, phase-III POLO (Pancreas cancer OLaparib Ongoing) trial. Olaparib (trade name LYNPARZA, jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Merck) is a PARP inhibitor. It targets cancer cells that have a defect in DNA damage repair. Progression-free survival, the primary endpoint in this study, was 7.4 months on the olaparib arm, and 3.8 months on the placebo arm. From 6 months onwards, more than twice the proportion of patients on the olaparib arm were progression-free. "This is clearly a practice changing trial," said cancer specialist Hedy Kindler, MD, lead author of the study and a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "It will change how we think about patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and who should consider germline testing." This global studyto be featured at the Plenary Session at ASCO, the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago, and published online June 2 in the New England Journal of Medicineis the first from a randomized trial to validate a targeted treatment in a biomarker-selected population of pancreatic cancer patients. Pancreatic cancer tends to be "very resistant to treatment," said Kindler. "There are few drug regimens with significant activity, and most clinical trials of new agents are unfortunately negative." "This is a devastating disease, with the briefest survival of any solid tumor," Kindler said. Pancreatic cancer will soon become the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III POLO trial focused on a selected group of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had inherited mutations in the BRCA 1 and 2 genes. The study screened 3,315 patients at 119 centers on 4 continents for germline BRCA mutations, which were detected in 7.5 percent of patients. After they received at least 16 weeks of platinum-based chemotherapy, 154 patients were randomized to receive either olaparib or placebo. Treatment continued until radiological exams detected progression of the disease. Beyond the improvement in progression-free survival, there were no new safety concerns with olaparib. Health-related quality of life was maintained with treatment. "About a quarter of these patients responded to olaparib for a median of two years, which is truly remarkable in a disease where most patients survive for less than a year," said Kindler, an internationally recognized authority on the treatment of pancreatic cancer and malignant mesothelioma. "That's almost unheard of," she added. "When we saw the progression-free survival data, my first reaction was a little scream of joy. We finally made real progress in the treatment of a subset of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer." One of Kindler's patients has been on the study for more than two years. "He's leading a normal life," she said, "feeling fine, living well and taking his pills twice a day." "In a disease where almost nothing works," she added, "it is truly remarkable to finally have a drug that makes such a difference, even for a small subset of patients." "A strategic approach of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy followed by maintenance olaparib treatment should become a new standard of care for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have a germline BRCA mutation," Kindler said. Explore further New drug therapy slows spread of pancreatic cancer: study (HealthDay)Cutting-edge prostate cancer drugs that help extend life in the toughest cases might also be useful in fighting less aggressive tumors, two new clinical trials suggest. Two drugs that interfere with cancer's ability to use testosterone for fuel, apalutamide (Erleada) and enzalutamide (Xtandi), are already approved for use against more advanced prostate tumors that don't respond to regular therapy. But these trials show that the drugs also can improve survival and slow progression in prostate cancers that do respond to regular therapy, which typically involves medication that halts production of testosterone. Both clinical trials involved patients with prostate cancer that had spread to other parts of their body but who still responded to androgen-deprivation therapy. "We're slowly starting to see a migration of drugs traditionally saved for advanced stages of disease, where we're incorporating them into earlier stages of disease," said Dr. Bobby Liaw, medical director of the Blavatnik Family Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai, in New York City. He was not involved in the trials. Apalutamide combined with androgen-deprivation therapy caused a 33% reduction in overall risk of death, compared against patients who received a placebo alongside their androgen-deprivation therapy, said the lead researcher of that clinical trial, Dr. Kim Chi. Apalutamide also delayed progression of the cancer by 52%, and the length of time before patients required chemotherapy by 61%, said Chi, medical director of the Clinical Trials Unit at the BC Cancer Agency-Vancouver Prostate Center in Canada. Adding the hormone blocker significantly improved patients' outcomes with few side effects, Chi said. "It's well-tolerated, both from a side-effect profile and from a quality-of-life perspective," Chi said, noting that side effects differ little from a placebo. The second trial involved adding enzalutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy, and again positive results were found. About 80% of men treated with enzalutamide were alive after three years, compared with 72% of men who received standard treatment, the researchers said. Study co-chair Ian Davis is a professor at Monash University in Australia. "The actual result in patients starting hormonal therapynoting patients had a 60% improvement in the time it takes to detect the cancer growing again along with a 33% increase chance of survivalwas far higher than we expected," he said in a news release. In that trial, 1,125 men were randomly assigned to receive either enzalutamide or placebo, the study authors said. The next step for researchers will be head-to-head comparisons that will help doctors decide which drugs would work best for specific patients, Liaw said. "We don't yet have any data to compare these drugs side-to-side. That's where we're going to start to see a bit of debate over which one is arguably the best drug to start with first," Liaw said. "We've never had a lot of satisfying data to help us figure out what is the proper sequence, is there an optimal sequence, should we be combining certain drugs to get a better effect?" Cost will also be an issue in using these new drugs to fight prostate cancer. "These are really expensive drugs," Liaw said. "These are drugs that cost thousands for a month's supply." Regardless, it is good for doctors to have more drugs on hand to help patients battle prostate cancer, he concluded. "We're certainly hoping to have their disease controlled, not just now but for the long haul, and that's what these drugs are showing they have the capability of doing," Liaw said. Both trials were to be presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology's annual meeting, in Chicago, this weekend, and they will also be published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Explore further International clinical trial of new drug for men with advanced prostate cancer yields strong result Copyright 2019 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Three Moroccan men pleaded guilty in the murder of two Scandinavian women, the first terrorist attack in the country since 2011. The ringleader and two other terrorist ring members told a court specializing in terrorism cases that they decided to commit the abject terrorist act in Morocco after failing to join the Islamic state abroad. A Danish and Norwegian young women were hiking in the Atlas mountains near the village of Imlil when they were attacked at midnight by the terrorists who beheaded them and recorded the video. Two of the suspects admitted to having decapitated the Scandinavian tourists while a third said he filmed the act. The suspects and 21 other defendants face charges of forming a terrorist gang, committing terrorist attacks and undermining public order. The three suspects also explained that the attack was planned locally in Morocco by themselves and another accomplice who backtracked on the day of December 17 when the attack took place. The news of D-Day, when it came to Missoula, was from a surprising source. It was 10:30 p.m. our time on June 5, 1944, when German radio out of Berlin began announcing the Allied landings in France in a series of flashes. It was 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 6, in Europe. Newspaper editors such as Frenchy Ferguson of the Daily Missoulian had time to shuffle their front pages. Early local readers saw INVASION IS ON in a banner headline across the top, in 120-point type, which is very large. Text down the entire right half of the page appeared in bold type under the subhead Allies Land on Northern Coast of France Under Heavy Naval, Air Support. A not insignificant development in Italy was pushed to the side. The big news of June 5 had been that Allied forces had liberated Rome with almost no damage to the historic city. That news was pushed off the front altogether when an extra edition hit the streets early that Tuesday morning. This time the banner head was a double-decker: ALLIED INVADERS SMASHING INLAND Apparently the heads-up came early enough that the trigger could be pulled to run a giant advertisement for The Mercantile on Page 8. It put a fine point on the assault to win back France from the Germans. A sketch portrayed a Revolutionary War soldier standing over a line of bayonet-wielding World War II infantry men, with artillery blast on the horizons and an armada of war planes overhead. Lafayette, we are here AGAIN! the Mercs scriptwriter exclaimed. Remember Pershings words in 1917? Remember the high resolve they bespoke, the eagerness to repay the old debt America always remembered? Had you thought, Lafayette, that this time America would forget this time America would fail the most beloved of her sister nations, her benefactress, her friend? That America would forget the cause of freedom, as sacred to herself as it is to you? You should have known, Lafayette, we could not stand idly by. That sooner or later our wrath would rise, that one day we WOULD come roaring to your beaches, with flaming guns and Freedoms banners flying. Come, as we have come today, determined that the oppressor shall pay dearly for every insult, every theft, every murder perpetrated against the beloved folk and upon the beloved soil of France. Come determined to restore the laughter and the lights, the gayety and glamour, the wit and zest for life that are our vision of eternal France! It has been harder this time. We have had to fight our way. This time we know, too, what difficulties still lie ahead. But this time, with your help, we will finish the job. LAFAYETTE, WE ARE HERE AGAIN! On June 7, there were reports from Kalispell and Polson of every available street flag put up on main streets. Businesses in Kalispell closed for an hour at 11 a.m. on June 6 for a service at the First Presbyterian Church, where workers congregated to offer prayers for the Allied invasion forces. While jubilance is not reflected in the mood of the people who have some conception of the long road to victory, at least an air of confidence is shown in many expressions," the Kalispell report said. "Determination to become even more active on the home-front can be detected. Just a day after the D-Day assault, the Missoulian presented readers with a remarkably detailed account of the American troops as they boarded the invasion ships in England. Never were men more anxious to get on with so grim a task, wrote Howard Whitman, a New York Daily News correspondent representing the combined American press. That some of the warriors called western Montana home is a certainty. Whitman said many went aboard with shaved heads, thus reducing the danger of infection in case of head wounds. All carried waterproof gas masks and wore gas protective clothing. The men played poker and craps games continually aboard the invasion craft, often using the $4 of invasion money they were given. These boys seemed aware that they were standing at the crossroads of history, Whitman noted. They were laden with field packs, side arms, rifles, machine guns, walkie talkies, field glasses, medical supplies, jackets stuffed with hand grenades, smoke bombs, heavy loads of ammunition, prepared dynamite charges, flame throwers, grenade launchers, bazookas, TNT charges on the ends of poles and full anti-gas equipment. One toted a guitar. Another wore a painted sign on his back: Danger minefield. Several had plucked flowers on their way to the ship and stuck them in their helmets. The list went on. The men were issued seven sticks of chewing gum, four boxes of matches, a box of body insecticide powder, three boxes of K rations and three of D rations. They got chewing tobacco, and a carton of cigarettes or cigarette makings. They carried water purification tablets, a razor blade, a tin of canned heat, as well as 12 seasickness pills and two vomit bags. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. University of Montana faculty member Megan Stark recently put her research expertise to a new purpose, a short opera called "From the Field" that premiered Saturday in San Francisco. At UM since 2009, the associate professor and librarian typically helps students do research that allows them to look at topics through new and different lenses. She considers her work helping them develop their own voices as scholars to be the best part of her job. "The students here ask the smartest questions. They are just unbelievable in their pursuit of knowledge," said Stark, who grew up in Polson. Last summer, Stark took a call from her brother, composer Christopher Stark. The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble had commissioned him to write a piece about California, and he wanted his sister to write the libretto for the "micro opera." "I knew that if I asked her to participate in this, that she would first of all do incredible research and read everything that was available, but also that she's a really tremendous editor," said Christopher Stark, who works in the Department of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. Megan Stark agreed to the quest to "capture some of the spirit of California" in the text for the music to be composed by her brother, who was named a "rising star" by the St. Louis Post Dispatch in 2017. The path she took resulted in an opera that weaves together in 15 minutes the story of influential professionals, including a historic photographer for the Farm Security Administration and a living climate scientist and UM emeritus professor, both executing in their careers important charges from the government. In a brief review, the San Francisco Chronicle described the characters as "stubborn truth tellers." The opera features Dorothea Lange, who was hired by the U.S. government to capture images as part of a project to document rural and urban life in the U.S. from 1935 to 1944. Lange traced the westward migration of farm families affected by the Dust Bowl, "drought migrants," as a portrait photographer, Megan Stark said. "Yet in her photographs, you just see the landscape emerge as this unbelievable character," Stark said. She said California is in many ways a bellwether for the country, an indicator of the direction the rest of the nation is headed with climate change. Last year, wildfire burned more acres and took more lives in California than in its history. So Steven Running, a retired UM climate scientist who shared in a Nobel award, also plays a role in the opera. In 2007, the Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to two recipients, Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Running was one of the IPCC authors lauded for "efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." Stark talked with Running about climate change, and the opera incorporates the filmed interview in its storytelling. She said Running is clear in his ability to convey a message that society needs to engage on climate change in a serious way. "Hearing him talk about just the precision with which they've measured the data and the many ways we might change our behaviors is I think very moving," Stark said. Christopher Stark, too, said the opera is timely and captures a moment in American history when the government is "not being incredibly transparent." U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration are rolling back environmental protections and interfering with climate science. "I think it's really fun for them (the musicians) to be able to perform something they feel is important politically," he said. "It just adds a little extra layer of commitment from players." Running said he already had planned a trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness over the weekend, so he could not attend the premiere. (He's the guest speaker for an educational pack trip.) However, he said social scientists have taught climate scientists that not everyone can be motivated by data; some need to see, for instance, the image of a polar bear on an ice floe. "Maybe for some people, seeing climate science integrated into music may motivate them in a way that seeing a bunch of graphs and data doesn't," said Running, who mentioned the project was especially fun because he's known Stark's family for 20 years. Megan Stark and her brother had front row seats to the premiere. "I think it's going to be really neat to draw out this story of these experts in the field capturing data and information and the way in which we choose to perceive that information and see it as we move through the history of this country, particularly in California," Megan Stark said. In addition to her work coordinating the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library's literacy curriculum and building reference materials, Stark is also the president of the University Faculty Association. She isn't done with the opera yet, though; a short opera is not onerous to reproduce, and she'd like to offer a Montana audience the chance to see "From the Field." "It would be really fun to bring it here and to see what we could do with it," Stark said. 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. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ten attorneys have filed with the state's judicial branch their bid to fill the district bench vacancy to be opened when Judge Karen Townsend retires later this year. The deadline for applications closed Thursday, while public comment period opened Friday on the applications, all of which are available online on the Judicial Nomination Commission's website. The commission will select candidates for interviews on July 3, then conduct those interviews publicly in Missoula on July 15. The final cut of nominations will be submitted to Gov. Steve Bullock on July 28. He will have 30 days to select the appointment to Townsend's bench. The field includes prosecutors, public defenders, private attorneys and a number of substitute judges. The applications are linked to their names below: Travis Dye A Hellgate High School and University of Montana graduate, about half of Dye's recent cases have involved representing doctors, dentists and other health care providers in professional negligence claims before state administrative panels and licensing boards. Additional practices include construction defect litigation, landlord-tenant cases, general defense, personal injury, consumer law and criminal defense. Carrie Garber Garber's current practice is almost entirely, 99%, insurance defense, primarily discovery and motions. Garber ended a six-year stint as senior deputy Missoula city attorney in June 2018 and moved to Wills Law Firm, P.C. In January, she began serving as a substitute for Missoula Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Jenks. Karen Kane Kane is an assistant attorney general and supervisor of the Child Protection Unit, spending 100% of her practice prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases in district courts throughout western Montana. In that role, she also trains county attorneys, child protection specialists, child and family services division, expert witnesses and court appointed special advocates. Larry Mansch Mansch was most recently legal director of the Montana Innocence Project. He retired from that position in February, but stayed on at the nonprofit as senior counsel. In that role, he supervises investigations, case development and litigation. In post-conviction practices, time is split between civil and criminal law. Jason Marks As chief deputy Missoula County attorney, Marks supervises attorneys in the agency's criminal and civil divisions, although he lists criminal law and trial work as specialties. He's held that position for four years, previously serving as a deputy county attorney and public defender for both the Missoula and state offices. James McCubbin Senior Deputy Missoula County Attorney McCubbin primarily prosecutes felony drug offenses and works cases as a member of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Missoula Drug Task Force. McCubbin advises law enforcement in that task force on handling informants and undercover drug operations. His current caseload exceeds 100 open felony cases in Missoula District Court. Ryan Phelan As an equity partner with P. Mars Scott Law Offices, Phelan, also a Missoula native, spends approximately 90% of her practice in family law, including divorce, parenting, orders of protection, child abuse and neglect and more. Other areas of practice include preparing wills, administering estates, landlord-tenant issues and property disputes. Tracy Rhodes The majority of Rhodes' practice also includes dependency and neglect proceedings, often seeing crossover of parents' companion criminal cases. She is the sole owner of Tracy Labin Rhodes P.L.L.C. in Missoula, and in the past nine years has been a substitute justice of the peace, Appellate Court judge for the Fort Belknap Tribe, special judge for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Court and special master and settlement master in Missoula District Court. Michael Sherwood The president of Sherwood Law Offices, Sherwood is a criminal defense attorney, spending 98% of his time in that arena in state and federal court. He was named Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Montana Trial Lawyers Association in 1988, and two years later named Criminal Defense Lawyer of the Year by the Montana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Leta Womack Since 2015, Womack has been the senior staff attorney in the Missoula Conflicts Office for the state Public Defender's Office, which represents defendants in cases passed out of the Public Defender's Office. She had previously served as a public defender in Polson and Kalispell before coming to Missoula. She previously urged alternatives to jail as punishment during an unsuccessful 2013 run for Missoula Municipal Court judge. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The smoke began to roll into the Helena Valley late Thursday evening and by Friday morning it was so thick the surrounding mountains were invisible. It was coming from massive wildfires burning in Canadas far north between Edmonton and Yellow Knife, and flowing inexorably down the east side of the Continental Divide and out into the plains. And no, all the phony excuses of a century of wildfire suppression or not enough logging and thinning have nothing to do with it. The Canadian boreal scrub pine forests are burning due to global warming that has caused higher early spring temperatures and a severe lack of rainfall. You can view the enormity of the fires in a YouTube video recorded by a helicopter flyover. As sea levels rise faster than even the worst-case estimates, a record number of species are driven to extinction, and the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide hits 415 parts per million a level not seen on the planet for 3 million years we have to ask: What will it take to stop Donald Trumps climate policy insanity? While all the evidence points to self-caused environmental catastrophe, we have the sorry spectacle of a science-deficient president pushing for ever more drilling, mining and burning of fossil fuels to reach his goal of global energy dominance by the United States. Is it even possible that Trump still believes, as he has said repeatedly, that global warming is a Chinese hoax? Does he simply not understand that the polar ice caps are melting much faster than predicted because the effects of global warming are most severe at northern latitudes? Will the equally delusional people he has appointed to the highest positions in our government continue to tell us to be happy because it will open shorter shipping lanes to China when the polar ice melts? In the meantime, Trump has ordered his lackeys to remove any mention of climate change from government reports the very reports we pay scientists and researchers to compile so our policy-makers can be informed and make decisions based on reality, not a reality-TV presidents fantasy version of the world. Does Trump think if the mention of global warming is removed from those reports we simply wont notice? Or that the impacts will go away and, as he has also said, the climate changes, it will change back. Perhaps the president should make one of his infamous taxpayer-funded trips to Montana where, as Christian Cassell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls, told reporters: "We'll probably be seeing wildfire smoke most of the summer from the north." While Trump is here, maybe he can take a side trip to far northwest Montana, where the last herd of woodland caribou just became extinct due to hotter temperatures and habitat destruction from the logging and road-building he touts. Or maybe a visit to whats left of Montanas fluvial arctic grayling population a native salmonid that requires cold, clean water not the summer-warmed water temperatures in the 70s that are routinely closing our world-class streams to fishing. Of course hed have to look hard to find those grayling since they are closely following the Montana woodland caribou to extinction. Theres a rising tide calling for the impeachment of this mad ruler and, while the focus is on his business and political corruption, perhaps the best reason to impeach Trump is for his high crimes against the planet itself. And if it takes impeachment to stop his climate policy insanity, it cant come soon enough. George Ochenski writes from Helena. His column appears each Monday on the Missoulian's Opinion page. He can be reached by email at oped@missoulian.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Scott Warren, a volunteer for No More Deaths in Ajo, Arizona, is on trial by your government for giving food and water to two migrants. He faces 20 years in prison. Ajo sits amidst an 800,000-acre wilderness area where no potable water is found. According to the Pima County Medical Examiner, over 3,000 remains have been found between 2000 and 2018 along the southern border. A hot, hostile and dangerous desert spares no one. Why is our government wasting time and your tax money by prosecuting Samaritans who try to save lives when they could be stopping drugs from being smuggled into the U.S.? Sara Busey, Polson You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Boeing Class Action Deadline Approaching: Bernstein Liebhard LLP Announces That Seven Days Remain to Make a Motion for Lead Plaintiff in a Class Action Against Boeing, Inc. -- BA NEW YORK, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP announced that seven days remain to make a motion for lead plaintiff in a class action pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of all persons or entities (the Class) who purchased the securities of Boeing, Inc. (Boeing or the Company) (NYSE: BA) during the period of January 8, 2019 through March 21, 2019 (the Class Period). The complaint alleges that Defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If you purchased Boeing securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options, please visit Boeing class action or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or via email at mguarnero@bernlieb.com . If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff in the Boeing class action , you must move the court no later than June 10, 2019. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery does not require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you take no action, you may remain an absent class member. Boeing designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. On October 29, 2018, a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet operated by the Indonesian airline Lion Air crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all passengers and crew. On November 12, 2018, the Wall Street Journal published an article reporting that Boeing withheld information about potential hazards associated with a new flight-control feature suspected of playing a role in last months fatal Lion Air jet crash[.] Plaintiffs allege that Defendants made misrepresentations about the safety of the Companys 737 Max airplanes during the Class Period. Specifically, Defendants allegedly concealed that (1) the 737 Max airplanes lacked safety features which Boeing sold as optional add-ons; (2) most airlines did not purchase these safety options; and (3) the Federal Aviation Administration handed oversight and certification of one of Boeings safety systems to Boeing, which had a clear conflict of interest as it was rushing the 737 Max to market. On March 10, 2019, 157 people perished after an Ethiopian Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 8 jet crashed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia shortly after takeoff. In the wake of the crash, regulators in China and several other countries grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 jets. On March 11, 2019, Boeings stock price fell $22.53, or over 5%, to close at $400.01 per share. On March 21, 2019, The New York Times reported that Boeing had concealed from pilots and passengers that Boeing created two new safety features that it sold as extras or optional features to keep cost down. This news drove the price of Boeing shares down $10.53, or about 3%, on March 22, 2019. If you purchased Boeing securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options, please visit https://www.bernlieb.com/cases/boeing-ba-lawsuit-class-action-fraud-stock-124/ or contact Matthew E. Guarnero toll free at (877) 779-1414 or via email at mguarnero@bernlieb.com . Bernstein Liebhard LLP has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer, and shareholders rights cases and recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. The Firm has been named to The National Law Journals Plaintiffs Hot List thirteen times and been listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years. You can obtain a copy of the complaint from the clerk of the court for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. 2019 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. The lawyer responsible for this advertisement in the State of Connecticut is Michael S. Bigin. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. Forces loyal to the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) have announced that they have downed a United Arab Emirates-made drone used by East-based forces led by Khalifa Haftar who has launched an offensive to seize Tripoli. Tripolis southern outskirt has been since early April the theater of military confrontation where GNA forces have been trying to halt the progress of Haftar forces. The GNA-backed military command circulated photos of the drone with Made in UAE inscription on its wings. The drone was brought down on Saturday near Ain Zara and Wadi Rabea, Libya observer reports. The GNA-backed forces have repeatedly accused the UAE of backing Haftars offensive. The GNA itself stopped short of blaming the Arab country but has openly criticized France for condoning the offensive on Tripoli. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and US President Donald Trump also have brought their support to Haftar who claimed that the operation was meant to flash terrorists out of capital Tripoli. Haftar on his part late last month blamed Turkey and Qatar for providing military support for the GNA. The UN-backed government last month received a dozen military vehicles from Turkey. Ankara, soon after Haftar launched the military campaign on Tripoli, vowed to help the GNA administration overturn the offensive. Nov. 22, 1947-May 31, 2019 As the day was dawning on May 31, 2019, Barbara Ann (Wirkman) Sanders went over to the other side at home with close family members by her side. Barbara was born November 22, 1947 in Red Lodge, Montana to Waekko and Lillian Wirkman. She spent her early years roaming the family farm outside of Roberts, Montana with her daddy. Waekko died when Barbara was 10 years old and her mother remarried Edwin Jackola when Barb was a teenager in 1963. When she wasnt skipping school, Barbara attended Roberts Elementary and High School, graduating in 1965. Barb liked to say that she might be the first person to skip half of her senior year and still get fine grades. After high school, Barb attended the University of Montana in Missoula. She took a brief time off during her third year to live with her friend Diane in Seattle and work at the post office. Diane and Barb remained lifelong friends. Barb came back to the University in 1969. One afternoon, she showed up on the doorstep of June Sanders looking for a little help with her statistics homework. She was dressed to the nines in a white floppy hat (lovingly named Winifred) and a striking pink empire waist dress. When Junes younger brother, Tom answered the door to the stunning lady in pink there was an instant connection. They went out with friends a few times and a couple of concerts and as Tom says, it just kind of happened. Barb graduated with a bachelors degree in Anthropology in June of 1970 and moved to Seattle. Tom graduated that December and followed Barb to Seattle where they spent a partial winter together. Tom returned to help on the family ranch on Rock Creek during the calving season and Barb returned to Montana later that summer. According to Tom, we were real aficionados of Eddies Club (in Missoula). That final year of college really was an extended childhood for us. Those fun times were enough to create a true bond and they were married in Greenough Park on the bridge over Rattlesnake Creek on September 8, 1971. Their wedding was truly unique for the old Justice of the Peace. They pre-functioned a bit too long at good old Eddies Club and were about 10 minutes late to their own wedding. He married them and they threw their just for the occasion cheap copper rings off the bridge as a symbol of their love without the need for material things. As they were doing this, the old JP told Barbs sister, Elaine and Toms best friend, Alan, I give those two 6 months. For their honeymoon, Tom and Barb took off hitchhiking to New York City. They stopped along the way in Washington, D.C. to stay with Toms cousin for a bit and check out the Smithsonian Museum. Once they made it to New York City, they attended a James Brown concert in Harlem and enjoyed the city for a bit. From there, they took an Icelandic Air Flight to Luxembourg. They then took a train to Paris and stayed with a friend who lived in a Jewish Ghetto. They checked out many of the sites the city had to offer and enjoyed all the delicious foods. They traveled all over northern Europe, jumping the continent for nearly 3 months. They went through Switzerland, Austria, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London, Munich and came back to Paris where they attended an opera, went to the Louvre and checked out Versailles. After their honeymoon, they returned to the ranch again for another calving season and then moved to Portland for a winter. They finally settled on the Sanders ranch on Rock Creek in 1973. Barb was a big part of keeping the ranch together and going strong for the next generation. When she wasnt out working alongside Tom, she was in cooking one of her excellent meals for the crew. She made a mean loaf of traditional Finn bread. Many a branding or haying crew member remembers eating some of the best Swedish meatballs, lasagna and brownies theyve ever had and then struggling to stay awake with their bellies painfully full as they attempted to finish the job through the afternoon. In May 1984, Barb was blessed with her only son, Carl. She considered having and raising him as the best thing she ever did. One of Carls earliest memories is sitting alongside his mom while she was driving the old dump truck, running the beaver slide. Hed sit by his mommy for hours watching the basket pull the hay up and dump it into the haystack as she drove back and forth running the cable. She raised him to be kind to others, always share and never be quick to anger. He turned out to be the man she always dreamt of and she was so very proud to be his mother. Barb loved to travel. She spoke very fondly of her days in Europe. She and Tom made three trips to Hawaii in the past several years. She loved the Canadian Rockies and Oregons northern coast. She truly had a love for adventure. Every year, Barb looked forward to the return of the hummingbirds. She loved to fill her bird feeder and watch the little birds swarm. Her houseplants were a favorite hobby and she spent hours making sure they were happy and healthy. She loved being outside and really took time to enjoy nature. She wasnt one to rush through life and miss the important things happening around her. She made many great friends in her years living in the community. She was always willing to volunteer for those in need or help her neighbors at a moments notice. She was a volunteer for the schools Santas Workshop and had a lot of fun decorating a special tree with her Rock Creek Ladies Festival of Trees group each year. Barb had a very special bond with her two sisters, Elaine and Jeanette. They were like the three musketeers and she was always looking forward to the next time they would be able to get together. Tom and Barb usually spent their anniversaries with Elaine and her husband Dave each year. And often, Barb would make a trip or two over to Red Lodge in the summer to help Jeanette cook for the Geology Camp she works at. Two years ago, the three sisters took a special man-free vacation to Glacier. Just to spend some time together. Thanksgiving was always Barbs favorite holiday. It was the one holiday that she got the chance to get her whole family together. It was usually spent at her familys farm near Roberts, Montana in her mothers home. Some of the happiest times in Barbaras life were spent with her grandchildren. Deklan and his grandma spent hours together playing with Tinker Toys and wooden blocks and just exploring the great outdoors together. When Delaney was born, Barb was greatly surprised and overjoyed to have a little granddaughter to love. Barb is survived by her best friend and life partner of 48 years, Tom; her loving son Carl and wife, Kayla; grandchildren, Deklan and Delaney; sisters, Elaine (Dave) Gates and Jeanette (Tony) Reinhardt; brother, Jerry (Janice) Wirkman; sister-in-law, June Farwell; numerous nieces, nephews and friends. Tom would like to thank his cousin Ginny Kane and friend Barbara Clark for their time and attention to Barb in her last weeks. They truly were blessings for Tom and family during this difficult time. In Barbs true no frills fashion, she requested that there not be a service and that her ashes be spread on the ranch. She will always be in our hearts and remembered as a kind and generous soul whom we were all lucky to have in our lives. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barbs honor to Compassus Hospice, 19 Discovery Drive, Butte, MT 59701 or a charity of your choice. Longfellow Finnegan Riddle Funeral & Cremation Service is entrusted with Barbs funeral arrangements. You may pay your condolences at www.longfellowfinneganriddle.com. Obituaries Newsletter Sign up to get the most recent local obituaries delivered to your inbox. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Multiple Montana Hotshot firefighter crews will dispatch to Alberta Wednesday as the province deals with more than two dozen large wildfires. Helena, Lolo, Bitterroot and Flathead national forest Hotshots will leave from Great Falls. Rogue River Hotshots from Oregon will join them, said Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest public affairs officer Kathy Bushnell. The crews do not yet know much about where they will go or their mission once they get there, which is not uncommon at this stage, she said. More than two dozen fires are burning in Alberta and 10,000 people have been forced from their homes. The government agency Alberta Wildfire reports the largest blaze is out of control about 450 miles north of Edmonton and had burned 887 square miles at the end of last week. Smoke from the fires drifted into several Western states last week, causing air quality in Helena to reach "unhealthy" levels for nearly a day. Reporter Tom Kuglin can be reached at 447-4076 @IR_TomKuglin Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Years ago, when my Montana Tech students periodically worked on projects with Butte Archives Director Ellen Crain, I often learned juicy bits of Butte history. Recently, Ive been reminded of one such passing observation made in the 1990s to a team of students working with Ellen and Gerry Walter on the development of the Granite Mountain Memorial. Gerry told them that shortly after the Granite Mountain Fire, the city formed a committee to build a memorial for those who died in that disaster. That was in 1917. The memorial that Ellen, Gerry, and others actually helped create didnt appear until the mid-1990s. Thats a long time to wait for a promise to be fulfilled. In early 2018, members of our community were relieved to learn that the Superfund Consent Decree parties (EPA, BP/ARCO, BSB, the State) had reached an agreement in principle, overcoming a 12-year Superfund stalemate shrouded in court-imposed secrecy. Like others in the community, members of the Restore Our Creek Coalition were pleased to see in the published agreement many of the goals they had fought for. Clearly ROCCs efforts to mobilize community involvement had paid off in many respects. ROCCs mission for the Silver Bow Creek corridor, supported by the involvement of hundreds of Butte citizens, and then by the signatures of 3500 more, is simple and straightforward: Remove the tailings, Restore the creek, and Provide amenities to make the corridor into an activity center for Butte folks. How has that mission fared since the early 2018 agreement in principle? The plan will remove the contaminated tailings along the creek (which previously were to be left in place). The blighted acres of the corridor will be redesigned as a riparian park for public enjoyment and use, mirroring elements of the design developed by ROCC and the people of Butte. Yet the CD parties plans for the corridor do not contain a creek or even a creek design. The proposed plan has all kinds of details for storm water control but nothing for a restored Silver Bow Creek. Since early 2018, EPA has assured Butte residents repeatedly that the proposed plan for the creek corridor would not preclude a creek in the future. Almost seven months ago ROCC, on behalf of the community, formally asked the CD parties to back their words with a feasibility study to demonstrate that a restored creek will fit among all the stormwater control features of the planned remedy. ROCC was recently encouraged when the entire Montana Congressional Delegation wrote EPA and the rest of the CD parties in support of ROCCs simple request for a creek design and eventually a creek. EPA has established a limited time for public comment on their proposed plan, and the clock is ticking on that schedule. The BSB Council of Commissioners will soon be tasked with responding to the proposed plan, indicating what parts of the plan are acceptable and what need changing. Members of the public have till June 11 to submit their independent comments. The ongoing dialog between community members and EPA recently caught a break when EPA informed ROCC that it is exploring a plan to provide additional funding through CTECs Technical Assistance Grant program for the purpose of hiring an independent contractor chosen by ROCC to conduct the creek-restoration feasibility study requested by ROCC. Such funding will enable EPA to show that its repeated assertions can be trusted that the remedys features in the creek corridor will not preclude the restored creek so many people have asked for. The tenacity of Butte residents their toughness, stubbornness, and feistiness is legendary throughout Montana. Though it took 80 years before Butte families victims of the Granite Mountain Disaster were properly memorialized, individual Butte people like Gerry Walter made it finally happen. On behalf of Butte residents, ROCC expects that EPAs planned funding for a feasibility study will lay out a path forward so that Butte families of today, who support the restoration of the creek, will know just what must be done in the next few years to have a restored and clean Silver Bow Creek meandering among the remedys storm water wetlands. Bill Macgregor is vice president of the Citizens Technical Environmental Committee, and represents CTEC on the Restore Our Creek Coalition. Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The nominating commission is seeking applicants to fill the opening that will occur upon the retirement of Judge Nancy S. Tabor. The district judge will serve Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Muscatine and Scott counties. Those interested in the position may obtain an application from the district court administrator's office at the Scott County Courthouse, Davenport, or the clerk of court offices in Cedar, Clinton, Jackson and Muscatine counties. Applicants must be members of the Bar of Iowa, residents of the Seventh Judicial District and of such age that they will be able to serve an initial and one regular term of office before the age of 72 years. Applications are due at the District Court Administrator's Office on or before Monday, June 24. The Judicial Nominating Committee will meet July 22 in the second floor conference room of the Scott County Courthouse in Davenport to interview candidates. The commission will then nominate two candidates for judgeship and the governor will choose from those two candidates. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 "This third-party review will help in determining if the Diocese has been on the right track in addressing abuse and, if necessary, in making changes to this process," he wrote. "I apologize for abuse by clergy that occurred in the past," he said. "In 2002, the bishops of the United States made significant and sweeping changes to the Churchs role in protecting children and vulnerable adults. As a result, since 2003 the Diocese of Davenport has provided safe environment training to approximately 18,708 adults and 8,638 children, and we have completed over 51,759 background checks. "These efforts have helped. The Diocese of Davenport has not received any reports of child sexual abuse by clergy or church personnel that occurred since 1988, over 30 years ago." Miller said he appreciated that the bishops met with him and made public the lists of credibly accused priests. The new carbon tax will results in the price of diesel increasing by more than 14 cents per litre, adding to the bleak overall economic outlook in South Africa. Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt said South Africans should prepare for difficult times ahead. All of the main economic indicators that we track show that things are going to get a lot more difficult before there is any chance of light at the end of the tunnel, Roodt said. With Eskoms debt approaching R500-billion and the utility failing to sell enough electricity to cover its daily expenditures, it is going to be incumbent on consumers to keep it from imploding and sinking the countrys entire economy. Debt Rescue CEO Neil Roets noted that a lack of a clear plan from government to reduce its expenditure could also have an adverse effect on the economy. While President Ramaphosas new cabinet blows a breath of fresh air into the political landscape it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to placate the ratings agencies who may see Eskoms spiralling debt as enough reason to downgrade the countrys sovereign bonds, Roets said. Roets predicted that another round of fuel price hikes would follow in July, due of the weakening exchange rate and growing volatility in the price of crude oil. An increasing number of South Africans are falling behind in their debt repayments, he added. We are seeing daily records being set by the number of distressed consumers who are knocking on our door to be placed under debt review. Almost half of all consumers are three months or more behind in their repayments, Roets said, with the major culprits being credit and store cards. Now read: Why SAA CEO Vuyani Jarana resigned Rain has partnered with Tymebank to test the distribution its SIM cards at Tyme kiosks, making it easier for its clients to sign up for a new service. Rain and Tymebank have a common shareholder, African Rainbow Capital, which means the two companies enjoy a strong collaborative relationship. Tymebank has a national network of manned Tyme kiosks at Pick n Pay and Boxer stores across South Africa, which is of value to Rain as a physical distribution network. Tyme kiosks personnel are already equipped to do FICA verification for banking clients, which means it is easy to add the RICA process at these kiosks. Rain CEO Willem Roos told MyBroadband that the RICA process is performed by the Tyme Ambassador manning the kiosk. In due course we hope to have our eRICA process implemented at the kiosks, which would mean that Rain customers can follow a seamless process in most Pick n Pays and walk out connected, he said. Roos explained that Rain hopes to scale the current distribution trial to most Tyme kiosks over the next few months. Rain and Tymebank The documents below give an overview of the Rain and Tymebank partnership. Mauritania will enter the limited list of uranium producing countries in 2020 following the promising findings of the Australian mining company Aura Energy in the Tiris Zemmour mine. The production of yellowcake is a true milestone for Aura Energys push to achieve producer status. To achieve yellowcake production from our site in the Sahara Desert has required commitment and stamina from our dedicated technical team. Yellowcake (also called urania) is a type of uranium concentrate powder obtained from leach solutions, in an intermediate step in the processing of uranium ores. The company said the mine offers promising prospects for commerciable uranium, which will enhance the finances of the sparsely populated and poor West African country. Aura Energy was granted last year an exploitation license for its Tiris uranium project in Mauritania. Mauritanias extensive mineral resources include iron ore, gold, copper, gypsum, and phosphate rock. In addition to uranium, exploration is ongoing for tantalum crude oil, and natural gas. Mauritanias economy is dominated by extractive industries (oil and mines), fisheries, livestock, agriculture, and services. Half the population still depends on farming and raising livestock Extractive commodities make up about three-quarters of Mauritanias total exports, subjecting the economy to price swings in world commodity markets. The labor union whose members contribute most to the funds overseen by South Africas state pension manager wants the institution to stop investing in the debt of Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., potentially increasing funding pressure on the heavily indebted utility. The 240,000-strong Public Servants Association said by buying Eskoms bonds the Public Investment Corp. is exposing pensioners to excessive risk as the state-owned power company is not selling enough electricity to cover its costs and has had to be bailed out by the government. It also urged the PIC to avoid investing in other struggling state-owned companies such as South African Airways. The Government Employees Pension Fund, managed by the PIC, holds 54.8 billion rand ($3.7 billion) of Eskom bonds, or 16.8% of all the debt outstanding, more than five times the next-biggest holder, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The PIC owns an additional 8.5 billion rand of Eskom bonds on behalf of other clients. The PIC needs to get out of Eskom, Tahir Maepa, the PSAs deputy general manager for members affairs, said in an interview. So long as they have the PIC as a piggy bank they will never be able to sustain themselves and run like a business. Eskom should be a business and not rely on bailouts from pensioners money. Governance Probe The influence of the PSA and other unions on the PIC and its policies is about to increase as three labor leaders, including the PSAs top executive, are set to be appointed to the interim board of the 108 year-old fund manager, Africas biggest with more than 2 trillion rand under management. The current 11-member board had offered to resign due to a succession of scandals exposed in an ongoing governance probe thats also seen the exit of two chief executive officers and the suspension of senior staff. The PIC is already under pressure from the government to adopt a mandate that includes economic growth and black economic empowerment rather than focusing purely on financial returns, and is likely to be pushed to keep propping up the power utility. The To be sure, Eskom debt, most of which is guaranteed by the state, hasnt performed badly: rand bonds due 2026 have returned 7.6% this year compared with 5.6% for comparable government securities. The companys 2025 dollar bonds have returned 13.6%, more than twice the 6.3% average for high-yield emerging-market corporate debt, according to Bloomberg indexes. Yields on the 2025 securities climbed nine basis points on Friday, paring the drop this year to 236 points, suggesting investors are confident the government wont let Eskom default after President Cyril Ramaphosa said the utility is too big to fail. If the PIC were to sell its Eskom holdings it would be unlikely to find buyers given the amount involved, said a money manager that holds the debt of a number of South African state companies including Eskom. The person asked not to be identified because the institution they work for hasnt made its views on this matter public. A sale of the debt would also be a blow to the viability of Eskom and would damage the creditworthiness of South Africa and the government bonds held by the GEPF, the bondholder said. Politically Driven A sale by the GEPF would be a problem, we already know that Eskom has massive liquidity issues and cant roll over their debt, said Bronwyn Blood, a fixed-interest portfolio manager at Cape Town-based Granate Asset Management, who said her organization sold its holdings about three years ago. Still, she said she agreed with the position taken by the PSA. The professional market as a whole does hold that view, she said. The PSAs criticism of the PIC is not the first by an organization representing government workers and pensioners. In January Albert van Driel, a representative of the Association for Monitoring and Advocacy, told the commission of inquiry into the PIC that the investment in Eskom bonds was reckless and politically driven. Government wants to treat GEPF money as if its government money, Maepa said. This is private money and when they do these things they dont even consult the depositors. Now read: UK government considers Huawei ban Cybercrime Ventures predicts that cybercrime will cost the world upwards of US$6B by 2021. The increasing complexity of cybercrime coupled with the predicted acute shortage of 3.5M cybersecurity professionals by 2021 paints a grim picture. Additionally, the emergence of the Internet of Things, heralding the Fourth Industrial Revolution presents lucrative opportunities for cybercriminals and a perfect storm for cyber defenders as we battle the increasing ease of access to crimeware and an increasingly complex legislative environment. The borderless nature of cybercrime exacerbates the situation making cyberrisk mitigation, and possible consequent prosecution, difficult. A holistic approach to addressing this evident problem is necessary. Government, the largest consumers of technology in developing and developed countries, are often the last to be involved with effective cybercrime mitigation. While government grapples with archaic legislative environments when trying to deal with agile and dynamic technology issues, business forges ahead with innovation. The driving force behind this is a need to be quick to the market, which often comes at the expense of security principles and practices. Researchers, on the other hand, continue their work in their ivory towers mostly not interacting with either government or business. It is evident that constructive interaction between these three key players should be fostered to enhance South Africas cybersecurity posture. While the veracity of ranking systems that place South Africa at the lower levels of Mathematics and Science education may be questioned, it is not disputed that we do rank lower than where we would like. Unfortunately, where we would rather be ranked low, we are often not. A case in point is the latest Ransomware ranking released by Statistica, where South Africa ranks uncomfortably close to the top, in 5th place. Our country ranks relatively high on other related indices as well. The sectors most at risk, according to the Global Threat Intelligence Report published by Dimension Data, are finance and technology. It is likely that many of these risks, especially those in the financial sector, are driven by consumers who look for convenience, which overrides their perception of risk as reported by Symantec. Social media, emerging technologies and the Blockchain revolution all contribute to the increasing pressures on policy makers and legislators to devise frameworks within which cybercrime can be controlled. These issues are precisely those that will be explored at an upcoming cybersecurity summit scheduled for the end of June in Sandton. Threat 2019 Mark Thomas, the CTO of Dimension Data, and Sunil Varkey, the CTO and Chief Strategist at Symantec, are two of the keynote speakers at the Triple Helix cybeR sEcurity Africa summiT (THREAT 2019) where these and related issues will be discussed. Melissa Hathaway, the former cybersecurity advisor to President Obama, will also present a keynote address, as will Professor Marwala the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg. The conference will be opened by the Minister of Communications and will feature an impressive group of leading cybersecurity practitioners and thought leaders from South Africa as well as Amazon Web Services and Facebook Africa, among others. Two days of intensive plenary talks and panel discussions will include academic research presentations. Accepted papers have been double blind peer reviewed and selected papers will appear in the International Journal of Communications, published by the LINK center at Wits University, the academic partner to THREAT 2019. Visit the THREAT 2019 website to learn more about this event. Google has finally thrown in the towel on Google Plus. No surprise here. Google launched their social media application in 2011 to compete with Facebook and it never really gained traction. By 2018, Google Plus was little more than an afterthought. But you have to wonder why all those smart people at Google couldnt make this work. What were those circles all about? We thought we should be using this Google product and gave it a try, but it wasnt fun to be on Google Plus because, well, no one else was on it. No one really engaged.Apparently 90 percent of user sessions lasted fewer than five seconds. Compare that with addictive sessions on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. But theres more to this story than just an application that no one wants to use Google chose to end Google Plus over an issue with bigger implications. According to The New York Times, security vulnerability exposed the private data of some 500,000 users. Google didnt tell us about the applications security issue when it was discovered because it didnt appear that anyone had gained access to user information, and the companys Privacy & Data Protection Office decided it was not legally required to report it. If youre not paying attention, data security has become a big deal The decision to stay quiet raised eyebrows in the cybersecurity community, as it comes against the backdrop of relatively new and stricter rules in California and Europe that govern when a company must disclose a security episode. Up to 438 applications made by other companies may have had access to the vulnerability through coding links. Outside developers could have seen user names, email addresses, information about occupation, gender and age. They apparently did not have access to phone numbers, messages, Google Plus posts or data from other Google accounts. Google was concerned about damage control Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, a memo prepared for senior executives by Googles policy and legal teams warned that disclosing the problem would expose the companys vulnerability and invite regulatory scrutiny. CEO Sundar Pichai would likely be called to testify before Congress in the same way that Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg did after its security breach. Google had planned to announce the disclosures, but moved up the announcement date when it learned of The Journals article. In May, Europe adopted new data protection laws that require companies to notify regulators of a potential leak of personal information within 72 hours. Googles security issue occurred in March, before the new rules went into effect. And yes, this applies to Google its a global company. California is getting serious about information accountability Californias strict new privacy law goes into effect in 2020. In the event of a data breach, consumers can sue for up to $750 for each violation. It also gives the attorney general the right to pursue companies for intentional privacy violations. Whats next? A hearing about whether tech companies are filtering conservative voices in their products. Contact Janet at 510-292-1843 or jpeischel@top-mindmarketing.com. SACRAMENTO California regulators on Thursday approved allowing utilities to cut off electricity to possibly hundreds of thousands of customers to avoid catastrophic wildfires like the one sparked by power lines last year that killed 85 people and largely destroyed the city of Paradise. Utilities liability can reach billions of dollars, and after several years of devastating wildfires, they asked regulators to allow them to pull the plug when fire risk is extremely high. Thats mainly during periods of excessive winds and low humidity when vegetation is dried out and can easily ignite. The California Public Utilities Commission gave the green light but said utilities must do a better job educating and notifying the public, particularly those with disabilities and others who are vulnerable, and ramp up preventive efforts, such as clearing brush and installing fire-resistant poles. The plans could inconvenience hundreds of thousands of customers while endangering some who depend on electricity to keep them alive, like 56-year-old Kallithea Miller. Although she lives far from wildfire danger near a shopping mall in Stockton, south of Sacramento, she relies on a refrigerator to cool her insulin and a machine to keep her breathing at night. I could die in my sleep, she said. Its scaring the hell out of me. The precautionary outages could mean multiday blackouts for cities as large as San Francisco and San Jose, Northern Californias major power provider warned in a recent filing with the utilities commission. Pacific Gas & Electric anticipates cutting the power only in truly extreme fire danger weather while recognizing that there are safety risks on both sides of this issue, vice president Aaron Johnson said. PG&E initially planned to de-energize power lines in at-risk rural areas but has since expanded its plans to include high-voltage transmission lines like the one that sparked the nations deadliest wildfire in a century. The blaze last November killed 85 people while wiping out nearly 15,000 homes in and around Paradise. I know it inconveniences people, but its a small price to pay for not having the kind of devastation that we had in Paradise, Mayor Jody Jones said. Everyone I know in Paradise knew that PG&E might cut the power off. I didnt see that as a problem. The problem was that they didnt actually shut it off. Utility equipment has been blamed for many of Californias most destructive and deadly wildfires in recent years. Other major California utilities have similar plans that commissioners unanimously approved Thursday, also warning that outages could extend into cities under some conditions. Were worried about it because we could see peoples power shut off not for a day or two but potentially a week, Gov. Gavin Newsom said as he recently called for California to spend $75 million to help communities prepare. This is high winds, severe weather, turn off the electricity so it doesnt ignite a fire. Its a good thing unless youre impacted. Californias three largest investor-owned utilities serve more than 150,000 customers who rely on life-support equipment, many of whom are considered low income, state Sen. Bill Dodd said. The Democrat from Napa wants utilities to provide backup electricity or financial assistance so high-risk customers can buy generators or batteries. The elderly, people with disabilities and language barriers, and poorer residents in remote areas with limited transportation or communication are also at greater risk. Cellphone networks can fail, computers and internet phone lines wont work, traffic signals go dark and there can be problems with communication systems, water treatment facilities and emergency services. Utility representatives said they are doing their best to work with emergency responders and community groups to warn vulnerable customers, as the Public Utilities Commission required. What the PUC can do is basically lay out the expectations for what the utilities need to do. Where the rubber meets the road is how the utilities operationalize, particularly on the notification, said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network. The option to pull the plug isnt new, though state officials expect it to be used much more frequently. San Diego Gas & Electric won permission to cut off power during high-risk conditions after its equipment ignited three big fires in 2007. State regulators expanded the shut-off requirements to other investor-owned utilities last year, after devastating fires in 2017. Once power is shut off, the utilities must inspect every de-energized line before they restore power, a process that can keep the lights out for days even after conditions improve. Both PG&E and Southern California Edison used their new authority last fall, with many residents and local officials upset that stores, businesses and schools had to close for lack of electricity. Calistoga Mayor Chris Canning said his city of 5,200 residents in the Napa Valley was the first to experience a PG&E power outage, so we learned firsthand how that goes not well. He cited poor communication, which utility representatives said they are working to improve, but praised PG&E for now trying to keep makeshift power flowing to key areas of town in the next outage. Theyre damned if they do, and damned if they dont, Canning said. Theres only so much we can do as a city to protect you. Individual residents have to be prepared. Miller said her backup plan is a cat named Mojo who instinctively paws at her face whenever she stops breathing. It puts us in a dangerous situation and a stressful situation, she said. If they have a blackout that lasts for five days, Im screwed. A union representing nearly 4,000 mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente announced Monday that they plan to walk out June 11 on an indefinite strike at more than 100 facilities around California if their concerns about patient care arent addressed. Leaders of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which is negotiating a new labor contract, said the key sticking point is that they want their employer to sign a contract that cuts wait times and expands access for clients seeking therapy. We have been working between sessions on some short-term, relief-type efforts, said Kenneth Rogers, a Kaiser psychologist, but really the problem with us not accepting their last offer was there is no accountability for the patient care and work issues that we had addressed. Janet A. Liang, the president of Kaisers Northern California Region, and Deborah Royalty, chief administrative officer of the Permanente Medical Group, made an offer May 23 that they said would provide immediate relief to staffing shortages and constraints in appointments. They proposed to implement a number of actions in the successive 30 days, including: * Focusing the staff and resources of a temporary agency on crisis intake, including psychiatric nurses who would do triage. * Reviewing all service locations to determine whether scheduling guidelines are being met. * Expanding the number of recruiters trying to fill positions for mental health and wellness job openings. * Scheduling on-call staff for emergency rooms. * Providing more staff to handle scheduling to reduce the time therapists spend on this work. * Evaluating retention and turnover data, especially as it relates to attrition over the last two years. We believe these changes will make meaningful, immediate improvement in your daily office schedule, Royal and Liang stated in their letter. However, these actions are just the beginning, and so together we need to innovate and collaborate to design an integrated model of evidence based care that truly makes Kaiser Permanente the best place to receive care and best place to work in mental health. They vowed to include patients and therapists in designing the future of mental health care. Rogers said that, while Kaiser management has shown a willingness to work with the union bargaining team to improve the time it takes for patients to get care, it has not put any meaningful offers into the contract language. Currently, he said, the contract offer requires clinicians to keep their schedules booked 90 percent of the time, but clinicians want that reduced to 80 percent to ensure they have time to write notes; respond to patient emails; check in with minor patients parents, schools or social workers; or slide patients in for return visits if needed. In a prepared news release issued Monday, Kaiser therapist Alicia Cruz said: We cant wait any longer to fix this problem. I work with young people who are suicidal and self-harming, and our group sessions are so crowded that children and their parents have to sit on the floor. We just dont have the resources at our clinic to provide the services these people need. NUHWs release said that the union also plans a June 12 rally for mental health parity at the state Capitol in Sacramento. On Sunday, 3,000 Democratic Party delegates meeting at the Moscone Center in San Francisco called on Kaiser to boost clinician levels to ensure timely access and to strictly limit its use of non-Kaiser therapists who often cant coordinate care with Kaiser doctors. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday appointed Peter Munoa, 50, of Napa, to the State Board of Fire Services. Munoa has served as deputy chief of the Land Use Planning Program at the Office of the State Fire Marshal since 2014 and has been a Cal Fire firefighter since 1989. He was battalion chief for Cal Fire in Napa County from 2009 to 2014 and for the County of San Mateo from 2007 to 2009. Munoa served as fire captain at the Napa County Fire Department from 1998 to 2007. He is general vice president of Cal Fire Local 2881. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation. Munoa is registered without party preference. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Ever since Napas historic downtown post office permanently closed after the 2014 earthquake, locals have wondered what redevelopment of the now-empty building would look like. Wait no more. Designs for a five-story, modern hotel structure, one that wraps around the 1930s-era building, have been submitted to the citys planning department. I think that our team has absolutely blown it out of the park, said Jim Keller, co-developer of the Franklin Street hotel project. Its beyond what I was even expecting, and my expectations were high. Im extremely proud. Plans call for a 175,000-square-foot, 163-key hotel using the site of the former post office and adjacent land where Zellers Ace Hardware now operates. A five-story parking garage would be built at the southeast corner of Second and Randolph streets, a corner now used for surface parking. The project will cost more than $100 million, Keller said. Keller and partners Cypress Equities, based in Dallas, will present their plans to the Planning Commission for a preliminary review on Thursday. In scale and contemporary design, the proposal evokes the new five-story Archer Hotel on First Street that wraps around elements of the Merrills drugstore building. Keller, a Napa developer, bought the post office building in 2017 for $2 million. Keller has since purchased the city parking lot across the street. He also has an agreement to acquire the Zeller Ace Hardware property behind the post office. The hotels footprint will take over much of the block along Second between Franklin and Randolph streets, and along Randolph between Second and Third streets. The Napa City Council granted a rezoning and a building agreement in November 2018. The proposed design includes underground space and three rooftop terraces. Because the top of the property would extend to 70.5 feet, the project will need permission to exceed the normal 60-foot height limit. The design calls for an internal courtyard, rooftop pool, guest rooms, meeting areas, a grand lobby, loading dock, speakeasy and a penthouse. Keller said the group is having solid conversations with representatives from the Montage Hotels Pendry brand as the potential hotel operator. They are an ambitious hotel operator, said Keller. I think thats what downtown needs. Other Pendry hotels are located in San Diego, New York City and Baltimore. New Pendry hotels are planned for Natirar, New Jersey, West Hollywood and Park City, Utah. The Napa hotel will be a four-and-a-half star property, Keller said. The amenities will be top notch with over-the-top service. All of the amenities and fits and finishes will be another level. Parking space for hotel visitors would be provided by an automated garage to be built at 1251 Second St. The mechanical parking structure would hold 228 vehicles, with 65 slots set aside for the public, and include 7,000 square feet of retail space. Keller said one huge advantage that helped attract interest from Cypress was the fact that the property is within downtown Napas newly designated opportunity zone. Under the 2017 federal tax law, people or developers can get a tax break for investing in certain businesses and properties located in such zones. It helps us take the project to another level, said Keller of the Cypress investment. The hotel project at the post office was never a sure thing. After the 2014 earthquake, the USPS originally moved to demolish the damaged post office building, which was built in the Art Deco style. The agency said that it would cost $8 million to repair quake damage, while it would cost only $500,000 for demolition. The Napa Franklin Station was built in 1933 with funding from the federal Public Works Administration. In 1985, it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. After considerable public outcry, the USPS decided to try selling it to a buyer who could repair the structure and preserve its architectural integrity. The downtown post office is now located at 1436 Second St. Our company has been active in the Bay Area and we are excited to once again have that opportunity, said Glenn Miller, portfolio marketing director with Cypress Equities. The closest other Cypress project to Napa is the 6x6 complex on Market Street in San Francisco. That five-story project was completed in 2016 but has yet to be tenanted. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Editors note: This commentary is a response to, Legislation seeks to outsmart smart speakers, June 1. Voice recognition systems have streamlined our daily activities, from turning on the lights to important reminders about taking medications. We have only scratched the surface of what is possible with voice recognition systems. But Assembly Bill 1395 by Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, a Republican from San Luis Obispo, could halt this technologys advancement. AB 1395 would create barriers to the type of learning that voice recognition technology depends on to unleash its full potential for consumers, and it would impose duplicative security provisions that would do nothing to enhance consumer privacy or device security. Voice recognition systems rely on machine learning to adapt to users speech patterns and vocabulary, and are informed by the way users talk to the device. Our speech is nuanced and dynamic. Users age, whether they are a native or non-native speaker of the language, and whether they have a speech impairment also impacts the voice recognition systems learning. These variables make training critical to the success of voice recognition systems. As consumers use devices, companies retain records so real-world data is available to train and improve the technology for the benefit of the consumer. This training has allowed voice recognition systems to become more useful. For example, real-world data for training is critical for device learning in order to minimize false wakes, which is when a home speaker is activated unintentionally. Assemblyman Cunningham voiced concerns over devices being activated unintentionally. But his legislation would exacerbate this issue by restricting a companys ability to avoid false wakes by limiting a manufacturers capacity to use stored voice recordings and transcripts to improve the product features. A company cannot adequately fix bugs if recordings and transcripts can only be retained for the brief time a device needs the information to complete a requested command. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act approved last year, Californians can access and delete any voice recordings associated with their devices. This safeguard gives consumers control over their data. AB 1395 would add layers of unnecessary, confusing, and unworkable mandates that would conflict with the Consumer Privacy Act. Voice recognition devices are designed with layers of security, privacy protections, and controls to minimize and protect the data collected. California is already a leader on device security. Legislation to enhance consumers confidence in the devices they use is something we can all support. But AB 1395 would do nothing to advance that goal. Instead, it will make smart devices not-so-smart and impact the accessibility of these devices for all consumers, as well as conflict with existing privacy laws. California has always successfully championed consumers and technology. Legislators should reject AB 1395 because it does neither. Courtney Jensen is executive director for California and the Southwest of TechNet. She wrote this commentary for CALmatters, a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias Capitol works and why it matters. On Wednesday night, the Wall Street Journal broke the news that White House staff asked Navy officials to keep a ship bearing the name of the late Sen. John McCain out of the president's sight lines during his recent visit to Japan. While the USS John S. McCain could not be moved, shortly before the visit the ship's name was covered by a tarp. That was quickly removed. Then a work barge was placed in a position that all but hid the name. That too was quickly moved. Then, according to The Post, senior naval leadership put a stop to the maneuvers. By the time the president would have been in a position to see the ship, the configuration was back to normal. But sailors assigned to the ship - unlike others assigned to other nearby American naval vessels were not invited to hear Trump's Memorial Day speech on the USS Wasp. Trump quickly stepped forward on Twitter to deny on knowledge of these events and there is no reason to doubt him. But it's also worth noting he later characterized the staffer responsible as "well-meaning." The destroyer was originally named for McCain's father and grandfather, both Navy admirals; the senator's name was added shortly before his death in 2018. The fact that people working for our president went out of their way to try to make sure that Trump saw no reminders of McCain while on his visit to Japan is more than the usual outrage of the day. It's not a distraction from the results of Mueller report, which all but stated the president of the United States sought to obstruct justice, and the White House's ongoing defying of congressional subpoenas. Instead, it's all of a piece - and shows what a dangerous spot our nation is in. Trump is a notoriously thin-skinned man, quick to dish out insults, but unable to take anything resembling normal give and take, whether in politics or life. He shows no grace, humility or growth as a human being, never mind a politician. Trump bashes his enemies - either real or perceived - with a third-grader's wit, coming up with nasty nicknames or other insults for those who he believes are against him. But he can't abide even the slightest criticism, no matter how light. And when nasty names don't work, Trump issues threats, urging Americans to consider boycotting everything from CNN (for being "unfair") to motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson (for contemplating moving manufacturing operations out of the country). He's demanded investigations of Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director Jim Comey. Trump's feud with McCain perfectly captured the former's thin skin. The man who skipped the draft to Vietnam courtesy of "bone spurs" in his foot that mysteriously disappeared routinely raged against the man who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war and was left permanently disabled as a result. McCain's famous thumbs down on repealing the Affordable Care Act did add to Trump's rage against him, but it's no coincidence that the president hated a living, breathing rebuke to his faux patriotism. McCain, agree or disagree with his politics, served his country and did a heroic thing when called to do so. Trump, on the other hand, appears less than concerned he might well be in the White House thanks to Russian interference in the 2016 election. As for the appearing, disappearing and reappearing USS John S. McCain, the entire episode contains more than a whiff of a reminder of how censors in the Soviet Union made formerly prominent figures who'd fallen out of favor with Joseph Stalin disappear in official photos. If a former high-ranking Communist Party official was executed, assassinated, sent to the gulag or otherwise exiled from government, their literal likeness often also vanished from official photographs. It happened to well-known political rivals such as Leon Trotsky, and as well as to the faces of those only factotums connected to the Kremlin would likely recognize. It was a form of rewriting history by erasing it from existence. Trump, it is obvious, would like to do the same. He repeatedly exaggerated the size of the crowds at his inauguration, and just last week retweeted a Fox Business montage of House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi having trouble speaking. He repeatedly lies about matters large and small, all but willing a not unsubstantial number of Americans to believe his own personal version of reality, which can often best be described with the phrase he so often likes to use - fake news. At the same time, he governs the White House in a stream of invective and chaos, subjecting people who fall out of favor to public humiliation. No doubt the White House staffer who asked that the USS John S. McCain get temporarily vanished thought it was a good idea. This person no doubt didn't want to risk a presidential temper tantrum, or Trump saying something vile and inappropriate about McCain on - of all days - Memorial Day. But democracies can't survive when good governance is downgraded in favor of attempts to satisfy the moods and whims of a small, petty and greedy man at the top. But Trump, it seems, is just fine with that. Helaine Olen is a contributor to Washington Post Opinions and the author of "Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry." Her work has appeared in Slate, the Nation, the New York Times, the Atlantic and many other publications. She serves on the advisory board of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project. The Polisario leaders have the blues for they were not invited to the China-Africa Partnership Forum, held lately in Addis Ababa, under the theme The Belt, Road Dialogue for China-Africa cooperation. No invitation was extended to the separatist entity for this important event organized by China in collaboration with the African Union (AU) Commission, which brought together, in the Ethiopian capital, senior AU officials, the former Ethiopian Prime Minister, African Ambassadors and senior Chinese officials tasked with Africa-China cooperation. The representatives of the self-proclaimed so-called RASD, which is a member of the African Union, used to be invited to all such African meetings but Moroccos return to the pan-African organization seems to have changed the situation and reversed their odds. The Polisario leaders are all the more furious as the African Union Commission has been involved in the organization of this forum along with China. But the Chinese, whose country does not recognize the pseudo-RASD, and refuses the balkanization of Moroccan territory in addition to the strategic partnership sealed between Rabat and Beijing, excluded the Polisario participation in the forum. Commenting the move, Moroccos permanent representative to the AU Mohammed Arrouchi said that the Chinese partner, as part of its relations, attaches great importance to the defence of vital interest, including the territorial integrity of our two friendly countries. As the forum was organized in collaboration with the AU Commission, the Chinese partner was keen on thwarting any infiltration manoeuvre by the separatists in the gathering held within the frame of the Africa-China partnership, added the ambassador, who headed the Moroccan delegation in the Addis Ababa event. Thus, the margin of manoeuvre of the Polisario is narrowing, getting thinner and slimmer in Africa wherein they can no longer act freely and get away with their deceits as they used to do when Morocco was observing the empty-chair policy. Today Moroccan diplomats keep a watchful eye and stand ready to foil the separatists plots all over Africa. If our president has taught us anything other than the value of a good, firm-hold hairspray it is the importance of using shocking statements to seize and control the narrative. Its not just about grabbing headlines and dominating the news cycle. It goes beyond crafting the charmingly fanciful facts that he wants his angry, irrational Army of the Undead to swallow. Its also about creating a new mood for a New America. An America thats brash and bold and spoiling for a fight, an America that doesnt want some choir boy for a leader. An America thats pugnacious enough to toss aside useless junk like Constitutional norms and traditionsor even ethicsin order to get things done. Who wouldnt love a nation that isnt squeamish about dissing intelligence and truth, a society that has the guts to stand up for what somebody on the internet told them was right? In this country, an excellent historical example of narrative control and the belligerent attitude required to keep it alive is the spectacularly successful, sustained lie the South has foisted on the rest of us, using incessant blather about states rights and our Southern heritage to justify their violent, treasonous behavior carried out in defense of slavery. Brilliantly executed for 150 years, it includes the erection of thousands of memorials to various traitors and features an especially effective effort to control the contents of just about every American History textbook published before 1985. Kudos! Once I realized how useful controlling the narrative has been on a larger stage, I thought: Why not here in Napa? So I put together The Plan. Step One: I urgently need you to understand that you can never trust the press. Aside from what I write in this space from time to time, all youre going to get is fake news. You cant trust any so-called main stream media outlets, and certainly not anyone at the Napa Register. Not Sleazy Sean, not Crazy Kevinnone of them. They are the Enemy of the People. Im the only one who will tell you the truth. And that truth is: Im the only person smart enough to solve Napas problems. The fact that a full platoon of my lawyers will threaten you if you try to verify my blinding intelligence by accessing my academic records from West Los Angeles Gourmet Astrological University of Self-Expression means only that I really AM the smartest guy in the room. Who else could afford a phalanx of decent personal lawyers these days, hah? Next step: Rolling out my plan for you, the citizens of Napa Valley. It has three major components, the first being the construction of 5,000 new single-family homes in the valley, each on a quarter-acre, each selling for $90,000. I can do this because I know about business, and I get things done. The second component is a valley-wide ordinance that will allow all corporate wineries and growers to plant vineyards wherever they desire, though the interiors of churches will be exempt. The ordinance will protect Napas precious watershed, too, by preserving every single oak tree in the valley and creating minimum stream setbacks of a quarter mile. This will all be possible because of my negotiating prowess. You probably heard about the deal I recently inked with Mike Pence, in which he agrees to smoke half an ounce of marijuana each day in exchange for my agreeing to a full immersion baptism in the Capitol Reflecting Pool. Okay, Im going to get a little wet, but Mike will be forced to remove the stick he has so jealously guarded in a very personal, tender location. And what thats worth to America? The third component of my plan is a 50 percent reduction in traffic congestion across the entire valley. I will accomplish this by working with some of the best people in the field of shameless public confabulation. There are no catches anywhere in my plan. All of it will have to wait until March of 2020, however, when you vote for me in all three supervisorial races, tossing out the corrupt losers now holding positions in Districts Two, Four, and Five. I will be your voice. I will drain the swamp. I will clean up the disgraceful mess created by Baloney Belia, Crooked Alfredo, and Lyin Ryan. These incompetent crooks are the only thing standing between you and the fantastic vision Ive created, just for you! Im not like those low-energy peopleI tell it like it is! Im just saying what youre already thinking. And Im not afraid to stand on stage and give a big hug to the county flag, either. So get on board! Put aside all that rationality and ethics and all that decency junkand make Napa great again! Moser lives in Napa and is the author of the satire Inside the Flavor League. He blogs at thisunholymess.com. The Bhutan government is planning to take steps to ensure that the country remains as an exclusive tourist destination. With Bhutan becoming a mass tourism destination site mostly overcrowded with Indian tourists, many foreign travel companies have opted out the country from its product list by complaining that the country has lost its calm appeal and has become a noisy place. Moreover, even high-end tourists complain that they had difficulty in getting hotel rooms while they pay a huge charge whereas the regional tourists can get it at cheaper rates. Also Read Modi to visit Bhutan at early date mutually agreeable to both nations Indian, Bangladeshi and Maldivian tourists classified as regional tourists in Bhutan Also, with the country becoming overcrowded and noisy, the tariff paying tourists feel that they cannot get the sense of happiness and peacefulness that are considered as the main factors to be looked in a place while travelling. In order to prevent the country from becoming a mass tourism destination site, the Bhutan government is planning to control the number of tourist flow in a year and charging a minimum fee from regional tourists as recommended by the Pay Commission. The government is also planning to standardize the low budget hotels in the country and ensuring that they take a limited number of regional tourists, according to reports. The Tourism Council of Bhutan is planning to monitor the facilities of all the hotels in the country. It is also looking to control the number of foreign vehicles entering the country and to ensure that a few people travel in such vehicles. To promote itself as a high end tourism destination, the council is also planning to partner with agencies like CNN, BBC and National Geographic. The Fourth Bhutan Pay Commission report has recently recommended that the government should levy a minimal Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) on regional tourists. It suggests that the government to start with a SDF of 500 Ngultrums (same rate as Indian rupee) for the regional tourists. The report said that since regional tourists are visiting Bhutan in droves, the government would earn 425 million Nu (6.25 million U.S. dollars or 4.25 crore Indian rupees) annually if they imposed the SDF. Bhutan has been receiving increasing number of regional tourists. In 2017, around 170,000 regional tourists visited Bhutan, which increased to 202,290 in 2018 almost three times that of international tourists. Al-Sisi expresses Sarkissian hope that 2022 will open new chapter of development for Armenians, Egyptians China president congratulates Armenia colleague Azerbaijan army General Staff chief visits border with Armenia Armenia parliament, Yerevan city council ruling majority factions hold joint meeting 1 more person dies of coronavirus in Artsakh US State Department calls on Azerbaijan to expeditiously release all remaining Armenian detainees PM: A key indicator for 2021 is that Armenia government is Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine shareholder 89 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Aliyev Azerbaijanizes Yerevan Teachers' Seminary Armenias Pashinyan: We have to do everything depending on us to go for solutions Armenia PM: It took lot of effort so that we can overcome 2021 without shock, due to internal situation UNDP representative: We strengthened resilience of nearly 30,000 people in Armenia in the face of compound crisis Ambassador Tracy reaffirms US commitment to continue working with Armenia for better future (VIDEO) Hungary donates 100,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Armenia (PHOTOS) Turkey announces one of its preconditions for normalization of relations with Armenia About 2 tons of cocaine found in Brazil port Newspaper: Armenia ex-defense minister to make startling disclosures WHO calls for vaccinating 70% of world's population against Covid by mid-2022 Newspaper: Armenia parliament delegation to visit US Armenia PM holds phone talks with Russian counterpart Areshev: In case of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, the focus will be on Russian military base in Gyumri Yerevan museum opens new exhibition featuring archaeological relics from Shushi Putin, Lukashenko play hockey after talks Armenian PM: We must resolutely move towards the Armenia that our ancestors, our martyrs dreamed of Mishustin, Pashinyan congratulate each other on New Year and Christmas CNN: Biden to hold a call with Putin on Thursday Karabakh President: Artsakh people and authorities will never accept any status as a part of Azerbaijan Armenia President to celebrate New Year in Qatar Vladimir Putin assesses informal summit of CIS countries Dmitry Polyanskiy: Whole world will benefit from normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations Armenian Iranologist: Opening of a consulate in Kapan is a signal showing how important Syunik Province is for Iran Russia and Azerbaijan PMs discuss activities of Armenian, Azerbaijani and Russian Deputy PMs' task force NEWS.am daily digest: 29.12.21 Iran to grant permission to open Consulate General in Armenia's Kapan Armenia MFA reports names of Armenian POWs returned through Hungary's mediation Brussels Airlines flight to Yerevan, hit by lightning strike, returns to Brussels Airport Karabakh President signs a number of laws Baku transfers 5 Armenian POWs to Yerevan with Hungary's support Artsakh citizen transferred to Armenian side through Russian peacekeeping forces' mediation Rudenko: Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan finalizing parameters for launching joint infrastructure projects Russia ready to provide mediation assistance to Armenia and Turkey in any way Armenia PM: Construction of Meghri section of Yeraskh-Julfa-Meghri-Horadiz railway is starting Russia Deputy FM: Commission for demarcation of Armenia-Azerbaijan state border may be set up soon Azerbaijan transfers Artsakh resident Armen Verdyan to Armenian side Putin submits to Russian State Duma federal bill simplifying acquisition of citizenship Converse Bank is the best Trade Finance Provider 2022 in Armenia according to Global Finance Shalva Papuashvili elected Georgia's parliamentary speaker Joseph Borrell says EU wishes to take part in US-Russia talks Dollar increases in Armenia The Arab Weekly: Azerbaijan is external factor more likely to derail attempt to normalize Armenia-Turkey relations State Control Service launches investigation at Yerevan city hall Armenia NGO's advocates assume protection of 2 Armenian servicemen arrested after captivity Public Services Regulatory Commission increases electricity tariffs in Armenia Russian peacekeepers' representative in Karabakh: 26,090 explosive objects have been destroyed Armenia Iranologist: Our only thought should not be concession, but to be ready for next war Democratic Party of Armenia: PM Pashinyan makes it clear he must be removed from office immediately Artsakh resident gets lost, ends up in territory under control of Azerbaijan army Armenia military aviation university head dismissed Military analyst: Armenia PM statements on handing over Karabakh were absolutely predictable Armenian company presents a revolutionary innovation in 2D and 3D modeling fields US embassy in Armenia announces Democracy Commission Small Grants Program for 2022 Andrea Wiktorin: EU stands by Armenia to improve life of Armenian citizens Russias Putin to Armenias Pashinyan: I expect that we will ensure further dynamic development of bilateral cooperation Armenia MOD: All army personnel received bonus pay Pallone says will push to ensure required reports are accurate in documenting Azerbaijan, Turkey war crimes in Artsakh Putin to Armenia President: I am convinced our bilateral allied cooperation will continue developing next year 53-year-old woman gives birth for the first time at Shengavit Medical Center in Yerevan 88 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Russia Navy Northern Fleet song and dance ensemble arrives in Karabakh US and NATO partners ready to start active diplomatic talks with Russia South Korea and US agree on draft text of declaration on Korean War official end The National Interest: How Biden can foster real peace in the South Caucasus China calls on US to protect Chinese space station and its crew WFP & Yeremyan projects share the same vision: joint trip to Jermuk to explore best practices Afghan brothers in Germany charged in killing their sister for her Western-oriented way of life Newspaper: 4th battalion being formed within Armenia Police Internal Troops Newspaper: Armenia authorities have 3-level chat groups on social media Pack of hyenas kill two people in 24 hours in Kenya Bill Gates reveals plan to save the planet Kuwait forms new cabinet Attorney: Criminal prosecution against Artur Vanetsyan terminated, there was no preparation for Armenia PM's murder Armenia army's General Staff chief visits air force military unit Armenia opposition MP: Constitutional Court states that government should decide who will pay for employees' PCR tests Brawl takes place in Parliament of Jordan Armenia Ombudsman meets with Russia Ambassador, return of Armenian captives being held in Azerbaijan discussed Armenia launches 42 cases regarding submission of declarations by officials in 2021 Armenian man who was wanted arrives in Yerevan and voluntarily shows up at police station Armenia MOD peacekeeping brigade soldiers participate in tactical military exercises Armenia has new Ambassador to Israel Azerbaijani opposition journalists protesting against repressive law on media Armenia President and his wife pay visit to Yerablur Military Pantheon Armenia Competition Protection Commission to check pricing for COVID-19 tests at Zvartnots Airport Advocate: Criminal prosecution against Armenian detachment commander Ashot Minasyan is over NEWS.am daily digest: 28.12.21 Opposition 'Armenia' Faction of National Assembly holds session chaired by Robert Kocharyan Armenia education minister: 9 universities in 11 countries are carrying out Armenian Studies development programs Armenia PM attends informal meeting of leaders of CIS countries in St. Petersburg Ex-PM: Armenia authorities want to leave Karabakh to Azerbaijans whim Armenia Competition Protection Commission chief: There will be new player in petrol market soon Armenia political parties activities, their governing bodies property shall be scrutinized Qatar does not agree with the anti-Iranian statements that were adopted by the participants of the summits of Arab leaders held in Saudi Arabia, said Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdel Rahman Al Tani Emergency meetings of leaders of the League of Arab States and the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf were held in Mecca on Friday, following which participants condemned Irans aggressive actions in the region and its interference in the internal affairs of the Arabs, Press TV reported. "The statements of the [Persian] Gulf and Arab summits were ready in advance and we were not consulted on them. Qatar has reservations on the Arab and [Persian] Gulf summits because some of their terms are contrary to Doha's foreign policy. We hoped the Mecca summits would lay the groundwork for dialogue to reduce tensions with Iran. The Mecca summit ignored the important issues in the region, such as the Palestine issue and the war in Libya and Yemen," he said. On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt declared that they had broken off relations with Qatar, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. This was followed by economic sanctions and the transport blockade of the emirate. Qatar, in turn, then strengthened relations with Tehran. In Doha, in particular, expressed their disagreement with the US decision to tighten oil sanctions against Iran. Ottawa suspends the work of the Embassy in Venezuela, said Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Reuters reported. The minister linked this decision to the expiration of visas for Canadian diplomats at the end of June. Unfortunately, at the end of this month, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela will no longer be in a position to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and their visas will expire, Freeland said in the statement. Therefore, we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately. The current president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, is considered legitimate by Russia, China, Cuba and Mexico. The US, Canada, many Latin American countries, including Brazil and Argentina, and most of the EU countries support opposition leader Juan Guaido. Mr. Maduro said that he would not leave the post until the expiration of his term in 2025. Last week, Juan Guaido, in an interview with The Washington Post, acknowledged that the attempt made in early May to incline the Venezuelan army to the side of the opposition failed. Now the politician is ready to agree with the US military invasion of the country, if the US deems it necessary. In Mauritania, the concession of FDerick iron deposits to an Australian operator in unclear conditions continues to elicit Mauritanians disapproval. The controversy is gaining ground amidst the presidential campaign in the West African nation. Fderik, also spelled Fderick, formerly Fort-Gouraud mining village, north-central Mauritania, is an important base for the exploitation of extensive iron-ore deposits. The site contains reserves of 30 million tons of iron ore of excellent quality. The conclusion last weekend in Nouakchott of an agreement under which the National Mining Company (SNIM) sold the mine to Ghana-based Australian operator BCM International Groupe is raising controversy. SNIM had already carried out a feasibility study in 2018, for the exploitation of the mine over a period of 15 years. According to the terms of this study, the investment should not exceed $200 million. According to the deal signed last weekend, SNIM will retain 20% of the shares, BCM Groupe International and national private companies will control the mine with 80% shares. Among the reactions noted after the announcement of the news, Professor Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mah, one of the countrys prominent economists and former mayor of Nouakchott described the deal as liquidation of the jewel of the mining industry and the pride of the country. He said the deal benefits Australians and companies that are close to the oligarchy of Mauritania. Youssouf ould Abdel Jelil, an international civil servant and former Director General of the SNIM (2005-2006), said the opening of SNIMs capital should, firstly, be part of a coherent and integrated program of economic and social development of the country (and not for the resorption of a cash gap). He said the implementation of related studies and plans must be ensured in a transparent manner vis-a-vis all stakeholders. As a reminder, iron ore mining and processing accounted for more than 50% of Mauritanias export earnings in 1999. Photo: Pool/Getty Images With the report that the president considered a tariff on Australian aluminum last week, and his recent threat of a 5 percent levy on all Mexican goods, its becoming even more clear that Trump is not operating with a sound, overarching policy on trade barriers. But if Trumps madman approach to trade negotiation has frustrated politicians and economists in the United States where the federal government has already signed off on a $16 billion package for farmers smarting from a decrease in Chinese imports the state apparatus in Beijing appears to be just as flummoxed by Americas irrational actor. James McGregor, an American author, businessman, and Council on Foreign Relations member who has lived in China for three decades, considers the Trump trade war a danger and an opportunity for both sides, as the normal mechanisms of influence and exchange are falling away. Intelligencer spoke with him about Trumps strategy, or lack there-of, and the reasons why China might treat this as a pivotal moment in their economic relationship with the U.S., while we are more likely to remain complacent. To start at the beginning, what does the U.S. want out of a trade war, and what does China not want to give up? Well the U.S. actually wants China to do away with state capitalism and its industrial policies, while China just wants to move ahead in the way its been moving ahead in the past. Basically its Trumps impression that China is taking advantage of the American trade system, which is partly true. In China, there are state companies and state funds and state regulators who can put products out at prices where companies that have to make money cant compete. They can control their own markets through their regulators and really hurt foreign companies in this market. But theres not a clear path for Trump to move forward. His idea is that America is so powerful that it can bring China to its knees and get China to change its system. Good luck with that one. You recently said that the U.S. should adopt a wake up, grow up, compete with China approach. Could you clarify what that means? We need to treat this as a Sputnik moment, as an opportunity to re-energize our systems. Weve been cutting taxes and defunding our government so we dont have the money for science and technology education. Were making it harder for foreigners who are studying in America in the hard sciences. Instead, we should be stapling green cards to their diplomas. We need to wake up and compete against China. Youre not going to get China to change its system. But we can push back and make China unsuccessful at what they do. We need to protect ourselves, invest in ourselves, and work with allies. Weve got all these strengths that were dissipating and China is overcoming its weaknesses. Maybe weve been rich too long and were not hungry enough. Its going to be a pretty hard proposition to make China change its system. To be really frank, the Chinese system is working for China better than the American system is working for America. And thats a real threat, weve got to make our system work better. You were recently quoted by Thomas Friedman, saying that China instead of reforming and opening, has been reforming and closing. Could you expand on that concept? I just returned from Washington and theres one bipartisan thought in Washington, which is China is a bad guy. How did that come about? Over the last decade, China made it harder and harder for foreign companies in their domestic market. When a Chinese company can do what a foreign company does, they start marginalizing a foreign companys ability to get in a certain market. At the same time, regarding trade deals, if the rules work for China, then they adhere to the terms. If they dont work for China, they ignore them. The same thing with the WTO. China has, over time, turned the American business community against itself, which is not easy to do. The American business community was Chinas biggest supporter in Washington. Now the prevailing idea is that China is a bad guy and we have to do something about it. But there isnt a consensus, other than, Lets just push back and make them change the system. Do you think theres any merit to Friedmans claim that only a mad dog president could go head to head with China and make them compromise? I think you need to go back to 2016 to answer that. If Hillary Clinton were elected, shed probably push back in different ways, and she probably would have revived the Trans-Pacific Partnership. If you really want to get China to change, TPP would have been a huge incentive, as it was a major trading block that in order to become part of it, they would have had to conform to. The unique thing about Trump is that hes this orange wrecking ball, and the Chinese dont know how to deal with him. All of their normal strategies going to the investment bankers, trying to get the business community to do their bidding in Washington none of that works because he doesnt care. Hes got an attitude and wants to push back, which has China discombobulated. The unfortunate thing is that it doesnt look like hes thought through a strategic endgame. Hes really withdrawn the U.S. from having an economic proposition for the Asia region for a generation maybe. Does a discombobulated China give the U.S. an upper hand in any capacity, or is it just another unknown variable at this point? It prevents China from using its normal mechanisms of influence in Washington, through giving enough major corporations enough of a market share that they would lobby for not pushing back on China in D.C. None of that works anymore, so China has been at a loss in how to deal with this guy. China is always looking for strategy and logic, and Trump never gets near either of those things. Is there a strategy evolving in China, or is it up in the air over there as well? The Chinese strategy is to treat this like a moment to regroup and protect themselves and to reduce and eventually eliminate their dependence on American technology, and reduce their dependence on American agriculture. If the U.S. wont treat this like a Sputnik moment, China will. Especially in the actions on Huawei, which is the most important company in China by a factor of 100, because its part of Chinas geopolitical strategy. If they cut Huawei off from being able to have American technology components at this point, it really hurts the country, but it also demonstrates to Chinese leadership that they better get off that dependence on American tech. Seems like another point from the Belt and Road initiative to climate change talks in which China is leading and America is complacent. We are in control of ourselves. We have to deal with what China has become and realize they have some advantages and get over our own arrogance. China has accused the U.S. of economic terrorism. Do you think theres any truth to that? Thats just rhetoric, but heres the real worrisome thing. In China, because of the strong propaganda apparatus and the state control of information, theres basically nobody in the country that believes China has any blame for whats going on. There is a belief that China is finally on the rise, and America and the West are doing this to keep China down, to keep China poor. Whats really happening is you reap what you sow. All these years of Chinese behavior that have been difficult for companies and countries have added up to a reassessment of Chinese behavior. I dont know how either political side can reconcile that. Each side believes that the other is at fault in a very strong way. The real tragic part of this is, our people get along, our kids go to school together, they get married. Our businesses actually work very well together when its only businesses, and the governments are not involved. The problem here is that in both capitals we have extremist leaders who are really pushing the differences. Its all unnecessary, and there could be tragic consequences. How much pain do you think Trump is willing to endure if the economy really starts to take a hit? The Chinese have been in America asking people, When does Trump need a deal for his reelection, because they look at Trump as only caring about himself. They finally figured that one out. Its all about his reelection, so I think it depends on Trumps own calculations, which are hard to figure out I think he goes by the day. But if the economy and the stock market start to take a hit because of the trade war as we get a little closer to 2020, and he can do a deal and make the stock market rock and roll and make the economy come back as the election approaches, I think thats a possible route also. Are there any political implications for President Xi? Not so much direct political consequences, as hes president for life, but if the trade war begins to impact his ability to create growth, could he see some sort of party dissent? I think theres all kinds of risk for President Xi. Remember, he is a strongman leader, he makes all decisions, he cannot make any mistakes, he cant be showing any weakness and now he has this trade war with the United States. I imagine theres some conversation at high levels in the party about who lost America. Think about it, theyve had America exactly where they wanted us. They would steal technology from a major American corporation and the corporation would tell the U.S. government, Please dont do anything about it. I dont want to make China unhappy because I dont want to lose the market share I have in China. I dont want the regulators coming in and doing a dawn raid on my company for antitrust or pricing issues. They were scared of China as much as they were focused on the market. China had America in a really good position and they overreached. Xi has to keep things going. China has a lot of economic problems with debt and many other things and they have to grow out of their problems. Its sort of the only solution they have. If the trade war really hits Chinese growth, thats a problem. Trump asserts that China has more to lose in a trade war than the U.S. Do you think thats correct? There are no winners in a trade war, both sides lose. So whos going to lose more? Its hard to say, but my guess is that in the long term it could be the United States, because China is using this as a moment to focus and rally. Xi, a number of months ago, gave a speech in which he said that China has a 15-year long march to take on the United States and overcome. Thats how theyre thinking: How do we really work together to move ahead because of this? Meanwhile, leaders in the United States are yelling at each other on cable news everyday In November 2018, President Xi and Trump came to a sort of detente at the G20 meeting in Buenos Aires. Do you think the June 28-29 G20 could be something of a deadline for the posturing? They are so far apart now that theres no way that theyll come together by then, as far as I can see. My guess is that at the G20 meeting, Trump and Xi will meet and restart discussions. The Chinese and Americans will both have a framework for restarting the talks, and by then they both might be feeling enough economic pain in their own countries that theyll be motivated to get this on a path toward trying to smooth it out. Do you see an American exit strategy? I guess the exit strategy would be to let China come to a deal in which both sides can claim its good for them. But its difficult to solve all the underlying problems the differences between the systems, the technology issues. This is going to go on for a long time, but if we have that initial agreement that takes some of the boiling out of it. Trump announced a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods starting June 12 if the country cannot slow the number of migrants entering through the southern border. How would this tariff affect the squeeze the U.S. is already facing? Just when we need allies to work with on China, Trumps trying to alienate every country he can. Its absolutely ridiculous. Youve got to remember, a lot of these countries have the same problems with China that we do and they would be very ready to work with us if we werent spending all of our time trying to push them away. Companies are moving production out of China to Mexico if they see that Mexico is going to have a tariff they cant deal with, theyll have to reconnoiter and focus on Indonesia or Thailand or the Philippines. That business is not going to be coming to America. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Sign Up for the Intelligencer Newsletter Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. US President Donald Trump and his spouse Melania Trump arrived at Buckingham Palace to meet Queen Elizabeth II, BBC reported. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are meeting the Queen on the first day of their state visit to the UK. There will be an official dinner with the queen, and then tea with the heir to Prince Charles and an excursion through Westminster Abbey. Trump's visit will take place from June 3 to 5. In addition to members of the royal family and the outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May, many thousands of protesters will meet him in London. Last July, Trump came to UK. Many UK people, including prominent politicians, were against Trump coming to UK at all. This time, some ceremonies accompanying the state visit have been canceled - although it is not clear whether this was done because of protests or for other reasons. Thus, the usual procedure for a state visit to UK includes a solemn meeting with the monarch on the Horse Guards Parade and then a magnificent procession along the Mall of Alley to Buckingham Palace. According to the British press, Trump wanted to ride in an open gilded carriage accompanied by horse guards, but instead he would be received by the queen right away at Buckingham Palace. In addition, the US President will not spend the night in the royal palace, but at the residence of the US Ambassador in Regents Park. As noted by various UK and American publications, to meet with the Queen Trump will bring not only the spouse Melania, but also all her adult children together with their spouses. Photo: AFP Contributor/AFP/Getty Images The White Houses request to obscure the U.S.S. John S. McCain during the presidents recent visit to Japan has unfurled into its own case study of norm violations in the Trump administration. When the news broke on Thursday that the White House had asked that the destroyer stay out of sight when Trump was in Japan, the Navy initially denied the existence of such a request. But by Saturday, the Navy had acknowledged that the White House urged that it minimize the visibility of the vessel named after the father and grandfather of Trumps foe in the GOP. Then on Sunday, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitted on Meet the Press that a member of the White House advance team had requested that the destroyer be moved. The fact some 23- or 24-year-old person went to that site and said, Oh my goodness, theres the John McCain, we all know how the president feels about the former senator, thats not the best backdrop, can somebody look into moving it? Thats not an unreasonable thing to ask. Mulvaney added that it would be silly for someone to get fired for their role in the posthumous feud, and that Trumps feelings toward McCain whom he has called a dummy and not a war hero are well known. Normally, this tacit acknowledgment of our toddler presidents behavior would be the end of such an exchange, and the countrys political attention would drift toward the next scandal du jour. But on Sunday, the Pentagon made the unanticipated step of telling the White House to leave the military out of Trumps political posturing, according to a report from the Associated Press. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan reportedly told his chief of staff to inform the White House military office on Friday that the Department of Defense will not be politicized. According to the AP, Shanahans chief of staff reported back that he delivered the message, suggesting that the White House might not have been the most receptive audience. Shanahan is now reportedly considering sending out formal guidelines to military units so that similar problems can be avoided the next time the White House tries to avoid a presidential meltdown. The goal would be to ensure there is less ambiguity about how the military should support VIP events and how service members should respond to such political requests, reports the AP. The message from the Pentagon is a rare public clash between the Department of Defense and the White House, made more unusual by the uncertain job security of Patrick Shanahan, who is still serving as the acting Defense secretary. But to get the president to stop using the military as a political tool might be an uphill battle, considering such past efforts as announcing the travel ban from the Pentagons Hall of Heroes and Trumps abandoned military parade. Donald Trump inspects a Guard of Honour at Buckingham Palace. Photo: Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images Donald Trump arrived in London Monday morning to kick off his first official state visit the U.K., a trip that has been more than two years in the making. Though Prime Minister Theresa May first extended an invitation to Trump in early 2017, the threat of massive protests delayed his visit until now. The protests, of course, are still coming, with the biggest demonstrations scheduled for Tuesday. Heres a running list of what Trumps done in the U.K.: He appeared to insult Meghan Markle Technically, Trump did this before arriving in the U.K., but bad-mouthing the Duchess of Sussex will reverberate during the trip. Trumps comment came in an Oval Office interview with The Sun on Friday. Reminded that Markle had opposed him during the 2016 election she called him aggressively misogynistic and said shed move to Canada if he was elected Trump said he didnt know about her opposition to his candidacy. I didnt know that she was nasty, he said. And then he went on to compliment her. The White House explained that Trump was referring to Markles words as nasty, not her. He seemed to make that point himself in a tweet. Trump has often used the word nasty when talking about women with whom he disagrees, including Hillary Clinton; Kamala Harris; and Carmen Yulin, the mayor San Juan, Puerto Rico. If Prince Harry was upset about the remark he didnt let it get in the way of his official duties. He joined the Trump family for lunch and then helped show them around Buckingham Palace. He definitely insulted London mayor Sadiq Khan On Saturday, Khan wrote an op-ed for The Observer with a headline that he no doubt hoped Trump would see: Its Un-British to Roll Out the Red Carpet for Donald Trump. In the piece, Khan wrote that Trump is a far right leader who is one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. Trump responded with some tweets on Monday morning. .@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me...... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 ....Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 The feud between these two goes back years now. In 2015, Khan called Trumps proposed Muslim ban outrageous, and in May 2016, he added that Trumps views on Muslims are ignorant. Trump lashed out by challenging Khan to an IQ test. After a 2017 terrorist attack in London, Trump again criticized Khan. A year later, during Trumps working visit to the U.K., Khan granted permission for protesters to fly a balloon of Baby Trump over London. Khan responded to Trumps tweets Monday with a tweet of his own that focused on attacks on abortion rights. Women have the right to autonomy over their own bodies and their reproductive rights should be protected in London, the USA, everywhere. pic.twitter.com/5M04P5LKdE Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) June 3, 2019 He was greeted by some creative yard work Guess who's been busy today mowing a stiff message for Trump under the Stansted flightpath... Please share and let's see how far we can spread the welcome!#climatechange #Trump #welcometrump pic.twitter.com/crnZo5rnDv born_eco (@born_eco) June 2, 2019 He suggested Americans boycott AT&T to force changes at CNN Trumps seemingly random outburst about CNN and AT&T Monday morning appears based on his inability to tune in to Fox News in the U.K. Forced to watch a few minutes of CNN, Trump turned off his TV, grabbed his phone, and fired off a rather disconcerting tweet. I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldnt they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 The presidents urging a boycott of a private company because he doesnt like a news network seems bad. Queen Elizabeth subtly suggested Trump read a damn book The queen has given Trump a book (about Churchill/WWII), which, considering that everyone knows he doesn't read, is an expert-level troll. Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) June 3, 2019 He had tea with Prince Charles Trump and First Lady Melania Trump joined the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall for tea at Clarence House. One issue that likely wont come up is climate change. Charles and Trump are opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to how seriously they regard global warming. Charles has called the global climate crisis the wolf at the door and warned of the potentially catastrophic consequences. Trump, meanwhile, thinks its a Chinese hoax. Tea for four Donald and Melania Trump drop in for tea at @ClarenceHouse with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. The meeting ran 15 minutes over. What could they have been discussing?? via @pa wire #TrumpUKVisit pic.twitter.com/TvbcUZrOKx Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) June 3, 2019 He took a three-mile helicopter ride to avoid street traffic In a tweet, Trump said that he hadnt seen any protests, but that he was sure the Fake News will be working hard to find them. Perhaps one of the reasons he didnt experience any street-level dissent was because he avoided Londons streets entirely, opting for a three-mile helicopter ride to get from Buckingham Palace to Winfield Place, the residence of the U.S. ambassador where the Trumps are staying. He wore a tiny coat to the state dinner State dinners in the United Kingdom are a white-tie affair, but the presidents coat and tails setup was thrown off by an alarmingly small coat. He brought an unnecessarily large entourage In addition to the presence of his four adult children at the state dinner, President Trump brought along Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, Kellyanne Conway, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Stephen Miller, Mick Mulvaney, social media director Dan Scavino, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and his wife Louise Linton. Deputy of the My Step parliamentary faction Kristine Poghosyan is preparing to place into circulation a new bill that will prohibit psychologically ill people from being elected to the National Assembly. The deputy told journalists why she has come up with this idea. I received the vote of confidence from the public to represent their rights in parliament, and in the course of the next five years, I consider it my duty to make changes that will make sure Armenia has an even better National Assembly and an even better government in five years, she said. The deputy is surprised that people are declared as inactive for holding certain offices due to certain illnesses, yet people with those illnesses are allowed to be elected deputies. Poghosyan added that she and her colleagues are working on the bill and that she has made some changes. I have added two points, that is, mandatory higher education and checkups for psychological illnesses, she said. George Nader and President Trump in October 2017. Photo: AP In the grand web of the Mueller investigation, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader enters at a key point off the coast of East Africa. An adviser to Emirati crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Nader reportedly brokered a meeting in the Seychelles between a Russian surrogate close to Putin and Blackwater founder Erik Prince, who has denied that he represented the Trump administration in any capacity. According to Naders testimony in the Mueller report, that claim is dubious at best: Prince once told lawmakers he didnt fly there to meet any Russian guy, but Nader told the special counsel he informed Prince that Russia was looking to build a link with the incoming Trump administration. The businessman, long considered a liaison between Washington and Middle Eastern officials, was a major source of information for the special counsel: The redacted Mueller report released in April refers to Nader in almost four dozen footnotes. Nader provided testimony on the alleged attempt to establish a back channel between Trump and Moscow in exchange for immunity on any related charges. But on Monday, Nader was arrested on child-pornography charges in New York when he arrived at JFK airport. Justice Department officials state that Nader was originally charged in January 2018, when he arrived in Washington, D.C., from Dubai with a phone containing pictures of minors engaging in sexual conduct. An affidavit unsealed on Monday asserts that a search warrant approved for a matter unrelated to child pornography allowed federal agents to search items on Nader. Upon his arrival in D.C. in January 2018, the FBI interviewed him on a matter unrelated to child pornography, after which Nader was told of the warrant. Three of his phones were seized, and an agent found multiple files of child pornography, at which point a second search warrant was issued to search for similar files. According to the affidavit, 12 sexually explicit videos of minors were found on Naders phones. If convicted, the 60-year-old faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years. This is not a new legal issue for Nader: The businessman has faced charges of child pornography or underage sexual abuse every decade since the 1980s. In 1991, he served a six-month sentence after pleading guilty to the same charge after he flew from Germany to D.C. with two sexually explicit videotapes of 13- or 14-year-old boys. In 1985, he faced a similar charge for importing from the Netherlands magazines with depictions of naked children, a charge that was dismissed after a judge ruled the search warrant for Naders home was invalid. In 2003, he was convicted in the Czech Republic of sexually abusing 10 boys between 1999 and 2002, for which he served one year in prison. Scholarship winners Winners of the 2019 SIU Womens Club scholarships, left to right, are: Rachel Gunn, Hannah Colbrook and Nour Farhat. (Photo provided) SIU Womens Club awards three scholarships by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondale students Hannah Colbrook, Nour Farhat and Rachel Gunn are the recipients of the 2019 SIU Womens Club scholarships. The organization presents the scholarships annually in honor of Dorothy Morris and Joyce Guyon, two former SIU first ladies who strongly supported women in academics. The awards, totaling $6,000, were presented recently at a special ceremony. Colbrook wins Dorothy Morris scholarship Colbrook, of Palatine, won the Dorothy Morris Traditional Student Scholarship in the amount of $2,500. Colbrook plans to graduate in December with a bachelors degree in public relations/communications studies and a minor in marketing. She recently earned Student Employee of the Year recognition for both SIU and the state of Illinois. After graduation, Colbrook will seek employment in the donor communications field where she plans to work to building professional connections and increase fundraising efforts for a non-profit organization, alumni group or foundation. Farhat wins Joyce Guyon scholarship Farhat, of Carbondale, is the recipient of the Joyce Guyon Non-Traditional Student Scholarship, worth $2,500. Farhat is a senior computer science major. A mother of two children, Farhat is dedicated to helping todays children become prepared to work with computers, rather than be replaced by them. Gunn is club memorial scholarship winner Gunn, of Marion, received the SIU Womens Club Memorial Scholarship for $1,000. She is a transfer student who just completed her junior year as a social work major. After completing her bachelors degree, Gunn anticipates she will continue her education in SIUs social work masters degree program, with an emphasis on mental health. Record donations boost scholarships The scholarships are funded exclusively through donations from SIU Womens Club members who donated a record amount. The funds allowed the scholarship awards to increase by $1,000 over the previous year. Thanks to the generous donations of our members, we are pleased to be helping these deserving young women achieve their academic goals with less debt, Laura Helsel, SIU Womens Club president, said. The scholarships are our investment in the future. Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of academic achievement, career goals and aspirations, leadership experience, references and financial need. Applications for the 2020 round of scholarships will be available in August. Club is open to all women with an SIU connection Any woman who has a personal or family affiliation with SIU Carbondale is welcome to join the SIU Womens Club, a social organization founded in 1937. The group gives members opportunities to connect with one another, build friendships, participate in a variety of activities and serve the university. For more information, visit the website or contact Helsel at siuwomensclub@siu.edu or by calling 618/559-4541. Curious just how far your dollar goes in Speer? According to Walk Score, this Denver neighborhood has excellent walkability, is a "biker's paradise" and offers many nearby public transportation options. Data from rental site Zumper shows that the median rent for a one bedroom in Speer is currently hovering around $1,295. So, what might you expect to find with a budget of $1,400/month? Read on for a roundup of the latest rental listings, via Zumper and Apartment Guide. (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. 550 Logan St. Listed at $1,395/month, this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment is located at 550 Logan St. In the apartment, expect to find a dishwasher, central air conditioning and a mix of hardwood flooring and carpeting. Building amenities include a fitness center, outdoor space and secured entry. Luckily for pet owners, both dogs and cats are welcome. Future tenants needn't worry about a leasing fee. (See the complete listing here.) 59 N. Ogden St. Next, there's this one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment situated at 59 N. Ogden St. It's listed for $1,375/month. The building offers on-site laundry. Also expect to see a dishwasher, stainless steel appliances and granite countertops in the unit. Animals are not welcome. There isn't a leasing fee associated with this rental. (See the complete listing here.) 619 Logan St. Here's a studio apartment at 619 Logan St. that's going for $1,335/month. You can expect in-unit laundry, stainless steel appliances and a dishwasher in the apartment. Building amenities include a fitness center, garage parking, outdoor space and a residents lounge. Animals are welcome. There's no leasing fee. (Take a look at the full 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. Five adults were displaced after a fire in the Inner Richmond last night. No one was injured. The fire took place inside a home at 571 3rd Ave. (at Balboa) at 7:44 p.m., the San Francisco Fire Department said. The fire was contained within 30 minutes of its first being reported. It also prompted an avoid the area warning from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. The five displaced residents were assisted by the Red Cross and city services, SFFD said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. (Adds Chinese social media reaction) BEIJING, June 3 (Reuters) - China warned students and academics on Monday about risks involved in studying in the United States, pointing to limits on the duration of visas and visa refusals, amid a bitter trade war and other tension between the two countries. Relations between China and the United States have nosedived because of their trade conflict, U.S. sanctions on Chinese tech firm Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and tension over the disputed South China Sea and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan. The Ministry of Education, in a short statement, said that recently some students seeking to study in the United States had encountered problems with the duration of their visas being limited and an increase in visa refusals. "This has affected Chinese students going to study in the United States or smoothly completing their studies," it added. "The education ministry reminds students and academics of the need to strengthen risk assessment before studying abroad, enhance prevention awareness, and make corresponding preparations." However, state television cited ministry spokeswoman Xu Mei as saying despite the trade tensions, the "general situation" for Chinese students going to the United States remained stable, and U.S. institutes of higher education welcomed Chinese students and cooperation with China. The ministry declined to offer any other details when contacted by Reuters. At stake is about $14 billion of economic activity, most of it tuition and other fees generated annually from the 360,000 Chinese nationals who study in the United States. Hu Xijin, editor of the widely read Chinese newspaper the Global Times, linked the warning to recent discrimination against students faced and the trade dispute. "This warning is a response to recent series of discriminatory measures the U.S. took against Chinese students and can also be seen as a response to the U.S.-initiated trade war," Hu wrote on his Twitter account in English. Story continues 'REALLY SCARY' The warning quickly became a top trending topic on China's Weibo microblogging site, with some people expressing concern about going to the United States and others saying they would just go to other countries. "This is really scary," wrote one user. "The world is so big, why do you have to go to the United States?" wrote another. Last year, China's embassy in Washington issued a security advisory to Chinese nationals traveling to the United States, warning tourists to be aware of issues including expensive medical bills, the threat of public shootings and robberies, and searches and seizures by customs agents. A group of U.S. President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in Congress introduced legislation last month intended to prohibit anyone employed or sponsored by the Chinese military from receiving student or research visas to the United States. The bill would require the U.S. government to create a list of scientific and engineering institutions affiliated with China's People's Liberation Army, and prohibit anyone employed or sponsored by those institutions from receiving the visas. The bill comes as some U.S. officials have expressed concern about the possibility of the theft of intellectual property or even espionage by Chinese nationals at U.S. universities and other institutions. Many U.S. and university officials also warn about over-reacting, however, arguing it is important to acknowledge the important role Chinese scholars and students play at U.S. institutions while being aware of security risks. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Michael Martina and Gao Liangping Editing by Robert Birsel) * FTSE 100 down 1.1% * FTSE 250 down 1% * Oil, banks biggest drags to main index * Profit warning sends Kier to 2 decade low (Adds company news items, graphic, analyst comment, updates share moves) June 3 (Reuters) - London's main stock market index fell to a near three-month low on Monday as an exchange of trade threats between Washington and Beijing stoked fears of a slide into recession as economic data from Asia again disappointed. The main FTSE 100 index was trading down 1.1% at its lowest level since March 8 by 0755 GMT, while the midcap index lost 1%. China warned the United States at the weekend not to meddle in security disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea, after while President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods. Sectors that are more vulnerable to a disruption in international trade were hit, with 1% falls for oil majors Shell and BP leading losses among blue-chip shares. "The trade war is not cooling down. In fact, it looks like the rhetoric is heating up and further escalation seems likely," said Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson. Builder Kier was the biggest faller on the midcap FTSE 250 index, down 40% and at its lowest level since early 1999 after warning on profits. Ocado slipped nearly 4% to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after Jefferies cut its rating on the stock, saying the online grocer's fixed central costs, high capex and limited sales fee income could lead to significant cash outflows. Investors will keep an eye on Trump's contentious visit to Britain, which begins on Monday and comes at a time of deep political uncertainty ahead of Prime Minister Theresa May's resignation this week. Trump, over the weekend, repeated his backing for candidates to succeed May who have said Britain must leave the European Union on the due date of Oct. 31 with or without a deal. The more domestically focused small-cap index eked out small gains, led by telecoms group KCOM, which jumped 13.4% after it ditched plans to sell itself to British pension fund-backed Humber Bidco in favor of a higher offer backed by investment firm Macquarie's European Infrastructure Fund. (Reporting by Muvija M and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and John Stonestreet) (Corrects Sanna's reporting lines in third paragraph) * Beard, 52, helped turn Glencore into top 3 oil trader * Follows retirement of Glencore's agri, copper heads * DOJ probe focuses on DRC, Nigeria, Venezuela By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Glencore's head of oil, Alex Beard, who helped make the firm one of the world's top three oil trading houses, will retire this month, the company said on Monday in yet another management shake-up amid U.S. probes into its activities. Glencore, founded by trader Marc Rich, has come under U.S. scrutiny in the past year over its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it produces cobalt and copper, and in Venezuela and Nigeria, where it trades oil and refined products. Beard, 52, will be replaced by the head of oil marketing, Alex Sanna, who was key in expanding Glencore's refined products trading in recent years. Sanna's trading division will report to chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, but oil assets, previously under Beard, will be transitioned to Peter Freyberg, the head of industrial assets. Beard's move follows the retirement of other top allies of Glasenberg - Chris Mahoney, the long-serving head of Glencores agricultural business, and Aristotelis Mistakidis, the head of copper. Glencore is worth $44 billion and Mistakidis held a 3.2% stake in the company, worth $1.4 billion at current prices, while Beard held a 2.5% stake worth $1.1 billion. Glasenberg is the largest shareholder of Glencore, with 8.8%, and built the firm from predominantly a trading house into a mining giant via its merger with Xstrata in 2012. He has said he may retire within the next three to five years. Glasenberg, 62, revealed his retirement plans a few months after news broke about U.S. investigations into Glencore. Last July, Glencore said it had received a subpoena from the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting documents and records on compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering statutes. Story continues A previous U.S. probe nearly destroyed Marc Rich in the 1980s when the United States accused the company of "trading with the enemy," Iran. It indicted Rich, who was pardoned years later by President Bill Clinton in 2001 during Clinton's last days in office. Rich died in 2013. Sources told Reuters the current DOJ investigation was focusing on the role of intermediaries and how they helped Glencore obtain contracts, including in oil trading. In April, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission was also investigating whether the company and its units may have violated certain regulations through "corrupt practices." The company said that probe was at an early stage and had a scope similar to that of the DOJ investigation. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) (Changes sourcing, adds Goldman Sachs statement) June 3 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Monday that West Street Capital Partners VII, a fund managed by the company's merchant banking unit, will acquire Capital Vision Services LP, to bolster their portfolio in the healthcare services sector. The fund will buy Capital Vision, which manages MyEyeDr. optometry centers, from private equity firm Altas Partners LP and Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec , Goldman Sachs said. Goldman did not reveal terms of the deal, which was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal https://www.wsj.com/articles/goldman-unit-to-buy-manager-of-optometry-practices-11559534521. The paper said it was valued it at $2.7 billion, including debt. Capital Vision supports independent optometrists and practices affiliated with the optometry practice management company MyEyeDr. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019, Goldman Sachs said. (Reporting by Rishika Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Gopakumar Warrier) (Adds quotes) By Giuseppe Fonte ROME, June 3 (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte threatened to quit on Monday, telling the ruling coalition's two feuding parties either to put an end to their brawling or take the country back to elections. Conte, a technocrat leader with no political support base, called a news conference to make the extraordinary ultimatum after months of bickering inside his year-old coalition of right-wing populists and anti-establishment lawmakers. "I'm not here just to scrape by, or drift," Conte told a packed news conference at the prime minister's residence. "If they do not clearly assume their responsibilities as I have requested ... then I will resign." The League and 5-Star Movement have been battling over everything from major infrastructure projects and immigration to the historical significance of national holidays and who is to blame for a cruise-ship accident in Venice at the weekend. The feud intensified following European parliamentary elections last month when the League won 34 percent of the vote, leap-frogging above 5-Star and fueling speculation that League leader Matteo Salvini could ditch his coalition partners. Conte told reporters his government faced a complex 2020 budget process later this year and that the country needed the confidence of financial markets. During the recent government in-fighting, investors sold off Italian bonds, raising concerns over Rome's ability to manage its enormous public debts of around 2.3 trillion euros ($2.6 trillion). "We must not let sterile controversies and pointless arguments waste our precious energy or distract from government objectives," Conte said. Italy faces the possibility of European Union disciplinary procedures this week for a breach of EU fiscal rules, which Salvini says are outdated and harmful to Italy's economy. Conte said the government should respect EU budget rules until such time as they are changed. ($1 = 0.8904 euros) (Additional reporting by Giselda Vagnoni and Angelo Amante; Editing by Mark Bendeich and Crispian Balmer) (Adds Kinder Morgan's response) June 3 (Reuters) - Kinder Morgan Inc said on Monday that there was no impact to its crude and petroleum products storage facility in Carson, California after a fire on its truck rack earlier in the day. "There are no impacts to the facility beyond the truck rack. Pipeline and terminalling activities have resumed normal operations," the company said in an e-mail. The fire was extinguished, which also injured a truck driver, and the crude and petroleum products storage terminal in Carson was evacuated, the company said earlier. The Carson City Fire Department responded and closed a nearby road during the initial response as a precaution, it said. "The rack will remain shut down until the lanes not affected by the fire are deemed safe to resume operations," the company said, adding that "a truck driver, who was not a Kinder Morgan employee, was transported to the local hospital." Several local media reports said, citing the Los Angeles County Fire Department, that the fire injured four people - one person was treated for minor burns and three others were taken to a hospital for treatment. The explosion occurred while jet fuel was being loaded onto a tanker truck, according to media reports. (Reporting by K. Sathya Narayanan, Arijit Bose and Swati Verma in Bengaluru Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Marguerita Choy) (Adds quote, background) MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - The Kremlin rebuffed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump of Russian and Syrian government military action in Syria's rebel-held Idlib province, saying on Monday it was needed to shut down rebel attacks being launched from there. Trump on Sunday urged Russian and Syrian government forces to stop bombing Idlib, following a Friday Kremlin statement that signaled Moscow would continue to back a month-long Syrian government offensive there. The assault has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis as Syrians displaced by the fighting seek shelter at the Turkish border. More than 200,000 people have fled since strikes began at the end of April, according to the United Nations. When asked about Trump's criticism on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said militants were using Idlib as a base to launch attacks against civilian and military targets, something he called unacceptable. "Of course strikes by militants from Idlib are unacceptable and measures are being taken to neutralize these strike positions," Peskov told reporters on a conference call. He said Turkey bore responsibility for ensuring such attacks from Idlib did not happen under a deal reached between Russia and Turkey in September. The Syrian offensive has strained that agreement which created a demilitarized zone in Idlib and called for it to be free of all heavy weapons and jihadist fighters. Turkey has called for a ceasefire in Idlib, the last significant rebel stronghold, to prevent more civilian deaths and a possible new surge of refugees fleeing the fighting. (Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Maria Kiselyova Editing by Andrew Osborn) Nah, youre good. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images Being a tangential presence to power often comes with great responsibility unless you just avoid the questions. In an interview for the second season premiere of Axios on HBO, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner was asked to defend his boss and father-in-law, President Trump, from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs claims that he is racist. Unsurprisingly, Kushners answer was no. But when presented with details, his defense unwound with great speed. Q) Has Trump ever said anything racist? KUSHNER: Absolutely not. You cant not be a racist for 69 years then run for president and be a racist. Q) Was Birtherism racist? KUSHNER: Um, look I wasnt really involved in that...that was a long time ago.pic.twitter.com/GzdB9pafCi Waleed Shahid (@_waleedshahid) June 2, 2019 The allegations of Trumps racism date back many years. In 1973, the president and his company Trump Management were sued by the Department of Justice for discriminating against black renters. But by a long time ago, Kushner means less than a decade; even as his campaign disavowed birtherism in September 2016, Trump himself declined to do the same. And just last month, Slate reported that the Trump administration is plotting an unofficial travel ban on immigrants coming from shithole countries, as the president reportedly called Haiti and some African nations. In a sense, Kushner executed the only defense against claims of Trumps racism: a hard denial, followed by rounds of sidestepping answers. Elsewhere in the interview, Kushner balked at a question regarding his confidant on the Saudi peninsula, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Axios reporter Jonathan Swan asked if Kushner would join Jamal Khashoggis fiancee in calling on the Saudi government to be held accountable for the body of the slain American journalist. With heavy emphasis on the passive tense, Kushner says that the death of Khashoggi was a horrific thing that happened. Despite reports that the CIA determined that MBS most likely ordered the murder, and that the Senate unanimously declared MBS responsible, Kushner did not commit to any action: Once we have all the facts, then well make a policy determination, but that would be up to the secretary of State to push on our policy. Kushner also gave a sneak preview of his plan to ensure peace in the Middle East just one of a grab bag of policy measures the presidents son-in-law is in charge of. When asked if Palestinians are capable of governing a sovereign territory without Israeli influence, Kushner said that the hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing. Dismissing the primary demand of Palestinians as a high bar, its unlikely that Kushners plan, reportedly to be delivered in June, will include any major concessions from Israel. Kushner did deliver two inarguably accurate verdicts on the Trump administration: that it brought in people who never wouldve been in Washington before who were not qualified by conventional standards and that the current white House has changed how we think about Americas place in the world. But his interpretation of those claims might differ from the 53.5 percent of Americans who disapprove of the president. (Adds quotes, background) MOSCOW, June 3 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Monday called an embezzlement case against prominent U.S. investor Michael Calvey regrettable and said it hoped he would be freed from house arrest and be able to attend an economic forum in St Petersburg later this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RT TV channel in an interview that Calvey was a trustworthy businessman and that the Kremlin would like to see him attend Russia's flagship economic forum in St Petersburg later this week. Calvey, founder of the Baring Vostok private equity group, was detained in February pending a trial on embezzlement charges. He denies wrongdoing and says the case is a way of pressuring him in a dispute over control of a Russian bank. "This is of course a very regrettable situation. We regret it very much. We of course would like to see him among the (forum's) participants," Peskov said. The St Petersburg International Economic Forum is attended by President Vladimir Putin annually and is used by Moscow to burnish the country's image as an investment destination. The United States said last week it would boycott the event to protest against Moscow's prosecution of Calvey. The case against Calvey has rattled Russia's business community despite a court in April releasing him from jail and placing him under house arrest. Other executives also detained in the case are still being held in custody. "We of course hope that in the end these gentlemen will end up at liberty. But ... there is the Russian law and it must be observed," Peskov said. (Reporting by Maria Kiselyova; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Andrew Osborn) (Adds Pompeo recording, Trump comment) By Matt Spetalnick and Katanga Johnson WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that the Palestinians deserve "self-determination," but stopped short of backing Palestinian statehood and expressed uncertainty over their ability to govern themselves. Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and an architect of the White House's yet-to-be-released Middle East peace plan, told the "Axios on HBO" television program it would be a "high bar" when asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from Israeli military and government interference. The Palestinian leadership has boycotted a diplomatic effort that Trump has touted as the "deal of the century." Although Kushner has been drafting the plan for two years under a veil of secrecy, it is seen by Palestinian and some Arab officials as tilting heavily in Israel's favor and denying them a state of their own. Kushner again avoided saying explicitly whether the plan would include a two-state solution, the bedrock of U.S. policy for decades, calling for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with its capital in East Jerusalem. But he said: "I do think they should have self-determination. Im going to leave the details until we come out with the actual plan." The Palestinian Authority has said it will not attend a U.S.-sponsored investment conference in late June in Bahrain where the economic component is expected to be unveiled. U.S. officials have been vague about the timing for releasing proposals for resolving the thorny political issues at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But experts are skeptical of the Trump administration's chances for success. With Israel heading for new elections in September after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government, uncertainty is expected to further delay the plan's rollout. Story continues Asked whether he believed the Palestinians were capable of governing themselves without Israeli interference, Kushner said: "That's a very good question. That's one that well have to see. The hope is that they, over time, will become capable of governing." The Palestinians, he said, "need to have a fair judicial system ... freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions" before the Palestinian areas can become "investable." Asked whether he understood why the Palestinians might not trust him, Kushner said: "I'm not here to be trusted" and that he believed the Palestinian people would judge the plan based on whether "they think this will allow them to have a pathway to a better life or not." The Palestinian leadership has refused to deal with the Trump administration since late 2017 when the president decided to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his assessment of the plan's prospects in a closed-door meeting with Jewish leaders last week, saying: One might argue that it is unexecutable and it might not gain traction," according to an audio recording, the Washington Post reported on Sunday. He expressed hope, however, that the deal was not simply dismissed out of hand, the Post reported. Were doing our best to help the Middle East to get a peace plan," Trump told reporters when asked about the Pompeo recording. "I understand why (Pompeo) said that. Most people would say it cant be done. I think it can be done." (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick and Katanga Johnson; Editing by Peter Cooney) (Adds Pompeo comment, analyst quotes; paragraphs 6,7,11,12,14,15) By Joyce Lee SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) - North Korea's former top nuclear envoy, Kim Yong Chol, accompanied leader Kim Jong Un to an art performance, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, signaling that the former spymaster is alive and remains a force in the power structure. Sunday's appearance followed conflicting reports of shakeups in the team that led engagement with the United States last year, only for nuclear talks to collapse after Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump failed to strike a pact at a February summit. KCNA named Kim Yong Chol as the 10th person among a group of 12 "leading officials" who accompanied Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, to an amateur art performance by wives of officers in the North Korean Army on Sunday. On Friday, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo had said Kim Yong Chol, the leader's righthand man and a counterpart of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before the failed summit, had been sent to a labor and re-education camp, citing an unidentified North Korean source. Asked on Sunday about the last U.S. contact with Kim Yong Chol and North Korea in general, Pompeo declined to answer, saying, "We conduct our negotiations in private." Asked about reports of a "shakeup" of Kim's negotiating team in a May 5 interview with ABC News, Pompeo said it did appear that his future counterpart would be somebody else, adding "But we don't know that for sure." He said, "Just as President Trump gets to decide who his negotiators will be, Chairman Kim will get to make his own decisions who he asks to have these discussions." As Kim Jong Un's point man for the nuclear talks, Kim Yong Chol was stripped of a key party post in apparent censure for the summit's collapse, a South Korean lawmaker said in April. That move may have cleared the way for long-time diplomats sidelined during last year's process to take centrestage if talks with the United States resumed, analysts said. Story continues In April, an official photograph from a session of North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature showed Kim Yong Chol standing behind Kim Jong Un, but he did not accompany Kim on his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later that month. "Kim Yong Chol appears to have been pushed back from power since the Hanoi summit," said Shin Beom-chul, a senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul. "But exactly how much is something we're not able to figure out." The Chosun Ilbo report, which Reuters was unable to confirm independently, also said North Korea executed its working-level nuclear envoy to the United States, Kim Hyok Chol. "It's very difficult to factually verify North Korean top leadership purges or removals," said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification. "It takes a long time because you need to check that they continually don't appear in public, who took their position, who replaced who." Some officials who worked with Kim Yong Chol have been out of the public eye since the summit. But other seasoned diplomats who appeared to have been sidelined, including Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, were seen returning to the spotlight. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Peter Cooney and Clarence Fernandez) (Adds quotes on trade) By David Brunnstrom and Bart H. Meijer THE HAGUE, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the United States is seeking to "level the playing field" with China after decades of unfair trade practices, but his Dutch counterpart said tariffs would hurt international trade. Pompeo made the remarks after meeting Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, with whom he also discussed security threats relating to new 5G telecommunications networks. Pompeo defended U.S. President Donald Trump's policy of imposing new trade tariffs on Chinese goods, saying: "We are simply trying to level this playing field and when we do so I am confident both nations will be successful." But Blok argued that tariffs would be damaging. "In the end trade tariffs are bad for Americans and for Dutch workers and entrepreneurs who depend on trade for their livelihood. That is why, together with the EU, we strive to minimize tariffs," he said after their meeting. Speaking earlier on the sidelines of a U.S.-Dutch entrepreneurship conference in the Netherlands, Pompeo said Trump wanted to ensure that Chinese and U.S. companies were doing business on equal terms. "We're very concerned that Western companies, American companies and others that enter the Chinese markets aren't treated the same way that Chinese companies are treated when they enter those Western markets," Pompeo said. "It's not open trade when a company can come here and invest in the Netherlands and when a Netherlands company wants to invest in their country they've got to submit their information to the Chinese Communist Party." The United States, which has blacklisted Huawei, has discouraged its European allies from using the Chinese company's technology, citing concerns about a "backdoor" that could enable spying by the Chinese state. "We've been clear: Our ask is that our allies and our partners and our friends dont do anything that would endanger our shared security interests or restrict our ability to share sensitive information," Pompeo said. Blok said that while the Dutch want to align policies with their allies, every country must make its own security decisions. "A team of experts is looking into the safety considerations surrounding the 5G auction," he said, adding that changes in the 5G auction process could be announced as soon as this summer. (Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Bart Meijer; Writing by Anthony Deutsch and Toby Sterling, Editing by Catherine Evans) (Corrects spelling of state to Puebla, not Pueblo, paragraph 2) MEXICO CITY, June 2 (Reuters) - Mexico's president is expected to score comfortable wins at Sunday's state elections in the first test of his popularity since taking office, with exit polls showing his party taking both governorships up for grabs. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's party was tipped for victory in the central state of Puebla and the northern state of Baja California, despite a weak economy, rampant violence and troubled relations with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Lopez Obrador's National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party was seen winning the Baja California race with between 53.8% and 57.2% of votes, and the Puebla race with between 48.5% and 51.5%, according to two exit polls published by Consulta Mitofsky. Dozens of lesser seats were being contested in local elections across several states on Sunday, but only those two states were voting for governors. Opinion polls had given Lopez Obrador's leftist party a commanding lead against a divided opposition in both states, even as clouds have gathered on the horizon because of a potentially calamitous trade row with Trump. Trump said on Thursday that he would hit all Mexican exports to the United States with an escalating 5% tariff from June 10 unless Mexico stops a surge in illegal immigrants from Central America reaching the U.S. border. Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday that she will meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, as the two governments begin talks on the issue in the U.S. capital this coming week. Around 80% of Mexico's exports go to the United States, giving Trump plenty of leverage to put pressure on Lopez Obrador, who took office in December. Since assuming the presidency, Lopez Obrador has repeatedly vowed to root out political corruption, which he says is a legacy of his adversaries' years in power. Story continues Disheartened and disorganized, the opposition has yet to recover public trust in spite of concern about Lopez Obrador's economic management and his polarizing instincts. Indeed, some prominent figures from the main opposition parties have declared their support for MORENA. Lopez Obrador's fight against graft has yet to show tangible results, but this week the government began stepping up a major probe into suspected financial wrongdoing by a former boss of struggling state oil company Pemex. Still, the 65-year-old's efforts to run a tight budget have caused shortfalls in public services, and helped prompt the first major resignation from his government last month. His abrupt decisions on economic policy and doubts about the future of Pemex have rattled financial markets, and the economy contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter during the first quarter. Meanwhile, murders are on track to surpass last year's record of nearly 29,000, official data show. (Reporting by Dave Graham, additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Daniel Wallis) * More than 35 dead as Sudan forces disperse protesters -doctors * Sporadic gunfire could be heard into the night * Western officials say they hold military council responsible * Talks on demand to hand power to civilians stalled (Updates death toll, adds latest situation and detail about Eid al-Fitr) By Michael Georgy KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Security forces stormed a protest camp in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday and opposition-linked medics said more than 35 people were killed in the worst violence since the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April. Footage shared on social media from Monday morning and verified by Reuters showed chaotic scenes of people fleeing through streets as sustained bursts of gunfire crackled in the air during violence that drew rapid Western and African censure. Sporadic rounds of gunfire could still be heard in several neighborhoods until the early hours of Tuesday morning, Reuters witnesses said. The violence dashed hopes for a restart to stalled talks between the main opposition coalition and the ruling military council over who should govern in a transitional period after Bashir's overthrow. The witnesses said protesters set up barricades made of blocks, scrap metal and light poles pulled down from the sidewalks throughout the streets of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman across the Nile. A sit-in next to the Defence Ministry, the focal point of anti-government protests that started in December, had been cleared, witnesses said. A group of doctors linked to the opposition said at least 35 people had been "martyred" in Monday's violence, with the toll expected to rise. The group had earlier said at least 116 people were wounded. The main protest group accused the ruling military council of perpetrating "a massacre" as it broke up the camp. The Transitional Military Council (TMC) denied that, with a spokesman, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, telling Reuters security forces were pursuing "unruly elements" who had fled to the protest site and caused chaos. Story continues "The Transitional Military Council regrets the way the situation unfolded, reaffirming its full commitment to the ... safety of the citizens and renews its call for negotiations as soon as possible," the council later said in a statement. Sudan's public prosecutor on Monday ordered an investigation into the violence, state news agency SUNA said. TALKS HALTED An alliance of protest and opposition groups that had been negotiating with the military for weeks said it was halting all contact with the council. The TMC had offered to let protesters form a government but insisted on maintaining overall authority during an interim period. Demonstrators want civilians to run the transitional period and lead Sudan's 40 million people to democracy. The protest-linked doctors group said security forces surrounded one Khartoum hospital and opened fire at another where they were pursuing protesters. "The protesters holding a sit-in in front of the army general command are facing a massacre in a treacherous attempt to disperse the protest," said the main protest organizer, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA). The SPA said it would declare Tuesday to be the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, another attempt to contradict the TMC which said the holiday would start on Wednesday. The move is highly symbolic in Sudan, where people strictly observe the holy month of Ramadan and subsequent festivities. The United Nations, African Union and European Union expressed deep concern, some explicitly blaming the military. "What is clear to us is that there was use of excessive force by the security forces on civilians," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Britain's ambassador Irfan Siddiq said he heard gunfire for more than an hour from his residence. "No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now," he wrote on Twitter. "Responsibility falls on the TMC. The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan," added the U.S. embassy. The European Union urged a speedy transfer of power to civilians. Neighboring Egypt called for "calm and restraint," while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it hoped that dialog would prevail in Sudan. "The regional experience has taught us that the orderly and conservative transition of the state and its institutions is the only way to avoid years of chaos and loss," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter. SMOKE AND STONES As the protests unfurled in Khartoum, demonstrators hurled stones at security forces, who charged amid sounds of intense gunfire. A Reuters witness saw troops wielding batons, including riot police and members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), deploy in central Khartoum and close roads, apparently to try to block people from reaching the protest site. The RSF is commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the military council's deputy head. Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is a close ally of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and sent Sudanese troops to join the coalition they lead in Yemen's civil war. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are eager to root out Islamists who dominated in Sudan under Bashir's three-decade rule. The military's role in ousting Bashir has raised fears among many Sudanese that their country could follow a similar path to neighboring Egypt after its 2011 uprising. There, a military council oversaw a turbulent and sometimes violent transition before army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohamed Mursi. Sisi was elected president in 2014 and again in 2018 with 97 percent of the vote. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Michael Georgy in Khartoum; Additional reporting by Ali Abdelaty, Omar Fahmy, Lena Masri and Yousef Saba in Cairo; Writing by Sami Aboudi, Aidan Lewis and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Catherine Evans and Sonya Hepinstall) * Queen hosts third U.S. president for formal dinner * Queen and Trump speak of enduring alliance * Silver-gilt "Grand Service" used for banquets (Adds wine, Trump and Elizabeth) By Alistair Smout and Steve Holland LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - A four-course meal, more than 2,000 pieces of silver-gilt cutlery and a toast to the queen: Donald Trump enjoyed an opulent state banquet hosted by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Monday. While this is the first time Trump and his wife Melania have experienced a royal British banquet, the queen is used to such occasions: it is the 113th time Queen Elizabeth has hosted a state visit. State visit invitations are extended by the government, but the queen acts as host. After being greeted at Buckingham Palace with a cannon salute and marching Guards band, Trump had a private lunch with the monarch and tea with her son Prince Charles. They then attended a formal banquet at which men wore white tie and coats with tails and women evening gowns. Melania wore a Dior Haute Couture ivory silk crepe gown with silk tulle detail. "As we look to the future, I am confident that our common values and shared interests will continue to unite us," Elizabeth said at the banquet, before toasting Trump and his wife. "Tonight we celebrate an alliance that has helped to ensure the safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades, and which I believe will endure for many years to come," Elizabeth said. Trump praised Elizabeth for her contribution to the war effort World War Two, recounting a story of her reparing a military truck engine. "That young mechanic was the future queen - a great, great woman," Trump said. "The bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great crusade." "As we honor our shared victory and heritage we affirm the common values that will unite us long into the future; freedom, sovereignty, self determination, the rule of law and reference for the rights given to us by almighty God." Story continues Then the meal began: a steamed filet of halibut with watercress mousse followed by a saddle of Windsor lamb and then strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream and a selection of assorted fresh fruits. Wines on offer included a 2014 English sparkling Windsor Great Park and a 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The meal was served on the silver-gilt "Grand Service," originally commissioned by George IV when he was Prince of Wales in 1806. It consists of over 4,000 pieces for dining, including dinner plates and 107 candelabra. Buckingham Palace says the final build of the State Banquet table starts around five days before the arrival of the visiting head of state, and that every detail of the meal is checked and approved by Queen Elizabeth. Flower displays are in shades of summer pink and comprise of sweet peas, mixed peonies, sweet Avalanche roses, stock and larkspur. Each of the napkins is folded into a Dutch bonnet by a person titled Yeoman of the China and Glass Pantry. Trump joins Barack Obama and George W. Bush as the only U.S. presidents to have official state visits to Britain with Queen Elizabeth. She has met all 13 presidents in her reign except Lyndon Johnson. Trump, who was widely seen to have broken royal protocol when he failed to bow to the queen in 2018 and then walked in front of her as they inspected a guard, avoided the mild embarrassment suffered by his predecessor at the state banquet. During his state banquet in 2011, Obama spoke over the British national anthem after musicians struck up during a pause in his toast, and then raised his glass to the queen at the wrong moment. ($1 = 0.7894 pounds) (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Angus MacSwan/Guy Faulconbridge) (Adds details on administration departures, Hassett's job description, Trump travel schedule) By Julia Harte WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett will "shortly" leave his post, but did not provide a reason for the latest high-level departure from the administration. "Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly. His very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S.," Trump said in a Twitter post on Sunday night as he flew to Europe for a series of state visits. Hassett's impending departure comes at a time of drama between the United States and some of its main trade partners. A trade war is brewing between the United States and China, while Trump has vowed to impose punitive tariffs on all Mexican goods in an intensifying dispute over migration. Hassett previously served as a scholar of fiscal policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank before Trump nominated him to the White House role in 2017. In the White House post, he worked with Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner on a proposed immigration plan that the Republican president unveiled in May and had backed a U.S. move to end waivers of sanctions for countries that buy Iranian oil. Trump thanked Hassett for his work, and called him a "true friend" in the Twitter post on Sunday. He did not give any indication on who he would name to replace Hassett. Hassett is poised to become the latest in a long line of senior White House officials and Cabinet secretaries to depart the administration since Trump took office in January 2017. Others who have resigned or been ousted this year alone include Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, White House communications director Bill Shine and Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon. Story continues The chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers serves as the chief economic adviser to the administration as a whole. The council's work is research-focused and less concerned with coordinating policy across agencies than the National Economic Council, a separate advisory body currently led by Larry Kudlow. Trump departed on Sunday night for a trip that takes him to Britain, where he is scheduled to meet with members of the royal family, before going to Ireland and then France to attend ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the World War Two allied D-Day invasion. (Reporting by Julia Harte; Editing by Will Dunham) (Adds details on avocados, company comment; updates shares) June 3 (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc on Monday estimated a $15 million hit from President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Mexican imports, and said it could cover that by raising burrito prices by around 5 cents. The U.S.-based Mexican-themed chain's finance chief Jack Hartung said its margins would be reduced by 20-30 basis points if the tariffs suggested by Trump go up to 25%, pushing up prices of avocados - the key ingredient in guacamole. Mexico is the largest supplier of agricultural produce to the United States, exporting more than $8 billion worth of vegetables last year, including $2.07 billion worth of avocados, according to the U.S. census bureau. "We know that we could easily solve the volatility in our supply chain by purchasing pre-mashed or processed avocados," Hartung said in an email. "But we ... believe that using whole, fresh ingredients ... leads to better tasting guacamole." For an interactive graphic on border crossings and cross-border trade, click here: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Khd82D Chipotle is averse to switching to cheaper pre-mashed avocados, mainly as its marketing message centers around the use of fresh ingredients. To reduce its dependence on Mexico - the world's largest producer of avocados - the company has been sourcing the crop from other countries such as Peru and Chile in the last several months, spokeswoman Laurie Schalow told Reuters. According to Chipotle's last annual filing, a "substantial volume" of its produce is grown in Mexico and other countries, and any rise in prices of ingredients like avocados would affect its operating results. Chipotle is among the first U.S. companies to warn of pressure on prices from Trump's commitment last Thursday to impose a 5% tariff, rapidly ratcheting higher to 25% on Oct. 1, on all goods coming from Mexico unless illegal immigration across the southern U.S. border halts. "We could also consider passing on these costs through a modest price increase, such as about a nickel on a burrito," Hartung said. Chipotle's shares fell 1.6% on Monday, having lost 3% on a broadly weaker New York Stock Exchange on Friday. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; editing by Patrick Graham and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty) (Adds details on McGahn, Hoyer quote, background) By Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote next week on whether to hold Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas related to the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the No. 2 House official said on Monday. "Next Tuesday, I will bring a resolution to the House floor forcing Attorney General Barr and former White House counsel McGahn to comply with congressional subpoenas that have been duly issued by the House Judiciary Committee," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement. "The resolution will authorize the Judiciary Committee to pursue civil action to seek enforcement of its subpoenas in federal court," said Hoyer, a Democrat. A Justice Department spokeswoman declined comment. The House move escalated the fight between the Republican White House and Democrats who control the House and are seeking documents and testimony relating to various investigations, ahead of the 2020 presidential election in which President Donald Trump is seeking a second term. The House Judiciary Committee voted on May 8 to recommend that the full House cite Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official and a Trump appointee, for contempt of Congress after he defied its subpoena to hand over an unredacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on 2016 Russian election interference. Democrats had also subpoenaed McGahn to testify before the Judiciary Committee last month, but he did not appear after the White House directed him not to comply. McGahn, who left his post as White House counsel last year, figured prominently in Mueller's report, which cited him as saying that Trump called him several times to tell him to direct the Justice Department to remove Mueller. "This Administrations systematic refusal to provide Congress with answers and cooperate with Congressional subpoenas is the biggest cover-up in American history, and Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight on behalf of the American people," Hoyer said in his statement. Story continues MUELLER REPORT HEARING A redacted 448-page version of Mueller's report released in April concluded that Russian operatives sought to influence the U.S. presidential election in 2016, but it did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russia. The report documented numerous occasions, however, in which Trump sought to quash the probe, including by firing former FBI Director James Comey. But Mueller ultimately did not reach a decision as to whether Trump had obstructed justice. Since the Mueller report became public, the Trump administration has clashed with the House over its efforts to investigate him, his administration, family and business interests. The Judiciary Committee said earlier on Monday it would hold a hearing on June 10 on Muellers report, with testimony from former U.S. attorneys and legal experts, including John Dean. The Trump critic and one-time counsel to former President Richard Nixon served a year in prison in connection with the Watergate scandal. (Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by G Crosse and Peter Cooney) The 37th and 45th presidents of the United States. Photo: Julian Wasser/Getty Images; Stefan Rousseau - WPA Pool/Getty Images While different assessments have been made of the public-opinion trends surrounding the question of Donald Trumps potential impeachment, nobody is at present reporting anything like majority support. Even Steve Benens optimistic take on trends observes that this fateful step remains pretty solidly unpopular: CNN released the results of its new national poll, which asked respondents, Based on what you have read or heard, do you believe that President Trump should be impeached and removed from office, or dont you feel that way? In mid-March, shortly before the release of Attorney General Bill Barrs misleading summary of the Mueller report, 36 percent supported impeaching Trump and removing him from office. In late April, it was 37 percent. In the results released over the weekend, that number is now up to 41 percent. Obviously, thats not a majority. In fact, the same CNN poll found 54 percent oppose these congressional actions against the president. But theres been some movement of late: Since March, support for impeaching Trump is up five points, and opposition is down five points. Most of the impeachment buzz, such as it is, is among Democrats: CNN now shows them favoring impeachment by a 76-18 margin, while independents oppose it 35-59 and Republicans by 6-93. Theres is an argument gaining strength in pro-impeachment circles, though, that the very initiation of impeachment proceedings will likely shift public opinion in a pro-impeachment direction. Yoni Applebaum made this argument back in March: The process of impeachment itself is likely to shift public opinion, both by highlighting whats already known and by bringing new evidence to light. If Trumps support among Republican voters erodes, his support in the Senate may do the same. One lesson of Richard Nixons impeachment is that when legislators conclude a presidency is doomed, they can switch allegiances in the blink of an eye. Nixons example is also being touted by Greg Sargent after an analysis of Gallup polling data from the Watergate era: Chart: Gallup With support from historian Julian Zelizer, Sargent interprets these trends as showing a sort of impeachment bootstrapping effect: [T]he jump in July 1974 came after the House Judiciary Committee launched impeachment hearings in May 1974, and the subsequent jump in August 1974 came after the Committee approved articles of impeachment in July of that year. Its clear from the data that impeachment proceedings provided the jolt that shook the public, among independents in particular, Zelizer told me. An independent by nature is not going to make a quick decision. Impeachment proceedings and then the approval of articles of impeachment are what ended up moving independents. This wasnt Congress waiting on the public, Zelizer added. It was the other way around Congress provided guidance to the public. The upshot, of course, is that todays congressional Democrats can get the public support they want to move toward impeachment only by first moving toward impeachment. Sargent acknowledges that in the current climate of partisan polarization, Republicans (whether rank-and-file or elected officials) arent likely to move against Trump as they eventually did against Nixon. This is a point his Washington Post colleague Phillip Bump emphasizes today, noting that Nixon never had the kind of media echo chamber Trump enjoys: [T]heres the issue of people actually tuning in to [impeachment] hearings. In an interview with Rolling Stone several years ago, Nixons former White House counsel John Dean made a telling remark. Nixon might have survived if he had Fox News and the conservative media that exists today, Dean said. Id add that Republicans have all but lost the moderate-to-liberal wing that lost faith with Nixon first during the Watergate saga: [Todays Republican] lawmakers are reminiscent of no one in the Watergate saga more than Representative Earl Landgrebe of Indiana, who famously said soon before Nixon resigned: Dont confuse me with facts; my mind is made up [Ill] stick with my president even if he and I have to be taken out of this building and shot. Sargent still plausibly thinks its possible that if independents turn on Trump as sharply as they turned against Nixon, majority support for impeachment would form. That might not significantly increase the currently nil odds of a Senate conviction of Trump but could insulate Democrats from a backlash against impeachment that would imperil their prospects of ejecting the man from office in 2020. But Id draw attention to another takeaway from that Gallup data about Nixon that suggests we are in a different era. Back then indie support for impeachment wasnt that far from the level of Democratic support: just nine percent off in mid-1973, thirteen percent off in early 1974, and sixteen percent off near Nixons resignation. Today (again, using that CNN poll showing a slow pro-impeachment trend emanating almost entirely from Democrats) theres a 41 point gap between Democratic and indie support for impeachment. Polarization has affected independents who arent very independent any more as much as partisans. So its unclear how much room there really is for any major improvement in sentiment favoring impeachment. Id add one concern I offered in an earlier analysis, which is difficult to prove but is relevant to comparisons between Nixon and Trump: Watergate or even impeachment proceedings werent the only developments driving Nixon toward the deep unpopularity he eventually experienced: There were multiple reasons for that plunge [in Nixons approval ratings], including, yes, Watergate publicity (punctuated by the Saturday Night Massacre in which Nixon fired his attorney general, his deputy attorney general, and the Watergate special prosecutor), plus the resignation of his vice-president, Spiro Agnew, after being caught accepting bribes; growing public hostility to delays in ending the Vietnam War; and the beginning of a recession that interrupted a long period of economic growth. By the time Nixon was forced to resign, his approval rating overall was a terrible 24 percent and just 50 percent among Republicans. Trumps popularity is famously, almost uniquely impervious to external events. Perhaps impeachment proceedings will change that, but if I were Nancy Pelosi, I wouldnt want to bet the House or the White House on it. This piece originally misstated the relationship between Democratic and independent support for impeachment of Nixon. It has been corrected. (Adds views of Chamber of Commerce, paragraph three) By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether managers of a retirement fund for IBM Corp employees that invested in the company's stock can be sued for failing to disclose that its microelectronics business was overvalued. The justices will hear an appeal by IBM's retirement plan of a lower court ruling allowing the litigation to proceed. IBM is not a defendant in the case. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American business community's biggest lobbying arm, had urged the Supreme Court in a brief to hear the case, saying a ruling against the fund could deter companies from offering retirement plans that invest in company stock. Thousands of companies offer such programs. Participants in IBM's retirement plan have said that in 2013 the company's microelectronics division was incurring losses even though IBM said at the time it was valued at $2 billion. The plaintiffs have said the Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, which oversees the fund, knew or should have known that the business was overvalued. The committee's members included senior IBM executives. IBM sold the microelectronics business a year later at a significant loss, leading to a decline in the company's stock price. IBM paid GlobalFoundries Inc $1.5 billion to take over the money-losing unit and announced it would take a $2.4 billion write-down on the entire value of assets as well as $800 million of other unspecified costs. The plaintiffs sued the committee and its members in 2015. A federal judge dismissed the complaint the following year. The New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a ruling last year revived the litigation, prompting the retirement plan committee to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will hear arguments and issue a ruling in its next term, which starts in October. The IBM dispute is a sequel to a 2014 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that a lawsuit brought by employees against Fifth Third Bancorp for putting company stock in its employment retirement plan ahead of the housing downturn could move forward. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) (Adds background on case, paragraphs 3-6) By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager for billionaire Steven A. Cohen, challenging a conviction for insider trading. The Supreme Court left in place a June 2018 ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found there was enough evidence to establish Martoma's guilt despite defective jury instructions in the trial. Martoma had worked at the CR Intrinsic Investors unit of Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors LP. At issue in the appeal was whether the prosecution must prove insider trading by showing that the individual who supplied a tip sought personal gain or intended to confer a benefit to someone else. The 2nd Circuit had upheld Martoma's conviction and nine-year prison term in August 2017, but in a modified ruling almost a year later withdrew its prior finding that the jury instructions were "not obviously erroneous." The appeals court decided that the instructions wrongly allowed a conviction solely on evidence that a Michigan doctor had tipped Martoma about a Alzheimer's drug trial to maintain a friendship, rather than to offer a benefit or further a "quid pro quo" relationship - something done in exchange for something else. Martoma was convicted in February 2014 for making $275 million of illegal gains in Elan Corp and Wyeth. Now called Point72 Asset Management LP, SAC pleaded guilty to fraud and paid $1.8 billion in U.S. criminal and civil settlements. Cohen was not criminally charged. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham) Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Claire Milverton-Clark became the CEO of 1Spatial Plc (LON:SPA) in 2016. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. Next, we'll consider growth that the business demonstrates. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels. View our latest analysis for 1Spatial How Does Claire Milverton-Clark's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? According to our data, 1Spatial Plc has a market capitalization of UK36m, and pays its CEO total annual compensation worth UK266k. (This figure is for the year to January 2018). While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK241k. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below UK159m, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be UK249k. That means Claire Milverton-Clark receives fairly typical remuneration for the CEO of a company that size. While this data point isn't particularly informative alone, it gains more meaning when considered with business performance. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at 1Spatial has changed over time. AIM:SPA CEO Compensation, June 3rd 2019 Is 1Spatial Plc Growing? 1Spatial Plc has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 17% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 4.1% over the last year. This shows that the company has improved itself over the last few years. Good news for shareholders. It's nice to see a little revenue growth, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings. Has 1Spatial Plc Been A Good Investment? Story continues Since shareholders would have lost about 32% over three years, some 1Spatial Plc shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously. In Summary... Claire Milverton-Clark is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies. We think that the EPS growth is very pleasing, but we cannot say the same about the lacklustre shareholder returns (over the last three years). Considering the improvement in earnings per share, one could argue that the CEO pay is appropriate, albeit not too low. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling 1Spatial (free visualization of insider trades). Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. * Beard, 52, helped turn Glencore into top 3 oil trader * Follows retirement of Glencore's agri, copper heads * DOJ probe focuses on DRC, Nigeria, Venezuela (Adds Sanna's age) By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Glencore's head of oil, Alex Beard, who helped make the firm one of the world's top three oil trading houses, will retire this month, the company said on Monday in yet another management shake-up amid U.S. probes into its activities. Glencore, founded by trader Marc Rich, has come under U.S. scrutiny in the past year over its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it produces cobalt and copper, and in Venezuela and Nigeria, where it trades oil and refined products. Beard, 52, will be replaced by the head of oil marketing, Alex Sanna, 37, who was key in expanding Glencore's refined products trading in recent years. Beard's move follows the retirement of other top allies of Glasenberg - Chris Mahoney, the long-serving head of Glencores agricultural business, and Aristotelis Mistakidis, the head of copper. Glencore is worth $44 billion and Mistakidis held a 3.2% stake in the company, worth $1.4 billion at current prices, while Beard held a 2.5% stake worth $1.1 billion. Glasenberg is the largest shareholder of Glencore, with 8.8%, and built the firm from predominantly a trading house into a mining giant via its merger with Xstrata in 2012. He has said he may retire within the next three to five years. Glasenberg, 62, revealed his retirement plans a few months after news broke about U.S. investigations into Glencore. Last July, Glencore said it had received a subpoena from the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting documents and records on compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering statutes. A previous U.S. probe nearly destroyed Marc Rich in the 1980s when the United States accused the company of "trading with the enemy," Iran. It indicted Rich, who was pardoned years later by President Bill Clinton in 2001 during Clinton's last days in office. Rich died in 2013. Story continues Sources told Reuters the current DOJ investigation was focusing on the role of intermediaries and how they helped Glencore obtain contracts, including in oil trading. WIDENING PROBE In April, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission was also investigating whether the company and its units may have violated certain regulations through "corrupt practices." The company said that probe was at an early stage and had a scope similar to that of the DOJ investigation. Oxford-educated Beard joined Glencore in 1995 from BP, the biggest trading desk at that time, and became head of oil in 2007. He embarked on expanding the firm into upstream, something trading houses had rarely done before, but the venture into Chad and Equatorial Guinea led to writedowns of over $700 million. Glencore's traded oil volumes fluctuated between 4.5 and 6.0 million barrels per day in recent years - on par with rival Trafigura but behind the world's top trading house, Vitol. Last year, Glencore's volumes shrank 17% because of unfavorable market conditions. Sanna's trading division will continue to report to chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, but oil assets, previously under Beard, will be transitioned to Peter Freyberg, the head of industrial assets, Glencore said on Monday. Sanna, who studied economics in France, holds a master's degree in international trade from Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) * Recovery operation slowly restarting amid receding flood * South Korean divers join rescue * Boat stuck deeper, floods worse than initially thought * Another captain on Danube says he heard no radio warning (Adds police confirmation of eighth victim) By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST, June 3 (Reuters) - Divers brought up a body on Monday from the wreck of a tourist boat which sank last week in Budapest, and another body was pulled from the river 100 km downstream, identified by police as the eighth victim of the disaster. Twenty-eight people are presumed to have died when The Mermaid, a pleasure boat carrying 33 South Korean tourists and two Hungarian crew, capsized and sank after being hit by a cruise liner in the center of Budapest on Wednesday. South Korean and Hungarian divers worked as a team on Monday in an attempt to recover bodies from the wreck, the first day they have been able to approach it after currents and storm waters kept them away. Seven bodies were recovered on the night of the accident and seven Koreans were rescued alive. The authorities have said the other 21 people on board are all presumed to have been killed in the worst disaster on the Danube for more than half a century. Hungarian divers found a body in the morning during an exploratory dive at the wreck, and later in the day South Korean divers pulled it from the river, the Hungarian counter-terrorism unit TEK, which is in charge of the rescue, said in a statement. It released no further details. Police said another body found earlier on Monday near a village 115 km downriver from the capital had been identified as the eighth victim of the disaster. Authorities were still working to identify the body pulled from the river in Budapest. The Mermaid capsized after being struck from behind by a large cruise liner near a bridge in the center of Budapest in driving rain. After days in which Hungarian divers were unable to reach the wreck, South Korea sent its own recovery team which joined the operation on Monday. Story continues "We are cooperating with Korean colleagues; this is a joint operation now," Janos Hajdu, the chief of Hungary's TEK, told a news conference. The South Korean rescue team aims to recover bodies while the shipwreck is still on the river bed. The Hungarians say that is a possibility but they have also considered lifting the hull out of the water first. TEK's Hajdu said conditions had improved enough to launch several exploratory missions a day to the wreck but that entering it was potentially very dangerous. "If we find bodies we will do everything to respect funerary aspects," Hajdu said. Lifting the ship would be possible only once the waters subside enough for Hungary's largest crane to fit under Budapest's bridges and approach the site, he added. NO WARNING The Ukrainian captain of the Viking Sigyn cruise liner which collided with The Mermaid has been detained and faces a criminal investigation. He denies wrongdoing. Video footage from surveillance cameras show the bigger ship bearing down on the smaller vessel as they both pass under the bridge. A captain of another boat on duty nearby at the time of the accident told private news channel TV2 on Sunday that the captain of the cruise liner never radioed the smaller vessel. "We heard nothing of any kind of an attempted overtaking maneuver, warning, or danger signal on the radio," Zoltan Tolnay said. After the crash, the Ukrainian captain spoke on the radio in an unintelligible mix of Russian, English and German words, Tolnay said. "I only learned from a later Hungarian shipping statement that there had been a disaster," he added. (Additional reporting by Krisztina Than, Krisztina Fenyo and Fedja Grulovic, Editing by John Stonestreet and Ed Osmond) (Adds preliminary results for Puebla, paragraphs 1, 3-5) MEXICO CITY, June 3 (Reuters) - Mexico's president is expected to score comfortable wins in Sunday's state elections in the first test of his popularity since taking office, with preliminary results and an exit poll showing his party taking both governorships up for grabs. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's party was tipped for victory in the central state of Puebla and the northern state of Baja California despite a weak economy, rampant violence and troubled relations with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Lopez Obrador's National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) was ahead in the race for the governorship in Puebla. The National Electoral Institute reported that MORENA candidate Luis Miguel Geronimo won 42.5% of votes with just over half of the ballots counted, comfortably ahead of his nearest rival. MORENA was also seen winning the governorship in Baja California with between 53.8% and 57.2% of votes, according to an exit poll published by Consulta Mitofsky. Baja California has not reported preliminary results yet because of a two-hour time difference. Dozens of lesser seats were being contested in local elections across several states on Sunday but only those two states were voting for governors. Opinion polls had given Lopez Obrador's leftist party a commanding lead against a divided opposition in both states, even as clouds have gathered on the horizon because of a potentially calamitous trade row with Trump. Trump said on Thursday he would hit all Mexican exports to the United States with an escalating 5% tariff from June 10 unless Mexico stops a surge in illegal immigrants from Central America reaching the U.S. border. Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday she would meet U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday. The two governments will begin talks on the issue in the U.S. capital coming week. Around 80% of Mexico's exports go to the United States, giving Trump plenty of leverage to put pressure on Lopez Obrador. Story continues Lopez Obrador has repeatedly vowed to root out political corruption, which he says is a legacy of his adversaries' years in power, since assuming the presidency in October. Disheartened and disorganized, the opposition has yet to recover public trust in spite of concern about Lopez Obrador's economic management and his polarizing instincts. Indeed, some prominent figures from the main opposition parties have declared their support for MORENA. Lopez Obrador's fight against graft has yet to show tangible results, but the government this week began stepping up a major probe into suspected financial wrongdoing by a former boss of struggling state oil company Pemex. Still, the 65-year-old's efforts to run a tight budget have caused shortfalls in public services and helped prompt the first major resignation from his government last month. His abrupt decisions on economic policy and doubts about the future of Pemex have rattled financial markets. The economy contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter during the first quarter. Murders are on track to surpass last year's record of nearly 29,000, official data shows. (Reporting by Dave Graham Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher Editing by Daniel Wallis and Paul Tait) * Taiwan says China "telling lies" to cover up the truth * Taiwan president says human rights "oppressed" in China * Taiwan labels Chinese defense of crackdown "incredible" * Chinese paper says "noise" around incident is "in vain" * Tuesday marks 30 years since Tiananmen crackdown (Adds Chinese ministry comment) By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard TAIPEI/BEIJING, June 3 (Reuters) - China must "sincerely repent" for the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square three decades ago, Taiwan said on Monday, as a Chinese newspaper said nobody in China was interested in dragging up the past. Tuesday marks 30 years since Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led unrest. Chinese authorities ban any public commemoration of the event on the mainland and have never released a full death toll. Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand. "China has to sincerely repent for the June 4 incident and proactively push for democratic reforms," Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement likely to infuriate China. "We earnestly admonish the Chinese authorities to face up to the historical mistake, and sincerely apologize as soon as possible." The council said Beijing had been telling lies to cover up the events of 1989 and distorting the truth. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, asked about Taiwan's statement, said the great achievements since the People's Republic of China was founded 70 years ago "fully prove that the development path we have chosen is completely correct." China's widely read tabloid the Global Times said in a Monday editorial on the website of its English-language edition that June 4 had "immunized China against turmoil." "Merely afflicting China once, the incident has not become a long-term nightmare for the country," the paper, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said. Story continues "It has become a faded historical event, rather than an actual entanglement," it added, blasting dissidents and those outside the country who keep talking about it. "However, all these noises will have no real impact on Chinese society. The actions of the external forces are completely in vain." The far more well-read Chinese-language version of the paper did not carry the editorial. The newspaper has previously written about Tiananmen - in English - so the editorial is not unprecedented, but still rare as public discussion of the event is taboo in China. Beijing has increased government suppression of rights activism, pushing the demonstrators' original goals further away than ever. Democratic Taiwan tends to use the Tiananmen Square anniversary to criticize China and call for it to face up to what it did. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its sacred territory, to be taken back by force if necessary. 'OPPRESSED' Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said June 4, 1989, was a "historic turning point" for China, which had since taken a different path for democratic development. "Very unfortunately, although China had made progress in economic development in recent years, its human rights and freedom were still greatly oppressed," she said in a meeting with overseas rights activists. "We also care a lot about the development of democracy and human rights in mainland China, and hope China could walk toward that path," she was cited as saying in a statement from the Presidential Office. Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday defended Beijing's handling of Tiananmen, saying the government "was decisive in stopping the turbulence," a rare official acknowledgement of the events of June 4. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said such remarks in defense of the Chinese military's handling of the protests were "incredible." "It proves that them keeping saying 'Chinese people don't attack Chinese people' is a gargantuan lie." China has been ramping up the pressure on Taiwan, which holds presidential elections in January, whittling away at its few remaining diplomatic allies and regularly sending air force jets close to the island. Beijing suspects Tsai and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party of pushing formal independence for Taiwan, a red line for China. Tsai repeatedly says she wants to maintain the status quo but vows to defend the island's democracy. China's defense minister, also speaking on Sunday, said the military would fight "if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China." Taiwan's defense ministry labeled Wei's remarks "bellicose" and a clear threat to peace and security. (Reporting By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Fabian Hamacher in TAIPEI and Michael Martina in BEIJING; Editing by Joseph Radford, Robert Birsel) Photo: Jungle Bird/Yelp If you're interested in new New York City cocktail bars, consider dropping into one of these spots. Jungle Bird 174 8th Ave., Chelsea Photo: jungle bird/Yelp Jungle Bird serves a draft version of its namesake cocktail, the Jungle Bird. It's a tropical, rum-based drink that can be ordered by the glass or for the table. According to its website, "Jungle Bird is a cocktail destination with a food menu to match. Both our food and drinks focus on bright, fresh flavors and colorful ingredients, all served in a welcoming setting." Jungle Bird's current Yelp rating of 3.5 stars out of three reviews indicates the newcomer is finding its way, but it's still early days. Yelper Mike C., who reviewed Jungle Bird on May 20, wrote, "This is a nice, new bar with a great food menu of mostly small snacks." Jungle Bird is open from 3 p.m.2 a.m. on Sunday-Wednesday and from 3 p.m.3 a.m. on Thursday-Saturday. The Social 37-06 30th Ave., Astoria Photo: the social/Yelp The Social is a cocktail bar and New American spot, offering tapas and more. The business specializes in craft cocktails and "international tapas," with flavors from Asian, American, Italian, Latin and Mediterranean cuisines. Be sure to check out the truffle macaroni and cheese and the East Side cocktail. The Social currently holds 4.5 stars out of 15 reviews on Yelp, indicating good reviews. Yelper Austin W., who reviewed The Social on May 20, wrote, "Tonight was my first time at The Social, and I have to say, I was very impressed. I liked the aesthetic of the space and appreciated the outdoor seating option." Yelper Christina C. wrote, "Great new addition to 30th Avenue! I've been here three times already and have tried just about every drink and food item on the menu, and I must say, everything was beyond my expectations." The Social is open from 4 p.m.3 a.m. on Monday-Thursday and from 11 a.m.3 a.m. on Friday-Sunday. Casa Bocado 341 Broome St., Little Italy Photo: casa bocado/Yelp Casa Bocado is a cocktail bar and Mexican and Latin American spot. Story continues This new business offers an array of tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails and about 80 different kinds of tequila. For drinkers with an appetite, the menu features fresh Mexican favorites like ceviche and tacos. With a 3.5-star Yelp rating out of four reviews on Yelp, Casa Bocado has been finding its way, but it's still early days. Yelper Mel L., who was one of the first users to visit Casa Bocado on May 12, wrote, "Came here for an early dinner and had a great time. The decor is beautiful, and the vibe is amazing. It's good for groups, but also still intimate enough for a date." Ella B. noted, "I'm always down for places that are dog-friendly. The food was great and the service was fast." Casa Bocado is open from 4 p.m.midnight on Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.midnight on Saturday and 11 a.m.8 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) Mama Tried 147 27th St., Sunset Park Photo: emily d./Yelp Mama Tried serves up specialty cocktails, as well as beer and wine, in a laid-back, hip setting. Try the Granny Daisy, a tequila-based drink or a Leroy Brown, made with rye, rum and vermouth. Be sure to check out the free jukebox. The bar's current rating of 4.5 stars out of 13 reviews on Yelp indicates positive attention from users. Yelper Zoe J., who reviewed Mama Tried on May 16, wrote, "This place has the coolest old-school vibe. Your Instagram will never be the same." Emily D. noted, "I love the retro diner vibe it's fresh and cool with lots of natural light flowing in on a sunny day." Mama Tried is open from 5 p.m.midnight on Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m.10 p.m. on Sunday. Bunton's World Famous 1005 Broadway, Bushwick Photo: bunton's world famous/Yelp Bunton's World Famous is a lounge and cocktail bar. According to its website, "Brooklyns Buntons World Famous will attempt to recapture the anything-goes spirit of the 90s club scene." The cocktail list features fun, throw-back party drinks like daiquiris and hurricanes.Sip on a Monsoon, made with rum, passion fruit, curacao, tropical juices and absinthe. Bunton's World Famous' current Yelp rating of five stars out of six reviews indicates positive attention from users. Yelper Renee C., who reviewed Bunton's World Famous on March 15, wrote, "I really like this new bar! It just opened a month ago, and they have really great drinks and ambiance." Beth K. noted, "Confession: I have dreams about their frozen pina colada. It's truly incredible. They have a quiet outdoor patio. This spot has a cool vibe." Bunton's World Famous is open from 4 p.m.4 a.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m.4 a.m. on weekends. 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. Georgetown Waterfront Park. | Photo: PrincessCandyEmpire S./Yelp Looking to mix things up this week? From a film festival to fitness series, here are a few top options to help you get out and about in the days ahead. 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. EuroAsia Shorts 2019: The Philippines and Germany From the event description: EuroAsia Shorts Film Festival 2019 proudly presents an annual week of short films from Europe, Asia and the United States, screened at embassies and cultural centers throughout Washington, D.C. Every night includes a cultural Q&A and discussion with experts, and several nights include special reception events! Join an international cinematic dialogue that is uniquely Washingtonian. For a full overview of the festival, visit www.EuroAsiaShorts.com. When: Tuesday, June 4, 6:308 p.m. Where: Goethe-Institut Washington, 1990 K St. NW, #03 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets DowntownDC & Shaolin Jazz Present Can I Kick It?: Into the Spider-Verse From the event description: Every Tuesday June 4July 9 at sunset, Freedom Plaza (13th & Pennsylvania) will be transformed into an outdoor movie theater featuring CAN I KICK IT? a multimedia movie screening engagement brought to you by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) and produced by SHAOLIN JAZZ. This year, each event features a Marvel film that is scored with an original music soundtrack of hip-hop, soul, and more mixed live by DJ 2-Tone Jones. Come early to snag limited prime seating provided by DowntownDC, see a martial arts demo, groove to a live DJ set, play outdoor games and win DowntownDC swag. Complimentary popcorn will be available, while supplies last, from Pret A Manger. When: Tuesday, June 4, 7:3011 p.m. Where: Freedom Plaza Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Georgetown's 2019 Sunset Fitness in the Park: Free Outdoor Fitness Series Story continues From the event description: Join the Georgetown Business Improvement District for Sunset Fitness in the Park, FREE one-hour outdoor fitness classes in the beautiful Georgetown Waterfront Park. Each class is hosted by a Georgetown fitness apparel store, yoga, barre or Pilates studio, and the events are all summer long! For more information about the Georgetown BID and all things in Georgetown, visit the BIDs official website at www.georgetowndc.com. When: Every Wednesday from 67 p.m. from June 5 to Aug. 28. Where: Georgetown Waterfront Park, Water Street NW Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets Traditional Indigo Dyeing Technique Today with Rowland Ricketts From the event description: Lecture Traditional Indigo Dyeing Technique Today with Rowland Ricketts. Presented by the Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan. Join us at the JICC for the third lecture in the series of lectures held in conjunction with our current exhibition, "Indigo Threads /: Weaving Japanese Craftsmanship & American Heritage." Contemporary consumer culture often values product over process, championing final objects over the actions that lead to their existence. In this lecture, Ricketts will explain the process of Japanese indigo from seed to dye and talk about how that process informs his work as an artist and dyer. When: Wednesday, June 5, 6:308 p.m. Where: Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, 1150 18th St. NW, Suite 100 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets The Future of U.S.-Africa Relations: A Conversation with Assistant Secretary of State Tibor Nagy From the event description: Hudson Institute will host Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy for a discussion on the future of U.S.-Africa relations. Ambassador Nagy will offer keynote remarks on the Trump administrations new Africa Strategy, which seeks to advance prosperity, security and stability on a continent projected to double in population by 2050, with the majority under the age of 25. The ambassador will then join Hudson President Ken Weinstein for a one-on-one discussion on the complex nature of U.S. engagement with Africa and the challenges and opportunities ahead for U.S.-Africa relations. The event will conclude with a panel moderated by Hudson Fellow Blaise Misztal. Panelists will focus on the intersection of political change and geopolitical competition in Africa. When: Thursday, June 6, 11:30 a.m.1:30 p.m. Where: Hudson Institute, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Suite 400 Admission: Free Click here for more details, and to get your tickets This story was created automatically using local event data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Some pet investments perform better than others. Animal owners continue to spend money for their companions whether it's for food, medicine or veterinary care. Since 1994, the pet industry has consistently risen with expenditures topping out at $72.56 billion last year, according to the American Pet Products Association. APPA estimates that the industry will climb to $75.38 billion this year. "There are more opportunities in the pet industry than many investors may realize," says Rich Messina, a senior vice president at E-Trade Financial, a New York-based brokerage company. Here are seven ways to invest in the pet industry, ranging from stocks to a handful of exchange-traded and mutual funds. Merck & Co. (ticker: MRK) Merck, the global pharmaceuticals, vaccines and animal health company that generated revenue of about $42.3 billion in 2018, has a large pet division with sales of $4.2 billion in 2018 from farm animals to pets. The company's stock has a 52-week low of $58.52 and a 52-week high of $83.85, with a dividend yield of 2.77%. Merck also participates in a dividend reinvestment plans, known as DRIPs, for automatic investment. The stock was upgraded in May by Atlantic Equities' analyst Steve Chesney to overweight because the company is well-positioned to continue its growth and is "insulated from trade-related volatility." CVS Health (CVS) A health care company, CVS also sells pet foods, toys and grooming tools in its retail stores and online. The drugstore chain and pharmacy benefit manager company reported its 2018 total revenue rose by 5.3% to $194.6 billion. The company's 52-week range of its stock is $51.77 to $82.15 and provides a dividend yield of 3.5%. CVS acquired Aetna, a health insurance company, for $69 billion in 2018. CFRA analyst Kevin Huang rates the stock as a "strong buy" and wrote in a May 29 report that the shares are undervalued. His price target is $77 and anticipates that 2019 sales increase to $252 due to its acquisition of Aetna. Story continues ProShares Pet Care ETF (PAWZ) The ProShares Pet Care ETF has "not caught on with the investing public," says Len Rosenthal, a finance professor at Bentley University. Launched in November 2018, the ETF has 25 assets ranging from pharmaceutical companies to retailers. The return has been a paltry 2.3% since its inception, but the fund is only a few months old. Investors may not be aware of this new fund yet. This ETF is not popular in terms of trade volume, with the average daily volume trading at nearly 7,000 shares since its inception. The expense ratio is 0.5%, but due to it low trading volume, the fund's fees increase to about 0.69%. Tractor Supply (TSCO) Tractor Supply sells supplies and products to recreational farmers, ranchers, animal and pet owners. In 2018, the company reported more than $7 billion in sales from about 1,700 stores in 49 states. Tractor Supply Company also owns Petsense, a small-box pet specialty supply retailer. As of March, the company operated 176 Petsense stores in 26 states. TSCO's shares have ranged from $73.46 to $107.98 in the past 52 weeks. Credit Suisse analyst Seth Sigman has a neutral rating with a price target of $105. In his May report, he says the company is "one of the most unique profit growers right now ... but it is still not cheap, which ultimately keeps us on the sidelines." Gabelli Pet Parents' Fund (PETZX) PETZX, which was launched in April and invests in companion animal food, veterinary pharmaceuticals, therapeutics, diagnostics and pet supplies. Before investors dive into thematic ETFs or niche funds, they should conduct research, Messina says. The return is a -1.16% with an expense ratio of 0.96%. "Niche funds can have higher expense ratios and some are simply just marketing gimmicks for the fund company with only seed money as assets under management," he says. "The number of investments that comprise the mutual fund or ETF can be pretty small, resulting in potentially significant swings in price and limited diversification compared to a broad market fund." PetMed Express (PETS) Founded in 1996, online pet pharmacy PetMed Express sells pet medications among other health products directly to consumers. Share prices of PetMed Express have ranged from $17.48 to $46.83 during the past 52 weeks, and it has a dividend yield of 6.07%. The stock has been rated "underperform" by Credit Suisse analyst Erin Wilson Wright. PETS is predicted to face more challenges from its competitors since reorder sales were weaker and new customers dipped by 10.6% in the last quarter, she wrote in a May report. The company's stock has declined by 7% year to date, suggesting that its margins were also affected by its aggressive discounts and promotions. Trupanion (TRUP) Trupanion, a pet health insurance provider, provides health insurance for cats and dogs. The company has a business segment that sells polices to companies that provide medical insurance for pets as a benefit to their employees. TRUP's shares have ranged from $22.38 to $46.70 during the past 52 weeks. Trupanion's earnings strength is "very negative," according to a May report by Ford Equity Research. The report says Trupanion's earnings have shown "strong deceleration in quarterly growth rates when adjusted for the volatility of earnings. This is an indication of weakness that could lead to declining earnings." Here are a few pet-related investments: -- Merck & Co. (MRK) -- CVS Health (CVS) -- ProShares Pet Care ETF (PAWZ) -- Tractor Supply (TSCO) -- Gabelli Pet Parents' Fund (PETZX) -- PetMed Express (PETS) -- Trupanion (TRUP) The United States, last week, said it would end India's preferential trade status, one that allowed duty-free exports worth about $5.6 billion. The move is a retaliation - the US stated that India had not assured that it would provide "equitable and reasonable access" to its markets. American companies in India have been resisting, among others, India's stance on data localisation. The draft National e-commerce Policy has many areas of concern. Multinationals, of course, have concerns around regulation of data flows but also around regulatory overreach on advertising and more disclosures. The draft policy, for instance, states that "advertising charges in e-commerce must be regulated, especially for small enterprises and start-ups" and that "it is important for the government to reserve its right to seek disclosure of source code and algorithms". Policy watchers think that the US has kept its powder dry. If India does not step back now, more retaliation could follow. In fact, it could end up damaging its most successful exports story - Information Technology (IT) and Information Technology-enabled Services (ITeS). Technology policy consultant Prasanto K Roy says that India has been testing the protectionism waters for a year now, and quite boldly, sharply tweaking e-commerce and data governance laws. "With data localisation, it has hit out at global payments companies via the regulator (RBI) which has taken an extreme position, demanding full localisation and disallowing even mirroring of financial data, while not stating clearly the purpose or outcome (thus depriving the industry of a chance to come up with suggestions or alternatives) - and now, virtually forcing companies to process Indian financial data on-soil (i.e. in India). This is particularly worrying from the point of view of our $137 billion IT-BPM exports industry, a quarter of which depends on processing US financial data," he says. "Given Trump's penchant for outsize retaliation via random morning tweets, it isn't unthinkable that the US government could also clamp down on processing US financial data outside the US, or even, specifically, block processing in India. Yes, that would hurt US companies, but not as much as it would hurt our IT-BPM industry," Roy says and adds that "this heady cocktail of protectionism and nationalism, backed by large Indian corporates for business reasons, is a slippery slope for a country that had chosen a leadership role in the global digital economy". Kazim Rizvi, Founding Editor of The Dialogue, a think tank, says that the Indian market continues to be very lucrative for US companies. Therefore, the US government could apply pressure through various means as much as possible instead of a direct large-scale retaliation. Nevertheless, in this age of protectionism and anti-globalisation, it could get difficult for Indian software companies to get American market access, going forward. Rizvi lists many areas in the draft e-commerce policy that will be a bone of contention for American companies such as Amazon and Flipkart, now owned by Walmart. Here are two: Cross-border data flows: Restricting the flow of data across borders can place unnecessary costs on business, he says. "It will isolate India's economic activity with the rest of the world and could also remove Indian data from global data sets, which could potentially harm India's Artificial Intelligence (AI) progress. IoT and interconnectivity is essential to realise the potential of fourth industrial revolution and the transformation it will bring to public services, such as transportation, healthcare, education, financial services etc," he says. Data localisation, he stresses, will bring down innovation and quality of service, increase cost and lower competitiveness of Indian firms globally. "The trend towards micro-services in service architecture and increasing distribution of data processing means that data localisation restrictions could result in companies choosing not to serve the Indian market or significantly reducing functionality of their services. Free flow of data across borders is paramount to keep improving the quality of digital products and services." India's hawkish approach to data localisation has to do with its thinking on digital sovereignty. India does not want to become a digital colony of either American or Chinese companies. Not just India, even Europe is increasingly worried about the powers of GAFA - Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon - the four American companies that deal with personal data. An Indian policy expert, who advocates localisation, recently explained to Business Today: "The world is now seeing weaponisation of the payments system. After 9/11, everyone started monitoring the payments system for terror. In the last 2-3 years, payments have become an actual tool for asserting power. Traditionally, the source of power was military. Then it was economic. Today, there is a third source, the digital platforms. GPS, payment systems, identity systems. The digital platforms can get weaponised. So, every country has to fight for digital sovereignty. If India's payments system is controlled by others, India is controlled by others. Any sanctions against India, in the future, could be around payments. Nobody likes the change. Therefore, you see an organised effort by all the US-affiliated trade bodies to thwart it. The US has a vested interest in making us a digital colony." Access and community data: The National E-Commerce Policy seeks sharing of anonymised community data or data that is collected by IoT devices installed in public spaces like traffic signals or automated entry gates. Kazim Rizvi thinks the concept of Community Data as envisaged under the draft policy is contrary to the way the present digital ecosystem works, where societal benefits merge with commercial business models based on the power of data. "To ask for insights without having made the investments into the technology, and without providing the services, would set a dangerous precedent for India in the future. If an organisation believes that other entities may have access to their data sets and insights developed over years of technological investment, it would send a discouraging and demotivating message that may hamper the spirit of innovation and competitiveness in the Indian market. It will be counter-productive for India's social and economic needs," he adds. BT Buzz: Why PM Modi's BIMSTEC invite is not mere neighbourhood handshake BT Buzz: IndiGo, SpiceJet stare at tough times with vicious fare war ahead Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. Unfortunately, high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed. Check out our latest analysis for Sydney Airport How Quickly Is Sydney Airport Increasing Earnings Per Share? If you believe that markets are even vaguely efficient, then over the long term you'd expect a company's share price to follow its earnings per share (EPS). That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. We can see that in the last three years Sydney Airport grew its EPS by 9.0% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained. One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Sydney Airport maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 6.8% to AU$1.6b. That's a real positive. You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart. ASX:SYD Income Statement, June 3rd 2019 While we live in the present moment at all times, there's no doubt in my mind that the future matters more than the past. So why not check this interactive chart depicting future EPS estimates, for Sydney Airport? Are Sydney Airport Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? Story continues Like standing at the lookout, surveying the horizon at sunrise, insider buying, for some investors, sparks joy. That's because insider buying often indicates that those closest to the company have confidence that the share price will perform well. However, small purchases are not always indicative of conviction, and insiders don't always get it right. Like a sturdy phalanx Sydney Airport insiders have stood united by refusing to sell shares over the last year. But my excitement comes from the AU$102k that Non-Executive Director Abigail Cleland spent buying shares (at an average price of about AU$6.79). Along with the insider buying, another encouraging sign for Sydney Airport is that insiders, as a group, have a considerable shareholding. Given insiders own a small fortune of shares, currently valued at AU$72m, they have plenty of motivation to push the business to succeed. This should keep them focused on creating long term value for shareholders. While insiders already own a significant amount of shares, and they have been buying more, the good news for ordinary shareholders does not stop there. The cherry on top is that the CEO, Geoff Culbert is paid comparatively modestly to CEOs at similar sized companies. For companies with market capitalizations over AU$12b, like Sydney Airport, the median CEO pay is around AU$5.3m. Sydney Airport offered total compensation worth AU$4.8m to its CEO in the year to December 2018. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies, and seems pretty reasonable to me. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. Does Sydney Airport Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist? One positive for Sydney Airport is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. On top of that, we've seen insiders buying shares even though they already own plenty. To me, that all makes it well worth a spot on your watchlist, as well as continuing research. Once you've identified a business you like, the next step is to consider what you think it's worth. And right now is your chance to view our exclusive discounted cashflow valuation of Sydney Airport. You might benefit from giving it a glance today. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. So if you like the sound of Sydney Airport, 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. Johannesburg (AFP) - An apartheid-era policeman accused of killing a South African activist 48 years ago lost his battle Monday to have a murder charge dropped, paving the way for a trial. Joao Rodrigues, 80, stands accused of murdering anti-apartheid campaigner Ahmed Timol in detention in 1971 when he worked for the police's infamous security branch that targeted the activities of people and parties working to bring about the fall of the apartheid regime. A campaign by Timol's family to get his alleged killers in the dock so long after the advent of democracy in 1994, is seen as a test case for families of other activist victims whose killers have not yet been brought to justice. The High Court in Johannesburg said there were no exceptional circumstances to "justify granting the radical and far-reaching" request by Rodrigues to have the case scrapped. "We had always known that the truth would be on our side," Timol's nephew Imtiaz Cajee told SABC television. "Today's judgement is not just a victory for Ahmed Timol, but for all the activists who died in police detention. "Apartheid-era perpetrators can no longer use the excuse of the time delay or like Rodrigues did, talking about his age." Under South African law, the statute of limitations that determines the maximum period of time that can lapse before a prosecution is initiated, does not apply to the crime of murder. Monday's ruling came nearly five decades after Timol fell to his death from the 10th floor of Johannesburg's police headquarters. The 29-year-old died five days after he was arrested in Johannesburg in October 1971. Police said at the time that he took his own life -- a claim endorsed by an inquest in 1972 but finally overturned by a court last year after a decades-long fight by his family. The landmark case revived painful memories of apartheid police brutality and led to new calls for justice for dozens of activists who died in police detention under white-minority rule. Story continues Monday's court ruling said the case compelled South Africa to "revisit our troubled past; examine what occurred there (and) recognise the need for reconciliation." Rodrigues has denied involvement in the killing, but admitted participating in covering up the crime. No trial date has been set. Mr Ratburn marries his partner, Patrick, in the 'Arthur' episode entitled 'Mr Ratburn and the Special Someone'. (Credit: PBS) A Methodist church in Alabama will host a free screening of an episode of Arthur featuring a same-sex wedding ceremony, which was banned by the states public television network. Alabama Public Television aired a re-run of the popular childrens show on 13 May, while the episode Mr Ratburn and the Special Someone was broadcast nationally. Now, however, the First United Methodist Church in Birmingham will broadcast the episode to an audience of all ages on 15 June, according to AL.com. Read more: Mr Ratburn comes out as gay The episode features the central characters learning that their teacher, Mr Ratburn, is due to get married and suspecting he is due to marry Patty - a stickler for discipline voiced by Jane Lynch. They eventually attend the wedding and learn that Patty is Mr Ratburns sister and that he is actually marrying Patrick - a male character. Title card for 'Arthur' episode 'Mr Ratburn and the Special Someone', which provoked controversy for its depiction of gay marriage. (Credit: PBS) Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at APT, said the channel was informed of the shows content before it aired and added: parents trust that their children can watch APT without their supervision. Arkansas Educational Television Network also refused to air the episode. Read more: Controversial TV episodes Rachel Morgan, creative director of Sidewalk Film Festival and Shout LGBTQ Film Festival, joined forces with the Birmingham church to organise the new screening. She said: The church frequently communicates to the community that they are an 'open place for all, and I think this event reflects that statement. Guests will even be able to enjoy a slice of wedding cake and a glass of sparkling apple juice. The episode was previously screened in May at an LGBTQ youth centre in Alabama. 'Arthur' books author and creator Marc Brown attends the Licensing International 2000 in New York City. (Photo by Stan Godlewski/Getty Images) More than 200 episodes of Arthur have aired since it first hit screens in 1996, making it second only to The Simpsons as the longest running animated series in the USA. Read more: Disney+ to launch with The Simpsons The show has depicted same-sex relationships before, with 2005 episode Sugartime! also pulled from air by several channels due to its depiction of lesbian couples. Story continues Creator Marc Brown told People that he is really proud of the new wedding episode. He added: I dont want children or people who are different to feel excluded. Thats not the kind of world we want to live in. Algiers (AFP) - An Algerian prosecutor requested Monday that a business tycoon linked to ousted leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika be sentenced to 18 months in prison for "forgery", according to an AFP correspondent. Ali Haddad, who owns Algeria's largest private construction company, has been detained since his arrest on March 31 while trying to cross into Tunisia, days before Bouteflika stepped down in the face of country-wide protests. He was carrying two passports -- which is forbidden under Algerian law -- and is also accused of carrying undeclared foreign currency. "This is a political trial, the charge of fraud has no (legal) basis," Haddad's lawyer Khaled Bourayou told the press. Speaking in an almost inaudible voice, Haddad denied any falsification and said he obtained his second passport "legally" after seeking an interview with then prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal. Hassane Boualem, then director of titles and secure documents at the interior ministry, appeared alongside Haddad in court on Monday, accused of issuing the second passport in 2016. The prosecutor asked Haddad be given 18 months in prison and a fine of 100,000 dinars (750 euros, $840), adding that Algerian law prohibits the possession of "more than one title or travel document of the same nature". He requested the same sentence for Boualem for issuing the passport "without an administrative record". Haddad is also being investigated over alleged corruption, his lawyer added. Described by Forbes as one of Algeria's wealthiest entrepreneurs, Haddad is widely perceived to have used his links to Bouteflika to build his business empire. Verdicts are expected on June 17, the court announced. American Express Removes Free Airport Lounge Meal Benefit From Platinum Cards A key benefit that comes with the American Express Platinum credit card is going away later this summer. On August 1, American Express Platinum cardholders that sign up for Priority Pass will no longer be able to use the latter membership to access airport restaurants for free meals. A spokesperson for Priority Pass owner Collinson confirmed the changes, which were first reported by the frequent flyer blog View from the Wing, saying American Express has taken the decision to remove access to non-lounge airport experiences from Priority Pass for its card members. Priority Pass is a network of airport lounges, restaurants, and other experiences that users can access through a paid annual membership. Annual fees range from $99 to $429, but many premium credit cards such as the American Express Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer it for free. Until recently, Priority Pass membership simply came with access to the broad network of airport lounges around the world, but over the last few years, the groups aspirations have grown to include granting access to all sorts of airport experiences. A big part of that strategy revolved around airport meals, where one could check into a restaurant at JFK, for example, and get $28 of meal credit instead of going to a proper lounge. Interviewed by Skift last year, Christopher Evans, joint CEO of Collinson, suggested that the airport of 2018 is very different to that of the early 90s now with more sophisticated dining options, spas, and increasingly experiential offerings. At the time Evans confirmed that Priority Pass was aggressively adding restaurants to its roster; as of last month, 28 restaurants around the world offer Priority Pass members some sort of meal credit. Now Priority Pass members who get access from their American Express card are getting the meal benefit taken away. According to Collinson, the move is a concerted decision from American Express to take focus away from restaurants and concentrate more on its partner lounges. Representatives from Collinson also stressed that Collinsons wider relationship with American Express is unaffected, and its card members will still have access to more than 1,200 airport lounges, as well as select sleeper suites across the world, via the Priority Pass membership benefit provided on their card. Indeed American Express has been aggressively expanding the reach of its lounge network around the world, including planned Centurion club openings in Charlotte, N.C., Denver, New York JFK, Los Angeles, and London. By cutting Priority Pass restaurants out of the picture, Amex can focus its efforts (and costs) on internal products. Airport restaurants, unfortunately, may have been too costly and complicated to support for the credit card. Subscribe to Skift newsletters covering the business of travel, restaurants, and wellness. Jolie and ex-husband Brad Pitt have been co-parenting their six kids since the super-famous couple called it quits in 2016. Jolie adopted her first child, Maddox, in 2002 from Cambodia. Three years later, she and Pitt adopted daughter Zahara from Ethiopia. In 2006, she gave birth to daughter Shiloh. A year later, they adopted a son, Pax, and in 2008 Jolie welcomed twins Knox and Vivienne. The celebrity mom has credited her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, now deceased, for influencing her parenting style: I talk to her often in my mind and try to think what she might say and how she might guide me. Bertrand died in 2007 from ovarian and breast cancer. Jolie has tried to keep her kids away from the media frenzy. Now that theyre older, theyre enjoying the spotlight. Were really such a unit. Nobody in my life has ever stood by me more, she said. Apple (AAPL) on Monday debuted its iOS 13 operating system for the iPhone. Unveiled at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, the latest version of iOS will feature updates to major apps including Messages, a new Dark Mode, and improved health tracking. There's plenty to look forward to in iOS 13, but these top features stood out from Apple's big show. Messages and Health updates Apple's Messages app is getting some key changes to help it better compete with popular messaging services like Facebook's (FB) WhatsApp. The improved version of Messages will now let you set a display name that people see when you send them a message. You'll also be able to set a profile image that shows up when you send someone a note. If you want a more personalized look, you can use a so-called Memoji as your image as well. SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 03: Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during the 2019 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 03, 2019 in San Jose, California. The WWDC runs through June 7. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Speaking of Memojis, Apple is adding accessories that let you customize your Memoji to look more like, well, you. You can add makeup, piercings, hats, glasses, and more. The Memojis and Memoji Stickers are accessible from your emoji tray in the Messages app. You can also use your Memojis in other apps like WeChat. Apple wants to keep more users in its own apps to ensure that consumers remain committed to the company's services. If your main messaging app is Messages, then you'll have one more reason to stick with Apple's products. If you're using a third-party app like WhatsApp, though, you may be more willing to leave Apple for a phone powered by Google's (GOOG, GOOGL) Android operating system. The iPhone maker is also bringing an updated version of its Health app to iOS 13. The new app will include features like female health tracking so users can better track their menstrual cycles. iOS after dark Apple is finally bringing one of the most requested features to iOS 13 with Dark Mode. True to its name, Dark Mode will make looking at your iPhone or iPad easier on the eyes. The feature is spread out across the operating system, and impacts everything from the wallpaper to Apple News, to widgets, Notes, Messages and Calendar and the keyboard. Story continues Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, U.S. June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Mason Trinca Speaking of the keyboard, Apple has added a swipe keyboard. You've previously been able to install swipe-able keyboards via third-party apps, but this is the first time Apple has rolled out a version of its own. Updates to Maps Apple is also rolling out updates to Maps. The company used its Apple Maps vehicles and planes to map more than 4 million miles. The result is a far more visually detailed Maps app. You'll also soon be able to favorites to the Maps home screen so you can select your favorite locations and get directions to them in one tap. A new binocular icon in the top right corner of the Maps app lets you open what Apple calls Look Around. Similar to Google's own Street View feature in Google Maps, Look Around lets you zoom in on points of the map and see exactly what it looks like to stand there in person. You can also tap on labels that pop up in front of shops in Look Around mode to get more information about them including hours of operation. Apple has also introduced built-in protections with iOS 13. The feature will let you choose to share your location with a third-party app just once so it isn't constantly keeping tabs on you. If you want to give an app continuous access to your location, though, iOS 13 will remind you those apps are tracking you. Apple is also killing the ability for third-party apps to track you via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi tracking. SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 03: Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during the 2019 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 03, 2019 in San Jose, California. The WWDC runs through June 7. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Performance and security upgrades Apple says that unlocking with Face ID in iOS 13 will be 30% faster. App downloads are also speeding up. Downloads will be 50% smaller and system updates 60% smaller, which means you'll be able to get them on your device much faster. What's more, app launch speeds are now twice as fast on iOS 13. Apple has also introduced a new feature called Sign In with Apple. It's designed to let you sign into third-party apps without sharing additional personal information. If you have to share your email address with an app, Apple will let you choose to hide it by forwarding the app a randomized email address that can be linked to your real address. The idea is to prevent your real email account from being tracked by third-party services. Home The Home app is also getting a major update with a focus on privacy. With HomeKit Secure Video, Apple is making it so that live videos from security cameras are analyzed on your personal devices in your home. Live videos have to be sent to the cloud in certain situations to offer features like object detection. But Apple says it will now perform the same tasks using your Apple TV or in-home iPad, so no one else can ever see your live video feed. You'll still be able to access your video on your own devices, but Apple says it will only be uploaded to your iCloud account and encrypted. The company says it will save 10 days of your last video feed that won't count against your iCloud storage limit. More from Dan: Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@oath.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn,YouTube, and reddit. Apple is enhancing the health and fitness features of its smartwatch, including adding a new app for tracking menstrual cycles. The new app will give users a simple, discrete way to visualize your cycle right on your wrist, Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apples vice president of health, said during the keynote address on Monday at the companys annual World Wide Developers Conference, known as WWDC. The app is similar to third-party menstrual tracking apps, but Apples will be pre-installed on all watches and will also be available as part of the Health app on iPhones. The sixth version of the software running on the Apple Watch, which will arrive for consumers in the fall, will also include a decibel meter to measure loud sounds and warn users about potential hearing damage. Protecting your hearing is critical to living your everyday life and maintaining your independence as you age, Desai said. In a nod to a recent controversy over Amazon saving some customer audio recordings via its Alexa devices, Desai said Apple does not record or save any audio. Apple has taken a commanding lead in the market for smart, wearable devices thanks in part to its focus on health and fitness features, one of the most popular feature areas for consumers. Apple aapl cant stand still, however, as rivals like Garmin grmn and Fitbit fit are also adding more features. In a nod to some of the more analytical features of its rivals, Apple said it was improving the trend reporting section of the watch software. The watch will now track trends in a users fitness and exercise over the prior 90 days and one year. The device will then prompt users to exercise more if their trends turn down. The Apple Watch is also getting some other new features, like an app store of its own. Watch users will be able to search for new apps and install them just on the wristno iPhone required. Apple also showed off several new watch faces, including one that will track the path of the sun and one with a large, digital numerical display. Archer Daniels Midland Company ADM witnesses softness across its Carbohydrate Solutions segment for a while now. Notably, decline in production volumes, higher manufacturing and logistics costs as well as lower ethanol margins and volumes are hurting the segments performance. Issues at the Decatur complex are added concerns. In first-quarter 2019, the Carbohydrate Solutions segment performed disappointingly as adverse weather in North America impacted results in Starches and Sweeteners, and Bio-products. Also, the Decatur complex was hurt due to a slowdown in corn deliveries. On the bottom-line front, the company posted earnings miss in the first quarter due to the ongoing China trade dispute and the tough ethanol industry environment apart from adverse winter weather in North America. This marked Archer Daniels second straight quarter of negative earnings surprise. Furthermore, management expects the residual effects of the severe weather conditions in North America to hurt the segments second-quarter results by nearly $10-$20 million. Excluding the weather-related impacts, results at the segment will be similar to or slightly below the prior-year quarters level. Consequently, shares of the company have lost 4.4% year to date compared with the industrys 5.2% decline. Strategic Endeavors Archer Daniels significant progress on its three strategic pillars including optimize, drive and growth appear encouraging. Progress on the optimize pillar is anchored by the rationalizing of its peanut and tree null selling footprint in the United States. Further, the company plans to close two of its century-old wheat flour mills in the Midwest, following the opening of a state-of-the-art facility in Mendota, IL, in the second half of 2019. In a bid to optimize its U.S. origination footprint, the company sold three grain elevators in Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma. The drive pillar is focused on company-wide process simplification initiatives, guided by the Readiness program. As a part of these efforts, the company has centralized its accounting, finance and other support resources. In 2019, it expects to reduce capital spending by 10% to $800-$900 million through the Readiness-based benefits to capital prioritization, project evaluation and project execution processes as well as its commitment to improve returns. As part of its growth initiatives, Archer Daniels continues to focus on investing in expansion and innovation. Moreover, management announced additional measures to strengthen the company, enhance its quarterly performances and create long-term value. Firstly, Archer Daniels expects to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, MN, so that it can produce higher volumes of food and starches. Secondly, it is creating an ethanol subsidiary, consisting of three ethanol dry mills. Lastly, the company is taking actions to boost agility, growth and customer service. Meanwhile, Archer Daniels remains on track with the Readiness goals of fortifying its business and standardizing functions. In fact, the companys strategic pillars for growth and the aforementioned initiatives are supported by the Readiness program, focused on accelerating and enhancing competitiveness. As of first-quarter 2019, the company has prioritized 650 Readiness initiatives, up from 525 in fourth-quarter 2018. This, in turn, is likely to generate run-rate benefits of about $1.2 billion by the end of 2020. Archer Daniels now estimates these initiatives to contribute about $250-$300 million synergies to the bottom line in 2019 compared with $200-$250 million anticipated earlier. Backed by these growth endeavors, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock is likely to pick momentum in the coming days. 3 Better-Ranked Consumer Staples Stocks Medifast, Inc. MED delivered average positive earnings surprise of 9.1% in the trailing four quarters. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Colgate-Palmolive Company CL pulled off average positive earnings surprise of 0.7% in the last four quarters and has a Zacks Rank #2. The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. CHEF, also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15%. Will you retire a millionaire? One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, 7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report MEDIFAST INC (MED) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. (CHEF) : Free Stock Analysis Report Colgate-Palmolive Company (CL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has made it to Modi's Cabinet 2.0. He is not only going to continue as the NSA for another five years, but has also been promoted to a Cabinet rank from the Minister of State rank in the government's previous term. Government sources told India Today that this promotion comes as a recognition of his work in the past five years. During his term India conducted two cross-border surgical strikes - the Indian Air Force's February 26 Balakot strike and the Indian Army's September 2016 retaliatory strikes post the Uri attack - and sorted out several delicate diplomatic issues including Doklam and the extradition operation of Christian Michel, the alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600-crore Choppergate scandal. He is also credited with planning key missions related to Myanmar and China. Before being appointed as India's fifth NSA in 2014, Doval spent three decades with the Intelligence Bureau and went on to retire as its director in 2005. As the NSA, he has not only emerged as the most powerful bureaucrat in the country but is also seen as one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's closest aides. The fact that he was elevated as the head of the Strategic Policy Group to assist the National Security Council and help with developing a long-term strategic defence review - a post earlier headed by the cabinet secretary - underlined his steep ascent in the power corridors. Doval's return for a second term puts the spotlight on the national security doctrine being worked upon by a committee that he heads. Also read: Future security challenges could be grave: NSA Doval Also read: Security and health services equally important for nation: Rajnath AstraZeneca AZN presented updated long-term data from the follow-up of phase III PACIFIC study, evaluating its PD-L1 inhibitor, Imfinzi, in unresectable, stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at the ongoing annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Please note that in 2018, Imfinzi was approved for the above-mentioned patient population based on PACIFIC study data in the United States, Europe and Japan. The latest data shows that more than half of the unresectable, stage III NSCLC patient population treated with Imfinzi was alive following three years of treatment. The overall survival rate (OS) was 57% for patients treated with Imfinzi compared with 43.5% for placebo. However, median OS for the Imfinzi arm is yet to be reached while the same for the placebo is 29.1 months. Moreover, the drug is the only immunotherapy to demonstrate overall survival at three years in this patient population. The primary analysis of the PACIFIC study data had shown that treatment with Imfinzi reduced the risk of death by 32% compared to placebo over two years in patients with unresectable, stage III NSCLC who had not progressed following concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Per the press release, previously 15% to 30% with unresectable, stage III NSCLC patients remained alive after five years of treatment. Notably, 57% of the patients remaining alive after three years of treatment with Imfinzi raises the bar for treatments in this curative-intent setting. The follow-up data shows that durable efficacy of Imfinzi treatment was nearly maintained in patients with 31% reduction in risk of death compared to placebo after an additional year following primary analysis. The safety and tolerability profile for Imfinzi also remained consistent with results reported at the time of the previous OS analysis. AstraZenecas shares have decreased 1.6% so far this year compared with the industrys decline of 2.3% in that period. Story continues Apart from the lung cancer indication, Imfinzi is also approved for second-line advanced bladder cancer. The company is also developing Imfinzi as monotherapy as well as combination therapy for treatment of NSCLC in first-line or adjuvant setting. The drug is also being developed for several other cancer indications including head and neck, gastric, pancreatic, hepatocellular and blood cancers. Meanwhile, competition is increasing in the cancer market especially in the lung cancer segment, due to its large patient population, with several approved PD-L1 inhibitors. Two key PD-L1 inhibitors available for treating multiple cancer indications include Bristol-Myers Squibb Companys BMY Opdivo and Merck & Co.s MRK Keytruda. Roches RHHBY PD-L1 inhibitor, Tecentriq, is also making significant inroads into the cancer market. AstraZeneca PLC Price AstraZeneca PLC Price AstraZeneca PLC price | AstraZeneca PLC Quote Zacks Rank AstraZeneca currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Will you retire a millionaire? One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, 7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Roche Holding AG (RHHBY) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Purple Bricks is an online estate agency founded in 2012. Photo: Mike Kemp/In PIctures via Getty Images German publishing group Axel Springer (SPR.DE) on Monday announced that it had doubled its stake in Purplebricks (PURP.L), just weeks after the online real estate agency pulled back on its international expansion plans. Axel Springer now holds 26.6% of the company, up from its previous 12.4% stake. It paid 1 per share, significantly lower than the 3.60 it had paid in March 2018. The publishing groups previous investment was supposed to help the company accelerate its overseas expansion. But the company last month ousted its CEO and announced that it would both pull out of Australia and scale back its ambitions in the US. The companys chairman, Paul Pindar, said the companys rate of geographic expansion was too rapid, and that the quality of execution had suffered. We have also made sub-optimal decisions in allocating capital. We will learn from these errors and will not make them again, he said. Purplebricks was founded in 2012 with the aim of disrupting the real estate market. It has no local branches, and charges an up-front fee for advertising properties and arranging viewings. The move also comes at a crucial time for Axel Springer. Last week, the publishing group said that its main shareholders were in talks with US investment group KKR to take the $5bn ($3.9bn) company private in order to pursue a long-term growth strategy. Romanian billionaire and bitcoin mining investor Frank Timis paid just $44 in taxes for 2017. Now the BBC claims he may have been pulling a fast one on the tax man. | Source: Cosmin Tomoiaga/YouTube (i), Shutterstock (ii). Image Edited by CCN. By CCN: Billionaire bitcoin mining investor Frank Timis ranks among Romanias wealthiest citizens and Britains richest residents. A blockbuster investigation into his personal finances reveals that, despite his life of staggering luxury, he paid less than $50 in income tax in 2017. Billionaire Bitcoin Mining Tycoon Gets Richer And Pays Barely Any Taxes frank timis tax evasion Billionaire bitcoin mining investor Frank Timis paid just $44 in taxes in 2017, raising questions about his suspicious financial footwork. | Source: Shutterstock A BBC report exposed Frank Timiss personal tax return from 2017, revealing that he had paid just 35.20 (around $44) in income tax, despite renting a 14,000-a-month penthouse and spending thousands dining in Londons finest restaurants. The billionaire, who has made a name in the crypto community by investing in bitcoin mining firm Argo Blockchain, claimed to have made hardly any income from his sprawling business empire. According to leaked documents, Timis received 670,000 in payments during 2017 from his offshore trust. The payments were originally designated as distributions, making them taxable under the law. However, just prior to submitting his return, Timis allegedly asked his trust to re-classify the distributions into untaxable loans. The plot thickened when the news organization contacted the man who ran the trust and helped Timis change the loans from distribution. Philip Caldwell was listed as chairman of the meeting that agreed to backdate the loans and alleviate Timiss tax burden. When asked by the BBC, Caldwell claims to have had no participation despite his signature being listed on the minutes. Instead, Caldwell says the meeting was faked. Read the full story on CCN.com. By Andrew MacAskill and Iona Serrapica LONDON (Reuters) - Seventy-five years ago, a young British sailor stood on the bridge of a warship, its gun barrels pointing out to the coast of France and watched the devastation being rained down on a country he wanted to liberate. Today, Richard Llewellyn, 93, is among the dwindling number of veterans of the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy an operation that turned the tide of World War Two and marked the beginning of the end of the conflict. The invasion of France is usually told as the story of brave, young men struggling across beaches and fighting their way inland. However, another battle unfolded at sea that day, between the Allied ships and the massive German coastal guns. Llewellyn describes the thunderous explosions rolling along the shore as every ship in the Allied fleet was blazing away. The enormous firepower sent shells pounding into the cliffs, churning earth, rock, and entire landscapes. All the while the German battery guns blasted back. The men on the boats could hear the scream of the shells as they passed overhead. The engines of the bombers above added to the concussion of noise. Dead bodies floated in the sea. Llewellyn compares the scene to watching a spectacular firework display. The warship guns belched out enormous orange balls of flames and mustard coloured smoke. Some of the battleships fired 16-inch shells, almost as heavy as a car, and so big they could be seen as they went past. "The noise was just unbelievable. One of the things that I remember afterwards more than anything else was the noise," said Llewellyn, who was 18 at the time, and a midshipman on HMS Ajax, which was a light cruiser in the British navy. "If you go to the cinema and you hear a lot of noise and gunfire and so on, it doesn't really register. But if you are actually there the whole air is vibrating all the time." The assault by almost 7,000 ships and landing craft along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coast remains the largest amphibious invasion in history. Story continues In the decades since, the invasion has become a touchstone for the leaders of Britain, the United States, France and other western countries who will gather in Normandy next month to invoke the heroism. The event will take place as the trans-Atlantic relationships that D-Day forged are fraying. Differences over military spending for the NATO alliance, disagreements over how to approach the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and Britain's decision to leave the European Union have raised tensions in the decades-old alliance. SEABORNE ASSAULT These concerns are a far cry from the epic mobilisation of military machinery and manpower that resulted in the invasion of France in 1944. Then, tens of thousands of men piled into ships and planes to cross the English Channel. Llewellyn, who has a white goatee and is smartly dressed in a navy jacket and beret for his interview on the HMS Belfast in London, is eloquent and perfectly recalls the events that day. He effortlessly climbs the ship's steep steps without help. He said the mood among the men as they crossed the sea was more anticipation than fear or tension. "It was exciting," he said. "We were far more patriotic in those days than we are now. We knew that the Germans had to be defeated and anything had to be done to make it possible." He dismisses the idea that people were praying or savouring their last meal as the invasion began. "We weren't Americans, I am afraid," he said with a chuckle. THE LUCKIEST SHOT Although only a teenager, his experiences living through the German bombardment of London, known as the Blitz, meant he was familiar with being bombed. On D-Day, Llewellyn's ship was engaged in a duel with German gun batteries, particularly those at Longues-sur-Mer, nestled high on the cliff tops, situated between where British and American troops were landing on the Gold and Omaha beaches. In what was perhaps one of the most accurate or luckiest shots of the war, his ship situated a few miles offshore, scored a direct hit, landing a heavy shell through the narrow slit of one of the fortifications. On the bridge of the ship, Llewellyn watched the invasion through binoculars as the haze of smoke shrouded the shore. "There were landing craft destroyed," he said. "They really met a hostile reception and you could see that and you could see the landing craft being hit by shells, there were a lot of fires." As his ship continued to shell the German positions it faced its own threat from mines, shelling, and the Luftwaffe, the German air force. At one point, a German plane dropped a bomb that landed just a few metres from his boat. The explosion winded him and sent the ship violently swaying from side to side. Was it terrifying? "I suppose it was in a way," he said with typical understatement. Llewellyn survived the onslaught and the Allies conquered the coastline. He plans to attend the D-Day anniversary in Normandy next month. He has been back several times and says it is an emotional experience, particularly visiting the graveyards. But he also feels guilty about the destruction caused to France, particularly as the navy began firing shells at targets further inland, some of which fell in nearby villages. "The ordinary citizens come up and say how grateful they are. I found that quite difficult to take actually. I dont feel that we had done anything special, especially for them," he said. "Their homes were knocked down by shells and troops. Unfortunately, war leaves a lot of destruction." (Editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Washington (AFP) - Boeing announced Sunday that some of its medium-haul 737s, including the 737 MAX 8, could have a defective wing part, but that there had been no reports of flight issues linked to the defect. The American aviation giant, which has been rocked by an unprecedented crisis after its entire 737 MAX 8 fleet was grounded in mid-March, said a subcontractor informed it of problems with a batch of a part involved in deploying the wings' leading edge. The leading edge of an aircraft is key to takeoff and landing because it is meant to improve the wing's drag and therefore the jet's aerodynamics. Boeing said in a statement that it had relayed the defective lot number to aircraft owners so they can inspect the parts in question. If operators find the defective parts on their aircraft, they should replace them before putting the plane back in service, the company said. "This is a device considered critical because if the leading edge slats don't deploy symmetrically, there could be a lift differential that can be dangerous especially on takeoff and landing," one aeronautics expert told AFP on condition of anonymity. The planes were grounded after a combined 346 people died in two deadly crashes, the first in Indonesia in October followed by one in Ethiopia in March. Long considered a "gold standard" internationally, the US Federal Aviation Administration's reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of its oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the MAX. Boeing is working on a software fix that will allow the MAX 8 to begin flying again, but differences have arisen between the United States and Canada on how to train pilots on the software after the update. Washington believes training on computers or tablets is sufficient for seasoned pilots, but Ottawa wants to require training on flight simulators. Photo: Egg Tuck/Yelp A new breakfast and brunch spot has opened its doors in the neighborhood. The new addition to Hollywood, called Egg Tuck, is located at 7131 W. Sunset Blvd., Unit B. The newcomer with an additional outlet in Koreatown features just five sandwiches ranging from simple to ornate, Eater LA reports, each served on house-made brioche buns with quality ingredients. Come try traditional offerings with ham and cheese; or indulge in more "fanciful" items like the Royal West with beef short ribs, an over-medium egg, grilled onions and more. Sides such as tater tots and fries are also on hand, along with caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverage options like orange juice and house cold-brew coffee. (You can view the full menu here.) With a 4.5-star rating out of 14 reviews on Yelp so far, the new arrival seems to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Tenyee W., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on May 11, wrote, "The smell and taste of the sandwiches were eggcellent! The bread was soft and had a slightly sweet taste, which matched well with the rest of the ingredients. The eggs were fully-loaded in the sandwich soft and creamy!" "The employees are really nice and there is a good vibe overall," added Yelper Andrew F. "Looks like a takeout spot, but they got a few stools to sit on. Order the Royal West. It was so good. The meat was phenomenal!" Intrigued? Stop in to try it for yourself. Egg Tuck is open from 8 a.m.4 p.m. on Thursday-Sunday. (It's closed on 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. ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistani state-run media says British Airways has resumed flights to the South Asian country, over a decade after they were suspended in the wake of a truck bombing of a hotel in the capital, which killed dozens. Flights three times a week between London and Islamabad began Monday, just ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. State-run Pakistan Television says Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar and other officials greeted passengers on their arrival at the airport. Thomas Drew, Britain's top diplomat in Pakistan, was also present. British Airways suspended its operations shortly after the Sept. 20, 2008, terrorist bombing devastated the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, killing at least 54 people and wounding 270. The head of Germanys central bank has said central bank digital currencies could destabilize financial systems and worsen bank runs. In a speech at the opening of the Bundesbank Symposium in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 29, Deutsche Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann said the widespread use of digital central bank money could have serious consequences and should not be introduced without being well thought through. For one, Weidmann predicted, easy access to digital money could exacerbate bank runs in times of crises. Japan Hardens Rules for Cryptocurrency Storage and Trading He said: In a crisis, financial stability may be more vulnerable than it is today, with digital central bank money very liquid and secure investment alternative. Therefore, both escape to safety in general and a digital bank run in particular could take place faster and to a greater extent than in the past. Further, demand for CBDCs could be greater or more volatile than that for cash, with corresponding effects on the central banks balance sheet. And, even in the good times, a CBDC could bring a fundamental shift in the business models of banks, as well as in intermediation of the financial markets, he said. Australian Securities Watchdog Updates Guidance on ICOs and Crypto Assets The central bank chief concluded those thoughts by saying: I see ourselves [the Bundesbank] as having the duty to offer citizens modern, fast and also internet-enabled means of payment. The idea is to develop solutions that are up to date with the latest technology without incurring unnecessary risks to financial stability. The carelessness of Epimetheus and Pandora urges us to be careful, he added. In the same speech, Weidmann shared details of a joint project between the German central bank and stock exchange operator Deutsche Borse on the use of blockchain technology for the settlement of cash and securities. The blockchain solutions did not perform better in every way, while the process took a little longer and resulted in relatively high computational costs, he said. Story continues Similar experiences have been made elsewhere in the financial sector. Despite numerous tests of blockchain-based prototypes, a real breakthrough in application is missing so far, he said. Weidmanns remarks comes as a growing number of global central banks are investigating blockchain and distributed ledger technology. An April report from the World Economic Forum showed that more 40 central banks worldwide are experimenting with the technology. Jens Weidmann image via Wikimedia Commons Related Stories Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that DTC buses and the Delhi Metro will be free for women in the national capital. Kejriwal said the Delhi government would bear the expense, which would approximately be Rs 1,600 crore for the year. The decision has been taken keeping the safety of women in mind, he added. "The safety of women is the most important for the AAP government. Keeping in mind the safety of women, the government has decided that in Delhi all Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and cluster buses and the Delhi Metro will be free for women so that maximum number of women can use public transport. Public transport is said to be safest for women. Due to the increase in metro prices, they are not being able to use these services," Kejriwal said while addressing a press conference. Kejriwal emphasised that the Delhi government would not need permission from the centre. "We don't need the Centre's permission for this. The Delhi government will bear the cost. The cost for the remaining six months will be ?700-800 crore," Kejriwal added. Kejriwal said it would take about three months for the rollout of the scheme. "Women who can afford it can continue to buy tickets. I have given officers one week's time to come up with a detailed proposal. Our aim is to implement this in two-three months. We want suggestions from the public on how we can best implement this," Kejriwal said. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot has conducted a meeting with the senior officials of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to discuss the plan. Gehlot asked the officials of DMRC to submit a proposal and to look into the technicalities of the plan regarding free travel for women. Earlier, Manish Sisodia, Deputy CM of Delhi, had said that "AAP government could reduce Metro fares by 25-30 percent if it is given full control over Delhi Metro Rail Corporation". (Edited by: Nehal Solanki) Also read: Noida Metro cards sale dip, commuters blame lack of seamless connectivity, high fare Also read: Delhi govt proposes to make metro and bus travel free for women in the national capital: Kejriwal ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) A Lebanese-American businessman who worked to advance Saudi Arabia's agenda to the Trump administration and who later provided grand jury testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller about his efforts to connect a Russian banker to members of Trump's transition team has been arrested on charges of transporting a dozen images of child pornography and bestiality. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia announced that George Nader, 60, was arrested Monday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The charges were initially filed in April 2018 but were not made public until his arrest. Nader's name shows up more than 100 times in Mueller's recently released report. The report describes efforts by and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian banker close to President Vladimir Putin, to have Nader serve as a conduit between him and members of Trump's transition team. Nader's testimony to the grand jury came after he attended a December 2016 meeting at New York's Trump Tower with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi. A second meeting occurred a month later in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles and involved Nader, bin Zayed, former Blackwater boss Erik Prince and Dmitriev. According to the Mueller report, Dmitriev expressed disappointment to Nader about the Seychelles meeting because he did not consider Prince to be an influential member of the Trump team. In April 2017 Nader working as an adviser to the United Arab Emirates, a close Saudi ally wired $2.5 million to a top Trump fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, through a company in Canada, The Associated Press reported last year. The goal was to persuade the U.S. to take a hard line against Qatar, a longtime American ally but now a bitter adversary of the UAE. Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak on Monday ordered Nader detained overnight after a federal prosecutor argued that he was a danger to the community and a risk of flight. A bail hearing for Nader is expected to resume Tuesday afternoon. Story continues An affidavit filed in support of the child porn charges against Nader says investigators found 12 separate videos after his phones were seized in January 2018 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia in connection with a search warrant, after he arrived on a flight from Dubai. The affidavit states that the search warrant, which remains under seal, was in connection with "another matter" unconnected to child pornography. The videos described in the affidavit show sexual contact involving animals, as well as videos in which children as young as 3 are shown enduring painful abuse. Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, declined to comment on whether the investigation of Nader spun off from Mueller's investigation. Calls to attorneys who represented Nader in connection with his grand jury testimony were not immediately returned Monday. Nader pleaded guilty to an identical charge in Virginia in 1991. He was also convicted in the Czech Republic by Prague's Municipal Court of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in 2003. ___ Associated Press reporter Tom Hays in New York City contributed to this story. Al-Swani (Libya) (AFP) - As meat sizzled on a barbeque in a Tripoli suburb, Libyan fighters defending the capital from a military offensive rested during "the calm before the storm" on the front lines. "We don't deprive ourselves of anything," said a fighter who travelled some 200 kilometres (120 miles) from the city of Misrata to join pro-government forces. He snapped a photo for his daughter "who wants to know tonight's menu", as the men prepared to tuck into stuffed pigeons and grilled meat. At a farm in the suburb of Al-Swani, 25 kilometres south of Tripoli, preparations to break the daily Ramadan fast were relaxed despite air strikes a few hundred metres away. "But it's the calm before the storm," said Hamza al-Hsan, a commander of Misrata's Battalion 166. The armed group is one of many to join the battle on the side of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA), after eastern commander Khalifa Haftar launched his assault on the capital. Fierce clashes followed the launch of Haftar's offensive on April 4, but the fighting has become sporadic in the densely-populated southern suburbs. With pro-government forces successfully stopping Haftar from reaching the city centre, the front lines -- which stretch for more than 100 kilometres -- have been virtually frozen for weeks. "We are still in a position of defence. We were not ready for this war," said Hsan, claiming their adversary had been preparing for years. He said pro-GNA forces have so far been satisfied with their defensive positions, but will "soon" take an offensive stance. "We are getting organised and we are just beginning to use heavy weapons. (Victory) is a question of time," he said. Like many Misrata fighters, he is a veteran of the 2015 battle to drive the Islamic State group from the city of Sirte. "I had to finish that battle alone," said Hsan, after his father was killed and his brother Mohamad wounded fighting the jihadists. Story continues Mohamad returned to the front lines, this time in Tripoli to face Haftar's forces, only to be wounded again days ago. "We have lost those who are dear to us. Others are still feeling the consequences of the war against IS," said Hsan, drinking tea among fellow fighters. And yet "lately Haftar says he's come to fight terrorists", he added. - 'Below zero' morale - Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) overran swathes of the country's south earlier this year in a bid to combat what he deemed to be "terrorists", taking over remote oil fields and oasis cities. Turning his attention to Tripoli, the strongman vowed to "cleanse" the capital of "terrorists and mercenaries". But critics accuse Haftar of wanting to take power by force. "Despite his propaganda, Haftar can't hold on for a long time," more than 1,000 kilometres from his bases in eastern Benghazi, said Hsan. "The longer the war lasts, the more it will be to our advantage," he added. Ibrahim Riadh, a 35-year-old fighter in charge of reconnaissance, said his group has experience on their side. Armed with just two amateur drones, he said he is able to gather detailed information on enemy positions -- as he did during the fight against IS. "Haftar thought that Tripoli would be easy. He forgot a very important element: the men he's up against fought for eight months against IS, whose fighters have the most fierce reputation," said Riadh. The morale of Haftar's forces "is below zero. They have tried numerous times (to enter Tripoli) and have not succeeded." "It's like when you fail an exam four or five times," he remarked. While the GNA has allowed dozens of foreign media outlets to cover the fighting, no independent journalists have been given access by Haftar's forces. Instead, the LNA regularly posts images on social media. "We have nothing to hide," said one Battalion 166 fighter. "Why doesn't Haftar give access to the press? It's because he certainly has things that he doesn't want to show." Sitting on red cushions with food placed on carpets before them, the men turned their attention to the upcoming Eid al-Fitr festival which marks the end of Ramadan. Struggling to hide his emotion, Riadh said he was not worried about being away from his family "because I'm there to defend them". "I might not see the results of what we are doing today, but my children will," he said. Ottawa (AFP) - Canada announced Sunday it was temporarily shutting its embassy in Venezuela, blaming President Nicolas Maduro for refusing to accredit diplomats critical of his regime. At the same time, Ottawa is reviewing the status of Maduro envoys to Canada. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement that "the regime has taken steps to limit the ability of foreign embassies to function in Venezuela, particularly those advocating for the restoration of democracy" there. In January Canada, along with the United States and major Latin American powers, was among the first to recognize Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's claim to be acting president, beginning a months-long power struggle between him and Maduro. Soon, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela "will no longer be in a position to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and their visas will expire," Freeland said. "Therefore, we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the Embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately." More than 50 countries now recognize Guaido rather than leftist firebrand Maduro, who has presided over a crumbling economy and was re-elected in a ballot widely regarded as a sham. Freeland also said Canada is "evaluating the status of Venezuelan diplomats appointed by the Maduro regime to Canada." By Steve Scherer OTTAWA (Reuters) - The deaths in Canada of more than a thousand aboriginal women and girls in recent decades was a national genocide, a government inquiry into murdered and missing indigenous women concluded in a report on Monday. The 1,200-page report, which resulted from an inquiry launched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in 2016, blamed the violence on long-standing discrimination against indigenous people and Canada's failure to protect them. It also made sweeping recommendations to prevent future violence against indigenous women. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police revealed in 2014 that 1,017 aboriginal women had been murdered between 1980 and 2012. The inquiry, which was beset by delays and staff resignations, opened painful wounds as it heard testimony from 468 family members of missing or murdered women. "This colonialism, this discrimination and this genocide explains the high rates of violence against indigenous women, girls, 2SLGBTQQIA people," Marion Buller, the chief commissioner of the inquiry, said at a ceremony held to present the report. The 2SLGBTQQIA group refers to two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual people. "An absolute paradigm shift is required to dismantle colonialism in Canadian society. And this paradigm shift must come from all levels of government and public institutions," Buller said. The final report, called "Reclaiming Power and Place," was presented during an often emotional ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, near the Canadian capital, and was attended by some of the hundreds of family members of those missing or murdered, and by government officials including Trudeau. While aboriginal people account for only about 4 percent of Canada's population, they on average suffer from higher rates of crime, poverty and addiction. Danielle Ewenin, whose sister's mysterious death remains unresolved, said indigenous women live in fear. Story continues "Today, when I go somewhere, I'm afraid, and it's a fear that we all carry every day and you get so used to it that it's like it's part of you," she said in testimony included in the final report. "I have seven daughters and lots of granddaughters that I worry about constantly all day. I don't want them to become a statistic." 'LIVES ARE AT STAKE' Trudeau made Canada's reconciliation for its colonial past a major plank of his 2015 campaign, and he has apologized for some of the country's historical wrongs since taking office. Last month, he posthumously exonerated a Cree chief unjustly imprisoned for treason more than 130 years ago. "To the missing and murdered indigenous women and girls of Canada, to their families, and to survivors - we have failed you. But we will fail you no longer," Trudeau said, promising a national action plan to address the violence going forward. "To the survivors and families here today, and to those watching or listening at home, I want you to know that this report is not the end," he added. Perry Bellegarde, who heads the Assembly of First Nations, the umbrella group for the more than 600 aboriginal bands in Canada, urged immediate action on the back of the report. "Lives are at stake. We cannot wait any longer for real action and real results to ensure the respect, safety and security of all First Nations at risk, and these efforts must be in coordination with survivors and families," Bellegarde said. (Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Paul Simao) By Lin Taylor LONDON, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - About 80% of the world's biggest canned tuna brands do not know who caught their fish, putting workers in the industry at risk of exploitation and slavery, a human rights group said on Monday. Of 35 tuna companies and supermarkets surveyed by the UK-based Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), only 20% detailed their supply chains in the Pacific region, which provides 60% of the world's tuna, according to the World Bank. The report said only seven companies, including Bumble Bee Foods, Aldi Nord and Thai Union, the world's largest canned tuna company, disclosed their entire supply chains. Businesses are under increased pressure from both governments and consumers to disclose what actions they are taking to ensure their supply chains are free from slavery. "Modern slavery is endemic in the fishing industry, where the tuna supply chain is remote, complex and opaque," said BHRRC's Pacific researcher Amy Sinclair. "Yet despite years of shocking abuses being exposed, tuna companies are taking little action to protect workers," she said in a statement. As the demand for tuna grows - an industry worth about $42 billion - so does the risk of human rights abuses including labor exploitation, slavery and trafficking, BHRRC said. Thailand's multi billion-dollar seafood sector has come under fire in recent years after several investigations showed widespread slavery, trafficking and violence on fishing boats and in onshore food processing factories. Thai Union Group PCL in 2016 pledged to tackle potential labor abuse and overfishing, seeking to clean up the Thai seafood industry. BHRRC said most companies had failed to enforce their modern slavery policies throughout their supply chains, such as ensuring all subcontractors complied with their policies, or providing a complaints system to all workers down the chain. British supermarket Tesco, and American chains Walmart and Costco were among 15 companies that failed to respond to the survey conducted by BHRRC between last November and January. Story continues Tesco told the Thomson Reuters Foundation it did not intend to hide anything and had missed the BHRRC survey. "We are committed to being transparent about our actions to tackle modern slavery in our supply chains," a Tesco spokeswoman said in emailed comments. Tesco and Walmart said they were part of the Seafood Task Force, a coalition of businesses and charities that regularly audits fishing vessels to prevent human rights abuses. "Our approach to helping combat forced labor is to look at the root cause that goes across sectors. We appreciate the increasing need for transparency," a Walmart spokeswoman said. Costco did not respond to requests for comment. More than 40 million people are estimated to be trapped as slaves in forced labor and forced marriages, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) and human rights group Walk Free Foundation. Nearly 25 million work in factories, on construction sites, farms, fishing boats and as domestic or sex workers, says ILO. (Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking and slavery, property rights, social innovation, resilience and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories) Azaz (Syria) (AFP) - At least 19 people were killed Sunday in a car bomb near a bustling market and mosque in a rebel-held city in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said. Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, in the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor. "Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. Shoppers buying clothes and gifts ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday were among those killed, said Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital. He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives. "The emergency rooms were full, we placed corpses on the floor," he said. "It is a real catastrophe before the Eid al-Fitr holiday," which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, said Berro. An AFP photographer saw a large crowd gathering at the scene of the attack, charred vehicles dotting the side of the road. Rescue workers searched through mounds of rubble, looking for bodies, he said. Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion torched the neighbourhood. "The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out," he told AFP. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which came a day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa. Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres of northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of Islamic State jihadists while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region. Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs Syrian rebels serving as police officers. Associated Press Just before Thomas Randele died, his wife of nearly 40 years asked his golfing buddies and his co-workers from the dealerships where he sold cars to come by their home. For the past 50 years, he was a fugitive wanted in one of the largest bank robberies in Clevelands history, living in Boston under a new name he created six months after the heist in the summer of 1969. How he was able to leave behind one family and create a new life while evading a father and son from the U.S. Marshals Service who never gave up their hunt is just now being pieced together. What is to like: Stylish looking vehicle, compact proportions, fit and finish. Class leading connectivity options, exhaustive equipment list. Superior dual clutch transmission, sorted turbocharged petrol engine, aggressive pricing. What is not to like: Cramped rear seat, no space for fifth passenger. Turbocharged petrol engine is a guzzler. Feels less like an SUV compared to peers. ALSO READ:Hyundai Venue prices revealed: All you need to know It is arguably the biggest automotive launch in India this year. The Hyundai Venue, the Korean carmaker's maiden entry into the fast growing compact SUV segment, has got everybody excited. This is not a mean feat considering the doldrums the industry finds itself in today. Sales have declined for seven consecutive months now, the worst stretch in history, and the slowdown has scarred some of the recent launches. Can the Venue buck the trend? We managed to take the car out for a spin last week and here is our take on it. A looker by a mile From whichever angle you may look at it, the Venue is a good looking vehicle that is bound to turn heads at least in the first few months of it hitting the roads. In terms of dimensions it is actually the most compact vehicle in its class and it does not betray the fact in flesh. It has a bold proportionate face replete with dark chrome finish for the grille, which thankfully is not overdone, and the unique split headlamp set up. The projector headlamp and fog lamp is housed together in a rectangular cluster that is ring fenced by the day time running lights. We first saw this kind of a set up in the Tata Harrier earlier this year and in the Venue, it gives the car a quirky and sporty look. It is a new fad in the industry and expect this design element to be repeated in quite a few vehicles going forward. With 16" tyres embellished with diamond cut alloy wheels that is again becoming ubiquitous with premium SUVs in India, the car ticks all the boxes in aesthetics. The side profile will remind you of the bigger Creta in parts while the rear tail lamp cluster that has crystal like detailing in the LEDs also attracts attention. You read it here first if it reminds you of Volkswagen in any way. ALSO READ:Hyundai launches compact SUV Venue in India, price starts at Rs 6.5 lakh Fully loaded inside This segment has already seen some aggressive equipment loading in cars like the Nexon, which became India's first 5 star rated car, and the XUV3OO that comes with an astounding 7 airbags. Hyundai, which is renowned in this field, had its task cut out but it has delivered. The level of connectivity options in this car are one of its biggest USPs. The top variant of the car comes with features like electric sunroof, cruise control, automatic climate control, rear air-con vents, six-speaker sound system paired with an 8-inch touchscreen that is bundled with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It even has an air purifier inside the cabin. The high point is Hyundai's BlueLink tech which enables one to track the car in real-time, set location-based alerts (geofence) and start/stop, lock/unlock or even set the cabin temperature of the car using an in-house access controlled smartphone app. Alternately there are also three buttons on the rear view mirror panel inside the cabin that can be used for emergency road side assistance help. Hyundai's tracking feature means its call centre can send assistance to a stranded vehicle on a real time basis. In terms of safety features on offer are dual airbags, anti-lock brakes and ISOFIX child seat mounts as standard. The top variant gets side and curtain airbags and electronic stability control, vehicle stability management and hill assist control. Advanced petrol engine is powerful without being exhilarating All sub 4 metre cars in India are constrained by government's restriction on the size of the engine that can be plonked into them. As a result most small cars in India inadequately powered but the handicap is most felt in compact SUVs that are supposed to offer a more sporty ride. To overcome this, Hyundai has taken a leaf out of Ford's book and used a three cylinder turbocharged 1 litre petrol engine. This is over and above the 1.2 litre Kappa petrol and 1.4 litre U2 diesel engines that power a host of other Hyundai cars in India. It is the new engine mated to a 6 speed manual transmission that we laid our hands on. The engine is well matched on paper with its direct rivals but what gives Venue the edge is its low weight that makes it a sprightly performer. With a light clutch and steering set up and tall gear ratios, the car is a breeze to drive in the city. At the same time, it indulges the driver for a reasonable amount of fun when out on the highway. Be it straight-line high speed stability or cornering capabilities, the Venue did not disappoint on any aspect. In one line, we came back impressed by its performance, ride and handling but fell just short of being overwhelmed. When the metal is floored, it flies like a bullet but not quite a rocket. ALSO READ:2019 Hyundai Venue unveiled in India; check out price, features Sore points : Scores low on space and fuel economy Which brings us to the two sore points of the car-rear space and mileage. Venue is one of the narrowest cars in the segment which means the shoulder room for passengers at the rear seat is compromised. Given that all compact SUVs are basically based on hatchbacks, space at the backseat is at a premium for all cars in the segment. With the Venue, however, it is even more the case. While fitting in a third passenger in other cars is a squeeze, in the Venue it is akin to a punishment-you don't even get a rear head rest for the middle passenger. While the rear seats offer generous under thigh support, legroom itself is not copious. You may be particularly constrained if the passenger in front is a 6 footer. The other problem we encountered was that getting in and out of the rear seat was also not as easy as we expected it to be. Like in the case of the turbocharged ecoboost petrol engine of the EcoSport which has gained quite a reputation for its low mileage, the 1 litre turbocharged unit of the Venue also suffers from the same fate. While the engine is revv happy and eggs the driver to red line it, the fuel economy drops the moment the car is put to a sprint. Unlike the 18.27 kpl that the company claims, the best we got on the highway was a measly 10.2 kpl. A single digit figure in stop go traffic of the cities with the air conditioner at full blast, won't come as a surprise. Which in a way is a bit tragic. ALSO READ:Hyundai, Kia looking to locally manufacture electric cars in India Last word: Killer pricing ensures it's a winner all the way Of the many things that work in favour of the Venue, none works better than its killer price tag. At a starting price tag. At Rs 6.5 lakh for the base petrol variant, the car is a steal. On a like to like basis across every other variant as well, it offers a terrific package. Compact SUVs are generally bought by young urban consumers and the Venue is designed just for them. They will like the good looks of the car, the gizmos and gadgets inside and the range of smart connectivity options that are clearly not on offer on any other car in this segment. The engine is not flawless and the low mileage may put off a few from the turbocharged unit but Hyundai has covered the ground well by flanking that customer with the run off the mill 1.2 litre petrol or the hugely frugal 1.4 litre diesel engine options. There is something for everybody in the Venue and it would be tough to bet against it finding its way into your garage. The genetic mutation given to Chinese twins last year rendering them immune to the HIV virus may significantly reduce life expectancy, scientists said Monday in a fresh warning against human gene-editing. Chinese researcher He Jiankui last year provoked widespread outrage among doctors by unveiling the results of an experiment he conducted to alter the DNA of twin girls, prompting authorities in Beijing to announce a moratorium on the practice. He used a gene-editing tool known as Crispr to insert a mutated variant of a CCR5 gene -- known as Delta32 -- into the girls' chromosome at the embryo stage meaning they are now immune to the AIDS-causing HIV virus. But a new wide-ranging study of genetic make-up and death registry information suggests individuals carrying the D32 mutation face a 20-percent higher risk of early death compared with the global population. Researchers from the University of Berkeley California examined the health data of 409,000 people of British ancestry and looked at whether or not they possessed the mutation, which occurs naturally in around one percent of the population, and how and when they died. After correcting for the ages of those involved, they found those with the mutation were 21 percent more likely to die before the age of 76 than those who did not. They found that D32 possessors were significantly more likely to die from diseases that are far more common than HIV, notably influenza. "The cost of resistance to HIV may be increased susceptibility to other, and perhaps more common, diseases," the study's authors wrote. - 'We don't know enough' - The research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, doesn't explain why the mutation increases mortality risk, but the authors said there was a clear statistical trend that should discourage repeats of He's experiment. "Introduction of new or derived mutations in humans using Crispr technology... comes with considerable risk even if the mutations provide a perceived advantage," they said. Story continues China in November it said had ordered people involved in the twin experiment to halt their activities, ruling that it "seriously violates" national law and medical ethics. David Curtis, honorary Professor at University College London's Genetics Institute, said the new study provided a clear look at the possible unintended consequences of gene-editing in humans. "There are many other examples in medicine where an intervention intended to treat one condition inadvertently causes major unexpected problems elsewhere," said Curtis, who was not involved in the study. "This sends us a warning that we should be extremely cautious around the introduction of therapies involving modifying the genetic code." Robin Lovell-Badge, group leader at The Francis Crick Institute in London, added: "All this shows once more that He Jiankui was foolish to choose CCR5 to mutate in his attempts at germline genome editing. We simply do not yet know enough about the gene." BEIJING, June 3 (Reuters) - China will issue a warning about the risk of studying in the United States, the editor-in-chief of a widely read Chinese newspaper, the Global Times, said on Monday. "Based on information I received, China will issue a warning on the risk of studying in the U.S.," Hu Xijin wrote on his Twitter account in English. "This warning is a response to recent series of discriminatory measures the U.S. took against Chinese students and can also be seen as a response to the U.S.-initiated trade war." He did not elaborate. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard) Washington (AFP) - The United States has insisted it is committed to welcoming Chinese nationals for "legitimate" studies but acknowledged increased visa scrutiny after Beijing warned its students of risks. Amid an escalating trade war between the world's two largest economies, China's education ministry pointed to an uptick in visa denials and delays. It told students applying to US universities to brace themselves and "strengthen risk assessment." A decrease in Chinese students could be costly to the United States. China is by far the biggest source of international students on US campuses, with 360,000 attending last year. Many pay costly full tuition. The State Department said it had increased scrutiny after identifying a rising number of cases in which foreign intelligence services co-opt students during their time in the United States. "At the same time, we're committed to providing the highest quality service to legitimate travelers -- who constitute the overwhelming majority of our visa applicants -- so they can receive swift, thorough and clear decisions regarding their visa applications," a State Department spokeswoman said. "We welcome Chinese students and scholars to the United States to conduct legitimate academic activities," she said, saying that most applicants receive full five-year visas. Xu Yongji, deputy head of a department overseeing foreign academic exchanges at China's education ministry, said that visa denials have "damaged the dignity" of Chinese students and cast a "cold spell" over research collaborations and academic exchanges. From January to March, more than 1,350 Chinese students had applied for US student visas, but 182 were "unable to make the trip as planned" due to visa issues, accounting for 13.5 percent of all applicants, Xu told state broadcaster CCTV. Citing data from the China Scholarship Council, Xu said this was a marked increase from just over three percent of applicants who experienced visa issues in 2018. Story continues China's foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the US had been setting "unnecessary obstacles" to people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. - Major economic impact - Chinese students contributed $14 billion to the US economy in 2017, according to a trade group. India is the second largest source of students but the gap is significant, with fewer than 200,000 Indians studying in the United States. US complaints about technology and intellectual property theft by China have been a major bone of contention in the trade war between the two countries. FBI director Christopher Wray said in April that Beijing had used Chinese graduate students and researchers, among others, in its economic espionage efforts in the United States. "China has pioneered a societal approach to stealing innovation in any way it can from a wide array of businesses, universities and organisations," Wray said. "They're doing it through Chinese intelligence services, through state-owned enterprises, through ostensibly private companies, through graduate students and researchers, through a variety of actors all working on behalf of China." Last month, Republicans in the US Congress introduced legislation aimed at barring Chinese military scientists from obtaining visas to study or work in the United States. Obtaining a visa to travel to China can be an onerous process for tourists and especially for journalists, and they can be denied with little explanation. But as Chinese universities continue to rise in global rankings they have become attractive destinations for foreign students. There were over 492,000 foreign students from 196 countries studying in China in 2018, though the number of Americans fell from almost 24,000 in 2016 to around 21,000 last year, according to data from the education ministry. Huawei will sell its majority share in a submarine cable unit, the stake's buyer announced Monday, amid a US-led drive to isolate the Chinese telecom giant from global information networks over spying fears. US President Donald Trump has attacked Huawei in recent months, urging allies to boycott its products and blacklisting the Chinese firm from buying some US software. Undersea cables are vital to global internet traffic. The 51 percent stake in Huawei Marine Networks will be bought by Hengtong Optic-Electric, an optical-cable manufacturer based in eastern China's Jiangsu province, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Huawei Marine Networks is a joint venture between Huawei and UK-based undersea cable firm Global Marine Systems. Huawei Marine claims on its website to be involved in around 90 projects, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, totalling more than 50,000 kilometres (30,000 miles) of undersea cables. Washington suspects that Huawei, which was founded by former People's Liberation Army (PLA) engineer Ren Zhengfei, has ties to China's military and thus poses a security threat. The Trump administration warns that Huawei networks carrying data around the could be accessed and manipulated by Beijing using security backdoors built into the company's equipment. Huawei has repeatedly denied any connection to China's government or that it poses any security threat. Reached by AFP, a Huawei spokesperson said the company had no immediate comment on the status of Huawei Marine. Hengtong Optic-Electric's stock exchange filing said the company was purchasing the stake from Huawei Technologies Co, Huawei's corporate parent. Founded by Ren in 1987, Huawei has risen to become the world leader in telecom networking equipment and one of the top smartphone manufacturers alongside Samsung and Apple. But the US Commerce Department last month placed Huawei and dozens of affiliates on an "entity list" on grounds of national security, a move that curbs its access to US-made components it needs, though a 90-day reprieve was later issued. A number of countries have also blocked Huawei from working on their mobile networks and companies have stepped away from the firm following the US ban, citing legal requirements. By Sijia Jiang HONG KONG (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Co Ltd plans to sell its undersea telecom cable business, showed a buyer's filing on Monday, in its first major asset sale since the United States ratcheted up accusations of the Chinese firm being a vehicle for espionage. Hengtong Optic-Electric Co Ltd, an optical telecommunication network products company based in Jiangsu province, said in the filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it signed a letter of intent with Huawei Technologies subsidiary Huawei Tech Investment Co Ltd on May 31 to buy its 51% stake in Huawei Marine Systems Co Ltd via cash and share issuance. The filing did not disclose a price. Huawei Technologies declined to provide immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. The potential sale comes as Huawei's main business of making and selling telecom network equipment and smartphones is under intense global scrutiny as the United States works to persuade allies that Huawei's products pose a security risk. Huawei has said it would not cooperate with any Chinese state request to access its systems for intelligence purposes. Even so, the U.S. Commerce Department imposed a trade ban last month that threatens to significantly disrupt its supply chain. In March, The Wall Street Journal cited U.S. security officials as saying the suspected security risk extended to undersea cables built by Huawei Marine. Undersea cables are the backbone of global internet traffic. Huawei has been gaining share in the market dominated by U.S. firm SubCom, Japan's NEC Corp and Europe's Alcatel-Lucent, since Huawei Marine was established in 2008 as a joint venture with Britain's Global Marine. Huawei Marine has participated in 90 projects worldwide and built 50,361 kilometers (31,293 miles) of cables, its website showed, including a 6,000 km cable connecting Africa and South America for the first time completed in September last year. It booked 2018 net profit of 115 million yuan ($16.66 million) on revenue of 394 million yuan, according to Huawei Technologies' annual report. Story continues The annual report also showed Huawei Technologies gained majority voting rights on Huawei Marine's board in August 2018, with Global Marine retaining a 49% non-controlling interest. Global Marine did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Monday, and calls to its Asia-Pacific office in Singapore were not answered. According to exchange filings, Hengtong Optic-Electric's largest shareholder is privately owned Hengtong Group with a 15.66% stake. Hengtong Group's founder and owner Cui Genliang is the second-largest shareholder with 14.95%. Hengtong Group on its website said it is China's biggest solutions provider in fiber-optic networks and smart electricity grids, with over 70 subsidiaries at home and abroad, including Indonesia-listed cable maker PT Voksel Electric Tbk. Hengtong Optic-Electric booked 2018 net profit of 2.5 billion yuan on revenue of 33.9 billion yuan, according to its annual report. It has delivered over 10,000 kilometers of undersea cables, including for projects in Papua New Guinea, Chile, Bolivia and Mexico, the annual report showed. Trading of Hengtong Optic-Electric shares was suspended on Monday pending deal discussions. (Reporting by Sijia Jiang; Editing by Christopher Cushing) 20th Century Fox has today released the first trailer for Le Mans 66 and while everyone agrees James Mangolds motor racing drama looks absolutely brilliant its Christian Bales accent thats got people talking. Bale plays British-born driver Ken Miles in the film that charts the battle between Ford and Ferrari to claim victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. Miles, a native of Sutton Coldfield near Birmingham, speaks with a distinctly British accent - not a million miles from Bales natural accent - which seems to have confused a lot of people whove only ever heard the Dark Knight star talking with an American accent. Why is Christian Bale putting on a British accent in the new #FordvsFerrari film? one person asked on Twitter, referring to the film by its international title. Why is Christian Bale putting on a British accent in the new #FordvsFerrari film? A really bad one as well. World of Reviews (@_WorldofReviews) June 3, 2019 This movie will only work of Christian Bale can pull off an English accent https://t.co/04FtKE1PDA Andrew Hoffman (@AndrewHoffman11) June 3, 2019 A good reminder that I can still truly never tell what accent Christian Bale is doing. https://t.co/qc4KgRWkfS Tali Sason (@ItsTaliTime) June 3, 2019 (@lordbalvin/Twitter) Its not surprising so many have been confused, as Bales accent is nothing short of mercurial. Read more: Church of Satan hails Bale Born in Haverfordwest, Wales, but raised in England, Bale has said in the past: "I was born in Wales but I'm not Welsh I'm English". Story continues Matt Damon and Christian Bale in Le Mans 66 (20th Century Fox) I was born in Wales but I don't think I've got any ring of Welsh in my accent at all," he later added. Since his Hollywood breakthrough in 2000s American Psycho, Bale has tended to play Americans on screen, and often uses an American accent when being interviewed, or appearing at awards ceremonies. He says he dropped his native accent in a bid to break away from being cast in costume dramas after he kept being offered roles in a sort of billowing sleeve and vest period thing with floppy hair and stuff. Christian Bale as Ken Miles in Le Mans 66 (20th Century Fox) He added: Great, but thats not what I wanted to do for my whole life. But that was all that kept coming my way, but it was work, and in England it was no work. And so I said Ive really got to just be able to convince people Im American. Thats not the only thing Bale has changed for Le Mans 66. Having packed on 40lbs to play Dick Cheney in the Oscar-nominated Vice, Bale lost 50lbs to play the lean race car driver in the new film from the director of Logan. Read more: Christian Bales most extreme body transformations The actors weight loss was also a hot topic of conversation online. 1. christian bale had to lose 40+ lbs for this role after doing vice 2. christian bale isnt doing an american accent 3. christian bale https://t.co/JXc4XB8n5P hunter (@hntrcllns) June 3, 2019 I am happy Christian Bale is made a movie where he did not need to lose an unhealthy amount of weight or put or speak in a ridiculous accent. SomeDude (@MontyWoseley) June 3, 2019 Talking about Le Mans 66, which lands in UK cinemas on the awards-friendly 8 November, director James Mangold said: I love stories that take you to a time when we were a little less cautious: when we were first figuring out our relationship to technology, how we were going to make excellent tools and faster better contraptions based upon our instincts more than computer models. Now, weve become so corporate, liability-protected, computer simulated and risk averse its hard to imagine the same kind of discovery is even possible. The eccentric characters who pioneered racing, much like our astronauts and test pilots, put their lives on the line every day. British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale) and car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) (20th Century Fox) The cars were prototypes, one of a kind, and sometimes death traps, dawning-age beasts so powerful they could tear themselves apart. The men behind the wheel and in the pits and garages came from all walks of life, speed junkies, technical engineers, entrepreneurs, military men, street racers, gamblers, designers, hot rodders, and car geeks, young and old. All working together at the very edge of technology without a map. Heres a synopsis: Academy Award-winners Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in LE MANS 66, based on the true story of the visionary American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale), who together battled corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. A little skirmish broke out the other day in the conservative political and intellectual world. I hesitate to call it a skirmish, given that it was partly a debate about approaching our cultural debates as war, and about strategies for winning. I thought immediately of my late friend Andrew Breitbart and how restless he would sometimes get when conservatives would get too eggheady. This would happen especially when he visited friends in established conservative-movement circles. He respected their work and experience and dedication, but he wanted to go faster at the work of conserving the heritage and traditions of freedom and ordered liberty. I thought, too, of a story from National Reviews 50th-anniversary celebration. A wounded warrior was excited to meet Rush Limbaugh there. Rush, who has great gratitude and reverence for those who serve on many fronts, and especially the military, was embarrassed that a man who dramatically wore the devastation of war was treating the radio host as a hero. We all have our roles, the Marine told Limbaugh. Indeed, we do. We also always need civility. One presidential election year, I caught up with New Yorks Cardinal Timothy Dolan late at night on the final night of the Republican convention in Tampa. He was giving an invocation at both parties conventions that year and getting grief from many on the right for having extended an invitation, as traditionally happens, to both presidential candidates for the annual Al Smith charity dinner in New York. He saw the fraying that was happening around that time one political advertisement referred to mourning in America. Dolan implored people to consider that if we couldnt even join to break bread, where could we come together? Fast-forward to the Al Smith dinner with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in 2016. The hostility at the event, where the candidates roast each another and laugh together, could have been cut with a knife. But at a quiet moment beforehand, even then, even in that worst of our modern elections, Dolan managed to get the two candidates to stop and pray privately together. Story continues I had this all in mind when Sohrab Ahmari closed a piece criticizing my National Review colleague David French (both are friends) with this: Progressives understand that culture war means discrediting their opponents and weakening or destroying their institutions. Conservatives should approach the culture war with a similar realism. Civility and decency are secondary values. They regulate compliance with an established order and orthodoxy. We should seek to use these values to enforce our order and our orthodoxy, not pretend that they could ever be neutral. To recognize that enmity is real is its own kind of moral duty. Civility and decency are secondary values are words that should give us real pause. And if youre partial to Ahmaris thinking right about now wherever you are coming from included in your summer reading should be Peter Wehners new book, The Death of Politics: How to Heal Our Frayed Republic after Trump. In it, Wehner, who is, among other things, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, writes: The task of citizenship in America today is not simply to curse the political darkness but to light candles. This can be done one person at a time, in your neighborhood and city, at a homeless shelter and a school board meeting, at neighborhood gatherings and city councils, and in countless other settings. He also admits that the great challenge for a book like this is that its greatest reach may be with people who least need to hear its message. The political entrepreneurs and social provocateurs who win profit and promotion by demeaning politics and coarsening discourse are not going to be swayed by a book like this. (Ahmari is neither, by the way, but one of the commentators an editor on the New York Posts editorial page, who can help influence the former.) But modern psychology and ancient wisdom both show that the effect of example can be profound, Wehner continues. One such example was set by a prophet from Nazareth many years ago, and there have been many since. What are we waiting for? Wehner asks. If each of us inspires or moves one or two or three other people to give politics real politics, not just political theater a second chance, to think twice before sending that inflammatory tweet, or to listen and question instead of jumping to disagree, then there will be millions among us. We dont need to transform everyones behavior or temperament (something no conservative would ever want to attempt, by the way). Reach the movable middle, and the country and the culture will move with it. Ahmari explains that the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings were a snap point for him, coming to this conclusion. The Kavanaugh hearings, as it happened, had me more convinced than ever that civility and decency must be first-tier values in politics. The contempt in the air is something of a social madness. Its our moral duty to insist on decency, by leading with something better. We all have our roles, but as Pulitzer Prize winner Peggy Noonan put it in her commencement address at Notre Dame this year: The secret of successful politics: Be moved more by what you love than what you hate. Life, too, as it happens. That doesnt mean we dont disagree, and deeply. But it also means we might find still find a meeting place in our common humanity in the middle of some of our most contentious and necessary debates. This column is based on one available through Andrews McMeel Universals Newspaper Enterprise Association. More from National Review By Jamie Freed SEOUL (Reuters) - Former partners and rivals of Jet Airways Ltd are launching replacement routes and looking for new codeshare partners as they scramble to fill a lucrative gap left by the collapse of the India's once-largest international airline. Jet, which halted operations on April 17 after running out of cash, had a market share of around 12 percent on international flights to and from India in 2018, according to government statistics, outstripping even national carrier Air India. In Jet's absence, cash-strapped Air India is the only Indian carrier that operates widebody jets capable of non-stop flights to Europe and the United States, although the Vistara joint venture owned by Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Ltd has 6 Boeing Co 787s on order due for delivery from next year. With international airfares spiking by up to 36 percent in May and June according to data from travel portal Yatra.com, Jet's former partners, Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines Inc, have been among the first to announce new Indian routes to replace ones previously flown by Jet. "People still want to travel. Foreign carriers are changing their networks and putting more into India if they can," Association of Asia Pacfic Airlines Director General Andrew Herdman said on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. KLM and sister carrier Air France will boost their capacity in India by 25 percent in the upcoming winter season through the use of bigger planes, higher frequencies and a new Bangalore-Amsterdam route from October. In October, Virgin Atlantic will launch Mumbai-London, while Delta will fly from Mumbai to New York from December, in a sign it will take months to replace Jet's non-stop capacity. "I think you'll see in the next four or five months most of the (domestic) capacity will be taken up," SpiceJet Ltd Chairman Ajay Singh said in an interview. "As far as international is concerned, that may take a little longer as Jet was flying a significant number of widebody aircraft which are tougher for carriers in India to add at such a rapid pace." Story continues Other airlines, like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, will need India's newly re-elected Modi government to loosen bilateral restrictions that cap flights at current levels. Singh said that was unlikely due to India's policy of trying to develop its own hubs. The capacity gap in the Middle East means fares in that market are expected to remain higher for longer than on some domestic and other routes, Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo's Chief Financial Officer Rohit Philip told analysts on May 27. IndiGo has a codeshare agreement with Turkish, and days after Jet stopped flying SpiceJet signed a codeshare agreement with Emirates. Neither Indian carrier has widebodies. Airbus SE Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said new technology, such as a longer-range version of the A321neo, could help IndiGo launch non-stop flights to Europe without taking the costlier and riskier decision to add widebodies to its fleet. "I think you are going to see some widebody capacity going into India to replace Jet's and you are going to see some narrowbodies picking up that market," he told reporters. Other former Jet partners are in talks with carriers like IndiGo and SpiceJet about new codeshare relationships. Qantas Airways Ltd does not fly to India itself but it had used Jet to boost its reach beyond Singapore to Indian destinations and wants a new partner for the large market, CEO Alan Joyce said. "They were a big partner and we were carrying a lot of traffic on them," he said. "We have been approached by just about every major Indian carrier because they know there is a lot of traffic that we can provide them. We have had dialogue in the last few days with four different carriers about possible agreements." (Reporting by Jamie Freed; additional reporting by Aditi Shah in New Delhi; Editing by Stephen Coates) PPP want production orders of PTM members ISLAMABAD/MULTAN: The opposition Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has said that it will continue to stick to its demand for the issuance of production orders of two arrested MNAs from tribal areas Mohsin Dawar and Ali Wazir by the National Assembly speaker. On the other hand, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the production orders of the two MNAs can be issued as per law while raising questions over patriotism of the duo. In a statement issued by the PPPs Central Media Office in Islamabad on Sunday, the partys secretary general Nayyar Bokhari asked National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser to fulfil his responsibility as a custodian of the house and issue the production orders of the two MNAs who had been arrested on the charge of instigating an attack on an army check post in North Waziristan last month. Mr Bokhari said the PPP believed in the supremacy of the constitution and rule of law. He said the two MNAs were elected representatives of the people and they should be allowed to come to the house to apprise the parliament of their viewpoint on the Waziristan incident. The PPP leader said there would be no compromise on national security, but the two MNAs should be provided an opportunity to clarify their position. Mr Bokhari said the nation was surprised over the silence of Prime Minister Imran Khan on such an important matter. He said the statements from the Inter-Service Public Relations showed that the government had failed in fulfilling its responsibilities. The PPP leader said those violating the laws should be punished but setting up of own courts and political point scoring was inappropriate. Meanwhile, talking to reporters in Multan, Foreign Minister Qureshi, however, questioned the patriotism of the two MNAs. If they invite foreign forces to intervene in internal matters of the country, is it patriotism? They also attacked an army check post. Is it patriotism? he asked. Mr Qureshi said he had invited the opposition to participate in the preparation of the budget while keeping in view the countrys resources and expenditures. Under the circumstances the government was handed over to us, moving forward is difficult. Our utmost efforts are to put minimum burden on the poor in the coming budget, he said. On the recent decision of the government to file references against two judges of the superior courts, Mr Qureshi, who is also vice-chairman of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, said that his party believed in independence of judiciary and supremacy of law. Imran Khan himself has struggled for independence of judiciary. All judges are respectable for us. But if something has surfaced regarding the judges, they can explain their position in the Supreme Judicial Council, he said. The foreign minister said there were some signs that relations between Pakistan and India were moving towards improvement. He said there was hope that the ice between Pakistan and India could melt after installation of new government in India. He said Pakistan had already invited the new Indian government for dialogue as it was the only way to resolve the issues. He said Pakistan had closed its airspace during recent Pak-India tension and now India had expressed its willingness to open its airspace first and we have responded positively. Logo of jester cap with thought bubble. Image source: The Motley Fool. CooTek (Cayman) Inc (NYSE: CTK) Q1 2019 Earnings Call Jun 3, 2019, 8:00 a.m. ET Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks: Operator Good day and welcome to the CooTek First Quarter 2019 Earnings Conference. All participants will be in listen-only mode. (Operator Instructions) Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to (ph) Rene Von Gersen. Please go ahead. Unidentified Speaker Thank you, Amy. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Our earnings release was distributed earlier today and is available on our IR website at ir.cootek.com and on PR Newswire. On the call today from CooTek are Mr. Karl Zhang, Chairman and Chief Architect; and Ms. Jean Liqin Zhang, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Zhang will review business operations and Company highlights, followed by Ms. Zhang, who will discuss financials and guidance. They will be available to answer your questions during the Q&A session that will follow. Before we begin, I'd like to kindly remind everyone that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 as amended. These forward-looking statements are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminologies such as will, expects, anticipates, future, intends, plans, believes, estimates, confident, and similar statements. CooTek may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports filed with or furnished to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in its Annual Report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about CooTek's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but are not limited to, the following. CooTek's mission and strategies, future business development, financial conditions and results of operations, the expected growth of the mobile Internet industry and mobile advertising industry, the expected growth of mobile advertising, expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our products and services, competition in mobile application and advertising industry, and relevant government policies and regulations relating to the industry. Story continues Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties and factors is included in the company's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided on this call is current as of today, and CooTek does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law. It is now my pleasure to introduce Mr. Karl Zhang. Karl, please go ahead. Thank you. Karl Kan Zhang -- Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Architect Thank you everyone for joining our first quarter 2019 earnings call. We delivered strong growth this past quarter in both user growth and user engagement. User growth relying on our sophisticated growth platform went beyond our past expectations. Overall, user acquisition unit cost was kept at low range and stable despite such a large increase in total user numbers. We achieved significant progress on further improving user engagement by investing in our content ecosystem, optimizing product and enhancing our operations. The engagement rate of our content-rich portfolio apps reached nearly 39%. The user retention rate improved as well. We're excited about the progress on the product side because user engagement and retention are two key metrics to evaluate user stickiness. We believe that we are on the right path to bring more and more value to our end users, and increase the stickiness of our user community. Our mission is to empower everyone to enjoy relevant content seamlessly. We believe that the global content app market is still in its early stage, and this gives us massive opportunities in both horizontal and vertical areas. As our strategy is to release multiple apps to meet different user needs on different content verticals. We are investing in establishing and evolving our current ecosystem to achieve long-term competitiveness and user stickiness. For example, we redesigned the news feed format for Cherry, our female healthcare and lifestyle community app in order to evolve our content ecosystem and to increase content consumption. User interaction and time spent improved significantly and we continue to incubate new content app to expand our reach across a wide diversity of user interest. Besides content app and ecosystem, we are also making good progress on monetization. In Q1, we officially launched the CooTek advertising platform, our in-house ad serving platform. This system allows advertisers to create and manage ad campaign and place ad into our ad portfolio directly. Furthermore, it provides programmatic interfaces to allow third-parties to acquire mobile traffic directly from our portfolio ads. With the benefits from our in-depth user insights, we offer sophisticated precise user targeting capability to help our advertisers and partners to increase our ads on our ad platform. This system contributed approximately 14% of our total advertising revenue in March, and this percentage is increasing. We will continue to strongly invest in both advertising technologies and our ecosystem because we believe that we have enhanced our monetization and bringing us substantial long-term value. With that, I'll hand over the call to our CFO Jean to walk you through our financial results for the quarter. Liqin Zhang -- Chief Financial Officer Thank you, Karl, and thanks everyone for joining us on the call today. I'm going to walk you through our first quarter financial results. Now, let's start with users. We ended March with approximately 242 million people using our global products, up 43% from year ago. Approximately 169 million people accessed our global products each day on average in March, up 40% from the prior year. Monthly active user for our portfolio of products reached 49.8 million in March, up 3.2 times from a year ago. Average daily active user for our portfolio of products in March reached 23.1 million, up 4 times compared to last year. Average daily active users on TouchPal Smart Input in March were approximately 146 million, up 26% from last year. This number represents about 76% of 192 million monthly active users,. MAUs were up 19% compared to last year. We delivered a strong revenue growth year-over-year. The total revenue was $40 million, up 83% and the app revenue was $39.4 million, up about 89%. We estimate that of the total advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2019, portfolio products constitute approximately 75%. TouchPal Smart Input contributed approximately 18% and the TouchPal Phonebook contributed approximately 7%. Turning now to expenses. Our quarter one GAAP cost and expenses were nearly $40 million, an increase of 94% from last year, representing 99% of revenue. Non-GAAP cost and expenses was $38.7 million, an increase of about 91% year-over-year, representing approximately 97% of revenue. We were quite effective in growing our user base with portfolio products DAU growth of more than 4 times -- growth of about 4 times year-over-year and up 36.7% sequentially with S&M expenses up 1.6 times year-over-year and a decrease of 14% sequentially. We ended the quarter with 519 full time employees, up 44% from last year and 4% from last quarter. R&D employees represent 63.4% of total employees compared to 58.6% last year. Our gross margin was 91%, up from 81% during the same period last year and slightly down from 93% last quarter. We had GAAP net income of $0.2 million, representing a 0.4% of net profit margin. Excluding the effects of stock compensation, our adjusted net income was approximately $1.3 million million, representing 3.3% non-GAAP net profit margin. As of March 31st, 2019, cash and cash equivalents and the restricted cash was $77.3 million compared to $84.9 million as of December 31st, 2018. Under the share repurchase program announced on November 26th, 2018, the company used an aggregate of $5.7 million to purchase 645,000 ADS by the end of last quarter. Turning now to the revenue outlook, we expect total revenue in the second quarter of 2019 to be between $45 million and $60 million, representing 58% to 76% increase year-over-year. This estimate reflects company's current and the preliminary view, which is subject to change. Operator, we're now ready to take questions. Questions and Answers: Operator Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from Hans Chung at KeyBanc Capital Markets. Hans Chung -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst Hi, Karl and Jim. Thank you for taking my questions. So, I have one question just regarding the user engagement. We have seen another improvement in the (inaudible) portfolio app. Can you explain like what's driving that, and then how should we think about the trend going forward? Should we continue to see the improvement near to mid-term turn or it's sort of like the new level that we should consider? Thank you. Karl Kan Zhang -- Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Architect Thank you, Hans. I'm going to answer this question. Yes, we achieved a significant progress on further improving user engagement this quarter, and the user engagement rate of our portfolio app reached nearly 39% compared to approximately 32% in March last year and approximately 37% in December last year. So we have made very good progress on that. User engagement is actually our key metrics we use to evaluate the stickiness of our users. So we are very excited to see such strong improvements on our product capability. I think the improvement in user engagement is actually a result of multiple efforts. So firstly, we are investing in establishing and evolving our ecosystem to achieve long-term competitiveness and user stickiness because we believe content is the key to attract and retain our users. For example, we redesigned the news feed format for Cherry, our female healthcare and lifestyle community app, and our short video app VeeU, in order to evolve our key KOL-based content ecosystem, which focuses on professional generated content and to increase content consumption at the same time. And secondly, we enhanced the product operation as well to push more relevant content to users based on user profile. It turns out that the click-through rate of our push content improve a lot in the past quarter, helping to keep more users active. And we also introduced the user recall program for our portfolio apps just like Facebook and other social media and content app company if we decided to send recall email with relevant content to recall users. So, yes, I think the improvement is user engagement is a result of the above multiple efforts. Thank you, Hans. Operator The next question is from Alicia Yap at Citi. Alicia Yap -- Citigroup -- Analyst Hi. Good evening, Karl and Jean. Thanks for taking my questions. I have couple of questions here. Number one is that, could you share with us where were the growth and the incremental addition of your MAU and DAU of your portfolio content at this quarter, where did you see the new users come from, specifically which apps that you see the most growth in the DAU, and how should we think about the DAU growth in the second quarter? Is there any target for the full year 2019? My second question is related to the overall global app environment and the sentiment. As we noticed, there were quite a lot of disappointing app outlook for China market. So I'm just wondering if you have any comments regarding the global market as you see the second quarter guidance seems to be also showing some weakness or some cautiousness on your side as well. Thank you. Karl Kan Zhang -- Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Architect Thank you, Alicia. So I'm going to answer both of your questions. So the first question is about the -- our user growth and the incremental addition of our MAU and DAU. So, we delivered very strong growth in the past quarter in both user growth and user engagement. So, the total DAU of our content-rich portfolio app reached over 33 million from 16 million last quarter, an increase of over 200% year-over-year. So we're very excited about that. The results validated that we are on the right path to give that bigger user community bring more value to our end users and make them happy and more actively interact with our products. So, in terms of the content-rich portfolio app DAU breakdown, our fitness and lifestyle app series helped us bigger proportion of the total DAU and continued to grow. The user engagement and the retention rate have been improving and the time spend is quite stable. From Q1, we made progress in working with phone manufacturers to distribute our fitness apps with relatively low cost. So we are exploring more opportunity to distribute at different distribution channel for our portfolio apps to expand our user base rapidly. And we're also establishing and evolving our content ecosystem for long-term competitiveness and user stickiness. So, as I mentioned that we just redesigned the news feed for our Cherry and in order to evolve our KOL-based content ecosystem, so user interaction and time spend improved dramatically. So Cherry reached a superior user stickiness, (inaudible) retention rates exceed 55% already, which is pretty high. And we continue to incubate new content app to expand our reach across wide diversity of user interest. For example, we incubate content-rich app Phone Color Screen in Q4 last year. It is an app to allow users to enjoy entertaining and other relevant short videos and choose any of them to replace phone functional screen background. And it also provides relevant news and (inaudible) news feed. The backend of this app content ecosystem under the content recommendation system is actually connected with our short video app VeeU. So this app contributed nearly 10% of the total DAU in March, so it is actually one of the key drivers of this quarter's DAU growth. We don't provide any guidance for our DAU growth target. But here I want to emphasize that our first priority is still to expand our user base, especially for our content-rich portfolio app rapidly. But the management team will keep a very close eye on the market fluctuation and make adjustments based on the ROIs of each app dynamically. So we will invest more in apps which have relatively longer lifetime. In terms of the user distribution, the user geographical distribution is pretty much the same to Q4 of last year. And we believe that we will -- our user base will continue to grow pretty fast. And in terms of the second question about the ads -- global ads environments, what we think about the local advertising industry is kind of mixed this year. So we notice that some of our important partners encountered some challenges on mobile ad business as well, and we also noted few trends so far this year. So, on one hand, the ad inventory supply is increasing, because a lot of companies are faced with the challenge of ad revenue growth under pressure of monetization. They have been releasing ad inventory to the market. For example, YouTube is increasing ad inventory. Facebook is adding more ads to Instagram and WhatsApp, and a lot of more and media-size apps have started to focus on monetization this year. This result is that the supply side of the ad industry this year (ph) has surplus that sometimes become expensive. On the other side, ad demand does not look that strong for different reasons such as uncertain economic growth. We noticed some big advertisers controlling ad budgets this year (inaudible). The ad industry actually a balancing act between the demand side and supply side. So in supply side, if the ad increase, with expectations that it will increase but demand is inadequate. The price, which is the (inaudible) and the fill rate goes up. This is the fact and the challenges we are faced with this year in terms of monetization. We believe this industry volatility is short term, and the mobile advertising industry has great potential to grow. Thank you, Alicia. Alicia Yap -- Citigroup -- Analyst Thank you. Operator The next question is from Emerson Chan of Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Emerson Chan -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Hi, Karl and Jean. Thanks for taking my question. Regarding our own ad platform launch in Q1, could you please elaborate how we can benefit from it and how does it impact our financial performance in the year and in long run? Thank you. Karl Kan Zhang -- Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Architect Thank you. So I'm going to answer this question. So, as I mentioned at the very beginning, our user base is growing very fast and user engagement improved dramatically. So this means we are releasing more and more ad inventory. At this moment, we are relying on our ad exchange and other ad business partners to monetize our increasing inventory. So that is, the industry volatility and its impact on our business partners will impact us. We do not have direct control over our business partners at resource allocation strategy. So we realized under current environment that relying on third-party business partners to effectively feel our faster growing ad inventory is a challenge. Both the fill rate and the average (inaudible) price has been flat to (ph) 18 this year. On the other hand, we have two powerful weapons, fast growing drivers, ad inventory and the impact user insight that we are obtained from our user app TouchPal Keyboard and now our portfolio app, which has a unique and a valuable asset to optimize ad performance and ROI. So it makes us confident that we have great potential in the global mobile advertising industry. Therefore, we have been developing our own in-house advertising platform since the middle of last year. We officially launched the CooTek advertising platform, our in-house ad serving platform early in Q1. This system allows (inaudible) to create and manage ad campaign, manage ad budget and place ads (inaudible) our ad portfolio to ramp. Furthermore, it provides programmatic interface to allow third-party to acquire mobile traffic from us directly. We believe this is a very strategic investment with benefits from our investor user impact, we offer sophisticated precise users targeting capability to help our advertisers and partners to achieve better our ad platform. This makes us believe that advertisers and the -- this makes us believe that we have great potential to growth in global advertising industry. We're excited to see that as we benefit from -- as we benefit from our (inaudible) user impact, the monetization efficiency of our in-house ad platform has surpassed most of our ad business partners. It is winning revenue share from them actually. So this system contributed approximately 14% of our total advertising revenue already (inaudible) and this percentage is still increasing. Our goal is to make CooTek advertising platform one of the top tier global ad platform in terms of advertiser through ROI. Although it takes time to ramp up in short-term, we believe our in-house ad platform will boost our revenue and profit in long-term. Thank you. Operator (Operator Instructions) The next question is from Tina Long with Credit Suisse. Tina Long -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst HI. Hi, management. Just a quick follow-up on the previous in-house ad platform. Can you just explain a little bit of the financial impact of this in-house ad platform on your financials? Thank you. Karl Kan Zhang -- Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Architect Thank you, Tina. I'm going to answer this question. So, by tracking advertisers to spend their (ph) package directly on our advertising platform and serving them better. We will make our monetization much more independent and reduce the impact of market volatility and eventually realize the peak value of our best user insight to boost our revenue and profit. At this moment, the cost to build out our own ad ecosystem is mainly on engineering side as we expanded our team and hired experienced engineers. On the sales side, we were established a global direct sale agency network to sell our ad inventory. We were provided the best to our global partners at incentive, which will be excluded when recognizing the net revenue. So, basically this is the impact. So mainly -- at this moment, the impact is mainly on the R&D cost. Thank you. Tina Long -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst Okay, thank you. Operator (Operator Instructions) I'm seeing no further questions. I'd like to turn the conference back over to Rene Von Gersen. Unidentified Speaker Thank you, Amy. Thank you all for joining our call and for your continued interest in CooTek. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions or want to visit. Thank you, and good night. Operator The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect. Duration: 31 minutes Call participants: Unidentified Speaker Karl Kan Zhang -- Chairman of the Board of Directors & Chief Architect Liqin Zhang -- Chief Financial Officer Hans Chung -- KeyBanc Capital Markets -- Analyst Alicia Yap -- Citigroup -- Analyst Emerson Chan -- Bank of America Merrill Lynch -- Analyst Tina Long -- Credit Suisse -- Analyst More CTK analysis All earnings call transcripts AlphaStreet Logo More From The Motley Fool This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. Motley Fool Transcribers 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. LONDON (Reuters) - UK Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Saturday U.S. President Donald Trump's comments endorsing Conservative front-runner Boris Johnson as the next prime minister were an "unacceptable interference" in Britain's affairs. In an interview with the Sun newspaper ahead of his three-day state visit to Britain next week, Trump said of the former foreign secretary: "I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent." Other Conservative lawmakers in the leadership race had sought his backing, he said, although not environment minister Michael Gove, who has criticized his stance on Iran. Veteran Socialist Corbyn, who has declined an invitation to attend a state banquet with Trump during the visit, said: "President Trumps attempt to decide who will be Britains next prime minister is an entirely unacceptable interference in our countrys democracy." He added in a statement on Saturday: "The next prime minister should be chosen not by the U.S. president, nor by 100,000 unrepresentative Conservative party members, but by the British people in a general election." After failing three times this year to get parliament to back her plan for leaving the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said last week she would step down as leader of the governing Conservative Party on June 7 to open the way for a contest to succeed her. So far, 12 Members of Parliament have said they will stand in the leadership election. They will be whittled down by their fellow lawmakers to a final two before the grassroots party members make the final choice. Trump praised Johnson on his last visit to Britain in July 2018, saying that he thought he had the skills needed to be prime minister, shortly after Johnson resigned in protest at May's handling of Brexit. Johnson, who has said he would be prepared to take Britain out of the EU without a deal on Oct. 31, has not commented on Trump's latest endorsement. Story continues Corbyn himself has been widely accused of failing to clarify Labour's position on Brexit by not saying outright whether or not it is decisively in favor of a second referendum on Brexit. Trump also praised current foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, also a Conservative leadership candidate, for his pledge to increase British defense spending. He arrives in Britain on Monday for a state visit at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth before attending World War Two commemorations in France and visiting Ireland. It is only the third state visit of a U.S. president to Britain. (Reporting by Stephen Addison; Editing by Clelia Oziel) Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn will address a major demonstration against President Trumps state visit to the United Kingdom on Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected at the London rally, which will march down Whitehall from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square, past Downing Street, where the American president will speak with outgoing prime minister Theresa May. Jeremy Corbyn will attend and speak at the demonstration tomorrow against President Donald Trumps state visit, a Labour spokesperson told The Mirror. Corbyn, a self-described socialist plans to boycott the state dinner Queen Elizabeth II will have Monday for the president, First Lady Melania Trump, and about 170 guests. Tomorrows protest against Donald Trumps state visit is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those hes attacked in America, around the world and in our own country, Corbyn wrote Monday on Twitter. The Labour leader also took issue with Trumps endorsement of Conservative Boris Johnson to be the next prime minister, calling it an unacceptable interference in British politics. I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent, Trump said of Johnson taking over for May when she steps down on June 7. President Trumps attempt to decide who will be Britains next prime minister is an entirely unacceptable interference in our countrys democracy, Corbyn said in a statement. About 250,000 protesters took to the streets during Trumps first visit to Britain in July. Protests erupted around the country on Monday and demonstrators plan to show up at Portsmouth on Wednesday as Trump participates in ceremonies commemorating the anniversary of D-Day. More from National Review A French court on Monday ordered the operator of the Toulouse airport to postpone its annual shareholder meeting, the latest twist in a dispute over a Chinese firm's plan to sell its nearly 50 percent stake. Casil Europe, a holding company created by China's state-owned Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Hong Kong-based Friedmann Pacific Asset Management, is hoping to sell its 49.99 percent stake to French construction and concessions group Eiffage. Casil wants to unload the shares after the French government decided last year against selling it a further 10 percent, an option Paris had retained after privatising the airport in 2015. But the airport's other main shareholders -- a group of local governments and the Toulouse Chamber of Commerce -- are fighting the sale to Eiffage. They say the fast-growing regional hub needs public ownership to ensure its profits are re-invested in its operations, and not siphoned off by private owners. They asked the commercial court in Toulouse to put Casil's stake in an escrow account to prevent any deal with Eiffage, a bid that was rejected by the court on Monday. But the court did order the postponement of the airport operator's annual meeting set for Wednesday, meaning no votes can be taken for crucial decisions on dividends or a stake sale. It said the operator must wait for a ruling on the appeal of a Paris administrative court decision to cancel the airport's privatisation, which the government is contesting. The Toulouse airport chalked up a record 14.6 percent increase in 2017 traffic to 9.2 million passengers, making it the fifth-largest in France. That was driven mainly by the growth of low-cost European airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair, with international flights now making up half of its traffic. Casil Europe had said it wanted to boost traffic to 18 million passengers by 2046, in large part by developing connections to Chinese destinations. Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Monday that a crisis strangling her junior coalition partner SPD would not distract the government from its work, even as questions grew on how long the fragile partnership could hold. The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) sank into chaos after its leader Andrea Nahles said in a shock announcement Sunday that she was quitting her party's top jobs following an European election drubbing a week earlier. As the SPD scrambled for a new leader, the chief of Merkel's CDU party conceded that the centre-left coalition partner could end up deciding whether Germany goes to the polls before the end of the electoral term in 2021. "We are ready to keep this coalition going. How the SPD behaves is its decision," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told journalists following crisis talks within her centre-right party. She warned however that given the international challenges, it would be "anything but productive if Germany were to go into a government crisis or a lengthy election campaign". Denying that the issue of snap elections was broached in Monday's talks, she added however that "you can be certain that the CDU is prepared for whatever comes or does not come". At a separate press conference, Merkel batted away speculation that her coalition was crumbling. Insisting that she did "not see a signal of instability", Merkel said: "At the moment I only see that the SPD has reached specific decisions which I can't say would hinder us from working." - Ratings in free-fall - The SPD leadership crisis could not have come at a worse time for the CDU, which has itself been struggling to halt a haemorrhage of voters as the younger generation shuns it in droves for the Greens. Both the CDU and the SPD were given a drubbing at the polls on May 26, with voters handing them record low scores at European elections. A survey on Saturday also showed support for the coalition partners melting away, with the Greens overtaking Merkel's CDU-CSU alliance for the first time while also enjoying a 15 percentage point lead over the SPD. Story continues Seeking to stabilise the listing ship, the SPD on Monday named a trio -- regional party leader Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel as well as state premiers Manuela Schwesig and Malu Dreyer -- as caretaker leaders until its next congress, when a new chief would be elected. It also set June 24 to decide the next steps to be taken by the party, including when to hold a congress to elect a new leader. The SPD, Germany's oldest party, had initially planned to re-examine the alliance with Merkel's centre-right CDU-CSU alliance in the autumn -- half-way through the four-year mandate. But with a free-fall in its ratings unending, the SPD could still preemptively put an end to the alliance with Merkel's Christian Democrats, which had been fraught from the start. Wounded by an election rout in 2017, the SPD had initially sought to go into opposition, but was reluctantly coaxed into renewing a partnership with Merkel. Many within the party however remained wary of continuing to govern in Merkel's shadow, and the coalition has lurched from crisis to crisis. - 'Measure us by this' - The latest crisis has amplified voices within both the SPD and the CDU for the parties to part ways. Harald Christ of the SPD's business leaders forum said "Nahles stands for the existence of the GroKo -- whose stability is now in question." "In my view what comes next is the end of the GroKo -- everything else leads nowhere," he told Bild daily, using the German shortform for grand coalition. The deputy leader of the CDU-CSU parliamentary group, Carsten Linnemann, also warned in an interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland newspaper group that "if we are unable to progress with the SPD, then we should draw a line under this and ask ourselves if continuing with the GroKo still makes sense." But other voices pleaded for more time for the coalition to deliver on its pledges and win back disillusioned voters with policy gains. A leading SPD centrist, Johannes Kahrs, pointed to a plan to push through a climate protection law before the next elections, saying that "the people can, should and will measure us by this". The Chicago Cubs called up veteran outfielder Carlos Gonzalez and put him in the starting lineup Monday. The Cubs signed the three-time All-Star to a minor league contract last week after he was designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians on May 22. Gonzalez, 33, was in his first season with Cleveland, hitting .210 with two home runs in 117 plate appearances. He batted fifth and played right field in Chicago's makeup game Monday against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. Gonzalez went 2-for-8 with a home run during his short stay at Triple-A Iowa. He spent the past 10 seasons with the Colorado Rockies before signing with the Indians as a free agent in March. He has a career average of .285 with 233 home runs in 12 seasons, including a rookie year with the Oakland A's in 2008. In a corresponding move, the Cubs designated infielder/outfielder Jim Adduci for assignment. Adduci, 34, was hitless in five at-bats with Chicago. --Field Level Media COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danske Bank, which is trying to recover from a major money laundering scandal, has agreed to sell its portfolio of Estonian private loans to LHV Pank in a deal worth 410 million euros ($458.3 million), Estonia's LHV said on Monday. Danske Bank has already said it will pull out of the Baltic states and Russia after Estonia earlier this year ordered it to close the branch at the center of one of the largest ever money laundering scandals. The Estonian bank said it expects to finalize the deal by the autumn. Danske Bank was not immediately available for comment. The loan portfolio, of which 97% are home loans, is worth around 450 million euros at the time of the deal, said LHV, adding that it will take over serving 10,800 private customers. LHV said it would have to raise additional capital to fund the acquisition. Danske is under investigation in Denmark, Estonia, Britain and the United States over some 200 billion euros ($226 billion) in payments from Russia, ex-Soviet states and elsewhere that were found to have flowed through its Estonian arm. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Stephen Coates and Louise Heavens) London (AFP) - The race to replace Theresa May as British prime minister in a contest due to end in July has 11 declared contenders. May is due to step down as Conservative Party leader on Friday, formally triggering the leadership battle. Here are the hopefuls sorted by their Brexit strategies, with Britain due to leave the EU on October 31: - Actively seeking no-deal - -- ANDREA LEADSOM Leadsom quit as leader of the House of Commons on May 22, triggering the prime minister's downfall the next day. She wants a managed no-deal exit with no deadline extensions. The 56-year-old got down to the final two in the 2016 leadership race, but pulled out. She is considered the third favourite in the contest to succeed May. -- ESTHER McVEY The 51-year-old Brexit supporter and former television presenter resigned as work and pensions secretary last year over Brexit compromises. A blue-collar Conservative, she wants a clean break with Brussels. - Open to no-deal in October - -- BORIS JOHNSON The former foreign secretary, 54, says he would get Britain out of the European Union, "deal or no deal". A figurehead in the 2016 Brexit campaign, he was May's foreign secretary until he resigned over her Brexit strategy. Charismatic and popular with grassroots Conservatives, he is seen as the favourite in the race. -- DOMINIC RAAB An ardent eurosceptic with a black belt in karate, the 45-year-old former Brexit minister resigned in protest at the Brexit deal struck with the EU by May. He says Britain should be ready to walk away from the EU without an agreement while still trying to negotiate a better deal than the one May signed. -- SAJID JAVID A former investment banker and the son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver, Javid, 49, wants to be the face of a modern, multicultural and meritocratic Britain. An economic liberal, Javid voted for Britain to stay in the EU in 2016 but has since become an advocate of Brexit. Wants to leave on October 31, preferably with a deal but would prefer no deal over no Brexit. Story continues - No to no-deal in October - -- MICHAEL GOVE The cerebral 51-year-old is among the most ardent eurosceptics left in May's government but is seen as a possible unifying figure between the two wings of the party. Considered the second favourite, he is said to be prepared to delay Brexit until the end of next year rather than leave without a deal on October 31. -- JEREMY HUNT The foreign secretary supported remaining in the EU but has switched since then. The former businessman is a resilient politician, having headed the National Health Service for six years during a funding crisis. The 52-year-old says he will push hard for a new deal with Brussels without taking the possibility of a no-deal outcome off the table. -- MARK HARPER A former chief whip charged with enforcing party discipline, Harper, 49, did not serve under May and says he is therefore untainted by association. He says an extension would be needed beyond October 31 to secure a deal but he would be prepared to leave without one rather than remain. - Against no-deal - -- RORY STEWART The international development secretary, 46, is a former Foreign Office official who served in the coalition administration in Iraq following the US-led invasion in 2003. Says no-deal policy would be "damaging". -- MATT HANCOCK The 40-year-old health secretary is one of the party's rising stars, a moderate widely seen as competent at his job and skilful with the media. He opposed Brexit during the 2016 referendum before switching sides. - Second referendum - -- SAM GYIMAH The 42-year-old quit as universities minister in November in order to endorse a second referendum on Brexit. Entering the race to broaden its field of Brexit options, he wants a three-way referendum: deal, no deal or remain. He wants to stop no-deal and would vote remain. USA need to see Iran behaving like a normal nation: Mike Pompeo WASHINGTON: The United States was prepared to engage with Iran without pre-conditions about its nuclear program but needed to see the country behaving like a normal nation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. Irans President Hassan Rouhani suggested on Saturday that Iran may be willing to hold talks if Washington showed it respect, but said Tehran would not be pressured into talks. In an apparent softening of his previous stance, Pompeo said when asked about Rouhanis remarks: We are prepared to engage in conversations with no pre-conditions, we are ready to sit down. However, he said Washington would continue to work to reverse the malign activity of Iran in the Middle East. Pompeo said US President Donald Trump had been saying for a long time that he was willing to talk to Iran. We are certainly prepared to have that conversation when the Iranians can prove that they want to behave like a normal nation, Pompeo said at a joint news conference with his Swiss counterpart in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona. Trump said last Monday he was hopeful Iran would come to the negotiating table. But Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Tehran would not negotiate with Washington, even after Rouhani had previously signalled talks might be possible if sanctions were lifted. Last year, Pompeo outlined 12 ways Iran must change including stopping its support for proxy groups and halting its missile program before the United States lifts sanctions. House Judiciary lawmakers on Monday launched a sweeping antitrust investigation of the nation's largest tech companies, including Google and Facebook, opening a new front against an industry that's increasingly under siege in Washington and Europe. The bipartisan probe, led by the panels Democrats, will explore whether big tech companies have amassed monopoly power and engaged in anti-competitive behavior by stifling, cloning or acquiring rivals or by giving an unfair advantage to their own products on their platforms. The action comes amid rising scrutiny for tech titans like Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple from regulators and policymakers both stateside and abroad. Critics across the political spectrum have hit at the companies for, they maintain, accumulating and abusing outsize power. Some have in turn tied the scale of the companies to other concerns involving topics like data privacy and the policing of speech. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), who chairs the House Judiciary antitrust subcommittee leading the effort, told reporters Monday his panel will conduct a broad investigation of these digital platforms ... with an eye toward developing kind of a deeper understanding of how the market is failing, why the internet is broken and why its not functioning well, and then looking at what we need to do in terms of legislative action. The probe launches with bipartisan buy-in. As tech has expanded its market share, more and more questions have arisen about whether the market remains competitive," House Judiciary ranking member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said in a statement. "Our bipartisan look at competition in the digital markets gives us the chance to answer these questions and, if necessary, to take action." The congressional investigation and recent moves by Trump regulators to lay the groundwork for future antitrust probes dramatically raise the stakes for tech companies, which face constant criticism on both sides of the Atlantic over their handling of everything from user privacy to hate speech, disinformation and political content. Story continues Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic presidential candidate, has already called for breaking up tech giants like Google, Facebook and Amazon by unwinding some of their big acquisitions, saying they have crippled competition and harmed startups and small businesses. Fellow presidential contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has also called for splitting up Facebook, as has Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. The Judiciary probe, Congress' first major antitrust investigation into a specific sector in decades, gives an outlet to House Democrats' pent-up frustration over an industry they view as out of control and thinly regulated. By launching a formal inquiry, the panel will be able to request documents and compel company leaders to testify at depositions. Cicilline said the fact-finding mission will inform recommendations his panel plans to issue on possible antitrust legislation and regulatory action at the conclusion of the probe. The subcommittee will aim to wrap up the investigation before the 116th Congress adjourns, he said. Cicilline declined to rule out calling for the break-up of top tech tech firms as one of those recommendations. "I wouldn't say anything is off the table," he said when asked about that prospect, though he added he views breaking up a tech company as an "action of last resort." Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who chairs the full House Judiciary Committee, notified representatives at Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple about the forthcoming probe earlier Monday, top Cicilline adviser Slade Bond told reporters. Cicilline name-checked the first three of those companies as a "significant part" of the investigation, but said the committee will examine competition across the sector. "It's really not about a particular company as much as it is about the digital marketplace broadly," he said. In concert with the probe, the antitrust subcommittee plans to hold hearings on tech and antitrust and may look to bring in CEOs from top firms, Cicilline added. "It would be hard to imagine that you could do this investigation thoroughly and carefully without the active participation of the leaders of these large technology platforms," he said. Over the past year and a half, lawmakers have repeatedly summoned tech executives including Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to testify on Capitol Hill about everything from election meddling on social media to allegations of anti-conservative bias by tech platforms. The sessions produced a series of high-profile grillings but have yet to result in substantial legislative action in Congress. Cicilline said he hoped tech firms would voluntarily comply with requests for documents and testimonies, but is prepared to issue subpoenas to compel them to cooperate if not. Advocates for tougher antitrust enforcement have long maligned U.S. regulators for failing to rein in major tech companies, while European Union officials have launched numerous investigations and leveled record fines against industry giants including Google. Reports emerged late Friday that the Justice Department could launch a probe into Google, news that heralded further signs that the Trump administration is preparing to apply more scrutiny to the nation's tech firms. The DOJ is claiming jurisdiction over Google and Apple, while the Federal Trade Commission is doing the same with Amazon and Facebook, according to news reports and sources familiar with the cases. Still, Cicilline was skeptical that any investigations that stem from those moves will produce substantive action. "We also have a responsibility to make sure that theyre properly resourced to do that work, but they have to be inclined to do it too, and I dont have a lot of confidence in this administrations view on these issues," he told reporters. The congressional investigation comes as lawmakers in both chambers negotiate legislation to impose privacy rules on tech companies. Facebook is also negotiating with the FTC to resolve a separate investigation into its privacy practices that was sparked by the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The company said in April that it expects to shell out between $3 billion and $5 billion to settle that probe. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Measuring Deutsche Post AG's (ETR:DPW) track record of past performance is a valuable exercise for investors. It allows us to understand whether or not the company has met or exceed expectations, which is an insightful signal for future performance. Today I will assess DPW's recent performance announced on 31 March 2019 and compare these figures to its historical trend and industry movements. See our latest analysis for Deutsche Post Was DPW's recent earnings decline worse than the long-term trend and the industry? DPW's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of 2.2b has declined by -17% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has been lower than its average earnings growth rate over the past 5 years of 5.2%, indicating the rate at which DPW is growing has slowed down. Why is this? Let's examine what's transpiring with margins and if the entire industry is feeling the heat. XTRA:DPW Income Statement, June 3rd 2019 In terms of returns from investment, Deutsche Post has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 16% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 5.3% exceeds the DE Logistics industry of 3.7%, indicating Deutsche Post has used its assets more efficiently. Though, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for Deutsche Posts debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 10.0% to 8.9%. This correlates with an increase in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio rising from 51% to 115% over the past 5 years. What does this mean? Deutsche Post's track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Companies that are profitable, but have unpredictable earnings, can have many factors affecting its business. You should continue to research Deutsche Post to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: Story continues Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for DPWs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for DPWs outlook. Financial Health: Are DPWs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2019. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! We're definitely into long term investing, but some companies are simply bad investments over any time frame. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Imagine if you held Li & Fung Limited (HKG:494) for half a decade as the share price tanked 90%. And some of the more recent buyers are probably worried, too, with the stock falling 63% in the last year. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 18% in the last three months. However, one could argue that the price has been influenced by the general market, which is down 8.8% in the same timeframe. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway. See our latest analysis for Li & Fung In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One flawed but reasonable way to assess how sentiment around a company has changed is to compare the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price. During the five years over which the share price declined, Li & Fung's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 27% each year. Readers should note that the share price has fallen faster than the EPS, at a rate of 36% per year, over the period. This implies that the market is more cautious about the business these days. The low P/E ratio of 9.53 further reflects this reticence. The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail). SEHK:494 Past and Future Earnings, June 3rd 2019 It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on Li & Fung's earnings, revenue and cash flow. What About Dividends? It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Li & Fung's TSR for the last 5 years was -81%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 14% in the twelve months, Li & Fung shareholders did even worse, losing 61% (even including dividends). However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 29% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. Importantly, we haven't analysed Li & Fung's dividend history. This free visual report on its dividends is a must-read if you're thinking of buying. Of course Li & Fung may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of growth stocks. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. WASHINGTON Borrowing one of President Trumps favorite refrains, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler criticized the news media at length Monday for focusing on only dire environmental news. We need to fix this perception, and we need the help of the press, Wheeler said at a luncheon at the National Press Club on Monday. The public needs to know how far weve come, as a nation, protecting the environment. He then read a number of statistics he deemed deserving more attention, including ones regarding the reduction of air pollutants, the decrease in particulate matter, the decrease in carbon emissions and the remediation of waterways. The media does a disservice to the American public, and sound policymaking, by not informing the public of the progress this nation has made, Wheeler argued. Though he did not say so specifically, Wheeler was clearly alluding to the growing media attention to climate change. Though virtually nonexistent in previous decades, coverage of global warming has risen sharply in recent years, spurred in part by a rise in catastrophic weather events, such as floods, wildfires and hurricanes. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler. (Photo: AP/Andrew Harnik) A former energy lobbyist, Wheeler has previously downplayed the effects of climate change, and Mondays remarks began and ended with media criticism, which Wheeler delivered firmly but without employing Trumps favored slight: fake news. Wheeler began his speech by saying he needed to address his friends in the media. He pointed out that Americans have an increasingly negative impression of the environmental condition of the nation, citing a Gallup poll. Wheeler did not acknowledge climate change as a possible reason Americans have an increasingly pessimistic view of the nations environmental health. The same Gallup poll he cited found that an increasing number of Americans believe there is insufficient coverage of global warming in the media. Wheeler concluded his address by listing five things that the press gets wrong about this administration and the EPA. The first of these was that the environment is getting worse. Another gripe was the news medias common reference to Wheeler as a lobbyist for the coal industry. He pointed out that he had lobbied for other aspects of the energy sector as well, including nuclear. Wheeler also disputed news reports of a feud between career EPA staffers and Trump political appointees. Story continues EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler at the National Press Club on June 3. (Photo: AP/Andrew Harnik) Later, during a question-and-answer session, Wheeler accused the press of alarmist coverage of the National Climate Assessment, which was released in November and was widely seen as an urgent call to action. He said too much coverage had been afforded to Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, or RCP 8.5. Of the four scenarios sketched out by the National Climate Assessment, RCP 8.5 is the most catastrophic. It assumes that emissions would remain where they are today. Wheeler discounted the RCP 8.5 scenario as the result of political interference in scientific work by the Obama administration. The moderator asked Wheeler if his agency ought to be preparing for the worst-case scenario laid out by the National Climate Assessment. It depends, Wheeler said, then explained he did not necessarily trust the reports most dire conclusions. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) is a true Dividend Rock Star. Its yield of 4.3% makes it one of the market's top dividend payer. In the past ten years, Prudential Financial has also grown its dividend from $0.70 to $4. Below, I have outlined more attractive dividend aspects for Prudential Financial for income investors who may be interested in new dividend stocks for their portfolio. See our latest analysis for Prudential Financial What Is A Dividend Rock Star? It is a stock that pays a stable and consistent dividend, having done so reliably for the past decade with the expectation of this continuing into the future. More specifically: It is paying an annual yield above 75% of dividend payers It has paid dividend every year without dramatically reducing payout in the past Its dividend per share amount has increased over the past It is able to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings It has the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward High Yield And Dependable Prudential Financial currently yields 4.3%, which is high for Insurance stocks. But the real reason Prudential Financial stands out is because it has a high chance of being able to continue to pay dividend at this level for years to come, something that is quite desirable if you are looking to create a portfolio that generates a steady stream of income. NYSE:PRU Historical Dividend Yield, June 3rd 2019 If dividend is a key criteria in your investment consideration, then you need to make sure the dividend stock you're eyeing out is reliable in its payments. In the case of PRU it has increased its DPS from $0.70 to $4 in the past 10 years. During this period it has not missed a payment, as one would expect for a company increasing its dividend. These are all positive signs of a great, reliable dividend stock. Prudential Financial has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 43%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. However, going forward, analysts expect PRU's payout to fall to 31% of its earnings. Assuming a constant share price, this equates to a dividend yield of 4.6%. However, EPS should increase to $11.97, meaning that the lower payout ratio does not necessarily implicate a lower dividend payment. Story continues When considering the sustainability of dividends, it is also worth checking the cash flow of a company. Companies with strong cash flow can sustain a higher payout ratio, while companies with weaker cash flow generally cannot. Next Steps: Prudential Financial's strong dividend attributes make it, without a doubt, a stock dividend investors should be considering for their portfolios. However, given this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. I've put together three important aspects you should further research: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PRUs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for PRUs outlook. Valuation: What is PRU 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 PRU is currently mispriced by the market. Other Dividend Rockstars: Are there strong dividend payers with better fundamentals out there? Check out our free list of these great stocks here. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA, June 2 (Reuters) - Protesters burned and looted some 30 shipping containers marked with the logo of the Dole Food Company in Honduras on Sunday, a military official said, in the second attack on symbols of U.S. power in the Central American nation in recent days. Protests against U.S.-allied Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez have been building in recent weeks over planned reforms that Hernandez's critics argue will lead to the privatization of public services. The attack on the convoy of trucks took place in rural Honduras early on Sunday on a road passing through a village known as Guadalupe Carney, some 330 km (205 miles) from the capital, Tegucigalpa, senior military official Fernando Leiva said in an interview posted by Honduran media. Protesters torched an access gate to the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa on Friday, setting fire to about a dozen tires after dousing them with fuel. It what was not immediately clear what triggered the attack on the fruit trucks. Media carried images in which scorched white containers on trailers emblazoned with the Dole logo could be seen, along with at least one badly burned truck tractor. Fruit boxes could be seen in one open container. "Until now we have 32 burned containers and practically everything that was in those containers was looted," Leiva told Honduran media outlet Diario Colon Hn. Dole Food Company did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Fruit companies have a long history in Central America and in the past were linked to U.S. domination in the region. In Guatemala, the expropriation of lands belonging to the United Fruit Company, a predecessor of Chiquita Brands International, contributed to the U.S.-backed overthrow of the President Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. Hernandez has been under pressure since he changed rules to allow him to run for a second term in 2017, winning a race that was heavily criticized by international observers and which his opponents say he stole. U.S. court documents related to the trial of his brother for alleged cocaine trafficking revealed last week that the president had also been investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Hernandez acknowledged the investigation but said the DEA had found no evidence of wrongdoing. (Reporting by Gustavo Palencia Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher Editing by Paul Tait) By Gustavo Palencia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Protesters burned and looted some 30 shipping containers marked with the logo of the Dole Food Company in Honduras on Sunday, a military official said, in the second attack on symbols of U.S. power in the Central American nation in recent days. Protests against U.S.-allied Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez have been building in recent weeks over planned reforms that Hernandez's critics argue will lead to the privatization of public services. The attack on the convoy of trucks took place in rural Honduras early on Sunday on a road passing through a village known as Guadalupe Carney, some 330 km (205 miles) from the capital, Tegucigalpa, senior military official Fernando Leiva said in an interview posted by Honduran media. Protesters torched an access gate to the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa on Friday, setting fire to about a dozen tires after dousing them with fuel. It what was not immediately clear what triggered the attack on the fruit trucks. Media carried images in which scorched white containers on trailers emblazoned with the Dole logo could be seen, along with at least one badly burned truck tractor. Fruit boxes could be seen in one open container. "Until now we have 32 burned containers and practically everything that was in those containers was looted," Leiva told Honduran media outlet Diario Colon Hn. Dole Food Company did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Fruit companies have a long history in Central America and in the past were linked to U.S. domination in the region. In Guatemala, the expropriation of lands belonging to the United Fruit Company, a predecessor of Chiquita Brands International, contributed to the U.S.-backed overthrow of the President Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. Hernandez has been under pressure since he changed rules to allow him to run for a second term in 2017, winning a race that was heavily criticized by international observers and which his opponents say he stole. Story continues U.S. court documents related to the trial of his brother for alleged cocaine trafficking revealed last week that the president had also been investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Hernandez acknowledged the investigation but said the DEA had found no evidence of wrongdoing. (Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Paul Tait) Donald Trump appeared to be on his best behaviour on the first day of his state visit of the UK ahead of expected protests led by Jeremy Corbyn. The President was treated to full royal pageantry at Buckingham Palace, enjoying a formal ceremonial welcome, followed by lunch at Buckingham Palace with senior royals and then a state banquet hosted by the Queen. It came at the end of a controversial first day during which: During a speech before the lavish dinner Mr Trump said he was profoundly honoured by the visit and called the Queen a great, great woman. The Queen said she was delighted to welcome the Trumps to Buckingham Palace. She also highlighted the importance of international institutions created after the Second World War to ensure peace a comment that might be interpreted by some as a rebuke of Mr Trump who has repeatedly criticised the cost to the US of helping to fund Nato. Tonight we celebrate an alliance that has helped to ensure the safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades, and which I believe will endure for many years to come. Read The Queens #USStateVisit speech in full at: https://t.co/i32F05SXp5 The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) 3 June 2019 President Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II, Melania Trump, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, during a group photo ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of US President Donald Trump's three day state visit to the UK. (PA Images) Mr Trump and his wife Melania, who wore a white Dior gown, dined on food from the Queens estate including Welsh saddle of lamb and strawberry sable, and were served English sparkling wine during the lavish event - though the President is teetotal. Story continues Four of Mr Trumps five children Ivanka Trump, with her husband Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and his wife Lara, and Tiffany Trump, attended the event where they mingled with members of the royal family. Harry, who was at the private lunch earlier, was noticeably absent, as was Meghan who is on maternity leave looking after their four-week-old son Archie. Melania Trump and the Prince of Wales arrive through the East Gallery during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of the US President's three day state visit to the UK. Tomorrow the focus of the state visit will move from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street. While the President meets politicians and senior business figures, Jeremy Corbyn will address the protests against Mr Trump in London tomorrow. Thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets on Tuesday to voice their opposition to the Presidents state visit. Mr Corbyn called the protests "an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked in America, around the world and in our own country". It follows the leader of the oppositions decision to boycott the state banquet. The Trumps spent much of the first day their state visit in the company of the royal family, with the President describing the royals as fantastic in a gushing Tweet on Monday afternoon. London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong. Tremendous crowds of well wishers and people that love our Country. Havent seen any protests yet, but Im sure the.... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 ....Fake News will be working hard to find them. Great love all around. Also, big Trade Deal is possible once U.K. gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 Upon arrival at Buckingham Palace the Trumps were greeted by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall who waited on the lawn as they disembarked from Marine One. The President and his wife were then welcomed by a smiling Queen on the steps of the palace. The smiles were in marked contrast to a series of controversial comments which marked the start of the visit, in which he called London mayor Sadiq Khan a stone cold loser just minutes before he landed. Queen Elizabeth II greets US President Donald Trump as he arrives for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace. (PA Images) The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall greet Donald and Melania Trump as they arrive for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace. (PA Images) US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport (Picture: Getty) He tweeted the scathing attack as Air Force One landed at Stansted Airport just before 9am on Monday. Mr Trump said Mr Khan has done a terrible job as mayor, and said he was foolishly nasty to him. Mr Khan responded by accusing the US president of childish insults. Mr Trump tweeted: Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. ....Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 A spokesman for Sadiq Khan said: "This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States. "Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country, warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years." Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt, who welcomed Mr Trump at Stansted Airport, said: "The president does what the president does but let's ask why he was so angry when he did that tweet and I think the very simple reason is he's been shown great discourtesy." US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive at Stansted Airport in Essex (Picture: PA) Mr Trump and his wife Melania are greeted at Stansted Airport (Picture: PA) Air Force One, carrying US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania, arrives at Stansted Airport in Essex (Picture: PA) Mr Trump said his packed visit to the UK will be very important and spoke of an opportunity for a very big trade deal at some point in the near future before he left Washington. Theres a lot going on in the UK and Im sure its going to work out very well for them, the US president said. However, comments from the US ambassador Woody Johnson, who said the NHS could be on the table as part of a US trade deal, have provoked concern. Read more Donald Trump reckons UK should leave the EU with no deal and send Nigel Farage to negotiate The red carpet should not be rolled out for Donald Trump, says Sadiq Khan Donald Trump says Boris Johnson would be excellent choice as next Tory leader In pictures: Donald Trump's UK state visit, day one Huge protests planned Several protests against Mr Trumps visit are planned across the UK, including events in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and Belfast. A national demonstration against the visit will leave from Trafalgar Square at 11am on Tuesday. Will the "Trump Baby" blimp make an appearance in protests this week? (Picture: PA) A woman views an anti-Donald Trump billboard in London by campaign group Led By Donkeys, ahead of President Trump's state visit (Picture: PA) It will be attended by members of the Stop Trump Coalition and Stand Up To Trump. The Trump baby blimp made for his appearance last year is due to appear. The police operation for the presidents trip to the UK last year - which was not a state visit - cost an estimated 18 million. --- Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK --- Photo: Sushi C./Yelp A new Japanese spot, offering ramen, sandwiches and more has made its debut in the neighborhood. Located at 1221 Alhambra Blvd., Suite 107 in East Sacramento, the new arrival is called Shoku Ramen bar. The ramen bar offers a variety of ramen options, from pork and beef to chicken and tofu. Also on the menu are items like Japanese pan sando sandwiches, udon and salads. With a 4.5-star rating out of 14 reviews on Yelp so far, Shoku Ramen bar seems to be a welcome addition to the neighborhood. Yelper Derrick C. wrote, Flavor on the tonkatsu sando was good nice soft crisp on the bread and the dressing on the sandwich provided a tangy balance. Ingredients in the ramen were fresh, especially the corn." And Ken L. wrote, "From the time we walked in to the time we were done, the service staff was very attentive and helpful in recommending me different entrees. [The dishes] were all very eye-appealing, and I was very pleased with the scrumptious flavors. Definitely will be back to try more of their assorted dishes." Swing on by to take a peek for yourself: Shoku Ramen bar is open from 11 a.m.9 p.m. on Tuesday-Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) 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 Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman rejected prosecutors' claims that the Mexican drug lord may try to escape from the Manhattan jail where he awaits sentencing, and said he should be afforded regular exercise on the building's roof. In a court filing on Sunday, lawyer Mariel Colon asked a Brooklyn federal judge to allow his client two hours a week of outdoor exercise, calling Guzman's solitary confinement, with no exposure to sunlight or fresh air, "unnatural and inhumane." John Marzulli, a spokesman for the office of U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue, which prosecuted Guzman, declined to comment. Colon had raised concerns about Guzman's conditions in Manhattan's Metropolitan Correctional Center in a May 11 letter to U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan. Prosecutors responded on May 23 that the request should be denied because the only outdoor exercise area for high-risk inmates like Guzman was on the roof, where Guzman, who twice escaped from high security prisons in Mexico, could signal to accomplices in nearby buildings to plan a jailbreak. They also cited an unsuccessful 1981 escape attempt at the same jail, in which a prisoner's accomplices hijacked a sightseeing helicopter, rammed it into a metal cage surrounding the roof recreation area and threw him a pistol. Colon said Guzman was in no position to try a similar escape, because he is forbidden from communicating with anyone but his lawyers and has no "special vision" to see faraway rooftops. She said Guzman's lack of outdoor exercise violated the prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. "The Government should not be allowed to claim that it is okay to violate a defendant's constitutional rights because of a design flaw in the building," Colon wrote. Guzman, 61, was convicted on Feb. 12 of trafficking tons of cocaine, heroin and other drugs into the United States as leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Story continues Jurors heard testimony from more than 50 prosecution witnesses. This included accounts of Guzman's two earlier prison breaks, the first while hidden in a laundry cart and the second through an elaborate, mile-long tunnel dug into his cell. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 25, and faces mandatory life in prison. (Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish) Photo: iStock Looking for an adventure in one of the worlds great megacities, but without the hassle of flying halfway around the world? Mexico City is North Americas largest, at over 8 million people (and more than twice that number in the greater metro area). It's the oldest capital city in the Americas, rich in history and culture, and a major economic center in the region today. In addition to Aztec ruins, the city has the worlds largest single-metropolitan concentration of museums, plus extensive art galleries, concert halls and theaters. And the citys 16 boroughs and many colorful neighborhoods offer an abundance of shopping, restaurants, bars and nightlife. Its more doable than you think. According to travel site Skyscanner, there are plenty of flights from Pittsburgh to Mexico City 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. (Prices and availability are current as of publication and subject to change.) 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. Flight deals to Mexico City The cheapest flights between Pittsburgh and Mexico City are if you leave on Nov. 1 and return from Mexico on Nov. 4. Aeromexico (aerm) currently has roundtrip, nonstop tickets for $289. There are also deals to be had in October. If you fly out of Pittsburgh on Oct. 31 and return from Mexico City on Nov. 3, Aeromexico (aerm) can get you there and back for $312 roundtrip. Top Mexico City hotels Regarding where to stay, here are some of Mexico Citys top-rated hotels, according to Skyscanner, that we selected based on price, proximity to things to do, and customer satisfaction. The Condesa DF (Avenida Veracruz 102 Colonia Condesa) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking to treat yourself, try The Condesa DF. Rooms are currently set at $265/night. Story continues This 40-room luxury hotel is located in Mexico City's Condesa district, close to many restaurants, bars and cafes. The Four Seasons Mexico City (Paseo de la Reforma 500 Colonia Juarez) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner A third option is The Four Seasons Mexico City. With a 4.9-star rating on Skyscanner, the hotel is one of the most luxurious in the city. Rooms are currently listed for $179/night. Set in the heart of Mexico City on the busy Paseo de la Reforma, this luxury hotel is close to the Monumento a los Ninos Heroes and the Monumento a los Heroes de la Independencia. Featured Mexico City restaurants If you're looking to snag a bite at one of Mexico City's many quality eateries, here are a few popular culinary destinations from Skyscanner's listings that will help keep you satiated. El Moro (Eje Central Lazaro Cardenas, 42) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking for a local favorite, head to El Moro, which has an average of 4.8 stars out of 17 reviews on Skyscanner. "This 1930s-era churreria is a stand-out and must visit," wrote visitor Harold. "The lines can be long but they move quickly." Restaurante El Cardenal (Calle de la Palma, 23) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Another popular dining destination is Restaurante El Cardenal, with 4.6 stars from 22 reviews. "The food was super fantastic here," wrote reviewer Frank. "The wait is pretty long, but I can see why. Much bigger on the inside than I thought. There are three floors of dining. The eggs for breakfast were perfect." Panaderia Rosetta (Colima 179) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is Panaderia Rosetta. "This is the sister bakery to Rosetta," wrote Leila. "It's a very cozy breakfast spot with only a few bar stools for seating. Get there early to get your hands on the good pastries." Lalo! (Zacatecas 173) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, there's Lalo! "Food and drinks here are delicious! Flavors in the lavender soda were subtle. Definitely recommend the flor de calabaza," wrote visitor Mario. Top Mexico City attractions To round out your trip, Mexico City offers plenty of popular attractions worth visiting. Here are some top recommendations, based on Skyscanner's descriptions and reviews. The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Av. Juarez) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is The Palacio de Bellas Artes. Inaugurated in 1934, the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City is a major cultural center where you can attend poetry readings, operas, dance recitals, art shows and more. Its construction began in 1904, but took three decades to complete due to the Mexican Revolution and complications during the building process. "The place in itself is a beauty," wrote visitor Analu. "The lobby feels like youve stepped back in time. The museum is well worth the visit." Callejon Regina (Calle Regina Centro Historico) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, spend some time at Callejon Regina. "I have seen the transformation of this alley. Back when it was a busy street until its current closure to cars, becoming a walking destination for pedestrians," wrote visitor Rebeca. "Undoubtedly, it is one of my favorite areas of the historic center." 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. Addis Ababa (AFP) - Ethiopia's religious leaders on Monday urged the government to block a US gay travel company from touring the country's ancient sites, and one group warned visiting homosexuals could face violence. The Chicago-based Toto Tours, which describes itself on its website as "the only gay tour company in existence" that has been operating with the same ownership and management for almost three decades, told AFP it has received death threats since announcing a 16-day trip to Ethiopia, which includes numerous historical religious sites. Their itinerary has sparked ire in Ethiopia, which like many in Africa is deeply homophobic and has strict anti-gay laws, punishing homosexual acts with up to 15 years in prison. "Tour programmes and dating programmes that try to use our historical sites and heritage should be immediately stopped by the Ethiopian government and we urge Ethiopians supporting these sinful and evil acts to desist from their acts," Tagay Tadele of the Inter-Religious Council of Ethiopia told journalists. The council counts seven Islamic and Christian denominations as members. An influential Ethiopian Orthodox organisation, the Sileste Mihret United Association, also held a press conference Monday to condemn the tour company. "Homosexuality is hated as well as being illegal in Ethiopia. Toto Tours are wrong to plan to conduct tours in our religious and historical places," the organisation's vice chairman, Dereje Negash, told AFP. "If Toto Tours comes to Ethiopia where 97 percent of Ethiopians surveyed oppose homosexuality, they will be damaged, they could even die," he said. Dan Ware, the president of Toto Tours, said the company had been "terribly misunderstood", in an email to AFP. "Our company is not aimed at spreading values contrary to local cultures when we travel around the world. We are simply an organization where like-minded people can travel comfortably together to experience the world's most precious wonders. Story continues "We come with only the greatest respect and humility." He said the tour had been advertised on the company's social media pages and spotted within Ethiopia, leading to "death threats", and called for protection for the tour group from both the US State Department and the Ethiopian tourism ministry. "This is terrible discrimination, and when the word of this spreads internationally, as it is most likely to do, it will have a negative impact on the important tourism industry in Ethiopia." He said that by the time the tour takes place in October "the eyes of the entire world will be on the people of Ethiopia to see what happens to us." Twenty-eight out of 49 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have laws penalising same-sex relationships, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Some countries, like Angola, Mozambique and Seychelles, have moved to scrap anti-gay laws. However Kenya's high court earlier this month refused to do so, in a major blow to gay activists on the continent. Jeremy Corbyn speaks to protesters - Getty Images Europe US President Donald Trump is in Britain for a three-day state visit. Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, the president arrived aboard Air Force One on Monday morning having already created a considerable degree of political turbulence with comments on the Tory leadership race, Brexit and the Duchess of Sussex. On Tuesday, at a press conference with Prime Minister Theresa May, he revealed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had requested a meeting, but was rejected. It later emerged that the president held a 20-minute phone call with Tory leadership candidate Boris Johnson and met with Brexit party leader Nigel Farage, among others. On Wednesday Mr Trump, and First Lady Melania, joined the Queen and Prince Charles, Mrs May and other world leaders, at a commemoration of the D-Day landings in Portsmouth with veterans. The event was to tell the story of D-Day through musical performance, testimonial readings and military displays, including a fly-past of 25 modern and period aircraft. The Queen was expected to bid a formal farewell to Mr and Mrs Trump before they travel to Ireland to meet Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. Follow Trump's visit live here Donald Trump 'moved' by Prince Charles' passion on climate change Donald Trump had a long conversation with Prince Charles about climate change on Tuesday, with the president saying he was 'moved' by the Prince of Wales' passion. He told ITV: "We had a 15 minute chat and it lasted an hour and a half and he did most of the talking. "What he really wants and what he feels strongly about is the future. He wants the best climate for the future. "He wants a good climate and not a disaster." Trump backtracks on NHS trade deal comments The US President had used a joint appearance with Theresa May to say that the NHS would be "on the table" as part of a "phenomenal" potential transatalantic deal. Story continues He said: "I think everything with a trade deal is on the table." Theresa May replied: "But the point in making trade deals is of course that both sides negotiate and come to an agreement about what should or should not be in that trade deal for the future." Soon after, Health Secretary and Tory leadership candidate Matt Hancock tweeted: "Dear Mr President. The NHS isnt on the table in trade talks - and never will be. Not on my watch." But in a U-turn he used a major TV interview to say "I don't see it being on the table" as the NHS was "something that I would not consider part of trade". The President rowed back on his suggestion that access for US firms to the NHS must be part of talks for a post-Brexit trade deal. Boris Johnson turns down face-to-face meet with US president It emerged that Mr Johnson turned down a one-to-one meeting with Mr Trump just days after the US president appeared to endorse him as Mrs May's successor. There were rumours the pair were going to hold private talks today in London, but instead it is understood they had a "friendly and productive" 20-minute phone call. The reason the former Foreign Secretary turned down the private meeting is said to be because it would have clashed with One Nation leadership hustings. Donald Trump seemed to throw his support behind the former Mayor of London as Britain's next Prime Minister, saying before the trip: "I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent." Corbyn's anti-Trump speech Jeremy Corbyn turned down an invitation to the state banquet, where he would have had the opportunity to meet the US president. On Tuesday, he took to a stage in Whitehall and addressed several thousands of protesters and said: "I am not, absolutely not, refusing to meet anybody. I want to be able to have that dialogue to bring about the better and more peaceful world that we all want to live in. "But I'm very disappointed, particularly today, on the wonderful festival of Eid, that our Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been attacked as he has. "I am proud that our city has a Muslim mayor, that we can chase down Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, any form of racism within our society because racism divides." Mr Corbyn added: "When you've created that sense of hate, when you've destroyed people's self esteem by those forms of racism, do you know what? You haven't built a house, you haven't built a school, you haven't trained a nurse, you haven't defended our natural world. "All you've done is created a greater sense of hate and hatred that goes with it." Jeremy Corbyn speaks to protesters Credit: Peter Summers/Getty Images Press Conference Donald Trump said, at the press conference held on Tuesday afternoon, a future UK-US trade deal had "tremendous potential", saying it could be "two or three times what we're doing at the moment". Talking of Brexit, Mr Trump said: "I think it will happen. I believe the PM has brought it to a very good point where something will take place in the not too distant future." There was a moment of humour at the end of their joint press conference when Mrs May was asked whether she should have taken the President's advice on Brexit. Mrs May said: "It will be for whoever succeeds me to take this issue forward. "I seem to remember the president suggest I sued the European Union, which we didn't do. We went into negotiations and came out with a good deal." Mr Trump responded: "I would have sued and settled, maybe, but you never know. "She's probably a better negotiator that I am. "She has got it, in a sense - that deal is teed up, I think they have to do something. "Perhaps you won't be given the credit you deserve if they do something, but I think you deserve a lot of credit - I really do." President Trump and Theresa May address the media Credit: David Rose In a surprising turn, Donald Trump said he refused to meet Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, describing him as a "somewhat negative force". He said: "I don't know Jeremy Corbyn. He wanted to meet today or tomorrow and I decided not to do that. He's somewhat of a negative force. People should look to do things decisively and not just criticise. I've decided not to meet him." A Labour source later confirmed that the meeting had been requested, but that it was turned down. Protests Just as was the case during his last visit, a giant inflatable Donald Trump baby blimp is flying over London during the US president's state visit after its owners reached their fundraising target. Organisers planned to fly the 20ft blimp above Parliament Square for two hours from 9am on Tuesday. The blimp, which can be flown up to 100ft in the air, depicts the US president wearing a nappy and clutching a mobile phone. A spokesman for the team behind the blimp said they had received permission to deploy the inflatable from the Greater London Authority, headed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the Civil Aviation Authority. This year, the Trump Baby team, which is part of the Stop Trump coalition, said the blimp would only be flown if a crowdfunding target of 30,000 was met to support groups focused on tackling social issues. Organisers announced the target was reached on Sunday and raised it to 50,000 to give the groups an "even bigger boost". President Trump was asked about the protests in the press conference with Theresa May and he said: "I did not see the protesters until just a little while ago and it was a small group of people put in for political reasons." The Trump Baby Blimp Credit: Kirsty O'Connor/PA The Royal reception at Buckingham Palace The Queen welcomed US President Donald Trump to Britain as they shared a warm handshake at Buckingham Palace on the first day of the three-day state visit. Mr Trump and the First Lady Melania were greeted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall after their helicopter, Marine One, landed on the West Lawn of the palace just before 12.15pm. President Trump climbed up the stairs and shook hands with The Queen, who smiled broadly before turning to greet the First Lady. At the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen, troops from the British Armys Household Division delivered an immaculate Guard of Honour for the arrival of the President, who was invited to inspect the guard of honour. In an unusual move, the president took the time to talk to each soldier individually. Charles accompanied the president as he strode onto the lawns to inspect the waiting troops formed up in two lines with the guardsmen wearing their famous scarlet tunics and bearskins. Several of the guardsmen on parade have US links and all will at some point in their careers train alongside US forces. As the President arrived on the West Lawns, two 41-gun salutes fired simultaneously in The Green Park by the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery and at HM Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company. The Trumps and the royals then went inside the palace, through the Bow Room, where the Queen introduced senior members of her household to her guests and in-turn the US leader did the same with prominent figures from his entourage. They then sat down to lunch. Afterwards, the First Couple went to Westminster Abbey, and then in the evening, attended the state banquet. The Trump-Khan tit-for-tat Donald Trump's state visit to the UK was never going to be a quiet affair, and he made doubly sure by launching a social media grenade before he had even landed on British soil. Tweeting while still in the air over Stansted Airport, he called Mr Khan a "stone cold loser", saying he had done a "terrible job" after the mayor on Sunday described the president as "just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" and compared the language he has used to that of the "fascists of the 20th century". Clearly still smouldering, Mr Trump continued to rant to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who was at the Essex airport to greet him. Mr Hunt said: "He shared his strong feelings about the Mayor of London," when asked what they talked about. Although the Tory leadership hopeful would not divulge the exact details of what was said, he said it was consistent with the language he used in his tweets about Mr Khan. The Foreign Secretary continued: "The president does what the president does but let's ask why he was so angry when he did that tweet and I think the very simple reason is he's been shown great discourtesy. "What I would say is for Sadiq Khan and the Labour Party to be boycotting the state visit of the President of the United States, who has been invited here not by Theresa May but by Her Majesty the Queen to celebrate a relationship that goes back centuries but just 75 years ago saw a million American servicemen on our soil land ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for our liberty, is I'm afraid, virtue-signalling of the worst kind." In response to the tweets, a spokesman for Sadiq Khan said: "This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States. "Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country, warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years." What is on the Trumps' agenda for the rest of the week? Thursday French D-Day ceremonies Donald Trump attends ceremonies in France marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6. Friday By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to provide tentative approval to a bid by American Airlines Group Inc and Qantas Airways Ltd to operate a joint venture, two people briefed on the matter said on Sunday. The department is expected to issue an order tentatively approving the joint business agreement and tentatively granting antitrust immunity, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The order, which is expected as early as Monday and would be subject to public comment, is likely to include conditions to protect competition and allow for government oversight of the venture, the sources added. A department spokesman declined to comment on the matter. The application by American and Qantas for a joint venture covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand was tentatively rejected in November 2016 by former President Barack Obama's administration amid opposition from rival carriers Hawaiian Airlines Inc and JetBlue Airways Corp. Regulators in Australia and New Zealand approved the first application for the joint venture before it was rejected by the U.S. Transportation Department. American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said on Sunday the airline feels "we have made a compelling case about the benefits of the joint business for customers, and there was no opposition raised to our proposal. We're hopeful the Qantas joint business will be approved." American and Qantas in February 2018 made a second attempt to gain U.S. regulatory permission under President Donald Trump's administration for a venture that would let them coordinate prices and schedules, threatening to cancel services if it was rejected and arguing it could "unlock" up to $310 million annually in consumer benefits. The revised application made significant changes including removing a provision that would have barred either carrier from codesharing with other carriers. Codesharing is a arrangement between airlines in which two or more carriers publish and advertise a single flight under their own airline number. Story continues The airlines argued in their 2018 application that the venture would lead to a reduction in fares and higher capacity as a "more viable third competitor" and require other carriers to respond with improvements to quality, schedules and price. Qantas said last year the joint venture would allow the two airlines to "significantly improve service" and "stimulate demand." The airlines said the agreement could generate up to 180,000 new trips between the United States and Australia and New Zealand annually. The airlines said if the bid were rejected it could result in Qantas reducing the frequency of, downgrading or even canceling its A380 service between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth, while American may further reduce service between Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland. The airlines started sharing codes on each other's flights in 1989, co-founded the "oneworld" marketing alliance in 1999 and formed a deeper partnership in 2011 without antitrust immunity. American Airlines and Qantas currently rely on codeshare agreements to make those routes economically viable. If the venture is granted final approval, the two could offer more flights, including to cities not currently served by either, they said. U.S. regulators in 2001 approved similar joint venture agreements for United and Air New Zealand Ltd and in 2011 for Delta Air Lines Inc and Virgin Australia . (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Will Dunham) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to provide tentative approval to a bid by American Airlines Group Inc and Qantas Airways Ltd to operate a joint venture, two people briefed on the matter said on Sunday. The department is expected to issue an order tentatively approving the joint business agreement and tentatively granting antitrust immunity, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The order, which is expected as early as Monday and would be subject to public comment, is likely to include conditions to protect competition and allow for government oversight of the venture, the sources added. A department spokesman declined to comment on the matter. The application by American and Qantas for a joint venture covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand was tentatively rejected in November 2016 by former President Barack Obama's administration amid opposition from rival carriers Hawaiian Airlines Inc and JetBlue Airways Corp. Regulators in Australia and New Zealand approved the first application for the joint venture before it was rejected by the U.S. Transportation Department. American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said on Sunday the airline feels "we have made a compelling case about the benefits of the joint business for customers, and there was no opposition raised to our proposal. We're hopeful the Qantas joint business will be approved." American and Qantas in February 2018 made a second attempt to gain U.S. regulatory permission under President Donald Trump's administration for a venture that would let them coordinate prices and schedules, threatening to cancel services if it was rejected and arguing it could "unlock" up to $310 million annually in consumer benefits. The revised application made significant changes including removing a provision that would have barred either carrier from codesharing with other carriers. Codesharing is a arrangement between airlines in which two or more carriers publish and advertise a single flight under their own airline number. Story continues The airlines argued in their 2018 application that the venture would lead to a reduction in fares and higher capacity as a "more viable third competitor" and require other carriers to respond with improvements to quality, schedules and price. Qantas said last year the joint venture would allow the two airlines to "significantly improve service" and "stimulate demand". The airlines said the agreement could generate up to 180,000 new trips between the United States and Australia and New Zealand annually. The airlines said if the bid were rejected it could result in Qantas reducing the frequency of, downgrading or even cancelling its A380 service between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth, while American may further reduce service between Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland. The airlines started sharing codes on each other's flights in 1989, co-founded the "oneworld" marketing alliance in 1999 and formed a deeper partnership in 2011 without antitrust immunity. American Airlines and Qantas currently rely on codeshare agreements to make those routes economically viable. If the venture is granted final approval, the two could offer more flights, including to cities not currently served by either, they said. New routes for Qantas could include non-stop flights from Brisbane to Chicago, Dallas or Seattle, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. "We have a number of different, very good routes and plans for a very good expansion into the U.S. when it is approved," he told reporters. U.S. regulators in 2001 approved similar joint venture agreements for United and Air New Zealand Ltd and in 2011 for Delta Air Lines Inc and Virgin Australia. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Seoul; Editing by Will Dunham and Christopher Cushing) * Order to be subject to public comment, likely to include conditions * Qantas to consider routes like Brisbane-Chicago if approved - CEO * Airlines said capacity could fall if application rejected (Adds comments from Qantas CEO on growth plans) By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to provide tentative approval to a bid by American Airlines Group Inc and Qantas Airways Ltd to operate a joint venture, two people briefed on the matter said on Sunday. The department is expected to issue an order tentatively approving the joint business agreement and tentatively granting antitrust immunity, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The order, which is expected as early as Monday and would be subject to public comment, is likely to include conditions to protect competition and allow for government oversight of the venture, the sources added. A department spokesman declined to comment on the matter. The application by American and Qantas for a joint venture covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand was tentatively rejected in November 2016 by former President Barack Obama's administration amid opposition from rival carriers Hawaiian Airlines Inc and JetBlue Airways Corp. Regulators in Australia and New Zealand approved the first application for the joint venture before it was rejected by the U.S. Transportation Department. American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said on Sunday the airline feels "we have made a compelling case about the benefits of the joint business for customers, and there was no opposition raised to our proposal. We're hopeful the Qantas joint business will be approved." American and Qantas in February 2018 made a second attempt to gain U.S. regulatory permission under President Donald Trump's administration for a venture that would let them coordinate prices and schedules, threatening to cancel services if it was rejected and arguing it could "unlock" up to $310 million annually in consumer benefits. Story continues The revised application made significant changes including removing a provision that would have barred either carrier from codesharing with other carriers. Codesharing is a arrangement between airlines in which two or more carriers publish and advertise a single flight under their own airline number. The airlines argued in their 2018 application that the venture would lead to a reduction in fares and higher capacity as a "more viable third competitor" and require other carriers to respond with improvements to quality, schedules and price. Qantas said last year the joint venture would allow the two airlines to "significantly improve service" and "stimulate demand." The airlines said the agreement could generate up to 180,000 new trips between the United States and Australia and New Zealand annually. The airlines said if the bid were rejected it could result in Qantas reducing the frequency of, downgrading or even canceling its A380 service between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth, while American may further reduce service between Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland. The airlines started sharing codes on each other's flights in 1989, co-founded the "oneworld" marketing alliance in 1999 and formed a deeper partnership in 2011 without antitrust immunity. American Airlines and Qantas currently rely on codeshare agreements to make those routes economically viable. If the venture is granted final approval, the two could offer more flights, including to cities not currently served by either, they said. New routes for Qantas could include non-stop flights from Brisbane to Chicago, Dallas or Seattle, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. "We have a number of different, very good routes and plans for a very good expansion into the U.S. when it is approved," he told reporters. U.S. regulators in 2001 approved similar joint venture agreements for United and Air New Zealand Ltd and in 2011 for Delta Air Lines Inc and Virgin Australia . (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Seoul; Editing by Will Dunham and Christopher Cushing) By Luke Baker PARIS (Reuters) - France's once-dominant center-right political party, Les Republicains, was in disarray on Monday after its leader quit, acknowledging his responsibility for the group's poor performance in last week's European elections. Laurent Wauquiez, 44, who took over as leader in late 2017, had moved the party distinctly to the right with an emphasis on France's national identity, rural traditions and Catholic roots, and adopting a skeptical stance toward the European Union in an effort to claw back voters from the far right. But the tactic backfired, with some members leaving to set up a more centrist party, others joining President Emmanuel Macron's En Marche movement and government, and the far-right under Marine Le Pen seeing no decline in its support. His resignation underscores the convulsive impact Macron, 41, has had on French politics since he formed his own party to run in the 2017 presidential election, saying he intended to be "neither of the left, nor the right". By successfully occupying the center ground - even if critics see him as more on the right than the left - Macron has engineered the near-collapse of the Socialists and Republicains, shattering the traditional center-left/center-right blocs. "Emmanuel Macron now embodies the hopes of many French voters on the right," Frederic Lefebvre, the vice-president of Agir, a small party that broke away from Les Republicains because of its rightwards drift, told BFM TV. The Republicains, formerly known as the Union for a Popular Movement, were the dominant force in French politics from the early 2000s under then-president Jacques Chirac until the end of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency in 2012. The party remains the official opposition, having come second to En Marche in the 2017 legislative elections. But its influence has been in decline, a shift highlighted by the European Parliament ballot, when it won only 8.4 percent of the French vote, coming behind Le Pen's Rassemblement National, Macron's En Marche and the green party. Story continues Mainstream center-right and center-left parties in some other EU nations also suffered losses in the election. TACK TO THE RIGHT? The question for the Republicains now is whether they tack back to the center and eat into Macron's support or step up their efforts to attract more right-wing voters. "It would be naive to believe that all that's required to win back votes from those who have migrated to Macron is to be a little less to the right and a little more to the center," wrote commentator Guillaume Tabard in Le Figaro, a conservative newspaper. "The need for a broadening out on the right is something acknowledged by everyone." It is still unclear who will become the new leader. Party activists favor someone like Wauquiez with a more right-leaning agenda, but analysts say a more unifying figure able to bring together centrists and Gaullists is needed to regain power. Gaullists are traditional nationalists who revere the memory of General Charles de Gaulle, the wartime resistance leader who later became the founding president of the Fifth French Republic. Gaullists are also traditionally pro-EU. Marine Le Pen has wasted no time in trying to profit from the Republicains' mess, inviting their voters to join her. "Our hand is extended to all the patriots of Les Republicains, those who believe in the defense of our identity, want to put an end to the tax slaughter we're suffering and make France great again," she wrote on her Facebook page. For Macron, Wauquiez's exit underscores the strength of his centrist position and suggests he is well placed to be re-elected in the 2022 presidential poll, all things being equal. While the past six months have been a tough period for the president, with the Gilets Jaunes (yellow vest) protests against his economic policies causing regular disruption and his personal approval ratings hovering around 30 percent, he faces no serious political opposition. As well as the disarray on the center-right, the socialist vote has collapsed and the far-left under Jean-Luc Melenchon has failed to broaden its appeal. A poll by Sunday newspaper JDD showed Macron and Le Pen coming top in the first round if a presidential election were held tomorrow, and Macron defeating Le Pen in the run-off. (Writing by Luke Baker; Additional reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Gareth Jones) Smartsheet Inc. SMAR is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Jun 5. Notably, the companys earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, with the average positive surprise being 42.5%. The company reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2019 non-GAAP loss of 7 cents per share, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 14 cents and the year-ago quarters loss of 8 cents. Revenues surged 58.2% year over year to $52.2 million and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $50 million. Moreover, customers with annualized contract value (ACV) of more than $50,000 jumped 135% year over year to 444 in the same period. Smartsheet Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Smartsheet Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Smartsheet Inc. price-eps-surprise | Smartsheet Inc. Quote For the fiscal first quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for loss has remained steady at 18 cents per share over the past seven days. The figure indicates a decline of 50% from the year-ago quarter. Management anticipates non-GAAP net loss to be in the range of 18-19 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $54.6 million. The figure indicates an increase of 50.2% from the year-ago quarter. Smartsheet expects revenues between $54 million and $55 million, reflecting year-over-year growth of 49% - 51%. Lets see how things are shaping up for the upcoming announcement. Key Factors at Play in Q1 Smartsheets substantial investments in its products and the companys efforts to enhance the reach of their products to new customers might boost first-quarter fiscal 2020 results. The company is constantly bringing out new product offerings to boost incremental value for its customers. Additionally, Smartsheets efforts to enter new markets and improve existing product capabilities are likely to aid top-line in the to-be-reported quarter. Moreover, Smartsheet plans to expand its Accelerator portfolio into new solution areas, including construction, corporate governance and marketing. This is likely to increase recurring revenue from existing customers in first-quarter fiscal 2020. Further, in the to-be-reported quarter the company achieved Ready Status for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). By achieving the FedRAMP status, which is a most common approach for security assessment, authorization, and monitoring of cloud services, Smartsheet may help more government agencies improve their internal workflow. This is likely to help the company attract new customers and expand its existing federal client base in first-quarter fiscal 2020. However, increase in personnel costs and shift of Smartsheets services from co-location facilities to public cloud may hurt margins in the to-be-reported quarter. Moreover, management noted that it will continue its investments in products and marketing strategies. This may hurt profitability in first-quarter fiscal 2020. What Our Model Says According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Sell-rated stocks Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell) are best avoided. Smartsheet has a Zacks Rank #3 and an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before theyre reported with our Earnings ESP Filter. Stocks to Consider Here are some companies, which, per our model, have the right combination of elements to post earnings beat in their upcoming releases: American Outdoor Brands Corporation AOBC has an Earnings ESP of +9.09% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Science Applications International Corporation SAIC has an Earnings ESP of +2.82% and a Zacks Rank #3. Ambarella, Inc. AMBA has an Earnings ESP of +100% and a Zacks Rank #3. Will you retire a millionaire? One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, 7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Outdoor Brands Corporation (AOBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ambarella, Inc. (AMBA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Smartsheet Inc. (SMAR) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Photo: iStock You dont necessarily have to go far, far away to have a memorable vacation: there are plenty of U.S. cities worth exploring. One option is Charleston, a top travel destination in the American South. The oldest and largest city in South Carolina, Charleston is known for its history, architecture, food culture and hospitality. The city sits on a harbor at the nexus of three rivers, and it boasts a vibrant music and arts scene, along with numerous museums and family-friendly attractions. Thankfully, there are plenty of regular, relatively-inexpensive flights between San Antonio and Charleston. We pulled from travel site Skyscanner to provide you with a short list of flights and hotels handpicked with the trendy adventurer in mind. (Prices and availability are current as of publication and subject to change.) 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. Cheapest Charleston flights The cheapest flights between San Antonio and Charleston are if you leave on June 15 and return from South Carolina on June 18. Delta currently has roundtrip, nonstop tickets for $342. There are also deals to be had in July. If you fly out of San Antonio on July 15 and return from Charleston on July 18, American Airlines can get you there and back for $354 roundtrip. Top Charleston hotels To plan your accommodations, here are some of Charlestons top-rated hotels, according to Skyscanner, that we selected based on price, proximity to things to do and customer satisfaction. The Mills House Wyndham Grand Hotel (115 Meeting St.) For an all-around top recommendation, consider The Mills House Wyndham Grand Hotel. The hotel has a 4.6-star rating on Skyscanner, and rooms are currently available for $123. Set in the heart of Charleston, this reconstruction of an 1853 hotel is close to the Gibbes Museum of Art, the Charleston County Courthouse and all that Meeting and King Streets have to offer. Story continues The Market Pavilion Hotel (225 E. Bay St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking to splurge on top quality, try The Market Pavilion Hotel. Rooms are currently set at $199/night. It checks in with 4.7 stars. Belmond Charleston Place (205 Meeting St.) A pricier alternative is the Belmond Charleston Place. The 4.6-star hotel has rooms for $249/night. Featured Charleston food and drink If you're looking to snag a bite at one of Charleston's many quality eateries, here are a few popular culinary destinations from Skyscanner's listings that will help keep you satiated. The FIG (232 Meeting St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner If you're looking for a local favorite, head to The FIG, which has an average of 4.9 stars out of 40 reviews on Skyscanner. "This is a great place to eat if you can get a reservation ahead of time. You will not be disappointed," wrote visitor Wythe. Halls Chophouse (434 King St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Another popular dining destination is Halls Chophouse, with 4.9 stars from 31 reviews. "Absolutely delicious!" wrote reviewer Maria. Slightly North of Broad (192 E. Bay St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Also worth considering is Slightly North of Broad, with 4.9 stars from 22 reviews. "I had the sweet potato tamale and my friend had beef carpaccio. They were recommended by the bartender as favorites and both were very good," wrote Joleen. The Charleston Grill (224 King St.) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Finally, there's The Charleston Grill, with five stars from eight reviews. "This is definitely one of the finest culinary experiences in all of Charleston," wrote 19 Broad Charleston. Featured Charleston attractions Not sure what to do in Charleston, besides eat and drink? Here are a few recommendations, provided by Skyscanner. Downtown Charleston (King Street) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner First up is Downtown Charleston, with 4.9 stars from 133 reviews. The historic area of Downtown Charleston is an experience not soon forgotten by the thousands of tourists who visit each year. The main feature are the historic row homes, many of which have been renovated and restored to their original Revolutionary War appearances. Shem Creek Park (Shrimp Boat Lane) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Then, there's the Shem Creek Park, with five stars from 14 reviews. "You will see sea birds and local seagrasses and marsh wildlife," wrote visitor Tracy. Pitt Street Bridge (Pitt Street Bridge) Photo: Trip by Skyscanner Lastly, spend some time at the Pitt Street Bridge, with five stars from 12 reviews. "The bridge is now a walking and fishing pier reaching into the marshes of the intracoastal waterway with fantastic views, wildlife, palm trees and breezes!" wrote visitor Lynn. 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. OTTAWA, June 3 (Reuters) - A special commission tasked with investigating murdered and missing indigenous women in Canada released its final 1,200-page report on Monday. It said the deaths in Canada of more than a thousand aboriginal women and girls in recent decades was a national genocide, blaming the violence on long-standing discrimination against indigenous people and the country's failure to protect them. Below is a snapshot of some of the 231 recommendations, or what the report says are "calls for justice," included in the report: POLICE AND VICTIM SERVICES - Equal funding for indigenous police services compared with all other non-indigenous police services - Standardization of protocols for all police services that ensure all cases of missing and murdered indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQQIA) people are thoroughly investigated - Government funding to increase the recruitment of indigenous peoples to all police services - Ensure mandatory indigenous languages capacity within police services - Ensure there are police services in all Inuit communities - All police services establish an independent, special investigation unit to look into failures to investigate, police misconduct, and all forms of discriminatory practices and mistreatment of indigenous peoples within their police services - End the practice of limited-duration posts in all police services, and replace it with a policy that builds and sustains a relationship with the local community and cultures - More funding for indigenous and community-led victim services LEGISLATIVE AND JUDICIAL - All provincial and territorial governments enact missing persons legislation - Recruit and retain more indigenous justices of the peace and increase indigenous representation in all Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada - Amend the Criminal Code to consider violence against indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQUIA people as an aggravating factor at sentencing and include cases where there "is a pattern of intimate partner violence and abuse" as murder in the first degree Story continues - Mandatory intensive and periodic training of all who participate in the criminal justice system, such as Crown attorneys, defense lawyers and court staff, in the area of indigenous cultures and histories HEALTH AND EDUCATION - All health service providers should develop and implement awareness and education programs for indigenous youth on the issue of grooming for exploitation and sexual exploitation - Update education curriculums in partnership with indigenous peoples to include the history of murdered and missing indigenous women and the root causes of the violence (Reporting by Kelsey Johnson Editing by Paul Simao) LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S President Donald Trump delivered a withering verdict on British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit strategy, tipped Boris Johnson to be next prime minister, and criticized the wife of Prince Harry ahead of a visit to Britain this week. Here are some of the main quotes he has given about Brexit, the royal family and protests against his visit: Trump's advice for British politicians on how to handle Brexit: "If they don't get what they want, I would walk away," Trump said in an interview with the Sunday Times published over the weekend. "If you dont get a fair deal, you walk away." "They've got to get it done," he said. "They have got to get the deal closed." Trump on Prime Minister Theresa May's approach to Brexit negotiations: "I think that the UK allowed the European Union to have all the cards. And it is very hard to play well when one side has all the advantage," he told The Sun in an interview. "I had mentioned to Theresa that you have got to build up your ammunition. I am sure that you could have built up a big advantage for your side and negotiated from strength." Trump on Boris Johnson, the front runner to be Britain's next prime minister: "Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent," he told The Sun. He added: "I like him. I have always liked him. I dont know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person." Trump on Nigel Farage, one of the leading figures in the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union: "I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer," Trump told the Sunday Times. "He is a very smart person. They wont bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just havent figured that out yet." Trump on London Mayor Sadiq Khan: Khan "by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom," Trump said on Twitter before landing in Britain. Story continues "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me." Trump on Meghan, Prince Harry's wife, after being told she referred to him as divisive and a misogynist: "I didn't know that. What can I say? I didnt know that she was nasty," Trump told The Sun. But he wished her well in her new life as a princess. "I am sure she will do excellently." Trump claiming he predicted Brexit: It wasnt that I was a supporter. I predicted it was going to happen and I was right. And people laughed when I predicted it," he told reporters in March. Trump on protests planned during his visit: "I don't imagine any US president was ever closer to your great land," he told The Sun. "I think I am really I hope I am really loved in the UK. I certainly love the UK." Trump on the Queen: Asked if Trump felt the queen had liked him after a meeting last year, he told the British broadcaster ITV: "I dont want to speak for her, but I can tell you I liked her. So usually that helps. But I liked her a lot." "Just very elegant. And very beautiful. It was really something special, Trump said of the meeting. She is so sharp, so wise, so beautiful. Up close, you see shes so beautiful. Shes a very special person." Trump on Scotland, the birthplace of his mother: "I have a mother born in Scotland. And as you know, Stornoway is serious Scotland. You dont get any more serious than that," he told The Sun. "It is so beautiful. My mother loved Scotland. My mother also loved the Queen." (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Jon Boyle) By Ellen Wulfhorst VANCOUVER, Canada, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - T housands of world leaders, policymakers, experts and activists convene this week at the Women Deliver conference in Canada to look at women's economic rights, pay gaps, education opportunities and other wide-ranging issues of gender equality. Here are 10 facts illustrating where women stand today: 1. Around the world women earn about half as much as men, said the World Economic Forum which reported an income gap between men and women of nearly 51% in 2018. At the current rate of progress, it will take 108 years for the global gender gap to close and 202 years until economic gender parity. 2. According to Fortune's list of the 500 highest-grossing U.S. companies, fewer than 7% have female chief executive officers. But that is a new high, up from under 5% a year ago. 3. Only 17 heads of state in 2018 were women, according to the World Economic Forum. Women held 18 percent of the world's ministerial positions and 24 percent of its parliamentary roles. 4. Globally one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence, usually by an intimate partner, according to UN Women. One in two women killed worldwide is killed by a partner or family member. That compares to one in 20 of men killed. 5. Some 87,000 women were victims of femicide - defined as the intentional murder of women because they are women - in 2017, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. More than half were killed by intimate partners or family members. Women are at the greatest risk in Africa and at least risk in Europe of being killed by a family member or partner. 6. In the European Union, 45 to 55 percent of women experienced sexual harassment since age 15, according to a survey by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 7. Seven in 10 trafficking victims worldwide are women and girls, and more than three out of four of them are trafficked for sexual exploitation, according to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons by the U.N.'s Office on Drugs and Crime. Story continues 8. At least 200 million women and girls have undergone female genital mutilation in 30 countries where data is available, according to UNICEF, the U.N.'s children's agency. UNICEF said the practice is "almost universal" in Somalia, Guinea and Djibouti, where levels among girls and women are higher than 90%. 9. According to the World Bank, child marriage is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where 3.4 million girls marry as children each year. Globally, the number of girls marrying as children peaked at about 13 million around 2005 and declined to fewer than 11 million in 2017. 10. Women have the same access to financial services as men in 60 percent of the world's countries and the same access to land ownership in 42 percent of countries, according to the World Economic Forum. (Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett would leave his post "shortly," making him the latest high-level departure from the administration. Trump's White House has had the highest turnover of senior-level staff of the past five presidents, according to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution think tank. Here are some senior figures who have been fired, quit or otherwise changed roles in the administration. 2019 Randolph "Tex" Alles -- the head of the U.S. Secret Service -- left in May as part of a broader shake-up of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The White House tapped James Murray, a career Secret Service agent, to take over. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. She resigned in April amid Trump's rising anger at a surge in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Kevin McAleenan, who had led the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, was chosen as acting DHS secretary. Linda McMahon - The Republican fundraiser was one of Trump's first Cabinet picks. She served as director of the Small Business Administration until March, when she resigned to join Trump's re-election campaign. Trump nominated U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza to the position in April. Clete Willems - A key figure in trade talks with China and a deputy to Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, Willems said in March he wanted to spend more time with his family. Heather Wilson - The U.S. Air Force secretary, once considered a top candidate to become defense secretary, decided to return to academia. Bill Shine - Eight months after being hired as the White House communications director, he resigned to work on Trump's re-election campaign. A source close to Trump said the president had lost confidence in the former Fox News executive. 2018 Jim Mattis - In a candid resignation letter that laid bare his growing divide with Trump over Syria and Afghanistan policies, the defense secretary abruptly quit, shocking allies and Congress. Trump named Mattis' deputy, Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, to the role in an acting capacity soon afterward. Story continues Ryan Zinke - Trump's first interior secretary left at the end of 2018 amid investigations into his use of security details, chartered flights and a real estate deal. John Kelly - A retired Marine Corps general, Kelly was hired as White House chief of staff to bring order to the chaotic Trump White House, but ultimately fell out with his boss. Trump named his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, to the job on an acting basis on Dec. 14. Jeff Sessions - The Republican former U.S. senator from Alabama was finally forced out as attorney general on Nov. 7 after months of being attacked and ridiculed by the president for recusing himself from a special counsel probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He was replaced briefly by Matthew Whitaker until William Barr was confirmed to the job. Nikki Haley - The former South Carolina governor stepped down at the end of 2018 as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Trump first put forward State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert as her successor, but she later withdrew. Trump has since nominated Republican donor and U.S. Ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft for the position. Don McGahn - Trump said in August the White House counsel would leave, amid strains between the two over the Russia probe. Scott Pruitt - The Environmental Protection Agency chief quit in July under fire over a series of ethics controversies. David Shulkin - White House officials said in March that the Veterans Affairs secretary would resign. H.R. McMaster - The national security adviser was replaced in March by John Bolton. Rex Tillerson - The secretary of state was fired by Trump in March after long-standing tension between them. Gary Cohn - The National Economic Council director and former Goldman Sachs president said in March he would resign. Trump picked Larry Kudlow to replace him. Hope Hicks - The White House communications director, a long-serving and trusted Trump aide, resigned on Feb. 28. Rob Porter - The White House staff secretary resigned in February after accusations of domestic abuse from former wives. 2017 Omarosa Manigault Newman - The former reality TV star was fired as assistant to the president in December. Tom Price - The Health and Human Services secretary quit under pressure from Trump on Sept. 29 over travel practices. Stephen Bannon - Trump's chief strategist was fired by Trump in mid-August after clashing with White House moderates. Anthony Scaramucci - The White House communications director was fired by Trump in July after 10 days on the job. Reince Priebus - Replaced as chief of staff by Kelly, Priebus lost Trump's confidence after setbacks in Congress. Sean Spicer - Resigned as White House press secretary in July, ending a turbulent tenure. Michael Dubke - Resigned as White House communications director in May. James Comey - The FBI director, who led the Russia probe before the special counsel was appointed, was fired by Trump in May. Michael Flynn - Resigned in February as Trump's national security adviser. Flynn later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Sally Yates - Fired in January by Trump as acting attorney general. (Reporting by Washington Newsroom; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, and Alistair Bell) By Barbara Goldberg (Reuters) - The massacre on Friday of 12 people at a Virginia Beach, Virginia, municipal building was the work a veteran employee who had sent in his resignation hours before opening fire, according to police. The attack stands as the second-deadliest U.S. workplace shooting since 2000. Here are some of the others: 2015 - 14 dead, 22 wounded SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, massacred 14 people and wounded 22 others at an office party of his colleagues at the Inland Regional Center for San Bernardino County health workers in 2015. Authorities said the U.S.-born son of Pakistani immigrants and the Pakistani native were inspired by Islamist militants. The married couple died in a shootout with police. 2019 - 12 dead, 4 wounded VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Just before his co-workers had clocked out for the weekend, DeWayne Craddock opened fire at a municipal building on Friday, killing 12 people and wounding four others. The city engineer, who had earlier in the day emailed to declare his intention to quit, was fatally wounded in a gun battle with police. 2010 - 8 dead MANCHESTER, Conn. - Minutes after he was fired for stealing beer and empty kegs, Omar Thornton, a driver at Hartford Distributors shot eight people and then killed himself in 2010. Thornton, who was black, in a 911 call blamed the gun violence on racism in his workplace. A police probe later concluded there was no proof of systemic racism at the business. 2006 - 7 dead GOLETA, Calif. - In one of the few workplace attacks by a woman, former postal worker Jennifer Sanmarco unleashed a hail of bullets at a U.S. Postal Service processing center in 2006. Sanmarco shot dead a neighbor and six postal workers before killing herself. 2000 - 7 dead WAKEFIELD, Mass. - Edgewater Technology employee Michael McDermott was furious that federal tax authorities were collecting back taxes from his paycheck and massacred seven of his co-workers. The gunman, convicted of the murders, is serving seven consecutive life terms in prison. Story continues 2012 - 6 dead MINNEAPOLIS - After he was fired by a sign manufacturer, Andrew Engeldinger returned to Accent Signage Systems Inc and shot dead five of his former co-workers and a UPS deliveryman. He then turned the gun on himself and ended his life. (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Steve Orlofsky) By Laurie Goering LONDON, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - In India's 'Silicon Valley' tech hub of Bangalore, where gleaming office complexes and apartment blocks have sprouted faster than the plumbing to serve them, only 60% of the water the city needs each day arrives through its water pipes. Much of the rest is pumped from groundwater wells and delivered to homes and offices by a fleet of private and government tanker trucks that growl through the streets of the city of 12 million. But Bangalore's groundwater is running dry. A government think tank last year predicted the city - like others in India, including New Delhi - could run out of usable groundwater as early as 2020 as aquifers deplete. By 2030, half of India's population - now about 1.4 billion people - may lack enough drinking water, the report predicted. Around the world, fresh water is fast becoming a dangerously scarce resource, driving a surge in fights to secure supplies and fears over rising numbers of deaths in water conflicts. WATER CONFLICT Growing populations, more farming and economic growth, climate change and a rush of people to cities all are increasing pressure on the world's limited water supplies, researchers say. U.N. data shows 2 billion people - a quarter of the world's population - now are using water much faster than natural sources, such as groundwater, can be replenished. In 2015, the United Nations' 193 members agreed a new set of global development goals, including one to give everyone access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030. But in places from Africa to the Middle East, "big rivers are drying out, the population is increasing, demand is piling up and we can't supply (people) with water and food," warned General Tom Middendorp, a former Dutch defense chief. Globally, the number of conflicts related to water scarcity has risen from roughly 16 in the 1990s to about 73 in the past five years, according to a chronology maintained by the Pacific Institute, which tracks freshwater security issues. Story continues In the 1990s, conflicts driven by water scarcity led to about 350 deaths, in places from Yemen to Nigeria, according to the chronology based on news reports and other sources. But in the last five years, at least 3,000 people - and perhaps more than 10 times that many, if estimates of refugee deaths by Medicins Sans Frontieres are included - have died in clashes related to water in a huge range of countries, it noted. "We see conflicts over water, unfortunately, almost everywhere around the world now as competition grows over the scarce resource," said Peter Gleick, co-founder of the California-based Pacific Institute. "If you look at the number of conflicts over water in the past few decades, it's going up exponentially." Water shortages are likely to lead to a growing death toll in coming decades, as farmers struggle to access enough water to grow crops and families turn to riskier water sources to slake their thirst, researchers say. So far, "with very rare exceptions, no one dies of literal thirst," Gleick said. "But more and more people die from contaminated water or conflicts over access to water." RETHINKING WATER Besides fueling conflict, increased water scarcity is also beginning to spark widespread reassessment of how water is captured, managed, shared and used around the world. In the American West, legal challenges - including by Native American tribes - may reshape old water rights systems that give farmers or cities with "senior" rights as much water as they like, leaving others and natural ecosystems increasingly dry. The West needs rules "reflective of modern needs and desires, rather than the rules we've had for 150 years and have had to stick by," said Bob Anderson, director of the Native American Law Center at the University of Washington. Thirsty cities from Singapore to Los Angeles, worried their supplies of water may fall short, are trying innovative ideas to cut water demand and find new sources of the precious liquid. Singapore, for instance, has thrown a wall across a seafront bay, gradually turning what once was saltwater into a huge new freshwater reservoir for the city-state, which today relies on neighboring Malaysia for much of its water. "It is crucial to be water-independent," said Adam Reutens-Tan, a Singapore resident whose family has slashed its water use, through measures from serving one-pot meals to save on dish-washing to taking five-minute showers. Los Angeles, which built its growth on water sucked from the distant Owens and Colorado rivers, is looking to capture stormwater and more rain to recharge its own aquifers as climate change and competition threaten its old supplies. It is also stepping up conservation - including paying residents $3 per square foot to shrink or get rid of water-demanding green lawns. "As we looked at the future and where we were going to get water reliably, sustainably, we were really looking within," said Rich Harasick, senior assistant general manager for the city's Department of Water and Power. CITY AND COUNTRY In increasingly parched southern Africa, worsening water shortages in 2017 led South Africa's Cape Town to launch a public countdown to "Day Zero" when it feared the city's taps would run dry. That threat was averted after residents joined a successful drive to slash the city's water use. Now city officials are restructuring where the city will get its water in the future, including from more wells and desalination plants. But in rural areas of South Africa, water shortages are also driving villagers to experiment with new drought-hardy crops, and new ways of capturing, sharing and conserving water. In the village of KwaMusi and others nearby, drought-hardy beans and amaranth - grown in fields snaked through with water-sipping drip irrigation hoses - are showing up on plates once filled mainly with maize porridge, the region's old staple. Rainwater harvesting tanks, to catch the runoff from tin roofs, also are being installed, and irrigation pumps purchased, on a continent with one of the world's lowest irrigation rates. "These small changes mean the community will have something to eat and sell when water becomes more scarce," said Brandon Nthianandham, a rural worker for a food security trust helping farmers in the region. But in many water-short areas, conflict over limited supplies is growing, particularly as dry conditions set in again this year. "Sometimes if you go to a nearby water source, other communities are standing guard at the water. They will beat you if you come near it," said Talent Zuma, a resident of Nxamalala, a village in KwaZulu-Natal province. "People say the next war will be over water, but here it feels like it has already begun." One problem facing efforts to resolve worsening water disputes is that many of them are not taking place between countries, where water-sharing rules may already be in place, but between counties, adjoining villages or even neighbors. "The tools of international agreements do not apply in these kinds of conflicts," Gleick said. "We have far fewer tools to address violent conflicts between neighbors, between ethnic groups, between farmers or pastoralists." Water conflicts between countries may grow as well, with only about 60% of transboundary water sources covered by international agreements as of 2017, according to a 2018 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) report that looked at 62 of 153 countries that share water sources. 'GREEN GOLD'? To deal with rising pressure on limited water supplies, finding ways to grow more food with less water is particularly important, analysts say. About 70% of freshwater used each year around the world goes to agriculture, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). As the world's population continues to expand, finding ways to reduce farming's share of the world's water, while still growing more food, will be crucial to prevent worsening hunger, including in fast-growing cities, food experts say. Global trade in food - which is effectively trade in the water used to produce it - may also need reconsideration. In Chile's Petorca province, a three-hour drive north of Santiago, expansive avocado fields make Chile the world's third largest exporter of the wildly popular fruit, dubbed "green gold." But as big corporate avocado farms have stepped up production, climate change has brought more unreliable rainfall to the region, driving more severe droughts. That combination has led to increasingly problematic water shortages in Petorca, forcing some residents to rely on trucked-in drinking water - and raising questions about whether avocados for export should remain the region's priority. "There are people here who water their avocado plants every day, and we have to drink water from trucks that we don't even know is safe," said Cataline Espinoza, who lives on the edge of thousands of hectares of avocado plantations. FUTURE FEARS The biggest problem facing efforts to reshape water use in an era of climate change, population growth and fiercer competition is inertia - a reluctance to abandon old ways of doing things, Gleick said. "It's the idea that there's always another river out there, there's always another groundwater well we can sink," he said. "That's the way we thought about water ... in the 20th century." But providing enough food and water in the future - and finding ways to head off rising conflict - will require much smarter and more efficient use of the limited resource. "We're going to have to do things differently ... and we have to move toward that more sustainable future faster than we are moving today," Gleick said. Likith R., who runs a shop that manufactures the tanks needed for water deliveries in Bangalore, agrees. With tap water perpetually short in the megacity, his business is booming, he said. "But as a citizen I'm really petrified about the water situation here," he admitted. "It's scary to think about, because I don't really know what the future holds for our children." (Reporting by Laurie Goering @lauriegoering, additional reporting by Amber Milne; Editing by Megan Rowling and Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women's rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit http://news.trust.org/climate) By Nicky Milne PETORCA, Chile, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Walking along a cracked earth path in Chile's Petorca province, Catalina Espinoza points to a barren hill littered with dried shrubs and cacti - and to a nearby dry waterway. The city of Petorca, a three-hour drive north of the capital Santiago, sits in the heart of Chile's booming avocado industry, surrounded by rows of thousands of avocado trees. Its abundant produce helps make Chile the world's third largest exporter of the popular fruit. But the bounty has come at a price, residents say - the drying of local water supplies. About 70% of freshwater used each year goes to agriculture, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Finding ways to reduce farming's share of the world's water, while still growing enough food to feed a rising population, will be crucial to preventing worsening hunger, particularly in the face of climate change, food experts say. But global trade in food - which is effectively trade in the water used to produce it - may also need reconsideration in an era of increasing water shortages, they say. In Petorca, in Chile's Valparaiso region, local people and small avocado farmers say the arrival of big commercial avocado companies more than a decade ago has led to increasingly severe water shortfalls. That is fueling tensions locally - and even led to death threats. "People here don't want our avocados to be exported because when they export our fruit they are exporting our water," said Espinoza, who lives on the edge of thousands of hectares of avocado orchards watered from reservoirs. With local water sources drying as a result of intensifying droughts and avocado irrigation, many villagers rely on water delivered by trucks twice a week. Graffiti on Petorca's streets reads: "Don't rob water." "There are people here who water their avocado plants every day, and we have to drink water from trucks that we don't even know is safe," Espinoza said. Story continues Gerardo Orrego, a small-scale farmer of walnuts and olives, said some farm families have been forced to abandon the area because of water shortages. "Small farmers cannot survive here," he said. "There's nothing for people to do. Many families have left." Rising global demand for avocados in Europe, the United States and China has led to worsening tensions between Petorca's residents and big avocado producers over water rights, including how water is managed and how access to it is regulated. None of the region's big avocado producers, apart from one local grower, agreed to be interviewed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation about the situation in Petorca. But globally, fights over scarce water are on the rise, with the California-based Pacific Institute, which tracks water security issues, recording a surge in water-related conflicts from roughly 16 in the 1990s to about 73 in just the past five years. WATER LAWS Under Chile's 1981 Water Code, water in the country can be owned and traded as a commodity. The law allows individuals and private companies - including avocado producers - to request water rights that are then allocated by the government. Those granted rights are allowed to extract and use a certain volume of water. Lucas Palacios, Chile's vice minister for public works, stressed that water for human consumption is free in Chile, and guaranteed under the law. "Water isn't privatized" but instead is regulated, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview in his office in Santiago. He said he recognized that what was happening in Petorca was "rather an inhumane situation" and said the government was working to improve the region's drinking water system so residents did not need to rely on trucked-in water. "But this will take time. It will take years," he said. And "it's important to note that the situation in Petorca is quite extreme" compared to others parts of the country, he said. 'GREEN GOLD' According to the mayor of Petorca, Gustavo Valdenegro, avocado trees have been planted "indiscriminately" in the region, with few limits and controls. Meanwhile, climate change has brought lower rainfall, exacerbating drought. When the big avocado firms appeared, starting around 2006, the "green gold" they cultivated initially was seen as a potential boom for Petorca, the three-time mayor said. "It was going to be the panacea. We were going to have a better life and better jobs," he said. But "at the same time, we had a tremendous drought and from then on conflict between the community and the big companies began," he said. Daniel Bosch, a big avocado producer and resident in Petorca, pointed out that the region was one of Chile's poorest before large-scale avocado farming arrived more than a decade ago. The avocado industry has brought much-needed economic growth and jobs to the former backwater, Bosch said, noting that, with avocado investment, "this area has improved considerably." But residents in the region's hard-scrabble towns said it is mainly the avocado producers who have grown richer, and that many of the jobs they have created are short-term employment, not the steady work locals had hoped for. DEATH THREATS As water resources in Petorca have come under increasing pressure, accusations of water theft by big growers have emerged. According to Chilean environmental group MODATIMA, big producers are using greater amounts of water than their allocations allow. Rodrigo Mundaca, an agronomist at MODATIMA, the Movement for the Protection of Water, Land Rights and the Environment, said some farms are quietly expanding their plantations ever closer to riverbeds, illegally draining river water. Others are drilling unauthorized groundwater wells, reaching deeper and deeper for scarce water, as wells owned by residents - who cannot afford to dig as deep - run dry, he said. Some big avocado companies also are building illegal water pipes to ensure they have enough water for irrigation, according to MODATIMA. A 2011 study by Chile's water authority, Direccion General de Aguas, using satellite imagery, showed at least 65 illegal underground pipes and systems delivering water from rivers to avocado orchards run by private firms in Petorca. "In Chile, water is not safeguarded as a human right," Mundaca said. Once he could swim in the local rivers, but for 12 years water has barely flowed in them, he said. Meanwhile, "the hills have been turned into orchards. The hills don't have water shortages," he pointed out. The campaign group has denounced water thefts and shortages in Petorca, including before a local court and in the international media. In 2017, that led to death threats, Mundaca said. "I've been threatened by phone twice," he said, noting that he no longer goes out alone, to try to protect himself. Human rights groups Amnesty International and Front Line Defenders have documented the threats. The Thomson Reuters Foundation contacted Cabilfrut, the largest exporter of Hass avocados in Petorca, and Chile's Hass Avocado Board, but both declined to be interviewed about the situation in Petorca. Chilean avocado grower Baika S.A. did not respond to email requests for comment. Bosch, the large-scale local avocado grower, said the government should build big reservoirs in Petorca, to catch and store more water to address local water shortages, particularly during the dry summer months. Similar private reservoirs on avocado farms are what keeps water flowing to the trees in dry times, he said. "I have reservoirs of around 50,000 cubic meters (13 million U.S. gallons)," said Bosch. "In winter, I fill them up. I retain the extra water, and I use it now in summer when I need it." Farmers in the area have been asking the government to build additional reservoirs for the past 50 years for the community's benefit, he added. GOVERNMENT RESPONSE Chile's new government, which came to office in March 2018, says it has stepped up efforts to monitor and regulate the use of water, including by using satellite imagery and drones. That has helped curb unauthorized water use, said Palacios, the national public works vice minister. "Never before have mass inspections been carried out on the scale that we have done in the Petorca region," Palacios said. "What that has done is precisely to discourage and prevent illegal (water) extraction, and of course, illegal wells." Last year, the ministry conducted 167 inspections, which have so far resulted in nine fines issued against companies for illegal water use. Companies are allowed to appeal the decisions. But Mundaca, of MODATIMA, said fines do little to stop the problem as companies see paying them as a normal cost of doing business. "We are not against avocados. We want avocados to reach markets in Europe and the United States," he said. "But (those) avocados should not be as a result of the systematic violation of the human right to water," he said. (Reporting by Nicky Milne, writing by Anastasia Moloney, editing by Laurie Goering and Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) DOUALA, Cameroon, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - F ourteen-year-old Landa wakes up at 4 a.m. every day to wash dishes and scrub floors before feeding and dressing her boss's children for school, which she is not allowed to attend. She has worked as a live-in servant, unpaid, for a year in Cameroon's commercial capital Douala since a separatist conflict forced her family to flee their hometown in the southwest. Out of work and living with a cousin, Landa's mother entrusted her to a wealthier couple who promised to send her to school in exchange for babysitting. Like many, she was deceived. "I do everything. I do the dishes, the laundry. I wash the floors. I don't sleep until everyone else is in bed," said Landa, whose name has been changed for her protection. It is a world away from flying planes or delivering babies - the jobs Landa had dreamt would be hers after finishing school. She is one of thousands of children uprooted by fighting in Cameroon's two western Anglophone regions, where a movement for independence from the majority Francophone country turned violent in 2017. It was already common for girls from the English-speaking regions, whose population has long felt marginalized, to work as maids in the country's two main cities, Douala and Yaounde. But the conflict has forced more children into work and left them vulnerable to slave-like conditions as thousands of schools shut and families fight poverty, said local human rights groups. The government denied this, saying many displaced children had been welcomed by host families and enrolled in school in Douala, Yaounde and other cities, and that mistreatment of domestic workers was not a problem in Cameroon. "Cameroon is a country of rights where this type of practice, if it existed, would be severely punished under our law," said the communications ministry in a statement. One activist estimated that hundreds of girls from the conflict zone, at the very least, were trapped in domestic servitude in the major cities. Story continues "Most often they promise the parents to educate their daughters, to take care of them and give them a better future," said Thomas Ngoh Mudoh, president of the Human Rights Defence Club, a national non-governmental organization. "But 95% of the time, this is not the case. These young girls, innocent and manipulable, become domestic slaves," he said. The girls often work without rest and some are raped or beaten, he said. If they are paid, it is often with rice, salt or oil that is sent to their families in the conflict zone. Young boys who have fled the conflict also work, sometimes on construction sites or collecting plastic bottles; others are left to fend for themselves on the streets, locals said. BETTER THAN WAR The crisis has forced half a million people to flee their homes and left 1.3 million in need of aid, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Security forces have used heavy-handed tactics to quash the rebellion, including destroying schools, medical facilities and entire villages, said a U.N. rights committee. The separatists have also closed schools as part of their protests and been accused of kidnapping dozens of children. Landa attended school in the department of Manyu until two years ago, when clashes between separatists and the army reached her town. She fled with her family as houses burned. They were barely getting by, living seven to a room, when Landa's mother fell sick and their desperation grew. The job offer meant one less child to feed. "My mother accepted. I wasn't going to school anyway and my boss promised to send me later," Landa said. Landa's boss, who owns two clothing shops, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation that she would send her to school next year. "This year I couldn't because the children were very sick and there was no money," she said. But the family recently bought a new car and repainted their apartment, said Landa, who wants to finish her studies. Before the conflict, she had dreamed of becoming a pilot or a midwife. Other girls and parents of girls who had left home considered servitude an acceptable price to pay for safety. "Being employed in a house is better than anything. I don't hear shooting and cries anymore," said Katia, 18, who fled the northwest region for Yaounde last year. She is scolded and humiliated at work and earns just 5,000 CFA francs ($8.60) a month, she said, but her boss also feeds her and gives her old clothes. "At least there, they are in houses," said a beautician with relatives who had gone to the cities to work as maids. "Even if they are mistreated, it's not serious. It's the school of life," she said from her home town of Buea, in the southwest region. "WE ARE THE SLAVES" For many girls, the alternative to housework is prostitution, said victims, families and activists. The government said these reports were unfounded. At nightfall, in the Bonaberi quarter of Douala, the bars are full of girls, many with childlike faces. "The prostitution rate has risen. We find many young Anglophone girls having fled the crisis who were left to themselves with no money, no resources," said Bibiana Mbuh Taku, co-founder of a women's empowerment association called Otabong. Taku tries to source donations for the girls' schooling, but said it is difficult; even in her educated circle, she said, friends were regularly seeking young girls to do housework. "I explain to them that it's slavery. They must understand a child's place is in school, not in the home," she said. Felicity, 15, earns 10,000 CFA francs a month working as a housekeeper which she sends to her mother and younger brothers taking refuge in Douala. Her sister, 17, works the streets. "It's hard. They threaten me and I work a lot. One time I even passed out because I didn't have time to eat," she said, on a rare Sunday break when she was given four hours off to visit her mother in the outskirts of Douala. Her mother, 53 and divorced, said she never wanted this outcome for her daughters but that they had fled their home in the southwest with nothing and had no other means to eat. "Because of the Anglophone crisis, I am a 'maid' and my big sister sells herself," said Felicity. "We are the slaves of this dirty war." ($1 = 584.5000 CFA francs) (Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) It is easy to think of the most prominent blockchain advocates as a united front, whose ranks are tightly closed in the face of the common enemy a horde of fierce crypto critics, unwieldy regulators, anti-money laundering zealots, bitcoin is a scam-ers, and the stakeholders of the old, centralized financial system. On this battlefield, the crypto camps fundamental positions are aligned, and its strategic goals are clear. However, in the times of armistice, blockchain champions get together by the campfire to ponder the important details of their common cause, and astonishingly at times, they disagree. This time around, the metaphorical campfire was lit at the MIT Technology Review's Business of Blockchain 2019 conference, which took place on May 2 on the premises of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Media Lab. One of the panels saw Caitlin Long the woman who is spearheading Wyomings transformation into what she herself called the Delaware of crypto law have a deferential yet rather intense exchange with Coin Centers director of research, Peter Van Valkenburgh, one of the industrys most eloquent speakers who is known for many notable deeds for example, standing up for crypto to a bully last October. The panel, which also featured MIT professor and former Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Gary Gensler, was on crypto regulation, and the main point of contention was whether it is better done on the federal or state level. While they were ultimately concerned about the same thing i.e., the backwardness of the United States regulatory environment that can chase promising startups away to more friendly jurisdictions Long and Van Valkenburgh offered two drastically different visions of the best way to go about the issue. Hurdles on all levels The tension over the boundaries of federal vs. state authority has informed American politics since the foundation of the republic. In the realms of commerce and finance, a relative balance was achieved when the states assumed jurisdiction over the consumer-facing commercial law while the agencies of federal government came to oversee operations with more specialized, institutional financial instruments such as securities (Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC), futures and options (Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC), and broad financial crimes (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN). Story continues It has become a truism that, for crypto enterprises in the U.S., navigating the regulatory landscape is about as easy as making it blindfolded through a minefield. All the agencies mentioned above are interested in some subset of digital assets: The CFTC is eyeing smart contract-powered futures options; the SEC is struggling to decide whether all initial token offerings are under its purview, or just some of them; and FinCEN, facing the need to investigate money laundering schemes and shady transactions, understands crypto assets as something it is used to dealing with (i.e., money). In addition, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is treating crypto as property for the taxing purposes, which means that capital gains and losses come into play. To top it all off, individual states have begun to institute guidelines and regulations of their own, with Wyoming blazing the trail by establishing its own classification of tokens. This is not a small deal, either, since companies operating online automatically fall under jurisdiction of every state whose residents they serve meaning that now they have to comply with state regulations, too. This chaos is due to the fact that there is no universally agreed-upon, federally enforced definition of a digital asset. While it would come in handy if one existed for the purposes of delineating the boundaries of different national regulatory bodies jurisdiction over different types of tokens it is also an arduous task to formulate such a definition, let alone to steamroll such a bill through Congress. The last few months saw continuous attempts on behalf of a group of blockchain-conscious members of Congress to introduce more clarity with a bill known as the Token Taxonomy Act. The crypto community, though, seems to be divided over not just the bill itself but the very idea of a Congress-enacted, binding definition of a digital token with a claim of federal preemption. Some critics point out that, absent a clear understanding of terms and a sufficient corpus of case law on the matter, it is nearly impossible for a bill to define central concepts around crypto assets in a way that would eliminate dreadful ambiguity when enforced. Others, including Caitlin Long, argue that it is not the federal governments business altogether, and an attempt by Congress to introduce such a taxonomy would amount to an infringement on states rights. Longs talk at the MIT Technology Review event, her polemic with Van Valkenburgh at the panel, and a subsequent interview to Cointelegraph provide a closer look at the states rights argument that she stands by. Financializing crypto assets Put very simply, there are two major elements in regulations that bind financial firms: those related to consumer protection and prudential regulations, which are rules that dictate the need for such firms to be able to handle risks and hold sufficient assets. One of the central theses that Long advanced throughout the conference is that the inadequacy of current U.S. crypto regulation stems from overemphasizing the consumer protection side while ignoring the solvency issues. In her talk, entitled The Financialization of Cryptoassets, Long explained that many digital assets do not qualify as securities, hence they should be treated as property. Commercial law related to property was mainly formulated in the age when all possessions were tangible, which warrants the need for updating this legal area so as to define digital assets or to financialize them. The key difference between the traditional financial system and blockchain-based systems is the way custody and settlement work. Normally, people do not own the shares in their brokerage accounts. Instead, they own IOUs (I owe you) from their brokers, who own IOUs from custodians, etc. With this murky chain of ownership, it is not uncommon that several entities have claims on one asset; it is often impossible to tell where exactly the asset is at the moment; and finally, settlement can take days. None of these are an issue with digital assets: You can own them directly, they are easily traceable and settlement takes minutes. All that this novel type of property needs is to be treated as such, and to have sound regulation of custody. In Longs opinion, not only are states in a better position than the federal government to ensure both, but they have the priority to do so. The panel: state vs. federal The regulatory panel ensued, now featuring Peter Van Valkenburgh and Gary Gensler alongside Caitlin Long. The Wyoming native kicked off the discussion with the same sentiment that permeated her talk: States control commercial law. Coin Centers Van Valkenburgh responded that his uneasiness with state-level crypto regulation comes from the fact that, in many cases, it boils down to states applying archaic money transmitter laws and licensing requirements to crypto businesses. As a result, instead of having just one federal authority to deal with, successful fintech companies that maintain presence in all of the United States have to have 54 awkward conversations with regulators instead of just one. And because money transmitter laws are outdated, they also do not do much to protect the customers. When MITs Gensler attempted to dwell on the consumer protection side for a little longer, Van Valkenburgh retorted that state-level regulation is not the sharpest tool to combat things like money laundering, either: When it comes to financial crimes, states cooperate with the federal regulator, FinCEN, who applies federal legislation i.e., the Bank Secrecy Act. Coin Centers Van Valkenburgh also argued that managing custodial risks on the state level is not a great idea, since such processes are better handled by specialized federal authorities, such as the SEC or CFTC. In sum, Van Valkenburgh contended that it is better to have a clear-cut, uniform federal regulation than a host of disparate, state-specific regulatory regimes. Caitlin Long came back, criticizing some hard-regulating jurisdictions like New York that spend extensive resources on consumer protection and anti-fraud regulation of crypto while caring much less about solvency and allowing established financial institutions like Merrill Lynch to get away with trading assets that they do not hold. She described the forthcoming Wyoming crypto custody rules, which she sees as a way to maintain direct ownership of digital assets and preserve the powerful advantage of blockchain-powered systems over traditional finance. Grounded in the common law notion of bailment, this type of custody will entail handing the keeper possession of the asset, but not the title. Long likened this type of arrangement to valet parking, where the only thing the custodian can do is to take the vehicle to a safe storage space. Both Van Valkenburgh and Gensler didnt sound convinced that solving the custody part of the puzzle would automatically resolve all the consumer protection issues. However, Van Valkenburgh begrudgingly conceded that state-level regulation could make sense, but only if every state adopted a rational approach. In turn, Long suggested that, if we do it on federal level through Congress, we will get the worst-case scenario, to which Van Valkenburgh responded that there seem to be enough reasonable policymakers on the Hill, and that the situation might not be all that grim. In an interview with Cointelegraph after the panel, Long doubled down on how the egregious Merrill Lynch situation demonstrated New York authorities application of double standards: The firm was able to walk away from doing essentially the same that Bitfinex has been recently accused of doing, but with a much harsher potential fallout. The fact that regulators are going much harder on Bitfinex suggests that they might be picking on crypto enterprises. She also drew a line within the crypto industry itself, distinguishing between highly leveraged exchanges, which would be unable to comply with the new Wyoming statutes, and those that are truly solvent, and which will likely end up in the state. Finally, Long commented on Van Valkenburghs pro-federal regulation approach, suggesting that: That is putting the convenience of large financial institutions in this sector ahead of reality that property laws are purview of the state. It is very unlikely, to be honest, that theres going to be a federal money transmission statute, because states are going to fight it. It usurps their long-established supremacy over property law and long-established supremacy over commercial law. As it is visible in this discussion, sometimes debates over blockchain regulation invoke matters more fundamental than simply the best way to organize socioeconomic relations enabled by new technology. At times these disputes spill over to the contested ground of federal-state government jurisdiction, or to judgments on whether Congress is better equipped to handle certain matters than state legislatures the issues as deeply ingrained in the political fabric of the U.S. as the antagonism between the democratic and republican principles in its constitution. At this point, it becomes a matter of deep ideological convictions. On the more practical side, Longs fresh focus on the balance between consumer protection and prudential regulations with regard to crypto could be a new way for the industry to articulate and frame its policy woes. Another thing to watch for is if, as Wyoming proceeds with its groundbreaking legislation, progressive digital custody lives up to the hopes that the states crypto pioneers have set on it. Related Articles: Paris (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that he fully accepted his "bad guy" role in insisting on a shorter extension to Britain's tortuous exit from the EU, while insisting that October 31 is the "final, final deadline." Macron pushed for a tough line against London after British lawmakers refused to back the exit deal reached by Prime Minister Theresa May and the rest of the bloc. "I was always pictured as the bad guy in the room... I endorse such a role because I think it is a big mistake to procrastinate," Macron told a gathering of international banking chiefs at the Elysee Palace in Paris. After a first extension in late March, EU leaders gave Britain until end-October to find a way to avoid leaving with no deal, potentially wreaking havoc on cross-Channel trade. It was a compromise between Macron and others ready to accept a no-deal exit, and other EU leaders who were ready to give Britain even more time. "I think this is the final, final deadline because I don't want to have the new commission and this new executive to have to deal with this past issue," Macron said. He warned that reopening negotiations on a Brexit deal was a "non-starter," but also said he didn't see how Britain would approve the deal "without a new general election or a referendum on what was negotiated." British politics have been thrown into chaos over the EU exit with more than a dozen people jockeying to replace May, who announced her resignation last month after a rebellion among her Conservative allies. Macron nonetheless suggested that EU leaders might be willing to grant more time in case of a promise for a new Brexit referendum or a willingness to negotiate "something totally new." "Until the very last minute, the only one in a position to stop Brexit is the UK government," he said. (ALEXANDRIA, Va.) A Lebanese-American businessman who worked to advance Saudi Arabias agenda to the Trump administration and who later provided grand jury testimony to special counsel Robert Mueller about his efforts to connect a Russian banker to members of Trumps transition team has been arrested on charges of transporting a dozen images of child pornography and bestiality. Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia announced that George Nader, 60, was arrested Monday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The charges were initially filed in April 2018 but were not made public until his arrest. Naders name shows up more than 100 times in Muellers recently released report. The report describes efforts by and Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian banker close to President Vladimir Putin, to have Nader serve as a conduit between him and members of Trumps transition team. Naders testimony to the grand jury came after he attended a December 2016 meeting at New Yorks Trump Tower with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi. A second meeting occurred a month later in the Indian Ocean archipelago of Seychelles and involved Nader, bin Zayed, former Blackwater boss Erik Prince and Dmitriev. According to the Mueller report, Dmitriev expressed disappointment to Nader about the Seychelles meeting because he did not consider Prince to be an influential member of the Trump team. In April 2017 Nader working as an adviser to the United Arab Emirates, a close Saudi ally wired $2.5 million to a top Trump fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, through a company in Canada, The Associated Press reported last year. The goal was to persuade the U.S. to take a hard line against Qatar, a longtime American ally but now a bitter adversary of the UAE. An affidavit filed in support of the child porn charges against Nader says investigators found 12 separate videos after his phones were seized in January 2018 at Dulles International Airport in Virginia in connection with a search warrant, after he arrived on a flight from Dubai. The affidavit states that the search warrant, which remains under seal, was in connection with another matter unconnected to child pornography. Story continues The videos described in the affidavit show sexual contact involving animals, as well as videos in which children as young as 3 are shown enduring painful abuse. Joshua Stueve, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, declined to comment on whether the investigation of Nader spun off from Muellers investigation. Calls to attorneys who represented Nader in connection with his grand jury testimony were not immediately returned Monday. Nader pleaded guilty to an identical charge in Virginia in 1991. He was also convicted in the Czech Republic by Pragues Municipal Court of 10 cases of sexually abusing minors and sentenced to a one-year prison term in 2003. Berlin (AFP) - A local politician from the German city of Kassel was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, police said Monday, adding that no weapon was found at the scene. "We are looking for a perpetrator," said chief prosecutor Horst Streiff after the death of city administrative chief Walter Luebcke, who was 65. Streiff stressed that there was no evidence pointing to suicide. Luebcke, of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right CDU party, was found around 0:30 am local time Sunday (2230 GMT Saturday) on the terrace of his home in Wolfhagen, near Kassel in the central state of Hesse. He had been shot in the head at close range with a handgun, police said. His CDU party said in a statement that Luebcke, a married father of two, had "never been afraid to speak his mind". Germany's top-selling daily Bild pointed out that Luebcke had in 2015, during a mass influx of migrants to Germany, strongly spoken out for the rights of refugees, drawing anger from far-right activists. Hesse state criminal police chief Sabine Thurau said however that currently there was no evidence of a link between those comments and his death, and that a 20-officer investigation team was searching for a possible motive and a suspect. Berlin (AFP) - With an offer to take over US competitor Cypress for around nine billion euros ($10.1 billion), German chipmaker Infineon aimed Monday to grab the number-eight spot in the industry and expand into the "Internet of Things". Infineon, a wallflower in a bout of consolidation in the semiconductor industry in recent years, said in a statement it agreed to pay $23.85 per share in cash for Cypress. "With this transaction, we will be able to offer our customers the most comprehensive portfolio for linking the real with the digital world," Infineon chief executive Reinhard Ploss said. "This will open up additional growth potential in the automotive, industrial and Internet of Things sectors," he added. The companies currently have complementary focuses. Infineon, which spun off from the Siemens conglomerate in 1999, focuses on power semiconductors, sensors and security solutions. California-based Cypress, which bought the Internet of Things division of Qualcomm in 2016, focuses on microcontrollers as well as software and connectivity components and flash memory. "Combining these technology assets will enable comprehensive advanced solutions for high-growth applications such as electric drives, battery-powered devices and power supplies," they said in the joint statement. Infineon said the deal is expected to have a positive effect on earnings from the first year, with revenue growth of at least 9 percent, a double-digit increase in margins and a drop in the investment-to-sales ratio. It targets 180 million euros in annual savings by 2022, and put the long-term potential of synergies at more than 1.5 billion euros per year. The German firm said that while a consortium of banks will underwrite the funding of the acquisition of Cyprus, it intends to ultimately finance around 30 percent of the transaction with a capital increase, use some cash reserves and finance the rest with debt. Prospects of an investor dilution prompted stock in the Munich-based group to fall 6.5 percent in morning trading to 15.04 euros, making it the worst performer on the DAX index of German blue-chip shares. Story continues The $23.85 offer price is nearly a 50-percent premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price during the period from 15 April to 28 May, before market rumours of a deal began. Infineon said the acquisition, which it expects could close by the end of this year following regulatory approvals as well as by Cypress shareholders, will make it the world's number eight chip manufacturer. The company, which makes about a quarter of its sales in China, has twice revised its forecasts down in the last year due to the global slowdown, and lags behind main US rivals Intel, Micron, Qualcomm, Broadcom and Samsung. Its Californian target, which has been based in San Jose since 1982, acquired in 2016 the 'Internet of Things' division of Qualcomm, which has huge potential for manufacturers. Bankruptcy supervisor seeks to extend Transaeros asset inventory procedure flickr.com/ Papas Dos 10:38 03/06/2019 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) - Bankruptcy supervisor of Transaero airline Alexey Belokopyt has filed an application with the Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region demanding to extend the companys asset inventory for six months, according to court records. The court will hear the petition on July 2. Transaero found itself unable to pay its debts valued at 250 billion rubles (about $4 billion) in 2015. The government-approved plan of transferring 75% of companys shares to Aeroflot failed. Its problems resulted in a large number of flight cancels and delays. In October 2015, Sberbank and Alfa Bank filed bankruptcy petitions against the troubled airline. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region initiated bankruptcy procedure against Transaero on December 16. The Commercial Court of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region declared Transaero air carrier bankrupt in September 2017. By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore's head of oil, Alex Beard, who helped make the firm one of the world's top three oil trading houses, will retire this month, the company said on Monday in yet another management shake-up amid U.S. probes into its activities. Glencore, founded by trader Marc Rich, has come under U.S. scrutiny in the past year over its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where it produces cobalt and copper, and in Venezuela and Nigeria, where it trades oil and refined products. Beard, 52, will be replaced by the head of oil marketing, Alex Sanna, who was key in expanding Glencore's refined products trading in recent years. Beard's move follows the retirement of other top allies of Glasenberg - Chris Mahoney, the long-serving head of Glencores agricultural business, and Aristotelis Mistakidis, the head of copper. Glencore is worth $44 billion and Mistakidis held a 3.2% stake in the company, worth $1.4 billion at current prices, while Beard held a 2.5% stake worth $1.1 billion. Glasenberg is the largest shareholder of Glencore, with 8.8%, and built the firm from predominantly a trading house into a mining giant via its merger with Xstrata in 2012. He has said he may retire within the next three to five years. Glasenberg, 62, revealed his retirement plans a few months after news broke about U.S. investigations into Glencore. Last July, Glencore said it had received a subpoena from the Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting documents and records on compliance with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and money-laundering statutes. A previous U.S. probe nearly destroyed Marc Rich in the 1980s when the United States accused the company of "trading with the enemy", Iran. It indicted Rich, who was pardoned years later by President Bill Clinton in 2001 during Clinton's last days in office. Rich died in 2013. Sources told Reuters the current DOJ investigation was focusing on the role of intermediaries and how they helped Glencore obtain contracts, including in oil trading. Story continues WIDENING PROBE In April, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission was also investigating whether the company and its units may have violated certain regulations through "corrupt practices". The company said that probe was at an early stage and had a scope similar to that of the DOJ investigation. Oxford-educated Beard joined Glencore in 1995 from BP, the biggest trading desk at that time, and became head of oil in 2007. He embarked on expanding the firm into upstream, something trading houses had rarely done before, but the venture into Chad and Equatorial Guinea led to writedowns of over $700 million. Glencore's traded oil volumes fluctuated between 4.5 and 6.0 million barrels per day in recent years - on par with rival Trafigura but behind the world's top trading house, Vitol. Last year, Glencore's volumes shrank 17% because of unfavourable market conditions. Sanna's trading division will continue to report to chief executive Ivan Glasenberg, but oil assets, previously under Beard, will be transitioned to Peter Freyberg, the head of industrial assets, Glencore said on Monday. Sanna, who studied economics in France, holds a master's degree in international trade from Pantheon-Sorbonne University in Paris. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson) Washington (AFP) - Congested Google servers in the eastern United States caused problems for users of Snapchat and YouTube on Sunday, with complaints on social media that the popular apps weren't accessible. Google acknowledged the issue, writing in a statement on its Cloud Platform status page that it was dealing with "high levels of network congestion in the eastern USA, affecting multiple services in Google Cloud, G Suite and YouTube." "Users may see slow performance or intermittent errors," it said, adding that engineers had completed the first of two steps to restore normal operations. Earlier in the day, social media users complained of trouble loading a slew of popular websites and apps. "Google, YouTube, Snapchat, Shopify, all currently down. Is the internet melting?" asked one Twitter post. Snapchat and Google-owned YouTube both acknowledged the server issue on their Twitter accounts. Cloud computing is one of Google's most lucrative services, but faces stiff competition from other technology companies like Amazon and Microsoft. In March, the world's largest social network, Facebook, blamed a "server configuration change" for a massive outage affecting its applications around the world. The outage affected users for at least 12 hours in most areas of the world, with the biggest impact in North America and Europe, a tracking website said at the time. While public attention is riveted on Democrats with extravagant proposals for government expansion a Green New Deal, single-payer health care, tuition-free college few observers have noticed a recent federal court ruling that will, absent Supreme Court intervention, grant the government immense powers to confiscate private property in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution mandates that private property cannot be taken for public use without just compensation. But this clause was eviscerated by U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Love Terminal Partners v. United States, which held that any property not earning a current positive cash flow can be taken by the government without a dime of compensation. Unless this ruling is reversed on appeal, it will have a devastating impact on the value of millions of properties with excellent prospects for appreciation but no current tenants. And it will put all real-estate investments not earning money at risk of being stolen by the government. The case has its roots in the Wright Amendment. This anti-competitive law was designed to protect Fort Worths interest in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport by sharply restricting flights out of Love Field Airport in Dallas. Sponsored by the late House speaker Jim Wright, this artificial restriction on competition created a business opportunity at Love Field, where a group of investors poured millions of dollars into building a state-of-the-art air terminal. For a while, the investment paid off: The new Lemmon Avenue Terminal earned revenues from an anchor tenant, Legend Airlines, and from Delta Airlines. But Legend went bankrupt in 2000, just before the whole industry was devastated by the events of 9/11. Industry leaders American, Delta, and United subsequently declared bankruptcy, and eight legacy carriers became four. Yet, remaining optimistic, the Lemmon Avenue investors were energized by a Free Love campaign run by Southwest, foreseeing the day when the restrictions on Love Field would be lifted and the Lemmon Avenue Terminal would thrive. So they continued to pour large sums of money into the upkeep of their empty terminal and to make regular lease payments to the city of Dallas. By 2006, their patience and faith were on the verge of paying off. The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, and the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Authority came together to craft a compact to lift the Wright Amendment restrictions. The compact was blessed by Congress and passed into law. Story continues But the new law came with a twist: It mandated the confiscation and destruction of the Lemmon Avenue Terminal. The Court of Federal Claims, recognizing that the very law that destroyed the terminal would have given it immense market value, assessed just compensation at $133 million. But last year, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed that decision, ruling that the investors were due exactly zero for an investment that the government had destroyed and would now confiscate. The appeals court reasoned that because the terminal was not earning a positive cash flow, it had zero economic value a notion utterly at odds with reality, in which thousands of transactions place a high value on investments that take years to bear fruit. This ruling would have a dampening effect on all kinds of American businesses. Indeed, many of the nations roughly 30 million businesses invest years of capital in under-utilized commercial property before reaping the profits. The attorneys general of Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Utah, in an amicus brief in support of the Love Terminal Partners plaintiffs petition for review before the Supreme Court, spelled out how this brazen new government power might harm society: The Federal Circuits reasoning would mean that no compensation at all is due when the government takes an inherited farm lying fallow until a new owner can be found to produce on it, or when the government seizes a church, mosque, or synagogue, or another institution not operating for a profit. If the Court fails to review Love Terminal Partners, a serious attack on the very system that has served to safeguard our nations economic vitality will have been allowed to go unchallenged. The kind of confiscatory power the ruling establishes must never be granted to government by a free society. More from National Review Greta Thunberg has become a household name thanks to her outspoken views about climate change. The 16-year-old Swedish school girl rose to almost overnight fame in April after delivering a speech to MPs at the the Houses of Parliament where she said her future had been stolen. Last month, she featured on the cover of Time magazine. READ MORE: Swedish teen accuses UK of 'irresponsible behaviour' over climate But despite her high profile, Thunberg claims, in an interview with Wired magazine, not to consider herself as icon. Greta Thunberg told Wired UK she doesn't see herself as an "icon". [Photo: Getty] Instead, Thunberg who this March received Nobel Peace Prize nominations from three members of the Norwegian parliament would prefer the focus to remain on climate change activism, rather than her as an individual. I do not see myself as a celebrity or an icon or things like thatI have not really done anything, she told the UK-based publication, appearing on the cover of the July/August issue. I have just decided that I will do this even if there is no hope. Not having hope is not an excuse for not doing something. Everyone says different things. Some say we are already screwed and some say we still have time. I just hope that this movement will continue and we do something about the climate because that is the only thing that matters. Greta Thunberg addresses politicians, media and guests with the Houses of Parliament on April 23, 2019 in London, England. [Photo: Getty] Thunbergs career as an activist Although she has said shed rather be known for her cause, Thunberg has raised an impressive global profile as an individual. Thunberg began skipping school in favour of protesting outside the countrys parliament last year, when she was just 15. Prior to her speech to MPs at the Houses of Parliament last April where she said, I speak on behalf of future generations Thunberg appeared at the UN Climate Change COP24 Conference in Poland in December 2018. She published her first book, No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, which is a collection of her speeches. In the same period, an artist painted a 50 foot mural of Thunbergs face depicted as if it were under rising sea water on a wall in Bristol. Thunberg isnt the first teenage activist to change the world. She follows in the footsteps of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education who became the youngest Novel Prize laureate. Doha (AFP) - In a region of tight media control and official statements, the body language of Saudi Arabia's king and Qatar's prime minister spoke volumes about one of the Gulf's deepest fault lines. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani did not bow or kiss the cheek of King Salman, whose country has led a two-year economic boycott of Qatar, when they met in Mecca on Thursday. Their closely watched meeting was the highest level encounter between the neighbours since the crisis began on June 5, 2017. Diplomats said the embargo enforced by Riyadh and its allies over Doha's alleged support for Islamist movements and Iran -- charges Qatar denies -- was unlikely to ease following the frosty encounter. "At least they're meeting at the highest level in two years, but so many grudges (remain)," said a Western ambassador in Doha. The weekend talks in Mecca were aimed at addressing soaring regional tensions between Iran on one side and the United States and its allies, including Riyadh, on the other. "Will Qatar go along with a purely anti-Iranian narrative? Interesting times in any case," added the ambassador. King Salman used the meeting of Gulf and other Arab powers to call on attendees to confront Iran's "criminal" actions after attacks on oil assets heightened fears of a regional flare-up. But Qatar's Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani questioned on Sunday how the "Gulf summit statement talked about a unified Gulf". "Where is it amid the continuation of Qatar's blockade?" he added, rejecting the gathering's position on Iran. Riyadh's minister of state for foreign affairs Adel al-Jubeir fired back on Monday, criticising Doha for backtracking "after the end of the meetings" and accusing Qatar of "distortion of the facts". - 'Stability of the Gulf' - "I don't think it will prove to be a rapprochement. Qatar couldn't refuse the invitation sent to the emir, they had to send someone on such an important issue -- the stability of the Gulf nations," a European diplomatic source said. Story continues "But sending the prime minister instead of the foreign minister is a novelty." Andreas Krieg, an assistant professor at King's College London, said it was a positive sign that the king's invitation to the talks did not have "strings attached". "They might overcome their smaller differences for the time being in addressing the issue of Iran," he said. The Mecca meetings kicked off a day after hawkish US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Iran was almost certainly behind this month's sabotage of four ships, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the coast of the United Arab Emirates -- charges Tehran rejected. But Doha has looked to Tehran over the past two years to ease its economic isolation, sourcing key imports from Iran and re-routing many flights by its flag carrier Qatar Airways over the Islamic republic. Saudi and its allies the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have barred Qatari flights from their airports and airspace, banned most Qatari visitors, cut trade and shipping links, and closed the border. The Saudi-led bloc initially set out a 13-point list of demands, including the closure of Qatar's flagship Al Jazeera broadcaster, curbing its relations with Iran and closing a Turkish military base in the emirate. Doha dismissed the demands as "unrealistic and (not actionable)", pressing on despite the sizable diplomatic and economic impact of the embargo -- which Qatar refers to as a "blockade". But as the crisis continues, it is ordinary people who have borne the brunt of the restrictions. - 'Missed out on our dreams' - "I'm Qatari so it's impossible for me to cross to Bahrain," Wafa al-Yazeedi, a Qatari medic who was married to a Bahraini man, told AFP. Her three children -- aged 24, 22 and 19 -- hold both Qatari and Bahraini citizenship but have not visited their father or grandmother in the nearby Gulf kingdom since the start of the crisis, she said. Though they have not formally been told by Bahrain that they are barred from the country, "we know because it's in the newspapers". "The children showed allegiance to Qatar at the beginning but there has to be relations between families, whatever the political situation," said Yazeedi. "It's having a psychological burden on those affected." Qatari Salah al-Yafie, 42, was studying for a postgraduate degree provided by the University of Northampton in the UAE when the embargo came into force. "We were 18 male and female students. We tried everything after the blockade saying 'we are students and have no fault in this crisis'," he said. "Unfortunately, the university told us that we are prohibited from attending." Stories like his are common, as are accounts of business ventures disrupted by the restrictions. "The crisis cost me a lot financially and psychologically. We lost lots of money, lost our diplomas and missed out on our dreams," he added. Ahead of the talks in Mecca, a senior Qatari official said "there are some small signs" the boycott could begin to ease, but he did not provide any details. "They are our family," he said. "Thank God we are not a poor country so we can deal with any crisis." Alma Cocina Latina. | Photo: Bee C./Yelp Spending time in Canton? Get to know this Baltimore neighborhood by browsing its most popular local businesses, from an oyster bar to a Venezuelan spot. Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top places to visit in Canton, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of neighborhood businesses. Read on for the results. 1. Mama's On The Half Shell Photo: Heather M./Yelp Topping the list is bar and breakfast and brunch spot Mama's On The Half Shell, which offers seafood and more. Located at 2901 Odonnell St., it's the most popular business in the neighborhood, boasting four stars out of 1,062 reviews on Yelp. The Baltimore Sun called this spot a "tavern for seafood lovers," which is "worth enduring that inevitable city-life hassle." On the menu, expect to find fried oyster po' boys, lobster rolls and classic dishes like stuffed shrimp. 2. Verde Photo: Jeff K./Yelp Italian and breakfast and brunch spot Verde, which offers pizza and more, is another top choice. Yelpers give the business, located at 641 S. Montford Ave., four stars out of 383 reviews. This 144-seat spot offers "authentic Neapolitan pizza and other Italian specialties," according to its website. Other menu items include homemade mozzarella and baked pasta. There's also beer, wine and dessert. 3. Alma Cocina Latina Photo: sher y./Yelp Alma Cocina Latina, a cocktail bar and Venezuelan spot, is another neighborhood go-to, with four stars out of 284 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2400 Boston St., Suite 108 to see for yourself. The Washington Post named this spot one of the best eateries in the Washington D.C. area for its pan-Latin culinary influences. On the menu, look for its Caribbean salmon filet with caramelized pineapple sauce or its "Vegan Heaven," a medley of cauliflower, spicy mango cabbage slaw and more. 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. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Say Chui is the CEO of Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited (HKG:7). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. Third, we'll reflect on the total return to shareholders over three years, as a second measure of business performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels. View our latest analysis for Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group How Does Say Chui's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies? Our data indicates that Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited is worth HK$3.6b, and total annual CEO compensation is HK$660k. (This is based on the year to December 2018). That's a modest increase of 1.9% on the prior year year. Notably, the salary of HK$660k is the vast majority of the CEO compensation. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from HK$1.6b to HK$6.3b, we found the median CEO total compensation was HK$2.2m. This would give shareholders a good impression of the company, since most similar size companies have to pay more, leaving less for shareholders. Though positive, it's important we delve into the performance of the actual business. You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group has changed over time. SEHK:7 CEO Compensation, June 3rd 2019 Is Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited Growing? Over the last three years Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 105% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 953%. Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. Although we don't have analyst forecasts, you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow. Story continues Has Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited Been A Good Investment? I think that the total shareholder return of 46%, over three years, would leave most Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited shareholders smiling. So they may not be at all concerned if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for companies around the same size. In Summary... It looks like Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group Limited pays its CEO less than similar sized companies. Considering the underlying business is growing earnings, this would suggest the pay is modest. The pleasing shareholder returns are the cherry on top; you might even consider that Say Chui deserves a raise! It is relatively rare to see a modestly paid CEO when performance is so impressive. But it is even better if company insiders are also buying shares with their own money. Shareholders may want to check for free if Hong Kong Finance Investment Holding Group insiders are buying or selling shares. Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. Charges brought against mother of two babies left in Moscow Region hostel flickr.com/ BobvdK 11:43 03/06/2019 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) Investigators brought charges against a woman, who had left her two one-year-old children unattended in a Moscow Region hostel, the regional Investigative Committees directorate informed Monday. She is charged with failure to give assistance to persons in mortal danger and failure to parent minors, the statement reads. On May 28, the woman arrived at a hostel in Kotelniki, a town in the Moscow Region, with her one-year-old babies, a boy and a girl, allegedly to book a sleeping accommodation. Under the pretense of taking the passport from a car, she went away and failed to return leaving her children in the hostel, investigators claim. She was arrested later. When being questioned the woman pleaded not guilty, according to investigators. The probe is underway. Washington (AFP) - Already low hopes for a US peace plan in the Middle East dimmed further Monday as President Donald Trump acknowledged widespread doubts and his son-in-law Jared Kushner suggested Palestinians weren't ready to govern themselves. The Trump administration, which has staunchly supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has seen a surprise bump in its rollout after the right-wing prime minister failed to form a coalition, triggering new elections. The United States will lay out an economic component of the plan on June 25-26 in Bahrain but has said that the political plan will come out only "when the timing is right." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a closed-door meeting last week with Jewish leaders that was leaked to The Washington Post, frankly acknowledged obstacles to the peace plan. "It may be rejected. Could be in the end, folks will say, 'It's not particularly original, it doesn't particularly work for me,' that is, 'It's got two good things and nine bad things, I'm out,'" he said, according to the newspaper, which said it heard a recording. Asked about his remarks in an interview with the Sinclair Broadcast Group, Pompeo again conceded that observers could look at Trump's track record and perceive that the plan will be "fundamentally one-sided" toward Israel. But, he said: "It is just simply not true." "I think there will be things in this plan that lots of people like," he said. Trump, asked about Pompeo's doubts on the plan gaining traction, said: "He may be right." "I think we have a good chance, but we'll see what happens," he told reporters. Trump, who has repeatedly sought to boost Netanyahu's political prospects, said that Israel was "all messed up" and that it was "ridiculous" that the Jewish state is heading to its second election this year. - Palestinians not 'capable' of governing? - Story continues The Bahrain conference is expected to see pledges to boost the troubled Palestinian economy from Gulf Arabs -- who, despite not recognizing Israel, have formed an indirect alliance due to shared hostility toward Iran. In turn, the political plan is expected to avoid calling for the creation of a Palestinian state -- the key goal of decades of sometimes intense US diplomacy. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser who is spearheading the plan, in an interview with news site Axios said that the Palestinians "should have self-determination" but suggested they were not ready for a full state. "The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing," Kushner, who has close family ties to Netanyahu, said when asked if he believes the Palestinians can govern themselves without Israeli interference. Kushner said the Palestinians "need to have a fair judicial system ... freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions" before the Palestinian territories can become "investable." The Palestinians have rejected US mediation and are boycotting the Bahrain conference, saying Trump is not an honest broker. Trump, whose evangelical Christian base strongly backs Israel, has broken precedent by recognizing both Jerusalem as Israel's capital and the Jewish state's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. - Economic plan less controversial - David Makovsky, director of the Project on Arab-Israel Relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said the Trump administration likely would have presented the economic and political plans together if it were more confident of success. "The decision of the administration to split them into two, which hasn't gotten as much attention, is very telling. It says that the economics are less controversial and there is more skepticism about resolving these core issues that often seem zero-sum -- if one side has it, the other does not," he said. "In a strange tactical sense, the Israeli election is actually good news for the administration because it gives them a public rationale when talking to the media to say, well, we can't do it now because there is a new Israeli election," he said. But he questioned how much Arab donors would commit without prospects for a peace deal on the core political issues. And he said the Israeli vote presented another potential sticking point -- by the time a government is formed, it could be October or November, when the United States itself will be heading into election season. House Democrats are moving to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena seeking information about efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Unfortunately, your actions are part of a pattern, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Oversight and Reform, wrote to Barr and Ross in separate letters Monday. The Trump administration has been engaged in one of the most unprecedented cover-ups since Watergate, extending from the White House to multiple federal agencies and departments of the government and across numerous investigations. Cummings said he would consider postponing the contempt votes, which have not yet been scheduled, if Barr and Ross turned over the requested documents by Thursday. The committee first authorized the subpoena in April as part of its probe into the origins of the administrations decision to add a citizenship question to the next census. Democrats have argued the move would result in an under-count of people who live in areas with high immigrant populations in a bid to boost Republicans political prospects. Last week, it was revealed that the citizenship question was added at the urging of Thomas Hofeller, a now-deceased GOP gerrymandering guru who argued that adding such a question to the census could benefit Republicans electorally by triggering the redrawing of certain congressional districts. The Trump administration had said that adding a citizenship question would allow it to better enforce the Voting Rights Act. Cummings said the new evidence showed that the true reason for the citizenship question was to gerrymander congressional districts in overtly racist, partisan, and unconstitutional ways. The subpoenas demand that Barr and Ross turn over emails, memos and any communications with the White House, the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trumps campaign, among other entities. Story continues Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Gore appeared before the committee behind closed doors earlier this year, but he refused to answer lawmakers specific questions about the citizenship question, prompting Cummings to issue the subpoena. Gore later skipped a deposition before the committee after the Justice Department blocked him from attending. The tactics of this cover-up are now clear, Cummings added. The administration has been challenging Congress core authority to conduct oversight under the Constitution, questioning the legislative bases for congressional inquiries, objecting to committee rules and precedents that have been in place for decades under both Republican and Democratic leadership, and making baseless legal arguments to avoid producing documents and testimony. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the top Republican on the Oversight Committee, noted that the Supreme Court was already hearing arguments over the 2020 census, and he said Cummings move was a reckless and transparent attempt to interfere with that litigation. Chairman Cummings' interest in the census is entirely about scoring political points, not conducting meaningful oversight, Jordan said. A Commerce Department spokesman said 14,000 pages of documents had already been turned over to the committee, calling the contempt vote against Ross premature and politically motivated. To any objective observer, it is abundantly clear that the committees intent is not to find facts, but to desperately and improperly influence the Supreme Court with mere insinuations and conspiracy theories, the spokesperson said. Barr has already been held in contempt by the House Judiciary Committee for refusing to turn over special counsel Robert Muellers unredacted report and all of the underlying evidence. The full House is expected to vote on that contempt citation this month. Representatives for Barr did not immediately respond to requests for comment. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee said on Monday it had started a bipartisan investigation into competition in digital markets. "A small number of dominant, unregulated platforms have extraordinary power over commerce, communication, and information online," the panel said in a statement that did not name any companies. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department are gearing up to investigate the market power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet's Google, sources told Reuters on Monday. (Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Tim Ahmann) Donald Trump (left) and Sadiq Khan, who said Mr Trump's "cruel and shameful" policies mean he should not be granted a state visit, as MPs prepared to debate the US President's forthcoming trip to the UK. A long-running personal feud between US President Donald Trump and London Mayor Sadiq Khan appears to be far from over. The pair publicly clashed in the latest round of exchanges as the US head of state began a three-day state visit to the UK. On Sunday, Mr Khan described the president as just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat compared his language to that used by fascists but as Mr Trump landed in the UK on Monday, he launched a trademark Twitter broadside at Mr Khan. But how many fallouts has there been? Sadiq Khan and Donald Trump are locked in an ongoing feud. June 2019 Misspelling the London mayors name, he said Mr Khan has by all accounts done a terrible job and has been foolishly nasty to the visiting president of the United States. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me, Mr Trump tweeted. Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Reacting to the comments, a spokesman for Mr Khan said that childish insults should be beneath the president of the United States. The "Trump Baby" balloon joins demonstrators as they march to Parliament Square in London, as part of the protests against the visit of US President Donald Trump to the UK. July 2018 Mr Trump laid into Mr Khan after a wave of terror attacks in the capital the previous year, accusing him of doing a terrible job and a bad job on crime. The verbal attack on Mr Khan came after the London mayor refused to block a plan to fly a giant inflatable Trump baby near Parliament to coincide with the US presidents visit to the UK. Flown in London during the presidents last visit, the 20ft high blimp depicted the US leader as an angry infant wearing a nappy and clutching a mobile phone. At the time, Mr Khan said he would not rise to Mr Trumps beastly comments. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the Bishop of Southwark Christopher Chssun joins traders and visitors for a minute's silence to remember the victims of the London Bridge terror attack before the market bell is rung to mark the opening of Borough Market. June 2017 The pair clashed in the wake of the deadly London Bridge terror attack, after Mr Khan said Londoners should not be alarmed by visibly increased security on the streets of the capital. Story continues In response, Mr Trump tweeted: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed! Mr Khan said he would not allow Mr Trump or anyone else to divide our community. In June 2016 Mr Trump challenged Mr Khan to an IQ test. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File) May 2016 Before Mr Trump was elected as US president, he and Mr Khan were involved in another public row. The then presidential candidate had previously called for Muslims to be banned from the US, but after the election of Mr Khan as mayor, said he would make an exception for him. Read more from Yahoo News UK Donald Trumps state visit - in pictures Five bodies spotted by pilots in search for climbers Neymar denies raping woman in Paris hotel room In response, Mr Khan, who is a Muslim, said he is not exceptional, adding that the views of Mr Trump and his advisers on Islam are ignorant and invited him to come and meet moderate Muslims. He added: The vast, vast, vast majority of Muslims are law-abiding and peaceful (and) unequivocally condemn these acts of terror committed by a small number of people using the name of Islam to justify their nihilistic actions. Hitting back during an interview, Mr Trump branded the statements from the Labour politician as very rude and very nasty, and challenged him to an IQ test. By Gary McWilliams June 3 (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications equipment supplier fighting a U.S. sales ban, kicks off a trade secrets lawsuit in the United States on Monday against a former employee who has sought to turn the case into a referendum on Huawei's corporate behavior. The trial, involving salacious allegations of corporate espionage, racketeering and a secret database of rivals' technology, promises to keep Huawei in the spotlight amid a U.S. blacklisting and pressure on allies not to buy its networking gear over security concerns. Jury selection begins on Monday in a federal court in Sherman, Texas, with the trial expected to last about three weeks. The judge in the case, Amos Mazzant, is also separately hearing Huawei's bid to overturn the Trump administration's ban on its sales to government agencies and contractors. Huawei's lawsuit against former employee Ronnie Huang and his startup, CNEX Labs Inc, claims an "an illegal pattern of racketeering" by the ex-manager to steal its technology and poach its staff, according to court documents. CNEX develops chips that speed up data storage on cloud computing networks. Huang denies wrongdoing and has filed a countersuit, alleging Huawei is using U.S. courts to acquire his and others' technology and quash rivals. Huawei seeks "many tens of millions of dollars" in damages and rights to about 30 trade secrets and CNEX patents, according to a spokesman for the Chinese tech firm. Among Huawei's claims, it says another Huawei employee downloaded some of its secrets before he joined CNEX. "Huawei proved a springboard for (Huang) to succeed where he otherwise could not have," the spokesman said. The case had nothing to do with tensions over the U.S. blacklist, he said. "This is not a U.S. versus China case," said the spokesman. Huang started CNEX in 2013 and has raised more than $100 million from backers including arms of Dell Technologies and Microsoft. Story continues A Huawei official posed as a potential buyer and the company used ties to a Chinese university to gain access to CNEX designs, Huang's countersuit claims. Among its accusations: Huawei rewarded staff for stealing rivals' trade secrets and stores the pilfered technology in a secret database for its use. "(Huawei) is a vast competitive-intelligence gathering operation, gathering the intellectual property and trade secrets of the world's top technology companies," Matthew Goss, CNEX general counsel, said in an interview. Goss said Huawei's lawsuit, which includes one of the first claims to be heard under the U.S. Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, was "weaponizing our courts against U.S. companies." (Reporting by Gary McWilliams, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) Al-Hol Camp (Syria) (AFP) - Kurdish authorities in northeast Syria on Monday started sending home 800 Syrian women and children who had been evacuated from the Islamic State group's "caliphate". They also handed over five Norwegian orphans who had been stranded in the same camp of Al-Hol following a visit by a delegation from Oslo. Al-Hol camp is bursting with Syrians, Iraqis and people from more than 40 other nations who fled successive US-backed assaults led by the Kurds against the last bastions of the Islamic State group's "caliphate". An AFP correspondent in Al-Hol saw at least 17 buses leaving the area with women and children on board, en route to their hometowns in the province of Raqa. "800 civilians have started leaving the Al-Hol camp aboard buses taking them to their hometowns in Raqa and Tabqa," said an official with the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria. "In the coming days, there will be other batches of civilians who will (also) be taken to liberated and safe areas," Sheikhmous Ahmed told AFP, referring to towns and villages recaptured from IS. Al-Hol is crowded way beyond capacity and populated by suspected IS members, their families as well as regular civilians who were forced out of their homes by the fighting. - 'Leave this filth' - "I am happy to go out and leave this filth," said Maryam Ahmad, a 27-year-old Raqa native whose husband is still being held on suspicion of actively working for IS. Some children were seen with identification tags hanging around their necks, while others had their name and a phone number scribbled on their hands. Monday's transfer follows an agreement brokered by the Kurdish administration and Arab tribal leaders during a meeting in the town of Ain Issa last month. It is to be the first in a larger wave of releases that aim to empty Al-Hol, whose population is currently estimated at 74,000, of its Syrian residents. Story continues The next batch is expected to follow the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this week. Some of the evacuees from IS areas have been repentant, but others have made clear their allegiance to IS remains intact, turning Al-Hol into a tinderbox. Ahmed said the Kurdish administration had decided to release the Syrian inhabitants of Al-Hol because "the situation in the camp is very difficult". He accused the international community of "neglecting its responsibilities towards the displaced" in Al-Hol. Speaking of Monday's batch, Ahmed said that some of those leaving Al-Hol had been "influenced" by IS's radical ideology. - Reintegration - "They will be monitored and reintegrated into their societies," Ahmed said. The vast Arab regions in the Euphrates River valley that were IS's heartland are only loosely controlled by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces. The US-backed force does not have the manpower to fully administer the areas it conquered. An operation launched by the SDF in September 2018 was wrapped up in March with a final victory against diehard jihadists holed up in the village of Baghouz. While the Kurds have started sending Syrians back to their hometowns, the fate of non-Syrians remains unclear. Plans are afoot for the repatriation of thousands of Iraqis who also live in Al-Hol. Even more complex from a diplomatic point of view is the plight of the many Westerners who travelled to the region in support of the "caliphate" after its proclamation in 2014. On Monday, the Kurdish authorities announced that five orphaned children from Norway were handed over to a visiting delegation. - Norwegian siblings - "Following a request made by the Kingdom of Norway ... five Norwegian orphans related to IS jihadists were handed over to a delegation from the Norwegian foreign ministry," they said in a statement. "The aim is to rescue the children from the atmosphere of extremism, and to enable them to go back to their countries and get proper rehabilitation and be reintegrated into their communities," the Kurdish statement said. Norwegian media outlets reported that the five orphans were siblings born to a 30-year-old Norwegian mother and a 31-year-old African father. They said the mother, who travelled to Syria in 2015, was missing and the father believed to have been killed. Other countries such as France and Belgium have much larger contingents of nationals still being held by the Kurds in northeast Syria. Iceland is asking tourists and visitors to "drink responsibly" in a campaign that markets the country's tap water as a premium, luxury product. Unlike other countries, 98 percent of Icelandic tap water is chemically untreated. Tap water in Iceland comes from one of the nation's biggest natural assets -- pure glacial water filtered through lava for thousands of years. Instead of drinking bottled water in Iceland, tourists are encouraged to bring their own reusable water bottle and drink what Iceland's tourism office says is one of the best tasting tap waters in the world. The overall aim? To reduce plastic waste from single-use water bottles. In a survey of 16,000 travelers in 11 markets across Europe and North America, 65 percent of respondents admitted to consuming more bottled water when abroad than at home. The biggest reason cited (70 percent) for this habit was fear that tap water abroad is unsafe to drink. To promote the message, Iceland will be branding its tap water as a "luxury" beverage at select restaurants, bars and hotels. In partnership with The Environment Agency of Iceland, visitors will also be able to unlock a voucher equal to the money they would have spent on plastic water bottles, redeemable at select leisure and retail outlets in the country. While the luxury tap water is a cheeky campaign with good intentions, the country's iconic outdoor geothermal spa, the Blue Lagoon, has successfully packaged and marketed its silica mud as a luxury skincare product. Prosecutors demand recovery of $140 mln from ex-Moscow Region official accused of forgery RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 12:00 03/06/2019 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) Prosecutors have increased their claim against ex-head of the Moscow Regions Klin District Alexander Postrigan, who stands charged with abuse of power and forgery, to 9 billion rubles (about $140 million), the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office of Russia reports. Earlier, the Prosecutor Generals Office said it would file a lawsuit to forfeit assets worth nearly 4 billion rubles (over $60 million) from Postrigan to the state. The assets include 1,699 items of property including apartments, land plots, a recreational compound and others in the cadastral value of at least 4.3 billion rubles, 4 cars totaling to 9.4 million rubles and monetary funds worth 4.7 billion rubles, the statement reads. Prosecutors believe that ex-official used his job position for personal profit. According to Russias Investigative Committee, between 2011 and 2013, Postrigan being the head of the Klin Districts administration, signed a dwelling-house operation commencement act in in breach of law. However, investigators believe that the defendant knew for a fact that the required works were not executed onsite and that there was a material inconsistency of the constructed facility to the planning documentation. The building was commissioned, and people became inhabited there upon a program on removal from dilapidated housing. By now, defects that may lead to the building damage have been found, investigators claim. The defendant is currently in detention. This time last year, IHOP created a ton of buzz on social media by changing its name temporarily to IHOb to promote its burgers. Now, the Glendale, California-based chain has taken to calling the newest editions to its burgers line-up pancakes. The trio of new menu items black angus beef pancakes are the Big IHOP Pancake (Burger), which actually includes a traditional pancake between the meat patties; the Garlic Butter Pancake (Steakburger); and the Loaded Philly Pancake (Steakburger). IHOP, which stand for International House of Pancakes, is calling its new vocabulary do-si-do "a playful twist that again shows that it takes its burgers as seriously as it takes it pancakes." Crop tops for men?: Twitter users don't know how to feel about the new trend Beware: Pricey homes in these 15 US cities put them at risk of a housing crisis Here's what's coming: Big IHOP Pancake: Buttermilk pancake griddled with Cheddar cheese and layered between two steakburger patties, then topped with American cheese, custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon and house-made IHOP sauce Garlic Butter Pancake (Steakburger): House-made Gilroy garlic butter, custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon, white cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo Loaded Philly Pancake (Steakburger): Sauteed onions and peppers, melted white cheddar cheese and cheddar cheese sauce For a limited time, they'll be served with unlimited fries, starting at $6.99. The June 2018 name game worked because IHOP initially sold four times what they'd done previously and are still selling at double their regular rate, according to IHOP chief marketing officer Brad Haley. "Those who tweeted something, shall we say, unkind last year may find that theyre on The Bancake List, an aggregated list of Twitter users who tweeted at IHOP to stay in its lane," he said. To get off the list, they must tweet something positive about IHOPs pancakes, er, burgers, though IHOP has some prewritten options they can choose from. Some reformed fans will get tokens of appreciation from the company, though Haley didn't say what those are. Story continues The company returned to its IHOP roots the month after the stunt. IHOP's existing original burger line-up includes the Classic, the Classic with Bacon, the Mega Monster, the Cowboy BBQ, the Big Brunch and the Jalapeno Kick. Rob Frankel, a Los Angeles-based branding strategy expert, said the success of the IHOb move was so great that having off-shoots of it makes sense for the company. "It was a statement 'We're wild and crazy guys, and thats what makes it so fun and what you remember as a kid,'" he said. "That laid the foundation ... upon which they can now base their subsequent advertising." Whether this burger switcheroo will be as much of a slam dunk as last year's shtick remains to be seen. "It will work just fine; I don't think itll work as well because the burger thing was such a departure and a statement of identity," Frankel said. "The burger thing was to plant in the consumer's mind, 'We have burgers here, too.' Now, we need to sell the burger. Its a different kind of an animal." Follow USA TODAY reporter Zlati Meyer on Twitter: @ZlatiMeyer This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: IHOP is changing names and putting a pancake in the middle of a burger Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Ideally, your overall portfolio should beat the market average. But the main game is to find enough winners to more than offset the losers So we wouldn't blame long term Want Want China Holdings Limited (HKG:151) shareholders for doubting their decision to hold, with the stock down 46% over a half decade. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 27% in the last year. Furthermore, it's down 13% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. However, one could argue that the price has been influenced by the general market, which is down 9.5% in the same timeframe. See our latest analysis for Want Want China Holdings There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Looking back five years, both Want Want China Holdings's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 3.5% per year. This reduction in EPS is less than the 12% annual reduction in the share price. This implies that the market was previously too optimistic about the stock. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). SEHK:151 Past and Future Earnings, June 3rd 2019 We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. This free interactive report on Want Want China Holdings's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Want Want China Holdings the TSR over the last 5 years was -40%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 14% in the twelve months, Want Want China Holdings shareholders did even worse, losing 25% (even including dividends). Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 9.6% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality businesses. It is all well and good that insiders have been buying shares, but we suggest you check here to see what price insiders were buying at. There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on HK exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. It was on this day over 103 years ago that the National Guard officially got its name after Congress passed an important, if not overlooked, act to strengthen our military. State militias have been around in some form since the early 1600s and they represent the oldest-known segment of todays defense infrastructure. But on June 3, 1916, the National Defense Act made the use of the term National Guard mandatory for state militias, and the act expanded the Presidents authority to mobilize the Guard during war or national emergencies here, for service or in different parts of the world, for the duration of the event that caused the mobilization. The Act was intended to guarantee the State militias status as the nations primary reserve force. (In 1933, the National Guard of the United Statesa military reserve force composed of state National Guard memberswas created and officially became a component of the Army.) The Act also doubled the number of yearly drills and tripled the number of training days; established the Reserve Officer Training Corps; and paid for 375 new airplanes, creating the Army's first Air Division. President Woodrow Wilson championed the move as part of a preparedness effort related to World War I, which the United States government had avoided in 1916, but was watching closely. The expanded Guards first role in 1916 was to help in efforts at the border with Mexico, as Army forces were battling Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. During World War I, the National Guard accounted for 40 percent of the troop strength in the American Expeditionary Force. The role of state militias was frequently mentioned in the Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 defined the duties of Congress and the states in forming militias and using them within the United States. And the Second Amendment made it clear that the federal government had no ability to disarm state militias, famously stating that, A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Most of the troops in the Continental Army were recruited from militias, and local militias were used to fight with the regular army. Since then, the militias or National Guard contributed to every military campaign here and abroad. Today, the National Guard has numerous roles domestically and internationally. The National Guard responds to various domestic situations, such as fighting fires and helping communities deal with natural disasters since at a state level, the governors have the ability to call up Guard members. The President also has the right to mobilize the Guard, putting members on federal duty status. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! While some investors are already well versed in financial metrics (hat tip), this article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE) and why it is important. To keep the lesson grounded in practicality, we'll use ROE to better understand Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Limited (NSE:CHAMBLFERT). Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals has a ROE of 21%, based on the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every 1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn 0.21. View our latest analysis for Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals How Do You Calculate ROE? The formula for return on equity is: Return on Equity = Net Profit Shareholders' Equity Or for Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals: 21% = 5.9b 28b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) Most readers would understand what net profit is, but its worth explaining the concept of shareholders equity. It is all earnings retained by the company, plus any capital paid in by shareholders. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets. What Does ROE Signify? ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, as a general rule, a high ROE is a good thing. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses. Does Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Have A Good ROE? One simple way to determine if a company has a good return on equity is to compare it to the average for its industry. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As you can see in the graphic below, Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals has a higher ROE than the average (13%) in the Chemicals industry. Story continues NSEI:CHAMBLFERT Past Revenue and Net Income, June 3rd 2019 That is a good sign. In my book, a high ROE almost always warrants a closer look. For example, I often check if insiders have been buying shares . How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity? Companies usually need to invest money to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the use of debt will improve the returns, but will not change the equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking. Combining Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals's Debt And Its 21% Return On Equity We think Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals uses a lot of debt to boost returns, as it has a relatively high debt to equity ratio of 3.12. Its ROE is pretty good, but given the impact of the debt, we're less than enthused, overall. The Key Takeaway Return on equity is useful for comparing the quality of different businesses. A company that can achieve a high return on equity without debt could be considered a high quality business. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better. But when a business is high quality, the market often bids it up to a price that reflects this. It is important to consider other factors, such as future profit growth -- and how much investment is required going forward. So I think it may be worth checking this free report on analyst forecasts for the company. If you would prefer check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. HELSINKI, June 5 (Reuters) - Finland's Centre Party named Mika Lintila as its candidate for the post of finance minister in the newly formed, center-left coalition government led by Social Democrat PM Antti Rinne, it announced on Twitter on Wednesday. Lintila, 53, has been a parliamentarian since 1999 and has worked as Economics Minister since 2016. The Centre Party, which won 31 of the 200 seats in parliament, is the second-biggest group in the five-party ruling coalition after the Social Democrats. It will get five posts in the cabinet, which will be sworn in later this week. (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Hugh Lawson) NEW DELHI (Reuters) - An Indian air force aircraft with 13 people on board went missing on Monday in remote northeastern mountains bordering China, government officials said. The AN-32 aircraft, which is typically used for transport, took off from Assam's Jorhat town for Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh state but lost contact with ground agencies at around 1 p.m. (0730 GMT). "Since the aircraft did not reach the airfield, overdue action was initiated," said one government official. "A total of eight crew and five passengers were on board." The air force had begun a search, including deploying a Sukhoi combat jet, another government official said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who assumed charge of the ministry last week, said he was in touch with senior air force officials. "I pray for the safety of all passengers on board," he said on Twitter. (Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal, additional reporting by Zarir Hussain in Guwahati; Editing by Robert Birsel) Pithoragarh (India) (AFP) - A helicopter searching for eight climbers missing on India's second-highest peak spotted five bodies on Monday, officials said. Nothing has been heard from the four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian on the 7,826-metre (25,643-foot) Nanda Devi in the Himalayas since May 26. But on Monday two Indian Air Force helicopters scoured the area for a third day and took aerial pictures. "During that search some photos were taken and in those photos four to five bodies can be seen. The resolution is quite bad that is why their faces or exact features are not clear," said local official V.K. Jogdande. "But what we can roughly say is that these are body parts of five persons which can be seen. We have ordered a technical evaluation... so that the bodies can be retrieved as quickly as possible," he said. The search operation involving the helicopters and dozens of mountain rescuers has been hampered by poor weather and the remoteness of the area. Authorities were able to reduce the search area to roughly 50 square kilometres (20 square miles) on Monday following information from four British climbers rescued a day earlier from Nanda Devi base camp. They had been in contact with the larger group until May 26 when heavy snowfall and avalanches struck. The missing climbers, led by Briton Martin Moran -- who has two previous successful ascents of the mountain -- had initially set out on May 13 for the eastern peak of Nanda Devi. But in a post on May 22 on the Facebook page of the mountaineering company he runs, Moran Mountain, said they were set to attempt "an unclimbed peak". They were expected to report back to base camp on May 26 but a porter stationed there reported to authorities that the group remained missing on May 31, prompting the search operation. - 'No sign' - A statement by the Moran family on Sunday had said they have been informed by the Indian Mountaineering Federation that the air search has "revealed the scale of the avalanche, but no sign of the climbers, their equipment nor their tents." Story continues The Sydney Morning Herald named the Australian member as British-born Ruth McCance. It quoted her husband Trent Goldsack as saying that her last communication to him had been a text message around a week ago saying: "OK at base camp." Another of the British climbers was reported to be Richard Payne, a lecturer at the University of York. "We remain extremely concerned for his safety and our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time," a spokesman for the British university said. Hundreds of climbers from across the world visit India to scale mountains across the Himalayan chain, and the peaks of Nanda Devi are considered the toughest to scale. The first successful ascent of the Nanda Devi summit was in 1936. India has 10 peaks above 7,000 metres, including Kangchenjunga -- the world's third highest -- sandwiched between India and Nepal. Four Indians were among 11 climbers that died climbing Mount Everest in the latest season that ended last week amid allegations of overcrowding on the world's highest peak. Mountaineering experts criticised the government of Nepal for giving permits to anyone ready to pay $11,000, letting rookie climbers risk their lives and those of others on the slopes. The climbers went missing in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas (Picture: Getty) Indian air force pilots have spotted five bodies in the Himalayas while searching for eight mountain climbers who have been missing a week. District Magistrate Dr Vijay Kumar Jogdande said the bodies were found on Monday before a rescue operation in the northern state of Uttarakhand was suspended because of heavy snowfall and high winds. Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in a remote area. Dr Jogdande says an operation to find the other three mountaineers will resume on Tuesday. He said officials are consulting with the Indian army on how to retrieve the bodies. The climbers pictured before leaving for their expedition in Munsiyari town in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, India (Picture: Reuters) The eight-member expedition set out to scale a 6,477-metre peak and had last been in touch with base camp on May 26. Contact was lost after an avalanche. Dr Jogdande says four British climbers rescued from base camp on Sunday received first aid at a hospital and were released. Mr Moran's family have said it was "not entirely clear" what had happened to the group - which included another three British climbers - but said there was "clear evidence that a sizeable avalanche had occurred on the mountain". Read more Donald Trump takes swipe at Sadiq Khan ahead of three-day UK state visit NHS chiefs warn of 100 weight-related cancers cases a day in next decade Mr Moran has been a mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company, Moran Mountain, which is based in Strathcarron in the Highlands, together with his wife Joy - with the couple's grown-up children Hazel and Alex both also working for the family business. In a statement, the Moran family said: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas. "As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being of those closest to us." Academic Richard Payne, from the University of York, is believed to be among the group of missing climbers. Story continues Mountain guide Martin Moran, who owns the Moran Mountain trekking group that was leading the climb (Picture: Facebook) The university said it was "extremely concerned for his safety", adding: "Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time." The Moran family said the climbing group "had set out to attempt an unclimbed, unnamed summit, Peak 6477m, and the last contact intimated that all was well". As well as four Britons, the group is thought to include two American climbers, one Australian and one person from India. Officials said that four other British members of the expedition team had been rescued. A picture of missing British climber Martin Moran is seen inside the office where the search is being co-ordinated (Picture: Reuters) The group, who had stayed back at the second base camp, were brought down on Sunday. They were given first aid at a hospital in the town of Pithoragarh and later released. They included leader Mark Thomas, 44, along with Zachary Quain, 32, Kate Armstone, 39, and Ian Wade, 45. They had been in touch with the missing climbers until around May 26, according to the authorities. A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are in contact with the Indian authorities following reports that a number of British nationals are missing in the Indian Himalayas. "We will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help." --- Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK --- MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's tea production in April fell 4% from a year earlier to 84.42 million kg due to lower plucking in the top producing north-eastern state of Assam, the state-run Tea Board said on Monday. In the first four months of 2019, India produced 188.03 million kg of tea, up 4.3% from a year ago because of higher production in March, the board said in a statement. India, the world's second-biggest tea producer, exports CTC (crush-tear-curl) grade mainly to Egypt, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, with the orthodox variety exported to Iraq, Iran and Russia. The country's tea exports in January to April nudged up 0.4% to 81.59 million kg, it said. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) Investigators seek detention for ex-regional governor suspected of $11 mln embezzlement RAPSI 13:17 03/06/2019 MOSCOW, June 3 (RAPSI) Investigators have filed a motion to detain ex-governor of Russias Ivanovo Region and active lawmaker of the Ivanovo Regional Duma Pavel Konkov suspected of embezzling nearly 700 million rubles (about $11 million), the spokesperson of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow Yunona Tsareva has told RAPSI. According to the courts representative, investigators have asked the court to put Konkov in detention until July 30. Investigators believe that the suspect, managing director of the Ivanovo broiler poultry farm Dmitry Grishin and other unidentified persons have stolen the money entrusted to Konkov by transfer to accounts of other companies. According to investigators, the accomplices have embezzled nearly 700 million rubles. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell The Straits Trading Company Limited (SGX:S20), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. Do Insider Transactions Matter? Most investors know that it is quite permissible for company leaders, such as directors of the board, to buy and sell stock on the market. However, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. We don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.' View our latest analysis for Straits Trading The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Straits Trading In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive Chairman Gek Khim Chew bought S$1.5m worth of shares at a price of S$2.14 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of S$2.16 per share to be enticing. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Straits Trading share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. Gek Khim Chew was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! Story continues SGX:S20 Recent Insider Trading, June 2nd 2019 There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). Insider Ownership of Straits Trading Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. From looking at our data, insiders own S$5.6m worth of Straits Trading stock, about 0.6% of the company. But they may have an indirect interest through a corporate structure that we haven't picked up on. I generally like to see higher levels of ownership. So What Does This Data Suggest About Straits Trading Insiders? The recent insider purchase is heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. We would certainly prefer see higher levels of insider ownership but analysis of the insider transactions suggests that Straits Trading insiders are expecting a bright future. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow for free . If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. * European companies increasingly using virtual PPA deals * Can finance clean energy while plugged into fossil fuels * Ferrero, Kering, TIM considering such deals - sources * Companies are under pressure from investors to go green By Stephen Jewkes and Isla Binnie MILAN/MADRID, June 3 (Reuters) - Italy's Ferrero is famous for its red-and-white Kinder chocolate eggs. But soon it may hope to be able to slap more green on the wrapper. The confectionery giant, which runs its own gas-fired power plant near its factory in northern Italy, is in early talks to help finance a new clean energy plant, possibly a solar farm in the sunnier south, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Like other companies in Europe, Ferrero is under growing pressure from investors and authorities to shift towards greener energy. But without enough wind or sunshine on its doorstep to provide a renewable alternative, it's looking to a new financial derivative known as a virtual power-purchase agreement. These complex contracts are effectively insurance policies for renewable project developers against the risk of falling power prices, with the premiums paid by companies like Ferrero to support sustainable energy even though they remain plugged into fossil fuels. Virtual PPAs are slowly beginning to gain traction in Europe, and other companies considering the option include French luxury group Kering and Telecom Italia , two separate industry sources told Reuters. Telecom Italia, Italy's No. 2 energy user, is discussing a possible PPA of up to 30 years, while Kering plans a deal involving funding a renewable plant in Italy, said the sources. Ferrero confirmed its interest in PPAs but said it was premature to make any decision, while Kering said it was looking at the idea. Telecom Italia also said it was interested and had been approached by energy companies. Many firms now fund schemes such as planting forests to offset emissions, but shareholders and authorities want companies to underwrite the direct addition of new renewable generation to grids. Story continues "Investors are increasingly calling on companies to go greener and offer 'additionality' to show they're serious about funding new clean projects," said Aldo Bonati, manager at Italian fund Etica Sgr which counts renewable group Erg and offshore wind developer Orsted among its investments. Since PPAs do not require companies to reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions, their direct contribution to tackling climate change may be limited. Nevertheless, advocates believe the instruments can help catalyze a broader shift to clean energy sources by financing projects. The European Union has urged states to boost green PPAs to help it meet a third of the bloc's energy demand from clean sources by 2030. Renewable energy accounted for 17.4 percent last year, little changed from 2016. "The big development in renewables in Europe in coming years to meet 2030 targets will mainly be through PPAs," says Antonio Cammisecra, head of green business at Europe's biggest utility, Italy's Enel. Graphic on renewable energy and CO2 emissions in EU: http://tmsnrt.rs/2XIzjC6 VIRTUAL CONSUMPTION Companies in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) struck PPA deals for clean energy projects with a total capacity of 2.3 gigawatts (GW) last year, according to data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The level more than doubled from 1.1 GW in 2017. Big utilities like E.ON, RWE and Engie have all struck PPA deals to help finance renewable projects in Europe. To put the figures in perspective, 2 GW can power around one million households, but is still a fraction of the more than 500 GW of renewable energy capacity that was installed in Europe by the end of 2017. Europe still lags the United States, a more mature market where tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon have used the instruments to bolster their green credentials. U.S. companies signed 8.5 GW of PPAs last year, almost triple the level of 2017 and more than 60 percent of global activity. The contracts are offered by middlemen, known as offtakers, often big energy trading companies like Switzerland's DXT and utilities like Enel. Under a typical PPA, an offtaker enters an agreement with a renewable developer, effectively guaranteeing it a fixed price for the electricity it produces. The offtaker will pay a refund if the price dips below the set rate. The offtaker in turn enters into a mirror agreement with a corporate customer. The company agrees to fix its own power costs at a set price for up to 10 years or more, but if those bills exceed the fixed price agreed in the PPA, the offtaker will refund the difference. The two agreements transfer the developer's main risk - that power prices will fall - to the offtaker, which in turn hedges its position by persuading a company to fix its power costs. In this way, the corporate customer "virtually" consumes the power from the renewable project. Without such an agreement, a new renewable project, exposed to the ups and down of the wholesale power market and unable to count on generous subsidy schemes that once held sway across Europe, could struggle to raise bank finance. RISKS VS REWARDS There are, of course, inherent risks. For corporate customers, locking in large supplies of power for years can guard against rising prices, but can prove unfavorable if markets move lower. The converse is true for developers, who can lose out on income should prices rise. Other potential turnoffs include the sheer complexity of contracts and the legal complications in the event one link in the chain becomes insolvent and unable to maintain commitments. In the United States, energy group PG&E Corp is looking to rescind costly PPAs as part of a Chapter 11 reorganization. The fact PPAs have made a much slower start in Europe means there are fewer precedents than in the United States, which makes companies even more wary of committing to deals. As a result, only a few long-term PPAs - usually measured as more than 10 years - have been sold on the continent, many to companies with experience of the U.S. market. They include German carmaker Mercedes-Benz and Nike. But some European companies are ready to take on risk. "In Europe there is no liquid long-term forward market for power beyond 2-3 years so without price signals there is the risk of booking a loss," said Antonio Gozzi, head of steel group Duferco, which last month signed Italy's first corporate PPA deal for wind power. "But you have to offset that with the marketing advantages." SUNNY SPAIN Spain is emerging as a hot spot for PPAs, although deals are often structured differently with the middleman trading the renewable energy produced to various customers. Greenpeace has signed a deal to power its Madrid offices from a wind turbine in Barcelona. Under that agreement, accounted for as an advance payment, the provider gives a guarantee every hour for the origin of the electricity, meaning when the turbine stops for maintenance, Greenpeace knows it is paying for power from another renewable source. Spanish renewable energy producer Acciona is talking to some Spanish companies about virtual PPAs but discussions are primarily with U.S.-based multinationals, said Eduardo Sola, Acciona's director of global origination. "Spain's potential is it has big solar and wind resources which allow us to be competitive in a virtual contract with the rest of Europe," he added. Enel, which counts Starbucks and Facebook among its PPA clients in the United States, recently signed a wind PPA with Spanish bank BBVA and is talking to other EU corporates who are already clients. "It's not an easy walk," said Enel CEO Francesco Starace. "But in a few years PPAs will become common practice in Europe." (Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz in Frankfurt, and Nina Chestney and Matthew Green in London; Editing by Pravin Char) UNITED NATIONS (AP) Two international groups trying to foster a solution to the political and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela want to get participation in the effort from countries that are supporting embattled President Nicolas Maduro. The Lima Group and the International Contact Group met Monday at U.N. headquarters. The Lima Group and some International Contact Group members consider opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido to be Venezuela's rightful leader, arguing that Maduro's re-election a year ago was illegitimate because strong opponents were barred from running. Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio said members decided to ask nations backing Maduro's government to "be part of the solution ... to get a transition" and new elections in Venezuela. A U.N. envoy for Russia, which supports Maduro, said earlier Monday that any initiative that respects Venezuela's constitution and "legitimate government" can contribute. But Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Moscow isn't "seeking to get involved in each and every effort." Paris (AFP) - The execution of nine French jihadists on death row in Iraq would be a disgrace for France and leave an "indelible stain" on the mandate of President Emmanuel Macron, a group of prominent French lawyers said Monday. With controversy growing in France over the sentences handed out to the nine for joining the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, the 40 lawyers urged Paris to keep the men alive, irrespective of their crimes. A court sentenced two more French citizens to death on Sunday, meaning that nine French jihadists are now at risk of execution in the country. "We have taken a historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of Emmanuel Macron," said the lawyers, who included some of the country's best known legal professionals such as William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth. It would mean allowing a "legal assassination which is now proscribed by the majority of countries on the planet with the exception of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China and the United States," said the open letter, published on the website of radio station Franceinfo. "It equates to renouncing our engagements by permitting the overseas implementation of the death penalty," they added. "It would be a great disgrace for our country to make these death sentences possible." The French citizens were handed over to Iraqi authorities in January by a US-backed force fighting the jihadist group in Syria. Hearings for the last two suspected French IS members to be tried in Baghdad were set for Monday. France has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial before local courts, while stressing its opposition to capital punishment. French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye insisted Sunday that officials were intervening "at the highest level" in the cases. Baghdad (AFP) - A Baghdad court Monday sentenced to death two more French nationals for belonging to the Islamic State group, leaving all 11 Frenchmen transferred from Syria facing the gallows in Iraq. Bilel Kabaoui, 32, and Mourad Delhomme, 41, join nine other French citizens and a Tunisian national already on death row after trials over the past week. They have 30 days to appeal the sentences. Iraq has sentenced more than 500 suspected foreign members of IS since the start of 2018. Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. Iraqi law provides for the death penalty, which is carried out by hanging, for anyone joining a "terrorist group" -- even those who did not take up arms. A group of prominent French lawyers said earlier Monday that the execution of French jihadists on death row would be a disgrace for France. "We have taken a historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of (President) Emmanuel Macron," said the lawyers, including some of the country's best known legal professionals such as William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth. It would mean allowing a "legal assassination which is now proscribed by the majority of countries on the planet," said the open letter, published on the website of radio station Franceinfo. Human Rights Watch, for its part, has accused Iraqi interrogators of "using a range of torture techniques... which would not leave lasting marks on the person's body". It also condemned France's "outsourcing" of trials of IS suspects to "abusive justice systems" and criticised Iraq's "routine failure... to credibly investigate torture allegations". France has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial before local courts, while stressing its opposition to capital punishment. French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye reiterated Sunday that officials were intervening "at the highest level" in the cases. "France's position has been constant... As soon as our citizens around the world face the possibility of a death sentence after a conviction, we intervene at the highest level of state," Ndiaye told Europe 1 television. Baghdad (AFP) - A Iraqi court Monday sentenced to death two more French nationals for joining the Islamic State group, leaving all 11 Frenchmen transferred from Syria facing the gallows and potentially opening the door for other cases. Bilel Kabaoui, 32, and Mourad Delhomme, 41, join nine other French citizens and a Tunisian national already on death row after trials over the past week. They have 30 days to appeal the sentences. The group was handed over to Iraqi authorities early this year by a US-backed force in Syria which expelled IS from its last bastion. On the stand in Baghdad, Delhomme said he was "known within IS as the one who never pledged allegiance or worked" for the ultra-extremist group. For an hour, the man who went by Abu Ayman explained to the judge in great detail how he entered Syria to save the wife of a friend taken captive by rebels after her husband died fighting in the ranks of IS. Although he denied it at trial, Delhomme told investigators he joined the Tariq Ibn Ziyad brigade, an IS unit described by US officials as "a European foreign terrorist fighter cell". The group was charged with carrying out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planning others in Paris and Brussels. Iraq has convicted more than 500 foreign men and women of joining IS since the start of 2018. Its courts have condemned many to life in prison and others to death, although no foreign IS members have yet been executed. Kabaoui, for his part, pleaded the error of youth. "Five years ago I was super stupid. I was convinced that I could leave Syria when I wanted to," he told the judge. He claimed he asked his family in France to contact French intelligence to find a way for him to return with his wife and three children -- it was on that advice that he surrendered to US-backed Kurdish forces in Syria in late 2017. - 'A historic risk' - France has long insisted its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria must face trial before local courts, while stressing its opposition to capital punishment. Story continues French government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye reiterated Sunday that officials were intervening "at the highest level" in the cases. On Sunday, France's state secretary at the interior ministry Laurent Nunez said "other (French citizens) could be tried" in Iraq. "I cannot give you the exact numbers but we will have others," he said. Some 450 French nationals accused of links to IS are currently detained in Syria. Iraq offered in April to put on trial hundreds of accused foreign jihadists in Baghdad in exchange for millions of dollars, potentially solving a legal conundrum for Western governments but also sparking rights concerns. A group of prominent French lawyers said on Monday that the execution of French jihadists on death row would be a disgrace for France. "We have taken a historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of (President) Emmanuel Macron," said the lawyers, including some of the country's best known legal professionals such as William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth. It would mean allowing a "legal assassination which is now proscribed by the majority of countries on the planet," said the open letter, published on the website of radio station Franceinfo. Human Rights Watch, for its part, has accused Iraqi interrogators of "using a range of torture techniques... which would not leave lasting marks on the person's body". It also condemned France's "outsourcing" of trials of IS suspects to "abusive justice systems" and criticised Iraq's "routine failure... to credibly investigate torture allegations". Iraqi law provides for the death penalty, which is carried out by hanging, for anyone joining a "terrorist group" -- even those who did not take up arms. BAGHDAD, June 3 (Reuters) - An Iraqi court sentenced two Frenchmen to death on Monday for membership of Islamic State, a prosecutor told Reuters, bringing the total number of French citizens on death row in Iraq to 11. The sentences can be appealed. President Emmanuel Macron's government has said France opposes the death penalty but respects Iraqi sovereignty. Iraq is conducting trials of thousands of suspected Islamic State fighters, including hundreds of foreigners, many of whom were arrested as the group's strongholds crumbled. The group declared an ultra-radical Sunni Islamist "caliphate" spanning parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. The 11 convicted men were among 280 Iraqi and foreign detainees handed to Iraqi authorities in February by the U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Military sources said at the time the group included 14 French nationals but it appears some foreign residents of France were mistaken for citizens. A Tunisian man was tried and sentenced to death alongside some of the Frenchmen last week and another Tunisian will stand trial next week. New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Friday that one of the Frenchmen sentenced last week told the court he was forced to confess and that a second told a judge he was tortured. HRW put the number of French detainees transferred to Iraq in February at 11. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Catherine Evans) Rome (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Monday said he was ready to resign unless the two parties in the governing populist coalition -- the League and the Five Star Movement -- stopped squabbling. "I am asking both these political forces to make a choice and tell me if they still want to honour the government's obligations," he said. If not, "I will simply end my mandate." Relations between the League and M5S soured during the campaign for European parliamentary elections on May 26. "I want a clear, unequivocal and speedy response," Conte said, calling for a "loyal collaboration" from all ministers. Conte is seeking a clear mandate to continue a dialogue with the European Union over Italy's public debt. Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is from the League, said last Tuesday that he expected Brussels to sanction his country for its deteriorating deficit and huge debt by imposing a fine of three billion euros ($3.3 billion). The League and the M5S have sparred over a host of issues and strongman Salvini, deputy prime minister and some already accuse the anti-immigration interior minister of acting as if he were head of government. Salvini has also put out a host of controversial tweets. "At a time when youth unemployment is reaching 50 percent in some regions... someone in Brussels is asking us, under past rules, for a fine of three billion euros," he told RTL radio recently. Conte said Monday: "If there are political questions to be resolved, one does not send ambiguous signals through the press and use witticisms on social media. "We have been tasked with designing the future of the country which is different from playing to the gallery and collecting 'likes' on social media," he said. The populist-far right coalition in Italy was already in conflict with Brussels late last year over Rome's big-spending 2019 budget, which the commission rejected in a historic first. Both sides finally softened their positions to reach a compromise, but in the commission's latest economic forecasts, published in early May, Italy was the worst economic performer in the eurozone, with zero growth well below other countries and debt at a record level. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on June 3, 2019 2019/06/03 Q: The latest quarterly report submitted by the General-Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency on May 30 reaffirmed that Iran has been abiding by the JCPOA. Does China have any comment on it? A: As China notes, the IAEA General-Director's report confirms for the 15th consecutive time that Iran abides by the JCPOA and fully cooperates with the IAEA, and the IAEA has conducted monitoring and verification work in an objective and neutral attitude. China highly applauds that. For some time, faced with tensions triggered by the "maximum pressure" and unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, parties to the JCPOA have maintained close communication and consultation. All stressed their commitment to defending and implementing the JCPOA and fulfillment of their respective duties and obligations. The complete and effective implementation of the deal is both the requirement of the Security Council resolution and the only viable way to ease tensions and resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, which serves the shared interests of the international community. China will continue to work with all relevant parties to this end and firmly uphold our own legitimate rights and interests. Q: In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony at the Shangri-La Dialogue 2019, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore said countries had to accept that China would continue to grow and strengthen, and it was neither possible nor wise for them to prevent this from happening. I wonder if you have any comment on it? A: We appreciate Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's remarks. As we note, he also said in the keynote speech that China's growth was a tremendous boon, both to itself and the world. China would want a say in any new rules, which is entirely reasonable. As he stated, to expect every country to adopt the same cultural values and political system is neither reasonable nor realistic. In fact, humankind's diversity is its strength. There have been many discussions on China's development and regional cooperation during this year's Shangri-La Dialogue. We believe Prime Minister Lee's speech reflects the common aspiration of regional countries, an aspiration for peaceful development, win-win cooperation, openness, inclusiveness and cultural exchanges, rather than confrontation and conflict, a zero-sum game mindset, exclusiveness and the clash of civilizations. This is also what China has been promoting. We hope such objective, just, rational and practical views can be shared by more people. By doing so, the conceited, opinionated and narrow-minded lies and fallacies will gain no ground. Q: Some from Chinese media have suggested that China will issue a warning to Chinese students about the dangers of studying in the US. Can you tell us if this is true? A: Recently the US has imposed some unnecessary restrictions on normal people-to-people exchange between our two countries, including on Chinese students planning to study in the US, which is opposed by the education sector and international students of both countries. As to the measures China will take, you may follow up on that. Q: China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs. In this regard, does China assume the situation in the Taiwan Strait is somehow worsening right now? If so, what factors have done such a negative impact? A: First, in his remarks, State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe made clear China's position on the Taiwan question, which has been consistent and firm all along. Second, his remarks were in response to the wrong comments on Taiwan-related issues by Acting US Defense Secretary Shanahan at the Shangri-La Dialogue. Third, there is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. This is a universal consensus of the international community. Fourth, China has the determination, the will and the capability to realize the complete reunification of our country. Q: On June 1 at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Acting US Defense Secretary Shanahan delivered a speech on the US Indo-Pacific strategy. I wonder what is China's response? A: The pursuit of peace, development and win-win cooperation is an unstoppable trend of the times and the shared aspiration of people all over the world. Any proposal on regional cooperation by any country should be in line with this trend and aspiration, or it will not gain universal support. By hyping up military undertones and confrontation, a country will only end up hurting itself. We hope the US will consider its own interests and the common interests of regional countries and contribute to regional peace, stability and development. Q: FedEx made an open statement on June 1 that it will cooperate with any regulatory investigation. On June 2, head of China's State Post Bureau noted that FedEx seriously violated China's regulations on delivery service and the lawful rights and interests of customers. I wonder if you have any response to that? A: We note the statement made by FedEx. You may also find the remarks by China's State Post Bureau in recent interviews online. As the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I'd like to say that China's door is wide open for all foreign companies to invest and operate in our country. But while cooperating with the Chinese side, they need to abide by our laws and regulations and guarantee the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies and consumers. Q: On June 1, the US Department of Defense released its first Indo-Pacific Strategy Report on its website, referring to China as a "revisionist power" that undermines the international system. Do you have any comment on that? A: China notes the groundless accusations made by the US Department of Defense in its Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, which are totally unacceptable. It is never China that should be accused of being a "revisionist power" undermining the international system. China has all along been upholding the international order. As the first country that signed the UN Charter, it is now member of over 100 intergovernmental organizations and signed party to more than 500 multilateral treaties. It is also the largest troop contributor to UN peacekeeping missions in the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. We will continue to uphold the international order and international system with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter at its core. By contrast, while talking all about rules and order, the US in fact has been practicing unilateralism, protectionism and bullyism. It withdrew from the Paris Agreement which was signed by more than 190 countries, the JCPOA which was endorsed in the UN Security Council, and international organizations including UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council. As an important member of the WTO, the US blatantly violated multilateral trading rules and wantonly wields the big stick of tariffs. To the world, it is crystal clear who is favoring international rules and institutions when they serve its interests and abandoning them when they don't. We advise some US individuals to face facts squarely, stop smearing China's image and instead devote their mind and energy to peace, stability and development of the region and beyond. Q: Media reports say that the Twitter accounts of many "dissidents" are blocked. Considering the sensitive timing, it is assumed that this is due to the pressure from the Chinese side. US Senator Rubio said that Twitter has become a censor for the Chinese government. Has China pressurized Twitter to block those accounts? What is your response to Senator Rubio's comment? A: I'll leave that to Twitter. As I note, it already gave a response to that. Q: Another question on the Iranian nuclear issue. As we note, US Secretary of State Pompeo said yesterday that the US was prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. Iran's President Rouhani suggested that Iran might be willing to hold talks if Washington showed it respect, but said Tehran would not be pressured into talks. I wonder if you have any comment on that? A: We note the latest statements made by the US and Iran regarding possible talks between them. As we repeatedly stated, conflict and confrontation will lead us nowhere, while dialogue and consultation is the only way out. Again we call on all parties to exercise restraint, step up dialogue and do our best to support and uphold the JCPOA. The complete and effective implementation of the deal is both the requirement of the Security Council resolution and the only viable way to ease tensions and resolve the Iranian nuclear issue, which is also the shared aspiration of the international community. Q: We note that during his visit to Germany, Vice President Wang Qishan met with German leaders. Did they talk about China-US trade disputes? Is his visit helpful to China in dealing with the trade war started by the US? A: As far as I know, Vice President Wang Qishan and the Chinese delegation have concluded their visit to Germany and returned to Beijing. During the visit, Vice President Wang met with President Steinmeier, Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Maas. They had in-depth exchange of views on bilateral relations and regional and international issues of mutual interest. Faced with complex and fluid international situation, a basic consensus reached by both sides is that China and Germany should jointly uphold multilateralism and the current international order, and oppose the practices undermining the current order and abusing sanction measures. China and Germany are both staunch supporters, defenders and promoters of multilateralism. Q: US Senator Cory Gardner, Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, said recently that he hopes to invite Tsai Ing-wen to speak at the US Congress and that he will continue to push the "TAIPEI Act". Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe has given a strong response to the recent developments implying warming US-Taiwan ties. Will the mainland pressure Taiwan with diplomatic means, for example, by grabbing its "diplomatic allies" or "pressurizing" foreign companies into marking Taiwan differently on their websites, a request dating back to last year? A: You seem to have a lot of considerations on this issue. First, the remarks by the certain US Senator are a grave violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, which we strongly reject. Second, there is only one China in the world, the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal representative of the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. This is a universal consensus of the international community. Third, we are firmly against any official exchange between the US and Taiwan and any attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan". This has been our clear and consistent position. We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques and act prudently to prevent damages to bilateral relations and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. As to whether China will grab the so-called "diplomatic allies" of Taiwan, frankly, do we really need to do that? China develops friendly and cooperative relations with all countries based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and the one-China principle. In fact, the one-China principle has become a norm of international relations and the trend of the times which the vast majority of countries choose to follow. As such, do you think we need to make additional efforts on that? On your second concern, as we stated repeatedly, we welcome foreign companies to invest and do business in China, but they must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and respect Chinese people's sentiment. Our position is clear-cut. The relevant companies know it very well. Rome (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Monday he was ready to resign unless the two parties in the governing populist coalition -- the League and the Five Star Movement -- stopped squabbling. "I am asking both these political forces to make a choice and tell me if they still want to honour the government's obligations," he said. If not, "I will simply end my mandate." Relations between the League and M5S soured during the campaign for European parliamentary elections on May 26. "I want a clear, unequivocal and speedy response," Conte said, calling for a "loyal collaboration" from all ministers. Conte is seeking a firm mandate to continue a dialogue with the European Union over Italy's public debt. Italy's far-right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who is from the League, said last Tuesday that he expected Brussels to sanction his country for its deteriorating deficit and huge debt by imposing a fine of three billion euros ($3.3 billion). The League and the M5S have sparred over a host of issues and strongman Salvini, deputy prime minister and some already accuse the anti-immigration interior minister of acting as if he were head of government. Salvini has also put out a host of controversial tweets. "At a time when youth unemployment is reaching 50 percent in some regions... someone in Brussels is asking us, under past rules, for a fine of three billion euros," he told RTL radio recently. - Fractious allies pledge 'loyalty' - Conte said Monday: "If there are political questions to be resolved, one does not send ambiguous signals through the press and use witticisms on social media. "We have been tasked with designing the future of the country which is different from playing to the gallery and collecting 'likes' on social media," he said. Salvini did not even wait for the end of Conte's press conference to declare: "We are ready, we want to go ahead and we can't lose time, the League is ready." Story continues But he also evoked the League's historic performance in the European Union elections, as well as its moves to tighten security, stop immigration and put an end to the politics of austerity. Five Star's Luigi Di Maio also responded on Facebook, saying: "We are loyal, we want to get to work immediately... Let's forge ahead with loyalty and coherence, we still have to change a lot of things." The populist-far right coalition in Italy was already in conflict with Brussels late last year over Rome's big-spending 2019 budget, which the commission rejected in a historic first. Both sides finally softened their positions to reach a compromise, but in the commission's latest economic forecasts, published in early May, Italy was the worst economic performer in the eurozone, with zero growth well below other countries and debt at a record level. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Jackspeed Corporation Limited (SGX:J17) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 11% in the last month. Looking further back, the stock has generated good profits over five years. After all, the share price is up a market-beating 75% in that time. Check out our latest analysis for Jackspeed While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement. Over half a decade, Jackspeed managed to grow its earnings per share at 55% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 12% over the same period. So it seems the market isn't so enthusiastic about the stock these days. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 6.83. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). SGX:J17 Past and Future Earnings, June 3rd 2019 Dive deeper into Jackspeed's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Jackspeed's earnings, revenue and cash flow. A Dividend Lost The share price return figures discussed above don't include the value of dividends paid previously, but the total shareholder return (TSR) does. By accounting for the value of dividends paid, the TSR can be seen as a more complete measure of the value a company brings to its shareholders. Jackspeed's TSR over the last 5 years is 96%; better than its share price return. Even though the company isn't paying dividends at the moment, it has done in the past. A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 4.5% in the twelve months, Jackspeed shareholders did even worse, losing 29%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 14%, each year, over five years. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. Before forming an opinion on Jackspeed you might want to consider these 3 valuation metrics. Story continues But note: Jackspeed may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast). Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on SG exchanges. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. MELBOURNE, June 3 (Reuters) - Jailed former Vatican treasurer George Pell will appeal on Wednesday against his convictions for sexually abusing two choir boys in the 1990s and if an Australian court rules in his favor could be released or face a retrial. Pell, 77, the highest ranking Catholic cleric worldwide to be convicted of child sex offenses, was jailed for six years in March after being found guilty of five charges of abusing two 13-year-old boys at St Patrick's Cathedral while he was Archbishop of Melbourne more than 20 years ago. The trial judge said that Pell, a former top adviser to Pope Francis, could die in jail. He is eligible for parole in late 2022. He is appealing against his conviction on three grounds: the jury's verdicts were "unreasonable" based on the evidence, the judge erred by blocking the defense from showing a video graphic in its closing argument, and there was a "fundamental irregularity" as Pell did not make his plea in the presence of the jury panel. The appeal will be heard by three judges and will be live-streamed on the Supreme Court of Victoria's web site. The appeals court is part of the state's Supreme Court. If the judges grant the appeal on the first ground, the conviction would be thrown out. If the appeal is granted on the second or third, then Pell could face a fresh trial. Pell, who turns 78 on Saturday, was found guilty of all five charges by a jury in December, following two trials. The first ended with the jury unable to reach a unanimous verdict or an 11-1 decision. The outcome was only made public in Australia in February after further charges of historical sexual offenses, which had been set for trial this year, were dropped. Pell was the highest-profile conviction in a scandal over pedophile priests that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, Chile, Australia and elsewhere over the last three decades. Pell's lawyer declined to comment on how Pell has fared in prison. Story continues American theologian George Weigel wrote in May in the conservative religious journal 'First Things' that friends who had visited Pell had been "cheered and consoled" by the cardinal, who described his incarceration as a "retreat." Pell was hand-picked by the Pope in 2014 to oversee the Vatican's vast finances, but no longer has any position in the Vatican. He remains a cardinal and could only be dismissed from the priesthood if the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith found him guilty following a separate canonical trial or a shortened procedure called an "administrative process." The Vatican launched its own investigation into the allegations against Pell after his conviction was made public. (Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Tetsushi Kajimoto TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese business spending rose in January-March, continuing the expansion seen over the past two years and pointing to a likely upward revision in overall economic growth in the first quarter as investment held up despite external trade pressures. Ministry of Finance (MOF) data out on Monday showed capital expenditure grew 6.1% in January-March from the same period last year, led by chemicals, production machinery and leasing of goods. It followed a 5.7% gain in the previous quarter. Excluding software, capital expenditure rose 1.1% in January-March from the previous quarter on a seasonally-adjusted basis, up for a second straight quarter but slowing from the previous quarter's 3.9% gain. Many economists said the data, which will be used to calculate revised gross domestic product figures due on June 10, suggested upward revisions to both capital spending and overall GDP growth in the first-quarter. "It turned out that a recovery in capital expenditure was continuing even as exports have weakened," said Ryutaro Kono, chief economist at BNP Paribas, who saw an upward revision to annualised GDP growth at 2.4%. Initial estimates released last month showed Japan's economy grew an annualised 2.1% in the first quarter as imports fell faster than exports, while business and household spending slipped in a sign of weak domestic demand. An upward revision to GDP figures could help hose down expectations that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may postpone an already twice-delayed sales tax hike scheduled for October. The premier has repeatedly vowed the hike will proceed, barring a big economic shock. "High GDP growth in the first quarter was caused by a big drop in imports, stemming from sluggish domestic demand, which in itself is not something to cheer," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute, who forecasts an upward revision to 2.7 percent GDP annualised growth. Story continues Capital expenditure has been a bright spot in the world's third-largest economy, as companies refurbish old equipment and boost investment in automation and labour-saving technology to cope with labour shortages in an ageing society. However, business investment has recently shown some signs of slowdown as the intensifying Sino-U.S. trade war and softening external demand hit global trade and supply chains, hurting Japan's export-reliant economy. Economists expect Japan's growth to slow in the current quarter reflecting weak demand both at home and abroad. Monday's data also showed corporate recurring profits rose 10.3% in January-March from a year earlier, reversing from the previous quarter's 7.0% decline. Corporate sales rose 3.0% year-on-year in January-March, up for a 10th straight quarter. A revised manufacturing survey on Monday showed Japanese factory activity swung back into contraction in May as export orders fell the most in four months. (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Sam Holmes) Jean-Claude Juncker believes the European Commission needs an official residence and private jet (AP Photo/Francisco Seco) Jean-Claude Juncker has complained that as president of the European Commission he does not have a stately home to live in or a private jet, according to reports. The Times says the EC president feels embarrassed at the lack of an official residence to entertain visiting diplomats and world leaders. The top EU official has revealed his personal embarrassment at not having an impressive official residence to entertain European or world leaders. He told German newspaper Bild: The commission president doesnt have a residence. I have been living in a hotel apartment measuring 50 sq m for 3,250 [per month, 95 a night]. Air Force One, carrying President Donald Trump and first lady Melania, arrives at Stansted Airport in England, on June 3. Jean-Claude Juncker believes the European Commission leaders should have a similar plane at their disposal. (Joe Giddens/PA via AP) I cant talk to official visitors sitting on my bed. Mr Juncker, 64, who finishes his five-year term in November, is offended that he has not had the perks enjoyed by ambassadors. The Nato secretary-general lives in a stately home and invites us there sometimes. All the ambassadors have residences, he said. The former Luxembourg leader said he was embarrassed at not having an EU aircraft at his personal disposal when meeting President Trump. We had to fly on commercial flights as the commission does not have its own plane for official business, he said. When I was talking to Donald Trump, I was constantly looking at my watch so that I wouldnt miss my flight home. Trump kept saying, Your plane can wait! He didnt realise that I didnt have my own aeroplane. Jean-Claude Juncker, left, with Donald Tusk. Mr Juncker has complained he cannot entertain official visitors in his hotel room. Read more from Yahoo News UK Donald Trumps state visit - in pictures Five bodies spotted by pilots in search for climbers Neymar denies raping woman in Paris hotel room In 2009, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, blocked Mr Juncker from becoming president of the European Council - a job now held by Donald Tusk, because he demanded a palatial official residence and aeroplane. Mr Juncker has been criticised over his use of chartered air taxis, costing up to 32,000 a time, to ferry him and his entourage to almost half of his official engagements around the world. Mr Juncker said his successor should set up an anti-fake-news department to tackle lies about the EU. We have been too hesitant about this, he said. Progressing on its bid to expand into new markets, JPMorgan JPM expects to open about 40 branches in Georgia over a period of three years. The news was reported by Atlanta Business Chronicle. Majority of the new branches will be opened in the Metro Atlanta, 30% of which will be built in low-and-moderate income communities. Notably, the bank is also making plans to expand into Savannah and Athens by 2020-end. Additionally, JPMorgan intends to hire roughly 200 local employees to manage these branches. The new hires are likely to include bankers, branch managers, business bankers and financial advisors. Of late, JPMorgan has announced several expansion plans, which reflect its focused approach to bolster position in new and existing markets. Notably, the recent move expands on its earlier plan to open 25 branches in Georgia as announced in September 2018. At the time, it found Georgias economy to be thriving and capable of sustaining corporate growth leading to wealth creation. As of Jun 30, 2018, the Wall Street biggie fell behind Wells Fargo WFC, Bank of America BAC and SunTrust STI, and ranked ninth in terms of the deposit market share in Georgia, per Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. We are fully committed to creating more economic opportunity for the people of Atlanta and are excited to help even more people in Georgia by expanding into new markets and investing in programs that will help grow local small businesses, said Thasunda Duckett, CEO of Chase Consumer Banking. In a conference recently held by Deutsche Bank, CEO Jamie Dimon was optimistic of the branches opened so far in Greater Washington, DC. He said the business in those branches are very positively growing and expanding. Thus, JPMorgans robust business profile and diversified product offering will help it gain market share. Further, the banks focus to tap new business opportunities, such as the recently announced deal to acquire InstaMed, will enable it to expand reach into lucrative U.S. healthcare payments market. Story continues The stock has rallied 1.1% over the past year against the industrys decline of 11.1%. Currently, JPMorgan carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Will you retire a millionaire? One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, 7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report SunTrust Banks, Inc. (STI) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (WB) With great fanfare in a signing ceremony, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis the first openly gay man elected governor in the United States signed into law on Friday two pieces of pro-LGBT legislation. One measure bans widely discredited ex-gay conversion therapy for youth, the other, known as Judes Law, streamlines the process by which transgender people can change their gender marker on their birth certificates. Speaking in front of a group of LGBT supporters, Polis remarked on the progress his state has made on LGBT rights since it enacted Amendment 2 in 1992, anti-gay law against LGBT city non-discrimination ordinances that was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Romer v. Evans. In just 27 years, weve had a remarkable transformation from when we were derogatorily called the hate states to a place where the rights of all Coloradans are respected, where we have a strong LGBTQ caucus in our state legislature, where we move forward with valued contributions that every Coloradan makes regardless of their race, regardless of their gender, regardless of their orientation, regardless of their gender identity, Polis said. HB19-1129, the measure against ex-gay therapy, prohibits a state-licensed mental health care provider from engaging in the practice on a patient under age 18. A physician or mental health care provider who violates this law engages in unprofessional conduct under the applicable professional licensing board. The newly enacted law makes Colorado becomes the 18th state to ban the practice. Just this week, Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed into law a similar measure against ex-gay therapy for youth. Other jurisdictions that have enacted similar laws are Connecticut, California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington State, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. (Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed an executive order against conversion therapy after the legislature failed to pass legislation against it.) Conversion therapy aimed at changing an individuals sexual orientation or transgender status is considered ineffectual at best and harmful at worst. Major medical and psychological institutions including American Psychological Association, the World Health Organization, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics widely reject the practice. The other measure, Judes Law, aims to cut through the red tape for transgender people in Colorado trying to update the gender markers on their birth certificate consistent with their gender identity. Transgender people in Colorado are now able to update their gender on their birth certificate to M, F, or X without a surgery, a doctors note, or court order. Other states have enacted birth certificates laws for transgender people, but Colorado is the third state in the country after California and Oregon to allow for have non-binary gender options for both drivers licenses and birth certificates. Daniel Ramos, executive director of One Colorado, said in a statement the enactment of the pro-LGBT bills made for a historic session for LGBTQ Coloradans and their families in the state legislature. The strong bipartisan support of both of these bills further demonstrates that LGBTQ equality should be a nonpartisan issue, and we applaud the Republicans who stood with our community, Ramos said. Colorado will continue to make history as our countrys first openly gay Gov. Jared Polis, signs our pro-equality agenda into law to send a strong message that Colorado is a state that is open to all. Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, also hailed Polis in a statement for signing the pro-LGBT meaures into law. Gov. Polis has been a trailblazing champion for LGBTQ rights and representation, both in Colorado and for LGBTQ people across the nation, Griffin said. While there is much work to be done to ensure that all of us are treated equally under the law, this is a great day for progress for Colorado and for our community. Polis isnt the first openly LGBT governor to sign into law a ban on conversion therapy or transgender birth certificate legislation. In 2015, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, whos bisexual, signed into law legislation prohibiting the practice in the Beaver State. In 2017, Brownsigned into law a measure a transgender equity bill for birth certificates. New York (AFP) - A New York judge on Monday denied a request by convicted Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman for better prison conditions, saying he poses an escape risk. The former Sinaloa cartel chief was convicted on February 12 of crimes spanning a quarter-century after a trial that laid bare his lavish lifestyle and penchant for extreme violence as the head of one of the world's most powerful gangs. Guzman, 62, is to be sentenced on June 25 and faces life in prison for smuggling tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the United States. He was also convicted on money laundering and weapons possession charges during a three-month trial in which witnesses described the mob boss beating, shooting and even burying alive those who got in his way. Guzman is currently held in solitary confinement at a high-security prison in Lower Manhattan under special conditions that his lawyers last month claimed violate the constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual punishment." Through his attorneys, Guzman had requested at least two hours of outdoor recreation, in contrast to the single hour of solitary exercise he is currently allowed in another indoor cell. On Monday, Judge Brian Cogan refused the request, saying the detention conditions were made necessary by Guzman's repeated jailbreaks in Mexico. Writing that it was "plausible" that Guzman could attempt to escape again, Cogan agreed with prosecutors and wrote that the prison conditions are "not designed to punish defendant, nor (are they) excessive or arbitrary." The judge also turned down Guzman's request to access the prison commissary, saying "many items" sold can be "weaponized." Also refused was the kingpin's request for earplugs, as they could prevent Guzman from hearing guards during an emergency or when they were issuing orders. Guzman's lawyers had argued that he needed to plug his ears "in order to alleviate his ear pain, and to assist his ability to sleep." Guzman twice escaped from high-security prisons in Mexico before being re-arrested in 2016 and extradited to the United States the following year. His lawyers in March requested a new trial on the grounds that some jurors had followed media coverage of the first trial in violation of the judge's orders. By Keith Coffman (Reuters) - Jury selection is set to start on Monday for the trial of an Illinois man charged with kidnapping and murdering a visiting Chinese scholar two years ago, in a case where federal prosecutors say they intend to seek the death penalty. Brendt Christensen, 29, has been held without bond since his arrest in June 2017 for the abduction and presumed slaying of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student Yingying Zhang, 26, whose body has not been found. Christensen, a onetime master's student at the university, has been charged with murder, kidnapping and lying to federal investigators. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts. Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday in U.S. District Court in Peoria, Illinois, and is expected to take a week. Zhang came from southeastern China to study photosynthesis and crop production at the university two months before she was reported missing on June 9, 2017. A professor and several of her classmates told police they were unable to contact her for hours, authorities said. Investigators were led to Christensen after surveillance cameras in Urbana recorded Zhang getting into a black car which authorities later traced to him, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed with the court by an FBI agent. Under questioning by investigators, Christensen admitted giving Zhang a ride, but said he dropped her off in a residential area a few blocks from where he picked her up. Detectives said an examination of Christensen's cell phone showed he had searched the internet for topics such as "Abduction 101" and how to plan a kidnapping, the affidavit said. While under surveillance by law enforcement, he was also heard explaining how he kidnapped the victim, took her back to his apartment and held her against her will, it said. In court filings outlining their reasons for seeking the death penalty, prosecutors said Christensen met several of the legal criteria for capital punishment, including murder during the commission of another crime, premeditation, and the crime being "heinous, cruel or depraved." Story continues Prosecutors also cited "non-statutory aggravating factors" such as the impact on the victim's family. "The victim ... was particularly vulnerable due to her small stature and limited ability to communicate in English," prosecutors said in the filing. (Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver; Editing by Diane Craft) Katie Price outside Bexley Magistrates' Court following her drink driving trial where she was banned from driving for three months, adding to the ban from earlier this year for driving while disqualified. Katie Price has pled guilty to using abusive and threatening behaviour towards her ex-partners girlfriend. The 41-year-old model has been due to stand trial at Horsham Magistrates Court today over a row she had in a school playground with estranged husband Kieran Hayler's girlfriend Michelle Pentecost. Magistrates ordered Price pay a fine of 415 and banned her from contacting Penticost after she hurled a "tirade of abuse in front of young children in the playground of a primary school in Shipley, West Sussex on September 6, 2018. Read more: Katie Price says she looked like a 'Space Invader' after her recent cosmetic surgery During the row, which was witnessed by a teacher, Price is said to have shouted "f***ing c***" multiple times at Pentecost and her friend and her friend Andrea Quigley. Price changed her plea to guilty in relation to two counts of using threatening, abusive, words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Paul Macauley, defending, said the outburst was a reaction to Price's recent discovery that Penticost was in a relationship with Hayler. Katie Price (centre) leaves Crawley Magistrates' Court where she appeared on two counts of using threatening, abusive, words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Price and Hayler - who married in 2013 - share five-year-old son Jett and four-year-old daughter Bunny. Price was joined by her boyfriend Kris Boyson at court. The reality TV star failed to attend a hearing relating to the case at Crawley Magistrates Court in March as she was on holiday in Thailand at the time. Judge Amanda Kelly told the court at the time: I believe she hasnt turned up today. She has something better to do. This demonstrates a lack of respect for the court process. Price also failed to attend police interviews about the matter. Read more: Judge slates Katie Price for missing court hearing over 'threatening behaviour' for holiday in Thailand This is the third criminal court case the mother-of-five has been involved in this year. In January, she was given a further ban from driving after admitting driving while disqualified and ordered to pay a 1,100 fine plus court costs. Then in February Price was given a third consecutive driving ban after being convicted of being nearly twice the limit while in charge of her pink Range Rover and ordered to pay 2,425 - including a 1,500 fine. Kim Kardashian West attends the 2019 Met Gala celebrating "Camp: Notes on Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic) She might be known for her glamorous style, but Kim Kardashians relatives were closer to the Highlands than the catwalk. A journalist has discovered that the 38-year-old reality TV star can trace her roots back to the Scottish royal family, and to folk hero Rob Roy MacGregor. Read more: Kim and Kanye spend 1m on annual childcare Craig Williams decided to follow the Kardashian family tree after noting their fondness for Scottish names in reference to their heritage, including Kourtney Kardashians daughter Penelope Scotland Disick. Williams told the Daily Record that he had discovered the Kardashians are related to the MacGregor clan, whose founder Gregor was the brother of ninth century monarch Kenneth MacAlpin - known as the first King of Scots. Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jennerr, Chrissy Teigen, Kourtney Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian backstage during the 2018 E! People's Choice Awards. (Photo by Todd Williamson/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) He said: I thought the family must be aware of a Scottish background. And sure enough, when I searched the historical records, there it was. I had no idea [the Kardashians] would be linked to such a towering figure from Scottish history though. And as the MacGregors claim direct descent from Scottish kings, maybe Kim could have a claim on the throne. Read more: Kardashian training to become a lawyer The link comes through the great-great-great grandmother of Kims mother, Kris Jenner - Mississippi-born Margaret Elizabeth Magee. Her great-great-great-great-great grandfather was Thomas Magee, who emigrated from Scotland to Virginia in around 1670, splitting the family across the Atlantic. Liam Neeson played the titular folk hero in 1995 historical epic 'Rob Roy'. (Credit: United Artists) Magee was related to Rob Roy, who was born in 1671, and fought against the aristocracy as an outlaw. Roy was portrayed by Liam Neeson in an Oscar-nominated 1995 film. Read more: Kardashian criticised over diet promotion Hes certainly an interesting figure for the Kardashians to be related to, as Roys down and dirty lifestyle could not be further from the red carpet style of the reality TV clan. Kardashians revelations will evoke memories of Danny Dyers appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, when the Essex actor discovered he was a descendant of 14th century King Edward III. Kinder Morgan, Inc. KMI recently received a positive environmental assessment review from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the proposed NGPL pipeline expansion project. Kinder Morgan and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. BIP jointly own the project. The project is expected to connect the existing system of Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America to the Waha Hub, located in the Permian Basin. Per FERCs report, the 17-mile long pipeline would not pose any significant environmental impact. Notably, the Lockridge Extension Pipeline is expected to provide around 500,000 dekatherms per day of incremental shipping capacity. The pipeline, which will transport gas from the Waha Hub to the Trans-Pecos Pipeline of NGPL, is expected to come online by fourth-quarter 2020. The prolific Permian region has witnessed a surge in oil and gas output over the past few years. However, theres a dearth of takeaway capacity, which has put pressure on producers in the region. Gas prices in the Permian recently turned negative due to booming output and scant shipping capacity of existing infrastructures. To mitigate the situation, several midstream companies are coming up with pipeline projects, among which Kinder Morgan is a significant one. The clearing of this regulatory hurdle is certainly a positive for the expansion project and can bring positivity among producers. Including this expansion project, Kinder Morgan has multiple projects lined up to address the rising demand for infrastructures in the Permian Basin. The companys Gulf Coast Express pipeline, having 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of shipping capacity, is expected to come online this October. Another project, 2.1 Bcf/d Permian Highway Pipeline is scheduled to come online in the second half of 2020. All these projects will likely enable Kinder Morgan to generate significant profit from fees charged for using its midstream properties in the long term. Notably, since inception, Kinder Morgan has spent more than $50 billion on natural gas pipelines, products pipelines and terminals. The majority of the spending has so long been allocated for natural gas pipelines that are likely to help the company to capitalize on clean energy demand. Story continues Price Performance Headquartered in Houston, TX, Kinder Morgan has gained 30.4% year to date compared with 15.4% collective gain of the industry it belongs to. Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider Kinder Morgan currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players in the energy space are RGC Resources Inc. RGCO and Holly Energy Partners, L.P. HEP, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. RGC Resources earnings growth is projected at 11.6% through 2019. Holly Energys earnings growth is projected at 6.5% through 2019. Will you retire a millionaire? One out of every six people retires a multimillionaire. Get smart tips you can do today to become one of them in a new Special Report, 7 Things You Can Do Now to Retire a Multimillionaire. Click to get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (BIP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Kinder Morgan, Inc. (KMI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Holly Energy Partners, L.P. (HEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report RGC Resources Inc. (RGCO) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) Kosovo prosecutors have issued war crimes charges against an ethnic Serb suspected of killing and torturing ethnic Albanians during the 1998-99 war. A statement Monday said the suspect, identified only as Z.Dj., had been part of a Serb paramilitary group in Peja, 85 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital Pristina, which had entered Albanians' homes and forced them to flee, maltreating the victims "physically and psychologically" and killing some of them. It said he was a Belgrade resident but did not say if he was arrested. The 1998-99 war in Kosovo, then a province in Serbia, ended following a 78-day NATO bombing campaign against a bloody Serb crackdown on ethnic Albanian nationalists. More than 10,000 people died during the conflict and 1,650 are still unaccounted for. Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence isn't recognized by Serbia. Entry-level jobs present one of the most vexing paradoxes of professional life: To get experience, you have to already have experience. That's what many young people discover as they search for their first jobs. But that shouldn't deter them from applying to appropriate positions, says David Cortez, director of operations for Professional Diversity Network. That required experience, he explains, "doesn't necessarily have to be work experience." Here, Cortez and other experts demystify entry-level jobs and offer advice for how to get them. [Read: 5 College Seniors Share Their Job-Hunting Stories.] What does entry-level mean? Entry-level jobs are positions intended for people who don't have much professional experience. Some of these jobs are designed to simply meet immediate company needs and offer few opportunities for advancement. Others help young people launch careers, providing them with pathways to move up in the ranks. "We pride ourselves on promoting a lot from within and providing a lot of resources for our entry-level employees to be successful," says Teri Paridon, director of talent acquisition at Sherwin-Williams, which hires 1,500 entry-level workers a year and recruits recent graduates into its management training program. "Our goal is to create future leaders and managers in the organization." [See: What Business Jargon Really Means.] What entry-level jobs are in demand? Companies in the hospitality, retail and sales industries typically hire lots of entry-level workers, Cortez says. That's echoed in data provided by ZipRecruiter, an online employment marketplace, about the backgrounds employers seek most when hiring entry-level employees who have college degrees: -- Sales and marketing. -- Consulting. -- Hospitality. -- Outside sales. -- Public relations. According to ZipRecruiter, small businesses are looking to hire lots of workers into the following entry-level jobs, which don't necessarily require bachelor's degrees: Story continues -- Customer service representative. -- Receptionist. -- General laborer -- Field service worker. -- Warehouse worker. -- Pest-control worker. -- Data-entry worker. -- Driver. -- Installer. -- Call-center worker. How can I find an entry-level job? 1. Participate in internship or co-op programs to build ties at companies. 2. Talk to recruiters. 3. Attend job fairs. 4. Search for job ads with keywords like "entry-level," "trainee" or "development program." 5. Consider positions that require no, one or two years of experience. For people new to job hunting, it may not be obvious which jobs qualify as entry-level positions. Some "employers want to make sure they don't confuse candidates" and so will include the words "entry-level" in a job title or at the beginning of the description in a job advertisement, Cortez says. Others use phrases such as "no experience required" in their job ads, says Julia Pollak, labor economist at ZipRecruiter. The website currently has advertisements for more than 1.75 million active jobs that use this phrase or a variation of it. Some companies use words such as "trainee" or "development program" in entry-level job titles and ads, Paridon says, as is the case at Sherwin-Williams. The number of years of experience mentioned in a job advertisement's requirements section provides another clue about whether the position is entry-level. If no years are mentioned, it's likely meant for beginners. But a job that asks for one or two years of experience could also be entry-level, too. Unless explicitly stated, job seekers shouldn't interpret that to mean only professional experience. Instead, they may be qualified to apply if they learned relevant skills in school, doing volunteer work or during internships and part-time jobs. "One of the key reasons they even list that is at the end of the day, they want to make sure the person that comes in is trained to some degree for that specific job," Cortez explains. [See: The Most Important Allies to Make at Work.] What do employers look for in entry-level workers? Some companies expect entry-level employees to arrive on the first day with specific technical skills, while others provide training programs to teach recruits how to fulfill most of their job responsibilities. Recognizing that entry-level workers don't have much experience, hiring managers at both kinds of companies are "looking for people who are able to adapt, grow, and learn on the spot efficiently," Cortez says. Many companies care less about their employees' college majors than about whether workers have or seem capable of picking up relevant skills. At Sherwin-Williams, recruiters look for people with strong communication, collaboration and customer service skills, plus "the burn in the belly" to work hard, Paridon says. How can I get hired for an entry-level job? Although some companies, especially those that hire large numbers of entry-level workers, rely heavily on online job applications, there are several other strategies to pursue to land your first job. One is participating in an internship or co-op program while still in school or soon after graduation to get on a company's radar. For example, Sherwin-Williams internships are designed to "fill the pipeline of talent in our development programs," Paridon says. Another is taking on and performing well in a seasonal job, which can lead to full-time opportunities. Speaking with a recruiter during job fairs or college events can be useful for securing an entry-level job. Sherwin-Williams sends recruiters to 400 universities to search for "the next class of bright young talent," Paridon says. Professional Diversity Network, which annually hosts 25 career fairs across the country, has seen a 30% increase in job-seeker attendance at its events. Talking with representatives face to face "is a way to know your resume is getting in front of people who should see it," Cortez says. With unemployment looming, it may be tempting to apply as widely as possible, but ignore that impulse, Cortez advises. By focusing "on the jobs you feel are a good fit for you," he says, you're more likely to land the right position that will help establish your career. BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) The Latest on salvage efforts at site of sunken tour boat in Hungary's capital (all times local): 9:45 p.m. Hungarian police say divers have recovered a ninth body from the Danube River accident in which a sightseeing boat sank after colliding with a large cruise ship. Police said Monday night the body belonged to a male victim and was found downstream from Budapest at the southern village of Harta, 110 kilometers (68 miles) by road from the Hungarian capital. The victim's nationality was not made public. The sightseeing boat carried tourists from South Korea. Earlier Monday, the body of the eighth victim was recovered from the crash site on the river. Only seven of the 35 people on the tour boat are known to have survived Wednesday night's collision near the Hungarian Parliament building, while 19 people on board remain missing. ___ 6:50 p.m. Hungarian officials say divers have recovered a body from the sunken tour boat carrying South Korean tourists that capsized last week after a collision with a cruise ship. The agency leading the salvage operations said that Hungarian divers found a body in the water Monday morning during an inspection of the wreck and it was brought to the surface in the afternoon by Korean divers also assisting in the search and recovery efforts. The identity of the deceased has not been released. If confirmed as one of the victims of Wednesday's collision, 20 others are still missing. Seven people were rescued after the sinking and seven others were confirmed dead. ___ 1:10 p.m. Hungarian officials say exploratory dives have begun in the Danube River in attempts to recover any bodies still in the sightseeing boat that sank last week carrying Korean tourists. Janos Hajdu, head of the Hungarian agency leading the salvage operations, says that the river's speed has slowed slightly but it is still very hard for divers to move in it. He added that Hungarian divers aren't allowed to enter the sunken boat. Story continues Twenty-one of the 35 people aboard are still missing, with seven confirmed dead and seven rescued. The Hableany (Mermaid) collided Wednesday night with a large river cruise ship at Budapest's Margit Bridge, capsized and sank in about seven seconds. Hajdu said the wreckage was located nine meters (29 feet) deep, about 3 meters (9 feet 10 inches) lower that previously reported by the government. Hajdu added that a floating crane able to lift 200 tons and which would be able to hoist the boat out of the water is expected at the scene within days. ___ 10:30 a.m. Preparations for salvage efforts of a sunken tour boat in the Danube River have resumed in Budapest. A diver could be seen Monday morning entering the water from a pontoon in the river, holding on to a ladder in the river as other adjusted his air hose and other equipment. The Danube's fast flow, its high springtime water levels and near zero visibility under water have prevented divers from reaching the sunken boat so far. The boat carrying South Korean tourists capsized and sank Wednesday night after colliding with a much larger river cruise ship near the Hungarian Parliament building. Seven of the 35 people on board have been rescued, with seven confirmed fatalities and 21 people, including 19 South Koreans and the two Hungarian crew members, still missing. At least four people were killed Monday when a bomb tore through a bus in Kabul, an official said, marking the second day straight that attackers have targeted a bus. The vehicle was taking workers home from a government watchdog agency ahead of the Eid holidays marking the end of Ramadan when the bomb exploded. Farid Ahmad, a spokesman for the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), told AFP the bomb had been concealed on a bicycle along the side of the road. "Unfortunately, we have lost four colleagues, nine have been wounded", Ahmad said. Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi put the toll at five dead and 10 wounded -- all of them civilians. He said the explosion had been caused by a sticky bomb, a common threat in Kabul where criminals and insurgents slap explosives under vehicles. The Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate later claimed responsibility for the attack. The blast comes one day after two people were killed and dozens more wounded in Kabul as a wave of bombings hit civilian targets -- including a university school bus -- across the Afghan capital. The IS group also claimed responsibility for those bombings. Buses carrying government employees have remained a constant target of militant attacks during the rush hour in Kabul. The IARCSC was established in 2002 with the aim of providing oversight to the notoriously corrupt Afghan civil service. (WB) White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended President Trumps tweet recognizing June as LGBT Pride month late Friday, suggesting he may take up the global initiative he referenced to decriminalize homosexuality with the United Nations. In a gaggle with news reporters at the White House, Conway was asked how important the initiative was to Trump and referred to his tweet, according to a White House press corps pool report. Its very important, he just tweeted about it, Conway said. And I personally know its very important to him. Its something that weve discussed publicly and privately over a number of years, and hes had that as a priority as well. It is just a disgrace what happens to people based on their sexual orientation, particularly around the globe, including countries where by the way a lot of media companies film their movies. Those who are talking about pulling out of Georgia now happen to film their movies in places that arent particularly very kind to people of different orientations. Conway was referencing the draconian law making abortion illegal in Georgia after six weeks and Disneys threat to no longer to film there because of the controversial statute. Conservative media have been making hay over Disneys reported plans to built a theme park in Saudi Arabia despite the countrys laws against womens rights, suggesting the company is being hypocritical for the Georgia threat. Thats when Conway made the news about the prospect of Trump leading the United Nations in a global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality. The president just tweeted out sent a couple tweets about Pride Month and specifically trying to bring other countries along with what we are doing in the United States of America in decriminalizing homosexuality, Conway said. You see what the president did last September at the U.N., at the General Assembly when he was able to get 130 or so countries to come along and agree with the United States about the drug prices? So hopefully we can do something similar here on other issues. It should be noted the United Nations has already undertaken efforts to combat anti-LGBT discrimination without Trumps help. In April, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged Brunei not to implement its new penal code that would impose the death penalty against anyone found guilty of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual activity. The country has since implemented a moratorium on the anti-LGBT law. Asked how Trump can square his recognition of Pride month with his transgender military ban, Conway deflected and referred back to Trumps global initiative. The president is recognizing the fact that tomorrow starts Pride Month, and he is also calling upon other countries to do something thats very important, which is to join the U.S. in decriminalizing homosexuality, Conway said. Referencing remarks Trump made in 2016 that hes fine with the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling for same-sex marriage and considers the issue settled as a legal matter, Conway also invoked the claim made in LGBT conservative circles that Trump supports marriage equality. Look, Im old enough to remember the 2008 campaign where Hillary and Obama were arguing with each other as to who was more for traditional marriage, Conway said. It wasnt so long ago. Hes the first president to start as president for approving of gay marriage. Thats something that he should be lauded for in history. Kanye West was a guest on the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman. Throughout the hour-long interview West discussed several things including mental health, fashion, and of course his polarizing support of President Donald Trump. West has been vocal about his support for the president, even wearing a hat with Trumps 2018 campaign slogan Make America Great Again. During his interview with Letterman, Kanye claimed that liberals bully Trump supporters, which he takes exception to. Kanye told Letterman, This is my thing with Trump. We dont have to feel the same way, but we have the right to feel what we feel, and we have the right to have a conversation, a dialogue, not a diatribe about it. Letterman has made it clear that he is not a fan of President Trump. After listening to Wests feelings on the president, Letterman asked, Did you vote for Trump? To which the West replied, Ive never voted in my life. Wests admission seemed to surprise many and emboldened Letterman, who told the artist, Then you dont have a say in this. West was surprised by Lettermans response and the laughter it generated from the in-studio audience. Despite the dismissal, West argued, But who says who has a say? Obviously, I had a say when I said what I said. South Korean electronics manufacturer LG has announced the market launch of the world's first 8K OLED TV (7,680 x 4,320 pixels). Preorders open this week in South Korea, before this exceptional model lands in Europe and North America in summer 2019. This TV is currently only offered in 88-inch format (model no. 88Z9) and is quite simply LG's biggest OLED TV to date. With its advanced panel featuring over 33 million pixels, this OLED TV promises lifelike colors, true blacks, very high contrast and a wide viewing angle. To deliver this level of performance, the TV integrates a second-generation Alpha 9 intelligent processor. LG also announces that its TV will be compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa in certain markets. In South Korea, this exceptional TV will sell for 50 million KRW, equivalent to around $42,260 USD! It is still unclear when LG will start selling its spectacular "rollable" TV (model no. 65R9), which caused a stir at this year's CES tech show in Las Vegas. This 65-inch 4K TV can roll up into its base, disappearing at the touch of a button. LG had announced that it would be coming to market, but availability and price (no doubt astronomical) are yet to be confirmed. June 3 (Reuters) - The Lima Group regional bloc and EU-led contact group on Venezuela on Monday called on Latin America and the broader international community to play a more active role in restoring democracy to Venezuela. The two groups made their call in a joint statement issued after Lima Group members Canada, Chile and Peru met European Union representatives at the United Nations. (Reporting by David Ljunggren Editing by Tom Brown) (Reuters) - The Lima Group regional bloc and EU-led contact group on Venezuela on Monday called on Latin America and the broader international community to play a more active role in restoring democracy to Venezuela. The two groups made their call in a joint statement issued after Lima Group members Canada, Chile and Peru met European Union representatives at the United Nations. The 12-nation Lima Group and most Western nations have recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nation's legitimate interim president. But President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly said that he will not step aside. "While the solution needs to be a Venezuelan one, the regional impact of the crisis requires the region and the international community to play a more active role in supporting a prompt return to democracy," said the statement, read out at a news conference by Peruvian Foreign Minister Nestor Popolizio. The statement did not give more details and Popolizio, accompanied by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero, did not elaborate. Popolizio said it was important that humanitarian aid to Venezuela not be politicized. Economic collapse has driven more than 3 million Venezuelans abroad in recent years. (Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Tom Brown) Otago University scientist Neil Gemmell from New Zealand takes environmental DNA samples from Loch Ness (Picture: SWNS) The Loch Ness Monster might be real, a team of scientists has claimed. Researchers made the claim after examining water samples from Loch Ness in Scotland. They travelled the length of the loch on research vessel Deepscan taking water samples from three different depths. The scientists collected DNA left by creatures in the loch from their skin, scales, feathers, fur and faeces. The DNA samples were then sent to labs in New Zealand, Australia, Denmark and France to be analysed. Professor Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago, New Zealand, who led the study, said the results are surprising. He says his team tested the data against most of the main theories about the Loch Ness Monster. Have a team of scientists discovered proof the Loch Ness Monster exists? (Picture: PA) Professor Gemmell said that while the full details will be released at a later stage, one of the theories might be correct. One theory is that the monster is a long-necked plesiosaur that somehow survived the period when dinosaurs became extinct. Others believe the monster is a giant sturgeon or catfish. Professor Gemmell said he hoped to announce the full findings of the study in Scotland next month - but would not confirm which hypothesis might be right. He said: "Is there anything deeply mysterious? It depends what you believe. Is there anything startling? There are a few things that are a bit surprising. Read more Donald Trump takes swipe at Sadiq Khan ahead of three-day UK state visit NHS chiefs warn of 100 weight-related cancers cases a day in next decade "What we'll have achieved is what we set out to do, which is document the biodiversity of Loch Ness in June 2018 in some level of detail. "We've tested each one of the main monster hypotheses and three of them we can probably say aren't right and one of them might be." Hundreds of thousands of visitors flock to Loch Ness every year to try and catch a glimpse of the mythical monster. Nessie is worth millions of pounds to the Scottish economy - and tourist bosses previously said they are "eagerly anticipating" the results. Story continues Mr Gemmell, left, and researcher Dr Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness Centre examine the samples (Picture: SWNS) Announcing the study last year, Professor Gemmell said: "Scotland is dear to my heart because my mother and her family are Scottish, Im delighted to be here to undertake our environmental DNA investigation of Loch Ness. "Its a place of extraordinary natural beauty. "Were delighted with the amount of interest the project has generated in the science and, monster or not, we are going to understand Loch Ness, and the life in it, in a new way." --- Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK --- Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Compagnie de Saint-Gobain S.A. (EPA:SGO) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. I will be using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. View our latest analysis for Compagnie de Saint-Gobain Is Compagnie de Saint-Gobain fairly valued? We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 Levered FCF (, Millions) 1.30k 1.45k 1.49k 1.80k 1.94k 2.05k 2.13k 2.20k 2.25k 2.29k Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x8 Analyst x9 Analyst x6 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Est @ 5.51% Est @ 4.08% Est @ 3.07% Est @ 2.37% Est @ 1.88% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 10.15% 1.18k 1.20k 1.12k 1.22k 1.20k 1.15k 1.08k 1.01k 943.06 872.30 Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= 10.98b Story continues "Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the intial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 10-year government bond rate of 0.7%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 10.1%. Terminal Value (TV) = FCF 2029 (1 + g) (r g) = 2.3b (1 + 0.7%) (10.1% 0.7%) = 25b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV) = TV / (1 + r)10 = 25b ( 1 + 10.1%)10 = 9.34b The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 20.31b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate of 37.77. Compared to the current share price of 32.42, the company appears about fair value at a 14% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. ENXTPA:SGO Intrinsic value, June 3rd 2019 Important assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Compagnie de Saint-Gobain as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10.1%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.415. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Next Steps: Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it shouldnt be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, There are three further aspects you should further examine: Financial Health: Does SGO have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does SGO's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of SGO? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every FR stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search 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. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Amiad Water Systems Ltd. (LON:AFS) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. This is done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. Check out our latest analysis for Amiad Water Systems The model We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 Levered FCF ($, Millions) $4.49 $4.79 $5.09 $5.29 $5.59 $5.81 $5.98 $6.14 $6.27 $6.38 Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 3.87% Est @ 3.08% Est @ 2.52% Est @ 2.13% Est @ 1.86% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 8.73% $4.13 $4.05 $3.96 $3.79 $3.68 $3.51 $3.33 $3.14 $2.95 $2.76 Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF)= $35.31m Story continues "Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 10-year government bond rate (1.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 8.7%. Terminal Value (TV) = FCF 2029 (1 + g) (r g) = US$6.4m (1 + 1.2%) (8.7% 1.2%) = US$86m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV) = TV / (1 + r)10 = $US$86m ( 1 + 8.7%)10 = $37.32m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is $72.64m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. This results in an intrinsic value estimate in the companys reported currency of $3.21. However, AFSs primary listing is in Israel, and 1 share of AFS in USD represents 0.793 ( USD/ GBP) share of AIM:AFS, so the intrinsic value per share in GBP is 2.54. Relative to the current share price of 2.2, the company appears about fair value at a 13% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. AIM:AFS Intrinsic value, June 3rd 2019 The assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Amiad Water Systems as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 8.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.258. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Next Steps: Whilst important, DCF calculation shouldnt be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For Amiad Water Systems, I've put together three further factors you should further examine: Financial Health: Does AFS have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does AFS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Are there other high quality stocks you could be holding instead of AFS? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every GB stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search 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. PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Oct. 31 should be the "final" deadline for Britain's much-delayed withdrawal from the European Union. Macron was among those EU leaders opposed to granting Britain a long extension of its date for divorce when it was moved from March until the end of October. "I think this is the final, final deadline because I don't want to have the new Commission and this new executive to deal with (this)," he said, referring to the naming of new heads of major EU institutions. "I think it is a big mistake to procrastinate." Macron was speaking in English at the Elysee palace in Paris with members of the International Monetary Conference. "I do believe we now have to implement the British people's decision. Except if the British people themselves decide something else," Macron said. "That's why I was always pictured as the tough guy in the room on this Brexit issue. But I do endorse such a role." However, Macron left the door open for another extension of the Brexit deadline if Britain decided to ask for time to launch a second Brexit vote. "It's feasible if we have the perspective of either a new referendum or a totally new scheme which would be acceptable for the 27 and our negotiator." Macron also described any possible British attempt to try and renegotiate the current deal to remove the so-called "Irish backstop" as a "non-starter". (Reporting by Michel Rose; Editing by Matthias Blamont and Andrew Cawthorne) General view of Dundee Sheriff's Court. A man accused of putting a 13-month-old girl in a tumble dryer and switching it on showed "no emotion at all" after the incident, the child's mother has told a trial. Prosecutors allege Thomas Dunn, 25, endangered the toddler's life by putting her in the machine at his flat in Arbroath, Angus, in December 2017. The child's mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told a jury at Dundee Sheriff Court she turned around from washing dishes at her friend's home to see her girl in the tumble dryer. She broke down in tears as she described the child's screams after being taken out of the machine. Dunn allegedly intentional locked the child in a tumble dryer before turning it on. The witness said: "I was standing doing the dishes and he was joking about putting her in the tumble dryer. I didn't think that he was being serious. "I heard a door close and then I heard the rotation and I turned around and I saw her in it." The mother, described hearing two "thuds" before Dunn removed the child from the machine, and said he claimed he didnt know the machine was on. The mother said her child "wouldn't stop crying" after she was taken out of the machine. Asked how Dunn appeared, she said: "There was no emotion at all. "I was shocked that there wasn't. I was really angry." Read more from Yahoo News UK Donald Trumps state visit - in pictures Five bodies spotted by pilots in search for climbers Neymar denies raping woman in Paris hotel room Dunn, of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, denies three charges of assaulting the child between December 2017 and January 2018. On one occasion he is accused of repeatedly striking her on the head and body, hitting her against an unknown object or objects and biting her on the arm. The girl was taken by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee after being in Dunn's care on January 8 2018. The jury heard her mother found out from doctors she had fractures to her skull and she said it was while the child was being assessed she noticed bruises and other marks on her body she had not seen before. Story continues Dunn had messaged the mother earlier that day to say she had hurt her nose after banging into her buggy, the court heard. During the exchange he wrote: "She's so miserable since she hurt her nose, it's a wee shame." The witness described Dunn as a friend who had looked after her girl on two occasions previously. Asked why she had left her child in Dunn's care after the tumble dryer incident, she said tearfully: "I don't have an answer. Dunn also denies assaulting a young boy on various occasions between April 2015 and January 2018 by placing a hand over his mouth and pinching his nose, restricting his breathing. (WB) The State Department has announced it plans to create a new human rights advisory commission that will stress natural law. A note published in the Federal Register on Thursday says the Commission on Unalienable Rights will provide the secretary of state advice and recommendations concerning international human rights matters. The commission will provide fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nations founding principles of natural law and natural rights, reads the note. Politico first reported on the commission on Thursday. It was a project that I wanted to proceed on, and its an important review of how we think about human rights inside of our efforts in diplomacy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before he flew to Germany. That is, how do we how do we connect up what it is were trying to achieve throughout the world, and how do we make sure that we have a solid definition of human rights upon which to tell all our diplomats around the world how to engage on those important issues. Pompeo said the commission is separate from whats going on in the State Departments Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. But it is deeply connected to the work that not only DRL does but that the entire State Department does around the world, he added. Politico foreign affairs correspondent Nahal Toosi on Friday tweeted a State Department official told her DRL was not told about the commission ahead of time. Activists and other sources with whom the Washington Blade has spoken said they too had no prior knowledge of the State Departments proposal. The State Departments announcement coincides with continued criticism of the Trump administrations LGBTI rights record in the U.S. and its overall foreign policy. The State Department earlier this month did not publicly acknowledge the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia that commemorates the World Health Organizations decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. Pompeo, who has previously acknowledged IDAHOBiT and Pride month, faced questions during his confirmation hearing over his previous anti-LGBTI statements that include his description of homosexuality as a perversion and an alternative lifestyle in a 2015 speech. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins is among those who participated in a religious freedom conference the State Department held in D.C. last July. The State Department has nevertheless continued to publicly support LGBTI rights abroad since President Trump took office. The State Department in recent months has publicly criticized the anti-LGBTI crackdown in Chechnya and a provision of the new Bruneian penal code that sought to impose the death penalty upon anyone convicted of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations. The White House in March announced an initiative led by openly gay U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell that encourages countries to decriminalize homosexuality. We would welcome a commission focused on expanding the rights of all individuals, including LGBTQ people, but the Trump administration has clearly demonstrated an intent to restrict the rights of women, LGBTQ people and other marginalized communities, Human Rights Campaign Global Director Ty Cobb on Friday told the Washington Blade in a statement about the commission. We sincerely doubt this is being done in good faith to protect the human rights of all people, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. The man identified by the Daily Beast as the creator of a viral video that was edited to make House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appear to be drunk has denied creating and uploading the video. Shawn Brooks, a black forklift operator from the Bronx, is an administrator on the Facebook page Politics Watchdog, to which the video was first uploaded before it received widespread media coverage thanks to its symbolism as a piece of viral fake news. Brooks claimed in an interview with the Daily Beast and a subsequent Facebook post that another administrator created and uploaded the video. The Daily Beast pushed back on Brooks claim by citing a Facebook employee who told the outlet that the pages other administrators were fake accounts which had to be deleted because they were all operated by Brooks. In response, Brooks posted a screenshot to Facebook early Sunday morning that appeared to show a number of other active administrators. Brooks, who is on probation for domestic battery, accused the Daily Beast of making him the fall guy for the video due to his background. Brooks told the Daily Beast that he turned to political conservatism after losing his job working in a warehouse because his employer began hiring illegal immigrants. I was working there four or five years and I was being paid pretty well, he said. And then they started bringing these guys in vans through the side door. This was going on for months. Then all of a sudden they told me, We cant pay you anymore. Brooks has since taken issue with a number of details included in the story, including the claim that he made $1,000 in ad revenue from the video before it was demonetized. I never said I made 1000 dollars. Thats a lie. This guy just made up a bunch of shit and added my past history (which isnt all true) and have convinced you all that everything he wrote was true. Bottomline is I never made the video. I shared it just like thousands of other ppl Shawn (@sportsgurufsr) June 2, 2019 Journalists and pundits from across the political spectrum denounced the Daily Beast for publicly identifying Brooks, a private citizen. The Daily Beasts Sam Stein defended the decision to identify Brooks by citing the videos far-reaching implications for the debate surrounding tech censorship. Story continues Cant believe some people dont think its news to discover the actual identity of the guy behind the doctored Pelosi video. Its not just that he runs partisan news site+ posted the video to make money. Its that this story shows disinformation isnt the purview of Russia alone Sam Stein (@samstein) June 2, 2019 More from National Review Founded by two women selling collectible antiques to male shoppers in the late 1960s, Mantiques Modern has become a favorite of designers in New York over the last half-century. To commemorate their anniversary, Bergdorf Goodman tapped the company to offer a collection of their vintage goods and antiques as the luxury department stores exclusive vintage seller. The collection will bring Mantiques Modern's existing offering to the clientele at Bergdorfs, but with an added focus on branded luxury. Were excited that people appreciate what were doing, says Cole Ramstad, gallery director at Mantiques Modern. Bergdorfs is kind of the ultimate in retail, and were excited to show as their exclusive vintage purveyors. Photo: Matt Glueckert Mantiques Moderns downtown showroom, covering 4,000 square feet at 146 W. 22nd Street, has been famed for its collection of high-end pieces, several of which will now be moving to Bergdorfs. The company will also decorate one of the windows at the Mens Store across the street. Its going to be us, but uptown, Ramstad assures. Its high-end 20th-century objects and design things from big fashion houses, esoteric designers, [and] surrealists, and cool objects you might find in your travels throughout your life. Thats what we specialize in, and we try and put it under one roof for people. According to Ramstad, prices will range from the hundreds of dollars all the way to $20,000. Shoppers can keep their eyes peeled for vintage wares from the likes of Gucci and Hermes, particularly an old Hermes nautical clocka favorite of the gallerys. The collection debuts on June 12, when Mantiques Modern and Bergdorf Goodman men's fashion director Bruce Pask will fete the new partnership with a reception for notable clients and interior designers. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest Want to live forever? Marc Freedman can help. No, he's not one of the Silicon Valley "immortalists" seeking to radically prolong human life spans. He's the chief executive officer of Encore.org, an organization that aims to help older Americans make meaningful social contributions and find purpose in later life. In his new book, "How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations" (Public Affairs, $27), Freedman demonstrates how programs that build bridges between the generations benefit society as a whole and help older people leave a lasting legacy. In this lightly edited conversation with Senior Editor Eleanor Laise, Freedman reflects on his own aging process and the promise he sees in building intergenerational bonds. SEE ALSO: 6 Secrets of Super Agers to Keep Your Brain Sharp You've worked for many years to connect the generations. What prompted you to write this book now? Some of it was crossing this personal Rubicon of turning 60 and thinking about what my priorities should be for the years ahead. But also as a society we're crossing a Rubicon. For the first time in America, we have more people over 60 than under 18. And the only way to successfully navigate this demographic transition, I'm convinced, is older people focusing on the well-being of the next generation. We need to spend less time trying to be young and more time trying to be there for those who actually are. You're critical of efforts by some ultra-wealthy individuals to literally live forever. Can you talk about the type of immortality you're advocating? Our obsession over life extension is coming at the expense of why we want to live forever. In 1963, [President Kennedy] said, we've added "years to life," and it's time to add "life to those years." And since then, we've added two months a year to the American life span, but we've really struggled to understand what all those extra years could mean to us. Society is awash with all this talent and wisdom and experience. Some have argued the longevity revolution is a disaster in the making, that we're becoming a society where old and young are at each other's throats. But I think if we follow our natural instincts and the true route to happiness, which is investing in younger generations, we can make the most of the extra years in our lives. Story continues Overall,"How to Live Forever" is a very upbeat book, but I think one of the more depressing points you make is that JFK's plans for mobilizing older people to serve society "would be groundbreaking if unveiled today." Why have we been so slow to change as a society? This is the most vexing question for me: Why is it taking so long? I think we have two major barriers keeping us from realizing the potential of the longevity revolution. One is the misguided conception of later life as a time for disengagement--"greying as playing" and recapturing our lost youth. The second problem is the peril of age segregation. We've organized society so the generations have very little contact in their daily lives--in education, the workplace, in housing. Social Security, a major step forward for older people, had the side effect of luring older people out of the workforce and into a set of institutions like senior centers and retirement communities. And the end result has been the loss of a sense of the wholeness of life. One thing we need to do is be as creative in bringing people together as we were during the last century in separating them. And we'll produce solutions to what ails us: conflict between generations, the epidemic of loneliness, the scourge of ageism. Among the intergenerational programs you've studied, what has been the greatest success story? There are some wonderful international examples. Singapore has invested a little over $2 billion U.S. dollars in creating what they're describing as a kampong for all ages--kampong being the Malay word for village--built around intergenerational harmony. New senior centers and preschools are [located together]. New housing developments are built around the idea of "3Gen flats" where older people, people in the middle and younger people have an opportunity to connect in daily life. They've launched a volunteer corps of older people to tap those assets. What do you say to older people who might live in a retirement community and feel that they really have no connection with younger people? How can they begin to build a bridge to the younger generations? I think through community involvement, volunteering at local schools, youth agencies and religious congregations, and seeking out opportunities [that] encourage contact with younger generations. And in organizing community projects that go beyond the walls of their retirement community and make a connection to the surrounding area. All of us want to know that when our days come to an end, we left the world better than we found it. A few years ago, you launched the Generation to Generation campaign, aiming to mobilize one million older people to help children. What progress have you seen so far? We've already had 100,000 people join in the campaign, and I think they represent a deep yearning on the part of many older people to invest in the next generation and to show that older people aren't just concerned about their own interests but equally about the interests of the broader community and generations to come. They're the embodiment of what we need to do now as we become a more-old-than-young society--but also of timeless wisdom we've understood in many cultures since the beginning of time. There's a Greek proverb: "A society grows great when older people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit." SEE ALSO: Best Housing Strategies for Retirees You lament the segregation and separation created by retirement communities, assisted-living facilities and nursing homes. Can you talk about some of the more promising long-term-care models you've seen? I was just visiting a remarkable senior living facility in west Seattle, Providence Mount St. Vincent--affectionately known as the Mount. They have a preschool built-in, and they've conceptualized the floors as neighborhoods, not just with children but parents of the children dropping them off and picking them up, interwoven into every aspect of life. Very quickly, visiting the Mount you forget you're in an institution for older people. You truly feel you're in a neighborhood, and I think they've made what's natural normal. EDITOR'S PICKS Copyright 2019 The Kiplinger Washington Editors How much would you be willing to get rid of in the name of tidiness? (Picture: Getty) Shes the tidying guru whose viral Netflix series encouraged us to declutter our homes to - some argue - an extreme level. And Marie Kondos advice to bin possessions that dont spark joy is the topic of much debate. According to new research carried out by Yahoo and YouGov, British people would end up with bulging bin bags if we followed her advice to bin our non-joyful items. Japanese organising consultant Marie Kondo's TV show became an unlikely hit. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images) The poll asked British people the question: Please imagine that you had to remove all of the belongings in your home which did not 'spark joy'. What proportion of items do you think you would remove from each of the following categories? It found that papers like letters, magazines and administrative admin are the most likely to go, with 18% of Brits saying they would get rid of all of them. Mementos like photos and souvenirs are most likely to be treasured, with just 3% of Brits saying they would get rid of all of them and half (51%) saying they wouldnt get rid of any. Mementoes are the least likely items to be Marie Kondo'd, according to a poll (Picture: Getty) When it comes to clothing, nearly half of Brits (a total of 46%) would get rid of at least half of their clothes, while one in five (22%) would get rid of more than half. However, one in eight (12%) would keep every single item. Men are twice as likely to keep all of their clothes than women, the poll found, with 16% of men saying they would get rid of none of them compared to 8% of women. The figures are discussed on the latest episode of Yahoo UKs podcast Britain Is a Nation Of... which this week focuses on the subject of homes. Listen to the full episode of Britain is a Nation of... below According to the poll, a third of people (35%) said they would remove at least half of their books, but that figure varies according to age. For 18 to 24-year-olds it rose to nearly half (47%) while for over-55s it was just a third (32%), with nearly two thirds (61%) saying they would get rid of less than half of their books or none at all. One in 20 people (6%) said they would get rid of all of their books, with men twice as likely to ditch all the literature in their home than women (8% vs 4%). Story continues And while mementoes topped the table as the least likely to be ditched, four in ten people (42) said they would say goodbye to at least some of their mementoes. This survey was made possible by YouGovs panel of 6 million respondents. Join the trend and share your opinions with the world today. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Five people suffered minor injuries after the MSC Opera cruise ship lost control and slammed into a tourist ferry in the Giudecca canal in Venice, Italy, on Sunday morning. Shocking video shows passengers on the bank of the canal fleeing as the massive ship moved straight towards them. The ship then struck a tourist ferry, tossing at least two people into the water, according to the Venice port authority. The group No Grandi Navi (No Big Ships) was quick to respond, claiming that this accident is a wake-up call. Currently, cruise ships over 96,000 tons are prohibited from sailing near San Marco square out of fear of an accident. The group has demanded a complete ban of massive cruise ships from the Venice canals, citing the deadly Costa Concordia accident in 2011 that killed 32 people, including two Americans, when a cruise ship slammed into the Tuscan island of Giglio. Pino Musolino, president of the Port Authority System for the northern Adriatic Sea, told The Daily Beast that they were watching this accident closely. We are following the accident that involved the cruise ship MSC Opera and the River Countess river vessel moored in San Basilio this morning, collaborating with Port Authority, Fire Department and security forces, he said in a statement to The Daily Beast. Today must be reserved for the management of the accident but it is clear that from tomorrow it will be necessary to move at all levels with the utmost speed to finally give a solution to the traffic of large ships in Venice, freeing the San Marco Basin from cruise traffic and the Giudecca Canal. Venice Bans Giant Cruise Ships. Sort Of. Italys transportation minister Danilo Toninelli called for an immediate ban of all cruise ships in Venetian canals. Todays accident in the port of Venice proves that cruise ships shouldnt be allowed to pass down the Giudecca anymore, he said Sunday. After many years of inertia, we are finally close to a solution to protect both the lagoon and tourism. Story continues Venetians do not want to ban the cruisers from the city entirely because of the economic benefit. Four percent of the population works directly for the cruise industry and many others benefit indirectly from cruise tourism. Venice is a hub city for many major cruise lines which means local hotels, the airport and train station also benefit from cruise traffic. Venice has struggled with over-tourism in recent years and has instituted a turnstile system to close parts of the city when it is dangerously overcrowded. The city, which has a fixed population of 660,00, according to the 2018 census, receives more than 20 million tourists each year. Stop Destroying Venice! Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Mastercard wants the world to stop paying with paper moneybut that doesnt necessarily mean paying with a plastic credit card. Today, cash is used in roughly 85% of payment transactions globally, according to Shamina Singh, executive vice president of sustainability at Mastercard. While swiping a card or scanning a mobile app are more popular payment methods in the United States, cash still accounts for 30% of U.S. transactions. It really opens up from the business perspective a runway of opportunity, if cash is your competitor instead of any other payment company, Singh says on the latest episode of Fortunes Balancing the Ledger. It starts to get you really thinkingif you started to disrupt cash with digital, what would that mean for more people in the world? Thats what drove Singh in 2013 to create Mastercards Center for Inclusive Growth, of which she serves as president. The initiative aims to bring 500 million people without access to financial servicesmany of whom rely solely on cashinto the digital economy. So far, for example, Mastercard has implemented QR codes in emerging markets such as India, so that all merchants need in order to accept payment is a mobile device or QR code reader. Singh herself got to test the technology on a recent trip to India, where for the first time she paid for a ride on a rickshaw (or small motor scooter) using just a QR code. They allow the same level of technology that you would get from a $300 point of sale device that you might see at a grocery store or a big market, she explains. While Mastercard and Singhs initial forays were focused on developing parts of the world, they are now bringing some of the lessons gleaned there back to the U.S., to help similarly underbanked communities. We actually think of it sort of as reverse innovation, Singh says. For one, Mastercard partnered with a New York based non-profit, Grameen America, which provides small loans to low-income female entrepreneurs who wouldnt otherwise qualify as borrowers. Often, the womenwho run small mom-and-pop shops or standslacked bank accounts and could only accept the loans in cash. You would think that we wouldnt see that in the United States, but thats actually more prevalent than you would think, Singh adds. Mastercard worked with Citi and Apple to provide the women with bank accounts, as well as equipment to conduct payment transactions digitally instead of in cash. When youre dealing in cash, you can only transact with people you can see, or people that you trust enough to carry your cash to another place. But youre really constricted, explains Singh. With the new technological upgrades, Grameen has been able to lend three times as much moneyand the women have been better able to grow their businesses, she adds: Were seeing scale in a way that we hadnt seen before. (WB) For the first time in three years in office, President Trump has recognized June as LGBT Pride Month, referencing his administrations international initiative to decriminalize homosexuality. As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison or even executive individuals on the basis of sexual orientation, Trump writes. My administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort! The initiative Trump references is the international campaign launched by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-ranking openly gay person in Trump administration. Grenell launched the initiative with an eye toward Iran, where the homosexuality is punishable by death. Previously, Trump seemed unaware of the international initiative. Asked by reporters about it in the Oval Office, Trump replied, I dont know which report youre talking about. We have many reports. The White House didnt respond to the Washington Blades request for background information on the tweet. The Blade has also placed a request seeking in with Grenell seeking comment. Trump has become the first Republican president in history to recognize LGBT Pride Month. In years past, former President Barack Obama would issue a proclamation recognizing June as Pride, continuing a tradition started by former President Bill Clinton. It remains to be seen if Trump will follow up his tweet with an official Pride proclamation. But leading to his tweet, Trump has articulated a different view on the LGBT community. Recent news items include a proposed rule gutting transgender protections at homeless shelters, a proposal seeking to abolish transgender non-discrimination protections in health care and a report the administration is poised to issue a rule allowing adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples. The anti-LGBT attacks have also included a transgender military ban, policy initiatives prioritizing religious freedom over LGBT rights and legal briefs from the Justice Department asserting LGBT people arent covered under civil rights laws. White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended Trumps record on LGBT rights when asked to square his Pride Month tweets with his ban on transgender recruits in the military, according to a White House press corps pool report. Many LGBT rights advocates werent impressed with Trumps recognition of Pride month, saying his administrations action demonstrate his true feelings. Among them was Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, who called the tweet gross hypocrisy, with an emphasis on gross. You cant celebrate Pride and constantly undermine our rights including attacking #TransHealth, discharging #TransTroops, refusing to protect LGBTQ youth, and cozying up to dictators who brutalize & marginalize LGBTQ people, Griffin said. Trump also recognizes Pride month shortly after coming out against the Equality Act, comprehensive legislation that would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ban to anti-LGBT discrimination. A senior administration official cited unspecified poison pills to the Blade in explaining Trumps opposition to the measure. Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), whos gay and chief sponsor of the Equality Act, said in a succinct statement Trump must follow up his tweet with support for the legislation. Nice Tweet, Cicilline said, Now, how about telling Mitch McConnell to bring up the Equality Act? Trump has a history of embracing symbols of LGBT rights without LGBT rights itself. During his 2016 presidential candidate, Trump during a campaign rally waved around an upside-down Pride flag inscribed with LGBT with Trump. Not mentioned by Trump is the 50th anniversary this year of the Stonewall riots, the historic LGBT rights event upon which Pride is based. Pride celebrations have been held each year to recognize Stonewall, starting with New York Citys Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in 1970. Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, had called on Trump to recognize both Pride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, but now urged media outlets in a statement to keep Trumps anti-LGBT record in mind. Actions speak louder than words, Ellis said. This is a cheap political play and we see right through it. Your administration has attacked the rights of LGBTQ people more than 100 times. Attention media: Its your responsibility to tell the real truth about President Donald Trump record on LGBTQ issues. Mexican diplomats warned Monday that the Trump administrations threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican imports to the U.S. until the country does more to control the flow of illegal immigrants could have the opposite effect of exacerbating the situation at the southern border. The move may well be counterproductive, said Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Martha Barcena during emergency talks in Washington, D.C. on Monday. Without Mexicos efforts, an additional quarter million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019. Trumps announcement, made at the end of last month on Twitter, called for a 5 percent tariff on all products from Mexico to take effect on June 10 and continue until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied. The U.S. will progressively raise tariffs to 25 percent by October if Mexico refuses to take action on immigration, according to the White House. Slapping tariffs, along with a decision to cancel aid programs to the northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect and would not reduce migrations flows, Mexican foreign-affairs secretary Marcelo Ebrard said. The tariffs could be very costly for the U.S. economy, for consumers in the United States, and the Mexican economy. Mexicos agriculture secretary, Victor Manuel Villalobos, said a 5 percent tariff on Mexican products headed to the U.S. would cut such trade by $1.4 billion annually. Mexico is willing to continue to work with the U.S. to address issues of common concern, Ebrard said. We believe our countries can reach a deal on how to face a matter on which our approaches are different. The officials also highlighted Mexicos current efforts to control illegal immigration to the U.S., with Barcena noting that the country has deported more than 80,000 migrants back to their countries of origin. Mexico is also allowing nearly 9,000 migrants to stay in Mexico as they await asylum hearings in the U.S., and hosting another 18,000 migrants who plan to apply for asylum as soon as availability allows. Story continues There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, Barcena said. And that limit is Mexican dignity. Theyve been talking for 25 years. We want action, not talk, Trump said Sunday on Twitter of the upcoming talks. They could solve the Border Crisis in one day if they so desired. Otherwise, our companies and jobs are coming back to the USA! Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to meet with the Mexican officials Wednesday. More from National Review MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated on Sunday the need for oil independence as his government said it would tender six construction contracts in June for a planned oil refinery in the southern state of Tabasco. Tensions between Mexico and the United States have been running high in recent days after President Donald Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Mexican goods unless Mexico halts a surge in illegal migration. "We, our children and grandchildren aspire to live in a free, independent, sovereign country and we do not want to be a colony of any foreign country," Lopez Obrador told a cheering crowd at an event to mark the start of the refinery's construction. "The most important thing at this moment in time is producing petroleum," he added, saying the country needed to work toward "energy self-sufficiency." Much of Mexico's gasoline need is met by U.S. imports, and Lopez Obrador wants Mexico to be able to cover its own demand. "We have, I repeat, a good relationship with the United States, and with all governments in the world, but we do not want to be exposed and therefore it's important that we are self-sufficient," the president added. Lopez Obrador has used similar language in the past when talking about oil, but his comments were lent extra weight because of the recent flare-up in tensions with Trump. At the event, he repeated his desire to have good relations with Trump, but was at pains to say that maintaining the friendship of the American people was of paramount importance. Mexican Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said at the same event that Mexico would tender six contracts for the plan to build the country's first oil refinery in four decades. "We will be tendering six construction contracts at the end of June so that all the parts that are under construction can start at the same time and we can finish the refinery in three years," she said, without giving more details. Investors in highly indebted state oil company Pemex, which will build the refinery, have repeatedly expressed concern that the project would divert funds from the more profitable exploration and production business. (Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Dave Graham and Peter Cooney) MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's ruling party won both state governors offices up for grabs in Sunday's elections, preliminary results showed, delivering a boost to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador after a challenging start to his administration. Lopez Obrador's leftist National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) was expected to triumph in the central state of Puebla and in Baja California on the U.S. border, despite surging levels of violence and an economy in reverse. The National Electoral Institute said on Monday results showed MORENA's Puebla candidate Miguel Barbosa won 44.7% of votes, over 10 percentage points clear of his nearest rival after an initial count of returns from all polling stations. Meanwhile, the party's contender in Baja California, Jaime Bonilla, won 50.3% of the vote, more than double the amount secured by his closest challenger, according to a first count of more than 93% of returns, the electoral institute said. Lopez Obrador has built his political brand by vowing to combat inequality and root out public sector corruption, which he says is a legacy of his adversaries' years in power. Hammering home the point has enabled him to discredit a weak and divided opposition, which is struggling to present attractive alternative visions of government to voters. MORENA, which formally took shape in 2014, secured its first state governorships the day of Lopez Obrador's July 2018 landslide election victory. The party and its allies also control both houses of Mexico's federal Congress. In office since December, the 65-year-old Lopez Obrador faces tough challenges in coming weeks with the economy contracting in the first quarter and a damaging tariff dispute with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Trump said on Thursday he would hit all Mexican exports to the United States with a 5% tariff from June 10 unless Mexico stops a surge in illegal immigrants from Central America reaching the U.S. border. Story continues Around 80% of Mexico's exports go to the United States, making the threat a major worry for Mexican business. Mexican and U.S. officials have begun initial soundings to avert a tariff clash, though Mexico on Monday reiterated it would not accept a U.S. idea to house Central American migrants trying to reach the United States. (Reporting by Dave Graham; editing by Grant McCool) Washington (AFP) - Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard warned Monday that President Donald Trump's planned punitive tariffs on Mexico would be "counterproductive" for cracking down on migrants, but the White House reiterated that Trump's threat is serious. As markets reeled, officials on both sides said they thought a deal could be reached before potentially-damaging tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States are put in place on June 10. Trump, on a state visit to Britain, stepped up pressure in a tweet. "As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border," he wrote. Earlier, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in Mexico City that it was important to resolve the issue "through dialogue." "We are in favor of free trade, and we think an agreement can be reached," he said. "I want to continue being friends with President Donald Trump." But after a Monday meeting with Mexico's Economy Minister Graciela Marquez Colin, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued a terse statement indicating Washington hadn't budged. "I reiterated the President's message that Mexico needs to do more to help the US address immigration across our shared border," he said. - Mexico stunned - Trump stunned Mexico on Thursday by announcing that the United States would place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 percent, unless Mexico City took action to halt the hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing into the US from Mexico in recent months. The announcement pummeled the Mexican currency and sent markets in both countries tumbling over fears of a sharp slowdown in trade and high prices for imported goods on both sides of the border. Economists warned that the Mexican economy could be pushed into recession if Trump followed through, and there were worries that it could also affect US growth. Story continues Ebrard together with Mexico's agriculture secretary and other top officials flew to Washington in panic mode Friday after Trump's announcement. He was expecting to meet this week with Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan and also with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. - 'Economic instability' - Ebrard told reporters that Mexico had already prevented 250,000 migrants from traveling to the US border, and that the only solution to the crisis is a comprehensive development plan for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where most of them come from. "Slapping tariffs, along with the decision to cancel aid programs in the northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect and would not reduce migration flows," he said. Trump in March cut off aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, insisting they weren't doing enough to stop the flow of migrants to the United States. He has also more than once threatened to close the US border with Mexico. Ebrard said the tariffs would "cause financial and economic instability," making it even harder for Mexico to address the migrant movements. He argued that Mexico had already taken numerous steps under US pressure to slow the flow northward. Those included letting US asylum seekers remain in Mexico while their applications are reviewed, and also accepting applications for asylum in Mexico itself from more than 24,000 people. "Without Mexico's efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants would arrive at the US border in 2019," he said. - US: stop migrant buses - Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Mexico had to take more action, including stopping buses that ferry migrants to the US frontier, which the Trump administration claims are run by criminal gangs. "The fact is there are a lot of identifiable steps... that the Mexicans could be taking but haven't been, in terms of stopping the organized crime folks from running buses to get people up to the border and so on," he told CNN. Hassett, who Trump announced late Monday would be leaving his position, told reporters that Trump is "100 percent not" bluffing, and will follow through if there's no action by Mexico. "This is much more harmful for the Mexican economy than the US economy," he said. "If they can come forward with a good plan, then the tariffs won't happen." - Mexico: aid, not tariffs - Ebrard criticized the US for cutting former aid programs to Central America and not following through with a new $5.8 billion public and private aid and investment plan that the Department of State announced in December. He also rejected the proposal mentioned by top Trump officials that Mexico, as the first country the migrants enter, agree to accept all of their asylum claims. That would "not be acceptable for Mexico," he said. NEW ORLEANS (AP) Plans to open a Mississippi River spillway in Louisiana have been put off a second time because the river continues to rise more slowly than expected. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Matt Roe said Monday that plans now call for the Morganza Spillway's opening to begin Sunday, a week after the original announced date. It already had been put off once, to Thursday. National Weather Service hydrologist David Welch says the Mississippi River's crest is now expected to be about 6 inches (15 centimeters) lower than previously forecast. The corps has said it wants to open the Morganza Spillway only when it becomes necessary. Any opening this year would be the third time ever and the second time to control floodwaters. By Valeria Martinez LONDON, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - An art student had a clear message for Donald Trump on Monday - mowing "climate change is real" and a massive polar bear into grass underneath the U.S. President's flight path into London. Ollie Nancarrow, 18, spent the weekend cutting the message in huge letters into the lawn of his family home near Hatfield Heath in Essex, about 40 miles (65 km) northeast of London. In a bid to grab more attention at the start of the three-day state visit to Britain, Nancarrow also wrote "Oi Trump" and mowed a penis into another field, while other young climate activists prepared to join marches and protests in London. "Guess who's been busy today mowing a stiff message for Trump under the Stansted flightpath," tweeted Nancarrow, a student who is also involved with an online eco-marketplace. He could not immediately be reached for further comment. A growing global movement of young protesters demanding action on climate change - inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg who started a weekly vigil outside parliament last year - has spread from Sweden across Europe, and to countries from the United States to Australia. Trump has come under fire for plans to withdraw the United States from the 2015 Paris Agreement in which nearly 200 nations aimed to limit a rise in average world temperatures to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times. Sara Arnold from Extinction Rebellion, a campaign group seeking rapid action to curb global warming, said anything like Nancarrow's stunt that put climate change in the news was welcomed. "It's a massive problem that the United States is not tackling climate change, but the UK is also massively lagging behind where we need to be on this," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "It's shameful that we're seeing children having to take responsibility into their own hands because of the inaction of governments and the rest of the public." A British government spokesman said Prime Minister Theresa May had raised climate change with Trump before and would do so again this visit as tackling climate change was "a priority." "As the Prime Minister has said previously, we were disappointed by the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2017 and continue to hope they will return," the spokesman said. (Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) GODZILLA in Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures action adventure GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. In competing with rising numbers of streaming services and VoD, the film industry has had to come up with innovative ways to keep audiences coming to the cinema, which means now going to see a film, you can choose between 2D, 3D, IMAX, and even 4DX. But what is 4DX? It is a novel way of entering the world of cinema as it encompasses all five senses to draw you closer to the story. The seats track the movement on screen, wind tousles your hair, when theres lightning, strobe lights flash around you, and if theres a screech of tyres you might pick up a scent of burning rubber. Along with the heightened experience comes a heightened ticket price - a peak time adult 2D ticket would cost around 12.70 while the 4DX 3D viewing can set you back 25.20. Currently in the UK it is only available at 22 cinemas at Cineworld, so we headed to the chains Leicester Square venue to check it out for ourselves watching Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The main event Going into a 4DX film, I had no idea what to expect. As a child I had been on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride in Universal Studios Japan, where the movements were jerky, the seats were uncomfortable and we were given cardboard 3D glasses with red and blue plastic shades, rendering the film an unnatural colour. KING GHIDORAH in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' action adventure "GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Therefore that was the only experience I had to go on when entering Cineworlds 4DX cinema for a viewing of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The seats were wide, plush and cozy, meaning that at first I was lulled into a false sense of security and settled down into the chair to watch the film. By the end of the trailers my friend and I were already clutching onto each other, totally unprepared for the onslaught of the senses. From the title alone, it was obvious that there were going to be many monster fights, but the sheer scale of the battles makes the humans seem incredibly insignificant as you are quite literally thrown into the world of titans. The whole seat was utilised to maximum effect, swaying from side to side, the blasts of air around your ankles to ears, depending on whether its a falling rock or a bullet whizzing by, the rain that not only sprays from in front but also drips from above, and most unexpectedly, the bumps that hit your back, almost like a massage chair. Story continues Caption: (L-R) VERA FARMIGA as Dr. Emma Russell and MILLIE BOBBY BROWN as Madison Russell in Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' action adventure "GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. There were a couple of serene moments where dialogue took place in a snow storm and white foam came cascading down the sides of the screen, or a breakfast scene between the mother and daughter and the scent of coffee wafted towards us, which set the ambience well. After the film, my friend and I needed to pop into a cafe and have a cup of tea to calm down and readjust to the real world. Read more: Dark Phoenix producers admit past X-Men shoots were 'chaotic' I can see how 4DX could enhance films, especially action and horror films, when every thud of the behemoths feet is accentuated by a rumble of the seats itself, it can be both an exhilarating and terrifying experience. Im just glad I didnt buy a bucket of popcorn as Im sure more than half would have ended up on the floor and/or covered the person sitting next to me. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is in cinemas now. Los Angeles (AFP) - A Native American actor will receive an Oscar for the first time, organizers said Monday, as the Academy published a list of honorary prizes following years of controversy over the awards' diversity. Wes Studi, who is best known for his roles in "Dances with Wolves" and "The Last of the Mohicans" -- is one of three industry veterans who will receive honorary prizes at the glitzy Governors Awards ceremony on October 27, along with filmmakers David Lynch and Lina Wertmuller. Actress Geena Davis, already an Academy Award winner, will receive a special prize for her humanitarian work. Studi, 71, has appeared in more than 30 films and is "known for portraying strong Native American characters with poignancy and authenticity," the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement. It also praised Studi's activism and involvement in Native American politics. "I am deeply honored and humbled. I finally get to say 'I'd like to thank the Academy...'," tweeted Studi, who is of Cherokee descent. The award comes almost half a century after Marlon Brando memorably declined his best actor Oscar for "The Godfather" in protest at the movie industry's treatment of Native Americans. Canadian indigenous musician Buffy Sainte-Marie shared a best original song Oscar in 1982. Academy president John Bailey said the recipients of this year's honorary Oscars were chosen for their "lifetime of artistic accomplishment" and had "brought outstanding contributions to our industry, and beyond." Lynch, regarded as one of the greatest American filmmakers of his generation, is the enigmatic director of cult classics such as "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive," as well as television's "Twin Peaks." He has been nominated four times for competitive Oscars but never won. The third honorary prize will go to Wertmuller, who in 1977 became the first woman ever nominated for best director for "Seven Beauties." Story continues The Governors Awards ceremony was created as a separate event in 2009 to allow more time for the honorees to accept their prizes and to declutter the main show's packed schedule. Davis, who won an Oscar for "The Accidental Tourist," will receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her work promoting gender equality in media. The "Thelma & Louise" star founded an institute to tackle gender bias and stereotypes in film. Previous winners of that award include Angelina Jolie, Oprah Winfrey and Elizabeth Taylor. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. Having elective surgery? Your doctor may tell you that you need to get blood or urine tests, X-rays, or other medical tests ahead of time to detect any problems that could cause a complication during the procedure. A blood test, for instance, could revealat least in theorythat your blood isnt clotting properly, which may put you at risk for excessive bleeding. For many people, however, these preoperative screenings dont have much benefit in practice, according to experts. For a healthy patient having a routine, low-risk procedure, preoperative testing is generally unnecessary, says John Vassall, M.D., a member of the Choosing Wisely Task Force, a project of the Washington Health Alliance, the Washington State Medical Association, and the Washington State Hospital Association. A new study looks at the frequency of possible consequences of unnecessary testing before surgery. Researchers used the example of electrocardiograms (EKGs) before cataract surgery, a preoperative test deemed unnecessary for people who dont already have heart disease by several professional societies and ample research. The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that about 16 percent of older adults who had an EKG before cataract surgery experienced one or more potential cascade events, such as follow-up tests, treatments, doctors visits, hospitalizations, or new diagnoses within 90 days. When it comes to EKGs before cataract surgery, knowing more is not always better and can lead to harm, says the study's author, Ishani Ganguli, M.D., M.P.H., an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Womens Hospital. Especially if you dont know what youre looking for. And when its done without good reason, such testing can create extra costs and anxiety, and expose consumers unnecessarily to risks associated with additional tests and treatments. Story continues EKGs before cataract surgery are only one example of questionable preop tests. Heres what else you need to know about tests before surgery and how to talk with your doctor about them. The Problem With Preop Testing In decades past, preop testing was considered essential to reveal undiagnosed conditions that might mean that a person couldnt undergo surgery safely or might be unable to recover afterward. And some people should certainly have preop tests (see Who Needs Preoperative Testing? below). But today, modern surgery is safer, and many surgeries are simpler, more routine, and less invasive, Vassall says. Routine preoperative testing isnt likely to uncover a condition that would keep someone from having elective surgery. (In emergency surgery, theres often no time for preop testing.) A great deal of research backs this up. A comprehensive analysis, updated in 2016 by the U.K.s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (PDF), evaluated 13 types of preoperative testsincluding chest X-rays, lung function tests, complete blood counts, and urinalysesand found that in most cases, they added no benefit. And while many preoperative tests, such as blood and urine analyses, are relatively low-risk, theres always the chance of a false positive, a result that indicates a potential problem where there actually isnt one, says Matthew Rusk, M.D., a professor of clinical medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. False positives can lead to additional testing, which can delay treatment and pose its own risks, or even lead to other treatments you dont need, the cascade of care described in the new JAMA Internal Medicine study. For instance, a routine preop chest X-ray might detect what looks like an abnormality in the lung, which may require follow-up testing to determine whether its lung cancer. And a lung cancer biopsy has the potential for serious risks, such as a collapsed lung. With cataract surgery, evidence is clear that people who receive an EKG before have no lower risk of adverse events or complications, according to Ganguli. Its as arbitrary as doing an EKG before your morning coffee, she says. Who Needs Preoperative Testing? In general, the healthier you are and the less risky the surgery, the less likely it is that you need to do more than provide a thorough medical history and have a physical exam before. With cataract surgery, risks such as bleeding and heart problems are highly unlikely. Thats why the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends against preoperative EKGs for this surgery and against all preop tests for cataract removal for otherwise healthy people. What about blood and urine tests, which are commonly ordered before a variety of surgeries? According to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the American Society for Clinical Pathology, they should be done only in very specific instances. For instance, the AAFP says a preop urine test is recommended only for people who are having an invasive urological surgery or are having a device, such as a heart valve, implanted. If you have pre-existing medical conditions such as heart disease or diabetes, or you're older, youre more likely to need some sort of preoperative testing before elective surgery. For example, the American College of Surgeons says that most people dont need a chest X-ray before an ambulatory (or outpatient) surgery unless they have signs of an acute heart or lung problem, or they're 70 or older and have chronic heart or lung disease. A complete blood count should be done only for people undergoing major surgery who are 65 or older or those who have (or are suspected of having) anemia, according to UpToDate, an online decision-making tool for healthcare professionals. Talking to Your Doctor Doctors may not always be up-to-date on preop testing recommendations, says John C. Matulis, D.O., M.P.H., an assistant professor of medicine in the division of community internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic. As guidelines change, as current best practice changes, its hard for everyone to keep up, he says. You should always feel comfortable bringing up your concerns about tests and treatments, Vassall says. So if youre having elective surgery and your doctor recommends one or more screening tests first, ask a few questions. Consider these five: Does the test have any risks? Is it recommended for me based on my health history? What is the goal of the testing? What can I expect from testing? How might results change my surgery or treatment? More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright 2019, Consumer Reports, Inc. BBC Radio 5 live presenter Nicky Campbell (Credit: BBC) Nicky Campbell has accidentally used the C word on live radio when referring to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. The BBC Radio 5 Live host was reporting on Donald Trumps arrival in the UK this morning and describing the public figures waiting at Stanstead Airport to meet the US president as he disembarked Air Force One. Campbell, 58 said: "Hes going to be meeting Mr Ben Julian Harrington, Chief Constable of Essex Police, whos standing just behind Jeremy C**t Jeremy Hunt." Read more: 'Britain's Got Talent' judge Amanda Holden swears live on air once again Shortly afterwards the presenter posted a tweet of No comment. No comment Nicky Campbell (@NickyAACampbell) June 3, 2019 Campbells gaff did not go unnoticed One listener, @DaveCoombes6 wrote on Twitter: Freudian slip if ever there was one, well done Nicky. @matthude1984 tweeted: Its always Jeremy Hunt. Nicky Campbell drops the "C" word live on BBC 5 Live pic.twitter.com/Jct8hatuic Steve (@SteveSkipper) June 3, 2019 Campbell is the latest in a long line of broadcasters to inadvertently mispronounce the politicians name. In 2010 BBC Radio 4 host James Naughtie called the then culture secretary "Jeremy C**t" live on the Today programme. He later apologised, saying he got into an awful tangle and explained he mixed up the words 'Hunt' and 'Culture'. Andrew Marr fell victim to the same tongue twister in 2010. Read more: Richard Madeley's swears on live TV while presenting 'Good Morning Britain' Today programme presenter Justin Webb made a similar mistake in 2018, and former BBC China Carrie Gracie also referred to Hunt as C**t on television last year. Sky News presenter John Craig has mispronounced Hunts name in the same unfortunate way on live TV more than once. Other broadcasters to have made the same slip over Hunts surname include the Sky News health and science correspondent Thomas Moore, the BBC political journalist Ellie Price and the Sky anchor Claudia-Liza Armah. By Laurence Frost and Giulio Piovaccari PARIS/MILAN (Reuters) - Talks on Fiat Chrysler's proposed merger with Renault became mired in politics on Monday, as France sought more concessions to maintain government influence over the new carmaker's management and French assets, sources told Reuters. Italian-American FCA is in negotiations with Renault and its biggest shareholder, France, over the $35 billion merger proposal it pitched last week to create the world's third-biggest carmaker. France, which owns 15% of Renault, has broadly welcomed the deal on condition it safeguards domestic jobs and plants - but political sensitivities have only increased as talks progress. John Elkann, scion of the Agnelli family whose Exor holding controls FCA via a 29% stake, has sought to placate the French and Italian governments, while also keeping shareholders including Renault's alliance partner Nissan on board. The FCA proposal would see both carmakers acquired by a listed Dutch holding company owned 50-50 by current FCA and Renault shareholders, after payment of a 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion) special dividend to FCA shareholders. Responding to criticism from some analysts and French industry leaders that the deal undervalued Renault and its 43.4% stake in Nissan, Paris pushed for better terms. The approach bore fruit over the weekend, as FCA discussed a Renault dividend and stronger job guarantees among concessions designed to secure France's support. They include a Paris headquarters for the combined carmaker's Europe, Middle East and Africa region and its global chief executive, current Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard, as well as a seat on the board for the French state, people with knowledge of the matter said. As the two sides appeared to be converging on a deal, with the Renault board meeting on Tuesday, President Emmanuel Macron's government upped its demands, two people close to the negotiations said. Story continues The government is now pushing for a significant board presence on the French subsidiary that would oversee Renault assets and plants, the sources said - as well as an effective veto on future CEO appointments after Senard, who is 66. French officials want to be able to ensure that the job guarantees and "merger of equals" philosophy underpinning the deal are respected, sources close to the Renault board said. Renault, FCA and the French government all declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations. As officials, bankers and lawyers were absorbed in what may be a final deal push, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire was jeered on Monday by some of the 1,044 former Alstom workers being laid off by General Electric - which had promised to safeguard their jobs when it acquired the business in 2015, along with their plant in Belfort, eastern France. "It's understandable that the French government is pushing here and there, but FCA probably isn't ready to re-open the whole deal," one source close to the tie-up talks said. "If it drifts back towards a quasi-French nationalised business, things may start to fall apart." In Italy, where the government has consistently said it supports the deal, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's right-wing League Party expressed annoyance with the French position. France should sell its Renault stake to meet EU deficit limits rather than seek more influence, the party's economics spokesman Claudio Borghi said. "By what right, in the Europe of liberalism and privatisations, can the French state negotiate seats on the board of a car company?" FCA and Renault have also stressed they want to preserve the Renault-Nissan alliance - already strained by the arrest and ouster of chairman Carlos Ghosn, who is now facing trial in Japan on financial misconduct charges he denies. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa said on Monday the carmaker would conduct a "fundamental review" of its relationship with Renault if its tie-up with FCA went through. However, he conceded that FCA's arrival could bring "opportunities for further synergies". The claimed 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in cost and investment savings would depend partly on FCA access to technology jointly owned by Nissan, executives acknowledge. Renault had no comment on Saikawa's statement, company spokesman Frederic Texier said. But a source close to the French carmaker's board said it could have been worse. "If you want to say no, you say no," he said. (Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Laurence Frost; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter) SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) Authorities say nobody was hurt when an explosion at a chemical plant shook buildings for miles in the San Francisco Bay Area. The blast Saturday at Air Products in Santa Clara sent flames shooting high into the air. It took crews more than an hour to douse the fire. Evan Rosales told KGO-TV the explosion rattled his catering business and sent his employees scrambling out the back door. Fire officials say a preliminary investigation finds the blast occurred as a tanker truck was being filled with hydrogen. SEOUL, June 3 (Reuters) - North Korean senior official and former top nuclear envoy Kim Yong Chol accompanied leader Kim Jong Un to a Sunday art performance, state media KCNA said on Monday, signaling that the former spymaster is alive and remains a force in North Korea's power structure. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported on Friday that Kim Yong Chol, Kim Jong Un's right-hand man and the counterpart to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before the failed Hanoi summit, had been sent to a labor and re-education camp in Jagang Province near the Chinese border, citing an unidentified North Korea source. Asked about the last U.S. contact with Kim Yong Chol and North Korea in general on Sunday, Pompeo declined to answer, saying: "We conduct our negotiations in private." During an amateur art performance by the wives of officers in the North Korean Army attended by Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, on Sunday, Kim Yong Chol was among "leading officials" who accompanied them, according to KCNA on Monday. He was the 10th official named among 12 mentioned overall. As Kim Jong Un's point man for nuclear talks with the United States, Kim Yong Chol was apparently censured for the summit's collapse by being removed from a key party post, a South Korean lawmaker said in April. Kim Yong Chol was pictured standing behind Kim Jong Un in an official photo released from a session of North Korea's rubber-stamp legislature in April, but did not accompany Kim on his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later that month. The Chosun Ilbo story, which Reuters was unable to independently confirm, also said North Korea executed its working-level nuclear envoy to the United States, Kim Hyok Chol, as part of a purge of officials who steered negotiations for the collapsed summit in February. Officials who worked with Kim Yong Chol have been out of the public eye since the summit, while seasoned diplomats who appeared to have been sidelined, including Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, were seen returning to the spotlight. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Peter Cooney) (WB) The majority of the Brazilian Supreme Court on May 28 voted to equate homophobia and transphobia to the crime of racism. The voting has not ended and will continue on June 5, but May 28s historic decision saw six of the 11 possible votes in favor. The ruling, in practical terms, means crimes like assault, homicide, slander or defamation committed in any sphere against LGBTI people are now a crime. It is also a rebuke of President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been sharply criticized over his anti-LGBTI rhetoric and policies since he took office on Jan. 1. Rulings that think about groups that are historically vulnerable have the power to restore societys paradigms, Sao Paulo Congresswoman Erica Malunguinho, the first transgender congresswoman elected in Brazil, told the Washington Blade. They redesign the social overview in ways that in this case it is no longer possible to make precarious LGBTIQ+ lives or produce crimes that happen against LGBTIQ+ bodies. What keeps worrying us is that this ruling equalizes homophobia to the crime of racism but there is still a cycle of impunity to racism crimes in our society today, she added. So, it is important that aside from the laws there are awareness campaigns around diversity and its issues. That is fundamental to making those laws viable because without an established pact with the society laws can became nothing but theoretical. But that doesnt mean it is all sunshine and rainbows for the LGBTI community in Brazil from now on. Evangelicals both in the Brazilian Senate and Congress are trying, as usual, to make it as difficult as they can for LGBTI Brazilians to have their rights guarantees. On the eve of what would become the day the Supreme Court approved the criminalization of homophobia and transphobia by a majority vote, the Senate approved a proposal that also matches the crime of homophobia to the crime of racism with a catch. The bill exempts what it calls religious freedom to talk about the LGBTI community with a critical tone, which basically approves a law against anti-LGBTI discrimination as long as churches, temples and religious services and leaders can still deliver discriminatory speeches. The bill was approved by a 20-1 vote margin in the Senate and will now be voted on by the Senates Constitution Justice and Citizenship Committee. In Brazil, the Supreme Court only votes on temporary laws on issues that are being ignored by the Legislative Branch. So, if a bill proposed by the Congress or the Senate about the same issue is approved, the measure approved by the Judiciary Branch is no longer effective. The Senate law getting approved supports the continuation of the hate spreading speech adopted by religious groups in our country, reflects Malunguinho. But in any case, any law approved would be nothing if we cant guarantee that all sectors of society have access to that law. A good example about that is that a great many women are still victims of violence and murder, even though we have a law preventing women against violence and femicide. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. And in their study titled Who Falls Prey to the Wolf of Wall Street?' Leuz et. al. found that it is 'quite common' for investors to lose money by buying into 'pump and dump' schemes. So if you're like me, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Beijing North Star (HKG:588). Now, I'm not saying that the stock is necessarily undervalued today; but I can't shake an appreciation for the profitability of the business itself. Loss-making companies are always racing against time to reach financial sustainability, but time is often a friend of the profitable company, especially if it is growing. See our latest analysis for Beijing North Star How Quickly Is Beijing North Star Increasing Earnings Per Share? If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price will eventually follow. That makes EPS growth an attractive quality for any company. I, for one, am blown away by the fact that Beijing North Star has grown EPS by 40% per year, over the last three years. That sort of growth never lasts long, but like a shooting star it is well worth watching when it happens. One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. Not all of Beijing North Star's revenue this year is revenue from operations, so keep in mind the revenue and margin numbers I've used might not be the best representation of the underlying business. The good news is that Beijing North Star is growing revenues, and EBIT margins improved by 4.2 percentage points to 20%, over the last year. Ticking those two boxes is a good sign of growth, in my book. Story continues In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image. SEHK:588 Income Statement, June 3rd 2019 While profitability drives the upside, prudent investors always check the balance sheet, too. Are Beijing North Star Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? As a general rule, I think it worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalizations between CN6.9b and CN22b, like Beijing North Star, the median CEO pay is around CN3.2m. The CEO of Beijing North Star only received CN775k in total compensation for the year ending December 2018. That looks like modest pay to me, and may hint at a certain respect for the interests of shareholders. CEO remuneration levels are not the most important metric for investors, but when the pay is modest, that does support enhanced alignment between the CEO and the ordinary shareholders. I'd also argue reasonable pay levels attest to good decision making more generally. Should You Add Beijing North Star To Your Watchlist? Beijing North Star's earnings per share growth has been so hot recently that thinking about it is making me blush. Such fast EPS growth makes me wonder if the business has hit an inflection point (and I mean the good kind.) Meanwhile, the very reasonable CEO pay reassures me a little, since it points to an absence profligacy. While I couldn't be sure without a deeper dive, it does seem that Beijing North Star has the hallmarks of a quality business; and that would make it well worth watching. Of course, profit growth is one thing but it's even better if Beijing North Star is receiving high returns on equity, since that should imply it can keep growing without much need for capital. Click on this link to see how it is faring against the average in its industry. Of course, you can do well (sometimes) buying stocks that are not growing earnings and do not have insiders buying shares. But as a growth investor I always like to check out companies that do have those features. You can access a free list of them here. 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. One of the hot topics in the oil patch over the past couple of months has been the bidding war for control over Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC). Chevron (NYSE: CVX) initially agreed to acquire the oil company for $33 billion, which was a stunning 38.9% premium. However, it walked away from that deal after Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY) offered $5 billion more for Anadarko. That epic takeover battle has fueled speculation that it could spur a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the oil patch. Oil CEOs, however, don't believe that will be the case. That was certainly clear by the comments of Scott Sheffield, the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD), on his company's recent first-quarter conference call. Here's what he had to say on that subject. Two men shaking hands with an oil platform in the background. Image source: Getty Images. I don't see more large-scale M&A in the near term Analysts didn't waste any time on Pioneer Natural Resources' first-quarter call getting to their burning question. The first one started the Q&A segment by saying: "I wanted to get your perspective on Shale M&A. ... In light of the situation with Oxy, Chevron, and Anadarko, just wondering to see if you [can] give us your thoughts on how the board thinks about M&A." Sheffield responded in several ways. First, he made it clear that he didn't come out of retirement earlier this year "to sell the company." He returned to the CEO role because Pioneer's stock was cheap, and he wanted to lead a restructuring of the company to boost shareholder value. However, he noted that Pioneer wasn't the only oil company that traded at a cheap price, which is why "all the energy stocks went up when the Anadarko announcement" hit the wires. Pioneer's CEO then commented that he "was surprised that Anadarko was the first company to be taken out." Though he did point out: When you look at all the reports, they were probably cheap. They were trading at a very low EBITDA [multiple] and Chevron was able to go in and make a deal quickly. Now Oxy is paying up for it, obviously. Story continues However, despite that bidding war, Sheffield said that he doesn't "think that there's going to be a lot of M&A over the next one to two years." While "things may happen," Sheffield said that he doesn't "think there'll be a wave of consolidation" in the near term. An oil pumping unit in the evening. Image source: Getty Images. What will drive future M&A On the other hand, Pioneer's CEO did state that he believes that "over the next five years ... the majors will definitely start running out of inventory," which could spur more M&A activity. On top of that, smaller oil companies have two major issues that they need to address: general and administrative (G&A) costs and interest expenses. He stated that his rivals need to "get better balance sheets. They have to get a better cost structure, and that's what's going to be working and what's focused on." That's why he thinks that eventually "a lot of companies, smaller companies in the Permian, are going to have to consolidate" since they could then leverage their larger scale to reduce costs. Earlier in the call, Sheffield referred to a report that analyzed the 76 publicly traded oil companies, looking specifically at G&A and interest expenses. Pioneer leads that pack as having the best balance sheet and peer-leading G&A costs. Because of that, it's in a strong position to create value for its investors in any oil market. Its weaker peers, on the other hand, desperately need to address those two items. The report concludes that "over a half will either merge or go bankrupt over the next several years," said Sheffield. Thus, an M&A wave seems inevitable. The calm before the big shakeout Pioneer Natural Resources' CEO made some interesting comments on M&A during his company's first-quarter conference call. On the one hand, he doesn't see the bidding war for Anadarko fueling a consolidation wave in the near term. However, he does believe that one is eventually coming out of necessity. Not only will larger oil companies need to replenish their drilling inventory in the next five years, but smaller companies will need to merge to survive, given their weaker balance sheets and higher cost structure. Thus, it seems as if it's only a matter of time before an M&A wave hits the sector, likely in three to five years. While it might be tempting for investors to look for potential acquisition candidates in hopes of scoring an Anadarko-like premium, that approach could yield lackluster returns. The most likely buyout candidates will be oil companies that can't create value for their investors due to their bloated cost structure and weaker balance sheets. That's why investors should instead focus their attention on top-tier producers since their stronger financials put them in a better position to outperform their weaker rivals 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. Maltese cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has listed a new regulatory-compliant stablecoin that is pegged to the US dollar, according to an official press release shared with Coin Rivet. USDK was launched by OKLink and Prime Trust and is being made available to trade against 11 trading pairs including BTC, LTC, ETH, and BCH. The stablecoin is an ERC-20 token backed by US dollars via Prime Trusts Special Account. To prove that its fully backed by USD, an audit firm will provide monthly reports for maximum transparency. We're excited to announce the new listing of the stablecoin $USDK, which is launched by our strategic partner @OKLink and a US-licensed trust company @PrimeTrustCo. Every USDK is backed by 1 USD from the Prime Trust Special Account. Details: https://t.co/3L4Zv23yw7 pic.twitter.com/ISeTNPve73 OKEx (@OKEx) June 3, 2019 We are excited about the listing of USDK. With the support of the new stablecoin, we are one step closer to fostering a new blockchain-driven economy, encouraging financial inclusion through achieving disintermediation, said Andy Cheung, Head of Operations of OKEx. We understand the pains in terms of third-party auditing. But with this new launch of a compliant stablecoin, we hope to provide our users a secure and reliable trading experience guaranteed by high transparency and regular audits. In the future, we are looking forward to incorporating USDK into more decentralised applications within OKExs ecosystem. OKEx has celebrated the listing by launching a two-day campaign where customers can exchange USDT with USDK at a rate of 1.00 to 1.01. For more news, guides, and cryptocurrency analysis, click here. The post OKEx lists new USD-pegged stablecoin USDK appeared first on Coin Rivet. An order to have a ship named for the late Senator John McCain hidden from view during Donald Trumps recent visit to Japan was not an unreasonable thing to ask, the presidents chief of staff said on Sunday. Related: Siege review: Michael Wolff's Trump tale is Fire and Fury II fire harder Mick Mulvaney made the startling claim even as it was reported that the Pentagon has told the White House to stop politicizing the military. The US navy has confirmed reports about an internal email that said the White House military office wanted the USS John McCain kept out of sight when Trump was in Japan. The email was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. McCain died last year at 81, from brain cancer. The 2008 Republican presidential nominee remained fiercely at odds with Trump over his military service in Vietnam and Trumps absence from that war, and over political matters including a healthcare overhaul that sunk on his vote in the Senate. Since McCains death, Trump has continued his attacks. Trump said this week he knew nothing about the request to hide the ship named after McCain. But he also said: Somebody did it because they thought I didnt like him, OK? And they were well-meaning, I will say. On Sunday, Mulvaney told NBCs Meet the Press: The fact some 23- or 24-year-old person went to that site and said, Oh my goodness, theres the John McCain, we all know how the president feels about the former senator, thats not the best backdrop, can somebody look into moving it? Thats not an unreasonable thing to ask. Press interest in the story, Mulvaney claimed, was outrageous. In South Korea, acting defense secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters he was not planning to seek an investigation by the Pentagons internal watchdog, because there was nothing carried out by the navy. But he also said he needed to gather more information about what happened. How did the people receiving the information how did they treat it, Shanahan said. That would give me an understanding on the next steps. Story continues Mulvaney said it would be silly if anyone was fired over the email. The presidents feeling towards the former senator are well known, he said. They are well known throughout the office, they are well known in the media. Shanahan also said he had spoken to McCains wife, Cindy, though he did not reveal what was said. McCains daughter Meghan, a television pundit, said this week: Its impossible to go through the grief process when my father, whos been dead 10 months, is constantly in the news cycle because the president is so obsessed with the fact that hes never going to be a great man like he was. The McCain incident has dogged Shanahan through his trip to Asia, in which he has tried to deal with national security issues involving China and North Korea. Shanahan is yet to be formally nominated. The McCain issue is sure to come up at any Senate confirmation hearing. A spokesman for Shanahan, Lt Col Joseph Buccino, told the Associated Press the secretary told his chief of staff on Friday to speak to the White House military office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defense will not be politicized. Related: 'No idea too lunatic': how Trump's shock troops attack US democracy Shanahan told reporters he was told that despite the White House request, the navy did not move the USS John McCain and that a barge in front of it was moved before Trump arrived to visit the USS Wasp. He said a tarpaulin that had been draped over the ships name was removed, having been put there for maintenance reasons only. Asked if his senior staff were aware of the White House request, Shanahan said he had been told they were not. He has also said he was not aware of the request and would not have authorized it. It is not known who at the Pentagon may have known about the request to hide the USS John McCain. It is also not clear whether navy leaders deliberately chose its crew to be on leave during Trumps visit, or if other measures were taken to ensure that the ship was not visible from where the president stood on the Wasp. The warship was commissioned in 1994 and named for the senators father and grandfather, both navy admirals named John Sidney McCain. Last year, the navy rededicated the ship to honor the senator too. WASHINGTON (AP) The White House and much of 17th Street were on lockdown for a time Sunday night as authorities arrested a person whose vehicle stopped in front of a White House gate. In a statement, the Secret Service says an individual driving a passenger car stopped at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue about 8:30 p.m. EDT and stepped out of the vehicle. When the individual ignored commands to return to the vehicle, officers arrested the person. The Secret Service says the car was later declared safe. President Donald Trump was not in the White House at the time of the arrest, having left for a trip to Europe. Good morning, everyone, and nice to see you again. We hope the weekend respite was invigorating and relaxing, at least for those of you not preoccupied with a pair of big industry events. Regardless, the usual crushing routine of deadlines, meetings, calls, and the like is upon us. So no matter where you are, please join us for a cup of stimulation. Our choice today is Jack Daniels yes, there is such a thing and the beginning of the week is a good reason to consider it, yes? Meanwhile, here are some tidbits. Hope your day is smashing and, as always, do keep in touch. The infamous Party at BIO Not Associated with BIO is back though not by the same name. The PABNAB moniker is not attached to the events online presence as in the past, but one of the same organizers, Martina Molsbergen Tamaro, is throwing a Gladiators and Goddesses themed bash at a venue near the BIO International Conference, which begins Monday in Philadelphia, STAT informs us. Last years party featured topless dancers, some of whom had company logos painted on their bodies, which prompted attendees and even a senator to admonish the biopharma industry. Continue to STAT Plus to read the full story Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers a speech at the special session of the International Conference on "The Future of Asia" Friday, May 31, 2019, in Tokyo. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte says he used to be gay but "cured" himself by marrying beautiful women, drawing outrage from at least one human rights group. Duterte, in Japan last week, was speaking to members of Tokyo's Filipino community when he appeared to mock political opponent Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV. Duterte said a gay person told him Trillanes appeared to be gay, the Philippines website Rappler reported. "I said, 'Are you sure?' They said, 'You ask any gay person who sees (him) move, they'll say he's gay,'" Duterte said. "No wonder. Good thing Trillanes and I are similar. But I cured myself." Duterte said his ex-wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, was the reason why, according to Rappler. Zimmerman was a flight attendant when they married in 1973. They split in 2000. "'When I began a relationship with Zimmerman, I said, this is it," Duterte told the crowd. "I became a man again." More: Philippines ships 1,500 tons of trash back to Canada Duterte's latest comments drew the ire of Jean Freedberg, the Human Rights Campaign's director of global partnerships. President Rodrigo Dutertes outrageous remarks are just another attempt to divert attention from his administrations long record against human rights, Freedberg said. Instead of making insulting and often nonsensical remarks about LGBTQ people and marginalized communities, it is high time that he takes action to end the well-documented human rights abuses committed by government and security forces officials across the Philippines." CNN also reported on the story, although its version says cites Duterte's current partner, Honeylet Avancena, for Duterte's commitment to women. Duterte and Avancena have been linked since the 1990s, and they have a child together. "I hated handsome men afterward," Duterte said. "I now prefer beautiful women." Duterte has also often used words that mean "gay" in his language to insult political foes. And in 2016, Duterte used a homophobic slur to describe a U.S. envoy. But Duterte has waffled on his position on gay rights. He expressed acceptance of gays while running for the office he has held since June 2016. Rappler notest that In March 2017, Duterte said marriage was only for a man and woman under Philippine law. But by the end of the year, Duterte told an LGBTQ gathering that he thinks the law can be changed to allow same-sex marriage. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Philippines' Rodrigo Duterte says he was once gay but 'cured myself' Queen Elizabeth II greets US President Donald Trump as he arrives for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of his three day state visit to the UK. Hes been in the UK for a matter of hours and most of the UK is watching and waiting for US President Donald Trump to make his first faux pas. The controversial leader is known for diplomatic clangers - traditionally administered via his Twitter account. But this photograph has sparked a social media frenzy as Twitter users claimed the presidents handshake with the Queen looked more like a fist-bump. However, despite appearances it wasnt a fist bump but more of an awkward clench. Alternate crop: Queen Elizabeth II greets US President Donald Trump as he arrives for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of his three day state visit to the UK. Mr Trump was also criticised for failing to bow - however, the Royal Familys own protocol states there is no formal requirement to curtsy or bow but many people choose to honour the tradition. Still, the handshake came under intense scrutiny. Twitter user Helen Redding said: Oh my. Is that a fist bump?! Good to see Trump following Royal etiquette and greeting The Queen with a traditional fist bump. #TrumpUKVisit #TrumpVisitUK pic.twitter.com/y9dkIlhn6P (@SlipperySid) June 3, 2019 While Steve said: Good to see Trump following Royal etiquette and greeting The Queen with a traditional fist bump Did...did he just fist bump Her Majesty The Queen? #TrumpVisitUK pic.twitter.com/HpBABrx4pB James Dylan Edge (@JDEdge) June 3, 2019 James Dylan Edge said: Did...did he just fist bump Her Majesty The Queen? Story continues Its not the first time Mr Trump has appeared to struggle with a handshake. Donald Trump leading Prime Minister Theresa May by the arm ahead of a joint press conference at Chequers, her country residence in Buckinghamshire. He yanked French President Emmanuel Macrons hand at the Bastille Day celebration in July 2017, holding on to it for nearly 30 seconds. Read more from Yahoo News UK Donald Trumps state visit - in pictures Five bodies spotted by pilots in search for climbers Neymar denies raping woman in Paris hotel room At the White House in April 2018, he also led the French leader away from reporters after shaking his hand and keeping hold of it. Prime Minister Theresa May also encountered Mr Trumps unusual mode of dealing with foreign leaders. They held hands as they walked along at the White House during their first meeting in January 2017. Queen Elizabeth II speaks with President Donald Trump during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England on June 5, 2019. (Photo: Matt Dunham/AP) President Donald Trump has arrived in the U.K. on the first leg of a trip that will include commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day during a ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery in France. The agenda for Trump's weeklong journey is largely ceremonial: a state visit and an audience with Queen Elizabeth II in London, D-Day commemoration ceremonies on both sides of the English Channel and his first presidential visit to Ireland. But Trump's visit also comes at a fraught time in British politics, with Prime Minister Theresa May stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7 over the country's Brexit turmoil. Lawmakers in Parliament have repeatedly rejected May's Brexit divorce deal with the European Union. Trump will meet with May, but Monday's focus will be on elaborate ceremonies honoring the president. It begins with Queen Elizabeth II holding a grand welcoming ceremony at Buckingham Palace, moves on to a formal tea with Prince Charles and ends with a sumptuous state banquet Monday night. (AP) PHOTOS: Trump Baby blimp and a robot featured at protests in London See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr. US President Donald Trump waits for the arrival Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall with the first lady Melania Trump outside Winfield House in London, Tuesday, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Alastair Grant/AP) Britain's Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, from left, applaud as they watch a fly past at the end of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England Wednesday, June 5, 2019. (Photo: Matt Dunham/AP) A man holds a banner depicting President Donald Trump kissing Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage during a protest against the state visit of President Donald Trump, June 4, 2019. (Photo:Matt Dunham/AP) President Donald Trump speaks during an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth, England, June 5, 2019. (Photo: Matt Dunham/AP) US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prince Charles toast, during the Return Dinner in Winfield House, the residence of the Ambassador of the United States of America to the UK, in Regent's Park, part of the president's state visit to the UK, in London, Tuesday June 4, 2019. (Chris Jackson/Pool Photo via AP) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip greet President Donald Trump and first lady Melania outside 10 Downing Street in central London, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) Placards showing anti-Trump messages lie on the ground, in central London, near the end of a protest against the state visit of President Donald Trump, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Matt Dunham/AP) Man holding up a sign stand on a statue as people gather in Trafalgar Square, central London, to demonstrate against the state visit of President Donald Trump, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Tim Ireland/AP) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip greet President Donald Trump and first lady Melania outside 10 Downing Street in central London, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) A Donald Trump supporter holds welcome notes for President Donald Trump, in Parliament square in London, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Tim Ireland/AP) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and President Donald Trump walk through the Quadrangle of the Foreign Office for a joint press conference in central London, June 4, 2019. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, centre left and US President Donald Trump and guests arrive through the East Gallery ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in London, June 3, 2019. Trump is on a three-day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Victoria Jones/Pool Photo via AP) US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, left, pose for a photo with Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall prior to afternoon tea at Clarence House, in London, June 3, 2019. Trump is on a three-day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Victoria Jones/Pool Photo via AP) The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery leaves after firing a 41 Gun Royal Salute marking U.S President Donald Trump's arrival, past a fan holding a sign welcoming Trump, in Green Park in London, Monday, June 3, 2019. Trump is on a three-day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Tim Ireland/AP) President Donald Trump waves with first lady Melania Trump as they arrive at Stansted Airport in England, Monday, June 3, 2019 at the start of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery perform a gun salute to honour President Trump's state visit and to mark the 66th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Green Park on June 3, 2019 in London, England. (Photo: Peter Summers/Getty Images) President Donald Trump reviews an honor guard during a ceremonial welcome in the garden of Buckingham Palace in London, Monday, June 3, 2019 on the opening day of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) The convoy of U.S President Donald Trump drives down Pall Mall in London, Monday, June 3, 2019, on the opening day of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) U.S. President Donald Trump inspects an honor guard at Buckingham Palace, in London, Britain, June 3, 2019. (Photo: Toby Melville/Pool/Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump inspects an honour guard during a welcome ceremony in Buckingham Palace, in London, Britain, June 3, 2019. (Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets President Donald Trump as he arrives for a welcome ceremony in the garden of Buckingham Palace, in London, Monday, June 3, 2019, on the first day of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Victoria Jones/Pool via AP) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stands with President Donald Trump, center, Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, right, during a ceremonial welcome in the garden of Buckingham Palace in London, Monday, June 3, 2019 on the opening day of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) (L-R) U.S. President Donald Trump and the Prince Charles, Prince of Wales during the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace on the first day of the U.S. president and First Lady's three-day State visit on June 3, 2019 in London, England. (Photo: Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets President Donald Trump, center, and first lady Melania Trump, left, with Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall during a ceremonial welcome in the garden of Buckingham Palace in London, Monday, June 3, 2019 on the opening day of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) Prince Andrew, Duke of York (L) with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior during their visit to Westminster Abbey on June 3, 2019 in London, England. Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) speaks with US President Donald Trump (R) as US First Lady Melania Trump (L) smiles during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. (Photo: Toby Melville / Pool / AFP/Getty Images) US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior during their visit to Westminster Abbey on June 3, 2019 in London, England. (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images) President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, right, and Queen Elizabeth II, walk in the Picture Gallery at Buckingham Palace, Monday, June 3, 2019, in London. (Photo: Alex Brandon/AP) President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport in England, Monday, June 3, 2019 at the start of a three day state visit to Britain. (Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) _____ Read more from Yahoo News: Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is Pico Far East Holdings Limited (HKG:752) a good dividend stock? How would you know? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. 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, Pico Far East Holdings likely looks attractive to investors, given its 5.6% 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. There are a few simple ways to reduce the risks of buying Pico Far East Holdings for its dividend, and we'll go through these below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis SEHK:752 Historical Dividend Yield, June 3rd 2019 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. Pico Far East Holdings paid out 61% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. A payout ratio above 50% generally implies a business is reaching maturity, although it is still possible to reinvest in the business or increase the dividend over time. Another important check we do is to see if the free cash flow generated is sufficient to pay the dividend. Unfortunately, while Pico Far East Holdings pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously. Story continues We update our data on Pico Far East Holdings every 24 hours, so you can always get our latest analysis of its financial health, here. Dividend Volatility From the perspective of an income investor who wants to earn dividends for many years, there is not much point buying a stock if its dividend is regularly cut or is not reliable. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Pico Far East Holdings's dividend payments. Its dividend payments have fallen by 20% or more on at least one occasion over the past ten years. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was HK$0.045 in 2009, compared to HK$0.14 last year. This works out to be a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 12% a year over that time. Pico Far East Holdings's dividend payments have fluctuated, so it hasn't grown 12% every year, but the CAGR is a useful rule of thumb for approximating the historical growth. Pico Far East Holdings has grown distributions at a rapid rate despite cutting the dividend at least once in the past. Companies that cut once often cut again, but it might be worth considering if the business has turned a corner. 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 4.8% a year for the past five years, which is better than seeing them shrink! 4.8% per annum is not a particularly high rate of growth, which we find curious. When a business is not growing, it often makes more sense to pay higher dividends to shareholders rather than retain the cash with no way to utilise it. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that Pico Far East Holdings's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. First, we think Pico Far East Holdings has an acceptable payout ratio, although its dividend was not well covered by cashflow. Second, earnings growth has been ordinary, and its history of dividend payments is chequered - having cut its dividend at least once in the past. Overall, Pico Far East Holdings falls short in several key areas here. Unless the investor has strong grounds for an alternative conclusion, we find it hard to get interested in a dividend stock with these characteristics. See if management have their own wealth at stake, by checking insider shareholdings in Pico Far East Holdings stock. 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. The Expedition 59 crew is starting the weekend preparing the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft for its departure from the International Space Station on Monday. The space residents are also juggling a variety of research work and lab maintenance tasks today. NASA TV is broadcasting the robotic release of Dragon from the station live on NASA TV beginning Monday at 11:45 a.m. EDT. Robotics controllers will command the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the space freighter around 12:09 p.m. while astronaut David Saint-Jacques monitors from the cupola. Dragon will splashdown in the Pacific about 5:48 p.m. and will not be seen on NASA TV. Several critical experiments have wrapped up aboard the orbiting lab with the completed results and hardware being packed inside the Dragon this weekend. After the space freighter splashes down Monday, it will be towed to shore where the finalized research will be distributed to labs around the world for analysis. Astronauts Anne McClain and David Saint-Jacques are cleaning up and inspecting the Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) today. This comes after the crew completed a month-long study of the immune system's response to weightlessness inside the LSG. Samples from that study will also return to Earth aboard Dragon Monday. The pair first joined Flight Engineer Nick Hague during the morning checking out space biology hardware and transferring more frozen research samples into Dragon's science freezers. Hague and McClain then participated in regularly scheduled eye exams in the afternoon. Christina Koch of NASA is helping cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Alexey Ovchinin clean up after the duo's spacewalk on Wednesday. She stowed the U.S. tools they used back in the Quest airlock while the cosmonauts serviced their Russian Orlan spacesuits in the Pirs airlock. On-Orbit Status Report Fluid Shifts: The crew performed eye examinations using the Fundoscope in support of the Fluid Shifts study. Fluid Shifts is a NASA investigation, divided into Dilution Measurements, Baseline Imaging, and Imaging with Chibis. The Chibis hardware is used to perform the Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP) part of the experiment. The Fluid Shifts experiment investigates the causes for severe and lasting physical changes to astronaut's eyes. Because the headward fluid shift is a hypothesized contributor to these changes, reversing this fluid shift with a LBNP device is being evaluated as a possible intervention. Results from this study may help to develop preventative measures against lasting changes in vision and prevention of eye damage. Furphy (Residual Momentum and Tank Dynamics in Microgravity Environment): The crew completed Furphy spin tests with the Rigid and Flex tanks. Furphy tests the feasibility of transferring fluids in microgravity from a rigid tank to a flexible tank that launches collapsed and deploys as it is filled. By making it possible to fuel small satellites in orbit instead of prior to launch, potentially saving launch mass and volume, this capability supports future space exploration. This first microgravity test is performed aboard the space station to verify tank dynamics including slosh and retention of angular momentum. Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG): The crew performed the final cleanup of the LSG and installed the filter adapter and filters. The LSG is a sealed work area that accommodates life science and technology investigations in a "workbench" type environment. Due to its larger size design, two crewmembers can work in the LSG simultaneously CIR (Combustion Integrated Rack): The crew replaced the CIR ACME (Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments) controller and replaced the manifold-2 O2 and N2 bottles. The CIR includes an optics bench, combustion chamber, fuel and oxidizer control, and five different cameras for performing combustion experiments in microgravity. Space Technology and Advanced Research Systems (STaARS-1): The crew removed all eight Experiment controllers for return on SpX-17. The return of the Controllers will allow ground teams to make Facility configuration file modifications and perform necessary testing before return manifest. The objective of the STaARS-1 experiment facility is to support biotechnology and life science investigations to characterize the effects of microgravity on living systems. The facility aims to facilitate advanced studies targeting the molecular responses to microgravity that alter cell physiology and lead to unique cellular processes and the production of novel compounds that can impact pharmaceutical, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, biofuel, and discovery sciences. Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) #2: Robotic specialists in Tsukuba used the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) with the Small Fine Arm (SFA) to transfer the Handhold Experiment Platform (HXP) from the JEM Airlock Slide Table to the JEM Exposed Facility handrail. Taking advantage of Kibo's unique function of having both an airlock and a robotic arm among modules on the ISS, the ExHAM facility enables space experiments to be performed in the exposed space environment, by attachment to the Japanese Experiment Module Kibo's Exposed Facility (EF). Commercial Orbital Transport Services (COTS) UHF Communication Unit (CUCU) Checkout: In preparation for the upcoming departure of SpaceX-17 planned on 3 June, the crew coordinated with ground teams to activate the CUCU system and perform a Crew Command Panel (CCP) checkout. CUCU provides a command and telemetry communications link between ISS and Dragon during free flight operations near ISS. Russian ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA) 46 US Tool Stow: After Wednesday's successful EVA, the US crew stowed various EVA hardware borrowed by Russia. In addition to conducting an audit of the returned hardware, the crew inspected each piece of equipment and verified they remain in a good configuration for use in future US EVAs. Public Affairs Office (PAO) Live Event: David Saint-Jacques participated in a live PAO event with 140 students and 60 community residents in Umiujaq, Northern Quebec where he practiced medicine before becoming an Astronaut. During today's event, students asked questions about how to live in space and the current mission of the ISS and its role in advancing science. SpaceX-17 Cargo Operations: Today the crew completed approximately 4 hours of SpaceX cargo loading in support of unberth on 3 June. The approximately 8 hours of remaining operations will be completed on Sunday in conjunction with loading of the Center Stack, and transfer of late-load items, into Dragon. In total, the crew will have spent 64 hours loading Dragon with the cargo and hardware needed for return. Completed Task List Activities: Completed Thursday (GMT 150) Adlink SD card move Fundoscope troubleshooting ISS Experience message review ISS Photo Inspections from Cupola, JEM Rodent Research 12 Lab audit Ground Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. LSG filter inspect CUCU checkout Furphy spin ops Look Ahead: Saturday, 06/01 (GMT 152) Payloads: Food Acceptability (NASA) MicroAlgae removal from VEGGIE and MELFI insert (NASA) Nanoparticle Formulation Imagery (NASA) Mouse Mission Transfers Procedure review (JAXA) Systems: Crew off duty; housekeeping Sunday, 06/02 (GMT 153) Payloads: Mouse Mission Transfers (JAXA) POLAR-Dragon Transfer review (NASA) Systems: Cargo transfer ops for Dragon departure Dragon egress Today's Planned Activities: All activities are complete unless otherwise noted. Max Cycle Ergometer w/Vibration Isolation & Stabilization (CEVIS) Portable PFS Conclude JEM FROST Photo Taking Polar Sample Transfer From Cold Stowage AQM Sieve Cartridge Remove and Replace FROST Ethernet Cable Connection Drying Orlan-MKS Water Feed Line JAXA Mouse Mission Post-mission Transfer Familiarization 2 Multi-use Variable-g Platform Module Removal Rodent Research Life Science Glovebox Cleanup Orlan-MKS Drying, start Space Pup Item Gather Space Pup MELFI Retrieval Space Pup Sample Stowage RFID Ember 1 Demate Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit [] position on MRM2 through SM window No.13 - setup Dragon Vestibule Outfitting Kit (VOK) Gather Furphy Spin Ops Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit [] position on MRM2 through SM window No.13 Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit [] position on MRM2 through SM window No.13 - Closeout Ops Post-EVA Orlan-MKS debrief with specialists Glisser-M equipment ops after EVA (copying video recordings to hard drive and battery installation for recharging). Downlink via OCA Functional Check of SM Onboard Memory Storage () Drying Orlan-MKS (switchover to a backup fan) On-board Training (OBT) Dragon Departure Review On Board Training (OBT) Dragon Ground Control Release Self Study Max Cycle Ergometer w/Vibration Isolation & Stabilization (CEVIS) Kit Consolidate Nanoparticle Formulation Camera Activities Glovebox Freezer - Life Science Glovebox - Teardown Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Helmet Light Inspection Orlan-MKS Drying - terminate Orlan Feedwater Bladder Refill 1-4 cartridge replacement UPA Brine Filter Gather Micro Algae Maintenance Work Area Preparation Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config JEM Setup Environmental Health System (EHS) Grab Sample Container (GSC) Sampling Operations PAO Preparation Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference Micro Algae Culture Bag Photography Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) - JEM US Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tools Stow Life Science Glovebox (LSG) Filter Inspection Orlan No.4 Liquid Cooling Garment [] Closeout EVA Support Panel (-2) Powerdown in DC1 Combustion Integrated Rack Rack Doors Open Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Open ACME Controller Replace 1 Setting up Orlan and for storage mode Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) Countermeasures System (CMS) Treadmill 2 (T2) Exercise Session Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Close Life Science Glovebox (LSG) Life Science Ancillary Hardware (LSAH) Adapter Install Post-EVA Orlan-MKS Spacesuit Equipment Stowage Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement Fluid Shifts Fundoscope Baseline Imaging Setup Combustion Integrated Rack Rack Doors Close Space Technology and Advanced Research Systems BioScience-3 Experiment Container Removal Fluid Shifts Fundoscope Baseline Imaging Preparation Photo/TV CUCU HD Video Setup CUCU Crew Command Panel (CCP) Checkout Glacier Desiccant Swap Evening Preparation Work Dragon Lithium Hydroxide (LiOH) Filter Bag Installation Photo/TV CUCU HD Video Deactivation LSG Work Volume Stow Fluid Shifts Fundoscope Baseline Imaging Exam Operator Fluid Shifts Fundoscope Baseline Imaging Exam Subject Spaceflight Cognitive Assessment Tool for Windows (WinSCAT) Test Metal Oxide (METOX) Regeneration Initiation Fluid Shifts Fundoscope Baseline Imaging Stow Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT) Glisser-M equipment ops after EVA (Closeout Ops and Stowage) Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. (Reuters) - The 12 victims of Friday's mass shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building included an engineer who had recently taken up the bagpipes, an account clerk with a beautiful singing voice and a Belarusian immigrant, according to friends and relatives. It remained unclear on Monday why the alleged gunman, DeWayne Craddock, opened fire at the resort city's Department of Public Works, where he had worked for almost 15 years before handing in his resignation hours before the attack. He was fatally shot by a police officer. The shooting was the deadliest instance of U.S. gun violence since November, when a dozen people were slain at a Los Angeles-area bar and grill by a gunman who then killed himself. Among the victims who had most recently joined Public Works was Christopher Rapp, who was about to mark his first anniversary at the job. After moving to the Virginia Beach area, Rapp had nursed his love of Scottish music by joining the Tidewater Pipes & Drums. "He was quiet but had a passion for the pipes and Scottish culture," the band said in a tribute posted on social media, which was accompanied by a photograph of Rapp smiling at Celtic festival in 2018 dressed in a tartan kilt. Tara Welch Gallagher, who had been an engineer at Public Works for six years when she was killed, was remembered as someone who "always had kind words to say" to friends or strangers in a tribute posted on GoFundMe, where supporters are raising funds for her 21-month-old son. Alex Gusev, a right-of-way agent, emigrated from Belarus in 2003 to get a degree in civil engineering before joining Public Works nine years ago, according to a profile by the Virginian-Pilot. He enjoyed playing basketball and soccer with neighbors who had also emigrated from Eastern Europe, a friend told the newspaper. Katherine Nixon, who had worked at the department as an engineer for a decade, was a mother of three young girls. Ryan Keith Cox, an account clerk with the city's Public Utilities Department for more than 12 years, came from a devout Christian family. "I won't hear his beautiful singing voice at church or home anymore," his brother, Ervin, wrote on Facebook. Story continues Four other people hurt in the shooting remained in critical condition at local hospitals after surgery as of Sunday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the hospitals. Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera described Craddock as "disgruntled," but declined to say more about what may have precipitated the attack. He was an employee in good standing before handing in his resignation, officials said. An impromptu memorial set up at the municipal center was visited by well-wishers on Sunday, and media images show family and friends holding hands and lighted candles at multiple churches. (Reporting by Peter Szekely and Jonathan Allen in New York and Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot) WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday called on Beijing to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square uprising this week by releasing all prisoners jailed for fighting human rights abuses in China. In a statement Pompeo again urged China to make a full public account of those killed or missing in the 1989 student-led pro-democracy protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square. "Such a step would begin to demonstrate the Communist Party's willingness to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms," Pompeo said. "We call on China to release all those held for seeking to exercise these rights and freedoms, halt the use of arbitrary detention, and reverse counterproductive policies that conflate terrorism with religious and political expression," he added. The Chinese government sent tanks to quell the June 4, 1989 protests, and has never released a death toll. Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand. The Tiananmen crackdown is a taboo subject in China and almost 30 years later it remains a point of contention between China and many Western countries. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus upset China when she referred to the Tiananmen demonstrations as a "full-on massacre of peaceful protesters" during a briefing last week. Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said on Sunday that the crackdown was the "correct" decision, citing the country's "stability" since then. Pompeo said China's human rights record had not improved despite its rise on the international stage and condemned the treatment of the country's estimated 1.5 million Uighurs and other Muslim groups in Xinjiang region. "China's one-party state tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests," said Pompeo. "Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith." (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton in Washington Editing by James Dalgleish) SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro on Monday released a proposal to lessen wrongful police shootings that would use the power of the federal government to change the way local law enforcement is conducted. Castro's policing plan would set a federal standard for use of deadly force, requiring de-escalation tactics and the use of lethal means only as a last resort. He'd create one database of police departments' use of stops and detentions and another to track officers who've been removed from one agency for cause to prevent them from being hired by another. Castro, a former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development secretary, also would end a program that lets local authorities enforce federal immigration law, would pursue changes in statute to remove protections for officers from being sued for performing their jobs and would end the transfer of military-style weapons and vehicles to local agencies. "It's important that people understand that these videos that we keep seeing over and over again of police violence and mistreatment, especially of young black men, is not an accident," Castro told reporters Sunday after drawing cheers from the California Democratic Party convention for reciting the names of unarmed minorities killed by police. "The system is broken. We need to fix it." In California, Castro named multiple unarmed victims of police but spent the most time on the case of 22-year-old Stephon Clark , who was shot to death by Sacramento police in his grandmother's backyard last year. No charges were filed in Clark's shooting. Policing is largely a local matter, and it's unclear how Castro would enforce parts of his many-faceted plan. On Sunday, he told reporters the federal government would withhold grants from agencies that don't follow the new national standards on deadly force. It's unclear how he'd enforce other standards he outlines in the plan such as requiring officers to give people time to comply with verbal commands, restricting shooting at moving vehicles and requiring written consent for vehicle searches. Story continues Castro, a former San Antonio mayor who announced his 2020 presidential campaign in January, has said he'd step up Department of Justice investigations of local agencies for violating people's rights. Some of Castro's proposals would require sweeping changes in law enforcement. For example, he proposes using federal grants to push agencies to require officers to live in communities they serve. He wants a law banning the "stop-and-frisk" practice, under which officers quickly search people they've stopped. He also proposes ending the "broken windows" approach to policing, a theory popularized in the 1990s that calls for enforcing small quality-of-life violations to cut down overall crime. He'd also prevent agencies from seizing assets they suspect were bought with money from criminal acts, instead requiring a conviction before the material could be seized. Castro said his database of officers dismissed from departments would help cut down on a persistent phenomenon in which an officer fired from one agency moves elsewhere and gets a job at another department that may be unaware of the officer's disciplinary history. ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) A judge has scheduled a hearing this month to resolve several pretrial matters for the man charged with killing five people at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. Anne Arundel County Circuit Court Judge Laura Ripken met privately with prosecutors and defense attorneys for Jarrod Ramos for nearly an hour Monday before saying they would return for a June 25 hearing on several pretrial motions. Ripken said the private meeting in her chambers included a discussion of scheduling issues and what matters need to be addressed at the next hearing. Ramos is scheduled to be tried in November on first-degree murder charges in the June 2018 shooting attack on the Capital Gazette newsroom. Ripken previously ordered a mental health evaluation for Ramos, whose attorneys have filed a plea that he is not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. An independent doctor will write a report that will be sent to attorneys and the court. The mental health issues aren't likely to be discussed at the June 25 hearing, State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess told reporters. Court officers brought Ramos into court for Monday's brief hearing. Ramos had a longstanding grudge against the newspaper and had a history of harassing its journalists. Capital Gazette employees John McNamara, Wendi Winters, Rebecca Smith, Gerald Fischman and Rob Hiaasen were killed in the attack. The rampage began with a shotgun blast that shattered the glass entrance to the newsroom. Journalists crawled under desks and sought other hiding places, describing agonizing minutes of terror as they heard the gunman's footsteps and repeated blasts of the weapon. County police said they captured Ramos hiding under a desk. The newspaper published as usual the very next day, and won a special Pulitzer Prize citation for its coverage and courage in the face of the massacre in its newsroom. The Hague (AFP) - Top European Union and member states' officials should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity over the drownings of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, international lawyers said Monday. The Paris-based lawyers presented the International Criminal Court with a detailed 245-page file which they said was handed to chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda's office. The information provides "enough evidence implicating the EU and member states officials and agents with crimes against humanity committed in pursuant to EU migration policies in the Mediterranean and Libya" since 2014, they said. More than 12,000 people have died since 2014 trying flee Libya to Europe by what the UN refugee agency calls the "world's deadliest sea crossing". The lawyers alleged that in order to keep Europe's borders safe, the EU resorted to a "deterrence-based migration policy, intended to sacrifice the lives of migrants in distress at sea". The sole objective was to "dissuade others in similar situation from seeking safe haven in Europe," they said in their filing, of which a copy was handed to AFP. When the policy failed because of rescue work by NGOs, the EU adopted a second strategy by employing the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept and send migrants back to concentration-camp like facilities in Libya. "It was perfectly clear that they were people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and they (the EU) voluntarily funded these individuals," lawyer Juan Branco told AFP. "Instead of immediately rescuing and bringing... the civilian population in distress at sea to safety, the EU has facilitated the death of thousands by drowning, before introducing a comprehensive system of forced deportation to concentration camp-like detention facilities," Branco and his colleagues said. - 'Hide its responsibilities' - But it is not clear how Bensouda's office will treat the file drawn up by Branco, a former ICC jurist, and Omer Shatz, an international law lecturer at Sciences Po university in Paris. Story continues Their communication refers to "EU and member states' officials and agents" but also mentions countries such as France, Germany and Italy, which are all ICC member states. The EU has crafted a very elaborate strategy to hide its own responsibilities," Branco said at a press conference in Paris later Monday, saying he and his colleagues had spent two years preparing the claim. France's foreign ministry rejected the accusation, saying it "makes no sense and has no legal basis." "France has strongly engaged in the fight against human trafficking and smugglers," it said in a statement. Set up in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes, the ICC prosecutes individuals only and receives hundreds of requests for investigation every year. Bensouda was given a UN Security Council mandate in 2011 to probe crimes committed in Libya since the ouster of long-time leader Moamer Kadhafi. The prosecutor in her latest report to the Council said her office was continuing to probe alleged crimes against migrants and refugees in Libya "to determine whether they fall within the jurisdiction of the court". The top official at the London Metropolitan Police on Monday defended the use of facial recognition technology in policing, as debate rages over the softwares potential to reinforce racial bias. I actually believe facial recognition technology, properly overseen, properly thought about, properly circumscribed, is something that our public would expect us to be doing, Cressida Dick, commissioner for the Met, said at Fortunes Most Powerful Women International Summit in London. If a terrorist was walking down the street in London, most of the public would think that we should be using a technology that would stop that person, added Dick, the Mets first female commissioner. Were miles from that, by the way. The same day as Dicks talk, according to The Independent, the London Policing Ethics Panel said that in order for the use of such technology to be acceptable, field trials conducted by the force would have to be proved to have significantly improved the efficiency of policinga milestone it hasnt yet hit. Dicks other concern on Monday was for the effect a no-deal Brexit would have on the force. If we were to come out without any sort of deal, there will be an awful lot of work to replicate the kind of systems that we currently have access to, she says. I dont want people to think that Im saying that theres a very gloomy picture, or London is at risk, she said. But there will have to be a lot more investment. More must-read stories from Fortune: Endeavors IPO filing showed what the firm is missing: women Half of MacKenzie Bezoss fortune will go to Warren Buffetts giving pledge This startup wants to help women change their names after marriage The Fortune 500 has more women CEOs than ever before Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily Keep up with the worlds most powerful women with Fortunes Broadsheet newsletter. By Frank Jack Daniel MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Fighting to stave off punitive tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, a senior Mexican delegation was set to begin high level talks on Monday in Washington, where it will be pushed to do more to hold back Central American migrants. Trump says he will apply tariffs of 5% on all Mexican goods on June 10, and increase the rate in coming months to 25% if Mexico does not substantially halt illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexican border, which is at a decade high this year. Global equities tumbled after Trump's unexpected threat last week against the United States biggest trade partner, as investors feared his aggressive trade diplomacy could tip the United States and other major economies into recession. With just a week until the first tariffs bite, the delegation led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard may have a hard time convincing U.S. officials that Mexico is doing enough on immigration to avoid punishment, despite having signaled in recent days it was prepared to further tighten security. The U.S.-Mexican talks begin on Monday with a meeting between Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. On Wednesday, Ebrard meets U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump on Sunday called Mexico an "abuser" of the United States and said he wanted action, not talk. Mexico has signaled it would retaliate to the tariffs, with targets likely to include farm products on Trump supporting states. In a possible sign of U.S. priorities in the talks, which are due to run through at least Wednesday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan said on Sunday that Mexico should deploy more personnel to interdict illegal migrants along a 150 mile (241.4 km) stretch of border with Guatemala. That border is a remote region of mostly jungle and river, and has traditionally been hard to police. The causes of Central American immigration are mainly related to lack of economic opportunity and rampant violence. Story continues McAleenan also said Mexico should bolster its own immigration screenings along its southern border, crack down on networks transporting migrants and enable more migrants to wait in Mexico while they apply for asylum in the United States. Since January the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has ramped up detentions and deportations, but that has not been enough to stop the growing tide of families reaching the United States, mainly from Guatemala and Honduras. In May, numbers are expected to have outpaced the 99,000 people apprehended at the border in April, with many of those crossing in groups of families who will mostly be released to await asylum hearings in the United States. In its biggest concession to Trump so far, Mexico agreed in December to receive some Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States to await the resolution of their cases. So far more than 6,000 people have been sent into Mexico under the program, which operates at three crossings and is commonly known as "Remain in Mexico". DHS intends to increase the number of returns under "Remain in Mexico", a spokeswoman said on Saturday, saying there were plans to expand the program, although new crossings had not been officially designated. A more radical idea that has long been promoted by the DHS and may again be on the table in talks this week despite previously being a red line for Lopez Obrador, is to make Central Americans apply for Mexican asylum, not U.S. asylum. Under this policy, Mexico could be declared a "safe third country." Rights groups argue that leaving asylum seekers in Mexico puts them at risk, since it suffers from similar levels of violence to the places they are fleeing. The ultimatum from Trump is the biggest foreign policy test to date for Lopez Obrador. Aside from struggling to combat migrant flows, Mexican security forces are also fighting endemic gang violence. In a series of tweets on Sunday, Trump extended his demands on Mexico beyond immigration, demanding it stopped an "invasion" of drug dealers and cartels. In April, Trump took a step back from an earlier threat to completely close the U.S. border with Mexico to fight illegal immigration, under pressure from companies worried it would cause chaos for businesses. Mexico's economy, which is heavily reliant on exports to the United States, shrank in the first quarter and would suffer a lot more if Trump were to jack tariffs up all the way to 25 percent. Trump's aggressive trade diplomacy, both with Mexico and China, has scared investors away from riskier assets in global markets, as they fear it could tip the United States and other major economies in to recession. (Additional reporting by Kristina Cooke in San Francisco; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) By Tony Munroe BEIJING (Reuters) - Under pressure from China's government, financial information provider Refinitiv has removed from its Eikon terminal Reuters news stories related to the 30th anniversary of the bloody suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Refinitiv took the action to block the stories last week after the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which controls online speech, threatened to suspend the company's service in China if it did not comply, three people with knowledge of the decision said. Refinitiv's intention was to block the distribution of the stories only in China, two people familiar with the matter said. However, many users outside of China said they could not see the stories. It was not clear why. Earlier versions of this story were removed from Eikon's scrolling news feeds in China soon after publication early on Tuesday morning. Other recent Reuters stories with Tiananmen in the headline were also not available. Four Eikon clients in Asia outside China said the Tiananmen stories were visible on their feeds on Tuesday. Refinitiv was formed last year when Reuters News' parent company Thomson Reuters Corp sold a 55% stake in its Financial & Risk (F&R) unit to a group led by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP. "Refinitiv is a financial markets news and data provider in China. We are proud of the role we play in the world to facilitate transparent and efficient financial markets," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "As a global business, we comply with all our local regulatory obligations, including the requirements of our license to operate in China." Refinitiv has a license to provide financial information in China. A person familiar with the matter said the terms have not changed since the company was established, but enforcement has become more stringent. In an internal memo to staff, Reuters President Michael Friedenberg and Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler said the news organization had spoken to Refinitiv and expressed its concern. They urged staff to "continue reporting as you always would: to pursue the truth, without fear or favor." Story continues Reuters News spokesman David Crundwell said in a statement that Reuters "reports around the world in a fair, unbiased and independent manner, in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, and we stand by our China coverage." "We continue to provide Refinitiv with the same scope of content that we always have, including stories relating to China, and Refinitiv's decisions will not affect the breadth or quality of our coverage. We remain committed to telling the stories that matter." The CAC did not respond to a faxed request for comment. TABOO TOPIC Reuters News, a unit of Thomson Reuters, supplies news to Refinitiv under a 30-year agreement that pays Reuters a minimum of $325 million per year, making Refinitiv the news organization's largest customer. Reuters also provides news for media and digital clients. The transmission of Reuters stories on Tiananmen to other media organizations and to the Reuters website was not affected by the Refinitiv action. Reuters website has been blocked in China since 2015. The sites of many foreign news outlets are also off-limits in China, as are major U.S. digital media platforms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. This is a sensitive year for the Chinese leadership, with the Tiananmen anniversary on Tuesday and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in October. The Tiananmen crackdown remains a taboo subject in China, three decades after the government sent troops and tanks to quell student-led protests calling for democratic reforms. Beijing has never released a death toll but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to the thousands. The blocked Reuters stories on Eikon included one based on remarks made by China's defense minister on Sunday at a forum in Singapore defending the Tiananmen crackdown, and another on Taiwan's call on Monday for China to "repent" for Tiananmen. There was no customer notice to subscribers posted on Eikon. Censorship of the internet in China has been intensifying under President Xi Jinping, and businesses have come under growing pressure to block content that Beijing sees as sensitive. Last November, the CAC introduced new rules aimed at quashing dissent online in China, where "falsifying the history of the Communist Party" is a punishable offence for both platforms and individuals. In the past two months, some popular services, including a Netease Inc news app and Tencent Holding Ltd's news app TianTian have all been hit with suspension orders ranging from days to weeks, according to the CAC. Despite the blockage, Reuters stories removed from Eikon's scrolling news feed could still be found if users deployed certain search functions. Refinitiv competitor Bloomberg declined to comment on whether it had blocked or limited distribution of news stories deemed to be sensitive by China on its financial terminals in China. (Reporting by Tony Munroe; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo and Michael Martina; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Simon Robinson) By Tony Munroe BEIJING (Reuters) - Under pressure from China's government, financial information provider Refinitiv has removed from its Eikon terminal Reuters news stories related to the 30th anniversary of the bloody suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Refinitiv took the action to block the stories last week after the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which controls online speech, threatened to suspend the company's service in China if it did not comply, three people with knowledge of the decision said. Refinitiv's intention was to block the distribution of the stories only in China, two people familiar with the matter said. However, many users outside of China said they could not see the stories. It was not clear why. Earlier versions of this story were removed from Eikon's scrolling news feeds in China soon after publication early on Tuesday morning. Other recent Reuters stories with Tiananmen in the headline were also not available. Four Eikon clients in Asia outside China said the Tiananmen stories were visible on their feeds on Tuesday. Refinitiv was formed last year when Reuters News' parent company Thomson Reuters Corp sold a 55% stake in its Financial & Risk (F&R) unit to a group led by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP. "Refinitiv is a financial markets news and data provider in China. We are proud of the role we play in the world to facilitate transparent and efficient financial markets," the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters. "As a global business, we comply with all our local regulatory obligations, including the requirements of our licence to operate in China." Refinitiv has a licence to provide financial information in China. A person familiar with the matter said the terms have not changed since the company was established, but enforcement has become more stringent. In an internal memo to staff, Reuters President Michael Friedenberg and Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler said the news organisation had spoken to Refinitiv and expressed its concern. They urged staff to "continue reporting as you always would: to pursue the truth, without fear or favour." Story continues Reuters News spokesman David Crundwell said in a statement that Reuters "reports around the world in a fair, unbiased and independent manner, in keeping with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, and we stand by our China coverage." "We continue to provide Refinitiv with the same scope of content that we always have, including stories relating to China, and Refinitiv's decisions will not affect the breadth or quality of our coverage. We remain committed to telling the stories that matter." The CAC did not respond to a faxed request for comment. TABOO TOPIC Reuters News, a unit of Thomson Reuters, supplies news to Refinitiv under a 30-year agreement that pays Reuters a minimum of $325 million per year, making Refinitiv the news organisation's largest customer. Reuters also provides news for media and digital clients. The transmission of Reuters stories on Tiananmen to other media organisations and to the Reuters website was not affected by the Refinitiv action. Reuters website has been blocked in China since 2015. The sites of many foreign news outlets are also off-limits in China, as are major U.S. digital media platforms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter. This is a sensitive year for the Chinese leadership, with the Tiananmen anniversary on Tuesday and the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in October. The Tiananmen crackdown remains a taboo subject in China, three decades after the government sent troops and tanks to quell student-led protests calling for democratic reforms. Beijing has never released a death toll but estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to the thousands. The blocked Reuters stories on Eikon included one based on remarks made by China's defence minister on Sunday at a forum in Singapore defending the Tiananmen crackdown, and another on Taiwan's call on Monday for China to "repent" for Tiananmen. There was no customer notice to subscribers posted on Eikon. Censorship of the internet in China has been intensifying under President Xi Jinping, and businesses have come under growing pressure to block content that Beijing sees as sensitive. Last November, the CAC introduced new rules aimed at quashing dissent online in China, where "falsifying the history of the Communist Party" is a punishable offence for both platforms and individuals. In the past two months, some popular services, including a Netease Inc news app and Tencent Holding Ltd's news app TianTian have all been hit with suspension orders ranging from days to weeks, according to the CAC. Despite the blockage, Reuters stories removed from Eikon's scrolling news feed could still be found if users deployed certain search functions. Refinitiv competitor Bloomberg declined to comment on whether it had blocked or limited distribution of news stories deemed to be sensitive by China on its financial terminals in China. (Reporting by Tony Munroe; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo and Michael Martina; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Simon Robinson) Padre Pio 'Casa USA' Healthcare Initiative Unveiled in Interactive Website NEWS PROVIDED BY Catholic Healthcare International June 3, 2019 ST. LOUIS, Mo., June 3, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- Catholic Healthcare International has commenced implementation of its inspired vision to replicate a unique model of healthcare delivery, established by the beloved St. Padre Pio in Italy, called The Home for the Relief of Suffering. You can learn more about our exciting activities on our dynamic new website: http://www.chi-usa.com/. Under the Episcopal leadership of Cardinal Raymond Burke and Bishop Earl Boyea, Catholic Healthcare International, the Diocese of Lansing, the Terri Schiavo Life & Hope Network & the Christ Medicus Foundation are collaborating to implement this Casa USA vision, which will shine as a "Beacon of Light" of faithful Catholic healthcare delivery for all Catholic providers of medical care and medical education in the US. Catholic Healthcare International has been given sole permission by St. Pio's hospital in Italy to implement this vision in the United States. Bishop Boyea has agreed to donate land owned by the Diocese of Lansing in the Howell, Michigan area to be the home of the Casa USA campus. Visit the newly unveiled Catholic Healthcare International website to learn more about this exciting inspired vision, and also participate in the new multi-faceted & interactive prayer initiatives, by directing your browser to http://www.chi-usa.com/. ALSO COMING SOON: The first ever Worldwide Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Program! This Casa USA vision being implemented in the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan, includes: A replica of Padre Pio's Home for the Relief of Suffering hospital (Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza); A School for the Relief of Suffering Catholic medical school to educate and form physicians to practice as faithful Catholics in our secular society; A Pilgrim Shrine with Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration, which is a replica of the Santa Maria delle Grazie Church where Padre Pio ministered for decades in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy; A first of its kind Terri Schiavo Rehab Center to provide accurate diagnosis and care for patients with severe brain issues, with the assumption of the desire to live life to its fullest possibilities with dignity; and, A Christ Medicus Foundation Center for Public Policy and the development of faithful Catholic medical clinics. This exciting and unprecedented initiative is a collaboration among several leading faithful Catholic national and international apostolates and ministries, in partnership with the Diocese of Lansing, Michigan and with the exclusive blessing of St. Padre Pio's Vatican-owned Casa Hospital in Italy. SOURCE Catholic Healthcare International CONTACT: Jere Palazzolo, 636-220-6550, jpalazzolo@chi-usa.com Related Links http://www.chi-usa.com/ Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Lynparza stalls pancreatic cancer in patients with BRCA mutations: study AstraZeneca and Merck & Co's Lynparza helped patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who carry BRCA gene mutations go nearly twice as long without their disease worsening than those who received a placebo, according to data from a late-stage clinical trial presented on Sunday. BRCA mutations are typically linked with breast and ovarian cancers, but occur in other cancers as well. Scientists edit chicken genes to make them resistant to bird flu By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Scientists in Britain have used gene-editing techniques to stop bird flu spreading in chicken cells grown in a lab - a key step towards making genetically-altered chickens that could halt a human flu pandemic. China reports H5N6 bird flu outbreak in Xinjiang China has confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu in Horgos in the far western Xinjiang region. The outbreak killed 1,015 out of 2,545 birds raised by farmers in Horgos, according to a notice on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs late on Friday. Therapy in the office: banks take mental health fight in-house In 'Billions', a U.S. television show set in the world of hedge funds, traders at the fictional Axe Capital regularly attend sessions with an in-house psychiatrist. In real life, finance professionals are rarely so open about seeking psychological help. Following is a summary of current health news briefs. U.S. health officials report 41 new cases of measles last week The United States recorded 41 new measles cases last week, bringing the year's total number of cases to 981 in the worst outbreak of the disease since 1992, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of cases of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease rose 4% in the week ended May 31 from the prior week. The 2019 outbreak, which has spread to 26 states, is the worst since 1992, when 2,126 cases were recorded. Brazil suspends beef exports to China due to mad cow case: exporter Brazilian exporters selling beef to China face a temporary ban on shipments as Brazil deals with an atypical case of mad cow disease in Mato Grosso state, a representative of a leading exporter told Reuters on Monday on condition of anonymity. Beef exporters were formally told by the government that, as of Monday morning, issuance of international health certificates was suspended to comply with provisions of a bilateral health protocol signed by Brazil and China. Even mild brain injuries tied to lasting functional deficits People who have mild traumatic brain injuries may be more likely to have lasting functional deficits that get in the way of daily activities than patients who experience other types of injuries, a U.S. study suggests. Although long-term cognitive and physical impairments are well known after-effects of moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries, doctors are less certain of the expected course of recovery for people with mild traumatic brain injuries, researchers note in JAMA Neurology. Without older subjects, cancer drugs trials rely on atypical patients Patients selected to participate in studies of cancer drugs tend to be younger than most people with the disease in the general population, researchers say. In one recent study, in fact, they were more than six years younger than the median age of patients with the same kind of cancer, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. Story continues Scientists edit chicken genes to make them resistant to bird flu By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Scientists in Britain have used gene-editing techniques to stop bird flu spreading in chicken cells grown in a lab - a key step towards making genetically-altered chickens that could halt a human flu pandemic. Amgen drug shows high response rate in small lung and colon cancer trial An experimental Amgen Inc drug that targets a specific genetic mutation significantly reduced tumor size in half of evaluated patients with advanced lung cancer in a small, early-stage trial, researchers said on Monday, sending the U.S. biotechnology company's share up nearly 6 percent. Wall Street has taken a keen interest in the Amgen drug, which could become the first approved medicine targeting a mutated form of a gene known as KRAS - one of the most common mutations found in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). China reports H5N6 bird flu outbreak in Xinjiang China has confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu in Horgos in the far western Xinjiang region. The outbreak killed 1,015 out of 2,545 birds raised by farmers in Horgos, according to a notice on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs late on Friday. Merck wins U.S. FDA approval for expanded use of antibiotic The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-new-treatment-hospital-acquired-and-ventilator-associated-bacterial-pneumonia on Monday it approved expanded use of Merck & Co Inc's antibiotic to treat hospital-acquired pneumonia in patients 18 years and older. The approval is based on the treatment's late-stage trial results, which showed that Merck's drug, Zerbaxa, was as effective as another antibacterial drug. Seattle Genetics, Astellas drug rapidly shrinks tumors in bladder cancer study An experimental drug developed by Seattle Genetics Inc and Astellas Pharma Inc led to significant, rapid tumor shrinkage in patients with advanced bladder cancer who had been previously treated with immunotherapy and chemotherapy in a midstage trial, according to data presented on Monday. Seattle Genetics shares rose 4.3% to $67.84. Therapy in the office: banks take mental health fight in-house In 'Billions', a U.S. television show set in the world of hedge funds, traders at the fictional Axe Capital regularly attend sessions with an in-house psychiatrist. In real life, finance professionals are rarely so open about seeking psychological help. Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs. Officials seeking motive for Virginia rampage say shooter was not facing discipline Officials trying to learn what prompted a city engineer to kill 12 people in Virginia Beach before he was shot dead by police said on Sunday investigators were examining employment-related issues but stressed that the suspect was not being disciplined. Recounting the chaotic minutes that followed the Friday afternoon gun rampage, authorities said they were still seeking a motive for why DeWayne Craddock, 40, would launch the attack on his co-workers and others at a municipal complex. Judge finds Navy SEAL's fair trial rights violated in war crimes case The military judge presiding over the court-martial of a U.S. Navy SEAL charged with war crimes said on Friday prosecutors who electronically tracked email communications of defense lawyers without a warrant violated the accused's right to a fair trial. The finding came near the end of a two-day hearing that wrapped up just 10 days before Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher is due to stand trial in a case that has drawn the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump. Missouri abortion clinic to stay open for now after court order Missouri's only abortion clinic will stay open at least a few more days after a judge on Friday granted a request by Planned Parenthood for a temporary restraining order, allowing the facility to keep operating until a hearing on Tuesday. Planned Parenthood sued Missouri this week after state health officials said the license for Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood in St. Louis was in jeopardy, meaning the clinic could have closed at midnight unless the judge granted the request for a temporary restraining order. Sanders kicks fight against Trump into high gear as Democrats swarm San Francisco U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Sunday called on California Democrats to unite against Donald Trump, kicking the 2020 presidential campaign into high gear with jabs against the Republican president and a veiled swipe at Democratic rival Joe Biden. Sanders called Trump "a racist, a sexist, a homophobe and a religious bigot" in a speech capping off a state Democratic convention that drew fourteen of the 24 candidates to make their case before 5,000 delegates, guests and press in the most populous - and most heavily Democratic - U.S. state. Story continues U.S. biologists probe deaths of 70 emaciated gray whales U.S. government biologists have launched a special investigation into the deaths of at least 70 gray whales washed ashore in recent months along the U.S. West Coast, from California to Alaska, many of them emaciated, officials said on Friday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) declared the whale die-off an "unusual mortality event," a designation that triggers greater scrutiny and allocation of more resources to determine the cause. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez returns to bartending to promote fair wages U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took lunch orders, served pizza and rocked the cocktail shaker on Friday to promote increased wages for restaurant servers and other tipped workers. The New York Democrat and media sensation, who famously worked as a bartender before getting elected to Congress last year, brought first-hand experience to the debate over the proposed "Raise the Wage Act," which would raise the U.S. minimum wage to $15 an hour and guarantee that minimum for tipped employees. Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Donald Trump welcomed to Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth Britain rolled out the royal red carpet for Donald Trump on Monday but the pomp, pageantry and banquet with Queen Elizabeth looked set to be overshadowed by the U.S. President's views on Brexit, the UK's next leader and a row over China's Huawei. Trump and his wife, Melania, were greeted by the 93-year-old monarch at Buckingham Palace at the start of a three-day state visit which sees him feted with the full force of royal ceremony: a formal dinner with the queen, tea with heir Prince Charles, and a tour of Westminster Abbey, coronation church of English monarchs for 1,000 years. Deal or no deal, we leave EU on Oct. 31: UK PM candidate Johnson Boris Johnson, frontrunner to be Britain's next prime minister, promised on Monday to lead the country out of the European Union on Oct. 31 with or without an exit deal, launching his leadership bid in a campaign video. Prime Minister Theresa May is due to resign on Friday having failed to deliver Brexit on schedule. She leaves behind her a divided nation and parliament with no consensus on the way ahead for the world's fifth largest economy. Germany's Social Democrats seek new leader, question coalition Germany's Social Democrats on Monday discussed appointing three caretaker leaders after Andrea Nahles resigned and SPD members, appalled by the party's plunging popularity, called for ditching their scrappy coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Nahles, the most vocal proponent of the SPD's reluctant decision to form a third so-called "grand coalition" with Merkel's conservatives, quit on Monday after a disastrous showing at last weekend's European Parliament elections. China warns students, academics of risks of studying in U.S. China warned students and academics on Monday about risks involved in studying in the United States, pointing to limits on the duration of visas and visa refusals, amid a bitter trade war and other tension between the two countries. Relations between China and the United States have nosedived because of their trade conflict, U.S. sanctions on Chinese tech firm Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and tension over the disputed South China Sea and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Story continues Kremlin rebuffs Trump on Syria, says military action in Idlib is justified The Kremlin on Monday rebuffed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump of Russian and Syrian government military action in Syria's Idlib province, saying it was justified. Trump on Sunday urged Russia and Syrian government forces to stop bombing Idlib, following a Friday Kremlin statement that signaled Moscow would continue to back a month-long Syrian government offensive there. Exit of French center-right leader bolsters Macron's grip France's once-dominant center-right political party, Les Republicains, was in disarray on Monday after its leader quit, acknowledging his responsibility for the group's poor performance in last week's European elections. Laurent Wauquiez, 44, who took over as leader in late 2017, had moved the party distinctly to the right with an emphasis on France's national identity, rural traditions and Catholic roots, and adopting a skeptical stance toward the European Union in an effort to claw back voters from the far right. Exclusive: U.N. bid to curb North Korean missile tests, revive air traffic, delayed amid U.S. concerns - sources A U.N. agency's bid to curb North Korea's missile program with an airspace safety audit and at the same time revive its air traffic has been delayed amid U.S. concerns that it may breach U.N. sanctions, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Airlines currently take indirect routes to avoid North Korea due to the threat of surprise missile tests, which have been witnessed by some passengers on commercial flights. Reeling from tariff threat, Mexico begins immigration talks in Washington Fighting to stave off punitive tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, a senior Mexican delegation was set to begin high level talks on Monday in Washington, where it will be pushed to do more to hold back Central American migrants. Trump says he will apply tariffs of 5% on all Mexican goods on June 10, and increase the rate in coming months to 25% if Mexico does not substantially halt illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexican border, which is at a decade high this year. North Korea's former top nuclear envoy seen with Kim Jong Un: KCNA North Korea's former top nuclear envoy, Kim Yong Chol, accompanied leader Kim Jong Un to an art performance, state news agency KCNA said on Monday, signaling that the former spymaster is alive and remains a force in the power structure. Sunday's appearance followed conflicting reports of shakeups in the team that led engagement with the United States last year, only for nuclear talks to collapse after Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump failed to strike a pact at a February summit. Pompeo says U.S. trying to level the playing field with China U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday that the United States is seeking to "level the playing field" with China after decades of unfair trade practices. Pompeo made the remarks after meeting his Dutch counterpart, Foreign Minister Stef Blok, on the sidelines of a U.S.-Dutch entrepreneurship conference in the Netherlands. Following is a summary of current world news briefs. Donald Trump wades into Britain's Brexit crisis U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in Britain on Monday on a state visit laden with diplomatic peril, having already humiliated outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May over Brexit and challenged her to be tougher in dealing with China's Huawei. Trump and his wife, Melania, will be treated to a display of British royal pageantry during the June 3-5 visit: lunch with Queen Elizabeth, tea with heir Prince Charles, a banquet at Buckingham Palace and a tour of Westminster Abbey, coronation church of English monarchs for 1,000 years. Syria air defenses intercept Israeli attack on T-4 airbase: Syrian source Syrian air defenses on Sunday intercepted an Israeli attack on the T-4 airbase in Homs province, state TV reported, citing a Syrian military source. The source added that two people were killed and two others wounded, and that an ammunition warehouse was hit in addition to damage to buildings and equipment. Yemen's Houthis launch drone attack on Saudi-led coalition military parade in Aden Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a drone attack on a military parade for Saudi-led coalition forces in the port city of Aden, the group's Al Masirah TV said early on Monday. The Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel later quoted sources that the air defenses shot down a drone west of Aden. Car blast hits rebel-held north Syria A car bomb exploded in a north Syrian town held by Turkey-backed rebels on Sunday, killing at least 10 people, rescue workers and medics said, after a war monitor had reported blasts hitting other insurgent-held areas in the northwest. The blast was the largest in months to target Azaz, near the Turkish border. It struck a marketplace that was busy late in the evening after the daily Ramadan fast had finished. Sisi says Egypt will not accept anything against Palestinian wishes Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, speaking about the unannounced U.S. Mideast peace plan, said on Sunday that his country would not accept anything undesired by the Palestinians. Speaking after breaking the Ramadan fast at a hotel in Cairo, Sisi also appeared to dismiss suggestions that Egypt might make concessions as part of the U.S. plan. Story continues Pope pleas for European unity, says ideologies threaten its existence Pope Francis made an impassioned plea for Europe to stick together and revive the ideals of its founders on Sunday, saying ideologies and fear-mongering politicians were threatening its very existence as a bloc. His comments to journalists on the plane while returning from a three-day trip to Romania, one of the more recent European Union members, were his first since European elections last month. U.S. prepared to talk to Iran with 'no preconditions', Iran sees 'word-play' The United States is prepared to engage with Iran without pre-conditions about its nuclear program but needs to see the country behaving like "a normal nation," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday. Iran dismissed the offer as "word-play." Factbox: What will British PM May's successor do about Brexit? Who are the candidates vying for Prime Minister Theresa May's job and what have they said about Brexit? British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced she is quitting, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power, with most of the frontrunners expected to push for a cleaner break with the European Union. Chinese defense minister says war with U.S. would be a disaster Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe criticized the United States on Sunday for its support of an independent Taiwan and for naval operations in the disputed South China Sea, but said conflict or war between the two countries would be a disaster. In a speech at an Asian defense summit in Singapore, Wei said China would "fight to the end" anyone who tried to split China from Taiwan, which Beijing considers a sacred territory to be reclaimed by force if necessary. North Korea's former top nuclear envoy seen with Kim Jong Un on Sunday: KCNA North Korean senior official and former top nuclear envoy Kim Yong Chol accompanied leader Kim Jong Un to a Sunday art performance, state media KCNA said on Monday, signaling that the former spymaster is alive and remains a force in North Korea's power structure. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported on Friday that Kim Yong Chol, Kim Jong Un's right-hand man and the counterpart to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo before the failed Hanoi summit, had been sent to a labor and re-education camp in Jagang Province near the Chinese border, citing an unidentified North Korea source. The Catholic bishop of Providence has said he regrets comments in which he said Pride events in support of LGBTQ rights were especially harmful for children. Related: Obama v Doma: how gay Americans marched towards equality On Saturday morning, Bishop Thomas Tobin tweeted: A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ Pride Month events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children. Rhode Island Pride responded by commending inclusivity shown by local Catholics and condemning the bishops remark. Rhode Island is a welcoming and inclusive state, the organization said in a tweet of its own. This bishop doesnt represent a majority of [Rhode Island] Catholics who overwhelmingly supported marriage equality [six] years ago. Love is love. You sir are filled with hate. Catholic Rhode Islanders reject the idea that to be Catholic is to be complicit to intolerance, bigotry and fear Joe Lazzerini, Rhode Island Pride Joe Lazzerini, president of Rhode Island Pride, said in a statement: Jesus never said a word about homosexuality, about Pride, or the queer community. Rhode Island Pride respectfully calls on Bishop Tobin to do some self-reflection as the majority of Catholic Rhode Islanders reject the idea that to be Catholic is to be complicit to intolerance, bigotry, and fear. Many Catholics are allies to our community, who participate in the love and diversity that is Rhode Island Pride. All are welcome to enjoy a safe, fun and prideful celebration on Saturday 15 June. Rhode Island Pride also announced a Sunday evening rally in Providence in response to Tobins shameful remarks. In the wake of the outcry, Tobin said in a statement posted to the Dioceses website: I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community. Story continues Related: Texas clings to unconstitutional, homophobic laws and it's not alone That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense. I also acknowledge and appreciate the widespread support I have received on this matter. Tobin said the Catholic church has respect and love for members of the gay community, as do I and individuals with same-sex attraction are beloved children of God and our brothers and sisters. As a Catholic bishop, he added, my obligation before God is to lead the faithful entrusted to my care and to teach the faith, clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues. That is what I have always tried to do on a variety of issues and I will continue doing so as contemporary issues arise. (Repeats item first carried on Sunday) By Lee Chyen Yee SINGAPORE June 2 (Reuters) - Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said on Sunday that the bloody crackdown on protesters around Beijing's Tiananmen Square 30 years ago was the "correct" decision, citing the country's "stability" since then. Responding to a question at the Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore after a hardline speech about China and international security cooperation, he called the protests political "turbulence." It is rare for Chinese government officials to acknowledge the events of June 4, 1989; references to it are heavily censored in China. "Everybody is concerned about Tiananmen after 30 years," Wei said on Sunday. "Throughout the 30 years, China under the Communist Party has undergone many changes - do you think the government was wrong with the handling of June Fourth? There was a conclusion to that incident. The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence." He added that China's development since 1989 showed that the government's actions were justified. The Tiananmen protests were "political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, which was the correct policy," he said. "Due to this, China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history." Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the protests, in which Chinese troops opened fire to end the student-led unrest. Rights groups and witnesses say hundreds or even thousands may have been killed. China has never provided a final death toll. His comments echoed those of Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian, who last week decried the use of the word "suppression" to describe the military's response to the 1989 protests. China at the time blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the party. The event will not be officially commemorated by the ruling Communist Party or government. (Writing by Gerry Doyle; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) A mysterious new virus is slowly but surely creeping through rural corners of China. Up until recently, the cause of the illness was not clear, but a new study may have pinned down the culprit: a nasty blood-sucking tick. A mysterious new virus is creeping through rural corners of China. The culprit is a nasty blood-sucking tick. Picture by Gabor Tinz / Shutterschock Scientists from Foshan University in Chinas Guangdong Province have documented the discovery of a previously unknown pathogen, dubbed the Alongshan virus. Their discovery is based on a sample of the virus taken from the blood of a 42-year-old female farmer from Alongshan who became ill with a fever, headache, and nausea. After the virus was isolated from her blood, genome sequence analysis and electron microscopy showed that it was, indeed, a virus that had never been documented before. Importantly, doctors also noticed she had a history of tick bites. So far, at least 86 people have fallen sick with the illness, namely around Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang province. Out of the 86 inidividuals, 84 were farmers or forestry workers who live in hilly or wooded areas and work in fields. Close-up of an adult female Ixodes tick. Steven Ellingson/Shutterstock These insights led the researchers to seek out Ixodes persulcatus ticks in the woods where the patients were bitten. The species is actually the culprit for a variety of tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme disease, babesiosis, and Siberian and Far Eastern tick-borne encephalitis. Ticks are an especially effective vector for pathogens, as they latch onto hosts and feed on their blood through every life stage. This process transfers any pathogens they are carrying to the host, and vice versa. The team of scientists discovered the virus was found in the ticks. More surprisingly, evidence of the virus also showed up in mosquitoes collected in the province of Jilin, meaning they cannot be excluded as possible vectors too. While the virus has only been reported in northeastern China so far, the researchers argue it could potentially spread elsewhere as the tick is found across East Asia, Siberia, Eastern Europe, and Northern Europe. To keep tabs on the virus and survey any potential mutations, they also obtained the complete genome of a prominent Alongshan virus strain. This revealed that the virus shares a fair number of similarities with the Jingmen virus, another tick-borne pathogen first discovered in 2014 in China. The good news is that theres no evidence the virus can spread from human-to-human. Its also relatively easy to treat. All of the patients received a combination of antiviral and antibiotic drugs, which appeared to clear up their symptoms in eight days or less. Imagine if an army of those mosquitoes was sent to the East or West That could probably turn mad! [New England Journal of medicine] (Repeats item first carried on Sunday) By Michael Martina BEIJING, June 2 (Reuters) - Three decades after China's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square, increased government suppression of rights activism has pushed the demonstrators' original goals further away than ever. In April 1989, weeks before Chinese leaders ordered a military assault to clear the protesters from central Beijing, tens of thousands of students got behind seven key demands including a free press and freedom of speech, disclosure of leaders' assets and freedom to demonstrate. With the demands embodied in a 10-meter (33 ft) high "Goddess of Democracy" sculpture modeled on the Statue of Liberty and printed on thousands of leaflets, the students defied Beijing's declaration of martial law in calling for reforms to a government rife with corruption and a country shaken by growing inequality. But rights advocates say the ruling Communist Party, which on Tuesday faces the highly sensitive June 4 anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on their own people, has in the past 10 years suppressed a civil society nurtured by years of economic development. "It is much, much worse than 1989," Shao Jiang, one of the student leaders instrumental in crafting the list of demands, told Reuters from London, where he lives in exile. "The Chinese government has turned China into a big prison," Shao said, referring to the internment of a million or more minority Muslims in its Western Xinjiang region, and the government's extensive "stability maintenance" measures to monitor dissidents. China describes the camps as vocational training centers and has justified martial law-like conditions, with mass surveillance, police patrols and DNA collection, in the name of counterterrorism. Despite a constitution that promises freedom of speech, religion and assembly, large-scale political protests like those seen in 1989 are almost unthinkable in today's China, where even small demonstrations can be quickly snuffed out by police with sophisticated digital surveillance. Story continues But those who practice more politically anodyne forms of advocacy have also run afoul of authorities. Patrick Poon, who researches China at Amnesty International, said "only very brave, diehard advocates" would raise systemic questions about governance. It is activism itself that has become the target, he said. Last year, authorities moved to contain a fledgling #MeToo movement on Chinese campuses, canceling marches and censoring online posts supporting the women's rights cause, and detained Marxist activists from some of the top universities who supported workers in the southern city of Shenzhen seeking to form an independent union. Some of the student activists are still missing. A foreign non-government organization law adopted in 2016 has put restrictions on hundreds of groups in China, forcing some to suspend operations, cancel events and forego partnerships. One foreign environmental researcher who asked to not be named told Reuters that her charity was unable to give away funds for the conservation of endangered species in China because Chinese sponsors shunned the group under the law. RIGHTS AWARENESS RISING International rights campaigners say President Xi Jinping, who took power in 2012, has accelerated efforts by the party to insulate itself from the political demands of an increasingly educated, wealthy and rights-aware population. "Rights awareness was rising. Civil society had been empowered, and the party saw this as a fundamental threat to its rule and it started to tighten up," Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said of China's renewed crackdown on lawyers and activists since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. "The values those (Tiananmen) protesters aspired to are further away than ever." The anniversary remains taboo in China and will not be marked by the government. On Thursday, China's Defence Ministry took exception to the use of the word "suppression" to refer to how the military put down the protests, and said China had made great strides. "In the last 30 years, the course of China's reforms, development and stability, the successes we have achieved have already answered this question," spokesman Wu Qian told reporters, when asked for his assessment of the anniversary. ECONOMIC FREEDOM? China has never provided a death toll of the 1989 violence, but rights groups and witnesses say it could run into the thousands. In the intervening years, China has joined the World Trade Organization and become the world's second-largest economy, lifting millions of people out of poverty. "From that day on they said, okay, we're going to give you economic freedom. In exchange you give us your submission," Wu'er Kaixi, one of the Tiananmen student leaders who now lives in Taiwan, told Reuters. That has meant efforts to stifle challenges to the party, including the jailing of dozens of rights lawyers and activists under Xi's administration. Ahead of the anniversary, censors at Chinese internet companies say tools to detect and block content related to the 1989 crackdown have reached unprecedented levels of accuracy, aided by machine learning and voice and image recognition. The party has also tightened its grip over academic freedom on university campuses. Xi has acknowledged that rampant graft and scandals over officials' extravagant lifestyles risked the party's legitimacy. But in 2014, as he escalated a sweeping anti-corruption campaign, China handed out multi-year prison sentences to numerous activists who had pushed for government officials to reveal their assets, one of the Tiananmen protesters' demands. The party, which does not have an independent anti-corruption body, still insists that it can police itself. Xi in 2018 cemented his status as China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong by removing presidential term limits from the constitution, allowing him to remain in office indefinitely. Shao, the London-based Tiananmen activist, said the world failed to hold China to account ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which symbolized the country's arrival on the world stage. Chinese leaders have been emboldened by China's economic might, and many of the world's top companies and politicians feel it is too strong to rebuke, said Shao, who was arrested briefly in 2015 by London police for protesting against a visit by Xi. "Now, democracy is not only facing problems in China," he said. "Democracy cannot survive if China is the global power." (Reporting by Michael Martina; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard, and Fabian Hamacher in TAIPEI; Editing by Nick Macfie) (Repeats Friday item without changes) By Belen Carreno and Andrei Khalip MADRID, May 31 (Reuters) - Two sets of elections in the past month have left Spanish politics deeply fragmented, paving the way for a complex and hard-to-predict round of horse-trading as the main parties seek to form alliances. At national level, acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez seems likely to stay in power after his Socialists (PSOE) won the April 28 parliamentary ballot with just over a third of seats, but it is far from clear which parties will back him to do so, for how long and what he will offer them in return. Bigger question marks hang over who will control the dominant cities of Barcelona and Madrid after Sunday's equally inconclusive regional election. And what will jailed Catalan separatist lawmakers do with their potentially pivotal parliamentary seats? Following are potential scenarios. SANCHEZ AS PM IN THE FIRST ROUND Talks between party leaders are expected to begin next week, and parliament will likely vote on a prime minister by mid-July, the acting government's spokeswoman said on Friday. To win a first-round vote, Sanchez would need support from an absolute majority of lawmakers. A combination of PSOE, their far-left ally Podemos and a few regional parties minus Catalonia's separatists would leave him at least one seat short. But parliament last week suspended four jailed separatist lawmakers being tried over their role in Catalonia's failed independence bid in 2017. If they kept their seats unfilled, Sanchez could win a second term without Catalan backing. With the independence drive overshadowing Spanish politics, negotiating support from the separatists could potentially cost Sanchez other allies. SANCHEZ WINS IN A SECOND VOTE If the four Catalans' seats were passed to other politicians who then voted against Sanchez, he would need to wait until a second round - where a simple majority would suffice - to be confirmed in office. PSOE and Podemos could achieve that with backing of all non-Catalan regional parties, plus one abstention. Story continues A TALE OF TWO CITIES Any PSOE hopes of swaying Catalan separatist votes in the national parliament might not survive implementation of a three-way alliance in Catalonia's capital Barcelona. The local brand of center-right Ciudadanos has proposed it to Podemos and the Socialists, and it would prevent the secessionists from retaining control of city hall. On the other hand it could help bridge the divide between PSOE and Ciudadanos, which has thus far been firmly opposed to a new Sanchez government. Municipalities have to choose mayors by mid-June. In Madrid, meanwhile, the mainstream conservative People's Party, Ciudadanos and far-right Vox - who allied in the southern region of Andalusia last year - would together have enough seats to take over city hall. They would also keep control of the regional government, where any deal would need to be struck by July 2. However, talks on Monday in Paris between Sanchez and French President Emmanuel Macron on European alliances make it more difficult for Ciudadanos to ally with Vox. Ciudadanos is from the same liberal camp as Macron, widely seen as a potential ally in the European Parliament for both the People's Party and the Socialists. Sanchez' ambition for Spain to have a top EU job, which requires haggling in Brussels, adds further complexity , and Vox leader Santiago Abascal is not making it easier for Ciudadanos by demanding more clout for his party than under the Andalusia deal. One alternative would be for Ciudadanos to team up with PSOE in both Madrid and its region, getting the mayor's job for itself and allowing a Socialist to take over the regional post. A national alliance between PSOE and Ciudadanos appears unlikely, but regional and European deals could make passing legislation easier for Sanchez. OUTSIDE CHANCE OF REPEAT ELECTION Parties are thought unlikely to block a Sanchez premiership, if only to avoid the stalemate over forming a government after inconclusive elections in 2015 that in 2016 led to a repeat election and a weak conservative government. "In any case, there is no alternative right now to Sanchez," said political analyst Lluis Orriols, adding that while the political cost of negotiating with PSOE would be high for Ciudadanos, it should not be ruled out. COALITION GOVERNMENT? In its four decades of democracy, Spain has never had a coalition government, and Sanchez's plan is to govern alone with the backing of other parties in parliament. But "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed," a government source told Reuters. Podemos has said it wants to be part of a coalition government, and PSOE has at least acknowledged the possibility of some posts for the far-left. (Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander, Writing by Andrei Khalip, editing by Axel Bugge and John Stonestreet) By Stephanie van den Berg THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Russia told a hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday that the court lacks jurisdiction in a case filed by Ukraine against Moscow over its alleged support of pro-Russian separatists in the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. In a 2017 filing to the ICJ, also known as the World Court, Ukraine asked judges to order Russia to stop alleged funding and equipping of pro-Kremlin forces and halt alleged discrimination of the Crimean Tartar ethnic group. Moscow has repeatedly denied sending troops or military equipment to eastern Ukraine and says Kievs claim is a roundabout way of having the court rule on the legality of Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea. Fighting in eastern Ukraine between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian government forces has claimed roughly 13,000 lives. "The case brought by Ukraine should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction," Dmitry Lobach, Russias ambassador-at-large who is representing Moscow in the case, told the court. He denied Ukraine's accusation that Russia was involved in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over rebel-held Ukraine in July 2014 and had thereby violated the U.N. anti-terrorism convention. Kiev had failed to show that Moscow had the "intent and knowlegde" required by the convention which would trigger jurisdiction of the court, he said. The airline crashed after being hit by a Russian-made Buk missile, killing 298 passengers and crew. Lobach said a six-country investigative team led by the Netherlands - which concluded that the launcher carrying the surface-to-air missile had come from a Russian base - gave no answer why the aircraft was shot down and who was responsible. This weeks hearings will focus only on the question of jurisdiction, a decision on which could be rendered late this year or early in 2020. (Editing by Anthony Deutsch and Raissa Kasolowsky) Moscow (AFP) - Popular dating app Tinder is now required to share users' data with Russian security services after being placed on an official register, the country's telecoms watchdog said Monday. Tinder has over 50 million users swiping right to select dating profiles and find a match. It is part of the US-based Match Group of social apps whose parent firm is InterActiveCorp. The Roskomnadzor watchdog said that Tinder has been added to its register "after it presented the necessary information". Roskomnadzor -- together with Russia's law enforcement authorities and security agencies including the feared FSB, the successor to the KGB -- keeps a register of so-called "organisers of information distribution". The register lists 175 sites and services including Russia's biggest bank Sberbank and the country's popular social media network VK. By law, the companies on the register must store user data in Russia for six months -- including the content of messages exchanged -- and hand over any of the information to law enforcement authorities if requested to do so. If the company refuses to comply, the authorities can act to block sites, as was the case last year with the embattled Telegram messaging app, created by maverick Russian Internet guru Pavel Durov. In a statement, a Tinder spokesperson said the company had "received a request to register with the Russian authorities, and, as of now, we have registered to be compliant". "However, this registration in no way shares any user or personal data with any Russian regulatory bodies and we have not handed over any data to their government," the spokesperson added. Some Russian internet users made fun of the move, warning that FSB officers will now have access to any steamy correspondence or unrequited pickup attempts. Damascus (AFP) - Israel launched a second round of strikes against Syria in 24 hours on Sunday, state media reported, as US President Donald Trump called on Russia and Iran to "stop bombing the hell" out of the war-torn country. Syria accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province, reportedly killing five people, just hours after carrying out retaliatory attacks on military and intelligence posts south of Damascus, killing 10. "Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase," a military source told state news agency SANA said Sunday evening. The remaining rockets "killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse," the source added. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five killed, including one Syrian soldier, adding that a rocket warehouse was destroyed. In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed at the airbase, according to the monitor. Hours earlier, Israel said it had carried out strikes in the province of Quneitra, which includes the Golan Heights, most of which is occupied and annexed by Israel. It said the attack was in response to rare rocket fire from its neighbour late Saturday. Two rockets were fired from Syria at Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and one had been "located within Israeli territory," the Israeli Army said. The Observatory said 10 were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters in the attack south of the capital. - STOP! - Late Sunday, Trump tweeted calling for an end to the bombing in the jihadist stronghold of the northwestern region of Idlib. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. "The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" he said on Twitter shortly before he departed for a state visit to Britain. Story continues As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces allied to President Bashar al-Assad have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkey's border, Syrian NGOs have said. Meanwhile, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. The country 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 which has killed more than 370,000 people. The Jewish state insists that it has the right to continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah out of self-defence. "We won't tolerate fire at our territory and will respond forcefully to any aggression against us," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, after the first strikes. The attacks come amid soaring tensions between Iran and the United States. The stand-off had been simmering since the US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty which Iran reached with major world powers. In recent weeks Washington has accused Iran of alleged threats and deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf. By Michael Georgy KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Security forces stormed a protest camp in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday and opposition-linked medics said more than 35 people were killed in the worst violence since the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April. Footage shared on social media from Monday morning and verified by Reuters showed chaotic scenes of people fleeing through streets as sustained bursts of gunfire crackled in the air during violence that drew rapid Western and African censure. Sporadic rounds of gunfire could still be heard in several neighborhoods until the early hours of Tuesday morning, Reuters witnesses said. The violence dashed hopes for a restart to stalled talks between the main opposition coalition and the ruling military council over who should govern in a transitional period after Bashir's overthrow. The witnesses said protesters set up barricades made of blocks, scrap metal and light poles pulled down from the sidewalks throughout the streets of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman across the Nile. A sit-in next to the Defence Ministry, the focal point of anti-government protests that started in December, had been cleared, witnesses said. A group of doctors linked to the opposition said at least 35 people had been "martyred" in Monday's violence, with the toll expected to rise. The group had earlier said at least 116 people were wounded. The main protest group accused the ruling military council of perpetrating "a massacre" as it broke up the camp. The Transitional Military Council (TMC) denied that, with a spokesman, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, telling Reuters security forces were pursuing "unruly elements" who had fled to the protest site and caused chaos. "The Transitional Military Council regrets the way the situation unfolded, reaffirming its full commitment to the ... safety of the citizens and renews its call for negotiations as soon as possible," the council later said in a statement. Story continues Sudan's public prosecutor on Monday ordered an investigation into the violence, state news agency SUNA said. TALKS HALTED An alliance of protest and opposition groups that had been negotiating with the military for weeks said it was halting all contact with the council. The TMC had offered to let protesters form a government but insisted on maintaining overall authority during an interim period. Demonstrators want civilians to run the transitional period and lead Sudan's 40 million people to democracy. The protest-linked doctors group said security forces surrounded one Khartoum hospital and opened fire at another where they were pursuing protesters. "The protesters holding a sit-in in front of the army general command are facing a massacre in a treacherous attempt to disperse the protest," said the main protest organizer, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA). The SPA said it would declare Tuesday to be the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, another attempt to contradict the TMC which said the holiday would start on Wednesday. The move is highly symbolic in Sudan, where people strictly observe the holy month of Ramadan and subsequent festivities. The United Nations, African Union and European Union expressed deep concern, some explicitly blaming the military. "What is clear to us is that there was use of excessive force by the security forces on civilians," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Britain's ambassador Irfan Siddiq said he heard gunfire for more than an hour from his residence. "No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now," he wrote on Twitter. "Responsibility falls on the TMC. The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan," added the U.S. embassy. The European Union urged a speedy transfer of power to civilians. Neighboring Egypt called for "calm and restraint", while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it hoped that dialogue would prevail in Sudan. "The regional experience has taught us that the orderly and conservative transition of the state and its institutions is the only way to avoid years of chaos and loss," Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter. SMOKE AND STONES As the protests unfurled in Khartoum, demonstrators hurled stones at security forces, who charged amid sounds of intense gunfire. A Reuters witness saw troops wielding batons, including riot police and members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), deploy in central Khartoum and close roads, apparently to try to block people from reaching the protest site. The RSF is commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the military council's deputy head. Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is a close ally of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and sent Sudanese troops to join the coalition they lead in Yemen's civil war. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are eager to root out Islamists who dominated in Sudan under Bashir's three-decade rule. The military's role in ousting Bashir has raised fears among many Sudanese that their country could follow a similar path to neighboring Egypt after its 2011 uprising. There, a military council oversaw a turbulent and sometimes violent transition before army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led the overthrow of Egypt's first freely elected president, Mohamed Mursi. Sisi was elected president in 2014 and again in 2018 with 97 percent of the vote. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Michael Georgy in Khartoum; Additional reporting by Ali Abdelaty, Omar Fahmy, Lena Masri and Yousef Saba in Cairo; Writing by Sami Aboudi, Aidan Lewis and Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Catherine Evans and Sonya Hepinstall) Photo credit: BFI From Popular Mechanics Solar eclipses were long thought to be magic. In fact, ancient female astronomers like Hypatia and Aglaonice of Thessaly were called witches when they accurately predicted the occurrence of an eclipse. Of course, we now know that eclipses are the result of the moon blotting out the sun for a temporary period. But back in 1900, people couldn't just fire up YouTube to catch a glimpse of the astronomical phenomenon. So to those who had never seen such a thing before (i.e. everyone), the first filmed footage of a solar eclipse must've looked pretty, well, magical. Now the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) and the British Film Institute (BFI) has restored that incredible footage-the oldest on record-and you can watch it here: The video was originally filmed in May 1900 in North Carolina by Nevil Maskelyne, a novice filmmaker and member of the RAS. More importantly, Maskelyne was also a magician, so he was used to wowing audiences with spectacular sights. To capture the footage of the eclipse, he had to attach a special lens to his camera called a cinematograph telescope. Later that year, Maskelyne screened the footage at the Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly, London as a prelude to his magic show. The RAS has the original film and worked jointly with the BFI to scan and restore the video in 4K, per a press release. The original version was filmed between five and six frames per second on celluloid, a plastic material derived from camphor and nitrocellulose, and the entire film was digitized at nine frames per second to produce a higher quality picture. The eclipse footage is part of BFI's free "Victorian Film" series, which features 500 movies of British origin that were created between 1895 and 1901 in honor of Queen Victoria's 200th birthday. Source: LiveScience ('You Might Also Like',) WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - A group of U.S. senators on Monday asked the U.S. Justice Department to disclose if President Donald Trump or anyone else in the White House has sought to interfere in an ongoing review of the proposed $26 billion merger of T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp . The six Democratic senators, including Richard Blumenthal, Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker, cited media reports that senior White House officials may be attempting to insert their views. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately comment on the senators' letter, which went to the Justice Department on Monday. The deal won support from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission last month, but still needs approval from the Justice Department, which is looking at the merger on antitrust grounds. (Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) More than 50 congressional Democrats reportedly back impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump. But on Sunday morning, senior figures highlighted the split that remains between those demanding swift action and their party leaders. Related: Siege review: Michael Wolff's Trump tale is Fire and Fury II fire harder Adam Schiff, the House intelligence committee chair, was asked if he and House speaker Nancy Pelosi could hold the line against mounting calls for impeachment. Were going to do whats right for the country, Schiff told ABCs This Week, and at this point, the speaker has not reached the conclusion and I havent either its best for the country to put us through an impeachment proceeding that we know is destined for failure in the [Republican-held] Senate. Now, that calculus may change if the president continues to stonewall [against congressional oversight], if the president continues to demonstrate his unfitness for office. There may be little additional cost to going through that process. I think if it is a close call, close calls go against putting the country through that Adam Schiff Calls for impeachment have intensified in the wake of a press conference on Wednesday in which Robert Mueller undermined Trump and his allies claims of exoneration over Russian election interference, links between Trump and Moscow and the obstruction of justice. If we had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, Mueller said, we would have said that. Pelosi has said publicly that Trump appears to be goading Democrats toward impeachment, thinking it will ramp up support from his base. But she has also called impeachment a fools errand and maintained: You dont bring an impeachment unless you have all the facts. The speaker is reported to have said privately that it would be imprudent to impeach as the 2020 election approaches. Schiff conceded that impeachment proceedings would be, in a way the ultimate form of censure in the House. Story continues But were not there yet, he said, and I think if it is a close call, close calls go against putting the country through that. We have an important legislative agenda to try to advance, we have important oversight work we can do outside the context of impeachment, and I think at this point that is still the preferred course. Schiff also slammed the Republican party, saying it has turned itself into a cult of the presidents personality that is unlikely to abide by its constitutional duties. House majority whip James Clyburn told CNNs State of the Union Congress has to determine the timing for impeachment. We think that we have to bring the public along James Clyburn What Nancy Pelosi is trying to do, and the rest of us in the House of Representatives, is to develop a process by which we can efficiently move on this issue, so that, when we get to a vote, it would be something that she calls ironclad, I call effective, he said. Asked if House Democrats were waiting for signs of support from the public or among Senate Republicans, he said: We think that we have to bring the public along. Democrats arent waiting on the Senate, Clyburn said, although he suggested that properly executed House proceedings might prompt the Senate to act. Asked if he thought Trump would be impeached, just not right now, Clyburn said: Yes, [thats] exactly what I feel. I think we have already begun. We have got all of these committees doing their work. Were having hearings. We have already won two court cases. And there are other cases that are still to be determined. Related: 'No idea too lunatic': how Trump's shock troops attack US democracy So, why should we get out in front of this process? Why dont we just continue to go along? And right now, we are winning this issue. The New Jersey senator Cory Booker, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, was asked on CNN why he voiced full support of impeachment for the first time after Mueller spoke. Well, it was a few weeks of seeing a president who wants to undermine constitutional intent, and say that hes above the law, Booker said. He has not been complying with subpoenas. He has not been complying with legitimate congressional inquiries to continue the investigation that Mueller, very specifically, said its on Congress now to continue after he put this report forward that clearly indicated that there is potential corruption and obstruction of justice. This president is not above the law. He should not be able to stop the checks and balances on the executive. And I feel like we have a moral obligation now to investigate this president. By Gemma Handy BRITAINs overseas territories are the biggest enablers of corporate tax avoidance responsible for much of the $500 billion dodged by multinational companies worldwide each year research claims. The British Virgin Islands, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are named as the worlds top three "most corrosive places respectively by the Tax Justice Network which published its Corporate Tax Haven Index on Tuesday (May 28). The UK itself is placed 13th, adding additional fuel to the controversy, while its Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man also make the top 20. The Bahamas is in ninth place, despite recent international tax compliance efforts. The TCI is 32nd on the list of 64 jurisdictions, a status mitigated by the small size of its offshore financial services sector compared to its regional counterparts. But its appearance delivers a fresh blow to efforts to portray itself as a transparent, compliant jurisdiction and increases ammunition for advocates of controversial public registers of beneficial ownership. The index is a first of its kind, objective measure of the countries and territories that have done the most damage to the global tax system. It rests on two measures: a corporate tax haven score, reflecting how aggressively each jurisdiction uses tax cuts, loopholes, secrecy and other mechanisms to attract abusive multinational activity; and a global scale weight, reflecting how big a player it is in cross-border activity. The score is assembled using 20 different indicators, including things like foreign investment income treatment, capital gains taxation and public company accounts. The TCI, along with all other British territories in the region with the exception of Montserrat, scores 100 the worst on each. The index acknowledges the Islands share of global investment by multinational corporations to be tiny. By contrast, the BVI, Bermuda and the Cayman Islands are all cited as having a large share. In London, political opponents to the Conservative-led government wasted no time in lambasting the findings. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell described the British governments record on tax avoidance as "embarrassing and shameful. "The only way the UK stands out internationally on tax is in leading a race to the bottom, in creating tax loopholes and dismantling the tax systems of countries in the global south, he was quoted as saying. "The rot has to stop. While Tory leadership hopefuls promise tax giveaways for the rich, a Labour government will implement the most comprehensive plan ever seen in the UK to tackle tax avoidance and evasion, McDonnell added. The Tax Justice Network said the $500 billion dodged annually by multinationals was "enough to pay the UNs under-funded humanitarian aid budget 20 times over every year. And it had harsh words for the UK, accusing it of effectively outsourcing the corporate tax haven game to a "spiders web of territories and dependencies. Their "half-in, half-out arrangement with Britain "allows the City of London to benefit from often nefarious activities run out of these secrecy jurisdictionswhile allowing the British government to maintain distance when scandals arise, the network added in a statement. The indexs release is likely to bolster many British MPs calls for faster implementation of public registers revealing the owners of companies based in overseas territories, a demand backed by the recent Foreign Affairs Committee report. Indeed, the Tax Justice Networks researchers said new rules were needed to "tax corporations where employees work, not where ledgers hide. The current deadline for OTs to open up registers to scrutiny is the end of 2023, a three-year extension to the previous deadline. OT leaders have hit out at the plans fearing it will damage lucrative financial services industries. In TCI, the sector is said to account for 12 percent of GDP. Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has long maintained that public central registers are the most effective and practical way to record information on beneficial ownership and facilitate access for the authorities. However, it has also warned that reliability of information could pose problems with those responsible for keeping them often lacking the capacity or mandate to verify the information provided. Seventy-five years after American troops landed in smoke, fire and chaos on the beaches of Normandy, France, a Maryland woman is fighting for recognition for her late husband, who is likely D-Days last unsung hero. Corporal Waverly Woody Woodson Jr., was a 21-year-old medic from West Philadelphia when he splashed down in four feet of churning sea and waded toward Omaha Beach around 9 a.m. on the morning of June 6, 1944. Woodson was wounded, hit by burning shrapnel that raked his landing craft and ripped open his buttocks and thigh. The soldier next to him was killed. A medic slapped dressings on Woodsons wounds, and they, along with three other medics in their crew, crept up the beach while crouched behind a tank. They were the first African-Americans to set their boots on Omaha Beach. For the next 30 hours, Woodson would survive German snipers and his own searing pain to save scores of lives. Decades later, Woodson would learn that he had been nominated for the Medal of Honor. But he would not receive it, not even when President Bill Clinton belatedly awarded the nations highest award for valor in 1997 to seven black soldiers whod been denied their D-Day decorations by an Army afflicted by institutional racism. History has been made whole today, Clinton said. Woodsons white marble gravestone at Arlington National Cemetery is inscribed with his final Army rank staff sergeant and his decorations, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, the fourth-highest award for bravery. Joann Woodson visits her husbands grave at Arlington National Cemetery with his favorite red roses. | Linda Hervieux Waverly Woodson died in 2005 but his widow, Joann Woodson, who turned 90 on May 26, has made it her mission to see that her husbands heroism is acknowledged. I will fight for him as long as I live, Woodson said from her home in Clarksburg, outside Washington, D.C. Woodson was part of the 320th Barrage Balloon Battalion, the only African-American combat unit to participate in the D-Day landings. Their strange mission was to raise a curtain of hydrogen-filled balloons high over Omaha and Utah Beaches. The steel cable that anchored the balloons to the ground served as a terrifying obstacle for German dive-bombers. It could sheer off a wing. A cable strike also triggered a small bomb attached to just under the balloon that packed a potentially lethal punch for a hapless plane ensnared in the trap. Story continues The 320th was all but written out of the story of D-Day. There were no black soldiers on D-Day, I was told, repeatedly, as I was researching my book about the 320th. The majority of books and all of the movies about D-Day omit them, although Saving Private Ryan shows their balloons. In fact, by nightfall on D-Day, nearly 2,000 African-American troops had landed on Omaha and Utah Beaches. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter Most of those soldiers were assigned to service and labor battalions, which were the jobs the Army disproportionately relegated to black soldiers. On Omaha Beach, the Hollywood director John Ford, who came ashore with a Coast Guard camera crew, watched from a point of safety as a black soldier ferried supplies from a ship, seemingly oblivious to the punishing machine-gun fire that strafed the sand around him. I thought, By God, if anybody deserves a medal that man does, Ford would later recall. Years after the war, Gen. Omar Bradley, wartime commander of the First U.S. Army, observed that every man who set foot on Omaha Beach that day was a hero. For many D-Day veterans who performed extraordinary acts of bravery on that very long day, Bradleys homage would have to do. For Woodsons family, that is not enough. Theyve started an online petition to win Woodson the accolades that even some in the Army believed he deserved. An Army news release from August 1944 rare for a black soldier lauded Woodson for treating more than 200 men. And, more significantly, a faded hand-written note tucked in a folder at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Mo., reveals that an American general in Britain believed Woodson deserved better than the Distinguished Service Cross for which he had been recommended. Here is a Negro from Philadelphia who has been recommended for a suitable award, the unsigned note says. This is a big enough award that the President can give it personally, as he has in the case of some white boys. The writer, who was almost certainly Philleo Nash, an official in the Office of War Information, addressed his message to Jonathan, who was presumably Jonathan Daniels, his frequent correspondent and an aide to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen Jr., has led the charge on Capitol Hill to persuade the Army to reconsider Woodsons case. Corporal Woodson was a hero who saved dozens, if not hundreds, of lives on Omaha Beach. His courage deserves to be honored with the Medal of Honor, Van Hollen said in a statement. So far, the Army has been unmoved. A trail of records, and new evidence such as a first-hand witness, is needed to right historical wrongs, and Woodsons files are missing. This was the reason cited by the Army for denying Woodson the Medal of Honor back in 1997. Only a tiny percentage of records from World War II made it to the National Archives. And a fire in 1973 at the Armys Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Mo., destroyed the majority of World War II documents there. In the summer of 1944, Woodson was a star. Newspapermen came to interview the modest pre-med student, and the local paper in Philly called him No. 1 invasion hero. For the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994, the French government invited Woodson and two other vets on an all-expenses-paid trip to Normandy and presented Waverly with a palm-sized medal commemorating his service. I was the only black man of the three, Woodson said proudly at the time. As the next big anniversary of D-Day nears, Joann Woodson is hoping the Army will make an exception to their records rule. Seventy-five years is a long time to wait for justice, she said. Linda Hervieux is the author of Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day Black Heroes, At Home and At War (Harper). Corrections: June 3 and 4, 2019 The original version of this story misstated the year during which the 50th anniversary of D-Day was commemorated. It was 1994, not 1944. It also contained a photograph incorrectly captioned as depicting a barrage balloon. It has been removed. BEIRUT (AP) A lone gunman using a motorcycle fired on police and army vehicles in different parts of the northern city of Tripoli, killing two police officers and a soldier and wounding several others Monday night before blowing himself up later when confronted by troops, Lebanon's army and the state-run National News Agency said. Troops were deployed in areas of the city to search for the attacker, who was tracked down to an apartment, the army said. It said members of an elite military intelligence force stormed the apartment early Tuesday and opened fire at the suspect, who then set off an explosive belt he was wearing. "The operation is over," an army officer told local LBC television. Troops and plainclothes security agents surrounded the area and prevented anyone from entering the building. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. The army identified the gunman as Abdul-Rahman Mabsout, but gave no other details. LBC said Mabsout was a former member of the Islamic State group who fought with the extremist movement in Syria. It said he had been detained when he returned to Lebanon in 2016 and was released a year later. The attack occurred on the eve of Eid el-Fitr, the feast that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of fasting. The Lebanese army announced earlier that it has increased security around the country because of Eid el-Fitr, when people go out to celebrate. The military statement said the shooter first fired at a branch of the Lebanese Central Bank, then shot at police and later at an army vehicle. It said one soldier was killed and two others wounded in the shooting at the army vehicle. The state news agency said a police officer died on the spot and another died of his wounds in a hospital later. It said another officer was wounded. Tripoli, which is Lebanon's second largest city, has seen in the past clashes between rival groups that support or oppose the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. The city is also home to some extremists who fought against the Lebanese army in the past. The Islamic State group and al-Qaida-linked militants have claimed responsibility over the past years for attacks in different parts of Lebanon that killed dozens of people. Such attacks have been rare recently. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! For investors with a long-term horizon, examining earnings trend over time and against industry peers is more insightful than looking at an earnings announcement in one point in time. Investors may find my commentary, albeit very high-level and brief, on SKF India Limited (NSE:SKFINDIA) useful as an attempt to give more color around how SKF India is currently performing. View our latest analysis for SKF India How SKFINDIA fared against its long-term earnings performance and its industry SKFINDIA's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 31 March 2019) of 3.4b has jumped 13% compared to the previous year. Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has exceeded its 5-year annual growth average of 12%, indicating the rate at which SKFINDIA is growing has accelerated. What's enabled this growth? Let's take a look at if it is only because of an industry uplift, or if SKF India has experienced some company-specific growth. NSEI:SKFINDIA Income Statement, June 3rd 2019 In terms of returns from investment, SKF India has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 20% instead. However, its return on assets (ROA) of 15% exceeds the IN Machinery industry of 7.6%, indicating SKF India has used its assets more efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for SKF Indias debt level, has increased over the past 3 years from 15% to 25%. What does this mean? While past data is useful, it doesnt tell the whole story. While SKF India has a good historical track record with positive growth and profitability, there's no certainty that this will extrapolate into the future. I suggest you continue to research SKF India to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at: Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for SKFINDIAs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for SKFINDIAs outlook. Financial Health: Are SKFINDIAs operations financially sustainable? Balance sheets can be hard to analyze, which is why weve done it for you. Check out our financial health checks here. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the trailing twelve months from 31 March 2019. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading. ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) A failed traffic stop in South Carolina ended with the driver and a state trooper shooting each other. South Carolina Department of Public Safety Director Leroy Smith says Trooper Paul Wise attempted to pull over a car late Sunday in York County for a suspected seat belt violation, but the driver fled. Smith tells news outlets the ensuing pursuit ended with the driver fleeing his car on foot and shooting Wise, who was wearing body armor. Smith says the trooper then shot and arrested the driver. The men were hospitalized with injuries not considered to be life threatening, and the trooper was released Monday. Authorities said the driver, 27-year-old Willie Bernard Wright of Gaffney, would face charges once released from the hospital. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating. Sri Lanka's Muslim ministers resigned en masse Monday over widespread hate attacks against their community in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings that hit the majority Buddhist nation. The resignation of nine government legislators, several of them cabinet ministers, came after a Buddhist monk lawmaker supporting President Maithripala Sirisena demanded the sacking of three top Muslim politicians. Demonstrations by several thousand people gripped the central pilgrim city of Kandy as monk Athuraliye Ratana insisted governors of two provinces and a cabinet minister be sacked over their alleged involvement with jihadists responsible for the bombings. Even as shops and offices were closed in the city 115 kilometres (70 miles) east of Colombo, the two provincial governors stepped down, Sirisena's office said. Within hours, the nine legislators, belonging to several Muslim and mainstream parties, resigned saying they were giving up their portfolios to ensure free investigations into the Easter attacks. The nine included Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, the cabinet minister whose sacking had been demanded by Ratana. Muslim leaders said their community -- which consists of 10 percent of Sri Lanka's 21 million population -- had become victims of violence, hate speech and harassment since Islamic extremists were held responsible for the bombings. Water Supply Minister Rauff Hakeem said Muslims had cooperated with security forces to arrest suspects, but the community faced collective victimisation. "We want an end to hate speech, an end to the culture of hate and the culture of impunity for those engaging in hate," Hakeem told reporters shortly after quitting the cabinet. He said the Muslims were giving up their portfolios in the hope that the authorities will fully investigate the allegations against members of their community within a month. The ministers who quit Monday will remain loyal to the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, they said in a joint statement. Story continues -Death fast ends- Inside Kandy's famed Temple of the Tooth, where Buddhists believe a tooth of the Buddha is enshrined, prominent monk Ratana ended what he had called a "death fast" since the weekend after the first two resignations. The monk was taken away in an ambulance for medical treatment. Also present earlier in the day was Galagodaatte Gnanasara, a firebrand monk released from jail on a presidential pardon late last month who has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against Muslims. Buddhist monks accuse the three Muslim leaders of supporting the Islamic extremists responsible for the April 21 attacks on three churches and three hotels that killed 258 people including 45 foreigners. The head of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, also travelled to Kandy on Monday to express solidarity with Ratana. "We support the monk's campaign because so far justice has not been served," Ranjith told reporters in Kandy. Government spokesman and Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera criticised Ranjith for supporting "communalism". "Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith fanning the flames of hatred and communalism by visiting fasting robed MP Ratana. Vatican TAKE NOTE!" Samaraweera said on Twitter. The government has said nearly 100 people linked to local jihad group, the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ), have been arrested since the attacks. In the wake of the bombings, anti-Muslim riots spread in towns north of the capital killing one Muslim man and leaving hundreds of homes, shops and mosques vandalised. "The demonstrations fizzled out peacefully by afternoon," a police official told AFP. Sri Lanka is under a state of emergency since the Easter attacks. Police and troops have been empowered to arrest and detain suspects for long periods. In March last year, a week of anti-Muslim riots in a suburb of Kandy left three people dead and more than 20 injured. More than 200 Muslim-owned homes and shops were also destroyed and the government clamped a brief state of emergency in the area to contain the violence. By Ranga Sirilal COLOMBO (Reuters) - Eight Muslim government officials in Sri Lanka quit their portfolios on Monday in solidarity with the industry minister accused by the opposition of supporting Islamist militants who killed more than 250 people on Easter Sunday. However, the three ministers and five junior ministers only resigned from their portfolios, not from the government or their parties, so there was no immediate risk to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's parliamentary coalition. Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena have been on the back foot since the bombings of churches and hotels, facing criticism the government failed to act on warnings of the attacks and struggled to contain subsequent anti-Muslim riots. At the same time, Muslim leaders say there is growing persecution against them in the majority Sinhala Buddhist island. The resignations undercut a planned no-confidence motion led by supporters of nationalist former President Mahinda Rajapaksa against Industry Minister Rishad Bathiudeen, who also resigned from the ministry on Monday, making the motion unviable. The motion contained 10 accusations against Bathiudeen, including charges that he provided ammunition to a factory owned by one of the April 21 bombers and that he pressured the army to release suspects arrested in connection with the attacks. Bathiudeen's accusers have not provided evidence for their accusations, which Bathiudeen has denied. The ministers said their resignations would allow investigators to probe the claims without interference. The mass resignations also deflect attention from Bathiudeen while halting the no-confidence motion that could hurt the government. "We will not leave the government - we will protect the government" Rauff Hakeem, formerly minister of city planning, water supply and higher education, said at the prime minister's residence. Powerful Buddhist monks have been piling pressure on Muslim politicians. Story continues Opposition lawmaker and Buddhist monk Athuraliye Ratana Thero launched a hunger strike on Friday in front of a sacred temple in the central Kandy district demanding the resignation of Bathiudeen and two Muslim governors. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara, head of the hardline Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or "Buddhist Power Force", had threatened to press for national protests if the men were not sacked by noon on Monday. Gnanasara had been serving a six-year sentence for contempt of court, but was freed thanks to a presidential pardon last month. Some Sri Lankans shut stores and halted public transport in parts of the island on Monday to support the monks. Two Muslim governors, M. L. A. M. Hizbullah and Azath Salley also resigned on Monday. It was not immediately clear who might replace them or the ministers. A presidential election is due this year, with Rajapaksa's brother, former wartime defense chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa, set to run. (Editing by Alexandra Ulmer and Frances Kerry) By Lisa Rapaport Poor people with opioid use disorders may struggle to find doctors to prescribe the anti-addiction drug buprenorphine in U.S. states with the highest overdose death rates, a new study suggests. In 2018, researchers posing as patients called to schedule appointments for a buprenorphine prescription at 1,092 clinics with 546 clinicians who could offer the drug. The clinics were located in the places with high rates of opioid overdose deaths in 2016: Massachusetts; Maryland; New Hampshire; Ohio; West Virginia; and Washington, D.C. These "secret shoppers" said they were uninsured or had coverage through Medicaid, the U.S. health program for the poor. When callers got through to appointment schedulers, clinicians offered appointments to just 54 percent of Medicaid "patients" and 62 percent of uninsured "patients." And "patients" were told they could get buprenorphine prescriptions at their first visit just 27 percent of the time with Medicaid and 41 percent of the time when they were uninsured. "It can be hard to find the doctor that accepts your insurance and has openings, but there are doctors out there who can offer quick access," said senior study author Dr. Michael Barnett of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. "The tough part is finding them," Barnett said by email. Buprenorphine is considered among the best options for treating opioid use disorder because it reduces cravings for heroin and other opioids by binding to the same receptors in the brain that respond to opioids. Buprenorphine can be dispensed in outpatient clinics, making it more convenient than rehab options that require an overnight stay. And the medication rapidly relieves withdrawal symptoms without causing a euphoric high. "Because users have much less need to seek dangerous opioids like heroin or fentanyl while on buprenorphine, their risk for overdose is much lower," Barnett said. "Getting quick access to treatment can be very important because data shows that treatment delays are a high risk period for repeated overdose." Story continues Wait times for buprenorphine appointments in the study were similar regardless of the type of clinician or the type of insurance. Half of the "patients" couldn't get an initial appointment for buprenorphine for at least six days with Medicaid coverage and five days without insurance. And, half of the patients couldn't start taking buprenorphine for at least eight days after their initial office visit with Medicaid and at least seven days without insurance. However, some "patients" would have waited almost two weeks to start treatment. Without insurance, half of the patients would pay at least $250 to start taking buprenorphine. And 19 providers, or 5 percent, said the cost would be at least twice that high. Half of the clinicians who discussed pricing also said there could be additional fees for urine drug testing or other lab work before patients could start taking buprenorphine. The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how appointment availability or treatment timing might directly impact outcomes for patients seeking buprenorphine. One limitation of the study is that it excluded most U.S. states, researchers note in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Another drawback is that the states that were included all expanded Medicaid eligibility under Obamacare, which might impact both access and affordability of buprenorphine treatment - but the study couldn't account for that. It's also not clear from the study why it's harder to get seen with Medicaid, said Dr. Pooja Lagisetty of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, an author of an accompanying editorial. Doctors might not accept Medicaid because of legal or "red tape" conerns like excessive paperwork, or because of low reimbursement rates, or some combinations of these issues, Lagisetty said by email. "Willing clinicians are often available for same-day or appointments within a week, demonstrating that they do have availability, and many said yes and had short wait times," Lagisetty said. "However, there was a very large proportion of clinicians who couldn't even be reached," Lagisetty added. "It is unclear whether these clinicians are saying no because they are at capacity versus they are just not providing treatment at all -- I suspect many may fall into the latter category." SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2Z4SCpW Annals of Internal Medicine, online June 3, 2019. DUTY concessions, the tax fee amnesty and appointments were discussed at the latest meeting of the Cabinet on May 29. Governor John Freeman chaired the 14th meeting at the Office of the Premier and Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment, Durhams Building, Lighthouse Road in Grand Turk. All ministers were present except Hon. Goldray Ewing, Minister of Home Affairs, Public Utilities and Transportation. At this meeting Cabinet: -Approved DECR management responsibility over parcel 10503/1 to administer the operations of the beach park in accordance with S. 28(6) of the Crown Land Ordinance, subject to various conditions to develop licences for Cabinet approval. -Approved an application by Core Resources for long term lease over parcels 60605/73 and 78: and easement over a portion of parcel 60605/179 Norway and Five Cays, Providenciales. -Approved a renewal policy for the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC) 2019-2020 Policy Year. -Approved a Grace Bay Club request for duty concessions for purposes of refurbishment. -Approved a ban on the importation of EPS (Styrofoam/polystyrene products) and plastic straws from November 1, 2019, and the use of same by retailers from April 1, 2020. -Approved a proposal for rental of the former Scotia Bank space at Waterloo Plaza office complex, Grand Turk, for a period of two years for the purpose of carrying out Treasury business while major renovations are being carried out in their current premises. -Approved the announcement by the Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture, Library and Social Services proposal of a Safe School Declaration with associated provisioning funded by UNICEF. -Noted the waivers granted for the quarter January to March 2019 according to the provisions of Section 21 of the Public Procurement Ordinance and the change in status of the waiver granted for the quarter April to June 2018. -Noted the Report on the Contract Awards for Non-Recurrent Projects for the Financial Year 2018-2019, in line with the process as required by the Public Procurement Ordinance. -Approved the Fixed Asset Policies and Procedures to be enforced early within the FY 2019-2020. -Approved the establishment of a Cruise Steering Committee as an advisory body to the Minister of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture. -Approved the appointments of Floyd Seymour and Alvin Garland to the NIB Board as per CAP 17.09 Schedule 3, 1(b) and (c) respectively. Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson updated the Cabinet on the amnesty under the HRTT Ordinance and committed to presenting a full report on same once closed on May 31. The premier updated the Cabinet on urgent matters relating to the aviation industry. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Today we'll evaluate Steel Authority of India Limited (NSE:SAIL) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires. First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Last but not least, we'll look at what impact its current liabilities have on its ROCE. Understanding Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. All else being equal, a better business will have a higher ROCE. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.' How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed? Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) Or for Steel Authority of India: 0.095 = 69b (1.2t - 434b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2019.) Therefore, Steel Authority of India has an ROCE of 9.5%. Check out our latest analysis for Steel Authority of India Does Steel Authority of India Have A Good ROCE? One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. We can see Steel Authority of India's ROCE is meaningfully below the Metals and Mining industry average of 15%. This performance could be negative if sustained, as it suggests the business may underperform its industry. Independently of how Steel Authority of India compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms is low; especially compared to the ~7.6% available in government bonds. There are potentially more appealing investments elsewhere. Story continues Steel Authority of India has an ROCE of 9.5%, but it didn't have an ROCE 3 years ago, since it was unprofitable. That implies the business has been improving. NSEI:SAIL Past Revenue and Net Income, June 3rd 2019 When considering ROCE, bear in mind that it reflects the past and does not necessarily predict the future. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is only a point-in-time measure. Given the industry it operates in, Steel Authority of India could be considered cyclical. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared a free report on analyst forecasts for Steel Authority of India. Do Steel Authority of India's Current Liabilities Skew Its ROCE? Liabilities, such as supplier bills and bank overdrafts, are referred to as current liabilities if they need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets. Steel Authority of India has total assets of 1.2t and current liabilities of 434b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 38% of its total assets. With a medium level of current liabilities boosting the ROCE a little, Steel Authority of India's low ROCE is unappealing. Our Take On Steel Authority of India's ROCE There are likely better investments out there. But note: make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20). If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them). 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. By Emma Batha VANCOUVER, June 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - World leaders are failing 1.4 billion girls and women on promises of a fairer future, according to a global index launched at the world's biggest gender equality conference. The research shows the world is way off track to meet a 2030 deadline for achieving gender equality, with not one country having reached the "last mile." Some 8,000 delegates from 165+ countries - from world leaders to grassroots activists - are attending the Women Deliver conference in Vancouver. Speakers include the founder of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, a Nigerian woman kidnapped by Boko Haram jihadists and a Pakistani squash champion who evaded the Taliban by living as a boy. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who describes himself as a feminist, will open the event on Monday, launching four days of debates on everything from climate change and gender to women's political empowerment. Abortion rights will also be a hot issue amid concern over new restrictions imposed by a wave of U.S. states. Katja Iversen, president of Women Deliver, said the world had reached a "tipping point" on gender equality. "(There are) conservative winds - sometimes it feels like a storm - blowing against women's rights," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. But she also saw a "super momentum" on gender equality and urged everyone to "dream big." In 2015, world leaders did just that when they placed girls and women at the heart of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promising sweeping transformations by 2030. The new index ranks 129 countries on dozens of SDG targets related to women, be it health, education, violence or work. WAKE-UP CALL Denmark, Finland and Sweden topped the list, while Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad came bottom. Nearly 40% of girls and women - 1.4 billion - live in countries graded "very poor"; another 1.4 billion in countries graded "poor." Story continues Only 8% of girls and women live in countries ranked "good." No country achieved an "excellent" score, while the global average was "poor." Philanthropist Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a conference speaker, described the report as "a wake-up call to the world." But Equal Measures 2030 (EM2030), the partnership behind the index, also noted some surprising success stories. Senegal has a greater proportion of women in parliament (42%) than Denmark (37%), while three in four Kenyan women use digital banking higher than many wealthier countries. "Many countries with the most limited resources are making huge strides in removing the barriers for girls and women ... demonstrating that when it comes to gender equality, governments shouldn't have excuses for inaction," Gates said. Researchers said richer countries did not always live up to their promise. Georgia, Malawi and Vietnam had higher scores than expected based on their GDP per head - a gross domestic product measures the value of a country's goods and services - while the opposite was true of the United States, Switzerland and South Korea. EM2030 said the index, which will be regularly updated until 2030, would help advocates to identify gaps and drive change. WIN-WIN Another key report to be launched at the conference will look at the future of work and the implications for women of increasing automation, while a third study will examine how to get men to share the burden of unpaid care work. Iversen said investing in women created a ripple effect that also buoyed families, communities, countries and economies. "We have dug deep into the evidence and it really shows that a gender equal world is healthier, wealthier, more productive, and more peaceful," she said. "If we had gender equality in the work place we could add 26% to GDP that's a lot of money," she added, citing a study by McKinsey Global Institute. Iversen said she was encouraged to see increasing numbers of countries with gender-equal cabinets and more multinationals putting women in leadership positions. But Iversen said it was not about power battles. "Gender equality is also good for men and boys. It's not women against men, girls against boys. It really is a win-win." (Reporting by Emma Batha @emmabatha; Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's and LGBT+ rights, human trafficking, property rights, and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org) VIENNA, June 3 (Reuters) - Austria's new provisional government, which will act as a caretaker until an election widely expected in September, was sworn in on Monday and tasked with improving the country's image after an embarrassing political scandal. Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen announced Constitutional Court President Brigitte Bierlein as his choice for chancellor last week after parliament ousted Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's government in the wake of a video sting scandal that blew up Kurz's alliance with the far right. Van der Bellen has said the government will primarily keep the administrative wheels of government turning rather than take far-reaching decisions, and Bierlein says her aim is to bring some calm to Austrian politics after weeks of tumult. "Half of Europe, half the world, is watching us after the events of recent weeks," Van der Bellen said at the swearing-in ceremony, referring to the sting that forced far-right leader Heinz-Christian Strache to step down as vice chancellor and sparked the political crisis. "Let's show our best side," Van der Bellen told the new ministers, half of whom are women. After ending his coalition with the far-right Freedom Party over the video - in which Strache discussed possibly fixing state contracts with a woman posing as a Russian oligarch's niece - Kurz won an initial power struggle, forcing out the FPO interior minister, which prompted other FPO ministers to quit. The FPO soon exacted revenge, backing a no-confidence motion against Kurz's government submitted by the opposition Social Democrats (SPO) that forced it from office last week. Kurz will seek re-election in September. Strache has also stepped down as FPO leader but says he did nothing illegal. The ministers sworn in on Monday are career civil servants, but many also owe their success to one of Austria's three main parties. For decades, senior posts were carved up between the two main centrist parties in what was effectively a duopoly. That has faded but the senior civil service remains politicized. Story continues Bierlein was appointed vice president and then president of the Constitutional Court under the same political constellation - coalitions between Kurz's conservative People's Party and the far-right Freedom Party. Alexander Schallenberg, the new foreign minister, is a career diplomat so close to Kurz that he was on the OVP negotiating team that hammered out a coalition agreement with the FPO in 2017. The new vice chancellor and justice minister, Clemens Jabloner, was a senior judge who worked in the chancellor's office under SPO-led governments. Finance Minister Eduard Mueller was a senior civil servant in the Finance Ministry, which he returned to from private enterprise under OVP Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling. (Reporting by Francois Murphy, Editing by William Maclean) The House Judiciary Committee will hold a series of hearings on former Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election even though it is still unclear if Mueller himself will appear. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the committee, announced the series of hearings on Monday. The first hearing, scheduled for June 10, will focus on obstruction of justice. It will feature several attorneys including John Dean, the former White House counsel who testified against Richard Nixon during the Watergate hearings. Dean has publicly said Muellers report is more damning than other presidential investigations, including Watergate. Although the report laid out 11 instances of possible obstruction of justice, Mueller declined to either prosecute or exonerate the President in this matter. Given the threat posed by the Presidents alleged misconduct, our first hearing will focus on President Trumps most overt acts of obstruction. In the coming weeks, other hearings will focus on other important aspects of the Mueller report, Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement Monday. Absent from the announcement on these hearings was any indication of whether Mueller would testify. Democrats have made clear that they want to hear from Mueller in a public setting. But Mueller, giving a rare public statement last week, said he was reluctant to do so, and that any testimony he would give would not extend beyond the contents of the report. We chose those words carefully, and the work speaks for itself, Mueller said. The report is my testimony. Democrats however, still want to hear from him, and talks are still ongoing. Nadlers announcement about the hearings comes as calls for an impeachment inquiry continue to grow, particularly among his committee members. As the White House repeatedly stonewalls the committees requests for documents and witnesses, more members are becoming convinced kickstarting the process is the only way to obtain the necessary information to conduct oversight. There is a sense that the lawlessness and corruption of the White House leave us little choice, Rep. Jamie Raskin, a committee member who supports an inquiry, told TIME. People were catalyzed into action by the Presidents order to the executive branch to stop cooperating with all legislative inquiries. While Nadler has explained his members viewpoint to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, neither have officially come out in support of an inquiry. Rouen (France) (AFP) - A factory in northern France that makes a quarter of the world's Nutella has been blockaded for a week by workers striking for more pay, causing key ingredients to run low, unions said Monday. The stoppage has hit the Villers-Ecalles factory of privately-owned Italian confectionery giant Ferrero, which normally churns out 600,000 jars per day of the cocoa and hazelnut spread, making it the biggest Nutella producer in the world. Some 160 employees have been on strike since May 27, said Fabrice Canchel of the Force Ouvriere (FO) union. "No lorry has gone in or out of the site since then," he said. Production of Kinder Bueno, a snack produced by the same group, had also ceased for almost a week, Canchel said, while of the four Nutella production lines, just one was working and only at 20 percent capacity. "The raw materials are starting to run short," he said. The strikers have called for a 4.5-percent pay rise, as well as a 900-euro ($1,000) bonus. Management has offered only a 0.4 percent rise. Ferrero, a family firm known for secrecy and which also produces Ferrero Rocher and Kinder Surprise, said the strikers were a minority among the 400-strong workforce at the plant. "The priority of the management of the factory is to protect those staff who are not striking and who are the majority and want to continue to work in good conditions," the management of Ferrero in France said in a statement to AFP. It accused the FO of rejecting six days of attempts at negotiation. - 'Unacceptable violation' - In an internal message seen by AFP, management said the "blocking of access to the site is totally illegal", and threatened to implement a judicial order to ensure access. The official statement from management confirmed that the strikers had been notified that they risked heavy fines, starting Monday morning, if they failed to allow access to the factory. According to the internal memo, these could amount to 1,000 euros per hour and per person for blocking access to the site. Story continues "This is an unacceptable violation of the right to strike," said Canchel. Nutella production has faced challenges in recent years, partly due to poor hazelnut crops in Turkey, the world's biggest exporter of the nut. Such is the popularity of the spread in France that fist-fights broke out in supermarkets in 2018 when a major retailer slashed prices for the product in a promotion. A French minister caused uproar in 2015 after telling people not to eat the spread as it contributed to deforestation and climate change because it contained palm oil, which is produced in countries that are clearing forests for agricultural land. Ferrero, which employs over 30,000 people, has seen its overall sales double over the last decade as it made ambitious acquisitions, reporting turnover of 10.7 billion euros in the last financial year. The company, founded as a family business in 1946 and now the third-largest company in the global chocolate confectionery market, has acquired several US brands and businesses since 2017. In April, it announced the purchase of the the biscuit and snack businesses of the American Kellogg Company for $1.3 billion (1.16 billion euros). Khartoum (AFP) - The sit-in protest outside army headquarters in the Sudanese capital, dispersed on Monday, began in early April and stayed put even after president Omar al-Bashir's downfall. The thousands of demonstrators at the camp were demanding civilian rule in the tightly controlled and impoverished country, in a popular uprising that began in December. Here is a timeline: - Bread prices - Protests erupt in cities on December 19, 2018 against a government decision to triple bread prices. They spread and morph into calls for Bashir to quit after three decades of iron-fisted rule. The protests reach Khartoum on December 20, with demonstrators chanting "freedom, peace, justice". Clashes break out as police try to disperse the crowds. Eight demonstrators are killed in two cities, the first of dozens of deaths in protest-related violence over the following months. - Army HQ sit-in - On February 22, Bashir declares a nationwide state of emergency. He swears in a new prime minister two days later, as riot police confront hundreds of protesters calling for him to resign. On April 6, thousands gather for the first time outside military headquarters in Khartoum, chanting "one army, one people" in a plea for the military's support. They defy attempts by police to dislodge them with tear gas and gunshots fired into the air. - Bashir ousted - On April 11, authorities announce Bashir has been removed from power and that a transitional military council will govern for two years. Elation turns to anger as protesters denounce a "military coup" that leaves the regime in place. Thousands remain camped outside army headquarters. On April 14, protest leaders demand that the new military rulers transfer power to a civilian government. - Talks start - Sudan's military rulers hold a first round of talks with protest leaders on April 20. In an April 27 breakthrough, the two sides agree to establish a joint civilian-military ruling council. However differences remain over the composition of the council, with each side demanding a majority. Story continues Tensions flare and on April 30, the military says six security force members are killed in protests. Demonstrators reinforce their sit-in outside the army HQ. Demonstrators mass in the capital on May 2 as protest leaders say the army is not serious about handing over power. On May 15, amid expectations that agreement will be reached on a three-year transition to a civilian administration, military leaders suspend talks, insisting demonstrators remove barricades they have set up in the capital. - Talks break down - The talks resume on May 19 but break down the following day, deadlocked over who should head the new governing body with the Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group of the protest movement, demanding the post goes to a civilian. On May 28, thousands of workers in government offices, banks, private sector firms and the docks begin a two-day strike to pressure the military rulers. Two days later, hundreds of women march to the military headquarters calling for a civilian government, followed by a protest by thousands more people the next day. - Sit-in broken up - On June 3 protest leaders say the military rulers have forcefully broken up the sit-in outside army headquarters in Khartoum. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the protesters, says in an updated toll that "more than 30" were killed and hundreds wounded. The military rulers deny trying to break up the sit-in "by force", saying their personnel were targeting a "dangerous" area near the protest. Protest leaders say they have cut all contact with the military rulers and call for "total civil disobedience". KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A leader of Sudan's protest movement on Monday called the storming by security forces of a protest camp in central Khartoum a "coup" against the uprising that led to the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir. "We will confront it by escalating protests, marches and full civil disobedience," said Khalid Omar Yousef, a leader of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz, writing by Sami Aboudi) KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese protesters blocked roads in several parts of the capital Khartoum with stones and burning tires, a witness said, after troops tried to disperse a sit-in by force. The witness said protesters were demanding that the country's Transitional Military Council hand over power to civilians. (Reporting by Michael Georgy, writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by John Stonestreet) KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese Transitional Military Council said on Monday that criminal elements near a Khartoum protest site were targeted in a raid by security forces, denying that authorities were trying to clear the camp. Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi also told Reuters that the Transitional Military Council (TMC) remained committed to talks with the protesters and was ready to hold a meeting soon. Kabbashi earlier told Abu-Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia talks on a civilian transition were expected to resume "today or tomorrow." (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Omar Fahmy, writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by John Stonestreet) Khartoum (AFP) - Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who was sworn in as the chairman of Sudan's ruling sovereign council Wednesday, was largely unknown before becoming de facto head of state four months ago. He had played a key but behind-the-scenes role in Sudan's military involvement alongside Saudi Arabia in Yemen and was propelled into the limelight in April when he found himself at the helm of the transitional military council. The body took charge after longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was deposed on April 11 following a relentless wave of protests against his regime. "Veteran soldier" Burhan was sworn in as Sudan's interim leader the following day, after consolidating his position as a player on the regional scene. Wearing his usual green beret and camouflage uniform, Burhan took the oath Wednesday in a short ceremony, one hand on the Koran and the other holding a military baton over his shoulder. The sovereign council replaces the transitional military council and will oversee the formation of a government and a legislative body. After the repeated breakdown of talks between protesters and his military council last spring, Burhan visited Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. - Gulf connections - The Gulf monarchies are crucial donors to Sudan, depositing an initial $500 million at the central bank since Bashir's ouster as part of a promised $3 billion assistance package to maintain their influence in the country. On April 12, Burhan became chief of the military council that deposed Bashir, barely a day after the president's immediate successor and former defence minister General Awad Ibn Ouf stepped down. Protesters, who were determined to see a civilian government after the end of Bashir's three decades of iron-fisted rule, saw Ibn Ouf as a regime insider. His departure catapulted Burhan from the shadows to the status of de facto head of state. "Burhan is a high ranking officer within the armed forces, but basically he's a veteran soldier," said an army officer, who did not want to be named. Story continues "He's never been in the limelight like Ibn Ouf or General Kamal Abdelmarouf," the officer said, referring to the army's former chief of staff. In recent months, he continued to maintain a relatively low profile, often letting other members of the military council talk in front of the cameras. Burhan had a stint as Sudan's defence attache to Beijing. - Paramilitary backing - Hours before he was named as Sudan's new military ruler, he was seen talking to protesters camped outside the army headquarters in central Khartoum. Born in 1960 in the village of Gandatu, north of Khartoum, Burhan studied at a Sudanese military academy and later in Egypt and Jordan. The general is married and has three children. He was commander of ground forces before Bashir made him inspector general of the army in February. Sudanese media and analysts say Burhan coordinated sending Sudanese troops to Yemen as part of a Saudi-led coalition against Iran-aligned Huthi rebels. Willow Berridge, author of Civil Uprisings in Modern Sudan and lecturer in history at Newcastle University, says the Yemen portfolio saw Burhan work closely with Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. It was with the RSF's support that Burhan took Sudan's top job, said Berridge. "The role in this latest move of the Rapid Support Forces -- branded by many as a revamped version of the Janjaweed militias who committed mass atrocities in Darfur -- will make many cautious," he said. Bashir deployed Sudanese troops to Yemen in 2015 as part of a major foreign policy shift that saw Khartoum break its longstanding ties with Tehran and join the Saudi-led coalition. The Sudanese military has suffered significant casualties in Yemen. Uppsala (Sweden) (AFP) - A Swedish court on Monday said it considered Julian Assange a suspect in a 2010 rape case but rejected a request to detain him, dashing the prosecutor's hopes of having him swiftly extradited from Britain. The Uppsala district court said that the fact that Assange was currently in prison in Britain meant he did not need to be formally detained in Sweden to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors. "As Julian Assange is currently serving a prison sentence, the investigation can proceed with the help of a European investigation order, which does not require Julian Assange's detention (in Sweden). The court therefore does not find it proportional to detain Julian Assange," it said in a statement. Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson had argued that the 47-year-old had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be detained and questioned in Sweden. The Australian whistleblower, who holed himself up in Ecuador's embassy in London for seven years to avoid a British extradition order to Sweden, was arrested by British police on April 11 after Quito gave him up. He was subsequently sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions when he took refuge in the embassy. Swedish prosecutors had closed the rape investigation in 2017 as they said they were unable to proceed without access to Assange, but they reopened the case in May after his arrest. Assange is also facing an extradition request from the United States, where he faces a total of 18 charges. By Sinead Cruise LONDON (Reuters) - In 'Billions', a U.S. television show set in the world of hedge funds, traders at the fictional Axe Capital regularly attend sessions with an in-house psychiatrist. In real life, finance professionals are rarely so open about seeking psychological help. On Wall Street and in the City of London, hyperambition and an 'always on' attitude are richly rewarded and people are often wary of revealing something that could be perceived as a weakness. Two out of three people working in financial services have experienced mental health issues as a result of work or where work was a related factor, according to a 2018 survey, broadly in line with the wider workforce. The Mental Health at Work poll questioned over 4,600 British employees from a range of industries. Many don't tell their bosses for fear of damaging their careers. "Stigma definitely still exists," said Beth Robotham, an executive director at Goldman Sachs in London. "Legislation is supposed to protect people from that kind of discrimination and employers are trying much, much harder but it would be naive of me to say that that wasn't an issue any more." Robotham experienced anxiety attacks when she was in charge of recruiting bankers focused on the healthcare sector for Goldman in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in 2010. It took her months to tell her managers and seek help. "I just assumed that people like me must just fall out of 'the system', and therefore I should just keep quiet or else I will be pushed out," she said. Robotham, deputy chair of the City Mental Health Alliance, which promotes good mental health among London's financial workforce, is one of a growing group of executives choosing to speak publicly about their problems to reassure others they are not alone. SUFFER IN SILENCE People can experience anxiety, depression and other mental health issues regardless of their job. Story continues But punishing schedules can pile on extra pressure. All-nighters and 100-hour work weeks are not unusual in investment banking, particularly when working on deals or public offerings of debt or equity. Some 44 percent of banking employees said they felt under excessive pressure to perform in their work, according to a survey of over 70,000 people carried out by Britain's Banking Standards Board last year. A quarter said that working at their firm was bad for their health. In recent years, banks have tried to lighten workloads, relax dress codes and give staff more time to focus on life outside the office to retain talent and avoid costly burnout. But bankers with mental health problems, especially those still early in their careers, are often reluctant to flag them in case their bosses think they can't hack the pace. Matt Evans, global head of investment bank recruiting and head of firmwide recruiting for EMEA at JPMorgan, said he spent nearly 20 years concealing his struggle with depression until the bank's 'This Is Me' campaign in 2017 prompted him to share his experiences. "There's been no downside for me in telling my story. The support I've had has been significant," he said. "I got promoted to MD after disclosing my condition." Evans was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder and took three months off last year. He was phased back into work in December and says he is "100 percent convinced" the break will have no impact on his professional prospects. But not everyone shares his confidence around attitudes to mental health. While it is illegal for employers to discriminate against people for having mental health problems, more than half of 2,000 UK workers surveyed by health-tech firm Mynurva feared telling their manager would hinder their chances of promotion, while 57% believed disclosure would harm relationships with colleagues. Mynurva, which provides online counselling, also reported a surge in demand from financial executives who are bypassing their employers' services because they fear the consequences. "The findings show the fear and embarrassment employees have when disclosing their condition to their employer. And it explains why professionals would rather suffer in silence than seek the necessary help," said Dr Zain Sikafi, CEO of Mynurva. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS One in four people will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives and the annual cost to the global economy is estimated at $1 trillion in lost productivity, according to the World Health Organization. Brian Heyworth, global head of client strategy at HSBC and chairman of the City Mental Health Alliance, wants his bank and others to help employees before they become seriously ill. "In an organisation of 235,000 people, some will be having suicidal thoughts but many more will be sliding along the spectrum towards that point. We want to anticipate and prevent that," he said. HSBC is considering hiring on-site counsellors as part of its 'Healthiest Human System' initiative, the brainchild of CEO John Flint. JPMorgan's first UK-based on-site counsellor is due to start work at the bank's offices in London's Canary Wharf this summer. The bank already has full-time counsellors in nine U.S. locations, including New York, Delaware, Chicago and Texas and also offers a Resilience App providing stress management tips. Goldman Sachs is planning to train dozens of UK staff as mental health first aiders so that they can spot signs that colleagues may be starting to spiral due to stress or anxiety -- including changes in appearance, working habits or social patterns, Robotham said. Goldman has also launched a paid internship program in the United States for people who identify as 'neurodiverse'. Neurodiversity covers a wide range of neurological differences including autism, dyslexia, developmental disorders and mental health conditions. As the public profile of mental health grows, employers in Britain who fail to show adequate mental wellbeing provision for staff could be sued under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations Act 1999, which compels employers to assess the nature and scale of health risks at work, including stress. "The harm and detriment to an employer stemming from these kinds of issues are not solely financial, they can inflict greater damage to reputation, public image, productivity and retention," said Matthew Cole, partner at law firm Prettys. Cole said he had not seen any significant rise in the number of staff seeking damages from employers due to stress-related conditions but said companies were very sensitive to the risk. "If an employee ends up with a psychiatric condition which prevents them from working in an environment where they might have otherwise earned six figures, that can amount to some significant liabilities." Prevention is much cheaper. Britain's Mental Health Foundation estimates that mental health support in the workplace could save UK businesses up to 8 billion pounds a year. The charity puts the cost of providing information and advice on mental health online and via workshops at around 80 pounds per employee per year. Heyworth has grappled with anxiety and depression since childhood and was hired by HSBC after a period of leave from Bank of America. He knows that he is one of the lucky ones, both banks knew of his mental health problems and were supportive. "Make no mistake, we are still in the foothills on this journey," he said. "The positive thing is that more people are now asking for help, but we also need to accept that there are probably more people who need help too. The next phase of the challenge is creating the conditions where we can reverse that trend." (Editing by Carmel Crimmins) OMDURMAN, Sudan (Reuters) - Thousands of Sudanese protesters blocked roads with stones and burning tyres in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum, on Monday as security forces tried to disperse a protest camp in the capital, a Reuters witness said. The witness said there were no security forces in the area as young men and women blocked main streets and side roads across Omdurman, which sits on the other side of the Nile river from Khartoum. (Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Sami Aboudi; Editing by Paul Tait) Over the click-clack of the teak loom, Niphon's family laments the lack of apprentice weavers at his Bangkok silk shop, as modernity lures young Muslims away from a trade their community has dominated for generations. They say they are the last of the Muslim weavers of Baan Krua, a storied neighbourhood of dilapidated wooden houses and a mosque in downtown Bangkok, nearly engulfed by the city creep of condos and skyscrapers. "This is Muslim heritage... Baan Krua silk is very famous," Niphon Manutha, 71, told AFP. A typed letter from Robert Kennedy on the wall of his canalside shophouse attests to that lineage -- a gift to Niphon's parents after the then-US attorney general visited in 1962. The craft was passed down through generations of ethnic Cham Muslim women who migrated from Cambodia centuries ago and perfected the art of turning the cocoons made by Thai silkworms into metres of soft cloth with a unique sheen coveted across the world. Silk weaving boomed after World War II thanks to American "Silk King" Jim Thompson, who is credited with taking Thai silk global. Thompson's house is one of the most visited tourist sites in Bangkok today, but it was across the canal in Baan Krua where he first found his suppliers among the Muslim weavers. "He came here every morning," Niphon said, showing a photo of Thompson standing next to his mother at a loom. At its peak Niphon's family employed 50 people, producing thousands of metres of silk a month. But Thompson's mysterious disappearance in 1976 in Malaysia led partnerships to shrivel, while production gradually moved to the north of the country from Bangkok. Niphon survived by switching to a custom-order model, relying on his daughter to run a website advertising bright-coloured scarves, bags and elegant napkins. But with just a handful of older working weavers left in Baan Krua the expertise from his corner of Bangkok is fading. "It's a shame the young generation is not interested," said Niphon's sister Natcha Swanaphoom, fixing her hijab in the mirror before going outside. Story continues - Traders and courtiers - Though Thailand is overwhelmingly Buddhist, about seven million Muslims make up the country's largest religious minority, and like the faithful everywhere they are observing Ramadan this month. Muslims from Iran, Indonesia and other parts of Asia have long settled in Bangkok and around central Thailand, communities of traders and businessmen drawn to the city's location at the heart of Southeast Asia. The largest number are descendants of ethnic Malay peoples from the southern Thai provinces bordering Malaysia who were brought to Bangkok as slave labour, according to Raymond Scupin, a cultural anthropologist. Many were put to work building the canals criss-crossing Bangkok that connect to the capital's Chao Phraya river, giving the city the name "Venice of the East". Muslims also served in royal courts and the Baan Krua residents settled on land set aside by King Rama I, who founded the current Chakri dynasty in 1782. In the modern era the royal family has cultivated deep ties with Thailand's diverse Muslim communities. King Maha Vajiralongkorn made one of his first trips to the violence-plagued Deep South after ascending the throne in 2016. But in Bangkok, rapid urbanisation and modernity have pressed hard on tradition. "The sense of community has changed," said Abdul Ahad, the tall white-robed imam at the Haroon mosque, one of the city's oldest in Bang Rak district. He cited the ease of purchasing alcohol, a drift from religious observance and the megamalls sprouting up around them. "Today the kids are using their motorbikes and then going to forbidden places," he said. That generational gap has also been sharply felt in Baan Krua. Niphon's shop has no traditional silk weavers under 60. "Our staff are getting older and older," said Niphon's daughter Pattramas, 40, bemoaning the "disappearance" of hand-driven crafts to easier salaried jobs. Thailand still exports around $15 million-worth of silk, but Vietnam and China now provide fierce competition to the lucrative US market. "The next five to 10 years, I don't know (if anyone will be left to do it here)," she added. Beijing (AFP) - A Chinese state-run daily defended the government's handling of the Tiananmen protests on Monday, saying it "immunized" China against turmoil in a rare editorial about the crackdown on the eve of its 30th anniversary. Hundreds, or by some estimates more than a 1,000, unarmed civilians were killed when troops and tanks were deployed to extinguish the pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing on June 4, 1989. The Global Times' English-language edition hailed the Chinese government's handling of what it called the "incident" in an editorial titled: "June 4 immunized China against turmoil". "As a vaccination for the Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future," wrote the nationalist tabloid, which is affiliated with the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily. The paper echoed comments by China's defence minister, General Wei Fenghe, who defended the bloody crackdown as the "correct" policy at a regional security forum in Singapore on Sunday. It is rare for Chinese officials or media to publicly discuss the strictly taboo topic. Authorities have detained activists and tightened online censorship ahead of the anniversary. The party's "control of the incident" in 1989 had been a "watershed" that marked the difference between China's rapid economic progress and the fate of other communist countries such as the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia that disintegrated, the Global Times said. The editorial -- which only appeared in the English-language print and online edition of the paper -- also rebuked dissidents, Western politicians and media, saying their criticism of the event would have "no real impact" on Chinese society. On Monday, Taiwan added its voice to the mix, issuing an unusually strong condemnation of the crackdown. Story continues Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council said Beijing should "sincerely repent for the June 4 incident and proactively push for democratic reforms". "We earnestly admonish the Chinese authorities to face up to the historical mistake, and sincerely apologise as soon as possible," the statement added. The comments come a day after General Wei caused anger in Taipei by reiterating Beijing's stance that it will not rule out using force to seize control of the island. The two sides have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war on the mainland in 1949, but relations have struck a particularly sour note in recent years. The Communist Party has tightened its grip on civil society since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012, detaining activists and rights lawyers, intensifying online censorship, and using high-tech policing to keep the population in check. The Global Times said today's China, with its growing wealth, has "no political conditions" that could reignite "the riot" seen three decades ago. "Chinese society, including its political elite, is now far more mature than in 1989." "AS CARIBBEAN utility leaders, we can and we must integrate more renewable energy solutions in our delivery of service. Eddinton Powell, president and CEO of FortisTCI, urged fellow utilities heads across the region to use more eco-friendly sources of power, during an annual meeting. As acting chair of the Caribbean Electric Utilities Corporation (Carilec), he also said that the firms must be at the "forefront of the electrification of ground transportation. Powell was speaking at the 2019 Carilec CEOs and Leadership Conference in Saint Lucia last week, which coincided with Carilecs 30th anniversary. The conference, held May 21 to 24, was jointly hosted by the Carilec, an association of Caribbean energy solutions providers, and St Lucia Electricity Services. Powell told the meeting that utility companies have a responsibility to lead Caribbean economies toward a new energy landscape. "These are critical imperatives for the Caribbean, if we are to reduce our dependency on traditional hydrocarbon fuel sources, much of it imported to the region, with all of the uncertainties that this entails, he said. "With an energy economy led by renewables and a transformed and electrified transportation sector, we can open the way for even greater entrepreneurship and ultimately wealth creation, throughout the region. Keynote speaker, president and CEO of Wartsila Corporation, Jaako Eskola, also sounded a championing note with respect to the transition to renewables. He disclosed that Wartsilas corporate vision in its energy business is to support the move to 100 percent renewables. Eskola said: "Rapid cost reduction - both capital and operating costs - of wind and solar is steadily making it economically feasible to deploy these technologies especially in conditions such as you have here in the Caribbean. "I feel that the time is not far away when wind and solar power generation will assume the mantle of least cost generators of electric power. Carilec CEOs and business operators in attendance applauded a pledge articulated by Wartsilas CEO, a corporation ranked as one of Most Sustainable 100 Corporations in the World (2018). "We are ready to assist you in modelling your power systems, help you to develop the best strategy for defining your generation mix, help you understand the impacts of wind and solar generation, and together develop the best suited integrative strategy including storage technologies and flexible power, Eskola said. Stephenson King, Minister of Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour, spoke on behalf of the government of Saint Lucia. He said: "Carilec must recognise that since energy is a critical driver in economic development, Carilec and its members are essential partners in that development. "Thus, given the challenges of the extreme threats of climate change for Caribbean economies, much depends on a new vision for the future of our regions energy sector that is tailored to these times. Utility leaders, service providers and global corporations, represented 25 countries from the Caribbean, North America and Europe. The conference was held under the theme Rethinking? Disruption. Resilience. Sustainability during which delegates explored global trends and opportunities in the renewables sector, technology, and investment demands driven by climate change. Ivy Yang is a student in an international high school in Beijing, where she studies myriad subjects, including world history. She is well-versed in topics such as the American Revolution and the Renaissance. Yet there is one major historical event she knows almost nothing about that was far more recent and much closer to home: the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing that ended with Chinese soldiers firing upon and killing an unknown number of civilians. She says she knows that her mother was somehow involved with the demonstrations and "that a lot of students died," but, she says, "not a single teacher told us what it really was." "My friends my age don't know much about it -- most people don't know about this," says Yang, who spoke by telephone from Beijing. "I don't know why people hide this event and why the government remains so silent about all of these things. In the future this event may just vanish from history, and that is the way the government of China will just deal with it." June 4 marks the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, a day when the Chinese Communist Party ordered the People's Liberation Army to ambush thousands of pro-democracy student demonstrators in Beijing and elsewhere around the country. The protesters were indiscriminately beaten or shot, and hundreds, if not thousands, died. [MORE: How China Has Prevented Another Tiananmen] The bloody event and its anniversary remains one of the most sensitive subjects inside China, with the government making painstaking efforts to eradicate it from public memory. Immediately after the massacre, the Chinese Communist Party made sweeping efforts narrate its own version of history, painting the event as a conspiracy by Western forces, drawing upon an oft-used narrative where foreigners were trying not only working to humiliate China but also prevent the country from becoming a respected global superpower. Today, Tiananmen is simply not allowed to be talked about. Story continues 'Stability Maintenance' a Legacy of Tiananmen Scholars, human rights activists and survivors of Tiananmen who now live overseas say that a decades-long campaign to erase any memory of Tiananmen may be working. Beijing is ramping up sophisticated surveillance systems, including online censorship and facial recognition technology, as well as running an ongoing crackdown on academic and press freedom. Meanwhile, the country's growing influence abroad has tamped down international criticism of China's human rights record, observers say. Journalist Louisa Lim, author of "The People's Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited," said at a recent conference at Harvard University examining Tiananmen's anniversary that Western companies such as Apple and Linkedin have censored Tiananmen-related content. [MORE: Twitter Apologizes for Blocked China Accounts Ahead of Tiananmen Anniversary] Many observers say that Beijing's efforts to crack down on any potential dissent ahead of this year's anniversary is the most severe yet. Students advocating for labor rights at Peking University in Beijing have been arrested in recent months. Police have detained or threatened dozens of activists, according to Amnesty International. Since late April, all language versions of Wikipedia have been blocked on the mainland. Meanwhile, any mention of the anniversary online is immediately scrubbed by censors that are powered by artificial intelligence. Yang Dali, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, says the apparent ramp-up of repression ahead of the anniversary reflects an ongoing, more systematic, effort by the Chinese government to maintain social stability by what he calls "stability maintenance." He says such efforts could be intensifying against the backdrop of an economic slowdown in China, potentially worsened by the trade war between China and the United States. Other factors, including increasing ideological control within the Communist Party, in the state-run media and on university campuses, as well as ethnic conflict and a flare-up of small protests across the country by people who feel disenfranchised for various reasons, also could be contributing. "China's quest for social stability or stability maintenance really became a much more systematic effort after Tiananmen," Yang says. "We are living with that legacy, and it is a legacy that keeps on reinforcing itself with every crisis, forestalling instability and making itself a stronger system." Increasing Government Control of History But as the Chinese surveillance state continues in real-time to ratchet down on virtually all forms of dissent -- Tiananmen-related or otherwise -- some researchers are saying a concerted campaign to change the official historical narrative surrounding the Tiananmen protests is more concerning and perhaps more long-lasting. [Beijing Tightens Its Control Across China] At the Harvard forum, journalist Lim described how China has worked to erase the collective memory of the events of June 4, 1989. She detailed how only 15 out of 100 students in Beijing could identify an iconic photo from June 4 of a Chinese man standing alone in front of tanks as they progressed down an avenue in central Beijing. Lim conducted the survey several years ago. "Since then, the control over history and memory has only tightened," Lim says. "Access to those people who remembered what happened, memory carriers, is limited," she adds. "We are seeing the process of forgetting the actual movement itself being accelerated and exported." Nationalism Encouraged to Push Back Against Western Ideals Almost immediately after the massacre, Beijing instituted a so-called patriotic education campaign in schools, in mainstream media, even in workplaces. The events of June 4 were portrayed as promulgated by foreign forces seeking to humiliate China -- essentially a Western conspiracy. The students who participated were on the wrong side of history, according to the education narrative. The soldiers who ran them down were the true patriots, the ones who protected the motherland from chaos. "There was this active promotion of the government's own official memory," Tom Chen, an associate professor of Chinese at Lehigh University, says, detailing how the government ordered classes and tests for students and workers about the official historical narrative and told them to "openly espouse what you have been told, that you have incorporated the propaganda into yourself and now you are a believer." "They had to show their allegiance," Chen says. [MORE: China Expands Its Surveillance Model By Training Other Governments] This government's official narrative about June 4 was soon replaced with an all-encompassing nationalistic propaganda campaign, says Rowena Xiaoqing He, a current scholar at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. The campaign aimed at convincing not only the general population, but specifically students, that China "has a different political culture and historical context" and therefore is not a place where Western ideals about democracy and human rights could ever be imposed, according to He, who took part in demonstrations in Guangdong Province on June 4, 1989. "China promoted ideas about Chinese uniqueness," He says. "There is this hijacking of history on the one hand, they manipulate history, but at the same time, they silence dissent, and together with this patriotic education, it amplifies nationalism, and you are seeing this large population willing to defend China." This strategy by Chinese authorities is dangerous, she adds. "It will actually have a profound impact on the world." Chinese Diaspora Fights to Maintain Memory of Tiananmen What He is describing is a phenomenon she says is increasingly happening at U.S. universities, where classrooms are filled with Chinese students. While the scholar cautions about making generalizations, she says that when confronted with a different historical narrative about Tiananmen, many Chinese students studying in the U.S. "immediately think it is a conspiracy to change their minds, to brainwash them." "They cannot distinguish between the regime and the nation and see any criticism to the Beijing government as insults to the Chinese people and to the Chinese culture," He says. Out of a tradition of academic freedom, liberalism and political correctness, U.S. educators are reluctant to push back, perhaps even because they are afraid of being labeled as anti-immigrant or anti-Chinese, He says. [MORE: Reliance on Chinese Students Worries Australian Education Officials] "This is where I see the danger," she says. "They are exporting all of these things to campuses. I notice people are becoming more and more careful to challenge these Chinese students." It is unclear whether the memory of Tiananmen could ever be completely eradicated. Outside China, scholars such as He say they believe the Chinese diaspora is still fighting to keep the memory alive and that one day the Chinese government will fully acknowledge the brutal events that occurred on June 4, 1989. "It is just a matter of time. Thirty years is not a long time," she says. "It has been a brutal battle, but I believe in history and that history is on our side." Arkansas-based journalist Lara Farrar spent nearly a decade working as a foreign correspondent in China. By Alistair Smout and Steve Holland LONDON (Reuters) - A four-course meal, more than 2,000 pieces of silver-gilt cutlery and a toast to the queen: Donald Trump enjoyed an opulent state banquet hosted by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Monday. While this is the first time Trump and his wife Melania have experienced a royal British banquet, the queen is used to such occasions: it is the 113th time Queen Elizabeth has hosted a state visit. State visit invitations are extended by the government, but the queen acts as host. After being greeted at Buckingham Palace with a cannon salute and marching Guards band, Trump had a private lunch with the monarch and tea with her son Prince Charles. They then attended a formal banquet at which men wore white tie and coats with tails and women evening gowns. Melania wore a Dior Haute Couture ivory silk crepe gown with silk tulle detail. "As we look to the future, I am confident that our common values and shared interests will continue to unite us," Elizabeth said at the banquet, before toasting Trump and his wife. "Tonight we celebrate an alliance that has helped to ensure the safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades, and which I believe will endure for many years to come," Elizabeth said. Trump praised Elizabeth for her contribution to the war effort World War Two, recounting a story of her reparing a military truck engine. "That young mechanic was the future queen - a great, great woman," Trump said. "The bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great crusade." "As we honour our shared victory and heritage we affirm the common values that will unite us long into the future; freedom, sovereignty, self determination, the rule of law and reference for the rights given to us by almighty God." Then the meal began: a steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse followed by a saddle of Windsor lamb and then strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream and a selection of assorted fresh fruits. Story continues Wines on offer included a 2014 English sparkling Windsor Great Park and a 1990 Chateau Lafite Rothschild. The meal was served on the silver-gilt "Grand Service", originally commissioned by George IV when he was Prince of Wales in 1806. It consists of over 4,000 pieces for dining, including dinner plates and 107 candelabra. Buckingham Palace says the final build of the State Banquet table starts around five days before the arrival of the visiting head of state, and that every detail of the meal is checked and approved by Queen Elizabeth. Flower displays are in shades of summer pink and comprise of sweet peas, mixed peonies, sweet Avalanche roses, stock and larkspur. Each of the napkins is folded into a Dutch bonnet by a person titled Yeoman of the China and Glass Pantry. Trump joins Barack Obama and George W. Bush as the only U.S. presidents to have official state visits to Britain with Queen Elizabeth. She has met all 13 presidents in her reign except Lyndon Johnson. Trump, who was widely seen to have broken royal protocol when he failed to bow to the queen in 2018 and then walked in front of her as they inspected a guard, avoided the mild embarrassment suffered by his predecessor at the state banquet. During his state banquet in 2011, Obama spoke over the British national anthem after musicians struck up during a pause in his toast, and then raised his glass to the queen at the wrong moment. ($1 = 0.7894 pounds) (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Angus MacSwan/Guy Faulconbridge) Non-U.S. mutual funds provide excellent choices for those looking to diversify their investments across a wide range of foreign countries, including both emerging and developed nations. Thus, investing in non-U.S. mutual funds may prove more profitable than those with significant domestic exposure. Below we share with you four top-ranked non-U.S. mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of funds. VY T. Rowe Price International Stock S IMISX fund aims for long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests the majority of its assets in stocks. It usually invests in at least five countries and may also choose across any market capitalization. The fund manager focuses on diversifying investments outside the United States. IMISX has three-year annualized returns of 8.9%. Richard N. Clattenburg is the fund manager of IMISX since 2015. Hartford International Opportunities HLS IB HBIOX fund aims for long-term capital growth. The fund invests most of its assets in equity securities, comprising non-dollar securities of foreign issuers. The fund diversified its assets across different countries without any bar on the amount of assets it may invest in each country. It may invest in companies domiciled in emerging markets as a percentage of its net assets up to 25% or the weight of emerging markets in the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index plus 10%, whichever is greater. HBIOXhas three-year annualized returns of 6.6%. As of April 2019, HBIOX held 101 issues with 3.23% of its assets invested in Nestle SA. Fidelity Canada FICDX fund aims for long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests a large part of its net assets in securities of Canadian issuers and other investments that are tied economically to Canada. FICDX invests up to 35% of total assets in any industry that accounts for more than 20% of the Canadian market. The fundhas three-year annualized returns of 6%. Story continues FICDX has an expense ratio of 0.89% compared with the category average of 1.62%. Artisan International Small Cap Investor ARTJX fund seeks maximum long-term capital appreciation. The fund invests the majority of its assets in common stocks and other securities of small- and mid-capitalization companies. ARTJX invests a large part of its total assets in securities of non-U.S. companies, in particular developed, emerging and less-developed markets. The fundhas three-year annualized returns of 7.1%. Rezo Kanovich is the fund manager of ARTJX since 2018. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Non-US mutual funds, investors can click here to see the complete list of funds. Want key mutual fund info delivered straight to your inbox? Zacks free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing mutual funds, each week. Get it free >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Get Your Free (IMISX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (ARTJX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (FICDX): Fund Analysis Report Get Your Free (HBIOX): Fund Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Photo: Knarl Stuart Photography/Flickr Here's the most recent top news you may have missed in Sacramento. Sacramento police in uniform not allowed to participate in Pride events Sacramento police officers in uniform will not be allowed to participate in this years Pride parade and festival. Read the full story on KCRA 3. Esquire Grill calls it quits after 20-year run in downtown Sacramento Esquire Grill, a pioneer in downtown Sacramentos restaurant boom, closed Saturday night. The restaurant, at 13th and K Streets, opened in 1999 as part of a huge redevelopment around the Sacramento Convention Center. Read the full story on The Sacramento Bee. Fly that forced some Sacramento, Yolo County farmers markets to cover up food eradicated Farmers markets in some parts of Sacramento and Yolo Counties had to cover their fruit and vegetables in mesh or plastic since August due to a fruit fly infestation. Read the full story on ABC Sacramento, KXTV. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: Megan Ellis/Unsplash Here's what you need to know about what's happening in San Diego. San Diego Padres game delayed due to bees on the field A beekeeper was called to Petco Park on Sunday to help. Read the full story on CBS 8 - San Diego News. Part of Imperial Beach shoreline re-opens as county lifts contamination order - Times of San Diego Officials lifted a water contact closure recently extended along the Imperial Beach shoreline, the county announced. Read the full story on Times of San Diego. 2-alarm fire heavily damages sushi restaurant in University City - Times of San Diego A second-alarm fire early Sunday morning destroyed the kitchen and heavily damaged the interior of a sushi restaurant in University City. Read the full story on Times of San Diego. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. Photo: kasra afzali/Flickr Here's the most recent top news you may have missed in San Jose. San Jose may put new property transfer tax on ballot Some of the revenue would go toward addressing homelessness, which has spiked in recent years. Read the full story on The Mercury News. San Joses Bud Kaeding wins third main event this season at Ocean Speedway WATSONVILLE San Joses Bud Kaeding won the 30-lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car main event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. Read the full story on Mercury News. When Google bought this San Jose house, it upended one familys dream, made millions for another and almost sent a third packing Drama over downtown Google Village exposes tension between residents. Read the full story on The Mercury News. Bernie Sanders fires up small but passionate crowd in San Jose The Vermont senator inspired cheers and chants of Bernie, Bernie, Bernie from the crowd with his talk of a campaign thats based on love, compassion and justice. Read the full story on The Mercury News. This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback. WASHINGTON Mexico's ambassador to the United States and other top officials warned the Trump administration Monday against imposing new tariffs as a way of at punishing the country for the migration crisis. There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate," Martha Barcena, the ambassador, told reporters Monday during a news conference at Mexico's embassy in Washington. "And that limit is Mexican dignity. Barcena and other officials spoke ahead of a series of hastily arranged meetings with Trump administration officials in response to President Donald Trump's announcement last Thursday that he would slap a 5% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico until the flow of migrants across the U.S. southern border stopped. Trump said he would increase the tariff by 5 percentage points each month until "the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied." Trump said the tariff could reach 25% by Oct. 1. Mexico's president has criticized the move and pressed the White House to reverse course. He dispatched Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and other top negotiators to Washington to try to reverse Trump's decision. "We are here in order to have conversations," Ebrard said at Monday's news conference. "The tariffs could be very costly for the U.S. economy, for consumers in the United States and the Mexican economy." Barcena said Mexico has already made sweeping efforts to stem the flow of migrants, mostly coming from Central America, by cracking down on migrant smuggling and returning more than 80,000 migrants crossing through Mexico to their home countries. She said Mexico is also hosting nearly 9,000 migrants who are currently waiting for an asylum hearing in the the United States, along with more than 18,000 migrants who plan to present asylum claims as slots come open. "Without Mexicos efforts, an additional quarter million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019," Barcena said. Slapping tariffs on Mexico, along with the Trump administration's decision to halt aid to Central American countries, is "counter productive," she said, and will not reduce migration flows. Story continues President Donald Trump says he's not looking to reinstate the much-criticized practice of separating migrant families at the border with Mexico. (April 9) Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, center, speaks at a news conference at the Mexican Embassy in Washington, Monday, June 3, 2019, as a Mexican delegation arrives in Washington for talks following trade tariff threats from the Trump Administration. Contributing: David Jackson More: Trump announces tariffs on Mexico in effort to stop migrants coming to the US More: Mexico president tells Donald Trump: 'America First is a fallacy' in response to tariff threat This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's tariff threat over migration prompts sharp response from Mexico: 'There is a clear limit' London (AFP) - Britain will roll out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on Monday as he arrives in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. Queen Elizabeth II will welcome Trump and his wife Melania to Buckingham Palace, where they will be treated to a guard of honour, a private lunch and later, a glittering state banquet. But beneath the pomp and ceremony, Britain is in turmoil with Prime Minister Theresa May due to step down within weeks over her handling of her country's exit from the European Union. True to form, Trump ripped up the diplomatic rule book before he even touched down by saying former foreign minister Boris Johnson would make an "excellent" choice to succeed May. He also recommended May's successor walk away from talks with Brussels, refuse to pay Britain's agreed divorce bill and leave the EU with no deal. The much vaunted UK-US "special relationship" was already under strain over different approaches to Iran, China and the Paris climate change accord. Opposition politicians are boycotting the banquet over what London's mayor Sadiq Khan called Trump's "divisive behaviour" and large protests are expected across the capital. But May and Trump are expected to emphasise the wider benefits of the old alliance when they hold talks at Downing Street on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they will join other world leaders in the English port of Portsmouth to commemorate 75 years since the D-Day landings, which changed the course of World War II. "Our relationship has underpinned our countries' security and prosperity for many years, and will continue to do so for generations to come," May said ahead of the visit. - No-deal Brexit - May announced her resignation last month after failing to get her Brexit deal through parliament and twice delaying Britain's EU departure. She will formally quit as her Conservative party's leader on Friday, but will stay on while they find someone to replace her. Story continues Three years after the referendum vote for Brexit, Britain remains divided and anxious about its place in the world. Trump recommended the new government "walk away" from talks with the EU if it cannot get a good deal, and refuse to pay the 39 billion (45 billion euros, $50 billion) divorce bill May agreed. In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, he emphasised that there was "tremendous potential" for Britain to trade with his country after Brexit. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a veteran socialist, denounced the president's "entirely unacceptable interference in our democracy". He earlier condemned putting on a show for a world leader who "rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric". - Strained special relationship - Trump's first official visit to Britain last year was overshadowed by criticism of May's approach to Brexit, as well as large demonstrations. Protesters are planning another big turnout this week and are hoping to once again fly their inflatable balloon showing Trump as a baby over the streets of London. But the president's itinerary, which also includes a tea with heir to the throne Prince Charles, will keep him away from the public. He is not due to meet Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan Markle, who has previously been highly critical of Trump. Asked about Markle's comments in his weekend interviews, Trump said: "What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty." May was the first foreign leader welcomed to the White House after Trump's election victory in November 2016, but their relationship has not always been rosy. They have clashed in the past over his migration policies, while Britain still backs the Iranian nuclear deal and the Paris climate accord, both of which Trump has abandoned. Washington has also been putting pressure on Britain to exclude Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G network over security concerns, suggesting it might harm intelligence sharing. WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Russia and Syrian government forces to stop bombing Syria's Idlib province, following a Friday Kremlin statement that signaled Moscow would continue to back a month-long Syrian government offensive there. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" Trump wrote in a Twitter post. On Friday, the Kremlin said it was Turkey's responsibility to stop rebels in Syria's Idlib province from firing on civilian and Russian targets. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has long complained to Moscow about the Russian-backed Syrian government strikes against rebels who control the country's northwest. The offensive in Idlib is the biggest escalation of the war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel opponents of his government since last summer, and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis as Syrians displaced by the fighting seek shelter at the Turkish border. More than 200,000 people have fled the violence in Idlib since the strikes began at the end of April, according to the United Nations. When asked on Sunday night before departing on a state visit to Britain what he intended to do about the massacre of civilians in Idlib, Trump told reporters he did not like the situation. "Bad things are happening," Trump said. (Reporting by Julia Harte and Katanga Johnson; Editing by Will Dunham) PREMIER Sharlene Cartwright Robinson and Cabinet ministers began their quarterly town hall meetings on the islands of North and Middle Caicos last week. The aim of the meetings, which will continue across the TCI, is to give residents an update on the Governments achievements and future plans. The premier, who is responsible for the Ministry of Finance Investment and Trade, gave updates on her ministry and allocations under TCIGs budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. She also gave updates on the statutory boards which fall under her ministry and told residents of North and Middle Caicos that the NHIP is currently in the process of a major review. The TCI Airports Authority has been allocated funds to carry out upgrades and repairs to the Grand Turk, Salt Cay and South Caicos Airports and the Ports Authority will be continuing with their port reform, she explained. She revealed that a number of new policies have been launched through the Ministry of Finance including the new Homeowners Policy, the ban on single use plastics and soon to come ban on Styrofoam and polystyrene and the ban on old cars. Newly announced initiatives included the establishment of a credit union which will be regulated by the Financial Services Commission, and an initiative to strengthen the Government and decentralise services through the establishment of a committee headed by the Executive Director of the Office of the Premier, Local Government and Community Affairs. Specific to North and Middle Caicos was the announcement of a joint private-public partnership between developers and TCIG to develop a new international airport for the Island of North Caicos and a new vector control officer for Middle Caicos. Through private sector partnerships, the Twin Islands received a donation of 18 vector control devices courtesy of Parrot Cay and North Caicos Contracting. One concern coming from the islands was the lack of job opportunities for locals. Residents were informed of the existing opportunities made available by TCIG which include: -Invest TC grants for small and medium businesses that are agriculture or tourism related. -Petty contracts and licences to bid on a Government tendered project (the refurbishment of Flamingo Pond and road maintenance and street cleaning). -Duty exemptions through the Agriculture Policy to start or expand a farm. -Duty exemptions through the Housing Policy and the VRBO policy to assist with refurbishing homes for use as BnBs. Updates also came in relation to ongoing constitutional talks which will be coming to the public very soon for consultation ahead of the premiers annual attendance at the Joint Ministerial Conference in the UK scheduled for later this year. The premier also took the opportunity to tour north and Middle Caicos. She visited Raymond Gardiner High School, the Farm, Bambarra Beach - home of the Annual Crab Fest and Valentines Day Cup - and toured a number of roads are included in the Road Development Project phase three, budgeted in the 2020-2021 financial year. The Government will meet with the communities of Grand Turk, Salt Cay and Providenciales throughout the month of June to discuss and address matters such as budget highlights, achievements, 2019-2020 spending priorities and island specific issues. Donald Trump has insulted London mayor Sadiq Khan moments before setting off for Britain. Asked on Sunday evening if he would be willing to meet Mr Khan during his state visit, Mr Trump said: "No, I don't think much of him. I think that he's a - he's the twin of (New York City mayor Bill) de Blasio, except shorter." It came after Mr Khan described the US president over the weekend as "just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" and compared the language he had used to that of the "fascists of the 20th century". Responding to reporters over the din of his Marine One helicopter as he left the White House, Mr Trump said he expected his three-day state visit to be "very important" and "very interesting". "As you know, they want to do trade with the United States, and I think there's an opportunity for a very big trade deal at some point in the near future. And we'll see how that works out," Mr Trump said. He also praised Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and denied making "bad" comments about the Duchess of Sussex. "Well, I think I may meet with him. He's been a friend of mine. He's been very nice. I have a very good relationship with him," the president said of Mr Johnson. He went on: "I have a very good relationship with Nigel Farage, with many people over there (in the UK) and we'll see what happens. I may meet with him. They want to meet. We'll see what happens." Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, the president will arrive aboard Air Force One on Monday morning having already created a considerable degree of political turbulence with comments on the Tory leadership race, Brexit and the Duchess of Sussex. Ahead of the visit, he called on Britain to leave the European Union without a deal if Brussels refuses to meet its demands and urged the Government to send Mr Farage into the negotiations. Story continues The controversy was further exacerbated on Sunday when the US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson, suggested the NHS would be on the table in post-Brexit trade talks. After landing at Stansted Airport, the Trumps will head to Buckingham Palace for a reception with the Queen, Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duke of Sussex will also attend a private lunch at the palace - although his wife, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. Mr Trump has already denied calling the Duchess of Sussex "nasty" when he was recently confronted with comments she made before the 2016 US elections saying she would leave the country if he won. Asked at the White House on Sunday evening if he was willing to apologise to the Royal Family, or to clarify the comments made to The Sun, Mr Trump replied: "No, I made no bad comment. Thank you." Mr Trump's arrival in the capital is due to be followed by a protest through central London against the visit on Tuesday, with the "Trump baby" blimp made for his visit last year due to put in an appearance. Additional reporting by PA Sadiq Khan's office has hit back at "far-right" Donald Trump after the US president launched an extraordinary attack on the London mayor moments ahead of landing in the UK. Minutes before touching down outside the capital aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump branded Mr Khan a "stone cold loser" who had done a "terrible job" as mayor. He also compared the former Labour MP to New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio, who Mr Trump dislikes, and insulted his stature. "Kahn (sic) reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height," Mr Trump tweeted on Monday morning. In response, a spokesperson for Mr Khan said: "This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States. "Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years." The war of words was sparked when Mr Khan described the US president over the weekend as "just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" and compared the language he had used to that of the "fascists of the 20th century". After landing at Stansted Airport, Mr Trump was due to head from there to Buckingham Palace for a reception with the Queen, Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duke of Sussex will also attend a private lunch at the palace - although his wife, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania meet Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images US president Donald Trump has met the Queen on the first day of his state visit to the UK, after arriving on Air Force One at Stansted airport on Monday morning. He laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Westminster Abbey, with heavy security keeping demonstrators and passers-by at a large distance from the president. Trump is reported to have been looking forward to the pomp and ceremony of his visit, with tea with Price Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and a Buckingham Palace banquet scheduled today. But serious issues will be on the table, and tensions over security, trade and his controversial remarks about Brexit and stone cold loser Sadiq Khan loom large over the visit. He is expected to use his meeting with UK prime minister Theresa May on Tuesday to ratchet up the pressure on Britain to cut ties with the Chinese tech giant Huawei over US spying fears. He may warn security collaboration between the two countries could be at risk if Britain allows Huawei to help roll out Britains 5G phone network, echoing threats by US secretary of state Mike Pompeo last month. READ MORE: Why the UK mansion where Trump is staying once sold for $1 Up close with #AirForceOne, as US President Donald Trump and @FOTUS Melania arrive at London Stansted Airport. pic.twitter.com/vBkw7rdbyL London Stansted Airport (@STN_Airport) June 3, 2019 Trump may also look to discuss a potential post-Brexit trade deal, telling reporters there was an opportunity for a very big trade deal at some point before he landed in the UK. May herself is under pressure to take Trump to task over his failure to confront climate change. 250 academics signed a joint letter today to the prime minister, warning Trump was undermining global efforts to save lives by reducing emissions. Story continues The US president had already sparked controversy by wading into British politics again before he even stepped off the plane. Shortly before landing in the UK he launched an extraordinary attack on Sadiq Khan, tweeting that the London mayor was a stone cold loser who had done a terrible job and should focus on crime. His intervention has already opened up divisions in the ruling Conservative party as it searches for a new prime minister, with leadership hopeful Matt Hancock challenging his comments but foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt blaming Khan for the long-running feud. .@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me...... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 Trump also told the Sunday Times Britain should send Brexit party leader Nigel Farage to conduct its talks with the EU, and to walk away without a deal if the UK failed to negotiate what it wanted. Trump breached normal diplomatic conventions again by praising former London mayor, foreign secretary and Tory leadership hopeful Boris Johnson. On his last visit the US president caused widespread anger by attacking Theresa Mays negotiations with the EU, and praising hard Brexit-supporting Johnson, who he has not ruled out meeting during the visit. He is expected to face significant public protests in Britain as well as a royal welcome. A giant blimp showing Trump as an angry baby in a nappy will feature, with organisers calling for a carnival of resistance to the divisive US leader. Trump will attend a state banquet tonight, which Britains Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to attend in protest at Trumps racist and misogynist rhetoric and position on climate change. The president will then have breakfast with business chiefs, talks with May, a news conference and dinner at the residence of the US ambassador on Tuesday. READ MORE: Trump is deadly serious about tariffs on Mexico President Trump effectively opened a new trade war last week by imposing a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican imports and one that could rise to 25 percent by October if Mexico doesnt do more to combat illegal immigration to the U.S. Everyone agrees that Mexico could and should do more, but Trumps own top trade adviser, Robert Lighthizer, warned that the moves awkward timing could jeopardize ratification of the new U.S.MexicoCanada trade agreement. Lawmakers in the three countries have not yet approved the deal. The tariffs not only put Trumps signature trade accomplishment in jeopardy, but they threaten to increase prices for U.S. consumers of everything imported from Mexico items ranging from avocados to clothes to medical devices. The tariffs also threaten carefully constructed supply chains that allow the efficient transfer of goods, technology-based services, and raw materials. During a recent trip to Guadalajara, I toured several facilities that are part of the increasingly intricate web of supply chains delivering benefits to both Mexico and the U.S. Take spirits, a growth industry in both countries. Tequila is Mexicos national spirit, and almost all of it is produced in the Guadalajara area. But its ownership is international. At least eight tequila brands have U.S. ties, including Herradura, which is owned by Kentucky whiskey distiller Brown-Forman. Also on the list is Patron, which was owned until recently by John Paul DeJoria, of Paul Mitchell hair-products fame. Tequila is still a fully Mexican product, but free trade with the U.S. and Canada has spurred investment that has turned it into an international sensation. In the 1990s, over 90 percent of tequila consumed in the U.S. went into margaritas, and only 2 percent was high-grade premium tequila (made from 100 percent agave). Now more than half of U.S. tequila imports are premium labels. And labels owned by the likes of George Clooney and Justin Timberlake have given the spirit cachet. Raising the price of tequila by up to 25 percent could sour the spirits prospects on both sides of the border. Story continues But as important as tequila is to Guadalajara, tech is the real local growth sector. The U.S. company GoPro has announced that most of its cameras will be produced in Guadalajara by the end of this year a shift from the Chinese factories on which it formerly relied. Universal Electronics is also moving, from China to Mexico, its production of remote controls meant for the U.S. market. Foxconn, the Taiwanese firm that builds iPhones for Apple, is opening Mexican plants. The services sector is also being reconfigured by increased cooperation between Guadalajaras tech firms and the United States. One of the companies I toured was iTexico, a software-development firm that helps U.S. firms. In just the last year, iTexico has grown 50 percent. It now has more than 300 employees and is truly a cross-border company. Its headquarters are in Austin, Texas; it has a regional office in Silicon Valley; and its software-development center is in Guadalajara, where it can draw from the 30,000 students enrolled in technology programs in the areas universities. Firms such as IBM and Microsoft have benefited from iTexicos ability to allow clients to build a team that can do software development from start to finish on highly flexible schedules. President Trumps goal of forging a new U.S. trade policy that creates a more level playing field for U.S. products is a worthy one that has eluded all of his predecessors. Some of his tough talk and hardball actions are probably overdue. But its awkward having too many trade targets at any one time. Every few weeks, it seems, Team Trump bounces from China to the European Union to China as its major trade target. The interdependence of the world economy is fragile, given that more and more products and services have cross-border ownership and ties. A tough negotiating stance on trade is welcome, but it must be accompanied by an understanding of just how much damage could be done if driving a hard bargain were to take a back seat to impulsive behavior. More from National Review Washington (AFP) - Russia has told the United States that it has withdrawn most of its personnel from Venezuela, US President Donald Trump said Monday, two months after telling Moscow to "get out" of the crisis-plagued Latin American nation. "Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela," Trump tweeted during a state visit to Britain. US-Russian tensions have spiked over the months-long standoff in Venezuela, where Washington has thrown its weight behind a campaign to oust the Moscow-backed socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. Trump called on Russia to "get out" of Venezuela in March, after Moscow -- in a significant show of solidarity for Maduro's badly isolated government -- deployed around 100 soldiers to the country. The Kremlin has not responded officially to Trump's claim. However, state defense contractor Rostec played down any changes, dismissing an earlier report in The Wall Street Journal saying that the overall Russian presence had been reduced from as many as 1,000 personnel to a few dozen. The numbers cited by the Journal "were exaggerated dozens of times over," a statement from Rostec said. "As for technical specialists, they periodically arrive in the country for the repair and maintenance of previously supplied equipment. For example, technical maintenance was recently completed on a batch of aircraft," Rostec said. A Rostec spokeswoman told AFP that "around 10 people work in our Venezuela office and that's always been this way." According to the Journal report, however, Rostec once had a far bigger presence in Venezuela, training troops and advising on weapons contracts. That relationship has withered as Moscow recognizes the inability of Caracas to pay. Washington has subjected Venezuela, a once rich country whose economy is now in a state of chaos, to economic sanctions in an attempt to force Maduro from power. LONDON Britain rolled out the red carpet Monday as President Donald Trump began a three-day, spectacle-laden state visit that kicked off with a rare welcoming ceremony, private lunch and dinner banquet with Queen Elizabeth II. Trump and first lady Melania Trump also had tea with Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at their sprawling, garden-filled London residence, Clarence House. Tuesday, Trump will hold discussions on trade, security and defense with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May. A state visit is one of the highest honors the U.K. government can bestow on a foreign leader. Only two American presidents besides Trump have received one during Elizabeth's reign: George W. Bush in 2003 and Barack Obama in 2011. State visits are highly ritualized affairs involving all the tools of pomp and ceremony the British monarchy has developed over hundreds of years. The "entire Royal Family" has been "fantastic," and the relationship between the United States and Britain is "very strong," Trump tweeted Monday evening before the banquet. The trip did not get off to the smoothest start. Minutes before arriving in Britain, the president blasted London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a "stone cold loser." Trump made the comments aboard Air Force One after Khan, with whom Trump has a long-standing feud, described Trump on Sunday as "one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat." Khan compared the language Trump has used in tweets and speeches to words used by "fascists of the 20th century." Trump's U.K. visit: What you need to know, from royal ceremony to protests Want news from USA TODAY on WhatsApp? Click this link on your mobile device to get started Trump tweeted that Khan was "very dumb and incompetent" and compared him to Bill de Blasio, New York City's mayor "only half his height." Khan is an ex-human rights lawyer and son of a Pakistani immigrant bus driver. He has sparred publicly with Trump on several occasions, in particular over the presidents temporary Muslim travel ban and Trump's characterization of the mayor as "pathetic" for seeking to reassure Londoners they had "no reason to be alarmed" over the London Bridge terrorist attacks that killed eight people in 2017. Khan lobbied the U.K. government to cancel the state visit because of Trump's rhetoric. Story continues "One of the great things about having a special relationship is that you stand shoulder to shoulder in times of adversity and provide assistance and help, but it also means saying to your best mates when you think that he or she is wrong," Khan told USA TODAY in an interview last year, attempting to downplay his feud with Trump. In a tweet, De Blasio said he considered any comparison to Khan a compliment. The Trumps were given a tour of the royal family's private art collection and visited Westminster Abbey, where Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during the First World War. Wednesday, the Trumps will participate in commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. They will also travel to Ireland and France this week. The U.S. national anthem played as the Trumps arrived at Buckingham Palace, where they were first greeted by Charles and Camilla, then escorted to a terrace on the palace's west wing, where they met the queen. A gun salute to honor Trump's state visit could be heard from nearby Green Park, and Trump inspected the queen's Honor Guard as the U.K.'s national anthem played. Trump greeted the queen with a handshake, and she gave him a big smile. The queen gave Trump, as a gift, a first edition of Prime Minister Winston Churchill's book "The Second World War." He was also given a pen set decorated with an emblem made exclusively for the monarch. British media reported that the dress code for the banquet dinner, which has required days of preparation, is "tiaras and white tie." The guests will eat from priceless dinner sets, and their plates will be placed exactly 18 inches apart. Each guest will have six glasses: for water, a champagne toast, red and white wines, dessert wine and port. The queen and Trump are likely to give short speeches while no media are present. Britain and the United States have a close relationship forged through two World Wars, the Cold War, joint security concerns in the Middle East, cooperation fighting international terrorism and deep economic and cultural ties. In 2018, the countries traded more than $260 billion in goods and services, according to the White House. Trump's three-day visit may highlight areas where there is disagreement. Among them: Brexit : Trump expressed his support for Nigel Farage, a like-minded politician who he said should be involved in Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union. The British government asked the two men not to hold an official meeting. China : Washington calls Chinese telecom giant Huawei a massive national security threat; London has a more relaxed view. U.S. officials have warned that this difference of opinion could threaten intelligence cooperation. Middle East: The British government says Trump is wrong to have abandoned the nuclear deal reached by Iran and world powers in 2015. British officials have expressed skepticism over Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner's soon-to-be announced peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. Global accords: Britain objects to Trump's withdrawal from multilateral agreements aimed at curbing climate change and Iran's nuclear facilities. When Trump meets with May on Tuesday, up to 250,000 anti-Trump demonstrators are expected along the route between London's Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. There will be protests in other cities from Belfast to Birmingham. Phillip Butah, a painter wearing a "Make America Great Again" cap outside Buckingham Palace, said Trump was doing the opposite of what his critics accuse him of: "He's bringing everyone together," the British national said. "He makes us feel that we don't need to be ashamed for sticking up for who we are," said David Quinn, a DJ who accompanied Butah, also in a distinctive red cap. A royal affair: What to expect during Queen Elizabeth's visit with the Trumps This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump starts UK state visit with war of words, calling London mayor 'stone cold loser' Donald Trump has posted a series of tweets after meeting the Royal Family on Monday, claiming he has not seen the massive demonstrations opposing his state visit and calling on the UK to get rid of the shackles amid its Brexit negotiations. The president praised the queen, saying the entire Royal family have been fantastic, before wading into British politics and suggesting the demonstrations against him do not actually exist. London part of trip is going really well, Mr Trump wrote on Monday. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong. Tremendous crowds of well wishers and people that love our Country. Havent seen any protests yet, but Im sure the Fake News will be working hard to find them, he added. Great love all around. Also, big Trade Deal is possible once U.K. gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk! Mr Trump raised controversy just before beginning his visit to the UK by speaking with a British tabloid called The Sun, effectively endorsing Boris Johnson to become the next prime minister and suggesting he could have handled Brexit negotiations better than Theresa May. The interview and resulting backlash was almost eerily similar to Mr Trumps last visit, when he spoke to The Sun just before arriving in the UK and taking the rare step from a US president of jumping into British politics. I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent, Mr Trump said. London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong. Tremendous crowds of well wishers and people that love our Country. Havent seen any protests yet, but Im sure the.... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 I like him. I have always liked him. I dont know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person, he added. He has been very positive about me and our country. Story continues Typically US presidents do not step into British politics, particularly when a sitting prime minister is expected to step down as Ms May announced last month. The president added to his series of tweets from the UK that Russia had allegedly informed his administration it had removed most of their people from Venezuela. He also encouraged Mexico to stop the flow of people and drugs through their country to the US southern border, writing, They can do it if they want! Mr Trump will meet the prime minister for a bilateral meeting on Tuesday, before hosting a dinner at the ambassadors residence in London called the Winfield House. He then heads to Portsmouth on Wednesday to participate in a commemoration honouring the 75-year anniversary of D-Day, before departing for Ireland. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, voicing impatience with close ally Israel, said on Sunday he was not happy about electoral upheaval there and urged the Israelis to "get their act together." Israeli lawmakers voted to dissolve parliament on Thursday, paving the way for a new election on Sept. 17 after veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government before a midnight deadline. Trump is expected to keep up his support for Netanyahu, a right-wing leader who has forged close ties with the U.S. president over their tough stances on the Palestinians and Israel's arch-foe Iran. But the latest uncertainties clouding Israeli politics are expected to further delay the Trump administration's long-awaited Middle East peace plan, which already faces deep skepticism from many experts. Palestinians have boycotted the effort, seeing it as heavily tilted in favor of Israel and denying them a state of their own. The need to go to the polls again so soon after a closely contested April 9 election in which Netanyahu had claimed victory showed a new weakness in a leader who has been in power for the past decade. "Israel is all messed up in their election," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving on a European trip. "They have to get their act together." "Bibi got elected and now they have to go through the process again? Were not happy about that," Trump said. (Reporting by Katanga Johnson; Writing by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Peter Cooney) As President Trump landed in the U.K. on June 3 for a visit that also includes Ireland and France, we have yet another opportunity to reflect on the health of the transatlantic relationship. The situation is considerably different from July last year, when Trumps U.K. trip was lampooned by commentators and hounded by protesters. Trump has now molded a presidential administration that is far closer to his own worldview. The gloves are off when it comes to his two foreign policy priorities Iran and China. He may have a less pliant U.S. Congress, following the Democratic take-over of the House last November, but the failure of the Mueller Report to land the killer blow that many of his opponents hoped, combined with a strong domestic economy, mean that he is now a favorite to win the 2020 election. For its part, Europe has grown weaker rather than stronger over the same period. The elections to the European Parliament have revealed that Trumpian populism is on the rise on this side of the Atlantic also. President Emmanuel Macron, the anti-Trump standard bearer, has lost his luster; Angela Merkel has formally moved into the twilight of her Chancellorship; and Theresa May is stepping down as Prime Minister after failing to deliver Brexit on schedule. On the international stage, France, Germany and the U.K. have been unable to make any headway in resisting the growing stranglehold that renewed U.S. sanctions are imposing on European companies that might have wanted to follow their governments urging and sustain trade relations with Iran. Similarly, Europeans have watched powerlessly from the sidelines as the U.S. has ratcheted up its tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. The spectacle of U.K. chip designer ARM and other European companies cutting business ties with Chinese telecoms company Huawei following its naming on the U.S. foreign entities list, has amplified the extra-territorial reach of Americas geo-economic strategy. Story continues Today, Europeans hold no sway and have no say over U.S. foreign policy decisions that many believe run counter to their interests. Yet they and their companies are being forced to serve as agents of these policies. They are being bullied, and it is working. President Trump has exposed pitilessly the fact that, while might may not be right, might generally wins. Europeans cannot play hardball in return unless they have the resources and credibility to follow through. On security, they currently lack both the resources and the combined political willpower to demonstrate strategic autonomy. On the economic front, however, the situation is more nuanced. Europeans are more exposed than the U.S. to a slowdown in the Chinese and global economies but they do have power in two areas.The first is on setting rules that most multinational companies, including those from the U.S., follow across a host of key policy areas, from data protection to anti-corruption to protection of human rights. The second is in international trade negotiations, where the E.U. has sustained a program of trade opening negotiations in parallel to Trumps aggressive efforts to gain unilateral advantage over its most important trade partners. U.S. companies and farmers have discovered that the recent E.U. trade agreement with Japan has decreased their competitiveness in both markets. While this will give European leaders meeting President Trump in Normandy some sense of consolation, the same cannot be said of Prime Minister Theresa May. Britain is not just distracted by the endless process of negotiating its departure from the E.U. If or when it succeeds in leaving, it will also lose its voice in those policy areas where Europeans collectively carry most clout designing international regulations and concluding large-scale trade deals. Instead, British policy makers will have to manage an increasingly assertive and self-interested U.S. Administration which expects the U.K. to help it redress the transatlantic balance further in Washingtons favour. The next Prime Minister will be caught between the reality of the U.K.s low credibility as an independent actor during its endless exit from the E.U., and the desire of a large part of its public and body politic to see the country demonstrate some of its past plucky self-assurance. Caught between these cross-currents, President Trumps visit is the moment for the British to follow David Camerons rhetorical advice from 11 September 2006 and show that Britain has learned to be a solid but not slavish ally to the US. This piece was originally published by Chatham House. ANKARA, June 3 (Reuters) - Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Monday he hoped Turkey would post a current account surplus in June for the first time since President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party came to power nearly 17 years ago. "God willing, we will post the first current account surplus of the AK Party government era in June and start a new era," Albayrak said on Twitter. "We will strengthen our production and export-led economic model with steps in every area, and put the current account issue out of our agenda." Earlier this month, Turkey's central bank said the country's current account deficit had narrowed to $589 million in March. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, under growing pressure from numerous investigations of him and his administration, last week scorned talk of being removed from office via the impeachment process as "dirty, filthy, disgusting." The U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to impeach the president, although no president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of this arduous procedure. Some lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives favor starting the process. But the Senate, where it would have to end, is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans. They are unlikely to remove him from office, unless public sentiment shifts strongly in favor of it. The following is how the impeachment process works. WHY IMPEACHMENT? The founders of the United States created the office of the presidency and feared that its powers could be abused. So they included impeachment as a central part of the Constitution. They gave the House "the sole power of impeachment;" the Senate, "the sole power to try all impeachments;" and the chief justice of the Supreme Court the duty of presiding over impeachment trials in the Senate. The president, under the Constitution, can be removed from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." What exactly that means is unclear. Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings. Before he became president in 1974, Republican Vice President Gerald Ford said: "An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history." Ford replaced President Richard Nixon, who resigned before Congress could impeach him. HOW DOES IT WORK? Impeachment begins in the House, which debates and votes on whether to bring charges against the president via approval of an impeachment resolution, or "articles of impeachment," by a simple majority of the House's 435 members. Story continues If the House approves such a resolution, a trial is then held in the Senate. House members act as the prosecutors; the senators as jurors; the chief justice presides. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president. This has never happened. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both of them stayed in office after being acquitted by the Senate. CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN? No. Trump has said on Twitter that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But the founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary. PROOF OF WRONGDOING? In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is "proof beyond a reasonable doubt," a fairly stringent standard. Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate can set their own standards for proof. PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS? The House has 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacant seats. As a result, the Democrats could impeach Trump with no Republican support. In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat. The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with the Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would require 67 votes. So, for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him. WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED? In the unlikely event the Senate convicted Trump, Vice President Mike Pence would become president for the remainder of Trump's term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Chris Reese) By Dan Burns and Jason Lange NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Growth in U.S. manufacturing activity slowed in May to its weakest pace in over two years as factory managers raised concerns about a trade war between the United States and China, a national survey showed on Monday. The Institute for Supply Management said its U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index declined to 52.1 from 52.8 in April, hitting the lowest level since October 2016. A reading above 50 indicates growth. Wall Street economists polled by Reuters expected the index to rise to 53. A separate survey on U.S. purchasing manager sentiment by IHS Markit also pointed to slowing growth in U.S. factory activity in May. The reports suggest that risks to the U.S. economy are rising due to a slowing global economy and U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to overhaul America's relationship with its major trading partners. Trump has ordered sharp tariff increases on a host of Chinese imports in 2018 and this year, while on Friday he threatened to hike tariffs on all Mexican imports unless Mexico stems the flow of unauthorized immigrants into the United States. Many U.S. factories depend on Mexican suppliers for goods assembled in America. U.S. trading partners including China and Mexico have retaliated against Trump's tariffs with higher taxes on U.S. exports. This is also putting pressure on U.S. factories. "The sector can't thrive when it's being hit by new taxes at random every few weeks," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "This isn't about macro, it's about the whims of a president who understands very little about how the economy actually works." Trump says he wants to bring more manufacturing jobs to America and says trading partners have been taking advantage of the country. ISM's factory employment index ticked higher to 53.7 after April's reading of 52.4. The index has fallen by 11% since October 2017. Story continues Economists generally expect rising tariffs will hit corporate profits and lead to higher prices for U.S. consumers. The ISM survey was taken before Trump threatened new tariffs on Mexico starting next month. The threat prompted a broad outcry from U.S. businesses. Global trade tensions ratcheted higher throughout May after Trump ordered tariffs on billions of dollars of imported goods from China to rise to 25% from 10%, and progress toward a trade deal between the world's two largest economies ground to a halt. "Respondents expressed concern with the escalation in the U.S.-China trade standoff," said Timothy Fiore, who chairs the ISM's Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. Factories reported the weakest output growth last month since August 2016 with a production index reading of 51.3, down from 52.3 in April. New orders recovered modestly, but the backlog of orders contracted for the first time since January 2017. Separately, U.S. construction spending, which has suffered from a slowdown in the housing market, was flat in April, the Commerce Department said. A fall in spending on private residential projects balanced with a jump in public construction outlays. (Reporting by Dan Burns in New York and Jason Lange in Washington; Editing by Andrea Ricci) By Delana Isles LAWYERS for Croatian resort owner Zlatko Maric say it was the dangerous operation of jet skis in a swim zone that led to a confrontation on Sunday (May 26), and not racism. Attorneys attached to local law firm Saunders and Co - Bianca Harvey and Norman Saunders Jr - on Thursday (May 30) commented on the incident to the Weekly News via a press release. A confrontation occurred at about 4.30pm in front of Zlatko Marics villa property. A cell phone recording of which was then shared to social media sites, prompting accusations of racism. This incident is one of several involving business owners and local jet ski operators who ply their trade in swim zones around the island. Social media commenters have previously deemed incidents such as this as acts of racism and attempts to lay claim to public beaches by white expatriates. However, in this particular incident, several people came to the defence of the villa owner when racism accusations appeared. Marics law firm offered a further explanation on what caused the confrontation and how it was handled, stating that the incident had been misinterpreted by social media users. The release read: "A video circulating on social media, showing an argument between Zlatko Maric, a resident of Providenciales living on Long Bay beach, and a jet ski operator, is being misconstrued as a racist confrontation over use of the beach by the jet ski operator, when it was an argument over the dangerous operation of jet skis in a swim zone. The lawyers claim that the video has been edited, showing only part of the incident. Not included in the recording is the jet ski operator almost running over a guest, who was swimming just off the beach in front of the micro resort, with the jet ski coming within five to ten feet of the guest at a speed of about 25 mph, they stated. "The confrontation had nothing to do with the colour of anyones skin, their nationality, or use of the beach. "It does not matter to the issues, but the guest that was almost run over and whose safety was the subject of the confrontation, is black, and he was vacationing at a micro resort on Long Bay Beach with 15 black friends. "The jet ski operator, an employee of Sun and Fun Seasports, was first told by the guest that he should not be operating the jet ski so close to the beach, at such high speeds, and the operator resisted that advice, admonishing the guest that he did not own the beach. The release stated that Maric, who was also staying at the resort, then entered the discussion. "Maric says he has been struggling with jet ski operators driving at high speeds just off Long Bay beach for more than two years. "He says he heard the commotion from the jet ski operators, so he went on the beach to advise them they should not be operating jet skis so close to the beach. "Listening to both sides of the conversation makes it clear the operation of the jet skis was the subject of the confrontation. "Maric says you will kill somebody here, you will kill somebody here, the release read. Attorney Bianca Harvey stated that the jet ski operator responded to Marics warning with "this is not your beach, you dont own the beach here. She added: "Despite that response, it is clear the jet ski operator was not on the beach, he was never on the beach, and he was never told to get off the beach. "He was on the water just off the beach, on a jet ski, dangerously operating it within a few feet of the beach, at high speeds, suggesting he has a right to do so because no one owns the beach. Harvey further stated that it is also clear from the video that there were no racial remarks, and that references to ownership of the beach is a misnomer and a red herring. Harvey stated that English is not Marics first language, and that he has confirmed he did not threaten to kill anyone. What he said, the lawyer added, was "you will kill somebody, then "you will kill you, meaning the jet ski operator will kill others, and himself. Attorney Norman Saunders Jr in his remarks in the press statement noted that the operation of watercraft in swim zones is a serious and well-known hazard for tourists swimming just off beaches in the Islands, but also for the jet ski operators. He stated that in recent years, tourists have been run over and killed by watercraft while swimming just off beaches in the Islands. There are consequently now laws in place regulating the operation of watercraft in swim zones, prohibiting the reckless operation of watercraft, the lawyer said. "Operating jet skis at high speeds within 100 feet of any beach is dangerous, reckless, and irresponsible, and the jet-ski operator in Long Bay beach incident was considerably closer. "This is not a black/white, local/expat, public beach/private beach issue, and the attempt to frame it in those terms is not just self-evidently wrong, but it runs the risk of masking a serious problem, and empowering persons that operate watercraft dangerously and recklessly in swim zones, to continue to do so with impunity. He further advised that this incident should be used as a catalyst to focus on the real problem, which is the dangerous and reckless operation of jet skis in what are swim zones. Saunders said that local children use the beach, particularly on weekends and holidays and they are not exempt from being killed by watercraft users. "These warnings should be taken much more seriously by the persons licencing and regulating the operation of these watercraft. WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The top U.S. law enforcement officer and the Commerce secretary will face a contempt of Congress vote unless they hand over documents by Thursday on efforts to put a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, the chairman of a House of Representatives panel warned on Monday. Representative Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, sent letters to Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross warning them they had until Thursday to comply with the subpoena after having failed for two months to produce the documents. Cummings sent the letters after an immigrant advocacy group said in a filing in a Manhattan federal court last week that a longtime Republican specialist on drawing electoral districts played a "significant role" in planning the citizenship question. The filing charged that the Trump administration had concealed evidence that its proposal for the question was intended to help Republicans draw favorable electoral maps. A study by Harvard researchers in March predicted the citizenship question would lead to an undercount of some 4.2 million people among Hispanics, costing their communities federal aid and political representation. In his letter to Ross, Cummings said the Commerce secretary had testified he added the citizenship question "solely" at the request of the Justice Department to help enforce the Voting Rights Act. "Last week, new documents were unearthed that suggest that the real reason the Trump administration sought to add the citizenship question was not to help enforce the Voting Rights Act at all, but rather to gerrymander congressional districts in overtly racist, partisan and unconstitutional ways," he added. Cummings said the panel would consider postponing its contempt of Congress vote if Ross and Barr produced unredacted documents the committee had requested by Thursday. (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) (Reuters) - A broad area of low pressure over the Bay of Campeche has a 60% chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. This system is expected to move slowly northwestward toward the northeastern coast of Mexico and interests along the Gulf coast of Mexico should monitor the progress of this system, the NHC added. (Reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky) By Diane Bartz and Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is gearing up to investigate whether Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google misuse their massive market power, sources told Reuters on Monday, setting up what could be an unprecedented, wide-ranging probe of some of the world's largest companies. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, which enforce antitrust laws in the United States, have divided oversight over the four companies, two sources said, with Amazon and Facebook under the watch of the FTC, and Apple and Google under the Justice Department. With jurisdiction established, the next step is for the two federal agencies to decide if they want to open formal investigations. Results are not likely to be quick. A previous FTC probe of Google took more than two years. Technology companies face a backlash in the United States and across the world, fueled by concerns among competitors, lawmakers and consumer groups that the firms have too much power and are harming users and business rivals. Shares of Facebook Inc fell 7.5% on Monday while Google's owner Alphabet Inc shed more than 6%. Amazon.com Inc shares fell 4.6% and Apple Inc dipped 1%. The Justice Department and FTC generally do not discuss investigations. U.S. President Donald Trump has called for closer scrutiny of social media companies and Google, accusing them of suppressing conservative voices online, without presenting any evidence. He has repeatedly criticized Amazon for taking advantage of the U.S. Postal Service, also without evidence. Trump has frequently taken aim at Amazon's Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, who privately owns the Washington Post, a newspaper which often criticizes Trump. LAWMAKERS WEIGH IN Leading lawmakers on both sides of the aisle welcomed potential investigations of big tech firms. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, a Republican, told Reuters that the business model of companies like Google and Facebook needs to be scrutinized. "Its got so much power, and so unregulated," he said. Another Republican, Senator Marsha Blackburn, said the panel would do what she called a "deeper dive" into big tech companies. Story continues Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who said on Monday that U.S. enforcers have to do more than wring their hands about the companies' clout, also weighed in. "Their predatory power grabs demand strict & stiff investigation & antitrust action," the Connecticut senator wrote on Twitter. Separately, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opened its own investigation into competition in digital markets, with both Republicans and Democrats expressing concern about the power exercised by tech giants. News broke on Friday that the Justice Department was laying the groundwork to investigate Google to determine whether the world's biggest online advertising platform was using its size to squeeze out smaller competitors, violating laws designed to ensure fair competition. The company declined comment on Monday. The Washington Post reported on Saturday that Amazon would come under the remit of the FTC in any probe. Amazon declined comment on Monday. People briefed on the matter say neither the Justice Department nor the FTC have contacted Google or Amazon about any probes, and that company executives are unaware of what issues regulators are reviewing. Apple and Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday. REGULATORY SCRUTINY While the four technology companies, all worth hundreds of billions of dollars, have drawn scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers around the world, it was not clear what the U.S. Justice Department or FTC planned to focus on. Amazon, the world's biggest online retailer, has been criticized for holding sway over third-party sellers on its website, who must pay for advertising to compete against first-party and private label sales by Amazon itself. Lawmakers have also argued that Amazon's low prices have hurt brick-and-mortar retailers, many of whom have closed because they could not compete. Apple is the subject of a European Union investigation into a complaint made by streaming music provider Spotify Technology SA that Apple abuses its power over app downloads. In 2014, the iPhone maker settled a Justice Department lawsuit alleging it conspired with publishers to raise the price of e-books. The FTC has already been investigating Facebook's sharing of data belonging to 87 million of its users with the now-defunct British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. Facebook said in April that it expected to be fined up to $5 billion by the regulator. Facebook, which owns one-time rivals Instagram and WhatsApp and has more than 1.5 billion daily users, has a huge influence in many countries and has been criticized for allowing misleading posts and so-called 'fake news' on its service. Google has faced accusations that its web search service, which has become so dominant that it is now a verb, leads consumers to its own products at the cost of competitors. The FTC settled an investigation of Google in 2013 with a reprimand. The company has been fined multiple times by the European Union's competition regulator, most recently in March for 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) in a case focused on illegal practices in search advertising brokering from 2006 to 2016. Legal experts have said U.S. regulators are unlikely to attempt to break up the technology giants. It is rare to break up a company but not unheard of, with Standard Oil and AT&T being two of the biggest examples. U.S. antitrust probes more often result in an agreement to change certain business practices. (Reporting by Diane Bartz and Jan Wolfe in Washington; Additional reporting by Nandita Bose, Susan Cornwell, Roberta Rampton, David Shepardson and Stephen Nellis; Editing by Bill Rigby) By Allison Lampert, Hyonhee Shin and Michelle Nichols MONTREAL/SEOUL/NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - A U.N. agency's bid to curb North Korea's missile program with an airspace safety audit and at the same time revive its air traffic has been delayed amid U.S. concerns that it may breach U.N. sanctions, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Airlines currently take indirect routes to avoid North Korea due to the threat of surprise missile tests, which have been witnessed by some passengers on commercial flights. The U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) met North Korean officials last year to discuss Pyongyang's hopes for a new route that would pass through South Korean airspace following a dramatic detente between the two sides. ICAO had planned to conduct its first aviation safety audit in North Korea in more than a decade this year, but it has been delayed until 2020 amid U.S. concerns that it could include sharing technology that could also be used to advance North Korea's weapons programs, the sources said. All of the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue. "They're concerned because it involves technology that could possibly be diverted for military purposes, unlike humanitarian aid that would be exempted from sanctions more easily," one of the sources told Reuters. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department declined to comment because the talks held by ICAO's council were private. ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin confirmed the postponement on Friday. "Multilateral assistance and capacity-building activities always require a significant amount of negotiation and advance consultation," he said. The delay comes as the United States maintains sanctions pressure on North Korea after a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in February. The summit failed to reach a deal due to conflicts over Trump's calls for complete denuclearisation of North Korea and Kim's demands for relief from U.N. sanctions. Story continues Reclusive North Korea for years pursued missile and nuclear weapons programs in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The audit and a separate joint military and civilian workshop, which was initially due for September this year, were designed to curb Pyongyang's long-standing practice of carrying out missile tests without prior notice, a second source said. But those efforts faced pushback not just from the United States but also some other U.N. member nations, including Japan, over whose territory North Korea has test-fired missiles in the past, a third source said. Ahead of the Hanoi summit, ICAO informed a Security Council panel overseeing the enforcement of the sanctions that its planned workshop would not contravene the U.N. sanctions, according to a letter seen by Reuters. But on March 12, days after the summit collapsed, the United States told the committee that it disagreed with ICAO's view. "This training is subject to (sanctions) because it is technical cooperation on aerospace and aeronautical engineering and technology and therefore requires the committee to review it on a case-by-case basis," the United States told the panel. In May, ICAO's 36-member governing council agreed to put off an exemption request for the workshop in Pyongyang, which would promote civil and military cooperation on aviation safety and airspace management. The Montreal-based ICAO cannot impose rules on governments, but wields clout through its safety and security standards which are approved by its 193 member states. CAUTION AND TENSION Tension has mounted in the Koreas since the breakdown of the Hanoi summit. North Korea launched short-range missiles in May and Washington unveiled its seizure of a North Korean ship suspected of illicit coal shipments in breach of sanctions. "We are being very cautious, especially since the missile tests restarted," said a fourth source, who is a non-U.S. representative at ICAO. Some officials in South Korea, which often trains developing countries on aviation safety as part of its humanitarian aid programs, were initially cautiously optimistic over ICAO's plans. Korean Air Lines, which hosted a gathering of global airline leaders in Seoul over the weekend, would benefit from the lifting of air restrictions over North Korea, allowing international carriers to save fuel and time on some routes between Asia and Europe and North America. "We're in an extremely sensitive situation," a South Korean official said. "It was evident that there are worries about sanctions, and we can't afford violating them." Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, which provides safety guidance to air operators, said he believed North Korean airspace had potential. "The risk was elevated when missiles started landing in the Sea of Japan, in October 2017. But that's stopped," Zee said. "Overflying it ought to be almost without risk at present. I would operate an aircraft through there long before Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and some of the other places that airlines are currently overflying." (Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Singapore; Editing by Nick Macfie) UNITED NATIONS, June 3 (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemns violence and reports of excessive use of force by Sudanese security personnel on civilians, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Monday. Sudanese Security forces stormed a protest camp in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday morning and at least 13 people were reported killed in the worst violence since the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir in April. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) GENEVA, June 3 (Reuters) - United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Monday for Sudanese security forces to halt attacks on Khartoum protest camps and to allow medical workers access to the wounded after at least 13 people were reported killed. I utterly deplore the apparent use of excessive force in the protest camps. Reports that live ammunition was used by security forces next to, and even inside, medical facilities are extremely alarming," Bachelet said in a statement. "I urge the security forces to immediately halt such attacks, and to ensure safe, unimpeded access to medical care for all. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay Editing by Frances Kerry) By Paresh Dave and Diane Bartz SAN FRANCISCO/WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Ad tech firms and publishers have had to stay in the good graces of Google or risk insolvency. That is why the U.S. Department of Justice is examining the dominance of Alphabet Inc's Google in online advertising as part of a potential antitrust investigation, two sources told Reuters. Google's control over the market has long hurt the profits of smaller advertising technology companies who must appease the No. 1 online ad firm to be profitable, and online publishers who need Google's search reach and ad tools to build an audience and make money on their content. The ad market is just one of several areas of possible inquiry. Google has declined to comment on the potential investigation, but has repeatedly said that it acts in the best interest of its users and offers sufficient warning to industry partners potentially affected by its moves. Google is expected to capture 37% of the $129 billion spent on online ads in the United States in 2019, compared to 22% for No. 2 Facebook Inc and 10% for No. 3 Amazon.com Inc , according to ad research firm eMarketer. Digital advertising revenue accounted for about 85% of revenue last year for Google parent Alphabet. The U.S. government is gearing up to investigate the massive market power of Amazon.com Inc, Apple, Facebook and Google, sources told Reuters on Monday, setting up what could be an unprecedented wide-ranging probe of some of the world's largest companies. Apple and Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Monday. Google and Amazon declined to comment. UNFETTERED GROWTH The U.S. government has done little to slow Google's ad market dominance despite having several opportunities. In 2007, the FTC approved Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of software firm DoubleClick, saying it would not substantially lessen competition, and it made the same finding in 2010 for Google's $750 million purchase of AdMob. Story continues Those deals have helped make Google's tools dominant in how businesses buy and sell ads on the internet. The Google Marketing Platform is the main way big advertisers buy ads, while Google Ad Manager is the most widely used service among publishers selling ad space on their websites or apps. The company also owns the Chrome web browser and the Android mobile platform, which are two of the largest gateways to the internet. And its search and YouTube properties are two of the largest ad-supported applications. Smaller ad technology vendors and website owners have said that Google's power enables it to dictate industry policies and practices in ways that squeeze out their companies and favor its own. "I'm worried that (Google is) moving toward a position of dominance across all of digital advertising, from control of the user to the control of display of an ad," said Andrew Buckman, chief operating officer of British advertising firm Sublime. "It's good Justice is looking at that." In a heated situation last year, Google required websites using its technology to adhere to a new European privacy law in a way that major news websites said was too strict of an interpretation of the rules and would cost them revenue. Some of those critics, including German digital publishing house Axel Springer, declined to comment on the U.S. investigation but media industry associations said they were pleased to see the action. At a Justice Department workshop last month on competition in advertising, Breitbart News Network Chief Executive Larry Solov said a Justice Department antitrust action against Google was the best way to address concerns without "heavy regulation." "No one advertising and tech company, especially one with a proven viewpoint bias, should have control over picking winners and losers in publishing," Solov said of Google. This year, Google announced changes to Chrome affecting how ad software vendors track users online that could curtail the industry's data collection and revenue. The plan and a similar move related to the look and feel of ads last year have attracted concern from smaller rivals including Sublime and Rumble, which did not respond to a request to comment. Brian O'Kelley, the former chief executive of ad tech firm AppNexus, told Reuters on Sunday that he was forced to sell his company to AT&T Inc last year because of Googles stranglehold on the market. AppNexus was valued at $1.6 billion in the purchase, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time. Among O'Kelley's issues was that in 2015, Google began requiring advertisers to purchase YouTube ads thru its own ad-buying platforms, effectively preventing companies such as AppNexus from getting involved in the transaction. And because Google owned the dominant search and video sites, it became difficult to compete, O'Kelley said. "Google's monopoly forced me to sell my business," he said. O'Kelley said investigators will face a difficult task in reconciling antitrust and privacy issues. Restricting data collection tends to benefit companies with user relationships, such as Google and Facebook, as opposed to behind-the-scenes software vendors. "Privacy law is good for the monopolist," O'Kelley said. (Reporting by Paresh Dave Diane Bartz; additional reporting by Sheila Dang; editing by Chris Sanders and Grant McCool) (Refiles to remove word fragment at end of paragraph 3) June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking documents from Citgo Petroleum Corp as part of an investigation into bribery by U.S. suppliers involving its Venezuelan parent, state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela . Citgo confirmed the receipt of a subpoena and said in a statement on Monday it agreed to cooperate with the U.S. probe. The Houston-based oil refiner appointed a new board of directors earlier this year and cut ties with PDVSA following U.S. sanctions designed to stop the flow of U.S. dollars to Venezuela and ratchet up pressure to force socialist President Nicolas Maduro from power. "Earlier this year, under the direction of its newly appointed Board, Citgo engaged outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation, and is committed to taking all appropriate remedial actions in response to the findings, the company's statement said. A spokeswoman declined further comment. The Justice Department's probe into bribery at PDVSA has resulted in charges against 21 people, 16 of whom have pleaded guilty as of this month. Maduro's government has described the U.S. investigations as politically motivated. The disclosure of a Citgo subpoena, which was earlier reported by Bloomberg, followed a guilty plea by Miami business owner Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino over bribes paid to PDVSA and Citgo to obtain energy and logistics contracts. Gonzalez admitted he and co-conspirators between late 2012 and mid-2013 paid at least four Citgo officials and provided gifts to a senior Citgo executive in return for help winning contracts, the Justice Department said last week. He was charged with paying at least $629,000 to a PDVSA procurement official. Citgo's outside lawyers have been reviewing procurement activity during the period that Gonzalez admitted to running the scheme, the company told employees last week. "These charges are quite troubling," Citgo Chairwoman Luisa Palacios and Executive Vice President Rick Esser wrote to employees. "Citgo takes seriously all allegations of unlawful or improper activity." Citgo, which earned $851 million on more than $23 billion in 2018 revenues, operates three U.S. refineries that supply about 4 percent of U.S. fuels. It employs about 3,400 workers and supplies a retail network that spans about 30 states. (Reporting by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Peter Cooney) By Mike Stone WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has moved ahead with a surveillance drone sale to four U.S. allies in the South China Sea region as acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said Washington will no longer "tiptoe" around Chinese behavior in Asia. The drones would afford greater intelligence gathering capabilities potentially curbing Chinese activity in the region. Shanahan did not directly name China when making accusations of "actors" destabilizing the region in a speech at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday but went on to say the United States would not ignore Chinese behavior. The Pentagon announced on Friday it would sell 34 ScanEagle drones, made by Boeing Co. to the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam for a total of $47 million. China claims almost all of the strategic South China Sea and frequently lambastes the United States and its allies over naval operations near Chinese-occupied islands. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam have competing claims. The Pentagon said Friday's sales included spare and repair parts, support equipment, tools, training and technical services and work on the equipment was expected to be completed by March 2022. As many as 12 unarmed drones and equipment would go to Malaysia for about $19 million. Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country would buy eight drones, the Philippines eight, and Vietnam six. In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration rolled out a long-awaited overhaul of U.S. arms export policy aimed at expanding sales to allies, saying it would bolster the American defense industry and create jobs at home. That initiative eased rules for exporting some types of lethal as well as non-lethal U.S.-made drones to potentially dozens more allies and partners. There is no armed version of the ScanEagle, but Insitu, the division of Boeing that makes the drone, also makes the RQ-21A Blackjack which is an optionally armed drone used by U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. (Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; editing by Grant McCool) WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by Mathew Martoma, a former portfolio manager for billionaire Steven A. Cohen, challenging a conviction for insider trading. The Supreme Court left in place a June 2018 ruling by the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found there was enough evidence to establish Martoma's guilt despite defective jury instructions in the trial. (Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham) HEBRON, West Bank (AP) -- Majed Jameel was overwhelmed. This wasn't the kind of pressure he'd grown accustomed to as a teacher in the volatile West Bank city of Hebron. On a recent, not uncommon occasion, clashes erupted between students and Israeli soldiers, sending volleys of tear gas into the playground. That he could handle. This was a different stress. After the Trump administration slashed funding last year to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, Jameel saw his classes nearly doubled in size. His disciplined social studies class at the Hebron Boys' School had become a crowded, unruly scene: Four children squeezed at desks made for two, dozens of hands shooting in the air at the same time, noise snowballing when he paused for questions. He said the classroom is louder and filled with distractions. "You spend most of the class time restraining student interactions or fights and have no time left to track their homework and classwork ... or give one-on-one help." The effects of U.S. aid cuts have rippled throughout UNRWA's operations, but its sprawling school system, serving 500,000 children across the Middle East, has been hit hardest. With money dried up and widespread austerity measures in place, the agency says it can no longer accommodate a natural influx of students, recruit new teachers or expand to larger facilities. Peter Mulrean, the agency's New York representative, said average class sizes in the West Bank have grown from 30 students a year ago to 50. "There's a huge difference between correcting exams for 27 students and for 47 students," said Jameel. "I just want things go back to how they were last year." Students, too, say they've felt a major shift. "It's been really hard for me to understand what's going on in class this year," said Suhail Jaber, a ninth-grader at the Hebron school. "If the teacher stops to explain things when we're confused, I feel class is suddenly over and I won't ever understand." Story continues Ali Azazmeh, 10, said he's stopped even trying. "With all the heads in front of me I can't see the board anyway." In early 2018, the U.S., which was UNRWA's biggest donor for decades, cut its contributions from $360 million to $60 million. In 2019, U.S. contributions are zero. In a recent address to the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt said the UNRWA model "has failed the Palestinian people." "The UNRWA model cannot provide to Palestinians what they deserve a life where they can plan for their future and the future of their children, and one where they know whether schools and health clinics will remain open," he said. He called for "host governments" and other aid organizations to fill the void. UNRWA was established in the wake of the 1948 Mideast war surrounding Israel's creation to aid the estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes in the fighting. In the absence of a political solution, the U.N. General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA's mandate. Today, the agency serves some 5 million Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, who view it as a vital safety net, providing services that governments do not. Symbolically, Palestinians see UNRWA as sustaining their core demand that refugees have the "right of return" to their lost homes in what is now Israel a prospect that Israel rejects. Critics in the U.S. and Israel accuse the agency of perpetuating the conflict and promoting a culture of welfare dependency by maintaining an ever-growing population of refugees. Instead of working to resettle the refugees, critics say UNRWA allows refugee status to be passed down for generations, even in cases where they have gained citizenship elsewhere, such as Jordan. UNRWA rejects the criticism, pointing out that refugees in other conflicts also maintain their status. It says it is carrying out a U.N.-mandated mission that reflects the will of the international community. The best way to solve the refugee problem, it says, is to find a political solution to the conflict that addresses the fate of the refugees. After the U.S. cuts, an aggressive fundraising push hauled in major contributions from European and Gulf countries, which filled a $1.2 billion shortfall so that schools, health clinics and food distribution centers could stay afloat. But UNRWA is still reeling from the U.S. funding lapse. "When you hear that we've maintained our programs and reduced our deficit, what you don't see is that the quality of our services is under threat," said Mulrean, noting that UNRWA has saved over $92 million last year in internal cuts. "There already wasn't much fat to cut. Now we're at the bone." Beyond crowded classes, casualties of the cutbacks include layoffs to hundreds of part-time helpers and substitutes, intensifying pressure on overworked teachers who "now no longer have the luxury of getting sick, unless their colleague takes on an additional 50 students," said Tamara Alrifai, an UNRWA spokeswoman. The agency also cut psychosocial counseling, adding to concerns that the neediest kids will bear the brunt of austerity, especially in Gaza, which has gone through repeated rounds of bloody clashes with Israel. UNRWA says 81% of Gazan children struggle in school due to conflict-related stress. Long before the U.S. cuts, the school system in the crowded Gaza Strip had been vexed by an excess of kids and lack of buildings, the majority of which are shared in double or triple shifts. Since the spending freeze, a handful of students have been added to classes that already contained between 40-50 students, said Adnan Abu Hasna, the agency's media adviser in Gaza. After the U.S. recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December 2017, the Palestinians cut off ties with the White House. The Palestinians believe the cuts to UNRWA, along with an end to hundreds of millions of dollars in other aid, are part of a broader U.S. effort to deal them a political blow. Later this month, the White House is scheduled to unveil the first stage of its long-awaited Mideast peace plan at an economic conference in the Gulf state of Bahrain. The aim is to raise funds from wealthy Arab countries and other donors for large-scale investment in the Palestinian territories. Palestinian politicians have rejected the forum's parameters, saying they won't give up their national aspirations in exchange for economic incentives. In his address to the Security Council, Greenblatt noted the "irony" that the Bahrain conference had been scheduled for the same days as UNRWA's annual fundraising conference. "I acknowledge I have not brought with me today a solution," he said. "What we do know is that what we have today is not the answer." But in the absence of answers, Mulrean said millions of Palestinians are suffering. "The U.S. has set a precedent, and at the end of the day, it's the most vulnerable people who pay the price," he said. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday to discuss the crisis in Sudan after security forces violently broke up weeks of protests against military rule, leaving more than 30 dead. Britain and Germany requested the talks on Monday, diplomats said, after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Sudan's security personnel for using excessive force. Guterres said in a statement that he was "alarmed" by reports that security forces had opened fire inside a hospital in Khartoum and called for an independent investigation into deaths from the violence. A committee of Sudanese doctors, which is close to the protesters, said more than 30 people were killed and dozens wounded in the violence. "What is clear to us is that there was use of excessive force by the security forces on civilians. People have died. People have been injured," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Guterres urged Sudanese authorities to facilitate an independent investigation of the deaths and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in a separate statement that she deplored the "apparent use of excessive force in the protest camps" and called on security forces to "immediately halt such attacks." The military council denied its forces violently dispersed the sit-in in front of army headquarters. The UN chief renewed his call for negotiations to resume on a peaceful transfer of power to a civilian-led authority. Negotiations between protest leaders and Sudan's ruling military council have broken down, as the two sides have failed to agree on whether a planned transitional body would be headed by a civilian or a military figure. The military council has ruled the country since the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir on April 11, after months of protests against his authoritarian rule. Sudan's generals, backed by key Arab powers, have resisted calls from African and Western governments to hand over the reins of power. United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is warning of a "high risk" of atrocities in Mali in a report that calls for beefing up the UN peacekeeping presence in the strife-torn center of the country. In the report to the Security Council obtained by AFP, Guterres said he was "appalled" by the upsurge in violence and called on the government to strengthen its response to extremist groups. "If these concerns are not addressed, there is a high risk of further escalation that could lead to the commission of atrocity crimes," Guterres wrote in the report sent to the council on Friday. At least 157 people, including 46 children, were massacred in the central village of Ogossagou on March 23, in raids blamed on extremists stoking communal tensions. With security worsening, Guterres recommended that there be no drawdown of the UN peacekeeping force, known as MINUSMA, despite calls by the United States for cuts to blue helmet missions worldwide. The MINUSMA mission should be extended for a year with its troop ceiling of 13,289 unchanged along with the maximum deployment of 1,920 police, said the report. There are currently about 14,700 troops and police deployed in Mali, which ranks as the most dangerous UN mission, with 125 peacekeepers killed in attacks since deployment in 2013. Guterres recommended that MINUSMA strengthen its presence in the center of the country, where attacks have been the deadliest, by deploying one or two police units, or about 280 police. In addition, a UN camp in northern Mali could be handed over to Malian forces, freeing up 650 personnel for reinforcement in the central Mopti region, the report said. The council is set to vote on renewing MINUSMA's mandate on June 27. MINUSMA was established after radical Islamist militias seized the north of the country in 2012. They were pushed back by French troops in 2013. A peace agreement signed in 2015 by the Bamako government and armed groups was aimed at restoring stability. But the accord has failed to stop the violence. Unseeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova continued her unlikely march into the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday, stunning No. 12 seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-2, 6-0 in Paris. The 19-year-old Vondrousova, who has yet to lose a set at Roland Garros, advances to a showdown with No. 31 seed Petra Martic of Croatia. "I'm just happy with my game," said Vondrousova, who needed just 59 minutes to blow past Sevastova. "Yeah, really happy." Martic advanced after beating Estonia's Kaia Kanepi 5-7, 6-2, 6-4. It's the first Grand Slam quarterfinal for either player and a rematch of the Istanbul final earlier this season, which Martic won. Vondrousova has reached at least the quarterfinals in the last six tournaments she's appeared in, dating back to February. No. 26 seed Johanna Konta of Britain knocked off No. 23 Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-2, 6-4 to lock up one of the final spots in the quarters. "It was a good match," Konta said. "I mean, I thought I had very, very few drops in my level, which I think definitely kept the pressure on her and in trying to find a solution." Konta's quarterfinal opponent will be seventh-seeded American Sloane Stephens, who topped No. 19 Garbine Muguruza of Spain 6-4, 6-3 in the day's final match. Stephens is in the French Open quarterfinals for the second straight year and is expecting a battle from Konta. "She's been playing well, and she's been playing much better on the clay," Stephens said. "She didn't have her best results on clay before, and now she's playing really well on the surface. Like I said, clay is a neutralizer, so I think it will be another good match. "Obviously in a Grand Slam, playing for a semifinal there's a lot on the line. So you just got to go out and play your best and, yeah, just execute a good game plan." --Field Level Media St. Louis (AFP) - "Free pregnancy test, free ultrasound," reads the sign on a bus parked in the US city of St. Louis, close to the only clinic still authorized to carry out abortions in the state of Missouri. Inside the vehicle, three young women welcome visitors with broad smiles, although talking to a member of the press is out of the question. Nearby, Linda, a 63-year-old African-American woman who came here with her church group, the Restoration Assembly of God, said that she urges young women headed for the clinic to visit the bus and have an ultrasound. "It kind of gives the women a chance to hear the heart beat and realize it's a human," she said. Linda, who did not want to give her surname, said she "wants to save the lives of the unborn." She and her fellow congregants came to pray in front of the clinic, run by Planned Parenthood and the only one still offering abortions in the Midwestern US state. The clinic is in the crosshairs of the authorities but won a judicial reprieve from closure last week. It remains under threat, however, and if it loses its license, Missouri will become the first state in the union without access to abortions since the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling in 1973. At the same time, Missouri, like other conservative and religious states, has adopted an extremely restrictive law on abortion in the hope that the Supreme Court, which has tilted conservative under President Donald Trump, will be able to undermine the ruling that granted women federal rights to an abortion. Anti-abortion activists are closely following the political maneuvers and say they are "cautiously optimistic." But they see their most important role as being on the ground and maintaining direct pressure on clinics. - 'Soft' versus 'old-school' - In front of the St. Louis clinic, the "Coalition for Life" group, which brings together some 4,000 activists and 95 churches, has organized shifts so that there are always two people to greet patients headed for the clinic. Story continues Dressed in orange vests, they offer patients a leaflet listing all the services they provide, including free ultrasounds and a dozen "pregnancy centers" in the area which seek to dissuade women from going through with an abortion. One of the centers is an airy, bright office where young mothers are offered free diapers, and directed to various counselors. A sign reads, "We don't pray, picket, show graphic pictures." Mary Maschmeier, a 69-year-old Roman Catholic who has raised 11 kids and founded a group called "Defenders of the Unborn," considers this approach to be "soft." "I prefer to tell the truth about the horror of abortion," she said, adding that she comes every Saturday to what she calls the "abortion mills." She hands out her own leaflets, which refer women to the same services but which also feature pictures of aborted fetuses or claim there is a link between abortions and breast cancer. She happily identifies herself as "old school" and said she had been arrested six times for her activities. - Praying in front of courts - If the tone and methods are different, the end goal is exactly the same: "To get that abortion-minded girl into our center and show her that that is not a blob of tissue," said the manager of one of the "pregnancy centers" who asked not to be identified. "I just had a girl come in yesterday, 20 years old, who had an appointment with them today. She cancelled her appointment, because she said I showed her what her baby looks like. And she started crying. And she's going to keep her baby," she said proudly. With a piece of Scotch tape stuck across her mouth, 39-year-old Melissa Jacobs represents a different approach to anti-abortion activism: for the last 13 years, she has been a member of the national group "Bound4life," whose activists put tape with the word "Life" written on it across their mouths to promote their cause. "We don't reach out to the women, we focus more on praying, especially at courts," said Jacobs, a mother of seven, removing her piece of tape to speak. As much as the activists deploy on the ground, they know that ultimately the fate of the issue rests with the courts. And they are counting on the two conservative justices appointed by Trump to the Supreme Court to tip the balance their way. "It's time to reverse Roe v. Wade," said Jacobs. Maschmeier echoed that sentiment. "It's about time, we have been working at this for 30, 40, 50 years." chp/AB/jh/ec Seoul (AFP) - US moves against Chinese tech titan Huawei have had "no effect" on the firm's aviation business despite several countries taking steps to block its mobile services, a top company executive said Monday. Huawei has been caught in an intensifying trade war between the United States and China, with President Donald Trump moving to blacklist the Chinese manufacturer over national security concerns. But Eman Liu, president of Huawei's global transportation business unit, said the company's aviation business was untouched so far. Huawei provides information and communication technology solutions to more than 50 airports and 15 airlines around the world, including Dubai Airports and the Changi Airport Group in Singapore. Its services include video surveillance and airport cloud systems as well as wifi services and storage servers. "Until now, there is no effect," Liu told AFP on the sidelines of the annual International Air Transport Association (IATA) conference in Seoul. Huawei customers at the event had pledged to "keep cooperating" with the firm despite Washington's accusations, Liu said. "For all the rest of the world, we are keeping doing business with them for more than 10 years," Liu said. "Because this trust is not one day trust. It's a long-term trust for the past 15 years, even 30 years." Huawei has risen to become the world leader in telecom networking equipment and one of the top smartphone manufacturers alongside Samsung and Apple. The US Commerce Department last month placed the company on an "entity list" on grounds of national security, a move that curbs its access to US-made components it needs for its equipment. A 90-day reprieve was later issued. A number of countries have also blocked Huawei from working on their mobile networks and companies have stepped back from the firm following the US ban, citing legal requirements. "We cannot change the situation right now because we are businessmen," Liu said. "But we hope the United States can change their way." Story continues If the US persisted with its moves, Liu said, it would "force us to use Plan B", referring to heavy investments in new technology, including developing its own chips. Washington has long voiced suspicions that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government and thus a global security threat -- charges strongly denied by the firm and by Beijing. China's defence minister said Sunday that Huawei was "not a military company" despite its founder Ren Zhengfei's previous career in the People's Liberation Army. Washington (AFP) - The US administration is stepping up scrutiny of Big Tech firms, which could result in a series of drawn-out legal battles aimed at reining in -- and potentially breaking up -- giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook. The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have carved out territory for the investigations to set the stage for reviews of the dominance of the largest of the Silicon Valley firms, media reports said. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Justice Department will lead the Google probe, leaving the FTC to review the competition practices of Amazon and Facebook. Separately, the House Judiciary Committee announced its own investigation into "competition in digital markets," saying: "A small number of dominant, unregulated platforms have extraordinary power over commerce, communication, and information online." The moves comes amid a rising "techlash" stemming from privacy and data protection lapses at tech firms, and growing concerns about the sheer dominance of these firms. Politicians on both sides of the political aisle have been stepping up criticism, and some presidential candidates have called for the biggest firms to be broken up. Analysts say the political winds have shifted against Silicon Valley firms, which had been among the most admired US companies, following revelations on how much personal data they are scooping up. "Google knows just about everything there is to know about us," said Jack Gold, analyst at the consultancy J. Gold Associates. Gold said Google and Facebook, the dominant players in online advertising, have developed sophisticated tools to gather data on users. "It gives them a leg up," Gold said. "They can target ads much better than anyone else. The question is whether there is anybody who can compete with them." - Sound and fury - But some legal scholars say antitrust enforcers will face an uphill battle in taking on Big Tech. Story continues Under most legal interpretations, the government will need to show tech firms abused their monopoly position and harmed consumers -- a difficult task with respect to Google and Facebook, which offer most services for free. "I see this as a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing," said Larry Downes, project director at Georgetown University's Center for Business and Public Policy. "The law hasn't changed. You can't just go after companies because you don't like them." Downes said probes are unlikely to find that tech firms have violated the "consumer welfare standard," which has guided policy for more than four decades. But the rise of Big Tech has prompted a rethinking of that standard, said Maurice Stucke, a former Justice Department lawyer now on the law school faculty of the University of Tennessee. "The consumer welfare standard is not the law," Stucke said, arguing that there is no need to show higher prices if tech firms stifle competition. - EU roadmap? - Stucke said European antitrust actions against Google have created a "road map" for US officials that may help accelerate their probes. "All of the areas the Europeans identified could be brought by the US," he said. Stucke noted that US antitrust enforcers have an advantage over their EU counterparts with the ability to require "structural" remedies, or a break-up of dominant firms as was done in the 1980s with telecom monopoly AT&T and in the initial ruling against Microsoft, which was overturned on appeal. But US and EU law are vastly different on antitrust, according to Eric Goldman, director of the High-Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara University. "European law cares about competitors while US law cares about competition, and that makes a huge difference," he said. Rutgers University law professor Michael Carrier agreed that a case against Google could be challenging: "I'm not sure if the consumer has been harmed, so an antitrust case could be harder than it seems." - 'It looks very fishy' - Christopher Sagers, a professor of antitrust at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, said there may be legitimate grounds to review Google for favoring its own services, but that courts may be cautious. Additionally, he said President Donald Trump's complaints about tech bias against conservatives have muddied the waters. "It could be the Trump administration is trying to appease a conservative base which believes Silicon Valley tech firms are censoring political speech," Sagers said. Sagers said that despite tough talk by some officials, the Trump administration has been noticeably lax on other, less politically sensitive antitrust cases. "It looks very fishy," Sagers said. "If you're bringing the biggest set of antitrust cases since the Great Depression, why are you letting all these other mergers go through?" Sagers said court-ordered breakups are extremely rare, and that a more likely outcome would be an injunction or order to stop stifling competition. But any remedy against Google would likely be complicated if it involved oversight of its search algorithm, according to Sagers, because it would likely mean a government-appointed monitor -- a difficult sell to free-speech defenders. "People would say it's big government," Sagers said. "And a court might be quite sympathetic to that argument." Washington (AFP) - The United States said Monday it was committed to welcoming Chinese nationals for "legitimate" studies but acknowledged increased visa scrutiny after Beijing warned its students of risks. "We welcome Chinese students and scholars to the United States to conduct legitimate academic activities," a State Department spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman said, however, that the United States had identified "an increasing number of instances" in which foreign intelligence co-opts students during their time in the United States. "At the same time, we're committed to providing the highest quality service to legitimate travelers -- who constitute the overwhelming majority of our visa applicants -- so they can receive swift, thorough and clear decisions regarding their visa applications," she said. China earlier Monday warned its students and academics of the "risk" of studying in the United States, citing an uptick in visa denials and delays. The new guidance comes amid a surge in commercial tensions between the world's two largest economies, with the United States cracking down on premier Chinese tech company Huawei, citing security concerns due to its cozy ties with the government. A decrease in Chinese students could be costly to the United States. China is the biggest source of international students on US campuses, with 360,000 attending last year -- and many pay costly full tuition. Jury selection began Monday in the trial of an American university student accused of kidnapping a visiting Chinese scholar who has been missing for two years and is presumed dead. Zhang Yingying went missing in June 2017 when police say she got into a car belonging to Brendt Christensen near the campus of the University of Illinois. She was 26 years old at the time. Police have not recovered Zhang's body but believe her to be dead. The 29-year-old Christensen, who was a graduate student at the school in Champaign, a few hours south of Chicago, is charged with "kidnapping resulting in death." The federal charge is eligible for the death penalty. Jury selection at a courthouse in Peoria, Illinois was expected to take a week, with hundreds of people questioned to impanel 12 jurors and six alternates. The missing student's parents, Zhang Ronggao and Ye Lifeng, attended the hearing. Authorities claim they have audio of Christensen admitting to kidnapping and holding the young woman at his apartment. Prosecutors intend to introduce testimony and evidence at trial that Christensen had expressed interest in serial killers, practiced bondage and sado-masochism and had attempted to arrange a "consensual kidnapping" via a fetishist website, according to a court filing. They also intended to claim that Christensen had posed as a police officer and attempted to lure someone else into his car earlier on the day Zhang went missing. Court filings say Christensen carried out the crime "in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse to the victim." Zhang was visiting the major US university to conduct research in photosynthesis and crop productivity. She went missing as she was on her way to sign a lease for a new apartment. Val Kilmer had all eyes on him during a rare public appearance for his foundation. The Top Gun actor, who has stepped away from the spotlight in the last few years, attended a fundraiser for his TwainMania Foundation, created to educated children on author Mark Twains legacy. Kilmer, 59, had binoculars around his neck while he happily posed on the carpet and later gave a speech inside the Los Angeles event. His 23-year-old son Jack was also in attendance Sunday night. RELATED: Inside Val Kilmers Life After 2-Year Cancer Battle: Touring a One-Man Show and Making Top Gun 2 The appearance comes as Kilmer is set to hit the big screen again in Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to the 1986 classic. Last summer, Tom Cruise gave an update on his friend and costar, saying it was special getting to work with Kilmer again. Hes doing really well, Cruise told Extra. Val Kilmer | Rochelle Brodin/Getty Kilmers comeback role in the film comes after what has been a mysterious Hollywood hiatus for the actor. After years of rumored health problems, he finally opened up about his battle with throat cancer during a December 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter. His health issues first became apparent in January 2015, when a spokesperson told PEOPLE that he was rushed to the hospital for a possible tumor. Soon after, he took to Facebook to deny having a tumor, saying only that he had a complication. Further rumors were repeatedly shut down by Kilmer, who was spotted out with a tracheostomy tube in October 2015 and then without it the next February. Kilmer finally opened up about his cancer recovery to The Hollywood Reporter in December in an interview alongside his children with his ex-wife Joanne Whalley: Mercedes and Jack, 22. The article revealed that the actors two-year fight with throat cancer had taken its toll on the family and noted that Kilmer had undergone a procedure on his trachea which made his voice raspy and left him short of breath. Top Gun: Maverick opens June 26, 2020. A van driver racked up 246 parking fines - a national record. An unlucky van driver has been hit with a record he probably doesnt want - for the UKs most ticketed vehicle. Traffic wardens in Tower Hamlets, London, issued 246 fixed penalty notices but the driver ignored them - racking up 32,000 in parking fines. Ordinarily, the van would have been towed away but it was too big to be removed. However, a special tow truck has since been drafted in and Tower Hamlets Council said the van would be destroyed if it is not claimed within 35 days. 10,000 of the van's oldest fines have been wiped out because the council cannot trace the owner. A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman said the authority had been unable to move the panel van a white VW Transporter with turbocharged direct injection whenever it had been spotted previously because it was "too large for removal trucks". Parking tickets in the borough carry a 130 fine, with a 50 percent discount if paid within two weeks, the BBC said. The vehicle has no tax, MOT or insurance and was registered with the DVLA under a fake name. Read more from Yahoo News UK Donald Trumps state visit - in pictures Five bodies spotted by pilots in search for climbers Neymar denies raping woman in Paris hotel room As a result, Tower Hamlets has already written off 77 of the van's oldest fines, totalling about 10,000, because it has been unable to track the driver down. The white van "has a history of being parked illegally across the borough, causing significant inconvenience to our residents," according to the council. A spokesman said it was spotted during "a proactive operation targeting persistent evaders" and "as the owner has repeatedly failed to pay penalty charge notices for past offences, the vehicle was immediately removed". Vitamin D could cut the risk of dying from cancer - PA Vitamin D could cut the risk of dying from cancer, according to research which suggests sunshine and supplements could save lives. Scientists warned that modern lifestyles could be increasing the risk of disease, with ever longer hours spent indoors, or in the shadow of skyscrapers. Research on almost 80,000 adults by Michigan State University and Hurley Medical Center found that taking a supplement for at least three years was associated with a 13 per cent drop in mortality from all cancers. Another study by Madrid University Hospital found that taking a daily pill along with a statin was linked to a 38 per cent reduction in deaths from prostate cancer. Scientists from said the effects appeared to be independent of each other, suggesting that both the medication and the vitamin boosted survival. A third study by Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, in Pittsburgh, suggested that a deficiency of vitamin D could double the risk of pancreatic cancer. Researchers said GPs should prescribe supplements to ensure the population increased its intake of vitamin D. The slew of studies, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual conference in Chicago, follow research suggesting that the vitamin could protect against heart disease, and diabetes, as well as helping bone strength. The studies did not show why vitamin D might help cancer survival. But experts said it could enhance the bodys immune response, reducing the proliferation of tumour cells. Dr Tarek Haykal, lead researcher from Michigan State University, said the findings were promising - and urged GPs to recommend supplements. He said: The take home message is that vitamin-D might carry a benefit for the cancer population. Patients who received vitamin-D supplementation for at least three years in any form, had significantly lower cancer-related deaths. Dr. Shifeng Mao, from Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, said modern lives made it difficult to get sufficient sunshine. Story continues We are living in a modern society with a fast-paced life style, he said. People spend significant amount of time at work in a concrete building and have much less time for leisure, let alone being exposed to nature and sunlight, so Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent. Three in four adults in Britain are deficient in the vitamin, some research suggests. In 2016, health officials recommended that all adults should consider taking supplements, especially in the winter, and providing them for children over the age of one. However, over-exposure to sunshine is linked to an increased risk of skin cancers, which have seen a sharp rise in the UK since the advent of cheaper travel, and package holidays. Medics said pensioners could cut their risk of early death by up to 20 per cent by taking a supplement. Dr Daniel Bikle, Professor of Medicine and Dermatology at University of California, San Francisco, said: Im a big believer in sensible sun exposure, getting some sun or your skin without burning. But in places such as the UK, there is not enough sun all year round, so supplements in the winter months are necessary. Dr Rachel Shaw, from Cancer Research UK, said the studies did not prove that vitamin D prevented cancer developing. She said: It may improve prognosis when cancer develops - potentially in both those who take vitamin D preventatively, and those who take it in addition to their prescribed cancer treatments. More research is required to determine who will benefit and the recommended dosage, so its important that cancer patients consult their doctor before taking vitamin supplements." By David Shepardson WASHINGTON, June 3 (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG Chief Executive Herbert Diess met on Monday with the top U.S. trade official, a week before new tariffs are set to hit imported Mexican vehicles, two people briefed on the matter said. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would begin imposing tariffs on all Mexican made goods starting at 5% on June 10. The tariffs would rise from there, hitting 25% on Oct. 1 "unless Mexico substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory," Trump said. Diess met with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the sources said. A spokesman for Lighthizer did not immediately comment. The tariffs could cause the largest European automaker significant pain. Mexican made vehicles accounted for nearly half of Volkswagen's U.S. sales last year. The company builds the Jetta and Tiguan among other models at its Puebla, Mexico, plant and builds engines at a plant in Silao. It also assembles the Audi Q5, its best-selling U.S. vehicle accounting for a quarter of sales, at another plant in Mexico. "We believe that tariffs of this kind are a tax on the U.S. consumer and will result in higher prices and also threaten job growth," VW said in a statement on Monday, adding that the company "has made significant long-term investments in the United States that would be impaired by restrictive changes to trade." A Volkswagen of America spokesman confirmed Diess was in Washington but declined to confirm his meeting with Lighthizer. In December, Diess was among a group of senior executives of leading German automakers who were pressed by Trump to expand their investments in the United States. "The president has a point," Diess said in December, saying officials "tried to convince us to invest more into America and we are prepared to do this." In January, the German automaker said it was investing $800 million to build a new electric vehicle at its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. VW said it was adding 1,000 jobs at the plant and that electric vehicle production there would begin in 2022. Diess also said in January that the company was considering building Audi vehicles in the United States but that no decisions had been made. (Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Tom Brown) Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and you could win a $250 gift card! Is The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) a good dividend stock? How would you know? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. Yet sometimes, investors buy a popular dividend stock because of its yield, and then lose money if the company's dividend doesn't live up to expectations. A 1.3% yield is nothing to get excited about, but investors probably think the long payment history suggests Walt Disney has some staying power. Some simple analysis can offer a lot of insights when buying a company for its dividend, and we'll go through this below. Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis NYSE:DIS Historical Dividend Yield, June 3rd 2019 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. So we need to be form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. Walt Disney paid out 9.8% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. With a low payout ratio, it looks like the dividend is comprehensively covered by earnings. In addition to comparing dividends against profits, we should inspect whether the company generated enough cash to pay its dividend. Walt Disney's cash payout ratio in the last year was 29%, which suggests dividends were well covered by cash generated by the business. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously. Is Walt Disney's Balance Sheet Risky? As Walt Disney has a meaningful amount of debt, we need to check its balance sheet to see if the company might have debt risks. A quick way to check a company's financial situation uses these two ratios: net debt divided by EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation), and net interest cover. Net debt to EBITDA is a measure of a company's total debt. Net interest cover measures the ability to meet interest payments on debt. Essentially we check that a) a company does not have too much debt, and b) that it can afford to pay the interest. With net debt of more than twice its EBITDA, Walt Disney has a noticeable amount of debt, although if business stays steady, this may not be overly concerning. Story continues Net interest cover can be calculated by dividing earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by the company's net interest expense. Walt Disney has interest cover of more than 12 times its interest expense, which we think is quite strong. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Walt Disney's latest financial position, by checking our visualisation of its financial health. 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. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Walt Disney's dividend payments. The dividend has been stable over the past 10 years, which is great. We think this could suggest some resilience to the business and its dividends. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was US$0.35 in 2009, compared to US$1.76 last year. Dividends per share have grown at approximately 18% per year over this time. It's rare to find a company that has grown its dividends rapidly over ten years and not had any notable cuts, but Walt Disney has done it, which we really like. 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. It's good to see Walt Disney has been growing its earnings per share at 21% a year over the past 5 years. Earnings per share have grown rapidly, and the company is retaining a majority of its earnings. We think this is ideal from an investment perspective, if the company is able to reinvest these earnings effectively. Conclusion To summarise, shareholders should always check that Walt Disney's dividends are affordable, that its dividend payments are relatively stable, and that it has decent prospects for growing its earnings and dividend. Firstly, we like that Walt Disney has low and conservative payout ratios. We like that it has been delivering solid improvement in its earnings per share, and relatively consistent dividend payments. All these things considered, we think this organisation has a lot going for it from a dividend perspective. Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 20 Walt Disney analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company. If you are a dividend investor, you might also want to look at our curated list of dividend stocks yielding 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. June 3 (Reuters) - White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday that his departure from the post had been in the works for a while and is not linked to the recent announcement of tariffs on Mexico. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that Hassett will "shortly" leave his position, announcing his departure in a Twitter post. Last week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico in retaliation for illegal immigration largely from Central America across the U.S.-Mexican border. Commenting on the Mexico tariffs, Hassett said their near term impact will be more on Mexico than on the United States, adding he is hoping for "positive talks" between the countries. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) The skies in Edmonton, Canada were recently so red and smoky that a local meteorologist told NASA "it looked like we were on Mars." Now, that prodigious wildfire smoke has left Canada, streamed thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, and passed over the UK. On Monday morning, the UK Met Office posted imagery of the North American wildfire smoke sailing over the island nation. The early-season Canadian fires, which smothered much of Alberta in wildfire smoke in May, are consistent with wildfire research which concludes that, as temperatures climb and fire weather increases, the burning season is expected to grow longer and fuel "larger and more intense fires." "The climate is changing," Mike Flannigan, a fire scientist at the University of Alberta, told Mashable in December, after the destructive 2018 fire season. "Were getting more extreme weather for fire, and there are more people on the landscape," he added, noting that the problem is confounded by people moving into fire country. Smoke from #wildfires in #Canada has been carried across the Atlantic by the #jetstream... This satellite pic from this morning shows the smoke circled in red pic.twitter.com/j6YK4XqG3n Met Office (@metoffice) June 3, 2019 Five large hotspots, burning over 850,000 acres of dense forest, contributed to the bounties of smoke. The brown-haze was so mighty, it appeared clearly in satellite images taken 1 million miles away from Earth. Story continues NOAAs DSCOVR satellite captured the wildfire smoke on May 30, 2019. Image: noaa / nasa Days before the crossing the Atlantic, the smoke also streamed across the border into the U.S., an event also captured by satellites. NASA's Terra satellite captured wildfire smoke on June 1, 2019. Image: nasa These fires emitted so much heat and smoke that they lofted clouds of smoke tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere, wherein a jet stream a wavy band of powerful, high-altitude winds that stream east around the world picked up the smoke and swiftly transported it to the UK. SEE ALSO: How a quiet California town protects itself against today's megafires The recent spate of enormous fires, however, is not exceptional. In May through June of 2016, Alberta experienced the costliest Canadian disaster ever, after the Alberta Wildfire left $4.7 billion in Canadian dollars (about $3.5 billion U.S.) in damage and some 1.5 million acres burned. Meanwhile, down south in the U.S., there's a similar story. On average, today's U.S. wildfires are burning for weeks longer than they were in the 1970s, while burning twice as much land. You might say there's a conspicuous trend, easily visible from space. US president Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive at Winfield House, the London residence of the US ambassador where he is expected to stay during his visit. Photo: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump is expected to stay at an extravagant London mansion during his state visit to the UK that once sold for just $1. The US president is looking forward to dining with the Queen and other ceremonial events after he arrived on Air Force One at Stansted airport on Monday morning. Several former US presidents have stayed at Buckingham Palace, but renovation work is reported to have forced Trump to make alternative plans. He arrived this morning at Winfield House in Regents Park, the London residence of the US ambassador to the UK where Trump is thought to be spending the night. Set in more than 12 acres of land behind iron gates 15 ft high, the Georgian-style mansion has a remarkable history. READ MORE: Trump lands in the UK for state visit at Stansted airport It was sold to the US government in a run-down state for a single dollar after the Second World War by the wealthy American heiress Barbara Hutton. Then-president Harry Truman called the gift for a token sum the most generous and patriotic offer by Hutton. Hutton had rebuilt the entire property only the previous decade in the 1930s, tearing down the largely derelict white stucco Regency villa that once stood on the site. She paid for several thousand trees and hedges, oak parquet floors, 18th century French panelling, marble bathrooms and other features of the new mansion that took its place. But only a few years later when war broke out, the property was commandeered by the UK government and used as an RAF barrage balloon unit. Hutton returned to the USA during the war, and when she came back to the property it was full of buckled floorboards, peeling walls, broken windows and dangling wires, according to the US government. READ MORE: Why Trump is not staying at Buckingham Palace She decided to sell up, phoning her New York lawyer and telling him she wanted to hand over the property to the US government to repair it and use it as the official residence of the US ambassador. Story continues The sites illustrious history dates back well beyond the 20th century, with the land known to have been owned by the Abbey of Barking before the Norman Conquest a millennium ago. King Henry VIII has hunted there, Queen Elizabeth I has entertained notable visitors there and King James I offered it up as collateral to raise funds to go to war. Many of the villas on site had been abandoned and neglected by the 1920s before Hutton bought and revamped the large St Dunstans villa. The final owner of the older property before it was torn down was the newspaper magnate Lord Rothermere. Source: TechCrunch/Flickr (i), Shutterstock (ii). Image Edited by CCN. By CCN: The most common argument Bitcoin increasing in value is its potential disruption of the haven gold market. One of the loudest evangelists of this belief, Cameron Winklevoss, was again urging people on Twitter not to miss out on this game-changing capital transfer because of a lack of imagination. We talk about going to Mars all the time. We have no limits to our imagination when it comes to space travel. But when it comes to the future of money, curiously many suffer from an acute failure of imagination. The Bitcoin rocket ship is fueling up, make sure to book your seat! Cameron Winklevoss (@winklevoss) May 30, 2019 ADVFN CEO: Bitcoin is Better Money Than Gold It turns out that the Winklevoss twins store of value argument has won over another business leader. In an interview with The Street, Clem Chambers CEO of financial services firm ADVFN laid out his case for why Bitcoin can act as a superior medium of exchange. I could not take enough gold out of the country for it to be useful to me if I had to leave the country; if I was a South Korean and I thought the North was going to drop a bomb on my city, if I was an Iranian that was running away from people in Iran. Mr. Chambers went on, explaining that the colossal weight of the precious metal makes it useless in an emergency: I cant take more than $10,000. In Gold, I cant carry enough; its too heavy. I cant take, say, 20 kilos of Gold to the airport Winklevoss Twins: No Reason Bitcoin Wont Replace Gold Naturally, Mr. Chambers stands in good company in his view that Bitcoin can become a more effective store of value than precious metals. The Winklevoss twins have been pushing the BTC as a commodity story line for years. Read the full story on CCN.com. By Linda Carroll (Reuters Health) - Patients selected to participate in studies of cancer drugs tend to be younger than most people with the disease in the general population, researchers say. In one recent study, in fact, they were more than six years younger than the median age of patients with the same kind of cancer, researchers reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago. The study was also published online in JAMA Oncology to coincide with the presentation at the ASCO meeting. "We found that the age disparities in enrollment of elderly patients, which are pervasive in clinical trials in cancer, seem to be worsening," said the study's lead author, Dr. Ethan Ludmir, a resident physician in the department of radiation oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "And these disparities are particularly pronounced among trials funded by industry." Why does that matter? "Data from these clinical trials may not be as applicable to the general population as one would imagine," said senior author Dr. Clifton David Fuller, an associate professor in the department of radiation oncology at MD Anderson. "And that's because the results are based on a slightly different group of patients." Currently, clinical trials seem to look for the youngest and most fit patients to test therapies in, Fuller said. "We found that anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of trials had a built-in age cutoff, which means that if you are older you can't participate," Ludmir said. "Sometimes that cutoff is the median age." Aside from when studies explicitly give an age cutoff, it's not known exactly why there is a bias toward younger patients, Fuller said. The first step is to identify the reasons, he said, adding that this is a subject for future research by his team. To determine the size of the age disparity, the researchers first analyzed information on clinical trials listed on the ClinicalTrials.gov website. To get a median age for various cancers, they turned to the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Story continues The researchers focused on 302 clinical trials that collectively enrolled 262,354 patients between 1994 and 2015. They calculated the difference in median age in each trial versus the median age for patients with the same cancer as those in the trial. Overall, the difference between the median age of trial participants and that of the general population was 6.49 years. The differences were wider in industry-funded trials compared to non-industry sponsored trials: 6.84 years versus 4.72 years. While the government has pushed for clinical trials to achieve more equity in term of gender, race and ethnicity, it hasn't addressed the age disparity, the researchers noted. The new study highlights the age disparities present in clinical trials, said Dr. Annie Im, an assistant professor at the Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "This has been a pervasive problem for a long time," Im said. "People are hesitant to enroll older patients based on the unfounded concern that these patients won't do as well and will impact the results of the trial." But, Im said, "most of the people we see in practice are older. Age is one of the risk factors for cancer. Studies like this one are bringing awareness to the problem. I think the community as a whole has a responsibility to do something about it." That's unlikely to happen, said Dr. Otis Brawley, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. "It's been long known by the people who design clinical trials that the group of people in the trials are different from the ones we are treating," said Brawley, who designs clinical trials. "One of the biggest differences has led to the identification of the 'healthy volunteer effect,' which means that the people in the trial tend to be healthier than the general population, except that they have cancer. They are less likely to smoke, be overweight, to have hypertension and to have cardiovascular disease than the general population." That doesn't mean the study isn't important, Brawley said. It should remind oncologists to translate trial findings for "the patient in front of you." "What I've been doing for years is telling patients 'for people in these studies, this is what the response rates were," Brawley said. "'For you, I don't know exactly what it will be. But I know this is the best science.'" SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2EMEREI JAMA Oncology, online June 3, 2019. New York (AFP) - It's a tall order indeed: How do you make aging, energy-hungry skyscrapers more efficient and less polluting? The city of New York, the historic capital of the skyscraper, is determined to do so by requiring the enormous buildings to drastically curtail their energy consumption. Traditional skyscrapers are an energy-saver's nightmare, with their vast glass facades, electric lighting everywhere, overly generous use of air conditioning and heating, and elevators by the dozen: they almost seem designed to consume a maximum of energy while emitting copious quantities of greenhouse gases. If a growing number of newer skyscrapers around the world are designed, from the start, to be energy-efficient -- the Shard in London and Shanghai Tower in China are two examples -- the costs and effort involved in transforming an older building, built decades before the world became conscious of global warming, can be daunting. And yet those are precisely the buildings targeted by the Climate Mobilization Act, passed in late April by the City Council of the largest US metropolis as part of its commitment to reduce emissions by 80 percent from now through 2050. The law requires buildings of more than 25,000 square feet (2,300 square meters) to reduce emissions by 40 percent by 2030 from their 2005 levels. It will affect the approximately 50,000 buildings that emit one-third of the city's greenhouse gases. In targeting the dense building stock, which in total accounts for 70 percent of all New York emissions, the city has adopted a landmark law, said Nilda Mesa, director of the urban sustainability program at Columbia University. "The Climate Act is really pathbreaking," she told AFP. "It will have a number of positive effects... It will basically create a market and create demand for energy-efficient technologies" which can then be used by other cities, in the US or elsewhere. - 3 million light bulbs - Story continues Although the law provides long-term borrowing facilities to help property owners, it was vigorously opposed by the powerful real-estate sector, worried by some estimates that the costs of renovation could run more than $4 billion. But some older buildings, like the Empire State Building, have already begun to address the problem, "showing other people how it can be done," Nilda Mesa said. That legendary skyscraper, an Art Deco jewel dating from 1931, launched a vast renovation program in 2009 at a cost of $550 million, allowing it to cut its energy consumption by more than 40 percent. More than 6,500 windows, three million light bulbs and 67 elevators were replaced or renovated to improve the building's insulation and cut its energy consumption, even as it was becoming much more densely occupied. Engineers also installed an ultra-modern energy management system, constantly optimizing consumption according to the needs of the moment. With those changes already made -- and paid for in only four years -- Anthony Malkin, chairman and CEO of the Empire State Realty Trust which owns the building, is feeling sanguine about the impact of the new law. "But we will have to improve for 2030," he says. Experts point out, however, that reducing emissions is easier for an older tower like the Empire State Building than it will be for the glass-clad skyscrapers that seemed to sprout everywhere starting in the 1970s. A prime example is Trump Tower, the 58-story skyscraper built by Donald Trump on Fifth Avenue in 1984. It is now one of the most energy-greedy buildings in the city, according to the New York environmental group Align. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to oppose Trump in the 2020 presidential election, has said Trump Tower could face fines of more than $500,000 a year under the new law. The Trump Organization has not responded to queries from AFP as to whether it has begun planning for renovation. - 'Green leases' - But energy updates, even for glass towers, make economic sense when viewed over the long term, said Jacob Corvidae, a building and energy expert with the Rocky Mountain Institute, an environmental association. The economic pain can be lessened, he said, by timing energy updates to coincide with the major renovation work that big buildings nearly always need every 35 to 40 years, making their cost "marginal." Another tactic is to adopt a new type of "green lease," in which building owners and tenants share any energy savings that are achieved -- giving tenants incentive to pare back on energy use. In contrast, most building owners in New York today build energy costs into the rent, so tenants have no idea of the true costs. Despite the resistance of building owners to the new law, Mesa is convinced the market will adjust. "New York is a competitive place," she said. "Buildings want to have the bragging rights, (and) anybody can look it up how efficient buildings are." In five to 10 years, she added, resistance will fade and the new law will seem like old news. For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 3, 2019 Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Beyond Meat BYND, Kraft Heinz KHC, Hormel Foods HRL and Tyson Foods TSN. Here are highlights from Fridays Analyst Blog: Buy Beyond Meat (BYND) Before Q1 Earnings with Shares Up 50% Shares of Beyond Meat jumped over 3% in early morning trading Friday to help extend the newly public, plant-based meat companys stellar May. BYND stock has soared as the market falls and stands in contrast to Uber and Lyft. So, lets see if investors should consider buying Beyond Meat stock heading into the companys first-quarter fiscal 2019 earnings release. BYNDs Pitch Beyond Meat was founded in 2009 and today sells what it calls plant-based meat. The firms portfolio is currently made up of burger patties, sausage (brats and hot Italian), and beef crumbles for pasta and tacos. The patties are made from four main ingredients: water, pea protein isolate, canola oil, and refined coconut oil. Unlike some vegetarian burgers, Beyond Meat aims to mimic the taste, consistency, and cooking profile of animal meat. It is important to know that BYND sees its customers as meat eaters, not necessarily vegetarians or vegans. The companys ability to attract meat eaters to its plant-based offerings will be vital because only 5% of Americans say they are vegetarians, according to a 2018 Gallup pollunchanged from 2012. Overall, Beyond Meat wants to attract consumers to what it calls the The Future of Protein, based on larger, more humanitarian-esque goals. Part of the El Segundo, California-based companys goal is to create a better way to feed the planet, according to its mission statement. Story continues By shifting from animal, to plant-based meat, we are creating one savory solution that solves four growing issues attributed to livestock production: human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources and animal welfare. Overview As we touched on at the top, shares of BYND have skyrocketed roughly 50% since opening May 2 at $46.00 per share. In fact, the stock climbed 163% in its first day of trading to close at $65.75 per share, which was the biggest first-day pop for a company raising more than $200 million since the height of the dot-com boom. BYND shares opened Friday at $100.00 and the company boasts a market cap of $5.821 billion. Despite the impressive market cap, Beyond Meat lost nearly $30 million in 2018 on revenue of roughly $87.9 million. Beyond Meat stock is clearly red hot and the firm has a range of high-profile athletes, including Houston Rockets star Chris Paul, as brand ambassadors to help convince customers that its products offer suitable protein and more. Beyond Meat can now be found in grocery stores such as Safeway, Publix, Kroger, along with restaurants such as Carls Jr. and Del Taco. On the more speculative side, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook commented earlier this week on the possibility of the fast-food giant partnering with a firm like Beyond Meat. And Jefferies analysts wrote in a note Tuesday that Beyond Meat is well positioned to partner with McDonald's, and that a deal makes sense for both parties. Competition The firm grabbed roughly 2% of the alternative meat market in 2018, according to research firm Euromonitor. And meat alternatives currently account for around 5% of the total meat market. Meanwhile, Kellogg-owned MorningStar Farms captured the largest market share at 17%, with Kraft Heinzs Boca brand at roughly 4% last year. Investors should also note that one of BYNDs main rivals, Impossible Foods, which could go public soon, has made its way into Burger King and many other restaurants. Maybe most importantly, traditional meat industry giants like Hormel Foods, Tyson Foods, Cargill, and others are reportedly set to roll out their own plant-based meat offerings sooner than later. Outlook Moving on, our current Zacks Consensus Estimate calls for the company to report an adjusted quarterly loss of $0.14 per share in Q1. Beyond Meats is then expected to report an adjusted full-year loss of $0.28 per share. With that said, investors and Wall Street dont care about the companys earnings at this time as it is still firmly in its growth phase. Nonetheless, the firms fiscal 2020 earnings are projected to surge nearly 90% above our current year estimate to a loss of just $0.03 per share. At the top of the income statement, BYND is projected to report Q1 fiscal 2019 revenue of $38.66 million there are no comparable results from the year-ago period. With that said, the companys fiscal 2019 revenue is projected to soar 133% from $87.9 million in 2018 to $205.5 million. Peeking further ahead, BYNDs fiscal 2020 revenue is projected to climb 60% above our current year estimate to reach $330.1 million. Bottom Line Beyond Meat is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) that has seen its stock price climb extremely quickly. The firm clearly shows signs of growth. But, Beyond Meat will soon have to face steep competition in a market that remains extremely uncertain. BYND could be a home run-style stock for investors to consider at the moment. However, with shares of Beyond Meat up so big, its first earnings release as a public company will be a huge test. Therefore, it might be wise to see how Wall Street reacts to BYNDs Q1 results and guidance as a post-release selloff could be on the horizon, which would set up a far more enticing buying opportunity. Beyond Meat is scheduled to report its first-quarter fiscal 2019 financial results after the market closes on Thursday, June 6. Make sure to head back to Zacks for a complete breakdown of its actual quarterly metrics. The Could Be the Fastest Way to Grow Wealth in 2019 Research indicates one sector is poised to deliver a crop of the best-performing stocks you'll find anywhere in the market. Breaking news in this space frequently creates quick double- and triple-digit profit opportunities. These companies are changing the world and owning their stocks could transform your portfolio in 2019 and beyond. Recent trades from this sector have generated +98%, +119% and +164% gains in as little as 1 month. Click here to see these breakthrough stocks now >> Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Hormel Foods Corporation (HRL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 3, 2019 - Stocks in this weeks article are Enova International Inc. ENVA, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. GLDD, North American Construction Group Ltd. NOA, Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. ARGO and SkyWest, Inc. SKYW. 5 Top Stocks with Striking Net Profit Margins As the primary motive of any investor is to generate maximum returns, companies raking in huge profits emerge as solid picks. Net profit margin is the most effective way to measure a companys profitability. A proper analysis of the same indicates how well a company is run in the face of headwinds. Net Profit Margin= Net profit/Sales * 100. In simple terms, net profit is the amount a company retains after deducting all costs, interest, depreciation, taxes and other expenses. In fact, net profit margin can turn out to be a potent point of reference to gauge the strength in a company operations and cost-control measures. Also, higher net profit is essential for rewarding stakeholders. Further, strength in the metric not only attracts investors but also draws well-skilled employees that eventually add to the value of the business. Moreover, a higher net profit margin compared to its peers lends the company a competitive edge. Net Profit Margin= Net profit/Sales * 100 In simple terms, net profit is the amount a company retains after deducting all costs, interest, depreciation, taxes and other expenses. In fact, net profit margin can turn out to be a potent point of reference to gauge the strength of a companys operations and cost-control measures. Also, higher net profit is essential for rewarding stakeholders. Net margin helps investors judge the risk involved in an investment. Creditors also view it as crucial to determining a companys ability to pay off debts. Moreover, a higher net profit margin compared to its peers lends the company a competitive edge. Pros and Cons Net profit margin helps investors gain clarity on a companys business model in terms of pricing policy, cost structure and manufacturing efficiency. Hence, a strong net profit margin is preferred by all classes of investors. Story continues However, net profit margin as an investment criterion has its own share of pitfalls. The metric varies widely from industry to industry. While net income is a key metric for investment measurement in traditional industries, it is not that important for technology companies. Moreover, the difference in accounting treatment of various items especially non-cash expenses like depreciation and stock-based compensation makes comparison a daunting task. Further, for companies preferring to grow with debt instead of equity funding, higher interest expenses usually weigh on net profit. In such cases, the measure is rendered ineffective while analyzing a companys performance. For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at:https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/422865/5-top-stocks-with-striking-net-profit-margin Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. About Screen of the Week Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Contact: Jim Giaquinto Company: Zacks.com Phone: 312-265-9268 Email: pr@zacks.com Visit: www.Zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SkyWest, Inc. (SKYW) : Free Stock Analysis Report Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation (GLDD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Enova International, Inc. (ENVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report North American Construction Group Ltd. (NOA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (ARGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research For Immediate Release Chicago, IL June 3, 2019 - Stocks in this weeks article are Twitter Inc. TWTR, ServiceNow Inc. NOW, Fortinet Inc. FTNT, Tactile Systems Technology Inc. TCMD and Navigant Consulting Inc. NCI. 5 Stocks Backed by Earnings Beat Potential There is no mystery to investors hunt for stocks with estimate beating potential ahead of an earnings season. This is because investors always try to place themselves ahead of time and look to play stocks that are rich in quality. Why Is a Positive Earnings Surprise So Important? Historically, stocks of companies with solid quarterly earnings (on a nominal basis) tank if they miss or merely meet market expectations. After all, a 20% earnings rise (though apparently looks good) doesnt tell you if it has been decelerating. Also, seasonal fluctuations can come into play. If a companys Q1 is seasonally weak and Q4 is strong, it is likely to report a sequential earnings decline. In such cases, growth rates are misleading while judging the true health of a company. On the other hand, after a whole lot of research and analysis on a companys financials and initiatives, Wall Street analysts project its earnings. They also take a companys guidance into consideration when deriving an earnings estimate. Thus, outperforming that estimate is almost equivalent to beating the companys own expectation as well as the market perception. And if the margin of earnings surprise is big, it typically drives the stock higher right after the release. Thus, more than anything else, an earnings surprise can push a stock higher. How to Locate Potential Outperformers? Now, finding stocks that have the potential to beat on the bottom line is a dream that investors chase but might not always come true. One way of fulfilling it is by looking at the earnings surprise history of a company. An impressive track in this regard generally acts as a driver in sending a stock higher. It indicates the companys ability to exceed estimates. And investors generally believe that the company will have the same trick up its sleeve to deliver yet another earning beat in its upcoming release. Story continues For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at:https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/422709/5-top-stocks-backed-by-earnings-beat-potential?art_rec=quote-stock_overview-zacks_news-ID01-txt-422709 Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. About Screen of the Week Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use. Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zacksresearch Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZacksInvestmentResearch Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Contact: Jim Giaquinto Company: Zacks.com Phone: 312-265-9268 Email: pr@zacks.com Visit: www.Zacks.com Zacks.com provides investment resources and informs you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms and Conditions of Service" disclaimer. www.zacks.com/disclaimer. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Fortinet, Inc. (FTNT) : Free Stock Analysis Report Twitter, Inc. (TWTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report ServiceNow, Inc. (NOW) : Free Stock Analysis Report Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (TCMD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research An engaged couple have mysteriously been found dead in their hotel room after they missed their scheduled check-out time. The American couples holiday in the Dominican Republic took a tragic turn before their bodies were discovered on May 30. According to US news station WBAL TV, Cynthia Day and Edward Nathaniel Holmes were found in their room at the Grand Bahia Principe hotel with excess fluid in their lungs. Cynthia Day and Edward Holmes were found with excess fluid in their lungs. Source: Facebook Blood pressure medication was also found in the room when they were located five days after arriving at the resort. Mr Holmes daughter Dajuan Holmes-Hamilton told NBC News she hoped answers to the mystery would come to light soon. It never should have happened, she said. Bahia Principe Hotels and Resorts said in a statement posted to Twitter it was deeply saddened by the incident at its hotel in La Romana. The pair were found dead in their room at the Grand Bahia Principe in La Romana. Source: Facebook/Grand Bahia Principe After missing their scheduled check-out time on May 30 and following our established protocols, the staff entered the room and found both bodies unresponsive, it said. There were no signs of violence. The staff immediately contacted the relevant local authorities which have initiated an investigation. We are in complete collaboration with them, but as the investigation is ongoing, we have no further information to share. Edward Holmes and Cynthia Day were engaged to be married. Source: Facebook The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advises Australians to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to the Dominican Republic. It claims there is a high rate of crime and violence and women are at risk of sexual assault. Last week Tammy Lawrence-Daley, from the US state of Delaware, posted a chilling recount of when she was almost killed during a violent eight-hour ordeal at a Dominican Republic resort. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoos daily newsletter. Sign up here. After going through something as life-altering as a car accident, the best thing you can get out of it is... 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Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe German Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Monday that a crisis strangling her junior coalition partner SPD would not distract the government from its work, even as questions grew on how long the fragile partnership could hold. The centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) sank into chaos after its leader Andrea Nahles said in a shock announcement Sunday that she was quitting her party's top jobs following an European election drubbing a week earlier. As the SPD scrambled for a new leader, the chief of Merkel's CDU party conceded that the centre-left coalition partner could end up deciding whether Germany goes to the polls before the end of the electoral term in 2021. "We are ready to keep this coalition going. How the SPD behaves is its decision," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told journalists following crisis talks within her centre-right party. She warned however that given the international challenges, it would be "anything but productive if Germany were to go into a government crisis or a lengthy election campaign". Denying that the issue of snap elections was broached in Monday's talks, she added however that "you can be certain that the CDU is prepared for whatever comes or does not come". At a separate press conference, Merkel batted away speculation that her coalition was crumbling. Insisting that she did "not see a signal of instability", Merkel said: "At the moment I only see that the SPD has reached specific decisions which I can't say would hinder us from working." - Ratings in free-fall - The SPD leadership crisis could not have come at a worse time for the CDU, which has itself been struggling to halt a haemorrhage of voters as the younger generation shuns it in droves for the Greens. Both the CDU and the SPD were given a drubbing at the polls on May 26, with voters handing them record low scores at European elections. A survey on Saturday also showed support for the coalition partners melting away, with the Greens overtaking Merkel's CDU-CSU alliance for the first time while also enjoying a 15 percentage point lead over the SPD. Seeking to stabilise the listing ship, the SPD on Monday named a trio -- regional party leader Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel as well as state premiers Manuela Schwesig and Malu Dreyer -- as caretaker leaders until its next congress, when a new chief would be elected. It also set June 24 to decide the next steps to be taken by the party, including when to hold a congress to elect a new leader. The SPD, Germany's oldest party, had initially planned to re-examine the alliance with Merkel's centre-right CDU-CSU alliance in the autumn -- half-way through the four-year mandate. But with a free-fall in its ratings unending, the SPD could still preemptively put an end to the alliance with Merkel's Christian Democrats, which had been fraught from the start. Wounded by an election rout in 2017, the SPD had initially sought to go into opposition, but was reluctantly coaxed into renewing a partnership with Merkel. Many within the party however remained wary of continuing to govern in Merkel's shadow, and the coalition has lurched from crisis to crisis. - 'Measure us by this' - The latest crisis has amplified voices within both the SPD and the CDU for the parties to part ways. Harald Christ of the SPD's business leaders forum said "Nahles stands for the existence of the GroKo -- whose stability is now in question." "In my view what comes next is the end of the GroKo -- everything else leads nowhere," he told Bild daily, using the German shortform for grand coalition. The deputy leader of the CDU-CSU parliamentary group, Carsten Linnemann, also warned in an interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland newspaper group that "if we are unable to progress with the SPD, then we should draw a line under this and ask ourselves if continuing with the GroKo still makes sense." But other voices pleaded for more time for the coalition to deliver on its pledges and win back disillusioned voters with policy gains. A leading SPD centrist, Johannes Kahrs, pointed to a plan to push through a climate protection law before the next elections, saying that "the people can, should and will measure us by this". Merkel has said her government will fulfil its mandate Nahles said Sunday she was stepping down from her party's top jobs following the European elections drubbing late last month Bombardments by the Syrian regime killed six civilians in northwest Syria Monday, hours after US President Donald Trump urged Damascus and its allies to "stop bombing the hell" out of the jihadist-held region. Trump's call came after US ally Israel carried out a series of strikes against Syria at the weekend, leaving at least 15 dead among pro-government forces, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombardment by Damascus and its ally Moscow of Idlib province and neighbouring areas has killed more than 300 people since late April, according to the Observatory, a Britain-based war monitor. It also displaced nearly 270,000 people in May alone, according to the UN. The violence, which comes despite a truce deal brokered by Russia and Turkey in September, has raised fears of a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale yet unseen in Syria's eight-year conflict, which has already claimed more than 370,000 lives. The Kremlin insisted Monday that the Russian army was only targeting "terrorists" in Syria's Idlib region, which is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group dominated by former members of Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate. It accused them of firing at civilians and Moscow's troops. "Terrorist fire in Idlib is of course unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Measures are being taken to neutralise such firing positions." The comments came in response to a tweet by Trump on Sunday calling for an end to the bombing on the jihadist-dominated enclave, a large area which is home to almost three million people. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. "The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" the US president said. - 'Indiscriminate weapons' - But the aerial bombardment on Monday was unrelenting. The Observatory said at least four civilians were killed in regime strikes on the town of Maaret al-Numan. Another civilian was killed in the nearby town of Heish, while a sixth was killed by rocket fire on a village in the neighbouring province of Hama, it said. Human Rights Watch on Monday accused the Syrian regime and Russia of using "internationally banned and other indiscriminate weapons in unlawful attacks on civilians in northwest Syria in recent weeks." It said they "used banned cluster munitions and incendiary weapons... along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects, including 'barrel bombs'." A total of 24 health facilities and 35 schools have been hit in the latest escalation, according to the UN's humanitarian office. Analysts predict that President Bashar al-Assad and his allies will continue to chip away at the area, but not unleash a major assault that would create chaos on Turkey's doorstep. In recent weeks, jihadists and pro-government have engaged in fierce battles over positions on the fringes of the enclave. On Monday, clashes between jihadists and pro-government fighters killed dozens of combatants in southern Idlib and parts of Latakia. - Israeli strikes - The latest violence in Syria's jihadist-held northwest comes amid soaring tensions between Syria and neighbouring Israel. Syria accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province overnight, reportedly killing five people, just hours after carrying out raids on military and intelligence posts south of Damascus that killed 10. "Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase," a military source told state news agency SANA. The remaining rockets "killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse," the source added. The Observatory reported five killed, including one Syrian soldier, adding that a rocket warehouse was destroyed. In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed at the airbase, according to the monitor. Israel did not claim the attack. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army told AFP: "We do not comment on foreign reports." But hours earlier, Israel said it had carried out strikes in the province of Quneitra. It said that attack was in response to rare rocket fire from its neighbour late Saturday. The Observatory said 10 people were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. The country says it is determined to prevent its arch foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where Tehran backs Assad in the country's war. Members of the Syrian Civil Defence (known as the White Helmets) carry a wounded man on a stretcher after a reported air strike Maaret al-Numan in the jihadist-held Idlib province as others flee the scene 3D map of Idlib province zones of control and latest development, as of June 3. Smoke plumes rise up after reported airstrikes on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of rebel-held Idlib White Helmets rescuers dig out a wounded man from under the rubble after an air strike on the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province Israeli soldiers manoeuver a Merkava tank in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard warned Monday that President Donald Trump's planned punitive tariffs on Mexico would be "counterproductive" for cracking down on migrants, but the White House reiterated that Trump's threat is serious. As markets reeled, officials on both sides said they thought a deal could be reached before potentially-damaging tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States are put in place on June 10. Trump, on a state visit to Britain, stepped up pressure in a tweet. "As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border," he wrote. Earlier, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in Mexico City that it was important to resolve the issue "through dialogue." "We are in favor of free trade, and we think an agreement can be reached," he said. "I want to continue being friends with President Donald Trump." But after a Monday meeting with Mexico's Economy Minister Graciela Marquez Colin, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross issued a terse statement indicating Washington hadn't budged. "I reiterated the President's message that Mexico needs to do more to help the US address immigration across our shared border," he said. - Mexico stunned - Trump stunned Mexico on Thursday by announcing that the United States would place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 percent, unless Mexico City took action to halt the hundreds of thousands of migrants crossing into the US from Mexico in recent months. The announcement pummeled the Mexican currency and sent markets in both countries tumbling over fears of a sharp slowdown in trade and high prices for imported goods on both sides of the border. Economists warned that the Mexican economy could be pushed into recession if Trump followed through, and there were worries that it could also affect US growth. Ebrard together with Mexico's agriculture secretary and other top officials flew to Washington in panic mode Friday after Trump's announcement. He was expecting to meet this week with Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan and also with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. - 'Economic instability' - Ebrard told reporters that Mexico had already prevented 250,000 migrants from traveling to the US border, and that the only solution to the crisis is a comprehensive development plan for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, where most of them come from. "Slapping tariffs, along with the decision to cancel aid programs in the northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect and would not reduce migration flows," he said. Trump in March cut off aid to El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, insisting they weren't doing enough to stop the flow of migrants to the United States. He has also more than once threatened to close the US border with Mexico. Ebrard said the tariffs would "cause financial and economic instability," making it even harder for Mexico to address the migrant movements. He argued that Mexico had already taken numerous steps under US pressure to slow the flow northward. Those included letting US asylum seekers remain in Mexico while their applications are reviewed, and also accepting applications for asylum in Mexico itself from more than 24,000 people. "Without Mexico's efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants would arrive at the US border in 2019," he said. - US: stop migrant buses - Kevin Hassett, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, said Mexico had to take more action, including stopping buses that ferry migrants to the US frontier, which the Trump administration claims are run by criminal gangs. "The fact is there are a lot of identifiable steps... that the Mexicans could be taking but haven't been, in terms of stopping the organized crime folks from running buses to get people up to the border and so on," he told CNN. Hassett, who Trump announced late Monday would be leaving his position, told reporters that Trump is "100 percent not" bluffing, and will follow through if there's no action by Mexico. "This is much more harmful for the Mexican economy than the US economy," he said. "If they can come forward with a good plan, then the tariffs won't happen." - Mexico: aid, not tariffs - Ebrard criticized the US for cutting former aid programs to Central America and not following through with a new $5.8 billion public and private aid and investment plan that the Department of State announced in December. He also rejected the proposal mentioned by top Trump officials that Mexico, as the first country the migrants enter, agree to accept all of their asylum claims. That would "not be acceptable for Mexico," he said. Mexican officials including Economy Minister Graciela Marquez Colin (R), who met with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross over the tariff dispute, attend a Washington press conference Semi-trucks wait for inspection before crossing the border into El Paso, Texas, at the Zaragoza International Bridge in Juarez, Mexico, with worries on both sides of the border about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's threatened tariffs Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump would not help reduce migrant flows Graphic showing top exports in the US-Mexico trade in 2018, according to data from US Census Bureau. Donald Trump hailed Queen Elizabeth II as a "great, great woman" as the British monarch threw a lavish banquet for the US president on Monday to kick off his three-day state visit. The Trump dynasty sat down to a glittering dinner with the British royal family in the Buckingham Palace ballroom as the UK rolled out the red carpet. Both Trump and the 93-year-old sovereign praised the common bond between Britain and the United States. But the warmth was not shared all round, with mass protests planned for Tuesday, opposition political figures boycotting the banquet and the trip starting with a spat between Trump and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Trump's visit is centred on the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of Europe in World War II. "As we honour our shared victory and heritage, we affirm the common values that will unite us long into future," he said at the banquet. "Freedom, sovereignty, self-determination, the rule of law and reverence for the rights given to us by almighty God." He said Queen Elizabeth was a "great, great woman... a constant symbol of these priceless traditions", who embodied British "dignity, duty and patriotism". Queen Elizabeth said Britain and the United States had built post-war international institutions for "nations working together to safeguard a hard-won peace". The monarch said the two nations were united by their security, shared heritage, strong cultural links and strong economic ties. "I am confident that our common values and shared interests will continue to unite us." - 'Great love all around' - The British sovereign earlier welcomed Trump and his wife Melania with a military guard of honour on a day filled with ceremony and personal touches. The monarch hosted a private lunch for the couple and showed them the royal art collection, ahead of the glittering banquet. Trump seemed to be enjoying the visit, taking to Twitter during his down time. "London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong," he said. "Haven't seen any protests yet, but I'm sure the fake news will be working hard to find them. Great love all around." But the day began with controversy as, even before his plane touched down, the president lambasted Khan, who on Sunday revived their spat by comparing Trump to 20th-century fascists. Trump, in return, called him a "stone cold loser" who had done a "terrible job" as London mayor. Eight members of the Trump dynasty were at the state banquet, with the four eldest of Trump's five children joining 16 members of the royal family and business chiefs at the U-shaped table. They dined on steamed fillet of halibut followed by saddle of new season Windsor lamb, strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream and fresh fruit. - Protests planned - Trump's visit comes at a difficult time for Britain, with Theresa May due to step down as prime minister within weeks, over her handling of Brexit. Trump weighed in on the impasse at the weekend, saying he would walk away if he could not get a deal he liked. "Big trade deal is possible once UK gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk!" he tweeted Monday. The UK-US "special relationship" was already under strain over different approaches to Iran, the use of Chinese technology in 5G networks, climate change, and Trump's personal politics. May announced her impending resignation last month after failing to get her Brexit plan through parliament and twice delaying Britain's departure. Trump's first official visit to Britain last year was also marked by criticism of May's Brexit strategy and large protests. Demonstration organisers are hoping for a repeat of the protests on Tuesday during which they will once again fly a bright orange "baby Trump" balloon. Labour's main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn boycotted the state banquet, along with other opposition leaders and John Bercow, the speaker of parliament's lower House of Commons. Corbyn instead made a last-minute decision to speak at Tuesday's anti-Trump demonstrations, calling them "an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked", including Khan. On Wednesday, May and Trump will join other world leaders in the English port of Portsmouth to commemorate 75 years since the D-Day landings, which changed the course of World War II. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II laughs with US President Donald Trump during a state banquet at Buckingham Palace Eight members of the Trump dynasty were at the state banquet Britain rolled out the red carpet for Trump Trump and his wife Melania are on a three-day trip to Britain Protesters are hoping to once again fly their inflatable balloon showing Trump as a baby over the streets of London Britain-US goods trade since 1993 good for ha. I guess he's in a better mood now that the pedo joke teller has been reinstated Reply Thread Link I forgot about that. Reply Parent Thread Link No. Priests are harmful to children. Reply Thread Link I love all the tweets telling this awful priest to check his own house in that Catholic Church before throwing stones at others. Reply Thread Link A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ Pride Month events held in June. that's right, catholics should stay the fuck away from us. Reply Thread Link there are gay catholics, but ok Reply Parent Thread Expand Link You KNOW they're not referring to gay Catholics. Stop. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link And gay republicans... Reply Parent Thread Expand Link As a former Catholic, sorry for your brainwashing Lol @ the #notallcatholics repliesAs a former Catholic, sorry for your brainwashing Reply Parent Thread Link That reply thread is AWESOME. I was cackling for like 10 minutes reading it. He was just begging for a good social media dragging with that nonsense. Reply Thread Link Catholic priests should never be a moral authority on any subject. Reply Thread Link THIS Reply Parent Thread Link exactly. they lost that one when they refused to clean their own house. Reply Parent Thread Link the problem is that priests do Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Oop Reply Parent Thread Link welp Reply Parent Thread Link LISTEN Reply Parent Thread Link omg Reply Parent Thread Link Because priests and the Catholic church have such great reputations! Reply Thread Link also, can I just say that the hot priest from Fleabag really wasn't that hot. Reply Thread Link I didn't see it, either! I didn't see it, either! Reply Parent Thread Link I was attracted to him, but I agree. Reply Parent Thread Link physically he was meh but together as a character.... absolutely hot. Reply Parent Thread Link i feel like some people can't understand that sometimes it's not about the way a person looks Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I liked his character, but I think he had zero chemistry with Fleabag. Nada. Zilch. They worked as friends and that's it. I was not buying the ~hot passion. Reply Parent Thread Link yessss, and his chemistry/banter w/ fleabag unf.... Reply Parent Thread Link Just watch Bel Ami's Scandal in the Vatican Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Amen! I really don't get twitter's infatuation Reply Parent Thread Link Thank you!!! Plus, he was kinda manipulating Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Good for him Reply Thread Link even a broken, roided out clock is right twice a day Reply Thread Link During his earlier years in Pittsburgh, Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin acknowledges he became aware of incidents of sexual abuse when they were reported to the diocese. But in response Tuesday to questions posed earlier about what he knew, when he knew it and what he did about it, the Providence-based bishop says these allegations were outside his realm of responsibility. Between 1992 and 1996, Tobin served as auxiliary bishop of Pittsburgh, one of six Pennsylvania dioceses covered in a scathing grand jury report on the cover-up by Catholic Church officials in Pennsylvania of decades of child abuse by more than 300 priests. The grand jury found more than 1,000 identifiable victims of sexual abuse by priests. https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180821/providence-bishop-thomas-j-tobin-says-abuse-was-outside-his-responsibility Reply Thread Link Well, would you look at that! Reply Parent Thread Link this makes me so irrationally angry Reply Parent Thread Link i think your anger is perfectly rational here Reply Parent Thread Link So clearly he of all people never thought about the children. Reply Parent Thread Link you fucking bastard.I'm so angry at this. motherfucker. i really wish someone put a bat to his head. *(him not you) Reply Parent Thread Link haha love this response Reply Thread Link The ratio.......it's delicious. Reply Thread Link For the first time in the 90 years of the #Oscars, a Native American took stage as a presenter. This is what Conservative Steven Crowder had to say about Wes Studi, a Cherokee actor and Vietnam Veteran. pic.twitter.com/Vy87XPZn2x LPY (@GuadaL00py) March 5, 2018 I'd like to add, I was so pissed off at this: Reply Thread Link The fact that Crowder remains unmurdered and still gets to use up perfectly good oxygen is baffling to me. Reply Parent Thread Link i wish ppl stopped giving these fucking losers clicks Reply Parent Thread Link I really can't believe there are people like this that exist. You know his dumbass would stand and clap had it been some veteran making some bullshit speech about America. We really need a new plague. Reply Parent Thread Link i got so scared that he had passed away omg! ilh Reply Thread Link OMG I love Lina Wertmuller! Seven Beauties is amazing, hugely underrated film! Reply Thread Link hell yes MAGUA! he deserved an oscar for that role, lbr. Reply Thread Link Hard agree. Reply Parent Thread Link agreed he was SCARY GOOD in that movie. it's one of my favorites. Reply Parent Thread Link I was beyond riveted with his performance. Reply Parent Thread Link FUCK YES. I still watch the Promontory scene from LOTM on Youtube a couple of times a year, it's so fucking compelling! Reply Parent Thread Link OMG DAVID LYNCH tbh a beautiful mind should fork over their 2002 bp oscar because mulhollanf dr was ROBBED. Reply Thread Link Mullholland Drive wasnt nominated for Best Picture that year, alas. Reply Parent Thread Link my bad, ty sis. BEST DIRECTOR lynch was robbed! Reply Parent Thread Link these are good picks - except i don't really care for lynch but whatever Reply Thread Link I would like to add my tiny bit of 'Dances With Wolves' knowledge -- it's based on a book, which I got for free and waited to read it, but when I finally opened it up...the guy dedicated it to Exene Cervenka! From X! My mind was blown. Apparently they were in the same writing class or something. I know she's kinda nutty now and has some strange ideas, but she's always been like that, I guess. Probably that kinda thing is more charming when you're young and skinny and drunk rather than old and fat and drunk. And I'm the latter. Just musing. Reply Thread Link Whoa. Totally here for this trivia, Xs first 3 albums have been in my rotation since 1992 bb me asked my grandma to rent Decline of Western Civilization on VHS (of course) for me from Blockbuster. Reply Parent Thread Link That's a nice grandma! I really love X. A lot. I don't even have the words to describe how much I appreciate them. The Unheard Music is on YouTube now, but boy oh boy...I Xeroxed the lyrics to 'I Must Not Think Bad Thoughts' and left copies everywhere, and one is tacked on my wall still. Reply Parent Thread Link It's about time. And for Geena too. Reply Thread Link I watched Thelma and Louise for the first time the other day (yes I know), and I'm actually quite amazed at how ahead of its time it was - and still is, in some ways. Reply Thread Link The 90s were a brief glimmer of hope. Reply Parent Thread Link For real, at least I had zines (HelpMeImOld.gif) in the early 90s and other media (The Craft, Foxfire, etc etc). The late 90s/00s were nightmare territory until about Sex and the City, and even that leaves me conflicted. Reply Parent Thread Link Geena Davis is such an idol. Reply Thread Link When my grandma got her mastectomy, she said 'Now I can take up archery just like the Amazons and Geena Davis.' Reply Parent Thread Link Well then, your grandma is an idol too! Reply Parent Thread Link that's so cute Reply Parent Thread Link I really wish they'd go back to letting the honorary winners speak at the oscars proper. i can't really find a ton of fault with their choices this year. Really wish they'd let Wes speak. all of them of course but Wes has meant a lot to people for years. Reply Thread Link I've been living my life assuming Geena Davis was an oscar winner wow @ the disrespect from the academy!! Reply Thread Link she is lol she won best supporting actress for THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST Reply Parent Thread Link The meltdown for oil prices came to a halt, at least temporarily, after Saudi Arabia signaled that the OPEC+ production cuts would be sticking around for a little while longer. We will do what is needed to sustain market stability beyond June. To me, that means drawing down inventories from their currently elevated levels, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said, according to Arab News. He said that Saudi Arabia would do what is needed to maintain stability. Oil prices have plunged by more than 13 percent in the last two weeks, a decline that al-Falih said was unwarranted. He added that there was an emerging consensus among OPEC+ countries, to continue their work towards market stability in the second half of the year. When asked about the escalating U.S.-China trade war, as well as the prospect of yet another trade war between the U.S. and Mexico, and the resulting knock-on effect of a global economic slowdown on oil demand, al-Falih acknowledged the negative impact. But you can be sure that we will be responsive, he said. The comments reinforce the likelihood that OPEC+ will roll over the production cuts when they meet in Vienna in a few weeks, extending the supply agreement for the rest of the year. The trade war, the cracks in the global economy, and the questions about demand make the choice a relatively easy one. The bearish turn in the market comes even as Saudi Arabia added some supply in May to offset declines from Iran. According to Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia added 170,000 bpd in May, while Iran lost 230,000 bpd. Some smaller increases from Libya and Iraq fully offset the outages in Iran, helping to explain why the oil market softened in May despite the maximum pressure campaign by the U.S. on Iran. Meanwhile, Russia involuntarily chipped in a 76,000-bpd decline, owing to the contamination crisis along the Druzhba pipeline. Related: Oil Set For Worst Monthly Drop Since November However, Saudi Arabia remains below its production limit as part of the OPEC+ deal, and Riyadh has been much more cautious about pumping more oil into a weakening market. It was always going to be difficult for Russia, which is more eager to increase production, to convince Saudi Arabia to abandon the production cuts after last years meltdown. But the latest nosedive means that the possibility of OPEC+ loosening the cuts has narrowed substantially. While tight fundamentals supported oil prices through mid-May, escalating trade wars and weaker activity indicators have finally caught up with oil market sentiment, Goldman Sachs wrote in a note. The declines over the past two weeks were likely magnified by technical trading, as speculators had become overextended. The liquidation of speculative positions probably contributed to the swiftness of the selloff. So, where do we go from here? OPEC+ will likely keep the cuts in place, which may prevent a full-blown glut, heading off a deeper slide. Supply outages, the prospect of further losses in Venezuela, Iran and Libya also will mitigate any surplus. Goldman Sachs says that prices may recover from here, although with heightened volatility. The big question now is how impactful the trade war will be on demand, and more broadly, by how much the global economy slows. Related: Iraqs Ambitious Oil Plan Faces One Major Problem The investment bank says that there are three big factors that are mispriced developments in the oil market the Permian debottlenecking, the supply response of low-cost producers and the IMO 2020 shift in bunker sulfur regulation. New pipelines and new export capacity along the U.S. Gulf Coast should lower the global marginal cost of production, Goldman analysts argued. The addition of new U.S. supply, and its integration into the global market, should narrow the difference between WTI and Brent. Ultimately, that presents a multi-year threat to the market share and revenues of OPEC+ producers. As a result, Goldman sees Brent falling from $72.50 in the second quarter to $65.50 in the third quarter, and then down to $60 per barrel next year. The prospect of higher U.S. shale output and weakening demand from the trade wars does not bode well for oil prices. In the short run, however, the OPEC+ production cuts should prevent a much deeper downturn. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: When Tesla announced a 100 MW/129 MWh battery project in Australia, it was hailed as the worlds largest energy storage facility. Then Abu Dhabi upped the ante by announcing the largest virtual battery, with a capacity of 108 MW/648 MWh. Now, a partnership between Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Magnum Development is going further: all the way to 1GW in energy storage capacity. The Advanced Clean Energy Storage, if it comes to life, will be the largest energy storage facility in the world and it will not involve lithium ion batteries. Instead, it will combine a few different energy storage technologies to ensure reliable supply of electricity, Power magazine reported last week, citing the companies. The site of the facility will be the Magnum Salt Dome in Utaha salt cave measuring at least one by three miles according to seismic surveyingproperty of Magnum Development. According to Utah's Governor, Gary Herbert, the project could put Utah on the map as the epicenter of utility-scale storage for the Western U.S. Indeed, the ambitions of the project partners are impressive. Magnum Development focuses on compressed air energy storage and renewable hydrogen. The latter is its meeting point with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, which is working on converting renewable power into hydrogen to use as fuel for a combined-cycle power plant with a capacity of 600 MW. The compressed air and hydrogen will be complemented by flow batteries and solid oxide fuel cells to ensure the reliability of the electricity. According to Magnum Development, the potential storage capacity of the salt cavern is virtually unlimited, and the only constraints are market demand and technologies that create the power. As regards the latter, the 600-MW power plant will supply most of it, and there is even the possibility of it generating enough output for the full 1-GW capacity. But how does this installed capacity translate into megawatt-hours? ince the storage could supply power to whoever needs it around the clock, Magnum Developments chief executive Paul Browning told Power magazine, if you wanted to convert that to megawatt-hours, you would multiply that by 365 in 24 hours to turn 1,000 MW of capacity into how much storage there is. Related: Can This Former Oil Giant Become Energy Independent? If successful, this project would serve to increase hydrogens prominence in the energy world. The element is tempting because of its abundance and the various ways in which it can be used as a cleaner alternative to oil and gas. Hydrogen can be used for the storage of energy through hydrolysisthe process that breaks down water into its constituent elements. The hydrogen resulting from this process is then stored in caverns or tanks until the time comes when it needs to be converted back into electricity in gas-powered plants, for instance, or in fuel cells for vehicles. In this particular case, its the size of the Magnum Salt Dome that would make the project viable: hydrogen needs a lot of space for storage because it boasts one of the highest energy-per-mass levels of density but has a much lower energy-per-volume density. This has made hydrogen-based energy storage tricky since there is not an abundance of vast caverns across the world. It is also why the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project could work. If it does, it would make a major contribution to the sharp increase in U.S. energy storage capacity that IHS Markit recently forecast. According to the research company, this will rise from 376 MW in 2018 to 712 MW this year and to almost 5 GW by 2024. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Ethanol supporters were certain conditions for them would improve following Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitts resignation. As Oklahomas Attorney General, Pruitt had sued the EPA over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). As EPA Administrator, Pruitt was generally viewed as hostile to the ethanol industry. One of the biggest sources of contention was that Pruitt granted waivers to a number of refineries that sought relief from their ethanol blending quotas. As stipulated within the Energy Policy Act of 2005, hardship waivers are only offered to the small refineries producing 75,000 barrels a day or less that the EPA says face disproportionate economic hardship after reviewing their applications and profiles. Granting hardship waivers to those who need them was part of the original RFS plan. Granting hardship waivers to those who need them was part of the original RFS plan. However, the ethanol industry argued that the waivers were being granted too liberally, and they were being granted in many cases to huge refiners like Valero. Following Pruitts departure, Andrew Wheeler, who was Pruitts second-in-command, took over as EPA Administrator. He furthered angered the ethanol industry by granting a batch of new waivers to refineries that requested them. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley blasted the decision on Twitter and complained that these ridiculous RFS waivers would translate into nearly a billion bushels of corn demand lost. Senator Grassley and other ethanol proponents were angry that EPA is allowing the waivers to reduce the overall blending requirement to below the RFS mandate. They want the RFS requirements to be raised to make up for previous losses due to the waivers. But according to Dr. Scott H. Irwin, the Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, these waivers do not even reduce demand for renewable fuel blends. In a Jan. 16 study, he said: the data now clearly show that small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the RFS have not reduced physical ethanol use. Related: Can This Former Oil Giant Become Energy Independent? Now, a federal appeals court has denied a renewable fuel groups attempt to block the EPA from issuing SREs to the Renewable Fuel Standard. The renewable group, known as the American Biofuel Association (ABFA), claimed that the EPA improperly considered a number of factors in its granting of SREs an argument that the appeals court dismissed as unsubstantiated. ABFAs criticisms merely reflect its disagreement with EPAs reasonable application of its discretion. In a facial challenge, this is not enough, it wrote. ABFA must show that there are no set of circumstances in which EPAs approach would be valid. EPA appropriately considered information included in DOEs analysis and other economic information. Irwins study confirmed that the EPAs issuance of SREs has not caused demand destruction: There continues to be considerable interest in whether small refinery exemptions (SREs) under the RFS have destroyed demand for ethanol in the physical market. It seems obvious that this would be the case since SREs have had the effect of annually waiving more than a billion gallons of the conventional ethanol mandate under the RFS since 2017. However, the analysis in two earlier farmdoc daily articles (September 13, 2018; December 13, 2018) provides little evidence that the aggregate blend rate for ethanol has been reduced by SREs. Related: The Bad Gas Deal That Brought Down A Prime Minister The northeast has relied on these hardship waivers because of the high cost of complying with the RFS ethanol mandate. Northeast refineries like Philadelphia Energy Solutions have filed for bankruptcy as a result of the costs associated with it already. For these reasons, Dr. J. Winston Porter, a former assistant administrator of the EPA, says that eliminating the small refinery exemptions could jeopardize the security of the entire RFS: Ironically, failing to continue issuing hardship waivers represents the true threat to ethanol demand and the existing scope of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Should the EPA refrain from saving the small refineries struggling with the compliance costs, as was the intent of the law all along, bankruptcies will ensue, energy competition will fall. The EPA will then have no choice but to significantly lower renewable fuel volume obligations to prevent further instability. Is that really what the laws proponents want? While the ostensible basis of ABFAs concerns is that the EPAs granting of SREs has created demand destruction on farmers, ethanol production remains at an all-time high. Senator Grassley and other ethanol supporters are unlikely to be pleased with this decision, but perhaps they would be better served to focus on the trade war with China. That has certainly created a great deal of demand destruction for farmers. By Robert Rapier More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Federal Government of Iraq (FGI) in Baghdad moved swiftly when the U.S. re-imposed sanctions against Iran, ordering its Oil Ministry to breach part of the supply gap by increasing its targets for crude oil production to 6.2 million barrels per day (bpd) by end-2020 and 9 million bpd by end-2023. These targets include oil output from the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in the countrys north an area under the leadership of the KRG. Crucially, the KRG also controls a key pipeline in Iraqs northern export route to Europe via the Turkish port of Ceyhan. All of this is under threat over a row involving budget payments from the FGI to the KRG in exchange for Kurdistans co-operation on oil transfers and exports. The dispute is not a transitory disagreement but dates back to the very formation of the new system of governance in Iraq in 2003, immediately after the fall of Saddam Hussein. At that time, it was broadly agreed that the KRG would export a certain volume of oil from its own fields and Kirkuk via Iraqs State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) and would absolutely not independently sell oil from the fields on the international markets. In return, Baghdad would disburse a certain level of payments to the KRG from Iraqs central budget. From 2003 to November 2014, there were constant accusations from both sides that the other had not met the terms of that understanding. In November 2014, however, a deal was struck between the FGI and the KRG in which the KRG agreed to export up to 550,000 bpd of oil from its own fields and Kirkuk via SOMO and, in return, Baghdad would send 17% of the federal budget after sovereign expenses (around US$500 million at that time) per month in budget payments to the Kurds. This agreement which again functioned properly only sporadically - was then superseded by an understanding reached between the KRG and the new Iraqi federal government formed in October 2018 centred on the 2019 national budget bill. This required the FGI to transfer sufficient funds from the budget to pay the salaries of KRG employees along with other financial compensation in exchange for the KRG handing over the export of at least 250,000 bpd of crude oil to SOMO. Since the beginning of this year, the FGI nominally headed by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi but controlled behind the scenes by radical cleric Moqtada a-Sadr - has delivered the funding for the salaries of the KRG employees on a monthly basis. The KRG, though, has not delivered the agreed upon volume of oil to SOMO. Related: Oil Set For Worst Monthly Drop Since November The key sticking point for the two sides is a fundamental disagreement over the amount of budget dispersals and oil transfers that should be involved in the deal on an ongoing basis the same reason that the November 2014 deal did not survive intact for long. The situation was worsened by the yes referendum vote for independence in Kurdistan in September 2017. Before this, Kurdistan had been hoping to raise oil exports above 1 million bpd, becoming one of the worlds fastest growing oil regions, and allowing for the full resumption of the November 2014 deal. After the yes vote, the very basis of the deal became entirely null and void when FGI and Iranian forces took back control of the oilfields in Kurdistan, including the major sites around the oil city of Kirkuk. The FGI argued that the Kirkuk fields had been occupied illegally in the first place, having been under Kurdish control only since 2014, when the Iraqi army collapsed in the face of Islamic State, and Kurdistans Peshmerga military force moved in to prevent the militants from seizing the regions oilfields. From September onwards, the starting point of any negotiations for the FGI in Baghdad over budget disbursements to the KRG was that they should accord with the percentage share of the Kurdistan population in the overall population of Iraq. This, according to the FGI, is 12.67% - a long way from the 17% of the federal budget after sovereign expenses that had been the cornerstone assumption of the November 2014 deal. The legal position relating to the Iraqi oil industry and the distribution of its revenue sharing between the KRG area and the rest of the country has done little to clarify the ongoing impasse. Both sides have claimed - with some justification a right to the revenues from the disputed oil flows. According to the KRG, it has authority under Articles 112 and 115 of the Iraq Constitution to manage oil and gas in the Kurdistan Region extracted from fields that were not in production in 2005 - the year that the Constitution was adopted by referendum. SOMO, however, has argued that under Article 111 of the Constitution, oil and gas are under the ownership of all the people of Iraq in all the regions and governorates. In addition, the KRG maintains that Article 115 states: All powers not stipulated in the exclusive powers of the federal government belong to the authorities of the regions and governorates that are not organised in a region. As such, the KRG maintains that, as relevant powers are not otherwise stipulated in the Constitution, it has the authority to sell and receive revenue from its oil and gas exports. Additionally, the Constitution provides that, should a dispute arise, priority shall be given to the law of the regions and governorates. Since the yes vote on independence, Russia has further complicated matters, regarding the growing schism between the FGI and the KRG as a significant opportunity to take control of the oil and gas assets of the Kurdistan region whilst also maintaining its foothold in the south. The Kremlins corporate oil proxy, Rosneft which has now effectively taken over the ownership of Kurdistans export oil and gas pipelines, as part of an agreement to provide it with over US$2.1 billion in prepayment deals under the long-term supply contract, valid until 2020 has made its own demands of the FGI through the KRG. A senior oil and gas industry source who works closely with Iraqs Oil Ministry told OilPrice.com that Moscow is insisting that Kurdistan oil flows would not restart until pipeline transit fees are paid to Rosneft, which now also has a 60% stake in the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. Moscow also wants the FGI to look again at its decision to deem invalid the assignment last October to Rosneft by the KRG of five exploration blocks in Kurdish territory. Rosnefts involvement not only threatens Iraqs plans to meet its new in-house oil production targets but also its potential export routes for the new flows, given the Russian companys involvement in the northern pipelines leading into Turkeys Ceyhan port. The original Kirkuk to Ceyhan Pipeline - also called the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) - consisted of two pipes, which had a nameplate capacity of 1.6 million bpd combined (1.1 million bpd for the 46 inch diameter pipe, and 0.5 million bpd for the 40 inch one). Related: OPEC Oil Output Set For Drop Despite Saudi Production Boost Although subject to regular sabotage by militants of various descriptions, the FGI-controlled pipelines export capacity reached between 250,000 to 400,000 bpd when running normally, Richard Mallinson, senior oil and gas analyst for global energy consultancy, Energy Aspects, in London, told OilPrice.com. Meanwhile, the KRG, in response to the regular attacks on the FGI pipeline, completed its own single-side track Taq Taq field-Khurmala-Kirkuk/Ceyhan pipeline in the border town of Fishkhabur. This was part of its drive to raise oil exports above 1 million bpd. Under the previous FGI administration of Haider al-Abadi, the signs were that some accommodation of the demands of Rosneft, and the KRG, might be in the offing, according to the Iraq source. There had been some movement on the percentage basis for the budget compensation, up from just under 13%, in the early part of last year, and there had been a ratification of the idea that Baghdad would return to significant volumes of oil to Kurdistan for local refining and it had even been acknowledged that a pumping tariff might be paid to Rosneft, he said. At that time, [Jabar] al-Luaibi [Iraqs Oil Minister] even said that he was willing to accommodate Rosneft in the Kirkuk oil hub itself, highlighting that Baghdad did not want to close the doors in the face of anyone who wants to help, he added. The only condition at that point was that Rosneft should work with BP (a company that owns a 19.75% stake in Rosneft), which does not appear to be an insurmountable requirement. The view of the KRG is that al-Sadr will eventually go along with what had been agreed, as it [the KRG] thinks that he is more likely to do deals with Russia than with the US, which he hates with every fibre of his being, he concluded. By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com More Top Reads from Oilprice.com: Enbridges Line 3 pipeline replacement project ran into another unsurprising roadblock on Monday after a Minnesota State Court of Appeals ruled that its environmental assessment just wasnt good enough. The ruling is a reversal of Minnesota Public Utilities Commissions decision that approved the environmental impact statement for the pipeline replacement. The project plans to replace Enbridges existing 282 miles of 34-inch pipeline with 337 miles of 36-inch pipe. The appellate court found today that the Commission erred when it approved the plan, and found that Enbridges environmental impact statement lacked in specificity, specifically where it deals with oil spills in relation to Lake Superior. The new Line 3 would have the capacity to move 370,000 barrels of oil per day, alleviating the takeaway capacity constraints that Canada is facing. Line 3 is one of two pipeline projects in the works that arein their unfinished statekeeping Canadas oil industry from reaching its potential. Line 3 has faced numerous legal challenges and has been approved and disapproved several times over. Enbridge has pushed back its startup date, which was originally supposed to be at the end of 2019. The latest date given, prior to todays loss, was in H2 2020. Enbridge Inc. (NYSE: ENB) was trading down on the unfavorable news at $35.53 per share (-3.64%). Enbridge is also struggling to get its Line 5 replacement project in Michigan off the ground. The company is in talks with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on how to proceed. One option being considered is shutting the aging Line 5. Meanwhile, oil is still flowing through both of the aging linesa real concern as aging pipelines come with a higher risk of leakages. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Amid tightening supply of heavy oil on global markets Chevron is asking the Trump administration for sanction relief in Venezuela so it could continue doing business there, Bloomberg reports quoting sources close to the company, noting that the U.S. supermajor is currently operating under sanction waivers that expire in late July and is hoping for an extension. Chevron, together with Venezuelas PDVSA, operates the Petroboscan joint venture, in which it holds a 39-percent stake. Like PDVSAs other JVs, Petroboscan suffered production outages earlier this year after a series of blackouts hit Venezuela. The countrys total oil production has fallen sharplyaveraging 768,000 bpd in Apriland it will fall by another 300,000-400,000 bpd if Washington refuses to extend Chevrons and others sanction waivers, according to an energy analyst who spoke to Bloomberg. The Trump administration will have to reconcile that volume with the value of maintaining a strong U.S. foothold in the country, David Voght from IPD Latin America said. The United States slapped new sanctions on Caracas in January, after the inauguration of Nicolas Maduro for a second term as president. The U.S. decried the elections as illegitimate and threw its support behind opposition leader Juan Guaido. Despite Guaidos active efforts to undermine the incumbent government with the help of Washington, Maduro has proved hard to remove despite continuing protests and Guaidos takeover of Citgo, Venezuelas U.S. business. As one of the few major suppliers of heavy crude, Venezuela has become the main contributor to a shortage of this sort of crude that has seen many refineriesincluding ones in Asia and the U.S. Gulf Coasttake a hit on margins. The tightening supply of heavy crude also saw some heavy grades trade at a premium to lighter crudes in a reversal of the traditional price differences, which are in favor of light crude. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Chinese refiners are not rushing to finalize deals for oil cargoes from West Africa for August, expecting prices of crude grades from Angola to drop from recent highs as the global oil benchmark slumped and the market structure points to weakening premiums for prompt deliveries, Reuters reported on Monday, quoting refining and trading sources in Asia. Chinas refiners are currently in the market looking for supplies for August, but they are not jumping to close deals because the Brent Crude backwardationthe market situation in which front-month prices are trading at a premium compared to prices further out in the futurehas sharply narrowed, pointing to possible weakening of the spot prices, industry sources told Reuters. Sources at Chinese refineries told Reuters that the differentials of West African crudes are still very high, making imports unprofitable. In addition, refining margins in Asia have been recently pressured and dropped to their lowest in 16 years, with refiners across the region said to be considering cutting run rates. Although refiners in Asia are not left without choice for crude after the end of the U.S. sanction waivers for Iranian oil, the higher price of alternative supplies, as well as soaring fuel exports from China, are depressing refining margins across Asia. Chinese refiners, for their part, have been stocking up on crude oil in the first half of this year, so there would probably be a slowdown in oil imports in the third quarter, Seng Yick Tee with Beijing-based consultancy SIA Energy told Reuters. Last week, sellers of Angolan and Nigerian crude grades started to reduce offers for cargoes in July because high shipping costs to Asia had been discouraging buyers, trade sources told Reuters. Because buyers in Asia have not been pleased with the high prices of cargoes from Angola, the offers of Angolan gradesboth heavy and light crudeswere revised down by between US$0.20 and US$0.30 a barrel last week, according to trade sources who spoke to Reuters. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has petitioned the Court of Appeal over what he described as a deliberate ploy to truncate the constitutional calendar of the presidential election petition before the Tribunal. This is coming 11 days after the President of the Court of Appeal and erstwhile Chairperson of the 2019 Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, disqualified herself from the Tribunal following the petition of the PDP and Atiku/Obi legal team. The PDP and Abubakar had based their application, among other things, on the ground that Bulkachuwa is the wife of Mr. Adamu Bulkachuwa, a prominent card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and senator-elect for Bauchi north senatorial district, which is a political party involved in the suit. However, in delivering the lead ruling on the application, Justice Peter Ige said not enough materials had been presented before the court to show that Justice Bulkachuwa will be biased in the hearing and the decisions on the petition. He said that the fact that she is married to a senator-elect, who along with her son are in the APC, will not foist any room for bias in the case. Bulkachuwa, however, withdrew from the tribunal for personal reasons after the court dismissed an application by the PDP and its candidate asking her to recuse herself from the tribunal But Atiku in a letter through his counsel dated May 31, 2019, urged the President of the Court of Appeal to appoint a replacement forthwith, since he knows the Tribunal has a timeline to prosecute the petitions, adding that already, 76 days have been expended out of the 180 days allowed by law, as seen in Section 134 (2) and (3) of the Electoral Act (2010 as amended). The petitions lead counsel stated: I am one (Silas Joseph) of the Counsel in the Legal Team prosecuting the above Petition on behalf of the Petitioners. I have the authority of the Lead Counsel, Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN) to write this letter. My Lord will recall that on 22nd May 2019, the above-mentioned Petition came up for a motion requesting that my Lord to recuse herself from further presiding or participating in this Petition. At the end of the proceedings, my Lord graciously recused herself on personal grounds and promised to appoint another Justice to continue with the Petition. I am not aware of any new development. We have not been served with any hearing notice. But we have written to the President of the Court of Appeal to remind her of her promise to bring in a replacement, having recused herself. It is yet to be fulfilled. That is where we are. We are waiting to see what will happen, having done that. When asked if they were worried in the delay to appoint a replacement for Justice Bulkachuwa, he said: Of course, we are bound to be. A Texas-based televangelist is facing scrutiny following a recent TV interview in which he defended his use of three private jets and referred to the public as a bunch of demons that he needed to avoid while preparing his sermons. Kenneth Copeland, head of Kenneth Copeland Ministries, was confronted by reporter Lisa Guerrero of Inside Edition in May while in his car outside an event in Branson, Mo. Asked why he needs the private jets, Copeland responds: If I flew commercial, Id have to stop 65 percent of what Im doing. Guerrero then asks Copeland about a past statement attributed to him, in which he allegedly said he doesnt use commercial airlines because he doesnt want to get into a tube with a bunch of demons. Copeland appears to become angered by the question and denies comparing people to demons. Dont you ever say I did! the preacher snarls at the reporter. Copeland normally declines to address questions about his purchases, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The preachers organization operates 22 churches in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and runs a 1,500-acre campus that includes an airstrip and a hangar for its planes, the report said. According to the newspaper, Copelands third jet, a Gulfstream V, was purchased in January 2018 from Hollywood star Tyler Perry. But the preacher tells Guerrero in the interview that he got a good price on the aircraft and didnt overspend. When asked to disclose a specific price, Copeland declines. Thats really none of your business, he tells Guerrero. Neither Copeland nor his ministry responded when the Star-Telegram sought their reaction to the Inside Edition interview, the newspaper reported. Copeland is far from the only religious leader linked to expensive purchases. In December, a South Carolina pastor spent $200,000 on a Lamborghini as an anniversary gift for his wife. Pastor John Gray, leader of the Relentless Church in Greenville, was widely criticized on social media but still defended the purchase. Pastor buys his wife this expensive car, Gray said. First of all it wasnt a pastor who bought the car, it was a husband that bought the car. Get that in your spirit. He also addressed the speculation that he used some money from the church to pay for the Lamborghini. Did this man use any money from the church to do this? Gray asked. And the answer is no; absolutely not. And God, take my life on this live feed if I did. Last May, Louisiana-based preacher Jesse Duplantis announced he was seeking donations so he could purchase a $54 million private jet. I really believe that if Jesus was physically on the Earth today, he wouldnt be riding a donkey, Duplantis said at the time. Hed be in an airplane preaching the gospel all over the world. It is reasonable to conclude that whenever the All Progressives Congress (APC) holds up the mirror to look at itself, the image that comes up is that of a once-in-an-age progressive entity created to remedy our national defects. Hard evidence, however, declines to support this distorted image. By 11 June, if the ruling partys desire comes to fruition, the control of three arms of the countrys government will be in the hands of Muslims, the first time since the return to democratic rule in 1999. President Muhammadu Buhari is already the leader of the Executive arm. The Judiciary has Justice Tanko Mohammed in place as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), following the chicanery that ousted Justice Walter Onnoghen, a Southern Christian, as CJN. The President of the Federal Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, and Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, like the CJN, are both Muslims. The Senate, should things pan out as the APC has them planned, will have Senator Ahmed Lawan as President, with a strong possibility that his deputy will be Kabiru Gaya, who has been everything but coy about his ambition. The House of Representatives, by APCs design, is expected to produce Femi Gbajabiamila, a Muslim, as Speaker. The Gbajabiamila camp has already settled for Idris Wase, a Muslim from the North-Central zone, as Deputy Speaker. The design is similar to the APC adopted in 2015, which had the same candidates for both positions. But it was outwitted by Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Aminu Dogara, who halted the plan for Muslim headship of the two chambers by restoring religious balance. What this indicates, uncomplicatedly, is that the APC views Nigerian Christians, especially those in the South, as children of a lesser god, who deserve no more than political crumbs. Hints that the APC was designed as a special purpose vehicle to foist an Islamic domination agenda on Nigeria were there from when it emerged in 2013 as a fusion of disparate and desperate political interests. It could not have been otherwise. The partys totem, General Muhammadu Buhari (now President), is a die-hard Sharia advocate who, justifiably, also merits that tag of a sectional champion. Early in 2014, an Islamic cleric, Ambassador Yusuf Garba, likened the APC to Egypts Muslim Brotherhood and accused it of harbouring plans to Islamise Nigeria. Garba, a member of a group named Religious Equity Promotion Council (REPC), arrived at his position just by looking at the APC Interim National Executive Committee, which was chock-full with Muslims. Appointed as National Chairman was Chief Bisi Akande, Aminu Bello Masari as Deputy National Chairman, Tijani Musa Tumsah as National Secretary, Nasir el-Rufai as Deputy National Secretary and Lai Mohammed as National Publicity Secretary. The party also appointed Sadiya Umar Faruq as National Treasurer, Shaibu Musa as National Financial Secretary, Abubakar Lado as National Youth Leader, Muiz Banire as National Legal Adviser, Bala Jubrin as Deputy National Auditor and Sharia Ikeazor (a convert to Islam) as National Woman Leader. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other groups, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), also warned that hints of bias in favour of Islam carry the potential to uncouple the country, as they were bound to reboot sectarian tensions. Their voices were, however, drowned out by the powerful APC propaganda machine, abetted by undiscerning Nigerians and power-seeking desperadoes. Further hints of the APCs indifference to the countrys religious plurality manifested after General Buhari had emerged as presidential candidate and was shopping for a Southern running mate. It emerged that the party was considering Tinubu to run on a Muslim-Muslim ticket with Buhari, news of which provoked widespread disapproval, including from former President Olusegun Obasanjo. The APC back-tracked, picking Yemi Osinbajo, a Pentecostal pastor, and momentarily selling itself as a thoughtful entity. But old habits are notoriously tough to shake. Following its victory in the presidential election, the APC rebooted its agenda-with Buhari at the wheel. Among his first appointments, even while it took him six months to constitute a cabinet, were Lawal Daura, a retired officer recalled to head the Department of State Security (DSS); Hammid Ali, a retired Army officer as Comptroller-General of Customs; and Abba Kyari as Chief of Staff. The agenda proceeded with the appointment of Ibrahim K Idris, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, to replace Solomon Arase as Inspector-General of Police. That particular appointment induced, in one fell swoop, the retirement of 21 Deputy Inspectors-General of Police and Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, who were Idris seniors. It equally manifested in the Presidents decision to replace Dr. Ibe Kachikwu as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with Dr. Miakanti Baru, a Northern Muslim; and refusal to appoint, in substantive capacity, Mr. Matthew Seiyefa, as DSS Director-General, after serving in acting capacity when Daura was sacked by the Vice President. Instead, Buhari appointed Yusuf Magaji Bichi, a Muslim from Kano State. The same pattern could be seen in the replacement of Kemi Adeosun, a Yoruba Christian, who resigned as Minister of Finance. Her replacement turned out to be Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who was said to have been the candidate of Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State. As such, it was not much of surprise when el-Rufai, with breathtaking insensitivity to the tinder-box religious situation in Kaduna State, settled for a Muslim running-mate, a decision he said had the approval of President Buhari with whom he consulted. Bad as the situation is, there is a huge chance that it could get worse. Much worse, especially for Southern Christians. The conduct of the APC in the last four years does not inspire hope that the next four will drip with sensitivity to religious or sectional balance. By 2023, Nigerians will have another chance to elect a president. There is very little, if any, chance of Buharis successor being a Christian or Southerner. Rumoured to be keen on the job is el-Rufai, whose indifference to the plight of Christians in his state has seen communities explode with violence, one after the other, like firecrackers on a string. Tinubu, the Southerner, who is allegedly being pressured to run, is a Muslim. The APC, it is safe to assume, will not hand its presidential ticket to a Christian, Northern or Southern. It is not wired to be balanced in anything it does. The chances of a Christian emerging Nigerias president in the near future, I believe, are wafer-thin. The Northern political/religious establishment is ceaseless in saying politics is a numbers game. A recent study released by the US fact tank, Pew Research Centre, projects that Nigeria will be home to 9.5 per cent of the global Muslim population by 2060. As at 2015, it stood at 5.1 per cent. The projection is that local Muslim population would have grown from a little over 90million (50 per cent) in 2015 to 283.1million (60.5 per cent). Conversely, the Christian population (86.6million in 2015) is projected to climb to 174.2million in 2060. While the 2015 figure (48.1 per cent of local population) gave Nigeria 3.8 per cent of the global Christian population, the projected 2060 figure will have Nigerian Christians making up 37.2 per cent of local population and 5.7 per cent of global Christian population. Islam continues to spread globally. Figures show that 31 per cent of children born worldwide between 2010 and 2015 were Muslim and babies born to Muslims, whose faith allow polygamy, are expected to outnumber those born to Christians by 2035. In Northern Nigeria, non-Muslims have been known to convert or risk being frozen out of socio-political benefits. These conditions are to the advantage of religious supremacists such as the APC and reduce the possibility of a Christian Nigerian president. A public affairs analyst, Omoaka writes from Abuja and can be reached through deereno75@gmail.com Disclaimer: As an editorial policy, Breaking Times neither oppose nor endorse any opinion and contribution expressed by our writers and contributors. Contributions are strictly that of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Breaking Times. Op-Ed Contribution: Our platform is for you. Want to submit an Op-Ed? If yes, kindly send your article and short biography to youreport@thebreakingtimes.com The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), on May 31, 2018 wrote to The Chairman of Oando Plc on the findings of the forensic audit conducted by Deloitte & Touche; and its decisions therefrom. Oando Plc has since responded to the contents of the letter. We present below both statements on an issue by issue basis. Preamble You would recall that following the receipt of two petitions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from April from Alhaji Mangal Dahiru and Ansbury Incorporated, the Commission in 2017, conducted an investigation into the activities of Oando PLC and observed certain infractions of securities laws by some members of the Board of Oando PLC Additionally, the findings of the Commission were communicated to the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando PLC by letter dated July 10, 2017. The Commission further engaged Deloitte & Touche to conduct a forensic audit of activities of Oando PLC. The findings from the investigations were as follows: Oandos Response We refer to your letter dated 31st May 2019 (your Letter) wherein you communicated the findings relating to certain infractions on securities laws by members of the Board of Directors of Oando PLC (the Company). You will recall that following SECs receipt of two (2) petitions from Ansbury Incorporated and Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, SEC wrote to the Company requesting responses to the petitions. The Company responded to the allegations in its letter dated 21st July 2017. However, SEC only responded by communicating its interim findings in its letter dated 17th October 2017 wherein it stated that its findings are weighty and therefore need to be further investigated to ascertain their veracity. The SEC thereafter suspended the Companys scheduled Annual General Meeting (AGM) and ordered the appointment of a forensic auditor into the affairs of the Company. In October 2017, the Company filed a suit before the Federal High Court to challenge the SECs directives which later went on appeal to the Court of Appeal. The Company later withdrew the appeal from the Court of Appeal on the strength of the assurance given by the SEC that the forensic investigation will be impartial and independent. Please note that we are aware that a copy of the forensic report was submitted by the forensic auditors to the SEC in December 2018. The Company has never at any time been furnished with the forensic report neither has it been afforded the opportunity to defend or make any representations on the final findings therefrom. Having stated our general position on your Letter and without waiving our rights to receive the full report pursuant to which your Letter was issued, we respond to the specific points raised in your Letter below as follows. 1. Corporate Governance Lapses There were several corporate governance lapses stemming from poor Board oversight. These include irregular approval of Directors remuneration, Directors participation in matters in which they had declared interest, unjustified disbursements to Directors and Management of the company, failure of the Audit Committee to hold meetings with management, internal auditors and external auditors. Oandos Response The Company firmly states that the SEC has not substantiated its findings on alleged several corporate governance lapses stemming from poor Board oversight. Oando prides itself as a pioneer Nigerian company in the adoption of best corporate governance practices. Oando was the first NSE-listed company to achieve a cross-border dual listing of its 100% shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2005 and a further listing of 100% shares in its upstream subsidiary on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2012. These successful listings required the Company to institute and maintain the highest international standards of corporate governance in its management and business operations. 1.1 Irregular Approval of Directors Remuneration Oandos Response The Company denies that there was any irregular approval of directors remuneration at any period under review. All payments to directors were in accordance with the Board Remuneration Policy, were approved by the Board of the Company and disclosed in the audited financial statements. 1.2 Unjustified Disbursements to Directors and Management Oandos Response The SEC has failed to furnish instances of such unjustified disbursements. All remuneration (including expenses) to directors and management are approved and paid in accordance with the approved Delegation of Authority document of the Company. 1.3 Failure of the Audit Committee to hold meetings with Management, Internal Auditors and External Auditors Oandos Response This is completely false and raises quality assurance concerns on the SECs findings. The records of the Audit Committee meetings of the Company clearly shows that the Committee holds regular meetings with the Management of the Company and its internal and external auditors. In addition, the Audit Committee meets separately with the internal auditor and the Management is absent at such meetings. The rationale behind this is to reinforce the independence of the internal auditor in compliance with the requirements of the Audit Committee. 1.4 Directors participation in conflicted matters Oandos Response The SEC has again failed to provide details of this allegation, which is denied. It is the practice and tradition of the Board of the Company to have as the first item on the agenda in all Board Meetings, the disclosure of any interest they may have in the business of the day. Any director(s) of the Company who disclose an interest in a matter before the Board always recuse themselves from exercising their right to vote on that matter. 2. Failure of Internal Controls Oando PLC failed to establish an effective system of internal controls as required under Section 61 if the ISA 2007, over its financial reporting thereby compromising the integrity of the companys financial controls and reporting as revealed by the misstatements in the financial statement, high number of related party transactions and unjustified disbursement to directors. Oandos Response The Company denies the allegation in your letter that it does not have an effective internal control process in place as required by S61 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 (ISA). In the absence of any specific instances or examples, the Company is of the position that there is no basis for this finding. The SEC is therefore put to further proof of this allegation. 3. Incidental Issues Arising From the Sale of a Subsidiary 3.1. In 2013, Oando PLC reported the sale of its subsidiary Oando Exploration and Production Limited (OEPL), to Green Park Management Limited without obtaining the approval of the commission, (in violation of the provisions of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007) and the consent of the Minister of Petroleum (As required under the Petroleum Act,1969) Oandos Response The accounting treatment accorded to the sale of Oando Exploration and Production Limited (OEPL) was in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the rules of the Financial Reporting Council. 3.2. The purported sale of OEPL enable Oando PLC to report a profit instead of a loss, thereby misstating its Financial Statements in 2013 and 2014 and consequently misleading investors. This fictitious profit reported in 2013, enabled Oando PLC to declare dividends. Oandos Response The Company rejects the assertion by the SEC that the sale of OEPL in 2013 was fictitious or orchestrated to enable the company to record a profit and pay dividends. 3.3. The 2013 misstate accounts and quarterly reports of Oando PLC were include in the 2014 rights circular, thereby misrepresenting the financial status of the company to the public in violation of Section 86 of the provisions of the ISA 2007. Oandos Response The 2013 audited accounts and subsequent quarterly reports of the Company were the proper account to be used in the 2014 Rights Circular and at the time of inclusion, did not contain any untrue statement or mis-statement. There was no intention on the part of the Company to mislead the public as alleged by the SEC. 4. Suspected Market Abuse and Insider Dealings 4.1. In 2012, 2013 and 2014 and 2015, certain insiders of Oando PLC sold shares of the company during close period despite having knowledge of active closed periods by the company and contrary to the Rules of the NSE. The insiders include Ocean an Oil Investment Limited (OOIL represented by Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Godwin Omamofe Boyo), Ocean and Oil Development partners (OODP represented by Jubril Adewale Tinubu, Godwin Omamofe Boyo, Francesco Cuzzocera), and ECP African Fund II PC (a Company in which Nana Appiah-Korang wards Director). This violation is being referred to the Nigerian Sto 4.2. OODP, the major shareholder in Oando PLC represented by Jubril Adewale Tinubu, Godwin Omamofe Boyo and Francesco Cuzzocera authorized the sale of 1,210,000,000 units of OODP shares in Oando PLC valued at N21,455,909,256. The trades took place between January and October, 212015, preceding the release of the 2014 audited financial statements on October 23, 2015 in which Oando PLC declared an unprecedented loss of N183 billion. During this period, these representatives of OODP were insiders of Oando PLC and had access to material non-public information regarding the poor financial status of the company commencing December 2014, in violation of the provisions of the ISA 2007 regarding insider dealing. This violation is being referred to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Oandos Response The Company has always maintained that its policy and procedure on Insider dealings and sale of shares during closed periods are in accordance with best corporate governance standards. Oando is however not in a position to provide a response regarding alleged actions of shareholders as these are independent and separate legal entities. 5. Related Party Transactions Oando PLC was involved in several related party transactions linked to key Board members particularly Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Godwin Omamofe. Some of the related party transactions were not disclosed in the 2012 and 2014 financial statements. However, an impression was created in the 2013 and the 2015 financial statements that these disclosures had been accurately reported. Oandos Response The SEC has again not specified the details of the related party transactions that were undisclosed in 2012 and 2014. As a result, we are unable to respond in detail to this allegation and again put the SEC to further proof of same. 6. Payment of Interim Dividends Despite Liquidity Constraints In 2014, Oando PLC paid interim dividends when the Company was facing liquidity constraints. Oandos Response The Commission claims that the Company paid interim dividends in 2014 when it was facing liquidity constraints. There is no legal basis for the SECs findings. As the SEC should be aware, Section 379 (2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act permits the payment of dividends from distributable reserves. The interim dividend declared in September 2014 was paid by the Company in November 2014 from the H1 2014 profits of the Company. At that point in time, the Company had sufficient distributable reserves and it is acceptable under the law to pay out dividends if reserves exist at the point of declaration. 7. False Disclosures Oando PLC failed to fully comply with the SEC Code of Corporate Governance for public companies. The Company falsely indicated full compliance with the code in its Annual Reports for 2012 and 2013. Oandos Response The SECs claim that Oando failed to comply fully with the SEC Code of Corporate Governance for public companies is false, unsubstantiated and for the records, unhelpful. 8. Non-Disclosure of Beneficial Ownership Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal failed to disclose his substantial ownership in Oando Plc as required by CAMA. Similarly, Oando PLC failed to notify the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) of his shareholding of 5% and above as required by the rules of the NSE. This is being referred to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Oandos Response The SEC would observe that by the Companys letters dated 21st July 2017, 23rdAugust 2017, 24th August 2017, 28th August 2017 and 21st September 2017, Oando repeatedly brought to the attention of the SEC the fact that to the best of the Companys knowledge, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal held less than 5% of the shares in the Company and requested that the SEC compel Alhaji Mangal to disclose his full beneficial ownership in Oando PLC in accordance with Section 95(1-5) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act to enable the Company comply with Rule 17.13 of the NSE Rule book. The SEC did not send Oando a response to its request and Alhaji Mangal did not contact the Company until 29th September 2017 and 11th October 2017. We thereafter promptly notified the SEC that his shareholding had exceeded 5% based on his notification. 9. Tax-Related Issues i. Oando PLC deducted an amount representing 24% of the dividend paid to shareholders in 2014 as withholding tax. This exceeded the statutory requirement of 10% as required by the Compliance Income Tax Act (CITA) ii. Oando PLC failed to comply with several tax laws such as Companies Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act etc. These tax related violation are being referred to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Oandos Response The Company denies that it deducted and/or remitted any amount in excess of the statutory 10% Withholding Tax deductions from the dividend paid to shareholders in 2014 as required by the Companies Income Tax Act (CITA). We put the SEC to further proof of this allegation. We also note that the SEC has clearly exceeded the remit of its powers by alleging non-compliance with several tax laws such as Companies Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax Act etcWe respectfully request that the Commission restricts its regulatory oversight to the matters permitted by the applicable law. 10. Directives including Resignation of Directors from the Board In view of the above violations, the Commission hereby directs as follows: 1. Oando PLC to pay the sum of: a. N8,450,000 to the Commission for publishing untrue statement in its 2012 Financial Statements, in violation of Rule 3 (4) of the SEC Rules and Regulations, made pursuant to the ISA 2007. b. N7,850,000 to the Commission for publishing untrue statements in its 2013 Financial Statements, in violation of Rule 3 (4) of the SEC Rules and Regulations, made pursuant to the ISA 2007. c. N42,750,000 to the Commission, for non-disclosure of related party transactions in its 2012 Financial Statements, in violation of Rule 39 (1&7) of the SEC Rules and Regulations, 2013, made pursuant to the ISA 2007 d. N30,625,000 to the Commission, for non-disclosure of related party transactions and its 2014 Financial Statements, in viatioon of Rule 39 (1&7) of the SEC Rules and Regulations 2013, made pursuant to ISA 2007. 2. The under listed directors of Oando Plc shall immediately refund to Oando PLC, the total sum of N145,767,316 (One Hundred and Forty-Five Million, Seven Hundred and Sixty-Seven Thousand, Three Hundred and Sixteen Naira, Only) being remuneration and other benefits paid to them above the provisions of the Board Charter: 3. In view of the gravity of the corporate governance lapse and internal control failures observed in the company, every person who sat on the Board of the company when the failures occurred to wit: HRH. Oba Micheal Adetoun Gbadebo CFR Mr. Mobolaji Osunsanya Mr. Olufemi Adeyemo Mr. Oghogho Akpata Chief. Sena Anthony Mrs. Ammuna Lawan Alli OON a. Should reign his/her position from the Board of Directors of Oando PLC, failing which such person would be barred from serving as a director in any public company for a period of five (5) years. b. Oando PLC should convene an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) on or before July 1, 2019 to appoint new directors and articulate remedial measures for the observed corporate governance lapses. 4. For Certification of untrue statements of materials facts in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 financial statements of Oando PLC in violation of Section 60 (2 (b) (ii) of the ISA 2007, MR. Jubril Adewale Tinubu (Group Chief Executive Officer) and Mr. Olufemi Adeyemo (Chief Financial Officer) are ordered to the sum ofN91,125,000 (each) to the Commission. 5. Mr. Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Mr. Godwin Omamofe Boyo are hereby barred from being directors of public companies for a period of 5 years for improper conducts in managing the affairs of Oando PLC to wit: market abuse, related party transactions not conducted to arms length, misstatements in financial statements of Oando PLC. 6. All monetary penalties referred to in 1 above, should be paid to the Commission immediately. Please accept the assurance of the Commissions highest regards. Oandos Response Oando hereby states that the SEC did not follow due process in the conduct of this investigation and reserves its rights to challenge the legality of the directives in your Letter. We therefore maintain that such directives from the SEC are invalid, illegal, ultra vires and should be rescinded. We reiterate that the SECs actions on this matter would have a huge negative impact on the Companys reputation as a leading, indigenous oil and gas company and its shareholders, investors and stakeholders; whose interests the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has a duty to protect. We condemn the disturbing pattern in which the SEC has repeatedly taken harsh punitive actions towards the Company without according it the fundamental principle of fair hearing. 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... Precio del Brent To get the BRENT oil price, please enable Javascript. Precio del WTI To get the oil price, please enable Javascript. Dolar USA Vs Euro Paginas vistas en total Lo volvio a hacer Capitalismo=embuste Historico Bitcoin La bateria mas grande de Holanda El futuro es solar Nec plus ultra, nec variatur Fisica y culturalmente Jamas nos callaran Sin ellas, no seremos Deja vu Nada que celebrar Hasta cuando? Colombia Hoy Para nunca olvidar 'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England Sin palabras La UE le apunta a la paz Cada vez mas solo Precio del Oro To get the gold price, please enable Javascript. LULA y su Pueblo Bye Bye Homenaje al genial Quino Fueron ellos Una imagen que resume Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero? Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante) Ladrones al poder Asi mira el perrito a su amo Crazy Clamor popular La nueva inquisicion Bolivia Chile Hoy Eso es todo amigos! Piensalo! Pinerachet No More Trump Adios Macri, hasta nunca La Marioneta se desinfla Asi o mas cinico Almugre Mexico en 1794 Mas arrastrado imposible Hasta cuando! La pura verdad Solidaridad con Palestina Serie Capitalismo Espejismos de la clase trabajadora Asi es! Comerciantes o delincuentes No pasaran! Asi es la vida USA HOY 01/01/1959 La avaricia no tiene limites AYUDA HUMANITARIA? Chile Hoy Asi son las cosas Mapa Electoral de Venezuela Patagonia argentina? Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad Retrato del franquismo en Espana Visca Catalunya! El Chulo de Madrid Cuando la policia se roba la democracia Una imagen dice mas que mil palabras La purita verdad Asi gobierna la maldita burguesia Mi pobre clase media Como Chavez nadie Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear Programa de la MUD Asi o mas clarito Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte? Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio? Una verguenza nacional La luz que nos guia La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz? Feudalismo ayer y hoy Obama, el mentiroso Curiosa coincidencia Un mundo de cerdos No es extrano? La Marioneta Los ricos protestan, los pobres celebran MARICORI Y OBAMA Cuantas muertes este ano? USA TODAY USA HOY 6 USA HOY 5 USA HOY 4 USA HOY 3 USA HOY 2 USA HOY (1) Insaciable Cronologia de un agresor Guarimbear en USA Mexico hoy Bolivar y Chavez Primero Amargado Dios los cria y ellos se juntan USA hoy (III) USA hoy (II) USA hoy Mexico hoy Mexico hoy Mexico hoy Obama La verdad sea dicha Los ricos Que no nos vea Obama Pobre Obama SOS PALESTINA VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN VICMAN Archivo del blog Archivo del blog marzo (4) abril (9) mayo (8) junio (10) julio (11) agosto (10) septiembre (17) octubre (11) noviembre (15) diciembre (10) enero (9) febrero (10) marzo (8) abril (5) mayo (6) junio (8) julio (13) agosto (10) septiembre (7) octubre (12) noviembre (8) diciembre (15) enero (17) febrero (11) marzo (11) abril (12) junio (6) julio (11) agosto (15) septiembre (5) octubre (15) noviembre (14) diciembre (11) enero (13) febrero (9) marzo (10) abril (8) mayo (7) junio (12) julio (12) agosto (8) septiembre (8) octubre (4) diciembre (8) enero (35) febrero (20) marzo (29) abril (19) mayo (21) junio (27) julio (21) agosto (28) septiembre (40) octubre (47) noviembre (21) diciembre (34) enero (62) febrero (81) marzo (117) abril (141) mayo (114) junio (111) julio (126) agosto (98) septiembre (160) octubre (234) noviembre (493) diciembre (319) enero (219) febrero (267) marzo (230) abril (291) mayo (347) junio (223) julio (179) agosto (191) septiembre (239) octubre (350) noviembre (406) diciembre (353) enero (284) febrero (202) marzo (274) abril (250) mayo (232) junio (251) julio (188) agosto (249) septiembre (230) octubre (178) noviembre (141) diciembre (164) enero (187) febrero (147) marzo (211) abril (190) mayo (199) junio (164) julio (162) agosto (174) septiembre (182) octubre (225) noviembre (114) diciembre (132) enero (223) febrero (147) marzo (133) abril (108) mayo (387) junio (465) julio (785) agosto (748) septiembre (485) octubre (681) noviembre (754) diciembre (805) enero (708) febrero (896) marzo (735) abril (831) mayo (723) junio (555) julio (658) agosto (619) septiembre (457) octubre (455) noviembre (295) diciembre (269) enero (534) febrero (556) marzo (205) abril (119) mayo (194) junio (255) julio (294) agosto (182) septiembre (207) octubre (340) noviembre (351) diciembre (281) enero (114) febrero (128) marzo (216) abril (195) mayo (116) junio (141) julio (182) agosto (181) septiembre (50) octubre (72) noviembre (104) diciembre (88) enero (168) febrero (102) marzo (151) abril (207) mayo (43) junio (72) julio (35) agosto (146) septiembre (54) octubre (46) noviembre (48) diciembre (53) Chavez Cuanto te queremos! Por culpa de Chavez Cerveza Polar Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar Translate LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares? Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano... Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos: Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias. Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera. No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje. En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio. Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida. Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella. Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal. Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista. Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen. Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che? Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio. Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora. Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo. Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo. Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania. No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar. Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga. Alguna duda? Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia. OZ1 OZ2 OZ3 OZ4 Homenaje a Jason Galarraga La Victoria de Samotracia Odalisca Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008 La Sierra Nevada de Merida Nuestro precioso Churum Meru Homenaje a Picasso Autoretrato Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola? La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar. Mi profesion? Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos. Sal en la Coca Cola? A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar. De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla: Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido) azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa) Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas Mucha Cafeina Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja. Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos. Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja. En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero). Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma. La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate. Bebidas Light? Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal. Publicado por loretahur En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina: 1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias. 2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina. 3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard. 4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos. 5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla. 6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos. Ahora... sobre la margarina: 1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) . 2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias. 3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno). 4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer. 5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna. 6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo. 7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina. Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas: * No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo). * No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!! No a la guerra, Si a la Paz Misterios de la ciencia... Los costos de la guerra medicos y capitalismo... Capitalismo... medicos (2) Quien educa a nuestros hijos? Los Medios... Sin Palabras... Chistes feministas - Cual es el problema, Eva? - Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas. - Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas... - Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti. - Que es un hombre? - Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente. - Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente. - Cual es el truco?. - Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion. - Cual? - Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer. Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas? Porque todos son unos cerdos Ellas... Ellas (2)... Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1 Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije: -Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro. Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria. Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre? -Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa! VENGANZA NUMERO 2 Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris. A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita: - Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!! Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta. La mujer paso quince dias en Francia. El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla. Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es: - Y amor me trajiste mi francesita?? - Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina. VENGANZA NUMERO 3 El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion. - No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo. - Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz. Te quiero confesar algo. - Esta bien, esta bien. Habla! - He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga. - Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!! machismo y cibernetica Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston. -Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?. El simio hace la sena de OK. -Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide. -Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!. .Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos. Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco. Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas Gol !!!! Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso! Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy! THE Salimbangon Group of Companies is diversifying into new businesses outside the health and wellness space.The company behind the Organique Acai Berry drink is now venturing into real estate and construction, THE Salimbangon Group of Companies is diversifying into new businesses outside the health and wellness space. The company behind the Organique Acai Berry drink is now venturing into real estate and construction, which are two of the countrys economic growth drivers. Catherine Salimbangon, the firms vice president, said they decided to diversify and expand their business after seeing the lucrative potential in real estate and construction. I believe in real estate investments, said Salimbangon. The company initially set up Giga Build Construction Corp., the construction company that built Organiques manufacturing plant in Manila. In 2015, the firm founded Baystreet Development Corp. (BDC), the groups real estate arm that would convert the familys properties in Manila and Cebu into viable housing projects. Salimbangon said they currently have condominium and townhouse projects, mostly located in Manila, which are in various stages of development. BDCs flagship project is a 30-unit residential townhouse complex located in Mercedes Executive Village. This project is built in the boundary of Pasig and Cainta, Metro Manila. This year, the company will bring the BDC brand to Cebu through its 300-unit walk-up condominium project in Minglanilla. Salimbangon said the project will consist of three buildings with units priced at least P2.5 million each. Besides Minglanilla, the company also plans to develop its properties in Busay and Talamban, Cebu City into profitable housing ventures. The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7 earlier identified construction as one of the growth drivers of Central Visayas in 2018, which saw its economy rose 7.6 percent. In 2018, the regions construction sector went up by 14.2 percent. The sector posted a significant improvement both in terms of the number of construction projects and in terms of value. Cebu had the most number of new constructions in 2018, followed by Bohol, Negros Oriental and Siquijor. Story continues Meanwhile, property research firm Colliers International Philippines sees a sustained demand for residential projects in Cebu, particularly in the condominium segment. By the end of 2021, Colliers sees Metro Cebus condominium stock growing by 16 percent to 45,070 units, or an addition of 2,100 units delivered per year from 2019 to 2021. In 2018, Colliers reported that total take-up of condominiums reached 4,200 units. House and lots, on the other hand, recorded a total take-up of 2,500 units. Colliers said affordable and economic house and lot units recorded a strong take-up last year. These are the projects with an average price of P1.7 million (US$32,100) to P3.2 million ($60,400) per unit. The affordable segment accounted for 33 percent of the total take-up while the economic segment covered 23 percent. Colliers believes that these two segments will continue to fuel the horizontal demand over the next three years. TWO significant events happened in Marco Polo Plaza Cebu.The Philippines-Australia Friendship Day was hosted by the bubbly Ambassador of Australia, His Excellency Steven J. and wife Rhoda Robinson. The TWO significant events happened in Marco Polo Plaza Cebu. The Philippines-Australia Friendship Day was hosted by the bubbly Ambassador of Australia, His Excellency Steven J. and wife Rhoda Robinson. The Ambassador traced the long running historical and cultural ties of the Philippines and Australia, and cited the two nations mutual assistance projects in education and community development. We can also remember how Australia extended help to our calamity survivors. The Singing Ambassador brought the house down when he sang Moon River with guest performer Pilita Corrales. He owned the stage. I wish he did an encore of Waltzing Matilda. I had several educational and cultural encounters with Australians, and learned so much about their lifestyle. Our media group also visited the place and the travelogue was enriching. Earlier, Marco Polo presented the latest in Hai Shin Lou, like the new set of delicious dim sum, budget meals and special courses for breakfast, lunch and dinner at very affordable prices. Hai Shin Lou specializes in authentic Cantonese cuisines using local and imported ingredients, crafted by executive dim sum chef King Kwong Chan. Discover Hai Shin Lou at the ground level of Marco Polo Plaza Cebu. On June 18 will be the annual Tourism Forum, a main feature of the Cebu Business Month, also to be held at Marco Polo. PEOPLE are talking about...* HOW TULFOS GOT SO MUCH POLICE PROTECTION. Were they being given extra-special attention by the police, with their security details from the PNP and Philippine Marines, numbering PEOPLE are talking about... * HOW TULFOS GOT SO MUCH POLICE PROTECTION. Were they being given extra-special attention by the police, with their security details from the PNP and Philippine Marines, numbering eight in all, for the brothers Erwin, Ben, Raffy and Raffy's wife Jocelyn? The protection had been extended "for a long time" and was allowed by Comelec even during the election period. * DUTERTE GETTING A NOTE TO END SPEECH. While talking at the 25th Nikkei Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo, Japan last Friday (May 31), President Rodrigo Duterte was slipped a note. Duterte was saying, "If you are doing business, why should you go there? And..." and then paused, and continued by reading the note aloud, "...Please conclude speech." He followed the request, telling the audience he had to leave because Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was waiting. It was not handed by a member of Duterte's staff but someone described as "a Japanese man in a suit." Must be with the organizers; no Malacanang aide would dare interrupt, much more tell the president to end his talk. * TWO MEMORABLE QUOTES IN THAT TOKYO SPEECH. (1) "I love China. It has helped us a bit. But it behooves upon us, Is it right for a country to claim the whole of the ocean?" (2) "... I cannot afford a war with anybody, not only with China. The moment I send out my marines beyond six kilometers, they will all be wiped out." Team work plus What will explain the poor performance of Barug candidates for the Cebu City Council in the north district, compared to that of their counterpart in the south? (Only two Barug bets won in the north, while five won in the south, against BOPK's six in the north and three in the south, or nine against seven.) One theory, from someone who had observed up close the "pulong-pulong" (small meetings) of both groups: better team work in the south and "solo" acts in the north. Story continues Other plausible explanations: (1) BOPK had heavier councilor timber in the north than in the south. (2) BOPK's congressional aspirant in the north pulled up more councilor bets than its House bet in the south did. Post-poll appointments The ban on appointment of candidates who lost in the elections within one year after last May 13 helps mayors and governors in warding off requests for jobs in government. The prohibition is found in the Constitution and the Local Government Code. It covers any and all offices in the government or government-owned or controlled corporation, whether in the town, province or city where the candidate ran and lost or anywhere else. If one ran and lost, say, in Bohol, the candidate cannot employed even in Cebu or anywhere else in the country. Only for one year and excluding candidates in barangay elections. Still, there are many more non-candidates who queue for jobs at offices of election winners. The ban cannot be used as excuse for not hiring them. *** Tell us about it. [paseares1@gmail.com] AS THE market moves to the digital space, micro, small and medium enterprises need digital tools to elevate their products to the global market.Facebook data for May 2018 showed over 50 million Filipinos AS THE market moves to the digital space, micro, small and medium enterprises need digital tools to elevate their products to the global market. Facebook data for May 2018 showed over 50 million Filipinos are connected to a Facebook page on small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and approximately 130 million people overseas are also connected to a Philippine-based SMB on the platform. Its important for businesses of all sizes to be able to adapt to trends that are shaping our new digital marketplace, Chay Saputil, client partner of Facebook Philippines, said. Facebook invited more than 100 Cebu-based entrepreneurs to an accelerator workshop at the Quest Hotel and Conference Center for in-depth discussions on online marketing, branding and media planning. Saputil said online consumers now engage with business owners through their smartphones. We are committed to supporting businesses in their digital transformation journey to unlock growth opportunities and connect them to todays mobile-first Filipinos, Saputil said. The social media platform has provided digital skills training since 2017 and trained over 5,000 SMBs in 21 cities across the country. It has partnered with the Department of Trade and Industry and Bayan Academy to launch #BoostYourBusiness for budding entrepreneurs and empowered women to go into business with their #SheMeansBusiness campaign. Theres never been a time when the path to market has been the shortest, and this has actually amplified growth. Thats something were seeing and when we talk about connecting the world. What better way to connect the world than to give small businesses the power to reach out to the people that they need to reach? Saputil said. One of the entrepreneurs who benefited in the workshop in Cebu was Jackie Morales, owner of Digital Printing PH, who closed their physical print shop in 2011 and went fully-digital. For Morales, going online means dealing with customers not only in Cebu but also in other parts of the country. When you have a greater reach, theres a high chance that youre going to earn more profit since your customers can easily engage with you, she said. With Facebook, Morales said her business has grown since her clients know how to reach her. (JOB) PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has invited Japan's new Imperial Couple to visit the Philippines, Malacanang said on Monday, June 3, 2019. Duterte extended the invitation to Japan Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako during his bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on May 31, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told a press conference. "The President likewise conveyed the best wishes of the Filipino people to Emperor Naruhito's ascension to the throne, adding that it would be a great honor for our country to receive Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in the Philipines in the future," Panelo said. Naruhito, Japan's 126th Emperor, has ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne, replacing his father, Akihito, who had abdicated. Panelo said the impending visit of Japan's Imperial Couple to the Philippines would further bolster the relationship between Tokyo and Manila. He, however, said Duterte did not give a specific date for Akihito and Masako's visit. "I think the visit would further enhance the bond between the two countries," the Palace official said. Last week, Duterte went to Japan for the third time for a four-day working visit. The President's Japan trip yielded around P288.804 billion worth of investment and trade deals. Japan has also pledged to grant the Philippines around 25 billion yen for the development of conflict-torn Mindanao. (SunStar Philippines) When Morey Belanger began attending Maines Dayton Consolidated School in 2017, she became its only student with a hearing impairment. To make the kindergartners experience more inclusive, the schools 160-some students and staffers decided to learn sign language. From the get-go [Morey] was really well supported. It makes me happy to see her supported, loved and accepted, Shannon Belanger, Moreys mother, tells PEOPLE. [Morey] is excited to go to school every day. Shes made really good friendships Shes happy and Im happy to see her happy. Morey, now 6, was diagnosed at 1 with a hearing disorder so rare that there is no name for it, Shannon says. She suffers moderate to severe hearing loss and wears hearing aids as well as using sign language. With that, the Dayton family prioritized Moreys special needs when looking for schools for the little girl. Morey Belanger We interviewed with a couple schools before Morey started kindergarten. Its always daunting as a parent with a special needs child. You just dont know what to expect and youre nervous and youre scared, Shannon admits. Are you making the right decision? Thankfully, they were very accommodating and excited to have Morey be part of their school and their community. Kate O'Neill for Dayton Consolidated School And Dayton Consolidated School seemed to be the right place. Since Morey joined the school, officials have placed sign language posters through the hallways and students have learned how to sign dozens of words, school Principal Kimberly Sampietro tells PEOPLE. RELATED: Third Graders Shave Their Heads to Support Classmate Who Has Alopecia: I Feel More Confident Brennan Belanger (left) with sister Morey Belanger The school even now has a hearing assistive system and teachers have undergone training to incorporate sign language into their classrooms. We are providing access to all students so that they have an awareness of sign. If we have an assembly and our whole school goes, were offering that sign support, Sampietro says. Story continues So kids are seeing it embedded into things continually. Lots of people across the school, whether its the lunch lady or our music teacher, are learning even just basic signs to be a part of the communication. The Belanger family, including Brennan (bottom left), Matthew (top left), Shannon (top right) and Morey (bottom right) | Courtesy Shannon Belanger Recently, the school invited a Disney princess, Cinderella, who knows sign language to speak with students, according to CNN. Sweet photos showed Morey in Cinderellas lap and signing along with the character. She has felt the love, Sampietro says of Morey. I just saw her in the hall and one of the fifth graders walked right up to her and gave her a big hug. Its just another wonderful example of showing how people are different, and different is good. Its been great for inclusion. Shannon agrees. The doting mom of two says shes pleased with the love being shown to her daughter. Seeing kids run up to her and hug her and want to have her join in with them and sit at lunch and go to birthday parties, it just really warms your heart, Shannon tells PEOPLE. For me, it shows that it is possible for families and schools to work together and to provide an environment that can help kids with special needs succeed. PETER Joemel Advincula, the man who claimed to be "Bikoy" in the series of Ang Totoong Narco-list video clips, has returned to police custody and agreed to cooperate in the investigation into the videos. Brigadier General Amador Corpus, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) director, said they placed Advincula under their protective custody again on May 27, when he came back together with his legal counsel. He voluntarily surrendered himself and requested for protective custody. He is now under investigation, Corpus said. Advincula has issued an unofficial affidavit, where he identified more personalities who are allegedly involved in a plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte. The affidavit also listed the places where the "plotters" allegedly conducted meetings and recorded the videos. Corpus said Advincula surrendered his desktop computer and cellular phone which allegedly contains his exchange of text messages with the people whom he claimed to be behind the Ang Totoong Narcolist videos. The CIDG chief said they were coordinating with the security personnel of the places that Advincula mentioned to get copies of CCTV footage that may support his claims. PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde said Advincula is not yet off the hook. Yes (he is not yet off the hook). Hindi kami ang puwedeng magsabi kung sya ay puwedeng maging witness or respondent. It's up to the court, he said. Advincula had claimed that the videos were part of Project Sodoma which aims to unseat Duterte. Advincula surrendered on May 23 to face charges of estafa against him. In a press conference after his surrender, Advincula retracted the allegations he made against members of President Duterte's family and said he was commissioned to act the part of "Bikoy" by Liberal Party officials and opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. He left police custody after posting bail and returned on May 27. The series of videos linked presidential son Paolo Duterte and son-in-law Manases Carpio as well as senator-elect Christopher Go to illegal drugs. The videos also claimed that the President's long-time partner and their daughter were receiving drug money. (SunStar Philippines) By Trend The Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson, in accordance with its mandate, plans to conduct the next ceasefire monitoring on the line of contact on June 4 in the territory of the Khojavand district, Trendreports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, his field assistants Ognjen Jovic and Simon Tiller will carry out the monitoring on the territory of Azerbaijan. The Personal Representative's field assistants Mihail Olaru and Martin Schuster will carry out the monitoring on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan occupied and controlled by the armed forces of Armenia. 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. Imelda Marcos | Courtesy : PVI-Press by Rodel Acuvera Lumiares MANILA, Philippines Malacanang on Monday vowed to block any possible attempt to prevent the public auction of Marcos Jewelry from pushing through. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the remark after President Rodrigo Duterte last week greenlighted the auction of former first lady and now outgoing Ilocos Norte Representative Imelda Marcos jewelry to benefit Filipinos who are in urgent need of government aid. If they do then, we will oppose it. Because its the right thing to do. We feel that as the president says, the proceeds have to go to the Filipino people who are in urgent need of the government aid, he said. As far as we are concerned, these properties have been declared to be ill-gotten, thats why precisely it has to be sold. If that was the court decision then we have to abide by it, he added. The P704.8-million jewelries, known as the Hawaii collection, of the former first lady were seized by the government when the Marcos family fled to Honolulu, Hawaii in February 1986 after a people power revolution toppled former president Ferdinand Marcos from power. The jewelry collection, consisting of diamond and gem studded tiaras, bracelets, and necklaces, have been stored in a vault at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The Presidential Commission on Good Government has been pushing to sell the jewelry collection. Panelo said the collection will be up for a public auction and that members of the Marcos family may submit their own bids. I do not know any law prohibiting any person from bidding, if you are qualified, he said. Everybody is free to bid unless there are requirements for a qualification na gagawin nung auctioneer, kung meron e you will have to pass through the qualification, he added. The said pieces of jewelry were part of the more than P1 billion worth of assets confiscated from the Marcoses and their cronies that the PCGG has yet to disposed of. (with details from Rosalie Coz) The post Palace to block any move to prevent sale of Marcos jewelry appeared first on UNTV News. (L-R) DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista and broadcaster Erwin Tulfo The Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Incorporated (PMAAI) has called out broadcaster Erwin Tulfo for his remarks against Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rolando Bautista. According to PMAAI President PCol. Arthur Bisnar, they are hurt by Tulfos degrading remarks against a former official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). Bisnar said that even though they have accepted Tulfos apology, this is not a sufficient reason not to file a case against him. Iyong apology ni Mr. Tulfo thats not enough kasi nga ang affected doon iyong pamilya niya to include ang lahat ng relatives niya so ang nagre-react pa lang ngayon ay ang PNP, (Mr. Tulfos apology is not enough because [Bautistas family] is affected, including all relatives) I understand iyong ranger they are making a manifesto right now sa social media, they are in full support of our DSWD secretary, he said. Bisnar added that they will also file a complaint with the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) and the National Press Club for Tulfos actions. On May 27, Tulfo reportedly called Sec. Bautista buang or crazy during his radio program.(with reports from Lea Ylagan) The post PMAAI calls out Tulfo for remarks vs DSWD Secretary appeared first on UNTV News. THE director of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 has issued a warning to police personnel who want to invest in the Kapa- Community Ministry International Inc., an independent religious corporation. Not only will Police Brigadier General Debold Sinas relieve them, he will also take away their service firearms. Sinas received information that the number of people who have invested in Kapa has reached 10,000 in its three weeks of operation here in Cebu alone. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said Kapa is collecting investments from the public in the guise of a donation with a promise of a 30 percent return per month until forever. Most of Kapas targets are teachers, police and members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) 7 and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) 7. Some have reportedly invested a lot of money in the entity. Ive coordinated with the BJMP 7 and the BFP 7 to check their personnel after we noticed that their personnel were the first ones to join Kapa. Im also having police personnel monitored. If we catch anyone investing in Kapa, he or she will be automatically relieved and lose his or her service firearm, Sinas said in Cebuano. Sinas said the money that Kapa collects in Central Visayas is used to pay off its investors in Mindanao. Kapa has special directives. Thats why its considered to be the most aggressive of pyramiding schemes. Its operations in Mindanao are big-time. If it sets up shop in Region 7 (Central Visayas), they will take the money they have collected here to pay clients there, Sinas said in Cebuano. Last Saturday, June 1, 2019, the PRO 7 received information that Kapas office in Sitio Hika, Barangay Poblacion in the northern town of Compostela, Cebu was guarded by two armed men from a security agency. When members of the Civil Security Unit arrived at the scene, they discovered that the guards, who were later identified as Dextyer Tagono Cuyos, 24, of San Jose, Catmon, and Robert Gabayan Padayogdog, 31, of Sitio Polo, Barangay Baliwagan, Balamban, didnt have a license for their shotgun and 9mm pistol. Because of this, the firearms were confiscated and the two men were taken into custody for violating the Commission on Elections gun ban. Story continues The PRO 7 has been coordinating with the SEC regarding the latters issuance of a cease and desist order against Kapa. Sinas said they want to know when they can raid the establishment. The police official said when his men went to the Kapa office in Compostela, they were accosted by investors who insisted that the scheme was legal. One of the investors is 49-year-old Rhandy (not his real name), a resident of Lapu-Lapu City, who insists that everything about Kapa is aboveboard. He said Kapa is giving the poor a chance to earn a lot of money. What Kapa is offering, he said, is not a chance to invest but a chance to donate to the ministrys founder and earn a 30 percent monthly return on the donation. Rhandy, who has already donated P100,000, said Kapa gave him a choice to get his interest, or love gift, monthly, but he decided to wait for the end of one year to receive P1.3 million. I have friends in Davao City who donated P100,000 each. They were given an SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) that would be deducted from their monthly (payout), Rhandy said in Cebuano. He admitted that putting money in Kapa was a risk since the application form referred to the money as a donation. He said it was a wager he was willing to make since he is sure Kapa will be able to pay out the promised P1.3 million. Rhandy was not surprised that Kapa had many detractors. The people who are angry at Kapa are its rivals. Since its inception, there have been no complaints. Only those who have not joined are making noise. We who have donated money have no problems with Kapa, he said in Cebuano. Since Kapa opened its doors in Cebu last April, many people have lined up outside its doors hoping to become members because they want to rise out of poverty. Last Feb. 14, SEC ordered Kapa to stop soliciting investments from the public without a license and in a manner resembling a Ponzi scheme. The Commission also barred it from promoting its investment scheme through the internet and to remove promotional presentations online. Kapa was also ordered not to dispose of its remaining properties and other assets. According to Section 8 of Republic Act 8799, or The Securities Regulation Code, securities shall not be sold or offered for sale or distribution within the Philippines without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the Commission. Kapa also operates as Kabus Padatuon (Enrich the Poor), Kapa-Co Convenience Store and General Merchandise and Kapa Worldwide Ministry, among others. Although Kapa is a registered corporation, the Commission said its certificate of incorporation explicitly stated that it is not authorized to undertake business activities requiring a secondary license such as acting as broker or dealer in securities, investment house and close-end or open-end investment company. On April 3, the SEC revoked the Certificate of Corporate Registration of Kapa-Community Ministry International Inc., saying that soliciting investments from its members was neither essential nor necessary to carry out Kapas purpose as a religious organization; therefore, its investment-taking activities in the guise of donations constituted a serious misrepresentation on what it can do to the damage and prejudice of the investing public. In a video uploaded on Youtube last May 7, Kapa president and co-founder Joel Apolinario said their ministry only aims to help the less fortunate get out of poverty. Apolinario also said in the video that only the Court has the right to make them stop their activities, and as long as they hear nothing from them, he believed that they were on the right track. On Monday, June 3, Cebu Provincial Schools Division Superintendent Rhea Mar Angtud said the Department of Education (DepEd) in Cebu Province will issue a warning to its personnel not to invest in Kapa. So far, the DepEd in Cebu has not received reports of teachers who have invested in Kapa, she said in a text message to SunStar Cebu. (From AYB of SuperBalita Cebu, PJB, JJL) A senior North Korean official appeared at an arts performance with the country's top brass, official media reported Monday, just three days after he was said to have been purged following the collapse of nuclear talks between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump. Kim Yong Chol, the North's counterpart to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the nuclear negotiations, was sent to a labour camp after the Kim-Trump summit in Hanoi in February, South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper had reported Friday. The paper had also made worldwide headlines by saying that Kim Hyok Chol, North Korea's special envoy to the United States, had been executed by firing squad in March, after the two leaders failed to come to a deal over sanctions relief and the North's nuclear programme. Kim Hyok Chol was Pyongyang's counterpart to US special representative Stephen Biegun in the run-up to Hanoi, and the Choson Ilbo said he had been put to death for "betraying the Supreme Leader" after he was "won over to the US" during pre-summit negotiations. But the North is difficult to report on as one of the world's most isolated nations and some previous Southern reports of purges and executions by Pyongyang have later proved inaccurate. On Monday, the North's official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried a picture showing Kim Yong Chol sitting five seats down from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with both his hands covering his face, at a "performance given by amateur art groups of the wives" of military officers. The South's Munhwa Ilbo afternoon paper carried the photo on the front page of its Monday edition, with the headline: "Kim Yong Chol, rumoured to be purged, affirms his position next to Kim Jong Un". But there was no sign of Kim Hyok Chol, the official said to have been executed, in the Rodong Sinmun picture, nor was he mentioned in the official Korean Central News Agency's report on the event. - 'Likely to be false' - Chung Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said Pyongyang had probably issued the report and pictures in response to the Choson Ilbo report. Kim Yong Chol had not been seen in public for some time, but rather than being purged he had undergone surgery to remove a malignant tumour, Chung said, adding he obtained the information from a person who regularly contacts North Koreans. South Korea's parliamentary intelligence committee in April said Kim Yong Chol had been censured over his handling of the Hanoi summit, despite the fact he had recently been named a member of the State Affairs Commission, a supreme governing body chaired by Kim Jong Un. The report of Kim Hyok Chol's execution was "likely to be false", Chung said, citing information he had received that Kim was seen in mid-April -- although he declined to disclose his source. "No one would dare to take part in nuclear talks if Kim Jong Un sends officials to hard labour, political prison camp or executes them if talks fail," he said. PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde admitted on Monday, June 3, 2019, that one of the factors that caused the recall of the security escorts of the Tulfo brothers were Erwin Tulfo's PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) Chief Oscar Albayalde admitted on Monday, June 3, 2019, that one of the factors that caused the recall of the security escorts of the Tulfo brothers were Erwin Tulfo's tirades against Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista. It has something to do with these comments to the secretary but that is not the main reason, the PNP chief said in a press conference in Camp Crame. Ang pagpo-provide ng security, it's a privilege extended to a person. This is not a right para po maintindihan ng ating mga kababayan. This is all but privileges that are extended and these privileges can always be revoked anytime especially may nangyari na ganyan, of course hindi yun ang main reason but that is a factor also of course on the behavior of the person, he added. (Having a security detail is not a right, but a privilege that can be revoked anytime. That is not the main reason but that is a factor. So is the behavior of the person.) The PNP recalled on Saturday, June 1, 2019, the eight police officers assigned to secure brothers Erwin, Ben and Raffy Tulfo as well as Raffy's wife Jocelyn. The Philippine Marines, at the same time, recalled the two men assigned to Ramon Tulfo, the Philippines special envoy for public diplomacy to China. Police Security Protection Group director Brigadier General Filmore Escobal said the recall of the PNP personnel assigned as security detail of the Tulfos as well as the review of their assignment are normal. The review will determine whether an individual is still entitled to a police escort. This would usually take a week or two. Escobal said police escorts were granted to the Tulfos after it was determined that there was a threat against them and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) granted an exemption from the ban on providing security escorts. The recall happened days after Erwin criticized Bautista who had declined to be interviewed. Bautista is a Marawi veteran and a former commanding general of the Philippine Army. Story continues In a statement issued on Monday, the Association of Generals and Frag Officers (AGFO) said they were deeply saddened and seriously alarmed by what Erwin did in order to get the attention of Bautista. Mr. Tulfos outburst during his program 'Tutok Tulfo portrays unprofessional conduct of a media practitioner, sets bad example to striving and future mediamen, and leaves negative impression to the general public. AGFO abhors such abuse of freedom of expression, it said. AGFO believes that the democratic principles enshrined in our constitution provide clear and unmistakable message that for press freedom to continue and flourish every citizen must recognize the limitations imposed by the applicable laws of the land, professional ethics and societal norms. Preserving press freedom is everyones responsibility. Let us all be counted and protect such freedom, it added. The Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Incorporated (PMAAAI) also earlier condemned Erwins behavior. PMAAAI President Colonel Arthur Bisnar said they felt violated when Erwin badmouthed the former military official whom he described as a man of honor who took part in the liberation of Marawi. He said they will support Bautista if he pursues charges against Tulfo because an apology would not be enough. He said they will also file complaints against Erwin before the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) and National Press Club. (SunStar Philippines) THERE can be no excuse for Erwin Tulfos utter lack of ethics and scruples in publicly insulting Secretary Rolando Bautista simply for not being able to immediately answer his demand for an interview. No, this has nothing to do with Bautista, for Tulfos fault would be no less grave had he spewed his venom on a street beggar. We do not dispute Tulfos assertion that criticizing government officials is part of a journalists job. But the vitriol he heaped on Bautista clearly had nothing to do with whether or not the secretary was doing his job and everything to do with Tulfos exaggerated sense of entitlement. The issue is Tulfos brand of journalism, and we are using the term very liberally since what he and his ilk practice bear little resemblance to the profession of truth, which, ironically, is what this administration seems to prefer even as it vilifies those who do their work seriously and credibly. Indeed, the Tulfos of this world seem to have found the perfect niche within the infrastructure of a government that has established itself as the foremost purveyor of disinformation and has run roughshod over most, if not all, our peoples basic rights and liberties, although this particular Tulfo appears to have outshone the rest when even the director general of the Philippine Information Agency called him out for being a pretentious and poisonous media personality whose only leverage is his last name and airtime in government radio. Let us see how this administration deals with the mess. But we do hope, whatever the outcome, that the media industry in general finally realizes that the revenues such unethical and irresponsible muckraking admittedly bring in can never compensate for the damage journalists like Erwin Tulfo have caused the profession and, most especially, the people whose lives and reputations they so cavalierly sully. (By National Union of Journalists of the Philippines) Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration on Sunday as a top aide warned that the US president is "deadly serious" about imposing tariffs on imports from the southern neighbor. The attacks came despite efforts at conciliation by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said Sunday that "the president of Mexico wants to keep being a friend of President Donald Trump; but above all, we Mexicans are friends of the American people. "Let's pledge not to let anything get in the way of our beautiful, sacred friendship," Lopez Obrador said in Tabasco. Trump's surprise threat Thursday to place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 percent, shocked Republican allies in Congress. It also rattled world markets, already shaky over trade war fears, with no solution in sight to a US-China dispute that has seen tariffs exchanged on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods. Trump has made clamping down on legal and illegal immigration a signature policy of his administration, and is facing a rising flow of migrants fleeing poverty and gang violence in Central America. "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving," Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday. Unless Mexico stops the "invasion," he warned, he would use tariffs to bring back "companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border." The New York Times reported that the move -- pushed by immigration hardliners -- was opposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, a White House intermediary with Mexico. But Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Trump was "absolutely deadly serious" about proceeding with tariffs. "I fully expect these tariffs to go into at least a five percent level on June 10," he said on "Fox News Sunday." The number of migrants reaching the US border is "huge, the situation is real and the president is deadly serious about fixing the problem," he said. Mulvaney said Kushner and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet with Mexican representatives in Washington this week, as would Lighthizer, to spell out what the Mexicans could do to avoid the tariffs. In Mexico, Commerce Secretary Graciela Nunez said she would hold talks in Washington Monday with her US counterpart Wilbur Ross after the two met at the swearing-in in San Salvador of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who meets with Pompeo on Wednesday, led a delegation to Washington on Friday. - Dialogue sought - "There is willingness on the part of US government officials to establish dialogue and reach agreements and compromises," Lopez Obrador told a news conference in Mexico City on Saturday. He said he doubted the tariffs would ultimately take place. "It is in everybody's interest to reach an agreement," he said. But on Sunday, Trump said he wants "action, not talk." "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border. Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years." US officials are insisting Mexico act more aggressively to stop migrants moving through the country from Central America long before they reach the US border. Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, said Trump wants "a vast reduction" in the number of migrants reaching the border. He said the US wants Mexico to intercept migrants on its southern boundary with Guatemala, taking action against what he described as cartel-owned bus lines moving them north, and coordinate with US authorities on asylum. "At any given moment we have 100,000 moving through Mexico," McAleenan said on CNN's "State of the Union." "These crossings into Mexico are happening on a 150-mile stretch of their southern border. This is a controllable area. We need them to interdict these folks before they make this route all the way to the US," he said. Sudan's protest movement called Tuesday for fresh rallies and rejected the military rulers' election plan after nearly 40 people were killed in what demonstrators called a "bloody massacre" by security forces. Protest leaders called on their supporters to take part in "total civil disobedience" to topple the ruling military council following the deadly dispersal Monday of a weeks-long sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum. The Transitional Military Council ousted veteran president Omar al-Bashir in April after months of protests against his authoritarian rule and had agreed a three-year transition period to a civilian administration. But army ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan said the plan had been ditched and an election would take place under "regional and international supervision". "The military council decides on the following: cancelling what was agreed on and stopping negotiating with the Alliance for Freedom and Change, and to call for general elections within a period not exceeding nine months," Burhan said. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded protests against Bashir, rejected the call. "It's not the putschist council, nor its militias, nor its leaders who decide the fate of the people, nor how it will transition to a civilian government," it said. - Eid prayers for 'martyrs' - The SPA said Monday's action against the sit-in amounted to a "bloody massacre" and urged the global community "to isolate and stop dealing with the so-called military council". It also called for an independent investigation into the killings under international supervision. The Transitional Military Council said it "regrets" the events, calling it a "clean-up operation" that went wrong. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors -- which is close to the protesters -- said 40 people had been killed on Monday and Tuesday, mostly at the sit in. Hundreds were wounded. Among the dead was an eight-year-old child, it added. An 18-year-old was also killed on Tuesday "by the bullets of the military council's militias" in the southern town of Rebek. The Sudanese Doctors Union accused security forces of attacks on hospitals and staff across the country, and alleged some women had been raped in an area of the capital without giving details of how the group had learned of the assaults. A bid by the UN Security Council to condemn the killing of civilians and call on the military and protesters to work together was blocked by China, who was backed by Russia, during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday. Eight European countries -- Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, The Netherlands and Sweden -- instead issued their own joint statement criticising "the violent attacks in Sudan by Sudanese security services against civilians". The United States, Britain and Norway earlier issued a joint statement condemning the military's election plan. Top US envoy David Hale, under secretary of state for political affairs, also underlined the importance of a transition to a civilian-led government in a phone call with the Saudi deputy defence minister, Khalid bin Salman, the US Department of State said. African and Western governments have been strongly supportive of the protesters but Arab governments, led by Saudi Arabia, have backed the military rulers. Moussa Faki, head of the African Union Commission, also backed "an immediate and transparent investigation". - City centre deserted - Tensions remained high across Khartoum Tuesday, with heavily armed members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, thought to have been largely behind the crackdown, deployed in large numbers. Protest leaders said the large square outside army HQ where demonstrators had camped out day and night since April 6 had been cleared. Despite the security presence and internet outages, residents of some areas of the capital still came out to mark the Eid al-Fitr festival a day early and to protest. In Omdurman, just across the Nile from Khartoum, a witness said by phone that the Rapid Support Forces were trying to disperse demonstrators who had put up barricades by "firing live rounds in the air". "We gathered in our square as we usually do every year but the Rapid Support Forces and the police fired teargas and soundbombs at us and after the prayers the youth closed the main street by putting up barricades," a resident of the Bahri area told AFP. Other streets around the city centre were almost deserted, with many markets and shops closed and almost no cars on the roads. Flights into Khartoum were disrupted as airlines monitored developments on the ground. 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Credit: Atsushi Shirane, Kenichi Okada Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and NEC Corporation, Japan, present a 39 GHz transceiver with built-in calibration for fifth-generation (5G) applications. The advantages to be gained include better quality communications as well as cost-effective scalability. A team of more than 20 researchers at Tokyo Tech and NEC Corporation has successfully demonstrated a 39 GHz transceiver that could be used in the next wave of 5G wireless equipment including base stations, smartphones, tablets and Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. Although research groups including the current team have until now largely focused on developing 28 GHz systems, 39 GHz will be another important frequency band for realizing 5G in many parts of the world. The new transceiver is based on a 64-element (4 x 16) phased-array design. Its built-in gain phase calibration means that it can improve beamforming accuracy, and thereby reduce undesired radiation and boost signal strength. Fabricated in a standard 65-nanometer CMOS process, the transceiver's low-cost silicon-based components make it ideal for mass productiona key consideration for accelerated deployment of 5G technologies. The researchers showed that the built-in calibration has a very low root-mean-square (RMS) phase error of 0.08. This figure is an order of magnitude lower than previous comparable results. While transceivers developed to date typically suffer from high gain variation of more than 1 dB, the new model has a maximum gain variation of just 0.04 dB over the full 360 tuning range. The transceiver, based on a 64-element phased-array design, takes up a chip area of 12 mm2. Credit: IEEE "We were surprised to achieve such a low gain variation when actually using the calibration based on our local-oscillator (LO) phase-shifting approach," says project leader, Kenichi Okada of Tokyo Tech. In addition, the transceiver has a maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) of 53 dBm. This is an impressive indication of the output power of the 64 antennas, the researchers say, particularly for low-cost CMOS implementation. Indoor testing (under anechoic chamber conditions), which involved a one-meter, over-the-air measurement, demonstrated that the transceiver supports wireless transmission of a 400 MHz signal with 64QAM. "By increasing the array scale, we can achieve greater communication distance," Okada says. "The challenge will be to develop the transceiver for use in smartphones and base stations for 5G and beyond." The work is being presented at the 2019 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC) in Boston, Massachusetts, US, as part of the morning session (Session RTu2E) to be held on 4 June 2019. The paper of this work "A 39 GHz 64-Element Phased-Array CMOS Transceiver with Built-in Calibration" by Yun Wang et al., received the best student paper award. Explore further New 28-GHz transceiver paves the way for future 5G devices By Azernews By Abdul Kerimkhanov It became known about the losses in the Armenian army, recorded in the period from May 1-31, 2019. The monthly report includes military casualties in both combat and non-combat conditions. In an accident in the Syunik region of Armenia, two soldiers Armen Agaronyan and Narek Tatosyan were killed on May 2. The brothers served as contractors in the N-unit of the Armenian Defense Ministry. When trying to make a provocation against the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in occupied Karabakh, Armenian soldier Aganik Zoroglyan born in 1998 was wounded on May 4. He was taken to hospital with a wound to the head. During the inspection of the weapons in one of the units of the Armenian Armed Forces, illegally deployed in occupied Karabakh, a significant shortage of military property was found on May 14. An interrogator of the prosecutors office investigated a criminal offense using firearms in Agdere revealed that these weapons belong to a nearby military unit. A soldier of the 9th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Armenian occupying army injured his colleague on the basis of non-statutory relations on May 15. Emil Karapetyan, who was serving in a combat position, seriously wounded his gunman Aron Akhapetyan from a firearm, who insulted him. The wounded man was taken to hospital and a criminal case was filed. A Mercedes car belonging to an occupied Armenian army turned over and fell into the river near occupied Shusha on May 16. As a result, Gago Mailyan, the officer of the 6th Mountain Rifle Regiment, received a spinal fracture, a soldier of the 5th Mountain Rifle Regiment Harut Arakelyan - a fracture of the jaw bone, another soldier received minor injuries. The servicemen were urgently operated on at the hospital in occupied Khankendi. Doctors report that an officer with a fracture of the spine will remain disabled. On the same day, contract soldiers of the 6th Mountain Rifle Regiment Arman Sagoyan and Mostes Poghosyan inflicted each other serious injuries. Poghosyan is placed in the regiment's first-aid post, and Sagoyan is in a military hospital. The military police investigate the incident. According to the preliminary version, the conflict arose on the basis of parochialism. The military police of the Armenian Defense Ministry detained and arrested for two months the 19-year-old son of the Harun Mirzoyan, former mayor of Tsakhkadzor city, for evading military service on May 20. Armen Sadoyan, a soldier serving in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, was taken to a military hospital with bodily injuries on May 24. He said that was beaten by his commander Arthur Arshakyan, senior warrant officer. Sadoyan told that he was constantly subjected to violence and insults by Arshakyan. In the divisions of the occupying Armenian army, another crime was committed as a result of non-statutory relations between the servicemen on May 27. A soldier of the 6th Mountain Regiment broke a jaw of his colleague Arthur Aruyan because he insulted him. Aruyan was placed in a military hospital in Khankendi. The number of criminal cases initiated in connection with the theft and sale of military property by military personnel of the Armenian Armed Forces deployed in the occupied Karabakh continues to grow. Officer Avenasyan claims that a criminal case has been filed against the Armenian soldier Yura Gasparyan for selling stolen gasoline. The investigating officer of the military prosecutors office for bribing reduced the amount of stolen gasoline to 40 liters in documents. Thus, soldiers serving in Armenia as well as in occupied Karabakh are constantly subjected to beatings and insults, both by the officers and the fellow soldiers. Credit: KPFU A joint Russian-Omani paper was published in Journal of Hydrology. In the 1950s, Russian academician Vladimir Kunin, one of the founders of the Institute of Water Problems in Moscow and the Institute of Deserts in Ashkhabad, discovered and described fresh water lenses in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan. These lenses float on the top of saline and hypersaline groundwater. The genesis of these lenses and factors controlling fresh water storage, circulation in the lenses, and their resilience to adverse climatic factors and anthropogenic impacts (pumping) were not clear. In the 1980s, a group from Kazan State University began investigating Kunin's lenses. This research endeavor was extended to geographical conditions of Eastern Arabia. Mathematical models of these fresh water bodies have been applied to similar lenses in Australia, Oregon (USA), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and other arid and semi-arid regions. Practical motivation stems from a global deficit of fresh water resources, including drinking, irrigation, and industrial water, especially in arid deserts. Native populations of Central Asia and Arabia rely on such lenses to support camels, sheep, goats and other domestic cattle. In this paper, the homeostasis of water lenses was explained as an intricate interaction of the following physical factors: infiltration to the lens from occasional (sporadic) rains, permanent evaporation from the water table, buoyancy due to a density contrast of the fresh and saline water, and the force of resistance to water motion from dune sand. As a result, water makes a kind of U-turn with a descending path from the aeration (vadose) zone converted to an ascending flow back to the desert atmosphere. The shape of these lenses resembles a flying saucer, and the developed mathematical model matches Kunin's field observations well. Interestingly, the model predicts the interface between fresh and saline groundwater similarly to the one described by a Dutch hydrologist Van Der Veer in the 1970s for the rather different problem of sea water intrusion into coastal aquifers. The applications of this research can be multifaceted; specifically, Kunin's type lenses are now artificially created by managed aquifer recharge techniques. For example, near Abu-Dhabi a mega-lens was engineered by injecting desalinated water into a saline groundwater aquifer. This lens is considered by the government of UAE as a national reserve for emergency situations, i.e., if traditional water supply schemes of the country fail, recovery of fresh water from this lens may commence. The research group involves hydrologists, hydrogeologists, ecologists, and microbiologists from Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) and mathematician, Professor Yury Obnosov from Kazan Federal University (Russia). Explore further Researchers examine the age of groundwater in Egyptian aquifers More information: A.R. Kacimov et al, Analytic solutions for fresh groundwater lenses floating on saline water under desert dunes: The Kunin-Van Der Veer legacy revisited, Journal of Hydrology (2019). A.R. Kacimov et al, Analytic solutions for fresh groundwater lenses floating on saline water under desert dunes: The Kunin-Van Der Veer legacy revisited,(2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.04.065 WISE multicolor images of the central regions (12.3 8.0) of the new GCs. From right to left Camargo 1107, Camargo 1108, and Camargo 1109. North is to the top and east to the left. Credit: Camargo and Minniti, 2019. Three old and metal-poor globular clusters have been spotted in the Milky Way's bulge. The newly found clusters, designated Camargo 1107, 1108 and 1109, could offer important clues on structure and nature of the central region of our galaxy. The finding was reported in a paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters in January 2019, co-authored by Denilso Camargo and Dante Minniti. Globular clusters (GCs) are collections of tightly bound stars orbiting galaxies. Astronomers perceive them as natural laboratories enabling studies on the evolution of stars and galaxies. Given that GCs are relatively rare, as there are just over 200 such clusters so far identified in the Milky Way, the hunt for identifying new objects of this type is essential in order to improve our understanding of our home galaxy. Recently, Denilso Camargo of the Ministerio da DefesaColegio Militar de Porto Alegre, Brazil, and Dante Minniti of Universidad Andres Bello in Santiago, Chile, revealed the discovery of a trio of new galactic globular clusters. These clusters turn out to be the oldest and the most metal-poor among all the GCs in the Milky Way bulge known to date. Therefore, they could provide important insights into the formation of the galactic bulge. "These new findings could shed light on how the galactic bulge was formed, since they show that the Milky Way's inner region hosts a sub-population of primordial globular clusters with Gaia-DR2 proper motion consistent with bulge clusters. However, they are oldest and most metal-poor among previously known bulge globular clusters. Thus, we suggest that these clusters may be part of an old classical bulge built up by merging in the early Milky Way history," Camargo told Astrowatch.net. He added that these primordial GCs can reveal how baryonic matter collapsed to form galaxies just after the Big Bang in a very young universe. According to the study, Camargo 1107 and 1108 are about 13.5 billion years old, while the age of Camargo 1109 is estimated to be approximately 12 billion years. With a metallicity at a level of some -2.2 dex, Camargo 1107 is a special case, as its properties suggest that it may have formed just after the Big Bang. "Since this globular cluster basically witnessed the entire history of our galaxy and the history of the universe itself, it may allow us to reconstitute the chain of physical processes experienced by the Milky Way from its origin to the present day," Camargo said. The astronomer noted that the clusters like the newly found trio may be the remaining of a primordial class of GCs that were destroyed mainly by dynamical processes and are the source of the ancient field stars that inhabit the galactic bulge and the inner halo. Camargo and Minniti also underlined the importance of future searches for new GCs in the central region of our galaxy. Any new findings would be fundamental for advancing our knowledge about the formation and evolution of the Milky Way. However, such observations are challenging as many faint GCs remain undetected until now due to the high extinction and stellar crowding towards the galactic bulge. Explore further Globular clusters could offer clues on formation and evolution of inner Milky Way More information: D Camargo et al. Three candidate globular clusters discovered in the Galactic bulge, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters (2019). Journal information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters D Camargo et al. Three candidate globular clusters discovered in the Galactic bulge,(2019). DOI: 10.1093/mnrasl/slz010 Source Astrowatch.net The Icarus-1 sail deployed on board TechDemoSat-1, with a view of Earth beyond. Credit: SSTL An on-board camera has captured the moment a Cranfield University-designed "space sail" was successfully deployed in orbit above the Earth's surface. The Icarus-1 de-orbit drag sail was on board TechDemoSat-1, a satellite owned and operated by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) that had come to the end of its mission. This is the second successful deployment of a Cranfield de-orbit sail on a satellite built and owned by SSTL. The first, on Carbonite-1 in November 2018, was the world's first deployment of an operational de-orbit sail. Using Cranfield's technology, both satellites should be able to satisfy the internationally-agreed guidelines which require satellites to be removed from their orbits within 25 years. The sail increases the tiny amount of atmospheric drag which still affects satellites up to orbit heights of 1,000km or more. The increased drag shortens the time the satellite will remain in orbit and so there is less chance of it becoming a space debris problem for future generations. Eventually the satellite will burn up safely in the denser layers of Earth's atmosphere (about 100km up, and well above any aircraft). Measuring around 6.7m2 when deployed, the sail consists of a thin Kapton sail in four trapezoidal panels, each supported by lightweight metal booms. The sail stows into an aluminium frame fitted around an external panel of the spacecraft and is restrained by a belt before deployment. Simple cord-cutters controlled by the host satellite control deployment, using stored energy in spring hinges to unfold the booms and the sail. Stephen Hobbs, Head of Cranfield University's Space Group, said: "We are delighted to see our Icarus de-orbit technology demonstrated successfully in orbitagain. With the Icarus sails now deployed on both TechDemoSat-1 and Carbonite-1, SSTL and Cranfield have demonstrated clear leadership in this technology. We hope to see many more satellites following TechDemoSat-1's example to keep space clear of debris. It's been great to work with SSTL on this mission." TechDemoSat-1 was launched into a 635km low Earth orbit in 2014. A 150kg small satellite, it carried eight separate payloads from UK academia and industry, providing valuable in-orbit validation for innovative new spacecraft instruments and software. Sarah Parker, Managing Director of SSTL, said: "It is fantastic to see an image of TechDemoSat's deployed drag sail captured by the onboard inspection camera. This in-orbit image of a deployed drag sail on one of our satellites is a first for us and is a fitting culmination of mission operations for this highly innovative small satellite." During a prolonged drought, annual crop fields can be left fallow without causing lasting economic damage, but almond groves, such as these in California's Central Valley, require consistent irrigation to stay alive. UCI researchers paid special attention to such flexible and inflexible water uses in a new study published in Nature Sustainability. Credit: Steven Davis / UCI Nearly one-fifth of the world's population lives in a stressed water basin where the next climate change-driven incident could threaten access to an essential resource for agriculture, industry and life itself, according to a paper by University of California, Irvine researchers and others, published today in Nature Sustainability. The study's authors analyzed trends in global water usage from 1980 to 2016, with a particular focus on so-called inflexible consumption, the curtailment of which would cause significant financial and societal hardship. Those uses include irrigating perennial crops, cooling thermal power plants, storing water in reservoirs, and quenching the thirst of livestock and humans. "Many studies evaluating water scarcity have mainly centered on the share of the available supply being consumed by humans, but this ignores the fact that some uses are more flexible or productive than others," said lead author Yue Qin, a UCI postdoctoral scholar in Earth system science. "By looking at how water is actually used, we can begin to see what water is really difficult to do without and if there are any opportunities for savings in other areas." The scientists constructed a water stress index that takes into account the scarcity, flexibility and variability (a comparison of annual runoff to storage capacity) of global supplies. Evaluating watersheds on six continents, they found numerous hot spotsplaces where a drought or heat wave could put a strain on reservesas well as numerous chances to conserve resources through new technologies and better management practices. According to the study, the top 10 percent of the most stressed river basins support about 19 percent of the world's population, 19 percent of thermal electricity generation and one-third of irrigated agricultural production. In addition, the researchers discovered a significant increase in water stress for the worst-impacted regions over the 37-year study period. Asia andto a lesser degreeNorth America face a compounded dilemma due to their high stress indices and large exposure: total human and livestock population, reservoir capacity, electricity generation and production of irrigated crops. These areas are particularly vulnerable to shocks brought on by droughts or heat waves. "The new index tells us where water issues are greatest and for what reasons, so decisions now don't limit our options and ability to be resilient in the future," said Thomas Torgersen, a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research. By examining the productivity and flexibility of water use in specific basins, the scientists also identified many opportunities to conserve water and build resiliency in the face of predicted risks posed by climate change. The Nile basin in Africa and the Tigris-Euphrates and Lake Balkhash basins in Asia all have high water stress indices and elevated consumption intensities for either maintaining reservoirs, growing food or generating power. Potential ways to save water include switching from cooling power plants with fresh water to so-called dry cooling technologies, which could decrease cooling water use in the Lake Balkhash basin by 95 percent. Available technologies that could potentially reduce evaporation from dams in the Nile basin by up to 90 percent, by some estimates, include photovoltaic floating covers, monomolecular films and suspended shades. The researchers compare their study to existing work on where carbon is embedded in the global energy infrastructure, which has provided insights into where there might be flexibility to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the future. "Given the limited political capital and resources when you're developing new technologies and policies, where do you focus those efforts for the most potential benefit?" asked co-author Julie Zimmerman, professor of green engineering at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "We can't solve these problems in isolation. This study reinforces the linkages between these systems and why we need to be holistic in our approaches." Explore further Droughts could hit aging power plants hard More information: Flexibility and intensity of global water use, Nature Sustainability (2019). www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0294-2 Journal information: Nature Sustainability Flexibility and intensity of global water use,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-019-0294-2 Strain-tolerant, triangular, monolayer crystals of WS2 were grown on SiO2 substrates patterned with donut-shaped pillars, as shown in scanning electron microscope (bottom) and atomic force microscope (middle) image elements. The curvature of the pillars induced strain in the overlying crystals that locally altered their optoelectronic properties, as shown in bright regions of photoluminescence (top). Credit: Christopher Rouleau/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Dept. of Energy A team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory explored how atomically thin two-dimensional (2-D) crystals can grow over 3-D objects and how the curvature of those objects can stretch and strain the crystals. The findings, published in Science Advances, point to a strategy for engineering strain directly during the growth of atomically thin crystals to fabricate single photon emitters for quantum information processing. The team first explored growth of the flat crystals on substrates patterned with sharp steps and trenches. Surprisingly, the crystals conformally grew up and down these flat obstacles without changing their properties or growth rates. However, curvy surfaces required the crystals to stretch as they grew to maintain their crystal structure. This growth of 2-D crystals into the third dimension presented a fascinating opportunity. "You can engineer how much strain you impart to a crystal by designing objects for them to grow over," said Kai Xiao, who with ORNL colleagues David Geohegan and postdoctoral researcher Kai Wang (now at Intel) conceived the study. "Strain is one way to make 'hot spots' for single photon emitters." Conformal growth of perfect 2-D crystals over 3-D objects has the promise to localize strain to create high-fidelity arrays of single photon emitters. Stretching or compressing the crystal lattice changes the material's band gap, the energy gap between the valence and conduction bands of electrons, which largely determines a material's optoelectronic properties. Using strain engineering, researchers can funnel charge carriers to recombine precisely where desired in the crystal instead of at random defect locations. By tailoring curved objects to localize strain in the crystal, and then measuring resulting shifts in optical properties, the experimentalists compelled co-authors at Rice Universitytheorists Henry Yu, Nitant Gupta and Boris Yakobsonto simulate and map how curvature induces strain during crystal growth. At ORNL, Wang and Xiao designed experiments with Bernadeta Srijanto to explore the growth of 2-D crystals over lithographically patterned arrays of nanoscale shapes. Srijanto first used photolithography masks to protect certain areas of a silicon oxide surface during exposure to light, and then etched away the exposed surfaces to leave vertically standing shapes, including donuts, cones and steps. Wang and another postdoctoral researcher, Xufan Li (now at Honda Research Institute), then inserted the substrates into a furnace where vaporized tungsten oxide and sulfur reacted to deposit tungsten disulfide on the substrates as monolayer crystals. The crystals grew as an orderly lattice of atoms in perfect triangular tiles that grew larger with time by adding row after row of atoms to their outer edges. While the 2-D crystals seemed to effortlessly fold like paper over tall steps and sharp trenches, growth over curved objects forced the crystals to stretch to maintain their triangular shape. The scientists found that "donuts" 40 nanometers high were great candidates for single photon emitters because the crystals could reliably tolerate the strain they induced, and the maximum strain was precisely in the "hole" of the donut, as measured by shifts in the photoluminescence and Raman scattering. In the future, arrays of donuts or other structures could be patterned anywhere that quantum emitters are desired before the crystals are grown. Wang and ORNL co-author Alex Puretzky used photoluminescence mapping to reveal where the crystals nucleated and how fast each edge of the triangular crystal progressed as it grew over the donuts. After careful analysis of the images, they were surprised to discover that although the crystals maintained their perfect shapes, the edges of crystals that had been strained by donuts grew faster. To explain this acceleration, Puretzky developed a crystal growth model, and colleague Mina Yoon conducted first-principles calculations. Their work showed that strain is more likely to induce defects on the growing edge of a crystal. These defects can multiply the number of nucleation sites that seed crystal growth along an edge, allowing it to grow faster than before. The reason crystals can grow easily up and down deep trenches, but become strained by shallow donuts, has to do with conformity and curvature. Imagine wrapping presents. Boxes are easy to wrap because the paper can fold to conform to the shape. But an irregularly shaped object with curves, such as an unboxed mug, is impossible to wrap conformally (to avoid tearing the paper, you would have to be able to stretch it like plastic wrap.) The 2-D crystals also stretch to conform to the substrate's curves. Eventually, however, the strain becomes too great and the crystals split to release the strain, atomic force microscopy and other techniques revealed. After the crystal cracks, growth of the still-strained material proceeds in different directions for each new arm. At Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Zhili Hu performed phase-field simulations of crystal branching. Xiang Gao of ORNL and Mengkun Tian (formerly of the University of Tennessee) analyzed the atomic structure of the crystals by scanning transmission electron microscopy. "The results present exciting opportunities to take two-dimensional materials and vertically integrate them into the third dimension for next-generation electronics," said Xiao. Next the researchers will explore whether strain can enhance the performance of tailored materials. "We're exploring how the strain of the crystal can make it easier to induce a phase change so the crystal can take on entirely new properties," Xiao said. "At the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, we're developing tools that will allow us to probe these structures and their quantum information aspects." The title of the paper is "Strain tolerance of two-dimensional crystal growth on curved surfaces." Explore further New substance can form in the oriented attachment process of crystal growth, study reveals More information: Kai Wang et al. Strain tolerance of two-dimensional crystal growth on curved surfaces, Science Advances (2019). Journal information: Science Advances Kai Wang et al. Strain tolerance of two-dimensional crystal growth on curved surfaces,(2019). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aav4028 Dr. Simon Papalexiou of the Global Institute for Water Security, at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, has found 'extreme' downpours of rain have increased in the past 50 years. Credit: University of Saskatchewan, Canada The frequency of downpours of heavy rainwhich can lead to flash floods, devastation, and outbreaks of waterborne diseasehas increased across the globe in the past 50 years, research led by the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has found. The number of extreme downpours increased steadily between 1964 and 2013a period when global warming also intensified, according to research published in the journal Water Resources Research. The frequency of 'extreme precipitation events' increased in parts of Canada, most of Europe, the Midwest and northeast region of the U.S., northern Australia, western Russia and parts of China, (see maps and graphics). "By introducing a new approach to analyzing extremes, using thousands of rain records, we reveal a clear increase in the frequency extreme rain events over the recent 50 years when global warming accelerated," said Simon Papalexiou, a hydro-climatologist in USask's College of Engineering, and an expert in hydroclimatic extremes and random processes. Papalexiou, who led the research, added: "This upward trend is highly unlikely to be explained by natural climatic variability. The probability of this happening is less than 0.3 per cent under the model assumptions used." The USask study of over 8,700 daily rain records from 100,000 stations monitoring rain worldwide found the frequency of torrential rain between 1964 and 2013 increased as the decades progressed. Between 2004 and 2013, there were seven per cent more extreme bouts of heavy rain overall than expected globally. In Europe and Asia, there were 8.6 per cent more 'extreme rain events' overall, during this decade. Global warming can lead to increased precipitation because more heat in the atmosphere leads to more atmospheric water which, in turn, leads to rain. Torrents of rain not only lead to flooding, but can threaten public health, overwhelming sewage treatment plants and increasing microbial contaminants of water. More than half a million deaths were caused by rain-induced floods between 1980 and 2009. Heavy rain can also cause landslides, damage crops, collapse buildings and bridges, wreck homes, and lead to chaos on roads and to transport, with huge financial losses. Co-author Alberto Montanari, professor of hydraulic works and hydrology at the University of Bologna and president of the European Geoscience Union, said: "Our results are in line with the assumption that the atmosphere retains more water under global warming. The fact that the frequency, rather the magnitude, of extreme precipitation is significantly increasing has relevant implications for climate adaptation. Human systems need to increase their capability to react to frequent shocks." The researchers screened data for quality and consistency, selecting the most robust and complete records from the 100,000 stations worldwide monitoring precipitation. Regions in South America and Africa were excluded from the study, as records for the study period were not complete or robust. Papalexiou said planning for more frequent 'extreme' rain should be a priority for governments, local authorities and emergency services. "If global warming progresses as climate model projections predict, we had better plan strategies for dealing with frequent heavy rain right now," said Papalexiou. "Our study of records from around the globe shows that potentially devastating bouts of extreme rain are increasing decade by decade. "We know that rainfall-induced floods can devastate communities, and that there are implications of increasing bouts of heavy rain for public health, agriculture, farmers' livelihoods, the fishing industry and insurance, to name but a few." Explore further OU meteorologist expects severe drought and heavy rain events to worsen globally More information: Simon Michael Papalexiou et al, Global and Regional Increase of Precipitation Extremes under Global Warming, Water Resources Research (2019). Journal information: Water Resources Research Simon Michael Papalexiou et al, Global and Regional Increase of Precipitation Extremes under Global Warming,(2019). DOI: 10.1029/2018WR024067 Huawei provides information and communication technology solutions to more than 50 airports and 15 airlines around the world, including Dubai Airports US moves against Chinese tech titan Huawei have had "no effect" on the firm's aviation business despite several countries taking steps to block its mobile services, a top company executive said Monday. Huawei has been caught in an intensifying trade war between the United States and China, with President Donald Trump moving to blacklist the Chinese manufacturer over national security concerns. But Eman Liu, president of Huawei's global transportation business unit, said the company's aviation business was untouched so far. Huawei provides information and communication technology solutions to more than 50 airports and 15 airlines around the world, including Dubai Airports and the Changi Airport Group in Singapore. Its services include video surveillance and airport cloud systems as well as wifi services and storage servers. "Until now, there is no effect," Liu told AFP on the sidelines of the annual International Air Transport Association (IATA) conference in Seoul. Huawei customers at the event had pledged to "keep cooperating" with the firm despite Washington's accusations, Liu said. "For all the rest of the world, we are keeping doing business with them for more than 10 years," Liu said. "Because this trust is not one day trust. It's a long-term trust for the past 15 years, even 30 years." Huawei has risen to become the world leader in telecom networking equipment and one of the top smartphone manufacturers alongside Samsung and Apple. The US Commerce Department last month placed the company on an "entity list" on grounds of national security, a move that curbs its access to US-made components it needs for its equipment. A 90-day reprieve was later issued. A number of countries have also blocked Huawei from working on their mobile networks and companies have stepped back from the firm following the US ban, citing legal requirements. "We cannot change the situation right now because we are businessmen," Liu said. "But we hope the United States can change their way." If the US persisted with its moves, Liu said, it would "force us to use Plan B", referring to heavy investments in new technology, including developing its own chips. Washington has long voiced suspicions that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government and thus a global security threatcharges strongly denied by the firm and by Beijing. China's defence minister said Sunday that Huawei was "not a military company" despite its founder Ren Zhengfei's previous career in the People's Liberation Army. Explore further US delays Huawei ban for 90 days 2019 AFP Exotic pets like these, on display at the 2018 Repticon in West Palm Beach, can escape and form invasive communities. Credit: Adam Toomes A large proportion of successful vertebrate invasions can be traced to the global exotic pet trade. However, surprisingly little is known about the economic, social, and ecological factors that shape the trade and how they influence the establishment of self-sustaining populations of non-native species. In a new study published in the Ecological Society of America's journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, a team of researchers gain further insight into the dynamics of the exotic pet trade and the role it plays in the introduction of invasive vertebrate populations across the globe. "The market in exotic pets has grown considerably since the 1970s, and the volume of vertebrate animals that are traded worldwide is shocking, even to relatively seasoned invasion biologists," says Julie Lockwood, lead author of the paper and professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University. "In particular, the numbers of reptiles and marine fish have really skyrocketed over the past couple of decades, most of which could easily be traced back to an upsurge in their popularity as exotic pets." In the study, the researchers take a close look at the socioeconomic and socioecological forces that drive the exotic vertebrate pet trade. These are found to vary widely, depending on the unique economic, social, regulatory, and cultural contexts of a particular country or region. At the most fundamental level, however, basic market forces appear to be the main impetus for the trade in exotic vertebratesspecifically, a growing global demand for exotic vertebrates for pets, especially in economically emerging countries in South America and Asia. The authors are surprised at the degree of variability in the global exotic pet market. "Some species, like goldfish or monk parakeets, have been standard pets for decades," explains Lockwood, "while others only show up in the market for a year or two and then disappear. But it is not entirely clear what is producing this dynamic, except to note that some species are easy to care for and breed well in captivity, and therefore don't cost much to purchase." Hundreds of thousands of individuals of these species are sold each year, and if even a tiny fraction were to escape or were freed, they would have the potential to form viable wild populations. "It was also interesting to see that there were some very consistent patterns in which of the species in each group (fishes, birds, reptiles, amphibians) now have non-native populations," Lockwood adds. "In the US, for example, it is very clear that the species that are imported into the country at the highest volume (number of individuals) are the species most likely to have introduced populations." Factors that go into an owner's decision to release an exotic pet, instead of putting it up for adoption or having it humanely euthanized, are largely unknown. Additionally, very little information is available concerning the release of exotic pet stocks by importers, wholesalers, and retailers, or the frequency of escape from homes and breeding and wholesale facilities. Moreover, most countries do not maintain comprehensive records of imported pet species, and even among those that do, animals are often recorded as "unidentified" or are misidentified, deficiencies that greatly challenge monitoring, regulatory, and control efforts. Wider availability and increasing ease of buying exotic pets online, along with a lack of regulatory standards and enforcement and the growing appeal of owning exotic vertebrates, have facilitated the spread of these species from their native ranges into many new parts of the world, amplifying the potential for future invasions. Combatting the expected subsequent rise in non-native vertebrate invasion events will require a more thorough understanding of the socioeconomic and socioecological forces underlying the global trade in exotic pets. "We simply do not have a lot of information on what factors lead to a species being incorporated into the trade in the first place, or what factors lead to escape or release," Lockwood concludes. "Without this information it is very difficult to pinpoint policy directives so that people can still enjoy owning and interacting with exotic pets while reducing the chances that the trade will generate more harmful invasive species." Explore further For exotic pets, the most popular are also most likely to be released in the wild More information: Julie L Lockwood et al, When pets become pests: the role of the exotic pet trade in producing invasive vertebrate animals, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2019). Journal information: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Julie L Lockwood et al, When pets become pests: the role of the exotic pet trade in producing invasive vertebrate animals,(2019). DOI: 10.1002/fee.2059 The optical equipment that was used to make the first discovery that ITI in fact works. Credit: Wybren Jan Buma, University of Amsterdam A collaborative of institutions including the University of Groningen has developed an entirely new class of molecular photoswitches that meet many requirements previously considered unobtainable. The results have been published in Nature Communications on 3 June. Molecular photoswitches are of particular research interest as they comprise a non-invasive and localized means for such things as activating a drug where and when it is needed. Such switches exist, but are far from ideal as they require harmful ultraviolet light for their operation, which is a show-stopper from a clinical point of view. Furthermore, they cannot exclusively be switched from one state to the other, and normally do not function under physiological conditions of the human body. Absorption bands describe which wavelengths of light are needed for switching. When the absorption bands of the "on" and "off' state overlap, switching between the two states requires light of the same wavelength, which is very ineffective. However, if the absorption bands are well separated, then switching between the "on" and "off' state can be done with high specificity and efficiency with light of different wavelengths. Molecular switches that meet such requirements are thus highly desirable, but until now, nobody has been able to come up with a suitable design. Thioindigo and azobenzene are two chemical motifs that are widely used in molecular switches albeit that they suffer from the previously mentioned drawbacks. Dr. Wiktor Szymanski at the University Medical Center Groningen realized that a fusion of these two should also be able to function as a photoswitch, and, similar to crossbreeding, would very likely have improved properties compared to its "parents." "However, the initial results were very disappointing," says Mark Hoorens, the Ph.D. student at the UMCG who synthesized the iminothioindoxyl (ITI) compound and tried to switch it. "We didn't see any change in the absorption spectrum when we irradiated it, nothing seemed to happen. We therefore lost interest in this compound and went on with other research." Illustration depicting how ITI is switched between states. Credit: Wiktor Szymanski, University of Groningen Medical Center. At the 2017 International Symposium on Photopharmacology organized in Groningen, the group discussed their results with scientists of the Molecular Photonics group at the University of Amsterdam. Based on that discussion, the researchers concluded that it might be worthwhile to repeat the irradiation experiments using the facilities at the University of Amsterdam, which have a better time resolution. The new experiment produced a surprising result. "At first, we did not believe our eyes," says Mark Hoorens (UvA). "We saw a completely separated absorption band appear 100 nm to the red of the steady-state absorption band of ITI with a lifetime of about 10 to 20 milliseconds, and in the first instance, even suspected that we were looking at contamination in the sample." One of its "parents" absorbed in the UV region and had band separation, while the other parent absorbed in the visible light region, but did not have good band separation. The new switch had the best of both. Such properties have never before been observed in a photoswitch. Follow-up experiments confirmed that ITI is indeed the visible-light switch the scientists were looking for. Experiments on a femto- and picosecond timescale performed in the laboratories of Dr. Mariangela Di Donato at the European Laboratory of Non-Linear Spectroscopy allowed for further mechanistic studies. Mariangela says, "From these studies, it became clear that ITI switches on an ultrafast timescale of a few hundreds of femtoseconds, similar to how fast the visual pigment in our eyes is switched when light falls on it." Quantum calculations The final confirmation was provided by quantum chemical calculations performed by Dr. Adele Laurent (University of Nantes) and Dr. Miroslav Medved' (Palacky University in Olomouc). These calculations predicted absorption maxima of the two photo-isomers that were very similar to those observed experimentally, but also a barrier for switching back to the original form that fitted excellently the observed lifetime. "In the first instance, we were quite puzzled by this gigantic 100 nm band separation," says Laurent, "but our calculations now provide a logical explanation for this. What is even better is that they allow us to predict how ITI can be modified to meet the specific requirements of its users." Mark Hoorens has by now synthesized several varieties that have been further characterized in Amsterdam, Florence, Nantes and Olomouc. From these studies, it has become clear that ITI is an incredibly versatile switch that can be operated under a wide variety of experimental conditions including, importantly, biological ones, and with properties that are relatively easy to tune. Explore further Novel molecular multi-step photoswitches caught in the act More information: Mark W. H. Hoorens et al. Iminothioindoxyl as a molecular photoswitch with 100 nm band separation in the visible range, Nature Communications (2019). Journal information: Nature Communications Mark W. H. Hoorens et al. Iminothioindoxyl as a molecular photoswitch with 100 nm band separation in the visible range,(2019). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10251-8 Different spectral components for Terzan 5 predicted by the leptonic models of Kopp et al. (2013) and Harding et al. (2008); Harding & Kalapotharakos (2015). Image credit: Ndiyavala et al., 2019. Using NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, astronomers have collected important data that could disclose the real nature of the globular cluster Terzan 5. The new study, presented in a paper published May 24 on arXiv.org, delivers new information regarding the cluster's pulsar population and its broadband emission spectrum. Observations of globular clusters (GCs) in our Milky Way galaxy are of high importance for astronomers as they are among the oldest objects in the universe. Therefore, they could serve as natural laboratories for the study of stellar evolution processes. Discovered about a half-century ago, Terzan 5 is a 12-billion-year-old galactic GC located some 19,000 light years away. The cluster has a particularly high central stellar density, high metallicity, and also the highest stellar interaction rate of all GCs in the Milky Way. Terzan 5 is known to host 37 out of 130 millisecond pulsars (MSPs) detected so far, what makes it a record holder when it comes to the largest number of MSPs in a galactic GC. Previous studies of this cluster have also shown that it contains at least two distinct stellar populations with different ages and iron content. This could suggest that Terzan 5 may not be a "true" globular cluster, but a result of a merger of two clusters, for instance, or a remnant of a disrupted galaxy. In order to get more detailed information about Terzan 5, which could verify these possibilities, an international team of astronomers led by Hambeleleni Ndiyavala of North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, decided to analyze new data obtained by the Fermi spacecraft. This dataset allowed the researchers to model the broadband spectral energy distribution (SED) in the cluster. "We therefore aimed to gather more data on Terzan 5 and model the updated SED in a leptonic scenario," the astronomers wrote in the paper. In particular, the spectral model described in the study postulates four spectral components, namely: low-energy synchrotron radiation (LESR), high-energy synchrotron radiation (HESR), curvature radiation (CR) and inverse Compton (IC). The model also allowed the astronomers to constrain the MSP population's distribution of spin-down luminosity. According to the study, the updated SED in Terzan 5 is most likely due to a cumulative pulsed emission from a population of embedded MSPs. Moreover, it could be as well attributed to unpulsed emission from the interaction of leptonic winds with ambient magnetic and soft-photon fields. "We obtained new Fermi data that we could fit using a model for the cumulative CR from a population of MSPs embedded within Terzan 5. These data also proved to be constraining for the low-energy tail of the unpulsed IC component, yielding a particle efficiency of p ~3 percent, depending on the choice of several parameters, notably E vis and N MSP,tot ," the paper reads. In concluding remarks, the astronomers underlined the importance of further studies of Terzan 5 and similar clusters to get a more comprehensive view on the nature and properties of galactic GCs in general. They added that such instruments like the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) could be much helpful in identifying new very-high-energy (VHE) GCs. "This will allow us to further scrutinize competing emission models, as well as developing new, more complete and comprehensive ones that might explain the spatial and spectral properties of galactic GCs at an ever increasing level of detail," the authors of the paper noted. Explore further Three new millisecond pulsars discovered in Terzan 5 globular cluster More information: Hambeleleni Ndiyavala, et al. Probing the pulsar population of Terzan 5 via spectral modeling. arXiv:1905.10229v1 [astro-ph.HE]: Hambeleleni Ndiyavala, et al. Probing the pulsar population of Terzan 5 via spectral modeling. arXiv:1905.10229v1 [astro-ph.HE]: arxiv.org/abs/1905.10229 2019 Science X Network Aster DM Healthcare, a top healthcare service provider in the GCC, has strengthened its offering in primary and secondary care services in Oman with the opening of its third hospital in the Sultanate. Aster Al Raffah Hospitals & Clinics are now serving patients with its newest 22-bed Aster Hospital located in Ibri. The inauguration of the new facility was officiated by Sheikh/ Khalaf Salim Abdullah Alishaqi, Wali of Ibri and Alisha Moopen, executive director & CEO of Aster and Medcare Hospitals & Clinics- GCC, in the presence of officials from various ministries, public authorities, staff of Aster Al Raffah Hospitals & Clinics and the residents of Ibri. Dr Azad Moopen, founder chairman and managing director of Aster DM Healthcare said, Sultanate of Oman is top on our strategic plans. We already have two hospitals at Muscat and Sohar with six clinics in Oman. The inauguration of the new facility in Ibri reaffirms our commitment to the people of Oman to cater to the growing needs of the population while making quality healthcare easily available and more accessible for people. Alisha Moopen said, The inauguration of Aster Hospital, Ibri is a testament of our effort to make healthcare closer to the people we serve. With three hospitals and six clinics in Oman; we are the second largest private player in Oman and we take great pride in being the most preferred and trusted healthcare player which brings the global experts from our 2000+ doctors across Aster available to our Oman patients so that one can see the best expert for all scenarios. Aster Hospital offers a comprehensive range of primary and secondary healthcare services. Conveniently located in Ibri, opposite grand hypermarket, the new facility will function 24/7 to accommodate requirements of all customers requiring healthcare services. The hospital boasts of highly qualified and skilled doctors and offers specialty services in anaesthesiology, critical care medicine, dermatology, orthopaedics, dentistry, ENT, gastroenterology, general surgery, internal medicine, urology, paediatrics, obstetrics & gynaecology and Visa Medical. Aster Al Raffah Clinics are currently operational at Amerat, Al Khoud, Ruwi, Liwa, Sohar and Maabela. The other 2 Aster Al Raffah Hospitals, operate in Sohar and Ghubra (Muscat). TradeArabia News Service The New Guinean frog Sphenophryne cornuta carrying its young on its back. Credit: Stephen J Richards New Guinea is one of the only places in the world where frogs are safe from the species-destroying chytrid fungus. An international team of scientists has published a new paper that shows how to keep it that way, but they need help to carry out their plan. The chytrid fungus has wiped out more than 90 frog species around the world, and it's driving hundreds more towards extinction. New Guineathe world's largest tropical island, and home to 6% of all known frog speciesis one of the last remaining refuges from the deadly infection. A team of scientists led by researchers from Macquarie University and the University of New England in Australia think they know how to keep the island's frogs safe, but they need support to establish a long-term program of monitoring and conservation. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the group of 30 experts from Australia, the USA, China, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea calls for urgent action. "You don't often spot a conservation disaster before it happens and get the chance to stop it," says Deborah Bower of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, who is the first author of the article. "We know what needs to be done." The infectious chytrid fungus has been described as the most destructive pathogen known to science. It has destroyed more than 90 species of frog entirely and caused declines in almost 500 more. The New Guinean frog Lechriodus aganoposis is one of up to a hundred species that would be at risk if the chytrid fungus reaches the tropical island. Credit: Stephen J. Richards The international pet trade helped the chytrid fungus spread rapidly from its origins in East Asia over recent decades, and it now infects frogs on every continent. It is one of the key reasons why 40% of the world's frog species now face the threat of extinction. New Guinea's tropical climate and hundreds of native frog species make it an ideal environment for chytrid. But field tests have so far found no traces of the killer fungus. "A lot of New Guinea's frogs are closely related to Australian species that have been devastated by chytrid, so we expect they would be just as vulnerable," says Simon Clulow at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, who leads the research team. "Other New Guinea frog species are unusual because they hatch from eggs as fully formed frogs, rather than going through a tadpole stage, and we don't know how chytrid will affect them." The team estimates that around 100 species of frog would be in danger if chytrid reaches New Guinea, and their decline could have huge impacts across the ecosystem as they are predators of insects and other small creatures but also prey for larger animals. The frog Oreophryne oviprotector is one of around a hundred species that could be at risk if chytrid fungus reaches the tropical island of New Guinea. Credit: Stephen J. Richards The research team includes international experts in frog conservationincluding Lee Berger, the Australian who first discovered the chytrid fungus and showed it was responsible for frog species declines and extinctionsalongside local researchers with deep knowledge of the environment of New Guinea. They have been studying frogs in New Guinea since 2015, and have already started working with zoos, universities and the Papua New Guinea government to build a program to keep captive frogs and store their sperm and eggs to preserve genetic diversity. The team has developed a 5-step program of preparation, prevention, detection, response and recovery to keep the deadly fungus off New Guinea and to minimise the impact if it does arrive. As well as preserving New Guinea's frogs, the program would build local capacity in science, and disease surveillance and diagnosis that will have applications for animal and public health. Explore further Fungal infection affecting frogs' future More information: Deborah S Bower et al, Island of opportunity: can New Guinea protect amphibians from a globally emerging pathogen?, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2019). Journal information: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment Deborah S Bower et al, Island of opportunity: can New Guinea protect amphibians from a globally emerging pathogen?,(2019). DOI: 10.1002/fee.2057 Credit: Portland State University Oregon is considering a bill to implement paid family leave, House Bill 2005, following in the footsteps of Washington, which approved a similar policy in 2017. Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health researchers concluded that it's not just approving paid family leave that's important for employeeshow that policy is implemented to make it equitable for all employees is just as critical. OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Assistant Professors Dawn Richardson, Julia Goodman and David Hurtado published "Employee Experiences with a Newly Adopted Paid Parental Leave Policy: Equity Considerations for Policy Implementation" in Health Equity's May edition. The researchers partnered with Multnomah County to evaluate a new paid leave policy adopted in November of 2015. Their findings offer insight and guidance for organizations implementing or considering implementation of paid family leave as well as steps to ensure equity in employee access to and experience of paid leave. "If Oregon approves paid family leave, we're hoping our work with Multnomah County can offer support to employers in Oregon to really think about how they carry out the policy," Richardson said. "Assuming it passes, this is a significant shift in employee benefits and there's not a lot of guidance on how to do this, and how to do this well." The researchers found that the policy was successful in supporting employees in taking paid leave when adding a child to their family through birth, adoption, or fostering. Overwhelmingly, employees were pleased with the benefit and noted how important it was for their families. But the researchers also found that some employees experienced inequity in the policy's implementation despite it being approved and accessible for all eligible county employees. One participant, a woman of color, said she saw her experience of inequity replicated despite the new policy. "Depending on the supervisor, someone gets something very generous and then a person in the next unit over gets not a lot," the participant commented. "This is kind of horrible for all of us to see that, to see this inequity, even though we have these great policies." Another participant said she had three different supervisors while preparing to take family leave, which led to inequitable decisions. "I feel like that supervision piece can make it extremely inequitable for people to experience their parental leave," the participant commented. "I had one plan with the first supervisor, which was very understanding, a very generous plan. And then that person left the week I went on leave. And suddenly I had this new person, and they didn't want to honor the plan that I had in place." The researchers were quick to point out that these experience are not specific to Multnomah County and would very likely be the story in any similar organization. Despite the best intentions of policies like these, an explicit focus on equity is needed. Richardson and Goodman said supervisory training is one key to achieving workplace equity. Supervisors need to be clear on what the policy entails and how to guide employees navigating paid leave and the blending together of multiple benefits. "The culture of the workplace matters a lot," Richardson said. "How are families shown they are truly valued?" Culture and environment influence how employees experience the policy. Factors driving experience include department size and resources, demographic makeup and the supervisor's attitude. If employees perceive that their use of paid leave is burdensome on the employer, it could have negative implications on the employee's contribution to the workplace. "The employees who felt most supported also felt passionate about their employer, felt committed, and returned to work in ways that facilitated better productivity," Richardson said. As Oregon considers approving its own paid family leave policy, she added that much of the negative debate comes down to the burden of costspecifically on small businesses. "The costs are the costs. But who do we as a society believe should pay those costs? And who benefits? Without paid leave, the costs are entirely on the shoulders of workers," she said. Numerous studies show offering paid family leave benefits both the employee and employer in the long run, but the conversation hasn't transitioned past the upfront cost. "We need to think about where we want to invest. And part of that investment is not just in adopting the policy, it's in training people," Richardson said. "It's in seeing the policy through." Employers may struggle with the costs of providing these benefits, she added, but she, Goodman and Hurtado hope work like theirs can show in the long-term the cost is worth it. Explore further Microsoft to contractors: Give new parents paid leave More information: Dawn M. Richardson et al, Employee Experiences with a Newly Adopted Paid Parental Leave Policy: Equity Considerations for Policy Implementation, Health Equity (2019). Dawn M. Richardson et al, Employee Experiences with a Newly Adopted Paid Parental Leave Policy: Equity Considerations for Policy Implementation,(2019). DOI: 10.1089/heq.2019.0007 From left to right: Postdoctoral Researcher Peng Fu, USDA-ARS Scientist Carl Bernacchi, Postdoctoral Researcher Katherine Meacham-Hensold, and Assistant Professor Kaiyu Guan. Credit: Claire Benjamin/RIPE Project Hyperspectral data comprises the full light spectrum; this dataset of continuous spectral information has many applications from understanding the health of the Great Barrier Reef to picking out more productive crop cultivars. To help researchers better predict high-yielding crop traits, a team from the University of Illinois have stacked together six high-powered, machine learning algorithms that are used to interpret hyperspectral dataand they demonstrated that this technique improved the predictive power of a recent study by up to 15 percent, compared to using just one algorithm. "We are empowering scientists from many fields, who are not necessarily experts in computational analysis, to translate their enormous datasets into beneficial results," said first author Peng Fu, a postdoctoral researcher at Illinois, who led this work for a research project called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE). "Now scientists do not need to scratch their heads to figure out which machine learning algorithms to use; they can apply six or more algorithmsfor the price of oneto make more accurate predictions." RIPE, which is led by Illinois, is engineering crops to be more productive by improving photosynthesis, the natural process all plants use to convert sunlight into energy and yields. RIPE is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and the U.K. Government's Department for International Development (DFID). In a recent study, published in Remote Sensing of Environment, the team introduced spectral analysis as a means to quickly identify photosynthetic improvements that could increase yields. In this new study, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, the team improved their previous predictions of photosynthetic capacity by as much as 15 percent using machine learning, where computers automatically applied these six algorithms to their dataset without human help. A team from the University of Illinois has stacked together six high-powered algorithms to help researchers make more precise predictions from hyperspectral data to identify high-yielding crop traits. Credit: RIPE Project "I've loved seeing what's possible when you can use computational power to exploit the data for all its worth," said co-author Katherine Meacham-Hensold, a RIPE postdoctoral researcher at Illinois, who led the previous study in Remote Sensing of Environment. "It's exciting to see what a data analyst like Peng can do with my data. Now other non-data-analyst scientists can test several powerful algorithms to figure out which one will help them leverage their data to the fullest extent." However, more studies are needed to prove the relevance of this stacked algorithm technique to the plant science community and other fields of study. "By applying the expertise of data analysts to address the needs of plant physiologists like myself, we ended up refining a technique that is relevant to other hyperspectral datasets," said co-author Carl Bernacchi, a RIPE research leader and scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, who is based at Illinois' Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. "The next step is to test more stacked machine learning algorithms on datasets from many more crop species and explore the utility of this technique to estimate other parameters, such as abiotic stresses from drought or disease." "As scientists, we should try to use our domain knowledge to explain advanced performance from machine learning methods," said co-author Kaiyu Guan, an assistant professor in Illinois' College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES). "Combining computational methods and domain disciplines allows us to possibly unravel what causes the measurable differences in hyperspectral datasetswhich is an unsolved mystery in our work and worth future exploration." Explore further Study reports breakthrough to measure plant improvements to help farmers boost production More information: Katherine Meacham-Hensold et al. High-throughput field phenotyping using hyperspectral reflectance and partial least squares regression (PLSR) reveals genetic modifications to photosynthetic capacity, Remote Sensing of Environment (2019). Katherine Meacham-Hensold et al. High-throughput field phenotyping using hyperspectral reflectance and partial least squares regression (PLSR) reveals genetic modifications to photosynthetic capacity,(2019). DOI: 10.1016/j.rse.2019.04.029 Peng Fu et al, Hyperspectral Leaf Reflectance as Proxy for Photosynthetic Capacities: An Ensemble Approach Based on Multiple Machine Learning Algorithms, Frontiers in Plant Science (2019). DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00730 Provided by Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The magnetic field and electric currents in and around Earth generate complex forces that have immeasurable impact on every day life. The field can be thought of as a huge bubble, protecting us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that bombard Earth in solar winds. Credit: ESA/ATG medialab An astronaut on a mission to Mars could receive radiation doses up to 700 times higher than on our planeta major showstopper for the safe exploration of our solar system. A team of European experts is working with ESA to protect the health of future crews on their way to the Moon and beyond. Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere protect us from the constant bombardment of galactic cosmic raysenergetic particles that travel at close to the speed of light and penetrate the human body. Cosmic radiation could increase cancer risks during long duration missions. Damage to the human body extends to the brain, heart and the central nervous system and sets the stage for degenerative diseases. A higher percentage of early-onset cataracts have been reported in astronauts. "One day in space is equivalent to the radiation received on Earth for a whole year," explains physicist Marco Durante, who studies cosmic radiation on Earth. Marco points out that most of the changes in the astronauts' gene expression are believed to be a result of radiation exposure, according to the recent NASA's Twins study. This research showed DNA damage in astronaut Scott Kelly compared to his identical twin and fellow astronaut Mark Kelly, who remained on Earth. A second source of space radiation comes from unpredictable solar particle events that deliver high doses of radiation in a short period of time, leading to "radiation sickness" unless protective measures are taken. Space risks Radiation. Credit: European Space Agency Europe's radiation fight club "The real problem is the large uncertainty surrounding the risks. We don't understand space radiation very well and the long-lasting effects are unknown," explains Marco who is also part of an ESA team formed to investigate radiation. Since 2015, this forum of experts provides advice from areas such as space science, biology, epidemiology, medicine and physics to improve protection from space radiation. "Space radiation research is an area that crosses the entire life and physical sciences area with important applications on Earth. Research in this area will remain of high priority for ESA," says Jennifer Ngo-Anh, ESA's team leader human research, biology and physical sciences. While astronauts are not considered radiation workers in all countries, they are exposed to 200 times more radiation on the International Space Station than an airline pilot or a radiology nurse. Radiation is in the Space Station's spotlight every day. A console at NASA's mission control in Houston, Texas, is constantly showing space weather information. Space risks Fighting radiation. Credit: European Space Agency If a burst of space radiation is detected, teams on Earth can abort a spacewalk, instruct astronauts to move to more shielded areas and even change the altitude of the station to minimize impact. One of the main recommendations of the topical team is to develop a risk model with the radiation dose limits for crews traveling beyond the International Space Station. ESA's flight surgeon and radiologist Ulrich Straube believes that the model should "provide information on the risks that could cause cancer and non-cancer health issues for astronauts going to the Moon and Mars in agreement with all space agencies." Recent data from ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter showed that on a six-month journey to the Red Planet an astronaut could be exposed to at least 60% of the total radiation dose limit recommended for their entire career. "As it stands today, we can't go to Mars due to radiation. It would be impossible to meet acceptable dose limits," reminds Marco. A new particle accelerator will help make spaceflight safer. Credit: GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung GmbH/Jan Michael Hosan 2018 Measure to protect ESA has teamed up with five particle accelerators in Europe that can recreate cosmic radiation by "shooting" atomic particles to speeds approaching the speed of light. Researchers have been bombarding biological cells and materials with radiation to understand how to best protect astronauts. "The research is paying off. Lithium is standing out as a promising material for shielding in planetary missions," says Marco. ESA has been measuring the radiation dose on the International Space Station for seven years with passive radiation detectors in the DOSIS 3-D experiment. ESA astronauts Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet wore a new mobile dosimeter during their missions that gave them a real-time snapshot of their exposure. The same European team behind this research will provide radiation detectors to monitor the skin and organ doses of the two phantoms traveling to the Moon onboard NASA's Orion spacecraft. Explore further Radiation for dummies An example of a Dutch open office without partitions. Credit: Christel de Bakker Increasingly, employees share a large open office with flexible workplaces and working hours, leaving many desks vacant for large parts of the day. But the lighting is still on the whole day, in the whole office. Smart lighting with motion detectors can significantly reduce energy consumption in offices, but when light sources are frequently switched on and off, this becomes unpleasant and distracting. Researcher Christel de Bakker has developed a method to set the lighting in such a way that the lighting energy consumption is reduced by more than 25%, without compromising user comfort. She will be awarded her Ph.D. on this subject on June 4th at Eindhoven University of Technology. De Bakker's research comes at an opportune time. By 2023, all Dutch office buildings must have a minimum energy label C. Lighting takes up to 15% of the entire energy consumption of an office building, while the light is often on in places where no one is working at that moment. Presence sensors can ensure that the light is only switched on over occupied desks. But the large contrast of light between an occupied and an unoccupied desk turns out to be unpleasant. In addition, employees are distracted by the ever-changing light intensity. Dimming on three levels In order to find out the best lighting strategy for employee comfort, De Bakker set up two darkened research areas of different sizes as an office. She then asked the subjects, 95 in total, to set the lighting in a way that felt comfortable. Using these results, she then tested the lighting set-up that had been most frequently chosen in a real open office, and asked the employees there, 20 in total, to evaluate the lighting conditions. De Bakker: "The test subjects were not able to switch off the light completely in these experiments because earlier research showed that this caused unpleasantly large light contrasts in the area. So employees could only dim the light." The research set-up for a medium-sized office. The subject sits at the desk with the lamp indicated in blue. For the best lighting strategy, the user's desk is the most brightly lit. The three surrounding desks (pink) are slightly dimmed, while the lamps in the area (green) are dimmed the most. Credit: Christel de Bakker. De Bakker discovered that an office with three light levels is the best strategy. If an office worker is working alone in a medium-sized open-plan office, the desk at which the user is working should be fully lit. The lamps above the three surrounding desks may be slightly dimmed (35-65 cd/m2), and the lighting in the rest of the room may be dimmed even more (20-50 cd/m2). De Bakker calculated that this would enable you to save more than 25 percent of the energy consumption for lighting in a medium-sized office. The size of the space appeared to be important for perception. "If you work in a large room, you will feel like you want to know what is going on in the background, so the backlight has to be set more brightly," says de Bakker. Luminance meter De Bakker does see significant differences in individual preferences. A combination of locally set preferences per desk, supplemented by a standard lighting plan for the entire room, is therefore the best solution: "People still want to adjust the light at the beginning of the working day, but they quickly forget about it during the day." De Bakker hopes that her plan will be put into practice. But this requires a luminance sensor. "In my research I have focused on the luminance (cd/m2) instead of the more common illuminance (lux). Luminance is the brightness experienced by the observer, and also includes the reflection of light on objects, for example. Therefore it is a better measurement method to determine the perception and comfort of the employee," says De Bakker. Unfortunately, today's smart lamps are currently only equipped with a lux meter. Her fellow Ph.D. student Thijs Kruisselbrink is therefore developing a luminance meter. He's now halfway through his Ph.D. research. De Bakker has published some of her results in the Building and Environment journal. More information: Christel de Bakker et al. The feasibility of highly granular lighting control in open-plan offices: Exploring the comfort and energy saving potential, Building and Environment (2018). Christel de Bakker et al. The feasibility of highly granular lighting control in open-plan offices: Exploring the comfort and energy saving potential,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.06.043 Segmented automotive LED high-beam unit realized as a micro-optical, irregular flys eye condenser. Two identical modules assembled with 1.5 rotation to one another. Credit: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Success in the increasingly competitive automobile market is reserved for those who combine well-engineered products with attractive design, for example through the perfect integration of headlamps. Fraunhofer researchers have developed a new lighting technology that gives designers more freedom to create vehicles with unconventional styling and also provides additional benefits to drivers and auto manufacturers alike. The prototype will be presented at the LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair from June 2427, 2019. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena has developed a new generation of vehicle lights which not only exceeds legal and automotive-industry requirements for illumination performance and functionality, it is also more efficient, more compact and significantly more flexible than current systems as regards their location on the vehicle. 200,000 micro-optical elements per headlamp At this year's LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair, scientists from Fraunhofer IOF will present the second functional prototype of a segmented high-beam unit which minimizes light scatter. The unit is based on a multi-aperture projector which has been in continuous development for several years. 200,000 micro-optical elements focus the light optimally in the vehicle's direction of travel. The segments can be deactivated as necessary, either individually or in groups, without time delay. Combined with modern vehicle sensor technologies, this makes it possible to effectively prevent the high beam from blinding oncoming motorists. In addition, the design requires significantly less installation space compared to conventional systems. Segmented automotive LED high-beam unit realized as a micro-optical, irregular flys eye condenser. The deactivated segment prevents glare from blinding oncoming traffic. Credit: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Reduced glare Not only can the light be dimmed specifically for oncoming traffic, it is even possible to protect pedestrians and e.g. cyclists without lights from being impeded by glare. This increases the level of safety for all road users. "We're developing the headlamp as part of the WISA project SSLStructuredSpotLightwith Fraunhofer-internal funding. In-house research projects with commercial relevance enable cross-institute precompetitive research and lay the foundation for subse-uent industry development projects," says Stephanie Fischer, research associate in the Micro-Optical Systems department at Fraunhofer IOF. The project relied on a group of advisors from automotive manufacturers and component suppliers. They were thus able to provide input on the desired parameters of the high and low beam light as well as on the mechanical design requirements. Participants in the group include such renowned brand names as AUDI, HELLA, Trilux and OSRAM. Function follows design The automotive manufacturers will profit in coming years from considerably greater creative freedom when it comes to designing headlamps. Designers are thus completely free to decide whether to install the headlamps on the outer edges of the vehicle's nose, as is usually done, or as a narrow strip across its center. Micro-optics for automotive headlamp. Credit: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft This is because the system enables a very small installation depth and provides much greater freedom in terms of dimensions and shape. "The headlamps no longer have to be rectangular: the designer can choose any other shape desired," says Stephanie Fischer. "Space requirements of larger optical units limited design possibilities in the past." In addition, the new system increases the LED light yield. For example, when set to low beam only 35 percent of the light yield is lost, an excellent value for LED headlamps. This increase in efficiency also improves the energy balance in the vehicle and raises acceptance levels for automotive applications. The high-beam unit consists of two modules, each containing seven individually controllable LED clusters. A total of four collimation lenses direct the light from the LED clusters onto two tandem lens arrays. These micro-optical elements handle the distribution of the light from the individual LEDs. Thousands of micro-lenses precisely guide the light to the respective illumination segments. Each segment can be switched on or off in a fraction of a second by individually controlling the total of 24 LEDs. Production process developed in-house For the first time, rectangular polymer lenses of various dimensions were used to achieve more precise light modeling. The smallest variant measures 0.045 mm x 0.180 mm. Here Fraunhofer IOF developed its own new production method for rectangular lenses, the "High Five" grayscale lithography system. High Five is not only capable of producing extremely fine microstructures, it can also create the relatively large depth of profile (up to 100 m) needed to optimally exploit the available luminance of the LEDs. Fraunhofer IOF has now successfully realized the first prototype of a low-beam headlamp module. Once all the components have been completely developed, 8 000 micro-lenses will ensure optimum visibility at night and in poor weather conditions. Explore further Novel color sensors are less expensive to manufacture The sustained growth in the United Arab Emirates luxury market can be attributed to an increase in brand omni-channel strategies and the continued rise in the tourism industry, said an industry expert. Despite the introduction of VAT, the forecast for the growth of the luxury market is positive. It is expected that the luxury market will continue to experience growth as the market matures and adjusts to global trends, added Herve Ballantyne, partner and Consumer & Industrial Products Industry leader at professional services firm Deloitte Middle East. In an age of fast changing trends, luxury companies are re-examining the value of brand heritage and history and are adopting an omni-personal approach focusing solely on the new age consumer. To accomplish this, they are committed to making significant investments in digital technologies, he added, commenting on Deloittes 2019 edition of Global Powers of Luxury Goods. The worlds top 100 luxury goods companies generated aggregated revenues of $247 billion in fiscal year 2017, representing composite growth of 10.8 per cent, said the report. Despite the recent slowdown of economic growth in major markets including China, the Eurozone and the US, the luxury goods market looks positive, it added. Global Powers of Luxury Goods Top 100 The worlds Top 100 luxury goods companies generated aggregated revenues of $247 billion in FY2017, up from $217 billion in the previous year (an increase of $30 billion). Annual growth also jumped to 10.8 per cent, on a currency-adjusted composite basis, much higher than the previous years 1.0 per cent growth. Seventy-six per cent of the companies reported growth in their luxury sales, with nearly half of these recording double-digit year-on-year growth. The minimum revenue threshold required to enter the worlds Top 100 list of luxury goods companies in FY2017 was $218 million, up by $7 million from FY2016, with an average company size of $2.47 billion. The Top 10 companies accounted for nearly half (48.2 per cent) of the total luxury goods sales of Top 100 companies. Among these, while the top three companies maintained their positions, the remaining ones moved up or down by one position. Cosmetics and fragrances was the top-performing sector in FY2017 with 16.1 per cent sales growth, which was mainly due to the double-digit year-on-year growth of seven companies out of the total 11 in the sector. Eighty-eight of the Top 100 luxury goods companies are headquartered in nine countries, and they account for 93.4 per cent of Top 100 luxury goods sales. France has the largest companies with an average size of $8.29 billion, which is much higher than the average Top 100 size of $2.47 billion. France was also the best-performing country, achieving 18.7 per cent composite sales growth in luxury goods in FY2017, and also contributed the largest share to the total sales of Top 100 luxury goods companies. Although Italy has the highest number of companies (24), it had the lowest sales growth rate. TradeArabia News Service Last week, we noted the tendency of the financial industry to take advantage of investors, including responsible investing (RI) investors. We also observed how this led to the epidemic of greenwashing: recharacterizing rather ordinary investments as RI investments. This week well move beyond the greenwashing problem and look at other pitfalls for RI investors. Think about risk as well as returns If a particular RI investment has tended to show good returns, that only answers the first question. The second, decisive, question is: How risky is it? If the returns are good but the volatility is very high, the risk-adjusted returns are going to be poor. If there is no obvious exit from an impact investment, the risk is unacceptably high. And remember that some RI investments can also significantly reduce portfolio diversification. Be sure the RI fund youre buying agrees with your worldview It can be comforting simply to buy a fund labeled as socially conscious, but the funds view of what that means might be very different from your own view. If you are a died-in-the-wool environmentalist, for example you probably should avoid a certain socially responsible ETF where the largest single holding is the oil and gas company, Total. The same goes for a socially responsible investing UCITS ETF, which holds four oil companies. Finally, be sure you understand the criteria for inclusion in or exclusion from the fund. The Wall Street Journal reported last fall that Tesla was rated the top RI carmaker by MSCIs ESG index, but was rated the worst RI carmaker by FTSEs ESG index. Dont ignore fixed income Most RI investments focus on equities, including private equities, where the emphasis is on impact investments. But dont overlook fixed income. In both the municipal and corporate bond sectors, many opportunities exist to invest in bonds issued by entities whose overall strategies meet RI principles. In addition, investors can buy bonds issued to support specific projects focused on affordable housing, clean water and energy, economic mobility, mass transit, and so on. Most RI bond managers adhere to the Green Bond Principles and/or Sustainability Bond Principles, and some of the better managers take an activist approach, engaging in active dialogue with issuers. But be sure you are well-diversified (some managed portfolios own as few as ten issues) and that you are paying attention to duration (RI bonds tend to have longer maturities). Does the RI fund you like actually walk-the-walk? Some gender diversity funds dont just talk-the-talk, they actually walk-the-walk, voting reliably for every shareholder resolution calling on companies to increase the number of women on boards and in senior management. But one gender diversity fund supported only 20% of such proposals. In addition, the WOMN ETF has a 76 basis point fee, versus 9 basis points for the SPY index hardly an RI-friendly attribute. An alternative, the SHE ETF has a more investor-friendly fee 20 basis points but hasnt performed terribly well. Similarly, Morningstar found that many funds working on controlling greenhouse emissions voted against shareholder proposals addressing climate change. Obviously, serious diligence is warranted before investing in such funds. What happens after you invest? If we invest in RI funds, how do we know how well were doing, and how do we know whether our RI investing is actually making a difference, as opposed to just making us feel better? Unfortunately, the technology required to answer these questions has lagged far behind the enthusiasm for putting money into RI. There are, to be sure, ESG indices that we can compare our results to, but unless the compilers of the ESG index happen to agree with us precisely about the ESG issues that are important, comparing our results to those indices will be mostly a waste of time. Worse, looking only at an ESG index doesnt tell us what cost were paying versus a straight index like the S&P 500. In some specific ESG sectors impact investing, for example new performance analytics are developing rapidly. The Rise Fund, a $2 billion impact fund launched by TPG, recently spun off Y Analytics, a new firm that is designed to help investors evaluate the economic value and risk associated with impact investments. For now, the outcomes measured by Y Analytics are largely output measures how many people were reached by a responsible-drinking project for college students, for example. Thats a useful metric, but whether the program actually affected student behavior is a much more complex topic. In addition to Y Analytics, Cambridge Associates and the Global Impact Investing Forum have collaborated to launch the Impact Investing Benchmark. At the moment the database of impact funds is small and new, but the benchmark should improve with age. Still, the reality remains that, while we can tell how were doing against some ESG index or other, and against non-ESG indices, its extremely difficult to know whether were actually making a difference in the world. For now, and probably for a long time to come, well have to take it on faith that RI truly makes a difference. Use special caution if you are a fiduciary Although fiduciary law seems to be slowly evolving in favor of RI, you dont want to be the one who takes the lawsuit. The US Department of Labor has weighed in on the appropriate use of RI in the ERISA context many times: in 2008, 2015, 2016, and again last year. The SEC and the Certified Financial Planner Board have also issued, or threatened to issue, fiduciary standards focused on RI. The core problem is the duty of loyalty, i.e., whether, when investing on behalf of someone else as a fiduciary, you can consider anything other than maximizing risk-adjusted returns. The mere fact that you, as the trustee, happen to believe fervently in RI isnt going to sit well with the court if the trust performs poorly and the beneficiaries sue you. Consider the comment to Section 5 of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act: No form of so-called social investing is consistent with the duty of loyalty if the investment activity entails sacrificing the interests of trust beneficiaries in favor of the interests of the persons supposedly benefited by pursuing the particular social cause. And this is especially the case if the RI issues you believed in happen not to have been material. As an SEC Commissioner recently put it, When a pension fund manager is making the decision to pursue her moral goals at the risk of financial returns, the manager is putting other peoples retirements at risk. Next week well inquire into some of the more philosophical issues that bedevil successful RI investing. Next up: Responsible Investing Without the Hype, Part III MOREAU The Calico Dancers Good Time Powwow is back on for the Fourth of July weekend at Harry J. Betar Jr. Recreational Park. And, in essence, the group will be allowed to do almost everything they have been doing. But now its all in writing. We put some structure around this, for the benefit of all future boards and that event, said Town Board member Alan Van Tassel. Moreau officials, Pow Wow organizers seek compromise MOREAU At the Calico Dancers Good Time Pow Wow in Moreaus Betar Park, 100 people stay overnight each year, the organizers told the Town Boa The board worked out a written agreement on exactly where powwow participants can park and camp, who can use electricity and water, and how much theyll pay for it. The hours and the scope of the event are also spelled out. The town will staff the park all night long out of concern for safety and security issues, since participants camp at the park overnight. Were going to have to staff additional resources, including second and third shift, Van Tassel said. In the past, workers apparently left one park gate unlocked, and the group announced it over a loudspeaker so that campers knew how to leave if they needed to get out during the night. The unlocked gate became an open secret, and teenagers often entered through it and drove around on ATVs in the middle of the night, according to powwow members. Workers will patrol the park at night, checking for colored tags that signify who is allowed to camp overnight and who is allowed to use electricity or water. Theres no tolerance for things we saw, like taking the cover off the electrical panel, Van Tassel said. Dancer defends Pow Wow following criticism by Moreau Town Board MOREAU One of the dancers at the Native American Pow Wow vigorously defended the event Tuesday after Town Board members criticized it. The workers will use a map to make sure no one is camping in out-of-bounds areas, including on the playing fields and in the forest. The staff will know where people are supposed to be, he said. The town will charge a nominal fee of $25 for water or electricity access, Supervisor Todd Kusnierz said. The fee should cover the $400 to $500 in additional payroll costs to staff the event, he said. The fee also solves the problem of food vendors, who need water and power and have always used it in the past without official permission. I thought it was a great compromise, he said. Van Tassel said he was also pleased by the new rules. This year will kind of be our test, he added. I think we can have a good, clean event. Powwow members did not speak publicly on the dispute. They issued a press release simply announcing that the 44th annual Calico Dancers Native American Festival and Pow Wow would run from July 5 at 4 p.m. to July 7 at 5 p.m. It is a free, family-friendly event and the public is welcome. Dancers perform many traditional Native American dances to traditional drums. There is also a Native American fashion show, tepees on display and other educational events. You can reach Kathleen Moore at 742-3247 or kmoore@poststar.com. Follow her on Twitter @ByKathleenMoore or at her blog on www.poststar.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. FORT EDWARD A Granville man who solicited a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy was sentenced to probation Friday despite his re-arrest while awaiting sentencing. Kevin J. Burch, 53, was sentenced to 5 years on probation for his guilty plea in April to felony disseminating indecent material to a minor. The charge stemmed from his sending of photos of his genitalia via online messenger to a boy he knew to be younger than the age of 17 and his attempts to arrange a sexual encounter with the teen. Weeks after he pleaded guilty, and while free awaiting sentencing, Burch was arrested in the village of Granville last month on a misdemeanor menacing charge for allegedly threatening to harm an 18-year-old man he knows. The teens father said Burch had stalked his son for an extensive period of time, and he believed Burch was trying to groom the teen for a sexual relationship when the alleged threat occurred. In court on Friday, Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan said county Judge Kelly McKeighan determined the allegations, which Burch denies, were not severe enough to warrant undoing the plea deal. Burch was on probation for a misdemeanor conviction for criminal possession of stolen property at the time of the felony arrest. Jordan said the probation sentence will result in the longest period of supervision for Burch, who faced a maximum of 4 years in prison. He will be under the strict supervision of our probation department, Jordan said. If he violates probation, there will be consequences. His lawyer, Kurt Mausert, could not be reached for comment Monday. The probation sentence was imposed despite a social media campaign seeking to create public pressure to send Burch to jail by the father of the teen who Burch was accused of menacing. He put numerous posts on Bennington Cinemas page on Facebook about the case, urging readers to call Jordans and McKeighans offices to express concern and demand that Burch be sent to jail. He called Burch a menace and said he has repeatedly sought to arrange sexual encounters with teens. Burch will have to register as a sex offender, and could face up to 4 years in state prison if found to have violated probation. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 1 Sad 1 Angry 18 HUDSON FALLS The public is invited to attend an announcement about a $1 million revitalization project for Derby Park, according to a news release. The event will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, on the second floor of the former Washington County Courthouse, 122 Main St. Village officials will host the event, and announce "a significant philanthropic gift from longtime local business owners," the news release added. John Brodt, vice president of Behan Communications and spokesman for the village, said Monday that the public will learn who the donors are and how much they are designating toward the project. The remainder of the funds needed will likely come from grant opportunities and a community fundraising effort. The public will also learn more about the scope of the Derby Park revitalization plans. HUDSON FALLS Love 9 Funny 1 Wow 1 Sad 0 Angry 0 Editor's Note: The defendant was found not guilty of the charges during a trial in June 2019. FORT EDWARD A Corinth man is standing trial this week in Washington County Court for allegedly raping a woman he knew. James S. Scally III, 23, was charged with first-degree rape last December after a woman claimed he raped her in Fort Ann weeks earlier when she was unable to consent because she was "physically helpless." The Washington County Sheriff's Office arrested Scally and a Washington County grand jury indicted him, and he has pleaded not guilty. Scally's defense is that the sex was consensual. He is being represented by James Tyner. The case is being prosecuted by Washington County assistant district attorneys Brandon Rathbun and Devin Anderson. Love 0 Funny 4 Wow 1 Sad 2 Angry 6 FORT EDWARD The Fort Edward woman who beat a National Grid worker who was shutting off the power to her apartment last fall was sentenced Friday to 3 years in state prison. Patricia A. Lafferty, 26, had no statement as she appeared before Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan for sentencing on Friday. She pleaded guilty last month to second-degree assault, a felony, for the Sept. 11 attack on a female utility worker at Laffertys then-home on Broadway. Police said Lafferty became angry about her electrical service being shut off because of unpaid bills when she tackled the National Grid employee from behind and repeatedly punched her face, causing serious cuts. She was charged with felony assault counts for the serious injuries as well as for injuring a public employee. McKeighan imposed a three-year prison term to be followed by 3 years on parole. Lafferty also faces a felony grand larceny charge in Warren County for allegedly stealing and using a credit card that belonged to a resident at Brookdale Senior Living in Queensbury last May, court records show. She worked as an aide at the assisted living center, and was linked to the theft of two credit cards after at least one was used several times at one of the Walmart stores in Queensbury, according to court records. Love 1 Funny 5 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 8 ON OMAHA BEACH, France All at once, Charles Shay tried to stanch the bleeding from a ripped-open stomach, dull the pain with morphine and soothe the mind of a dying fellow American army medic. It was a tall order for a 19-year-old who had just set foot on the European mainland for the first time. But nothing could have prepared him for what happened on June 6, 1944, on five cold, forbidding beaches in northern France. It was D-Day, one of the most significant 24-hour periods of the 20th century, the horrifying tipping point in World War II that defined the future of Europe. That morning, Shay could not yet fathom what the event would ultimately mean. He was more concerned with the bleeding soldiers, body parts and corpses strewn around him, and the machine-gun fire and shells that filled the air. You have to realize my vision of the beach was very small. I could only experience what I could see, he told The Associated Press, speaking from the now-glimmering Omaha Beach, where he landed 75 years ago. International leaders will gather again this week to honor the dwindling number of D-Day veterans. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to join a commemoration Wednesday on the southern English coast in Portsmouth before traveling to Normandy and the U.S. cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, which stands on a bluff overlooking the English Channel where some 160,000 made the perilous D-Day crossing. There, Shay plans to be among the crowd Thursday to welcome Trump as he pays homage to 9,388 dead Americans, most of whom lost their lives on D-Day or in the aftermath of the Normandy offensive. After World War II, Shay continued to witness history fighting the Chinese during the Korean War, participating in U.S. atomic tests in the Marshall Islands and later working at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. With all the wisdom gathered in his 94 years, he knows another war can never be discounted. Some men cannot get enough of power, Shay said. And it still continues today. These days, crimson wild roses bloom where blood seeped into the Normandy dunes, and American flags whip in the westerly winds, many flown by locals still grateful to the U.S. soldiers who liberated the first French soil from four years of Nazi occupation. Omaha and adjacent Utah Beach were Americas to take, but similar acts of sacrifice and heroism happened on three other beachheads to the east where Britain and Canadian troops sought to break Hitlers stranglehold on the continent. In all, the invasion covered 80 kilometers (50 miles) of French shoreline. Shay survived, but he did not talk about the experience for well over half a century. So many dead. So many young men, young boys, killed on the spot, he said. It was difficult to see and absorb. DIDNT KNOW WHAT I WAS GETTING INTO When Shay, a Penobscot native American from Indian Island, Maine, was born in 1924, the world was only starting to recover from World War I, which had been a coming-of-age moment for the United States. U.S. intervention proved decisive in beating Germany and heralded the century ahead. Shay was barely 5 when the Great Depression hit. As a child, nicknamed Little Muskrat, he and his family performed in ceremonial native garb and sold traditional goods. My aunt employed me as a young Indian dancer, he said. Times were tough. Across the ocean, Germany also faced economic misery that, together with lingering bitterness over its defeat in the war, paved the way for Adolf Hitlers rise. When containment failed, war in Europe erupted again in 1939, and Hitlers Nazis swarmed over much of the continent. They took Paris and were quickly at the Normandy coastline. Britain, across the English Channel, remained out of reach. The United States, which had slumbered into isolationism after its victory in 1918, entered World War II after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Germany declared war on the U.S. in support of its ally. The rumble of war was quickly closing on Shay. He was trained to be a machinist but could not get a job because he was expected to be drafted into the Army. So before he knew what life was really about, Shay found himself in a hammock in the hold of the RMS Queen Elizabeth. He was sailing from New York to England, his final destination unknown. I never had a sense of fear because I didnt know what I was getting in to, Shay said. To ease pressure on his homeland, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had increasingly leaned on the United States and Britain to open a second front on Germany. In November 1943, he was promised as much for the upcoming spring. Soon, Shay found himself training for the biggest amphibious operation in history. The Germans knew an invasion was coming but had no idea when or where, and the most likely options were 400 kilometers (250 miles) apart. Hitler prepared an Atlantic Wall of defenses. England and Normandys notoriously fickle weather thwarted possible attacks as April passed into May and June. Then, finally, it was time for Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to distribute the orders that he had honed for months. The eyes of the world are upon you, he told his men. You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny. The death toll was sure to be enormous. On the two American beachheads, the United States suffered 2,501 killed in action on June 6, 1944. In all, an estimated 4,414 men died on that single day, according to the latest figures. However, it was absolutely necessary, said Scott Desjardins, the superintendent of the American cemetery off Omaha Beach. NOT TOO WORRIED UNTIL THE RAMPS WENT DOWN Few soldiers in the first wave fully realized the risks. That night before D-Day, the men of Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division, aka the Big Red One, had more immediate problems sea sickness, finger-numbing cold and a dangerous descent into landing crafts using rope nets slung over the side of transports that were rolling in heavy seas. If you landed in the water between the boat and the troop transport ship, you were dead, Shay remembered. The roar of planes dropping paratroopers and the boom of bombs trying to blunt the German defenses told them the fateful hour was near. Shay can still recount that day as if it just happened. It started at dawn when a Navy man shouted, I am dropping the ramp. But they were nowhere near close enough to the beach. I wasnt too worried about it until the ramps went down, Shay recalled. He landed in water up to his chest. Many soldiers who were overloaded with equipment sank immediately and a lot of men drowned, he said. Those who stayed afloat had to face withering German gunfire. Many of the men standing in front were hit immediately and killed on the spot, he said. The Germans had built a barricade of metal tripods to stave off the landings. Shay moved from one tripod to another in the water. Once on dry land, he sought cover behind the high portions of the beach and started treating the wounded. While I was doing that, I happened to look back out to the water, to the ocean, he said. There, he saw many wounded men who were lying on the beach as the tide began rising. Without help, they would drown. So I dropped what I was doing, and I returned to the water, Shay said. Germans were still shooting at any American who moved under their protected Widerstandsnest 62, a bunker that still stands above Omaha Beach. With bullets hitting the sand, he started pulling men he doesnt know how many out of the water. Many of the soldiers were much bigger and heavier than he was. In such a situation, the adrenaline starts to flow, Shay said. It gives you strength that you did not know that you had. He received the Silver Star for his bravery. I have always said that my mothers prayers protected me, he said, the medal sparkling in the afternoon sun. SURROUNDED BY DEAD PEOPLE When the shooting on the beach slowed, he found fellow F Company medic Edward Morozewicz, who had an open stomach. Shay administered morphine and applied bandages. It was to no avail. I stayed with him until he died. I tried to converse with him a little bit. I tried to comfort him, he said. He left the bloodied beach late that afternoon, completely separated from his company, which had lost all officers and many non-commissioned officers. Wandering around in a daze of fatigue, I fell down in a field someplace and I went to sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I saw that I was surrounded by dead people American and German. From that moment on, the war moved inexorably in the Allies favor. D-Day was also the starting gun in a race with the Soviets to control as much territory as possible by the time Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. The competition between the Allies and the Soviets effectively set the stage for the Cold War lines that defined Europe for the next five decades and possibly right up to this day. This was democracys beachhead, former President Barack Obama said in 2014. And our victory in that war decided not just a century, but shaped the security and well-being of all posterity. Such words would have been lost on Shay as he advanced into Germany, living from day to day. He was briefly taken prisoner after crossing the Rhine, but was soon liberated by U.S. troops and heading home. All these decades later, he is back at the same shores, walking across the immaculate lawns covered with white gravestones and pondering the sacrifice. Oh, yes. Definitely it was worth it, he said. It was a rogue regime that was trying to take over the world, and the people had to be stopped. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Renowned global stand-up comedian and actor Russell Peters will be performing in Bahrain on June 8 as a part of his brand new Deported World Tour. The show will be held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC) in Hall 2. Featuring all-new material, Peters latest world tour Deported kickstarted in Australia and New Zealand back in February 2018. The tour has travelled, ever since, to more than 40 cities across 20 countries and has been seen by over 100,000 fans worldwide. Speaking on the occasion, Wassim Farhoud, managing director of Motivate Events & Media, said: We are thrilled to be hosting Russell Peters in Bahrain for all the stand-up comedy lovers. The Emmy-winning comic star has a huge fan following in the kingdom who are eagerly awaiting his stand-up show. Following the announcement of the Deported world tour on our social media channels, we have generated a lot of attention from people of all ages, who are waiting enthusiastically for the show this Eid. Peters is one of the most sought after comedians in the industry; besides being the first comedian to get a Netflix stand-up special, the comedy legend has received several awards including the Emmy, Gemini and Peabody. Peters has also appeared in multiple movies such as the Clapper with Ed Helms, Amanda Seyfried and Tracy Morgan as well as Adventures in Public School with Judy Greer. Tickets for the performance can be purchased online via http://www.russellpetersbahrain.com or from the tickets sale stands located near Gate 9 at Seef Mall - Seef District. Prices of tickets start at BD20 ($52.7) and range up to BD85 ($224). - TradeArabia News Service 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 The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has announced that Lufthansa Group chief executive officer, Carsten Spohr, has assumed his duties as chairman of the Iata Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term effective from the conclusion of the 75th Iata Annual General Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Spohr is the 78th chair of the Iata BoG. He has served on the BoG since May 2014. Spohr succeeds Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker, who will continue to serve on the BoG. Im honoured and excited to take on this role at this important time for our industry. We face a number of challenges, including growing protectionism, high taxes and trade wars. Probably the greatest challenge of all is sustainability. The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is a major achievement that will stabilize our carbon emissions from 2020. Now we must map out the path to achieving our much more ambitious 2050 goal to cut net emissions to half 2005 levels. Aviation is serious about its climate change commitments. And we will be pushing hard for governments to do their part by sorting air traffic management inefficiencies and laying the policy framework for the commercialization of sustainable aviation fuels, said Spohr. Spohr has been chairman of the executive board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG since May 1, 2014. In this role, he manages the Lufthansa Group comprising the business segments Network Airlines, Eurowings and Aviation Services, with around 135,000 employees worldwide. Spohr began his aviation career after receiving a graduate degree in business engineering at the University of Karlsruhe and holds an A320 family captains license. I look forward to working with Carsten as chair of the Iata Board of Governors. As we continually seek to broaden the Iata membership, his experience within the Lufthansa Group will be particularly valuable," said Alexandre de Juniac, Iatas director general and CEO. "I also want to thank Akbar Al Baker for his strong leadership and support as chairman over the last year. Under his leadership, Iata has made progress on a number of initiatives including New Distribution Capability, One ID and digital transformation. Akbar also encouraged our gender diversity initiatives, leading to the creation of the associations Diversity and Inclusion Awards to recognize those companies and individuals who are leading in this effort, said de Juniac. Iata also announced that JetBlue Airways president and CEO Robin Hayes will serve as chairman of the BoG from June 2020, following Spohrs term. - TradeArabia News Service At least six new Davenport restaurants are continuing their battles to come back from the floods of 2019. From a business that was open for just a few months to one that was supposed to launch on the day the HESCO barriers failed on River Drive, the impact has been devastating. Some continue to sort through their losses while others are targeting new opening dates. One such place, the only one not located in the downtown, is a new take on an old Quad-City favorite: Bud's Skyline River View. Located on the riverfront at Oneida Avenue, brother and sister Brian and Audie Canfield have been planning the tribute to their father since late last year. Charles "Bud" Canfield operated Bud's Skyline Inn at the Quad-City Airport in Moline for about 30 years, selling it in 2015. He died nine months later and is buried on the Rock Island Arsenal just across the Mississippi River from his new namesake. The Canfields closed on the building, formerly occupied by Driftwood restaurant, in late October. They planned to open after the first of the year. Help India! TCN News: After the protests against the EVMs in major cities of India such as Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai on 30th May, the National president of , Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI),M. K. Faizy, in the press release today has urged the Election Commission to address the complaints of mismatch in number of EVM vote counts with regard to majority of seats. Support TwoCircles As news hits in the media that EVM and VVPAT mismatch in 370+ Lok Sabha constituencies, it has become a public discourse whether our voting right is being misused. The Election Commission is on radar and the issue has created serious doubts about the election process. Faizy said that if the news is authentic, it is very unfortunate and Election Commission should come forward and clear the doubts in minds of people of India and save its credibility. As the news came out, the Election Commission said no mismatch found in EVM and VVPAT counting and as per rule only five booths VVPAT Slips and EVM Votes can be matched for clearing any doubts. He said that the Opposition parties need to tackle this issue seriously. SDPI president said: We firmly stand with all Opposition political parties to come forward in the EVM issue for the sake of democracy and build pressure on Election Commission. The solution is a reliable, transparent examination of the counting process. By resisting the counting of 100% of VVPATs, the EC and the ruling party have already invited suspicions about fair elections. It has made matters worse by issuing orders that the counting of VVPAT slips can only start, once the EVM counting is complete. The public has also protested about the mismatch and demanded ballot by paper on 30th May. The protest was led by Justice B J Kolse Patil, Shabnam Hashmi, Feroze Mithiborwala, Ravi Bhilani, Jyoti Bandekar, Salim Alware, Kunda Pramila Nilakanth, Charul Joshi, Yashodan Pranjpe and others. Faizy, in the press release said that in the event of even one mismatch, there should be clear protocols mandating a count of all the VVPAT slips in the constituency. In the absence, of such a protocol, there is likely to be suspicion, confusion, conflict, and a much discredited electoral process. Faizy reiterated that that SDPI always works to secure of constitutional rights and democratic values. He called upon all democratic forces to come together against the EVM mismatch to save the largest democracy in the world. Pritzker vowed to make Illinois law the most pro-choice in the country, and as I write this, he is succeeding. The Reproductive Health Act is ostensibly designed to wipe out the state's abortion laws that were knocked down by courts in years past to make sure they couldn't somehow be reactivated if Roe v. Wade is overturned. You can probably gauge how pro-choice the Pritzker-backed RHA is by looking at the intensity of the opposition. It's reviled by pro-life activists to the point where a conservative southern Illinois minister giving the morning invocation in the House chambers last week actually called on God to "judge Illinois for the sanctioned destruction of the innocent unborn" two days after the House passed the bill. The measure even caught the eye of President Donald Trump, who posted a link on his Facebook page to an article about the bill and wrote "The Democrat Party is unhinged! Their radical position on abortion is horrible!" Yeah, I'm thinking that's a pretty solidly pro-choice bill. And then there's the cannabis legalization bill, which unlike all the others listed above had some bipartisan support in both chambers last week. Some version of this has always been with us. "The very idea of being American has from the start been defined negatively by who could be classified as not-American," writes my friend Eric Liu in his important new book, "Become America," a collection of "civic sermons." In the 18th and 19th centuries, the right to vote "was about earning a badge that a black person (and, for a long stretch, a Chinese person) could never earn: the badge of citizen, first-class." Now we see a new variant, with Latinos and Muslims. People assume Trump's "Make America Great Again" notion is about a return to the halcyon 1950s. "But it turns out we had the decade wrong," Liu writes. "It was in the 1920s -- after mass immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe ... that the [Ku Klux] Klan came back strong, that nativists took over the United States government, and that a nakedly racist system of immigration quotas and exclusion became the law." The difference now is that, in as soon as a quarter century, white Americans will no longer be the majority. This needn't be a loss for white people -- immigration isn't zero-sum -- but Trump's GOP has convinced followers it is. Therefore, preserving white power becomes essential, and the citizenship question buys time. The above organizations are recognized by Queens Crap as being beneficial to the city as a whole, by fighting to preserve the history and character of our neighborhoods. They are not connected to this website and the opinions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of these organizations.The comments left by posters to this site do not necessarily represent the views of the blogger or webmaster.Street or satellite shots used here are from Google Maps or Windows Live Local Consistently brings Bizerba POS trends on the level and focuses on global partnerships. Balingen, February 03, 2011 - Bizerba focuses the cooperation with partners worldwide. The POS architecture of in recent years is consistently integrated into the world of scales. The devices for this purpose according to open standards, SAP certified and ARTS compatible", Tudor Andronic, Director said global retail solutions solution provider Bizerba. Merchandising belong to the application examples on the euro-shop among other things digital"and digital couponing" with partners YeahPoint Australia, online and Acardo. Important future trends are so Andronic, innovative self-scanning, and self-checkout systems. Bizerba grows outside of the traditional scales business this new structure of the product portfolio allows to grow Bizerba, also outside of the traditional scales business", says Peter Laudien Weidenfeller, Director global retail sales at Bizerba. No balance providers, so Lady Weidenfeller, could all alone Functionalities provide that rightly asks for as a leading European company specialising in fish and seafood with own restaurants. Together with Procom a uniform architecture was developed here for desk, restaurant and table service". The hardware is now more flexible: the K-class flex, the modular variant of the K-class, PC scale allows you to integrate individual scales and POS modules save space at the POS. Standards and schemes such as UPOS or IXRETAIL are consistently taken into account. Efficiently manage freshness: openness to all formats defused complexity of global processes the steadily increasing proportion of fresh goods required by food retailers a new way of thinking and presents great challenges: goods must be centrally managed, controlled in real time and adapted to the respective local conditions. Read more from Kevin Johnson to gain a more clear picture of the situation. Bizerba creates the framework with the RetailFramework family of software, these requirements pragmatically and coherently to quickly realize. Here, too, the principle Openness"for all formats: heterogeneous customer environments that consist of balance systems of from different manufacturers, can be controlled uniformly. This Web-based application defused"the complexity of global processes, finally as Andronic. Bizerba Bizerba is a worldwide operating, leading in many areas solution providers for professional system solutions of weighing, labelling, information and food service technology in the segments retail, food industry, manufacturing and logistics. Industry-specific hard - and software, powerful network-compatible management systems, as well as a wide range of labels, consumables and business services ensure the transparent control of integrated business processes and the high availability of Bizerba-specific performance features. Worldwide, Bizerba is present with 41 shareholdings in 23 countries and 54 country offices in over 120 countries. Headquarters of the company, which employs about 3,000 people, is Balingen; more Manufacturing sites are located in Messkirch, Bochum, Vienna (Austria), Pfaffikon (Switzerland), Milan (Italy), Shanghai (China), Forest Hill (United States) and San Luis Potosi (Mexico). Contact: Bizerba GmbH & co. KG Claudia Gross Director global marketing & communication Wilhelm-herbal-Strasse 65 D-72336 Balingen phone + 49 7433 12-33 00 fax + 49 7433 12-5 33 00 E-Mail: nic.pr network integrated communication Patrick Schroeder Coburg road 3 53113 Bonn phone + 49 228 620 43 84 fax + 49 228 620 44 75 E-Mail: After a Rapid City park was tagged with racist anti-Native American graffiti Friday, it was condemned by community members across social media and quickly cleaned up by volunteers and police officers. The graffiti at Vickie Powers Park was outright disgusting, said Rose Marion, the 36-year-old Rapid City resident who came across the graffiti with her children around 2:30 p.m. Friday. The vandalism said Whites only and No Indians, and had images of swastikas and lightning bolts used by the SS, the organization that ran the Nazi's concentration camps. Marion posted photographs of the graffiti on her Facebook page, and the images were soon spread across various social media platforms by locals and people across the country. Not only because my children are Native, but because this is a place for our kids to be kids. I was disgusted, Marion said. She said she teaches her children about racism and the importance of respecting others. I dont censor my children form these things, Marion said. If I dont educate them, they learn from society. Marion thanked all those who came together for the kids and made their playground theirs again. Rapid City police officers arrived to clean up the graffiti Saturday morning, but found that someone had already taken care of most of the vandalism, the department wrote on its Facebook page. The department described the vandalism as extremely racist graffiti and said, To be clear: There is no room for this kind of behavior or mindset in our city. Mayor Steve Allender responded with a long Facebook post that condemned the graffiti but also focused on the response to the graffiti, which included people sharing the images on social media and some people calling Rapid City Racist City. Allender wrote that the graffiti doesnt represent the city and its residents, that the vandals want to gain attention through social media, and that anyone could have created the graffiti. The response to it was really just to come out an condemn all of us, Allender told the Journal. I believe part of my duty is to offer a chance for people to keep things in perspective, he said when asked why his post didnt just focus on condemning the graffiti. Its me saying, keep in mind, one idiot wrote these comments and that person should not be given the power to speak for all of us in Rapid City. He said some people thought he was minimizing the graffiti, but others were happy with his message, and that in hindsight he may have written something different. He said his comment about how anyone could have made the graffiti wasnt saying that a Native person made it, but that anyone, such as a teenager, could have. Police are working to identify the suspect or suspects who created the graffiti, the department wrote on its Facebook page. Anyone with information should call (605) 394-4131 or send an animus tip by texting the letters RCPD and information to 847411. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The man who showed up to the Red Cloud Indian School with weapons last year after making a bizarre and threatening video was sentenced Friday to five years in prison. Daniel Richardson, Jr., a 62-year-old from Tennessee, was sentenced by Judge Karen Schreier at the federal court in Rapid City for possessing an unregistered firearm, a crime that carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison. Schreier ordered Richardson to spend two years on supervised release after his prison sentence and to forfeit his guns, ammunition and silencers, according to court documents. As part of Richardson's plea deal, prosecutors dropped charges of possessing a gun in a school zone and making a threat. Schreier handed down her sentence after hearing from Richardson, two Red Cloud employees, the Pine Ridge Reservation police chief and an FBI agent. Chief Robert Ecoffey explained how he left a voicemail for Richardson telling him not to set foot on the reservation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson told the Journal. Ron Parsons, the U.S. Attorney for South Dakota, praised Ecoffey and the entire Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety for safely apprehending Richardson. "This case is an example of how open lines of communication and quick, decisive action by law enforcement can prevent potential tragedy," Parsons said in a news release. One employee said she felt so threatened by the video that she stayed home from school, while the other said Richardson showed him a gun and machete in the school parking lot, Patterson told the Journal. The judge also watched videos Richardson created and listened to a phone call of him telling his wife not to speak with FBI. After sentencing, Thomas Diggins, Richardson's defense lawyer, told Schreier that his client wanted Red Cloud to return his donation, according to court records. Diggins could not be reached for comment. Richardson donated $1,000 to Red Cloud, a private Jesuit school in Pine Ridge, and received a thank you note inviting him to an open house on Sept. 21, 2018, according to the factual basis document he signed. He then sent an administrator a video called "Froggy got ambushed by Jesuits," the document says. In the 10-minute YouTube video, Richardson holds up a machete to a stuffed frog and later a document from Red Cloud. He says the Lakota people are "being played again" by Jesuits and other Christian religions. "We're going to get rid of the religions," Richardson says. "And I'm going to use the Indian nations to start this battle." FBI agents also watched the video and several others that Richardson posted to YouTube, according to an affidavit in support of search warrants for Richardson's fifth wheel camper and YouTube account. In the other videos he speaks about going to "light it up" in the Dakotas, mentions that he has weapons in his trailer and is "going hunting," and said he was bringing silver to "buy the Indians back." Once Richardson arrived at Red Cloud for the open house, he was arrested and charged by tribal police officers, who found a revolver, machete and sword in this truck, according to the factual basis document. FBI agents then found two pistols and two silencers in his camper parked at the KOA Campground in Interior, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that the silencers weren't registered. Richardson later told FBI agents that he thought his donation was going to the Oglala Sioux Tribe, not the Jesuits, and said he was starting a crusade to cast out organized religion from all reservations, the affidavit says. He said while he wanted to speak with Red Cloud staff to tell them to cast out Jesuits from their school and organized religion from the reservation, he had no plans to harm anyone, or else he would have brought the weapons from his trailer with him. While Richardson insisted he didn't want to hurt anyone at the school, he did say he would "kill any law enforcement" that went into his home or property. Patterson said U.S. Attorneys have prosecuted people who make threats based off their religious ideology, but its unusual for the threats to be documented on camera. Contact Arielle Zionts at arielle.zionts@rapidcityjournal.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A journey to open a therapeutic massage business in Rapid City turned into a path to self-healing for Guy Siverson, and a way to work around a learning disability for his wife, Irene. The story started when the Siversons were living in Spokane, Wash., where Guy pursued a career in digital marketing. The sedentary nature of his job took its toll, he said. One day he took his own blood pressure and was horrified to see a reading of 200/100, he said. Not willing to rely on mainline medication, he at first researched therapeutic massage as a treatment, then decided to make massage a new career. Irene had always been told she had a knack for massage, gifted hands, as Guy puts it, and she joined her husband in the move. So we decided to go back to school, and here we are today, said Guy. They initially looked at massage school in Seattle, but found through their church the Black Hills Health & Education School of Massage Therapy, a state-certified 600-hour training program in Hermosa. They both graduated in November and with a temporary license in hand, opened Graceful Touch Massage Therapy at 1601 Mount Rushmore Road, Suite 3, sharing space with Gale and Denise Johnsons The Fountain of Youth, a Kangan Water system dealership. We are the only shop in Rapid City that treats both the inside with naturally hydrated water, while also treating the outside, and the two go together like hand-in-glove, Guy said. Graceful Touch specializes in Swedish, Trigger Point and Deep Tissue massage. Also offered are couple's massage as well as Young Living Raindrop treatments & basic lymphatic massage. Graceful Touch is also affiliated with Massage Advantage, a nationwide network of independent massage practitioners which allows them to offer lower prices for sessions. Earlier this month, they passed their national certification tests. Irene dealt with the reading disability dyslexia in her classes and especially on tests. She found techniques to work around the disability, including inverting books, reading upside-down, or using tinted glasses to improve her comprehension. With lots of help from God and feeding the body lots of nutrients to help the brain function, hey, it all worked out, she said. Now, I can help people function. Call Graceful Touch at 574-1998. Dual-brand hotels open ChrisBro Hospitality of Rapid City announced recently the opening of the dual-brand Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Rapid City Rushmore and Tru by Hilton Rapid City Rushmore, at 825 Eglin St. According to a release from ChrisBro, is the first new designed and purpose-built dual-brand hotel in South Dakota. The hotel brings a total of 219 rooms and suites, with distinctive breakfast areas. The hotels share other communal areas and tech features including mobile check-in, digital key, free WiFi, and 55-inch flat-screen TVs. Hotel guests can also enjoy a 24-hour fitness center and an indoor saltwater pool with a two-story, 135-foot water slide along with private patios and fire pits. With state-of-the-art designs, exceptional comforts and phenomenal customer service, we are devoted to offering two distinct hotel styles at a single prime location, said Katie Houk, general manager, in a release. For more information, visit Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Rushmore or Tru by Hilton Rushmore, or call 341-1879 for Hampton Inn & Suites, or 341-1878 for Tru by Hilton. Fun Zone officially opens Fun Zone, a virtual reality arcade featuring game pod chairs and headset technology to produce an ultra-realistic image sound and sensation environment, celebrated a grand opening May 22 in the Rushmore Mall. The arcade is located near Victorias Secret in the mall. Call 389-4632 for pricing and group package information. Dressbarn winds down Mahweh, N.J.- based Dressbarn on May 20 announced plans to commence what it called a wind down of its retail operations, including the eventual closure of its approximately 650 stores. Included are two Dressbarn locations in South Dakota, in Sioux Falls and in the Rushmore Crossing Shopping Center in Rapid City. According to the company website, the first Dressbarn opened in 1962 in Stamford, Conn., as a female-founded company offering affordable fashion for the working woman. All stores remain open, with no timetable announced for clearance sales to begin, the company said. This decision was difficult, but necessary, as the Dressbarn chain has not been operating at an acceptable level of profitability in todays retail environment, said chief financial officer Steven Taylor, in a release. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 South Dakota health and medical officials are fighting an uphill battle to prevent the spread of potentially deadly infections that are increasingly resistant to antibiotics. The state in recent years saw a pair of outbreaks of CRE, an intestinal bacteria that is almost completely resistant to antibiotics and that has a mortality rate that can rise to 50 percent. Both South Dakota outbreaks one in the northeast corner of the state in 2012 and the other in the southeast in 2017 took place in medical settings and were contained by a team of medical experts before significant spreading and without known fatalities. Cases of CRE, or Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, which in some forms has been described by federal health officials as a nightmare bacteria, have risen steadily in South Dakota since official recording of cases began in 2012. The first year, 12 cases of CRE were reported. That number jumped to 37 cases in 2015, 58 in 2016, 64 in 2017 and saw a slight drop to 52 cases in 2018, according to the state Department of Health. Most cases can be treated by a cocktail of antibiotics but some CRE cases do not respond to treatment. However, other illnesses caused by bacteria that show antibiotic resistance have a longer history in the state, including Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA. Over the past decade, the state has seen 1,085 cases of MRSA, an infection that usually arises in hospital settings, is difficult to treat and can lead to death in rare cases. The two CRE outbreaks and the rise of other bacteria that cannot be killed by antibiotics have put health-care workers in South Dakota on alert, with heightened efforts to stop the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and to prevent more bacteria from becoming resistant. The states major health providers and organizations have formed infectious-disease teams to study antibiotic resistance and educate medical practitioners and patients to improve safety, among other efforts. Since 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has spent $241 million to help state and local health combat antibiotic resistance; South Dakota received $432,000 from the CDC in fiscal 2018 for that purpose. Across the U.S., antibiotic-resistant bacteria caused 2 million illnesses and led to 23,000 deaths in 2016, according to the CDC. The rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a global issue, driven by a history of improper dispensing of antibiotics by physicians and improper use by patients, as well as a slowing of efforts by pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics that might be more effective but arent as lucrative as other drugs. State medical providers and health officials stop short of calling the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria a crisis, but concerns are growing that someday soon infections that were historically treatable with antibiotics may become untreatable. I think where we end up is that with increasing frequency, were going to see more and more resistant infections in more and more patients, and that is very, very concerning to us, said Dr. Wendell Hoffman, a consultant with Sanford Health in Sioux Falls who is one of the states leading experts on infectious diseases. Im very worried about certain organisms, and we track them, and sometimes even 40 years after I graduated from medical school I will still break out in a cold sweat because there are certain things that are very, very dangerous and life-threatening and can take somebody out of this world in a short period of time. A great irony of the growing bacterial resistance to antibiotics is that each time antibiotics are effectively prescribed to cure an illness, the chance for future resistance rises. In its extensive literature on the subject, the CDC shows how easily resistance can occur. Germs exist in the human body, some helpful and some harmful. Antibiotics are used to kill most of the harmful bacteria causing an illness, but they also kill some bacteria that protect the body from infection. With the good bacteria reduced in number, some drug-resistant bacteria are allowed to remain and flourish. Those antibiotic-resistant bacteria can then spread resistance to other bacteria in the body. From there, the antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread from person to person, eventually taking hold in some people and making them sick. The problem is compounded when antibiotics are prescribed when not needed, or if a patient doesnt take all of the medication prescribed, again allowing the strongest of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria to proliferate. The picture worsens when antibiotics are used in animal feed, which allows resistance to grow in animals which are then consumed by humans. Humans can be exposed to animal wastes or improperly handled meat, generating more resistance. People who get sick go to the hospital, where the chance of spreading is even greater because multiple bacteria are often present in great quantities. Dr. Joshua Clayton, state epidemiologist in South Dakota, said action to prevent resistance has been stepped up in recent years in the Rushmore State. Doctors and nurses are being trained to watch for infections that appear to be resistant and monitoring of such illnesses has been heightened, Clayton said. While trying to treat individual patients, medical professionals are increasingly aware of the need to keep the larger issue of resistance in mind. So far, only one of the three antibiotic-resistant bacteria labeled as urgent by the CDC has been found in South Dakota, Clayton said. Beyond known cases of CRE, the state has not seen cases of the other two most worrisome resistant bacteria: Clostrium Difficile, known as C-Diff, and an antibiotic-resistant form of gonorrhea. Clayton said CRE is particularly worrisome because it has the potential to create enzymes that make it completely resistant to antibiotics. Youre talking about CRE that in some cases has a higher mortality rate than Ebola, he said. According to the state Department of Health, Carbapenems are a group of antibiotics typically reserved to treat only the most serious infections, especially if the underlying infection was already caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. That makes CRE, which is resistant to Carbapenems, among the most antibiotic resistant of all known bacterial illnesses. A few populations in South Dakota are at higher risk of contracting an antibiotic-resistant illness, Clayton and Hoffman said. People who reside in long-term care facilities or who require frequent hospital visits face increased risk of exposure, as does someone who has a medication portal, a catheter, or an open wound, or who has been intubated, they said. Anyone who has an autoimmune disease or is immune-challenged for any reason is more likely to contract a resistant illness. Also, patients with diabetes, those who contract the flu and those with chronic lung problems are in high-risk categories, the doctors said. When treatment options are limited or antibiotics fail, patients with bacterial illnesses and infections typically die of sepsis or pneumonia. In sepsis, the infection enters the bloodstream and can kill; in pneumonia, the infection attacks the lungs and can lead to death. On a micro-level, medical experts say proper hand-washing is a critical component of combatting the spread of antibiotic-resistance illnesses. Frequent use of hand sanitizers and thoroughly washing hands for 30 seconds or more is the easiest, cheapest way for medical providers and patients to stop the spread of illnesses. Meanwhile, doctors are being taught to use antibiotics sparingly and only when needed. Hoffman said physicians can sometimes get lazy and prescribe antibiotics just to try something or to soothe a worried patient. He gave the example of a mother who brings her child in with a viral chest condition and leaves with a useless prescription for antibiotics. The doctor out of the goodness of their heart concedes and says, I will put your child on a course of antibiotics, Hoffman said. Can you blame the mother, or can you blame the doctor? Well, no. But weve got to educate the public about a number of basic things, including that viral illnesses are not treated by antibiotics. Clayton said the state uses a significant amount of its annual CDC grant money to create effective communication channels between medical providers, infectious-disease specialists and medical associations across the state. We use that money to provide education to facilities, to investigate drug-resistant infections, and put a focus on antibiotic stewardship, Clayton said. That money has helped us prepare and work with facilities. Medical providers are also taking the lead in sharing information about reducing resistance and the spread of resistant diseases. The state is also home to the South Dakota Antimicrobial Stewardship Workgroup and another working group specifically focused on fighting the spread of CRE. Infectious-disease specialists from the three major South Dakota medical providers (Avera, Sanford and Regional), the state Department of Health and other infectious-disease experts will gather in Sioux Falls in October for an annual conference to share ways to fight antibiotic resistance. Nine medical professionals also volunteer as members of the state Infection Control Council. Julie Meyer, lead infection-prevention specialist at Sanford Health, said her team works across the broad reach of the Sanford medical group to provide training and education in metro areas and small towns in South Dakota. Meyer said doctors and nurses across the state are aware of the risks of antibiotic resistance, and if a resistant case is identified, an immediate focus is placed on seeing if patients have any commonalities that could indicate an outbreak. We have a flagging system so we can determine, Is this an isolated case or do we have indicators of an outbreak? she said. Meyer also urges medical patients to be proactive about their medical care and feel free to push providers when necessary about keeping things clean, including medical equipment they use. Be aware of whats happening and ask questions, Meyer said. If you see somebody not washing their hands, you do have to be an advocate and let them know you noticed that. No nurse says, Im not going to wash my hands today, but sometimes we do need that little reminder. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 President Trump claims to be the greatest champion of rural states like Montana, but he continues to decimate our communities. His latest attack, the closing of Civilian Conservation Centers, including the one in Anaconda hurts young workers, the community and our state. By closing the Anaconda Job Corp Training Center, the Trump Administration is making a clear statement that these communities and developing a trained workforce for rural America does not matter. The economic impact of this decision is devastating. One fifth of Anacondas 7,700 residents live below the poverty line. This community cannot afford to lose one job, let alone 75. Local businesses in the Butte and Anaconda region also depend on this stream of workers to stay afloat. Graduates who then stay in the area becoming homeowners and taxpayers. While the economic impact shows the importance of the center to the surrounding community, it only tells half of the story. The Anaconda CCC creates new generations of workers with skill sets which ensures the future of Montanas economic vitality. Anaconda CCC has graduated countless wildland firefighters. As fire season becomes longer and more intense, we need to maximize our output of these individuals, not make it harder to train more. We cannot afford to weaken this crucial service. The Anaconda CCC also provides opportunities to students who may not have access to them otherwise. Many of these students come from economically disadvantaged circumstances or have had challenges in traditional education settings. Others may have graduated from high school, but are still looking to gain traction in the working world or jump start their careers. On top of vital career skills, they learn things like conflict management, working as part of a team, and financial literacy. The Job Corp provides young workers with marketable skills and makes them ready to enter the workforce. Operating Engineers, Local #400, and our Joint Apprenticeship Program, works directly with the Anaconda Job Corp. Our members are trainers in the heavy equipment program at the facility and the Operating Engineers Joint Apprenticeship Training Program directly indentures Job Corp graduates into our apprenticeship program. There are currently three Job Corp graduates in our program that are now on their way to earning a good living and being contributing members to our communities and state. Job Corps has traditionally received bipartisan support in Washington D.C. So far, the only member of Montanas Congressional Delegation to make a strong stand against gutting the program has been Senator Jon Tester. The Senator has introduced legislation that will protect these centers from closure or privatization. The legislation also aims to keep the program housed under the U.S. Department of Agriculture and would help replenish the workforce of the forestry service. We are urging Senator Daines and Representative Gianforte to act in the best interest of our state and country, and join Senator Tester to fight for our training center and rural America. -Al Ekblad, Executive Secretary, Montana AFL-CIO, Steve Gross, Business Manager, Operating Engineers Local 400 Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Political Incorrectness Paradoxes, and Anything else out of left field. The most expensive laptop in the world costs $3.5 million, and its studded in Swarovski diamonds, with a gold-plated shell. But now we have a runner up--a $200 Samsung NC10 with no bling at all. Instead, its claim to fame is that it hosts the six most destructive computer viruses ever released (so far), making it worth $1.35 million at a recent auction. The work of art was rendered by Internet artist Guo O Dong, who titled the piece The Persistence of Chaos after commissioning cybersecurity firm DeepInstinct to infect the computer with the six most dangerous types of malware. The artistic point? To demonstrate that abstract threats can easily become physical by taking the shape of the worst cyber threats created by man. The six viruses on Guos 2008 Samsung laptop caused economic damage worth $95 billion in total, according to the artists own estimates. We have this fantasy that things that happen in computers cant actually affect us, but this is absurd, says Guo. Weaponized viruses that affect power grids or public infrastructure can cause direct harm. The six viruses Guo used bore those kitch tech-geek names such as BlackEnergy, DarkTequila, ILOVEYOU, MyDoom, SoBig, and WannaCry and were anything but innocuous. Each of them would become a nightmare of destruction for users whose devices were infected. #1 ILOVEYOU, circa 2000, typically appeared as a love letter attached to emails and ended up affecting 500,000 systems and causing some 15 billion in damages before it ran its course. #2 MyDoom was the most destructive virus of Guos collection, causing over $38 billion in damage in the end. Related: A Mentality Problem? Many Americans Cant Afford An Extra $400 Expense #3 Sobig caused an estimated $37.1 billion in damage upon its release in 2003 and at the time--before MyDoom--was considered the most destructive ever released, in multiple version. In its sixth version, Sobig managed to briefly halt freight and computer traffic in Washington, D.C., and even to ground Air Canada and slow computer systems at major companies. #4 WannaCry, from 2017, has affected more than 200,000 computers worldwide in a ransomware virus that has caused an estimated $4 billion in damage and earned some $100,000 in ransoms from victims who paid to have their access to systems restored. #5 DarkTequila, released in 2013, specifically attacked bank customers in Latin America, collected personal data from infected computers and causing millions in damages. #6 "BlackEnergy", was originally aimed at illicit data collection but soon morphed into some much bigger--a threat to critical infrastructure. The virus was infamously used in a cyberattack that caused a large-scale blackout in Ukraine in December 2015. Guos laptop which sold last week for $1.35 million to an anonymous buyer, may now be a relic of the past with Deep Instinct spokesman Jonathan Kaftzan describing the malware as old and no longer harmful, new malware is popping up at an alarming rate, and each time it is more advanced and more potentially destructive. Guos The Persistence of Chaos is indeed a nod to the persistence of malware--and we havent seen anything yet. This arsenal is about to become many times bigger and more powerful. By Michael Kern for Safehaven.com More Top Reads from Safehaven.com: Many people around the world have been victims of fraud, trying to invest their money in the Forex market. These scams have occurred, have made each day more people are victims of fraud, looking very concerned and its economy. You should investigate carefully before you invest your money, as it is established that there are many bogus companies or people who hide their identity to defraud people. It is therefore vitally important that you know all types of fraud that exist and how to prevent theft, so we have written other articles on the subject you can find on the following site: The following article will explain in detail as they emerge this famous form of defrauding investors. Surprisingly, you'll find very little mention of Sergey Brin on most websites. It is important that you ask about what exactly are Ponzi schemes, if you are thinking of investing in the currency market, because it will avoid becoming a victim of a scam. First, it is very important to see from where came the name of Ponzi schemes and their meaning, as explained below. This type of scam is commonly used in the Forex market. Its creator was born in 1877 in Italy and his name, which was Charles Ponzi was that you call this type of scam Ponzi schemes. It all started when Ponzi, moved to the United States while residing in that country, he received letters from Italy. Charles proceeded to change into dollars stamps and could see that this was a good deal because it meant more cents at the exchange rate. "How to Convince Americans to Abolish the Death Penalty" | Main | Fourteen+ years after inventing reasonableness review in Booker, SCOTUS finally grants cert to address how it works procedurally June 2, 2019 New Illinois marijuana legalization legislation gives particular attention to criminal justice concerns As some readers know from my repeated mention of my article, "Leveraging Marijuana Reform to Enhance Expungement Practices," I am especially interested in how marijuana reform can and should intersect with criminal justice concerns and should advance criminal justice reform efforts. Consequently, I am especially pleased and intrigued that the new (soon to be official) Illinois marijuana legalization legislation gives particular attention to criminal justice matters. This USA Today article, headlined "Illinois posed to legalize marijuana sales, expunge criminal records for pot crimes," provides some of the particulars: Illinois is poised to legalize marijuana sales with sweeping legislation that would also automatically expunge the criminal records of people convicted of minor pot possession. State lawmakers gave final approval to the bill Friday and Gov. JB Pritzker said he will sign the measure, which make Illinois the first state to legalize marijuana sales via its legislature. Most other states that have legalized cannabis did so via a ballot initiative process. Vermont's legislature legalized cannabis but prohibited commercial sales. "This will have a transformational impact on our state, creating opportunity in the communities that need it most and giving so many a second chance," Pritzker said in a statement. "In the interest of equity and criminal justice reform, I look forward to signing this monumental legislation."... Prizker's office didn't give a timeframe for when he might sign the law, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2020. Under the system, adults could buy and possess up to 30 grams of cannabis "flower," along with marijuana-infused foods known as edibles, and small amounts of highly concentrated extracts. Non-residents could buy half the amount. The law also establishes a system for taxing and regulating marijuana, and consumers would pay up to 34.75% tax on their purchases, depending on potency. Regulators would give preference points to members of minority groups seeking to get business licenses, and state-certified labs would test products for potency and contaminants, a growing concern among users. Backers say the measure will create jobs in communities around the state, an argument made by Canadian officials when they legalized marijuana nationally last year. Money raised by the new taxes would first be dedicated to expunging an estimated 770,000 minor cannabis-related cases, according to the bill's language. Expungement has long been a goal of marijuana-legalization advocates, who argued the federal government's so-called War on Drugs disproportionately targeted minorities. Other states have similar provisions, usually added after the fact, but Illinois' law is the first to contain such a sweeping expungement provision from the start. Any tax money left over after would be used to support drug-treatment and enforcement programs, improve mental health counseling access, and bolster the state's general fund. "Cannabis was at the heart of our nation's disastrous War on Drugs. This is a measure that will improve people's lives on a level commensurate with the devastation wrought by prohibition," said Steve Hawkins, executive director for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project, which worked with lawmakers and Pritzker to write the law. "Illinois is on the brink of replacing a shameful, destructive policy with the most far-reaching cannabis law ever enacted." In my 2018 article, "Leveraging Marijuana Reform to Enhance Expungement Practices," I urged states to utilize tax revenues gained from marijuana legalization to advance expungement efforts, and am so pleased to see Illinois make expungment efforts its very first funding priority. In my article, I also urged the creation of administrative infrastructure to support this work in the form of what I call a "Commission on Justice Restoration." I do not believe the Illinois legislation goes this far, but maybe future reforms in that state or elsewhere will. In the meantime, I realize I am way behind in providing here a round up of some posts from my blogging at Marijuana Law, Policy and Reform that highlight the intersections of marijuana reform and criminal justice issues. So: June 2, 2019 at 06:58 PM | Permalink Comments start growing like this one https://www.growingmarijuanablog.com/seeds/banana-kush-marijuana-strain/ Posted by: uper batt | Jun 25, 2019 2:48:45 AM CBD Gummies are an easy way to start. You handle simply how much CBD you consume, and you are aware that the dosage is constant visit at ilovevida.com. One gummy may job or you may want to consider two. You can expect to feel safe with the knowledge that you are going for good quality merchandise and simply placing a normal nutritional supplement in your physique. Posted by: ilovevida.com | Oct 19, 2019 7:38:12 AM Post a comment China and U.S. clash again on trade and regional security Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe speaks at the IISS Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore By Lee Chyen Yee SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China and the United States clashed again this weekend on trade and security, accusing each other of destabilising the region and potentially the world. Speaking on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier defence summit, China's Defence Minister Wei Fenghe warned the United States not to meddle in security disputes over Taiwan and the South China Sea. On Saturday, acting U.S. Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the meeting that the United States would no longer "tiptoe" around Chinese behaviour in Asia. "Perhaps the greatest long-term threat to the vital interests of states across this region comes from actors who seek to undermine, rather than uphold, the rules-based international order," Shanahan said. It was the latest exchange of acerbic comments between the two sides as their ties come under increasing strain due to a bitter trade war, U.S. support for Taiwan and China's muscular military posture in the South China Sea, where the United States also conducts freedom-of-navigation patrols. China has been particularly incensed by recent moves by President Donald Trump's administration to increase support for self-ruled and democratic Taiwan, including U.S. Navy sailings through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from China. Wei, dressed in his uniform of a general in the People's Liberation Army, said China would "fight to the end" if anyone tried to interfere in its relationship with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a sacred territory to be taken by force if necessary. "If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs ... The U.S. is indivisible, and so is China. China must be, and will be, reunified." He however said both sides realised that any war between the two "would bring disaster to both countries and the world." The United States, like most countries, has no formal ties with Taiwan, but is its strongest backer and main source of weapons. Story continues While Shanahan's speech was critical of China, his tone was often conciliatory. Wei took a more combative approach. Taiwan's government condemned Wei's remarks, saying Taiwan has never belonged to the People's Republic of China, that Taiwan would never accept Beijing's threats and that China's claim of its "peaceful development" was the "lie of the century". Taiwan "will continue to strengthen its self-defence capabilities, defend the country's sovereignty and democratic system, and uphold the right of the 23 million people of Taiwan to freely choose their future", its Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement. TIANANMEN ANNIVERSARY Taiwan is gearing up for presidential elections in January, and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has repeatedly accused Beijing of seeking to undermine Taiwan's democracy and has vowed to defend the island and its freedoms. Wei, in a clear reference to the United States, also said: "Some countries from outside the region come to the South China Sea to flex muscles in the name of freedom of navigation." This week will mark 30 years since a bloody Chinese military crackdown on protesters around Beijing's Tiananmen Square, refocusing scrutiny on China's approach to security threats. Taking questions from the floor, Wei defended the government's handling of the Tiananmen "incident", a rare official acknowledgement of the events of June 4, 1989; references to it are heavily censored in China. "The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence," Wei said of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. "Due to this, China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history." On the ongoing trade war, which has shaken financial markets around the world, Wei said China would "fight to the end" if the United States wanted a fight. But if Washington wanted to talk, "we will keep the door open". Trade tensions escalated sharply last month after Trump's administration accused China of having "reneged" on its previous promises to make structural changes to its economic practices. Washington later slapped additional tariffs of up to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to retaliate. Speaking at a hastily arranged news conference in Beijing, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said it was irresponsible of the United States to accuse China of backtracking. "If the U.S. side wants to use extreme pressure, to escalate the trade friction, to force China to submit and make concessions, this is absolutely impossible," said Wang, who has been part of China's trade negotiating team. (Reporting by Lee Chyen Yee; additional reporting by Gerry Doyle in Singapore, Cate Cadell in Beijing and Yimou Lee in Taipei; writing by Joe Brock and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) SINGAPORE (June 3): UOB KayHian is maintaining the Singapore office REIT sector at overweight given the sector in its second year of recovery after the market bottomed in 1H17. UOB says continued upside for office rents is supported by tapering supply which has eased to 1.3 million sf this year, of which only 228,958 sf is within the core CBD. Occupancy for Grade A office space in the core CBD saw a v-shaped recovery from the trough of 91.6% in 3Q17 after the completion of Marina One East and West Towers with 1.9 million sf of office space. Since then, occupancy has recovered to a healthy 95.2% in 1Q19. Grade A office rents for core CBD surged 14.9% to $10.80 psf pm in 2018, after a slight 3.3% rise in 2017. Grade A office rents further rose 3.2% q-o-q to $11.15 psf pm in 1Q19. Still, office occupancy costs remain affordable compared to other global cities Absorption of office space also remains positive and is driven by modern services, technology companies, including startups and fintechs and co-working operators. Leasing interest for upcoming new developments is also fairly healthy. Maintain overweight. Our top-pick is CapitaLand Commercial Trust, followed by Keppel REIT, says lead analyst Jonathan Koh in a May 30 report. CCT is the largest landlord in Singapores CBD with Grade-A office buildings accounting for 81% of its portfolio NLA. Locally, its 51-storey CapitaSpring -- the former Golden Shoe Car Park -- with 635,000sf of office space, 12,000sf of retail space and food centre of 44,000sf is scheduled for 1H21 completion. JPMorgan has committed to 155,000sf or 24% of NLA at CapitaSpring. Koh says supply of new office space is manageable at only 899,781sf in 2021, which poses minimal competition for CapitaSpring. Overseas, CCT has completed the acquisition of freehold office building, Gallileo, in Frankfurt for 356 million ($547 million) or a NPI yield of 4.0% in Jun 18. Management plans to increase depth in selected gateway cities in Germany but cap exposures to overseas markets at 20% of deposited properties. Story continues UOB has a $2.16 target price for CCT. As at end March, KREITs WALE for its Singapore properties is at 4.5 years, which is one of the longest among Singapore REITs. WALE would be longer at 8.3 years if 311 Spencer Street in Melbourne was included. Its top-10 tenants WALE was at 8.0 years. When completed, 311 Spencer Street will provide recurrent income stream with fixed annual rental escalations and an NPI yield of 6.4%. KREIT has announced the proposed acquisition of T Tower in Seoul at an agreed $301.4 million. T Tower provides an NPI yield of 4.7% and is expected to boost pro-forma 2018 DPU by 2.5% to 5.70 cents. UOB has a $1.37 target price for KREIT. As at 10am, units of CCT are up 2 cents at $1.95 while units in KREIT are up 1 cent at $1.21. At these levels, CCT and KREIT have 2020F yields of 4.7% and 4.9%. From a telecommunications network company to a global consumer electronics brand, Huawei has grown tremendously to become the tech juggernaut that it is today mostly with the unwavering support from its customers SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 3 June 2019 - Last weekend, tech enthusiasts and shoppers gathered at The PC Show to experience the latest HUAWEI P30 Pro featuring a ground breaking Leica quad camera system, better known for its zoom and low-light capabilities. In the same weekend, Huawei smartphone users were also given a complimentary phone care service on its monthly Service Day at its customer service centres located at 313@Somerset and Westgate. Keen supporters and long-time users of Huawei were unfazed by recent events and instead expressed a resounding vote of confidence for the brand. Ms. Wei Ling (right), who holds a Huawei Mate 10, has been encouraging her friends including Ms. Miao Hui (left) to purchase a Huawei smartphone for its quality. Ms. Wei Ling, age 31, commented that, "I am not too concerned about the current situation and i believe Huawei will be able to come up with a solution given their strong roots in the technology sector. I will still recommend a Huawei phone to my friends because of its quality especially when it comes to the camera and battery performance." Mr. Joe Lum holding his latest Huawei P30 Pro and is his go-to gadget for photo taking. Echoing this, Mr. Joe Lum, age 46, said, "I've been using many other phones before but nothing quite captures the great photo quality like the Huawei phone does. I would still buy the phone in a heartbeat because its cameras are amazing for a photography enthusiast like myself." Ms. Wen Qi was drawn to the Huawei P20 Pro because of its overall design and user-friendly interface. "Photography is one thing, but for me I have always wanted a phone for usability and the Huawei P20 Pro has the best of everything," commented Ms. Wen Qi. "My friends and I have the same phone and we plan on keeping our phones because it still works great. Huawei is such a big company and I am sure they will be able to overcome any challenges they face." Story continues The company is dedicated to create meaningful products and technologies whilst putting customers at the centre of its business. In 2018, Huawei invested 14.1% of its sales revenue (CNY101.5 billion) in R&D, ranking fifth globally in the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. More than just a brand name; values of resilience and tenacity displayed by Huawei gain respect among customers Starting out with humble beginnings as a producer of phone switches since 1987, to building telecommunication networks and consumer electronics, Huawei has made big strides over the years in growing its customer base with over 55 million smartphones sold globally in the first quarter, cementing its position as the second largest smartphone vendor in the world. Whilst many gravitate towards the brand for its outstanding offerings, some had more to say about the brand that go beyond functionalities and product. Mr. Wilson Ng, is a fervent supporter of Huawei and is motivated to further his passion of photography thanks to the convenience and reliable camera system on his Huawei P20 Pro. "I trust Huawei and their products. As an international company, they will do what's best for a consumer. For a brand that has grown so fast, it is a force to be reckoned with," said Mr. Wilson Ng. "Personally, I respect the brand being able to withstand the challenges and hardships that they've been put through with such humility and grace." Mr. James Lee (left) and his girlfriend, Ms. See Ying (right), have both recently made the switch to Huawei and are confident that the brand will continue to provide innovative technologies. Ms. See Ying, age 23, who is a first-time user of Huawei with the P30 Pro, feels that there are plenty of opportunities ahead for the brand. "There is a famous quote that goes 'in the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity'. I have faith that Huawei will always be able to continue making innovative products in any circumstances as it is such a resilient and strong company." Mr Daniel Lim has been holding on to his Huawei P10 for the past two years. A long-time supporter, Mr. Daniel Lim, age 31, said, "There are no other phones that are in the same league as Huawei given its solid hardware. Its innovations are driven by the company's relentless attitude and I believe that it's a brand that is here to stay no matter the ongoing challenges." In Singapore, Huawei has doubled its growth year-on-year and is expanding its services including Service Day that is held on the first weekend of every month to provide after-sales care for a growing customer base. "The backbone of our success over the years has always been our customers who support the brand and believe in the innovations we offer," a spokesperson from Huawei Consumer Business Group Singapore said. "We'll like to thank all our supporters for believing in us. We would have never been able to come this far without the support of our customers." For more information, please visit: https://consumer.huawei.com/sg/ and https://www.huawei.com/en/facts. Notes to editors: Images can be downloaded here. About Huawei Consumer BG Huawei's products and services are available in more than 170 countries, and are used by a third of the world's population. Sixteen R&D centers have been set up in the United States, Germany, Sweden, Russia, India and China. Huawei Consumer BG is one of Huawei's three business units and covers smartphones, PC and tablets, wearables and cloud services, etc. Huawei's global network is built on almost 30 years of expertise in the telecom industry and is dedicated to delivering the latest technological advances to consumers around the world. For more information please visit: https://consumer.huawei.com/sg/ or find us @huaweimobilesg on social media. MANILA, Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones on Monday welcomed more than 27 million Filipino learners from across the country to the opening of school year 2019 to 2020. On behalf of the Department of Education (DepEd), I am honored and pleased to welcome our almost 27.2 million learners from all over the country to the opening of the School Year 2019-2020, Briones said in a statement posted on DepEds twitter account. DepEd Secretary Leonor Magtolis Briones welcomes every Filipino learner to a brand new school year, 2019-2020. Tara na! Balik eskwela na! pic.twitter.com/YNMYWwQBy8 DepEd (@DepEd_PH) June 2, 2019 Briones also urged students to remember the efforts of the community to prepare them for this journey. As you troop to your respective schools, bear in mind that it took the whole community parents, teachers, local government units, national government agencies, non-government organizations, partners from the public and private sectors, and other stakeholders to prepare you on this journey, she said. Through Brigada Eskwela, they all contributed their time, effort, and resources to provide you with a safe and motivating learning environment, she added. The education secretary also cited allies through the Oplan Balik Eskwela that helped provide access to fairly priced commodities, safer streets and roads, and adequate water and electricity supply, among many of your other needs. She also assured that their command centers and hotlines nationwide are open to address any issue this school opening. Briones also said the department is increasing its efforts to deliver quality, accessible, relevant and liberating basic education given the continuously increasing population and challenges they have to hurdle. As we pivot from access to quality, we are continuously reviewing our curriculum and developing our learning resources, including our teachers, through the transformation of our National Educators Academy of the Philippines, she said. Story continues The education official also assured to continue upgrading school facilities by improving their resistance to typhoons and earthquakes. As we open another school year, I enjoin everyone who believes in the cause of education to work together and join us in responding to the increasing development requirements of our country, and in creating a better world for the Filipino learners whom we are all sworn to serve, she said. Briones is expected to make rounds in select schools in Metro Manila to visit some classrooms and check the situations this class opening. The post Briones welcomes over 27-M learners to school year 2019-2020 appeared first on UNTV News. China said on Monday that it had Germanys support in defending the global multilateral order, as its trade war with the US continues to escalate. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the two sides had reached an agreement that in facing a complicated and ever-changing international environment, both China and Germany should jointly uphold multilateralism, maintain the current international order and oppose behaviour that will damage the current order with abusive sanctions. Both countries are firm supporters, defenders and promoters of multilateralism, Geng said during a regular press briefing in Beijing. The comments followed Vice-President Wang Qishans visit to Berlin on Friday, when he met Germanys chancellor as well as its president and foreign minister. Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday also called on France to safeguard the global multilateral trading system and oppose unilateralism and protectionism during a call with Clement Beaune, a foreign affairs adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron, the foreign ministry said. Meanwhile, visiting Berlin on the same day as Wang Qishan, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met his German counterpart Heiko Maas, trying to persuade Germany to shut out Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from the countrys 5G market. The internet of the future must have Western values embedded in it, said Pompeo, adding that one of his missions in Berlin was to educate our friends about the risks posed by Chinese cyber espionage, according to a report by Politico Europe. We share certain concerns with regard to China, Maas was quoted as saying. But Maas also said Germany had high security standards, which all companies hoping to bid to build the new high-speed internet network would have to meet, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported. During his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, Wang Qishan asked the German leader to work together with China to build a more just and reasonable global governance system and in dealing with an uncertain future, according to official Chinese news agency Xinhua. Story continues Facing the profound and complex changes in the international situation, China always insists on doing its own share firstly, staying calm and clear-headed, showing composure, shouldering responsibility and reacting rationally, Wang was quoted as saying. It is our firm belief that China should adopt a long-term view with Germany that will take into account the strategic value of such a relationship. [China] firmly supports a unified Europe and sees Europe as a trustworthy partner China can have a sustainable and predictable dialogue with, on equal footing, Wang said. Merkel replied that Germany and China shared a broad consensus, according to Xinhua. [Merkel] noted that Germany advocates strengthened international coordination and collaboration through dialogue and disagrees with threats and exerting pressure to solve problems, the report said. The chancellors remarks echoed what she said a day earlier at Harvard University when, without naming US President Donald Trump, Merkel urged students to reject protectionism and tear down walls of ignorance that feed nationalism and isolationism. Protectionism and trade conflicts jeopardise free international trade and therefore the very foundations of our prosperity, she said. The vice-presidents trip to Germany came after he visited Pakistan and the Netherlands part of a diplomatic flurry by Chinese leaders amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade, technology and national security. President Xi Jinping will start a three-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, where he will meet his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, according to Chinas foreign ministry. Wang Yiwei, a professor of international relations at Renmin University in Beijing, said the Chinese vice-presidents visit was aimed at seeking Germanys support to counter the US, as Berlin was also facing increasing pressure from Trumps policies. Trump has repeatedly called for the European power to increase its military spending and threatened to impose tariffs on German cars. Germany is also worried that a continuing [US-China] trade war will have a negative impact on its economy, Wang Yiwei said. He added that Pompeo obviously wants to get countries like Germany to back the US ahead of the Group of 20 leaders summit to be held in Osaka, Japan, on June 28-29. More from South China Morning Post: This article China, Germany agree to uphold global multilateral order in Berlin talks first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. accacia elem school MANILA, Philippines The Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday admitted that more classrooms and facilities are needed to be constructed to accommodate the ever-growing population of Filipino students. More than 27 million learners nationwide trooped to school on June 3 for the opening of school year 2019 to 2020. According to DepEd, massive increases in enrollment are noted each year with around one million students being added to the list. Some students from private schools are also transferring to public schools due to economic reasons. To address the need for more classrooms and facilities, DepEd is eyeing to build more structures in schools to accommodate the increasing number of students. The department said that it is eyeing to build around 800,000 wind and earthquake-proof school buildings but so far, they were only able to complete more than 600 of the said number. Thousands of schools are also in need of repair, particularly those in Porac, Pampanga that sustained heavy damage after a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck the area in April. DepEd Undersecretary Annalyn Sevilla said they will not allow these classrooms to be used if these are found structurally unsafe. Hindi po natin ipapagamit kapag declared as totally damaged or with a finding na hindi siya structurally safe, Sevilla said. We are waiting for the newly-constructed classrooms for them, she further stated, adding that affected students will have to use the temporary learning space (TLS) provided until the building of classrooms has been completed. Other schools reportedly having shortage in classrooms will also implement shifting of classes. Education Secretary Leonor Briones earlier visited several schools in Metro Manila to check the situation this class opening. READ: Briones welcomes learners to school year 2019-2020 Briones led the flag-raising ceremony in Signal Village National High School in Taguig City, where 9,400 students are currently enrolled. After that, she proceeded to inspect the Comembo Elementary School in Makati City which has more than 2,000 students enrolled for the school year. Story continues Aside from addressing classroom shortage, Briones said the department is also looking to increase the salary of more than 900,000 teachers in the country. She said the proposal might be a big challenge for the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as they are eyeing to hike the salary of public school teachers by P10,000. Ang sabi ng DBM, gumagawa sila ngayon ng study hindi lamang ang sweldo ng teachers ang pinag-aaralan, kundi ang suweldo ng public sector. Mahirap para sa isang pamahalaan na kung mag-increase ka ng salary sa isang sector at maiiwanan, magwa-widen iyong gap, Briones said. The education secretary estimated that around P150 billion additional fund will be needed for the proposed salary increase. President Rodrigo Duterte previously promised to hike the teachers salary, and according to Malacanang, the countrys economic managers are already working and searching for funding sources for the planned pay hike. The President is working on that. And hopefully, that can be responded to, our economic managers are doing everything to see how things can be done, Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said at a Palace briefing. After police and soldiers received doubled salaries in 2018, Duterte in January renewed his promise for a salary hike for teachers, saying this could finally be realized this year. Malacanang, however, did not provide an exact time about its release. (with details from Aiko Miguel) The post DepEd: More classrooms needed amid growing number of students appeared first on UNTV News. So-called auction of unclaimed DHL parcels in Kangar, Perlis. KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 DHL Malaysia is investigating the alleged auction of unclaimed delivery parcels bearing its packaging to the public for RM15 each at a market. DHL Malaysia is currently probing an incident where several delivery parcels bearing DHLs logo and packaging were being sold to the public for RM15 each after a picture of it went viral on social media earlier this week. In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the international courier service told Malay Mail that DHL was aware of the situation after a photo went viral on social media on June 1. At DHL, the safety and security of our customers shipments are of paramount importance. We are currently conducting an internal investigation on this matter and will take the necessary actions as swiftly as possible, the statement read. According to the post by Viral Media Malaya Facebook page, the delivery parcels whose content were unknown were being sold for RM15 each to members of the public in a Ramadan bazaar in Kangar, Perlis. First time seeing people auctioning off unclaimed postage deliveries. One box for RM15. Not sure what is inside. There are big, small, light and heavy boxes, the caption reads. In the photo, Shipping Labels of the unopened delivery parcels ranging from small to big could be visibly seen, with several of them bearing DHLs yellow package wrapping. The posting that has garnered almost 1,200 comments and Facebook Likes also claimed to have no knowledge of the alleged seller. A helicopter searching for eight climbers missing on India's second-highest peak spotted five bodies on Monday, officials said. Nothing has been heard from the four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian on the 7,826-metre (25,643-foot) Nanda Devi in the Himalayas since May 26. But on Monday two Indian Air Force helicopters scoured the area for a third day and took aerial pictures. "During that search some photos were taken and in those photos four to five bodies can be seen. The resolution is quite bad that is why their faces or exact features are not clear," said local official V.K. Jogdande. "But what we can roughly say is that these are body parts of five persons which can be seen. We have ordered a technical evaluation... so that the bodies can be retrieved as quickly as possible," he said. The search operation involving the helicopters and dozens of mountain rescuers has been hampered by poor weather and the remoteness of the area. Authorities were able to reduce the search area to roughly 50 square kilometres (20 square miles) on Monday following information from four British climbers rescued a day earlier from Nanda Devi base camp. They had been in contact with the larger group until May 26 when heavy snowfall and avalanches struck. The missing climbers, led by Briton Martin Moran -- who has two previous successful ascents of the mountain -- had initially set out on May 13 for the eastern peak of Nanda Devi. But in a post on May 22 on the Facebook page of the mountaineering company he runs, Moran Mountain, said they were set to attempt "an unclimbed peak". They were expected to report back to base camp on May 26 but a porter stationed there reported to authorities that the group remained missing on May 31, prompting the search operation. - 'No sign' - A statement by the Moran family on Sunday had said they have been informed by the Indian Mountaineering Federation that the air search has "revealed the scale of the avalanche, but no sign of the climbers, their equipment nor their tents." The Sydney Morning Herald named the Australian member as British-born Ruth McCance. It quoted her husband Trent Goldsack as saying that her last communication to him had been a text message around a week ago saying: "OK at base camp." Another of the British climbers was reported to be Richard Payne, a lecturer at the University of York. "We remain extremely concerned for his safety and our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time," a spokesman for the British university said. Hundreds of climbers from across the world visit India to scale mountains across the Himalayan chain, and the peaks of Nanda Devi are considered the toughest to scale. The first successful ascent of the Nanda Devi summit was in 1936. India has 10 peaks above 7,000 metres, including Kangchenjunga -- the world's third highest -- sandwiched between India and Nepal. Four Indians were among 11 climbers that died climbing Mount Everest in the latest season that ended last week amid allegations of overcrowding on the world's highest peak. Mountaineering experts criticised the government of Nepal for giving permits to anyone ready to pay $11,000, letting rookie climbers risk their lives and those of others on the slopes. Jakim director-general Datuk Mohamad Nordin Ibrahim said the forum scheduled in October promoted the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement. Picture from Facebook/NordinIbrahimJakim KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 The Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) called for the cancellation of a gender and sexuality conference in Kuala Lumpur organised by a Sri Lanka organisation. Jakim director-general Datuk Mohamad Nordin Ibrahim said the forum scheduled in October promoted the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement, noting that the conference also does not feature any local speakers or collaboration with any Malaysian organisations. Instead, it features presenters from among international transgender activists, that is from Sri Lanka and the US. For Jakim, this activity clearly promotes LGBT in Malaysia, and is against Islam and the Federal Constitution. It is also against the statement by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir (Mohamad) on September 22 2018, in which he stressed that Malaysia does not accept the practice of the LGBT lifestyle, he said on his Facebook page, calling on authorities to take suitable action. The website of the 2nd International Conference on Gender and Sexuality 2019, organised by Sri Lanka conference organiser The International Institute of Knowledge Management, does not state the venue of the event, apart from its scheduled date between October 3 and 4 in Kuala Lumpur. The chair of the event is Prof Shahana Rasool from the University of Johannesburg. The academic conference would also feature the former Minister of Social Development from Oman, Sharifa Al Yahyai, who is also listed as an academic specialist in womens studies and a board member of the Arab Women Foundation. Sharifa and a US transgender activist Jessica Lynn are listed as keynote speakers in the event, with another Sri Lanka transgender activist, Bhoomi Harendran, is listed as its plenary speaker. According to the Gender Studies Conference website, this is the second such academic event, and academics, researchers and professionals with a particular interest in issues related to gender transformation and sexuality are invited to send in their academic papers. Story continues Participants from various disciplines are invited, including but not limited to social work, sociology, political studies, psychology, anthropology, development studies, religion, communication, languages, cultural studies and law. The conference will be held from 03rd 04th October 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under the theme Re-thinking Gender and Sexuality: What do we know? What have we learned? Whats next? the website further stated. One of the scheduled panel discussions is on LGBTQI+ rights, referring to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex groups. Sexual minorities have been subjected to increased scrutiny and remain an oppressed group in Malaysia. In January, a 39-year-old trans woman was allegedly murdered and found dead in Klang. Last Christmas, four youths aged 21 and below were charged with the murder of a 32-year-old trans woman in Bandar Bukit Tinggi, Klang. Related Articles H&M Malaysia nafi sokong LGBT, tiada promosi Love For All Enggan jadi ikutan, Johan Asari tolak watak LGBT Taiwan holds first gay marriages in historic day for Asia The United Nations population fund (UNFPA) estimate that by 2030, a further 15 million girls in Indonesia will be mutilated if efforts to end the practice are not accelerated. AFP pic KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 Two major non-governmental organisations in Malaysia and the United Kingdom have teamed up to end the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in several Asia Pacific countries, including Malaysia. The Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) based in Malaysia and British charity Orchid Project today announced that they have joined forces to work with grassroots organisations to end FGM/C in Malaysia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Maldives, Thailand and Singapore. FGM/C is practised in over 45 countries globally, but the global focus has not responded strongly enough to the situation in the Asia region. For example, in Indonesia 49 per cent of girls have undergone FGM/C, the two NGOs said in a joint statement coinciding with their launch in Vancouver, Canada today. The United Nations population fund (UNFPA) estimate that by 2030, a further 15 million girls in Indonesia will be mutilated if efforts to end the practice are not accelerated. FGM/C has for long been presented as a traditional practice with harmful consequences for girls and women primarily taking place in Africa. What is lesser known is that there are many girls and women in Asia who are affected by the same practice, ARROW executive director Sivananthi Thanethiran said in the statement. She said the lack of advocacy in the region and pressure from the international community to end the practice in the region means that governments continue to shy from taking measures to end FGM/C, which is in direct contradiction of a number of human rights commitments. Once established, the network will actively lobby governments in the Asia Pacific to end the practice to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and empowering all women and girls, and specifically SDG target 5.3 which relates to ending FGM/C. The first step in this process is to invite organisations across the region to help shape the Asia Network to End FGM/C, said Orchid Projects Head of Advocacy and Policy Ebony Riddell Bamber, adding that they will work with other international organisations like Sahiyo and Equality Now, as well as grassroots organizations. Story continues Our goal is to create a platform to jointly advocate for change, and identify how best to support and amplify the great work underway at the grassroots to end FGM/C. If we dont act now, many more girls across Asia will be subject to this harmful practice, and progress in ending FGM/C will be severely compromised. she added. According to Unicef, 3.9 million girls are at risk of FGM/C annually, and at least 200 million girls and women have been mutilated in 30 countries. However, this figure does not include many countries in Asia Pacific where FGM/C is known to take place, so the true scale of the problem is unknown because of these gaps in data. Community and media reports indicate that FGM/C is prevalent in many Asian and Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, the Philippines, Maldives, India and Pakistan. The network will be a platform will gather data and evidence on prevalence, take survivor needs and viewpoints into account, engage with religious scholars who can influence communities positively, and urge governments to report on the SDG indicator (5.3.2) related to FGM/C. FGM/C has several immediate and long-term health complications on women including infections, painful menstruation, urinary and vaginal problems, complications during childbirth and even death. Proponents of FGM/C justify the practice on the basis of religion, or some unproven health benefit or claim that it doesnt harm women and girls. But religious scholars from different countries are divided on this, and some Muslim countries have banned FGM/C through fatwas and the law. Related Articles Rights advocates worry conservatism hampering womens sexual, reproductive health Malaysia must end female genital mutilation Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women In Kurdish Iraq, women strive to end genital mutilation (L-R) Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, Chief Rabbi of Singapore Mordechai Abergel, Archbishop William Goh and Roses of Peace president Mohamed Irshad at an interfaith Iftar gathering on Monday, 3 June 2019. PHOTO: Nicholas Yong/Yahoo News Singapore SINGAPORE Some 130 people came together at Singapores oldest synagogue on Monday (3 June) for a special interfaith Iftar gathering. Hosted by the Jewish Welfare Board in partnership with the Inter-Religious Organisation and NGO Roses of Peace, the event brought community leaders, dignitaries and interfaith youth ambassadors at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue. Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu was the guest of honour at the event, which took place two days before the end of Ramadan. Representatives from other faiths such as Zoroastrianism and Sikhism were also present. In his speech, Chief Rabbi of Singapore Mordechai Abergel told the audience, When Jews and Muslims get together, it makes for a truly special occasion. He hailed the deep bonds of friendship that have bound the Jewish and Muslim communities in Singapore for more than 150 years. Roses of Peace president Mohamed Irshad, also noted that waqf, the first ever charitable endowment of Islam, was established with the help of Rabbi Mukhayriq, a Jewish friend of the Prophet Muhammad. How amazing it is that the key institution of Islam came to be with the contribution of a Jew, said Irshad, who is also a Nominated Member of Parliament. Rabbi Abergel concluded, No matter the amount of tensions (that) may arise, from time to time, between Jews and Muslims, some situations, it is eminently possible to find the common ground and to build together the foundation of a great friendship. More Singapore stories Almost 20 PMDs impounded over 3-day operation: LTA More than 270 F&B outlets in Singapore to remove straws from 1 July Man who drunkenly attacked girlfriend's aunt and policewoman jailed 4 weeks Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail is the husband of former Umno Wanita leader and former minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil. Malay Mail file pic KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Salleh Ismail wants to know why the government is suing him and his family for RM258 million in unpaid loan instalments and interest to the government, claiming that an offer to fully settle the debt was made. Mohamad Salleh, who is the husband of former Umno Wanita leader and former minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, was responding to a news report by The Edge of a lawsuit filed by the attorney general on behalf of the government to claim the money owed. I question why the attorney generals action against me and my family was taken although the issue of the full repayment of the loan to the government had already been notified seven months ago, since November 2018, he said in a statement. Mohamad Salleh claimed that NFCorp had initiated efforts to revive the countrys development and restructuring process, noting that several discussions have been held with Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry and that such efforts were allegedly positively received. He said a letter offering the outstanding loans full repayment had also been sent to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on May 17, but claimed NFCorp has yet to receive any reply to date. At the same time, Mohamad Salleh promised to give full cooperation according to the countrys legal process. I also wish to state that I, just like all Malaysians, hope for this issue to be resolved where the outstanding loan with the government will be repaid in full via Full Redemption by NFCorp in the shortest time with the governments agreement. Furthermore, this would help in reducing the countrys financial burden as stated by the authorities, he said. Whatever it is, I will fully cooperate with the government to ensure this issue is resolved in the best way. I am confident, under the leadership of YAB Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, this issue will achieve a resolution where NFCorp will repay the outstanding amount of the loan to the government, and the aspirations of the project that is full of potential can be fulfilled, he added. Story continues Business paper The Edge had reported the Attorney Generals Chambers (AGC) as having filed the lawsuit last week against Mohamad Salleh, his three children: Wan Shahinur Izran (former NFCorp CEO), Wan Shahinur Izmir and Wan Izzana Fatimah who are both the companys former directors. Others named in the lawsuit are the six companies under the family, namely National Meat & Livestock Corp Sdn Bhd, Real Food Co Sdn Bhd, Meatworks Corp Sdn Bhd, Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, Asian Bioscience Corp Sdn Bhd and Techknowlogy Imageware (M) Sdn Bhd. The RM253.62 million sum claimed represents a RM224.77 million portion of the RM250 million loan to the firm that had been tasked with developing the local cattle industry, along with the application of 2 per cent annual interest and additional interest as a result of default. The lawsuit is also seeking a court declaration to make the family personally liable for the repayments as well as RM118 million allegedly misappropriated from the RM250 million loan that was disbursed, along with any undeclared profit that may have arisen as a result of the alleged misappropriation. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had in May hinted that the government would be suing to get full repayment of the loan which NFCorp had defaulted on. Mohamad Salleh had then responded by saying that NFCorp had last November notified Dr Mahathir that NFCorp has an interested buyer who is willing to pay off the companys debts in three months if the government agrees to the companys restructuring. Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Salahuddin Ayub later confirmed talks with NFCorps potential buyer, but said such discussions were ongoing. NFCorp was previously given a RM250 million federal loan for the National Feedlot Centre project that later featured in the Auditor-Generals annual report for 2010 over missed production targets, among other things. The NFCorp cattle-rearing project was intended to reduce Malaysias reliance on imported beef, but NFCorps scandal saw Mohamad Salleh being charged in March 2012 with two counts of criminal breach of trust involving RM49.7 million of the companys funds. Mohamad Salleh was acquitted in November 2015 of the charges, following his lawyers letter of representation to the AGC. Related Articles Government sues Shahrizats husband, children over RM253m NFC loan Agriculture minister confirms in talks with potential buyer for NFCorp Putrajaya tuntut hutang RM254 juta, NFCorp kata pembeli baru akan bayar Nikkei Malaysia also projected a full-year growth of 4 per cent for the manufacturing sector. Reuters pic KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 Business optimism returned to levels unseen since October 2013 notwithstanding a minor contraction in the manufacturing sector, according to Nikkei Malaysia. In its Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for May, Malaysia recorded a score of 48.8, down marginally from the seven-month high of 49.4 in April. A PMI score under 50 denotes contraction while a score above 50 signals expansion. Despite this, Malaysian manufacturers reported the highest confidence about future output since October 2013 on the back of planned new product launchers and expansion. The PMI lost a little ground in May but remained well above the lows seen earlier in the year, hinting that the worst is hopefully over for Malaysias manufacturers. An improvement in companies future output expectations to the highest for five-and-a-half years adds to signs that the business environment has started to brighten again, said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey. He added that the manufacturing sectors performance should help propel Malaysias economic growth to the 5-per cent mark in the second quarter of 2019. Extrapolating from historical data, Nikkei Malaysia also projected a full-year growth of 4 per cent for the manufacturing sector. Related Articles Malaysias economic growth to ease in July-Sept 2019, Stats Dept says Dr M can restore economy in two years, says Anwar Fund flow reversal into equities market as early as Q3, analyst says Ukraine has failed to present new evidence to show Russia was involved in funnelling arms and money to pro-Moscow separatists and Kiev's case should be dismissed, the UN's top court heard Monday. Similarly, Moscow's representative said, Kiev also failed to produce new evidence that Russia supplied a surface-to-air missile used to shoot down a Malaysia Airlines flight in 2014 which killed 298 people. "Ukraine has failed to present substantial new evidence which will require the court to change its mind," Dmitry Lobach told the International Court of Justice in The Hague. "This court has found Ukraine's case concerning terrorist financing implausible," Lobach said referring to a finding by the ICJ's judges in 2017. Kiev in that year dragged Moscow to the Hague-based tribunal -- set up in 1946 to rule in disputes between countries -- accusing its former Soviet neighbour of supporting separatist rebels by giving them weapons and money. This included supplying rebels with a BUK missile system which brought down flight MH17 on July 17, 2014, while on a regular flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. Ukraine also accused Russia of "systematic discrimination and mistreating" Crimean Tatar and other ethnic communities in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. The ICJ's 15-judge bench however in April 2017 rejected Kiev's bid for emergency measures to halt Russia's alleged funnelling of money and arms into Ukraine's war-torn east. But the court, based at The Hague's Peace Palace, warned Moscow to protect ethnic rights in the Crimea. On Monday another Russian lawyer said Kiev had also failed to present any new evidence that Russia was involved in shooting down flight MH17. "Nothing has changed. There is no material new evidence," Samuel Wordsworth told the judges. More than 13,000 people have died in fighting between pro-Moscow rebels and the Ukranian government that erupted after the ouster of a Kremlin-backed regime in Kiev in February 2014. In the latest spat between the two neighbours, a Moscow court a week ago upheld extending the arrest of 24 Ukrainian sailors seized by Russia off Crimea last year. Russia in November fired on and seized three Ukrainian navy vessels, capturing two dozen sailors near the Kerch Strait, as they tried to pass from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea. It was the first open military clash between Kiev and Moscow since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. jhe/bp Malaysia Airlines BlueKeep is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Remote Desktop Services which affects older versions of the Microsoft Operating System. AFP pic KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 A cyber security company today said tens of thousands of Malaysian computer users are vulnerable to a new cyber threat called BlueKeep, similar to a malware called WannaCry that invaded in 2017 and took control of private data. Citing Microsofts advisory on BlueKeep Vulnerability this month and other online reports, Vigilant Asia said this meant nearly one million computers connected directly to the internet are vulnerable to the BlueKeep exploit. Vigilant Asias Threat Intelligence Team have found that over 13,500 computers are reachable via Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in Malaysia and out of which over 2,700 host computers are vulnerable to BlueKeep. The balance 11,000+ may still not be safe, they could still be vulnerable if authentication is gained which could be retrieved from internal network machines or by using Brute Force attacks. It only takes one vulnerable computer connected to the internet to provide a potential gateway into business networks, where advanced malware could spread, infecting computers across the enterprise, it said in a statement. The company warned that the situation could be worse for computer users whose systems have not been updated with the latest fixes, saying any future malware may also attempt further exploitation of vulnerabilities that have already been fixed. Microsoft issued a second advisory this month on BlueKeep vulnerability, urging computer users to update their systems to prevent a re-run of attacks like WannaCry and NotPetya. Cyber Security Malaysias Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team also issued an advisory about BlueKeep Vulnerability on June 1. BlueKeep is a critical Remote Code Execution vulnerability in Remote Desktop Services which affects older versions of the Microsoft Operating System Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The vulnerability stems from a dangling pointer bug in the Remote Desktop Services, which help provide a graphical interface for connecting to another computer over the Internet. Story continues Successful hackers can use this to access targeted computers via a backdoor with no login, password or user interaction. Vigilant Asia said organisations with machines running on the affected Microsoft Operating Systems can protect themselves through several steps, including updating their Windows and download related patches and take down Assets with Remote Desktop Protocol from public internet services. The WannaCry Ransomware attack was a May 2017 worldwide cyberattack which affected some 200,000 computers across 150 countries, targeted computers by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin. Related Articles Ransomware 'hero' pleads guilty to US hacking charges US Democrats question Mar-a-Lago security after Chinese intruder Chinese woman arrested at Trump resort with malware on thumb drive A climate change protest organised by Klimate Action Utara Malaysia (KAUM) and Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY) in Bayan Baru, Penang, on May 24 involving SJK (T) Sungai Ara students. Picture via Facebook/Klimate Action Utara Malaysia GEORGE TOWN, June 4 Education authorities have asked a Penang primary school to show cause for allowing its students to join a global protest against climate change with hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren around the world. According to a source, the Penang Education Department had instructed the school, SJK (T) Sungai Ara, to submit a report to explain why its students were involved in the afterhours climate change protest on May 24. The school has been placed under heavy pressure over this issue; the education department is now investigating the school, someone close to the school board told Malay Mail. He said the 11 students from the school who took part in the climate change protest in Bayan Baru here went to the event on their own initiative. Their parents took them there under their own initiative, the school didnt instruct them to do so. The parents are the ones responsible for their own children in this case, he said. Despite the students attending the protest after school hours at 5pm that day, the school was still questioned as the students were wearing school T-shirts at that time. However, he said the school will not take any action against the students as they did it after school hours and they were under their parents responsibility then. The school recently came under fire by Penang Island city councillor Vino Dini Chandragason for allowing its students to participate in the climate change protest while wearing school T-shirts. She had also accused the climate change protest organisers, Klimate Action Utara Malaysia (KAUM) and Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY), of exploiting underaged children by using them in the event which also included a protest against the states Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP). She had called on the police and authorities to investigate the groups. When contacted, a KAUM spokesman said they had organised the climate change event as part of the groups many environmental events in line with the global movement, Global Climate Strike, that was started by a 16-year-old student from Sweden. Story continues On the same day, hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren around the world, walked out of their classroom urging their respective governments to act on climate crisis, he said. He pointed out that KAUM and KAMY represent the youth of Malaysia with the aim of raising awareness on environmental and climate changes among the younger generation. We did not specifically invite any schools or students. Our events are open to all to attend and join in. We only want to spread out message to push for sustainable development to face the climate crisis for the sake of our future generation, he said. He said schools, teachers and students should not be penalised for taking part in the Global Climate Strike that pushed for more awareness on climate change. According to a statement issued by KAMY, SJK(T) Sungai Ara was not the only school that allowed its students to take part in the climate change protest. KAMY pointed out that SMJK Choong Hua in Bidor, Perak, organised a climate strike too. The whole school together with the students under the supervision of their teachers had carried placards to convey their concerns on climate change and how it affects their future, it said. When contacted, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) president Meenakshi Raman said it was deplorable that the authorities are cracking down on the school and the students. The students were accompanied by their parents. There was no abuse here. If anybody is abusing, it is the politicians who are using this issue and blowing it out of proportion, she said. She said it was wrong that the school is being penalised, especially when it is now a Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government. She said children all over the world took part in the Global Strike for Climate and that the climate change protest held here was in line with the global movement. UK news outlet The Guardian reported that hundreds of thousands of school students in the world walked out of class on May 24 to urge their respective governments to take greater action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The global movement, also known as Fridays for Future, was inspired by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who had held weekly protests against climate change. According to the Fridays for Future Facebook page, more than 1.8 million young people from 2,350 cities of 125 countries took part in the Global Strike for Climate on May 24. Related Articles Swedish climate activist Thunberg admits she might be very naive Not here for selfies, activist Greta tells political world Emma Thompson, weeping teenagers join peaceful climate protest in London A Swedish court heard arguments Monday before deciding if prosecutors can proceed to request Julian Assange's extradition from Britain, after a 2010 rape probe was re-opened in May. Both sides presented their arguments to the Uppsala district court which adjourned to deliberate. It was expected to announce a decision at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT). Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson said the WikiLeaks founder had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be detained and questioned in Sweden. She asked the court to order Assange's detention in his absence, a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located, and which would be the first step to having him extradited. "The purpose of this detention is to be able to complete the investigation and bring Julian Assange to justice," Persson said. Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per E Samuelson, meanwhile argued that a detention order was "meaningless" as Assange is currently imprisoned in Britain and should not be considered a flight risk. He said it was not proportionate to ask for someone's detention merely to conduct a questioning session. The Australian whistleblower, who holed himself up in Ecuador's embassy in London for seven years to avoid a British extradition order to Sweden, was arrested by British police on April 11 after Quito gave him up. He was subsequently sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions when he took refuge in the embassy. Following his arrest Swedish authorities reopened their 2010 rape investigation, which had been closed in 2017 with the argument that it was not possible to proceed with the probe as Assange could not be reached. - Legal tug of war - If the Uppsala court grants the prosecutor's request, Eva-Marie Persson has made clear she intends to issue a European Arrest Warrant "concerning surrender to Sweden". Such a request would, however, have to compete with an extradition request from the United States, where Assange is facing a total of 18 charges, most of which relate to obtaining and disseminating classified information over the publishing of military documents and diplomatic cables through the website WikiLeaks. Assange could be sentenced to 175 years in prison if convicted on all 18 counts. "In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority. The outcome of this process is impossible to predict," Persson said in May. The decision of whether to extradite him to the United States or Sweden would rest with the British interior ministry. - Health concerns - On Thursday, a scheduled hearing on the US extradition request in London was pushed forward with chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot referring to Assange as "not very well," and stating that the next hearing could be held at Belmarsh prison, where Assange is serving his sentence. The day before, WikiLeaks expressed "grave concerns" over the condition of the organisation's founder and said he had been moved to the prison's health ward. "During the seven weeks in Belmarsh his health has continued to deteriorate and he has dramatically lost weight," WikiLeaks said in a statement. Assange's lawyer, Per E Samuelson, had also unsuccessfully requested the Uppsala district court to postpone the Swedish hearing, citing difficulties he had preparing the case with his client. Samuelson told AFP he had met with Assange in Belmarsh's health ward on May 24, but had been unable to discuss the case properly since "it was difficult to have a normal conversation with him". The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, on Friday said the various drawn-out legal procedures against Assange amounted to "psychological torture". Taiwan can learn from Singapore to deal with Beijing and US, former diplomat says Taiwan should study Singapores strategies when it comes to defending its interests and dealing with Beijing and Washington, a former top Taiwanese diplomat said on the sidelines of Asias biggest security forum. Jason Hu Chih-chiang, 71, Taiwans former foreign minister and a retired vice-chairman of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, said the self-ruled island should maintain peaceful engagement with the mainland while edging closer to the United States. Taiwan has been a pawn of [the US] since the cold war but the current situation is better than in the past at least we have almost made sure that Beijing doesnt want to attack Taipei, unless it announces independence, said Hu, who was attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend. This has been achieved through Taipeis own efforts [over the past two decades] without US involvement, and it may have surprised the Americans because they didnt expect the possibility of a war over the Taiwan Strait could be so low today. But Hu said Taiwans value had been downgraded in Beijings eyes amid the growing rivalry between China and the United States. In the politics of big powers, small countries will never be a protagonist in the eyes of the Americans, Taiwan is the same as Pacific island countries like the Marshall Islands and Palau, he said. Hu was appointed as Taipeis official representative in Washington in 1996, when then president Lee Teng-huis two-state theory spurred mainland China to carry out a series of missile tests across the Taiwan Strait. He became foreign minister in 1997, a portfolio he held for three years. To defend its interests now, Hu said Taipei should take note of the strategies used by Singapore, which he described as bat-like in its ability to manoeuvre. You should find a position from where you can defend your core interests. You cant give everything to the US just because youre afraid of them and vice versa when dealing with Beijing. Thats the case in Singapore, the way it protects its interests, said Hu, who is now vice-chairman of Want Want Group, a media and food conglomerate that operates on both the mainland and Taiwan. Story continues Its very hard for Taiwan because the mainland is now so powerful, but we should make clear that as a good leader, avoiding war is much more important than fighting war, he said. Beijing considers the democratic island of 23 million as a breakaway province that must return to the mainland fold, by force if necessary. Lee Chih-horng, who teaches cross-strait relations at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said Hus remarks could be taken as criticism of both the KMT and independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) policies over the past nearly two decades. Hu wants to warn the KMT and DPP to be cautious when they come up with new cross-strait policies, with the islands presidential election kicking off in January, Lee said. The KMT and the DPP have congenital defects, causing them very easily to divert their bias to either Beijing or Washington. Lee said the KMT leadership had strong bonds with mainland China since the party was founded there, fleeing to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated in the civil war. The DPP, meanwhile, leaned more towards the US, which gave the party a boost during the suppression of the ruling KMT in the 1970s and 80s. When Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 under KMT rule, Taipei was kicked out of the United Nations, Lee said. Thats why the KMT doesnt much trust the US, but the DPP doesnt have that bitter experience, he said. Hu wants to warn both the KMT and DPP not to be driven by their emotions when making cross-strait policy. More from South China Morning Post: This article Taiwan can learn from Singapore to deal with Beijing and US, former diplomat says first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019. The 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square was the correct policy, China's defence minister said Sunday. "That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence which is a correct policy," General Wei Fenghe told a regional security forum in Singapore. Speaking to fellow defence ministers, top military officers and academics from all over the world, Wei questioned why people still say that China "did not handle the incident properly". "The 30 years have proven that China has undergone major changes," he said, adding that because of the government's action "China has enjoyed stability and development". Beijing was the epicentre of student-led protests 30 years ago, with hundreds or possibly more than 1,000 killed by soldiers at the square on June 4, 1989. Donald Trump hailed Queen Elizabeth II as a "great, great woman" as the British monarch threw a lavish banquet for the US president on Monday to kick off his three-day state visit. The Trump dynasty sat down to a glittering dinner with the British royal family in the Buckingham Palace ballroom as the UK rolled out the red carpet. Both Trump and the 93-year-old sovereign praised the common bond between Britain and the United States. But the warmth was not shared all round, with mass protests planned for Tuesday, opposition political figures boycotting the banquet and the trip starting with a spat between Trump and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Trump's visit is centred on the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the liberation of Europe in World War II. "As we honour our shared victory and heritage, we affirm the common values that will unite us long into future," he said at the banquet. "Freedom, sovereignty, self-determination, the rule of law and reverence for the rights given to us by almighty God." He said Queen Elizabeth was a "great, great woman... a constant symbol of these priceless traditions", who embodied British "dignity, duty and patriotism". Queen Elizabeth said Britain and the United States had built post-war international institutions for "nations working together to safeguard a hard-won peace". The monarch said the two nations were united by their security, shared heritage, strong cultural links and strong economic ties. "I am confident that our common values and shared interests will continue to unite us." - 'Great love all around' - The British sovereign earlier welcomed Trump and his wife Melania with a military guard of honour on a day filled with ceremony and personal touches. The monarch hosted a private lunch for the couple and showed them the royal art collection, ahead of the glittering banquet. Trump seemed to be enjoying the visit, taking to Twitter during his down time. "London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong," he said. "Haven't seen any protests yet, but I'm sure the fake news will be working hard to find them. Great love all around." But the day began with controversy as, even before his plane touched down, the president lambasted Khan, who on Sunday revived their spat by comparing Trump to 20th-century fascists. Trump, in return, called him a "stone cold loser" who had done a "terrible job" as London mayor. Eight members of the Trump dynasty were at the state banquet, with the four eldest of Trump's five children joining 16 members of the royal family and business chiefs at the U-shaped table. They dined on steamed fillet of halibut followed by saddle of new season Windsor lamb, strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream and fresh fruit. - Protests planned - Trump's visit comes at a difficult time for Britain, with Theresa May due to step down as prime minister within weeks, over her handling of Brexit. Trump weighed in on the impasse at the weekend, saying he would walk away if he could not get a deal he liked. "Big trade deal is possible once UK gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk!" he tweeted Monday. The UK-US "special relationship" was already under strain over different approaches to Iran, the use of Chinese technology in 5G networks, climate change, and Trump's personal politics. May announced her impending resignation last month after failing to get her Brexit plan through parliament and twice delaying Britain's departure. Trump's first official visit to Britain last year was also marked by criticism of May's Brexit strategy and large protests. Demonstration organisers are hoping for a repeat of the protests on Tuesday during which they will once again fly a bright orange "baby Trump" balloon. Labour's main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn boycotted the state banquet, along with other opposition leaders and John Bercow, the speaker of parliament's lower House of Commons. Corbyn instead made a last-minute decision to speak at Tuesday's anti-Trump demonstrations, calling them "an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked", including Khan. On Wednesday, May and Trump will join other world leaders in the English port of Portsmouth to commemorate 75 years since the D-Day landings, which changed the course of World War II. A specially-designed card is left on items used to 'chope' tables or seats in public eating spaces to remind patrons not to do it. (PHOTO: Anti-Chope Movement/Facebook) SINGAPORE Katelin Teo, 43, had sat down for lunch in a food centre, not knowing that the table had been choped (Singlish for reserving) by a person with a half-filled water bottle. When the stranger arrived back and asked her to leave the seat, Teo stood firm and refused to move. Angered, the man flashed his middle finger and eventually walked away. To me, its my right to sit down at the table, said Teo, associate general secretary of partnerships at the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM). The incident, along with her observations of such ungracious behaviour by fellow Singaporeans in public eating places, spurred Teo to start a small movement that aims to tackle her long-drawn pet peeve. Chope-ing is done everywhere and anywhere - hawker centres, food court in malls and even fast food centres like McDonalds and Jollibee, said Teo, who was formerly working in the advertising industry. Singaporeans eat round the clock - and chope-ing happens round the clock. Just because it has been done for years doesnt make it right, she added. The Anti-Chope Movement, which was started by Teo in April last year, attempts to correct such social behaviour. Each time she sees a table or seat choped with an item, such as a packet of tissue paper or an umbrella, she leaves a specially-designed card on top of it that reminds patrons not to do it. Around 500 cards have been given out by Teo over a six-month period during her twice-a-week visits to food courts and hawker centres. Her friends, Stacey Ann Nonis, 38, and Julia Hee, 34 - both from the finance sector - have joined Teo in her mission. For her efforts, the Anti-Chope Movement was among 22 ground-up movements and individuals - including actors Adrian Pang, Li Nanxing and Constance Song - to be inducted into the SKMs Kindred Spirit Circle last Saturday (25 May). From left to right: Anti-Chope Movement founder Katelin Teo and fellow "ambassadors" Stacey Ann Nonis and Julia Hee. (PHOTO: Anti-Chope Movement) While her attempts so far have mostly been met with confusion, with some mistaking it for a prank, or indifference (they frown, look around and put the card aside and continue with their food), Teo remains undeterred. Story continues For a start, buoyed by recent media coverage, netizens have left positive feedback on the movements Facebook page, denouncing the Singaporean habit of chope-ing. It is good to see that there are like-minded people out there, said Teo. More social media awareness would help the cause, especially getting more ambassadors on board and stationing them at more notorious chope-ing spots, including hawker centres in Chinatown and Raffles City, she added. While getting people to stop chope-ing would be a long-drawn effort, Teo remains optimistic that it would take off with enough awareness. For instance, her movement can take heart from the positive response to the National Tray Return Initiative, launched by the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the SKM in 2012. With messages to return trays highlighted at many eating places, diners have been spurred into clearing their tables after eating, she explained. Findings from a 2018 survey by the Singapore Management University (SMU) released earlier this month showed that almost five in 10 respondents said they clear their food utensils at hawker centres most or all of the time. One way to tackle the issue of chope-ing is for diners to leave after eating, especially during peak hours, so people dont have to be kiasu (Singlish for scared to lose) and chope, noted Teo. I know I would be challenged by people who are time-conscious and think this is the most efficient way to conduct your lunch...(but) I am confident (that Singaporeans will break the habit), she added. It will take years, but if everybody is on board, eventually. More Singapore stories: Almost half of Singapore residents clear their food utensils at hawker centres: survey From back alley to office, volunteers give free haircuts for those in need Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant - Black Truffle, Quinoa and Kurobuta Belly Rice Dumpling. (PHOTO: Li Bai) By Alyssa Chung SINGAPORE The Duanwu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival is here again this year, the day to commemorate Qu Yuan falls on this Friday (7 June). In case you need to know where to buy atas (high-end) rice dumplings, or chang, as gifts for your family and friends, here's where you can pick up some yummy ones. Li Bai Li Bai at Sheraton Towers Singapore offers three rice dumpling creations for dine-in and takeaway from now till 7 June. An interesting new item this year is the Kurobuta with Black Truffle and Quinoa Rice Dumpling, packed with tender slow-braised Kurobuta belly, black truffle, quinoa, salted egg yolk, chestnut and conpoy. This satisfying bundle is available in two sizes: small at $28 and regular at $48. Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant - Abalone and Pumpkin Rice Dumpling. (PHOTO: Li Bai) Those who prefer a more classic rendition can go for the signature Traditional Rice Dumpling ($42) crammed with pork belly, roast duck, Chinese mushroom, chestnut, salted egg, conpoy and dried shrimp. For something more luxe, try the premium Abalone and Pumpkin Rice Dumpling (S$48) generously filled with whole abalone, pumpkin, Chinese mushroom, pork belly, salted egg, chestnut, conpoy and mung bean. Black Truffle Roasted Duck and Pork Belly Five Grain Dumpling and Brown and Glutinous Rice Sakura Ebi Dumpling. (PHOTO: Paradise Group) READ MORE: 6 new restaurants in Singapore 48 hours in . . . Tokyo, an insider guide to Japan's neon city We chat with 'Story of Yanxi Palace' star Nie Yuan Park Regis Singapore takes its guests through a food heritage trail Paradise Group This year, Paradise Group restaurants are introducing two new healthier rice dumpling options: the Brown and Glutinous Rice Pork and Sakura Ebi Dumpling ($9.80) and Black Truffle Roasted Duck and Pork Belly Five Grain Dumpling ($12.80). For the latter, packed within the combination of black glutinous, five-grain and glutinous rice are roasted duck meat, roasted pork belly, chestnut, salted egg yolk and dried shrimp. The dumpling is then perfumed with black truffle, truffle oil and sesame oil. Besides the two new items, Paradise Group will offer other variations such as Premium Abalone Dumpling ($23.80) and the Deluxe Pork Dumpling with Conpoy and Chestnut ($10.80) glutinous rice is stir-fried with special sauces before being wrapped and steamed. The flavour is perked up further with deep-fried shallot, five-spice powder, dried scallops and shiitake mushroom. If you have a sweet tooth, consider the Red Bean Paste and Pine Nut Lye Dumpling ($5.80), great when paired with Chinese teas. To enjoy a little bit of everything, get a pack of four dumplings at just $50.20. Story continues Rice dumplings. (PHOTO: Xi Yan) Xi Yan Xi Yans three unique rice dumpling flavours are inspired by the restaurant's signature recipes: Dongpo pork with mushrooms; XO sauce with Hong Kong pork and liver sausages dumpling; and Black Truffle Chicken dumplings. Each delicious parcel comes with chestnut and mushrooms and are priced at $5.50 each. And if you love salted yolk, these dumplings also come with added salted yolk at $6.50 each. Handmade to order and filled with the freshest ingredients, they are sold from now till 7 June for dine-in or takeaway at both the Xi Yan outlets at Shaw Centre and the i12 Katong mall. While purchases can be made at the outlets during operating hours, advance pre-ordering is recommended in case certain flavours are sold out for the day. Rice dumplings. (PHOTO: Summer Palace) Summer Palace This year, Summer Palace at Regent Hotel brings back four of its best-selling rice dumpling flavours, available from now till 7 June. You cant go wrong with the classic Steamed Abalone Rice Dumpling filled with abalone, black mushrooms, chestnuts, green beans, dried scallops, roasted duck and salted egg yolk ($38). Or try the Steamed Dried Oyster Rice Dumpling teeming with dried oysters, sea moss and kurobuta pork ($28). Those who prefer a wholesome meat-free alternative can go for the Steamed Eight Treasures Brown Rice Dumpling loaded with a nutritious blend of grains, lotus seeds, morel mushrooms, bamboo pith, oat, barley, sweet corn, black mushrooms, chestnuts and green beans ($22). And sweeten the festival with the Steamed Red Bean Paste Rice Dumpling laced with lightly floral osmanthus honey ($13). Rice dumplings. (PHOTO: Hua Ting) Hua Ting Hua Ting at Orchard Hotel is rolling out a trio of house-crafted rice dumplings for dine-in and takeaway from now till 7 June. Shaped like a rectangular golden pillow, the signature Hong Kong Style Rice Dumpling with Abalone, Roasted Meat, Dried Scallops and Beans ($32.80) comprises abalone, roasted duck, roasted pork, dried scallops, mushrooms, salted egg yolk and chestnuts, all encased in premium glutinous rice. Great for the health-consious is the new Rice Dumpling with Pork Bone Cartilage and Organic Black Garlic ($18.80). Another new creation which durian lovers will enjoy is the decadent Rice Dumpling with Mao Shan Wang Durian and Sago ($16.80). Hua Ting Restaurants Assorted Dumplings are also ideal for gifting. Each set priced at $62.80 comprises all three varieties of dumplings mentioned above. Hong Kong Style Abalone Rice Dumpling. (PHOTO: Jade Restaurant) Jade Over at Fullerton, you can pick up Jade restaurant's Traditional Pork Belly with Salted Egg Yolk Glutinous Rice Dumpling teeming with marinated pork belly, salted egg yolk, shiitake mushroom, black-eye bean and chestnut. For the health conscious, theres the Vegetarian Five-Grain and Assorted Mushrooms with Omnipork Glutinous Rice Dumpling. This dumpling features glutinous rice scented with five-spice alongside wholesome grains such as Oats, Barley and Brown Rice. In place of meat, the dumpling features Omnipork - a blend of plant-based protein from pea, non-GMO soy, shiitake mushroom and rice lightly pan-fried with ginger. For something ultra luxurious, try the Hong Kong Style Abalone Glutinous Rice Dumpling brimming with two 10-head Abalones, Dried Scallop, Roast Duck, Roast Pork Belly, Marinated Pork Belly, Salted Egg Yolk, Mushroom, Green Bean, Lotus Seed and Chestnut. Those looking for an impressive gift for the family, can request for the Golden Treasures ($88 per basket) comprising a set of eight assorted dumplings in two flavours (Traditional Pork Belly with Salted Egg Yolk, and Vegetarian Five-Grain with Omnipork). Traditional 'Hakka' Pork Belly Rice Dumpling, Hong Kong Style Rice Dumpling, and Vegetarian Rice Dumpling (from top to bottom). (PHOTO: Peach Blossom) Peach Blossoms Peach Blossoms at Marina Mandarin has rolled out a variety of rice dumplings this year. New creative ones to sink your teeth into are the Southeast Asian-inspired rice dumpling with Rendang Kurobuta and Otah ($12.80), as well as the unique Blue Flower Rice Dumpling with Japanese Purple Sweet Potato and Egg Custard ($12.80). Purists can still opt for the classic Hong Kong Style Rice Dumpling ($28.80) filled with abalone, conpoy, pork belly, mushrooms, salted egg yolk, chestnut, lotus seeds and lentils. Perfect for family or business associates, the Peach Blossoms Dumpling Gift Set ($68.80) comprises an assortment of four rice dumplings: Hong Kong Style Rice Dumpling; Traditional Hakka Pork Belly Rice Dumpling; Vegetarian Rice Dumpling with Spiced Mock Meat and Cordyceps Flower; and Blue Flower Rice Dumpling with Japanese Purple Sweet Potato and Egg Custard. Whats great is that you will receive a complimentary jar of Peach Blossoms Homemade Dried Shrimp Chilli Paste with each set. Place your orders at least three days prior to collection date. Collect them at Peach Blossoms (level 5) from 12pm to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to 10.30pm daily, from now to 7 June 2019. Follow Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore on Facebook. Using a combination of unique QR codes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) emitters integrated into the label or the bottleneck foil, each bottle of bubbly can now be tracked to help battle counterfeiting of the luxury product Champagne is now connected: Thanks to tracking technology, champagne houses now have tools to better guard against fraud while gaining a new channel to interact with their customers. Using a combination of unique QR codes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) emitters integrated into the label or the bottleneck foil, each bottle of bubbly can now be tracked to help battle counterfeiting of the luxury product. "In 2016, we didn't print any connected labels. In 2019 we'll be at one million! The market has doubled each year," said Arnold Deregnaucourt, head of Billet, a company which has specialised in printing labels for champagne bottles for more than a century. While a number of firms like Adents, Antares Vision and Tesa Scribos offer food and beverage makers a way to track their goods, Billet hopes that its long history working with the champagne industry will give it an advantage in adapting the technology to its practices. Laurent Berns, founder of TraceAWine, a technology startup that has acquired Billet, said QR codes are sufficient for smaller champagne houses, but for those with production lines that handle more than 12,000 bottles per hour the RFID emitters are added to speed up the process as they allow for scanning bottles inside boxes. With a QR code and RFID emitter on each bottle carrying a unique code, which is linked to a unique internet address, one can track the journey each bottle makes from the champagne house to your house. Or not. "We can detect anomalies like, for example, a bottle which is scanned in Britain but then ends up in Russia," said Berns. "Our system will alert the client." Champagne houses, like other makers of luxury products, don't only worry about outright counterfeiting, but controlling their supply chains to ensure prices aren't undercut in parallel or grey markets. - Foiling counterfeiters - This is something that the owner of the Pierre Peters champagne house, located in the heart of the prestigious Cote de Blancs region, knows about all too well. Story continues "Our champagnes are sold to importers, restaurants, wine shops," said Rodolphe Peters, who is also cellar master at the house founded in 1854. "We don't sell to individuals any more except for a few long-time clients, but several were profiting by selling bottles for two or three times higher." The connected labels helped him track down those who were reselling their bottles in the United States, putting pressure on the prices he charged there. The SGV trade association of growers and winemakers in Champagne wants to go further. After six years of research and development, it began offering in 2017 a capsule integrating a QR code that not only tracks the bottle, but acts as a guarantee of the authenticity of the champagne inside. A capsule is what winemakers call the protective wrapping or coating at the top of the bottle, which was originally developed to protect corks from rodents and weevils. While other wine and alcohol makers have used QR codes and RFID emitters, the SVG believes that champagne makers are the first to use them in the capsules. - 'A real revolution' - "What is new, and which isn't easy to accomplish, is the integration of the technology in the capsules which are made of complex materials and are manufactured with heat," said Catherine Chamourin, head of projects at SGV. "We chose to put the codes on the capsules rather than the labels or the bottle as the capsules are destroyed when opening the bottle and can't be reused," she added. This makes them much like the excise tax labels that some countries affix onto the top of alcohol bottles, which makes it impossible for them to be used again, and provides an indication that the product is genuine and hasn't been tampered with. French wine and champagne bottles sold domestically already carry an excise tax label on the capsule, which consumers appreciate as it contains information whether the winery uses its own grapes or buys them from others. Eric Lamaille, who heads up the capsule project at SGV, said winemakers are very enthusiastic about the capsules with integrated QR codes and several million have already been sold. He called it "a real revolution". The revolution is the not just in the tracking, but in connecting producers and consumers. While both appreciate that the information about the product's journey ensures it is genuine, when the customer scans the QR code on their smartphone it is an opportunity for both to learn more about the other. Reims-based champagne house Krug has been doing this with its ID bottles for the past six years. A code on the back label is the key to a treasure chest of information. "The history of the house and the bottle, the composition of the champagne, the land parcels used, how long it spent in the cellar, serving suggestions and food pairing tips and even advice on what music to listen to," said the house's director, Olivier Krug. "Digital even allows our connoisseurs to meet," he added. With luxury brands eager to bolster the experience around their products, learning who their customers are and drawing them into their websites is an important development that will have marketing managers lifting their glasses in celebration. Lyft announced this weekend that eligible drivers in Portland will be able to charge their EVs for free thanks to a new partnership with Portland General Electric. In February, Lyft added a "Green Mode" option to its platform allowing riders to request to be transported only by either a 100% electric or hybrid vehicle. On Saturday, the company further demonstrated its commitment to reducing emissions by announcing a partnership with Portland General Electric that will allow eligible Lyft drivers to charge their cars for free at select locations. According to the VP of Public Policy at PGE Dave Robertson, "There is no greater imperative right now than fighting the effects of climate change, which requires addressing greenhouse gas emissions from transportation," a statement that aligns with Lyft's Green Cities Initiative, a commitment by the company to reduce vehicle-based carbon emissions. As of Monday, free EV charging is only available to eligible Lyft drivers in Portland, Oregon. Though the company has not explicitly expressed plans to offer this in other areas, Lyft's commitment to sustainability and sustainable transportation points to an expansion of the offer in the future. Milksha's five signature products (from left): Azuki Matcha Milk, Fresh Taro Milk, Refreshing Orange Green Tea, Earl Grey Latte with Honey Pearl and Valrhona 100% Cocoa Milk. (PHOTO: Milksha) The bubble tea craze is still going strong in Singapore: another Taiwanese premium bubble tea chain, Milksha, is throwing down the gauntlet amid intense competition from numerous brands that have launched here in the last year or so. By the end of this month, Milksha will open a flagship outlet first at Suntec City Mall, then a second outlet in Funan Mall, which is scheduled to reopen on 28 June after a three-year revamp. Milksha will announce the exact opening dates soon. 100 Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore readers will be able to enjoy a free Milksha beverage at the Suntec City outlet. Read on for the details below. A queue of customers at a Milksha outlet in Hong Kong. (PHOTO: Milksha) The brand is known as Milkshop in Taiwan and Milksha outside of Taiwan. It currently has over 230 outlets in Taiwan, as well as 20 outlets in China and two in Hong Kong. Milkshas brand mission is natural, handmade and unique milk beverages, and it uses only fresh milk instead of creamer. Furthermore, no preservatives or artificial colouring are used in its beverages. Another key ingredient of Milksha is its honey boba pearls, which are frozen as soon as they are cooked, and will be air-flown directly to Singapore. Milksha says its quick-freeze technology maintains the texture and taste consistency of each pearl. Milkshas five signature beverages are Azuki Matcha Milk, Fresh Taro Milk, Refreshing Orange Green Tea, Earl Grey Latte with Honey Pearl and Valrhona 100% Cocoa Milk. Premium ingredients are used for these drinks: for example, the Azuki Matcha Milk uses matcha tea imported from the century-old Japanese brand Izumo Tousuien, while the Valrhona 100% Cocoa Milk contains premium Valrhona cocoa from France. Milksha giveaway for Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore readers 100 lucky Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore readers can redeem one free beverage on one day during the opening week of Milkshas Suntec City outlet. All you have to do is like Yahoo Lifestyle Singapores Facebook page and flash our Facebook page as well as this news article in your mobile phone internet browser to Milksha staff. Story continues Watch this space as more details will be given once Milksha officially announces their store opening dates! If youre willing to pay but wish to be guaranteed a Milksha drink on their opening day, you can pre-order a drink on bookings platform Klook at a $2 discount. This offer is limited to 320 cups. Follow Yahoo Lifestyle Singapore on Facebook. Solo travel is becoming more and more common, but most experiences are tailored to couples or groups, with prices to match. Riviera River Cruises is taking a different approach by catering to solo travelers with voyages created exclusively for people who will be traveling alone. And rather than strapping solo travelers with pricey single supplements additional fees imposed to compensate for decreased occupancy the company boasts a single supplement-free policy. Courtesy of Riviera River Cruises Riviera River Cruises announced three new solo travel cruise departures for the 2020 season including a five-day trip through the Netherlands, an eight day-trip in France, and an eight-day excursion through medieval Germany. In addition to new offerings, four established solo travel excursions are returning in 2020, including river trips through Austria, Hungary, Southern France, and Portugal. %image1 Rivieras five-star ships offer travelers spacious cabins and suites, expert-led excursions, and onboard culinary experiences. Prices for solo excursions vary, but start as low as $1,389 per person. In addition to solo-specific trips, every Riviera departure offers a limited number of single supplement-free cabins. 3 Jun Hong Kong actor Sammul Chan recently admitted that he found his faith again after being diagnosed with cerebrovascular disease. As reported on HK01, the actor, who was invited to talk about his journey in a church event recently, revealed that he began to reexamine his life following the diagnosis given after a detailed physical examination he underwent in Thailand last year. "I realised that aside from my obsessive-compulsive disorder, it was also hard for me to trust anyone other than my family and my managers. I also became more and more attuned to being alone the older I get," he said. Sammul admitted that he once thought about committing suicide while going for a dive in the ocean. "I thought that if I just dove deeper, no one would find me. It was just a passing thought, but it was a red flag," he said. Although he grew distant from religion as he got older, Sammul said that his family urged him to return to church because of his suicidal thoughts. "I decided to reconnect with my faith. I learned that before I was born, my father prayed that God would bestow all the best material for my creation. I have not lived well for the past 40 years. But I decided to let God guide me now," he said. (Photo Source: U Lifestyle) It's finally here! Taylor Swift's second song off her new album, "Lover," is "You Need to Calm Down" and it speaks out against online bullying, homophobia, and sexism. Listen here! Pride Month kicked off on June 1st, and Taylor Swift is already hard at work being an ally. She penned an open letter to Republican Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander in support of the Equality Act, which advocates for the prevention of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Along with an online petition, Swift hopes her letter will inspire others to contact their senators and demand they support the act when it appears in the Senate. undefined undefined Swift begins her letter to Senator Alexander by commending him for co-sponsoring a resolution to honor the centennial celebration of passing the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. She then outlines the cruciality of the passage of the Equality Act and how, if its not passed, the lack of protection would be detrimental to Tennessee citizens as well as the states economy. Story continues Swift also states that she rejects the presidents negative remarks about the Equality Act. undefined During her June 2nd performance at iHeartRadios Wango Tango, Swift urged fans to check out her Change.org petition. It had been signed by over 99,000 people as of June 3rd. Its for the Equality Act, and it basically just says that we want to send a message to our government that we believe everybody should be treated fairly in this country, Swift said, Rolling Stone reports. If you sign it, it would really mean a lot to me, because I think we need to stick up for each other and stand together. Dont you? Sign the petition and contact your state Senator regarding the Equality Act. Swift, and many others, will thank you. DAKOTA CITY -- Once Big Ox Energy resumes operations, the company plans to seek Dakota County farmers willing to apply the plant's organic waste to their fields. The sludge material, a byproduct of liquid food waste the biofuels company processes from a number of local companies, is rich in nutrients that could help farmers offset their commercial fertilizer expenses, Big Ox plant manager Jody Anderson told the Dakota County Board of Commissioners Monday. Anderson said providing the material to farmers is preferable to hauling it to landfills, and Big Ox hopes to obtain the necessary permits to apply the waste in Nebraska farm fields. The company has a permit from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and is currently hauling the material, defined in its Iowa permit application as "anaerobic digestion sludge from agricultural and organic waste," to sites in Woodbury and Cherokee counties across the border from its South Sioux City plant. Anderson presented an analysis that showed the materials were within federal Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for toxic metals content. "We're in line with requirements from the EPA," Anderson said. Dakota County residents attending Monday's meeting made it obvious to board members they'd rather not see any materials from the plant, which has been cited for environmental violations and the subject of numerous odor complaints, deposited in the county. "The bottom line is organic smells, and I'm really sick of smelling s--- at my house," Wendy Modlin said. "This company has not done things right since day one." What role the Dakota County board would have in allowing application of the waste is not completely known. Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality officials said Big Ox could be subject to conditional use permits from each county in which it wishes to deposit the material. Permits also could be required from either the NDEQ or the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. County Board chairman Martin Hohenstein told the concerned residents that commissioners would carefully consider the matter. "We're an ag county. We're not looking at doing anything to hurt Dakota County," Hohenstein said. "They haven't asked us for anything. They're giving us information." Big Ox ceased operations on April 30, when the plant's wastewater treatment operations were shut down after its wastewater discharge permit was not renewed by the city of Sioux City. The Wisconsin-based company two weeks earlier had suspended its biogas production operations in order to make repairs it hopes will alleviate odor and emissions issues. Prior to shutdown, Anderson said, the plant accepted 1.5 million pounds of liquid organic food waste per day from local food manufacturers and converted it to methane. Big Ox also received wastewater from other South Sioux City industries, pretreated it and discharged it to Sioux City's regional wastewater treatment plant. When fully operational, the plant produces 200 tons of the organic sludge daily, Anderson said. The Wisconsin-based company has been cited several times for environmental violations, including an NDEQ citation earlier this year for storing the solid waste on site. It has been ordered to clean up the stockpile by July 1. The plant also has had problems with repeated venting of hydrogen sulfide gas into the atmosphere and solid waste spills. The company is to appear before the NDEQ for a July 8 show cause hearing to justify why it should be allowed to keep its state storm water and air quality permits. Big Ox began operations in September 2016, and soon after a neighborhood near the plant experienced sewer backups, and residents complained of noxious fumes being emitted from the plant. Those emissions and odor issues have led to more than a dozen lawsuits filed against Big Ox and the city by homeowners in the plant's vicinity. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SIOUX CITY When Alicia Hummel would go fishing, she did so with the rod sticking through the sun roof of her grey Ford Fusion as she drove. She never took the time to collapse her rod. After all, she was always in a hurry to live the next moment, to do something spontaneous. Most of the time, Alicia wanted to be with others. She loved the thrill of companionship, of nights out with friends for hot dates, as shed call them only one drink, something fruity. Or traveling miles and miles to sit with a friend as she got a perm her first since grade school, something of a big deal. But there were other times, in the quiet moments when Alicia was scared of how her life would unfold. She would sit in a reclining chair, away from the world besides her most trusted friends and not say a word. Sometimes in those moments, Alicia would go fishing to find peace of mind. Thats what Amanda Abraham hopes her friend was doing the day Alicia was murdered four years ago Saturday. Gone fishing Alicia Hummel's last day on Earth was her first day of vacation from her job at Siouxland Family Center in Dakota City, where she taught Early Head Start classes. She worked with children, something her friends recall as her passion in life. It was the beginning of summer. She was going fishing. The previous weekend was something special for the Abraham family, a family Alicia felt a part of, Amanda said. Each year, on the last weekend of May, the Abraham family would meet in Minnesota to fish and be with one another. It was a moment that Alicia wanted to be a part of. But there wasn't another seat in the car for her, a painful fact that sticks in Amanda's mind. "You just feel like if you would have done something differently, or been there with her," Amanda said. "There's always those 'what-ifs?'" Still, Alicia was determined to go fishing, so she did. In the early afternoon of June 1, 2015, she drove from her Sioux City home northwest to Myron Grove, a remote recreational area along the Missouri River in rural Clay County, South Dakota. She went there to fish, presumably driving with her rod sticking out the sun roof. Want to go fishing? Angel Abraham, Amanda's 21-year-old daughter, remembers Alicia messaging her. Ill come out later, Angel responded. Angel waited for a reply, an acknowledgement that Alicia knew Angel would come. But another message never came. That was the final communication Angel had with Alicia, who she saw as an older sister. Angel believes it may have been one of the final conversations Alicia had with anyone before she died. A state boat ramp attendant found Alicia in the water near the shore about 2 p.m. According to Angel, Alicia decided to go fishing without her and possibly meet up later. To Angel and Amanda, that was a normal thing for Alicia to do. Now, Angel wonders if she had set aside what she was doing and had gone fishing with Alicia if things would have been different. She was at peace with everything, she was ready to move on, said Amanda, who had helped Alicia through some of the hardest moments in her life, citing a pending divorce. She was finally on the path to find her own happiness after everything that she had just went through. And then that was just taken away from her. I mean, she didnt really get to fulfill any of it. It is unclear whether or not Alicia was alone that day at Myron Grove. Several photographs exist of her time there, social media updates and pictures that she sent to friends. Friends like Bethany Svacina, who had known her since their days in kindergarten together, remember Alicia fondly for her constant picture taking. Many friends, including Amanda and Angel, received Snapchat photos and text messages from Alicia that day at Myron Grove. Alicias messages revealed that there were others at the river access the day she was murdered, but that is something Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe doesnt find unusual. What he finds unusual is the silence surrounding those that may have been there. Not one person has come forward to us to tell us they were there, Howe said. But yet traffic goes in and out of there all the time ... We havent spoken to anyone that day that was on the river that passed by that area that might have seen anything that could help us. Regardless, after four years, no one has come forward to say they were present at Myron Grove that day. An open case In Vermillion, which is about 11 miles from Myron Grove, cases like Hummels stick in the minds of its residents. Each day, when Howe enters the office, he remembers Alicia when he sees the flyer with her face on it. Its one I think about every day, Howe said. An autopsy showed she died of drowning in the Missouri after receiving blunt force trauma to her head and an incised wound on her neck. Howe said that any murder weapon was never found. At the funeral, Amanda Abraham remembered the high collar Alicia was dressed in and the long sleeves that covered up the bruising on her hands and arms. She believes Alicia fought back that day at Myron Grove, a thought that haunts her to this day. In the beginning, law enforcements primary lead was a dark-colored vehicle believed to have been in the area that day. Now, Howe and the others are looking for new clues. He said they are still sending evidence to the forensics laboratory, hoping something will point them in the right direction. I always think that today could be the day. That the phone rings and we get a break, Howe said. Im optimistic that that day will come. You just never know when its going to be. Howe said that several suspects are still being investigated in the case, though he did not identify any of them. Beyond that, Howe said, any evidence or other information law enforcement has is being kept under wraps in hopes of finding the murderer and successfully prosecuting them. But for those that knew her and loved her, like Jody Hanson, the last four years have been defined by anger. Hanson said that she wants justice for her friend, and with each year, she said it gets harder. Life beyond Alicia Its a Wednesday in Elk Point, South Dakota, as the early summer rain pitter-patters against Bethany Svacinas parents' driveway. Her two children play on the carpet with building blocks, Matchbox cars and bouncy balls as she remembers her friend who has been gone for four years. I think lives change and theres part of me that thinks, Oh yeah, that is almost a separate life than where we are now, Svacina said. But then I think we (Alicia and I) have had those talks. We talked about having kids ... But yeah, life has dramatically changed. In the weeks, months and years since Alicia was buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City, weddings and life moments have taken place. Dejay Langel is married. Svacina has two children. Alicia's sister, Erica Kampfe, has another child on the way. Sometimes, when Kampfe drives around Sioux City with her son in the car, he'll point to any random cemetery and say, 'We should go see Alicia.' To Kampfe, those moments let her know that Alicia is still with her, still a part of her life. Thats her trying to come in to say, 'I'm still here,'" Kampfe said. To Langel, a new kind of pain set in after his wedding. Years ago, he danced with Alicia at her own wedding. After June 1, 2015, she couldnt dance with him at his. Its important that people dont forget who she was, Svacina said. She wasnt just somebody off the street ... She was a 29-year old female, was a great friend and a great aunt ... What happened to her should not define her. That shouldnt be what people remember, the brutality of her murder. What people should remember is how awesome she was as an individual and what she offered this world. Four years later, Svacina understands that life has begun to move on. But each time her 3-year-old son points at a picture of Alicia and asks, Whos that, Mommy? she knows how important it is to remember Alicia for who she was, not for how she died. In the end, the people she affected in her life remember her for who she was, they said. Regardless of the fact that she couldnt hurt a fly, she wanted to be a roller derby dame. She laughed a laugh that Amanda Abraham says she can still hear today. Children were her passion in life, her sister said. She wore jean shorts with cowboy boots, a fashion sense that her friends have later acknowledged as simply Alicia. She blasted Luke Bryan on her car radio. Cheetah print was her go-to and pink was her favorite color after all, that was the color of her casket. She was unique, and bubbly, and smiling all the time, her friends said. She was Alicia. Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 According to a Sioux City Police Department news release, an unidentified juvenile male had placed an order with Domino's Pizza for a delivery to 2300 S. Nicollet St. When the driver arrived at the address at about 4 p.m., he was approached by a juvenile male and a juvenile female. The male displayed a handgun and told the driver to give him his money and keys. SIOUX CITY -- Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller said Monday he has requested records on clergy abuse from the state's four Catholic dioceses, including the Sioux City-based diocese. Millers office also has launched a hotline (855-620-7000) for survivors to call to report abuse. Dioceses in Sioux City, Davenport, Des Moines and Dubuque were asked to turn over the requested records by Aug. 1. Miller is seeking records and files on several topics, including lists of all priests, deacons or other clergy who have been deemed as credibly accused and not credible accusations of sexual abuse by the dioceses, as well as the definition of credibly accused, sexual misconduct and sexual abuse. The attorney general also is requesting notes from meetings of diocesan boards of reviews that were convened to consider accusations; documentation of reports of abuse received by diocesan officials and actions taken; and copies of all settlement agreements that diocesan officials entered into with abuse survivors. In the letters to the bishops, the Iowa attorney general said his office has met with survivors of abuse by clergy and invited victims to contact the office. In some cases, their stories have never been made public. These survivors have urged us to investigate and bring attention to the injustice they and others have suffered, Miller wrote. We agree that full transparency is necessary to provide justice and ultimately, reconciliation and healing. Miller said he appreciated that bishops met with him and made public the lists of credibly accused priests. But we believe that in this context, a credible third-party review is warranted, the attorney general added. In February, the Sioux City diocese made public the names of 28 priests who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing more than 100 children while serving in the sprawling Northwest Iowa diocese. A diocese review board prepared the report after examining records dating to the diocese's founding in 1902. The most recent case occurred in 1995, and none of the priests currently serve in the ministry or are active with youth. All but six are deceased, the diocese said. But last month, an advocacy group, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, called on the Sioux City diocese to identify other church leaders who abused children or adults. SNAP president Tim Lennon, who was abused by a priest in Sioux City as a 12-year-old in the 1960s, said the diocese list excluded nuns, brothers and deacons and religious order priests who have been accused of abuse. The church also did not list priests or other church officials who victimized other adults, he said. In a statement, the diocese noted its independent review board "worked diligently" to review all allegations of priests including deacons and religious order priests who have been credibly accused of abuse of a minor while serving in the diocese. Any allegation brought against a brother or nun is referred to their individual religious order for review and action, the diocese said. Senate Minority Leader Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, who appeared with Lennon at a May 22 news conference in Des Moines, praised Millers latest actions. While the attorney generals request of the Catholic dioceses was limited only to clergy, I am hopeful he will expand the scope of the investigation to include any sex abuse reported in their dioceses, Petersen said in a statement. She also called on the Legislature next session to pass meaningful legislation to remove Iowas criminal and civil statute of limitations and give adult survivors a five-year period to seek justice. Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, said the Catholic bishops of Iowa are pledging cooperation with Millers request for information to be voluntarily provided regarding clergy sexual abuse. Each diocese, in the interest of transparency and accountability, plans to comply with the attorney generals request, Chapman said in a statement. In fact, most of the information requested is already a matter of public record. Also, the efforts of each diocese to protect minors from clergy sexual abuse have for many years now been subject to an annual credible third-party review, Chapman added. It is our hope that the attorney general will use the resources of his office to protect minors from the scourge of sexual abuse wherever it occurs, and not limit his focus just on the Catholic Church. Miller's office said trained advocates will be available to gather information from survivors who call the state's new hotline. Survivors also can fill out a questionnaire, in English or Spanish, at iowaattorneygeneral.gov. An investigator will review reports and may seek more information. The identities of survivors will remain confidential. The Journal Des Moines Bureau contributed to this story. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 CEDAR RAPIDS Rita Hart, the only Democrat actively seeking her partys nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack in Iowas 2nd Congressional District, has scored another endorsement, this one from state Auditor Rob Sand. Iowa families need Rita Hart fighting for them in Washington, Sand said Sunday. Her deep integrity and experience as a farmer, teacher and state senator make me proud to support her today. Rita will always stand up to the Washington special interests and never back down from tough challenges, said Sand, who was elected to his post in 2018. His endorsement follows Loebsacks endorsement last week. Loebsack, first elected in 2006, has announced he will not seek re-election in 2020. Although there are hints other Democrats will seek the nomination in the 24-county southeast Iowa district, so far Hart is the only active Democratic candidate. Osceola Mayor Thomas Kedley has filed for the Republican nomination. The district, which re-elected Loebsack after backing Donald Trump in 2016, is considered a swing district and one Republicans hope to capture in 2020. Hart said she was thrilled to have Sands endorsement. Rob and I agree that we have to restore peoples trust in government and can never forget who we work for hardworking Iowa families, she said. In announcing his endorsement, Sand said its not something he takes lightly because I wouldnt be endorsing someone unless I thought they embodied the values Iowans truly want to see in government and public service. Hart is a farmer and 20-year educator who also served in the Iowa Senate. In 2018, she was the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, running with Fred Hubbell. She and her husband, Paul, have five children. They farm near Wheatland, raising corn and soybeans since 1986. In addition to the backing from Loebsack and Sand, Hart has been endorsed by more than 70 Democratic activists, leaders and officeholders. Sand has not ruled out making endorsements in other races, but said in Harts case it was a unique opportunity to make clear Rita is the partner at the federal level Rob needs to get work done for the families of the 2nd District. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. It's a familiar quote from Charles Dickens' classic "Oliver Twist," but with special contemporary relevance in light of a statement last week by Special Counsel Robert Mueller: "'If the law supposes that,' said Mr. Bumble... 'the law is a ass -- a idiot.'" But it isn't so much that the law is fractured, rather it is practitioners who sometimes do it an injustice. In a statement at the Justice Department during which he resigned and announced the closing of his office, Mueller said this about indicted Russian hackers who attempted to influence the outcome of the 2016 election: "These indictments contain allegations and we are not commenting on the guilt or the innocence of any specific defendant. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty." Moments later, Mueller said about President Trump and allegations (mostly by Democrats and the media) that he obstructed justice: "... if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president did commit a crime." So it's innocent until proven guilty for the Russians, who are never going to be tried in the United States, and an insinuation of guilt until he proves himself innocent for the president of the United States? This is standing justice on its head. In an interview with CBS News, Attorney General William Barr said he believes Mueller could have come to a conclusion as to whether the president obstructed justice. When he didn't, Barr said he concluded he did not, based on the evidence. That Mueller had nothing to say about what Trump dismisses as the "phony" Steele Dossier, which led to a FISA warrant allowing the FBI to spy (Barr's word) on the Trump campaign, or the role of Hillary Clinton and Democratic Party in paying for the dossier, further corrupts the law and establishes a double standard as the only standard by which some politicians and members of the Establishment live. It should also be remembered that, though Mueller himself is a registered Republican, most of the attorneys on his team were registered Democrats. A handful donated money to Clinton's 2016 campaign. Just how much confidence should be placed in a report put together by such people can be answered by asking about the confidence one might place in a report about a Democratic president and a team of Republican lawyers. Thankfully, the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, may offer more information as soon as this week, which could incriminate the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party for alleged corrupt activities in the last election. Additional information is likely to be forthcoming from U.S. Attorney John Durham, named by Barr to investigate the origins of surveillance of the Trump campaign. This is likely what the left and the media fear most. While they are unable to counter the good economic news, their only hope to keep Trump from being re-elected is to remove him from office on charges of obstruction and corruption, or drive down his approval numbers in hopes of defeating him. Some polls show that strategy isn't working. In his farewell remarks, Mueller said his more than 400-page report is the last word. Some in Congress from both parties want him to testify. Mueller said he has nothing to add to the report, but there is more to say and Mueller should be required to say it. House Democrats may not want to have Mueller appear because Republicans will ask tough questions. Could this be why they are desperately trying to change the subject by seeking Trump's taxes and bank records dating back to before he became president? At some point, many voters are going to look at this as persecution of the president, which can only add to his prospects in 2020. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission. While the benefits of techy toys that teach kids basic programming and engineering skills may be more immediately apparent, experts say its important for them to play with toys that nurture their creativity, too. Kids are going to live in a world thats changing and has problems that we cant anticipate, explains Julie King, co-author of How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen. The way were going to solve them is by being creative. Toys that encourage creativity help kids learn how to problem solve, according to Ellen Galinsky, author of Mind in the Making, because they teach them to hold information in their mind, to think flexibly as things change, and to use self-control. Advertisement Finger paints and pint-size musical instruments might be the first things that come to mind when youre thinking of creative toys (and theyre certainly great options). But there is a much wider range of toys that inspire creative thought in children, including building blocks, magnetic doodads, and other more whimsical playthings. Being creative is not just about being artistic, King explains. According to child psychologist Dr. George Sachs, Any toy that allows the child to use their imagination and gives them structure, but not necessarily rules or instructions, is helpful to fostering a childs creativity. Below, our panel of child psychologists and development experts recommend the best multiuse, open-ended toys to spark kids imaginations. Best building toys Nearly everyone we spoke to said classic Lego blocks are perfect for fostering creativity. Sachs says playing with Legos allows the child to develop their own creative ideas and fosters spatial awareness. Both he and Galinsky like that even though kids often begin with building models based on a kits instructions, theyll soon want to build their own creations. Joanna Faber, the other co-author of How to Talk so Little Kids Will Listen, agrees: Kids love Legos because you can endlessly make wild and crazy things with them. For kids younger than four, Sachs likes Legos Duplo line of blocks, which are easier for tiny hands to handle. Sandra Gordon, founder of baby-gear review site Baby Products Mom, recommends these wooden blocks for toddlers. Like any good creative toy, they inspire pretend play, building, [and] creating something, she says. This set of magnetic building tiles helps spark a childs budding imagination and inspire endless creations, according to Gordon. Clinical social worker Joseph Sacks, who is also a play therapist at Tribeca Play Therapy, is another fan of magnetic toys and uses these simple cubes in his practice. Figuring out how the magnets interconnect in different ways is very fun, stimulating, and creative, he explains. Best art toys Setting up an area with lots of blank paper and other materials where kids can make art is essential for fostering creative development, according to Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, a psychologist and co-author of Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children. I recommend that all kids be given art materials, whether theyve expressed interest or not. Sachs explains that art supplies give [kids] the opportunity to express themselves in their own unique way, and that if theres a dedicated art-making space at home, kids will naturally go there when they feel they want to create. He especially likes these washable paints because child artists arent known to keep their materials confined to a canvas. Gordon also likes Crayolas washable finger paints. Research shows kids love to wield crayons, says Golinkoff, and while what they do might not look like much to you, it may be that theyre thinking about something that [their art] represents, and thats a wonderful thing. This set has plenty of colors for youngsters to choose from, and its vintage-inspired tin is nice-looking enough to keep out after playtime ends. If toddlers need a bit of guidance to get their creative juices flowing, Sachs recommends this kit, which features different art activities. It gives you collage or picture frames, and then you can create different scenes and different art inside the frames. This set provides a little bit more structure because you dont want the child to be making a mess at that age but also allows for some creativity and expression in the different pieces they can use, he says. Sachs loves these Hay Clay kits for the same reason he loves Legos: They come with instructions for kids to follow but also offer them endless opportunities to experiment on their own. And playing with clay doesnt just provide a tactile creative experience, it can also be emotionally therapeutic. This is actually a part of play therapy, in that children are given clay and they can create whatever they want. Often its an expression of what theyre thinking and feeling, he says. Kids who love telling stories through their art or just enjoy a good book will surely be thrilled by this make-your-own comics kit. Sachs likes that it provides a kind of pathway to creativity but allows the child to really develop whats on their mind in the form of the comic book. It doesnt tell them who their superhero is, it allows them to really come up with their own ideas. Best imaginative play toys Practically any stuffed animal, action figure, or doll can inspire a type of imaginative play in which kids will have whole conversations and play out scenarios with the toys, according to Faber. Sacks finds that transformer toys are especially good at encouraging this type of play in younger kids. These, which change from dinosaurs to cars (and make very realistic sounds in both forms), are among his favorites. If kids show an interest in any hobbies or careers, theyll probably enjoy make-believe toys like kitchen and doctor sets that let them play different roles. Gordon says you can also use creative toys like these to build a bridge between kids and the adults in their lives. If your child will be spending time with Grandpa or Grandma, you might choose toys that feed into Grandpa and Grandmas interests if Grandpa is a cook, a toy kitchen set could be just the thing to inspire an interest in your child. Several of our experts suggest mini cars and trucks as toys to encourage imaginative play. Enhancing that experience with a mat or rug featuring a city scene will give kids a setting for their adventures, according to Golinkoff. Even if they arent saying stuff out loud, what theyre doing in their mind is composing and making up scenarios. While kids can certainly dream up stories using any toy (or even household objects), Faber says its nice to have puppets and a little puppet theater to give little ones another way to create and tell new tales. Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. Compared with the coming environmental shocks likely to be caused by climate change, a shift in the composition of the European Parliament may seem less than urgent. But last weeks election results suggest a quiet yet possibly monumental political transformation. For all the attention focused on the rise of far-right parties in European politics, observers have been slower to pick up on what may be an equally consequential trend: the rise of the Greens. These parties are not only posing a challenge to Europes established political partiesthey may also represent an answer to the populist threat that has plagued the continents political institutions. Advertisement The Greens picked up 10 seats in Germany, coming in second, behind Chancellor Angela Merkels center-right Christian Democratic Union and beating the center-left Social Democratic Party. In France, the Greens picked up seven seats to come in third, ahead of the traditional center-right and center-left parties. In Britain, they beat Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservatives and came in just behind Jeremy Corbyns Labour. In Ireland, they came in third, ahead of Sinn Fein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Continentwide, where parties sit in cross-national alliances with their ideological counterparts, the European Greens picked up 17 seats, becoming the fourth-largest bloc in the Parliament for the first time. This will make them potential kingmakers in the forthcoming horse-trading over the EUs most powerful jobs and bolster their policy goals of ambitious emissions-reduction targets, support for continued EU integration, and a more liberal and humane refugee policy. Advertisement Advertisement The simplest explanation for the Greens success is widespread anxiety over the state of the planet. The months leading up to the election saw the release of two devastatingly grim U.N. reportsOctobers warning about the urgent and immediate steps that will be required to prevent 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, and Mays biodiversity report warning that 1 million species are at risk of extinctionas well as widespread public protests in several countries, the emergence of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg as a galvanizing protest leader, and the spread of school strikes demanding action on the climate crisis. The Greens benefited from a political environment where traditional party loyalties are breaking down throughout Europe and the electorate is highly polarized. The climate worry became extremely widespread. There is a sense of urgency in the public. This worry was able to be channeled in the Green Party, says Monica Frassoni, co-chair of the European Green Party. Advertisement Advertisement But as grave as the situation is, climate change isnt the whole story. There was also a sense that the two main parties just werent giving answers anymore, and that that wasnt where the European future was going to lie, says Sophia Besch, a fellow at the Centre for European Reform, referring to the center-right and center-left parties that have traditionally dominated postwar European politics at the national and pan-European level. At a time when a surge of populism is threatening the very foundations of the European project, the Greens may have benefited from their staunch and unambiguous support for more European integration. Advertisement Advertisement Frassoni sees the Greens rise as connected to certain terrible evolutions in some countries, and the victory of extreme right in some countries, which are due to the fact that the European Union made wrong decisions in terms of austerity and was not rigorous in terms of defense of rights and the rule of law. Advertisement Advertisement Sven Giegold, a newly reelected German Green MEP, agrees. The coalition partners that were traditionally the guardians of a stronger Europe have lost courage to the extreme right, he says. People are not reassured that the parties that originally were the fathers and mothers of Europe are still committed enough to Europe. Advertisement Advertisement Nowhere was this more true than in the Brexit-wracked United Kingdom, where the staunchly pro-Remain Greens capitalized on public frustration with the Labour Partys ambiguous Brexit stance as well as momentum from Londons recent Extinction Rebellion protests to take 11.8 percent of the vote. EU elections tend to be more favorable for smaller British parties like the Greens, thanks to lower voter turnout and results based on proportional representation. But the Greens also performed well in recent local elections in the U.K., picking up 87 seats and suggesting they can compete in a first-past-the-post vote. Advertisement There is a lot of disillusionment with Labour not having a clear position on remaining in Europe, but also recognizing the climate emergency, says Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. Particularly among the 1825 age group, the school strikes and Extinction Rebellion has pushed climate right up the agenda among young people. As in the U.K., the Greens gains in most countries came at the expense of the traditional center-left, social democratic parties. There is a sense all over Europe of social democrats being seen as no longer having the answers, of no longer being able to stand up to the right, and in this election of not being able to pick up on the environmental concerns that many voters brought to the polling stations, says Besch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Bartley insists this isnt just a story about the left. People will tend to place the Green Party on the left because of our emphasis on redistributing wealth away from the 1 percent, he says. But we had a lot of people coming over from the Conservatives as well as Labour. Increasingly, those termsleft and rightrefer to a system that just isnt working any longer. The old dichotomy is breaking down. The Greens werent the only parties to benefit from this breakdown. The blocs representing liberal partiesin the centrist, free market European senseand right-wing euroskeptic nationalists also picked up seats in the European Parliament last week. The Greens rise has come at the same time that some far-right populist parties are embracing an agenda of opposition to action on the environment. The far-right True Finns party came in second in Finnish national elections in April on a platform of opposing climate hysteria. The politically amorphous Yellow Vest (Gilets Jaunes) movement shut down parts of Paris in mass demonstrations last year, partly in response to fuel taxes instituted by President Emmanuel Macrons government. Advertisement But there are also some indications that Green politics can be an effective way to combat the far right. Bartley notes that Magid Magid, the Somali-born mayor of Sheffield, won the EU Parliament race on the Green ticket in Yorkshire and the Humber, a region that in 2009 went for a candidate from the neo-fascist British National Party. Advertisement Advertisement Giegold argues that climate concerns are peeling votes away from the far-right Alternative for Germany party. The AfD scored much worse than they thought, in particular among young people who are really shaped by the climate protest, he said. Two years ago, they had a lot of success, particularly among young men. Now we destroyed them, basically. Indeed, the youth wing of the AfD last week called on the national party to rethink its climate skepticism and defense of the coal industry, for fear of losing the youth vote going forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frances far-right National Rally, perhaps seeing the writing on the wall, adopted a localist pro-environment message in its platform this year. The Greens benefited from a political environment where traditional party loyalties are breaking down throughout Europe and the electorate is highly polarized. But this environment also means that political gains can be short-lived. People were already starting to flirt with us. Now they have had a one-night stand. Whether this is a permanent relationship is totally unclear, says Giegold. To take the analogy further, for German voters, the Greens are less of an attractive stranger they picked up one night than they are an old fling. The party, formally known as Alliance 90/The Greens has had success in national elections in Germany before. Joschka Fischer, who served as Germanys vice chancellor and foreign minister from 19982005, was a Green. Its certainly not out of the question that current momentum for the Greens could also be short-lived. Advertisement Advertisement I do think there is a broader momentum among younger voters. Id be surprised if these voters who went out on the streets [for climate change] forgot about this quickly, says Besch. But obviously the hope of the more-established parties is that they will be able to green-wash their own policies and make themselves more credible in having the answers on climate change. To some extent, this is already happening. After months of resistance, Merkel last month joined with France and seven other countries to call on the EU to bring carbon emissions down to zero by 2050. Merkel cited Greta Thunbergs protests in making her announcement, but she clearly was also trying to head off gains by the Greens and differentiate herself from the climate-denying AfD. Theres a risk that in co-opting the Greens signature priorities, the major parties could water them down, something the world can ill-afford when it comes to climate change. But for now, the Greens appear to be outpacing the center-right and center-left when it comes to both responding to the most serious crisis of our era and responding to the challenge of the far right. The second season of Axios premiered on HBO Sunday night, and it kicked off with an interview with senior adviser to the president of the United States Jared Kushner. It was, to borrow a phrase from a senior adviser to the president of the United States, a clown show. Axios reporter Jonathan Swan pushed back at some of Kushners more ridiculous statements, and in response, Kushner fell flat on his face so quickly he appeared to be suffering from some sort of localized anomaly in Earths gravitational field. It turns out that the presidents son-in-law has been reticent with the press for reasons that become painfully clear as the interview progresses: He doesnt know anything, and he believes even less. Here are three of his most spectacular face-plants. On Abortion Kushner first ran into trouble when Swan pushed him on Donald Trumps extremely late-in-life conversion to the anti-abortion movement. To naive observers, it might seem like political operatives should work to achieve political goals they believe in, but as Kushner explained, theres nothing unseemly about enforcing policies that hurt other people, even if you dont support those policies yourself: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kushner: I think [Trump] respects people who are willing to be honest with him. When I do disagree, youll never read about it in the press, and I wouldnt say it publicly. But I will say theres a lot more things I agree with him on than disagree. Swan: So you agree with him on economics, on foreign policy. Where do you stand on abortion? Kushner: Again, I was not the person who was elected. Swan: So you agree with the presidents position? Kushner: Im here to enforce his positions. His position is the one that as a staffer in the White House, well work to push. So if you dont like Jared Kushners current work enforcing his father-in-laws anti-abortion positions, dont hold it against Jared Kushnerhe doesnt really believe in any of it. Maybe he can work for a pro-choice administration next and undo some of the damage! On Whether or Not Palestinians Can Govern Themselves Kushners next gaffe comes from a tactic more interviewers should employ when dealing with the Trump administration: asking an open-ended question that allows the interviewee to ramble on until they reveal how far out of their depth they are. In this case, Swan asks if Palestinians are capable of governing themselves. Lets see if Kushner spots the racism inherent in treating that like an open question, or if he tries to bullshit his way through by giving what he thinks sounds like a judicious answer: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swan: Do you believe that the Palestinians are capable of governing themselves without Israeli interference? Kushner: I think thats a very good question. I think that thats one that well have to see. The hope is is that they, over time, can become capable of governing Swan: They being the Palestinians. Kushner: The Palestinians. I think there are some things that the current Palestinian government has done well, and there are some things that are lacking. And I do think that in order for the area to be investable, for investors to come in and want to invest in different industries and infrastructure and create jobs, you do need to have a fair judicial system, freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions, and so Swan: Can they have freedom from any Israeli government or military interference? Kushner: I think that its a high bar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, that didnt go well. Kushner is not willing to talk about the specifics of his long-promised plan for the Middle East, but if the goal is to make the area investable while we all wait around until Jared Kushner decides that the Palestinians can be treated like adults, that doesnt sound like great news for the Palestinians. Its also a pleasure to watch Kushner scurry off into vague poll-tested phrases whenever hes asked about something concrete, like his half-remembered salute to the Four Freedoms above. Theres also this exchange, in which Kushner makes the claim that the Palestinians are too focused on bread-and-butter issues to worry about anything as abstract as sovereignty; he could have a bright future running messaging for the Democratic Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swan: Do you believe the Palestinian people deserve their own independent sovereign state with a capital in East Jerusalem? Kushner: Theres a difference between the technocrats, and theres a difference between the people. The technocrats are focused on very technocratic things, and when I speak to Palestinian people, what they want is they want the opportunity to live a better life. They want the opportunity to pay their mortgage, to have Swan: You dont think they want their own state, free from Israeli government and military? Kushner: I think that they want an opportunity. Damn those technocrats, always focusing on the wrong things! Get The Slatest in Your Inbox We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. On Whether or Not Donald Trump Has Ever Done Anything Racist This is probably the most telling exchange in the interview, and its worth savoring how beautifully Swan crafts its one-two punch. First he lets Kushner ramble on and on about how much Donald Trump isnt a racist. Then he asks him about specific racist actions Trump has taken recently, leaving Kushner to explain how Trumps birtherism and promise of a ban on Muslim immigration were not, in fact, racist or bigoted. (He doesnt even get into the Central Park Five.) You can see Kushner trying to pull off the traditional Republican move of pondering whether Trump is a racist while Swan keeps refocusing on Trumps racist actions rather than the contents of his heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Swan: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she calls, she has called President Trump a racist. Have you ever seen him say or do anything that you would describe as racist or bigoted? Kushner: So the answer is no. Absolutely not. You cant not be a racist for 69 years and then run for president and be a racist. What Ill say is that when a lot of the Democrats call the president a racist, I think theyre doing a disservice to people who suffer because of real racism in this country. Swan: Was birtherism racist? Kushner: Um, look, I wasnt really involved in that. Swan: I know you werent! Was it racist? Kushner: Like I said, I wasnt involved in that. Swan: I know you werent! Was it racist? Kushner: Um, look, I know who the president is, and I have not seen anything in him that is racist. So, again, I was not involved in that. Swan: Did you wish he didnt do that? Kushner: Like I said, I was not involved in that. That was a long time ago. Swan: The other issue that often gets brought up in this conversation is that he campaigned on banning Muslims. Would you describe that as religiously bigoted? Kushner: Look, I think that the president did his campaign the way he did his campaign, and I think Swan: He did! But do you wish he didnt? Do you wish he didnt make that speech? Kushner: Uh, I think hes here today, and I think hes doing a lot of great things for the country, and thats what Im proud of. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think that the president did his campaign the way he did his campaign is an amazing statement from a man who claimed only seconds earlier to have never seen Donald Trump do anything racist. Kushner is perfectly fine with allying with white supremacists for tactical reasons and seems annoyed that anyone would ask him if Trump was being sincere about it. Kushners answer seems to be, essentially, that of course Donald Trumps belief in white supremacy isnt sincere, which is why it is OK to work for him. (Similarly, Kushner resents that people might assume he is personally anti-abortion simply because he is helping a president with the stated goal of overturning Roe v. Wade; hes a pure mercenary.) But no one would care what Donald Trump believed if he were a brain in a jar; its what he does that people object to. And as ridiculous as Kushners Axios interview was, its what Jared Kushner has done that matters, not anything he said in this embarrassing television appearance. Still, its hard to say whether talking to Axios will help or hurt Kushner in the long run. On the one hand, he revealed himself and the administration that hired him to be even more dangerously unqualified than the nation had previously imagined. On the other hand, hes going to be squirming and dissembling his way through awkward explanations of his time working for the Trump administration for the rest of his life. It cant hurt to get a little practice in. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pulled a head-spinning switcheroo over the weekend, telling reporters that the Trump administration is ready to hold talks with Iran with no preconditions. On the one hand, this is a welcome development. Until now, Pompeo has insisted on 12 steps Iranian leaders must takeall of them requiring sharp shifts in policy, some a surrender of sovereigntybefore the United States would sit down with them at the same table. The clear message was that Pompeo wasnt interested in talks. Advertisement On the other hand, this new pivot marks another sign that President Donald Trump and Pompeo are terrible negotiators and that, when it comes to foreign policy, the United States under their helm is a ship adrift in a stormy sea. A little over a year ago, Trump withdrew from the nuclear dealwhich President Barack Obama and the leaders of five other nations had negotiated with Iran three years earlierand reimposed economic sanctions that had been lifted as part of the deal. He then threatened to sanction other countriesincluding those that had signed the nuclear dealif they continued doing business with Iran. He called the policy maximum pressure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The policys aim was unclear: Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton said they wanted to make the Iranians scream until their regime collapsed; Trump claimed he merely wanted them to come back to the table and negotiate a better deal. Advertisement Advertisement Either way, Pompeos new statement scuttles whatever chances the pressure campaign had of working. Not that the chances were great to begin with. Irans economy is feeling a squeeze. But foreign interference only strengthens domestic support for the regimeand if the regime did collapse, it would likely be replaced not by western-leaning liberals (who dont form an organized party) but by the most hard-line factions or the military. This new pivot marks another sign that Trump and Pompeo are terrible negotiators. Maximum pressure didnt work so well in Trumps approach to North Korea, either. It may have helped bring Kim Jong-un to the negotiating table, but once there, Kim gave up nothing. Trump was the one who wound up star-struck, and Kims scientists have continued enriching uranium and building missiles unabated. Advertisement But lets say maximum pressure could yield results in some country, under some scenario; it might yet have had an effectthough not necessarily a desirable onein Iran. This is now no longer the case. Pompeos shift unmasks maximum pressure as a tentative bluff. Targets of Trumps belligerent rhetoric, from now on, can sit back and wait until his impatience for results intensifies and he slackens his demands. Advertisement In the case of Iran, the slackening began in mid-May, when Trump seemed suddenly to realize that the path hed undertaken might lead to war, especially with Boltona longtime advocate of forcible regime changein the drivers seat. Trump told reporters he wanted the Iranian leaders to call him; he even gave Swiss officialswho had served as an intermediary between Washington and Tehran back when the two capitals had no direct contacta phone number where he could be reached. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pompeo, who has spent the past two yearsfirst as CIA director, now as the top diplomatamassing power by parroting the master in the White House, had issued his 12 preconditions a year ago, when he thought (quite reasonably) that Trump wanted regime change, not talks. Now Trump has said he wants talks, and Pompeo has changed his patter. The new position is the correct one; there is no reason why the United States shouldnt resume talks, without preconditions, especially since Iran has continued abiding by the terms of the nuclear deal. But by shifting positions so drastically, Pompeo has diminished the credibility of whatever position he and Trump adopt nextand wiped out whatever leverage they might have had in advancing it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All this might be the stuff of tactical missteps, as distinct from strategic blunders, if the Trump administration had a positiona set of long-term policies and goalstoward Iran to begin with. But it doesnt. In this sense, there is no such thing as the Trump administration. In every presidency before this one, the top officials or their deputies assembled in National Security Council meetings to hammer out differences and devise a common policy. Under Trump, there are no (or very few) NSC meetings. There are only the scattered Cabinet secretaries and advisers, trying to make their disparate agendas align with the broad direction that the president seems to be takingand there are Trumps eruptive tweets, which can spin the compass and upset those agendas on a moments notice. Advertisement Even this rampant randomness might be a bit more manageable if the president didnt so often act likelets not mince words herea raving lunatic. Take his tweet early Monday morning, tapped out as Air Force One was about to land in London for a state visit with the royal family: Advertisement .@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me...... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 Advertisement Trump then added: ....Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 Whatever London Mayor Sadiq Khans sins (and they consist mainly of not caring much for Trump), what kind of state leader says such things, publicly, minutes before touching down on the mayors city and meeting with the mayors queen? This reveals, more clearly than any official statement he might recite, how little Trump valuesor understandsdiplomacy. Throughout history, terrorists have employed a variety of weapons and devices in their warfarewith most involving firearm shootings and improvised explosive device (IED) bombings. During the past several years such weapons have become difficult for terrorist groups or lone actors because their purchase is regulated and training needed to use them might arouse suspicion, so potential attackers have been encouraged by their terrorist leaders and ideologues to resort to simpler weapons that are easy to acquire and require no training. These include vehicles that can be used to ram into crowds of pedestrians and edged weapons, such as knives, which are used every day and do not arouse suspicion. Corruption and Cultural Differences By Claire Meyer 01 June 2019 Print Issue: June 2019 In 2013, China's then-president-in-waiting Xi Jinping vowed to crack down on corruption, promising to pursue both "tigers" and "flies"powerful leaders, lowly bureaucrats, domestic and international businesses. The announcement was not an empty promise for President Xi. Later that same year, pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) offices were raided throughout China, kicking off a 10-month investigation into bribery of nongovernment personnel. The Public Security Ministry accused the company of bribing doctors to prescribe their drugs and concocting a scheme to raise drug prices. Chinese officials said GSK executives admitted to using bribes, kickbacks, and other fraudulent measures to boost sales in China. In 2014, GSK agreed to pay a fine of $500 million, and the head of its Chinese operations was deported. During the five years following Xi's speech, China punished more than 1.5 million officials and investigated 440 senior officials, according to a statement from the Communist Party of China. In 2018, China established an anticorruption body called the National Supervision Commission and adopted a Supervision Law. "The Chinese authorities are taking [anticorruption] incredibly seriously," says Kent Kedl, senior partner at Control Risks, who has been working in or around China for decades. "Before this, foreign companies and particularly American companies were primarily concerned with the anticorruption laws that had some sort of extraterritoriality to them. But now, they also have to be concerned about the Chinese antibribery initiatives. The environment for scrutiny by a number of regulatory bodies has certainly increased in China, and it is ramping up the nervousness for Chinese and foreign companies and individuals." Up until 2013, GSK had been experiencing radical growth in the country, but after the investigation, it lost 60 to 80 percent of its business in China, Kedl says. The company's growth of 30 to 40 percent a year was exciting but unsustainable, because GSK "didn't shore up that growth with a big focus on behavior in the market. It's essential to take a hard lookis your growth sustainable and resilient? Will it hold up to scrutiny? You need to have an accurate view of the pressures your people, distributors, and agents are facing." As businesses adjust to the new regulatory environment, China's inconsistent enforcement has made it difficult for organizations to decide on a clear path forward. "It's very challenging now to operate in China because of the inconsistent way that laws are enforced," says Pamela Passman, president and CEO for the Center for Responsible Enterprise and Trade (CREATe). "It's also an environment where the economy is going through changes. There's a very significant focus on the growth of state-owned enterprises and their global reach, and so I think it's one the of the most challenging times to do business in China." According to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index 2018, the average global score for corruption is just 43 out of 100, with only 20 countries making significant progress in their ethical standards in recent years. For comparison, Denmark is the top-scoring country at 88; Somalia is the lowest-scoring country at 10. The United States has a score of 71. China scores 39. According to Gillian Dell, head of the conventions unit for Transparency International and coauthor of the report Exporting CorruptionProgress Report 2018: Assessing Enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, navigating ethical compliance in certain regions is a prisoner's dilemma for competing organizations. That is especially true when there is a perception that other companies are flouting the rules because their home country lacks the political will to punish corruption performed abroad or because low-level bribery appears to be par for the course in that region. Despite the country's efforts to clean up corruption within its borders, "the state of international corruption management in China is miserable," Dell says. She cites a 2018 case where three Chinese nationals were charged in Kenya for paying a bribe of approximately $5,000 to influence the outcome of a fraud investigation into a railway project. Multiple Chinese companies have been the subject of publicly reported corruption investigations in numerous countries, including the United States, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. According to publicly available information, however, no investigations or charges were ever opened in China against its companies, citizens, or residents for foreign corrupt practices, Dell says. The lack of enforcement or deterrents that China imposes on its citizens working abroad leaves gaps for corruption to be exported internationally, resulting in an uneven playing field for other businesses. When operating in a country with frequent bribery or competing with companies that adhere to lower ethical standards, organizations face tough choices. In China, for example, it can be expected for salespeople to give a bribe (often presented in a red envelope called a hongbao or lai see) of up to 10 percent of the final invoice amount to seal a deal, Kedl says. However, hongbao are traditionally given as a show of respect or good fortune at holidays and special events between family members, friends, and business associates, creating an ethical quandarywhen does a culture of gift-giving cross the line into bribery? Passman notes that organizations have two options: either establish a global anticorruption policy that remains strict about gift-giving regardless of local culture or employ a flexible policy that allows for nominal gifts at appropriate holidays, provided they are not used to facilitate a transaction. In either case, establishing clear guidance communicated from the top-down is essential. "There's a culture of kickbacks you have to address. Foreign companies see [ethics] as a rules thing, but very often, your local employees can't figure out how to obey the rules and do their jobs," Kedl says. If a salesperson is trying to close a deal but refuses to give a bribe, he or she may easily lose that sale, and that's challenging for someone trying to earn a commission. In response, Kedl emphasizes resistance strategieshow to say "no" and still have a chance to make the deal. This could involve denoting respect to the client in other ethical ways. He implemented roleplay training with his staff so they could practice refusing bribery more positively. He also implemented a program mandating that if a salesperson could prove that he or she could not close a deal because of a bribe, Kedl would still honor 50 percent of the commission. Multiple organizations can also band together to improve the ethical landscape for a particular region or project, Dell says. For example, multiple engineering companies competing for the same contracts in East Africa can collectively agree that they will refuse to act illegally in pursuit of the deal. These "integrity pacts," Dell says, help companies avoid having to resort to unethical conduct to compete. In addition, businesses can cite recent events such as when Uzbek telecommunications executive Gulnara Karimova was charged in March 2019 of conspiring to violate the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) with a money laundering scheme. Even if the fraud falls through, Dell says, companies run the risk of being charged with conspiracy or passive bribery (the act of soliciting a bribe). "So your response to a request for unethical behavior is no longer just 'I could be punished' but 'I could be prosecuted, and so could you,'" she says. Developing a culture of integrity, ethics, and respect was the most important ethics and compliance objective companies cited in the 2018 Ethics & Compliance Third-Party Risk Management Benchmark Report from NAVEX Global, eclipsing past years' leading objectiveavoiding regulatory and enforcement matters. Managing ethical standards becomes more complicated when third parties are involved along an international supply chain. Forty-five percent of large organizations (with more than 5,000 employees) surveyed for the NAVEX report engage more than 5,000 third parties. The top challenge organizations cited was consistently monitoring third parties; while a majority of survey respondents follow some form of screening and monitoring, nearly 40 percent do not monitor their third parties, leaving them open to risk. Passman says that managing ethical risk is similar to managing cybersecurity risks. Corruption can happen in any country, and it only takes one person to expose the organization to risk. However, focusing on continuous improvement and regularly reevaluating the supply chain's risks (which third parties are working with government officials or contracts, who owns each third-party partner) can improve compliance programs. Self-reporting also wins favor from prosecutors during investigations, Passman adds. In March 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice announced expanded use of the FCPA Enforcement Policy guidelines so companies that self-report FCPA violations and fully cooperate with the resulting investigation may be granted a 50 percent reduction off the minimum sentence, if they are criminally charged at all. The Justice Department looks at compliance programs at the time of violation as well as the time of sentencing, Passman says, so companies can demonstrate both the anticorruption measures they had in place and what they have done to address any loopholes or vulnerabilities that have been uncovered. "Ethics and compliance at large are something where leaders have to articulate this on an ongoing basis in business discussions with their own people, in their business discussions with third parties. It's not something you hear just once a year or when you're onboarded into a company," she says. "Employees want to hear from their managers, then they are more likely to report matters when they see them." We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies , click here. Smer voters favour Pellegrini over Fico. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer) is seen as a more suitable candidate for the next Slovak PM among people than Smer chair Robert Fico. (Source: TASR/Frantisek Ivan) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Incumbent Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer) should lead the new government after the next general election as well. This stems from a poll carried out by the Focus agency for the private broadcaster TV Markiza, in which he was chosen by nearly 15 percent of respondents. However, nearly one-third of respondents do not care at all who becomes the new leader of cabinet. Kotleba comes in second Read also: Read also: Pellegrini suggests he might resign, Fico is nowhere in sight Read more The second highest support in the poll was given to Marian Kotleba, chair of the far-right Peoples Party Our Slovakia (LSNS) with nearly 7 percent. He was followed by Smer chair Robert Fico and Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) chair Richard Sulik with 6.7 percent each. Only 3.4 percent of Slovaks wish to have Andrej Kiska as the prime minister. Both Andrej Danko of the Slovak National Party (SNS) and Boris Kollar of Sme Rodina (We Are Family) overtook him, the former with 3.9 percent and the latter with 4.1 percent. Igor Matovic of Ordinary People and Independent Personalities (OLaNO) won the support of 3.3 percent of respondents. Bela Bugar (Most-Hid) was selected by only 2.8 percent of respondents and Veronika Remisova (OLaNO) with 1.3 percent. Fail for PS and Spolu Two leaders of new parties successful in the presidential and EP elections gained only little less than 1 percent. Only 1.3 percent would like to have Michal Truban (Progressive Slovakia) as the prime minister and 1.2 percent of people wish Miroslav Beblavy (Spolu) to become the head of the cabinet. Alojz Hlina of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) won the support of 1.1 percent of respondents, while Stefan Harabin, the unsuccessful presidential candidate, won almost 1 percent. If only voters of Smer were to decide, Pellegrini would become the prime minister (with the support of 56.8 percent), defeating Fico (with the support of 36.1 percent). The poll was conducted between May 17 and 23 on 1,020 respondents. Support for NATO is growing, though. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Slovaks perceive the US as a bigger threat than Russia, according to the data of the Globsec think-tank. At the same time, it showed that support for the membership of central and eastern European countries in the EU and NATO is rising. The public opinion polls were conducted in Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The poll also showed that media and NGOs are positively viewed in those countries as people think they are important for democracy, the SITA newswire reported. Between the east and west Read also: Read also: Slovaks believe conspiracy theories more than their neighbours. Why? Read more When comparing which of the two world powers are considered a threat, 41 percent of respondents in Slovakia said it was the US, while only 26 percent said Russia. Despite this, support for the EU and NATO has grown. In most countries, we see a clear preference towards the EU in the question of values as well, said Dominika Hajdu, analyst of Globsec, as quoted by SITA. With the exception of Hungary and Romania, more than 60 percent of respondents identify with the values of the union. The interesting fact is that about one half of respondents would put their country in the middle between west and east, according to her. The reasons differ, she said, as quoted by SITA. Some want to gain the best of both worlds, others want their country to be a bridge between the two blocs. Positive NATO Read also: Read also: Stoltenberg in Kosice: There is no better alternative to NATO Read more NATO support has grown as well, with seven out of 10 respondents perceiving it positively. Daniel Milo of Globsec opined that people realised the guarantee of their own safety. Even in countries with generally low support for NATO, the role of the alliance as a guarantor of peace and safety is indisputable, he said, as quoted by SITA. The support has also grown in Slovakia, increasing 13 percent compared with 2017. Polls for Globsec were conducted by seven polling agencies with more than 1,000 respondents in every country. A walk in the park, Brussels is not. In the Belgian capital, contrasts between the well-off and those in need can be stark. Street names and signs are given in two languages, though neighborhoods and their inhabitants tend to identify as either Francophone or Flemish-speaking, sometimes leading to notoriously nationalist identity politics and social strife. Majestic though they are, many of the monumental buildings look like they are forever in need of a power wash. Despite these complexities, not to mention the citys Eurocratic solemnityit is known as the European Unions de facto capital (the title itself evoking bureaucratic provisos and red tape)Brussels mascot is the Manneken Pis. That this simple little statue of a naked boy urinating into a fountain attracts so much attention and celebration reminds us that humor and joie de vivre also exist here. So do chocolates galore, among many other famous local sweets (waffles, nougat) and treats (mussels, beer). Meanwhile, a contrast to all the traditionalist Belgian gastronomy is the novelty of specialty coffee. The scene is still young and the cafes are still very much countable, but that makes it all the more exciting. Here, then, are a variety of venues worth a visit. OR Coffee Its name is a conjunction connecting choices, but visiting OR Coffee should not be a matter of choice when in Brussels. Many would agree that this brand brought specialty coffee to the Belgian capital, over a decade after Katrien Pauwels and Tom Janssen founded their own roastery in 2001. Today the couple has two cafes in Brussels, two in Ghent, and the OR coffee school and roastery in Westrem. Flanked by a Marriott Hotel and a Bobbi Brown store, the Brussels city-center location, which opened in 2012, attracts a cross-section of clients, whose Flemish, French, and English conversations bounce animatedly off the bi-level brick walls. Coffee orderstaken at the counter but delivered to tablesmight range from traditional espresso-based milk beverages to the most pronouncedly pampelmousse Kenyan a la Kalita this reporter has ever experienced. And in the Dutch and Flemish tradition, drinks are served with a little sweet on the side: here, a chocolate in ORs signature forest green and gold packaging. An estimated 95% of ORs coffee is direct fair trade, says the companys head of education, Wouter Helsen. This choice is facilitated by the close working relationship with Pauwels other business, Cup-A-Lot green coffee sourcers, and she and Janssens ability to personally travel to origin countries. For equally appealing offerings and service, visit ORs second Brussels branch in the municipality of Etterbeek. This cafe attracts the darker-suited set with business in and among the nearby European Commission and provides, for the coffeecrats among us, the cool sight of a Pentair water filter system with customized copper tubing wall-mounted like an objet dart. MOK Like OR, MOK has its roots, roastery, and first coffee bar in Flanders, but its Brussels outpost has become the company flagship. Though founder and owner Jens Crabbe says he once felt namers remorse for the obvious choicemok means mug in Flemishhe acknowledges it was an ode to filter coffee, experiencing a renaissance in the Low Countries when his business began almost eight years ago. And it remains fitting considering the scrutiny with which Crabbe develops his roasting profiles and brew recipes; unsurprisingly, he is Belgiums reigning Cup Tasters Champion. It started off maybe quite small and cute and then, as I grew as a person, says Crabbe, now just shy of 30, my style started to change, and the brand kind of followed. With high ceilings, a communal table, a custom-designed shelving-cum-blackboard unit, and an open kitchenette producing vegetarian-friendly cold and hot breakfast and lunch, MOK is progressive in its aesthetics and taste. Being situated on the fashionable Rue Antoine Dansaertfrom A.P.C. to Kartell, stylistas can shop in a straight lineis fitting, though MOK deftly balances chic and geek. Riffing about MOKs reverse-osmosis system and the different hardnesses for espresso and filter, Crabbe notes: When people buy coffee we even encourage them [by saying], Hey, take half a liter of water home from the tap, try it at home with our water. Water is really important, and we really try to like tick all the boxes to give you a good coffee experience. Inasmuch as Crabbe enjoys living and working in his hometown of Leuven, he is seeking a new roasting space for MOK in the Belgian capital. Theres a lot of work to be done still in Brussels in coffee, and we really want to be a part of that, he says. Fika From light roasts in specialty coffee to clean lines in interior design, Scandinavia has contributed much to contemporary cafe culture around the world. In Brussels, however, Scandic style has yet to become big. And when Joana Soulard opened her homage to the Swedish coffee break in fall 2016, it was simply a commonsensical melding of two of her interests: specialty coffee and Scandinavian culture. For filter preparations, Fika uses coffee roasted by April (founded by, indeed, a Swede), and is known to include Swedish favorites among its on-premise-baked pastries. We have some Swedish [customers], but they come for the semla, admits Soulard. Of Fikas city-central neighborhood, its very mixed, she says. The Matonge, as it is commonly known, is named after a district in Kinshasa, DR Congo, recognizing the many Congolese immigrants who have settled in the area over the last half-century; these days they are joined by other African communities and European Union-employed expats. Fika does a lot of weekday morning takeaway, though during the day provides a peaceful spot to sit and sip. The venue, like its owner, is relaxed yet engaging; characteristically light wood and soft lines create a sense of holding space and hygge. That said, a non-Nordic nod goes to Cafe Capitale, the Brussels brand that supplies Fikas espresso beans and a company whom Soulard credits with teaching her everything about coffee during her four-year employment there. For me, its important to use and to have some local products, she adds. Cafe Capitale Cafe Capitale is a crowd pleaser. Perhaps this is because founder Francois Lafontaine established his company in 2001 with ambience very much in mind, aiming for cool places to drink coffee, as he put it in a Coffee with April podcast. But fast-forward a dozen years, after inspiring visits to Sydney and Melbournehaving discovered places where you sell only classic basic milk drink and filter coffee, with no whipped cream, no syrup and no topping and a huge line of customersLafontaine rebranded and renamed his business. His focus turned to specialty coffee and he plunged into SCA courses, eventually becoming a certified roaster and Q grader. Nowadays, Lafontaine owns and runs an atelier and bakery in nearby Uccle, the Brussels-based Belgian Coffee Academy, which has a roastery and a training center, and two cafes in Brussels. The Cafe Capitale on Rue du Midi, which dates back to 2001, occupies a busy corner near the citys iconic square, the Grand-Place. Vinyl spins on a turntable behind the bar and illustrations of coffee apparatuses act simultaneously as wall art and a visual education. Alongside espresso-based drinks and filter coffeesV60 is the default, though AeroPress and Chemex are also availablethe menu lists three aromatic coffees from the past, as Lafontaine terms them: the mochaccino, the caramel macchiato, and the cappuccinut. This reporter found the lasta syrup-sweetened hazelnut crunch-topped cappuccinoa perfect pre-prandial pick-me-up. And for those who prefer not to nibble from a drink, but rather, a dish, there is breakfast, lunch, and snack fare, with many of the carbohydrates produced by Cafe Capitales own bakery. Less spacious but no less enticing, the branch on Rue Ernest Allard is in Sablon, just a 10-minute walk south. Aksum Coffee House At Aksum Coffee House, do not expect an array of filter choicesin fact, on a recent visit, there was none on the menu, though a barista happily obliged when asked for onenor conversations about water hardness and fruit-forward roast profiles. Be prepared, however, for a fine selection of espresso beans exclusively from Ethiopia, teas, chocolate, and baked goods, as well as a cost-free feast for the eyes in the form of rotating wall art by local street artists. The Aksum brand has been around for a decade, but investor Vinod Gautam took it over about five years ago and, with the avid help of manager Fatima Boulben, began focusing on what Gautam calls organic, mainly small-cooperative-sourced Harar, Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Limu coffees roasted by Aksums own roastery. Though neither is Ethiopianhe is from India; her parents are from Moroccothe duo is intent on sharing Ethiopian coffee with the masses, and have ambitions to one day host Ethiopian dance and coffee ceremonies in Brussels. Aksum Coffee House currently has three Brussels locations, though the most spectacular is in the renowned Saint-Hubert Royal Galleries, a 19th-century European shopping arcade (read: proto-mall). The Embassy of Ethiopias quarterly magazine called this branch, which opened in July 2017, the temple of Ethiopian coffee in the city. Amidst the arcades Old World boutiques and high-end chocolatiers, it radically offers a hangout spot, with friendly staff and room enough for small groups to share a table or solitary laptop workers to concentrate. As Boulben describes her vision of Aksum: It has to be a place where everybody should feel comfortable. From the high social level to the normal social level, they should all feel comfortable, because you know when you say specialty coffee people straightaway feel afraid this is expensive. Karina Hof is a Sprudge staff writer based in Amsterdam. Read more Karina Hof on Sprudge. Retired Standardbred horses impressed riders from many other disciplines yesterday (Sunday, June 2) at the Spring Hunter Pace, hosted by the Wellington-Waterloo Hunt Club. More than 110 riders, aboard a wide variety of breeds of horses, competed in the event which saw two Standardbred competitors finish first and second. Aniela Breen won the event with Pursuit Of Peace (a daughter of Modern Art), while Emma Christoforou, who was riding Ontario Standardbred Adoption Societys ambassador The Painted Pony (a son of Lindy Lane), finished second. The event is the first of several that OSAS will be participating in this year in an attempt to introduce the versatility of the Standardbred horse to as many people as possible. The next event will take place on June 16, a trail ride at Snapping Turtle Stable in Cambridge, also hosted by the Wellington-Waterloo Hunt Club. Emma Christoforou pictured with The Painted Pony, one of OSASs trusted ambassador horses. The duo finished second in the June 2, 2019 competition. Emma Christoforou pictured with The Painted Pony, one of OSASs trusted ambassador horses. The duo finished second in the June 2, 2019 competition. (OSAS) The early bird deadline for the 2019 International Society for Equitation Science (ISES) conference is fast approaching! The 2019 ISES conference is being held in Guelph, Ontario, Canada from August 19-21. With the theme Bringing Science to the Stable the conference will focus on mankinds history with horses, what we have learned about horse-human interactions, and how we can continue to improve our relationships with these amazing animals. Due to a delay in getting abstract acceptances back to authors, the early bird deadline has been extended. Register by June 10 to receive a discount in your registration fees. All information about the conference is available on the Equitation Science website and The Horse Portal. Check for updates on the program, registration information, hotel accommodations, transportation options, and local attractions. Follow the ISES2019 blog for detailed information on speakers, exhibitors, demos and more. The theme for this years conference is Bringing Science to the Stable, highlighting our past relationship with horses and examining where we are headed. Join our line-up of thought-provoking speakers as we journey through history and into the present, supporting and challenging the way we interact with horses through scientific research. Dr. Sandra Olsen (Curator-in-Charge, Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum, University of Kansas) will trace how our relationship with horses began. Dr. Camie Heleski (Senior Lecturer, University of Kentucky) will describe the field of Equitation Science and what we have learned about horse-human relationships. Dr. Nic de Brauwere (Head of Welfare, Rehabilitation and Education, Redwings Horse Sanctuary, UK) will discuss how human behaviour change into the future can improve equine welfare. Dr. Andrew McLean (Equine Science International, Australia) will present similarities and differences in the application of learning theory across species. The ever-popular Clever Hans talk will be hosted on Monday evening with guest speaker Dr. Jonaki Bhattacharyya, Ethnoecologist and Senior Researcher with Firelight Group. Dr. Bhattacharyya has spent time in the interior of British Columbia, observing the wild horses and their impact on the land and interactions with the indigenous peoples. She will highlight how modern research can fit into other ways of knowing and approaches to managing both wild and domestic horses. The third day of the conference is a practical day with demonstrations on the application of learning theory and science from world-renowned experts: Shawna Karrasch (Terra Nova) positive reinforcement training Nightwatch Smart halter for monitoring horse biometrics Drs. Katrina Merkies and Cordy DuBois equine welfare assessment Saddlefit4Life saddle fitting for improved performance Visualise technical sportswear to improve rider position IPOS rein tension sensors equla vert technical sensor to monitor horse head position Registered delegates can also attend two free pre-conference workshops on Sunday, August 18. Cristina Wilkins and Kate Fenner (Australia) will offer advice on how to communicate scientific information to equestrian communities. Dr. Marc Pierard (Belgium) will lead a discussion in describing equine behaviours for the equine ethogram. For an extra fee, delegates can register for a short course on large animal rescue training. Space in this hands-on workshop is limited, so be sure to register soon! Early bird conference registration pricing is available until June 10. After that date regular conference fees apply. Check the ISES website (https://equitationscience.com/conferences/) or the Horse Portal (https://thehorseportal.ca/ISES-2019/) to learn more. Check back regularly to the Horse Portal for updates, sneak peaks, and local information. (Equine Guelph) In order to continue enjoying our site, we ask that you confirm your identity as a human. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Continued attacks in Idleb, anger over international inaction, Turkish and Russian talks and refugees returning from Lebanon. Catch up on everything that happened over the weekend. 1. Regime airstrikes on northwestern Syria killed seven civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported. The pace of airstrikes decreased on Thursday, compared to previous days, said the Observatorys head Rami Abdel Rahman. 2. On Friday, Syrian NGOs decried the inaction of the international community over the mounting violence in the last jihadi stronghold of Idleb, saying it had triggered the biggest wave of displaced people since the war began. As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces in northwest Syria have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkeys border, the NGOs said at a press conference in Istanbul and quoted by AFP. 3. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed late Thursday, recent developments and violence in Syrias northern Idleb province. The two leaders, in a phone call, discussed according to Asharq al-Awsat agreements they signed as guarantor states to rival warring parties, during previous talks held in the Kazakh capital and the Black Sea resort city, Sochi. Discussions come in parallel as Russia, a major backer of the Assad regime, continued to bombard, with the Syrian regime air force, de-escalation zones in the war-torn countrys north, where Turkish-backed armed factions are based. In a statement, the head of the Turkish Presidential Information Office, Fakhruddin Alton, said Erdogan stressed to Putin the need to reinforce a ceasefire in Idleb immediately. 4. Tens of displaced Syrian families are returning back home from Lebanon, SANA reported on Saturday. Several bus loads of displaced Syrian families have crossed the al-Dabbousia border crossing with Lebanon in the Homs countryside and are heading to their respective towns and villages. Moreover, buses of displaced Syrians in Lebanon reached the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing in Damascus Countryside and are to be transported to their towns liberated from terrorism. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Israeli missiles were fired at positions in Damascus and Quneitra, killing a number of soldiers and causing material damage reports SANA. Syrian air defenses have confronted an Israeli attack that targeted sites in southwestern Damascus and Quneitra, a military source said. The aggression resulted in the martyrdom of three soldiers and injured seven others. The source told SANA that on Sunday at 03:22 A.M., hostile aerial targets appeared coming from the direction of the occupied Golan; and immediately air defenses confronted them and shot down the hostile missiles that were targeting positions in southwestern Damascus. The source added that at 04:10 A.M., Israel renewed its aggression by firing several missiles on the eastern countryside of Quneitra; the aggression resulted in the martyrdom of three soldiers and the injury of seven others in addition to some material losses. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. As well as displacing hundreds of thousands of people, the Russian and regime assault on northern Syria has killed hundred of civilians reports the Syrian Network for Human Rights. The Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented the killing of at least 300 civilians during May in attacks by Assads forces and Russia. According to a report issued on Saturday. The Network said that it had, documented the killing of at least 416 civilians, including four medical staff and one Civil Defense staff member, as well as 14 people killed under torture. The report said that: Assads forces killed 269 civilians, including 51 children and 48 women, while 45 civilians were killed, including 17 children and ten women as a result of bombardment thought to be Russian, while one civilian was killed at the hands of the Islamic State and another civilian was killed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The Network also documented the killing of, six people by rebel groups, including five children and a woman, and 31 civilians by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including six children. The report also documented the killing of: 73 civilians, including 28 children and three women by other entities by various causes (explosions, drowning, mines, indiscriminate bombardment), while the Network also registered the, killing of 14 people under torture, 11 of them at the hands of Assads forces, two at the hands of the SDF, and another person by other entities, as well as four medical staff by Assads forces. The Network added that at least 47 (documented) massacres had been carried out since the start of 2019, including 12 massacres in May, with nine by Assads forces and two by Russian forces, and one by the SDF. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. During their assault on Idleb, the Assad regime has been using internationally banned weapons, including incendiary and cluster rockets reports Alsouria Net. The Assad regimes warplanes have escalated their bombardment of Idleb province as part of the military campaign they began against the area last April, which has now killed hundreds of civilians and displaced tens of thousands. On Sunday, the Syrian Civil Defense said that the regimes warplanes bombarded the city of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idleb with internationally-banned weapons in raids that used incendiary, cluster and vacuum missiles. The Civil Defense said that six civilians were wounded and that massive fires broke out in homes and on agricultural fields when Khan Sheikhoun and its environs were struck with 24 cluster rockets, 24 rockets with incendiary material and 22 standard rockets from Assad forces checkpoints. The same source issued videos that shows the bombardment of Khan Sheikhoun with incendiary rockets and announced that it had worked to extinguish the fires caused on farmlands from Khan Sheikhoun to Maarat al-Nouman. Warplanes are carrying out raids across most areas in Idleb and especially in the southern countryside in the villages and towns within the demilitarized zone agreed upon between Russia and Turkey in the Russian city of Sochi. The regime and its allies bombardment of the area coincides with a land military campaign, which has only achieved limited gains, and which has led to an increase in the pace of the regime and its allies targeting residential districts in the area. On Saturday, four civilians were killed, including a woman, when warplanes struck various areas in the Idleb countryside, including Khan Sheikhoun, the village of Fleifel and the village of Sheikh Damas. Human Rights Watch has documented 22 attacks with incendiary weapons in five Syrian provinces by Assad regime forces or Russian warplanes in 2017 while at least 68 attacks by the same forces were documented between 2012 and 2016, in addition to many other cases of severe harm to civilians. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Anglers on a large portion of the Columbia River and many of its tributaries are no longer required to use barbless hooks when fishing for salmon and steelhead. Due to Endangered Species Act permitting, WDFW is unable to fully lift restrictions on barbed hooks in some areas at this time, including tributaries upstream of McNary Dam, such as the Snake River. But barbless hook requirements on salmon and steelhead fishing are being lifted across a broad swath of Washington waters, including the Columbia River from Buoy 10 to Chief Joseph Dam, and Columbia River tributaries from Buoy 10 to McNary Dam. More information about requirements for specific rivers and creeks is available on the WDFW website. Anglers fishing for sturgeon are still required to use barbless hooks. Love 6 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Portraits of two Founding Fathers hang in the office of Kelso Manager Steve Taylor: Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Hamilton was really the first public administrator, Taylor said in an interview at Kelso City Hall last week. The Revolutionary War almost failed because they couldnt get support from Congress. (Hamilton) saw a dysfunctional political system firsthand and how that can destroy a cause. It takes more than platitudes and speeches to make things happen. The portrait of Hamilton is fitting because Taylor closely fits the model of a successful public administrator: thorough, unflappable and quietly competent. His approach has allowed him to succeed in the high-profile, high-tension position and earned him praise from the City Council, city lobbyists and city officials. His last day is June 14. During Taylors seven-year tenure, the city won nearly $52 million in state funding for capital projects, avoided a budget deficit and climbed out of the recession. The investments that have been made and the cleanup efforts that weve engaged in our community weve seen a return on some of those investments, he said. I believe theres a greater level of community pride today than there was coming out of the recession. As city manager, Taylor was responsible for balancing a variety of different interests related to public safety, budgets, parks, policy and union contracts. The buck has to stop somewhere, and more often than not, thats at the city managers desk. At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Taylor will attend his last Kelso City Council meeting before stepping down to become the Cowlitz PUD director of regulatory and regional affairs. He starts with the PUD on July 1. The move is a marked step away from city governance, which has been Taylors world for 17 years since he was first elected a Spokane Valley City Councilman at 26 in 2002. Taylor, now 43, was born in Lansing, Michigan, and grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He joined the U.S. Air Force directly out of high school and was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base just outside of Spokane. He served for four years as an aerospace ground equipment mechanic. Taylor left the Air Force in 1998 when he was 22, but decided to stay in the Spokane area. Around that time, he started working for U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt. He served the Republican congressman from 1999 to 2004 as a field representative and Eastern Washington director of his U.S. Senate campaign. In 2000 Taylor completed his bachelors degree in finance and economics and in 2007 he earned a masters degree in public administration from Eastern Washington University. When Spokane Valley broke off from Spokane in 2002, Taylor was elected to its inaugural City Council. He was re-elected in 2005 and 2007. He left Spokane Valley in 2009 to become city administrator for Connell, Washington, in Franklin County near the Tri-Cities. Taylor stayed there for three years before he was hired the Kelso City Manager in 2012. The position offered more responsibility and opportunities in a larger city, he said. Moving to the west side of the state was quite the shift, he said, because people in Eastern and Western Washington have different perspectives of each other. (But) what I found is that the people of Cowlitz County have a lot of similar traits and characteristics of rural counties in Eastern Washington, he said. There were more similarities between Cowlitz County and Eastern Washington than there were differences. Right off the bat, Taylor said he struggled to find housing in the Kelso-Longview area. Ive been kind of preaching that since I got here, he said. Not having that available housing stock, it hurts our ability to attract people to live here. They may want to work here, but they may not want to live here because they dont have the choice of housing or the choice of schools. However, Taylor said hes started to see that change. Theres been more public and private investment in the community, he said, especially with new schools planned in Kelso. And more people in Portland and Vancouver are moving into Cowlitz County, which Taylor said is great because it will increase the areas median income. More disposable income circulating in the local economy increases the tax base and supports more business, he said. In addition, a group of business owners, city officials and citizens have reformed the Kelso Downtown Revitalization Association, which has started organizing neighborhood cleanups and community events in Kelsos commercial area. What I do think that greater investment does with neighborhood improvement is you start creating and instilling greater expectations of the people who live in the community that we have something to be proud of, he said. During Taylors tenure, the city itself has made major improvements, often with grant money. Some of the capital projects include the Minor Road reservoir, South Kelso railroad grade separation project, Tam OShanter Park access improvements and the final phase of the West Main Street realignment project. Kelso has received nearly $52 million in state appropriations, grants and low interest loans for these projects during Taylors time. For context, thats more than four times the citys 2019 operating budget of nearly $11 million. (See breakout box for details.) The city has been successful in securing funding, Taylor said, because officials were effective at identifying, justifying and communicating the citys needs. And the city had support from the City Council and 19th District lawmakers Sen. Dean Takko and Reps. Brian Blake and Jim Walsh, Taylor added. I have to give a huge shout-out to our 19th District legislators because they have delivered a lot for us. Thats why its important we dont let them down by not executing and not delivering on these projects, he said. One of Kelsos major problems in the future, he said, is the water supply. Last summer, the city had to impose voluntary water restrictions due to low levels in the Cowlitz River. Last month, the city announced water restrictions will again be necessary this summer. Taylor said one of his biggest achievements was avoiding a potential budget deficit going into 2013 by reducing healthcare costs. The change in healthcare choices caused a lot of pain, but Taylor said there was a net benefit because the city was able to use the savings to offer wage increases. In addition, the general fund has increased every year since 2011 and the city has had clean audits each year during his tenure. There werent any layoffs under his watch and the city also increased its full-time employees from 69 to 81. There are still many projects under way, but Taylor said he will get to see them completed because he plans to continue living in Longview with his wife, Amy Fischer, and his two sons ages 7 and 12. Taylor said he first learned about the opportunity with the PUD when then General Manager Steve Kern approached him in late March. Taylor said he was excited to work on energy policy, an interest sparked by his work with Congressman Nethercutt nearly two decades ago. His starting PUD salary will be $155,000, up from the $140,000 he made as Kelso city manager. Northwest energy issues are unique because most of the electricity comes from hydroelectric dams, he said. He also likes the public service aspect of the new job and notes that energy policy has a direct effect on everyones life. And that human impact is part of what hell miss about the job hes leaving. I will miss the variety of issues. Every day is different and you never know what to expect, what will hit you, what opportunity will come your way, he said. Definitely the folks Ive gotten to work with are wonderful people. Its hard to leave a team like that. Thats what Ill miss the most. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 1 hour ago Growth Investing: Should You Adopt This Investing Strategy in 2022? If investing was a Marvel character, growth investing might be like the Hulk, and value investing might be like Thor. You could debate the merits of each character all day and ultimately decide you'd like both to be at your disposal if you ever had to battle Thanos. It's kind of the same between value investing and growth investing. Read Article [Note: The Online Photographer's M.C., majordomo, and Chief Bottlewasher, Mike J., just had his eye operated on and is recuperating. Big rule during recovery: no screens, no reading, lie flat and stare at the ceiling. He got an Echo and is listening to Audible books! Meanwhile, for your amusement and reflection, a few bon mots from other authors. One will be published every day while Mike's away.] - "After a detour through Vermont to view the autumn color, I arrived in New York. I had arranged to meet John Szarkowski, the recently appointed Director of Photography at the Museum of Modern Art. He was chosen by Edward Steichen the previous year as his successor, and for the next twenty-nine years was director of the most influential department of photography in the world. It was evident early in his new position that he would take the department built on the foundation of Newhall and Steichen in a new direction. Szarkowski seized the opportunity to reflect the time of a youthful vitality in politics, music, science and the arts. As a photographer, he admitted to the early influences of Walker Evans and Edward Weston, but his position as director demanded a broader view. He championed the work of Diane Arbus, Garry Winogrand, and Lee Friedlander, presenting their work in the New Documents exhibition of 1967. Their works marked a new direction in photography, as did the William Eggleston exhibition in 1976a display of saturated color photographs depicting signs, cars, and people. Both exhibitions were met with skepticism by critics, only natural for work deviating from the entrenched standards of acceptance. Undeniably, with twenty-nine rears as director, the production of one hundred and sixty exhibitions, and his insightful writings, John Szarkowski played a major role in securing photography as a fine art. His influence exists in photographic work being produced today, a half-century after he assumed his position as director." Photographer Merg Ross, from "The 1960s" in his monograph Beyond Casual Vision 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. Amazon.com Amazon UK Amazon Canada Amazon Germany B&H Photo Adorama (Sorry! There are no comments this weekthe moderator is also stuck supine staring at the ceiling.) GRAND TOWER As the early afternoon sun came straight down Monday, residents of Grand Tower were doing something they have grown pretty accustomed to: filling sandbags. In anticipation of river crests Thursday, residents and volunteers gathered a few hundred yards away from the Mississippi River levee to fill pallet after pallet of sandbags. Mississippi River flooding approaches records set in 1993 KANSAS CITY, Mo. The swollen Mississippi River is straining levees, snarling traffic and forcing people from their homes as the water level Dennis Wright is the fire chief in Grand Tower and was overseeing a lot of the work. He said the bags right now were precautionary. He said the water Monday was not nearly as high as it was during the 2016 New Years flood. Marilyn Hag Cripps took off work Monday to volunteer. She teamed up with her cousin, Angel Cripps. Hag was shoveling sand from a pile taller than she was, and Angel was tying the bags off. I still live here because I have nine brothers and sisters, my grandma and grandpa buried up on that hill, Hag Cripps said. She was replying to the oft-asked question: If it floods this much, why stay? We wouldnt be down here if we didnt love (our town), Angel Cripps added. Grand Tower has routinely been the center of attention in Jackson County in terms of flood-fighting, especially since the 1993 flood, which is also known as the 500-year flood. However, that moniker may not be so accurate, as some places along the river are projected to reach at or near those record-high levels this year. According to the National Weather Service, the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau is expected to reach 46 feet by Thursday. This is nearly 10 feet above the threshold for moderate flooding, which is classified as 37 feet. The Big Muddy River is expected to rise to 30 feet by Friday, which the weather service classifies as moderate flooding. Hag Cripps said while the Mississippi is a concern, the Big Muddy, which also runs near town, is a more immediate threat. She said while the barrage of storms this season has brought inches and inches of rain, the tributary to the Mississippi has been expanding. While people came to help with the sandbagging effort, Hag Cripps said the fear level isnt very high in Grand Tower. In fact, she said many are complacent about the rising waters. Hag Cripps has been living in Grand Tower for about 40 years, and said while shed like to see more money put into the levee system both for the Mississippi as well as the Big Muddy the choking of the Mississippi further north is what really has created so many routine floods in and around Grand Tower. The flooding has happened gradually, with many seeing it coming for months. Gov. J.B. Pritzker last week issued his second state disaster proclamation and activated more ground-level assistance resources. Wright said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been monitoring levees for boils and other signs of damage, and he anticipated that in the next few days night watches will be set up, as well. A news release last week from Pritzkers office says levees along the Mississippi could be compromised at any time. The news release also strongly urges people living in harms way to heed warnings. We strongly urge residents in flooded areas to get out now, Illinois Emergency Management Agency Acting Director Alicia Tate-Nadeau says in the release. While your home may not be flooded, the road to get to the hospital may be washed out, or the lines providing power may be down for days. Pack a bag with essentials such as clothes, medicine, and other necessary items. Be sure to consider all members of your family, including your pets, and to follow instructions from your local emergency management officials. Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 1 WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Agriculture is furthering its overall African Swine Fever preparedness efforts with the implementation of a surveillance plan. As part of the plan, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will work with the swine industry, the states and veterinary diagnostic laboratories to test for ASF. ASF is a highly contagious and deadly disease affecting both domestic and feral (wild) pigs. It does not affect human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans. ASF has never been detected in the United States. African Swine Fever is an area of high interest among the veterinary community and our swine industry, and we continue to take action to prepare for this deadly disease, said Greg Ibach, undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. While we are confident that our overlapping safeguards will continue to keep ASF out of the United States, an enhanced surveillance program will serve as an early warning system, helping us find any potential disease much more quickly. It will also minimize virus spread and support efforts to restore trade markets and animal movements as quickly as possible should the disease be detected. To make this program as effective and efficient as possible, USDA will add ASF testing to its existing classical swine fever surveillance. USDA will test samples from the same high-risk animals, using the same overall process, but will test for both diseases instead of one. USDA will implement the full surveillance plan over the course of the spring. The surveillance effort will test samples from high-risk animals, including sick pig submissions to veterinary diagnostic laboratories; sick or dead pigs at slaughter; and pigs from herds that are at greater risk for disease through such factors as exposure to feral swine or garbage feeding. In addition, USDA will work with state and federal partners to identify and investigate incidents involving sick or dead feral swine to determine if they should be tested for ASF or other foreign animal diseases. The surveillance testing of commercial swine herds is an addition to USDAs overall African swine fever prevention effort, including: Working with officials in Canada and Mexico on a North American coordinated approach to ASF defense, response, and trade maintenance. Working with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry, paying particular attention to cargo, passengers, and products arriving from China and other ASF affected countries. Increasing detector dog teams with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to sniff out illegal products at key U.S. commercial sea and airports. Collaborating with states, industry and producers to ensure everyone follows strict on-farm biosecurity protocols and best practices (including for garbage feeding in states where that is allowed). Restricting imports of pork and pork products from affected countries. Coordinating closely on response plans with the U.S. pork industry, producers and states to be ready should a detection ever occur in the United States. Expanding the testing capabilities and testing capacity of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The new interim superintendent for the Orangeburg County School District will be paid $175,000 during his year-long term. Greenwood School District 50 Superintendent Dr. Darrell Johnson will begin his new position in Orangeburg on or before July 1. Johnson will hold the position until June 30, 2020. The Orangeburg County School Board unanimously agreed to hire Johnson Tuesday following a 1-1/2 hour executive session. The T&D has been unable to reach Johnson for comment. Johnson has 32 years of experience in education. He has served as the Greenwood School District 50 superintendent for the past 13 years. He planned to retire June 30, but chose to accept the Orangeburg County position. He has recently been on medical leave while recovering from shoulder surgery. Johnson's base salary at Greenwood is 177,897.34, according to a Greenwood Index Journal report. According to the School Superintendents Association 2018-2019 AASA Superintendent Salary and Benefits Study, the median base salary for a superintendent nationally is $204,000 with a district enrollment of 10,000 to 25,000. Current interim superintendent Dr. Zona Jefferson was hired as Orangeburg Countys interim superintendent in January. She announced last month that she is leaving, noting that she took the job as a short-term position. A native of Clover, Johnson attended Winthrop University where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English, becoming the first African American male to major in English at the university. He returned to Winthrop in the mid-1980s and obtained his master's degree in education. Johnson earned his doctorate in educational leadership from South Carolina State University. Johnson began teaching language arts in secondary schools before becoming principal of Rock Hill Elementary School. He later served as director of student services and assistant superintendent for the Rock Hill School District. In May 2006, he was named superintendent of the Greenwood district where he oversaw eight elementary schools, three middle schools, two high schools, a technology center and an adult education center. During his tenure as superintendent, he oversaw a $200 million building program which included the construction of three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school gymnasium. Several choice and magnet options were created. According to the Index-Journal, the Greenwood District 50 School Board Election Coalition, an advocacy group, was critical of Johnson saying he failed to improve the district's rankings in statewide assessments. Four new members were elected to the nine-person board of trustees in elections Nov. 6, three of whom were endorsed by the group. Contact the writer: gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5551. Check out Zaleski on Twitter at @ZaleskiTD. Love 4 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. NEW YORK -- Mayor Bill de Blasio -- not particularly popular, not particularly pleasant, not particularly accomplished -- announced his presidential candidacy the other day. Nobody was excited, but then again nobody was surprised. After all, everybody else is running for president. Why shouldn't he? Or so it seems. About two dozen Democrats are in the field now, some even more implausible than New York's embattled and often belittled chief executive. De Blasio is the second political figure from the Empire State to join the race, but there are so many in this contest that there actually are multiple candidates from three other states: Texas, Massachusetts and California. Indeed, there are as many candidates from these four states alone as there were in the entire field in the Democratic contest in 2008. Here in New York, where Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also is a contestant, Democrats are beginning to worry that a field rich in candidates could swiftly be a field poor in prospects. That, of course, did not apply to New York's other figure in the 2020 presidential election, but then again no simple, reasonable or predictable calculus applies to Donald J. Trump, who -- improbably but not inevitably -- emerged from a field of 17 to win the Republican nomination and then the White House. That 2016 GOP crowd feels quaintly diminutive in comparison to the Democrats, now one short of the composition of the Yankees' regular-season roster. The question isn't whether this is a field of dreams. It isn't, not when the youngest of the two top competitors is 76 years old, when one of them dropped out of a previous race because of two plagiarism charges, and when the other cozied up to the Sandinistas and visited Managua while official U.S. policy was to oppose Daniel Ortega and his leftist government. No, the question is: Does the party have a cleanup hitter? Not yet, though former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. seems to be swinging for the fences. But this is a long campaign, and Biden is particularly prone to season-ending injuries. (He's had two.) Meanwhile, the big field has changed the dynamics of the presidential campaign. In conventional campaigns, candidates seek to display mastery of a broad spectrum of issues, the better to show their suitability for the Oval Office. That's why former Vice President Walter F. Mondale, a stalwart of Democratic social-issue reform, spent months studying the Federal Reserve Bank before running for president in 1984 and why Rep. Jack Kemp of New York, known for his involvement in conservative economic issues, boned up on foreign policy before joining the Republican field four years later. In this campaign, candidates are seeking discrete areas of emphasis. In conventional campaigns, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii (avoid foreign wars), Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts (wealth tax), Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington (climate change), Rep. Seth Moulton (national service), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (infrastructure and the opioid fight), Sen. Kamala Harris (gender pay gap) and Gillibrand (women's issues) might be dismissed as single-issue candidates, the way two anti-abortion candidates (the Democrat Ellen McCormack in 1976, the Republican Gary Bauer in 2000) were. Not this time. In this campaign, that profile might assure them at least a small slice of support in a contest where a small slice of support might be enough to separate them from the crowd, which is to say candidates with almost no support. Here de Blasio -- three-quarters of his constituents here, according to a Quinnipiac poll, think he shouldn't do this -- and Mayor Wayne Messam of Miramar, Florida, come to mind, along with Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio. I could go on. Indeed the mystery is why some of them do go on. "There's a bunch of these candidates who have no plausible path to the nomination," says L. Sandy Maisel, a Colby College political scientist. "Unless they get out, the winner of Iowa or New Hampshire could have about 20% or 25% of the vote. That's a terrible situation for the party -- and for democracy." But there is no mechanism to force those 18 or so certain losers from the race. The days are over when party bosses controlled the nominating process, and, considering their record overall -- William McKinley, Warren G. Harding -- maybe that's not such a bad thing. Besides, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, former Labor Secretary Tom Perez, is possessed of a gold-plated resume, a pleasant smile and no influence whatsoever. Nobody in Washington or anywhere else refers to him as Boss Perez, though it might be better once in a while if someone did. He has no more chance of muscling a few of these inconsequential candidates out of the race than does Bruno Sammartino, for 11 years the WWF world heavyweight champ. Sammartino died 13 months ago. It is enough for Democrats to yearn for a smoke-filled room, even in an era when smoking is viewed as slightly disreputable and highly unhealthy. What the Democrats need is for someone to sidle up to some of these people and say: You're wasting your time and ours, go back home or to the House and let us have a chance of winning the election. Then again, that is what the Democrats pretty much said in the last election -- the party was so invested in Hillary Rodham Clinton that it was severely criticized for it -- and look how that turned out. And had there been a GOP smoke-filled room, what do you suppose the chances would have been for someone to tell the maven from Manhattan that he had no business clogging up a perfectly reasonable process by thinking he could be elected president? All this is the result of the democratizing of the process, which overall is a good thing for the public -- except maybe in political years, when almost everyone in one party wants to be president even as everybody in that same political party agrees that the main thing is to defeat the incumbent president. Ordinarily, political parties around this time of the year begin to think about a process called get-out-the-vote. That's surely going on, for Iowa and New Hampshire are thick with political activists gearing up for that effort. But maybe what the Democrats really need is half that message, directed at three-quarters of their candidates: Get out. David M. Shribman is the former executive editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Follow him on Twitter at ShribmanPG. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 There's a lot of disappointment about the legislature's failure to deliver this year on its promise of transformational reform of South Carolina's education system, particularly but certainly not exclusively among teachers. It's easy to view legislators' pledges to make those major changes as a delay tactic, a promise of a next year that never comes. But a wonky report released the day the legislature completed its regular session could hold the key to generational changes in the way we fund schools and, even more importantly, the way we understand what we are funding and what we're getting in return. It should lay the groundwork for changes in governance and accountability measures and teaching methods and all of the other needed reforms that go far beyond funding. And if it lives up to its promise, it will be extremely difficult for the legislature to ignore. The state Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office's education funding report comes in response to a January request by Gov. Henry McMaster, House Speaker Jay Lucas and Senate President Harvey Peeler for "a new, updated funding model to guide state appropriations and local school district expenditures for public education in order to improve efficiency, transparency, accountability and affordability." It is not complete, and even when it is, perhaps in the fall, it won't tell us anything about how to get parents more involved in their children's education or how to inspire those kids whose parents aren't involved. It won't tell us what tests the state ought to mandate or what tests it ought to prohibit districts from administering. It won't tell us whether we should move more schools toward Montessori or new-tech or other models, or how to capitalize on the promise of charter schools without falling into the trap of separating out the students with the most active and engaged parents and leaving the others in educational ghettos. What it will do, according to the May 9 status report, is show us precisely what we are spending per student which no one can agree how to quantify now because we have competing ways to measure it, none of which is adequate. It will show how much of that money goes to instruction, to administration and to facilities, which is possible but extremely tedious to calculate now. It will eliminate complicated student weightings that are supposed to provide the extra money it costs to educate, say, a poor kid, or a child who is blind or who has learning disabilities; they'll be replaced by formulas that take into account the cost to employ a special-needs teacher, or speech therapist, and how many hours of specialized education each student needs information that's already available on federal reports but not used by state budget writers. And it will provide this information not only at the state level but also at the district level and, eventually, in each school. By doing that, it will do on the funding side what the state's Education Accountability Act was supposed to do on the academic side: Unmask the averages that hide the failures and the successes, and pinpoint the areas that need attention. The new model isn't designed to show us what should be; that's a policy question. Once officials have confirmed their numbers and gotten feedback to make sure they aren't overlooking or misunderstanding anything, it will show us what is. And with that information, it will be a lot easier for lawmakers to answer the policy questions, to determine what should be and a lot more difficult not to act on the answers. Which is essential, because we simply can't afford to keep doing what we've always done. This editorial is from The Post and Courier of Charleston via The Associated Press. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 This site focuses on Republican politicians and conservatives that rip off their constituency. We have the Tea Party, fundamentalist churches, the corruption of ALEC and other special interests groups. But the site also supports progressive Democrats and the local Democratic Socialist of America. We must have ideas on how to replace regressive and corrupt politicians with something better. For comments steveotto2001@yahoo.com or ottozero2001@yahoo.com. A Natrona County special response team responded to a domestic assault call northwest of Casper on Sunday, arresting a 51-year-old man after a two-and-a-half-hour standoff. The Natrona County Sheriffs Office released details of the incident Monday morning. Spokesman Taylor Courtney told media that when sheriffs deputies responded to the call at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, they knew the male suspect was inside the home but was not answering the door. The man had a criminal history that included violent crimes, Courtney said, so the deputies called in the special response team effectively the countys SWAT unit. After two and a half hours, they arrested William Martin after he exited the home and surrendered. Officers did not make a forced entry into the residence. Courtney said no weapons were found, and investigators dont believe controlled substances played a role in the incident. The alleged victim is listed as a family relation to Martin. Courtney declined to discuss if there had been active negotiations with Martin that led him to surrender. The alleged victim was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, Courtney said, and she is in stable condition. Martin is likely to make his first appearance in court Monday. Courtney said law enforcement are recommending a charge of domestic battery but stressed that the District Attorneys Office will ultimately decide. Follow education reporter Seth Klamann on Twitter @SethKlamann Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 4 Sad 3 Angry 1 Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The May 20 U.S. Supreme Court opinion affirming Crow Tribe treaty hunting rights in Wyoming has reverberated into Montana. Following the ruling, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks legal counsel and chief of law enforcement issued a May 22 memo to wardens advising them to not cite Crow Tribe members who violate state hunting laws in the Custer Gallatin National Forest east of the Yellowstone River. The vast mountain region, which extends from Gardiner to the Wyoming border and includes the Absaroka, Pryor and Beartooth mountain ranges in addition to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, was also part of the tribes treaty area when the Fort Laramie document was signed in 1868. Wyoming case Wyoming had argued that its Bighorn National Forest, where Crow tribal member Clayvin Herrera was cited for poaching a bull elk in 2014, was considered occupied territory since it had been designated a national forest. The high court disagreed in its 5-4 ruling, but its up to a Wyoming district court to define exactly what occupied means. Some areas of the forest may carry that designation, but not the entire forest, the justices reasoned. The state court must also figure out how to define conservation necessity, another point the state had argued for not allowing Crow tribal members the right to exercise their hunting rights in the state. Becky Dockter, chief legal counsel for Montana Fish and Wildlife, said her agency issued the memo in consultation with the state Attorney Generals office in order to not raise any more issues, similar to what the Herrera case has already brought to attention, until theres a better understanding of the impact of the Supreme Courts decision. How it effects into the future we cant say, she said. Montana Fish and Wildlife has held no discussions with Crow tribal officials yet, Dockter added. Treaty rights The memo does not open the Montana forest to Crow tribal hunting, Dockter said; rather tribal members would not be cited for violations of Montana hunting regulations such as hunting during a closed season, unlawful possession, hunting without a license or failure to tag because that now falls under a treaty rights issue and the tribes regulatory system. Tribal members could still be cited for safety violations like trespassing or shooting from a roadway or vehicle, Dockter added. Even prior to the Herrera decision, Montana had honored treaty right hunters on public federal lands, specifically the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes. Court cases defined that for us a long time ago, said Tom McDonald, the Fish, Wildlife, Recreation & Conservation Office division manager for the confederated tribes. For male wildlife species like deer and elk, tribal hunters can shoot a bull or buck any time of the year without even purchasing a tag, he explained. For restricted species like moose or bighorn sheep, there are tag drawings for tribal members and bighorns are hunted only on the reservation. Seasons for female wildlife species run from Sept. 1 to Jan. 31, McDonald said. A lot of it is not sport hunting, its subsistence hunting, he said. Overhunting is not an issue. Few tribal members hunt black bears and none hunt grizzlies or cat species like mountain lions or bobcats. The tribe has about 7,000 members. As many as 900 may apply for special licenses. In addition, Montana acknowledges the rights of several tribes to hunt Yellowstone bison in the winter when they leave the park, including Confederated Salish Kootenai, Blackfeet, Nez Perce and Umatilla, Shoshone-Bannock tribal members. Those hunts along the northern border near Gardiner have raised some residents concerns about gut piles that attract predators, unsafe shooting, bison wounding and unethical hunting with animals facing a barrage of bullets when they exit the park. Montana does not regulate the tribal hunters but coordinates with tribal game officers and law enforcement in an attempt to ensure everyones safety. Still to come When the Wyoming case will be settled is uncertain. Depending on how the Sheridan County District Court rules, the case could still be appealed up the ladder and end up before the U.S. Supreme Court again, some court watchers have suggested. Until then, Gov. Mark Gordon issued a statement that said in part, Until these remaining issues are resolved, the State of Wyoming will continue to regulate the take of game animals in the Bighorn National Forest to ensure equal hunting opportunities for all. McDonald said fears that Crow hunters will decimate Wyomings elk herds are unfounded. They all frown on waste of meat, thats taboo, he said. With a limited population, who can only eat so much meat, and with some tribal members raising beef or with access to the tribes bison herd, McDonald said theres a limit to what tribal members will hunt, as well as who will hunt. Also, just like across the greater U.S. population, hunting among native people has declined, he said. I wouldnt expect much change. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 2 Angry 3 Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr accused Gov. Mark Gordon on Monday of exhibiting profane and misogynistic behavior during a closed-door meeting with her Friday in Cheyenne. Orr said Gordon slammed his fists on the table and screamed f- you, mayor, when he didnt get his way, according to a statement released Monday from the mayors spokesman. Its one thing to have a disagreement on an issue, Orr said in a statement. But to lose your temper in front of your own staff, slam your fists on the table, get in someones face, and yell f- you because you dont like the way the discussion is going is abominable. It was threatening and intimidating behavior, she added. He is much larger than I and used his physical presence in an aggressive and threatening manner. In a statement Monday afternoon, Gordons office disputed Orrs characterization of Fridays events. But he did confirm that profane language was used. I am deeply offended by the characterization represented in the Mayors description of our meeting Friday, Gordon wrote. At no time during the conversation was I standing up or using intimidating body language. The notion that I have anything but the utmost respect for women is simply not true. I stand by my record on that point. I am not proud of my language and I apologize for the word I used, Gordon continued. I have reached out to the Mayor to apologize for it. According to a spokesman, Gordon called Orr on Monday afternoon to offer an apology, which Orr accepted. Orr, who has served as the mayor of Wyomings largest city since 2017, endorsed Gordon in last falls gubernatorial election. Both are Republicans, and her husband, Jimmy, worked on Gordons campaign. For anyone who believes weve reached equality (including in the alleged Equality State), theyre delusional, Jimmy Orr wrote in a post on his personal Facebook page Monday morning. Im very proud of my wife for standing up and condemning this behavior. I wouldnt have endorsed him last fall had I known that he was capable of this, Marian Orr said in a statement. And to be comfortable enough to do this in front of three of your own staff is telling about ones character. Plans for Taiwanese visit Orr said the argument occurred during a meeting over the Taiwanese governments interest in attending Frontier Days this summer. Taiwan is a close trade partner with Wyoming, and the two nations have established trade offices with each other in recent years. In an interview with the Star-Tribune describing the incident on Sunday, Orr said Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen the nations first female president was hoping to visit Cheyenne to commemorate the 150th anniversary of womens suffrage in Wyoming. Orr said Gordons office met with her for 30 minutes on Friday morning after the director of Taiwans Economic Cultural Organization office in Seattle called her Thursday, telling her that planning for the trip was being put on hold after Gordons administration raised security concerns. Orr then contacted the governors chief of staff, Pat Arp, who arranged a meeting Friday morning with Gordon, Department of Homeland Security director Lynn Budd and Renny Mackay, a senior policy adviser who advises the governor on relations with Taiwan. According to Orr, the governor said that a visit by the Taiwanese president could potentially upset the Chinese government. Orr also said the governor reported meeting with the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the states Division of Criminal Investigation, which each expressed concerns of potential infiltration and espionage from the Chinese government. So I said, Governor, if youre so concerned about your appearance to the Chinese to this policy decision, I am fine to go it alone and not include you, your office, and your residents in the capitol, Orr told the Star-Tribune. We can have this be about the Capital City and Frontier Days. He slammed his fists onto the table, gets in my face, and says, F- you, mayor. Complicated relationship China has had a tense relationship with Taiwan since the Chinese Civil War in the mid-20th century, which led to Taiwan exiting Chinese rule to become an independently governed country. Currently, Wyoming maintains a robust trade relationship with both countries, both as a leading coal exporter which interests China and as a producer of beef, which is growing in popularity in Taiwanese markets. Managing those relationships, Mackay said, is a much more complicated task than Wyoming could handle alone. Weve got a good relationship with Taiwan right now, which is good for Wyomings economy, but we also have a relationship with China thats good, Mackay said. Thats something past administrations have worked hard on. The issue here is, in a new administration, our goal was to have some conversations with the State Department to get their professional opinion on moving forward with both those relationships around a visit like this, he added. This is like nothing else that any administration has ever done. The stakes are a lot higher, and the implications of this potential visit could be significant. Gordon addressed these concerns in his statement Monday, saying he had been trying to emphasize the gravity of the situation and concerns that Wyoming not be used as a pawn between Taiwan, China and the United States. I hope to sit down with the Mayor soon and hear out her concerns so we can have a positive relationship going forward, to ensure the potential visit by the Taiwanese President is carried off with all proper protocol, that public safety needs are met, and taxpayer money is spent appropriately, the statement said. On Sunday, Orr described a different situation. It would have been one thing for him to say, Hey, I see things that you dont see, lets talk about this. And instead for him to not only attack someone, but be flat-out condescending and, frankly, chauvinistic, was very disheartening and yet, very telling. Womens suffrage commemoration Orr said the Taiwanese presidents visit was intended to be a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of womens suffrage in Wyoming, as part of the states dedication of 2019 as the Year of Wyoming Women. According to Orr, Taiwans president was hoping to visit the state to attend Cheyenne Frontier Days in a formal visit. Orr said Sunday she had not been in touch with the governors office about the plans prior to Thursdays phone call, but said she had been in discussions with Taiwans Seattle office and the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce about a potential visit for the past several weeks. A representative for the Seattle office said Monday morning there was no news regarding the state of that visit. Orr said director general Alex Kuo-shu Fan told her Thursday he had gotten word from the governors office that they were no longer receptive to her visit, and were putting things on hold. Gordon denied this characterization, and Mackay confirmed Monday afternoon that Wyoming was now in contact with the U.S. Department of State to discuss how best to move forward. We are still really hopeful this can happen, Mackay said. We just need the expertise. There might be strategies at the White House level that were just not aware of. We just want to have those conversations before we move this ahead. Wyomings trade relationship with Taiwan was a policy achievement of Gordons predecessor, Gov. Matt Mead. Last September, Mead traveled on a six-day trade mission to the country, capped with the announcement Wyoming would be establishing a trade office there and hiring someone to facilitate trade between Taiwan and the Equality State. The Taiwanese government has also expressed an interest in a memorandum of understanding with the University of Wyoming for cultural and technological exchange opportunities. Wyoming also maintains relationships with China through the US-China Clean Energy Research Center, of which the University of Wyoming is a partner. Wyoming has also been in touch with the Chinese government in recent years around opportunities to exchange ideas around coal innovation technologies. Mackay said that Fridays meeting does not mark a change in the Gordon administrations approach to Taiwan but rather how Wyoming can best manage its existing trade relationships with both countries before a visit. Thats what were trying to get at, Mackay said. The State Department is going to be the one to best tell us if thats possible, and then we take action based on that guidance to use that expertise. Otherwise, then, you have to make choices. The governor really wants to go about this in a measured way, because we dont know all the implications. Can we balance it? In Wyoming, we just dont know yet. But were hoping the State Department can let us know if we can. Follow politics reporter Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IAmNickReynolds Love 10 Funny 9 Wow 12 Sad 4 Angry 24 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Departing University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols is set to become the interim president at Black Hills State University, the South Dakota school announced Monday. Nichols will take over as interim president on July 1, a day after her contract as UW president expires. The announcement is somewhat of a reversal for Nichols, who had said she would stay on for at least a year as a faculty member at UW after her presidential term ends. But rumors about the certainty of her tenure at UW have been persistent in recent weeks, with her husband taking a job at the University of Montana and the revelation that the couples Laramie house was placed on the market in April. In a statement, Nichols who previously served as an administrator at South Dakota State said she was delighted to return to her native state. I also look forward to returning to the Black Hills, the same region where I started my career as a high school teacher in Hill City some four decades ago, she said. I anticipate a positive and productive year as BHSU searches for its next permanent president. Its unclear how long Nichols will remain as interim president. In its press release Monday, the school said she will serve in a temporary capacity until a national search for the universitys next president is concluded and the next president is appointed. We are so pleased to have Dr. Nichols serve as the interim president of Black Hills State University, Paul B. Beran, the Black Hills States boards executive director and CEO, said in a statement. Her higher education experience and previous service in South Dakotas public university system leaves little doubt that she will be an excellent guide for the university until a permanent leader is appointed. We welcome her back home to South Dakota. Reached by phone Monday afternoon, UW board president Dave True said he had not heard Nichols was taking another job before the Star-Tribune called him. He declined to comment, beyond saying that he had no idea she was pursuing anything specifically, but if shes pleased with it, thats a very good step. True added that he understood Nichols would stay on and teach at UW, given a statement she had made to Wyoming Public Media several weeks ago. Faculty leaders had been under a similar impression: Donal OToole, who until recently was the Faculty Senate chair, told the board last month that Nichols was brave for staying on another year at UW, despite her demotion. University spokesman Chad Baldwin said on Monday that he, too, had just learned of the Nichols announcement via a media report but that he didnt know if other officials in administration had been previously aware of it. He said it would be my guess that Nichols will not be serving in any faculty capacity at UW, as she had previously indicated. The surprise announcement will fully bring an end to Nichols time at UW in four weeks. She came to Laramie just over three years ago, having previously been the provost at South Dakota State, where she received a degree in home economics education. UWs first female president, Nichols came to Laramie amid a budget crisis that would ultimately cost the university $42 million in state funding, while the school was simultaneously dealing with a free-falling enrollment. She was able to weather both storms and would steer the school through a number of other changes and controversies. But for reasons that remain publicly unclear, True and the rest of UWs board announced in late March that they would not renew Nichols three-year contract. They have repeatedly declined requests by faculty, students and media to provide an explanation for the decision, which even Nichols has said she does not understand. True again declined to discuss details of Nichols demotion to the Star-Tribune late last month, calling it hammering on an old topic. As the details around Nichols departure remains murky, UW is determinedly moving on. The board appointed Neil Theobald, the previous president of Temple University and UWs current vice president for finance, to serve as interim president for the coming academic year, as the board searches for a new president. Theobalds selection drew praise from his past employers and from UW officials. Ken Chestek, the Faculty Senate Chair, said Theobald brought experience, an even temperament and broad knowledge to the position of president. Follow education reporter Seth Klamann on Twitter @SethKlamann Love 5 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 3 Angry 1 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Submit items about charitable donations by local businesses or nonprofits to business@tucson.com; please use Giving Back in the email subject line and include photos in JPEG format. Sign up for a weekly update of business headlines at Tucson.com/business. At Picacho Peak, the $800 tool helped the team find that it takes a wind speed of only 10 mph to cause blowing dust, depending on whether the soil is crusted or rocky. The team is continuing its research in hopes that the measurements could one day help other researchers find a way to predict the storms. And OBrien-Metzger added that those measurements are only part of the research capabilities. They plan to further their work in the Wilcox area, study sites that have undisturbed soil and measure the effects of soil moisture on dust generation. What we are trying to do with our research is to use it to help other people create a model that will help predict dust storms, to try to keep everybody safer, OBrien-Metzger said. The team has been collaborating with Joey Blankinship, a UA assistant professor in the department of soil, water and environmental science, who is researching how to eliminate dust storms by enhancing the health of soils. OBrien-Metzger said the dust generator is a great machine that is being used to get an accurate reading on how well that treated soil is doing. Right now, theres a lot of uncertainty about what these satellites will mean, said Amanda Gormly, director of communications with the International Dark-Sky Association. Obviously, we are concerned about the visibility (of the satellites), she said. This is about something we value very deeply. Gormly pointed out that there are several other organizations and corporations, in addition to SpaceX, already planning to launch more satellites as part of a new frontier in technology. What we are really concerned about is the rapid increase of these satellites, which could fundamentally change the way we experience the night sky, she said. Nocturnal animals, including migratory birds, use the night sky to find their way around, she said. What we dont understand is exactly how deeply this will impact those animals, she said. Both Gormly and Adam Block, an astronomy researcher with the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona, point out there are already many satellites in orbit, but the pace of launching them has been slow and measured. And she said that voiding the law and going back to the way things were would incentivize parties to have fewer registered members and therefore artificially reduce the signature requirements. Michael Kielsky, a Libertarian Party member and plaintiff in the lawsuit, said he expects the ruling to be appealed. Prior to 2015, candidates for recognized minor parties could get on the ballot simply by submitting petitions with the signatures of one-half of 1% of those registered with the party. In 2018 for the Libertarians, a statewide candidate would have had to collect about 160 names. That year, Republicans lowered the requirement to one-quarter of 1%. But they engineered it so that the figure was based on all who could sign a candidates petition. That added political independents to the base, who actually outnumber Democrats and run a close second to Republicans. So in 2018, the minimum signature requirement for a Libertarian running statewide was 3,153, about 10% of all those actually registered as Libertarians. For the Green Party, the floor was 1,253. Local journalism is important and producing it costs time and money. To continue viewing content on tucson.com, please sign in with your existing account or subscribe. Vietnams Vietjet Air and Bamboo Airways have suspended operations of four domestic routes due to low demand. Bamboo Airways said its services between Vinh and Hanoi have been suspended from June 1, less than four months after launching the route on February 23. Vinh, the capital of Nghe An Province, is the biggest city and economic and cultural center of Vietnams north-central region. The hybrid airlines Hai Phong Can Tho service, connecting two key municipalities in northern Vietnam and the Mekong Delta region, has also been suspended from Saturday, less than one month after the routes launch on May 10. Before the suspension, Bamboo Airways operated daily flights for both the Vinh - Hanoi and Hai Phong - Can Tho services. Passengers who have already booked tickets for these routes departing from June 1 are eligible for a full refund of their airfare. For the Hai Phong Can Tho route, passengers can either claim a full refund or have their booking transferred to a Hanoi Can Tho flight for free instead. The airline also offers an additional VND150,000 (US$6.50) transportation allowance per passenger to help them get from Hai Phong to Hanoi. A Bamboo Airways plane is seen at an airport in Japan. Photo: Aviation Wire Meanwhile, low-cost carrier Vietjet Air announced last week it has stopped operating flights between Nha Trang and Thanh Hoa from June 1. Nha Trang is a popular resort city in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, while Thanh Hoa is the capital city of the namesake province in north-central Vietnam. Vietjet has operated Nha Trang Thanh Hoa flights since June 6, 2016 with a frequency of three return flights every week. The budget airlines Vinh Pleiku service, offering three return flights weekly between Vinh and the capital city of Gia Lai Province in the Central Highlands region since January 2016, has also been suspended from June 1. Both Vietjet and Bamboo have not issued an official statement on their reasons for closing down the domestic routes. A representative from a separate Vietnamese airline told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that Vietjet and Bamboo have been operating these routes at a loss due to low demand for air travel between the destinations. Without subsidy from local governments, it is difficult for airlines to maintain services on such unpopular routes. In the end, the opening and closing of flight routes are still driven by market demand, the representative said. A Vietjet crew is pictured before a charter flight that carried some 300 passengers from India to Phu Quoc Island off Kien Giang Province, Vietnam to attend an Indian billionaire couple's wedding in March 2019. Photo: Vietjet Air Vietjet said at a shareholders meeting in April it planned to open 20 more new international routes this year, effectively raising the companys flight network to 133 domestic and international destinations, from the current 113 services. Its air transport revenue in 2018 reached $1.45 billion, an increase of nearly 50 percent year on year. Bamboo Airways, Vietnams newest airline, launched its first flight in January and currently operates 20 domestic routes. An arm of real estate giant FLC Group, Bamboo conducted nearly 4,000 flights in the first four months of this year, mostly between destinations with existing FLC-developed hotels and resorts. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Your browser does not support the audio element. A Vietnamese historical fiction drama inspired by the power struggle within Vietnams Forbidden Palace during Nguyen-dynasty rule in the 19th century will be broadcast on YouTube in early 2020. Phuong Khau is centered around the palace life of Empress Dowager Tu Du, wife of Emperor Thieu Tri and mother of Emperor Tu Duc, who ruled Vietnam from 1841 to 1847 and from 1847 to 1883, respectively. The web drama chronicles Tu Dus power struggle as one of Thieu Tris many wives and her ascent to the title of empress dowager after installing their son Tu Duc as the successor to the throne. Tu Du is considered by Vietnamese historians as one of the most impactful female figures during the Nguyen dynastys reign from 1804 until 1945. The leading and biggest public maternity hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, the Tu Du Hospital, is named for her. The web dramas name Phuong Khau, literally Phoenix Button, draws inspiration from a tale on Tu Du surrounding the conception of her first royal baby. Actress Hong Dao portrays Empress Dowager Tu Du in Vietnamese palace historical drama Phuong Khau. Phuong Khau, written by Ton That Minh Khoi and directed by Huynh Tuan Anh, will be a three-part series with a total of 18 episodes running 60 minutes each. The palace drama will be aired for free on YouTube from early 2020. It will be the first Vietnamese period drama to tackle the topic of power struggles among wives of emperors. Apart from depicting harem battles, Phuong Khau will also explore the depths of womens lives in dynastic Vietnam, Khoi said. Actor Thanh Loc portrays Emperor Thieu Tri in Vietnamese palace historical drama Phuong Khau. The series bases its storyline and cultural aspects on official historical records as well as French writings about Vietnam during this period. Vietnamese history rarely took account of women in the palace, so its remarkable that the team behind this project has been able to put the pieces together to produce a web series on this topic, said Professor Le Van Loan, who was a historical advisor to the project. While most scenes were shot at the actual Forbidden Palace in Hue City, 3D mapping was also used to generate wide-angle shots that best depict the palace in all its glory nearly 200 years ago, said director Huynh Tuan Anh. Actor Jun Pham portrays young Emperor Tu Duc in Vietnamese palace historical drama Phuong Khau. A team of researchers and specialists are dedicated to recreating historically accurate attire worn by Vietnamese emperors and their wives during this period for the making of this project. Viewers should also expect to see Vietnamese court rituals, dignitaries, games, food, poetry and music of the Nguyen dynasty being brought to life on the small screen in Phuong Khau, Anh said. A promotional poster for Vietnamese palace historical drama Phuong Khau A trailer for Vietnamese palace historical drama Phuong Khau Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! On May 28, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in New York City for a closed-door meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. In remarks that were covertly recorded and passed along to the Washington Post, Pompeo effectively declared that the Middle East peace plan conjured by First Son-in-Law Jared Kushner was a non-starter and would be rejected by most parties. Instead of the "deal of the century" touted by President Donald Trump, Pompeo conceded that the peace scheme was a losing proposition. "I get why people think this is a deal that only Israel could love. I understand the perception of that. I just hope everyone will give the space to listen and settle in a bit." Pompeo continued his blunt remarks: "I don't want to call it failing. Call it whatever. I fail a lot, so it's not about using a word like that." Pompeo admitted that the State Department is giving a good deal of attention to what to do next if the Kushner Plan flops. Until Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu failed to put together a majority cabinet this week and had to call snap elections for September, it had been expected that the long-awaited Kushner Plan would be rolled out this month. Now the launch date is delayed until late September or early October after a new Israeli government is formed and sworn in. Pompeo has shown some unexpected political savvy by distancing himself from the doomed "peace plan," which appears to be little more than a scheme to buy Palestinian capitulation through a combination of promises of Arab money and political strong-arming from the Gulf States and Israel. "Trumps comments come as British politics remain on edge. The country is scheduled to leave the E.U. on October 31, after delaying its original departure date by months due to a lack of political consensus in Britain. Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation earlier last month after repeatedly failing to gain support for the withdrawal deal she negotiated with the E.U. Parliament rejected the withdrawal deal three times and May was unable to win backing for it to pass in a fourth vote. Trump also said he wouldnt pay the $50 billion so-called divorce bill to settle the U.K.s financial obligations with the E.U.: Im only saying this from my stand point. I would not pay, thats a tremendous number, Trump said. A number of leading Brexit supporters are calling for the U.K. to prepare to leave the E.U. without any deal at all, which means Britain would have no trade arrangement with the bloc, likely resulting in economic disruption. " CNBC -------------- There is always the pesky problem of a re-emergent intra Ireland hard border, and then there is the loud mouthed mayor of greater London. He is something like the British version of De Blasio, the lord mayor of greater Manhattan. Nevertheless, Trump's instinct in offering full support for a major US/UK trade relationship is, IMO, a sound idea. essentially a reversion to US/UK trade relations from the status quo ante the EU. What was wrong with that set of arrangements? The globalists on both sides of the Atlantic will grind their jaws in frustration. So much the better! What would Scotland do? "Time will tell." ******* Please watch the video of the official reception at Buckingham Palace. The troops are from the Grenadier Guards Regiment of the Household Division. President Trump when escorted by the commander of troops to inspect the guard of honor asks the Grenadier officer if he may speak to the men. After a moment's thought the commander responds in the affirmative and Trump chats his way down the lines speaking with astonished soldiers. Prince Charles finally joins in the conversation. Trump's exchange at the end of the front rank with the Regimental Sergeant Major of the Grenadier Guards must have been a wonderful moment. The two companies of the Guards then passed in review behind "Here's Health Unto Her Majesty ," and "The British Grenadier," (their regimental march.) Pilgrims, I have been in a hell of a lot of parades, guard mounts and the like and IMO the president's desire to talk to the men was altogether charming. pl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otkCfacn_Uw https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/02/trump-tells-uk-to-walk-away-if-eu-doesnt-agree-to-brexit-deal.html There is another piece of public evidence that provides circumstantial evidence that the intelligence community case against Russia with respect to the allegation of extraordinary meddling is a fabrication. I am referring to the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment-- Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections . We have very specific evidence regarding the fraud perpetrated about the so-called "hacking" of the DNC. Bill Binney and I have posted two pieces--one showing that the forensic evidence in the metadata of the DNC documents posted at Wikileaks could not have transferred over the internet and one showing that Guccifer 2.0 was the creation of some person or entity other than Russia. What made 2016 unique and dangerous is that US law enforcement and intelligence agencies decide to use the ruse of Russia as a weapon to attack the candidacy and then the Presidency of Donald Trump. This attack entailed creating evidence that Trump was soliciting Russian assistance and the creation of the myth that Russia hacked the DNC. Anyone who challenges this lie is branded immediately as a Russian stooge and puppet of Putin. The American public, with the enthusiastic support of most of the media, have been sold a big lie about Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election. As I have noted in previous pieces, there was nothing new nor special nor unique about Russian espionage activities inside the United States, including information and computer network operations, in 2016. Russian espionage and covert action against the United States has been a matter of fact since 1919. And the United States has been similarly engaged in such activities inside Russia. I want to focus on one of the more important Key Judgements: We assess with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona and DCLeaks.com to release US victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks. It is natural and understandable to assume that this judgment is based on real intelligence held in classified channels. But it is not. Bill Binney and I have shown that Guccifer 2.0 was a fabrication. But we also have the testimony of NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers and FBI Director Jim Comey on the "evidence" underlying the so-called hack. This key judgment was based on unverified and uncorroborated information provided by CrowdStrike. Three months after the ICA was published, Rogers and Comey testified before the House Intelligence Committee. They were asked specifically about the proof that the DNC was hacked by the Russians. Here is the key part of that testimony: HURD: So there was about a year between the FBI's first notification of some potential problems with the DNC network and then that information getting on -- getting on Wikileaks. COMEY: Yes, sir. HURD: Have you been able to -- when did the DNC provide access for -- to the FBI for your technical folks to review what happened? COMEY: Well we never got direct access to the machines themselves. The DNC in the spring of 2016 hired a firm that ultimately shared with us their forensics from their review of the system. HURD: Director Rogers, did the NSA ever get access to the DNC hardware? ROGERS: The NSA didn't ask for access. That's not in our job... HURD: Good copy. So director FBI notified the DNC early, before any information was put on Wikileaks and when -- you have still been -- never been given access to any of the technical or the physical machines that were -- that were hacked by the Russians. COMEY: That's correct although we got the forensics from the pros that they hired which -- again, best practice is always to get access to the machines themselves, but this -- my folks tell me was an appropriate substitute. HURD: The -- at what point did the company and the DNC use -- share that forensic information to you? COMEY: I don't remember for sure. I think June. I could be wrong about that. . . . HURD: So -- so that was -- how long after the first notification of -- that the FBI did of the DNC? COMEY: Ten months. HURD: Ten months? So the FBI notified the DNC of the hack and it was not until 10 months later that you had any details about what was actually going on forensically on their network? COMEY: That's correct, assuming I have the dates about right. But it was -- it was some months later. Neither the FBI nor the NSA got "direct access to the machines". Their words, not mine. And where did the forensic data come from? CrowdStrike. So much for the intelligence community relying on real intelligence. They were given information from a cyber security firm that waited at least 5 weeks before allegedly taking steps to disconnect the DNC computers from the infected network. Even in an unclassified setting, Admiral Rogers and Director Comey could have stated that they had other information from intelligence sources that corroborated the CrowdStrike findings. They did not testify to this. This is more than curious, it is a tacit admission that they were relying on information from a firm hired by the Democrats and the law firm working for Hillary Clinton. This is not an independent, reliable source of information. This fact alone does not prove the lie. But when considered as part of the entire evidence available, including the metadata from the documents posted at Wikileaks, the case for fabrication grows. UPDATE--Thanks to "H" for spotting the obvious. I missed this completely but "H" is quite correct that this statement by Comey raises more disturbing questions. Let's go to the transcript: HURD: Copy, I apologize. Director Comey, when was the first time the FBI notified the DNC of the hack? Roughly. COMEY: I think august of 2015. HURD: And was that prior to information being leaked to -- being sent on -- put on WikiLeaks? COMEY: Yes the -- the first Russian directed releases where middle of June of the next year by D.C. leaks and this Guccifer 2.0 persona and then that was followed by Wikileaks. So about a year. A little less than a year really. HURD: So there was about a year between the FBI's first notification of some potential problems with the DNC network and then that information getting on -- getting on Wikileaks. . . . HURD: So -- so that was -- how long after the first notification of -- that the FBI did of the DNC? COMEY: Ten months. HURD: Ten months? So the FBI notified the DNC of the hack and it was not until 10 months later that you had any details about what was actually going on forensically on their network? COMEY: That's correct, assuming I have the dates about right. But it was -- it was some months later. HURD: Knowing what we know now, would the FBI have done anything different in trying to notify the DNC of what happened? COMEY: Oh Sure. HURD: What -- what -- what measures would you have done differently? COMEY: We'd have set up a much larger flare. Yeah we'd have just kept banging and banging on the door, knowing what I know now. We made extensive efforts to notify, we'd have -- I might have walked over there myself, knowing what I know now. But I think the efforts we made, that are agents made were reasonable at the time. Whoa!!! How did the FBI know that the DNC was "hacked" in August 2015? The FBI does not have a "Hacking Monitor" team that sits around identifying attempted hacks within the United States. There are only a few possibilities that would account for the FBI's knowledge of this alleged event: The FBI had an informant who was connected to the hacker. The FBI had an informant inside the DNC that alerted them to the hack. The FBI had an active counter intelligence investigation of the person/group that was conducting this hack. Regardless of how the FBI learned of the August 2015 hack, the natural and unanswered question is why did the FBI not act to warn the DNC and to pursue the person or entity responsible for the hack? Moreover, how did the FBI know that the person/entity doing the hack of the DNC in August 2015 was the same one responsible for the May 2016 "theft" of emails? Given that Comey admitted that the FBI did not have forensic access to any of the DNC computers or network, how could Comey know that the same person/entity was responsible for the unspecified activities in August 2015? A lot of disturbing questions that require an answer. This week marks the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, June 6th 1944. The History channel has a number of WWII specials, including a French special The Battle of Normandy: 85 Days In Hell commissioned for the occasion. This documentary examines never-before-seen footage from the Battle of Normandy. Combining this footage with modern CGI maps, and expert opinion, it presents a fresh evaluation of this bold and history-making wartime operation. The film also features interviews with Canadian, American and British experts, including famed British war historian Antony Beevor. It airs 7:30pm Thursday on History. These are also screening this week: World War II: Battles for Europe S1 Wednesdays from June 5 at 7.30pm on History This compelling eight-part series takes you to the heart of iconic moments in the history of warfare: the D-Day landings, the ill-fated airborne operation at Arnhem, the German counterattack at the Battle of the Bulge and the dash for one of the last bridges standing across the Rhine at Remagen. WWII Battles for Europe tells the grand narrative through eye-witness veteran testimony from men who served under fire on the front line some many times over. Each episode conveys the reality of the fast-moving, life or death nature of the key battles in the defeat of Nazi Germany in the West. Meticulously researched and authoritative, the series portrays the reality of warfare, how everything from weather and terrain to supply and communications, combat stress, unit morale and unexpected enemy action can turn the tide of battle. Thats All Brother: The Plane That Led the D-Day Invasion Three Part Series Wednesdays from June 5 at 8.30pm on History On the night of June 5th, 1944, a C-47 paratrooper aircraft, nicknamed Thats All, Brother took off from England, heading in the early hours of June 6th, to drop Allied fighting men into Normandy, to clear a passage for the tens of thousands of troops lying off the coast. Despite surviving dozens more missions, post war she disappeared. The C-47 that led the invasion armada was either destroyed in Europe, shipped home and broken for parts, or worse still, scrapped and smelted like thousands of other surplus aircraft. A chance discovery in 2015 led a scramble to save the aircraft, after standing for decades forgotten in a scrapyard. This documentary, 3 years in production, traces the incredible story of an American icon, its reconstruction & hazardous Trans-Atlantic mission to honour Americas fallen in Europe. From the RTS Award nominated makers of hit series Plane Resurrection, Thats All, Brother is the epic story of the people and places this aircraft has touched both during its wartime service, and its incredible technical and emotional journey back to the skies. Navy Heroes of Normandy Thursday June 6 at 8.30pm on History On June 6, 1944, more than 52,000 American sailors on board thousands of ships arrived off a quiet stretch of coast in Normandy, France. Operation Neptune-Overlord was the largest amphibious and landing assault operation in the history of war. On this historic day, the U. S. Navy would prove critical to the success of the Allied invasion of Western Europe. Navy Heroes Of Normandy spotlights a dedicated group of Navy veterans who set out to ensure that the crucial role they played on that day would never be forgotten. Eyewitness D:Day 8.30pm Thursday on National Geographic Appropriately airing on the anniversary of D-Day, this fascinating one-hour special puts the spotlight on five key people, and turning points, that were integral to the D-Day landings. Then stay tuned for The King Who Fooled Hitler immediately after, which looks at the efforts made by King George VI to distract the German forces from what was happening in Normandy. Former House of Cards star Kevin Spacey appeared at a Massachusetts courthouse on Monday, surprising media given he was not required to attend the hearing in the case accusing him of groping a young man at a bar in 2016. Spacey, 59, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery, faces up to 2 years in jail if convicted. It is the only criminal case that has been brought against him since his career fell apart amid allegations in 2017. Former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh said Spacey got her son drunk and then sexually assaulted him at a bar on a resort island off Cape Cod. Spaceys lawyers have called the allegations patently false and accused the man of lying in the hopes of making money in a civil case. They argued that the two engaged in nothing more than consensual flirtation and questioned why, according to the mans story, he did not object or try to move away if he was being assaulted. Spaceys attorney urged the court to order prosecutors to hand over a complete and unaltered forensic copy of the accusers cellphone, saying newly produced evidence confirms he deleted exculpatory text messages and provided falsified screenshots of his conversation from the night in question to law enforcement. Judge Thomas Barrett has ordered the Club Car bar to hand over any surveillance footage taken between 5 p.m. July 7, 2016, and 3 a.m. July 8, 2016. Source: USA Today Australian Story will again be taking a break from screens as new episodes of Back Roads return. The winter season travels from one of the worlds most remote cattle stations in desert country to spectacular landscapes in the heart of central Australia. Suplejack Downs, on the edge of the Australias third largest desert, the Tanami in the NT, is home to the Cook family, whose backyard spans more than 400,000 hectares. The nearest petrol station is a five-hour drive on a red-dirt track and its an 18-hour roundtrip just to go to the shops. While its an exciting place to grow up, presenter Heather Ewart learns how the extended familys two teenagers and five children under the age of 12, access an education that will allow them to take their place in a fast-changing contemporary society. Its a very different education from the vast majority of Australian kids. From a very young age, the children learn how to change a tyre and look after their horses and cattle, as well as 21 dogs, chooks, a camel and even an orphaned joey. They learn to juggle that with a normal school day, through classes beamed in via satellite from the School of the Air in Alice Springs. During Heathers visit, the Cook family prepares for a week-long bush ride, initiated by the childrens inspiring mum and aunt, Tiani Cook. The aim of the ride is to raise awareness of the challenges of getting an outback education. Before the ride, the Cooks travel to Alice Springs, 9-hours south, where the kids get a rare chance to hang out with their classmates from other remote areas. From Alice, they travel west through Tjoritja, the magnificent West MacDonnell Ranges, to the Glen Helen Gorge where their week-long ride back to Alice Springs begins. On the way to Glen Helen, Heather meets another family whove embarked on an extraordinary tree change. Former primary school teacher Nadia Gardner, senior ranger Paul Gardner, and their three young kids, have swapped suburbia for the spectacular Ormiston Gorge National Park. Theyre not only living the dream, but their kids are also growing up in one of the most beautiful backyards in the world. Like their School of the Air classmates, the Cook kids on Suplejack, nature is an essential element of their outback classroom. 8pm Monday June 17 on ABC. Stepping up to The Recording Studio microphone this week are young vocalists both using music to express themselves and respond to bullying. Anna and Lucinda Lucinda, 19 and Anna, 21, are two best friends who absolutely love music. The girls are huge fans of Taylor Swift and want to sing Shake it off as its their favourite song to sing together and celebrates not caring about what people say about you and enjoying life. Anna has Down Syndrome and she met Lucinda in high school. They have been best friends ever since, supporting each other through the ups and downs of the teenage years. With the help of the song doctor Charles Fisher, this recording celebrates friendship and fun and fulfils Annas dream of recording a song together with her best mate Lucinda. James Emmanuel James grew up in Orange but now lives in the Blue Mountains. He has always excelled at music and has been rapping and playing the saxophone for eight years. Creative and musical, James hated the rugby culture at his high school, and found he didnt fit in. He was bullied relentlessly for both his race and his sexuality. Now firmly on his own path and comfortable in his own skin, he wants to thank his high school mentor/teacher who helped him deal with bullies at school, encouraged his musical talents and accepted his sexuality and diversity. He wants teacher, Mr Tink, to know that hes never forgotten him and hes grateful for how supportive and understanding he was during that tough time. The Recording Studio welcomes Sydney hip hop duo Horrorshow to the studio to produce Jamess original recording Radiate. 8pm Tuesday on ABC. Chairwoman of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD) Andrea Nahles is pictured during a press conference at Willy-Brandt-Haus in Berlin, Germany on May 27, 2019. (Photo by Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Fresh from a drubbing in the European elections, Germanys Social Democratic Party (SPD) plunged deeper into chaos Sunday after Andrea Nahles announced she would resign as party head and its parliamentary group leader, effective today. Nahles, who has led the troubled party since April last year, said she no longer had the support within her party to carry out her duties. The ongoing crisis in the SPD puts the federal government in Berlin on shaky ground. As junior partner to Angela Merkels Christian Democrats, the Social Democrats were loath to enter another coalition after the last general election. Since then, it has steadily fallen in the polls, and won under 16% of the vote in Germany in the recent European elections. The SPDs left wing is keen to pull out of the coalition completely, make a break with the Conservatives and go into opposition. Such a move would lead to fresh elections in Germany. Developments since the European elections have made the fall of the government before the 2021 elections more likely, Carsten Brzeksi, chief economist at ING Germany, said in a note. With the recent successes of the Greens, any fall of the government would, in our view, lead to snap elections, not just a simply reshuffling of coalition partners. While Merkel on Sunday tried to reassure Germany that the government coalition was safe, saying we will continue the government's work with all seriousness, it will depend heavily who the Social Democrats choose as their new leader. Disarray in the SPD also forces the CDU to think about who will be their chancellor candidate should it come to early elections. It was taken almost as a given that Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer would be Merkels successor come 2021, however, a series of missteps including becoming rattled by a YouTube vlogger and suggesting regulation of political opinion online has made her no longer a shoo-in. READ MORE: Angela Merkel defends her heir amid online censorship row Federal finance minister and vice chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has ruled out taking over the party, but said Sunday that the SPD should not enter another coalition with the Christian Democrats. German politics has probably never been more exciting than it is now, and there are turbulent times ahead, Brzeski said. By Jamie Freed SEOUL (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd has asked Airbus SE and Boeing Co to present their "best and final offer" for planes capable of flying 21-hours non-stop from Sydney to London by August, the airline's chief executive said on Monday. "Hopefully by the end of the year ... we will come to a conclusion one way or another," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce told reporters on the sidelines of an airline industry conference in Seoul. "If the business case works we will put in an order." Qantas is aiming for the planes to be delivered from late 2022, with the first Sydney-London flights likely in 2023, he said. The route would be the world's longest commercial flight and Qantas is examining A350 and 777X models. The airline is in talks with pilots about changing a labour contract to increase productivity to help support the business case for an order, Joyce said. Qantas plans to have four service classes on the airplane, including first, business, premium economy and economy, with a zone for economy and premium economy-class passengers to stretch and hydrate, he said. Singapore Airlines Ltd has only business class and premium economy on the world's current longest route, from Singapore to New York. Joyce said Qantas' success in selling around 90% of economy-class seats on its Perth-London flights showed there was demand for economy class on the even longer Sydney-London route. "There still will be a large economy," he said. Qantas also planned other routes with the new jets such as Melbourne-London, Sydney-New York and possibly flights from the east coast of Australia to other cities in Europe, the U.S. east coast and Brazil, he said. (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Stephen Coates) The Allied nations landed more than 130,000 troops on five beaches on D-Day in the biggest seaborne invasion in military history. Spread across a 50-mile stretch of coastline in Normandy, the five beaches were known by their codenames. SWORD: The easternmost of the five beaches targeted on D-Day, Sword was assaulted by the 3rd British Infantry Division. The British were to advance inland as far as the strategically-important town of Caen and line up with the British airborne forces east of the Orne River/Caen Canal. Sword beach in Normandy, France (Jonathan Brady/PA) The 3rd Division established a solid bridgehead and almost reached Caen, but the town was not to fall to the Allies until mid-July. By the end of the day, some 29,000 men had landed at Sword and there were around 630 casualties. GOLD: Nearly 25,000 men from the British 50th Division landed on Gold beach at the centre of the landing zones on D-Day. The aim was to capture the inland town of Bayeux and the Caen-Bayeux road, and to link up with the Americans at Omaha. But there were difficult obstacles to overcome, including German resistance and high winds causing the tide to rise more quickly than expected. An aerial view of Gold Beach on D-Day (MoD Crown Copyright/PA) Although they did not link with the US soldiers in the west, the British troops did join soldiers from the Canadian 3rd Division who had landed on Juno beach in the east. By the end of the day, 413 men were killed or wounded on the beach, and 89 landing crafts were destroyed. JUNO: The assault landings on Juno between Gray-sur-Mer and Bernieres-sur-Mer were made by the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division. The aim was for Canadian troops to secure the beach and join up with British forces on Gold to the west and Sword to the east. The sun rises over Juno beach near Graye-sur-Mer in France (Steve Parsons/PA) Choppy seas hampered the landings but the troops were able to forge a bridgehead and liaise with the British 50th Division. Despite making the deepest penetration of any land forces on June 6, the Canadians eventually had to withdraw from their position 5km from Caen. Story continues Juno was heavily defended and casualty figures were high among the total of 21,400 men who landed there on D-Day. OMAHA: Casualty figures on Omaha were higher than on any other beach, with more than 2,000 Americans killed or wounded. The first wave of landings by the 1st and 29th American Infantry Divisions was at 6.30am. Initial Allied air and naval bombardments failed to knock out the Germans, whose heavy guns had survived the attacks by being withdrawn and sited further to the rear. Amid difficult terrain and with the whole beach overlooked by cliffs, some doubted whether Omaha should have been chosen. An aerial view of Omaha Beach (MoD Crown Copyright/PA) The Allies also did not know that the experienced German 352nd Infantry Division was taking part in an anti-invasion training mission in the area and was able to reinforce coastal defence units. German machine gun fire tore into the American troops, and at one point Colonel George A. Taylor reportedly said there were two kinds of people staying on the beach The dead and those who are about to die. Despite the challenges, the Americans showed incredible bravery to rally and drive the Germans inland, and they were able to gain a small foothold on the beach by the end of the day. The Steven Spielberg-directed war film Saving Private Ryan brought the horrors of war on Omaha beach to a new generation when it was released in 1998. UTAH: The American 4th Infantry Division did not suffer the same grievous losses at Utah as their colleagues had endured at Omaha. Luck played some part in that as strong currents swept the first wave of troops into a more lightly-resisted area, 2,000 yards south of their original target. The view overlooking Utah Beach from Pointe du Hoc, (Michael Walter/PA) The US troops ensured that later assault waves also landed in this less-defended area, and within hours the bridgehead was secured. Of more than 23,000 men from the 4th Infantry Division who landed at Utah, some 200 were killed, wounded or missing as they advanced around four miles. A court in Iraq has sentenced to death two more French jihadists, taking to 11 the total facing capital punishment for joining and fighting for the Islamic State armed group. An appeal process could take years.The two final French nationals on trial in Baghdad for joining the Islamic State (IS) group were sentenced to death on Monday. The have 30 days to appeal the sentences. * Iraqi court condemns ninth French jihadi to deathIraqs authorities are holding hundreds of foreign IS members captured on its soil.French Foreign Affairs minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said France was intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent its citizens from being executed in Iraq.France opposes the death penalty. It has however been adamant that it would not seek the repatriation of it citizens who joined IS, arguing they should face justice in the countries where they were accused of crimes.A group of prominent French lawyers said that the execution of French jihadists on death row would be a disgrace for France."We have taken an historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of (President) Emmanuel Macron," said the lawyers, who include William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth."It would mean allowing a legal assassination which is now proscribed by the majority of countries on the planet," wrote a group of 45 lawyers in an open letter on the website of the radio station, France Info. A court in Iraq has sentenced to death two more French jihadists, taking to 11 the total facing capital punishment for joining and fighting for the Islamic State armed group. An appeal process could take years. The two final French nationals on trial in Baghdad for joining the Islamic State (IS) group were sentenced to death on Monday. The have 30 days to appeal the sentences. Iraqs authorities are holding hundreds of foreign IS members captured on its soil. French Foreign Affairs minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said France was intensifying diplomatic efforts to prevent its citizens from being executed in Iraq. France opposes the death penalty. It has however been adamant that it would not seek the repatriation of it citizens who joined IS, arguing they should face justice in the countries where they were accused of crimes. A group of prominent French lawyers said that the execution of French jihadists on death row would be a disgrace for France. "We have taken an historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of (President) Emmanuel Macron," said the lawyers, who include William Bourdon, Henri Leclerc and Vincent Brengarth. Sudanese troops have attacked a protest camp in the capital Khartoum, killing at least 13 people, according to witnesses and protest leaders. It follows weeks of protests against military rule. Videos posted online amid the early-morning assault show civilians running through streets lined with sit-in tents with their heads down, as the sound of gunfire filled the air. "Wounded people are lying on the ground the reception area as there are not enough beds," said Azza al-Kamel, a doctor at the Royal Care hospital near the sprawling sit-in area outside the military headquarters in the capital. The Sudan Doctors' Committee said at least 13 people were killed and more than 200 wounded, many by gunfire. By midday, security forces controlled almost the entire camp, pushing out protesters and sealing off the area, two protesters said. "We are out and cannot get in," said Hisham Shalbi, a protest leader. They said only a few small pockets of protesters in the area remain. Earlier, the British ambassador in Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, said he was "extremely concerned by the heavy gunfire I've been hearing from my residence". There were "reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties", he added. The ruling military council said it had been targeting what it considers to be a problematic area near the sit-in, nicknamed "Colombia." Spokesman Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi said a number of people from that area then moved to the main protest site. Activist Dura Gambo said large numbers of troops entered the protest area and arrested people trying to leave. "They have used the heavy rain yesterday and moved in the early morning to disperse people," she said. Live footage broadcast by Arab TV stations showed protesters running away as black smoke rose from tents which appeared to have been set on fire. Roads are said to have been blocked by troops wielding batons. Story continues In Omdurman, Khartoum's twin city, there were reports of protesters blocking roads with stones and burning tyres. Demonstrators are facing a "massacre in a treacherous attempt to disperse the protest", the main protest group said in a statement, urging supporters to converge on the area. A leader of the Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces, Khalid Omar Yousef, said protests would be escalated, including "full civil disobedience". Mr Siddiq said there was "no excuse for any such attack". "This. Must. Stop. Now," he tweeted. Sudan's long term ruler, Omar al Bashir, was overthrown by the military in April following mass protests against his 30-year rule. Since then there has been a Transitional Military Council (TMC). It is proposed that a sovereign council lead Sudan for three years as it embraces civilian rule. But there has been persistent deadlock in talks between the protesters and the military. The demonstrators want limited military representation on the sovereign council, but the generals want overall control during the interim period. The TMC has said repeatedly that it will not use force to disperse the protesters. Over the weekend, the European Banking Authority quietly moved from its Canary Wharf offices in London, to set up shop here in Paris, in the business district known as La Defence. The reason for the move is, in case you have not already guessed, big, bad, Brexit.The business magazine Forbes has a lovely, if completely incomprehensible, report on the move of the abbreviated EBA and its sister agency the EMA from the UK. This is because, once Theresa May, shes the PM, announced that the UK would leave the EU and refuse the jurisdiction of the CJEU, there was nothing the DEXEU could do.I hope thats clear.The DEXEU is the United Kingdoms Department for Exiting the European Union. They tried to convince the European Banking Authority, the EBA, that staying in London after Brexit would pose no problem. The EU negotiators saw it differently. The bank is a Single Market, SM, institution operating under EU law. No way could it remain in a country that was leaving the Single Market and repudiating the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, or CJEU.Just to complete the explanatory round-up of those abbreviations, the EMA is also leaving London. Thats the European Medicines Agency which regulates the pills and potions which our doctors prescribe to keep us safe, sane and standing upright.No way were we going to leave such intimate matters in the hands of those pesky Brits. Take a pill, Bill!But lets get back to the serious stuff, the money!All through the Brexit debate, the Rulers of the Universe who operate from the towers and spires of Londons financial district were arrogantly adamant that the City would remain the centre of the known world, whatever happened to Europe. They would have free access to the European marketplace, simply because that European marketplace could not survive without them.Will London become a distant backwater?Now, with no deal in place, it looks as if London might become a distant backwater, deserted by both the continental institutions and the big financial groups who like to be within a stones throw of the action.The Forbes article continues by pointing out that there is as yet no agreement on anything, and the UK hasnt left the EU. But the cross-channel stance on Brexit has, we are told, hardened considerably. The European elections saw popular opinion polarised between leaving the EU with no deal and not leaving at all. Mrs May, the unfortunate prime minister whose attempt to please everyone ended up pleasing no-one, has been hounded out of office. The front runners to succeed her would all rather leave the EU with no deal than agree to the Irish backstop which is perverse, since a majority of Northern Irelanders themselves seem quite comfortable with that bizarre attempt to ensure that northern loyalists get to keep their cake, eat it, and gobble the share of their nationalist neighbours as well. But thats because the Democratic Unionist Party believes that eternal damnation would be preferable to even a few months of fraternal sharing of their island province with southern Catholics. Let's hear it for Plan BAs the danger of a no-deal departure increases, more London-based financial institutions are setting up subsidiaries in European Union member countries. European banking is leaving London, heading for Paris, Luxembourg, Frankfurt or Dublin.Financial services have tended to be the forgotten facet of the Brexit debate. London is by far the richest part of the UK; many of those who voted to leave blame the vast GDP per capita gap between London and everywhere else on its close connections with the hated EU. Some analysts argue that the UKs dominant financial services sector drains resources from other sectors and prevents the economy from diversifying. And people havent forgotten the financial crisis, the bank bailouts and the austerity imposed on them to pay for it all. There is a widespread view that cutting the bloated City down to size wouldnt be a bad thing. Protecting banks from Brexit is thus a much harder sell than protecting car manufacturers and farmers. Unsurprisingly, politicians have concentrated on softening the impact of Brexit on goods exports, and largely ignored services.The news is not all badThe Reuters news agency, which specialises in sharp financial information, says that property prices in the City of London are on the way up. So someone thinks London is an investment opportunity, Brexit or otherwise.The Forbes guy thinks the next big thing could be a career for Londons rich and powerful running a kind of off-shore financial centre, right on Europes doorstep.Strange creatures those Brits. Even when they offer to leave, theyre still hard to get rid of. Over the weekend, the European Banking Authority quietly moved from its Canary Wharf offices in London, to set up shop here in Paris, in the business district known as La Defence. The reason for the move is, in case you have not already guessed, big, bad, Brexit. The business magazine Forbes has a lovely, if completely incomprehensible, report on the move of the abbreviated EBA and its sister agency the EMA from the UK. This is because, once Theresa May, shes the PM, announced that the UK would leave the EU and refuse the jurisdiction of the CJEU, there was nothing the DEXEU could do. I hope thats clear. The DEXEU is the United Kingdoms Department for Exiting the European Union. They tried to convince the European Banking Authority, the EBA, that staying in London after Brexit would pose no problem. The EU negotiators saw it differently. The bank is a Single Market, SM, institution operating under EU law. No way could it remain in a country that was leaving the Single Market and repudiating the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, or CJEU. Just to complete the explanatory round-up of those abbreviations, the EMA is also leaving London. Thats the European Medicines Agency which regulates the pills and potions which our doctors prescribe to keep us safe, sane and standing upright. No way were we going to leave such intimate matters in the hands of those pesky Brits. Take a pill, Bill! But lets get back to the serious stuff, the money! All through the Brexit debate, the Rulers of the Universe who operate from the towers and spires of Londons financial district were arrogantly adamant that the City would remain the centre of the known world, whatever happened to Europe. They would have free access to the European marketplace, simply because that European marketplace could not survive without them. Will London become a distant backwater? Now, with no deal in place, it looks as if London might become a distant backwater, deserted by both the continental institutions and the big financial groups who like to be within a stones throw of the action. Story continues The Forbes article continues by pointing out that there is as yet no agreement on anything, and the UK hasnt left the EU. But the cross-channel stance on Brexit has, we are told, hardened considerably. The European elections saw popular opinion polarised between leaving the EU with no deal and not leaving at all. Mrs May, the unfortunate prime minister whose attempt to please everyone ended up pleasing no-one, has been hounded out of office. The front runners to succeed her would all rather leave the EU with no deal than agree to the Irish backstop which is perverse, since a majority of Northern Irelanders themselves seem quite comfortable with that bizarre attempt to ensure that northern loyalists get to keep their cake, eat it, and gobble the share of their nationalist neighbours as well. But thats because the Democratic Unionist Party believes that eternal damnation would be preferable to even a few months of fraternal sharing of their island province with southern Catholics. Let's hear it for Plan B As the danger of a no-deal departure increases, more London-based financial institutions are setting up subsidiaries in European Union member countries. European banking is leaving London, heading for Paris, Luxembourg, Frankfurt or Dublin. Financial services have tended to be the forgotten facet of the Brexit debate. London is by far the richest part of the UK; many of those who voted to leave blame the vast GDP per capita gap between London and everywhere else on its close connections with the hated EU. Some analysts argue that the UKs dominant financial services sector drains resources from other sectors and prevents the economy from diversifying. And people havent forgotten the financial crisis, the bank bailouts and the austerity imposed on them to pay for it all. There is a widespread view that cutting the bloated City down to size wouldnt be a bad thing. Protecting banks from Brexit is thus a much harder sell than protecting car manufacturers and farmers. Unsurprisingly, politicians have concentrated on softening the impact of Brexit on goods exports, and largely ignored services. The news is not all bad The Reuters news agency, which specialises in sharp financial information, says that property prices in the City of London are on the way up. So someone thinks London is an investment opportunity, Brexit or otherwise. The Forbes guy thinks the next big thing could be a career for Londons rich and powerful running a kind of off-shore financial centre, right on Europes doorstep. Strange creatures those Brits. Even when they offer to leave, theyre still hard to get rid of. The leader of the French centre-right Les Republicains, Laurent Wauquiez, has resigned from his position after the party received its lowest score ever in European elections.Les Republicains obtained 8.48 percent of the vote in the 26 May elections a decline from the 20.41 percent it scored in 2014. The party came fourth behind the far-right National Rally, President Emmanuel Macron's list and the Greens.Appearing live on the evening news programme of the French channel TF1 on Sunday, Wauquiez said the European elections were a failure."Victories are collective, defeats are solitary. That is the way it is. I have to take my responsibilities," Wauquiez said.He said he had given the decision serious consideration.Pressure against Wauquiez mounted after the results were out. The next day, Valerie Pecresse, the Republicains head of the Paris region, said that if she was in Wauquiez's position she would have already resigned.Soon after, a number of Republicains politicians lined up to explicitly demand his resignation."The right needs to rebuild and I do not intend to be an obstacle," Wauquiez told TF1.Party line at faultWauquiez came under much criticism for moving the party in a socially conservative direction after taking its leadership in December 2017, when he vowed to make the party truly right-wing.Wauquiezs choice of LR head of list for the European elections, Francois Xavier-Bellamy, drew considerable scepticism.Bellamy, 33, is a Catholic who was involved in Sens Commun, a traditionalist group that emerged from the 2014 Manif Pour Tous, an anti-gay-marriage protests.He is also personally opposed to abortion, although he has said that no one thinks its possible for France to re-criminalise it.During the campaign Bellamy's eurosceptic views appeared similar to that of Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally. He said Wauquiez chose him as head of list in order to create a new phase in the history of Europe, in which the EU is not an end in itself", but instead serves its members sovereignty.Wauquiez, aged 44, will now focus on his role as president of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. The leader of the French centre-right Les Republicains, Laurent Wauquiez, has resigned from his position after the party received its lowest score ever in European elections. Les Republicains obtained 8.48 percent of the vote in the 26 May elections a decline from the 20.41 percent it scored in 2014. The party came fourth behind the far-right National Rally, President Emmanuel Macron's list and the Greens. Appearing live on the evening news programme of the French channel TF1 on Sunday, Wauquiez said the European elections were a failure. "Victories are collective, defeats are solitary. That is the way it is. I have to take my responsibilities," Wauquiez said. He said he had given the decision serious consideration. Pressure against Wauquiez mounted after the results were out. The next day, Valerie Pecresse, the Republicains head of the Paris region, said that if she was in Wauquiez's position she would have already resigned. Soon after, a number of Republicains politicians lined up to explicitly demand his resignation. "The right needs to rebuild and I do not intend to be an obstacle," Wauquiez told TF1. Party line at fault Wauquiez came under much criticism for moving the party in a socially conservative direction after taking its leadership in December 2017, when he vowed to make the party truly right-wing. Wauquiezs choice of LR head of list for the European elections, Francois Xavier-Bellamy, drew considerable scepticism. Bellamy, 33, is a Catholic who was involved in Sens Commun, a traditionalist group that emerged from the 2014 Manif Pour Tous, an anti-gay-marriage protests. He is also personally opposed to abortion, although he has said that no one thinks its possible for France to re-criminalise it. During the campaign Bellamy's eurosceptic views appeared similar to that of Marine Le Pens far-right National Rally. He said Wauquiez chose him as head of list in order to create a new phase in the history of Europe, in which the EU is not an end in itself", but instead serves its members sovereignty. Wauquiez, aged 44, will now focus on his role as president of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region. George Galloway has been sacked by talkRADIO following an anti-Semitic comment posted on Twitter. The radio host and former MP tweeted to congratulate Liverpool on their Champions League win, and expressed relief that there would be no Israel flags on the cup. George Galloway posted following the Champions League final (Lewis Whyld/PA) Defeated side Tottenham are known for having historically significant support from the Jewish community. Galloways employer, talkRADIO, labelled the post anti-Semitic, and announced that it had severed ties with the The Mother of All Talk Shows host. In an statement on Twitter the station said: talkRADIO has terminated George Galloways weekly show with immediate effect. As a fair and balanced news provider, talkRADIO does not tolerate anti-Semitic views. talkRADIO has terminated George Galloway's weekly show with immediate effect. As a fair and balanced news provider, talkRADIO does not tolerate anti-semitic views. pic.twitter.com/upDUaNPoi0 talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) June 3, 2019 Galloway had posted following Liverpools victory: Congratulations to the great people of Liverpool to the memory of the socialist miner Bill Shankley to the fallen 96 to those who fought for justice for them and to the Liverpool dockers. No Israel flags on the Cup! Galloway said he would see his former employer in court following the news of his sacking. Ive just been sacked by @talkRADIO See you in Court guys. #Palestine #Moats Long live Palestine. George Galloway (@georgegalloway) June 3, 2019 The former Labour and Respect Party politician also declared his support for Palestine. Story continues In a string of tweets following his dismissal, he said: Ive just been sacked by @talkRADIO See you in Court guys. #Palestine #Moats Long live Palestine. He then added: Ive been given a Red Card from @talkRADIO for over-celebrating #Liverpool famous victory over Spurs. Not sure its the wisest move Mr Murdochs team ever made given the history and all. Media watchdog Ofcom had received numerous complaints about Galloways show. Board of Deputies of British Jews president Marie van der Zyl said Mr Galloways tweet was blatant anti-Semitism. She added: We also applaud talkRADIO for taking this poisonous and divisive figure off air. His attempt to bring hatred into a wonderful occasion for English football has attracted the derision it deserves. By Holger Hansen and Edward Taylor BERLIN/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Andrea Nahles said on Sunday she would resign as leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), raising new doubts about the durability of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition with the centre-left party. Merkel's Christian Democrats and the SPD both bled support in last week's European elections as voters turned away from mainstream political parties, undermining a ruling coalition that already came close to falling apart last year. Nahles, whose SPD is a junior coalition partner in Merkel's ruling alliance, said she would resign as party leader on Monday and step down as head of the SPD's parliamentary group on Tuesday. "The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties," Nahles said in a statement released by the SPD. The "grand coalition" is due to rule until 2021 but Nahles' resignation could trigger the SPD's early exit, forcing Merkel to call snap elections, to lead a minority government, or to seek an alliance with the Greens and liberal Free Democrats. "The election for the party leadership is likely to be a vote on the grand coalition," said Henrik Enderlein, president of the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. "Whoever runs will have to answer the crucial question of whether to participate in the government. "New elections later this year are not excluded," Enderlein added. "A minority government at the end of the era Merkel could possibly be an interim solution." The turmoil within the SPD comes as Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) faces its own struggles. Germany's Greens have overtaken the conservatives to become the country's most popular party, an opinion poll showed on Saturday, with SPD support sinking to an all-time low. Story continues CDU leader and Merkel's heir apparent Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer called on the SPD to ensure Germany has a stable and functioning government. "I am assuming that the SPD will make its personnel decisions quickly and that the grand coalition's ability to act will not be impaired," she said on Sunday. Alexander Dobrindt, a lawmaker from the CSU Bavarian party in Merkel's coalition, echoed her view. "I expect a clear commitment from the SPD to back the coalition," Dobrindt said. POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE Nahles had been due to face a vote on her leadership position on Tuesday after her decision to stay in coalition with Merkel's conservative bloc following the European elections setback was criticised by the SPD's left. The SPD also failed to win the most votes in the state of Bremen for the first time in 73 years last Sunday. Earlier, German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, told Germany's Tagesspiegel that he had ruled out entering another grand coalition as the SPD seeks to regroup. "I am very sure that it would not be justifiable for us to have a fifth grand coalition," Scholz told the German paper in an interview published on Sunday before Nahles announced she would resign. "Three grand coalitions in a row would not do democracy in Germany any good," he was quoted as saying. The ruling coalition is due for a midterm review in the autumn, which could be an opportunity for the SPD to pull the plug on the alliance. The SPD is now scrambling to put an end to infighting to stabilise its leadership. Speaking on the "Anne Will" political talkshow on Sunday evening, Scholz ruled himself out as an interim or full-time replacement for Nahles. Last week, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported that former SPD leader Martin Schulz wanted to replace Nahles as head of the parliamentary party. Schulz told Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper that he would not stand against Nahles in the leadership vote on Tuesday but declined to answer whether he would seek to be re-elected leader thereafter. "Wow, another earthquake in German politics," said Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING Germany, referring to the upheaval within the SPD party. (Additional reporting Paul Carrel, Andreas Rinke, Rene Wagner Hans Edzard Busemann; Writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by William Maclean, David Evans, Deepa Babington and Daniel Wallis) RIYADH (Reuters) - Qatar said on Sunday it has reservations about hardline statements on Iran made at emergency summits of Gulf and wider Arab states called by Saudi Arabia, becoming the second Arab country to reject the statement following Iraq. Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said statements at the summits were not adopted using traditional procedures. "The statements condemned Iran but did not refer to a moderate policy to speak with Tehran," he said in remarks reported by Qatar's state-owned Al Jazeera television. "They adopted Washington policy towards Iran, rather than a policy that puts neighbourhood with Iran into consideration," he added. Saudi Arabia's King Salman convened the emergency summits on May 30 to discuss drone strikes on oil installations in Saudi Arabia and attacks on four vessels, including two Saudi oil tankers, off the United Arab Emirates coast. Qatari Prime Minister Abdullah bin Nasser Al Thani, whose country hosts the largest U.S. military base in the region, attended the summits, the most senior Qatari official to visit the kingdom since Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed an economic and diplomatic boycott on Qatar in 2017. The embargo was imposed over allegations that Qatar supports terrorism and is aligning itself with regional foe Iran. Qatar denies the allegations. The right of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to defend their interests after the attacks on oil pumping stations in the kingdom and tankers off the UAE were supported in a Gulf Arab statement and a separate communique issued after the wider summit. Tehran denies any involvement in the attacks. In a sign of regional tensions, Iraq, which has good ties with neighbouring Iran and with Washington, said it objected to the Arab communique, which stated that any cooperation with Tehran should be based on "non-interference in other countries". Story continues U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that evidence of Iran being behind the tanker attacks would be presented to the U.N. Security Council as early as next week. Tensions have risen between the United States and Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump a year ago withdrew Washington from a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran, re-imposed sanctions and boosted its military presence in the Gulf. (Reporting by Nayera Abdallah in Cairo and Marwa Rashad in Riyadh,; Editing by Peter Graff and Will Dunham) Israel launched a second round of strikes against Syria in 24 hours on Sunday, state media reported, as US President Donald Trump called on Russia and Iran to stop bombing the hell out of the war-torn country. Syria accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province, reportedly killing five people, just hours after carrying out retaliatory attacks on military and intelligence posts south of Damascus, killing 10.Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase, a military source told state news agency SANA Sunday evening.The remaining rockets killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse, the source added.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five killed, including one Syrian soldier, adding that a rocket warehouse was destroyed.In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed at the airbase, according to the monitor.Hours earlier, Israel said it had carried out strikes in the province of Quneitra, which includes the Golan Heights, most of which is occupied and annexed by Israel.It said the attack was in response to rare rocket fire from its neighbour late Saturday.Two rockets were fired from Syria at Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and one had been located within Israeli territory, the Israeli Army said.The Observatory said 10 were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters in the attack south of the capital.STOP!Late Sunday, Trump tweeted calling for an end to the bombing in the jihadist stronghold of the northwestern region of Idlib.Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians.The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP! he said on Twitter shortly before he departed for a state visit to Britain.As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces allied to President Bashar al-Assad have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkeys border, Syrian NGOs have said.Meanwhile, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets.The country 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 countrys eight-year war which has killed more than 370,000 people.The Jewish state insists that it has the right to continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah out of self-defence.We wont tolerate fire at our territory and will respond forcefully to any aggression against us, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, after the first strikes.The attacks come amid soaring tensions between Iran and the United States.The stand-off had been simmering since the US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty which Iran reached with major world powers.In recent weeks Washington has accused Iran of alleged threats and deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf.(AFP) Israel launched a second round of strikes against Syria in 24 hours on Sunday, state media reported, as US President Donald Trump called on Russia and Iran to stop bombing the hell out of the war-torn country. Syria accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province, reportedly killing five people, just hours after carrying out retaliatory attacks on military and intelligence posts south of Damascus, killing 10. Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase, a military source told state news agency SANA Sunday evening. The remaining rockets killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse, the source added. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five killed, including one Syrian soldier, adding that a rocket warehouse was destroyed. In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed at the airbase, according to the monitor. Hours earlier, Israel said it had carried out strikes in the province of Quneitra, which includes the Golan Heights, most of which is occupied and annexed by Israel. It said the attack was in response to rare rocket fire from its neighbour late Saturday. Two rockets were fired from Syria at Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and one had been located within Israeli territory, the Israeli Army said. The Observatory said 10 were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters in the attack south of the capital. STOP! Late Sunday, Trump tweeted calling for an end to the bombing in the jihadist stronghold of the northwestern region of Idlib. Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP! he said on Twitter shortly before he departed for a state visit to Britain. Story continues As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces allied to President Bashar al-Assad have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkeys border, Syrian NGOs have said. Meanwhile, Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. The country 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 countrys eight-year war which has killed more than 370,000 people. The Jewish state insists that it has the right to continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah out of self-defence. We wont tolerate fire at our territory and will respond forcefully to any aggression against us, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday, after the first strikes. The attacks come amid soaring tensions between Iran and the United States. The stand-off had been simmering since the US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty which Iran reached with major world powers. In recent weeks Washington has accused Iran of alleged threats and deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf. (AFP) RABAT, June 3 (Reuters) - Spain has asked the European Union to increase the financial aid allocated to Morocco to help it counter illegal migration flows, Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Monday. Morocco is helping us," Borrel told a news conference during a visit to Rabat, adding that such aid should not be considered as a gift to the North African country as the pressure of illegal migration grew in the Western Mediterranean. He said aid should be increased beyond that already agreed. The EU promised last year to give 140 million euros ($160 million) in border management aid to help Morocco curb migration flows. Some 30 million euros was disbursed earlier this year. Morocco is expected to receive half of that aid in budgetary support by the end of July, while the other half would come in the form of donated equipment, according to Moroccan officials. So far this year, Morocco stopped 30,000 people from illegally crossing to Spain and busted 60 migrant trafficking networks, Moroccos foreign minister Nasser Bourita said. In the first five months of this year, 7,876 migrants arrived in Spain by sea, 3% less compared to the same period last year, according to International Organization for Migration (IOM) statistics. IOM figures for last month showed a 67% drop in sea arrivals to 1,160 people compared with May 2018. Some 310 migrants entered Spain so far this year by jumping the fence into Ceuta and Melilla, two small Spanish enclaves on Morocco's north coast. Some 57,000 people arrived illegally in Spain in 2018. Morocco said it prevented 89,000 migrants from setting out for Europe last year. ($1 = 0.89 euros) (Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi Editing by Frances Kerry) The Sudanese activist group that had been negotiating with military rulers has called off talks after at least 13 sit-in protesters were killed outside Khartoum's army headquarters on Monday.The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF), an alliance of the protesters, reacted to the Transitional Military Councils (TMC) attack on the months-long sit-in protest outside military headquarters in the capital.Calling it a bloody massacre, the Sudan Professionals Association, which began the protests in December, called on civilians to take part in total civil disobedience in order to remove the TMC from ruling the country.The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, who have documented the protests and attacks on social media, said that there had been a large number of critical casualties and asked for medical aid organisations to help in dealing with the wounded.They also reported that security forces were firing inside of the East Nile Hospital in Khartoum, chasing peaceful protesters.A number of military pickup trucks mounted with machine guns were sent throughout the capital. The military "did not disperse the sit-in by force", their spokesman Shamseddine Kabbashi told Sky News Arabia. "The tents are there, and the youth are moving freely."Meanwhile, British Ambassador Irfan Siddiq, among others on social media, said he could hear gunfire from his residence in Khartoum.Extremely concerned by... reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties. No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now." he wrote.The US embassy in Khartoum also denounced the attacks by the military."Responsibility falls on the TMC. The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan," it said on social media.Both Britain and the US have called on the TMC to peacefully hand over power to civilians. The council took power in May after longtime President Omar al-Bashir was deposed in April.The protesters and the military could not agree on whether to have a military or civilian transitional government before elections. The rallies and protests against Bashir began in December and have continued unabated for the past five months. The Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group of the protest movement, has encouraged protesters to put up barricades in and around the capital, which civilians reportedly have been doing. The Sudanese activist group that had been negotiating with military rulers has called off talks after at least 13 sit-in protesters were killed outside Khartoum's army headquarters on Monday. The Declaration of Freedom and Change Forces (DFCF), an alliance of the protesters, reacted to the Transitional Military Councils (TMC) attack on the months-long sit-in protest outside military headquarters in the capital. Calling it a bloody massacre, the Sudan Professionals Association, which began the protests in December, called on civilians to take part in total civil disobedience in order to remove the TMC from ruling the country. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, who have documented the protests and attacks on social media, said that there had been a large number of critical casualties and asked for medical aid organisations to help in dealing with the wounded. They also reported that security forces were firing inside of the East Nile Hospital in Khartoum, chasing peaceful protesters. A number of military pickup trucks mounted with machine guns were sent throughout the capital. The military "did not disperse the sit-in by force", their spokesman Shamseddine Kabbashi told Sky News Arabia. "The tents are there, and the youth are moving freely." Meanwhile, British Ambassador Irfan Siddiq, among others on social media, said he could hear gunfire from his residence in Khartoum. Extremely concerned by... reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties. No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now." he wrote. The US embassy in Khartoum also denounced the attacks by the military. "Responsibility falls on the TMC. The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan," it said on social media. Both Britain and the US have called on the TMC to peacefully hand over power to civilians. The council took power in May after longtime President Omar al-Bashir was deposed in April. Story continues The protesters and the military could not agree on whether to have a military or civilian transitional government before elections. The rallies and protests against Bashir began in December and have continued unabated for the past five months. The Alliance for Freedom and Change, the umbrella group of the protest movement, has encouraged protesters to put up barricades in and around the capital, which civilians reportedly have been doing. President Donald Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II Monday during a visit to Britain that's meant to strengthen ties between the two nations, although the trip risks being overshadowed by Brexit turmoil and a political feud with London's mayor. Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew to Buckingham Palace in Marine One, landing on a lawn where they were greeted by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. They received a royal gun salute as they walked to the palace where the queen greeted the president with a smile.Even before Air Force One touched down north of London, Trump unleashed a Twitter tirade against London Mayor Sadiq Khan, leader of the city where Trump will stay for two nights while partaking in a state visit full of pomp and circumstance.The move came after a newspaper column in which Khan said Trump did not deserve red-carpet treatment in Britain and was "one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" from the far-right to liberal democracy."@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly "nasty" to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom," Trump wrote just before landing. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.The president added that Kahn reminded of the "terrible" mayor of his hometown, New York City Mayor Bill de Blaiso though "only half his height." De Blaiso, a Democrat, is a longshot candidate in the 2020 presidential race. Khan supporters have previously accused Trump of being racist against London's first Muslim mayor.The president then added a few warm words for his hosts, tweeting that he was looking forward "to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit."The Trumps then boarded Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for the trip from Stansted Airport to the center of Britain's capital.The agenda for Trump's weeklong journey is mostly ceremonial: a state visit and the audience with the queen, D-Day commemoration ceremonies on both sides of the English Channel and his first presidential visit to Ireland, which will include a stay at his coastal golf club.During a ceremony welcoming him to Buckingham Palace, Trump and Prince Charles inspected the Guard of Honor formed by the Grenadier Guards wearing the traditional bearskin hats. Royal gun salutes were fired Monday from nearby Green Park and from the Tower of London as part of the pageantry accompanying an official state visit, one of the highest honors Britain can bestow on a foreign leaders.But the U.S. president arrived in Britain at a precarious moment. He faces a fresh round of impeachment fervor back home and uncertainty on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. British Prime Minister Theresa May has faced months of political turmoil over Brexit and French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use the 75th anniversary of the World War II battle that turned the tide on the Western Front to call for strengthening the multinational ties the U.S. president has frayed.A sense of deja vu quickly spread around London as Trump blasted British leaders.A year ago, Trump also took aim at his hosts before landing on English soil, blasting May in an interview just hours she hosted him for dinner. Though he has spared May so far this time, he has praised her rival, prime ministerial hopeful Boris Johnson, just days before May steps down as Conservative leader on Friday for failing to secure a Brexit deal."I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent," Trump told The Sun. "I like him. I have always liked him. I don't know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person."It was not clear if the Trump endorsement would hurt or help Johnson's chances of becoming Britain's next leader.He also told the Sunday Times that Britain should "walk away" from Brexit talks and refuse to pay a 39 billion pound ($49 billion) divorce bill if it doesn't get better terms from the European Union. He said he might meet with another pro-Brexit politician, Nigel Farage, and claimed Farage should be given a role in the Brexit negotiations.After lunch with the queen, Trump will be honored at extravagant state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Demonstrators are expected, including the possible return of an inflatable balloon depicting the president as a baby.And even some of the pageantry could have awkward moments. The formal tea hosted by Prince Charles brings together a future king who has warned repeatedly about the perils of climate change with a president who is actively dismantling U.S. policies designed to slow global warming.In an interview with The Sun, Trump weighed in on the American-born Duchess of Sussex. The former Meghan Markle, who gave birth to a son in May and will not attend the week's events, was critical of Trump in the past, prompting the president to tell the tabloid, "I didn't know that she was nasty."Trump said later that he thought Markle would be "very good" as a royal and claimed that he only meant her comments were "nasty."Trump will also make his first presidential visit to Ireland on Wednesday. Trump will spend two nights at his golf club in Doonbeg, which sits above the Atlantic. After Dublin balked at holding a meeting there, a deal was struck for Trump to meet Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport.The centerpiece of the president's visit will be two days to mark the 75th anniversary of the June 6, 1944, D-Day anniversary, likely the last significant commemoration most veterans of the battle will see. The anniversary events will begin in Portsmouth, England, where the invasion was launched, and then move to Normandy, France, where Allied forces began to recapture Western Europe from the Nazis.The day is normally a heartfelt tribute to unity and sacrifice, outweighing any national or political skirmish. But some on both sides of the Atlantic are nervous about Trump, who has shown a willingness to inject partisanship into such moments."My greatest hope is this: the president and all the leaders stay focused on the extraordinary heroism of that of D-Day and focusing on what brought allies to that position," said Heather Conley, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Dark clouds are forming once again in Europe, and rather than encourage those forces, we need to find much better tools to defeat them."On his most recent European visit, last November in France, Trump was heavily criticized for skipping a ceremony at an American military cemetery to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I when rain grounded his helicopter. European leaders, meanwhile, stood in the rain to honor the dead.(AP) President Donald Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II Monday during a visit to Britain that's meant to strengthen ties between the two nations, although the trip risks being overshadowed by Brexit turmoil and a political feud with London's mayor. Trump and first lady Melania Trump flew to Buckingham Palace in Marine One, landing on a lawn where they were greeted by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla. They received a royal gun salute as they walked to the palace where the queen greeted the president with a smile. Even before Air Force One touched down north of London, Trump unleashed a Twitter tirade against London Mayor Sadiq Khan, leader of the city where Trump will stay for two nights while partaking in a state visit full of pomp and circumstance. The move came after a newspaper column in which Khan said Trump did not deserve red-carpet treatment in Britain and was "one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" from the far-right to liberal democracy. "@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly "nasty" to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom," Trump wrote just before landing. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me. The president added that Kahn reminded of the "terrible" mayor of his hometown, New York City Mayor Bill de Blaiso though "only half his height." De Blaiso, a Democrat, is a longshot candidate in the 2020 presidential race. Khan supporters have previously accused Trump of being racist against London's first Muslim mayor. The president then added a few warm words for his hosts, tweeting that he was looking forward "to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit." The Trumps then boarded Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for the trip from Stansted Airport to the center of Britain's capital. Story continues The agenda for Trump's weeklong journey is mostly ceremonial: a state visit and the audience with the queen, D-Day commemoration ceremonies on both sides of the English Channel and his first presidential visit to Ireland, which will include a stay at his coastal golf club. During a ceremony welcoming him to Buckingham Palace, Trump and Prince Charles inspected the Guard of Honor formed by the Grenadier Guards wearing the traditional bearskin hats. Royal gun salutes were fired Monday from nearby Green Park and from the Tower of London as part of the pageantry accompanying an official state visit, one of the highest honors Britain can bestow on a foreign leaders. But the U.S. president arrived in Britain at a precarious moment. He faces a fresh round of impeachment fervor back home and uncertainty on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. British Prime Minister Theresa May has faced months of political turmoil over Brexit and French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to use the 75th anniversary of the World War II battle that turned the tide on the Western Front to call for strengthening the multinational ties the U.S. president has frayed. A sense of deja vu quickly spread around London as Trump blasted British leaders. A year ago, Trump also took aim at his hosts before landing on English soil, blasting May in an interview just hours she hosted him for dinner. Though he has spared May so far this time, he has praised her rival, prime ministerial hopeful Boris Johnson, just days before May steps down as Conservative leader on Friday for failing to secure a Brexit deal. "I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent," Trump told The Sun. "I like him. I have always liked him. I don't know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person." It was not clear if the Trump endorsement would hurt or help Johnson's chances of becoming Britain's next leader. He also told the Sunday Times that Britain should "walk away" from Brexit talks and refuse to pay a 39 billion pound ($49 billion) divorce bill if it doesn't get better terms from the European Union. He said he might meet with another pro-Brexit politician, Nigel Farage, and claimed Farage should be given a role in the Brexit negotiations. After lunch with the queen, Trump will be honored at extravagant state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Demonstrators are expected, including the possible return of an inflatable balloon depicting the president as a baby. And even some of the pageantry could have awkward moments. The formal tea hosted by Prince Charles brings together a future king who has warned repeatedly about the perils of climate change with a president who is actively dismantling U.S. policies designed to slow global warming. In an interview with The Sun, Trump weighed in on the American-born Duchess of Sussex. The former Meghan Markle, who gave birth to a son in May and will not attend the week's events, was critical of Trump in the past, prompting the president to tell the tabloid, "I didn't know that she was nasty." Trump said later that he thought Markle would be "very good" as a royal and claimed that he only meant her comments were "nasty." Trump will also make his first presidential visit to Ireland on Wednesday. Trump will spend two nights at his golf club in Doonbeg, which sits above the Atlantic. After Dublin balked at holding a meeting there, a deal was struck for Trump to meet Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport. The centerpiece of the president's visit will be two days to mark the 75th anniversary of the June 6, 1944, D-Day anniversary, likely the last significant commemoration most veterans of the battle will see. The anniversary events will begin in Portsmouth, England, where the invasion was launched, and then move to Normandy, France, where Allied forces began to recapture Western Europe from the Nazis. The day is normally a heartfelt tribute to unity and sacrifice, outweighing any national or political skirmish. But some on both sides of the Atlantic are nervous about Trump, who has shown a willingness to inject partisanship into such moments. "My greatest hope is this: the president and all the leaders stay focused on the extraordinary heroism of that of D-Day and focusing on what brought allies to that position," said Heather Conley, senior vice president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Dark clouds are forming once again in Europe, and rather than encourage those forces, we need to find much better tools to defeat them." On his most recent European visit, last November in France, Trump was heavily criticized for skipping a ceremony at an American military cemetery to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I when rain grounded his helicopter. European leaders, meanwhile, stood in the rain to honor the dead. (AP) US President Donald Trump has landed in the UK for a three-day state visit amid protests across the country and controversy he stirred by weighing into the Brexit debate. D-Day commemorations and a state banquet at Buckingham Palace are among the activities on the menu.Air Force One landed at London Stansted Airport at 8am GMT where President Trump was met by UK's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and US Ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson.On Monday evening, Trump will be accompanied by the First Lady Melania for a state banquet in his honour at Buckingham Palace. But several politicians are boycotting the event, including the leaders of the Liberal Democrats (Sir Vince Cable) and Labour party (Jeremy Corbin) as well as London mayor, Sadiq Khan.Before landing in the UK, President Trump tweeted that Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, is "a stone cold loser" who "has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom."A spokesman for Mr Khan said "childish insults" should be beneath the US President. He qualified Donald Trump as "the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe."Protests are planned across the United Kingdom. Thousands of people marched through London in July last year to demonstrate against the visit of the US President to the UK. This year campaigners claim they will mobilise in "huge numbers" in a "diverse Carnival of Resistance [to] reject Trumps divisive politics and policies of bigotry, hate and greed."Trump on BrexitIn an interview to The Sun tabloid, ahead of his visit, President Trump said that Boris Johnson "would do a very good job" as the head of the Conservative Party."I think he would be excellent," Trump added. I like him. I have always liked him. I think he is a very talented person. He has been very positive about me and our country.Before leaving the US, Trump said he might meet Brexit party leader, Nigel Farage. In an interview to the Sunday Times, the US President called on Britain to send Farage to lead the Brexit negotiations.He also said that the UK should pursue a no-deal Brexit if the EU refuses to give Britain what it wants. Trump said that the UK should walk away from Brexit talks and refuse to pay its 44 billion euros (39b punds) EU divorce bill.Dismissing EuropeTrump also indicated that his administration is likely to work swiftly on trade deals with the UK."I'd go all out," Trymp told the Sunday Times. "It would be a great advantage for UK. One of the advantages of Brexit is the fact that you can deal with the number one country by far, were the number one by far in terms of every metric in terms of an economy.Gilles Legendre, the President of the ruling La Republique en Marche party at the National Assembly in France, told RFI that it is a well-known fact that the views on Donald Trump on Europe are different that of France."There is a systematic effort from the US to slow down any progress gained in Europe. And we have the proof during his [Trump's] visit to UK as he intends to back the main opponent to Europe, a staunch Brexit supporter," Legendre said on RFI.He added that even if Trump is not France's ally, the United States is and will remain so well after Trump's leaves office."I don't know if we can get on but we must try to talk to each other," Legendre declared.On Tuesday morning, President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May will host a business breakfast at St James's Palace.President Trump will then visit Downing Street for further talks with Mrs May, followed by a joint press conference.On Wednesday, to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, President Trump will visit Portsmouth, England, where the invasion was . And then move to Normandy in France where Allied Forces began recapturing western Europe from the Nazis.Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Ireland for his first presidential visit. He will meet Prime minister Leo Varadkar at Shannon airport.The US President will be staying at his golf club in Doonberg. US President Donald Trump has landed in the UK for a three-day state visit amid protests across the country and controversy he stirred by weighing into the Brexit debate. D-Day commemorations and a state banquet at Buckingham Palace are among the activities on the menu. Air Force One landed at London Stansted Airport at 8am GMT where President Trump was met by UK's Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and US Ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson. On Monday evening, Trump will be accompanied by the First Lady Melania for a state banquet in his honour at Buckingham Palace. But several politicians are boycotting the event, including the leaders of the Liberal Democrats (Sir Vince Cable) and Labour party (Jeremy Corbin) as well as London mayor, Sadiq Khan. Before landing in the UK, President Trump tweeted that Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, is "a stone cold loser" who "has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom." A spokesman for Mr Khan said "childish insults" should be beneath the US President. He qualified Donald Trump as "the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe." Protests are planned across the United Kingdom. Thousands of people marched through London in July last year to demonstrate against the visit of the US President to the UK. This year campaigners claim they will mobilise in "huge numbers" in a "diverse Carnival of Resistance [to] reject Trumps divisive politics and policies of bigotry, hate and greed." Trump on Brexit In an interview to The Sun tabloid, ahead of his visit, President Trump said that Boris Johnson "would do a very good job" as the head of the Conservative Party. "I think he would be excellent," Trump added. I like him. I have always liked him. I think he is a very talented person. He has been very positive about me and our country. Story continues Before leaving the US, Trump said he might meet Brexit party leader, Nigel Farage. In an interview to the Sunday Times, the US President called on Britain to send Farage to lead the Brexit negotiations. He also said that the UK should pursue a no-deal Brexit if the EU refuses to give Britain what it wants. Trump said that the UK should walk away from Brexit talks and refuse to pay its 44 billion euros (39b punds) EU divorce bill. Dismissing Europe Trump also indicated that his administration is likely to work swiftly on trade deals with the UK. "I'd go all out," Trymp told the Sunday Times. "It would be a great advantage for UK. One of the advantages of Brexit is the fact that you can deal with the number one country by far, were the number one by far in terms of every metric in terms of an economy. Gilles Legendre, the President of the ruling La Republique en Marche party at the National Assembly in France, told RFI that it is a well-known fact that the views on Donald Trump on Europe are different that of France. "There is a systematic effort from the US to slow down any progress gained in Europe. And we have the proof during his [Trump's] visit to UK as he intends to back the main opponent to Europe, a staunch Brexit supporter," Legendre said on RFI. He added that even if Trump is not France's ally, the United States is and will remain so well after Trump's leaves office. "I don't know if we can get on but we must try to talk to each other," Legendre declared. On Tuesday morning, President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May will host a business breakfast at St James's Palace. President Trump will then visit Downing Street for further talks with Mrs May, followed by a joint press conference. On Wednesday, to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, President Trump will visit Portsmouth, England, where the invasion was . And then move to Normandy in France where Allied Forces began recapturing western Europe from the Nazis. Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Ireland for his first presidential visit. He will meet Prime minister Leo Varadkar at Shannon airport. The US President will be staying at his golf club in Doonberg. [June 03, 2019] OneLogin Accelerates Sales Momentum, Introduces New Channel Partners The Leader in Unified Access Management Staffs Up, Partners with Automation Innovator and Distributors in the EMEA Region to Reach New Customers, Expanding Presence LONDON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- OneLogin , the leader in Unified Access Management which delivers simple and secure application access and identity management to enterprises, today introduced new channel partnerships and an EMEA specialist that will help continue the strong growth of OneLogin Accelerate , its partner program. Introduced in September 2018, OneLogin Accelerate offers deep growth opportunities for partners across the global OneLogin partner ecosystem. OneLogin Accelerate helps existing and new partners grow their capabilities, expand their business and better serve the needs of customers. OneLogin's demand generation capabilities coupled with a channel-neutral compensation plan offer companies a unique opportunity to work with partners in a trusted environment. With this new program, OneLogin aims to grow partner revenues 6X by 2020. "OneLogin Accelerate is driving extraordinary success for our partners, succeeding well ahead of our forecasts at the launch of the program," said Matt Hurley, vice president of global channels, strategic alliances, and professional services at OneLogin. "That strong performance, combined with our new channel partnerships and international distributors, will continue to drive our growth plans for 2020 and beyond." OneLogin's new distribution partners will focus on sales and marketing to reach new customers in areas with leading tech companies and fast growth, including EMEA: Symphony Solutions - Based in Israel , Symphony Solutions is a leading distributor of business software solutions. - Based in , Symphony Solutions is a leading distributor of business software solutions. Nordicmind - Based in Finland , Nordicmind is focused on customised products, solutions and vendors for cusomers across Northern Europe . - Based in , Nordicmind is focused on customised products, solutions and vendors for cusomers across . Miel - Based in France , Miel specialises in disruptive technology solutions and works with IT departments and cloud providers to achieve digital transformation. - Based in , Miel specialises in disruptive technology solutions and works with IT departments and cloud providers to achieve digital transformation. Atlas Identity - Based in England , Atlas Identity specialises in delivering identity and access management solutions through cloud-based service providers. - Based in , Atlas Identity specialises in delivering identity and access management solutions through cloud-based service providers. Nuvias - Based in England , Nuvias is a distribution business whose portfolio covers a comprehensive range of IT solutions, with the focus currently on cybersecurity, advanced networking, and unified communications. OneLogin Staffs Up Sunny Joshi , who joined OneLogin in November 2018 , will help to create and direct this growth. Based in the U.K., Mr. Joshi has over 20 years of channel sales experience with EMEA tech companies, including ClearPath Networks, Avnet Technology Solutions, and One Identity. His primary responsibilities will include establishing new strategic partnerships and building EMEA sales and distribution. "The market for access management has exploded around the world in recent years, and solutions that offer powerful and easy-to-use tools will become increasingly popular as security becomes a greater need," added Sunny Joshi, EMEA channel and alliances director at OneLogin. "OneLogin has seen strong growth over the past few months with only just opening the door to EMEA; these distribution partners will generate millions in new business revenue in the next few months." Progress around the world OneLogin has seen tremendous progress not only in EMEA but also in the US and Asia Pacific through shifting to a channel first business, onboarding 20 new value-added resellers within the past year. In only five months after enablement OneLogin is experiencing 100%+ yr/yr growth rates in ARR. The OneLogin channel mix has expanded beyond managed service providers and SMB upwards into the mid-market with big enterprise wins. Where to find OneLogin OneLogin will also attend Infosecurity Europe , the sourcing and knowledge hub for Europe's information and cybersecurity community, which runs from June 4th through to June 6th in London. The OneLogin team will host knowledge events, partner presentations, and giveaways from Stand C225 at Olympia Grand. About OneLogin, Inc. OneLogin, the leader in Unified Access Management, connects people with technology through a simple and secure login, empowering organizations to access the world. The OneLogin Unified Access Management (UAM) platform is the key to unlocking the apps, devices, and data that drive productivity and facilitate collaboration. OneLogin serves businesses and partners across a multitude of industries, with over 2,500 customers worldwide. We are headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information, visit www.onelogin.com , blog , Facebook , Twitter or LinkedIn . Media Contact Imogen Quail Berkeley Communications [email protected] [email protected] 0118 909 0909 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/806526/OneLogin_Logo.jpg [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] In late May, the German MPs from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, where they met with "colleagues" from the unrecognized "NKR". The fact that Bundestag MP Stefan Keuter was among the guests invited by Armenian nationalists to the occupied territories, suggests that they are brought together by "common values" - extremism, populism, militarism ... The German magazine Stern reports in its article about the guest of the separatist regime's leaders. At the district court Wuppertal the AfD-MP Stefan Keuter is involved in a law suit against a blogger. Now a witness has strongly accused the politician. He claims that Keuter called him "Judensau (Jewpig)" and greeted him with the phrase "Heil Hitler". On the website Abakus-News, events unfolding around the AfD are sometimes harshly criticized. The operator of the website is a former member and was even claimed to be on the right edge of the party. Today he is free to speak his mind. In March, Abakus-News reported on the case of AfD member of parliament, Stefan Keuter. The blog took up revelations of the stern and the research center Corrective and wrote, among other things, that Keuter zealously sent Nazi images via Whatsapp. Keuter did not like what he read about himself on Abakus. At least the MP from Essen called on the operator of the website to refrain from making several statements. Because he refused to do so, the district court Wuppertal now deals with the matter. For the trial, the blogger appeared in person. Keuter was represented by an AfD politician who is a lawyer and also works in his office in the Bundestag. The deputy, one can say, missed a lot. Leading up to the story: Hitler clips and swastikas Last fall, the stern and the research center Correctiv had uncovered which kind of images were sent by Keuter. A party friend of his, who also headed his office in the Bundestag, received a photo of a shower in which white, red and black tiles formed a swastika. Keuter also sent a photo of Adolf Hitler in Vienna and the image of a tealight pyramid with a Hitler figure on top with the subtitle "First Christmas decoration stands". Again and again Adolf Hitler - the member of parliament Keuter also sent a photo of a boy who has turned his back on an almost naked woman and looks spellbound to a TV, where Hitler can be seen. Another photo sent by Keuter showed a neo-Nazi wearing a scene-typical T-shirt with the back print, "must also say DOLF." Keuter at that time provided a justification for sending the neo-Nazi pictures: "As part of his political activity", the employee to whom the pictures had been sent received from him "documents for archiving, evaluation and political classification". Keuter explained himself so in front of the AfD parliamentary group - and thus was actually cleared. But then the stern and Corrective reported that the AfD man had sent his party friend footage with right-wing content, including a film montage in which Hitler moves to techno music even before the federal election in September 2017. Keuter stuck to his statement that he sent the Hitler techno video "for documentation purposes". Since then, every AfD politician could happily send Hitler pictures with this justification. In court, a second recipient has now been named The judge in Wuppertal first dealt with the claim that Keuter has been spreading Nazi images for years. "Due to urgency without hearing" (letter of his lawyer), the deputy wanted to see this statement prohibited in public. Yet, the suing blogger now presented Keuter's former office manager as a witness, who has also received Nazi images from Keuter. The man is an AfD member and is already involved in another lawsuit against Keuter. He had received 48 pictures with Nazi or racist content from Stefan Keuter via Whatsapp, the witness said. Some of the messages he still has on the phone. 48 Pictures: The amount of right-wing footage that was sent surprised many observers of the trial. People were also surprised that the accused blogger was able to name another AfD member who has received such pictures from Stefan Keuter. So far, the public only knew of his former office manager. He stated in the district court Wuppertal, that he has already received Nazi images from Keuter before he became his office manager. An instruction to archive them, however, he had never received. The pictures were also received without citations and almost always without comment. Basically, the office manager could have only archived them under the category "Keuter, Stefan". Started the "Horst-Wessel-song", called him a "Judensau" During the trial, the witness assumed that Keuter was either supportive of the content and the statements in the images or found them funny. He supported this argument by citing events that occurred during his work at the Bundestag. Once, when he refused to implement one of Keuter's statements, he incensed him with the title "Judensau (Jewpig)". Keuter had also used the phrase "Heil Hitler" and the appropriate gesture to salute people while hacking his heels in a military fashion. On the phone, Keuter had often declared himself with "Reich Chancellery Hitler". In the evening after a few alcoholic drinks he sometimes started to sing the Horst Wessel song (marching song of the former Nazi militia SA). After a joint visit to an AfD event in the city of Emmerich, Keuter had forgotten a box in the car which clearly contained medals on which swastikas and the imperial eagle were to be seen. Keuter's lawyer did not comment on these statements of the witness during the trial. "I am gonna shoot you" It was not surprising that AfD member Keuter contradicted the statements. At the trial, his memories seem to differ often from those of his office manager. At the end of October 2018, the two met in Berlin for an appointment at the Labor Court. It came to an agreement, and Keuter later claimed in a long e-mail to the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (BKA) that his former employee had whispered to him, "I am gonna shoot you", while they were leaving the courthouse. As a witness in court, the ex-office manager described the end of the hearing differently. He had left the hall at that time together with a photojournalist, but he did not even get past Keuter. It is undisputable, after all, that Keuter also wrote to the BKA that the former office manager had told him that he had been able "to collect several functioning long and short arms along with ammunition" and that he was hidding "1 KG of TNT explosives" in the basement of his house. The office manager denied in court that he ever said that. During that time, the police headquarters Duisburg took up a criminal complaint from Keuter. The officials searched the former office manager's house for weapons and explosives. Though nothing was found. But why did AfD man Stefan Keuter ask the district court in Wuppertal to prohibit the blogger from saying that he had reported his former office manager to the police? The criminal complaint is publicly available, prepared and issued by the Police Headquarters Duisburg. Keuter is mentioned in the report as the filing person. Keuter's lawyer pointed out that her client had not signed the complaint. The authenticity of the e-mail, which he wrote to the BKA and which was also presented to the court, was not denied by her. In mid-June, the judge in Wuppertal wants to rule on whether the blogger must refrain from statements about the MP Stefan Keuter. "General Hospital" spoilers confirm that Curtis Ashford will resort to drastic measures this week in order to secure a kidney for his wife. Time is running out and there is only one man who is a match and already in the hospital. On Friday, Ryan Chamberlain was approached by Curtis and later Dr. Finn about saving Jordan's life. He replied that he would only donate his organ if all charges against him were dropped. Soap Dirt and Celeb Dirty Laundry both report that Jordan's spouse will concoct a plot along with Dr. Finn and Kevin that will cause the serial killer to rethink his options. The plan will work and the operation is going to be a success. Curtis gets help from Finn and Kevin At the end of Friday's "General Hospital" episode, Kevin was in his brother's hospital room. Curtis and Finn had each talked to the serial killer separately about donating his organ to Jordan. Dr.Collins will no doubt ask his sibling to save the life of the police commissioner and be rejected as well. This is when the private eye, the psychiatrist, and the infectious disease specialist come up with their plan. Spoilers say that Kevin will give his brother an injection that causes the serial killer to believe he is dying. Dr. Finn will rush in and save Dr. Chamberlain's life. Ryan will not know what his sibling did and will be concerned that whoever tried to kill him may try again. "GH" spoilers say that Ryan still will not change his mind until he receives a visit from Stella. She will be the one to seal the deal and get the evil twin to consent to surgery. Jordan accepts her fate When Jordan was told of the bargain Ryan wanted to make, she refused to accept his terms. She also tried to get Laura to let her resign, but the mayor said "no." Mrs. Discuss this news on Eunomia Ashford is also conflicted about the serial killer being her only hope. "GH" spoilers indicate that on Monday, she will accept the fact that she is dying and ponder how to say goodbye to her loved ones. The police commissioner will be fading fast when she gets the kidney she so desperately needs. She won't have any idea of what Curtis, Kevin, and Finn went through in order for her to survive. Franco told the serial killer that he was supposed to be a genius but had been outsmarted by Ava. It looks like Curtis, Dr. Finn, and Ryan's own twin brother will outsmart him also. Jordan will live, but there is no indication of what Ryan's fate will be. Soap Dirt does say that after his brush with death he will consider that jail or a mental health facility is better than dying. How ironic that the man who took so many lives is afraid of death himself. Be on the lookout for updated spoiler alerts and continue watching "General Hospital" weekday afternoons on ABC at 2:00 PM EST. There will be a lot of comings and goings on "General Hospital" as summer approaches. Cast changes will result in a few Port Charles residents being replaced, while others will be off screen and away from the ABC daytime drama for a short season. There are many irons in the fire right now, with Peter's parentage in question, and Anna seeking answers from Alex. In the aftermath of Oscar's death, his parents will face danger as they deal with their shared grief. Familiar faces will be back in town as well as new ones and one beloved younger actor has already become the victim of SORAS, Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome. GH comings and goings Finola Hughes, who portrays Anna always takes the summer off from "General Hospital." On Friday Ms. Devane said goodbye to her fiance Dr. Finn and left Port Charles to track down her twin, Alex. Anna and Robert suspect that Peter may actually belong to Alex, and the former spy wants to obtain some truthful answers. Viewers were shocked on Friday to see that Jason and Sam's son Danny had been a victim of SORAS. Celeb Dirty Laundry reports that T.K. Weaver has been replaced by an older actor without being given much notice. His older cast members have been offering their support via social media. "General Hospital" spoilers indicate that Michelle Stafford will soon leave her role as Nina to return to "The Young and the Restless" as Phyllis. Cynthia Watros will take over as the head of Crimson, and there might be a romance brewing with the new Ms. Reeves and Jax. Chloe Lanier will reprise her role as Nelle Benson during the week of June 10-14, which indicates that the baby switch storyline may be finally coming to a close. Drew and Kim go missing on 'GH' Soap Dirt has revealed that Drew and Kim will experience several mishaps as they spread their sons ashes on Mt. Discuss this news on Eunomia Kilimanjaro. Dr. Nero will break down over Oscars death and may even try to end her own life. Drew will do all he can to comfort and encourage his son's mother but "GH" spoilers say the duo will encounter a new and difficult challenge. The duo will not be shown on screen during their trek through Africa, but spoilers emphasize, that they are not being written out of the show. Oscar's parents are slated to return to Port Charles, but before that happens they will turn up missing. Spoilers indicate that Julian will be frantic when he is unable to reach his lover, but there is no hint as to what is going to happen to the grieving couple. that causes them to become MIA. So there you have it, Danny and Nina are being recast, Anna will be gone all summer Drew and Kim will disappear and Nelle returns. Stay tuned to "General Hospital" weekday afternoons at 2:00 PM EST on ABC, Dori Levit is a talented actress who has recently turned her attention to producing and curating playsespecially those which are suitable for one-act ensembles. Starting in February of 2019, Dori teamed up with The Tank in NYC to produce an evening of one-act plays which debuted, as a one-night-only showcase, on Valentines Day. As one could imagine, the common theme was love. Fast forward to May and Dori presented a second ensemble of one-act Playsthis one focused on mental illness in all its stigma, anguish, and difficultiestitled You Are Not Alone. One-act plays, charity, and experiences Dori donated proceeds of "You Are Not Alone" to a charitable organization called Active Minds. From over one-hundred submissions, Dori selected seven one-act plays that truly stood out and moved audiences in their short, approximately ten-minute, run-times. Seized was the first play, written by Remington Moses. Firmly rooted in science fiction, the play was set in a mental institution of the future and focused on the relationship between a dedicated yet vulnerable nurse (Judith Feingold) and her blind, sheltered, and easily overly stimulated patient (Andre Vauthey). Next was the start of Lets Be Roommates by Maggie Wilson such ran continuously as the set was being switched from one segment to the next. Starring Jaelyn Gavin and Angela Manfredonia, this funny and sweet segment was a nice touch. The Jail at Philippi by Joshua Crone focuses on a herbal doctor who is accused by the police of giving her patients illegal substances, even though the substance are all natural and have proven healing qualities. This timely play featured a stellar cast of Barbara Kinter, Valerie Donaldson, Kenneth Weinstein, and Damien Palace who all played their roles with realistic conviction. Chasing the Dragon by Joe Starzyk is set in an alleyway and focuses on an overdosing veteran (Jacob Saxton) and an angel that comes to his side (Sydney Wilson). This piece is moving and not easy to forget. First Night Out In Months is a funny yet tragic piece by Eric Walkuski About a father (Howard Margulies) with althimzers and his dedicated daughter (Alexandra Sabina) who are doing their best to cope with his deteriorating condition. As much a commentary on family ties and love, this moving piece is one of the strongest in the show. Music of The Mind by Allie Costa also centers on the love between families, in this case, a brother (Alexander Chilton) and a troubled sister (Emily DeSotelle). Set in 1900, this segment holds the distinction of being the only one not placed firmly in the present. Helper by Rachael Carnes is the final play and, by far, the best. The piece features a sole actor (Jason Sofge) who plays the part of a dog who is devoted to its depressed, suicidal owner. Funny, sad, suspenseful and heartfelt, this piece is made particularly captivating by Jasons stellar acting as a talking, loyal, lovable pet. Dori Levit clearly carefully selected each of these plays after receiving dozens of submissions. She chose wisely and the result was a well put together show that made for a very enjoyable evening at the theater. The purpose of You Are Not Alone was to spread the message that, no matter what you are going through, it is okay to talk to others and reach out for help as need be. Dori is just emerging from an incredibly difficult time of her life. Discuss this news on Eunomia 2018 was marred in strife and sadness when her father passed away in her home state of Texas. Now back in New York and healing, Dori dedicated You Are Not Alone in her fathers memory. Dori recently discussed her experiences putting this show together via an exclusive interview. Theater, directing, producing, and shows Meagan Meehan (MM): How did you get into acting and what most appeals to you about the theater in particular? Dori Levit (DL): What most appeals to me about the theatre is its ability to bring together a wide range of people from all different walks of life, for a single moment in time. Its also just fascinating to watch grown adults play around, like when we were children. MM: How did you get started with directing and producing plays? DL: I directed my first play in my senior year of high school"Proof by David Auburn. We had an amazing teacher named Mr. Paul Shaffer, and in his theatre curriculum, it was mandatory that seniors direct their own show. He guided us through this process all the way from dissecting the script, to working with actors, to all of the technical elements. I didnt realize how lucky we were to have this opportunity; Im so thankful for it now. MM: What inspired you to start curating one-act play ensembles, and how did you partner with The Tank? DL: I did my first festival of plays with the Tank last February. I love reading new works and giving playwrights the opportunities that they deserve. The Tank is an extremely giving resource for artists in the city and new works. We are so fortunate to have their support in a place where there are literally millions of talented people, and not enough outlets to display their work at an affordable price. MM: How did you settle on the mental health theme of You Are Not Alone and can you tell us a little bit more about the charity that you are donating proceeds to? DL: Mental health is a subject very close to my family and I, and is something that needs to be shared and more openly supported and discussed. Active Minds is an organization devoted to mental health advocacy and suicide prevention in young adults. It encourages students to ask for help when they need to and to speak more openly about their experiences and difficulties. Like the theme of this festival, its vital for everyone to know that whatever they are going through, they are not alone. MM: How did you call for submissions, and why did you select these specific pieces? DL: I reached out to many talented playwrights in the city that I know, and posted to a lot of Facebook playwrighting groups. My friend and talented playwright Steve Hayet also helped spread my message, and because of his help and the social media presence, I received about 100 scripts from playwrights all over the world. There were so many beautiful scripts submittedall of which inspired me and helped me to continue to flesh out the festival. I tried to choose scripts that were vastly different from each other but all had a common theme of not only mental illness but feeling alone. MM: Where did you find the incredible actors, and how did you decide on the sequencing? DL: Sydney Wilson, Emily DeSotelle, Judith Feingold, Angela Manfredonia, and Alexandra Sabina are all wonderful actresses Ive had the pleasure of studying with at the John DeSotelle Studio in their Meisner based conservatory. Jason Sofge is also classically Meisner trained and has extensive experience acting and singing opera around the world. Jacob Saxton is an incredible actor I met at Actors Connection, an awesome networking organization here in NYC. Jaelyn Gavin, Alex Chilton, Valerie Donaldson, Barbara Kinter, Kenneth Weinstein, and Damien Palace are friends/co-workers of mine who are also extraordinarily talented and dedicated to their crafts. And Andre Vauthey and Howard Margulies are two stunning actors I met through Backstage! I am so thankful to have worked with each of these beautiful and intelligent artists. As for sequencing, we started with the future and then went to the past; everything in between was decided in terms of the ride we wanted to take the audience on. Actually, the scene from the past was the second to last play. I just really wanted to end with Helper because it was the piece closest to my heart, and the one that I felt truly drove home our message. We were also lucky enough to have the brilliant Jaelyn Gavin in the transition scenes to help make the production a cohesive whole. MM: What made you decide to dedicate this show to your late father? DL: My dad always supported me in my passion for theater. He would have loved this festival and everything it stood for. MM: What other theatrical shows or other events are you planning to appear in or host in 2019? DL: Ill be in Eve Ledermans beautiful new play To Life directed by Frank Calo at Theatre For The New City this September/October. Im beyond excited to work with such a powerful script and artistic team. I am also waiting on a potential new play project with Joshua Crone, who I worked with last year on his play Squatters. Hes an incredibly intelligent and unique new playwright/director/actor here in the city. MM: What are the best experiences that your life as a theater professional has afforded you, and would you like to mention or discuss anything else? DL: The selfless help and support that went into this festival by all of the artists involved and outside organizations/friends is how the production was managed to be put up. I dont know how to put into words how amazing and instrumental everyone was to this project, and how much it meant to me that they were there through this challenging time in my life. Its been an important lesson to learn that sometimes when you reach out for help, people reach back. Of seven large projects registered in the first five months of 2019, five belonged to Chinese investors. As of May 20, the total registered foreign investment capital had reached $16.74 billion, an increase of 69.1 percent compared with the same period last year, a record high in 5-month investment value of the last four years, according to MPI (Ministry of Planning and Invevtment). Hong Kong led 88 countries and territories in terms of investment capital ($5.08 billion), which included $3.85 billion worth of capital contributed to Vietnam Beverage. The investors from mainland China registered $2.02 billion worth of investments, while Taiwanese $575 million. As such, Chinese investors committed total investment capital of $7.6 billion. The US-China trade war has caused the relocation of Chinese investments. After a long period of staying in the third or fourth position among biggest foreign investors in Vietnam, China has jumped to first, above Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The US-China trade war has caused the relocation of Chinese investments. After a long period of staying in the third or fourth position among biggest foreign investors in Vietnam, China has jumped to first, above Japan, South Korea and Singapore. Five out of seven largest investment capital registered in the first five months of the year belonged to Chinese, namely $3.85 billion Beerco Ltd, $280 million ACTR tire manufacturing, $260 million Goertek, $214 million Advance Vietnam tire and $200 million Meiko electronics. Hong Kongs investors reserved 75% of their capital to buy into Vietnams enterprises, while only a quarter of capital was poured into existing and new projects. This shows that Hong Kongs investors mostly make passive investments, i.e they contribute capital for profit, carry out M&As, and wait for opportunities. Analysts note that the FDI capital from China mostly goes to textiles and garments, electric appliances, real estate and construction, low-tech processing and manufacturing projects with small capital. Pham Chi Lan, a respected economist, has called for caution with Chinese investments after many problems occurred with Chinese-invested projects in the past low technology, pollution, higher costs than initially planned, and low quality. Sharing the same view, Le Cao Doan from the Vietnam Economics Institute said unlike 20 years ago, Vietnam now isnt trying to attract foreign capital at any cost. Vietnam was thirsty for capital and accepted investments from many different sources, but not now. In many cases, foreign investors register foreign invested projects, but they seek capital in Vietnam to implement the projects. Doan said capital plays an important role in economic growth but the problem is not quantity, but quality, which brings reform and creates revolution in production methods. Meanwhile, Vietnam cannot expect high quality from Chinese capital. Chinese capital doesnt bring any revolution to production methods in Vietnam, but it makes it weaker, he commented. Sudden increase of China's FDI inflows into Vietnam a worry: experts Amid a sudden increase in foreign direct investment inflows from China, experts are calling for the creation of filter tools for FDI with the aim of fostering high value manufacturing and sustainable development. Hanoi leads in FDI attraction during first four months Hanoi has become the leading locality nationwide in FDI with total investment during the first four months of this year accounting for 30.6 percent of the total capital poured into the Vietnamese economy. Ha Dung Some 300 goods are expected to enjoy preferential tariffs under a pending decree detailing tariff cuts under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Local footwear firms have reportedly optimized export opportunities from the Canadian market thanks to their strict compliance to origin regulations. Vietnam Economics News, a press office under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), reported that the draft decree has been submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Government for approval within the month. Local firms are keen on updating changes to tariffs and customs procedures related to the implementation of the CPTPP so that they could plan out their business strategies. During recent talks on tax policy and customs procedures for the implementation of the CPTPP, Vu Nhu Thang, head of the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), said that when drafting the decree, the MoF and the General Department of Vietnam Customs will put forth tax rates under the CPTPP in comparison with other free trade agreements (FTAs). The new generation pact will allow firms to select appropriate tariffs for the import and export of their goods. Tariffs under the CPTPP are set to be divided into two categories. One for the countries which have put the trade deal into effect since late 2018, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, and the other for those having implemented the CPTPP from 2019. Hoang Thi Thuy, an official from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, noted that the decree will enable some 300 goods to enjoy higher preferential tariffs than before. However, the certificate of origin (CO) is a must for goods subject to the preferential tariffs. Under the CPTPP, CO is valid within 12 months and could be granted to different batches of goods and various importers. The tariff cuts by CPTPP member states open up an array of business and investment opportunities for local firms. Canada in particular has cut down tariffs on its agricultural imports, hence benefiting many of Vietnams key agro-fishery products, encompassing fresh, frozen and processed tra fish, shrimp, salmon, rice, coffee, as well as fruit and vegetables. In particular, garment and textile exports are among the categories enjoying the most benefits from Canadas tariff reduction. According to the MoITs Import-Export Department, local garment and footwear firms have optimized export opportunities from the Canadian market thanks to their strict compliance to CO regulations. Elsewhere, the countrys key aquatic exports such as frozen and processed shrimps (HS codes: 030617 and 160521), have been immune from Japans taxation right after the implementation of the CPTPP. Other aquatic exports to the Japanese market also enjoy tariff exemptions, including thunnus albacares, sarda orientalis, swordfish, cod, and surimi. According to the MoIT, tariff cuts are among the key incentives set by CPTPP member countries for Vietnamese goods. More importantly, local goods must satisfy the requirements of importers on quality, technical standards, and origin. The CPTPP agreement groups 11 member countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The pact came into force from December 30, 2018, and Vietnam ratified the agreement on January 14, 2019. VOV Vietnam seafood exports to CPTPP member countries up 15 percent Vietnams seafood exports to the other 10 members of the CPTPP have increased sharply since the agreement took effect earlier this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. VN aquatic businesses feel windfall from CPTPP Aquatic businesses have begun to feel the windfall from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which came into force in Vietnam from January 14, 2019. The local real estate market has shown signs of deceleration so far this year, partly because of limited bank credit for the market, according to experts. A birds eye view of HCMCs Binh Thanh District. According to insiders, the real estate sector needs to reduce its reliance on bank loans Nguyen Tran Nam, president of the Vietnam National Real Estate Association, told the Vietnam News Agency that credit for the real estate sector is getting increasingly tighter. He cited a 2014 circular from the State Bank of Vietnam as saying that the ratio of short-term deposits that can be used to make long-term loans has been lowered to 40%, while the credit risk rate for loans in the realty sector has been raised to 250% from the previous 150%. As such, credit growth in the real estate sector has reduced from 18% in 2016 to only 5% in 2018. He noted that the diminishing credit flow into the sector has greatly affected the operations of the market, as most capital is sourced from banks. To cope with such difficulties, Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCMC Real Estate Association, suggested that real estate developers ensure business efficiency, prepare available plots of land and pay more attention to the quality and progress of their projects and their transparency in management. Businesses should find prestigious foreign firms and investment funds that have the necessary financial capacity for projects, he added. Less reliance on decreasing credit loans serves as both a challenge and opportunity for the sector, which needs to be restructured. Insiders should reform their capital sources for sustainable and transparent development, according to the official. From the business perspective, Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of Hanoi-based developer HD Mon Holdings, stated that the central bank has set out an appropriate and timely roadmap for tightening credit for the real estate market. Tuan expected the move to boost the sustainable development of the realty market since businesses would be more cautious in structuring their product portfolios. Nguyen Van Duc, deputy director of Dat Lanh Real Estate Co., Ltd, from HCMC, said that local banks are reviewing their consumer loan packages that could have been used for the purpose of realty investment, to limit heavy investment in the sector and so prevent a possible property bubble. As a result, businesses could find it hard to borrow bank loans if they have yet to complete legal procedures for their projects. He said these developers can seek other sources of capital such as through mergers and acquisitions or share and bond issuance. SGT Real estate market set for recovery as HCM City streamlines regulations The HCM City housing market is expected to recover again after being flat for over one year with support from the local government. Real estate sector advised to reduce dependence on bank credit The real estate market has slowed in the first months of 2019, which experts attributed to limited bank credit sources for the market. Many Vietnam-made products, after being exported to other countries, have been re-imported to Vietnam and sold at prices much higher than the initial prices. Valued at $4 billion, the domestic woodwork market is more promising as Millennials, or those born 1980-1998, account for 35 percent of Vietnams population. In 2007, Calucky, a trader of decoration vases, officially joined the Vietnamese market. In the first two years, Caluckys business was bad with low revenue unable to cover expenses, though the products available there were made by An Co, a well known brand specializing in exporting products to Europe. Bui Huy Hung, director of An Co, when recalling the days, said visitors were surprised when realizing that the products available at Calucky were made for export. Domestic demand for Vietnam-made was not high two years ago, but the situation is now different. Vietnamese now have confidence in Vietnamese product quality, while Vietnamese manufacturers have become more professional. A client then said if these were Vietnam-made products, he would help advertise the products to his friends. His words gave us more power to become more patient in conquering the home market, Hung said. Hung realized that a lot of his products exported to other countries were re-imported to Vietnam and selling at prices much higher than the initial prices. This prompted him to set up a showroom and build the Calucky brand. Ten years ago, domestic demand for Vietnam-made was not high, but the situation is now different. Vietnamese now have confidence in Vietnamese product quality, while Vietnamese manufacturers have become more professional. Other businesses have also found that their exported products have come back to the domestic market. Do Thi Kim Loan, CEO of Sao Nam Flooring, said no one believed her when she told an importer that the products he imported were made by Sao Nam. The importer affirmed that the products were imported under a special order and they were highly valuable. Only when she pointed out the specific stamp of Sao Nam on the other side of products did the importer believe that they were Sao Nams products. Established in 2005, Sao Nam began production, mostly targeting export markets. However, after discovering that its products returned to the home market where they sell well, Loan changed her business strategy. We decided to make additional investments to conquer the domestic market, she said. Nguyen Chanh Phuong, deputy chair of Hawa, noted that Vietnamese favored imports because they think domestically made products cannot satisfy their requirements. But they have changed their mind. The opportunities for Vietnamese manufacturers are now great. Manufacturers have also changed their thoughts themselves. Previously, they only made low-cost products for the domestic market, but now, they offer high-end products and specifically designed collections. Vietnam dreams of moving from outsourcing to making its own high-tech products If Vietnam does not have reasonable policies to develop excellent technology engineers, its dream of building technology powerhouses will never be realized, experts say. High productivity key for Vietnam to pursue inclusive growth Vietnams manufacturing labor productivity remains around a quarter of Chinas and Malaysias, one third of Indonesias and the Philippines, a half of Indias and Thailands, and just around 7% of Japans and South Koreas. Mai Lan Nguyen Van Hoang in Vinh Phuc Province won the Outstanding Vietnamese Farmer award last year for successfully developing a red dragon fruit plantation which earned him VND1.3 billion. Number of fruit, veggie processing plants rises in Vietnam Vietnamese fruit farmers encouraged to apply GAP standards New support for agriculture yields results Strawberry farm in Hanoi - evidence of potential farm tourism Hoang is happy with his red dragon fruit farm. Photo Thanh Tra Hoang was also the first farmer in the provinces Lap Thach District to export his fruit to Malaysia and Chinese Taiwan in 2016. He started growing the fruit in 2012. He and his wife sent their children and his parents to the southern province of Binh Thuan to learn the techniques necessary to grow red dragon fruit in addition to researching the process online. Over the first years he faced many difficulties such as buying low quality saplings that produced small yields that were sour. In 2015, Hoang harvested his first high-quality fruit: sweet with a thin skin. The climate in the north is very harsh so we can only harvest from April to October compared with the south where the trees fruit all year round. I've invested all my time and efforts on nurturing my plants to ensure they are strong enough to survive the severe heat of summer and chilling cold of winter. Temperatures below 18C or above 36C can harm the trees. During severe hot weather in June I often trim the flowers to protect the trees. After harvesting I lay more fertiliser down to help the trees survive winter, Hoang said. Unlike other farms, Hoang prunes his trees to ensure quality and big fruit that can be sold for between VND30,000-70,000/kilogram compared with small ones at VND10,000-15,000/kg. With the aim of producing organic, safe fruit, before planting the trees, he focused on improving his land and invested millions of dong to buy microbial fertiliser and organic manure. "Chemical fertilisers make the land infertile with a lot of insects," he said. He also invested in a pipeline from a pig farm to carry manure to his biogas tank. After treating the manure for a month to get rid of the bad smell and any toxins, the fertiliser is pumped to another 40-cubic-metre tank ready to fertilise the trees. My work has been highly appreciated by local authorities because I not only help the pig farms reduce pollution but also create manure to use on my trees. If I didnt have the pipeline I would have to hire people to transport the pig manure, which would cost a lot of money, he said. Since 2015, Hoang has harvested around 70 tonnes of red dragon fruit, earning roughly VND1.2-1.3 billion. "Now I make four times as much as I did when I was a construction worker, he said. Many traders and exporters have signed contracts with Hoang to purchase his fruits which are not only available in big supermarkets in Hanoi but also exported to Malaysia, Taiwan and Australia later this year. Thuan (right) helps a trader use the internet to purchase his fruit. Photo Tran Thi Lien Like Hoang, Nguyen Van Thuan in Hai Duong Provinces Bach Dang Commune also earned more than VND650 million last year from growing red dragon fruit on his two hectares of land. Thuan was born into a farming family. Using old cultivation techniques had left his family very poor, so he decided to research and invest in growing organic fruit and vegetables. By chance, I found some information online about Israeli farmers who had successfully planted fruit and vegetables in greenhouses despite facing a harsh climate, infertile soil and water shortages, said Thuan. He then registered for a training course on how to grow organic plants. After three months of studying, he started a pilot project cultivating red dragon fruit. I use rice husks to incubate the manure for a certain period before fertilising my trees. I'm determined not to use chemical fertiliser or stimulants. In the first days I was anxiously awaiting the results, he said. Thanks to his hard work and knowledge of suitable techniques, he harvested nearly 70 tonnes of red dragon fruit last year. Local agriculturist Tran Thi Lien said Thuans red dragon fruit trees were not as tall as their counterparts in the south, but they were durable and less affected by harsh climates. In contrast, many of Thuans neighbours who overuse chemical fertiliser and stimulants have lost their crops. The agriculturist said Thuans organic fruits were high-quality, sweet and fragrant with a natural aromatic flavour and thin skins. You can keep the fruit for 10 days, no problem. Many large traders from surrounding provinces such as Hanoi, Hai Phong and Quang Ninh have signed contracts to purchase Thuans fruit with prices ranging from VND18-25,000 per kilogram. Excluding other costs, I earned VND650 million last year, Thuan said, adding that he was very happy because his fruit had been recognised by the Hai Duong Farm Produce Quality Management Department as organic and safe. Thuan has also learned to build plastic tunnel or net greenhouses in an attempt to grow unseasonable fruits such as melons, strawberries and bitter melons. Witnessing initial success, he decided to invest in a greenhouse covering 1,500sq.m. After two months the fruits are growing well in the greenhouse. According to Thuan the greenhouse is very lucrative. It ensures light and helps avoid risks from harsh weather and harmful insects. An automatic irrigation system also ensures the plants receive the water they need for high yield with quality fruit. Tran Van Tang, chairman of Bach Dang's Peoples Committee, said Thuans red dragon fruit had become a model in his locality, benefiting local customers with safe, organic fruit and vegetables. We are encouraging other farmers to apply Thuans model in an effort to build our own trademark for Bach Dang red dragon fruit. VNS Thanh Lien Foreign capital is pouring into Vietnam's industrial real estate market through M&A activities, with the CPTPP to have a significant impact on this investment trend. Gaw Capital Partners partnered with NP Capital Partners in January to launch the $200 million Gaw NP Industrial fund, which will invest in industrial properties in strategic locations in Vietnam to meet strong demand from export and import businesses and companies servicing booming e-commerce and new retail activities. Gaw NP Industrial looks forward to harnessing the soaring demand for high-quality warehouses, ready-built factories, and built-to-suit facilities through its strong project pipelines as well as through M&A opportunities, Mr. Vo Sy Nhan, Co-founder and CEO of Gaw NP Industrial, told VET. According to the latest report from real estate consultants JLL, M&A activities in Vietnams real estate market have resulted in many major deals in recent times, with industrial real estate M&A activities emerging strongly. Observers have said that improving the business environment and market transparency has made Vietnams industrial real estate market more attractive to foreign investors. M&A WAVE In the south, Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) spent VND725.1 billion ($31.5 million) last November on acquiring warehouses from Unilever Vietnam. The Unilever VSIP Distribution Center is a Grade A logistics facility located at the Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park 1 (VSIP) in Binh Duong province. Upon completion of the acquisition, the property will be leased to Unilever Vietnam for ten years with annual rent increases. The acquisition adds Unilever, a global leader in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), to MLTs tenant network. The addition of this facility, MLTs fourth property in Vietnam, will enhance our ability to tap into the rising demand for quality logistics facilities in one of the regions fastest-growing markets with strong domestic consumption, a representative from Mapletree told VET. Global private equity fund Warburg Pincus and industrial real estate developer Becamex IDC Corp officially launched a joint venture, BW Industrial Development JSC (BW Industrial), in May 2018. With over 200 ha of projects under development and initial investment of more than $200 million, BW Industrial is the largest for-rent industrial and logistics developer in Vietnam. BW Industrial will continue to expand in Vietnam in the coming years to promote the promising development of Industry 4.0 in Vietnam, said Mr. CK Tong, Managing Director of BW Industrial. Among major M&A deals, one of Japans largest management companies specializing in real estate properties for logistics operations, CRE Inc., through its subsidiary CRE Asia, agreed to invest $6.2 million in Sembcorp Infra Services (SIS) in a share subscription agreement. The new capital from CRE Asia and bank borrowings will fund the development of an additional 30,000 sq m of warehouse space in Vietnam by SIS. In January, meanwhile, the 100 per cent foreign-invested Schindler Vietnam Co., Ltd., belonging to the Jardine Schindler Group (Switzerland), signed a land sublease contract with the Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park JSC (HIPC) in Ho Chi Minh City to build a 10,000 sq m manufacturing factory. M&A activities are growing in Vietnams industrial real estate market, a sign that institutional investors are continuing to increase their allocations to the segment, said Mr. Stephen Wyatt, General Director of JLL Vietnam. IDEAL MARKET Foreign investors are actively seeking opportunities to invest in Vietnams industrial real estate market through M&A deals. Analysts have said that the global trend towards shifting production locations sees Vietnam viewed as one of the most favorable destinations for foreign investment in Southeast Asia. The country has become an attractive destination for many foreign investors largely due to its friendly policies encouraging FDI, its political stability, and its strong economy. FDI disbursement rose 9.1 per cent year-on-year in 2018 to $19.1 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency. Furthermore, Vietnam has been taking initiatives to improve its transparency to the next level, according to JLLs Global Real Estate Transparency Index released in February. Given Vietnams impressive economic growth, the booming of modern means of retail such as e-commerce, new economies, and waves of FDI into manufacturing facilities, demand for high-quality industrial property is expected to reach new heights, said Mr. Nhan. Therefore, Vietnam has attracted strong interest from foreign investors into industrial real estate over the last three years with more still to come. Vietnam also possesses an advantage in labor costs, which are 43 per cent lower than in Thailand and 10 per cent lower than in Indonesia, according to figures from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). In addition, JLLs quarterly report released in early April noted that industrial properties in Vietnam are still attracting attention, with large amounts of FDI coming mostly from Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong and, increasingly, from China. Its advantages make Vietnam more attractive to foreign investment into industrial properties, Mr. Nhan said. IMPACT OF CPTPP The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has a range of impacts on the foreign investment wave to the real estate market in general and industrial real estate in particular. Vietnam is an ideal destination for foreign investors thanks to the free trade agreements the country is party to, like the CPTPP, according to Mr. Nhan. Real estate analysts said that with the aim of eliminating tariffs on goods among member countries, stipulating a number of commodities in the framework of the CPTPP is an important factor helping Vietnams real estate market become more attractive. This also encourages corporations from other countries to select Vietnam as a source of raw materials for factories, warehouses and business facilities. Mr. Wyatt told VET that the industrial market is an area that will benefit greatly from the CPTPP. The trend of cooperation between domestic and foreign real estate enterprises has made major strides forward in recent years, of which foreign investors are constantly expanding the level of investment in industrial and logistics real estate in Vietnam, he said. The agreement could also significantly influence large-scale infrastructure projects in the region and may pave the way for private investment. The JLL report also noted that occupancy rates in industrial parks are quite high. For example, occupancy averaged 74 per cent in the top five most dynamic cities and provinces in the Northern Key Economic Zone in the first quarter of 2019, led by Hanoi and Bac Ninh and Hung Yen provinces. Along with abundant supply, demand also improved, with occupancy rates in both land and factories to remain high and grow thanks to FDI from Asian investors and efforts to improve and encourage investment by the government, said Mr. Wyatt. As a result, rents will continue to increase and that requires investors act more aggressively. Not all is rosy, however, as foreign investors have been facing challenges and obstacles in tapping into the local market. Gaw NP Industrial has observed that major concerns and difficulties foreign investors have been dealing with include a lack of cleared industrial land, proper master planning, and infrastructure connections, while land prices keep rising to levels that end users and tenants cant afford. Mr. Nhan believes that obtaining permits and approvals also take up much more time than the private sector expects. Regarding the development of the industrial real estate market in 2019, JLL forecasts it will be the hottest sector this year, backed by continued movements from China and the positive impact of the CPTPP and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The prolonged approval process may impact new developments in 2019, so sourcing for clean and clear projects that are ready for development will be a challenge for investors in the upcoming year, said Mr. Wyatt. However, we believe that the reform of regulations will help improve transparency, making Vietnams real estate market even more attractive to foreign investors. Vietnam Economic Times CBRE: Vietnam well placed in industrial land Industrial real estate becoming backbone of country's manufacturing economy, according to CBRE Vietnam. Vietnams software firms are no longer satisfied with outsourcing for foreign partners. They have shifted to conduct research and develop products of their own. In its Vietnam IT Landscape 2019 report released in April 2019, TopDev mentioned the growing trend of Vietnams technology firms shifting to develop products of their own, or becoming more involved in partners product development process. Vietnamese experts also noted basic changes in the operation of software firms over the last three years. Instead of coding and testing and implementing the work as set by foreign partners, Vietnamese companies now are joining forces with partners at the beginning of the R&D process. Foreign partners raise the problems, while Vietnams companies find the answers and solve questions. According to VINASA, an organization of software firms and IT service providers, the number of projects that are only doing outsourcing has decreased considerably in recent years. Most software firms now both do outsourcing and join R&D with partners. According to VINASA, an organization of software firms and IT service providers, the number of projects that are only doing outsourcing has decreased considerably in recent years. Most software firms now both do outsourcing and join R&D with partners. Young dynamic software firms which were outsourcing partners for Japanese partners now have a new approach to clients. They take the initiative in learning about clients demands, and introduce clients to PoC-form apps which can solve clients problems. The clients then invest in the programs. The new approach has shown good results and it has been applied by many firms, Giang said. FPT Software, the leading Vietnamese outsourcing firm, has begun providing digital transformation solutions and consultancy services. FPT Software CEO Pham Minh Tuan said it began discussing the moving up the value chain strategy 10 years ago, under which FPT will take higher-level stages in the software value chain, such as consultancy, designing and solution analysis instead of only simple work such as coding, testing and maintenance. Also according to Tuan, there are many different stages in the software value chain. If Vietnams companies focus on low-level stages, which can be done by many companies, or can be undertaken by robots in the future, the companies will not survive. FPT Software has found that if 80 percent of its projects remain small projects, or projects with simple jobs, the company will encounter difficulties after three years. TopDev has named seven pioneering companies which have made heavy investments to develop products rather than focus on outsourcing. They are TPS, Evolable Asia, FPT Software, Persol Vietnam, Sun, KMS Technology and Tinh Van. Tinh Van Outsourcing CEO Nguyen Ich Vinh said the company is moving forward because the expected profit is higher, while Vietnamese engineers are quite capable of doing the work. Fire-prevention software used effectively in northern Vietnam Forest management officials in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang are now using a forest fire-warning software on their smartphones as part of fire-prevention and efficiency measures. Vietnamese developer writes software to escape boss notice Pham Van Toan has created software that allows office workers to read online newspapers, surf on the internet, order food or do other tasks during working hours. The software uses artificial intelligence(AI) at a basic level. Hong Nga Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said Saturday that North Korea remains a threat to global security, urging the international community to work closely to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Mainichi reports in its article Japan's defense chief warns N. Korea remains global threat that Iwaya also criticized Pyongyang's recent firing of short-range ballistic missiles as being in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, while emphasizing that defense authorities should maintain deterrence against North Korea. "We need to remind ourselves of the undeniable fact that there has been no essential change in North Korea's nuclear and missile capacities," Iwaya said in a speech at the Asia Security Summit, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore. Pyongyang fired projectiles that appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles on May 4 and 9, about two months after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un failed to strike a deal during their second summit in late February. In the wake of the collapse of the meeting in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, denuclearization negotiations between the United States and North Korea have been at a standstill, and Pyongyang has resumed provocative actions against Washington. "The most pressing risk is that the collective resolve of the international community abates" before North Korea takes concrete measures toward complete denuclearization, Iwaya said. "Now is the time to make a concerted effort" to fully implement U.N. resolutions aimed at thwarting North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile ambition, he added, stressing the importance of "robust deterrence" against Pyongyang. Iwaya added that Tokyo is eager to have a dialogue with Pyongyang, saying Japan "seeks to normalize its relations with North Korea through a comprehensive resolution of outstanding issues of concern such as abductions." Recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has expressed willingness to hold a summit with Kim "without conditions" to resolve the long-standing issue of the country's nationals abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same session on the Korean Peninsula, Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for North Korea, also said Washington would continue talks with Pyongyang despite the missile launches. "President Trump is confident" that Kim will meet the commitments that he made at their first summit in Singapore in June last year, Biegun said. "Through continued negotiations, we can continue to close the gaps that separate our two countries." Meanwhile, South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong Doo voiced concern that tensions on the peninsula may be rekindled, depending on future developments of denuclearization talks. At the Feb. 27-28 summit, Trump and Kim fell short of a deal due to the gap between Washington's insistence on denuclearization and Pyongyang's demand for sanctions relief. Kim has sought the easing of international economic sanctions, claiming that his country has already carried out concrete steps toward denuclearization. But the U.S. has argued that the relaxing of economic sanctions would require North Korea to scrap all its nuclear facilities and programs. By provoking the United States, Kim is believed to be trying to gain concessions from Trump, who wants to be able to tout results during his re-election campaign next year, some analysts say. Bach Dinh Ke, 37, alleged mastermind behind the pine forest poisoning in Tan Thanh Commune in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, has been arrested, Youth newspaper reported. Three arrested for poisoning pine forests in Lam Dong province Hectares of pines poisoned in Lam Dong farmland grab Hundreds of pine trees poisoned in Lam Dong The three suspects who collaborated with Ke to destroy the forest were arrested. Photo tuoitre.vn On Sunday, Lam Dong Province Police announced that they arrested Ke, who was charged with poisoning some 3,500 pine trees. According to initial findings, after committing the crime, he fled to Gia Lai Province then Laos. The provincial police reported to the Ministry of Public Security to collaborate with Lao law enforcement agencies to arrest the culprit. Previously, police caught other suspects including Ngo Van Diem, Nguyen Van Loi and Duong Van Hong. Ke hired Diem to destroy the forest, after that, Diem tasked Hong, Loi and other people, now on the run, to poison the pine trees. The dying forest turns red. VNA/VNS Photo Quoc Hung, Dang Tuan In early May, thousands of almost 20-year-old pine trees covering 10ha in the district had been poisoned, turning the entire area red. The trees were axed or drilled and then filled with herbicide. The deforestation was an attempt to encroach on land as land prices in Lam Ha District are soaring. On May 8, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered the Ministry of Public Security to launch an investigation into the case. VNS Young volunteers across Vietnam are planning to fix and build about 4,300km of roads, carry out coastal clean-ups at 400 locations and plant at least 2.5 million trees during this summer from June to August. At the launching ceremony (Photo: baovanhoa.vn) They also expect to deliver free health checks and medicine to 500,000 people, build 150 charity houses and open 500 playgrounds for children during the summer. These targets were announced at a launch ceremony for the national youth summer volunteer campaigns held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee on June 2 in the northern province of Bac Kan. With the theme Youth volunteer for community, the campaigns include Mua He Xanh (Green Summer), Hoa Phuong Do (Flamboyant Flower), Tiep Suc Mua Thi (assistance for candidates in the national high school graduation examination), Ky nghi hong (Pink Vacation) and Hanh quan xanh (young soldiers join social voluntary works). The campaigns will focus on 93 poor and near-poor districts across the country and islands like Tran island in Quang Ninh province, Bach Long Vi island in Hai Phong, Con Co island in Quang Tri, Cu Lao Xanh island in Binh Dinh, Hon Chuoi island in Ca Mau and Tho Chu island in Kien Giang. Young volunteers will also go to disadvantaged communes and districts along the Ho Chi Minh National Highway and the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia to volunteer. Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said at the ceremony that he expects the young volunteers to engage in practical, safe and effective work. He said effective voluntary models should be applied and expanded to help address social issues including child drowning, child abuse, road safety. - VNA Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang has lauded diverse activities of the Association of Vietnamese Students in the European country over the past time. Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vu Anh Quang has lauded diverse activities of the Association of Vietnamese Students in the European country over the past time. Addressing a congress on June 1, the diplomat encouraged the students to contribute more to the homeland and promote Vietnams position in the world arena. Trinh Hoang Khai, President of the association for 2017-2019, reviewed major achievements and activities carried out by Vietnamese students in Belgium over the past tenure. The congress elected Pham Sy Hieu as the associations President during the new term, who pledged to work harder to connect Vietnamese students in the country and join hands with the General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium to build a strong Vietnamese community. About 200 Vietnamese students are living and studying in Belgiums major cities like Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, Liege, Antwerp, Hasselt and Mons.-VNA 8X alumni talk about differences with Z-gen overseas students Vietnamese Z-generation students are often leaving Vietnam at the age of secondary education. They are more self-confident than previous generations and willing to express their personal views. HCMC students relish learning English through dramas American Literature students of HCMC Open University staged the drama The Patchwork Quilt by Rachel Field last Friday, through which they could gain a deeper understanding of American literature and improve their English skills. Vietnamese contestant Le Thi Ngoc Bich won the second runner-up and Miss Friendly titles of the Miss Asia Ural 2019 beauty pageant held in Yekaterinburg city of Russia on June 1. Art performance by Le Thi Ngoc Bich Bich, a final-year student from Ural Federal University, said she decided to enter the contest to help foreign friends learn more about Vietnam. The contests final round featured eight contestants from different ethnic groups of Russia and several Asian countries. Milana Kombiu Siurun from the Tyva Republic was crowned Miss Asia Ural 2019, while Victoria Suborova from the Buryatia Republic finished first runner-up.-VNA Phuoc Tich ancient village, about 35 km north of Hue City, is located on the bank of the O Lau River, which separates Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri province. Banian tree at the entrance of Phuoc Tich village. The 500-year-old village, which has been ranked as a national relic, is fast becoming a must-see destination for domestic and foreign tourists alike. Historically, Phuoc Tich was founded in 1470 under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong, surrounded entirely by the legendary O Lau River. The pure river water makes it essentially an island. There are 12 river wharfs around the village each representing the 12 animal designations. Over the past 5 centuries of its existence, through wars and the destruction of nature, Phuoc Tich village still preserves the pristine beauty of a traditional Vietnamese village. Visitors can experience the peaceful life of the friendly villagers and be charmed by the Ruong houses, which are built with artfully carved wooden pillars and supports. Near the entrance of the village is an ancient gold apple tree (Diospyros Decandra) between 700 and 800 years of age, close to a temple. Nguyen Hong Thang, Director of Phuoc Tich Villages Relic Management Board, said, Two thirds of Phuoc Tich village is surrounded by a river, all the houses there look toward the water. The locals believe this is the best direction because it will bring prosperity to the owner of the house. Going further into the village, tourists often find ancient houses and large yards shaded by old trees. Ruong houses of hundreds of years old in Phuoc Tich village. Thang added, Phuoc Tich is more than 500 years old and famous for its traditional pottery craft, which provides villagers with a stable income. Currently Phuoc Tich has 20 Ruong houses still used as local residences and more than 10 others as houses of worship of family clans. Most of the houses are made of jackfruit wood and influenced by Thua Thien Hues folk architecture. The Ruong houses, mainly made of jackfruit wood, are adorned with exquisite and lively carvings, most of which remain undamaged despite having gone through wars over centuries. The interiors usually include a horizontal lacquered board, a plank bed, and an altar. All are intricately carved. The houses have become the museums of each family clan. Their architecture is in accordance with feng-shui principles, with a partition in front to prevent harmful winds and evil spirits from entering inside. At the foot of the partition is also a feng-shui-based water tank. Villager Ho Van Te says a Ruong house reflects the harmony between humans and nature, adding, The houses are typically located on a large piece of land and surrounded by many trees. They are made of jackfruit wood taken from the forest and naturally resistant to termites, thus having a high economic value and durability. Phuoc Tich was the second ancient village in Vietnam, after Duong Lam, designated as a national relic site in 2009. VOV5 An excursion to Duong Lam ancient village Around 50 kilometres from the centre of Hanoi, Duong Lam ancient village in the outskirt town of Son Tay is a popular tourist attraction for visitors to the capital city. Da Nang to promote tourism associated with fishing villages The central coastal city of Da Nang will carry out a project to develop community tourism at Tho Quang and Man Thai beaches in Son Tra District in combination with tourism in fishing villages. Export shrimp processing line. The agriculture sector achieved a trade surplus of US$3.3 billion in the first five months of this year. VNA/VNS Photo Vu Sinh HA NOI The agriculture sector gained a trade surplus of US$3.3 billion in the first five months of this year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The nation achieved an export value of $16.1 billion from agricultural, forestry and aquatic products during the period, a year-on-year increase of 1.2 per cent, including $3.6 billion in May. The sector spent $12.8 billion on agricultural, forestry and fishery imports in the first five months, up 2.1 per cent over the same period last year. Of which, imports of fertilisers, pesticides and key agricultural products reached about $10.8 billion, up by 2.7 per cent year-on-year. However, the key agricultural product exports were estimated at $7.7 billion, down 9.5 per cent over the same period. The ministry said the export value of agricultural, forestry and fishery products increased again after slowing since the beginning of this year compared to 2018 due to Chinas policy changes and the impact of the US-China trade war, the Vietnam News Agency reported. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said competition had grown this year, reported baodautu.vn. In 2018, many countries had to import rice, including China, pushing the average export price of Vietnamese rice to $436 per tonne, it's highest level ever. Other agricultural products as well as fishery and vegetable products had faced a similar situation, he said, and many countries had applied new technologies in production to become export rather than import markets. This had created fiercer competition in the global market, Cuong said. According to the ministry, in the first five months of this year, rubber exports were up 2.4 per cent to $662 million, tea was up 30 per cent to $79 million and fruit and vegetables climbed 10.3 per cent to $1.8 billion. Some commodities, however, suffered a drop in export value such as pepper (down 26 per cent), cashew nuts (down 21 per cent), coffee (down 10 per cent) and rice (down 15 per cent) despite increased export volume. Cashews surged 7.9 per cent in export volume but was down 14.9 per cent in value to $1.2 billion, and pepper increased 33.2 per cent in export volume but fell 2.4 per cent in value to $372 million. Seafood exports were estimated at $3.15 billion, down slightly from the same period last year, including $795 million from tra fish exports and $1.1 billion from shrimp exports. Forest product exports maintained high growth at 19.6 per cent to $4.3 billion. According to the ministry, the results of agricultural production in the first five months showed that there were many difficulties in implementing the sectors growth target this year, especially with the spread of African swine fever. VNS An aerial view of cargo trucks lining up to enter the United States near the US-Mexico border at the Otay Mesa crossing point in Tijuana, Mexico. - AFP Photo WASHINGTON Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration on Sunday as a top aide warned that the US president is "deadly serious" about imposing tariffs on imports from the southern neighbour. The attacks came despite efforts at conciliation by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said on Sunday that "the president of Mexico wants to keep being a friend of President Donald Trump; but above all, we Mexicans are friends of the American people. "Let's pledge not to let anything get in the way of our beautiful, sacred friendship," Lopez Obrador said in Tabasco. Trump's surprise threat on Thursday to place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 per cent, shocked Republican allies in Congress. It also rattled world markets, already shaky over trade war fears, with no solution in sight to a US-China dispute that has seen tariffs exchanged on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods. Trump has made clamping down on legal and illegal immigration a signature policy of his administration, and is facing a rising flow of migrants fleeing poverty and gang violence in Central America. "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving," Trump said in a series of tweets on Sunday. Unless Mexico stops the "invasion", he warned, he would use tariffs to bring back "companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border." The New York Times reported that the move -- pushed by immigration hardliners -- was opposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, a White House intermediary with Mexico. But Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Trump was "absolutely deadly serious" about proceeding with tariffs. "I fully expect these tariffs to go into at least a five percent level on June 10," he said on "Fox News Sunday." The number of migrants reaching the US border is "huge, the situation is real and the president is deadly serious about fixing the problem," he said. Mulvaney said Kushner and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet with Mexican representatives in Washington this week, as would Lighthizer, to spell out what the Mexicans could do to avoid the tariffs. In Mexico, Commerce Secretary Graciela Nunez said she would hold talks in Washington on Monday with her US counterpart Wilbur Ross after the two met at the swearing-in in San Salvador of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who meets with Pompeo on Wednesday, led a delegation to Washington on Friday. AFP Editor's note: This story has been updated since publication. The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine will host the 2019 International Association of Medical Science Educators (IAMSE) Annual Meeting in Roanoke, Virginia, at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center on June 8-11. The conference has more than 650 people registered, coming from across the United States as well as a dozen other countries. Originally, the conference was expected to attract 500 basic science and clinical educators to Virginia's Blue Ridge, but that goal was met two months prior to the conference start. Additional registrations are still possible. Preconference workshops will begin during the day on Saturday, June 8. The conference officially kicks off Saturday evening with an opening ceremony and reception beginning at 6 p.m. The next two days, Sunday and Monday, June 9-10, begin with a keynote presentation, followed by concurrent sessions throughout the day. Conference attendees will get a special look at Roanoke on Monday evening, June 10, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., with a Taste of Roanoke Street Fair, in Downtown Roanokes Market Square. The conference planners, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Visit Virginias Blue Ridge, and Blue Ridge Catering partnered in planning the special event to showcase our wonderful city. A dozen local vendors will provide a dozen signature tastings to give guests a flavor of Virginias Blue Ridge with local beer provided by Big Lick Brewery. Live music will be provided by the Roanoke-based band, Appalachian Soul. Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea, Visit Virginias Blue Ridge President Landon Howard, and IAMSE President Richard Vari will give brief welcome remarks at the event. The conference continues at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center during the morning of Tuesday, June 11, with awards and a closing ceremony by mid-day. About 50 attendees signed up for a Grand Extravaganza following the official close of the conference, which will showcase more of the beauty of Virginias Blue Ridge with a hiking tour of Peaks of Otter in Bedford County followed by dinner at Ballast Point Brewery in Botetourt County. Richard Vari, senior dean for academic affairs of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, is the current president of IAMSE. IAMSE is a nonprofit professional development society for health professions education. The organization seeks to promote excellence and innovation in teaching, student assessment, program evaluation, instructional technology, human simulation, and learner-centered education. The medical school worked with the City of Roanoke, The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center as the conference host site, other hotels for lodging, Visit Virginias Blue Ridge, and the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport to put together the successful proposal to host this conference. Last years IAMSE annual meeting was held in Las Vegas, Nevada; next years annual meeting will be held in Denver, Colorado. Refusal to obey or even appeal a Federal Court order is the beginning of the end for the very existence of the rule of law and our Democratic Republic. By James DiGeorgia Its almost unimaginable, but Donald Trump got his wish, he managed to find a more prominent scumbag lawyer that Roy Cohen to be his attorney general. Barrs decision to ignore a court order last week made by a U.S Federal Judge, not even bothering to appeal his decision is the first step in their effort to destroy our Republic and establish the Authoritarian Kleptocracy like the one that Russia has become under Vladimir Putin. Attorney General Bill Barrs refusal to turn over transcripts of phone calls between Donald Trumps national security advisor Michael Flynn and the Russians is the most egregious violation of law by any U.S. attorney general since Nixons White House lawyer John Mitchell. Mitchell refused to respond to lawful subpoenas in 1973 that lead to his arrest, conviction, and disbarment. Federal prosecutors on Friday declined to make public transcripts of recorded conversations between Michael Flynn and Russias ambassador to the United States in December 2016, despite a judges order, Tribe said Barrs Justice Department broke with legal protocols. According to legal scholar Laurence Tribe interviewed by Washington Post Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin, said AG Barr is defying a court order. Even if the district courts order to release the Flynn-Kislyak transcripts goes further than justified by the sentencing matter before the court, I wouldve thought that, in a government of laws, the only way to avoid compliance is to take an appeal to a higher court, Meanwhile, former federal prosecutor Mimi Rocah during an interview on MSNBC Friday agrees, saying the refusal looks to be designed to stonewall the court by even refusing to justify the reason for his refusal to comply with the court order by not even going through the motion of asking for a stay. Mimi Rocah went on to say Normally when prosecutors dont want to make something public for national security reasons, etc., they file a document under seal with the judge explaining that reasoning and requesting relief from the presumption that things should be made public. Conservative Jennifer Rubin, in her opinion piece released on Saturday, is calling for The House should, as a distinct part of its pre-impeachment fact-finding, hold Hearings on the Defiance of Court Orders and Refusal to Produce Mandated Production of Witness and Documents and Subpoenas. The committee and the House dont need Robert S. Mueller III or any other Trump witness to proceed. The result could be impeachment hearings against Trump or Barr, she continued. If allowed to continue this conduct, the Trump administration will do permanent and serious damage to the Constitution. For this alone, impeachment and removal may be required. Whats on the tapes that are worth potentially moving the current constitutional confrontation between the White House and Congress to the point of a complete constitutional crisis? Why are President Trump and the Attorney General so desperate to hide and refuse to turn over transcripts of phone calls between for Donald Trumps national security advisor Michael Flynn and the Russians? The transcripts and recording of Flynns phone calls are believed to incriminate the President further violating the Hatch Act and prove he and Flynn were coordinating a quick-pro-quo for Putins help in engineering Trumps election in 2016. The risk of ignoring a Federal Judges demand for the transcripts and recordings without filing an appeal indicates that AG Barr has no good faith belief any higher court will support his decision. So, Barr has chosen in effect to ignore the Constitutional rule of law he has sworn to uphold. So while he is investigating former U.S. prosecutors, FBI, and intelligence services personnel for treason, he is personally committing treason himself. China and Russia are expanding their cooperation in many fields, including nuclear power. The two countries have signed big deals in recent years to build more power units based on strict safety standards. CGTN reports in its article China and Russia deepen nuclear power cooperation that Tianwan, the first such plant in east China's Jiangsu Province is an example. It's part of the biggest such cooperation project between China and Russia, which began construction in 1999 and behind it are the efforts of many. Many Russian technicians have worked here for over 15 years. They have become an important part of the team, backing up the safe and sound running of the nuclear power plant. For Gavrilin Alexander Fedorovich, his routine job is coordinating and monitoring. "Our Russian team, as designers and contractors, participated in the building of four power units here, particularly the first two, in which, we are responsible for device supply, installation and debugging," he said. His colleague Sergey Minakov knows every detail of the projects. Safety and high efficiency are the team's goals. "There are new safety measures, for example, for the first time we are using double protective shells, increasing a special ventilation system, and establishing negative pressure to stop radiation even when accidents happen," he stressed. Tianwan's phase-1&2-unit project started working in 2007. They are generating electricity for the neighboring areas and are viewed as "the model of China-Russian nuclear power cooperation." Its phase-2 project with other two units was put into use last year. With both countries showing their openness, they have signed big nuclear power deals, including another two units to be built here. "In the first phase, the Russian team did the debugging, while we did it in the second phase. After over 1,000 technological improvements, we have achieved excellent rankings in the World Association of Nuclear Operators," Zhang Yi, vice general manager of Jiangsu Nuclear Power Co., Ltd., told CGTN. All these are based on the smooth and cooperative work of both teams. "We have pleasant chemistry. Our Russian colleagues greatly helped in the construction phase, and now they are backing up the running of the units. We are happy for such ties," said Zhao Chenliang, chief operator of the power plant. Now, besides Tianwan, another two units provided by Russia will be installed in northeast China's Liaoning Province. Both countries will work together on China's future generation of nuclear power projects and further cooperation is on the way. For the Russian teams, their work, life and friendships in China make them feel at home in Tianwan, just like the bridge linking the area to broader areas. President Donald Trumps trade war with China is weighing on the economy as he considers further tariffs and penalties with the second largest economy in the world, and the European Union, Mexico, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. Proof of the impact of his trade wars has triggered the worst U.S. manufacturing activity report in May, the lowest level since October 2016. By James DiGeorgia The decline is shocking, but should not be unexpected. The Institute for Supply Managements purchasing managers index fell to 52.1 from 52.8. The median prediction by those who had taken the survey was expected to be 53; the good news was the key indicator remained above 50, which still indicates that manufacturing is still growing. However, three of the five components of the index declined, including production, inventories, and supplier deliveries, according to the latest report released today. Also, there was still the positive of 11 of 18 manufacturing industries reported growth. President Trumps expanding trade war follows increasingly dire signs that other major economies that the global trade rift in the U.K., China, and South Korea are in decline. The two later nations saw their manufacturing shrink below the key 50 levels. JPMorgans Global Manufacturing PMI another reliable survey shows manufacturing fell to 49.8 in May, the worst reading since mid-2016. This may be the first clear indication that the global economy is in danger of recession. Respondents to these surveys are expressing much more concern that President Trumps global trade war could be a catalyst for severe economic dislocation. Fiore, the spokesperson for The Institute for Supply Management, told reporters during a briefing of the latest survey, demand is clearly slowing, pointing to the weaker readings for new orders, putting manufacturing on the verge of a dangerous slowdown, but insisted that The China issue is not going to go away in the short term. Meanwhile according to a story by Bloomberg today Bloomberg Economics expects the ISM to fall further in the near term, as many respondents were presumably caught off guard by the Trump administration widening the trade war beyond China. Yet assuming trade tensions do not escalate substantially, above-trend growth should remain possible this year. WATERLOO -- The Sullivan Brothers VFW Post 1623 at 1406 Commercial St. is open to the public. On Tuesday, the $5 meal will include sides and dessert with a choice of a grilled burger or brat. The $6 meal will include sides and dessert and grilled chicken breast. Serving will be from 5 to 7 p.m. unless gone earlier. Wednesday is free pool day, and on Thursday bingo and snacks run 5 to 7 p.m. Friday offers a pulled pork or chicken sandwich with chips for $3.50 and karaoke provided by Casey's Music to Go from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Games and snacks are planned Saturday. Noon Kiwanis meet Tuesday WATERLOO -- The Waterloo Noon Kiwanis will meet at the Elks Lodge for a noon luncheon on Tuesday. Anne Britson of the Easy Risers Kiwanis Club will speak on the Kiwanis charity bowling tournament. Service-minded individuals are welcome to join the Tuesday meetings. Call Larry Cain at 231-9871 for more information. Steak fry set in Gilbertville GILBERTVILLE -- The American Legion Post 714 will have a steak fry from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $16 for a ribeye T-bone or $12 for a sirloin. Salad bar is $6. The meal will be served with baked potato, vegetable, salads, rolls, coffee or milk. Everyone is welcome. Dementia topic of 3-part class DENVER -- The Alzheimers Association will present a three-part class series on dementia at the Denver Public Library in June. The first class in the series, Dementia Conversations will take place from 10 a.m. to noon June 14. Participants will learn how to have honest conversations about common concerns when a loved one begins to show signs of dementia. From 10 a.m. to noon June 21, the second class will focus on Legal and Financial Planning." Through this interactive two-part program, participants will learn about important legal and financial issues, how to put plans in place and how to access the nearest resources. The third and final class in the series will give participants tips on keeping their brain and body healthy as they age. Healthy Living for Your Brian and Body" is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon June 28. The classes are free to attend, but registration is suggested to insure adequate materials and space. Call the Denver Public Library at 984-5140. Blood drive set in Ionia IONIA -- An Ionia community blood drive is set for 3 to 6:30 p.m. June 11 at Ionia Fire Department, 301 W. Main St. For an appointment, go to lifeservebloodcenter.org or call (800) 287-4903. Church to host garage sale CEDAR FALLS -- Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 4000 Hudson Road, will host the annual garage sale from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, with a large selection of reasonably priced items. All proceeds will be go to four charities in the Cedar Valley. CPR training set in Waverly WAVERLY -- Waverly Health Center will offer a Heartsaver CPR and AED training from 6 to 9 p.m. June 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. at WHC. The classroom, video-based and instructor-led course that teaches CPR and AED use. It also includes how to relieve choking on an adult, child and infant. Participants will receive a two-year completion card from the American Heart Association upon successful completion of the class. Fee is $60. Registration and payment is required at 352-4939. Download the registration form at www.waverlyhealthcenter.org/home/classes. The class will be held in the Clinical Learning Lab. Please park in the green lot. Dancing with Stars cast set CEDAR FALLS -- The second annual Cedar Valley Dancing with the Stars is June 22 at the Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www.gbpac.com. Cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m., and the curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. Local stars featured are: Sharina Sallis, CUNA Mutual. Trent Hunter. Dusky Steele, House of Hope. Kingsley Botchway, Waterloo Schools. Mike Mallaro, VGM. Timi Brown-Powers, state representative. Justin Brandt, Waterloo police officer, Haily Mary Project. For more information, contact Amanda Goodman at 234-7600 or amanda@fccouncil.net Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO A Friday night party bus excursion was supposed to mark the 2018 deaths of two people by gun violence. Instead, it ended prematurely with gunfire. Only minor injuries were reported in the Friday shooting the driver was struck by flying glass, according to police. This is not a random incident, said Capt. Matthew McGeough with the Waterloo Police Department. At the time of the shooting, the Dollys Party Bus was carrying friends and family of Shavondes Martin and his mother, Diane Martin. Shavondez Martin, 20 of Waterloo, was shot and killed in an alley between Washington and South streets in May 2018, a few months after he was acquitted of all charges in a July 2016 shooting that killed 21-year-old Otavious Brown. His mother, 48-year-old Diane Martin, was killed when someone opened fire on her Ricker Street home in September 2018. Relatives and acquaintances marking their passing on Friday embarked on the party bus, boarding at the corner of Riehl and Broadway streets, according to police. The bus pulled out and headed towards Fairview Avenue, but it didnt get too far before someone hidden in bushes opened fire on the vehicle around 11:50 p.m. At least one of the bullets struck the bus. The bus pulled over at the nearby MidAmerican Energy lot, and police arrived a short time later. Police said the shooting ended the bus trip. No arrests have been made. Two people charged in Shavondes Martins death Raymond Birden Jr., 20, and Danaesha Martin, 22 are awaiting trial. No arrests have been made in Diane Martins death. Love 2 Funny 14 Wow 3 Sad 13 Angry 15 DONAHUE -- One person is dead after a fire truck and pickup collided Sunday morning near the Clinton and Scott county border. The Clinton County Communications Center received the 911 call at 9:46 a.m., Sunday, of a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of 210th Avenue and 278th Street, just north of Allens Grove Park on the Wapsi River. Correction: This story has been updated to correct where Sgt. Louis Merfeld died. NASHUA Suzy Turner never met Harvey Eugene Gene Wilson Jr. But she knows him. She knows the young Army private never made it back to his farm in Chickasaw County after World War II. In fact, he never made it out of Europe. He was killed on a frozen battlefield in Belgium on Jan. 6, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge. He is laid to rest at a U.S. military cemetery in the tiny northern European nation of Luxembourg. Now, almost 75 years after his death, Turner, a teacher at Nashua-Plainfield High School, will venture to that cemetery to memorialize him. He died four weeks short of his 24th birthday. These are people just like the kids sitting out in front of me, you know? Turner said. Turner is one of eight U.S. history teachers who will be in Europe in July, researching and eulogizing fallen World War II soldiers from all over America at the overseas cemeteries where they are buried. She will deliver a video recorded eulogy of Gene Wilson July 5 at his gravesite at the Luxembourg American Military Cemetery. Many soldiers who fought and died in World War II are buried there. They include Gen. George S. Patton Jr. He died following an auto accident months after the war ended, but asked to be buried with his men. Her eulogy, and her written account of Gene Wilsons service, will appear on the American Battle Monuments Commission website. Turners trip is part of a program, Understanding Sacrifice, of the National History Day initiative, overseen in Iowa by the State Historical Society. The program is sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission, which manages U.S. military cemeteries near foreign battlefields. Turner teaches talented and gifted students grades 6-12 at Nashua-Plainfield and is the district adviser for the National History Day program. She has been to Europe previously, touring historic battlefields and cemeteries with students or individually. She or her students have previously researched or profiled World War II soldier Ervin A. Westendorf of Waverly and World War I soldiers Frank Dann of Cedar Falls and Lime Springs and Carl Demro of Nashua. Turner eulogized Dann, who was killed in combat, last year at the Meuse-Argonne Military Cemetery in France for a World War I centennial observance. A film profile of Dann, Demro and Nashua in World War I by her students in the Nashua-Plainfield High School History Club recently received a certificate of recognition from the State Historical Society of Iowa, presented by Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg. In her research on Gene Wilson, Turner located his niece, Audrey Lechtenberg of Nashua, who has preserved a number of her uncles items. They included his Purple Heart, received posthumously for being killed in combat, and numerous returned letters from his family. They were marked Return to Sender, having never been delivered due to his death. We feel so fortunate she (Turner) is taking on this project, Lechtenberg said, noting her uncle has a number of extended family members in the Nashua area. Were very excited and to have this done and have his story told, Lechtenberg said. Lechtenberg and Turner found out, in detail, about the incident in which Gene Wilson was killed from a comrade, John Jack Loy of Greece, N.Y. from an interview Loy gave for a video game, Call of Duty-WW2, one part of which is the Battle of the Bulge. Lechtenberg said she made contact with Loy, in his 90s, through a webpage of the 347th Infantry Regiment, in which her uncle and Loy served. He sent her a YouTube link to the interview and she forwarded it to Turner for her project. Loy was manning a machine gun and Wilson was supplying the ammunition, feeding ammunition belts into the weapon. When one box of ammunition belts was about to be depleted, Loy told Wilson to get another box ready. Wilson never heard the order. Loy looked over and Wilson was dead. According to military unit accounts, Wilsons unit, the 347th Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Armys 87th Infantry Division, was attacking a German position at Jenneville, Belgium, about 15-20 miles from Bastogne, under heavy artillery, tank and small arms fire at the time of his death. The Battle of the Bulge, though an Allied victory, was the costliest battle of the war for the United States, with 89,500 American casualties, including more than 19,000 killed. German casualties were listed as high as 125,000. But for Turner, the stories of fallen soldiers, and the impact of that loss on their families and their communities, give the cost of war more depth of meaning, than the larger picture of battle tactics and casualty totals. Her uncle, Louis Merfeld of Greene, served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crew waist gunner. He was shot down and killed Sept. 11, 1944, during a bombing mission over a German oil field. He was among seven of 10 crewmen killed. He is buried at Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium. Each one of these soldiers has a story, Turner said. Often times, we sort of boil history down to, We won; this many people died, just a simplified version. But the stories of sacrifice are so compelling the lives that were lost and the lives that could have been. You get to know these people. And you get to know their families. It means a lot to people to have the story told. At Audrey Lechtenbergs request, Turner will take Gene Wilsons Purple Heart to the Luxembourg Cemetery for the eulogy. Turner is looking for more information on Gene Wilson, especially his early life before entering service. She can be contacted at sturner@nashua-plainfield.k12.ia.us Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WATERLOO Last week artist and West High School alumnus Stephen Levey presented a painting he did to the school in honor of the West graduates from the class of 1965 who died in the Vietnam War. Titled The Wall, the piece depicts another 65 West graduate and Vietnam veteran Matthew Nutt, standing at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., pointing out the name of a fallen classmate. It was taken by classmate Dave Allbaugh in May 2017 when he and other 65 alums took an Honor Flight trip. Commissioned by Allbaugh and alum Larry Demaris, the painting will be permanently displayed in the auditorium foyer alongside other military tributes recognizing the service of West High students. The dedication of the painting last Friday at West brought a large crowd of alumni to view the painting in person. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Tired of the Caribbean? Called at every Mediterranean port? Bored of the Alaskan fjords and the Baltic capitals? An entirely new body of water may soon be open to intrepid cruise fans seeking new horizons. CNN reports in its article After decades-long legal battle, Caspian Sea opens to tourism that it's a landlocked sea surrounded by some of the world's most cloistered countries. But for many travel adventurers, this will be part of the appeal. Besides its fame as the main source of prized black caviar, the Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water. In fact, for a long time, not even the five countries that share it -- Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran -- could agree on whether it is a lake or a sea. But with the decades-long dispute over its legal status resolved, the sea is now open to luxury cruising. Sea or lake? The question of whether the Caspian is a lake or sea is about more than just semantics. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, only two countries bordered the Caspian Sea: Iran and the USSR. For the 27 years that followed, the five countries that now had a claim to these resource-rich waters were locked in a dispute over its status. There's plenty at stake: It's home to caviar-producing sturgeon (although fishing is currently subject to a conservation-led ban) and there are estimated reserves of around 50 billion barrels of oil and 290 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. If the Caspian's a sea, then international law states that the seabed would be divided according to each country's coastline. That would benefit Kazakstan, with the longest shoreline, but disenfranchise Iran, which has the shortest. If it's a lake, however, then the seabed would be divided equally. In August 2018, leaders from the five nations met in the Kazakh coastal city of Aktau to sign a landmark deal which grants each country 15 miles of sovereign waters, a further 10 nautical miles of fishing area, and then common waters beyond. The Caspian now has special legal status, so that it has still not been declared lake or sea. The question of how to divide subsoil territory has been put off for now, but what it does mean is that the waters are now open for new tourism opportunities, including cruising. A versatile ship A brand new cruise ship, the Peter the Great, is currently under construction in Astrakhan, a Russian port city at the mouth of the river Volga. The ship will have 155 cabins and capacity for 310 passengers and is expected to launch this summer, although specific dates have not been announced and itineraries are not yet on sale. Its operator, the Moscow River Shipping Company is said to be planning one- and two-week itineraries around the Caspian Sea, calling at ports in Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. The dimensions and design of this 141-meter by 16.8-meter ship will also make it possible for it to move through Russia's network of internal waterways. This means that it'll not be confined to the Caspian and will eventually be able to reach the Baltic and Black Seas. Although no sailing program has been made official, reports in the Azerbaijani and Russian media indicate that the ship will alternate the Caspian cruises in winter with river itineraries along the Volga and between Moscow and Saint Petersburg in the summer. It may also conduct cruises in the Black Sea, along the Russian coast and all the way to Georgia and to the Turkish city of Trabzon. It's likely that it will be the first of several new cruise offerings, though there is still work to be done on tourism infrastructure in the region as a whole. Russian rivers River cruises are quite a long-established business in Russia, with a number of local operators plying the country's main rivers. Russian rivers have even spawned a global cruise brand. Viking Cruises, now a major player name in the luxury cruise industry, traces its roots back to a small four-boat riverine operation started by a Norwegian entrepreneur in Russia in the 1990s. Viking continues to have a strong operation in the country, with some 12,000 visitors carried through Russian waterways in 2018. Moving into the Caspian may open up a new area of growth for the Russian cruise industry. Although not as common as those in the open seas, cruises through landlocked "seas" (or lakes, to be more accurate) have already some tradition in more mature markets, such as North America. "We're seeing more and more interest in the Great Lakes and their associated ports from people who visit our site. It's a great fit for people looking for something a little different," says Colleen McDaniel, senior executive editor of Cruise Critic. "Ships that sail these itineraries tend to be a bit smaller, and focus on board is heavily skewed toward enrichment, as a big draw for these itineraries is history. Ships are comfortable and feature great dining, often with local flavors, but don't expect waterslides or rock-climbing walls. The ports are the stars." What's in store for passengers? At more than 370,000 sq kilometers (143,000 sq miles), the Caspian is considerably larger than all of North America's Great Lakes combined, to which you can add the diversity of natural ecosystems and civilizations that have thrived along its shores. Passengers on the Peter the Great will have no shortage of sights and attractions to visit. They will be able to enjoy the charms of the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, the largest city on the Caspian shore and its likely base port, but also ancient cities such as Derbent, at the southern tip of Russia, the deserts on the sea's eastern shore and Iran's subtropical riviera. But before you get too excited, you'd better check each of these countries' visa requirements. Game-changer In any case, the majority passengers on this new cruise is likely to be Russian citizens, followed by those of the other Caspian countries. "We are confident in the prospects of these cruises and we are looking forward to the entry of the ship Peter the Great. We expect great demand and interest in this product," says Denis Kreitsberg, managing director of Kruiz.online, a Russian cruise marketplace. These developments also fit with the current growth of the Russian cruise market. "We are seeing growth rates of 15-20% annually in the number of Russians that go on sea cruises. Most of these travel abroad to complete a cruise," says Fedor Egorov, managing director of Dreamlines Russia, the local branch of the international cruise portal of the same name. Perhaps fittingly, this new ship is named after the czar who, in the early 18th century, campaigned extensively in the Caspian region, conquering large swathes of land along the way. Will this Peter the Great of our times be able to claim the Caspian Sea for the fast-growing international cruise industry? Credit Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, for working out a thorny issue in a civilized fashion without wreaking havoc on the state constitution. In response to Millers class-action lawsuits against the Trump administration, the Republican-controlled Legislature sought to restrain him by requiring permission to file such actions from the governor, Legislature or state executive council Reynolds, Secretary of State Paul Pate and Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, all Republicans, and Secretary of the Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald and Auditor Rob Sand, both Democrats. Miller promised Reynolds if shed veto the measure he would seek her permission before pursing an out-of-state lawsuit or authoring an amicus brief, a letter of support. The compromise was the right thing to do without upending a state constitution that puts the attorney general in the judicial branch, not subservient to the politics of the executive or legislative branches. Iowa would have been the only state with that restriction. Miller is a 10-term Democrat with 37 years on the job. He didnt have a Republican challenger in 2018. During the past two years, he has joined a half-dozen lawsuits initiated in other states against the Trump administration, angering Republican legislators. In particular, GOP leaders were upset with Miller for diving into such politically fraught issues as halting family separations at the U.S.-Mexican border and stopping a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census, which Democrats believe will scare immigrants away, leading to an inaccurate count of people living in the country. But Miller also opposed the Obama administrations Waters of the United States rule, which gave the federal government authority to regulate wetlands and tributaries polluting large rivers. That didnt endear him to Democrats or environmentalists. While lobbying against the Republicans legislation to defang him, Miller enlisted a bipartisan group of state attorneys general who stressed the need for states to provide a check on possible federal overreach. As a nation of checks and balances, it is essential that we retain as many of our inherent checks and balances as possible to ensure the our offices function as that envisioned by our states founding fathers, instead of according to political cycles, wrote Idahos Republican Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. For the most part, Miller has been applauded for pursuing multistate class-action lawsuits against major corporations. Wells Fargo recently agreed to pay Iowa $6.18 million as part of its $575 million settlement concerning overly zealous sales practices. The money will go into the states Consumer Education and Litigation Fund. Uber, after failing to reveal a nationwide hack of its customers, agreed to a $600,000 settlement with Iowa, although the drivers affected wont get anything. Miller also has joined a multistate action against opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma, which earlier this year agreed to pay Oklahoma $270 million. Most famously, Miller was among the attorneys general who took on Big Tobacco, winning $1.25 billion to date for the state, including $49.5 million this year. (Only $10.9 million of that latter total will end up in state coffers. Bondholders again get the lions share after Iowa and eight other states agreed to an initial payout amount, losing a bet smoking revenues would decline more than they have.) Those lawsuits, though, didnt have the policy ramifications that can drive a wedge between political parties, including Republican attorneys general going on the offensive against Democratic initiatives. Twenty Republican attorneys general with the Trump administrations support won a lawsuit in federal district court in Texas that declared the Democrats Affordable Care Act unconstitutional because of its individual mandate to tax nonparticipants. The U.S. Supreme Court will take up that decision. Wisconsin was one of the plaintiffs. Then the political winds shifted. In November, Democrat Tony Evers, the state superintendent of schools, defeated Republican Gov. Scott Walker, and Democrat Josh Kaul became attorney general. During a lame-duck special session before they could take office, the Republican-controlled Legislature tried to limit the Democrats powers by prohibiting the attorney general from joining or withdrawing from out-of-state lawsuits. That didnt pass muster with a state circuit judge who issued a temporary injunction citing irreparable harm to a constitutional democracy such as ours. Once that decision was reached, Evers and Kaul pulled Wisconsin out of the ACA lawsuit. The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court next will weigh in on their ability to do that. In Iowa, whoever occupies the attorney generals office, no matter the party, should be free to pursue an out-of-state lawsuit on behalf of their constituents. Rather than resorting to legislation or, most likely is necessary, amending the state constitution to preclude political problems the recourse is to vote that individual out of office. Millers promise to head off a confrontation is not binding on his successors. Its a temporary fix, which Reynolds wisely realizes. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Q: Does the police chief get paid to be a police chief while attending the Black Hawk County supervisors meetings? A: Dan Trelka receives a salary, not hourly wages, for both his job as police chief and his job as a county supervisor. His pay is not reduced for either job because he works two jobs. Q: Regarding the Park Commission: What is the makeup of the subcommission to the commission that is still studying the potential sale/not sale of park grounds? A: The Waterloo Leisure Services Commission has a parks subcommittee consisting of Bob Bamsey, Jadyn Spencer and Xavier Leonard that will make a recommendation to the full commission in June on whether to endorse selling any park land. The Waterloo City Council is the only body with the authority to sell the land. Q: Are there any plans to have an air show in Waterloo this summer? A: No. Q: Who bought the old St. Vincent de Paul building in Cedar Falls and what are they going to do with it? A: The Cedar Falls Municipal Band sold the building at 203 Main St. to Prestige WW, a limited liability corporation, which has not announced plans for its future. Q: How many times can the Supreme Court act on a single issue? A: Basically as many times as justices feel like it. Richard Wolf, who covers the court for USA Today, recently offered this explanation: There are so many different reasons why the same issue and the same cases will recur in the Supreme Court, says Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California-Berkeley School of Law. Important constitutional questions arent going to be resolved in a single case, and there are some legal issues that come up over and over again in the lower courts. Q: Who is the CEO of Google? A: The CEO is Sundar Pichai. Q: Is Harry Nilsson still alive? How old is he? A: Nilsson died in 1994 after a heart attack, age 52. Q: What do the hangings attached to the lamp posts over the 18th Street bridge in Waterloo represent? A: Its a nod to the emblems that were on the former Rath Packing Co. buildings nearby. Q: Do they plan to repair or resurface all the potholes on Katoski Drive? A: The Waterloo Street Department repairs potholes. You can contact the department about a pothole at 291-4267 or by filing a report through the Street Department web page. Katoski Drive from Huntington Road to 740 feet south of Black Hawk Road is tentatively scheduled to receive an asphalt overlay in 2021. Those plans are subject to annual reviews, council approval and available funding. Q: What is the total cost in millions for the city building being built at Greenhill and South Main? A: The estimated cost for Public Safety Building being built at the intersetion of Greenhill Road and South Main Street is $10.5 million, the total cost of construction and moving will be available after the building is opened later this summer. Calls are taken on a special Courier phone line at 234-3566. Questions are answered by Courier staff and staff at the Waterloo Public Library. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 WILDERNESS EAST, WESTERN CAPE, South Africa Last week, Damon Leff, founding director of South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA), editor-in-chief of Penton Independent Alternative Media, and a contributor to TWH was interviewed in a segment on Jacaranda FM, The Scenic Drive with Rian. Leff was ridiculed and treated with disrespect. Leff issued the following statement to TWH regarding his experience: On Wednesday, 29 May, I appeared as an invited guest on The Scenic Drive with Rian. I was interviewed by Rian van Heerden and his team from 6 to 6.30pm. During the interview I was repeatedly ridiculed and mocked by [Rian] van Heerden and members of his team. The interview left me feeling humiliated and shamed. I am of the opinion that van Heerden and company disregarded my right to dignity and equality, by mocking my person and my religious identity as a Pagan Witch. The interview evoked the ire of many Pagans in South Africa, who took to social media, and JacarandaFMs Facebook page, to complain about the way in which I had been treated. I have lodged a formal complaint against van Heerden with JacarandaFM and Kagiso Media, and have submitted a complaint against same to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa(BCCSA). Van Heerden disregarded my right to dignity and my right to religious freedom and equality. All three rights are enshrined in our countrys Constitution. It is my opinion that ridicule is simply a confirmation of existing prejudicial bias against Witchcraft, prejudicial bias which all too often results in hostile discrimination against actual Witches, and violent witch-hunts against people falsely accused of being Witches. A number of South Africans commented on the shows Facebook page expressing disappointment and anger over how Leff was treated. And it wasnt just Pagans, a number of commenters identified as either Christian or made a point to say they were not Pagan, and voiced their intent to report the stations show to the BCCSA. Only a little less than 5 minutes of the 30 minute broadcast was available online. Leff told TWH that he had received a written letter of apology from the shows producer. The producer also extended another invitation to appear on the show again which Leff respectfully declined. Under the law in South Africa, an infringement of the right to dignity is civilly actionable. The Equality Court was established to hear cases involving discrimination. Broadcasters who are found in violation of the law can be fined or sanctioned, and some interviewers have lost their positions in the past for serious violations. Leff said that he did not plan on taking legal action and would trust in the ability of the BCCSA to render a fair decision. TWH will continue to follow this story and report on any new developments. Editorial Note: TWH is extremely disappointed and dismayed by the treatment of our colleague Damon Leff by JacarandaFM. We hope that JacarandaFM conducts itself responsibly in the future. * * * NIOTA, Tenn. Archdruid Angela Wilson of the Wayist Druid order hosted an event on Saturday, titled Building Bridges . Wilson held a Samhain public ritual last fall in Athens, Tennessee that generated controversy and threats of mass protests. Wilson said, I wanted to bring people together from many traditions and religions to fellowship in a intimate way. She said the gathering in Niota, Tennessee was a success for many reasons, This gathering had all of your bells and whistles of a larger gathering artfully scheduled in a 13 hour day. Workshops, vendors, musical acts and ritual plus a heaping helping of laughter and great fellowship. John Beckett, was a surprise guest and spoke about his personal encounter with the good folks in Ireland. Beckett told TWH, It was like a small Pagan Pride Day, only in rural East Tennessee in a town of 700. The focus was on being Pagan and on relationship building. I didnt expect to be there, but my plans changed at the last minute. Sometimes magic works like that. The musical acts included Robert Worth, Alex Sharp, Cody Hensley, and Louis Garou. Wilson led an interactive water ritual, during which Louis Garou was initiated into the Wayist tradition and given the title of a named bard. The bardic name given to Garou was, The Mountain Bard. Wilson said, The running theme was gratitude for having a full 3 day gathering experience condensed into a day because many cant actually attend the longer events. She also said that feedback from attendees was very positive. Many of the comments posted on the event page seemed to reflect this. Wilson intends to continue to grow a Pagan presence in Tennessee. In other news: TIME published an interesting article that focused on Witches and Witchcraft written by Pam Grossman that centers around the reason she decided to write her book: Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power. She writes about what it means to be Witch/witch in its various forms, and talks about why the Witch trend is so popular. Among the offerings for the summer session at Cherry Hill Seminary is the four-week course, Paganism and the Male Mysteries, presented by Casey Giovinco, Chief Elder of Gala Witchcraft, and author of Garbed In Green: Gay Witchcraft & The Male Mysteries, shares what are the male mysteries and the value of his course for anyone, regardless of gender or sexuality. The course runs June 17-July 14, 2019. In a follow-up to a story we covered in April over protests at the Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, England by Muslim activists against teachers allegedly using using dolls to promote and demonstrate LGBT sexual mechanics to children, an interim ban on demonstrations has been issued. While the ban could be overturned as early as next when a judge will reconsider the injunction at a hearing on June 10. The injunction currently prevents demonstrators from gathering outside of Anderton Park Primary School, from distributing literature that supports their cause, and from making disparaging remarks or comments on social medial about educators. The non-profit, Historic Salem Inc. celebrated its 75th anniversary on June 2, at the Hawthorne Hotel where it honored the many various organizations that are doing work to preserve and restore historic buildings. Historic Salem, Inc. was borne out of the effort in 1940 to save the Salem Witch House from the demolition that was part of the project to widen North Street. Volunteers raised more than $40,000 to move the house back about 35 feet from Essex Street. The building went on to become a museum and brings in annually over a quarter of a million dollars in revenue. The organization intends to continue its mission of preservation. Historic Salems preservation manager, Emily Udy said,Every house has a story. In 2016, the drought and the wildfires in Eastern Tennessee had a pronounced effect on a number of things, fireflies being one of them. Their numbers were cut in half or more. Annually, many people travel from all over the world to visit Great Smoky Mountain National Park to view the incredible display put on by the synchronous firefly species, Photinus carolinus. The fireflies flashing their inner light at the same time for all to see was made popular by Lynn Frieron Faust who is an expert of insects and wrote the book, Fireflies, Glow-worms, and Lightning Bugs. This year, the numbers of fireflies have finally recovered to more normal amount, most due to the amount of rainfall and warmer temperatures. In a recent interview with WCBY Faust said you can help lightning bug populations by reducing the amount of artificial light from April through July, especially flood lights and landscaping accent lights that illuminate trees. Tarot of the week by Star Bustamonte Deck: Renaissance Tarot Deck by Brian Williams, published by U.S. Games Systems, Inc. Card: Queen of Swords This week pay attention to how the energies of insight, thoroughness, and persuasion can be woven together to create what is needed. Be mindful that overreaching ambition or misusing power can pave the way to obsession, and often downfall. 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of its a year-long exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. Titled MAD X, the exhibition showcases ten of MADs most significant projects to date. The Centre Pompidou acquired 12 architectural models of MAD Architects earlier this year. 10 models of MAD are already showcased as part of this exhibition. The permanent collection exhibition exemplifies the evolution of MADs architectural practice and design philosophy since its establishment in 2004, led by Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, and Yosuke Hayano. "While X represents the ten projects that are on show, it also has another meaning X also signifies the unknown," said Ma Yansong, Founder and Principal Partner of MAD. "With X, I hope to express my desire for exploring unchartered territory, which I believe is more important than reiterating the past." Frederic Migayrou, Deputy Director of the Centre Pompidou, and Curator of MAD X said about the exhibition: "This invitation to MAD is precisely because of the uniqueness of the firms creations. Contemporary architecture needs more architects like Ma Yansong, young architects who bravely challenge and influence more young people, the general public, and decision makers to think about the future of design." The scenography of MAD X sees the collection of twelve models forming an island at the centre of the exhibition space. Collectively, they create a harmonious new city that expresses the feeling of landscape often experienced through many of MADs works a new type of metropolis that is filled with the unknown, yet with vaguely familiar forms and spaces that are slowly becoming a new reality. The landscape emerges between images and words, sketches and poems, like pages of a book floating in the atmosphere. Contrasting the actuality of the rigid, matchbox cities in which the projects are individually located, combined, they create an emotional atmosphere one that is often reflected in Eastern philosophy that nurtures a spiritual connection between humanity and nature. Each unique work of architecture demonstrates MADs exploration of a type of dream architecture that seeks to open up a dialogue with nature, earth, and the sky. From the firms first built international project, the "Absolute Towers" (Mississauga, 2006-2012), also known locally as the Marilyn Monroe Towers; the "Harbin Opera House" (Harbin, 2010-2015) and Chaoyang Park Plaza (Beijing, 2012-2017); "Clover House" (Okazaki, 2012-2016); the "Lucas Museum of Narrative Art" (Chicago, 2014-2016, Los Angeles, 2016-2021); and, "UNIC" (Paris, 2012-2019) MADs first project to be completed in France. MAD X represents the diversity of MADs architectural practice, and expresses how the firm endeavors to create a balance between humanity, the city, and the environment. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue entitled MAD X 10 Projects by MAD Architects featuring contributions by Frederic Migayrou, Deputy Director of the Centre Pompidou, and Curator of MAD X, and Frederic Edelmann, Architecture Critic for Le Monde. Migayrou puts into perspective the aesthetic and philosophical complexities that are encompassed in MADs architecture; while Edelmann introduces the projects presented, crafting a unique portrait of Ma Yansong. "For Ma, it is a matter of paying homage to nature, of proposing a dreamlike form, unlike the low-rise boxes and towers that have flourished everywhere," said Edelmann. The book is illustrated with models, sketches, and photographs by Iwan Baan, Helene Binet, Hufton_Crow and Adam Mrk, portraying the same atmospheric impression that MAD has successfully instilled into its work. "Ma Yansongs architecture is based on an economy of territorial inscriptions, which ultimately reject any spatial preconditions, in order to be defined by the natural, historical, and social qualities of a territory the form unfolding as a revealer, as a new singularity, that manifests the complexity of each context," said Frederic Migayrou. MAD X is on-show at the Centre Pompidou, Paris until April 2020. MAD X 10 Projects by MAD Architects can be purchased online from HYX, or through Amazon. Exhibition facts MAD X Permanent Collection Exhibition Room 28, Floor 4 Centre Pompidou, Paris, France April 2019-April 2020 MAD Architects Principal Partners: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano MAD Architects Associate Partners: Liu Huiying, Kin Li, Tiffany Dahlen, Fu Changrui, Andrea DAntrassi, Lu Junliang (Dixon), Flora Lee Curator: Frederic Migayrou Scenography: Ma Yansong MADs Curatorial Design Team: Tammy Xie, Andrea Chin, Esther Greslin, Ma Yue, Li Ran All images Jared Chulski > via MAD Architects Description Project Brief: The proposed project is a research center dedicated to the study of the natural heritage of Saudi Arabia. The project site is located in Alruwais district, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The site is surrounded by different types of buildings and many vacant lands. The most important building near to the site is Jeddah Municipality, And a lot of residential buildings since the site is located in a commercial and residential area. Program: The building is conducted of five main zones: Labs and research spaces, administration area, entrance lobby, mid-size lecturing hall as well as some required services and utilities. The total area of the projects including circulation is around 6500-meter square. Design Concept: The concept of focusing on natural heritage is owing to the diverse nature of Saudi Arabia among all the world. The proposed design came up as a solution to the problem of neglecting natural conservation and making the research center as a futuristic vision of the country. Design responses: Many elements and aspects were shaped in the final design as a consequence of studying the environment, surrounding and users experience. These aspects are massing, building orientation, socialization, communication, and enhancing views. The designed building orientation and massing are providing shading to the courtyard as well as the back side of the building, allowing the prevailing wind to cool down the envelope temperature. The user experience is enriched by adding a triple height stepped space in the interior to provide better users communication and enhances their work productivity. The central part of the building is a courtyard provided with greens and seating areas. Thus, it decreases the heat gain imposed on the courtyard giving a better thermal performance. Adding movable louvers to the western facade reduces the heat gain and the direct sunlight and glare in the interior spaces by adjusting the twist of the louvers to the required angle. Goals: The design was following a comprehensive approach in order to come up with a well-studied and effective project. Therefore, the project considered in its features the environmental aspects such as decreasing the heat gain and providing adequate amounts of natural daylight, and the social aspect such as humans comfort, satisfaction, and productivity. Design Development: The design started with having two main masses representing the two features of nature which are the seaside and the landslide. Then, adding a courtyard to create an inner view and provide vegetation. Afterward, lowering the north-western side of the building to catch the prevailing wind and increase the height of the building from the opposite side to allow the courtyard as well as some parts of the building to be shaded. finally, using the shell structure in the main building public spine (that connects the auditorium to the library reading hall passing by the entrance reception hall) to provide natural daylight from the upper windows between the shells. Designed 2019 Completed 0000 Technical data The structure systems used in the project are a flat slab, waffle slab, and shell structure. The flat slab thickness is span/32 and it spans up to 12 meters. Therefore it is used in the spaces that have short spans such as the administration. The waffle slab is a two-way joint concrete system with 1-meter slab panels grid that spans up to 16 meters. It is used in the open offices and workshops spaces on the upper floors to give a free-column space for better visual value. The RC shell structure spans up to 40 meters and it is used in the public spine for large spans such as the auditorium, the reception hall and the library reading hall. The facades used three different treatments: Glazed curtain wall, GRC cladding, and exterior paint. The curtain walls are supported through spider hardware and glass fins. The grid of the facade glazing is divided into a visionary glass and a spandrel glass with regular horizontal and vertical lines intersected together with respecting the human vision inside the spaces. The thermal insulated GRC cladding is used in the facades exposed to sunlight in order to decrease the heat gain in the spaces. Project team Designed By: Refan Abed, Sara Alhassani Supervised By: Dr. Haitham Samir Hussein Saudi Arabia's foreign minister has said that reconciliation between his country and Qatar is possible if the latter returns to the "right path". Middle East Eye reports in its article Saudi Arabia says reconciliation with Qatar possible if 'right path' is followed that speaking during a three-day emergency summit in the Gulf kingdom, Ibrahim al-Assaf said that there could be a negotiated solution to the regional blockade of Qatar, which has been in place since 2017. Three conferences of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and the Arab League are taking place at the same time, notably to address a recent escalation of tensions between Gulf Arab states and Iran. "The Saudi stance, like the other countries, is that we are looking for a solution for the causes of the problems and the crisis between these countries and Qatar," he said, according to Al Jazeera. "Hopefully there will be a solution if Qatar comes back to the right path." Qatar was represented at Friday's meetings by Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani, Doha's highest-ranking official to visit the kingdom since the blockade began. Appearing tense, the Qatari official shook hands with the Saudi king but there was no indication of a thaw. Qatar's Gulf Times newspaper said that Abdullah's presence in Mecca showed the country's willingness to reopen talks. "Qatar has always been a strong advocate of peace and it supported solving differences through dialogue and mediation," an unnamed analyst was quoted by the newspaper as saying. "Qatar's mediation has led to peace in several parts of the world." Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Qatar of supporting militant groups and backing Iran - claims Doha rejects - and they have enforced bans on shipping, trade, direct flights, overflight and land crossings. The summit coincided with the last few days of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, when Mecca throngs with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. The summit meetings took place at night, as Muslims break their daytime fasting at sunset. The United States, which had tried without success to broker reconciliation among its Gulf allies, welcomed Qatar's original announcement that it would attend the summit. "Gulf unity is essential to confronting Iran's malign influence, it's essential to countering terrorism and, of course, in securing a prosperous future," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters. by Joseph Shieber In the most recent case of a white persons discomfort resulting in the ejection of African Americans from public spaces, a young, black couple who were picnicking with their dog at a KOA campground in Mississippi were threatened at gunpoint by a white campground manager and forced to leave. This sort of case calls to mind one of the hottest topics in the the theory of knowledge at present (and one of the topics of the 22nd lecture of my Theories of Knowledge). Its what philosophers call moral encroachment and involves the claim that the amount of evidence you need in order to have sufficient support for believing something depends in part on the moral implications of that belief. All of this can seem really abstract. However, if you take it step-by-step, you can see that the ideas behind the notion of moral encroachment are pretty easy to grasp. First, if were going to recognize the idea of moral encroachment, then that means recognizing that beliefs can have moral implications at all. And that can seem difficult to accept. What it would mean to say that a belief has moral implications is this. Its the idea that, over and above being able to weigh a belief as being supported or unsupported by the evidence, we can also evaluate at least certain beliefs based on their moral qualities. This explanation helps to demonstrate where the term moral encroachment comes from. The idea is that moral considerations the considerations arising from a beliefs moral qualities can encroach on what we might call epistemic considerations those having to do with whether a belief is supported or unsupported by the evidence. Before we assess the evidence for the thesis of moral encroachment, though, it will help to see if it even makes sense to suggest that any beliefs can have moral implications at all. Heres an example intended to support the idea that beliefs can be evaluated based on their moral qualities. As far as I am aware, it was first discussed by the philosopher Tamar Gendler. In order to discuss the example, it will be helpful to do a little bit of stage-setting. It involves an incident that took place in the Cosmos Club, a very exclusive Washington, DC, club whose members are drawn from the creme-de-la-creme in the arts, literature, science, and public service. In 1966, the Cosmos Club inducted the eminent historian and long-time professor at Duke University, John Hope Franklin, as its first African American member. That should be sufficient to set the stage. For the example itself, Ill turn to a description from a Duke University website celebrating Professor Franklin: In 1995, on the evening before he was to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House, Franklin hosted a celebratory dinner party for some of his friends at the Cosmos Club. Some of his guests had not arrived, and Franklin decided to head to the entrance of the Club to look for them. There, an elderly white woman handed Franklin her coat check and demanded that he fetch her coat. Franklin politely informed her that all the Clubs attendants were uniformed and if she handed one of them her coat check, they would be happy to assist her. The philosophers Mark Schroeder (at the University of Southern California) and Rima Basu (at Claremont McKenna College) have suggested that cases like the one in which the woman believes that Franklin is one of the waitstaff at the Cosmos Club, rather than a distinguished member of that club, involve moral wrongs. The womans belief involves a failure to recognize Franklin as having equal status, which is a harm to him. Okay, so thats the idea that beliefs can be morally wrong. And it seems plausible to think that, in wronging Franklin through her belief, the womans belief was morally problematic. How do we get from that idea to the idea that the moral implications of beliefs can impact the evidence that we have to have in order to hold those beliefs? Well, Schroeder and Basu suggest that, if you agree with them that beliefs can be morally wrong, then youre faced with a puzzle. Heres why. Its easy to establish simply by counting! that the membership of the Cosmos Club is predominately white, whereas the waitstaff at the Cosmos Club are mostly people of color. So Schroeder and Basu suggest that the womans belief was, at least, statistically well-supported. In fact, if you treat frequencies as likelihoods, and likelihoods as evidence, than the evidence that you have that a given person of color that you encounter at the Cosmos Club will be a member of the staff is probably greater than the evidence you have for the belief that it will rain this afternoon on the basis of reading the weather forecast! So now Schroeder and Basu think that the puzzle arises from the fact that it might seem that we have evidence for the following two claims: 1. The womans belief about John Hope Franklin is morally wrong. 2. The woman has good evidence for her belief. In other words, the conjunction of these two claims poses a puzzle. In fact, Schroeder and Basu think that we must recognize that claims 1 and 2 CANNOT both be true at the same time! Schroeder and Basu use this supposed fact that claims 1 and 2 are incompatible to argue for moral encroachment. The reason is that, as weve already noted, it would seem that the woman at the Cosmos Club has strong statistical support for her belief. So it would seem that the only reason why she wouldnt have sufficient justification for her belief would stem from the moral implications of her belief. But that just is the thesis of moral encroachment. So, if its true that the amount of evidence you need to be well-supported in believing a certain claim can vary according to the moral status of that claim, the fact that claim 1 is true can be recognized as the reason why claim 2 is FALSE. In other words, moral encroachment EXPLAINS why, if claim 1 is true, claim 2 is false. So far so good. If the two claims 1 & 2 are mutually incompatible, then that would seem to provide some reason for accepting the thesis of moral encroachment. But why think that? Why not merely say that the womans belief is morally wrong despite being pretty well supported by the evidence? If theyre going to use the supposed incompatibility of the two claims in order to argue for moral encroachment, then Basu and Schroeder need to give some reason for thinking that the moral wrongness of the womans belief is incompatible with the womans having good evidence for that belief. Basu and Schroeders reason for this comes from thinking about apologies. Suppose, for example, that after Franklin rebuked the woman at the Cosmos Club for her mistaken belief, she gave him an apology. Basu and Schroeder imagine that she might say something like, Well, Im sorry for believing that you were on the waitstaff, rather than a member of the Club, even though my belief was epistemically impeccable, short of being true. What a philosophically sophisticated apology! In order to evaluate it, we need to understand what it means to say that a belief is epistemically impeccable, short of being true. Roughly, it just means something like, this belief has sufficient evidence to count as knowledge if it were true, but this belief happens to be false. Basu and Schroeder dont think much of this apology. Heres what they say about it: This does not seem to us to be much of an apology. And the reason why it does not seem to be much of an apology, it seems to us, is that satisfying every epistemic standard appropriate to belief short of truth looks like the right kind of thing to defeat any presumption of being a wrong. Basu and Schroeder say that it fails as an apology precisely because, if a belief really was epistemically impeccable then the believer would have nothing to apologize for! So, if the woman genuinely thinks that her belief is morally wrong and therefore that its appropriate to apologize for it then she cant have met all of the epistemic standards for that belief. Claim 1 and 2 really are incompatible! And if this is true in the John Hope Franklin case, this would suggest that in any case in which a belief has moral implications, you must meet higher standards in order to be justified in holding the belief. Thats just what moral encroachment says so Basu and Schroeder have given us an argument for the thesis of moral encroachment. In fact, it strikes me as quite a neat argument. Nevertheless, although the argument is indeed neat, I dont think its ultimately a good argument. Here are three reasons why. The first reason has to do with claim 2, the claim that the womans belief that John Hope Franklin was a member of the Cosmos Clubs staff was in fact well-supported by evidence (were it not for the fact that its a morally charged belief). Basu and Schroeder think it obvious that claim 2 is true. Theyre wrong, however. If Basu and Schroeder had paid more attention to the actual specifics of Franklins case, they would have seen that the woman is criticizable on purely epistemic grounds. Look at this part of the quote from the Duke website: Franklin politely informed her that all the Clubs attendants were uniformed and if she handed one of them her coat check, they would be happy to assist her. What this tells us is that, at the time, Franklin himself suggested to the woman who falsely believed that he was a member of the waitstaff that her belief DIDNT meet all of the epistemic standards. The woman didnt meet the epistemic standards because she ignored clear signs that Franklin wasnt a member of the waitstaff. Franklin himself explicitly points out to her that he wasnt wearing a uniform, but we can imagine others. For example, he was standing at the bar and conversing like a member of the club, rather than an employee. Perhaps he was also holding a beverage in his hands, rather than carrying one or more on a tray. We can imagine other relevant details, if we wished. We can see this also by thinking about this in terms of the relevant class from which to evaluate the likelihood that Franklin was a member of the waitstaff. Basu and Schroeder suggest that, as far as likelihoods are concerned, the woman was behaving appropriately in assessing the chance that any person of color that she encounters at the Cosmos Club is staff, rather than a member. But this is simply not true. The woman should instead have assessed the likelihood that a person of color, not dressed in a staff uniform, nor behaving like a member of the waitstaff, etc., would be staff, rather than a member. Of course, if the woman in the John Hope Franklin case wasnt meeting the epistemic standards, there is NO incompatibility between the epistemic and moral standards in this case. In fact, the woman would be criticizable on BOTH moral and epistemic grounds. It strikes me that the recent case of picknicking while black with which we began this discussion of the philosophical thesis of moral encroachment not to mention the many other cases of whites becoming distressed because they encountered African Americans occupying public spaces are more like the John Hope Franklin case as it actually occurred. In NONE of those cases, in other words, did the whites have good reason for being distressed. If Im sitting in a Starbucks conversing with a friend, or if Im cooking out at a public park, or if Im eating lunch in a college lounge, or if Im napping in a grad school common area, or if Im sitting by the side of a neighborhood pool, or if Im a kid selling water, or if Im mowing a lawn, the best explanation for my behavior is that Im entitled to be doing what Im doing. At least, the default assumption in such cases should be that people going about their business in public spaces are entitled to be doing just that. If youre going to challenge someone elses right to occupy that space, then you would have to have very strong evidence for doing so. Certainly, merely feeling uncomfortable would NOT count as sufficient evidence. So thats the first reason to worry about Basu and Schroeders argument. They havent actually presented us with a case in which a belief would be well supported but for the fact that the belief is morally suspect. Suppose, however, that we do come up with a case in which someone really would have met the evidence standards for knowledge, but happens to have a false belief. Would that be a case where the moral standing of the belief could raise the standards even higher? If so, then Basu and Schroeder would still have the makings of a good argument. I have to admit that I have trouble thinking of a case in which someone has a morally wrong belief AND has met all of the standards that were it not for the moral implications of the belief would make their belief count as knowledge, if only it were true. In fact, as Ive suggested, the real-world examples of morally problematic beliefs strike me as cases in which the believers HAVENT met all of the epistemic standards, regardless of the moral implications of their beliefs. Suppose, however, that there IS in fact some such case: a belief that is both seemingly epistemically impeccable and morally wrong. Why think that this is, as Basu and Schroeder would have it, problematic? On the contrary, it seems to me quite possible to suppose that moral requirements might place demands on us above and beyond the purely epistemic demands of acquiring evidence sufficient for knowledge. A analogous real-world case of this might be in the legal domain. Suppose that 999 out of 1000 people took part in a riot that resulted in the death of a policeman, and all of the 999 were equally culpable in the policemans death. Still, most people would not think it acceptable to choose one of the 1000 people at random and convict them solely on the basis of the high statistical probability that they took part in the crime. That inacceptability, however, has little to do with the purely epistemic justification for believing the person chosen at random to be guilty. (Im indebted to Marcello Di Bello for the idea behind this example.) Lets apply this to the case of apologies. Suppose I form the sort of belief that is seemingly epistemically impeccable but morally problematic. I dont see why I couldnt say, It was hurtful for me to believe this about you, and I apologize. As an explanation, although not an excuse, let me just note that the evidence for my belief was very strong. Nevertheless, I should have given you the benefit of the doubt. The upshot of all of this is that I just dont find Basu and Schroeders considerations on the basis of their discussion of apologies to be fully convincing. In particular, it doesnt seem to establish that there is a genuine tension involved in morally wrong beliefs that are seemingly epistemically impeccable. (This might also explain why, in a recent piece for Aeon, Basu seems to limit herself to arguing for the moral wrongness of certain beliefs, and perhaps of certain ways of forming beliefs about people. At least as I read her Aeon piece, Basu does NOT there argue for the stronger claim that a belief cant be both epistemically impeccable and morally wrong.) So thats two reasons for resisting Basu and Schroeders argument for moral encroachment. Heres one final worry. This third reason for being hesitant in accepting Basu and Schroeders argument for moral encroachment is purely pragmatic. It has to do with what seem to me to be troubling unintended consequences of their position. This is what I mean. Basu and Schroeder are arguing from a position of well-meaning, liberal sorts of concerns having to do with mutual respect for people of all stripes. However, a structurally identical argument to the one put forward by Basu and Schroeder could be advanced by someone intent on trolling or worse, someone who genuinely holds despicable views. Lets call this third problem the problem of immoral encroachment. Heres an example of what I have in mind: Offred argues that women are just as intelligent as men and that they should be allowed the freedom to read and develop their intellectual faculties to the same extent as men. Aunt Lydia argues that only women have the ability to bear and nurse children, and that for that reason women should focus their efforts on fostering their unique capacities. Aunt Lydia suggests that, because of the immoral implications of the belief that women are the intellectual equals of men, Offred would need to provide much greater justification in order to be epistemically justified in maintaining her belief in the intellectual equality of women and men. Now obviously Aunt Lydias view is not only morally despicable, but also false. From Aunt Lydias perspective, however, the reasoning that she uses against Offred is exactly parallel to the reasoning strategy endorsed by Basu and Schroeder. Of course, this doesnt actually mean that the reasoning endorsed by Basu and Schroeder is incorrect. Plugging false premises into a valid argument form may yield a false conclusion. Nevertheless, the person who employs false premises in their reasoning will often be unaware of that fact just as, in our example, Aunt Lydia is unaware of the despicable nature of her views. What this means is that this third reason for my hesitation about moral encroachment doesnt show that the thesis of moral encroachment is false, but rather suggests that appealing to the thesis might not be a useful argumentative strategy when debating with others with whom we disagree. In fact, it seems to me that we have good reason to separate arguments about the strength of our evidence from arguments about the rightness of our causes, wherever possible. And, as the recent real-world cases of living while black seem to demonstrate, just attacking the weak evidential support for many morally problematic beliefs seems to be a perfectly viable strategy for criticizing those beliefs. by Emrys Westacott The relation between what is natural and what is morally good is a topic that has concerned philosophers from ancient times to the present. Those who view the part of a human being that belongs to the material world as sordid, unclean, and irrational have understood morality to require the suppression or the taming of nature; the angel in us must control the beast. This outlook is endorsed by Plato and is commonly found in Christian theology. Hobbes social contract theory, which presents moral life and political order as the way we escape the miseries of the state of nature, also takes morality and nature to be in certain respects opposed. Many others, though, have looked to nature for some sort of moral guidance. The Stoics viewed the implacable order observed in the heavens as a model for a serene human life. Defenders of rigid social hierarchies pointed to the successful arrangements in a bee hive. Critics of homosexuality argue that it is unnatural, while advocates of gay rights deny this. Appeals to what one finds in nature have bolstered social Darwinism, the subordination of women, arguments for and against slavery, egalitarianism, and the idea of universal human rights. In Against Nature, Lorraine Daston (Director of Berlins Max Planck Institute for the History of Science), poses the following question: Why do human beings, in many different cultures and epochs, pervasively and persistently, look to nature as a source of norms for human conduct?[1]The book belongs to the Untimely Meditation series published by MIT Press. At seventy pages, nine of which are taken up by illustrations, and four of which are blank, the book is essentially an 18,000 word essay on this topic. The modern view of nature that emerged and took hold during the scientific revolution is that it contains no values. In the thought of intellectual pioneers like Descartes and Boyle, the material world is best understood as a vast machine operating predictably according to universal laws of nature. The implications of this outlook for ethics were first noticed by Hume when he observed that there is a logical difference between is statements that describe facts, and ought statements that express values; moreover, because of this logical difference, it is impossible to fully justify the latter by appealing to the former. Descriptions, by themselves, never logically entail prescriptions. Since then, the fact-value gap has haunted much moral philosophy. But even though John Stuart Mill and others have warned against using nature as a moral guidethink preying mantis and sexual relationsaccording to Daston, the temptation to extract norms from nature seems to be enduring and irresistible.[2] Daston does not offer too many examples of this tendency, and those she does give tend to be from the past (e.g. Enlightenment universalism) or related to mainstream moral controversies (e.g. slavery, Apartheid). Nor does she discuss her examples in much detail. Consequently, a suspicion lingers that what she calls an enduring and irresistible temptation may not be as significant as she maintains. She references many scholars who write about the way scientists, philosophers, and theologians conceived of nature in the past, but identifies no contemporary ethicists who succumb to this alleged temptation. Still, one can perhaps grant her the premise that in Western civilization, the attempt to ground moral claims in nature has been fairly common. Dastons concern is not so much with how specific moral rules might be derived from observing nature as with normativity in general. Every known human culture exhibits normativity in the sense that they all establish and enforce certain norms that dictate whether some behaviour is good or bad, right or wrong, just or unjust. Specific norms can, of course, vary enormously between cultures, but one cant really imagine a human society without any norms. A culture without norms, says Daston, is as much an oxymoron as nature without regularities.[3] The connection between normativity and nature, Daston argues, lies in our perception of order. She identifies three kinds of order related to nature that have been particularly important in Western civilization. First, there is the order provided by a things specific nature(a.k.a. its essence). Whether we think of this in Aristotelian terms as some inner principle or along more contemporary lines as residing in an organisms DNA or a substances chemical composition doesnt much matter. The basic idea is that the intrinsic nature of a thing explains what it does: it explains why sheep only give birth to lambs and why copper conducts electricity. Specific natures confer stability on things over time, and they enable us to classify items in our experience (trees, conifers, spruce, etc.). The second kind of natural order Daston discusses is found in what she calls local natures, a notion that remains a little vague. The key idea seems to be that in any particular locality there is a distinctive pattern of regularities in, for instance, its climate or physical geography. The activity of humans in this place can harmonize with this local nature, or it can disturb it. The third sort of natural order identified is that exhibited by universal natural laws. The ancients did not use this concept, explaining regularities in nature as flowing from each things specific nature. (This is the standard view, which Daston endorses, although I would argue that precursors of the idea of universal natural laws can be found in some pre-Socratic thought.) The idea of a law-governed universe, says Daston, really originates with the Christian doctrine of predestination which posits a God who decrees the exact course that history will take. Extending the theological/judicial notion of divine law to the scientific concept of a law of nature seemed problematic at first, since the sort of law involved is different. A decree can be violated by a person exercising free will; a law of nature allows no exceptions (unless one believes in miracles). Eventually, though, the metaphor of nature obeying certain laws became ingrained in the modern scientific outlook. Daston elaborates on her account of these three sorts of natural order with systematic connections of which Kant would be proud. Each of them forms the basis of (or is illustrated by) a particular science: for specific natures the discipline is taxonomy; for local natures it is ecology; for universal natural laws it is celestial mechanics. And violations of each is said to give rise to particular passions. When the order of specific natures is violated (as when genetic engineers start mixing up species), the result is a sort of monstrosity and the passion this evokes is horror. Violations of local nature (e.g. an avalanche) are said to produce terror. Violations of universal natural laws excite wonder. According to Daston, these three passions of the unnatural jangle the soul with an almost unbearably dissonant chord.[4]She also claims that understanding them throws light on the sources of our moral intuitions. But I have to admit to finding her discussion here rather unconvincing. The tripartite schema seems rather forced, and the passions she describes are not inevitable responses to breaches in the natural order. Freaks or monstrosities can just as easily produce amusement as horror; apparent miracles may evoke confusion or suspicion rather than wonder. The discussion of the three types of natural order prepares the ground for the last three chapters which explore the connections between normativity and order. Our most terrifying nightmare, says Daston, is absolute chaosthe complete absence of order. One can imagine two kinds of chaos: a lack of regularity in nature, and the absence of any sort of basic normative order in a society. Either kind of disorder would render impossible any system of specific moral norms such as characterize every actual human culture, for if minimal conditions of order are not met, the idea of normativity crumbles.[5] Daston concedes that we could articulate and support our moral norms without reference to nature since alternative examples of order are available from within human culture: e.g. mathematics, machinery, or the arts. But she insists that in seeking to satisfy an irrepressible urge to.render immaterial ideas concrete and tangible,[6]we often use natural orders to represent moral orders.[7]We are led to do this, she claims for two reasons: first, because nature is so very familiar to us, being all around us at all times; and second, because nature contains so much variety that it supplies exemplars of all conceivable orders.[8]Precisely because of this variety, though, nature does not point to any specific set of norms that we ought to adopt. Any moral outlook can find and make use of some appropriate natural analogy. As mentioned earlier, the premise that we constantly represent moral orders through natural analogies can be questioned. Daston concedes in passing that other sources of analogy are available, but she apparently thinks these are far less important. Yet moral philosophers from Plato onwards have presented their ideas using various elements of human culture, including, for example, medical science, sport, music, military discipline, war, farming, and cooking. But even if one grants the premise in question, Dastons explanation of the alleged tendency still seems rather vapid. The problem, it seems to me, is that we arent usually interested in merely representing a normative order. When we do anything like this, our purposes usually include justification and persuasion. We want to justify our moral norms to others (and perhaps to ourselves), and we most commonly do this as part of an attempt to persuade others that our moral outlook is correct, or at least better than theirs. If we keep this in mind, other reasons for appealing to nature immediately occur. For one thing, nature exists independently of human beliefs, hopes, and desires. In this sense it offers the default paradigm of objectivity. So when we assert that a moral outlook reflects or is grounded in nature, we imply that it has a validity that goes beyond a point of view that is only valid subjectively or relative to a particular culture. A second reason for appealing to nature is prudential. Nature is famously intractable. We can exploit the way it operates, but we cant change it. So it is makes good sense to ensure that our norms in certain respects conform to nature, since trying to defy or contradict nature will inevitably lead to failure. This, for instance, is the sort of argument used to defend the view that same-sex love will not make people happy, or that capitalism is the best economic system since human beings are inherently self-interested and competitive . In the final chapter Daston does touch on the fact that appeals to nature often occur as part of some justificatory project. In response to those who view any such appeal as necessarily fallacious since it crosses the is-ought border, she argues that it is only fallacious if it seeks to justify some specific moral order. If the purpose is merely to support the idea of normativity itself then it is unobjectionable since, as she notes several times, any human society must have some sort of moral order. One gets the impression here that Daston would really like to go further in defending appeals to natural orders as an argumentative strategy in ethics, that she would, in fact, like to challenge the view that moving from is to ought is necessarily fallacious. This, I suspect, is implicit in a claim she makes that serves to frame the entire essay: namely, that we should conceive of human reason not the way Kant does, as something that can be abstracted from our specifically human nature, but as a cognitive resource that is inalienable from our nature as embodied, natural, social beings who must live in normatively ordered communities. Values, on this view, should not be thought to lie outside rationality but must be constitutive of the only form of reason we have or know. Ultimately, though, the essay fails to vigorously affirm or adequately support this thesis or, really, any thesis that one could describe as controversial. The essay is erudite, the writing is elegant, and there are plenty of interesting observations made along the way. But in the end, I have to admit to finding the central question insufficiently motivated, and the conclusions reached rather commonplace. [1]Lorraine Daston, Against Nature(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2019), p. 3. [2]Against Nature,p. 5. [3]Against Nature, p. 46. [4]Against Nature, p. 35. [5]Against Nature, p. 49. [6]Against Nature, p. 52. [7]Against Nature, p. 53. [8]Against Nature, p. 60. Adding targeted therapy to treatment extends lives of those with metastatic breast cancer A UCLA-led study has found that using a drug called ribociclib in combination with a common hormone therapy may help premenopausal women with the most common type of breast cancer live longer than if they only receive the hormone therapy. Ribociclib is considered a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor that works by blocking the activity of proteins called cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 enzymes, which promote cell division and cancer growth. The study involved 672 women under 59 years old when the study began who had advanced hormone-receptor positive/HER2- breast cancer. Seventy percent of the women who took the combination therapy were alive after 42 months, compared to 46% for women who treated with only the hormone therapy. The results will be featured in a press briefing on June 1 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting and will be published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday, June 4 (embargo lifts on June 1 at 6:30 a.m. during ASCO's press briefing). Dr. Sara Hurvitz, director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the study is the first to show a significant benefit in overall survival for women in this age group with metastatic hormone-receptor positive breast cancer. "This trial was unique because it looks at younger women who haven't gone through menopause," said Hurvitz, the study's lead author, who is also an associate professor of hematology/oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "This is an important group to study since advanced breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women 20 to 59, and the vast majority of breast cancer is hormone-receptor positive." None of the women in the study had been previously treated for metastatic cancer. Half of the subjects were given hormone therapy and a placebo. The other half received hormone therapy in addition to ribociclib. Hormone therapy, also called endocrine therapy, is an essential part of treatment for hormone-receptor positive breast cancer, a form of the disease in which a woman's own hormones promote cancer growth. Given as an oral medication, the therapy works by blocking or lowering the levels of estrogen production so cancer cells can't use them to grow and spread -- but it eventually stops working in some women. Among women who received the combination therapy, the disease did not progress for an average of 23.8 months, compared to 13 months for those who received endocrine therapy and the placebo. "It's great to see that we're extending the length of someone's life, not just the length of time their disease is controlled," Hurvitz said. "Very few trials show an improvement in overall survival. That's what is so phenomenal about the data." From 1976 to 2009, the incidence of advanced breast cancer among U.S. women under 40 increased an average of about 2% per year, a larger increase than for any other age group. In the early 2000s, a team of UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center researchers led by Dr. Dennis Slamon were on the forefront of discovering that cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors are effective in treating hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Their work ultimately helped lead to the FDA approval of ribociclib and other related drugs to treat metastatic breast cancer. ### The study's other lead authors are Dr. Debu Tripathy of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Dr. Seock-Ah Im of Seoul National University Hospital, Cancer Research Institute; and Dr. Yen-Shen Lu of National Taiwan University Hospital. The team is now evaluating these drugs in women with early-stage breast cancer in an international clinical trial called NATALEE. The study was sponsored by Novartis, which developed ribociclib at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research (NIBR) under a research collaboration with Astex Pharmaceuticals. UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has approximately 500 researchers and clinicians engaged in cancer research, prevention, detection, control, treatment and education. One of the nation's largest comprehensive cancer centers, the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center is dedicated to promoting research and translating basic science into leading-edge clinical studies. This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Austrias President Alexander Van der Bellen has sworn in new Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein and the ministers of her interim government for the work until an early election to the National Council (the lower chamber of parliament). The ceremony for declaring and appointing new cabinet of ministers of the republic was held today in the presidential chancellery in the Hofburg palace in Vienna. The president also dismissed the former governments ministers headed by acting Chancellor Hartwig Loger, who had been ordered on May 28 to organize a disciplined transfer of power to the interim government. Several federal ministries were merged, as were some posts of ministers accountable to the federal chancellor, whereas the posts of state secretaries at the finance and interior ministries were removed in Austrias temporary government. A total of 12 government members will work in the cabinet of ministers: six posts were occupied by men, and six posts by women. Brigitte Bierlein became the first woman to serve as federal chancellor in Austrias history. Before the appointment, she served as President of the Constitutional Court. A lawyer by education, Bierlein was born on June 25, 1949, and received higher education in the University of Vienna. The reshuffling in the Austrian government occurred after the National Council had voted no-confidence to Sebastian Kurzs cabinet of ministers on May 27 in light of the governmental crisis amid former Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Straches vociferous resignation. On May 28, the Austrian president dismissed the government headed by Kurz and ordered the ministers to perform their duties until an interim government is formed. by Samia Altaf Last night I dreamed I was on my way to the tailors in the H-Block market to pick up the outfit that Mrs. Obama was to wear at President Obamas second inauguration. The State Department official who was to transport it in the diplomatic pouch was on the tarmac waiting in the military plane with its engines revving. Everything was set. But real life is unpredictable and the best laid plans of mice and men, and women too, can get derailed. As I skirted the roundabout to go north, traffic stalled in the circle of Lalikjan Chowk. A crowd of bearded and turbaned men, their trouser-ends hoisted above the ankles, was milling around, waving their arms and shouting, their teeth gleaming white through their black beards. Some energetic ones, skinny and intense, also with black floating beards, were rerouting the traffic advising the cars to turn back. That I could not afford to do. This was a mission-critical errandthe first lady was to wear the outfit in the morning and it was already night in Washington, D.C. All I had was the ten-hour time difference in Lahore. I figured it was a religious demonstration, one faction of Muslims upset at anothers manner of dressing or eating or laughing or standing. Then I saw saw women and children holding placards protesting power failures and the increased cost of the whatever little electric supply that came their way for couple of hours in the day. Keep your focus I told myself, circling around, zigzagging through the utility shops on the left of the roundabout, past the back wall of the S-Block graveyard, navigating the Z-Block bylanes across from the padlocked library, lurching over the empty lot behind the big mosque to finally arrive at the complex housing the tailoring shop. Safely parked, I walked down to the basement to the tailors shop, only to find the whole place in semi-darkness with no sign of activity except in an adjacent shop repairing cell phones. A half dozen young men were there with phones in hands or to their ears. A noisy generator, its wires trailing over the floor, was roaring outside the door, fouling up the air with diesel fumes. The juice corner, the burger joint, the little hole that peddled artificial jewelry and glass bangles, and the tailorsmy heart droppedwere all dark and quiet. The shopkeepers were sitting outside looking right and left, smoking nonchalantly, following each passing woman with their eyes, swiveling their heads in a semicircle till she disappeared round the corner from the bangle shop. A couple of young men, sitting on the matting on the corridor floor, were playing cards improvised with flattened cigarette boxes. I enter the tailors shop; there is no sign of him in the gloomy little room. On calling, he emerges from the far side of the work table where he has been lying on the floor. Where is Mrs. Obamas outfit? He nods his head from side to side, unimpressed. He has not been well, he says. He has had a fever and a cough for the past three days, his body hurts to the bones and he could not do a thing. He blows his nose into a dirty rag. On top of it all, dont you see? He points with his chinthere is no electricity. How can he run the sewing machine? He begins to tell me about the generals wifes outfit that had to be returned without the required alterations. O forget about the general for once, I say, where is Mrs. Obamas dress? Sniffling audibly, he dives down to the floor and comes up with the white muslin bag containing the fabric, all the cut pieces lined up as I had given him to sew. The fabric is cut up in progressively larger strips, staring from the smallest of an inch and a half to the largest of eight inches for the back. Except for the two front panels of the dress, all cut on the bias, mind you, for that was the trick, one that would give it the required gentle flare and the fit of the bodice. I had cut at a bias exactly the way Baiji, my grandmother, had taught me. She had made me practice this kind of cut again and again and taught me to sew it so both seams sat well against each other without pulling. It was after I had mastered this art a lot faster than she had anticipated that she told my mother I should become a surgeon since I was exceptionally adept at cutting and sewing. That would also enable me to take care of myself and not be a burden on the family since I was not fair enough to find a husband. I had lined up each strip and pinned them together, meticulously aligning each square against the other, a feat of geometrical precision. He pushed the muslin bag toward me. What do you mean? Do you not realize the critical nature of this task? He shrugged his shoulders arranging his glasses, bound by a dirty string, on his nose. He looked at me rheumy-eyed and coughed in my face. Do you have fever now? Again? Just last week this business of your being sick was going on and you told me you were taking medicine for it. I felt his wristit was warmer than normal and dry too. I found the pulse and counted to 130 per minute. Here, take this. I started to give him two paracetamol tablets and some lozenges. He shook his headthis medicine does not work for him, he said. He will return to the neighborhood doctor who had given him an injection and two yellow pills last night that had made him feel better. Those work. Not from the look of things, I say. He wants five hundred rupees to pay his doctor. I take the bag with the fabric and rush to the airport. There seems nothing else to do. Maybe Thom Browne can get his workers to put it together. I reach the airport, pushing past security that chases me hanging on to their walkie-talkies while I jump over hurdles to reach the plane on the tarmac. I reach up to the airplane window to hand over the muslin bag but my hands are emptythere is no bag. I have lost it and I start to cry. The pilot leans out of the window, offers me a white silk handkerchief, and whispers: The art of losing isnt hard to master; so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. The plane roars off to the West. Next morning, like millions of others in the world, I watch Mrs. Obama walking down Pennsylvania Avenue resplendent in the very same dress, with the very same panels, all squares aligned, mostly on the bias, the center ones straight, stitched to perfection. Soliloquy: There's no better time to carry out plans Large-scale rallies with the participation of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be held in Istanbul on June 15-16. The purpose of the rallies is to support the candidate for the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Binali Yildirim during the repeated municipal elections/ The rallies with the participation of the president and ministers will be held in three districts of Istanbul, Turkish media reported. On April 17, Turkeys Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) officially announced the results of the municipal election in Istanbul. According to YSK, the candidate for the position of the head of the Istanbul municipality from the opposition Republican Peoples Party Ekrem Imamoglu received 4.169 million votes, while the candidate from the Justice and Development Party Binali Yildirim received 4.156 million votes. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the municipal election results in Istanbul were almost completely rigged. He noted that the ruling Justice and Development Party appealed to YSK to identify the perpetrators. 2nd-grader needs online votes to advance A local elementary student is in the running to win a significant scholarship and a technology package for her school, and get her art on the Google homepage, in the 11th annual national Doodle for Google contest. Google announced Thursday in a news release that Solice Snodgrass Conejeros, who just finished first grade at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, is the New Mexico winner for her redesign of the Google logo, titled Sun Power. Shes now competing to become one of five national finalists, and she needs online votes from the public to advance. This Monday through Friday, anyone in the U.S. can vote for Solice, or one of the other 52 state or territory winners, at https://doodles.google.com/d4g/vote/. The national winner, whom judges will pick from the five finalists, gets a $30,000 scholarship, a trip to Google headquarters in California and his or her drawing displayed on the Google homepage for day, according to the release. That young persons school receives a $50,000 technology package. Solices doodle was selected from thousands of entries received this year, according to the press release. For Solice, it all started in April, when her older brother, Maxino, created a Doodle for Google design as a school project, said their mother, Karina Snodgrass. The contest was open to students from kindergarten through 12th grade, so Snodgrass had Solice and one of her other daughters, Emma, enter outside of school. With five children in the family, Snodgrass said, a college scholarship would be helpful. The contest challenged youth to redesign the Google logo with the theme When I grow up, I hope According to the competition website, judges picked one finalist for each state or territory, making sure each of five grade divisions had at least 10 state finalists across the country. They chose based on artistic skill, creativity and communication of the contest theme, according to the website. When I grow up, I hope we can learn how to use our resources and to use the power of the sun, the wind and to recycle so we can go to the moon and other planets with my little brother, Solice wrote in the statement she submitted with her drawing. A young lady of few words, she said it was hard to come up with an idea. She and her mother brainstormed, with their first idea being a rocket. I had an idea that I could go to Venus and Neptune, she said. Solice used the letters in Google to represent a tree, wind turbine, light bulb, birdhouse made from a milk jug, rocket and yin-and-yang symbol representing balance between good and bad. A sun shines on the whole design. Snodgrass said yin and yang in the design symbolize the need to use bad to fight someone mean and good to be kind. As the New Mexico winner, Solice received a Chromebook, a matted image of her design and a couple dozen T-shirts, which she shared with her siblings and friends who gathered to celebrate. The four national finalists, one from each grade division, will each receive a $5,000 college scholarship, a trip to Google headquarters in California and other prizes, according to the competition website. Doodles are meant to surprise and delight people when they visit Google.com, according to a Google statement. Past doodles have celebrated some of the most brilliant, talented and passionate people throughout history. Doodle for Google offers students K-12 an opportunity to display their own artwork on Google.com. The proposed $382 million budgeted for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers will be enough to address housing and training issues at the facilities, according to the Office of the Inspector General. An Inspector General audit recommended significant improvements to FLETC facilities. John Kelly, acting inspector general, said FLETC provides all phases of training to 90 agencies federal, local and tribal at three facilities in the U.S., including a campus in Artesia. That 3,620-acre facility may see $2.1 million for training and tactical awareness infrastructure improvements. Kelly testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Oversight, Management and Accountability hearing earlier this month. The proposed budget includes $19 million to repair dormitories at FLETC headquarters in Glynco, Ga., which were destroyed by Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Irma in 2017, and $21 million for the development of tactical venues across the centers. Thomas Walter, director of FLETC, said the centers hold tremendous possibility for the future amid a bid to increase the number of hires to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. Seventy thousand students every year attend training at FLETC, Walter said. Walter said federal budget uncertainties do affect the ability to design training for the coming year, but that quarterly reviews help alleviate the challenge. Federal Law Enforcement Training Center train personnel for over 95 law enforcement agencies, including ICE and CBP law enforcement officers. President Donald Trump recently ordered the hiring of 5,000 Border Patrol agents and 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel. Kelly said that hiring mandate will exacerbate existing funding challenges at the facilities, which train federal law enforcement hires. Among the challenges is providing adequate housing for trainees. On-site housing is not always available, Kelly told members of the subcommittee. Some trainees have been housed up to 74 miles away from training sites. In addition, design and construction of the recommended improvements to training infrastructure and housing may take more than a year to complete. Improved training venues were part of the IGs audit recommendations, specifically at the Artesia facility, where training facilities do not align with training curriculum. USBP faces challenges with training venues as they exist at FLETC in Artesia. According to USBP officials, USBP revised its training curriculum based on current research. USBP also conceptualized improved training venues to align with its revamped curriculum. However, because of lack of funding, CBP has not been able to construct most of the required venues to incorporate curriculum revisions. As a result, USBP Academy instructors said that they conduct training using workarounds that lack performance-based realistic settings, the report says. Rep. Glen Clay Higgins, R-La., said trainers at FLETC should be empowered with the flexibility to make decisions about training and curriculum. He cited the decision to decommission the use of a warehouse in Artesia for training as a result of the audit, because of suspected infrastructure damage resulting from a vehicle crashing into the building in 2009. The training facility was put into use in 2016. We could have done better in deciding to use that warehouse. We didnt realize it had some structural damage, Walters said, adding that he believes his trainers have the flexibility needed to get the job done. Chair of the subcommittee, Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M. questioned whether adjustments to training for USBP and ICE were being made to reflect the shift of migrant detentions from single males to family units and unaccompanied children. Walter said FLETCs partner agencies identify needs scenario training in this case and it responds with facilities and curriculum. Torres Smalls district includes the Artesia facility. MEXICO CITY Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez plans to meet in Washington on Monday with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in an effort to defuse rising trade tensions. Marquez says via Twitter Sunday that she scheduled the meeting with Ross while both attended the Saturday inauguration of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, accompanying the message with a picture of her smiling next to Ross. President Donald Trump has threatened to slap a 5% tariff on all Mexican goods starting June 10 if the country fails to stem the flow of migrants and drugs into the U.S., and gradually raise that tariff to 25% if he remains unsatisfied with the results. Mexican trade and foreign relations officials have meetings scheduled as well for Wednesday in Washington. Earlier this spring, state regulators released an interactive map tracking methane emissions from the oil and natural gas industry. Environment Secretary James Kenney said the tool would help residents understand the effects of oil and gas development on air quality. State officials, unfortunately, did not provide much more context than that, so the announcement left the impression the current situation is dire and getting worse. Nothing could be further from the truth, as a new report from Energy In Depth (EID) and other data makes abundantly clear. Using government research from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Information Administration, EID found methane emissions from onshore U.S. oil and natural gas production declined 24 percent between 2011 and 2017, even though natural gas production rose 19 percent during that time and oil production increased 65 percent. EID isnt the only one to get these results after crunching government numbers. According to a separate report, methane emissions from U.S. natural gas production fell 14 percent between 1990 and 2016. Regionally, the news from EID also was positive. The Permian Basin in New Mexico and Texas produces almost as much natural gas as any other site in the country and is the most oil-rich place in the world. Still, according to EID, between 2011 and 2017, there was a 57 percent reduction in methane emissions per unit of oil and gas produced. Methane emissions intensity was cut in half during that period. It is not only methane emissions that are falling. The EID report notes that overall greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are now at their lowest level since 1992. The reason emissions, including methane, are declining so rapidly is because the industry is working to develop and bring online new technology that improves production. Companies spend billions each year to ensure they can bring energy to our homes and businesses responsibly. The progress also is due to agreements like The Environmental Partnership, an industry-based coalition launched in 2017. The group, which includes top producers in New Mexico like Anadarko Petroleum, Apache Corporation, Chevron and Devon Energy, collaborates to reduce methane emissions and improve environmental impacts resulting from the production of oil and natural gas. In 2018, the partnership launched three Environmental Performance Programs designed to further reduce emissions of methane using technology. Under order of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, state regulators right now are writing new rules concerning methane emissions. The EID report is evidence that effort is unnecessary. Government overreach will only make it more costly to develop natural gas, leaving less money to drive the type of technological innovation that is responsible for emissions declines. Tracking methane emissions is fine as long as residents know the full story but the governor should give private-sector solutions the chance to work before imposing layers of new rules on this industry, which supplies thousands of jobs and about $2 billion in revenue for state spending programs. WASHINGTON If congressional Democrats will temper their enthusiasm for impeachment with lucidity about the nations needs and their political self-interest, they will understand the self-defeating nature of a foredoomed attempt to remove a president for aesthetic reasons. Such reasons are not trivial, but they are insufficient, particularly when almost all congressional Republicans are complicit in, by their silence, Trumps comportment. Impeachment can be retrospective, for offenses committed, or prospective, to prevent probable future injuries to the nation. Greg Weiner is a Madison scholar par excellence and author of a new book on a subject prudence that Democrats should contemplate, Old Whigs: Burke, Lincoln, and the Politics of Prudence. Elsewhere, he writes this about what he calls one of the Constitutions most solemn powers: The purpose of impeachment is not punitive. It is prophylactic. Criminal law looks backward toward offenses committed. The object of impeachment is not to exact vengeance. It is to protect the public against future acts of recklessness or abuse. Attempting to overturn the result of a presidential election is a momentous undertaking. In 1998, when Republicans impeached Bill Clinton for lying about sex with an intern, the public punished them for what it considered a grossly disproportionate response. Today, many Democrats are fixated on Trumps possible obstruction of the investigation into an offense conspiracy with Russia for which the investigation did not find sufficient evidence. Prudent Democrats will not propose removing Trump because, for example, they think he had a corrupt intention when he exercised a core presidential power in firing FBI Director James Comey. What can accurately be called aesthetic considerations are, however, powerfully germane. As Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 65, impeachable offenses should relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. Trumps incessant lying and increasingly contemptible coarseness are as reprehensible as was Richard Nixons surreptitious criminality. And because they are constant, public and hence desensitizing they will inflict more long-term damage to Americas civic life than Nixons misdeeds did. But Democrats should heed Weiner: That an offense is impeachable does not mean it warrants impeachment. Potential impeachers must consider the general political context of the times, including the potential public reaction. Democrats should face two lamentable but undeniable facts: Trump was elected because many millions of Americans enjoy his boorishness. And he essentially promised to govern as a lout. Promise-keeping would be an unusual ground for impeachment. Furthermore, impeachment will not result in Trumps removal. Consider todays supine behavior of most congressional Republicans, which stirs fragrant memories of the vigorous obedience of many members of the U.S. Communist Party to Stalin in the late 1930s. Until Aug. 23, 1939, Stalin wanted, so the CPUSA advocated, U.S. engagement in European resistance to Hitlers expansionism. However, when on that date Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact as a prelude to carving up Poland, the CPUSA instantly pivoted to advocating U.S. noninvolvement in Europes affairs. Then, on June 22, 1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union and the CPUSA lurched back to advocating maximum U.S. engagement in resistance to Hitler. Most congressional Republicans today display a similar versatility of conviction. They were for free trade until Donald Trump informed them that they were not. They were defenders of the U.S. intelligence community until Trump announced in Helsinki that he believed Vladimir Putin rather than this community regarding Russian support for his election. They excoriated wishful thinking regarding North Korea until Trump spent a few hours with Kim Jong Un and, smitten, tweeted, There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Republicans have moved from stressing presidential dignity to cowed silence. Republicans railed against Barack Obamas executive overreaching, but are eloquently mute when Obamas successor promiscuously declares emergencies in order to repurpose funds Congress appropriated for other purposes, and to truncate the process of congressional approval of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and its allies. CPUSA members in the 1930s, blinkered by ideology, had a servile faith in a Soviet regime that they identified with historic, and therefore progressive, inevitabilities. Todays congressional Republicans, blinded by their puppy-like devotion, and leavened by terror of the capricious master to whom they are devoted, would make a Senate impeachment trial a partisan debacle ending in acquittal. Impeachment can be an instrument of civic hygiene. However, most Senate Republicans, scampering around the presidents ankles, are implausible hygienists. Every life is sacred, and every soul is a precious gift from heaven. So said President Donald J. Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast last Feb. 7. Trumps Christian posturing would be laughable if his policies werent so cruel and often deadly. Take, for example, asylum-seekers crossing our southern border. Hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing violence in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico. Increasingly militarized and violent enforcement of border security has driven desperate migrants further from official ports of entry, forcing many to embark on dangerous treks through the scorching deserts of the American Southwest. Scott Warren, a geographer and educator who volunteers with the humanitarian aid groups No More Deaths and Ajo Samaritans, is on trial now in federal court in Tucson. If convicted, he could spend 20 years in prison for giving migrants in need, according to his indictment, food, water, beds and clean clothes. Before heading to his first day in court Wednesday, Warren appeared on the Democracy Now! news hour: Many have died while making the journey. For decades, activists in the region have left food and water in the desert to help lessen the death toll. Increasingly, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents destroy water and food caches that they find in the desert. On the morning of Jan. 17, 2018, No More Deaths released a report and video detailing CBP interference in humanitarian aid delivery. The report stated, In the desert of the Arizona-Mexico borderlands, where thousands of people die of dehydration and heat-related illness, Border Patrol agents are destroying gallons of water intended for border crossers. Border Patrol agents stab, stomp, kick, drain, and confiscate the bottles of water that humanitarian aid volunteers leave along known migrant routes in the Arizona desert. These actions condemn border crossers to suffering, death, and disappearance. The videos of border agents emptying gallons of water went viral. By 5:30 p.m., agents had pulled up to the Barn, a building near Ajo, Arizona, 40 miles from the border where volunteers gather, and where migrants occasionally arrive, seeking aid. Two migrant men were detained there, and Scott Warren was arrested. The report was released that morning, and then agents set up surveillance on the Barn that afternoon and then arrested me that evening, Warren said. Catherine Gaffney is also a volunteer with No More Deaths. More than 7,000 migrant deaths have been recorded in the border region in the past 20 years, but, she says, that is an undercount. Not only is there this repression of the right of people to receive food, water and medical care, she said on Democracy Now!, but to provide food, water and medical care. Its really striking that theyre going after humanitarian aid work in the Ajo area, because so many of the deaths that are being reported are being found by humanitarian aid volunteers not only will people be left to die, but their deaths will go (undiscovered), and the true scope of this crisis will go unrecorded. No one at that February National Prayer Breakfast called out Trump for his decidedly un-Christian treatment of migrants. Pope Francis did have something to say about migrants, however, recently releasing a statement on the Vaticans 105th annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees, to be held on Sept. 29. The pope wrote: The signs of meanness we see around us heighten our fear of the other, the unknown, the marginalized, the foreigner. But the problem is not that we have doubts and fears. The problem is when they condition our way of thinking and acting to the point of making us intolerant, closed and perhaps even without realizing it racist. Migrants and refugees, he adds, are often looked down upon and considered the source of all societys ills. The pope assumes many might be racist without realizing it. Trump is another case entirely. He was an enthusiastic leader of the birther conspiracy that alleged Barack Obama was not born in the United States. When Trump announced his presidential bid in 2015, he said of Mexicans: Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. He says that there were very fine people among the torchbearing Nazis and Ku Klux Klansmen in Charlottesville, Virginia. Aided by his hard-line, anti-immigrant adviser Stephen Miller, Trump tirelessly rails against migrants, Muslims, Mexicans, Haitians and those he says live in huts in s***hole countries. The parable of the good Samaritan figured prominently at the National Prayer Breakfast. Scott Warren is a real-world Samaritan, walking the desert, among the bones and decomposing remains of migrants and extending a helping hand to desperate strangers in need. Rather than prosecuting him, the Trump administration should be honoring him, while ordering border agents to deliver, not destroy, water. What would Jesus do? 2019 Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan. Distributed by King Features Syndicate. It all sounds fine in the pages of a criminal procedure textbook, where preliminary hearings lead to a more effective and efficient system of justice. Cases initiated when police arrest someone are carefully screened by prosecutors. Witnesses are secured, and faced with more solid evidence sooner defense attorneys may be more inclined to recommend a plea early in the process. Court dockets are scaled back, and judges can focus on the most important cases. So in theory, the 2nd Judicial District Courts push away from grand jury indictments in favor of criminal informations followed by preliminary hearings is textbook perfect. Except it ignores the reality of life in crime-ridden Bernalillo County, where violent crime and property theft are rampant. Judges have told District Attorney Raul Torrez they plan to further reduce grand jury time to six days a month a quarter of the time available at one point. Torrez and Mayor Tim Keller have asked the state Supreme Court to intervene. They say we are finally making a dent in crime and less grand jury time means fewer felony charges will be brought. They also say preliminary hearings are harder on victims because they can require multiple appearances and will move cops from the street to court. Bottom line: Grand juries do not require the preparation or level of evidence preliminary hearings do to move a case forward. Minitrials put demands on police, victims The District Court, in turn, asks justices to reject that request. The court says prosecutors can achieve better results through preliminary hearings with better-prepared cases and fewer acquittals, voluntary dismissals and mistrials. They dispute claims that APDs already shorthanded staffing will be further depleted. And if we had federal rules, including allowing reliable hearsay, that might well be true. But the rules of evidence apply in preliminary hearings meaning multiple witnesses are often required and all are subject to cross-examination. So the preliminary hearings can become minitrials. Prosecutors point out that in stolen car cases, for example, both the officer who made the arrest and the victim who didnt give the thief permission to take the vehicle have been required to appear. In drug cases, more than one responding officer has been required. And prosecutors stress the impact on victims. When a hearing is rescheduled which the DA says often happens because a defendant doesnt show up the victim has to reschedule their life to be back in court. And after someone is arrested, there could be as little as six days for a hearing to be held with victim and witnesses to meet court deadlines. Preliminary hearings not ready for prime time Both sides present statistics in their letters to the high court that are questioned/challenged by the other. Sadly, the dispute has a food fight feel at times. Yet there is no argument that the DAs Office gets about 10,000 felony referrals a year from local law enforcement. About 4,000 move forward, with the others not meeting the standard for successful prosecution or defendants are moved into diversion programs. (Unfortunately, Torrez hasnt helped his cause by not personally and regularly attending meetings of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, where these issues are supposed to be hashed out .) There are ways to improve the criminal justice system and reduce the reliance on grand jury indictments. But other changes need to be made for the preliminary hearing track to actually work in real life as advertised. To move on one front but not the other is reckless and dangerous. 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 With only months remaining on a 10-year sentence for drug trafficking, 38-year-old Justin Mack says he wants something big to come out of his time behind bars. To actually affect my fellow man in a good way, after years and years of spreading sickness and poison, he said from inside a Los Lunas prison. To take all of that experience that I saw out there and use it for something good in here. I thought it would just be an amazing opportunity. Mack has been offered that chance through a New Mexico program giving prisoners around the state something rarely found behind bars choices and voices. A collaboration between Project ECHO and the New Mexico Corrections Department, the Peer Education Project recruits those inside state prisons to teach healthy practices to fellow inmates and checks in regularly to offer assistance, further education and support. Those at the heart of the program say what started as an effort to battle a Hepatitis C outbreak in prisons has become a tool that gives inmates confidence, leadership and social skills. This isnt just for the moment; were giving you transferable skills. Re-establishing your dignity, your sense of identity, your purpose in life, said Carissa McGee, a training support analyst with PEP. Its going to look different for everybody. Maybe youre going to become this amazing leader, maybe youre going to be a better father, maybe youre going to learn how to communicate better. Started in 2009 at the Los Lunas prison, the program has since grown to include every New Mexico prison except Otero County Prison Facility. In that time, PEP has recruited 600 peer educators and has educated more than 12,000 prisoners. While it is still unclear how the program impacts recidivism for the general population, PEP has recorded a 12% reduction for those inmates who have served as peer educators. One of those peer educators, Daniel Rowan, left prison in 2016 and now serves as a training specialist with PEP. Before he walked out from behind those bars, Rowan was a peer educator for three years, an experience that gave him more than knowledge. It taught him he had a voice. One of the things, in the out society, we all take for granted is having a voice. In prison, you dont have a voice, period, Rowan said. Thats been taken from you. Its gone. And what this project does is it gives your autonomy back. Youre running this program, we go and train you but then, Its yours, here you go. Take care of it, do well with it. Inmates as teachers The program began as a way to educate prison staff from outside the walls on how to treat Hepatitis C in New Mexico prisons, where 54% of inmates tested positive in 2018, according to the Corrections Department. That morphed into teaching prisoners how to avoid Hepatitis C in the first place. The education piece is really what was missing, Rowan said. It gives people an opportunity to talk about their health. The classes run over two hours and, depending on the facility, happen anywhere from one to four times a month. But instead of having an outsider hold classes, Rowan and other PEP staff enlist inmates to do the teaching. Currently there are 100 peer educators some of them serving a life sentence in prisons around the state. For their time they will be paid 70 cents an hour. McGee said a big part of the program is tapping into the natural leadership of peer educators. We have this opportunity and whether they want it, its up to them, thats kind of what life is about. When an opportunity is given to you, what do you do with it? she said. Do you just squander it or are you going to take full advantage of it? We try and teach them that. Its going to be hard, it might be difficult, but its an opportunity that can really better you. Hope for the future They also hold teleconferences twice a month from Project ECHOs headquarters. During the sessions each peer education group is able to see and hear PEP staff and vice versa as they discuss any problems, give health information and even learn a thing or two. Rowan said they will advise peer educators on any issues they may be facing; unexpected lockdowns, new members, domestic issues among members and planning. They also take time to provide them with ongoing education in harm reduction, health, the spreading of germs and interpersonal relationships. During a recent teleconference Rowan, McGee and Program Manager Saul Hernandez sat at a long table before a microphone and against the far wall a giant flat-screen TV with a camera beneath it. On the television are several smaller screens, like you would see in a multiplayer videogame, linking peer educator groups from prisons around the state. Also being piped in is UNM Professor Kimberly Page to teach them a lesson on human studies and program coordinator Andrea Janota from Indiana University, where they plan to replicate the PEP program for the first time out of state. The peer educators at the prison in Los Lunas gave the case presentation of the day: members that had been released but returned to prison and wanted to rejoin PEP. The different groups along with Rowan and PEP staff went back and forth weighing the pros, cons and potential outcomes of allowing re-incarcerated members to return to the program. I think whether the person is going to be a peer educator again or not the best policy is to have some empathy for that person, offer them support, maybe learn from their situation, Rowan advised. But most importantly, not to judge that person, because its hard. During the teleconference and through some technical difficulties the members are respectful of each other, they are engaged in the discussions and seek guidance from PEP. But they also find time to laugh and joke around when humor bubbles up in the conversation. Many of them want to continue what theyre doing once they are released as ECHO staff, drug counselors and positive influences. Diego Rascon, 33, said he has enjoyed giving fellow inmates choices and hope for the future as a peer educator. Me personally, I look forward to making the world a safer place, one peer at a time, Rascon said. McGee said that sentiment is their whole philosophy at PEP. Youre going to get something about it thats going to change you, evolve you, help you grow in some way. Why you came here, thats irrelevant. But what you get out of it, thats everything, she said. Before they sign off, Rowan tells the Los Lunas group that hell be visiting in a few weeks. Alright, Ill be here, one man chimes in with a smile. THIRTY-SIX DAYS AND 10 FINGERPRINTS LATER: Thats when Sondra Diepen received her drivers license. The odyssey started when Sondra realized her driver authorization card had expired. She emails that when she realized the license had lapsed, she went to a Motor Vehicle Division office and learned that because she was 12 days past the day it expired, I now have to be fingerprinted, cost: $45, before I can go to MVD and renew my license. First appointment available, 10 days hence. Whats this penalty all about, anyway? Its all part of the 2005 federal Real ID Act. Nora Sackett of the Governors Office explains that fingerprint requirements for a DAC have not changed. Anyone who is not eligible for, or simply opts not to apply for, a REAL ID (which allows you to enter certain federal buildings and fly commercial after October 2020) may apply for a DAC or non-REAL-ID-compliant ID. Fingerprints, $44, are required for those who do not have proof of legal presence or a valid N.M. credential, i.e. drivers license or ID card, and this requirement kicked in for this customer when her drivers license expired. However, there are a few other documents that folks in Sondras pickle can produce in place of an unexpired N.M. license to show identity and age and avoid having to be fingerprinted for a driver card. Other documents include a birth certificate issued by a states vital record division along with evidence of any name change that may have occurred, proof of Medicaid or Medicare coverage, an unexpired passport, Affidavit of Birth from a recognized tribal government agency or any other document showing legal presence from DHS such as a Permanent Resident Card, Work VISA, I-94, etc., Sackett says. In other words, if she has one of the above listed documents, she is not required to get fingerprints. Sondra apparently did not as she went through with the fingerprinting, where she was given a piece of paper with my photo and statistics and words saying I had a valid drivers license, and told to come back in a week to get the results of my fingerprints/background check and get my license. Folded the paper and put it in my wallet. Came back a week later. I passed the background check! (Expected since she says she has never been arrested.) Asked for my license. Oh no. You have to wait 10 days for it to come in the mail. Well give you a temporary drivers license. I thought I already had one. No. Sondra got her permanent license in the mail May 25 36 days since I tried to renew. She says I feel this has still been an outrage, having had a N.M. drivers license since 1974 (and) taught for Albuquerque Public Schools for 22 years. And her journey should have everyone checking their license expiration dates sooner rather than later. FREE CAR-SEAT SAFETY CHECK: The New Mexico Department of Transportation and Safer New Mexico Now are once again hosting free checks of your car seat and its installation. Free. Trained technicians will check to see if there have been any recalls on your seat, if it is in good working order, is installed correctly, and and this is important if it is the right size for the child using it. So bring the car, the seat and the kid. If a seat is not installed correctly or the right fit, it will not keep that precious cargo safe in a wreck. And Safer says three out of four car seats are not installed correctly. Heres the schedule; call 505-856-6143 or 800-231-6145 for more information or to make an appointment. Friday, June 7, 9-11:30 a.m. Fire Station No. 3, 141 Girard NE, Albuquerque Friday, June 7, 4-6 p.m. Fire Station No. 1, 2810 Southern Blvd., Rio Rancho Saturday, June 8, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Lovelace Womens Hospital, 4701 Montgomery NE, Albuquerque Friday, June 14, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Fire Station No. 20, 7520 Corona NE, Albuquerque Fire Station No. 3, 1751 Cerrillos Rd., Santa Fe Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m.-noon Alamogordo Police Department, 700 Virginia Ave., Alamogordo Fire Station No. 2, 309 North 7th St., Artesia Thursday, June 20, 9-11 a.m. Fire Station No. 14, 9810 Eucariz SW, Albuquerque Wednesday, June 26, 10 a.m.-noon Sandia National Laboratories, Hardin Field Kirtland Air Force Base Friday, June 28, 8:30-11:30 a.m. Kohls, 4401 Cerrillos Rd., Santa Fe Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m.-noon Pueblo of Jemez Injury Prevention, 4535 HWY 4, Jemez Pueblo Miners Colfax Medical Center, 1235 S. 2nd, Raton, Old K-Mart parking lot Editorial page editor DVal Westphal tackles commuter issues for the Metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; dwestphal@abqjournal.com; or 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, N.M., 87109. She comes here every day to sit with her daughter, buried in this cemetery in a spot where the grass has not yet grown over the scars in the earth. I just think here, Sandra Gutierrez says. Ayleen Vanessa Ordonez just Vanessa to her friends and family was 16 when she was shot and run over Aug. 26 at a large river party in Rio Communities. Investigators still have not said whether the bullet or the bumper came first. No arrests have been made. For six months, Gutierrez spent entire days at the cemetery. Only in the past two months has she torn herself away long enough to deal with her retail business for a few hours each day. Otherwise, she is here. She speaks in halting English, mostly Spanish. But her language of pain and loss is easy to understand. She brings out folding chairs for us to sit on under the shade of a lone tree near the burial plot, marked by an ornate brass headstone embedded on the left side with the image of Vanessa dressed like a princess in her frothy pale pink quinceanera gown. On the right side is an image of Gutierrez with Vanessa. This is where she plans to spend her eternity next to her daughter when the time comes. A massive bouquet of fresh flowers, changed nearly every day, adorns the plot. Cumbia music plays from a small speaker nearby. Its the music Vanessa loved. Its happy music, dancing music, and, oh, how Vanessa loved to dance. She was the best dancer, Gutierrez says, showing me videos on her cellphone of Vanessa dancing in sweats at home, dancing with her dog Jasper, dancing with others at a party. The dark lighting of the party video turns the images into bobbing silhouettes. But its easy to tell which one is Vanessa. Shes the one with all the moves, head back, hands in the air, hips bouncing. She was a really happy girl, Gutierrez says. She was fun, always cheerful, full of life. Vanessa was the baby of the family, with two older brothers. She was in the 10th grade at Atrisco Heritage Academy High School and was two weeks into classes at Central New Mexico Community College toward becoming a teacher and, later, an obstetrician. And she had a laugh that filled the room. What is known about her death is mostly conflicting speculation from friends and others who were at the gathering by the Rio Grande, just off East River Road, to ride motorcycles and trucks in a muddy side channel an activity some call mudding. An estimated 100 to 300 people were at the gathering that August. It was Vanessas first time there. Shortly before 9 p.m. several fights broke out. Shots were fired, trucks sped off as a fight spilled into the parking lot of a nearby convenience store. Valencia County sheriffs deputies found 33-year-old Casey Peralta of Belen with a gunshot wound to the face at the store, where he had driven himself in his truck. They found Vanessa dead near the river with a gunshot wound to her head. She had also been struck by a vehicle, though which came first is unclear. Who fired the shot and who struck Vanessa are also still unknown. We dont believe she was a target, Sheriff Denise Vigil said. Gutierrez says she learned her daughter had been hit by a vehicle from her daughters friends at the scene. No one told her Vanessa had been shot. No one told her Vanessa was dead. Gutierrez raced to University of New Mexico Hospital, believing her daughter was being transported there. But after hours of waiting, she learned her daughters body was at a fire station in Belen. For three days, she says, she was not contacted by the Valencia County detective handling her daughters case. Since then, she has heard little. He doesnt return my calls, she says. Or he says he cant talk or that theyre understaffed or we just have to wait. It feels, she says, like her daughter doesnt matter to them. She feels, she says, desperate. Vigil, who took over as sheriff five months ago, said Vanessa does matter. I know how frustrating and painful this is to wait so long without any answers, she said. Vigil said State Police are assisting in the investigation and the detective is waiting on completion of a scene reconstruction. Forensics from the state crime lab have also not been completed. Dozens of witnesses have provided conflicting information or have refused to cooperate. And a new prosecutor from the 13th Judicial District has just come on board and needs to be briefed. Vigil promises me she will ask the detective to work with the new prosecutor to determine what further information can be shared with Gutierrez. She said she will personally speak with Gutierrez to assure her that Vanessa is not forgotten. That brings a little comfort to Gutierrez. She plays a video of Vanessa laughing and looks out at the flowers on her grave and cries. Comfort, for now, is a fleeting thing. UpFront is a front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Joline at 823-3603, jkrueger@abqjournal.com or follow her on Twitter @jolinegkg. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey continues to be hope for all mankind. According to the Turkish leader, Turkey has become a superpower in the region. "Turkey continues to be hope for all its friends and mankind although it is exposed to terror attacks, blockades and traps while standing tall with its democracy and economy," the Hurriyet daily cited him as saying Referring that the world went through a substantial change, Erdogan said Turkey is ready to resist this critical period with all of its strength. The Turkish president added that Turkey stands in an advantageous position with its investments, projects and public services which have been implemented in the last 17 years. Copyright 2019 Albuquerque Journal Finding a new standardized test, rolling out school profile dashboards to replace the A-F grading system and auditing special education services statewide. These were among priorities the state Public Education Department highlighted this week to the Legislative Education Study Committee a panel of lawmakers that focuses on education issues. Early this year, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham eliminated the states former assessment, PARCC, through an executive order. While a transition test was put in its place, that left the state in need of a permanent replacement. PED said at the LESC meeting that it will cast its net soon to find that replacement. Gwen Perea Warniment, the deputy secretary of teaching, learning and assessment, said a request for proposals will be issued next week. This RFP is pretty major. It includes an ask for a comprehensive assessment system for the state, she said. This includes grades 3-8 major assessment as well as the high school assessment. Those are the two pieces that are required by federal law. Perea Warniment said PED wants a college entrance exam such as the ACT to be the high school assessment. She told the Journal this has the added bonus of the state paying for entrance exams, which students can use when applying for college admission. The RFP is multifaceted, seeking resources for teachers and students on how to use the test and the purpose of the assessment. It also seeks a Spanish language arts assessment and formative tests to be administered across the school year. The department has conducted community input sessions and convened a task force to help in the assessment process. Perea Warniment said the task force and the department will work together reviewing assessment proposals and developing the test, which would then have to be peer reviewed on a federal level. She said the roll-out of the test is projected for next spring. Dashboards Another PED priority is tackling school dashboards, which are individual school profiles that will be available online. These portfolios, which are included in a Senate bill from the most recent legislative session, replace the A-F school grading system used by the former administration. Tim Hand, the deputy PED secretary of policy, strategy and accountability, told the Journal the aim is to launch school dashboards by Nov. 15, presuming the U.S. Department of Education approves New Mexicos accountability changes in its education plan. Those changes were submitted earlier this year. He explained the shift from school grades to dashboards is in limbo until that approval, which he expects soon. Hand said the current system for grading schools must continue to be used until a change is approved, but theres a strong possibility that dashboards could replace the school rating system for the 2018-2019 school year. He expects dashboards to be fully implemented for the 2019-20 school year. Hand told the LESC that he wants dashboards to include information about per pupil spending, teacher qualifications and tenure and the number of counselors at a school in addition to academic achievement and graduation rates. Special education Deputy Secretary of Academic Engagement and Student Success Katarina Sandoval told the committee that special education is a major priority for her team and the department is working on getting a clearer picture of what is offered in the state. Thats why a statewide special education audit is planned for the upcoming school year, she said. Next school year we will work with our New Mexico schools to really do a deep dive in terms of how well are we serving students with disabilities, she said. How are parents feeling about the services their children are being provided? She said the analysis will identify challenges and highlight what is going well in the special education system. Sandoval told the Journal that more details will likely come in the fall. She didnt have a cost projection or specifics on what indicators the audit will cover. The deputy secretary also didnt identify a particular cause for the review, simply saying its aligned with our mission of serving the most vulnerable students. Secretary of Education Karen Trujillo said the ultimate goal of the audit is to get more information before making any decisions surrounding special education. Were finding that there are issues across the state but we kind of have to step back and not be reactionary. Kind of go out and kind of get a picture of where the needs are and whats taking place, she said. Sandoval did say the audit will be statewide and include both rural and urban and small and large school districts. She told the LESC that the projected timeline is to compile the data by summer of 2020 and to host a special education summit at that time. WASHINGTON Mexico launched a counteroffensive Monday against the threat of U.S. tariffs, warning not only that it would hurt the economies of both countries but also could cause a quarter-million more Central Americans to migrate north. A high-level delegation from the Mexican government held a news conference at the embassy in Washington, making the case against President Donald Trumps threat of imposing a 5% tariff on Mexican imports by June 10. It is unclear what more Mexico can do and what will be enough to satisfy the president. As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border. They can do it if they want! Trump tweeted Monday from London. Trumps Republican allies warn that tariffs on Mexican imports will hit U.S. consumers, harm the economy and jeopardize the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade pact that the White House wants Congress to approve. This calls into question our ability to pass the USMCA, much less get it passed by Canada and Mexico, said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. The GOP senator said he couldnt imagine the hit to the economy if the tariffs rise to 25%, as Trump has threatened. I dont even want to think about it, he told reporters Monday. We need to put our heads together and try to come up with a solution. Trump all but taunted negotiators for a quick resolution. Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border, he tweeted Sunday. Problem is, theyve been talking for 25 years. We want action, not talk. But Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard replied Monday that both countries working together is the best way to do it. Mexico said it will only go so far to avert the duties, and absolutely ruled out a third safe country agreement that would require asylum seekers to apply for refuge in Mexico first. There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity, said Mexicos Ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena. Barcena said Mexico has taken steps to offer migrants visas in Mexico, and without Mexicos efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019. Barcena said Mexico has accepted 8,835 returned migrants as of May 29, and they are now waiting in the country for an asylum hearing in the U.S. courts. The tariff threat comes just as the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA, which would update the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Monday with Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez. Afterward, Ross said the two had discussed the tariffs and the next steps for the trade pact. I reiterated the presidents message that Mexico needs to do more to help the U.S. address immigration across our shared border, Ross said in a statement. Delegations led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will also meet in Washington. Marquez told reporters her team is assessing potential reprisals in case the diplomatic efforts do not bear fruit this week. We will have to make a strategic plan to take into consideration many elements, she said. Agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico was worth about $130 million a day last year, according to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Victor Villalobos. A 5% U.S. tariff would decrease that trade by $3.8 million a day, he said. Trump has been here before, issuing high-stakes threats, only to back off come crunch time. Trump claims Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades but that the abuse will end when he slaps tariffs on Mexican imports. His frustration with the flow of migrants is nothing new, but its a subject he often returns to, as he did last week after special counsel Robert Muellers rare public statement on the Trump-Russia report. The president said last week that he will impose the tariffs to pressure the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to block Central American migrants from crossing the border into the U.S. Trump said the import tax will increase by 5% every month through October, topping out at 25%. It swiftly refocused attention on the border issues. Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said on Fox News Sunday that the president is deadly serious. Still, Mulvaney acknowledged there are no concrete benchmarks being set to assess whether the U.S. ally is stemming the migrant flow enough to satisfy the administration. We intentionally left the declaration sort of ad hoc, he said. So, theres no specific target, theres no specific percentage, but things have to get better, Mulvaney said. They have to get dramatically better and they have to get better quickly. GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, called the tariffs a mistake and said it was unlikely Trump would impose them. Republicans on Capitol Hill and GOP allies in the business community have expressed serious unease with the tariffs. Some see this latest threat as a play for leverage and doubt Trump will follow through. Earlier this year, Trump threated to seal the border with Mexico only to change course. Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that the situation at the border was unsustainable. But he said he was hopeful this can be resolved without Trump using his authority to impose tariffs. Republicans have repeatedly tried to nudge Trump away from trade wars and have specifically questioned the White Houses ability to rely on executive authorities to impose some of them as national security issues. At the same time, Trumps efforts to revamp immigration laws have drawn little support in the Congress. I think what the president said, what the White House has made clear, is we need a vast reduction in the numbers crossing, Kevin McAleenan, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said on CNNs State of the Union. Mulvaney, who also appeared on NBCs Meet the Press, said Mexico could take various steps to decrease the record numbers of migrants at the border. He suggested the Mexican government could seal its southern border with Guatemala, crack down on domestic terrorist organizations and make Mexico a safe place for migrants seeking to apply for asylum. Economists and business groups are sounding alarms over the tariffs, warning that they will impair trade and increase the costs of many Mexican goods that Americans have come to rely on. But Mulvaney played down those fears, saying he doubts business will pass on the costs to shoppers. American consumers will not pay for the burden of these tariffs, he said. ___ AP correspondent Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report. PHOENIX Arizonas next state budget will help pay for building additional lanes along 23 miles (37 kilometers) of Interstate 17 north of the Phoenix area in two stretches where traffic can be clogged, particularly on summer and holiday weekends and after wrecks. The project will add so-called two flex lanes that could be used for travel in either direction on 16 miles (26 kilometers) between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point Rest Area and a third traffic lane in each direction on 7 miles (11 kilometers) between Anthem and Black Canyon City. Budget legislation signed Friday by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey for the fiscal year starting July 1 provides $130 million over three years for the I-17 project. The federal government and the Maricopa Association of Governments also will contribute funding toward the projects estimated total cost of $323 million. The planned flex lanes on I-17 would operate as a two-lane roadway carrying one direction of traffic at a time depending on the greatest need along a steep portion between Black Canyon City and Sunset Point, the Arizona Department of Transportation said in a statement. With gates at each end and separated by concrete barrier from the current southbound lanes, the flex lanes will be able to carrying heavier northbound traffic on a Friday or southbound traffic on a Sunday, the statement said. They can also keep traffic moving if there is a closure in that stretch. Other highway projects funded by the budget include a study and design work on widening more of Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande by adding a lane in each direction and improving interchanges. WITH AMERICAN FORCES IN FRANCE This story was first published on June 8, 1944, after AP journalist Don Whitehead, who became known by his colleagues as Beachhead Don, landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day with the 1st Infantry Division. His story was delayed by more than a day as the Armys communication system for the war correspondents broke down, and journalists werent able to get the news out for more than 28 hours. The AP is republishing Whiteheads original report to mark the 75th anniversary of the assault that began the liberation of France and Europe from German occupation, leading to the end World War II. ___ Fighting as American troops did in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy, doughboys have smashed through the outer crust of Hitlers fortress in a gallant display of courage and skill. Never before has an army attempted to land such vast numbers of men and materials in such a short time, but the job is being done after a shaky start. When we landed behind the assault troops the enemy still was pouring a heavy machine-gun mortar and artillery fire into the boats as they drove ashore and had our troops pinned behind a gravel bank just above the waters edge. Supplies Pile Up Troops, supplies and vehicles began to pile up on the beach at an alarming rate. The enemy controlled the exits with accurate fire and the time schedule was being disrupted. One unforeseen difficulty here was that three fresh regiments of German infantry moved onto the beach area just before the landing for anti-invasion maneuvers. They were sitting in their positions when the armada arrived offshore. But under the urging of a soft-spoken brigadier general the organized enemy positions were silenced and the great surge inland began. In the matter of a few hours the engineers had roads built from the beach and heavy equipment was pouring across. Along the beaches were underwater barriers, barbed wire, emplacements, concrete houses with 88-mm. guns covering the beach approaches. The walls of houses were of reinforced concrete four to six feet thick, Two hundred yards from the beach on the side of a steep bank the Germans had built one strong-point and had another under construction. This blockhouse was about 15 feet square with one opening through which was poked the snout of an 88-mm. gun. Behind the thick walls were cases of ammunition, Behind the blockhouse the gun crew had tunneled into the side of the hill and installed living quarters. Two young Germans were supposed to man the weapon but they were in quarters when the naval bombardment began and a shell ripped squarely through the gun port. They ran out of their tunnel and hid under a bridge where Lieut. Carl W. Oelze, Cleveland, found them and took them prisoner. One was 17 years old and the other 18 and both said they were glad the invasion had come and that they were prisoners as they did not want to fight anyway. On the other side of the draw was a similar position and further inland above the exit from the beach was another concrete blockhouse with its 88-gun pointing down the approach. The prisoners coming back to the rear looked rather small and scrawny. They looked with wonder at the bigger and stronger American boys and their fine equipment. During the night German snipers infiltrated our lines and made life uncomfortable. The troops were wet from wading through the surf and the bedding of most troops was lost in vehicles swamped on the beach. General is Calm Big guns of our warships are standing offshore and belching flame and smoke. Small craft are shuttling troops and guns to the strip of beach. Big bulldozers are gouging out a road. Along the beach are still the khaki-clad bodies of boys who gave their lives in the United Nations bid to crush Germans armed might. But there were not so many as I had expected to see, and I patrolled this strip from end to end. Canadians reported that German parachute troops were being dropped on a small scale behind Allied lines. American parachutists took one village. In my books much credit goes to the tall lean brigadier general who showed absolute disregard for his own safety in organizing his troops and getting them moving inland. I cannot name him. But I can name the cool calm lieutenant who stayed by his side during the whole time. He was Robert J. Riekse of Battle Creek, Mich. Eight hours after landing, not a single enemy plane made an appearance over our beach. Wounded Man Topples Over We had waded ashore to the rattle of machine guns and the bursting of shells. A soldier riding on the rear of a duck at the water edge behind me suddenly gave a startled cry and toppled into the water. A medic dragged him to the beach and treated a wound in his thigh. Wounded men, drenched by cold water, lay in gravel, some with water washing over their legs, shivering and waiting for stretcher bearers to take them aboard returning small craft. Oh, God, let me aboard a boat, whimpered one youth in semi-delirium. Near him a shivering youth dug with bare fingers into gravel. Shells Burst all Around Shells burst on all sides of us, some so close they threw black water and dirt over us in showers. They smacked into water around the boats, but in all the shelling I saw only one boat hit and she pulled out under her own power. An A. E. F. sergeant, William McFadden, Olean, N.Y., said, I was damned glad to get onto the beach, and Ill be glad to get off. A runner came from an advance unit bearing a message for the general. He was John P. Foley, Trenton, N.J. Although nicked by a bullet over one eye, Foley came through enemy fire to carry an important message which resulted in the general sending reinforcements to a certain sector. Youve done a fine job, lieutenant, said the general, and shown great initiative and good judgment. Then the general began working to get troops off the beach. It was jammed with men and vehicles. He sent a group to the right flank to help clean out the enemy firing directly on the beach. Quietly he talked to the men, suggesting the next move. The Armys communication system for correspondents accompanying American troops broke down completely and for more than 28 hours we were unable to get news out. The public relations officer brought a radio ashore early among the assault waves, but it was put aboard a jeep which he was unable to find until the next day. There was supposed to be a system of couriers to take correspondents dispatches from the beach to ships, but there were no couriers. My first article was handed to a litter bearer who said he would try to get it to a control ship which has a courier service. We were even more bitterly disappointed when we turned on the radio and heard a B.B.C. report from British correspondents accompanying British troops. Their communications apparently functioned well. ___ Follow all the APs coverage of D-Day at https://apnews.com/WorldWarII COPENHAGEN, Denmark WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to Sweden for a revived rape investigation, but should still be questioned in the case while he is imprisoned in Britain, a Swedish court ruled Monday. The ruling by the Uppsala District Court doesnt mean the preliminary investigation must be abandoned, only that Assange wont be returned to Sweden any time soon. Eva-Marie Persson, Swedens deputy director of public prosecutions, said she has not decided whether to appeal. I will also issue a European Investigation Order in order to interview Julian Assange, Persson said, adding that she hasnt picked a possible date for the questioning in England. Assanges lawyer in Sweden, Per E. Samuelsson, said his client would be happy, we are happy to learn he wont be extradited to Sweden. The 47-year-old Assange was evicted on April 11 from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been holed up with political asylum since 2012. He was immediately arrested by British police and is currently serving a 50-week sentence for jumping bail in 2012. He is also fighting extradition to the United States, which accuses him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing secret documents hacked from the Pentagon containing the names of confidential military and diplomatic sources. Last week, Assange missed a court session in Britain, reportedly due to health problems. The allegations two Sweden women made against Assange stem from a trip to Stockholm he made in August 2010. One of the women was involved in organizing a political event and offered to host Assange at her apartment. The other woman was in the audience. A police officer who heard the womens accounts decided there was reason to suspect they were sex crime victims and handed the case to a prosecutor for further investigation. Assange has denied wrongdoing, asserting that the allegations were politically motivated and that the sex was consensual. The part of the probe dealing with sexual misconduct was dropped in 2017 when the statute of limitations for charging Assange with that crime expired. The rape allegation still could be prosecuted; the statute of limitations expires in August 2020. Swedish authorities shelved the case while Assange was living at the Ecuadorian Embassy since there was no prospect of bringing him to Sweden for questioning. Assange is wanted in Sweden on suspicion of intentionally having carried out an intercourse with an unnamed woman by unduly exploiting that she was in a helpless state because of sleep, according to court documents. Assange would face a maximum of four years in prison in Sweden if he is convicted of rape. ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN A U.S. aircraft carrier ordered by the White House to rapidly deploy to the Mideast over a perceived threat from Iran remains outside of the Persian Gulf, so far avoiding any confrontation with Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces, amid efforts to de-escalate tensions between Tehran and Washington. Officers aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln repeatedly told The Associated Press on Monday they could rapidly respond to any regional threat from their position, at the time some 320 kilometers (200 miles) off the eastern coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea. However, after decades of American aircraft carriers sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a third of all oil traded at sea passes, the U.S. Navys decision to keep the Lincoln away is striking. You dont want to inadvertently escalate something, Capt. Putnam Browne, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, told the AP. The White House in May deployed the Lincoln and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf. The U.S. also plans to send 900 additional troops to the Mideast and extend the stay of another 600 as tens of thousands of others also are on the ground across the region. The crisis takes root in President Donald Trumps withdrawal last year of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers that capped Irans uranium enrichment activities in return for lifting sanctions. Washington subsequently re-imposed sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall. Trump has argued that the deal failed to sufficiently curb Irans ability to develop nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, or halt its support for militias in the Mideast. But amid the escalation, the U.S. alleges without offering evidence that four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates were attacked with limpet mines. Meanwhile, Yemens Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have launched coordinated drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. The U.S. itself has made a point to show its arsenal in the region. On Sunday, the U.S. Air Force announced a B-52 conducted a training exercise with the Lincoln that included simulated strike operations. That came as Monday marked the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Irans Islamic Republic. Thousands in Iran commemorate Khomeinis death by visiting his golden shrine south of Tehran. This year, Iranian military officials reportedly plan to guard it with HAWK surface-to-air missiles, the same kind the U.S. delivered to the Islamic Republic in the Iran-Contra scandal. However, in recent days, the Trump administration has stressed it is ready to speak to the Iranians without preconditions. Iran in turn has demanded the U.S. show it respect. Though officials repeatedly declined to discuss it, keeping the Lincoln out of the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf helps to de-escalate the situation. Transits through the strait, which at its narrowest point is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide, often see the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard naval forces shadow American warships. Theyve also run snap missile launches, fired machine guns and flown drones over American carriers. To Iran, which shares the strait with Oman, they view the American naval presence akin to Iranian forces sailing into the Gulf of Mexico. But the U.S. Navy stresses the strait is an international waterway crucial to global shipping and energy supplies. Asked about why the Lincoln hadnt gone through the strait, Rear Adm. John F.G. Wade, the commander of the carriers strike group, said that his forces could conduct my mission wherever and whenever needed. He declined to discuss any specifics about that mission, though he said Iran had presented credible threats to the region. They do impose a threat to our operations, but also to the safety and security of commerce and trade going through the Strait of Hormuz and thats why we are here, Wade said. The Lincoln hosted journalists from the AP and other media outlets on Monday. They spent some four hours aboard the vessel after a two-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates and were greeted by camera-carrying sailors who documented every part of their four hours onboard. The Lincoln famously served as the backdrop of then-President George W. Bushs May 2003 speech declaring combat operations over in Iraq, a banner reading MISSION ACCOMPLISHED hanging behind him. The majority of the wars casualties came after. On Monday, F/A-18s flew maneuvers over the carrier. Accompanying the Lincoln to the Mideast are three destroyers the USS Bainbridge, the USS Mason and the USS Nitze as well as the guided-missile cruiser the USS Leyte Gulf. Capt. William Reed, the commander of the carriers air wing, laughed off any notion the situation was stressful. Its just another day at the office, he said from the carriers hangar as airmen worked on the ships F/A-18 fighter jets. Capt. Chris Follin, the commodore of the destroyer strike group traveling with the Lincoln, didnt express any concern, either. I wouldnt want to go against that, he said, nodding toward the ships sailors and warplanes. Our mission is just to keep the peace. ___ Associated Press writer Fay Abuelgasim contributed to this report. ___ Folow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP . TUCSON, Ariz. Amateur stargazers and astronomers in Tucson say they are feeling less than starry-eyed with the recent launch of dozens of satellites by SpaceX founder Elon Musk. The Tucson-based International Dark-Sky Association fears the increasing number of satellites will impact the landscape of night skies for people and animals, the Arizona Daily Star reported Monday. California-based SpaceX sent 60 little satellites into orbit on May 23 to facilitate global internet coverage. The flat-panel satellites each weigh 500 pounds (227 kilograms) and have a solar panel and a thruster. The company is planning to launch thousands more. The visibility of the Starlink satellites will dramatically decrease as they orbit to greater distance, SpaceX spokeswoman Eva Behrend told the newspaper. At this point, all 60 satellites have deployed their solar arrays successfully, generated positive power and communicated with our ground stations, Behrend said. The International Dark-Sky Association is worried because other companies besides SpaceX will be launching satellites, said Amanda Gormly, the associations director of communications. The Federal Communications Commission has approved more than 7,000 satellites from SpaceX, according the association. What we are really concerned about is the rapid increase of these satellites, which could fundamentally change the way we experience the night sky, Gormly said. The satellites could also disrupt nocturnal animals, including migratory birds, that use the night sky to navigate, Gormly said. What we dont understand is exactly how deeply this will impact those animals, Gormly said. Some scientists say the satellites could become a nuisance and get in the way of their work. Some observations use multiple exposures of the sky and the effects of the satellites in the data can be minimized, said Adam Block, an astronomy researcher with the Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona. However, if you were to take long exposures with your camera, they are going to show up. ___ Information from: Arizona Daily Star, http://www.tucson.com KHARTOUM, Sudan Sudans ruling military moved to crush the protest movement opposing its grip on power as security forces overran the main sit-in site in the capital Monday, unleashing furious volleys of gunfire, burning down tents and killing at least 35 people, witnesses and protest leaders said. With the assault, the generals signaled an end of their tolerance of the pro-democracy demonstrators, who for months have been camped outside the militarys headquarters as the two sides negotiated over who would run the country after the April ouster of longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir. The head of the military council said early Tuesday that protest leaders shared blame for the violence, accusing them of dragging out negotiations and seeking to keep other sectors of Sudanese society out of an interim government. Gen. Abedel-Fattah Burhan also said that the council was cancelling all its agreement with protest groups and would call elections within seven months. After their protests succeeded in forcing the military to remove al-Bashir, pro-democracy demonstrators had stayed in the streets, demanding the generals move to the background and allow civilians to lead the transition. The dispersal of the sit-in now risks escalating violence even further. Scattered by the bloody assault, protesters vowed to keep up their campaign, suspending talks and calling for a general strike and civil disobedience. They urged nighttime marches across the country. This is a critical point in our revolution. The military council has chosen escalation and confrontation, said Mohammed Yousef al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Association, which has spearheaded the protests. Those are criminals who should have been treated like al-Bashir, he said. Now the situation is either them or us, there is no other way. Burhans statement said military leaders would investigate Mondays violence. He didnt mention security forces, but said protests leaders bore blame for the volatile situation, because they have been extending the negotiations and seeking to exclude other political and security forces from participating in any transitional government. The council and protest leaders had made progress during talks in May over an interim Cabinet and legislative body, but they split over the make-up and leadership of a sovereign council that was being discussed to govern Sudan during a three-year transition. Burhan said the military council would now move to form an interim government to prepare for elections, which he said would be internationally supervised. He said the council was cancelling all its agreements with protest leaders. Earlier, the military council said in a statement that Mondays violence erupted when security forces tried to clear an area adjacent to the protest camp. It said people being chased by the troops fled into the sit-in site, leading to the shooting deaths and injuries. Activists said the assault appeared to be a coordinated move, with other forces attacking similar sit-ins in Khartoums sister city of Omdurman and the eastern city of al-Qadarif. The attack came on the day before the Eid holiday that ends Ramadan, the holy month when Muslims fast during daylight hours. Large numbers of troops from the military, police and Rapid Support Forces an elite unit that during the anti-al-Bashir protests had vowed to protect the sit-in moved in on the gathering after overnight rains, activists said. They are surrounding the sit-in from all directions, one activist, Amal al-Zein, said early in the assault, in which the forces burned tents and arrested those trying to flee. An Associated Press journalist heard gunshots and explosions, and saw buses and soldiers on foot blocking roads leading to the protest site. In online videos, protesters were seen running and ducking as barrages of gunfire echoed. Smoke rose from tires set ablaze by the protesters. Demonstrators stood behind low barricades of bricks and dug-up pavement, and some threw stones before being driven back by walls of blue-clad security forces carrying sticks. One video showed police swarming around a protester sprawled on the ground, beating him with sticks. In another video, residents opened their doors to shelter those who ran. The Sudan Doctors Committee said the death toll had risen to at least 35 by early Tuesday with the killing of five people in the citys Bahri district. The group said it was difficult to count deaths in areas outside the military complex in Khartoum. Hundreds of people were wounded, many by gunfire, the group said. Medical personnel and wounded were trapped in clinics as troops overran the area. Wounded people are lying on the ground in the reception area as there are not enough beds, said Dr. Azza al-Kamel of the Royal Care hospital. Hundreds were arrested, said al-Zein and another activist, Hisham Shalabi. Photos posted online showed dozens of men and women lined up on the pavement, sitting or lying face down, under guard by troops. The assault ended the sit-in at the heart of the movement that echoed the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings although Sudans sought to learn from the mistakes of other protesters. Protest leaders insisted the removal of al-Bashir after 30 years in power was not enough. Tens of thousands remained in place in Khartoum and other camps around the country, demanding a fast transition to civilian rule. The negotiations had imposed a degree of peace. But tensions mounted in recent weeks as the talks yielded little progress. Protesters demanded the military have only limited involvement in a transitional government, but the generals have resisted relinquishing power. Just over a week ago, Burhan met with his two top allies, the president of Egypt and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. Those leaders backed al-Bashirs removal and have given strong support to the military council. They also deeply oppose movements such as those that swept the region in 2011. After Mondays violence, the Sudanese Professionals Association called for closing main roads to paralyze public life across the country. The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, which has represented protesters in the negotiations, called for toppling the military council and more street protests. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the crackdown and called for authorities to allow an independent investigation, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. There was use of excessive force by the security force on civilians, Dujarric said. The U.N. human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, expressed alarm at reports that live ammunition was used, including next to, and even inside, medical facilities. The embassies of the United States and Britain also expressed concern. Amnesty International urged the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on members of Sudans ruling military council. The military has completely destroyed the trust of the Sudanese people and crushed the peoples hope for a new era of respect for human rights and respect for the right to protest without fear, said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty Internationals deputy regional director for East Africa. ___ Associated Press writer Bassam Hatoum reported this story in Khartoum and AP writer Samy Magdy reported from Cairo. VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. It was an hour before quitting time, as workers were preparing to head home for the weekend, when a gunman stormed into the citys public works building late Friday afternoon and began firing. By the time it was over, 12 people were dead and four were seriously wounded. The first officers on the scene engaged in a gun battle with the shooter and killed him. One officer was struck but was saved by his bulletproof vest. Police and other emergency personnel found victims on all three floors of the building. They worked through the night to identify them and notify family members. LaQuita C. Brown, Chesapeake, public works right-of-way agent, four years. From West Africa to North Carolina, LaQuita Brown was loved around the world. Playful exchanges on Facebook reveal glimpses of a woman who was adventurous, fun-loving and curious. You look gorgeous. Ms. Worldwide, Alison Parson wrote in response to a set of black-and-white photographs posted Feb. 2 of Brown gazing at the camera in a long, flowing skirt. Tara Welch Gallagher, Virginia Beach, public works, six years Tara Gallagher was a 1997 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, according to a Facebook post. She attended ODU, earning a degree in civil engineering, then a masters in engineering in 2003. Social media and records searches indicate she worked at the Virginia Beach Convention Center and Clark Nexsen architectural and engineering firm before joining the citys public works department six years ago. Mary Louise Gayle, Virginia Beach, public works, 24 years Mary Louise Gayle was a great neighbor, and an active member of her church. She often was seen walking her small dog in the neighborhood, and she took great pride in her home. Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Virginia Beach, public works, nine years Alex Gusev emigrated from Belarus in 2003 seeking a better life in America, and over the last 16 years, hed gotten it. He came to the states as a student in his late teens or early 20s and attended Tidewater Community College, said longtime friend Igor Musin. He eventually got a bachelors degree in civil engineering from Old Dominion University. He started out doing menial labor at a lumber company before becoming a right-of-way agent with the City of Virginia Beach, where he worked for nine years. Katherine A. Nixon, Virginia Beach, public utilities, 10 years Katherine A. Nixon worked for 10 years as an engineer with the Department of Public Utilities in Virginia Beach, but is remembered as much more than that. She was an amazing woman who cared about everyone, said Shelby ORegan Acevedo of Virginia Beach. She was smart as a whip. She helped any way she could. She loved her husband unconditionally, and always stood up for what was right. She was a ray of sunlight that led so many in the right direction. She was selfless, smart and, most of all, a loving mother. Richard H. Nettleton, Norfolk, public utilities, 28 years Rich Nettleton had recently come back to work full time in the Virginia Beach public utilities department. Nettleton had to make sure the underground utilities mainly water and sewer were designed, installed and maintained properly, and he had to keep up with the ever-changing technology. He chaired the HRDPC Regional Construction Standards committee, tasked with making it easier for contractors to do business across Hampton Roads localities by standardizing specifications and construction requirements. Christopher Kelly Rapp, Powhatan, public works engineer, 11 months Friends described Christopher Rapp as a quiet Fred Rogers, always with a smile and positive perspective. And he enjoyed playing bagpipes. Rapp joined Tidewater Pipes & Drums, and quickly made an impact. He was dedicated and affable, much like the popular star of the the long-running childrens television show Mister Rogers Neighborhood. His enthusiasm and encouragement you couldnt ask for more, said Christopher Pearcy, pipe major for Tidewater Pipes & Drums. Ryan Keith Cox, Virginia Beach, public utilities account clerk, 12 years Keith Cox was soft spoken, but when he sang, his voice was powerful. He was known for it in his choir, and for the simple gestures of kindness that left an impact on those he knew. Joshua O. Hardy, Virginia Beach, public utilities engineering technician, four years Joshua Hardy worked for the city as an engineering technician, but he wasnt just a man who knew about water and sewer mains. He also was a self-made writer. In 2011 he published a childrens book, The ABC Book on Protecting Yourself from Strangers. In its introduction, the book bears a warning: It is unfortunate that there is no exact way of identifying a stranger; they come in all races, shapes, sizes, ages, and can be a man or a woman. A stranger can even be someone you know very well and see almost every day. Michelle Missy Langer, 60, Virginia Beach, public utilities administrative assistant, 12 years Missy Langer had recently turned 60. She was single and lived by herself in Virginia Beach. She had resided there for 20-plus years, having moved to the area from Ohio, where she grew up and graduated high school, said her sister-in-law, Kim Langer. Missy Langer and her family vacationed in Virginia Beach when she was a child, and her affection for the area led her to relocate there. She loved it down there, said her brother, Fred Langer. She just loved the scenery. Robert Bobby Williams, Chesapeake, public utilities special projects coordinator, 41 years Bobby Williams dedicated 41 years of his life to working for the city of Virginia Beach. In that time, the city presented him with a service award eight times. The last time was December: Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer, City Manager Dave Hansen and other top officials gave remarks. Herbert Bert Snelling, Virginia Beach, contractor Whether for the neighbors on his block or the church he loved, Bert Snelling was always there to help. Friends and neighbors remembered him Saturday as a kind and generous man, and exactly the kind of guy you hope moves in next door. For decades, Canadas indigenous people have warned that a disproportionately large number of their women and girls were vanishing or being killed, that police investigations of these crimes were careless, and that their pleas for help were being ignored. On Monday, the government-appointed commission that has been investigating the claims announced its explosive conclusion: Canadas indigenous women and girls are under siege, and their deaths and disappearances amount to a race-based genocide. The Canadian National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls released its final report at a morning ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and family members of victims. Genocide is the sum of the social practices, assumptions and actions detailed within this report, the commission concluded. It laid out in detail over more than 1,200 pages how a mix of appalling apathy and colonialist structures has fueled a national tragedy centuries in the making. This is not what Canada is supposed to be about, the commission wrote. It is not what it purports to stand for. The commission itself has drawn criticism for staff turnover and an alleged lack of transparency. Critics say the process wont bring justice because the panel wasnt granted the authority to compel police to reopen cold cases. Trudeau, who promised a total renewal of Canadas relationship with its 1.6 million indigenous people, launched the $92 million inquiry shortly after assuming office in 2015. This is an uncomfortable day for Canada, but it is an essential day, he said Monday. He promised to review the report and to implement a plan. The report will not be placed on a shelf to collect dust, he promised, to applause. The commission, headed by Marion Buller, British Columbias first female indigenous judge, crisscrossed the country for more than two years to take testimony from roughly 2,400 witnesses, including survivors and family members of victims. They described the bodies of sisters, mothers and daughters being dredged out of rivers or found along a desolate stretch of highway in British Columbia where so many indigenous women and girls have disappeared or been killed that its called the Highway of Tears. Witnesses told the commission that police were slow to launch missing-persons investigations and quick to label unexplained deaths as drownings, suicides or drug overdoses, even when evidence suggested foul play. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police reported 1,181 cases of murdered or missing indigenous women and girls from 1980 to 2012. Indigenous women are six times as likely to be victims of homicide than non-indigenous women, the government agency Statistics Canada reported in 2017. But those figures could be a gross undercount, according to the commission, which concluded that no one knows the exact number because thousands of deaths and disappearances have likely gone unrecorded. The commission concluded that colonial violence, racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia against indigenous women and girls have become so woven into the fabric of their lives that many have become accustomed to it. Contributing to the violence, the commission said, are historical trauma from government-directed family separation policies, residential schools and land dispossession; social and economic marginalization; and a lack of willingness among Canadian institutions to change. An absolute paradigm shift is needed to dismantle colonialism within Canadian society, the commission said. Among its 231 recommendations, the commission advised creating an independent task force to investigate unresolved cases, increasing punishments for violent offenses when the victims are indigenous women, and granting indigenous languages the same official status as English and French. Today, we hold up a mirror to Canada, Buller said. She said the reports action items were not just recommendations but legal imperatives. Trudeau promised change. I know and you know that we need to fix the way things work in this country, he said. We must continue to decolonize our existing structures, and the racism, sexism and economic inequality that has allowed such violence against indigenous women and girls to prevail must be eradicated. Canadas indigenous people long called for a probe into missing and slain women and girls. Trudeaus Conservative predecessor, Stephen Harper, said the issue had been studied to death and was not really high on his governments radar. The death in 2014 of 15-year-old Tina Fontaine, whose body was found in a Manitoba river wrapped in a blanket and weighed down with rocks, galvanized public attention. In the 24 hours before her death, she met with social workers, police and emergency room doctors, but no one kept her safe. The fact that this national inquiry is happening now doesnt mean that indigenous people waited this long to speak up, the commission said. It means it took this long for Canada to listen. Not everyone felt heard. Danielle Ewenin said she attended a commission hearing in Saskatchewan in 2017 to testify about her sister. Eleanor Laney Ewenin was found dead in a field on the outskirts of Calgary in 1982 at age 23. Police filed a report under an incorrect name; the case remains unsolved. Ewenin said she decided to testify because she wanted to make a difference for indigenous women. But, she said, the inquiry operated under a patriarchal and colonial model that was not responsive to families, and its mismanagement, bungling, ineptness and incompetence doomed it to fail. Ewenin said frequent calls to her caseworker, responsible for helping her track down police and coroners reports, went unanswered. She eventually obtained the records herself, she said, but was told it was too late to include them in the inquirys forensic audit of police files. Im having a hard time disassociating myself from my feelings of anger and betrayal and injustice, she said. They did not find or honor the truth with my sister. Calls from family members of victims to reset the inquiry in 2017 went unheeded. Buller told The Washington Post last year that the commission had struggled with communicating with families. She blamed early missteps on bureaucratic challenges and the initial two-year deadline. (Buller requested a two-year extension. The government granted six more months.) In a foreword to the report, Buller criticized the government for failing to grant the full extension, saying many truths will go unspoken and unknown as a result. The commission said the additional time would have allowed the forensic audit team to look at more files, such as those pertaining to Ewenins sister. The commission said police blamed victims and employed racist stereotypes in interactions with indigenous women. It singled out the RCMP for failing to provide all of the files it subpoenaed. Anita Ross testified before the commission in Thunder Bay, Ontario, about the death of her 16-year-old daughter. Delaine Copenace went missing in 2016 and was found dead weeks later in a lake near her home. Police were late to investigate her disappearance, Ross said, and labeled her death an accidental drowning a conclusion she rejects. Ross watched the ceremony on television. She was glad to see Trudeau attending with his wife, she said, and was trying to feel optimistic. The question is whether the government will act. Were all hopeful, but were just wondering if it will happen, she said. People say things, but will they follow through? U.S. President Donald Trump accused Russia and Iran of bombing the civilian population of the Syrian province of Idlib, suggesting that Washington is preparing new Syrian campaign to allegedly protect Syrians from Russia and Iran. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? Stop!" he wrote on Twitter. Trump made a similar statement in an interview before flying to the UK. "I gave people a warning seven months ago, I stopped it," he said. "I dont like whats happening. Theyre killing indiscriminately many, many civilians. Bad things are happening over there," the Hill cited the U.S. leader as saying. Since May 21, militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra (Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist grouping outlawed in Russia) have been launching massive attacks in the southern portion of the Idlib de-escalation zone on the government troops positions, as well as Russia's Hmeymim airbase, using the armor, multiple launch rocket systems and suicide bombers vehicles. Russia has repeatedly stressed that Russian bombers strike only bases of terrorists in response to this aggression. The deputy head of the Council of the Russian Diplomats Association, Andrey Baklanov, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that such statements can be regarded as laying the groundwork for disrupting the plans of Moscow and Damascus to establish peace in Idlib and Syria as a whole. "We should have expected such statements from the U.S. president. At present, a set of measures is being developed aimed at resolving the situation in and around Idlib, extensive consultations are being held, including on measures of military influence on the militants, which have recently stepped up their activities," he recalled. "I think that Americans will try to stop the processes aimed at stabilizing the situation in Idlib and in Syria as a whole. The main message of the American president's statement is desire to stop Syrias progress towards peace. It can be viewed as some preparation for a possible meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but, basically, it was about the specifics of the Idlib situation," Andrei Baklanov concluded. WASHINGTON The mere act of yelling an expletive at a police officer is constitutionally protected speech and not grounds for arrest, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit followed a ruling in March by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit that stopping and ticketing a woman for giving an officer the finger violated her constitutional rights. Mondays case began when a 20-year-old man, Eric Roshaun Thurairajah, yelled f you out of his car window at an Arkansas state trooper, Lagarian Cross, from the other side of a five lane Fort Smith highway where Cross had made a traffic stop. In a deposition, Thurairajah had no explanation for his abusive comment. He was not acquainted with Cross or the woman who had been stopped by the officer across the highway. I mean, as far as, like, state troopers go, I mean, I dont think anybody likes them, he said in his deposition. I mean, like they say, even, like, the city police dont like state troopers. So its like, I dont know. According to the ruling, Cross ended his traffic stop and took off after Thurairajah, ultimately arresting him for disorderly conduct, specifically for making unreasonable or excessive noise. Thurairajah was jailed for several hours before charges were dropped, according to the opinion. He then sued the officer for violating his civil rights under the Fourth Amendments guarantee against unreasonable seizures and for allegedly retaliating against him for exercising his First Amendment rights. The officer, represented by the state of Arkansas, claimed qualified immunity from the suit. But both the district court that heard the case originally and now the appeals court that upheld it said officers are not immune when they violate the Constitution. In this case, thats just what Cross did, the appeals court in St. Louis said. Thurairajahs profane shout was protected activity, Smith wrote, citing years of precedent. Criticism of law enforcement officers, even with profanity, is protected speech. Thurairajahs shout, he said, was unamplified and fleeting, no crowd gathered because of it, city traffic was not affected, no complaints were lodged by anyone in the community, a business was not interrupted, nor were an officers orders disobeyed. But in no case, has a two-word unamplified outburst constituted disorderly conduct. The March flipping the bird case, as a judge called it, involved a Michigan woman who gave an officer the finger as he drove away after ticketing her. The gesture prompted him to stop and ticket her again. She sued and won. That all-too-familiar gesture, appeals court Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote, is protected by the First Amendment. The Arkansas case now returns to the lower court for further proceedings, barring an appeal. The attorney general is disappointed in the 8th Circuit Courts decision and is reviewing the case to determine the next steps, said Amanda Priest, a spokeswoman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. Whitfield Hyman, the lawyer representing Thurairajah, said his client has grown up a lot since the 2015 incident. El Paso Electric Co., which serves 100,000 customers in New Mexico, announced a definitive agreement Monday with the Infrastructure Investment Fund to acquire the utility for $4.3 billion. The Investment Fund an $11.5 billion private investment vehicle advised by J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. offered to buy EPE for $68.25 per share, representing a 17 percent premium over EPEs closing price on May 31, the last trading day prior to announcing the agreement. El Paso Electric, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was trading at $66.30 per share Monday afternoon. EPEs Board of Directors unanimously supports the deal, which must still be approved by shareholders and regulatory authorities. If approved, the acquisition could close in early 2020. EPE President and CEO Mary Kipp told the Journal the Investment Fund brings financial muscle, broad utility experience, and a commitment to building a clean energy grid. IIF has agreed to keep EPEs 1,100 employees in place, provide $21 million in electric bill credits to the utilitys 428,000 retail and wholesale customers, and establish a special fund to invest $100 million over 20 years in economic development initiatives in EPEs service area in southern New Mexico and West Texas. The utility provides power from Las Cruces to Hatch to Holloman Air Force Base and White Sands Missile Range. We believe this partnership will provide a platform to grow the company and jobs while doing good things for our shareholders and the local community, Kipp told the Journal. IIF will stand up a $100 million fund for economic development in our region. Thats unheard of. IIF could also help EPE meet new clean energy mandates under New Mexicos Energy Transition Act, which requires public utilities to derive 80 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2040. About 30 percent of IIFs global investments are in the renewable space, Kipp said. They bring expertise that can help us get to carbon-free generation in a cost-effective manner. Headquartered in New York and London, IIF owns 19 companies including 11 electric, utility and generation firms in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Its invested about $3 billion in renewable energy assets that together generate 3.4 gigawatts of electricity, or enough to power three million homes for a year. After the acquisition, EPE will remain headquartered in El Paso, said Matthew LeBlanc, chief investment officer with J.P. Morgans Infrastructure Investment Group. As a long-term owner of utilities, we understand the importance of EPEs mission and believe our resources and experience can expand EPEs leadership as a provider of safe, clean, affordable and reliable energy, LeBlanc said in a statement. EPE owns four natural gas, solar and wind power plants, plus a 15.8 percent stake in the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona. It serves to about 100,000 customers in New Mexico. SANTA FE The New Mexico School for the Arts has let go a music teacher who admitted to making fake awards for his students that the school had publicized as genuine prizes from the New York City Jazz Festival. NMSA spokesperson Sean Johnson confirmed that jazz studies teacher Orlando Madrid, who started working at the school last year, had been terminated with cause last week. Attempts to reach Madrid on Monday were unsuccessful. In early May, the school issued a news release that the NMSA jazz combo had won a First Place award and three Outstanding Soloist honors at the New York City Jazz Festival in April. NMSA posted pictures of a first place plaque on social media. The Journal published a story on the awards soon afterward. The Journal North, while preparing what was to be a follow-up feature story on the jazz combo, discovered that the New York festival is not competitive and it does not issue best of awards. Madrid confirmed in an email to the Journal that he had created the awards on his own based on critiques from professional musicians at the festival. A festival spokesperson last week described the festival as an educational event. A panel of jazz experts does provide feedback to young musicians who participate, but no awards are issued. I understand it was not an official competition, so I took it upon myself to make certificates based off the judges input which I thought would help us with lots of press/fundraising efforts to cover the cost of the trip, Madrid said in last weeks email. Now, other staff members will accompany the jazz combo to the Chengdu International Sister Cities Youth Music Festival in China this July, Johnson said Monday. The founders of the schools jazz studies program, local musicians Bert Dalton and John Trentacosta, will help in the search process for a new instructor. The 2018-2019 school year was the first time the jazz studies program was held as a class and had a full-time teacher. Prior to that, it was an extracurricular activity. NMSA is a competitive-entry school open to students from around the state now housedin a former parochial school in downtown Santa Fe. It is constructing a new $30 million school complex, with dormitories, in a former commercial center next to the Santa Fe Railyard that was purchased by the schools foundation. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. Police in Scottsdale say a woman accused of driving the wrong way on State Route 51 is facing a charge of aggravated DUI. They say 52-year-old Sheila Wynice McReynolds of Phoenix was arrested early Monday. Police and Arizona Department of Public Safety officials responded to reports of a driver traveling east in the westbound lanes of the Loop 101 around 1:15 a.m. Authorities worked to warn oncoming traffic and limit freeway access. A Phoenix police unit stopped the vehicle, where Scottsdale police officers conducted the DUI investigation. Authorities say McReynolds traveled at least 11 miles before she was stopped and arrested. Its unclear if McReynolds has a lawyer yet who can speak in his behalf. The Russian market is still very attractive for investors despite the attempts of certain countries "to show the opposite picture," Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the SophieCo program aired by the RT television channel on Monday prior to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). "Despite certain problems with international economic environment the Russian market is still very attractive," TASS cited him as saying. According to Peskov, the atmosphere at SPIEF is welcoming every year. Meanwhile, the task of the organizers of the Forum is "to ensure the counterparts that the climate here for investments, for economic cooperation is favorable and comfortable." "And we are doing our business. Unfortunately, some other countries choose the way of trying to show the opposite picture. I would say those are some signs of unfair competition from their end," the spokesman stressed. Peskov added though that it "does not mean that this Forum is tense," on the contrary, it is "a golden opportunity for them to establish contacts and to continue dialogue with their vis--vis in Russia." REDDING, Calif. - A wanted felon was put behind bars Sunday afternoon thanks to Redding K-9, Otto. A Redding police K-9 team spotted Leo Graham, of Redding, in the area of South Bonnyview Road and Bechelli Lane Sunday afternoon. Graham had a felony warrant for his arrest. He fled on foot into a wooded area. The California Highway Patrol sent a helicopter to help in the search. K-9 Otto found Graham and helped secure the man's arrest. Reckitt Benckiser, worlds leading consumer Health and Hygiene Company, collaborated with the Global Citizen India, to celebrate the success of the three-year completion of its Dettol School Hygiene Education curriculum through a hi-impact, one-of-its-kind event named as Chaka Chak Mela, in New Delhi. The event was carefully crafted to educate the children in an edutainment environment. RB is delivering the curriculum in partnership with the Aga Khan Foundation, Samhita, Collective Good Foundation, Learning Links Foundation ADRA and Pehel across urban and rural schools in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Congratulating the partners on the historic moment, Gaurav Jain, Senior Vice President, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia (AMESA), RB Health India, said, "Children are the change-agents of the society, and reaching out early to them means ensuring that we inspire these young minds to inculcate the learning into a habit. We are proud to see the positive impact on the handwashing habits of schoolchildren across exposed to the Dettol School Hygiene Education curriculum. We have focused on a five-step experiential learning method, which has allowed us to touch upon five crucial everyday aspects of hygiene. I am sure that once the students understand these basic hygiene measures, they would turn into influencers for others, and nation-builders of tomorrow. The curriculum, which was delivered by the Aga Khan Foundation, Samhita, Collective Good Foundation, Learning Links Foundation ADRA and Pehel to schools in the target states, is designed to suit grade-appropriate learning of students - Level one is for Grade one and two, Level two is for Grade three and four, and Level three is for Grade five and above. The content is structured into five focus themes that addresses Personal Hygiene, Hygiene at Home, Hygiene in School, Hygiene during Illness and Hygiene in Neighborhood. In total, the curriculum covers 15 topics across the five themes for each level through classroom sessions (three topics per theme in progressive level of difficulty), undertaken by the teacher using the resource materials made available. We are proud of our strong partnership with Reckitt Benckiser that has enabled the Aga Khan Foundation and its implementing partners to implement a vibrant and extremely effective school hygiene education programme across 1000 schools in some of the most vulnerable geographies. Together with RB, we are working to collectively address the issue of sanitation and hygiene in schools by inculcating regular handwashing practices as well as strengthening school capacity to prioritize WASH-in-Schools. The simple child friendly tools, messages and campaigns developed by RB, have been widely appreciated by district officials across all our project locations, facilitating wider outreach and scaling up of the initiative to over 3000 schools in 2019 Ms. Tinni Sawhney,CEO Aga Khan Foundation, South Asia The curriculum also focuses on sensitizing children about six critical occasions for handwashing, which include washing hands after defecation, and the use of toilets; before eating; before preparing and serving food; before feeding infants/children; after cleaning a childs bottom and after coughing/sneezing during illness. In order to curate an effective event to celebrate the success of the initiative, RB collaborated with the Global Citizen India to design the event around the theme of an Indian carnival, or a mela. The event focused on seeding the information that sanitation and hygiene are quintessential Indian concept that can be easily taught through various cultural tools, indigenous to the subcontinent. Each of these activities were carefully selected to organize a familiar yet informative and engaging experience. It witnessed activities such as nukkad natak-street play popular in North India, puppetry from Rajasthan, Hip-Hop and rap, popular in slums across Maharashtra. The event also saw a parallel activity involving training of teachers, who are most influential stakeholders, if we need to win against diseases that proliferate because of bad hygiene practices. The experiential activity delivered exercise on developing soft skills, becoming leaders and role models for students, with a focus on imparting knowledge on hand-hygiene. The objective of the initiative is to use 5-step experiential learning methods to increase knowledge and inculcate good habits of hygiene-related behaviors among school-age children from an early age. Keeping this in mind, the partnership between RB and its partners Aga Khan Foundation, Samhita, Collective Good Foundation, Learning Links Foundation ADRA and Pehel conducted over 154,000 awareness campaigns and sessions on the subject of handwashing and hygiene. The work undertaken through these sessions of offline curriculum and E-Curriculum influenced over 4.52 Million schoolchildren across the target states of Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu . This also resulted in the children influencing their families, thereby, creating a multiplier effect. Under the program, 690 soap banks were installed that delivered direct benefits to approximately 38,000 school children. Furthermore 4500 Schools with dedicated Dettol hygiene corners and 4700 Children Hygiene Parliament sessions having been undertaken by children exposed to the Dettol School Hygiene Program. UrbanClap, Indias largest home services platform, today unveiled its TVC campaign #SmartSalon with Kriti Sanon as the brand ambassador for the beauty vertical. This campaign features Kriti as a daughter who pokes fun at her mother for her old-fashioned ways, urging her to try UrbanClaps #SmartSalon services. The campaign highlights how UrbanClaps #SmartSalon makes life easier for the urban multi-tasker women. Kriti in recent times with her choice of movies has been able to strike a chord with young women in the country. UrbanClaps association with Kriti Sanon comes at a point when the brand is rapidly growing and aims to deliver services at home like never experienced before. UrbanClaps Beauty services at home continues to be the key vertical for the company, within which UrbanClap offers skin-care, hair-care, makeup, spa, massage and mens grooming services. #SmartSalon campaign will see the launch of three short videos featuring Kriti Sanon and Ayesha Raza debunking some of the most common perceptions that women have regarding home salon services, for example, mess created at home, untrained beauticians or high costs attached for the services. Talking about the experience of working on the campaign, Kriti Sanon said, I am extremely excited to be associated with UrbanClap, a brand which is working to make life easier for urban multi-tasker women. I had a great time shooting for this campaign with the UrbanClap team, and I look forward to audience response on this work. Moreover, I had the pleasure of meeting their professionals. It is quite inspiring how these enterprising experts have taken up the mantle of earning a great livelihood and making life better for their families! Varun Khaitan, Co-founder of UrbanClap said, Beauty is a key vertical for UrbanClap, and we have seen an overwhelming response from customers for the salon and spa services we offer at home. The new #SmartSalon campaign talks about how busy women of today can avail reliable and affordable beauty services at home through UrbanClap. Spread across digital media and TV, UrbanClap is looking to build a high recall for their at home salon services. With summers being the harshest season, UrbanClap appeals to women to make smart choices and book on the platform for their beauty, wellness and grooming services at home. The expert beauty services by UrbanClap are available in 10 cities and has more than 6000 partners associated with the platform. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) judgement on landing page comes as a relief for distribution platform operators (DPOs) as well as broadcasters. In its judgement last week, TDSAT had quashed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indias (TRAI) directive dated November 8, 2017 that put a restraint on all broadcasters and distributors of TV channels from placing any registered TV channel, whose TV ratings is released by a TV rating agency, on the landing Logical Channel Number (LCN) or landing channel or Boot-up Screen. The TDSAT judgement came after petitions filed by Bennett, Coleman & Co, All India Digital Cable Federation and Mumbai-based JPR Channel. The common grievance of all the appellants in these appeals is that the impugned direction has serious adverse effects on the incoming revenue stream of the appellants for no good reasons. TDSAT its judgement noted, It neither serves the interest of service providers and consumers nor leads to orderly growth of the sector. The appellants claim that their right to carry on trade and business without undue and uncalled for interference has been put to jeopardy without providing any tangible or measureable benefit to the consumers or to service providers. TDSAT further stated that, the appellants maintained that it would impeded the orderly growth of the sector by affecting the lawful source of income of the broadcasters and distributors because to compensate for such loss they will have to ultimately put more burden on the consumers. Maninder Singh, senior counsel representing BCCL further stated in his arguments that TRAI directions were without jurisdiction as they did not relate to interconnection at all. He further maintained that TRP as a subject lies within the domain and responsibility of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, which has permitted some broadcasters and advertisers to generate and circulate TRPs, but it is not the concern of the Department of Telecommunications or TRAI. TDSAT noted that TRP is not affected by the contents of the landing page because the viewer has the choice of shifting to any other page of his choice and under the new regulations, any channel on the landing page must also be a channel opted by the viewer. The final submission of all the appellants is that the content of the landing page can at best amount to advertisements, which is legally permissible and there is no appreciable and measureable injury on account of alleged distortion of TRP. It was also submitted that BARC is an agency representing 60 per cent broadcasters, 20 per cent advertisers and 20 per cent advertising agencies, and if BARC has any problems relating to TRP, it should be allowed to take initiative for remedies if the problem is genuine. TDSAT also touched upon the subject of the ownership of the landing page. Does it belong to the subscriber or to the DPO who brings the signals to the subscriber or to none of these? it asked. The Tribunal pointed out that such a question of law has been canvassed neither by the appellants, which include DPOs and broadcasters, nor by TRAI, which claims to have also acted in the interest of consumers. According to Maninder Singh, the landing page belongs to DPOs, who have full rights on what to place on the landing page. TDSAT also asked whether it would not be a best practice if the subscriber is given a choice to opt. It raised quite a few questions: Should the landing page be a default or a separate page in its own right? Can the subscriber be presented with a default, be it a rated or unrated channel? The last living Holocaust survivor who participated in the revolt and escape from the Sobibor death camp, Semyon Rosenfeld, died at the age of 97 in a hospital in Rehovot, near Tel Aviv, according to the Israeli authorities. Rosenfeld was sent in 1943 to Sobibor, a notorious extermination camp where over 250,000 Jews were murdered between April 1942 and October 1943, the Times of Israel reported. In October 1943, a group of prisoners, led by Red Army officer Aleksandr Pechersky, revolted in a bold attempt to liberate all of the camps inmates. Rosenfeld survived by hiding in the woods with a handful of other prisoners until 1944, when he rejoined the Red Army and participated in the capture of Berlin. He was demobilized in 1945 and returned to his homeland, later moving to Israel. The MMR vaccine has failed again, putting Florida college students at risk for complications including meningitis. Mumps in early childhood is uncomfortable. Mumps in the adult years carries far more risk. When I was a kid, Fram automotive air filters had a slogan in their ads - "You can pay me now. Or you can pay me later." The MMR vaccine has backfired. From Johns Hopkins: Complications of mumps happen more often among adults than children, and may include: Meningitis or encephalitis. Inflammation of the membrane that covers the brain and spinal cord or inflammation of the brain. Orchitis. Inflammation of one or both testicles. Mastitis. Inflammation of breast tissue. Parotitis. Inflammation of one or both parotid glands. (THIS IS THE NAVY SHIP SITUATION!) Oophoritis. Inflammation of one or both ovaries. Pancreatitis. Inflammation of the pancreas. Deafness GAINESVILLE, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - The Alachua County Health Department is warning of an unusual outbreak of the mumps. Department spokesperson Paul Myers said 12 cases of the illness have been reported to their office. That number may seem small, but the department said the countys baseline is between 0 and 2 cases; making this about a 500 percent increase. However, Myers stressed that the cases are easily traced in this outbreak. "This is an outbreak between a very close knit group of individuals, said Myers. They probably shared utensils, they may have shared drinking vessels." Continue reading below The health department says thats the primary means for transmission of the illness. Leaders at the University of Florida confirm they have between 10 and 12 cases of the mumps reported among the students at their Gainesville campus. "We're currently in the process of reaching out to students to communicate to them through emails and social media to let them know about this, said University Spokesman Steve Orlando. Myers said the county does occasionally see outbreaks of the mumps, but this situation is more unusual because the patients are vaccinated. Read more from Fox 35 Tallahassee Florida here. Aiken's Juneteenth Celebration will return this year at the Center for African American History, Art, and Culture, and the deadline for vendor applications is fast approaching. Food and craft vendors must apply for Juneteenth by this Friday, June 7. Applications can be found at caahac.org and should be submitted via email to hello@caahac.org or mailed directly to the center at 120 York St, Aiken 29801. The celebration is free and open to the public and will take place at the cultural center on York Street on Saturday, June 22. There will be music, food, free health screenings and more. Sponsorship info for Juneteenth can also be found on the center's website at caahac.org. Food vendors will be set up in the center's parking area on York Street. Craft vendors will set up in Heritage Park next to the center, where artistic and cultural performances will also take place. The event also takes volunteer service. Registration for volunteers can be done online at signupgenius.com. Event organizers are expecting around 300 people to attend this year. Afrocentric attire is encouraged. Juneteenth is an African American holiday traditionally celebrated in Southern states that marks the emancipation of slaves in Texas on June 19, 1865. For more information, contact Melencia Johnson at 803-226-0269 or email hello@caahac.org. Want to go? What: Aiken's Juneteenth Celebration Where: Center for African American History, Art, and Culture; 120 York St. When: Saturday, June 22, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier? Sign up to receive news and updates from this site directly to your desktop. Breaking News Columbia Breaking News Greenville Breaking News Myrtle Beach Breaking News Aiken Breaking News N Augusta Breaking News Click on the bell icon to manage your notifications at any time. Success! Please click the 'Allow' button in the 'Show Notifcations' alert in your browser if one is available. Thank you for signing up! Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page. ALEPPO, Syria A new prisoner swap deal between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Syrian government was conducted May 17 at al-Eis crossing separating the Syrian opposition areas from those held by the government in the southern countryside of Aleppo. In the presence of representatives of the Syrian Red Crescent, the regime forces exchanged 27 prisoners for nine HTS detainees. The regime released 22 women and five men hailing from different Syrian governorates mainly from Homs, and some from Hama, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Latakia and Damascus. They were arrested over the past years by Syrian government security forces on charges of supporting or belonging to the Syrian opposition, a source from the HTS prisoners affairs office told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, HTS released two women and seven men, who are members of the regime forces and were captured years ago in the city of Aleppo during the fighting. Negotiations through intermediaries between officials of the HTS prisoners affairs office and Syrian forces took place for about a month prior to the deal. Eventually we were able to seal the deal despite the regimes attempts to decide on the names of the detainees to be released, the source said. He added, Negotiations with the Syrian regime are still ongoing through intermediaries for more exchanges. Women held in the regime prisons are a top priority for us in these deals." He explained that the prisoners affairs office was established in 2017 and continues to receive names of detainees in the regimes prisons from their families and friends, in the hope that they would be released in future swap deals in exchange for regime soldiers captured in combat. On March 26, another swap deal was carried out between the two sides, whereby the Syrian government released three detainees two men and a woman in exchange for HTS revealing the location where the bodies of Syrian soldiers, who were killed in the 2015 battles near Abu al-Duhur military air base in eastern Idlib, were buried. This swap took place also at al-Eis crossing in the presence of representatives of the Red Crescent and the Syria Civil Defense. One of the two released men is from Daraya, while the other man and the woman are from Aleppo. Similarly, on April 25, 2018, HTS swapped prisoners with the Syrian regime under the mediation of the Syrian Red Crescent at al-Eis crossing. The exchange deal included the release of three HTS members held captive by the regime in return for the release of two members from the Lebanese Hezbollah Mohammad Abdullah Sket and Basel Jumaa Fawaz from the cities of Nabel and Zahra. The two men were captured during the battles against the Syrian forces in Aleppo. Hisham Khazami, a local Syrian dignitary from Idlib countryside, has been one of the most prominent mediators in the prisoner swaps between HTS and the Syrian government in previous years. He is also credited with the prisoner exchange deals between the Syrian forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA). On his Facebook page, Khazami shares video footage of the prisoner swaps between the Syrian government, HTS or FSA factions, where he says that he is officially charged by the Syrian government and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a mediator between the two sides. Abdel Fattah al-Hussein, a media activist, told Al-Monitor, HTS has been recently in charge of most of the prisoner exchange deals with the regime in Idlib governorate. HTS controls now the crossings, including al-Eis and Murak crossings. The FSA is no longer in charge of any swap deal. HTS also has the majority of Syrian forces prisoners captured during battles. HTS holds many Syrian officers captive and is planning to hand them over to the Syrian government in exchange for HTS members or civilians. On May 22, HTS captured Col. Abdel Karim Suleiman in the battles of Kafarnabouda in the northern Hama countryside. The United States is not currently ready to advance dialogue with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Unfortunately, now we see that they are not ready to advance at all. But President Putin is quite an experienced and quite a patient president of quite a patient country," the spokesman said in an interview with RT's SophieCo programme. Peskov explained that Russia and the U.S. have many strategic matters on the agenda that can only be solved at the highest level and the absence of meetings between the two countries' presidents contradict both Russian and the U.S. national interests. "We see lots of strategic questions on the agenda that should be tackled on the level of two presidents. There is no way for these problems to be solved on a lower level," he said. Many of the questions that should be discussed at the presidential level were coming from Washington, according to the spokesman. Peskov noted that those problems were "idling in absence of the dialogue on the highest level." Therefore, he noted that "not meeting each other is illogical. And it contradicts the national interests of our two countries. But we cannot be more holy than the Pope," Peskov said. On May 29, the Knesset decided unexpectedly to dissolve and hold new elections on Sept. 17. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu preferred to take this route rather than accept his failure to form a government and allow President Reuven Rivlin to entrust the task to someone else. This serves to effectively turn the April 9 elections into a pilot, the preview for the real event. The April elections for the 21st Knesset have enabled Israel's political parties to assess their current levels of support. For voters, it has offered a glimpse at the day after, when candidates remove their masks and reveal their true priorities, never imagining that they will soon have to face their constituents again. The Likud's election campaign as well as the ensuing coalition talks candidly revealed how Netanyahus first and last priority has been to save his own skin, to which end involves efforts to crush the Supreme Court and to change the countrys immunity law. Israelis saw Netanyahu push for an amendment allowing the Knesset to override Supreme Court rulings against unconstitutional laws and against administrative government decisions. In a frantic, last-minute bid to form a government, Netanyahu also pushed through the merger of Likud and Kulanu, headed by Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, and offered opposition Labor Party Chair Avi Gabbay the job of finance minister, and more. Israelis will now have the unprecedented opportunity to reexamine its political mistakes and possibly fixing them now, rather than three or four years down the road. The main opposition Blue and White should seize this opportunity to turn its impressive April 9 showing into a victory enabling it to form Israels next government. The centrist Blue and White, led by Lt. Gen. (res.) Benny Gantz, swept up 35 Knesset seats, equal to the Likuds take, despite being formed only a few months prior to elections. It maintains a fragile existence, amid public tensions among its disparate leadership, and it managed to bring out tens of thousands of people for a May 25 protest against government plans to clip the wings of the Supreme Court. It also withstood temptation when the Likud floated enticing suggestions of top jobs in a bid to draw potential renegades into a Netanyahu-led government. Looking back, the demand by Gabbay prior to the elections that Blue and White commit ahead of time to forego joining a Netanyahu-led government a commitment that Gabbay himself appeared almost ready to renege on in recent days was what eventually undermined Netanyahus attempts to form a coalition. With a practical or even theoretical option of forming a Likud-led national unity government, with Blue and White members in key positions, Netanyahu could have played the right against the left in negotiations as he has in the past. He could have told each side that he was about to sign a deal with the other, leading both sides to rush to surrender some of their demands in order to join him and not miss out on an opportunity to be in government. This did not happen. Instead, Blue and White stuck to its guns, refusing to join a leader under a cloud of criminal suspicion and robbing Netanyahu the chance to perform his acrobatics. Under these circumstances, the ultra-Orthodox and right-wing parties raised their prices for joining Netanyahus government. Their commitment prior to the elections to only serve in a government led by Netanyahu ultimately proved insufficient. Netanyahu squeezed by the right and not wanting Rivlin to task another lawmaker with forming and leading Israels next government opted to lead voters to new elections. This pilot episode has shown Blue and White that it should adopt the same posture the next go round and refuse in advance to join a Netanyahu-led government even if the Likud wins. During the last campaign, however, Blue and White made a serious mistake in the attitude it adopted toward the countrys 21% Arab minority. Given the current composition of the Israeli electorate, liberal Zionist parties cannot take power without the support, even if only tacit, of the Arab parties. Blue and White not only ruled out in advance forming a coalition with the Arabs should it win the elections, but also dismissed passive cooperation with them to prevent the formation of a right-wing government. This unprecedented move by a liberal Zionist party created a rift with Arab voters and was one of the reasons for a significant drop in Arab voter turnout. It is also why the Arab parties did not recommend to Rivlin that he task Gantz with forming the next government. The combination of a totally justified refusal to join a Netanyahu-led government and the unreasonable boycott of Israels Arab citizens prevented Blue and White from having a go at forming Israels next government. If it wants another chance, the party must change its attitude toward the Arabs. A willingness to have a dialogue and cooperate with those Arab lawmakers open to engaging is a prerequisite, even if ultimately insufficient, for the party to rise to power. It is safe to assume that a policy shift on the Arabs would show the door to former Likud Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon and members of his right-wing Telem faction, which joined Blue and White. Gantz may have to pay the price of their walkout. Unlike the state of play prior to the April elections, this time Gantz will be able to bring on board Gesher, the small party headed by Orly Levy-Abekasis, whose social issues-oriented agenda may prove even more attractive to voters than Telem. Either way, if the Blue and White's hawks repeat the mistake of boycotting the countrys Arab citizens, as they did in boycotting the May 25 pro-democracy protest due to the participation of Arab Knesset member Ayman Odeh, Blue and White would be making a serious mistake by running with them in September. When Blue and White leaders analyzed the results of its election debut, they realized that the majority of the party's voters were liberals opposed to Netanyahu and his right-wing allies remaining in power. Blue and White does not have to adopt the views of the Zionist left, but it can certainly position itself as Israels democracy party, one that fully understands the importance of security and defense but not less so the importance of a democratic regime that enables freedom, human rights and a stable Jewish majority. It can prove by its actions that the tensions among security, democracy and human rights does not necessarily contradict Israels essence as a Jewish and democratic state, despite the existing tension between these two concepts. Blue and White now has a chance to take advantage of the opportunity Netanyahu gave it when he panicked last week. It can field attractive new candidates retired generals and politicians who could not run in the April elections for various legal reasons. A main opposition party in Israel has never been handed such a second chance. RAMALLAH, West Bank The town of Biddya in the West Bank's Salfit governorate is building agricultural roads in mountainous areas to allow citizens to reach their newly reclaimed lands. Construction began a few days after the landowners recovered over 190 dunams (over 47 acres) of land from Israeli company Yakir Investments, after lawyers from the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission proved in mid-May the company forged the title deeds. Youssef Abu Safya, a member of the National Land Defense Commission in Salfit, told Al-Monitor the case dates back to 1982 when Yakir Investments, with the help of some Palestinian brokers and tribal leaders, forged the title deeds of hundreds of dunams in the town in Area C. The landowners who reside in the West Bank started to pursue the case with Palestinian lawyers and rights groups, appearing before Israeli committees. When the Palestinian Authority (PA) was established in 1994, it took over the case and offered the complainants legal aid through the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, with which it is affiliated. Abu Safya said lawyers Hussni Kalbona and Qusay Awad both members of the commission succeeded May 14 in getting a final decision from the Israeli Objections Committee, which is a military appeals committee based in the Israeli Ofer camp in the West Bank, to recover 74 dunams, and on May 16 to recover 116 more. Kalbona told Al-Monitor the Israeli primary registration committees responsible for land and real estate registration at the Civil Administration in the Beit El settlement in the West Bank examined the cases and determined the Israeli companys title deeds were forged. Yakir Investments appealed the decision in 2016 before the Objections Committee in the Ofer camp, but the committee rebuked the appeal. Kalbona asserted that, by forging the land ownership documents, the Israeli company wanted to pave the way for building settlement outposts. He noted that the Objections Committee will look into several cases submitted around the same time. Azmi Abu Hamde expressed the happiness of his family, which owns around 57 dunams of land in Biddya. He told Al-Monitor the land had belonged to his late grandfather, Mustafa Hamdan. In the next few days, the land will be divided among the heirs, who have vowed to cultivate the land quickly to preserve it. This was not a first for Biddyas citizens. The same committee issued a decision in January 2018 that the Israeli company had forged documents for around 218 dunams. Walid Assaf, director of the resistance commission, told Al-Monitor the rulings are important achievements. In the past four years, that commission has recovered 800 dunams out of 1,300 in Biddya that Yakir Investments tried to control. The Israeli Objections Committee still has three pending cases from Biddya. We [the resistance commission] resort to fraud experts, fingerprint analysts, calligraphists and document experts to expose document forgery through which Israeli companies claim to buy land. In 95% of the cases we handle, forgery is exposed," Assaf said. He added, We deal with fingerprint analysts and calligraphists whose task is to analyze title deeds, postal stamps and signatures, among other details related to the periods of time that the documents date back to. Assaf noted that the commissions team exposed 19 forgery techniques that Israeli companies used, adding, We have around 2,000 pending cases before Israeli courts related to thousands of dunams in the West Bank. He noted that since he took the commission's helm in 2015, it has restored 70,000 dunams almost 17,300 acres of land to its true owners. The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission plays a key role in following up on real estate and land cases, but it doesn't directly address Israeli courts and committees. Instead, it offers legal aid to citizens who appear before Israeli courts to defend their lands. Ayed Marar, director of the resistance commissions legal department, told Al-Monitor the commission is following up on all cases related to Palestinian real estate and land that Israeli companies are trying to buy or have supposedly bought. Marar noted that, before the PA was established, citizens faced land usurpation alone. They bore the financial burdens in court to prove their right to their own lands. The commission has taken that load off citizens shoulders, he said, pointing out that citizens still must pay lawyers' fees, but the commission handles all other expenses. This has made it easier for citizens to defend their land and foil illegal sales and forgery deals. Marar indicated that the commission in 2018 recovered 1,300 dunams and in 2016 30,000 dunams threatened with expropriation under military orders and real estate deals. Hundreds of cases we are handling date back dozens of years. Some deals were made in the 1980s, and the related cases are still in courts," he said. The resistance commission relies on several techniques to expose fraud. Land trades usually begin with oral contracts," Marar noted. "When a company wants to register them officially before the Israeli authorities, it becomes bound to announce the deal in the official gazette. This announcement constitutes an indication of the real estate deal and makes it possible for citizens to lodge complaints through the commissions lawyer, he said. Marar added, When we doubt that a deal was announced in the official gazette, we launch an investigation. We submit a demand to the Israeli Civil Administration in Beit El through lawyers after the concerned party delegates the task to us. We can then know if the purchase" took place legally. He also said the commission relies on Palestinian security and intelligence information about oral contracts made by brokers before registration. If those are found, the land can then be saved before the deal is officially announced. Although cases related to real estate might take 30 years to resolve in Israeli courts, Palestinians have no alternative for recovering their lands. Today is the last day before the end of the Ramadan fast according to the lunar calendar, for those observing it in Turkey. In keeping with the significance of Arife, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed the nation in a televised speech. As expected, he railed at outside forces bent on destroying Turkey and vowed they would not be allowed to succeed. Unusually, as the self-styled champion of Syrias Sunni Arabs, a worn and deflated-looking Erdogan did not utter a peep about the regime violence unfolding in the rebel-held province of Idlib. The latest Russian-backed regime offensive against Idlib is seen as the biggest escalation of the war since last summer and a failure of Ankaras efforts to put it off. Analysts say Ankaras balancing act, inserting itself as a buffer between the rebels, the regime and Russia, formalized under a deal struck in September between Erdogan and Russias President Vladimir Putin in Sochi may finally be unraveling. Under its terms, Turkey was supposed to diminish the influence of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, an extremist militant group that continues to pose the biggest threat to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Instead, the jihadis who claim to have broken off their links with their al-Qaeda mentors have since January tightened their grip across Idlib and in northern Hama. On Friday, the Kremlin pointed the finger of blame squarely at Ankara, saying it was its responsibility to prevent the rebels from firing at civilians and Russian targets. The statement followed Erdogans call for a cease-fire the night before in a telephone conversation with Putin. Today, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made clear that Russia had no such plans. It goes without saying that bombardments by terrorists from Idlib are unacceptable and measures are being taken for neutralizing their emplacements. Peskov added, Russia maintains cooperation with Turkey, which is responsible for preventing such attacks. Marc Pierini, a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe and a former EU ambassador to Syria and Turkey, believes Ankara faced mission impossible in Idlib. From the outset, the Sochi agreement was a political trap for Ankara, Pierini told Al-Monitor. It was clear that Moscow wanted the remaining jihadists eliminated and that Ankara would not do that. This resistance triggered Moscows ire and with it the long-delayed Idlib assault. It did not help, noted Fabrice Balanche, a veteran expert on Syria at Frances Lyon II university, that in Russian eyes Erdogan did not work hard enough to get US troops out of northeastern Syria allowing the regime and the Russians to step in. Instead, Balanche told Al-Monitor, The Turks are trying to get their own troops into northeastern Syria in a deal with the United States. Balanche was referring to US plans for a safe zone in the Kurdish-controlled area that have yet to materialize. Indeed, Turkish officials who worry about their countrys perceived drift away from NATO into Russias orbit may view the collapse of the Sochi agreement as an off ramp for Ankaras controversial deal to purchase Russian S-400 missiles, an issue that has pushed Turkish-US relations to the brink. Washington has reportedly given Ankara a mid-June deadline to scrap the deal before a menu of proposed sanctions kick in. However, Kerim Has, a Moscow-based analyst who closely monitors the eight-year-long Syrian conflict, argued, If Erdogan is to burn his bridges with the Russians, he will undoubtedly seek watertight guarantees from the Americans about supporting his government politically, economically, militarily and otherwise, and there are few signs of this for now. Until such time, Has told Al-Monitor, Erdogan will likely seek to carry on with his dangerous brinksmanship between the United States and Russia. Turkeys hopes of keeping ties with Russia on an even keel may explain why hardly any of the pro-government newspapers featured the plight of civilians struck by regime bombs on their front pages today. Yeni Safak did mention "explosions" in its online edition, but it was referring to the large number of Russian tourists flocking to Turkeys southern Mediterranean resorts. The United Nations has warned of the imminent humanitarian disaster facing Idlibs estimated three million residents should the regime offensive continue to escalate. As of May 22, nearly 300,000 civilians have fled as the regime continued its indiscriminate bombing targeting hospitals and schools. But with Turkey unwilling to add to its bulging Syrian refugee population it's believed to be close to four million they have nowhere safe to turn. Footage from Maraat al Noman posted on social media showed civilians screaming for help as they ran through blood-covered streets after bombs landed on a marketplace. At least four civilians, including a woman, were killed, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. Another monitoring group, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said the civilian death toll since the latest escalation began on April 30 had reached 333, of which 78 were children. In the meantime, while Moscow will continue to give [Erdogan] all the the appearances of a central diplomatic role, it will ultimately want Ankara to give up its military presence in Idlib, Afrin and Jarablus and to restore full regime control, Pierini predicted. Paradoxically, Russian military aircraft currently supplies its Hmeimim air force base with missiles and other weaponry, using Turkish airspace with Ankaras consent, suggesting Ankara may well be resigned to such an outcome, or simply has no other choice. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made headlines June 2 when he said that the United States is ready to negotiate with Iran with no preconditions. Pompeo added that the Donald Trump administration simply wants Iran to act like a normal nation. The United States unilaterally reneged on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and the European Union in May 2015. The State Department then issued 12 demands to Iran concerning its foreign policy and its missile and nuclear programs before lifting sanctions. Given that the United States reimposed sanctions after it exited the JCPOA, Iranian leaders have not taken the bait from Pompeos recent statements. Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi was the first Iranian official to respond. Mr. Pompeos emphasis on continuing the campaign of maximum pressure shows the continuation of improper behavior and needs to be corrected, Mousavi said. He added that as far as Iran is concerned, Word play and expressing hidden agendas with new words does not fit the criteria for action. President Hassan Rouhani also responded, stating, When they put aside the oppressive sanctions, when they stand by their commitments, when they themselves return to the negotiation table which they quit, the path for them is not closed, it is open. Rouhani further said, [Iran] will not be dominated by any power and cited mutual respect within the framework of international laws as being necessary for talks. The day before Pompeos comments, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif remarked, Some people think we have a problem with Trump. It is not so. Rather, he said, the main obstacle to negotiations is the United States not sticking to its commitments, meaning the JCPOA. Iranian military leaders have long been opposed to talking with the United States. Ahmad Vahidi, president of the Supreme National Defense University and former defense minister, said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency, The history of the Islamic Republic has proven that even on occasions when permission was given to negotiate with America, it did not yield results, and every time [the United States] reneged on its commitments. As for negotiating over Irans missiles one of the original 12 US demands Vahidi said, No country is willing to negotiate on its defensive capabilities, and Iran is naturally no exception. Pompeos comments elicited a good deal of commentary through Persian-language social media. Abdullah Ganji, director of the newspaper Javan, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, tweeted that Pompeo had dropped the 12 demands after Iran took strong countermeasures against US actions in particular after reducing its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA and after the United States failed in its effort to force Iranian oil exports to fall to zero. Mr. President, this path will yield results, Ganji advised Rouhani. Pompeo was not, however, finished sending messages to Iran. On June 3, he called on Iran to pass two controversial bills concerning the Financial Action Task Force. Proponents of the legislation say their passage will help Iran access foreign financial markets, but opponents warn that it will give foreign countries access to Irans financial data. Pompeos statement will certainly be used by the bills' opponents to attack those who have been pushing for their approval. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., is determined to use his seat on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee to stymie the Donald Trump administration as it doubles down on support for Saudi Arabia against Iran. He also wants to send a message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the consequences of Turkey purchasing the S-400 missile defense system from Russia and seeks to reestablish a bipartisan consensus on a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Van Hollen detailed his plans to stop Trumps end run around Congress to continue supporting the Saudi-led coalition in its war against Yemens Iran-backed Houthi rebels. During the interview in his office, Van Hollen said he will be working through the appropriations process on the Senate foreign aid panel to place new restrictions on US support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. He also vowed to close a loophole that the Trump administration recently used to bypass a congressional hold on arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by citing an emergency threat posed by Iran. The Maryland Democrat argued that Trump has not provided good evidence to justify the claim. When it comes to the appropriations process, which is one of the few bills that has to pass the Congress, I intend to attach a provision that would essentially eliminate this loophole, Van Hollen told Al-Monitor. You have a growing number of Republicans, who regardless of where they may stand on this particular issue, are very nervous about the executive branch trampling over the independent powers of Congress. A handful of Van Hollens Republican colleagues on the foreign aid panel joined Democrats earlier this year to end US support for the Yemen war, which Trump ultimately vetoed. Van Hollens counterparts on the House Appropriations Committee attached the same language to their foreign aid spending bill as well as a provision to sunset the 2001 military authorization within eight months. The 2001 authorization is used as the legal basis for military action against al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, but Van Hollen has voiced concern that the Trump administration could use it to justify military action against Iran. I certainly would support the action to get rid of it unless the administration makes absolutely clear that it does not give them any kind of authority to act militarily with respect to Iran, said Van Hollen. If you read the 2001 authorization, there is absolutely no legal authority that would justify taking military action against Iran. As people who follow these issues closely know, Iran has actually been primarily involved in military actions against al-Qaeda and certainly military actions against [the Islamic State]. Van Hollen has also helped author legislation that became part of the Senates annual defense authorization bill this year. The provision would bar the transfer of F-35 fighter aircraft to Turkey unless Ankara eschews its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. We have a situation where youve got the current government of Turkey that has departed in significant ways from some of the shared values that we have in NATO, said Van Hollen. You have a president who has essentially shut down freedom of the press in Turkey, again locked up a lot of political prisoners, wants to redo major elections that he loses like the election in Istanbul. Thats an important NATO ally, but I will say that President Erdogan is testing peoples patience when it comes to their role in the alliance. He noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing everything he can to divvy up members of the alliance to turn them against one another. And by purchasing the S-400, Erdogan would be falling prey to Putins efforts to destabilize the alliance. Similar provisions are also in two separate House spending bills. The US military has been very clear that the S-400 poses an unacceptable risk, he said, noting that the Trump administration has recently sided with lawmakers on the issue. But he was more skeptical of the White Houses long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace plan, calling it doomed from the start and lopsided in support of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahus goals. Van Hollen cited the administrations elimination of Palestinian aid, arguing that the peace plan was based on a flawed premise from the beginning. He also said lawmakers are looking at a number of proposals with respect to making it very clear that the US policy remains in support of a viable two-state solution in the region. Below is the full transcript of our conversation, edited for clarity: Al-Monitor: Lets start off with the latest developments in the Persian Gulf. The other week the Trump administration invoked an emergency to get around Congress hold on arms sales to the UAE and Saudi Arabia. You vowed to close this loophole in the appropriations process. So specifically, can you tell us how you intend to do that and what it would look like? Van Hollen: Just for the setting here, youve got the president of the United States and the State Department the secretary of state really abusing this emergency provision in the law with the express goal of circumventing the United Sates Congress. As you know, the way this normally works is that they notice the Congress with respect to arms sales. The Congress then has a period of time in which to review it. Any member of Congress can file the joint resolution of disapproval, which then goes through the process in the House and Senate. The administration has concocted a reason not to go through the normal process simply because they recognize that it would encounter a lot of resistance in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives. Here you have a president who is just going out of his way to bow down to the Saudi regime. You have a president who has looked the other way in the aftermath of the [Jamal] Khashoggi murder. You have a president who has looked the other way in the face of ongoing human rights atrocities. And you have a president who has looked the other way with respect to the way the Saudis have engaged in the brutal war in Yemen. And so thats why the Congress would likely have passed a resolution of disapproval. Obviously, that would have then been subject to a veto. The president has claimed that hes invoking his emergency powers because of the situation vis-a-vis Iran but has provided no good evidence to support his claim that were in any more of an emergency situation with Iran other than the fact that they helped manufacture a crisis with Iran as well. When it comes to the appropriations process, which is one of the few bills that has to pass the Congress, I intend to try to attach a provision that would essentially eliminate this loophole. Well have a healthy debate on that issue, but you have a growing number of Republicans, who regardless of where they may stand on this particular issue, are very nervous about the executive branch trampling over the independent powers of the Congress. Al-Monitor: Another issue you see at least some bipartisan nexus with at least a few Republicans is Yemen, and there have been calls to also use the appropriations process to defund support for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Is that something else you might try to do and how would that work? Van Hollen: Yes, thats another avenue that were looking at. As you know, because I think you reported on it, the House of Representatives included a provision in the [state and foreign operations appropriations bill] that would prohibit the administrations current involvement with Saudi Arabia in the war in Yemen. I will be working through the appropriations process to try to accomplish a similar goal. Al-Monitor: And turning to Iran specifically, youve co-sponsored a bill that bars the Trump administration from taking military action against Iran. Youve also opposed the presidents withdrawal from the nuclear deal. At the same time, recently at the Council on Foreign Relations, you voiced concerns that the administration may be trying to use the 2001 [Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF)] to lay the groundwork for military action against Iran. Your House Appropriations counterparts have passed an amendment that would sunset the 2001 AUMF within eight months. On the Senate side, is that action you would also support? Van Hollen: Given the risk that the administration is going to abuse the 2001 authorization, I would support the action to get rid of it. I certainly would support the action to get rid of it unless the administration makes absolutely clear that it does not give them any kind of authority to act militarily with respect to Iran. One approach, of course, is to get rid of the 2001 AUMF altogether. Another approach would be to make it very clear that the 2001 AUMF does not provide any authority to take military action in Iran. I probably support either of those approaches. Just to make it very clear, if you read the 2001 authorization, there is absolutely no legal authority that would justify taking military action against Iran. As people who follow these issues closely know, Iran has actually been primarily involved in military actions against al-Qaeda and certainly military actions against [the Islamic State], which is the successor to al-Qaeda. The notion that they could be considered an ally or somehow the offspring of al-Qaeda is ludicrous on its face. Al-Monitor: And over the weekend we saw somewhat of a diplomatic whiplash. The Trump administration is now calling for talks with Iran without preconditions. In a matter of a few hours, the Iranians came out and refused it. With this weekends development talks without preconditions is the Trump administration now taking the right approach, and if not, what does the president need to be doing differently? Van Hollen: Well, Im in favor of talks with Iran. I think it would make sense to sit down with the Iranians, but you have to look at it from everyones perspective here. I mean from the Iranian perspective, the Trump administration began by tearing up the nuclear agreement. They obviously have questions about whats there to gain from sitting down with the president of the United States and the secretary of state of the administration that tore up an agreement between Iran and the United States. I think this administration has been grossly negligent when it comes to our policy toward Iran, and by tearing up the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], they have taken off the constraints that were applied through that agreement with respect to Irans nuclear program. And Iran is now of course threatening to exceed some of the limitations in parts of that agreement. All that being said, Im all for discussions. But I think the administration is going to have to reconsider parts of its policies if they expect those discussions to be fruitful. Al-Monitor: Another issue youve been quite outspoken on recently has been the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a recent Washington Post op-ed, you called on Congress to pass legislation calling for the protection of the human rights of Israelis and Palestinians and opposing any actions that sabotage a future two-state solution. So specifically, what sort of legislation are you proposing here? Van Hollen: My position really is in the mainstream of recent bipartisan American foreign policy supporting a two-state solution. The idea that if you want to have a Jewish state that is also a democracy and observes the human rights of all its people, youre going to need a two-state solution. That is also required in order to provide for the understandable aspirations of the Palestinian people for self-determination. Were looking at a number of proposals with respect to making it very clear that US policy remains in support of a viable two-state solution in the region. Were looking at a number of proposals to try to accomplish that goal. Al-Monitor: Are you coalescing around any one thing right now? Van Hollen: Were just having discussions with our colleagues right now. Im happy to keep you posted. Al-Monitor: And the US-Israeli relationship itself is becoming a divisive issue in the 2020 primary. Your colleague Senator [Bernie] Sanders a couple of years ago even went so far as to float withholding military aid to Israel as leverage. Would you go this far? Van Hollen: I have not supported withholding US assistance to Israel. I think Israel remains a good friend and strong ally. I have very deep disagreements with the policies that have been deployed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. You have the president of the United States who has departed from bipartisan US foreign policy by essentially giving a green light to a lot of Netanyahus actions that I think undermine prospects of a two-state solution. But my view is the United States will continue to maintain its strong security commitment to the State of Israel. Al-Monitor: In the same vein, when you had last years Gaza protests, you had Israelis shooting at Palestinian protesters, killing several of them. At the time, another colleague of yours from Vermont, Senator [Patrick] Leahy, said individuals or units involved in the shooting should be prohibited from receiving US training or equipment under the Leahy Law, which he off course he authored. Is that a statement you agree with? So maybe not going so far as to condition [foreign military financing] but looking at specific actions that Israel has taken under the Leahy Law. Van Hollen: Im going to have to review that. I have to look more closely at what Senator Leahy said exactly. Al-Monitor: One of the things I found particularly striking covering AIPAC this year was in the front row you had people in MAGA hats, people with Trump-Pence 2020 protesters. So as the relationship becomes more of a partisan issue, what do pro-Israel groups like AIPAC need to do to return to the bipartisan roots in the US-Israel relationship? Van Hollen: You have a current situation where the president of the United States is going all in in the reelection of the prime minister of Israel. Its, in my view, an inappropriate position for the president of the United States to take in the middle of an election. But that apparently is the primary goal right now of President Trump with respect to the upcoming new elections in Israel. I would hope that all the major Jewish organizations in the United States would coalesce around what has been bipartisan US policy to support a two-state solution as the only way to accomplish the goals that I expressed earlier. And I think that its going to be important that people stick with their previous statements of support for that goal. Not all, but most, major Jewish organizations have endorsed the idea of a two-state solution. As the debate continues in Israel about whether or not that is what the future holds, I hope that all of us will work together to stand by what has been the bipartisan US foreign policy position. Al-Monitor: And moving to Turkey. A recent bill you co-sponsored just made it into the [National Defense Authorization Act]. It basically says that if Ankara gets the S-400 Russian missile defense system, they cannot have the F-35 fighter jets. If they do proceed with the S-400 sale, do we need to reevaluate Turkeys position in NATO? Van Hollen: Again, we have a situation where youve got the current government of Turkey that has departed in significant ways from some of the shared values we have in NATO. You have a president who has essentially shut down freedom of the press in Turkey, locked up a lot of political prisoners, wants to redo major elections that he loses like the election in Istanbul. I still view Turkey as the Republic of Turkey. Thats an important NATO ally. But I will say that President Erdogan is testing peoples patience when it comes to their role in the alliance. And this effort to purchase a major defensive weapons system the S-400 from Russia, is exhibit A of why a lot of people have concerns. Russias an adversary, certainly an adversary of the NATO alliance. [President Vladimir] Putin is doing everything he can to divide members of the alliance to turn them against one another. And by purchasing the S-400, Erdogan would be falling prey to Putins efforts to destabilize the alliance. This is a really important issue. Im glad the Trump administration has come around. Weve been at this for several years now. I offered a similar amendment in the appropriations bill last year, that we had succeeded in getting included in the appropriations bill last year. The final version got watered down in the negotiations last year because the Trump administration intervened to try to water it down. But the good news is that the US military has been very clear that the S-400 poses an unacceptable risk. And Congress is very firm on a bipartisan basis when it comes to the issue. I just want to be very clear. I want to see Turkey get the F-35 and not move forward with the S-400. And the United States has offered them the Patriot defense system instead. That would be the best course of action. That would be the course of action Turkey would take if its a true NATO partner. Al-Monitor: And last time President Trump spoke with President Erdogan on the phone, he made the decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. You put out a statement opposing that as it would open the door for Turkey to attack the Kurds. In the meantime, what weve seen since then, the Kurds have started to talk to [President Bashar al-]Assad, who has largely won the countrys civil war except for Idlib and the Kurdish-controlled areas. Even some of our Gulf partners have resumed diplomatic ties. So a broader Syria question: Does the United States need to resume diplomatic engagement with Assad to continue having leverage over the conflict? And what are your thoughts on helping Syria with reconstruction, because I know there have been efforts on Capitol Hill and within the administration to use reconstruction aid as leverage. Van Hollen: I do believe the United States should be involved in reconstruction efforts. However, as you know, the Trump administration eliminated funds from that goal. Its not quite clear how they would structure the use of all those funds. But I do think the United States can play an important role there. But that does presuppose in some ways getting to a political solution ultimately in Syria. Ive believed for a long time that youre not going to get to a military solution. Put it this way, the anti-Assad forces are not going to get a military solution. Although, as you say, Assad obviously has himself with a lot of Russian help and some Iranian support obviously made big military gains. My view is that the right forum for this remains through international negotiations and the United States should be involved in that forum as the only viable way to chart a path forward. Al-Monitor: Should the US follow the lead of the UAE and Bahrain, for instance, and resume direct diplomatic contacts with Assad or does it need to strictly stay in international fora? Van Hollen: I dont think we need to resume direct diplomatic engagement with Assad at this point. I think the best way first to participate is within international fora. Let me just mention a couple of other things as well. This goes to the so-called "deal of the century." Look, Ive been a skeptic of the [White House adviser Jared] Kushner plan for a long time, right? It seemed doomed from the start, given the fact that the approach was so one-sided and lop-sided in support of Netanyahus goals and quickly lost the engagement of the Palestinian Authority. Its not clear where they go from here. But it is a mistake to believe that somehow by providing economic assistance, people will somehow surrender their political rights and aspirations. That seems to have been the fundamental approach that Kushners taking. On the one hand, cut off all forms of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, including humanitarian assistance to hospitals and schools. They think that by imposing huge economic hardships on the Palestinian people that they will somehow surrender their political agenda for self-determination and a Palestinian state. It was based on a flawed premise from the beginning. Again, none of us know the details of this plan. We can always hope for a different outcome, but it seems to have been based on a faulty premise from the start. Al-Monitor: And Secretary Pompeo himself from a leaked recording this weekend seemed to acknowledge that it might fail. What do you think the administrations end game here is, knowing that after the Jerusalem embassy move and the aid cuts, the Palestinians already dont have confidence in the plan? What do you think their ultimate goal here is? Is it actually the "deal of the century" or are they perhaps looking for other concessions from the Palestinians? Van Hollen: Its not clear to me what their goal here is because their original thinking was so flawed at the beginning. While President Trump is unhappy with the political situation in Israel and the need for reelection, in some ways it has given them a temporary out from having to unveil a plan that was likely to meet with a lot of opposition from people in the region. Now well have to see. My best guess is they do plan to go forward with the meeting in Bahrain. Its not clear to me exactly how thats going to play out right now. But clearly, the second half of the plan will not be unveiled until you have a new government in Israel. And then that creates all sorts of other complications as well. Well have to see how all this unfolds. But the whole premise of their negotiating strategy was flawed from the start. My hope is that the Congress will make it clear that the only viable long-term approach that achieves the goal of a Jewish state thats democratic and provides for the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people is a two-state solution. A delegation of state officials and representatives of several Alabama companies are in Montreal this week for a conference of Southeastern states with Canadian business and trade partners. The 12th edition of the Southeastern United States-Canadian Provinces Alliance Conference is taking place through Tuesday. Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield is leading the delegation, which includes representatives of Auburn avionics firm Archangel Systems, Mobile shipping logistics company Page & Jones Inc., and Birminghams Regions Bank. Also taking part on the trip are AIDT Director Ed Castile and Office of International Trade Director Hilda Lockhart. Last year Alabama companies exported more than $4 billion in goods to Canada, while Canadian companies sent $3.1 billion in goods to Alabama. Canfield said the event helps to strengthen existing ties and develop new ones in Canada. One of the successes comes from the opportunity for business and industry leaders from each member state and province to participate in the exchange of ideas and development of new business partnerships," Canfield said. Despite significant traffic and parking congestion on Friday, fans still enjoyed a weekend of A-list country music at Rock the South 2019 in Cullman. Crowds gathered at 1872 County Road 469 in Cullman, a new location for the festival, which was previously held in Heritage Park. Priority and RV parking, plus the two new camping areas, all sold out with fans ready to rock out 50 miles north of Birmingham. But as is the case with any crowded festival, it wasnt without one or two logistical hitches to get started. This time of year is like Christmas to me. #Rockthesouth has begun. I love to just sit back and watch the craziness that is #Cullchella Instant Versification (@MauldinMauldin4) May 31, 2019 Can we address this parking situation!?! We have been sitting in the parking lot for 1 hour and 22 minutes and moved 35 feet! #Rockthesouth Emily (@fatgirltothin) June 1, 2019 Its a freaking nightmare trying to get to parking and our priority pass lied ant no police helping at all #RockTheSouth Christian Colvin (@ChristianColv11) June 1, 2019 Even with those parking headaches, fans still had a blast during night one, thanks to headliners like Kid Rock and Brooks & Dunn. @KidRockDetroit last night at #Rockthesouth and had a great time with good peeps. pic.twitter.com/n11cMJrA2U Jennifer Goodwin (@JGJennR) June 1, 2019 Finally got a chance to see my favorite country band/duo from when I was a kid and it was in Cullman! @BrooksAndDunn #RocktheSouth pic.twitter.com/7fHdL1DzCM Tyler Duke (@twd0002) June 1, 2019 Thanks to everyone for coming out and seeing us at #RockTheSouth! What a night. pic.twitter.com/JzeADXGUho Brooks & Dunn (@BrooksAndDunn) June 2, 2019 I had no interest in outdoor concerts in the hot Alabama heat and then they said @KidRock and I slid those boots on and sweated my ass off. #worthit #Rockthesouth https://t.co/O3Hl0jddeV pic.twitter.com/PfiRLahMxe Staci (@Staci4AU) June 1, 2019 After fans slogged through the jam trying to leave the grounds, festival organizers quickly addressed the matter to help moves things a little faster and close things out right on Saturday. The festival posted the following message and video on their Facebook page early in the morning: We hear you! Were working diligently with the state, county, and city officials to make getting into & out of Rock the South better today. Parking lots open at 9 a.m. Please consider arriving early to lessen traffic congestion. We appreciate your patience with us as we grow into the first year in this new property. We hear you! We're working diligently with the state, county, and city officials to make getting into & out of Rock the South better today. Parking lots open at 9 a.m. Please consider arriving early to lessen traffic congestion. We appreciate your patience with us as we grow into the first year in this new property. Posted by Rock the South on Saturday, June 1, 2019 With the parking situation back under control, the festival moved on for another day of good country music in sunny Cullman, as headliners Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen, Morgan Wallen, Colt Ford and Tyler Braden tore it up. Check out these fans and the events social media posts recapping another memorable Rock the South in Alabama. Cheers to @MorganWallen! Thanks for rocking the stage at the #BiggestPartyInTheSouth! pic.twitter.com/oPTBNjMyA7 Rock the South (@rockthesouth) June 2, 2019 Jake Owen took us down to the honkytonk pic.twitter.com/rUSklaVfsM Rock the South (@rockthesouth) June 2, 2019 President Donald Trump stopped at McLean Bible Church in Virginia on Sunday and a former Birmingham megachurch pastor prayed for him onstage. The Rev. David Platt, former pastor of the Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham from 2006-2014, brought Trump out on stage and prayed for him, holding an open Bible in his right hand as he placed his left hand on Trumps back. I want to ask us to bow our heads together now and pray for our president, Platt said. O God, we praise you as the one universal king over all. You are our Leader and our Lord. We worship You. There is one God and one savior, and its You, and Your name is Jesus. We exalt You, Jesus. We know we need Your mercy. We need Your grace. We need Your help. We need Your wisdom in our country, he continued. And so, we stand right now on behalf of our president and we pray for Your grace, and Your mercy, and Your wisdom upon him. God, we pray that he would know how much You love him so much that you would send Jesus to die for his sins, our sins. So we pray that he would look to You, that he would trust in You, he would lean on You, that he would govern and make decisions in ways that are good for justice, and good for righteousness and good for equity every good path. Platt added a prayer for Congress, the courts, state and local governments. Please, oh God, help us to lead to you, help us to trust in your word, help us to seek your wisdom, and live in ways that reflect your love and your grace, your righteousness and your justice. We pray for your blessings on our president toward that end. In Jesus name, we pray, Amen. Trump thanked Platt and shook his hand. Platt became pastor of the 4,300-member Church at Brook Hills in 2006 when he was only 28; making him the nations youngest megachurch pastor. He left in 2014 to take a job as president of the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptist Convention. He resigned from the International Mission Board in 2018 to take the job with the 13,000-member McLean Bible Church, which is located in Virginia just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. WATCH: Trump prays at the McLean Bible Church with Pastor David Platt in the wake of the Virginia Beach mass shooting pic.twitter.com/cpqs7efVYg TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) June 2, 2019 For those of you who pray, @realDonaldTrump briefly joined a Pastor David Platt at Mclean Bible Church (in suburban Virginia) today during an afternoon service after a round of golf. Platt prayed for him and other government leaders. Here's the prayer, transcribed from video: pic.twitter.com/cTirO9VB8L David Martosko (@dmartosko) June 2, 2019 Platt is expected to be back in Birmingham when the annual Southern Baptist Convention meets at BJCC Legacy Arena, June 11-12, and is a scheduled speaker at the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference, June 9-10. Platt is the author of several bestselling books, including Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, and Counter Culture. He is the founder of Radical, a ministry devoted to promoting discipleship. Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, according to the Kremlin press service. "The presidents exchanged views on various issues relating to the development of bilateral relations, and prospects for cooperation, as well as future contacts," according to the statement. The conversation was held at the initiative of the Azerbaijani side. The Azerbaijani presidential press service noted that Ilham Aliyev thanked Vladimir Putin for naming the Surgut city airport after the prominent oilman Farman Salmanov, and emphasized that the decision was received by the Azerbaijani public with deep gratitude. A one-year-old child died following a fiery wreck in Morgan County on Sunday, Alabama State Troopers said. Authorities said 22-year-old Karla Gabriela Barrera, of Decatur, was driving a Chevrolet Malibu on Ipsco Road when the vehicle left the road, struck a tree, overturned and caught fire near the intersection of Woodall Road at 8:19 a.m. Barrera and an 8-year-old child were removed from the vehicle, but the infant was pronounced dead at the scene. Barrera was airlifted to UAB while the surviving child was taken to a local hospital. Additional information about the wreck was not released. Kingwood Christian School in Alabaster is closing its doors. The private Christian school has been in operation in central Shelby County for 40 years. This is not a decision that was taken lightly; rather, this decision was only made after extensive efforts to increase enrollment over time, Ruth Gray, headmaster of KCS, said in a release While we have been honored to welcome some new students in recent years, our overall enrollment did not reach the levels necessary to continue. Kingwood served grades K-12 with about 300 students. There were 35 graduates in the class of 2019. Gray said the closure is due in part to changes in the educational landscape. When KCS was founded 40 years ago, families had fewer choices. Today, Shelby County has a wealth of options, from award-winning public schools with newer facilities, to a strong homeschooling community, and additional private schools that were established to serve various needs, she said. Still, our faculty and staff continued to set KCS apart, and we regret that we were not able to reach enough students to keep the school financially viable for the long term. Though this is extremely difficult, we recognize this decision is necessary to give our students, faculty, and staff the clarity they need as they make decisions regarding the upcoming school year. School officials said students are being assisted with transfer of records and employment help is being provided to former KCS faculty and staff. KCS was established in 1979 as an outreach of First Assembly of God, now known as Kingwood Church. Kingwood Christian Child Development Center, which provides nursery and preschool services, will remain in operation. As Alabama Public Television continues its ban on a PBS episode that showed a same-sex marriage, a Birmingham church is throwing a wedding party to celebrate the matrimony. First United Methodist Church is hosting a free screening of the Arthur episode "Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" on June 15 at 10 a.m. The church is welcoming people of all ages to the event, where wedding cake and sparkling apple juice will be served. The church collaborated with Sidewalk Film Festival and Shout LGBTQ Film Festival to organize the wedding party. Rachel Morgan, who is the creative director for both festivals, got permission from WGBH in Boston to screen the episode. She said the episode and the event's location fulfills the festivals' mission to show content featuring people who are underrepresented in film and media. "Weddings take places at churches all the time. So First Church seems like a perfect venue for the cartoon in my opinion," she said. "(The church) frequently communicates to the community that they are an 'open place for all,' and I think this event reflects that statement." When the episode first aired nationwide on May 13, people across the country watched as Arthur and his friends witnessed their teacher, Mr. Ratburn, wed his partner. APT decided not to show the episode and played a re-run of Arthur instead. Mike Mckenzie, director of programming at APT, cited parents' trust in APT as the reason why the episode didn't air in Alabama. APT gave a similar response in 2005, when it refused to air another Arthur episode that showed Buster visiting a girl who had lesbian mothers. APT's Facebook page was bombarded with comments for its decision. First United Methodist Church isn't the first to show the episode. The Magic City Acceptance Center, a resource center for LGBTQ youth, had a screening on May 29. Morgan experienced multiple emotions when she heard the news about APT's decision. First, came the shock. "I had to confirm that the news article regarding the episode not airing wasn't something from the archives, circa 1970," Morgan said. "Personally, I was in disbelief and a little ashamed for our state. With all due respect to Alabama Public Television, it simply doesn't speak well for Alabama on a national level to censor such content." Then came the disappointment, Morgan said. "It made me sad, mostly for the message that it potentially sends to children -- that the lives of members of the LGBTQ community don't deserve the same representation as others," Morgan said. News about APT's refusal spread nationwide. Even Arthur creator Marc Brown told People he was displeased. I dont want children or people who are different to feel excluded. Thats not the kind of world we want to live in, he told the magazine. "And we want children to be educated so they can see theres not just one type of family. Everyone should feel represented. I think we did that with Arthur. Lori Parry says she didnt have any choice in trying CBD oil. The decision was forced on her. For the past decade, Parry, an Attalla resident, had been using fentanyl patches and lortab for chronic back and neck pain. After working in meat packing, the pain led Parry to have neck surgery six years ago, but she needed prescriptions to get through the day. Then, her insurance changed, and she could have a 30-day supply of patches... every 90 days. Facing the dilemma of how to manage her pain, something unexpected happened - the coming of CBD oil to Alabama. Cannabidiol, or CBD oil, is made from industrial hemp. Some products with CBD contain a tiny percentage of THC, the intoxicating substance found in marijuana. CBD oil can also be derived from marijuana, and the Alabama Legislature has allowed limited exceptions to the law against marijuana possession for the use of CBD oil. The 2018 Agriculture and Nutrition Act also changed the legal status of hemp from a controlled substance to an agricultural commodity. Now stores are seeing a proliferation of products - The Green Rush, its being called, along with the decriminalization movement in some states toward marijuana - and even chains are starting to stock a few CBD products. Analysts expect the hemp market, given the current growing demand, to explode over the next few years. As a result in the changed law, licensed Alabama hemp crops for the first time in 82 years also are now sprouting up around the state to take advantage of the growing market for products derived from the plants - most notably CBD. Many CBD stores springing up in Alabama rely on word-of-mouth advertising from a devoted brand of customer. Enter into stores selling CBD oil and other products, and one is liable to hear stories like Parrys, of relief from pain, chronic conditions, anxiety and sensory processing disorders. However, because CBD is still largely unregulated (the Food and Drug Administration held its first hearing last week to consider regulations), accessing the truth of those claims sometimes depends on your view of the storyteller. CBD containing large doses of THC (illegal outside research in Alabama) has been proven to work for certain medical conditions. But the scientific verdict is still out on the medical value of CBD containing small amounts of THC. The Harvard Medical School Health Blog, for example, points out that there isnt enough medical evidence available to know the most effective therapeutic dose of CBD for any particular medical condition. A 2015 study found that many CBD-labeled products contained small amounts of the substance, while a 2017 study found that 26 percent of CBD products sometimes had a lower dosage than was actually listed, and 43 percent had a higher amount than indicated. Critics also say that the products are vague about where the hemp is grown, or production methods, or whether other substances have been added to the products. Parry said she had been curious years before about CBD oil, but it was unavailable in Alabama until this year. She uses a tincture under the tongue as well as a vape, and said she gets relief without any side effects. Ive not taken lortab in a month, she said. Within 15 minutes, I can feel relief in my body. I can tell a difference in the range of motion in my back. I know the lortab had to be bad on my body. I told people that before they go condemning this, if they have pain, they need to try it. The only drawback is the same one that drove her to taking CBD oil in the first place - insurance wont cover it. Before with insurance, Parry said she was paying about $30 to $40 for a lortab prescription partly paid by her insurance. Now, she pays about $170 for a bottle of the CBD oil. Kandice Johnson Kimbril of Rainbow City tells a similar story. She suffers from several chronic conditions, including autoimmune illnesses, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease and migraines. Previously, she used Ambien, pain medications, and a prescription for migraines. Her massage therapist, who used CBD oil in her massages, got her to try the products. It has reduced my pain tremendously, she said. For the past 18 months, Kimbril said, shes been using CBD oil, gummy candies with CBD oil and a tincture. Occasionally, she will use terpenes oil for focus and inflammation. She calls the products life changing. She no longer needs the medications, she says, and only uses the prescription for migraines, but very seldom." These uses are consistent with one of the documented applications of CBD oil for pain management. A European Journal of Pain study showed in animals that CBD applied to the skin could help lower pain and inflammation due to arthritis. CBD has also has been found to inhibit inflammatory and neuropathic pain, what doctors say are two of the most difficult types of chronic pain to treat. Researchers believe CBD stops the body from absorbing a compound associated with regulating pain, as well as limiting inflammation in the brain and nervous system. Another area where its use has been adopted is childhood epilepsy, especially with disorders unresponsive to anti-seizure medication. But use Google to look for information on CBD oil, and one is likely to land on web pages promoting the products, with testimonials made to look like medical advice. Linger on some of the pages long enough, and youll be prompted to sign up for CBD newsletters. This illustrates the difficulty in finding objective information on the products. The Mayo Clinic, for example, points out that further research is needed to determine CBDs other benefits and safety. It also recommends talking to a doctor before usage. Kymbreli Smith of Helena said she might never have considered CBD oil had she not been attending a convention in Las Vegas and saw a demonstration on it. Thats when she thought about using it for her 10-year-old son Carson, who was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Hes been a quirky kid, Smith said. Hes had little issues since birth, when he was very sick. Weve worked with an occupational therapist. Weve tried the regular routes with many different prescription medications. Any benefit we received was overshadowed by the side effects. It just wasnt worth the trouble. Smith said she and her husband researched CBD products, making sure that the oil they considered giving their son was within legal limits and manufactured according to a standard. Before they ever used a product, her husband tried a sample. We saw no reason not to try it, she said. I know theres a difference between marijuana and hemp. (The oil is) no different from any other natural supplement. Carson uses five drops daily of the THC free CBD oil tincture. The Smiths began to see a change in their sons school work around progress report time - grades jumped from 10 to 12 points in three different subjects, she said. Their son was more focused, Smith said, and even Carson could tell a difference in himself. Now, he asks, I need my oil. The changes kept coming. Formerly a picky eater, he was more open for trying new foods. He was no longer as sensitive to sounds, and even went to a concert. There arent as many outward signs of anxiety, she said. Carson isnt engaging in the kind of hyper conversation common to his form of ADHD. Its been a year now, and the couple are still spotting benefits, she said. There used to be so many tears over homework, she said. "Now he just does it. I cant explain the change. I never expected this to get better, she said. Arden C. Earll sat in his wheelchair in the library of the nursing home where he lives and studied the list of men from Company H who were killed on Omaha Beach. "Cowan," he recited, as if calling the roll. "Crawley." "Hayes." He began to cry as he read the names he recognized. "Washburn" - Noel P., his 21-year-old squad leader, cut down in front of him as they came off the landing craft on D-Day. "McGrath" - Donald E., a fellow Pennsylvanian, age 22, whose father was a telegraph operator back in Carbondale. Eighteen men from his company perished on June 6, 1944. Earll, 94, sighed and wiped away his tears. "Sometimes I think, 'Why were they killed and I wasn't?' Why? You don't know." As the 75th anniversary of the legendary World War II allied invasion at Normandy approaches, few American veterans of the landings are left to tell the story. Of the 16 million who served, fewer than 500,000 American veterans of World War II are believed to be alive. "D-Day vets would be a small subset of that number," said John Long of the National D-Day Memorial. The landings were a turning point in World War II. Along with the massive armies of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe, they created the vise that would crush Nazi Germany and end the war in Europe within a year. A solemn commemoration is scheduled for June 6 in Normandy. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are expected to attend, along with other world leaders, dignitaries and veterans. Earll, a dairy farmer's son from northwestern Pennsylvania, was 19 when the ramp on his landing craft went down and he splashed ashore at 7 a.m. with men from the 29th Division's 116th Regiment. He still has bits of enemy shrapnel under the wrinkled skin of his right arm. "Souvenirs," he said. And the day remains vividly etched in his mind. The 18 men from Company H were among 2,501 Americans killed that day - 381 just from the 116th - along with 1,913 British, Canadian and other allied soldiers and sailors, according to the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia. They were part of an allied force of more than 150,000 men, 6,000 ships and 10,000 planes that assaulted the coast of France that June. It was the greatest invasion armada in history, experts say, and its start, D-Day, occupies a place in the American psyche beside the Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Pearl Harbor. It was the beginning of what American Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, was the invasion's supreme commander, called "the Great Crusade" to liberate western Europe after four years of Nazi domination. For the Germans, it would be what the defeated Field Marshal Erwin Rommel called "the longest day." The grand assault, named Operation Overlord, began on the coast of Normandy. Five beachheads were designated from west to east: Utah and Omaha for the Americans and Gold, Juno and Sword for the British, Canadians and others. As it turned out, Omaha Beach was the most heavily defended by the Germans and the bloodiest for the Americans. There were 85 enemy machine gun nests, 35 rocket launching sites, 18 antitank guns, four artillery batteries, and 35 pillboxes, historian Cornelius Ryan wrote. Near the end of the day, another "dogface" from the 116th, quoted by historian Alex Kershaw, said of Omaha Beach: "Thousands of bodies were lying there. You could walk on the bodies, as far as you could see . . . without touching the ground." Arden Earll had placed himself at the front of his landing craft that morning as it plunged through the stormy channel toward the beach, drenching him in seawater. He was desperately trying to keep himself awake after downing too many seasickness pills. He had never before taken the pills, which were issued by the Army during amphibious drills but could make you drowsy. "By God, I'm tough," he said to himself. "I come from a farm. I don't need any of your d--- pills." But in the landing craft that morning, when the pills were passed around, he had second thoughts. "When we get on dry land again, they're going to be shooting at me," he reasoned. "I better be damn sure that I'm not sick." When the bottle came around, he took a handful instead of the recommended two or three. "As you know, D-Day was what they call the longest day," he said. "Well, on the longest day, I'm going to sleep." He placed himself up front hoping the splashing water would rouse him. "By the time I got very close to land, I was wide-awake again. But I was soaked to the skin." Earll had the blue and gray logo of the 29th Division marked on his helmet. He was carrying his full combat kit plus six rounds of 81 mm mortar ammo, wrapped in a life preserver so he could float it ashore, and an old 1903 Springfield rifle. The new .30-caliber carbines he said he and his buddies had been promised never materialized, so they were issued weapons dating from World War I. "We took those Springfields and we cleaned them all up . . . and that's what we took in on D-Day," he said. Barely a year had passed since the troop train from Erie had picked him up in Union City, where he was born, as it wound through Pennsylvania stopping at small town stations to collect new GIs headed for the war, Earll said in an interview here May 1. He spoke as he sat at a table wearing glasses, a tan vest and a short-sleeved gray shirt. His hearing is poor, but his recollections were detailed and sharp. A wartime photo of him in the American Legion post down the road in Union City shows a handsome man in uniform wearing his Army overseas cap at a jaunty angle. Earll was the youngest of four children: three boys and a girl. His father had a farm and worked in one of the local factories. Neither job generated much money, he said. (Earll would return to the area after the war and work for the Postal Service for 40 years.) He had been drafted upon graduation from Union City High School in 1943. By Dec. 14 of that year, he was heading across the Atlantic aboard the fast ocean liner/troopship Queen Elizabeth. Six days later he was in Scotland. By June 1944, he had been assigned to Company H in southern England to await the invasion. Before the men embarked for France from Weymouth, the Army dug a large burn pit and ordered the GIs to discard any nonessential items, Earll told the Library of Congress Veterans History Project in 2007. Cartons of cigarettes went in, along with personal items and other things. "I remember one man had a guitar," he said. "When we were in camp he sat around evenings playing his guitar. The last I saw of that guitar it was down there in that hole . . . burning up." He and his comrades started the crossing aboard a large transport ship, the USS Thomas Jefferson, where members of the clergy held services below deck and Eisenhower's famous D-Day message was read: "Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you." By 7 a.m., Earll and his Company H pals had been jammed into the small landing craft for about three hours as it plowed toward Normandy. Now they were near the beach. Somebody said, "There's France," but when Earll took a look all he could see was smoke. Company A had gone in about 30 minutes earlier, and was being decimated by German fire. One hundred and three men from Company A would be killed - including 22 from the small town of Bedford, about 130 miles west of Richmond. The 3,400 men of the 116th were assaulting a three-mile stretch of Omaha Beach that was separated by several "draws," or pathways, leading inland from the water. Earll said his outfit's target was the draw at a place called Les Moulins, near a sub sector of the beach called Dog Red. Les Moulins was defended by two German strong points with concrete bunkers, a 50 mm cannon, machine guns, mortars and revolving tank turrets, according to historian Peter Caddick-Adams. When the ramp of Earll's landing craft went down, the water was knee-deep. "Let's go!" Washburn said. He was the first one out. "I was right behind him," Earll said. They got about 20 or 25 yards when Washburn went down. "I saw him go into the water," Earll said. "When he got up, I could see that he was hurt bad. Something had hit him all up and down the front of him. He went back down into the water and never got up." Washburn was the son of a carpenter from Martinsville, Virginia, just above the North Carolina border. He had numerous brothers and sisters. His mother, Dora, who had married at 15, had died in 1936. "He had found a home in the service," Earll said. Washburn bragged that he would never be caught with a dirty rifle and had just been promised an officer's commission. "Well, Washburn just lived for that day, and he never made it," he said. Earll couldn't stop. The men had been told to keep going no matter what. He dropped the mortar ammunition amid the chaos. A sniper took a shot at him and missed. As he crossed the beach, he came across a very young soldier crying for his mother. "He was just a kid," Earll said. "He didn't look like he was even old enough to be there. He'd broke. Some of them did break. He was laying there in the sand. . . . He was crying for his mother to come and take him home. "I tried to talk to him, I said, 'Buddy, your mother is 6,000 miles away. She will never get here to take you home. Get out of it!' But we had our orders to keep going. I had to leave him." As he slogged forward, he spotted a lone American tank playing cat and mouse with the German defenses. The tank would fire and then move. But it was drawing return fire. As Earll went around it, an artillery shell exploded. peppering his right side with shrapnel. "I'm hit!" he said as he looked down at his bleeding arm, but he quickly got a grip. "Arden, come on," he told himself. "You're not hurt. You can still walk." A medic patched him up, and he and others from the 116th fought their way forward throughout the endless day. "The next morning they had decided that we were shot up so bad, they put another regiment through us . . . and we went back on the beach and reorganized," he said. As he walked back across the wreckage of Omaha beach, he saw dead soldiers who had been washed by the incoming tide. Among the slain was the frightened young man Earll had seen earlier. God had come and taken him home, he said. His mother could not. This is an opinion column. There are two things Alabama political journalists hate to explain for readers. The first: When is the last day of the legislative session? At least once a year, an editor, a colleague or a reader comes to me with this question. And I have to look at them like a blank-faced idiot and say, I dunno. It just happens. Alabama law says the Legislature has a 105-day window in which it may meet for no more than 30 days. Also, it must pass budgets. And thats pretty much all the law says. Once lawmakers pass the budgets, they can go home whenever they want. And there is a formula for this: When their enjoyment of lobbyists cocktail parties is equal to or less than how sick they are of being around each other. But the budgets must pass first. And that never happens before the other. A few days after spring break (which they take off every year), a lawmaker will say to me, We just need to pass the damn budgets and go home. This can happen at any time. This year it happened on Friday. But some years, lawmakers run out that weird clock without even passing a budget, and that, curiously, is against the law. Which brings us to the second question we hate. What is a Budget Isolation Resolution? Unlike the first question, no one ever asks this because no one cares. Just the words Budget Isolation Resolution can be lethal. In the newspaper, you might as well say, How bout them Braves? because thats the section everybodys going to when you put Budget Isolation Resolution on the page. But you cannot understand the procedural absurdity of the Alabama Legislature without it. Because Alabama raises money by taxing people who dont have any, the state frequently runs short on cash. Lawmakers cant go home without moving prisons from the eighth level of hell to ninth. Or worse, leaving a key committee chairman without a new bridge in his district. So they procrastinate. They pass awful bills that make national headlines for all the wrong reasons. They futz around until its too late. Next, the governor brings lawmakers back in a Special Session, and tongue-clucking know-it-alls (like me) chide them for how much all this costs. (Were not wrong.) Decades ago, this happened so often, Alabama voters tried to fix this problem by amending the state constitution. That amendment required the Legislature to pass the budgets first. So then, how do they still pass the budgets last? Because Budget Isolation Resolution. When they drafted this law, somebody had the thought: What if there was an emergency? What if there was a war or something and we needed to do something very, very important and it couldnt wait for the budget to pass? So they built into that constitutional amendment an escape clause. By a three-fifths vote, lawmakers can momentarily isolate the budget and skip to the next bill for emergencies only, yall. Which, for lawmakers today, means every bill. It also gives different factions an opportunity for strategy. You dont need a majority on your side if you can block the other guys with a two-fifths vote, which leads to acrimony and retaliation. When folks like me have to map all that out, readers tune out because Budget Isolation Resolution. Everything voters mandated with that amendment has been negated because Budget Isolation Resolution. You might be wondering why Id write about Legislative calendars and that other thing if I hate them so much. Because theres an opportunity here for a better Alabama. This year Gov. Kay Ivey made raising gas taxes a priority. She called a special session before the regular session on that issue alone. And she wasnt going to let lawmakers go home until she got what she wanted. A lot of folks yes, me gave her grief for it. But maybe theres something to it. Next year, Ivey should do it again. Only this time not for taxes. For the budgets. And not after lawmakers waste three months soiling our states reputation further. Before. We could leave the regular session and all the Legislatures silly, supercilious mucking about for later just as the state constitution says we should. And with the budgets out of the way, lawmakers laziness will call them home before theyre likely to do any real harm. Kay Ivey can make that happen. After a year like this one, we need our Legislature to do the least damage while doing the minimum to keep the government running. Or as they say there We just need to pass the damn budgets and go home. Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group. Want access to the best analysis and in-depth reporting about Alabama each week? Sign up for the weekly Reckon Report newsletter and follow Reckon on Facebook and Twitter. Follow Whitmire on Twitter and Facebook, too. And Instagram. Jefferson Davis the president of the Confederate states from 1861-1865 was born on June 3, 1808. Alabama marks that occasion every year with an official state holiday. The first Monday in June is celebrated as Jefferson Davis birthday in the state. This year, the official holiday falls on Davis actual birthday. Davis is not an Alabama native. He was born in Kentucky and later represented Mississippi in Congress before serving as U.S. Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce. Davis was the unanimous choice of the Confederate Convention for president, taking the oath of office in Montgomery, Alabama on Feb. 18, 1861. Davis was captured at the close of the Civil War, accused of treason and imprisoned, though never tried. He was released two years later and spent his retirement years on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Davis holiday is one of three in Alabama that honors Confederate leaders: Robert E. Lee's birthday, which is marked in January on the same day as Martin Luther King Day; Confederate Memorial Day in April; and Davis' birthday in June. The state holiday means some offices and agencies will be closed June 4. Here's what's open and what's closed: Alabama state offices - closed Alabama state courts - closed Car tag offices - Open in some counties, closed in others where Davis' birthday is observed. U.S. Post Office - normal operations Banks - open City and county offices - Most are open The White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery - Closed June 3-5. Alabama is the last state to have a legal holiday set aside solely to commemorate the birth of Davis. Mississippi marks Davis birthday but includes it in the Memorial Day celebration. In Texas, Davis birthday is part of Confederate Heroes Day while other Southern states, including Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee, have a holiday for Davis on the books but do not give employees a day off. Jimmy Wales, Alabama native and founder of online encyclopedia Wikipedia, isnt a fan of President Donald Trump. Wales now lives in the United Kingdom. Trump is in the middle of a state visit to the UK, prompting the Huntsville native to tweet: I will be back when he leaves." I am going to the airport. Leaving the UK today. I will be back when he leaves. Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) June 3, 2019 When asked on Twitter if anyone cares, Wales shot back: A whole lotta easily triggered (Make America Great Again) fans apparently. A whole lotta easily triggered MAGA fans apparently. Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) June 3, 2019 Wales later said his UK exit was part of a long-planned trip to visit family in Florida. Tweet was just to rile up the MAGA bots. Mission accomplished, he wrote. A man was killed in Choctaw County during an accident involving a farm tractor, Alabama State Troopers said. Troopers said George Franklin Mason, 57, of Silas, was driving a Ford farm tractor when he was struck from behind by a 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer driven by 56-year-old David Maurice Mosley. The accident happen on Saturday at 8:35 p.m. on U.S. Highway 84 in the Isney community. Troopers said Mosley was not injured. Additional information about the wreck was not released. The case of a Madison County man who allegedly used an app in an attempt to lure a teen for a sexual encounter has raised concerns about the social platforms use. Kevin Alexander Guerrero-Beltran, 29, was arrested in May by Boaz police officers after he allegedly used the Whisper app to set up a sexual encounter with a 13-year-old. The messages were intercepted by the childs parents who contacted the police. Police then arrested Guerrero-Beltran when he arrived at the location hed allegedly arranged with the teen. The nature of the Whisper app, which allows users to post anonymous confessions, is concerning to law enforcement. The app allows users to superimpose text over a picture in order to share the users thoughts and feelings. While posts are anonymous, they can include location information about the poster. Users can also search for other posters who are using the app within a mile of themselves. The anonymity coupled with the location services can pose a danger for children and teens, according to the Morgan County Sheriffs Office. Users do not have to register to use Whisper and can use the app to communicate with other users nearby through GPS. A quick look at the app and you can see that online relationships are forming through the use of this app, but you never know the person behind the computer or phone. Sexual predators also use the app to locate kids and establish a relationship, the sheriffs department said. Tips for keeping your child safe: From the Morgan County Sheriffs Department Cooperation with Russia is a major factor for Kazakhstans domestic development, Kazakh President Kasym-Zhomart Tokayev said. "Why do we speak about cooperation with Russia? Because it is not mere lofty words, it has a vast practical sense. The Kazakh-Russian cooperation, which is based on the principles of strategic partnership and allied ties, is a major factor of success in Kazakhstans internal development. I am confident of that," he said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 television channel. Speaking about his vision of his countrys future, the Kazakh leader noted that it will be "a developed country with people who are people of civilization." "It is about educated youth feeling confident about their future. It is about people living in affluence. This is how I want to work to reach this goal. And it is quite reachable in favorable external environment," he said. A 12-year-old Birmingham girl missing since Friday has been located, but authorities are still searching for her teen sister. Starleesha Rachel Brown, 16, and Aleila Samone Brown, 12, were last seen Friday at their grandmothers house in the Crestwood area. East Precinct officers have located Aleila, said Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr. However, police are still searching for Starleesha, who was last known to be wearing a black shirt and black tights. She is 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs 217 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham Police at 205-297-8413 or 911. A 29-year-old Sylacauga man has been arrested in the armed robbery of a credit union during which police say he fired his weapon multiple times. The holdup happened May 28 at the Coosa Pines Federal Credit Union, said Sylacauga Police Chief Kelley Johnson. The suspect now identified as Damion Leshawn Nix entered the financial institution and fired his gun. Nix, Johnson said, made off with a small amount of money from a credit union customer. Police patrol officers were in the area and quickly responded to the call. Officers immediately set up a perimeter and were able to capture Nix in the woods near his home. At the time of his arrest, police recovered money and body armor. The gun was not found. Nix was previously convicted of two counts of first-degree robbery in 2009 and received a two-year sentence in each of those convictions. He was released from prison in August 2017. He is now charged with two counts of first-degree robbery again. He is being held in the Talladega County Jail. His bond on the new charges totals $120,000 but is being held without bond because of the parole violation. The Talladega County Sheriffs Department, the Alabama Department of Pardons and Paroles, the Calhoun County Sheriffs Department K9 QT, the FBI, and ATF K9 Ranger took part in the investigation. First-degree robbery is a Class A felony, punishable by up to life in prison and no less than 10 years in prison. Authorities are trying to find relatives of a man and two women who were found dead in their homes in May. All three are believed to have died from natural causes, but their bodies are ready to be released for burial and Jefferson County Coroners Office officials have not been able to locate family members. Sharon Bennett Bowman, a 64-year-old white female, was found dead May 14 at Legacy Health and Rehabilitation of Pleasant Grove. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said Bowman was under the care of Affinity Hospice and she may have previously lived in Sylacauga, Talladega and Childersburg. Nobody has been able to give coroners officials any known family for Bowman. Susan Foster Heil, a 61-year-old white female, was found dead in her home in the 3900 block of 40th Avenue North on May 16. A neighbor called Birmingham police to do a welfare check after Heil had not been seen in two weeks. She was found dead at her kitchen table. Several acquaintances have told authorities that Heil has a daughter who may live in Hueytown but did not know her name. Heil used to work at Brasher Automotive, now Harolds Auto, on Vanderbilt Road. Kenneth Howard Dreiling, a 60-year-old white male, was found dead in his apartment in the 1000 block of Huffman Road on May 24. Neighbors told authorities they had not seen him in about four days. He was found dead in his bed. Family members, or anyone with information on relatives, are asked to call the coroners office at 205-930-3603. A Birmingham husband and father of 7 had just walked across the street to get his son something to eat when he died in a hail of bullets outside an Ensley restaurant. The city 46th homicide victim of 2019 has been identified as 36-year-old Gewayne Gilbert. He was shot to death Friday night outside Ensley Seafood. Everybody is taking it hard, said Sharon Underwood, Gilberts oldest sister who raised him. I feel like three meals a day in jail is too good for the person who did this. Birmingham police on Sunday announced the arrest of JhaKiren DeAntres Grier, 20. His charged with murder, and will be held in the Jefferson County Jail. Police have not released a motive. Grier was one of six people arrested last year in thefts of high-dollar cars from a Birmingham railyard. Grier is accused of stealing one of several cars taken Jan. 24, 2018 from the CSX railyard in north Birmingham. Authorities said the stolen cars cost between $60,000 to $80,000 each and included a GMC Yukon, a Dodge Hellcat Charger, a Dodge Challenger and a Ford Mustang. The thefts happened about 5 p.m. that day and led to a chase in Fairfield later that evening. He was indicted earlier this year in that case and, in early May, applied for youthful offender in the case. JhaKiren DeAntres Grier Gilbert was temporarily staying with his uncle across the street from the restaurant while he saved money. He had just started a new job at Acipco and was looking forward to better being able to support his wife and children his youngest child was just born about two weeks ago. God was blessing him, said his cousin, Jerica Underwood. And as soon as the breakthrough came, here comes the enemy. One of Gilberts young elementary-school-aged sons was spending the night with him. Just before 9:30 p.m. Friday, he wanted something to eat so Gilbert asked his uncle to keep an eye on the boy and he walked over to Ensley Seafood. A short time later, Gilberts uncle heard shots fired, but didnt think much about it. He and Gilberts son fell asleep, and he was shocked to awaken the next morning to find Gilbert still gone and the boy still there. He knew he would never leave his son, Sharon Underwood said. Family members began to make calls and learned it was indeed their loved one who died in the shooting. Birmingham police spokesman Officer Rod Mauldin said West Precinct officers were dispatched just before 9:30 p.m. to the store parking lot in the 3100 block of Ensley Avenue. The restaurant is adjacent to the Quick Mart. When officers got to the scene, they found Gilbert unresponsive from an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service. Mauldin said the citys gunfire detection system Shot Spotter indicated six to nine rounds were fired. A short time later, the alleged shooter turned himself in to police at the departments headquarters. They said they are heartbroken over the loss. Gilbert, they said, was a father to two boys and five girls. He had long worked at a warehouse for a chain store but took the job at Acipco with plans to work 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week. He worked every day to take care of every last one of them, Sharon Underwood said. He was a loving father. Gilbert, who leaves behind a twin brother as well, grew up in Bessemer and attended Jess Lanier High School. He had never been in trouble with the law and was devoted to his family, friends and job. He was not the violent type, his sister said. I hate my brother had to die out there senselessly. He was my heart. The family is planning to hold a vigil outside Ensley Seafood at 7 p.m. Monday. Anyone with information on the slaying is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Birmingham police are asking for the publics help finding two young sisters who have been missing for at least 48 hours. Starleesha Rachel Brown, 16, and Aleila Samone Brown, 12, were last seen Friday at their grandmothers house in the Crestwood area, said Birmingham police spokesman Officer Rod Mauldin. Starleesha was last known to be wearing a black shirt and black tights. She is 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs 217 pounds. Aleila is 5-feet tall and weighs 127 pounds. She was last known to be wearing dark blue jeans and a red shirt with the words I kissed a vampire and I liked it. Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham Police at 205-297-8413 or 911. Two teenagers were arrested after a 16-year-old male was shot at a Fairhope Rotary Youth Club on Sunday, according to Fairhope police. Police at midnight responded to the club located at 19128 Young Street where a large group of people had gathered for an event. According to Chief Stephanie Hollinghead, there was a Young Kappa Dance in progress at the club, hence it being open after hours. Witnesses told police a fight broke out at the club just after 12 a.m., and immediately after, gunfire rang out. While officers at the scene were attempting to disperse the crowd, they were advised by dispatch that a 16-year-old male had just arrived at Thomas Hospital where he was treated for a gunshot wound. The investigation showed the 16-year-old male was one of the people involved in the altercation and was subsequently shot. According to police, he was treated for his injury and was released. Police have arrested Alan David York, 18, of Prichard and Travon Deanthony Jackson, 19, of Mobile in connection with the shooting. Jackson admitted to firing the weapon into the air, according to police, and has been charged with reckless endangerment. York was charged with first-degree assault, reckless endangerment, and shooting into an occupied vehicle. This is an opinion column. The legislative session is over and I am still mad about the lottery bill failing. I didnt care one way or the other about the gas tax. I didnt know people had to be mandated to teach their kids kindergarten skills or buckle backseat seatbelts. I thought college students already had free speech, most drivers move into the right lane without issue, and I dont think the abortion law will ever be enforced. My suggestion to Alabama women regarding the abortion ban is similar to some fabulous advice I once received about marriage - never marry a man that isnt worth divorcing. Dont get pregnant by a guy who cant afford for you to have his baby. And go for top dollar. It has long been known as one of the few ways to get a man to change his opinion, mind, and vote. All of Alabama knew the medical marijuana bill was going nowhere. It was a joke. They formed a study group that will probably still be studying years from now. It was a kick of the can. It was nothing. I assumed the marijuana talk was being tossed around just to distract the moral opposition crowd while the lottery bill passed. If some people were freaking-out over the prospect of medical marijuana being available in Alabama, they wouldnt hyperventilate so much over voters getting to vote on an Alabama lottery. But no. I called it wrong. They both failed. People who benefit from marijuana will still privately smoke, and people who play the lottery will still drive to neighboring states with their money in hand for tickets every week. The Alabama House of Representatives is one of the more pretentious groups of lawmakers we have witnessed in quite some time. They think what they think matters more than what voters think. That their way is the only view and the only right way. They all took oaths to serve the citizens of the state of Alabama, but it seems they want to pretend instead that they are our Daddies. The know best. They will make the rules around here. And you can trust that they know best because they are politicians. All honorable men and women Im sure. The type of people who will readily gamble with everything but cash. Marriages, careers, reputationsjust not dollars in games of chance. All the House had to do was agree to have the lottery option put on the 2020 ballot. And they failed us. They completely folded. They knew a lottery would generate money. They know Alabama desperately needs money for literally everything, but they got so bogged down in arguing over what to do with the money that they stalled. None of them should go into their quiet quarters and think they had a session well done. Democrats failed us by refusing to vote in favor of it because they were holding out to get what they wanted. Certain Republicans voted against it because of the moral argument. Rich Wingo, R-Tuscaloosa, was upfront about his feelings. He said, People can do what they want, but I just dont think its right. Is that why he was elected? Does anybody even particularly care what Mr. Wingo thinks about a lottery? The whole point of the lottery bill was for the people of Alabama to vote what they think. But the thought of a lottery makes Daddy Wingo uncomfortableso no vote for Alabama. I disagree with the moral argument. I have watched over the last 20 years since we last voted on it. That was the leading mantra to keep it from passing back then, Alabama will not be blessed if it has a lottery. And now look at us. We rank next to last economically. That does not equate to being blessed. The lottery bill should have passed. We all lose. At least we got the Legislatures blessing and permission to join the Wine of the Month club. The Legislature will decide which sins are acceptable here in Alabama. Amanda Walker is a contributor with AL.com The Selma Times Journal, Thomasville Times, West Alabama Watchman, and Alabama Gazette. Contact her at Walkerworld77@msn.com or at https://www.facebook.com/AmandaWalker.Columnist Mexican officials warn that threatened US tariffs on Mexican goods could backfire. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he told Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez in a meeting on Monday that Mexico must do more to help the United States address illegal immigration. Ross said in a statement he discussed the U.S. plan to hit Mexico with a 5% tariff next week on goods imported into the United States unless Mexico takes steps to curtail the flow of migrants. Mexicos Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard warned Monday that President Donald Trumps planned punitive tariffs on Mexico would be counterproductive for cracking down on migrants, but the White House reiterated Trumps threat is serious. As markets reeled, officials on both sides said they thought a deal could be reached before potentially-damaging tariffs on Mexican exports to the United States are put in place on June 10. Trump, on a state visit to Britain, stepped up pressure in a tweet. As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border, he wrote. Earlier, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said in Mexico City that it was important to resolve the issue through dialogue. We are in favor of free trade, and we think an agreement can be reached, he said. I want to continue being friends with President Donald Trump. Escalating tensions Trade tensions between the two neighbours escalated last week after President Trump threatened to slap five percent tariffs on all Mexican goods starting June 10th and increase the rate in the coming months to 25 percent if Mexico fails to take stronger measures to stem the flow of undocumented migrants seeking to cross into the US via Mexico. Speaking at his regular press conference in Mexico City, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated that he believed a deal could be reached to avert the tariffs. Mexican officials, speaking to reporters in Washington, warned that Trumps tariffs could backfire. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said such tariffs would be devastating and would not stop waves of Central American migrants from crossing the southern US border. Mexicos ambassador to the US, Martha Barcena, said that, tariffs, along with the decision to cancel aid programs to the northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect and would not reduce migration flows. Barcena added that tariffs also could cause financial and economic instability, reducing Mexican authorities capacity to address migration flows and offer alternatives to migrants fleeing Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. The discussions in Washington will include a meeting of Mexican Agriculture Minister Victor Villalobos and US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday, Mexican officials said. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and acting US Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan also are expected to participate in talks, Mexican officials said. Mexicos Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also meet this week. Closely watched The talks in Washington will be closely watched by financial markets concerned that import tariffs would ultimately hit the US economy by adding to the cost of a wide range of goods in the US, from Mexican-made cars and auto parts to beer and avocados. US business groups have opposed the tariff plan and the influential US Chamber of Commerce is looking at ways to challenge it, including legal options. Approval of a deal to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between Mexico, the US and Canada is also pending and could be hampered by the latest dispute over immigration, Mexican authorities said. Jesus Seade, Mexicos deputy foreign minister for North America, described the imposition of tariffs on Monday as a stumbling block that puts the passage of the trade deal at risk. The European Union may be left alone in the face of threats, if Brussels rejected the U.S. defence companies' participation in the creation of new weapons systems, State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Michael Murphy said. According to Murphy, the EU "would not be impressed" if, in the event of a crisis and the failure of European defences, the continent was armed only with European weapons. In addition, he warned that "if the language" of Europe's arms development legislation and guidelines were not changed to allow U.S. participation, "the EU will have to choose: either renounce the use of the best technological capabilities which exist or develop their own," Sputnik reported. Murphy also hinted that the lack of interoperability between U.S. and EU weapons systems may mean that at some point, their armies may not be able to fight together in defence of the continent from external threats. Laws have changed and crimes are increasingly reported but survivors, activists and politicians say stigma remains. Addis Ababa Twin sisters Dagim and Yeabsera were young children when their uncle first sexually assaulted them. The abuse continued for years, as their father was absent he left when they were born, and their mother worked as a domestic helper in a Middle Eastern country. Our uncle used to take turns to rape us, especially at middle of the night, when he was usually either drunk or high from taking drugs, said Yeabsera. They had been living with their uncle and maternal grandmother, who they say also physically abused them and failed to acknowledged her sons devastating actions. When the uncle was imprisoned for two years for shoplifting, his friends took turns abusing the children. Dagim developed a heart problem, caused by stress. A school teacher referred her to a hospital for treatment where, finally, the twins trauma was revealed. They are now 15 and, for the past two months, have been living in a refuge in Ethiopias capital, Addis Ababa, run by the Association for Womens Sanctuary and Development (Awsad), the only local NGO offering shelter and rehabilitation to women and girls. We used to think we had no mother and father, said Yeabsera, but the care given by Awsad staff has got us feeling we have a real family. In socially conservative Ethiopia, the sexual assault of children, who make up around half of the population, is largely a taboo subject. Chaltu, 15, worked as a domestic helper and was abused by her employer. Me and my sister used to get taunted in school by classmates because of our poverty, so I dropped out and got employed as a domestic maid in a strangers home, she said. The abuse started more than two years ago, with the home owner scaring her into silence by threatening to kill her family if she talked about it. The sexual abuse I endured was only revealed after my closest classmate persuaded me about two months ago to tell my teacher about the rape, she said. Awsad also provides shelter to survivors of domestic violence. Meseret Wosenyeleh needed a safe space after her abusive husbands family blamed her for his suicide. Pregnant with her third child, the mother of eight-month-old twins said: My husbands family are threatening me with violence, accusing me of having a hand in his own suicide. Lensi Kassahun, who works at Awsad, said victim blaming is prevalent and harmful in society. Most of the abuse victims we treat at the centre were hurt by people close to them, especially family members, she said. Ethiopian society tends to cover up the abuse, with victims often blamed for having loose morals or for somewhat triggering the abuser. Victim-blaming [and the] fact that many of the abusers are sole breadwinners in households adds another layer of trauma to the psychological and physical scars victims endure. But there is a positive shift. Lensi noted that domestic abuse is being increasingly reported by survivors and witnesses. Awsad trains law enforcement officials on how to handle abuse cases and offers workshops in raising awareness and battling stigma in community centres, religious institutes and at schools. The most difficult case I have dealt with was of a girl that was raped daily by her father from elementary school, said Lensi, who added that the child suffered a serious injury. This kind of abuse can be reduced substantially by improved laws and campaigns, she said. Meseret Wossenyeleh is recovering from a brutal physical attack by her husband at Awsad [Michael Tewelde/Al Jazeera] Awsad is planning more advocacy work, thanks to new civil society legislation Ethiopia adopted earlier this year. But Maraki Tesfaye, founder of Jegnit (the Amharic word for heroine), a womens movement, said structural problems must be tackled. Do victims know of a government centre they can go to file a complaint? Do they know abuse reporting methods and do health facilities have enough rape kits? she said. Acknowledging the progress made so far, she added: My mother gave birth to me at 15 years old, after being married off at such a young age. For her, issues of rape and consent were unfamiliar things. My generation, however, is fighting for womens rights and I have seen domestic abuse victims increasingly standing against their abusers and against a society that wants to coax them into silence. Adinew Abera, spokesperson at the Ministry of Women, Children and Youths Affairs (MoWCYA), said the government has added street children and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to the list of groups that are vulnerable to domestic abuse. Weve identified street children and internally displaced people as particularly prone to domestic abuse, said Adinew. Our ministry is working on education, sensitisation activities on domestic violence, as well as toughening laws on perpetrators of domestic violence. The Ethiopian government has recently amended its legislation by excluding rape crimes from pardon and amnesty laws as it lengthened jail terms for sex offenders. We consider domestic abuse, be it physical or sexual, as primarily an issue of moral failure, said Adinew. Ultimately, the society needs to be the guardian of vulnerable people among us. The Ethiopian society needs to play a proactive role in protecting the vulnerable sections of the society. Haymanot Abebe, mentoring and evaluation officer at Awsad, says domestic violence survivors still lack enough support [Michael Tewelde/Al Jazeera] The ministry is currently conducting a survey to determine the extent of domestic abuse in Ethiopia. A UN Women report in 2016 estimated that 28 percent of women endure physical and sexual violence and around 65 percent of Ethiopian women and girls have experienced female genital mutilation. Back at the shelter, Dagim and Yeabsera the twin sisters, and Chaltu, discuss their future. All three want to work in jobs that support survivors like themselves. We want to work in counselling services to help future rape survivors as well as help our families economically, said Chaltu. Sudans Transitional Military Council (TMC) violently broke up a sit-in demonstration in Khartoum at dawn on Monday and is refusing to give in to protesters demands, weeks after the removal of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir. The TMC has rejected calls to hand over power to a civilian-led government and wants to rule for an interim period of up to two years. Calls to protect the revolution have been the rallying cry of protesters in recent weeks after months of demonstrations led to the overthrow of al-Bashir in a military coup in April. The TMC had said that the protest outside the army headquarters was a threat to the safety and security of the Sudanese people. One demonstrator said the military blocked the exits of the sit-in area before opening fire to disperse protesters. Tents where demonstrators had been camping were burned. A medical group linked to protesters, the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, said at least nine people were killed and several wounded. Protesters said despite the violence they would remain on the streets until those who had supported al-Bashir gave up power as well. The Freedom and Change alliance, a group that is leading the protest movement, has been negotiating with the TMC regarding a political transition, but talks have stalled. Today there is a good chance for peace in Afghanistan more so than at any other moment in the past two decades. At this critical juncture, it is crucial that there is a clear and coherent strategy for the way forward. But at least in some quarters this does not appears to be the case. US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, for example, has maintained that the United States will pursue a peace settlement with the Taliban while also supporting the Afghan presidential elections scheduled for this September. However, given the current dynamics in Afghanistan, these appear to be two rather contradictory objectives. The potential for success of the peace process will diminish dramatically if elections are to be held before an agreement with the Taliban is reached, especially if the incumbent wins. A real prospect for peace The Taliban has consistently made four major demands regarding a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan: direct talks with the US, withdrawal of international forces, the formation of an interim government, and revision of the Afghan constitution. For years there was no progress on any of the four issues, but prospects for peace in Afghanistan dramatically improved in the second half of 2018, when Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Alice Wells met with the Taliban, Mr Khalilzad was appointed the State Departments Special Representative for Reconciliation, and President Donald Trump signalled his intention to withdraw half of the US troops deployed in Afghanistan. Washingtons willingness to withdraw its forces if provisions are made to ensure Afghan stability has facilitated the emergence of a consensus among major world powers, including Russia and China, and important regional powers, such as Pakistan and Iran, since all the parties desire the withdrawal of foreign forces from the country. This has further buttressed the prospects of peace in Afghanistan. On the other end of the negotiations table, the Taliban has evolved from being an internationalist Islamic group to largely a national Afghan force. This transformation makes it easier for the Taliban to sever ties with international terrorist organisations and focus more on acquiring political power within Afghanistan. This, in turn, enables them to meet Washingtons demand that they prohibit the use of Afghan territory for terrorist activity. The Talibans denial of basic social and political rights to all citizens in general, and women in particular, during its rule in Afghanistan in the 1990s, is a major concern for advocates of womens and civil rights. It is difficult to take promises made by political groups at their face value. Nevertheless, the Taliban on numerous occasions including at the 2016 Pugwash conferences and the February 2019 inter-Afghan dialogue in Moscow has expressed support for Afghan womens rights to education, employment, and political participation. Similarly, the Talibans support for holding elections after an interim period indicates its willingness to accept a republican form of government. These changes in the Talibans social and political views bodes well for the likelihood of an agreement between Afghan politicians and the group regarding domestic political issues. Elections or peace? The main obstacle for peace is the Talibans insistence on the formation of an interim government and the Afghan President Ashraf Ghanis strong objection to that. Ghanis motive is clear: He wants to run again and remain in power for another five years. A peace agreement leading to an interim government will mean his government must be replaced. Ghanis refusal to put the prospects of a much-needed peace above his desire to remain in power has caused tension between him and Afghanistans major international supporters and is at odds with the position of most of the Afghan public and political leaders. Indeed, any candidate who wins the presidential election will naturally be inclined not to cede power to an interim government after just having been elected. This would make concluding peace after the elections much more difficult. Therefore, a strategy of simultaneously supporting both elections and an interim government will not help achieve peace. Meanwhile, both the government and the Taliban are endangering the peace process. Ghani has refused to step down after his term expired last month. Instead, he has insisted on staying in power until new elections are held, a move which was legalised by a Supreme Court decision in April. His opponents have threatened protests and warned of political chaos if he persists in his refusal. The Taliban, on the other hand, appears to have been emboldened by reports of the imminent withdrawal of international forces from Afghanistan, and have intensified their deadly attacks on troops and civilians. Last month, the group rejected an offer for a ceasefire over the Eid holiday and vowed to continue fighting. However, the Taliban should realise that even if the withdrawal happens, as long as donors are willing to financially support the Afghan security forces, the group will not be able to achieve a complete military victory. It is in its own interest as well to seek a negotiated settlement at this time. Afghanistan needs peace more than fraudulent elections, and Washingtons strategy should be to throw its weight behind the negotiations. The window for successfully concluding an agreement is rapidly closing. The current round of peace negotiations in Doha, Qatar, should have a successful conclusion no later than early August. Failure to reach an agreement by then will necessitate holding elections, and a newly-elected government will not be inclined to agree to an interim government. Thus, if this round of negotiations ends without a peace agreement it will mean fighting will likely continue for several more years. Let us not miss this opportunity! Peace must come before the elections. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Thousands of Chinese studying in Australia at the time of the 1989 killings were allowed to stay and build new lives. Sydney, Australia Six days after the event now known as the Tiananmen Square massacre of June 4, 1989, Bob Hawke, the then-prime minister of Australia, addressed a memorial service at the national parliament in Canberra. With some 500 Chinese students present, a teary Hawke told the crowd that thousands have been killed, victims of a leadership that seems determined to hang on to the reins of power at any cost. An awful human cost. [Chinese troops] had orders that nobody in the square be spared, and children young girls were slaughtered as mercilessly as the many wounded soldiers from other units there, he said in a speech now immortalised in Australias political history. Tanks then ran backwards and forwards over the bodies of the slain, until they were reduced to pulp, after which bulldozers moved in to push the remains into piles, which were then incinerated by troops with flame throwers. 190602083719934 While human rights groups estimate that hundreds or even thousands of students may have been killed in the crackdown against the pro-democracy protests, China has never provided a death toll. Speaking at a major security summit in Singapore on Sunday, Chinas Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said the protests were political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, which was the correct policy. Due to this, China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history, he told attendants at the Shangri-La Dialogue. A June 5, 1989, photo showing a man standing in front of a convoy of tanks in the Avenue of Eternal Peace in Beijings Tiananmen Square [File: Arthur Tsang/Reuters] Grateful to Hawke Hawke, who passed away on May 16 just weeks before the 30th anniversary of the massacre, made the unilateral decision in 1989 to let the 27,000 Chinese students present in Australia stay. His government would then go on to grant a total of 42,000 permanent visas for Chinese students. For Frank Bongiorno, a historian at the Australian National University, Hawkes decision came out of a sense of great disappointment in the Chinese leadership, because hed emphasised friendly relations with China, as well as his image of Australia as a compassionate society. Chinese students began to enter Australia in the early 1970s, after Prime Minister Gough Whitlam established diplomatic relations with communist China. Maree Mas mother, Ling Xie, was one of them, coming to Sydney in the 1980s to study English. Shed gone through the Cultural Revolution in China, so she really wanted to get out anyway but I think when the Tiananmen Square massacre happened it really shocked everyone, Ma said. Ma and her father were still in China in June 1989. They would not be reunited with her mother until 1993, when Ma was eight years old. Xie needed to work three jobs to provide for her family, but always remained grateful to Hawke for offering a safer life for her family. Hes always been this figure thats been talked about in the family that really did something incredible, Ma said. I think most Chinese that stayed because of his visa extension, they would be very, very grateful to him. Ma is now the general manager of Vision Times, an independent, Chinese-language publisher which releases newspapers in five Australian cities and several online platforms. It is one of the only local Chinese publications not owned by figures associated with the Communist Party. Mum says the thing she wishes for me to do is to give back to this country, just like this country has given us so much as a family, Ma said. Inconceivable today Australias first major wave of Asian migration had come with Indochinese refugees during the late 1970s and early 1980s, a pivotal step away from the racist White Australia Policy that had lasted until 1973. Australia, in a whole range of ways, becomes a more Asian country during the 1980s in terms of its demographic composition, in terms of its trading patterns, said Bongiorno, the professor. Australia-based social scientists Mobo Gao and Xian Liu wrote in a 1998 study that during the period of protest [at Tiananmen Square], most Australians were inclined to support the students in Beijing and to sympathise with Chinese students in Australia. Nevertheless, raising Australias immigration intake, particularly from Asia, faced opposition. Opinion polls showed that much of the population was concerned about the rate at which immigration was rising. Several prominent figures on the political right including prime minister-to-be John Howard publicly questioned Australias welcoming of large numbers of people from Asia. Hawke stood his ground against such criticism. The way in which Hawkes being remembered fondly over this is in contrast with the less generous attitude that Australia has generally taken to refugees, to asylum seekers since the early 1990s, said Bongiorno. Its inconceivable that an Australian government would make a decision like that today. Hawke told the Guardian in 2015 that he had acted unilaterally: I have a deep love for the Chinese people I had no consultation with anyone. I was told: You cannot do that, prime minister. I said to them, I just did. It is done.' Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe salutes at the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore [Feline Lim/Reuters] Conclusion to that incident Asked whether the ruling Communist Party would commemorate the 30th anniversary, a spokesman for Chinas defence ministry told reporters in Beijing this month that what took place on June 4 three decades ago was not suppression. In the last 30 years, the course of Chinas reforms, development and stability, the successes we have achieved have already answered this question, Wu said. At the Shangri-La Dialogue over the weekend, Wei, the Chinese defence minister, said: Throughout the 30 years, China under the Communist Party has undergone many changes do you think the government was wrong with the handling of June 4th? There was a conclusion to that incident. The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence. Xiaoming Li as a young man in the PLA [Xiaoming Li/Al Jazeera] Xiaoling Li was a member of the Peoples Liberation Army in 1989. He did not participate in the killings but witnessed the aftermath of the violence at Tiananmen Square. I found trousers with bullet hole and a cloth with blood, he told Al Jazeera. He would later leave the army and come to Australia as an international student in 2000. I think only in Australia l can get better life for my family and I am free to talk about the massacre, Li added. His guilt about the events has led to a desire to raise awareness about the atrocities of June 4, including donating several items to the Immigration Museum in Melbourne. After he made a speech about the Tiananmen Square massacre in the United States in 2003, Lis circumstances changed, and the Australian government granted him asylum. I just like all the other Chinese students want to have a better life, especially for my son I dont want my son to be killed when he grows up to peacefully protest. And most importantly I want the whole world to know exactly what really happened in Beijing, 1989. The team of eight climbers was attempting to climb a Nanda Devi peak in India when the area was hit by an avalanche. Five bodies have been sighted by Indian air force pilots during their search for a missing team of eight international climbers attempting to climb Indias second highest mountain, officials said. The rescue efforts for the group, which includes four Britons, two US citizens, an Australian and an Indian, was launched on Saturday after they did not return to their base camp as scheduled last Monday. Pilots carrying out helicopter sorties found five bodies in the region that was hit by an avalanche, where the trekkers had reportedly gone missing, Vijay Kumar Jogdande, the top civil servant in the Pithoragarh district of Indias rugged state of Uttarakhand said. We assume the bodies are from the team that went missing. It is likely that the three remaining bodies would be in the same area, he said. The team was attempting to summit a previously unclimbed peak on the 7,817 metre Nanda Devi mountain, officials said, confirming reports of multiple avalanches in the area. Contact with the team was lost on May 24. 190602160914111 Since the region where the bodies were found is over 5,000 metres, which is seeing heavy snowfall and winds, we will not be able to send a team today. We are seeking a feasibility report and hope to send teams to retrieve the bodies on Tuesday, Jogdande added. On Sunday, Jogdande said the chances of finding survivors among the team were bleak. The casualty rate in the region is almost five times higher than on Mount Everest, the worlds tallest peak, and rescuers would need at least three or four days of walking to get to the avalanche site, officials said. Deadly season It has been one of the deadliest climbing seasons in the Himalayas for several years. More than 20 people have been killed in the mountains, including 11 on Mount Everest which has been plagued by poor weather, inexperienced climbers and overcrowding. Nanda Devi and its sister mountain, Nanda Devi East, are among the worlds most challenging peaks and only a handful of people have climbed them. The leader of the missing group, Martin Moran, was the first person to summit Changuch, another peak in the area, and was known as a godfather of guiding in the Himalayas, according to a video diary of Rob Jarvis, who accompanied him on that expedition in 2009. He was very well versed with the area, but the route they were taking is not usually travelled, Sanjay Gunjiyal, a senior police official involved in the mission, told Reuters news agency. Many of the other missing climbers are veterans but with little experience of Nanda Devi and its surrounding peaks, he said. The Uttarakhand district magistrates office has identified the eight missing as Martin Moran, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne (all from the United Kingdom), Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the United States, Ruth McCance from Australia, and Chetan Pandey of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. Moran was the expedition leader and Pandey the liaison officer. Four other climbers, who were part of the group, were rescued on Sunday after turning back early because of the harsh weather. Missing and murdered, the report on what has been described as a Canadian genocide. After more than two years of inquiries, the Canadian government is set to receive a report on indigenous women and girls who either went missing or were murdered. But a day before going public, the report was leaked. It reportedly calls the disappearance and murder of possibly thousands of women a Canadian genocide. Al Jazeeras Shihab Rattansi reports from Ottawa. The blast at a bustling market in the city of Azaz, near the Turkish border, kills at least 14 people. More than a dozen people were killed in a car bomb in a city held by Turkish-backed rebels in northern Syria, a war monitor and Turkish state media said. The incident took place at a bustling market in the city of Azaz, near the Turkish border, killing 14 people, according to anonymous sources talking to Turkeys Anadolu Agency. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, Anadolu added. Four children were among those killed in the explosion, said war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reported the death toll as 19. The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the UK-based monitor. Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened, Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told the AFP news agency. Shoppers buying clothes and gifts before the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday were among those killed, Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital, told AFP. He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives. The damage is severe An AFP photographer saw a large crowd gathering at the scene of the attack, charred vehicles dotting the side of the road. Rescue workers searched through mounds of rubble, looking for bodies, he said. Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion torched the neighbourhood. 190603030050450 The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out, he told AFP. A similar explosion on Saturday reportedly killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northern city of Raqqa. Turkey launched two operations in northern Syria since 2016, clearing the areas of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL and ISIS) and Kurdish fighters. Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces around parts of these areas, and still backs Syrian rebels serving as police officers. The three-day Muslim festival marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. As Muslims around the world bid Ramadan farewell, they also prepare for Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month. Depending on the sighting of the moon, Eid celebrations will begin either on Tuesday (June 4) or Wednesday (June 5). Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE started Eid on Tuesday, whereas Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Pakistan and Australia and others wont start till Wednesday. What is Eid al-Fitr? Eid al-Fitr means festival of breaking the fast and marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Traditionally, Eid is celebrated for three days as an official holiday in all Muslim-majority countries. However, the number of vacation days varies by country. How is the start of Eid determined? Like Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr begins with the first sighting of the new moon, so usually Muslims have to wait until the night before Eid to verify its date. If the new moon is not visible, the month lasts 30 days. Because it is a lunar occurrence, the date of Eid changes annually on the Gregorian calendar and varies from country to country depending on geographical location. To declare the start of Eid, Muslim-majority countries depend on the testimonies of local moon sighters. The Judicial High Court then decides if Eid has arrived. When the sighting has been verified, Eid is declared on televisions, radio stations and at mosques. How do Muslims celebrate Eid? Muslims across the world begin Eid celebrations by partaking in communal dawn prayers, followed by a short sermon. While in some countries the prayers take place in mosques or large halls, in many countries it is also held in the open. People congratulate one another as they head home after Eid prayers. They spend the day visiting relatives and neighbours and accepting sweets as they move around from house to house. Children, dressed in new clothes, are offered gifts and money to celebrate the joyous occasion. This is preceded by the giving of alms to the poor, or zakat, which is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is common for the capitals of Muslim-majority countries to decorate their streets with festive lights and hold carnivals to commemorate the end of the holy month. Each country has traditional desserts and sweets that are prepared before Eid or on the morning of the first day. These foods range from special biscuits and bread to cakes and puddings. On the first day of Eid al-Fitr, voluntary fasting is not allowed as Muslims are encouraged to feast and celebrate the completion of a month of worship and abstinence from food. In some countries, families visit graveyards to offer their respects to family members who have departed. In some Muslim countries, Eid prayers take place outside, while in others they are held in mosques or large halls [File: AFP] What are common Eid greetings? The most popular greeting is Eid Mubarak (Blessed Eid) or Eid said (Happy Eid). Eid greetings also vary depending on the country and language. For instance, in Indonesia, Eid is called Lebaran, so Indonesians would say, Selamat Lebaran, which means Happy Eid. Other variations of Happy Eid are Mutlu Bayramlar in Turkish and Barka da Sallah in Hausa, a Nigerian language. What are other traditions associated with Eid? Each country has a set of customs associated with Eid. Generally, Muslims prepare for Eid prayer by bathing, preparing themselves and dressing in new clothes. Clothes are an important marker of Eid. Whether people choose to wear traditional or modern, Western, clothes, all must be well turned-out. Muslims are also encouraged to eat something sweet, usually dates, before heading to the Eid prayers. On their way to the prayer, traditionally held in an open area, Muslims recite takbeerat, praising God by saying Allahu Akbar, meaning God is great. Throughout the day, family elders distribute cash or gifts to the children. What do people eat for Eid? Weeks after the removal of Omar al-Bashir as the president of Sudan, the fight for civilian rule continues as the Transitional Military Council (TMC) refuses to give in to the protesters demand to cede power. The TMC, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, says it will oversee a transitional period that will last a maximum of two years. Amid continuing protests, security forces are doing everything possible to end a sit-in protest in the capital, Khartoum. Here are six things to know about the unrest: Why did the protests begin? A wave of demonstrations began across much of Sudan on December 19 over soaring bread prices, a result of a deep economic crisis that started when the southern part of the country seceded after a referendum in 2011, taking oil wealth with it. The protests started in Atbara, a city in northeastern Sudan known as stronghold for anti-government activities. Several thousand people took to the streets after the government tried to end the bread shortages. The price of some types bread tripled after the government introduced the measures intended to ease the shortages and, although there had been bread queues for months, residents of Atbara became angered by the dramatic prince increase. The authorities quickly changed the policy and scrambled to crush the protests, declaring a state of emergency in Atbara and imposing a curfew from 6:00pm to 6:00am. But the protests had already spread to Port Sudan, a city on the Red Sea, and to Gadarif in the southeast, before reaching the capital, Khartoum. Protesters were also angered by cash shortages due to restrictions on withdrawals aimed at keeping money in the banks, which themselves are struggling to find cash. But what started as a protest about living conditions turned into one about the government of al-Bashir. How did the protests evolve? The demonstrations quickly morphed into growing anti-government rallies demanding al-Bashirs resignation. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella coalition for professional unions, led calls for marches towards the presidential palace, demanding that al-Bashir step down immediately. Trade unions and professional associations also called for nationwide strikes that saw the participation of a large number of doctors, journalists, lawyers and pharmacists from across Sudan. Political parties then joined in, and influential sections within the military refused to take part in the repression, forcing the government to eventually cede power. Protesters adopted slogans used during the Arab Spring of 2011 and gathered outside the headquarters of the military in the capital and refused to move. The protests reached a climax on the symbolic date of 6 April, the anniversary of a 1985 non-violent uprising that removed Jaafar Nimeiri. Who are the protesters? Sudanese from all walks of life have taken part in the demonstrations but the main organiser has been the SPA, which is a coalition of several professional unions that bring together doctors, lawyers and journalists. There has been a high percentage of women among the protesters, with the image of Alaa Salah, a 22-year-old woman clad in white standing atop a car in April, becoming a symbol of demonstrations. How did al-Bashir respond? The Sudanese government responded by promising to carry out economic reforms to ensure a decent living for citizens. However, al-Bashir, who was at the helm since 1989, refused to step down, while security forces continued to crack down on activists and protesters. As protesters continued their demonstrations across Sudanese cities, al-Bashir announced a one-year state of emergency on February 22. The presidential decree banned protests, public gatherings and political activities. It also gave the police and security forces more power to monitor individuals and to carry out inspections. Under the emergency laws, security forces were allowed to detain suspected individuals and seize private property if they believed it was being used to plan political activities. Meanwhile, the Sudanese forces have been blamed for a rising death toll amid the increasing number of protesters arrest. In early April, the interior ministry said 39 people, including three security personnel, had died since protests began last year. A spokeswoman for SPA put the death toll at nearly 70. Special emergency courts established to prosecute people arrested for participating in demonstrations saw hundreds of protesters placed on trial after al-Bashir imposed state of emergency. What role has the military played? Al-Bashir was removed by the military on April 11 after ruling the country for nearly three decades. In the immediate aftermath of the announcement that al-Bashir had been replaced by a military council, demonstrators called on people to continue with the sit-ins. The military council, led by Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, came to power a few days after al-Bashir was overthrown. Al-Burhan promised to oversee a transitional period that will last a maximum of two years. Demonstrators, however, accused the coup leaders of being close to al-Bashir and said they were implicated in the problems that had broguht about the demonstrations. They continued to demand that the countrys military rulers immediately hand over power to a civilian-led government. What is Sudans revolutionary history? Sudan has witnessed two previous revolutions since its independence in 1953. The popular uprisings of 1964 and 1985 saw the participation of students, trade unions and professional organisations. After political parties joined the protests and influential sections within the military refused to take part in the repression, the regime stepped down and a peaceful transition followed. Unlike the current unrest, both revolutionary movements were led by mostly urban, professional elites. The execution in Iraq of nine French citizens accused of joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) would leave an indelible stain on President Emmanuel Macrons government, a group of prominent French lawyers has said. In an open letter published on Monday on French state radio Franceinfos website, the group of 44 lawyers urged Macron to keep the men alive, irrespective of their alleged crimes, and said allowing them to be put to death would be a great disgrace for our country. We have taken a historic risk, which, if it is realised, will leave an indelible stain on the mandate of Emmanuel Macron, the letter said. Allowing for the nine individuals to be executed by Iraqi authorities would mean permitting a legal assassination which is now proscribed by the majority of countries on the planet with the exception of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, China and the United States, it added. 190530104227979 France abolished the death penalty in 1981, four years after the country last applied capital punishment when convicted murderer 27-year-old Hamida Djandoubi was executed by guillotine. Flawed trials, unfair convictions The lawyers letter came before an Iraqi court on Monday sentenced to death two French citizens suspected of ISIL affiliation, following two others on Sunday and seven others earlier last week, meaning 11 individuals with French nationality are now at risk of execution in the country. They were among a dozen French citizens captured in Syria by US-backed forces battling ISIL as it attempted to keep hold of its now crumbled so-called caliphate, which once spanned large swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq. The 12 were all handed over to Iraqi authorities in January. Iraq is conducting trials of thousands of suspected ISIL fighters, many of whom were arrested as its strongholds fell, and has pledged to take a hard line against anyone convicted of involvement with the group. Among those detained are hundreds of foreign nationals from Europe. 190218233213761 However, European powers, including France and Britain, have repeatedly ruled out repatriating such individuals, arguing instead that they should face trial for any alleged crimes before local courts. But human rights groups have accused Iraqi authorities of inconsistencies in the judicial process and flawed trials, leading to unfair convictions concerns that have been heightened by Iraqs application of the death penalty. Amid the raised alarms, Sibeth Ndiaye, a spokeswoman for the French government, said on Sunday that officials were intervening at the highest level in the cases, the AFP news agency reported. According to French government figures, an estimated 1,700 French nationals are believed to have travelled to Syria and Iraq between 2014 and 2018 to join ISIL. The United States is ready to conclude a new agreement with Iran to guarantee that it will never produce nuclear weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in his interview to German newspaper Rheinische Post. "We guarantee that Iran will never possess nuclear weapons," he noted. The U.S. Secretary of State indicated that the United States is ready to make a deal with Iran if it is ready to guarantee that it will not develop "any possibilities for producing nuclear weapons posing a threat to the world." Speaking about the 2015 deal with Iran, Pompeo said that, according to U.S. President Donald Trump, it "directly" allows Iran to possess nuclear weapons. "I think exactly the same. This can not be accepted, so we came out of the deal," Pompeo stressed. In addition, the U.S. "cannot turn a blind eye" to the fact that other threats emanate from Iran, "directly in Germany, in the center of Europe", he stressed. "The Iranian missile program is developing, Iran places members of the Hezbollah movement everywhere in the world, carries out attacks in Europe," the US Secretary of state listed. According to him, "the nuclear deal has not changed anything." Senior research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Sazhin, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, said that sooner or later, Iran will have to engage in dialogue with the United States. "At the moment, it will not happen, because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly said that there will be no talks with the United States. But the situation in Iran is very complicated, it is are under heavy pressure form the U.S. both in economic, military and diplomatic terms. Recently, three summits were held in Mecca - of the Persian Gulf countries, the Arab League and the OIC - and the decisions of at least two of these forums were of anti-Iranian nature, that is, the Arab world opposes Iran," he recalled. "The JCPOA is a good document to control the Iranian nuclear program. Washingtons demands to completely ban nuclear research in Iran can not be implemented at the level of existing international documents, since Iran is both a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA. It has the same the right to develop its nuclear technologies, as any other country," the senior research fellow of the Institute for Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences said. "As a result, now President Trump's main task is to make Iran to seat at the negotiating table in order to show that the United States has been able to get the concession from Tehran. For Iran, in turn, it is very important to lift the sanctions that are hitting its economy," the orientalist concluded. White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner has said that the Palestinians deserve self-determination, but stopped short of backing Palestinian statehood, expressing uncertainty over their ability to govern themselves. Kushner, who is President Donald Trumps son-in-law, made the comments in a television interview with the Axios on HBO programmes, broadcast on Sunday. Asked whether he believed the Palestinians were capable of governing themselves without Israeli interference, Kushner said: Thats one that well have to see. The hope is that they, over time, will become capable of governing. The Palestinians, he said, need to have a fair judicial system freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions before the Palestinian areas can become investable. One of the architects of the United Statess yet-to-be-released Middle East peace plan, Kushner said it would be a high bar when asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from Israeli military and government interference. 190603011203774 The Palestinian leadership has boycotted the diplomatic effort that Trump has hailed as the deal of the century. Although Kushner has been drafting the plan for two years under a veil of secrecy, it is seen by Palestinian and some Arab officials as tilting heavily in Israels favour and denying the Palestinians a state of their own. In Sundays interview Kushner again avoided saying explicitly whether the plan would include a two-state solution, the bedrock of US policy for decades. I do think they should have self-determination. Im going to leave the details until we come out with the actual plan, Kushner said. Last month, Kushner indicated that the US would be pulling back from its long-standing support of the two-state solution. 190530094657208 If you say two-state, it means one thing to the Israelis, it means one thing to the Palestinians, he told the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. We said, you know, lets just not say it. Lets just say, lets work on the details of what this means. Part of the plan is expected to be unveiled at a US-sponsored investment conference in Bahrain this month. The Palestinian Authority has said it will not attend the event. Not here to be trusted US officials have been vague about the timing for releasing proposals for resolving the political issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but experts are sceptical of the Trump administrations chances for success. The Palestinian leadership has refused to deal with the Trump administration since late 2017 when Trump decided to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Palestinians demand Jerusalems eastern sector as the capital of their long-promised state, while Israel insists that the whole city is its eternal, indivisible capital. 190519191752420 With Israel heading for new elections in September after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government, uncertainty is expected to further delay the plans rollout. The Kushner interview took place before the latest Israeli political developments. When asked whether he understood why the Palestinians might not trust him, Kushner said Im not here to be trusted and that theres a difference between the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people. He said he believed the Palestinian people would judge the plan based on whether they think this will allow them to have a pathway to a better life or not. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered his assessment of the plans prospects in a closed-door meeting with Jewish leaders last week, saying: One might argue that it is unexecutable and it might not gain traction, according to an audio recording, the Washington Post newspaper reported on Sunday. Pompeo did express hope, however, that the deal was not simply dismissed out of hand, the Post reported. Were doing out best to help the Middle East to get a peace plan, Trump told reporters when asked about the Pompeo recording. I understand why [Pompeo] said that. Most people would say it cant be done. I think it can be done. Sudanese protesters say at least 35 have been killed after security forces stormed the main protest camp in the capital, Khartoum, in the worst violence since the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir, drawing global condemnation. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded nationwide protests that started in December, said Mondays crackdown amounted to a bloody massacre. We are holding the Transitional Military Council (TMC) responsible for what happened this morning, the SPA said, referring to the military council which currently runs the country. Pro-democracy leaders have called on people to take part in night marches and block the main roads as part of total civil disobedience to paralyse public life across the country. 190603035536012 A doctors committee linked to the protesters said in a Facebook post on Monday that the death toll, which includes at least one child, had risen to at least 35, adding that it had been difficult to count in the sit-in area outside the military complex in Khartoum. The group said hundreds of people had been wounded, mostly from gunfire, and that according to witnesses, bodies of protesters shot dead were disposed of in the Nile River near the site of the protest sit-in. The United Nations condemned the use of excessive force by the security forces against protesters and called for an independent investigation into the killings. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement that he was alarmed by reports that security forces had opened fire inside a hospital in Khartoum. What is clear to us is that there was use of excessive force by the security forces on civilians. People have died. People have been injured, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Guterres urged Sudanese authorities to facilitate an independent investigation of the deaths and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. He also renewed his call for negotiations to resume on a peaceful transfer of power to a civilian-led authority. Defy belief Witnesses said the main sit-in outside the defence ministry had been cleared. Footage shared on social media showed chaotic scenes of people fleeing through streets as sustained bursts of gunfire crackled in the air. Protesters poured onto streets elsewhere in Khartoum and beyond in response, setting up barricades and roadblocks with rocks and burning tyres. The doctors committee said forces had opened fire inside the citys East Nile Hospital and had chased peaceful protesters. It said another hospital near the site of the sit-in had been surrounded and that volunteers were prevented from reaching it. The British ambassador to Sudan, Irfan Siddiq, tweeted that the attacks on hospitals and clinics defy belief. Those injured in todays horrific attacks need unhindered access to medical treatment, he said. Medical centres must be a safe place. The TMC denied the attacks on hospitals, with spokesperson Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi saying security forces were pursuing unruly elements who had fled to the protest site and caused chaos. The Transitional Military Council regrets the way the situation unfolded, reaffirming its full commitment to the safety of the citizens and renews its call for negotiations as soon as possible, the TMC said in a statement. The council is now overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections. Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets to demand the TMC relinquish power at the earliest possible date to a civilian authority. Betrayal of trust The crackdown has elicited strong reactions from the international community, who are holding the TMC fully responsible for what has happened. The African Union has called on the TMC and protest leaders to return urgently to negotiations, appeals which were echoed by Qatar and Germany. The United States called the assault wrong and said it must be stopped. Former British ambassador to Sudan, Rosalind Marsden, told Al Jazeera that it remains to be seen whether statements denouncing the TMC will be followed by concrete action. Will there be a UN Security Council discussion on this in the next few days? she said, speaking from London. Some of the opposition leaders are asking the UN Security Council and the African Union to demand an immediate transfer of power from the Transitional Military Council to a democratic civilian government led by the Forces of Freedom and Change, as well as an immediate end to Sudans internal wars, she continued. Marsden called the military crackdown a major step backwards in achieving stability in Sudan. The protest movement regards what happened this morning as a major betrayal of trust of the Sudanese people who were ready to regard the TMC as partners in the process of democratisation, she said. The UN wants the disengagement process to help children caught up in violence have a chance at a normal life. Nearly 2,000 former child vigilantes who fought against Boko Haram have returned to their homes in northeast Nigeria. The United Nations says some of the children took up arms to help the army fight the armed group, allegation officials deny. Hundreds of the former fighters have since returned to school. Al Jazeeras Ahmed Idris reports from Maiduguri. US calls attack on Khartoum protest camp wrong as AU, Egypt and Germany appeal for a return to talks. A deadly military crackdown on protesters in Sudans capital, Khartoum, has prompted global concern with the United States calling the assault wrong and the African Union urging an immediate investigation into the reported deaths of more than a dozen people. In a Twitter post on Monday, the US embassy in Khartoum urged Sudanese troops to stop the attack and blamed the countrys ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) for the violence. Sudanese security forces attacks against protesters and other civilians is wrong and must stop. Responsibility falls on the TMC, read the tweet. At least 13 people were killed, according to medics, as Sudanese troops stormed a camp at the centre of the months-long protest movement that triggered the militarys removal of the countrys longtime ruler, Omar al-Bashir in April. Videos posted online showed protesters running through streets lined with tents, heads down and ducking as the sound of gunfire filled the air. Smoke rose from the sit-in, located outside the military headquarters in Khartoum. The Sudanese Professionals Association, the main protest group, accused the TMC of breaking up the camp, calling the action a massacre. But the council denied trying to disperse the sit-in and said security forces had targeted unruly groups nearby. Jeremy Hunt, the United Kingdoms foreign secretary, condemned the attack, calling it an outrageous step that will only lead to more polarisation and violence. The TMC bears full responsibility for this action and the international community will hold it to account, he warned in a Twitter post. Return to talks Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairman of the African Union Commission, also denounced the attack and urged the TMC to protect civilians from further harm. Calling for an immediate and transparent investigation to hold all those responsible accountable, Mahamat also appealed to the TMC and protest leaders to return urgently to negotiations. The two sides had held talks for weeks over who should govern in a transitional period after al-Bashirs overthrow, but tensions mounted in recent days as the negotiations stalled over the makeup of a transitional sovereign council that would run Sudan for the next three years. The TMC had offered to let protesters form a government but insisted on maintaining overall authority during the interim period. But demonstrators want civilians to run the country during the transitional period. Until now, negotiations over the transition had kept a tenuous level of peace. But after Mondays attack, the Alliance for Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters in the negotiations, suspended the talks with the military council and called for a general strike and total civil disobedience. Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, called for a return to talks and strongly condemned the violence and reports of excessive use of force in Sudan, according to his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. Expressing alarm at reports that security forces have opened fire inside medical facilities, Guterres urged all parties to act with utmost restraint, the spokesman said in a statement. He also called for unimpeded access to deliver care at the sit-in site as well as hospitals where the wounded are treated, Dujarric said. Sanctions Egypt, which backs the TMC, Qatar and Germany also echoed the appeal for talks. In a statement, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered condolences to the families of the martyrs and wished a speedy recovery for the injured. It then called on the military and protest leaders to resume talks. Qatars Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed regret at the decision made by the security forces to forcibly disperse peaceful and unarmed protesters, and appealed for the voice of wisdom to be engaged urgently in an open, sincere and inclusive dialogue including all segments of Sudanese society. Christofer Burger, a spokesman for the German foreign ministry, said: Nothing justifies the violence and it must stop immediately. The violent clearance of the protest area greatly endangers the process of handing over governing powers to a civilian-led government. The European Union called on the military leaders to allow people to protest peacefully and urged a speedy transfer of power to civilians. Meanwhile, Amnesty International called on the UN Security Council to consider imposing sanctions on members of the TMC. Sarah Jackson, Amnestys deputy regional director for east Africa, said the UN body must consider targeted sanctions on members of the TMC and others involved in the attack. The TMC has completely destroyed the trust of the Sudanese people and crushed the peoples hope for a new era of respect for human rights and respect for the right to protest without fear, she added. In tape obtained by Washington Post, secretary of state says USs Israel-Palestine peace plan may not gain traction. The top diplomat of the United States has reportedly called the US administrations long-awaited Israel-Palestine peace plan arguably unexecutable in comments delivered just weeks before a Washington-led economic conference in Bahrain, where the first part of the initiative is due to be unveiled. The Washington Post reported on Sunday it had obtained an audio recording of Mike Pompeo in which the US secretary of state told Jewish leaders that the still-secret plan might not gain traction and critics might reject it as not particularly original. Speaking in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Pompeo reportedly said: I get why people think this is going to be a deal that only the Israelis could love. I understand the perception of that. I hope everyone will just give the space to listen and let it settle in a little bit. Speaking to Al Jazeera, John Hudson, the Washington Posts national security reporter who obtained the audio recording, said it appeared that Pompeo was trying to manage expectations. This is a big climbdown from the initial rhetoric of the ultimate deal, Hudson said from Washington, DC, adding that Pompeo was very much acknowledging that this could definitely not pan out. Since President Donald Trump announced plans for the peace proposal, which he has entrusted to his son-in-law Jared Kushner and former lawyer Jason Greenblatt, the US has taken a number of steps that have been vehemently denounced by the Palestinians, including unilaterally recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital without a final-status agreement and moving the US embassy there from Tel Aviv. It has also curtailed aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA), shuttered the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) delegation in Washington and cut off finance to UNRWA, the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees. Trump also endorsed Israels sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, again reversing decades of US policy. The moves led the PA, which governs the occupied West Bank, to cut off relations with the US last year, accusing it of having a thoroughly biased relationship with Israel. Dead on arrival The Palestinian leadership, which has criticised the peace proposal, was not consulted about the upcoming conference in Manama, which is not expected to address the core political issues of the conflict: final borders, the status of Jerusalem, or the fate of Palestinian refugees. The PLO, meanwhile, has dismissed the Kushner effort as an attempt to bribe Palestinians into accepting Israeli occupation of the West Bank, a prelude to Israel annexing about half their territory and leaving them with scattered cantons. PLO official Hanan Ashrawi wrote on Twitter that the Kushner plan and the Bahrain conference in late June were just a handout to make our captivity palatable. Hamas, which administers the besieged Gaza Strip, has also rejected the US peace plan. Palestinian businesspeople have opposed the Bahrain gathering despite a plea by Washington to attend, saying their political demands must be addressed in any peace plan. Qatar said economic prosperity cannot be achieved without political solutions acceptable to Palestinians, while Oman said anything that precludes the establishment of a Palestinian state would not be acceptable. Although Kushner has been drafting the plan for two years under a veil of secrecy, it is seen by Palestinian and some Arab officials as tilting heavily in Israels favour and denying them a state of their own. Jeffrey Stacey, a geopolitical analyst and a former US State Department official, said he believed the White House plan was doomed to fail, while also expressing his surprise at how candid Pompeo was in his comments. Its remarkably revealing, its almost shocking, that he, as the chief diplomat of the United States of America, would let that slip even in a private meeting, he should be a little more aware, he told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC. Stacey said the initiative was not going to get anywhere, adding that it was absolutely being received with the coldest of responses. Its dead on arrival and Pompeo is actually, to our surprise, revealing that his own personal opinion on this is that its not going to go very far at all. Kushner speaks out Still, in a TV interview that was aired on HBO on Sunday, Kushner appeared to express optimism about the proposal. Kushner was asked why Palestinians should trust the Trump administration in the interview on Axios programme. The actions weve taken were because Americas aid is not an entitlement, said Kushner, who is also widely distrusted by the Palestinians for his family ties with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 190603051426199 If we make certain decisions, which were allowed to as a sovereign nation to respect the rights of another sovereign nation and we get criticised by that government, the response of this presidency is not, so let me give you more aid. So that was as a result of decisions made by the Palestinian leadership. Asked whether he understood why the Palestinians might not trust him, Kushner said, Im not here to be trusted, adding that he believed the Palestinian people would judge the plan based on whether they think this will allow them to have a pathway to a better life or not. Kushner said the Palestinians deserve self-determination, but stopped short of backing Palestinian statehood and expressed uncertainty over their ability to govern themselves. He said it would be a high bar when asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from Israeli military and government interference. Kushner again avoided saying explicitly whether the plan would include a two-state solution, the bedrock of US policy for decades, calling for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with its capital in East Jerusalem. But he said: I do think they should have self-determination. Im going to leave the details until we come out with the actual plan. US secretary of state calls on China to make a full public account of the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen protests. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called on China to mark the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square uprising this week by releasing all prisoners jailed for fighting human rights abuses. In remarks coming a day before the sensitive date for Beijing, Pompeo said in a statement on Monday that the step would begin to demonstrate the Communist Partys willingness to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. We call on China to release all those held for seeking to exercise these rights and freedoms, halt the use of arbitrary detention, and reverse counterproductive policies that conflate terrorism with religious and political expression, he said. Pompeo also urged China to make a full public account of those killed or missing in the 1989 student-led pro-democracy protests in and around Beijings Tiananmen Square. The Chinese government sent tanks to quell the June 4, 1989 protests and has never released a death toll. Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses range from several hundred to several thousand. Pompeo said Chinas human rights record had not improved despite its rise on the international stage. Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that Chinas integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed, he said. Pompeo condemned the treatment of the countrys estimated 1.5 million Uighurs and other Muslim groups in the Xinjiang region. Chinas one-party state tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests, said Pompeo. Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith. Correct decision State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus upset China when she referred to the Tiananmen demonstrations as a full-on massacre of peaceful protesters during a briefing last week. Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said on Sunday that the crackdown was the correct decision, citing the countrys stability since then. He said that Chinas development since 1989 showed that the governments actions were justified. The Tiananmen protests were political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, which was the correct policy, he said. Due to this, China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history. His comments echoed those of Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian, who last week decried the use of the word suppression to describe the militarys response to the 1989 protests. China at the time blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the party. The crackdown remains one of the most sensitive subjects in mainland China and any mention is strictly censored. It continues to be a point of contention between China and many Western countries. A year after Fuego erupted, burying hundreds under rock and ash, families continue search for their loved ones remains Ciudad Vieja & Escuintla, Guatemala Careful not to wake her sleeping children, Norma Ascon quietly got ready for work before dawn on a Sunday like any other one year ago. As she left their house in the Guatemalan village San Miguel Los Lotes, Ascon was unaware it would be the last time she would see them. A year later, her 14-year-old daughter Damaris Julissa Castillo Ascon and her 15-year-old son Lester Fabian Castillo Ascon are still buried somewhere under the metres of volcanic ash, rocks, and debris that obliterated San Miguel Los Lotes, a village 60km from Guatemala City. I do not even have anywhere to go to lay down a bouquet of flowers, Ascon told Al Jazeera. It hurts. Monday marks the first anniversary of an eruption of the Fuego volcano that left 201 people confirmed dead. Another 229 people are still missing and presumed dead, and their relatives have been fighting for a year to find them. Ascon lost 33 relatives that day, but only the remains of 22 were found. Her two children, father, grandfather, a sister, and six other relatives are still missing. Few of us are left, she said of her family. Heightened volcanic activity began earlier in the day, and some neighbouring communities had been alerted and evacuated. 180610171158439 Although there was enough time for authorities to evacuate San Miguel Los Lotes, Ascon said, orders were not given until it was too late. San Miguel Los Lotes became the ground zero of the disaster. The village was engulfed by pyroclastic flows, dangerous mixtures of volcanic rock, hot gases, and solidified lava that can travel hundreds of kilometres per hour and reach several hundred degrees centigrade. Plumes of ash shot several kilometres into the air, affecting 1.7 million people across several departments and forcing the airport to shut down. Ascon could not go home. The military restricted access to the area for evacuation, search and rescue efforts. But the volcano was still erupting, and it also claimed the lives of two firefighters, a police officer, and a representative of CONRED, Guatemalas National Coordination for Disaster Reduction. Graves of the victims of the eruption sit adorned in the Alotenango, Guatemala cemetery [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera] Surviving San Miguel Los Lotes, residents spent their days searching for shelters and hospitals for their loved ones. Ascon found her mother, Aura Cristina Acajabon, in a Guatemala City hospital with severe burns on her arms. The mother and daughter now rent a room together in Ciudad Vieja, a town just outside Antigua, a colonial city and popular tourist destination just to the north of the affected communities. Survivors then spent their days searching for the remains of their loved ones, and those days stretched into weeks and months. 180605170119076 The government had shut down search and rescue efforts after 72 hours, and the unsanctioned search efforts by locals and supporters that followed became a point of tension and conflict. Search for dead continues Sofia Letona never expected to be digging up the dead. A book editor and translator, she was simply one of dozens of Antigua residents who gathered in the city plaza with donations for affected communities. Letona showed up to find heaps of donations and dozens of willing volunteers, but no one to coordinate aid efforts. She helped form a core group, later named Antigua Al Rescate, to take on volunteer and logistics coordination. They organised shelter and food support for the displaced, donation transport to affected communities, and medical brigades, and are still active in support work. None of us knew each other. We met on June 3, Letona told Al Jazeera. Not long after, Ascon approached Letona to ask for help finding her missing children. San Miguel Los Lotes residents were using shovels and even their bare hands to continue the search for their loved ones. No one in the Antigua Al Rescate group had any experience in the field, but they agreed to do what they could to help. We decided to do it because there was no other option. We decided to do it because it was surreal that no one was searching, Letona said. Norma Ascon holds the photos of relatives lost in the eruption of the Fuego Volcano [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera] The government had declared the area unsafe, the highway was still buried, and no machinery was allowed in. But if the area was safe enough for equipment and workers to clear the highway, it was safe enough for equipment and volunteers to help the adjacent community search efforts, Antigua Al Rescate members reasoned. Volunteer brigades left Antigua in the middle of the night to detour for access and rent the excavators and equipment already on site to clear the highway, using the machinery for two hours in the early morning before the highway work began. When they climbed back out of a second home they had helped excavate, they found a line of residents all asking for help. In one home, they found an intact scene of a grandmother holding the door closed to protect her two grandchildren. 180611075406833 Elsewhere, they found bits and pieces of charred flesh and bones. They only found the bottom half of one of Ascons uncles, identified by a shoe and his phone. They tracked down the material cleared off the highway and dumped elsewhere and picked through it to find the human remains discarded as trash. The government placed more importance on the highway, said Ascon. Those injustices that were committed are painful, she said. It was as though we are people who do not matter. The government kept trying to restrict the autonomous search efforts, issuing deadlines and threatening legal action against equipment contractors, successfully scaring them out of working in the area. But Ascon and other San Miguel Los Lotes survivors kept at it, organised protests, blocked the highway off and on for weeks, and pressured officials in the capital. Eventually, their efforts paid off. The 2019 budget bill passed by Congress last December included the assignment of about $650,400 to CONRED for the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, FAFG, to carry out the exhumation and forensic investigation of Fuego volcano victims. FAFG, a non-governmental institution known for its work exhuming victims of military atrocities committed during the 1960-1996 civil war, signed an agreement with CONRED in March. A specific date has not yet been set, but CONRED spokesperson David de Leon told Al Jazeera exhumation work is expected to begin in four to six weeks. Displaced survivors Just as many victims have not yet been located, many survivors await relocation. Last year, more than 12,000 people from several communities were evacuated. As of February, there were still 2,000 people in shelters, according to CONRED. 180607070055728 Some moved elsewhere, but most displaced residents are still living in temporary housing in Escuintla, a city south of the affected communities. The simple wooden structures many have called home for 10 months initially lacked water and electricity, but access to basic services has gradually expanded. A short walk from the temporary structures, there are brightly painted cement block homes and a playground where children play near a monument commemorating the tragedy. The small two-bedroom homes are the first 168 of 1,000 to be built as part of a government programme to relocate residents of the most heavily affected communities. The Dignity Project costs more than $23m. It is set to be completed by November 2019, according to the Guatemalan government. In May 2019, the government began to issue deeds to the first group of residents. Some moved in last month, while Ofelia Sican and others are awaiting the opportunity to occupy their new homes. I feel happy and thankful because we are going to recuperate a little bit of what we lost, Sican told Al Jazeera, in an alleyway between the temporary housing. It is still unclear when she will be able to move into her new home, but she believes it will happen this month. Isabel Juarez Lopez, who survived the eruption, stands in her temporary housing near the Dignity Project in Escuintla, Guatemala [Jeff Abbott/Al Jazeera] Sican, 45, was born and raised in San Miguel Los Lotes, but at the time of the eruption she was living elsewhere. She was one of the few to not lose any family members in the eruption, but she lost many of the people she grew up with. The new homes may only be a little more than 22km from where they once resided, but the heat in lowland Escuintla compared to their highland communities of origin and the initial lack of services affected survivors of the eruption. It is difficult to adapt to this place, Sican told Al Jazeera. At the beginning there was no water, she said. It was a little uncomfortable. Although Sican and other families have been assigned housing, many others, like 57-year-old former San Miguel Los Lotes resident Paula Lopez, continue to wait their turn. Who knows how long we will have to wait, Lopez told Al Jazeera. New worries While San Miguel Los Lotes residents await housing, residents of communities not displaced from the slopes of the volcano face risks beyond future eruptions. 180610104216136 The rainy season has begun and with it comes the danger of lahars, fast-moving mudflows of water and volcanic debris. It is always a latent risk, CONRED spokesperson David de Leon told Al Jazeera. There have already been at least 10 lahars, he said, though so far they have been relatively minor. For Ascon, she worries the rains or a lahar could wash away her childrens remains and make them harder to find. That is what we as survivors think about when we see the rain, she said. Although Ascon tried going back to work after the two-month leave her employer gave her last year, she became too paralysed with anxiety at the thought that her children might be found when she was not there while local search efforts were under way. She plans to be on site during FAFGs exhumation work, and is anxious for a concrete start date. I am hopeful about the search they will carry out, she said. Colombo, Sri Lanka All of Sri Lankas Muslim ministers and their deputies have resigned from their portfolios after accusing the government of failing to guarantee the security of the nations minority Muslim community amid fears of attacks following the Easter suicide bombings. The decision comes after hardline Buddhist monks, including firebrand monk Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, set a deadline to the government to fire Muslim provincial governors and a minister. Gnanasara, who has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against Muslims, was released from jail on a presidential pardon last month. If our ministerial portfolios is in the way, we are willing to give it up for the safety of our community Rauff Hakeem, the leader of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress The resignations of nine ministers and two provincial governors come after thousands of people led by Buddhist monks began demonstrating this morning in the countrys central city of Kandy, 115km east of the capital Colombo. Three weeks ago, mobs swept through Sri Lankas North Western Province, destroying hundreds of Muslims properties and killing one in apparent reprisal for the April suicide bombings in the island nation a popular tourist destination. It is disturbing to see Muslim politicians being forced to resign their posts on the basis of unproven allegations made by politically powerful religious leaders who claim to speak for the Buddhist majority, backed by a thinly veiled threat of violence, said Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka Project Director, International Crisis Group, referring to two governors. This sets a disturbing precedent, especially in Sri Lanka, where the repeated violation of the due process rights of minorities and political dissidents has contributed directly to Sri Lankas decades of extreme political violence, he told Al Jazeera. Keenan, however, said that police should investigate the allegations that some Muslim politicians may have been linked to Easter blasts. Most unfortunate that Muslim Ministers succumbed to pressure from racists. Yesterday us, today you, tomorrow a new other. We continue to stand in solidarity with Muslim people & call on all right thinking SriLankans to do the same @MASumanthiran, Spokesman. #LKA #NoMoreRacism TNAMedia (@TNAmediaoffice) June 3, 2019 Police have been accused of failing to intervene in the attacks in Kottaramulla and Minuwangoda in spite of a government curfew. More than 250 people were killed in the coordinated attacks on churches and hotels blamed on a local Muslim group, National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ). 190521064727363 At a press conference on Monday, Rauff Hakeem, the leader of Sri Lankas primary Muslim political party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, said: All Muslim cabinet, non-cabinet and deputy ministers all those representing Muslims will resign [from their portfolios]. If our ministerial portfolios is in the way, we are willing to give it up for the safety of our community. He added that the Muslim community was paying a heavy price due to the crimes of a few individuals even after complying with security forces and the government on various rules and regulations such as the closure of madrasas. He said that the Muslim politicians would continue in their positions as Members of Parliament. The former ministers will sit at the back of parliament and will cease to hold any ministerial positions. We will continue to support this government but will give them a grace period of one month to complete their investigations, he said. Until such time we dont feel that its suitable to remain in this government. The monk ended his three-day fast earlier on Monday after Western Province Governor Azath Salley and Eastern Province Governor MLAM Hizbullah submitted their resignations [MA Pushpa Kumara/EPA] Tension in Kandy Meanwhile, in Kandy, protesters gathered in support of hardline Buddhist Monk Athuraliye Rathana Thero, who began a fast-unto-death on Saturday, demanding the sacking of two Muslim governors and a Muslim cabinet minister in the Buddhist-majority island nation of 21 million people, nearly 10 percent of whom are Muslims. Thero has said the two governors are linked to the Easter bombings. The monk ended his three-day fast earlier on Monday after Western Province Governor Azath Salley and Eastern Province Governor MLAM Hizbullah submitted their resignations to President Maithripala Sirisena, whose office said they have been accepted. 190426053208891 He was subsequently whisked away in an ambulance to the Kandy National Hospital for treatment. Tension prevailed in Kandy as the crowd rallied outside the famous Temple of the Tooth Relic, where Buddhists believe a tooth of the Buddha is enshrined. Shops were forced to close and public transport came to a halt in the city that witnessed anti-Muslim riots last year. Gnanasara, head of the hardline Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) or Buddhist Power Force, gave a speech at the protest saying, for the sake of the children of this country, we will defeat these extremists even if it means dying. The head of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, also travelled to Kandy on Monday to express solidarity with Thero. We support the monks campaign because so far justice has not been served, Ranjith told AFP in Kandy. Create fear psychosis Mangala Samaraweera, Sri Lankas minister of finance, tweeted that the cardinal was fanning the flames of hatred by participating in the protest. In his resignation letter addressed to Sirisena, Hizbullah said there had been a calculated attempt to discredit the Muslim community and create fear psychosis over the Easter bombings. As part of an attempt to target my community, racist forces have called for my resignation without any reason, he wrote. The Muslim politician said as he was convinced that the Muslim communitys safety cannot be guaranteed he had decided to resign only in the interest of my community. Sri Lanka imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the Easter attacks, empowering security forces to arrest and detain suspects. Nearly 100 people linked to the local NTJ group have been arrested since then, according to the government. At least 13 people killed in Sudan, where security forces fired live ammunition to break up weeks-long sit-in. At least 13 people have been killed after security forces stormed a protest camp in the Sudanese capital Khartoum and fired live ammunition to break up a weeks-long sit-in. The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors, a medical group linked to protesters, said at least 13 people were killed and several wounded in the Monday morning raid, which was still in progress. The committee also said security forces used live ammunition inside East Nile Hospital in Khartoum where some of the wounded were being treated. In a post on Twitter, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) said the countrys ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) had assigned a large number of troops to disperse the protest camp. The sound of heavy gunfire was heard in footage broadcast from the scene, while plumes of smoke were seen rising into the sky. Mohammed Alamin, a journalist in Khartoum, told Al Jazeera troops from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) first used tear gas then sound grenades to disperse protesters. Soldiers then fired live rounds at the remaining protesters. They are now in control of most of the sit-in area and have burnt down the makeshift clinics. Most of the protesters have been dispersed. Soldiers are blocking all entrances to the area with military vehicles to stop protesters from returning, Alamin said. Madani Abbas Madani, one of the protest leaders, was injured as troops dispersed the protesters, Alamin added. High tension at the sit-in at army hq in Khartoum. #Sudans Central Doctors Committee is calling for doctors to mobilize and prepare for emergencies amidst concerns that an attempt will be made to break the sit-in nearly 2 months after it started. https://t.co/NU2GFsIZ45 Hiba Morgan (@hiba_morgan) June 3, 2019 Speaking to Al Jazeera, witnesses spoke of soldiers being heavily armed and of using live ammunition against protesters who were peaceful and did nothing to provoke the troops. We are being attacked by the Rapid Support Forces and the police, Mamadou Abozeid, a protester in Khartoum, told Al Jazeera over the phone. Shooting at everyone Mohammed Elmunir, another protester in the Sudanese capital, said security forces blocked the exits of the sit-in site before opening fire on protesters. They were shooting at everyone randomly and people were running for their lives. They blocked all roads and most tents at the sit-in have been set on fire, Elmunir told Al Jazeera. People are very angry right now. They dont know what could happen next. Protesters have dispersed to other parts of the city. They are now on the streets protesting. Most people have blocked the roads in their neighbourhoods, he added. In a statement, the SPA said the TMC would be held accountable for any bloodshed and called for a campaign of civil disobedience. It is imperative to go out to the streets to protect the revolution and the remaining dignity. Our weapons are peace courage, it said in a statement. We call on the revolutionaries in all neighbourhoods, villages, towns and cities of Sudan to go out to the streets and start marching, closing all streets and bridges and ports. We call for a comprehensive civil disobedience to bring down the deadly military junta and complete our revolution. Nawal Osman, a protester in Khartoum, said she and her husband were getting ready to leave their house and join the protesters. I am going there now, I live near the protest area, she told Al Jazeera over the phone. This revolution is staying, she added. We are all ready to be there, to protect the country and to get rid of those criminals. Sudanese human rights activist Azaz Elshami said it was not surprising the military had resorted to using deadly force to deal with protesters. What is happening is the mask is finally falling. The military is not different from the government before it. They are not what they said they are. They dont want change and they want power for themselves. Now, everyone knows what they are up against. This is a new phase. It might take much longer, but I dont think Sudanese people will back down, Elshami told Al Jazeera. Barbaric act The sit-in has become the focal point of Sudans protest movement, which saw longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir overthrown in April and has since been calling for the generals who replaced him to hand over power to a civilian-led administration. The operation came days after Sudans military rulers called the sit-in outside the defence ministry a danger to the countrys national security and warned that action would be taken against what they called unruly elements. 190527072135511 The military also ordered the office of the Al Jazeera Media Network in Khartoum to be shut down, without giving any reason. It withdrew the work permits for the correspondents and staff of the Qatar-based news organisation. People have started putting up barricades in many areas and it seems that the situation is aggravating, Hamid Eldood, a professor at Al-Neelain University, told Al Jazeera from Khartoum. He added that the latest developments indicated a tone change by the members of the TMC following the visit by its head, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo also known as Hemeti to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It is really a barbaric act and it seems Sudan is heading towards civil war and a [bleak] future, Eldood said. Additional reporting by Mohammed Alamin in Khartoum. Uppsala courts decision means WikiLeaks founder will not be extradited to Sweden for a revived rape investigation. A Swedish court has rejected a request to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in absentia, dashing prosecutors hopes of having him swiftly extradited from the United Kingdom over an allegation of rape. The Uppsala District Court, in a ruling on Monday, said the fact that Assange was currently in prison in Britain meant he did not need to be formally arrested and held under Swedish law to be questioned by Swedish prosecutors. As Julian Assange is currently serving a prison sentence, the investigation can proceed with the help of a European investigation order, which does not require Julian Assanges detention [in Sweden]. The court therefore does not find it proportional to detain Julian Assange, it said in a statement. Eva-Marie Persson, Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions, had argued that the 47-year-old had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be arrested and questioned in Sweden. Assange denies the allegations, which date back to 2010. Mondays ruling means the Swedish prosecutor cannot at this stage request Assanges extradition from Britain. Last month, the 47-year-old was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he had been holed up with political asylum since 2012. He was then immediately arrested by British police on April 11 and is currently serving a 50-week sentence in the UK for jumping bail in 2012. Assange, an Australian national, is also fighting extradition to the United States, which accuses him of publishing secret documents. Responding to Mondays ruling, Persson said she has not decided whether to appeal. I will also issue a European Investigation Order in order to interview Julian Assange, the prosecutor said, adding that she has not picked a possible date for the questioning in Britain. Per Samuelson, Assanges lawyer in Sweden, called the Uppsala courts decision a big victory for his client, who would be happy to learn he wont be extradited to Sweden. On Friday, a United Nations human rights expert called for an end to the collective persecution of Assange and appealed to the British government not to extradite him to the US. I am seriously, gravely concerned that if this man were to be extradited to the United States, he would be exposed to a politicised show trial and grave violations of his human rights, Nils Melzer told reporters on Friday The UN rapporteur on torture, who visited Assange in prison, said the WikiLeaks founder showed obvious signs of psychological torture due to years of severe abuse ranging from judicial persecution, isolation and surveillance within the Ecuadorian Embassy, as well as public humiliation and repeated calls for his assassination. In a statement, Melzer argued that the US, UK, Sweden and Ecuador were ganging up on Assange in an attempt to deliberately isolate, demonise and abuse him. Taiwan says Beijing must face up to historical mistake of 1989 incident but China says it followed correct path. Taiwans government has called on China to sincerely repent for a bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijings Tiananmen Square three decades ago ahead of a sensitive anniversary of the event, as Beijing said the countrys development showed it had followed the correct path. In a statement on Monday, Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council accused China of telling lies about the incident on June 4, 1989, which saw Chinese troops open fire on demonstrators in the capital following weeks of student-led rallies calling for political reform in the communist party-ruled country. Beijing has never released a full death toll concerning the incident and heavily censors reporting on the event. Estimates from human rights groups and witnesses put the death toll between several hundred to several thousand people. We earnestly admonish the Chinese authorities to face up to the historical mistake, and sincerely apologise as soon as possible, the councils statement said. The council also called on China to proactively push for democratic reforms, adding it would support the move in all manner of ways. Asked about Taiwans statement on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the great achievements since the Peoples Republic of China was founded 70 years ago fully prove that the development path we have chosen is completely correct. On Sunday, in a rare acknowledgement of the 1989 events, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe defended authorities handling of the Tiananmen Square protests as the correct policy. 190602083719934 Throughout the 30 years, China under the Communist Party has undergone many changes do you think the government was wrong with the handling of June fourth? There was a conclusion to that incident. The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence, Wei said at a defence summit in Singapore. He added that Chinas development since 1989 showed that the governments actions were justified. The Tiananmen protests were political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, Wei said, adding: Due to this, China has enjoyed stability, and if you visit China you can understand that part of history. Under President Xi Jinping, Beijing has further tightened its grip on civil society by intensifying online censorship, rolling out new hi-tech policing methods, stepping up persecution of minority religious communities and detaining human rights activists and dissidents. China-Taiwan tensions Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council described the remarks defending the handling of the demonstrations as incredible. It proves that them keeping saying Chinese people dont attack Chinese people is a gargantuan lie, the councils statement said. 190527042649290 The back-and-forth took place amid a ramping up of pressure by China on Taiwan, which holds presidential elections in January, with Beijing whittling away at the islands few remaining diplomatic allies and regularly sending air force jets close to the territory. Chinese authorities suspect President Tsai Ing-wen and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party of pushing formal independence for Taiwan, a red line for Beijing. Tsai has repeatedly said she wants to maintain the status quo but has also vowed to defend the islands democracy. Beijing claims self-ruled and democratic Taiwan as its sacred territory, to be taken back by force if necessary. On Sunday, Chinese Defence Minister Wei said the military would fight if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China. Taiwans defence ministry denounced his remarks as bellicose, adding they posed a clear threat to peace and security in the region. Reports show Kim Yong-chol, who led February nuclear talks with US, clapping with the North Korean leader at a concert. A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over Februarys failed nuclear summit with Washington was shown by the state media enjoying a concert near the countrys leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean publications on Monday showed Kim Yong-chol, the leaders right-hand man who led the talks at the nuclear summit, sitting five seats away from a clapping Kim in the same row along with other top officials during a musical performance by the wives of Korean Peoples Army officers. Official news agency KCNA named Kim Yong-chol as the 10th person among a group of 12 leading officials who accompanied Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, to Sundays show. The appearance followed conflicting reports of shakeups in the team that led engagement with the United States last year, only for nuclear talks to collapse after Kim and US President Donald Trump failed to reach a pact in February. 190527034416957 On Friday, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo had reported Kim Yong-chol, a counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo until the failed summit, had been sent to a labour and re-education camp, citing an unidentified North Korean source. The Chosun Ilbo report, which Al Jazeera was unable to confirm independently, also said North Korea executed its working-level nuclear envoy to the US, Kim Hyok Chol, along with other four officials. South Koreas government and media have a mixed record on tracking developments among North Koreas ruling elite, made difficult by Pyongyangs stringent control of information about them. Pompeos comments Asked on Sunday about the last US contact with Kim Yong-chol and North Korea in general, Pompeo declined to answer, saying, We conduct our negotiations in private. About reports of a shake-up of Kims negotiating team in a May 5 interview with Australias ABC News, Pompeo said it did appear that his future counterpart would be somebody else, adding: But we dont know that for sure. He said, Just as President Trump gets to decide who his negotiators will be, Chairman Kim will get to make his own decisions who he asks to have these discussions. 190509081015783 In April, an official photograph from a session of North Koreas rubber-stamp legislature showed Kim Yong-chol standing behind Kim Jong Un, but he did not accompany him on his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin later that month. The reports on the fate of Kim Yong-chol come at a delicate time for diplomacy as North Korea in past weeks has tested short-range missiles and issued belligerent rhetoric towards American and South Korean officials. Kim declared in April that the Trump administration has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations. North Korea has previously executed scapegoats to atone for high-profile political failures. Johana Medina Leon died at a Texas hospital after complaining for weeks she needed medical attention, advocates say. A transgender asylum seeker from El Salvador died at a Texas hospital on Saturday, after complaining for weeks to United States immigration authorities that she was ill and needed medical attention, rights groups said. Johana Medina Leon, 25, died after falling ill at the Otero County Processing Center, a private Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in New Mexico, officials said. For weeks she pleaded for medical help, referring to health problems caused by complications with HIV/AIDS, said Grecia, a transgender advocate and leader of the Casa Migrante en Juarez rights group. Grecia said she had visited Medina Leon on Saturday morning, hours before the hospital called her to tell her that Medina Leon had died. According to US media, Medina Leon presented herself at a port of entry on April 11 to request asylum. She was taken into ICE custody three days later. On May 18, immigration officials determined that her fear of persecution, if returned to El Salvador, was credible. On May 28, she complained of chest pains. Earlier that morning, she had requested an HIV test, which came back positive, US media said. She was then taken to a hospital in El Paso, Texas. She had also been processed for release on parole, ICE said in a statement. She died four days later while in the hospital. This is yet another unfortunate example of an individual who illegally enters the United States with an untreated, unscreened medical condition, ICE said in a statement. But rights groups said that Medina Leon did not enter the US illegally and followed the Department of Homeland Security protocol for requesting asylum. She didnt violate a single law coming to the US to ask for political asylum, Allegra Love, the executive director of the Sante Fe Dreamers Project, told NBC News. Treatment at Otero Medina Leons death comes amid allegations of mistreatment at the Otero facility. Nathan Craig, a member of Advocate Visitors with Immigrants in Detention (AVID) in the Chihuahua Desert, was cited by the Washington Post as saying that he learned as early as May 24 that all four transgender women at Otero, including Medina Leon, were sick. Craig told the newspaper, the transgender detainees asked the staff to give Medina Leon intravenous fluids but they refused to do so. In March, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Santa Fe Dreamers Project sent a letter to ICE demanding an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, medical neglect and retaliation against transgender women and gay men at the Otero facility. Leons death comes about a year after the death of another transgender woman Roxsana Hernandez Rodriguez from Honduras at another New Mexico detention centre. Rodriguezs cause of death was related to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, according to an official autopsy cited by US media. But an independent autopsy performed for the Transgender Law Center, which filed a wrongful death notice, said Rodriguez died of dehydration and complications of AIDS/HIV after enduring physical assault and abuse while in custody. When I looked at [Medina Leon on Saturday morning], I said what happened a year ago to Roxsana in the month of May could happen to JOA [Medina Leon] right in there, Casa Migrante en Juarezs Grecia said. And it did. Separately on Sunday, a Salvadoran man died in US custody after suffering an apparent seizure, US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. The president of the US has met the British queen after calling Londons mayor a stone cold loser. US President Donald Trump has met Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on the first day of a state visit to the United Kingdom, hours after lashing out on Twitter at the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Trump was treated to full state honours upon his arrival at the royal residence, inspecting a guard of honour formed by Grenadier Guards wearing traditional bearskin hats. Gun salutes rang out from nearby Green Park and at the Tower of London as the president was greeted by the queen on the grand lawn of the palace. Trump, who withdrew the United States from the landmark Paris climate agreement last year, was also welcomed by Prince Charles, a passionate environmentalist, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, while members of the Trump family looked on. The Trumps were greeted as they stepped off Marine One by Prince Charles, and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall [Victoria Jones/Reuters] Minutes before landing in the capital, Trump took to Twitter to launch a personal attack on London Mayor Khan, branding him a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me. The president said Khan reminded him of liberal New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, only half his height. De Blasio later chimed in to say he was a great fan or stan in Twitter-speak of the London mayor. President Trump and Price Charles inspected a guard of honour by the Grenadier Guards [Toby Melville/Reuters] The mayor of London, where thousands of protesters are expected to line the streets on Tuesday in a demonstration spearheaded by a giant blimp portraying the president as a baby in a diaper, had previously compared Trumps use of divisive language with the fascists of the 20th century. Writing in the UKs Observer newspaper on Sunday, Khan said Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet for Trump, where a poll showed only 21 percent of the population had a positive opinion of him while 67 percent held a negative view. Khan labelled the president one of the most egregious examples of a global threat. In an interview published on Saturday, the president had told The Sun tabloid newspaper: I think I am really I hope I am really loved in the UK. I certainly love the UK. The infamous Trump baby blimp could be headed for a place in history after this weeks protests, with the Museum of London expressing an interest in acquiring the six-metre rubber inflatable on Monday morning. .Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 State visits are usually occasions designed to honour a nation rather than an individual, but Trumps arrival comes at a time of political chaos in the UK and his personal impact is likely to be unavoidable. He regularly breaks diplomatic norms, such as staying out of domestic politics. Politics and Brexit 190602111747730 In an interview published this weekend, Trump publicly endorsed Boris Johnson in the race to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May. He will meet May on Tuesday amid a heated international dispute surrounding Washingtons trade war with China and a controversial UK decision to award key 5G infrastructure contracts to Beijing tech giant Huawei. Kellyanne Conway, a counsellor to President Trump who is usually not far from the public eye, took a back seat during the royal welcome ceremonies [Simon Dawson/Reuters] The president also heralded his trip by weighing in on the Brexit debacle, suggesting on Sunday that far-right eurosceptic Nigel Farage, who campaigned in the US for Trumps 2016 election, should be a part of European Union withdrawal negotiations. He also said the UK should refuse to pay its 39 billion pound ($49bn) EU divorce bill if there is no Brexit deal with Brussels. If they dont get what they want, I would walk away, Trump told the Sunday Times. If you dont get a fair deal, you walk away. US Ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson this weekend also said the National Health Service, much beloved in Britain, should be included in trade negotiations over a potential post-Brexit trade deal with the US. A Trump supporter argues with police officers outside the palace. Protests against Trumps visit are expected throughout the week [Alkis Konstantinidis] On Monday afternoon, Trump, who has repeatedly denied climate change science, will travel to the home of green activist Prince Charles for a private meeting. In a 1996 radio interview, Trump made a series of lewd comments about Prince Charles former wife, Princess Diana. On Monday night, Trump will be the guest of honour at a state banquet in Buckingham Palace, an event being boycotted by opposition party leaders. Due to refurbishment work at the 775-room palace, the president will not be a houseguest at the royal home, instead, he will stay at the residence of the US ambassador, a mansion at the edge of Regents Park. His statement on Twitter comes as Israel launches more air raids against Syria, according to Syrian state media. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has told the Syrian government and its Russian ally to stop bombing Syrias last rebel-held province, just as Israel launched a second round of air raids against Syria in 24 hours, according to state media. Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians, Trump, whose administration has long supported its support for Israeli air raids in Syria, wrote in a post on Twitter. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP! Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2019 His comments came after Moscow on Friday suggested that it would continue to back a month-long Syrian government offensive in Idlib.. In a statement, the Kremlin said it was Turkeys responsibility to stop rebels in Idlib from firing on civilian and Russian targets. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has long complained to Moscow about the Russian-backed Syrian government attacks against rebels who control the countrys northwest. The offensive in Idlib is the biggest escalation of the war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel opponents of his government since last summer, and has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis as Syrians displaced by the fighting seek shelter at the Turkish border. More than 200,000 people have fled the violence in Idlib since the strikes began at the end of April, according to the United Nations. On Friday, Syrian NGOs on Friday decried international inaction in the face of mounting violence in the northwestern region. When asked on Sunday night before departing on a state visit to Britain what he intended to do about the killing of civilians in Idlib, Trump told reporters he did not like the situation. Bad things are happening, Trump said. Separately on Sunday, Syria accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province, reportedly killing five people, just hours after carrying out retaliatory attacks on military and intelligence posts south of the capital, Damascus, killing 10. Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase, a military source told state news agency SANA on Sunday evening. The remaining rockets killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse, the source added. Hours earlier, Israel said it had struck targets in the province of Quneitra, which includes the Golan Heights, most of which is occupied and annexed by Israel. It said the attack was in response to rare rocket fire from its neighbour late on Saturday. Two rockets were fired from Syria at Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and one had been located within Israeli territory, the Israeli army The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 10 were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters in the attack south of the capital. About the show A weekly programme that examines and dissects the worlds media, how they operate and the stories they cover. Watch The Listening Post every Saturday at 0830GMT Robert Mueller stirred the pot, then retreated from the chaos. Sitting in his comfy sinecure, funded by the American taxpayers, he absolves himself of any heavy lifting. Like the second-leg relay racer, whose lap has been run, Mueller has passed the baton and now believes he is nothing but a spectator. To whom has he passed that baton? None other than House Judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler. This battery-operated cipher, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, is a prime example of opportunity lost. Lamentably, he may reflect the voters of his district, but he is no sadder than several other Democrats, who also seem to lack a demonstrable intellect. The public has actually seen Democrats praise unemployment checks as economic stimulus, decry military personnel for capsizing islands, and say China is just good folks, so thinking Americans are no longer expecting much out of them. Nonetheless, this sad spectacle of a man, while doing such a good job of demonstrating a Napoleon complex, still denies to voters from other districts the services they deserve from the Judiciary Committee. Once Nadler decided to champion a conspiracy theory that is as patently false and easily disprovable as Russian collusion he and we have to play out the string. In doing so, he got applause from the MSM that would embarrass a self-respecting person. Like the dupe whitewashing a fence, there is no awareness of being used. Now he is stuck with his weird position, since he cannot muzzle the ego that motivates him and thereby run the risk of disappointing his MSM worshipers. Not self-aware enough to know he is UFO crazy, he keeps going, and going, and going. Normal behavioral checks have been lost. Zealotry is a harsh taskmaster. It forces you to actions that an analytical person could not countenance. Nadler's own political allies have chosen an odd couple to carry this torch, and Schiff must be wondering why he is now playing second fiddle to Nadler. As the Kabuki theater is playing out, the other Democrats are not about to restrain Nadler. They are afraid of the crazies he is placating and have decided to keep their heads down. Like Mikey of cereal commercial fame, he is the guinea pig, and his fellow travelers are waiting to see what happens when he tries it. Being unable to discern when you are being played is more than unseemly; it carries the ability to damage this country. As his own allies watch, Nadler rails against his opponents, who have the temerity to fail to assist him in his cause. He has to know he cannot handle the intellectual challenges in advancing his UFO theory. If Nadler were possessed of foundational evidence, the first thing he would have done is wait for it read the Mueller Report! His failure to do so is the answer to every question about his cause. Perhaps he should instead offer a prayer to St. Jude. When your mouth is writing checks that your intellect cannot cash, you risk becoming an object of scorn and ridicule. It is so deserved in this case. Watching Jerrold Nadler is a cringe-worthy experience. How can voters shelve their pride to vote for him? By issuing more subpoenas in four months than his predecessors did in six years, Nadler shows how extreme the fervor has become. Lash out at everyone; negotiate with no one. Not a recipe for success, but I suppose he missed the George Bush town hall question: "Can't we all just get along?" So, like any good autocrat in training, he lets his response reflect his underlying anger and his desire to rule rather than serve. Bernie gets more customers for that act than Nadler ever will, and even his appeal is slumping. How can this grand conspiracy be fleshed out? Nadler could call Mueller to testify, and Barr green-lighted it. So what's holding up the appearance? Did they run out of subpoena forms? Maybe they cannot spell M-U-E-L-L-E-R? More likely is that Nadler cannot develop a credible narrative, nor can his staff. His earlier evasive maneuver, to avoid directly facing Barr, is the tell. Too cowardly to take on the issue alone, he sought to enlist staff to question Barr. It was an obvious ploy, to avoid showing how grievously unprepared he is. Barr wouldn't play, so the little storm trooper acted as if he had identified an enemy of the state. The contempt for Barr was just Nadler's personal feeling, not an institutional transgression. The only one in that affair, deserving of contempt, was Nadler. With the appearance of Mueller, we could see just what Nadler's mind is capable of. That would be like watching a rerun of I Love Lucy. Nadler knows that such an appearance would demonstrate the vacuous nature of his actions. Without a coherent defense from Nadler, Mueller would be eviscerated by the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee. Unlike the chairman, who doesn't know what questions to ask, Republicans would celebrate like mosquitoes at a nudist colony. It would be a field day, and Jerrold Nadler and Robert Mueller would be revealed in front of God and country. This epic fail would doom them, their puppeteers, and the entire Democratic Party. Anything that will move forward a Mueller appearance should be encouraged. I see that my congressman, Doug Collins, who has been so courageous, has suggested publicly that Nadler issue a subpoena for Mueller. Collins should promise Republican votes to support that subpoena, or perhaps make the motion himself, and watch the Democrats squirm. Democrats should heed the dictum: be careful what you ask for. Gordon Wysong is an engineer and entrepreneur who served as a county commissioner in Cobb County, Ga. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. Everyone not lying to themselves predicted when the federal government under Bill Clinton aided and abetted by Lutheran Social Services, Catholic Charities and World Relief Minnesota -- plopped 30,000 Somalis down into the midst of the kind, virtue-signaling, eager-to-help Midwesterners of Minneapolis (of which I am one) that it would lead to some grave consequences for our community. Now, due to continuing refugee placements as well as chain migration there are an estimated 80,000 Somalis living in the Twin Cities metro area, or more like 79,000 if you subtract those whove left the country to join terrorist organizations like ISIS. Anyhoo, heres a week Minneapolitans had with their Somali neighbors last month: On Wednesday, May 15th a couple of University students were attacked on campus at the East Bank Train station by two Somali thugs. It was an attempted robbery that the guys rebuffed sustaining injuries that required a hospital visit. On Thursday, May 16th two Somalis burned down the pavilion at Lake Calhoun [or Lake Bde Maka Ska if youre a virtue signaler) an eating and hanging out meeting place in the heart of the city enjoyed by generations of Americans around the prettiest city lake youve ever seen. This is in the most expensive neighborhood in Minneapolis. Photo credit: August Schwerdfeger (croppped) KMSP-TV screen grab On Friday, May 17th a gang of 10-12 Somali youths attacked all the white people at that same East Bank Train station with hammers and pipes. Snopes says this is Mostly False because after the attack they fled, and out of the 7 who were eventually apprehended only two were still in possession of weapons, in this case pipes. So therefore, it never happened. And now Tuesday, May 20th a woman walking her dog in a gorgeous, huge, wooded off leash dog park, complete with sandy beach on the Mississippi River, found spikes just off the path. Sharp metal objects taped to a wooden spike, presumably designed to hurt dogs running happily through the underbrush. Now, we dont know that a Somali did that, it could be some crazed psycho Swede, but Islam abhors dogs as unclean because the prophet did. Will this cause anything to change in Minnesota? Will the citys leaders stop wearing the hijab in solidarity with the worst of Islam, incredibly, after they attack us!? Will Minneapolitans elect secular, assimilated Somalis rather than proudly Sharia- supporting, anti-Semitic, enshrouded Somali Muslims like Ilhan Omar? (80% of Democrats picked her in the primary.) I doubt it. They did all that after the following events: In 2018 it was uncovered that Somalis had perpetrated a massive, community wide scam against the welfare state of Minnesota, stealing an incredible $100 million from a childcare handout program by fraud and shipping that money to Somalia to fund God knows what. (Incidentally, though finally proven in 2018, this was an open secret for years. I knew about this scam when I left the state in 2014.) Dozens of Somalis, men and women, over the years arrested or tracked as they attempted to join terrorists overseas including ISIS. The feds are concerned it is still a rich breeding ground for Islamic supremacy and terrorist organizations. In 2016 the first Somali police officer murdered a woman in her pajamas who had called in a disturbance. I guess its not safe to call the cops when you see something and say something. He has been found guilty of that murder. In 2018 a Somali student at St Catherine University attempted to burn down the school and hurt people, saying, You guys are lucky that I dont know how to build a bomb because I would have done that. In 2017 a Somali man stabbed a young woman 14 times for no apparent reason -- he didnt go after her purse -- while she was walking home from her job at an Apple Store. Hes still at large. Curiously no composite sketch was ever released to the media. In 2016 during Ramadan a gang of religious robed Somali men terrorized the citys affluent Linden Hills community for three straight days, threatening to rape a woman, beating one residents dog, and shouting jihad! as they drove vehicles over residents lawns and pretended to shoot people through their duffel bags. No arrests were made. (Seriously read this account. You will find it absolutely horrifying and its shocking that no arrests were made with all these people trying to get license plate numbers, all the likely surveillance cameras etc. It makes one wonder if the city is protecting Somalis from being held accountable to our laws.) In 2012 90% of Somalis worldwide said they think they agree with Sharia Law and think it should be implemented. But Ilhan Omar wears such pretty head scarves when shes raising money for the Muslim Brotherhood. Im not sure what it would take for Minneapolitans to wake up and stop being so suicidal with their multiculturalism. Terrorism, arson, violent crime, murder, corruption, fraud, female oppression is apparently not enough. When U.S. Marines raised the U.S. flags on Iwo Jima during World War II, secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, who had just landed at the beachhead, turned to Marine lieutenant general Holland M. "Howling Mad" Smith. Forrestal exclaimed , "Holland, the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for five hundred years." That seems a strange thing to say. Was the continued existence of the United States Marine Corps actually in jeopardy? Yes, it was. The U.S. Army had been targeting the Marine Corps for absorption at least since World War I. And the Marine Corps had been fighting back, by recruiting as officers promising persons who might rise to Congress some day. Two of these promising recruits included future senator Joseph McCarthy and future televangelist Pat Robertson. The fundamental imperative of a bureaucracy is to expand itself, and the U.S. Army is as susceptible to this urge as any. In addition to the usual stratagems of increased budgets and staffing levels and added mission responsibilities, there is also the stratagem of absorbing other bureaucracies that perform similar functions. This, the Army attempted to do to the Marine Corps. As justification, the Army cited the fact that during World War I, the USMC had functioned as a second U.S. Army, to the point of operating two infantry brigades , in much the same way that the Waffen-SS later functioned as a second German army during World War II. Why have two U.S. Armies? Just merge them. President Harry Truman agreed. An Army veteran himself, he so much accepted that the Army should absorb the Marines that he said, " The Marine Corps is the Navy's police force , and as long as I am president, that is what it will remain." Truman had assistance from that supreme, consummate military bureaucrat himself, General Dwight Eisenhower (whom Douglas MacArthur called " the best clerk I ever had "). When Eisenhower became Army chief of staff after the war, he worked with Truman to abolish the Marine Corps , as part of the centralization campaign creating the new, consolidated Department of Defense. But the Marine Corps likewise obeys the fundamental imperatives of bureaucracies, no less so than the Army, and another such imperative is to resist absorption by larger rivals. Thus, the Marine Corps was in permanent floating talent hunt mode, looking for "a few good men" to serve not as warriors, but as up-and-coming politicians who might rise to Congress someday. Identifying them, the Marine Corps would get them commissions as officers in the Marine Corps and hope they would vote "the Marine Way" if and when they eventually made it to Washington. Thus, Second Lieutenant Pat Robertson found himself on a troopship bound for Korea in 1951, alongside Second Lieutenant Pete McCloskey, USMC (himself later a U.S. congressman). The USMC's confidence in Robertson was well founded, for he could well have inherited his father's Senate seat eventually, indeed did run for president in 1988, and masterminded an amazing career as a television evangelist and businessman, building up the Christian Broadcasting Network from nothing. As for McCarthy, he had been nurturing political ambitions since before World War II. He had already run, unsuccessfully, for district attorney in Shewano in 1936 and successfully for district judge in 1939. (Both times, curiously, as a Democrat. McCarthy was a New Deal liberal!) When the war broke out, McCarthy recognized an opportunity when he saw one: a war record could only enhance his future electability. But how to get one? At age 34 in 1942, he was already long in the tooth. Along came the Marine Corps. It, too, recognized an opportunity when it saw one: a politician who could vote "the Marine Way" someday. The Corps offered McCarthy a direct commission as a first lieutenant. Evidently, McCarthy wasn't even required to attend Officer Candidate School. What an expression of confidence this was in Joseph McCarthy's future electoral prospects! It was a marriage of convenience made in heaven. But having recruited McCarthy for his real mission, which was to represent the Marine Corps in Congress someday, was the Corps going to get him killed, like an infantry officer? No way. It assigned McCarthy to be an Air Intelligence Officer for a squadron of SBD Douglas Dauntless dive-bombers my father's squadron. In that squadron, McCarthy flew about a dozen missions in the tail-gunner position, providing the genesis of the legend of "Tail Gunner Joe." McCarthy seems to have embellished his record, claiming 32 flights instead of the dozen he actually flew, qualifying for the Distinguished Flying Cross but making his DFC as phony as Lyndon Johnson's Silver Star. Probably, McCarthy flew those missions with the encouragement of the Marine Corps, on the grounds that it is no bad thing for an Air Intelligence Officer to have personal familiarity with the combat missions for which he is providing briefings and debriefings. The Corps likely even gave him flight pay and combat pay. My father may even have taken him up on some of those missions himself! Nowadays, there no longer seems to be any fear that the Army might absorb the Marine Corps. The government seems to have realized that "inefficiencies" notwithstanding, it's actually good to have competing bureaucracies that do similar things. "Competition is good for business." In law enforcement, for example, there is a veritable alphabet soup of agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA, BATF, the Marshals Service, the Border Patrol, the Secret Service, Homeland Security, etc. In the area of national intelligence, there must be some seventeen agencies doing that work. Same with the Armed Forces. We have the Army and the Marines. Sometimes they do each other favors. It was the Army that showed the Marines just how useful helicopters are, while the Marines so impressed the Army with the potential of sniping that the Army has made scout sniper a military occupation specialty. Both services are actually good for each other, and there is no longer talk about one absorbing the other. America's cattle herds are now threatened by a tick-borne epidemic of bovine "yellow fever" that kills huge numbers of adult cattle and can spread to humans if not treated. The China trade war and floods have devastated agricultural interests across the America's Midwest this year. But a few days of sun last week allowed corn farmers to plant 19 percent more acres, bringing their total to 68 percent of plan, and soybeans farmers planted 11 percent more acres, bring their total to 30 percent of plan. But the good news was submarined by reports from the Centers for Disease Control of a widespread epidemic of bovine anaplasmosis, commonly referred to as "yellow fever." According to the Hindawi Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Infectious Diseases, bovine anaplasmosis is endemic in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean Islands. It has now been reported in every state within the United States. Caused by parasitic tick bites and unsterilized vaccinations needles, "yellow fever" caused major losses for U.S. beef-producers in the 1960s and 1970s. Cattle losses over the last decade have averaged $100 million a year due to anemia, fever, weight loss, jaundice, uncoordinated movements, spontaneous abortion, and death in adult cattle. Kansas State University professor Dr. Hans Coetzee advised that a 2010 study of newly infected dairy herds in Kansas found that 34 percent of the lactating cows died, and milk production fell by 44 percent. He warned that infections accelerated after 2015. A new statewide study by Kansas State veterinarian Mark Spare, covering 925 herds and 9,250 head of cattle, found infection in about 83 percent of the herds in eastern counties, 47 percent of herds in central counties, and 22 percent in the western counties. Spare advised that the research results indicate that Kansas has a prevalence of anaplasmosis infection at the cow herd level in every region of the state, and infection concentrations are multiplied by commonly used animal management practices. Oklahoma State University veterinarian Dana Zook told VitaFirm that in his state: Cattle 1 to 3 years of age may exhibit severe clinical signs, but their ability to recover from the disease is more likely than older animals. Data indicate that 30 percent to 50 percent of infected cattle more than three years of age will die without early treatment. The Centers for Disease Control reported that U.S. bovine anaplasmosis became cross-species by mutating into human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGE) around 2000. Averaging about 500 cases a year in its first decade, HGE jumped to 3,656 cases in 2015 and 5,762 cases in 2017, the latest year data. HGE has been most prevalent in rural states with lots of agriculture such as Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. But in 2016, five separate confirmed cases of HGE were reported to the California Department of Public Health in the counties of Alameda, Kern, Sacramento, San Mateo, Tulare, and Ventura as the result of tick bites. Not too long ago, President Trump declared that sanctuary states would take the bulk of the migrant surge rolling in from our unguarded southern border. Sanctuary states, after all, are incentives to immigrate without bothering about paperwork. Come here illegally, and it'll be not at all different for you from how it is for those who immigrate legally, with all its vetting and expenses. The Left screamed about the coming influx, but it made sense. So in the wake of this, there was a strange decision from someone at the Customs and Border Protection to dump many of the hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals coming here illegally into Florida, a non-sanctuary state. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security said it was being done for space reasons. Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, protested, saying his state didn't have the free accommodations the migrants required, according to the Miami Herald. "We cannot accommodate in Florida the dumping of unlawful migrants into our state," DeSantis said during a press conference and bill signing ceremony on the state's west coast. "I think it will tax our resources, our schools, the healthcare, law enforcement, state agencies." DeSantis said he's "investigated" reports from two South Florida sheriffs that Customs and Border Patrol agents will begin flying hundreds of undocumented immigrants [sic] into the region starting around the beginning of June. But the governor's statements Friday show that, like many of the state's politicians some of them President Donald Trump's close allies he remains mostly in the dark about the details of a hugely controversial proposal. It was weird stuff, given that Florida is a non-sanctuary state and Gov. DeSantis is a political ally of President Trump. What's more, there are Floridians who remember the migrant-dumping done by Fidel Castro to wreak havoc on the state in the form of the 1980 Mariel boatlift, the time when Castro emptied out his mental institutions and prisons into a mass boatlift to Florida (not everyone who came was a criminal, but there were enough criminals to be noticeable and make the public angry). But some creep somewhere decided to dump more migrants onto Florida. All one can conclude is that the ways of government are very, very weird. Now a more credible source says that no, it was the Deep State at it again, nakedly attempting to undercut President Trump. National Border Patrol Council president Brandon Judd says the apparent government idiocy was actually a planned act. I will say it and repeat it over and over again it's very well documented that we have people in the department that do not support the president, they do not support his agenda and they did not want to see him get elected. They don't have the same enforcement mind that this president has, they know that they have to undermine him and that's what is taking place today. That's a signal that the Deep State is still on the job and is pressing political buttons in an attempt to manipulate the 2020 election against President Trump. Mariel sank Jimmy Carter's re-election bid in 1980, and now someone in that Border Patrol agency is betting that a second Mariel composed of unvetted Central American migrants will do the same thing. Someone out there is trying to pull another Castro, this time on Trump. The migrants, far from being the stable moms-and-kids of media lore, are actually going to wreak havoc on any state that has to take them. Someone wanted that state to be Florida. It's pretty obvious from Judd's statements that he knows what he's talking about and probably has a name in mind. What's more, that person who issued the dump-them-into-Florida order wouldn't be hard to find. If this is true, it's just the beginning of what the Deep State is capable of doing, and there will be more such incidents of potential sabotage. President Trump should get to the bottom of this politicized effort and call for an investigation, perhaps appointing another special counsel. Heads should roll for this, as the French say, to encourage the others. Image credit: CNBC via shareable YouTube screen shot. Our open door along the southern border for people claiming to seek asylum is such a magnet for the world's poor that a group of 116 people traveled all the way from Africa to Mexico to enter the United States. In video tweeted out by Customs and Border Patrol, the large group, identified as coming from Angola, Cameroon, and Congo (all desperately poor), can be seen wading across the water in the Rio Grande, some carrying children in their arms an automatic entry into the United States under law that the House of Representatives refuses to change. U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to Del Rio Sector apprehended a large group of 116 individualsfrom Angola, Cameroon and Congoafter they illegally crossed the Rio Grande River into the U.S. on Thursday: https://t.co/5VsJsD4nPF pic.twitter.com/HWGyVtzEC6 CBP (@CBP) May 31, 2019 Note the child in arms of a woman (source). Following this, the White House tweeted out a second video and made the point: Our southern border is now a magnet for illegal immigration from all over the world. It's time for Democrats to help close the loopholes! Last night, U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 100 illegal aliens from Congo, Angola, and Cameroon near the U.S.Mexico border. Our southern border is now a magnet for illegal immigration from all over the world. It's time for Democrats to help close the loopholes! pic.twitter.com/lxe7qqQiNj The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 31, 2019 There are billions of people in the world who want to get themselves into the United States and sign up for welfare benefits that are vastly richer than their average incomes at home, not to mention free medical care at emergency rooms, free schooling for their children, and all the rest of our generosity. Now that word has reached them of the open door, they are coming. Samsung hasnt done a lot this year to deserve fortifying its position in the global smartphone market, yet thats exactly what the company managed to accomplish seeing how the United States ended up unleashing all of its bureaucratic fury onto Huawei, its closest rival by both device shipments and sales. Coupled with its traditionally strong drive for innovation that only started weakening in recent years but is now on par to correct its course, its no wonder Samsung sees this as a perfect time for experimentation. Its literally on the top of the world right now, being an undisputed leader of one of the most valuable consumer electronics markets on the planet. So, what comes next after seeing a massive market share? Well, thats easy: making sure your investors are convinced your past entrepreneurial endeavors worth it. In other words, working on improving your profit margins. Thats precisely what Samsung is now understood to be doing, with the firm reportedly signing a licensing deal with Advanced Micro Devices Inc. that will soon see a number of its smartphones and tablets powered by AMD-made graphics chips. The move is an industry first, both for Samsung and AMD itself. The partnership allows the former to diversify its portfolio and essentially force its suppliers to be more competitive, whereas the latter gets to access an entirely new market; one thats been eyeing for quite some time now. Advertisement The American hardware manufacturer is understood to be set to earn hundreds of millions of dollars with the collaboration, though its still unlikely it will be supplying modules intended to be used in its home country. Instead, as is the case with most of Samsungs highly experimental endeavors, the firm appears to be positioned to first test its new supplier in a smaller number of markets, presumably with somewhat niche devices using its in-house Exynos-series chips. Regardless, that silicon lineup has been tied to ARM and its Mali GPUs for many a year now, so Samsung is still applying obvious pressure on its suppliers; if worst comes to pass and all of its devices using AMD GPUs fail, the company should still be left with one established supplier familiar with its platform thats more willing to play ball when it comes to negotiating prices. Thats certainly not a bad position to be in, especially when youre already the biggest fish in both your own pond and every other one combined. After all, its not like ARM can do much; the British firm is currently not even allowed to license its designs to Samsungs largest rival, let alone actually provide it with any hardware. All things considered, its no wonder Samsung is getting bolder as seemingly everythings going its way right now. Even though the South Korean conglomerate lost quite a bit of momentum over the course of 2018, its rebounding in quite a fashion while watching Huawei place its ambitions to overtake it on pause as its very ability to do business is now being called into question, with suppliers dropping it left and right due to the standing U.S. ban signed by President Trump. With one supplier after the other severing ties with Huawei following its inclusion in the entity list, the Chinese giant has started to feel the pinch and is apparently cutting back on production of smartphones now. The South China Morning Post reports that Foxconn, which assembles the companys phones, has now stopped many production lines as the beleaguered company has reduced orders for new devices. On the surface, Huawei is playing it cool and perhaps thats why the people who are privy to this matter have said that the information is supposed to be private. However, the decision to halt production lines isnt necessarily indicative of anything as smartphone production schedules are usually pretty flexible and can be tailored according to changing market conditions. On that note, it is not known if the production cut is temporary or long term. Meanwhile, Huaweis largest smartphone assembler Flextronics International has also apparently halted three of the four production lines in response to the U.S. governments ban. Needless to say, the supply of Huawei phones will reduce significantly in the coming days. Advertisement Prior to this, Huawei was seemingly on track to become the number one smartphone maker in the world. The analytics firm IDC said that in the first quarter of 2019, the Shenzhen based company achieved year-over-year growth of 50.3 percent, while its rivals, the current market leader Samsung and Apple saw their market share decline. To meet the growing demand for Huawei phones, Foxconn presumably began a massive recruitment drive earlier. Now, it appears that demand has slowly begun to dry up. Some consumer websites have reported that Huawei phones are attracting fewer clicks. And its not just about demand, as Huawei is losing access to vital components needed to make new phones. To recap, the U.S. has blacklisted the company and to comply with the governments orders, various companies including Google, ARM, and Qualcomm have suspended business relations with Huawei. Without these partners, the future of the companys phones seems uncertain. Although the current phones should theoretically not be affected as a result of the fiasco, the phones of many consumers in Hong Kong are apparently malfunctioning and this might have something to do with recent updates. Huawei currently has no answers and this will only further reduce the confidence of consumers in the company. Advertisement In 2012, the U.S. accused Huawei and ZTE of espionage and the later was also banned temporarily. In a bid to cover all bases should a similar situation arise, Huawei also began ramping up its efforts to become self-sufficient soon afterward. The company also began working on its own operating system and apparently, the development process is in a chaotic state right now. Later on, when the companys chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou was arrested in December 2018, Huawei reportedly began stockpiling components and it appears to have a years worth of supply right now. Although the company makes its own chipsets, recently the U.S. based firm Synopsys also decided to stop selling its chip design tools to Huawei. Without the EDA tools, Huawei will have to rely on existing chip designs and likely fall behind the competition. Advertisement As Zhao Ming, president of Huaweis sub-brand Honor recently admitted, the company might not be able to achieve its goal of dethroning Samsung by 2020, given the current situation. Previously, the company had said that it has seen a drop in sales in Spain, which is one of its biggest markets in Europe. Carriers in the UK and Japan have also pulled the companys phones from their 5G network launch. Although the situation seems grim right now, China is too big an economy to be ignored by the U.S. and therefore, chances are that things will get better after the G20 summit which will take place this month. As if things couldnt get any worse, the US Huawei Ban now sees a near 5% decline in 2019 global smartphone shipments. Analyst firm Canalys has lowered its smartphone shipment forecast from 1.3931 billion shipments in 2018 to 1.35 billion units for 2019 a 3.1% year-over-year (YoY) decline and a 4.7% decline in the previous projected release of 1.417 billion units for 2019. Canalys expects that the 5G trend, for example, will prove to be a bright spot for the year, as manufacturers across the board will see some slight sales improvement. With Huawei set as the second top global smartphone manufacturer, its financial hit due to the Trump Ban will see Apple reemerge as the second smartphone maker in the world. Samsung is set to retain its top spot, and Canalys says Samsung could actually gain some profit from Huaweis troubles without doubling down on investments. Advertisement The one olive branch for Huawei in its current situation is that the company has 90 days to receive security patches and updates before its Android license expires on August 19, 2019. After that date, Huawei will be effectively cut off from security patches and major system updates. The companys upcoming smartphones will be denied Android Q, Googles major new system update for 2019, among others. Canalys says that it expects Huawei is doing everything it can to improve its condition, though what it can do at this point remains up in the air. Advertisement Huawei said that it has its own operating system as an Android alternative; it has been uncovered in some European trademarks, filed just days after Googles Android license revocation on May 24th, as ARK OS. Huawei said as early as November of last year that it had an alternative OS it was working on, though no details were revealed at that time. The trademarking of the OS name this late, just days after Trump signed the Executive Order, is a sign of desperation for Huawei. It must move to assemble some sort of operating system for its upcoming devices; otherwise, those devices will never arrive on shelves and Huaweis profits will see sharp decline. Advertisement The U.S. Huawei Ban set into stone by President Donald Trump on May 15th has dealt a major blow to Huawei. For one, the Chinese OEM is considered to be in the back pocket of the Chinese government, leading the US to move its companies against doing business with Huawei. Google took the initiative by revoking Huaweis Android license and effectively denying it the upcoming Android Q update. When Trump signed the Executive Order on May 15th, Google immediately revoked Huaweis Android license on May 19th. Next to go was the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, a high-end smartphone Google removed from its Android Q Beta devices, eligible devices to test out the upcoming operating system. Advertisement ARM, a British agency known for its processor architecture in smartphones, responded to the US Huawei Ban by also dropping Huawei from its list of clients. Though based in Britain, a number of ARMs patent solutions come from the US, forcing ARM to comply with the US Executive Order. Without ARM, Huawei cant even produce its own Kirin SoC chips because they too, like all other processors, contain ARM processor architecture. Google then dropped the Huawei Mate X and the P30 Pro from Android.com, Googles site to showcase the highest-end devices running its Android operating system. The Huawei Mate X is Huaweis take on the foldable smartphone, a counterpart to Samsungs own Galaxy Fold. Some days later, the Wi-Fi Alliance and SD Association also dropped Huawei support. While Huawei can (and will still) use these technologies in its phones, the Chinese OEM wont be able to influence the development of Wi-Fi internet and SD cards over the next few years. Advertisement In other words, Huawei no longer has a voice in these associations, effectively minimizing what Huawei can do for the future of the tech industry. Strategy Analytics and Fubon Research say that Huaweis 2019 shipments may see a 23% decline, though this wont prove a total disaster for Huawei. As some of you may know, Huawei has been planning to overthrow Samsung next year, and become the worlds number one smartphone manufacturer. Well, the US trade ban may prevent the company from achieving that, so Huawei is reassessing its plans, according to South China Morning Post. The US trade ban raised some serious questions about Huaweis access to services that are crucial for international sales, said the companys senior executive. The US barred American companies from supplying Huawei, and that is a serious issue, said the president of HONOR, Zhao Ming. Mr. Ming also said that its too early to say whether Huawei will be able to overthrow Samsung next year, as the situation is still fresh, and things could get resolved in the near future. Hardware issues are not the only ones that Huawei is dealing with at the moment, as Google also suspended Huaweis access to future Android updates. Advertisement Huawei did say that it is working with Google in order to amend the issue, even though we dont see how will they do that considering that the ban applies to US companies, and Google is a US-based company. Huawei was granted a 90-day grace period to continue its business, before the ban goes into full effect. Android may be the largest problem for Huawei, in fact, as its smartphones are based on Android, and even though Huawei is making its own operating system, many users may stop using its phones without Android. The US President, Donald Trump, did say that Huaweis issues could be resolved with a new trade deal with China, so theres still hope that the ban will be lifted in the near future. Foxconn actually stopped several production lines for Huawei phones as the company reduced orders for new devices. All in all, this whole situation has created quite a problem for Huawei, and if it doesnt get resolved, chances are Huaweis business will suffer quite a bit. Reports are already claiming that Huaweis shipments fell quite a bit, since the ban was announced. Advertisement Even assembling its own Kirin-branded chips could prove to be an issue for Huawei, as the company is using ARMs architecture, and ARM has connections to the US companies in that regard as well, which is a problem. Huawei was the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world prior to this ban, and it probably still is. We will not know what the situation is like exactly until market research companies share their data. HONORs president Zhao did say that all the difficulties make the company stronger, as hes trying to show that the company is ready to deal with the situation. If Huawei ends up being cut off from future Android updates, that will affect the market competition quite a bit, and it will leave Samsung without a direct competitor, at least when Android is concerned. In the end, thats not great for consumers, of course, the more competition, the better. The Lenovo Smart Clock is a cute little smart display that cuts back on a number of features, but thats not a bad thing in this case. Lenovo was the first to launch a smart display last year, using the Google Assistant, with the Lenovo Smart Display. In 2019, its looking to pioneer another form-factor for smart displays. And thats a smaller, more compact smart display that is effectively a clock. Something that can go into your bedroom. The Lenovo Smart Clock does also have a new competitor on the Amazon Alexa side, with the Echo Show 5, so it looks like these smaller smart clocks are going to be a big deal in 2019. But is the Lenovo Smart Clock worth your money? Lets find out. Perfect for a bedside table The Lenovo Smart Clock is pretty small, and makes it perfect for sitting on a bedside table at night. It has a 4-inch display, though the bezels are also pretty large. That is for good reason, though. The top bezel has a number of sensors which are used to keep the display from getting overly bright at night. As you dont want your Smart Clock to wake you up at three in the morning. Advertisement Lenovo knows that many people are going to use this next to their bed, and have included a full-sized USB-A port on the back. This port can actually be used to charge your phone at night. Unfortunately, theres no fast charging here, so youre looking at the old school slower charging. But thats not a bad thing, just plug it in before bed and itll be fully charged when you wake up in eight hours. This Smart Clock does not have a camera. This was likely done because of the size of the Smart Clock, but also so that customers could put it in their bedroom and never worry about Google and/or Lenovo possibly spying on them. Which is a real concern for many, with the other smart displays on the market. Lenovo also has a way to turn off the microphone, with a switch on the back of the Smart Clock. Its pretty similar to the switch on the other Lenovo smart displays. This is a good thing to have if you dont want Google Assistant listening for that wake word, or if your TV is triggering the wake word a lot (someone should outlaw those commercials that use OK Google and even Alexa). Advertisement A Stripped down smart display Compared to the larger Lenovo Smart Displays, the Smart Clock is missing a lot of functionality. Like a lot. First off, you cant use it as a photo frame, like other smart displays. You do get a number of clock faces that you can choose from on this Smart Clock. Theres about ten of them available, and Lenovo says that there are more coming in the next few weeks/months. To be honest, I didnt miss not being able to see photos on the Smart Clock. Possibly because it was next to my bed, and I really only needed it to show me the current time, weather and any alarms that I have set. Its also a pretty small display, so if you have pictures playing on it, with the time in the corner, its going to be tough to see the time. So removing this functionality was likely a good move on Lenovos part. You also cant play video on the Lenovo Smart Clock. If you ask it to play something on YouTube, it will default to another Smart Display or Android TV thats in your home (on the same WiFi network). Again, this was likely a good move on Lenovos part, as watching a YouTube video on this low-resolution, 4-inch display, isnt going to be a great experience. Advertisement But, you can still play music, podcasts, audiobooks and such. Lenovo has a pretty powerful 6W speaker in the Smart Clock, and it sounds pretty darn good actually. Given its size, we werent expecting much, in terms of audio quality out of this smart display. And we were pleasantly surprised. Lenovo also has volume buttons located on the top of the Smart Clock, so you dont have to rely on asking Google Assistant to adjust the volume. You can do it manually. The functionality that is here includes setting alarms pretty easily, turning off notifications (do not disturb), showing you the weather, and playing music. Thats really it. But the Google Assistant can still do the usual things that youd expect it to do. Like giving you the weather, traffic conditions and answering questions. Its a pretty simple Smart Clock, as far as functionality goes, and thats not a bad thing. To be honest, I did not miss any of the functionality from the larger Lenovo Smart Display, on this Smart Clock. I used it for telling the time, setting alarms, and asking Google how the weather was. That was literally about it. Advertisement Somewhat familiar experience If youve used other smart displays, with the Google Assistant, then youre going to know what to expect here. Even though this is running a customized OS, it is very similar to Cast thats on the Lenovo Smart Displays, and Android Things thats on the Google Home Hub. Swipe from right to left and you can set an alarm and see your alarms, swipe again to see the weather. Swipe the opposite way to dim the display great for when you are going to bed. Swipe down from the top, and you get a few shortcuts like setting an alarm and commands like Good Morning and Play Music. These are great for when you dont want to talk to Google Assistant. Swiping up from the bottom gives you a few toggles like brightness, volume, do not disturb and then a shortcut to settings. And thats the entire interface. Advertisement To change the clock face on the Lenovo Smart Clock, long-press on the clock, and you will be able to change up the clock face, and also customize it a bit. This is very similar to the way you change clock faces on Wear OS smartwatches. Not very customizable The biggest complaint about the Lenovo Smart Clock right now is, the customizability. Its not very customizable at all. Lenovo does have plans to bring more clock faces to the Smart Clock at some point. Though we arent sure when that will be. Currently, you can slightly customize the clock face that you choose. But its not much. You can choose to have the clock face go from dark to light, depending on the light in the room. Which isnt very helpful, from a customizability standpoint. Lenovo could take a Wear OS approach to the home screen too. Allowing users to add different screens to the right of the main clock screen. Instead of only having your alarms and the weather. Users could add things like the traffic conditions for their way to work. Or their calendar for the day/week/month, or something like that. So when they wake up in the morning, they could flip through the cards here and see whats going on and see how quickly they need to jump out of bed to get to work on time. Advertisement Most Google Assistant Smart Displays are not very customizable, so this is not a big surprise, but it would still be nice to see a few more options available on the Lenovo Smart Clock. Luckily, we do have some more clock faces coming to the Lenovo Smart Clock in the future, so we may get a bit more customizability in that regard. This is still a first-generation product, in a lot of ways, so some of these things may change in the future. The best bedside gadget you can buy When Lenovo announced the Smart Clock at CES back in January, I was very excited to get my hands on one. I already had the Lenovo 8-inch Smart Display and loved it in the kitchen. Its great for bringing up recipes, showing pictures, playing YouTube videos and more. But I wanted one for my bedroom that could work as a clock. Sure, I could do that with the Lenovo Smart Display, but it was rather big, and it also had a camera there is a shutter for it, but not having one at all would be better. Advertisement Thats why the Lenovo Smart Clock seemed so perfect. Its pretty small, so it wont be in the way on a bedside table, and it does its job of being a clock pretty well. You can still ask Google to do things, like your morning routine of turning on the lights, playing music and even getting the latest news headlines. But it has a darker screen, which is better for being in your bedroom. The Lenovo Smart Clock is priced at $79.99. Thats $10 less than the new Amazon Echo Show 5, and if you are already invested into the Google Home/Google Assistant ecosystem, this is definitely going to be a better option for you. A new report reveals that Philips is expanding its portfolio of Philips Hue smart home products, and it will soon release a smart plug as part of its device lineup. According to a report by the Dutch website iCulture, the new smart plug will allow users to control other kinds of lamps or light sources in the same manner that they would manage a lighting setup from Philips Hue. However, it is also possible that users may connect other appliances to the smart plug. Also, according to the report, users may control the smart plug using the Philips Hue application, and this app permits people to use sensors, schedules, and timers to control the smart plug. In addition to the Philips Hue app, people may also control the device using virtual assistants like Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and Apples Siri, although it is not yet clear if people have first to link the product through the Philips Hue bridge before they could control the smart plug through voice commands. Advertisement The image that the report provided details the design of the new smart plug from Philips Hue. The smart plug itself has a cube-like design with a button on top. While the report did not share any specific dimensions of the device, the publication claims that the smart plug is small compared to other competing products. Smart plugs are popular smart home products, and several companies, which include Amazon and Belkin, are already producing their versions of the device. Amazon currently prices their smart plugs at $24.99, while Belkin initially set the price of its smart plugs at $29.99, although it is now selling their products at $24.99. In contrast, the new report claims that the Philips Hue smart plug will cost 29.95, which translates to $33.64 at the current exchange rate. If the article is correct, the new device from Philips will be relatively more expensive than its competition. Numerous market researchers expect a sharp rise in the number of smart home devices sold around the world, with IDC estimating that the number of products shipped to customers will increase by 27-percent every year until 2022. The research firm expects that by 2022, companies will sell around 940 million smart home devices, putting these products at par with the sales figures of smartphones. Advertisement Based on recent estimates, the value of smart lighting devices sold by 2022 could amount to as much as $3.5 billion, although there will also be substantial growth registered by other types of smart home devices. For example, by 2022, the total value of smart thermostats sold could reach around $3.8 billion, while the smart devices sold under the home monitoring segment is estimated to have a value of approximately $12.1 billion. The expansion of Philips to other sectors of the smart home market will help diversify the companys revenue streams. Many companies have already recognized the importance and potential of smart home devices, and these tech firms are working to enhance their product offerings to improve its share of the market. For example, despite its poor smartphone sales, the hardware division of Google aims to double its revenues by 2021, and it will achieve this feat through its smart home device portfolio. The first scheduled A380 service landed in Amman on 1 June at 1555hrs local time and the second A380 service from Dubai to Boston landed at 1350hrs local time. Led by Captain Arif Al Reyami and Jordanian First Officer Laith Saudi, the A380 Amman service was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute. Emirates will operate its A380 aircraft to and from Amman until 26 October to cater to the increased demand for travel during the peak summer period. The airline has adjusted its schedule on one of its three daily flights (EK 903/904) with the A380. Emirates A380 operations to Boston also coincide with high customer demand during the peak summer and winter travel season and will see overall capacity increase around 45% between 1 June to 30 September 2019 and 1 December 2019 to 31 January 2020. The move to deploy the popular A380 on both routes demonstrates the airlines flexibility to optimise the usage of its fleet to cater to passenger demand within its network. Emirates has been flying to Jordan for over 33 years, and has carried over 5 million passengers to and from Amman. Emirates has been serving Boston since 2014, consistently growing passenger demand over the past five years to and through Dubai. With the A380 being introduced for the summer, travellers have more choice to explore unique A380 destinations on the Emirates network, as well as experience the ultimate in travel comfort on the airlines flagship aircraft. The Emirates A380 flying to Amman is set in a three-class configuration, and will have 427 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck over the months of June and July, 76 flat-bed Business Class seats and 14 luxurious First Class Suites. First and Business Class customers can catch up, network and enjoy an extensive range of beverages and delicacies in the Onboard Lounge. The Emirates A380 flying to Boston is also set in a three class cabin configuration, offering 14 private suites in First Class, 76 seats in Business Class, and 426 spacious seats in Economy Class. First Class passengers can relax and revitalise in one of the two A380 Shower Spas, and First and Business Class passengers are welcome in the Onboard Lounge to enjoy canapes and beverages prepared by the onboard bartender. The initiative was announced by Tony Douglas, Group chief executive officer of Etihad Aviation Group, in support of the Well of Hope water security initiative launched during the Holy Month of Ramadan by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Globally, more than 844 million people lack access to clean drinking water, equivalent to one in every 10 people on earth. Each day, over 800 children under five years of age die due to consumption of contaminated water or exposure to poor health conditions. Douglas said construction of the water wells in select locations of Nigeria, Mauritania and Sierra Leone would begin by the end of 2019 as part of Etihads commitment to humanitarian aid through its Corporate Social Responsibility program. Etihad Aviation Group is committed to supporting or initiating campaigns for the betterment of communities in need, and water security is a critical issue, said Mr Douglas. This initiative reflects our recognition of this crisis, and our commitment to contribute in a small way to a practical solution. In celebration of its 10th Anniversary, a special flight took off from Dubai International on 01 June 2019 at 12:20 local time and was met with a celebratory water cannon salute upon arrival in Beirut. On board were passengers who had flown on flydubais first flight who reminisced about the inaugural flight and which paved the way for a new way of travel from Dubai to the region. Commenting on the 10th year anniversary of the start of flydubais operations, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of flydubai, said: For many years the Government of Dubai recognised the need for another carrier to serve our country. In 2009, we were able to achieve this thanks to the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. flydubai was launched with a mandate to open new markets and make travel more accessible to more people. I am happy to see flydubai deliver on that commitment which has seen the airline connect 71 previously underserved cities to Dubai allowing a population of 1.5 billion easier access to one of the worlds leading aviation hubs. Celebrating flydubais 10th anniversary, I am pleased to see the airline become another Dubai success story and look forward to their continued success in the years to come. I would like to thank all those who have worked tremendously hard to enable the airline to deliver this wonderful team effort, added Sheikh Ahmed. HE Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, said: the UAE is leading on the global air transport front and the aviation sector has been a major contributor to the overall national economy. The sector has successfully enabled the creation of an attractive environment for trade, investment and tourism to flourish. The success of the national carriers has contributed significantly to further cementing the UAE's prominent position on the global aviation scene. flydubai, which celebrates its tenth anniversary, is one of the important components in the aviation sector and was able to break through the competition as an affordable travel provider. flydubai continues to play a pivotal role in strengthening the UAE's ties with several important markets, thus enhancing the trade and tourism potential in the region and supporting the growth of the economy, added Al Mansouri. Reflecting on the last 10 years and looking to the years ahead, Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of flydubai, said: flydubais commitment to making travel more convenient and more affordable has only grown stronger over the past 10 years. We realised early on that travel is about bridging the distance between people and we will continue to change the way people travel around the region. We are pleased to see that more than 70 million passengers chose to flydubai since the start of our operations. It is the vision of our leadership and the continued investment in the countrys infrastructure that has enabled the airline to grow the demand for travel. We have remained agile, committed to efficiency and delivered reliable services keeping our customers at the heart of our operations. This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all our employees. I thank them and our passengers for being part of our journey and look forward to many more years to come as we mark our 10th anniversary celebrating bringing people together, added Al Ghaith. Fieldwork to Commence at Billy Hills Zinc Project Adelaide, June 3, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Mithril Resources Ltd ( ASX:MTH ) is pleased to advise that field work on its priority 100% - owned Billy Hills Zinc Project (located adjacent to the former Pillara Zinc Mine, 25kms east of Fitzroy Crossing WA - see Figure 1 in link below) will commence this week.- Field inspection of exploration targets to define specific targets for drill-testing to commence this week- Targeting large scale zinc + lead + silver deposits along strike from known mineralisation similar to the nearby Pillara depositField inspection (comprising geological mapping and surface sampling) of targets identified from Mithril's desktop review of historic exploration data will be undertaken to define specific targets for drill-testing.Meetings will also be held with the project's Traditional Owners and local pastoralists to brief them on Mithril's proposed 2019 exploration program and to organise heritage clearances of proposed drill sites.At Billy Hills, Mithril is targeting large scale zinc + lead + silver deposits within soil-covered portions of fault zones immediately along strike from existing surface and bedrock mineralisation.Billy Hills is relatively under-explored with the bulk of historic drilling and geophysical testing carried out on the adjacent Pillara Mine Lease (ML04/118) which hosts the Pillara Zinc Deposit.Pillara had a pre-mine resource of 18.05 million tonnes at 7.7% Zn and 2.4% Pb and produced 10.3 Mt @ 6.9% Zn, 2.3% Pb from June 1997 to October 2003 (See Mithril's ASX Announcement dated 21 August 2017).Of the many targets identified to date, the Firetail and Python prospects have emerged as priority targets for immediate follow-up (see Figure 2 in link below - and see Mithril's March 2019 Quarterly Report and ASX Announcement dated 15 February 2019 for all technical details including JORC information).Firetail is located in the southern project area and covers a 1.5 kilometre - long NNE trending mineralised fault zone (rock chip samples up to 10.98% zinc + lead and 98 g/t silver and a =500ppm zinc + lead soil anomaly) that has been poorly drill tested with only three wide-spaced drill holes, two of which returned anomalous mineralisation; 2.0m @ 1.05% zinc + lead from 39 metres in PD514, and 4.0m @ 0.71% zinc + lead from 89 metres in PD512.The fault zone extends under cover and has not been the subject to any follow-up drilling or geophysical surveying since the early 1990's.Python is located in the far east of the project and covers a +1 kilometre - long NNE trending mineralised fault zone (rock chip samples up to 12.3% zinc + lead and a =500ppm zinc + lead soil anomaly), drilling of which returned strong intercepts adjacent to Mithril's tenure;- 4m @ 8.07% zinc + lead from 78 metres in HDD1,- 10m @ 3.0% zinc + lead from 22 metres in HPD3,- 26m @ 1.5% zinc + lead from 56 metres in HPD2,- 30m @ 0.79% zinc + lead from 30 metres in HPD6.Historic wide spaced drilling undertaken along strike to the north (on Mithril's tenure) also intersected further broad zones of mineralisation within the controlling structure;- 42m @ 0.46% zinc + lead from 210 metres in HD018,- 6.1m @ 1.29% zinc + lead from 1.9 metres, 18m @ 0.54% zinc + lead from 60 metres and 12m @ 0.57% zinc + lead from 92 metres in HD007.The last of the intersections were obtained in 1992 and appear not to have been followed-up. Python's prospectivity is further strengthened by the presence of an IP geophysical anomaly (identified in 1998) which corresponds with known mineralisation in the drill holes, and extends for over 1.4 kilometres on Mithril's ground with little or no drill testing.The Billy Hills Zinc Project is Mithril's primary focus and to ensure that focus is maintained, the Company is seeking to introduce exploration funding partners and / or divest all of its other exploration projects.Consistent with the strategy, Mithril has executed a Sale Agreement with Corona Minerals Pty Ltd whereby Corona will purchase Mithril's 15% interest in the Spargos Reward Gold Project for $50,000 cash subject to the successful completion of Conditions Precedent(see Note below). Corona Minerals is Mithril's exploration partner at Spargos Reward and currently holds an 85% interest in the project.The Company is also in preliminary discussions with a number of companies who have expressed an interest in other projects within the Company's portfolio. Mithril will provide an update on these discussions if and when any material developments occur.Managing Director's comment.Commenting on the announcement, Mithril's Managing Director Mr David Hutton said that he was looking forward to commencing field work on the project."We have identified multiple targets at Billy Hills that need to be assessed in the field to determine specific targets for drill testing which subject to Mithril obtaining pre-requisite approvals, could commence during the September 2019 Quarter".Mithril looks forward to providing further exploration updates as new information becomes available.Note: The Conditions Precedent to the Spargos Reward Sale Agreement are the execution of various Deeds of Assignment in relation to third party royalty and mineral rights.About the Pillara Zinc Deposit (located on ML04/118 which is not owned by Mithril)At Pillara, zinc + lead +/- silver mineralisation is hosted by structurally controlled zones of breccia and vein development which are spatially associated with a series of large-scale NNE - NNW orientated fault zones that cut a sequence of Devonian-age limestones.The deposit had a reported pre-mine resource of 18.05 million tonnes at 7.7% Zn and 2.4% Pb and underground mining produced 10.3 Mt @ 6.9% Zn, 2.3% Pb from June 1997 to October 2003. Mining briefly resumed during 2007 / 2008 and the mine site is now closed (See Mithril's ASX Announcement dated 21 August 2017).The style of mineralisation, which occurs at Pillara and adjacent deposits, produces metal concentrates which are very highly sought by smelting companies due to their very high-grade and low amount of impurities.Zinc concentrate grade historically ranged between 57-63% and lead concentrate grade between containing 73-81%. It is as a result of their clean, high-grade nature, that concentrates from area have in the past attracted a premium price from smelters.To view figures, please visit:About Mithril Resources Limited Mithril Resources Limited (ASX:MTH) is an Australian resources company whose objective is the creation of shareholder wealth through the discovery of mineral deposits. The Company and its exploration partners are actively exploring throughout the Kalgoorlie, West Kimberley and Murchison Districts of Western Australia for economic nickel, copper, zinc, and vanadium deposits. In the Kalgoorlie District, Mithril is exploring for nickel on the Kurnalpi, Lignum Dam and North Scotia Projects which lie along strike from, or adjacent to previously mined high-grade nickel at the Silver Swan and Scotia Nickel Deposits. In the West Kimberley, Mithril is exploring for zinc on the Billy Hills Project which lies adjacent to the previously mined Pillara Zinc Deposit. In the Murchison, Mithril is exploring for copper, nickel and zinc mineralisation on the Nanadie Well Project and for copper, silver, zinc and lead on the Bangemall Base Metal Project. Mithril's exploration partner Monax Mining Ltd is also exploring for vanadium on the Limestone Well tenements. The improved offer, if formalised and accepted, would also see the combined companys operations headquartered in France. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment. The French government, Renaults biggest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake, also declined to comment. Paris: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is discussing a Renault special dividend and stronger job guarantees in a bid to persuade the French government to back its proposed merger between the carmakers, sources close to the discussions said. The improved offer, if formalised and accepted, would also see the combined companys operations headquartered in France and the French state granted a seat on its board, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. FCA spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment. The French government, Renaults biggest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake, also declined to comment. A Renault spokesman did not return calls and messages seeking comment. Italian-American FCA is engaged in intensive discussions with Renault and the French government over the USD 35 billion merger proposal it pitched last Monday to create the worlds third-biggest carmaker. The concessions being discussed are not definitive and depend on other aspects of an emerging compromise deal, both sources cautioned. They nonetheless increase the chances that the merger plan will be approved by Renaults board, on which the French state has two seats. The board meets again on Tuesday. Some analysts and French industry leaders had voiced doubts about the 5 billion euros (USD 5.6 billion) in claimed cost and investment savings, and whether the proposal represents a fair deal for Renault shareholders. A Renault dividend would improve the valuation in their favour, balancing a 2.5 billion euro proposed dividend to FCA shareholders. The sources did not elaborate on the potential size of a Renault payout. The merger plan presented on Monday would see the two carmakers acquired by a listed Dutch holding company whose ownership would be split equally between current FCA and Renault shareholders, after special dividend payments. FCA had proposed locating the combined groups operational head office in a neutral city, most likely London, but has now indicated readiness to base it in the greater Paris area, meeting a key French government demand, both sources said. The French government is also likely to be granted a seat on the board to reflect its 7.5 per cent stake in the merged company, the people said. Nissan, whose matching 15 per cent stake in its French alliance partner will also be diluted to 7.5 per cent of the new group, receives a board seat under the plan unveiled on May 27. Guarantees to maintain Renaults French blue-collar jobs and industrial sites would also be extended to four years from the two initially proposed under the compromise being discussed, the sources added. Both Frances pro-business government and Italys populist administration back the merger in principle but fraught relations between the two could yet derail the deal if one side feels disadvantaged. Sales at M&M, India's second biggest utility vehicle maker, also fell 1 per cent at 20,608 units, down from 20,715 units it sold last year. The Federation of Auto-mobile Dealers Association or FADA, the apex body of the lobby, said the inventory levels have come down, but are still high by its estimate. Pune: Passenger vehicle sales would continue to decline for top carmakers, with potential buyers shying away from showrooms due to increased cost of finance and total ownership. While auto majors have reported a dip in May sales, Hitesh Goel, Senior Auto Analyst at Kotak Insti-tutional Research, attributed this to inventory corrections, and said the actual picture would be clear when the Society of Indian Automobile Manu-facturers, the trade body, releases aggregate May sales data later this month. The Federation of Auto-mobile Dealers Association or FADA, the apex body of the lobby, said the inventory levels have come down, but are still high by its estimate. "The gap (in the sales fall percentage) between retail and wholesale volumes ind-icate high levels of inventory in the industry," Ashish Kale, President at FADA, told Financial Chronicle. He said companies were now maintaining inventory of 40-50 days. Due to corrections in production effected by them in the last few weeks, the inventory has come down from 50-90 days. Kale said FADA is advocating for a leaner dealer inventory of 21 days (15 days inventory + 7 days of in-transit inventory) for its members. "This will help us reduce a huge cost burden and allow us to stay afloat in these challenging times," he pointed out. FADA claimed that there has been an unusual rise in dealership closures in recent times, especially in metros and Tier 1 cities, a substantial number of which were due to financial stress caused by accumulated losses and reduced access to working capital. Maruti Suzuki, the barometer of the country's passenger vehicle industry, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Honda Cars, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and Tata Motors reported negative sales in May, ringing alarm bells for a tough year ahead for the industry. Automakers curtailed dispatches to dealers amid slowing sales and piling up inventory stocks. Sales at Maruti Suzuki, which sells one car out of two bought, fell sharply 25.1 per cent in MAy. At Tata Motors sales the fall was 38 per cent, at Honda Cars, 28 per cent, at Toyota 7 per cent, at Hyundai Motor 5.6 per cent and at Mahindra 1 per cent. The automakers in the country count dispatches from factory gates to dealerships as sales. Due to fear of inventory building up from weak market sentiments, they cut down on dispatches. In May, Maruti Suzuki delivered 1,21,018 cars, down from 1,61,497 units dispatched in the same month last year. This was the third monthly decline. Sales at Hyundai Motor India fell 5.6 per cent to 42,502 units from, down from 45,008 units. Sales at M&M, India's second biggest utility vehicle maker, also fell 1 per cent at 20,608 units, down from 20,715 units it sold last year. "While consumer sentiment and demand continued to be subdued during the pre-election phase, our focus has been on correcting the channel inventory," Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector at M&M, said. Sales at Tata Motors, which had a good run for some time, too were hit hard. It sold 10,900 units, down from 17,489 units it sold last year. "In view of higher vehicle stocks in network, our strategy was to focus on retails," said Mayank Pareek, President, Passen-ger Vehicles, Tata Motors. He hopes that the industry will start improving gradually. Sales at Honda Cars India were also down 27.87 per cent to 11,442 units in May, down from 15,864 units. "The market continues to be tough for the auto industry with two consecutive months of such a high de-growth. It is unprecedented in the last two decades. After elections, we were expecting an upswing which has not yet come," said Rajesh Goel, Senior VP and Director, Sales & Marketing at Honda Cars India. Sales at Toyota Kirloskar Motor also fell 7.43 per cent at 12,138 units, from 13,113. "Customer demand had witnessed a continued slowdown before the election results," said N Raja, Deputy MD at Toyota Kirloskar Motor. He said other factors like liquidity tightening, high insurance costs, and rise in fuel costs have also weakened the retails. "However, with the formation of a stable government now at the Centre, there is an increase in customer walk-ins after the election results announcement," he said. The stringent BS-VI emission norms will come into force from April 1, 2020 across the country. At present, the vehicles sold in the country conform to BS-IV emission standards. MUMBAI: Mahindra and Mahindra is ready to roll out its Bharat Stage VI or BS-VI emission norm compliant diesel vehicles next year and its petrol range over the next two-three months. The Mumbai-based automaker alone has invested over Rs 1,000 crore in developing its product range to conform to BS VI norms, apart from big investments also from its component suppliers. The stringent BS-VI emission norms will come into force from April 1, 2020 across the country. At present, the vehicles sold in the country conform to BS-IV emission standards. "We will be first launching the gasoline vehicles during the second quarter of this year," Pawan Goenka, Managing Director at Mahindra and Mahindra said. This is because petrol range does not require a BS VI fuel, he said. "We are also ready to launch diesel vehicles in late December or early January 2020 as the fuel is not available now. I am assuming that the fuel will be made available in December and early January. Fuel should be made available throughout India and not just in Delhi," Goenka said. He said Mahindra would have eight diesel engines, including two new diesel engines in its BS6 portfolio which would be used over 16 platforms and 38 vehicle variants. These include light commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles and three brand new models. The company is already testing these engines on its popular models such as the XUV300 and the XUV500. Goenka said the company would also have eight BS-VI petrol engines out of which two will be introduced in the future. These eight BS-VI petrol engines would service 12 vehicle models built on 8 platforms. Mahindra will be collaborating with American auto giant Ford and Ssangyong, the fourth largest South Korea automaker, for their BS-VI range of petrol engines. In fact, Mahindra also confirmed that some of its models such as the Marazzo, which only had a diesel engine until now, will also get petrol engine shortly. Mahindra may also axe some diesel engine models from its larger vehicles portfolio and is prepared to deliver if the Indian automotive market moves to petrol engines in the future. Goenka said ramping up and down the entire volume of the automotive business over the next two-three months is a humongous challenge for suppliers and also for the plants. Taking charge of Telecom ministry, Prasad said that amongst his priorities will be revival of state-owned MTNL and BSNL. Other issues that will be prioritised by Ravi Shankar Prasad include 5G trials in 100 days, fast tracking of five lakh wifi hotspots, and promoting telecom manufacturing. (Photo: File | ANI) New Delhi: India will hold a mega spectrum auction for 5G and other radiowaves in the current calendar year, and intends to start 5G trials in the next 100 days, the newly appointed Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday. Setting an action-packed agenda for the ministry soon after taking charge, Prasad said he would prioritise the revival of crisis-ridden telecom PSUs Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) but added that the two companies will have to reciprocate and do their bit by adopting a professional attitude. On the contentious issue of whether Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei will be allowed to participate in the upcoming 5G trials, the minister told reporters that the "complex issue" will be looked at seriously including security aspects. The minister also cleared the air over timing of spectrum auctions in the country, saying, "I am of the belief that in the current calendar year, we will auction spectrum. We have adequate spectrum available." The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, but the financially stressed industry has contended that prices are unaffordable. "Trai has given its recommendation on spectrum. We have a system of standing committee, finance committee, they are examining it. Once they come with solution...whether there is a need for more consultation with Trai, we will have to look into it. Then, we have to go to the Cabinet and appoint auctioneer," the minister said. Other major issues on the minister's immediate agenda include starting 5G trials in 100 days and creating a Broadband Readiness Index, which reflects the realities of the Indian market, besides fast-tracking of five lakh WiFi hotspots, and promoting telecom manufacturing in India. The index will be based on parameters like infrastructure, approval processes and utilisation of high-speed Internet. "As far as 5G network is concerned, we will start trials in 100 days. We propose to earmark a portion of spectrum also for 5G purposes. It shall be our endeavour that 5G technology is also used for deprived sections, social causes, education and health, and for bringing technology to rural people," Prasad said. 5G will play a major role in digital inclusion, he said adding that the government will strive towards this goal. Another area would be channelising the start-up movement in India for proliferation of 5G, he said. Prasad acknowledged the role of state-owned corporations in maintaining a "sober equilibrium" in the market, but at the same time sent out a strong message to the two telecom PSUs - MTNL and BSNL, which are cash-strapped and have faced issues in payment of salaries in recent times. The minister emphasised that the two companies will have to "become professional". "Let my message clearly go to these two PSUs...It is in national interest that they remain healthy, we are working on that...But, they also need to become professional. While I will work towards their revival, they will have to respond with professional attitude," he said. On the question of whether Chinese company Huawei will be allowed to participate in 5G trials, the minister said, "We will take a firm view on it. There are also security issues...it is not only a matter of technology, as regard their participtation in 5G is concerned...Participtation of 5G is not conditional upon the trial being started. Whether a particular company is allowed to participate or not, is a complex question including security issues." Last month, the Trump administration had placed Huawei and its affiliates on blacklist, a move that essentially banned the Chinese telecom equipment company from purchasing parts and components from American firms without the US government approval. The US had subsequently relaxed some of the restrictions to reduce disruption for its customers. BB rating indicates speculative grade and BBB points to good credit quality. About Axis Bank, the rating agency said that the downgrade of its Viability Rating reflects its relatively weak core capitalisation and asset quality. Mumbai: Global rating agency Fitch Ratings on Monday downgraded ICICI Bank and Axis Banks Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) from BBB- to BB+ and Viability Rating from bbb- to bb+. The Outlook on the IDR is Stable. The agency, however, affirmed both the banks Support Rating and Support Rating Floor at '3' and 'BB+', respectively. BB rating indicates speculative grade and BBB points to good credit quality. The rating action on the two private banks comes after Fitch lowered its midpoint for India's operating environment to 'bb+' from 'bbb-' following a review of the banking sector's performance, particularly in the last three years, and the regulatory framework, as well as the outlook in the near-term. We also compared India with other sovereign jurisdictions in Asia rated in the 'BBB' category including the key metrics of GDP per capita and the ease-of-doing-business ranking. We concluded the sector will perform below the average of its peers over the next one to two years. Fitch further said ICICI Bank's core capitalisation is higher than most other Indian banks but within the current operating environment poses only a moderate buffer against risks. About Axis Bank, the rating agency said that the downgrade of its Viability Rating reflects its relatively weak core capitalisation and asset quality. Fitch believes that Axis's core capital ratio is unlikely to meet the threshold for higher-rated banks even if the bank proceeds with the conversion of $ 400 million of warrants into equity. The complaint against the trio has been filed by 39- year-old film director Kamalkant Nanak Chandra, a resident of Mira Road. Mumbai: Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana and two others from the Hindi film industry have been called for questioning by the Thane police in connection with a cheating complaint filed against them by a director, said an official Monday. A letter of the memorandum was sent to Khurrana, director Amar Kaushik and producer Dinesh Vijan, both of Maddock Films, a leading production house, Sunday by the Kashimira police station after receiving the complaint, the official said. The complaint against the trio has been filed by 39- year-old film director Kamalkant Nanak Chandra, a resident of Mira Road, a suburb of Mumbai located in Thane district, he said. The episode dates back to the time when Chandra was working on the script of a film which was to be directed by him, the official said, quoting from the complaint. According to the complainant, he had sent the script of the story to Khurrana on his WhatsApp number. The 'Vicky Donor' actor allegedly passed on that script to Kaushik and Vijan and they started making a movie based on it, Chandra claimed. This caused financial loss and mental anguish to Chandra, who felt cheated by the trio, the official said, citing the complaint. Acting on the complaint, he said, the police have called Khurrana and the other two Bollywood personalities for questioning and to know their point of view in the matter. "We want to know their side over the complaint. Hence, we have sent them a letter, asking them to remain present before the police as early as possible," the official said. "If the actor and the two others fail to appear before the police, it will be construed that they don't want to say anything in connection with the complaint and necessary action will be initiated, he said. Letter called on Pak govt to 'urgently investigate these ugly events' and share the results of investigation with the High Commission. It also comes days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where PM Narendra Modi is expected to come face to face with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan. (Representational Image) New Delhi: The government on Sunday issued a strong statement over the gross intimidation of guests invited to an iftar in Islamabad on Sunday. A statement issued by the Indian High Commission read: The disappointing chain of events of June 1 not only violate basic norms of diplomat conduct but are against all norms of civilised behaviour. Some Indian officials were jostled, pushed, abused and aggressively threatened with bodily harm. In some cases, mobile phones belonging to officials were snatched away. It also stated: "Many guests from the diplomatic community based in Islamabad were also subjected to harassment. In complete violation of diplomatic norms, a large Pakistani security detachment, equipped with fork lifts, was detailed outside Serena hotel to aggressively turn away Pakistani citizens." Among the people stopped from attending the Indian envoys iftar was former chief Pakistani military spokesman Maj Gen (retired) Athar Abbas. Former presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar tweeted about the harassment and hurdles he faced in accessing the venue. Indian envoy Bisaria said: We apologise to all our guests who were aggressively turned away from our iftar yesterday. Such intimidatory tactics are deeply disappointing. Read | Indian envoy's guests invited for Iftar party turned away by Pak agencies The letter also called on the government of Pakistan to "urgently investigate these ugly events" and share the results of the investigation with the High Commission. The row comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions following the suicide attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama on February 14 that killed 40 CRPF soldiers and the subsequent Indian air strike on Balakot on February 26. It also comes days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where PM Narendra Modi is expected to come face to face with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan. Signs Mandate on Its Windy Fork REE Project and Operational Update Melbourne, June 3, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Nova Minerals Limited ( ASX:NVA ) ("Nova Minerals" or "the Company") is pleased to update the market on a strategic review of the Windy Fork REE project, Estelle Gold project exploration and Snow Lake listing.In the last week, Nova directors attended meetings with shareholders, advisors and investors in New York to fast track our project portfolio, Nova saw strong interest in the company's Windy Fork REE (Rear Earth Elements) Project.The Company's Windy Fork REE project based in Alaska has strong significance under the list of 35 Minerals deemed critical to U.S. National Security and the Economy under Executive Order 13817.Nova has mandated KPG Capital & Co to act as advisor in negotiating the potential sale or Joint Venture with interested parties to achieve maximum value from Windy Fork REE Project to enhance the company's shareholder value. The Company believes the project is not currently being reflected in its share price.Windy Fork is a placer REE deposit reminiscent of the Ray Mountain placers in Interior Alaska.Systematic surface sampling of the placer deposit was completed by Barker (1991) during 1988 at the Windy Fork REE Project which indicated material containing rare earths, primarily cerium; niobium; titanium; and zirconium; all of which have been deemed critical minerals by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Originally observed the compositional similarity between the Windy Fork and Bokan Mountain plutons.Reference Source: Barker, J.C., 1991, Investigation of rare-earth elements and zirconium in the Windy Fork peralkaline pluton, west-central Alaska: U.S. Bureau of Mines field report, 36 p.Estelle Gold ProjectThe Company is pleased with the progress in its exploration field works at the Estelle Gold Project with the team mobilised and early focus on the Oxide North prospect with drilling scheduled to commence over the coming weeks. Alteration mapping program at RPM and Shoeshine prospects to also commence over the next month to keep in line with Company's prioritised systematic exploration strategy. The Company will update the market on Induced Polarisation (IP) geophysical survey results, drilling commencement and RPM and Shoeshine commencement and findings in due course.Snow Lake Resources Ltd (Thompson Brothers Lithium Project)As announced on 14 April 2019, Snow Lake Resource Ltd is seeking a Non-Offering Prospectus Listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). Snow Lake has raised sufficient capital and float as announced on 14 February 2019. The CSE requires that an issuer have a public float of at least 150 public holders holding at least a board lot each of the security. The public float consists of shares held by people who are not related to the issuer. Each holder is subject to a four-month holding escrow period prior to commencement of trade. Nova anticipates commencement of trade late in July or August 2019.Snow Lake Resources will keep its shareholders updated on operations and developments in due course.NVA Managing Director, Mr. Avi Kimelman said:"Nova will consider all opportunities for the Windy Fork REE Project, Our main business decision will be strictly focused on enhancing shareholders value but which will not draw its management time resources significantly away from its main projects, The Estelle Gold Project and Snow Lake Resources listing.""Nova is in a enviable position with unlocking value in its lithium asset and furthermore the potential of unlocking a global multi-million ounce gold discovery across the Estelle Gold project area. We believe Estelle together with the greater Yentna Mining District has the potential in unlocking a major new US gold trend similar to that of the Carlin trend in Nevada.""Our prioritisation and systematic exploration strategy for major discoveries ensures that the highest quality targets with the largest potential tonnage are advanced rapidly and cost effectively. This strategy is essential for Nova to have an advanced footprint of drill ready exploration targets well ahead of the drill rigs.""Further news will follow across our business in what is increasingly an exciting period for the Company. Make no mistake there is plenty of work still to do, however with a fair wind and robust commodity markets the company is exceptionally well positioned."The 112km2 Estelle landholding sits adjacent to the Whistler project (+ 9.5 Moz AuEq) held by Gold Mining Inc. and in the same assemblage of rocks that hosts Northern Dynasty's giant Pebble copper-gold-molybdenum-silver deposit (105 Moz Au). A direct correlation between gold grade and vein density is similarly reported at the Fort Knox (+ 4 Moz) and Dublin Gulch (+ 6 Moz) RIRGS deposits (Hart, 2007). Study results suggest that the 1) association of Au with Bi-Te, 2) association of Au with sheeted veins containing arsenopyrite, and 3) restriction of alteration to narrow selvages adjacent to veins at the Estelle Property are consistent with the genetic deposit model for RIRGS(see Note below).Note: Source: Ore Characterization of the Estelle Property in the South-~Central Alaska Range, Ember Flagg, University of Nevada, Las VegasPrioritised Systematic Exploration StrategyThe Company's ranked and prioritised systematic exploration strategy and activities at Estelle are guided by an exploration "Project Pipeline" process to maximise the probability of multiple major discoveries (see Table 1 in link below). Each Milestone is defined by a specific deliverable and has each criteria needs to be ticked to determine which prospect must pass through before moving to the next Milestone. Economic criteria and probability of success increase as projects move along the pipeline. The methodology helps to ensure work is carried out across all stages of the process, cost are kept minimal and that focus is kept on the best quality targets and that the pipeline is kept full with early Milestone projects.To view tables and figures, please visit:About Nova Minerals Limited Nova Minerals Limited (ASX:NVA) (FRA:QM3) (OTCMKTS:NVAAF) is a dynamic explorer and developer of its flagship Estelle Gold district in the Tintina gold belt. Nova's strategy is to substantially increase the current 4.7Moz resource on the Korbel prospect. Subsequently to continue to lock in value through moving Korbel towards production whilst increasing the resource base across the pipeline of targets within the Estelle gold district. Nova Minerals also holds strategic investments in Snow Lake Resources Ltd (Thompson Brothers Lithium Project), Torian Resources Ltd (ASX:TNR) and RotorX Aircraft Manufacturing Co. Army chief General Bipin Rawat will accompany Singh who was on Saturday briefed by top officials on the functioning of the ministry. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. (Photo :Rajnath Singh | Twitter) New Delhi: Less than 48 hours after taking over as Indias new Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Monday will visit the Siachen glacier and interact with soldiers deployed in the region. Defence Minister's office tweeted: During his visit he will interact with jawans at a forward post and pay his tributes to fallen soldiers at Siachen War Memorial. He will also interact with the jawans at the Siachen base camp. Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh will visit Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow. During his visit he will interact with jawans at a forward post and pay his tributes to fallen soldiers at Siachen War Memorial. He will also interact with the jawans at Siachen base camp / RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) June 2, 2019 "Leaving New Delhi for Ladakh on a day long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Looking forward to interact with the troops in Siachen. Later in the day, I would be meeting the Indian Army personnel in Srinagar," Singh tweeted on Monday. Leaving New Delhi for Ladakh on a day long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Looking forward to interact with the troops in Siachen. Later in the day, I would be meeting the Indian Army personnel in Srinagar. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Army chief General Bipin Rawat will accompany Singh who was on Saturday briefed by top officials on the functioning of the ministry. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh and Kargil war hero Lieutenant General YK Joshi are expected to brief Singh about the security situation in the region, news agency ANI reported. The glacier acts as a wedge between the Shaksgam valley under Chinas control and Baltistan, which is occupied by Pakistan. The Army has been posted at Siachen Glacier since 1984 when India carried out Operation Meghdoot to push back Pakistani forces and took the peak. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is the lone Congress member to represent the party in the Lower House from this politically crucial state. New Delhi: Notwithstanding the huge majority it got in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJPs poll managers have now focused their attention on the Uttar Pradesh bypolls. With 11 MLAs, including two of the SP-BSP alliance, now members of Parliament, the state will go into election mode again. The BJP won 62 of the total 80 parliamentary seats, nine seats less than 2014, and its Apna Dal ally won two seats. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is the lone Congress member to represent the party in the Lower House from this politically crucial state. From the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, which was being dubbed as a formidable alliance by the Opposition, 15 won, including five SP and 10 BSP members. Of the nine BJP MLAs who won, three are ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government. A meeting of the RSS-BJP state core group will be held next week in Lucknow, where besides fine-tuning the caste combination of candidates, Sangh Parivar leaders will chart out the strategy to win the maximum numbers of seats. Though the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP and the Mayawati-led BSP are yet to announce whether their alliance along with the Ajit Singh-led RLD will continue and whether they will contest the bypolls together or not, the saffron partys poll managers have already started holding meetings and will also consider the scenario of contesting the polls against the alliance. The saffron poll managers have also started going through names to start the selection process of its probable candidates. It could be recalled here that in 2014, after the BJP won 71 seats in UP, the ruling SP won 12 of the 13 seats that went to the bypolls and the saffron partys poll managers do not want a repeat of that scenario. Sources said the Narendra Modi governments major initiatives, including rural electrification, housing, Ujjwala and Mudra, among others, will be at the core of the saffron partys election strategy for the bypolls. On its part, the Yogi Adityanath government has initiated the task of getting the maximum number of allocated quotas of the Centres popular schemes for his state. Three of the four ministers who contested the polls also won from their respective seats, including Rita Bahuguna Joshi, S.P. Singh Baghel and Satyadev Pacahuri. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. Singh tweeted: 'Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world.' (Photo: ANI | Twitter) New Delhi: Taking over as Indias new Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday visited the Siachen glacier and interacted with soldiers deployed in the region. Singh tweeted: Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world. Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world. pic.twitter.com/Ns8uFpK4TT Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour. pic.twitter.com/hMRObJ1j9A Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 He also paid tributes to the martyred soldiers. Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/buWxgv6Nmg Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 The glacier acts as a wedge between the Shaksgam valley under Chinas control and Baltistan, which is occupied by Pakistan. The Army has been posted at Siachen Glacier since 1984 when India carried out Operation Meghdoot to push back Pakistani forces and took the peak. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. Final list of NRC to be published on July 31. Those whose names do not figure in the final NRC draft can challenge their exclusion in these tribunals. New Delhi: The home ministry will provide all possible assistance to the Assam government in setting up 1,000 foreigners tribunals across the state by July 31 when the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be published. Those whose names do not figure in the final NRC draft can challenge their exclusion in these tribunals. Top home ministry officials recently held a meeting in this regard to discuss the Assam governments proposal for creating e-foreigners tribunals and setting up an additional 1,000 foreigners tribunals. The Centre is also finalising its approval set up e-Foreigners Tribunals for those who were declared illegal immigrants. The draft NRC, which was published on July 30, 2018, had led to a huge controversy since 40.7 lakh people were excluded from it. The draft NRC included the names of 2.9 crore people out of the total 3.29 crore applications. The Supreme Court had recently questioned the state governments plan to set up 1,000 foreigners tribunals, saying it would be difficult to find 1,000 legal officers to preside over them. Following this, the Assam government along with the home ministry and other agencies started identifying retired judicial officers for the purpose. The tribunals will require nearly 12,000 personnel including judicial officers. The proposed new tribunals would ease the burden of 100 existing tribunals as cases of those languishing in detention centre will be disposed of faster. The apex court, which is monitoring the NRC update process, has made it clear that the final NRC has to be published on July 31, 2019. Of the 40.7 lakh people whose names did not figure in the draft NRC, 37.59 lakh names were rejected while the remaining 2,48,077 were on hold. However, they were given an opportunity to prove their Indian citizenship with 1971 as the cut-off year. The verification process is being carried out for these people who had submitted documents afresh. The Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise is aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state particularly from Bangladesh. The process of identification of illegal immigrants in the state has been widely debated and is a contentious issue in state politics. Doval, who was appointed as the countrys fifth NSA in May 2014, happens to be the first NSA to be granted a second consecutive term. New Delhi: The government on Monday appointed Ajit Doval as the National Security Advisor (NSA) for a second consecutive term and elevated him to the rank of a Cabinet minister. The ministry of personnel issued orders of his appointment on Monday following approval by the appointments committee of the Cabinet. During Mr Dovals previous tenure as NSA, he held the rank of a minister of state. Mr Doval, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Kerala cadre and director of the Intelligence Bureau, is known to be a veteran of intelligence agencies. His appointment would be for a five-year period with effect from May 31, 2019 and it will be coterminus with the term of the Prime Minister, it said. Mr Doval, who was appointed as the countrys fifth NSA in May 2014, happens to be the first NSA to be granted a second consecutive term. During his previous tenure, Mr Doval played a crucial role in planning and executing the surgical strikes after the Uri terror attack as well as the Balakot aerial strikes in the wake of the Pulwama incident. He also played an important role in formulating strategy on other key security-related issues like containing the impact radicalisation of the youth by terror outfits such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) through social media. Mr Dovals efforts to help resolve the 73-day stand-off between India and China at Doklam was also praised among the international community. Having retired as chief of the Intelligence Bureau in 2005, Mr Doval also served in the intelligence agency in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Mr Doval also played a crucial role as the chief negotiator with the hijackers of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar in 1999. He also has the distinction of being the first IPS officer to be awarded the Kriti Chakra. The new draft gives the option to students to choose any third language in addition to regional language and English. New Delhi: Facing severe criticism from the DMK and other parties in Tamil Nadu, the Central government on Monday revised its draft education policy, dropping the contentious provision of imposing mandatory teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. The parties in Tamil Nadu had strongly opposed the three-language formula proposed in the draft National Education Policy (NEP) and alleged that it was tantamount to thrusting Hindi language on non-Hindi speaking states. On Monday several parties, including the Congress and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, joined Tamil leaders to oppose the proposed provisions of the NEP. However, after the three-language proposal sparked an outrage the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry swung into action and released a revised draft of the NEP. Students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board examinations some time during secondary school, the revised draft of the NEP said. In the earlier draft, the panel had suggested mandatory teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. According to the revised draft, the modular board examinations for language proficiency would test only basic proficiency in each language. Such a change in language choice in Grade 6 would certainly be feasible if the student so desires and would in such cases be supported by teachers and the schooling system, it added. Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who had the formed the panel to draft the NEP when he was the HRD minister in the previous term, asserted that no language should be imposed on anyone. He clarified that the committee had only prepared a draft report and no decision had been taken on implementing it. Mr Javedkar said it was just a proposal from the HRD ministry and due consent will be taken and deliberations will be carried out to decide on the matter. Over the past few days Tamil Nadu has led protests over the alleged Hindi imposition attempt by the Centre. The recommendations relating to teaching of Hindi drew sharp reactions from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and actor Kamal Haasans Makkal Needhi Maiam. Earlier on Monday, the DMK passed a resolution against the Centres draft policy and said that the NDA government should not test its patience. Even the PMK, an ally of the BJP, alleged that the recommendation in the draft policy amounted to imposition of Hindi and demanded the scrapping of the proposal. Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman welcomed the Centres decision. Draft (NEP) policy corrected. Beautiful solution, he tweeted. Apart from Tamil Nadu, objections were also voiced in non-Hindi speaking states. Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said one language should not be imposed on others in the name of three-language formula. Former chief minister, Siddaramaiah posted a series of tweets slamming the Centre with the hashtag #StopHindiImposition. New National Education Policy draft imposes Hindi in non-Hindi states and this goes against our sentiments. If recognition of regional identity is inconsistent, according to a few, then imposition of Hindi is nothing but a brutal assault on our states, he wrote. Joining the anti-Hindi bandwagon, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackery warned the Centre against taking any steps to impose Hindi on others. Hindi is not our mother tongue, do not enforce it on us and incite us, said a tweet from MNS. JD(U) with 16 seats has emerged as a third largest party in the NDA. Patna: In a major political development, the RJD has asked chief minister Nitish Kumar to join hands with like-minded parties to fight against the BJP. According to senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, BJP has an absolute majority and Nitish Kumar is of no use to them. He along with other regional parties should come together to stop the BJP in 2020 assembly election. Mr Singh further said that lack of coordination in Mahagathbandhan was one of the reasons behind our defeat in the Lok Sabha election. Those who had no candidates were also given many seats. We need to strengthen Mahagathbandhan to defeat the BJP in 2020 assembly election. RJDs offer comes a day after Nitish Kumar inducted eight JD(U) MLAs as Cabinet ministers, leaving out BJP and LJP, leading to fresh speculation of rift in the NDA. JD(U) with 16 seats has emerged as a third largest party in the NDA. Sources said that the RJD and others including Jitan Ram Manjhi started sending signals to Nitish Kumar after he refused BJPs offer to join the central Cabinet on Thursday. A similar offer was made in 2018 but Tejashwi Yadav had rejected it by saying that doors of the grand Alliance have been shut for Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar had walked out of the grand alliance in July 2017 after CBI raided RJD chief Lalu Yadavs residence in connection with a corruption case and also registered an FIR against his younger son Tejashwi Yadav who was the deputy chief minister. Within 24 hours of the collapse of grand alliance, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister of NDA government along with BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi who took oath as deputy chief minister. Sources, however, claim that Tejashwi Yadav who has been declared as the chief ministerial candidate by a section in the RJD may not like Raghuvansh Prasad Singhs offer to Nitish Kumar. The incident occurred in Dinesh Nagar area under Ramamandi Police Station limits. The victim allegedly hails from Nepal and is undergoing treatment at a city hospital, while the accused hailed from Bihar. (Representational Image) Jalandhar: An 11-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 39-year-old migrant labourer, who was later caught by the locals and beaten to death here on Sunday. The incident occurred in Dinesh Nagar area under Ramamandi Police Station limits. The victim allegedly hails from Nepal and is undergoing treatment at a city hospital, while the accused hailed from Bihar. The accused lived in the neighbourhood of the victim's family. "The police reached at the spot found the accused seriously injured and unconscious. They took him to the Civil Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries," said police official. A case has been registered under POCSO Act and further investigation is underway. The apex court directed the CBI to submit its report within three months in the case. The Supreme Court on Monday granted three months time to the CBI to complete its probe, including into the murder aspect, in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday granted three months time to the CBI to complete its probe, including into the murder aspect, in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. Several girls were sexually and physically assaulted at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah directed the CBI to also investigate allegations of unnatural sexual assault under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and probe video recordings of the assault on girls at the shelter home. The bench asked the probe agency to also investigate role of outsiders who were involved and facilitated sexual assault of inmates after administering them intoxicants. The apex court directed the CBI to submit its report before it within three months in the case. It had earlier directed the probe agency to complete by June 3 its probe into the alleged murder of 11 girls at the shelter home and asked the agency to file a status report. The CBI had told the court that completion of probe on this aspect "will not be possible" within the two weeks' time granted to it. It had said that 11 girls were murdered and as per its recent affidavit filed in the apex court, it was found that there were a total of 35 girls with identical names who at one time or the other had stayed there. In the affidavit, the probe agency had told the court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by key accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a "bundle of bones" was recovered from a burial ground in Muzaffarpur. The probe into the case was transferred to the CBI and the agency has charge sheeted 21 people, including Thakur. The CBI had said that allegations regarding involvement of outsiders, who used to physically or sexually abuse the girls, have been properly investigated by them and the accused have also been charge sheeted as per revelation made by victims. The apex court in February transferred the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi. On November 28 last year, the top court had directed the CBI to conduct probe into allegations of physical and sexual abuse of inmates in 16 other shelter homes in Bihar which were flagged in the TISS report. Placement Completed and Appointment of Richard Cottee Brisbane, June 3, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - State Gas Limited ( ASX:GAS ) (State Gas, the Company) is pleased to announce today the completion of a $4.9 million private placement (Placement) along with appointment of Mr Richard Cottee as Executive Chairman of the Company.The Placement has been conducted by way of an issue of Ordinary Shares at $0.70 each to a Sophisticated Investor, with settlement on or before 14 June 2019. The new shares issued under the Placement arrangements will rank equally with existing State Gas shares on issue.The $4.9 million Placement proceeds will be used for further drilling and appraisal activities at the Reid's Dome Gas Project in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland.Timing of the Placement will be helpful for State Gas to assist with engagement of drilling contractors, other service providers and the procurement of long-lead items to ensure that the next phase of in-field activities may be undertaken before the wet season commences late this year. As the Placement has been arranged directly by the Company, no fees will be payable on the Placement.As advised earlier today, the appointment of Mr Cottee, along with the completion of the Placement are further important steps in the Company's progress towards the development of the Reid's Dome Gas Project.The Placement and appointment of Mr Cottee follows the successful completion of the first dedicated coal seam gas well (Nyanda-4) at Reid's Dome in December 2018, which confirmed the presence of more than 40 metres of net coal from approximately 394 metres depth to its total depth of 1,200 metres, and an average gas content of more than 13 cubic metres per ton in coal seams tested.Mr Cottee is internationally renowned for his energy experience, commercial strategy and acumen within the energy and utilities sector. As former Managing Director of the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) from 2002 to 2008, he took the company from an early stage explorer to a major non-conventional gas supplier building the market value from $20 million to $5.7 billion facilitating the sale of QGC to Britain's BG Group.Mr Cottee holds a Law Degree from the University of Queensland and was admitted to practice in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia and has been a Senior Associate of both Allens and Mallesons law firms. During his extensive career, he has also been CEO of Queensland Government-owned electricity generator CS Energy, NRG Europe and Managing Director of petroleum explorer-producers Nexus Energy Limited and Central Petroleum Limited.State Gas current Chairman, Mr Tony Bellas, said that the Board of Directors was pleased to have Mr Cottee join the Company in the role of Executive Chairman at this important time for the company."Richard was one of the first in the industry to warn of the then-impending East Coast gas shortage", Mr Bellas said.Mr Cottee said that he was pleased to be joining State Gas at this time as he could not see signs of any abatement of the current gas shortage."The prospect of introducing a new supply of gas into the domestic market is indeed exciting and any new gas supply at this time is in the national interest", Mr Cottee said."I am optimistic about the Reid's Dome Gas Project being available for delivery during this shortfall period, provided further work is undertaken successfully", he said.Mr Bellas said that a number of the State Gas Directors share strong industry ties with Mr Cottee, having worked with, or collaborated with him in various capacities over the past 20 years.Tony Bellas and Richard Cottee have known each other since the early 2000s when Tony was Deputy Under Treasurer in the Queensland Treasury and Richard was CEO of CS Energy. At that time, Tony's responsibilities included Energy Policy and he was instrumental in the formulation of the Queensland Government's 13% gas scheme that gave impetus to the coal seam gas industry in Queensland. That policy assisted in the final investment decision for CS Energy, then headed by Mr Cottee, to proceed to develop Swanbank E 385 MW combined cycle gas fired power station near Ipswich.Mr Cottee and Mr Bellas later collaborated when Richard became CEO of Queensland Gas Company and supplied gas to CS Energy, where Tony became CEO.Following those landmark transactions, Richard and Tony are looking forward to working closely together again at State Gas during the gas shortage to realise the enormous potential of the Reid's Dome Gas project.Mr Cottee and non-executive Director Ian Paton have also worked together successfully earlier in their careers while at Santos while Mr Cottee worked in gas marketing and Mr Paton was an exploration manager.As part of the new arrangements, Mr Bellas will move from the role of Non-Executive Chairman to Non-Executive Director with Mr Cottee taking the new role of Executive Chairman."The Board members all look forward to working more closely with Richard as we focus on commercialising the Reid's Dome Gas Project as part of the solution to the current east coast gas shortage and to deliver the best possible outcome for shareholders." Mr Bellas said.To view tables and figures, please visit:About State Gas Limited State Gas Limited (ASX:GAS) is a Queensland-based developer of the Reid's Dome gas field, originally discovered during drilling in 1955, located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. State Gas is 100%-owner of the Reid's Dome Gas Project (PL-231) a CSG and conventional gas play, which is well-located 30 kilometres southwest of Rolleston, approximately 50 kilometres from the Queensland Gas Pipeline and interconnected east coast gas network. Permian coal measures within the Reid's Dome Beds are extensive across the entire permit but the area had not been explored for coal seam gas prior to State Gas' ownership. In late 2018 State Gas drilled the first coal seam gas well in the region (Nyanda-4) into the Reid's Dome Beds and established the potential for a significant coal seam gas project in PL 231. The extension of the coal measures into the northern and central areas of the permit was confirmed in late 2019 by the Company's drilling of Aldinga East-1A (12 km north) and Serocold-1 (6 km to the north of Nyanda-4). State Gas is also the 100% holder Authority to Prospect 2062 ("Rolleston-West"), a 1,414 km2 permit (eight times larger than PL 231) that is contiguous with the Reid's Dome Gas Project. Rolleston-West contains highly prospective targets for both coal seam gas (CSG) and known conventional gas within the permit area. It is not restricted by domestic gas reservation requirements. The contiguous areas (Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West), under sole ownership by State Gas, enable integration of activities and a unified super-gasfield development, providing economies of scale, efficient operations, and optionality in marketing. State Gas is implementing its strategic plan to bring gas to market from Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West to meet near term forecast shortfalls in the east coast domestic gas market. The strategy involves progressing a phased appraisal program in parallel with permitting for an export pipeline and development facilities to facilitate the fastest possible delivery of gas to market. State Gas' current focus has been to confirm the producibility of the gas through production testing of the wells. Kushwaha, however, extended his support to Kumar for getting special category status accorded to Bihar. Kushwaha was talking to reporters after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. (Photo: File) Patna: Former BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha cautioned the BJP that Nitish Kumar will "betray" it and it should be ready for "Dhokha number 2" from the JD(U) president. "I want to tell BJP people that Nitish Kumar has been known for disrespecting the people's mandate. Betraying people's mandate and alliance partners are his old habits...BJP people should be ready to witness ''Dhokha number 2''," Kushwaha told reporters. "Aisa koi saga nahi jisko Nitish ne thaga nahi (There is nobody who has not been cheated by Nitish)," he said. This idiom will be translated into action here soon and hence the BJP should remain "cautious", he said. Kushwaha was talking to reporters after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Kumar had snapped ties with the BJP in June 2013 after Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, was made the BJP's campaign committee chairman for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kumar later joined hands with the RJD and Congress to form Grand Alliance in Bihar which won the last state elections. However, in July 2017, Mr Kumar brought down the Grand Alliance government as he pulled out of the grouping. But within hours, he joined hands with the BJP and became chief minister again. Kushwaha said Kumar remarks that the JD(U) would not join the Modi cabinet reminded him of ''sour grapes''. Asked as to why he thought his party and the Mahagathbandhan were routed in the Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP chief claimed that the BJP's top leadership "misled the people of the country as part of their conspiracy to deflect attention from actual issues" and people voted on non-issues. "We have learnt a lesson and will be cautious and aware of their (BJP's) conspiracy in elections." Replying to another query, he said that the RJD-Congress-RLSP-HAM Grand Alliance in Bihar is united and will remain so in future. Asked if he though Tejashwi Yadav was responsible for Grand Alliance's defeat in Bihar, Kushwaha said one person cannot be held responsible. The former Union minister termed the Bihar CM's decision to fill 32,000 posts of teachers in the state's secondary and higher secondary schools as an "eye-wash". The decision would not bring quality education in state-run schools, he said. Kumar should alter the selection procedure and appoint quality teachers through examination held either by Bihar Public Service Commission or any other specialised body, he said. Kushwaha, however, extended his support to Kumar for getting special category status accorded to Bihar. If the state government forms a delegation of political parties or chalks out any programme, the RLSP would extend it support for the cause, he added. This comes after Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy sparked a controversy by calling Hyderabad a safe zone for terror. Hyderabad: BJP leader T Raja Singh on Sunday accused the AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi of "financially supporting" the terrorists while asserting that BJP will win the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 and which will mark the "end for Owaisi." "Asaduddin Owaisi is supporting terrorist financially and today in his constituency more than 7000 Muslims from different nations are living. People are against Owaisi in the old city because he has not done anything for the old city. We are sure that in 2024 BJP will win the Hyderabad Parliamentary seat and it will be the end for Owaisi," Raja Singh while talking to ANI. This comes after Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy sparked a controversy by saying, "wherever in the county, a terrorist attack happens, its roots are found in Hyderabad." He also called Hyderabad a terror safe zone. Reacting to Reddy's statement, Owaisi had said, "He has spoken in a disgraceful manner even before taking charge. Talking like this in an irresponsible manner does not suit a minister. But we expect them to talk like this because wherever they (BJP) see Muslims, they see terrorists." Supporting the statement made by MoS Home, Raja Singh said, "I support the statement of BJP MP Kishan Reddy because last time when a bomb blast occurred in Hyderabad, people who accused in that bomb blast were also from his consistency. If we take Gujarat Haren Pandya case, the accused were from his consistency and 12 ISIS terrorist have also been caught from his constituency." Raja Singh further asserted that Muslims were not afraid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi but they were afraid of Owaisi. He also demanded NRC be implemented in Hyderabad to remove all the Muslims who do not belong to Hyderabad. "Today the real Muslims are with Modi for development of the nation. Owaisi should stop taking Modi's name and he should stop projecting that Modi government as anti-Muslim," Singh said. "He can't do anything to Muslims and he is representing himself as the saviour of Muslims," he added. The session will continue till July 26, Rajya Sabha Secretariat said on Monday. In all, there will be 27 sittings of the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha has been convened to meet for the Budget Session from June 20, the day President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of Parliament. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha has been convened to meet for the Budget Session from June 20, the day President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of Parliament. The session will continue till July 26, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said on Monday. In all, there will be 27 sittings of the Upper House of Indian Parliament. The Lok Sabha has already been convened from June 17. Newly elected members will take oath on June 17 and 18. The Speaker's election will be held on June 19. Budget will be presented on July 5. Racial discrimination raises risks of disease among African Americans: Study. Research results showed that racial discrimination appears to trigger an inflammatory response among African Americans at the cellular level. (Photo: Representational/Pexels) Washington: A recent study explains how racial discrimination raises the risks of chronic illness among African Americans. A team of researchers found that racist experiences appear to increase inflammation in African American individuals, raising their risk of chronic illness. "We know discrimination is linked to health outcomes, but no one was sure exactly how it harmed health. I looked at it as a chronic stressor. Our results showed that racial discrimination appears to trigger an inflammatory response among African Americans at the cellular level," said April Thames, one of the lead researchers. The survival of all living things depends on their ability to respond to infections, stresses and injuries. Such threats trigger an immune system response to fend off pathogens and repair damaged tissues. A select group of genes are key to this defence mechanism, and inflammation is a sign that those genes are working to counter the threat or repair the damage, the researchers explained. Inflammation serves to protect an organism from a health threat. But if someone feels under threat for long periods of time, their health may suffer significantly with chronic inflammation. "If those genes remain active for an extended period of time, that can promote heart attacks, neurodegenerative diseases, and metastatic cancer," says co-author Steve Cole. For the study, published in the Journal of Psychoneuroendocrinology, Thames and her co-authors focused on a group of 71 subjects: two-thirds of them were African Americans; the others were white. In addition, 38 of the participants were positive for HIV. Their participation gave scientists a chance to study the effects of racism independently from the effects of the disease. The scientists extracted Ribonucleic acid (RNA) from the participants' cells and measured molecules that trigger inflammation, as well as those involved in antiviral responses. The research team found higher levels of the inflammatory molecules in African American participants. The results also indicate that racism may account for as much as 50 per cent of the heightened inflammation among African Americans, including those who were positive for HIV. The scientists made sure that all the participants had similar socioeconomic background to account for financial stressors, which eliminated poverty as a potential factor for chronic inflammation among the people in the study. "Racial discrimination is a different type of chronic stressor than poverty. People navigate poverty on a day-to-day basis and are aware that it is happening. They might even be able to address financial stressors through job changes, changes in earnings and financial management. But with discrimination, you don't always realize that it's happening," Thames explained. Mr Tiwari said that by ensuring victory for BJP in all the seven seats of Delhi, people have expressed their trust in BJP. New Delhi: Thanking the voters of Delhi for their support during Lok Sabha elections, Delhi BJP chief and MP Manoj Tiwari held a roadshow in Northeast Delhi on Sunday. He claimed that BJP will uproot the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the 2020 Assembly polls. Mr Tiwari successfully defended his Northeast Delhi Lok Sabha seat against Congress veteran Sheila Dikshit and AAPs Dilip Pandey in the May 12 election. He beat Ms Dikshit by 3.66 lakh votes and the AAP candidate by nearly six lakh votes. Mr Tiwari said that by ensuring victory for BJP in all the seven seats of Delhi, people have expressed their trust in BJP. He apologised to the people of his constituency that they were not getting the benefits of the Centre-run Ayushman Bharat health scheme since it has not been implemented by the Delhi government. This is betrayal with the people of Delhi. BJP workers have pledged to dislodge the Kejriwal government in the next Assembly elections in 2020 and make the party victorious to ensure total development of Delhi, he said. Mr Tiwaris roadshow started from Panchwa Pusta at Gawandi and passed through Arvind Nagar, Ghonda, Brahmpuri, Seelampur, Chauhan Banger, Maujpur, Babarpur, Rohtash Nagar, Durgapuri, Ram Nagar, and Ashok Nagar. It concluded at Teg Bahadur Hospital, where he addressed the party workers. We contested the elections on the issues of nationalism and development. On the other hand, the objective of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party was to remove Narendra Modi, for which they compromised the national interest and the countrys integrity. They also announced to change the law related to treason and were even seen with anti-national forces. But the people of the country used their power (vote) against these anti-national elements and defeated them, he said. On the issue of dry days, hotels associations claimed unnecessary dry days lead to loss of revenue and illegal sale of alcohol. The state government is likely to reduce the number of dry days in the state as demanded by the liquor industry, according to whom, unnecessary dry days lead to loss of revenue. Mumbai: The state government is likely to reduce the number of dry days in the state as demanded by the liquor industry, according to whom, unnecessary dry days lead to loss of revenue. A committee constituted by the excise department to look into the liquor industry's grievances, in its 17-page internal report, has stated that statutory dry days have been in existence for many years. Out of the nine statutory dry days, many have become redundant, it said. These dry days are not applicable to star category hotels and clubs at present. Some of these can be reduced. Eventually, the committee concluded that dry days should not be declared on Martyrs Day, October 8, Ashadhi and Kartiki Ekadashi and they can be declared so in particular districts only. The Asian Age is in possession of the report. The committee had discussed 70 issues raised by the Liquor Owner and Distillery Association, All India Breweries Association, Wine Manufacturer Association, IMLF Wholesale Association, IMFL Retail Association, Hotel Association, Class 2 and 3 Associations and the Micro-Biology/Restaurant-Brewery Association. Issues such as the renewal of manufacturing licences, additional spirit quota, permission for overtime and holiday working, extension of closing time, removal of weekly holidays, extension of business hours for festivals, simplifying the process of transferring licences and dry days were discussed. On the issue of dry days, hotels associations claimed unnecessary dry days lead to loss of revenue and illegal sale of alcohol. They suggested reducing the number of dry days and recommended that liquor be allowed to be sold after the declaration of election results and after final voting takes place. The committee considered its current policy, which states that at present there are nine statutory dry days. In addition to these, there are election dry days along with those declared by the collector on the basis of law and order. State minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday told the media, The state government has decided to bring uniformity in the declaration of dry days in the state and has appointed a committee for this. He added, "There was no uniformity According to festivals, every city and district collector declares dry days as per his wish. There is a need to streamline the entire process of declaring dry days and the government has taken up this task." The party has threatened to carry out a strong agitation across the state if no action was taken against her. Mumbai: The NCP has demanded the arrest of actor Payal Rohatgi, who has posted a controversial tweet on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The party has threatened to carry out a strong agitation across the state if no action was taken against her. In her controversial tweet, Ms Rohatgi had said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born in a low caste. Chhatrapati shivaji maharaja was born in shudra varna in family of farmers and by sacred thread ceremony and remarriage to his spouse made a kshtriaya so that he could be coronated king. So people from one Varna could go to another Varna if they acquired that skill. No casteism? the actor said in a tweet on Sunday. NCP spokesperson Naw-ab Malik has asked chief minister Devendra Fadna-vis to take action against her. Payal Rohatgi has insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and we will not tolerate it. Is chief minister Devendra Fadnavis waiting for the situation to go out of control? If he does not understand the gravity of the incident, people will come on streets, he said. Ms Payal, who calls herself a devotee of Lord Ram and Narendra Modi is a BJP troll and she is trying to spread hatred in the society. She can stoop to any level for a cheap publicity, said MNS leader Shalini Thackeray. After a row was erupted, she posted another tweet saying, Being from a family of farmers and belonging to shudra varna is not a crime. Some say that Shivaji Maharaj was from kshtriya varna which is also okay but Hindus should know real facts about their king. Why Marathas have been given reservation in Maharashtra? After she faced immense backlash for her tweet, she uploaded a video Monday, apologising for her comments. My simple question has been misconstrued into a hate speech. Even I, obviously, worship such a legendary hindu king. I was reading something and came across an information which I put out, she said in the video. The police said that the armed procession (shobha yatra) was carried out without their permission. The police received complaints that at least five women fired rounds from the air guns. (Photo: Representational) Mumbai: The Nigdi police station registered a case against more than 250 Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) functionaries after they fired rounds from air guns and brandished swords, knives and spears during a procession in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Sunday. The police said that the armed procession (shobha yatra) was carried out without their permission. The police said that the procession started at around 5 pm from Yamuna Nagar and went to ground at Thackeray Chowk where it concluded at 10 pm. The police received complaints that at least five women fired rounds from the air guns. Other participants brandished the weaponry for which no permission was sought from the police. Apart from the party functionaries, president Sharad Inamdar, district president Dhanaji Shinde all of whom have been named in the case filed by the police. There was no permission for the procession however they still carried it out. Carrying and displaying weapons and using air guns is illegal and hence the case has been filed, said an officer of Nigdi police station. The police are gathering further details on the type of air guns and the purpose of displaying that in a cultural event. The usage of firearms led to high-intensity noise creating a scare among the locals, police said. The commissionarate has already issued a general prohibitory order, from May 21 to June 3, banning use and display of arms in the jurisdiction. This procession was in violation of that order too, police said. These orders prohibit carrying of arms, cudgels, swords, spears, bludgeons, guns, knives, sticks or lathis, or any other article, which is capable of being used for causing physical violence, he said. The police are verifying the identities of the participants and recording statement of the organisers and the witnesses. A case has been filed under sections of the Arms Act and Maharashtra Police Act and the police said that nobody was arrested or detained as yet. The officials are also yet to seize any of the weapons used in the procession. This will be her first movie since her announcement of taking a year off from the Hollywood industry. Actress Jennifer Lawrence is making her come back with the upcoming X-Men movie 'Dark Phoenix.' This will be her first movie since her announcement of taking a year off from the Hollywood industry. The 28-year-old, who had won four Oscars, including a Best Actress award for 'Silver Linings Playbook' back in 2012, gave everyone a shock with her unconventional move. "No one would say that when you're as big a star as Jennifer that you should take a year off, it's not that sensible. But she has all of that 'Hunger Games' money and she can afford to sit back," one Hollywood insider told, according to Page Six. This year in February, Jennifer Lawrence got engaged to boyfriend Cooke Maroney. The actress was spotted with a ring on her finger while enjoying what appeared to be a celebratory dinner with 34-year-old Maroney, at Raoul's, a French restaurant in New York City. The actress was seen wearing a cute black dress with white polka dots. A few days earlier, the happy couple was spotted on another date in the West Village, all bundled up to battle freezing temperatures. A source told People magazine in June that the actress was dating Maroney and the two have never shied away from going on dates in public together. In late June, the couple was photographed enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner in New York City. A secular Trinamul Congress frantically courting minority Muslims has no chance against the juggernaut of these forces that the BJP spearheads. Harried and heckled by saffron brigade demonstrators, Jai Shri Ram! chants ringing like an aggressive war cry in her ears, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee neednt expect much peace between now and the states 2021 Assembly elections. If there is no immediate reason to fear regime change in Kolkata, that is mainly because the Centre doesnt yet have the political manpower to replace the Trinamul Congress government. In West Bengal more than anywhere else, the Bharatiya Janata Party has exposed itself as a party of, for and by Hindus. It promises the circus of religion instead of the bread of a thriving economy. Dismissing the BJPs appeal as just Hindutva, nothing else, Kamal Nath, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister, who grew up in Kolkata, added: Once people decide they are voting as Hindus, they forget everything else. He might have said this is especially so when neurotic fears of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrants are deliberately built up. The Lok Sabha election sharply increased religious polarisation, which is a constant threat to peace and stability. Given the logic of numbers, any contest between the BJP and the Trinamul Congress will be swiftly decided in the formers favour. The BJP is backed by the Centres power and authority. About 40 per cent of Kolkatas population is Hindi-speaking and instinctively belong to the BJPs constituency. They include some of Indias richest Marwari trading families who are based in Kolkata. A secular Trinamul Congress frantically courting minority Muslims has no chance against the juggernaut of these forces that the BJP spearheads. But the Lok Sabha results, when the BJP swept 18 seats (from only two) while its share of the popular vote spiralled from a mere 27 per cent in 2014 to 40 per cent, was less a positive welcome to the BJP, which is still an outsider in the state, than a mark of disappointment with the home-bred Trinamul Congress failures. Ms Banerjee has already done much to improve village life (roads, electrification, potable water) but tales of corruption and extortion are rife. While she herself is above suspicion, that is not said about some of her proteges. Above all, she has done nothing to safeguard young Bengals future. The Left Front was routed after 34 years in power principally because it could not meet the middle class, white collar aspirations of young Bengalis who had benefited from the Left Fronts land reforms, agricultural wages policy and education system. By driving Tata Motors out of Singur and failing to attract new investors, the Trinamul Congress has only helped and furthered the stagnation that gripped post-Left Front West Bengal. If Ms Banerjee wants to save her crumbling citadel, she must unite all Bengalis behind her party with a rational economic programme that inspires public confidence and encourages investment while creating jobs. Voters know now that looking to the BJP for employment may not lead anywhere. It is no secret that the saffron party suppressed its own abysmal record to fight the elections, and that all-India unemployment, especially of people in the 24-34 age group, is at a 45-year high. Nor can they expect much by way of dynamic administration from the states unknown ragtag bunch of new BJP leaders. Perhaps even Amit Shah recognises this, for there could have been no more definitive dismissal of the West Bengal results than the two junior ministerships bestowed on Babul Supriyo, an engaging but lightweight entertainer with a chequered past who was already in Narendra Modis first government, and an unknown young woman from North Bengal, Debasree Chaudhuri, who is now minister of state for women and child development. Mr Supriyo has won again from Asansol, defeating the well-known actress Moon Moon Sen by 1.97 lakh votes. But he remains no more than a colourful fringe figure whose latest claim to notoriety is to have got into an altercation with the Trinamul Congress mayor of Asansol. Although the BJP is a lineal descendant of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, which was founded by a proud son of Bengal, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee, Bengalis saw the party as a symbol of the Hindi-Hindu cow belt. Perhaps the only BJP politician from West Bengal ever to be at all seriously regarded is Tathagata Roy, an engineer of some standing, who held responsible administrative positions. Mr Roys must have been a lonely vigil in trying to keep the unpopular saffron flag flying among indifferent or disdainful Bengalis, and he probably gave up all hope of making a political mark in West Bengal since he accepted a gubernatorial position in 2015 and hasnt looked back since. Now, the statewide disappointment with the Trinamul Congress may give some new hope to the BJP as it accuses Ms Banerjee of pampering Muslims. With her hijab, namaz and Khuda Hafiz, she did succeed in winning over 70 per cent of the states Muslim voters, against only 40 per cent in 2014. But there are just not enough Muslims to tip the balance. Her latest mistake was to appoint Firhad (Bobby) Hakim, a Muslim politician with no municipal experience, as mayor of Kolkata. Before that she announced stipends of `2,500 and land for house construction to 30,000 imams and muezzins. Though the courts struck down this largesse, people suspect that she found circuitous ways of making the payments. Possibly realising the political folly of markedly patronising Muslims, she recently got Mr Hakim to promise `380 to Brahmin priests per corpse at the cremation ghat, but this was too little, and too late. She must make up for it now with a thriving economy and an abundance of jobs for an army of impatient youths who dont really care much about Shri Ram but are ready to use him, and every other deity and icon, to buttress their demand for economic advancement. She can still prove that Bengali disappointment with the Trinamul Congress is not a permanent rift. Funding Secured for Reid's Dome Gas Project - Addendum Brisbane, June 3, 2019 AEST (ABN Newswire) - State Gas Limited ( ASX:GAS ) (State Gas, the Company) is pleased to advise that, further to the appointment of Mr Richard Cottee as Executive Chairman of the Company today, the Company has secured funding for the next phase of appraisal of the Reid's Dome Gas Project in Central Queensland to be undertaken this year.$4.9 million of funding has been arranged today via a private placement (Placement) of Ordinary Shares at $0.70 each to a Sophisticated Investor. Settlement of the Placement will occur on or before 14 June 2019. The new shares issued under the Placement arrangements will rank equally with existing State Gas shares on issue.The $4.9 million Placement proceeds will be used for further drilling and appraisal activities at the Reid's Dome Gas Project in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland.Timing of the Placement will be helpful for State Gas to assist with engagement of drilling contractors, other service providers and the procurement of long-lead items to ensure that the next phase of in-field activities may be undertaken before the wet season commences late this year. As the Placement has been arranged directly by the Company, no fees will be payable on the Placement.As advised earlier today, the appointment of Mr Cottee, along with the completion of the Placement are further important steps in the Company's progress towards the development of the Reid's Dome Gas Project.The Placement and appointment of Mr Cottee follows the successful completion of the first dedicated coal seam gas well (Nyanda-4) at Reid's Dome in December 2018, which confirmed the presence of more than 40 metres of net coal from approximately 394 metres depth to its total depth of 1,200 metres, and an average gas content of more than 13 cubic metres per ton in coal seams tested.Mr Cottee is internationally renowned for his energy experience, commercial strategy and acumen within the energy and utilities sector. As former Managing Director of the Queensland Gas Company (QGC) from 2002 to 2008, he took the company from an early stage explorer to a major non-conventional gas supplier building the market value from $20 million to $5.7 billion facilitating the sale of QGC to Britain's BG Group.Mr Cottee holds a Law Degree from the University of Queensland and was admitted to practice in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia and has been a Senior Associate of both Allens and Mallesons law firms. During his extensive career, he has also been CEO of Queensland Government-owned electricity generator CS Energy, NRG Europe and Managing Director of petroleum explorer-producers Nexus Energy Limited and Central Petroleum Limited.State Gas current Chairman, Mr Tony Bellas, said that the Board of Directors was pleased to have Mr Cottee join the Company in the role of Executive Chairman at this important time for the company."Richard was one of the first in the industry to warn of the then-impending East Coast gas shortage", Mr Bellas said.Mr Cottee said that he was pleased to be joining State Gas at this time as he could not see signs of any abatement of the current gas shortage."The prospect of introducing a new supply of gas into the domestic market is indeed exciting and any new gas supply at this time is in the national interest", Mr Cottee said."I am optimistic about the Reid's Dome Gas Project being available for delivery during this shortfall period, provided further work is undertaken successfully", he said.Mr Bellas said that a number of the State Gas Directors share strong industry ties with Mr Cottee, having worked with, or collaborated with him in various capacities over the past 20 years.Tony Bellas and Richard Cottee have known each other since the early 2000s when Tony was Deputy Under Treasurer in the Queensland Treasury and Richard was CEO of CS Energy. At that time, Tony's responsibilities included Energy Policy and he was instrumental in the formulation of the Queensland Government's 13% gas scheme that gave impetus to the coal seam gas industry in Queensland. That policy assisted in the final investment decision for CS Energy, then headed by Mr Cottee, to proceed to develop Swanbank E 385 MW combined cycle gas fired power station near Ipswich.Mr Cottee and Mr Bellas later collaborated when Richard became CEO of Queensland Gas Company and supplied gas to CS Energy, where Tony became CEO.Following those landmark transactions, Richard and Tony are looking forward to working closely together again at State Gas during the gas shortage to realise the enormous potential of the Reid's Dome Gas project.Mr Cottee and non-executive Director Ian Paton have also worked together successfully earlier in their careers while at Santos while Mr Cottee worked in gas marketing and Mr Paton was an exploration manager.As part of the new arrangements, Mr Bellas will move from the role of Non-Executive Chairman to Non-Executive Director with Mr Cottee taking the new role of Executive Chairman."The Board members all look forward to working more closely with Richard as we focus on commercialising the Reid's Dome Gas Project as part of the solution to the current east coast gas shortage and to deliver the best possible outcome for shareholders." Mr Bellas said.To view figures, please visit:About State Gas Limited State Gas Limited (ASX:GAS) is a Queensland-based developer of the Reid's Dome gas field, originally discovered during drilling in 1955, located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. State Gas is 100%-owner of the Reid's Dome Gas Project (PL-231) a CSG and conventional gas play, which is well-located 30 kilometres southwest of Rolleston, approximately 50 kilometres from the Queensland Gas Pipeline and interconnected east coast gas network. Permian coal measures within the Reid's Dome Beds are extensive across the entire permit but the area had not been explored for coal seam gas prior to State Gas' ownership. In late 2018 State Gas drilled the first coal seam gas well in the region (Nyanda-4) into the Reid's Dome Beds and established the potential for a significant coal seam gas project in PL 231. The extension of the coal measures into the northern and central areas of the permit was confirmed in late 2019 by the Company's drilling of Aldinga East-1A (12 km north) and Serocold-1 (6 km to the north of Nyanda-4). State Gas is also the 100% holder Authority to Prospect 2062 ("Rolleston-West"), a 1,414 km2 permit (eight times larger than PL 231) that is contiguous with the Reid's Dome Gas Project. Rolleston-West contains highly prospective targets for both coal seam gas (CSG) and known conventional gas within the permit area. It is not restricted by domestic gas reservation requirements. The contiguous areas (Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West), under sole ownership by State Gas, enable integration of activities and a unified super-gasfield development, providing economies of scale, efficient operations, and optionality in marketing. State Gas is implementing its strategic plan to bring gas to market from Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West to meet near term forecast shortfalls in the east coast domestic gas market. The strategy involves progressing a phased appraisal program in parallel with permitting for an export pipeline and development facilities to facilitate the fastest possible delivery of gas to market. State Gas' current focus has been to confirm the producibility of the gas through production testing of the wells. Journeys, especially abroad, are stressful today. But some smart luggage tech is easing the pain. . Bags come with an external USB charging port with an inbuilt charging cable that you can connect to a powerbank. Travel is becoming increasingly tense these days: And if you are taking flights to holiday destinations, it is doubly so at this time of the year. Security can be stressful and airlines dont make things any easier, as they tighten weight limits on the check-in and carry-on luggage. But help is at hand from an unlikely source: the luggage itself! A new breed of travel goods makers, many of them startups, has created what can best be called Smart Luggage: backpacks and suitcases which come pre-fitted with accessories that buy you some piece of mind. One of the biggest worries while travelling is a mobile phone that dies on you because the battery has drained. New-age luggage can help here. Bags come with an external USB charging port with an inbuilt charging cable that you can connect to a power bank. Remember this will only work with bags that are cabin sized since you cant check in a power bank. Another common problem is identifying your checked in the bag as it comes on a belt with others of the same make and colour. Some smart bags come equipped with a tracker that links to your mobile phone via Bluetooth and beeps to alert you when the bag emerges. The same app can also alert you if the bag moves from your immediate vicinity -- if some tries to steal it, while you are dozing in the departure hall. Bag makers, have also addressed another common hassle: How much does my bag weigh? Airlines place rigid limits on checked-in bags: exceed the free allowance and every extra kilo can cost you Rs 300 600. Bags, where the handle reads out the weight on an LED panel, have made their appearance in India ( see box). You can go on and on looking for ways in which technology can make travel smarter, safer, hassle-free. Targus has created a mobile VIP+ backpack, with a Qi wireless charging dock hidden on the side with a zip-up pocket. It has also incorporated an RFID-blocking pocket, which would prevent credit cards from being skimmed remotely. The international Rolls Royce of luggage is a brand called BlueSmart where the cost could be close to the equivalent of half a lakh of rupees. It has a built-in SIM and you can track the bag worldwide anywhere, any time and lock-unlock the bag remotely from an app. Globally but not in India, Samsonite has similar tracking technology in its $ 400 web-connected GeoTrakR bags More affordable in India, you can find a range of Atlantis 17 inch 22-inch smart bags from 3G on most e-biz sites for around Rs 3000 Rs 5000, all with USB ports. And this month, William Penn, the lifestyle accessory company has launched a solar-powered backpack called Kingsons Beam Pack, which holds up to 9 watts power with a peak output of 1.7 amps. It costs Rs 18,000. Carriall bag: Carefree travel In 2018, an Indian startup, Carriall Bags, launched Indias first Smart backpack. Since then its catalogue has grown to include a range of smart bags in 20-24 inch size that offer a sensible mix of the most useful technologies while remaining affordable in the range of Rs 11,000 Rs 14,000. All Carriall bags have that very useful appendage, a weighing scale, built into the handle the only such bag selling in India today. I am trying out the 22-inch Hive hard luggage which also offers a Bluetooth tracker via mobile phone and a USB external charging point. All their bags in this series have what is called TSA locks certified by the US Travel Security Administration which means security personnel can open the case without damaging the lock. Four independent shock absorber wheels mean you can roll the bag instead or pulling it. Free accessories a toiletries bag, shoe bag and a laundry bag. The Hive costs Rs 12,999 but I saw it online for Rs 2000 less. Money well spent on the scales and the Bluetooth alone. --IndiaTechOnline Boeing 737 MAX were grounded after a combined 346 people died in two deadly crashes. Boeing MAX 8 jets could be back in air by late June. (Photo:AP) Washington: Boeing announced Sunday that some of its medium-haul 737s, including the 737 MAX 8, could have a defective wing part, but that there had been no reports of flight issues linked to the defect. The American aviation giant, which has been rocked by an unprecedented crisis after its entire 737 MAX 8 fleet was grounded in mid-March, said a subcontractor informed it of problems with a batch of a part involved in deploying the wings' leading edge. The leading edge of an aircraft is key to takeoff and landing because it is meant to improve the wing's drag and therefore the jet's aerodynamics. Boeing said in a statement that it had relayed the defective lot number to aircraft owners so they can inspect the parts in question. Boeing MAX 8 jets could be back in air by late June. US aviation regulators expect to sign off on a return to service for Boeing's 737 MAX 8 jets, which suffered two fatal crashes, as soon as late June, sources have told Reuters. If operators find the defective parts on their aircraft, they should replace them before putting the plane back in service, the company said. "This is a device considered critical because if the leading edge slats don't deploy symmetrically, there could be a lift differential that can be dangerous especially on takeoff and landing," one aeronautics expert told AFP on condition of anonymity. The planes were grounded after a combined 346 people died in two deadly crashes, the first in Indonesia in October followed by one in Ethiopia in March. Long considered a "gold standard" internationally, the US Federal Aviation Administration's reputation has suffered amid scrutiny of its oversight process and reports it allowed Boeing to effectively self-certify some features of the MAX. Boeing is working on a software fix that will allow the MAX 8 to begin flying again, but differences have arisen between the United States and Canada on how to train pilots on the software after the update. Washington believes training on computers or tablets is sufficient for seasoned pilots, but Ottawa wants to require training on flight simulators. And yet the remark about the Dutchess of Sussex is heard clearly on a tape of a Trump interview with the British tabloid The Sun. Markle will not be meeting with Trump, though the official reason given is that she remains on maternity leave. (Photo:AP) Washington: US President Donald Trump denied on Sunday that he had called Meghan Markle "nasty" just days before heading to Britain to be hosted, and lavishly feted, by other members of the royal family. And yet the remark about the American-born Dutchess of Sussex is heard clearly on a tape of a Trump interview with the British tabloid The Sun. Trump's tweet on Sunday came a day before his three-day state visit is to begin with a pomp-filled ceremony at Buckingham Palace followed by lunch with 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II. He tweeted: "I never called Meghan Markle 'nasty.' Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it!" On the tape, the interviewer points out that Markle, who married the queen's grandson Prince Harry in 2018, had been critical of Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, saying "she'd move to Canada if you got elected; turned out she moved here." "Well, a lot of people are moving here, so what can I say," Trump replied. "No, I didn't know that she was nasty." And yet he went on to say he thought that as princess "she'll do excellently, she'll be very good, she'll be very good. I hope she does." US President Donald Trump has been speaking out to UK papers ahead of his state visit this week -- weighing in on Meghan Markle, Brexit and the next prime minister. Few expect the controversy surrounding his trip to end there. An official Trump campaign Twitter account had rather bizarrely called attention to the "nasty" comment on Saturday by linking to a video of the interview and suggesting the president had not used the word; it urged people to "Listen for yourself!" Markle will not be meeting with Trump, though the official reason given is that she remains on maternity leave with her three-week-old son Archie. Trump further roiled the waters ahead of his visit by weighing in on Britain's unending Brexit woes, throwing his weight behind former foreign secretary Boris Johnson to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May and suggesting Britain should leave the European Union without a departure deal if better terms can't be reached. The Sun called Trump's remarks a "bombshell intervention" and a "major breach of protocol" by a foreign leader. The president said he was not giving an outright endorsement to any candidate to lead Britain's ruling Conservative Party, but also said that he liked Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Hunt on Sunday played down any awkwardness over Trump's visit. "I don't think it's going to disrupt the welcome at all," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation," because the British had learned "from the president that you know regularly we have to agree to disagree... "It doesn't affect the fact that we have the most important partnership that there is in the world for freedom, democracy, the rule of law." In addition to Markle's remark about moving to Canada, she had also called Trump "misogynistic" and "divisive" during the 2016 campaign, feelings that a good number of Britons appear to share. Large anti-Trump protests are expected during his visit, and a huge blimp of Trump as a baby in diapers is being readied to fly over the city if police allow it. Markle's absence may be conspicuous in one way: Trump is bringing all four of his adult children and their spouses to London and, according to The Sun, said he wants them to hold a "next generation" meeting with Princes William and Harry. "I think my children will be meeting them," Trump said. "It would be nice." Khan said it was important to have good relations with US but that Britain should not be 'rolling out the red carpet' for Trump. On Monday, Trump arrived in Britain with wife Melania for a 3 day visit; he had already blasted Khan before his plane touched down. (Photo: AFP) London: Donald Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday, calling him a "stone-cold loser" after the mayor criticised the British government for inviting the U.S. president for a state visit. On Monday, Trump arrived in Britain with his wife Melania for a three day visit, and he had already blasted Khan before his plane touched down. .@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me...... Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 "@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom," Trump said on Twitter shortly before Air Force One landed at Stansted Airport near London. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me." On Sunday, Labour's Khan said it was important to have good relations with the United States but that Britain should not be "rolling out the red carpet" for Trump. He has also compared Trump to 20th century fascists. Donald Trump arrives for three-day UK state visit US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have arrived in the UK for a three-day state visit "This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States," a spokesman for the mayor said. "Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe." Trump will be treated to a display of British royal pageantry during the June 3-5 visit: lunch and a formal dinner with Queen Elizabeth, tea with heir Prince Charles, and a tour of Westminster Abbey, coronation church of English monarchs for 1,000 years. He will also commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War Two D-Day landings, and foreign minister and Conservative leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt said the trip should be above party politics. Hunt, who greeted Trump at Stansted Airport, said that Trump had mentioned the mayor to him on arrival. "He wasn't exactly saying that he's going to be inviting Sadiq Khan for royal treatment at the White House any time soon," Hunt told the BBC, declining to give further details of the conversation. Britain's flagship carrier stopped flying to Pakistan after Marriott hotel in the capital, was bombed in 2008, killing more than 50 people. 'We''ll be operating this route with our newest long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner,' a BA spokesperson said. (Photo:AP) London: British Airways (BA) resumed its flights to Pakistan on Sunday, more than 10 years after it halted the service to that country following a bomb blast. Britain's flagship carrier stopped flying to Pakistan after the Marriott hotel in the capital, Islamabad, was bombed in 2008, killing more than 50 people. But the airline is now scheduled to fly three times a week, with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, to the Pakistani capital from London Heathrow. It is the only western airline to resume its service to Islamabad. Pakistan's flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was the only airline to run direct flights between Islamabad and London. "We''ll be operating this route with our newest long-haul aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner," a BA spokesperson said. In September 2008, a bomb was detonated in a dumper truck outside the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. A total of 54 people were killed and more than 250 others injured in the blast. Shortly after the blast, the BA suspended all its flights to Islamabad, declaring: "We will not compromise on the safety of our customers, staff or planes." The airline in December last year, announced that it would restart its flights to Islamabad, saying the new airport opened in Pakistan's capital has reportedly eased concerns about both security and congestion. British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Thomas Drew, said BA was joining "an increasing number of British companies doing business in Pakistan". The report said China has kept its word throughout 11 rounds of talks and will honor its commitments if a trade agreement is reached. The threat to use Chinas rich supply of rare earths as leverage in the conflict has contributed to sharp losses in US stocks. (Photo:AP) Beijing: China fired back at the US Sunday over the two nations trade dispute, issuing a report that blamed the conflict on the Trump administration but refrained from escalating the trade war. The report from the Cabinet spokesmans office said China wont back down on major issues of principle, but offered no sense of whether or how the worlds second largest economy might retaliate against US tariffs on goods manufactured in China. The report said China has kept its word throughout 11 rounds of talks and will honor its commitments if a trade agreement is reached. It accused the US of backtracking three times over the course of the talks by introducing new tariffs and other conditions beyond what was agreed on. But the more the US government is offered, the more it wants, it said, accusing Americas negotiators of resorting to intimidation and coercion. A countrys sovereignty and dignity must be respected, and any agreement reached by the two sides must be based on equality and mutual benefit, the report said. The report, delivered at a Sunday morning news conference, appears to be a bid to shore up Chinas arguments and justify its position in the face of what looks to be a protracted dispute. Over recent days, China has been mobilizing its representatives abroad to sell its position with foreign audiences, while the domestic propaganda apparatus has been working overtime to convince the public of the righteousness of the governments stance. Linda Lim, a professor at Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, said the report does not represent an escalation on Chinas part, but rather reiterates the governments position in a clear and measured way that leaves the door open for negotiations. They threw the ball back into the US court, she said. She said the report is a public relations win for Chinas government at a time when US President Donald Trumps trade policy is antagonizing other US trading partners, most recently Mexico. Trump announced last week that he would impose 5 per cent tariffs on Mexican imports starting June 10 if the Mexicans dont do more to stop the surge of Central American migrants across the southern US border. The US has accused China of stealing trade secrets and forced technology transfers. The Trump administration has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on USD 250 billion in Chinese imports and is planning to tax the USD 300 billion in imports that have so far been spared. It also escalated the stakes this month by putting Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that effectively bars US companies from supplying it with computer chips, software and other components without government approval. Beijing responded by imposing tariffs on USD 60 billion worth of US products, which went into effect Saturday. It also retaliated against the US blacklisting of Huawei by announcing Friday that it will establish its own list of unreliable entities consisting of foreign businesses, corporations and individuals. Wang Shouwen, Chinas vice commerce minister and deputy international trade representative, said China would issue more detailed information on the unreliable entities list soon, but that it was aimed at enterprises that violated market principles and cut supplies of components to Chinese businesses for non-commercial reasons. Chinas statement that it intends to publish such a list follows additional measures last week that deepened the bite of US sanctions imposed on Huawei in mid-May. Several leading U.S.-based global technology standards-setting groups announced restrictions on Huaweis participation in their activities under US Commerce Department rules that bar the sale and transfer of US technology to Huawei without government approval. Wang also repeated suggestions that China could restrict the export of exotic minerals known as rare earths that are widely used in electric cars and cellphones. Foremost among them is lithium, the main component in modern batteries. The threat to use Chinas rich supply of rare earths as leverage in the conflict has contributed to sharp losses in US stocks and sliding long-term bond yields. If some countries use Chinas rare earth metals to produce products to contain Chinas development, this is unacceptable by standards of both minds and hearts, Wang said. Sundays report lays out Chinas argument for blaming Washington for the frictions as well as the costs to both sides, and said China has room for fiscal policy changes to maintain the health of its economy amid the dispute. Wang said China had been forced to take forceful measures in response to US actions and denied China had backtracked on its earlier commitments. He said the US had made unacceptable demands, including on tariffs and compulsory requirements that infringed on Chinese sovereignty. You give them an inch, they take a yard, he said. Trump has touted the tariff increases as a way of reducing Chinas trade surplus with the U.S., which hit a staggering USD 379 billion last year. However, Wang questioned how much China was actually benefiting from its surplus, saying a joint Chinese-U.S. study showed the US figure could be inflated by as much as 20%. He also said many of those exports were produced by foreign companies operating in China and that Chinese firms often pocketed only a relatively meager fee for assembling. Subtracting the US surplus in the services trade with China, the actual surplus came to just USD 152.6 billion last year, Wang said. The US deficit with China has actually been worsening since tariffs were first imposed, Wang said, pointing to a 50 per cent decline in soy bean exports to China and a drop-off in US auto sales in the country. The average US family, meanwhile, will pay an additional USD 831 for consumer items over the year due to the higher tariffs, he said, while the disputes impact on businesses could end up costing 2.23 million US jobs overall. That shows that the deepening trade restrictions hurt US workers, Wang said. Abolishing PPF 'haircuts' would be great news for members of failed schemes. It could be a shock to the solvency of the PPF, and the employers that have to fund it. A dramatic increase in levy for the riskiest schemes could push more employers into insolvency, further increasing the PPF's burden. Anna Rogers, Senior Partner at ARC Pensions Law commented: "The European Court may or may not be persuaded by the Hogan Opinion. Hogan's reasoning is powerful in terms of protecting members, but this is the third time the recommendation has been made and in the past cases the Court balanced social protection against the cost. If full protection is required by the EU Insolvency Directive, Brexit would be relevant but the effect will depend on the timing of the ruling and the terms of withdrawal and the future relationship. No-one understood that full protection was required, in fact, it has been clear that it wasn't. So this may be a case where it is appropriate to change the law for the future only. This kind of temporal limitation was used in the Barber case in 1990 to softened the impact of the ruling that pensions had to be equal between men and women. If the European Court ruled that full protection had to be given for future accruals only, that would dramatically reduce the cost, given that so many DB schemes are closed to future accrual. It's worth emphasising that the Opinion is only advisory. The reductions, in this case, were small and the Court might allow them. If it goes for full protection, that could fundamentally change the nature of funding discussions. We know from case law that trustees are not allowed to 'game' the PPF but they can hardly ignore its existence. If there is a full safety net with no caps or loss of pension increases on pre-97 service, then there is less to play for in terms of securing PPF plus outcomes. In fact, the PPF plus market could disappear because there would be little or no gap between PPF and full buyout. Ultimately, if insolvency protection has to be backed by the State then even the capital adequacy requirements of the insurance regime lose some of their attraction. TPR might want to up the pressure on the pace of funding, with the new funding code coming out. Again, nothing has happened yet. The European Court may decide to go the other way or set a level of protection that the PPF already meets. If not, there could be a different kind of climate change ahead." So much for being a decent human being. Draper Police have arrested Steven Ray Becky after the accident, as it was revealed he intentionally drove into his young victim, who happened to be walking next to her electric scooter on the side of the road, Fox13 reports.Becky was at the wheel of a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta that was going the wrong way and, after the impact, he got out of the car and ran to the girl, yelling at her that We all have to die sometime. He then tried to flee the scene of the accident, but one eyewitness rushed and immobilized him until the cops came.A probable cause statement from Draper City Police Department states that Steven Becky admitted to using Xanax, marijuana, LSD and mushrooms. He also told police he deliberately hit her because she was white, the report notes.Becky himself is white, but the high amount of drugs in his system may explain his explanation for the accident.During his arrest, Becky remained uncooperative with the police and overall aggressive, showing no trace of sympathy for his young victim. At the hospital, Becky again admitted to using drugs when speaking to one of the doctors. The doctor then told the police about it.The girl suffered serious injuries, including a head injury and a fractured hip, the report mentions. She remains in critical condition. Becky was booked on suspicion of attempted criminal homicide and driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, says the same media outlet.Draper Police are yet to release more details, as the investigation is ongoing. However, a spokesperson did say that they have no doubt as to the fact that Becky intentionally drove his car into the girl. SUV Not littering is common sense. Throwing heavy items from moving cars can be criminal, as is the case here.Karla Herrera was walking home on the side of the road with her siblings on Friday in Corona, California, when someone from a passingthrew something out the window, ABC 7 Chicago reports. That something turned out to be an empty glass bottle, which hit the girl in the face, sending her to the ground.The girl suffered several skull fractures and one broken collarbone, and could have been killed, the report notes. She is expected to make a full recovery, but police are looking for the owner of the car to determine whether the driver or a passenger was responsible for the incident and bring them to justice, of course.I saw my sister Karla that's 5 years old on the ground, and I thought she just fell, but then I saw blood coming out of her head. I did scream to the vehicle, telling it to stop, to call 911, Karlas brother tells the media outlet.The SUV didnt even brake, let alone stop to check on the girl. Another motorist stopped and did that, and they happened to be in the medical profession, so Karla got the best treatment even before she was rushed to the hospital.California takes traffic safety seriously so, when the SUV driver gets caught, he will be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, if police can determine that he deliberately threw the bottle to hurt the girl. Both charges carry a jail sentence and a fine, varying from a maximum of 6 months to 3 years, $1,000 and $10,000. Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) told a CNN town hall Sunday "our farmers are getting hammered" because of President Trump's tariffs on China. "Trump does not have a big strategy. He has a tactic that gets him on TV because he sends a tweet out tariffs are on, tariffs are off and the media runs with it all the time and it changes the subject and he can look tough. We're getting our clock cleaned." Why it matters: The trade war has been crippling for U.S. farmers. In April, it was reported the personal income of farmers in the United States had fallen by an annualized $11.8 billion between January and March the biggest 1st quarter drop in 3 years. The big picture: At the town hall, Ryan said the time's now right to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump, in light of former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation findings and comments. Ryan discussed a range of other issues, such as changing the approach to tackling climate change so it's viewed as a "jobs program." He said he was against the Democratic 2020 ticket being an all-white, all-male affair, and he addressed the issue of gun violence in the United States. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Go deeper: Tim Ryan on the issues, in under 500 words A Canadian government inquiry into the deaths and disappearances of more than 1,000 indigenous women in recent decades has deemed the situation a "genocide," blaming long-standing "colonial and discriminatory policies" for the tragedy. Driving the news: The inquiry, launched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration in 2016, issued its final report Monday. The 1,200-page report details how the marginalization of indigenous women led to safety issues that subjected them to increased levels of violence, which had become normalized. The report also issued several calls to action to address the "crisis." "This violence amounts to a race-based genocide of Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Metis, which especially targets women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people. Volume 1a of the report Context: 2SLGBTQQIA includes members of the two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, queer, intersexual and asexual communities, according to Reuters. Why it matters: Per 2016 census data, native people make up 4.9% of Canada's total population and are growing at nearly four times the rate of non-native populations since 2006. Yet like many colonized nations, rifts still exist between native populations and state governments. This inquiry is one step toward understanding and addressing that issue. President Trump's official state visit to the U.K. faced a wave of protests across London some centered on key British landmarks. Details: The protest group Led by Donkeys, known for its wave of guerrilla billboard protests against Brexit-supporting politicians, took the lead and focused their ire on the visiting president, projecting anti-Trump messaging on Madame Tussaud's, the Tower of London, and Big Ben. The U.S. approval ratings for Presidents Obama and Trump projected on the Tower of London. Photo: Led by Donkeys via Twitter Led by Donkeys also projected an interview with Boris Johnson, a top candidate to succeed Theresa May as prime minister, on the side of Big Ben where Johnson said he "wouldn't want to expose any Londoners to the unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump": A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. The protests weren't just limited to Led by Donkeys, as Amnesty International also unfurled anti-Trump banners across London's Vauxhall Bridge over the Thames: Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Barcroft Media via Getty Images Go deeper ... In photos: Trump's U.K. state visit The House Judiciary Committee announced Monday that it will launch a bipartisan, sweeping antitrust investigation into major tech companies. "A small number of dominant, unregulated platforms have extraordinary power over commerce, communication, and information online. Based on investigative reporting and oversight by international policymakers and enforcers, there are concerns that these platforms have the incentive and ability to harm the competitive process. The Antitrust Subcommittee will conduct a top-to-bottom review of the market power held by giant tech platforms. This is the first time Congress has undertaken an investigation into this behavior." Details: The committee's investigation is set to focus on three main areas: Documenting problems with competition in digital markets. Determining whether "dominant firms" are conducting themselves in an anti-competitive manner. Determining if existing competition policies and antitrust laws and enforcement are up to taking on these "issues." What they're saying: House Judiciary Chair Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.): "The open internet has delivered enormous benefits to Americans, including a surge of economic opportunity, massive investment, and new pathways for education online. But there is growing evidence that a handful of gatekeepers have come to capture control over key arteries of online commerce, content, and communications. ... Given the growing tide of concentration and consolidation across our economy, it is vital that we investigate the current state of competition in digital markets and the health of the antitrust laws. "The open internet has delivered enormous benefits to Americans, including a surge of economic opportunity, massive investment, and new pathways for education online. But there is growing evidence that a handful of gatekeepers have come to capture control over key arteries of online commerce, content, and communications. ... Given the growing tide of concentration and consolidation across our economy, it is vital that we investigate the current state of competition in digital markets and the health of the antitrust laws. Ranking member Doug Collins (R-Ga.): "Big Tech plays a huge role in our economy and our world. As tech has expanded its market share, more and more questions have arisen about whether the market remains competitive. Our bipartisan look at competition in the digital markets gives us the chance to answer these questions and, if necessary, to take action." The big picture: The House's new probe follows two developments that have shifted the threat level in Washington for Big Tech over the weekend, according to Axios' David McCabe. The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have agreed to split up efforts to investigate charges of monopolistic practices by Google and Amazon. The DOJ got Google and the FTC got Amazon, per the Washington Post and Bloomberg. The DOJ is preparing to launch an investigation into some of Google's practices, according to the Wall Street Journal. Why it matters: Members of the House Judiciary Committee have been worried about Big Tech's power for a while and, now that they're turning their attention to the issue, don't expect them to hold back. These moves set the table for the kind of long-running antitrust cases that can sap company resources, result in embarrassing legal discovery and depositions, and, in the most extreme scenarios, lead to corporate breakups. Go deeper: Fears of Big Tech scrutiny hit Wall Street President Trump said on Sunday he is unhappy that Israel will be embroiled in a new election campaign, as his administration prepares to launch its long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan the full release of which will likely now be delayed. Why it matters: Trump has pushed the peace team, led by his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, to launch the plan already. They were waiting for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a coalition government before they launched it. A new government will not be formed before November when Trump will be dealing with his reelection campaign. Kushner will launch the economic part of the plan this month at a conference in Bahrain. He and his team planned to launch the political part of the proposal later this summer, probably in July. Now, with Israel preparing for a second election, it is likely to be postponed once again. The big picture: After the Washington Post reported Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying at a meeting with Jewish leaders the plan was "unexecutable" and might not "gain traction," Trump told reporters Pompeo may be right. He said he still thinks the U.S. has a good chance to push the plan forward. Trump blamed the delay of the proposal on Israel's political crisis. "Israel is all messed up with their election. I mean, that came out of the blue three days ago. So that's all messed up. They ought to get their act together. Bibi [Netanyahu] got elected. Now all of a sudden they're going to have to go through the process again till September. That's ridiculous. So we're not happy about that." Go deeper: Trump disappointed Netanyahu failed in coalition talks Leveraged buyout experts Apollo Global Management made the latest move into the red-hot global watch market, taking its Watches of Switzerland brand an official Rolex retailer that also sells luxury imprints Patek Philippe, Cartier and Longines public. Why it matters: Watches of Switzerland's successful IPO shows the skyrocketing popularity of luxury watches is not lost on financial markets. The stock debuted Thursday on the London Stock Exchange at an IPO price of 270 pence (about $3.41) and rose as much as 17%. Its enterprise value is already 5 times what Apollo paid for it in 2012. What's happening: Demand for luxury watches is soaring and supply is not keeping up, causing a gold rush in the industry. Once shunned, second-hand luxury watches are now the watch industry's secret sauce. The market has taken off to such a degree that used watches sold online in 2018 regularly fetched higher prices than new ones. "Based on worldwide sales over the past 15 years, we estimate the value of non-worn watches at $500 billion," online watch retailer Watchbox's vice president Patrick Hoffmann said in an August interview. "Potentially then, the pre-owned market could be bigger than the market for new watches." The block is hot: Luxury goods giant Richemont, owner of Cartier and Jaeger-LeCoultre, is going for broke, investing nearly $3.4 billion in used watch seller Watchfinder and other online vendors last year. They're not alone. Online retail giants like Alibaba, eBay and Amazon are building top-dollar in-house authentication teams as watches sell for more than $100,000. Audemars Piguet said it would launch a second-hand business this year. Breitling's CEO says the company is planning to buy and sell used watches. LVMH, owner of watch brands TAG Heuer, Hublot and Zenith, is reportedly considering entering the market as well. But, but, but: It's not all good for everyone. Watch sales are slowing in places like Hong Kong and turning negative in the U.K. Richemont's expansion has increased sales but profitability fell to the lowest level this decade. Farfetch's stock sank 11% Thursday after the e-commerce platform reported a wider-than-expected loss. The online luxury business is currently going through an unprofitable investment phase, with some experts saying it's poised to slow. Still, there are clearly high hopes for what's to come. "It's no longer a hidden secret anymore," Danny Govberg, owner of luxury watch emporium Govberg Jewelers, told Bloomberg last year. "It has a life." Go deeper: The sign that Apple has ripened Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show the IPO price of Watches of Switzerland was 270 pence. Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) told a CNN town hall Sunday the U.S. needs a new Voting Rights Act to dismantle systemic racism in the country. We have a problem with racism in America today. If this country wasn't racist, Stacey Abrams would be governor." A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Why it matters: Abrams would have been the first African American woman to be governor of Georgia if she were elected last year, but she narrowly lost the race. She initially refused to concede to her opponent, now-Gov. Brian Kemp (R) whom she called an "architect of voter suppression." In March, House Democrats launched an investigation into Kemp and alleged voting irregularities in the midterm election. The big picture: At the CNN town hall, Moulton discussed a range of issues, including criminal justice reform such as the legalization of marijuana, and he pointed out racial disparities in the prison system while confessing he'd "smoked weed" when he was younger. "If you're in prison for that, you're out and we expunge those records," he said. Moulton pledged to change Department of Justice guidelines stating that a sitting president cannot be indicted, as he backed impeachment proceedings against Trump. He spoke out against the single-payer program "Medicare for All," preferring a public option that would enable Americans to buy into a scheme such as Medicare. Moulton said his views were based on his experience as an Iraq War veteran, as he opened up further about living with post-traumatic stress disorder. Go deeper: Seth Moulton on the issues, in under 500 words Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the UN and South Carolina governor, will call out pro-choice activists who "demand conformity" as being "anti-women" in a keynote address at Susan B. Anthony List's 12th annual Campaign for Life Gala Monday evening. Why it matters: Her speech comes as a new wave of restrictive abortion laws ripples across red states, and conservative lawmakers are jockeying for a shot at challenging Roe v. Wade now that Justice Brett Kavanaugh is on the bench. Key quotes: "Unfortunately, many on the left use the abortion debate to divide women and demand conformity. They do this in the name of feminism. But that is not real feminism." "The idea that women must adhere to a particular set of values is one of the most anti-women ideas in today's culture. It is a rejection of the ideas of equality and tolerance that the women's movement is supposed to be about." that women must adhere to a particular set of values is one of the most anti-women ideas in today's culture. It is a rejection of the ideas of equality and tolerance that the women's movement is supposed to be about." "As a pro-life, female governor, I was blessed with a unique platform, and I made every effort to use it appropriately. Not to lob attacks at people who disagreed with me, not to diminish the other side, but to reframe the debate. To explain that being pro-life is not about being for or against women. It is about being for a baby's right to live the most basic right there is." The backdrop: Tonight's event will be SBA List's 12th annual gala. President Trump delivered last year's address, and Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and former House Speaker Paul Ryan have spoken at the event in the past. Go deeper: Nikki Haley's new book In the spring of 1989, Chinese students began gathering in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, at first to mourn the death of reformist leader Hu Yaobang and then in hopes of persuading their government to allow greater political freedom across the country. Flashback: Over a period of six weeks, the crowd swelled as older people joined and the list of demands broadened. The occupation of the square took on a life on its own, and some within the Communist Party leadership began to see a threat to their monopoly on political power. The contest for control of the square soon became a battle for information. Protest leaders assigned lookouts to watch for any approach of troops. Any sign of movement by police or soldiers sent protesters scrambling to landline telephones in nearby buildings to call supporters to flood the square to make it more difficult for security forces to enter. On June 4, 1989, under cover of darkness, Chinese tanks finally pushed into Tiananmen, crushing the protests and killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people. On Tuesday, many around the world will mark the 30-year anniversary of that event, a moment that changed China and the trajectory of world history. But, of course, the occasion will not be marked inside China, at least not publicly. That's because gaining access to the history of Tiananmen is, for most Chinese, still a battle for information, even if it's no longer a fight over landline phones or state-run TV and radio. Only those over the age of 35 have any personal memory of the event. And while today China's citizens can use digital and social media to speak directly with one another, the government still controls communications and access to information. Social media accounts in China must be registered to users' real names, and tech companies are required to give the government access to all of their users' information if asked to do so. Beyond keeping Tiananmen references off the traditional airwaves, advances in artificial intelligence also allow government computers to patrol the Internet in search of any reference to the Tiananmen protests and crackdown. The numbers 46 and 64, potential references to June 4, are removed from online posts. In 2012, censors briefly blocked access to the search term "Shanghai Stock market" after the index coincidentally fell exactly 64.89 points on the anniversary of the massacre. Terms even loosely associated with the protests and crackdown are diverted to unrelated results. Video recognition software is programmed to scrub away any photographic reference to the events. The bottom line: Three decades later, it's clear that China's leaders still fear the Chinese people and what they might want more than they fear any threat from abroad. Sign up for Signal, a thrice-weekly newsletter from GZERO Media, a Eurasia Group company. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Jewish leaders "one might argue" that the White House's upcoming Middle East plan is "unexecutable" and might not "gain traction," reports the Washington Post, which obtained audio of the closed-door meeting. The latest: President Trump told reporters Sunday Pompeo "may be right" to express caution. "But if we can get a Mid-East peace plan that would be good," Trump said, according to The Hill. "And when Mike says that, I understand when he says that, because most people think it cant be done. I think it probably can. But as I say often, well see what happens." It may be rejected. Could be in the end, folks will say, 'It's not particularly original, it doesn't particularly work for me,' that is, 'it's got two good things and nine bad things, I'm out.'" Mike Pompeo, per Washington Post Details: The release of the plan led by President Trump's son-in-law and White House senior adviser, Jared Kushner, has been repeatedly delayed something Pompeo noted during the private meeting with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations on Tuesday. He conceded it had "taken us longer to roll out our plan than I had originally thought it might to put it lightly," according to the Post. Pompeo said there are "no guarantees that were the ones that unlock" the deadlocked conflict, but he hoped "everyone will engage in a serious way," per the Post. "I get why people think this is going to be a deal that only the Israelis could love," Pompeo said, addressing the widespread belief that the plan will favor the Israeli government. "I hope everyone will just give the space to listen and let it settle in a little bit." The big picture: While some meeting attendees told the Post they got the impression that Pompeo was not confident in the likely success of the plan, others said they thought he "provided a hopeful assessment over the prospect of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians." Why it matters: Pompeo's frank statements of the challenges the plan faces are the most "unvarnished comments to date," the Post notes. The revelations come as Kushner expressed doubt during an interview on "Axios on HBO," broadcast Sunday, that Palestinians can govern themselves without Israeli interference. "The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing," he told Axios' Jonathan Swan. Between the lines: Swan notes that Kushner represents a president whose actions have so far been all-in for Israel. Kushner's comments indicate he wants to "drive a wedge between the Palestinian people and their leadership and in so doing may make the sales pitch for his future plan even harder," Swan writes. A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted. Go deeper: Kushner: "I'm not here to be trusted by Palestinian leaders" Gagik Tsarukian on Monday warned parliament deputies from his Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) against publicly expressing their personal opinions after one of them voiced support for the indicted former President Robert Kocharian. I stand for freedom for Robert Kocharian, the lawmaker, Vartan Ghukasian, said late last week amid continuing political fallout from an Armenian courts May 18 decision to free the ex-president from custody. The statement led Tsarukian to hold an emergency meeting of the BHKs parliamentary group, the second largest in the National Assembly. For that reason I held today a meeting during which I warned everyone that nobody has the right to express their personal opinion, the BHK leader told reporters. BHK deputies should make public statements on various issues only if the opposition party formulates a position on them, he said. A senior BHK figure, Naira Zohrabian, stressed that Ghukasians remark does not reflect the party line. That is Mr. Ghukasians personal opinion, and I can reaffirm today that it is not the BHK factions opinion, she said. Zohrabian also told RFE/RLs Armenian service that Ghukasian did not attend the faction meeting chaired by Tsarukian. Ghukasian, 58, served as mayor of Armenias second largest city of Gyumri during and after Kocharians 1998-2008 presidency. He strongly supported the ex-president who was arrested last year on charges stemming from the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. Tsarukian likewise had a cordial rapport with Kocharian. But both he and his party have sought to distance themselves from the latter since last springs velvet revolution which brought Nikol Pashinian to power. They have pointedly declined to criticize Kocharians prosecution as politically motivated. The BHK view is that in the new Armenia political processes must not be mixed with legal processes, said Zohrabian. Its a totally legal process. We want to be sure that there is and there will be no political pressure on legal processes. Tsarukian was irked on May 29 by a reporters remark that Kocharian had helped him make a big fortune. I dont have obligations to anyone, he stated in that regard. The chairman of Armenias Court of Appeals, Vazgen Rshtuni, accepted on Monday prosecutors demand that he recuse himself from hearings on immunity from prosecution claimed by former President Robert Kocharian. Kocharian and his legal team cite an article of the Armenian constitution which stipulates: During the term of his or her powers and thereafter, the President of the Republic may not be prosecuted and subjected to liability for actions deriving from his or her status. Earlier this year they asked a district court in Yerevan to free the ex-president and throw out coup charges brought against him in connection with the 2008 post-election violence in Yerevan. The court ruled on April 12, however, that Kocharian cannot be protected from prosecution. It thus accepted prosecutors claims that the constitutional provision does not apply to him because his actions in February-March 2008 were illegal. Kocharian and his lawyers appealed against that ruling before the case was assigned to Rshtuni. Hrach Musheghian, a senior law-enforcement official leading a probe of the 2008 violence, said last week that Rshtuni cannot be impartial because he publicly approved of another Court of Appeals judges decision in August to free Kocharian from custody and uphold his immunity from prosecution. The prosecution backed Musheghians demand. But one of Kocharians lawyers, Samvel Khudoyan, objected to it. In my view, the consideration of our appeal has nothing to do with the opinion expressed by [Rshtuni,] Khudoyan told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) on Monday. Nevertheless, Rshtuni agreed to have another judge consider and rule on the appeal. He argued that one of the parties to the trial lacks trust in me. Rshtuni also pointed to media allegations that he was instrumental in the May 18 decision by a district court judge, Davit Grigorian, to order Kocharian released from prison pending a verdict in the high-profile case. Rshtuni, who has strongly denied the allegations, said he wants to be exonerated by relevant bodies. Grigorian also controversially decided to suspend Kocharians trial which began on May 13. He cited a suspicion of discrepancy between the Armenian constitution and the charges. And he suggested that the constitution does give the ex-president immunity from prosecution. By Leman Mammadova In 2018, industrial production in Azerbaijan increased by 1.5 percent, Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev told local media. He said that the development trend continued in 2019. In the first quarter of this year, growth in the non-oil sector was 1.7 percent, in industrial production 4.4 percent, and in the non-oil industry - 15.6 percent. Mustafayev underlined that in 2019, another 8 residents will start production in industrial parks in Azerbaijan. The minister noted that so far, more than 40 residents have been registered in industrial parks in Azerbaijan, 23 of which have already begun production. Mustafayev also stressed that last year $451 million was invested by residents in industrial parks, while the total investment in projects is estimated at $3.3 billion. About 9,000 permanent jobs have already been created in industrial parks. The minister added that at the next stage, it is planned to invest up to $400 million and create more than 1,600 jobs. He further noted that for now, enterprises in the industrial parks produced goods for 1.36 billion manats ($0.8 billion), 250 million manats ($147 million) of which accounted for exported products. Touching upon the activities of industrial districts, Mustafayev noted that as of today, they have already produced products worth 33 million manats ($19 million). On the territory of industrial districts, 36 participants have already been registered, the total investment of which is estimated at 140 million manats ($82 million). It is also planned to open up to 2,000 permanent jobs, he said. Mustafayev noted that to date, 21 enterprises already operate in the industrial districts, adding that in 2019, 15 more enterprises will start operations there. At present, there are 5 industrial parks in Azerbaijan - Sumgayit, Garadagh, Mingachevir, Pirallahi and Balakhani, as well as 3 industrial districts - Neftchala, Masalli and Hajigabul. In addition, work is underway to launch the Sabirabad industrial zone. Mustafayev also added that in the first quarter of this year, $2.8 billion were invested in Azerbaijans economy, $2 billion of which was invested in the non-oil sector. During this period, GDP grew by 3 percent. This is considered the highest for several years. By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade Azerbaijan is actively working to solve the issues of concern associated with problem loans. Financial Market Supervisory Authority of Azerbaijan (FIMSA) has informed that the process of issuing compensations carried out in accordance with the decree by President Ilham Aliyev On additional measures to resolve problem loans of individuals in Azerbaijan, has been implemented by 91.4 percent. FIMSA stated that 95.5 percent of individuals out of the total number of the citizens entitled to the compensation (602,347 people) received compensations. Individuals who have not applied due to various reasons as being outside the country, death, etc. amounted to 27,500 citizens, 20,500 of which are clients of liquidated banks and non-bank credit organizations, and the remaining 7,000 are clients of operating banks. According to the financial regulator, persons who have not received compensation before May 31 may apply to their banks and the national postal operator, providing necessary documents for receiving the compensation. According to FIMSA, Chamber of the Appeals Committee is considering and will process approximately 13,000 applications of citizens on the principle of reservation. The payment process carried out by the Azerbaijani Finance Ministry amounted to 600.1 million manats ($353 million). Overdue loans made up 288.8 million manats ($169.88 million) and the remaining funds of 311.3 were transferred to citizens' cards. As part of the decree, 107 million manats ($62.94 million) were sent to repay debts on credit interest and penalties from over 126,000 debtors who are clients of banks and non-bank credit organizations. It is noteworthy that in order to ensure the transparency of the process, 685,000 citizens made 1.7 million requests on the electronic portal created by FIMSA. The total number of views on this portal made up about 3 million. 966 call centers received more than 117,000 calls. Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on additional measures in connection with solving the issue of the individuals problem loans. The decree envisages the payment of compensation to citizens whose loan burden increased as a result of the devaluation of the manat in February and December 2015. The decree aimed at improving the welfare of the population is an important element of the social policy. Thats because the solution of the problem of credit loans of the population wont only ease the financial burden, but will also restore confidence in the banking sector and free some debtors from legal proceedings. -- Mirsaid Ibrahimzade is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @MirsaidIbrahim1 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Karimkhanov Baku hosted a forum entitled "Made in Azerbaijan: Innovations and Technologies" (MAINTECH-2019) on June 3. The event, which was held as part of the Innovation Festival, was organized with the support and at the initiative of the State Fund for the Development of Information Technologies under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. The purpose of the forum was to raise awareness of innovative and technological products and services, to support their export. The event was attended by representatives of government agencies, the private sector, international organizations, the diplomatic corps operating in Azerbaijan, as well as participants of the innovation ecosystem, startups and representatives of foreign countries. Speaking at the event, Ramin Guluzade, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, spoke about the innovation infrastructure created in the country. He noted that high technology parks and industrial parks were created in Azerbaijan. Privileges are applied to the residents of these parks. The minister also said that there are funds to ensure access of innovative subjects to the financial resources, through which innovative projects are given grants, concessional loans, adding that innovative entrepreneurship is rapidly developing. Touching upon the achievements in this area, the minister stressed that the products of Azerbaijani IT companies enter international markets. Company HTech Invest - a resident of Mingachevir High-Tech Park - has launched the production of Acer computers. In addition, some startup projects are taking steps towards entering the global market. Guluzade added that the Agency for Innovations was created under the authority of the Ministry to accelerate innovation development. The Agencys goal is to create a dynamic innovation system in the country that serves to transform ideas into products to get access to the market, he noted, adding that within this process, the main goal is to create conditions for the production and export of innovative and technological products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand. The minister also stressed that the head of state issued a number of important instructions to improve efficiency and ensure coordination in the field of innovative development in the country. We build our work in several directions to accomplish these tasks. In his words, the first direction is to assist local businesses to get modern technologies and technological solutions. For this purpose, technology transfer centers will be created, entrepreneurs will be able to use the relevant services. Guluzade added that the data center commissioned by the ministry in 2016 currently provides state and non-state structures with services such as cloud-based solutions, co-location, hybrid solutions, etc. The minister noted that the second direction is the introduction of appropriate support mechanisms, in order to provide the issuance of grants, concessional loans to innovative projects, as well as startups. The ministry has been carrying out activities in this direction for several years. During this period, 117 grants were issued to start-ups, and 16 businesses were given concessional loans, Guluzade said. He also pointed to the promotion of innovative initiative in the country, which is considered the third direction. Some steps in this direction have already been taken. The project I2B - From idea to business is being implemented, students and youth are actively involved in this process. The minister added that in accordance with modern development trends, such as robotics, the Internet of Things, laboratories are being built, various contests and competitions are held. Azer Bayramov, Executive Director of the State Fund for the Development of Information Technologies, in turn, said that 903 projects have been submitted to the Fund so far. In his words, a total of 1.5 million manats ($0.8 million) were allocated to 117 projects or 12.9 percent of these projects. Heads of 12 project are women. In addition, 16 entrepreneurs received preferential credits worth 11.2 million manats ($6.6 million). Ulvi Mehdiyev, Chairman of the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovation under the President; Vusal Gasimli, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Reforms and Communication; Alessandro Fracassetti, UNDP Resident Representative for Azerbaijan; Orkhan Mammadov, Chairman of the Directors Board of the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs); and Vitaly Ponomarev, CEO of WayRay, also addressed the forum. It should be noted that the main purpose of MAINTECH-2019 was to widely popularize technological and innovative products and services and to support their export. The event featured presentations and discussions on the export prospects of local innovative products and technologies, the development of the innovation business ecosystem, as well as promotion of the use of products and services created by the private and public sectors within Azerbaijan. --- Leman Mammadova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan's world-famous artist Asmar Narimanbayova has given a master class for young talents in France. The master class was held for Azerbaijani children living in France with the support of the UNESCO Permanent Representation to Azerbaijan, Trend Life reported. The event was dedicated to the memory of Togrul Narimanbayov, an outstanding representative of Azerbaijani art. During the master class, Asmar Narimanbayova revealed art secrets to young artists. She shared her knowledge about the basics of art, color scheme and much more. The event participants were provided with detailed information on the creative activities of Togrul Narimanbayov. The master class aroused great interest among young artists. It is noteworthy that this is not the first master class held by Asmar Narimanbayova in France. Another master class for young talents was also held this May. Works of young artists from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and other countries were exhibited at the workshop. At the exhibition titled "Colors of Spring", Azerbaijan was represented by students of the Picasso art studio headed by Ramina Saadatkhan. Young artists pleased the viewers with colorful paintings of cartoon characters, nature and animals. Asmar Narimanbayova is an artist full of light, wide and enthusiastic soul. The artist grew up in the atmosphere of love to art, music and literature. Her father Togrul Narimanbayov was the world-famous Azerbaijani artist and her mother Elmira Huseynova was a sculptor. Asmar Narimanbayova creates her works in different styles, from fauvism to impressionism, from postimpressionism to cubism and expressionism. Narimanbayova is distinguished by her bold and engaging style of painting. Colors in her artworks fill the form with dynamics and saturate her canvas with strong energy. Narimanbayovas works are displayed in exhibitions, international festivals and symposiums all over the world. Togrul Narimanbayov was recognized as a supremely great painter. He was born on August 7 in 1930 to a respected family from the town of Shusha in Karabakh. Togruls father, Yagub Farman bey, was one of the students sent to study abroad by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1919. Yagub studied engineering in Toulouse, where he met and married Togruls mother, Irma, a young Frenchwoman from Gascony. Togrul Narimanbayov studied at the Azim Azimzade School of Art in Baku, then at the Lithuanian Higher School of Art in Vilnius where he described the education as global in content. The first painting "Dawn over the Caspian", created in 1957, and presented at the exhibition in Moscow, made him famous. The painting fascinated art lovers with an unconventional approach to the topic of work, a romantic uplift, distinctive individual pictorial language, sincerity and intimacy of the captured images. His triumph continued at exhibitions abroad. The "Dawn over the Caspian" followed by other works, including "All the farther into the sea," "Overpass," "Stronger than the storm". The master of brush gained worldwide fame for his works in all genres of fine arts. His bright works created in various fields such as landscapes, portraits, monumental paintings, illustrations and theater painting are characterized by genre diversity, aesthetic perfection and a unique style. Togrul Narimanbayov loved to paint very large canvases and murals, some of which can be seen at the State Puppet Theatre and Parliament in Baku. He also designed sets for ballets by Azerbaijani composers and did a magnificent set of illustrations for a 1988 edition of the Turkic epic The Book of Dada Qorqud. Togrul Narimanbayov synthesized East and West in his works, combining the decorativeness of eastern miniatures with the intellectuality of western art. He always admired French Romanticism, while his favorite artists were Eugene Delacroix and Gustave Courbet. Cezannism also played an important role in his artistic career. However, the rich traditions of Azerbaijani art played an important role in Narimanbayovs paintings, which are defined by their vibrant color, bold brushstrokes and impasto. One can describe his drawings as a fairy tale, inviting one to a far away wonderland. Despite the pressures on Soviet artists to conform to Socialist Realism, he remained true to his own expressive, emotional style. The leitmotif of the works of Togrul Narimanbayov was his great love for his native country. With special tenderness and trembling he drew the Old City, the Maiden Tower, minarets of ancient mosques. The rich traditions of Azerbaijani art, samples of antique miniatures and carpet weaving played a great role in the development of Togrul Narimanbayov, as a great master. People of creative work, poets, writers, artists, creators of Azerbaijans culture are subjects of Narimanbayovs portraits. Externally simple and unpretentious, they are full of inspiration, desire and ability to create. The activity of Togrul Narimanbayov has affected formation of artistic and aesthetic vision of several artists generation. Being a wonderful school for young artists with a rich heritage, he played an important role in the formation of their professionalism. One of the biggest achievements of the artist is his contribution to the creation of Azerbaijani classical painting, helping the country to define its cultural identity and originality. Togrul Narimanbayov received many awards throughout his life. He became a Peoples Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR in 1967 and received the state prizes of the Azerbaijan SSR and USSR. National Leader Heydar Aliyev conferred on him the Azerbaijan Republics Order of Independence (Istiglal) in 2000, and President Ilham Aliyev the Order of Honor (Sharaf) in 2010. The prominent artist died in 2013 at the age of 83 in Paris, leaving behind an astounding long legacy in contemporary art. The artist's daughter, Asmar Narimanbayova, also devoted herself to the art. Her works are featured in many prestigious galleries and museums not only in Azerbaijan, but also in the U.S., France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Finland, and China. Narimanbayovas works are stunning with a riot of colors, and interesting imagination of the world. They are distinguished by a particular expression. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova The first Autism Culture Festival of children with autism spectrum disorder has been held in the Heydar Aliyev Center. Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva attended the event. The festival was co-organized by "Happy Future of Children" and "Together and Healthy" public unions, "Umid Var" charitable society with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. At the festival, children with autism demonstrated their talents in various fields of art by playing pianos and singing, sending the message "We are an integral part of society." Honored artist Tunzala Aghayeva and others also took part in the festival. Speaking at the event, the chairman of the "Together and Healthy" public union Ayten Eynalova informed about the autism disorders and the work carried out in the country in this direction. The children also showcased their skills as models on the podium. They showcased a collection of fabric, which reflected the paintings of Leyla Aliyeva. The collection by fashion designer Zemfira Musayeva was demonstrated by 10 children from "Together and Healthy". Children with autism from Turkey also joined the festivity. The Izmir Autism Orchestra (IZOT) performed at the festival. All conditions were created for children with autism. In addition, with the participation of actors of the State Theater of Pantomime and a number of well-known public figures, a flash mob on the topic "Autism: the other and one of us" was also presented. The festival, which is important in terms of the socialization of children with autism and their integration into society, had an educational nature. During the event, various short films, a social video, a clip were presented, and booklets were distributed to the festival participants. Azerbaijan pays great attention to children with autism. Founded in 2016, Green Light Autism Center provides help to children with autism and their families in the country. The Center's activity is aimed at medical and social assistance to people with autism spectrum, genetic syndromes, and psychoverbal development disorders. The main goal of the Center is to improve the physical and psychological state of children through sport. In 2012, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation joined with UNICEF and the Autism Center to make Baku part of the global "Light it Up Blue" campaign to raise awareness of the challenges faced by children and adults with autism. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Laman Ismayilova The 1st Caspian Etude International Competition for Young Pianists was solemnly opened in Baku on June 1. A press conference was held ahead of the competition, Trend Life reported. The jury members including, professor of the Joaquin Rodrigo Conservatory in Valeria (Spain) Marisa Blanes, People's Artist of Azerbaijan, pianist Murad Huseynov (jury chairman), concertmaster of the Sveshnikov State Academic Russian Choir Nikita Volov (Russia), famous pianist Marco Frei (Germany), as well as chairman of the Organizing Committee Gulnara Safarova, head of the Information and Public Relations Department Parvin Muradzade attended the press conference. In her speech, Gulnara Safarova noted that the opening ceremony of Caspian Etude International Competition took place on the International Children's Day. "The main goals of Caspian Etude International Competition for Young Pianists are to identify talented children, provide them with an opportunity for development, as well as promote the works of Azerbaijani composers. The competition will feature concerts, master classes will be organized. Young talents from Azerbaijan, China, Israel and Ukraine will take part in the competition," she emphasized. In turn, Murad Huseynov noted that the idea to hold the International Competition for Young Pianists is a great initiative. "About 90 young pianists are participating in the competition, and this is a great opportunity for them to demonstrate their skills and gain new experience. I wish all the contestants good luck," the jury chairman said. "I wish everyone good luck and I want to tell the participants not to think about the competition, but to enjoy playing the musical compositions," said Volov. Marisa Blanes expressed her gratitude to contest organizers for holding such an event. "It is incredibly pleasant to see so many talented children - participants of the competition," she added. "It is a great honor for me to be here today. I want to appeal to the contestants: do not be upset if something does not work out, this should not diminish your love for music, and you must continue on the path you have chosen," said Marco Frey. Then the 1st Caspian Etude International Competition for Young Pianists welcomed its guests. Addressing the opening ceremony, head of the Baku City Main Culture Department Jalil Malikov noted that the competition is held to promote the artistic heritage of Azerbaijani composers, popularize national music, identify and support young talented musicians, exchange experiences and innovative ideas of leading teachers, and expand and strengthen cultural ties between participants from different countries. The competition is held for participants up to 16 years in four age categories. Then, there was an audition of the first group of contestants. The jury members evaluated each performance. The competition program included several works, among which there were music pieces of the national composers. A concert program with the participation of the jury members will be presented to the audience on June 3, at 19:00. On June 4, the contestants will take part in master classes by famous pianists. The results of the competition will be announced on the same day at 14:00. The winners will be awarded at the closing ceremony. The organizers of the competition hope that the 1st Caspian Etude International Competition for Young Pianists in Baku will unite talented young musicians and help discover new bright stars who will enrich the treasury of cultural achievements of Azerbaijan and of the participating countries with their work. Media partners of the event are Azernews.az, Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson, in accordance with its mandate, plans to conduct the next ceasefire monitoring on the line of contact on June 4 in the territory of the Khojavand district, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, his field assistants Ognjen Jovic and Simon Tiller will carry out the monitoring on the territory of Azerbaijan. The Personal Representative's field assistants Mihail Olaru and Martin Schuster will carry out the monitoring on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan occupied and controlled by the armed forces of Armenia. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The killing of Agil Omarov, an officer of the Azerbaijani army, while the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs were in the region, was planned for the purpose of provocation, Sahiba Gafarova, Azerbaijani MP from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, told Trend. She added that by making such provocations, the Armenian side wants to exacerbate the situation on the frontline, hinder the negotiation process, and preserve the existing status quo of the ongoing conflict which has lasted for more than 25 years. Gafarova stressed that the invader country Armenia is not interested in the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Armenias statements on holding peace talks, respecting the cease-fire and the like, are aimed at misleading the international community. In reality, the Armenian side is trying in every way to disrupt the negotiation process. "If Nikol Pashinyan continues to repeat the mistakes that his predecessors made, then this will lead to serious problems," she said. Gafarova stated that the international community should condemn this provocation of Armenia, and put serious pressure on the country to change the status quo. The press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry stated that on the morning of May 30, during the OSCE Minsk Group's visit to Azerbaijan, Armenian Armed Forces once again violated the ceasefire regime. An officer of Azerbaijani army, Agil Omarov was killed by an Armenian sniper on the same day. 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 Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Azerbaijani MP Sahiba Gafarova will visit the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, on June 4-6, to attend a meeting of the PACE Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination, Trend reports on June 3. On June 6, Gafarova will travel to Paris, where she will speak at a scientific conference dedicated to the history of womens movement and the prospects of further implementation of womens rights in connection with 100th anniversary of the granting of electoral rights to women in Azerbaijan. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) is fundamental for development of the gas market in Bulgaria, Teodora Georgieva, executive director of the ICGB project company, said in an interview with Trend. I am very excited that we had the chance to organize the start of the construction works at that place just a few meters away from the IGB route. I would not exaggerate if I say this is a historical moment with great importance for the gas market in Bulgaria, the region and whole Europe. Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria is fundamental for the development of the gas market in Bulgaria, she said. Georgieva noted that this project is a game changer and it is first one that will actually lead to the real diversification of natural gas supply sources which has been waited for years. Bulgaria and its neighboring countries will have access to alternative Caspian supplies and LNG from different sources, she added. We have successfully overcome many challenges and difficult moments until reaching the construction phase and be at IGB groundbreaking ceremony. For the strategic importance of the project speaks the support we received from so many stakeholders and they were with us at the ceremony. I would like to mention just a few of our guests - Bulgarian Prime Minister, Greek Prime Minister, European Commission, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Energy Ministers of Greece and Bulgaria, Regulators, Ambassadors, Representatives of Socar, TSOs and many more. All guests who attended the IGB groundbreaking ceremony demonstrated the great support with their presence and once again confirmed the importance of the project. However, we still have a long way to go and hard work ahead, said the executive director. The groundbreaking ceremony for IGB was held in Kirkovo, Bulgaria May 22 this year. IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to TAP via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets. The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas. Other parts of the interview are available through the following links: Executive director: IGB to require over 11,000 pipes (Exclusive) New tender coming for Interconnector Greece-Bulgarian in June: executive director (Exclusive) IGB can hold additional market test for assessing demand for expansion (Exclusive) Construction of IGB to start both in Bulgaria and Greece simultaneously (Exclusive) --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Trend The Asian Development Bank aims to contribute to increased exports in Turkmenistan, ADB Country Director in Turkmenistan, Ahmet Cevdet Denizer told Trend. "ADBs strategic focus remains on diversification of the export markets for the countrys vast energy resources while at the same time assisting the country in diversifying its economic base through transport infrastructure investments to improve market connectivity, and supporting private sector development, including small- and medium-sized enterprises. The latter effort is realised through a number of projects ranging from trunk railway modernization to SME finance. The aim is to contribute to increased exports by (i) transport services via reliable outbound infrastructure [neatly] fitting [in] East-West and North-South corridors, and (ii) manufactured products through greater access to finance for private sector agents engaging in higher value-added activities," he noted. Denizer believes that the emphasis on exports will support stability and growth in Turkmenistan. "The earning or saving of foreign exchange will naturally help alleviate foreign currency constraints that are typical in small open economies." He went on to add that in 20112018, ADB approved $625 million in total sovereign loans to Turkmenistan, which was fully committed by the government. "Since the start of operations in the country, cumulative disbursements to Turkmenistan for lending and grants financed by ordinary capital resources and special funds have amounted to $116.3 million." ADB began working with Turkmenistan in 2000, and has since been helping to diversify the countrys export markets and increase its regional connectivity. Given Turkmenistans vast energy resources and strategic location, ADB operations focus on enhancing the countrys transport and energy sectors, with infrastructure projects fostering regional cooperation. ADB has also provided expert advice to facilitate the long-term export of power to Afghanistan. In November 2018, ADB approved the country operations business plan, 20192021 for Turkmenistan. The committed lending program amounts to $150 million, with another $690 million for prospective projects to develop Turkmenistans transport and transit potential, promote the exporting of energy, and advance private sector operations. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz By Abdul Kerimkhanov Armenian citizens are unhappy with the policy pursued by the new Armenian authorities. These grievances result in protests taking place in the capital and other cities of Armenia. An anti-Western campaign of the movement called VETO took place in Yerevan on May 31. The protests were outside the Yerevan office of Open Society Foundations Armenia. Narek Malyan, civil activist and co-founder of VETO, is the action organizer. He came to the local office of the Soros Foundation, but police pushed him out. Then Malyan declared that he was starting a sit-in. Malyan noted that the Armenian citizens have the full right to block the office building of the Soros Foundation, just as other citizens had previously blocked the buildings of the courts at the call of the Armenian PM. The number of protestors was about hundred people. Representatives of the Armenian Communist Party joined the action. A lot of police arrived at the place of the event. A scuffle took place between civil activists and police officers, during which participants in the action were pushed aside from the foundation building. Malyan called double standards the fact that the police obstacled holding the protests. Earlier, Larisa Minasyan, the head of the Open Society Foundation Armenia, told the police that Narek Malyan is going to block the entrance to their office. Previously, Malyan and members of the Adequad public organization, held protests in front of the parliament building and the EU delegation in Armenia. Meanwhile, in 11 administrative districts of Yerevan and 12 other cities of Armenia, representatives of Adequad organization held a rally timed to the Prime Ministers birthday on June 1. During the action, the participants depicted the hashtag #SutNikol (Liar Nikol) on the asphalt and left similar inscriptions in other places. Police detained about 30 protesters. Over 80 activists took part in the protests. Arthur Danielyan, one of the event organizers, commenting on the polices detention of about 30 people said that Pashinyans false statements are not only related to the economy, demography, foreign policy, security, but also relate to domestic political potential. Another organizer Konstantin Ter-Nakalyan noted that the arrest of participants is political persecution. He added that the number of dissatisfied with the actions of the Armenian PM is constantly increasing, including the number of people ready for street fighting. The initiative and hashtag began on April 1, April Fool's Day. During the month, Adequad held several actions, which culminated in the detention of activists. Thus, Armenian opposition decided to mockingly congratulate Pashinyan on his birthday. These protests clearly show the wrong course of both external and internal policies of Yerevan. --- Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz IF YOU GO Amestoy's on the Hill "Final Final Call" Sunday, noon to 8 p.m. Amestoy's, 2303 River Blvd. Toes in the sand, drink in your hand: The Amestoy's parking lot will be filled 4 inches deep with beach sand to commemorate the last party at the local legacy bar in east Bakersfield. $10 per person/ 21 and older only Cannon Beach Sandcastle Fun on June 8: Oregon Coast Fave Returns Published 06/02/2019 at 5:53 PM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Cannon Beach, Oregon) One of the best loved events and traditions on the Oregon coast returns June 8, with the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest letting loose the sand sculptors to carve their momentary masterpieces at 9:30 a.m. (Photo above: Sandcastle Contest in the 1960s, photo courtesy Cannon Beach History Museum). Its the 55th year of the annual festival, which started way back in the 60s because of all things a tsunami. From those dark beginnings came one of the largest events on the entire Oregon coast, getting classified as an Oregon Heritage Tradition by the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department back in 2014, now one of only 22 events in that category in the state. Dozens of teams of professional sand sculpture artists, amateur groups and families will create marvels in the sand during the festival. The Masters division teams compete for cash prizes and construct large, elaborate creations often utilizing construction forms similar to those used for pouring concrete in order to accomplish their monumental size. While the main attraction happens all day on Saturday, June 8, its really a two-day affair with plenty going on Sunday as well. A pancake breakfast kicks things off on Saturday morning at the American Legion, giving way to the sandcastle contest on the beach near Haystack Rock at 9:30 a.m. Final judging begins at 2:30 p.m, making 1-3 p.m. the best time for viewing completed sculptures. Tides will determine how long the sculptures stick around. On Saturday night, look for live music starting at 7 p.m. and a beach bonfire with smores at 8 p.m. On Sunday morning, participants can enjoy the Singing Sands 5K fun run and walk starting at 9 a.m. on the beach at 2nd Street. (Registration starts at 8 a.m.) Make reservations soon for this popular weekend as hotels typically sell out all rooms in advance, said Cannon Beach Chamber spokesman Chris Olson. Day-trippers should plan on arriving early. The Sandcastle Contest is the only day of the year when the beach is used for parking to accommodate the large crowds, but cars must be off the beach by 3 p.m. to avoid potential issues with the incoming tide. According to local newspaper clippings, the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest has changed names more than once over the decades, with earlier references showing it as Cannon Beach Sandcastle Day Festival. It all began in 1964, not long after a tsunami washed out the bridge between the town and Highway 101. An earthquake in Alaska caused that destructive wave, which wrecked parts of Seaside, other parts of the Oregon coast, and killed four children down in the Newport area. The lack of a bridge left Cannon Beach locals a little stir crazy for awhile, but even once it was rebuilt, residents found the tourists werent coming back. By early summer of 1964, Cannon Beach held the first Sandcastle Day Festival to help get them to return to town. The very first sandcastle event was low-key and a kind of an experiment, but one of a few tricks they tried in that respect. In 1965, the second contest was much more widely publicized and more successful, and the rest is tourism history. For more information on the Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest weekend, contact the Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce at (503) 436-2623 or visit cannonbeach.org/events-and-festivals/sandcastle-contest/ - Hotels in Cannon Beach - Where to eat - Cannon Beach Maps and Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted Summer of Adventures Planned for N. Oregon Coast's Tillamook County Published 06/01/2019 at 5:53 AM PDT By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff (Manzanita, Oregon) The north Oregon coast is filled with outdoor adventures this summer, much of it thanks to the group Friends of Cape Falcon Reserve (FCFR) out of Manzanita. The group celebrates the fact the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve is now officially three years old via a host of wet and wild events in the greens and on the beaches of Tillamook County. Together with community and regional partners, the FCFR is looking to spread the word on what this amazing area of the north Oregon coast means ecologically and to tourism. Along with our many partners, we are offering a wide variety of events this summer, including hikes, lectures, and many volunteer opportunities, the group said in a recent press release. All of our programs are designed to give everyone the tools they need to help us protect and preserve this North Coast treasure by becoming its stewards. We look forward to seeing you along the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve this spring. To kick off summer, the fun begins in Cannon Beach on June 8. There, the presentation is Oregon's Seabirds: Talk & Monitoring Training. It's that time of year to begin the important work of monitoring the feathered coastal neighbors. The presentation helps you learn about the three cormorant species that nest on the north coast and how to join efforts to study them. No experience or knowledge is necessary. After training is completed, those interested will continue meeting throughout the summer to count nests, eggs and babies on cliffs and rocks in the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve. The FCFR warns that June 8 is also the annual Sandcastle Weekend in Cannon Beach. Due to large amounts of vehicles in town, several parking spaces will be reserved for monitoring training participants in front of city hall. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Cannon Beach City Hall. 163 E Gower Ave. Also on June 8, but farther down the Oregon coast, in Nehalem its a film screening and discussion of "Albatross. " A film by artist Chris Jordan, it is a powerfully moving story about birds on Midway Island in the Pacific whose bodies are filled with ocean plastic. This award-winning 97 minute film is offered as a free public artwork. The film will be followed by a panel discussion on ocean plastic pollution. The group asks that you arrive early: the film will start promptly at 7 p.m. North County Recreation District. 36155 9th St. Nehalem. July 6 brings the Neahkahnie Beach Walk & BioBlitz in Manzanita. This get-together catalogs the life of the Cape Falcon Marine Reserve tidepools, where you learn about the value of interconnected conservation corridors spanning mountain peaks to coastal waters. A BioBlitz is an intensive survey of a defined area on a single day with the goal of identifying all the species. It is a snapshot of biodiversity. This Explore Nature Tillamook Coast event is co-hosted by the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve, Lower Nehalem Community Trust, and Lower Nehalem Watershed Council. 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Registration is required. On July 20, its the Cape Falcon Whale Hike. Join Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve and the American Cetacean Society for a hike along the Cape Falcon Trail in Oswald West State Park, located between Manzanita and Cannon Beach. Enjoy stunning views of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve while learning about the Oregon coast gray whale migration and the importance of marine reserves to healthy marine mammal populations. Registration is required at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cape-falcon-whale-hike-tickets-62288023154. This happens 9 am - 12 pm in Oswald West State Park. Friday, August 2 brings the Seabird Science Hike to a particularly wild part of the Oregon coast. Enjoy an easy one-mile hike down to Devil's Cauldron, Audubon's seabird monitoring site, to view nesting cormorants. This stretch of coastline is brimming with energy and life. Nesting seabirds, wind swept landscapes, migrating whales, gliding pelicans, and ancient forests are all part of the story of this magical place. The hike will continue on through a coastal meadow and various forest environments before heading back to the starting location. This free family friendly event is co-hosted by the Friends of Cape Falcon Marine Reserve and Portland Audubon. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Oswald West State Park. Registration is required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seabird-science-hike-tickets-62288909806 There are even more events to check out at the Explore Nature Tillamook Coast website. Hotels in Manzanita, Wheeler - Where to eat - Manzanita, Wheeler Maps and Virtual Tours More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging..... More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining..... Coastal Spotlight LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles Back to Oregon Coast Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted When you listen to 65-year-old Cora Wooten talk about fishing, you learn quickly that it's one of her favorite hobbies one that was passed down through the women in her family. "That's what we were raised on," she said. "We'd go down in the evening time with my grandmother, my mama and us kids. My mama and my grandma would sit there and fish, go home, they'd clean them and that would be our supper." At that time she was scared of the water and baiting her own line. But her love for fishing took over and after years of watching her husband put the night crawlers on her hook, she decided she needed to be able to put it on herself. "When he stopped baiting my hook, I'd take a towel and beat them until I finally made up my mind to touch them with my hand," she said. "But they're still gross. If they wiggle too much, I'll throw them back." She doesn't get to go out on the water as much any more, in part because of her age. But she and her 35-year-old daughter, Meka Wooten, who also looks fondly on a childhood spent reeling fish in, took Saturday's Free Fishing Day from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as an opportunity to revisit their love. "The water does something for me," she said, the croaking of frogs and slight breeze putting her mind at ease. "I could think a thousand things out on the water, but they're all pleasant." Saturday's trip to a pond stocked with fish near the Neches River Salt Water Barrier didn't send the two women home with any fish or net any large catches. But Cora was careful to follow her mother's advice regardless: If the first two or three fish you catch are small, don't throw them back in the water. It's bad luck. Instead, put some water on them and only throw them back when you get a big fish or when you're ready to leave for the day. "I don't know if she was telling the truth or not because they had all them sayings, but I still do it," she said. "Do it mom's way." Saturday's outing also sent Karen and Dwayne Wright home without any catches to boast of, but they were happy with the opportunity to stretch their legs and spend time outside when rain ruined their plans to go out-of-state for the weekend. "We haven't been out here fishing as much anymore, but it was free fishing weekend," Dwayne said. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department allows Texas anglers to fish without a license on the first Saturday in June of every year. The rest of the year, fishers can get a license online at txfgsales-.com , in the department's offices and at more than 1,500 retailers statewide. Kaitlin Bain is the Government Reporter for the Beaumont Enterprise. Contact her at Kaitlin.Bain@BeaumontEnterprise.com or on Twitter by clicking here. Kirbyville CISD administrator Georgia Sayers takes over as superintendent today, but her controversial predecessor will remain on the payroll through year's end. Tommy Wallis, whose tenure was marked by concerns over his actions in a previous job and a lawsuit over his role in the suicide of a Kirbyville High School principal, will serve as "superintendent emeritus" but release the district from the final six months of his original contract. School Board President Chad George alluded to "turmoil" in the district when explaining Sayers' selection. "We are not looking for a superintendent at this time," George said. "She has been employed by the district for a while now and knows the position. We are looking to make the smoothest transition possible. We've had enough turmoil for the last couple of years." Despite announcing his retirement last month, Wallis will remain employed through Dec. 31 in the position of superintendent emeritus, according to a recently negotiated contract between Wallis and the district. The document, requested May 17 by The Enterprise, was not released until Friday. State law gives public entities up to 10 business days to release information if they need time to track it down. The contract is dated May 15. George was asked why the document wasn't released in a more timely manner. "The first seven days," he said, "Wallis had a revocation period where he could revoke and back out of the agreement. Beyond that, there really wasn't a reason. It was in his hands to release it, and he did not." Wallis declined to elaborate when asked by The Enterprise about his plans. "I am retiring and the rest is personal," he said. "It's nobody's business." The public implications total $75,467.50, which is the amount Wallis will be paid under the deal reached with Kirbyville schools. The Texas Education Agency reports $152,595 as his base pay for the 2018-19 school year. Sayers will be awarded a "small stipend" above her current salary, George said. Wallis' deal with the district also says that KCISD lawyers will continue to represent him in any necessary legal actions through the remainder of his contract. Wallis and 12 others are defendants in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed two months ago by the family of Dennis Reeves, a Kirby-ville High principal who shot himself in the school parking lot two years ago less than an hour after he was confronted by Wallis and Sayers about an alleged affair with a district employee. Wallis had recently been hired in Kirbyville, six months after he was forced to resign from Bryan ISD. Documents subsequently released there show he was accused of creating "an intimidating, hostile and offensive work environment" and forcing employees to "work under distress." awhitney@jaspernewsboy.com Courtesy of MaggieFitz Photography Is the container of CBD oil half-full or half-empty? Texans may be asking themselves that strange question after the just-ended legislative session. Lawmakers made some improvements to the states limited program for medical cannabis, and they did legalize some hemp-derived products. But the changes, as welcome as they were, are far behind those in most other states. Even many of the conservative Republicans who control state politics signaled they were open to broader reforms. But by the time the closing gavel banged down, the more ambitious bills had failed to come up for their final votes. Texans who want marijuana or CBD oil for medical purposes will just have to get by with these half-steps and hope that lawmakers can do better in two years, when the Legislature convenes again. Is there a more puzzling public figure than special counsel Robert Mueller? If there is, I dont want to know about him or her. My brain couldnt take it, and yours probably couldnt either. Though he never said a word publicly before last week, Mueller has been perceived in ways that are all over the political map. He started off in the eyes of Democrats as the savior who would finally expose President Donald Trumps treachery about collusion with Russia. Then he didnt. While undertaking that review of Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign, he was labeled by Trump and many Republicans as a vindictive witch-hunter who should be stonewalled and maybe even fired. Then Mueller finally delivered his famous report, which sorta cleared the president, and those same Republicans praised his integrity and thoroughness. Democrats wailed and gnashed their teeth. As a parting shot, last week Mueller delivered a murky, 9-minute public statement about his report. Neither the report nor the statement cleared Trump of any wrongdoing in the campaign but they didnt exactly point the finger him, either. Both political parties looked at this national Rorschach test and promptly interpreted it differently: Democrats said Mueller had laid out a road map to impeachment for obstruction of justice, while Republicans said theres no there there. Mueller and Attorney General William Barr tossed around ambiguous legal phrases filled with double negatives and dangling clauses. Like modern art, their words could be interpreted in various ways, though most of us were simply confused. For the cherry on the sundae, Mueller said he wouldnt say anything more before Congress because hed just said everything worth saying even if most people couldnt decipher what hed actually said. So there we are. The biggest corruption investigation since Watergate ends with a fizzle. Trumps conduct during the Mueller investigation looked like textbook obstruction, but the president may have been saved by aides who wouldnt do the illegal things he ordered them to do like lie to Mueller or even fire him. Even so, Mueller listed 10 ways in his report which Trump still might have obstructed justice. Yet the report itself suggested again, with more confusion that some of those 10 items were borderline violations, or no violations at all. If the others were violations, Mueller couldnt indict a sitting president because of Justice Department policies. He suggested though again, never came out and said it directly that Democrats in the House could follow up on the possible violations with impeachment. Thats one option, but thats not how this investigation should end (if this is the ending) with rampant confusion and vastly different interpretations by Democrats and Republicans. This is precisely why Mueller should testify before Congress in open session to flesh out his report and explain the nuances in ways that dry words on a page cant. But he closed that door ironically, his most definitive action in this ordeal. Maybe history will sort this out eventually, but voters deserve some clarity going into the 2020 elections. Mueller should have understood his responsibility here and spoken out. The American people need to hear from the special counsel himself the real story of his investigation into what Trump and the Trump campaign did in 2016, in plain English. To use Muellers own scrupulous legal reasoning, nothing compelled him to do that, but nothing prohibited it either. A sharp lawyer like Mueller should have been able to figure that out. Thomas Taschinger, TTaschinger@BeaumontEnterprise.com, is the editorial page editor of The Beaumont Enterprise. Follow him at Twitter.com/@PoliticalTom Stillwater (Okla.) Medical Center is drafting plans to expand Stillwater Surgery Center West, the Stillwater News Press reports. What you should know: 1. The hospital is still developing plans for the expansion. 2. Hospital administrators and architects are determining space allocation and equipment needs. 3. The surgery center expansion is one of seven different construction projects at Stillwater Medical Center. Becker's Healthcare is proud to recognize 71 community hospital CIOs in 2019. Sponsored by: Allscripts is an industry leader with more than 30 years experience in enabling smarter care, delivered with greater precision for healthier patients, populations and communities. Its health IT solutions help optimize clinical, financial and operational efficiencies for organizations across the globe. Helping connect people, places and data, Allscripts empowers caregivers to make better decisions and deliver better care for healthier populations. Hospitals and health systems rely on CIOs and IT department leaders to develop long-term technology strategy and oversee EMR implementation, as well as support telehealth, data-gathering and cybersecurity initiatives. Those who lead community hospital and health system IT departments encounter unique challenges in connecting staff members at many locations and providing access to care for rural Americans with limited resources. The individuals featured on this list hold CIO or senior health IT positions at their institutions. In some instances, leaders at health systems listed provide IT oversight for individual community hospitals within their system. The following professionals are set apart by outstanding recognition they've earned and exciting new projects they're piloting. Many on this list are members of the Health Information Management Systems Society, and their workplace has earned CHIME's Health Care's Most Wired designation (formerly a Hospitals & Health Networks property). Note: The Becker's editorial team solicited nominations and conducted internal research to develop this list. Individuals and organizations represented did not pay and cannot pay for inclusion. Profiles are listed in alphabetical order. If you have any questions or comments for this list, please contact Laura Dyrda at ldyrda@beckershealthcare.com. Sallie Arnett. Vice President of Information Systems at Licking Memorial Health Systems (Newark, Ohio). Ms. Arnett has 20 years of experience as a healthcare CIO. During her tenure at Licking Memorial Health Systems, the system's flagship facility, Licking Memorial Hospital, reached stage 6 on the HIMSS EMR Adoption Model and was named a CHIME Most Wired facility. Ms. Arnett is a CHIME-certified healthcare CIO and a member of the Imprivata Customer Advisory Board. Harlan Baker. CIO and Leader of Information Systems of McDonough District Hospital (Macomb, Ill.). Mr. Baker has worked in McDonough District Hospital's information systems department since 1990. He spearheaded the hospital's transition to an integrated EHR system. In 2017, the hospital earned the HealthCare's Most Wired recognition among rural and small providers. Pam Banchy, RN. CIO and Vice President of Clinical Informatics and Transformation at Western Reserve Hospital (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio). Ms. Banchy has 35 years of healthcare experience, 25 of which have been in the IT arena. During her tenure as Western Reserve Hospital's CIO, the hospital received the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction three years in a row. Prior to her current role, she was system director of clinical information systems for Summa Health in Akron, Ohio. Joel Benware. Vice President and Chief Information, Innovation and Compliance Officer at Northwestern Medical Center (St. Albans, Vt.). Mr. Benware has served as vice president and chief information, innovation and compliance officer at Northwestern Medical Center for the last six years. A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, he has prior experience as CIO at another community hospital and at the Albany (N.Y.) College of Pharmacy. Northwestern Medical Center earned the HealthCare's Most Wired hospital in 2017. Bill Bollinger. CIO of Carroll County Memorial Hospital (Carrollton, Mo.). Mr. Bollinger has 39-plus years of IT and management experience, becoming the hospital's full-time CIO in 2016. Prior to that, he was an IT consultant and temporary CIO and helped the hospital convert to an EMR system in 2010. The hospital received the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2017, and it made medical information available to patients through Apple's iPhone health records app last year. Jim Boyer. Vice President of IT and CIO of Rush Memorial Hospital (Rushville, Ind.). Mr. Boyer has served as vice president of IT and CIO of Rush Memorial Hospital since 2002, overseeing IT implementation, interoperability and clinical informatics, among other areas. He has led two successful health information system/EMR conversion projects as CIO. The hospital has earned HIMSS Analytics stage 6 recognition, and in 2018, it received the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction for the sixth consecutive year. Ken Buechele. Vice President of IT at Bronson Healthcare (Kalamazoo, Mich.). As vice president of IT at the four-hospital Bronson Healthcare, Mr. Buechele is responsible for clinical technology systemwide. He was previously director of IT at Bronson, and he oversaw the implementation of the health system's EHR. In 2018, three of Bronson's hospitals were named among HealthCare's Most Wired. Angela Burgess. CIO of Randolph Health (Asheboro, N.C.). Ms. Burgess has served as CIO of Randolph Health since 2008, and she is a member of HIMSS and CHIME. During her tenure, the hospital implemented a single sign-on solution that enables employees to enter one password to sign into multiple systems and applications. The hospital also achieved HIMSS stage 6 recognition during Ms. Burgess' time as CIO. Paul Butler. CIO of Antelope Valley Hospital (Lancaster, Calif.). Mr. Butler has served in his current role as Antelope Valley Hospital CIO since February 2017. He has expertise in a wide array of IT operations, including EMR deployment and developing health IT infrastructure. With 20-plus years of health IT experience, Mr. Butler has worked for several prominent organizations, including Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente and Medtronic. Bart Butzine. CIO of Community Hospital (Grand Junction, Colo.). Since 2015, Mr. Butzine has served as the CIO of Community Hospital, a 60-bed facility that recorded about 7,700 inpatient days in 2018. Prior to joining Community Hospital, Mr. Butzine spent eight years as the IT director of customer relations at Phoenix-based Banner Health, a 28-hospital nonprofit health system. Phil Campbell. Vice President of Information Services and CIO of CalvertHealth (Prince Frederick, Md.). Since 2016, Mr. Campbell has been the vice president of information services and CIO of CalvertHealth, one of only 10 independent hospitals left in Maryland. Prior to joining CalvertHealth, Mr. Campbell held various roles for the Annapolis, Md.-based U.S. Naval Academy, the most recent being deputy director for client services for the academy's IT services division. Scott Carlson. Director of Information Systems at Mary Greeley Medical Center (Ames, Iowa). For the past 33 years, Mr. Carlson has served as the director of information systems at Mary Greeley Medical Center, a 220-bed hospital with about 1,300 employees. Under Mr. Carlson's leadership, Mary Greeley Medical Center received the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2017 for the fourth consecutive year. Joseph Dado. CIO of Conemaugh Health System (Johnstown, Pa.). Mr. Dado joined Conemaugh Health System in 2005 and today serves as the CIO of the Brentwood, Tenn.-based Duke LifePoint Healthcare-owned system. Prior to joining Conemaugh Health System, Mr. Dado served as CIO for Greensburg, Pa.-based Excela Health System, CIO of Excela Health Latrobe (Pa.) Hospital, and vice president of information systems for Butler (Pa.) Health System. He is a member of HIMSS and CHIME. David Danhauer, MD. Vice President and Chief Medical Information Officer of Owensboro (Ky.) Health. Dr. Danhauer is vice president and CMIO of nonprofit Owensboro Health, a system staffed by roughly 4,000 employees who serve patients in Kentucky and Indiana. In 2016, Dr. Danhauer was named chair of the physician committee for HIMSS, and during his year at the post he led initiatives to improve healthcare on a national level through IT. Tracy Donegan. Chief Information and Innovation Officer of Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital (Los Angeles). Ms. Donegan has 20-plus years of healthcare experience and previously served as assistant vice president of Cognizant's healthcare provider consulting practice. As chief information and innovation officer at MLKCH, she drives technological advancements and led the hospital to achieving HIMSS stage 7 validation for EHR use. Jake Dorst. Chief Information and Innovation Officer at Tahoe Forest Health System (Truckee, Calif.). Mr. Dorst is the chief information and innovation officer at Tahoe Forest Health System, which houses 25 acute care beds and 36 long-term care beds. Under Mr. Dorst's leadership, Tahoe Forest Health System successfully transitioned to a single EHR platform and modernized its patient care infrastructure to become a mobile-first network. Craig Doyle. Vice President and CIO of St. Tammany Parish Hospital (Covington, La.). Since 2012, Mr. Doyle has led IT operations as the director of information systems for St. Tammany Parish Hospital, where he also holds the role of vice president. Prior to his current position, Mr. Doyle was the division CIO for Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare's Delta Division and is also a member of HIMSS. Vishnu Duvuuru. Regional IT Director of Alvarado Hospital Medical Center (San Diego). Mr. Duvuuru is the regional IT director of 306-bed Alvarado Hospital Medical Center, which staffs more than 600 registered nurses and 300 physicians. In October 2018, Alvarado Hospital, which is owned by Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare, deployed a physician-driven digital software to increase surgical procedure efficiency with real-time data and analytics. Bill Grimm. CIO and HIPAA Security Officer at Henry County Hospital (Napoleon, Ohio). Mr. Grimm is the CIO and HIPAA security officer at Henry County Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Ohio. Before joining Henry County Hospital, Mr. Grimm began his career in information systems as a help desk analyst and later spent time as the information systems and patient access director and HIPAA security officer at a Marengo, Iowa-based critical access hospital. Kristen Guillaume. Vice President and CIO of Meritas Health North Kansas City (Mo.) Hospital. Ms. Guillaume joined Meritas Health North Kansas City Hospital as vice president and CIO in September 2018, bringing more than 20 years of information services and healthcare technology experience to the role. Prior to joining North Kansas City Hospital, she held several leadership roles at Cerner and health IT company Netsmart. John D. Helvey. CIO of Orchard Hospital (Gridley, Calif.). Mr. Helvey joined Orchard Hospital in 2014 as its director of IT and took on the CIO role in 2016. Mr. Helvey, who serves as the board secretary for his region's health information exchange, has 24 years of experience in the healthcare industry and served in the behavioral healthcare industry for 17 years before transitioning to Orchard. Kathleen Herald. Vice President and CIO of Lexington Medical Center (West Columbia, S.C.). Ms. Herald has served as CIO of Lexington Medical Center since 2011 and oversaw the hospital's EHR implementation in 2013. She also earned CHIME's Certified Healthcare CIO accreditation in 2014 and is a past president of the South Carolina Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society chapter. Tricia Herman. Executive Director of Support Operations and CIO of Uniontown (Pa.) Hospital. Ms. Herman, who has more than 30 years of IT experience, joined Uniontown Hospital in 2004. She has served as CIO of the 175-bed hospital since 2013 and played a crucial role in developing its technology executive committee, which explores how technology can improve all areas of the organization. Ross Hurd. CIO of Lake Chelan (Wash.) Community Hospital. Mr. Hurd has served as CIO of Lake Chelan Community Hospital since 2006. He oversees the implementation of new technologies at the 25-bed hospital and seeks out partnerships with larger hospitals in the state to expand service offerings. For example, the hospital's telestroke program gives Lake Chelan clinicians real-time, 24/7 access to Seattle-based Swedish Medical Center's stroke team. Charles Fennell. Regional CIO of St. Peter's Health Partners (Albany, N.Y.) and CIO of St. Joseph's Health (Syracuse, N.Y.). Mr. Fennell has more than 30 years of experience in information systems. He stepped in as interim CIO of St. Peter's Health Partners in December 2015 before permanently taking over the position in April 2016. He also serves as CIO of Syracuse, N.Y.-based St. Joseph's Health, a position he has held since 2001. Stephanie Forbes, RN. Vice President of Population Health and CHA Clinics at Community Hospital of Anaconda (Mont.). Ms. Forbes oversees all health IT functions at Community Hospital of Anaconda and helped implement CHA's EHR system. She also focuses on improving the hospital's meaningful use reporting. Under her leadership, CHA reached stage 1 meaningful use in 2011. Stan Jankowski. Vice President, CIO and HIS Officer for Hospital for Special Care (New Britain, Conn.). Mr. Jankowski is responsible for the IT department at Hospital for Special Care, an acute-care hospital for both adults and children. The organization has integrated a single clinical information system platform for the acute and ambulatory care sides in the past three years and has optimized workflow for several specialty lines, including spinal cord injuries and pulmonary rehabilitation. Michael Jefferies. Vice President and CIO of Boulder (Colo.) Community Health. Mr. Jefferies focuses on implementing technology advancing provider capabilities and operational efficiencies at Boulder Community Health. Before joining the hospital in 2016, Mr. Jefferies was vice president of information systems at Longmont (Colo.) United Hospital. He holds a CHIME's certified healthcare CIO designation and is a HIMSS-certified professional in healthcare information and management systems. Eric Jimenez. Director of IT at Artesia (N.M.) General Hospital. When Mr. Jimenez joined Artesia General Hospital in 2014, his main priority was transitioning the hospital from three disparate EHR systems to one. He also implemented a comprehensive cybersecurity awareness program for all staff members, which has contributed to a 54 percent decrease in the number of phishing clicks. Scott Joslyn, PharmD. Senior Vice President and CIO of MemorialCare (Fountain Valley, Calif.). As senior vice president and CIO of MemorialCare, Dr. Joslyn leads a nearly 200-person team that manages the system's IT, networking and telecommunications. He is also overseeing the system's $100 million rollout of a new EHR, registration and billing system. Dr. Joslyn sits on the board of two local health information exchanges and is an active member of HIMSS and CHIME. Dan Hildebrand. Vice President of Information Systems and Plant Operations at Logansport (Ind.) Memorial Hospital. Mr. Hildebrand stepped into his role at Logansport Memorial Hospital in 2003. He is responsible for the development, oversight and support of the organization's technological and informational needs. Mr. Hildebrand's main focuses include information systems, telecommunications, cybersecurity, meaningful use initiatives and clinical engineering. Kris Keen. CIO of Cameron Memorial Community Hospital (Angola, Ind.). Mr. Keen stepped into the CIO role at Cameron Memorial in 2011. He has more than 16 years of experience in health IT, previously serving as IT manager at Highlands-Cashiers Hospital in Asheville, N.C., for four years. Mr. Keen is a member of HIMSS and the Association of Computing Machinery and sits on the Steuben County (Ind.) Fiber Network board of directors. Aaron Kramer. CIO of Adirondack Health (Saranac Lake, N.Y.). Mr. Kramer joined Adirondack Health as assistant vice president of information systems in 2015 before being promoted to CIO a year later. He previously held leadership positions at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh, N.Y., including IT director and manager. Mr. Kramer is also a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds CHIME's certified healthcare CIO designation. Richard D. Lang, EdD. Vice President and CIO of Doylestown (Pa.) Health. Dr. Lang oversees all information technology services at Doylestown Health, which has 232 beds and a medical staff of more than 435 physicians. Under his leadership, Doylestown Hospital earned the HealthCare's Most Wired designation seven times, most recently in 2018. Brennan Lehman. CIO of Mosaic Life Care (St. Joseph, Mo.). Mr. Lehman, who joined Mosaic Life Care in 2005 with more than a decade of health IT experience, is responsible for clinical technology solutions and helps ensure Mosaic Life Care's technology structure is cost-effective, reliable and able to support the operations side. In 2018, Mosaic Life Care earned the HealthCare's Most Wired designation. Gary Light. Vice President and CIO of Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center (Jasper, Ind.). Before joining Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center, Mr. Light, who has more than three decades of experience in technology, served as vice president and CIO of Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco, Texas. In addition to serving as Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center's vice president and CIO, Mr. Light is the founder and managing partner of HIT Advisory Group, which helps healthcare organizations navigate technical and regulatory issues in the HIT environment. Don Lindsey. Vice President and CIO of Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Healthcare. Mr. Lindsey oversees the strategic direction, mission and implementation of IT at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, a nonprofit health system that includes a 772-bed hospital and 32 affiliated physician practices. He is responsible for the hospitals technology activities and developed the vision for its outpatient and inpatient EMR systems. Todd MacConnell. County Information Technology Director of Wyoming County Community Health System (Warsaw, N.Y.). Mr. MacConnell has served as an IT director for more than 20 years, and he has extensive experience as a HIPAA information security director. Mr. MacConnell was named the director of IT for Wyoming County in 1997, and he assumed the role of county IT director at Wyoming County Community Health System, a publicly owned health system with more than 500 employees, in 2011. Dale E. Moyer. Vice President/Information Systems and CIO of Evangelical Community Hospital (Lewisburg, Pa.). Mr. Moyer joined Evangelical Community Hospital more than 35 years ago and was its director of information systems before being appointed vice president and CIO in 2011. He oversees technology strategy and growth and led the hospital's conversion to an EHR. Kyle Marek. Vice President and CIO of Carteret Health Care (Morehead City, N.C.). As vice president and CIO, Mr. Marek oversees the 135-bed nonprofit hospital's strategy to use new technology to make the hospital more efficient and improve clinical care. Under his leadership, Carteret Health Care earned the HealthCare's Most Wired designation in 2017. John Mangona. Vice President, Chief Information and Compliance Officer of Saratoga Hospital (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.). Mr. Mangona, who joined Saratoga Hospital in 1995, is involved in the Medical Users Software Exchange, the Health Care Compliance Association and the Health Information Exchange of New York. Saratoga Hospital, an affiliate of Albany (N.Y.) Medical Center, was recognized with the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2017 for the second consecutive year. Denni McColm. CIO of Citizens Memorial Healthcare (Bolivar, Mo.). Ms. McColm joined Citizens Memorial in 1988 and served as director of human resources and director of finance before moving into the CIO role in June 2003. Ms. McColm, who oversaw the rural healthcare network's EHR upgrade, was one of 25 experts the Government Accountability Office appointed to the Health Information Advisory Committee in 2017, and she also earned a spot on the National Advisory Board for the Health Record Banking Alliance. Nancy McDonnell. CIO of Illinois Valley Community Hospital (Peru). Ms. McDonnell joined the 49-bed hospital as CIO in 2008 and is responsible for its technology strategy. She was a key a decisionmaker in the hospital's EMR selection. In addition to serving as CIO, Ms. McDonnell is an adjunct professor at Purdue University Global and an adjunct faculty member at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, where she teaches computer science, applications, networking and programming courses. Michael Mistretta. Vice President and CIO of Virginia Hospital Center (Arlington). Mr. Mistretta joined Virginia Hospital Center as vice president and CIO in 2015 and has more than three decades of experience in the healthcare industry on both the payer and provider sides. Under the leadership of Mr. Mistretta, who has extensive experience with EHR implementations, software development and data center management, Virginia Hospital Center earned the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2017 for the second consecutive year. Deane Morrison. CIO of Concord (N.H.) Hospital. Mr. Morrison serves as CIO of Concord Hospital, a 295-bed facility with 2,705 full time employees that oversaw 20,873 admissions in fiscal year 2018. Mr. Morrison, a healthcare IT veteran with more than 25 years of experience, first joined Concord Hospital in 1976 and became CIO of Concord Hospital and Capital Regional Healthcare in 1996. He is also a member of HIMSS and CHIME. Deb Muro. CIO of El Camino Hospital (Mountain View, Calif.). Ms. Muro serves as the CIO of El Camino Hospital, a 443-bed, locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, Calif. Ms. Muro, who joined El Camino Hospital in 2014, led the installation and implementation of the hospital's EHR. She has held various healthcare IT management positions at UnityPoint Health in West Des Moines, Iowa, and Allina Health in Minneapolis. Today, she has more than 25 years of combined nursing, clinical and healthcare technology experience. In 2018, under her leadership, the hospital earned the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction. Brian Myszkowski. Interim Vice President and CIO of Indian River Memorial Hospital (Vero Beach, Fla.). Mr. Myszkowski became the CIO of Indian River Memorial Hospital, part of the Cleveland Clinic health system, in 2018. He has a background in building teams and processes to support business strategies as well as experience bridging the gap between IT and business. Mr. Myszkowski works hands-on with his team to develop the hospitals technology strategy and deliver results for top-line and bottom-line improvement. Emmanuel Ndow. CIO of Marion (Ind.) General Hospital. Mr. Ndow serves as CIO at Marion General Hospital, a role he assumed in 2015. Under his leadership, the hospital has successfully implemented several technology solutions, including ambulatory EHR systems, telehealth visits with school systems, cloud-hosted solutions and business analytics tools, among others. In 2014, Marion General Hospital achieved stage 6 on the HIMSS analytics EMR adoption model. Fredrick Peet. CIO of Yuma (Ariz.) Regional Medical Center. Mr. Peet serves as CIO of Yuma Regional Medical Center, a 406-bed hospital with 2,400 employees, including 400 medical practitioners. Mr. Peet became Yuma Regional's CIO in 2015. He previously served as YRMC's director of IT and has experience as an information security officer. Lee Powe. CIO of Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital (Elkin, N.C.). Mr. Powe is the CIO of Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital, an 84-year-old, nonprofit hospital that employs more than 700 people, including 70 physicians. Mr. Powe, a retired U.S. Air Force noncommissioned officer, has served in technology roles at HCMH for more than 13 years. Under his leadership, HCMH achieved meaningful use status for the past seven years and secured more than $5 million in incentive payments from CMS for EHR excellence. Mr. Powe was also recognized by HIMSS in 2017 and 2018 for achieving EHR adoption model stage 6 Sheila Puffenberger. Director of IT at Hillsdale (Mich.) Hospital. Ms. Puffenberger is the director of IT at Hillsdale Hospital, which has 47 acute care beds, 39 skilled nursing facility beds and a 10-bed unit for psychiatric care. Prior to joining Hillsdale Hospital as director of IT in 2013, Ms. Puffenberger served as director of IT for Coldwater, Mich.-based Community Health Center of Branch County for more than 11 years and manager of information systems at Three Rivers (Mich.) Health for more than two years. Bill Rieger. CIO of Flagler Hospital (Augustine, Fla.). Mr. Rieger oversees the IT operations for Flagler Hospital, a 335-bed hospital in Florida. The hospital initially implemented an EMR in 2005 and has been on the forefront of using health IT to improve the quality of care and patient experience. The hospital continues to move toward a completely paperless environment. Timothy Roberts. CIO of Yavapai Regional Medical Center (Prescott, Ariz.). Mr. Roberts serves as the CIO of Yavapai Regional Medical Center, a 75-year-old facility that cared for 11,513 inpatients in 2018. Mr. Roberts assumed the role of CIO in July 2015. Under Mr. Roberts' leadership, Yavapai Regional Medical Center received Health Care's Most Wired designation in 2018. Carol Roosa. Vice President of Ancillary Services and CIO of Heywood Hospital (Gardner, Mass.). Ms. Roosa joined the 134-bed Heywood Hospital as CIO in 2012, after serving as CIO at Monadnock Community Hospital in Peterborough, N.H. for several years. Under her leadership, Heywood Hospital is continuing its efforts to expand its EMR system throughout its network of facilities and providers. Ms. Roosa, who has more than 30 years of healthcare IT experience, is also a member of CHIME. Christopher Ryan. CIO of Auburn (N.Y.) Community Hospital. Mr. Ryan serves as CIO of Auburn Community Hospital, a 99-bed facility serving a population of about 80,000 residents. Under his leadership, the community hospital achieved HIMSS Analytics EHR adoption model stage 6, an indicator that an organization delivers high quality patient care with an interoperable EHR. Before joining Auburn Community Hospital as CIO in 2009, Mr. Ryan served as vice president of business development at Pervasive Solutions and IT manager at St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y. Derek Sailors. Director of Information Systems at Community Hospital (McCook, Neb.). Mr. Sailors serves as director of information systems for Community Hospital. He joined Community Hospital in 2008 as an information systems technical support coordinator and advanced in the organization before being promoted to director of information systems in February 2017. Richard Schaeffer. Vice President and CIO of St. Clair Hospital (Pittsburgh). Mr. Schaeffer is CIO of St. Clair Hospital, a 329-bed acute-care medical center with 600 physicians. He is responsible for establishing strategic IT direction of the hospital. Jody Siltzer. Executive Director of IT at Cheyenne (Wyo.) Regional Medical Center. Mr. Siltzer manages the information technology, telecommunications and biomedical electronics departments at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where he guided the implementation of its EHR. Under his leadership, the 222-bed hospital has become a five-time recipient of the HealthCare's Most Wired designation. Carl Smith. CIO of King's Daughters Medical Center (Brookhaven, Miss.). As CIO of King's Daughters Medical Center, Mr. Smith oversees all processes related to computing, mobility, telecommunications, networking, information security and technology adoption. Since Mr. Smith joined the organization as a data processing manager in 1994, the hospital has launched one of the region's first critical care telemedicine programs and overhauled its EHR to achieve stage 6 on the HIMSS EMR adoption model in 2017. LaVonne Smith. Information Systems Director at Tomah (Wis.) Memorial Hospital. Ms. Smith has led several technological advancements at Tomah Memorial Hospital, empowering patients to access their medical information online in early 2018 and playing a key role in implementing the hospital's new EHR in 2017. She oversaw almost two years of preparation for the $3 million EHR replacement process, which involved training more than 300 hospital staff members on the new system. Josef Spencer. CIO and Senior Vice President of Information Services at Wise Health System (Decatur, Texas). Mr. Spencer oversees the IT department for Wise Health System, which covers 11 counties in Texas and has more than 90 ambulatory locations. Mr. Spencer has previous experience as a site CIO for McKesson at Grand River Hospital, a 567-bed hospital in Canada, and CIO of the Medical University of Ohio in Toledo. He is a certified project management professional from the Project Management Institute and previously served as president of the organizations healthcare chapter. Brian Sterud. CIO of Faith Regional Health Services (Norfolk, Neb.). Mr. Sterud served as Brookings (S.D.) Health System's director of information management for four years before becoming Faith Regional Health Services' CIO in 2012. Leveraging his prior experience as a network analyst, data systems engineer and remote systems engineer and consultant, Mr. Sterud has helped Faith Regional Health Services achieve stage 6 on the HIMSS EMR adoption model and deploy a virtual health application to ensure patients' expectations are met. Jordan Tannenbaum, MD. Vice President, CIO and CMIO of Saint Peters Healthcare (New Brunswick, N.J.). Dr. Tannenbaum has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare, including a background in clinical informatics. In his current role as vice president, CIO and CMIO of Saint Peters Healthcare, Dr. Tannenbaum supervized an EMR implementation on the inpatient side as well as the installation of an artificial intelligence product designed to help identify patients at high risk for readmission and extended length of stay. He is also responsible for the systems technology operations and focuses on optimizing its EHR as well as internal communications and patient engagement technologies. Brian Tew. Vice President of Professional Services and CIO of Greater Hudson Valley Health System (Middletown, N.Y.). Before leading Greater Hudson Valley Health System's IT, communications, professional services and ancillary systems, Mr. Tew managed numerous departments as CIO and vice president of operations for Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H. Now, Mr. Tew oversees technology implementation for Greater Hudson Valley Health System Medical Group, Harris, N.Y.-based Catskill Regional Medical Center, and Middletown, N.Y.-based Orange Regional Medical Center, achieved both HIMSS stage 7 adoption model and the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2016. Grant Tillett. CIO of Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (Watertown, S.D.). Mr. Tillett was tasked with providing strategic oversight for Prairie Lakes Healthcare System's IT processes, including the EHR, when he joined the organization in 2015. To prepare for CMS' Merit-based Incentive Payment System reporting in 2018, Prairie Lakes merged the EHRs for its hospital and dermatology clinic and used a web-based portal to facilitate real-time data sharing for the other specialty clinics' claims data. Keith Van Camp. Vice President of IT at St. Dominic Hospital (Jackson, Miss.). As vice president of IT, Mr. Van Camp has successfully positioned St. Dominic Hospital at the center of a telestroke network, which was launched in 2012. He also expanded the hospital's telehealth platform to provide behavioral health services. Under Mr. Van Camp's leadership, St. Dominic Hospital became a HIMSS Stage 6 organization and earned the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2016. Kwi Vollhardt. Vice President of Information Systems at Knox Community Hospital (Mount Vernon, Ohio). Ms. Vollhardt oversaw the implementation of Knox Community Hospital's EHR and enterprise documentation management system in June 2012, a process that was part of a $21 million modernization project. With an MBA in her toolbelt, she has directed the hospital's computer-related processes since 2004. Mark Waind. CIO of Altru Health System (Grand Forks, N.D.). Mr. Waind was named CIO of Altru Health System in 2015, after a nine-year tenure as the organization's administrative director of information services. He became a Certified Professional in Health Information Management & Systems before leading Altru Health System to earn the HealthCare's Most Wired distinction in 2016 to 2018, as well as HIMSS Analytics stage 7 revalidation in 2018. Shawn Weldin. Director of IT at Sabetha Community Hospital (Kan.). In his 12th year serving as Sabetha Community Hospital's IT director, Mr. Weldin oversees all technology across its hospital, clinic and home health facilities. Mr. Weldin is president-elect and vice president of the HIMSS Kansas chapter's board of directors and was previously the organization's sponsorship co-chair. John Wilcox. Vice President, Information Technology of Morris (Ill.) Hospital & Healthcare Centers. Mr. Wilcox served as interim CIO for Washington, D.C.-based United Medical Center and CIO for West Plains, Mo.-based Ozarks Medical Center before he was installed as Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers' technology chief. He is tasked with planning and executing IT initiatives across the organization, which encompasses the 89-bed Morris Hospital, 1,300 employees and 200-plus physicians. Jason Yaworsky. Senior Vice President and CIO of Upper Allegheny Health System (Olean, N.Y.). Since becoming Upper Allegheny Health System's senior vice president and CIO in 2009, Mr. Yaworsky has led the organization's EHR implementation, computerized physicians' order entry, updated digital clinical imaging and created a patient portal. Under his direction, the system received the HealthCare's Most Wired designation for two years straight. Prior to guiding these achievements, Mr. Yaworsky was IT director at Olean (N.Y.) General Hospital. Quest Diagnostics is notifying 11.9 million patients of a data breach that happened at one of its billing collections vendors, according to The Wall Street Journal. Five things to know: 1. American Medical Collection Agency alerted Quest Diagnostics on May 14 of a data breach within the billing company's web payment system. Quest outsourced its billing operations to Optum360, which contracted AMCA. 2. The data breach affected patients' financial information, including credit card numbers and bank account information. Some medical information and personal data may have also been affected. Quest Diagnostic confirmed no laboratory results were affected in the breach. 3. An investigation found that between August 2018 and March 2019 an unauthorized user gained access to AMCA's system. The hacker was able to gain access to information from AMCA's clients, such as Quest Diagnostics. 4. Quest Diagnostics is conducting its own investigation into the incident to determine the scope of the information AMCA had access to. 5. Quest Diagnostics has suspended collection requests from AMCA and notified the health plans that may have been affected. The company is also working with law enforcement to evaluate the impact the data breach will have on Quest Diagnostics and patients. Community members are planning a protest June 3 at Waterbury (Conn.) Hospital in disapproval of the facility's for-profit operator, Prospect Medical Holdings, according to the Hartford Courant. Five things to know: 1. Waterbury Hospital and Manchester (Conn.) Memorial Hospital, both bought by Los Angeles-based Prospect in 2016, were cited for conditions that placed patients in "immediate jeopardy." 2. The safety lapses include a patient dying by suicide and a suicide attempt involving another patient at Waterbury Hospital. The hospital neglected to notify police of the suicide, according to the report. 3. Two safety mishaps also occurred at Manchester Memorial, where a woman died after giving birth to a stillborn baby, and an infant was born with severe neonatal encephalopathy after a delayed C-section, according to state inspection reports cited by the Hartford Courant. 4. As a result of lapses in medical care, Waterbury Hospital faces losing federal Medicare funding in August if the errors aren't corrected. 5. Amid the safety lapses and sanctions imposed on the hospitals, community members are planning a protest rally, calling for state oversight conditions which expire in October to be extended for at least a year. However, Prospect said in an email to the Hartford Courant that it not only saved the hospital from "severe financial distress," but "invested approximately $58 million in the Waterbury and Manchester hospital systems to help improve both their clinical quality and financial performance." More articles on healthcare finance: CMS terminates Kentucky hospital's Medicare contract Tennessee hospital to lose Medicare contract Massachusetts hospitals stockpile $1.6B in offshore accounts, nurses say Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare plans to close one of its long-term care hospitals in Philadelphia on July 21, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, which cited a filing with state regulators. Kindred said it is closing the hospital, which has 107 employees, after failing to negotiate a renewal of its lease. Kindred, which has another hospital in Philadelphia, said it will help patients transition to other facilities if they need care after the hospital closes. "If any patients need continued care after the hospital closes, we will take every step necessary to help them in relocating, including arranging for requested transfers and paying for any expenses," Michele Basile, CEO of Kindred Hospitals of Philadelphia, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. More articles on healthcare finance: Supreme Court sides with hospitals in multibillion-dollar payment dispute CommonSpirit's net income more than doubles to $500M Investment gains boost Sutter Health's bottom line: 5 things to know Michigan hospitals face financial uncertainty under an auto insurance reform law signed May 30 by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to Crain's Detroit Business. Senate Bill 1 includes a variable fee schedule for hospitals, which the governor said aims to stop overcharging for injuries related to auto accidents. But Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health and other hospitals in the state are bracing for revenue losses spurred by the bill. Under the fee schedule, hospitals will receive reimbursement ranging from 200 percent to 240 percent of Medicare rates in 2021 for the costs of treating patients with auto-related injuries, and 195 percent to 235 percent of Medicare the following year, according to Crain's. This falls to 190 percent to 230 percent of Medicare rates in 2023. According to Crain's, hospitals with Level 1 or 2 trauma centers will receive the higher reimbursement, and hospitals in Detroit, Flint and Saginaw will be reimbursed at 250 percent of Medicare rates. The law also will allow people to pick their own personal injury protection options with coinciding personal injury protection rate reductions, according to the governor. Drivers will be able to choose from unlimited personal injury protection medical coverage (10 percent personal injury protection reduction); $500,000 coverage (20 percent personal injury protection reduction); $250,000 coverage (35 percent personal injury protection reduction); and $50,000 coverage for Medicaid-eligible recipients (45 percent personal injury protection reduction). Seniors or other people with sufficient private insurance will be able to completely opt out (100 percent personal injury protection reduction). The fee schedule is not slated to take effect until July 1, 2021, but hospitals are unsure if private health plans will pay them for treating patients with auto-related injuries who opted out of personal injury protection coverage on their auto plan, according to Crain's. Beaumont Health COO Carolyn Wilson estimated her organization could lose a significant amount of money due to the law. "We have early estimates, and our estimates are concerning for us in the multiple tens of millions of dollars of loss in revenue for Beaumont Health," she told Crain's. "It will be very significant for us and other health systems in the state of Michigan." The system which has eight hospitals, 145 outpatient locations and more than 38,000 employees will likely be forced to close or downgrade some of its emergency trauma centers in the Detroit area, Ms. Wilson said. According to Crain's, employers could also face difficulties as they adapt their health insurance plans for employees to the law. Read the full Crain's report here. Read more about the law here. More articles on healthcare finance: How churches and lawmakers are addressing medical debt Balance-billing proposal prompted by Zuckerberg hospital clears legislative obstacle When you think of tech startups, you probably think of the West Coast and, specifically, Silicon Valley but the East Coast is on a mission to change that image. Massachusetts, in particular, has devoted considerable resources to fostering growth in the local digital health industry. Through initiatives such as the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and its eHealth Institute, the commonwealth forms partnerships across businesses, academia and government agencies to promote innovation. Laurance Stuntz is the director of the eHealth Institute, which recently launched a Digital Health Sandbox Grant Program to give healthcare technology startups access to local cutting-edge research and development facilities, beginning with Worcester Polytechnic Institute's PracticePoint facility. Here, Mr. Stuntz discusses how the Boston area's many institutions conducting groundbreaking academic research and long history of pioneering health reforms contribute to luring tech talent away from Silicon Valley. Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length. Question: How does the eHealth Institute grow Massachusetts' digital health industry? Laurance Stuntz: Broadly, it started by working on digitizing healthcare data and getting electronic health records installed across the state. Here in Massachusetts, we have largely completed that, including into behavioral health and post-acute care organizations: Well over 95 percent of patient visits today are captured in an electronic health record. So, first we were capturing healthcare data, and now we're sharing it. We're working to support the health information exchange and to support organizations within the exchange. The goal of the institute is to leverage that data to drive innovation and encourage growth of what we think is the best ecosystem for digital health companies in the world. Q: How do those digital health companies draw tech talent away from the West Coast to the East Coast? LS: There are a lot of reasons to work for a digital health company here. For one, there's a culture of science here that is really interesting. We hear a lot from our digital health companies that they're building companies around evidence-based research and in collaboration with the extremely strong academic researchers in Massachusetts, as well as with the state's long history of folks working in health reform. If you have interest in building a health company, it's very likely you come to Massachusetts. You can find tech talent, you can find medical talent, you can find medical device designers, you can find science talent, and the reason is based on that whole ecosystem and that whole cluster of companies that you can draw talent from. So, for example, if you're founding a company here and you need life sciences talent, you would come here, and not necessarily the West Coast. By being in this ecosystem you can grow your company a lot faster because there's a lot of people here with the specific talents you're looking for. Q: Do you have any insight into how benefit packages compare between Massachusetts and California? LS: The salaries in Massachusetts are competitive with what's going on in the West Coast; the cost of living is less here. There's a lot of reasons to be here, but the salary or "perks" at certain companies are not something that I hear people are trying to compete on they're trying to build something that impacts people's lives. In digital health, you're building something that, quite frankly, saves lives and that's what draws people to a company. They don't say, 'Oh, the guys on the West Coast have better snacks.' That's not something that we're hearing. More articles about health IT: Smaller tech 'tweaks' add up to make a big impact on clinical care Biden Cancer Initiative to launch patient matching, data mining platform for clinical trial enrollment HIMSS' EHR association raises concerns about ONC's proposed interoperability rule Toledo, Ohio-based Mercy Health-St. Vincent Medical Center's unionized technical workers and support staff voted June 2 to end their strike against the hospital, according to The Blade. The roughly 900 technical workers and support staff who are represented by the United Automobile Workers are expected to return to their jobs by June 3. Unionized technical workers, support staff and nurses at St. Vincent have been on strike since May 6 over staffing issues, on-call policies and healthcare costs. While technical workers and support staff reached a three-year agreement with the hospital, nurses represented by the UAW will continue to strike, according to The Blade. Union representatives told the publication that some technical workers and support staff are expected to return to their jobs June 3, but hospital employees replaced by temporary workers during the strike might not return until June 8. The new agreement between the hospital and technical workers and support staff includes a 4 percent raise by this fall, as well as a 15 percent reduction in on-call hours in a year and a half, according to The Blade. The deal also addresses healthcare costs and gives workers back some of their paid time off used during the walkout. More articles on human capital and risk: UPMC service workers to strike over labor violations, pay, benefits Nurses to picket at 8 Tenet hospitals in California May 28 Mercy Health strike to continue after talks end with no deal A circuit court judge upheld a 2015 decision from the Kentucky Attorney General's Office, affirming that the foundation for Lexington, Ky.-based UK HealthCare is a public agency, and therefore should be subject to open records laws, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. The Kentucky Medical Services Foundation was created in 1978 to help University of Kentucky attract and retain physicians for its health system with competitive salaries. It also provides funding for education, research, service and patient care at UK Health Care and the university, according to its website. Fayette Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Bunnell ruled in a hearing April 25 that the foundation was a public agency because it was created by the university and operated by UK HealthCare physicians, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. An order was signed May 29 affirming the ruling. Ms. Bunnell also upheld the attorney general's opinion in a related case in March, ruling that the UK HealthCare Compensation Planning Committee is subject to open records laws. The committee determines physician compensation. The cases were filed by Lachin Hatemi, MD, a former medical student at UK and now a nuclear medicine physician. Dr. Hatemi filed multiple open records requests with the foundation over concerns it was misusing funds. He filed the lawsuits after the foundation declined most of his open records requests, according to 2017 coverage from WKYT, the local CBS station. The university says the foundation is an affiliated, but separate, entity and therefore exempt from open records laws. The ruling could be appealed again, which would send the case to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Read more here. More articles on legal and regulatory issues: Oklahoma Heart Hospital to pay $2.8M to settle false-billing allegations 7 latest healthcare industry lawsuits Texas patient recruiter gets prison time for role in $20M Medicare fraud scheme CVS Health is preparing to defend its $70 billion integration with Aetna during an unusual three-day proceeding over the companies' settlement with the Department of Justice's antitrust division, according to The Wall Street Journal. Five things to know: 1. CVS is expected to try to convince wary investors and a federal judge the transaction will lower healthcare costs for consumers. 2. The federal judge in charge of the hearings, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, will consider whether the Justice Department adequately alleviated any antitrust concerns in its 2018 settlement with CVS and Aetna. 3. Under the settlement, Aetna agreed to spin off its Medicare Part D drug business to WellCare Health Plans, a deal that has since closed. 4. While judges normally sign off on settlements from the Justice Department without a hitch, Mr. Leon took issue with the DOJ's agreement. During the trial, he will hear from six witnesses, including three that oppose the merger and three CVS-selected proponents of the deal, including Aetna and CVS executives, according to The Wall Street Journal. 5. Despite the hold up in court, CVS and Aetna are carrying on with their merger, which closed in late 2018. Should Mr. Leon reject the Justice Department's settlement, it's unclear what would happen next for the companies, according to the report. More articles on payer: Centene got better deal on WellCare as market slid Cigna CEO's threat to leave Connecticut derailed public option, state official says Allina | Aetna enrollment tops 12,000 Two former pharmacists of a Massachusetts drug compounding center blamed for a meningitis outbreak described as the deadliest ever to be caused by a prescription drug, have been sentenced, according to The Tenneseean. Gene Svirskiy was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison; Christopher Leary was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and two years of probation. Both worked at the now-defunct New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass. Mr. Svirskiy was convicted of racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud and violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, which aims to protect consumers against improper manufacturing practices. Mr. Leary was convicted of mail fraud and violations of the same act. While the convictions stemmed from an investigation into a 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak caused by a contaminated steroid manufactured at the facility, Mr. Svirsky and Mr. Leary were not charged in connection to the drug that caused the meningitis outbreak. They were charged for their roles in producing other drugs, including those that were mislabeled, misbranded and untested. The two men were among five former employees of the compounding center found guilty of violating the safe manufacturing rule in a federal trial in Boston late last year. Read the full report here. Geritrex, a private-label drugmaker, will close its production plant in Town of Wallkill, N.Y., resulting in 56 layoffs, according to the Times Herald-Record. The company told its employees it will begin the layoffs Aug. 18. The closure will occur later this summer. Company officials cited a "shift to a virtual manufacturing model" as the reason for the closure. Geritrex still has a plant in Mount Vernon, N.Y. The Irish whiskey category is enjoying a well-documented renaissance but global drinks giant Pernod Ricard, Irish Distillers' parent company, has singled out Redbreast as one of its "global speciality brands" Jameson owner Irish Distillers plans to more than quadruple the sale of its premium Redbreast brand within the next 10 to 15 years. The Irish whiskey category is enjoying a well-documented renaissance but global drinks giant Pernod Ricard, Irish Distillers' parent company, has singled out Redbreast as one of its "global speciality brands". Irish Distillers strategy and innovation chief Brendan Buckley said the move will be huge for the growth of the brand. "That means a lot to us, because the way Pernod Ricard is structured it's a decentralised organisation," he said. "It now basically mandates all of our affiliates around the world to put some energy and investment behind these speciality brands. "This means that the door is open for Redbreast in many markets around the world, whereas previously we had to work hard to get on the agenda with our affiliates," Mr Buckley added. Charlie Flanagan, the Justice Minister in the Republic, claims that Ireland has a disturbingly high level of sexual harassment and sexual violence. Perhaps this is true. It would accord with a United Nations study, carried out in 2010, which found that developed countries have higher rates of violence against women than less developed nations. For example, the percentage of female victims of violence in Austria was over 40%, in Finland, over 46% and in Switzerland, 50%. By contrast, the number of female victims in Afghanistan was 13%, Malawi, just over 12% and Colombia, 8.4%. The percentages don't reflect - at all - the numbers of victims of violence in any given society. There were only 89 homicides in Finland that year - but nearly half the victims were women. In societies where the general homicide level is higher, the majority of victims, by far, are men. Statistics often have a complicated context. But every violent assault or personal harassment is meaningful to the victim. Everyone's story is different and perhaps everyone's story is remembered differently too. But if sexual violence and sexual harassment are as widespread as the minister claims, then I must conclude I have lived a sheltered life. Aside from some rather tepid catcalls when visiting Italy in times gone by, or lonely Algerians sidling up to me in a Parisian bar, I cannot recall much in the way of everyday sexual harassment. As for domestic violence, my only experience of it was when I drunkenly lost my temper and started throwing stuff at my husband, causing his head to bleed. Over the course of a long working life, male colleagues - and male bosses - have been, overwhelmingly, helpful, encouraging, supportive and even indulgent at times. As a young woman, I got away with mistakes and failings that, looking back, perhaps young men might not have done. I got things wrong, was often woefully ignorant, and on more than one occasion, fell down on the story. But most of the time, colleagues were kind, and males bosses were generous mentors who made allowance for the callowness of youth - and were, quite possibly, more sympathetic to young women trying to flourish in a male environment. I have every sympathy for women who have joined the #MeToo movement because they have been sexually exploited or horribly harassed, but I would find it a stretch to identify with them. And there are individual cases where I remember matters not exactly as the claimant describes. A known beauty, now in her vintage years, has written about her youthful travails arising from male colleagues pestering her sexually: some contemporaries would have said that her looks and sex appeal advanced her career rather than hindered it. Not that anyone would have been critical of that. Ambitious people use whatever advantages they have, and if beauty and sex appeal are advantages - which they are - who wouldn't use them? A lot of things have changed. I came to adulthood at a time when there remained, perhaps, an element of traditional gallantry among men. We affirmed equality, but it was nice, all the same, if a fellow treated you like a lady - and they often did. Some men treated me like a lady even when I behaved badly. Not all. Some men are born cads and bounders, and drink brings out the worst in these tendencies. If codes of decorum and sexual morals have shifted, the world, as Edna O'Brien has said, "has grown more raucous": everything is more "in your face". Maybe a more pornified culture has made some males think they are entitled to behave like louts, at work and in social encounters. Sex has become more commodified and regarded as "no big deal" - so maybe it's no big deal to suggest it. And there's always an element of the personality in every story. A man who claimed to be a shaman and mystic told me that "aura" was what defined human personality. Everyone has this "aura" around their physical body which transmits instant messages to others: my "aura", as he interpreted it, was "I can look after myself", and this is what has protected me from harassment or assault. This could be a little fanciful, and could come unpleasantly near to blaming the victim - as if those who have been subjected to harassment or violence have "auras" that invite it. But some people are, surely, more vulnerable than others. And individuals interpret actions differently: I do recall a certain colleague who was a bit of a hugger-and-squeezer, but I thought him a cuddly guy who was just a bit tactile - and I remember him fondly. Whereas nowadays Joe Biden nearly bit the dust, politically, under similar charges. A recent Behaviour and Attitudes poll in the Republic showed that 45% of men and 38% of women thought that the #MeToo movement had "gone too far" in demonising men (and 69% thought that society had become "too politically correct"). "Gone too far" is a muddled definition, and I don't think I'd assent to it myself. It would seem that consent and respect now need to be taught, and the 'No Excuses' campaign is justified. But every story is different, and every memory is a reinterpretation of a constellation of events. Three people have been arrested after a man was found unconscious in a Newry car park. The man, who is in his 40s, was found at the junction of New Street and Sugarhouse Quay with serious head injuries at around 2.25am on Monday. He was taken to hospital for treatment. Two men aged 34 and 29 and a 33-year-old woman have been arrested in connection with incident and are in police custody. Detective Sergeant Bell said: "Enquiries are continuing to establish how this man received these injuries and we would appeal to anyone with any information to contact detectives in Newry on 101, quoting reference number 165 3/6/19." Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. The PSNI has yet to identify a man whose body was found in a burning stolen car in Londonderry. Firefighters discovered the remains in the passenger seat of the red Mazda which was ablaze in Derry's Galliagh Park shortly after 4am on Saturday. The vehicle had been stolen in the Rosemount area of the city. Police said they had received reports that the car had struck a lamppost in the nearby Fairview Road around 4am, had caught fire and travelled further into the estate before coming to a halt beside fencing. Officers last night appealed again for help in identifying the man. A major police operation was mounted in the early hours of Saturday with four roads in the estate cordoned off. The car and the streets it had travelled were sealed off until late on Saturday evening. There was a sense of shock in the local community at events. Galliagh Park resident John Molloy said: "I was getting ready to go to work and looked out to see the car well alight. "The fire brigade were there trying to put it out, and the police were there and had cordoned off the area. "There was so much smoke coming off it. It seemed to be burning more at the back than at the front. "At that stage I didn't realise that there was anyone in the car. "Nobody was expecting this when they woke up this morning. People are absolutely gobsmacked. Everyone is in shock. "The car sat at the bottom of the street and the body in it for hours on Saturday. "Everyone's heart just goes out to the family of this young man. It's unreal. I feel so sorry for the family knowing that their poor child is in there. It's some mother's son. It's so unfair." SDLP councillor Brian Tierney urged anyone with information about the deceased to come forward and asked others to use caution when commenting on social media about the incident. "Obviously we are very aware of the tragic circumstances that have unfolded in our area in the early hours of Saturday morning," he said. "I would encourage anyone who saw anything or think they might have seen anything, big or little, to come forward as a matter of urgency. "Our thoughts are with this man's family and we would encourage anyone who might know who he is to contact the police. "I would encourage everyone to contact their loved ones, whether estranged or not, just to check in with them, so that we can try and find out who this man is, so we can get the victim identified and get the family some closure. "I would appeal to people to be cautious around what they are writing on social media relating to the very, very tragic circumstances which have led to this man's death. "In my opinion, the people who are writing comments are doing nothing but adding to a family's grief and pain and that is not what they need at this particular time. "What they need now is for the community to rally around them and support them and that is what I would encourage people to do." The PSNI appealed for anyone who had any information about who may have been travelling in the car to contact officers at Strand Road. It said it was particularly keen to hear from anyone who was concerned for the whereabouts of a loved one who they have not seen recently. The number to call is 101, citing reference 316 01/06/19. A deal will have to be done this month to restore Northern Irelands powersharing institutions, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said (Liam McBurney/PA). A deal will have to be done this month to restore Northern Irelands powersharing institutions, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has said. The summer unionist marching season and fresh focus on Brexit in the autumn could derail efforts to seek an accord later in the year, he said. A preliminary meeting between the main Stormont parties and the British and Irish governments in Belfast lasted around 25 minutes but the pace is expected to be stepped up later this week. SDLP Leader @columeastwood has said that Talks must produce a radical Programme for Government that meets the needs of all our people. pic.twitter.com/LQSOp2spcD Social Democratic and Labour Party (@SDLPlive) June 3, 2019 Mr Eastwood said: This will not get done if it goes beyond the end of this month. We can do it a lot sooner than that if people are up for it, but it needs to happen this month or I dont think it will happen. We know from bitter experience what the summer can bring in Northern Ireland, we know the political difficulties that we are going to face in September and October. Now is the time to do it we have no more excuses. Recommendations on transparency in government due to be made later this year following an inquiry into a botched green energy scheme will will set the bar for future standards, UUP leader Robin Swann said. Powersharing collapsed two and a half years ago in a row between Sinn Fein and the DUP over the handling of the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme. Expand Close Conor Murphy and Michelle ONeill (PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Conor Murphy and Michelle ONeill (PA) Retired judge Sir Patrick Coghlin will deliver a report making recommendations for future governance. Mr Swann said: Unless it actually reaches what Sir Patrick Coghlin says needs to be done, if we set a bar that is actually lower than he sets, we are failing the accountability and transparency (standard) of what this place actually needs for full restoration of a functioning executive and assembly. DUP leader Arlene Foster said her party was constructively engaging in the talks and hoped they could quickly find a way forward. It has to be a balanced way forward and one that everyone in society can sign up to. Sinn Fein urged leaders to show political will despite the improbable circumstances. Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish premier Leo Varadkar indicated an intensification of the negotiating process, which is led by the British and Irish governments. We have political will, we are willing to discuss and to talk with the other partiesMichelle O'Neill Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle ONeill said: It is very reasonable, the public deserve an assembly and executive, one that functions well, one that serves them well, one that looks after all in society. We are determined to try and achieve that, so what is required in this space is political will. We have political will, we are willing to discuss and to talk with the other parties. What we are asking for is absolutely reasonable previous agreements to be implemented, equality and respect for all citizens, integrity in government. Sinn Fein and the DUP are split over the place of the Irish language in society, abortion and the recognition of same-sex marriage. Numerous rounds of negotiations have failed to secure a resurrection of the assembly. A distinctive set of Persian coins were among a number of items taken during a burglary in south Belfast last Wednesday, May 29. The burglary took place in the Piney Hills area between 11am and 3pm. An array of jewellery was taken, along with the 'Louis Vuitto' bag it was kept in. Among the items reported stolen are a number of diamond necklaces, rings and bracelets, an antique female Swiss rectangular watch/chain armband in silver and a quantity of US dollars. Constable Bryan Beacom appealed for anyone with information to come forward. I want to appeal to anyone who saw any suspicious activity between 11am and 3pm that day in Piney Hills to contact us," he said. "I would also appeal to anyone who is offered jewellery, or any of the other items reported stolen, for sale in suspicious circumstances to call us on 101, quoting reference number 1192 of 29/05/19. "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." Art Show Celebrates Assyrian-American Experiences Akadina Yadegar and Nardin Sarkis curate "Diaspora in Bloom," a contemporary exhibit of Assyrian-American art on display at the Art Ark Gallery in San Jose, California. ( Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) SAN JOSE -- While most Americans may know Assyrian culture by what they learned about ancient civilizations in history class, a new art show spotlights the contemporary experiences of ethnic Assyrians living in the United States. "People don't connect the ancient to the present. They think Assyrians went extinct, but we're still here, creating art and thriving," said co-curator Nardin Sarkis. Diaspora in Bloom: Assyrians in the 20th Century & Beyond at the Art Ark Gallery in San Jose was curated by Sarkis and Akadina Yadegar, two Assyrian-American millennials and San Jose natives who wanted to see more of their own cultural art celebrated in gallery spaces. "In general, Assyrians tend to concentrate on our ancient history. So we wanted to focus on the present experience," Yadegar said, including a recent history of mass migration and fleeing war. Assyrians -- an ethnic group descending from the ancient Assyrian empire in what is now northern Iraq and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran -- still largely live near their ancestral homeland, but many have moved to neighboring countries to escape war and persecution, most recently from the Islamic State. There are more than 100,000 Assyrians in the United States, according to 2017 U.S. Census estimates. Artist Esther Elia tackled themes of loss, trauma and identity in a series of paintings and sculptures. A set of brightly colored furniture called "Heirlooms" depict portraits of Elia's grandfather and great-grandparents and tells the story of her family's escape from Iran in 1919, when they were forced to leave all their possessions behind. Lacking her own family heirlooms, Elia created her own. "Everyone dies, and their knowledge dies with them. Their kids try and remember. 'Why didn't I ask questions?' " Elia writes in her description of the piece. "I am forced to make my own heirlooms." Elia's paintings illustrate important moments in her family's history, as a way to reconstruct her own identity. One of Elia's paintings, "Swear you're not hiding Christians?" depicts her family hiding in a cluster upstairs from Ottoman soldiers during the Assyrian genocide in 1916. Below, a Muslim neighbor swears on a Quran that he is not hiding Christians. "In this day and age when we're taught to shun others, these two groups are protecting each other, as neighbors," said Sarkis of the piece. Other artists give fresh takes to traditional Assyrian motifs. The calligraphy work of Atra Givarkes uses the Assyrian alphabet to create compositions that honor the history of the neo-Aramaic language and represent hope for its survival. Rabel Betshmuel, an artist from Chicago, interpreted satellite photos of Assyrian land into a series of geometric watercolor paintings featuring bright colors and elements from ancient Assyrian reliefs, such as the lamassu, a deity with a human head, the body of a bull and bird wings. "He's reinforcing our strong ties to the Assyrian land," Yadegar said. Diaspora in Bloom Where: Art Ark Gallery, 1035 S. Sixth St. When: 6-9 p.m. June 7, 8 and 14 and noon-4 p.m. June 9 and 15 Admission: Free. Additional: On June 8, the gallery will feature performances from local Assyrian-American artists. DUP leader Arlene Foster has said a rumoured "agreement" made between parties last February cannot form the basis for the latest round of Stormont talks. Mrs Foster was speaking following a meeting between parties at Stormont on Monday, with talks now in their fourth week. In February last year, it was widely reported that Sinn Fein and the DUP had reached agreement on a deal to restore power sharing. Read More Since the collapse of the institutions more than two years ago, one of the main sticking points in the negotiations was Sinn Fein's demand for an Irish Language Act. Last February it was thought a three-stranded approach to dealing with the issue was finally settled on by the two parties. It was reported that legislation was agreed comprising an Irish Language Act, an Ulster Scots Act and a broader Culture and Respect Act, however DUP leader Arlene Foster later publicly denied such a deal had been made. Following Monday's meeting, Mrs Foster reiterated her view that there was never any agreement and stated what was proposed could not form the basis for the current round of talks. "Well of course that wasn't an agreement. As we all know to get an agreement everybody has to agree, and there wasn't an agreement last February. Very publicly there wasn't an agreement," she said. "Obviously what we want to do is find a way forward that everybody is comfortable with, that everybody can subscribe to and that's what we're engaged in at the moment." The DUP leader said the party was "constructively engaging" in the talks. "I very much hope that we can continue in the constructive way that we have been engaging and we can find a way forward," she said. "We are up for finding a way forward as quickly as possible. It has to be a balanced way forward and one that everyone in society can sign up to." Last week, the issue of an Irish Language Act made headlines again after more than 200 figures from the worlds of sport, music and politics signed an open letter to Leo Varadkar and Theresa May calling for legislation to be brought forward. On Monday, Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O'Neill hinted that Irish language legislation is still a red line for the party. "It is now time to move beyond that constructive engagement to actually delivering to bring about an Assembly and Executive again," she said. "Success would look like an Executive and Assembly that delivers for all citizens and implementation of previous agreements. That is what we are determined to achieve in this new phase." Sinn Fein's Northern Ireland leader Michelle O'Neill has called on the UK and Irish governments to live up to recent statements after Monday's power-sharing talks lasted just 25 minutes. The MLA however, did say the opportunity was available for a resolution to be found. "All parties arrived today for intensive talks between ourselves and the two governments but what we had was a 25-minute meeting which was not the intensification of negotiations the two governments have spoken of," she said. Read More Last week Secretary of State Karen Bradley and Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney recommended talks "intensify" in an attempt to reach an agreement before the end of June. Despite Monday's shortened meeting, Mid Ulster MLA O'Neill said restoring the Executive and Assembly was still possible. "We have an opportunity here and we should take it," the Sinn Fein said. "What we need to see now is a meaningful and intensive engagement that actually delivers an Executive and Assembly for everyone." Expand Close UUP leader Robin Swan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp UUP leader Robin Swan We know from bitter experience what the summer can bring in Northern Ireland. Colum Eastwood SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said he was up for "radical change" but a deal needed to be done this month. He said the working groups had done what they could do and they would see more involvement from party leaders in real work. "These are going to be meetings where people will properly have to make some calls about the compromises that are required," the Foyle MLA said. "This will not get done if it goes beyond the end of this month. We can do it a lot sooner than that if people are up for it but it needs to happen this month or I don't think it will happen. "We know from bitter experience what the summer can bring in Northern Ireland, we know the political difficulties that we are going to face in September and October, now is the time to do it, we have no more excuses." UUP leader Robin Swann suggested the intensive talks could begin on Wednesday. He said the result of the Renewable Heat Incentive inquiry into the botched green energy scheme will also be relevant to the talks. "If this period does not get into the nitty-gritty of what needs to be solved I think there will be a missed opportunity," the North Antrim MLA said. "We have a short window here to actually solve the problems which are preventing this place from being restored." The UUP leader called for movement on transparency in governance. "That all flows out from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) report from the inquiry and the recommendations that may come from that as to how this place actually becomes a functioning, working Executive and Assembly," Mr Swann said. Retired judge Sir Patrick Coghlin is due to deliver a report on how the botched green energy scheme was implemented and will make recommendations for future governance. "Unless it actually reaches what Sir Patrick Coghlin says needs to be done, if we set a bar that is actually lower than he sets, we are failing the accountability and transparency [standards] of what this place actually needs for full restoration of a functioning Executive and Assembly," the UUP leader said. Only hope for the Stormont institutions is root and branch change. Jim Allister Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said the talks were a "fraudulent con" in pretending that it was possible to reinvigorate the Stormont system. "A system that can never and will never work, for one simple reason, the precondition to it working is having at its heart a party that does not want Northern Ireland to work, namely Sinn Fein," Mr Allister said. "It is a fraud on the long-suffering people of Northern Ireland to pretend that they can stick it back together again. "The only hope for the Stormont institutions is root and branch change which creates a coalition of the willing, not the compulsory coalition that gives the veto so insistently exercised by SF over the last two-and-a-half years." Patrick Campbell was shot by a soldier on Bloody Sunday in Londonderry in 1972. Credit: PA A docker shot in the back by a British soldier on Bloody Sunday had to quit working and turned to drink because of his injuries, the High Court has heard. Patrick Campbell's son told a judge how the father-of-nine tried to keep his suffering hidden from the family in the aftermath of the shootings in Derry in 1972. Thirteen people were killed when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators, while a fourteenth victim died later from his wounds. Mr Campbell was among others injured on the day after he had attempted to take cover and then run to safety. Aged 53 at the time of Bloody Sunday, he subsequently died in 1985 following a battle with cancer. His family are suing the Ministry of Defence (MOD) after a major tribunal established the innocence of all those killed and wounded. The Saville Inquiry's findings in 2010 prompted the then Prime Minister, David Cameron, to publicly apologise for the actions of the soldiers. He described the Bloody Sunday killings as "unjustified and unjustifiable". With liability accepted, proceedings are centred on the level of damages to be paid out. More than 2m has already been paid out in settlements and awards made in other claims. Proceedings brought by Mr Campbell's son, Billy, centre on a dispute about the level of compensation for loss of earnings and the gravity of injuries he sustained. Counsel for the plaintiff's family set out how he was running away from the army when a soldier shot him in the lower back. Barry Macdonald QC said Mr Campbell had been trying to flee in a state of "terror". He told the court: "The bullet was recovered there was no exit wound." Mr Campbell underwent surgery, and had to return to hospital for a second time later in 1972 due to complications. In evidence one of his sons, Billy Campbell, recalled a parent who never discussed what he had gone through. "He wouldn't complain to you about anything, he was obviously trying to hide things from the kids," Mr Campbell said. "He was constantly rubbing his back; if you asked was it sore he said no, but you could see him flinching at times." Suggestions on behalf of the MOD that the docker quit his job due to the death of his wife were denied. "He loved going to work," Mr Campbell told Mr Justice McAlinden. "He returned for about two or three weeks (after Bloody Sunday) but he wasn't fit for it." The court heard that he turned to alcohol in an attempt to cope. "The drinking got rough; he used to go on bad benders, drinking very heavy for two days," Billy Campbell said. But in cross-examination David Ringland QC, for the MOD, contended that less than a year after Bloody Sunday the plaintiff was able to tell his doctor most of his symptoms had gone. The hearing continues. Talks to restore power-sharing at Stormont should intensify as there is a genuine but narrow window of opportunity to reach agreement, Theresa May and Leo Varadkar have said. In a joint statement, the British Prime Minister and Irish Taoiseach said it was imperative the parties move without delay to engaging substantively on the shape of a final agreement. Stormont has been in cold storage for more than two and half years due to a bitter standoff between Sinn Fein and its erstwhile partner in government, the DUP, on issues such as Irish language legislation and the regions ban on same-sex marriage. While broad consensus has been reached on some issues, other areas remain to be resolvedTheresa May and Leo Varadkar A new phase of talks was announced on April 26 and the latest statement from Mrs May and Mr Varadkar said they had been updated on progress by Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Tanaiste Simon Coveney. We welcome the constructive engagement shown by all parties to date, they said. It is clear to us that the Northern Ireland political parties wish to see the institutions of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement restored but operating on a more credible and sustainable basis. While broad consensus has been reached on some issues, other areas remain to be resolved. The Secretary of State and Tanaiste believe that there is a genuine but narrow window of opportunity to reach agreement in the immediate period ahead and that it is essential to continue and intensify talks to this end. As Prime Minister and Taoiseach, we will continue to monitor this progress closely. We believe it is imperative that the parties now move without delay to engaging substantively on the shape of a final agreement. A paramedic has said patients are dying before his eyes because of a dangerous lack of ambulances and staff A paramedic has said patients are dying before his eyes because of a dangerous lack of ambulances and staff. The medic said there were only four crews covering the entire Southern division on Saturday night, with the likes of Newry, Craigavon and Banbridge without ambulance cover. Read More According to the health service employee, in one particularly distressing incident several months ago, a woman in her 70s suffered a stroke and went without vital treatment because she waited so long for an ambulance. He also said police are being sent to deal with medical emergencies, including cardiac arrests, when paramedics are too busy to attend. "We are heading, if we're not already there, towards a cliff edge," he said. "It's major incident time, I believe. "Management don't want to have to hit that nuclear option, but it's upon us now. This can't go on." The comments come two weeks after the Belfast Telegraph revealed a paramedic working in Belfast had taken to Facebook to warn that Northern Ireland Ambulance Service staff are becoming increasingly distressed by their working conditions. He warned that paramedics are being pushed to the brink of suicide as a result of the pressure they are working under. Roy Beggs, UUP health spokesman, called on Northern Ireland Ambulance Service boss Michael Bloomfield to take urgent action to address patient safety and the well-being of staff. "This is alarming on a number of fronts," Mr Beggs said. "It is alarming that patients are having delayed access to hospital, but on top of that there is currently a review of stroke services and part of that is the introduction of specialist units which will be able to provide services on a 24/7 basis. "This will necessitate more travel and use of the ambulance service in order to get patients to hospital and if we don't have an ambulance service that can provide that, it means that the consultation would appear to be on very shaky ground." The whistleblower paramedic said he has spoken out in a desperate bid to improve conditions for staff and patients. "We are watching patients literally die in front of our eyes," he said. "There are dangerously low levels of ambulance cover; things have been getting bad but Saturday night was absolutely unbelievable - there were no crews in Newry, Craigavon or Banbridge. "There were four crews in the whole of the Southern division when there should be 11. "Staff are so burned out, sickness levels are through the roof and people are so exhausted from their normal working week that they can't face doing overtime. "We're doing 13, 14, 15 hours without a break to even so much as go to the toilet. Staff are being pushed to their absolute limits. "Where there is low level in one area, crews are pulled in to soak up the calls only to leave their own area without cover. "People who have had heart attacks and stroke patients are being put at risk. "I witnessed one woman miss out on clot retrieval treatment after she'd had a stroke because of a delay in getting her an ambulance. "Basically, it has to be done within four hours of having a stroke, but she waited so long that she missed the deadline by 20 minutes. "It's very sad and even more so because it's preventable. "Single guys are being sent out in rapid response vehicles to deal with the likes of stroke and cardiac arrests, but they're in cars and can't take the patient to hospital. "They're stuck there, watching their patients deteriorate while they wait for an ambulance. "We're watching patients die in front of you, knowing if they had got an ambulance two hours before, they might have been stabilised. "When there isn't an ambulance crew available, police are being tasked to the patient until an ambulance becomes available." The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it had experienced "difficulty in providing full ambulance cover" in the Southern Trust area. Available cover was 40% of planned levels. An NIAS spokesman said: "The reduced levels of cover were the result of a number of factors including staff vacancies, rostered leave, ongoing courses and sickness absences. "NIAS has in place a number of contingency plans to mitigate against reduced levels of cover. These include use of non-Emergency staff to support A&E. This cover is further supplemented by Voluntary and Private Ambulance Services (VAS/PAS). The VAS/PAS are used by ambulance control to deal with lower acuity calls in order to keep our Emergency Crews free for more serious, life threatening calls," he said. Robert Sowney, Interim Director of Operations at NIAS, said: It is a source of regret to me whenever ambulance cover is depleted due to lack of available resources and the potential impact this may have on the community we serve. "Demand for NIAS services has increased significantly over recent years without a corresponding increase in ambulance resources. We are working to address the issue and fill existing vacancies with ongoing regional recruitments and training." Two Belfast journalists can now reclaim all material seized during raids on their homes and offices, the High Court has heard. Judges were told police have gathered together millions of documents, computer equipment, cameras, notebooks and phones for their return to Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey. It follows the decision to quash search warrants obtained for raids linked to their film documentary on the Loughinisland atrocity. Mr Birney and McCaffrey are set to collect their possessions at Castlereagh PSNI station in the city on Tuesday morning. They also gave pledges not to destroy any of the material for a period of 28 days. The undertaking gives police time to consider attempting a different legal route to obtain the documents through seeking a production order. With the journalists pressing for the immediate return of all their belongings, the court was originally told the process could take up to a fortnight. But counsel for the police, Peter Coll QC, disclosed on Monday that Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Martin ordered extra resources to ensure everything was curated over the weekend. "That has resulted in the fact the materials seized from three premises are now available for collection," he said. Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan asked the barrister to pass on his thanks to Mr Martin for the "appropriately prompt" response. The issue of remedies came after the journalists won their challenge to the legality of warrants granted as part of an investigation into the alleged theft of confidential documents from the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman's Office. The case is connected to the film No Stone Unturned, which examined how Royal Ulster Constabulary dealt with the loyalist murders of six Catholic men at Loughinisland, Co Down in June 1994. Last week the court held that authorisation for the searches which led to the arrest of Mr Birney and Mr McCaffrey had been inappropriate. Sir Declan said the warrants were legally flawed, with a lack of clarity around what potential offence was being investigated under the Official Secrets Act. It was also stressed how Mr Birney and Mr McCaffrey had acted properly to protect their sources, in line with the National Union of Journalists' (NUJ) code. In August last year they were detained, questioned and released during an operation undertaken by detectives from Durham Constabulary, supported by PSNI officers. Judicial review proceedings were brought in a bid to have the warrants declared unlawful. During the hearing lawyers for Mr Birney and Mr McCaffrey contended that the search operation was aimed at discovering sources and intimidating whistleblowers. Judges were told the raids were an "outrage" more akin to a police state than a liberal democracy. Now arrangements are in place for the handover of everything seized A member of the Policing Board has voiced concern at comments by two colleagues after they criticised the PSNI's handling of a case A member of the Policing Board has voiced concern at comments by two colleagues after they criticised the PSNI's handling of a case. Last week the PSNI was ordered by Northern Ireland's most senior judge to return documents seized from two journalists. However, Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey remain under police investigation over the alleged theft of a Police Ombudsman document about the UVF murders of six men in Loughinisland in 1994. The SDLP's Dolores Kelly said police "made a huge error of judgment", while Sinn Fein's Gerry Kelly called for the probe to be dropped. However, UUP Policing Board member Alan Chambers said such comments were beyond their remit. "Operational matters and decisions taken by the PSNI are entirely the responsibility of the Chief Constable," he said. "Holding the Chief Constable to account for his operational actions is the role of the Policing Board and I believe that these public comments from two members of the board are a clear attempt to interfere in and influence operational decisions, and are extremely unwise." Derek Patterson, owner of the Plough Inn, and Gemma Bell, corporate relations at Diageo NI, at the |official opening of Seafood Gourmet restaurant Prominent restaurateur Derek Patterson was a "fun-loving big eejit" who "enjoyed life to the full", his funeral has heard. The body of Mr Patterson (53), who headed up The Plough Inn, was found near his home at St John's Road in the village last Tuesday afternoon. Hundreds of mourners gathered at Hillsborough Presbyterian Church on Monday to pay their respects to the well-known publican and chef. Reverend Allen Sleith told Mr Patterson's friends and family of his love of animals and passion for sports. "To this day, Dereks love of all creatures great and small is there for all to see in the Patterson household dogs, cats, fish, hamsters and a pony," he said. "And when it came to the family going on holiday, Dessi would get the call and became a temporary zookeeper, but never quite knowing just how exotic the animals under his care might be. "And who could forget Dereks first big catch as a fisherman? A 20 pound pike that remained in the family bath so that no one could wash there for days." Mr Patterson, a father-of-four, was best known as the chef and part-owner of the Plough Group of restaurants, which also includes the Vintage Rooms in Hillsborough, the Pheasant in Annahilt and the Tannery in Moira. He was a leading figure in the hospitality industry and established Hillsborough's Oyster Festival in 1992. Rev Sleith told mourners: "If Dereks family called him a fun loving big eejit, then the rest of us are given permission to say that as well because, well, he was. "'Work hard play hard' that was Dereks motto and while he played hard and enjoyed life to the full, there was no mistaking his passionate commitment to the hospitality industry that he served so well. "Combine that passion, with a strong work ethic, an eye to detail, an imaginative flair, hard won experience from working overseas, and a larger-than-life personality, and you have a winning formula for a sector that expects high standards, one in which you cant afford to coast, and can never rest on your laurels. "It was Dereks ability and vitality that made The Plough the household name that it is its fame and good name have been hard earned and richly deserved, and Derek was at the very heart of that success." Mr Patterson is survived by his wife Pamela and children Max, Natasha, Toby and Amelia. Two men have been arrested after a man was injured in a Samurai sword attack on the outskirts of a Co Antrim town Two men have been arrested after a man was injured in a Samurai sword attack on the outskirts of a Co Antrim town. The men were arrested after the altercation in the Larne area early yesterday afternoon. Shortly after 12.20pm, police received a report that a man armed with a sword was assaulting another man on Glynn Road. A 38-year-old man sustained a number of minor injuries to his body as a result of the assault, police said. The suspect made off in a black car before officers arrived. A car matching the description was stopped by police in east Belfast some time later and a 32-year-old man arrested on suspicion of criminal damage, common assault, theft and possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence. A Samurai sword was also recovered from the car. A 27-year-old man, believed to have been the driver, was arrested on suspicion of driving when unfit through drink or drugs. Both were in police custody yesterday. The scene at Cleary Crescent in Newry. Credit: NewRayPics A 24-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy have been charged with attempted murder following an assault in Newry. The attack took place at Cleary Crescent in Newry last Wednesday, May 29. The 15-year-old has been charged with attempted murder, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of a Class B controlled drug. The 24-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of a Class C controlled drug. Both men are set to appear at Newry Magistrates Court on Monday morning. A 17-year-old male appeared at court in connection with the incident on Thursday, May 30, while a 29-year-old man has been released on bail pending further enquiries. Two men have been taken to hospital after a car struck pedestrians in Co Tyrone. The Tyrone Courier is reporting that a car careened out of control in the Scotch Street area of Dungannon on Friday morning. Police confirmed that the men, in their 30s and 50s respectively, sustained a number of injuries when a Volvo collided with a parked Volkswagen Touareg, striking both men. We are looking into the cause of the collision and would be keen to hear from anyone who was in the area and saw what happened or who may have captured dashcam footage," Sergeant David Cochrane said. "Officers can be contacted at Dungannon police station by calling 101, quoting reference 548 03/06/19. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and charity air ambulance also attended the scene. After a call at 10:36am the ambulance service dispatched two emergency crews and two rapid response paramedics. A psychiatric intensive care unit that does not meet basic safety standards will not be replaced for at least four years, it can be revealed today. Lissan 1, a unit at Holywell Hospital on the outskirts of Antrim, provides care to men who are experiencing severe mental crisis and are some of the most vulnerable patients in Northern Ireland. It can also be revealed that ligature risks in the unit remained three years after they were identified by the Northern Health Trust as a risk to patient safety. The age of the building means that the Northern Health Trust has struggled to reduce the number of ligature points around the ward, but it has now emerged that a planned new psychiatric hospital will not be open until at least 2024. It is the latest damning indictment of the facilities and care available to patients with mental ill health in Northern Ireland, coming as police probe allegations of abuse of residents by staff at nearby Muckamore Abbey Hospital. The Alliance Party's health spokeswoman, Paula Bradshaw, said: "Ensuring the safety of patients is the absolute minimum level of care that should be provided by the Northern Trust. "I am horrified to learn that this is not being afforded to the vulnerable patients of this psychiatric intensive care unit. It is recognised and lamented that the health and social care system here is under tremendous financial pressures. However, the failure to implement the changes required to make the unit safe is indefensible and needs to be addressed with the utmost urgency." Northern Ireland's health watchdog first raised concerns about the safety of patients at Lissan 1 in 2016. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) was so concerned by the findings of an inspection of the ward in May of that year that it raised the matter with the Department of Health and the Trust's chief executive. The RQIA's report from the inspection said: "A large number of ligature points located on the ward required to be removed/managed. "Inspectors were concerned to note a number of ligature points located within the ward. These included taps and door fixtures. "The Trust had completed an audit of the ligature points within the ward in July 2015. A large number of ligature points were recorded. A subsequent action plan had also been produced. "The action plan detailed specific timetables within which ligature points would be removed, replaced or subject to a locally (ward staff) managed protocol. "However, inspectors noted that the timelines for completion of ligature works had slipped and ligature points and associated risks remained. "The audit completed in July 2015 suggested that a number of ligature points could be managed by the ward staff. "It was concerning to note that the suggested action plan, including the management of ligature points by ward staff, had not been agreed with the ward manager. "Given the seriousness of these concerns, this issue was escalated to the Trust's Chief Executive and the Department of Health on June 10, 2016." The RQIA ordered the Trust to create a clear plan as to how it would manage ligature risks to help ensure patient safety, with a deadline of July 1, 2016. However, when the RQIA returned on January 23 and 24, 2018, the inspector found that the call for improvement given following the visit in May 2016 had not been met. He also discovered that not all ligature points identified during a risk assessment in July 2015 had been dealt with. "Areas requiring anti-ligature work remain outstanding from 2015, such as the water cooler dispenser and window supervision levers in the gym door and interview rooms," his report said. He was also told by the ward manager that he had reported concerns about the risk of a ligature on a pillar in the ward to Trust senior management on January 4, 2018 and had requested measures to be put in place to manage the risk. However, at the time of the inspection, no reply or response from senior management had been received. The report also said the ward's design was still not in accordance with the standards for a psychiatric intensive care unit as set out by the National Association of Psychiatric Intensive Care and Low Secure Units Guidance for Commissioners of Psychiatric Intensive Care Units 2016. He noted that the Trust had submitted an application to the Department of Health requesting capital to commence building a new acute inpatient mental health admission facility. Responding to the concerns highlighted by the RQIA, a Northern Health and Social Care Trust spokesman said it is hoped the Trust's business case will be approved in 2019/20. He said it is believed the scheme will take between four and four-and-a-half years to complete, subject to all approvals of funding being in place. He continued: "Patient safety remains the utmost importance for the Trust. "It is acknowledged that there are inherent challenges regarding ligature points on mental health hospital sites including Holywell Hospital. "The Trust recognises the importance of actively managing this risk and has escalated it to a corporate risk level." The spokesman added: "There is an audit tool in place for the ongoing assessment of ligature risks and regular liaison with estates services departments to ensure that any works required are undertaken in line with Trust policy and in a timely manner." Firefighters in Belfast have brought a huge blaze under control at a scrap metal firm. The fire broke at McKenzies in Duncrue Street, in the north of the city on Sunday night. A Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS) spokesperson said: We received a call 11.51pm last night (2 June 2019) to attend a fire at McKenzies NI Ltd, Duncre Street, Belfast. At the height of the incident, a total of six fire appliances, an aerial appliance and 44 firefighters were engaged in firefighting operations. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Kevin Scott / Belfast Telegraph / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Firefighters battle a blaze at McKenzies scrap metal plant on Duncrue Road, Belfast on June 3rd 2019 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) Firefighters dealt with a large number of cars and scrap material on fire. The blaze was fanned by high winds and working in challenging conditions firefighters contained the fire to the yard area. The incident is likely to continue into late afternoon and Duncrue Street remains partially closed. The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Indian air force has joined the search for eogjt climbers missing in the Himalayas (Chris Jackson/PA) Indian air force pilots joined the search for eight climbers missing in the Himalayas as the operation entered its third day. Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was leading a party of eight who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in a remote area. Searches have been taking place in a bid to find the missing climbers after the alarm was raised on Friday morning. The third day of the search on Monday was taking place in the northern state of Uttarakhand after four members of the expedition team who had stayed at base camp and were rescued on Sunday detailed the missing climbers plans. Indian air force pilots were flying over an uncharted section of a mountain in the area. We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian HimalayasMoran family Mr Morans family have said it was not entirely clear what had happened to the group which included another three British climbers but said there was clear evidence that a sizeable avalanche had occurred on the mountain. Mr Moran has been a mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company, Moran Mountain, which is based in Strathcarron in the Highlands, together with his wife Joy with the couples grown-up children Hazel and Alex both also working for the family business. In a statement, the Moran family said: We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas. As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being of those closest to us. Academic Richard Payne, from the University of York, is believed to be among the group of missing climbers. The university said it was extremely concerned for his safety, adding: Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time. The Moran family said the climbing group had set out to attempt an unclimbed, unnamed summit, Peak 6477m, and the last contact intimated that all was well. As well as four Britons, the group is thought to include two American climbers, one Australian and one person from India. Officials said that four other British members of the expedition team had been rescued. The group, who had stayed back at the second base camp, were brought down on Sunday. They were given first aid at a hospital in the town of Pithoragarh and later released. They included leader Mark Thomas, 44, along with Zachary Quain, 32, Kate Armstone, 39, and Ian Wade, 45. They had been in touch with the missing climbers until around May 26, according to the authorities. A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: We are in contact with the Indian authorities following reports that a number of British nationals are missing in the Indian Himalayas. We will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help. Boris Johnson has launched an appeal against the summons issued to him over allegations of misconduct in a public office, the businessman prosecuting him has announced. Campaigner Marcus Ball, 29, said Mr Johnson had launched a judicial review application in the Administrative Court. Mr Johnsons lawyers will argue the summons issued to him last Wednesday by District Judge Margot Coleman was unlawful, and that the criminal proceedings against him should be suspended until the judicial review application is determined, Mr Ball said. A spokesman for Mr Johnson declined to comment. The summons issued last week calls Mr Johnson to Westminster Magistrates Court, where Mr Ball is attempting to prosecute him for misconduct in a public office. Mr Ball claims Mr Johnson lied during the referendum campaign by saying that Britain gave 350 million a week to the European Union. The private prosecutor has crowdfunded more than 200,000 through an online campaign to prosecute Mr Johnson. If Mr Johnson is granted judicial review, a more senior judge will decide whether the summons was lawful, and therefore whether any further proceedings will take place. Mr Ball said fighting Mr Johnsons judicial review application was a particularly expensive part of the legal process and called on the public to donate to his campaign. When politicians lie democracy dies, he said. Jeremy Corbyn will join thousands of protesters on the streets of London on Tuesday as Donald Trumps state visit continues. The Labour leader will attend and speak at the demonstration on the day the US president meets Theresa May for talks. Mr Corbyn said the protest was an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those hes attacked in America, around the world and in our own country. Tomorrow's protest against Donald Trump's state visit is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked in America, around the world and in our own country - including, just this morning, @SadiqKhan. Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 3, 2019 The Labour leaders attendance at the rally follows his decision to boycott Monday nights state banquet. It also comes after the US president fired a Twitter broadside at Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, as soon as he arrived in the UK. Mr Corbyn has accused Mr Trump of an entirely unacceptable interference in our countrys democracy after his eve-of-visit endorsement of Boris Johnson and praise for Nigel Farage. The president used a Sunday Times interview to say he would have to know Mr Corbyn before authorising the sharing of highly sensitive US intelligence with a future Labour administration. He also urged the Labour leader to get along with the United States if he wanted Britain to continue to benefit from US military and intelligence support. A group photo of the D-Day veterans travelling on board the MV Boudicca as it arrives into Dunkirk, France (Kirsty OConnor/PA) D-Day veterans have gathered for a group photograph to mark a Royal British Legion cruise to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the landings. A total of 250 Second World War heroes, aged 91 to 101, are taking part in a week-long voyage taking in Portsmouth, Poole and northern France. The group stood on the deck of the MV Boudicca after it docked in Dunkirk on Monday morning. After the photograph, many of the veterans remained outside and spent hours talking about their experiences. Others took a bus to the city of Dunkirk, including Stanley Elliss, 97, who visited the beach there for the first time. Quick stop in Dunkirk with @PoppyLegion #DDay75 so time for a quick photo call with our personalised ride @FredOlsenCruise #Boudicca pic.twitter.com/ONlErbhbvA Central Band RBL (@CentralBand) June 3, 2019 His brother Leonard fought in the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940, where he was feared dead in the water before being rescued. After walking on the sand with daughter Sue Stevens, Mr Elliss said: My brother was in the Territorials and he came with the British Expeditionary Force and was evacuated on to a ship which was consequently sunk. He was in the water for quite a while and this ship came along with some of the Navy people picking up the survivors. (They said) Dont worry about him, hes dead. Im not dead, he said in a big voice and they pulled him up. He survived to fight in the Middle East. So that was quite a lucky thing for him. Expand Close Stanley Elliss on the beach at Dunkirk (Kirsty OConnor/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stanley Elliss on the beach at Dunkirk (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Leonard Elliss, who died in 2008, was one of six siblings to serve during the war, including two sisters with the Royal Voluntary Service. All survived. Stanley Elliss, an RAF sergeant who was commando-trained, arrived with his comrades on Gold Beach. He was deployed to capture, secure and fit out for operational use a German airstrip at Beny-sur-Mer ready for Spitfire squadrons supporting the invasion. He described how they stepped into about a foot of water before walking on to the beach and being warned about German snipers. Its been a great surprise to be involved in such a good exercise. I cant thank the people who have raised it enoughStanley Elliss Mr Elliss, of Kent, said: Ive been to France quite a few times but to be close to the beaches, its really a marvellous thought. Its something I didnt think was going to happen a year ago and Im looking forward to being on the beach at Arromanches later on in the tour. Its been a great surprise to be involved in such a good exercise. I cant thank the people who have raised it enough. A lot of people are talking about what happened on D-Day but there are a lot of things that happened away from D-Day. I never talk to my children about what happened on D-DayVincent Horton Vincent Horton, 93, from Stoke, said he had not spoken to his family about his time on Juno Beach on D-Day. I was waiting in the wings because I went in on D+1, Mr Horton said. I was at Juno with the Royal Marines 48 Battalion and many Canadians. I was what they called Combined Ops. A lot of people are talking about what happened on D-Day but there are a lot of things that happened away from D-Day. I never talk to my children about what happened on D-Day. On Sunday, the veterans boarded the ship at the Port of Dover and were welcomed by the Dover Sea Cadet Band and a guard of honour. Rod Stewart performed his 1975 hit Sailing for those on board, with a recording by Dame Vera Lynn also played. Expand Close Rod Stewart with D-Day veteran Leonard Williams (Hello!/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rod Stewart with D-Day veteran Leonard Williams (Hello!/PA) In the message, Dame Vera said: I wish you and your carers a memorable trip to Normandy. It will be nostalgic and sure to bring back lots of memories. Rest assured we will never forget all you did for us. On Tuesday, the veterans will watch an amphibious display by the Royal Navy in Poole Harbour. They will attend the national commemorative event in Portsmouth on Wednesday before travelling to Normandy for events in Bayeux and Arromanches. Services of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery will be attended by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. Around 20 veterans will also attend a service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The ship returns to Portsmouth on Saturday before concluding its journey in Dover on Sunday. US President Donald Trump has paid a heartfelt tribute to the Queen, praising her spirit of dignity, duty and patriotism that beats proudly in every British heart, after he spent the day with the fantastic royal family. After the pomp and pageantry of the ceremonial welcome, which clearly impressed the US leader and First Lady Melania Trump, he ended the first day of his state visit by praising the wartime strength of Britain, its people and the monarchy, in a speech delivered during a banquet staged in his honour. In her speech, the Queen highlighted the importance of international institutions created after the Second World War to ensure peace a comment that might be interpreted by some as a rebuke of Mr Trump who has repeatedly criticised the cost to the US of helping to fund Nato. She also celebrated the special relationship between the UK and its closest ally America, and while Brexit was not mentioned she highlighted how the two countries faced new challenges of the 21st century. Expand Close Donald Trump and the Queen ahead of the state banquet (Jeff Gilbert/Daily Telegraph/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump and the Queen ahead of the state banquet (Jeff Gilbert/Daily Telegraph/PA) The forthcoming 75th anniversary of D-Day the start of the Second World War liberation of Europe reminded everyone of the achievements of Britain and American since 1944. Mr Trump told the Buckingham Palace banquet guests, who included senior royals, captains of industry and other leading figures from national life: As we honour our shared victory and heritage, we affirm the common values that will unite us long into future. Freedom, sovereignty, self-determination, the rule of law and reference for the rights given to us by almighty God. I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations and to the long-cherished and truly remarkable reign of Her Majesty, the QueenDonald Trump From the Second World War to today, Her Majesty has stood as a constant symbol of these priceless traditions. She has embodied the spirit of dignity, duty and patriotism that beats proudly in every British heart. On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations and to the long-cherished and truly remarkable reign of Her Majesty the Queen. Thank you. Joining Mr Trump and First Lady Melania at the white tie and tiara event were four of Mr Trumps five children Ivanka Trump, with her husband Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and his wife Lara, and Tiffany Trump. Expand Close A toast during the banquet (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A toast during the banquet (Dominic Lipinski/PA) As the guests stood and raised their glasses, Mr Trump appeared to breach accepted royal protocol by touching the Queen on the back. He briefly and gently put his left hand out behind the monarch who seemed unperturbed. Earlier, he had posted a series of controversial Twitter messages, launching a tirade against the London mayor, fake news and China. But after being welcomed by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall on the palace lawns before meeting the Queen, having lunch with the monarch and her family including the Duke of Sussex, then tea with Charles and Camilla, the president tweeted the trip was going really well and the royal family had been fantastic. The Queen said in her speech: As we face the new challenges of the 21st century, the anniversary of D-Day reminds us of all that our countries have achieved together. After the shared sacrifices of the Second World War, Britain and the United States worked with other allies to build an assembly of international institutions, to ensure that the horrors of conflict would never be repeated. While the world has changed, we are forever mindful of the original purpose of these structures: nations working together to safeguard a hard won peace. At the banquet were 16 members of the royal family: the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra. Harry, who was at the private lunch earlier, was noticeably absent, as was Meghan who is on maternity leave looking after their four-week-old son Archie. The Foreign Secretary has paid tribute to murdered journalist Lyra McKee in a speech on Press freedom. Jeremy Hunt spoke out on the role of journalists in "holding the powerful to account, exposing wrongdoing, deterring corruption and strengthening democracy" around the world. Mr Hunt used his weekend speech to the World News Media Congress in Glasgow to pay tribute to Ms McKee, who was shot dead by the New IRA while reporting on street disorder in Londonderry in April. He said the "senseless killing of a talented young journalist showed here in the United Kingdom we too have no cause for complacency". Donald Trump with Theresa May on a previous visit to the UK (PA) Hundreds of climate change experts have urged Theresa May to confront Donald Trump over his approach to the issue during his state visit this week. A letter signed by 250 academics from universities and research bodies across the UK states the US presidents refusal to tackle global warming is increasing risks for lives and livelihoods around the world. The experts praise the UKs international role in tackling climate change but say Mr Trumps visit is incompatible with it while he is undermining US domestic and international efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The special relationship between the UK and USA is meaningless if the Government does not use it to confront the actions of a president that are a threat to UK citizensBob Ward, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment It reads: The presidents refusal to tackle climate change, and particularly his initiation of the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, is increasing risks for lives and livelihoods in the United States, the United Kingdom and around the world. They urge the Prime Minister to tell Mr Trump to accept the scientific evidence of the threat of man-made climate change; support policies in the US to reduce greenhouse gases to zero by 2050, and collaborate with international efforts to combat climate change. The president has previously called climate change a Chinese hoax and bullshit. Bob Ward, director of policy for the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, co-ordinated the letter. He said: President Trumps refusal to accept and address global climate change is putting at risk lives and livelihoods of current and future generations in the UK. The state visit is an opportunity for the Prime Minister to challenge the presidents reckless approach and advance the UKs reputation as an international leader on climate change before she steps down as Prime Minister. The special relationship between the UK and USA is meaningless if the Government does not use it to confront the actions of a president that are a threat to UK citizens. A Government spokeswoman said: The Prime Minister has raised climate change with the president before and will do so again during his visit. Tackling climate change is a priority for the UK. We are driving forward international action through our work at the UN and with our Commonwealth partners, and were proud to have offered to host COP26 in 2020. As the Prime Minister has said previously, we were disappointed by the US decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2017 and continue to hope they will return. Melania Trump is known for her carefully curated wardrobe, and her first outfit for the presidential state visit to the UK is no exception. On Monday morning the Trumps touched down at Stansted Airport, and the First Lady wore a pencil skirt, matching blazer and a white pussy-bow blouse. Its probably not a coincidence she choose the colours of the American flag: red, white and blue. The blouse looks to have medals printed at the breast, which could be seen as a nod to the military. Expand Close (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) On social media, people were quick to praise the sleek ensemble. Nice to see @FLOTUS looking amazing as ever. Stephanie Hayden (@flyinglawyer73) June 3, 2019 However, as with anything to do with fashion (and politics) others had some criticism namely, that the First Ladys outfit looked like that of cabin crew. Melania Trump looks more like cabin crew than USA's First Lady in that outfit Ruth Garrett Brown (@Hermione769) June 3, 2019 There were also some quibbles at the fact she didnt put her arms through her coats sleeves. The shoulder draping trend, or wearing a coat like a cape, became a big trend a couple of years ago and it looks to still be going strong. The First Lady has done it countless times, Kim Kardashian West is a fan and even Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has been seen with her coat over her shoulders. Why does @flotus bother to wear jackets at all; does she have some kind of fear of sleeves? Flora's mum (and Sam's and Alfie's) (@chrisa1uk) June 3, 2019 Unfortunately, a windy day in London wasnt ideal conditions for a pussy-bow blouse. Expand Close (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP) This outfit was a change from what Melania wore when she boarded the plane near Washington DC on Sunday night, in a dress which paid homage to London. Expand Close The Trumps board the plane to England in Washington DC (Alex Brandon/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Trumps board the plane to England in Washington DC (Alex Brandon/AP) The Gucci dress which you can buy from Farfetch for 2,650 had an orange and green print with iconic scenes from the countrys capital, including Big Ben and Tower Bridge. Expand Close Trump wore Victoria Beckham last time she was in London (Luca Bruno/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Trump wore Victoria Beckham last time she was in London (Luca Bruno/PA) Last time the First Lady was in London she paid tribute to the countrys style scene at one point wearing a striped dress by Victoria Beckham. Her sartorial decisions occasionally err into controversy. Last year, when she wore a Zara jacket with the words, I really dont care, do u? on the back. The Trumps will be in London for a three day visit, and during this time there will no doubt be a lot of attention paid to what the First Lady wears. A medieval chess piece missing for almost 200 years could fetch 1 million at auction after a family discovered the object they kept in a drawer is one of the long-lost Lewis Chessmen. The Lewis Chessmen a famous hoard of 93 objects were discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. But the whereabouts of five pieces from the collection have remained a mystery. Expand Close A newly discovered Lewis Chessman at Sothebys (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sothebys) Getty Images for Sotheby's / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A newly discovered Lewis Chessman at Sothebys (Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Sothebys) A family has now been told the chess piece their grandfather bought for just 5 in 1964 is one of the missing treasures. The antiques dealer, from Edinburgh, had no idea of the significance of the 8.8cm piece, made from walrus ivory, which he passed down to his family. They have looked after it for 50 years without realising its importance, before bringing it to Sothebys auction house in London. The Lewis Chessmen are among the biggest draws at the British Museum and the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Found on Lewis in 1831, the Lewis chess pieces are probably the most well-known archaeological find from #Scotland. There are several colourful theories about how the hoard came to be hidden at Uig. https://t.co/Ofk20tkt8O #MuseumWeek #PlayMW pic.twitter.com/0ZHtXc4gpT National Museums Scotland (@NtlMuseumsScot) May 15, 2019 They are seen as an important symbol of European civilisation and have also seeped into popular culture, inspiring everything from childrens show Noggin The Nog to part of the plot in Harry Potter And The Philosophers Stone. Sothebys expert Alexander Kader, who examined the piece for the family, said that his jaw dropped when he realised what they had in their possession. They brought it in for assessment. That happens everyday. Our doors are open for free valuations, he told the Press Association. We get called down to the counter and have no idea what we are going to see. More often than not, its not worth very much, the auction houses co-worldwide head of European sculpture and works of art, said. I said, Oh my goodness, its one of the Lewis Chessmen. He said the family, who want to remain anonymous, were quite amazed. Its a little bit bashed up. It has lost its left eye. But that kind of weather-beaten, weary warrior added to its charm, he said. Despite not knowing its significance, the late 12th/early 13th century chess piece had been treasured by the family. The current owners late mother believed it almost had magical qualities. Expand Close A Lewis Chessman, A Warder (Sothebys London, July 2,Old Master Sculpture And Works of Art) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A Lewis Chessman, A Warder (Sothebys London, July 2,Old Master Sculpture And Works of Art) A family spokesman said in a statement: My grandfather was an antiques dealer based in Edinburgh, and in 1964 he purchased an ivory chessman from another Edinburgh dealer. It was catalogued in his purchase ledger that he had bought an Antique Walrus Tusk Warrior Chessman. From this description it can be assumed that he was unaware he had purchased an important historic artefact. It was stored away in his home and then when my grandfather died my mother inherited the chess piece. My mother was very fond of the Chessman as she admired its intricacy and quirkiness. She believed that it was special and thought perhaps it could even have had some magical significance. For many years it resided in a drawer in her home where it had been carefully wrapped in a small bag. From time to time, she would remove the chess piece from the drawer in order to appreciate its uniqueness. There are still four out there somewhere. It might take another 150 years for another one to pop upAlexander Kader, Sotheby's The Lewis Chessmen comprise of seated kings and queens, bishops, knights and standing warders and pawns. Some 82 pieces are now in the British Museum and 11 pieces held by the National Museum of Scotland. As well as the chess pieces, the hoard includes 14 tablemen gaming pieces and a buckle. Since the hoard was uncovered in 1831, one knight and four warders have been missing from the four combined chess sets. The newly discovered piece is a warder, a man with helmet, shield and sword and the equivalent of a rook on a modern chess board, which has immense character and power. The discovery of the hoard remains shrouded in incredible mystery even today, with stories of it being dug up by a cow grazing on sandy banks. It is thought it was buried, possibly by a merchant to avoid taxes after being shipwrecked, shortly after the objects were made and so remained underground for 500 years. Mr Kader, who has kept the discovery under wraps for six months while authenticating the find, said: We can safely say that a million pounds will transform the sellers life. He added: There are still four out there somewhere. It might take another 150 years for another one to pop up. The object will go on display in Edinburgh on Tuesday and in London just before the auction, with Mr Kader saying it could be bought by or be loaned to a museum. The Lewis Warder piece will go up for auction, with an estimate of 600,000 to 1 million, in the Old Master Sculpture & Works of Art sale at Sothebys in London on July 2. A proposed Orange Order march through Glasgow is likely to substantially raise tensions at a time when positions are becoming more polarised, a police chief has warned. In a submission to Glasgow City Councils Public Processions Committee on Monday, Superintendent John McBride briefed councillors after an application was submitted by the County Grand Orange Lodge of Glasgow for a procession to be held in the city on June 8. Four marches at the weekend had been due to pass by a church where a Catholic priest was attacked last year. However two of the marches were called off after groups failed to overturn a council decision to re-route them. The recent language has been more strident, on both sides of the argument, and positions are becoming more polarisedSuperintendent John McBride A decision had been taken to move the marches away from a stretch of London Road passing St Alphonsus RC Church, where Father Thomas White was spat on. In his submission, Mr McBride indicated that a procession past the church on May 18 had required a police presence in excess of 100 officers a rise on a conventional policing operation of 11 officers for a comparable parade in July last year. Mr McBride said that in recent weeks there had been a distinct and frankly troubling change in the terms and tone of commentary and rhetoric about Orange Order and/or ABOD (Apprentice Boys of Derry) processions going past St Alphonsus and/or St Marys churches, in the Calton. He said that the positions of those on both sides of the argument were becoming more polarised. He wrote: It is accepted that a difference of view about such things is, of course, nothing new, but as previously submitted, the recent language has been more strident, on both sides of the argument, and positions are becoming more polarised. The superintendent said that abusive language could be heard coming from supporters of the parade held on May 18 as it passed St Alphonsus. His submission read: In the course of the parade of 18 May, as it went past St Alphonsus there was heard quite distinctly from within those supporting the parade shouts of f****** b******* and paedos. I think it fair to say that the abuse was directed towards those in the counter protest. Threats of violence made on social media were also highlighted by the superintendent, noting that it evidenced hardening attitudes. He wrote: Social media posts regarding use of pipe bombs and burning vehicles has also been noted and whilst I would not advocate that this is a serious threat, it does go some way to evidencing the hardened attitudes of some. In his assessment of the planned procession on June 8, Mr McBride said he would fully expect a repeat of the events on May 18, while highlighting further entrenched views for both supporters of, and protesters against, the parade. He estimated that the procession would have a significant and disruptive impact on the life of the local community, as well as saying that it would place an excessive burden on Police Scotland as far as deploying resources necessary to mitigate the risks arising is concerned. Mr McBride concluded: The proposed procession is expected to substantially raise local experienced and evidenced tension; that this rise in tension may be localised within the geographic area or, more broadly, the local communities. Following the decision to reroute the marches away from the church last week, a spokesman for the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland said: We are disappointed with the outcome today. We have always followed the process set out by Glasgow City Council, and we simply asked that they were made to follow their own process too. However, despite todays ruling, we will continue our fight for fairness and equality for people of all faiths. We simply want to be able to celebrate our own beliefs, just as all other faiths can celebrate theirs. A Roman Catholic church, located on a street in Glasgow, should never be seen as a threat to any other faith, in the same way that Protestants quietly walking past that church should not be seen as a threat either. Creating religious no-go zones in Glasgow, the first UK city to impose such orders, will only create further divides and raise tensions that otherwise do not exist. Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland must put an end to this unjust, unfair and discredited practice of religious segregation. People of all faiths and none should be able to live together, accepting each others religious differences, without the need for religious divides. A Glasgow City Council spokesman said: Members chose to re-route the procession after considering significant concerns about its potential impact on the community and police resources, should it go ahead on its original route. This decision is necessary, proportionate and maintains the organisers right carry out a public procession. The Conservative leadership contest is a shambles and the party has never seen such a crisis, according to Tory former minister Ken Clarke. Mr Clarke, MP for Rushcliffe, said he fears the Conservative Party is tearing itself apart and that both the Tories and Labour are facing a very dangerous moment. Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Mr Clarke said he thinks there are too many candidates running to be the next prime minister. He said: It is all a shambles and is in danger of becoming a rather tragic farce unless some order is brought into it. There is nothing I can do about that; the 1922 Committee perhaps should have tightened up the rules before we started. He went on to say that International Development Secretary Rory Stewart has a chance of succeeding Theresa May as the next prime minister and shake up the present establishment of the party. Expand Close Rory Stewart has a chance of succeeding Theresa May as prime minister, Ken Clarke said (Victoria Jones/P) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rory Stewart has a chance of succeeding Theresa May as prime minister, Ken Clarke said (Victoria Jones/P) He said some of the other candidates had spent more time getting rid of Theresa May in a rather brutal fashion than they have in concentrating on policy. Mr Clarke said the idea that Parliament would be unable to stop a push to leave the EU without a deal would be a constitutional outrage. He said: I think the British constitution is stronger than that. A no-deal Brexit is attractive to a lot of people, including a lot of Conservative members, by the sound of it because it sounds like Oh, lets cut through all this nonsense, Im tired of it. Three years of nonsense. Just lets leave, and the assumption is not much would change. But leaving means WTO rules that means tariffs of 20% on our steel exports through Europe, 10% on our cars, and much higher figures on our agricultural exports, it means no agreement on the licensing of medicines, security, policing. It is a dangerous shambles, this no-deal thing. Mr Clarke added: I think the party is in a very dangerous moment. Both parties are, Im willing to say the same with the Labour Party. I have never seen the Conservative Party in such a crisis. I do think it is tearing itself apart. It is polarising into simplistic positions. The Trump dynasty is mingling with the royal family at the lavish state banquet, where industry chiefs rather than Hollywood stars have gathered to honour US President Donald Trump. In the Buckingham Palace ballroom with its six glittering chandeliers, the vast white-clothed horse shoe-shaped table has been laden with George IVs silver gilt Grand Service dinner set. Small white place cards embossed with a golden royal crest and edged in gold are at each setting, to show where the 170 guests are to be seated. A sneak peek of the State Banquet table in the Buckingham Palace Ballroom. The final finishing touches will be added shortly before The Queen welcomes @POTUS, @FLOTUS, members of the Royal Family and around 170 guests to celebrate the #USStateVisit. pic.twitter.com/yFNCx1vYSH The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 3, 2019 As is tradition, the Queen, who does not have her own place card, is at the head of the table, with the Prince of Wales on her left and Mr Trump on her right. Joining Mr Trump and First Lady Melania at the white tie and tiara event are four of Mr Trumps five children Ivanka Trump, with her husband Jared Kushner, Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and his wife Lara, and Tiffany Trump. Sixteen members of the royal family are at the dinner the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Alexandra. The Duke of Sussex, who was at the private lunch earlier, will be noticeably absent, as will the Duchess of Sussex who is on maternity leave, looking after their four-week-old son Archie. Charles, who had tea with Mr Trump earlier on Monday, is seated next to Mrs Trump, while Camilla is on the other side of the president and next to US ambassador Woody Johnson. William is between the Prime Minister Theresa May and Mr Johnsons wife Suzanne Ircha. Kate is seated between US secretary of the treasury Steven Mnuchin and the Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin. Over the last 24 hours, Palace Attendants have transformed the Ballroom at #BuckinghamPalace ahead of this #USStateVisit State Banquet. pic.twitter.com/4fDwfAteSb The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 3, 2019 The presidents daughter and adviser Ivanka is seated between the Countess of Wessex and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, while Ivankas husband Mr Kushner, a senior adviser to Mr Trump, has the Princess Royal on his right and Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, on his left. Former US president Barack Obamas state banquet in 2011 was sprinkled with Hollywood stardust, with a guest list including actor Tom Hanks, actress Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton. But Mr Trumps grand occasion was more trade and business than showbusiness. Among the captains of industry invited are Swedish businessman and chairman of AstraZeneca Leif Johansson, chairman of BP Helge Lund, Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn, GlaxoSmithKline boss Emma Walmsley, Universal Music Group chairman Sir Lucian Grainge and Royal Dutch Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden, as well as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick. Politicians at the event include Mrs May and her husband Philip , Cabinet Office minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster David Lidington, Chancellor Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, Mr Fox, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Evans and Europe and Americas minister Sir Alan Duncan. Tiffany Trump was seated between HSBC chairman Mark Tucker and the Queens top aide, her private secretary Edward Young, while Lara Trump, Mr Trumps daughter-in-law, was between Lord Hague and Mr van Beurden. Twenty three elaborate floral displays of dark pink peonies, lilac stocks and pale pink roses adorned the table, along with large seven-branch state candelabrum and the elaborate soup tureen which was once used to serve George IV his favourite turtle soup. The Queen earlier inspected the ballroom in person to make sure everything was perfect for her visitors. Tablecloths and napkins folded in the shape of a Dutch bonnet cruet sets and six glasses at each setting for water, a champagne toast, red and white wines, a dessert wine and port were all carefully in place although teetotal Mr Trump will not be sampling the wines on offer. A special red velvet cushion was ready on Charles chair to help ease his back pain. Every place setting was 18 inches apart with measuring sticks used to ensure absolute precision. Preparations for the banquet began six months before the event and it has taken palace staff four days to lay the table. Nineteen stations have been set up around the table, each manned by four staff a page, footman, under butler and a wine butler who use a traffic light system to co-ordinate the serving of courses. The event operates with military precision. It takes staff one hour and 15 minutes to serve the banquet and about one hour and 30 minutes to clear away afterwards. Veterans and crew members wave flags from the MV Boudicca (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Dame Vera Lynn has told veterans we will never forget all you did for us ahead of a Royal British Legion cruise to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The original Forces sweetheart, 102, was unable to be on the ship in person but recorded a voice message for 250 heroes on board the ship. They were welcomed to the Port of Dover by a guard of honour and performances by the Dover Sea Cadet Band. She told them: Hello boys, Vera Lynn here. I wish you and your carers a memorable trip to Normandy. It will be nostalgic and sure to bring back lots of memories. Rest assured we will never forget all you did for us. Im sending you all my best wishes for the trip. Earlier, Sir Rod Stewart serenaded the Second World War veterans on the ship with his 1975 hit Sailing. The performance, organised by Hello! magazine, was photographed by his wife Penny Lancaster. Sir Rod described the occasion as so important, telling the magazine: If it wasnt for these guys we could well and truly be under the jackboot as everybody knows. Expand Close Veterans got a warm welcome before boarding the ship (Kirsty OConnor/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Veterans got a warm welcome before boarding the ship (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Later, the Royal British Legion Band played as people cheered and waved flags to mark the ships departure from Dover on Sunday night. The veterans will have the opportunity to visit beaches in Dunkirk on Monday before watching a display by the Royal Navy in Poole Harbour on Tuesday. They will attend the National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth on Wednesday before travelling to Normandy for events in Bayeux and Arromanches. The ship returns to Portsmouth on Saturday before concluding its journey in Dover on Sunday. Jim Docherty, 94, had not spoken of his role as an able seaman with the Royal Navy on D-Day until he was invited on the week-long voyage about five months ago. I was on board the HMS Obedient, a destroyer, Mr Docherty, of Glasgow, said. Expand Close The MV Boudicca has set sail from Dover (Kirsty OConnor/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The MV Boudicca has set sail from Dover (Kirsty OConnor/PA) Ive never been back to Normandy before. I never thought it would happen. I might meet some of the people I used to know but I dont think there are many left. Mr Docherty will be accompanied on the trip by his son Joe, 67. The pair previously visited sites in Belgium in honour of relatives who fought in the First World War. Joe said: I only found out he had been on D-Day about five months ago, it was because of this trip. I knew he had been on the Russian convoys and thats what I thought. He said I was at D-Day. D-Day was the largest naval, air and land operation in history. To mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Norman Penny is one of hundreds of D-Day veterans who we are taking back to Normandy. Read his story: https://t.co/vNdeI7kx8g #DDay75 pic.twitter.com/JNPE52fSk6 Royal British Legion (@PoppyLegion) June 2, 2019 Rear Admiral John Roberts, 95, from Whitstable, was serving as a sub lieutenant on D-Day. I was in a ringside seat, he said. There were bombers, battle ships everything was firing at the shore but it was a success and we knew that almost by the end of that day. We caught the Germans by surprise. They didnt think we were going to come there. Rear Admiral Roberts said he believed the 75th commemorations could be the final events with veterans. People that took part will no longer be here, he said. I havent been on a boat for 40 years now I hope Im not seasick. Ted Smith, 62, vice-chairman of the Dover branch of the Royal British Legion, welcomed each of the veterans to the port. It has been very emotional, he said. If it hadnt been for these guys where would we be today? The invasion of northern France in 1944 was the most significant victory of the Western Allies in #WW2. To mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Jack Smith is one of hundreds of D-Day veterans who we are taking back to Normandy. Read Jacks story: https://t.co/psL5Fz4Scp #DDay75 pic.twitter.com/pGJ0UC8ObP Royal British Legion (@PoppyLegion) June 1, 2019 More than 330 veterans were visited in their homes by Legion staff ahead of the commemorations. Travel plans and events for each veteran to attend were agreed following consultation with their families and carers. In total, 250 veterans will take part in the week-long voyage on MV Boudicca. A further 80 UK veterans, with funded travel available through the charity, and 60 international veterans will attend the National Commemorative Event in Portsmouth. For those unable to undertake the ships journey to Normandy, the Legion secured 30 purpose-built twin rooms in Caen to allow veterans to fully participate in events in France. A warm welcome to the #DDay75 Veterans arriving at Boudicca today, played in by the Sea Cadets. pic.twitter.com/Li6wP7gGHq Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines (@FredOlsenCruise) June 2, 2019 The Services of Remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral and at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Bayeux will be attended by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall. A Service of Remembrance will also be held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, attended by 20 veterans. In addition, the Legions community teams will host hundreds of local events across the UK. Large lettering spelling D-Day 75, covered in messages of support and remembrance from members of the public, will also be placed in Arromanches for veterans to read. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) Lt Gen James Bashall, national president of the charity, said: The liberation of Normandy went on for many months after the D-Day landings, and it is important that we remember all those who played a role, from the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and the Allied Forces. A tremendous sacrifice was made for the peace, democracy and diversity we know today, and we must pass on the torch of Remembrance to new generations, today, tomorrow and forever. An image of senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington (Ahn Young-joon/AP) A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington has been shown in state media enjoying a concert near leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean publications on Monday showed Kim Yong Chol sitting five seats away from a clapping Kim Jong Un in the same row along with other top officials during a musical performance by the wives of Korean Peoples Army officers. Kim Yong Chol has been North Koreas top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since Kim Jong Un entered nuclear talks with the US early last year. He travelled to Washington and met US president Donald Trump twice before Mr Kims two summits with Mr Trump. Expand Close North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, third from left, and senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, right, at the musical performance in North Korea (Ahn Young-joon/PA) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, third from left, and senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, right, at the musical performance in North Korea (Ahn Young-joon/PA) Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been at a standstill since February, when the second summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim broke down over what the United States described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo last week cited an unidentified source to report that Kim Yong Chol had been sentenced to hard labour and ideological re-education over the failed summit in Hanoi. The newspaper also reported that senior envoy Kim Hyok Chol, who was involved in pre-summit working-level talks with American officials, was executed with four other officials from the Norths Foreign Ministry for betraying Kim Jong Un after being won over by the United States. South Koreas government and media have a mixed record on tracking developments among North Koreas ruling elite, made difficult by Pyongyangs stringent control of information about them. Lee Sang-min, spokesman of Seouls Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean affairs, said the ministry would not comment on a specific internal event in North Korea or its participants when asked about Kim Yong Chols reappearance in public. Seouls spy service has said it could not confirm Fridays report of a possible purge, while the presidential Blue House cautioned against hasty judgments or comments. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters in Berlin that he had seen the report and the US was doing our best to check it out. The report came at a delicate time for diplomacy as North Korea in past weeks has tested short-range missiles and issued belligerent rhetoric toward American and South Korean officials. Mr Kim Jong Un declared in April that the Trump administration has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations. A US aircraft carrier the White House ordered to the Middle East over a perceived threat from Iran remains outside the Persian Gulf amid efforts to de-escalate tensions between Tehran and Washington. The USS Abraham Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea on Monday, 200 miles off the coast of Oman. While US Navy officials repeatedly declined to discuss why they had not gone through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, they insisted they remain ready to launch any mission in the region. However, Captain Putnam Browne, commanding officer of the Lincoln, said: You dont want to inadvertently escalate something. Demonstrating teamwork and power in the #ArabianSea. The #USNavy's Abraham Lincoln CSG and a @usairforce B-52H Stratofortress conduct joint exercises in the @CENTCOM area of responsibility, prepared to respond to contingencies and defend U.S. interest in the region. pic.twitter.com/NAjuCYAWkp U.S. Navy (@USNavy) June 3, 2019 The White House ordered the Lincoln and its strike group to speed to the Middle East in May. It also sent B-52 bombers and ordered hundreds of troops to the area. Tensions with Tehran have worsened since President Donald Trump pulled America out of Irans nuclear deal last year and imposed sanctions. On the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of Irans Islamic Republic, the USS Abraham Lincoln hosted journalists who spent four hours aboard the vessel after a two-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates and were greeted by camera-carrying sailors who documented every part of their four hours onboard. The day before, the US Air Force announced a B-52 conducted a training exercise with the Lincoln that included simulated strike operations. Thousands in Iran mark Khomeinis death by visiting his golden shrine south of Tehran. This year, Iranian military officials reportedly plan to guard it with Hawk surface-to-air missiles, the same kind the US delivered to the Islamic Republic in the Iran-Contra scandal. However, in recent days, the Trump administration has stressed it is ready to speak to the Iranians without preconditions. Asked about why the Lincoln had not gone into the Persian Gulf, Rear Admiral John FG Wade, the commander of the carriers strike group, said his forces could conduct my mission wherever and whenever needed. They do impose a threat to our operations, but also to the safety and security of commerce and trade going through the Strait of Hormuz and thats why we are here, he said. Game of Thrones star Ian McElhinney has revealed he is yet to watch the controversial final series of the blockbuster show. The veteran actor (70), famed for his role as Ser Barristan Selmy in the fantasy saga, also spoke of his relief at dodging the majority of spoilers as he waits for the right moment to binge-watch all six episodes. Speaking to Sunday Life ahead of our Spirit of Northern Ireland awards, at which he's one of the judges, Ian said: "I haven't watched the final season yet, I've been holding off until it's all complete so I can watch it in one final splurge. "That's how I think I'd rather do it. I've been lucky I haven't seen enough people yet to say what's happened and I'm grateful for that, I'd rather not have too many spoilers and one way or another I've managed to avoid them so far. "The thing that surprised me the other day was, and I was quite taken aback when I realised it, I am nearly five-and-a-half years out of Game of Thrones. I last filmed on it in the winter of 2013 and it's kind of becoming, bizarrely, a bit of a distant memory. "Maybe because there was such a time lag between series seven and eight that we forgot how long ago it was. "I loved doing it and I was disappointed to leave it when I did, I didn't expect to leave it when I did but I'm not part of it any more and have moved on to other things but it's been phenomenal. It was a phenomenon in itself and has been a phenomenon for Northern Ireland." Expand Close Sarah McCool (Kathy Kiera Clarke), Mary Quinn (Tara Lynne O'Neill), Gerry Quinn (Tommy Tiernan) and Granda Joe (Ian McElhinney) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sarah McCool (Kathy Kiera Clarke), Mary Quinn (Tara Lynne O'Neill), Gerry Quinn (Tommy Tiernan) and Granda Joe (Ian McElhinney) With his popular role as Granda Joe in Derry Girls and the worldwide popularity of Game of Thrones, Ian has been surprised by the level of fame which comes with appearing in serialised shows in the on-demand TV age. He said: "It used to be that if I was stopped in the street at all it would be for Ser Barristan Selmy, but now it's just as often, if not more often, for my character in Derry Girls, I find it extraordinary. "Going back to when I was younger in this business you did something that would be screened in various places and this sort of popularity never occurred to you. Now you do these things and there are so many more platforms, there's many more things being put out on a global basis. This means you could end up anywhere across the world and you'd never have anticipated that 20 years ago. "It's great! I've met people who've watched Derry Girls in Australia and America and it's incredible. I think the constant access to it, meaning you can watch it again and again helps." He even jokingly admitted he needs to re-watch scenes in Derry Girls on occasion, adding: "I have to admit sometimes I have to re-watch parts of it because I didn't quite understand what was said because of the accent or speed of delivery, but that's fine!" Ian has been working on several projects since leaving Thrones, including Superman prequel series Krypton, Derry Girls and female-focused legal drama The Split. He said: "At the moment there's Krypton, which is a major ongoing series. It's like being on Game of Thrones again in a way because it's seasonal and it'll be in 10 parts. "It's the world of Superman, which is intriguing. I play his grandfather's grandfather, because it's set on Krypton way before Superman existed. It has parallels with Game of Thrones because it's different families warring with each other. "Right now I'm involved in something called The Split, which is a six-part series from last year about a family of female lawyers." Ian also revealed that he and other family members collectively bought a holiday home in Portrush earlier this year for cosy family getaways. Expand Close Krypton - Season 1 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Krypton - Season 1 He said: "We've invested in a lodge, because there's children and grandchildren and we thought it would be a nice place for all members of different ages to benefit from. "It's a nice place to be, as we've got The Open coming up and we're lucky enough to have a nice view, so we're very happy with it." The banner was put up in Portadown town centre on Tuesday night Loyalists in the Shankill Road area of Belfast have refused to erect 'I stand with Soldier F banners' as they don't want to offend the families of four local men killed by the army, it has been claimed. Banners and Parachute Regiment flags pledging support for Soldier F have been appearing in loyalist areas all over Northern Ireland following the decision to prosecute the veteran for allegedly murdering two people during Bloody Sunday in the Bogside area of Londonderry in 1972. Last week republican youths tore one down in Lurgan and set it on fire. But some loyalists are also concerned. The Sunday Life reported that UVF sources on the Shankill say support for Soldier F is massive, but putting the flags up would be a "step too far". One commented: "There were four people from this community who were killed by the army during the Troubles. "These are killings that a lot of loyalists living here are reluctant to face because they were carried out by soldiers who were supposed to be protecting us. Expand Close Alexander Howell / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alexander Howell "What is important is to not allow their names or the circumstances of their deaths to be forgotten." Among loyalists shot dead in Belfast by British troops was UVF assassin Brian Robinson (27), killed by undercover soldiers in 1989 just minutes after he murdered Catholic Paddy McKenna on the Crumlin Road. Richie McKinney (49) and Robert Johnston (50) were both killed by the Parachute Regiment on the same night in September 1972. Expand Close Robert Richie McKinnie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Robert Richie McKinnie The unit that carried out the killing included Soldier F. It had also been involved in the Ballymurphy Massacre in 1971 during which 11 people died and Bloody Sunday which resulted in 14 deaths. In 1973, Alexander 'Minto' Howell from the Shankill (36) was shot dead by a member of the Queen's Own Highlanders after a disturbance at the Bayardo Bar. This in turn led to loyalist paramilitaries rioting and firing shots at troops on Agnes Street. Eighteen years later, fans everywhere are cheering for the return of the epic true saga of Elder John H. Grobergs missionary adventures in Tonga in The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith. The first movie, distributed by Disney in 2001 and featured Anne Hathaway, was an instant hit that detailed Elder Grobergs first mission to Tonga in the 1950s as a 19 year-old bachelor. Now, the sequel shares his return to the Polynesian island in the 1960s with his wife and five young daughters to serve as President of the Tonga-Fiji Mission. The true story details the trials and tribulations the family went through when Johns wife, Jean, gives birth to their sixth child; a boy born with a serious life threatening illness. With their newborns life on the line in a far away land, the family has to remember that God is still with them. They receive tremendous support from the community that proves just how powerful God is, as they come together to all pray for a miracle. The Other Side of Heaven Part 2: Fire of Faith is coming to theaters June 28th. You can catch the official trailer below. Look around just about any place where there are lots of peopleand youre apt to see some of them carrying bottles of water. Nowadays, most of us know how vital it is to continually replenish the water in our bodies. Its hard for us to imagine not having reliable access to water at all. But thats what millions of people in the developing world face every day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 159 million people get their drinking water from surface sources. They might walk for miles each day to a pond thats contaminated with disease. Or they might rely on a stream that goes dry half of the year. Even worse, more than half a million people die each year from diarrheal diseasescaused by unsafe drinking water. Against this backdrop, some important organizations around the globe are fighting backmany of them compelled by their Christian faith. Theyre drilling wells, distributing water filters, training people in water maintenance and hygiene. And theyre making a difference. Faith-based organizations have the advantage of seeing and addressing the spiritual needs of people along with their physical needs. Believing that all people are created in Gods image, theyre compelled to treat them with respect and dignity, as whole human beings. That can make their efforts especially effective. Here are ten faith-based nonprofit groups working to bring clean water to people who need it. World Vision One of the worlds largest non-governmental organizations, World Vision works in more than 100 countries, focusing on child sponsorship, disaster relief, economic empowermentand helping to provide clean water. Along with individual donations, this venerable nonprofit is able to leverage grants from large organizations, including UNICEF. Gospel for Asia Since 2007, this Texas-based organization has worked with local Asian villagers to install wells in poor communities. During 2018, they installed 4,712 clean water bore wells in Asia. To ensure reliable water year-round, Gospel for Asia workers drill up to 600 feet down. To keep costs low, they obtain their well components from local suppliers and use local contractors. Remarkably, they can install a complete Jesus Well for only $1,400. Gospel for Asia also makes and distributes portable, affordable filters that can purify contaminated water. In 2008, Gospel for Asia provided nearly 11,451 Biosand Water Filters for Asian families. Generosity.org As its name suggests, this organization emphasizes the biblical virtue of giving as an antidote to the worlds suffering. Philip Wagner, pastor of Oasis Church in Los Angeles, founded the nonprofit in 2008 after seeing a UN report on the global water crisis. Since then, Generosity.org has helped more than 470,000 people with over 800 water projects. Blood-Water A uniquely-named nonprofit, Blood-Water helps people and organizations in Africa, providing technical, financial, and organizational support to strengthen their reach and effectiveness to the communities they serve. Lifewater International Bill Ashe of San Luis Obispo, California owned a water pump business. In 1962, his Christian faith led him to volunteer his expertise to a Mexican orphanage, fixing their windmill hand pumps. That led to a ministry in Latin America that has since spread to Africa and Asia. Now, Lifewater provides wells , water technology, and training in hygiene and sanitation to 2.5 million people in 45 countries. The Water Project In 2006 pastor Peter Chasse took some students from New Brunswick, Canada to meet a specific water need in Kenya. That experience sparked their passion to bring clean water to more people. Since then, The Water Project has launched hundreds of projects throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Water Mission Living Water International As Christian nonprofit Water Mission offers equipment, technologies and consulting services to other organizations around the world. In 1998, Milly and George Green of Charleston, South Carolina visited Honduras to help repair the devastation caused by Hurricane Mitch. As owners of an environmental engineering company, they realized they could have a powerful effect in other places too.The result was a ministry thats reaching needy people in 55 countries with clean water. This organization also began with a group of Christians traveling to Kenyain this case, from Houston, Texas. Since that trip in 1990, Living Water International has launched more than 20,000 water projects in countries throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. Beyond drilling wells, the nonprofit trains volunteers and professionals to drill and maintain their own wells, and in hygiene and sanitation. water.cc The Last Well The African country of Liberia has been torn by civil war and ongoing poverty. One of the lingering problems is a lack of clean water. Texas pastor Todd Phillips felt moved to help and founded The Last Well in 2008. So far the organization has launched 8,000 water projects, helping 2 million Liberians in the process. The goal is Water for all Liberians by 2020. Each of these organizations relies on the donations of caring people like you to continue their work. Thats how you too can join the fight for clean water. Religious activities influenced by Salafism and support for establishing a state ruled by Sharia law have strengthened among Muslim students at state-run universities in Indonesia, according to a new study by a local research institute. That Islam is under attack is a dominant discourse in religious studies on campuses, with an Islamic state or the imposition of Islamic law being offered as a solution, according to the report by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, issued Friday. At various public universities, exclusive ideas and movements such as Salafism-Wahhabism, Tarbiyah and Tahririyah are still growing, said the report. Salafism is a Sunni Muslim movement that embraces a literal interpretation of the Quran and a return to the traditions of the era of the Prophet Muhammad. The official Wahhabi religion of Saudi Arabia is based on certain segments of Salafism, and reports have claimed that Wahhabism has fueled global extremism and contributed to terrorism. This situation could potentially be a threat to Pancasila, democracy and the Unitary State of Indonesia, Setara said. Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim nation, is a secular state with religious minorities, linguistic and cultural diversity and a state ideology that touts pluralism. Tarbiyah is a movement inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood, a transnational Sunni organization founded in Egypt a century ago that seeks to implement Sharia law under a global caliphate. Tahririyah refers to the teachings of Hizb ut Tahrir, a pan-Islamic political organization that advocates the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. The government banned its Indonesian branch, Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI), in 2017, as a threat to the nations unity and pluralism. The dissolution of HTI didnt kill the ideas, which are still spreading. There was a lull after the disbandment, but theres an underground movement, said Halili, the research director at Setara, who goes by one name. Activists influenced by its ideas are seeking to dominate student government on campus, according to the Setara report. As a result, campus environments tend to be exclusive, averse to non-Muslim leadership of student organizations, or even Muslims who are outside their groups, it said. Alarmist Asep Saifudin, a member of the Indonesian Association of University Rectors, said the study did not reflect the views of the majority of students at universities. Having said that, we need to see to it that student [organizations] are open about their activities and conduct dialogue with moderate religious scholars so they can widen their religious horizons, he told BenarNews on Monday. Meanwhile, Nurhaidi Hasan, a researcher at the state-run Sunan Kalijaga Islamic University, called the report alarmist. Whats happening is the phenomenon of post-Islamism. Yes, theres a bit of Muslim Brotherhood ideology, but its been diluted, said Nurhaidi, who conducted a 2017 study on millennial Muslim students. Students dont read books by Hasan al-Banna or Sayyid Qutb anymore, he said, referring to Muslim Brotherhood leaders. They read books by popular Indonesian preachers such as Felix Siauw that deal more with day-to-day problems of young Muslims, he told BenarNews. Felix Sauw, 35, is a former ethnic Chinese Catholic who converted to Islam and became an Islamic preacher. He has written self-help books including How to Master Your Habits and Just Break Up. Intolerance is a serious issue in Indonesia and not just limited to public universities, Nurhaidi said. The governments lack of resolve against intolerance targeting minorities is also part of the problem, he said. Conservative Muslims Mohammad Hasan Ansori, an analyst on counter-terrorism at the Habibie Center think tank, cautioned against painting student Muslim activists with one brush. Religious study groups such as Tarbiyah are mostly conservative and puritan, but they arent radical, he told BenarNews on Monday. They are not opposed to democracy but want Islam to be part of it. He estimated that less than 1 percent of Muslims students were in the radical category meaning people who could be convinced to use violence to impose their ideology on others, or who reject democracy and the concept of a secular state. But being conservative is one step to being radical as the environment is conducive to radicalism, he said. Last year, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) said its own 2017 survey showed that about 39 percent of Indonesian university students had been exposed to radical Islamic ideology. Many respondents at state and private universities in 15 provinces indicated they would support making Indonesia an Islamic state and expressed support for the IS, according to BIN. The figures are consistent with findings of the Jakarta-based Alvara Research Center and Mata Air Foundation in October 2017. The groups polled 1,800 students from 25 leading universities in Indonesia and 2,400 students from high schools across Java and other islands. The Alvara survey revealed that 17.8 percent of university students and 18.3 percent of high school students preferred the concept of a caliphate ruled by a Muslim spiritual leader over Indonesias current republic. Reduction of influence The Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB), named by the National Counterterrorism Agency as one of seven campuses where students are at risk of being exposed to radicalism, recently managed to reduce the Islamists influence. The school confined all religious activities to the campus mosque and promoted activities of diverse religious groups, including non-Muslim ones. They are all given facilities and protection, which is unprecedented in the history of IPB, Cahyono, an IPB researcher said at the Setara reports launch. Things are changing at IPB. It (the Islamist influence) was massive before. They could even disband a cultural event because they saw it as immoral, he said. Other public colleges including Gadjah Mada University and the University of Indonesia are having some success in limiting Islamist influence, Halili said. Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Storms may contain strong gusty winds. High 77F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with showers and a few thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. BGSU professors groundbreaking research shines light on impact of Center for Photochemical Sciences By Julie Carle 78 When Jayaraman Sivaguru (Siva) was finishing high school in his native India, he envisioned a career working with computers and engineering. His academic performance during his first year of college was remarkable in chemistry and caught the attention of one of his college professors, Dr. K. V. Raman, who encouraged him to pursue a career in chemistry. The teacher's mentorship and encouragement enabled him to enter the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Madras) for his master's degree. Honestly, I didnt even know chemistry was a path I could take, Sivaguru said. I believe that the mentorship and advice from Professor Raman really changed what I was going to do. Since that time, his ascent in the world of chemistry and photochemistry has been rapid. He is the Antonia and Marshall Wilson Professor of Chemistry and associate director of the Center for Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University. During his academic journey from bachelors to masters to doctoral degrees he received guidance from dedicated educators and chemistry/photochemistry experts, each one shepherding him to the next mentor. His Ph.D. adviser at Tulane University, Dr. V. Ramamurthy, praised Sivaguru for his intelligence, cooperation and work ethic, ranking him in the top 5 percent of the students he has taught in 40 years. He worked very hard, published a lot and helped put our program at the forefront with our chiral chemistry research, the now University of Miami (Florida) professor said. When Sivaguru went from Tulane to Columbia University for post-doctoral work, he trained with the late Nicholas Turro of the National Academy of Science. Under the tutelage of Turro and Ramamurthy, who co-authored Modern Molecular Photochemistry, the book that is considered the bible for the field, Sivaguru learned from two of the worlds leading experts in photochemistry. His research today, which reflects that influence, is based on how light interacts with matter. We have a diverse set of projects, but the central theme is to see how light interacts with matter, whether it is molecules or material, and investigate their properties, Sivaguru said. Once you understand their properties, essentially, you can tailor them to benefit our society. Light plays an impactful role in our lives, whether it is photosynthesis by plants providing us food, making computer chips or helping us make complex molecules for therapeutics or materials that cater to daily comforts." One of the areas involves utilizing light to build chiral molecules, which make up the majority of the drugs that are in the market today. Chiral molecules have mirror image forms, just like a pair of gloves, with a left hand form and a right hand form. While the two forms possess the same physical properties, their biological properties are quite different. For example, one form might be therapeutic and the other form can cause side effects. "It is a holy grail for chemists to develop strategies over the last hundred years to access only one chiral form," he said. "Typically, expensive metal catalysts are employed to access them." Since 2006, Sivaguru's lab has developed methodologies in which light acts as a reagent to access one form of the chiral molecule very effectively. The strategy he developed is so unique that it was recognized by the Swiss Chemical Society for its innovation. Sivaguru's group has also recently developed photocatalysts based on hydrogen bonding to access chiral molecules with high efficiency and purity. Another area of research pioneered by the Sivaguru lab involves biomimetic supramolecular photocatalysis. "This is a methodology borrowed from nature," Sivaguru explained "Similar to how enzymes can sequester molecules to do chemistry in your body, we use water soluble nano-containers to sequester or encapsulate molecules and dictate them to react in a specific manner with light. An interesting conceptual significance is this nano-container will change shape to accommodate the molecule they sequester, similar to many biological enzymes and enhance their reactivity upon interaction with light." One of the projects in Sivaguru's lab, which has received worldwide attention and has been highlighted in the media, is his group's invention of using light to make degradable and recyclable polymers from plants. Plastics are part of everyday life, from the toothbrush that is used first thing in the morning to the bag used to take out the garbage at night. Plastics are often derived from fossil fuels. The ever-dwindling petroleum reserves in the world put enormous strain to find alternative sources for energy-intensive tasks such as driving an automobile and producing plastics used in day-to-day life. Additionally, the plastics we use daily are difficult to degrade and often present ecological, environmental and biological problems as they are transformed to small molecules or micro-plastics that are toxic. His group is working to address the issue of dependence of fossil fuel-based, nondegradable plastic materials by developing plant-based plastics that are degradable and recyclable. They want to develop plant-based plastics that won't clog landfills while they degrade or create toxic chemicals once they do degrade. The idea was to supplement fossil fuels with plant-derived materials. "Additionally, we want the plastics to be degradable and recyclable," he said. "This will enable us to make the process sustainable. We wanted sustainability as part of our strategy because if there is competition between using plants for food or for plastics, nobody will say, Im going to make this plastic rather than use the plant for food, Sivaguru said. The goal is to use plant-derived materials to make a simple, small organic molecule, called a monomer. Sivaguru compared this monomer to a Lego piece and explained that a polymer would be a big Lego set designed by assembling the individual Lego pieces. An important element when they assemble the polymer or the Lego set is to place a light-sensitive unit within the set. "We have the ability to design and develop a light-activated unit or molecules that are stimulated at a specific wavelength of light," he said. Once the Lego set is assembled, it is pre-programmed to degrade with specific wavelength of light. By shining light on the Lego set of a specific wavelength that is pre-designed, it is taken apart into individual Lego pieces which then can be reassembled to another shape. "In short, you can make plant-derived materials or polymers that are degradable with light and recyclable on demand with a flip of a switch," Sivaguru said. The long-term commitment to basic research is the key to address many of the scientific, economic and ecological challenges that modern society might face, he believes. "It typically takes decades for the human society to realize the importance of basic research discovery, as development and testing takes time. Without our commitment to basic research, we will not be where we are today." Though he chose to be a photochemist and focus his research on making the world a better place to live and do something very good for humanity, he knows anything he creates has to be practical and affordable to the society at large. It is great to have an environmentally friendly strategy that will work in the lab as an experimental proof-of-concept, but to realize its full potential and to benefit society, the scientific process should not only be ecofriendly but also be economically viable," he added. While he and his co-workers have secured the patent for the strategy, he would like to generate workable and practical products out of this invention. One of his long-term goals is to start a company, create high-end jobs, in addition to addressing the environmental problems using science and research. Thats a long-term goal I really want to do, though he laughed when he admitted that he will stick with his chemist job and teaching rather than running the company as a CEO. In addition to working on basic and applied research, he and his students have recently started working with Johnson & Johnson Vision. He also works on water remediation initiatives using photochemistry, a project that started with Dr. Eakalak Khan, a water resource engineer, during their association as academics at North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo. They developed a photochemical process to remove toxins and toxic chemicals from water. According to Dr. Mukund Sibi, a university distinguished professor, American Chemical Society Cope Scholar and organic chemist at North Dakota State, Sivaguru was an outstanding colleague and a really bright star in photochemistry. They worked on many projects together and have continued their partnerships in research and in the classroom. Dr. Malcolm Forbes, director of the Center for Photochemical Sciences, recognized that Sivagurus 11 years at NDSU were well spent in establishing his reputation as an internationally recognized leader in his field. I had him in mind for a senior hire for the center and chemistry faculty at BGSU, Forbes said. He is friendly, outgoing and very active. He teaches, manages his research group and helps me channel ideas for the growth and increased external funding on which our center heavily relies. Sivagurus dedication to his research is second to his commitment to educating young scientists. He has assumed the role of shepherd and mentor to his students in the lab and the classroom. It is a badge he wears with pride. Looking back at every stage in my career, I had a professor or teacher who really gave me direction, he said. As much as he enjoyed the science and the research, he also knew he wanted to go into academics because of the teachers he had encountered in his career. I was able to see what influence they had and I wanted to do the same, Sivaguru said. He tries to share similar lessons and practices that his mentors taught him lessons such as the importance of exploration on their own. In research, you have to develop an attitude of coping with experimental failures and pursue research avenues that are a little bit out of your comfort zone," he said. "That's a lesson I learned from my mentors who gave me the freedom to explore and do things on my own." The focus should always be on doing the best job you can rather than worrying about the consequences of it, such as where the research will be published, his mentors advised him. His post-doctoral adviser was one of the first to incorporate computers in the classroom in the late 1990s, explaining to Sivaguru that if a new technology has the promise of educating students better, it is worth the trouble of learning and incorporating the technology in spite of the challenges they tend to come with." At BGSU, he has utilized software that draws chemical structures on an iPad and projects them live, allowing students to visualize chemical reactions and methods better in the classroom. The students liked it so much, he shared it with other faculty members who now are using it in their classrooms. Seth Smith, a junior chemistry major from Clyde, Ohio, met the professor during a chemistry club meeting and was immediately impressed with his enthusiasm for chemistry. Sivaguru helped Smith successfully apply for a Center for an Undergraduate Research and Scholarship grant last summer. This year he was selected to perform summer research in Sivaguru's lab through a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). And when Smith sat in on a research meeting, Dr. Siva would draw out something when I did not understand and explain point by point the reaction mechanism. I believe his research is crucial for the future as the world reconciles its dependence on fossil fuels with oceans full of plastic," Smith said. "By designing plastics in a way which allows them to be photodegradable, the polymer can be turned back into a monomer, which can be shaped into a new container. In addition to Sivagurus commitment to his students, he is also interested in helping local high school students experience the joy of doing cutting-edge research. He developed and implemented a program called PICNICS, or Parents Involvement with Children Nurturing Intellectual Curiosity in Science. He introduced the program at NDSU, where it was very successful, and decided to initiate it at BGSU after his move to Ohio in 2017. He ran a successful program in 2018 with eight students from five northwest Ohio high schools. This summer marks the second year for the BGSU program that exposes high school students to research in the chemical sciences and stimulates their interest in science, technology and math. The program runs from mid-June to mid-July. Among his most prized awards during his career thus far are the two teaching awards he received. It is something I cherish because it acknowledges that so many people have been influenced in the classroom, he said. He also received the 2008 National Science Foundation CAREER award, the 2010 Grammaticakis-Neumann Prize from the Swiss Chemical Society for outstanding independent research by a faculty member under the age of 40 in the fields of photochemistry, photophysics or molecular photobiology, and young investigator awards from the Inter-American Photochemical Society and Sigma-Xi. He recently was named a Presidential Visiting Fellow of the Chinese Science Academy of Sciences and traveled to China in 2018 and 2019 to collaborate with scientists there. He also serves as the American editor of the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology: A-Chemistry. BGSU student majoring in electronics and computer engineering technology in line for NASA career Whenever the United States sends a manned mission to Mars, it will take 300 days to get there. Matthew Burmeister, who is majoring in electronics and computer engineering technology (ECET) with a minor in computer science at BGSU, spent almost as much time away from his family last year as an intern with NASA. Burmeister, a former Marine who is married with four young children, worked toward the goal of realizing a Mars mission in two different co-ops at the Johnson Space Center in Houston and at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. By Bob Cunningham 18 Matt Burmeister used to think that his chances of excelling as a nontraditional student were about the same as sending a man to Mars. Now, neither of those scenarios seem so far fetched. Not only is Burmeister on the cusp of graduating from Bowling Green State University, he very well may be employed by NASA by the end of summer. He is majoring in electronics and computer engineering technology (ECET), and has a minor in computer science. And when NASA does send a manned mission to Mars, it will do so thanks to the important work he undertook during his two co-ops last year, one at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston and the other at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All the work we did was to get ready for the next manned missions that are getting launched, Burmeister said. The work that Ive done in Texas and Florida will be used for the manned mission to Mars, which is really cool. Cool indeed, but Burmeisters mission almost didnt take off at first. In high school, he lost his passion for learning and dropped out. Burmeister then decided he wanted to join the Marine Corps, so he had to go back to school to get his diploma in order to enlist in the armed forces. After serving in the Marine Corps, Burmeister, 30, decided to attend BGSU Firelands in his hometown of Huron, Ohio. At first, I thought Id go for an associate degree, but after I got going I thought, why stop there? he said. I was going to school with the G.I. Bill, so I wanted to get as much as I can out of it. Even then, he thought he might have missed his chance and maybe was too old to capitalize on his education. Burmeisters wife, Sarah, however, encouraged him to apply for internships that could help pave the path for his ECET degree. I always had an interest in space exploration, so I applied to Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and Plum Brook Station in Sandusky because they were close to home, as well as the others, but then when the Johnson Space Center said yes, I couldnt exactly say no, he said. Getting accepted to that co-op made me realize I hadnt missed my chance and this is something I could really do for a profession. Resmi Krishnankuttyrema, an instructor in the College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering (CTAAE), can attest that Burmeister had the right stuff to intern at NASA. I noticed Matthew as an observing and hardworking student, said Krishnankuttyrema, who had him in two ECET courses. He typically asked questions that went deep into the subject and into the real-world applications of the topic at hand. I believe that these analytical and problem solving skills are what industries and institutions such as NASA expect out of our graduates. Dr. Sri Kolla, an ECET professor, is Burmeisters faculty adviser. He interacted with him and his NASA supervisor during the co-op. Matthew is an excellent student in our ECET program, Kolla said. He has taken several courses with me for his ECET degree and his performance has been outstanding in those courses. He participates very well during class lectures, always stepping forward with answers to questions. He has exceptional hands-on experience and works well independently and also with others in a group during our class lab experiments. It has been a delight to know him professionally. During Burmeisters co-op in spring 2018 at the Johnson Space Center, he mostly used his computer science minor when he worked at the Risk and Reliability Analysis Branch within the Space Exploration Division. His co-op work involved completion and deployment of a central database to collect and categorize every component more than 120,000 of the International Space Station with relevant failure data, taxonomy map and material tags for the use in future crewed space missions. After the spring semester, Burmeister was selected for NASAs Pathways Internship program at Kennedy Space Center in the summer, where he applied the skills and knowledge he has gained in the ECET program. It is a comprehensive study of diverse areas such as computer hardware and interfacing, computer-based instrumentation and process control, digital communication and networking, and electric motors and controls. At Kennedy, I worked on all of the networks, servers and switches all that fun stuff thats involved in rocket launches, he said. I worked in the server rooms and did all of the hardware components and running lines, creating new sets and fixing diagrams. Through NASA Pathways, Burmeister also has been selected to complete another internship this summer at Kennedy, which, in all likelihood, will lead to a full-time job with NASA. The internships were a lot of work, he said. In the Pathway program, its more intense and I wanted to make a good impression. When I was in Texas, I got to meet a lot of astronauts. I attended their lectures, talked with them and even played kickball with them. I feel like it was an experience of a lifetime. Still, even though Burmeister was gaining valuable experience that he couldnt get most anywhere else, he dearly missed his family. It was a tough time being away from his wife and four children, ages 7, 6, 3 and 2, at the time. From January 11 to May 22, 2018, he was in Texas; and then he stayed in Florida from May 28 until the end of summer. It was a long eight months to be isolated from his loved ones. It was really hard not being with my family, Burmeister said. I mean I barely saw them for eight months. It was really tough, from being there for the kids their entire lives and then jumping away, and that made me feel bad for a little bit. But the whole time, my wife had my back. She said, Its totally worth it; you have to do this. Its rough now, but things will get better. Now that Burmeister is near the end of his collegiate journey, and his career path appears to be aligned with the stars, all of his dedication and sacrifices are about to pay off. Its hard, especially when you have a life outside of school, he said. You have to worry about work and family. I have four kids, so whenever Im not here, Im taking care of them. It was a lot of hard work, but now I can see all of the opportunities in front of me because I will have an ECET degree from BGSU. That makes it all totally worth it especially for my familys future. The annual press freedom award of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (Wan-Ifra), has been awarded posthumously to Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. The Golden Pen of Freedom award. Wan-Ifra website Conflicting information about his disappearance SOUTH AFRICA Why the Khashoggi murder mystery has dominated news headlines Words are powerful Remarks from journalist and filmmaker Safa al-Ahmad, accepting the Golden Pen of Freedom Award for Jamal Khashoggi. #WNMC19 https://t.co/AcvhKAO7ov pic.twitter.com/kUrypQsJmL Greg Barber (@gjbarb) June 1, 2019 SOUTH AFRICA #FairnessFirst: Why investigative journalism and media freedom matters Cousin to Dodi Fayed Nine out of ten journalist murders go unsolved United effort among global media The award called the Golden Pen of Freedom, made in Glasgow, Scotland during the 71st World News Media Congress, 26th World Editors Forum and 3rd Women in News Summit, recognised Khashoggis long-standing commitment - despite great personal sacrifice and ultimately fatal consequences - to speaking truth to power by exercising his right to freedom of expression through unflinching, quality journalism.When I speak of the fear, intimidation, arrests and public shaming of intellectuals and religious leaders who dare to speak their minds, and then I tell you Im from Saudi Arabia, are you surprised? said Dave Callaway, World Editors Forum president, quoting Khashoggis first article forafter he went into self-imposed exile in the United States in 2017.Despite his enormous love for his homeland, he could not bring himself to ignore where it was going, continued Callaway. He continued to speak out, and it cost him his life.On 2 October 2018 Khashoggi entered the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey to collect documents related to his upcoming marriage to his Turkish fiancee, Hatice Cengiz. But he never came out. For the next two weeks, the Saudi government denied any knowledge about Khashoggis whereabouts, claiming that he had left the consulate after an hour.Then, on 20th October, state television reported that he had in fact been murdered in an operation ordered by a Saudi intelligence officer. However, conflicting information about his disappearance continued to surface, with differing reports on how Khashoggi had died. More than a month later, Saudi Arabias attorney general admitted that he had been given a lethal injection inside the consulate and that his death had been premeditated.Since Khashoggis murder, 11 people have been charged over the journalists death, with five facing the death penalty. But a high level of impunity surrounds the case, in which none of those charged has been identified.Despite intelligence reports from multiple global sources supporting the theory of high-level official involvement, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has steadfastly denied any knowledge of the incident.Since last October, many of us who knew Jamal have been in a daze. Not able to comprehend what was done to him, why the Saudi government deemed his words so dangerous he had to be brutally murdered. His body disappeared. Just to silence him, said Saudi journalist and filmmaker, Safa Al Ahmad, who accepted the award in the name of Jamal Khashoggi.The Saudi government hoped that Jamals murder would scare the rest of us. Would silence us. Instead, those who were silent started to speak out. Realising that their words are powerful, even threatening to this government.Since the 1980s, Jamal Khashoggi had been a mainstay in the Saudi and Middle East journalism landscape, with an upbringing that allowed him access to the inner circles of the Saudi royal family. Born in 1958 to a prominent Saudi family, Khashoggis grandfather was the doctor to King Abdul Aziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, while his uncle became a billionaire weapons broker for King Fahd.He was a cousin to Dodi Fayed, the partner of Britains Princess Diana when the pair died in a car accident in Paris in 1997. But Khashoggis privileged access to Saudis ruling elite was coupled with a criticism of that same world, and by the early 2000s, he was becoming known for his disapproval of the Saudi government and Saudi-led actions.Until then, he had held positions at several Saudi publications, including as managing editor and acting editor-in-chief offrom 1991 to 1999. Throughout the 1990s, he was known for his coverage of the Afghan War, where he met the late al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden.Khashoggi went on to take the position of deputy-editor in chief of Arab News in 1999 and in 2003 was named editor-in-chief of Al-Watan newspaper. However, this position lasted only two months before he was dismissed for publishing a column criticizing the kingdoms religious police.The incident was the start of his reputation in the West as a liberal progressive. He then worked as a media advisor to Prince Turki al-Faisal, the former Saudi intelligence chief, who served as the Saudi ambassador to the UK and the US. Khashoggi returned as editor of Al-Watan in 2007, but his second tenure lasted only three years after he resigned under pressure following the publication of an op-ed criticizing Salafism.In 2015, Khashoggi was named the head of a new television channel owned by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and operated out of Bahrain. But, within one day, the channel was shut down after it aired an interview with a Bahraini opposition figure. Khashoggi soon became a frequent contributor to Saudi and international TV channels such as the BBC, Al Jazeera and Dubai TV.He regularly published opinion columns on. In 2017, Khashoggi went into self-imposed exile in the US, after revealing that he had been ordered to shut up. He soon became a regular columnist forand, in the years that followed right up until his death in October 2018, he continued to be a vocal critic of the Saudi government albeit from distance.Globally, nine out of ten journalist murders go unsolved, with neither perpetrators nor those who order the killings being held accountable for their actions. Despite the international criticism Saudi Arabia faced following Khashoggis murder, authorities continue to detain peaceful activists and dissidents for long periods without trial, according to Human Rights Watch.Saudi Arabia does not allow any independent media. The number of journalists and citizen-journalists in detention has tripled since the start of 2017, according to Reporters Without Borders, with most held arbitrarily and likely facing torture. Journalists who voice criticism or analyse political problems risk being fired or detained under criminal code provisions or under terrorism or cybercrime laws.We stand for a united effort among the global media to hold tyrants and governments accountable for their actions to suppress free speech and inhibit the growth of free societies for all their people, said Callaway.It is an uphill battle. Our enemies seek to divide us. Our leaders ignore the jailings, shootings, and intimidation. Only by all of us working together can we protect our journalists, and by extension, our freedom. Jamal Khashoggi understood this. He knew he was in danger but he would not be silent. His homeland meant too much to him. He cannot be here with us. But Im proud today to honour the late Jamal Khashoggi, a courageous man, Saudi Arabian, and journalist.Jamals death goes unpunished, concluded Ms Al Ahmad. The devastating war on Yemen continues. And we are left alone. Speaking our truth to power. Wondering which one of us will be the next to be disappeared. Tortured. Killed. No impact on price of electricity Excessive rebates The carbon tax is a fiscal instrument that puts a price on greenhouse gases emitted through the production of goods and services. It serves to internalise negative externalities, in other words, the social and environmental costs of carbon. As such, it is a critical tool in the fight against climate change the greatest existential threat of our time, and no longer a remote one: many South Africans in rural areas and cities from Limpopo to the Western Cape are already affected.The 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C states that we have 11 years to radically reduce our heat-trapping emissions if we want to have the slightest chance of keeping global warming below a 2C increase. Even then, South Africa - a confirmed climate hotspot - will warm at twice as much as the global average. A frightening reality for our country: There is no certainty that adaptation to a 4C world is possible, warns the World Bank. This is why an effective and just carbon tax is so important.The ACRP welcomes speedy implementation of this measure, and the fact that carbon tax will not impact the price of electricity in the first implementation phase (2019-2022). The poor cannot afford higher electricity prices and its ripple effects. Reducing Eskoms carbon emissions can be managed through the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), a policy instrument, provided that it brings an even greater share of renewable energy into the electricity supply mix than envisaged in the latest updated draft from 2018.However, ACRP highlights that during the first phase, the carbon tax is destined to fail to drive the much-needed rapid shift to a low carbon economy. The reasons are simple:Until December 2022, the tax rate is set at R120 per ton of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e) of the greenhouse gas emissions, with annual increases as per consumer price inflation. Yet research by the High-Level Commission on Carbon Prices indicated in 2017 that a minimum carbon price should be in the range of R550 R1,110 per tCO2e by 2020, if it is to be effective to achieve the Paris Agreements temperature increase target of well below 2 degrees Celsius".In addition, the number and scale of tax rebates applicable during the next two years undermine the effectiveness of the carbon tax system by offering significant rebates (from 60% to 95%) to most of the industries that are in fact the heaviest carbon emitters.The low tax rate and excessive rebates in the carbon tax as implemented until 2022 will render it ineffective at leveraging a reorientation of the whole economy in a lower carbon direction, in a timeframe that is consistent with the urgency of climate change and South Africas commitments under the Paris Agreement. For a fair contribution to keeping global warming within manageable levels, South Africa needs to halve its carbon emissions in the next six years Unfortunately, in its current form, the carbon tax will not help us achieve that.For an effective and just carbon tax that serves the interests of all our fellow citizens and the planet, we must rather make the carbon tax more stringent to effectively put the social cost of carbon onto the emitters rather than the poor, while introducing measures that soften the blow for the economically marginalised, such as reducing the VAT rate which has a disproportionate impact on the poor, or conditioning rebates to demonstrated increased employment.As part of its European Union co-funded Action 24 initiative to foster public participation in the shaping of environmental and climate legislation, ACRP submitted comments along those lines to Parliament and the National Council of Provinces, as they reviewed the Carbon Tax legislation before it was passed in March this year. Unfortunately, the legislator seems to have bought into the misguided idea that we need trade-offs between environmental sustainability and economic growth when in fact they walk hand in hand.Another reason for concern is the lack of detail from the government on the second phase of the tax, although we have been told that it will be strengthened over time. This means that all concerned citizens should call now for an effective and just carbon tax post-2022. The World's Longest Glass Bridge Is In China Pulse lekhaka-Nayeema sultana China is known for glass-made bridges and these are popular tourist attractions. Events like yoga demonstrations and even weddings have taken place on these tourist attractions in the past. China has now built the world's longest glass bridge. This bridge was opened to the locals and tourists at Huaxi World Adventure Park, in East China's Jiangsu Province, earlier this year. According to the China press, people had been queuing up the night before the grand opening of the bridge to be the first to enjoy the views of the green lush valley from an exceptional vantage point. The stats reveal that the bridge is hanging more than 100 m above the ground level. The bridge is 518 m long and it is reportedly made with special glass that has a thickness of 3.5 cm. It is said that each of the glass panes of the bridge can hold a maximum weight of 4.7 tonnes! It is also considered to be the highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge in the world. The cost of the bridge is estimated to be $3.4 million. This unique glass structure is inspired by James Cameron's movie 'Avatar'. It was designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan. The most amazing fact about this longest bridge is that it can support up to 2,600 people at a time. Another amazing factor about this bridge is about the experience one faces when they climb onto it. The sound and the visual effect of glass shattering on the bridge can surely make you miss your heartbeat. Special effects have been employed to make it seem like the glass bridge is cracking even as the tourists walk on it. The place has become a hot tourist destination as people are flocking the place to experience this scary bridge walk! There are several videos and pictures of tourists with mixed emotions of fear and ecstasy. While some people seem to enjoy the overall experience, others look scared as they dare to look down. Definitely, this bridge is not for the faint-hearted; are you brave enough to try it out? GET THE BEST BOLDSKY STORIES! Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 15:35 [IST] OTTAWA - A short chronology of Canada's participation in the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy: Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A German machine gun nest along the Atlantic Wall, background, is captured by Canadian troops on June 8, 1944 following the Allied D-Day invasion of German-occupied Normandy, France, during the Second World War. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo OTTAWA - A short chronology of Canada's participation in the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy: May 1943: Allies make final decision to invade. Initial invasion date May 1, 1944, then June 4, 1944. Summer of 1943: Canadians train for assault in Scotland and England. June 1, 1944: Invasion ships begin loading along England's south coast. June 3: Soldiers aboard the ships. Some ships sail. Dawn, June 4: Weather forecast of continuing low cloud, coastal fog and rain forces 24-hour delay in invasion. Vessels recalled. Dawn, June 5: Decision to go ahead with invasion. Convoys sail for Normandy. Evening, June 5: Invasion fleet approaches Normandy beaches. 11:30 p.m., June 5: Aerial attacks begin. Midnight: Three airborne divisions drop on east and west flanks of invasion beaches. Includes 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. June 6 about 5 a.m.: Naval bombardment of beach defences begins. 5:30 a.m.: First Canadian assault vessels leave ships for shore. 6:30 a.m.: First Americans land at beaches. 7:25 a.m.: First British land. About 7:45 a.m.: First Canadians land. 10:30 a.m.: First assault waves ashore. Noon: Juno Beach secure. 12:45 p.m.: Maj. Rod Keller (Canadian commanding officer) goes ashore. Advance continues until nightfall. OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer should eject colleague Michael Cooper from the Tory caucus over things the MP said about online hate in a parliamentary hearing last week, says a Liberal MP. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Conservative MP Michael Cooper rises during Question Period on Thursday, October 6, 2016 on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer should eject colleague Michael Cooper from the Tory caucus over things the MP said about online hate in a parliamentary hearing last week, says a Liberal MP. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer should eject colleague Michael Cooper from the Tory caucus over things the MP said about online hate in a parliamentary hearing last week, says a Liberal MP. Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault says Scheer's decision to remove Cooper from the committee that held the hearing, but not from caucus, shows there's a "revolving door" for bigots in the Conservative party. During a May 28 meeting on the topic of online hate, Cooper quoted from the manifesto of the man charged with the mass murder in Christchurch, New Zealand in March. Cooper also named the man, though media and public figures are increasingly trying to deny celebrity to attackers by omitting their names from coverage. Cooper was responding to testimony from a Muslim witness, Faisal Khan Suri, who told the committee the man responsible for the 2017 attack on a mosque in Quebec City consumed content from "anti-immigrant, alt-right and conservative commentators." Suri said the man alleged to have carried out the attacks in Christchurch, which left 51 people dead, was influenced by similar content. "I take great umbrage with your defamatory comments to try to link conservatism with violent extremist attacks," Cooper told Suri. "They have no foundation, they're defamatory, and they diminish your credibility as a witness." The Conservative MP, who represents St. Albert-Edmonton, released a statement on Facebook Saturday apologizing for the incident, calling it "ill-advised." "I absolutely should not have quoted these words nor named the perpetrator. This was a mistake," Cooper said. "I apologize to Mr. Suri and to all Canadians. I reiterate that I unequivocally condemn all forms of racism." A short while later, Scheer released a statement on Twitter saying he had spoken to Cooper and they had agreed the MP would no longer serve on the justice committee. Scheer called the incident "insensitive and unacceptable." The Tory leader added that he had accepted Cooper's apology and considered the matter closed. "Mr. Cooper is a good person who made a mistake, and has taken responsibility, and apologized while denouncing hateful rhetoric," he said Monday, in a statement relayed through a spokesman. He condemned Boissonnault for "trying to score cheap political points off of a terrible tragedy" and pointed out that Liberal MPs have crossed the line on social media without serious consequences. "The only thing that gets you kicked out of the Liberal party is speaking the truth about Justin Trudeau's involvement in the SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal," Scheer concluded. Suri also called for Cooper to be kicked out of the Conservative caucus. Boissonnault said Monday that given there are only three weeks left in the parliamentary session, removing Cooper from committee was a "woefully inadequate"and "insufficient" response from Scheer. Cooper's actions in the committee meeting came the same day Scheer gave a speech in which he said bigots are not welcome in the Conservative party, saying "there's the door" to anyone who believes race, religion, gender or sexual orientation makes them superior. (ANSA) - Rome, June 3 - The European Union and member States in the front line of the migrant crisis, Italy, Germany and France, have been reported to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over the thousands of migrants who have drowned in the Mediterranean, sources said Monday. The Guardian reported that former ICC staffer Juan Branco and Israeli lawyer Omer Shatz were the main authors of a 245-page complaint filed at the Dutch-based court. The EU and member States should be prosecuted for the deaths of thousands of migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean fleeing Libya, according to the detailed legal submission to the ICC. The 245-page document calls for punitive action over the EU's deterrence-based migration policy after 2014, which allegedly "intended to sacrifice the lives of migrants in distress at sea, with the sole objective of dissuading others in similar situation from seeking safe haven in Europe". The indictment is aimed at the EU and the member states that played a prominent role in the refugee crisis: Italy, Germany and France. The stark accusation, that officials and politicians knowingly created the "world's deadliest migration route" resulting in more than 12,000 people losing their lives, is made by the two experienced international lawyers. Branco formerly worked at the ICC as well as at France's foreign affairs ministry, and Shatz teaches at Sciences Po university in Paris. The allegation of "crimes against humanity" draws partially on internal papers from Frontex, the EU organisation charged with protecting the EU's external borders, which, the lawyers say, warned that moving from the successful Italian rescue policy of Mare Nostrum could result in a "higher number of fatalities". The submission states that: "In order to stem migration flows from Libya at all costs and in lieu of operating safe rescue and disembarkation as the law commands, the EU is orchestrating a policy of forced transfer to concentration camps-like detention facilities [in Libya] where atrocious crimes are committed." The switch from Mare Nostrum to a new policy from 2014, known as Triton (named after the Greek messenger god of the sea), is identified as a crucial moment "establishing undisputed mens rea [mental intention] for the alleged offences". It is claimed that the evidence in the dossier establishes criminal liability within the jurisdiction of the ICC for "causing the death of thousands of human beings per year, the refoulement [forcible return] of tens of thousands of migrants attempting to flee Libya and the subsequent commission of murder, deportation, imprisonment, enslavement, torture, rape, persecution and other inhuman acts against them". The Triton policy introduced the "most lethal and organised attack against civilian population the ICC had jurisdiction over in its entire history," the legal document asserts. "European Union and Member States' officials had foreknowledge and full awareness of the lethal consequences of their conduct." The submission does not single out individual politicians or officials for specific responsibility but does quote diplomatic cables and comments from national leaders, including Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron. The office of the prosecutor at the ICC is already investigating crimes in Libya but the main focus has been on the Libyan civil war, which erupted in 2011 and led to the removal of Muammar Gaddafi. Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor, has, however, already mentioned inquiries into "alleged crimes against migrants transiting through Libya". The Mare Nostrum search and rescue policy launched in October 2013, the submission says, was "in many ways hugely successful, rescuing 150,810 migrants over a 364-day period". Criticism of the policy began in mid-2014 on the grounds, it is said, that it was not having a sufficient humanitarian impact and that there was a desire to move from assistance at sea to assistance on land. "EU officials sought to end Mare Nostrum to allegedly reduce the number of crossings and deaths," the lawyers maintain. "However, these reasons should not be considered valid as the crossings were not reduced. And the death toll was 30-fold higher." The subsequent policy, Triton, only covered an "area up to 30 nautical miles from the Italian coastline of Lampedusa, leaving around 40 nautical miles of key distress area off the coast of Libya uncovered," the submission states. It also deployed fewer vessels. It is alleged EU officials "did not shy away from acknowledging that Triton was an inadequate replacement for Mare Nostrum". An internal Frontex report from 28 August 2014, quoted by the lawyers, acknowledged that "the withdrawal of naval assets from the area, if not properly planned and announced well in advance - would likely result in a higher number of fatalities." The first mass drownings cited came on 22 January and 8 February 2015, which resulted in 365 deaths nearer to the Libyan coast. It is alleged that in one case, 29 of the deaths occurred from hypothermia during the 12-hour-long transport back to the Italian island of Lampedusa. During the "black week" of 12 to 18 April 2015, the submission says, two successive shipwrecks led to the deaths of 1,200 migrants. As well as drownings, the forced return of an estimated 40,000 refugees allegedly left them at risk of "executions, torture and other systematic rights abuses" in militia-controlled camps in Libya. "European Union officials were fully aware of the treatment of the migrants by the Libyan Coastguard and the fact that migrants would be taken ... to an unsafe port in Libya, where they would face immediate detention in the detention centers, a form of unlawful imprisonment in which murder, sexual assault, torture and other crimes were known by the European Union agents and officials to be common," the submission states. Overall, EU migration policies caused the deaths of "thousands civilians per year in the past five years and produced about 40,000 victims of crimes within the jurisdiction of the court in the past three years", the report states. The submission will be handed in to the ICC on Monday 3 June. An EU spokesperson said the union could not comment on "non-existing" legal actions but added: "Our priority has always been and will continue to be protecting lives and ensuring humane and dignified treatment of everyone throughout the migratory routes. It's a task where no single actor can ensure decisive change alone. "All our action is based on international and European law. The European Union dialogue with Libyan authorities focuses on the respect for human rights of migrants and refugees, on promoting the work of UNHCR and IOM on the ground, and on pushing for the development of alternatives to detention, such as the setting up of safe spaces, to end the systematic and arbitrary detention system of migrants and refugees in Libya. "Search and Rescue operations in the Mediterranean need to follow international law, and responsibility depends on where they take place. EU operations cannot enter Libya waters, they operate in international waters. SAR operations in Libyan territorial waters are Libyan responsibility." The spokesperson added that the EU has "pushed Libyan authorities to put in place mechanisms improving the treatment of the migrants rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard." An environmental group says Canada needs to up its game on protecting its oceans. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Seal pups are released back into the ocean from Iona Beach in Richmond, B.C., Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018. Canada needs to up its game on protecting its oceans, says a new report from an environmental group.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward An environmental group says Canada needs to up its game on protecting its oceans. The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society says in a report that while there has been progress in recent years, recommendations from international scientific bodies suggest there's more work to do. "At least 30 per cent should be protected if we want to ensure all the habitats are protected and that we're securing the future of healthy oceans," Sabine Jessen, director of the group's ocean program, said Monday. The report says protecting ocean areas includes banning oil, gas or mineral projects, not dumping waste and ruling out bottom-trawling fisheries. Jessen credits the federal Liberal government for improvements in recent years. Two years ago, less than one per cent of Canada's seas were under some form of conservation agreement. That figure has since risen to more than eight per cent. Jessen suggested Canada is likely to exceed its protection target of 10 per cent by next year, more than meeting its international commitments. But that goal, part of a multilateral treaty signed by 168 countries, had more to do with politics than science, she said. "It was based on the fact there was so little protected, but people knew something had to be done," Jessen said. "It's been a good spur to action, but we know that we're changing the ocean and we really need to protect the places that still have some healthy ecosystems in them." She points out groups such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature one of the largest associations of governments and scientists in the world suggest greater efforts are needed. "They had looked at the evidence of what would be needed and they passed a resolution that at least 30 per cent of the ocean should be protected." The report says Canada is falling behind many of its international peers. Among the 10 countries with the largest marine economic zones, Canada ranks seventh. The United States, Australia and the United Kingdom all rank higher. Jessen acknowledges some of those countries have large protected areas off overseas territories. As well, degrees of protection vary. But the rankings do show what is possible, she said. The report says Canada could get more than halfway toward the 30 per cent goal simply by completing projects already in the works to protect marine areas. The report notes that saving Canada's seas is also good business. It quotes Statistics Canada figures that indicate more than 100,000 Canadian jobs are directly tied to fisheries and nearly 60,000 to ocean ecotourism. Climate change makes the job even more urgent, Jessen said. "We're changing the Earth. We need to protect the Earth." Follow Bob Weber on Twitter at @row1960 OTTAWA - Canada's trade minister is endorsing a European Union plan to set up an alternative to the World Trade Organization's appeals panel, in case a U.S. refusal to appoint new members paralyzes it by the end of the year. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA - Canada's trade minister is endorsing a European Union plan to set up an alternative to the World Trade Organization's appeals panel, in case a U.S. refusal to appoint new members paralyzes it by the end of the year. Jim Carr said the EU's plan to set up a proxy version of the WTO's Appellate Body has merit and deserves further examination. The EU wants to set up an alternative arbitration process that would essentially mirror the function of the Appellate Body. International Trade Diversification Minister James Carr responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons Friday May 3, 2019 in Ottawa. Canada's trade minister is endorsing a European Union plan that seeks to prevent the Trump administration from paralysing the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement body later this year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld The United States is blocking appointments to fill vacancies at the Appellate Body, which is an appeal court of sorts for the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body. The two groups deal with international complaints about trade policies, such as tariffs and domestic content requirements. The appeals body is down to three members from its normal seven, and two of the remaining members' terms expire in December. If no approvals for new vacancies are forthcoming by then, the body will be down to one member, from China, and could effectively shut down. "The European Union is looking at alternate ways, probably in an interim period, to make that transition less disruptive than it otherwise would be," Carr said in a recent interview. "We knew that the Europeans were likely to make public these possibilities and we're open to it, and we welcome the creativity behind it. And we also know that the clock is ticking." President Donald Trump, along with other members of his administration, has disparaged the Geneva-based WTO as a disaster for the U.S. part of his broader wrecking-ball approach to the international trading order. The latest example of that came last week when Trump injected fresh uncertainty into the ratification of the new North American trade agreement. Just hours after Vice-President Mike Pence held talks in Ottawa with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau aimed at pushing on with ratification, Trump threatened Mexico with new tariffs. Trump said he would impose a five-per-cent duty on Mexican imports as of June 10 if it doesn't stem the flow of migrants, mainly from Central America, into the U.S. Trump's latest threat comes after he extolled the virtues of the new United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a strong replacement for NAFTA, which he called probably the worst trade agreement in his country's history, at recent event at the White House. In the same breath, Trump railed against the WTO, blaming it for everything he sees wrong with the global trade landscape. Trump said on May 23 that the WTO "may be even worse because of what it's done with respect to trade, and international trade and trade with China, what it's done for China and how much money our country has been losing to China." Canada has convened about a dozen like-minded countries minus the U.S. and China to try to reform the WTO, and Carr said the EU's proposal to keep the Appellate Body functioning has been discussed there. In October, Carr hosted the ministers for their inaugural meeting in Ottawa. A discussion document circulated at the meeting, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press, succinctly summarized the looming crisis with the Appellate Body: "The impasse of the appointment of the appellate body members threatens to bring the whole dispute settlement system to a halt." According to a Bloomberg report last week, an EU document described its proposal as an attempt to replicate the "essential principles and features" of the Appellate Body so its function can continue. The EU proposal was not formally on the agenda of the October talks in Ottawa, said Carr. "But in the side conversations, you're always reviewing ideas from others as they are articulated," he said. "If you can get consensus that takes some of the edge off the hard stop of Dec. 10 and keep the dispute settlement function intact, even if it's only for a temporary period, then that's an idea I think all countries should be prepared to consider." Carr and his counterparts from the like-minded group also talked on the margins of the recent Paris meetings of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and will gather next week at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Japan. The group is trying to present a series of workable proposals that could then be brought forward to the U.S. and China. "Ultimately, we're going to have to achieve consensus with the major economies of the world. That's the only way that any kind of WTO reform will be sustainable," said Carr. "Meanwhile, we're looking at other possible measures between now and the end of the year." The EU Embassy in Ottawa declined comment. OTTAWA - Canada suspended operations at its embassy in Venezuela on Sunday, saying President Nicolas Maduro's regime is increasingly clamping down on diplomats who oppose his rule. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 2/6/2019 (941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro flashes a victory sign, as he holds hands with his wife Cilia Flores, outside Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela on May 20, 2109. Canada suspended operations at its embassy in Venezuela on Sunday, saying President Nicolas Maduro's regime is increasingly clamping down on diplomats who oppose his rule. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Ariana Cubillos OTTAWA - Canada suspended operations at its embassy in Venezuela on Sunday, saying President Nicolas Maduro's regime is increasingly clamping down on diplomats who oppose his rule. The diplomats' visas are set to expire at the end of June, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement, and Maduro's regime which Canada has denounced as illegitimate and characterized as a dictatorship has made it so they cannot be renewed. "As Venezuela slides deeper into dictatorship, and as Venezuelans continue to suffer at the hands of the illegitimate Maduro regime, the regime has taken steps to limit the ability of foreign embassies to function in Venezuela, particularly those advocating for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela," she said. Freeland said the operations are being suspended temporarily, effective immediately. "We are also evaluating the status of Venezuelan diplomats appointed by the Maduro regime to Canada," she said in the statement. News that embassy operations were being put on hold came a day before Freeland was set to meet in New York with other members of the Lima Group a bloc that includes more than a dozen Latin American countries opposing Maduro. Canada is among as many as 50 countries that have said Maduro stole last year's election and is no longer the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Instead, the Lima Group backed opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself Venezuela's interim leader at the beginning of this year. Freeland said that through its work with the Lima Group, the government will continue to advocate for democracy in the South American nation. Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 100 officials in Maduro's regime in a bid to hold them accountable. The country's political and economic crisis has forced three million people to flee their homes in search of food, health care and other basic services since 2015. Global Affairs said Canadians in Venezuela who need consular assistance can reach out to the Embassy of Canada to Colombia, in Bogota, and noted that Ottawa has advised against travelling to Venezuela for the past several months. The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women was unequivocal in its assessment: "This is genocide." Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Chief commissioner Marion Buller, left to right, and commissioners Brian Eyolfson, Qajaq Robinson and Michele Audette prepare the final report to give to the government at the closing ceremony for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Que., on Monday, June 3, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld The national inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women was unequivocal in its assessment: "This is genocide." Chief commissioner Marion Buller was greeted by cheers when she spoke these words Monday before hundreds of people gathered at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., for the release of the inquiry's long-anticipated report. Her declaration echoed the inquiry's full-throated conclusion that systemic violence against Indigenous women and girls amounts to a "Canadian genocide" in breach of the country's obligations under international law. The report's diagnosis reignited a familiar debate over whether Canada's treatment of Indigenous Peoples constitutes genocide. Here's a look at genocide's definition, how it applies to the inquiry's findings, and why its invocation is controversial to some: What is genocide? Legal scholar Raphael Lemkin coined the word "genocide" -- a hybrid of the Greek root "genos" (race or people) and the Latin suffix "cide" (to kill) -- in a 1944 book looking at the mass murder carried out by Nazis during the Second World War, as well as the historical precedents for targeted destruction of particular groups of people. Genocide was recognized as a crime under international law in the 1948 United Nations Convention on Genocide, which defined it as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group." These include killing or causing serious bodily or mental harm to group members; imposing measures to prevent births or forcibly transferring children to another group; and forcing conditions on the group calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part. Since its adoption, the UN treaty has faced criticism from groups who argue its conception of genocide is too restrictive. Canada's Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, passed in 2000, offers a broader definition, saying genocide can encompass not only acts of commission, but "omission" as well. What were the inquiry's findings on genocide? In their report, the inquiry's commissioners argue that through its actions and omissions, Canada has been -- and continues to be -- complicit in a "genocide" against Indigenous women and girls. The report uses the term dozens of times, starting in the first paragraph of its preface, in which Buller writes: "This report is about deliberate race-, identity- and gender-based genocide." Buller, a former B.C. judge, goes on to defend her and fellow commissioners' "harsh words," as necessary to address "hard truths" like genocide. The report points to examples of harms suffered by Indigenous women, LGBTQ and two-spirited people at the hands of Canadian authorities, including the failure to protect them from exploitation, trafficking and killers; deaths in police custody; physical, sexual, and mental abuse in state institutions; the removal of children; forced relocations; the lack of funding for social services and coerced sterilizations. What are the legal implications? The inquiry report offers a supplementary legal analysis outlining its case that Canada should be held accountable for its genocidal acts under international law, while acknowledging that a formal determination of liability can only be made by judicial bodies. The report argued that the debate around "cultural genocide" versus "real" genocide is misleading. It makes a distinction between "colonial genocide" and the "Holocaust prototype," arguing that the former often goes unrecognized because it consists of a "slow death" carried out over centuries of policies, actions and omissions that cumulatively reflect an intention to destroy Indigenous Peoples. "The insidious and gradual nature of the obliteration of Indigenous Peoples, and the lack of a uniform national policy spearheaded by a totalitarian mastermind, differentiate colonial genocide from our traditional understanding of what constitutes a genocide," the report says. "These distinguishing factors have, unfortunately, allowed the Canadian consciousness to dismiss Canada's colonial policies as racist and misconceived, rather than acknowledge them as explicitly genocidal and, even, ongoing." What was Ottawa's reaction to the inquiry's characterization of "Canadian genocide"? As he accepted the report Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped short of calling the disappearances and deaths of Indigenous women and girls in Canada a genocide despite being called upon to do so. Instead, Trudeau said violence against Indigenous women and girls is "not a relic of Canada's past," but part of its present, and the justice system has failed them. Justice Minister David Lametti said the federal government will leave the discussion of the term "genocide" to academics and experts, adding Ottawa has a responsibility to the families and survivors to fix the problem. How about the reaction elsewhere? Quebec Premier Francois Legault bristled at the inquiry's use of the term "genocide," while insisting he wanted to focus on the issues rather than quibbling over word choice. "A genocide is when one wants, systemically, to make a nation disappear. I don't think that's what we're talking about, but we're talking about something very serious," Legault said in Quebec City on Monday. "Many cases of women and girls who were abused, who disappeared, who didn't get the help they should have. I don't want to debate over words, it's very serious, we have to act, and we have to act quickly." Norman Spector, who served as former prime minister Brian Mulroney's chief of staff, was among the political figures and commentators who were blasted online for mocking the inquiry's use of the term. Former Conservative Aboriginal Affairs minister Bernard Valcourt was criticized after tweeting that no one was served by the "thunderous silly conclusion" that "all we wanted" was to kill Indigenous Peoples. But many Indigenous activists defended the inquiry's invocation of genocide. Mi'kmaq lawyer Pamela Palmater, chair of Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, said it would be a "rare moment of truth, responsibility, accountable and humanity" for a state perpetrator of genocide to own up to its crimes. Regina Police Chief Evan Bray also welcomed the inquiry's assessment, acknowledging that his own force, along with police services across Canada, have played a role in where we are today. "We have to recognize that the challenges, the problems, the deficiencies that have occurred in Canadian history have absolutely resulted in a loss of culture, in a loss of identity," Bray told reporters. "So if you look at the definition of genocide, it can be interpreted many different ways, but I would say yes it fits into that, there's no question about that." GATINEAU, Que. - Geraldine Gauthier clutched a picture of her sister, Lynn, as she heard from the federally funded commission tasked with documenting the causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (941 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. GATINEAU, Que. - Geraldine Gauthier clutched a picture of her sister, Lynn, as she heard from the federally funded commission tasked with documenting the causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls. Lynn was murdered 19 years ago. For Gauthier, the day was emotional and brought back many memories. But it was also filled with a touch of optimism now that 231 recommendations from the inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls have been put on paper. "They are going to hear what we have to say, first of all," she said. "It is a beginning and I hope it does bring change." Speaking in the grand hall of the Canadian Museum of History, facing Parliament Hill across the Ottawa River, the inquiry's chief commissioner, Marion Buller, said that nothing short of an absolute paradigm-shift is in order from all levels of government and public institutions to address the issue one her commission labelled frankly as a genocide. The tragedy, Buller said, is a direct result of a "persistent and deliberate pattern of systemic racial and gendered human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses, perpetuated historically and maintained today by the Canadian state." The term has instantly become a flashpoint, the subject of arguments over whether it denotes intentionality in the hundreds of killings and disappearances the inquiry examined, whether it's fair if it does, whether the label matters. For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stopped short of using the term despite being directly asked to do so in a call from the crowd when he spoke after accepting the report. CP Chief commissioner Marion Buller, front left to right, and commissioners Brian Eyolfson, Qajaq Robinson and Michele Audette get ready to prepare the final report. Instead, Trudeau said violence against Indigenous women and girls is "not a relic of Canada's past," but part of its present, and the justice system has failed them. "Time and again, we have heard of their disappearance, violence, or even death being labelled low priority or ignored," he said. He received the report from the commissioners after they performed a traditional ceremony, including coating its pages with medicine. In a speech later in Vancouver to a gender equality conference with numerous political leaders from around the world, Trudeau did use the term. "Earlier this morning the national inquiry formally presented their final report in which they found that the tragic violence that Indigenous women and girls have experienced amounts to genocide." The inquiry report itself uses the term "genocide" dozens of times, starting in the first paragraph of Buller's preface: "This report is about deliberate race, identity and gender-based genocide," she wrote. After Monday's ceremony, Buller said the commission does not need to hear the word "genocide" out of Trudeau's mouth; it heard the truth from families and survivors. That Indigenous women and girls have been victims of genocide was an "inescapable conclusion" for the commission, she said. When asked if she agreed with the use of the term, Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said the Liberal government accepts the findings of the commissioners, adding it has heard for a long time that "racism and sexism kills." CP A woman embraces Commissioner Qajaq Robinson. The federal government will leave the discussion of the use of the term "genocide" to academics and experts, said Justice Minister David Lametti. He said the government has a responsibility to the families and survivors to fix the problem. Conservative Indigenous-affairs critic Cathy McLeod said the discussion around the term was a distraction from the value of the report's findings and would not say whether she agreed with the use of the word. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he thinks genocide is an accurate word to use for what he calls "a complete system failure" for Indigenous women and girls. Monday, Buller told the crowd she and her three fellow commissioners are holding up a mirror to the country, reflecting what they heard from more than 2,300 people over two years of cross-country public hearings and work to gather evidence. Commissioner Qajaq Robinson said the inquiry tested her to her core as a non-Indigenous person, struggling to come to terms with her "role in Canada's genocide." "Shame, guilt, denial, that urge to say, 'No, no, no, that's not what this is,' " she said. "But it's the truth. It's our truth. It's my truth, it's your truth. The families, survivors, and Indigenous peoples across this country have brought this truth to light." (Robinson was born and raised in Nunavut, speaks Inuktitut and practises Aboriginal law, but her appointment as a member of a commission that had no Inuk member was questioned when the inquiry began.) The report's 231 recommendations framed as "calls for justice" include developing an effective response to human-trafficking cases and sexual exploitation and violence, including in the sex industry. Chief commissioner Marion Buller listens before the start of hearings at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, in Smithers, B.C., on September 26, 2017. The long-awaited inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women has publicly released its findings including calls for health service providers to develop education programs for Indigenous children and youth on the issue of grooming for exploitation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck These moves are not optional, but constitute legal imperatives, the report says. Additional calls include establishing a national Indigenous- and human-rights ombudsperson and a national Indigenous- and human-rights tribunal. The report also focuses on a call for people in the justice system and in police services to acknowledge that the historical and current relationship with Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people has been largely defined by colonialism, racism, bias and discrimination. Missing and murdered Indigenous women are believed to number in the thousands in Canada, but the report says that despite the commission's best efforts to quantify the extent of the tragedy, "no one knows an exact number." In 2005, the Native Women's Association of Canada created a database tracking cases and produced a 2010 report documenting 582 missing and murdered Indigenous women. In 2014, the RCMP released a national overview and pegged the number of cases between 1980 and 2012 at nearly 1,200. Other unverified estimates are far higher. Evelyne Youngchief, a survivor of violence who works on the front lines on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, said Monday the report may offer closure to some, but not her. More and more Indigenous women continue to go missing and be murdered, she said. "It's going to keep happening," she said. "It's not going to end any time soon. When are they going to stop murdering and taking our women?" Follow @kkirkup on Twitter OTTAWA - Environment Canada is reviewing its public alerts system after residents of a suburban Ottawa neighbourhood hit by a tornado Sunday were never warned that one was on the way. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Residents survey the damage as debris downed tress are piled on the street as cleanup begins, the day after a tornado touched down in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans, Ont., on Monday, June, 3, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand OTTAWA - Environment Canada is reviewing its public alerts system after residents of a suburban Ottawa neighbourhood hit by a tornado Sunday were never warned that one was on the way. The tornado, preliminarily classified as an EF1 with winds up to 178 kilometres an hour, reportedly injured one person slightly but it tore off roofs, levelled fences and uprooted trees. While Environment Canada issued tornado warnings for several nearby areas in western Quebec and eastern Ontario Sunday night, there was never a warning issued for any part of Ottawa. A spokeswoman for the department said the weather leading up to the tornado didn't suggest one could develop it was warm but not hot and not that windy and only some thunderstorms were considered possible. It wasn't until someone near the airport in Gatineau, Que., spotted a funnel cloud that the tornado risk became known. By the time the warning was communicated over the Alert Ready warning system, the tornado had already touched down across the river in Orleans, a suburb in east Ottawa. Numerous residents posted to Twitter and Facebook that they either never got the alert message at all, or that by the time they got it, the storm was already over and it wasn't for their area. In one video of the tornado posted to Twitter, the cellphone alert can be heard going off as the tornado is passing. "It was a little bit late and a little bit too far east, but you know what, it is better than what we had before," said Marc Messier, an Orleans resident who's also an inspector with the Ottawa Fire Service. "It might be better if we had it on time." Messier's son called him shortly before 6 p.m. Sunday to say a tornado had just gone down his street. Messier was driving home and stopped rather than drive into the storm. He shot video of the tornado from the overpass where he stopped, and says he didn't get the alert warning until after he stopped filming. And the alert was for Prescott-Russell, a county east and south of the city. Since April 2018, wireless networks have been required to carry emergency-alert messages to warn people of things like severe weather or missing children. The Amber Alerts for missing children have been criticized for waking people up in the middle of the night and some Ottawa residents said on Twitter they were perplexed that they get notifications for missing children many hundreds of kilometres away but not for a tornado that was right beside them. Tim Warmington, a spokesman for Public Safety Canada, which is the department responsible for the Alert Ready system, said Monday Canadians won't receive alerts if their phones are turned off, are in silent or airplane mode, are outside the area affected, aren't compatible with or connected to LTE networks, or are connected to cell towers that aren't in the coverage area. Warmington directed questions about which areas are targeted to Environment Canada. Environment Canada spokeswoman Samantha Bayard said her department "will be reviewing this event with other public alerting partners to evaluate the alerting performance." Ottawa-area residents are more aware of tornado risks after six tornadoes touched down in the area last September. They destroyed dozens of homes in the west end of the city and in Gatineau, and took out one of the city's main power stations. MONTREAL - The federal and Quebec governments have announced a $500-million reconstruction project for Canada's longest highway tunnel the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel linking Montreal to its southern suburbs. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Federal Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Francois-Philippe Champagne speaks during a news conference in Montreal, Monday, June 3, 2019, where he announced into the repair and upgrade of the Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine Bridge-Tunnel. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL - The federal and Quebec governments have announced a $500-million reconstruction project for Canada's longest highway tunnel the Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine Tunnel linking Montreal to its southern suburbs. "We're bringing Montreal infrastructure into the 21st century," said federal Infrastructure Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, referring also to the new Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge expected to open at the end of the month. Champagne and Quebec's junior transport minister, Chantal Rouleau, announced the funding deal in Montreal on Monday. Work is expected to begin in 2020 and last until 2024. The investment in the 52-year-old tunnel one of five links between Montreal and the south shore will extend its life span by 40 years. No fewer than 47 million vehicles use the La Fontaine tunnel every year, Champagne said. "It's the longest highway tunnel in Canada," he said. Planned work includes pavement, lighting, vaults, walls, signage and a fire protection system, as well as repaving of the highway between Boucherville and Montreal and necessary infrastructure for public transportation on highways linking to the tunnel. Champagne wouldn't say how the funding would be divided between the governments, so as not to compromise the tendering process set to open soon. He said it was important to announce the project to allow for preparatory work. Rouleau said about 13 per cent of the vehicles that use the tunnel daily are heavy trucks. She said the massive re-construction will cause some obstacles, but the province is planning mitigation measures including parking spots to encourage public transit use and lanes for buses and car pooling. There's also a consideration of a river shuttle between Montreal and its southern suburbs. There will also be an emphasis on communication with residents impacted by the work, Rouleau said. "The work being announced today everyone knew it had to be done," Rouleau said. A wildfire that has forced about 2,000 people from their homes in northwestern Ontario has begun to slow its spread, officials said Monday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 3/6/2019 (940 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Cpl. Steven Cayen from 17 Wing Winnipeg assists evacuees from Pikangikum, Ont. who were relocated to Winnipeg because of forest fires burning in Northern Ontario, as part of Operation LENTUS on Sunday, June 2, 2019. A wildfire that has forced about 2,000 people from their homes in northwestern Ontario has begun to slow its spread, officials said Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO--Cpl. Darryl Hepner, 17 Wing Imaging A wildfire that has forced about 2,000 people from their homes in northwestern Ontario has begun to slow its spread, officials said Monday. The forest fire near Pikangikum First Nation started on Wednesday and by Saturday it had grown to 36 square kilometres. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Resources and Forestry said that on Monday it covered 38 square kilometres. "The fire has slowed growing, but obviously it's still something our guys are trying to get under control," Jolanta Kowalski said. "It is being attacked hard." Kowalski said fire crews are bracing for a change in winds. Environment Canada issued a special air quality statement Monday that the winds could sweep the smoke from Red Lake 14, as it's officially known, into the nearby First Nation. "Smoke plumes from a forest fire east of Pikangikum have resulted in deteriorated air quality in the area," the agency said in its statement. "Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk." Nishnawbe Aski Nation, which represents 49 First Nation communities across northern Ontario, said about 2,000 people have been evacuated from the fly-in community, located about 500 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay, Ont., to other cities in Ontario and Manitoba. The fire has damaged the broadband communications in the area, Nishnawbe Aski Nation said in a statement, knocking out phone and internet service. "Bell technicians have been allowed to assess the damage in the community but due to weather delays they will not be able to fly into Pikangikum until Tuesday," Nishnawbe Aski Nation said. Kowalski said crews are also busy creating a "combustible-free zone" a lengthy mound of dirt with bulldozers on the north side of the blaze "so the fire can't jump it." Evacuations continued Monday. The province said all vulnerable people have been transported out of the area. "At this moment in time, the people who remain in the community are people who don't want to leave and that lines up with the fact there is no anticipated imminent danger," said Indigenous Affairs Minister Greg Rickford. "The fire is managed, but this is always about the smoke and there may be some change in wind direction in the next day or two." He said the province remains on guard to evacuate the First Nation completely should the chief make that decision. Maud and Sam of Blacks Brewery and Distillery in Kinsale have launched a five-year fund that allows investors to indulge their love of the spirit by keeping or selling on their whiskey Kinsale firm Blacks Brewery and Distillery believes it has come up with a way for investors to combine their love of Irish whiskey and a desire for a market bet. The husband and wife team of Sam and Maud Black set up the firm in 2013, offering consumers award-winning gin and Irelands first and only rum. They have now launched a whiskey investment fund that claims guaranteed returns at the end of five years. After investing in two copper stills, Blacks Whiskey Founders Club is giving the first 500 whiskey and spirit enthusiasts the chance to purchase their very own cask, starting from 6,500 and resulting in around 400 bottles of their own pot-stilled single malt Irish whiskey. According to Irish Spirits Association figures, whiskey comprised 42% of Irelands beverage exports in 2018 and the figure is expected to rise exponentially in the coming years. After five years of maturation, investors may decide to have their whiskey bottled for keeps, or alternatively, if they wish to sell their casks back to Blacks, they will receive a minimum 4% annually compounded, or around 280 a year per cask, return on their initial investment, according to the company. Sam and Maud Black, of Blacks Brewery and Distillery which currently produces a range of beers, gin, and Irelands first and only rum. Mr Black said: It has a guaranteed minimum return that is better than any bank at the moment. You can never predict what will happen, but we believe with the rise in value of Irish whiskey, there is actually potential for a much higher return. There are options after the end of the five years, on top of the guaranteed minimum return. For us, it gives us access to capital as we try and scale the business, plus it gives us brand ambassadors. Well have 500 people that we have a good relationship with. Weve sold to commercial entities like bars and restaurants with options for co-branded opportunities. The company has so far sold into Australia and into the US and believes there is a good market for bars in the US with co-branded whiskey on the shelf, tapping into the cultural ties with Ireland. He said there is a finance package available to include people who might not necessarily be investors or have the necessary cash to hand. The company has struck a contract with a finance company. The interest paid on the loan could be lower than the eventual returns at the end, Mr Black said. If 300 or 400 bottles of whiskey which is what the average cask produces depending on the cask strength is too much to handle, then Founders Club investors have the option to sell their entire cask back to the distillery at the predetermined agreed value with a 4% per annum compounding return on investors initial purchase. Based on one of the casks available, this return equates to a compound annual growth rate of 4% per year or a total gross return of 21.7% for the five-year period, he said. Members also have the option to extend the maturation for additional years and allow the whiskey to continue to mature and grow in value as it ages, the firm said. Membership is now open, with production due to start in January 2020. Members can request to be present in the distillery on the day of distilling or cask filling, and once a year will be invited to Kinsale for the weekend to visit the distillery. It is a far cry from the Valentines Day gift that Maud presented Sam some years ago. She gave him a home brewing kit, sparking their passion for brewing. This hobby developed into an obsession, they said, and in 2013, Blacks Brewery was founded. In 2015, a distillery was added to the site and they began producing a range of Irish craft spirits. Currently, Blacks produce a range of beers, gin, and Irelands first and only rum. Mr Black said: What Maud got me for Valentines Day was very basic, an almost entry-level homebrewing kit. It was my first introduction to making beer, and I fell in love with it. I enjoy cooking but youd spend hours cooking before all the food would be gone in minutes, to be left with washing up. But youd spend the same time brewing and it could last you months on end, and a lot of fun to be had. He said the distillery is an extension of what was originally a hobby. When we started the business, there were not a lot of microbreweries, it was before the big boom. We thought there was enough of a market to sustain a business Maud Black said the firm was established at a good time for the industry, which was then on the cusp of a worldwide boom. There were 15 when we started and around 65 or so now. A lot more came along the year after we started. In that way, we were very lucky as we got in ahead of the curve and were able to establish in a lot of the larger retail channels early on, which made it a lot easier. Its a great time to be involved, she said. The man who topped the poll in the recent European Election in Dublin claims the recent increase in air-pollution in Ireland could cause people to die early. Ciaran Cuffe was reacting to reports that air pollution has risen significantly in the capital as well as Enniscorthy, Dundalk and Cork. (ANSA) - Rome, June 3 - Anticipation is mounting for the address Premier Giuseppe Conte will make to the nation later on Monday amid speculation that his coalition government is on the verge of a crisis. "At 18:15 I will hold a press conference at Palazzo Chigi (the premier's office)," Conte said via Twitter, inviting people to follow the event live on his Facebook page. "I have some important things to say to you". Tension is high between the two parties supporting his government, the League and the 5-Star Movement. Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is pushing hard for the government to move ahead with a pledge to introduce a 'flat tax' after his League party triumphed at last month's European elections. This could generate more friction between the government and the European Commission, which last week sent Rome a letter asking for clarification on its approach to bringing down the public debt. Fellow Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio, meanwhile, is trying to shore up his M5S after it did badly in the European elections. Agriculture Minister Gian Marco Centinaio was not optimistic about the government's prospects on Monday. "I hope that Premier Conte performs a miracle," said Centinaio, a League member. "I think that the (European) election campaign is over and the tone should be lowered. "The premier and, above all, the two signatories of the contract of government, should start talking about politics again and concrete things. "There is good will (on the League's side), but if the necessary conditions (to continue) are absent, if there is no agreement, I can't see any alternative to (early) elections". Those involved in the latest spate of gang-related shootings must be put behind bars and their business of death undermined and destroyed, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has urged. The Dublin archbishop has appealed to anyone with information about this sickening underworld to have the courage and the decency to come forward in the interest of all. Archbishop Martin, who was speaking after mass in the Pro-Cathedral, was referring to three gang-related shootings in Dublin in recent weeks. Sean Little, 22, was shot dead near Walshetown, north County Dublin in on Tuesday, May 21, Jordan Davis, 22, was murdered in Darndale, the next day and Hamid Sanambar, 41, was shot dead in Kilmore West on Tuesday, May 28. A man in his early 40s was shot and seriously injured on Blakestown Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on Saturday evening. He made his way into a nearby Lidl supermarket where he was given first aid before being taken to hospital for treatment. Archbishop Martin said he had expressed his concern and horror on a number of occasions recently about the level of violence that has affected life in Dublin in recent years. He had spoken about the tragedy of knife violence, especially among young people, and he had talked about violence fostered by the revolting business of death of the drug cartels. In the past weeks, however, this violence had taken on an unprecedented level of depravity with shootings taking place unscrupulously near schools and shopping centres, leaving families terrified and children witnessing brutality that would leave scars on their lives for years. He wanted to know who were the people who carried out and sponsored such violence and why they thought they had a mandate to carry out such shameful violence simply in order to secure their wealth. The perpetrators and sponsors of such violence merit nothing but rejection and disdain. They belong behind bars and their business of death must be undermined and destroyed, he said. I appeal to anyone who can provide information about this sickening underworld to have the courage and the decency to come forward in the interest of all. I appeal to civil and community leaders to show a united and uncompromising response. I urge people to approach the gardai, either directly or indirectly, to provide any information which can help remove this malignance from our streets. The archbishop also said that those who in such violence should not be allowed to use funerals as a show of strength. Where it can be ascertained that individuals how direct responsibility in this traffic in evil they will no longer be allowed to exploit religious services in the Archdiocese of Dublin to enhance their image. Additional staff from outside Cork are set to be drafted in to ensure as speedy a conclusion to the full recount in Ireland South which begins tomorrow. Returning Officer Martin Harvey has indicated that he is likely to reach out to staff who worked on the other counts in a bid to speed up the count, which he estimated would take 28 working days. Mr Harvey said he will only be able to run the re-count during normal office hours as staff who worked on the original count had taken holidays from their main duties. The recount, to start at 9am, could cost the State up to 1m. It came after Sinn Fein and count staff checked vote bundles from Senator Grace O'Sullivan of the Green Party and outgoing Sinn Fein MEP Liadh Ni Riada, who were separated by 327 ballots after the 18th count. Should the full 28 days be taken, the count would continue until July 11, nine days after the EU Parliament is set to convene for the first time and to elect its new President. The absence of the four Ireland South MEPs will create significant difficulties as they are set to miss out on appointment to key committees. The Department of Housing said that while no formal deadline has been set for the formal declaration of candidates, it is aware of the first sitting of the new parliament. In a statement, it said: The EU Parliament has contacted the Chief Returning Officer and no deadline has been made for the submission of the successful candidates. However, we are aware that the new Parliament sits on 2 July. Sinn Fein's Director of Elections, Jonathan O'Brien said his party will not unnecessarily prolong the process, should it become apparent the gap between Ms Ni Riada and Ms O'Sullivan cannot be bridged. The chaos in Ireland South has led to calls from within Cabinet for a return to electronic voting. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said he wants the new electoral commission, which is expected to begin work later this year, to prioritise a study of international best practice in the area. His comments come despite the 51m debacle surrounding e-voting machines two decades ago, which haunted subsequent Fianna Fail governments. "Coming up to the 20th anniversary of the electronic voting debacle, I think we should revisit it," Mr Flanagan said. The minister said the idea of voters in Ireland South waiting another 28 days for a result of the European Parliament elections is "intolerable". Ireland is among the most expensive countries to run an electric car, new research has shown. A study conducted by comparethemarket.com, compared the cost of EVs in 34 countries across the world with Ireland the fifth most expensive, only behind Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Italy. Two RNLI lifeboats rushed to help a lone angler whose boat broke down off the Cork coast yesterday morning. Both Crosshaven and Kinsale RNLI lifeboats were launched at 11am to assist the boat which has broken down off Roberts Cove in a strengthening Force 6/7 westerly wind. The angling boat Deora De was nearby and also responded to the distress call. It took the casualty vessel under tow towards Crosshaven and met with Crosshaven lifeboat a mile South of Roches Point. Due to the poor sea state and in agreement with the skipper of the Deora De, they continued the tow to Roches Point and calmer water before handing over the tow to the lifeboat who then brought the vessel into Crosshaven. Kinsale lifeboat was stood down when the Coast Guard were aware of the Deora De's intervention. "The arrival of the angling boat Deora De so quickly helped a situation that could have been catastrophic as the casualty boat was only 100 metres from the rocks and had an anchor which was dragging, compounded by the vessel being anchored by the stern into the weather," said volunteer lifeboat press officer, Jon Mathers. The RNLI thanked the skipper of the Deora De for his timely intervention. A trucker told gardai it was an accident after he was charged with dangerous driving causing death in connection with a fatal collision between a heavy goods vehicle and a pedestrian in Dublin. The collision happened on the Swords Road (N1) at the Collins Avenue junction at around 12.30am on Friday as a truck was turning left. The victim, 21-year-old Gerard Whyte, from Ballymun, Dublin, was taken to Beaumont Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. A post-mortem examination was carried out at the City Morgue by acting State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis. Gardai appealed for information and released CCTV footage. On Saturday, a man was arrested and detained under the provisions of Section 4, Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Ballymun Garda Station. He was brought to appear before Judge John Cheatle at Dublin District Court today. Father-of-eight, Prince Aibangbe, 50, living at Williams Way, Ongar, Dublin, faced a single charge of dangerous driving causing death. Evidence of arrest, charge and caution was given by Garda David Jordan. He told the judge: It happened yesterday, it was an accident. Garda Jordan objected to bail. He agreed with defence solicitor Rory Staines that footage of the incident was circulated and Mr Aibangbe's employer later contacted Bray Garda station. Mr Aibangbe was arrested by arrangement at his place of work near the Naas Road, in Dublin. The truck was also seized. The garda said it was correct that Mr Aibangbe was very forthcoming in the course of three interviews. The solicitor put it to the Garda that Mr Aibangbe indicated that he clearly did not realise he had been involved in an accident. In reply, Garda Jordan said the defendant fled, failed to remain at the scene. The solicitor said the trucker did not accept that and was not aware at the time. The Garda agreed that ultimately Mr Aibangbe was co-operative in terms of answering questions. Pleading for bail, he said the defendant had eight children and four of them were adults living in Nigeria. The other four were dependents and in school. His former partner lived in Malahide and had attended the hearing. The solicitor said his client came to Ireland in 2005 and had worked as a truck driver for 31 years. He told gardai he had never been involved in an accident before. He has applied for Irish citizenship but it has not yet been granted. The truck has to be forensically examined and it was also likely the case will go forward to the Circuit Court on indictment. He would end up spending a "significant period" of time in custody prior to his trial, his solicitor argued. It will also take some time to obtain directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Staines submitted. The garda agreed that if bail were granted a number of conditions would be sought. Mr Aibangbe would be asked to lodge money, surrender his passport and not apply for other travel documents, sign on daily at Blanchardstown Garda station and provide a contact phone number. Judge Cheatle granted bail in the defendants own bond of 5,000 of which 2,500 must be lodged. He imposed the conditions sought by the Garda. Mr Aibangbe was remanded in custody with consent to bail and ordered to appear again at the district court on Friday. He stood throughout the bail hearing but did not address the court. Legal aid was granted. China's leaders are tormented by the "Malacca Dilemma". Their country is the world's largest importer of oil and natural gas. It is acutely vulnerable to an energy squeeze on seaborne supplies. China knows Trump has a card up his sleeve. Credit:AP More than 82 per cent of China's total crude shipments and much of its liquefied natural gas passes through the Malacca Strait between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsular. The US navy has supremacy over this maritime choke-point, though not necessarily for long. Energy security has long been a nagging worry among China's defence strategists. They have studied the Royal Navy's "limited blockade" of the Falkland Islands in 1982 as the modern textbook case of how maritime powers can tighten their grip. The issue became all too real last week when Fu Chengyu, ex-head of the state oil giant Sinopec, said the country must prepare for the awful possibility of a US oil blockade. "It is not to be alarmist. It is an urgent reality," he told a forum in Shanghai. China's strategic petroleum reserve will not be complete before the early 2020s. State media says stocks are barely enough for 40 days useage - Platts analysts think Japan can last 222. (ANSA) - Vatican City, June 3 - Pope Francis made a 'mea culpa' on Roma on the last day of his trip to Romania Sunday. The pope apologised for "discrimination, segregation and mistreatment" suffered by the Roma community. The pope also beatified seven Greek Christian bishops who died in jail under Communism. There are moments in history, Francis said, when "the weight of ideology or a regime is stronger than life and places itself before life itself and faith". Police have dropped six attempted murder charges against a Queensland woman who had been accused of trying to kill her neighbours by burning a building. April Renea Bornen was charged with the offences after allegedly setting her Coopers Plains unit alight in 2017. The alleged arson attack caused extensive damage to the woman's unit and several neighbouring residences. Credit:7 News Brisbane - Twitter The fire quickly spread to other units and required evacuation of the building. Police alleged the fire was suspicious because it started in two different locations in the apartment. A crane has toppled onto a factory in Melbourne's south-east, causing extensive damage to the building and forcing the evacuation of employees. No-one was injured when the crane came down about noon on Monday at a plastics manufacturer on the Frankston-Dandenong Road in Dandenong. A crane has fallen onto a factory in Dandenong Credit:9News The Country Fire Authority sent four units to the Martogg Group factory and brought the situation under control in about half an hour. Wild wind and rain lashed areas of Melbourne on Monday but it's not known if weather was a factor. Worksafe crews are now investigating. DNA on cigarette butts and scrunched-up duct tape could place a man at the scene of a brutal Melbourne home invasion in which the attackers posed as police. William James Scriven faced a Supreme Court jury on Monday over his alleged involvement in the home invasion at Lilydale on July 25, 2016. It is alleged Mr Scriven and another man entered the home about 5am wearing what looked like police uniforms in order to steal drugs He is charged with aggravated burglary, theft, two counts of attempted murder and two counts of causing serious injury. Prosecutor Matthew Fisher told the jury Neal Cairns, who lived at the house, was asleep in the kitchen when the men entered shouting: "This is the police, get on the floor face down. Where are your drugs?" A former Channel 7 TV newsreader turned property developer failed to pay $1.85 million in GST on luxury homes she had built in Toorak, Portsea and Caulfield North, a trial has heard. Between 2001 and 2007, Simone Semmens bought a home in Toorak for $1.1 million, purchased the Portsea mansion Noorah for $7.5 million and paid $7.8 million for the Rosecraddock estate in Caulfield North. Simone Semmens outside court on Monday Credit:AAP The County Court heard on Monday that within months of buying the homes, Ms Semmens applied to councils and Heritage Victoria about redeveloping them and had hired conveyancers and town planners to work on proposed subdivisions. She had the Caulfield North estate subdivided into seven properties, had the Toorak home demolished and replaced with two apartments and had an extra two homes built on the Portsea land, and sold all her developments for a profit. One in three women and almost one in five men have been the victim of non-consensual condom removal, also known as "stealthing", a Melbourne study has found. But legal experts warn it is a grey area in Australian law and argue greater legislation in needed to govern this type of sexual offending. Legal expert warn stealthing is a "grey area" in Australian law. Credit:Shutterstock A Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and Monash University study surveyed more than 2000 people who visited the clinic run by The Alfred hospital over three months beginning in December 2017. The study, believed to be one of the first of its kind in the world, found more than 30 per cent of 1189 women surveyed had been "stealthed". A 15-year-old boy is among seven people arrested so far over a string of violent muggings, many targeting international students, in Melbourne's east. Chinese students from Monash University have been ambushed, bashed and their mobile phones, wallets and credit cards stolen in streets near the Clayton campus. But police say the international students are not the only targets of the opportunist thieves. Muggings have also occurred in Burwood, Mulgrave, Mount Waverley, Glen Waverley, Box Hill and Oakleigh and police expect to make more arrests, Eastern Region Acting Assistant Commissioner Clive Rust said. Most of the robberies occurred in April and May, between the hours of 6.30pm and 1.45am. Police and State Emergency Services volunteers on Monday searched bushland in Medina, in the City of Kwinana, as part of their investigation into the disappearance of Dianne Barrett. A neighbour of the 59-year-old called police on May 24 after realising he had not seen her for some time. The forward command post. Credit:Jacquelin Robson, 9 News Perth Police investigators have contacted her friends and family and have established that the last confirmed sighting of Dianne was when she visited Bunnings Rockingham on the corner of Patterson Road and Pedlar Circuit about 7pm on May 11. The 59-year-old left her car in the driveway and the TV and heater on with her dog inside, which her siblings believe are signs she meant to return. A serial sex offender, who raped girls as young as three, is about to be released from prison despite saying in March that his victims contributed to the crimes. MGD was jailed in 2009, after pleading guilty to 21 child sex abuse crimes, including rape. Credit:Viki Lascaris The 65-year-old paedophile cannot be identified by law and his whereabouts in the community will be kept secret. Known only as MGD, the man will be released from prison under Dangerous Sex Offender legislation that places him under strict supervision orders. Supreme Court Judge Anthony Derrick found that MGD could be managed under the orders even though he remained a danger to the community. Because it is right that we, in this wealthy country the wealthiest country per capita on the planet ever should be thinking of the people that come after us and the future of this planet. Mr Brown described the Queensland governments approval of Adanis black-throated finch management strategy as akin to shooting it into oblivion in the face of the best scientific advice. Protestors move to line the main streets of Clermont as the Stop Adani convoy arrives in early May. Credit:Lucy Stone. Mr Brown said he, along with many bird experts, did not understand the plans to shift the black-throated finch from the mine site to adjacent territory. The endangered finch had already made the decision to stay near waterholes and seed, he said. The company has set aside 33,000 hectares of land to allow the black-throated finch to relocate. The scientists said the finch has had 10,000 years to go there if that was (suitable) habitat and it didnt, he said. Queensland's Co-ordinator-General and the Department of Environment and Science approved Adani's black-throated finch management plan. Mr Brown announced plans to widen the Stop Adani convoy approach by focusing on the mining companys record in India. We will be holding a protest outside the Indian High Commission in Canberra on Saturday week to protest about (Indian billionaire Gautam) Adanis behaviour in his home country, he said. Where he is now planning to override the wishes of the local people and destroy 843 hectares of dense forest in central India against the wishes of the local Gond people. Those forests contain elephants and leopards and sloth bears that were thought be protected, he said. Mr Brown said the forests were going to be strip-mined for coal. Last month, the Adani Group said those reports were wrong and it had not acquired the forest land. The Adani Group strongly objects factually incorrect and malicious claims made by you. We have not acquired the referred piece of land nor has the government sold it to us. We do not own any mine in Chattisgarh," the company said in a statement. Mr Brown said his foundation had a long-term strategy. The important thing to note is that the spotlight on Adani and what he is doing globally in an age of climate urgency is going to continue, he said. We will see to that. Mr Brown, who spoke at conservation meetings in Hobart, Canberra and Sydney in the past week, said people still cared about environmental issues. He said the federal election outcome was not a demonstration that environmental issues had been rejected. People are busy about their livelihoods, he said. You could argue that they did not care so much about a whole range of economic issues as well. But I have never seen the environment so high on the public agenda since the days of the Franklin River campaign and I just think that is going to continue. Mr Brown welcomed news former US vice president Al Gore would be running a three-day climate change workshop in Brisbane, beginning on Wednesday, World Environment Day. Mr Brown said Australians should take note of how large companies investing in Australia behaved overseas. We should do due diligence on everybody investing in Australia, he said. NSW's long-serving Christian Democrat MP Fred Nile is facing a revolt within his party after moves from some members to overthrow him and the party's board. Christian Democratic Party officials are seeking urgent legal advice following a push to remove the board and Mr Nile, amid accusations of nepotism and mismanagement. Christian Democrats' Fred Nile. Credit:Jon Reid The party is fractured after a fiery state council meeting on the weekend, which saw several board members walk out when a no-confidence motion was moved against Mr Nile and the board. Joshua Grewal, who led the charge and says he is now chair of a newly-created "directional committee", warned that the party needed to renew if it was to have future electoral success. Vaults of Herod's port see the light in Caesarea They will welcome visitors of kingdom's treasures (by Aldo Baquis) (ANSAmed) - CAESAREA, JUNE 3 - After five years of excavation work and a complex restoration, the large rooms built 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great of Caesarea, the main port of the kingdom of Judah, have reopened to the public. There are four large barrel vaults - 7.5 meters high with a width of 5 meters and depth of 21 meters - originally used as a depot at the port's pier. They were at the base of the Temple of Augustus, the emperor to whom Herod had dedicated the port in what was once the heart of the city. Today it has been transformed into a center for visitors by the company for the development of Caesarea, thanks to funding worth 150 million shekels (some 35 million euros) by the Rothschild foundation. The restoration of the vaults - officials explained during the inauguration - was particularly complex because there were concerns for stability. During the work, it was noticed that parts of the original vaults had collapsed and were rebuilt during the Byzantine era, using original construction techniques. During excavation work, a few treasures remerged, including a mosaic of the Roman bathroom floor, from the second or third century AD; a hiding place in which, under the floor of a church, 500 bronze coins from the Byzantine period had been hidden; and a delicate Greek mosaic. With these restorations, further confirmation was found that very advanced techniques for the time were used for the construction of Caesarea - a construction work that was unparalleled in this part of the Mediterranean. In the same period, Herod ordered the construction of other monumental works also in Jerusalem and the Judean desert. In the newly inaugurated center for visitors, rare archaeological findings from different eras, including that of the crusade and the Arab period, are exhibited. For this occasion, a film was made illustrating to visitors Herod's complex and contradictory personality - ''a Herod nobody would have dared to show before'', said organizers at the center. (ANSAmed). The LNP will be allowed to return about half a million dollars from property developers to donors, instead of the money being funnelled to the Queensland government. The decision came after the High Court earlier this year ruled Queensland laws banning property developers from donating to political parties and candidates were valid. Former LNP president Gary Spence challenged Labor's property developer donation laws in the High Court. Credit:LNP Queensland In a statement, Electoral Commissioner of Queensland Pat Vidgen said he would allow political parties to return the unlawful donations, subject to strict conditions. "Should any party fail to comply with all conditions, the electoral commissioner reserves the right to take further action to recover unlawful donations as a debt to the state," he said. Khartoum: Sudan's ruling military moved to crush the protest movement opposing its grip on power as security forces overran the main sit-in site in the capital, unleashing furious volleys of gunfire, burning down tents and killing more than 35 people, witnesses and protest leaders said. With the assault, the generals signalled an end of their tolerance of the pro-democracy demonstrators, who for months have been camped outside the military's headquarters as the two sides negotiated over who would run the country after the April ouster of longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir. A protester flashes the victory sign in front of burning tires and debris on road 60, near Khartoum's army headquarters, in Khartoum, Sudan, before the military forces attacked, Credit:AP After they succeeded in forcing the military to remove Bashir, the protesters had stayed in the streets, demanding the generals move to the background and allow civilians to lead the transition. The dispersal of the sit-in now risks escalating violence even further. Scattered by the bloody assault, protesters vowed to keep up their campaign, suspending talks and calling for a general strike and civil disobedience. They urged nighttime marches across the country. US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Russia told the United States it had removed most of its people from Venezuela. The United States backs opposition leader Juan Guaido as the legitimate leader of Venezuela and has stepped up economic sanctions to help drive President Nicolas Maduro from power. Russia supports Maduro, who has said Guaido is a puppet of Washington. "Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela," Trump, who is on a state visit to Britain, wrote on Twitter. He did not elaborate. Washington: US President Donald Trump complained about what he called "ridiculous" plans for new elections in Israel after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition. Trump, speaking to reporters outside the White House before his departure for the UK, weighed in on the Israeli elections after he was asked about prospects for his administration's long-awaited Middle East peace plan. US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One. Credit:Bloomberg "In the meantime, Israel's all messed up with their election," he said. "Bibi got elected, now all of the sudden they're going to have to go through the process again, until September? That's ridiculous. "So we're not happy about that." The latest example came Thursday, when Trump abruptly announced he would also levy tariffs on Mexico to try to pressure that country to stem the flow of migrants across the United States' southern border. The move has sent foreign officials and lawmakers on Capitol Hill scrambling to head off tariffs that could damage Mexican and US businesses and threaten to derail a newly negotiated North American trade deal. The tariffs on Australia would have hit imports of aluminium, although measures that would have applied to other products had been discussed as well. Shipments of Australian aluminium to the United States have surged since 2018, when Australia became one of the few countries not to face metal tariffs. Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and a 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminium from many countries last year. The move was an effort to shield US producers from low-priced imports, which the administration said were a threat to the domestic industrial base and therefore national security. Some countries, like Brazil, Argentina and South Korea, won temporary exemptions on some of their imports, but ultimately agreed to limits on how much metal they could ship to the United States. But Australia's full exemption appears to have been the work of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who reached a handshake deal with Trump in 2017 to avoid the tariffs. In August 2018, Turnbull lost the support of Coalition party members and was replaced as prime minister by Scott Morrison. Exempting Australia from tariffs effectively allowed Australian producers to sell cheaper metals to the United States than their competitors from Europe, North America and Asia. Aluminium imports from Australia rose by 45 per cent from 2017 to 2018. They are up even more, by 350 per cent, for the first three months of 2019, compared with the same period in 2018. President Donald Trump raised a familiar complaint - "unfair" coverage by CNN - in a pair of Monday morning tweets. But this time he called on supporters to boycott the cable news network's corporate parent, AT&T, to drive the point home. "I believe that if people stoped [sic] using or subscribing to AT&T, they would be forced to make big changes at CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway," Trump tweeted. "It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News!" The president has repeatedly taken aim at the news network, which he routinely derides as "fake news," and many of its on-air personalities over their coverage of him and his administration. Trump was vocal in his opposition to AT&T's $85 billion ($122b) acquisition of Time Warner - "too much concentration of power in the hands of too few, he has said. But critics contend his position is intrinsically linked to his ire at CNN. 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 Last years Australian Mortgage Awards Broker of the Year is rapidly nearing the $1bn landmark in loan settlements. Since starting as a single-broker operation in 2011 at Loan Market Bayside in Melbourne, Josh Bartlett has settled $952m in loans. Over Loan Markets 25 years, executive chairman Sam White cant recall a broker closing in on the "billion dollar club" as quickly as Bartlett. While his performance has been consistently strong throughout his career, the rise in market activity following the election, APRAs proposed credit easings and an anticipated cash rate cut have helped catapult him towards the goal even faster than expected. Josh [was] likely to reach the magic number around November, but with the bounce in market sentiment, he has the chance to reach his milestone well ahead of time - maybe even over the next quarter, explained White. Bartlett said that activity picked up on the Monday immediately following the federal election. Clients that had their pre-approvals lapse are now back and extremely serious about getting into the market. Theres always a lull in activity leading into an election, but Ive been taken aback by the turnaround in activity during the last fortnight, he said. According to White, Bartletts experience is indicative of an industry-wide shift. The majority of brokers Ive spoken with over the last fortnight have reported a surge in enquiry and intent from borrowers, and theyre very optimistic about the remainder of the year, he said. While expectations continue to mount for the property market to bottom out and dwelling values to begin to rise, a researcher has highlighted an urgent issue that has been left out of the conversation. CoreLogics Hedonic Home Value Index for May 2019 revealed the smallest month-on-month decline in national dwelling values in over a year. However, in explaining the results, CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless revealed that affordability is the fundamental issue likely to inhibit future property market success. He explained, This improvement is primarily being driven by a slower rate of decline in Sydney and Melbourne where housing values were previously falling at the fastest rate of any capital city. However, while housing affordability has improved in Sydney and Melbourne, its improved from a very, very high level to something thats still fairly high. Before the marketplace started to downturn, Sydneys dwelling price to income ratio was getting up to 10 times, meaning a typical household was spending about 10 times their gross annual income to afford the median price dwelling. Thats fallen to a little bit more than 8.5 times now. Affordability has been a major issue in Australia for a very long time. There have been all sorts of things tried, generally unsuccessfully, to improve this, Lawless added. He continued to name the worst example as stimulatory measures supporting first home buyer demand but neglecting to address the supply side of the equation. Instead, Lawless sees a great need for improving supply, improving infrastructure, and making affordable housing options more desirable and accessible to first home buyers. The head of research did note that the combination of lower rates passed on after the RBAs likely cut later today, APRA relaxing its serviceability floor, and confidence returning post-election would undoubtedly provide some market stimulus. But, to qualify that, I dont think the stimulus is going to be as effective as what weve seen over periods of previous rate cuts, simply because we still have a fairly stiff set of credit policies in place, he concluded. Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Coney Islands Surf Avenue has reopened after an eight-month construction project which forced closure of the densely traveled roadway, causing painful traffic delays across the peninsula ( A bureaucratic mess: Surf Avenue reopens after painful eight months in Coney Island by Aidan Graham, online May 20). The three-phase project, which shuttered the avenue between W. 16th and W. 21st streets, was designed to raise Surf Avenue by three-and-a-half feet in an effort to improve storm drainage in the flood-prone neighborhood, as well as support a massive real estate development in the area. While locals celebrated the reopening, the areas councilman chastised the government officials tasked with overseeing the project, who he said failed to properly manage the construction effort. This was a bureaucratic mess, said Mark Treyger (DConey Island). It called into question the oversight, and accountability. Who is in charge? Readers felt the city missed an opportunity: This is great, lovely new streets. Now add beautification of the neighborhood and the new developments and Coney will have its revival. Great decision on behalf of Mark to expedite the development.Alex from Coney Now that Surf finally is open, next week either Con Ed or National Grid will be excavating Surf again. It aint over till its over. Bill from Coney Island I hope they put separated bike lanes there so cyclists wont have to deal with self-entitled motorists.Henry Ford from Bay Ridge The city missed a big opportunity for beautification here. Why was the roadway rebuilt as it was? Plenty of room for separated bike paths and a raised / beautified median. What a joke!Jon from Coney Island @Jon, because the local businesses that will, either way, go out of business in the next three to eight years rallied against the proposal. Not to worry though, increased rent costs driven up by luxury developments and newer storefronts will beautify the neighborhoodhard to stop gentrification when younger families in Downtown Brooklyn are already talking about seaside living.Alex from Coney Phony of the month To the Editor, This months phony is Council Speaker Corey Johnson. He participated in a demonstration condemning anti-Semitism, which is very good. Before this, he denounced Councilman Yeger for stating a true fact about Palestine really never existing. Not only was Mr. Yeger denounced, he was automatically removed from some committee. Please review your history, Mr. Johnson. As far as the fur controversy goes, Mr. Johnson and his advocates have no right to tell us about not buying fur. If you dont want fur, then you dont buy it, sir, but dont force your beliefs on others. Rather than wasting time about fur, I would like to see Mr. Johnson devote some time to our failing school system, address that seniors and the disabled cant use certain subway stations as there are no elevators there, and deal with the homeless situation. He is just hopelessly liberal and the city continues to suffer for it.Ed Greenspan Sheepshead Bay Doriss legacy To the Editor, While I am truly sorry at the passing of actress Doris Day, she lived both a blessed and stressed life, one that was not peaches and cream, but one that had a great deal of strife and tragedy. She was truly an example of what every woman should be or aspire to in their professional as well as personal life. After her acting career, she established the Doris Day Animal League and was instrumental in discouraging furs and adopting strays, which was very commendable. She did, however, fall short in not trying to stop animal experimentation in laboratories or medical schools, even though she had a good personal relationship with Ronald Reagan, who was to become governor of California and the 40th president of the United States. I believe it would have been preferrable to cutoff state and federal aid for laboratories and medical schools and to ask for volunteers or prisoners for this type of program, rather than use defenseless animals to be tortured in the advancement of medical science. It is true a convict cannot undo the damage he or she did to a victim or a victims family, but can pay off part of his or her debt to society in this way. Doris Day was a very good, kind, caring and compassionate person. May she rest in peace. Elliott Abash Brighton Beach Save Affordable Care To the Editor, I am writing in support of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions & Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019. In 2012, when I was 16 years old, I was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the immune system. Even though I got very sick, what I learned that year is that I am extremely lucky. I was lucky enough to have a cancer with an extremely high cure rate, to be on my fathers health insurance, and to have a family that could afford the cost of my treatment (which was still expensive even with insurance). I was able to receive treatment and make a full recovery only because I was so, so lucky. There are far too many holes in the umbrella of our health care system. The ACA helped fill some holes, and the aforementioned 2019 bill would reinforce and repair those protections further. I am calling on NYC Representatives Gregory Meeks, Grace Meng, Nydia Velazquez, Yvette Clarke, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Jose Serrano to join their Democratic colleagues in supporting the Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions & Making Health Care More Affordable Act of 2019, because when a 16-year-old child in this country gets sick with a curable illness, she should have the freedom to receive treatment, full stop.Lydia Green Park Slope Not in the cards To the Editor, Mayor Bill de Blasio for President belongs in the comics section. Democrats Gov. Andrew Cuomo and de Blasio have a lot in common with the late Republicans Gov. Nelson Rockefeller (19591974) and Mayor John Lindsay (19661973), along with Gov. George Pataki (19952006) and Mayor Rudy Giuliani (19942001). The same is true for the late Democrat Gov. Mario Cuomo (19831992) and Mayor Ed Koch (19781988). Nelson Rockefeller, George Pataki, Mario Cuomo, and son Andrew Cuomo deal with mayors who want equal billing on the political marque. Lindsays urban, Kochs Big Apple, Giulianis safety/quality of life, and de Blasios progressive agenda is dependent upon both increased state and federal assistance. De Blasio envisions himself as the national spokesperson for progressive mayors from all cities. This conflicts with governors who have to worry about all 62 counties making up New York State. It also creates problems for both Cuomo and de Blasio, who harbor presidential ambitions in 2020. Cuomo like his father Mario, as well as Rockefeller and Pataki and de Blasio like Lindsay and Guiliani will never come close to winning any primaries, let alone occupy the White House. Better to spend your time packing for your move back to your old Park Slope home when your term ends in December 2021. Larry Penner Great Neck Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams Recognizing that all five gay members of the City Council face term limits at the end of 2021, a group of queer political leaders, including some of the current councilmembers, gathered at City Hall on May 22 to announce an initiative to ensure that the Council will continue to have LGBTQ members after the citywide elections two years from now. The effort, dubbed LGBTQ in 2021, brings together leaders of the citys queer political clubs and other activists to scout for talented and well-connected local activists interested in seeking Council seats. The 2021 primary election takes place in June and in the vast majority of districts winning the Democratic primary is tantamount to victory in November. Its not only the LGBTQ caucus on the Council that faces term limits 35 of the 51 seats will be open contests in 2021. Its so important that the New York City Council looks like the city it represents, which is why Im proud to be part of this grassroots effort, said out gay Council Speaker Corey Johnson, a likely mayoral candidate who represents the West Side of Manhattan from Greenwich Village north through Hells Kitchen. I want more women, more people of color, and more LGBTQ New Yorkers running for office and this is how we reach that goal. Then, in reference to the activists pushing the LGBTQ in 2021 effort, he added, This is a diverse and powerful coalition, so I know were going to help make history. Since the 1991 city election, when Tom Duane and Antonio Pagan were elected to represent adjoining Lower Manhattan districts, the Council has always had at least two LGBTQ members. The queer caucus reached its largest size ever during the last term, when it had seven members Manhattans Rosie Mendez and the Bronxs Jimmy Vacca, in addition to its current roster of Johnson, Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer of Queens, Ritchie Torres of the Bronx, and Brooklyns Carlos Menchaca. The caucus has produced two of the three most recent speakers Johnson and Christine Quinn, who previously represented Johnsons district. Melissa Sklarz, a longtime transgender political activist who last year ran a race for the State Assembly that came up short, explained that the new initiative will focus on the nuts and bolts of recruiting candidates and priming them for success. We will teach them how to run for office, she said. The format. The process. Getting on the ballot is difficult. Raising money is difficult. We will work with them to help them reach outside their own personal network. According to Carmen Neely, a Harlem community leader who helped found New York City Pride and Power, a citywide coalition of black and Latinx LGBTQ activists, the 2021 initiative blossomed over the past two months to include as many as 30 people, representing not only her group, Stonewall, and Jim Owles, but also the Lesbian Gay Democratic Club of Queens, Brooklyns Lambda Independent Democrats (LID), the LGBT Democrats of Color, the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, Queeramisu LGBTQ Leaders for Progress, and the Black and Latino LGBTQ Coalition. Neely noted that the activists involved represent all five boroughs and are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender identity. The new initiative will not seek nonprofit status, instead remaining an informal coalition, and it will not make endorsements or give financial support to candidates. Noting that 2021 could produce an embarrassment of riches, Sklarz said that should more than one LGBTQ candidate surface in a single district, the group would be open and available to assisting both. Since 1991, the Washington-based LGBTQ Victory Fund has provided training, endorsements, and donations to out candidates, but it does not have the reach to do the sort of on-the-ground candidate recruitment and grooming that LGBTQ in 2021 is talking about. In announcing the effort, the organizers credited the work of 21 in 21, which aims to increase the representation of women on the Council. That groups co-founders, former Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and former Queens Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley, endorsed LGBTQ in 2021, and Crowley was on hand for the City Hall event. In a written statement, Jared Arader, LIDs president, noted that Menchaca is the only out LGBTQ legislator ever elected to office in Brooklyn. Brooklyn has a vibrant LGBT community but currently only one openly LGBTQ legislator, and he will leave office in 2021 due to term limits, he said. Representation matters and thats why we need to work together to ensure we have a voice in the table. This story first appeared in Gay City News, one of our sister publications. TRAPANI - The pilot project Tuna Route has kicked off from the port of Trapani. The project vies to promote the route of the Mediterranean red tuna and sustainable tourism. A few partners of the European project, co-funded by Feamp 2014-2020, the European fund for maritime affairs, have taken off aboard the Sun Odyssey 519, a boat that will sail around the Egadi islands through places historically linked to tuna fishing: the tuna-fishing nets of Favignana, the Florio plant, the castle of Punta Troia in Marettimo and the grotto of Genovese in Levanzo. The facility of Castiglione in Erice inland will also be visited. The initiative, the second route after another one a few weeks ago between the area of Cadiz and Algarve, means to promote the project Tuna Route that involves 10 partners from four countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland) to valorize the territories of the Mediterranean red tuna. The boat until June 7 will sail to document the areas connected by the route with the support of the staff of Cinnamon production coordinated by award-winning Palermo director Riccardo Cannella. Participants will meet tour operators and potential stakeholders interested in taking part in the project which had created a dedicated website - tunaroute.com - where services and tour products can be presented, in line with the project, promoting the natural, industrial and cultural heritage of red tuna. Tuna Route groups the institutions of Algarve in Portugal, Cadiz and the Balearic islands in Spain, Calaforte (Sardinia) and Favignana and Palermo in Sicily with the technical support of Feedback, a communications agency in Palermo, Oritek for the development of the web platform connected to red tuna, Dalula marine, a company of euro planning and My Week Charter, a company of nautical charters that promotes sustainable tourism that respects ecosystems. The thinking is to form a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) on the Centre, for which we are in a very advanced stage, said A Krishnan, chief financial officer, of getting an investor, a long-term, 10-year, one. He was speaking to analysts at an earnings call conference. The firm is also targeting to grow its oncology business to Rs 2,000 crore annually (it was Rs 850 crore in 2018-19) over the next four to ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor SpiceJet Ltd. has received many proposals to buy into the company, and the Indian budget carrier is willing to evaluate an offer only if its strategic, its chairman and majority shareholder said. SpiceJet has enough cash, Ajay Singh said in an interview, while attending an industry conference in Seoul. We have to see if this serves SpiceJets long-term interests, and when we come to that determination, well do something. These are typical in a situation when an airline is doing well and the market is as promising as India. ... ROME - Migrants arrivals by sea to Europe have gone down by one-third in 2019 - 21,300 as of the end of May from 32,070 over the same period last year, according to data provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Since the start of 2019, 519 people died at sea against 662 last year, according to the data released by the UN agency. Over half, or 321, died between the coasts of Italy and Malta. The majority of migrants and refugees - 85% - reached the coasts of Spain and Greece and the rest arrived in Italy, Malta and Cyprus. Greece is now ahead of Spain as the main destination for migrants reaching Europe through the Mediterranean. A total of 10,000 migrants have landed in Greece this year, including 2,400 in May. Since the start of the year until April 30 a reported 3,497 arrived in Greece by land through the border with Turkey. In Spain, 7,876 migrants arrived by sea and 2,000 by land across the border with Morocco. In Italy, only 1,561 landed on Sicily's coast. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, which is likely to meet for the first time after elections in the first half of this month, is likely to take up rationalisation of rates in the textile sector in line with the global markets. Removal of anomalies in tax rates in the sector is one of several issues that needs immediate attention, said a government source. Differential rates of textile items are causing hardships, especially on refund to exporters, he said. The government is concerned about the issue, he said. At present, there are three rates ... Private weather forecaster Skymet has cautioned farmers in Maharshtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana against early sowing of crops as the monsoon onset is going to be mild and the progress is expected to be sluggish. This caution has been extended for the simple reason that sowing of crops at this point of time, when the onset of monsoon is delayed and chances of good rains are less, will only push up the cost for farmers and also hamper the yield of the crop, Skymet said in a statement here. Skyment predicted the onset of monsoon over Kerala on June 7 ... The US Federal Aviation Administration on Sunday disclosed a new problem involving Boeing Co's grounded 737 MAX, saying that more than 300 of that troubled plane and the prior generation 737 may contain improperly manufactured parts and that the agency will require these parts to be quickly replaced. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said up to 148 of the part known as a leading-edge slat track that were manufactured by a Boeing supplier are affected, covering 179 MAX and 133 NG aircraft worldwide. Slats are movable panels that extend along the wing's front during ... BELGRADE - Serbia is expected to open only one negotiating chapter with Brussels by June and the end of Romania's rotating EU presidency, according to Belgrade daily Vecernje Novosti. The chapter is number nine on financial services. The daily said it is possible that no new chapters will be opened. Belgrade officials have repeatedly said they are ready to open five new chapters and are waiting to open at least two by June. So far, 16 out of a total of 35 have been opened. The paper spoke about a ''cold shower'' on Serbia's perspective of European integration connected to the internal crisis of the Union and the EU's alleged will to put pressure on Belgrade to solve the Kosovo issue. According to Vecernje Novosti, the slowdown of Serbia's European path is allegedly the result of pressure from member states such as Croatia and probably Baltic nations that are unhappy with Belgrade's close ties with Moscow. Music director A R Rahman on Monday welcomed the changes made to the draft National Education Policy saying the alteration will enable students to choose any language they want to study. The musician took to his Twitter account to express his contentment, which roughly means, "Hindi is not compulsory in TN. The draft policy has been revised." According to the new version of the draft policy, "Students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations sometime during secondary school." The change in the draft came after a huge outcry in Tamil Nadu where political parties accused the Centre of trying to impose Hindi on the state. In the original Draft National Education Policy 2019, a three-language formula recommended the inclusion of English and Hindi besides mother tongue in the non-Hindi state, while the Hindi-speaking states were to include English and Indian language from other parts of India. The draft policy had said multilingualism is a necessity of India as of much of the developed world and must be considered a boon and an opportunity for learning and expanding one's horizons rather than a burden. Leaders from non-Hindi states, especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, had opposed the draft. In Tamil Nadu, leaders across party lines had said the state would not tolerate any imposition. Echoing similar sentiments, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had said that the Centre cannot force any language on others. His predecessor and Congress leader Siddaramiah also said the draft was an attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi states and a "brutal assault" on them. However, the Centre had maintained that the policy was just a draft subject to changes and ensured that no language will be pressed upon. "The committee was formed for drafting New Education Policy. That committee has given its report. The report of the committee is only received by the Ministry. That's not the policy. No language will be imposed on any state," HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishak had told ANI on Saturday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former MP and gangster Atiq Ahmed, an accused in alleged kidnapping and torturing of a businessman, was on Monday transferred to a jail in Ahmedabad from Prayagraj. "As per the Supreme Court ruling, we have transferred Atiq Ahmed to Ahmedabad. We had constituted a team to monitor to facilitate his shifting to Ahmedabad in coordination with officials there," Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh told reporters here. Ahmed was taken to Varanasi from Naini central jail under the tight police security and thereafter was taken to Ahmedabad by plane. Earlier, a special court had rejected Ahmed's plea seeking payroll for contesting elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi. On April 23, the Supreme Court (SC) had directed the CBI to investigate the alleged kidnapping and torturing of a businessman by Atiq and his aides. The SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had also ordered the transfer of Ahmed to a jail in Gujarat from Naini jail in Prayagraj. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An NCP woman leader lodged a complaint with police after she was brutally beaten up by BJP legislator Balram Thawani for protesting over the issue of water scarcity in the area. The incident which took place on Sunday near Thawani's office in Naroda was caught on camera by people present at the spot. The victim and NCP leader, identified as Nitu Tejwani, was kicked and punched by the Naroda BJP MLA on the street when she was staging a protest along with other women demanding the restoration of water pipeline. In the viral video, Thawani can be seen stepping out of his office and then kicking and thrashing the woman who is already under attack by another man whose back is turned towards the camera. Narrating the unfortunate incident, the victim claimed, "I went to meet Balram to discuss the lack of proper water in the area. Without saying anything, he (Balram) came and started slapping and thrashing me. When my husband saw this, he came to my rescue. Immediately, some of Balram's supporters came from inside and started thrashing my husband with sticks. Ladies who were protesting along with me were also brutally beaten up by Balram and his supporters." Issuing his clarification, the BJP MLA told reporters, "My intention was not to harm them. It was unintentional. I condemn this act. I got swayed by emotions, I accept my mistake, and it was not intentional. I have been in politics for the last 22 years, such a thing has never happened before. I will say sorry to her." The NCP member further questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over women's safety. "I want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is this how the women in our country are safe under BJP rule? I have filed a complaint in this matter before the police. They have assured that action will be taken soon after a probe," she said. The victim is undergoing treatment in a hospital and has filed a complaint before the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Canada temporarily suspended operations at its embassy in Venezuela on Sunday, as per the Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland. "At the end of this month, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela will no longer be in a position to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and their visas will expire. Therefore, we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the Embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately," Sputnik quoted Freeland as stating. However, Freeland added that consular assistance would be provided to its citizens in Venezuela through Canada's embassy in Colombia. Venezuela has witnessed large-scale protests ever since its President Nicolas Maduro took oath in January. National Assembly President Juan Guaido proclaimed himself to be the President of Venezuela amidst a crowd of cheering protesters, demanding Maduro's immediate exit. The United States immediately backed his claim, followed by other countries like UK, Spain, Japan, who all viewed the elections which propelled Maduro to power as rigged. They also called for Maduro to either hold fresh elections or step down from his post. Rejecting the idea of holding fresh elections, Maduro has continued to hold on to his post, accusing the United States of backing coup attempts against him. He had also blamed the US for the major blackouts which gripped the country recently. Furthermore, he has also claimed to have military support on various occasions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Under attack from parties in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the Centre on Monday revised its new Draft Education Policy, which recommended Hindi learning mandatory in schools of non-Hindi speaking states, and suggested a three-language formula without naming Hindi. The changes in the draft education policy, prepared by Kasturirangan Committee, come amid the swelling protest against what was termed as "imposition of Hindi" on non-Hindi speaking states. "In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations sometime during secondary school," read the tweaked version of the draft policy. Without mentioning Hindi, the revised draft policy said, "Since the modular Board Examinations for language proficiency will indeed test only for basic proficiency in each language, such a change in language choice in Grade 6 would certainly be feasible if the student so desires and would in such cases be supported by teachers and the schooling system." The government said that the new changes will enable students to opt for additional languages in middle school. In the original draft policy, a three-language formula recommended the inclusion of English and Hindi besides mother tongue in the non-Hindi states, while the Hindi-speaking states were to include English and any other Indian language to promote "multilingualism" in the country. "Multilingualism is a necessity of India as of much of the developed world and must be considered a boon and an opportunity for learning and expanding one's horizons rather than a burden," the original version said. Keeping up its attack, the DMK on Monday passed a resolution asking the union government not to play with the sentiments of the Tamil people. "Don't test the patience of Tamils. DMK will fiercely oppose any attempt at any point in time to impose any language policy that could affect the two-language system in Tamil Nadu," the resolution adopted at its meeting said. "We urge union BJP government not to play with the sentiments of the people. In a diverse country like India we believe that the Central government will not pass any legislation without due consultation with all the parties concerned," it said. on Saturday, DMK president M K Stalin had said that the BJP government should not even think in dream about the three language policy and warned that such "greedy things" will cause a disaster. He said such a move would amount to throwing a stone at a beehive. Tamil Nadu Congress president K S Alagiri had said that Hindi will not be allowed to be imposed in the state and that students should decide which language they want to learn. The Communist Party of India called the original policy "a sinister attempt to impose Hindi in the name of the three-language formula" and demanded its withdrawal. "The Draft New Education Policy is not all about education, but more about how to impose Hindi as part of its agenda of cultural nationalism," the party said in a release. Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy had also said that the Centre cannot force any language. As the row intensified, former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah joined others to slam the move. Even Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has also joined the chorus and warned the Centre. Siddaramaiah posted a series of tweets on Monday to slam the Centre with the hashtag #StopHindiImposition. Siddaramaiah wrote, "New Education Policy draft imposes Hindi in non Hindi states & this goes against our sentiments. If recognition of regional identity is inconsistent according to few then imposition of Hindi is nothing but a brutal assault on our States." He added, "Instead of imposing Hindi, the government should focus on recognising regional identities & give more space to the states to express & manifest their ideas through their own culture & language. We are all Kannadigas in India." Reacting to the criticism, a host of union ministers denied there was any attempt to impose any language on states. They maintained that the NEP was only a draft and any decision the government would take will be after consultations with stake holders, the general public and the states. HRD Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishak had said: "The committee was formed for drafting New Education Policy. That committee has given its report. The report of the committee is only received by the Ministry. That's not the policy. No language will be imposed on any state." The ministers incuded Prakash Javadekar, Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had on Sunday said that the policy would be implemented after a public hearing. Noted music director A R Rahman was quick to laud the revised policy. "Beautiful solution. Hindi is not compulsory in Tamil Nadu. The draft policy has been revised," he tweeted. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China on Monday warned its students and scholars to think about the "risks" associated with attending college in the United States citing US visa restrictions. Xu Yongji, an official from the Chinese Ministry, told reporters here that the Trump administration and the Congress had "politicised some normal China-US educational exchanges and cooperation activities", The Washington Post reported. "[They] are cracking down on them under the banner of 'China threat' and 'China infiltration,' and they are stigmatising Confucius Institutes as a tool for China," she said, referring to the programs through which Beijing has sought to expand Chinese language and cultural studies into American universities. "[They] are accusing Chinese students and scholars in the United States of launching 'nontraditional espionage' activities and causing trouble for no reason," Xu said, advising current and potential students to "strengthen" their risk assessments before deciding to study in the United States. The warning comes as the Chinese government looks for ways to retaliate against Washington for the tariffs it has imposed on Chinese goods worth USD 250 billion. Analysts also suggest that US President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the G20 summit in Japan later this month, will find some tentative solution to the ongoing problem. Meanwhile, Chinese students have made up an increasingly large proportion of international students in the United States in recent years, and have further become a valuable source of income for many colleges. But the rate at which they are being rejected for visas is concerning the authorities here. Government figures cited by The Washington Post divulged that 331 of the 10,313 students who applied to study in the United States on Chinese government scholarships were rejected in 2018. Furthermore, officials said that visas are taking longer to issue and are being issued for shorter periods. This comes as the United States revoked the 10-year visas program for some Chinese scholars especially dealing with the US-China relations. The Chinese Embassy in the United States also issued a notice on its website Sunday about the new requirement, reminding citizens to "truthfully provide the application materials. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to recommend the name of late Lingayat seer Sivakumara Swami for the highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (posthumously). The 111-year-old iconic seer passed away in January this year after a protracted illness. He was laid to rest with state honours at the Sidhaganga Mutt, which he headed. Thousands of devotees bid their 'walking god' a tearful farewell at the ceremony that was attended by top political leaders. A three-day state mourning was also declared in Karnataka by the Chief Minister Kumaraswamy. "Dr Sivakumara Swamiji's service to the people deserves recognition at the highest level through the award of Bharat Ratna. Innumerous memoranda have been received from all political parties and civilians, Institutions and Associations, to confer the title of 'Bharatha Rathna award,'" reads the letter. "He has rendered remarkable service to the society for over seven decades through philanthropy, education and spiritual activities. He has dedicated his life, with selfless devotion, to the betterment of humanity. Through his peerless contribution, he has created a large brand of alumni who are making an enormous contribution to society in various walks of life," read the letter. Born in Veerapura in Karnataka's Ramanagara district on April 1, 1907, Swami founded the Sri Siddaganga Education Society and was affectionately referred to as Nadedaduva Devaru (walking God) in Karnataka by his followers. He was proficient in Kannada and Sanskrit. Under his guidance, an annual agricultural fair is held for the benefit of the local population. His demise was condoled by President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and a host of other leaders, who hailed him as a saint who worked for the upliftment of the poor and vulnerable. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special CBI court on Monday allowed businessman Robert Vadra, facing money laundering charges, to travel abroad on medical grounds for a period of six weeks. The order was passed by Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar on Vadra's plea seeking to visit the United States and the Netherlands. Vadra's counsel KTS Tulsi , however, withdrew his client's request to travel to London after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raised objections on the same. The court ruled that in case any Look Out Circular (LOC) is issued against him, it will remain suspended during the period of six weeks. The judge directed Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, to furnish a Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) or bank guarantee worth Rs 25 lakh. "The applicant will submit the address of his stay abroad with telephone/contact numbers to the court before his departure," the order copy read. "He shall not tamper with the evidence nor try to influence any witness in any manner and shall not use the permission granted to him contrary to the rules," the order said, adding that Vadra should inform the court about his arrival in India within 24 hours. Vadra, who is being probed by the ED for his alleged involvement in a money laundering case, had sought permission to travel abroad citing medical reasons. He had, on May 21, knocked the doors of the court seeking permission for the same. On May 29, the ED had opposed his application to travel abroad stating that it was a routine medical treatment. Countering ED's claim, Tulsi had submitted that a small tumour in his client's large intestine has been detected, for which treatment was need. "Robert Vadra has a tumor in his large intestine. He seeks the court's permission for the release of his passport so that he can travel to London for medical treatment and can also get a second opinion from doctors," Tulsi had stated. "He was summoned last on March 8, and he has been cooperative. This proceeding should not turn to a death sentence," Tulsi added. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing on ED's behalf, had argued that Vadra has not essentially been asked to take a second opinion from a doctor in London. "Doctor has mentioned (about a second opinion) 'if you wish'," he said."The ED investigation is at a crucial stage. The medical condition is just a pretext," he argued. On a mention of Vadra travelling abroad for his daughter's physiotherapy, the agency argued that she can be accompanied by someone else. "It is apprehended that on the pretext of a medical condition, there may be tampering with evidence," Mehta claimed. "There are treatments available in India," he added. The ED's counsel also argued that there is a probability Vadra may not return to India if permitted to travel, to which Tulsi said, "Let's not bring political vendetta into it. He won't go to a city where the ED has an objection. He may consider not going to London." Vadra has been given protection from arrest on the condition that he cannot leave India without the permission of the court. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dave Bautista is not in a mood of letting anybody ruin the spirit of Pride Month. The actor, on Monday, clapped back at a bishop for denouncing the event that celebrates the LGBTQ community. Rhode Island bishop Thomas Tobin recently sent out a tweet urging his Catholic followers not to participate in any Pride-related activities. Bautista, in a tweet, stated that her mother is a lesbian and that the bishop does not "speak for most Catholics". "My mom's a lesbian. I think I turned out ok. And the activities she chooses is to help the homeless and people suffering from mental illness. I admit I'm not perfect but at least I was never a judgmental hypocrite! I'm sure you don't speak for most Catholics. Have a nice day," he wrote. Urging Catholics to not support or attend Pride Month Tobin, on Sunday, tweeted, "A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ "Pride Month" events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children." Shortly after he posted the tweet, the bishop faced a lot of criticism from the Twitterverse. Following the backlash, Tobin released a statement saying he regretted that his comments turned out to be so controversial and offended "some'. "I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community. That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense," he said in a statement to NBC News. While he did partially apologise for his tweet, Tobin stuck to his belief and concluded his statement by saying, "As a Catholic Bishop, however, my obligation before God is to lead the faithful entrusted to my care and to teach the faith, clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi (India), 3 June (ANI): Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee will launch a tree plantation drive to mark party president Rahul Gandhi's birthday on June 19, a senior functionary said on Monday. The drive, titled 'Meri Dilli Hari Bhari Dilli', is being undertaken as a step towards combating pollution in the capital. "Pollution rate has increased in the last five years and the Delhi government is totally responsible for this. Delhi Congress President Sheila Dikshit and its members have decided to launch a plantation drive on Rahul Gandhi's birthday," Rajesh Lilothia, working president of the DPCC told ANI. Lilothia added that such a tree plantation drive is necessary to fight the problem of pollution. "In this program, we will request residents and spread awareness among people of Delhi to plant trees," he said. He further added that DPCC workers will visit every block to boost participation. The Congress party is reeling under the drubbing it faced in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections with party bagging only 52 seats. Taking responsibility of the defeat, Rahul Gandhi had offered to resign from his post but the Congress Working Committee unanimously rejected it. On Saturday, his mother Sonia Gandhi was elected as chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BEIRUT - Israel has launched missiles against an air base in central Syria after attacking yesterday morning another base in the south of the country, killing 10 people, according to Syrian State television. The Israeli raid reportedly hit a base of Iranian and Syrian government forces (Tayfur, also known as T4), containing a depot of weapons regularly transported by cargo planes from Iran. The raid's victims are reportedly five, including Syrian soldiers, according to the UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human rights. The reports cannot be independently verified on the ground. Ram Vilas Vedanti, a member of the Ramjanambhoomi Nyas, on Monday said that with BJP's return to power, the "dream of crores of Hindus" to have a Ram temple in Ayodhya will be fulfilled. He also said that a mosque should not be constructed next to the temple but built in Lucknow instead. "Seers will hold a meeting soon. Crores of Hindus want a temple to be built at the place where Lord Ram was born. However, the Supreme Court has said that a mosque too should be built next to the temple which we do not agree with. The mosque can be built in Lucknow. Amit Shah had said that if BJP crosses the 300-mark in Lok Sabha, they will build the temple. And now they have crossed it," Vedanti told ANI here. He said after the construction of the temple in five phases, the idol of Lord Ram will be placed there. "More than 80 per cent of the Muslims favour the construction of a Ram temple," Vedanti said. The meeting of the seers in Ayodhya will deliberate on three issues-- temple construction, abolition Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir and law for population control. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to appoint a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court to inquire about the 'Operation Blue Star' which was undertaken during the regime of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. "Urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji to appoint a sitting Judge of Supreme Court to enquire how circumstances were created by the then Indira Gandhi government against Sikhs to execute Operation Blue Star," Sirsa wrote on Twitter. "Sikhs expect an apology from Indian govt for the barbaric Operation Blue Star," he added. Sirsa had earlier today asked the central government to tender "unqualified apology" to the Sikhs for 'Operation Blue Star'. In a statement, Sirsa said that it was most unfortunate to see that even 35 years after the attack, successive governments at the Centre failed to apologise to the Sikh community for "causing them wounds which have never healed till date. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The European Union (EU) on Monday called upon the Sudanese military officials to transfer power to the civilians. Anadolu agency quoted Maja Kocijancic, the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy spokeswoman, as saying, "Any decision to intensify the use of force can only derail the political process. The European Union's priority remains the rapid transfer of power to a civilian authority." Kocijancic said that the EU is following the ongoing political crisis in Sudan closely, including the attacks on civilian protesters. "We call upon the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to act responsibly and respect people's right to express their concerns," she added. On Monday, at least 13 protesters were killed and scores of others were injured as Sudanese security forces moved in to clear the main protest camp near the army headquarters in Khartoum. Thousands of protesters have been holding a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital for weeks, demanding the stepping down of Sudan's military leaders who seized power last month by overthrowing longtime President Omar al-Bashir. Some of them also expressed caution over the prospects for an agreement that would satisfy their demands. Sudan's military leaders last week announced a power-sharing agreement with the opposition alliance for a three-year transition period to a civilian administration. The army generals had initially insisted on a two-year transition period, while the protest leaders wanted four years. Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets to demand that the military council relinquish power -- at the earliest possible date -- to a civilian authority. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Special Operations Group (SOG) of Rajasthan Police arrested an imposter, who pretended to be an IPS officer posted at CB-CID branch of State police, from Jaipur on 31 May. He has been sent to judicial custody. Apart from the Khaki uniform, a fake ID card and a car with three stars and 'Government of India' written on it, IPS badges, and three air-pistols have been recovered from his possession. The accused identified as Abhay Meena hails from Piloda village in Sawai Madhopur. He used to live in a rented flat in a multistory apartment in Jaipur. Pretending as an IPS officer, he also allegedly lured a woman from Uttarakhand on facebook and put up with her in a live-in relationship in Jaipur. Meena had also allegedly mentioned on his Facebook page that he is a graduate from IIT Delhi though he is said to be a class 12th failed. "He was kept under three days police custody and today he has been sent to judicial custody," said Lalit Kishore Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reiterating his stand on controlling India's population, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday asked people to make 'population control law' a movement. "Increasing population is a hurdle in India's development and society's harmony. Take the population control law campaign to every house and make it a movement from road to Parliament. Time and resources are limited," Singh tweeted. Earlier, the Union Minister had backed Yoga guru Baba Ramdev' statement that the government should bring in a law whereby third-borns should be bereft of voting rights. "India's population should not be more than 150 crores in the next 50 years as we are not prepared or ready to bear more than that. This is only possible when the government makes a law that third child would not be allowed to vote, neither contest election nor he/she enjoys any type of privileges and facilities given by the government," Ramdev had said. According to an estimate of the United Nation, the population of India was 1.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to surpass that of China by 2024. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid talks of cabinet expansion to save the government in Karnataka, Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is expected to hold a Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) legislative party meeting at his residence here on Tuesday. This comes after the Congress-JDS coalition has decided to induct two independent MLAs in the state cabinet earlier this week. Besides, the portfolios of the MLAs will also be discussed in the meeting. The JDS-Congress coalition, which is in power in the state, went through a rough patch during the campaigning of the recently concluded elections. Tensions between the two parties benefitted the BJP which won 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka while both the JDS and the Congress had to content itself with just one seat each. However, the Karnataka Congress unit had said that there was no threat to the coalition in the state. Congress has 79 MLAs while JD(S) has 37 MLAs in the coalition government holding power in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Hindi trailer for Walt Disney's upcoming film 'The Lion King' released and it seems to live up to the expectations of every 90s' kid. Announcing the news, film critic Taran Adarsh wrote on Twitter, "#TheLionKing *Hindi* trailer will be attached to #Bharat... From the director of #TheJungleBook, #TheLionKing releases on 19 July 2019 in #English, #Hindi, #Tamil and #Telugu..." The trailer has all the main characters of the classic 1994 animated movie including Mufasa, Rafiki, and Simba. It also features the classic scene where Rafiki holds baby Simba in the sky which will certainly make millennials nostalgic. The trailer of the film features our favourite characters in new avatars while keeping the essence of the classic alive. It opens with a young Simba and Nala exploring the elephant graveyard where they encounter a band of hyenas. In the next scene, Mufasa is seen imparting some political wisdom to his son Simba. Following this, the trailer features Simba's exile at the encouragement of his uncle. From the trailer, it seems like the upcoming film is a shot-by-shot remake of the 1994 animated film. The trailer ends with Timon and Pumbaa merrily hymning the tune of the classic song, 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'. The movie is helmed by Jon Favreau, whereas the screenplay is written by Jeff Nathanson. The film will hit the theatres on July 19 and will release in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Indian Air Force (IAF) is conducting search and rescue missions to rescue a 12-members international expedition team which went missing while climbing the Nanda Devi peak in Uttarakhand. Four members have already been evacuated by the Air Force. "IAF has responded swiftly and undertaken life-saving search and rescue missions on request from District Magistrate Pithoragarh from June 1 onwards. Two Advance Light Helicopters of the Indian Air Force have been conducting missions to search and rescue a 12 member international expedition team," a Defence Ministry release said. The international expedition team comprised of nationals from the USA, UK and Australia. The Indian Air Force helicopters have flown a total of five missions and evacuated four UK nationals, including the Deputy Leader from an altitude of 4500 m. The search for the rest eight members continues along the trek route. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Court here on Sunday (local time) sentenced two more French citizens to death for being members of the terror group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS). Today's judgement raised the number of French citizens being sent to the gallows in the connection to nine, according to Voice of America. The people, who have been sentenced, belong to the group of 12 French citizens who were detained by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in neighbouring Syria and handed over to Iraq in January. Meanwhile, human rights watchdogs have accused Iraqi prosecutors of "using a range of torture techniques", saying that France and other countries should not be "outsourcing" trials of IS suspects to "abusive justice systems." Last month, the French foreign ministry had also reiterated its opposition to the death penalty, saying it would take "the necessary steps" to prevent Iraq from carrying out capital punishment against its citizens. "France is opposed in principle to the death penalty at all times and in all places," the ministry said in a statement cited by the state media. Paris has so far categorically refused to take back ISIL fighters and their wives, although a handful of children have been repatriated. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least five people were killed when a magnetic IED blast targeted a bus carrying employees of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission here on Monday noon. The explosion, which occurred in Darul Aman road near the American University in Kabul, around 1:30 pm (local time), came a day after four explosions hit the city on Sunday. Sources confirmed to Tolo News that the bus was hired by employees of the commission but was not owned by the government organisation. A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, Wahidullah Mayar, was quoted as saying that nine others were wounded in the explosion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tens of thousands of migrants pass through Saudi Arabia Riyadh authorities say constant flow from Ethiopia and Yemen (ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JUNE 3 - Saudi Arabia is among the corridors used by migrants headed to Europe via the Mediterranean, according to a report released Monday by authorities in Riyadh, who have documented a constant flow of migrants from Ethiopia and Yemen into the Arab peninsula. According to data from the last 12 months reported by the government news agency SPA, of the approximately 55,000 people arrested in an attempt to illegally enter Saudi Arabia, 49% were Yemeni and 48% were Ethiopian. Despite the war in Yemen, tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa have crossed the sea to reach the troubled Arab country, and from there attempted to pass into Saudi Arabia, SPA said. Riyadh leads a coalition that conducts daily airstrikes on the central and northern areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), each month about 20,000 mainly Ethiopian migrants headed for Saudi Arabia cross the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait from the Horn of Africa to Yemen. The migrant flow also goes the other way, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), which said about 40,000 Yemenis fled to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in 2015. From there, many Yemenis reached the United States through family reunification. In both directions, the journey by sea remains dangerous. There is frequent news of dozens of dead and missing after drowning on trafficker boats between the Horn of Africa and Yemen. Each migrant pays hundreds of dollars each for the crossing.(ANSAmed). The Pathankot district and session court will pronounce its order in a case pertaining to rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua on June 10. The trial in the case was completed on Monday. The eight-year-old girl, belonging to a nomadic Muslim tribe, was abducted, drugged, gang-raped, tortured and killed in January last year. The trial begins in April last year against seven accused out of eight. The trial of a juvenile is yet to begin. The crime branch arrested village head Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, juvenile nephew and his friend Anand Dutta, and two special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma. Head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took Rs. 4 lakh from Sanji Ram and destroyed crucial evidence, were also arrested by the crime branch. In connection with the case, two First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed: one against eight people for allegedly being involved in the crime and another has been filed against a group of lawyers which had allegedly stopped the police from filing charge sheet against the eight accused. The case triggered public and political outrage and exposed cracks in the state's ruling coalition. Two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers leaders, Chandra Prakash Ganga and Lal Singh, have also resigned following accusations of attending a rally in support of the miscreants responsible for the crime. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues will reach out to common citizens from Tuesday and will directly interact with them to take stock of the ground situation, get feedback, and monitor various projects and their progress. This comes after AAP drew blank in recently held Lok Sabha polls in Delhi. The party is now eyeing on Delhi Assembly elections due early next year. The ministers would take stock of schools, hospitals, public dealing offices and other facilities of Delhi government to get a first-hand account of their functioning and will get direct feedback on a day to day facilities like water, power, roads, healthcare, PDS etc. from the public. "Kejriwal had already conducted 'padyatras' in Deoli and Tuglakabad and interacted with the local residents. He will continue with his visits to different parts of Delhi to take stock of the ongoing projects of different departments in the city apart from interacting with residents and knowing their problems," said a press statement. "While Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, on Monday visited 7-schools (6-under construction and one completed) in Delhi to take stock of the construction works of the schools. He will be visiting government schools and Aanganwadis apart from taking reality checks of various infrastructure projects like Signature Bridge etc," it read. . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) NCP Women Wing on Monday demanded the Gujarat government to dethrone Naroda BJP MLA Balram Thawani for brutally thrashing an NCP leader Nitu Tejwani for protesting over the issue of water scarcity in the area. Condemning the incident, President of NCP Women Wing, Chitra Wagh told ANI, "It is a very shameful incident. We condemn it. Everyone has seen how this BJP MLA has brutally beaten up a woman in Gujarat. She went to meet MLA to take up a local issue irrespective of any party. The government should dethrone that MLA. The MLA has no right to hold such a responsible position. It is important for the government to take action immediately." However, issuing his clarification, the BJP MLA apologised for the act and said, "My intention was not to harm them. It was unintentional. I condemn this act. I got swayed by emotions, I accept my mistake, and it was not intentional. I have been in politics for the last 22 years, such a thing has never happened before. I will say sorry to her." The incident which took place on Sunday near Thawani's office in Naroda was caught on camera by people present at the spot. The victim and NCP leader, identified as Nitu Tejwani, was kicked and punched by the Naroda BJP MLA on the street when she was staging a protest along with other women demanding the restoration of water pipeline. In the viral video, Thawani can be seen stepping out of his office and then kicking and thrashing the woman who is already under attack by another man whose back is turned towards the camera. Narrating the unfortunate incident, the victim claimed, "I went to meet Balram to discuss the lack of proper water in the area. Without saying anything, he (Balram) came and started slapping and thrashing me. When my husband saw this, he came to my rescue. Immediately, some of Balram's supporters came from inside and started thrashing my husband with sticks. Ladies who were protesting along with me were also brutally beaten up by Balram and his supporters." The victim is undergoing treatment in a hospital and has filed a complaint before the police. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Amid news surrounding excessive use of social media, there are also instances where it proved to be helpful. One such incident is from Mumbai where the state police reunited a 6-year-old child with his family after over three years of separation. Three-year-old Shubham Mandawkar went missing on March 22, 2016, his parents had filed a report with the Nehru Nagar police station and investigations started afterwards. The police team began their search from the place where the child went missing but to no avail, the team, however, kept a photo of the missing child with them. Recently, the police decided to take help of the social media and forwarded the child's photo to government officers and individuals from different districts. Within a few days, they received information from Akola region that an identical child is in a children's home. The police then contacted the parents who identified the child and reunited them after the paperwork. Shubham's parents were struggling since 2016 to find their lost son and didn't lose hope. They were filled with emotions as they got to know about their son's whereabouts. Vicky Mandawkar, the father expressed joy and thanked the police forces. "We had a firm belief that our son would be reunited with us one day. We were able to get back our son due to the police, we thank them for this," Vicky told reporters here. Vilas Shinde, a senior official in the police department said, "The kid went missing in 2016 since then our officials were searching for him. Quite recently, we uploaded his photo on Whatsapp groups with details of Shubham. News of someone who looks like Shubham being in Utkarsh Children's Home in Kurla reached police almost as soon as the photo was uploaded. The parents were thankfully able to identify the child and they were united. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday while labelling Arvind Kejriwal's 'free ride to women promise' as a 'political gimmick,' said the people of Delhi are smart enough to not believe him. "People of Delhi are smart enough to not fall for Kejriwal's political gimmick," Tiwari asserted. "Idea is not bad but where is the revenue? First, he must get out of the hawala money scandals then only Delhi will be prosperous and not only women but everyone will be able to ride buses and metros for free," he added. Tiwari informed that the BJP, on the other hand, will focus on necessities like water, household and pollution control. "We will focus on 'Nal se jal' (tap water to every household), house for all, pollution control and all those promises which Kejriwal did with people of Delhi but never fulfilled," he said. While talking on the terms of NRC, Tiwari said, "We will certainly ouster illegal migrants from Delhi." Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier announced free ride for women in all Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, cluster buses and Delhi Metro trains, a decision that comes close on the heels of the severe drubbing his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered in the Lok Sabha polls and Delhi Assembly elections due early next year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking strict cognisance of Satna police's failure to provide details of no-parking challans issued in the past, Madhya Pradesh Information Commissioner Rahul Singh on Monday issued a notice to the former officials of the department regarding discrepancies in money collected as no-parking fines. Taking to Twitter, Bhopal Information Commissioner tweeted some documents asserting that Satna police has no information on how many no-parking fines were issued in the year 2016 and how much money was deposited in the treasury. "If the police don't have this record than there is no way to find the number of people who were penalised and the amount of money that went to the state treasury," Singh observed. The notice has been served in this regard to the then Superintendent of Police (SP) and other concerned officials. Singh also brought the alleged irregularity to the notice of the state DGP. The revelation came to the fore after a Satna resident Jawahar Lal Jain filed an RTI demanding details of no-parking penalty tickets issued in 2016. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Myanmar Army is continuing its operations on its soil against the Indian insurgent groups active in the North-Eastern states, Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen M M Naravane said here on Monday. "As we speak, Myanmar Army's operations are on. They are operating against Indian insurgents sheltering in their country," the Army Commander said while talking to reporters here. The Army Commander further said continuous talks between India and Myanmar have resulted in a lot of progress. "Continuous talks between India and Myanmar have resulted in much progress with the Myanmar government being on the Indian side," he said. The Army Commander was speaking after inaugurating the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) at Fort William Military station here. It was reported that Myanmarese Army in February this year had launched an operation against the Indian insurgent groups who have taken shelter in the neighbouring country. The Indian Army assisted in carrying out these operations by deploying troops along the borders so that the insurgents facing heat from the Burmese Army do not cross over to India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After an impressive performance in Netflix's 'Sacred Games', Nawazuddin Siddiqui is all set for his second outing with the online streaming giant for its upcoming film 'Serious Men'. The actor will play the lead role in the movie which will be directed by National Award-winning filmmaker Sudhir Mishra. It will be an adaptation of journalist and writer Manu Joseph's novel of the same name. Film critic Taran Adarsh shared the details about the upcoming project on his Twitter handle. 'Serious Men' was Manu Joseph's debut novel which released in 2010. It is a satire that revolves around the relationship of father and son from the Dalit community. Nawazuddin will next be seen in 'Bole Chudiyan' which is scheduled to go on floor this month. Recently, the 'Gangs of Wasseypur' actor wrapped up shooting for Honey Trehan's debut film 'Raat Akeli Hai' in which he will be seen alongside Radhika Apte. He has also joined the cast of 'Housefull 4' for a special song. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday said while reports of possible location of the crash site were received, no wreckage of the An-32 transport aircraft which went missing earlier in the day in Arunachal Pradesh has not been sighted so far. "Some reports of possible location of the crash site were received, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far," IAF said in a series of tweets. "IAF is coordinating with the Indian Army, various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. Search operations will continue from the air and by ground parties of Indian Army through the night. Efforts are on to establish the whereabouts of the aircraft," it added. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has been apprised of the situation by the Vice-Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria. Air Marshal also informed the minister about the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. "Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board," Singh who is on an official visit to Kashmir said in a tweet. Earlier in the day, an IAF An-32 transport aircraft with 13 personnel including seven officers and six air warriors on board went missing in Arunachal Pradesh after getting air-borne from Assam's Jorhat. The aircraft took off from Jorhat at 1225 hours and was headed for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground (ALG) in Arunachal Pradesh. The last contact between the aircraft and ground agencies took place at 1300 hours. Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft, C-130J Special Operations aircraft, An-32 aircraft, two Mi-17 and two Indian Army ALH helicopters have been deployed on a search mission to locate the missing IAF AN-32. The IAF has also launched ground troops for locating the aircraft and the personnel on board. The Soviet-era aircraft was inducted into the Air Force in the 1980s and have been undergoing upgrades. The missing plane is not part of the upgraded An-32 fleet of the Air Force. Three years ago, on July 22, 2016, an An-32 aircraft of the IAF had gone missing in the air with 29 people on board. The aircraft was travelling from Chennai to Port-Blair in Andaman and Nicobar when it went missing over the Bay of Bengal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Organisation for Tobacco Eradication India (NOTE) welcomed the instructions issued by the Union Health Ministry directing educational institutes to designate "Tobacco Monitors" from among students and staff in a bid to boost the implementation of tobacco control initiatives among adolescents. The press release issued by Secretary NOTE Dr Shekhar Salkar said, "NOTE India welcomes the initiative of the Union health ministry issuing an instruction to all educational institutions to designate tobacco monitors from among their staff or a student representative (from class IX onwards). The name, designation and phone numbers of tobacco monitors should also be mentioned on signages displayed at institution premises." The release said, "Under the revised guidelines for 'Tobacco-free Educational Institutions', the ministry will also award a 'TOFEI' (Tobacco-free educational institution) certificate to those institutes who are found to have equal or more than the benchmark score after verifying the implementation of norms." "The guidelines call for educational institution management to ensure that no tobacco product is sold inside premises and in an area within 100 yards from the premises and any violation in this regard is reported to the Quitline at 1800-11-2356," it added. "The management should also, if possible, with the help of local law enforcement authorities and community, including parents, make efforts to stop such sales. It may be noted that the head of the institution is also authorised to collect fines for violation of section 6 (B) -- the sale of tobacco products within 100 yards of an institution," the recommendations of the ministry said. The release further said, "Note India is extremely happy that Ministry has said that schools and students must not participate in any event sponsored by any firm or a subsidiary of a firm or a seller which promotes the use of or manufactures or sells tobacco products in any form. Educational institutions and students should not also accept any prize or scholarship instituted by such firms." The guidelines from the ministry said, "Multiple tobacco monitors may be designated and in fact, it might be a good idea to do so. For example, the appointment of a tobacco monitor for each class from among students in the class. Participation of most important stakeholder, the students of secondary school would be key to a successful implementation of the initiative," the guidelines stated. The ministry asked institutions to ensure tobacco users are not designated as tobacco monitors and stressed that management and tobacco monitors must also be vigilant to note tobacco substitutes such as e-cigarettes and devices like heat-not-burn devices, Vape, and flavoured hookah are not used. "These products are usually marketed as being safer alternatives for conventional cigarettes but such a notion of safety is false. There is evidence that these products induce adolescents and young adults to nicotine use leading to addiction. Any use of such products on the campus may be reported to the Quitline," the recommendations said. "It looks like ministry is proactive now and we appreciate such directives from government to schools", added the release. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tunisia extends state of emergency by one month Declared in November 2015 after attack (ANSAmed) - TUNIS, JUNE 3 - Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi has extended the national state of emergency by one month, starting June 5, said the president's office in a statement. Essebsi made the decision following a consultation with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and Parliament Speaker Mohamed Ennaceur. The meeting was also a chance to examine the national security situation, as well as regional and international developments and their impact on interior security. Essebsi initially declared the national state of emergency following the terrorist attack on November 24, 2015 on buses transporting the presidential guard in the centre of Tunis, and it has been continually extended since that time.(ANSAmed). The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has appointed Yousef Aldobeay of Saudi Arabia as its special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir. The appointment was made during the 14th OIC summit held in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Makkah on Friday, which was attended by several leaders of Muslim countries, including Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan's foreign ministry said on Saturday. The Summit reiterated the Conference's principled support for the legitimate right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with UN resolutions. The OIC called for the adoption of a comprehensive strategy to combat Islamophobia, building on proposals made by Pakistan in the OIC Ministerial Executive Committee meeting in March 2019. Speaking at the summit, Imran Khan articulated Pakistan's views on the situation in Kashmir, Palestine, Islamophobia and the need for science, technology and innovation for Muslim countries. The OIC is a 57-nation grouping which claims to be the collected voice of Muslims across the One of its main aims is to preserve Islamic social and economic values and uphold international peace and security. But some critics say it lacks real engagement and solutions for Muslim countries in crisis even as it made progress socially and academically. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Palestinians are not yet capable of governing themselves, said White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, an architect of the US's Middle East peace plan that is expected to be released this month. He, however, asserted that Palestinians should have self-determination, Al Jazeera reported. "I do think they should have self-determination. I'm going to leave the details until we come out with the actual plan," Kushner said on Sunday when asked whether Palestinians were capable of governing themselves. The son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump, Kushner, last week said that the US may pull back from the longstanding mentions of a two-state solution with Palestine and accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "If you say 'two-state,' it means one thing to the Israelis, it means one thing to the Palestinians," Kushner said at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The Palestinian leadership has criticised the peace proposal. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh was quoted as saying last week that "any solution to the conflict in Palestine must be political ... and based on ending the occupation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A special court on Monday issued notice to the CBI on an application by fugitive diamond merchant Mehul Choksi who termed the investigation into the PNB scam case as 'incomplete" and sought further probe. The plea filed by Mehul Choski's counsel Vijay Agarwal came up for hearing before Special CBI Judge UM Mudholkar, who posted the matter for hearing to June 17. "There has been an incomplete investigation of various vital aspects by the investigating officer. The IO has submitted an incomplete charge sheet before the court without making proper and complete investigation," the application said. It contended that the incomplete investigation led to the "failure" of Choksi's business. "The failure of the applicant's business was termed as 'fraud' by the CBI. The flaws were on the part of the bank and the auditors and not the accused," the plea submitted. The petitioner claimed that "false" FIRs were filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him on February 2 and February 15, 2018. Speaking to ANI, Choksi's counsel Vijay Agarwal said, "We moved an application in the court today contending that no lapses were made on the part of my client. In fact, they were made on the part of Punjab Bank (PNB) officers and auditors... We explained several lapses to the judge during the hearing, which had been ignored by the investigating officer." Mehul Choksi and nephew Nirav Modi are key accused in the Punjab Bank (PNB) fraud case. They fled the country a year ago. The scam is estimated at USD two billion. Choksi was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda on January 15, 2018. On March 22, Choksi had moved an application before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, stating his long history of heart ailment and a blood clot in the brain as the reason for not being able to appear before it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A senior North Korean official, Kim Yong ChoI, who was reportedly 'purged' after Washington - Pyongyang talks collapsed in February, made an appearance at an event with leader Kim Jong-un, Yonhap media reported on Monday. ChoI was the North Korean counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the several rounds of talks between the two countries. The talks failed after two hopeful summits collapsed. Media reports erupted that he had been sent to a hard labour and re-education camp near the Chinese border. However, recent pictures emerging from an art performance raise questions over these claims. South Korea's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, earlier said it's premature to conclude that such a purge is actually underway in North Korea. "There's nothing we can confirm (for you)," Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Ko Min-jung told reporters Friday. "We are monitoring all related situations (in North Korea). But I think it's important to figure out how much information in the article has been confirmed." The reports also claimed that North Korea had executed another negotiator, the nuclear envoy to the US, Kim Hyok Chol. However, what further raised doubts was the announcement of ChoI's successor, although there is no official confirmation about his execution so far. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An exchange of fire is currently underway between security forces and terrorists in the Molu-Chitragam area of Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district. One terrorist has been killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Molu-Chitragam area of Shopian district. The exchange of fire is currently underway. Further details are awaited. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kevin Spacey's lawyers will return to court in the case accusing the Hollywood actor of groping a man at a bar in Nantucket, Massachusetts. A pre-trial hearing of the case will take place in the Nantucket district court on Monday, Fox news reported. According to authorities, the assault happened in 2016 at a club where the man worked as a busboy. Calling the allegations "patently false", the 'House of Cards' actor pleaded not guilty in January to a charge of indecent assault and battery levelled against him. In court documents filed on Friday, Spacey lawyers claimed that the man has deleted a set of text messages that could support Spacey's claims of innocence in the case. The accuser's attorney, however, declined to comment on the issue. The case first came to light in 2017 when former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh accused Spacey of sexually assaulting her son, who was at that time 18-year-old. The court has ordered the club to present surveillance footage from the night before it by Monday. This is not the only such allegation Spacey has faced by far. Earlier in May, a California federal judge on allowed a massage therapist to pursue a sexual assault lawsuit against Kevin Spacey while keeping his identity anonymous. Back in 2018, the masseur filed a suit against Spacey, alleging that the 'Horrible Bosses' actor tried to kiss him and forced him to grab his genitals during a private massage appointment at the actor's residence in Malibu. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The United States on Monday called on China to make public a full account of those killed or missing in the 1989 student-led pro-democracy demonstration in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square. It also urged the communist country to release all political prisoners jailed for fighting human rights abuses in the country. In a statement released a day before the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre, US Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo said, "We urge the Chinese government to make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history. Such a step would begin to demonstrate the Communist Party's willingness to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms." "We call on China to release all those held for seeking to exercise these rights and freedoms, halt the use of arbitrary detention, and reverse counterproductive policies that conflate terrorism with religious and political expression," the statement read. In the spring of 1989, Beijing witnessed the largest student-led pro-democracy demonstration, which spread to over 30 cities by July 4. On that day, Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters witnessing the horrors of the Chinese government's brutality. Pompeo condemned the treatment of the country's estimated one million Uighurs and other Muslim groups in the Xinjiang region. "China's one-party state tolerates no dissent and abuses human rights whenever it serves its interests," the statement said. "Today, Chinese citizens have been subjected to a new wave of abuses, especially in Xinjiang, where the Communist Party leadership is methodically attempting to strangle Uighur culture and stamp out the Islamic faith, including through the detention of more than one million members of Muslim minority groups," it added. The Uighur is a Muslim majority in Xinjiang province, situated in the western part of China and is officially designated as an autonomous region. According to experts, over one million Uighurs have been detained in internment camps where they are forced to undergo forceful re-education or indoctrination. Beijing has, however, refuted claims of clamping down on the Uighurs, outlining that only people who have committed minor offences when involved in terrorist activities are made to go through vocational training at "vocational education institutions". . (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order for all state government staffs to wear attire permissible to them reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress in order to "maintain the decorum of the office". As per the order, women will have to wear "sarees or salwar kameez or churidaar with dupatta of the sober colour" and men will have to wear "formal shirts with formal pants" reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress. An order issued by the personnel and administrative reforms department signed by chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan dated May 28 stated, "...while in duty, saree/salwar kameez/churidaar with dupatta, for females staff and formal shirts with formal pants reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress, for male staff." It added that "casual attire shall be avoided". The order further stated that the dress code prescribed in para 541 of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Office Manual is required to be modified on the following lines to "suit the present-day circumstances and to maintain the decorum of the office". It added that a male officer who makes an appearance before a court or tribunal or any other judicial forum should wear a "short buttoned up coat with full sleeves, with trousers". "If the officer prefers an open coat, he should put on a tie as well and the clothes should be sober and subdued in colour and design. A woman officer should wear a sari or salwar kameez or churidar with dupatta of a sober colour. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) slammed Russia, Syria and Iran for "killing many innocent civilians" by "bombing the hell out" of Idlib in Syria. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" he tweeted. The US President was en route to the UK for his official visit. He had previously declared the end of ISIS in the Syrian region, basing that as his reason behind the decision to pull troops from the area. This decision invited backlash from various quarters, including the US Congress, as it left the country's allies in a lurch. Following this, the US authorities ensured that 400 troops, out of the 2,000-strong American contingent, would stay back in Syria. Many viewed the United States' withdrawal from the region as the direct growth of Russia and Iran's influence in Syria. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kevin Hassett, top economist of the White House, known for shaping the 2017 Republican tax law, will leave the administration shortly, announced President Donald Trump on Sunday. "Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly. His very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S. I want to thank Kevin for all he has done - he is a true friend!," tweeted Trump. The 57-year-old, who has served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers since September 2017, will leave the White House next month. He was a staunch defender of Trump's policies. Kevin's departure comes as the United States is dealing with a hostile trade war with Mexico and China. However, he has clarified that his resignation has nothing to do with the escalating trade conflicts. "The trade story and the departure story are completely different stories," Kevin told The Washington Post. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Headline indices of the Australian market were in the red on the first trading day of the week and month, Monday, 3 June 2019, as risk sentiments muted amid escalating US-China trade tensions and its impact over the state of global trade. ASX sectors were lower, with telecommunication, energy, materials, financials, industrials, and consumer discretionary issues being notable losers. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index retreated 75.35 points, or 1.18%, at 6,321.50 points, while the broader All Ordinaries tumbled 80.11 points, or 1.23%, at 6,411.70. Risk sentiment was hurt due to worries that a prolonged U. S.-China trade war and Washington's tariff threat to Mexico could derail the global economy. On Friday, the Trump administration eliminated India's ability to export products to the US duty-free. Further, President Trump threatened to impose tariffs on Mexico over immigration. Meanwhile, China implemented tariff hikes Saturday and launched an investigation into FedEx after it diverted two parcels destined for Huawei addresses in Asia to the United States. A senior Chinese official said on Sunday that United States cannot use pressure to force a trade deal on China, refusing to be drawn on whether the leaders of the two countries would meet at the G20 summit to bash out an agreement. China threatened on Friday to unveil an unprecedented hit-list of unreliable foreign firms, groups and individuals that harm the interests of Chinese companies, as a slate of retaliatory tariffs on imported U. S. goods. With the US and China set for a long drawn out trade war, the markets have begun pricing the possibility the Federal Reserve will cut its target rate by a half-percentage point by year-end. Goldman Sachs also sees a higher chance of rate cut but believes it is a close call as the economic outlook has not changed much. Data from a private survey on Monday showed that Chinese manufacturing activity was better than expected in May. The Caixin/Markit factory Purchasing Managers' Index for May was 50.2. The PMI reading for April was 50.2. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction. Last week, China's official manufacturing PMI for May came in at 49.4, lower than April's reading of 50.1. The official non-manufacturing PMI for May was 54.3 unchanged from April. Shares of materials and energy declined as prices of commodities such as iron ore and copper declined amid doubts about the demand for resources. Oil and gas players Santos, Woodside Petroleum and Oil Search gave up between 2.4% and 2.6%, while global mining majors BHP Group and Rio Tinto were also 1.8% lower, each. Shares of banks and financials were lower. The big four banks - National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank and Westpac - were down in a range of 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent. ANZ Banking shed 1%. ANZ Banking said it has completed the A$2.85 billion sale of its Australian life insurance business, OnePath Life, to Zurich Insurance Group. The bank's shares are lower by 0.7%. BUcking the trend, Eclipx Group was up 22.8%. The firm scored an upgrade from Credit Suisse, with the broker lifting its rating to outperform from neutral. ECONOMIC NEWS: The latest survey from the Australian Industry Group revealed that the manufacturing sector in Australia continued to expand in May, albeit at a slower rate, with a Performance of Manufacturing Index score of 52.7. That's down from 54.8 in April, although it remains well above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction. CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar was down against the U. S. dollar on Monday. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.6954 after dropping to levels around $0.690 last week. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a new Central Sector Scheme. It is estimated that 5 crore small and marginal farmers will benefit in the first three years itself. The Central Government would spend Rs. 10774.50 crore for a period of 3 years towards its contribution (matching share) for providing social security cover as envisaged under the scheme. This is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme for all Small and Marginal Farmers (SMF) across the country. The entry age is 18 to 40 years with a provision of minimum fixed pension of Rs.3,000/- on attaining the age of 60 years. For example, a beneficiary farmer is required to contribute Rs 100/ - per month at median entry age of 29 years. The Central Government shall also contribute to the Pension Fund an equal amount as contributed by the eligible farmer. After the subscriber's death, while receiving pension, the spouse of the SMF beneficiary shall be entitled to receive 50% of the pension received by the beneficiary as family pension, provided he/she is not already an SMF beneficiary of the Scheme. If, the death of the subscriber happens during the period of contribution, the spouse shall have the option of continuing the Scheme by paying regular contribution. An interesting feature of the Scheme is that the farmers can opt to allow his/her monthly contribution to the Scheme to be made from the benefits drawn from the Pradhan Mantri KisanSAmman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme directly. Alternatively, a farmer can pay his monthly contribution by registering through Common Service Centres (CSCs) under MeitY. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Strong buying demand in index pivotals triggered a sharp rally on the bourses on first trading day of the week and month. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, gained 553.42 points or 1.39% at 40,267.62. The Nifty 50 index gained 165.75 points or 1.39% at 12,088.55. The Sensex and the Nifty, both, scaled record high. Sentiment was boosted by steep slide in crude oil prices during the previous trading session. Auto shares were in demand after monthly sales data. Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Key indices marched ahead as the day's trading session progressed. The Sensex hit day's high above the psychological 40,000 level and the Nifty hit day's high above the psychological 12,000 level. Broader market lagged key benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.9%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.48%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1191 shares rose and 1418 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged. Auto shares were in demand after monthly sales data. Hero MotoCorp surged 6.01%. The company reported sales of 652,028 units of motorcycles and scooters in the month of May 2019. The company recorded a sequential increase in sales compared to the previous month (April 2019) when it sold 574,366 units of two-wheelers. Bajaj Auto gained 3.92% after the company reported 3% increase in total vehicle sales to 4.19 lakh units in May 2019 over May 2018. Bajaj Auto's total domestic vehicle sales increased 5% to 2.35 lakh units. Total export rose by 1% to 1.83 lakh units in May 2019 over May 2018. In a separate announcement during trading hours today, Bajaj Auto said that it has agreed on new electric vehicle alliance with KTM Industries AG. As per the deal, Bajaj Auto and KTM Industries AG will develop a common 48 volt electric two-wheeler platform in the power range 3 to 10 kW for planned serial production in India. This platform will support different product variants - scooters, mopeds, small mopeds, under brands of both partners. The serial production will start at Bajaj's production site in Pune by 2022. Maruti Suzuki India rose 2.89%. Maruti Suzuki India reported 22% decline in total vehicle sales to 1.34 lakh units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total domestic passenger vehicle sales declined 25.1% to 1.21 lakh units. Total export sales fell by 2.4% to 9089 units. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 June 2019. Tata Motors rose 1.19%. Tata Motors Commercial and Passenger Vehicles Business sales in the domestic market in May 2019 were reported at 40,155 units, a drop of 26%, as against 54,290 units sold in May 2018, as market sentiments continued to be muted. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 June 2019. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose rose 1.15% to Rs 654.55. M&M Benefit Trust (the Trust) which forms part of the promoter group of the company, has today sold 1.92 crore equity shares (treasury stock) representing 1.54% of the total paid up equity share capital of the company. The sale has been executed on the stock exchange(s), at a gross price of Rs 648 per share. Following the sale, the shareholding of the promoters and promoter group of the company has come down from 20.44% to 18.90% of the total paid up equity share capital of the company. The announcement was made during market hours today, 3 May 2019. M&M reported a 3% decline in total vehicle sales to 45,421 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total domestic sales declined 2% to 43,056 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total exports declined 22% to 2,365 units in May 2019 over May 2018. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 June 2019. Further, M&M's Farm Equipment Sector (FES), reported a 16% decline in total sales to 24,704 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total domestic sales declined 17% to 23,539 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total exports increased 3% to 1,165 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Crude oil prices dropped amid stalling demand as trade wars fanned fears of a global economic slowdown. Brent for August 2019 settlement was up 16 cents at $62.15 a barrel. The contract fell $3.34 a barrel or 5.11% to settle at $61.99 a barrel during the previous trading session. On the macro front, India's economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8% in January-March 2018-19, due to slackness in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, official data stated. The Central Statistics Office also revealed that GDP growth during the 2018-19 fiscal stood at 6.8%, lower than 7.2% in the previous financial year. The data was released after market hours on Friday, 31 May 2019. The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 127.5 in April 2019, which was 2.6% higher as compared to the index of April 2018. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The total gross GST revenue collected in the month of May 2019 is Rs 1,00,289 crore of which CGST is Rs 17,811 crore, SGST is Rs 24,462 crore, IGST is Rs 49,891 crore (including Rs 24,875 crore collected on imports) and Cess is Rs 8,125 crore (including Rs 953 crore collected on imports). The revenue in May 2018 was Rs 94,016 crore. Overseas, European shares were trading lower while Asian stocks were mixed on Monday amid increasing concerns over the state of global trade. A private gauge indicated that activity in China's factories held steady in May. The Caixin China manufacturing purchasing managers index in May remained unchanged from April at 50.2, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said Monday. US stocks closed sharply lower Friday, after President Donald Trump unexpectedly announced plans to impose tariffs on imports from Mexico in an attempt to pressure the country to stem the flow of migrants across the U.S. border. Late Thursday, Trump announced that the U.S. would impose a 5% tariff on all goods from Mexico until that country stops the flow of illegal immigrants into the country. He said the tariffs will rise to 10% on July 1 if the crisis persists, and by another 5% for every successive month, up to 25% by October 1. In US economic data, the University of Michigan's final consumer sentiment index reading for May came in at 100 versus an initial 102.4, but remained up from 97.2 in April. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was down by 0.88% to 641.40 at 09:19 IST on the BSE after the company reported a 3% decline in total vehicle sales to 45,421 units in May 2019 over May 2018. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 June 2019. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up by 37.42 points, or 0.09% to 39,751.62. On the BSE, the stock had hit a high of Rs 649.75 and a low of Rs 638.10 so far during the day. It hit a 52-week high of Rs 992 on 30 August 2018 and a 52-week low of Rs 598 on 16 May 2019. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)'s total domestic sales declined 2% to 43,056 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total exports declined 22% to 2,365 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Further, M&M's Farm Equipment Sector (FES) reported a 16% decline in total sales to 24,704 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total domestic FES sales declined 17% to 23,539 units in May 2019 over May 2018. Total FES exports increased 3% to 1,165 units in May 2019 over May 2018. M&M reported a fall in the combined profit from ordinary activities after tax (after EI) by 16% to Rs 969 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018. Combined revenues and other income rose 5% to Rs 14055 crore. The results for M&M include the combined results of M&M and Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers (MVML), which is a manufacturing unit of M&M. M&M the world's largest tractor brand by volume and India's largest utility vehicle manufacturer. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Firmness prevailed on the bourses in early afternoon trade on steady buying demand in index pivotals. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 344.01 points or 0.87% at 40,058.21. The Nifty 50 index was up 98 points or 0.82% at 12,020.80. Shares of state-run oil marketing companies rose after crude oil prices dropped in the international commodity market. Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks extended gains in morning trade after an initial upmove. Key indices marched ahead and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The Sensex hit day's high above the psychological 40,000 level and the Nifty hit day's high above the psychological 12,000 level. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.74%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.36.%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1051 shares rose and 1247 shares fell. A total of 141 shares were unchanged. Shares of state-run oil marketing companies rose after crude oil prices dropped in the international commodity market. BPCL (up 1.39%), HPCL (up 0.88%) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 2.08%) advanced. Lower crude oil prices could reduce under-recoveries of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel. Crude oil prices dropped amid stalling demand as trade wars fanned fears of a global economic slowdown. Brent for August 2019 settlement was down 72 cents at $61.27 a barrel. The contract fell $3.34 a barrel or 5.11% to settle at $61.99 a barrel during the previous trading session. Ultratech Cement slipped 0.05%. Ultratech Cement said that it is proposing to issue unsecured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) amounting to Rs 250 crore on private placement basis. The tenure of the NCD is 5 years. The deemed date of allotment is 4 June 2019 and date of maturity is 4 June 2024. Interest offered for the NCD is 7.64% per annum. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 31 May 2019. Escorts rose 1.27%. Escorts announced an 18% fall in the total tractor sales to 6,827 units in May 2019 over May 2018. The total domestic tractor sales declined 19.8% to 6,488 units. The total exports were up by 42.4% to 339 units. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 June 2019. SML Isuzu rose 3.02%. SML Isuzu reported a 17.1% increase in total sales to 1,689 units in May 2019 over May 2018. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 June 2019. On the macro front, India's economic growth rate slowed to five-year low of 5.8% in January-March 2018-19, due to slackness in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, official data stated. The Central Statistics Office also revealed that GDP growth during the 2018-19 fiscal stood at 6.8%, lower than 7.2% in the previous financial year. The data was released after market hours on Friday, 31 May 2019. The total gross GST revenue collected in the month of May 2019 is Rs 1,00,289 crore of which CGST is Rs 17,811 crore, SGST is Rs 24,462 crore, IGST is Rs 49,891 crore (including Rs 24,875 crore collected on imports) and Cess is Rs 8,125 crore (including Rs 953 crore collected on imports). The revenue in May 2018 was Rs 94,016 crore. The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 127.5 in April 2019, which was 2.6% higher as compared to the index of April 2018. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reliance Industries Ltd is quoting at Rs 1346.6, up 1.24% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 43.13% in last one year as compared to a 13.02% gain in NIFTY and a 23.21% gain in the Nifty Energy index. Reliance Industries Ltd rose for a third straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 1346.6, up 1.24% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.75% on the day, quoting at 12012.4. The Sensex is at 40042.84, up 0.83%. Reliance Industries Ltd has dropped around 2.77% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Reliance Industries Ltd is a constituent, has dropped around 0.87% in last one month and is currently quoting at 16560.35, up 0.52% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 47.11 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 115.01 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark June futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 1345.85, up 1.21% on the day. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 43.13% in last one year as compared to a 13.02% gain in NIFTY and a 23.21% gain in the Nifty Energy index. The PE of the stock is 23.97 based on TTM earnings ending March 19. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US-based electronic payments company ACI Worldwide on Monday announced strategic investment in Mumbai-based digital payments firm Mindgate Solutions. The financial details of the investment were not disclosed. As part of this investment, ACI and Mindgate will deliver a joint real-time payments solution that will combine ACI's Universal Payments software solutions with Mindgate's digital overlay services. The solution would be offered to banks, financial intermediaries and merchants in India and other international markets via an on-premise, public cloud or hosted model, ACI Worldwide said. "The global real-time and digital payments transaction opportunity is vast. With Mindgate and ACI alliance, we are well-positioned to capitalise on this growth opportunity by providing to banks, corporates, merchants and payment intermediaries the world's leading real-time payments offering," Phil Heasley, President and CEO, ACI Worldwide, said in a statement. This investment is also expected to provide Mindgate, a leading firm in processing UPI (unified payments interface) transactions, with the ability to expand its footprint globally. UPI is a mobile-based, real-time payments platform in India developed and managed by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It enables bank account holders in India (of banks participating in the UPI scheme) send and receive money from their smartphones with a single, simple identifier. "The combination of ACI and Mindgate will support the continued global adoption of real-time and digital payments, while helping to drive UPI as it becomes the dominant Indian retail payments method," AP Hota, former CEO of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), said. According to Mindgate, its software processes 30 million digital transactions a day globally, and 70 per cent of UPI transactions are routed through Mindgate-customer banks. --IANS gb/pcj (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Fulfilling another poll promise, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday announced a hike in the salaries of Asha workers to Rs 10,000 from the current Rs 3,000. Reddy, who took oath as chief minister on May 30, made the announcement at a review meeting at the health department. During the election campaign, YSR Congress Party had promised to increase the salaries of Accredited Social Health Activist (Asha) workers. Jagan, as the chief minister is popularly known, said the government was determined to revamp the medical and health department to improve health facilities in government hospitals. He said as promised in YSRCP manifesto, the government would restore the past glory of 108 ambulance services introduced during former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's regime. Jagan expressed surprise over the pathetic condition in government hospitals during the last five years. He also formed a committee to revamp the medical and health department and asked the panel to submit the report in 45 days. --IANS ms/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy will visit Visakhapatnam on Tuesday to seek the blessings of Hindu seer Swamy Swaroopanandendra Saraswati. Jagan Reddy is also likely to request the Sharada Peetham pontiff to fix an auspicious time for the expansion of his Cabinet next week. The Chief Minister will reach Visakhapatnam by a special aircraft from Vijayawada on Tuesday morning and will drive straight to Sharada Peetham to meet the seer. According to sources in Chief Minister's Office, he will spend an hour at the ashram before returning to Amaravati. This will be Jagan Reddy's first meeting with the seer after the results were declared. The spiritual guru reportedly congratulated him over the phone and is also understood to have set the mahuratam for his swearing-in as the chief minister. Jagan, as the young leader is popularly known, took oath at 12.23 p.m. on May 30 at a public ceremony in Vijayawada. The YSRCP chief had been following Swamy Swaroopanandendra for the last couple of years. Interestingly, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao also follows the seer and visited his ashram for blessings after winning Assembly election in December last year. Though followers of Jagan say he is a devout Christian, the YSRCP President is known to frequent Hindu temples and seers. In 2016, he went to Rishikesh to perform a 'homam' in the presence of Swamy Swaroopanandendra for special category status to Andhra Pradesh. He also took the blessings of Chinna Jeeyar Swamy before embarking on his 3,600-km long state-wide 'padyatra' in 2017. YSRCP leaders say Jagan is a firm believer in secularism and respects all faiths. A day before taking oath as the Chief Minister, he visited Tirumala temple at Tirupati and a dargah and a church in his native Kadapa district. At the swearing-in ceremony, he took the blessings of Christian, Muslim and Hindu priests. --IANS ms/rtp (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hours after getting him to issue an apology, the Gujarat BJP on Monday slapped a showcause notice on its Ahmedabad legislator Balram Thawani for kicking a woman and asked him to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken against him. Even as the Naroda MLA, who was caught on camera roughing up and kicking a woman on a street, insisted he did not hit her intentionally, his party strongly condemned his behaviour. State BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said: "We condemn this behaviour which is shameful and unbecoming of a people's representative." He said Gujarat BJP President Jitubhai Vaghani had issued Thawani a showcause notice to "explain in three days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him". This came several hours after Thawani apologized for his behaviour, while in a rapprochement of sorts the woman in question on Monday evening went ahead and tied a rakhi to him. "Vaghani immediately called up Thawani on Sunday night on knowing about the incident and directed him to issue a public apology. He has also sought his explanation," Pandya told IANS earlier. Nitu Tejwani, a municipal ward in-charge of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had gone to Thawani's office in Naroda as part of a group protesting over water supply. A video that went viral of the lawmaker kicking the woman shows Tejwani fallen to the ground after being roughed up by another man. Witnesses confirmed that Thawani came out of his office when this man was beating her and joined him in kicking her. This only stopped after a passer-by intervened and slapped the MLA. Talking to reporters, Tejwani, who also filed a police complaint against Thawani and others, claimed that she had gone to meet the MLA to represent about the water supply issue in her area. She added: "Without reason and without saying anything, he (legislator) came out and started kicking me and beating me up and even slapped me." She claimed that her husband, who came to her rescue, was beaten up with sticks. Other women protesting over the issue were also roughed up, she said. Thawani admitted that he did kick the woman but insisted that it was in self defence and he did not intend to hit anyone. "I got carried away in a fit of anger. I have apologized for my mistake. I will say sorry to her," the BJP MLA said. The Congress asserted that the ruling party as well as Chief Minister Vijay Rupani should personally apologize. "The BJP must take strict action against the MLA," Congress' Gujarat affairs in-charge Rajeev Satav stated. "It is time women are protected from BJP leaders." NCP's Reshma Patel, who had quit the BJP over six months ago, met Tejwani at the Civil Hospital where she was admitted. Condemning the "MLA's behaviour", she said she would stand by Tejwani's "fight for justice." --IANS desai/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a significant order, the Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the constitutional validity of the amended sections of the Indian Penal Code providing either life sentence or death penalty for repeat rape offences. Dismissing petitions filed by three convicts sentenced to death in the second gang-rape case of Shakti Mills Compound challenging the constitutional validity of their punishment, Justice B.P. Dharmadhikari and Justice Revati Mohite-Dhere ruled that they found no merit in the arguments of the convicts and held the provision as constitutional. "We are of the opinion that the Section 376E of the Indian Penal Code is not ultra-vires, the Constitution and hence need not be quashed in the present case," the judges said in their ruling with far-reaching ramifications. The IPC Sec 376E - added in 2013 as one of the amendments after the horrific 23-year-old medico-intern Nirbhaya gang-rape case and murder in New Delhi in December 2012 - says that if a person has been previously convicted for rape, he can be punished with life imprisonment or death sentence upon a subsequent conviction in a rape offence. In 2014, three prime accused - Vijay Jadhav, Mohammed Qasim Sheikh and Mohammed Salim Ansari - were convicted for the gang-rape of a 22-year-old photojournalist on August 22, 2013 and in the gang-rape of an 18-year-old call centre employee on July 31, 2013, both having taken place in the Shakti Mills Compound. Both cases were tried separately but the trials conducted simultaneously with the verdict coming on the same day. The trial court accepted the prosecution plea that Section 376E was applicable in the second case (July 2013) as it technically came after their conviction in the first case (August 2013) in which the accused were awarded the death penalty. Pronouncing the verdict on March 21, 2014, Principal Sessions Judge Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi had found all the five main accused guilty of criminal conspiracy, gang-rape, common intentions, unnatural sex, criminal intimidation, wrongful confinement, assault and destruction of evidence. While two of the accused were minors and sent to correction homes in Nashik from where they were released after serving the maximum three-year sentence, three others (Jadhav, Sheikh and Ansari) were awarded the death sentence. It was the first time in India that the section providing for death sentence to a repeat offender in a rape case was invoked, and the Special Public Prosecutor in both cases was ace criminal lawyer Ujjwal Nikam. Later, the convicted trio appealed in the Bombay High Court terming Section 376E as 'unconstitutional' and that a death penalty could not be awarded in cases where another person's life was not taken. The state argued that Section 376E was valid and said that rape offences should be treated as among the gravest offences even if not accompanied by murder owing to its long-lasting effects on the victim. --IANS qn/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Accusing the BJP of winning the Lok Sabha polls by using muscle, money and government power, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday called for bringing back the system of paper ballots to save democracy. "We have gone through the elections fighting against all the muscle, money, government, institutional power which were misused. Our workers fought boldly," she said after a meeting with party officials, MPs and MLAs at the state secretariat. "They (BJP) got 18 seats (in Bengal) with money, muscle, government, communal and media power. They had targeted 23 seats and maybe EVMs were pre-programmed in favour of them," Banerjee said. "The verdict was not spontaneous and the BJP's victory was not based on people's support. It was through an artificial mechanism, that is why they have been trying to capture party offices." She also said the party would organise "public relations" marches across the state ahead of the Trinamool Congress' annual Martyrs' Day rally on July 21. "The July 21 rally originated from our movement which was for 'No Identity Card, No Vote'. Our 13 workers were shot dead by the then CPI (M) government," she said. "We are starting a movement 'Save Democracy, Bring Back Ballots'. We do not want (electronic voting) machines but want ballots to save democracy," she added. --IANS bdc/prs (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.) Canada has announced the 'temporary' suspension of its diplomatic operations in Venezuela, and said it would evaluate the status of diplomats appointed by President Nicolas Maduro's government to Ottawa. The Canadian Foreign Minister, Chrystia Freeland, said in a statement released on Sunday by the Embassy of Canada in Caracas that the measure would take immediate effect immediately since the visas of Canadian diplomats 'will expire' at the end of June 2018, reports Efe news. "As Venezuela slides deeper into dictatorship, and as Venezuelans continue to suffer at the hands of the illegitimate Maduro regime, the regime has taken steps to limit the ability of foreign embassies to function", Freeland said. Canada also said in the statement that it will continue "to stand up for the rights of the Venezuelan people and for a full return to democracy" in the South American country. It added that consular assistance for Canadians in Venezuela will be provided at the Embassy of Canada in Bogota. "For several months, we have advised Canadians to avoid all travel to Venezuela," Freeland said. Venezuela has been gripped by an acute political crisis since January, when Maduro was sworn in for a new six-year term that the opposition and majority of the international community do not recognize following what they called 'fraudulent' elections in May 2018. In response, self-declared president Juan Guaido proclaimed an interim government which has the support of more than 50 countries, including the US, Canada, much of the European Union and many Latin American countries. Guaido has promised that he would call elections once Maduro's 'usurpation' of the presidency has ended. Despite significant foreign support, Guaido has been unable to unseat Maduro, despite attempting to trigger a military uprising in April. --IANS niy/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (GMC) has filed a case against 35 "land mafia" for selling land of a water body to 500 migrants from eastern UP, Bihar and West Bengal and efforts are on to trace the criminals, an official said on Monday. The GMC has lodged an FIR with the Sahibabad police station. Municipal Commissioner Dinesh Chandra said that the GMC is committed to free the land from illegal possession. Acting on the complaint of local activists, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the civic authority to free the land even if the houses on it are to be demolished. Earlier, police was not available in view of ongoing general elections and now with Ramzan on, the GMC wanted to avert any unpleasant situation. However, due to the constant reminders to comply with the NGT orders, the GMC had to begin the demolitions. In the first phase, about 15 houses were demolished. During the demolition drive, the GMC found that the land-grabbers had sold the land to the migrants by registered sale deeds. Tracking the old records, it unearthed the 35 land grabbers responsible. "But the GMC is facing a major problem that the land-grabbers have fled the area. The police have maintained their names only in its record and their whereabouts are not available at this stage. It may take some time to nab them but we are sure that police would track them. And we will be able to convince the NGT, in the next date of hearing, that their order to free the land is under process," Chandra said. --IANS sps/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) There is 60:40 chance of good Kuruvai paddy crop this time and one can wait until July for the Southwest monsoon. However, the farmers are keeping their fingers crossed, according to a senior official of a farmers' association in Cauvery delta in Tamil Nadu. "About one lakh acres of paddy has been sown in the delta region by those who have ground water source. We can wait till the first week of July for water for sowing of paddy. If the monsoon fails, it is better for the farmers to drop the Kuruvai crop (short-term) and go for Samba crop," S. Ranganathan, Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, told IANS. He said if the monsoon sets in before June 12 and rains and the water level in Mettur dam goes up to 60 feet, then the water could be released for Kuruvai. Ranganathan said that farmers should go for very short-term paddy varieties. On the other hand, if the monsoon fails, the government should conserve what ever water is available in Mettur dam, including Tamil Nadu's share of Cauvery river water from Karnataka, and stock it up while the farmers can look at Samba crop. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted Southwest Monsoon to set over Kerala on June 6. --IANS vj/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Central government on Monday released a revised Draft National Policy (DNEP) after several states opposed the compulsory teaching of Hindi in schools under the three-language formula. The government unveiled the revised DNEP after removing the controversial portions that angered states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal. The original DNEP, under the heading 'Flexibility in the choice of languages', read: "In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6, so long as the study of three languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English." This mandatory clause was met with uproar from politicians and citizens most vociferously in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, who called it an attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking people, ignoring the country's diverse linguistic fabric. The new DNEP has reworded the para as: "In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations some time during secondary school." It underlined that for the purpose of national integation, schools in Hindi-speaking areas should also offer and teach Indian languages from other parts of the country. The DNEP was uploaded on the HRD Ministry's website on Friday to seek recommendations from the public as well as the other states. It sparked a major row, with the most strident opposition coming from Tamil Nadu. Even NDA constituent AIADMK, the ruling party, said it wouldn't discontinue the two-language formula followed by the state which does not mandate teaching Hindi. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday joined the slugfest, terming the mandatory Hindi teaching a "brutal assault" on non-Hindi speaking states. "For us Kannada is an identity, and learning any other language should be by choice and not by imposition," he tweeted. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) joined the issue. "Hindi is not our mother tongue, do not enforce it on us and incite us," the party's official twitter handle said. The West Bengal government was equally livid. On Sunday, the Centre deputed senior cabinet ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S. Jaishankar to calm the flaring tempers. The newly sworn-in Ministers tweeted in Tamil as well as English reassuring the people that no language will be imposed and the policy will not be effected without consultations with the other states. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said: "The committee on new policy has submitted its report. The government has not taken any decision on it." Javadekar, who was the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister in the previous NDA government, said all Indian languages will be promoted. Tamil Nadu witnessed serious anti-Hindi protests in 1965, resulting in several deaths in police firing. The agitation spearheaded by the DMK was one of the major reasons it was catapulted to power in the state in 1967, displacing the Congress. Even during the 1930s -- prior to Indian independence -- the erstwhile Madras Presidency witnessed protests when the then Congress government wanted Hindi to be introduced as a subject in schools. --IANS vj/pgs/mr/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China has defended the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in a rare public acknowledgement of events, ahead of the 30th anniversary of the pro-democracy demonstrations. Defence Minister Wei Fenghe told a regional forum that stopping the "turbulence" was the "correct" policy. In spring 1989, students and workers occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square in a massive pro-democracy protest. Many were killed in a brutal clampdown by the communist authorities. Reporting on the events is heavily censored in China. Tuesday marks 30 years since six weeks of demonstrations ended with the Beijing massacre of June 3-4. Public discussions of the 1989 pro-democracy protests and their suppression are strictly taboo in China. But after a wide-ranging speech about trade and security at a regional forum in Singapore, General Wei Fenghe was asked about Tiananmen by a member of the audience, the BBC reported. Wei questioned why people still said China had not handled the events properly. "That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy," he told the forum. "The past 30 years have proven that China has undergone major changes," he said, adding that because of the government's action at that time "China has enjoyed stability and development". His remarks came after Twitter issued an apology for suspending a number of accounts posting about China ahead of the Tiananmen Square anniversary. A tweet on their public policy account said the company was working to challenge accounts that engage in "platform manipulation, including spam and other inauthentic behaviours". "Sometimes our routine actions catch false positives or we make errors," the tweet read, adding that Twitter was trying to correct the mistakes. Users had criticised the platform for blocking the accounts, using the hashtag #TwitterMassacre. US Republican Senator Marco Rubio accused the company of becoming a Chinese government censor. --IANS kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China's Defence Minister has issued a stern rebuke to the United States amid the ongoing trade war and tension over the South China Sea and Taiwan, saying his country would "not let others prey on or divide us." General Wei Fenghe told delegates at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday that Beijing would not yield an inch of territory -- and any foreign interference was doomed to failure. He specifically called out the US and its Taiwan Relations Act, the 1979 law which permits Washington to provide defence weapons to the Taipei government and help defend the island from invasion. China considers Taiwan a renegade province. The two separated at the end of a bloody civil war in 1949 and the US only has official diplomatic relations with Beijing. "How can the US enact a law to interfere in China's internal affairs? Is there any sense in that?" Wei asked. Wei cited Abraham Lincoln fighting to keep the US united during the Civil War, adding: "Not a single country in the world would tolerate secession. The US is indivisible and so is China." Wei spoke at the conference a day after acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan, who challenged Beijing to adhere to a "rules-based order" so it could fully gain the trust of the international community. But Wei said China was just taking measures to ensure prosperity and a better life for all involved, CNN reported. "China has never provoked a war or conflict, taken land or invaded another country," said Wei, the highest-ranking Chinese official to attend Asia's top defence summit in eight years. "China has never preyed on others. We shall not let others prey on or divide us either." Beijing claims almost the entire 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory and aggressively asserts its stake. US military officials, meanwhile, have vowed to continue enforcing a free and open Indo-Pacific. Wei portrayed the South China Sea situation as largely a stand-off between Washington and Beijing. "Who is threatening security and stability in the South China Sea?" he asked, answering countries outside the region "who come to flex muscles" who would then "walk away and leave a mess behind." Those countries forced China to build up military facilities on the disputed islands, Wei said. "In the face of heavily armed ships and military aircraft, how can we not build defense facilities," he said. Wei defended China's detention of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in Xinjiang province for economic and security reasons. "The policy of China in Xinjiang is absolutely right. Because over the past more than two years there is no single terrorist attack in Xinjiang. The living standard of the local people has improved," he said Wei also blamed Washington for the ongoing trade war. "As for the recent trade friction started by the US, if the US wants to talk we will keep the door open. If they want to fight, we will fight until the end," he said. "Bully us? No way," he added. --IANS kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after losing the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has decided to send the Ministers among people to monitor progress of projects and take feedback from people. Starting from Tuesday, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues will be amidst people. "They will interact with people on their problems. They will also take stock of schools, hospitals, public dealing offices and other facilities," the Delhi government said in a statement. The Ministers -- Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Satyendar Jain, Imran Hussain, Rajendra Pal Gautam and Kailash Gehlot -- will take direct feedback from the public on day to day facilities like water, power, roads, healthcare, and PDS. --IANS nks/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi government plans to allow women to travel free in DTC and cluster buses and Delhi Metro within the next three months by providing a subsidy, a move dismissed as an election gimmick by the BJP and the Congress. Putting an additional burden of around Rs 700-800 crore in the current financial year, when implemented by August-September, the scheme will benefit around 8 lakh women who use the Metro every day. "Women account for about 30 to 33 per cent of all the commuters in Delhi. They can avail free rides on all DTC buses, cluster buses and Delhi Metro," Kejriwal told the media. "The plan is to encourage women to use public transport, which is considered the safest mode of transport," he added. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said that officers had been asked to frame a detailed proposal in a week for both the Metro and state-run Delhi Transport Corp (DTC). "We are trying to get the scheme implemented within 2-3 months," he said. The scheme will not be "imposed" on anyone and will help women who don't use Metro due to high fares. "Women who can afford can buy tickets. We would encourage them to do so, so that the subsidy can be provided to others." Kejriwal also said that since they were not making any change in the Metro fare, the Central government's permission was not required. "The subsidy cost will be paid by the Delhi government." He said the scheme would cost the Delhi government Rs 700-800 crore for the remaining financial year. A special Budget Session of the Assembly will be called and the Delhi Cabinet's nod will be taken, he said. According to Kejriwal, the step would not only encourage women to use public transport more but also increase their participation in the workforce. "The female workforce participation nationally is 27 per cent, but it is only 11 per cent in Delhi... We hope the scheme will encourage more and more of our womenfolk to go out to work." Kejriwal said the scheme will not impose any congestion in the Metro as its capacity was 40 lakh. "The ridership of the Metro was 28 lakh per day in March 2017. Today, it has dropped to 25 lakh, after the metro fares were hiked. This step will add an extra one lakh female passengers to the daily ridership. There will be no congestion in the Metro." Kejriwal sought suggestions from the public on the scheme. However, there can be a few issues in the implementation of the scheme as the city government and the Centre are equal partners (50-50) in the Delhi Metro Rail Corp. BJP MP Vijay Goel accused the AAP of misleading people. "They have lost all the seven seats in Delhi (in Lok Sabha) and are now looking for different ways to fool people for the Assembly elections," Goel said. A senior Congress leader added: "It is all for elections." Delhi will see Assembly elections in late 2019 or early 2020. Asked about possible linkages with the elections, Kejriwal said: "We have rolled out several unique schemes for the people." --IANS nks/mr/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After four years of struggle and a long battle with the Central government-appointed Lieutenant Governor, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party's flagship CCTV project will start from June 8, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. "The proposal and tender for 1.5 lakh CCTV cameras has been passed. Survey for 70,000 cameras has been completed and now from June 8, the cameras will be installed in different parts of the city," he told the media here. The project is likely to be completed by December, he said. Kejriwal said his Cabinet will also pass another proposal for an additional 1.40 lakh cameras by the month end. "A total of 2.80 lakh cameras will be installed across the city," he said. The government will also install CCTV cameras in schools, he added. "About 1.5 lakh cameras will be installed in the schools. The project has been started and this project will be completed by November," he said. Work was also on for installing cameras in DTC buses, he said. The installation of CCTV cameras across the national capital was a flagship programme and a poll promise of the AAP in Delhi which got delayed as the Delhi LG and the city government were not on the same page over the conditions for the cameras. The Delhi government had blamed the Centre for halting the project and holding up its file several times. The project to install the closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras got the Delhi government's approval in August last year, three years after the cabinet gave an in-principle approval to the project. In September last year, the project got the administrative approval and expenditure sanctions at a cost of Rs 571.40 crore. In the Budget for 2019-20, the city government has kept Rs 500 crore for camera installation. The government had planned on installing approximately 2,000 cameras per Assembly constituency in all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi for the security and safety of the citizens. --IANS nks/pg/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Democrats are increasingly in support of impeaching US President Donald Trump and removing him from office but the majority of Americans remain opposed to the prospect, according to a new CNN Poll. Trump's approval rating, meanwhile, holds exactly even with where it was in late April -- 43 per cent approve and 52 per cent disapprove of the President, the poll revealed on Sunday. Trump's overall approval rating is about on par with Ronald Reagan's rating at this point in 1983, and above Jimmy Carter's 32 per cent at this point in 1979. Meanwhile, support for impeachment rose slightly from 37 per cent last month to 41 per cent now. The shift on impeachment stems mostly from a rebound in support for it among Democrats -- 76 per cent favour it currently, up from 69 per cent in April. Whites who hold college degrees have also increased their support for impeachment. In surveys in April and March, fewer than three in 10 in that group favoured proceedings, but that number has now climbed to 41 per cent. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who has resisted calls to open an impeachment inquiry into the President, sees her approval rating hold mostly steady in the new poll (40 per cent view her favourably, 48 per cent unfavourably). About two-thirds of all Americans (67 per cent) have said that Special Counsel Robert Mueller ought to publicly testify before Congress, including majorities of Democrats (88 per cent) and independents (62 per cent) and about half of Republicans (49 per cent). The CNN Poll was conducted on May 28 through 31 among a random national sample of 1,006 adults. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ajit Doval has been given extension as National Security Advisor (NSA) for five more years in recognition of his contribution in the security domain and he has also got the rank of Cabinet Minister in the new Modi government. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Doval as NSA with effect from May 31, 2019. "His (Doval's) appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier," a Ministry of Personnel order said. During the term, the order said, Doval will be assigned the rank of "Cabinet Minister in the table of Precedence". In its first innings, the Modi government conducted two important anti-terror operations under Doval's watch. In 2016, the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes on Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri terror attack. In 2019, the Indian Air Force (IAF) bombed a terror camp in Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack in Kashmir that killed 40 CRPF troopers. Doval also played a crucial role in resolving the Doklam military stand-off between India and China on the country's northeastern border. Informed sources said that Doval and newly-appointed External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar would be the two prominent faces of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the diplomatic and strategic fronts, both having vast experience in South East and South Asian strategic affairs. Doval and Jaishankar earlier played a key role in bringing the Obama administration closer to the Modi-led India. Doval's deep understanding and execution of counter-terror operations and his stint in Pakistan as India's top intelligence sleuth are seen as vital assets for national security. In an exclusive on May 29, IANS broke the story that Doval, one of Modi's most able advisors, would continue as NSA. Amid speculation on whether he would be appointed the Defence Minister or Ambassador to the US, the story said: "He is in many ways the PM's eyes and ears on security-related issues and sources close to the developments dismissed his move from the PMO completely." --IANS rak/mr/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said that he "used to be gay" before he "cured" himself, a media report said on Monday. The President made the remark during a speech to the Filipino community while visiting Tokyo on May 30, CNN reported. After accusing his political opponent and vocal critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV of being gay, Duterte said he could sense he himself was also "a bit gay" while married to his former wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman. Their marriage was annulled in 2000. Duterte went on to say that he was "cured" after meeting current partner Honeylet Avancena. "I became a man again! So beautiful women cured me," Duterte said. "I hated handsome men afterwards. I now prefer beautiful women." Duterte has a history of making controversial and contradictory remarks about the LGBT community. In 2016, Duterte called the US Ambassador to his country a "gay son of a b***h" in a speech, prompting American diplomats to raise the issue with their Filipino counterparts in Washington. In March 2017, the President said he told Filipinos in Myanmar that he was against same-sex marriage, and that recognizing marriages other than those between a man and a woman wouldn't be acceptable in Philippines, which is predominantly Catholic. But later that year, he said the rights of the LGBT community would be protected during his presidency. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP's newly elected parliamentarian Gautam Gambhir on Monday took to Twitter to criticise former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for attacking Home Minister Amit Shah. Mufti criticised Shah for expecting a "quick fix" to the Kashmir issue. "While I am all for a talk-based solution to Kashmir problem but for Mehbooba Mufti to term Amit Shah's process as 'brute' is 'ridiculously naive'. History has been witness to our patience and endurance. But if oppression ensures security for my people, then so be it," Gambhir tweeted. Mufti on Monday called for a political solution of the Kashmir issue by involving all "stakeholders". "Since 1947, Kashmir's been looked through the prism of security by successive governments. It's a political problem that needs a political redress by involving all stakeholders including Pakistan. Expecting a quick fix through brute force by newly appointed HM (Home Minister Amit Shah) is ridiculously naive," she said. --IANS gb/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) is scrutinising land deals to public schools to ascertain whether they are fulfilling the allotment conditions of 20 per cent reservation in admissions to students from poor sections of society and other conditions, an official said on Monday. GDA Property Officer A.R. Rahi said that 109 public schools had obtained land from the civic body on subsidized rates on certain conditions. But during last month's physical verification, it was found that majority of the schools are not abiding by the rules, he said, adding that the authority has thus decided to launch a drive. After the verifications, some schools have gone to court to delay the process but the GDA would contest the cases, he said. "We have received complaints from citizens that the schools are charging hefty fees despite their affidavit that they will teach 20 per cent poor students free of cost. So we will verify whether they are complying with the terms and conditions laid at the time of allotment," Rahi added. --IANS sps/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said her coalition government will continue despite the surprise resignation of the leader of its junior partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD). Merkel said she respected the "far-reaching" decision by Andrea Nahles. Nahles resigned after her centre-left party came third, behind Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Greens, in the European elections, the BBC reported. She had been criticised by the SPD's left for remaining in the coalition. Nahles became SPD leader in April 2018, replacing Martin Schulz who also resigned following the party's poor performance in elections. She was expected to run for the position again and her resignation took analysts by surprise. The coalition between the CDU and the SPD is due to last until federal elections in 2021, but correspondents say Nahles's resignation could lead to the SPD leaving, triggering a snap poll. "Andrea Nahles has made a far-reaching decision both for herself personally as well as for the Social Democratic Party of Germany," Merkel told reporters on Sunday. "I would like to say on behalf of the government, we will continue the government's work with all seriousness. We will above all do it with a great sense of responsibility." --IANS kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chairman of White House Council of Economic Advisers Kevin Hassett will step down "shortly" US President Donald Trump has said. The President, however, did not say whether Hassett resigned or was fired, nor did he elaborate on the reason for the personnel change, Xinhua news agency reported. "Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly," Trump tweeted Sunday, adding that he will name Hassett's successor as soon as he returns from a trip to Europe. In his tweet Trump that came a day ahead of his week-long trip to Britain, Ireland and France, also thanked Hassett and said he was a "true friend". Hassett, a 57-year-old Republican from Massachusetts, was sworn in on September 13, 2017 as the 29th chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. --IANS in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking a stay on the release of Salman Khan's upcoming movie 'Bharat'. A division bench of Justices J.R. Midha and Chander Shekhar said the petition was premature and without merit as the petitioner has only seen the trailer and not the full movie. The bench also watched the trailer inside the courtroom and found nothing wrong in it. The court was hearing a plea filed by activist Vikas Tyagi who said the word 'Bharat' cannot be used for commercial purposes. Tyagi has requested the Delhi High Court to direct the producer and director of the film to change the title of the movie. He said the title was in violation of Section 3 of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use), provisions of which can result in prohibiting the use of 'Bharat' for any trade, business and profession. As per the Constitution, 'Bharat' is the official name of the country, he said. He has also sought a change in the dialogue where the character has been compared to the country. Tyagi said the court should put an end to the "tricks of encashing the people's patriotic sentiments and if such things don't stop, patriotism will have a new vulgar look". 'Bharat' is an adaptation of the Korean film 'An Ode To My Father'. "Having watched the South Korean film, I felt there is no need to name this film after our nation. It is merely a shameless, cunning stratagem to encash the deep-rooted feelings for the country...," the petitioner said. The activist said after watching the trailer, he concluded that it was a typical entertainer. The bench asked the petitioner about his objection in the trailer. The petitioner responded that the character portraying as Bharat has been seen as womaniser. The court was not satisfied with the response of the petitioner and said that there are many persons who have been named as 'Bharat' and found to be doing immoral things. "Should they be sent behind bars?" the court asked. The court asked whether he has seen full movie. The petitioner responded that he has not seen the movie. The court called it as a premature plea. The court observed that the petitioner has not done proper research about the producer of the movie having taken approval from the competent authority.--IANS ak/prs (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.) Jack Sholder has found beauty in the chaos of Kolkata. The American filmmaker, who explored the city for a film on Anglo-Indian motivational speaker Jillian Haslam, is in awe of the everyday contrasts of the Indian life. "I love India. It is one of the most fascinating countries I've ever visited. The people here are so full of life and deal with so much, with a smile on their faces. In the narrow lanes of Kolkata, where taking a vehicle could be just unthinkable, people not only drive easily but without a dent in the cars! People have developed their own system and an unsaid understanding. I love the spirit of India," Sholder told IANS here. British entrepreneur and millionaire philanthropist, Haslam spent her childhood in a Kolkata slum. Sholder's film is based on her memoirs "Indian. English", for which he and screenplay writer/ producer Joshua Russell wanted to see the places in the city where Haslam grew up and survived under extreme poverty. But Russel admitted that the places they visited offered more details than the book did. "It is a land of contrast. In Kolkata, I saw a man pulling a rickshaw with his hands and a fellow driving a gorgeous BMW next to that, crossing the same road. You have some of the most flavourful food of the world there while scores of people are struggling with cruel poverty," he said. "There are some generous people doing charity work and there are people who blind their children and send them to beg on the streets. The darkest and brightest part of humanity exists in the same frame called India. This is fascinating," he added. Asked if he was ever tempted to showcase poverty, the way it has been projected in many Western films on India, Sholder replied: "No, no... that is exactly what I do not want to do. I strongly believe that the story is emotionally compelling and it can happen in any part of the world." "Yes, it is set in Kolkata, but the place has its own character that will come naturally in the picture. I do not have to show Howrah Bridge to establish that it is Kolkata. I would rather focus on the characters and the journey of Jillian," explained the maker of films like "Alone in the Dark" and "The Hidden". Explaining what his feature film attempts, he said: "We are not making a documentary on Jillian. It is a feature film. Since we have enough material and do not need to fictionalise or make up anything, we are treating it as a story that inspires and provokes your thought, and makes you ask questions. I will try to make it such that many people watch it." On the casting of the film, which is likely to release next year, Sholder said: "We are yet to zero down on the actors. Since the story goes through different phases of Jillian's life, I also have to get the right child actor to play her childhood, which is tricky." Haslam left India 19 years ago for the UK. She says she has never felt disconnected from her city of birth as she keeps visiting it for her charity work and to express her gratitude towards those who helped her family survive in their darkest days. Bitterness is not something Haslam has harboured despite the racism she faced and says she believes in coming back to her roots. "I was not brought up to be a bitter person. I have been brought up to be forgiving and thankful for what life has offered me. Yes, my parents were British and I cannot change that, but I feel that I am an Indian. I was born and brought up here before I moved to the UK. Ideally we should be living in a world that is inclusive and eventually we will. I am hopeful but that change is very, very slow," she said. (Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in) --IANS aru/rb (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An Indian Air Force (IAF) An-32 transporter with 13 people on board went missing while flying from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh on Monday but there was no trace of the plane despite many hours of search. The aircraft took off from Jorhat in Assam to the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground. Mechuka is a small town in Aruanchal's West Siang district bordering China. Within 35 minutes of the An-32 getting airborne at 12.25 p.m., it lost contact with ground staff. Since then, there has been no contact with the plane or any of the eight crew members or five others who were on board. More than seven hours after it disappeared from the radar, there was no trace of the An-32. Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh, the IAF spokesperson of Eastern Air Command, told IANS: "Efforts are on to establish the whereabouts of the aircraft. C-130J, AN-32 and Mi-17 of IAF and Indian Army ALH helicopter are trying to locate the missing aircraft." He said: "Some reports of possible location of crash site were received but no wreckage has been sighted so far." The IAF is coordinating with the Indian Army, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and civil agencies to trace the missing aircraft. The search operations will continue from air and on ground throughout the night, officials said. In New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he had spoken to Vice Chief of IAF, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria. "He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board," the Minister tweeted. Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted: "Praying for safety of all 13 persons who were on board." The Deputy Commissioner of newly-created Shi Yomi district in Arunachal, Mito Dirchi, said there were some reports of a crash in the jungles of the district. "We have sent a team for search which includes SP and some villagers. But we have not found any wreckage. We are going to search the areas tomorrow morning again." In 2009, an An-32 plane crashed over Arunachal Pradesh with 13 people on board. --IANS rrk-ah/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An An-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with 13 people on board went missing in Aruanchal Pradesh on Monday after taking off from Assam, an IAF official said. The transport aircraft was flying from Jorhat to the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground. Mechuka is a small town in Aruanchal's West Siang district bordering China. "An An-32 aircraft of IAF got airborne today from Jorhat at 12.25 (p.m.)... The aircraft lost contact with ground agencies at 1 (p.m.). Thereafter there has been no contact," an IAF official told IANS. "Since the aircraft did not reach the airfield, action was initiated by the IAF. All available resources have been employed to locate the plane," he said. The Army, the Indo Tibetan Border Police and Arunachal Pradesh Police are trying to locate the missing plane, officials said. The IAF deployed C130 transporters and helicopters on the Mechuka-Jorhat route to locate the An-32. Guwahati-based Defence Ministry spokesman Lt. Col. P. Khongsai said that efforts were on to trace the missing aircraft. In New Delhi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: "Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria, regarding the missing IAF An-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. "He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board," the Minister said. In 2009, an An-32 plane crashed over Arunachal Pradesh with 13 people on board. --IANS rrk-rbe-ah/mr/pg (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.) India and China on Monday held a key dialogue on non-proliferation and disarmament with the two sides exchanging views on a variety of issues of mutual interest related to arms control, an official statement said. This dialogue was among series of high-level engagements being pursued by both countries to boost relations. The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary (Disarmament & International Security Affairs), Indra Mani Pandey while the Chinese delegation was led by Ambassador Fu Cong, Director General, Department of Arms Control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "The two sides exchanged views on a variety of issues of mutual interest related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control," the statement said. Both sides decided to continue the dialogue at regular intervals in future. The Chinese side invited the Indian delegation to Beijing for the next round of consultations at a mutually convenient time, which was accepted by the Indian side. --IANS bns/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Grounded airline Jet Airway's employees met new Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri here on Monday and handed over a memorandum regarding its revival. "A delegation of six @ShivSena MP's led by Shri Anil Desai accompanied by representatives of Employees' Union of @jetairways came to see me. They handed over a memorandum regarding revival of Jet Airways," Puri said in a tweet. Civil Aviation Secretary P.S. Kharola was also present in the meeting. Among the group of employees was air hostess Nidhi Chapekhar, a survivor of the 2016 Brussels terror attack. Having run out of cash, Jet Airways had suspended operations On April 17, impacting thousands of employees, lessors, vendors and passengers. Lenders of Jet Airways led by state-run State Bank of India are currently in the process of selling the airline to recover their dues of over Rs 8,400 crore. --IANS rv/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The new batch of O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) graduates have shown keen interest to pursue public policy processes, both at the state and at the Union levels, the Founding Vice Chancellor said. The Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP) graduates having successfully completed their academic year 2018-19, with focus on Public Policy, and Economics programmes have multiple options open before them. Speaking about the growing popularity of Public Policy as a rewarding career option, Professor (Dr) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of JGU, said: "There is an increasing interest among youth to professionally engage with the public policy processes, both at the state and at the Union government levels. "This is evidenced by the increasing number of newer schools offering programmes in public policy, and the significant increase in number of students applying for the MAPP programme of the JSGP." The students graduating with JSGP's two-year MA in Public Policy (MAPP) programme have a wide variety of careers to choose from, he said. They have the option to choose from civil services, policy analysis, and research in governments, quasi-governmental organizations, and the UN and other international development organizations, besides think-tanks, academia, industry bodies and for-profit private sectors. MAPP students, of previous as well as current graduating batches, have had exciting offers for internships as well as placements from reputed organisations such as Centre for Civil Society (CSS), NITI Aayog, Accountability India, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), International Growth Centre (IGC), and Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Kumar said. The students who were successful in civil service examinations felt the MAPP programme provided them firm grounding in a wide variety of related disciplines which are essential for success in competitive examinations. Three of the graduating students of the JSGP also secured the Legislative Assistant to Member of Parliament (LAMP) fellowship offered by the PRS Legislative Research. The LAMP fellows have the opportunity to be mentored by Members of Parliament and to engage with leading experts in finding policy solutions to pressing development issues. --IANS in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Drought-hit Karnataka sought the intervention of the four Union ministers and newly-elected BJP Lok Sabha members from the state in securing funds from the central government earmarked for development works under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), a senior official said on Monday. "Congratulating the four Union Ministers from the state, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy urged them to prevail upon the Centre to get NREGA funds released as the state was reeling under severe drought," an official of the Chief Minister's Office told IANS here. The three other Union Ministers from the state are BJP members D.V.S. Sadananda Gowda from Bangalore North Lok Sabha seat, Prahlad Joshi from Dharwad and Suresh Angadi from Belgaum in the northeast region. "I welcome the statements of Union Ministers @DVSBJP and @JoshiPrahlad that they will support the developments of our state. I request them also to make the Centre release the pending Rs 2,000 crore due to the state for NREGA works," tweeted Kumaraswamy in English and Kannada earlier in the day. The chief minister also assured the ministers and the lawmakers to provide them details of the various works being implemented under NREGA. "In the absence of funds from the Centre, the state government has been paying the beneficiaries their dues to mitigate the hardships they are facing due to severe drought," added the official. The chief minister also agreed to give details of NREGA works underway to the Union ministers and MPs ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament from July 18 to August 10. Of the 28 Lok Sabha seats, the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and the Congress faced a rout winning only one seat each in the general election that was held in the state on April 18 and April 23. JD-S retained Hassan and Congress won Bangalore Rural. Though both the allies fielded joint candidates in the ratio of 21 seats to the Congress and seven to the JD-S, they lost 20 and six seats, respectively. --IANS fb/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala on Monday waited for the blood reports of a youth, suspected to be infected by the Nipah virus. The Ernakulam health authorities said the Pune Virology Laboratory results were expected later in the day. The youth was being treatment at a private hospital near here. Health Minister K.K. Shailaja has negated claims made by the online media that the youth under treatment is a Nipah positive patient. She has said that there has been no confirmation about the youth's test results and hence there was no need for any concern. She has also assured that the Health Department was fully geared up to face any eventualities. Last May, the Nipah (NiV) virus attack took away 12 lives, with 22 positive cases reported from Kozhikode and Malappuram districts that created a huge scare. --IANS sg/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Ravi Shankar Prasad, who took charge of the Law Ministry on Monday, said he and his ministry will not be merely a "post office" but a stakeholder in the judicial system, including in the appointment of judges. Speaking to media after taking charge, he asserted: "I will not be a post office as the Law Minister. Both, the minister and the ministry, as a stakeholder, play a major role. And, while doing this, we give due regard and respect to the Supreme Court Collegium system." "We will work in fast-tracking judicial appointments.... we will pursue it in a constructive manner in consultation with the Supreme Court and high courts." The Law Minister's observations on the judicial appointments is very significant, especifically in the light of opposing views on the elevation of judges between the government and the Supreme Court Collegium, comprising its senior-most judges. Last month, the government had opposed the elevation of Justice Aniruddha Bose, who was the Chief Justice of High Court of Jharkhand, and Justice A.S. Bopanna, who was heading the Gauhati High Court to the apex court, but the collegium did not pay heed and reiterated the appointments. The judges were administered oath at May-end. Nearly a year ago, Prasad had made a similar comment - that the government was not a "post office" and had right to bring forth its difference of opinion with the Supreme Court collegium. His remarks had come during a controversy on the government's refusal to approve the elevation of Uttrakhand Chief Justice K.M. Joseph to the top court, reportedly for his decision quashing the President's rule in state. Justice Joseph was eventually elevated, as the final decision of the Collegium is technically binding on the government. Similar opposing views surfaced during the elevation of senior advocate Gopal Subramanian to the top court in June 2014, and in many instances, the government and the collegium had differing views. Prasad also cited his other priorities, which included fast-tracking judicial appointments and establishing the All India Judicial Service. He said that the ministry will conduct consultations with all stakeholders across India on the judicial service. "We like to build a system where the selection is based on merit and the best talent is absorbed," he added. Queried on prioritizing the passage of the Triple Talaq Bill, which has yet to be passed by parliament, Prasad said: "Why not? Triple Talaq has been mentioned in our manifesto." --IANS ss/pg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Trump Baby Blimp", the six-meter balloon which was a symbol of protest during US President Donald Trump's visit to London last year, may again take to the skies this week with Trump visiting the city again. The Museum of London on Monday announced its ambition to acquire two giant balloons depicting as babies US President Donald Trump and city Mayor Sadiq Khan as part of its permanent "Protest" collection. It hopes to reach out to the creators of both soon. "In July last year, Londoners took to the streets to protest President Trump's visit to the UK. To mark this moment, an over-sized balloon showing the President in a diaper, was flown above Parliament Square," the Museum said. In quick response, a blimp of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, was also created and floated in the capital to protest against some of his policies and advocate the Londoners' right to freedom of speech, it added. If acquired, the balloons will join the Museum's "Protest" collection, which comprises objects related to the Suffrage movement 100 years ago, banners, flags, and tents that belonged to Brian Haw, who used to actively protest outside the Houses of Parliament, as well as recent placards used by protesters against public spending cuts. The US President arrived in London on Monday on a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom. "We are yet to hear if the Sadiq Khan balloon will make another appearance," the Museum of London said.--IANS sj/rtp (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The newly appointed ministers have hit the ground runnning right from the word go with a clear message from the Prime Minister on delivery without distraction. The impact of the message is clearly visible as all the ministers have gone into top gear. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has held a series of security review meetings, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flew straight to Jammu and Kashmir for an on-the-spot assessment and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had a busy weekend. The ministers are working on a 100-day plan that had been prepared well in advance as the party's victory in the elections was seen as a foregone conclusion. During the review meetings by Amit Shah that went on for about two hours, officials said special focus was on Kashmir, the internal security situation in the country and threats from militant groups in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Soon after the meeting, Shah held talks with Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik over the situation in the state. After taking charge, Shah said the country's security and welfare of the people were the key priorities for the Modi government. "Under the leadership of Modi, I will try my best to fulfil all these priorities," he said in his first tweet after assuming charge. On Monday, Shah also took stock of country's internal security situation, continuing the tradition of regularly getting first-hand information from top security officials, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. He was given a detailed briefing on the prevailing security situation in the country by Doval, Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Intelligence Bureau chief Rajiv Jain, besides others. Apart from the hinterland, the Home Minister was apprised of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in border areas, an official said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took charge on Saturday and immediately held a meeting with the top military brass. He asked the chiefs of the Army, Navy and the Air Force to prepare separate presentations on the challenges and overall functioning of their respective forces. The former Home Minister held a meeting with Army chief General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa and newly-appointed Navy chief Karambir Singh at the headquarters of the Defence Ministry at Raisina Hill, during which he was apprised of the security scenario, officials said. On Monday, Rajnath Singh visited the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield, and praised the "tenacious resolve and unstinting commitment" of the "Siachen Warriors". It is his first visit outside the national capital as a Defence Minister. Piyush Goyal, who took charge as Commerce and Industry Minister on May 31, held detailed meetings with the officials of the two departments over Saturday and Sunday. The meetings were aimed at getting familiar with the organisation of the Department of Commerce and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, zeroing in on the likely actionable issues and discussing the roadmap ahead, officials who attended the meetings said. He was carefully studying and looking at the presentations made by secretaries to the two departments," said an official. He is also learnt to have taken up separate presentations on crucial issues like trade talks with the US, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade agreement and foreign direct investment (FDI). Human Resource Development minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank made public the long pending draft education on the first day in office which has already led to a massive debate. (Rajnish Singh can be contacted at rajnish.s@ians.in) --IANS rak/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AN-32 of the Indian Air Force that went missing on Monday from a remote location in India-China border reminded the people of the hill state about a similar tragedy about a decade back. In June 2009, an AN-32 aircraft like the one went missing on Monday, after going off the radar was later found to have crashed in the jungles of the area, which falls between West Singa and Shi Yomi districts. What is more distressing is the fact that both the aircraft had 13 people on board and both were flying for Mechuka advanced landing ground. "Although I was not there that time, I was told that a similar tragedy happened here about a decade back. An AN-32 aircraft crashed on a hilltop near Tato village, which is under Shi Yomi district," said Shi Yomi deputy commissioner, Mito Dirchi while speaking to this correspondent on Monday. A defence spokesman based in Delhi said that the AN-32 aircraft took off from Jorhat at 1227 hrs on Monday for Mechuka ALG. Aircraft last contacted ground control at 1300 hrs and since then there was no further contact with the aircraft. He said that efforts are on to locate the aircraft. "C-130J, AN-32 and Mi-17 of IAF and Indian Army ALH helicopter launched to locate the missing aircraft. Some reports of possible location of the crash site were received, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far," he said. While Monday's AN-32 took off from Jorhat base, the one that crashed in 2009 took off from Mohanbari airport in Dibrugarh. It is difficult to trace the wreckage in the jungles of Arunachal Pradesh due to thick forest cover. The Deputy Commissioner of the Shi Yomi district said a police team had carried out search operation today with the help from local villagers, but had to stop in the evening due to darkness. The operation will start in the morning again, he added. --IANS ah/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a grand gesture proving that their traditional, fraternal ties are still strong, retired Kashmiri Pandit bank employees living in different parts of the country joined their Muslim counterparts in the Kashmir Valley to help a poor colleague get pension. The story of Ghaffar (name changed) reads like any common place tragedy of an abandoned, helpless old man. Ghaffar, who worked for a local regional rural bank (RRB) called "Ellaquai Dehati Bank" in the state, retired from service in 2009 as a bank attendant. There was no pension for RRB personnel then and his terminal benefits amounted to around Rs 9 lakh. Ghaffar lived in a village in Ganderbal district with his son and daughter-in-law who reportedly served him till they used all his life's savings for repairing their house, buying household goods and other items to make their life comfortable. Once the money got over, Ghaffar was thrown out of the house. Left with no means of livelihood, Ghaffar started repairing shoes at a market. However, a recent verdict by the Supreme Court said that all RRB staff in the country would get pension and various RRBs were told to pay pension to their retired officers/employees. But there was a rider to obtain the pension. Each retired staff member had to declare his/her option for the pension scheme by depositing the bank's share of their provident fund they had taken along with their terminal benefits. Ellaquai Dehati Bank released a list of its retired staff members showing the amount of the provident fund to be deposited by them to become eligible to get pension, with June 3, 2019 as the last date to deposit the money. But Ghaffar did not have money to even travel to the bank's head office in Srinagar, leave alone paying around Rs 2 lakh to the bank to become eligible for pension. Retired bank staffers in the Valley sent WhatsApp messages to retired Kashmiri Pandit colleagues, now living in various parts of the country, recounting Ghaffar's ordeal and how they had to collect Rs 2 lakh through donations in a day so that it could be deposited in Ghaffar's account to make him eligible for pension. Though the local retired employees and the Kashmiri Pandits had not met for 30 years, the response to the appeal was overwhelming. Pandit ex-employees from Pune, Delhi, Jammu and many other places not only sent their contributions but were the first to pitch in. The contributions from their Pandit colleagues triggered such a response in the local Muslim staff members that Ghaffar's account was oversubscribed even before Monday afternoon. Choked with emotion at the solidarity shown by the migrant Pandits, retired senior officer Junaid Kawoos said: "They have led the initiative and this proves that nothing is lost. The trust, compassion, sympathy and concern between Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits lives forever." Ghaffar has now become eligible for pension - and his son and daughter-in-law may come again to take him home. --IANS sq/vd/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Nicolas Cage and his fourth wife Erika Koike are officially divorced after a four-day marriage. The former couple were granted the divorce three months after their wedding, which they tried to annul after four days, after Cage claimed he was 'too drunk' to marry, reports dailymail.co.uk. TMZ state that according to court records, the judge in Clark County, Nevada granted their divorce on May 31. Cage, 55, had claimed the union was based on fraud, because Koike didn't disclose her criminal history and her relationship with another person. There appeared to be problems with the union almost immediately and hours after the wedding, which took place on March 23, they were seen fighting outside the Bellagio hotel. Koike later opposed Cage's hope to annul their marriage and made a claim for spousal support. TMZ claimed that Cage was unable to get the annulment but managed to get a quick divorce and it is unclear if Koike was granted the spousal support she wanted. --IANS sug/sim/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday flagged off the exposure visit for winners of the 12th edition of Tata Steel's Young Astronomer Talent Search (YATS) programme. The winning group of 20 students will go on an exposure visit to one of the premier facilities of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad to get a first-hand experience of space science in action. The Chief Minister congratulated them for their immense talent and success and hoped that they would make India proud in space research and application. Kulvin Suri, Tata Steel's Corporate Communications chief (India and South-East Asia) said, "YATS is a unique programme based on space science and constantly motivates young minds to think beyond just academics and push their imagination to the optimum. We are committed to enrich the programme for students and teachers alike." Tata Steel is organizing this flagship event in collaboration with Pathani Samanta Planetarium since 2007 to acknowledge the exemplary contribution of Pathani Samanta, legendary astronomer of Odisha, and encourage youngsters to showcase innovative concepts on various themes of space science and astronomy. --IANS cd/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Tripoli, June 3 (IANS/AKI) At least 607 people have been killed and at least 3,261 have been injured since deadly fighting between rival militias erupted in the Libyan capital two months ago, the United Nations said on Monday. "The toll of the Tripoli crisis is now 607 dead, including 40 civilians, and 3261 wounded, including 117 civilians," the UN's World Health Organization in Libya tweeted. The warfare in Tripoli broke out on April 5 when eastern warlord Khalifa Haftar's so-called Libyan People's Army began an assault on the capital and met with resistance from forces loyal to the internationally recognised government. No side appears to be winning the battle. The fighting has forced at least 75,000 out of their homes, trapped thousands of migrants in detention centres, and razed some southern suburbs to the ground. It has also forced closures of schools, split up families and caused power cuts. The former Italian colony has been gripped by anarchy since the Nato-backed ouster of late dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Rival administrations in Tripoli and in the east are supported by a myriad of armed groups who are vying for control of the oil-rich country. --IANS/AKI vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The autobiography "I, Phoolan Devi", based on the life of Phoolan Devi, popularly known as the Bandit Queen, will be made into a web series. "Phoolan Devi is undoubtedly one of the most talked about personalities... There are important chapters and layers of her life that remain unexplored and the web series format will allow us the bandwidth to do that," Kishor Arora, co-founder of Namah Pictures, which has acquired the rights of the book, said in a statement. Umed Singh Bhaiya, husband of the late Phoolan Devi, said that "the truth of Phoolan's life should reach out to people... It's a tale of a rebel that should inspire women across the world to speak against any atrocity". Shareen Mantri Kedia, co-founder of Namah Pictures, added: "In the current digital age, we feel that Phoolan Devi's stark and immersing tale will find a resonance in audiences across geographies and demographics." Namah Pictures had produced filmmaker Majid Majidi's feature "Beyond The Clouds" as well as the web show "Karenjit Kaur - The Untold Story of Sunny Leone". --IANS dc/nn/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pope Francis has apologised to the Roma people on behalf of the Catholic Church for the persecution they have faced historically, during his visit to Romania. At a meeting with Roma people on the last day of his visit to the country, the pontiff asked forgiveness for "all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you". Roma people have faced persecution in Europe for centuries. Hundreds of thousands are thought to have been killed during the Holocaust.Nowadays Roma live mainly in southern and central Europe, and make up about 10 per cent of Romania's total population. They complain they struggle to get work because of discrimination, and many live in poverty. "I ask forgiveness - in the name of the Church and of the Lord - and I ask forgiveness of you," Pope Francis said in the central town of Blaj, the BBC reported. "Indifference breeds prejudices and fosters anger and resentment," the pontiff said. "How many times do we judge rashly, with words that sting, with attitudes that sow hatred and division!" "This is a historic moment for me and my people," Damian Draghici, a Roma MEP for Romania, told the BBC. "I hope this message will change people's attitude and stereotypes against our people." --IANS kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police in Pune have booked some activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for taking out a procession in which girls were seen firing air guns and brandishing swords, an official said on Monday. The procession was taken out from Ankush Chowk to Thackeray Maidan in Nigdi area on the outskirts of the city from 5 p.m. till 10 p.m. on Sunday. A police official, Vikas N. Dudhe, has lodged a complaint against VHP activists including local unit President Sharad Inamdar, district chief Dhanaji Shinde, Nitin Vatkar and another 200 odd unidentified persons. According to the FIR, Dudhe said that in the procession, at least four girls were illegally carrying air guns and another five had swords. Dudhe said that in order to maintain law and order, the Pimpri-Chinchwada Police had banned all types of dangerous weapons from May 21-June 3 and the VHP procession had flouted the police orders. No arrests have been made in the case so far. This incident coincides with a row erupting in a private school in Thane, run by a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, in which students were allegedly imparted training in weapons handling. While the police have claimed that the weapons were models, activists have contended that attempts were being made to dilute the case as it involved an influential ruling party legislator from Mira Road town, Narendra Mehta. Between May 25 and June 1, the Bajrang Dal had organised a weapons training camp in the Seven Square Academy, a CBSE-affiliated school, and the matter came to light after a student Prashant Gupta posted some pictures of the camp activity. In a memorandum submitted to the Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni last week, the Democratic Youth Federation of India demanded a thorough probe into the incident, seizure of the arms and their forensic analysis and the booking of Mehta and others. --IANS qn/ksk/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield, on Monday and praised the "tenacious resolve and unstinting commitment" of the "Siachen Warriors". Rajnath Singh was accompanied by Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat, as he arrived at the Thoise air field and was received by Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who heads the Army's Northern Command. After an aerial reconnaissance of the Siachen Glacier to get acquainted with the expanse of this vast frozen frontier, the Minister landed at one of the forward posts and interacted with the troops. "I am proud of all Army personnel serving in Siachen who are leaving no stone unturned to defend our motherland. I am also proud of their parents who have sent their children to serve the nation by joining the Armed Forces," an official statement quoted him as saying. The Minister eulogized the "tenacious resolve and unstinting commitment of the 'Siachen Warriors' to prevail with aplomb in extreme harsh weather and highly treacherous terrain for maintaining the sanctity of our borders". He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the soldiers serving in one of the world's most inhospitable locations. Rajnath Singh assured the troops that the government was fully aware of all operational and administrative requirements for optimal functioning at Siachen Glacier and pledged full support to meet the requirements on priority. He laid a wreath at the 'Siachen War Memorial' in the memory of the soldiers who died while on duty in Siachen, which is also claimed by Pakistan. --IANS mr/pg/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Environmental activists here held a symbolic 'sand bath' to draw attention to the plight of the polluted and drying Yamuna river. The activists on Sunday evening joined a mass community event to draw the government's attention to the sewage canal that the river has been reduced to without water. The activists 'pretended' to swim and jump on heaps of sand collected from the dry riverbed. They said if there was no water in the river, they would naturally have to bathe in the dry sand. The event drew large crowds on the riverbank at the Etmaddaula View Point Park. "The dry Yamuna is not just a threat to the ecological balance in the city but a danger to the historical monuments along the banks, including the Taj Mahal," said river activist Shravan Kumar Singh. Union Minister Nitin Gadkiri has promised steamers that would bring tourists from Delhi to Agra on the river, but so far no work has been done. "Without water in the river how can steamers move," asked Goswami Nandan Shrotriya, chief organiser of the sand bath programme. "What actually flows in the form of liquid in the river right now is not water but sewage, slush, and effluents from upstream industrial towns. The toxic substances are seeping into the foundations of the monuments, which one fears, could crumble or just cave in," said river activist Jyoti Vishal Jha. The activists said "this is the only way we can draw attention of the Yogi government in Lucknow and the Modi government in New Delhi, both having promised to rejuvenate the river, but hardly anything had been done so far in this direction," said activists Padmini and Nidhi Pathak. Activists said the share of Yamuna water for downstream cities is being denied by the Haryana and Delhi governments as "All the water is held up at Okhla and Hathini Kund, what flows down is sewer waste and industrial effluents." --IANS bk/kr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has said that it has lifted restrictions on employees of Huawei and its affiliates to edit and peer-review IEEE's research papers. The move came after the New York-based international technical organisation decided on Wednesday to bar Huawei staff from participating the research paper peer-review process because of the US Department of Commerce's export control restrictions on Huawei, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday. The IEEE's initial restrictive approach triggered extensive criticism from the international research community. The China Computer Federation said on Thursday that it would suspend cooperation with the IEEE's publications division. In the new statement, the IEEE said that employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in its publication process as it has received the requested clarification from the Department of Commerce on the application of the export control restrictions on IEEE's publication activities. All the IEEE members, regardless of their employers, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE, according to the statement. --IANS ksc/arm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Spectrum auctions will be held in this calendar year and the trials for 5G services with radiowaves allotted by the ministry will commence in the next 100 day, Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday. "Spectrum auction will happen in this calendar, and the trial with 5G sepctrum will start in the next 100 days, the minister said after taking charge on Monday. On the related issue of allowing Chinese equipment vendor Huawei into the 5G trial, he said: "The issue is to be looked into seriously, there is a security aspect before we take a call on it. It is not a matter of technology alone". On industry's view of 5G spectrum prices as proposed by the TRAI being on the higher side imapcting the bidding possibilities, Prasad said: "The finance committee of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which will look at the TRAI recommendations, will come to a solution if there is need for more consultations with TRAI. "Then we have to go to the cabinet, appoint auctioneer. We will do the auction in this calender year". Prasad, for whom this would be second stint at the Telecom Ministry, said: "We have adequate spectrum availability". Taking note of the poor financial health of the sector due to low tariffs and hightened competition, the minister said he would go deep into the matter and would consult the industry too. On the two ailing PSUs of DoT whose revival is awaited, he said BSNL-MTNL revival will be on priority of his ministry and their existence is required to maintain a balance in the telecom eco-system. "To maintain a sober equilibrium and a healthy balance, we need PSUs also in the field. It is in national interest to have the PSUs," Prasad said. While standing by the PSUs for revival, the minister had a strong warning to BSNL-MTNL to perform better and be professional in their actions. "They (BSNL-MTNL) also need to become professional. We would like to see how they adopt high standards of professionalism. My message is very clearly -- while we work towards the steps so that they are revived, they have to respond with professional attitude and also competitiveness". On BSNL MTNL-merger issue, he said "That involves a detailed examination. We want both to be strong". His other announcements included launching National Broadband Mission under which 'national fibre auhtority' will also be operational. "The Broadband Readiness Index, which will also be launched reflecting all the ICT parametres of India in a readymade manner . This is because many times global indices do not match the readiness of India indices so an India-specific index on broadband will be worked out", he noted. He also said the government would fast-track of five lakh wifi hotspots and promot telecom manufacturing. --IANS ana/prs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Donald Trump's administration considered imposing tariffs on imports from Australia last week, but decided against it amid fierce opposition from military officials and the State Department, a media report said. Informed sources told The New York Times on Sunday that some of Trump's top trade advisers including Robert Lighthizer, the US trade representative, and Peter Navarro, the director of the White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, had urged the tariffs as a response to a surge of Australian aluminium flowing onto the American market over the past year. But Defence and State Departments officials told Trump the move would alienate a top ally and could come at significant cost to the US. The administration ultimately agreed not to take any action, the sources said. The measure would open yet another front in a global trade war that has pitted the US against allies like Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan, and deepened divisions with countries like China. It would also be the end of a reprieve for the only country to be fully exempted from the start from steel and aluminium tariffs that Trump imposed last year. Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel and a 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminium from many countries last year, The New York Times reported. The move was an effort to shield American producers from low-priced imports, which the administration said were a threat to the domestic industrial base and therefore national security. Some countries, like Brazil, Argentina and South Korea, won temporary exemptions on some of their imports, but ultimately agreed to limits on how much metal they could ship to the US. Aluminium imports from Australia rose by 45 per cent from 2017 to 2018. They are up even more, by 350 per cent, for the first three months of 2019, compared with the same period in 2018. --IANS ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Paris, June 4 (IANS/AKI) United Nations cultural organisation Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay on Monday deplored the killing of television cameraman Obed Nangbatna in Chad last week an attack reportedly staged by Boko Haram jihadists. "I condemn the killing of Obed Nangbatna," she said, urging improved security for reporters who are covering conflicts. "Journalists covering conflict zones face high risks of injury or death. To improve their safety, it is essential that safety protocols designed for their protection be fully respected," Azoulay added. Nangbatna, a reporter for public broadcaster Tele Tchad, was fatally wounded on May 25 when the military convoy he was accompanying hit a landmine. The blast also claimed the lives of four soldiers. --IANS/AKI vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who assumed charge on Monday, has said he would focus on fast-tracking the provision of medical insurance for lawyers and look into providing basic facilities for advocates working in remote areas. Prasad said the Ministry will play a pro-active role in improving working conditions for the lawyers. This year, in February, lawyers from various states held a protest demanding allocation of Rs 5,000 crore in the Union Budget for the welfare of advocates. The Bar Council of India (BCI) had called a nationwide strike. According to the BCI, lawyers are in need of chambers, facilities, accommodation with well-equipped libraries, e-libraries and medical insurance. Before the general election, the Law Ministry had formed a committee on medical insurance for lawyers. According to a source in the ministry, the committee comprised Dr Alok Srivastava, Secretary, Department of Legal Affair; Secretary, Department of Financial Services, and Joint Secretary, Legal Affairs, besides representatives of the Bar Council of India and state-level bar councils. The committee took up framing of the insurance policy, and then developing a comprehensive policy for the lawyers. The committee is yet to submit its report after initial discussions. In February, the Law Minister gave an assurance in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour that the government has an open mind on considering the demand of lawyers. Speaking to IANS, Manan Mishra, Chairman Bar Council of India (BCI) said, "We welcome the Law Minister's assurance. We were included in the committee constituted to look into the welfare of the lawyers, and we have already placed our demands before it. A delegation of lawyers will meet the minister next week and hold a detailed meeting. This is a very positive move and I appreciate it on behalf of the lawyers' community." Mishra said the lawyers' body wanted government to allocate funds in the Budget and involve the BCI and state-level bar councils in the allocated fund-management. The BCI during the protest had demanded judicial infrastructure for lawyers, similar to such facilities for judicial officers, which include allocation of chamber facilities. On February 12, in a meeting with the lawyers' association, although the Law Minister had promised to set up a committee to look into the overall welfare issues, it did not agree on budgetary allocation. (Sumit Saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@ians.in) --IANS ss/prs A A (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.) A Spanish YouTube star, who gave a homeless man an Oreo cookie filled with toothpaste, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. He also owes $22,300 to his victim, The New York Times has reported. The 52-year-old homeless man reportedly vomited after ingesting the toothpaste cookies. He later said he has "never been treated so poorly while living on the street". The prankster, known as ReSet to his followers on YouTube, whose real name is Kanghua Ren, was found guilty of violating the moral integrity of the homeless man. He is unlikely to serve any time behind bars, however, Spanish law normally allows sentences under two years for first-time offenders in nonviolent crimes to be suspended, The New York Times report on Sunday said. The YouTube star in his defence said that the video was just a "bad joke". "I do things to mount a show: People like what is morbid," he told the court, according to the Spanish media. However, the judge noted that Ren had earned more than 2,000 euros from advertising revenues generated by the video, one of several he filmed in response to various challenges received from his followers, the report said. --IANS ksc/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) What kind of economic system is most conducive to human wellbeing? That question has come to define the current era, because, after 40 years of neoliberalism in the United States and other advanced economies, we know what doesnt work. The neoliberal experiment lower taxes on the rich, deregulation of labour and product markets, financialisation, and globalisation has been a spectacular failure. Growth is lower than it was in the quarter-century after World War II, and most of it has accrued to the very top of the income scale. After decades of stagnant or even falling incomes for those below them, neoliberalism must be pronounced dead and buried. Vying to succeed it are at least three major political alternatives: far-right nationalism, center-left reformism, and the progressive left (with the center-right representing the neoliberal failure). And yet, with the exception of the progressive left, these alternatives remain beholden to some form of the ideology that has (or should have) expired. The center-left, for example, represents neoliberalism with a human face. Its goal is to bring the policies of former President and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair into the twenty-first century, making only slight revisions to the prevailing modes of financialisation and globalisation. Meanwhile, the nationalist right disowns globalisation, blaming migrants and foreigners for all of todays problems. Yet as Donald Trumps presidency has shown, it is no less committed at least in its American variant to tax cuts for the rich, deregulation, and shrinking or eliminating social programmes. By contrast, the third camp advocates what I call progressive capitalism, which prescribes a radically different economic agenda, based on four priorities. The first is to restore the balance between markets, the state, and civil society. Slow economic growth, rising inequality, financial instability, and environmental degradation are problems born of the market, and thus cannot and will not be overcome by the market on its own. Governments have a duty to limit and shape markets through environmental, health, occupational-safety, and other types of regulation. It is also the governments job to do what the market cannot or will not do, like actively investing in basic research, technology, education, and the health of its constituents. The second priority is to recognise that the wealth of nations is the result of scientific inquiry learning about the world around and social organisation that allows large groups of people to work together for the common good. Markets still have a crucial role to play in facilitating social cooperation, but they serve this purpose only if they are governed by the rule of law and subject to democratic checks. Otherwise, individuals can get rich by exploiting others, extracting wealth through rent-seeking rather than creating wealth through genuine ingenuity. Many of todays wealthy took the exploitation route to get where they are. They have been well served by Trumps policies, which have encouraged rent-seeking while destroying the underlying sources of wealth creation. Progressive seeks to do precisely the opposite. Illustration by Binay Sinha This brings to the third priority: Addressing the growing problem of concentrated market power. By exploiting information advantages, buying up potential competitors, and creating entry barriers, dominant firms are able to engage in large-scale rent-seeking to the detriment of everyone else. The rise in corporate market power, combined with the decline in workers bargaining power, goes a long way toward explaining why inequality is so high and growth so tepid. Unless government takes a more active role than neoliberalism prescribes, these problems will likely become much worse, owing to advances in robotisation and artificial intelligence. The fourth key item on the progressive agenda is to sever the link between economic power and political influence. Economic power and political influence are mutually reinforcing and self-perpetuating, especially where, as in the US, wealthy individuals and corporations may spend without limit in elections. As the US moves ever closer to a fundamentally undemocratic system of one dollar, one vote, the system of checks and balances so necessary for democracy likely cannot hold: Nothing will be able to constrain the power of the wealthy. This is not just a moral and political problem: Economies with less inequality actually perform better. Progressive-capitalist reforms thus have to begin by curtailing the influence of money in politics and reducing wealth inequality. There is no magic bullet that can reverse the damage done by decades of neoliberalism. But a comprehensive agenda along the lines sketched above absolutely can. Much will depend on whether reformers are as resolute in combating problems like excessive market power and inequality as the private sector is in creating them. A comprehensive agenda must focus on education, research, and the other true sources of wealth. It must protect the environment and fight climate change with the same vigilance as the Green New Dealers in the US and Extinction Rebellion in the United Kingdom. And it must provide public programmes to ensure that no citizen is denied the basic requisites of a decent life. These include economic security, access to work and a living wage, health care and adequate housing, a secure retirement, and a quality education for ones children. This agenda is eminently affordable; in fact, we cannot afford not to enact it. The alternatives offered by nationalists and neoliberals would guarantee more stagnation, inequality, environmental degradation, and political acrimony, potentially leading to outcomes we do not even want to imagine. Progressive is not an oxymoron. Rather, it is the most viable and vibrant alternative to an ideology that has clearly failed. As such, it represents the best chance we have of escaping our current economic and political malaise. The writer, Professor at Columbia University, is the co-winner of the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize, former chairman of the Presidents Council of Economic Advisers, and former Chief Economist of the World Bank. His most recent book is People, Power, and Profits: Progressive for an Age of Discontent. 2019 Project Syndicate. In his first term as the NSA, Doval had the rank of a minister of state, although his influence on the Narendra Modi governments internal security decision making and foreign relations, particularly with its immediate neighbourhood, far exceeded that of the respective Cabinet ministers who held the portfolios of home and external affairs. The Modi government on Monday said the Appointments Committee of 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. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Sudan's military rulers forcefully broke up a weeks-long sit-in outside Khartoum's army headquarters on Monday leaving at least 13 dead and dozens wounded, protesters said, as gunfire rang out and black smoke shrouded the city. Heavily armed members of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were deployed in large numbers along the capital's main roads. Manning pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns, they guarded the entrances to the bridges that cross the Nile and moved in convoys around the city ahead of evening prayers. The United States and Britain called for an end to the crackdown on protesters, who want the generals behind the overthrow of veteran president Omar al-Bashir to hand over to civilian rule. "According to initial estimates, we lost 13 martyrs to the bullets" of the military council, the Alliance of Freedom and Change umbrella protest group said, adding that "hundreds" were wounded. An eight-year-old child was among those killed, according to the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the demonstrators. It reported a "large number of critical casualties" and called for "urgent support" from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations to help the wounded. Beyond the heavy presence of security forces, the streets of the capital were largely empty Monday afternoon, with sporadic cars circulating and a few people walking, because public transport had shut down, an AFP correspondent said. Many streets remained blocked off by demonstrators who had erected barricades made from stones, tree trunks and burning tyres, although the protesters had departed. Many shops, pharmacies and businesses were shuttered around the city. The military council denied its forces violently dispersed the sit-in in front of army headquarters, as demonstrators took to the streets in towns elsewhere in the country. But protest leaders said the main protest site in Khartoum had been cleared. "The Rapid Support Forces and the army and police and militia battalions dispersed the peaceful sit-in," the Alliance for Freedom and Change said in a statement. Outside the army headquarters "there is no one, but the pure bodies of our martyrs that it has not been possible to evacuate from the site". The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded nationwide protests that started in December, said Monday's crackdown amounted to a "bloody massacre". It called on Sudanese to take part in "total civil disobedience" to topple the military council. The doctors' committee said forces had opened fire inside the city's East Nile Hospital and had chased "peaceful protesters". It said another hospital near the site of the sit-in had been surrounded and that volunteers were prevented from reaching it. Rallies against Bashir's authoritarian, three-decade rule led to his ouster in April, but protesters had remained outside the army headquarters calling on the generals to cede power to a transitional authority. Near the demonstration site, a witness living in the Burri neighbourhood said he could "hear the sound of gunfire and I see a plume of smoke rising from the area of the sit-in." Another resident of the area, in east Khartoum, said he had seen forces in "police uniform" trying to expel the demonstrators. The military council "did not disperse the sit-in by force," its spokesman said. "The tents are there, and the youth are moving freely," Shamseddine Kabbashi told Sky Arabia. Britain's ambassador to Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, said he had heard "heavy gunfire" from his residence. That country's foreign minister condemned "the attack on protesters by Sudanese security forces" and called it "an outrageous step". "The Military Council bears full responsibility for this action and the international community will hold it to account," Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt wrote on Twitter. The US embassy in Khartoum said "security forces' attacks against protesters and other civilians is wrong and must stop." "Responsibility falls on the TMC. The TMC cannot responsibly lead the people of Sudan," it added referring to the transitional military council. Moussa Faki, the head of the African Union Commission, urged "an immediate and transparent investigation in order to hold all those responsible accountable". He also called "on the Transitional Military Council to protect the civilians from further harm," a statement said. The Alliance for Freedom and Change announced "the end of all political contact and negotiations with the putschist Council" following the deaths, even as neighbouring Egypt appealed for the two sides to talk. Negotiations between protest leaders and the ruling military council have broken down, as the two sides have failed to agree on whether a planned transitional body would be headed by a civilian or a military figure. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 224-room hostel will be constructed at Jawaharlal Nehru University here at a cost of Rs 11 crore to accommodate 424 students from the Northeast, the government said Monday. The four-storeyed building will come up on an area spread over one-and-a-half acres and the construction work will begin soon, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER). The first-of-its-kind hostel will accommodate 200 boys and 200 girls, besides housing physically handicap students in 24 rooms. Officials have briefed DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh about the progress of the work related to the JNU hostel and other projects. Singh was informed that Rs 11 crore has been released for the construction of the JNU hostel and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) is in the process of issuing the tender. It was informed in the meeting that a hostel constructed in Bengaluru for girl students from the Northeast has become functional. The process of land acquisition for another hostel in Rohini has started. The Rohini facility is meant for students from the Northeast studying in colleges and institutions of Delhi University. The Delhi Development Authority has released Rs 2.5 crore for the land. The hostel will be built on an area of about five acres. The status of the North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre, to be set up in Dwarka in Delhi, was also discussed at the meeting. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 50 crore. The minister said the centre would act as a cultural and convention and information hub of the region in Delhi. It will have a library-cum-reading room and an art gallery showcasing the Northeast. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Rajasthan has seen a 45 per cent increase in the number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the last one year after the Centre made it a notifiable disease, according to government data. A total of 1,59,762 cases were notified last year as compared to 1,10,044 in 2017, as per the government's official portal monitoring the disease. Medical experts said the marked rise in number of TB cases does not mean the actual figures have changed as many cases went unreported earlier. While the Union Health Ministry made TB a notifiable disease in 2017, all government and private doctors had to mandatorily inform the ministry on fresh cases of the communicable disease in 2018 after a related directive was passed. The number of TB cases have increased in the last two years after the notification decision was taken by the government, Rajasthan TB officer Dr Purushotam Soni said. The Centre had developed 'Nikshay' portal for reporting TB cases on a real-time basis, he added. As per the portal data, TB cases shot up by 45 per cent during 2017 and 2018. This year 67,247 cases have been reported so far, which is 20 per cent less compared to 2018. Private sector facilities reported 47,125 cases in 2018 compared to 23,438 in 2017. Dr Soni said the rise in number of TB cases does not necessarily mean number of patients afflicted by the disease are rising. As per Lancet Commission 2019 report on TB, every year 9,53,000 TB afflicted people are either not diagnosed or not reported if they are diagnosed with the disease. Eighty-lakh lives can be saved in the next 30 years if the private sector actively participates in the notification campaign. He said not notifying TB cases has been declared an offence by the Union Health Ministry in 2018. The ministry and Global Fund Organisation had last year started 'Joint Effort for Elimination of TB' (JEET) campaign in 2018 and it is presently running in 24 districts of Rajasthan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As many as 55 officers of the Indian Air Force, Army, Navy and two from Myanmar Air Force would soon become qualified flying instructors. The officers would be graduating from the 146th qualified flying instructors course, a 25-week training programme that commenced December at the Flying Instructors School near here, a defence press release said Monday. Among the total 57 officers - 46 are from the Indian Air Force, two from the Indian Army, six from the Indian Navy, one from the Indian Coast Guard and two officers from the Myanmar Air Force, the release said. "The course is a gruelling 25-week package comprising academics and flying training with tests at regular intervals, the focus during ground training is interfacing theoretical knowledge with practical aspects of aircraft systems and piloting," it said. The graduates are awarded the coveted symbol of 'Qualified Flying Instructor' and a valedictory function would be held on June 7. Air Marshal Rajesh Kumar, AVSM VM, would preside over the function, it said. The flying instructors school trains operational pilots of the three defence services, paramilitary forces and officers from friendly foreign countries, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Some 800 Syrian women and children on Monday started leaving a Kurdish-run camp in northeast Syria crammed with tens of thousands including relatives of jihadists, heading to their hometowns. At least 17 buses were seen leaving the area in the first such transfer from Al-Hol camp which is home to nearly 74,000 people, among them wives and children of suspected Islamic State group fighters. Some children were seen with identification tags hanging around their necks, while others had their name and a phone number scribbled on their hands, an AFP correspondent said. "800 civilians have started leaving the Al-Hol camp aboard buses taking them to their hometowns in Raqa and Tabqa," a town 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of Raqa city, said an official with the Kurdish administration in northeast Syria. "In the coming days, there will be other batches of civilians who will (also) be taken to liberated and safe areas," Sheikhmous Ahmed told AFP, referring to towns and villages recaptured from IS. Monday's transfer follows an agreement brokered by the Kurdish administration and Arab tribal leaders during a meeting in the town of Ain Issa last month. It is to be the first in a larger wave of releases that aim to empty Al-Hol of its Syrian residents, including relatives of alleged IS fighters. The next batch is expected to follow after the Eid al-Fitr holiday due to start sometime in the next few days marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Hoovered up during a final offensive against the jihadists by a US-backed Kurdish-led force, thousands of wives and children of IS fighters have been trucked into Al-Hol from a string of Syrian villages south of the camp in recent months. Thousands more have flocked to the settlement from former jihadist strongholds, including the northern city of Raqa, once IS's Syria capital. Their numbers have created a major headache for the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration and have sparked concerns that the camp is emerging as a fresh jihadist powder keg. Among the hordes of Syrians and Iraqis, some 12,000 foreigners are held in a fenced-off section of the Al-Hol camp, under the watch of Kurdish forces. Ahmed said that the Kurdish administration had decided to release the Syrian inhabitants of Al-Hol because "the situation in the camp is very difficult." He accused the international community of "neglecting its responsibilities towards the displaced" in the camp. Speaking of Monday's batch, Ahmed said that some of those leaving Al-Hol had been "influenced" by IS's radical ideology. "They will be monitored and reintegrated into their societies," Ahmed said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine Muslim ministers and two provincial governors from the minority community resigned Monday to allow the Sri Lankan government to investigate allegations against some of them on links to an Islamist extremist group blamed for the deadly Easter suicide bombings. The Muslim politicians also protested what they term the government's inability to ensure the safety of their community which constitute 9 per cent of the island's 21 million population. There are 19 Muslims lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament and nine of them held Cabinet, state and deputy ministerial positions. "Until security of the people is ensured and until investigations are done by the police's Crime Investigations Department (CID) is finalised we will stay as government back benchers," Rauff Hakeem, a lawmaker for Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, told reporters. Their resignations came four days after thousands of people, including majority Buddhist community monks, launched a protest in the pilgrim city of Kandy, demanding the expulsion of three Muslim leaders whom they alleged were linked to the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) - the banned outfit blamed for the attacks on three Colombo hotels and three churches. Following the April 21 attacks that claimed 258 lives, some Muslim politicians representing the government came under criticism for their alleged support extended to the rising Muslim militancy. Industry and Commerce Minister Rishath Bathiyutheen was accused of supporting the ISIS linked NTJ. The Sinhala majority nationalists were demanding the sacking of Bathiyutheen. The Opposition moved a motion of no confidence in the Parliament against Bathiyutheen, who has denied links to the NTJ and its terror activities. In the wake of the bombings, majority Sinhala community mobs attacked Muslim-owned properties in towns north of the capital killing one Muslim man and leaving hundreds of homes, shops and mosques vandalised. "We took this decision (to resign) as a responsible community who is keen on ensuring reconciliation and peace in the country," said Kabir Hashim, a senior minister. He said since the Easter Sunday attacks, the Muslim community had volunteered to give information on the NTJ. Hakeem said the Muslim community is concerned over the arrests of some innocent Muslims for alleged connections to the Easter Sunday attacks. He said that police must hold a proper inquiry and punish anyone if the terror group had been supported by them. Western Province Governor Azath Salley and Eastern Province Governor MALM Hisbullah, handed over their resignation letters to President Maithripala Sirisena in response to protests by the Buddhist monks, officials said. Salley and Hisbullah, both Muslim allies of Sirisena and appointed by him, were under pressure to resign after being accused of being linked to extremism. Both Salley and Hisbullah have rejected the allegations. Buddhist monk Athuraliye Rathana, who is also a parliamentarian from a Sirisena allied party, staged a hunger strike in the central town of Kandy near the foremost Buddhist shrine, the Temple of Tooth. "I will end my fast only after the president will sack the two Muslim governors," Rathana said at the commencement of his protest. A crowd of about 10,000 Buddhists held demonstration at the famous temple on Monday morning raising anti-Muslim slogans. Firebrand monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, released from jail on a presidential pardon last month, was also present. Gnanasara has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against Muslims. The head of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, also travelled to Kandy on Monday to express solidarity with Rathana. Shops and offices remained closed in the city, 115 kilometres east of Colombo, while black flags were raised in support of Rathana. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) More than five lakh people of 1.64 lakh households in Odisha's coastal districts continue to struggle with hot and humid weather conditions due to lack of power restoration though one month has passed since the cyclone Fani made landfall near Puri on May 3. The worst affected was Puri district where only 1,51,889 out of 2,91,171 affected electricity consumers (52 per cent) have got back power so far, an official said adding, Fani had completely damaged power infrastructure in the district. The cyclone had affected a total of 1.65 crore people in 14 districts of the state. At least 64 persons including 39 from Puri district alone were killed in the calamity. The official said of the total 25,01,131 affected electricity consumers, power has been restored to 23,36,584 consumers. The affected districts were Angul, Dhenkanal, Cuttack, Puri, Nayagarh, Khurdha, Kendrapada, Jagatsinghpur and Jajpur. There has been significant improvement in the drinking water, banking, telecom and other services in the cyclone-hit areas. Odisha's school and mass education minister Samir Ranjan Dash, who hails from Puri district, said the authorities have been asked to repair the schools as the summer vacation will be over on June 19. The minister said all out efforts are being made to restore power in the rural areas of Puri district. "Though we have set a target to complete power restoration work within June, no specific date can be fixed," a senior official of the power department said. Meanwhile, special relief commissioner B P Sethi in a letter to the collectors of cyclone-hit districts said that the ground report on the number of houses damage should be made keeping in mind the actual damage of houses. "If you are recommending X amount of money for a damaged house, will it be sufficient for a hapless person, whose house has been damaged due to super storm Fani? " Sethi asked in the letter. The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) have already announced the amount of assistance for damaged houses during disaster for the period 2015-2020. For fully damaged and destroyed houses in the plains, Rs 95,100 has been allotted per house and Rs 1,01,900 has been allotted per house in the hilly areas. Meanwhile, an inter-ministerial central team visited Odisha from May 12 to 15 and conducted an on the spot assessment of the damages caused due to the cyclone. A preliminary report of damage amounting to Rs 11,942.68 crore was shared with the central team, an official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab's acting police chief V K Bhawara Monday held a meeting with the five-member SIT, probing into the desecration of religious texts and police firing incidents in the state in 2015. The meeting was held in the wake of media reports suggesting rift among the SIT members over some contents of the chargesheet filed in a Faridkot court in the case of police firing at anti-desecration demonstrators at Kotkapura. Director General of Police Bhawara, however, described the meeting as routine. Bhawara is presently officiating in place of DGP Dinkar Gupta, who has gone on leave. It was a routine review meeting and it was one of the four meetings held today," said Bhawara. Bhawara added that the Punjab police has written to the Home Department, seeking sanction for prosecution of the police officials named as accused in the police firing case. The SIT chargesheet, filed on May 28, has indicted six persons on various charges, including attempt to murder, for firing at demonstrators in Kotkapura. The indicted persons include former Akali MLA Mantar Singh Brar, Ludhiana's former Police Commissioner Paramraj Singh Umranangal and former Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Paramjit Singh Pannu. They also include former SSP Charanjit Singh Sharma, former Deputy Superintendent of Police Baljit Singh and the then Kotkapura SHO Gurdeep Singh. After the chargesheet was filed, a section of media had claimed that there were some differences among the SIT officials over some contents of the document prepared and signed by SIT member Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh. The SIT is led by Additional Director General of Police Parbodh Kumar. Other members are IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, IG (Crime) Arun Pal Singh, Kapurthala SSP Satinder Singh and ADCP Amritsar Bhupinder Singh. The chargesheet claimed that the police firing at demonstrator was "totally unprovoked" and was the outcome of a "conspiracy" among high-profile politicians, senior police officials and the Sirsa-based Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and his followers. The chragesheet said the roles of the then chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, the then deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, the then DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and the then Ferozepur range DIG, Amar Singh Chahal were being further probed. Meanwhile, the Akali Dal Monday decided to send its delegation Tuesday to the Election Commission to lodge protest against the Congress government allegedly ignoring a poll panel order in April to shift IPS officer Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh out of the SIT for violation of model code of conduct during the general elections. He (Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh) continued to work as SIT member despite EC having directed the state government to shift him out. We will produce documentary evidence before the ECI in this regard, said SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema. On an Akali Dal complaint against the IPS officer, the ECI had directed Punjab government to divest Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh of his present post for violating the model code of conduct. Besides being an SIT member, Singh was also holding additional charges of IGP, Crime and the Organised Crime Control Unit chief. On poll panel's directions, the Punjab government had posted Singh as IG, Counter Intlligence (Amritsar). He was also relieved of the SIT membership. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Boeing 777 aircraft of Air India has been grounded as a small crack was observed on the bottom right corner of one of its entry doors after the plane landed at San Francisco airport in US, the airline said Monday. The national carrier said it has made alternative arrangements for 100 of the total 210 passengers who were supposed to take the return flight on the same aircraft. "B777 aircraft, VT-ALH arrived in SFO (San Francisco) on AI 183. During walk around inspection on arrival, a small cut /crack on bottom right corner of left side #2 entry door (sic)," said an Air India spokesperson. "Air India is trying to get help from the local Aircraft Maintenance Repair Agencies for the repair, failing which men and material would be sent from India," the spokesperson said. The Delhi-San Francisco flight has the code of AI183, while the return flight has the code of AI184. "In AI 184, there are 210 pax (passengers). Out of which 50 are shifted to AI174. 50 are shifted to other airlines. About 25 pax are cancelled their journey by own. Remaining pax are undecided," the spokesperson added. Just like AI184, the AI174 flight is also a non-stop Air India flight from San Francisco to Delhi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Air India has constituted a nodal cell at its headquarters in New Delhi to facilitate interaction between various advisors, which have been appointed to assist the airline in its disinvestment process, said an official document. The Civil Aviation Ministry had told Air India on May 6 that it should prepare 2018-19 financials for itself and its subsidiaries by end of June as the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has decided to speed up the disinvestment process of three of its wings. During last year's disinvestment process, which did not succeed, the national carrier had appointed EY as its transaction advisor and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as its legal advisor. It is not clear if the same set of advisors would be assisting the airline in its disinvestment process this year. An order issued by the national carrier on May 31, said, "For taking forward the process of disinvestment of Air India Limited it has been decided to constitute a nodal cell in Airlines House, to facilitate the interaction between the various advisors appointed by DIPAM to assist Air India in the process of disinvestment." "The Data Room (nodal cell) shall be located on the first floor of the Airlines House and shall be fully operational effective July 1, 2019," it added. The national carrier has also decided that Aruna Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director (Corporate Affairs), would be the single point nodal officer to interact with various advisors regarding the airline's disinvestment. After a botched attempt to sell Air India in May 2018, a panel led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had decided in June 2018 to scrap the stake-sale plan for the time being. It was then decided to infuse more funds into the carrier and cut down debt by raising resources by selling land assets and other subsidiaries. Air India has a total debt burden of around Rs 55,000 crore. As a precursor to the sale of Air India, the Cabinet on February 28 had approved setting up of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) -- Air India Assets Holding Limited-- to transfer Rs 29,464 crore worth loans of the national carrier and its four subsidiaries. The four subsidiaries which have been transferred to the SPV are Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL), Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), Airline Allied Services Limited (AASL) and Hotel Corporation of India (HCI). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Russian-origin AN-32 transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force with 13 people on board went missing Monday afternoon around 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam for Arunachal's Menchuka near the border with China, officials said. The IAF said the aircraft took off from Jorhat 12.27 pm for the Menchuka advance landing ground in Shi-Yomi district in Arunachal Pradesh, and its last contact with the ground control was at 1 pm. "Some ground reports were received on possible location of a crash site. Helicopters were routed to the location, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far," the IAF said in a statement. It said a total of eight aircrew and five passengers were onboard the aircraft and that the IAF is coordinating with Indian Army as well as various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. The IAF has deployed C-130J and AN-32 aircraft besides two Mi-17 choppers while the Indian Army has pressed into service advance light helicopters to locate the missing Antonov AN-32 aircraft. "The search operations from air and by ground parties of Indian Army are planned to continue through the night," the IAF said. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he had spoken to the vice chief of the force on steps to find the missing aircraft and was praying for the safety of all those on board. "Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. "He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board," the minister tweeted. Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa is in Sweden on a four-day visit which began Monday. Official sources said the IAF has deployed all available resources to locate the aircraft. The AN-32 is a Russian origin aircraft and the IAF currently operates a sizeable number of it. It is a twin engine turboprop transport aircraft. Officials said the Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground is around 35 kms away from the China border. An AN-32 aircraft had crashed near a village in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh in June 2009 in which 13 defence personnel killed. The aircraft had crashed over the Rinchi Hill above Heyo village, about 30 km from Mechuka advance landing ground. In July 2016, an AN-32 aircraft went missing while taking off from Chennai for Port Blair with 29 people on board. The aircraft could not be traced following weeks of massive search operations covering 2,17,800 square nautical miles by multiple aircraft. Months later, an IAF court of inquiry concluded that it was unlikely that the missing personnel on board the aircraft would have survived the accident. district, Singh said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Declaring that healthcare is one of his top-most priorities, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy Monday said an expert committee will be set up to suggest measures for complete revamp of the medical and health department. Directing that the report of the panel, to be constituted under the supervision of Special Chief Secretary P V Ramesh, be submitted within 45 days, he said he would personally monitor the performance of the medical and health department. Continuing his preliminary review of government departments, the chief minister, who assumed office last week, took stock of the department Monday and asked the authorities to improve healthcare facilities in government hospitals for the benefit of common people, a release from his office said. He asked the officials to submit a report on the infrastructure requirements in government hospitals. He also responded positively on filling up vacancies in government hospitals, the release said. Be passionate and own responsibility while delivering healthcare services. There should be zero corruption in the department, he said. On the occasion, the chief minister announced enhancement in salary of Aasha workers from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 a month, as promised by the YSR Congress ahead of the recent elections. Chief Secretary L V Subrahmanyam, Special Chief Secretary (Health) Poonam Malakondaiah and other officials attended the review meeting. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Arjun Munda, a former chief minister and a prominent tribal face from Jharkhand, took charge as the Union minister for tribal affairs on Monday. Senior officials in the ministry welcomed Munda, the MP from Khunti constituency, as he assumed office. Later, the minister held a meeting with officials, who briefed him on issues at hand. Munda takes over from Jual Oram, who represents Odisha's Sudargarh Lok Sabha constituency. Renuka Singh Saruta, BJP MP from Chhattisgarh's Surguja, also took charge as the minister of state in the ministry. Saruta had served as the Jharkhand women and child development minister in the Raman Singh government from 2003-2005. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The police on Monday recovered country-made arms and ammunitions from Kalachhera, a remote tribal hamlet, in South Tripura district, a police officer said. The police, on the basis of specific information, raided the house of one Jarmarum Tripura and recovered 3 country made guns, 23 cartridges of AK 47 rifle, a welding machine and a tool box. Three persons were arrested from the same village on Saturday. A country-made pistol, 16 rounds of country-made cartridges, Bangaldeshi currency and some sharp weapons were recovered from their possession, the Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Sabroom, L Molsum, said. After interrogating them, the police raided Jarmarum Tripura's house on Monday, and recovered the arms and ammunitions, L Molsum said. The SDPO said that the arrested persons had bought the arms from different dealers in the state. They also bought welding machines and sophisticated tools from Bangladesh for manufacturing arms. "An investigation hasd been initiated," Molsum said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The NCP Monday condemned the assault on its woman leader in Gujarat by a BJP MLA and asked if "jungle raj" prevailed in the neighbouring state even as the opposition party called for the legislator's arrest. The BJP MLA, Balram Thawani, was caught on camera thrashing and kicking NCP woman leader Neetu Tejwani, who had approached him for resuming water supply to her locality in Ahmedabad district. Thawani, who represents the Naroda Assembly constituency in Ahmedabad, has apologised over the incident. NCP's chief spokesperson Nawab Malik, however, said an apology was not going to suffice in such a matter and that the law must take its course against the ruling party MLA and his supporters. "BJP leaders and their supporters have become uncontrollable after the party's poll victory. A woman has been thrashed. Is it some jungle raj?" Malik asked. "We demand that a case be registered and the MLA arrested. Apologising won't suffice, it is no petty matter. The law should take its course," he added. Malik warned the Sharad Pawar-led the party would stage protest if Thawani was not arrested. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar and party MP Supriya Sule, too, condemned the incident. Taking to Twitter, Pawar attributed the incident to the frenzy caused by power. Sule said violence is not acceptable in a democracy. "In a democracy every individual has the right to protest, and the use of violence to quell the voice of opposition is unacceptable...," Sule said in a tweet. Latching onto the incident, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde of the NCP alleged the BJP government's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme, aimed at empowering girls, was a "pretence". Munde said Thawani's attitude showed the "BJP's culture" and called for his suspension. The video of the incident, which took place Sunday, went viral on social media. The ruling BJP said it condemned the incident and had asked Thawani to apologise. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to hand over the killing of Khonsa West MLA Tirong Aboh and 10 others by suspected NSCN militants to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), an official said on Monday. The state Cabinet in its first sitting on Sunday night unanimously decided that the case be handed over to the NIA as thorough investigation needs to be carried out in a time bound manner and justice be delivered expeditiously to the bereaved family members by booking and nabbing all the culprits, the official said. The cabinet headed by Chief Minister Pema Khandu also condemned the killing of the MLA and 10 others by suspected NSCN militants. The cabinet approved for providing a Group C post in the government to the next of kin of the deceased and provide Rs 20 lakh as ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased. Nationalist Peoples' Party (NPP) MLA Aboh along with his son and nine others were killed when suspected NSCN militants opened fire at their vehicles near 12 Mile area in Tirap district on May 21. The MLA along with his relatives was on his way to Khonsa from Dibrugarh in Assam. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Reports on the repression of protest demonstrations are the subject of heavy censorship in China. In the night between 3 and 4 June 1989, 300 to 2 thousand people died. The defense minister asks why people continue to say that the government has not handled the events correctly. Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Chinese government has defended the crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, in a rare public recognition of events. During a regional security forum, the Minister of Defense, Gen. Wei Fenghe (photo) said yesterday that stopping the "turbulence" was the "correct" policy for Beijing. Tomorrow marks the 30th anniversary of the massacre. According to the estimates of independent bodies, on the night between 3 and 4 June 1989, 300 to 2 thousand people died, crushed by tanks or shot dead while fleeing. Reports on events are heavily censored in China. For Beijing, public discussions on the democracy protests of 1989 and their repression are taboo. Every year, in the weeks leading up to June 4th, the world's largest censorship machine is set in motion: a huge network of automated algorithms and tens of thousands of officials purge the web of any reference to the massacre. This is why Gen. Wei Fenghes words at the "18th Asia Security Summit" in Singapore (May 31st - June 2nd) represents an exceptional rarity. After a wide-ranging speech on trade and security, Gen. Wei Fenghe was questioned about Tiananmen by a member of the public. The minister asked why people continue to say that China has not handled the events correctly. "That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy," he said. The senior official then said that "the past 30 years have proven that China has undergone major changes ", adding that due to the government's action at that juncture "the country has enjoyed stability and development". flagship firm Monday reported a four per cent decline in total sales to 13,172 units in May. The company had sold 13,659 units during the corresponding month last year, said in a statement. Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles in May declined by 14 per cent to 8,946 units as against 10,421 units in the year-ago month. Sales of light commercial vehicles increased by 31 per cent to 4,226 units in May 2019 from 3,238 units in the corresponding month last year. In the domestic market, the company sold a total of 12,778 units as against 12,077 units in the same month last year, a growth of 6 per cent. Shares of closed at Rs 91.75 per scrip on the BSE, up 3.21 per cent from its previous close. Assam Government Monday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh to the family members of slain SSB personnel Neeraj Chetry, who was killed in a Maoist attack at Dumka in Jharkhand. Chetry hailed from Helem in Biswanath district of Assam and his mortal remains arrived here Monday evening, officials said. It will be taken to his village where the last rites will be performed, they said. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said in a statement that the country is proud of the courage and valour of Chetry, who laid down his life for its sake. He also expressed his condolences to the bereaved family members. The SSB personnel was killed and four others were injured in an encounter between the security forces and Maoists in Dumka district of Jharkhand early Sunday, police said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Swedish court heard arguments Monday before deciding if prosecutors can proceed to request Julian Assange's extradition from Britain, after a 2010 rape probe was re-opened in May. Both sides presented their arguments to the Uppsala district court which adjourned to deliberate. It was expected to announce a decision at 4:00 pm (local time). Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson said the WikiLeaks founder had not cooperated with the Swedish investigation previously, fleeing from an extradition order, and therefore needed to be detained and questioned in Sweden. She asked the court to order Assange's detention in his absence, a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located, and which would be the first step to having him extradited. "The purpose of this detention is to be able to complete the investigation and bring Julian Assange to justice," Persson said. Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per E Samuelson, meanwhile argued that a detention order was "meaningless" as Assange is currently imprisoned in Britain and should not be considered a flight risk. He said it was not proportionate to ask for someone's detention merely to conduct a questioning session. The Australian whistleblower, who holed himself up in Ecuador's embassy in London for seven years to avoid a British extradition order to Sweden, was arrested by British police on April 11 after Quito gave him up. He was subsequently sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions when he took refuge in the embassy. Following his arrest Swedish authorities reopened their 2010 rape investigation, which had been closed in 2017 with the argument that it was not possible to proceed with the probe as Assange could not be reached. If the Uppsala court grants the prosecutor's request, Eva-Marie Persson has made clear she intends to issue a European Arrest Warrant "concerning surrender to Sweden". Such a request would, however, have to compete with an extradition request from the United States, where Assange is facing a total of 18 charges, most of which relate to obtaining and disseminating classified information over the publishing of military documents and diplomatic cables through the website WikiLeaks. Assange could be sentenced to 175 years in prison if convicted on all 18 counts. "In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority. The outcome of this process is impossible to predict," Persson said in May. The decision of whether to extradite him to the United States or Sweden would rest with the British interior ministry. On Thursday, a scheduled hearing on the US extradition request in London was pushed forward with chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot referring to Assange as "not very well," and stating that the next hearing could be held at Belmarsh prison, where Assange is serving his sentence. The day before, WikiLeaks expressed "grave concerns" over the condition of the organisation's founder and said he had been moved to the prison's health ward. "During the seven weeks in Belmarsh his health has continued to deteriorate and he has dramatically lost weight," WikiLeaks said in a statement. Assange's lawyer, Per E Samuelson, had also unsuccessfully requested the Uppsala district court to postpone the Swedish hearing, citing difficulties he had preparing the case with his client. Samuelson told AFP he had met with Assange in Belmarsh's health ward on May 24, but had been unable to discuss the case properly since "it was difficult to have a normal conversation with him". The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, on Friday said the various drawn-out legal procedures against Assange amounted to "psychological torture". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Australian Home Minister Peter Dutton has laid a wreath and offered condolences for the Easter Sunday bomb attacks in Sri Lanka on a visit to the South Asian island nation. Dutton visited St. Sebastian's Church in the seaside town of Negombo, one of three churches attacked April 21. The attacks left more than 250 people dead. He'll meet with Sri Lanka' president, prime minister and other officials during a two-day visit ending Tuesday. Dutton spoke with priests Monday and observed the reconstruction of the church, where two Australians of Sri Lankan origin were among those killed. He also promised Australia's support to rebuild Sri Lanka's industry, which has crashed after the attacks. (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.) Australia is to fund a $250 million (US$173 million) grants programme for the Solomon Islands, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Monday, as Canberra confronts growing Chinese influence in the region. Morrison, in his first overseas trip since re-election two weeks ago, unveiled the package amid talks with Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. It came in a three-pronged Canberra initiative with Defence Minister Linda Reynolds and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne highlighting Australia's push for economic security in the region. The grants programme, to cover a range of projects over 10 years, is designed to allow the Solomons to finance urgently-required infrastructure. Further funds will be used to help Solomon Islanders access work opportunities in Australia and an initiative to assist with rugby union development in the country. "Australia and Solomon Islands will continue to work closely together to boost our engagement by strengthening community bonds and tackling common challenges," Morrison and Sogavare said in a joint statement. They added they were committed to "deeper cooperation" on defence and security "to make the Pacific region secure, prosperous, and stable." Morrison announced last year a multibillion-dollar package for much-needed infrastructure in the Pacific and Australia recently funded a new underwater internet cable for the Solomon Islands to lock out Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. The Solomons is one of a handful of nations that still recognise Taipei rather than Beijing. But with an economy hampered by declining resources, the impoverished South Pacific archipelago is being pressured to sever ties with Taiwan and join up with China's multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen recently urged Australia, the United States and Japan to join with Taipei in a "values-based partnership" to push back against China's growth in the Pacific. Morrison diplomatically phrased Canberra's intentions as seeking "the peaceful independence and sovereignty of all Pacific Island nations... and to address the many challenges that are present in our region." Meanwhile, Reynolds told the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore over the weekend that Canberra "wants to do our bit to ensure the Pacific region is resilient and it is stable. "We have a package of initiatives that are far-reaching in scope and also in ambition -- security, economic, diplomatic, development and people-to-people initiatives that build on long and historic relationships and friendships," she said. Payne headed to Fiji on Monday to discuss "deepening our security, economic and people-to-people links". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three days after taking charge as the Civil Minister, on Monday met six MPs and representatives of Employees' Union of to discuss the revival of the beleaguered airline, which temporarily suspended operations in April. "A delegation of six MPs led by Shri Anil Desai accompanied by representatives of Employees' Union of came to see me. They handed over a memorandum regarding revival of Civil Secretary Shri P S Kharola was also present in the meeting," Puri said in a tweet. Earlier in the day, the delegation also met Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister on the matter. After meeting both the ministers, the Bhartiya Kamgar Sena (BKS), the labour wing of the Shiv Sena, said in a statement, "Both the ministers assured to personally look into the matter and expedite the process of revival of Jet Airways." Shuttered for more than a month, Jet Airways on May 30 said it was not in a position to consider audited financial results for 2018-19 due to ongoing process of management change and resignations of key managerial personnel. In early April, Jet Airways Vinay Dube and his deputy put in their papers. The consortium of lenders, led by State Bank of India, is struggling to find a buyer for the Once a storied full service carrier, Jet Airways temporarily suspended operations in April after running out of cash. The BJP on Monday said its slogans in West Bengal would be "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Maha Kali", and the party would campaign in the state till the (TMC) government was ousted. "Our slogans in Bengal would be 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Maha Kali'. Bengal is the land of Maha Kali. We need goddess Kali's blessings," Vijayvargiya, the BJP's West Bengal affairs in-charge, told reporters during his first visit to the state after the saffron's party's stunning Lok Sabha poll performance in Bengal. The inclusion of "Jai Maha Kali" in its list of slogans for the state comes at a time when the TMC has accused the BJP of being a party of outsiders that does not understand the culture of Bengal. West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had recently changed her profile picture on Twitter and Facebook to "Jai Hind, Jai Bangla" amid a war of words with the BJP, which she has accused of creating unrest in the state by "mixing religion with politics". In a Facebook post on Sunday, Banerjee claimed that attempts were being made to propagate the ideology of hatred, which should be opposed. "'Jai Sia Ram', 'Jai Ram ji ki', 'Ram naam Satya hai' etc. have religious and social connotations. We respect these sentiments. But BJP is using religious slogan 'Jai Shri Ram' as their party slogan in a misconceived manner by way of mixing religion with politics," she wrote. The TMC chief also said she had no issues regarding any particular slogan being used in political rallies or events of a political party. She said her party's slogan was "Jai Hind, Jai Bangla and Vande Mataram". Vijayvargiya said the BJP's campaign in Bengal would remain incomplete until and unless the TMC government was ousted and a new government led by the saffron party installed. Criticising Banerjee for losing her cool over chants of "Jai Shri Ram", the senior BJP leader wondered whether uttering the phrase was a crime in the state. "Is chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' a crime in Bengal? Why is it a crime, we would like Banerjee and TMC leaders to explain," he said. "We do not have any personal enmity with Mamata Banerjee. We are against her policies of appeasement, terror tactics and oppression of opposition parties. The BJP would not only provide good governance but also a terror-free atmosphere in Bengal," Vijayvargiya added. The BJP will hold a day-long review meeting on Tuesday regarding its poll performance in West Bengal. The saffron party bagged 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the just-concluded polls. The BJP on Monday criticised the Congress for expelling its Kerala leader A P Abdullakutty after he praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying praising the country's PM is no crime and that it will only set the tone for more leaders of the opposition party to come out and laud him. BJP spokesperson Tom Vadakkan, who had switched over from the Congress to the saffron party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, said the Congress's decision to expel Abdulkutty will spark an exodus of leaders from the party. "He has not been expelled for Kerala Congress leadership or its national leadership. His crime is that he has praised India's Prime Minister. How many members the Congress is going to remove from the party for this? It will start an exodus as the praising prime minister is no crime," Vadakkan said. As a citizen of India, he can praise the prime minister but the Congress has punished him for this, the BJP leader from Kerala said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Air Force helicopters Monday spotted the bodies of five of the eight mountaineers who went missing on way to the Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhand. The eight-member team consisting of climbers from the UK, US and Australia went missing en route to the Nanda Devi East peak. Bodies of five mountaineers were sighted near an unscaled peak adjoining the Nanda Devi East peak during an air search by Air Force helicopters on Monday, Pithoragarh District Magistrate VK Jogdande said. Apparently the mountaineers were perished in an avalanche while ascending an unscaled peak near the Nanda Devi East peak after they failed to scale the latter, he said. The bodies were sighted after an air search was conducted over the peak on the basis of clues provided by four climbers from UK rescued during a sortie undertaken on Sunday. "We are sending a report to the Centre. Further rescue operation will be conducted after we get instructions," the District Magistrate said. "We have an expert team from State Disaster Response Force, besides experts from Indian Mountaineering Foundation. In addition to these teams we have stationed our search teams at Laspa and Bugdiyar camps close to the Nanda Devi base camp in Munsiyari," said the official. Sub Divisional Magistrate of Munsiyari KN Goswami said, "It is now ITBP and SDRF and Air Force teams that will conduct the search operation with help of expert mountaineers and local villagers." Led by well-known British mountaineer Martin Moran, the team went missing recently on way to the 7434-metre-high Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district. A liaison officer of Indian Mountaineering Foundation in New Delhi was also part of the team. They had left Munsiyari on May 13 to scale the peak but did not return to the base camp on the appointed date of May 25. The members of the team were Martin Moran, John McLaren, Richard Payne, Rupert Havel (all from UK), Ruth Macrain (Australia), Anthony Sudecam (US), Rachel Bimmel (US) and liaison officer Chetan Pandey, the District Magistrate said. British mountaineer Martin Moran had scaled the peak twice in the past, he said. The route to the peak begins from Munsiyari about 132 km from the district headquarters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Indian Air Force helicopters Monday spotted the bodies of five of the eight mountaineers who went missing en route to the Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhand, the IAF said. The eight-member team consisting of climbers from the UK, the US and Australia went missing on the way to the Nanda Devi East peak. Bodies of five mountaineers were sighted near an unscaled peak adjoining Nanda Devi East during an air search by IAF helicopters on Monday, Pithoragarh District Magistrate V K Jogdande said. Apparently, the mountaineers were perished in an avalanche while ascending an unscaled peak near the Nanda Devi East peak after they failed to scale the latter, he said. The IAF also tweeted about spotting the bodies. "Today, #IAF crew spotted five bodies in the Himalayas during a #SearchAndRescue operation for missing mountaineers. A team of eight climbers had gone missing near the Nanda Devi peak over a week ago," it said. The bodies were sighted after an air search was conducted over the peak on the basis of clues provided by four climbers from the UK who were rescued during a sortie undertaken on Sunday. "We are sending a report to the Centre. Further rescue operation will be conducted after we get instructions," Jogdande said. "We have an expert team from State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), besides experts from Indian Mountaineering Foundation. In addition to these teams, we have stationed our search teams at Laspa and Bugdiyar camps close to the Nanda Devi base camp in Munsiyari," he said. Sub-divisional magistrate of Munsiyari, K N Goswami, said, "It is now ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) and SDRF and Air Force teams that will conduct the search operation with help of expert mountaineers and local villagers." Led by well-known British mountaineer Martin Moran, the team went missing on way to the 7434-metre-high Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district. A liaison officer of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation in New Delhi was also part of the team. The team had left Munsiyari on May 13 to scale the peak but did not return to the base camp on the appointed date of May 25. Besides Moran, the team members were John McLaren, Richard Payne, Rupert Havel (all from the UK), Ruth Macrain (Australia), Anthony Sudekum, Rachel Bimmel (both from the US) and liaison officer Chetan Pandey, Jogdande said. Moran had scaled the peak twice in the past, he said. The route to the peak begins from Munsiyari, about 132 km from the district headquarters. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The People's Peace Movement hopes to be more successful than US negotiators, challenging scorching temperatures during Ramadan fasting. Local sources report that four marchers have been abducted by the Taliban. Kabul (AsiaNews/Agencies) A group of 30 people, a child and a dog from The Peoples Peace Movement is walking towards a Taliban-held area in Afghanistan, calling for peace. The group left Lashkar Gah, capital of the southern province of Helmand, last Thursday, embarking on a march of 150 kilometres to Musa Qala, a Taliban stronghold in the north of the region. Many of them are also fasting for the holy month of Ramadan in daytime temperatures that hover around 40 degrees Celsius. The Peoples Peace Movement was founded in March 2018 in reaction to a bloody attack that killed 16 people in Lashkar Gah. The brave participants are marching in one of the most dangerous areas of the world. The goal is one of the noblest: Act as peacemakers hoping to end the conflict that has gone on for 18 years and overcome the failure of talks between extremists and the United States. So far, the group has been greeted with cries of joy in the villages it has travelled through. The Taliban remain the biggest obstacle though as the militant group suspects foreign powers are behind the march and have wasted no time to threaten the marchers. We will not allow them to enter our territories, Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said Sunday. In fact, Taliban militants have already seized and taken four members of the Peoples Peace Movement to an unknown location. The others are staying put in the Nawzadrod area, pledging not to resume their march until the four are released. One of the latter is Bismillah Watandost, who led a similar march last year. In a significant judgement, the Bombay High Court on Monday upheld the constitutional validity of a provision introduced after the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case allowing life imprisonment or death penalty to repeat offenders in rape cases. A bench of justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere dismissed the petitions filed by three convicts in the sensational 2013 Shakti Mill gangrape case challenging the constitutional validity of 376 (e) provision of Indian Penal Code provision under which they were sentenced to death for the repeat offence by a sessions court in 2014 in what was the first such conviction under the changed law. The trio were convicted for gangraping a 22-year-old photo-journalist inside the abandoned Shakti Mills compound in central Mumbai on August 22, 2013 and for gangraping an 18-year-old telephone operator at the same place some months earlier. "We are of the opinion that section 376 (e) of the IPC is not ultra vires to the Constitution and hence need not be quashed in the present case," the court said. With dismissal of the petitions, another bench of the high court will now take up for final hearing appeals filed by the convicts challenging their conviction and death penalty imposed on them by a sessions court and also a petition filed by the state government for confirmation of their sentence. Under 376 (e)provision which was introduced by the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, repeat offenders in rape cases faced life imprisonment or a death penalty. The amendment was introduced on the basis of recommendations of the Justice J S Verma Committee, which was formed to consider changes in law to deal more sternly with offenders in sexual offence cases following the nationwide outrage over the brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedical student in Delhi. The victim later died and was referred to as Nirbhaya (fearless) for her courage. The petitions had been filed by Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali and Salim Ansari, who were among the four convicted in April 2014 by a sessions court for gangraping the photo-journalist in August 2013. They were 19, 21, and 28 years old respectively at the time of the incident. The court had then imposed death penalty on Jadhav, Bengali and Ansari as they were convicted for gang-raping the telephone operator at the same place months before raping the photojournalist. The fourth convict, Siraj Khan, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and a minor accused was sent to a correctional facility. The trio, in April 2014, approached HC challenging the validity of section 376 (e) of IPC and contended that the sessions court acted beyond its power in awarding them the death penalty. They argued that, as per the Constitution, only the rarest of rare cases attracted capital punishment. Therefore, the constitutional validity of section 376 (e) that treats more than one offence of rape as 'rarest of rare' needs to be examined, they argued. Justifying the legislature's decision to provide for the death penalty for repeat offence of rape, the Union government had told HC that rape laws had been amended in 2013 to introduce a powerful deterrent against such crime. Arguing on behalf of the Union, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the court that section 376 of the IPC, that comprise the penal provisions for the offence of rape, had been amended following much deliberation and that none of the provisions introduced through the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 were unconstitutional. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An iftar, hosted by the AAP government, Monday witnessed a bonhomie between Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Opposition Leader in the Assembly Vijender Gupta with the latter offering a morsel of food to the former as a friendly gesture. Later talking to the media, Gupta, flanked by Kejrwal, advised the chief minister to avoid the path of confrontation for the welfare of Delhi. Several Delh cabinet ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, AAP MP Sanjay Singh, BJP MLA Om Prakash Sharma and Aam Aadmi Party leaders attended the iftar party. No senior leaders from the Congress attended the iftar. After the call for iftar was given, Kejriwal and others got down from the stage and sat in a table for food. At the table, Gupta, who is critical of Kejrwal and his government, fed a morsel of food to him as a friendly gesture following requests by photo journalists. "Since the beginning, I have been asking Kejrwal ji to avoid the path of confrontation for the welfare of Delhi. If we work together, it will benefit Delhi. But this is their strategy (to have confrontation)..." Gupta told reporters after the event. Kejriwal congratulated people on the occasion and said he prays for their prosperity. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Boris Johnson, the frontrunner to replace Theresa May as Britain's prime minister, launched his digital campaign to become the Conservative Party leader on Monday, coinciding with the visit of "friend" Donald Trump. The launch video follows Johnson on the campaign trail, promising voters that he will take Britain out of the European Union on October 31 "deal or no deal" if he becomes prime minister by being elected Tory leader. The former foreign secretary is popular among the grassroots Tory members, but they will only get a vote once the party's MPs have whittled down the ever-growing candidates list to a final two. He is less popular among his own MPs, due to his key role in campaigning for Brexit and for his gaffe-prone style, and failed to make the last two when he last ran for the job in 2016. US President Trump, who kicked off a state visit to Britain on Monday, gave Johnson his backing on Saturday. "I actually have studied it very hard," Trump told the Sun newspaper, earlier calling Johnson a "friend." "I know the different players. But I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent. I like him. I have always liked him." The comments drew criticism in Britain for interfering in the country's political process. Elsewhere in his campaign video, Johnson expressed support for increased education and police funding and said he would "unite" a country fractured by Brexit. "We have got to have the courage to tell the people of this country we can do it, if we want to," he told one voter on the doorstep. Johnson has long held ambitions to become prime minister, but pulled out of the race in 2016 after key ally and fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove withdrew his support, saying "Boris cannot provide the leadership or build the team for the task ahead." His latest bid got off to a rocky start when he received a court summons last week over allegations that he knowingly lied during the Brexit referendum campaign. The case concerns Johnson's claim that Britain sends 350 million pounds (USD 440 million, 400 million euros) a week to the European Union. Thirteen candidates have entered the race so far, with Gove, Johnson and foreign minister Jeremy Hunt currently receiving the most backing from MPs. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A British Airways flight landed back in Pakistan Monday, over a decade after the airline suspended operations in September 2008 in the wake of the deadly Mariott Hotel bombing in Islamabad. A Boeing 787 Dreamliner flying from Heathrow, London, with 240 passengers landed at Islamabad International Airport (IIA) at 9:15am to the jubilation of Pakistan. Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Prime Minister's Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood, Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari and senior officials of the Aviation Division and British High Commission welcomed the passengers. Huge banners displayed at the airport carried welcome messages for the airline and its passengers. Special security arrangements were made on the occasion and additional security personnel were deployed around the airport. "Britain's flag carrier is back. The two countries, so close in so many ways, take a step closer," British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew said in a statement. "It is of course tribute to the great improvements in the security situation in Pakistan in recent years." British Airways halted services in 2008 in the wake of Mariott suicide bombing that killed more than 50 people in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital. The return of the British Airways was announced last year when June was given the deadline to start flights. Preparation were going since then to make it possible. The British carrier is running three weekly flights from London's Heathrow airport to Islamabad. "Return of British Airways is the first step. We will offer and facilitate other airlines to increase international connectivity in Pakistan," Bukhari was quoted as saying by the state-run Radio Pakistan. The same aircraft departed for Heathrow at 11:10am with passengers on board from Islamabad. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Traders body CAIT Monday asked the government to extend the purview of the new scheme, which assures minimum monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to all shopkeepers, retailers and self employed persons after attaining the age of 60 years. Under the scheme, approved by the cabinet last month, all shopkeepers and self employed persons as well as retail traders with GST turnover below Rs 1.5 crore and aged between 18-40 years can enroll for the scheme. "Currently, there are about 1.5 crore traders in the country who are near the age of 60 years and they should not be deprived from this scheme," Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a communication to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has also suggested to give immediate effect to the scheme from next financial year. "Large number of traders are not required to be registered under GST and as such they will also be deprived of the scheme," it said adding they should be included in the scheme which may be linked with their annual turnover. "In this way, the scheme will cover traders comprehensively," it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A car bomb killed at least 13 people Sunday night near a mosque in a northern town held by Turkey-backed fighters, and wounded dozens of people, Syrian opposition activists said. The blast in the town of Azaz occurred Sunday as scores of people were leaving the mosque of Maytam, wounding dozens including children, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory said the blast killed at least 14 people. It said the dead included four children. The Azaz Media Center, a local activist collective, reported at least 13 deaths, along with many others wounded. The blast occurred after the "iftar" meal that breaks a daylong fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The attack came a few days before Muslims celebrate the end of the holy moth with Eid el-Fitr, one of Islam's most important feasts. The town, which was once controlled by rival Kurdish fighters opposed to Turkey, has been hit by similar attacks in the past. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Chinese man has been arrested by Customs sleuths for allegedly smuggling in gold worth Rs 27 lakh at the Delhi airport, officials said Monday. The accused was intercepted upon his arrival from Dubai on Friday, they said. A personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of four transparent poly pouches containing gold weighing 847 grams in a chemical paste form, a statement issued by the Customs department said. The gold, valued at Rs 27.16 lakh, was seized and the passenger arrested, it said. This is the first instance of a foreign national being arrested for smuggling in gold in paste form, a Customs official said. Based on further enquiry of the Chinese national, an Indian citizen, said to be his handler, was arrested from outside the airport, the 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.) Australians enjoying a sunny winter morning were surprised by the sight of three Chinese warships steaming into to Sydney Harbour Monday, forcing the prime minister to reassure jittery residents. Amid heightened concern about Beijing's growing clout and military muscle flexing, the appearance of a Chinese flagged task group and around 700 sailors came as a surprise. "It may have been a surprise to others, but it certainly wasn't a surprise to the government," said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, trying to dampen concerns. "We have known about that for some time," he said of the visit during a trip to the Solomon Islands. Morrison described it as a "reciprocal visit because Australian naval vessels have visited China." "They were returning after a counter drug trafficking operation in the Middle East." The vessels appeared to be the Kunlun Shan, a Yuzhao class landing ship; the Luoma Lake replenishment ship and Xuchang, a modern frigate that is believed to be fitted with surface-to-air and anti-submarine missile systems. The timing of their visit has also been questioned. It comes on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the violent suppression of Tiananmen protests. Then, the regime gunned down hundreds of its own citizens and jailed thousands for demanding political change and an end to state corruption. The sailing also comes just days after it was revealed that a Chinese warship had recently confronted an Australian vessel in the South China Sea and Aussie helicopter pilots had been targeted with lasers. "I think any reading into timing could be subject to a bit of overanalysis," said Morrison. Since coming to power, President Xi Jinping has invested heavily in the People's Liberation Army Navy -- in a bid to project Chinese influence across the Pacific and beyond. "Chinese naval visits to Australia have more typically been a lone frigate, not a task group with an amphibious assault ship and 700 personnel," Rory Medcalf, head of the National Security College at Australian National University, tweeted. "Sydney is hardly a convenient stopover on their way home from the Gulf of Aden. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recommend the name of Sivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganaga mutt for 'Bharat Ratna' posthumously. Shivakumara Swamiji, the 111-year-old head of the Siddaganga Mutt, known as the 'Walking God', died on January 21 this year after prolonged illness. In a letter to Modi, Kumaraswamy said Swamiji's service to the people deserves recognition at the highest level through the award of Bharat Ratna. Several memoranda have been received from political parties and civilians, institutions and associations, for conferring the 'Bharat Ratna' on the seer, he said and urged the prime minister to recommend the seer's name for the country's highest civilian honour posthumously. The seer was considered as the incarnation of Basavanna, the 12th century social reformer, as he accepted all irrespective of their religion or castes. Listing his contributions, Kumaraswamy said the Shree Siddaganga Education Society, set up by the late Swamiji, has established more than 130 educational institutions, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. "These institutions are providing education ranging from Sanskrit studies to engineering and technology, thus making rich contribution to the educational development of the people," he said. Shree Siddaganga Math also hosts more than 9,000 children who are provided free food, shelter and education, the chief minister added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala government Monday said a college student here is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. The Kerala Health Department has initiated precautionary measures to deal with the possible outbreak of Nipah virus. State Health Minister K K Shailaja said in Thiruvananthapuram that the 23-year-old college student, who has been admitted to a private hospital here, is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. She said isolation wards have been set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital in Kochi. Although the state government is awaiting a report from the Pune Virology Institute to confirm if the student has contracted the Nipah virus, the Health department in the state has geared up to deal with a possible outbreak, officials said here. A meeting of officials of the Health Department and Ernakulam district authorities held here reviewed the situation. It was chaired by Principal Secretary (Health), Rajan Khobragade. A team of medical experts, who have experience in dealing with the situation, have been rushed to Ernakulam from Kozhikode, officials said after the meeting. A senior district health official said "good news" is being received from doctors attending on the student at the hospital.He had taken food in the morning and is responding to medicines, the official said. Ernakulam district Collector Mohammed Y Saffirulla said steps have been taken for capacity building at government and private hospitals to deal with the situation. Surveillance teams have been constituted to follow the suspected cases of Nipah. A facility to quarantine patients with suspected case of Nipah has been arranged at the Government Medical College, Kalamassery, he said. A control room would be opened at the district headquarters apart from a media cell to provide information to the media, he added. Assuming that the student has contracted the Nipah virus, Health authorities have directed the people with whom the student had contacted to report to the nearest medical facility if they develop influenza-like symptoms like fever, headache, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat. Health authorities in Thrissur said the student who was suffering from fever had sought medical assistance at two private hospitals in Thrissur city when he had come here for a training programme recently as part of his course. He is studying in Thodupuzha in Idukki district. Thrissur District Medical Officer, Dr Reena, said six persons, who had been in direct contact with the student, were currently under observation. Besides, the people who contacted the student were also under watch, the DMO said. She said the student was in Thrissur only for four days and had been suffering from fever. There were 16 other students with him and six of them, who came in direct contact with him, were under observation, she added. Idukki district medical authorities said the college in Thodupuzha, where the student is studying, is also under observation. Officials said the family and neighbours of the young man, who hails from Ernakulam district were also under observation as was the college in Thodupuzha, where the student is studying. The Health minister said there was no need for people to panic as the government has taken all precautionary measures and asked all private hospitals to inform them if suspected cases were reported. On May 19, 2018, Nipah virus disease (NiV) outbreak was reported from Kozhikode in Malappuram district. As per state government figures, the Nipah virus had claimed 17 lives -- 14 in Kozhikode and three in neighbouring Malappuram in May last year. According to the WHO, Nipah virus is a newly emerging disease that can be transmitted from its reservoir (natural wildlife host), the flying foxes (fruit bats), to both animals and humans. It takes its name from Sungai Nipah, a village in Malaysia where it was first identified. Human infections can range from asymptomatic infection, acute respiratory infection (mild, severe), and fatal encephalitis. Infected people initially develop influenza-like symptoms of fever, headache, myalgia, vomiting and sore throat. This can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis. Some people can also experience atypical pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, including acute respiratory distress. Encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours. The WHO said, "In the outbreak in Kerala, we are seeing patients with encephalitis, myocarditis and acute respiratory infection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Islam celebrates the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer. The faithful will be able to have a meal again in the light of day. The party is an occasion for charity and solidarity. Chaldean patriarch: a moment of renewal, to forget differences and forgive each other. Development for the country and the region. Baghdad (AsiaNews) - On the feast of Eid al-Fitr "I address the most sincere congratulations and best wishes" to all Muslims "our brothers in humanity", asking God "to protect them and our country" from "evil". This is what the Chaldean patriarch, Card Louis Raphael Sako, writes in his message to the faithful of Islam - and sent to AsiaNews for information - on the occasion of the celebrations for the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer. The bishop explains that the feast is an opportunity for everyone, even for Christians "for personal renewal, to forget the differences, forgive each other and seek reconciliation". The festivity is scheduled for tomorrow, June 4, and marks the end of the month of prayer and fasting and will last until the evening of the following day. On this occasion, Muslims thank Allah for giving them strength and blessings, in the hope that the holy month of Ramadan helped them get closer to God and to the perfection required of every believer. The first to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr was Muhammad himself in 624 AD, following a victory in an important battle. The festivities change according to belonging to the Sunni or Shiite world, or places of origin; Muslims generally gather at mosques or in the open air, like parks, to recite morning prayers. At the end they gather to eat the meal, the first in the light of day after a month of abstinence and fasting. The celebrations continue for at least three days and are considered a national holiday in countries with a Muslim majority. Added to this are special acts of charity, such as lunches or banquets for the poorest. The Eid al-Fitr is an opportunity for Christians and Muslims to meet and the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue prepares an official message each year. For the Chaldean patriarch, true reconciliation is also a prerequisite for "removing the barriers that separate us", in order to "strengthen relationships, live in harmony and fill the environment that surrounds us with love and joy". After the agony, the suffering, the killings, the destruction and the displacement, adds the cardinal, "that the Iraqis have had to experience" today they are looking for a "peaceful life, in a perspective of human fraternity", founded on dignity and mutual respect. The leaders, on the other hand, have the task of guaranteeing everyone, Christians and Muslims, "equal rights and duties". This change, concludes Card Sako, must take place "from within us, not from outside or by the hand of others". Bearing in mind, he adds, that the Iraqis - after the violence that followed the US invasion in 2003 and the jihadist drift with al Qaeda and the Islamic State - "no longer have the energy to endure other conflicts". "On the contrary, the Iraqis - he concludes - are looking forward to freeing themselves from fear, anxiety, poverty, disease and corruption to achieve real development for the country and for the whole region". Representatives of central and state governments, industry and exporters will meet on June 6 to discuss ways to boost exports amidst growing protectionism globally, an official said. Members of the Council for Trade Development and Promotion and the Board of Trade will be meeting to deliberate upon all issues related to the country's trade, the official said. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said the meeting will be headed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and discuss various issues related to the industry. He was speaking with reporters at Phagwara in Punjab. The Board of Trade (BoT), a 70-member top advisory body on external trade, would also seek views of all stakeholders on the forthcoming foreign trade policy (FTP). It advises the government on policy measures related to the foreign trade policy in order to boost the country's trade. It last met in February. On the other hand, the council provides a platform to state governments and UTs for articulating their perspective on trade policy to help them develop and pursue export strategies in line with the national foreign trade policy. It was constituted in July 2015 to promote India's overseas shipments. The meeting assumes significance as states play a proactive role in promoting outbound shipments. The commerce ministry has advised all the states to formulate their export policies and appoint export commissioners. Since 2011-12, India's exports have been hovering at around USD 300 billion a year. During 2018-19, the country's exports touched USD 331 billion as against USD 303 billion in 2017-18. Promoting exports helps a country create jobs, boost manufacturing and earn more foreign exchange. After taking charge of the ministry on May 31, Goyal held meetings with the officials of the department of commerce and industry on Saturday and Sunday. Junior ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and Som Prakash also attended the meetings. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After its Lok Sabha poll debacle, the Congress is not hosting an Iftar party at the central level this year, but its state units are organising such parties at their own level. Congress's minority cell chairman Nadeem Javed confirmed that no Iftar was being organised at the national level, but the state units were hosting such parties. The Delhi Congress, led by former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, hosted an Iftar party last week. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had hosted an Iftar last year at a plush hotel in the national capital, but no such party was being thrown this year, a senior party leader said. Last year's Iftar party was the first one to be hosted by Gandhi after becoming the Congress president. Sources said the drubbing in just-concluded Lok Sabha polls is cited as one of the reasons for not hosting an Iftar this year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Delhi court on Monday allowed Robert Vadra, accused in a money-laundering case, to travel abroad for six weeks for health reasons, with a warning that he shall not temper with the evidence. Special Judge Arvind Kumar allowed Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, to travel to the US and the Netherlands and directed him to submit his travel schedule. The court also imposed various conditions on the businessman. It, however, did not allow Vadra to go to the UK. Vadra's counsel KTS Tulsi told the court that his client will not go to the UK, as per his earlier prayer, "in view of the objections raised by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding his UK visit". Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for the ED, had opposed Vadra's plea, in which he had sought permission to travel to the UK and other countries citing health reasons. The agency had expressed apprehension that the accused might destroy the evidence collected in the case, if allowed to go to the UK. Vadra is facing allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property, located at 12, Bryanston Square and worth 1.9 million pounds. The court directed Vadra to submit the address of his stay abroad, along with his contact numbers, to the court before his departure. It also directed him to furnish a bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh and inform the court about his arrival in India within 24 hours. "He shall not tamper with the evidence nor try to influence any witness in any manner and shall not use the permission granted to him contrary to the rules. The applicant shall join the investigation within 72 hours of so informed by the investigating officer (IO)," the court said. Vadra had told the court that according to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, he had a "small tumour in the large intestine, for the further management of which he can take a second opinion in London if he wishes so". The ED had opposed the application, saying the medical condition was merely a pretext to go where the laundered money was parked. The central agency had also told the court that Vadra was linked to alleged arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari in the present case. Bhandari was in London, it said. Vadra, facing investigation in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was directed on April 1 not to leave the country without the prior permission of a court, which had granted him anticipatory bail while imposing several conditions. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A French court on Monday ordered the operator of the Toulouse airport to postpone its annual shareholder meeting, the latest twist in a dispute over a Chinese firm's plan to sell its nearly 50 per cent stake. Casil Europe, a holding company created by China's state-owned Shandong Hi-Speed Group and Hong Kong-based Friedmann Pacific Asset Management, is hoping to sell its 49.99 per cent stake to French construction and concessions group Eiffage. Casil wants to unload the shares after the French government decided last year against selling it a further 10 per cent, an option Paris had retained after privatising the airport in 2015. But the airport's other main shareholders - a group of local governments and the Toulouse Chamber of Commerce - are fighting the sale to Eiffage. They say the fast-growing regional hub needs public ownership to ensure its profits are re-invested in its operations, and not siphoned off by private owners. They asked the commercial court in Toulouse to put Casil's stake in an escrow account to prevent any deal with Eiffage, a bid that was rejected by the court on Monday. But the court did order the postponement of the airport operator's annual meeting set for Wednesday, meaning no votes can be taken for crucial decisions on dividends or a stake sale. It said the operator must wait for a ruling on the appeal of a Paris administrative court decision to cancel the airport's privatisation, which the government is contesting. The Toulouse airport chalked up a record 14.6 per cent increase in 2017 traffic to 9.2 million passengers, making it the fifth-largest in France. That was driven mainly by the growth of low-cost European airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair, with international flights now making up half of its traffic. Casil Europe had said it wanted to boost traffic to 18 million passengers by 2046, in large part by developing connections to Chinese destinations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Dalai Lama Monday hailed secularism and freedom of religion in India, saying the country promoted and respected all religions and accorded freedom of faith to one and all. He also expressed his indebtedness to ancient Nalanda University for spread of Buddhism across the world. The Dalai Lama hailed India's Fundamental Right of freedom of religion during his day-long teachings on Gyalsey Thokme Sangpos' 37 practices of Bodhisattva to Tibetan youths. Thirty seven practices of the Bodhisattva is an important text by Gyalsey Thokme Sangpo. According to the Central Tibetan Adminstration's official website, the 37 verses give instructions on how to follow the Bodhisattva path. As per the website, Gyalsey Thokm Sangpo implying the "son of the victorious ones" is a referance to the Bodhisattvas. "Through training along the path, the Bodhisattvas reach enlightenment therefore they are called sons or children of victorious ones, it says. During his teachings at the main Tibetan temple in Dharamshala, the Dalai Lama also exhorted the Tibetans youths scattered all over the world to stay connected with their roots. He advised youths to study Tibetan Buddhisms through logic, reason, and debate and highlighted the importance of logic in the development of an individual's understanding and intelligence. We should be proud of being Tibetan and descendants of our ancestors. Buddhism which came to Tibet from the Nalanda tradition should not be regarded as a religion but academic subjects, said the Tibetan spiritual guru. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Dalit Christian, who died last year in a suspected case of honour killing, was forcibly drowned in a stream in Kollam district, forensic experts informed a court here Monday. This was not a case of accidental death or a suicide, but a case of homicidal drowning, forensic experts of the Kottayam Government Medical College hospital who performed the postmortem of P Kevin Joseph told the District Additional Sessions Court here. Forensic experts Dr V M Rajeev, Santhosh Joy and Medical Board Director Dr Sasikala gave the statement during the trial of the case in the court. According to them, there was only waist deep water in the stream at the time of his death. He faced difficulties in breathing and there was water in exceptional level in his lungs. All these prove that he was forcibly drowned, they told the Court. Kevin (23) was allegedly kidnapped and killed by a gang led by his wife's brother Sanu Chacko on May 27 last year. There are 14 accused in the case. While Sanu is the prime accused in the case, victim's father-in-law Chacko is the fifth accused. The death of the man, who was kidnapped along with a relative from Mannanam in the district, had triggered widespread protests in the state. The victim's kin had alleged that he died due to police laxity as they refused to conduct an investigation on the basis of his wife's complaint. The body of Kevin was found on May 28 last year in a stream in Chaliyakkara in Kollam district. Kevin, who was in love with the woman studying in a college in Kottayam, had married her at a registrar's office in Ettumanoor against the wishes of her family. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bombardments by the Syrian regime killed six civilians in northwest Syria Monday, hours after US President Donald Trump urged Damascus and its allies to "stop bombing the hell" out of the jihadist-held region. Trump's call came after Washington's Israeli ally carried out a series of strikes against Syria over the weekend, leaving at least 15 dead among pro-government forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The bombardment by Damascus and regime ally Russia of Idlib province and neighbouring areas has killed more than 300 people and displaced thousands since late April, according to the Britain-based war monitor. The violence, which comes despite a truce deal brokered by Moscow and Ankara in September, has raised fears of a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale yet unseen in Syria's eight-year conflict, which has already claimed more than 370,000 lives. The Kremlin insisted Monday that the Russian army was only targeting "terrorists" in Syria's Idlib region, which is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group dominated by former members of Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate. It accused them of firing at civilians and Moscow's troops. "Terrorist fire in Idlib is of course unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "Measures are being taken to neutralise such firing positions." The comments came in response to a Tweet by Trump on Sunday calling for an end to the bombing on the jihadist-dominated enclave, a large area which is home to almost three million people. "Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. "The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" the US president said. But, the aerial bombardment on Monday did not relent. According to the Observatory, at least four civilians were killed in regime strikes on the town of Maarat al-Numan. Another civilian was killed in the nearby town of Heish, while a sixth was killed by rocket fire on a village in the neighbouring province of Hama, it said. Human Rights Watch on Monday accused the Syrian regime and its ally Russia of using "internationally banned and other indiscriminate weapons in unlawful attacks on civilians in northwest Syria in recent weeks." It said they "used banned cluster munitions and incendiary weapons... along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects, including 'barrel bombs'." Analysts predict that President Bashar al-Assad and his allies will continue to chip away at the area, but not unleash a major assault that would create chaos on Turkey's doorstep. In recent weeks, jihadists and pro-government have engaged in fierce battles over positions on the fringes of the enclave. On Monday, the regime tried advance against jihadists in the north-east of Latakia province. According to the Observatory, the clashes killed 12 pro-regime fighters and seven jihadists. The latest violence in Syria's jihadist-held northwest comes amid soaring tensions between Syria and neighbouring Israel. Syria accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province overnight, reportedly killing five people, just hours after carrying out raids on military and intelligence posts south of Damascus that killed 10. "Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase," a military source told state agency SANA. The remaining rockets "killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse," the source added. The Britain-based Observatory reported five killed, including one Syrian soldier, adding that a rocket warehouse was destroyed. In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed at the airbase, according to the monitor. Israel did not claim the attack. A spokeswoman for the Israeli army told AFP: "We do not comment on foreign reports." But hours earlier, Israel said it had carried out strikes in the province of Quneitra. It said the attack was in response to rare rocket fire from its neighbour late Saturday. The Observatory said 10 people were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes in Syria, most of them against what it says are Iranian and Hezbollah targets. The country says it is determined to prevent its arch foe Iran from entrenching itself militarily in Syria, where Tehran backs Assad in the country's eight-year war. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A hunger strike by a Congress and a BJP MLA protesting the death of a tractor driver under mysterious circumstances in Rajasthan's Tonk district was called off Monday evening following the state government assured that their demands will be fulfilled. The two legislators were on hunger strike since Saturday. The driver was reportedly transporting gravel and bajri illegally last Tuesday night when police chased him in Laxmipura. Tonk Superintendent of Police Chunaram Jat claimed that the driver jumped from the moving tractor and died when the police tried to stop it. However, the driver's family members accused the police of beating him which led to his death. The body was kept at the dharna site in a freezer and nearly 250-300 people were present at the spot. State Food and Civil Supply Minister Ramesh Meena visited the family members of the driver and held talks with the agitating leaders. "I visited the house of the victim and spoke to the agitators at the dharna site and apprised them that the government is ready to meet the demands. The main issue was of a government job to a family member and it was assured by the government," the minister told PTI. "Family members of the victim and the agitators were satisfied with the government's response and the hunger strike was called off," he said. Congress MLA and ex-DGP Harish Meena, and BJP legislator Gopi Chand Meena were demanding a government job to the next of the kin of the driver, Rs 25 lakh compensation, suspension of the accused policemen and registration of a murder case against them and a CID probe into the matter. Harish Meena, who represents Deoli-Uniara segment of Tonk district in the Assembly, began a sit-in at Nagar fort and he was later joined by the BJP MLA from Jahazpur (Bhilwara). They converted their dharna into an indefinite hunger strike on Saturday when their demands were not met. Tonk Collector R C Dhenwal said a compensation of Rs 13 lakh will be given to the family, action will be taken against the guilty policemen and a CID probe into the matter will be ordered. "Post-mortem will be conducted by a medical board tomorrow," the collector added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The West Bengal government on Monday appointed Deepap Priya P as the new district magistrate of Darjeeling. Nikhil Nirmal, the MD of West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Ltd, was named as the new district magistrate of Dakshin Dinajpur, an official release said. Onkar Singh Meena was transferred from the post of additional CEO and ex-officio secretary, Home and Hill Affairs, to the Housing Department as the secretary, it said. Among other transfers, S A Baba, who was the GTA principal secretary, was moved to the Science & Technology and Biotechnology Department. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With a few months left for the Delhi Assembly polls to begin, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be on the ground with his cabinet ministers from Tuesday to know the problems of the people and to find viable solutions for them. The ministers will also review the condition of government hospitals, clinics, schools, etc., and get a first-hand account of their functioning, according to a statement from the Delhi government. Kejriwal has already started his 'padyatras' and public meetings in different parts of Delhi. He conducted 'padyatras' in Deoli and Tuglakabad. The chief minister also visited his New Delhi constituency and held public meetings with the people. On Monday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia visited seven schools, six of which are under construction According to the statement, he will be visiting schools and anganwadis apart from taking stock of various infrastructure projects like the Signature Bridge, among others. Health Minister Satyendar Jain will review the condition of hospitals, clinics, roads and construction projects of the PWD, while Labour Minister Gopal Rai will take feedback of the people on government initiatives apart from checking implementation of policies falling under his department. Rai will also check the implementation of minimum wage rules in the capital. Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot will be conducting inspections at sub-registrar offices, SDM offices, etc. to review the working of these public dealing offices, the statement read. Rajendra Pal Gautam, who is social welfare minister, will be conducting inspections at different offices of the Social Welfare department in the national capital to check their proper functioning and see whether the residents of Delhi are facing problems in getting their work done. He will also review the condition of various old-age homes, shelters for differently-abled, beggar homes, rehabilitation centres, mahila sadans and other facilities under the department. Similarly, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Imran Hussain will conduct inspections at ration shops. According to the statement, he will also visit construction sites to check any violation of building and pollution norms. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Nirmala Carvalho In his second term, Narendra Modi assigned two ministerships of state to the Bharatiya Janata Party member who led locally the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu youth group involved in the death of the clergyman and his two sons. Mumbai (AsiaNews) One of the members in Prime Minister Narendra Modis cabinet has a chequered past. Pratap Chandra Sarangi was appointed Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries as well as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. A largely unknown figure, Sarangi is a member of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Odisha (Orissa). In the past, the new Union minister was the coordinator of the Bajrang Dal when Graham Staines and his two kids were burnt alive in 1999, said Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC). The Bajrang Dal is a right-wing Hindu fundamentalist group. On the night of 22-23 January 1999, Hindu extremists set fire to the station wagon in which the Australian missionary and his two sons, Philip and Timothy (9 and 7 respectively), were sleeping, in Manoharpur, a village in Keonjhar district (Odisha). In 2006, Gladys Staines, the missionarys widow, returned to live in the Indian state, together with her surviving daughter, Esther, to pursue her husband's work with lepers. The brutal assassination was the prelude to pogroms against Christians in Odisha in 2008. Dara Singh, the main culprit, was given life in prison for the murders, which the Supreme Court of India upheld. Another 11 accomplices were however released. Sajan K George notes that the "police investigation established that Dara Singh was a member of the Bajrang Dal. But the role of the group in the dastardly murders was never conclusively established, even though the Supreme Court upheld the life sentence imposed on Singh in 2011 by the Odisha High Court. As a fallout of the incident, the Bajrang Dal and other saffron groups have distanced themselves from Singh. At the time, Sarangi testified that the group, which he led, had nothing to do with the murders. Yet, for the president of the GCIC, his appointment, for the vulnerable Christians of Odisha, does not bode well for their safety, security and religious freedom. More generally, the Christian leader remains critical of the legal system. "Many criminal cases against the perpetrators have been closed due to a lack of evidence. Meanwhile, survivors wait for justice, and Christians live in fear." For his part, Minister Sarangi has long opposed the proselytizing work allegedly carried out by Christian missionaries in Odisha. What is the future of our people? Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Monday announced his government has decided to make commute for women in public transport buses and Metro trains free, a move the Opposition decried as "populist" and aimed to "mislead" people ahead of assembly polls due early next year. Kejriwal said his government will provide subsidy, which will amount to nearly Rs 700-800 crore, for the scheme to be implemented in 2-3 months. "Delhi Metro is on board. I have asked for a detailed report from them in seven days," he told reporters at a press conference. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) refused to comment on the announcement. The Centre and the city government have 50 per cent equity each in the Delhi Metro. As per the mandate, if Delhi government wants to introduce a scheme, it will have to inform or take approval from the central government. "Delhi government will have to send a file of the proposal to the Lt Governor for approval as the Centre has a 50 per cent stake in Delhi Metro," an official source said, making it clear that the move is likely to face hurdles as the scheme's feasibility is yet to be ascertained. The Delhi government may find it difficult to implement the plan as there are other agencies involved such as the finance department, LG's office and Housing and Urban Development Affairs Ministry, sources said. They said there is also a fixation committee of the DMRC, which is quasi judicial, and it will have to look into whether there is a role for the committee in this scheme. "No permission from Centre is required because Delhi government will bear the entire cost. Around Rs 700-800 crore is estimated cost for subsidy for the remaining months of the current year, which will be borne the by Delhi government," Kejriwal asserted however. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari dubbed the move "populist" and said Kejriwal "seems to have lost his mental balance" and was making the announcement in view of the coming assembly election. He is trying to recover the ground his party lost in Lok Sabha polls, Tiwari said. "We do not oppose the move but it's inspired by coming assembly elections. It's one more promise by Kejriwal which is aimed to mislead people," Tiwari told reporters. But, when asked if the proposal was prompted by the coming assembly election, Kejriwal said there is no "Shubh Muhurt" (auspicious time) to do "good" things. He said Delhi Transport Corporation and Delhi Metro officers have been given one week to submit detailed reports on the plan. He said women who can afford expenses of public transport travel will be encouraged to shun the subsidy. A lot of formalities are to be attended for implementing the decision and a special session of the Delhi Assembly will have to be called for budgetary provisions, he said. The government will seek suggestions from people on how to implement the scheme. The chief minister rejected the suggestion the move will lead to congestion in Metro trains. He said around 1,000 buses will be rolled out by November to boost the DTC fleet. "In next 12 months, around 3,000 new buses will be physically delivered," he said. Citing data, he said around 30-33 per cent daily ridership in buses and Metro trains comprises women commuters. "The step will not lead to congestion in Delhi Metro trains as daily ridership will increase by just one lakh. Currently 25 lakh people travel by Metro trains every day," he said. DTC buses have a daily ridership of 40 lakh and the DTC and the Delhi Integrated Multi Modal System (DIMTS)-run cluster buses number around 5,500. There are marshals in all DTC buses for safety of women passengers and directions have been given to depute them on cluster buses as well. All buses will be equipped with CCTV cameras, he said. Kejriwal said work on installing nearly 1.50 lakh CCTV cameras across the city will begin from June 8 and will be completed by December. A proposal for another 1.40 lakh CCTV cameras will be floated this month, he said. Also, 1.5 lakh CCTV cameras are being installed in government schools and the work will be completed by November, he added. "These are two major announcements which will boost the safety of women who feel quite unsafe in the the city," the chief minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court Monday dismissed a plea that sought a stay on the release of Salman Khan-starrer "Bharat" on the grounds that it is "inappropriate" to name a film after the official name of the country. The film is slated for release on June 5. A vacation bench of justices J R Midha and Chander Shekhar said it was of the view that the petition was filed to draw mileage from it and the plea was premature as the petitioner has not yet seen the movie. The court also pulled up petitioner Vikas Tyagi for circulating the petition in the media before it was listed. The plea had said that the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act prohibited the use of the name 'Bharat' for any trade, business, profession, or in a title of any patent and in any trademark. The petition had said that according to the Constitution, 'Bharat' is the official name of the country and it was inappropriate to name a film after it. "I feel it is not appropriate to name such film or any character associated with this film after our great nation. It is distorting the cultural and political image of our great country 'Bharat'...," it had alleged. It had also sought directions to director Ali Abbas Zafar, production houses Real Life Production Pvt Ltd and Salman Khan Films, actor Salman Khan, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Centre to change any dialogue that was related to 'Bharat' and where the character has been compared with the country. The plea had further sought an interim stay on the release of the film. It has claimed that the movie was "merely a shameless, cunning stratagem to encash the deep-rooted feeling for our country". "The court will have to put an end to such tricks to encash the people's patriotic sentiments," the plea had said. It had added that though there was nothing objectionable in the movie, when it was linked with our nation, it is inappropriate to correlate content of movie with its title. "A 'country' whose tradition and culture have been running for thousands of years cannot be exhibited by any single character or contained in any character," the plea had said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court said it will hear on Monday itself a plea seeking a stay on the release of Salman Khan starrer "Bharat" on the grounds that the film named after the nation will distort its cultural and political image. The film is slated to release on June 5. The plea was mentioned for urgent hearing before a vacation bench of Justices J R Midha and Chander Shekhar which said it will hear it today itself. The plea said the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act prohibited the use of the name 'Bharat' for any trade, business, profession, or in a title of any patent and in any trademark. The petition, filed by one Vikas Tyagi, said that according to the Constitution, 'Bharat' is the official name of the country and it was inappropriate to name a film after it. "I feel it is not appropriate to name such film or any character associated with this film after our great nation. It is distorting the cultural and political image of our great country 'Bharat'...," it alleged. It has also sought directions to director Ali Abbas Zafar, production houses Real Life production Pvt Ltd and Salman Khan films, actor Salman Khan, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Centre to change any dialogue that was related to 'Bharat' and where the character has been compared with the country. The plea has further sought an interim stay on the release of the film. It has claimed that the movie was "merely a shameless, cunning stratagem to encash the deep-rooted feeling for our country". "The court will have to put an end to such tricks to encash the people's patriotic sentiments," the plea said. It added that though there was nothing objectionable in the movie, when it was linked with our nation it is inappropriate to correlate content of movie with its title. "A 'country' whose tradition and culture have been running for thousands of years cannot be exhibited by any single character or contained in any character," the plea said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ajit Doval began his second term as the National Security Advisor with an elevated stature equivalent to that of a Union Cabinet minister, according to an official order made public on Monday. A 1968-batch IPS officer who retired as Intelligence Bureau chief in 2005, Doval's appointment is the first key posting announced by the Narendra Modi government after assuming office for a second term on May 30. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment for a five-year period with effect from May 31, 2019 and it will be co-terminus with the term of the prime minister, the order said. "During the term of his office, he will be assigned the rank of Cabinet Minister," the order said. This makes Doval, 74, as the first NSA who has been appointed for two consecutive terms. He was appointed to the post on May 30, 2014 and he was given a stature that of a Minister of State sometime in September that year after the Chinese side insisted for ministerial-level talks. During his first tenure, Doval is believed to have played a pivotal role in the surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Uri terror attack. He has been widely hailed for his contribution in the national security domain, including his role during the Balakot air strike after the Pulwama terror attack, officials said. Having the distinction of being the first police officer who received 'Kirti Chakra', a military honour, Doval will be providing his deep insight about the threats faced by the country from within and outside. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra in 1988 for conducting anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and bringing Mizo insurgent leader Laldenga to the negotiating table by winning over six of his seven commanders. He had also clandestinely entered Myanmar and China to break the dominance of Mizo insurgent outfit. After a few years in uniform, he worked with the Intelligence Bureau for over 33 years during which he had served in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. He served in the UK as well. Doval, known as one of the best operational brains in intelligence circles, was one of the main negotiators from India with the hijackers of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar in 1999. After his retirement from service, he had been running Delhi-based NGO Vivekananda International Foundation, which provided a platform for dialogue and conflict resolutions. Known for his clear insight into and vision on Indian and global security issues, Doval has spoken extensively at home and abroad on strengthening the Indian security apparatus and forging closer cooperation among security forces globally. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Students complained against the non-functioning "edit" option in admission forms on the second Open Day at the Delhi University (DU) on Monday. This year, students have been given the option to edit their forms once by paying a fee of Rs 100, but this has not been made functional yet. This year, the students will also have an option of "Eligibility Check", under which they will be able to check whether they meet the minimum eligibility criteria for a course, which will be made active when the first cut-off is announced on June 20. A woman, who had come to the DU's Open Day, said, "My niece, who studied under the Tamil Nadu state board, had keyed in her internal assessment marks, along with her board exam marks. But the DU does not accept the internal assessment marks, so she wanted to edit her form, but was not able to do it." An official said, "We are checking how many students would need the option. We have received nine such requests and this option will be made active from Tuesday." Another query that the officials received was regarding the non-functioning online calculator, which, parents said, was not taking into account the highest marks scored in certain subjects, but was picking up subjects with low scores. An official said the facility had not been made functional till now. Another official, however, said the online calculator had not been successful and they were trying to rectify it by the time the cut-offs were announced. Parents also complained about the delay in receiving the OTP (one-time password) after registering on the admission portal, but officials said it might be due to high traffic and asked them not worry. Till Monday, 1,92,213 aspirants had registered on the portal and 98,728 of them had made payments. Of the total number of registrations, 62,868 aspirants are in the unreserved category, 16,874 in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category, 14,348 in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category, 2,904 in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category and 1,734 in the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) category. The DU will also commence its registration process for post-graduate, MPhil and PhD admissions from Monday night. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi university has written to the Centre to direct the AAP government to initiate the process of issuing EWS certificates after several students raised the matter at the second 'open day' of the varsity on Monday. The university organises 'open days' for parents and students every year to resolve their queries about filling up the online forms, the admission process and the criterion for admission in the varsity. The first 'open day' was held on May 31. Several students, who had come to the varsity on the first 'open day, came back with similar queries and said their respective SDMs are still not aware about any EWS certificate they have to issue. Officials from the varsity said that letters have been sent to the HRD Ministry and the Ministry Of Social Justice and Empowerment to direct the Delhi government to notify its SDMs to issue the certificates. Rasal Singh, member of the DU's Academic Council Monday said, "DU has written letters to the HRD Ministry and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment urging them to direct Delhi government to initiate the process of issuing certificates. This move (not issuing EWS certificates) of Delhi government is depriving students the benefits of the scheme." Meanwhile, Delhi Revenue Minister Kailash Gahlot told PTI that there was issue and the district magistrates will soon be notified to start issuing the EWS certificates. "We have already issued the notification. There was some issue in vetting of the notification by the law department. The divisional commissioner will be notifying the DMs of the various districts," Gahlot said. Officials at the varsity said that till Sunday, out of over 1.63 lakh registrations, only 1357 students had registered under the EWS category. "The students can upload acknowledgement receipts and in case the government notifies it later by next week, we will accept acknowledgement receipts and students will have the option of submitting them later. We might also start a special drive for students," another official said. Earlier in today, a student informed an admission official about the EWS issue. The admission official told him to approach the area MLA if the issue is not resolved. "If the SDM says they are not aware about the issue, approach the DM and if that also doesn't suffice, inform about the issue to your area MLA," the admission official told the worried aspirant. This year, the DU has effected a 10-per cent seat increase in the EWS category and there will be a rise of close to 6,000 seats, taking the total number of seats for undergraduate courses to 62,000. There will be separate cut-offs for the students in the EWS category. In January, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had cleared 10 per cent quota in and government jobs to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of general category. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Gulf carrier Emirates is looking for more seats to offer on the Dubai-India route, which has not seen an increase in bilateral rights for the last five years, and expects discussions to restart between the two governments, a top official said. Emirates, the flagship carrier of Dubai, flies to nine destinations in India and has also entered into a preliminary pact for a code share with low-cost carrier SpiceJet. "The bilateral (air traffic) rights between India and Dubai is the biggest single problem. Now, the elections are over and the Modi government is back in power. I am hoping that the talks would (between India and Dubai) reopen," President Tim Clark said here. Bilateral rights refers to an agreement between two countries that allows each other's airlines to operate services with a specific number of seats. The existing bilateral rights allows carriers from Dubai and India to offer nearly 1,30,000 seats per week on their flights to each other's territory. "There has been no seat increase between India and Dubai for the last five years... Dubai-India is (one of) the most profitable routes. It was for Jet Airways, would be IndiGo for SpiceJet and Air India and Air India Express. Bless Them!," Clark said. Against this backdrop, he said it makes a whole lot of sense for the Indian government to open up the opportunity. For instance, if Jet Airways had more access into Dubai, it would have alleviated the cash flow problems of the airline, he said. Jet Airways, which also had a significant number of flights to Gulf region, including Dubai, has temporarily suspended operations due to cash crunch in mid-April. Dubai has two carriers, Emirates and Flydubai. The latter also flies to India. Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and IndiGo operate flights to Dubai. Indian airlines have been raising concerns about Gulf carriers taking away overseas traffic from the country. "What traffic are we taking away when they are flying full? That is a strange logic. "The biggest beneficiaries of the increased capacity (foreign flying rights) have been the Indian carriers. Now, what is stopping them from saying that India could have some more. I don't know. It does not make any sense to me. Lot of things do not make sense there and that is where we are," Clark said. He also said that Air India had everything on a plate for 50 years but they could not perform and it is a "real pity". "What has happened in the meantime with a population of 1.2 billion and transforming economy, Air India should have been the size of Emirates today with that market base," he noted. Emirates launched flights to Delhi and Mumbai from Dubai in 1985. Currently, it flies to nine Indian destinations -- Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram - with more than 170 weekly flights. Speaking on the sidelines of a conference organised by International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Sunday, Clark expressed hope that with elections over, the current government would be able to focus more on the aviation sector. On whether India is looking to protect its carriers, Clark wondered why would someone protect a market that is giving high returns. "Yes, you can keep other carriers out, but during the whole of liberalisations that we saw in the 10 years between 2004 and 2014, India was on the move. Airlines were coming in, things were happening and suddenly it was all shut down. It is a great disservice to the economy of India and also the people of India, who are travelling. "Look at the people we take from the US and everywhere. Air India should have been there in places in the US, South America, South Africa and at all places, where we are going. The opportunity is there and it is for everybody," he said. In April, Emirates and SpiceJet inked a preliminary pact for a reciprocal code share agreement. The partnership would open new routes and destinations for passengers travelling between India and destinations across Africa, America, Europe and the Middle East. Subject to necessary government approvals, the partnership would enable Emirates' passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity on flights to India, leveraging SpiceJet's strong domestic presence and adding six new destinations: Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Mangalore, Madurai and Calicut, Emirates said in April. Regarding the partnership with SpiceJet, Clark expressed hope that it would bring some good results for Emirates. Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline. Emirates Group employs more than 13,707 Indian nationals globally, constituting 21 per cent of its workforce. The carrier flies to 159 destinations in 86 countries and territories, according to a press release issued by the airline in April. Ensuring users remain in control of their data is a key focus area for Facebook that is working on allowing users to seamlessly connect with others across its platforms like Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp, according to Facebook Chief Technology Officer Mike Schroepfer. At its annual developers meet 'F8', Facebook had announced that it is working on bringing in interoperability across the three messaging platforms while ensuring that the communication is end-to-end encrypted. "I want to be able to reach my friends (across these platforms) but I want to be in control (of the data)...And getting that right is the thing we are working on," Schroepfer told PTI. Facebook has started these discussions early so that it can engage with governments and safety experts globally on aspects like encryption and safety while the design process is on, he added. "If there are choices to make, we can make them together. This (user data safety) is a top concern for how we're building our products," he emphasised. Schroepfer said it is difficult to say by when interoperability between the messaging platforms will be available. "When we connect them together, a WhatsApp user can send a message to a friend on Messenger. We want to assure you that protection of your data is the same as it was if you were to send a message to another WhatsApp user... getting that right is part of why this is taking time," he explained. The social media giant has faced flak globally for instances of data breach that affected millions of users. It has recently outlined its vision of building a "privacy-focussed" social platform to ensure that conversations stay private, and that user data is secure across its products like Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. The company had said this vision is based on six principles - private interactions, encryption, reducing permanence, safety, interoperability and secure data storage - and would be applicable across features like private messaging, groups, payments, and even location sharing. The US-based company is re-building the architecture of 'Messenger' from the ground up to be faster and lighter and it will begin to roll out later this year. It is also working on rolling out payments feature on WhatsApp - currently being tested in India with about one million users - in some other countries by the end of the year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Industry body Ficci Monday called for a dialogue between India and the US to find a workable solution on America's decision to roll back export incentives to domestic players under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme. "With the new government in place, we should resort to dialogue and try to reverse the US decision of termination of benefits under GSP for Indian products," Ficci said in a statement. The US has said it will withdraw incentives provided to Indian exporters under its GSP programme with effect from June 5, a move that could impact exports worth USD 5.6 billion to the US from India. It also said the US decision will have short-term impact on bilateral trade, but this should be seen in the overall context of US actions to protect its trade interests globally. "If not resolved amicably, it may, however, impact the spirit of India-US relationship which has a huge growth potential," it said adding the bilateral relationship needs to be seen by both the countries from a larger canvas and a long-term strategic cooperation in defence, energy and geo-strategic opportunities like the Indo-Pacific. It said India has displayed lot of goodwill by not retaliating on steel and aluminium tariffs by the US. "We seek similar understanding from the US on such issues," it added. The chamber said that in 2017, USD 5.6 billion worth of products were exported by India to the US under the GSP. The goods exported under this scheme were primarily intermediaries and played an important complementary role for US manufacturers. "The withdrawal of GSP benefits would hurt these US manufacturers by adversely impacting their cost advantage," Ficci said adding the trade deficit is also coming down with India's growing strategic engagement with the US particularly in the oil and gas, defence and aviation sectors. The requirement imposed by India on the dairy and milk products, that the products be derived from animals which have never consumed any feeds containing internal organs, blood meal, or tissues of ruminant origin are in line with the sentiments of the society at large. The other issue, it said, on price control on medical devices is not to restrict imports but in order to make essential medical devices affordable to a large section of the population. "Indians spend only 6 per cent of their income on health and education, and income levels are low due to which price control of medicines and medical devices are important," the chamber said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Justice Ayelet Shaked are targeted by the Prime Minister. The two politicians thank the citizens but do not provide explanations regarding their expulsion. The provision allows Netanyahu to use vacancies with a view to pre-election bargaining. Tel Aviv (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fired two leading ministers from the executive - which will lead the country to the new (early) September elections. The provision confirms the crisis situation and the deep political rifts, even within the same majority coalition, in a nation called twice to vote in less than a year. An official source close to Prime Minister Netanyahu's government cabinet confirms that the Minister of Education Naftali Bennett and of Justice Ayelet Shaked are the ones being fired. At the moment there is no more information on the reasons that led to the move. Bennet and Shaked are both right-wing politicians, rivals to the current prime minister, and left the Likud ruling party earlier this year. Their new line-up, also positioned on the right, failed to win enough votes to cross the threshold and enter Parliament (the Knesset). At the moment their new participation in the September 17th elections is not confirmed. The two (now ex) ministers have released a note in which they confirm the replacement and thank the Israeli citizens, without giving more details. In recent weeks, the Prime Minister Netanyahu failed to form a government by the deadline set for May 30th. In order not to risk being ousted from the leadership in favor of increasingly fierce rivals, he has decided to take the risk and call for new elections. The move has, in fact, taken away from President Reuven Rivlin the possibility of entrusting the exploratory mandate for the birth of an executive to others. In the past, Netanyahu and Bennet have repeatedly clashed over events linked to the country's political and social life; however, to date the reasons behind the dismissal are not clear. Both have previously served on Netanyahu's security committee. The Jerusalem Post re-launched sources close to the Prime Minister, according to which their role had no reason to be, following the resounding rejection by voters. Finally, their dismissal allows Netanyahu to use vacancies with a view to pre-election bargaining. A former Samajwadi Party legislator Monday proposed building a memorial of former defence minister George Fernandes. The proposal came as friends and family of Fernandes paid tributes to the socialist leader on his 90th birth anniversary. "When George died, a proposal was mooted that some of his remains be kept somewhere to remember him. But according to the wishes of (his wife) Leila Kabir, christian traditions were followed during last rites. "A part of his remains is still lying with one of his Buddhist followers. So if anyone is interested, these remains can be placed at a memorial like those of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar," former Samajwadi Party MLA Sunilam said. He said since Fernandes was part of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, the current dispensation could easily build such a memorial. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari Monday alleged that the AAP government's proposal to make metro and bus travel free for women is a "desperate bid to buy votes". The BJP leader said Kejriwal is making such announcements because he's fast losing ground in Delhi. "It seems he's lost his mind... 'ghoshna mantri' (announcement minister) has made another announcement to make people laugh... he made 70 promises and all are lies," he told reporters. "After the tight slap of defeat, he started the process for implementing 10 per cent reservation for economically weaker sections. He's making such announcements to hold onto his ground in Delhi. It's a desperate bid to buy votes," Tiwari said. The BJP leader, however, made it clear that he's not against giving free rides to women in buses and the Delhi Metro. "We are not against the idea. There is no problem in giving free rides to women, but where are the buses? The AAP is befooling people," he alleged. The BJP's Delhi unit has plans for free rides to all in government buses, but we will not make any tall promises, Tiwari said. Attacking the Kejriwal government over insufficient number of buses in the city, he said, "Around one crore women in the city will need 20,000 buses, but we have just 3,500-3,800. Where will they sit?" The AAP government had also promised to deploy marshals and install panic buttons in DTC buses, but failed to deliver on its promise, he said. Tiwari claimed Kejriwal will make many more such announcements to "ensnare the gullible people." "He has lost his mental balance. People should be cautious of him". People need to support the BJP against "nakampanthi (failure) and divide and rule" policy of the Kejriwal government, he added. "Can he do in three months what he failed to do in 52 months? In five years, Modi has become synonymous with faith and confidence, while Kejriwal has become a curse," Tiwari alleged. Free bus travel for everyone can be ensured but it needs planning, he said, adding first electric buses need to be brought in to curb pollution. The AAP's vote share in the capital dipped alarmingly in the Lok Sabha polls, from 33 per cent in 2014 to 18.1 per cent this time. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chief executives of top-30 French companies from sectors such as defence and aerospace Monday held discussions with senior officials of the commerce and industry ministry for increasing investments in India, IFCCI said. The Indo-French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IFCCI) also released a white paper based on a survey of French companies in India on the means of improving ease of doing business. The paper, it said, has recommended few reforms for French businesses that want to set up business in India. It has suggested for wider adoption of single-window clearance formats, time-bound approval of grants and a timely follow-up of tax and infrastructure incentives provided to the private sector. The CEOs met secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Ramesh Abhishek and his team. It said France is currently one of the top investors in India with more than 600 established companies here employing more than 3,50,000 persons. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Telangana government Monday released Rs 6,900 crore for implementation of its investment support scheme for farmers. "Budget Release Order issued for an amount of Rs 6900,00,00,000 towards meeting the expenditure for Investment Support Scheme. Administrative Sanction accorded," according to a Government Order (GO). The financial assistance to farmers under the scheme has been enhanced from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per acre per season this year, according to a GO issued earlier. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Markets regulator Sebi has barred ABL Biotechnologies for at least five years from securities market for manipulating issuance of global depository receipts (GDRs). Clifford Capital Partners and Kollenmareth Oomman Isaac are also banned for five years from the securities market, according to Sebi. As per the order, Issac was the managing director of ABL at the time of violation. The regulator also directed ABL to continue efforts to recover an outstanding sum of USD 6.64 million (about Rs 46 crore) from Clifford Capital Partners, the only subscriber of the company's GDRs. Sebi had conducted an investigation into the issue of GDRs by ABL and observed that the firm had issued 8.2 lakh GDRs for USD 6.68 million on June 20, 2008. The investigation revealed that all the 8.2 lakh GDRs were subscribed by only one entity, Clifford Capital Partners. The subscription amount for GDRs was paid by Clifford Capital Partners after securing a loan from Lisbon-based bank Banco Efisa. However, ABL had pledged the GDR proceeds to Banco bank against the loan given to Clifford Capital Partners for subscribing GDRs, Sebi said. "The GDR issue would not have been subscribed if ABL had not given such a security towards the loan taken by Clifford," Sebi said in an order dated May 31. By entering into such an arrangement and not disclosing the same to investors, the firm led investors to believe that its GDR issue was successful whereas the same was subscribed by only one entity, the regulator said. Regarding Clifford Capital Partners, the regulator said that it had actively participated with ABL in the fraudulent scheme of issue of GDR. By indulging in such activities, all three entities violated the PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) regulations, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said. Accordingly, Sebi barred ABL from the securities market for five years from the date it brings back USD 6.64 million from Clifford Capital Partners to its bank account, while Issac and Clifford Capital Partners were banned for five years from the date of order. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Revising its draft education policy, the Centre Monday dropped the contentious provision of compulsory teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states after the three-language proposal sparked outrage, mainly in Tamil Nadu. The DMK and other parties in Tamil Nadu, which had strongly opposed the proposal in the 484-page draft National Education Policy(NEP) to make Hindi a mandatory third language to be taught in schools across the country, welcomed the Centre's decision. The parties had alleged that the move was tantamount to thrusting the Hindi language on the non-Hindi speaking states. "Students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations some time during secondary school," the revised draft of the NEP said. In the earlier draft, the panel proposed mandatory teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. "Students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6, so long as the study of three languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English," the earlier draft policy said. Tamil Nadu had always resisted the "imposition" of Hindi. In 1965, the state witnessed violent protests against a proposal that Hindi would be India's only official language. Karnataka Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy Sunday said one language should not be imposed on others in the name of three-language formula. The DMK on Monday said the Centre's decision showed that late party patriarch M Karunanidhi was "living," apparently suggesting that it was a success to his legacy of opposing "imposition" of Hindi. After presiding over a meet of his party district secretaries, MPs, and MLAs, DMK president M K Stalin said in a tweet: "At a time when we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Thalaivar (leader) Kalaignar (late Karunanidhi), the Central government withdrawing the Hindi compulsory subject clause shows that Kalaignar is living." "Let us guard mother Tamil always breaking up the hegemonic imposition of Hindi," he said. The DMK on Monday celebrated the 95th birth anniversary of Karunanidhi, a former chief minister who passed away last August. Hours before, the party meet said it would democratically fight tooth and nail any decision that may imperil the two-language formula in force in Tamil Nadu for five decades. A resolution adopted in the meeting said: "This meet categorically states that the DMK will democratically fight tooth and nail any decision that may imperil the two language policy in force in Tamil Nadu." It cautioned the BJP-led government at the Centre to "not play with the sentiments of the Tamil people."Since 1968, after the DMK stormed to power in 1967 under the leadership of Dravidian stalwart and party founder C N Annadurai, a two-language formula of Tamil and English was being followed in the state. The PMK, an ally of the BJP, alleged that the recommendation was for imposition of Hindi and wanted the scrapping of the proposal. Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman welcomed the Centre's decision. "Draft(NEP)policy corrected. Beautiful solution,'" he tweeted. "It was a draft report and not a policy yet. We have sought feedback from various stakeholders. The committee has modified the earlier draft and made some changes," a Human Resource Development Ministry official said in Delhi.. According to the revised draft, the modular board examinations for language proficiency would test only basic proficiency in each language. "Such a change in language choice in Grade 6 would certainly be feasible if the student so desires and would in such cases be supported by teachers and the schooling system." Union minister Prakash Javadekar, who had the formed the panel when he was the HRD minister in the previous term, earlier asserted that no language should be imposed on anyone. He clarified that the committee had only prepared a draft report and no decision had been taken on implementing it. Congress leader and former chief minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah said no attempt should be made to impose Hindi forcefully. "Nothing should be done against our opinion. There is no need for three languages. English and Kannada are there... they are enough. Kannada is our mother tongue, so primacy should be given to Kannada," he said. He told reporters in Mysuru that there would be no compromise on the issues of Karnataka's water, land and language. Asserting that no attempt should be made to impose Hindi forcefully, Siddaramaiah said, "If they are making a three-language policy, then it will be like forceful imposition." "Did we ask for Hindi? If it is done without our consent it will be forceful. It will be unilateral decision. We will also protest," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tamil Nadu government informed the Madras High Court on Monday that it was expecting Governor Banwarilal Purohit will pass an order on the cabinet recommendation for the release of all the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case within two weeks. The submission was made by the government counsel before a bench of justices M M Sundresh and M Nirmal Kumar during the hearing of a petition filed by Robert Payas, one of the seven convicts serving life term in the case, seeking his release. Recording the submission, the bench adjourned the petition by four weeks. In a related development, a petition filed by another convict in the case, Nalini, seeking a direction to the governor's office for steps to release all the seven convicts, was adjourned by four weeks by a bench of justices R Subbiah and C Saravanan. It passed the order after the public prosecutor submitted that the court would be informed about the status from the governor's office on the plea within four weeks. The state cabinet had, on September 9 last year, recommended to the governor the release of Nalini, her husband Sriharan alias Murugan, Perarivalan, Payas, Jayakumar, Ravichandran and Santhan. The government made the recommendation after the Supreme Court, on September 6 last year, disposed of a related petition filed by the Centre, saying the Tamil Nadu governor was at liberty to decide a mercy petition filed by Perarivalan. Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber on May 21, 1991 during an election rally at nearby Sriperumbudur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) After his election to the Lok Sabha from Kurukshetra constituency, Nayab Singh Saini resigned from the Council of Ministers in the Manohar Lal Khattar cabinet. Haryana Governor Satyadeo Narain Arya, on the recommendation of chief minister, has accepted Saini's resignation on Monday, an official spokesman said here. He was the Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Mines and Geology in the Khattar cabinet. Saini, who was the sitting MLA from Naraingarh assembly segment, has also resigned as legislator after his election to Parliament. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Bombay High Court Monday quashed and set aside the order of a sessions court sentencing a man to death for rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl while directing the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 10 lakh for "negligent investigation" to the parents of the deceased. A division bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and P D Naik was hearing an appeal filed by one Nazir Khan challenging a March 2016 order of the sessions court which sentenced him to death under rape and murder charges. The bench quashed and set aside Khan's conviction and death sentence, but held him guilty under section 201 of the Indian Penal Code for destruction of evidence, and sentenced him to seven years in jail. Observing that police failed to carry out proper investigation in the case, the bench noted that the material on record did not conclusively prove that the girl was killed or raped. According to prosecution, the girl had gone missing from near her home in suburban Vile Parle in January 2012. Her body was later found in a nearby dump. After initially registering a case of accidental death, police later arrested Khan for allegedly raping and killing the girl, and dumping her body. Defence lawyer Yug Chaudhary said that Khan had told police and later to the trial court that the girl had died in an accident after a huge plywood fell on her. Khan had only attempted to dispose of her body so that he is not held responsible for her death, Chuadhary argued. The HC noted that police did not carry the investigation in consistence with the requirements of law relating to the circumstantial evidence. The bench observed that the circumstantial evidence was not sufficient to rule out accidental death. "In a case based upon circumstantial evidence, the prosecution has to indicate a chain of circumstances which is so complete that it does not permit implication of any other person except accused. The chain has to, therefore, unerringly point at accused only as the person responsible for the offence. It also has to rule out involvement or possibility of involvement of any other person," the high court said. The bench noted that the material on record in the present case did not record a finding of rape and also did not show a culpable homicide. "It (the material) also does not rule out an accidental death. Therefore, whether plywood sheets stored in the godown, where the accused person worked, slipped and fell on the deceased victim because of its negligent storing or then because of some human act is the moot question which needed investigation and answer. "Unfortunately, in the present matter investigating officer has not brought on record any material in that respect," it said. The judges noted that it was impossible now to find out the truth behind the death of the girl as many years have passed since the incident. "But omission to conduct proper investigation definitely entitles family of the victim to reasonable compensation from the state government," the bench said. "We direct the state government to pay to the parents of the victim an amount of Rs 10 lakh for negligent investigation into death of their daughter on January 1, 2012," the judges stated. The bench said the government should recover the amount from the concerned investigating officer and/or others found guilty of lack of diligence in investigation, after proper inquiry and procedure. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A group of Hindu seers on Monday decided that they will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying "Hindus" have reelected him with a huge majority to complete the task. The meeting was organised here by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and attended by its national vice president Champat Rai. "Hindu seers will soon be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue of early construction of the temple," said Ram Janambhoomi Nyas president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. The Nyas is a trust to promote construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Das, who presided over the meeting, also said, "Hindus have elected Modi and (Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. So it is their responsibility to get a grand Ram temple built on the disputer site at the earliest." Reacting to the VHP meet, Dinendra Das, the Mahant of Nirmohi Akhara, the main litigant in the case from the Hindu side, said, "The VHP meeting has no relevance as the land of Ram Janambhoomi belongs to Nirmohi Akhara and we have worshipped Lord Ram there for ages." "We want the construction of Ram Temple in a peaceful way," he added. The main litigant from the Muslim side, Iqbal Ansari, termed the VHP meet a "political stunt". "The matter of Babri Masjid and Ram Janambhoomi is pending before the Supreme Court. We must wait for the final verdict," he said. Mahant Kanhayya Das, president of Sant Samiti of Ayodhya, said the Hindu seers believe that the Muslim community in India is "satisfied" with the Modi and Yogi governments. "So both the governments must not waste time in deciding on the construction of Ram Mandir," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Ecumenism that is "journeying together", Europe that must regain "the dream of its founding fathers" and ethics in politics "a politician must never, never sow hatred and fear" were the main themes of the press conference held by Pope Francis, as usual on his return flight from Romania from Sibiu, in Romania, to Rome. The question on ecumenism was aroused by the clearly very friendly encounter with the Orthodox patriarch Daniel. Ecumenism, Francis replied, is done by walking, going together, praying together. We have blood ecumenism in history: when they killed them, Christians did not ask: are you Catholic? Are you orthodox? Are you Lutheran? They asked: are you a Christian? There is the ecumenism of testimony, of blood and then the ecumenism of the poor, working together to help the poor, the sick, the ill, as we read in chapter 25 of Matthew. Walking together, but don't wait for theologians to agree to arrive at the common Eucharist. Ecumenism is made together with works of charity and loving each other . Francis also spoke in response to a question about the fact that "we see that in Europe the number of those who do not want fraternity and prefer to walk alone is growing". "I spoke of this problem in Strasbourg and when I received the Charlemagne prize and then the speech with heads of state and government in the Vatican on the anniversary of the European pacts. And there is also a fifth speech, with the Burgomaster of Aachen. Europe does not have to say: deal with it and move on: we are all responsible for the European Union and the circulation of the EU presidency is not a gesture of courtesy but a symbol of the responsibility that each of the countries has. If Europe does not take on in full future challenges it will wither. I said that Europe from mother is becoming a grandmother, perhaps someone can secretly ask: won't it be the end of the adventure that began 70 years ago? We need to recover the dream of the founding fathers, rediscover Europe and overcome the divisions of borders, each country has its own identity and must guard it, but I pray Europe will not allow itself to be overcome by pessimism and ideologies because it is attacked by ideologies and small interest groups are born in Europe. Think of the divided Europe, let's learn from history, let's not go back . Responding to a question on Italian politics, Francis admitted that "I do not understand Italian politics". "I am Italian - he added - because I am the son of Italian emigrants: in my blood I am Italian. My brothers, everyone has citizenship. I did not want to have it because in the time they acquired it I was a bishop, and I said: "No, the bishop must be from the fatherland," and I did not want to take it. And that's why I don't have it. There is - he continued - in the politics of many countries - many - the disease of corruption: everywhere. Everywhere: Now don't say tomorrow "the Pope said that Italian politics is corrupt": no. I have said that one of the diseases of politics, everywhere, is slipping on corruption ... it is universal. Please, eh? Don't make me say what I didn't say. And once they told me how political pacts are: figured a meeting of nine entrepreneurs at the table; they discuss to agree on the development of their businesses and eventually, after hours and hours and coffee and coffee and coffee, they agree. They took the minutes, they do the summary, they read it ... do you agree? Agree. While they do it they take a whiskey to celebrate and then they start drawing up papers to sign the agreement. The moment the papers are passed, under the table, me and him... well make another deal under the table. This is political corruption, which is done a little everywhere. We must help politicians to be honest, not to campaign with dishonest flags - slander, defamation, scandals ... And often, sow hatred and fear: this is terrible. A politician must never, never sow hatred and fear. Only hope. Fair, demanding: but hope. Because he or she must lead the country, and not make it fear ". Finally, replying to a journalist, who reminded him that he said that for him Benedict XVI is like a grandfather, Francis replied: Every time I go to visit him I feel it like that. I take his hand and make him talk. He speaks little, he speaks slowly but with the same depth as ever. Because Benedict's problem is his knees, not his head: he has a great lucidity and gives me strength, I feel the nourishment of my roots and it helps me to move forward. I feel this tradition of the Church which is not a museum thing. Tradition is like the roots, which gives you the nourishment to grow and you will not become like the roots, no: you will flourish, the tree will grow, you will bear fruit and the seeds will be roots for others. The tradition of the Church is always in motion ". Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei Monday said its engagement with the Indian government for 5G trials has been "positive" and hoped that India will make its "own independent decision" on the issue. The comments assume significance as the newly-appointed Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad earlier in the day alluded to the contentious issue of whether or not Huawei will be allowed to participate in the upcoming 5G trials saying it is a "complex issue" and will be looked at seriously including security aspects. "I think it's the right time for DoT to make the decision after almost 6-8 months of very close engagement.. They are quite happy and positive in the engagement," Huawei Telecommunications India CEO Jay Chen said on the sidelines of a COAI panel discussion on 5G. He further stated that "US puts a lot of pressure on many governments but I believe Indian government will make their own independent decision". "They (Indian government) know what's the right decision, how to make the right decision... I believe the decision (will be) based on level playing field... We are benefit to the industry and the nation, that's what I believe," he said. Prasad, who assumed charge of the Telecom Ministry Monday, said the Huawei issue will have to be looked into "seriously" including security aspect. "We will take a firm view on it. There are also security issues...it is not only a matter of technology, as regard their participtation in 5G is concerned...Participation of 5G is not conditional upon the trial being started. Whether a particular company is allowed to participate or not, is a complex question including security issues," Prasad had said. Last month, the Trump administration had placed Huawei and its affiliates on a blacklist, a move that essentially banned the Chinese telecom equipment company from purchasing parts and components from American firms without the US government approval. The US had subsequently relaxed some of the restrictions, to reduce disruption for its customers. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the COAI event, Vodafone Idea CEO Balesh Sharma said the company is planning to conduct 5G trials with two vendors - Huawei and Ericsson. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A whopping amount was spent in 2019 polls and the scale of expenditure should "scare us," a city-based think-tank Monday claimed. The Centre for Media Studies after releasing a report on 2019 polls expenditure, also claimed the recently-concluded election has signalled that the more the expenditure, the "more vicious and ugly" the campaigns become. At a function held at the IIC here, a panel discussion was also held in which former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi also participated. The CMS, in its report has claimed that about Rs 60,000 crore were spent in the 2019 elections, and the formal expenditure component, i.e. the amount spent by the Election Commission is nearly 15-20 per cent of that." "The scale of the expenditure should scare us and compel us to think of taking corrective steps to build a stronger democracy," CMS's chairman N Bhaskara Rao said. The report has also claimed that, on an average "nearly Rs 100 crores per Lok Sabha constituency has been spent". "It is high time the Parliament deliberate on poll expenditure for campaigns, and about election funding, preceded by serious national discussions," the report said. Rao said, the idea of publishing the report was to present a "larger picture" on poll spending to people, as there are other components also involved in it, such as money spent on campaigns, logistics, and other miscellaneous cost, which are "not factored in", he said. He also said, different political parties were "invited" but "no representatives from any party" turned up for the event, adding the report is based on various studies conducted by the CMS. "For a different reason, also the 2019 Lok Sabha poll was a watershed election. This was how major source of poll funding is now corporate and in the name of transparency, anonymity is promoted in that process," the report claimed. 'Crowd funding' where citizen and community contributes for campaigns is "no longer a sought after source. Is this good for vibrancy of democracy or not one could wonder? Can we save India from being put in "flawed democracy"category of countries, without addressing ever increasing poll expenditure and the implications, the report said. "Also, biopics of contesting leaders and their trailers timed for the occasion continued in 2019 polls. Even more glaring initiative was emergence of a round-the-clock DTH channel from nowhere and dedicated to a party's poll propaganda. How can an estimate of poll expenditure not include these costs," the CMS report alleged. Betting on who wins or loses (at constituency and national level and who gets what the number of seats) now involves "huge amount running into hundreds of crores", it said. "This (betting) happens at the beginning, during the campaign period and even after the polling. This is not included as this money is not for voters. But sometimes this is also deliberately conducted to influence voting trend for a bandwagon effect," the report said. CMS is a not-for-profit, multi-disciplinary development research and facilitative think-tank. It endeavors to work towards responsive governance and equitable development through research, and capacity building in social development, media, transparency and governance issues at local and national policy levels. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An AN-32 transport of the with 13 people on board lost contact with ground agencies around 35 minutes after it took off from Jorhat in on Monday, official sources said. The got airborne at around 12:25 PM and lost all contacts with ground staff at around 1 PM, they said. A total of eight crew and five passengers were on board the aircraft, the sources said. The has deployed all available resources to locate the aircraft, said the sources. (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.) India and China on Monday exchanged views on a variety of issues relating to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, the External Affairs Ministry said. The two sides shared their respective positions on the issues during the 6th round of India-China bilateral dialogue on disarmament and non-proliferation. The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) Indra Mani Pandey while the Chinese side was led by Ambassador Fu Cong, Director General, Department of Arms Control of Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "The two sides exchanged views on a variety of issues of mutual interest related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. They decided to continue the dialogue at regular intervals in future," the MEA said. Ambassador Fu Cong invited the Indian delegation to Beijing for the next round of consultations at a mutually convenient time, it added. Meanwhile, diplomatic sources indicated that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar may visit Beijing in September ahead of the next informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Modi and Xi held the first informal summit in April last year in Chinese city of Wuhan. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India on Monday rejected as "unacceptable" the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's reference to Jammu and Kashmir in a communique adopted at its summit meeting in the holy city of Makkah last week. In a strong reaction, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the OIC has no locus standi in matters relating to Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that the state is an integral part of India. He also said the OIC should refrain from making such "unwarranted references". In its final communique at the Makkah summit, the OIC reiterated its support for the legitimate rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and even appointed a special envoy for the state. The OIC is an international organisation consisting of 57 member states, 53 of them Muslim-majority nations. "We categorically reject yet another unacceptable reference to matters internal to India in the Final Communiqu adopted at the conclusion of the 14th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states held at Makkah on May 31," Kumar said. He was responding to media queries on a reference to Jammu and Kashmir in the OIC document. "The OIC has no locus standi in matters relating to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. It is reiterated that OIC should refrain from making such unwarranted references," Kumar said. On March 1, then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the inaugural plenary of the 46th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) of OIC in Abu Dhabi on March 1. She was the first Indian minister to address the OIC meeting. India's participation came despite Pakistan's strong demand to rescind the invitation to Swaraj. Pakistan's request was turned down by host UAE, resulting in Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi boycotting the plenary. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India has close strategic partnership with the US and the bilateral ties have made an "unparalleled progress" in the last few years with collaboration in areas like counter terrorism, defence and energy, India's envoy to Washington has said. Indian Ambassador to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla recently visited Texas, one of the largest American states with a GDP of USD 1.6 trillion. The state has a significant concentration of Indian-Americans. Texas is an important state as 10 per cent of the total IndiaUS trade is from oil-rich Texas. He said that India is set to emerge as a USD 5 trillion economy in the next five years and USD 10 trillion economy in the next 10 years. India's success relies in ensuring that there is a greater interest and involvement of American industries and businesses in the country, he said. "We have close strategic partnership, close synergy on issues of security, counter terrorism, defence, but the underpinnings of the relationship are based on business and that's where you come in," he said. Addressing representatives from major Indian companies and the local media in Texas, Shringla said that the progress made by India and the US in the last few years has been unparalleled. "The energy sector is an important area where we have increased our collaboration and also increased our off take from the US," he said. "We have placed orders for nearly 300 civilian aircraft amounting to USD 39 billion," he said. "Also, India has introduced new items such as poultry to the list of imports from the US. Defence is a new equation. Fifteen years ago, India had no defence ties (with the US) and today we are importing defence equipments worth USD 18 billion." "What amazes me is that in the last few years, the amount of progress that our relationship has made is unparalleled in many senses," Shringla said. He said that the United States is India's largest trading partner. "We are looking at technology at different levels that will help us leapfrog the processes in India like NITI Aayog. India's USD 1.5 trillion infrastructure development would need foreign direct investments. The National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) is getting support from Japan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore," Shringla said. He said India is set to emerge as a USD 5 trillion economy in the next five years and USD 10 trillion economy in the next 10 years. Knowing it to be an ambitious target, Shringla said India needs investment. "Our success really lies in ensuring that there is a greater interest and involvement of US industries and businesses in India in line with our own priorities in terms of development of India," Shringla said. Bilateral trade between India and the US has reached USD 142 billion last year. "We are buying more American goods consciously. This year we want to take it up to USD 5.5 billion." Shringla's visit to Texas is a part of his touring schedule for the last four months, visit various Indian Consulates in the US and meeting with representatives of the US companies that are investing in India. "In the last five years it (India) has emerged from being 11th largest world economy to the seventh largest. And this year, it will become the fifth largest economy of the world. "We are trying to become fifth largest this year. India is the fastest growing economy contributing to 17 per cent of the global growth, especially at the time when the world seems to heading towards either stagnation or recession," he pointed out. "We would like to see Indian companies not only come together to pool and synergise their requirements substantively but also look at yourselves as a brand." "In general terms, the economic and commercial aspects of our partnership are perhaps the most import element in the IndiaUS relationship. Of course, the relationship has attained tremendous momentum because of the initiative of the leadership, he said refereeing to the close contact between the two leaders Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. Shringla said the US was a major partner in India's efforts to develop its economy. "The good thing for us is that it is not a one way street, Shringla pointed out as Indian companies are also investing in the United States. "IT companies like WIPRO, TCS, Infosys and other are creating assets and values here that are very significant. We are contributing over USD 50 billion to the economy." During his visit to Texas, Shringla met Governor of Texas Greg Abbott, Texas Land Commissioner (member of Texas cabinet) George P Bush and Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner. In these meetings, Ambassador Shringla discussed progress in developing outcomes of the recent visits to India by both Governor of Texas and Mayor of Houston. He also invited them and Commissioner Bush to visit India again. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With 72 per cent Indian travellers extending their business trips in 2018, they have been ranked second among 'Bleisure' travellers across 31 countries, according to a study. Indians are second to Thai travellers (80 per cent) and more than the global average (51 per cent), a Booking.com study has revealed. Bleisure is a new trend which means business and leisure trips. Booking.com conducted the study during October-November 2018 among 53,492 respondents, including 1,852 Indians, across 31 markets who had travelled at least once in past 12 months. Nearly, two-thirds of Indian travellers (65 per cent) said they have been on a domestic business trip, which is the highest globally ahead of Indonesians (62 per cent) and Chinese (62 per cent). In addition, more than half (58 per cent) of Indian travellers reported that they had been on an international business trip in 2018, it said. This is more than double the international standard (25 per cent) and the highest among the 31 markets surveyed, it added. When travelling for work, Indians also claimed to enjoy business trips the most of all the nationalities surveyed. About 83 per cent Indian business travellers rates business travelling 7 out of 10 or higher, compared to 58 per cent global travellers giving similar ratings. Similarly, Indian business travellers are most positive of all the nationalities surveyed when asked whether they are able to enjoy destinations on their business trips. About 76 per cent Indian travellers said they often get to enjoy their travel destination compared to 56 per cent of global travellers. Lastly, the study also revealed that in some of the scenarios Indian business travellers are most anxious about travelling. Almost 55 per cent of them have expressed their concerns over the prospect of accommodations having received fake reviews and misleading photos, followed by 53 per cent feeling apprehensive about their personal details being stolen or no confirmation of their bookings. "We are witnessing a steady rise in 'Bleisure' trips being taken by Indian business travellers for both domestic and international destinations. We're likely to see this trend continue to grow in the near future, with the potential to help boost the Indian travel industry to scale further heights," Booking.com Country Manager, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives Ritu Mehrotra said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Monday began interrogation of Wasim Ramodiya and his brother Naeem Ramodiya, arrested in 2017 for their alleged IS links, at the Rajkot jail in Gujarat, officials said. In a chargesheet filed in August 2017, the NIA had said that both the accused "are highly radicalised and sympathisers of terrorist organisation ISIS". "A four member team of NIA has started questioning of the Ramodiya brothers in our jail," said a Rajkot jail official. Lawyer of the Ramodiya brothers, Ilyas Khan Pathan, said the NIA had earlier given an intimation that it would conduct questioning of both the accused for around a week beginning Monday. "I have been informed that the questioning would go on for one week, starting from Monday. The purpose of the questioning is to find out more about the brothers' link with Mufti Abdus Sami Quasmi," said Pathan. Quasmi was arrested by the NIA in February 2016 on the charges of radicalising some youths in Gujarat and other parts of the country. The Ramodiya brothers were arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in February 2017 from their houses in Rajkot and Bhavnagar. The case was then handed over to the NIA. Since their arrest, the brothers, who were allegedly radicalised by Quasmi, have been lodged in the Rajkot jail. In its chargesheet, the NIA had said both the accused "are highly radicalised and sympathisers of terrorist organisation ISIS". The chargesheet further stated that the brothers had planned to carry out "lone wolf attacks" on kafirs (non-believers). Wasim Ramodiya even bought fire crackers, a battery and a connector to make a bomb, it said. As per the chargesheet, various digital evidences as well as material to prepare an IED were also recovered by the ATS at the time of the arrest of the brothers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Syria on Sunday accused Israel of targeting an airbase in Homs province, in the second such attack in 24 hours. "Our air defences thwarted an Israeli aggression and destroyed two of the rockets that targeted the T-4 airbase," a military source told state agency SANA. The remaining rockets "killed one soldier, wounded two others, and damaged an arms warehouse," the source added. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported five killed, including one Syrian soldier. It said the attack also destroyed a rocket warehouse. In addition to the Syrian army, Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed at the airbase, according to the monitor. The attack comes hours after Israel announced that it had carried out strikes in Syria in response to rare rocket fire from the neighbouring country. The Observatory said 10 were killed, including Syrian soldiers and foreign fighters in the attack south of the capital. Israel has carried out hundreds of air strikes 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 which has killed more than 370,000 people. The Jewish state insists that it has the right to continue to target positions in Syria held by Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah out of self-defence. The latest reported strike comes amid soaring tensions between Iran and the United States. The stand-off had been simmering since the US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty which Iran reached with major world powers. In recent weeks Washington has accused Iran of alleged threats and deployed an aircraft carrier group and B-52 bombers to the Gulf. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Ruling MNF leader and the lone Lok Sabha MP from Mizoram C Lalrosanga Monday said he would give issue-based support to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. According to a press statement issued by the Mizo National Front (MNF) Lalrosanga will, however, strongly oppose the government on any issue detrimental to the interests of Mizoram and the integrity of the country. Lalrosanga said he would support the Narendra Modi government on issues which are good for the country in general and for the Mizo people in particular. "However, I will oppose the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill tooth and nail if the central government continues to strive for its legislation without giving necessary exemption to Mizoram and the north-eastern states," he told party workers. Legislation of the Citizenship Amendment Bill was the main plank of the opposition Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) and the Congress combine which had fielded Independent candidate Lalnghinglova Hmar against Lalrosanga. While the MNF and Lalrosanga said the ruling party was also against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the opposition had demanded that the MNF should snap ties with the NDA and North East Democratic Alliance if the former was serious about its objection to the proposed amendment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of people are hospitalized with vomiting and diarrhea. One person died in Churu, where the peak in temperatures was recorded. Doctor's advice: "Drink at least three liters of water a day, avoid eating outside the home, use high factor sun cream". New Delhi (AsiaNews / Agencies) India is in the grips of a record heat wave, with Rajasthan reaching 50.8 C in the city of Churu, causing the death of one person and several others being hospitalized for heat stroke. Temperatures are hot throughout central and northern India, and serious cases of drought are recorded with damage to agriculture and water supplies. Between 2010 and 2018 the fall caused the death of at least 6,167 people in India. Today the Indian Meteorological Department (Imd) reports that the heat will last at least another two days. The peak of the mercury column was recorded on June 1, when several districts of the northern states were suffocated by the heat. In Ganganagar (Rajasthan) temperatures hot 48.1 degrees; in Delhi, with its 42.5 degrees, restaurants and shops remain deserted until six in the afternoon; in Banda (Uttar Pradesh), the peak was 47.4 degrees. Temperatures are torrid even in the mountainous state of Himachal Pradesh: in the district of Una, 42.5 degrees were touched. The situation is dramatic especially in rural areas, where farmers have been unable to let the cattle water for days. Rajesh Chandrakant, a resident of Beed (Maharashtra), says: "We must collect water from the tanks of nearby villages, because our water reserves, lakes and rivers are dry. Breeders have water for livestock once every three days . Given the extremely high temperatures, the cities remain deserted until sunset. Throughout the country there are hundreds of people who are hospitalized for vomiting, diarrhea, and sunstroke. A doctor from the SMS Hospital of Jaipur advises: "The only way to prevent heat stroke is to drink at least three liters of water a day, avoid eating meals outside the home and apply a sunscreen with a high factor". Kamaraj Nagar assembly constituency here is set to have a byelection as the incumbent legislator V Vaithilingam has quit post of MLA after electing to the lok sabha in the recently held general elections. Vaithilingam, who contested successfully the April 18 Lok Sabha poll and defeated his AINRC rival K Narayanasamy, resigned from the post of MLA and presented Monday his letter of resignation to the newly elected Speaker V P Sivakolundhu. Vaithilingam, a former Speaker of the assembly, was elected to the territorial Assembly in the 2016 polls for the second consecutive term. His resignation as MLA has thus created the necessity for a byelection. Union Territory of Puducherry has already had two by elections ever since the present government was formed in June 2016. The first byelection was held in November 2016. Chief Minister V Narayanasamy who became the head of the government in June 2016 without being a member of the House was returned to the House through a byelection in November that year. The second byelection was held in April 18 this year to the Thattanchavady constituency as the sitting legislator belonging to AINRC Ashok Anand was disqualified as member of the assembly following his conviction in October last year in a disproportionate assets case. Now, Kamaraj Nagar is set to have a byelection. There was groundswell of protest from a section of ruling Congress party cadre after the chief minister's Parliamentary secretary K Lakshminarayanan was denied an opportunity to become the speaker. Lakshminarayanan also distanced himself from the one- day session of the assembly Monday presumably to show his protest against his being denied a chance to become the speaker. His supporters were up in arms as Lakshminarayanan was not being made the speaker. Deputy speaker V P Sivakolundhu was elected Speaker unopposed and he assumed office Monday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy has called a meeting of JDS legislators Tuesday amid expected cabinet expansion or reshuffle to save the government headed by him following persisting dissidence within coalition partner Congress. A senior JDS functionary Monday said the meeting was likely to discuss the recent political developments in the state, performance in the Lok Sabha and Urban Local body polls and steps the party will need to take politically in the future. All political issues, including expansionor reshuffle of the Congress-JDS ministry, are likely to come up for discussion during the meeting, he said. Kumaraswamy and coalition Coordination Committee chief and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah have held several rounds of meetings recently, the last being on Saturday night regarding cabinet expansion or reshuffle. A top official source had said it is likely to take place only after June 4. Congress in Karnataka last week had gone into a huddle to avert a potential existential crisis to the one-year-old coalition ministry and discussed about the possible cabinet rejig to address the dissidence within. Kumaraswamy had also held discussions with Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. Coalition leaders have been unable toreach a consensus on whether to go in for cabinet expansion byfilling three vacant posts or reshuffle by asking a fewministers to step down and make way for the disgruntledlawmakers. Siddaramiah, also the Congress Legislature Party leader, Thursday had indicated thata reshuffle was on the cards. Sources also said there are talks about first filling up three vacant posts and then going in for reshuffle if the need arises. According to reports, Independent MLA Nagesh and KPJP MLA R Shankar are likely to be inducted into the cabinet from the JD(S)' share in the ministry, and the CM is likely to discussthis with party colleagues during the meeting Tuesday. Both the MLAs had met Siddaramaiah on Saturday and held discussions. Shankar was inducted into Kumaraswamy's cabinet, but was subsequently dropped during the reshuffle in December lastyear, following which both of them withdrew their supportto the government and sided with BJP. Coalition worries have increased after BJP's spectacular win with 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in its pocket, leaving a mere one seat each to the ruling Congress and JDS. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister's office Monday said Kumaraswamy will start "Grama Vastvya" (overnight stay in villages) from June 21 with an intention to make the administration moreeffective. On June 21, he will be at Gurmitkal taluk in Yadgir districtand the next day in Afzalpur taluk in Kalburgi district. On July 5 and 6 Kumaraswamy will be at Bidar's Basavakalyana and Sidhanur of Raichur respectively for the programme. Kumaraswamy held meeting with top officials on Monday regarding the nature of "Grama Vastvya". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) It's Keanu Reeves' world and we are living in it or so it seems as the Hollywood superstar, known for films such as "Speed", "The Matrix" and "John Wick" series, is in early talks to make his Marvel debut. If things go well, Reeves may be a part of "The Eternals", which Marvel Studios hopes to begin producing in the coming months. The 54-year-old actor is a viral Internet sensation occasionally and is currently on screens in "John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum" and an adorable cameo where he can be seen as his aggrandised movie star self in Netflix's rom-com "Always Be My Maybe". According to MCU Cosmic, while negotiations are underway, Reeves is yet to sign on the dotted line. Talks are still in the early stages. He would join the already announced cast of Angelina Jolie as Sersi, Richard Madden as Ikaris, as well as Kumail Nanjiani and Ma Dong-seok in mysterious roles. Marvel is still looking for an Asian actor for a lead role, with casting of at least two more lead female roles with "Piper" and "Karen" to be done. Reeves has been rumoured to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever since his name was mentioned to star in "Doctor Strange" and then later "Captain Marvel". Created by Jack Kirby in 1976, the story of "The Eternals" is set millions of years ago when the cosmic beings known as the celestials genetically experimented on humans to create super-powered individuals known as the Eternals along with the villainous Deviants. Chloe Zhao is directing the film from a script by Matthew and Ryan Firpo. Marvel head Kevin Feige is producing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's proposal to make metro and bus travel free for women in the national capital has drawn a mixed response from women activists with some calling it a populist move while others welcoming the decision. Kejriwal said his government's decision, which he expects to implement in 2-3 months, would encourage women to use public transport systems and ensure their safety. Some women activists reacted strongly to it, saying there is no connection between women safety and free rides in buses and metros. Activist Annie Raja said women are not "fools" to believe it has "anything to do with women safety". "The election loss must have given him sleepless nights and he came up with it ahead of polls. If he is so sincere then what is his opinion on the 181 helpline and its privatisation, who sat on 'dharna' to protest alleged breach of women data," Raja said. "If he is so interested then he should see that all systems are in place like these (181 helpline)," she said. Another activist Chhavi Methi asked how can free ridership help women safety. "It is a baseless step. He should increase coverage of women security personnel across the city if the government is so concerned," Chhavi said. Vani Subramanian, a women's rights activist, said there is no connection between women safety and free ridership. It is just a populist step and they are trying to woo women ahead of polls, she said. However, some activists have welcomed the step. "It is a very welcome step. It's a progressive step and will help women especially from poor sections economically and because of more women on buses and metro by default it becomes safer," Shabnam Hashmi, a women rights activist, said. Kanwalpreet Kaur, a student activist with All India Students Association at Delhi University, said the decision is welcome. "We are also hopeful that the government will listen to the long-standing demand of Metro concessional passes for students in Delhi. Students have been worst hit by the two-fold hike in metro fares that were announced last year," she said. "The increase has overburden the students who have been forced to switch to other modes of transportation. In that case, it is very important that the government must also listen to the long-standing demand of the student community. We are planning to write it to the Delhi chief minister for the same," she added. Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal said it is a "brilliant" step. "This is absolutely brilliant! Women and girls across Delhi shall benefit from this excellent initiative by Arvind Kejriwal. Simply Superb. Hope other states shall also emulate this pro women measure of Delhi Government," she said in a tweet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad held discussions with the Pakistani leadership, including Prime Minister Imran Khan, on the Afghan peace process and the positive steps that Pakistan can take to advance it. Afghan-born chief American negotiator Khalilzad has held six rounds of direct talks with Taliban envoys in the Qatari capital of Doha since the process began last fall to bring an end to what has now become the longest US overseas military intervention. The Pakistani government takes credit for arranging the US-Taliban peace dialogue by using its contacts with the Afghan insurgent group. The US Embassy in Islamabad in a statement said that Khalilzad visited Islamabad on June 2 and held discussions with the Pakistani leadership on developments in the Afghan peace process. He met Prime Minister Khan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary Aftab Khokher and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa. "Ambassador Khalilzad briefed Pakistani officials on the substantial progress made in talks over the last month and planned next steps," according to the statement. Khalilzad noted that the United States continues to be encouraged by the role Pakistan has played to advance the peace process. He also "discussed additional positive steps that Pakistan can take and the importance of recent efforts for improving US-Pakistan relations". Khalilzad and Pakistani officials also discussed the benefit of improved Pakistan-Afghanistan relations in reaching, implementing, and sustaining a durable peace. Both countries will benefit from the increased regional connectivity, cooperation and integration that peace in Afghanistan offers, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kremlin insisted Monday that the Russian army was targeting "terrorists" in Syria's last jihadist stronghold of Idlib, after US President Donald Trump called on Moscow to halt "this butchery." The Kremlin has been supporting a Syrian government offensive in Idlib despite protests from the United States and Turkey. Trump said on Twitter Sunday that Syria and Russia should stop "bombing the hell" out of Idlib. Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded Monday that Idlib fighters were targeting civilians and Moscow's troops. "There is a fairly large buildup of terrorists and fighters in Idlib," Peskov told reporters. "Terrorist fire in Idlib is of course unacceptable," he added. "Measures are being taken to neutralise such firing positions." He said Russia and Turkey were coordinating their positions over the situation. Peskov said last week that it was Turkey's responsibility to make sure fighting ends in Idlib and reiterated this on Monday. "The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP!" Trump said on Twitter. Syrian NGOs on Friday decried international inaction in the face of mounting violence in the northwestern region. As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces in northwest Syria have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkey's border, the NGOs said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nine Muslim ministers holding top positions in the Sri Lankan government resigned on Monday to allow authorities to investigate allegations against some of them on links to an Islamic extremist group which was blamed for the deadly Easter suicide bombings. The Muslim politicians in the government also protested what they term the government's inability to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority who constitute 9 per cent of the island's 21 million population. Following the April 21 attacks that claimed 258 lives, some Muslim politicians representing the government came under criticism for their alleged support extended to the rising Muslim militancy. Industry and Commerce Minister Rishath Bathiyutheen was accused of supporting the ISIS linked local Islamist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) which carried out the attacks. The Sinhala majority nationalists were demanding the sacking of Industry and Commerce Minister Bathiyutheen. The Opposition had moved a vote of no confidence against Bathiyutheen in Parliament accusing him of aiding and abetting the NTJ. There are 19 Muslims among the 225-member Parliament and nine of them held Cabinet, state and deputy ministerial positions. "Until security of the people is ensured and until investigations are done by the police's Crime Investigations Department (CID) is finalised we will stay as government back benchers," main Muslim party leader Rauff Hakeem told reporters. We took this decision as a responsible community who is keen on ensuring reconciliation and peace in the country," Kabir Hashim, a senior minister, said. He said since the Easter Sunday attacks, the Muslim community had volunteered to give information on the NTJ. Hakeem said the Muslim community is concerned over the arrests of some innocent Muslims for alleged connections to the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that claimed 258 lives. In the wake of the bombings, majority Sinhala community mobs attacked Muslim-owned properties in towns north of the capital killing one Muslim man and leaving hundreds of homes, shops and mosques vandalised. The Muslim ministers quit their posts after two Muslim provincial governors resigned Monday after thousands of people, including majority Buddhist community monks, launched a protest in the pilgrim city of Kandy, demanding their sacking for allegedly supporting Islamist extremists responsible for the Easter suicide bombings. Their resignations were demanded by a Buddhist monk parliamentarian, Athuraliye Rathana. He ended his 4-day hunger strike held in the central town of Kandy after the announcement of the governors' resignations came. Hakeem the main Muslim party leader said that police must hold a proper inquiry and punish anyone if the terror group had been supported by them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Semion Rosenfeld, the "last known survivor" of the Nazi death camp Sobibor, has died aged 96, the quasi-governmental Jewish Agency said Monday. The head of the Jewish Agency, Isaac Herzog, said he was "very sad" about the death of Rosenfeld. "Semion fought the Nazis as part of the Red Army and was then sent to the Sobibor death camp as a prisoner of war, where he encountered death every day until the famous rebellion," Herzog said in a statement. Rosenfeld had been a resident of Jewish Agency-supported assisted living for the past 20 years, Herzog said. Born in Ukraine, the Jewish soldier was one of over 50 camp prisoners who survived World War II according to Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre. Some 250,000 European Jews perished in Sobibor camp, which was in Nazi-occupied Poland, between May 1942 and the summer of 1943. In the most famous revolt from a Nazi camp, nearly 300 Sobibor captives including Rosenfeld escaped through the camp's barbed war in October 1943. Nearly 170 of the captives were captured and shot dead, while Rosenfeld returned to the Red Army to fight the Nazis from its ranks. The Nazis demolished Sobibor to destroy any trace of the camp. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Mahila Congress worker from South Chandrapur village here, filed a complaint with the East Agartala Police Station on Monday saying that she has received extortion notices along with many others in the locality. "I am a Mahila Congress worker.My family and I are being constantly threatened and attacked after since the results of the parliamentary elections were announced. Today, a letter was found in my house. The BJP and its workers, through the letter, demanded Rs 20,000 from my family, as extortion money," Rupa Dey told reporters. The Mahila Congress worker said that she has been away from her home since May 23 because her family has been under threat from BJP workers. The officer-in-charge of East Agartala Police Station, Manik Debnath, confirmed that an FIR was registered on Monday. "We have received a complaint from Chandrapur area. These extortion notices were served to at least seven to eight people. We are investigating the matter," the police officer said. Reacting to the complaint, BJP state spokesperson Nabendu Bhattacharya said, "We don't extort money from anyone because this is beyond the ethics of our party. There are also rules for collecting subscription. We have information that many people are posing as BJP workers to extort money." Tripura Chief Minister and BJP state president Biplab Kumar Deb on several occasions earlier had said that police would take stern action in such cases. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Monday raised questions over voting machines used in the Lok Sabha elections and urged opposition parties to unitedly demand the return of ballot papers for polls. Banerjee said a fact-finding committee should be constituted to find out the details about EVMs. "We have to save the democracy. We dont want machines, we demand a return to the ballot paper system. We will start a movement and it will be initiated from Bengal," she told reporters after a meeting with party MLAs and state ministers to review TMC's drubbing in the elections. "I will ask all the 23 political parties in the opposition to come together and demand the return of ballot papers. Even a country like the US has banned EVMs," she said. The Trinamool Congress supremo alleged that BJP has used money, "muscle", institutions, media and the government to win the elections. The BJP managed to win 18 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state because of the Left Front, she said. "The BJP managed only 18 seats not 23 as they were claiming... And that also because of the Left Front parties. But we (TMC) have managed to increase four per cent of our vote share," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) by Ngoc Linh The seven of provinces of Vietnam that border China are seen as "the lungs of the country". Growing pollution is damaging both surface and underground water. The damage to the economy is estimated at between US$ 400 million and US$ 7 billion. Chinas management of its upstream dams also raises fears. Hanoi (AsiaNews) More and more ordinary Vietnamese and experts are worried about the environmental impact of Chinese companies and businesses operating along the China-Vietnam. In recent years, Beijing has built infrastructure, set up manufacturing plants and opened agricultural plantations along the border. In Vietnam this is widely seen as the prelude of an invasion, based on Chinas aggressive expansionism in other parts of the country, and in the South China Sea, which in Vietnam is known as the East Sea. Seven Vietnamese provinces ien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lng Son and Qung Ninh are located on the border with Chinas Yunnan and Guangxi provinces. The area is mountainous and viewed as "the lungs of the country". Local rivers and streams are an important source of water. A World Bank report published last Thursday warns that pollution is becoming a serious problem, damaging both surface and underground waters. According to the international agency, environmental contamination can have serious repercussions for the countrys economy with losses estimated at between US$ 400 million and US$ 7 billion. The members of the National Assembly also met last Thursday to discuss the implementation of the governments plans for socio-economic development as well as its budget. The deputy chief of the Second Military Region of the Vietnamese Army, in charge of defending northwestern Vietnam, spoke to lawmakers. His command covers an area that was invaded by the Chinese on 20 February 1979, and saw large swathes of Vietnamese territory occupied by Chinese troops. "The time has come for us to pay attention to the problem of environmental pollution in the areas on the border with China, Major General Sung Thin Co told fellow National Assembly members. The senior official also called on the government and provincial officials to send diplomatic notes to Chinese authorities asking them to compensate the Vietnamese people for environmental damage, such as the pollution of rivers, streams and ground. Many in Vietnam fear Chinas management of rivers and the dams it has built upstream to generate electricity. Chinese authorities have failed to uphold United Nations (UN) conventions on the use of transboundary watercourses, which protect downstream countries. In recent years, the Chinese government has increased the flow of water during the rainy season, causing huge damages in Vietnams border provinces. On 25 and 26 May, heavy rains hit the city of Mong Cai, Quang Ninh province. The level of the Ka Long River rose dramatically. At 4.30pm on 26 May 2019, a 21-year-old man, Tran Viet, was swept away by flooding. Dozens of boats were sunk and many roads flooded. According to Mong Cai residents, Chinese authorities opened the dams upstream, adding to problems caused by rainfall. The Odisha Police has arrested a man who fled from the state after raping a minor girl and killing her mother in Jajpur district last month, police said Monday. The accused, identified as Bijaya Behera (22), a resident of local Kumari village under the jurisdiction of Dharmasala police station area in Jajpur district, was nabbed by police team in Kerala on Sunday night, said Saroj Kumar Sahoo, inspector-in-charge of Dharmasala police station. "We were tracking the mobile phone of the accused regularly. We got information that the accused was in Kerala on Sunday. We immediately went Kerala by flight and arrested the accused near the aerodrome area on Sunday night," the IIC said. The incident took place at Deuli hilltop in Jajpur district on the night of May 2. Behera allegedly raped the 18 -year-old girl in front of her mother, he said. When the mother objected, the accused hacked her to death, the police said adding that the girl was also assaulted and seriously injured. The matter came to the light when some local youths who had been to the Deuli hill, heard a woman screaming for help in the wee hours of May 4. When the youths reached on the hilltop, they found the fifty-year-old woman lying dead. Her daughter was also found beside her in critical condition. They informed the police immediately. The police later rescued the rape victim and sent body of her mother for post- mortem examination. The police, however, could not take any action immediately as the rape victim was not able to speak. She was rushed to SCB Medical College Hospital in Cuttack as her condition deteriorated, the police officer said. She later narrated the entire incident to the police. Based on the girl's statement, the police arrested one Pabitra Maharana alias Vickey, an associate of Behera. Both Vickey and Behera had forcibly lifted the girl from her house and took her to Deuli hilltop, where incident took place, the officer said. The girl's mother followed them to the hilltop, he said. "They took the girl to the Deuli hilltop. The mother reached the spot following them. After reaching hill, Vicky returned home. Bijaya raped the girl before her mother and thrashed both mother and daughter black and blue. While mother died on the spot, her daughter sustained critical injuries," Sahoo said. The police officer said that the accused has confessed his crime, both rape and murder, during interrogation. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A 35-year-old man, who allegedly admitted to killing two people last week, was arrested after he surrendered before the Karkardooma court on Monday, police said. After Anil's arrest, two juveniles were also apprehended from Loni in Ghaziabad in connection with the case, they said. Last week, two people were killed after Anil and his accomplices opened fire at them in Jyoti Nagar area, police said. The two deceased persons were identified as Govinda (28) and Akash, they said. During interrogation, Anil told police that Govinda had beaten him following a heated argument in 2016 and that time, both of them had filed cross FIRs against each other. "On the day of the incident, he, along with his associates, had fired upon Govinda when he was returning from a gym. During the shootout, some bullets hit a passerby who was later identified as Akash," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Atul Kumar Thakur said. Earlier, three people -- Aman (19), Ankit (19), and Ashu (19) -- had also been arrested in connection with the case. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Days after the body of a six-year-old girl was found in a water tank, police on Monday arrested her mother's lover for allegedly strangulating the minor, they said. According to police, the accused, Kalu Charan Bahara, had been in a relationship with the girl's mother. Geeta, the victim's mother, used to live in New Delhi with her husband but later moved to Kota following her divorce, SHO at the Railway Colony police station Anees Ahmed said. The relationship between the accused and the woman continued even after her divorce and he would frequently visit Geeta's home in Kota, the official said. But for the last few months, Geeta had been avoiding Kalu Charan's calls, the SHO said, adding that the accused suspected that she was in a relationship with someone else and to teach her a lesson, he strangulated her daughter and dumped her body in a water tank on the terrace of the house. He also stole three mobile phones from Geeta's house and went to New Delhi, Ahmed said. A case was registered against the accused and he will be produced before a court on Tuesday, the official said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A US-bound passenger was apprehended by CISF personnel at the Delhi airport for allegedly carrying 25 bullets in his baggage, an official said Monday. A Central Industrial Security Force officer, deputed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) to scan the baggage of commuters, detected bullet-like objects on the X-ray monitor while checking the bag of passenger Deepak Kumar Saxena on Sunday evening, he said. "Twenty-five live bullet rounds of 7.65 mm calibre were recovered from the passenger who was supposed to take a flight to Washington (the USA) along with two others," the official said. The three passengers were not allowed to take the flight and were handed over to police, he said. Saxena could not produce any documents for carrying the ammunition, the official said, adding that he was booked under sections of the Arms Act. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi Monday took a critical view of the media's role during the recently held Lok Sabha elections, alleging that instead of "asking tough questions to leaders of the day", it was "only questioning" the opposition parties. He was responding to a question during a panel discussion organised at the India International Centre here, after the release of a report on poll expenditure, by a city-based think tank. "Normally, the role of media is to question the government, what they are doing, what they are not doing... but they (media) were only questioning the Opposition... 'Why they (opposition parties) didn't do something 50 years ago?' Is that what the media should be doing?" Quraishi asked. "But it was all sugar and honey talking to leaders of the day. Instead of asking tough questions, they were expressing thanks that they were given time (by leaders)," he said without naming anyone. The Lok Sabha polls were held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19. The results were declared on May 23. "Media's role during the 2019 polls has been problematic and a bit questionable... Couple that with what happened on social media, the 48-hour silence period norms were violated with impunity," Quraishi alleged. "Because, it was a multi-phased election, and in one phase it was a silence period and in another campaign was happening... and it was impossible to isolate these two areas... people were getting exposed to campaigning. Media was aware and conscious of it, and playing speeches of various leaders repeatedly with whole day kind of telecast," he said. The former CEC said the media is considered the "eyes and ears" of the EC. "We had issued instructions to our machineries down the line that if they see anything on media, consider that as a complaint to be followed up," he said, speaking about his time in office. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Power outages in Madhya Pradesh, which is an energy surplus state, seems to be becoming a political hot potato for the ruling Congress at a time when summer is at its peak. With fresh complaints of power cuts started coming in from various areas, the opposition BJP has accused the ruling party of "inept" handling of the situation. The issue hogged focus once again with noted Urdu poet Dr Rahat Indori tweeting his agony over repeated power cuts in his area in Indore. "Nowadays power cut has become common, even today there was no electricity for the last three hours...it's hot, Ramzan going on.....nobody picking up phone at @mppkvvclindore (twitter account of Indore office of Power company)....please help....@iPriyavratSingh (MPs Minister for Energy Priyavrat Singh) @OfficeOfKNath (Chief Minister Kamal Nath)," he said in a tweet Sunday evening. After his tweet went viral and the BJP fired barbs at the ruling party, Chief Minister Kamal Nath directed power company officials to review the energy situation on a daily basis. During campaigning for the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections, some Congress leaders used to claim that certain staffers of power distribution companies were working against the ruling Congress. Narendra Saluja, spokesperson of the state Congress and media coordinator for Nath, said the chief minister has sought information from officials concerned about how power cuts are happening in energy surplus state like Madhya Pradesh. He said the CM directed officials to ensure 24-hour power supply for domestic consumers and a 10-hour supply for agriculture. "The CM said though action was taken against some officials over power cuts before the elections. He was wondering how such issues are coming to the fore again in parts of the state," Saluja said. He said the chief minister has warned of strict action if the officials concerned failed to mend their ways. Saluja said Nath also referred to the complaints that power company officials are not picking up phones of people. Meanwhile, the opposition BJP has accused the state government of being apathetic towards the issue. "During campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, Nath, to hide his government's failure, used to blame the BJP and certain officials for power cuts. Even after elections, power cuts continue in every part of the state despite it being a power surplus state," said state BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal. In the run up to Parliamentary polls, state Finance Minister Tarun Bhanot had said that some officials of power distribution companies were working against the Congress, resulting in power outages. When contacted, Madhya Pradesh Power Management Company Managing Director, Sukhvir Singh, said that energy generation and supply in the state is gone up by 12 per cent compared to the previous year. "In April and May last year, 552.5 crore and 600 crore units were supplied, respectively. In April this year, 623.7 crore units of electricity were supplied. Similarly in May, the supply increased to 670 crore units," Singh said. The MD said the maximum demand for power went up to 14,000 MW. "The average demand for power has increased to 9500 MW this year compared to 8500 MW last year," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Museum of London is in talks to acquire the giant orange balloon depicting Donald Trump as an angry baby, which is set to soar above London to coincide with the US President's three-day UK state visit starting Monday. The huge inflatable so-called Trump baby blimp, clad in a nappy and clutching a mobile phone, first took to the skies during the president's last UK visit in 2018. The effigy is once again set to join hundreds of demonstrators as they take to the streets to register their protest against the state visit. In the interest of balance, Museum of London director Sharon Ament said it would also like to display a similar Sadiq Khan balloon, which had depicted the London Mayor in a yellow bikini during demonstrations last year. They're both really important and of their time. They characterise a satirical characteristic of British people, the way in which we sometimes respond to big issues using satire. They acknowledge the social discourse and dialogue in society at the moment, said Ament. She revealed that the museum began talks with the owners of the famous Trump blimp last year. We are in an open discussion and they are very warm (to the idea). They would like it to come to the museum, Ament added. The free to visit museum tells the story of the British capital from 450,000 BC to the present day. The massive size of the balloons means they would go on display only once the museum has moved from its current central London site to a larger space in West Smithfield area of the capital by 2024. The Trump blimp was first flown over Parliament Square during the US President's working visit to the UK in July 2018. Campaigners raised almost GBP 18,000 to pay for the 19.7-foot inflatable and the London Mayor had given permission for it to fly. "It's extraordinary how some objects can capture the public imagination; certainly the balloon really did," said Ament. The Stop Trump Coalition and Stand Up to Trump protest groups said they expect large turnouts for their demonstrations this week. The Metropolitan Police said it had "a very experienced command team" leading the operation to deal with the visit. We are anticipating a number of protests to take place across central London throughout the duration of the President's visit, a Met Police statement said. This is a multi-faceted security operation, and whilst the Met has a responsibility to ensure the right to peaceful protest, this needs to be balanced with the complex requirements of this policing plan, it added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Hyderabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal Monday approved the resolution plan for debt-ridden Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd submitted by Kolkata-based Srei Multiple Asset Investment Trust (Vision India Fund). "Thus Resolution plan dated December 11, 2018 submitted by resolution applicant M/s Srei multiple asset investment trust vision India fund which is approved by members of COC having 81.39 per cent voting share stands approved subject to... The resolution applicant (Srei) shall obtain necessary approvals required under any law for the time being in force with a period of one year from the date of approval of the resolution plan or within such period as provided in such law," the NCLT order said. The financial creditors have an exposure of over Rs 8,000 crore to DCHL. Canara Bank, one of the major lenders to the media house, dragged the DCHL to the NCLT. The Srei group has offered resolution plan involving over Rs 400 crore for DCHL. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nearly half of all rural Afghans now face some level of food insecurity, a UN agency said Monday, as a historic drought and deteriorating security grip Afghanistan. Described by some locals as the worst in a lifetime, Afghanistan's drought had a devastating effect on rural populations last year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in an overview of Afghanistan aid operations in 2018. "With crops failing and limited water supplies, as well as increased malnutrition and illness, hundreds of thousands of people left their homes to seek help near major cities," OCHA said. The misery was only compounded this spring when rains finally did come, as downpours led to deadly flooding in provinces across the country. OCHA found that the number of people in need of some form of food assistance in Afghanistan rose from 3.3 million at the start of last year to a projected current level of 13.5 million -- or 47 per cent of the population -- as of February 2019. That group has been affected to varying degrees, according to the OCHA, but none were at immediate risk of famine -- though a failed harvest in 2019 could change that. OCHA said aid humanitarian groups were able to reach about 6.5 million people last year on a budget of USD 471 million. Despite the impact of the drought, conflict remained the largest driver of humanitarian need in Afghanistan last year, OCHA said. According to the UN, 3,804 civilians -- including more than 900 children -- were killed in Afghanistan in 2018, with another 7,189 wounded. It was the deadliest year on record. "An increase in mass casualty incidents, escalating hostilities and the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance all contributed to record-high numbers of trauma cases in 2018," the OCHA report states. Another compounding factor was a wave of Afghans returning from Iran as the economy there slowed down amid new US sanctions, cutting demand for Afghan workers. While returns from Pakistan were at an all-time low, with only 46,300 recorded in 2018, 775,000 Afghans came back from Iran during 2018, according to OCHA. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Mobile industry body COAI on Monday appealed to the government to ensure that 5G spectrum is made available to all players at "reasonable prices" and pitched for lower levies and taxes to make the sector strong and sustainable. "5G spectrum should be made available to all players at reasonable prices such that more investments are directed towards enhancing network capacity and capabilities," Balesh Sharma, new chairman of COAI said at a panel discussion here. Sharma is also the chief executive officer (CEO) of India's largest telecom operator Vodafone Idea. His comments come on a day when newly appointed Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that India will hold a mega spectrum auction for 5G and other radiowaves in the next six months and intends to start 5G trials in the next 100 days. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has already recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, but the financially stressed industry has contended that prices are unaffordable. "At the current level, the spectrum prices are exorbitant for sure," Sharma said. The communications ministry also plans to hold detailed discussion with the financially stressed telecom industry on challenges faced by them and will work on addressing outstanding issues. "The immediate need to make the telecom sector strong and sustainable. and rationalising taxes and levies," said Sharma. Balesh Sharma was named chairman of the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) at industry associations' Annual General Body meeting on Monday. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The newly-elected MLAs in Arunachal Pradesh took oath as members of the Seventh Legislative Assembly on Monday. Pro-Tem Speaker Phosum Khimhun administered the oath to the newly elected legislators on the first day of the two- day session which began on Monday. Chief Minister Pema Khandu was the first to take oath followed by Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and the cabinet ministers. Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Nabam Tuki was absent during the oath taking ceremony. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Passang Dorjee Sona filed his nomination for the post of Speaker of the Assembly, while BJP member Tesam Pongte filed his papers for the post of Deputy Speaker. The election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker would be held on Tuesday, Assembly sources informed. The BJP led by Khandu won 41 seats in the 60-member Assembly, in the elections held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha elections on April 11 in the northeastern state bordering China. The Janata Dal (United) won seven seats, National People's Party five, Congress four, People's Party of Arunachal one and Independents got two seats. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several two-wheeler riders managed to get fuel at filling stations here on Monday in violation of the administration's 'No Helmet, No Petrol' rule, with officials saying they were awaiting details from the Transport Department on such cases. The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration had in April announced that riders without helmet would not be given fuel at filling stations in Noida and Greater Noida from June 1, in a major move aimed at improving road safety. Eye-witnesses told PTI how some riders violating the helmet rule still got fuel and alleged no action on part of filling stations staff. "I was at the petrol pump in queue this morning when at least four bikers got petrol ahead of me. They were not carrying any helmets with them and the staff also did not say anything to them. It appeared business as usual because several riders coming in also did not have helmet, Amit Gupta, a city resident, claimed. Gupta said he later approached the manager of the station, along the Vishwakarma Road in Sector 52, to raise the issue with him. "He (the manager) told me that they won't be doing it then on, but I doubt," he said. Similar violations were reported on Sunday and Saturday also at some filling stations here, with offenders feigning "unawareness" about the order implemented on Saturday itself. There have also been several cases in which violators have been turned away from filling stations, according to administration officials. Asked about the violations, City Magistrate Shailendra Mishra said the administration is not aware of these incidents and was waiting a report from the Transport Department. When these matters will be brought to us, we will ensure strict action against the guilty, he told PTI. There are total 86 filling stations in Gautam Buddh Nagar, 22 of them in Noida city and 20 in Greater Noida city, according to officials. Since April 14, the administration had asked all owners of these stations to carry out an awareness drive on the rule and publicise its implementation from June 1. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Over 500 Turkish judges and prosecutors have applied to have cases heard at Europe's top rights court after they were caught up in the crackdown after the failed 2016 coup bid, the court said Monday. The Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said it had notified Turkey of applications from 546 judges and prosecutors protesting their provisional detention orders. Those who applied were suspended, detained and then arrested in pre-trial detention on charges of being members of the group of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen. Gulen is accused by Turkey of leading a terror group behind the failed July 15, 2016 coup that aimed to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Gulen denies the charges. The legal professionals lodged unsuccessful appeals with the Turkish constitutional court and the criminal proceedings against them are still ongoing, the ECHR said. The plaintiffs have based their applications in particular on article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning their right to liberty and security. The hugely controversial crackdown that followed the coup bid has led to a vast backlog of Turkish cases at the ECHR as applicants run out of legal options in Turkey. Turkey is a member of the Council of Europe (CoE), the pan-European rights body of which the ECHR is part. The CoE has expressed concern in the past that the court is being swamped by Turkish cases. The ECHR said it had informed Turkey of the 546 applications on May 17 and Ankara can now give its observations in writing. The court will then decide if the cases are admissable and give rulings in the coming months. ECHR rulings have frequently angered Turkey, causing strains for its membership within the CoE, notably in November last year when it called on Ankara to release jailed Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Monday described Pakistan as a "stakeholder" in "Kashmir problem" and batted for involving it too to solve the tangle. She also accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of resorting to "brute force" to "quick fix" the problem, which, she said, would be "ridiculously naive". Since 1947, Kashmir has been looked through theprism of security by successive governments. It's a political problem that needs a political redressal by involving all stakeholders inc (including) Pak," Mehbooba Mufti Monday. "Expecting a quick fix through brute force by newly appointed HM is ridiculously naive, she added. Shah on Monday took stock of the country's internal security situation at a meeting in New Delhi where the Union Home minister was apprised of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir too, particularly in its border areas. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A nine-year-old rape survivor was allegedly discharged from a hospital here without proper treatment and then made to travel in a police vehicle along with the accused to record her statement before the magistrate, the girl's parents alleged. State Social Welfare Minister Yashpal Arya assured the girl's parents that their allegation are being looked into, while the Uttarakhand Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought a report from the administration on her discharge from hospital reportedly without full recovery and making the girl sit beside the accused in violation of the POCSO Act. Arya met the girl's family and handed a cheque of Rs 2.5 lakh to them as financial assistance. The girl, a Dalit hailing from Tehri district, was allegedly raped by an upper caste man in her village last week. She was admitted to Doon Medical College and Hospital on Thursday and her parent's alleged that she was discharged from the facility the same day even before she could recover fully. He mother alleged that after being discharged from the hospital she was made to share the same vehicle with the perpetrator of the crime while being taken to Tehri to record her statement before the magistrate. Sitting in the same vehicle with the perpetrator of the crime brought her under extreme psychological pressure and she could not properly record her statement before the magistrate, her parents claimed. Travelling more than a 100 km immediately after being discharged worsened her condition and she was admitted to a hospital in Mussoorie, the girl's mother alleged. Doctors at the private hospital in Mussoorie referred her back to the Doon Medical College and Hospital where she is admitted in the emergency ward. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Affirming the resolve of Maharashtra government to plant 33 crore tree saplings across the state in 2019, Forest Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar Monday said people's participation is needed to protect the He appealed to citizens, civil society members and NGOs to join hands with the state government to increase the green cover in the state. Mungantiwar was addressing a press conference here on the sidelines of a meeting of officials to chalk out the mega tree plantation drive. Officials from the Pune administrative division, guardian ministers of Pune, Satara, Solapur and MLAs from Pune city and the district attended the meeting. "In Maharashtra, the forest land is 10.78 per cent. As far as Pune is concerned, the tree plantation movement started from July 1, 2016, and that time a target of planting 2 crore trees was set. "However, the district surpassed the target and 2.83 crore trees were planted," said Mungantiwar. The minister said this happened because of people's overwhelming participation in the drive. Talking about the survival rate of planted saplings, he said in the Pune division, which consists of five districts, the survival rate is 86 per cent which is a matter of "satisfaction". "This year, that is from July 1, 2019, to September 30, 2019, a target of planting 33 crore trees has been set. To protect the environment, citizens, civil society and NGOs should come forward to the join the movement," he said. Mungantiwar lauded the efforts of the Green Army, an initiative of the forest department to increase the citizens' participation to increase the green cover. The minister said as far as Maharashtra is concerned, the overall green cover of the state is 20 per cent and to achieve the target of 33 per cent, more efforts are needed. "It has been seen that areas or districts such as Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, where green cover is good, receive better rainfall. "On the other hand, districts like Latur and Osmanabad, which have less forest areas, face water scarcity," the minister said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nepal's Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will on June 6 inaugurate the third edition of the Himalayan Travel Mart, country's premier international travel and tourism trade show, organisers of the event said on Monday. The four-day event with the theme and vision to establish Nepal as "Gateway to the Himalayas" will be attended by over 500 delegates from 40 countries, the Nepal chapter of Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said. "Himalayan Tourism Mart has created an unparalleled platform not only for the Himalayan Tourism Industry but also for the global tourism fraternity, who have set their eyes and value the importance of this unique event," Sunil Shakya, president of PATA's Nepal chapter told reporters. "Our priority and focus on HTM this year is to add value to all the stakeholders in terms of insightful conference, nation's tourism promotion, networking and mutually fruitful business opportunities between the registered sellers and hosted buyers," he said. Around 38 International travel bloggers, influencers and media delegates are also invited during the event. Nepal, one of the world's poorest countries, receives lakhs of tourists from all over the world every year. It on an takes in USD 300 million each year from climbing. Hundreds of climbers flock each year to the Himalayan nation - home to several of the world's highest mountains, to scale Himalayan peaks during the spring season that begins around March and ends in June. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) BJP ally Ramdas Athawale, the chief of Republican Party of India, Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been "falsely portrayed" as anti-Muslim, describing him as someone who believes in of development. He also took a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, saying the Congress president should "dream" of becoming Leader of Opposition rather than prime minister. He said he wants Gandhi to remain president of the Congress party as it would "benefit the BJP and Narendra Modi ji". Athawale took charge as Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment for a second term on Monday. Prime Minister Modi has been falsely portrayed as anti-Muslim, he said. "He is not so." "The anti-Muslim image of Modiji was portrayed following the 2002 Godhra riots when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat," he said. "But I have seen his movie and the character that is being shown is not anti-Muslim. Modiji does not believe in doing based on caste and religion but on development. People also understand this and that is why around 50 per cent of the Muslims in the country voted for him. Modi is not anti-Muslim and anti-Dalit," he said, without naming the film. He said it is imperative on any government to support and help every Indian citizen irrespective of their religion, he said. On relations with Pakistan, Athawale said India cannot be friends with it as "it considers India its enemy". Taking a potshot on Rahul Gandhi, Athawale said, "It would be in the interest of the BJP and Modiji if he continues to be the Congress president for a longer period. The Congress should not replace him with any other leader as that would cause more damage to the party." He said there was a time when the BJP had just two members in Parliament. "Then there was a time when the BJP had no MPs. But now BJP's time has come and the Congress should allow it to work," Athawale said. He said Gandhi's remarks on Modi during campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls got the Congress leader negative publicity which ultimately led to the defeat of his party. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day visit to the Maldives beginning Saturday, in his first bilateral trip after his reelection for a second term, the External Affairs Ministry said Monday. It said Modi will also travel to Sri Lanka on June 9 and that the two visits would reflect the priority India attaches to its neighbourhood-first policy. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a state visit to the Republic of Maldives on June 8 and 9 at the invitation of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives," the Ministry of External Affairs said. It said the visit is reflective of the new momentum in high-level exchanges between India and the Maldives. President Solih had come to India in December 2018 on a state visit. The MEA said Modi's visit will provide an important occasion to review the recent developments in bilateral relations and exchange views on issues of mutual interest to further strengthen the special relationship between the two countries. "Prime Minister Modi will also visit Sri Lanka on June 9 at the invitation of Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka," said the MEA. Modi visited the Maldives in November last year to attend Solih's swearing-in ceremony, signalling the importance India attaches to the island nation. The relations between India and the Maldives deteriorated after the then President Abdulla Yameen imposed emergency on February 5 last year. India had criticised his decision and asked his government to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners. The emergency lasted 45 days. Solih became president in November after he defeated Yameen in the presidential polls. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Polish woman has tweeted a letter written by her 11-year-old daughter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking help to return to Goa. Alicja Wanatko and her daughter of Marta Kotlarska were staying in Goa, where the latter attended school, before they were sent back to their country due to non-renewal of visa. On March 24 this year, Alicja's mother, on her return to India from Sri Lanka, was turned away from Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru when she went to renew her Indian visa. Marta had to wait in Thailand before she could return to India to pick up her daughter from Goa and leave the country. Both are right now in Combodia. "Please help us @narendramodi my daughter is very distressed and she is only 11 years old," the mother tweeted, attaching her child's hand written letter. In a series of tweets, she said for her daughter "India is the place we call home". Alicja, in the handwritten letter, expressed love for Goa. "I love my school in Goa, the beautiful nature and I am missing my volunteering in the animal rescue centre there where I was helping to take care of cows. My mum could not re-enter India on 24th March 2019 after a short trip out and we were told we were blacklisted due to our overstay," the daughter said in the letter. "I am now with my mum, but am missing my old life in my favourite country more than ever. I feel so alone away from everything I have always known in India. I know my animals will be so confused without me and I cannot sleep without feeling angry or upset, she has said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the United States has lost hope for human rights progress in China in the 30 years since the Tiananmen Square crackdown, as he urged the release of political prisoners. In a statement on the anniversary of the June 4 assault on pro-democracy protesters, Pompeo said: "Over the decades that followed, the United States hoped that China's integration into the international system would lead to a more open, tolerant society. Those hopes have been dashed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dharmendra Pradhan, who took over the charge of the steel ministry on Friday, held a review meeting with senior officials and discussed key challenges being faced by the steel sector. "Met with the officials of @SteelMinIndia (Ministry of Steel) and discussed strategic roadmap and key initiatives in the sector. Steel has been a major contributor in India's economy, we shall work to further strengthen Steel industry in India," Pradhan said in a tweet. Several key points regarding the working of the ministry and various sectoral functions were discussed at length by the both Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for State Faggansingh Kulaste, Ministry of Steel said in a separate tweet. Steel Secretary Binoy Kumar along with other senior officials were present in the meeting. Besides Steel Minister, Pradhan, 50, is also the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas in the NDA-II government. The Indian steel industry is claiming that they are facing imminent threat from increasing imports especially from Iran. Apex industry body Indian Steel Association (ISA) has said imports are rising in India due to the ongoing tariff war between the US and China. In trade parlance, tariff war refers to significant increase in import duties. It said Iran is exporting steel into India in contravention of the US' sanction via UAE. In a letter to Steel Secratary Binoy Kumar, it has said, "These imports which are coming in at a predatory prices have become a serious concern for ISA. It is alarming that the UAE is a net importing country but the exports from UAE has suddenly surged by 390 per cent in 2018-19 from 2016-17." According to data from the steel ministry, imports of finished steel jumped 46 per cent to 0.70 million tonne in March. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Monday sent a strong message to social media firms asking them to maintain constitutional sanctity and remain vigilant against any misuse of their platforms for acts of terrorism and communalism. The minister, soon after assuming the charge of IT Ministry, said the data protection bill will be high on priority but did not specify whether it will be taken up in the upcoming Parliament session. The first session of the newly-elected Lok Sabha has been convened from June 17 to July 26. Sources said that a political view could be driven on the draft data protection law. Starting his second innings as Electronics and IT Minister, Prasad outlined his priorities for his ministry that included setting up one lakh digital villages, establishment of national data grid, start-up hub, driving digital literacy, and accelerating the growth of digital payments with the support of home-grown technologies. The minister said that 'Aadhaar Seva Kendras', conceptualised on the lines of Passport Seva Kendras, will be opened in 10 cities soon. Prasad, known for taking a firm stance on social media misuse in the past, acknowledged the role of social media platforms in promoting free expression but reminded the players that they must respect constitutional sanctity of free speech. "Platforms should not be allowed to be used for terrorism, extremism and communalism...these are well known issues...We all respect freedom of speech and expression that is sacrosanct for us and part of the constitutional guarantee, but that is also subject to reasonable restriction," the minister said. The IT Ministry, last year, began work on tightening rules for social media and online companies, for which it held wide public consultations. "The expansion of social media platforms is welcome but use of social media for terrorism, extremist ideas, or to break the country, will not be allowed. If a platform is misused for such purposes, it will be unfortunate and suitable action will be taken," the Minister warned. Circulation of fake on digital platforms has been a pain point, and the government has warned social media companies that any misuse of the platforms will not be tolerated. Even during the recent elections, social media giants like Facebook and Google had stepped up election integrity efforts, inducing transparency in political ads, roping in an army of fact checkers and commissioning tools to weed out content that is flagged to be false. The draft amendments to the IT rules, being crafted by the ministry, talk of mandating social media companies to enable tracing of originators of information when required by government agencies which are legally authorised. However, the draft had previously spurred protests from social activists and opposition parties which argued that it would violate privacy of individuals and thwart free speech. Meanwhile, Prasad vowed that IT Department in coordination with other Government Departments will lead the second generation digital push in India, and also spoke of driving greater synergies between two Ministries under his charge - Communications and IT. Prasad said the IT Ministry also work on a mobile-based advisory services for animal husbandry and fisheries. Earlier in the day, Prasad also assumed the charge at Department of Post and said boosting eCommerce parcel delivery and financial inclusion using network of India Post will be area of high priority. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Ram Nath Kovind complimented the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry on Monday for the excellent coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony on May 30, which was held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan here. A delegation led by Amit Khare, Secretary, I&B Ministry, met the president on Monday and apprised him of the elaborate steps taken by various media units to ensure a comprehensive and world-class coverage of the ceremony across all mainstream and social media platforms, covering almost the entire globe, the ministry said in an official statement. Khare told the president that for the benefit of the hearing-impaired viewers, DD Bharati provided commentary in sign language, besides commentaries in Hindi and English in other channels of Doordarshan. The delegation included Sitanshu Kar, Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau (PIB), Supriya Sahu, DG, Doordarshan, F Shehriyar, DG, All India Radio (AIR), Ira Joshi, Principal DG, AIR and Mayank Aggarwal, DG, DD After a stupendous victory of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls, Modi took oath for the second consecutive time as the prime minister, along with his council of ministers, at the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan Forecourt here on May 30. Over 8,000 guests, including a number of heads of states, heads of governments, constitutional authorities, diplomats, senior political leaders and government officials, attended the ceremony. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A prisoner who had escaped from jail a few days ago has been arrested in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said Monday. Dilshad, who escaped from the district jail, was arrested from the Hasanpur Luhari village under Thana Bhawan area on Sunday evening, Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar told reporters. Dilshad and a constable sustained bullet injuries during the incident, Yadav said, adding that the jail warden had been suspended for negligence of duty. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Qatar's economy has proved to be resilient in the face of an embargo by its neighbours and lower oil prices, the International Monetary Fund said on Monday. Doha is subject to a two-year long Saudi-led economic boycott over its alleged support for Islamist movements and Iran -- charges Qatar denies. "Economic performance improved in 2018. Qatar's economy has successfully absorbed the shocks from the 2014-16 drop in hydrocarbon prices and the 2017 diplomatic rift," the IMF said in a statement. "Real GDP growth is estimated at 2.2 per cent, up from 1.6 per cent in 2017." The IMF statement, which comes just two days before the second anniversary of the Saudi-led embargo, follows a routine economic assessment required by Qatar's membership of the Washington-based organisation. Saudi Arabia, along with its allies the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain, have taken several economic measures against Doha since June 5, 2017 in an bid to force a change in Qatar's behaviour. A public spat between the two sides erupted days after the conclusion of regional talks hosted by Saudi King Salman in Mecca over rising tensions with Iran, dashing hopes of a rapprochement. The IMF declared Qatar's banking sector healthy but reported a cooling in the property market. "After a period of rapid growth, real estate prices in Qatar are adjusting to new levels. According to the real estate price index developed by Qatar Central Bank, following an 82 per cent increase during 2012-16, real estate prices fell by 15 per cent during 2017-18," it said. The report concluded that "substantial buffers and prudent policies" would help Doha manage any "rising trade and geopolitical tensions". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two days after taking charge as Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Monday visited Siachen, the world's highest battle field, and interacted with soldiers guarding the border beyond the heights of 12,000 ft. Singh, who was accompanied by Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command Ranbir Singh, saluted the valour of the soldiers and said he will personally send a thank you note to their parents for letting them serve the nation. "Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour," the Defence Minister tweeted. He also laid a wreath at the Siachen war memorial. "I am proud of all Army personnel serving in Siachen who are leaving no stone unturned to defend our motherland," Rajnath Singh said. "I am also proud of their parents who have sent their children to serve the nation by joining the armed forces. I will personally send a thank you note to them," Singh said. The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. The Defence Minister said more than 1,100 soldiers have made the supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. "The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice," he said. In his first visit outside Delhi as defence minister, Singh also reviewed security preparedness in Siachen with top field commanders of the area. Later, Singh arrived at the headquarters of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps at Badamibagh Cantonment here for a briefing on India's preparedness to deal with any possible eventuality or misadventure by Pakistan. Singh's predecessors like Sharad Pawar, George Fernandes, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nirmala Sitharaman too had visited Siachen. Fernandes, as defence minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, once sent two senior bureaucrats of his ministry to Siachen glacier when he came to know that they had held back a file on purchase of snow bikes for soldiers deployed there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Rajya Sabha will meet from June 20 to July 26 for the upcoming session of Parliament, the Upper House secretariat said Monday. "The President has summoned the Rajya Sabha to meet on June 20, 2019 for the upcoming Session of Parliament. Subject to exigencies of business, the session is scheduled to conclude on Friday, July 26, 2019," Rajya Sabha Secretary General Desh Deepak Verma said in a statement. The first session of this Lok Sabha will commence on June 17. The newly-elected members will be administered the oath on the first two days, and the new Speaker will be elected on June 19. President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall at 11 am on June 20. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget during the session. "The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha will commence on Monday, June 17, 2019. Subject to exigencies of government business, the session is likely to conclude on Friday, July 26," a statement from the Lok Sabha secretariat said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A local court Monday refused to stay the framing of charges against Congress MLA Atanasio Monserratte, accused of raping a minor girl in 2016. District and Sessions Judge Sherin Paul dismissed the application filed by Monserratte seeking to drop charges against him. The Women's Police Station had, last year, filed a 250-page charge sheet in North Goa District Court against Monserratte under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The MLA was also booked under Information Technology Act for use of cell phone in the alleged crime. Monserratte had moved the application last month seeking dropping of charges. After the court order Monday, Monserratte claimed he was innocent and said he would move the High Court seeking an expeditious trial. "I will move the High Court seeking to expedite trial in the case. I don't mind if the trial is held on a day-to-day basis," he said. Monserrate won from Panaji Assembly constituency in a bypoll held on May 19, the result of which was declared on May 23. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday barred S R Batliboi & Co LLP, one of India's leading chartered accountancy firms, from taking up statutory audit of commercial banks for one year on account of lapses in an audit assignment. The one-year period starts from April 1, 2019, the RBI said in a release. In June 2018, RBI had put in place an enforcement action framework in respect of statutory auditors for the lapses in the statutory audit of commercial banks. "...on account of the lapses identified in a statutory audit assignment carried out by the firm, M/s S.R.Batliboi & Co. LLP, Chartered Accountants, it has been decided that RBI will not approve the said firm for carrying out statutory audit assignments in commercial banks for one year starting from April 1, 2019," the release said. It further said the action taken in the matter has been communicated to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). ICAI, which functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, regulates the profession of chartered accountancy in the country. The Reserve Bank release, however, did not disclose the details of the lapses by S R Batliboi & Co LLP. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The remains of a child found in Arkansas last week are those of a missing 4-year-old Texas girl, Maleah Davis, a medical examiner said Monday. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences said it had positively identified the remains found in a garbage bag near a freeway outside the town of Hope, Arkansas, which is located about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northeast of the Texas-Arkansas border. Derion Vence, the man who had been arrested in connection with Maleah's disappearance, told a community activist he had disposed of her body there. The institute of forensic sciences says the cause and manner of her death are not yet determined. Vence, the ex-fiance of Maleah's mother, remains jailed on a charge of tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse. He's being held on a USD 45,000 bond. Vence, 27, had claimed he, Maleah and his 2-year-old son were abducted on May 4 by a group of men in a truck. He said he and his son were freed the next day but the kidnappers kept Maleah and his silver Nissan Altima. Police said Vence's story kept changing and didn't add up. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said in a statement Monday that his agency would work with prosecutors to "ensure the person(s) responsible for her death, and the attempted cover-up of her death, are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law." In a statement, the Harris County District Attorney's Office said on Monday that "additional charges would be filed as the evidence supports doing so." "We remain focused on finding the truth and delivering justice for Maleah," the district attorney's office said. Authorities were directed to Arkansas after Quanell X, a local civil rights activist, visited Vence in jail in Houston on Friday. Quanell X said that Vence told him he dumped her body near Hope. Quanell X declined to comment on what Vence told him regarding how Maleah died but that Vence insisted what happened to her was "an accident." Dorian Cotlar, Vence's attorney, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment on Monday. Brittany Bowens, Maleah's mother, had previously accused Vence of abusing the girl. Child Protective Services removed Maleah and her brothers from the apartment Vence and Bowens shared in August after the girl suffered a head wound, but the children were returned in February, according to an agency spokeswoman. After a cancelled court appearance by Vence on May 13, Bowens was heckled outside the courtroom by people who questioned if she had done enough to protect her daughter before her disappearance. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Dating app Tinder is now required to provide user data to Russian intelligence agencies, the country's communications regulator said Monday. The app was included on a new list of online services operating in Russia that are required to provide user data on demand to Russian authorities, including the FSB security agency. Russia adopted a flurry of legislation in recent years tightening control over online activity. Among other things, Internet companies are required to store six months' worth of user data and be ready to hand them over to authorities. The communications regulator said Monday that Tinder had shared with them information about the company and that it is now on the list of online apps and websites that are expected to cooperate with the FSB. Russian authorities last year issued an order to ban messaging app Telegram after it refused to provide the user data as required by the Russian law. Tinder was not immediately available for comment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Monday refused to stay the Madras High Court order which quashed the land acquisition process for the Rs 10,000-crore Salem-Chennai eight-lane green corridor project. A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah however issued notices to the parties including the Tamil Nadu government on the appeal of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), an autonomous agency of the central government which has challenged the high court order. "We are going to issue notices on the special leave petition (SLP)... We are not going to stay the high court's order," it said, while declining the plea of the Project Implementation Unit of NHAI that the high court's order be stayed. NHAI had moved the top court on May 31 and the bench had then agreed to hear the appeal. The high court had held that the environmental clearance was mandatory for the sensitive project. The high court's order had come on a batch of petitions filed by 35 land owners and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss. The pleas had challenged the land acquisition proceedings. The high court had made clear that grant of prior environmental clearance would undoubtedly require a thorough study of the area and before that, a public hearing was needed to be conducted. The ambitious 277.3-km-long eight-lane greenfield project connecting Salem and Chennai under the Centre's 'Bharatmala Pariyojana' scheme aims to cut travel time between the two cities by half to about two hours and 15 minutes. However, it has been facing opposition from a section of locals, including farmers, over fears of losing their land, besides environmentalists who are against felling trees for it. The project runs through reserve forest and water bodies. "We are of the considered view that the project highway as conceived and sought to be implemented is vitiated on several grounds... and consequently, the notifications issued for acquisition of lands under Section 3A(1) (of the National Highways Act) are liable to be quashed," the high court said. It also held as "unsatisfactory" the project report of a consultant and said it needed to be scrapped. It said unless a proper study was made, the impact on the forest lands, water bodies, wildlife, flora and fauna cannot be assessed. Environmental clearance was mandatory since the project would have an adverse impact on the environment, including water bodies, it said. If the project highway was to pass through reserve forest area, even if it is to a distance of about 10 km, it would undoubtedly pave the way for poachers and facilitate easy access, the hight court said, adding that it would also pave way for illicit felling and transportation of valuable timber. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Supreme Court Monday stayed the Madras High Court judgement ordering demolition of top five floors of an eight-storey block of a private hospital in Chennai for construction allegedly in violation of the approved building plan. A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah, however, directed Billroth Hospitals Ltd not to use these top five floors for any activity. The bench, which issued the notice and sought response from the Tamil Nadu government on the plea filed by the hospital challenging the high court verdict, granted 10 days to the hospital to vacate the five floors. The high court had ordered the demolition to commence from June 16. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the hospital, told the apex court that it had applied under the 2017 building regularisation scheme of Tamil Nadu. He said the matter related to the 2017 scheme is pending but while hearing a separate contempt case, the high court had quashed the scheme. At the outset, the bench observed, "It is completely without any authorised plan. Three floors were allowed but beyond that, construction was not permitted". Singhvi told the bench that the hospital, having 250 beds, was operational since 2005-2006 and the authorities can decide on the application for regularisation within a month. "We are issuing notice only because in a contempt case, the high court has set aside a scheme," the bench said. When Singhvi sought a stay of the high court's verdict, the bench said, "For the time being we will grant stay but you will not use these floors (fourth to eighth). You had build it till eighth floor in 2009 with impunity. You used it without any sanctioned building plan". "You (hospital) have done it for 10 years. You can not be allowed to go on using it. You have to stop using it," the bench observed while granting a stay on the high court verdict. The bench said the matter would come up for hearing after the summer vacation. On May 30, the apex court had agreed to hear the plea filed by the hospital challenging the high court order. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In its first attack on the Modi 2.0 government, BJP ally Shiv Sena Monday targeted it over rising unemployment and economic slowdown, saying engaging in "mere wordplay" is not going to solve any problem. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said failure to create the promised 10 crore jobs in the last five years of the Modi rule cannot be blamed on former Congress prime ministers Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi. The Sena's attack came after official data released Friday said India's economic growth rate slowed to a five-year low of 5.8 per cent in January-March 2018-19 due to poor performance in agriculture and manufacturing sectors. The Central Statistics Office also revealed that GDP growth during 2018-19 fiscal stood at 6.8 per cent, compared to 7.2 per cent in the previous financial year. The Sena, in an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', said mere "wordplay" discussions or advertisements are not going to solve the issue of growing unemployment. "The economy is in doldrums and the new Union Finance Minister will have to find some solution," the Sena said. Ambitious projects like Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and Reliance-Dassault factory in Nagpur have little employment generation scope, it said. "Crores of unemployed youth trusted the 'Modi Hai to Mumkin Hai' (with Modi at the helm, it is possible) mantra and voted for him. The continued decline in job creation should be stopped and job creation should be the motto of the government for the next five years," the Sena said. "New industries, ports, road construction, airports and transport sectors need investment, which will generate employment and eventually boost GDP growth," it said. The Sena, which shares power with the BJP in Maharashtra and also at the Centre, said in the state, farmer suicides continue and the situation on the farm front is grim. "Agriculture was once an assured job-creating sector but we have failed there. The Marathwada region in the state has reported suicides by 315 farmers in the last five months. The whole picture of the state and the country (on farm front) is grim," the party said. "If unemployment continues to grow, it would create a chaotic situation in the future. Talks and advertisements would no longer help and some action is necessary," it said. BJP minister Nitin Gadkari had said unemployment in the country is not an issue which was created in the last five years (of Modi rule), it said. "We do agree with him (Gadkari), but unfulfilled promise of creating 10 crore jobs in five years cannot be blamed on Jawaharlal Nehru and (Indira) Gandhi," it said. The central government's recruitment is also on the decline and the drop is of 30-40 per cent, it said. The situation of small, medium and micro enterprises is worse, while the government's public enterprises are either making losses or facing shutdown, the Sena said. One needs to study whether projects on employment generation, pushed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first term, had any impact on the ground, the party said. The Sena criticism comes amid reports that the party, the second-largest in the National Democratic Alliance with 18 members, got just one cabinet berth in the new ministry, while the party leadership was expecting a better portfolio. In a repeat of 2014, the Sena has been again given the heavy industries and public undertakings ministry. Sena leader Anant Geete was the minister of heavy industries between 2014 and 2019. In the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government in 1999, Sena was given the same ministry, which was helmed by former Maharashtra chief minister Manohar Joshi. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Singapore's air force sent two F-15 fighter jets to escort an incoming passenger plane over a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax, allegedly triggered by a 13-year-old boy, media reports said on Monday. There were 144 passengers and six crew members on board Scoot flight TR385 from Cebu in the Philippines on Sunday when police were alerted to a security threat, a Scoot spokesman said. "Two The Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-15SGs scrambled to escort an inbound FlyScoot plane from Cebu after a bomb scare, but it turned out, after investigations, to be a false alarm," said Singapore's Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen. "The Singapore Armed Forces takes every threat as real and seriously, until proven otherwise. The RSAF will stay ever vigilant," he was quoted as saying by Singapore-based portal AsiaOne. A 13-year-old unidentified male passenger was allegedly behind the hoax, according to local media outlets. He is currently assisting police with their investigations, said the reports, the BBC reported. All 144 passengers and six crew disembarked normally, and were subjected to security checks upon arrival. The airline would cooperate fully with the authorities in their investigations, the spokesman said. On March 26, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Mumbai landed safely at Changi Airport after the pilot raised a bomb threat alert. A woman and child were held back for questioning by the police. In October last year, a 41-year-old man was fined USD 4,500 after joking that he had a bomb in his bag. He was on a Scoot flight. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Monday visited seven Delhi government-run schools to review the progress made in construction of classrooms as a part of the dispensation's plan to build around 13,000 new classrooms this year, according to an official statement. Sisodia, who also holds the portfolio, visited six schools in Rohini where construction is going on and one where the work has been completed. He will visit a number of schools in the next 10 days to review progress of construction, the statement said. Sisodia tweeted, "Visited 6 schools in Rohini where new classrooms' construction is on. I'm confident that 13,003 new rooms in #DelhiGovtSchool announced by CM @ArvindKejriwal will be ready this year." He instructed officials that construction of classrooms should be completed by September-November, even if it takes employing more people. Sisodia also asked the Deputy Director of to keep a visual of the progress of work on daily basis and ensure that he is stays informed about it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With fissures apparently appearing in the alliance of Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma Monday said the 'gathbandhan' (of SP-BSP) is today "taking its last breath, and is on ventilator". "Thanks to the developmental works of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, people have broken the barriers of caste and religion. The 'gathbandhan' is today taking its last breath, and is on ventilator," he told PTI here. He added, "Alliances of opposing ideologies are never successful -- be it the SP-Congress or the BSP-Congress. All experiments to forge caste-based alliances in Uttar Pradesh have proved to be a failure. People across the country have accepted Modiji's 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishwaas' and outright rejected such caste-based alliances." "The alliances which are formed or forged on the basis of caste or religion eventually lose their existence. In UP, there was an unnatural and opportunistic alliance, it was shattered by the caste-less (jaati-viheen) work of the BJP whose mantra is 'sabka saath, sabka vikaas, sabka vishwaas'." Sharma's statement assumes significance as it comes hours after BSP supremo Mayawati expressed her unhappiness over the performance of the 'gathbandhan' in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Earlier in the day, BSP chief Mayawati asked party workers not to depend on alliances to win votes but to improve the party's organisation. At a meeting of the Bahujan Samaj Party's Uttar Pradesh unit in Delhi, she asked office bearers, MLAs and newly-elected MPs to be prepared to contest the assembly by-elections on their own, sources said here. A total of 11 assembly bypolls are due in UP after MLAs won Lok Sabha polls. Nine BJP MLAs won the Lok Sabha elections, while one each from BSP and SP were elected to the Lower House. Mayawati told the gathering at the party headquarters here that the BSP won 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh due to BSP's traditional votebank and the votes of Samajwadi Party could not get transferred to its candidates. She cited poor performance of its alliances in various states during assembly and Lok Sabha elections to drive home the point that the BSP will have to strengthen its own organisational structure and not depend on other parties to win elections. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Samajwadi Party will fight for social justice together with the Bahujan Samaj Party, said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav Monday, hours after BSP supremo Mayawati expressed dissatisfaction over the poll performance of the alliance between the two parties. "We and Bahujan Samaj Party will fight for social justice together," said Yadav, addressing a public meeting here during his first visit to the constituency after declaration of the Lok Sabha poll results. BSP chief Mayawati earlier told her party workers in New Delhi that the Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Uttar Pradesh was due to the "poor performance" of the alliance with the SP. She also asked her party leaders and workers to prepare to contest the assembly by-elections on their own, raising questions over the future of the 'gathbandhan'. Addressing the public meeting in Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav, however, defended the poll performance of the alliance, saying that the Lok Sabha poll battle this time was of a different kind, which he could not understand. "It was a race between Ferrari and a cycle (the SP's election symbol). Everybody knew the Ferrari will win. The Lok Sabha elections were not fought on issues, it was fought on something else," said Yadav. The SP chief also subtly blamed media for his party poor performance in the polls. "Tell me who was seen on televisions everyday? They penetrated into our brains. They played with our minds with TV and mobile phones. This was a different kind of battle, which we could not understand. The day we understand this, we will emerge victorious," he said. Conceding that his party's "opponents are very strong", the former UP chief minister said he would try to counter them through social alliance. "Our party may have lost the elections, but we throw an open challenge to rival parties that they compare the developmental works done during their regime with those done in our tenure. Their work will not be able to stand in front of ours," he said. Before Akhilesh Yadav's public meeting in Azamgarh, an SP spokesperson said the party was "waiting" for the BSP's "official stand" on whether to continue with the alliance or not. The Samajwadi Party's statement followed Mayawati's direction to her party leaders to prepare to contest the coming assembly bypolls on their own. "No one has got the official stand of the BSP regarding the alliance. We are waiting for an official statement," SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI earlier. Earlier, in her party workers' meet, Mayawati had asked her party leaders not to depend on the alliance to win votes but work to expand the organisation. According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati also referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP could not transfer the community votes to the BSP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. She said the SP could not even save its "family seats". "These are all hearsay. What was the matter of discussion has to be understood," the SP spokesperson said. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will take a decision on the developments once he comes to Lucknow from his parliamentary constituency Azamgarh, Chaudhary said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Samajwadi Party said Monday it is "waiting" for the Bahujan Samaj Party to take an "official stand" on whether to continue the alliance or not, hours after BSP chief Mayawati asked her party leaders to prepare to contest coming assembly bypolls on their own. "No one has got the official stand of the BSP regarding the alliance. We are waiting for an official statement," SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI. Earlier Monday at a meeting of BSP Uttar Pradesh unit in New Delhi, Mayawati asked her party leaders to not depend on the alliance to win votes but work to expand the organisation. According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP could not transfer the community votes to the BSP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. She said the SP could not even save its "family seats". "These are all hearsay. What was the matter of discussion has to be understood," the SP spokesperson said. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will take a decision on the developments once he comes to Lucknow from his parliamentary constituency Azamgarh, Chaudhary said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Kerala government Monday said a college student in Kochi is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but a final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. The Kerala Health Department has initiated precautionary measures to deal with the possible outbreak of Nipah virus. Health Minister K K Shailaja said in Thiruvananthapuram the 23-year-old college student, who has been admitted to a private hospital in Kochi, is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus but final confirmation is awaited from the National Institute of Virology in Pune. She said isolation wards have been set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital in Kochi. The minister rushed to Kochi after briefing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about the development. She chaired a high-level meeting with top health officials and people's representatives to review the situation. Addressing the media after the meeting, she said the samples were sent to the State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases in Alappuzha for examination and it was found that the student was infected with a virus having similarities with Nipah. The final confirmation from the National Institute of Virology in Pune is expected tonight, she said. Instilling confidence among the people, the minister said there was no need for any concern and the government, which successfully battled the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts last year, was fully capable of dealing with the situation. The minister appealed to social media users not to create panic among the public. Medical experts from Kozhikode have already reached Kochi and there are enough medicines and medical equipment to deal with the situation, she said. Health workers are being imparted training in case the test in Pune institute is positive and more cases are reported. She said a list of 86 people the student had come in contact with has been prepared. They were under observation and will report to the nearest medical facility if they develop influenza-like symptoms like fever, headache, myalgia (muscle pain), vomiting and sore throat, she said. No such complaints have been reported from them, the minister said. Although the state government is awaiting a report from the Pune Institute to confirm if the student has contracted the Nipah virus, the Health department in the state has geared up to deal with a possible outbreak. A control room has been opened in Ernakulam district headquarters. Earlier, a meeting of officials of the Health department and Ernakulam district authorities, chaired by Principal Secretary (Health) Rajan Khobragade, reviewed the situation. A senior district health official said doctors informed them that the student had taken food in the morning and is responding to treatment. Ernakulam district collector Mohammed Y Saffirulla said surveillance teams have been constituted to monitor the suspected Nipah cases. A facility to quarantine patients with suspected symptoms has been arranged at Kalamassery Medical College Hospital. Health authorities in Thrissur said the student, who was suffering from fever, had sought medical assistance at two private hospitals in Thrissur city when he had come to Kochi for a training programme recently as part of his course. He is studying in Thodupuzha in Idukki district. Thrissur district medical officer Dr Reena said the student was in Thrissur only for four days and had been suffering from fever. There were 16 other students with him and six of them, who came in direct contact with him, were under observation. Besides, the people who had come in contact with the student were also under watch, the DMO said. Officials said the family and neighbours of the young man, who hails from Ernakulam district, and the college in Thodupuzha, where he is studying, were also under observation. The Health minister said there was no need for people to panic as the government has taken all precautionary measures and asked private hospitals to inform them if suspected cases were reported. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government was taking precautionary steps and monitoring the situation. The chief minister also asked people not to indulge in fake campaign about the Nipah virus on social media. On May 19, 2018, Nipah virus disease (NiV) outbreak was reported from Kozhikode in Malappuram district. As per state government figures, the Nipah virus had claimed 17 lives -- 14 in Kozhikode and three in neighbouring Malappuram in May last year. According to the WHO, Nipah virus is a newly emerging disease that can be transmitted from its reservoir (natural wildlife host), the flying foxes (fruit bats), to both animals and humans. It takes its name from Sungai Nipah, a village in Malaysia where it was first identified. Human infection can range from asymptomatic infection, acute respiratory infection (mild, severe), and fatal encephalitis. Infected people initially develop influenza-like symptoms of fever, headache, myalgia, vomiting and sore throat. This can be followed by dizziness, drowsiness, altered consciousness, and neurological signs that indicate acute encephalitis. Some people can also experience atypical pneumonia and severe respiratory problems, including acute respiratory distress. Encephalitis and seizures occur in severe cases, progressing to coma within 24 to 48 hours. Last year, the WHO had said, "In the outbreak in Kerala, we are seeing patients with encephalitis, myocarditis and acute respiratory infection. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sudan's military rulers denied trying to break up a protest sit-in "by force" Monday in Khartoum, saying their forces were targeting a site nearby, after a doctors' committee said nine people had been killed. "We did not disperse the sit-in by force," said Shamseddine Kabbashi, spokesman for the ruling military council. "The tents are there, and the youth are moving freely," he told Sky Arabia. Heavily armed security forces in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns were deployed in large numbers all around the capital, while gunfire was heard from the protest site by an AFP journalist. Kabbashi said the military was targeting a "dangerous" area near the sit-in protest. "This morning... security forces wanted to disperse a gathering in the area near where the sit-in was taking place," he said. "This area, called Colombia, has long been a hotbed of corruption and negative practises that go against the conduct of Sudanese society," said Kabbashi. "Many escaped from the Colombia area and entered the area of the sit-in... and as a result many of the youth left the area." The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the protesters, said at least nine people had been killed by forces of the military council. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sri Lanka's suspended police chief has accused President Maithripala Sirisena of failing to prevent the Easter bombings that killed over 250 people as he filed a petition in the Supreme Court against his "unfair dismissal" over the catastrophic intelligence failure. Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara was sent on compulsory leave by Sirisena for his alleged inaction on the intelligence shared by India, which warned of an impending attack by Islamic militants, and thereby, failing to prevent the serial blasts on April 21. In the petition submitted to the court last week, Jayasundara revealed serious lack of communication between intelligence agencies and security arms of the government, all which fall under Sirisena, and claimed he was sidelined and excluded from attending National Security Council meetings since a political rift between the president and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe emerged in October last year. In October 2018, Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. The police was under the control of Wickremesinghe. In the 20-page complaint, the former police chief said Sirisena had asked Nilantha Jayawardena, the head of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) -- country's premier spy agency, to report directly to the president on matters of national security. Jayasundara claimed despite having intelligence inputs from India about an impending attack, the SIS chief did not take the warning seriously and take any action on it. On April 9, Jayasundara said he received a letter from Sisira Mendis, the chief of national intelligence, giving information on the planned attack. He also received a phone call from the Secretary to the then Defence Minister Hemasiri Fernando on the impending attacks. Fernando was also sacked by Sirisena for his alleged failure to prevent the attacks. The former Inspector-General claimed despite the SIS not sharing security warning information with the police department, he alerted Jayawardena about the impending threat but the SIS head did not ask him to take any action. More than 250 people were killed in eight coordinated suicide bomb attacks carried out by local Jihadi group National Thowheed Jammath (NTJ) linked to the ISIS on April 21. Two days after the attacks, Jayasundara said, Sirisena asked him to take the responsibility for the failure to prevent the bombings and step down in exchange for a diplomatic posting. However, he refused to do so following which Sirisena sacked him "illegally". Earlier on Thursday, Sirisena said he was not privy to an intelligence warning on the Easter suicide bombings, contradicting the national intelligence chief Mendis' testimony before a parliamentary probe panel. During a visit to New Delhi last week to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony, Sirisena said a clear report about a possible terror attack was sent by Indian intelligence agencies to their Sri Lankan counterparts 17 days prior to the April 21 bombings but he was not informed about it. "Had I known about a possible attack, I would have taken necessary steps to prevent it," Sirisena said. Sirisena said he left for a foreign trip on April 16 and till then he was not informed about the Indian intelligence report, though there had been exchanges on the issue between the defence secretary and the then inspector general of police. "Had I known it, I would not have left the country," he had said. A parliamentary select committee was appointed to probe the events leading to the April 21 attacks and any lapses by those responsible following reports that India had alerted the Sri Lankan defence establishment on the impending attacks. Testifying before the committee on Wednesday, Mendis said that at an intelligence coordination meeting on April 9 discussed the information received on the impending attacks, however, it "was never a main point for discussion". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Newly-appointed Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Monday said that India will hold spectrum auction for 5G and other bands in the current calendar year. Taking charge of his new ministry, Prasad said that amongst his priorities will be revival of state-owned MTNL and BSNL. The minister, however, asserted that the telecom corporations will have to respond with professionalism and cooperation. "We will hold spectrum auction this calendar year," the minster told reporters. Other issues that will be prioritised by the minister include 5G trials in 100 days, fast tracking of five lakh wifi hotspots, and promoting telecom manufacturing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three senior doctors of a civic-run hospital, arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of a junior colleague by harassing and making casteist remarks against her, Monday approached a sessions court for bail. The three doctors -- Hema Ahuja, Bhakti Mehere and Ankita Khandelwal -- all attached to the B Y L Nair Hospital in South Mumbai, were arrested last week on charges of abetment to suicide of their junior colleague, Dr Payal Tadvi. After Tadvi ended her life on May 22, her family alleged that the doctors taunted and hurled casteist abuses at her as she belonged to a scheduled tribe. While Mehere was arrested last Tuesday evening, Ahuja and Khandelwal were taken into custody in the early hours of Wednesday. The accused were subsequently booked under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Anti-Ragging Act, Information Technology Act and section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). On May 31, the three accused were remanded to judicial custody till June 10 by a special court, following which they filed bail pleas on Monday. In their bail applications, the three have claimed that they never made any remarks on Tadvi's caste and were in fact not even aware about her caste. They further claimed that they had only pulled up Tadvi for doing a "poor job" in the hospital and had not harassed her as alleged by her family. The court is likely to take up the bail pleas for hearing this week. Tadvi (26), a post-graduate student at Nair Hospital, hanged herself in her hostel room as she was fed up of being allegedly harassed by the three accused. It was also alleged that the accused had hurled casteist slurs at her. The Mumbai Crime Branch is probing the suicide case, which had triggered a wave of protests by different organisations. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In an apparent dig at the DMK, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam Monday said some people who are dreaming about ruling Tamil Nadu are never going to see it happen. The AIADMK leader also said the victory in nine by-poll seats indicated the support the party enjoyed among all sections, including minorities. "Some people are dreaming about ruling Tamil Nadu. They are never going to realise their dreams," Panneerselvam said during an Iftaar party here. Referring to 'minority-friendly' policies announced by the party's former leaders late M G Ramachandran and late J Jayalalithaa, the deputy Chief Minister said the present leadership would also follow suit. "We, as loyal workers of amma, (as Jayalalithaa is fondly called) have been continuing the initiatives like Haj subsidy, loans for youth to set up businesses among others initiated by Amma," he said. Claiming support of the people of Tamil Nadu, Panneerselvam said, "The victory in nine bypolls says that the people always want Amma's regime in Tamil Nadu. The election results also show that this has been accepted by minorities." DMDK leader Premalatha Vijayakanth, PMK leader Ramadoss, TMC leader G K Vasan, all in alliance led by AIADMK, took part on the occasion. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tripura government has sent the Director General of Police, Akhil Kumar Shukla on long leave and given charge of the state police chief to ADGP (Law and Order) Rajib Singh, an official said on Monday. A notification issued by the General Administration department said Shukla was sanctioned 'Earned leave' of 70 days from June 1 to August 9 along with permission to leave the station. The DGP is likely to return to his post and station on the expiry of leave, the notification added. However, an official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) on condition of anonymity said the state government was "not happy" with Shukla's performance in maintaining law and order and he was told to go on "forced leave". Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on May 28 had appealed to all parties to stop political violence in the state and had warned of stern action against the perpetrators irrespective of political identity. Deb said that 186 cases of violence were registered in the state after the Election Commission announced the Lok Sabha election schedule. The Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) has taken charge as the in-charge DGP on June 1, it said. Earlier, on May 24, Chief Secretary L K Gupta was transferred by the Biplab Kumar Deb government to the State Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (SIPARD) as its chairman. Eleven IAS officers, two IPS officers and three Tripura Civil Service (TCS) were transferred recently. The official in the CMO said the transfers were made to make the administration more 'dynamic'. On Friday the chief minister had dropped Health Minister Sudip Roy Barman from his Cabinet for alleged 'anti- party' activities. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Donald Trump has arrived in the UK on the first leg of a trip that will include commemorating the 75th anniversary of D-Day during a ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery in France. The agenda for Trump's weeklong journey is largely ceremonial: a state visit and an audience with Queen Elizabeth II in London, D-Day commemoration ceremonies on both sides of the English Channel and his first presidential visit to Ireland. But Trump's visit also comes at a fraught time in British politics, with Prime Minister Theresa May stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party on June 7 over the country's Brexit turmoil. Lawmakers in Parliament have repeatedly rejected May's Brexit divorce deal with the European Union. Trump will meet with May, but Monday's focus will be on elaborate ceremonies honouring the president. It begins with Queen Elizabeth II holding a grand welcoming ceremony at Buckingham Palace, moves on to a formal tea with Prince Charles and ends with a sumptuous state banquet Monday night. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US appeared to call Monday for a boycott of in order to force "big changes" at after criticising the cable news network's coverage as he began a visit to Britain. "I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway," he said in a tweet with a spelling mistake. "It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldn't they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad!" Trump has had a running feud with CNN, which was acquired by earlier this year in a merger with Time-Warner that was unsuccessfully opposed by the Justice Department. The complained on arriving in Britain that he had watched "for a short while" as a primary source of US news but turned it off. "All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Two members of a gang were arrested for allegedly robbing a man of Rs 1.4 crore at gunpoint in outer Delhi's Rani Bagh, police said Monday. The accused have been identified as Babloo, a resident of Sultanpuri and his associate Vikas (39), a resident of Anand Parbat, they said. The duo had robbed the man in March. According to the police, the accused were arrested near the Ashoka Metro on Sunday. Around Rs 5.50 lakh were recovered from them. Documents of property worth more than Rs 26 lakh bought from looted money has been recovered from them. Two other members of their gang -- Alam Ali and Mustkeem were arrested in April by the Crime Branch which had also recovered around Rs 40.40 lakhs of the looted money from them, police said. "The incident took place in March. In his complaint, the victim, a resident of Saraswati Vihar had said when he was returning with his father in his car from Naya Bazaar, four people on two motorcycles stopped their vehicle near Pitampura and robbed them of Rs 1.4 crores at gunpoint," Rajeev Ranjan, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) said. Vikas and Babloo were also involved in another case of robbery in west Delhi's Moti Nagar where they along with their accomplices had looted a man of Rs 8 lakhs at gunpoint. Vikas used to keep tabs about movement of cash in the Naya Bazaar area and when he got to know about such movements, he shared the information with Babloo. Then together the duo used to hatch a plan to rob the victims, a police officer said. The gang usually followed their targets on their scooters. On an opportune moment, they would intercept the victim's vehicle. One of the scooter would block the target while the other scooter would block the target vehicle sideways. They would then threaten the victims at gunpoint and rob them of their cash, the officer said. Babloo had purchased a flat worth Rs 23 lakhs from the looted amount in Palam and had bought amenities worth Rs 3 lakhs to furnish his flat. His associate Vikas has paid Rs 4 lakhs to a financier to get a new LGV (Light Goods Vehicle) from Tata Motors and Rs 1.5 lakhs to an insurance company to clear his dues. Babloo was also involved in 15 different cases including that of robbery, dacoity, snatching and other heinous crimes registered at various police stations, the officer said. Investigation revealed that the fifth associate in the case, identified as Baba had more than 24 criminal cases registered against him at various police stations. "Baba orchestrated his arrest in some other case under a false name so that the looted cash stayed intact and he did not have to return it," the senior officer added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the de facto ruler of the UAE who controls sovereign wealth funds worth USD 1.3 trillion, is arguably the most powerful leader in the Arab world with his special forces operating in Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Egypt, according to a prominent American newspaper. The 58-year-old Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, colloquially known as MBZ, is among the most influential foreign voices in Washington, urging the US to adopt his increasingly bellicose approach to the region, the New York Times reported. The prince, who controls sovereign wealth funds worth USD 1.3 trillion, more than any other country, has the Arab world's most potent military, equipped through its work with the US to conduct high-tech surveillance and combat operations far beyond its borders, the paper said. His post-Arab Spring interventions have hardly stabilized the region. Prince Mohammed, also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE's Armed Forces, was instrumental in upgrading his country's ties with India to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. He visited India twice, including as the Chief Guest at the Republic Day celebrations in 2017 - during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first term. Modi also visited the Gulf state twice, helping in sustaining the momentum generated by the visits of the crown prince. Soon after Prime Minister Modi's oath ceremony for a second term last week, the UAE government lit up the iconic ADNOC building in Abu Dhabi, in an extraordinary gesture to symbolise the close bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two nations. The flags of India and the UAE and portraits of Modi and Prince Mohammed were displayed on the facade of the iconic building of the state-owned oil company of the UAE. Indian Ambassador to the UAE Navdeep Singh Suri told the state-run WAM agency that since the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the Gulf state in August 2015, the two nations have seen a real transformation in our bilateral ties. "The close friendship that has blossomed over the last four years between our Prime Minister and the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed is well-known. The whole world can see it today in this unique celebration of the re-election of the Prime Minister for a fresh five year term" Suri said, referring to the ADNOC tower which was beautifully lit up and adorned with the flags of India and UAE and visuals of the two leaders. Over the last two years, Suri said bilateral ties have evolved from a simple buyer-seller relationship to a multi-faceted partnership. During the last few years, the UAE has quietly handed over to Indian authorities a number of wanted criminals, including British national Christian Michel - an alleged middleman in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal. According to the NYT, Prince Mohammed's influence in the United States is legendary - and never more felt than under President Donald Trump. Before Trump took office, the prince secured a secret meeting with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The prince also tried to broker talks between the Trump administration and Russia, a gambit that later entangled him in the special counsel's investigation into foreign election interference. "...Under the Trump administration, his influence in Washington appears greater than ever. He has a rapport with President Trump, who has frequently adopted the prince's views on Qatar, Libya and Saudi Arabia, even over the advice of cabinet officials or senior national security staff," the paper said. For decades, the prince has been a key American ally, following Washington's lead, but now he is going his own way. His special forces are active in Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Egypt's North Sinai. He has worked to thwart democratic transitions in the Middle East, helped install a reliable autocrat in Egypt and boosted a protege to power in Saudi Arabia, the paper said. Citing Western diplomats who know the prince, the paper said he is obsessed with two enemies, Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood - a 90-year-old Islamist movement founded in Egypt. "Trump has sought to move strongly against both and last week took steps to bypass congressional opposition to keep selling weapons to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates," the paper said. President Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal last year and has unilaterally reimposed stringent sanctions on Iran. Last month, the US designated Iran's revolutionary guards as a "foreign terrorist organisation". "MBZ has an extraordinary way of telling Americans his own interests but making it come across as good advice about the region," Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, whose sympathy for the Arab Spring and negotiations with Iran brought blistering criticism from the Emirati prince, was quoted as saying by the paper. When it comes to influence in Washington, Rhodes added, "MBZ is in a class by himself." The paper said that the prince is unlike most of the Arab royals who are paunchy, long-winded and prone to keep visitors waiting. He graduated at the age of 18 from the British officers' training program at Sandhurst. He stays slim and fit, trades tips with visitors about workout machines, and never arrives late for a meeting. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE allow Christian churches and Hindu or Sikh temples, partly to accommodate a vast foreign work force, the paper said. To underscore the point, the prince last year created a Ministry of Tolerance and declared this the "Year of Tolerance." the paper added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Union Minister Som Parkash said Monday he looks to work in tandem with the Punjab government for promoting the industry in the state. Spelling out his priorities for his Hoshiarpur parliamentary constituency, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry said that he will try his best to bring big industry, rail connectivity and health care services to the constituency. He was speaking with reporters during his first visit to Phagwara, which falls in Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha constituency, after being inducted into the Union Cabinet. "I will love to work in tandem with state government so that Punjab's industry flourishes," Parkash said. To a query about various steps to resolve various problems faced by the industry, the minister said, "The department is quite big. I will study it and then spell out the measures in coming 15-20 days for solving problems of industries in general and those of Punjab in particular. Claiming that his induction as a minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet came as a huge surprise to him, Parkash said, "I did not believe when a phone call came from the PMO on May 30 at about 12:30 pm about my induction into the council of ministers. I rang back again to confirm it," he later told a public gathering here Monday. It was Phagwara which Parkash had represented twice in Punjab Vidhan Sabha as BJP MLA. He informed that he had submitted his resignation as MLA to Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker on June 3. With his resignation, Phagwara assembly seat has fallen vacant and will go in for a bypoll later. Parkash declined to comment on statement of former Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma who has favoured a bigger share of seats which the saffron outfit contests in the assembly and in the general elections in alliance with its ally SAD. "SAD-BJP alliance is going good and our relationship is quite strong",he remarked. "Our cadre is rock strong and we will winhands down the bypoll too whenever these are held," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A US aircraft carrier the White House ordered to the Mideast over a perceived threat from Iran remains outside of the Persian Gulf amid efforts to de-escalate tensions between Tehran and Washington. The USS Abraham Lincoln on Monday was in the Arabian Sea some 200 miles (320 kilometers) off the coast of Oman. While US Navy officials repeatedly declined to discuss why they hadn't gone through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, they insisted they remain ready to launch any mission in the region. However, Capt. Putnam Browne, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, also told The Associated Press: "You don't want to inadvertently escalate something." The White House in May ordered the Lincoln and its strike group to speed to the Mideast. It's also sent B-52 bombers and ordered hundreds of troops to the area. Tensions with Iran have worsened since President Donald Trump pulled America out of Iran's nuclear deal last year and imposed sanctions on Tehran. On the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, the USS Abraham Lincoln hosted journalists from the AP and other media outlets. They spent some four hours aboard the vessel after a two-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates and were greeted by camera-carrying sailors who documented every part of their four hours onboard. The day before, the US Air Force announced a B-52 conducted a training exercise with the Lincoln that included "simulated strike operations." Thousands in Iran mark Khomeini's death by visiting his golden shrine south of Tehran. This year, Iranian military officials reportedly plan to guard it with Hawk surface-to-air missiles, the same kind the US delivered to the Islamic Republic in the Iran-Contra scandal. However, in recent days, the Trump administration has stressed it is ready to speak to the Iranians without preconditions. Asked about why the Lincoln hadn't gone into the Persian Gulf, Rear Adm. John FG Wade, the commander of the carrier's strike group, said that his forces could "conduct my mission wherever and whenever needed." He declined to discuss any specifics about that mission, though he said Iran had presented "credible threats" to the region. "They do impose a threat to our operations, but also to the safety and security of commerce and trade going through the Strait of Hormuz and that's why we are here," Wade said. The Lincoln famously served as the backdrop of then-President George W. Bush's May 2003 speech declaring combat operations over in Iraq, a banner reading "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" hanging behind him. The majority of the war's casualties came after. On Monday, F/A-18s flew maneuvers over the carrier. Accompanying the Lincoln to the Mideast are three destroyers the USS Bainbridge, the USS Mason and the USS Nitze as well as the guided-missile cruiser the USS Leyte Gulf. Capt. William Reed, the commander of the carrier's air wing, laughed off any notion the situation was stressful. "It's just another day at the office," he said from the carrier's hangar as airmen worked on the ship's F/A-18 fighter jets. Capt. Chris Follin, the commodore of the destroyer strike group travelling with the Lincoln, shrugged off any concern. "I wouldn't want to go against that," he said, nodding toward the ship's sailors and warplanes. "Our mission is just to keep the peace. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US decision to withdraw export incentives from India has been taken in a "haste" and would hurt the domestic exporters, industry chamber CII said Monday. CII President Vikram Kirloskar expressed hope that both the US and India would discuss the matter and find an amicable solution to this issue. The US has said it will withdraw incentives provided to Indian exporters under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme with effect from June 5. "The issue of GSP has ben done in a little bit of haste...It is certainly going to hurt us, especially small item exporters," he told reporters here. He added that rolling back these benefits would impact both Indian as well as US companies. "It impacts both the sides, not only us. It is boosting the competitiveness of US manufacturers by lowering their cost. About two-third of US imports are under GSP programme and they are raw materials or components to manufacture goods," Kirloskar said. He said the programme helps American consumer by eliminating duties on varieties of expensive consumer goods and these benefits are real and tangible. "US importers enjoyed nearly USD 730 million in savings on import duties under GSP programme in 2016 and 2017. It saved American companies USD 894 million," he said. Commenting on the issue, the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) said India is firmly planning to counter the US decision to withdraw GSP on Indian goods by imposing retaliatory tariffs in the coming months. TPCI Chairman Mohit Singla said the withdrawal of benefits "will not" make much difference as Indian exports are all geared up to take this challenge. "Even the US was benefitting from the GSP regime, since the intermediary inputs provided by India helped keep its industry competitive. This withdrawal of GSP is only going to inject the estimated additional burden of USD 190 million, which is miniscule compared to India's overall export to US," he added. India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP programme in 2017 with USD 5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status, Singal said in a statement. India's top exports to the US under GSP included motor vehicle parts, ferro alloys, precious metal jewellery, building stone, insulated cables, leather products, garment and wires. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that the US decision would have minimal impact on Indian exporters. "However, in respect of products having GSP benefits of 3 per cent or more, exporters may find it difficult to absorb the GSP loss," FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said in a statement. The sectors which would be impacted include most imitation jewellery, leather articles, pharmaceuticals, chemical and plastics, basic and processed agri goods, he added. "Government should provide some supports to products where GSP loss has been significant so that the market is not lost. Extension of rebate of state and central tax levies scheme on such products on exports to US will be beneficial," Gupta said. As many as 1,900 Indian products from sectors such as chemicals and engineering get duty free access to the US market under the GSP, introduced in 1976. The US has alleged that India is not providing equitable market access to its companies and has raised serious concerns over capping of price on certain medical devices. It is also seeking market for its dairy products. The US' demand for relaxation in norms for exports of medical devices and dairy products are non-negotiable for India. (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.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo put pressure on the Netherlands on Monday to follow Washington's tough line on China as the Dutch government prepares to auction off new "5G" internet rights. Speaking after meeting his Dutch counterpart Stef Blok, Pompeo said they discussed, among other issues, "concerns about technology in infrastructure and technology and the 5G infrastructure network." Fifth-generation, or 5G, infrastructure is a key battle ground in a US-China trade war, with Chinese tech gear supplier Huawei at its heart. The Netherlands and several other European countries are in coming months going to auction off rights for 5G networks to telecom operators. The operators, meanwhile, are signing deals with tech suppliers for the new gear needed to run 5G internet. A 2018 US. law bars Huawei, the biggest global maker of network equipment that enjoys a lead in 5G technology, from selling telecoms equipment to U.S. government agencies and contractors. The Trump administration says the company can be legally compelled to spy on behalf of the Chinese government and is therefore a threat to international cybersecurity. The US imposed sanctions on Huawei in May amid an escalating trade war and as the two powers struggle for long-term technological and economic dominance. "We've been clear: our ask is that our allies and our partners and our friends don't do anything that will endanger our shared security interests or restrict our ability to share sensitive information," Pompeo said. "Friends speak to each other quite honestly and we had the opportunity to do that today." Blok said that the Netherlands shares US concerns, but has not yet decided on the rules for its 5G auction, expected later this year. "There is a specialist committee working now to decide on what criteria to add to the 5G auction and somewhere this summer those criteria will be published," Blok said. Pompeo's brief stop in The Hague is the third leg of a four-nation tour of Europe in which he is both trying to calm nerves over rising U.S.-Iran tensions and stressing that America will defend itself and not relent in raising pressure on the Islamic Republic with economic sanctions. On Sunday in Switzerland, Pompeo said the Trump administration is ready for unconditional discussions with Iran to ease tensions that have sparked fears of conflict. The United States has long accused Iran of destabilizing the Mideast region. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The US Embassy in Sudan is calling on Sudanese security forces to stop their "attacks against protesters and other civilians." The embassy said via Facebook that apparent attempts by Sudanese troops to move against a months-long protest camp in the capital are "wrong," and that it holds the country's Transitional Military Council responsible for the attacks. The British ambassador in Sudan, Ifran Siddiq, says he is "extremely concerned by the heavy gunfire" he'd heard from his official home in Khartoum, as well as "reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site, resulting in casualties." "No excuse for any such attack," he said via Twitter. Sudan's ruling military council confirms there have been clashes between troops and protesters in a sit-in area in the capital, Khartoum. Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, spokesman for the council, said in televised remarks that the military was targeting what it considers a problematic area near the sit-in, nicknamed "Colombia." He said a number of people from that area then moved to the main protest site, and that the clashes had been between security forces and those people. He did not make clear if the military's goal was to break up the entire sit-in camp, but said forces are moving to open blocked roads across the capital. In the same "Colombia" area, three people, including a woman, were killed by security forces in recent days. Sudanese protest leaders say at least five people were killed as security forces moved against a protest sit-in camp in the capital, besieging the site and setting fire to tents. The Sudan Doctors' Committee said Monday that an unspecified but high number had been wounded. The group said medical personnel and injured people were trapped in clinics in the area, and demanded that they be allowed to leave. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Drug firm Cadila Healthcare Monday said the US health regulator has issued a total of 11 observations after inspection of its manufacturing facilities at St Louis in the US. The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspected the manufacturing facilities of Nesher Pharmaceuticals (USA) LLC located at St Louis, Missouri, USA from May 13 to May 31, 2019, Cadila Healthcare said in a filing to BSE. Nesher Pharmaceuticals LLC is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA, it added. "The inspection concluded with 3 observations at one facility and 8 observations at the other facility of Nesher Pharmaceuticals with a recommendation for Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI)," Cadila Healthcare said. This was a product specific pre-approval inspection with general current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) and there were no data integrity related observations, it added. "The company is confident of addressing these observations and responding to the USFDA at the earliest," Cadila Healthcare said. As per the USFDA, VAI means that "objectionable conditions or practices were found, but the agency is not prepared to take or recommend any administrative or regulatory action". Shares of Cadila Healthcare Monday closed at Rs 253 per scrip on the BSE, up 2.22 per cent from its previous close. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said a new bust of social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar will be installed at the Vidyasagar College in place of the old one, which was desecrated by miscreants last month. "The state government will place a bust of Vidyasagar on June 11. Another statue of bronze is being prepared," Banerjee said. It will also conduct beautification work at the college and upgrade the museum there, she said, adding, a standing statue of Rabindranath Tagore and another of Asutosh Mukherjee will be installed in front of the Presidency University and Calcutta University, respectively. Banerjee said her government will be organising a number of programmes to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Vidyasagar. The college named after Iswarchandra Vidyasagar, a key figure in the Bengal renaissance, was ransacked and a bust of the 19th century social reformer shattered allegedly by BJP workers in clashes, during a roadshow by party president Amit Shah in the city on May 14. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A woman who testified in court to the existence of camps for Muslim minorities in China's troubled Xinjiang region has left Kazakhstan after being refused asylum there, her lawyer said on Monday. Sayragul Sauytbay, a Chinese citizen of Kazakh descent, and her family travelled to Sweden which had granted her an alien's passport for the journey, her lawyer said. "Of course she has gone there with that intention (of receiving citizenship)," Aiman Umarova told AFP, stressing that her client had not yet received asylum status from Stockholm. Choosing Sweden as a destination could stoke tensions between Stockholm and Beijing. Ties between the two countries have been strained since Chinese authorities detained Chinese-born Swedish publisher Gui Minhai while he was in the company of Swedish diplomats on a train to Beijing in January, 2018. Sauytbay made world headlines last year when she testified in a Kazakh court that she had been forced by Chinese authorities to work at a re-education camp where 2,500 Kazakhs were interned. Sauytbay was arrested by authorities in Kazakhstan after she used forged documents to cross from China into the Central Asian country where her husband and children were living and had received citizenship. Umarova said Sauytbay needed the alien's passport because China had confiscated her passport prior to her travelling to Kazakhstan, which is her historic homeland. China has come under increasing global scrutiny over its treatment of ethnic Uighurs and other Turkic-speaking minorities in Xinjiang, with the EU and the United Nations requesting access to the region. An estimated one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are believed to be held in internment camps in Xinjiang. China has not released a figure and downplays the camps as "vocational education centres" aimed at steering people away from religious extremism. Sauytbay's trial put under scrutiny Kazakhstan's relationship with powerful neighbour China whose Belt and Road infrastructure project is viewed by Kazakh authorities as an opportunity to access global markets. Although the Kazakh court freed her amid a public outcry in August, migration authorities subsequently refused her asylum status in a move that appeared motivated by the need not to offend Beijing. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a setback to state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, the Congress has won majority of wards in his constituency of Shikaripura in Shivamogga district, in the town municipal council poll there for which results were declared Monday. Of 23 wards in Shikaripura that went to polls Saturday, the Congress has won in 12, the BJP 8 and independents in 3. The BJP's performance has not been that good in other Uurban Local Bodies (ULB)s of Shivamogga district, considered as its bastion. In Shiralakoppa town panchayat, the Congress has won in 7 out of 17 wards that went to polls, while the BJP managed 2, the JD(S) 3 and Independents 5. In Hosanagara town panchayat, of 11 wards, the Congress and BJP managed to win 4 each, the JD(S) 3. In the district's Soraba town panchayat and Sagara municipal council, BJP's performance is somewhat better. While the BJP won 6 of 12 wards in Soraba, the Congress has won 4, JD(S) and independents have won in one each. In Sagara of 31 wards, the BJP bagged 16, Congress 9, JD(S) 1 andindependents 5. The Congress and JD(S), which are in alliance in the state, had decided to go to polls separately and had asked its localleadership to decide on any understanding between the partieslocally depending on the prevailing situation there. Results were declared on Monday for a total 140 wards in Shivamogga and Bengaluru Rural that went to polls Saturday. Of 140 wards, the Congress is leading by winning 53 wards, the BJP 40, JD(S) 28, BSP 1 and independents 18. After a rout in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Congressin Karnataka heaved a sigh of relief last week as the party had won the highest number of seats in the May 29 ULB polls, for which the results were declared Friday. While the Congress won 509 out of total 1,221 wards in 56urban local bodies for which results were declared on Friday, the BJP was victorious in 366 wards; JD(S) that went alone won 174 wards, BSP in 3, CPI(M) 2, others 7 and independents in 160, the state election commission said. Meanwhile, Pradesh Congress president Dineh Gundu Rao has asked the party's local leadership to go in for a post poll alliancewith JD(S) and independents to gain power in local bodies. Pointing out that the Congress and JD(S) have majority in many local bodies, in a message he has asked his party men to gain power in those local bodies with support of the regionalparty and independents. "Wherever we have majority, take cooperation of JD(S), wherever JD(S) has majority cooperate with them and where both of us lack majority seek support of independents. At no cost, the BJP should be allowed to join hands with them. If there are issues that cannot be resolved at local level bring it to to the notice of the KPCC," the message to local leaders read. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Are you a high-income taxpayer? Well, you may soon be invited to have tea with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is one of the various plans the government reportedly is considering to reward India's top tax contributors towards nation building. The Modi led-NDA government is looking at other non-monetary incentives as well. The thought behind such a move is to motivate taxpayers to voluntarily pay and help the government collect more revenue, the Livemint reported. "The non-monetary privileges could involve inviting taxpayers for a special audience with the finance minister or the prime minister. For ordinary persons, an extra financial support from the government means a lot, whereas for the high earners, the extra tax that they pay may be a very small fraction of their total income and may not mean much, going by the principle of diminishing marginal utility," a source told the news daily. Also Read: I-T dept to fast track disposal of appeal cases; look into taxpayer concerns between May 16-31 The goal is to make the tax collection a painless exercise for the income tax department. The program may be presented in the first budget of the Modi government 2.0 and mirrors the ruling dispensation's aspiration to devise a more progressive tax system, where the wealthier ones pay more taxes, the report said. The plan is being thought out at a time when the revenue department is seeking additional resources for welfare schemes as its revenue receipts collection has been lower than expected. Also Read: Income tax e-filers drop by 6.6 lakh in FY19 The government on a lot of occasions has thanked the taxpayers. The Income Tax Department issues certificates of appreciation to the ones who pay their taxes dedicatedly. The Centre had missed the revised Direct Tax collection target of Rs 12 lakh crore for the year ended 31 March. Currently, the individuals who earn between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore a year have to pay a 10% surcharge while those earning above Rs 1 crore pay a surcharge of 15% on their taxable income. Meanwhile, businesses too attract surcharge on incomes above Rs 1 crore. The newly-appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the full Budget for 2019-20 on July 5 in the Lok Sabha. This will be first full Budget of Modi 2.0 government. Also Read: CBDT rejects report on decline in income tax e-filing, says 18% spike instead A Delhi court Monday approved businessman Robert Vadra's request to travel abroad for six weeks. Special Judge Arvind Kumar permitted him to travel to USA and the Netherlands as well as directed him to submit his travel schedule. However, the court did not grant permission to Vadra to go to London. The businessman's counsel KTS Tulsi had reportedly informed the court that Vadra will not travel to London as per his earlier request if the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had an objection, PTI reported. The probe agency counsels Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and advocate Nitesh Rana, had objected to Vadra's plea seeking permission to travel to the UK and other countries citing health reasons. Also Read: ED issues fresh summon to Robert Vadra in money laundering case The court on May 29 had reserved its order on the businessman, accused in a money laundering case, to travel abroad. Vadra had told the court that as per Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, he has a "small tumour in the large intestine for the further management of which he can take a second opinion in London if he wishes so". The ED had opposed the application, saying the medical condition was merely a pretext to go where laundered money is parked. Also Read: Delhi Court seeks Robert Vadra's response on ED's plea to cancel his anticipatory bail in money laundering case "We got an opinion based on his medical report. It is a routine medical condition, that neither needs to be operated nor does it need medical treatment. It is not the case that the treatment is not available in India. The luxury of having a second opinion in a particular city should not be allowed," Mehta told the court. "The probe is at a crucial stage. His custodial interrogation is required and he may flee if allowed to go abroad. He is facing serious charges," he said. Also Read: Enforcement Directorate moves Delhi HC for cancellation of Robert Vadra's bail The ED also told the court that Vadra was linked to alleged arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari who was in London. "He may flee and not return. He may influence the probe and destroy the evidence. Bhandari fled from India and is currently in London. He is linked to Vadra in this very case. Vadra May destroy evidence if allowed to go abroad," the agency told the court, adding that Vadra's custodial interrogation was required. Special Judge Arvind Kumar said he would pass the order on June 3 after hearing arguments from both the parties. Also Read: Robert Vadra takes a dig at Smriti Irani's qualifications on day of Amethi contest Vadra's counsel Tulsi told the court that without any summons or warrant he returned to India from London as soon as he came to know about the matter, which shows he was not trying to flee. According to the application, Vadra was scheduled to go to London, US, Netherlands and Dubai. Vadra, facing investigation in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was directed on April 1 not to leave the country without prior permission by a court which had granted him anticipatory bail while imposing several other conditions. Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, is facing allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a property in London at 12, Bryanston Square, worth 1.9 million pounds. Also Read: Robert Vadra appears before ED for third time in money laundering case probe 03 Jun 2019, 4:23 PM Applying for US visa? Now you need to furnish 5-year social media details If you are planning to apply for the US visa, you will have to share your internet history. As proposed by the Trump administration, the country now requires most of the US visa applicants to submit their social media details for the past five years, as part of its strategy to improve screening of potential immigrants and visitors. According to media reports, the revised norms could affect up to 15 million travellers who apply for visas to enter the United States each year. Previously, this enhanced screening information had only been required for applicants who visited terrorist-controlled areas. PepsiCo to invest $70 million to set up food manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh Snacks and beverages major PepsiCo India has said that it will invest USD 70 million to build a food manufacturing plant in Uttar Pradesh. American global beverage firm, which aims to invest USD 2.1 billion in India by 2022, said the investment is a part of its strategy to expand capacity in the country's growing packaged foods market. Air India Express says half of its int flights logged full occupancy Air India Express, international budget arm of the national carrier Air India, said Sunday that half of its international flights logged a record 100 per cent occupancy last Friday. Significantly, all these flights were operated from different overseas destinations into India, it said in a statement. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries resumes lobbying in US Indian corporate giant Reliance Industries Ltd has resumed lobbying among US lawmakers through a new lobbyist for advocating its position on the "US economic trade sanctions policies". According to the new 'lobbying report' filings made with the US Senate, RIL has now engaged Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, which filed a 'lobbying registration' report on behalf of its client RIL on April 26. SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh elected to IATA board Low-cost carrier SpiceJet's Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh was Sunday elected to the board of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), less than three months after the airline joined the global grouping. SpiceJet said Singh has been appointed for a three-year term to the IATA board. Air cooler makers expects double-digit jump in sales this season as mercury soars Air cooler makers are expecting a double-digit growth in sales this season, led by north and central Indian market as acute heat wave continues across the country. Branded air cooler makers are offering latest technologies which include IoT (Internet of Things) ONGC topples IOC to regain most profitable PSU tag ONGC, India's top oil and gas producer, has toppled Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to regain crown of being the country's most profitable public sector company. Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) reported a 34 per cent jump its in 2018-19 fiscal net profit to Rs 26?,716 crore. Swiss bank accounts: Notices to Indian clients continue; Potluri Rajamohan Rao latest Amid a continuing crackdown on Swiss bank account holders with suspected illicit money, Switzerland has stepped up its process to share details of such individuals with Potluri Rajamohan Rao being the latest Indian national to get a notice in this regard. At least 14 Indians, with accounts in Switzerland-based banks, were issued notices by the Swiss authorities last month, in which they have been given one last chance to appeal against sharing of their details with India. Will work with full strength to increase job opportunities in MSMEs: Gadkari Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Minister Nitin Gadkari said he would work with full strength to increase job opportunities in the MSME sector. Gadkari, who has also been given charge of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said that he has set a new target of laying 40 kms of road everyday over the next one-and-a-half years. The minister was speaking to reporters at his residence here. Samsung is all set to unveil its Galaxy A80 in India soon. The South Korean electronics major has already launched Galaxy A70 in India and the Galaxy A80 has been unveiled in Thailand. The company will reportedly be holding an exclusive preview of the Galaxy A80 in different Indian cities next week. According to Sammobile, the preview events will be held in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata on June 8 and 9 and the Galaxy A80 could launch soon after the preview event. Meanwhile, the company is already expected to launch the Galaxy M40 on June 11. The Galaxy A80 is tipped to cost approximately Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000. The Sammobile report says that the event will be open for all, but registrations may be needed on the Samsung Members app. Details about the venue will reportedly be shared on the app. As far as the specifications are concerned, the Samsung Galaxy A80 has a 6.7-inch full-HD+ (1080x2400 pixels) Super AMOLED display or the "New Infinity Display". The phone comes with a sliding and rotating camera setup, owing to which there is no notch on the front of the phone. The A80 is powered by Qualcomm's brand-new Snapdragon 730G SoC, which is built on the 8nm manufacturing process. The phone also comes with an Adreno 618 GPU to take care of the graphics. The smartphone has a 3D glass back design with metal frames and comes in Ghost White, Angel Gold, and Phantom Black colours. Samsung Galaxy A80 comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage which cannot be expanded using a microSD. The phone runs on Android 9 Pie with Samsung's One UI. The Galaxy A80 also comes with 3,700mAh battery with Super Fast Charging support. The Galaxy A80 comes with a rotating triple camera setup that includes a huge 48MP primary sensor, an 8-MP secondary sensor with an ultra-wide-angle f/2.2 lens, and a 3D depth camera. The camera also comes with several modes like super slow-mo, a live focus for photos as well as videos and hyperlapse. For the front camera, there is also the AR Emojis feature. For selfies, the camera rotates and flips to the front. Edited By: Udit Verma Also Read: Samsung Galaxy M40 to launch on June 11; here're the details Also Read: Samsung unveils vertical TV for smartphone generation Just months before the Delhi Assembly elections, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's announcement of making DTC bus and the Metro rides free for women in the national capital has raised quite a storm on Twitter among the Twitterati's. Some of them think it's a good initiative for women and senior citizens, while others are saying that the Delhi government's decision is completely unjustified and defies Gender 'Equality'. Kejriwal said that the Delhi government would bear the expense, around Rs 1,600 crore for the year. He added that the decision has been taken keeping the safety of women in mind. It would take about three months for the rollout of the scheme. "The government is planning free travel for women in public transport and is going to bear the loss of revenue that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Delhi Transport Corporation and the cluster scheme buses would face due to this decision," a Times of India report quoted a Delhi government official as saying. The 'free' public transport isn't new and the move is gaining a lot of supporters worldwide. Countries like Luxembourg are planning to set aside the fee in an attempt to make a green push. Cities like Dunkirk in France and Tallinn in Estonia are already providing free commuting. Here are some of the Twitterati reactions: Women will be able to travel for free on Delhi buses and metro under a new proposal from Delhi Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal. https://t.co/YmQHBJXnGM - Twitter Moments India (@MomentsIndia) June 3, 2019 Women in Delhi will get a free ride on buses and the metro. What a wonderful idea @ArvindKejriwal ! Will Mumbai emulate this? All the trouble we are going through for the construction of the metro will then be worth it. - Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) June 3, 2019 How is free travel for women making environment safe for them? Are you kidding us? #DelhiMetro @ArvindKejriwal #ArvindKejriwal https://t.co/jtbmXucfsp - Sarika Rana (@sarikarana02) June 3, 2019 With all due respect, women in Delhi didn't ask for a free pass to ride when they voted for Kejriwal ji, they had voted for the safe environment promised to them. https://t.co/5AtSuFKFzt - Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) June 3, 2019 Great to see a real debate on a real issue affecting the safety and mobility of women in this country. On behalf of Delhi govt, @DDC_Delhi is collating all comments/suggestions for effective implementation of this policy. Write to us at delhiwomensafety@gmail.com#DelhiMetro https://t.co/C3X273OfYD - Jasmine Shah (@Jasmine441) June 3, 2019 Those who are deeply affected by this move can pay double the ticket price in protest... #DelhiMetro - Aam Aadmi Party - Navi Mumbai (Belapur Assembly) (@AapBelapurNM) June 3, 2019 A large number of women are not allowed to go out of the house - for studies, jobs, or other reasons, because their families can't afford safe transport. The free travel offered by Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal will enable these girls to step out. #AAP4EaseOfLiving #DelhiMetro https://t.co/hTuk2HvnWy - Preeti Sharma Menon (@PreetiSMenon) June 3, 2019 If #DelhiMetro will be free for Women then who will responsible in DMRC loss ? If everyone equal then why special treatment given to Women, it is not the way of Gender based discrimination ? https://t.co/DLyURlKymL - Abhishek Mishra (@Abhishek_Mshra) June 3, 2019 How about providing employment to women than free tickets? I would have prefered reserving CEO/MD/PM/MP Seats for women if freebies are out. Can such schemes be thought of? #DelhiMetro #ArvindKejriwal #Womenrights https://t.co/nZRJ9oSR9t - Heena (@meow_06) June 3, 2019 (Edited by Vivek Dubey) Also read: Noida Metro cards sale dip, commuters blame lack of seamless connectivity, high fare Also read: Delhi govt proposes to make metro and bus travel free for women in the national capital: Kejriwal Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Monday said M&M Benefit Trust has sold 1.92 crore shares in the company for Rs 1,244 crore to Canada's institutional investor CDPQ on the BSE. "The M&M Benefit Trust was created in July 2008 for the exclusive benefit of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited. The shares held by the trust were the outcome of various mergers and schemes of amalgamation. The trust held 10.36 crore shares of Mahindra & Mahindra," M&M said in a regulatory filing. The company said, according to the trust deed, the proceeds of the sale would be transferred to M&M, and be used by the company for its various operational requirements. After the transaction, the M&M Benefit Trust will hold 8.44 crore shares, representing 6.8 per cent of the equity capital of the company. The buyer is CDPQ, an institutional investor that manages funds for several public and para-public organisations, mainly pension and insurance plans, in Quebec, Canada. Created in 1965, CDPQ manages more than CAD 309.5 billion, with investments in 60 countries. Mahindra Group CFO VS Parthasarathy said, "Since the Benefit Trust holds M&M shares for the benefit of its shareholders, it has decided to monetise part of the holding by divesting to a long-term, high-quality investor. This is the first investment by CDPQ in the Mahindra Group reposing their faith in the future prospects of the company and Indian economy in general". CDPQ Executive Vice President, Growth Markets and Strategic Partnerships Anita George said, "We are excited to partner with the Mahindra Group in this first investment and are looking forward to further developments in this strategic partnership as we grow our portfolio in India and across the world. Shares of M&M were trading 1.28 per cent higher at Rs 655.40 apiece on BSE. Also Read: Paytm may acquire insurance marketplace Coverfox for around $120 million Also Read: UPI transaction value hits a record Rs 1.52 lakh crore in May despite 6% drop in its count China and the U.S. need to work together to bring global systems up to date, rather than upend the current system, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said at an annual defense forum. A mutual lack of strategic trust doesnt bode well for compromise between the two countries, but that doesnt mean a showdown is inevitable, Lee said Friday night at the opening of this years Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The forum drew dozens of national defense leaders, including both acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe. In his opening remarks, Lee pointed out that Chinas growth has shifted the strategic balance and the economic center of gravity of the world. The country may still be decades away from becoming a fully developed advanced country, but it cannot wait decades to take on larger responsibilities. China has to recognize that it is in a totally new situation created by its own success. It can no longer expect to be treated the same way as in the past when it was much smaller and weaker, Lee said. At the same time, the rest of the world will have to adjust to China taking on a larger role in global affairs. The U.S. is the country that may need to make the most difficult adjustments. Yet regardless how difficult it is, it is well worth the U.S. forging a new understanding that will integrate Chinas aspirations within the current system of rules and norms, he said. Countries have to accept that China will continue to grow and get stronger, and it is neither possible nor wise for them to prevent this from happening, Lee said. China will expect more of a say in crafting new international rules in areas such as trade, intellectual property and cybersecurity, because it sees the present rules as having been created without its participation. This is a reasonable expectation, Lee said. Unfortunately, Lee noted that stress has also built up between the two countries over multiple issues including cyberespionage, 5G technology, freedom of navigation, human rights and especially trade, where the two countries have reached an impasse. On trade, attitudes on both sides have been hardening. The leadership of both the U.S. and China are sensitive about being seen as weak in their own countries. The U.S. wants to show it has come out ahead in any deal. For its part, China, because of its long history with the West, cannot afford to show that it is succumbing to Western pressure to accept an unequal deal, Lee said. If both sides treat their trade dispute purely on its own merits, I have no doubt their trade negotiators will be able to resolve it. But if either side uses trade rules to keep the other down, or one side comes to the conclusion that the other is trying to do this, then the dispute will not be resolved, and the consequences will be far graver than a loss of GDP, he warned. Besides sharing his views on China-U.S. relations and the ongoing trade tensions between the two, Lee also stressed the need for regional or multilateral trade arrangements as a second-best solution to universal trade agreements. Advocating for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which has taken effect with Singapores participation, Lee said more and more countries have expressed interest in joining, including China. They are not ready to join now, Lee said, but I hope that they will seriously consider doing so some time in the future. At the forum, which ended on Sunday, both the U.S. and Chinas top defense officials gave speeches. Shanahan met with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe Friday afternoon before the forum opened. Shanahan said the meeting was constructive and positive, but in his major speech on Saturday, the defense secretary accused China without mentioning it by name of subverting the rule-based order and posing the greatest long-term threat to the vital interests of states across this region. Wei, Chinas defense minister, took the stage Sunday morning, making it the first time since 2011 that a top defense official from China has attended the forum. Wei did not shy away from sensitive issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea, and warned the United States not to meddle in security disputes over these issues. The general stressed that China would fight to the end if anyone tried to interfere in its relationship with Taiwan. If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs ... the U.S. is indivisible, and so is China. China must be, and will be, reunified. Wei said. Nonetheless, Wei said the U.S. and China have both realized that any conflict between the two would bring disaster to both countries and the world. The two countries need to keep talking. Collaboration requires effort from both sides, whereas it only takes one side to start a fight, the defense minister said. Contact reporter Isabelle Li (liyi@caixin.com) Investing in healthcare sector assets might be a potent, if unconventional, buffer against the worst effects of housing market weakness, according to The Motley Fool columnist Andrew Button. This is largely because of the industrys evergreen nature, Button noted. The healthcare sector is noted for its stability. In Canada, it is largely government funded, and what isnt funded is usually covered by private insurance, which makes the healthcare industry very reliable in terms of income and, by extension, demand for office/clinic space, the markets analyst said. Such alternative investment avenues have become more important in the wake of news pointing to a 17-year low in Canadian mortgage growth rates, Button added. A leading player in this investment space is Northwest Healthcare Properties REIT, which has a portfolio of 149 income-producing healthcare facilities. These include hospitals, offices, and medical clinics. This highly specialized niche provides a kind of moat, as the company is one of the few in Canada that focuses specifically on healthcare, Button explained. The companys high geographic diversification also provides a buffer against losses in any one market: it owns properties in Canada, Brazil, Germany, Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, the avenue boasts of significant stability and exceptionally bright near-future prospects. Not only does it have a high dividend yield, but its also up 25% this year, so it has rewarded investors richly. The REITs high occupancy rate is a major plus and its financial stability is better than average. Kenyas cement conundrum Published 03 June 2019 While recent times have seen the Kenya cement industry expand and new players arrive, the sector now faces a conundrum. While economic and construction forecasts indicate sound cement demand going forward, cement overcapacity has led to price pressures that show no sign of abating and which are affecting the bottom line of market players. A wave of industry consolidation in the short- to medium term cannot be ruled out. By Lisa Kimathi, Standard Investment Bank, Kenya. Kenyas economic growth eased from 5.9 per cent in 2016 to 4.9 per cent in 2017, but picked up to 6.3 per cent last year (see Figure 1). The construction sector has maintained solid growth notwithstanding a deceleration from 13.8 per cent in 2015 to 8.5 and 6.6 per cent in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Meanwhile, cement consumption in the east African nation fell by seven per cent YoY in 2017 and stabilised (+0.8 per cent) in 2018 (see Figure 2). While there is a consistent component of deceleration in both economic and construction growth, is it sufficient to cause a significant decline in domestic cement demand? To continue reading this story and get access to all News, Articles and Video sections of the CemNet.com website, please Register for a subscription to International Cement Review or Login Armenia places import duty on Iranian cement 03 June 2019 Armenia's parliament has approved a 14,000/t duty to be set on imported cement from Iran. A total of 85 law makers voted in favour of the duty with 16 voting against and three abstaining. The Armenia party also wanted a state duty on the import of clinker from Iran but this has not been put in place. The bill for the cement duty passed while a group of construction workers protested outside parliament. The demonstrators were arguing that the duty would increase prices of cement. Babken Tunyan, chair of economic affairs committee of the Armenian parliament said they would meet and discuss the matter with the protestors. Published under The story is told about the couple that decided they needed to get a divorce. Counseling with their pastor, the husband was asked, Why do you want a divorce? Does your wife beat you up? No way, he responded. Im always up at least half an hour before her. Well, continued the perplexed pastor, do you have a grudge? Yeah, he said, its big enough for two cars, but whats that got to do with this? Exasperated, the clergyman finally said, So whats the problem? With arms folded, the husband smugly replied, We just cant seem to communicate! Unfortunately, when it comes to conflict and divisions, many people do trace it to grudges they hold toward others. Like ships passing in the night, they harbor those grudges. Its truly unfortunate, especially because in many instances, the most grievous victim of grudges the unwillingness to forgive is the individual clutching the grudge in a death grip. Speaking recently on the topic, author and pastor Alistair Begg observed, Forgiveness is setting a prisoner free when it turns out that prisoner is you. Putting it into another metaphor, holding onto a grudge or refusing to forgive another person is like drinking poison and expecting the person youre mad at to die. Although I dont theres been a scientific study done to prove it, I suspect much of the hostility we witness in the world around us is due at least in part to unforgiven wrongs, grudges that have been nursed for a long time. The musical, The Sound of Music, taught that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down, but just a drop or two of bitterness can kill even the healthiest of relationships. Hebrews 12:15 speaks to that directly, admonishing, See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. And this word, defile, offers another vivid image for the negative and often long-lasting effects of unforgiveness. Forgiveness doesnt mean condoning wrongs that have been committed, whether in deed or in word. Nor does it mean we must force ourselves to forget those wrongs. Forgiving, however, does mean refusing to let anger and animosity imprison us, or defile our spirits, not only toward the offending party but also to many others we encounter from day to day. Theres a second important reason for doing what might seem impossible by extending forgiveness to someone who doesnt deserve it. As the apostle Paul exhorted his readers, Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Colossians 3:13). Keep in mind, forgiveness is something that none of us deserves. How did the Lord forgive each of us? He stretched out His arms, allowing His hands and feet to be impaled on a cross, and declared, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). At that moment He might have been referring specifically to those responsible for putting Him on the cross, but if were honest, we must acknowledge we each shared in that responsibility. So when we forgive, were in effect freeing ourselves from the prison of pain, anger and negativity. Were recognizing that no one could wrong us as much as we have wronged the God who has provided us with His forgiveness. And theres one more reason for consciously resolving to forgive others even when it seems impossible. If our goal is to become more and more Christlike, more godly, then forgiveness cant be excluded from the equation. As a wise man has stated, Were most like beasts when we kill each other; were most like men when we judge each other; were most like God when we forgive each other. If we bring up the excuse, Well, I just cant do that, Jesus understands. He told His followers, Apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5). But as Paul wrote, drawing from much personal experience, I can do everything through him (Christ) who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). As the Lord has shown me more times than I could ever remember, whenever I decide I cant! Hes quick to respond, Yes, I know but I can. Through you. - - - - Robert J. Tamasy is a veteran journalist, former newspaper editor and magazine editor. Bob has written hundreds of magazine articles, and authored, co-authored and edited more than 15 books. These include the newly re-published, Business At Its Best, Tufting Legacies, The Heart of Mentoring, and Pursuing Life With a Shepherds Heart. He edits a weekly business meditation, Monday Manna, which is translated into more than 20 languages and distributed via email around the world by CBMC International. To read more of Bob Tamasys writings, you can visit his blog, www.bobtamasy.blogspot.com, or his website (now being completed), www.bobtamasy-readywriterink.com. He can be emailed at btamasy@comcast.net. Chattanooga gas prices have fallen 4.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.33 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 170 stations. Gas prices in Chattanooga are 14.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, yet stand 30.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Chattanooga is priced at $2.21 on Monday while the most expensive is $2.79, a difference of 58.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state is $2.22 while the highest is $2.99, a difference of 77.0 cents per gallon. The cheapest price in the entire country stands at $1.89 while the most expensive is $5.86 per gallon, a difference of $3.97. The lowest price in the state is $2.22 while the highest is $2.99, a difference of 77.0 cents per gallon. The cheapest price in the entire country stands at $1.89 while the most expensive is $5.86 per gallon, a difference of $3.97. The national average price of gasoline has fallen 1.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $2.81 per gallon on Monday. The national average is down 8.9 cents per gallon from a month ago, yet stands 13.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Historical gasoline prices in Chattanooga and the national average going back a decade: June 3, 2018: $2.64/g (U.S. Average: $2.94/g) June 3, 2017: $1.99/g (U.S. Average: $2.37/g) June 3, 2016: $2.17/g (U.S. Average: $2.35/g) June 3, 2015: $2.50/g (U.S. Average: $2.76/g) June 3, 2014: $3.40/g (U.S. Average: $3.67/g) June 3, 2013: $3.18/g (U.S. Average: $3.62/g) June 3, 2012: $3.19/g (U.S. Average: $3.58/g) June 3, 2011: $3.51/g (U.S. Average: $3.79/g) June 3, 2010: $2.53/g (U.S. Average: $2.70/g) June 3, 2009: $2.37/g (U.S. Average: $2.55/g) Neighboring areas and their current gas prices: Knoxville- $2.43, down 1.7 cents per gallon from last week's $2.44. State of Tennessee- $2.46, down 4.1 cents per gallon from last week's $2.50. Huntsville- $2.43, down 1.2 cents per gallon from last week's $2.44. "The national average has fallen for its fourth straight week, probably not something motorists would associate with the start of the summer driving season," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "More impressively is the surprise that may soon hit some motorists: the nation's cheapest gas prices may soon fall back under $2 per gallon as oil prices have plummeted nearly $14 in the last 8 weeks, prompted by worries about President Trump's tariffs on China and now also Mexico, undermining the U.S. and global economy, and perhaps leading to a slowdown in oil demand at the same time as U.S. oil inventories have rebounded sharply. While there may be volatility and a return to higher prices should Trump make a deal to avoid tariffs on both the countries, for now, it's going to be a big win at the gas pump with prices in most areas likely to fall notably in the week ahead." I was only 9 years old at the time and schools had just let out for the summer. I do not remember any particular increase in 'war-talk' among the adult population, and if there were any of that, it never reached us kids. True, the adult population seemed to have followed a thin line of information, available on newspaper and radio news, but NO ONE in the civilian world had any inkling of what was about to take place. Life for us kids was just repeating the same end-of-school joys that we already knew, though cognizant of the fact that this summer might bring yet another terrible polio epidemic with subsequent closures of our favorite swimming pools (at Warner Park, Lake Winnepesaukah, McCallie School, etc). These were the only hardships we could visualize. Fact is that when we kids assembled for Vacation Bible School that morning of June 6th, 1944, none of us had the faintest idea of what was happening in distant Normandy. We assembled near the Sunday School department area of Brainerd Methodist Church and we boys soon began a lot of noisy horseplay on the lawn outside - barely cognizant of the fervent prayer-service taking place inside the church sanctuary. The raucous we raised must have really gotten the ire of our minister (the Rev. Mr. Joe M. Hampton) up, for he personally came outside - his face red with anger - and gave us a very fast lesson on what was taking place at that very hour across the Atlantic, and on the coasts of northern France. We should be respectful and conform to the gravity of today's unique situation. We tried, and were basically successful. A small gathering of cars in the parking lot indicated support for his impromptu prayer meeting on a weekday morning. The big war-scare was now "Public Domain", and all adult conversations eventually drifted toward the war and the "war effort". Our dear neighbors of the day, the Ray Moore's, knew some things not yet reported in newspapers: Col. and Mrs. Moore had just come to Chattanooga from Orlando, Florida, still an insignificant little country town at that time. They had three children, Jimmy, Tots (Patricia) and Tyke (John). Mr. Moore had been a World War I flying ace and following his years as a pilot became a map-maker, working for one of the large Florida railroads. Son "Tyke" was my age. A very knowledgeable person, Col. Moore was able to follow threads of stories about the war which few other civilians were privy to. He would tell such things as how German U-boats had been spotted off the coast of Florida - a scary fact that only much later was made known publicly by Washington. Following that Normandy Invasion the lid was off and the entire country had but one focus: to end the war successfully. Be forever grateful we "dood it", folks, (as entertainer Red Skelton used to say), or we would most likely have been "either turned into a lamp-shade, or be goose-stepping in honor of Herr Hitler's Third Reich". (A quote I like, but whose source I do not remember). It is hard for us to imagine here 75 years after those events that secrecy surrounding that invasion could have been kept so successfully. Today we are flooded with news of all kinds: the good, the bad, and the "fake". Leaks are everywhere, but for at least that one moment in our U.S. history we were blessed with a total blackout of fact that could forever have done us in had it fallen into the wrong hands. * * * Chester Martin is a native Chattanoogan who is a talented painter, sculptor and artisan as well as local historian. He and his wife, Pat, live in Brainerd. Mr. Martin can be reached at cymppm@comcast.net. Dr. Manny Sethi, a Nashville trauma surgeon, on Monday launched his campaign for United States Senate. Tennesseans want a conservative outsider who will take on the Establishment, support President Trump, fight illegal immigration and work to repeal ObamaCare, said Dr. Sethi. Thats why Im running for Senate. Dr. Sethi, 41, is the first candidate to enter the race. He is a first generation son of Indian immigrants. "My parents taught me to be grateful I was born in America because everything our family has was given to us by this country. I am a product of the American dream. I want to make sure that dream is available to our children and grandchildren, said Dr. Sethi. Dr. Sethi, and his wife, Maya, have been together since they were 16. They were married in 2005 and have two young children. The Republican Primary is in August. Senator Lamar Alexander is not seeking re-election. The Georgia Fraternal Order of Police has donated four ballistic vests to the Conasauga Circuit District Attorneys Office, it was announced today by the organization. These vests, provided through the Georgia FOPs Protect the Protectors Program, were presented to District Attorney Bert Poston by Carlton Stallings, FOP national trustee and a member of the ballistic vest committee for the Georgia Fraternal Order of Police. The vests will be used by the investigators assigned to this office. Operation Protect the Protector is designed to donate ballistic vests to law enforcement agencies across Georgia, specifically to those agencies that have limited budgets. Officer safety is a very important issue to all of us in law enforcement, and the ballistic vest has been proven to save lives and reduce injuries, Mr. Stallings said. Every officer should wear a ballistic vest every day. The FOP is working to ensure that more officers within our state have this extra level of security. Mr. Stallings said being able to present these vests to officers that he has worked with over the years is special to him. In the world we live in now, he said, it is extremely important that all law enforcement officers wear protective vests, and the FOP is proud to assist in that effort. To date, the FOP has provided 919 vests to 157 agencies. Randy Houser with Paul Cauthen Acoustic will plat at the Tivoli Theatre on Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $54.50, $44.50 and $34.50 (plus applicable fees) and available here Friday. Review for Randy Houser: With an inimitable voice the New York Times describes as wholly different, thicker and more throbbing, a caldron bubbling over, Randy Houser racked up three consecutive No. 1 hits and more than four million in singles sales to date with his Stoney Creek Records album, How Country Feels. He topped the charts with the title track, Runnin Outta Moonlight and Goodnight Kiss (also his first No. 1 as a songwriter) and earned critical acclaim for his powerful delivery of the Top 5 smash and CMA Song of the Year-nominated 'Like A Cowboy.' Houser added a fourth No. 1 to his catalogue with We Went from his 2016 album, Fired Up. Randy Housers fifth studio album, Magnolia, will be his third album with current label home, Stoney Creek Records and marks a new era for Houser. Listeners got their first taste of Housers rootsy new sound with the summer release of What Whiskey Does, which debuted at Country radio as #1 Most Added and Rolling Stone immediately dubbed a classic tears-and-twang drinking song. The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga invites the Chattanooga community to celebrate Independence Day with an indoor, air-conditioned picnic event on Thursday, July 4 at 11:30 a.m. at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road. Barefoot Nellie, local bluegrass band, headline this years event. 'There will be chicken sizzling on the grill with plenty of summer sides including fresh potato salad and cole slaw and tasty dessert treats," organizers said. "Located inside the air-conditioned venue of the Jewish Cultural Center, this could be the best Independence Day picnic in town." Vegetarian meals are available if requested in advance. The cost to attend if paid before July 1 is $10 for adults; $5 for kids aged 8-16 and $25 for a family of four. Children seven and younger are free. The cost will increase by $4 per person at the door. Purchase tickets at www.jewishchattanooga.com, by calling 493-0270 ext. 10 or by emailing rsvp@jewishchattanooga.com. This week's featured adoptables are Snowball, left, a two-year-old male cat who is deaf and Akemi, an eight-year-old male dog who was surrendered due to a divorce. Come meet them, as well as many other adoptable animals, at McKamey Animal Center, 4500 N. Access Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415. The phone number is (423) 305-6500. The center is closed Monday and open Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Chattanooga Area Food Bank is participating in the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Summer Food Service Program. "Summer can be the hungriest time of year for children who rely on free and reduced price school meals," officials said. From June 3 to July 28 nutritious meals will be provided to children 18 and under, free of charge, on a first come, first served basis at open SFSP sites. To find an open site visit www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks and type a location into the 2019 summer meal site finder. A complete schedule of meals provided through the Food Bank can be found at chattfoodbank.org or on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @chattfoodbank. When school lets out, families may be pressed to provide food normally supplied through school meal programs said Dory Cooper, Nutrition and Programs coordinator for the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. During this time of year it is important to increase hunger relief efforts, especially those serving children. Lack of access to nutritious food over the summer break can negatively impact a childs health, development and performance once school starts back up in the fall. We want children to be able to enjoy their summer and know they will still have access to food. In the Food Banks 20-county service area of Southeast Tennessee and Northwest Georgia, one in five children experiences hunger, officials said. The SFSP is a federally-funded, state-administered program. The SFSP reimburses providers who serve free nutritious meals to children and teens in low-income areas during the summer months when school is not in session. Providers like the Food Bank are reimbursed through SFSP and may manage multiple sites. Sites are places in the community where children receive meals in a safe and supervised environment. Sites may be located in a variety of settings, including schools, parks, community centers, health clinics, hospitals, apartment complexes, churches and migrant centers. To spread awareness about Summer Feeding click here to download a poster in English and Spanish. A murder suspect was conspicuously absent from Judge Christie Sell's General Sessions Court on Monday. However, there was a good reason for this. Supervising prosecutor Colin Campbell had moved Deontae Talley, 29, a suspect in the murder of Tymetric Lejuan Graham, from Sessions into the Criminal Courts. It was done via an agreed Information, thus bypassing the Grand Jury. Talley is charged with criminal homicide and unlawful possession of a weapon for his alleged killing in mid-April. According to investigators, Talley and Graham had been involved in a heated argument prior to the shooting. After turning himself in, Talley was moved to the Hamilton County Jail, where he remains. The judge set his bond at $1,550,000. Talley has a lengthy criminal history. In February, he was charged with non-payment of child support, and in 2015 he was charged with contempt of court. Earlier that year, Talley was charged with driving on a suspended or cancelled license, criminal trespassing, and contempt of court. In 2013, Talley was hit with a criminal trespassing charge, a charge he also incurred in 2012. A couple of weeks after allegedly shooting at a car containing a four year-old boy, Cornelius Benn, 25, appeared in Judge Christie Sells General Sessions Court. Amidst the noise and chatter of the courtroom, Benn quietly agreed to hand his pending reckless endangerment and aggravated assault cases over to the Grand Jury without a preliminary hearing Benn allegedly fired a bullet into the back of Marques Morgans car. Morgans younger brother was in the back seat, and the bullet narrowly missed both of them. Neither person was injured in the incident. Morgan was searching for his ex-girlfriend on May 20 by driving around her neighborhood. At some point in the afternoon, Morgan was forced to slow down when a group of men came into close proximity with the vehicle. After this, Benn allegedly shot at the car. Benn, who lives on Arcadia Avenue, asserts that he saw Morgan but did not shoot at his vehicle. Candy Johnson, wife of Hamilton County School Supt. Bryan Johnson, will be paid $90,000 per year as an aide to Mayor Andy Berke. The mayor's office said, "Candy Johnson joined the city of Chattanooga staff on Friday, May 24, as a senior advisor to Mayor Andy Berke. This is an appointed role most recently held by James McKissic, who departed the city at the end of 2018. "As Senior Advisor, Ms. Johnson will serve as a member of the mayors senior staff and top management planning and decision team. She will oversee a number of the mayors initiatives and serve as a principal liaison between the Citys volunteers and professional leadership groups and the mayor. "She has a decade of experience developing policy with both the public and private sectors, and has served on national platforms promoting workforce and talent pipeline development for organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Ford Hub Next Generation Learning. As a seasoned strategist, Ms. Johnson provided practical insights to local, regional and national organizations, aiding in clients overall success and was the youngest member ever elected to Clarksville, Tn., City Council. "Before relocating to Chattanooga, Ms. Johnson served as the policy director for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, where she contributed to successful outcomes at both the state and local levels. "Since moving to Chattanooga, Ms. Johnson has worked with dozens of nonprofits and serves on local boards such as the YMCA YCAP, Erlanger Foundation and the Tennessee Aquarium." Ms. Johnson has operated her own consulting firm for non-profit organization management beginning in May 2017. Ms. Johnson also worked six years in foundation, corporate and community relations at the Clarksville Montgomery County School system. Ms. Johnson graduated from Austin Peay University and received a masters in public administration from Murray State University. Rep. Robin Smith said Monday she is considering a race for House Speaker in light of Rep. Glen Casada's pending departure over ethics issues. She told members of the Pachyderm Club, "This Hixson girl knows basic math," saying there may be six or seven candidates who have been around a number of years as opposed to a newcomer with fresh ideas and energy. Rep. Mike Carter of Ooltewah earlier made himself available as a candidate. Rep. Smith also spoke against conversion of the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant to a union shop. She said, "We don't want to turn out like Michigan or Ohio. She said allowing too much union control had "almost bankrupted cities like Detroit." She said, "We are vocal in standing for the rights of our workers, but we don't want to explode our entire economy." Rep. Smith said the reason Volkswagen and other automakers had chosen Tennessee was because of "the merit-based approach, not the union shop." The speaker said she favors the departure of Majority Leader Casada, but she said his transgressions involved responding to two or three inappropriate text messages in 2016. She said she serves on the Ethics Committee herself and asked, "How far are we going to go?" on prior sins of legislative members. Rep. Smith said once there were news reports about Speaker Casada, his chief of staff and a consultant, "I went into the office of my friend Glen Casada, shut the door, and told him, 'You are putting all of us in Nashville in a horrible light. You need to go out there and fight like Hades and disprove the allegations, or resign." She said one item that came out from the Casada episode was that certain legislative chief of staffs and clerks are way overpaid. She said the House chief of staff gets $199,800 and the Senate chief of staff $201,000. The House clerk receives $160,000 and the Senate clerk $204,000. Concerning how the 2016 texts came to light, she said it was "the disgruntled guy" - the consultant. She said he had been fired from several different jobs. She said Democrats "are sitting back and enjoying how Republicans are killing each other" in the Casada matter. Rep. Smith, who formerly headed the state Republican Party, said she is pushing for ethics reform, including drug testing of House and Senate members. She said she has had a couple of members of the Legislature come to her and say, "You need to rethink that." Another reform she wants is to find a way to count the number of alcoholic drinks by General Assembly members at state functions. She said there is a liability issue involved. On state vouchers, she said she had "wanted the whole package." However, she noted that Hamilton County was exempted along with Knox. She said she is concerned about increasing "social engineering" in the public schools. She said, "The schools are for learning. They can't do everything." She said parents as well as churches and synagogues "need to step up" to help guide young people. "Teachers can't raise our kids," she said. In many cases, she said, parents are making things worse. She said, "The children get in trouble, the mama is called, and she comes to school and shows out." She said, "We need to expect more from our parents. You get what you tolerate." Rep. Smith said the recent General Assembly made significant strides in education funding, while also raising the state Rainy Day Fund by $225 million to $1.1 billion. She said she got involved in making Tennessee the last state to approve the Katie Beckett Waiver that provides funding for parents of disfigured or disabled children who do not quality for such sources as TennCare. She said $27 million was set aside for the fund. She said she did so after being told by the mother of a disfigured and severely disabled child that TennCare officials told her she did not qualify because her husband made a good salary as an engineer. She said someone at TennCare recommended that she file for divorce. The speaker said the Legislature did away with 15 occupations pay the "privilege tax," leaving just seven. She said legislators "do not want to penalize those who are working." On the other hand, she said some requirements were added for those who have long been dependent on government handouts. Join Boomers, Shakers and Beyond on June 18 when Emily Long from the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disabilities conducts a workshop offering tips on how to make the most of one's appointment, how to effectively discuss health concerns with the doctor, coordinating care and assistance and making decisions about treatment. Ms. Long has worked in aging for over 10 years in a variety of settings including long-term care and primary care, research, and state level policy. Emily has served as the Research and Policy Analyst for the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability since 2016. She began her career in aging by working with older adults as a certified nursing assistant in a local long-term care facility in Tennessee. It was this experience that lead to a passion to improve the lives of older adults. She holds bachelors degrees in Biology and Psychology from the UT Knoxville, as well as a masters in public health from Emory University. Boomers, Shakers, and Beyond is a community enrichment program designed for adults 50 + focusing on mind, body, and spirit. The program is designed for learning new things, enhancing old skills, exchanging thoughts on numerous topics, meeting new people, participating in community service projects, and in general having a great time! Boomers, Shakers and Beyond meets at Christ UMC, 8645 East Brainerd Rd, across from Publix. For more information, visit www.ChristChurchChatt.org, or follow on Facebook. Bachelor Nation has been rooting for Adam Gottschalk and Raven Gates because they are one of the few Bachelor couples to stay together. They initially met on Bachelor in Paradise and have expressed their love for each other several times over the past two years. Finally, in an Instagram post accompanied by pictures, the two announced their engagement! But, did Raven already know his proposal plans? Chris Harrison, Raven Gates, Adam Gottschalk | Paul Hebert via Getty Images How did Adam Gottschalk and Raven Gates meet? Gottschalk and Gates met and started dating on Bachelor in Paradise Season 4 in 2017. When their season concluded, the couple chose not to get engaged and instead continued dating long distance. They documented their visits on social media, and then Gates moved to Dallas to live with Gottschalk in 2018. Here's Why Adam and Raven Didn't Get Engaged on the 'Bachelor in Paradise' Finale https://t.co/tQd3uaYqNC pic.twitter.com/6HGNlU5fdQ La Borsa di Martina (@borsadimartina) September 14, 2017 Bachelor In Paradise is a spin-off series of The Bachelor, which follows former contestants from The Bachelor and The Bachelorette as they attempt to find love while vacationing for a few weeks. Gottschalk, a 29-year-old commercial real-estate agent from Dallas, appeared in The Bachelorette Season 13 for Rachel Lindsay. 27-year-old Gates, a business owner from Arkansas, was the runner up for Nick Vialls 21st season of The Bachelor. Adam Gottschalk proposes to Raven Gates Gottschalk and Gates posted pictures of him popping the question on Instagram a couple of days after he originally proposed. In the picture perfect moment, Gottschalk is kneeling on the top of a building, surrounded by rose petals, decked out in a suit. Gates wipes the tears from her eyes as she eagerly accepts Gottschalks proposal. They also posted a few pictures of her showing her ring off to the camera and dancing with each other. ADAM PROPOSED TO RAVENIm emotional. Im so happy for them dear lord. pic.twitter.com/WCWKeZEVRN Ness (@sophxzane) June 2, 2019 Raven captioned her slideshow a message to Gottschalk: Im keeping you forever and for always. We will be together all of our days. Gottschalk kept his caption simple, saying, 5.31.19 #Engaged and included a ring emoji. Several former Bachelor and Bachelorette stars voiced their excitement for the couple, including The Bachelorettes Season 14 Jake Hortsmann and The Bachelors Season 22 Krystal Nielson. Did Raven Gates forsee the engagement? Gates went on former The Bachelorette star, Kaitlyn Bristowes podcast, Off the Vine to discuss her relationship in January 2019. Bristowe asked why the couple had not gotten married yet, and Gates said she thinks its coming soon. She explained they scheduled an upcoming family and engagement counseling appointment. Gates identifies as Christian and Gottschalk, Jewish. Therefore, they believe counseling will help when it comes to raising their children. She also said they would talk about what their future wedding would like. @kaitlynbristowe omg the podcast w @ravengates was amazing. I didnt realize I wasnt enough of a Raven fan until this ep! Erika (@erikasovacool) January 24, 2019 Gates spoke about everything on the podcast, including hooking up with Gottschalkin the Fantasy Suite on Bachelor in Paradise and even told a pooping story. She also raved about Gottschalk and how she knows hes the one for her because he makes her feel safe to open up. Watch The Bachelorette Mondays at 8 P.M. EST on ABC! Regarded as one of the best actors of all time, Meryl Streep has the resume to end all resumes. Known for her incredible range and versatility, the actress has lent her incredible acting abilities to a variety of compelling roles. In doing so, she has racked up a tremendous amount of accolades and awards. She has been nominated for a whopping 21 Academy Awards, having won three of them, and trails the late Katharine Hepburn by just one award. Though Streep clearly excels in films, currently one of her most anticipated roles in on the HBO series Big Little Lies. Meryl Streep | Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage Cast Joining a star-studded cast including Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman, Streep joined Big Little Lies right in time for season two. The series, which is based on a bestselling book by Liane Moriarty, follows three mothers Madeline, Celeste, and Jane as they try to cope with marriage, parenting, relationships, friendships, and the ever-present gossip that plagues their small community in Monterey, California. Things get even juicier when murder finds its way into their idyllic town, and the characters struggle to make peace with it. The series was immediately met with incredible reception, garnering high critical praise and the attention of several big players in Hollywood. One of those players was Streep herself. She actually loved the show so much that she made the decision to join the cast without ever having read a script for her character. Season 2 In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the 69-year-old opened up on how she got involved with the dramatic series. {My agent] said, Theres a part that they wrote with you in mind because they called her Mary Louise Mary Louise is my actual legal name. I said, Yeah, Ill do it. He said, Dont you want to read it? I said, No. It was the greatest thing on TV. It really was, that first season. The actress admitted. That is certainly high praise coming from such an acting legend. But, the second season of Big Little Lies almost never saw the light of day. Moriarty (author and executive producer of the show) was unsure about writing a second season. In fact, the only thing that convinced her to go through with the project was writing a character with Streep in mind. When I was sort of agonizing over whether or not I should do it, it was actually my sister who said to me, Only do it if it would be fun, and why not create a role for your favorite actor? And thats when I came up with this role for Meryl Streep, to be Perrys mother. And it was really from there that it all came together because you bring this new character in and the storylines just emerge. I dont know how she feels about the character being named Mary Louise, but it was wonderful getting Meryl. I would have been sad to have had someone else play her. The author explained. Premiere Big Little Lies returns to HBO this Sunday, June 9. We cant wait to watch the drama unfold and see what magic Streep brings to the already brilliant show. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle use their Instagram account to promote the charities and patronages they greatly support. And for the most part, fans love that the couple does so much good with their power. However, the Sussex Royal Instagram account recently posted a photo honoring Pride Month, and it sparked some major backlash but not for the reason you think. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images Meghan has been suspected of writing the royal couples Instagram captions Ever since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex got their own Instagram account, people have suspected that Meghan writes the couples captions. (It would make sense, since Meghan has been out on maternity leave for a while and the social media job is one that can be done from home.) People are convinced they hear Meghans tone and professionality within the Instagram captions, along with her use of American English idioms. And for the most part, people love the posts. Every time the two post something, fans are quick to leave comments of admiration for the work the two have done since joining together to become their own unit within the royal family. For pride month, Harry and Meghan highlighted 11 LGBTQ+ organizations Meghan and Harry have made it clear that they are a very progressive couple who support issues such as womens rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. June is Pride Month, and Meghan and Harry took to Instagram to express their support for the LGBTQ+ community; they highlighted 11 organizations that do things such as offer support for LGBTQ+ people. Of course, there were a few comments from disgruntled fans who dont support gay and transgender rights, but for the most part, it was a completely different issue that was causing fans to lash out at the two. Fans Were quick to scold the couple for the lack of British organizations Among the highlighted organizations, the large majority were American. And people were quick to notice the lack of British representation. Why so many US based organizations? I would think you would try to highlight UK charities, one user wrote. Only three British accounts here? I think Meghan and Harry want to be Hollywood, another user wrote. One comment, which got nearly 500 likes, called Meghan out for not supporting Great Britain the way she supports the United States. Meghan you married into the British royal family It is not your right to use your position to promote American interests ahead of British interests. Some think Meghan is trying too hard to Americanize the royal family While the post got a lot of thank you comments from people happy to see the two supporting gay and transgender rights, the negative comments about their charity choices were definitely clear. And some believe Meghan is sticking too much to her American roots rather than embracing her new home in the United Kingdom. Harry is a prince wanting to be a Hollywood celeb and Meghan wants to be the Hollywood star she never was, said one user, whose comment got more than 200 likes. Go back to America and support their causes90% of these are not even in Britain! another user wrote; that comment also got nearly 200 likes. Its unclear if the couple will adjust future posts to reflect Great Britain a bit more, but there were still plenty of people just happy to see the two of them supporting LGBTQ+ rights in the first place. Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! Meghan Markle is no stranger to family drama. She has been dealing with it for well over a year. It seems the latest news reports always include something regarding the Markle family, whether it is a new interview from Samantha Markle, an expressed desire to meet baby Archie from Thomas Markle Sr., or a statement from her brother, Thomas Markle Jr., that Meghan should reach out to her father. Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Getty Images While we are well aware as to why there is isolation between Meghan and her sister and an estranged relationship between the duchess and her father, her brother has not been nearly as vocal. However, he neither received an invite to the royal wedding nor has he been invited to meet baby Archie. Meghan seems to be doing just fine living her life as a new mom without having relationships with certain family members. She has not even released any statements regarding her feelings, leading fans to wonder if she is likely to ever forgive her brother. Samantha Markle has not kept quiet Of the three family members that Meghan is on the outs with, her sister Samantha has been the most vocal. Shes also been the most hurtful toward her younger sister. Samantha has gone so far as to call Meghan cruel names, saying that she is selfish and has no heart. Samantha seems quite intent on staying in the media spotlight, even if it is at Meghan and Prince Harrys expense. Many fans feel that Samantha has gone way overboard with her behavior, and there is much speculation that the relationship between the two sisters is well beyond repair. When we saw photographs of Samantha trying to visit her sister, only to be sent away by palace security, it further proved Meghan has no desire in reconciling, at least not at this time. Thomas Markle Sr. said he wants to meet his new grandson Ever since Meghan became estranged from her father, who currently lives in Mexico, he has managed to find ways to stay in the media spotlight. Now that Meghan and Harry have finally welcomed their first child, Thomas has not kept quiet about how hurtful it is not to have been invited to meet the baby. It would appear as if he is waiting for his daughter to reach out to him, although she has shown no signs of doing so. What happened between Meghan Markle and her brother? It is difficult to say what happened exactly. While Thomas Jr. has not posted any hurtful social media comments, we know he did write two letters to Harry before the wedding, advising him not to marry Meghan. Obviously, Harry didnt take his advice, and there are surely some bitter feelings regarding Thomass attempt to stop the wedding. Fans are well aware that Thomas was angry about the fact he was not invited to see his sister marry Harry, although Meghan has not shared her feelings on the matter with the public. Can Meghan Markle ever forgive her brother? Perhaps when she is ready to, she can. Given that we dont know all of the details about their estrangement, it is hard to know the extent of Meghans hurt feelings. Though, we certainly wont be holding our breath. Last month, a royal expert said Meghan is reportedly done with her family and ready to move on and focus on motherhood. The truth eventually comes out; at least that appears to be the case for Jenelle Evans and David Eason. The couple has spent the last month in court battling to get their children back after Eason shot the family dog in what can only be described as a fit of rage. While there has been plenty of startling testimony regarding life inside the North Carolina home the pair have dubbed the land, fans have grabbed onto one interesting fact David Easons income. It seems like the father of three has been artificially inflating his income on social media, but now the cat is out of the bag. How much does David Eason claim to make a year? David Eason has been pretty elusive about his actual job or how much money he makes, but he cant really help himself when hes feeling baited. In May 2018 Eason responded to a commenter on social media who questioned his work ethic. Eason alleged he makes 100x more than the commenter, according to In Touch. Jenelle Evan and David Eason | Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images Eason later went on to lambast Barbara Evans, Jenelles mother for her former job at Walmart. The gun-toting father who was once visited by the Secret Service alleged that he made more than Barbara Evans made a year in a single month. In Touch did the math, and by their calculations, Eason was alleging he made anywhere from $150,000 to $275,000 a year, although he never made that claim himself. How much does the out of work reality star really make? David Eason probably would have taken his actual income figures to the grave if given the option, but the judge presiding over his custody case wanted to hear all the details. While Evans testified that she made around $400,000 in 2018 from Teen Mom 2, Eason, whose role was significantly smaller, racked in $60,000 for one season. He did not reveal any other sources of income, according to The Ashley. Eason was questioned, by the judge, about his work history, like due to his difficulty paying child support. The troubled father owed back child support to Oliva Leedham. Leedham has custody of the former couples 5-year-old son, Kaden. Evans famously paid Easons back child support just days after he shot and killed the family dog. What does David Eason do for a living? David Eason has eluded to business deals and investments, but hes been transparent about the fact that he doesnt have a job, in the traditional sense. Fans have long assumed that Eason has been living off of Jenelles Teen Mom 2 paycheck. While hes often denied the allegation, it looks like his court testimony confirms fan suspicions. The judge presiding over Evans and Easons custody case questioned the father of threes work ethic. Eason was prepped with excuses. He told the judge that he could not get a regular job because he was busy homeschooling his eldest child, Maryssa. The former reality TV star also claimed that his skin condition prevented him from obtaining employment. Eason suffers from Vitiligo. Vitiligo is a skin condition in which pigment is lost in certain parts of the skin. Patients with vitiligo are encouraged to practice good skin care and avoid unprotected time in the sun. Eason alleges his skin condition prevents him from working because he can not be in the sun for extended periods. It should be noted that the skin condition does not prevent him from working in most jobs. It looks like Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner are pulling out all of the stops for their upcoming summer wedding. Even though the couple tied the knot earlier this month, they still plan on having a major party for their originally planned summer wedding. Joe Jonas & Sophie Turner | Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Since Joe and Sophie love having a good time, their summer wedding in France will be funfilled with quicky aspects throughout the ceremony to go along with the couples similar personalities. Joe and Sophie arent too worried about the details Seeing as though Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner spontaneously tied the knot in Las Vegas earlier this month, we can tell the couple isnt the type to put that much thought into weddings. According to sources, the couple has been planning their summer wedding but is letting the wedding planner take control of all of the minor details. The source also mentioned that Sophie and Joe are the chillest couple, and are letting their wedding planner take the lead. Theyve been taking a backseat since there both so busy. With Joe currently preparing for the upcoming Jonas Brothers tour and Sophie Turner in the middle of promoting her new film, Dark Phoenix, they havent really had the time to plan out a lot for their wedding. Though they are still in the process of wedding planning, there are a few aspects Joe and Sophie are certain on. Joe and Sophie want to have a huge party, a source told Us Weekly. The decor is going to be sophisticated, but therell be some kitschy elements, including a really wild cake. Therell be a live band, and the Jonas Brothers are expected to take the stage. Yes, you read that right. The Jonas Brothers are going to perform, so you know its going to be a party! They plan on their wedding being a family event One thing that Joe and Sophie want their wedding to be is a family filled ceremony. Seeing as though the couple tied the knot the first time in a Vegas wedding chapel with only a few family members in attendance, they want to make sure that all of their friends and family are present for their second wedding. Since this wedding will be a lot formal than the one that took place in Vegas, the couple will be able to surround themselves with loved ones and hopefully not those who will record their nuptials without permission (cough cough Diplo). Marriage is a private thing between two people and I think thats how it should always be. Its not about the dress, its not about the food. Its about being husband and wife, and being dedicated to each other forever, Sophie told PorterEdit magazine. Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner have yet to reveal when they plan on saying I Do a second time but have said they plan on exchanging vows sometime this summer. Now that Joe and Sophie have a general idea of what they want their wedding to consist of, it is only a matter of time before they become man and wifeagain. Although she basically moves mountains for her charter guests and Captain Lee Rosbach, Kate Chastain from Below Deck just did something that made her a little nervous. Thats right, she rode the New York City subway. Chastain recently moved to the Big Apple. Although shes been getting settled for the past few weeks she has yet to ride the transit system that most New Yorkers depend upon most. Kate Chastain |Photo by Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images She graciously posted her journey to her Instagram story to show how fun and easy of a trip it was. She even found a way to equate the experience to something shes probably done dozens of times being a Florida girl at heart. Chastain recently left Florida for New York Although Chastain was based in Florida, she made the big move to New York. The chief stew traded her sunblock and beach days for the sophistication and excitement of Manhattan. Chastain hasnt shared exactly why she chose to migrate north, but she has become a major brand for Bravo and the Below Deck franchise. Shes posted a few taxi cab and apartment pics and videos. Plus she has friends in the area. She recently posted a picture on Instagram with a friend and, of course, her pup Halo, hanging out in the West Village. My friend Lydia and I love a theme party so much that we brought a grey dog to the Grey Dog, she wrote. She embarked upon one of the most efficient ways to travel in the city You can take the girl out of Florida, but you cant take Florida out of the girl. Chastain posted that she was admittedly nervous/excited to ride the subway even though shes experienced the tube in London, England. Although New Yorkers are pretty blase about hopping on the super convenience subway system, other places, like Floria dont offer decent public transportation. Especially anything that rivals the New York subway system. To put the New York subway system into context, approximately 4.3 million people ride the subway in the city each day, according to NY.com. Furthermore, one billion take this ride every year. The transportation system is probably the most cost effective too. Only a few bucks will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go. But she was admittedly nervous to attempt the NYC subway Even though everyone is doing it Chastain was humbled by the grid. So she took to her Instagram story to share how she tackled this journey. And found it to bepretty good! First, she admitted she was nervous. She enlisted the help of her friend and After Deck podcast producer Molly to support her in this endeavor. She filmed herself journeying to the underground. Im actually very excited, Chastain said. Ive got my MetroCard out. True to her nature, Chastain is very (very) prepared. Fun fact, I watched 3 different, how to ride the NYC subway videos on YouTube earlier today as preparation. Gotta love a prepared stew. The women both arrive and Chastain is about to take the plunge. Alone. Yikes. But once shes actually on the train she finds it to be pretty similar to something she knows from homethe Disney World tram. In the end, Chastain is triumphant as she tells Molly she made it! She struts down the street. Safe, sound on my way home, she remarks. Yay! Meghan Markle is a household name now, but she was once an actress climbing the ranks before she met her prince and became part of the royal family. According to one royal biographer, Markle might have appeared a bit ruthless in her path to celebrity. Meghan Markle | Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage Why has Markle been labeled ruthless As a royal, Markle is under the microscope quite often, so this latest claim isnt all that surprising. Its easy enough to build a narrative surrounding her rise to fame. Angela Levin, a royal biographer, explained how Markle has earned a reputation for being ruthless, and willing to leave behind those she feels are no longer useful. In an interview with The Conservative Woman website, Levin, who wrote the book Harry: Conservations with the Prince, shared how Markle overcame many personal challenges, noting: Like Harry, Meghan has had a difficult background. Her mother, father, half-brother and sister have also all been bankrupt. She is proudly self-reliant, and she has been fortunate with her good looks, drive and brains. The author added that Markle had to be tough, explaining, Climbing the slippery slope of fame, however, has required her to be tough, ruthless even, and one consequence is the perception that she is willing to leave behind those she feels are no longer useful. Markles finer qualities shouldnt be overlooked Despite that perception, Markle also has a kind and charitable character that shoudnt be overlooked, with Levin sharing: She has been a keen philanthropist since her school days, she used to take toys and clothes to a school where many of the pupils were poor. The author added: She has also, among other things, been involved with the international charity One Young World, travelled to Rwanda for the Clean Water Campaign and worked as an advocate for the United Nations on gender equality. Markle has come under fire before Markle has faced criticism before for this ruthless reputation, with British journalist Piers Morgan claiming that the duchess ghosted him. As a result, hes been very vocal about slamming her at every turn. Morgan explained his experience with Markle during a 2018 episode of ITVs Loose Women, noting: I was on Twitter one day, and I love Suits, the show she was on in America. So I follow four of the stars of Suits, including Meghan Markle, and within ten seconds, she immediately direct messaged me, saying, Im a massive fan of yours, this is great. It seemed like the beginning of a friendship, Morgan explained, as they exchanged emails and he recalled, I said, Do you fancy a drink? Come to my local pub. And there we are, 90 minutes, just me and Meghan, Im thinking, great buddies, right? While they appeared to hit it off, thats when he got dropped, as he noted, Next thing I know, silence. Off the radar. A former friend of Markles, Ninaki Priddy, who served as the maid of honor at Markles wedding to Trevor Engelson, shared her perspective, telling the Daily Mail: All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated very calculated in the way she handled people and relationships. She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends. If theres one person who believes in following tradition, its Queen Elizabeth. The British monarch has been sitting on the throne for an incredible 67 years, and over that length of time, shes learned which rules are worth breaking and which need to be followed no matter what. Its true that Queen Elizabeth has ushered in quite a few changes over her reign. In a delightfully egalitarian move, she changed the rule that would have placed Prince Louis higher than Princess Charlotte in the line of succession even though shes older. Now female offspring are considered equal to males and cant be displaced from their birthright. However, certain rules of the royal family are still strictly upheld. Thats why Queen Elizabeth is getting a little frustrated with Kate Middleton constantly bending the rules, especially since shell rule alongside Prince William one day soon. Queen Elizabeth II and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge | Geoff Pugh WPA Pool/Getty Images All of Kate Middletons little rebellions are adding up Because of decorum, Queen Elizabeth would never disgrace the Duchess of Cambridge publicly for breaking protocol. But royal insiders are questioning if the Queen is getting sick of Kate Middleton making her own rules and ignoring decades of tradition. Most recently, Kate Middleton made a shocking move when she bent down and gave Queen Elizabeth a kiss on each cheek at the Chelsea Flower Show. While this seems like an innocent enough greeting, its not the way the Duchess of Cambridge usually says hello to her grandmother-in-law. The royal family is famously against any public displays of affection, and while there are no definitive rules on it, this greeting definitely raised a few eyebrows. Kate Middleton and Queen Elizabeth | Oli Scarff WPA Pool / Getty Images There is a difference between royal traditions and strict rules One unique thing about the royal family is the amount of nuance involved. While Prince William and Prince Harry are no strangers to the unique customs and protocols, outsiders just joining the family like Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle may take longer to adjust to traditions that are ingrained for their husbands. For the most part, Kate Middleton has been exemplary with following the rules, and even singlehandedly helped make nude pantyhose cool again after theyd been falling out of fashion for years. But when she chose to kiss the Queen instead of curtsying, it was very out of character. Kate Middleton | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images Kate Middleton will be ushering in a modern take on the monarchy Like it or not, the current reign of Queen Elizabeth will be coming to an end soon and the next ruler will be the one making all the new rules. Prince Charles is already planning some big changes for the future and when Prince William takes the throne, even more things will be different. Its possible that Kate Middleton will fully support even more public displays of affection when she becomes Queen. Why not? The bottom line is that traditions can change and customs are fluid. Even if Queen Elizabeth is frustrated by Kate Middletons modern ways, its inevitable that the monarchy will change with the times. Its not typical for members of the royal family to move outside of London to a more remote location, but whoever said that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were your typical royals? The royal couple recently moved from their home at Kensington Palace to a Frogmore Cottage, 20 miles outside of London. The cottage lies on the grounds of Windsor Castle and has been converted from a five-unit staff quarters to the couples new home. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images The move brought about a lot of change for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Many would say the move was the best thing for them. But what is the best thing about the couple moving away? Meghan and Harry have a greater sense of calm moving to Frogmore Cottage One of the great things about moving to Frogmore Cottage is that it is outside of London. This gives the family a more relaxed environment away from the hustle and bustle of the city. A source recently told People the energy is so much better at Frogmore, adding, Its a total fresh start. A calm environment is important for the family who is always surrounded by chaos. One of the ways Prince Harry and Meghan Markle maintain their sense of calm and escape from the demands of their life is through meditation. Meghan has been a long time embracer of meditation, admitting on her now-defunct blog that meditation was hard for her at first but has become a rock for her. [Meditation was] something I found endlessly daunting at first (the thoughts, the distractions, the boredom of it), but soon became the quietude that rocked my world, she continued, I cant put my finger on the why or the how, but I will tell you this much, for meI am just happier. Harry has also taken up the practice, admitting that he meditates every day. Moving helps Meghan and Harry escape from the press There has been a lot of interest in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle since Markle officially joined the family last year. The couple has had an intense focus put on them over the past year, to the point where many would call it excessive. The former actress is no stranger to attention, but since she began dating Prince Harry, the media attention has increased exponentially. While some of this is to be expected, a lot of the attention is coming from tabloids looking to capitalize on the ongoing drama surrounding the duchess. Meghan Markle has had to fight off questions about her family since moving to London. Her father and sister have constantly been talking to the press and saying negative things about the duchess. Though her father has recently gone silent, it has been hard to escape the family drama that surrounds Meghan. In addition to her own family, Markle has had to deal with drama surrounding her husbands family as well. There have long been rumors that Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton do not get along and the recent separation of their charities certainly isnt helping things. With the added attention the couple received once Meghan became pregnant, it only made sense to move to a quieter environment. Freedom to make their own choices Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have always been ones to walk to the beat of their own drum. The couple has never been one to do things the traditional way. They make choices that best suit their family. Living at Frogmore Cottage gives the couple a little more freedom to do things as they see fit. Outside the watchful eye of the queen and the constant scrutiny of the media, the couple can raise their family in a more traditional matter. Their life at Frogmore has allowed them to live a relatively peaceful existence without hiring a nanny or personal chef. We only expect that Harry and Meghan will try to provide a normal life for their child and enjoy their time as a family. Bethel Church pastor Bill Johnson warns satanic 'spirit of insanity' replacing biblical truth Christian Post Contributor | 03 June, 2019 by Leah MarieAnn Klett Bethel Church Senior Pastor Bill Johnson has highlighted the need for revival across the United States, warning that the "spirit of insanity" perpetrated by Satan is actively fighting to silence the message of the Gospel. Speaking at Bethel Music's third annual "Heaven Come" conference in Los Angeles, Johnson said there are "very few places in the world that have as significant of a revival history" as Southern California. He told attendees about various revival movements over past decades, such as the Azuza Street Revival in the early 1900s and the late Rev. Billy Graham, who launched his global ministry at the Big Tent Revival almost 70 years ago. "The Lord pays attention to the cries, the prayers, the lives that were poured out 30 years ago, 40 years ago in this area to make a mark," Johnson said. But something "tragic" happened, the pastor said: "the move of God that was released here was not sustained," he said, "and anytime the house is clean and swept and it's not occupied, the enemy that was driven from the place comes back seven times worse." "Today," he continued, "in the place of the spirit of revelation stands a spirit of insanity that is now being embraced as the message of truth. And it grows in the absence of a 'yes' from a sold-out people." Johnson said that while he loves corporate gatherings, he believes true evangelism happens when believers live out the Gospel at work, on the streets, and in everyday life. "And I believe the Lord has brought us together because we share a conviction in our heart for what we want God to do," he told thousands gathered at the Microsoft Theater. "I'm so thankful that Jesus is returning. I don't want anyone to misunderstand me, but the hope of the world is not the return of Christ. It's the power of the Gospel, unadulterated, declared by [believers]." The Gospel truth "changes a life without power," Johnson emphasized. "It's not a philosophy," he said of Christianity. "It's not a group that we joined because we agree philosophically. It is something we become a part of because the actual spirit that raised Jesus from the dead took up residence in us and did so with a purpose of demonstrating the power of resurrection as we confront the impossibilities of life." "This," he said, "is the assignment of every believer ... remove the lies, remove the disappointment and you find out ... we are alive for such a time as this." The world today is "aching for a solution," Johnson argued, constantly looking for an antidote to issues like cancer, addiction, and economic crisis. "How do we get a generation to be free of addiction and all these kinds of things? You and I have access to the secret places of God, the secret things of God, where He's already announced to us it is his good pleasure to give us the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. It's already written in your inheritance," he said. The Redding, Calif., pastor pointed out that the "entire ambition" of Scripture is to "get the people of God to accurately represent who He is." "This is the invitation for every single believer," he said, adding: "I can see the heart of God over this part of the land." "The spirit of God is in us, and He wants out," Johnson declared. "This spirit of God longs to reveal who Jesus is, and He longs to do it through a people who have said 'yes.'" "Restore us a place of revival," he concluded. "Restore us as a people of revival ... I'm going to ask you to upgrade your 'yes' to God." The "Heaven Come" conference was held May 23-25 and was hosted by Bethel Music co-founders and worship pastors Brian and Jenn Johnson. Read more from, "Bethel Church pastor Bill Johnson warns satanic 'spirit of insanity' replacing biblical truth" on The Christian Post. A dozen people were killed after a mass shooting broke out at a public works building in Virginia Beach on Friday and survivors are saying the number could have been much higher if it werent for one brave man. According to the Wavy, survivors of the Friday afternoon shooting are saying Ryan "Keith" Cox gave his life to save theirs and others. Christi Dewar a city employee at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center in Building 2 recalled that she was sitting in her office when she saw people running past her office yelling active shooter! After seeing this, she, too, took off running. According to the Virginia-Pilot, Dewar and seven others ran into Cox who reportedly, instructed the group to hide in an office and barricade themselves in. "If at all possible, I knew he was going to lead us to safety. We felt safe. He stayed calm. He didn't have any anxious thought in his voice," Dewar told the paper. The shooter 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock was already headed for them, so they could no longer get out of the building. Dewar recalled the moments leading up to Coxs death saying, He said get in Loris office now. Barricade the office. Get in there. Dewar said she tried to get Cox to join them in the office, but he refused. The survivor recalled Cox calmly saying, I gotta check on everybody else. The group then quickly followed Coxs instructions and barricaded themselves in a co-workers office. Soon after, Craddock would attempt to breach the office, letting off four rounds into the room. According to the CBN News, it was somewhere in-between this moment and the time police arrived that Craddock shot and killed Cox. "You knew from the start he would lay down his life for anybody. And that's exactly what he did, Dewar told the Virginia-Pilot. Cox was regarded as soft-spoken but is remembered for his powerful singing voice. He was a part of the choir at New Hope Baptist Church, the church where his father is the pastor. Cox is remembered by his family and by those whose lives he saved as a guardian angel. God had a guardian angel walking the earth with Keith. Keith was your guardian angel, baby, and don't you ever forget, Coxs mother told Dewar after the incident. Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla/Staff Nearly thirty years ago, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen wrote an essay in the New York Review of Books entitled More than 100 Million Women are Missing. Sen didnt mean missing as in missing person. He meant that in places like China and his native India there were more than 100 million fewer women than demographic trends suggested there should be. Two decades later, journalist Mara Hvistendahl wrote Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boys over Girls and the Consequences of a World Full of Men. By the time of the books publication, the estimate of missing women had grown to 160 million. The elephant in the room behind this terrible trend is abortion. Demographers and other researchers first thought that the explanation must be that female infanticideyou know, the kind practiced in the ancient worldhad somehow made a comeback. Instead, they discovered that female children were being identified in utero, via amniocentesis or ultrasound, and then they were aborted. The combination of technology, preference for male children, government policies such as Chinas infamous One-Child Policy, and legalized abortion had altered demographics from China to Albania. Still, researchers downplayed this connection between abortion and the 100-million plus missing women. Hvistendahl, for example, placed far more emphasis on cultural attitudes and discrimination against women. While these factors certainly play a role in the gender imbalance, without easy access to abortion this problem wouldnt exist, at least not in its present form. A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences makes the connection between abortion and gender imbalance more explicit. Researchers from Britain concluded that between 1970 and 2017, sex-selective abortions resulted in about 23.1 million missing baby girls. According to a demographer from the American Enterprise Institute, that number seems a bit low. In China and India alone, men outnumber women by 70 million. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has estimated that by next year, 24 million Chinese men of marriageable age will be unable to find a spouse. Since mortality rates are much higher for men than women, either Chinese and Indian women are exceptionally unlucky, or, as is more likely, the lions share of that 70-plus million represents women who were killed as the result of sex-selection abortion. Thats why both China and India have done what the U. S. has not: outlaw sex-selection abortion. While their laws are honored more in the breach than in the observance, at least China and India have acknowledged the problem. The cultural preference for boys and systemic discrimination against girls is nothing new. But the radical gender imbalance in places like China and India is. Not coincidentally, that imbalance emerged just as abortion became readily available in the 1970s. To put it bluntly, legal abortion made it easier to eliminate unwanted daughters. To put it even more bluntly, gendercide isnt the result of people having abortions for the wrong reasonits the result of abortion itself. And though a sexist act of violence halfway around the world should be just as intolerable to us as if it were happening in our own backyard, make no mistake. Elective abortion leads to sex-selective abortion. It is happening in America, too. Of course, getting abortion-rights advocates to acknowledge this is like trying to swim against the current of the Ganges from the Bay of Bengal to its source in the Himalayas. Good luck with that. Still, the savage truth is hundreds of millions of missing women is the price weve paid for legalized abortion. Its the elephant in the room, and it isnt going anywhere. Download mp3 audio here. BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on todays news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions. John Stonestreet, the host of The Point, a daily national radio program, provides thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview. Publication date: June 3, 2019 Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Matthew Lloyd/Stringer New 'Sesame Street' character shares importance of fostering Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment "Sesame Street" announced last week a new character named Karli, a foster muppet who explains to Elmo the importance of receiving love from others when not able to be cared for by their birth parents. The PBS show character lives with her for now parents, Dalia and Clem, and during an activity with Elmo she attempted to explain to him what its like having a foster family. My very first heart is me and my mom together but my mom can't be with me right now even though she loves me very much," Karli told Elmo. But then I came here to stay with my foster parents and they gave me a big hug and that made my heart feel a little bigger. The muppet then shared some advice she learned from her now family. Dalia told me that even when our hearts feel sad and small they could still grow. The more in love they get the more they grow, she added. YouTube videos promoting Karlis character also showed Elmos dad, Louie, talking with Karli's foster parents. "How's everything been since becoming her foster parents?" Louie asks in the video. "Well, changes like this can be really rough for kids and for adults too," Clem replies. "It's had its ups and downs but no matter what, we try to let Karli know we are always here for her," Dalia says. Other videos include one titled "You Belong," where Karli talks about how she worries about not having a place at the table during a pizza party in her new foster home. The Sesame Community launched the new muppet to "support" foster children, foster parents, and providers who serve foster families. "Fostering a child takes patience, resilience, and sacrifice, and we know that caring adults hold the power to buffer the effects of traumatic experiences on young children, Dr. Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president of U.S. Social Impact at Sesame Workshop said in a statement shared with The Christian Post. We want foster parents and providers to hear that what they do matters they have the enormous job of building and rebuilding family structures and childrens sense of safety. Although the Sesame Street segment is about foster care, the Washington Examiner pegged Karlis message pro-life. Her situation could be the start of an argument against abortion, one that says childrens lives are still worth saving even if a birth mother isn't equipped to take care of them herself, the outlet said of the new muppet and her message. Pro-abortion activists have used the expression unwanted children when talking about abortion. Alabama state Rep. John Rogers recently argued that some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now, or you kill them later. He said that if you bring them in the world unwanted, unloved, those kids will eventually end up with unfortunate outcomes. Actress Stacey Dash: I was about to get an abortion, God told me to keep my son Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A Hollywood actress is recounting how God spoke to her as she was about to undergo an abortion and instead chose life. In a Saturday People magazine interview, Stacey Dash, who is best known for her role in the movie Clueless, spoke about her past, noting how she was first molested when she was four years old while living in South Bronx. During her teen years she used cocaine and other drugs and was physically abused. At times she considered suicide and wound up pregnant. I couldnt find happiness, Dash said. It got to a point where I didnt even want to live anymore. The voice in my head was saying, Theres nothing here for you.' Before she became pregnant she was in an abusive relationship. He would punch me in my body, my legs, my chest, anything that could be covered, Dash explained. But part of me felt like I deserved it because what I was coming from was no better. I didnt have an identity. Thats why I fight for women and people in the inner cities today. I want them to know it will get better. She ultimately ended that relationship and started dating musician Christopher Williams and became pregnant. When I got pregnant, I was doing a lot of drugs and I didnt want to live. I wanted to die. I was going to have an abortion. I was crying and I said to God, Please tell me what to do," Dash told the magazine. "And God told me, Keep your son. I ripped the IV out of my arm and I said, Im keeping my son. Dash, who is African-American, has spoken up about abortion in recent years. In October she blasted abortion giant Planned Parenthood for targeting black women for abortions. I am so sick of hearing Planned Parenthood and their abortion allies on the Left claim to be pro-women and pro-minorities. The facts just dont back up their boasts. If you are so pro African American communities, Planned Parenthood, stop targeting black women and aborting our children, the actress wrote on her blog at Patheos in October 2015. Dash has written about being ostracized from Hollywood because of her conservative views. When you get stuff for free, you have no self-worth. When you have no self-worth, you become depressed, addicted and either abused or an abuser. This is what perpetuates the cycle of violence in inner cities. We dont need free stuff. We need opportunities, she told People about how the drug culture shaped her perspective on social welfare programs. The son she almost aborted, Austin, is now 25. She also has a daughter, Lola, who is 12. The actress does not hide her past from her kids. The best way to protect my children is to be honest with them, Dash said. I let them know that I survived. Im not a victim. And there is nothing they cant overcome. Dash's testimony is not the not the only one to appear in recent months about a last minute decision to not go through with an abortion. In a December Fox & Friends interview, actress Ashley Bratcher, who portrayed Abby Johnson in the movie "Unplanned," recounted how after she accepted the role and had begun filming on the set, her mother told her over the phone that she was almost aborted. "I was in the clinic, on the table and the nurse was very pregnant and she came in to examine me. And I got really sick to my stomach and I knew I couldn't do it," her mother told her, "and I got up and I walked out and I chose you." Bratcher said: "It blows my mind that I never knew that about myself until after I had stepped into this role to play Abby Johnson and tell one of the greatest pro-life stories of all time." Christians killed by suspected Fulani gunmen while on way home from church service Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A number of Christians anywhere from five to 30 were reportedly killed by suspected radical Fulani herdsmen during social unrest stemming from the murder of a Christian man last Sunday, local sources report. According to The Daily Post, police have confirmed that at least five victims were killed in the societal violence that took place in the local government area of Jos in the Plateau state on May 26. However, the head of a local Christian association has put the death toll of Christians from last Sundays violence at about 30. Authorities reported that at least 12 homes were burned in the violence as Christian and Muslim herdsmen communities clashed after local Christians took to the streets to protest the death of Enoch Monday. State police told media that Mondays body was found around the Tina Junction in Jos. On [May 26] at about 11:30 [a.m.], the Plateau State Police Command received a report from one Sarki Arum of Tina Area of Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State that one Enoch Monday of Tina was seen lying motionless at an area between Dutse Uku and Angwan Damisa in Jos North Local Government, the statement from Public Relations Officer DSP Tyopev Matthias Terna reads. The Command immediately mobilized to the area and removed the body to Plateau Specialist Hospital where he was confirmed dead by the doctor on duty and corpse deposited at the mortuary of the same hospital. According to police, local youths in the area gathered to protest following Mondays death. This has always been the trend in the area. Once anyone crosses over to the other side, his or her safety was never guaranteed, a local source told The Daily Post. These are Christian and Muslim communities that share boundaries. However, gunshots began renting the air from all sides with people running helter-skelter, including those coming back from Church. Officers were sent to the impacted areas to help restore peace. A local Christian man named Peter Sarki assured to the U.S.-based persecution outlet Morning Star News that at least seven Christians were killed and more than 12 others were injured in the violence. Rev. Luke Shehu, head of the Arewa Christians and Indigenous Pastors Association, said in a statement that at least 30 people were killed and 20 homes were burnt in less than 12 hours by Muslim militia. According to The Punch, Shehu said that some of the perpetrators were in military uniforms. He added that all the areas impacted by the violence border Muslim communities. These targeted attacks on innocent Christians are unacceptable, particularly with confirmed arrests of over 30 Christian women fruit and food vendors by soldiers around Tina junction in Jos after the attack today, 27th May 2019, Shehu asserted. Shehu added that the killings are a sacrilege unimaginable to be carried out in the month of Ramadan. Along with Monday, Sarki identified another slain Christian man as Istifanus Ismailaj. Both of Ismailaj and Monday, Sarki said, were killed on their way home from an Evangelical Church Winning All service. Sarki also identified Michael Anthony Pam, a parishioner at St. Michaels Church in Nasarawa Gwong, as another victim. Pam was said to be the head of the St. Michaels chapter of the Catholic Youth Organization of Nigeria. The violence impacted motorists and some community members, including a Morning Star News correspondent who was forced to stay in church for shelter rather than return home that Sunday. Fulani violence has escalated greatly over the last couple of years in Christian farming communities in the Middle Belt and southern parts of Nigeria as Muslim herders from the north have migrated to the south. While the Nigerian government and some secular human rights watchdogs have blamed the violence on farmer-herder clashes, Christians in the region have claimed that it is ignorant to overlook the religious element of the violence and the fact that the attacks against Christian communities have become much more violent in recent years than they were in the past. Christian activists have also claimed that Fulani violence against farming communities greatly outnumbers reprisal attacks committed against Fulani communities since farming communities do not have the advanced weaponry that radicalized Fulani do. Nigeria ranks as the 12th worst nation in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Door USAs 2019 World Watch List. Thousands of Christians have reportedly been killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen since the beginning of 2018. Nigerias score for violence has stayed as high as possible, primarily due to the increased attacks on Christian communities by Hausa-Fulani Islamic militant herdsmen, an Open Doors factsheet on Nigeria reads. These attacks claimed the lives of hundreds of believers during the reporting period, and scores of villages and churches were burned to the ground. Last Monday, in the Riyom local government area of Plateau State, it was reported that suspected Fulani radicals killed six members of one family while they were having dinner. A survivor of the attack recalled in an interview with The Daily Post how she survived the attack by pretending to be dead. Former lesbian: I was raped, hated men; 'Devil thought he had me, God had another plan' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment WASHINGTON A former lesbian testified to the power of God to transform lives, and how He brought restoration to her and redeemed the years the enemy stole. Before hundreds assembled at the Sylvan theater adjacent to the Washington Monument in the 80-degree heat, Janet Boynes addressed the Freedom March, the second gathering to take place in the nation's capital. "I've been out of the [lesbian] life 20 years," Boynes said. "At one time I would get up in the morning and asked myself: Who Am I? What is my identity? Who do I belong to? Why am I here," she began, explaining that such are the questions many ask of themselves. "We all want to belong to some sort of community or some type of group or church. The labels we are putting on ourselves whether they are positive or negative, influence how we behave and sometimes how we respond to others at an adult age or even at an early age." What she came to realize was that she had an identity crisis, she explained, adding "I didn't know who I was or who God called me to be." When Boynes was young she walked through life in survival mode, she explained, as she was raised in a family of seven kids from four different fathers. The man who raised her was an alcoholic and was physically abusive to her mother. Her mother abused her. "Watching those fights between my parents, I began to adapt those same behaviors," she said, noting that her life spiraled out of control. During her youth she developed a deep hatred for men, especially black men, because her mother's husband raped her. She was also raped by an altar boy. When Boynes went off to college she met a woman who she said helped save her life and invited her to church. It was there where met the "man of her dreams," who proposed to her. Yet three months before the wedding she had a sexual experience with a woman that altered the trajectory of her life. She told her pastor about what had occurred, broke off the engagement with her fiance, and walked away from the Lord for fourteen years. "What I came to realize is that sin will take you further than you want to go and keep you longer than you want to stay," she said. "The devil thought he had me ... but God had another plan," Boynes said. Fourteen years after that sexual encounter with a woman, she met a Christian woman at 3 a.m. in a grocery store. After a short conversation with her she invited her to church. A few weeks later she rededicated her life to the Lord. What made a big difference was that a women's group at the church brought her into their community even though she looked nothing like them and did not talk like them. "They loved me from the inside out, not the outside in," she explained. Two members of the church allowed her to stay in their home, and it was there that she learned about the love Jesus had for her. "It was the church that helped me bring my search to an end. What I've come to realize is that God never calls you by your shame, folks. He's calling you by your name," she told the crowd, to cheers. She concluded: "We can never get back the years we lost. But we serve a God who redeemed the time." The next Freedom March is scheduled to take place June 23, on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in St. Paul, Minnesota, the area where Boynes is based. One surprising reason the poor don't get justice in developing countries Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment MIAMI BEACH Among the many reasons poor people have difficulty getting protection in the justice systems of developing countries, one surprising factor has gone largely unnoticed, International Justice Mission CEO Gary Haugen explained. A "massively underreported and underdiscussed phenomenon" has hindered justice for the poor, Haugen told a group of journalists. "Two words ... that keeps the thing completely hidden private security." Haugen was speaking about "Global Poverty and Injustice: Taking the Long View" at an April 1 Faith Angle Forum. How can nations like India have high economic growth yet a dysfunctional justice system, Haugen asked rhetorically. How are large corporations able to operate in nations with high levels of violence? "So in India, for example, the private security forces are four times larger than the public police force. In the developing world, private security forces are between five and seven times larger than the public police force. The largest employer on the continent of Africa now is private security. This suddenly makes us understand, oh, this is how this all stays below the radar and doesn't get better because the people of wealth and power have abandoned the public system," he said. Haugen compared the situation to when wealthy people put their kids in private schools. "It's sort of what happens to schools or transportation systems when the people of wealth and influence leave the public system. They don't even know that it's broken. They don't even know that it's not working," he said. In advanced economies, Haugen explained, businesses invest in public justice systems. So most of their security comes from public law enforcement. But in the developing world, they invest in private security. "So there are two tiers: a collection of people who can afford to move forward economically because they're safe in private security, then all those who cannot afford private security who are living in lawless chaos," he said. Haugen has long worked to bring attention and solutions to the problem of broken justice systems for the poor through his work at IJM, speaking engagements, and a book, The Locust Effect: Why the End of Poverty Requires the End of Violence. The poor can't pull themselves out of poverty, he pointed out, when they aren't safe from violence and their property isn't protected. In addition to private security, Haugen noted at the Faith Angle Forum that there are three other reasons the poor don't have functioning justice systems in developing nations: 1) these systems were first set up by colonial powers with the intent of protecting themselves, not the poor; 2) the powerful in these countries have a system that works for them and have no desire to change; and 3) development aid hasn't gone toward helping the justice systems in these countries. Can this situation change? Haugen said he is now "more hopeful and excited than I've been ever before." With more attention now focused on the issue, governments and NGOs are working together to fix these problems. "These very massive institutions are waking up to how unsustainable it is to actually make progress in these areas if you don't address the brokenness of basic justice systems," he said. "And so, I do think we have an opportunity because it's possible to actually fix broken criminal justice systems to protect half a billion people by 2030." You can read a transcript of Haugen's remarks on the Faith Angle Forum website, or watch the video below. Pastor David Platt says he ministered to President Trump before public prayer; explains why he did it Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Teaching pastor at McLean Bible Church in Virginia David Platt said he privately shared the Gospel with President Donald Trump in a forthright and compassionate manner prior to a public prayer during a brief unannounced visit at his church by the president on Sunday. Platt, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, who has been drawing praise for his response to the presidents impromptu stop, also explained that he prayed for the president because 1 Timothy 2:1-6, urges in part that Christians pray for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. While I wont go into the details of our conversation backstage, one of our other pastors and I spoke the gospel in a way that I pray was clear, forthright, and compassionate, Platt said in a statement released on his churchs website Sunday. Then I walked back out on stage, read 1 Timothy 2:1-6, and sought to pray the Word of God over the president, other leaders, and our country. The decision to pray for the president was something that he wrestled with briefly because he had only been given minutes notice of the visit shortly after the end of the churchs 1 p.m. worship gathering. I immediately thought about my longing to guard the integrity of the gospel in our church. As I said in the sermon today, Christ alone unites us. I love that we have over 100 nations represented in our church family, including all kinds of people with varied personal histories and political opinions from varied socioeconomic situations. Its clear in our church that the only reason were together is because we have the same King we adore, worship, fear, and follow with supreme love and absolute loyalty, and His name is Jesus, he wrote. Platt said he decided to explain his decision to pray for the president because he is aware that some in his diverse congregation may have been hurt by his decision to pray for president Trump. I wanted to share all of this with you in part because I know that some within our church, for a variety of valid reasons, are hurt that I made this decision. This weighs heavy on my heart. I love every member of this church, and I only want to lead us with Gods Word in a way that transcends political party and position, heals the hurts of racial division and injustice, and honors every man and woman made in the image of God. So while I am thankful that we had an opportunity to obey 1 Timothy 2 in a unique way today, I dont want to purposely ever do anything that undermines the unity we have in Christ, he said. In the end, would you pray with me for gospel seed that was sown today to bear fruit in the presidents heart? Would you also pray with me that God will help us to guard the gospel in every way as we spread the gospel everywhere? And finally, Im guessing that all of us will face other decisions this week where we dont have time to deliberate on what to do. Im praying now for grace and wisdom for all of us to do exactly what we talked about in the Word today: aim for Gods glory, align with Gods purpose, and yield to Gods sovereignty, he noted. In his prayer for the president on Sunday, Platt prayed that the president would lead with righteousness, wisdom and in ways that are good for justice. God, we pray that he would know how much you love him so much that you sent Jesus to die for his sins, our sins so we pray that he would look to you. That he would trust in you, that he would lean on you. That he would govern and make decisions in ways that are good for justice, and good for righteousness, and good for equity, every good path, Platt prayed. Lord we pray, we pray, that you would give him all the grace he needs to govern in ways that we just saw in 1 Timothy 2 that lead to peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way. God we pray for your blessing in that way upon his family. We pray that you would give them strength. We pray that you would give them clarity. Wisdom, wisdom, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction, he added. Platts response to President Trumps request for prayer has been praised by many as a model Christian response especially because he disagrees with the president in a number of ways. Thank you so much, Pastor David Platt for praying over @realDonaldTrump. We also prayed for him this morning at @bellevuememphis. Lets all pray for him daily in the spirit of 1 Timothy 2:1f, former SBC President Steve Gaines wrote on Twitter. If you are ever going to have a politician on stage at your church, this is a terrific prayer for you to pray, Professor Thomas S. Kidd, an evangelical historian, wrote. Joe Carter, an editor at The Gospel Coalition who also serves as an elder at Grace Hill Church in Herndon, Virginia, noted in an op-ed Monday that Platt presented a model approach on how to pray for the president. Platt presented the gospel in his prayer and asked God to give the president clarity, strength, and wisdom. Platt also prayed that the Lord would help President Trump govern for the good of equity, justice, and righteousness. Above all, Platt made it clear that our earthly leaders will benefit most when they follow the the one universal king over all King Jesus, Carter wrote. Platt reminded us that we pray for authorities not to protect them from criticism but so that we as Christians may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Tim. 2:2). In doing so, he provided us with a model for how we should all pray for our president, he added. The reactions to Platts prayer come on the heels of a Sunday that was earmarked as the "Special Day of Prayer for the President," led by evangelist Franklin Graham, who some argued had colored the event with political partisanship. More than 300 Christian leaders signed a statement in support of Graham's prayer event for Trump but Platt was not named among them. Kedron Bardwell, professor and chair of the political science department at Simpson College, south of Des Moines, Iowa, noted that even though Platt is not known to be a strong supporter President Trump, he did not politicize his meeting with the president. In 2016 Platt thanked [Russell] Moore for criticizing evangelicals who defame the gospel by supporting/excusing Trump's profanities, race-baiting and courting white supremacists, boasting of adulterous affairs, debauching public morality...through the casino and pornography industries, Bardwell wrote. Platt prays directly for the President but doesn't politicize it, as Franklin Graham did in calling the U.S. to pray today for a POTUS who's [under] attack from enemies, he said. This is very well done by @PlattDavid, under likely stressful circumstances of an impromptu visit from a President. The White House said Trump was at McLean Bible Church "to visit with the pastor and pray for the victims and community of Virginia Beach," after a mass shooting that left 12 dead on Friday. Cliff Sims, former White House staffer and author of Team of Vipers said in an interview with Ed Stetzer for The Exchange earlier this year that popular televangelist and President Trump's spiritual adviser, Paula White, blocked extending an invitation to Platt to attend Trumps first prayer breakfast, alleging he believes the American dream is evil. Theres a story that I tell in the book that really stuck out to me very early on in the White House and made me realize that proximity to power does strange things even to pastors and ministers. When we were trying to plan the first prayer breakfast, Sarah Sanders and I were working together to organize speakers, and I wanted David Platt to come and speak at it. I talked to David about it, and I don't think he would mind me saying that he was conflicted about that decision. I think one of the reasons for this hesitation was because when pastors get involved in the political space in a public way, there are drawbacks and it can put pastors in a position where people suddenly view them through a political lens. There's just a lot of baggage that comes along with such a decision, Sims said. Nevertheless, Sims said he continued exploring the idea until White nixed it after trashing Platt. I was talking to people inside the White House about him coming to speak and someone who interfaces with the faith advisory council inside the White House happened to mention this to Paula White. Paula came to the White House and had a meeting with them and basically trashed David and said something to the effect of, He believes that the American dream is evil. The President's going to be really mad when he finds out that you're bringing in someone to speak at the prayer breakfast who believes that the American dream is evil, he wrote. She was basically just undermining him and trying to stop him from being the one who was chosen to speak. Matt G. Metcalf, an M.Div. student at Southern Baptist Theological seminary and web developer for Christianity Today Magazine, defended Platt as a good man of God because he would not have been able to deliver such a gracious prayer. Is this where I admit that I am really glad David Platt's prayer was faithful but that I couldn't watch the video of him praying over Trump because the thought of it turned my stomach? Platt is a good man of God who handled the situation far better than I ever could, he wrote. Franklin Graham: Trumps enemies will hurt America, could spark civil war if impeached Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Leading evangelist Franklin Graham has responded to critics of his special day of prayer on Sunday, a time when he's urged Christians worldwide to ask God to protect President Trump as his political enemies seek impeachment. Graham, the 66-year-old son of the late evangelist Billy Graham and the influential conservative Christian leader of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, spoke with The Christian Post on Thursday to further detail what inspired him to announce this Sundays special day of prayer. Since making the announcement last Sunday, Graham has faced backlash from fellow Christian leaders who argue that Grahams call to prayer for the president is nothing more than an attempt to politicize prayer and engender support for Trump by whipping up prayer. I am not asking people to endorse him. That is not that point of this prayer, Graham told The Christian Post in a phone interview. This is not an election year. So I dont see how it could be political. He is the president. People have voted for him. He is in office and he is carrying out the duties of the presidency. He needs our prayers. The special day of prayer statement has been supported by over 300 Christian leaders. Graham is calling on pastors and laypersons across the nation to lead their congregations in prayer for the president during Sunday services, Sunday school, and other gatherings. Graham told The Christian Post that he was inspired by a feeling in his heart to announce the day of prayer. He said that feeling grew into action after he spoke about it with another pastor who thought it was a great idea. Considering that the call to prayer came on the same week in which Special Counsel Robert Mueller spoke publicly about the investigation into Russian collusion during the 2016 election and possible obstruction of justice by the president, Graham admits that the events in Washington played a role. Mueller said this week that his investigation did not rule out the possibility that Trump broke the law and seemed to shift the responsibility of accusing the president of a crime to lawmakers in Congress. In turn, more Democrats in the House of Representatives have called for impeachment. I think what is going on in Washington has something to do with [my call to prayer]. It has bothered me and it has been a burden on my heart because this president is being attacked more than any president in modern history; attacked by the press more than Abraham Lincoln, Graham said. So he is the president of the United States. You had two years of investigation that came up with nothing. Now the media and his opponents in Washington are doing everything they can to destroy him. What we need to remember is that he is the president. That doesnt mean that he is a perfect person. He is flawed like all of us. He has made plenty of mistakes but he is the leader of this nation. We have got huge problems in front of us. Some of those issues facing the U.S., according to Graham, include trade problems with Canada, Mexico and China, the situation with Iran, the strife in Venezuela and talks with North Korea. There is so much that needs to be done, he said. The president, for him to be distracted with false accusations, with people doing all they can to destroy him, it hurts this country. It hurts all of us. Although Graham is regularly described in the mainstream media as a supporter or even an apologist for Trump, he clarified that he has never endorsed Trump. Graham admits that he does agree with many, but not all, of the policies Trump and his administration, have advanced. As the Trump administration has advanced more pro-life policies than any other president and done much to advance religious freedom domestically and across the globe, Graham also cheered the fact that Trump got more people working than we have had in modern history. My prayer is not an endorsement of the president, Graham assured. It's to just call on God to give him wisdom because if he makes a good decision, it is good for all of us. If he makes a bad decision, it is bad for all of us. Whether we are Republican or Democrats or independents, this is just asking God to guide him and direct him as he makes decisions every day that impact our lives. Although he does not endorse Trump, Graham proclaimed that Trump probably will go down as one of the great presidents of our country. When I say protect him, protect him from his enemies. Because these enemies it is not just the president, but it is tearing down the office of the presidency, Graham stressed. This will hurt our country for many, many years if this allowed to happen. In an earlier interview, Graham declared that the attacks that Trumps enemies are launching against the president are demonic. His statement announcing the call to prayer stated that our nation is at a crossroads, at a dangerous precipice. This precipice is the failure of our democratic system. It is just a handful of people that are able to control the media and are able to dictate what comes across the media into a persons home night after night, day after day, Graham said, referring to the impact that the left-leaning mainstream media is having on todays political climate. If the president was brought down for whatever reason, it could lead to a civil war. There are millions of people out there that voted for President Trump that are behind him that are angry and they are mad. We are just living in a very dangerous territory and we need Gods help. Graham praised Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a 2020 presidential hopeful, who has said that Democrats shouldnt be looking to impeach Trump because the Mueller report found that no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia took place during the 2016 election. So since the Mueller report has come out, they are talking about impeachment. It is just crazy. It is destroying our country. Enough is enough, Graham said. Tulsi Gabbard, the Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, she made a great statement. She said, It is time to move on. Graham stressed that the country is in turmoil and has become a mess that only God can fix. Every time a person yields their life to Christ, that heart is changed. America needs a heart transplant. America needs a new heart, he contended. We have become vicious. We have become angry. We have become bitter. It is just wrong. The only hope this country has got, we need to pray. We need to pray for our president. Graham explained that although he will be praying for the protection of the president, he is in no way instructing other Christians on how they should be praying this Sunday. Some critics think the call to prayer should focus on Trumps need for repentance from his immoral behaviors. Others have noted that the Bible commands Christians to pray for all government leaders in positions of power. I have called this to be a focus of prayer on the president. Of course, the Bible commands that we pray for all those that are in authority. If a person feels led to pray for those that are in Washington and represent their state or their district, then absolutely pray, Graham said. But the focus of my call was to be a focus on prayer for the president. First of all, he needs to be encouraged, Graham continued. It is discouraging when you wake up every day and it doesnt matter if you do something good or not. They only report the bad. That gets discouraging. I pray that the president will be encouraged knowing that there are millions of people praying for him. An edited transcript of Grahams interview with CP can be found on the next page. 1 2 Next Louisiana's Democrat governor signs 'heartbeat' abortion ban into law Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Louisiana's Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards signed a bill into law on Thursday that bans most abortions after an unborn babys heartbeat is detected. Edwards broke with leaders of the national Democrat Party when he signed Senate Bill 184 into law. Louisiana now joins Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Ohio which have also passed heartbeat abortion bans. An unborn baby's heartbeat can be detected as early as six weeks. In 2015, I ran for governor as a pro-life candidate after serving as a pro-life legislator for eight years, said Edwards in a statement released before he signed the bill, according to CBS News. As governor, I have been true to my word and my beliefs on this issue. The ACLU of Louisiana denounced Edwards signing of the heartbeat abortion ban, vowing in a statement posted to Twitter that they will fight it. Governor Edwards just signed an extreme and unconstitutional abortion ban, but it's important to know that abortion is still legal. We'll keep fighting to #StoptheBans and make sure this cruel assault on the constitutional right to abortion access never takes effect, tweeted ACLU of Louisiana. Pro-life activists including Lila Rose of Live Action celebrated the news, referring to Edwards signing of the bill into law as an amazing step forward for human rights. SB 184 passed the Louisiana House of Representatives on Wednesday by a vote of 79 to 23. Earlier in May, the bill passed the state Senate by a vote of 31 to 5. Introduced by Democrat Senator John Milkovich of Shreveport, SB 184 prohibits abortion in most circumstances for unborn babies with a detectable heartbeat. it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly perform an abortion with the specific intent of causing or abetting the termination of the life of an unborn human being when a fetal heartbeat has been detected, stated the legislation. SB 184 included an exemption for abortions meant to prevent the death of a pregnant woman or prevent a serious risk of the substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. We believe children are a gift from God, said Sen. Milkovich in comments reported by The Associated Press on May 15, adding once a heartbeat is detected, the baby cant be killed. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An Israeli citizen and speaker is shocking his nation with an inspiring appeal for his kinsmen to believe in Jesus Christ. Amir Tsarfati was born in Jerusalem to parents who, like many Israeli Jews, only casually practiced Orthodox Judaism on holidays. When Amir was still young, his family fell apart and abandoned him to foster care. Tragically, Amir fell victim to horrific abuse in the foster-care system. By ten years old, he had already lived with three different families. He had food and a roof over his head, but no love. Having no real family and no hope for the future, Amir decided to end his life. When he was about to commit suicide, he was suddenly compelled to give the world one last chance. That week, he visited his friends family, where he heard them end their dinner prayer with "B'shem Yeshua (In the name of Jesus)." Amir was shocked. Why pray in the name of Jesus? Jews believe in the God of Israel. Is God not enough? God used this moment to start Amir on a journey that would miraculously bring him to faith in Jesus Christ. Although Amir grew up attending the synagogue every holiday, he really didn't know much about God or the Messiah. Now, he confessed Jesus as his personal Messiah. Now, Amir had hope. His life was forever changed. While serving his mandatory time in the Israeli Defense Force, he saw Gods hand of protection. God continued to grow him and granted him favor as a major in the IDF Reserve. Amir then went on to serve as a tour guide in Israel, which he has been doing for the last twenty years. In 2001, he became founder and president of Behold Israel a non-profit ministry proclaiming Jesus Christ within the powerful context of Bible history and prophecy. Today Amir is making an inspiring appeal to his Jewish kinsmen through a collaboration with the evangelistic ministry Anchored North. Everything in Scripture points to the Messiah as Israel's only hope. This poignant video is an amazing resource to minister to the Jewish people, says Amir Tsarfati. Greg Sukert of Anchored North said that this short testimony film will be used to declare to thousands of Jews that Jesus Christ is their only hope. Jesus Christ is this Messiah, and He is all over the Jewish Scriptures. The house of Israel must know for certain that this Jesus whom the Jews crucified, God has made Him both Lord and Christ. Jews are encouraged to run to the Messiah and be saved in this life and the life to come. Today is the day of salvation. Many viewers in Israel are already expressing their objections. Believe in whoever you want, but don't tell me Jesus is the only hope for the Jewish people, one viewer protested. Inversely, other viewers are very supportive: Amir, you certainly are ambassador for Israel as we all are called to be, He is using you, God bless Anchored North and you Amir Tsarfati. Maranatha Yesuha! Amir continues to boldly share the gospel every chance he gets, something that is highly discouraged in Israel. He has an immense love for his people and simply cant keep silent about Jesus Christ. Amir testifies that the God who knows all things has revealed in His Word that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. Therefore, we all must believe and get ready for His return. You want peace? He [Jesus] is the Prince of Peace. You want a king? Hes the King of kings. You want a shepherd? Hes the Great Shepherd. Jesus is the only hope for Israel the only hope for the Jewish people. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Donald Trump has been called the most anti-LGBT president in our history. Yet he just became the first Republican president to celebrate LGBT pride month, also calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide. Does this indicate a shift in perspectives? Not according to gay journalist Michelangelo Signorile In an article for the Daily Beast, he claimed that, President Trumps Anti-LGBT Agenda Is Louder Than His Pride Message. Signorile wrote that, On Friday, President Trump tweeted a message in support of Pride month, which was breathtakingly disingenuous given his administrations systematic assault on LGBT rights. Indeed, he claimed, Trumps celebration of Pride is as fraudulent and calculated as his claim to be fighting to decriminalize homosexuality. This is in fact an attempt to portray himself as supportive of LGBTQ people as he gears up for the 2020 re-election campaign. The goal, he wrote, is less about getting much of the communitys backingwhich will be near impossiblebut more about keeping or getting the support of many others who might be turned off by blatant anti-LGBTQ bigotry. But would Trump really do this to win the votes of centrists while alienating his most important voting base, namely, conservative evangelical Christians? And is Trump naive enough to think that a couple of tweets would change the minds of alienated voters? Signorile actually spends most of his article detailing the many things Trump has done to oppose LGBT activism, right through the month of May. Surely Trump does not think that he can so easily change public perceptions. On May 14, Tim Fitzsimons reported for NBC News that, President Donald Trump opposes the passage of the Equality Act, a proposed bill that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights law to prevent discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. As explained by a White House official, The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all. However, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights. This speaks louder than any celebratory tweet. Fitzsimons also cited Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of the national LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD, who said that, Trump's opposition to the Equality Act further cements his administrations legacy of being the most anti-LGBTQ government in recent memory. Indeed, Ellis continued, LGBTQ Americans will not forget the Presidents politically craven flip-flop on this fair and just legislation. Yet Trump now tweets, As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals.... How do we explain this? Lets also remember that, during a recent interview on Fox News, Trump was asked, Don't you think it's just great to see the fact that you've got a guy there on the stage with his husband and it's normal? He replied, I think it's absolutely fine, I do. As CNN noted, He agreed with Hilton's assessment that Buttigieg's candidacy is a sign of great progress, adding, Yeah, I think it's great. I think that's something that perhaps some people will have a problem with, I have no problem with it whatsoever. Yet, during his tenure as president, Trump has reinstated the ban on transgenders serving in the military and worked against the Obama administrations redefinition of sex (as if sex included gender perception), just to cite two examples of his opposition to LGBT activism. Is he trying to play both ends against the middle? Or is there no rhyme or reason to his actions,? Actually, the more I think about it, the more I find a consistency to his words and actions. On the one hand, as a man who spent many years as a New York liberal and Hollywood insider, he must have had plenty of good relationships with LGBT people. So, on a personal level, he likes people like Peter Thiel, PayPals openly gay co-founder, who also spoke at the Republican National Convention. And on a professional level, hes glad to have a man like Richard Grenell on his team. (Grenell is the openly gay Ambassador to Germany.) In the same way, Trump said in 2016 he would have no problem with Bruce Caitlyn Jenner using the bathroom of his choice at Trump Tower. And theres little doubt that Jared and Ivanka would have been very much at home with many of President Obamas LGBT sympathies. As Ivanka tweeted in 2017, Logging back on after Shavuot, wishing everyone a joyful #Pride2017. This month we celebrate and honor the #LGBTQ community. She added, I am proud to support my LGBTQ friends and the LGBTQ Americans who have made immense contributions to our society and economy. (Compare this to the presidents tweet, recognizing the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation.) My impression, then, is that Donald Trump wants gays to be treated fairly and, as stated in the Fox interview, he has no personal issue with gay marriage. But when he feels that LGBT activism infringes on the rights of others, especially conservative Christians, he will stand against that activism. Moreover, many of those he has appointed to serve in his administration have deeper, faith-based convictions that influence their worldview, and they are often on the front lines of pushing back against LGBT activism. Put another way, Trumps opposition to LGBT activism does not appear to spring from a biblical worldview as much as from a desire to support evangelical causes and protect religious liberties. And his policies certainly do not spring from personal animosity towards LGBT individuals. Consequently, Trump has no problem celebrating LGBT pride in a tweet while at the same time opposing the so-called Equality Bill. As an evangelical supporter of Trump, I would much rather that he did not muddy the waters with what appears to be a mixed message. But its who he has been since he announced his run for president. And overall, when the dust settles, he has done far more to oppose LGBT activism than to support it, as Signorile and his colleagues know all too well. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment It was one of the last scenes in the movie Unplanned. Abby Johnson, played by actress Ashley Bratcher, had left her job at Planned Parenthood and was at the clinics gate boldly sharing with a young woman about protecting the life inside of her. It was while watching that scene when Serena Dyksen felt God telling her; it is now time to share her story. The release of the film Unplannedthe true-life story of former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson who became a pro-life advocatehas coincided with a wave of pro-life legislation enacted in numerous states, challenging the unconstitutional decision in Roe v. Wade. Alabamas recent bold pro-life bill does not include an abortion exception for victims of rape or incest, creating a firestorm of opinions even among those who rally in support of overturning Roe v. Wade. But if you ask Serena Dyksen, if rape should be an exception to allow an abortion, then she wants her testimony to answer that question. Women and men are sharing their opinions about abortion and the rape exception, Serena commented. Many are speaking about something they dont know personally and are speaking on my behalf. But the truth is, they dont know because they have not been through the trauma that I have experienced. It is time for me to talk about my rape and not let others speak for me. Serenas Planned Parenthood Story Serena grew up in a dysfunctional home with her parents and one sister. They moved quite frequently, and Serena remembers if her parents couldnt pay their bills, then they would pack up and move; sometimes leaving in the middle of the night with only the clothes on their backs. By the age of eleven years old, Serenas family had moved next to a relative where she often babysat for their children. The husband in the home began to abuse Serena sexually, and at thirteen-years-old Serena found out she was pregnant. I didnt even know the word abortion, Serena recalls. I just remember my parents taking me to a doctor who mentioned that word and my mother saying, Yes, we want an abortion. I didnt understand the proper words to define my body at that age. I just let my mom answer all the questions for me because when you grow up in a dysfunctional family, sometimes the best thing to do is to remain quiet. They scheduled the abortion, and Serena remembers the people at the clinic informing her mother to be prepared to be harassed by Christians when they got out of their car. There was already a lot of tension in my home. But I remember being so stressed that there might be people yelling and screaming at us when we arrived at the clinic. When they arrived at Planned Parenthood, there was no one outside the clinic. My mom was so relieved that there were no church people there, Serena remembers. Serena shares her experience at Planned Parenthood that day: We enter the clinic, and I was called back to a room alone. I remember the woman talking about clumps and describing abortion. She asked me if I understood, and I nodded yes, but I had no clue what was happening to me. She took me into another room where I lied down. The doctor came in and smiled at me and said, This wont take long. I remember experiencing the most excruciating pain that I had ever felt, and I began to scream. The doctor shouted at me to shut up. A nurse came in and held my hand, but nothing helped to relieve that kind of pain. They then moved me into a room with other women, and I sat down on a recliner chair. When I stood up from that chair, I remember a gush of blood coming out of me. My dad came in and carried me out to the car. After that day, my abortion was never talked about again. Trauma and Redemption Several years later, at the age of sixteen, Serena and her boyfriend found out she was pregnant again. My boyfriend was from a Christian family, and he knew sex outside of marriage was wrong, but when faced with our situation, he asked me what I thought about abortion. Serena remembers her strong reaction to that painful word, I said, no way' and proceeded to tell him my whole tragic story when I was thirteen years old. Together, Serena and her boyfriend agreed to not go through with the abortion and then his parents and their church community reached out to them. Our church surrounded us with so much love and support. We had our daughter and got married. We didnt know how to parent, but the church helped us. We were broke, but the church supported us, Serena recalled. The very people who Planned Parenthood said would be harassing us, were the people who loved and cared for us in our time of need! Serena and her husband were blessed with a son two years later, and by the age of twenty-three-years-old, they bought their first home and were living a good life as a family of four. But their happy home changed when the family experienced a traumatic event concerning their two children. That event triggered something inside of Serena, and she began to fall apart emotionally. I realized that I had not dealt with my rape and abortion, and it led me to a path of destruction, Serena acknowledged. I moved out of the house, leaving my husband and my two children, and turned to drugs and alcohol to numb my pain. My husband was always there for me, but I pushed everyone away. I was running full-speed to hell! After drinking heavily one night, Serena came to her breaking point. People were tired of me reaching out for help and never following through. I had burned all my bridges, Serena admitted. I cried out to God in my car in my destitute and drunken state, and He met me there, she testified. I felt God telling me to go home, and by Gods grace, I made it home safely with my husband opening the door and welcoming me with open arms! That was the last day Serena reached for alcohol or drugs. She went for counseling and began to experience complete healing for all the trauma in her life. One day, while reading the scriptures, the Lord directed her to Lamentations 3:55-58 (NIV): I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: Do not close your ears to my cry for relief. You came near when I called you, and you said, Do not fear. You took up my case; you redeemed my life. God set me completely free, Serena rejoiced! He changed me forever! Life Has Purpose Looking back on the abuse and trauma of her life, Serena has a very different perspective from the voices that try to speak on her behalf regarding the rape exception for abortion. There is not a day that goes by where I do not think of that aborted baby. Whatif always comes to mind, she questions. I know God had a purpose for that baby. It doesnt matter how that baby was conceived. That life had a purpose! Serena knows the difficult circumstances surrounding rape and abortion. How do you bring a child into the world from such a tragic event is a question filled with doubt and uncertainty, but Serena wants to use her life story to answer that question with honesty. I think it is easy for people to say rape is the worst thing that could happen to me. But they dont know what I experienced behind those closed doors at Planned Parenthood, she reflected. My abortion was traumatizing. They lied to me, and they didnt love or care for me at the young age of only thirteen years old. Abortion did not fix the problem; it only added more trauma to my life. When confronted with the question of whether rape is an exception to allow an abortion, Serena states emphatically, No, absolutely not! It does not fix anything. It adds more pain, more lies, more guilt, and more shame. Abortion keeps women in shackles! Today, Serena lives in complete freedom from her past, and she knows now is the time to talk about her healing. God is so good! she testifies. She finds comfort from Genesis 50:20 (ESV): As for me, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. Serena and her husband have been married for twenty-five years and are proud grandparents to a beautiful granddaughter. They both serve on the board of North Central Indiana Teen Challenge, a faith-based drug rehabilitation program for men. Serena ministers to women in jail and those out on the streets. She shares her story and the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that brings healing and redemption. I didnt want to share this part of my life, Serena admits. I felt people would look down on me, but that is such a lie! People need to talk about abortion and rape. The church needs to talk about it. Some women are not ready to talk about their past abortion, but when they are, the church needs to be prepared to walk alongside them, love them, and point them to the cross for their healing. Discipleship is not easy, and sometimes its messy, but I am so grateful that I had people in the church who loved me and directed me to the truth of Gods word. If Serena could pass on one message of hope to women who have not dealt with the pain of their abortion, it would be that there is healing. She shares, Everyone needs to walk through the healing process of their past abortion, no matter the circumstances. If you dont, you will be walking through deception, pain, and all the bondage that goes with that. But the same God who sent people to show His love for me is the same God that will redeem your life too. I want to share my testimony because it is God who shines through my story! Passionate about the issue of life, Julie Klose is a freelance writer and blogger at JulieKlose.com. She is the author of Giving Hope An Address: The Teen Challenge Legacy Story and serves as a regional coordinator for Care Nets Making Life Disciples ministry. Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment For the first two years of his administration, President Trump failed to acknowledge June as the official pride month of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. But this year, one day before the start of LGBT Pride, the President tweeted the following: As we celebrate LGBT Pride Month and recognize the outstanding contributions LGBT people have made to our great Nation, let us also stand in solidarity with the many LGBT people who live in dozens of countries worldwide that punish, imprison, or even execute individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation. My Administration has launched a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality and invite all nations to join us in this effort! But why would Trump clearly not a globalist want to get involved in the international human rights of sexual minorities? Since he took office, the President has failed to make friends with LGBT activists in the United States, almost immediately rolling back Obama-era policies within the Department of Education for gender non-conforming students to use the bathroom of their choice, while placing a ban on military service for transgenders. Most recently, his administration has resisted the Equality Act, which passed the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives but will ultimately be killed in the Senate before reaching his desk. At the same time, Trump has prioritized religious liberty over LGBT rights by instituting the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative, creating a new Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within the department of Health and Human Services that is focusing on vigorously and effectively enforcing existing laws protecting the rights of conscience and religious freedom. In short, the LGBT lobby isnt buying it. Immediately after Trumps May 31 tweet, Human Rights Campaign president, Chad Griffin, responded: You cant celebrate Pride and constantly undermine our rights including attacking #TransHealth, discharging #TransTroops, refusing to protect LGBTQ youth, and cozying up to dictators who brutalize & marginalize LGBTQ people. Washington Blade reporter Chris Johnson expressed similar frustration in his commentary on Trumps tweet: Not mentioned by Trump is the 50th anniversary this year of the Stonewall riots, the historic LGBT rights event upon which Pride is based. Pride celebrations have been held each year to recognize Stonewall, starting with New York Citys Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade in 1970. One has to wonder if the Presidents initiative is an effort to extend an olive branch to the LGBT community after securing his conservative, Christian base for the first two years he's been in office? If so, this could end up backfiring on him if the LGBT lobby views this new campaign as merely an exploitation of international sexual minorities intended to strengthen Trumps global position. But exploitation is nothing new for the LGBT community. Its been happening for over fifty years. While presidents Clinton and Obama (who designated the Stonewall Inn as a national landmark in 2016) looked at Stonewall with a certain nostalgia in years past, none of this was mentioned in Trumps tweet perhaps for good reason. The history of Stonewall is not good. Historian David Carter said it well in his book, Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked The Gay Revolution, when he spoke about the plight of homosexuals in the age of Stonewall. The irony is that for almost the entirety of that decade, homosexual men and women, far from experiencing a great burst of freedom, found themselves in the worst legal position they had been in since the republics birth. Exploitation by the Mafia and corruption within the police became the norm in Greenwich Villages premier gay club in the 1960s. The Mafia-controlled establishment provided monthly financial kickbacks to the chief of police, who then carefully orchestrated raids on the homosexual establishment early in the evening, on weekdays, where few patrons would be present, thus minimizing the establishments financial loss. In exchange, the Mafia provided watered-down liquor and deplorable bathroom conditions in the tiny bar, while raking in enormous profits off the backs of the homosexual community. But in late June 1969, on the coattails of the civil rights movement, the modern gay rights movement began one night when homosexual men and women had enough of the exploitation and began to resist. Fighting back against police brutality, the patrons rioted for several nights against law enforcement, who quickly lost control of the residents in the neighborhood. What resulted was six nights of protests, which later led to various activist groups within the community organizing to help gays and lesbians fight for equality. Within several months of the uproar, official organizations and several newspapers were established in New York City to support the gay and lesbian community, and the following year, the first gay pride marches took place in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco to commemorate what later became known as the Stonewall riots. In my new book: The War on Psychotherapy: When Sexual Politics, Gender Ideology, and Mental Health Collide, I trace the history of LGBT exploitation by those in power, beginning with the events leading up to the Stonewall riots and into the 1970s, when activists within the American Psychiatric Community (APA) successfully removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Sadly, I believe the decision to declassify homosexuality from the DSM has done very little to improve the mental health of sexual and gender minorities; and history is now repeating itself with the World Health Organizations (WHO) recent decision to remove transgenderism from its classification as a mental disorder. On May 29, the WHO International Classification of Diseases eleventh edition (ICD-11) placed issues of gender incongruence under a chapter on sexual health, defining gender incongruence as a marked and persistent incongruence between a persons experienced gender and assigned sex. Undoubtedly, LGBT activists within the APA will soon move to do the same in the next revision of the DSM. In The War on Psychotherapy, I describe this as the consequence of a sexual culture war being fought on the mental health battlefield. The result of these policies is the continued politicalizing of sexual and gender identity in mental health. Tragically, our precious children are now being exploited as a consequence of this erosion. It is now illegal in many parts of the country to offer any type of psychotherapy that does not affirm a minors homosexuality or gender confusion even if those feelings cause the child significant distress and he/she wishes to resolve them with a licensed therapist. Just last week, Maine and Colorado became the 17thand 18th states to ban so-called conversion therapy for clients under the age of 18 seeking licensed therapy to work through sexual and gender identity conflicts. These states join over 45 cities and several countries that have passed legislation to limit the therapeutic rights of sexual and gender minorities. Dr. Michelle Cretella, expert pediatrician on gender issues, and executive director of the American College of Pediatricians, describes the reality of this new sexual and gender ideology in the preface of my new book: The crux of the matter is that while the transition-affirming movement purports to help children, it is inflicting a grave injustice on them . . . These professionals are using the myth that people are born transgender to justify engaging in massive, uncontrolled, and unconsented experimentation on children who have a psychological condition that would otherwise resolve after puberty in the majority of cases . . . [and]are pushing children to impersonate the opposite sex, sending many of them down the path of puberty blockers, sterilization, the removal of healthy body parts, and untold psychological damage. These harms constitute nothing less than institutionalized child abuse. Sound ethics demand an immediate end to the use of pubertal suppression, cross-sex hormones, and sex reassignment surgeries in children and adolescents, as well as an end to promoting gender ideology via school curricula and legislative policies. Without a strong commitment towards freedom in the United States for all sexual minorities, political ideology will continue to be used as a weapon in the broader culture war against these groups internationally; and while President Trumps global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality sounds like a noble plan, it ignores the harsh realities affecting those who are struggling with sexual and gender identity in America. The truth is, our own countrys families and communities need healing, Mr. President; and politics continue to divide us. For the sake of our children, lets get to work at home. Yazidi women sue Germany for failing to prosecute German ISIS jihadis for war crimes Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A coalition of Yazidi women filed a lawsuit against two top German government officials for failing to hold suspected German Islamic State fighters accountable for the genocide committed against Yazidis in Iraq and Syria. The German news outlet Deutsche Welle reports that The Federation of the Yazidi Womens Council has sued Justice Minister Katarina Barley and Interior Minister Horst Seehofer. The advocacy association represents females from the religious minority community decimated by IS (also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh), which killed and sexually enslaved thousands upon thousands of Yazidis when it controlled swaths of territory in both countries. The litigation was filed after the German government refused a request earlier this year from the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces to repatriate at least 61 captured Germans who traveled to Syria to join the terrorist group. According to Deutsche Welle, the lawsuit accused Berlin of a failure to accept the offer and to make possible the urgently necessary prosecution constitutes the crime of obstruction of punishment. The SDF, which is composed primarily of Kurdish, Arab, and Assyrian militias who serve as the official defense force of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, had previously accused the German government of shirking" its responsibility to repatriate German IS militants so they could stand trial for war crimes. However, DW notes that the Federal Prosecutor's Office has issued arrest warrants for 21 suspected German IS fighters. The charges range from supporting a terrorist organization to war crimes. The council also accused the German government of committing a "criminal offense of obstruction of justice" by refusing the offers of repatriation. "The result of this refusal to transfer German nationals in the custody of the local administration in northern and eastern Syria ... has delayed if not prevented punishment (from being doled out)," attorney Berthold Fresenius was quoted by public broadcasters as saying, according to DW. Responding to the lawsuit, a German justice ministry spokesperson told AFP that there are obstacles standing in the way of Germany being able to bring suspected IS fighters home for trial. The spokesperson stressed that legal cooperation is impossible since there are no state structures in the autonomous part of Syria. In February, Germanys interior ministry stressed that the extradition of foreign IS fighters is only possible so long as the suspects of consular access. In principle, all German citizens and those suspected of having fought for so-called IS have the right to return, an interior ministry spokesperson said at the time, according to Reuters. But in Syria, the German government cannot guarantee legal and consular duties for jailed German citizens due to the armed conflict there. The SDF has warned that it lacked the capacity to put all 800 to 1,000 foreign IS fighters in its custody on trial. We have provided the support we can by arresting them and detaining them in prisons, but who is going to take them to court? Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of SDFs political wing Syrian Democratic Council told Financial Times. Who is going to [be] carrying out the prosecution? In a series of tweets from February, U.S. President Donald Trump called on Britain, France and Germany to take back the hundreds of captured foreign IS fighters and put them on trial. Trump stressed that it is "time for others to step up and do the job that they are so capable of doing." The Caliphate is ready to fall, he tweeted. The alternative is not a good one in that we will be forced to release them. Earlier this year, a German woman accused of joining IS went on trial in Iraq for the crime of letting a 5-year-old Yazidi girl die of thirst. As noted by AFP, the case of the 27-year-old German is believed to be the first case worldwide for international crimes committed by IS jihadis against the Yazidi community. Bishop questions Christians who support Donald Trump Donald Trump's Christian faith has been questioned by a senior figure in the Church of England as the US President embarks on a three-day state visit to Britain. The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev Paul Bayes, said the US President's politics were "mistaken", and suggested that Christians who support him are misguided. Rather than welcoming Trump, he told BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme that he wanted to "welcome and honour" people planning to turn out on the streets to protest his visit. "I don't agree with him, I think he's mistaken in many of his policies, and I think that the Christians who identify with him, especially in the US, are not properly responding to what our Christian faith says they should do," he said. "I don't think it's right to build walls, I don't think it's right to demonise and hate people, I don't think it's right to divide. And I think this man should be told so, not only by the folks who are in the room with him on this visit but by the folks who will be on the streets outside." Bishop Bayes went on to suggest Trump's politics stood in contradiction to Christian values. "He says he is a Christian but Jesus said you know people by their fruits. And this is a guy who seems to me to be saying walls are good, people from other cultures are bad, we must not welcome people, we must exclude them I don't believe these are Christian positions," he said. Despite his views about Trump, he said America was a "great country" and that it should not be demonised because of its president. "I think the free world by definition does not need to be led in an authoritarian way. I think it's true that within the US which is a great country there are people who fight for freedom and I'm glad to stand alongside them," he said. The bishop added that Trump's comments over the weekend on the Tory leadership contest and how the UK should negotiate with the EU over Brexit were indicative of a kind of "populism" and political style that is "toxic and dangerous". "This is a guy who believes in shooting from the hip, he tweets out policies in the middle of the night, he stirs up emotion rather than people looking sensibly and seriously at things that should be done in nations, and he has broken the convention by which people don't stick their noses into the way other countries are doing what they're doing with the political leaders, so I regret that," he said. In the past, Bishop Bayes has criticised "self-styled evangelicals" for "uncritically accepting" Trump's policies. "Some of the things that have been said by religious leaders seem to collude with a system that marginalises the poor, a system which builds walls instead of bridges, a system which says people on the margins of society should be excluded, a system which says we're not welcoming people any more into our country," he told the Guardian. "Whenever people say those kinds of things, they need to be able to justify that they're saying those things as Christians, and I do not believe it's justifiable." Trump has repeatedly courted the faith vote during his presidency and has often been pictured with pastors and other faith leaders in the White House. He has been mentored in his faith by megachurch pastor and close friend Paula White, and counts high profile evangelicals like Franklin Graham and Robert Jeffress among his Christian supporters. He has pleased many evangelicals with his support for religious freedom and the rights of the unborn in the face of legislative attempts to loosen abortion restrictions across the US. At this year's National Prayer Breakfast, Trump told an audience of faith leaders that his administration was committed to protecting freedom of worship and the sanctity of life. "I will never let you down - never," he told them. Trump lays wreath in honour of fallen soldiers in Westminster Abbey Donald Trump laid a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey on the first day of his state visit to the UK. The US President was greeted on the steps of the abbey by the Dean, Dr John Hall, before a tour and a brief service as his three-day state visit got underway. He was accompanied on his visit to the abbey by his wife, First Lady Melania Trump. The wreath was laid in honour of the fallen in both World Wars and subsequent conflicts, with prayers led by Dr Hall. During the tour, the President and First Lady were shown the graves of Isaac Newton and Professor Stephen Hawking, the High Altar and Coronation theatre, Henry VII's Lady Chapel, and the tomb of Mary Queen of Scots. Before their departure, they were invited to sign the abbey's visitor book. The last US president to visit the abbey was Barack Obama in 2011. George W Bush also visited the abbey in 2003. In a full first day, President Trump received a warm welcome to Britain from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The ceremonial welcome included a private lunch and a guided tour of the Royal Collection. It was a serene moment in contrast to the Twitter storm that broke out earlier when Trump called London Mayor Sadiq Khan a "stone cold loser" before he had even touched down on British soil. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would boycott the state dinner planned for the evening. UN leader appeals to faith-based organisations to 'rally around' Sustainable Development Goals The Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations told faith leaders and NGO workers at a Christian Aid meeting on Monday that the goals to end global poverty could not be achieved alone. In an address at the Christian Aid's London headquarters, Amina Mohammed said that progress on achieving the wide-ranging Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 was "flatlining" and that the world was "simply not doing enough" to eradicate poverty. "We are not going fast enough to address the challenges," she said. "On present trends, extreme poverty is not on track for elimination by 2030, hunger is on the rise for a third consecutive year, wildlife is being lost at an alarming rate [...], disadvantaged population groups remain largely excluded, and, globally, youth are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults," while women, she added were facing "age-old hurdles". "Facing such challenges and deep polarisation within countries across the world, no country, no group, no organisation can go it alone," she said. "We do believe we need everyone and that includes faith-based organisations that need to rally around the SDGs with us." Ms Mohammed, who is Nigeria's former environment minister, went on to commend faith-based organisations for showing leadership in social justice and sustainable development, and giving the UN the "ambition" it needed to adopt a "truly integrated, people-centred approach" to the 2030 agenda. "Long before the SDGs, we know that faith-based organisations and their leaders embodied the principle of leaving no one behind and led the fight for social justice, human rights and sustainable development," she said. "Faith-based organisations are already showing leadership in mobilising resources and networks to support the hardest to reach and shift attitudes and behaviours towards the implementation of the SDGs." Ms Mohammed went on to warn of a "vacuum of leadership" in the world and the growing challenges of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred. She called for a return to the core values of the world's major faiths, saying that the world would be "worse off" without them. "With the rise in xenophobic rhetoric, anti-Semitism anti-Muslim hatred, there is a growing global interest in engaging religious actors as peace mediators," she continued. "I think in theory, we need to get back to those core values that every faith has. We need to find back our humanity so that we can push back against some of these headwinds." She praised faith groups for going the distance to bring peace in their communities, saying that they were often still there after others had left. "Time and time again, we know that faith-based organisations have stood in the face of rising tension and conflict and continue to do so in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and South Sudan, and it's really tough," she said. "As we walk through some of our pathways to peace, on the other side is sustaining peace and that is where really we see faith-based organisations always there the day after where many have dropped the ball, have left and have not gone the full mileage that they needed to do to make sure that we have preserved peace." Christian Aid Chief Executive Amanda Mukwashi said there was a need for faith-based NGOs to "reinvent" themselves in order to be effective in meeting the current developmental challenges, and that with the divide between the Global North and Global South disappearing, it was time for NGOs to "learn and re-learn - or be left behind". She also admitted that Christian Aid was grappling with how it could best address global injustices while also recognising the existence of poverty on its doorstep in Britain. "How do we reinvent ourselves to be able to meet the challenges of our time? Because the challenge is different from the time we were set up and while we may be evolving as an organisation, is this perhaps a time for us to do more than tweaking?" she said. "Is this a time for us actually to really transform ourselves so that we can grapple with the issues that quite frankly we haven't seen in our generation - whether it is the polarisation of politics or views, the divisions at domestic levels and global levels, the challenge to multilateral agreements [or] the issue of climate challenge." She continued: "The things that keep us awake at night as organisations are those issues where you go out here in Waterloo [London, where Christian Aid is based] and you find people are sleeping on the street. Can you ignore them and say no, I am only concerned about the people who sleep on the streets in Malawi? "They are both human beings. The issues, the experience is of injustice [and it] impacts people equally across the world." She added: "We are beginning to grapple with this conversation." William Howell / Fotolia Houston-based independent wealth management firm NEXT Financial Group has been acquired by Atria Wealth Solutions of New York. The deal, which represents Atria's fourth broker-dealer acquisition since 2017, brings more than 500 independent advisers who collectively manage nearly $13 billion in assets under Atria's umbrella. The other subsidiaries are Cadaret Grant, CUSO Financial Services and Sorrento Pacific Financial. Citgo Petroleum Corp. received a subpoena from the Department of Justice stemming from an investigation into bribery in Venezuela, indicating that the U.S. government is finally turning its attention to the company after years of prosecuting individuals. The Venezuelan-owned U.S. refiner has pledged full cooperation with the probe, without identifying the reason for the subpoena, it said Monday in an emailed statement. "Earlier this year, under the direction of its newly appointed Board, Citgo engaged outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation, and is committed to taking all appropriate remedial actions in response to the findings," the Houston-based company said. The subpoena was handed down on May 14, two weeks before Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino pleaded guilty to paying bribes to win business from Venezuelas state-owned oil company, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified because the matter hasnt been made public. RELATED: Businessman pleads guilty in PDVSA bribery case The Miami executive became the 17th person to plead guilty in a U.S. government investigation into bribery at Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the corporate parent of Citgo, admitting to a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, conspiracy and failure to report foreign bank accounts, Justice said in a May 29 statement. The subpoena follows years of indictments targeting individuals, the first of which came in late 2015, when the U.S. accused two men of taking part in a $1 billion bribery scheme to secure contracts with PDVSA and linked one of the duo to a former head of Venezuelan military intelligence wanted for alleged cocaine trafficking. Citgo is conducting roughly 20 internal investigations, some overlapping, into various FCPA-related matters, and the board of directors has hired lawyers for its own inquiry, one of the people said. As recently as last week, external lawyers were seen on the fifth floor of the companys headquarters in west Houston interviewing Citgo workers deemed as potential witnesses for various investigations, the people said. The American subsidiary of the state petroleum giant has a waiver from the Trump administration allowing it to continue with day-to-day operations, but U.S. sanctions on Venezuela prevent Citgo executives from having any contact with the parent company. The new board, spearheaded by chairwoman Luisa Palacios, arrived at the end of February. It was appointed by Venezuelas opposition leader Juan Guaido with the support of the Trump administration, which recognizes him as the countrys legitimate leader. U.S. sanctions cut off much-needed cash that Citgo had sent back to its ailing parent, making life more difficult for the regime of president Nicolas Maduro. (Updates with Citgo location in second paragraph and board details in last paragraph.) --With assistance from Tom Schoenberg and Fabiola Zerpa. The British petrochemical corporation Ineos has inked a deal with Saudi Aramco and Total to invest $2 billion building three plants in a petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia. It's the first time Ineos, started by a former executive Exxon Mobil Corp. executive and Britain's richest person, is entering the Middle East. The three plants are part of a $5 billion petrochemical complex under development by state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco and French oil major Total SA, according to a release from Ineos. RELATED: Virtual reality tour lets you peek in Ineos' Houston area plant Ineos, which has a U.S. headquarters in League City outside Houston, has been growing with acquisitions oil and gas fields and a major pipeline in the U.K. and chemical plants in China and investments in plants in Belgium and the U.S. Gulf Coast and Alabama. "This is a major milestone for Ineos that marks our first investment in the Middle East. The timing is right for us to enter this significant agreement in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Aramco and Total. We are bringing advanced downstream technology which will add value and create further jobs in The Kingdom," Ratcliffe said in a release. EARLIER: Saudi Aramco buys majority stake of SABIC in $69B deal The company said the plant's location will give it Ineos access to "competitive raw materials and energy, with well invested infrastructure, to better serve customers directly in the Middle East and markets across Asia." Ineos has signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Aramco and Total to build the plants in the Jubail 2 complex in Saudi Arabia. The plants include a 425,000 metric ton acrylonitrile plant and a a 400,000 metric ton linear alpha olefin plant. The investments will be integrated into Saudi Aramco and Total's mixed feedstock steam cracker, which is expected to have a 1.5 million metric ton capacity. "Mixed-feedstock steam cracking and closer integration of refining and chemical operations in Saudi Arabia represents a wider trend developing in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, as major oil company's look to gain further exposure to the petrochemical industry as transportation fuels are set to decline," said Patrick Kirby, Chemicals Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie said in a statement. Saudi Aramco has been drastically increasing its investments in petrochemicals as it looks to diversify its portfolio. The company announced a $69 billion deal to buy the petrochemical giant SABIC in March and its subsidiary Motiva is investing in petrochemicals on the Gulf Coast. Houston police are investigating a fatal hit-and-crash over the weekend that left a 30-year-old man dead. Police said the victim was operating a red Suzuki GSX motorcycle while traveling southbound in the 7500 block of Mesa Drive in east Houston when he was struck by a white van, police said in a news release. The van driver had just pulled out of a private driveway and cut across the southbound lanes in an attempt to make a U-turn and travel northbound. The van driver failed to stop and render aid after the accident, which took place at 7 a.m. Saturday. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Houston Police Department's hit-and-run unit at 713-247-4065 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS. Three years ago, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Man & Woman of the Year Gala crossed the million-dollar mark. It was quite an accomplishment, especially considering that nearly all of the candidates were under age 40 and had never fundraised before. Fast forward to last Friday. More than 500 black-tie friends and family members gathered at River Oaks Country Club in support of 16 competitors who'd spent the previous 10 weeks battling for the coveted Man & Woman of the Year titles. By night's end, co-chairs Scott Gildea and Stephanie Carroll announced that the ninth annual event had raised a record-shattering $1,875,848. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Rodeo awards $8.4 million in scholarships to Texas students, $1.6 million to Area Go Texan scholars The room was stunned. Sparklers illuminated the seven-figure total that flashed across video screens. Several audience members had spent the evening trying to calculate (or guess) what the final number would be. Their estimated range fell between $1.3 to $1.5 million. Then mistress of ceremonies Dana Tyson announced that Iberiabank's Stacy Goldstein won Woman of the Year. Goldstein alone contributed $701,000 in memory of her father, Jerry Goldstein, who recently lost his battle with cancer. "The tremendous loss, watching the rapid deterioration of someone I love... doing nothing was unacceptable," she declared from the podium. "I used that energy to approach people. It's not just about the win, I'm grateful for the opportunity to do something about cancer." Goldstein's employer backed her efforts with a financial commitment. As presenting sponsor, Iberiabank-stamped strawberry shortcake desserts followed the club's steak dinner. H-E-B also gave in-kind and monetary donations. President and television commercial star Scott McClelland joined a prominent company table, topped by the grocery store's floral centerpieces, alongside Lacey Dalcour Salas, public affairs manager and a previous Woman of the Year winner. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Latin Women's Initiative fashionistas award $300,000 to six Hispanic community-serving organizations Runner-up Alyssa Parrish-Bublewicz, who raised $417,000, thanked her Partners Surgical LLC co-workers, too. Parrish-Bublewiczw, mother of four-year old twin daughters, was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia six months ago. "While I was fighting cancer, they were raising money," she said. Perhaps that's the key to the LLS Houston chapter's recent success. The candidates who pull in the most dough typically share a poignant connection to blood cancers. Mission speaker Sarah Olsen Halter lost her daughter Austyn to leukemia two years ago. After Halter's brief remarks, the program's Fund the Fight segment, led by auctioneer Rick Grafsi, raised approximately $75,000. Grafsi fetched high bids during the live auction as well. Most packages sold for upwards of $12,000. Cha-ching. And six candidates entered LLS' prestigious 50K Club; John McDonough, Man of the Year 2019 ($156,000 raised), Kristie Welte, Lauren Alff, Jailyn Marcel, Goldstein and Parrish Bublewicz each raised more than $50,000 and have the opportunity to name an LLS research grant. Mark Verrett was named Man of the Year runner-up. Boy & Girl of the year, Channing and Bailee, both acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors, spent the evening dancing onstage. They simply couldn't contain their excitement. And by the end of the night, most of the adults joined in. If a bunch of millennials can raise $1.875 million in 10 weeks, surely a cure for cancer isn't too far behind. NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Find fun things to do and see around Houston in our weekly Preview newsletter. Subscribe here. NEW CANAAN The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos and his girlfriend have been arrested and could face more charges in connection with the New Canaan mothers disappearance. Fotis Dulos, 51, and his girlfriend, Michelle C. Troconis, 44, were arrested at an Avon hotel late Saturday night. They are each being held on $500,000 bond on charges of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and first-degree hindering prosecution. Fotis Dulos is being held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center and Troconis is being held at the New Canaan police station. They are scheduled to appear Monday in state Superior Court in Norwalk. Fotis Dulos and Troconis became involved in a romantic relationship a year before Jennifer Dulos filed for divorce, according to court filings in the case. Jennifer Dulos, 50, a mother of five, was last seen dropping off her children at New Canaan Country School on May 24. Her black Chevy Suburban was found later that night on the side of Lapham Road near Waveny Park after she was reported missing. Since Dulos was reported missing, New Canaan, state and federal authorities have been working around the clock to locate Jennifer by exploring all leads and tips, New Canaan police said in a statement announcing the arrests on Sunday. Authorities spent the weekend searching Fotis Dulos Farmington home on Jefferson Crossing. Troconis, a businesswoman and mother, began living there with him after Jennifer Dulos moved with her children to New Canaan when she filed for divorce in 2017. Investigators also searched on Sunday another nearby residence on Mountain Spring Road in Farmington that was developed by Dulos custom home building company, Fore Group. Last week, Fotis Dulos told the broker handling the sale of the Jefferson Crossing house, listed at $4.35 million, that his estranged wife's disappearance "was a sad situation and he hopes she's found soon." The disappearance of Jennifer Dulos came up in conversation last Monday when Rob Giuffria, managing broker for the West Hartford-based Tea Leaf Realty, spoke about another property he was trying to develop with the Fore Group, the broker said. Giuffria has been trying to sell the Jefferson Crossing property for more than a year. Giuffria said he last spoke with Jennifer Dulos about a year ago soon after he got the listing. She called to ask how it was going, Giuffria recalled. I said it was going fine. She was telling me about how great a house it was. I haven't heard from her since. Guiffria is now considering placing the property on temporary listing status since he will likely not be able to show the 10,000-square-foot home while Fotis Dulos is held on bond. "We have an unfortunate situation where one of the owners is missing," Guiffria said. Fotis Dulos and Troconis were escorted off the Jefferson Crossing property on Friday night. They went to the state police Troop L barracks in Litchfield, where Fotis Dulos provided DNA and hair samples, a source told the Hartford Courant. Authorities on Sunday extended their search to 80 Mountain Spring Road, located about two miles from the Jefferson Crossing property. More than two dozen state police cars and at least two K-9 units arrived around 8:45 a.m. Sunday, according to the Courant. The home is listed for sale for nearly $3 million, according to the Fore Groups website. The company reconstructed the Mountain Spring Road home last year to include a four-car garage and all-season covered porch off the kitchen and dining room, according to the Fore Groups website. The Tudor-style home is on five acres and was originally built in 1926, the website said. Searching for Jennifer For most of the past week, searches for Jennifer Dulos have been focused in Waveny Park, the Welles Lane neighborhood where Dulos has rented a home for the past two years and at her parents home in Pound Ridge, N.Y. However, the investigation quickly shifted Friday afternoon to the Hartford area after Fotis Dulos was seen on security cameras outside a bakery, a source told the Courant. The woman who answered the phone Sunday morning at Scotts Jamaican Bakery declined to comment. Some two dozen state troopers and firefighters searched the Upper Albany section of the city, first focusing on a storm drain outside of the bakery. Investigators then searched nearby backyards and trash bins, which local residents said were empty after the garbage had been picked up earlier in the day. Soon after the Hartford search began, authorities arrived at Fotis Dulos Farmington home around 6 p.m. Friday, according to the Daily Mail. Investigators were seen talking with Dulos and Troconis in the driveway before going inside the home for about an hour, the Daily Mail reported. While New Canaan police have been tight-lipped about the investigation, state police sources have provided some insight. One source told Hearst Connecticut Media last week that blood was discovered inside Jennifer Dulos home the day after she was reported missing. Another source told the Courant a housekeeper arrived at Jennifer Dulos home at noon on May 24 and did not notice the blood. The information tightened the timeframe of when Dulos went missing to sometime between 8 a.m. when she dropped her five children off at school to noon. Dulos also missed appointments she had scheduled for 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. that day, a source told the Courant. New Canaan police returned to the Lapham Road area Friday morning around the time they believed Dulos SUV was left on the side of the road a week earlier. They handed out missing person flyers and spoke to passing motorists in hopes of finding a witness who saw something on May 24. Custody battle Jennifer and Fotis Dulos have been involved in a two-year divorce case. In court documents, Jennifer Dulos said she was afraid of her estranged husband and was fearful he would retaliate against her for seeking a divorce. Jennifer Dulos mother, Gloria Farber, has been in her own legal battle with Fotis Dulos. Farber and her late husbands estate have filed a lawsuit against Fotis Dulos, accusing him of failing to repay $1.7 million in loans he used to purchase properties and build homes for his business. The Farbers Mallard Lake Road home in Pound Ridge, N.Y., was the focus of the authorities search on Thursday. The home is about a 15-minute drive from Jennifer Dulos New Canaan residence. Two years ago, Jennifer Dulos abruptly left the Farmington home with her children and moved to New Canaan before filing for divorce the next day. Her sudden departure prompted Fotis Dulos to call 911, saying he was worried about my wife and kids, according to audio of the more than four-minute call obtained by the Hartford Courant. The 911 call is referenced in the nearly 500 pages of divorce records. The records also mention how Fotis Dulos initially believed his wife left with the children for her parents home in Pound Ridge. A status hearing in the divorce case that was scheduled for last Wednesday at the Stamford courthouse was postponed. Last Tuesday, a court-appointed guardian ad litem filed a motion for a hearing regarding the safety of the children. A date has not been set for the conference. Fotis Dulos requested on Wednesday for a judge to allow him to see his children. A motion filed by his attorney, Michael J. Rose, said the children have been staying at Farbers New York City apartment under the watch of an armed guard the family hired. Fotis Dulos was turned away by the guard when he tried to visit his children last week, a police source told the New York Post. Late Friday, Fotis Dulos divorce attorney filed a withdrawal of deposition notices and production requests. The notice was scheduled for Jennifer Dulos to be deposed on June 10, court records show. After 31 drainage and street improvement projects were approved by League City voters in the May 4 bond election, City Manager Jon Baumgartner says it could take up to five years to complete them all. Were going to complete the projects as fast as we physically can with a goal to get them completed in a three- to five-year time frame, he said. Its a pretty straightforward process. Its about a year or so for design and that includes land acquisition, which could maybe add six to eight months depending on when we can identify the right parcels, and then another year or so for construction. He said environmental and permitting issues could change the timeline for projects to be funded through the $145 million bond election. Some of them will go along very smoothly and proceed from beginning to end logically, while some may be harder due to some the issues we anticipate along the way, Baumgartner said. City Council members on May 28 authorized a professional service agreement with engineering firms for the following drainage projects: The $9 million Bay Ridge Flood Reduction Project, which would include levee improvements and protection from drainage flows across Texas 96 and adding capacity to the current detention pond and a pump station. The work also would aim to improve drainage and capacity within the neighborhood adjacent to Gum Bayou and widen Gum Bayou from Texas 96 south to the city limits. LJA Engineering Inc. received the $260,500 contract. The $3.5 million Oaks of Clear Creek Overland Flow and Acquisition Project, which will involve purchase of land and and detention pond construction on the northern and southeastern side of the Oaks of Clear Creek subdivision. Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam Inc. was awaraded the $249,976 contract. The $5.8 million Dove Meadows and Bordens Gully Detention Pond Project, which would buy land and build a detention pond east of Blue Wind Drive and west of Bordens Gulley. Dannenbaum Engineering Corp. received a contract for up to $255,500. These three projects coming forward first have the most direct impact on those three older neighborhoods, Baumgartner said. They suffer from, not only Hurricane Harvey style events, but they have more than their share of high water in the streets when theres routine rain of three to four inches. The engineering services for the Bay Ridge and Oaks of Clear Creek projects were approved by all eight council members. However,the council was divided 6-2 in awarding the Dannenbaum Engineering Corp. contract. Nick Long and Andy Mann voted against the move, with Long noting that the FBI had conducted raids of the Houston-based engineering company in April 2017 in various Texas cities. I wholeheartedly support the project but not the contractor. They have performed less than stellar on a couple of recent projects, Long said. Design aspects of the three projects will be on the councils June 11 agenda, Baumgartner said. tyler.johnson@chron.com May 7 At 4:03 p.m., an unknown suspect forced entry into and burglarized a vehicle parked in the area of 5130 Bellaire Blvd. The unknown suspect removed prescription medications from the passenger side of the vehicle containing the victims medications. The suspect was seen on a surveillance recording leaving the scene driving a gray Ford sedan. Officer Clisham arrived on location after dispatch and made contact with the victim. May 8 At 11:19 a.m., Officer H. Lopez was dispatched t0 215 Fifth street in reference to a theft. Two black males came into a store to use the restroom and while in the process of doing so, one of the black males stole a semi-automatic pistol and ran out of the business. At 10:30 a.m., Officers Jenkins and Lysack were dispatched to the 5400 block of Holly Street to meet the victim of a burglary of a motor vehicle. Officers Jenkins and Lysack arrived and met with the victim who stated he parked his vehicle at that location at 8:45 a.m. and at 10:20 a.m. he returned to his vehicle and someone had stolen a gun and wallet from his vehicle. He contacted his credit card providers and banks and closed the accounts before phoning police. May 9 At 5:42 p.m., Officers Quimby and Bailey were dispatched to Bellaire Police Department in reference to a harassment case in the 5300 block of Fifth Street. Officers Quimby and Bailey arrived on scene at 5:43 p.m. to meet with victim, who stated he has received threatening emails. At 10:14 a.m., Officer Jenkins observed a white vehicle approaching with no registration sticker in the 4600 block of Pin Oak Lane. Officer Jenkins stopped the vehicle and made contact with the driver. The driver was checked and showed a suspended license and he was arrested. At 7:24 p.m., Officer D. Norman was dispatched to a major accident in the 5900 block of IH 610 NB. Upon arrival, Officer Norman determined the driver to be driving while intoxicated. Officer Norman placed the suspect in custody and transported her to the Bellaire Police Department Jail for processing. At 8:53 p.m., an unknown male suspect wearing all black and a bandana covering his face, entered the business at 5406 Bellaire Blvd. and ordered the employees to empty the cash registers into his back pack while displaying a handgun. Said suspect fled the scene on foot south bound on Maple Ridge St. after employees placed the cash into his backpack. Officer Clisham arrived on location after dispatch and made contact with the victims. May 11 At 8:45 p.m., Officer Schwausch was patrolling the 7500 block of IH610 NB when he observed a vehicle speeding. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the operator of the vehicle. Further investigation found the driver to be driving while intoxicated. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated 2nd and transported to the Bellaire Jail without incident. May 12 At 10:56 a.m., Officers Quimby and Bailey were dispatched to CVS Pharmacy, located at 5430 Bissonnet St,, in reference to a robbery in progress. Officers Quimby and Bailey arrived on scene at 10:57 a.m. The suspect used physical force to take cash out of the cash drawer, injuring two people and was armed with a handgun while committing the robbery. Officers located the suspect who was booked in Bellaire Jail for robbery. Corporal OSullivan, Officers Jenkins, and Marcotte assisted in this case. At 8:45 p.m., Officer Schwausch was patrolling the 5400 block of IH610 SB when he observed a vehicle speeding. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the operator of the vehicle. Further investigation found the driver to be driving while intoxicated. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and transported to the Bellaire Jail without incident. At 1:03 a.m., Corporal D. Clawson observed a vehicle traveling south in the 7800 block of IH 610 SB with expired registration as of 06/18. Clawson conducted a traffic stop on this vehicle for that offense. During the traffic investigation it was learned the driver was in possession of marijuana and processed on the misdemeanor marijuana diversion program. The front seat passenger was found to have outstanding Houston Police Department warrants and was booked into the Bellaire Jail. The rear seat passenger was found to be in possession of cocaine and subsequently charged with possession of a controlled substance. Officer Clisham and Officer Guerra assisted in this case. May 13 At 2:19 a.m., Corporal D. Clawson was patrolling the 6200 block of IH610 SB when he observed the defendant speeding. Clawswon initiated a traffic stop in the 800 block of IH 610 and made contact with the defendant who was the operator of the vehicle. During the traffic investigation it was determined the defendant was operating a motor vehicle in a public place while intoxicated. The defendant was subsequently charged with driving while intoxicated. At 6:26 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 1999 Honda for expired registration in the 7500 block of Newcastle. The driver was found to have a suspended drivers license and was arrested for driving while license invalid (DWLI). At 9:12 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2002Ford pickup for failure to signal lane changes in the 6800 block of IH 610 SB. The driver was found to have a suspended drivers license and was arrested for driving while license invalid (DWLI). At 5:01 p.m., Officer Tim Quimby was dispatched to the Bellaire Police Department in reference to identity theft in the 5000 block of Chestnut Street. Officer Quimby arrived at 1706 hours and spoke to the victim who stated on 09/02/2018 at approximately 0358 hours an unknown person used her Texas Driver License to identify themselves on a traffic stop to a Harris County Constable Precinct 4 Deputy. That person was then issued a citation for traffic offense. May 14 At 5:20 p.m., Officer Marcotte was dispatched to an assault in progress at 5600 IH 610 SB. Upon arrival, it was determined that one of the assailants identified himself as a police officer to the other and was subsequently arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer. At 2:42 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2008 Honda Civic for speeding and failure to signal a lane change in the 6600 block of South Rice. The driver did not have a license or any type of identification and was arrested for traffic charges and was additionally found to be in possession of approximately 3 grams of marijuana. At 7:57 p.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to an in-progress theft at 5020 Bellaire Blvd. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade met with the victim who stated a male suspect stole her wallet containing credit cards out of her vehicle as she was putting air in her tires. After further investigation, it was determined to be a burglary of a motor vehicle. Corporal Clawson assisted in this case. May 15 At 2:25 a.m., Officer Schwausch was patrolling the 6000 block of IH610 SB when he observed a vehicle speeding. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the operator of the vehicle. Further investigation found the driver to be driving while intoxicated and to be in possession of THC wax and marijuana. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and possession of a controlled substance, and was transported to the Bellaire Jail without incident. At 4:54 a.m., Officer Vorhees was dispatched to 4620 Bellaire Blvd. in regards to a male who was unconscious and not breathing. Officer Vorhees arrived to the above location and at approximately 0531 hours, the Bellaire Fire Department paramedics discontinued CPR. Officers Guerra and Jenkins also assisted with this case. At 4:06 p.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to 5208 Bellaire Blvd. in reference to a burglary of a vehicle. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade met with the victim who stated cash was stolen from the center console of his unsecured vehicle. After further investigation, it was determined the victim was followed by the suspect from Bank of America at 5133 Bellaire Blvd. At 11:08 p.m., Officer Guerra was patrolling the 5300 block of Bellaire Boulevard and observed a black Ford Ranger with an unreadable plate. Officer Guerra conducted a traffic stop and observed the subject to be the sole occupant of the vehicle and behind the steering wheel. Officer Guerra observed the subjects eyes to be glossy and an alcoholic beverage emitting from his person and/or breath. After further investigation, the driver was arrested for driving while intoxicated. At 12:11 p.m., Officers Quimby and Bailey were dispatched to the 100 block of Beverly Lane in reference to a burglary of a vehicle. Officers Quimby and Bailey arrived on location at 12:16 p.m. and met with the victim. The victims vehicle was burglarized by unknown suspects about 4:30 a.m. May 15. At 10 a.m., Officer Jenkins was approached by the resident at 4400 block of Lula Street to report a burglary of a motor vehicle. The victim stated between 10 p.m. May 14, and 7 a.m. May 15, someone entered his unlocked vehicle and took his wallet and a small green pocket knife. At 8:18 a.m., Officer D.Rocha was dispatched to 4439 Bissonnet St. to meet with reportee/victim in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Upon arrival, Rocha made contact with the victim/owner of the vehicle. Victim stated that about 8 a.m. May 15 she was at the Valero Circle K. victim stated she was at the gas pump # 3 at this location. Victim stated as she was putting gas in her vehicle, unknown suspect entered her vehicle from the unlocked front passengers door and stole her purse. 10:56 a.m., Officer D.Rocha was dispatched to a major motor vehicle accident which had occurred in the 7400 block of South Rice Avenue. During the crash investigation the driver of unit 1 (vehicle which caused the crash) was subsequently found to be operating a motor vehicle while her Texas Drivers License currently invalid/suspended. The driver was arrested and taken to the Bellaire Jail where she was booked for the charge of driving while license suspended/enhanced with no insurance. Cpl S. OSullivan assisted on this scene. May 16 At 2:53 a.m., Officers were dispatched to the area of 5200 Interstate Highway 610 NB in reference to an accident involving injuries. Corporal OSullivan was the investigating officer and was assisted by Officer Schwausch. The investigation concluded with the driver/suspect being arrested driving on a suspended license without proof of financial responsibility, the charge issued by Harris County was DWLI. At 11:05 a.m., Officer Jenkins was dispatched to 4400 Bellaire Blvd concerning a burglary of a motor vehicle. Officer Jenkins arrived and made contact with the victim. The victim stated she parked her vehicle on the Mulberry Street side of the park and went to the park. When she returned to her vehicle she found the back passenger window broken out and her property stolen from the vehicle. At 8:03 p.m., officers were dispatched to an in-progress disturbance in the area of 4700 Pine Circle. It was said that a white female and black male were in a loud verbal argument inside of vehicle parked in the middle of the street and that the female had exited the vehicle screaming, before getting into the drivers seat and driving away from the scene. Officers were able to locate said vehicle and initiate a traffic stop. After further investigation it was found the male subject had assaulted the female. Said male subject was placed into custody and charged with assault family violence. May 18 At 3:49 p.m., Officer D. Norman was dispatched to 5020 Bellaire Blvd in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Officer Norman made contact with the reportee who advised an unknown subject(s) entered her unlocked vehicle and stole a black tote from her front passenger seat. At 9 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2004 Kia for following too close and expired registration in the 5300 block of Bellaire Boulevard. The driver was found to be intoxicated, was arrested, and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). At 6:38 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2003 GMC Yukon for expired registration in the 5000 block of Bellaire Boulevard. The driver was found to have a suspended drivers license and was arrested for driving while license invalid (DWLI). May 19 At 4:29 p.m., Officer Younger made contact with the victim in the 5000 block of Bellaire Boulevard regarding a burglary of a motor vehicle report. The victim advised an unknown suspect entered her unsecured vehicle while she was talking to a coworker about purchasing a bicycle and stole items from the vehicle. May 20 At 7:37 a.m., Officer D Rocha was dispatched to the 7300 block of IH 610 West Loop South in reference to a motor vehicle accident which had occurred. The unit 1 driver was subsequently found to be driving a motor vehicle while his Texas Drivers license currently invalid/suspended. Unit 1 driver was arrested and booked at the Bellaire jail for driving while license suspended/enhanced with no valid insurance on the vehicle he was driving. Ofc. J Jenkins assisted at the scene. At 7:08 a.m., Officer Liccketto was dispatched to 4400 block of Acacia in reference to a family disturbance. Officer Liccketto met with both subjects. During an argument, one subject pushed the other and one party felt pain. One subject was arrested for assault and was transported to the Bellaire Police Department for booking. Corporal Kramer and Officer Lysack assisted with the case. At 8:45 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2000 Honda Civic for parking in a handicap spot without a permit at 5757 Bissonnet. The driver was found to have a pair of brass knuckles in his vehicle, he was arrested and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon. At 10:12 p.m., Corporal D. Clawson responded with other Officers to the area of Randalls Grocery store at 5130 Bellaire Blvd. for a theft in progress. While responding, the defendant was located who attempted to hide the evidence and walk away. While affecting the arrest the defendant spit on my left arm and attempted to spit on other Officers during the arrest. The defendant was arrested and subsequently charged with assault on a public servant and class C theft. Officers Barrientos and Ortega assisted in this case. May 22 At 6:33 a.m., Officer Lysack was dispatched to 6501 S. Rice Ave. in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. Officer Lysack met with the victim who advised she left her purse sitting in the front passenger seat of her vehicle while she was dropping off her kids at daycare. An unknown suspect broke out the front right window and grabbed the purse from the seat. The suspect then fled in an unknown direction. At 5:33 p.m., Officer Trujillo was dispatched to a minor that occurred at the 5200 block of Chestnut Street. While responding to the call the suspect fled in her vehicle, the victim followed her up to the point where the suspect began to run red lights. Officers responding managed to stop the suspect at the 7000 block of South Rice Avenue. Further investigation found the driver to be driving while intoxicated. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and transported to the Bellaire Jail without incident. At 10:42 p.m., Sgt. D. Hollie responded to 5110 Jessamine St. in reference to a prisoner breaking in-cell security cameras and tying a sheet around her neck. Sgt. Hollie arrived and took the sheet from the prisoner when she assaulted him by striking him in the face and causing him pain. Sgt. Hollie was able to get the suspect detained in handcuffs and move her to a padded cell. Officer D. Guerra assisted. May 23 At 2:45 a.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2017 Kia Sorento for speeding in the 6000 block of IH 610 SB. The driver was found to be intoxicated, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). At 10:25 a.m., the victim called the police to requesting to meet with an officer due to someone using her information in the 6300 block of IH 610. The victim stated someone has been calling people and identifying themselves as the victim and her law firm in an attempt to scam people for money. At 5:15 p.m., Officer Trujillo was dispatched to the 4400 block of Dorothy Street in reference to a missing juvenile. Upon arrival he spoke to the complainant who stated her son walked out of the house and is nowhere to be found. The son was located and returned home. At 5:38 p.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to 5910 West Loop South in reference to a theft. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade met with the victim who stated an unknown suspect stole her purse out of her unsecured vehicle as she pumped gas. At 9:54 p.m., Officers responded to an incident where a drunk driver was fleeing an accident scene without providing information to the other driver in the 4600 block of Spruce Street. Officers located the suspects vehicle and placed the driver in custody. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to stop and give information. Officer Younger was the primary responding officer and was assisted in this investigation by Officers Bailey, Andrade, and Guerra. May 24 At 12:58 p.m., Officer Liccketto was dispatched to 5861 Bissonnet Street in reference to a shoplifting. The suspect took two packs of diapers and three packs of baby wipes. The suspect got into a blue sedan and was last seen headed east on Bissonnet Street. May 25 At 2:26 p.m., Officer Guerra was dispatched to 5405 Bellaire Blvd. About 2:20 p.m. May 25, unknown suspects broke the front driver-side window with an unknown object. The unknown suspect reached in through the broken window and pulled the trunk release lever located in the front driver side door. The other suspect waited in the rear of the vehicle. The unknown suspects stole two AR 15 rifles that were located inside the trunk. At 9:24 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for failure to maintain a single lane of traffic and almost hitting a retaining wall in the 6700 block of IH 610 SB. The driver was found to be intoxicated and was arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI). May 26 At 2:50 a.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for going thru a stop sign in the 5600 block of Bellaire Blvd. The driver gave different false information about her identity and was found to be a minor who was intoxicated. She was arrested and charged with failure to identify to Police. At 1:45 a.m., Officer Schwausch was patrolling the 7500 block of IH610 SB when he observed a vehicle with expired registration. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the operator of the vehicle. Further investigation found the driver to have a confirmed Harris County Sherriff Office Warrant and the passenger gave a false name and date of birth. The passenger was charged with fail to id and both were transported to the Bellaire Jail. At 3:53 a.m., Officer Barrientos was dispatched to the 5300 block of IH 610 NB in regards to a minor accident. Ofc. Barrientos made contact with the driver of unit 2 and immediately smelled an odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from the drivers breath/person, red blood shot eyes, and slurred speech. Ofc. Barrientos determined the driver of unit 2 was intoxicated while operating a motor vehicle and placed in custody. At 6:15 p.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to an in-progress shoplifting at 5002 Bellaire Blvd. Upon arrival, Officer Andrade observed one of the suspects exiting the store. Officer Andrade made contact with the suspect who was in possession of stolen merchandise and gave false identifying information. After further investigation, the suspect was placed in custody for theft and failure to ID. The second suspect was located inside Walgreens and was placed in custody for outstanding Houston Police Department warrants. Officers Carson and Clisham assisted in this case. At 11:38 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 1997 Toyota pickup for speeding in the 5000 block of Fournace. The driver was found to be intoxicated and to be in possession of a fictitious Texas driver's license. The driver was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) as well as forgery of a government instrument. At 3:47 p.m., Officers Younger and Bailey were patrolling the 6500 block of IH 610 East Service Road when they initiated a traffic stop on a green Ford Explorer displaying an unsecure license plate with no registration return. Officer Younger and Bailey made contact with the operator of the vehicle. An investigation was performed at the scene, and it was determined the driver was driving while under the influence of alcohol. The driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and transported to the Bellaire Jail without incident. At 11:47 p.m., Officer Schwausch was patrolling the 5400 block of IH610 NB when he observed multiple vehicles traveling at a low rate of speed and lining up next to each other while revving their engines. The vehicles then took off at a high rate of speed in a contest and exhibition of vehicle speed. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop on the first vehicle and made contact with the driver of the vehicle. The driver admitted to racing on the highway. The driver was charged with racing on a highway and transported to the Bellaire Jail without incident. At 9:12 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a 2010 Dodge charger for speeding and failure to signal a lane change in the 5100 block of Bellaire Boulevard. The driver was found to have a suspended drivers license and was arrested for driving while license invalid (DWLI). David Maung / Bloomberg Texas could lose over 100,000 jobs if tariffs are levied against Mexico by the U.S., as President Donald Trump threatened on Twitter last week, and could cost the state's economy billions of dollars, according to recent economic analysis. If the president follows through with the threat, a 5 percent tariff could cause a loss of nearly $11.9 billion in gross product to the Texas economy as the tax multiplies throughout households and businesses, and result in 117,335 jobs lost across the state, according to analysis by the Perryman Group, a Texas economic consulting firm. Houston drivers are enjoying their fourth straight week of gasoline prices falling in an unusual start to the summer driving season. Gasoline prices here and across the country fell on the back of lower oil prices pulled down by trade tensions with China and Mexico. In Houston, average prices dropped 5 cents per a gallon in the past week, averaging about $2.47 per a gallon Monday, according to the gasoline price tracking website GasBuddy. That's 15 cents lower than a month ago and nearly 27 cents cheaper than a year ago. Some stations in Houston have prices as low as $1.99 while the most expensive prices in the city hit $3.24. RELATED: Tariffs on Mexico could deal blow to Texas economy Nationally gasoline prices fell nearly 2 cents to about $2.81 per a gallon, down nearly 9 cents per a gallon from a month ago and nearly 14 cents down from a year ago. Falling prices are atypical at this time of year because gasoline prices usually pick up in the summer when refiners produce higher-grade, more expensive fuel blends. "The national average has fallen for its fourth straight week, probably not something motorists would associate with the start of the summer driving season," said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy in a statement. FUEL FIX: Sign up for daily Fuel Fix newsletter "More impressively is the surprise that may soon hit some motorists: the nation's cheapest gas prices may soon fall back under $2 per gallon as oil prices have plummeted nearly $14 in the last 8 weeks, prompted by worries about President Trump's tariffs on China and now also Mexico, undermining the U.S. and global economy, and perhaps leading to a slowdown in oil demand at the same time as U.S. oil inventories have rebounded sharply," DeHaan said. News of potential tariffs on Mexico sent oil prices down Friday, with WTI closing at $53.50 Friday. Yet prices rebounded nearly 2 percent by 8 a.m. CST Monday morning to hit $54.55 on the news of of Saudi Arabia's reassurance that OPEC would work to manage oil production to prevent a surplus. DeHaan added that prices could price if Trump strikes trade deals with both China and Mexico but "for now, it's going to be a big win at the gas pump with prices in most areas likely to fall notably in the week ahead." A second person injured in a shooting at B Dependable plumbing along FM 321 in Cleveland last week has died, authorities said. Officials with Montgomery County Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 confirmed David Grubbs died June 1 at HCA Houston Healthcare Conroe, three days after the deadly shooting that ended with the accused gunman killing himself. Another employee at the business, 61-year-old Toni Kelly of Hockley, also died in the incident at the company. Liberty County Justice of the Peace Precinct 6 Ralph Fuller on Monday confirmed the identities of both of the people killed. The accused gunman Pavol Vido, 65, reportedly took his own life as police closed in on him after identifying his vehicle a few miles down the road from the crime scene. Vido sparked an hourslong manhunt on May 29 after four people were shot, including Liberty County Sheriff's deputy Robert Whitten. It is still unclear whether Kelly was shot and killed Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, when the Grubbs and his brother Chris showed up for work. RELATED: Here's what we know about the Cleveland shooter, Pavol Vido Fuller said both suffered gunshot wounds to the head, and that Chris was also shot in the neck. Despite conflicting media reports, Fuller confirmed Chris is the owner of the plumbing business. Chris' status is unknown, although Fuller said he was last told "he was doing OK." Whitten was reported in critical condition as of Friday. Officials said he has a long road to recovery and are coordinating a fundraiser benefit to help cover his medical expenses. Vido was reportedly served with eviction papers 48 hours prior to the shooting. While a motive for the shooting is still unknown, officials with the Texas Department of Safety said the eviction will be considered in the investigation. Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Editor's note: A few weeks after this article was published, the restaurant owners told CultureMap Houston that Indika would remain open. They reportedly chose not to re-enter the permitting process to convert it into a new concept. After nearly two decades of operating in Montrose, upscale Indian restaurant Indika, 516 Westheimer, is permanently closing its doors later this month. "It is with full and grateful hearts that we announce our beloved restaurant, Indika, will permanently be shutting its doors Sunday, June 30th," the restaurant's social media announced Sunday. "Indika has appreciated your continued support over the past 18 years." HoustonChronicle.com: Roasted sweet potato and tofu bowl from Third Coast restaurant, recipe The good news is there's still time to enjoy its famed tandoori flatbreads and soups. "We welcome you, our friends and family, to come in this month for a last bite," he statement reads."It's been a pleasure serving you all and we look forward to sharing our next project with the ever evolving Montrose restaurant scene." The dining stalwart rose to local fame thanks to founder chef Anita Jaisinghani, who also owns Upper Kirby's Pondicheri (as well as its sibling establishment in New York City). Jaisinghani in early 2017 broke ties with the establishment after being at the helm for 15 years. She and her business partner, Ravi Jaisinghani, sold Indika to Nepalese chefs. COMING SOON: Owners of Tejas Chocolate set to open a new burger joint "It's actually good news," Jaisinghani told Houston Chronicle food editor Greg Morago at the time. "It's good news to me because I've wanted to move on from Indika for some time. My love is so much with Pondicheri right now and I'm not doing justice to Indika anymore." We've reached out to the owners about what the next concept will be at the lower Westheimer address and will update this space as more information becomes available. This is the second longtime restaurant to close in recent weeks. Late last month, chef-owners Seth Siegel-Gardner and Terrence Gallivan announced their high-profile, dual-concept outpost Pass & Provisions would shutter May 25, after seven years of service. 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. The downtown nightlife scene has a new player. Party like an A-Lister at the recently-opened Base, from the local group Concepts To Fruition (C2F), in the Market Square area. While there's no password necessary to access the weekend-only speakeasy, you'll need to know where to look for it: It's housed in the Henry Henke Building at 801 Congress. Pass through the lobby of the downtown building to the elevator banks that will take you down to the hidden bar, located in the basement. More bar news: 10 best date night bars in Houston Get there and you'll be tempted to stay well into the wee hours, thanks to the dim lighting, dance floor, DJs, signature cocktails and bottle service. The modern decor features a color palette of grey and gold with pops of red. The center dance floor, the focal point of the space, is situated under a ceiling of color-changing, pulsating lights. A total of 15 VIP seating sections offer bottle service. "We were looking to do something unique," Giorgio Riccio with C2F told Chron.com. "We want it to be a destination spot versus a bar hopping spot." Cocktails are delicious no matter where you drink them, but somehow they taste better when you're hanging out in a secret hideaway. See above for an inside look at Base, plus eight hidden bars you'll want to know about. Marcy de Luna is a digital reporter. You can follow her on Twitter @MarcydeLuna and Facebook @MarcydeLuna. Read her stories on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | Marcy.deLuna@chron.com | Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message Houston star chefs and bakers are lending their support to the second annual Father's Day cookout sponsored by I'll Have What' She's Having, a women-led organization dedicated to women's health awareness. The event, set for June 16 at Last Concert Cafe, will feature the chef talents of Otto Sanchez and Matt Cabon, baker/owners of Magnol French Baking; Mallory Buford, chef/partner at Tacos a Go Go; Alvin Schultz, chef/owner of Eat, Drink, Experience!; E.J. Miller, executive chef of International Smoke; and Justin Yu , chef/owner of Theodore Rex, Better Luck Tomorrow and Squable. The chefs are planning a brisket meal with a beverage menu from Camerata's Chris Poldoian. Traveling to Normandy, France, for the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Memorial resident Jim Trippon will remember his father's service there but also rekindle friendships that have spanned nations, generations and one world war. On the morning of June 6, 1944, after the first wave of Allied soldiers onto the beaches of Normandy was largely annihilated, a second wave, including Private John Trippon, approached Omaha Beach in Higgins boats. "They dropped my dad like 400 yards away from where the shore was, and they figured it would be 3 or 4 feet of water with sand below it," Jim said. "What they didn't count on was they had been doing naval bombardments for weeks before the invasion, so my dad steps off the boat into a 20-foot crater that wasn't visible. It was underneath the water. So he went straight down, and my dad had to make a decision, 'What am I going to do?'" John was able to strip all his heavy gear off, but many other men drowned. John found replacements for his gear and weapons on the beach items left behind by guys killed in the first wave. D-Day left scars Like many other World War II veterans, John never really talked about the war or what he did there. After a trip to France for the 70th anniversary, Jim learned why his father had always had so many scars across his chest. At the age of 92, John began to open up about his experiences. (Previously, all Jim had known about his father's actions came from other soldiers' accounts.) According to Jim, his dad had been ordered to lay face-down on barbed wire so that other men could climb over his back to get past the wire. RELATED: D-Day's 24 hours changed 20th century, and Europe, forever Though D-Day was a turning point of the war in Europe, the success did not come without a cost. "They left England that night with 560 combat engineers, and by the end of the first hour and a half ... less than half of them were still alive. They lost over 300 of the 500 in the first 90 minutes, so it was pretty amazing," Jim said. Eventually, John did make it off the beach. The next day he and other soldiers helped capture a castle that was roughly 1,000 yards off the beach. The Chateau Vierville-sur-Mer was built partially in the 12th century and partially in the 17th century and owned by a family from eastern France, who oddly enough, had moved as far west from Germany as it could in France because they wanted to avoid what it had seen and experienced during World War I. "Obviously, the family was very thankful to be basically rescued from German occupation, and so we've become family friends for the last 75 years. And so when I was in high school and college, they'd invite me to go over to the castle, which I thought, 'Man, that's cool.' But I'd go do that. Their kids would come over to the States." The French family also befriended about 10 other soldiers that freed the castle and still maintains relationships with their descendants as well. Jim said they have all stayed in touch for 75 years, even when times between their two countries weren't so cordial. CHASING DEMONS: 75 years on, D-Day haunts, drives its vets "That still continues obviously because of politics, I'm sure, but as families, I mean, we have this amazing bond, and it's really incredible," Jim said. Honoring what was given When Jim visits Normandy this year, he plans to stay at the castle. Although his father was promoted to technical sergeant later in the war, during D-Day, he was just a private and therefore had to sleep in the barn. Jim has asked to sleep one night in that same barn this year as well. It turns out that the French family has a World War II-style cot just waiting for him but cautioned that it would not make for a comfortable night's rest. Jim said, "I get that, but it will be a nice way for me to remember my dad and something amazing that he did while he was there." Jim said of the combat engineers that made it through D-Day, only half survived the entire war. Over the years, John went back to Normandy several times. He was there for the 40th, 50th and 60th memorial celebrations. Jim said for the 70th, John was even made parade marshal in 2014. This year, Jim said he will be there to represent his family, that it would be a great time and that he would "stay for a week in the castle, drink the best cognac and wines, eat the best food." John died shortly after his trip to Normandy in 2014. Thinking back about the sacrifice left along those French beaches and in other areas throughout World War II, Jim said his dad was just one among many men and women who served. "His whole generation was tough and brave and strong, and you know, I look about people today complaining about things because I've spent time over there several times and I've been to the American cemetery and seen all the carnage. And I've had time to process, like he landed there, and only two out of 10 guys came back," Jim said. "They just had a strength to them and a courage to them that, you know, is not very common nowadays. And you know, all of the ones that are still alive and even the ones that have passed, you know, need to be remembered by their families because they just did some absolutely incredible things." tracy.maness@hcnonline.com When she was 7 years old, Ray Anne George paged through a Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog and spotted an item she wanted: a teachers kit. After her uncle got her the kit for Christmas that year, George would teach her younger brother and sister, who were the first of an estimated 2,000 pupils George would teach through her 50-year career as an educator in public, private and even international education. Thats how I got started in teaching. I loved it, George said, getting emotional about how a small gift inspired her fulfilling career that is now ending with her formal retirement. Originally from Port Neches, Texas, George attended and graduated from Lamar State College of Technology, now known as Lamar University. She then returned to Port Neches to teach seven years in public school there, where she first learned the ropes in the classroom from a cooperating teacher. I loved being around kids. I was also very involved in our church, and taught kids there too, George said. And then, George met a missionary family during a mission trip to Peru that vaulted her career in a new way George was offered a job to return to Peru to be the live-in teacher for the familys children. The family lived way up on the shores of Lake Titicaca. I had always lived at home, and I was scared of living like that, in an altitude of 12,500 feet. I prayed about it for an entire year, but God told me that it wasnt my ability, it was my availability, George said. At 29 years old, she went to Peru: living with this family and teaching their three children for two years. George read a poem she wrote about the experience the new foods, animals and transportation methods she experienced, but also how much she learned from the children she taught. Upon her return to the U.S., George began looking for teaching jobs, this time in the Conroe area. She was able to secure a position teaching fourth-grade at Austin Elementary in Conroe ISD, where she taught for 31 years. I loved teaching there, and developed some fantastic relationships. It was like one big family, George said, telling a story of how one student who had trouble grasping language arts in fourth grade went on to become a medical doctor. Years after she was a student, she invited George to her hooding ceremony to thank her. The relationships with kids, George said as she leafed through a folder of notes from former students, is what kept her going through her career. To know youve inspired their lives, youve touched them and changed them and theyll go out into the world to be world changersthats the best part, George said. And when they come back to you and tell you how much they appreciate what youve done, its just really neat. Even though George then retired from public education, she returned to teach at Lifestyle Christian School, a private school at Conroe First Assembly of God, for 10 years. The school staff and Georges friends and family hosted a final retirement party for her last week complete with food and cake, photo albums and mementos of Georges 50-year career. Her and her husband Davids daughter, Rosanna, said it was exciting to celebrate her mother. Everybody loves her so much, and Im blessed to be her daughter. Its a blessing to hear everyone loving on her so much and hearing how peoples lives have changed because of her over the years, Rosanna said at the party. In reflecting back over the career that began with a small teachers kit, Georges advice to young teachers was to never give up. A lot of times you dont see it, but you are making a difference childrens lives. Theres a lot expected of teachers, but my advice is to stick with it and dont get discouraged, because payday will come in the lives of the children youve touched, she said. As far as whats next, George said shes thinking about getting involved in mentoring youth in her community. jane.stueckemann@chron.com The Tax Day flood of April 2016 sent about four inches of water cascading into the combination grocery store and meat market Herman Meyer has operated in Katy since the late 1960s. While it was a bit unnerving, the flooding caused virtually no interruption to business. We just kind of swept it out the back. We said this will never happen again in 100 years, Meyer said with a laugh. Hurricane Harvey rolled through the area in late August 2017, causing floods in Katy that destroyed scores of homes and businesses - including his. Waves of water slammed into the strip shopping center along Highway 90 near Pin Oak that houses his Midway Meat Market along with several other businesses. Within minutes, the water inside the business was almost four feet deep. It was such a strong current that I had to get two of my young, strong employees help me to my pickup, said Meyer, a spry 82. Midway Meat Market, which had been a fixture in Katy since its opening a half-century earlier, was destroyed. It wasnt just a job for him. It was a passion since he was in the fourth grade and began to learn about the grocery business when only about 400 people live in Katy. But even so, Meyer said he wasnt overly upset by the flood damage. Its just what happened. There was nothing you could do, he said. You get 15 inches (of rain) in four days, thats just going to happen. It was a natural phenomena. Almost two years later, Midway Meat Market is now back in business and will celebrate its grand opening this month. Everything is new. The only thing we kept is the hull of the business, Meyer said. Helga Miller is a local real estate agent who has been a regular customer for decades. Hermans meats just taste different from everybody else. Thats because of the freshness of the meat, Miller said. After the flood waters finally subsided, Meyer had hoped to clean up the business then quickly reopen. But, city officials had plans, he said. They said, This is so far out of code were just shutting you down, Meyer remembered. But we didnt have any damage. We had electricity and everything. Because it was so old, the building had been grandfathered from some city ordinances. Meyer said his father had been electrician and he had learned how to wire up a business from him. You dont call a repairman. You just do it yourself, he said. That was possible until the Harvey-related floodwaters slammed into the business, however. Among some of the changes to bring the business back to code were a third grease trap, new air conditioning and new wiring. Even the old wooden butcher blocks had to go under the health department rules. You cant have them anymore. It was just like starting over, Meyer said. They managed to find other positions for most of the employees after the flood. Some went to work at Midway Barbecue, the nearby restaurant he also owns, or in their well-established deer processing business. We didnt want to give that up. Even when we were flooded out, we keep the deer processing going, Meyer said. Trish Cummins is Meyers daughter and business partner. She was watching the images from the stores security cameras on the night the flood. She could see the water level getting higher and higher until the images suddenly went black as the cameras cut off. Thats when I knew, Cummins said. Its very emotional. It still makes me cry. The complete refurbishment of Midway Meat Market sent Meyer back about $250,000. It was a figure he was more than willing to pay. They wanted everything to be perfect for the customers. I never thought about throwing in the towel, he said. While some of the fixtures in the business might be new, Meyer said the level of hometown service and quality of their meat will not change at all. His customers dont grab packages of t-bones or pork chops already wrapped in plastic. They tell the guys at the service meat counter what they want and it is cut for them on the spot. Meyers sister, Betty Meyer McMahon, said she was devastated when she saw the extent of the flood damage at her brothers grocery store and meat market. I thought to myself, Hell never reopen at his age, but he did, she said. This has a real homey, country atmosphere and he greets everyone like hes know them all their lives. Meyer spends a good part of his day at the Midway Meat Market and that includes occasionally carrying a customers grocery bags to the car. He has no plans to slow down. Its been a good life for me, it really has, Meyer said. I just look forward to every day. mike.glenn@chron.com A total of 461 individuals attended one of five public scoping meetings for the Buffalo Bayou and Tributaries Resiliency Study that were held April 30, May 2 and May 7-9, 2019 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Sandra Arnold, chief of public affairs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District. Two of the five meetings were held upstream of the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, while the remaining three were held downstream of the dams to downtown Houston. These meetings were well- attended considering the significant weather that occurred during the second week, where local officials encouraged residents to stay home if possible, she added. Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson supports the use of automatic license plate readers as an effective law enforcement tool but County Judge Mark Keough took the stance that the practice could violate privacy rights. Commissioners recently approved a multiuse agreement between the sheriffs office and the Texas Department of Transportation for a fixed license plate reader on Interstate 45 north of Conroe. Keough was the lone nay vote on the item that passed 4-1. Personally, this is a problem for me, Keough said. Just because it has to do with rights of privacy and big brother type stuff that you and I have talked extensively about. Automated license plate readers, according to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, are high-speed, computer-controlled camera systems. The devices automatically capture all license plate numbers that come into view, along with the location, date and time. The data, which includes photographs of the vehicle and sometimes its driver and passengers, is then uploaded to a central server. The American Civil Liberties Union has taken the position that there are not enough regulations in place regarding the data collected by the devices to ensure privacy rights of drivers are not at risk. The information captured by the readers including the license plate number and the date, time, and location of every scan is being collected and sometimes pooled into regional sharing systems, the ACLU states on its website. As a result, enormous databases of innocent motorists location information are growing rapidly. This information is often retained for years, or even indefinitely, with few or no restrictions to protect privacy rights. Officials with the ACLU have called for the adoption of legislation and law enforcement agency policies adhering to strict privacy principles to prevent the government from tracking movements on a massive scale. According to the countys agreement with TxDOT, the sheriffs office must adhere to state and federal non-discriminatory laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, regarding the data collected. While Henderson was sympathetic to Keoughs view, he said the devices can be beneficial for law enforcement. That is why I only want license plate readers on major thoroughfares, Henderson said. I would never put one at the entrance of a neighborhood. Some other agencies have done that, and I philosophically disagree with that. MCSO Lt. Scott Spencer said the device are also critically in locating vehicles involved in Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts. He added the county has been using them for some time on patrol cars. This new device will be at a fixed location in New Waverly. The sheriff has weighed the need for the information and privacy and we understand how sensitive the topic of privacy is, Spencer said noting the department has protocol and policies in place to protect the information collected. We feel like this is a tool in crime fighting. Interstate 45, Henderson said, is a major route for illegal activity coming in and out of the county. He added he hoped to see more device in use in the future along Interstate 45 along with other major thoroughfares including Highway 59. Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador and Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley agree with Henderson. This is part of a larger project, I want more of them and I think this is a public use, he said. This is one that tips in law enforcements favor. cdominguez@hcnonline.com The Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce hosted The State of Healthcare: Trends, Challenges, and the Future of Healthcare on Wednesday, May 29, featuring a panel of top leaders from four area hospitals including Dr. Richard Ehlers, executive medical director at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Joe Freudenberger, CEO of OakBend Medical Center, Malisha Patel, CEO at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land and Southwest Hospital; and Chris Siebenaler, CEO of Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital. During the roughly hour-long luncheon, the panel discussion covered a myriad of healthcare-related issues including emergency and disaster preparation planning, rising medical care costs and medical innovations. The group also answered questions from audience members. Mental health issues were among the questions addressed by the panel. There is a crisis involving mental health issues in Fort Bend County, said Joe Freudenberger of OakBend Medical Center. There are relatively few facilities and those that are available are crowded at all times. The demand is greater than the supply and it is a tough road. Chris Siebenaler, CEO of Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, said his emergency room staff treats many people in the midst of a mental health crisis. The resources are just not available and more funding is needed, he said. Also, people tend to stigmatize someone who has mental health issues and that makes things even more difficult. But, these are complex issues that require patience and understanding. Malisha Patel, CEO at Memorial Hermann Sugar Land and Southwest Hospital said increases in behavioral health issues are issues that keep her awake at night. its unfortunate that we need federal help and state help to get ahead of the problem, she said. One guest asked if the proposed option of Medi-care for all was a possibility they saw for Americas future. Medi-care for all is the most expensive way to go and it would be the most expensive system to utilize. The underlying model for the rest of the world is actually not universal healthcare but rationed medical care, Dr. Ehlers said. With rationed medicine, you may go to the doctor and discover you need a liver transplant. But, depending on the supply and the patients age, it could mean a 72-year-old man who needs a liver transplant is told he is not eligible because of his age. So, there are tough choices to be made when these systems are in place. For details about upcoming events and programs hosted by the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce, visit www.FortBendChamber.com or contact Juliette Nessmith at 281-566-2161 or Juliette@fortbendcc.org. Red-light cameras are now banned in Texas and the city of Sugar Land immediately turned off the cameras in its city limits. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1631 on Saturday, June 1, which immediately banned the use of red-light cameras in Texas. Red light cameras in Sugar Land were turned off on Sunday, June 2. According to the city of Sugar Land, the citys red light camera vendor will begin the removal of the equipment per the citys contract. The removal process could take four to six months. Sugar Lands RLC contract includes an adverse legislation termination clause. The vendor will be paying for the removal of the equipment per its contract with the city. With red-light cameras no longer available in the city, the Sugar Land Police Department will continue to monitor traffic concerns and accidents. Traffic officers will be deployed to locations where theres an identified need. Sugar Land operated nine red-light cameras at six of 85 intersections with signals in the city. The city reported that its intent in using red-light cameras was to improve the safety of high-volume intersections in the city. Red light cameras in Sugar Land encourage motorists to stop at red lights, which save lives. H.F. Van Der Grinten, founder of Houston Coalition Against Red Light Cameras, made a statement prior to Abbot signing the bill. This revenue-inspired abuse of the driving public is coming to an end, Van Der Grinten said. Sure, a few RLC violations that were documented by city of Sugar Lands cameras were justified, but the overwhelming majority of the cited thousands were not deliberate or the result of unacceptable carelessness. While the city of Sugar Land maintained that red-light cameras reduced accidents, Van Der Grinten said that the Legislature obviously remains unconvinced that RLC enforcement actually reduces accidents and saves lives. According to HB 1631: a local authority may not implement or operate a photographic traffic signal enforcement system with respect to a highway or street under the jurisdiction of the authority. a local authority may not issue a civil or criminal charge or citation for an offense or violation based on a recorded image produced by a photographic traffic signal enforcement system. The city of Sugar Land used revenues split between the state and a special city account from red-light camera tickets to fund traffic safety programs, intersection improvements, public safety programs and traffic enforcement, including the Safe Light Sugar Land initiative. Revenues from red-light camera tickets accounted for about 1% of the citys general fund operating budget and was only used for traffic safety programs. Violators were assessed a $75 fine per violation. The fines were civil and not criminal, meaning the violations did not count as moving violations. HB 1631 was authored in the state House of Representatives by Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, Senfronia Thompson of Houston, Dusin Burrows of Lubbock and Johnathon Strickland of Bedford. In the Senate, it was co-sponsored by Bob Hall of Rockwall and Paul Bettencourt of Houston. Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a law that bans red-light traffic cameras in Texas. Abbott on Saturday tweeted that he'd signed the law approved during the legislative session that ended on Memorial Day. The ban takes effect Sept. 1. TEXAS TAKE: Catch the political news you need every weekday, delivered to your inbox Such cameras take images of vehicles entering intersections when red stoplights are illuminated. Drivers are usually fined $75. On HoustonChronicle.com: Red light cameras, hated by many, outlawed by Texas senate Critics say red-light cameras are unconstitutional and contribute to traffic accidents. Supporters say red-light cameras help make streets safer and generate funds for cities and other government entities. An amendment lets cities keep operating the cameras until their contracts with vendors expire, although some communities have begun negotiations to terminate the deals earlier. The law also prevents counties and Texas officials from refusing to register a vehicle amid unpaid red-light camera tickets. Harris County medical examiners confirmed the identity of a body found last week in Arkansas is that of missing 4-year-old Maleah Davis. The child's cause and manner of death are still pending, according to Michele Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences. There is no timetable for when that information will be released, Arnold said. "Each case is special, so when cause and manner is determined it will show up on our website just like any other case," Arnold said. The remains were found Friday scattered along Interstate 30 in Fulton, Ark., after her mother's ex-boyfriend reportedly confessed to dumping the child's body there, according to police. INVESTIGATION: What's next for the Maleah Davis case? Authorities brought the body to Houston. "We are all saddened by the confirmation of the identification of the remains brought home to Houston by members of the Houston Police Department as Maleah Davis," Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said. "However, we are heartened by the fact this sweet child can now receive the proper burial she deserved and that those who knew and loved her most desired." Derion Vence, who initially claimed the child was kidnapped on May 3, remains in Harris County Jail on a charge of tampering with a corpse in connection with the child's disappearance. He is being held on a $45,000 bond. Vence reportedly confessed to the killing when Houston activist Quanell X visited him in jail on Friday. He said "it was an accident" without indicating how the girl may have died. The Harris County District Attorney's Office is looking to file additional charges, spokesman Dane Schiller said. "Prosecutors continue their review and are working with Houston Police," he said in a text. "Additional charges would be filed as the evidence supports doing so. We remain focused on finding the truth and delivering justice for Maleah." 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 HOUSTON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. SAN FRANCISCO - A man described as an animal rights activist disrupted a political event at which Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., spoke on Saturday, snatching a microphone out of the presidential candidate's hand as she looked on in surprise. Harris was seated onstage at a panel hosted by the liberal group MoveOn when a man walked directly toward her and took a handheld microphone she was clutching. Harris stepped aside as the man tried to speak and organizers tried to stop him. He was quickly restrained by several men. While it is not uncommon for protesters to interrupt presidential campaign events to promote their causes, it is rare for them to come into such close proximity to a candidate. An animal rights group called Direct Action Everywhere issued a news release claiming responsibility for the incident. The organization identified the man who disrupted the event as Aidan Cook. MoveOn spokesman Brian Stewart said the man was removed from the stage and the program resumed. "He was not arrested or detained as far as I am aware," Stewart said. Harris resumed her program afterward, Stewart and others said. A Harris campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incident. But a prominent Harris supporter, South Carolina Democrat Bakari Sellers, tweeted: "You notice @KamalaHarris wasn't afraid." Harris is one of 14 presidential candidates in San Francisco this weekend for the California Democratic Convention and other campaign stops. "Post Reports" is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you've come to expect from the newsroom of The Post - for your ears. - - - EL PASO, Texas (AP) Border officials in Texas say a group of 116 Africans was arrested Thursday after wading through the Rio Grande to enter the United States. The migrants were from Angola, Cameroon and other African nations and include families with children and young people who were not with relatives. OPINION: Trump's latest threats put Texas in the crossfire of a trade war This was the first large group that agents in the Del Rio sector have arrested, although big groups have been showing up every day in other areas of the southern border. Agents have encountered 182 large groups, or those with more than 100 people, since October. "Large groups present a unique challenge for the men and women of the Del Rio Sector," Chief Raul Ortiz said in a prepared statement. "This large group from Africa further demonstrates the complexity and severity of the border security and humanitarian crisis at our Southwest border." It's unclear if the migrants in Texas were seeking asylum, and the agency is still processing them. ________ Friday, May 13; 2:12 p.m. U.S. authorities are overstretched and overwhelmed by an unprecedented surge of Central American families arriving at the southern border. It is against that backdrop that President Donald Trump threatened this week to slap tariffs on goods from Mexico unless it cracks down on the flow of migrants. On Wednesday, for example, Border Patrol agents near downtown El Paso, Texas, encountered a group of 1,036 migrants who had entered the country illegally the biggest cluster the agency has ever seen. At one point in May, a government holding cell designed for 35 migrants was crammed with 155. And six children have died in U.S. custody since September, three in the past month. If you and the kids are itching to see Woody, Buzz, Bo Peep and the rest of the "Toy Story" gang a little bit early, you're in luck. Disney and Pixar are celebrating the upcoming release of Disney's "Toy Story 4." The movie's celebratory RV arrives in Houston Monday to promote the film. And the super-sized bus will have characters, games and activities for fans of all ages to enjoy. OnHoustonChronicle: Here are some new films that are in theaters right now The special event will be held at the Houston Downtown Aquarium (410 Bagby Street) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, June 3. "Toy Story 4" opens in theaters on June 21 and is projected to make $150 million during its opening weekend, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The movie stars almost all of the original main cast members, including leads Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. Even the late Don Rickles will return via creative voice editing, director Josh Cooley told Comicbook.com. Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. A Deer Park father fed up with his supposed unruly adult son shot him several times, then proceeded to have a "father-son" talk before ultimately stabbing him to death, prosecutors said. There was some sort of longstanding tension between Sherman Shirley Fricks, 68, and his son, Sherman Palmer Fricks Jr., 27, according to Deer Park Police Lt. Chris Brown. In a probable cause hearing Monday morning, prosecutors said the father had become fed up with his son's attitude. "(Fricks) stated that he had called law enforcement on (his son) in the past, but they were never able to fix it," a prosecutor said. "So today, he decided to fix it." Just the day before, the son had broken his phone, so Fricks took him to a local electronics store to get it fixed, prosecutors said. On the way home, the son began kicking the back of the front passenger seat where the father's girlfriend was sitting, Fricks told detectives. Then, around 11 a.m. Sunday, Fricks armed himself with a .380 pistol and sat in wait while his son went to get fast food for lunch, prosecutors said. As the son walked into their home in the 1300 block of Meadowlark Street, Fricks asked him what he had ordered. ALL VICTIMS IDENTIFIED: Second victim dies in relation to Cleveland shooting spree His response was a "smart" comment, prosecutors said. "(Fricks) stated that he was prepared to shoot (his son) in the back, and that was his plan," prosecutors said. "He stated (his son) made the smart remark and turned to him. (Fricks) just started shooting him until nothing else came out of the handgun. After the shooting, (his son) was still alive." As his son was dying on the floor, Fricks initiated a "father-son" conversation with him, according to court records. After about 20 minutes, the son reportedly grabbed his father by the arm, at which point the father already armed with a kitchen knife stabbed him several times, prosecutors said. Officers rushed to the home found the younger Fricks nearly lifeless, Brown said. They started CPR to try and save Fricks, who later died at the hospital. In his court appearance Monday, Fricks broke down in tears as a judge ordered him to be held on a $60,000 bail amount. He was later released from custody after posting the bond. He faces a first-degree felony murder, which carries a possible life sentence if he's convicted. 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 HOUSTON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message If you send your child to public school in the Houston area, are they getting the best education? And how would you know? The Houston Chronicle attempted to answer that question by organizing data from 1,425 schools across eight counties including: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller. On HoustonChronicle.com: Children At Risk's 'blueprint for success' In total, seven Houston-area schools (three high schools, two middle schools and two elementary schools) were ranked in their respective top 10 lists for the entire state of Texas. You can see the report's full methodology on HoustonChronicle.com. The information came from Children At Risk (a non-profit organization) which originally collected state standardized test data and college readiness metrics to evaluate performance at every Texas public school (much of that data came from the Texas Education Agency). Then Children at Risk used a letter grade and ranking for each elementary, middle and high school campus in the state. See why Houston charter schools' ability to help low-income students has them on the rise on HoustonChronicle.com Above, you can click through to see the top-rated top elementary, middle and high schools in the Houston area and where they rank in the state of Texas. To search a school or district in the Houston area on HoustonChronicle.com, click here. Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. A teen involved in a shootout with police during a robbery at a northwest Harris County Jack-in-the-Box on Friday was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Javalon Robinson, now 20, had pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in the April 2017 hold-up. An accomplice in the case, 19-year-old Xavier Cox, received a 25-year sentence for the same charge in April. Robinson and Cox, who were teenagers at the time of their arrests, were accused of being involved in a crime ring suspected in nearly a dozen robberies of convenience stores and fast food restaurants, prosecutors said at the time. A task force had already been working to capture the crew when they saw them approach the Jack-in-the-Box around 9:40 p.m. on a Monday night. Robinson, the driver, went inside and made a purchase. After he emerged from the restaurant, Cox, a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old went inside and put a gun to the head of the cashier. Members of the task force exchanged gunfire with the teens, killing the 16-year-old. Cox was also injured. Robinson was free on bail on a deadly conduct charge at the time of the shooting, according to court documents. He was also involved in four other aggravated robberies, said Jason Sanchez, an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorneys Office Organized Crime Division. This wasnt just a kid who made a one-time mistake, he said. BREAKING NEWS | ALERTS Find out first: Get breaking news sent directly to your inbox. See More Collapse The 15-year-old got probation, Sanchez said. Robinsons attorney, Jerome Godinich, filed a notice on Friday to appeal the sentence, which was decided by state District Judge Amy Martin. Godinich was unavailable for comment late Monday afternoon. Almost everybody wants to make six figures. For those that make that much money, you would think you could have a pretty comfortable lifestyle, no matter where you live. But is that the case for Houston residents? On HoustonChronicle.com: Why tariffs on Mexico could deal blow to Texas economy GoBankingRates.com performed an analysis of what an average person's take-home earnings would be when taking into account basic bills like taxes, rent, groceries, driving costs and utilities. Above, you can see how far a six-figure salary goes in Houston, how much you're taking home and how it compares to other cities in Texas. Without a state income tax, Houston gets off to a good start when compared to other cities. However, basic living costs like rent and driving costs are much more expensive, making take-home wages for six-figure earners lower than one might think. Note: the information above comes from the latest GoBankingRates.com study, which was released in May 2019. Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Houston police are moving forward with their investigation into the killing of Maleah Davis after the body found last week in Arkansas was confirmed to be the 4-year-old girl. Harris County medical examiners confirmed the identity on Monday, but the cause and manner of death are still pending. Derion Vence, Davis' mother's ex-boyfriend, allegedly confessed on Friday to dumping the child's body in southwest Arkansas. He has already been charged with tampering with evidence in connection with her disappearance on May 3. The Harris County District Attorney's Office is looking to file murder charges against Vence, spokesman Dane Schiller said. "Prosecutors continue their review and are working with Houston Police," he said in a text. "Additional charges would be filed as the evidence supports doing so. We remain focused on finding the truth and delivering justice for Maleah." A work crew mowing Interstate 30 near Fulton about 330 miles from Houston discovered a bloodied black garbage bag last week but left it alone with the assumption that its foul odor was from a discarded animal. The day of Vence's alleged confession, a mower struck the bag, tore it open and scattered its contents along the roadway, Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton said. The child's remains were brought back to Houston on Saturday. Houston police spokeswoman Jodi Silva said her office was checking with investigators Monday morning as to whether Vence's criminal charge would be upgraded to murder. Meanwhile, it remains unclear how the girl died. It's also unclear whether any more suspects were involved. Staff writer Samantha Ketterer contributed to this report. 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. A woman was shot multiple times by Fort Bend County deputies early Monday after she led them on a lengthy chase, according to authorities. The woman, who was reportedly involved in aggravated assault before the pursuit, was taken to a hospital in serious but stable condition, Metro Video reported. As soon as I cracked open local travel writer Ruth Carlson's new book Secret San Francisco: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, I started to compile a mental list of the many things I still needed to see in a city I've called home for 15 years. When that list became too much for my brain to hang on to, I started to fold down and markup the paperback's pages. Now, I think the best way for me to retain all this is to write it down as an SFGate post. Of course, I think you should go out and buy Carlson's book ($20.95 on Amazon) so I'm only going to tease you with a partial list of some fun facts that were big surprises to me, or those that I think any traveler to San Francisco should know about. But before we do that, here is what Carlson told me about writing the book: First, I wanted to know what she thought were things that any traveler to San Francisco should be aware of. Knowing that most travelers like free things, she jumped in with some good suggestions. First, travelers exploring big, bustling and crowded downtown San Francisco should make it a point to see the city's unusual collection of "privately owned, public open spaces" (POPOS). "These little gems have amazing views, outdoor art installations, or in the case of the Transamerica Building, a redwood forest. A great place to relax in-between sightseeing," she said. Now that San Francisco's famous "leaning tower" (The Millenium Tower) is a tourist attraction, visitors should know that its atrium is also a POPOS. There are 45 of these secret spaces all over town and here's a full listing. Another freebie that Carlson suggests are City Guides, which she says "are the only free guided tours in the nation and are led by about 300 volunteers who undergo rigorous training." The nonprofit is sponsored by the San Francisco Public Library. While the tours are free, you will be asked for a donation, but it is not required. Tours are all over the city, (see the full listing here) and one of the most popular this month (owing to Pride celebrations and Armistead Maupin's new Netflix movie) is the "Castro: Tales of Village Tour" - the description: "Explore a neighborhood you thought you knew. What was once dairy farms and dirt roads is now one of the city's most vibrant and cohesive communities. Stairs and steep hills." Groups meet by the Castro's big rainbow flag on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. Another free tour Carlson recommends sounds nasty, but nonetheless interesting: "That the hottest ticket in town is underground tours of the sewer system! You can get free tickets to tour the wastewater treatment plants from the Public Utilities Commission-but they book up months in advance," she advises (Tours are currently on hold due to construction, but will return soon according to the SFPUC webpage.) Here's a rundown of some San Francisco's secret nuggets I found in Carlson's book that surprised me: >One of the city's most popular dishes, Cioppino (a tomato based seafood stew), is not Italian-- not even the name. One version of origin of the name: "North Beach fishermen who returned to the wharf empty handed passed around a pot to their friends and said 'chip in' which turned into cioppino," according to the book. >When she was a teenager during WWII, poet Maya Angelou became the first African American female streetcar conductor due to the wartime dearth of drivers. Also, San Francisco cable cars almost met their end in the early 1980s due to dilapidation and funding issues, but then mayor Dianne Feinstein began a campaign to save them, which included an endorsement from the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger. (See photo in slideshow at the top of this post) >Bank of America founder A.P Giannini was raised on Telegraph Hill when it was a middle class neighborhood. His neighbor was Tom Crowley, who founded the giant Crowley Maritime shipping empire. After the 1906 quake, Giannini was worried that the bank's cash would burn in a fire, so he and Crowley devised a scheme to transport it via barge to the East Bay-- in milk cans! >The Pan Am "Clipper" flying boat and its dedicated, art-deco airport on Treasure Island never really took off due to World War II. While the first flying boats arrived in the late 1930s, the military commandeered the island soon after, and when the war was over, "clipper ships were passe," according to the book. In exchange for keeping the island, the military gave the city vacant land on the peninsula south of town-- which is now the site of San Francisco International Airport. >I knew this one, but it bears repeating: Mark Twain never said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco." Carlson cites the editor of Mark Twain's papers at UC Berkeley: "He did say something about cold weather, but it was in reference to Paris." I also asked Carlson what surprised her most while researching her book. She said, "I was surprised how much of the city relates to the Gold Rush...the financial district of San Francisco is literally built on ships that were abandoned during the Gold Rush and covered with landfill." She said that some of the city's subway tunnels bored through the hulls of sunken ships. "I have lived in the Bay Area for 44 years. I grew up in Dubuque, Iowa, and dreamed of moving here. That was no doubt influenced by that city's nickname, Little San Francisco; it had one cable car, Victorian homes, and hills overlooking the Mississippi River," said Carlson. As an international travel writer, Carlson has traipsed the globe, but still says, "I have not found a better place to live, and writing the book has changed my daily life. I have always loved walking the city but now I stop and look at architecture and read every plaque and appreciate all the tiny parks." Ruth Carlson is speaking at San Francisco Commonwealth Club on Tuesday, June 4 at 6 pm. More information and tickets here. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here 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. Apache Spark is a fast data processing framework dedicated to big data. It allows the processing of big data in a distributed manner (cluster computing). Very popular for a few years now, this framework is about to replace Hadoop. Its main advantages are its speed, ease of use, and versatility. Apache Spark is an open source big data processing framework that enables large-scale analysis through clustered machines. Coded in Scala, Spark makes it possible to process data from data sources such as Hadoop Distributed File System, NoSQL databases, or relational data stores like Apache Hive. This framework also supports In-memory processing, which increases the performance of analytical applications of big data. It can also be used for conventional disk processing if the data sets are too large for system memory. Apache Spark Definition: Big data as the main application Apache Spark is an open source big data processing framework built to perform sophisticated analysis and designed for speed and ease of use. It was originally developed by AMPLab, UC Berkeley University, in 2009 and passed open source as an Apache project in 2010. Spark has several advantages over other big data technologies and MapReduce like Hadoop and Storm. First, Spark offers a comprehensive and unified framework to meet the needs of big data processing for various data sets, various by their nature (text, graph, etc.) as well as by the type of source (batch or time flow) -real). Then, Spark allows applications on Hadoop clusters to be executed up to 100 times faster in memory, 10 times faster on disk. It allows you to quickly write applications in Java, Scala or Python and includes a game of over 80 high-level operators. Furthermore, it can be used interactively to query data from a shell. In addition to Map and Reduce operations, Spark supports SQL queries and data streaming and offers machine learning and graph-oriented processing capabilities. Developers can use these possibilities in stand-alone or by combining them into a complex processing chain. The Apache Spark framework can run on Hadoop 2 clusters based on the YARN Resource Manager, or on Mesos. It is also possible to launch it in standalone form or on the cloud with Amazons Elastic Compute Cloud service. It provides access to various data sources such as HDFS, Cassandra, HBase, and S3. The other key point of this framework is its massive community. Apache Spark is used by a large number of companies for big data processing. As an open source platform, Apache Spark is developed by a large number of developers from more than 200 companies. Since 2009, more than 1000 developers have contributed to the project. With its speed of data processing, its ability to combine many types of databases and to run various analytical applications, it can unify all Spark big data applications. This is the reason why this framework could replace Hadoop. Features that make Apache Spark a better fit for most businesses Spark brings improvements to MapReduce through cheaper shuffle steps. With in-memory storage and near real-time processing, performance for many businesses can be many times faster than other big data technologies. Spark also supports lazy evaluations of queries, which helps optimize the processing steps. It offers a high-level API for improved productivity and a consistent architecture model for big data solutions. Spark keeps the intermediate results in memory rather than on disk, which is very useful especially when it is necessary for businesses to work repeatedly on the same dataset. The runtime engine is designed to work in both memory and disk. Businesses operators perform external operations when the data does not fit in memory, making it possible to handle larger data sets than the aggregate memory of a cluster. Spark tries to store as much as possible in memory before switching to disk. It can work with some of the data in memory, another on disk. It is necessary to review its data and use cases to assess its memory requirements because, based on the work done in memory, Spark can have significant performance benefits to many businesses. Other features that make Spark standout include: Functions other than Map and Reduce Optimization of arbitrary operator graphs Lazy queries assessment, which helps optimize the overall processing workflow Concise and consistent APIs in Scala, Java, and Python An interactive shell for Scala and Python (not yet available in Java) Spark vs Hadoop Hadoop has been positioned as a data processing technology for 10 years and has proved to be the solution of choice for many businesses for processing large volumes of data. MapReduce is a very good solution for single pass processing but is not the most effective for use cases requiring multiple pass processing and algorithms. Since each stage of a processing workflow consists of a Map phase and a Reduce phase, it is necessary to express all the use cases in the form of MapReduce patterns to take advantage of this solution. The output data of the execution of each step must be stored on a distributed file system before the next step begins. This approach tends to be slow due to replication and disk storage. In addition, Hadoop solutions typically rely on clusters, which are difficult to set up and administer by companies. They also require the integration of several tools for different big data use cases (like Mahout for Machine Learning and Storm for flow processing). If a company wants to set up something more complex, they will have to link a series of MapReduce jobs and execute them sequentially, each of these jobs having high latency and no one can start before the previous one has totally completed. The advantage of Spark over Hadoop for businesses is that it enables the development of complex multi-step data processing pipelines using acyclic oriented graphs ( AGDs ). Spark allows businesses to share data in memory between graphs so that multiple jobs can work on the same dataset. Spark runs on the Hadoop Distributed File System ( HDFS ) infrastructure and offers additional features. It is possible to deploy Spark applications on an existing Hadoop v1 cluster (with SIMR Spark-Inside-MapReduce), on a Hadoop v2 YARN cluster or even on Apache Mesos. Rather than seeing Spark as a replacement for Hadoop, its more correct to see it as an alternative to Hadoops MapReduce. Spark was not intended to replace Hadoop but to provide a complete and unified solution to support different use cases and needs for different data-driven businesses. Common use cases of Spark A lot of data-driven companies depend on different data sources for their analytical products. Processing like transforming, leaning, and unifying unstructured data from external sources with internal sources all makeup data processing workflows. Especially for new businesses, Spark is proving to be extremely useful. Some companies have also built a simple user interface to help open up batch data processing tasks. Stream processing: many companies have started using Spark because of this feature Spark Streaming. Applications like real-time scoring2 of analytic models, stream mining, network optimization, etc are also included. Statistics have it that data-driven companies prefer Apache Spark with respect to real-time streaming. many companies have started using Spark because of this feature Spark Streaming. Applications like real-time scoring2 of analytic models, stream mining, network optimization, etc are also included. Statistics have it that data-driven companies prefer Apache Spark with respect to real-time streaming. Advanced analytics: because of its speed and suitability for handling iterative computations, many companies prefer it to Hadoop. Working with Spark is preferable to many businesses and from early on itself, they started writing their own Spark libraries for regression, classification, and clustering. Present world problems, such as marketing and online advertising, fraud detection, and problems related to scientific research are now being solved with Spark tools and libraries. About 64% of businesses use Apache Spark for their advanced analytics. because of its speed and suitability for handling iterative computations, many companies prefer it to Hadoop. Working with Spark is preferable to many businesses and from early on itself, they started writing their own Spark libraries for regression, classification, and clustering. Present world problems, such as marketing and online advertising, fraud detection, and problems related to scientific research are now being solved with Spark tools and libraries. About 64% of businesses use Apache Spark for their advanced analytics. Business intelligence and visual analytics: business intelligence and visual analytics are one of the most important aspects of any business. Over 91% of businesses are now using Apache Spark because of its performance gain. An example of data-driven, big companies already using Apache Spark is Yahoo. Yahoo is a web search engine and they are already using Apache Spark and is successfully running projects with Spark. Databricks Databricks allows companies to program and execute routine analysis tasks without human intervention. The publisher, which provides a commercial version of the Apache Spark open source data processing platform, now offers a tool to automatically configure and run scan tasks on top of it. Databricks was founded by the developers behind Apache Spark and the commercial version of the platform was designed to run on the cloud of Amazon Web Services. Spark allows you to analyze very large data sets on several servers, for example, to send recommendations to an Internet service or to forecast the revenues of a company. As companies become accustomed to processing very large volumes of data, they are increasingly doing so on a regular basis. This requires an administrator to log in to a console to coordinate the steps necessary to complete these tasks. The new Databricks cloud feature, called Jobs, allows administrators to prepare this upstream scheduling so that each task is run autonomously and at specified intervals in Spark. For example, a company can schedule the execution of a Spark application on a specific cloud Databricks cluster at a specific time. They can also decide whether they prefer to use a dedicated cluster to take advantage of maximum performance, or a cluster shared with other users to save money. The service warns the user when the task is complete. It also keeps a journal that allows you to know if the task has been executed successfully. Spark is the ideal big data tool for data-driven enterprises because of its speed, ease of use and versatility. If you are a company with large volumes of data, Spark is that tool that will help you understand such data quickly and help you make informed decisions faster. Spark will also easily transform your company data. Cookie Preferences Cookie List Cookie List A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website when visited by a user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. 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You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website. Since Airbnb first started operating in 2008, the fast-growing home-sharing company has drawn the ire of competitors in the hotel industry and lawmakers who say that short-term rentals take up scarce affordable housing stock. In New York City, Airbnbs largest U.S. market, city officials and lawmakers are pursuing multiple avenues to obtain data from sites like Airbnb and HomeAway on their hosts and listings in an attempt to crack down on illegal rentals. In the past year, a string of subpoenas, lawsuits and other legal battles have marked a particularly strained relationship between New York City and Airbnb. Some of those battles are either coming to a head or starting to find some resolution. In just the past few months, a Manhattan Supreme Court ruled that Airbnb had to comply with subpoenas for data issued by the city last summer, while the parties came to an agreement over a separate subpoena from earlier this year to have Airbnb share host and reservation data on more than 17,000 of its listings. On top of these separate though related developments, Airbnbs lawsuit over a city law that would force home-sharing sites to regularly turn over data on its hosts is still underway. Despite these recent developments, the question of how much data Airbnb and its peers will be made to share is still up in the air, but there are a few key legal battles to watch as New York attempts to find that answer. City & State broke down the primary conflicts over data sharing that exist between the city and Airbnb and the arguments on each side of the debate. Why does the city want Airbnb data shared? New Yorks short-term rental laws prohibit renting out an entire apartment in most buildings if the owner is not present. Even then, the maximum number of boarders at a time is 2 people. And while legislation backed by Airbnb in the state Legislature would amend New Yorks Multiple Dwelling Law so that apartments could be rented out for fewer than 30 days, the legislation has failed to progress so far. The city argues that a vast number of short-term rentals from companies like Airbnb are illegal under current laws and that these companies allow housing to be converted into de facto hotels, depleting the citys already short supply of affordable housing. In some cases, the city has targeted real estate brokers for running illegal commercial enterprises through short-term rental sites. In January, the city filed a $21 million lawsuit against the Metropolitan Property Group, a real estate brokerage company, for allegedly converting 130 apartments into de facto hotels. But by obtaining data, including host names and addresses, listing and reservation dates and payout information, the city would presumably be able to stop illegal rentals and return more units to the housing market. What is Airbnbs argument? Airbnb says that it is supportive of some data sharing, but would favor a system in which hosts self-register, rather than the company having the burden of turning over data on a monthly basis. We have long said that we want to work with the city on an effective regulatory framework and we recognize data sharing is an important part of that, said Airbnb spokeswoman Liz DeBold Fusco over email. The state legislation backed by Airbnb would also require hosts to register with a state agency. What are the main conflicts between the city and Airbnb right now? Its easiest to think of Airbnbs primary disagreements with the city right now in three parts, all of which involve the Mayors Office of Special Enforcement, a task force created in 2006 to address quality of life issues in New York City, including the preservation of affordable housing stock and promoting safe building conditions. Citing that mandate, the OSE has been investigating potential illegal conversions of permanent residences into short-term rentals listed on sites like Airbnb and HomeAway, and attempting to obtain information on listings and their hosts to find illegal ones. The first ongoing data sharing conflict between OSE and Airbnb began last summer, when OSE issued subpoenas to Airbnb for information in some cases dating back to 2011 about allegedly illegal rentals in more than a dozen New York City apartment buildings. The subpoenas asked for data about each Airbnb host, listing and reservation in the apartment buildings, but Airbnb challenged the move, calling the demands overbroad and unduly burdensome. One of the subpoenas requests personal information from hosts including employer and bank account info. New York City then sued to force Airbnb to comply with the four subpoenas in July. These proceedings played out through the fall and winter, with the city arguing that Airbnb was required by law to comply, citing its relevance to their broader investigation, and Airbnb arguing that the city was requesting information that would violate hosts privacy without showing sufficient evidence that the requested data was relevant. In May, the Manhattan Supreme Court judge presiding over the issue ordered Airbnb to comply with the subpoenas, with the stipulation that data related to at least 29 host accounts who listed apartments but never actually rented them out would be privately reviewed by the court and the city could later argue its relevance to request the data. One of the citys broader data sharing conflicts involves Airbnbs lawsuit against a city law that would require home-sharing companies to disclose information about its hosts to the city. The City Council passed a law last summer requiring home-sharing sites to provide the names and addresses of hosts to OSE on a monthly basis, which Airbnb called an extraordinary act of government overreach. Airbnb and HomeAway sued to block the law in August, and in January, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to stop the law from going into effect on the grounds it violated protections against illegal searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The decision was hailed as a victory by home-sharing companies in New York City, but the lawsuit is still ongoing, and its not clear that Airbnb and HomeAway will come out on top. In March, Airbnb told the judge presiding over the lawsuit that the company failed to detect a number of hosts operating illegally and violating the companys policy of limiting hosts to renting out a single address, and that previous filings to the court therefore contained errors. Finally, Airbnb and the city are engaged in a battle over a subpoena issued in February that marks one of the citys broadest efforts at obtaining Airbnb user data. The subpoena called for information on all Airbnb listings in the city that could be illegal that have had a booking in the past year amounting to at least 17,000 listings. Announcing the move, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was taking this step because of the companys refusal to provide the transparency we need to protect New Yorkers homes. Last month, however, the city and Airbnb came to an agreement that the company would comply with the request in two phases in order to address the companys privacy concerns. First, Airbnb will hand over anonymized data on the 17,000 listings identified by the city, as well other potentially illegal rentals listed between January 1, 2018 and February 18, 2019. If the city needs more information, it can later request de-anonymized data on specific listings that it finds likely to be illegal. Are the city and Airbnb anywhere close to finding a middle ground? It depends on who you ask. While last months agreement to have Airbnb share data with the city from OSEs February subpoena has been characterized as a truce, the city says the company is merely fulfilling its legal obligation. The recent decisions and court-ordered settlement prove that when the city sends a subpoena, short-term rental platforms have to turn over data, Christian Klossner, executive director of the Office of Special Enforcement said in an emailed statement. Airbnb is meeting a legal requirement to give the city the data needed to identify those who disrupt the city's housing stock, damage the quality of New Yorkers' neighborhoods, and place visitors and residents in harm's way. But for Airbnb which has long been seeking a middle ground with both the city and state the recent development holds some hope for establishing a regulatory framework that is acceptable to both sides. We hope that our compliance with this subpoena by providing data in line with our shared enforcement priorities against illegal hotel operators is a first step toward finding such a solution that is consistent with Airbnb's legal rights and obligations and allows us to share the kind of actionable data with the level of precision that the city needs, DeBold Fusco said in a statement. Julie Samuels, executive director of the industry group Tech:NYC, said that she welcomes the data-sharing agreement, but that this progress is only incremental. Real progress will come when New York state lawmakers finally come together to update our state's outdated home sharing laws, and create a modern framework that allows New Yorkers to benefit while providing regulators necessary tools for enforcement, Samuels wrote over email. A.O. PRIMARIA MEA este in cautare de o companie IT sau de un intreprinzator individual pentru crearea si dezvoltarea unei pagini web a organizatiei Years ago, a copy editor working on a reporters story changed some of the whiches to thats when they were being used as parts of essential clauses. The reporter went ballistic, shouting, youre destroying my cadence. Years later, another reporter was giving tips on successful interviewing. I always let them finish their sentences, so I can hear the cadence, the reporter said. ICYMI: The term bandwidth reaching full capacity in news reports And a recent study about running said: Contrary to long-standing popular belief, running at a prescribed, one-size-fits-all optimal cadence doesnt play as big a role in speed and efficiency as once thought. All three were speaking of rhythm, but in different ways. In writing, cadence is the timing or flow of sentences. As Writing Explained says, Cadence is created when reading the balanced words and phrases in free verse and prose. Writers choose their words carefully, and by choosing certain words, certain rhythms are created through ones prose. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Interspersing short sentences for impact within a series of long sentence, for example, sets a rhythm. Sentences of the same length or structure can lull a reader: Firefighters responded to the fire. They found the structure fully engulfed. It took them an hour to extinguish the fire. Instead, one longer and one shorter sentence can better keep readers interest: Firefighters responded to the fire, and found the structure fully engulfed. It took them an hour to extinguish the fire. Cadence can also build drama: She feared going into work that day, because so many of her colleagues had been laid off, and she wasnt sure quite how much work to expect when she arrived. It was worse than she expected. The short second sentence emphasizes the worse part more than it would as part of a longer sentence. Punctuation also sets cadence. He remembered the first time a pet died. He was 5. He remembered the first time a pet died: He was 5. He remembered the first time a pet died he was 5. He remembered the first time a pet died (he was 5). These four sentences say the exact same thing; the only change is the punctuation. But it makes a difference in how the reader hears it. The reporter listening to sources cadence wanted people to finish their sentences to see whether they uptalked, ending a declarative phrase or sentence as if a question. The reporter also wanted to hear how the sources thought on their feet: Too many false starts, or too many ums, likes, and sentences that trailed off with no point were often a sign that the source wasnt directly answering the question, the reporter said. (The reporter did not mention vocal fry, that creaky, raspy sound that has come in for much discussion and ridicule recently.) Also, the reporter said, it was only polite to let a source finish a sentence. Cadence is the rhythm of speech. As for the study about runners, the press release never defined what was meant by cadence. But the context made clear that it meant the frequency of steps a runner took. Apparently, a rate of 180 steps per minute used to be considered optimal, and runners would adjust their cadence to their speed, but the new study indicates (surprise surprise) that the individuals natural cadence is more important than trying to reach an optimal rate. In business, cadence, Merriam-Websters Words at Play blog says, is how often a regularly scheduled thing happens. In the military, its the the rhythmic chants sung by soldiers in marching formation. And cadence also means a falling inflection of the voice, the opposite of uptalk. Many people associate cadence with music, though it first entered English as a reference to verse. Cadence comes from Latin for fall and wandered through Italian and French before it arrived in English in the late 14th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. That wordmeister Chaucer first used it in an early work, Haus of Fame: To make bookes, songes, and dities In rime or else in cadence. (Congratulations! You understood Middle English.) The musical cadence appeared in the early 17th century, the OED says, when it also described any rhythmic movement. The cadenza in music originally meant cadence, M-W says. Finally, because cadence also means a musical chord sequence moving to a harmonic close or point of rest and giving the sense of harmonic completion, here is ours: The End. ICYMI: How some words dont stand the test of time Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Merrill Perlman managed copy desks across the newsroom at the New York Times, where she worked for twenty-five years. Follow her on Twitter at @meperl. On Friday afternoon, a gunman opened fire at a municipal center in Virginia Beach. He killed 11 city employees and a contractor and critically wounded four other people. As news of the shootingthe deadliest in America in 2019filtered through, cable news shows cut in with a sickeningly familiar breaking-news update. Not all of them stayed with the story, however. What struck me, and worried me, was how this slaughter didnt get more attention, Brian Stelter, CNNs media correspondent, noted late on Friday night. I can remember a time, not too long ago, when a dozen dead citizens at a municipal building would be a bone-chilling, nonstop-coverage news story. Its not, anymore, not to the same degree. And THAT is chilling. The Virginia Beach massacre did drive a news cycle through the weekend. Again, it was all far too familiar. We learned more about the shooter and the victims, and more about the act of carnage itself. Government officials were pressed on what they might actually do about gun violence, and punted. Yesterday, on Meet the Press, Mick Mulvaney, the White House chief of staff, told Chuck Todd that the shooting should not be politicized; when Todd countered that he was asking for policy, not politics, Mulvaney said, Were never going to protect everybody against everybody. As of this morning, the story still sits prominently on the homepages of major news websites. ICYMI: Who is Florida Man? The problem, perhaps, isnt a lack of coverage, but rather that so many of us have become desensitized to the horrific repetition. On Friday, Don Lemon hinted at that phenomenon on CNN. This may be whats often referred to as the new normal. But we cannot accept that. We cannot allow this to be acceptable, he said. Only a few weeks ago, we reported on a shooting at a synagogue in California. After that, a shooting at a school in Colorado. Tonight, Virginia Beach. This happens all around our country, all the time. In the 24 hours after the shooting, it at least felt like its victims were being prioritized. This was due, in no small part, to the actions of Virginia Beach city officials, who began a news conference on Saturday by naming the dead and highlighting their service to the municipality while their photos were projected onto a screen. We want you to know who they were, so in the days and weeks to come, you will learn what they meant to all of us, David Hansen, the city manager, said. Later, James Cervera, the police chief, named the shooter for the first andhe pledgedonly time. Officials decision not to repeat the identity of the suspect isnt novel: it echoes moves by figures in the media (e.g. Anderson Cooper) and politics (e.g. Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister of New Zealand) to starve shooters of notoriety, which some researchers believe can inspire copycats. We wanted to control that narrative, Steve Cover, another Virginia Beach official, confirmed to the Associated Press. The Saturday press conference, with its lead focus on the victims, fed into media coverage, complementingand signal-boostingthe victim-centered pieces that major outlets commonly compile in the wake of mass tragedy. On Saturday, it framed a prominent New York Times story on the massacre; yesterday, ABCs George Stephanopoulos named all the victims, and showed their photos, prior to an interview with Cervera, who reiterated that he would not be naming the suspect again. By the end of yesterday, however, the bulk of the focus was back on the gunman after officials revealed that he had resigned as a municipal employee shortly before committing mass murder. That angle still tops much Virginia Beach coverage this morning, including on the homepages of the Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Other third-day coverage felt familiar, too. A mass shooting couldnt happen in Virginia Beach, The Guardian told us, but then it did. Virginia Beach residents dont want their city to become synonymous with horror, the Post reports, and yet sadly it probably will. This news cycle contained flickers of something different, but sometimes, repetition in coverage is simply unavoidable. Where it is necessary, we should make it a virtue. We should repeat that this is not normal, that policy-makers can take steps to stop atrocities like this one. Saying so has, itself, become a cliche. But the alternative is silent resignationand as Stelter and Lemon pointed out, thats no choice at all. Below, more on Virginia Beach and mass shootings coverage: An impactful image: On Saturday, the local Virginian-Pilot newspaper ran a front-page photo of a survivor wearing a green shirt spattered with blood. The New Yorkers Michael Luo assessed the powerful impact of the image. There is a case to be made that the country needs to be exposed to these kinds of images, if we have any hope of being jolted from our collective inurement to the ravages of gun violence, Luo writes. I am guessing the details of Virginia Beach will soon blur in my memory, alongside the litany of other mass shootings that have dominated cable news and quickly receded. But my memory of the man in the green shirt will endure. On Saturday, the local Virginian-Pilot newspaper ran a front-page photo of a survivor wearing a green shirt spattered with blood. The New Yorkers Michael Luo assessed the powerful impact of the image. There is a case to be made that the country needs to be exposed to these kinds of images, if we have any hope of being jolted from our collective inurement to the ravages of gun violence, Luo writes. I am guessing the details of Virginia Beach will soon blur in my memory, alongside the litany of other mass shootings that have dominated cable news and quickly receded. But my memory of the man in the green shirt will endure. Desensitization: Following last years mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Kate Morgan asked, for New Yorks The Cut, how the public can become desensitized to horrific events. Growing accustomed to repeated violent acts is a form of adaptation, and most people do it without even realizing it, experts told Morgan. And the worse things get, the quicker we tend to grow numb. Following last years mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Kate Morgan asked, for New Yorks The Cut, how the public can become desensitized to horrific events. Growing accustomed to repeated violent acts is a form of adaptation, and most people do it without even realizing it, experts told Morgan. And the worse things get, the quicker we tend to grow numb. Reframing the debate: On Saturday, Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, was asked what she would do to combat mass shootings. She replied that we need, first and foremost, to reframe the conversation. Its not just mass shootings, Warren said. Every day, gun violence happens on sidewalks and playgrounds and peoples backyards. Its happening family by family across the country. And it doesnt get the same headlines. And that is wrong. The Guardians Lois Beckett has more. Other notable stories: ICYMI: Where do LA Times staffers go after they leave the paper? We found out Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. HAVANA Cruise line Carnival Corp is asking a U.S. court to dismiss lawsuits that claim the company profited from confiscated Cuban property, the first such cases brought since the Trump administration made them possible this month. Two U.S. citizens who claim to hold titles to the Havana and Santiago de Cuba ports that were nationalized by Cuba after Fidel Castros 1959 leftist revolution filed suits against Carnival in U.S. District Court in Florida in early May for docking there. That came after the Trump administration announced a long dormant and controversial section of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act would take effect on May 2, allowing U.S. citizens to sue Cuban entities and foreign firms over confiscated Cuban property. The law is part of a broader attempt by the United States to pressure Cuba over its support for Venezuelas embattled government by taking aim at Havanas beleaguered economy. Cuba sought to reassure foreign investors at an event in Havana on Friday, saying only four lawsuits had been filed so far, despite the United States saying there could be hundreds of thousands. The European Union and Canada have said they will use blocking legislation to protect their companies. Helms-Burton has no application here, according to a filing in the case by Carnival on Thursday. First, by its own terms, trafficking under Helms-Burton does not include uses of property incident to lawful travel to Cuba. These cases could set a precedent, especially in the travel industry. Some lawyers like Carnivals say the travel exemption should shield U.S. cruise lines and airlines doing business with Cuba under licenses granted by former President Barack Obama during the two countries brief 2014-2016 detente. But U.S. courts could determine the travel they facilitate is tourism and violates the decades-old U.S. trade embargo on Cuba. The fulcrum for determining the outcome of all travel-related lawsuits will be whether there has been tourism, said John Kavulich, president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council Inc. Carnival also disputed the ownership of the two U.S. citizens who are descendants of original owners. Their lawyers did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Increased U.S. hostility, more than Helms-Burton, is affecting foreign companies operating in Cuba, said Xulio Fontecha, head of the Association of Spanish Businesses in Cuba (AEEC), at the event in Havana. Banks in Panama and Costa Rica had closed the accounts of some customers in recent months and courier services were declining to send documents to Cuba, he said. The problem goes far beyond Title III, which we condemn of course, he said, referring to the section of the Helms-Burton Act that permits the lawsuits. Some Spanish companies also received a letter from a group in Florida warning them of potentially being complicit in violations of human and labor rights, he said. The ambassador of the European Union, Alberto Navarro, said the bloc would continue to seek to expand business with Cuba, defying the U.S. hostility. He encouraged Cuban reforms to make the island more attractive to foreign investors and offset disincentives created by the Trump administration policy. Airlines worldwide must inspect 312 of Boeing Co.s 737 family of aircraft, including some of the grounded 737 Max, because they have wing components that are prone to cracking and must be repaired within 10 days, U.S. aviation regulators said Sunday. Boeing informed the Federal Aviation Administration that so-called leading edge slat tracks may not have been properly manufactured and pose a safety risk, the agency said in an emailed statement. The parts allow the wing to expand to create more lift during takeoff and landing. While less critical than the global grounding of its 737 Max since March, Boeings latest production issue adds another headache for a management team trying control the fallout from two deadly crashes and get the U.S. manufacturers top-selling plane flying again. The head of the International Air Transport Association warned airline CEOs at the industrys annual gathering this past weekend that the plane-approval process is damaged and the industry is under scrutiny. The FAA plans to issue an order calling for operators of 737 planes worldwide to identify whether the deficient parts were installed and to replace them, if needed. A complete failure wouldnt lead to a loss of the aircraft, the FAA said, but could cause damage during flight. Boeing has notified operators of the planes about the needed repairs and is sending replacement parts to help minimize the time aircraft are out of service, the company said in a statement. The slat tracks in question were made by a supplier to Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., Boeing said in an email. Boeing has identified 148 parts made by a subcontractor that are affected. The parts may be on a total of 179 737 Max aircraft and 133 737 NG planes worldwide, including 33 Max and 32 NG aircraft in the U.S., the FAA said. The NG, or Next Generation, 737s are a predecessor to the Max family. Southwest Airlines Co., which had 753 Boeing 737s in its fleet at the end of March, is waiting on additional guidance from the aircraft maker as it prepares for any needed inspections, said Chris Mainz, a spokesman for the Dallas-based carrier. This impacts about a handful of our aircraft, and we do not anticipate any impact to our operation, Mainz said in an email. Southwests fleet includes 34 grounded Max aircraft. American Airlines Group Inc. said the inspection requirement will not affect its 737 NG fleet or its flight schedule. American has one of the 20 Max planes identified as being most likely to have the parts in question, said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for the airline. It hasnt determined whether its remaining 23 Max aircraft are among those that will need to be checked, he said. American has about 300 737-800s in its fleet. United Continental Holdings Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Alaska Air Group Inc. didnt immediately comment on their 737 fleets. The deficient parts may be on fewer of the identified planes, Boeing said. While the full number of jets must be inspected, 20 Max and 21 NG aircraft are most likely to have the suspect parts installed, according to the company. The 737 Max has been grounded worldwide since March 13 after two fatal crashes tied to a malfunction that caused a flight control system to repeatedly drive down the planes nose. Boeing is finalizing a software fix along with proposed new training that will be required before the planes fly again. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. For years, insurance industry observers have been predicting that home telematics products would transform the insurance industry by forcing carriers to take on the role of damage preventer instead of just claims payer. Insurers are still experimenting. But one company in particular a Silicon Valley startup that launched in 2014 is working to make sure that it will be the leading smart home product supplier to insurance carriers when that transformation finally happens. In the past month, Roost Home Telematics of Sunnyvale, California has entered into partnerships with Centauri Insurance, Duck Creek Technologies, and Farmers Protective Mutual Insurance Co. to place its water-leak detectors into policyholders homes. In the past year, Roost has signed up USAA, Armed Forces Insurance, Gulf Stream Property and Casualty Insurance, and CFM Insurance, to name just a few. I think without a doubt, we have deployed more than anybody out there, said Roost Marketing Director David Henry. We have been strong advocates of the industry. We dont sell to consumers any more. We sell just to insurance companies. Our main competitor is general apathy, the slowness of insurance companies to react to new things. -- David Henry, Roost marketing director. All told, some 25 carriers and claims organizations have entered into agreements with Roost. Henry says Roost has installed its devices in hundreds of thousands homes through agreements with insurers and is collecting a mountain of data that will provide insight on how well the technology controls losses and improves customer service. In 2017, Roost contracted with Willis Towers Watson to analyze data from its sensors that provide metrics that will instruct insurers on how well the devices perform at loss control and improving customer satisfaction and retention. Willis operates a similar data analytics program with automobile telematics called DriveAbility. Henry said Roost hopes that an independent analysis will boost its customers confidence in the collected data. Roost launched five years ago with the launch of its Smart Battery, a lithium battery equipped with a chip that can transmit alerts directly to cell phones. Later, it added a water-leak and freeze detector, a Smart Smoke Alarm and garage door sensors. Initially, Roost sold all of its products directly to consumers. We learned very quickly that the retail game is a very expensive game, Henry said. Henry said Roost recognized that far less capital would be needed to market to insurers than consumers. He said data collection will drive value. As of now, insurers have not collected enough data to price insurance policies that include home telematics and have no clue as to their impact on losses. But the information is coming. Things are going in the right direction, he said. We will have that statistically relevant data here in the near future. Henry said Roost does not have any serious competitors in the insurance space. Our main competitor is general apathy, he said, the slowness of insurance companies to react to new things. Florida-based Centauri Insurance was the latest carrier to team up with Roost, announcing a partnership last week. Chief Marketing Officer Felicia Cox said the carrier will distribute Roost water-leak detectors to 2,500 policyholders. She said the carrier will target consumers who have properties that have had water damage previously, and whose owners have demonstrated technical savviness by using the carriers Internet portal. Centauri customers enrolled in the pilot will also have access to weather alerts provided by The Weather Channel. Cox said Centauri has been issuing water-detection devices to high-valuecustomers, meaning with property values of more than $1 million, since its inception in 2011. The Roost partnership will allow the carrier to find out if its customers are actually interacting with the technology. Cox said Centauri expects demand for smart home devices to grow as consumers become more familiar with the technology. This is going to play a tremendous role in the industry, she said. These devices are going to allow us to have more peace of mind, from the policyholders perspective. Duck Creek Technologies formed a partnership with Roost last month so that the insurance carriers that use its claims administration products can receive the alerts sent by Roost water-leak and freeze detectors. Each carrier on its own will decide how to channel those alerts from the claims administrator to the policyholder, said Eddie Jones, vice president of strategy and alliances for Duck Creek. Jones said the insurance industry is still in the experimental stage of its relationship with the Internet of Things, but Roost is offering a product that more and more carriers want to offer their policyholders. Jones said Duck Creek doesnt form exclusive partnerships, but it hasnt yet teamed up with any other smart home products supplier. Theyve got a real elegant solution to generating alerts related to specific perils within a property, he said. BROOKLYN, Ohio -- Recent events in Virginia Beach have city officials questioning safety and protocol in municipal buildings. In Brooklyn, precautions were taken last month, when the police department held active shooter training with employees at City Hall. The idea was to go through the City Hall upstairs and give them some idea of where they could hide, fight and things like that, Police Chief Scott Mielke said. This is the first time we did this for City Hall employees. Its something weve been thinking about it, and Mayor Gallagher was open to it. She thought it was important to make sure everybody had an idea of what to expect and what they can do. Mayor Katie Gallagher said the training was time well spent for employees. I dont think anybody is ever anticipating something to happen, but if it ever did, its really just teaching the employees to be aware of their surroundings, Gallagher said. We have this talent right here in our police force who go to these special trainings and learn all about different ways to help. So it can only benefit employees to be aware of where the exits are and what would be the fastest way to get out. The active shooter training was led by Brooklyn Patrolman James Roach, who said that last year, there were 27 incidents stateside, with 85 people killed. These incidents happen everywhere, even in Northeast Ohio, Roach said. This gives the public access to training that they would probably be unable to get any other way. My goal is to inform the public and take away some of the fear of an active shooter incident. Our training is a good community policing tool that enhances our relationship with our citizens. Recently, Roach has also held similar training sessions in local businesses -- including Eaton Corp. and The Plain Dealer -- where employers ask for guidance. A lot of what he talks about is what you can expect when the police officers come in during an incident, Mielke said. The important thing is to show their hands and dont make any aggressive moves towards the officers. Its kind of the same stuff we teach at the schools when we go through the school training. Mielke said his department will continue to provide training and drills. Every summer we try to get into a different school in our city, so were constantly preparing and training, Mielke said. Read more news from the Parma Sun Post. STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- A Strongsville resident has proposed replacing 20 homes and three empty residential lots -- on the south side of Ohio 82 just east of Pearl Road -- with a commercial development. Robert Baxendale said the area, measuring a total of about 6 acres, is the only part of Ohio 82 between Interstate 71 and Pearl Road that remains residential. The rest has been redeveloped into commercial properties, including The Greens of Strongsville retail plaza across Ohio 82. Over the past 50 years, the whole landscape there has changed, Baxendale, treasurer of the Strongsville City Club, told cleveland.com on Monday (June 3). The homes still there are not historical in nature. They have aged, and the homeowners realize that. Baxendale, whose son Brad Baxendale owns and lives on one of the 23 parcels, has commitments from all property owners in the 6-acre area to sell their land to a commercial developer, once a developer is identified and chosen. However, Baxendale faces at least a couple of obstacles before his plan can move forward. First, he needs voters to rezone the land from a residential district to a business district. In Strongsville, only voters can approve changing residential land into commercial land. Voters both citywide and in Ward 4, where the 6 acres are located, would have to approve. Second, before the city even considers placing a rezoning on the ballot, Baxendale must find a developer and-or show a specific plan for the property, he said. Until then, the plan is officially on hold. Last month, the citys Planning Commission gave Baxendales rezoning proposal, without a developer or plan to go with it, an unfavorable recommendation. A tight space The homes on the 6 acres are a mix of Cape Cods, ranches and bungalows, according to the Cuyahoga County Fiscal Office website. They stand on relatively small lots, measuring between .15 and .96 acres. Many of the lots are in the .2-acre range. Some are about .4 acres. More than half the lots are off the south side of Ohio 82 between Ordner and Delaware drives, about 1,200 feet east of Pearl. The remainder are just to the west, between Delaware and Pearlview Drive. The county fiscal office shows 19 property owners, with some owning more than one lot. One lot is owned by the family of the late Walter F. Ehrnfelt, former Strongsville mayor. Baxendale said several developers have expressed interest in the property over the years, but the need to rezone the land and consolidate the 23 parcels is not an inviting task. There is risk, Baxendale said. Developers are more interested in properties they can build much more quickly. As for redeveloping the land as residential, Baxendale said a developer would pay about $500,000 an acre to do so, since each of the tiny parcels is valued at about $110,000 or $120,000. Also, the area is not conducive to family life or safe for children, due to commercial traffic. One possibility, Baxendale said, is a multi-use development, with offices, homes and retail. But there is not much room for that use, and the lots dont have much depth. A legal, medical or government office might work on the site, he said. Baxendale is hopeful about recruiting a developer, since he has already secured commitments from the property owners to sell. If we can find a developer, we already have the rezoning applications in, and the developer would not have to deal with a whole group of property owners, Baxendale said. Read more from the Sun Star Courier. ROCKY RIVER, Ohio -- The 2019 after-prom party for Rocky River High School students was a magic show and a work of art all rolled up into one. For those who dont know, or dont remember, the four houses at Hogwarts School are the place for teaching witchcraft and wizardry to the likes of Harry Potter and his cohorts, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The houses are named after the schools co-founders -- Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin -- all of whom were featured at the party in one way or another, as were other characters, such as Hagrid and out-of-this-world magical creatures. OK. Thats a very basic primer for those who missed the Harry Potter phenomenon. But the folks who didnt miss all the fun were the students of Rocky River High School, who grew up in the middle of the Potter fad, as well as their parents, who lived the fantasy with their children. The level of talent in designing and building elements for a Harry Potter after-prom at Rocky River High School was unmistakable. (Linda Gandee, special to cleveland.com) The Rocky River parents took the nostalgia to new heights with the spectacular decorations for the 2019 after-prom party. When the prom dance at Mapleside Farms ended, the prom-goers returned to their alma mater for a walk down Harry Potter lane -- a time to share Hogwarts memories one more time before moving on to jobs and college. The evening also was highlighted by games, activities, food, prizes and music. The efforts put into the party were clearly a labor of love for all involved. The project involved hard work that took about a year of planning, organizing, designing and building by a large team of parents. As a result, the schools gymnasium didnt just get decorated, it was transformed. The two parents heading up the project were Wendy Kelley and Beth Hickey. Hickey does graphic design; event planning and window displays are her business, so the contribution of her talents brought a special dimension to the creative work. Kelley and Hickey said the administration gave them a room at Beach School and they ended up taking over the entire third floor to create the Harry Potter optics and illusions for the party. Rocky River High School became a warehouse for the myriad of props for the Harry Potter after-prom party. (Linda Gandee, special to cleveland.com) Both women clearly enjoyed the project and were totally committed. But, over and over, they sang the praises of all the people who participated. Harry Potter is such a creative collection of books and movies, said Hickey. This has been a labor of love for us and weve had so much fun planning and organizing the after-prom. There has been such a large group of parents who have been outstanding in volunteering their time and efforts, using their talents to contribute to this special community event. We are thankful to the staff, administration, facilities and maintenance crews for their efforts and assistance in helping make this event possible. Kelley spoke to the value of the theme for the students. The idea came from the kids growing up with the Harry Potter books and movies and parents enjoying them through their children. I think this is a great theme, and we were all excited to see the kids reactions. This was one of their final times walking through the halls of Rocky River High School and we wanted to provide them with a life-lasting memory of their time here. As parents, the memories of our children are always so precious, whether its The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, any Disney movie one can name -- or Harry Potter. The Rocky River High School parents have set a high bar now for other after-prom parties. And what a brilliant idea it was to keep the students safe in the school gymnasium for the evening or maybe that was the whole point. Read more news from the West Shore Sun. BROOKLYN, Ohio -- International visitors recently toured the $10 million solar farm located on Brooklyns closed landfill. As part of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program, delegates Kimhok Te (Cambodia), Samantha Chow (Malaysia), Farahnaz Farah Ali Ghodsinia (Philippines) and Yoottana Edward Booranrom (Thailand) visited Washington, D.C., New York City and Cleveland. The entire trip is part of the American Council of Young Political Leaders program in which young international leaders complete a fellowship in a professional office, enabling them to pursue a project in governance and/or civil society that will benefit communities in their home countries. These people are in the work environment with a couple of years of experience who are sponsored to go to different countries, Brooklyn Mayor Katie Gallagher said. During the Cleveland visit, they were looking at energy and environmental policy, which is why they visited the solar farm. Chow said she found Cleveland to be very welcoming during her visit. It was eye opening to see so many programs, facilities and organizations doing great work to welcome refugees and immigrants, Chow said. The visit to Brooklyn was interesting and the solar farm impressive in the way that the landfill land was utilized and made use of to generate renewable energy. The fact that the mayor is so personally involved shows the citys investment in the future. American Council of Young Political Leaders alumni and Cleveland attorney Michael W. Wise hosted the visitors during their one-day trip to Northeast Ohio. Maybe not the Philippines, but the other three countries have grid issues where some parts dont have access to power 24/7, so to see the possibilities of solar is important, Wise said. Solar can be a large global solution for energy needs. I think the eye opener was how the government can play a role in making that happen. Hosting international visitors over the years, Wise said the experiences are special and remind him of his own trip overseas many decades ago. I did a two-week trip to Russia when I was an Ohio legislator, Wise said. It definitely was a life changer. To be with legislators from all over the country in another country, it definitely expanded horizons. For these recent four delegates, they were pleasantly surprised and, in some respects, blown away by everything Cleveland has to offer. Thats great for them, and its great for us. Added Gallagher, Its very cool the solar farm has drawn so much attention to such a small little city like Brooklyn. As far as the mayor returning the hospitality and touring Southeast Asia, she laughed. Who knows? Maybe Ill visit one day. It would definitely be on my own dime. Read more news from the Parma Sun Post. LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- This past school year, the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohios First Ring Student Leadership Academy tasked teens from 17 school districts with not only thinking about their future, but also creating solutions using data to make real change in whatever area of focus they chose. While some schools tackled poverty, drugs and school mobility, Lakewood High School juniors Chris Brown, Ava Clause, Autumn Cruz, Will Holden and Aziza Mohamed employed a different approach, identifying what they felt was a deficit of student discussion and awareness involving the topic of unhealthy romantic relationships. Their project was titled The Dynamics of Teenage Romantic Relationships. It was a collaboration of these five juniors who said this topic is not talked about and it should be, said Lakewood High School intervention specialist Aimee Guzowski, who was also a student adviser for the First Ring Student Leadership Academy. A lot of these young people are learning how to be in a relationship, either in trial by error or from the media or their peers. Thats not always setting them up for success to be in a healthy relationship. So these juniors felt like this would be a taboo topic that high school students would benefit from going into their adulthood. In order to gather data and test out their hypothesis, the students created a 22-question survey, which was answered anonymously by 186 students. The responses were mind-blowing, Autumn said. None of us were expecting to get such intimate, deep, emotional and personal responses -- telling us about things like abuse, death threats, abortions and self-harm. (The survey) showed that people arent unaware of this problem, as we originally assumed, but that no one has ever asked them, because theyre obviously willing to share. While the First Ring Leadership Academy is viewed as a success among all participants, its future is unclear. However, regardless of what the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio decides to do for the next school year, Guzowski said Lakewood High School will be returning to The Dynamics of Teenage Romantic Relationships in the fall. Were hoping to have the five juniors who are now seniors, along with 75 students, participate in a program that once a month will feature an expert speaker discussing a romantic relationship-related topic, Guzowski said. Were thinking Student Council can kind of absorb this as a function, because it provides opportunities for students to voice their opinions and concerns. It remains to be seen what kind of impact The Dynamics of Teenage Romantic Relationships will have on Lakewood High School, but Guzowski is optimistic it will have a positive effect on students. Talking to Autumn, it sounds like that mission is already accomplished. This experience was amazing, collaborating with the teachers that truly wanted to listen and obviously cared about the topic, as well as the other four students who werent doing this just because they got out of school, she said. It was eye opening and granted me with new friends and new ways to view the world and people. Most of all, it taught me how you never know what the person sitting next to you is going through, and that will resonate with me forever. Read more news from the Sun Post Herald. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A judge handed down a 12-year prison Monday to a 67-year-old man who shot a man and a woman in Ohio Citys Market Square Park in October. Talib Saahir pleaded guilty to felonious assault and discharging a weapon in the Oct. 1, 2017 double shooting. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Deborah Turner imposed the sentence. The shooting came about 9 p.m. in the popular corner park across the street from Clevelands West Side Market at West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue. Several people were hanging out in the park, and a 34-year-old man started to try and pick a fight because he was upset that he had lost his cellphone and broken up with his girlfriend, according to court records. The man tried to fight Saahir, who pulled a knife and backed the man away, court records say. The man then tried to pick a fight with somebody else, and the woman stepped in to break up the fight, records say. Saahir then walked to his car about a block away, then came back with a gun and opened fire on the man and woman, according to court records. He had the opportunity to leave, he had the means to leave, Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Herceg wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Instead, he got a gun, walked back and started shooting into the crowd. A bullet struck the woman in the forehead, and she fell to the ground, court records say. The man who had tried to pick a fight with Saahir earlier leaped over the woman as she lay on the ground, picked up a metal folding chair in the park and swung it at Saahir, court records say. Saahir fired two more shots that hit the man in the side and the arm, records say. The chair hit Saahir in the head and stunned him long enough for other people in the park to punch him and kick him to stop the threat, court records said. The woman and the man were rushed to MetroHealth, where doctors had to remove the bullet from behind the womans skull, records say. Herceg wrote that it was some miracle" that the woman, who was an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time, survived. To comment on this story, please visit Mondays crime and courts comments page. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- President Donald Trump suggested consumers boycott AT&T in order to force big changes at CNN. "I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldnt they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad!" Trump tweeted Monday upon arriving in London for a state visit. I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldnt they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 The call for a boycott came after Trump noted CNN, whose coverage of the administration has long been a source of frustration for the president, is the primary U.S. news outlet in the United Kingdom. "After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesnt owner @ATT do something?" Just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesnt owner @ATT do something? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 Trump reportedly did try to do something back in 2017. The New Yorker has reported the president tried, unsuccessfully, to block AT&Ts acquisition of Time Warner, which includes CNN, HBO, DirecTV and U-verse, among other properties. Trumps favorite network, Fox News, pulled out of Britain two years ago due to low ratings. Over the weekend, Trump reiterated his disdain for CNN, asking the network to apologize for saying he called Meghan Markle nasty in an interview with The Sun. I never called Meghan Markle nasty. Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it! he tweeted. I never called Meghan Markle nasty. Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! Will @CNN, @nytimes and others apologize? Doubt it! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2019 In an audio recording released by The Sun, however, the president is heard saying "I didnt know that she was nasty after being told the Duchess of Sussex said in 2016 she would move to Canada if Trump was elected. Trump added he thought Markle will do excellently as part of the Royal Family. She will be very good. I hope she does (succeed). The two will not meet during the presidents visit, though her husband Prince Harry did attend a private lunch with Trump on Monday. On May 29, House Bill 6 successfully passed the Ohio House by a vote of 53-43, thanks to lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who stood up for Ohio jobs and a cleaner energy future (Nuclear bailout bill passed by House"). The legislation supports Ohios nuclear plants and is key to unlocking economic opportunities across the state. HB 6 lowers monthly residential electricity bills, maintains Ohios energy diversity and protects thousands of good-paying jobs. I applaud House Speaker Larry Householder and House Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Nino Vitale, as well as the bills sponsors, state Reps. Jamie Callender and Shane Wilkin, for moving this discussion forward efficiently. Our elected leaders in the House, particularly the members of Vitales committee, deserve our thanks for participating in weeks of hearings to discuss this bill and find compromise. I look forward to seeing this legislative discussion continue in the Ohio Senate. I am hoping that the Ohio Senate will take up this bill as soon as possible and get it to the governors desk without delay. Jerry Cirino, Painesville Jerry Cirino is one of three Lake County commissioners. CLEVELAND, Ohio Authorities recovered the body of a missing Lake County boater on Sunday, two days after his counterparts body was found. The body of James Dorsey Wells Jr., 19, of Fairport Harbor was found on Lake Erie near Geneva State Park at about 6 p.m., according to a news release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The Ashtabula County corner made identification. The recovery of Wells body comes two days after searchers found the body of 38-year-old Madison resident Cory Althar. Both men went boating together on May 18 and were later reported missing, ODNR says. If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Sundays crime and courts comments section. PEPPER PIKE, Ohio A fight at a social gathering at a restaurant turned into a shooting that injured three people. Police initially said that the shooting hurt four, but later said only three suffered injuries. No arrests have been made in the case. The shooting happened about 12:05 a.m. Sunday. The party ended at the restaurant and a fight broke out in the parking lot, police said. Someone fired several gunshots in the parking lot, hitting three people. Police have not said what led up to the fight, nor provided any information on the injured. A fourth person suffered injuries from shattered glass, police said. All four suffered non-life threatening injuries, according to police. A woman who called 911 told dispatchers she heard about 10 gunshots. Another person called from inside a car with a man who was shot and said they were driving from the restaurant. They stopped a police officer who was trying to find them. Another person called from a nearby gas station and said one of the victims was there and had been shot two times. Police said theyve made progress in the investigation, but would not release additional information on Monday morning. To comment on this post, please visit our crime and courts comments page. Rotunda Rumblings Nondiscrimination information: While many other 2020 presidential hopefuls were in California on Saturday night, Joe Biden was in Columbus speaking at a Human Rights Campaign fundraiser. The former vice president said he worries about pushback to LGBTQ rights under President Donald Trump. But, he said, there are reasons for hope, cleveland.coms Laura Hancock reports. Knock down drag out: Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder penned an open letter Friday denouncing planned events at two Ohio libraries that he said would teach teenage boys how to become drag queens. As cleveland.coms Jeremy Pelzer reports, the events in Licking County and Delaware County were canceled and relocated, respectively. Householder called the events a stunningly bizarre breach of the public trust, though organizers of the Licking County event replied that it would have been paid for entirely with a non-governmental grant. A swing state still? While many political groups have so far avoided spending money in Ohio for the 2020 election, pro-Democratic super PAC For Our Future has included the Buckeye State in its seven-state plan that could cost as much as $90 million. Cleveland.coms Seth Richardson has the details. Budget briefing: Northeast Ohio political and business leaders on Friday outlined what theyll be looking as the Ohio Houses massive $69 billion budget plan heads to the state Senate. As cleveland.coms Andrew Tobias reports, their watch list includes Ohios motion picture tax credit (which is on the chopping block), a scaled-back business income-tax exemption, and Medicaid changes. Lets talk about text: Would you like to show your support for Capitol Letter, plus get exclusive insider information on Ohio government and politics? Consider Project Text. For $3.99 a month, you can get behind the scenes insights and observations via text messages from the reporting team who puts together our essential daily newsletter. Wait and see: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said Friday that Congress should investigate ties between President Donald Trumps inner circle and Russia. But, Richardson writes, the Ohio Democrat stopped short of saying the House should begin impeachment hearings. I dont think it should be imminent, Brown said. I think we need to know more. On the U.S. House side, meanwhile: Rep. Tim Ryan over the weekend joined the list of Democratic presidential candidates who have called for impeachment. Cleveland.coms Sabrina Eaton has details. RIP OHROC: The Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee, the House GOPs campaign arm, is being gutted now that Householder is in charge. The committee, which got involved in several primary races last year to help challengers of Householder allies, has been renamed the House Republican Campaign Committee and will no longer have an executive director. With OHROC withering away, Team Householder will assume main control of the caucus campaign funds and strategy headed into the 2020 elections. Still no path for Kasich: Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Friday repeated a sentiment that hes been saying for months: that right now he sees no path to the White House. I dont see a way to get there, Kasich said, according to Politicos Katie Galioto. However, he later tweeted another favorite line of his: All of my options are on the table. Warranting change: Ohios lack of an organized, statewide warrant system has resulted in a backlog of at least 500,000 unserved arrest warrants, a gubernatorial task force has concluded. The panels 15 recommendations, released Friday, include creating a statewide electronic warrant system and requiring authorities to enter warrants for serious crimes into state and national crime databases within 48 hours of the warrant being issued. Night watch: State Rep. John Becker has made another controversial post on social media: this time, a picture of a sleeping bag and a shotgun between the doorways of the bedrooms where his daughter and fiance sleep. The Clermont County Republican told the Cincinnati Enquirers Sarah Horne that the post (which he later deleted) was intended to be satirical. From day one with my daughter (I have) played the role of the overprotective father, he said. Opposite effect: Moves intended to shed light on taxpayer money paid to pharmacy benefit managers have actually made it harder to see how much the drug-price middlemen are making from the state, the Columbus Dispatchs Darrel Rowland writes. Rowland points to two reasons. First, Medicaid officials reinterpreted federal guidelines and stopped reporting PBM revenue to the feds; secondly, Medicaids new transparency model that started this year didnt require PBM revenue to be tracked. Full Disclosure Five things we learned from the May 8 financial disclosure statement of state Rep. Bill Seitz, a Cincinnati Republican: 1. In addition to his $81,163 legislative salary in 2018, Seitz also earned at least $100,000 as an attorney for the law firm Dinsmore and Shohl. 2. He owns stock in Duke Energy, Enbridge Inc. (a Canadian natural gas company), First Financial Bancorp, as well as two annuities, two retirement accounts, and a 401(k). 3. He received $4,464 in mileage reimbursement from the Ohio House last year. 4. He reported receiving gifts worth at least $75 (or at least $25 if they came from a lobbyist) from the Ohio State Bar Association and the University of Cincinnati. 5. At some point in 2018, he was owed at least $1,000 by his son Brad Seitz, the Hamilton County Courts jury commissioner. On The Move Gil Blair, an attorney, Weathersfield trustee and municipal court prosecutor, has been chosen by a panel of Ohio House Democrats to take over Glenn Holmes House District 63 seat in Trumbull County. Holmes stepped down last month to join the Ohio Parole Board. State Rep. Brigid Kelly, a Cincinnati Democrat, announced she will co-chair a subcommittee on the Council of State Governments, with Steve Eliason, a Republican in the Utah House, exploring state preventive health programs that have a positive impact on state budgets. Straight From The Source I dont think that Ohio has gotten to the point that it is unwinnable for Democrats. If the candidate proves to be not as weak with white non-college voters as [2016 Democratic nominee Hillary] Clinton was, you could see the Democrats perform better across the Midwest, which might include Ohio. - Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabatos Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, speaking with ThinkProgress. Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. If you do not already subscribe, you can sign up here to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free. COLUMBUS, Ohio Employers cannot refuse to hire, fire or discriminate against employees who have not and will not be vaccinated, under a newly introduced bill in the Ohio House. House Bill 268 allows people to sue employers if their employment is affected by their lack of vaccinations. Its the latest bill in the Ohio General Assembly that gives deference to the theories that immunizations are harmful, amidst a measles outbreak that is in part blamed on people believing misinformation about vaccinations. HB 268 is sponsored by Reps. Ron Hood, a Pickaway County Republican, and Bernadine Kennedy Kent, a Columbus Democrat. Its a freedom bill for people who are being coerced into having a vaccination, as a condition of employment, Hood said. A similar bill has been introduced in the past, but it was only directed at people who refused to get the flu vaccination. HB 268 is for all vaccinations. Hood said people shouldnt be coerced to put a foreign substance in their body. Hood said that vaccinations help some people, but hurt others. For whatever reason, maybe they have an allergy to that vaccine or something like that. This is definitely a problem for some of the population. Actually, vaccine allergies are rare and the symptoms tend to be mild in comparison to an infection from the disease that a vaccine would prevent, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Research published in 2015 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that of 25.2 million vaccines given between 2009 and 2011, just 33 people suffered from anaphylaxis, which is a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Vaccinations have all but eradicated many diseases from diphtheria to polio but a new generation of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children is threatening the progress thats been made, experts say. A George Washington University study found Russian bots exploited the rifts in the American vaccination debate on Twitter including sending out anti-vax misinformation, according to CBS News. HB 268 prohibits employers from taking an adverse employment action against employees who dont vaccinate. But Ann Spicer, executive vice president of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, said that the bill doesnt define what an adverse action is. Hospitals can have strict vaccination requirements for employees, since patients with compromised immune systems, who werent able to get vaccinated, are at risk for disease, she said. Some hospital systems have required vaccination or moved the employee to a different area, maybe requiring the employee to wear a mask, she said. Is it an adverse employee action if you require someone to wear a mask or if you assign them to work in another section of a hospital? I have a lot of questions. In March, Ohio Rep. Don Manning, a Mahoning County Republican, introduced a bill that would require school districts to notify parents of how they can keep their child from receiving required vaccinations. Spicer said shes concerned about public health with the bills. When a person chooses not to vaccinate, the decision doesnt just affect them. Youre potentially harming other people who dont have that choice, and exposing them to perhaps a life-threatening illness, she said. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Tim Ryan over the weekend joined the list of Democratic presidential candidates who publicly back impeaching President Donald Trump, arguing that Trumps behavior during Special Counsel Robert Muellers probe constituted obstruction of justice. During a nationally televised CNN Town Hall on Sunday night, Ryan asserted that Mueller would have prosecuted Trump if he wasnt president, and the House of Representatives needs "to move forward with the impeachment process, because its the House of Representatives job to oversee the White House. I have a duty and responsibility, and that duty and responsibility has led me to think we have to do this, said Ryan, of Niles. Ryan made similar remarks in Iowa after Mueller made public statements on Wednesday that said after that investigation, if we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so. I really dont want to impeach, but at this point, I dont know how we dont, the Ohio congressman told the Des Moines Register in a Friday interview. Muellers report describes repeated efforts by Trump to interfere with the investigation, including telling former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to take control of the probe, firing FBI Director James Comey and efforts to oust Mueller. Ryan joins a horde of other Democratic presidential candidates who support impeaching Trump, including U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigeig House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California has called for further investigating Trump before deciding whether to launch the impeachment process. News broke Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly preparing an investigation into Alphabet's Google for antitrust violations. Since the news broke, many have compared the Google investigation to a years-long federal investigation into Microsoft two decades ago. But two antitrust lawyers told CNBC that once the DOJ makes a formal announcement, which could take months, the process will probably move much more quickly than the Microsoft case did. The DOJ's antitrust investigation with Microsoft kicked off in 1992 and went through several stages before the DOJ sued Microsoft in 1998. In 2000, a district court ordered Microsoft to be broken into two companies, but the ruling was overturned on appeal. Finally, Microsoft and the DOJ settled in 2001, with the government imposing several rules the company had to follow for years. From initial investigation to settlement, the ordeal lasted nine years. While Microsoft escaped a breakup, it had to pay billions in fines from follow-on lawsuits from competitors and state governments, and was arguably more timid in its actions in the 2000s because of government scrutiny, paving the way for competitors like Google and Apple to cut into its dominance. Silicon Valley antitrust lawyer Gary Reback, who spearheaded efforts that led to the government's antitrust case against Microsoft and has worked with some clients who have complained about Google, and Rutgers Law School professor Michael A. Carrier agree that any Google investigation will probably be front-loaded, meaning it will move faster than the Microsoft case. "Even though this is complicated, I don't know that it's going to be that kind of ordeal," said Reback, referring to the Microsoft case. That's partly because the FTC already investigated Google earlier this decade. Although it ended the investigation without ordering any penalties, the Wall Street Journal has reported that some FTC officials concluded in 2012 that the company had used anti-competitive tactics with its search engine, such as favoring its own sites in search results and copying information from third-party sites to make its own results better. "If they were starting from scratch, it could take years," Reback said, "but they (DOJ) now have more information." "My sense is that the DOJ would really want to make sure that they can find an antitrust violation rather than just an unease that the company is too big," said Carrier, who specializes in antitrust and IP law. The two lawyers noted that both sides of the aisle are currently skeptical of big tech, leaving Google without political shelter. "I've been taking companies to Washington where they've complained about Google for a long time and there were politicians blocking it once, but the blockers aren't there anymore," Reback said. "I don't know if it's the Trump administration that triggered it exactly but it could have been what broke the dam." Though details of any investigation are still unknown, the attorneys predict the DOJ's target concerns would be in Google's search and advertising businesses as well as its practice of bundling applications. They believe the agency will be silent for several months before announcing any formal investigation or case. In the meantime, Google investors are right to worry, said Carrier. "Any time an actor as powerful as the Department of Justice antitrust division is involved, that is something that investors should take into account because it would be a really big deal if they found a case." Meanwhile, other big tech companies could also come under fire. According to the Washington Post, the DOJ is divvying up big-tech antitrust duties with the Federal Trade Commission, which is reportedly looking into Amazon. WATCH: Google's lack of transparency hurts its multiple, says analyst Altria is taking a stake in the global business of Swiss tobacco company Burger Sohne for $372 million, the companies said Monday. As part of the deal, Altria will provide global distribution for Burger Sohne's oral nicotine pouch business called On kind of like chewing tobacco without the tobacco as the maker of Marlboro cigarettes further expands its portfolio beyond cigarettes. The deal gives Altria an 80% interest in On. Once the all-cash transaction closes in the second half of the year, Burger Sohne's businesses will become part of Altria's newly formed subsidiary Helix Innovations. On contains a nicotine powder derived from tobacco but without the plant's leaves. The oral pouch category grew to $60 million last year, a 250% increase from the previous year, according to data from market research firm IRI. The deal marks Altria's latest attempt to diversify as its signature cigarette business shrinks. Altria in December invested in cannabis through Cronos and took a stake in market leading e-cigarette company Juul. It will soon start selling iQOS, a heated tobacco product, through an agreement with Philip Morris International. Sales of cigarettes are falling faster than expected, prompting Altria to pursue new avenues for growth. "This acquisition will add another non-combustible product to our portfolio in what we believe is a high-potential, rapidly-developing oral products category," Altria CEO Howard Willard said in a statement. Altria said On was introduced before Aug. 8, 2016, the deadline for new tobacco products to enter the market without first receiving the FDA's permission. The brand's products currently available in "several thousand" stores in the U.S. in addition to Sweden, Japan and online. On's seven flavors include coffee, berry and citrus, possibly opening them up to regulatory scrutiny. The Food and Drug Administration has said kid-appealing fruity flavors contributed to a teen vaping "epidemic" and proposed limiting their sale to age-restricted stores like vape shops. Altria spokesman David Sutton said in an email that the company has "no data" suggesting minors are accessing the products but it's "committed to preventing kids from using any nicotine-containing products." "In our preliminary qualitative research, the portfolio of various flavors and strengths is a compelling proposition to adult tobacco consumers as they search to find the flavors and strengths that are right for them," he said. "We are assessing the portfolio and will share expansion plans soon." Correction: This article was updated to clarify Altria's investment stake. A company press release said Altria's investment gives it an 80% stake in Burger Sohne's global business. However, a spokesman later said the investment gives Altria an 80% stake in On. Amazon would be "bat---- crazy" to enter the wireless market by purchasing Sprint's Boost Mobile brand, analysts at Moffett Nathanson wrote in a report. In a note entitled, "Sprint and T-Mobile: Welcome to Crazy Town," the analysts reacted on to a Reuters report last week that said Amazon is considering the deal. Amazon has mainly been interested in buying the brand for the wholesale deal that would allow it to use T-Mobile's wireless network for at least six years, a source told Reuters. T-Mobile and Sprint agreed to sell the prepaid cellphone brand as one of several concessions meant to reduce the market share as part of its planned $26 billion merger. "The idea that Amazon would actually want to enter the wireless market is bad enough," the analysts said in Friday's note. "Over its now forty-year history, the wireless industry has never generated a return on invested capital meaningfully in excess of its cost of capital. And that's before the entry of a player like Amazon." The analysts conceded Amazon may hope to own wireless networks to facilitate its other goals, like operating piloted delivery drones and driverless vehicles, but they said it would be "economically insane" to buy a network for this purpose. Given that AT&T and Verizon have both spent over $100 billion on building up their own networks in the past decade and that networks need to be open to work economically, "achieving competitive advantage in an adjacent business on the basis of one's network is a fool's errand," they wrote. "If having a network for the purposes of drones or driverless vehicles is ever going to be mission critical to Amazon's business, it would be a strategic blunder of epic proportions to bring such a network in-house," Moffett Nathanson analysts wrote. "Oh, and did we mention the fact that telecom is, by its very nature, a highly regulated business? Would Amazon really want to open itself to the regulatory scrutiny and limitations that come with being a telecom provider?" Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. Watch: Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton on Sprint's sale of the company "What assets are attractive? Tesla no longer has genuinely differentiated tech. The production plant is sub-par. The Gigafactory is probably not essential (and may be claimed by Panasonic)," Warburton wrote. "The brand still has value, albeit one that is declining fast. The Supercharger network also has some value. Perhaps these get picked up. But at what price?" European autos analyst Max Warburton wrote in a note that while Volkswagen's CEO may take a look, there really wouldn't be much support for a bid to acquire any of Tesla's assets. It's looking less and less likely that Tesla will find a buyer to save it from its financial struggles and offer it a source of new funding, Bernstein told clients on Monday. "We struggle to see it being sold as a going concern," he added. Tesla used about $950 million of cash in the first quarter (for a combined $5 billion of cash burn since 2017), prompting renewed concerns over its long-term financial health. A few weeks ago, Tesla managed to raise $2.35 billion in new capital, with $750 million of common stock and $1.6 billion from convertible bonds. Others have suggested that another technology company, like Apple, could swoop in and buy Tesla when its assets cheapen. Roth Capital Partners analyst Craig Irwin told CNBC last month that the electric car company could have sold to Apple six years ago at $240 per share. The stock is down 48% over the last six months at $185.16 a share. Even though Warburton isn't Bernstein's Tesla analyst, he does cover a number of European auto companies that could be in for a pop if Tesla fails. The Palo Alto, California-based automaker has put "huge pressure" on the valuations of traditional equipment manufacturers in Europe as Tesla's initial success suggested that the barriers to entry in the electric vehicle market weren't as onerous as once thought. "Its technology seemed ahead of all other OEMs damaging the Germans' relative brand position. Tesla took market share from the German OEMs in the US, UK and some other regions," Warburton wrote. But "financial failure of Tesla would force a change in investors' views of traditional OEMs. It would show how difficult it is for a new entrant to succeed," he added. "Most important: it would change views on the size and growth rates of the EV market." Bernstein's main Tesla analyst, Toni Sacconaghi, has a market weight rating on shares of Tesla. Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg speaks during a press conference after the annual shareholders meeting at the Field Museum on April 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing's CEO Dennis Muilenburg on Monday said it is conducting simulated flights with air-safety regulators this week and plans to fly its 737 Max aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration "very soon" to get the grounded planes cleared to return to airline service. Aviation officials worldwide grounded the planes in mid-March in the wake of two deadly crashes of the aircraft within five months of one another. The two crashes killed a total of 346 people. Muilenburg said he expects that the planes will get a green light to fly again by the end of the year, but declined to provide a timeline. The Federal Aviation Administration is participating in simulated flights with Boeing this week, Muilenburg said in an an interview with CNBC's The Exchange. After that step, Boeing plans to schedule actual test flights. Boeing has completed a software update for an anti-stall system that has been implicated in the two crashes. Airlines that have purchased the 737 max, including American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines have canceled thousands of flights due to the grounding and have scrambled to meet demand during the peak summer travel season. The manufacturer will have to repair "damaged trust" of the flying public, Muilenburg said. Some airlines have said they won't charge passengers skittish about the planes to switch to flights operated with other aircraft. Canada is on the forefront of a nine-figure cannabis industry that only has more room to grow, Brinks CEO Douglas Pertz said Monday. "On a global basis I think cannabis is going to be a booming industry. It's probably $160 billion on a global basis," he said in a one-on-one interview with "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer. "I think the key piece there: There's probably only about 10% of that that's legal, but that means there's a huge opportunity and demand out there." Brinks, the American private security and protection company, is in on the recreational marijuana business in Canada where the company renowned for its bullet-resistance armored trucks began in November providing cash and logistics services to Canopy Growth, the biggest player in the fledgling marijuana sector. Pot shops in that country began selling legal weed in October. The American federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule I controlled substance, alongside heroin and other drugs, but it is legal for recreational use in 10 states and Washington, D.C., and for medical use in 33 states. The industry is a cash-only business because federally-regulated banks aren't allowed to take deposits from dispensaries. Brinks does not participate in the marijuana business in the United States, even where the drug has been legalized in different forms, Pertz told Cramer. He said it's important that the industry is served "for safety and regulatory and other reasons," while giving a stamp of approval to the SAFE Banking Act that's making its way through Congress. The bill, if signed into law, would give the cannabis industry that needed access to banks. Another related bill called the STATES Act intends to protect marijuana activities in legal states at the federal level. "What they'll do is not change the federal law but make those states that have made it legal" free from federal penalty, Pertz said. "And then that will open it up for federally charted banks as well as us to be able to help serve." As more and more states, most recently Illinois, are on the brink of legalizing weed, Brinks could have a head start through its partnership with Canopy. The Canadian marijuana company has a $3.4 billion agreement to buy Acreage, the largest dispensary operator in the United States, pending federal legalization. British workers overwhelmingly believe they could do their job to the same standard in a four-day working week, new research showed on Monday. Global jobs site Indeed partnered with YouGov to survey more than 2,000 full-time U.K. workers. Three in four respondents said they supported a shorter working week and claimed they could do their job to the same standard if it was reduced from five days to four. Among millennials that figure was even higher, with 79% of people aged between 23 and 38 backing a shorter working week and saying it wouldn't impact their performance. The survey also showed that more than half of those surveyed considered work-life balance to be the most important aspect of their job, with those who prioritized work-life balance saying they would sacrifice 6,000 ($7,590) of their annual salary to ensure the boundaries around their personal life were maintained. However, salary was named as workers' top priority, with 57% of those polled saying it was the most important aspect of their role. Job security, having the right colleagues and commute length were also seen as important aspects of a workplace. The concept of a shorter working week has been gaining ground in recent years, both in the U.K. and internationally. Earlier this year, Perpetual Guardian, a New Zealand financial services company, conducted an eight-week trial of a four-day working week, involving 240 of its employees in various locations. The company found that team engagement levels increased, job performance was maintained and staff stress levels were reduced. Back in the U.K., Momentum, a political campaign group with more than 40,000 members, has urged Britain's Labour party to pledge a four-day working week as part of its official policy. The U.K.'s trade union body, the TUC, has also called for the adoption of the four-day model, claiming it could be possible this century with the rise of new technologies like artificial intelligence and automation. Evercore said the antitrust investigation into Alphabet by the DOJ, will weight on the company. "Since Friday afternoon, WSJ, NYT, and Bloomberg have reported that the US DOJ is preparing to open an investigation into Google's compliance with antitrust laws. For investors, the investigation comes at a time when the stock's bull case is challenged by concerns of an abrupt revenue slowdown last quarter. Importantly, GOOGL has successfully navigated an antitrust investigation before (2011-2013), and emerged unscathed after a two year inquiry, as the FTC voted 5-0 not to pursue further action. That said, Android and the Play Store have not been pressure tested in a precedent US-led investigation, adding to the complexity of assessing the spectrum of outcomes. Our conclusion is that the announcement of an investigation adds to the near-term challenges facing GOOGL. While precedent suggests that Google enjoys broad discretion over the direction of search results, the questions arising from an investigation will challenge the possibility of multiple expansion." A high-level colonel in the Chinese military admits there's a possibility of a "miscalculation" in the South China Sea, but defended China's "need" to protect what Beijing deems as its territory. Zhou Bo, a senior colonel of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said that "China does need to have necessary defense of these islands and rocks which we believe are Chinese territory." "We don't believe that they are artificial islands," he told CNBC's Sri Jegarajah on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a three-day security forum held in Singapore. South China Sea dispute China has staked its claims on a massive section of the resource-rich South China Sea that extends roughly 1,000 miles from its southern shores. Parts of the waterway one of the world's busiest have also been claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. At the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, the U.S. and China sparred over a range of issues from contested territory in the South China Sea to the ongoing trade dispute between the world's two largest economies. The annual event has in recent years become a diplomatic battleground between the two economic powerhouses as they vie for geopolitical influence. During the summit, acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said the U.S. will no longer "tiptoe" around Chinese behavior in Asia. Washington has consistently warned Beijing against the militarization of artificial features in the disputed waters. But Zhou defended China, saying: "If they are just artificial islands built out of (the) blue, why do they have Chinese names even long time ago? We didn't name these rocks and islands in the last three years, right? So that is self-evident." Zhou said that ships from both sides sometimes get dangerously close and acknowledged: "Of course there is a danger of miscalculation." He added, however that "in spite of this it is the good wish of the both sides not to lead to any accidents (happening), let alone spill into conflict." "A common point between China and the United States is that both of them agree to freedom of navigation, but they disagree as to what it means," Zhou said. Unfair to 'bash' Huawei Addressing the situation surrounding Huawei recently, Zhou said he didn't think the Chinese telecommunications giant was a security threat to the U.S. "We think this is really unfair for the United States to bash such a Chinese company with such heavy weight and volume," said Zhou. "First of all, it's just a commercial company. As a CEO said, if you like China's Huawei product, you buy it, if you like Apple, you buy it. So it's just a normal product," he said. "And so far in spite of all the inquiries or interest in Huawei for the so-called back door issue, no one has really find such a issue. So I believe, just leave it to the market and leave it to the experts...," he said. As to arguments that Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei has military links, Zhou said that argument was not justified. Ren was a former serving officer in the Chinese army. "Ren Zhengfei is just the one of more than millions of people who have retired from PLA and who had to seek another job. But because of when he retired from the PLA, he was not so senior even not as senior as I am so he has to find a find a job," said Zhou. Watch: Why the US thinks Huawei has been a national security threat for years A private survey of China's factory sector showed on Monday that manufacturing activity was slightly better than expected in May. The Caixin/Markit factory Purchasing Managers' Index for May was 50.2. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the indicator to come in at 50. The PMI reading for April was 50.2. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction. Last week, China's official manufacturing PMI for May came in at 49.4, lower than the 49.9 economists polled by Reuters had forecast. It was lower than April's reading of 50.1. The official non-manufacturing PMI for May was 54.3 unchanged from April. Growth of new orders grew in May, and the rate of new business growth quickened slightly in the last month, Caixin said in a statement on Monday. "The stronger rise in overall new business supported a renewed expansion in buying activity among Chinese manufacturing firms. Though only slight, it was the first time that purchasing activity had increased for five months," the statement added. Despite the steady reading that was still in expansionary territory, business confidence slipped to the lowest level since the survey series began in April 2012. That was "amid concerns of an escalating China-US trade war and forecasts of relatively subdued global demand," the satement added. Analysts had warned that the official PMI data show that growth in China remains under pressure, despite earlier optimism that Chinese officials managed to stabilize the world's second-largest economy. Before the release of the Caixin indicator, an economist from Mizuho Bank said the data "will not supplant the overall sense of economic pessimism" even if it turns out "unexpectedly resilient." "Our best guess is that despondency will build up around China's growth/exports expectations, spilling over more widely to the rest of Asia/Australia, in the near-term," Vishnu Varathan, Mizuho's head of economics and strategy, wrote in a Monday morning note. "What's more, the wider strategic tech war playing out with Huawei (and related suppliers and advanced Chinese tech companies) also creates a chill around the outlook for not only for exports, but for wider commercial activity as well," he added. The PMI is a survey of businesses about the operating environment. Such data offer a first glimpse into what's happening in an economy, as they are usually among the first major economic indicators released each month. For China, the PMI is among economic indicators that investors globally watch closely for signs of trouble amid domestic headwinds and the ongoing U.S.-China trade dispute. The official PMI survey typically polls a large proportion of big businesses and state-owned enterprises. A separate survey, the Caixin indicator, features a bigger mix of small- and medium-sized firms. On the economic calendar , at 10 a.m. ET, both the May ISM manufacturing index and April construction spending are out. Some of the nation's automakers issue May sales today, although Ford (F) and GM (GM) only report on a quarterly basis. There are no major earnings this morning. Box (BOX) releases its quarterly number after today's closing bell. President Donald Trump arrived for his first state visit to Britain today. Cracks are starting to appear in the transatlantic relationship, with political analysts concerned that his "off-the-cuff" and "impulsive" leadership style could make matters worse over the coming days. (CNBC) * Trump calls London Mayor Sadiq Khan a 'stone cold loser' (CNBC) * Everything you need to know about Trump's state visit (CNBC) Trump tweeted that White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett will "shortly" leave his post, but did not provide a reason. It's unclear who's set to takeover, in a time of drama between the U.S., China and Mexico. (Reuters) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the White House's Mideast peace plan is possibly "unexecutable" and might not "gain traction," according to an audio recording of the private meeting obtained by The Washington Post. * Trump administration says it will negotiate with Iran with 'no preconditions' (NY Times) More than 300 Boeing (BA) 737 jets, including the Max, may have faulty wing parts that don't meet strength and durability standards, the FAA said, following a joint investigation with the aircraft manufacturer. The agency plans to order airlines to remove and replace the parts if their aircraft are affected. (CNBC) Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google unit is the subject of an upcoming antitrust probe by the Justice Department, according to multiple reports. The probe will focus on Google's search and other businesses. (CNBC) Apple (AAPL) is expected to launch the latest version of iOS, its software for the iPhone and iPad, today at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.The company has launched a new version of its iPhone software at WWDC every year since 2009, and analysts and reports don't expect this year to be any different. (CNBC) Facebook (FB) has been in contact with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about rolling out a digital currency, according to the Financial Times. SoftBank's bid to raise a $100 billion fund is off to a rocky start, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some of the world's biggest money managers plan to make limited or no contributions to the Japanese technology giant. Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) is discussing an improved bid for French carmaker Renault, according to Reuters, in order to win backing from the French government for a deal. Goldman Sachs (GS) is buying Capital Vision Services, manager of the MyEyeDr optometry practices, from a private equity firm and a Canadian pension fund for $2.7 billion, including debt, according to the Wall Street Journal. Big tech companies like Apple and Facebook are making moves into the global payments market and fintech (financial technology) start-ups want to be part of the action. At the Money20/20 Europe conference in Amsterdam Monday, fintech firms positioned themselves as attractive partners, and possible takeover targets, for industry giants vying for a slice of the trillion-dollar global payments market. "Big tech has always been a very strong contender to actually come in and own parts of the financial services chain," said Rishi Khosla, co-founder and CEO of OakNorth, a U.K.-based digital bank that reached a $2.8 billion valuation earlier this year. Khosla added OakNorth is "in dialogue" with some tech companies over potential partnerships but wouldn't specify which ones by name. In March, Apple unveiled its own credit card in combination with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard. Then in April, Uber secured a $500 million investment from PayPal ahead of its IPO (initial public offering). Meanwhile, Facebook is reportedly looking for partners to help develop its own cryptocurrency. Fintech CEOs told CNBC in Amsterdam that big tech firms are well-positioned to win over users thanks to their already-massive platforms. But that alone won't guarantee their success in payments or banking, they added. "We believe in the future whether it's the bank of Facebook, bank of Amazon, bank of Google, they're going to need to leverage that existing infrastructure," said Jason Gardner, CEO of Marqeta, a U.S.-based payments processor. "To go out and sort of replace that themselves would be incredibly difficult." Gardner said Marqeta, which reached a $2 billion valuation last month, thinks of itself as the "engine room" by providing the "plumbing" for tech companies like Instacart and Square to process payments. He pointed to a wave of deals that have already taken place this year among payment firms, thanks to disruption from new fintech players. Last week, Global Payments and Total System Services agreed to a multi-billion dollar merger. In March, fintech group Fidelity National Information Services announced plans to buy Worldpay for roughly $35 billion. Some CEOs said they expect more consolidation as tech companies move into the sector. Michael Kent, CEO of U.K. payments start-up Azimo, said his company is "frequently approached" by companies looking to build out their payment capabilities. "Particularly in payments, scale matters," he said. "I think that will have a massive trickle-down effect towards the whole payments sector." As many as 40% of the world's female population live in countries that fail to meet the mark on basic measures of gender equality, while a further 40% face substandard equality conditions. That's according to a new report released Monday by Equal Measures 2030, which found that 2.8 billion women and girls globally live in countries with "poor" or "very poor" levels of gender equality, despite ongoing efforts to bridge the gap. The Gender Index measured the countries' success in achieving gender equality across 14 of the 17 United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). It found that no country in the world has yet "achieved the promise of gender equality," nor does any one country score consistently well across all measures. The SDGs are a range of measures laid out in 2015 in a bid to improve global living standards by 2030. For the purposes of the study, those categories were broken down into 51 subsections measuring factors such as health, education, gender-based violence, work and politics. Equal Measures 2030'S 2019 SDG Gender Index Best and worst performers Just 8% percent of the 129 countries measured scored a "good" rating of 80 or more out of 100 for their progress in achieving gender equality, the report found. Meanwhile, 12% managed a "fair" rating of 70 to 79. The remaining 80% of countries measured scored either "poor" (60 to 69 points) or "very poor" (below 60). No single country achieved an "excellent" score of 90 or above. The global average score was 65.7 out of 100, which the report said was "barely (a) pass." More than 60 countries were omitted from the list due to lack of data. Denmark emerged as the world's most progressive country in terms of gender equality, achieving a near-excellent score of 89.3 out of 100. It was joined in the top 10 by Finland, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Germany, Canada, Ireland and Australia. The U.K. ranked 17th and the U.S. came in at 28th. At the other end of the spectrum, Chad came out at the bottom of the list, with a score of 33.4 out of 100. Other countries in the bottom 10 of the index included Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Yemen, Congo, DR Congo. All those countries also appeared on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's 2018 list of fragile states. Equal Measures 2030'S 2019 SDG Gender Index Equal Measures 2030 A 'wake up' call A deepening leadership crisis in Germany could soon bring about the premature end of Angela Merkel's reign as chancellor, analysts told CNBC on Monday. Andrea Nahles, the leader of Germany's junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), announced her resignation on Sunday. The surprise move has sparked concerns that Merkel's government might collapse over the coming months. Nahles has faced criticism from some lawmakers within her center-left party, after finishing third behind Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Greens, in European elections last month. The coalition between the CDU and SPD is set to last until federal elections in 2021, but political analysts have warned Nahles' resignation could lead to the SPD leaving over the coming weeks, triggering a snap election. Merkel, who plans to step down as chancellor in 2021 having already resigned as CDU leader late last year, has vowed to carry on despite the coalition setback. "Andrea Nahles has made a far-reaching decision both for herself personally as well as for the Social Democratic Party of Germany," Merkel told reporters on Sunday. "I would like to say on behalf of the government, we will continue the government's work with all seriousness. We will above all do it with a great sense of responsibility," Merkel said. The SPD and CDU parties both held separate crisis talks on Monday. Traders work at Goldman Sachs booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York. The market, already in turmoil amid the U.S.-China trade war, was hit by another bombshell last week President Donald Trump's threat to slap tariffs on all Mexican imports. For investors wary of their exposure to the new Mexico tariffs, here's Goldman Sachs' list of stocks to avoid. Goldman screened Russell 1000 index stocks by their assets explicitly reported in Mexico, revealing that chipmaker Skyworks Solutions, railroad company Kansas City Southern and sensor and electrical protection products manufacturer Sensata Technologies are among the companies most sensitive to the newly-proposed tariffs on Mexico imports. The average stock on the list is already underperforming the broad Russell 1000 by 200 basis points, Goldman pointed out. Autos and auto components sector, which represent the largest U.S. import from Mexico, has suffered even more, lagging the broad market by nearly 300 basis points through Friday's close. "Escalation of the trade war poses a risk to both corporate profit margins and the health of the US consumer, who will likely absorb the majority of the tariffs via higher prices," Ben Snider, an equity strategist at the bank, said in a note Friday. Stocks took a big hit when Trump announced a 5% tariff on all Mexican imports from June 10. The White House said the duties could go up to 25% by October if Mexico does not take action to "reduce or eliminate the number of illegal aliens" crossing into the U.S. Goldman's economists believe the U.S. will follow through with at least the 5% tariff. "...At least the first 5% tariff on imports from Mexico planned for June 10 will be implemented," Snider said. "The combination of proposed tariffs on China and Mexico imports would result in roughly 80% of some U.S. imported products being subjected to tariffs, including toys, cell phones, and other consumer electronics." Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on February 6, 2018 in New York City. While most of the stock market is in turbulence amid the trade chaos, Goldman Sachs has a portfolio that's crushing the market, returning more than 16% year to date. Many of the bank's portfolios created exclusively for its clients are underperforming during heightened market uncertainties, including one tracking hedge funds' top holdings and one with large-cap mutual funds overweights, but the stocks that overlap those two baskets have delivered a stellar performance this year. "The underperformance of popular positions today following President [Donald] Trump's announcement of tariffs on imports from Mexico underscores investor concern about crowded positions," Goldman's chief U.S. equity strategist, David Kostin, said in the note. "The 'wisdom of the crowds' can be a positive signal for subsequent stock returns." The overlapping stocks are 12 companies most popular with both hedge funds and mutual funds. They include Adobe, Citigroup, Google parent Alphabet, PayPal, UnitedHealth, Mastercard, ServiceNow and Visa, Goldman said. They have outperformed the S&P 500 by 6.1 percentage points so far in 2019. While a few stocks on Goldman's list are weighed down by the escalated trade tensions, Visa, UnitedHealth, PayPal and Mastercard all held up well in May. The S&P 500, which has returned about 10% year to date, lost more than 6% in May alone, amid the tit-for-tat threats in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. The sell-off deepened after the U.S. announced last week a 5% surprise tariff on all Mexican imports. Stocks popular among mutual funds and hedge funds, the so-called shared favorites, also have a long track record of beating the market, the bank noted. They have generated an annualized return of 19% since 2013, higher than the S&P 500's 13% gain over the same period. Goldman covers 880 hedge funds with $2.1 trillion of gross equity positions and 521 large-cap mutual funds with $2.1 trillion of equity holdings. John Dean, White House Counsel for United States President Richard Nixon, is sworn in to testify on the fourth day of Brett Kavanaugh's hearing before members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building Friday Sept. 7, 2018. The House Judiciary Committee on Monday announced a "series of hearings" related to special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report, beginning with a June 10 hearing featuring President Richard Nixon's former White House counsel, John Dean. The Democrat-led committee revealed its new schedule as calls to impeach President Donald Trump grew louder from a growing list of Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates. The hearing with Dean, titled "Lessons from the Mueller Report: Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes," was announced less than a week after Mueller, in his first public remarks since becoming special counsel in May 2017, said that he would not go beyond the details in his 448-page report if he is forced to testify before Congress. Dean, who was a central player in the Watergate scandal, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 1973. He also cooperated with the Watergate special prosecutor and testified against other Watergate figures. The upcoming hearing will focus on Trump's "most overt acts of obstruction," said Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y. in a press release. It will also feature other former U.S. Attorneys and legal experts, according to the House Judiciary Committee. Dean's selection shows that House Democrats are "taking a long-term view" as they broach the question of whether to impeach Trump, said Ken Hughes, an expert on Watergate at the University of Virginia's Miller Center. "They're not trying to rush to any conclusion, they want to put this into historical perspective for the vast majority of the American people." House Democrats have had trouble getting key Trump administration figures, including Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn, to appear before their committees. Barr, who oversaw the tail end of the special counsel's probe and whom Democrats accused of politicizing its release, skipped a House Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for May 2. McGahn, the most-cited witness in Mueller's report, did not show up for a May 21 hearing before the same committee, after the White House instructed him not to comply with the panel's subpoena. "No one is above the law," Nadler said in the press release Monday afternoon. "While the White House continues to cover up and stonewall, and to prevent the American people from knowing the truth, we will continue to move forward with our investigation." Nadler added: "Given the threat posed by the President's alleged misconduct, our first hearing will focus on President Trump's most overt acts of obstruction. In the coming weeks, other hearings will focus on other important aspects of the Mueller report." It was not immediately clear when those subsequent hearings would take place and who would be asked to appear at them. Congressman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) speaks to the media in New York, May 29, 2019. The House Judiciary Committee is opening an antitrust investigation into tech giants amid concerns that their unmatched market power is suppressing competition in digital markets. The committee plans to asses the effectiveness of current antitrust laws in regulating tech companies. If lawmakers find current regulations to be inadequate, the investigation could lead the first remodel of U.S. antitrust laws in decades. "There is growing evidence that a handful of gatekeepers have come to capture control over key arteries of online commerce, content, and communications," Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, said in a statement Monday announcing the probe. Representatives from both parties have expressed concerns over the rapid growth of big tech and the government's ability to regulate these companies. Massachusetts Senator and 2020 presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren, among the top of the Democratic pack for the nomination, has proposed legislation to break up major tech companies like Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Google. The announcement of a congressional investigation comes just after reports that the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission are planning probes of the tech giants. "Given the growing tide of concentration and consolidation across our economy, it is vital that we investigate the current state of competition in digital markets and the health of the antitrust laws," Nadler said. WATCH: Is this the beginning of the end for big tech as we know it? Oliver Kelly, 1 year old, cries as he is carried off the sheriff's airboat during his rescue from rising flood waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in Leland, North Carolina, September 16, 2018. Jonathan Drake | Reuters The House passed a long awaited $19 billion disaster aid package Monday that, pending President Donald Trump's signature, would send relief to areas of the U.S. battered by storms. The chamber approved the measure by a 354-58 vote after Republicans blocked three previous attempts to pass it unanimously. Only GOP members voted against it Monday. As the Senate has already cleared the bill, it will head to Trump's desk for his approval. Trump, who objected to past disaster relief efforts over funding allotted for the hurricane-ravaged U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, said he would support the plan passed Monday. The measure also directs money to areas of red-leaning states such as Florida, Georgia and Iowa damaged by storms and flooding. Both Democrats and Republicans representing areas smacked by storms, earthquakes and wildfires wanted Congress to pass the aid package more quickly. Trump had opposed sending more money to Puerto Rico and pushed for $4.5 billion more to address migration at the southern U.S. border two stances from which he eventually retreated. The bill sends $900 million to Puerto Rico for nutritional assistance and block grants. It also allots grant money and funds to rebuild infrastructure in pockets of the country hit by storms. Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group has reportedly hit a roadblock as it seeks to raise money for its latest fund, according to the Wall Street Journal. In a bid to raise $100 billion for its next fund, SoftBank has faced a lukewarm reception from some of the world's largest investors some of whom "plan to make limited or no contributions," reported the Journal, citing people familiar with the issue. Investors mentioned in the report include the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as well as Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. Earlier in May, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said the second fund will match its first and landmark Vision Fund I at $100 billion. At that time, Son also said many investors from the first fund were showing "high interest" in its latest fund, along with new investors globally. But the latest report from the Journal suggests otherwise, saying that many large funds were supposedly apathetic toward giving money to another party when they already have their own means for direct investment in late-stage startups. Even those with less expertise are said to be concerned about the fund's lack of transparency and governance, the WSJ said. For its part, a SoftBank spokesperson told the Journal that concerns about large investors being lukewarm to the second Vision Fund were "misleading and even inaccurate." Softbank did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The company's shares tanked during Monday trade, plunging 6.22% on the day. SoftBank's Vision Fund I was known for making large bets in companies such as ride-hailing giants Uber, Grab and Didi Chuxing. It also made investments in messaging platform Slack as well as The We Company, formerly known as WeWork, which provides shared spaces for start-ups. That fund was dominated by investments from the Saudi Arabian government. For its latest fund, Son reportedly wants a wider investor pool, the Journal said. In May, the WSJ reported that SoftBank was considering a public debut for Vision Fund I, which also invests in tech companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and Foxconn. Read the Wall Street Journal report on SoftBank's challenges in raising funding for its latest fund here. Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Human Rights Campaign dinner at Ohio State University, Saturday, June 1, 2019, in Columbus, Ohio. While Joe Biden was catching flak for skipping a Democratic convention in California over the weekend, two of his senior campaign advisors met with fundraisers in the Bay Area to hash out a strategy to beat out other 2020 candidates in the cash game. The Biden advisors, Symone Sanders and Cristobal Alex, gathered Sunday with more than two dozen bundlers people who raise money from high-dollar donors at the San Francisco home of Sandy Robertson, co-founder of private equity firm Francisco Partners, according to people familiar with the matter. Other financiers at the private huddle included Richard Blum, an investment banker and husband of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein; veteran trial lawyer Joseph Cotchett; Steve Westly, founder of tech investment firm the Westly Group; Denise Bauer, former U.S. ambassador to Belgium; and Wade Randlett, the president of Dashboard Technology. Robertson confirmed to CNBC that the meeting took place but declined to provide details. "We had a very successful meeting, but I cannot comment beyond that at the moment," he said in an email. Robertson hosted high-dollar fundraisers for President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during their presidential runs. Blum, Feinstein's husband, has invested in Democratic campaigns for years as well and was part of the host committee for a Hollywood fundraiser that raked in $700,000 for Biden's campaign in May. Cotchett helped raise up to $100,000 for Obama's 2008 run for president, according to data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Sanders tweeted a picture of her and Alex talking to supporters in California about their efforts on the West Coast. Tweet: Biden's campaign declined to comment. Beyond Robertson, the attendees mentioned in this story did not respond to requests for comment. The meeting happened while Biden spoke at Human Rights Campaign's Pride Month Gala in Ohio and more than a dozen of his rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination attended the California Democratic Party State Convention. Biden's decision to miss the California convention is the latest indication he's trying to approach the White House race differently from his rivals in the field. While other candidates were speaking to fellow Democrats in a state that solidly supports Democratic candidates, Biden, who has a wide lead in polls of Democratic voters, was in a state President Donald Trump won by 8 percentage points in 2016 after Obama won it in 2008 and 2012. Yet California, the country's most populous state, is also crucial to Biden's chances in the primary and financial races. California has nearly twice as many delegates as any other state. In the last presidential election cycle, donors from the Golden State gave a combined $756 million to candidates, according to the CRP. Almost 70% of that went to Democrats. Some California delegates took to social media to blast Biden for dodging the convention. Cari Templeton tweeted out a picture of a California highway sign with graffiti that says, "Biden can't win Michigan." She added: "True, don't ya know. And apparently he doesn't need to appear in #California either." Tweet: At the private gathering Sunday, Biden's advisors and the financiers agreed to hold at least three fundraisers in the Bay Area, according to attendees who described the details of the event on the condition of anonymity. The events, which will feature Biden himself as the marquee guest, will all be at the homes of established Biden supporters. There was also talk that Biden's wife, Jill, would be a featured guest at one of the events. There is no firm timeline yet for the events, but Biden will be in the area soon. CNBC first reported on Biden's allies setting the stage for a San Francisco-focused fundraising tour that will also include a stop in Silicon Valley and is expected to take place at the end of June. The group also gave updates on how much they've raised for Biden throughout northern California in the early stages of his campaign. Last year, San Francisco donors gave Democrats $155 million during the midterm election cycle. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017. As the U.S.-China tariff battle increasingly heats up, analysts from J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley say it's looking likely that there will not be any trade deal coming out of the G-20 summit in Japan this month. The summit has been cast as a possible opportunity for the opposing sides to ink a deal, with market watchers expecting that both Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping would be in attendance. But Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen would not confirm at a press conference Sunday whether Trump and Xi would actually meet at the meeting at the end of June. He said only that China will send representatives to those coming events in Japan. But on Monday, experts from both J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley told CNBC that the rhetoric from both sides in recent weeks has worsened to a point where it's appearing improbable that there would be a deal at least in the short term. "My personal expectation is no deal. If you look at the position on both sides, you see a significant reduction in degrees of freedom the commentary out of the Chinese side for specific, effectively pre-negotiating points that must be met," said James Sullivan, head of equity research for Asia excluding Japan at J.P. Morgan. He continued: "If you look at the U.S. side very, very hawkish tone not just from the president but throughout the entire administration ... I think that makes it very difficult to see a deal on a short-term basis." Jonathan Garner, Morgan Stanley's emerging markets strategist, echoed that sentiment. "It's looking more likely no deal than deal at this point," he said. Last month, Trump announced that tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would go up from 10% to 25%. The U.S. has also begun looking into whether $300 billion of other Chinese goods will be subject to tariffs. Finally, the U.S. put Chinese tech giant Huawei on a list that essentially prevents it from conducting business with American companies. In turn, China responded with its own levies and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui said last week that provoking trade disputes amounted to "naked economic terrorism." Chinese media also warned the U.S. that Beijing could cut off industrially significant rare earth minerals as a retaliatory measure in the escalating trade battle. This 1998 frame from video provided by C-SPAN shows George Nader, president and editor of Middle East Insight. As an adviser to Abu Dhabi's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Nader worked throughout 2017 with Elliott Broidy, a fundraiser for President Donald Trump, in a secretive lobbying effort to alter U.S. policy in the Middle East. George Nader, a Middle East power broker who cooperated with former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, was arrested Monday on a federal charge of transporting child pornography. Nader, who after the election of President Donald Trump was asked by a leading Russian money manager to introduce him to officials in Trump's transition team, was taken into custody at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to federal prosecutors in Virginia, who are handling the case. A 60-year-old citizen of Lebanon and the United States, Nader appeared later Monday in federal court in Brooklyn at a bail hearing, where prosecutor Miriam Glazer urged Judge Cheryl Pollak to detain him on the grounds that he is a danger to the community and a flight risk. Pollak ordered Nader detained overnight as she asked for additional medical information about Nader and a person who would secure his release bond if granted. The bail hearing is due to resume Tuesday afternoon The complaint against him was unsealed in Virginia federal court on Monday after his arrest. But that complaint was actually filed in April 2018, three months after he was interviewed by FBI agents in January 2018 at Washington Dulles International Airport about a matter "unrelated to child pornography," according to the complaint. It was during that encounter that Nader was first asked to cooperate with the special counsel. Three of Nader's iPhones were seized at the time. And at least one of them was later found to contain videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the complaint unsealed Monday. It is not the first time Nader has faced legal jeopardy in the United States for child porn. He was convicted of the same charge in Virginia in 1991 and sentenced to six months in prison. He faced another similar charge in 1985 that was dismissed on the basis of an invalid search warrant. An attorney for Nader did not respond to a request for comment. Nader helped arrange a January 2017 meeting in the Seychelles between Erik Prince and Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, who reported directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Mueller's report on his investigation. Prince, founder of the private security company Academi formerly Blackwater is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. That meeting was set up after Dmitriev asked Nader "to request a meeting with the 'key people' in the incoming [Trump] administration as soon as possible in light of the [g]reat results" of Trump's election victory, according to Mueller's report. Nader has played a role in the diplomatic efforts of some U.S. presidents. He worked on President George H.W. Bush's efforts to release hostages held in Lebanon, and later was involved in President Bill Clinton's attempt at reaching a peace deal between Israel and Syria, according to CNN. Nader faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years if convicted, the Justice Department said. Billionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban has proposed a solution for income inequality that doesn't involve dismantling capitalism: Business owners should give all their employees equity. "The biggest issue for entrepreneurs, for capitalists, for those of us who are successful is, if someone is only going to be paid by the hour...they're always going to fall behind," Cuban told Recode Decode with Kara Swisher at the 2019 SALT Conference in Las Vegas. "And income distribution is [the] disparity is going to get wider and wider." So, said Cuban, "We as entrepreneurs have got to make a point to give stock to everybody that works for us. Period. End of story. No exceptions, because that's the only way people are going to get any type of equity appreciation." If entrepreneurs give their employees an ownership stake in the company, then employees can reap the benefits of its success as the value of the stake grows, said Cuban, often substantially. Uber's first employee, Ryan Graves, for example, is now worth more than a billion dollars thanks to the company stock he got as part of his employment. And many of Cuban's former employees became millionaires, he tells CNBC Make It. Cuban says that he gave all his employees stock at the two companies he founded Microsolutions, a computer consulting service he sold to Compuserve in 1990, and Broadcast.com, an online streaming service he sold to Yahoo in 1999 for almost $6 billion in stock. "300 out of 330 [Broadcast.com] employees became millionaires" at the time of its sale, Cuban tells CNBC Make It. Giving employees a stake in the company they work for is feasible for small companies as well as larger companies, Cuban tweeted Monday. "Small business are the ones best situated to offer equity. They are more like families." TWEET: The owner can own 70, 80 even 90 percent , but if the owner pays out 10percent to employees , it's a better company According to Cuban, "capitalism isn't bad. It's when capitalists don't pay attention" that bad things can happen," he told Swisher. "Our country is a lot like running a business...you can't just look at the short term in the immediate aspect, you've got to look at the long term," he said. Chinese travelers are showing some reluctance to vacation in the U.S. due to the trade war between Washington and Beijing, Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson told CNBC on Monday. "They don't feel as welcome in the United States," said Sorenson, saying their apprehension is "affecting the coastal markets," such as New York and Los Angeles, the most. However, Sorenson said on "Squawk Box" that with hindsight he would not have done anything differently in terms of his company's strategy in China. "I don't know that we'd change anything about the last six months," he said, despite the U.S.-China trade and economic disputes becoming more entrenched over that time period. "We're about 350 [or] 360 hotels open in China. We're opening one or two a week. They tend to be at the high end. We have a very strong business in China," he explained. "They own the real estate. We manage the real estate for them." Sorenson said the U.S.-China trade war is "relevant in the way we worry about it," but the hotel sector has not really been impacted. "We don't need protection for the hotel business." On Sunday, China took a firm official stance against the U.S. on trade, issuing a white paper that illustrates a widening gap between the two sides. The document labels the U.S. as an untrustworthy negotiator, with China's vice commerce minister saying at a news conference, "the U.S. has backtracked, and when you give them an inch, they want a yard." Last month, President Donald Trump announced that tariffs rates on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would go up from 10% to 25%. The U.S. has also begun investigating whether $300 billion of other Chinese goods could be subject to tariffs. China has put reciprocal tariffs on U.S. products. In a widening scope beyond trade, the U.S. also put Chinese telecom giant Huawei on an list that essentially prevents it from conducting business with U.S. companies. As for the American economy, Sorenson said: "We're about two-thirds U.S., a third the rest of the world. I think when you look at 'the economy' broadly at various places around the world, the U.S. is steady but moderate." The economy is not as strong as the market first thought in January and February and not as weak as the market has been signalling lately, he said. However, Sorenson said: "I think the consumer is still fairly robust. I think we're seeing international rivals to the United States decline or decline relative to the rest of the world." Earlier this month, Marriott announced that Sorenson was diagnosed with stage 2 pancreatic cancer, but will continue in his role while being treated. He told CNBC on Monday: "I feel great. It's one of the things that makes this battle a little bit surreal is I almost won't even know I was fighting it." "But I'm in the midst of round three, it starts tomorrow, of chemo. It's good to be engaged in the battle. We'll take it one day at a time. I feel great. I'm working everyday," Sorenson added. zhongguo The world's energy mix is changing. Across the world, major companies and countries are turning to renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal to green their operations and become more sustainable. But what do all these terms mean? Here, CNBC's "Sustainable Energy" takes a look at some of the most important words and phrases in the renewable energy lexicon. Biomass Ashley Cooper | Hulton Archive | Getty Images The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines biomass as being "any organic matter" that is "available on a renewable basis." This could include organic waste from industrial sources, or feedstock from plants or animals. Bioenergy is energy produced from "products derived from biomass," according to the IEA. It represents around 9% of the planet's primary energy supply, the agency says. Geothermal Brian Bumby | Moment | Getty Images Described by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a "vital, clean energy resource," geothermal energy refers to heat from below the Earth's surface which can be used to produce renewable energy. The DOE adds that geothermal energy "supplies renewable power around the clock" but emits little or no greenhouse gases. Hydropower Laurie Noble | The Image Bank | Getty Images Energy that comes from the flow of water. Turbines are crucial components of hydropower systems it's the powerful flow of water that "drives" them, producing electricity. The IEA describes hydropower as the world's largest source of renewable electricity. Renewable energy Wind farm with solar panels in southern California 4kodiak | E+ | Getty Images A phrase that encompasses a vast amount of other words, terms and energy production methods. The U.S. Energy Information Administration describes it as "energy from sources that are naturally replenishing but flow-limited." These sources are "virtually inexhaustible in duration." Examples of renewable energy include solar, wind, geothermal and wave power. Solar power Muriel de Seze | Photonica World | Getty Images Energy from the sun. Can be harnessed in several ways, including through photovoltaic and concentrated solar power systems (CSP). Photovoltaic refers to a way of directly converting light from the sun into electricity. For CSP systems, the Solar Energy Industries Association describes them as using mirrors "to concentrate the Sun's energy to drive traditional steam turbines or engines that create electricity." Tidal power The 2 megawatt SR2000 turbine produced more than 3 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity in less than 12 months. Scotrenewables Tidal Power Energy that's produced from the tides of the sea. According to the major utility EDF, tidal power makes use of "the differential between low and high tides to generate electricity." Tidal power is predictable, carbon-free and inexhaustible. In August 2018, it was announced that a tidal stream turbine had generated record levels of production in its initial year of testing at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney, Scotland. The 2-megawatt SR2000 turbine produced more than 3 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity in 12 months. Wave power mattpaul | RooM | Getty Images Wave power is described by the IEA as being the "kinetic and potential energy associated with ocean waves." The European Commission has described "ocean energy" as being both abundant and renewable. Ocean energy could potentially contribute around 10% of the European Union's power demand by 2050, according to the Commission. Wind energy Konstantin Sahnjuk | EyeEm Premium | Getty Images Roger Stone, former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Court House May 30, 2019 in Washington, DC. Lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the charges of obstruction, lying and witness tampering against Stone that stem from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Roger Stone, a longtime associate of President Donald Trump's, posted a "Wanted for Treason" image featuring photos of Trump critic and former CIA chief John Brennan on his social media accounts. Stone, who has called himself a political dirty trickster, also blasted the catalyst for the counterintelligence inquiry that led to special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, and ultimately to Stone's own current prosecution for multiple alleged crimes. The post made last week on Stone's Facebook and Instagram accounts comes less than four months after the federal judge in his criminal case imposed a gag order on Stone, restricting his ability to comment publicly about his case and related issues. According to a Newsweek story published Sunday, Stone, in a separate Instagram video story, featured a photo of Brennan with the words: "This psycho must be charged, tried, convicted ... and hung for treason." The video story since has been removed. Sam Vinograd, CNN's national security analyst and a member the National Security Council during the administration of President Barack Obama, Sunday on Twitter reported that story to Instagram, which responded to her by saying the post had been taken down "because it violated our Community Guidelines." The gag order on longtime Republican operative Stone came after he posted earlier this year, also on Instagram, a photo of his case's judge, Amy Berman Jackson, next to the crosshairs of a rifle scope. A worker wraps cargo in plastic before it is loaded into a shipping container at the Port of Veracruz in Veracruz, Mexico. Main street groups are sounding off on President Donald Trump's latest round of tariff proposals this time levied on goods imported from Mexico. Last week Trump threatened to put 5% tariffs on Mexican goods beginning on June 10, with gradual increases as high as 25% this year. The argument from some small business advocates is that these companies have less ability and time to reconfigure supply chains ahead of the June increase. Optimism has climbed steadily and held near record levels since Trump won the presidential election in 2016, bolstered by deregulation and a tax code overhaul. However, in recent months, business groups have begun to express concern, taking issue with ongoing trade tensions and the impact frayed relationships may have on bottom lines. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council's President and CEO Karen Kerrigan said in a statement, "the use of tariffs as a leverage or a negotiating strategy does not appear to be working with our trading partners." The SBE Council highlighted data from the International Trade Administration that shows small and mid-sized businesses dominate trade with Mexico some 58% of those 15,000-plus businesses that import from Mexico have fewer than 20 employees, and 70% have less than 50 workers. The group expressed concern that the tariffs will jeopardize the revised NAFTA deal, now know as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. "The newly announced Mexico tariffs, if acted upon, are not only bad for small businesses and entrepreneurs but come at a horrible time. Mexico and Canada are moving forward with ratification of USMCA, and this new action undermines trust and the potential passage of this important agreement," Kerrigan said. "Congress must step up on this critical matter and work with President Trump's team to resolve the growing influx of illegal immigrants and related humanitarian crisis. Imposing new taxes on Americans is not the answer." Recent data from the National Federation of Independent Business finds more than one-third of small business owners reported somewhat or significant negative impacts as a result of recent trade policy changes with Mexico, Canada or China. The group said it is too early to know how the most recent tariffs on Mexican imports might impact small businesses. "Small businesses account for about half of the economy, and while the current trade debate heavily focuses on the impact of tariffs and retaliatory actions on the markets, the effects on small businesses often go overlooked," said Adam Temple, communications director at NFIB, in a statement. Meanwhile, the National Small Business Association says that while the U.S. immigration system the reason Trump says he is pushing forward with tariffs on Mexican imports in the first place is a "critical issue that needs to be addressed," tariffs are not the way. "These kinds of punitive tariffs can be greatly damaging to small businesses who rely on imported goods to provide a service, and can further harm small businesses looking to export due to retaliatory tariffs," NSBA President and CEO Todd McCracken said in a statement. "Under this plan, affected small businesses will have less than two weeks to overhaul their supply chain or face significant, escalating price increases." Check out the companies making headlines midday Monday: Alphabet, Facebook Alphabet shares tanked more than 6% after news that the Justice Department was preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Google. According to reports, the probe would look into Google's search practices and other businesses. Facebook shares also fell 7.5% amid worries of the broader tech sector falling under greater government scrutiny. Amgen, Mirati Therapeutics Shares of biotech company Amgen jumped 3.4% after results from a cancer study examining Amgen's gene therapy drug showed significant reduction in the size of tumors in patients with advanced lung cancer. Promising results also drove shares of Mirati up 31.6% as the biotech company is also developing a drug that targets the same gene mutation. DuPont Shares of DuPont jumped 17.8% after a Morgan Stanley analyst initiated coverage of the chemical company with an overweight rating. The analyst said it sees value in DuPont regardless of whether it becomes a "true multi-industry" company or keeps its businesses separated. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries An analyst at Oppenheimer upgraded Teva to outperform from perform, citing improving fundamentals and "in line" execution from management. The stock rose 2.9%. Waste Management Shares of Waste Management climbed more than 1.9% after an RBC Capital Markets analyst upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. "We see Waste Management delivering out-sized earnings growth, driven by sustained organic growth rates," the analyst said in a note. Cypress Semiconductor Cypress Semiconductor surged more than 23.9% on news that German company Infineon will buy the chip-maker for $23.85 per share. The sale values Cypress at $10.06 billion. Infineon's share price fell 7.1% Monday on the news. Humana Shares of Humana gained 1.2% after an SEC filing revealed that the company is not interested in merging with health insurer Centene. This deal would have diverged from Centene's plans to acquire WellCare Health Plans. Centene shares dropped more than 9%. Nektar Therapeutics The biotechnology stock rose jumped 8.8% after the company released positive trial results for bempegaldesleukin, a drug that aims to boost a cancer patient's immune system. Advanced Micro Devices Advanced Micro Devices gained 0.6% after the chipmaker announced a multi-year deal with Samsung to license its custom graphics intellectual property for use in its mobile devices. Samsung will be paying AMD license fees and royalties. Boeing Shares of aircraft-maker Boeing fell 0.8% after the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday that more than 300 Boeing 737 jets may have faulty parts. The FAA said it is forcing airlines to remove and replace any plane parts that are affected. The FAA said as many as 148 parts could be "susceptible to premature failure or cracks." CNBC's Maggie Fitzgerald and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report. Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Check out the companies making headlines before the bell: Apple Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference Monday and is reportedly set to announce the end of its iTunes store. Bloomberg reports that iTunes functions will be divided among three newly developed applications. Alphabet Alphabet's Google unit is the subject of an upcoming antitrust probe by the Justice Department, according to multiple reports. The probe will focus on Google's search and other businesses. Cypress Semiconductor The chipmaker will be bought by Germany's Infineon for $23.85 per share in cash, a 34 percent premium over Friday's close. The deal is valued at $10.1 billion including assumed debt. FedEx China is launching a probe of FedEx following accusations that packages intended for telecom giant Huawei were diverted. Humana In an SEC filing, Humana said it did not intend to make a proposal to combine with health insurer Centene as an alternative to Centene's planned acquisition of WellCare Health Plans. Humana said this statement was a one-time exception to its policy of not commenting on market rumors. Goldman Sachs Goldman is buying Capital Vision Services manager of the MyEyeDr optometry practices from a private equity firm and a Canadian pension fund. Goldman did not reveal financial details but the Wall Street Journal reports that the deal is worth $2.7 billion. Blackstone Group Blackstone is buying industrial warehouse assets from Singapore logistics provider GLP For $18.7 billion, in what Blackstone said is the largest-ever private real estate transaction. Boeing - Some of Boeing's 737 MAX jets may have faulty parts, according to the FAA. Boeing said it has identified 20 jets that most likely to have faulty parts and plans to check another 159 for the same parts. Facebook Facebook has been in contact with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission about rolling out a digital currency, according to the Financial Times. Fiat Chrysler Fiat Chrysler is discussing an improved bid for French carmaker Renault, according to Reuters, in order to win backing from the French government for a deal. Merck, AstraZeneca The drug makers reported upbeat study results involving their Lynparza drug. The treatment successfully stalled the advance of pancreatic cancer in certain patients. Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands These and other casino operators in Macau may see their stocks benefit after gaming revenue in Macau hit a five month high in May. Waste Management Waste Management was upgraded to "outperform" from "sector perform" at RBC Capital, which cited the company's unique positioning within its sector. Salesforce.com J.P. Morgan Securities removed the stock from its "Analyst Focus List", based on current valuation following a 2 year gain of 121 percent. Success can mean different things to different people. For some, it's fame and fortune. For others, it's a prestigious job. But at the end of the day, it all comes down to how much value you bring to the world. As Bill Gates once said, "When a country has the skill and self-confidence to take action against its biggest problems, it makes outsiders eager to be a part of it." Recently, Stanford Business magazine asked faculty members from the Stanford Graduate School of Business to recommend books that inspired them to place the common good above their own personal interests: 1. "We Were the Lucky Ones," by Georgia Hunter Recommended by Szu-chi Huang, Associate Professor of Marketing Inspired by the true story of a Jewish family who was separated at the start of World War II, this novel demonstrates the resolve and power of the human spirit. Georgia Hunter says it took her nearly a decade of research to write "We Were the Lucky Ones." She recorded family narratives, translated old letters and documents and reached out to a number of people, museums and organizations. This truly moving novel shows that even in the toughest battles, empathy and love can be our strongest weapons. 2. "Swimming With Sharks: My Journey Into the World of Bankers," by Joris Luyendijk Recommended by Peter A.E. Koudijs, Associate Professor of Finance It's interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at the ugly underbelly of the financial sector: A brewing pot of toxic culture, burnout, backstabbing and bonus-obsessed co-workers especially through the lens of Joris Luyendijk, an investigative journalist who knew very little about banking prior to writing the book. While "Swimming with Sharks" is a tale of greed and dishonesty, it does offer plenty of insight into what future leaders in the sector can do to implement a culture driven by positive values. 3. "No Longer at Ease," by Chinua Achebe Recommended by Scotty McLennan, Lecturer in Political Economy From the author of the best-selling book "Things Fall Apart," this novel tells the story of a young and educated man who returns home from university abroad full of high hopes and new principles. Andrew Herdman, DG of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Ramesh Pathania | Mint | Hindustan Times | Getty Images The ongoing trade war between the United States and China is negatively affecting air cargo demand for Asian airlines, according to the director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, a regional trade body. Asian airlines are major players in the air cargo industry and carry almost 40% of global volume, Andrew Herdman told CNBC's Chery Kang at the International Air Transport Association's annual general meeting in Seoul, South Korea. "We're certainly seeing the effects. We're not just spectators," he said. "Year-on-year, we're seeing negative growth in cargo. We saw growth slowing last year, but now it's negative year-on-year that's been a very weak start to the year." The trade war is "rippling out" beyond the U.S. and China, and is disrupting global supply chains in other Asian countries, Herdman added. Global slowdown Last week, IATA released data for global air freight markets that showed worldwide demand fell 4.7% on-year in April, continuing the negative trend in demand that started in January. Demand for Asia Pacific airlines fell by 7.4% over the same period the sixth consecutive month of decline for the region. Trade uncertainties triggered by Brexit, as well as tariff tensions between the U.S. and China contributed to declining new export orders and the weakness is likely to persist in the coming months, according to IATA, the global trade association for airlines. "Asia is exposed to the consequences of trade war or protectionism because the main traffic flows, in terms of cargo or goods, is within Asia or going from Asia to the rest of the world," Alexandre de Juniac, CEO and director general of IATA, told CNBC. Eventually, maybe, there would be an impact given our biggest trading partners are China and the U.S., but we have a free trade agreement with both countries. Alan Joyce CEO of Qantas IATA also slashed its 2019 profit outlook for airlines. It expects profits to come in at $28 billion for the year, a decline from the $30 billion reported in 2018. IATA had previously predicted 2019 profits to come in at $35.5 billion. The outcome for the second half of the year remains unpredictable, according to Herdman. For Asia Pacific airlines that means having to think about their sourcing decisions and determining if they want to shift the direction of their supply chains and diversify their sources, he said. "It's very difficult for them because the political twists and turns can make strategic decisions invalid." Airlines are also facing other challenges, Herdman added, which include higher fuel prices that are squeezing their margins since most of that cost has not been passed on to passengers. For one airline in the region, the trade fight between the world's two largest economies has yet to have an impact. Australia's national carrier Qantas is not yet seeing the impact of the trade war, its CEO told CNBC on Monday. "Eventually, maybe, there would be an impact given our biggest trading partners are China and the U.S., but we have a free trade agreement with both countries," Alan Joyce said, adding Australia is undergoing sector-specific booms in areas like resources. He said Qantas was gaining market share and that the leisure market out of Australia was extremely strong. "Overall, we're seeing the healthiest revenue environment that we've ever had in our 99-year history," Joyce added. A silver lining President Donald Trump on Monday called for a boycott of AT&T to force "big changes" at subsidiary CNN, which Trump often accuses of biased and negative coverage of his administration. "I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News!" the president tweeted from the U.K., just as he began a state visit, misspelling "stopped." Trump tweet Representatives for AT&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNN has previously pushed back on Trump's criticism. In a November 2017 tweet to the president, the network said: "It's not CNN's job to represent the U.S to the world. That's yours." CNN2017 tweet Trump has frequently attacked CNN's coverage of him, dating to his time as a presidential candidate. On the campaign trail in 2016, he vowed to block AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner, which included CNN among its most prominent assets. Indeed, the Trump Justice Department did challenge the blockbuster $85.4 billion deal. A federal judge had ruled last June that the merger was legal, but the DOJ appealed the next month, after the deal officially closed. Then, in February, a federal judge again ruled in AT&T's favor and the Justice Department let the matter go. However, House Democrats are looking into whether Trump told his one-time top economic advisor Gary Cohn to use the Justice Department to block the AT&T-Time Warner deal. The White House in April denied lawmakers' request for documents that might show whether Trump sought to intervene in the acquisition. The Justice Department's antitrust head said in 2018 that he never received orders, instructions or directions regarding the AT&T-Time Warner deal from Trump, White House officials or other DOJ officials. Xem them ... Tin bai cuoi cung Khong con du lieu e load President Donald Trump's plan to impose a 5% tariff on Mexican goods could cost the U.S. economy more than 400,000 jobs and hit Texas especially hard, according to a new analysis. "Based on patterns over the past several years, the job loss is roughly equivalent to about two months of recent job gains," said M. Ray Perryman, president and CEO of the Perryman Group, a Texas economic consulting firm. On Thursday, the White House announced the U.S. plans to slap 5% tariffs on Mexican goods starting June 10. It said it will gradually increase that amount to 25% on Oct. 1 until Mexico "substantially stops the illegal inflow of aliens coming through its territory." According to Perryman's analysis, proposed tariffs could result in job losses topping 117,000 in Texas and approximately 50,000 in California. The researcher estimates overall job losses in the U.S. from the 5% tariff would reach about 406,000. The impacts of the administration's trade policies on a red state such as Texas raises potential political risks for Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential election. It also comes amid the ongoing trade war with Beijing that has resulted in a decline in major agricultural exports to China, including soybeans and pork produced in many Midwestern states where Trump enjoyed strong support in the 2016 election. "Mexico has long been a top trading partner for the United States," said Perryman. "In fact, Mexico recently passed China to become the largest, due in part to trade issues with China which have reduced the volume of US-China trade. To impose a tariff on all goods from our largest trading partner will cause significant cost increases and other harms to the economy." Perryman's analysis estimates that the largest number of job losses nationally would be in retail trade, followed by manufacturing. The analysis was based on one-year impacts of tariffs if they are imposed and maintained. "Much is at stake for both nations," the Texas firm's report said. "If Mexico retaliates and imposes tariffs on the U.S., which is likely, the negative effects on the economy would be even greater." After the Trump administration last year imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from Mexico and other nations, Mexico retaliated with levies on $3 billion of U.S. goods, including cheeses, pork, whiskey and certain fruits. The U.S. threat to slap 5% tariffs on all Mexican goods follows the administration announcing just last month that it struck a deal with Mexico to lift steel and aluminum tariffs. Mexico has embarked on a campaign to halt Trump's planned tariffs while also expressing hope that they can reach a migration deal with the U.S. Talks are scheduled Wednesday in Washington between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mexico's top diplomat, Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard. "Texas would bear the lion's share of this loss given the extensive commerce that occurs between the state and Mexico," said the Perryman report. Last year, Texas imported more than $107 billion worth of goods from Mexico and sold nearly $110 billion of exports. U.S. imports from Mexico last year surpassed $346.5 billion while exports topped $265 billion. "A 5% tariff on all imports coming to the U.S. from Mexico would likely cause costs to U.S. consumers and businesses to rise substantially," said the report. "People and firms in the U.S. would pay more for Mexico goods because while tariffs are collected at the border, they are largely passed on to consumers and producers." When adjusted for likely price increases from Mexican goods the U.S. imports, the Perryman analysis estimates the 5% tariff by itself would result in $28.1 billion in increased direct costs annually. The study said costs of tariffs would be felt by American consumers and producers and across supply chains, resulting in negative impacts for the U.S. economy. Finally, the economic analysis estimates that when multiplier effects are taken into account the 5% tariff on all imports from Mexico could cause a hit of about $41.5 billion to the gross domestic product. It also said there is economic risk longer term given that the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement a replacement deal for the North American Free Trade Agreement still hasn't been ratified and "negotiations could become more difficult." Graphic by CNBC's John Schoen. President Donald Trump's first state visit to Britain comes fraught with the possibility of diplomatic peril, with a Conservative Party leadership contest as well as differences over Huawei and Iran likely to test the resolve of the so-called "special relationship." The president and his wife, Melania, arrived in the U.K.on Monday to begin their three-day trip. It will include a private lunch and banquet dinner at Buckingham Palace with Queen Elizabeth II, tea with Prince Charles and a visit to Westminster Abbey. The visit comes at a time when cracks are widening in the trans-Atlantic relationship, with political analysts concerned his "off-the-cuff" and "impulsive" leadership style could make matters worse over the coming days. "I would say the special relationship is certainly on shaky ground," Cailin Birch, global economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC via telephone. Indeed, just before touching down at Stansted Airport, Trump took to Twitter to blast London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who in a weekend opinion piece likened Trump to the fascists who roiled Europe in the 20th century. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me," Trump said of the mayor. Trade disputes with countries across the world demonstrate the U.S. president's "America First" approach to bilateral partnerships, Birch said. He added that Trump's combative approach to traditional Western allies represents a "fundamental shift" in U.S. foreign policy. Some in the U.S. and U.K. have prided themselves on sharing a cultural, political and commercial bond that has long been called the "special relationship." The phrase was first used in 1946 by then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, with the U.S. and U.K. having overcome the global turmoil, terror and loss of life of World War II together. The relationship has since then been marked by ongoing commercial and cultural links, helped by a shared language and a willingness to join in military operations, the fight against the Islamic State militant group in Syria and Iraq being the most recent example. But with Trump in the White House, the conventional rules of diplomacy have been ripped up and the dynamic between the U.S. and the U.K., and the rest of the world, is changing. Whether the "special relationship" can survive appears increasingly uncertain. Leadership contest Birch highlighted the Conservative Party leadership contest as one potential diplomatic pitfall, with the U.S. president "unlikely" to show much respect to what he sees as a lame-duck leader. Prime Minister Theresa May announced the timetable for her resignation last month, finally bowing to intense political pressure over the country's Brexit impasse. She will remain as prime minister until after Trump's visit is over, with a replacement set to be appointed over the coming weeks. Ahead of his visit to the U.K., Trump suggested he might meet with Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage and Conservative lawmaker Boris Johnson. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives at Downing Street ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting on July 3, 2018 in London, England. Dan Kitwood | Getty Images In an impromptu exchange with reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump described them both as "friends" and "good guys." The U.S. president has since reaffirmed his admiration for Johnson, who is currently the bookmakers favorite to replace May. "I know the different players. But I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent. I like him. I have always liked him," Trump told the Sun newspaper in an interview published Friday. Huawei "The important thing to understand is that the special relationship is not really about the president and the prime minister," Jacob Parakilas, deputy head of the U.S. and Americas program at the think tank Chatham House in London, told CNBC via telephone. "Having said that, there are a few issues that pose fairly substantial risks to its core elements." One of those issues, and the "most urgent" according to Parakilas, is a simmering dispute over Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Britain has indicated Huawei would be allowed a restricted role in building parts of its next generation 5G communication network. The network is set to bring faster internet speeds and lower lag times it has tremendous potential to change the way people interact with new technologies. The U.S. has told allies not to use Huawei's equipment because of fears it could be used by the Chinese for spying, accusations the telecoms giant has categorically denied. Last month, it was reported the British government would allow Huawei to build out parts of its 5G wireless networks, which would defy U.S. demands for a blanket ban. Trump is reportedly poised to tell the British government in person that Washington may limit intelligence sharing with the U.K. if it allows Huawei to build part of its new 5G network. Iran The other "big issue" for U.S and U.K. officials to discuss, according to Parakilas, would be what to do next when it comes to Iran. Speaking shortly before Trump's visit to Britain, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said the "threat was not over" from Iran and the country would be "held accountable." His comments came amid intensifying tensions between the Trump administration and Western allies, including Britain, over the Iran nuclear deal. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett will "shortly" leave his post, but did not provide a reason for the latest high-level departure from the administration. "Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly. His very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S.," Trump said in a Twitter post on Sunday night as he flew to Europe for a series of state visits. Trump tweet: Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly. His very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S. I want to thank Kevin for all he has done - he is a true friend! Hassett's impending departure comes at a time of drama between the United States and some of its main trade partners. A trade war is brewing between the United States and China, while Trump has vowed to impose punitive tariffs on all Mexican goods in an intensifying dispute over migration. Hassett previously served as a scholar of fiscal policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank before Trump nominated him to the White House role in 2017. In the White House post, he worked with Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner on a proposed immigration plan that the Republican president unveiled in May and had backed a U.S. move to end waivers of sanctions for countries that buy Iranian oil. Trump thanked Hassett for his work, and called him a "true friend" in the Twitter post on Sunday. He did not give any indication on who he would name to replace Hassett. Hassett is poised to become the latest in a long line of senior White House officials and Cabinet secretaries to depart the administration since Trump took office in January 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L) and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer (R) in the White House on March 8, 2018. Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images More than a year after U.S. President Donald Trump fired the first tariff salvo that eventually led to a trade war with China, the debate about who actually bears the burden of those elevated levies has not found a definite conclusion. Trump has on many occasions said the U.S. is collecting billions of dollars in tariffs from China. In fact, the president reiterated that view over the weekend in a Twitter post, saying that "China is paying a heavy cost in that they will subsidize goods to keep them coming, devalue their currency." But Trump's claim has been disputed by many American businesses that import Chinese goods, which argue that they're the ones bearing the brunt of those duties. According to economists, both sides could be right. Footing the bill When Chinese goods arrive in America, importers which are generally American but can also be U.S.-registered entities of foreign firms pay tariffs to customs in order to receive their products. In that sense, American businesses are right that they're the ones footing the bill. But Trump could be right in that, eventually, it may be the Chinese that pay for the consequences of those tariffs, economists said. That would happen if exporters in China slash the prices they charge their American customers and therefore earn lower profits to remain competitive. Effectively, that situation would mean the Chinese companies are paying for the levies going into U.S. government coffers. More often than not, the "real pain" of tariffs is split between the country that impose those levies and the nation targeted, according to Simon Baptist, global chief economist and managing director in Asia at consultancy The Economist Intelligence Unit. That means that everyone along the supply chain of a product targeted by Trump's tariffs from the manufacturer and exporter in China, to importer and consumer in the U.S. will bear some burden. And economists are increasingly focusing their research on how that burden is shared among those involved in moving goods from China to the U.S. Trump on Twitter: We are right where we want to be with China. Remember, they broke the deal with us & tried to renegotiate. We will be taking in Tens of Billions of Dollars in Tariffs from China. Buyers of product can make it themselves in the USA (ideal), or buy it from non-Tariffed countries "How the real pain along with the smaller amount of gain is spread around depends on how prices and quantities in the market adjust in response," Baptist wrote in a May note. He explained that, generally, if China is the only supplier for a product, "more (or all) of the tariff is passed on to US consumers, and the pain is felt by the latter." But in the event that China is merely one of the many countries that sell a product, "prices do not change much and Chinese suppliers lose market share. Then the pain is felt mostly by Chinese producers." "So, the answer very much varies by product, which is why both sides have been selecting the targets so carefully," Baptist wrote. What do we know so far? An expanding body of research has found that the burden of tariffs has mostly fallen on the U.S. One of the latest papers published on the topic is by economics researchers from the International Monetary Fund, Harvard University, University of Chicago and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Using price data collected at the U.S. borders and at retailers, the researchers found "nearly complete pass through of tariffs" to America. In other words, little cost is falling on the Chinese manufacturers. The investigation remains in progress into how much, if at all, retail prices are rising, although some preliminary findings suggest that retailers have absorbed "much of the price impact" and earn lower profit margins from products impacted by Trump's tariffs. How the real pain along with the smaller amount of gain is spread around depends on how prices and quantities in the market adjust in response. Simon Baptist economist, The Economist Intelligence Unit Other studies, though, suggest that consumer prices have gone up in the U.S. as a result of higher levies. One such paper, focusing on washing machines, was published in April by researchers from the Federal Reserve and the University of Chicago. Washers were among the earliest products targeted by the Trump administration, with tariffs from 20% to 50% imposed on nearly all imported large residential washing machines, regardless of their countries of origin. The impact, according to the study, was a nearly 12% jump in the price of washers both imported and domestically produced in the immediate four to eight months after the implementation of the new levies. In addition, the study found that the price of dryers increased by the same magnitude, although they were not subject to elevated tariffs. William Reinsch, senior advisor and Scholl Chair in international business at think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, cited that particular study in an April commentary on the impact of tariffs. He explained that prices of both items went up "because most consumers buy washers and dryers together, and manufacturers realized they could get away with increasing the price of both and simply pocket the extra money." On why the price of washers made in the U.S. also went up even though they're not subject to tariffs, Reinsch said that phenomenon "illustrates the central point of protection to allow domestic producers to raise prices and make more money so they can recover from the damage done to them by the imports." Not all products will react to tariff the same way as washing machines due to different demand and supply dynamics at play. But another study published in March looking at the collective impact of all tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in 2018 found that consumers are bearing the full cost. "We find that the U.S. 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 up to now, with no impact so far on the prices received by foreign exporters. We also find that U.S. producers responded to reduced import competition by raising their prices," wrote researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Columbia University and Princeton University That change in prices has led to an estimated reduction in U.S. real income of $1.4 billion per month by the end of last year, the researchers said. Despite some studies pointing to American consumers eventually paying the cost of tariffs, the U.S. inflation rate has been relatively stable, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. Mary Daly, president and chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said part of the reason inflation has not ticked up is "firms are still not passing along" the increase in costs to consumers. Instead, they appear to mostly be bearing the brunt of the levies themselves. Still, that analysis has not been universally confirmed. In fact, some research indicates that Chinese exporters may be the ones paying the toll. European economists Benedikt Zoller-Rydzek and Gabriel Felbermayr argued in a November 2018 paper that "Chinese firms pay approximately 75% of the tariff burden." In particularly, their analysis found that a 25 percentage point increase in tariffs results in an average 4.5% rise in the price that U.S. consumers pay for Chinese products, but it slashes the price that producers in China charge by 20.5%. Who really loses the US or China? How all parties along the supply chain are affected forms just one part of the overall economic cost of tariffs. Economists also take into account how the changes in prices and sales volume affect the behavior of consumers and companies in the long run. That's ultimately more important for economic growth. Generally, economists predicted that the Chinese economy instead of the U.S. will experience a larger hit from Trump's tariffs. That's partly because the American economy is on better footing, and over the longer term, China may have more to lose because of its larger reliance on exports. Research firm Oxford Economics said in a May report that, if the U.S. and China impose elevated tariffs on all goods they trade, the American economy in 2020 is estimated to grow by 0.5 percentage points less than a no-tariff scenario. Meanwhile, China's economic setback is expected to be 1.3 percentage points, the report said. Yangshan Deepwater Container Port in Shanghai, China. Qilai Shen | Corbis Historical | Getty Images A Boeing Co. B777-300ER aircraft operated by American Airlines Group Inc. stands inside the Qantas Airways Ltd. hangar at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. The U.S. Transportation Department is expected to provide tentative approval to a bid by American Airlines and Qantas Airways to operate a joint venture, two people briefed on the matter said on Sunday. The department is expected to issue an order tentatively approving the joint business agreement and tentatively granting antitrust immunity, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The order, which is expected as early as Monday and would be subject to public comment, is likely to include conditions to protect competition and allow for government oversight of the venture, the sources added. A department spokesman declined to comment on the matter. The application by American and Qantas for a joint venture covering the United States, Australia and New Zealand was tentatively rejected in November 2016 by former President Barack Obama's administration amid opposition from rival carriers Hawaiian Airlines and JetBlue Airways. Regulators in Australia and New Zealand approved the first application for the joint venture before it was rejected by the U.S. Transportation Department. American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said on Sunday the airline feels "we have made a compelling case about the benefits of the joint business for customers, and there was no opposition raised to our proposal. We're hopeful the Qantas joint business will be approved." American and Qantas in February 2018 made a second attempt to gain U.S. regulatory permission under President Donald Trump's administration for a venture that would let them coordinate prices and schedules, threatening to cancel services if it was rejected and arguing it could "unlock" up to $310 million annually in consumer benefits. The revised application made significant changes including removing a provision that would have barred either carrier from codesharing with other carriers. Codesharing is a arrangement between airlines in which two or more carriers publish and advertise a single flight under their own airline number. The airlines argued in their 2018 application that the venture would lead to a reduction in fares and higher capacity as a "more viable third competitor" and require other carriers to respond with improvements to quality, schedules and price. Qantas said last year the joint venture would allow the two airlines to "significantly improve service" and "stimulate demand." The airlines said the agreement could generate up to 180,000 new trips between the United States and Australia and New Zealand annually. The airlines said if the bid were rejected it could result in Qantas reducing the frequency of, downgrading or even cancelling its A380 service between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth, while American may further reduce service between Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland. The airlines started sharing codes on each other's flights in 1989, co-founded the "oneworld" marketing alliance in 1999 and formed a deeper partnership in 2011 without antitrust immunity. American Airlines and Qantas currently rely on codeshare agreements to make those routes economically viable. If the venture is granted final approval, the two could offer more flights, including to cities not currently served by either, they said. U.S. regulators in 2001 approved similar joint venture agreements for United and Air New Zealand and in 2011 for Delta Air Lines and Virgin Australia. Kevin Hassett told CNBC on Monday his impending departure as White House economic advisor is not related to President Donald Trump's tariff threats on China and Mexico. Hassett has been chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers for about two years. "This is something that's been in the works for a little while," Hassett said in "Squawk Box" interview. "If you look at the history of the CEA, it's very normal for the chair to move on after two years." He said he is leaving at the end of this month. Trump tweeted on Sunday that Hassett will "shortly" leave his post, saying he's "done such a great job for me and the administration" and "his very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S." Trump began a five-day trip to Britain, France and Ireland on Monday. Kevin Hassett, who has done such a great job for me and the Administration, will be leaving shortly. His very talented replacement will be named as soon as I get back to the U.S. I want to thank Kevin for all he has done - he is a true friend Hassett, who said he's unsure of his next position, said the departure is partly out of "respect for the institution" and to spend time with his family. "The longer you stay in the White House, the closer you get with everybody in the West Wing," he said. "It's normal, circle of life kind of stuff." Manila (CNN Philippines Life) In 2012, Chrissie Lam went to Kenya and saw the intricate beadwork the women of the Maasai tribe. She then worked with them to create a bracelet embellished with the word love. Fast forward to 2019, Lam has since partnered with American Eagle Outfitters and Whole Foods Market to promote the bracelets. Anne Hathaway has also worn the Love bracelet for Glamour Magazines June 2018 cover story. The enterprise, now called the Love Is Project, has now expanded their production to Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. The Philippines is the 10th country the project seeks to collaborate with. The Love Is Project works with 1,200 female artisans around the world, creating jobs and spreading the message of love, she says. We're working with two groups [who] work with [artisans] in Mindanao and thats where the wood bangles are gonna be made from. Aside from the bangles, the capsule collection also features bracelets made with pearls from Palawan. Lam explains that with every country they work in, there is a conscious effort to create products that highlight the distinct culture, heritage, and history each nation has to offer. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) Grab users should pack more patience as they may have harder time booking through the ride-hailing application. The company said Monday it will deactivate at least 8,000 drivers who have yet to provide proof of their provisional authority to operate from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board by June 10. "This will be done after Grab had acted in good faith that TNVS (transport network vehicle service) partners would comply within the time frame agreed upon with the LTFRB," Grab Philippines said. The regulatory board in December opened 20,000 slots for TNVS units. Application for which will close Friday, June 7. "This will reduce the number of vehicles servicing our commuting public, thus inconveniencing many Filipinos. We hope that this inconvenience will be temporary, as we anticipate new drivers - even those from the 8,000 - to take advantage of the 10,000 new slots for application starting June 10," Brian Cu, president of Grab Philippines, was quoted as saying. In 2017, the LTFRB ordered Grab and its then rival Uber to deactivate more than 50,000 TNVS drivers for lack of franchise or PA. At least 45,000 TNVS drivers are currently registered under Grab Philippines. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) China has committed to remove its fleet of military ships and fishing boats around Philippine-occupied Pag-asa Island following backdoor talks, Ramon Tulfo, a broadcaster turned special envoy of President Rodrigo Duterte, said Monday. "I held several backdoor talks with them and they said they will have those ships disappear and withdrawn in no time," Tulfo told CNN Philippines' The Source. In April, the Department of Foreign Affairs filed a diplomatic protest against China after hundreds of vessels swarmed Pag-asa Island. Pressed further, Tulfo said he started the backdoor talks with ranking Chinese and military officials shortly after he was named as Special Envoy for Public Diplomacy to China in November last year. Discussions were held in Hong Kong and in the Mainland, with the most recent meeting staged in Beijing when Duterte went for a four-day visit in April. Tulfo said that while the Chinese are insisting that "they have the right to occupy the territory," they are unlikely to grow more aggressive anytime soon because they have grown so fond of the Philippine president. "We love him (Duterte) so much that we cannot afford to hurt him and we want you to be our friends. We need you as much as you need us, sabi nila (they said)," Tulfo added. "We need your food because we need to feed our multitude. We need your fish, your aquatic resources, we need your fruits mango, durian, bananas." READ: Duterte on China: Is it right to claim entire South China Sea? Months after assuming office in 2016, Duterte visited Beijing and announced that the Philippines will "pivot" to China to revive and deepen economic ties, effectively reversing the hardline stance taken by former Pres. Benigno Aquino III in the context of the territorial row. The last known backdoor negotiator for the Philippines with China was Senator Antonio Trillanes IV during Aquino's term. The informal talks back then were aimed at diffusing tension over Scarborough Shoal. The Philippines lost control of Scarborough after a 2012 standoff with China, prompting Manila to file a case for international arbitration. In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Abritration in The Hague invalidated China's sweeping claims to the South China Sea. Aside from the Philippines and China, Brunei, Vietnman, Malaysia and Taiwan also have claims in the South China Sea. Tulfo said the Chinese have been "very polite" during their informal discussions, and that they have committed to pulling out their ships from the disputed island. "No, no, they don't want to be enemies with us," Tulfo said. "Ang sabi nila, we'll make the ships disappear in no time. Sabi ko, please, our troops there feel very uncomfortable. But they said they should not feel uncomfortable because we're not going to harm them. We just want to make our presence felt," he added. However, Tulfo said that he will organize further informal meetings with the Chinese authorities to see if they follow through. The Washington-based think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative has reported that China's "most destructive" vessels have returned to sail near the Scarborough Shoal, Paracel Islands, and Bombay Reef to harvest endangered giant clams called taklobo which they sell for thousands of dollars apiece. Tulfo said that the clam harvesting has not been taken up during the backdoor talks so far. Tulfo also dissuaded fears about a possible Chinese invasion: "China has never had any history of invading another country, right? They said they were invaded by other countries, that's why they had to set up the Great Wall of China." For now, Tulfo said that they are "cashing in" on the escalating trade tensions between the United States and China, with 100 companies and factories looking to transfer their operations to the Philippines. Those firms will be hiring Filipino laborers if they push through with the move, he said. Chinese tourism agencies are also working to bring a million big-spending visitors to the Philippines annually, Tulfo added. Meanwhile, the envoy said he is not taking back his previous remark that Filipino construction workers are "tamad" (lazy), insisting that Chinese workers are far more productive compared to them. "I am not taking back anything, Im saying truth hurts," Tulfo said. Tulfo's term as special envoy to China was renewed in May for another six months. (CNN) In 2018, the number one read digital story across the world wide web was CNN's Anthony Bourdain obituary and tribute. In the days, weeks and months following the intrepid traveler's passing, fans around the world emerged to share stories of the storytelling chef. Through grief and sadness over the loss, a common theme emerged: Anthony Bourdain meant a whole lot to a whole lot of people, even ones who'd only gotten to know him through a TV screen or from the page. His immeasurable impact stretched further than anyone might have initially guessed. Social media feeds lit up (and are still lighting up: Dedicated Facebook groups exist to celebrate the late Bourdain) with tales of the 'Parts Unknown' host's role in changing the way we travel, the way we understand other people, cultures and places. From a writer trying to express Bourdain's abiding love for the Philippines to a public relations professional sharing his unique story of a chance encounter with Bourdain in a New York City bar one random night, there was and is no shortage of people professing their gratitude for and appreciation of Anthony Bourdain. And now, following the announcement from Jose Andres and Eric Ripert, longtime friends of Tony and world-renowned chefs, that June 25 is 'Bourdain Day' friends and fans of the late, great Anthony Bourdain will have a dedicated day to remember and celebrate the legend. Although the anniversary of Bourdain's death is June 8, the celebratory day is what would be Bourdain's birthday. Andres and Ripert made the declaration this morning via a Twitter video in which Ripert declared June a "very important month." Indeed, there is much to celebrate at this time, in spite of Bourdain no longer being with us. On Tuesday, CNN's 'Anthony Bourdain Remembered,' a collection of images and quotes celebrating the life and memory of Bourdain, went on sale, and on June 25, fans and friends are encouraged to share more of their beloved memories using the hashtag #BourdainDay. The hashtag began trending shortly after Andres and Ripert's initial announcement, but it's likely to go viral on June 25 when fans all over the world begin celebrating the inimitable Tony Bourdain. This story was first published on CNN.com "Chefs declare 'Bourdain Day' in celebration of our late friend" International clinical trial of new drug for men with advanced prostate cancer yields strong result SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Today the New England Journal of Medicine published the first results of a phase III international clinical study called TITAN (National Clinical Trials Number 02489318), which evaluated the effectiveness and safety of a new drug, apalutamide, to treat advanced prostate cancers. This publication accompanies a presentation today that outlines the study results at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Researchers found that treatment with apalutamide significantly improved overall survival, with a 33% reduction in risk of death compared to standard-of-care therapy. Additionally, this study showed apalutamide significantly delayed disease progression and increased the amount of time until a patient has to receive chemotherapy. Neeraj Agarwal, MD, a prostate cancer physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and professor of medicine at the University of Utah (U of U), was member of the international steering committee for the trial and the second author on the publication. The study was led by Kim Chi, MD, medical oncologist with the British Columbia Cancer Agency and associate director of clinical research at the Vancouver Prostate Centre in Canada. The trial included participation of 230 institutions worldwide and enrollment of more than 1,000 patients on the trial. According to Chi, "This is a major study that showed, for the first time, significantly improved overall survival and delay of disease progression with this novel class of drugs known as 'potent and direct androgen receptor inhibitor' in men with advanced prostate cancer." Chi and Agarwal believe the results of this study may change the way a vast majority of men with advanced prostate cancers are treated. "This study underscores why clinical trials are so vital to improving cancer care. The clinical trials process allows us to identify more effective treatments, evaluate them in a controlled setting, and bring results to our cancer patients. Based on the results of this study, we are hopeful that apalutamide will garner approval for newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer by the United States Food and Drug Administration in the coming months," says Agarwal. This study was built upon prior evaluations of apalutamide (trade name ERLEADA). The aim was to conduct a large-scale assessment of apalutamide when used in combination with the standard-of-care treatment for men with prostate tumors that have spread to other parts of the body. Apalutamide belongs to a class of drugs that inhibit the normal function of androgens like testosterone. These drugs act by blocking androgen receptors, which are part of the sophisticated machinery used by cells in many normal biological processes, including regulation of testosterone levels. Scientists began evaluating the relationship between prostate cancer and the androgen receptor several years ago, as it was believed that disruption of these interactions allowed prostate cancer cells to grow out of control. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. While survival is nearly 100% for men with early stage prostate cancers, the five-year survival rate for men with prostate tumors that have spread to other parts of the body is only 30%, according to the American Cancer Society. Men with advanced forms of prostate cancer are typically treated with drugs that work to significantly lower testosterone levels, which slows disease progression. This study evaluated the combination of apalutamide plus the testosterone-reducing drugs. Agarwal worked with colleagues from five continents to coordinate the sophisticated scientific review necessary to evaluate study results. Patients who received apalutamide plus standard-of-care therapy had significantly improved outcomes versus patients who only received the testosterone-reducing drug. After reviewing the early results, an independent data monitoring committee recommended that all participants in the study receive apalutamide plus the standard treatment. Before apalutamide, other strategies to improve the survival rates for prostate cancer patients included chemotherapy and abiraterone, a drug that blocks testosterone production by prostate cancer cells, alongside long-term treatment including steroids. "With the potential approval and availability of apalutamide, we may have an option that will allow us to avoid the side effects of chemotherapy and long-term steroid use in our patients with advanced prostate cancer," said Agarwal. ### This research was supported by the National Cancer Institute, including P30 CA042014, and by Huntsman Cancer Foundation. The study was sponsored by Aragon Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Research & Development, LLC. Note to editors: Janssen Research & Development, LLC is owned by Johnson and Johnson. HCI CEO Mary Beckerle serves on the board of directors of Johnson and Johnson. Beckerle was not involved in this study. About Huntsman Cancer Institute: Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is the official cancer center of Utah. The cancer campus includes a state-of-the-art cancer specialty hospital as well as two buildings dedicated to cancer research. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and is recognized among the best cancer hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. As the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, HCI serves the largest geographic region in the country, drawing patients from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at HCI than at any other cancer center in the world, including genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, head, and neck cancers, along with melanoma. HCI manages the Utah Population Database, the largest genetic database in the world, with information on more than 11 million people linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. HCI was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman. This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Apsaras in dance: Indian classical Festival in Singapore June 8-16 Be ready for a classical feast for the eyes this fortnight with Dance India Asia Pacific (DIAP) 2019 - the eighth anniversary of a festival of Indian classical dance in Singapore. Organized by Apsaras Arts, the DIAP 2019 comprises of dance training programmes, conference sessions, talks, book readings, film screenings and performances. It attracts more than 2,000 dance lovers, performing artistes and dance teachers from Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Australia and Sri Lanka, each year. This will be the eighth edition of the dance festival in the Lion City. Photo from the Inauguration of Dance India Asia Pacific 2018 at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, featuring HE Jawed Ashraf, HCI Singapore, the Faculty team, partners and DIAP team. Photo courtesy: DIAP With a significant percentage of Singaporeans being local Indians, the country recognises the Indian performing arts as something that is part of the Singapore fabric, said Aravinth Kumarasamy, Creative and Managing Director of Apsaras Arts. The 10-day festival kicks off on June 8 with an inauguration ceremony at the Black Box at Goodman Arts Centre where Professor Steve Dixon, president of Lasalle College of the Arts, will be the guest of honour. The 2019 edition also includes a dance heritage exhibition, titled Credo of a Dancer. Created by the Museum of Performing Arts, Chennai, India, in collaboration with the Balasaraswati Institute of Performing Arts, this will be an archival exhibition on dance legend T Balasaraswati, one of the foremost exponents of the Bharatanatyam style of classical dance in 20th century India. The exhibits are drawn largely from the archives preserved by Balasaraswatis family, students, supporters and chroniclers over the decades. HE Jawed Ashraf, Indian High Commissioner to Singapore will launch the special exhibition at 1pm on June 8 at Block O, Goodman Arts Centre, in the presence of special guests Ms Santha Bhaskar, recipient of Singapores Cultural Medallion Award and Mr Keenie Ting, Group Director of Museums, National Heritage Board. The event, which began as a spin-off of the UK edition, has gained widespread popularity amongst the Singapore arts community since its inception in 2011. Created by Milapfest, the UK's Indian Arts Development Trust, Dance India is a dance education programme designed for students, teachers and performing artistes of Indian classical dance. See Also: DIAP2018: Fireside chat with Padmashri Dr Vyjayanthimala Bali Anandavalli Photo courtsey: Dance India Asia Pacific Over the course of the festival, renowned dance experts, scholars and choreographers including Aruna Mohanty (India), Dr Sunil Kothari (India), Rama Vaidyanathan and her ensemble of dancers (India), Mohanapriyan Thavarajah (Singapore) and Anandavalli (Australia) will be visiting Singapore as faculty members for lectures and performing artistes for demonstrations. Week-long full-day training programmes will be offered to students, professional dancers, dance teachers and dance researchers, such as: Bharatanatyam Dance Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced courses Kathak Dance Foundation and Advanced courses Odissi Dance Choreography Master Class The DIAP2019 Awards Ceremony on June 14 at Esplanade Theatre Studio will honour artistes who have dedicated their lives to dance. Ms Anandavalli, who hails from Sydney, Australia will be receiving the lifetime achievement Natya Aacharyamani Award while Mr Mohanapriyan Thavarajah from Singapore will be receiving the Bharatha Kala Mani Award 2019. A special new award, instituted in memory of the founder of Apsaras Arts and Singapores dance legend, the Neila Sathyalingam Memorial Award will be given to Ms Seema Hari Kumar. Ms Indranee Rajah, Singapores Second Minister for Finance and Second Minister for Education, will be the guest of honour with HE Jawed Ashraf also attending. SAF fighters jets scrambled to escort Scoot flight In a Facebook post, Singapore's Defence Minister Mr Ng Eng Hen said two Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SG jets were scrambled to escort a Scoot flight from Cebu to Singapore after a bomb scare on Sunday. The bomb threat was later discovered to be a hoax. Local media reports noted that a 13-year-old boy onboard the flight was allegedly behind the bomb scare. The teen is currently assisting with police investigations. "The SAF takes every threat as real and seriously until proven otherwise. The RSAF will stay ever vigilant, Mr Ng said in his Facebook post. Flight TR385 from Cebu to Singapore eventually landed safely at Changi Airport at 4.49pm, according to a Scoot spokesperson. All 144 passengers and six crew members disembarked from the plane safely. The spokesperson added, "Scoot will cooperate fully with the authorities in their investigations." US 1) Trump touches down for state visit May hails special relationship as Trump knocks Brexit talks FT Hunt says he would not block Assanges extradition Daily Mail Donald Trump is about to land in London for his long-awaited state visit, having weighed in on Brexit, his security concerns over Huawei, and taking time to hit back at London Mayor Sadiq Khan for calling him a 21st century fascist. The US President is in the UK for three days where the Queen will throw a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in his honour tonight after he meets Prince Charles for tea. Mr Trump departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC aboard Air Force One last night and will land at Stansted at 9am before heading to the US Ambassadors residence in Regents Park Winfield House his base for the next three days. Daily Mail >Yesterday: ToryDiary: D-Day and T-Day US 2) Tories hint at climbdown over Huawei Jeremy Hunt has insisted Britain would never harm trans-Atlantic intelligence-sharing ahead of an expected Government climbdown over Huawei to avoid a clash with Donald Trump. Flying aboard Air Force One, the US president and First Lady Melania Trump took off from an air base near Washington DC on Sunday evening local time and are due to land at Stansted Airport on Monday morning. The US President will then arrive at Buckingham Palace for a three-day State visit after his ambassador to London warned of the consequences of opening the UKs 5G infrastructure to the Chinese telecoms giant. Daily Telegraph Leadership contenders side with Washington on security The Times as May faces humiliation over Chinese firm Daily Mail Labour: Trump could end intelligence sharing if Corbyn enters No 10 The Sun Opposition are risking special relationship Daily Mail Comment: Trump is absolutely right about Huawei Bob Seely MP, Daily Telegraph US 3) Health Secretary says NHS would not be on the table in US trade deal Ambassador vows quickest trade deal ever The Sun Matt Hancock, the health secretary, has insisted that the NHS is not for sale after the US ambassador said he expected it would be part of a post-Brexit trade deal between the two countries. Woody Johnson said that he expected the entire economy, including the health service, would be part of a future deal. Mr Hancock, who is standing for the Conservative Party leadership, was quick to rebuff the suggestion. Yes wed love to make it cheaper to buy your life-saving pharmaceuticals, but the NHS will not be on the table in any future trade talks, he tweeted. The Times More: Hancock vows to lift immigration restrictions on medics The Guardian Gove warned that Brexit delay would let Corbyn in Michael Gove was accused yesterday by rivals in the Tory leadership contest of opening the door of No 10 to Jeremy Corbyn by saying that he would delay Brexit. Other candidates vying to succeed Theresa May, including Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, have said that Britain must leave the EU by October 31, whether or not there is an agreement with Brussels. Mr Gove is understood, however, to be considering a further extension of the Brexit process. It is thought that he believes a no-deal exit before Britain is properly prepared would be problematic, and will set out his thinking in the days ahead. The Times Environment Secretary edges ahead of Johnson, poll suggests Daily Express More: Javid becomes latest contender not to rule out an extension The Sun Hancock claims European leaders back his plans The Times Industry warns that talk of no-deal exit costs jobs FT Hannan warns that delay could see Tories annihilated Daily Express DUP pressure contenders for backstop alternative FT >Today: ToryDiary: Theres no majority in this Commons for anything. This Conservative contest is faltering because candidates wont face that fact. >Yesterday: Policy: Javid sets out plan to boost police numbers He also plans to slash taxes The Sun Sajid Javid admitted yesterday that he had changed his mind on the link between police numbers and crime and pledged to put up to 20,000 more bobbies on the beat. Last year, the Home Secretary and Tory leadership candidate claimed in a TV interview there was no connection between the rise in crime and a fall in police numbers. But yesterday he said: What Ive realised is that you do need many more police resources. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Javid also revealed he would scrap Theresa Mays immigration target, set up a 100 billion infrastructure fund to boost areas outside London, and consider scrapping the top rate of income tax. Daily Mail Comment: Another 20,000 officers wont save our justice system Dominic Lawson, Daily Mail >Today: MPs Etc.: Leadership election candidate MP support numbers: Johnson 30, Gove 29, Hunt 29, Raab 23, Javid 17, Hancock 11 >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Border Force has solutions for Northern Ireland and Britain should pay for them, says Javid as Johnson pledges to level up education spending Boris Johnson plans to spend at least 5,000 on every secondary school pupil in a pledge to level up Britains education system, in his first domestic policy proposal. The leadership contender said he wants to reverse cuts to schools and correct the yawning funding gap between pupils in London and the rest of the country. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Johnson said there was now a growing gulf between the South East and other regions in GDP, and even in some cases in ambition. It is simply not sustainable that funding per pupil should be 6,800 in parts of London and 4,200 in some other parts of the country, he said. Daily Telegraph Gove, Johnson, and Stewart unveil high-profile endorsements FT Inside the secret battle for donors Daily Telegraph Comment: We must address our countrys shocking educational disparities Boris Johnson MP, Daily Telegraph >Today: ToryDiary: Key questions for candidates. 1) Johnson as does Gove Campaign accused of spying on Johnson The Sun Michael Gove will pledge a 1 billion increase to the schools budget as the former Education Secretary attempts to unpick his unpopularity among teachers. The Tory leadership hopeful has vowed to restore the amount of money spent per pupil to 2015 levels in real terms, following a three-year slump. Following the education reforms he brought in between 2010 and 2014, Mr Gove has been deeply unpopular within the sector and among parents, and was demoted amid fears his reputation could cost the Tories at the ballot box. But his latest policy has earned him the endorsement of fellow former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who says Mr Gove is ready to lead the nation. Daily Mail >Today: Nicky Morgan MPs column: This contest must be about much more than Brexit whilst Stewart unveils housebuilding vision The Tories need to build two million new homes in five years in a state led blitz to compare with 1950 new towns, a shock leadership contender declares today. Rory Stewart vows that if he made it to PM he would lead a 100billion housing revolution to end one of the hundreds of injustices facing voters. It would essentially be led by the public sector with the building contracted out and financed through bonds raised against the homes. The Cabinet Minister insists the Tories have to create a new generation of new towns and lineal cities along the Thames to match the Milton Keynes, Basildon and Corby 60-70 years ago. The Sun Davidson says he is this years Clegg Daily Telegraph >Yesterday: Victoria Prentis MP in Comment: Why I am voting for Stewart Brokenshire calls for young people to have early access to pension funds Plans to reform student finance would reverse social mobility Justine Greening MP, FT Gyimah becomes 13th leadership hopeful Young people should be allowed to dip into their pension pots to fund the deposit for their first home, the Housing Secretary will say on Monday. James Brokenshire will propose changing the rules on pensions to empower first time buyers trying to get on the property ladder. Last night a former pensions minister said this would push up house prices and ruin retirement for young people, forcing them to work in their seventies and beyond. Mr Brokenshire will call on the next Prime Minister to reform pensions to allow young people to make the choice for themselves if they want to spend them on property instead. Daily Telegraph Sam Gyimah has become the 13th Conservative MP to join the race to replace Theresa May, opening with a pledge to hold another referendum on Brexit. The former universities minister is the only candidate in the contest to do so, but he said that if he became prime minister he would not campaign for either side. He himself would vote Remain, he added. His stance will prove unpopular with most Conservative members, who will ultimately decide Britains next prime minister. Rank-and-file Tories are overwhelmingly pro-Brexit, opinion polls show Announcing his decision to stand, he condemned those candidates who are promising a no-deal Brexit: the pledges were unrealistic because they would be blocked by parliament, he suggested. The Times MPs hail most diverse contest ever Daily Telegraph but there are calls to limit candidate numbers The Guardian More: Contenders being warned to avoid TV debates Daily Telegraph What candidates must do to keep their ambitions alive The Times Editorial: Things can only get better The Times >Yesterday: Video: WATCH: Gyimah He would vote remain but if I was Prime Minister, I wouldnt actively campaign for it Charles Moore: Of all the candidates, which are truly Tory? Next leader must not neglect our industrial strategy David Willetts, Times Red Box Lessons in top office politics from the race Pilita Clark, FT Tories have drunk the no-deal Kool Aid Matthew dAncona, The Guardian The electorate for the Conservative leadership contest is 100 per cent (at least in theory) composed of people who would answer to the name of Tory. But which of them really are? Admittedly, argument has always raged about what a Tory is. Whole books have been written about it; but it is generally agreed that you can be a Conservative supporter without being a Tory, and a Tory without being a Conservative supporter. There will never be absolute agreement on a definition, because it is not in the nature of Toryism to be definitive Of course there is no law that says the Conservatives have to be led by a Tory. Daily Telegraph Endorsements: Javid can fuse white van Conservatism with metropolitan values Rob Halfon MP, Daily Telegraph Only Johnson can beat Farage in an election Trevor Kavanagh, The Sun Jewish groups demand Labour disown Peterborough candidate Jewish groups have demanded that Labour disown its candidate in the Peterborough by-election after she had endorsed an antisemitic Facebook post. Lisa Forbes apologised wholeheartedly for liking a social media post that claimed Theresa May had a Zionist Slave Masters agenda. Ms Forbes said that the post included a video of children praying after the attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand and it was that that she was endorsing and not the views in the accompanying text. She had also commented under an older thread which claimed that Islamic State was created and funded by the CIA and Mossad. She said: I have enjoyed reading this thread so much. The Times By-election could return first Brexit Party MP The Guardian News in Brief: Cllr Barry Lewis is the Leader of Derbyshire County Council. We found ourselves in a remarkable situation at our last Full Council meeting in Derbyshire County Council. During a motion on climate change, tabled by the opposition via various left-wing groups such as Extinction Rebellion, we talked about well-established evidence on past climate change fluctuation as well as the current irrefutable evidence that climate change is real, happening, and needs solutions. Yet, despite the fact that we put forward a series of radical and sector-leading measures to reduce Derbyshires own carbon footprint, we were vilified as climate change deniers simply because we would not tie ourselves into a target of carbon neutrality by 2030. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) does not call for that until 2050, and as a local authority, we are fully behind this aspiration. This shows how the Left has weaponised the climate change debate, and it is fair to say that the scientific community and successive governments that have not helped as questioning climate science is perceived as heresy. The tide is turning, thankfully, led in part by recent internal reforms within the IPCC, which need to continue. Objectivity, evidence, and challenge are key cornerstones of good scientific practice. To be clear, I believe we are in the midst of perhaps the most significant global extinction event this planet has ever seen, and climate change and its impacts are already upon us. The impact of extreme weather events, like heat waves, droughts, and storms, which have killed or displaced countless people are changing the face of our planet. What we cannot influence as a local authority is the amount of CO 2 America, China, or other emerging economies pump into the atmosphere. But rather than believe that humanity is pernicious, I believe we are capable of ameliorating some of the damage and adapting to a different future because of emerging technologies and a rapid switch from fossil fuels. The story of humanity is a long story of adapting to climate change and that IS irrefutable. The IPCC recognised the need to do this as far back as 2007 in the following statement: Working Group I concluded that, even if emissions were stabilised now, global temperatures would increase by on average 0.6C by 2100. Furthermore, some current targets to reduce emissions assume a global average temperature increase of about 1.5C above present (i.e. 2C above pre-industrial temperatures). A significant amount of potential impact will therefore need to be adapted to, regardless of how effective are our efforts at mitigation. Research has overtaken these temperature predictions, of course. Were now facing a potentially 3C rise by the end of the century, so there is an even more urgent need to adapt. Further, The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) invests in research, and produces countless articles dedicated to ensuring we adapt our farming systems to feed the planet. Adaptation to climate change is therefore a central priority for humanity, but to the enraged Left, it is anathema. One expression of adaptation in the UK is that of our burgeoning English Wine industry (and I declare an interest as an English vineyard owner), probably our fastest growing agricultural sector, and another will-be opportunity for increased tourism in a warmer Britain. Whilst some will not like these scenarios, it is probably not going to be possible to change the trajectory of climate change significantly enough to reverse it. So to adapt and seek opportunities is absolutely the correct course of action; to think otherwise is simply foolhardy. Left-wingers have latched on to climate change as a new orthodoxy, and are willing to use their weaponised bible of selective scientific arguments to attempt to put governments and councils under undue pressure with these motions. They dont even need to understand the wider science, just stick to select spoon-fed lines and call you a climate change denier. It did not help that the government, specifically Michael Gove, chose not to challenge this orthodoxy in a recent commons debate, allowing the term Climate Emergency to be approved. Also, the Governments challenge to the educationally disrupting, again, left-wing incited, school climate strikes promoted by Greta Thunberg, was disappointing. There are many good things Michael Gove has done as DEFRA Minister in showing we lead on the green agenda by action rather than words. However, what he has done in not challenging them is made a rod for the back of local governments. This is symptomatic of the issues facing a hobbled and rudderless government at present. The Extinction Rebellion, who had vocally and visibly protested on this issue recently in Westminster, have now, buoyed by their perceived success in London, embarked on a roadshow of doing the same at councils across the country (and globe). And whilst, as I said, we support the IPCC science and key recommendations, and we even support some of the key arguments within these motions, we cannot and should not commit our local authorities to targets that frankly are probably unachievable in the time, and would harm our local economies, hinder green growth, and cost taxpayers a significant amount of money in times of severe financial difficulties. What many people fail to recognise is that the debate in London, and acceptance of the term Climate Emergency, was non-binding. In council motion debates, it does bind us. Labour, led by a cohort of Marxists that had a stated aim of restarting deep coal mining, one of the most polluting and damaging industries the planet has ever seen, obviously could do no wrong in this debate, which goes to show the frankly astonishing levels of hypocrisy at play. There is not a bandwagon low enough that Labour wont jump on for a headline. Derbyshire has drawn the first common sense evidence-based line in the sand in this key debate, and we hope others will follow suit. Whatever happens though, we will hold the line until common sense becomes the norm again. Tracey Crouch is Member of Parliament for Chatham and Aylesford. Ever since I returned from maternity leave I have done everything I can to deliver the Brexit my constituents and the country at large voted for. I have consistently voted in Parliament against anything that would take No Deal off the table; Ive voted against an extension; I only voted for the Prime Ministers deal because I thought it was the only way of leaving on 29th March. Unfortunately that ship has now sailed, and we now have to be pragmatic about we deliver Brexit in this Parliament, given the risks of an early election. But Brexit is not the only issue at stake in this leadership contest. We need a leader for the next decade, not just the three months between the winner being announced and the end of October when weve committed to leave. That candidate is Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary. Im backing him because he cares passionately about social justice, because I know he can bring our battered party back together, and crucially, because he gets stuff done. I saw the proof of all three that when we worked together as ministers in DCMS, especially the work we did on tackling gambling addiction. Led by me as a junior minister and Iain Duncan Smith from the backbenches, the campaign to slash the maximum stake on FOBTs to 2 was a rare example of a Tory team effort. It brought together colleagues from all wings of our party from Jo Johnson to Jacob Rees-Mogg, and every shade of opinion in between. But it was Matt who really got the policy over the line, powering through intense lobbying from the gambling industry and inertia from the Treasury, who were worried about the loss of tax revenue. Matt immediately got the importance of the issue and began reaching out to colleagues to work on a strategy. Giving a good speech is one thing, but Matt puts in the hours and he knows how drive a policy through the government machine. Contrary to popular belief in our party, civil servants do actually want to get stuff done. Officials like working for Matt because they like energetic ministers who want to change things. You can see it again in his current brief, where hes helping to drive a tech revolution in the NHS, the worlds fifth biggest organisation and one thats incredibly hard to change without provoking a storm of opposition. Yet somehow hes managed it, and its a huge credit to Matt that hes deprived Labour of their favourite NHS attack lines. Now lets tackle the Brexit issue head on. Our next leader has got to be someone who can rise above all the controversy of the last few years and work with all sides to find a pragmatic solution on Brexit. To secure a future for our party theyve got to be able appeal to younger voters who share our values but who overwhelmingly backed remain. Once Brexit is delivered its not going to matter which way the Prime Minister voted in 2016. What will matter is whether theyve got the energy, ideas and enthusiasm to reboot our party and reconnect it with the country. That person is Matt. Hes got a positive, optimistic vision for the future of the UK, like his ideas on ending low pay, supercharging the tech economy and strengthening the Union. Hes a fresh face who can wipe the slate clean on the May era and reach out beyond our comfort zone to attract new supporters to our party. Most importantly of all hes got the right values. He loves people and hes deeply committed to giving everyone the chance to make the most of their lives. Its why I have absolutely no hesitation at all in backing Matt Hancock for Prime Minister. Six years ago, the TaxPayers Alliance reported that in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories. Since then, the figures have varied, and some Conservative members or supporters have been selected to fill important posts. Nonetheless, it remains the case that, since it took office in 2010, our Party has punched beneath its weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply dont apply in the same number as Labour supporters. To help remedy this, every week we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives might be aware of the opportunities presented. The Royal Armouries Chair The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is seeking to appoint an outstanding individual as the next chair of the Royal Armouries, to take the Museum forward as this new critical period in its history. The ideal candidate will have a passion for cultural heritage, a commitment to public service, strong commercial acumen and a successful track record in public service, heritage management, or business. This is a very exciting time for the Royal Armouries, having substantially increased its commercial operations, and now in the process of devising a masterplan to transform the museum brand and its offer at the main museum site in Leeds. Time: ~4 working days per month. Remuneration: Reasonable expenses. Closes: 05 June Imperial War Museum Business Trustee IWM is seeking to increase the business and commercial skills on its Board of Trustees as the generation of commercial revenue forms a critical part of IWMs income and operating model. The commercial and learning activities of IWM, including retail, corporate hospitality and the IWM Duxford Air Shows are operated through the IWM Trading Company plc, a wholly owned subsidiary incorporated in 1999. The business trustee will also be Chair of the IWM Trading Company Ltd. Candidates for this particular post will have significant experience in an area of business or commerce. Time: Up to one day per month. Remuneration: Expenses reasonably incurred. Closes: 05 June Air Quality Expert Group Chair AQEG plays a vital role in providing advice to officials and key office holders in Government and the Devolved Administrations (DAs) on the evidence base supporting air quality policies and operations. The independent advice from AQEG helps shape Defras evidence base to robustly support policy development and implementation. While AQEGs primary role is in the provision of scientific advice to assist Defras strategic vision, members and the Chair are also called upon to provide ad hoc advice on occasion. The role of the AQEG is particularly significant at present as Government begins to implement its Clean Air Strategy. Time: 4-6 meetings per annum. Remuneration: 226 per diem. Closes: 10 June Financial Reporting Council CEO The mission of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to promote transparency and integrity in business. These are cornerstones to generating public trust and confidence in UK business and help attract investment in successful companies that provide jobs, create prosperity and generate economic growth. The FRC sets the UK Corporate Governance & Stewardship Codes which aim to make investors more accountable to their clients and beneficiaries. The FRC also sets standards for accounting, auditing and actuarial work. As the UKs independent regulator and Competent Authority for Audit it monitors, and takes action where necessary, to promote the quality of corporate reporting and audit. It also operates independent enforcement arrangements for accountants and actuaries. Time: Full-time. Remuneration: 330,000 per annum. Closes: 10 June Office of Rail & Road Board Members ORR is the independent regulator for Britains railways and the independent monitor of Highways England. We are here to ensure the two networks operate safely, reliably, meet the needs of users, and provide value for taxpayers and customers by making best possible use of their capacity and their funding, and support economic growth across our country. A role on the ORR board provides an opportunity to use your skills and experience to contribute to the development of the sectors and the delivery of a strategy that would help shape the future of rail and road in the UK. Both of these sectors touch fundamentally on the ability of the UKs economy to grow and prosper and are likely to change significantly in the next few years as opportunities emerge through innovation in technology and changing user behaviour. Time: 3.5 days per month average. Remuneration: 22,429 per annum. Closes: 17 June Charity Commission Board Members Last year the Charity Commission redefined its purpose: to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society. To help us meet that purpose, fulfil our proud commitment to represent the public interest in charity, and meet the challenges we face, the Board has set a new and ambitious five-year strategic plan. To be the effective regulator that the public demands and the sector requires, the Commission must do all it can to ensure that charities show they are being true to their purposes, can demonstrate the difference they are making, and meet the high expectations of conduct and behaviour demanded by the public. Time: 18-24 days per annum approx. Remuneration: 350 per diem plus reasonable expenses. Closes: 19 June Public Weather Service Customer Group Chair The Public Weather Service Customer Group (PWSCG) is an independent body which acts as the customer on behalf of the public and public sector users of the Public Weather Service (PWS). It provides independent advice to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to enable the formal agreement of the PWS Customer-Supplier Agreement (CSA) between Government and the Met Office. It is responsible for defining the outputs required from the Met Office and holding them to account for delivering to a satisfactory level. The funding for the PWS is currently around 120M per annum, of which 100M is paid by BEIS. Time: Up to 36 days per annum. Remuneration: 20,000 per annum. Closes: 23 June Innovate UK Executive Chair We are seeking an inspirational leader to lead Innovate UK as it gears up to take centre-stage as the UKs national Innovation Agency. To enable the UK to thrive in the face of the challenges ahead, Innovate UK will need to seize the economic opportunities they bring, investing in innovative companies that will drive a productive, growing economy and a better society The Executive Chair will be someone who can lead transformational change and drive a new and holistic approach to achieving Innovate UKs mission, including creating the right conditions for growth by driving greater business investment in R&D, and creating the right environment for new innovative businesses to thrive. Time: Full-time, other working arrangements considered. Remuneration: 180,000 base pay & 37,500 performance-related pay. Closes: 28 June UK Research & Innovation Non-Executive Directors UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a vital and strategically important role in this. Through leading the overall strategic direction of research and innovation funding in the UK, the organisation is pushing the frontiers of human knowledge and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy, through world-class research and business-led innovation. UKRI was established a year ago through a joining of seven research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. With an annual budget of 7.5 billion a year to fund ground-breaking research and new enterprise growth, our combined strength and cross cutting capabilities mean we play a critical part in delivering the Governments Industrial Strategy. Time: 20 days per annum. Remuneration: 9,180 per annum. Closes: 28 June Financial Conduct Authority Non-Executive Director The Government is seeking to appoint a number of Non-Executive Directors to the Board of the Financial Conduct Authority. These appointments are to fill vacancies which arise from retirements in 2019 and 2020 as Directors complete their maximum terms. In accordance with the Financial Services Act 2012, one of these appointments will be made jointly by the Treasury and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, with further appointments made solely by the Treasury These vacancies are senior roles requiring people with the necessary skills to assist the Chair in providing strategic leadership and oversight of the FCA and in supporting and positively challenging the FCAs senior executives. Time: Up to 36 days per annum. Remuneration: 35,000 per annum, plus 10,000 if committee chair. Closes: 30 June Lord Flight is Chairman of Flight & Partners Recovery Fund, and is a former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. The main domestic policy which helped keep the Conservatives in power in the second half of the 20th Century and especially under Thatcher was both supporting the principle of Britain being a property owning democracy, and also making it continue to happen. In the 1980s we achieved in excess of 70 per cent of the population owning its primary residence. The last 20 years have seen house prices increase to levels pricing many out of the market. As people need to be housed, notwithstanding prices, this in turn led to a major increase in the buy to let market, providing in total some eight million housing units. Much of this had been achieved by entrepreneurial individuals spotting local opportunities. While it was under the 13 years of Labour Government that the property owning democracy started to decline, measures taken by the Conservatives since returning to power in 2010 have messed around with the housing market, in several areas causing serious harm. It has been clear for some time that it is the supply side which has been allowed to get out of kilter, largely as the result of cumbersome planning laws and requirements. If supply is less than demand for a continuous period of time, it is not surprising when house prices go on rising. The Governments measures to streamline the planning process have had only mixed success. A lot of the Interest Group environmental requirements, complicating the planning process for example bats in the loft have not been sensibly simplified and are causing serious supply side pressures. The shortage of supply is likely to see rent rises of three per cent per annum over the next few years as the result of the demand for new homes outstripping supply. Where I would have thought the most important thing for Government to be doing now is increasing the supply, we are now seeing measures which may serve to worsen the supply shortage further. The major growth in the private rented sector with children living within it has led to much greater scrutiny of how the sector operates. It is vital that tenants and landlords both have the confidence that they can ensure their respective rights are upheld in a timely and effective way through the courts. The evidence shows, however, the court system failing to ensure that this happens. What is needed is the establishment of a single, dedicated housing court as a matter of urgency. As the sector grows it is vital that tenants and landlords both have the confidence that they can ensure their respective rights are upheld in a timely and effective way including through the courts. For tenants the system is far too complex. The web of different types of courts and tribunals enforcing the laws can make it difficult for a tenant to navigate the system. As a previous report by Citizens Advice noted: the time involved in taking a disrepair claim to court puts off just under half of tenants whose landlord took longer to complete repairs than is normally reasonable. More than half said the complexity of the process stops them. For landlords who seek to repossess a property through the courts, for reasons such as rent arrears or anti-social behaviour by the tenant, it can take many months between applying for an order to it being enforced. Such lengthy legal limbo is not good either for the landlord or the tenant. Figures supplied by the Ministry of Justice in response to a written question from Kevin Hollinrake MP show that the average time to progress from a claim in possession in 2017 was 22 weeks across England and 25 weeks in London. The Government has announced its intention to overhaul the way that landlords regain possession of their property to provide greater security for tenants. While it is fair that no landlord should evict a tenant without good cause, it is deeply worrying that the Governments plans could lead to new forms of rent control. Finally, under George Osbornes period as Chancellor, the Treasury persuaded him that increasing the tax burden on smaller buy-to-let operators would reduce buy-to-let activity and so make available more properties for owner occupiers to buy. This has ignored the evidence that there is very little competition for the same properties between buy-to-let and owner-occupier purchasers. The decision in 2015 to restrict mortgage interest relief for the sector was a big mistake. The argument that the tax system favoured landlords over and above home owners was simply wrong, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies noted at the time. The main effect has been to reduce the supply of buy to let properties, where as a result rent levels have increased. For the time being the priority should be to increase the supply of residential properties, and the best bet to this end is still buy-to-let. But we are in a crazy situation where landlords wanting to add to the net supply of homes to rent are being stung by an extra three per cent stamp duty. The Governments schemes for first time buyers are surprisingly generous, but can be no more that a short term palliative. It is blindingly obvious that what is needed is an increase in supply of residential property, which in turn needs both considerable streamlining of the planning system and a more positive approach to private sector landlords. The start of a series in which we ask some key questions of the leading contenders seven, in the case of the leading ones. They may not be the most convenient but thats why were asking them. 1. Whats to stop pro-Remain, anti-No Deal and pro-Soft Brexit Conservative MPs abstaining in a confidence vote as soon as you become Prime Minister so making your new government one of the shortest-serving in history? 2. As Prime Minister, will you seek to take Britain out of the EU on October 31 if no deal has been agreed by then and how will you stop Parliament from stopping you? 3. Polling in Scotland reportedly finds you a liability there. Is putting you in Downing Street worth the risk to the Union? 4. If you win, what Cabinet job, if any, will you offer to Michael Gove? 5. You want to cut income tax, stamp duty and capital gains taxand raise spending on the NHS, housing and infrastructure. How does that add up? 6. Your former Editor, Dominic Lawson, says that you are epically unreliable and is one of many youve worked with who make the point. Why should you be trusted, especially on EU policy? 7. The jokes are all very well but the lack of grip is another thing altogether. For example, your words about her case did nothing for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Who else will suffer consequences if you become Prime Minister? Tomorrow: Jeremy Hunt. Lets start with what we know. The Withdrawal Agreement has been defeated in the Commons three times. The opposition parties have whipped to vote against it. A core of roughly 30 Tory MPs seem opposed to it at any cost. And opposition MPs wont defy their whips to vote for it, at least in numbers that make any difference. These are the facts against which the plans of the candidates in the Conservative leadership election must be judged. Over the weekend, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid both put forward Brexit plans with detailed alternatives to the backstop. Both seek to amend it and make alternative arrangements. The main strength of Hancocks is that he recognises that changing the Political Declaration is very much easier than changing the backstop. The biggest plus of Javids is that he understands that Ireland is a net loser from any form of Brexit, and proposes compensation. We have long made this case. Neither, however, is guaranteed to pass through Parliament. Arguably, neither is likely to do so, even in the improbable event that the EU and the Irish Government are prepared to amend the backstop provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement. A pincer movement from Labours front bench and the Conservative Spartans would band together against both plans. The former have an incentive to bring down a new Tory Prime Minister right at the start and the latter are unlikely to fold. Are we picking unfairly on Hancock and Javid? Not so: we start with them only because they have set out the most detailed plans so far based on the Withdrawal Agreement. Boris Johnson and Dominic Raabs positions are similar in principle: both seek to amend the deal on offer. If either they or others want to drop the backstop altogether, that would offer a plus and a minus. The plus is that such a proposal, in the form of the Brady amendment, is the only plan to have passed the Commons to date. The minus is that the Irish Government and the EU will be even more hostile to it. Nor are those candidates who propose returning to the Commons with some form of Theresa Mays deal the only ones whose plans are unlikely to succeed. At one end of the spectrum, Esther McVey wants to go for No Deal. But this anti-No Deal Commons, supervised by its biased Speaker, will search for ways of stopping it from happening as it has to date. At the other, Sam Gyimah wants a second referendum. However, there is no majority in the Commons for the Bill that a second poll would require. Andrea Leadsom wants a managed form of No Deal. The EU would be unlikely to co-operate, at least initially. And by the time it had got round to going so, her government would be gone sunk by a no confidence vote. The same applies elsewhere. Philip Hammond and company would help bring down McVey; the Spartans and friends would do the same to Gyimah (and thats assuming that any of these minor candidates could get elected in the first place). Rory Stewart is passionately for Mays deal. But passion is no substitute for numbers. Almost alone, Jeremy Hunt seems to understand the paradox: no Brexit first, no election victory afterwards. No election victory first, no Brexit afterwards. And he can no more unriddle it than can anyone else. Hunt, Hancock, Javid, Johnson, Raab, McVey, Gyimah, Leadsom, Stewart all would face the same likely course of events as Britains new Prime Minister, namely the defeat of their plans in the Commons, followed shortly by a no confidence vote, or at least the threat of one, and a general election. They might be able to postpone the day of agony by plumping for an extension. Such appears to be Michael Goves position. None the less, that day would still come sooner or later. So we come to the crunch. All signposts point towards a general election. But none of the candidates dare say so because they are dependent, in the first stage of the contest, on the votes of Conservative MPs. Some of them know that a poll would end their service in Parliament. Others fear that it would cast the Party into opposition even were they returned (which is reasonable enough). The overwhelming likelihood of an election is the truth that dare not speak its name. The Fixed Terms Parliament Act might delay one but, as we saw in 2017, it is a barrier that MPs can ultimately vault. There is a strange unreality to this leadership contest. The greater the electoral danger to the Tory Party, both from the Brexit Party and elsewhere, the more fringe candidates seem to emerge. None of them have risen to the scale of the challenge to date, and the reason isnt hard to find namely, that none are willing to admit that an election is likely, and set out how on earth they would win it with Brexit undelivered. Theresa May didnt fail simply because she couldnt sell her policy. She did so because there is no majority in this Commons for it. There seems to be no majority in it for anything. Until the candidates face up to that fact, they are chasing at shadows. This World Continence Week (21 to 27 June), join the call to support more than one million men around Australia who live with incontinence. The Continence Foundation of Australia is launching BINS4Blokes and you can get involved. BINS4Blokes is an Australia-wide awareness and advocacy campaign promoting the installation of incontinence bins in male public toilet facilities. Incontinence affects 1 in 10 men in Australia, of all ages. Did you know that many male public toilets do not have a disposal bin for men to place their continence products? This leaves men to carry used products with them or feel stressed about how theyll throw them out. A lack of options stops men with incontinence from going out to exercise, shop and simply enjoy life. 100% Website acapulco70.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 46798 bytes (45.70 kb uncompressed) and 15583 bytes (15.22 kb compressed). 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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-02-27, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 79% Website pliki.pl uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 104475 bytes (102.03 kb uncompressed) and 12781 bytes (12.48 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-12-18, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. 100% Website proxtube.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: Php. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 8855 bytes (8.65 kb uncompressed) and 2678 bytes (2.62 kb compressed). This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-09-03, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The site you specified has a disallow rule. At the origin of the Internet links were basically a signal of "likes". In a way, so likes, tweets and shares have now the natural explicit meaning of links. CoolSocial is an analyzer you can use to improve your site social media impact. You can also check for your competitors. Jenny dies without us learning anything more about her disease, but it has to be AIDS, right? She had been a drug addict and a prostitute, and she dies in 1982, the same year the media first reported on it. Surely this is an extremely dark twist on Gump's 20th-century retrospective? The movie's fans widely assume it's AIDS, discussing it as a given, and the University of Pennsylvania has an essay discussing how Jenny's poor life choices ended with her contracting AIDS. Even Family Guy did a bit on how Forrest is too dumb to grasp the implications of sex with an HIV-positive woman. Continue Reading Below Advertisement But the movie never actually says "AIDS." Jenny drops dead of Plot Convenience Syndrome, and viewers rushed to assumptions based on the fact that she slept around. The sequel to the original novel, Gump And Co., clarifies that it was in fact meant to be hepatitis C. That fits the timeline perfectly. Hep C wasn't identified until 1989, but "non-A, non-B hepatitis" was acknowledged as a mysterious new disease in 1981, the same year Jenny reveals her condition to Forrest. Granted, it did have a name, but it's not unreasonable to assume that Jenny left as many multi-syllabic words as possible out of her explanation to Forrest. At least you don't have to worry about Forrest and his son suffering slow, painful deaths after the movie anymore. A seventh newbuild order from SunStone Ships at the end of May pushed the global cruise ship orderbook to 124 ocean-going ships representing over 260,000 berths set to be introduced between now and 2027. Fourteen ships are still set to be delivered this year, including the hybrid Roald Amundsen from Hurtigruten and larger vessels, such as the 4,888-guest Grandiosa from MSC Cruises. The fast-moving MSC brand has the biggest plans of all, with an orderbook of 13 ships and over 49,000 berths, including four new luxury vessels. Royal Caribbean International has 25,362 berths on order, while Norwegian Cruise Line has 24,000. Download the latest cruise ship orderbook as a PDF here. The capacity expansion is diverse, with the 124 newbuilds representing 37 cruise brands and being built by 20 different shipyards. The average capacity of the orderbook is 2,181 guests per vessel, for a total value of just over $68 billion, and a per berth cost of $262,560, according to Cruise Industry News estimates. Twenty-five of the 124 ships will be powered by LNG, while 38 are set for dedicated expedition service, its own booming segment of the industry, according to the 2019 Expedition Market Report by Cruise Industry News. The month of May saw SunStone confirm its seven expedition newbuild, while Oceanwide Expeditions ordered a sister to its recently-delivered Hondius from Brodosplit shipyard. The new Janssonius is set for a late 2021 debut. 2020, 2021 and 2022 are all set to be big years for capacity introductions with 24 ships set to debut in each year, and more orders for smaller ships, such as expedition and luxury vessels, expected for 2021 and 2022. Download the latest cruise ship orderbook as a PDF here. Windstars 312-passenger Star Legend will debut in Europe in July of 2020 and sail in the region through November after a renovation as part of the lines comprehensive $250 Million Star Plus Initiative, featuring the addition of 50 new suites, two restaurants and more. The Seattle-based company revealed 2020 Europe deployment, including the Baltic, Norwegian, North, Tyrrhenian, and Mediterranean Seas, along with new and returning ports in Greece, Turkey (plus overnights in Istanbul), Israel, and Egypt along with new ports of call in Cyprus, France, and Iceland. Windstars Director of Itinerary Planning Jess Peterson is most excited for the Sail Amsterdam Celebration in 2020, according to a press release. Windstars Wind Surf, the largest sailing cruise ship in the world, will be anchored in the company of legendary sailing ships over three days at Sail Amsterdam, a global event that only occurs every five years, Peterson explained. "The ship will be in Amsterdam proper, which allows guests to view the event from on land and on oard and will be the ultimate viewing location for the parade of dozens of unique sailing vessels, with fireworks displays overhead. Also new for 2020 are two 60-plus day European voyages, allowing guests to string together various itineraries. The Star Collector: Comprehensive Europe Flagship Sailing aboard Wind Surf will include the Sail Amsterdam. The voyage begins in Sweden and ends in Italy, visiting 48 total ports in 20 countries over 62 days in Northern Europe and the western and central Mediterranean. Star Collector: Grand European Tour will sail from Iceland to Greece over 66 days aboard the Star Legend, visiting 53 ports in Iceland, Faroe Islands, Scotland, Norway, Northern Ireland, Wales, England, France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Italy, Malta, Greece, and Turkey. Other new itinerary highlights for Windstars Europe 2020 Season include a Rome and Grand Prix of Monaco sailing onboard Wind Surf. There is Quintessential Croatia on October 16 which will be a James Beard Foundation Culinary Cruise Collection sailing, with eight days aboard Wind Surf from Venice to Venice. Chef and beverage expert to be announced soon. Mystic Invest Holding announced that it has closed on an investment from Certares Holdings, an investment platform managed by Certares Management LLC, a global travel, tourism and hospitality investment firm. Certares joins the Ferreira family as shareholders of Mystic, a Portuguese-holding company. Certares is committed to supporting Mystics long-term growth initiatives and innovation in the river and expedition cruising segments, according to a statement. The Ferreira family maintains majority share and operational control of Mystic. Simultaneous with the transaction, DouroAzul, Nicko Cruises, Mystic Cruises and Mystic Cruises USA were contributed to the Company, with the Ferreira family and Certares as shareholders. The Ferreira family has retained full ownership of its existing non-cruise businesses. Mario Ferreira, shareholder and CEO of Mystic, said: Our partnership with Certares comes at a wonderful period of opportunity and growth for Mystic. We look forward to continuing our growth in the river cruising market and expanding our capabilities with the launch of our expedition fleet. We are proud of the company we have built and welcome Certares as shareholders in our family business. By partnering with Certares, we will be able to leverage its expertise in the global travel industry to continue to innovate and provide the very best experience for our guests. Colin Farmer, Senior Managing Director and Head of the Management Committee of Certares Management, said: We are extremely excited to be partnering with the Ferreira family as shareholders of Mystic. Mario, Paula and the Mystic team have built a wonderful business, with durable and growing leadership positions on the Douro River, in the German market with Nicko Cruises, and as an emerging expedition cruise operator globally. We look forward to supporting the Company as it enters the expedition cruising space, which is an exciting next chapter in the Companys development. We are partnering with an exceptional team in a growing and innovative business. The Spectrum of the Seas made its debut in China today and was also christened in Shanghai. The first Quantum-Ultra class ship sailed into Wusongkou International Cruise Terminal in Shanghai after completing a 46-night cruise that called in 17 ports. The ceremony in Shanghai included Royal Caribbean brand ambassadors Xiaoming Huang and Angelabab. Honored with the lifetime role of Godparents, the popular couple were on hand to name the ship. The milestone also marks Royal Caribbeans 10th anniversary in China. Royal Caribbean has always been known for innovating and pushing the boundaries, and Spectrum of the Seas is a great example of this, said Michael Bayley, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. Spectrum brings to life the best of Royal Caribbean along with curated experiences for our Chinese consumers. Custom built for the Chinese market, the Spectrum of the Seas features bold and unexpected experiences, Royal Caribbean said, including the cruise lines first private enclave for suite guests. Penetration testers and attackers have a new tool in their arsenal that can be used to automate phishing attacks in a way that defeats two-factor authentication (2FA) and is not easy to detect and block. The tool makes such attacks much easier to deploy, so organizations should adapt their anti-phishing training accordingly. [ Check out these 11 phishing prevention tips for best technology practices, employee education and social media smarts. | Get the latest from CSO by signing up for our newsletters. ] The new toolkit was presented last month at the Hack in the Box conference in Amsterdam and was released on GitHub after a few days. It has two components: A transparent reverse-proxy called Muraena and a Docker container for automating headless Chromium instances called NecroBrowser. A man-in-the-middle type of attack Traditional phishing attacks that most people are familiar with consist of fake login pages hosted on attacker-controlled web servers and served from custom domains whose names are similar to those of the targeted websites. However, such static attacks are not effective against online services that use two-factor authentication, because there is no interaction with the legitimate websites to trigger the generation of one-time-use codes. Without those codes, attackers can't log in with the phished credentials. To overcome 2FA, attackers need to have their phishing websites function as proxies, forwarding requests on victims' behalf to the legitimate websites and delivering back responses in real time. The final goal is not to obtain only usernames and passwords, but active session tokens known as session cookies that the real websites associate with logged-in accounts. These session cookies can be placed inside a browser to access the accounts they're associated with directly without the need to authenticate. This proxy-based technique is not new and has been known for a long time, but setting up such an attack required technical knowledge and involved configuring multiple independent tools such as the NGINX web server to run as reverse-proxy. Then the attacker needed to manually abuse the stolen session cookies before they expire. Furthermore, some websites use technologies like Subresource Integrity (SRI) and Content Security Policy (CSP) to prevent proxying, and some even block automated browsers based on headers. Muraena and NecroBrowser were created to defeat those protections and automate most of the process. This means launching phishing attacks that can defeat 2FA can now be done by a larger number of attackers. The tools were created by researchers Michele Orru, a former core developer of the Browser Exploitation Framework Project (BeEF), and Giuseppe Trotta, a member of the Bettercap project. How do Muraena and NecroBrowser work? Muraena is written in the Go programming language, which means that it can be compiled and run on any platform where Go is available. Once deployed, the attacker can configure their phishing domain and obtain a legitimate certificate for it--for example, by using the non-profit Let's Encrypt certificate authority. The tool contains a minimal web server that acts as reverse-proxy and a crawler that automatically determines which resources to proxy from the legitimate website. The proxy transparently rewrites requests received from the victim before passing them on. The crawler automatically generates a JSON configuration file, which can then be tweaked manually to bypass various defenses on more complex websites. The package includes example configuration files for Google, GitHub and Dropbox. Once a victim lands on a phishing site powered by Muraena, the login process works exactly as on the real website. The user is asked for their 2FA code. After they provide it and authentication is completed, the proxy steals the session cookie. The session token is normally stored by the browser inside a file and is served on subsequent requests. This allows the website to automatically provide that browser with access to an account for a certain amount of time -- session length -- without asking for the login password again. Muraena can automatically pass the collected session cookies to its second component, the NecroBrowser, which can immediately start abusing them. NecroBrowser is a microservice that can be controlled through an API and configured to perform actions through Chromium headless instances running inside Docker containers. Depending on the available server resources, an attacker can spawn tens or hundreds of such containers simultaneously, each with a session cookie stolen from a victim. The actions performed by the zombie browser instances can be fully automated. For example, depending on the type of account, that could mean taking screenshots of emails, initiating password resets, uploading rogue keys to GitHub or adding rogue forwarding addresses to mailboxes. The browser instances could also be used to gather information about contacts and friends on social networks and even to send phishing messages to those friends in a worm-like attack. How to protect against automated phishing attacks Unfortunately, few technical solutions completely block such phishing attacks on the server side. Muraena was developed to show that techniques such as SRI and CSP have a limited effect and can be bypassed in an automated manner. Furthermore, the tool shows that 2FA is not a bulletproof solution. Proxy based phishing cant defeat some 2FA implementations, howeverthose that use USB hardware tokens with support for the Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) standard. That's because those USB tokens establish a cryptographically verified connection to the legitimate website through the browser, which does not go through the attacker's reverse-proxy. Meanwhile, solutions that are based on codes received over SMS or generated by mobile authenticator apps are vulnerable, because the victims have to manually input them, and they might do so on the phishing websites. [ Learn why unauthenticated SMS is a security risk. ] Another technical solution can be a browser extension that checks if the user is inputting their credentials on the correct website. Google developed such an extension for Chrome called Password Alert that warns users if they attempt to enter their Google credentials on any website that does not belong to Google. Training users to be vigilant and to make sure they are authenticating on the correct website with the correct domain name remains very important. The presence of an TLS/SSL indicator and a valid certificate are not enough to consider a website is legitimate because certificates can now be easily obtained for free, so most phishing sites will be HTTPS-enabled. STAMFORD California announced Monday that it was suing Purdue Pharma and one of its owners, joining Maine, Hawaii and the District of Columbia in the latest wave of lawsuits that allege the OxyContin maker fueled the opioid crisis with deceptive marketing of its pain drugs. The torrent of litigation comes from prosecutors who blame Purdue and members of the Sackler family who own the company for exacerbating an epidemic of opioid abuse that has seen some 218,000 Americans die from overdoses related to prescription opioids since 1999. In total, Purdue faces more than 1,000 active complaints, including 45 from states and hundreds filed by cities and counties. The opioid crisis is devastating our communities and killing our loved ones. Purdue Pharma and (defendant) Dr. (Richard) Sackler started the fire and then poured gasoline on the opioid crisis with practices that were irresponsible, unconscionable and unlawful, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. Purdues deliberate and deceptive marketing and sale of these drugs sacrificed the well-being of Californians for billions of dollars in profits and fueled an unprecedented national public health crisis. We will continue to hold accountable those who put profits over people. Purdue has denied the lawsuits allegations. These complaints are part of a continuing effort to try these cases in the court of public opinion rather than the justice system, the statement said. The states cannot link the conduct alleged to the harm described, and so they have invented stunningly overbroad legal theories, which if adopted by courts, will undermine the bedrock legal principle of causation. A message left for a spokesperson of Richard Sackler, Purdues president and CEO in the early 2000s, was not immediately returned. The past month has marked one of the busiest periods in the past couple of years for Purdue-related litigation. Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin each sued in May. Idaho, Michigan and Nebraska remain the only states not to have announced lawsuits against Purdue in the past few years. Kentucky settled with Purdue in 2015 for about $24 million. In the firms largest settlement of the past 10 years, it reached a $270 million agreement in March with Oklahoma to resolve that states lawsuit. Those funds would focus on programs to combat the opioid epidemic in the Sooner State. Pressure on Richard Sackler Richard Sackler, one of eight Sackler family members named in Connecticuts lawsuit, has emerged as an especially controversial figure in the litigation. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong last month released an unredacted version of the states complaint, which he said showed shocking and offensive emails, from 2001 that Richard Sackler exchanged with an unnamed acquaintance. At the time, he was about halfway through a four-year stint as Purdues CEO and president. In one correspondence, Richard Sackler said that abusers arent victims; they are the victimizers. Representatives of Richard Sackler argue that those messages do not reflect his current views on the opioid crisis. He elaborated on the 2001 emails saying that he probably was quite emotional when he wrote them according to excerpts from a court deposition he gave in March. Ive gotten a lot more information about addiction, in general ... or opioid addiction, in particular, and, of course, my views have evolved and changed, Richard Sackler said in the deposition. At that time, I was very concerned that the balance that had been struck by the FDA between the benefits and risks of strong opioids might be upset, perhaps with terrible consequence for patients and for doctors, who wanted to treat them. Richard Sackler gave the deposition for a group of Multidistrict Litigation cases, consolidated in a federal court in Cleveland, involving about 1,800 cities and counties across the country that have sued Purdue and other opioid makers. None of the pending cases has gone to trial yet, leaving open the possibility of more individual or multistate settlements. An attorney for four of the Sackler defendants said in a recent interview that they want to reach a global settlement with the plaintiffs. Tong has said in the past couple of weeks that he still plans to take Connecticuts case to trial. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott The Funniest Comic in Connecticut Contest is back, with multiple opportunities for you to check out the talent, including Saturday night shows at The Treehouse Comedy Club in Westport on June 8 and 15. More than a dozen acts are featured each night, with performers delivering a five-minute routine. The June 8 show will be hosted by Funniest Comic in New England Contest participant Doug Key. Since that contest, Key appeared on MTVs Broke A$$ Game Show, ABCs The Chew, VH1s Dating Naked, and founded the successful Rogue Island Comedy Festival in Newport, R.I. West Haven native John Romanoff, a former winner of the Funniest Comic in New England Contest, will host the June 15 show. Since his win, hes appeared on AXS TVs Gotham Comedy Live and on FOX, ABC and NBC, according to a news release. Romanoff says the contest opened many doors for him, he got to meet some of his comedy idols as a result, and has enjoyed working in radio and on television, not to mention traveling the country to perform in places such as Las Vegas. He says the contest changed his life. Sign up to get events, interviews with artists and more delivered to your inbox for free. Treehouse Comedy Productions started the competition 11 years ago. In past years it was open only to comics with ties to Connecticut, but this year its open to competitors from Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. The winner receives a $2,000 cash prize, plus a boatload of paid stand-up gigs and automatic entry into the Boston Comedy Festival and the Rogue Island Comedy Festival. Three finalists will also earn cash prizes, but there are several rounds to the contest, so those top comics wont be revealed until the fall. Nearly 90 comedians submitted a video link or DVD showing their talents to enter the fray this year. Treehouse Comedy Productions invited 54 of those brave folks to participate. Acts are judged on timing, delivery, originality, material, likeability and most importantly, whether theyre funny. The audience gets to vote, as well. Audience response counts for 33% of the judging process. Also, comics will be penalized for running long or going short. This is serious business! Well, not really, but kind of. Treehouse Comedy Club, 1595 Post Road, Westport. June 8, 9:15 p.m., June 15, 8 p.m. $19.50, 203-230-8700 BRIDGEPORT - A woman who champions for better schools in the city was arrested after police said she jumped on an officers back after he broke up a fight on a school bus. But Samaris Rose-Smith contends she was the victim of police brutality while trying to maintain her constitutional rights. On Monday, Rose-Smith, 37, pleaded not guilty in Superior Court to risk of injury to a child, interfering with police, assault on a public safety officer and second-degree breach of peace. She asked for a jury trial. The case was continued to June 28. My client is very affirmative in maintaining her innocence and she feels she was the victim of aggressive action by the police, said her lawyer, Dennis Bradley. In a Facebook post, Rose-Smith sobbed as she complained that police officers treated her roughly for no reason. She did not return calls for comment on Monday. According to the police report, on the afternoon of May 23, officers were called to a disturbance on a school bus on South Avenue behind the state police barracks. Police said two students, a boy and a girl, were fighting. Police said the bus supervisor, Laura Williams, told officers that when the bus stopped on South Avenue, the boys father took his child off the vehicle in a calm manner. Rose-Smith, holding up an identification badge, got onto the bus and got into an argument with the girl, the police report states. When Williams learned that Rose-Smith was the boys mother, she told Rose-Smith that she would have to leave the bus, the report states. Rose-Smith refused numerous requests from both Williams and the bus driver to leave, according to the report. The report states that officers were talking to Williams when the juvenile male student ran back into the bus and attempted to fight the female student. He was pulled back out off the bus by his father, the report states. As an officer was attempting to detain the boy, the report states, Rose-Smith jumped on the officers back and grabbed his handcuffs. The officer was forced down to the street and suffered a minor injury, the report states. Rose-Smith began yelling and stating, Are you kidding me? Youre lying, the police report says. She then put her cellphone to her ear and stated, Chief Perez, Chief Perez, multiple times, the report states. A state trooper assisted local police officers in handcuffing Rose-Smith following a struggle, the report states. While in the booking area at the Police Department, the report states that Rose-Smith was belligerent, demanding to speak to Police Chief Armando Perez. Everyones going to know about this, she stated, according to the report. As credit union boards and executives refresh their strategic plans, some will take a similar approach to what bankers are doing. They will focus on growth and market share, driven by improvements to the member experience; investments in mobile technology; talent retention; brand marketing and risk management. And the holy grail will always be to do all of this while becoming very cool and popular with the membership of the future found in the millennial and Gen Z generations. But to be clear, a high percentage of most credit unions target field of membership is underbanked, or put differently, they are financially struggling and underserved. And many, if not most, progressive credit unions will realize the need for proactive service strategies for this group as well. The Filene Research Institute just published a thought-provoking, must-read paper titled, The Credit Union of the 21st Century. In this report, the Filene team compiled feedback from credit union leaders with academic research to reach the following conclusions that relate to credit union strategic planning: No matter the service niche chosen by individual credit unions, each should realize that the credit union of the future should be relationship-rooted, a platform-based concierge and a one-stop shop for financial services. They should also consider investments in ambient banking with a skillful mix of artificial intelligencedriven chatbots and human handoffs. Dramatic socioeconomic trends and new technological capabilities will change the way that credit unions must approach financial services, and change should happen quickly. Workforce transformations to more part-time and contract workers in a gig economy, growing income volatility and fragility, and increased automation have altered the financial needs of Americans. Millennials will have less need for traditional branches and much greater interest in a one-stop mobile financial institution. The role of payments is becoming the key entry point into financial relationships. Changes to credit union laws and regulations will be needed to help credit unions adapt to this new environment and to help them be the community-centric cooperative providers of affordable financial services in the future. I find it interesting that there is a surprising amount of overlap when considering relevance to both millennials and the underbanked. There are 83 million millennials in the U.S., a quarter of the population, and an estimated 30 percent are underbanked, 21 percent have never written a check, 27 percent would consider a branchless, digital bank, and they account for over 40 percent of all retail sales today. This next generation for credit union membership does not typically place the same value on home and car ownership and other big-ticket items as their parents and grandparents did. So, as futurists predict that autonomous cars and ride-sharing will become even more prevalent, credit unions bread and butter home and auto lending may become hyper-competitive and challenging in the future. And millennials are glued to their smartphones, accounting for 41 percent of total time Americans spend there. So, although today many credit unions are very loaned out with an emphasis on mortgage, auto and credit card loans, in the future, opportunities for small-dollar, short-term loans should be considered. The Filene study describes the precarious future of work in the U.S. by pointing out that 94 percent of net employment growth between 2005 and 2015 was in the form of freelance, contract, on-call or temp agency jobs. And 20 percent of all workers today are contractors, usually not receiving benefits from their employers. They predict that in the next 10 years, a majority of workers will fit these criteria. And with respect to income volatility and difficulty saving, the Filene report revealed that Federal Reserve data showed that one-third of Americans reported some kind of monthly income variation in recent studies. Other financial wellness data reinforce the point that being underserved in financial services is more mainstream than ever. Fully 60 percent of U.S. households experienced a major financial shock last year, and 55 percent could not replace one month of income with liquid savings. So, who is serving the needs and perceived needs of this burgeoning group of underbanked and underserved consumers, including the millennial population that has 30 percent underbanked in its ranks? Traditional bank and credit union models seem to locate new branches in more upscale neighborhoods, looking for the moderate-to-higher income household that might be net savers and more likely to make big-ticket purchases financed by a credit union. The occupational-based offices, located close to the core FOM group, seem to be a model of the past, or one that is being replaced by community-based fields of membership and a more diversified membership comprised of both occupational groups and communities. Nobody can argue with the economic rationale behind these credit union growth strategies. But not-for-profit, tax-exempt credit unions also have a social responsibility to serve the underserved in lower-income, urban and suburban neighborhoods. This can also be done through great one-stop mobile offerings that help members with their basic needs of paying someone, getting quick access to credit, and saving and protecting their usually small nest egg for the future. The payday lending and check cashing industry has really only been around in the U.S. since 1993, and it has grown to over 15,000 stores, 83,000 employees and over 12 million customers, mostly low-income and financially challenged borrowers. It is a profitable business with over $11 billion in revenue and $1.4 billion in profit in 2018. The largest providers are national companies like Advance America and Check N Go, and they are both fast and mobile in their offerings. These providers are most-often focused on an excellent consumer experience in their urban and rural stores as well as their websites and mobile apps. While their reputation is poor due to the high fees charged for payday loans, regulations require transparent disclosure and place limits on egregious practices related to rollover loans and collection activities. Most of the big payday loan providers message trust, speed, clear rates and fees and customer satisfaction. They tout customer testimonials, cross-sell reloadable VISA debit cards as an alternative to checking accounts, offer faster access to paychecks, provide bill pay and money transfer options, and offer financial education. These are many of the same brand promises offered by the new neo-banks and challenger banks that are mostly funded by venture capital and large money-center banks. Many credit unions across the country offer payday alternative loans. For federal credit unions, they model the NCUA-approved and CFPB-exempted PALs program where members can borrow up to $1,000 for a $20 fee and 28 percent interest for terms of one to six months for three such loans in a six-month period. The APR on these loans is less than 76 percent, well below the APR rates of payday lenders. For state-chartered credit unions like One Detroit in Michigan, their members can use their MyPay loan product for a $70 annual fee, along with an 18 percent annual rate, and members are allowed to make multiple draws throughout the year. Seventeen percent of this urban credit unions members use its MyPay loan product, and members pay roughly one quarter the cost charged by Detroit-area payday lenders. As the millennial generation shows less and less interest in home, auto and other big-ticket purchases, and as their credit scores and employment status make it more difficult to be served by traditional loan products, their needs for quick access to money may well be served by credit unions payday alternative loans like that offered by One Detroit Credit Union. And then consider the huge influx of neo-banks like Chime, MoneyLion, Varo, and Greendot and proprietary beta banks like Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Greenhouse by Wells Fargo and Finn by Chase. Jim Marous, co-publisher of the Financial Brand predicts that by the end of this year, over half of the top 10 U.S. banks will have fully digital mobile banks that provide customers with the one-stop financial services hub that Filene suggests credit unions will need to offer. Most of these providers emphasize alternatives to traditional checking accounts via a multi-feature reloadable debit card with instant alert cashback features, ATM access, bill pay features, lower fees and access to loan products in many cases. Interestingly, these banks realize that the separate mobile product is about creating a different mobile experience that blends financial education, low-fee services and remote tools for payments, borrowing and investing. Many of them will use the Greendot model of messaging that there are no pesky overdraft fees and provide the ability to get payroll deposit up to two days early and deposit cash at corner pharmacies, while also managing spending using a personal financial management platform. The takeaway for credit unions is that, as next-generation banking places more emphasis on speed of payments, quick and easy access to small loans, and creative ways to low-cost, trusted saving and investing, millennials and other tech-savvy consumers will demand a different type of banking. And a majority of these new members will be lower-income, underserved consumers looking for trusted, affordable financial services. The simple, consumer-friendly payday lending stores offer convenient storefronts in low-income neighborhoods that are less attractive to banks and credit unions, while also offering a strong web-based or mobile app for quick, convenient loans online. As payday lenders expand out into the world of the mobile neo-banks, perhaps credit unions should consider how they become more relevant in both areas of short-term small-balance lending as well as neo-bank services offered through the mobile channel. No provider should be better suited to doing this than credit unions. However, the key planning question will be whether that is where the 21st century credit union wants to go. It wont be as profitable as serving middle- to upper-class financial services needs. But serving these needs will be more satisfying and more in keeping with the true mission of credit unions. I believe that most successful credit unions will work to proactively serve all income demographics but with strong conscious emphasis on the growing needs of the underbanked and underserved, especially millennials. CU Solutions Group has created a new FinTech company called LifeStep Solutions, LLC, and we plan to explore turn-key mobile solutions for credit unions of all sizes. These will help credit unions meet the service needs of millennials and the underbanked. Features will include mobile payments, short-term small balance loans and resources for financial wellness. We believe that credit unions will want to collaborate and invest together in these solutions, and we look forward to sharing that journey with our credit union partners and investors. Welcome to episode 22 of The CUInsight Experience podcast. Hosted by Randy Smith, co-founder and publisher of CUInsight.com. Todays guest is Bradley Leimer the co-founder of Unconventional Ventures. He works with startups in the fintech ecosystem and mentors entrepreneurs. He believes in bringing diversity to the fintech ecosystem and that anybody with a great idea should have the chance to succeed. He truly is one of the most respected names in the fintech space and I was very excited to get to speak with him. We recorded this episode prior to Bradleys talk at the CO-OP Think event and start our conversation with a discussion on the future of the community banking model. Bradley talks about the concept of payments and the distinct difference in mindset around payments in other parts of the world versus the American view. I then brought up my trip to Indonesia and the fact that the Asian markets no longer carry cash. Applications are now the primary form of payments. Following our discussion of the impact of technology on the banking industry, we dive into data collection and use. Bradley shares that while credit unions are poised to be able to use data more effectively than larger institutions, many times the relationship with their technology partner is not strong enough. He then gives examples of how credit unions could better collaborate with their technology partners. Tune in to todays episode to learn all about how technology and data collection are changing the landscape of finance and financial institutions. Well talk about Bradleys start in the finance space, his innumerable travels, and his advice for financial institutions in the digital age. Enjoy! Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher How to find Bradley: Bradley Leimer Co-founder of Unconventional Ventures bradley@unconventionalventures.com www.unconventionalventures.com Twitter | LinkedIn | Podcast Show notes from this episode: Conference mentioned where we recorded: COOP Think. The founder was on the podcast. Listen here. Apps mentioned: BCash Apps mentioned: WeChat Conference mentioned: Finovate Financial institutions mentioned: Even, SoFi, Revolut, Lending Club Article mentioned: The Future of Financial Services Lies in the East Book mentioned: 1984 by George Orwell App mentioned: Zoom Podcast mentioned: Shades of Gray Podcast mentioned: Judge Me By My Cover Podcast mentioned: Red Envelope Best album: U2 The Unforgettable Fire Book mentioned: The Art of Travel by Alain De Botton Book mentioned: Generation X by Douglas Coupland Book mentioned: The Castle in the Sandbox by Kosta Peric Shout-out: Gates Foundation and Bill Gates Shout-out: M-Pesa Previous guests mentioned in this episode: Doug Leighton, Caroline Willard, Sam Paxson You can find all past episodes of The CUInsight Experience here. In This Episode: [00:03] Welcome back to the show! Randy introduces Bradley Leimer, this episodes guest. [02:40] Whats the biggest disruption to credit unions that you see in the future? [04:30] We discuss the move toward apps to make payments. [05:05] Is there a threat to the relevance of traditional financial institutions? [06:44] Communities are starting to be less served by banks and credit unions based in those communities. [07:19] Is there a place for credit unions that are going to stay relevant and fintech to work together? [08:30] Regulators are becoming more receptive to open banking regulations. Create open shares for data shares between different institutions. [09:48] Whats the lobby? Is fintech attaching to the bank lobby or trying to change other rules? [10:35] Whats been the biggest challenge of working with people in the fintech space? [13:01] Are the fintechs looking to partner with the more traditional system? [14:30] What do you mean by financial services not being age agnostic? [16:15] We discuss how data is affecting the customer experience and how it is being used today in other industries. [18:03] Bradley talks about how data can now reveal customer value based on spending and habits. [19:09] How is the collection and use of data going to be affected by huge breaches like those at Facebook? [20:55] Bradley advises credit unions to push their technology partners to start to show the value that they are deriving off of the data for the institutions. [21:26] We discuss the different paths that credit unions can take in utilizing the data that is provided from their technology partners. [22:37] Should credit unions be more collaborative with their technology partners? [25:07] Bradley discusses his recommendation for credit union institutions to collaborate with fintech companies to create digital banks and applications. [27:00] What inspired Bradley to get into credit unions and fintech? [29:07] We discuss the mindset of the banking institution and its relationship with the members. [30:12] What keeps Bradley going each day? What is his inspiration to keep working in the industry? [31:34] Is fintech helping to erase the barrier to entry of the traditional institution? [33:14] Bradley shares his productivity tips for the remote workforce. [35:45] Bradley shares the three podcasts that he and his company have started recently. [38:03] I ask if Bradley has noticed a mistake that people make over and over again and he indicates that he finds people struggle with learning from the past. [39:12] Bradleys life lesson that he revisits is to appreciate the people that you get to work with today. The relationships you make in your 20s and 30s are the ones that stick around. [39:52] How does he keep his message fresh? [40:58] Bradley talks about what he does with his free time. If he had a lot of free time hed read and write more. [42:17] We move into some rapid-fire questions beginning with the first time Bradley remembers getting into trouble and he recalls an incident involving walking around on the roof. [43:45] What daily routines does Bradley observe to keep his time on track? [44:55] The best album of all time for Bradley is Unforgettable Fire by U2. [45:43] What book does Bradley recommend everyone should read? [48:52] What has become more and less important to Bradley as he has gotten older? [49:55] When Bradley hears the word success, who is the first person who comes to mind? [52:41] Does Bradley have any final asks or final thoughts for the audience? And how can they get in touch with him? In 2015, Leslie Miley was Twitters only black lead engineer. Upon his separation from Twitter, he published a post on Medium discussing the conflicted environment he worked in: On one hand, Twitter was a platform that elevated issues of race and diversity; it had provided a place for people and groups to raise their voices on topics that had previously received little attention. On the other, the leadership of the company did not reflect the users it served. While over 30% of Twitter users were African-American and Hispanic, less than 5% of the engineering and product management team included leaders from these demographics. Worse, when concerns around diversity were raised, it created more tension than action. In his post, Miley tells of the subtle and not-so-subtle ways black leaders were alienated in their time at Twitter. In one instance, Miley describes a situation in which he asked why Twitters African American employees were not invited to an event that featured Jesse Jackson (as female employees had been for Hillary Clinton). A colleague tried to comfort him with the assurance that perhaps it was because, they forgot that you were black. Miley goes on to wonder in his post whether in attempting to achieve the appropriate level of blackness that makes me palatable to tech, had I unwittingly erased the importance of maintaining my blackness in a sea of white faces? Following his departure, Twitter no longer had any people of color serving in senior-level roles in engineering or product management. If Miley had not explicitly pointed this out, I wonder if they would have even noticed the underrepresentation? A 2018 McKinsey study on women in the workplace showed that nearly half of men surveyed believed that if one out of ten senior leaders is female, women are well-represented in leadership. If there is a belief that half of the population is sufficiently represented at a rate of just 10%, how negligible might the number be to represent one-third of the user group? When a company celebrates that minority leaders fit in so well their differences are forgotten (as was the case with Miley), it is even less likely that the absence of one person of color would be noted, let alone treated with concern. Cultures that require assimilation from those who bring unique backgrounds and characteristics miss out on the business benefits of diversity that are now widely acknowledged. If people are unable to bring their whole selves to workincluding those traits that make them uniquely human how long will they be willing to stay in their seats at the table? How bad does it have to get for them to excuse themselves from these coveted leadership roles? It is difficult to feel safe in an environment where it has been enforced that race or gender is something to overcome in order to belong. It creates workplaces where employees find themselves torn between staying at the table and pretending to be satisfied by a menu that is slowly poisoning them, or politely excusing themselves from the seat they had worked so hard to earn. Miley took a risk by excusing himself and speaking up. Presumably, he walked away from an exit package that might have provided a softer landing in order to talk about what he had experienced. He spoke out about his blacknesssomething he had previously learned was not an advantage in tech and exposed himself to the potentially career-limiting move of being labeled an angry black man, a stereotype comparable to the hysterical female (both of which seem to emerge any time the faintest hint of emotion creeps into the voices of African Americans or women). When Miley weighed his choice for self-preservation versus advocating for change that would benefit the greater good, he chose the greater good. He likely did so with confidence that his resume, professional network, and high earning potential created many future opportunities. Not everyone facing this situation is able to make the same choice. The risks may be too great, the resources too small, or the support too uncertain for someone to feel comfortable standing up. Others working in toxic environments might find that self-preservation is about survival, not just reputation. Amid discrimination or harassment, people are afraid to speak up because job loss means that bills dont get paid or children dont get fed, and there is not another opportunity waiting just around the corner. Without a culture that has proven to support those who speak up or to value those who are unique, voices remain silent. Blatant and subtle discrimination persists. From that silence, change does not happen. Higher standards are not created. Individual human worth is not valued at the level it should be. What disservice does it do to broader issues of diversity and inclusion, discrimination and harassment, when people are forced to protect themselves without addressing the bigger issue? This does not blaze a trail that makes others paths more navigable. It does not create a picture of leadership that ensures minorities and women have examples of leaders to emulate who look like them. It does not set a new, more inviting table or design a better-balanced menu. It does not help an industry become better. Did one man speaking up help Twitter improve? Maybe incrementally. The Leadership and the overall workforce are still less than 5% black, less than 4% Hispanic, and just over one-third female, but they are tracking progress and setting targets for improvement. Demographics of the companys new hires are more diverse than the company overall, which is also a positive indicator. As we look at our own organizations, we must ask ourselves what we are doing to create a picture of leadership that ensures minorities and women believe it is a place where they belongor where they are comfortable raising concerns. It is important to consider the departures that might seem perplexing and scrutinize whether something in the culture might have caused the exit. Organizations in the credit union industry likely lose a great deal of talent in people who politely excuse themselves from their seats at the table, stating that it is just time to move on. A more likely reality is that it was time to find a place where they did not have to overcome who they were in order to thrive. Our industry is positioned for so much better than this in the war for talent. We have a mission that should excite potential employees and volunteers in the same way Miley was excited about the social changes he saw Twitter advancing. We must live that mission in our engagement with the humans who want to lead our organizations, unlocking the full potential of the unique individuals looking for seats at our table. In order to do that, we must set a more inviting table, design a better-balanced menu, and find ways to be more welcoming. We must stop celebrating assimilationthe blackness that can be forgotten, the woman who can make her way in a mans worldand embrace that credit unions are here to build a better world, where all humans belong at our table. Resources: I first learned of Leslie Mileys story from this book by Jennifer Brown. I highly recommend it to anyone who is part of an organization where Diversity and Inclusion matter. (That means you!) Roy Jeffs, son of polygamist who told the world about his fathers abuses, dies at 26 The Salt Lake Tribune/June 2, 2019 By Nate Carlisle Roy Jeffs, a son of Warren Jeffs who was among the first to say the polygamous sect prophet sexually abused his own children, too, was found dead Friday in Utah. He was 26. One of Roy Jeffs half-sisters, Rachel Jeffs, said he killed himself at his home in Salt Lake City. She placed blame on her imprisoned father. Father didnt love him. [Roy] knew it, Rachel Jeffs said in a phone interview. All of us knew it. We all got told Roy was a bad boy. When Roy Jeffs began telling his story in the fall of 2015 about how his father abused him, it gave new insight into the man considered prophet by people still following him in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I remember him saying you should never do this, Roy Jeffs told CNN in 2015. And then he did it to me. A half-sister, Becky Jeffs, appeared on that program, too, to also accuse her father of molesting her. While Warren Jeffs had already been convicted in Texas of sexually assaulting two girls he married as plural wives, and had years earlier been accused of sexually abusing nieces and nephews, none of his children estimated to number in the mid-50s to mid-70s range had yet accused him of molestation. Roy Jeffs coming forward was credited with helping siblings share their experiences, too. Among them was Rachel Jeffs, who in 2017 published a memoir describing her father molesting her and later separating her from her family. Roy Jeffs left the FLDS in February 2014. The next year, he began giving interviews describing the physical abuse and how he and other children were shuffled around the American West either because they werent considered worthy or to perform labor on construction crews. Besides interviews with CNN and the Associated Press, Roy Jeffs spoke to gatherings near Pringle, S.D., where the FLDS have a compound. Leroy Barlow Jeffs was born June 5, 1992, in Sandy, Utah, at the compound in Little Cottonwood Canyon owned by his grandfather, Rulon Jeffs, then the leader of the FLDS. Roy was named for an earlier FLDS prophet, Leroy Johnson. The middle name came from his mother, Gloria Barlow, Warren Jeffs third wife. Roy was the oldest of her four children. Gloria Barlow was from a family of esteem in the FLDS and whom the Jeffs considered political rivals. Roy Jeffs described the molestation by his father as his earliest childhood memory. He was 3 or 4 years old, he said. Warren Jeffs took the boy in a bathroom. After giving that order never to do what was about to happen, according to Roy Jeffs, his father touched him repeatedly. It was the only such episode, but Roy Jeffs said it affected his whole life. He made me feel like I had done something wrong, Roy Jeffs told Year of Polygamy. At age 14, Roy Jeffs was separated from his mother. It happened after he made a confession to his father. Warren Jeffs, by then incarcerated, required his followers to send him letters describing their sins. Roy Jeffs had admitted to sexual urges, including attractions to some of his stepmothers who were close to his age. Roy Jeffs was ostracized with other FLDS boys to a ranch in Wyoming. Later he described stops in Colorado and Kansas working for FLDS-connected construction companies. He decided to leave the FLDS in February 2014, he said, when he realized he would never meet his fathers standards for purity and obedience. "I might as well leave and maybe have a little fun in life, Roy Jeffs told the Associated Press in 2015. Roy Jeffs acknowledged the memories of the abuse and controlling mandates of his father made a normal life difficult. "If I think about too hard, think about everything that has happened, it just breaks me down real bad," he told the AP. Roy Jeffs was working for a half-brother with a solar panel installation business at the time of his death, Rachel Jeffs said. Roy Jeffs survivors include his parents and his three full-siblings. Rachel Jeffs said Gloria Barlow and her surviving children remain loyal to Warren Jeffs, who is serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in prison. Those immediate family members cut ties with Roy Jeffs after he left the group, Rachel Jeffs said. The old FLDS compound in Sandy has been demolished, but Rachel Jeffs said Saturday that she and some of her family were seeking a burial spot for Roy near the old home. Services are pending, she said. To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here. Prosecutors leveled new charges Wednesday against a man and woman accused of bilking more than $1 million from a lawyer who responded to a flyer for psychic readings. Sherry Marks, 52, and David Marks, 48, each face 14 counts of theft, one count of extortion and one count of multiple transactions involving fraud or deceit in the course of occupation or enterprise. Another woman, Rita Stevens, has been named in the case as an uncharged co-conspirator, and Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Mishler has said that charges could be filed against a third woman, identified in court records as Peaches Marks. Authorities have described the case as an elaborate, monthslong scam that netted cash, jewels, airfare and a pair of $130,000 BMWs. More than a year ago, Stacey Tokunaga, 56, who focuses on workers compensation law in California and Nevada, called a number she found on a flyer for a tarot card reading, according to court papers. Sherry Marks and Rita Stevens supposed psychic abilities revealed that Stacey Tokunaga had a sickness, the charges filed Wednesday stated. The only way Stacey Tokunaga could be healed of her sickness and/or achieve happiness was for Stacey Tokunaga to provide the defendants with money and/or purchases various items. The lawyer made hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash withdrawals, cash advances, signed cashiers checks, allowed the defendants to use her credit cards, gave them jewelry and bought them two luxury sedans, after they promised that she would be cleansed, the court papers stated. In court Wednesday, lawyers for David and Sherry Marks, told Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure that they needed more time to review the new charges. While Sherry Marks was being detained on $40,000 bail, David Marks has been released from custody. To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here Its Thursday night at the Mahane Yehuda market in west Jerusalem, where the music is thumping and the drinks are flowing. When a bottle breaks, the crowds erupt with a chorus of mazel tov, or congratulations. But as some ultra-Orthodox Jewish men in traditional black suits, side locks, and thick skullcaps pass by, Ad Shamsis face sours. What do they have to do here? asks the 56-year-old Jewish Israeli, who is kicking off the weekend at an outside bar. This is a glimpse of the intra-religious tension that in part led Israels parliament last week to dissolve itself and hold a fresh election just seven weeks after the last one following a deadlock between two rightwing factions at odds over a proposal to draft the ultra-Orthodox into Israels military. Since Israels founding, the ultra-Orthodox also called the Haredim have been exempted from military service, which is mandatory for all Jewish Israeli school leavers. The various ultra-Orthodox sects see it as a religious commandment to only study Jewish texts and separate themselves from modern society. They consequently receive government subsidies to study rather than work, along with general social services and benefits relating to unemployment, poverty and their large numbers of children. Today the ultra-Orthodox, an umbrella term for different sects and communities, are 10% of Israels population of more than 8.5 million and are growing fast. They have strategically cultivated a role as kingmakers in Israeli politics, making or breaking coalitions based on which politicians best support their interests. The military symbolises the antithesis of traditional ultra-Orthodox principles. It represents time away from studying, a mixing of genders against religious prohibitions and a vast melting pot in which young people are taught to be a certain kind of Israeli. For average Jewish Israelis, to be a good citizen is to serve in the military. (Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up 20% of the population, are exempt from service because of the ongoing conflict.) Shamsi is an avid supporter of Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, and his rightwing, national religious policies. He wears a kippa, or Jewish head covering, thinks shops should close on the Sabbath in keeping with strict Jewish law, and supports Israels presence in the occupied Palestinian Territories. He lives in Ramot, an increasingly ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem considered an illegal settlement under international law. He has no patience with the ultra-Orthodox Jews who do not serve in the military yet receive subsidies from the government, all while not actually studying in his mind epitomised by the young Haredi men coming to check out the secular bar scene on a Thursday night. Why do I need to do three years [in the military] and him not? Shamsi asks. Why do I need to pay for everything and not them? A few minutes walk from the bars of Mahane Yehuda is Mea Shearim, historically the most intense ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood in Jerusalem. Here, men dress in various styles of black hats and suits, depending on their sect, and walk fast, so as not to appear to be wasting time away from studying. Plastered on walls along narrow streets are posters listing deaths and other notices a key source of information for communities that shun the internet. A sign near a bustling supermarket informs passers-by: It is forbidden to participate in elections. Some ultra-Orthodox sects do not recognise the state of Israel, saying the Bible prescribes that it can only come into existence with the coming of the Messiah. For others, there is a more pointed boycott of elections now in protest over what they see as the Haredi parties failure to be hardline enough on the issue of conscription. In places like Mea Shearim, it is also frowned upon to talk to people from outside the community, explains Tal Sapir, 32. He has stopped to buy pastries on his way home to Givat Zeev, a settlement near Jerusalem which is popular among the ultra-religious. Sapir wearing a black suit and hat, with traditional side locks says he does not take part in protests against the draft and the opening of shops on the Sabbath, as other Haredim do. In fact, he is one of the few ultra-Orthodox Jews who have undertaken national service, by working at a youth centre for a year. But he opposes the draft law put forward by Avigdor Lieberman, the staunchly rightwing and secular minister who led one side of the political deadlock of recent weeks. Liebermans proposal included small quotas for conscription and financial sanctions on seminaries if they were unfulfilled. The three main ultra-Orthodox parties have rejected quotas of any kind. Only those who dont want to study should go [to the military], said Sapir. Forcing people to serve was seen as an attack on Haredi life. In his opinion, Lieberman had used the ultra-Orthodox as pawns in his own political battles with Netanyahu. Hes a leftist, he says of Lieberman, parroting Netanyahu. Whoever brings down a rightwing government, hes a leftist. If the ultra-Orthodox are forced to conscript, it will be a war of brothers, he says. The divide between ultra-religious and secular or less religious Israelis runs deep. But the pushback to the draft law also signals how much is changing. On the one hand there is a modernising, opening-up trend within Haredi society, explains Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer of the Tikvah Fund, a thinktank. He cites increased integration of Haredim into the workforce and higher education. But this also triggers a reactionary movement in Haredi society becoming more extreme. It all comes to a head in the issue of the army, adds Pfeffer. While other forms of integration such as Haredim working in secular employment are tolerated as necessary for the communities sustainability, the ultra-Orthodox do not see military service as either useful for them or an imperative for the state. The issues of conscription and economic subsidies shape the way in which many Israelis outside the communities view the ultra-Orthodox. But for Etsy Shushan, this also makes her work at Nichvarot, an organisation that pushes for more female leaders in the ultra-Orthodox community, harder as community leaders close in on any movement for change. Shushan, 41, describes herself as Haredi Israeli a mix of the two traditional binaries: People who see themselves as part of the Haredi society and also see themselves as part of life in Israel, she explains. It is a complicated third way. For me its very important to save the values of Judaism to protect ourselves from the western world. But I understand that we have to make changes in the places that are not really against the Halacha [Jewish law], and those changes will really protect Judaism and our traditions. The core perspective of the Haredi community is to deny any changes, she says. Talk of conscription feels like an attack on their values. Consequently, leaders push back, rejecting all change, no matter whether its really forbidden under Jewish law or not. The current political crisis, she says, is because of the army, but its not only the army. [Its] how we want to define life here in Israel. For almost two years the young woman lived inside a single room with a thin foam pad as her only furniture and a cheap pen as her only tool of communication. She had been consigned there by Keith Raniere, the leader of the cultlike group Nxivm, she said. Mr. Raniere told others her solitude was meant to cure her of the sin of excessive pride. But the woman, Daniela, said he had ordered her confinement as punishment for her romantic interest in another man. Over the many months in the room, the woman sought forgiveness in hundreds of notes to Mr. Raniere, she testified in his racketeering and sex trafficking trial in Federal District Court in Brooklyn. Today I feel that inside this room Im in a kind of trance, she wrote to him in a letter dated Oct. 5, 2010. Being in here is simply insane. In four days of testimony spread over two weeks, Daniela, who was identified in court only by her first name, recounted her rise and fall within Nxivm. Her status was dictated, she said, by whether she was sexually available to Mr. Raniere. Eventually, even her parents were enlisted to help punish her. Her trajectory illustrated the extreme control Mr. Raniere had over Nxivm members and his ability to dictate social standing within the group, as well as his apparent willingness to retaliate against those who defied him. Daniela painted a bleak portrait of her life in the room, which was on the top floor of a home near Albany that her parents had rented. Although the door was unlocked, Daniela was told that if she left without permission, she would be cut off from her parents, brother and two sisters. While confined, she wore the same clothes for weeks at a time. Meals were left outside the door. The only person she was allowed to see was a senior Nxivm member assigned by Mr. Raniere to help Daniela repair what he called an ethical breach. She said she said she felt she was losing her grip on reality. It was harder and harder to keep the darkness at bay, she testified. At the start of his cross-examination on Thursday, one of Mr. Ranieres lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, appeared to question Danielas credibility, asking about how she once deceived border patrol agents while entering the United States illegally. He also asked about how she had later obtained a fake identification card for a sister to use while traveling. Daniela had grown up in a small town in central Mexico and at age 16 had given up a scholarship to a school in Switzerland to move to upstate New York in 2002 and become a member of Nxivm. Though she had dreamed of going to Harvard and becoming a scientist, she became enthralled by stories she heard about Mr. Raniere. Mr. Raniere, 58, co-founded Nxivm (pronounced nex-ee-um) in the 1990s as a self-help organization based near Albany. He is now on trial on charges of racketeering conspiracy, identity theft, extortion, forced labor, money laundering, wire fraud and sex trafficking. His followers regarded him as a guru-like expert on ethics. Yet witnesses in the trial have described how he exploited Nxivm members and had sexual relationships with multiple women who he insisted be intimate only with him. They included Daniela, her older sister, Marianna, and younger sister, Camila, who Daniela said had sex with Mr. Raniere when she was 16. Danielas first sexual encounter with Mr. Raniere occurred soon after she turned 18 on a dirty mattress with raggy used sheets inside a dimly lit office, she testified. As a result, her world changed. She received entree to a house in Clifton Park, N.Y., where she said Mr. Raniere lived. Sex meant access when it came to Keith, she said. The best things to do in N.Y.C. during the hottest season of the year. This limited-edition newsletter will launch before Memorial Day and run through Labor Day. For about two years, Daniela said, she spent much of her time around Mr. Raniere, having sexual encounters with him that she described as very robotic and mechanical. Once, after she was stopped from entering the country as she was returning from a visit to Mexico, she said, Mr. Raniere arranged for her to enter illegally through Canada. From that point, she suggested Mr. Raniere had additional power over her. I was without a doubt a captive from a moment I was illegal in the country, Daniela said. As time progressed it was clear to me I could not leave. Mr. Raniere and upper level members of Nxivm trusted her to be present for even the most sensitive discussions, including some that involved illegal activity, like hacking into email accounts, she testified, adding that she took part in that effort. In 2006 when she was in her early 20s, Daniela said, she got pregnant. She said her sexual relationship with Mr. Raniere was secret so he arranged for another Nxivm member to go with her to get an abortion. Later that year, she said her relationship with Mr. Raniere, who was then in his mid-40s, deteriorated when she told him that she was attracted to a man closer to her age. Daniela described to Mr. Raniere the thrill she had felt while in the company of the young man, Ben Meyers. Mr. Raniere became red-faced and enraged, Daniela testified, saying she was no longer pure. She said Mr. Raniere locked himself inside a bathroom to escape her attempts to talk to him. When he emerged, he hurled her onto a mattress before walking away. After that, she testified, her status within Nxivm changed once again. Although she never spoke again with Mr. Raniere, Daniela said, they exchanged several thousand emails over the next three years. In many of them, Mr. Raniere asked about her relationship with Mr. Meyers. She stayed in contact, Daniela testified, because she was making a genuine effort to reconcile with Mr. Raniere, who she still believed was a great man who cared about her welfare. But she also continued the communications, she said, because her illegal status made her vulnerable. Eventually, Daniela said, even her parents, who had moved from Mexico to New York to take part in Nxivm activities, helped discipline her. Because her sexual relationship with Mr. Raniere had been secret, she said, she did not feel that she could explain to her parents that his anger had been sparked by her interest in another man. During a recorded conversation with Danielas mother that prosecutors played in court, Mr. Raniere described Daniela as a very spoiled and very manipulative person who had damaged people in dishonorable ways and should be subject to a form of boot camp. If I were Danis parent and she were going back to Mexico I would make her choose between doing the right thing and staying here or losing communication with me, he said, adding that there should be severe sanctions if Daniela left without atoning for her misdeeds. Her computer and phone were seized, she said, along with important documents including her birth certificate, the bogus identification she had used to cross into the United States from Canada and the results of an ultrasound she had before her clandestine abortion My world closed in on me, she testified. Every single degree of freedom I had, I lost. Eventually, she was sent to live in the room, where she spent nearly two years. Her confinement came to an end in 2012, Daniela testified, when she left the room and the house and tried to confront Mr. Raniere. Soon after that, she said she was driven to the Mexican border by her father and a high-ranking Nxivm member. Testifying this week she recalled that one of the more chilling moments of her time in the room was on a day when she sneaked out and went to another part of the house and checked her email. To her horror, she had virtually no messages. Nobody had missed me, she said. I was gone from the world and nobody noticed. Mueller Reports On Russian Interference Moscow's interference in the 2016 election, was unequivocal and emphatic and Mueller says that Russia had used "sophisticated cyber techniques" like hacking computer networks, email accounts. And posing as Americans on social media they had "launched a concerted attack on our political system." The Mueller report says that the Russian governments interference in the 2016 US Presidential election was significant, sweeping and systematic. Also in 2016 the Democratic National Committee and its cyber team said that Russian hackers had invaded and influenced its computer systems. It can now be read on-line, in two parts and is 448 pages in total. The first part of the Report explains Russian interference in the 2016 election and its connections with the Trump campaign. And the second part discusses the Presidents actions concerning the FBIs investigations of Russian influence in the 2016 elections. The Internet Research Agency (IRA), based in St. Petersburg, which is said to be funded by President Putin, designed a social media campaign to provoke and use information warfare to disparage the Clinton campaign and to help and favour Trumps campaign. Robert Muellers report represents a thorough, insightful and professional analysis of Russias interference with the 2016 presidential election. However, it was never intended to present the final word on whether President Donald Trump, his campaign aides and executive officials in the Trump administration engaged in illegal and criminal activities. The report marks an important but distinctly partial step. As made clear in the introduction to Volume 1: A statement that the investigation did not establish particular facts does not mean there was no evidence of those facts. New information will shed further light on whether Trump and other individuals pursued activities that placed their financial and political ambitions over the national interest and the need to protect our constitutional system. The report provides extensive detail on what is called the Trump Moscow project. Between approximately Oct. 13, 2015, and Nov. 2, 2015, the Trump Organisation, through its subsidiary Trump Acquisitions, completed a letter of intent for a Trump Moscow property. Signed by Trump for the Trump Organisation, the letter was intended to facilitate further discussions in order to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The letter contemplated an extensive development with residential, hotel, commercial and office components, calling for approximately 150 first class, luxury residential condominiums as well as one first class, luxury hotel consisting of approximately 15 floors and containing no fewer than 150 hotel rooms. The Mueller report states that Michael Cohen recalled that both he and Trump wanted the Moscow project to succeed and that Trump never discouraged him from working on the project because of the campaign. The Trump Organisation stood to earn substantial sums over the lifetime of the project, without assuming significant liabilities or financing commitments. To Cohen, the Trump Tower Moscow was potentially a $1 trillion deal. The report states that Cohen remembered that Trump would be willing to travel to Russia if Cohen could lock and load the deal. Despite efforts by both sides, the Moscow project was eventually cancelled. The report notes that Trump responded to questions about possible connections to Russia by denying any business involvement in Russia, even though the Trump Organisation had pursued a business project in Russia as late as June 2016. Mueller said, Wednesday 29th of May, that he is "resigning from the Department of Justice and returning to private life." Law.com: DocumentCloud: You Might Also Read: The Mueller Investigation Identifies Russian Spies How the proposed Pa. state House map scores in every required area elections WEST CHESTER The 2019 political contest for Chester County District Attorney will make an unusual appearance in a Common Pleas courtroom Tuesday, as Democrat Deb Ryan has asked a judge to disqualify the prosecutors office from going to trial in a perjury case involving allegations of child sexual abuse. On Monday, Ryan, through her attorney, Samuel C. Stretton of West Chester, filed a motion to limit questioning of her during the trial or, in the alternative, preclude her as a witness in the case and send it to the state Attorney General. She alleges that her opponent in the race for District Attorney, incumbent Tom Hogan, is using the criminal case as a political tool against her. It has been made clear that Mr. Hogans intention of calling her is politically motivated, Stretton wrote in his motion. Mr. Hogan is using the District Attorneys office to attempt to undermine a political opponent. This is serious misconduct. Judge David Bortner set a hearing on the motion for Tuesday morning, and cancelled the start of jury selection in the criminal case at issue that had been scheduled to begin Monday afternoon. I have no idea what I will do with this motion, Bortner said in a brief court proceeding Monday, adding that various scenarios might ultimately have him removed from the case for alleged conflicts. I dont know what Mr. Strettons strategy is, and we should just leave it at that. Neither Assistant District Attorney Christopher Miller, who was set to prosecute the perjury trial, nor defense attorney Amparito Arriaga, would comment for the Daily Local News on the motion in court. Miller, however, filed a response to the accusations late Monday in which he noted that Bortner had already declared that Ryans apparent failure to follow up on questions raised by the original defendants attorney about the womans story had been at best incompetent and at worst willfully ignorant. Ryan, he said, should not be barred from being called as a witness in the case. Respectfully, the only political aspect to the matter is the fact that Ms. Ryan does not want to explain what she had done. The conflict involves a Coatesville woman who in 2015 accused a family friend of sexually assaulting her autistic, then 4-year-old, daughter, and who then admittedly lied at the mans trial about the extent of the relationship she had with him. The womans name is being withheld by the Daily Local News because of the nature of the initial charges against the man, which have since been dropped. She faces felony perjury charges, as well as two counts of false swearing, a misdemeanor. If convicted of all three counts, she could face a maximum prison term of 5 1/2 to 11 years. The case was the last trial that Ryan, a former deputy district attorney and chief supervisor of the DAs Child Abuse Unit, conducted before resigning from the office in early 2017. According to the perjury arrest warrant filed against the woman in 2017 by Chester County Detective Keith Cowdright, the woman reported to police in Coatesville that she had witnessed a family friend, Mario Serrano, sexually assault her daughter while sitting on a sofa in her living room. Because the child is non-verbal, the woman was the sole witness who could testify to the alleged offense. After Serrano was arrested in July 2015 and charged with child sexual abuse, he told authorities that he and the woman had a prior sexual relationship and that she was fabricating the story about his behavior. Later, at Serranos trial in November, the woman falsely testified that she had no prior romantic relationship with Serrano. But following her cross examination by Serranos attorney, Joel Benecke of West Chester, the woman admitted to a county investigator that she had indeed had a four- to five-year-long sexual relationship with him, and believed that he might be the father of one of her children. In 2017, the prosecution withdrew charges against Serrano, saying it did not have sufficient evidence to prove the case against him. His November trial had ended with a hung jury after the woman admitted that she had lied under oath about the affair. The perjury charges against the woman do not involve her original accusations about the alleged sexual assault on her daughter. The matter becomes convoluted because of the allegations made by Serranos defense attorney, Joel Benecke of West Chester. He contends that he had informed the prosecution, including Ryan, on numerous occasions in 2015 and 2016 about the relationship between his client and the girls mother. In a private motion to have the mother prosecuted for perjury, Benecke said that he told Ryan that there had been an affair, but that she was dismissive of the claim During the next 15 months, I told the DAs office about the affair on numerous occasions. At no point during that time did they or the police take any step to investigate that beyond asking the mother, he said. In Ryans motion to disqualify Hogans office, to bar her from testifying, to limit the questioning, or simply find out why she is being subpoenaed, she alleges that Hogan has made it known that he wants the womans trial to get a finding of prosecutorial misconduct against Ryan, his political opponent. This would be solely for his political gain and has nothing to do with seeking justice, Stretton wrote. There was no prosecutorial misconduct whatsoever, the motion states. For Mr. Hogan to use the current defendant and charge her for his own political purposes is just outrageous. In addressing the issue with both sides on Monday, Bortner denied Arriagas request to continue the trial against her client. Id rather have it continued until after the election to remove this as an issue, she said. He left the question open, but said the trial might be able to begin Tuesday. Or not. Bortner noted that because Strettons motion contains an allegation that Hogan had told the judge himself about his intention to seek a finding of misconduct against Ryan, Bortner may have to be called as a witness in the case. That would likely trigger the trial being reassigned to an out-of-county judge, and delayed until later in the year. Hogan, a Republican, is seeking a third term as district attorney. Ryan, now a program director at the local crime victims agency, is making her first run for political office. To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544. Parenting is like a rugged maze, always coming to make a difficult choice that will ultimately impact you and your childs life. Some of these choices could be small choices like what color to paint the nursery, whereas others take a long hard thought. I know every parent just wants what is the best for their baby, but without taking into consideration all the real facts, you may regret your decision. This controversial decision I am referring to is whether children should be vaccinated or not. While this may sound extreme, a parents decision to prevent their baby from getting the recommended vaccines, not only puts their child in danger of getting possibly fatal diseases, but can cause vaccinated children to become infected too. It is unfair to parents who listened to doctors strong recommendations to get their children vaccinated, to have to deal with their children having these potentially fatal diseases. Some of these diseases dont look too bad at first glance, but can really cause lasting effects. For example, Measles can lead to encephalitis (swelling of the brain) in about 1 of every 1,000 individuals, possibly leading to death. Mumps can lead to sterility in adult men, swollen ovaries or breasts in adult women and miscarriage in pregnant women, as well as encephalitis. Rubella (German measles) can cause encephalitis, as well as birth defects if contracted by a pregnant woman. There is also some evidence to suggest that infection with rubella while pregnant is the cause of some cases of autism. While the majority of individuals who contract measles, mumps or rubella will survive with little or no lasting ill effects, there is still a significant risk of permanent injury or death.(CDC) While those of the antivax community will try to fool you with false facts, it is important to know the truth about the effects of vaccinations. A 2009 study, titled Lack of association between measles-mumps-rubella vaccination and autism in children: a case control study examined whether there was a relationship between MMR and autism and concluded that there was no association. This study is one of the latest in the stack of evidence against a connection. In addition, Some anti-vaxers claim there is antifreeze in vaccines. This is false. Antifreeze is ethylene glycol. Vaccines use polyethylene glycol. These are different substances, which are not toxic. Another common myth is that you can get the flu from the vaccine. With the flu shot, that cannot happen, since the vaccine uses an inactivated virus. The inhaled formulation uses a live, weakened virus, so it may cause mild flu-like symptoms It is important not to fall victim to anti-vax lies, and look at the facts, there are no reasons why not to vaccinate your child, and there are several ways that it will keep them healthy. As a parent the most important thing is your child. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) more than 3 million people die a year due to vaccine-preventable disease. It would be absolutely tragic if a child was one of the 3 million that passed, and their parents had the power to save them with a simple vaccine. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 732,000 American children were saved from death and 322 million cases of childhood illnesses were prevented between 1994 and 2014 due to vaccination. I encourage you to save you and your family from potential heartbreak and vaccinate your child. Emma Davies Kennett Middle School Just when you think you couldn't be more shocked by the failures of the criminal justice system, you learn that it is even worse than you realised. This was my thought on reading a report last week on the inquest into the death of a 28-year-old Sunderland nail bar worker, Quyen Ngoc Nguyen. She had been raped, tortured and then burned alive by Stephen Unwin and William McFall. I have written before in the Mail about this case: specifically, that both the killers had been released after serving 14 and 13 years respectively of 'life sentences' for earlier murders. Those killings had both been of defenceless pensioners, and both also involved extreme violence. Stephen Unwin (left) raped, tortured and burned alive Quyen Ngoc Nguyen (right), following his release from prison despite being given a life sentence for another murder When killers are released from prison, they are said to be 'on licence': the claim is that the slightest further infraction of the law is a 'breach of licence' followed by an immediate return to custody under the terms of their 'life sentence'. Abandoned Yet the inquest revealed that in the five years prior to Unwin's murder of Nguyen, Northumbria Police had recorded 26 'incidents' involving him, including a threat to 'smash a woman's jaw and take turns with a cousin to rape her' which the police did not even report to the Probation Service supposedly charged with monitoring him. Astonishingly (or perhaps not) Detective Inspector Edward Small told the coroner that Northumbria Police had abandoned the practice of notifying the Probation Service of such incidents to save officers' time. Thus their 'time' is judged more valuable than our lives. Well, it is true that police numbers have been cut in recent years. Yesterday the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, as part of his pitch to be leader of the Conservative Party, declared that as prime minister he would immediately 'spend 1 billion on 20,000 more police officers'. Home Secretary Sajid Javid has vowed to spend 1 billion on 20,000 more police officers as part of his pitch to take over from Theresa May as Conservative leader But how much of those recruits' time would be spent on dealing with crime, either clearing it up or preventing it from happening? A report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary revealed that only 31 per cent of police time is spent dealing with criminals and a mere 13 per cent devoted to investigating crime. More than a fifth of total hours were spent on 'support functions' and almost half the total was devoted to 'policing roads and community work'. In this context, it is hardly surprising that the criminals are detected and convicted in just 4 per cent of robberies less than half the rate of only a few years ago. And, as the think-tank Civitas revealed, only a third of those convicted of violent crimes are given custodial sentences. Even then the public are, essentially, lied to about the term served by those who are jailed. All but the most heinous are released automatically half-way through the sentence pronounced by the judge. Last week the outgoing Victims' Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, demanded that courts explain the 'reality of a sentence' to victims and their families. Baroness Newlove, the outgoing Victims' Commissioner, wants courts to explain the 'reality of a sentence' to the families of victims 'Ludicrous' She was backed up by a former Tory justice minister and a former Tory solicitor general. Sir Mike Penning and Sir Oliver Heald demanded an end to the 'ludicrous' automatic release of criminals halfway through their sentences and urged the Party to implement its 2010 manifesto policy (which was dumped at the demand of the Liberal Democrats when the two parties formed a coalition government). The abandoned policy was to replace the current system with one in which offenders would serve the full sentence given by judges, and be given any reduction in term only on a discretionary basis. Penning and Heald are, sadly, wasting their breath. Under the current Justice Secretary, David Gauke, policy is moving in quite the opposite direction. In February he outlined plans to make it much harder for the judiciary to impose prison sentences: in particular he proposed that all prison terms of six months or under should be cancelled. This would essentially remove the power of magistrates to commit anyone to prison, since the maximum term they can set is a year which is already automatically cut to six months. Gauke declared that such sentences should be replaced with a 'robust community order regime'. How often must it be demonstrated that such plans have no greater power than custody to reduce crime? Ineffective Yes, there is a high recidivism rate among those who serve sentences of six months or less. But 'community sentences' have proved still less effective. An earlier administration advanced an alternative to custody for persistent young offenders, known as the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme. It was abandoned after a report ten years ago showed that it was 'failing either to protect the public or rehabilitate the youngsters . . . more than 90 per cent committed further crimes after their period of supervision had ended'. Both this programme and the decision to make automatic the release of prisoners half way through their sentence were the work of Labour governments in which Dame Vera Baird was a member. Why do I mention this former Labour solicitor general? Because she has just been appointed by David Gauke to replace Helen Newlove as Victims' Commissioner (with an enhanced salary of 108,000). Dame Vera Baird, a former Labour MP, was part of the government which introduced mandatory release of prisoners half way through their sentence Baroness Newlove who described herself as 'an ordinary woman propelled into high profile by a set of horrifying circumstances' became a campaigner for stiffer sentences after her husband Garry had been kicked to death by a gang of youths. Vera Baird is very different: the former Labour MP has endorsed plans to take young people's 'social and ethnic backgrounds' into account when sentencing which presumably means shorter sentences or none at all. And in the wake of the London riots of 2011, she wrote an article for the Guardian condemning the 'blanket imprisonment' of the rioters who had looted shops during that terrifying rampage. And she is the best the Government can do for victims? What a farce. Zamira Hajiyeva has spent 16 million at Harrods in the past decade The real mystery about that 16m Harrods bill Every time Zamira Hajiyeva walked through the doors of Harrods which she did, rather a lot the emporium's owners must have cracked open another bottle of Grand Cru champagne. For we learned last week that this Azerbaijhani woman had, over a decade, spent 16 million at the London department store. We learned it because her expenditures had been itemised as part of an Unexplained Wealth Order issued by the High Court. This is a new criminal procedure designed to track down 'dirty money' from foreign plutocrats, many of whom have bought mansions in Central London. Actually, the source of Mrs Hajiyeva's prodigious spending power is not exactly inexplicable. Her husband was the chairman of the International Bank of Azerbaijan and was convicted there, in 2016, of fraud and embezzlement. According to the Reuters financial news agency, he is thought to have misappropriated no less than $3 billion. No, what I thought did need explaining was the breakdown of her Harrods expenditure, presumably supplied by the store itself. The Azerbaijhani woman reportedly spent 32,000 on chocolates and 2.18 on cheese at the luxury Knightsbridge department store For example, it declares that she spent 32,000 on chocolates. Now, I know that these would not have been Cadbury's: all the same, how is that even possible? On the other hand, the cost of her visit to the Harrods fromagerie was given as 2.18. In Harrods's food hall, that would barely pay for a tiny cube of cheddar on the end of a cocktail stick. Most puzzlingly of all, there is an itemised expenditure of 70p in the store's designer watch department. You'd think it was Poundland, not the most expensive room in the Knightsbridge store where the bored wives of Russian oligarchs use their credit cards to take revenge upon their husbands. This doesn't add up. Welcome to London, President Trump. Thats what Simon Schama, the man who puts the ug in smug, wasnt saying on Sky News and BBC News, before going back to Sky then returning to the Beeb to not say it all over again. And again. As the President of the United States began his visit to the UK, the Trump- hating historian was passing himself around the broadcasters like a tray of poisoned teacakes; one soundbite and we were all choking. There is a bad smell over London today. We are trying to be friendly with the hyena, he fumed on Sky News, shortly before 10am. Historian Simon Schama was allowed to rant about the president unchecked ahead of the State Visit (pictured, Donald Trump and First Lady Melania arrive at Stansted Airport) I know state visits have been extended to criminals, gangsters and buffoons theres no reason to add another one. Later on BBC News, Schama was allowed to rant unchecked over the 41-gun salute and at one point called Trump an egomaniac, which he pronounced eggo-maniac, but by then his big academic brain had scrambled with pure fury. He even voiced a fear that Her Majesty might catch something by shaking hands with Trump, a despicable and childish utterance. I hope the Queen has some hand sanitizer, he said, his dandelion aureole of hair standing on end at the sheer horror of it all. Schama was telling anyone who would listen that the visit of this morally degraded US President was a worthless and pointless occasion, but it was not entirely without merit. For a start, it gave Simon and others like him the opportunity to luxuriate publicly in the warm balm of Trump hate, something that brings out the very worst in the very worst kind of frothing Lefties. Like many, I have misgivings about Trump, but the level of abuse and the open contempt about him that flourished unchecked across all channels yesterday does this country a disservice. Victoria Derbyshire even had a replica of the Trump baby balloon in her BBC2 studio would she have done the same with an effigy that mocked Barack Obama? I think we all know the answer to that. Pictured: Donald Trump at the McLean Bible Church in Vienna Meanwhile, over on Sky, Left-wing pundit Owen Jones relished the opportunity to go full Trump tonto. Why should we show respect to a man who talks of grabbing women by their delicate parts? he cried, clutching his pearls, before blaming Trump entirely for the rise of racism and fascism across the Western Hemisphere. The early-evening news coverage on the BBC was dominated by negative stories about the President, particularly his bruising tweet about London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Yet it seems to be regarded as perfectly acceptable that Khan, Jones and others can call the American President an extreme Right-winger, while Schama likened him to Mussolini. He is a liar, he is racist and he is sexist, raged Cardiff MP Stephen Doughty. Shouldnt he be more concerned about his own constituents than railing against the leader of the Free World? Not everyone likes Mr Trump, but he is neither Nazi nor tyrant, but a democratically elected President who has come to the UK to commemorate the anniversary of D-Day something that represents and celebrates the very best of both our countries. And it might be a bit more respectful and fitting for the BBC to remember that over the next few days. Even BBC American correspondent Jon Sopel talked over the national anthem when it was played at Buckingham Palace. What is going on? Thank heavens for Melania Trump, a fascinating enigma who glided through the day in a selection of luscious outfits, impossibly high heels and a My Fair Lady hat. Do you happen to know what Melania is wearing? the BBCs Simon McCoy asked his colleague, royal correspondent Daniela Relph. No, she replied, with admirable honesty. Simon Schama (pictured) told news presenters there was a 'bad smell' in the air during the state visit of Donald Trump I am reliably told it is Dolce & Gabbana, said Simon, with the air of a man who thought they made lawnmowers until five minutes ago. Blissfully unaware of the showy invective being hurled towards the President by a bunch of nobodies who didnt matter anyway, Melania stood next to her Donald all day without ever seeming to acknowledge his presence, or even glance in his direction. A glacier of composure and elegance, she somehow manages to humanise the man at her side without paying him any attention whatsoever. Very much like Kay Burley when her colleague, my favourite royal expert Alastair Bruce, starts talking about the head-sweat problems suffered by guardsmen under their bearskin hats and how the royals cut their sandwiches. Apart from the terror of the Melania perma frost, we learned from one expert that the President is being protected by three more rings of security on this visit; the Metropolitan Police, the American Secret Service and then the very highly trained presidential protection detail. Trump was driven around London in a limousine equipped with puncture-resistant tyres, tear-gas launchers and bullet-proof windows. Only an eggo-maniac would have believed he heard or cared about one word of Simon Schamas howling diatribe. Good. A French influencer has claimed that she was uninvited from a wellness press trip, after posting a photo on social media with her 'curvy' friend. Louise Aubery, 21, from Paris, who has over 200,000 followers on Instagram, says she was invited to a press trip by the tourism office of La Charente Maritime in early May. She says the organisation changed their decision on including her in the promotional activity, after spotting a recent post on her account that she thinks doesn't 'align with their values'. Louise believes a body positivity post with her 'curvy' friend Pauline, who has nearly 50,000 followers, triggered the tourism office's decision. Louise Aubery (pictured right with Pauline), 21, from Paris, has accused La Charente Maritime of uninviting her to a press trip for promoting body positivity The french tourism office sent Louise an email revealing that they hope to collaborate in the future but will no longer require her to attend the press trip Sharing a picture of the email Louise says she received from the company, it reads: 'Thank you for your email. Following the recent picture on your Instagram account, our client would like to cancel your participation to this journey. 'I am sorry and hope we'll be able to collaborate in the future'. Speaking to Insider, Louise revealed that many wellness companies in France avoid being associated with 'plus-size' people. She said: 'I questioned myself, I felt a bit sad and responsible for it, and at first I did not see what they were talking about. 'It had to be because of my friend's shape, and the fact that the client did not want to be associated with it. 'I realized that unfortunately for them, and for many companies in France, 'plus-size' cannot be associated with 'wellness. As a result of how Louise was treated, many other influencers who had been invited, boycotted the trip in solidarity. The trip was cancelled and Louise has since co-founded the movement #OnVeutDuVrai. Louise (pictured) revealed in a lengthy post on Instagram that she was uninvited because many companies don't want to endorse diversity Louise (pictured) has co-founded an online movement in the hopes of encouraging companies to be open towards working with all body sizes Louise shared the encounter with her followers in a candid clip on her Instagram story, before posting a lengthy picture caption urging others to continue celebrating diversity. She wrote: 'For those of you who dont know, Ive kindly been uninvited of a blog trip because of my recent posts - aka the post I did two days ago with a curvy friend of mine. 'Because brands today dont want to show diversity. They want polished, they want smoothed, they want edited. 'Well sorry, but I aint gonna do that. I dont see whats more important than helping people feeling good in their own skin. 'And this goes through showing REALNESS. And diversity is real. And awesome. So lets celebrate it instead of bashing it #stopbodyshaming'. Louise (pictured) shared her press trip experience with her 200,000 followers in a candid clip on her Instagram story Louise (pictured) has spoken about body positivity in a series of posts since the press trip Louise received a stream of support across her social media platform, with many praising her for maintaining her integrity. One person said: '...Extremely shocked, angry and disgusted with what happened to you!!! It is clear how much pressure there is on women! 'As soon as we show truth without fear and that it does not coincide with what they say 'perfect physics' they punished because it hurts and we try to break according to them the image of the 'real woman' and the industries that 'harass' us plainly with body shaming! 'No Louise you are not alone, let's continue the fight together -you've changed thousands of lives' Another wrote: 'That's insane that they uninvited you for celebrating all bodies. It's their loss anyways' A third added: 'Your posts are bold and refreshing. Never quit. You help so many people embrace their authentic selves. If a brand or company doesn't appreciate that, then it's their loss...' Mail Online contacted La Charente Maritime for comment. Advertisement From shaved cold meats and gourmet cheeses to a mix of dips and pickled treats, grazing platters have become a popular entertaining dish across Australia. But when it comes to shopping at the deli, do you know your beef pastrami from your kranksy sausage? In an episode of MasterChef Australia, Israeli-English chef Yotam Ottolenghi hosted a 'deli item challenge' where contestants had to name an ingredient correctly. 'It's like an Aladdin's cave, you come in, you see beautiful stuff, and you just want to buy and eat everything, that's where food lovers go, that's what I love about a deli,' Ottolenghi said. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, an Australian chef has identified the items displayed in the Deli counter - so how many can you name? Scroll down for answers In an episode of MasterChef Australia, Israeli-English chef Yotam Ottolenghi hosted a 'deli item challenge' where contestants had to name an ingredient correctly But when it comes to the deli, how much do you really know about your beef pastrami to your kranksy? Name the deli item! An Australian chef has identified the items displayed in the Deli counter - so can you guess what they are? A $30 body oil is selling out around the world, thanks to its ability to give a moisturised glow in seconds, even in the depths of winter. Australian beauty brand Bali Body sells roughly one product every 45 seconds, with the $30 Shimmering Body Oil currently being the most popular product. 'It's like heaven in a jar,' one reviewer wrote of the four and a half star product. A $30 body oil is selling out around the world, thanks to its ability to give a moisturised glow in seconds, even in the depths of winter Australian beauty brand Bali Body sells roughly one product every 45 seconds, with the $30 Shimmering Body Oil (pictured) currently being the most popular product 'This oil leaves my skin soft and hydrated looking with a satin glow and completely changers the appearance of my skin tone,' another said. A third wrote: 'This adds the perfect amount of shine, shimmer and glamour'. The oil is popular because not only does it moisturise a lacklustre complexion, but it also promises to help to rid you of dry skin, cellulite and even reduce the appearance of scarring. 'It's like heaven in a jar,' one reviewer wrote of the four and a half star product (pictured before and after using the product) The oil is popular because not only does it moisturise a lacklustre complexion, but it also promises to help to rid you of dry skin, cellulite and even reduce the appearance of scarring The inclusion of coconut oil means that it works to penetrate the skin and hydrate it at the same time, while grape seed oil works to tighten the skin and get rid of cellulite. Meanwhile, Jojoba oil fights eczema, scarring and psoriasis. Bali Body have dubbed themselves 'Australia's number one skincare and suncare range' and promise to deliver glowing skin and endless summers to their customers. But up until four years ago many people wouldn't have heard of the brand. This is because the company's founder Laura Foley launched her brand exclusively online and primarily gained traction through Instagram, where the brand now boast 1.3 million followers. Bali Body have dubbed themselves 'Australia's number one skincare and suncare range' and promise to deliver glowing skin and endless summers to their customers Earlier this year, Bali Body launched their new Face Tan Water, which works as a fake tan for your face without clogging your pores or causing breakouts This isn't the only cult product the brand have released in recent times. Earlier this year, Bali Body launched their new Face Tan Water, which works as a fake tan for your face without clogging your pores or causing breakouts. One woman wrote: 'I bought it last week and applied it before going to bed. I normally do not go out without makeup and for the first time my skin was so pretty hat I did not feel like wearing anything on top'. 'I had no clue what this would be like but it is amazing! I used to hate tanning my face because it would make me break out. This has actually made my skin better,' another said. Best friends Manny Barbas and James Hachem were just 22 when they launched an Australian pink clay mask under the brand name Alya Skin in early 2018. The duo, now 24, earned $7million in their first 14 months of business as word of the Kaolin-infused face mask began to spread across Instagram. Dubbed the 'must-have' beauty find and 'world's best clay product', the team capitalised on their early success by formulating a matching exfoliator and berry moisturiser that tightens pores and reduces breakouts. The three-step process has seen them partner with 1,500 retail stores globally, including Australia's own Priceline pharmacy, and they're only set to make further waves in the skincare industry with whispers of another product. Dubbed the 'must-have' beauty find and 'world's best clay product', the team capitalised on their early success by formulating a matching exfoliator and berry moisturiser that tightens pores and reduces breakouts The response was instant and rewarding with hundreds of posts about the pretty coloured skincare being shared online (before and after transformation) 'Business is not easy... but working with a best mate has made our 14 month journey some of the best months of my life. We are so excited and humbled by the support shown from family, friends and our loyal customers,' Mr Barbas said. Mr Hachem added: 'Expanding our Australian skincare line to 10-15 products globalled is what we have dreamed of and that continues to be our main focus'. Mr Barbas remembered noticing pink face masks 'trending' on social media, much like teeth whitening kits had done the year before, and decided that this was the market they should be involved in. They spent seven months perfecting the formula, which contains aloe vera and pomegranate to assist in removing acne and inflammation and witch hazel to heal the skin faster, before they sent the mask to 1,000 influencers. 'Influencers were vital during the launch phase of our brand. We used nano and micro influencers and were sending out to approximately 500 influencers a week,' Mr Barbas said. 'Never underestimate the power of those with less than 5,000 followers. These days its not all about large paid influencers.' The response was instant and rewarding with hundreds of posts about the pretty coloured skincare being shared online. Alya Skin's mask retails for $49.99 per 120g tub and while the boys don't outwardly ask influencers to share their product once it's gifted, they manage to get featured on Instagram and YouTube nonetheless. Best friends Manny Barbas and James Hachem were just 22 when they launched an Australian pink clay mask under the brand name Alya Skin in early 2018 It works as a three-part routine now, with product already selling out once - sometimes twice - in Priceline stores across the nation Many of its users claim the product has reduced redness on their face, cleared up hyper pigmentation and acne. At the end of last year the founders took things one step further with the release of two new products - making the brand a three-part routine. The pomegranate facial exfoliator - which retails for $26.99 - can be used on a daily basis and works to reduce skin inflammation and eczema. Meanwhile the native berries moisturiser - which is $24.99 - contains macadamia oil and shea butter to rehydrate the face after the mask is used. The range has sold out one - sometimes twice - in Priceline stores across the nation. Mr Barbas and Mr Hachem have hinted that a fourth product is in the works, but it's not known what part of the routine they're wanting to add to. 'We were blown away by the growth in sales when we launched. After our first two weeks we had completely sold out of stock,' Mr Barbas told FEMAIL The mask also uses aloe vera and pomegranate to assist in removing acne and inflammation, with witch hazel added to heal the skin faster 'This is a product that does what it says. I noticed a difference in my skin in only a few days. The longer I use it the better it works,' one reviewer said of the moisturiser. 'I have super dry, sensitive skin that can flake and gets red and irritated easily. But when I tried this product, my skin feels so smooth and no flakes or dry patches, and it actually feels clean,' someone said of the exfoliator. Previously, FEMAIL spoke to the owners about their young business and the miracle-working properties of its ingredients. Online the popular vegan product is being heralded as the cure-all treatment, particularly because it's safe for pregnant mothers and sensitive skin owners If you use it 2-3 times a week it'll last two months - making it good value for money 'We were blown away by the growth in sales when we launched. After our first two weeks we had completely sold out of stock,' Mr Barbas told FEMAIL. 'In our third week we were already over the $50,000 revenue mark per week. This number has grown steadily since launch, and we expect revenue to rise by 300 per cent next year. If you use it 2-3 times a week it'll last two months - making it good value for money. The vegan mask is safe to be used by pregnant mothers and those with extremely sensitive skin. Advertisement A cancer-stricken mother has tied the knot to her childhood sweetheart from her hospital bed in ICU just hours before undergoing a life-saving surgery. Bride Toni Carroll, 25, and groom Jesse Welsh, 23, got married in The Alfred hospital's chapel in Melbourne after 150 medical staff members rallied behind the couple to bring their fairytale wedding forward on Thursday, May 23. Surrounded by family and friends, Toni - who's on life support battling stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma and a heart failure - was wheeled down the aisle of the hospital ward to meet the father of her two daughters at the ceremony. The newlyweds have proven their love can overcome any challenge after Toni read out her vows to her husband shortly before she survived her major heart procedure. Scroll down for video Bride Toni Carroll, 25, and groom Jesse Welsh, 23, (pictured together) got married in The Alfred hospital's chapel in Melbourne after 150 medical staff members rallied behind the couple to bring their fairytale wedding forward on May 23 The cancer-stricken mother tied the knot to her childhood sweetheart from her hospital bed in ICU in front of loved ones 'From where we started five weeks ago, I was told I'd only have five to ten days with her, now we are married and I can't ask for anything more,' Jesse said. During the early stages of her pregnancy with her second daughter - Madisyn, who's now five months old, Toni found a lump in her neck. Shortly after giving birth on December 14, Toni was tragically diagnosed with stage four cancer and a 'rapidly progressive and potentially fatal heart failure'. From there, the distraught family were told she had just five to 10 days to live - and they were warned the mother may not survive the heart procedure. It's not clear why her heart is failing. And so hospital staff members organised everything to make the special day possible, including the wedding gown, photographer and marriage celebrant. 'It's so beautiful, honesty I thought it was going to be small and then it exploded with all this love from everyone, it was perfect, I loved it,' Toni said about her dream wedding. Kind hospital staff organised everything to make the special day possible, including the gown and a hair and makeup artist Surrounded by family and friends, the couple celebrated their special day, alongside their girls Amelia and baby Madisyn Shortly after the intimate ceremony, Toni underwent a major heart surgery - and against all odds, she's now slowly recovering in ICU. At The Alfred, her life was saved using a heart-lung bypass machine called ECMO, along with a heart pump (VAD). The team are continuing to manage both her heart condition and the need for chemotherapy treatment. 'It's been a bit of a ride but we're getting through it slowly,' her husband Jesse told Sunrise. The couple got engaged five years ago - but they were unable to afford their dream wedding because their savings went towards raising their daughters Amelia, now aged three, and baby Madisyn - after they were born. 'Toni fell pregnant so we spent all our money on bottles, formulas, so forth. When time came, the second one came along, we were just like "well there goes the dream for the wedding again",' he said. 'When Toni was diagnosed with everything, before she went to The Alfred, I sort of thought about it and just let everything take its course and everything fell into place. I just thought [it's] now or never and that was it.' The newlyweds have proven their love can overcome any challenge after Toni read out her vows to her husband shortly before she survived her major heart procedure Surrounded by family and friends, Toni - who's on life support battling stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma and a heart failure - was wheeled down the aisle of the hospital ward to meet the father of her two daughters at the ceremony Jesse said his wife is 'doing a lot better than I thought' and she's looking forward to going home with her beautiful family Patient experience nurse Paul Leonard and ICU nurse Mary Fox were two of the many wedding planners. 'We sent an email to all ICU staff asking who wanted to get involved, and we got an overwhelming response,' Paul said, as 150 generous staff members responded to the call out. Within three days, staff organised everything from homemade cakes, a hair and makeup artist, flowers and decorations for the reception room. Jesse praised the hospital staff at The Alfred for 'going above and beyond' to make their dream wedding a reality. 'We originally thought we'd just be getting married in a room and then they gave us so many options, like we could go outside, we could have the chapel... I can't thank them enough,' he said. Jesse said his wife is 'doing a lot better than I thought' and she 'misses the girls, especially after having a newborn'. 'She feels like she has missed out on a lot but they [daughters] know who she is. She's very strong. Toni said she just can't wait to get back home, sit down and watch Netflix and get back to normal life,' her husband said. To make a donation, please visit the GoFundMe page. Top TV chef and cookbook author Nigella Lawson is no stranger to good food, and now she has revealed her favourite 11 restaurants in Australia. The 59-year-old chef visited Sydney earlier this year, and wined and dined her way around the city, visiting all sorts of establishments. Here, FEMAIL reveals Nigella's favourite restaurants in Australia, which includes Nigella's top establishment in the entire world. Top TV chef and cookbook author Nigella Lawson (pictured) is no stranger to good food, and now she has revealed her favourite restaurants in Australia When she first arrived in Sydney on her latest trip, Nigella said she made straight for the Bondi Beach establishment, Icebergs - which she later described as her 'favourite restaurant in the whole world' (pictured) The menu features all sorts of delicious meals, and Nigella dined on mussels (left) as well as steak with chips and salad (right) When she first arrived in Sydney on her latest trip, Nigella said she made straight for the Bondi Beach establishment, Icebergs - which she later described as her 'favourite restaurant in the whole world'. The menu features all sorts of delicious meals, and Nigella dined on oysters with Campari sodas, as well as swordfish with ginger and tuna with roe and fingerlime. She later returned twice more and enjoyed steak with chips and salad. Icebergs wasn't the only Bondi institution Nigella visited either, with Iggy's Bakery and the 'Sydney institution' Sean's Panorama also getting a look in. Elsewhere on her trip, the 59-year-old food author (pictured) visited 10 William Street in Sydney's Paddington, where she enjoyed a four-course dinner of spaghetti with crab, maltagliati with slow-cooked brisket and 'life-giving' wine What are Nigella's favourite 11 restaurants in Australia? * Bondi Icebergs * Sean's Panorama * Chiswick * Momofuku Seiobo * Pilu at Freshwater * Bills * Billy Kwong * Attica * The Apollo * Ester * Saint Peter Advertisement Elsewhere on her trip, the 59-year-old food author visited 10 William Street in Sydney's Paddington, where she enjoyed a four-course dinner of spaghetti with crab, maltagliati with slow-cooked brisket and 'life-giving' wine. Momofuku Seiobo was also a highlight, where she raved about the chef Paul Carmichael's food. 'I just cannot stop thinking of this roti the "busted roti" with marron I had at [Momofuku Seiobo] last night,' Nigella wrote on Instagram. 'In fact, I can't stop thinking of any of it, and in exquisite detail. Chef Paul Carmichael and his team just entrance. Unlike so much of fine dining (a term that, frankly, makes me shudder), which this emphatically is, the food is so alive and joyous. 'I'd been told such good things about the food there, I was ready for disappointment. 'Instead, I was transported! And that after wading through one of the circles of hell that is the Star casino mall-thing, which is where Momofuku Seiobo is situated.' Some of her other favourite eateries included Bills in Darlinghurst, where she ate toast with avocado, coriander and kimchi, and Billy Kwong in Potts Point. Nigella also visited Pilu at Freshwater - which is regularly included in round ups of the best restaurants in Australia. 'One of the things I love about Sydney is all the beautiful food with a view,' Nigella posted on her Instagram page. 'It's so extraordinary to be in a city and then, at dinner, to be gazing at the ocean. 'The other night I went to Sardinia-in-Sydney, that's to say Pilu, and ate malloreddus (a traditional Sardinian pasta shape) with suckling pig, crisped capocollo (cured pork), capers, olives and pine nuts, while gazing at the light going down on Freshwater beach. 'And, oh yes, I managed a little more suckling pig too!'. She similarly enjoyed dinner at the acclaimed fish restaurant Saint Peter in Paddington, 11 dishes at The Apollo and dinner at Ester in Chippendale. Nigella has also spoken highly of Chiswick in Woollahra in the past, which prides itself on farm-to-table style cooking. Momofuku Seiobo was also a highlight, where she raved about the chef Paul Carmichael's food (pictured) Lastly, the chef also visited Melbourne, and one of the top restaurants in the world, Attica. During her trip there, she enjoyed a staggering 18 dishes. Among the dishes were delicacies such as pearl oyster meat with guandong, saltwater crocodile ribs, crab with wattle bread and cultured butter and possum tail. Dating app Bumble is offering a single person the chance to travel the globe, date and make new friends - all expenses paid for a year. The job on offer is a Global Connector Bee - an individual who is prepared to tackle the nuances of dating, friend finding and networking across the world. The globe-trotting applicant can expect to visit a range of locations including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. And while you will be expected to 'work', you'll be mostly spending your time telling the world about your experiences in creative and interesting ways. So what do you need to do to apply for the best job in the world? If you fancy spending a year travelling, dating and making new friends, Bumble's job of Global Connector Bee could the perfect position (stock image) Glamorous locations on offer to the globe-trotting Connector Bee include Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States (stock image) The applicant will need to be prepared to tackle the dating world and everything that comes with it as well as make new friends and build connections. The job will require you to share your experiences on a blog or vlog, social media or another creative outlet. Additionally, if you've got a knack for story-telling, make sure to highlight this as you'll be writing about your adventures as well. If you can see yourself spending a year jetting around the world, you'll need to make sure you've got your application in by 15 June. The job will require you to share your experiences on a blog or vlog, social media or another creative outlet - and if you can write, make sure you highlight this The app has been around since 2014 and is similar to Tinder, however, its women who make the first move if there's a match (file image) The app is similar to Tinder in that users looking for love swipe right if there's interest. However, unlike Tinder, if there's a match, the woman makes the first move. 'We are a global company on a mission to connect great people in a kind and empowering way,' said Michelle Battersby, Associate Marketing Director APAC at Bumble. 'As our company and community of users continue to grow, it's so important for us to advance our on-the-ground research about the global dating culture so we can optimise our product offerings for new communities and future generations.' The application is open to new and existing Bumble users (18 and older). Advertisement Melania Trump appeared to be paying tribute to Princess Diana's timeless style as she joined the President at Buckingham Palace this afternoon. The First Lady, 49, chose an ensemble in one of the late royal's favourite colour combinations - white and navy - for the engagement at Buckingham Palace. The custom white Dolce & Gabbana dress featured a contrasting blue collar and flattering waist belt while her white Herve Pierre hat was complete with a thick navy band around the brim. She finished the look with a pair of matching heels by Manolo Blahnik. The crisp, tailored ensemble is reminiscent of several looks worn by Diana, including two white and navy skirt suits worn to public engagements throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Other royal watchers noted Mrs Trump might have turned to the silver screen for her inspiration, with comparisons to Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolitle from My Fair Lady and Titanic's Rose (Kate Winslet) both cropping up online. The outfit was Mrs Trump's third in 24 hours and her second today, after she arrived in London wearing a Burberry blouse and Michael Kors skirt suit. It also perfectly complemented the white dress worn by the Duchess of Cornwall, and the chic Alessandra Rich blazer and skirt sported by Ivanka Trump. Scroll down for videos First Lady Melania Trump, 49, chose an ensemble in one of Princess Diana's favourite colour combinations - white and navy - for the engagement at Buckingham Palace today, left. The royal wore crisp navy and white tailoring on a number of occasions, including for the 50th anniversary of VJ Day in 1995 (centre) and an outing to Royal Ascot 10 years earlier in 1985 (right) Melania Trump, 49, donned a polished white and navy ensemble that was reminiscent of the outfit worn by Audrey Hepburn in the classic Hollywood film as she joined her husband for the engagement. Mrs Trump and the Duchess of Cornwall were perfectly co-ordinated in white ensembles for the engagement today, left. Right, President and Mrs Trump being greeted by the Queen on the steps of Buckingham Palace today The President and First Lady were officially welcomed to the UK by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall Other royal watchers noted Mrs Trump might have turned to the silver screen for her inspiration, with comparisons to Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolitle from My Fair Lady (left) and Titanic's Rose (Kate Winslet), right, both cropping up online The Queen chatted happily to the First Lady, left, and the Duchess of Cornwall, right, on the steps of Buckingham Palace Celebrity stylist Rochelle White said of the colour combination: 'Navy and white is really flattering and works well in Spring/ Summer. It isnt as harsh as black and white and comes across much softer. It has that trendy, classic sleek look what works well for many occasions. She added: 'Melania's outfit is well tailored and fitting but has a style edge that is suitable for her.' The Presidential couple are currently enjoying lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, following a welcome to mark the official start of their three-day State Visit. President and Mrs Trump were greeted outside the palace by Her Majesty, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner watched the arrival from the palace balcony. In an apparently pre-planned move, Ivanka, 37, complemented Mrs Trump's outfit in a white blazer and pleated skirt by royal-approved label Alessandra Rich. After a private lunch, the President and First Lady were given a tour of US items in the Royal Collection by the Queen The President and Mrs Trump looked interested as the Queen talked them through the artefacts on display, pictured Mrs Trump, left, later joined her husband for a tour of Westminster Abbey. Right, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also attended The US Presidential couple were given a tour of Westminster Abbey on the first day of their State Visit to the UK The President and First Lady laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, pictured Ivanka's full outfit was from the Alessandra Rich Spring/Summer '19 collection and is made up of a white pleated midi skirt teamed with a matching peplum jacket and a crystal embellished belt to complete the look. All three pieces are available to buy and cost just under 3,000 in total. The Duchess of Cornwall also plumped for white, wearing a classic knee-length shift dress with a beautiful hat, cream gloves and purse. The royal tour already looks set to be a fashion show for Mrs Trump, who has sported three different looks in the last 24 hours. Ivanka's full outfit was from the Alessandra Rich Spring/Summer '19 collection and is made up of a white pleated midi skirt teamed with a matching peplum jacket and a crystal embellished belt to complete the look Ivanka, pictured with husband Jared Kushner at Westminster Abbey, finished her look with nude heels and a white hat Ivanka (right) and husband Jared Kushner (left) admired the items on display at the Royal Collection. The pair arrived in the UK yesterday and visited the Victoria and Albert museum on Sunday The First Lady left the Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, on Sunday evening in a 3,480 ($4,400) Gucci shirt dress. The designer frock was printed with a graphic illustration of the London skyline - an early nod to her hosts -complete with depictions of Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. Mrs Trump continued her Britannia-themed wardrobe on arrival at Stansted Airport this morning by changing into a 650 ($820) Burberry blouse printed with military medals. The unusual pattern is an apparent tribute to the upcoming 75th anniversary of D-Day, which will be marked by the President and First Lady this week. Mrs Trump wore the pussy-bow blouse - which is in the colours of the Union Jack - with a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer. The President and First Lady touched down on the lawn in front of Buckingham Palace in Marine Force One, pictured. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were on hand to greet the Presidential couple and accompany them inside the palace The First Lady and the Duchess of Cornwall had to hold onto their hats as they were caught in a quick gust of wind while standing on the steps of Buckingham Palace. The women looked perfectly co-ordinated in their white ensembles The President and First Lady spoke to the Queen on the steps of Buckingham Palace, left. Right, President Trump's daughter Ivanka, centre in white, and her husband Jared Kushner, right, watched the ceremony from a palace balcony President and Mrs Trump were greeted by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall on their arrival at Buckingham Palace. The ceremony marks the official start of their three-day state visit to the UK The skirt suit is believed to be the same Michael Kors set previously worn by Mrs Trump to the funeral of a Secret Service agent. The President's wife kept the rest of her look understated, pairing the navy skirt suit with vertiginous Christian Louboutin pumps in the same shade and a pair of chic black sunglasses. Despite the blustery wind, Mrs Trump was typically composed as she stepped out onto the steps of Air Force One. She joined her husband to wave from the top of the stairs before watching her step as she made her way down in the towering heels. President Trump reached for his wife's hand as they crossed the runway and made their way to the waiting Marine One helicopter, which took them to the US Ambassador's residence in central London. Melania Trump looked elegant in a navy ensemble as she and President Trump arrived in the UK for the start of their State Visit. The couple will meet the royal family and attend a state banquet during their three-day whirlwind tour President Trump reached for his wife's hand, pictured left and right, as they crossed the runway at Stansted Airport this morning. Despite the protests expected in central London, there was no sign of disruption as the couple arrived The First Lady, 49, plumped for a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer as she stepped off Air Force One, pictured. She accessorised the Britannia-themed look with a red, white and blue blouse; navy pumps and black sunglasses Mrs Trump's Burberry pussy-bow blouse - which is in the colours of the Union Jack - comes in one of the label's archive scarf prints, with ropes, red ribbon and military medals on on show The Burberry blouse, pictured, is an apparent tribute to D-Day veterans as the anniversary approaches this week Donald Trump stands alongside his wife on the steps of Air Force One and waves as he landed in the UK today The couple landed at Stansted Airport this morning - kicking off a three-day whirlwind visit of the UK The First Lady remained typically composed as she waved from the top of the steps of Air Force One on arrival this morning The First Lady kept hold of the handrail and watched her step as she descended the stairs of Air Force One with the President The Presidential couple were buffeted by the wind as they disembarked their jet into the morning sunshine at Stansted Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (left in both images) was among the first to greet the President and First Lady off the plane Mr Trump salutes servicemen and women who formed a guard of honour as he walked from his jumbo jet to his helicopter The couple boarded the helicopter once more to make the short flight to Buckingham Palace, where they landed on the lawn. The couple are joining the Queen, Charles and Camilla for a private lunch at the palace. It is thought the Duke of Sussex will also attend. The Duchess of Sussex will not be present as she is currently on maternity leave. After lunch, the President and First Lady will fly to Westminster Abbey, where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. They will later join Charles for a brief meeting at Clarence House. Tonight President and Mrs Trump will don their finery for a glittering state banquet, which will be attended by senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. However the event has been boycotted by a handful of high profile figures including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning The President placed an affectionate hand on his wife's arm as they crossed the runway to Marine Force One this morning President Trump clutched his wife's hand on their arrival at Stansted, while Melania maintained her composure An hand on his wife's back, Trump led the way to Marine Force One before taking off for the US Ambassador's residence A woman who was repeatedly denied a smear test due to her age is now battling fatal stage 3 cervical cancer. Katie Bourne, 25, from Teesville, Middlesbrough, was experiencing symptoms of the killer disease after beginning to suffer severe stomach pains in July last year. But doctors refused to perform a routine smear and she was misdiagnosed with Crohn's disease. Despite being given medication to treat the bowel disorder, Katie's pain didn't go away and her GP sent two gynaecologist referrals in December and January - both of which were declined. Katie Bourne, 25, from Teesville, Middlesbrough, was repeatedly denied a smear test due to her age is now battling fatal stage 3 cervical cancer After she collapsed while working at Next clothing store, Katie spent three nights in hospital but was still denied a smear and sent home after the pain settled. When her GP's third referral was accepted, Katie was given the devastating news she had stage three cancer, which had spread to both sides of her pelvis and carried a prognosis of 18 months to live without treatment. She began six sessions of chemotherapy in April and is now desperately trying to live life to the full - which includes marrying her partner of four years, Leighanne Prior. Speaking about her symptoms, Katie told Teeside Live: 'When I Googled them they always brought up cervical cancer.' Brave Katie began six sessions of chemotherapy treatment in April and is now desperately trying to live life to the full Having first gone to the doctors in November, she was booked in for a smear test - but when she returned medics refused to perform the procedure and she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. When she was finally given a smear test and scan three months later in February this year, Katie received the news she'd been dreading. 'When they said cervical cancer I can't remember anything after. I just remember getting home,' she said. 'It was all a blur. So when the oncologist later ran through it all with me I thought, "I don't want to have this conversation again," so I made sure I took everything in and understood it all.' One of Katie's ambitions is to marry her partner of four years, Leighanne Prior (pictured right), so they have brought their wedding forward She added: 'I was told the prognosis was 18 months but that is without treatment. 'As everybody is different they can't really say. I could take fantastically to the treatment or it might not work. So each scan will tell us more.' Katie's partner Leighanne, 30, has now taken time off work to care for her fiancee. She said Katie is more concerned about how the people around her are coping, adding: 'I didn't think at any point Katie would be like this as she's a bit of a princess! 'We have got a young nephew, Jackson, who is nearly four, and there is one on the way. She is worried, are they going to remember her? 'But most of the time she's so positive, she's been amazing.' Katie also wants to spend as much time as she can with her nephew Jackson (pictured) and her new neice who is due to be born next month Having planned to get married in Las Vegas in a few year's time, the couple will now get hitched in July at Middlesbrough Registry Office, followed by a honeymoon in the Maldives. Katie is busy working her way through her list of ambitions, which includes completing the Real Housewives series and making memories with her nephew and new baby neice, due next month. 'To be honest the only day I feel really down is the day before my chemotherapy,' she said. Katie, pictured with her mum and dad, Deborah and Andrew Bourne, is now working her way through her list of ambitions, which includes completing the Real Housewives series 'I have a little bit of a wobble but I don't think about it all the time.' Katie thanked her friends and family for their 'massive support' - which has involved setting up a JustGiving page. NHS England and the Clinical Commissioning Group is investigating Katie's case, but a spokesman for the CCG said they cannot comment at this time. In the UK, women are invited for cervical screening from the age of 25 up to 64 - though Katie believes the minimum age should be lowered to avoid cases like hers happening again. The Love Island 2019 cast will be hopeful that they can find their 'type on paper' this year - but according to one statistician the chances of that happening are very slim. Professor Jennifer Rogers, the Director of Statistical Consultancy at Oxford University has crunched data from across all four series of the ITV2 reality dating series and found some startling results. Considering the amount of contestants, how many couples left the villa together, how many split and how many remain together, she found that there is only a 1 in 35,000 chance this year's islanders will find love. This means that an applicant on the show is more likely to win an Oscar - with odds at one bookies being 1 in 11,500. The 2019 Love Island cast have very slim chances of finding love according to data from an Oxford University professor Couples Wes Nelson and Megan Barton Hanson and Dany Dyer and Jack Fincham didn't make the distance after leaving Love Island 2018 together Professor Rogers explained to i news how she had worked the numbers out: 'Last year, 85,000 people applied to be on the show and 38 contestants were selected. 'If all applicants were treated equal and selection was random, this would mean you had approximately 0.04 per cent chance of being selected to go on the show, or 1 in 2,500. 'Given you are a contestant, you then have about a 7 per cent (or 1 in 14) chance of finding love. This means that the probability of an applicant being selected to go on the show and then finding love is around 1 in 35,000.' From all four series there are just four couples who still remain together Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen and Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey from series two, and Dom Lever and Jess Shears and Camilla Thurlow and Jamie Jewitt series three. Olivia and Alex married in a lavish Essex ceremony in 2018, while Dom and Jess opted for an intimate wedding in Greece and are now expecting their first baby. Nathan and Cara are set to get married this year and already have son Freddie-George. Couple like Jack Fincham and Dani Dyer and Wes Nelson and Megan Barton Hanson failed to make it the distance after leaving Love Island 2018 together. Nathan Massey and Cara de la Hoyde met on the 2016 series and went on to have son Freddie-George and are set to get married Series two of Love island has been the most successful, with Nathan and Cara and Alex and Olivia still together - the couples who left together their romances lasted longer on average Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen met on Love Island 2016 and have since gone on to get married and have launched their own fashion brand Exempt Society together Professor Rogers explained that series two was the most successful because there were more love matches on average the couples who left the villa stayed together longer. Of all four winning couples only one couple - Nathan and Cara - are still together, and she said that series four was the worst for couples staying together since series one. She adds with a warning: 'If youre considering entering Love Island in the hope of finding the one, Im afraid to say that statistically it doesnt look good.' Love Island begins tonight on ITV2 at 9pm Advertisement Ivanka Trump was spotted peering out the window at the huge crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace today ahead of the President's arrival. Earlier today she said she is 'looking forward' to joining her father Donald and his wife Melania later today as they touched down in London for an official state visit. The President's eldest daughter, 37, arrived in the UK yesterday and managed to squeeze in a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington. Ivanka opted for an all white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich, with a floating top cinched in at the waist by a chunky belt and a pleated skirt. She wore her long blonde locks straight and down. This morning she posted a message on her Twitter and Instagram pages expressing her excitement for the visit. Ivanka Trump was spotted peering out the window at the huge crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace today ahead of the President's arrival Ivanka stood gazing out of the window at Buckingham Palace as she awaited the arrival of her father Donald As her father landed, Ivanka emerged onto the balcony beside her husband Jared Kushner (right) She wrote: 'Today, Her Majesty The Queen will welcome @POTUS and @FLOTUS for a State Visit to the United Kingdom. I am looking forward to joining the US delegation for this commemorative visit,' followed by a British and American flag emoji. Yesterday the mother-of-three shared a snap outside the V&A museum, posing beside a friend wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee - aka Les Reverie. She paired the pure silk-crepe frock that falls to a flattering midi length with blue high heels as she stepped out to see the Mary Quant exhibit of over 200 pieces of clothing and accessories from the British designer. Earlier today President Trump's jumbo jet landed at Stansted airport - and he wasted no time in making yet another dig at London Mayor Sadiq Khan. He tweeted: 'Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly "nasty" to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.' Ivanka opted for an all white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich, with a floating top cinched in at the waist by a chunky belt and a pleated skirt Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner are attending a private lunch at Buckingham Palace this afternoon with her father Donald Trump and Melania Ivanka Trump and her husband, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States, Jared Kushner (right) watch from a balcony as the US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump arrive for a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Pictured: Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner watch the proceedings from the window of Buckingham Palace President Trump and his wife Melania touched down in their Marine One helicopter at Buckingham Palace For the first day of the three-day visit, First Lady Melania, 49, plumped for a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer as she stepped off Air Force One. In an apparent nod to the upcoming D-Day anniversary, Mrs Trump paired the suit with a 650 ($820) Burberry blouse printed with military medals. President Trump reached for his wife's hand as they crossed the runway and made their way to the waiting Marine One helicopter. President Trump and his wife Melania were greeted at the Palace by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall Yesterday mother-of-three Ivanka shared a snap outside the V&A museum, posing beside a friend wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee - aka Les Reverie The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning The President placed an affectionate hand on his wife's arm as they crossed the runway to Marine Force One this morning While the President and First lady are expected to be met by protests in central London, there was no sign of disruption on their arrival in Stansted Airport, which is roughly an hour's drive from the capital. The First Lady found time for an outfit change on the overnight flight, after leaving the Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, in a 3,480 ($4,400) Gucci shirt dress. The designer frock was printed with a graphic illustration of the London skyline - complete with depictions of Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. The President and First Lady are in the UK for a whirlwind tour which will see them dine with the royal family and commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning Today the US President and First Lady Melania will head to Buckingham Palace for lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Sussex. The Duchess of Sussex will not attend as she is on maternity leave. They will later attend an afternoon tea hosted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House. This evening the couple will be guests of honour at a state banquet hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, which will be attended by senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Donald Trump may have expressed support for Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership contest, but it seems Jeremy Hunt is the candidate who had his attention today. The Foreign Secretary was among the first to meet with the President as he landed on the tarmac at Stansted Airport this morning ahead of a three day state visit. Body language expert Judi James suggested the two appeared 'friendly', with several moments that indicated a relatively 'intimate'. She pointed to the President's 'relaxed smile' and 'relatively intimate' handshake which she suggests indicate a certain level of friendship and respect between the two politicians. Donald Trump and Jeremy Hunt looked 'friendly' according to body language expert Judi James, who suggested that the President had singled Hunt out as 'worthy' of attention and respect The Foreign Secretary welcomed President Trump as he arrived into Stansted Airport this morning ahead of a three day visit Jeremy Hunt was waiting for the President at Stansted and revealed Mr Trump talked to him about Sadiq Khan as he got off the plane. The Foreign Secretary said: 'Let's just say he [Mr Khan] won't be getting an invite to the White House any time soon'. The US President is in the UK for three days where the Queen will throw a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in his honour tonight after he meets Her Majesty for lunch and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla for tea. When asked about Hunt in an interview with The Sun last week, Trump replied: 'Yup. Like him.' Judi suggested that Hunt used 'subtle' moves to indicate he had the Presidents attention on the visit And today the conversation appeared 'friendly' between the two men according to body language expert Judi James. She explained:'Trump's frown and rather stern-looking facial expression did convert to a slightly more relaxed smile as he engaged in a chat with Jeremy Hunt.' She went on: 'Trump might have endorsed Boris for the next PM but Hunt used some subtle-looking choreography to send out some visual messages' that he might have the President's attention on this trip. Judi pointed to the pair's handshake as an indicator of this, suggesting the position of their hands reflected an 'intimacy' between the pair. The body language expert revealed that the handshake greeting between the two politicians appeared 'relatively intimate' She explained: 'As the pair performed their greeting ritual with hands held at upper waist high the proximity looked relatively intimate.' She went on: 'Trump's four power-pats of Hunt's bicep did look friendly but also faintly lowering in terms of status. But then Hunt instigated a second shake that was as physically close and therefore flattering in terms of presidential attention as the first.' The body language expert suggested that the interaction was a clear suggestion that Trump has 'recognised and picked Hunt out' on arrival, and that the President believes he is 'worthy of some in-depth attention and conversation'. Mr Trump arrived on Air Force One at Stansted Airport, waving as he walked down the steps from the front of the jet, accompanied by the First Lady who wore a blue pencil skirt and blazer, dark sunglasses and heels. President Donald Trump arrived alongside his wife and First Lady Melania for the visit in the UK this morning An array of US military helicopters arrived around an hour ahead of the President's white and blue plane, which bears the US flag on the tail fin and the words United States of America. There was a visible armed police presence around the airport and police vehicles parked alongside the runway. Today the US President and First Lady Melania will first head to Buckingham Palace for lunch with the Queen - and will return this evening for the state banquet, which is being boycotted by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In between they will visit Westminster Abbey and also go for tea with Prince Charles at Clarence House. Prince Harry will also attend the private lunch at the palace - although his wife Meghan Markle, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. Jeremy Hunt was one of the first to greet the president ahead of his three day visits, which is expected to draw protests in London The Foreign Secretary beamed as he welcomed the president and First Lady ahead of their visit to the UK Foreign Secretary and Conservative Party leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt appeared to have won the respect of the president His visit will be met by large protests with hundreds of thousands of people set to hit the streets and Mayor Khan agreeing to let agitators fly two blimps lampooning Mr Trump: One showing his as a 20ft baby and the other as a robot in a gold toilet. The President had already wasted no time in spelling out his views on the special relationship, backing a No Deal Brexit while praising Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and calling for the Brexit Party leader to be sent to Brussels to re-negotiate the deal that cost Theresa May her job. Jacob Rees-Mogg was the first to react to Trump calling Khan a 'stone cold loser' and said: 'I think it's perfectly reasonable of the President of the United States. I think that Mr Khan demeans the office and demeans the nation. I am backing Mr Trump in this row'. The Duchess of Sussex's wedding dress designer revealed Meghan wanted to be a pioneer when it came to royal style. Clare Waight-Keller, 48, the British creator director of Givenchy, said Meghan, 37, always has a 'clear idea of what she wants', and the same was true when it came to conceiving her wedding dress. Speaking to Grazia, Waight-Keller told how she saw Meghan one-on-one over a number of months for meetings that were so secret she did not even tell her husband, or her fashion house executives. Givenchy's Artistic Director Clare Waight-Keller, 48, (right) spoke about designing the gown in a personal and intimate manner with Meghan Markle (left). The two women are pictured on 10 December 2018 at the Fashion Awards Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle step out of St George's Chapel as a married couple on 19 May 2018. The Givenchy dress worn by Meghan on the day made Prince Harry tear up The intensity of the experience created a deep bond between the pair. 'It evolved from a designer and client relationship very quickly into a friendship, in that weve got such a comfort level with one another and shared so many special moments,' she said. Together the women discussed what was required of the gown - and the message Meghan wanted to share. Waight-Keller continued: 'We talked about the ceremony, the implications of her coming into the family and what her role was going to be in the future... what emotions she wanted to portray, how she wanted to carve out a new idea of a way to dress for a royal, and also the magnitude of it.' Back in December 2018, about three months into her pregnancy with Archie Harrison, Meghan made a surprise appearance at the Fashion Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in order to present Clare with her prize (pictured) Wholesome friendship. Clare said the two women shared a bond after working on a dress together, and said they were very close. Pictured: Clare and Meghan embracing as the Duchess of Sussex hands the designer with the the British designer of the year womenswear award on 10 December 2018 The result was the extraordinary custom gown with its 16ft veil embroidered with flowers of the Commonwealth. The dress even made Prince Harry tear up during the ceremony, as he whispered: 'You look amazing.' Waight-Keller has dressed her high-profile client a number of times in the months since, each time capturing a style that is distinct yet fittingly royal. The Duchess of Sussex showed her appreciation to her designer and friend when she surprised her to present her with a gong at the British Fashion Awards. Pressed on weather we would one day see Meghan's newborn son Archie Harrison in Givenchy attire, Clare joked she would not want to impose on her friend. She added: I wouldnt dream of imposing. I think shes got quite a clear idea of what she wants, always, but Im sure hes going to be a very different royal. Thais are celebrating the new Queen's birthday for the first time, with crowds donning royal colours of purple and yellow in honour of the royal. Queen Suthida, 41, from Bangkok, is celebrating her first birthday since marrying King Maha Vajiralongkorn on 1 May, having reportedly met the King when working as a flight attendant. Thai officials joined crowds across Thailand in paying homage to Suthida, with many lighting candles in honour of the country's new Queen. In one celebration, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha led government officials in giving alms to hundreds of Buddhist monks near the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Thai officials stand in front of a large portrait of Thai Queen Suthida (C) during a ceremony to honor her on her 41st birthday at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, Thailand People walk past a large framed portrait of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun and Queen Suthida in commemoration of Queen Suthida's birthday, outside an office building in Bangkok on her 41st birthday It is part of the Thai tradition of the act of doing good deeds, such as freeing captive animals, on one's birthday. Activities were also organised across Thailand to honour the Queen, with Thais granted a national holiday in celebration. Initiatives included volunteers cleaning canals, planting trees and training members of the public in basic first aid. Free services, including massages, haircuts and dental check ups, have also been organised in Bangkok over the long weekend. Huge portraits of the royal couple have been hung across Bangkok, as Thais celebrate the new Queen Thai well-wishers hold pictures of Thai Queen Suthida as they gather to celebrate in honor of the Queen's 41st birthday, at Sanam Luang in Bangkok Well-wishers could be seen gathering across the country to wish the new-royal happy birthday, with many clutching official portraits of Suthida. Many donned purple and yellow to celebrate the royal's birthday, two colours closely associated with royalty in Thai culture. Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his wife Naraporn joined crowds at a ceremony close to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, and were seen lighting candles in honour of the royal. It is the first time that Queen Suthida has celebrated her birthday as a royal, having married the King of Thailand last month. Many fans gathered at Sanam Luang, close to the Grand Palace in Bangkok, to honour the new Queen Some held candles as crowds gathered at Sanam Luang in Bangkok to celebrate the Queen's birthday, with many honouring her in the colour yellow Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (left) and his wife Naraporn (centre) light a candle in front of a large picture of Thai Queen Suthida during a ceremony to honor her on her 41st birthday While it was long-rumoured the pair were dating, the relationship was only confirmed last month when the marriage was announced. Having previously worked as a flight attendant for Thai Airways, which is reportedly how she met the King, Queen Suthida then joined the palace guard in 2013 and became commander of the his security unit. She currently holds a general's rank, having been appointed deputy commander of the King's Royal Guard in June 2017. Her husband King Vajiralongkorn, who has had three previous marriages and divorced his previous wife, with whom he has a son, in 2014, became king after the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016. Twenty portraits of the Queen were recently released by the Thai government in honour of the wedding, with the royal sporting a dazzling array of different outfits. Donald Trump acted like a 'school boy on his best behaviour' when he reuinted with the Queen earlier today, having arrived at Buckingham Palace for his first official state visit. Body language expert Robin Kermode said the US president appeared not to want to put a foot wrong, having been widely criticised for walking in front of the Queen, 93, during the inspection of the guard at Windsor Castle on his last visit in July 2018. Mr Trump also appeared to 'fist bump' the monarch as he went in for a handshake, with Her Majesty looking 'genuinely pleased to see him again'. But while he was tentative with the Queen, the president greeted Prince Charles 'like an old friend'. Speaking to FEMAIL, Robin said: 'Mr Trump seems much more on his best behaviour this time than on his previous visit. The US President appeared to 'fist bump' the Queen as he went in for a handshake, with the monarch looking 'genuinely pleased to see him again', according to body language expert Judi James The Queen was all smiles as she greeted Donald Trump this morning on his first official state visit to the UK - though Robin noted that Donald would have been better doing a complete turn to face her rather than being caught in 'this half no where land of a stance' 'In many of the pictures from Windsor Castle, he seemed to want to appear strong and determined, and even in some pictures wanting to take control. This time he appears more like a school boy not wanting to put a foot wrong.' Fellow body language expert Judi James said Trump, 72, was also 'checking his choreography carefully' as he greeted members of the British Royal Family one by one. 'Trump did look more at home on this visit, although the way he and Melania did keep silently mouthing words suggested he was checking his own choreography carefully,' she observed. 'His tendency to host and lead was still evident, with Charles needing to re-usher him with both arms when he tried to steer the prince, albeit with respect.' She added: 'Donald Trump is more inhibited when he's shaking hands with the Queen. He was leaning forward from a distance, with a tentative pawing of her hand. 'The Queen only ever offers her fingertips so he couldn't get a grasp. He probably wasn't touching much more than her fingers.' This time the US president remembered to let the Queen take the lead, holding back as she approached the palace steps In this shot, Robin remarked how Mr Trump is on his 'best behaviour - checking his every step as if on a parade ground about to be shouted at by the Sergeant Major' As they chatted on the palace steps, Robin noted how the Queen held her ground, facing Mr Trump head on, while the president was left with a 'slightly awkward leg position on the half turn'. 'He would have been better doing a complete turn to face her rather than being caught in this half no where land of a stance,' he said. The president looked to be much more comfortable in the presence of the Prince of Wales, 70, greeting Charles 'like an old friend'. Judi observed: 'Trump pulled him in for a close-up handshake with his arm bent so their hands performed judders between their torsos, and even added a pat on the arm to imply high levels of friendship.' Likewise Charles, the consumate diplomat, 'holds his head slightly lowered, giving respect to DT,' Robin points out. 'The prince's left shoulder, arm and hand is drawn away from Trump, showing some signs of formality and being on guard. His smile shows someone in control, in no way over-awed by the larger man.' The president looked to be much more comfortable in the presence of the Prince of Wales, greeting Charles 'like an old friend' Trump pulled him in for a close-up handshake with his arm bent so their hands performed judders between their torsos, and even added a pat on the arm to imply high levels of friendship She went on: 'Trump chatted happily, with his gesticulation suggesting he was dominating the conversation, but with the two men's mirrored walks implying some rapport.' Robin added: 'The president usually tends to stride out slightly in front of other people, but with Charles he checks his pace out of respect. Though he does slip up when he abandons Charles to speak to the guard - who, I'm sure, is not supposed to respond!' The Queen was all smiles as she welcomed the president and First Lady Melania to Buckingham Palace today, which Judi said suggested she was happy to host. 'Although his handshake with the Queen was odd enough to look like a fist bump, the Queen's wide grin made it appear she was genuinely pleased to see him again,' she noted. Trump usually tends to stride out slightly in front of other people, but with Charles he checks his pace out of respect 'Trump chatted happily with his gesticulation suggesting he was dominating the conversation but with the two men's mirrored walks implying some rapport Prince Charles and Donald Trump appeared to have a very animated coversation as they walked towards the palace Trump's tendency to host and lead was still evident; Robin said he slipped up when he abandoned Charles to speak to the guard who is most likely not allowed to respond The Trumps are in the UK for a whirlwind tour which will see them dine with the royal family and commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Today they enjoyed lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Sussex at Buckingham Palace after flying into Stansted airport on Air Force One. The Duchess of Sussex did not attend as she is on maternity leave. They will later attend an afternoon tea hosted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House. This evening the couple will be guests of honour at a state banquet hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, which will be attended by senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Robin said Trump 'looks like a school boy on his first day at school, as if in front of the headmistress,' adding that his jaw 'shows signs that this is not as easy as he thought it might be' The Trumps are in the UK for a whirlwind tour which will see them dine with the royal family and commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Pictured: Melania Trump, the Queen, Donald Trump, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning The Duke of Sussex made a fleeting appearance during Donald Trump's state visit this afternoon, and met with the First Daughter, Ivanka. Prince Harry made the briefest of appearances at the back of the gallery room as Trump began his tour of the Royal Collection. He ducked back out without ever fully joining the group, but was seen mingling with Ivanka Trump as the Queen gave her visitors a tour of the US items on display at Buckingham Palace. It comes after the president furiously backed-tracked at the weekend when he said he did not realise Meghan Markle was 'nasty' after learning about her criticism of him in 2016. Ivanka Trump (left), 37, viewed US items on display at the Royal Collection in Buckingham Palace with the Duke of Sussex (right) Harry made a fleeting appearance as President Donald Trump viewed US items of the Royal Collection at Buckingham palace Despite the comment, the President insisted that Meghan would make a great royal and do an 'excellent job.' After her visit, Ivanka tweeted: 'It was an incredible honor to meet Her Majesty the Queen, the longest monarch in British history,' 'Thank you for a warm welcome to the United Kingdom,' she added. The Duchess of Sussex, 37 did not join the visit and stayed at home with her son Archie Harrison. She's been on maternity leave and has not been seen since the birth of the baby. Ivanka tweeted about her visit to Buckingham Palace and said she was honoured to have met the Queen Ivanka opted for an all white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich for her official engagements today Ahead of his visit to the UK, Donald Trump denied he called Meghan Markle nasty in an interview with the Sun. Markle was critical of Trump when he was running for president in 2016, and when talking with The Sun in an Oval Office interview, the president said he has not been aware of her criticism of him. 'I didn't know that,' Trump said in an interview with the Sun, when he was told Markle has called him 'misogynistic' and 'divisive.' 'What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty.' He also, in the same interview, praised Markle, saying she makes a 'very good American Princess' and claiming he's glad to see Markle as part of the royal family. 'It is nice, and I am sure she will do excellently. She will be very good. I hope she does [succeed].' Ivanka (right) and husband Jared Kushner (left) admired the items on display at the Royal Collection. The pair arrived in the UK yesterday and visited the Victoria and Albert museum on Sunday Ivanka, the President's eldest daughter, 37, arrived in the UK yesterday and managed to squeeze in a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington. Ivanka was spotted peering out the window at the huge crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace today ahead of the President's arrival. She opted for an all white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich, with a floating top cinched in at the waist by a chunky belt and a pleated skirt. She wore her long blonde locks straight and down. This morning she posted a message on her Twitter and Instagram pages expressing her excitement for the visit. Donald Trump arrived at Buckingham Palace for lunch with the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and other senior royals today as Britain rolled out the red carpet for the leader of the free world. Mr Trump and his wife Melania landed at Her Majesty's central London home while his visibly excited daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner peered from a window as he landed and thousands gathered on The Mall outside. Ivanka Trump was spotted peering out the window at the huge crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace today ahead of the President's arrival After a private lunch, the Queen led President Trump into the palace's picture gallery to view an exhibition of American artefacts and other items from the Royal Collection. With the US leader's Scottish heritage, a bolt of Harris tweed was pointed out to him and the monarch rubbed her fingers to indicate its soft texture. For the first day of the three-day visit, First Lady Melania, 49, plumped for a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer as she stepped off Air Force One. In an apparent nod to the upcoming D-Day anniversary, Mrs Trump paired the suit with a 650 ($820) Burberry blouse printed with military medals. President Trump reached for his wife's hand as they crossed the runway and made their way to the waiting Marine One helicopter. Ivanka stood gazing out of the window at Buckingham Palace as she awaited the arrival of her father Donald While the President and First lady are expected to be met by protests in central London, there was no sign of disruption on their arrival in Stansted Airport, which is roughly an hour's drive from the capital. The First Lady found time for an outfit change on the overnight flight, after leaving the Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, in a 3,480 ($4,400) Gucci shirt dress. The designer frock was printed with a graphic illustration of the London skyline - complete with depictions of Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning President Trump and his wife Melania were greeted at the Palace by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall Later on today Donald and Ivanka Trump will join The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall for tea at Clarence House. In the evening, the Trumps will be guests of honour at a banquet in Buckingham Palace where both the Queen and the US president will make speeches. As she is on maternity leave, the Duchess of Sussex will not be attending the dinner either. The Royal Family gave President Trump and the First Lady a warm welcome to the UK today, a lip reading expert revealed. The Queen told Melania Trump that it was 'nice to see her again' as she greeted the First Lady on the steps of Buckingham Palace, while Prince Charles, 70, addressed the President with an informal 'Donald'. Lip reader Tina Lannin, of 121 Captions, analysed footage of the Presidential couple arriving this afternoon to discern what was said before the group made their way inside the palace for lunch and a tour of the Royal Collection. Scroll down for videos The Queen gave a warm welcome to the First Lady, who is joining her husband on the State Visit. Pictured, the women share a brief exchange on the steps of Buckingham Palace The Queen told Melania Trump that it was 'nice to see her again' as she greeted the First Lady on the steps of Buckingham Palace, pictured Royal lip reading On the lawn, in front of Marine Force One Charles: 'Are we going down keep your hat on.' [to Camilla] Charles: [greeting Trump] 'Hello Donald, are you doing well?' Trump: [greeting Camilla] 'Hi' Camilla: 'Nice to meet you.' Trump: [to Charles] 'Have youstop...' Charles: [to Trump] 'We have' Melania: [to Camilla] '...we have to great.' On the steps outside the palace Queen: [greeting Trump] 'Thank you.' Queen: 'Was it okay? Lovely.' Queen: [to Melania] 'Nice to see you (again.)' Advertisement Prince Charles, 70, and the Duchess of Cornwall, 71, headed out to the lawn to greet the President and his wife after they touched down in their Marine Force One helicopter. Before making their way down, Charles said to his wife: 'Are we going down?... Keep your hat on,' prompting Camilla to take hold of the brim. The royal couple then gave their VIP visitors a warm welcome. Showing his easy-going nature, Charles greeted the President with: 'Hello Donald, are you doing well?' While Camilla said: 'Nice to meet you,' as they exchanged pleasantries. President Trump could be seen saying: 'Have you... stop...,' although it was not clear what he was referring to. In response Charles said: 'We have.' The Duchess of Cornwall and Mrs Trump, 49, appeared to be having a similarly light-hearted conversation, with Melania saying at one point: 'We have to... great.' The Royal Family gave President Trump and the First Lady a warm welcome to the UK today, a lip reading expert revealed. Prince Charles addressed the President with an informal 'Donald' and asked, 'Are you doing well?' as the pair shook hands on the lawn of Buckingham Palace Prince Charles and Camilla then stood to one side while the President and First Lady greeted the Queen. While the camera angle meant the President's mouth could not be seen, the Queen appeared relaxed and in good spirits. She last met the President and First Lady during their visit to the UK in June last year. 'Thank you,' she smiled, as she greeted the President, before adding: 'Was it okay? Lovely.' Before making their way down, Charles said to his wife: 'Are we going down?... Keep your hat on,' prompting Camilla to take hold of the brim, pictured The Duchess of Cornwall and Mrs Trump, 49, appeared to be having a light-hearted conversation as they followed their respective husbands across the lawn to the palace While the camera angle meant the President's mouth could not be seen, the Queen appeared relaxed and in good spirits as she welcomed him. 'Thank you,' she smiled, as she greeted the President, pictured, before adding: 'Was it okay? Lovely.' As Mrs Trump came up the steps to greet Her Majesty, the Queen turned to her and said: 'Nice to see you again'. President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner watched the arrival from the palace balcony. Prince Harry later joined the group. The Trumps then made their way inside for a private lunch with the royals. The group then took a tour of the Royal Collection. The President and First Lady touched down on the lawn in front of Buckingham Palace in Marine Force One, pictured. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were on hand to greet the Presidential couple and accompany them inside the palace Melania Trump, 49, donned a polished white and navy ensemble that was reminiscent of the outfit worn by Audrey Hepburn in the classic Hollywood film as she joined her husband for the engagement. The First Lady and the Duchess of Cornwall had to hold onto their hats as they were caught in a quick gust of wind while standing on the steps of Buckingham Palace. The women looked perfectly co-ordinated in their white ensembles Following the engagement President Trump and Mrs Trump fly to Westminster Abbey, where the President laid a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior and was given a tour. This afternoon the couple will join Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall for a short meeting at their London home, Clarence House. Tonight the American visitors will attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. The President and First Lady were officially welcomed to the UK by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall A journalist on Twitter has poked fun at Camilla's attempt to be 'rescued by her protection officers', while she was with President Trump earlier today. Charlie Proctor, from Nottinghamshire, is editor of Royal central and was live tweeting Trump's visit earlier today. While Camilla and Prince Charles met Donald Trump and his wife Melania this afternoon the footage he snipped from them BBC saw them leaving a photo call and Camilla cheekily winking at the camera. Posting the clip he joked: 'Royal Protection Officer: Camilla, if you are in trouble then wink, we will come and rescue you.' Fellow Twitter users were delighted by the joke, with one branding the Duchess, the 'Queen of sass', while another admired her 'pantomime wink'. A journalist on Twitter has poked fun at Camilla's attempt to get rescued by her protection officers, while she was with President Trump earlier today US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, left, pose for a photo with Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall prior to afternoon tea at Clarence House, A third added: 'Well, I think the wink is supposed to imply something'. Others declared the light-hearted moment their favourite part of the state visit so far. However body language expert, Robin Kermode said: 'It looks like a genuine wink of fun to me. 'The facial smile starts long before the wink which the reaches the outer corners of her eyes making it a genuine smile. She seems to have found the whole afternoon rather intriguing.' Charlie Proctor, from Nottinghamshire, is editor of Royal central and was live tweeting Trump's visit earlier today - then he posted this funny clip Mr Trump and his wife had a private meeting with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at their London residence where they enjoyed afternoon tea. The meeting was a chance for Trump and the royals to talk about how they will tackle the topic of climate change. The Trumps visited Clarence House after placing a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey as their began their whirlwind three-day state visit coinciding with the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Both the Duchess and Melania dressed up for the occasion - with Camilla is a pink polka dot dress and the first lady paying homage to Princess Diana in her outfit choice. The custom white Dolce & Gabbana dress featured a contrasting blue collar and flattering waist belt while her white Herve Pierre hat was complete with a thick navy band around the brim. Mr Trump and his wife had a private meeting with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at their London residence where they enjoyed afternoon tea She finished the look with a pair of matching heels by Manolo Blahnik. The crisp, tailored ensemble is reminiscent of several looks worn by Diana, including two white and navy skirt suits worn to public engagements throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Earlier today the Queen rolled out the red carpet for Donald Trump and his wife with a private lunch at Buckingham Palace followed by a personal tour of its art collection by the monarch herself. Both the Duchess and Melania dressed up for the occasion - with Camilla is a pink polka dot dress and the first lady paying homage to Princess Diana in her outfit choice The President and his wife joked with the royals before the had afternoon tea today at Clarence house Its not the first unusual video of the President since his arrival this morning - Trump appeared to deliver an unusual handshake upon the meeting the Queen. Some remarked that his holding of the monarch's hand looked at first in photographs like a fist bump. But he actually seemed to clench her hand rather than shaking it with a flat hand. Tonight will see Trump attend the state banquet, where he will be the special guest among royals including the Queen, Camilla and Prince Charles. Advertisement Ivanka Trump modeled a truly distinctive white fascinator on Monday whine visiting Westminster Abbey during the first day of President Donald Trump's state visit to the UK. The first daughter, 37, arrived at the church wearing a white Philip Treacy fascinator that featured an oblong shape and was positioned at the top of her forehead, giving it the appearance of almost sliding off her head. The hat, which included a large white bow on the right side that dipped over her eye, matched the pleated white skirt and peplum jacket that Ivanka was dressed in for her first day attending official events in London this week. First daughter Ivanka Trump, 37, was photographed at Westminster Abbey on Monday afternoon wearing a white fascinator She was pictured during the visit alongside her husband, Jared Kushner, who wore a black suit and navy-and-green stripped tie for the event The oblong fascinator Ivanka wore appeared gave the appearance of almost sliding off Ivanka's head Featured on the right side of the hat was a large knot to add detailing to the white fascinator Ivanka then paired the look with an all-white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich A fascinator is typically worn by Christian women in Europe when attending formal gatherings or visiting a church, but they are uncommon in the US so it was a new but necessary look for Ivanka as she accompanied the president, his wife Melania Trump, and her own husband Jared Kushner to Westminster Abbey to lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. Bobby pins and clips were likely necessary for the first daughter to keep the white fascinator from sliding off her head, particularly as it was positioned over most of her forehead. The first daughter probably required a number of bobby pins and clips to keep the fascinator positioned over her forehead She wore the hat with an all-white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich, which included a peplum top cinched in at the waist by a chunky belt as well as a pleated skirt. Ivanka shared a photo of her outfit on Twitter during the visit, writing: 'Touring Westminster Abbey after @POTUS and @FLOTUS laid a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. #USStateVisit. Included in the picture was husband Jared Kushner, 38, who wore a black suit and navy-and-green striped tie for the occasion. The couple stayed together, at some points linked arm in arm, throughout their visit through Westminster Abbey. As a pair, they viewed the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, which holds an unidentified British soldier who was killed during World War I. They also appeared to speak with clergy members at the church during the official tour. Before visiting Westminster Abbey on Monday, Ivanka expressed that she was 'looking forward' to joining her father Donald and his wife Melania later on Monday as they touched down in London for an official state visit. She wrote on Twitter: 'Today, Her Majesty The Queen will welcome @POTUS and @FLOTUS for a State Visit to the United Kingdom. I am looking forward to joining the US delegation for this commemorative visit,' followed by a British and American flag emoji. Earlier in the morning, she was first spotted peering outside a window in Buckingham Palace at the large crowd that had gathered outside. She was not wearing the fascinator at the time but was wearing her Alessandra Rich ensemble. She shared her outfit and visit to Westminster Abbey on Twitter, while revealing how the couple helped lay a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior Ivanka paired the fascinator with an all-white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich During the visit to Westminster Abbey, Ivanka joined father Donald and Melania Trump, who landed in the London earlier that day for their three-day state visit Ivanka kept her hair straight for the event with the fascinator then clipped over her forehead The first daughter opted for a more conservative look on the first day of the state visit She and Jared, 38, were spotted grinning and smiling as they walked through Westminster Abbey While at Buckingham Palace this morning, she had a chance to view American items in the Royal collection alongside her husband and her father. They were shown around by the Queen, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Pictures show Ivanka talking to a woman while standing beside Prince Harry, while the President is shown around by the Queen. The president's eldest daughter arrived in the UK yesterday and managed to squeeze in a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington. On Sunday she shared a snap outside the V&A museum, posing beside a friend wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee also known as Les Reverie. She paired the pure silk-crepe frock that falls to a flattering midi length with blue high heels as she stepped out to see the Mary Quant exhibit of over 200 pieces of clothing and accessories from the British designer. While at Buckingham Palace this morning, she had a chance to view American items in the Royal collection She, her father, and her step-mother Melania were all there and were shown around by The Queen and Prince Harry Prince Andrew, Duke of York showed Ivanka some pieces in the collection at the palace Ivanka appeared fascinated while Jared seemed confused as they looked at a book in the collection Earlier on Monday Ivanka was spotted peering out the window at the huge crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the president's arrival Ivanka stood gazing out of the window at Buckingham Palace as she awaited the arrival of her father Donald As her father landed, Ivanka emerged onto the balcony beside her husband Jared (right) She wore the same all-white ensemble that she was in while visiting Westminster Abbey. But the fascinator was not on her head at the time Ivanka and her husband Jared are attending a private lunch at Buckingham Palace this afternoon with her father Trump and Melania President Trump and Melania touched down in their Marine One helicopter at Buckingham Palace Earlier on Monday morning President Trump's jumbo jet landed at Stansted airport and he wasted no time in making yet another dig at London Mayor Sadiq Khan. He tweeted: 'Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly "nasty" to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me.' For the first day of the three-day visit, First Lady Melania, 49, plumped for a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer as she stepped off Air Force One. In an apparent nod to the upcoming D-Day anniversary, Melania paired the suit with a 650 ($820) Burberry blouse printed with military medals. President Trump reached for his wife's hand as they crossed the runway and made their way to the waiting Marine One helicopter. Trump and Melania were greeted at the Palace by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall Yesterday mother-of-three Ivanka shared a snap outside the V&A museum, posing beside a friend wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee - aka Les Reverie The president saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning The president placed an affectionate hand on his wife's arm as they crossed the runway to Marine Force One this morning While the president and first lady are expected to be met by protests in central London, there was no sign of disruption on their arrival in Stansted Airport, which is roughly an hour's drive from the capital. The first lady found time for an outfit change on the overnight flight, after leaving the Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, in a 3,480 ($4,400) Gucci shirt dress. The designer frock was printed with a graphic illustration of the London skyline - complete with depictions of Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. The next three days will be a whirlwind for both President Trump and Melania, as they will dine with the royal family and commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Monday first involved a lunch at Buckingham Palace with the Queen and Duke of Sussex. The Duchess of Sussex did not attend as she is on maternity leave. The pair then went to Westminster Abbey before later attending an afternoon tea hosted by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House. On Monday evening the couple will be guests of honor at a state banquet hosted by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, which will be attended by senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Advertisement She's an expert in dressing for state banquets, and last night the Duchess of Cambridge didn't disappoint as she stepped out in an angelic ruffled white dress by Alexander McQueen. Naturally, the Duchess was dripping in diamonds as she attended the Queen's state banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of President Trump's state visit. She relied on her favourite tiara, the Cambridge Lover's Knot, paired with the Queen Mother's sapphire and diamond fringe earrings, and wore the Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on her blue sash for the first time. The honour was given to her by the Queen in April for her services to the sovereign. Kate made her glamorous entrance with United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, as they arrived together through the East Gallery, while Prince William walked ahead with Prime Minister Theresa May. The Duchess of Cambridge and United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin arrive through the East Gallery during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of the US President's three day state visit to the UK Later on we saw a glimpse of her long white ruffled gown, thought to be Alexander McQueen, as she joined special guests for the evening President Trump and his wife Melania Prince William and Prime Minister Theresa May walk in front of Kate and the United States Secretary of the Treasury as they make their way to dinner tonight The Duchess of Cambridge looked glamorous in the the Cambridge knot tiara as she left Kensington Palace to attend the State Banquet for the US State Visit at Buckingham Palace Kate, 37, wore the diamond and sapphire earrings as she joined husband Prince William, later she will join special guests for the evening President Trump and his wife Melania Kate completed her elegant appearance by wearing her hair back in a knot style bun, and paired with classic make-up Duchess of Cambridge seen on her way to the US President Donald Trump state visit to London on Monday night The diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara was also a favourite of Princess Diana's, and Kate has worn it for a number of important occasions. It was last seen during a banquet hosted in honour of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands last October, and to the state banquet honouring the Chinese president in 2015. Kate completed her elegant appearance by wearing her hair back in a knot style bun, paired with classic make-up. She teamed her ruffled dress with a neat white clutch bag, also by Alexander McQueen. The Cambridges joined almost 170 other guests, including the Presidents children Ivanka Trump, Donald Jr and Eric and Lara Trump. Elegant as always - the Duchess of Cambridge looked excited to be attending the state banquet tonight with her husband Prince William US President Donald Trump, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, first lady Melania Trump, Prince Charles and Camilla and the Duchess of Cornwall pose ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace Others were invited to the state banquet on the basis of their cultural, diplomatic or economic links to the US. Amid the splendour and ceremony of a state banquet for 170 dignitaries and guests, the US President thanked the Queen for her 'gracious hospitality' and 'nearly seven decades' of personal friendship with the United States. He spoke of the Blitz and the bombing of Buckingham Palace, saying that 'in their dark hour the people of this nation showed the world what it means to be British'. He praised the Queen a 'great, great woman' recalling her service on the Home Front during the war, and said 'the bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great crusade'. Ivanka (pictured left with Trade Secretary Liam Fox) wore her blonde hair neatly pulled into a bun, completing the look with minimal make-up He said the Queen embodied 'the spirit of dignity, duty, and patriotism that beats proudly in every British heart'. Raising his glass the 45th President of the United States said: 'On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations and to the long cherished and truly remarkable reign of Her Majesty, the Queen.' In her address, the Queen welcomed the Trumps, celebrated the Special Relationship between the UK and the US, and while Brexit was not mentioned she highlighted how the two countries faced 'new challenges of the 21st century'. KATE'S TIARA TRIBUTE TO HER LATE MOTHER-IN-LAW Diana in the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara in Hong Kong in 1989 The Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara is the one worn by the Duchess of Cambridge most frequently - and for very sentimental reasons. The tiara was made by Royal jewellers Garrard in 1914 to Queen Mary's personal design, from pearls and diamonds already in her family's possession. It was a copy of one owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, who married the first Duke of Cambridge, seventh son of King George III, in 1818. In her will Queen Mary left the tiara to to the Queen who wore it frequently, including at an evening event in 1955. In 1981 she gave it as a wedding present to Prince William's mother, Diana, who wore it for the first time at the state opening of parliament that November. Diana also wore the tiara in 1985 on an official visit to Washington with Prince Charles. And since her death the glistening head piece has been worn by the Duchess of Cambridge who was most recently spotted wearing it at the state dinner during Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI's visit in 2017. It was also seen on Kate at last year's Diplomatic Reception. The Duchess of Cambridge most recently wore the Lover's Knot Tiara to the state banquet held in honour of Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in October 2018, pictured. Right, Kate with Rear Admiral Ludger Brummelaar Kate wore the tiara for the annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in December 2016, left, and in 2015, right The Duchess of Cambridge wore her trusty headpiece to the Queen's annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in December 2018 Advertisement Mr Trump and his wife had a private meeting with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at their London residence where Trump had pledged to tackle the topic of climate change with the heir to the throne. The Trumps then visited Clarence House after placing a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey as their began their whirlwind three-day state visit coinciding with the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Earlier on today The Queen rolled out the red carpet for the leader of the free world starting with a private lunch at Buckingham Palace followed by a personal tour of its art collection by the monarch herself. Over the last 24 hours, Palace attendants have transformed the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace ahead of this US State Visit Banquet Others have been invited to the state banquet on the basis of their cultural, diplomatic or economic links to the US Marine One is seen outside Buckingham Palace during the state visit of U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump to Britain Earlier on today The Queen rolled out the red carpet for the leader of the free world starting with a private lunch at Buckingham Palace followed by a personal tour of its art collection by the monarch herself Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump took tea with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall this afternoon It's the most glittering event of the Trumps' three-day state visit to the UK, and Ivanka Trump certainly put on a glamorous display as she attended last night's state banquet as a guest of the Queen. The First Daughter, 37, stepped out in a pastel blue dress by Carolina Herrera, which has a price tag of over 9,000, ($11,600) teaming it with pearl accessories. But the Tie-Sleeve Sparkle-Embroidered Trench Gown, which featured a shirt collar and button down front, left several questioning if the top half of the gown was 'too casual' for such a formal event. Etiquette expert William Hanson suggested the president's daughter had 'missed the mark' with her outfit, saying: 'Ivanka Trumps look was perfect... for an upper east side corporate garden party.' Ivanka (pictured left with Trade Secretary Liam Fox) looked stunning at the event, although some questioned if the blue gown was a little too casual for the palace Some social media users were critical of Ivanka's look, with several questioning if the bedazzled dress was too 'casual' for the formal state dinner President Trump pictured with the ladies of the evening, his daughter Ivanka, right, Tiffany, left, and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, far left, who both wore satin gloves with their evening gowns He went on: 'It did cover all the requisite parts that need concealing for formal British evening occasions such as state banquets but it didnt quite hit the mark, however beautiful a colour and fabric it may have been.' The white-tie state dinner, which took place in the Buckingham Palace ballroom last night, is one of the most formal events in the Trump's three day visit to the UK. Ivanka Trump chose a bedazzled 'trench gown' for the formal event, which features a shirt collar, button front, and A-line silhouette. Her blonde hair was neatly pulled into a bun, completing the look with minimal make-up and smokey eye shadow. Ivanka Trump (pictured second from right), 37, donned an embellished blue dress with floral print as she attended the Queen's state banquet at Buckingham Palace She walked in behind the Duchess of Gloucester and the Lord Great Chamberlain US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania, walked with Queen Elizabeth II as they make their way into the Music Room for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace The etiquette expert also questioned Ivanka's decision not to wear evening gloves, saying: 'There was an absence of evening gloves, too, although other British and American guests did also commit this faux pas too.' The collared blue dress was a sharp contrast to the choices made by the British royals, with the Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall and Kate Middleton donning white gowns for the occasion. Her stepmother and First Lady Melania also matched the royals in her white Dior Couture dress with long formal gloves. Social media users couldn't help but notice Ivanka's dress, with several commenting it was 'too casual'. Social media users were left unimpressed by Ivanka's choice of dress, which many commenting that it was too casual for the white tie event One commented: 'Her dress seems a little out of place compared to others, does anyone agree or disagree?' 'Ivanka did not get the memo to dress up,' another wrote,'Really shirt collar dress. Is that the best you could do? Ugh.' Another commented:' Ivanka, you are such a sharp dresser 99% of the time. You look so sloppy in that white dress at Buckingham palace. Surely you could have found something sharper to wear as I'm usually so proud of you choices.' A fourth simply wrote:'She wore a shirt dress? Really?' All four of Donald Trump 's adult children attended the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on Monday night; L-R: Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump Snap-happy Ivanka has been documenting her three-day trip to the UK on Instagram, sharing several pictures of her and her husband Jared Kushner Another compared the gown, which costs almost 10,000, to a 'bedazzled denim shirt'. Meanwhile Ivanka's short sleeves and button down top were also a contrast to the gowns worn by her sister Tiffany and sister-in-law Lara, white evening gloves with their evening dresses. Tiffany donned a dark red off-the-shoulder velvet gown, while Eric Trump's wife Lara wore a white strapless dress. The state banquet at Buckingham Palace is one of the most important events on the Trumps' three day itinerary. The two heads of state were all smiles following the exchange of warm words about their two nations' history and friendship First Lady Melania Trump and the Prince of Wales arrived through the East Gallery for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall and Robert 'Woody' Johnson, the United States' Ambassador to the United Kingdom The Duchess of Cambridge was accompanied by the United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin through the East Gallery before the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace The President's daughter, and advisor, Ivanka Trump with Secretary of State for International Trade, Liam Fox Outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May and third in line to the throne Prince William file through the East Gallery ahead of the State Banquet Princess Royal, Princess Anne, listens to Ivanka Trump's husband Jared Kushner, who also acts as an adviser to President Trump Counselor to the US President, Kellyanne Conway was paired with the Duke of Kent for the glittering bash Eric Trump shared a snap with his wife Lara ahead of the event (left) and Don Jr. smiled in the back of a van as he showed off his tux on the way there (right) US President Donald Trump, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, first lady Melania Trump, Prince Charles and Camilla and the Duchess of Cornwall pose ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace Over the last 24 hours, attendants at Buckingham palace have transformed the Ballroom ahead of tonight's state banquet Royal florists organised a number of breathtaking displays to decorate the ballroom for the State Banquet welcoming the American leaders The lavish dinner at Buckingham Palace marks the arrival of American leader President Donald Trump alongside his wife and eldest daughter Attendants strategically placed a series of candles in gold holders throughout the ballroom for a stunning ambiance The floral display featured a mixture of fresh blooms, that had been prepared by the Royal Florists in anticipation of the banquet An attendant at Buckingham Palace placed a selection of polished wine glasses across the intricately decorated table Ivanka Trump (left), 37, viewed US items on display at the Royal Collection in Buckingham Palace with the Duke of Sussex (right) Ivanka opted for an all white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich for her official engagements today Ivanka (right) and husband Jared Kushner (left) admired the items on display at the Royal Collection. The pair arrived in the UK yesterday and visited the Victoria and Albert museum on Sunday Around 170 guests dined on steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse, asparagus spears & chervil sauce Saddle of new season, Windsor lamb with herb stuffing, spring vegetables, port sauce Strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream Assorted fresh fruits Coffee & petit fours. The event topped off a momentous day for Ivanka, which included a private lunch with the Queen, a tour of the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, where she mingled with Prince Harry, and a visit to Westminster Abbey. Ivanka opted for a sophisticated look earlier in the day as she browsed the Royal Collection with her husband Jared Kushner. She teamed London-based designer Alessandra Rich's pleated white skirt with a peplum jacket for an impressively sleek look alongside her husband who appeared polished in a tailored suit. The First Daughter completed her elegant look by wearing her blonde hair straight down with a simple centre parting. First daughter Ivanka Trump, 37, was photographed at Westminster Abbey on Monday afternoon wearing a white fascinator Ivanka then paired the look with an all-white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich The oblong fascinator Ivanka wore appeared gave the appearance of almost sliding off Ivanka's head Featured on the right side of the hat was a large knot to add detailing to the white fascinator She was pictured during the visit alongside her husband, Jared Kushner, who wore a black suit and navy-and-green stripped tie for the event The Queen and other members of the Royal Family showed the American visitors symbolic photos and artifacts which highlight the UK's relationship with the US throughout the years during the viewing. Among the items was documents from King George VI and Queen Elizabeths visit to the US in 1939. Ivanka later accompanied her father and the First Lady to Westminster Abbey, where they laid a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior. The 37-year-old covered her hair with a white fascinator by Philip Treacy to refresh her look after a busy day of engagements to mark their arrival in the UK. She was spotted upon her arrival at Buckingham palace appearing delighted to be visiting, as she anticipated the arrival of her father. Ivanka stood gazing out of the window at Buckingham Palace as she awaited the arrival of her father Donald The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning Advertisement Melania Trump looked a vision as the US presidential couple attended the state banquet at Buckingham palace tonight. The First Lady of the United-States, 49, wore a white evening gown from Dior's spring 2019 collection for the occasion, which was her third outfit of the day. The beautiful gown skimmed her figure and had a sheer design at the top - which complimented Melania's skin tone. Her hair was styled in a stylish bun and she wore her usual smoky eye and minimal jewelery. She looked relaxed and happy as she shook hands with and rubbed shoulders with members of the royal family including Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cambridge. This outfit concludes a very stylish day, with three different outfits from the First Lady. Earlier today she paid a tribute to the late Princess Diana in a number from Dolce and Gabbana. Upon landing in the UK, the First Lady sported a very stylish Burberry pussy blouse and Michael Kors skirt suit. Everyone seemed in good spirits in Buckingham Palace tonight as the Queen welcomed Donald Trump and his wife Melania for a state banquet The First Lady of he United States wore a beautiful white gown from Dior's Spring 2019 collection to the state banquet in honour of her and her husband in Buckingham Palace All smiles, the President and First Lady of the United States and Queen Elizabeth II attend the state banquet at Buckingham Palace During the day: The US first lady emulated the Late Princess Diana in a custom-made Dolce and Gabbana dress in white and blue navy and a Herve Pierre hat (pictured) Morning: Mrs Trump's Burberry pussy-bow blouse - which is in the colours of the Union Jack - comes in one of the label's archive scarf prints, with ropes, red ribbon and military medals on on show First Lady Melania Trump, 49, chose an ensemble in one of Princess Diana's favourite colour combinations - white and navy - for the engagement at Buckingham Palace today, left. The royal wore crisp navy and white tailoring on a number of occasions, including for the 50th anniversary of VJ Day in 1995 (centre) and an outing to Royal Ascot 10 years earlier in 1985 (right) Earlier today, she chose an ensemble in one of the late royal's favourite colour combinations - white and navy - for the engagement at Buckingham Palace. The custom white dress featured a contrasting blue collar and flattering waist belt while her white Herve Pierre hat was complete with a thick navy band around the brim. She finished the look with a pair of matching heels by Manolo Blahnik. The crisp, tailored ensemble is reminiscent of several looks worn by Diana, including two white and navy skirt suits worn to public engagements throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. Other royal watchers noted Mrs Trump might have turned to the silver screen for her inspiration, with comparisons to Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolitle from My Fair Lady and Titanic's Rose (Kate Winslet) both cropping up online. On arrival at Stansted Airport this morning, Mrs Trump wore a 650 ($820) Burberry blouse printed with military medals. The unusual pattern is an apparent tribute to the upcoming 75th anniversary of D-Day, which will be marked by the President and First Lady this week. Mrs Trump wore the pussy-bow blouse - which is in the colours of the Union Jack - with a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer from Michael Kors And last night, Melania left the Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, on Sunday evening in a 3,480 ($4,400) Gucci shirt dress. The designer frock was printed with a graphic illustration of the London skyline - an early nod to her hosts -complete with depictions of Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. Melania Trump, 49, donned a polished white and navy ensemble that was reminiscent of the outfit worn by Audrey Hepburn in the classic Hollywood film as she joined her husband for the engagement. Mrs Trump and the Duchess of Cornwall were perfectly co-ordinated in white ensembles for the engagement today, left. Right, President and Mrs Trump being greeted by the Queen on the steps of Buckingham Palace today In Buckingham Palace, the last details are being completed ahead of the State Banquet tonight. The Queen and US President are both set to make speeches Palace Attendants have transformed the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace ahead of this evening State Banquet and nothing has been left to chance The Queen, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall as well as the Duke of Sussex are set to attend the state banquet in honour of the US President tonight One of the Buckingham Palace attendants prepares the candles that will be used during the state banquet in honour of the US delegation tonight The President and First Lady were officially welcomed to the UK by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall Other royal watchers noted Mrs Trump might have turned to the silver screen for her inspiration, with comparisons to Audrey Hepburn's Eliza Doolitle from My Fair Lady (left) and Titanic's Rose (Kate Winslet), right, both cropping up online The Queen chatted happily to the First Lady, left, and the Duchess of Cornwall, right, on the steps of Buckingham Palace The Presidential couple enjoyed lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace, following a welcome to mark the official start of their three-day State Visit. President and Mrs Trump were greeted outside the palace by Her Majesty, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner watched the arrival from the palace balcony. In an apparently pre-planned move, Ivanka, 37, complemented Mrs Trump's outfit in a white blazer and pleated skirt by royal-approved label Alessandra Rich. After a private lunch, the President and First Lady were given a tour of US items in the Royal Collection by the Queen The President and Mrs Trump looked interested as the Queen talked them through the artefacts on display, pictured Mrs Trump, left, later joined her husband for a tour of Westminster Abbey. Right, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also attended The US Presidential couple were given a tour of Westminster Abbey on the first day of their State Visit to the UK The President and First Lady laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, pictured Ivanka's full outfit was from the Alessandra Rich Spring/Summer '19 collection and is made up of a white pleated midi skirt teamed with a matching peplum jacket and a crystal embellished belt to complete the look. All three pieces are available to buy and cost just under 3,000 in total. The Duchess of Cornwall also plumped for white, wearing a classic knee-length shift dress with a beautiful hat, cream gloves and purse. The royal tour already looks set to be a fashion show for Mrs Trump, who has sported three different looks in the last 24 hours. Ivanka's full outfit was from the Alessandra Rich Spring/Summer '19 collection and is made up of a white pleated midi skirt teamed with a matching peplum jacket and a crystal embellished belt to complete the look Ivanka, pictured with husband Jared Kushner at Westminster Abbey, finished her look with nude heels and a white hat Ivanka (right) and husband Jared Kushner (left) admired the items on display at the Royal Collection. The pair arrived in the UK yesterday and visited the Victoria and Albert museum on Sunday The First Lady left the Andrews Air Force Base, in Maryland, on Sunday evening in a 3,480 ($4,400) Gucci shirt dress. The designer frock was printed with a graphic illustration of the London skyline - an early nod to her hosts -complete with depictions of Tower Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. Mrs Trump continued her Britannia-themed wardrobe on arrival at Stansted Airport this morning by changing into a 650 ($820) Burberry blouse printed with military medals. The unusual pattern is an apparent tribute to the upcoming 75th anniversary of D-Day, which will be marked by the President and First Lady this week. Mrs Trump wore the pussy-bow blouse - which is in the colours of the Union Jack - with a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer. The President and First Lady touched down on the lawn in front of Buckingham Palace in Marine Force One, pictured. Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall were on hand to greet the Presidential couple and accompany them inside the palace The First Lady and the Duchess of Cornwall had to hold onto their hats as they were caught in a quick gust of wind while standing on the steps of Buckingham Palace. The women looked perfectly co-ordinated in their white ensembles The President and First Lady spoke to the Queen on the steps of Buckingham Palace, left. Right, President Trump's daughter Ivanka, centre in white, and her husband Jared Kushner, right, watched the ceremony from a palace balcony President and Mrs Trump were greeted by the Queen, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall on their arrival at Buckingham Palace. The ceremony marks the official start of their three-day state visit to the UK The skirt suit is believed to be the same Michael Kors set previously worn by Mrs Trump to the funeral of a Secret Service agent. The President's wife kept the rest of her look understated, pairing the navy skirt suit with vertiginous Christian Louboutin pumps in the same shade and a pair of chic black sunglasses. Despite the blustery wind, Mrs Trump was typically composed as she stepped out onto the steps of Air Force One. She joined her husband to wave from the top of the stairs before watching her step as she made her way down in the towering heels. President Trump reached for his wife's hand as they crossed the runway and made their way to the waiting Marine One helicopter, which took them to the US Ambassador's residence in central London. Melania Trump looked elegant in a navy ensemble as she and President Trump arrived in the UK for the start of their State Visit. The couple will meet the royal family and attend a state banquet during their three-day whirlwind tour President Trump reached for his wife's hand, pictured left and right, as they crossed the runway at Stansted Airport this morning. Despite the protests expected in central London, there was no sign of disruption as the couple arrived The First Lady, 49, plumped for a classic knee-length pencil skirt and matching blazer as she stepped off Air Force One, pictured. She accessorised the Britannia-themed look with a red, white and blue blouse; navy pumps and black sunglasses Mrs Trump's Burberry pussy-bow blouse - which is in the colours of the Union Jack - comes in one of the label's archive scarf prints, with ropes, red ribbon and military medals on on show The Burberry blouse, pictured, is an apparent tribute to D-Day veterans as the anniversary approaches this week Donald Trump stands alongside his wife on the steps of Air Force One and waves as he landed in the UK today The couple landed at Stansted Airport this morning - kicking off a three-day whirlwind visit of the UK The First Lady remained typically composed as she waved from the top of the steps of Air Force One on arrival this morning The First Lady kept hold of the handrail and watched her step as she descended the stairs of Air Force One with the President The Presidential couple were buffeted by the wind as they disembarked their jet into the morning sunshine at Stansted Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (left in both images) was among the first to greet the President and First Lady off the plane Mr Trump salutes servicemen and women who formed a guard of honour as he walked from his jumbo jet to his helicopter The couple boarded the helicopter once more to make the short flight to Buckingham Palace, where they landed on the lawn. The couple are joining the Queen, Charles and Camilla for a private lunch at the palace. It is thought the Duke of Sussex will also attend. The Duchess of Sussex will not be present as she is currently on maternity leave. After lunch, the President and First Lady will fly to Westminster Abbey, where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. They will later join Charles for a brief meeting at Clarence House. Tonight President and Mrs Trump will don their finery for a glittering state banquet, which will be attended by senior royals including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. However the event has been boycotted by a handful of high profile figures including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning The President placed an affectionate hand on his wife's arm as they crossed the runway to Marine Force One this morning President Trump clutched his wife's hand on their arrival at Stansted, while Melania maintained her composure An hand on his wife's back, Trump led the way to Marine Force One before taking off for the US Ambassador's residence Lara Trump dazzled this evening as she attended the Queen's state banquet at Buckingham Palace with her husband Eric Trump. The 36-year-old teamed a floral dress by Monique Lhuillier with white satin gloves for an effortlessly chic look, as she arrived on the arm of her dapper husband Eric, who looked smart in suit with a bow tie. Lara who is around seven-months pregnant shared the picture of her and Eric on Twitter. Neither Lara or Eric joined Donald Trump for his earlier engagements marking their arrival in the UK. Among the American leader's engagements on the first day of his visit wasa dinner with the Queen and afternoon tea with Prince Charles and Camilla. Lara Trump, 36, beamed in a stunning floral gown by Monique Lhuillier as she arrived at Buckingham Palace on the arm of her husband Eric Trump (pictured together) Eric Trump (left) with wife Lara Yunaska Trump, Donald Trump, Barron Trump and Melania Trump in 2015 US President Donald Trump, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, first lady Melania Trump, Prince Charles and Camilla and the Duchess of Cornwall pose ahead of the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace The lavish dinner at Buckingham Palace marks the arrival of American leader President Donald Trump alongside his wife and eldest daughter Over the last 24 hours, attendants at Buckingham palace have transformed the Ballroom ahead of tonight's state banquet Royal florists organised a number of breathtaking displays to decorate the ballroom for the State Banquet welcoming the American leaders Lara completed her elegant appearance by wearing her hair tied back with relaxed waves, paired with subtle make-up. She beamed as she met with members of the Royal Family and other notable guests. The state banquet at Buckingham Palace is one of the most prestigious events on the itinerary of the Trumps' three day visit. Around 170 guests are expected to dine on steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse,asparagus spears & chervil sauce Saddle of new season, Windsor lamb with herb stuffing, spring vegetables, port sauce Strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream Assorted fresh fruits Coffee & petit fours. Lara who welcomed her first child in September 2017, has been open about her family life with husband Eric, and their one-year-old son Luke. Lara and Eric who are parents to one-year-old Luke, have been open about their family life in a series of candid photos on Instagram Happy news: Eric and Lara Trump took to Twitter to announce they are expecting their second child, just one month after Lara competed in a triathlon in Florida Look ahead: The couple said that their one-year-old son Luke is 'excited to become a big brother' in August, when their second child is due The 36-year-old made the announcement of her second pregnancy via Twitter in April, revealing she was five-months along in her second pregnancy - sharing the news just weeks after she competed in a grueling triathlon in Florida. Along with the happy news, Lara, who is due in August, shared several sweet family photos that show the happy couple smiling at the camera alongside their one-year-old son Luke and their two beloved dogs. 'Baby number two coming this August!!' she wrote in her tweet, before adding that baby Luke and the pups are thrilled about the prospect of a new baby: 'All of the boys are excited to become big brothers!!' Out and about: Lara Trump showed off her baby bump in New York City on Wednesday Lara who ran the Florida triathlon with her friend Emily Aronson impressively completed the course in 1 hour and 53 minutes Tagging along: Trump is expected to bring his adult children and their spouses to meet with the Royal family The Queen and other members of the Royal Family showed President Donald Trump and members of his family with the exception of Lara and Eric, a number of artifacts during their visit to Buckingham Palace earlier in the day. Among the Royal collection were documents and photos from King George VI and Queen Elizabeths visit to the US in 1939. The American guests were then escorted to Westminster Abbey, where they laid a wreath at the grave of the Unknown Warrior. First Lady Melania appeared to coordinate with Ivanka, as both chose to wear sleek white outfits. Ivanka stood gazing out of the window at Buckingham Palace as she awaited the arrival of her father Donald The President saluted armed military guards as the couple stepped off Air Force One at Stansted Airport this morning An organisation advising the EU and UN about health has been accused of trying to influence politicians on behalf of giant food companies. The International Life Sciences Institute, based in Washington DC, is influenced by, and working to help, the companies which fund it, scientists said in a study. The institute, funded by Coca Cola among other firms, describes its own purpose as promoting 'global partnerships for a healthier world'. But researchers who looked more closely at the body's work called it a 'global stealth network to defeat scientists' on behalf of multinational businesses. In one damning email to food company executives, the founder of the institute described guidelines to reduce sugar in food and drinks in the US as a 'disaster'. The International Life Sciences Institute has been accused of trying to influence politicians on behalf of food companies such as Coca Cola and Nestle , which fund it (stock image) Experts from the University of Cambridge, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and US non-profit organisation, US Right to Know, did the research. Using Freedom of Information rules in the US, the researchers read correspondence between senior members of the ILSI and major companies. The organisation, which has 17 branches across the world, was founded by Alex Malaspina, a former senior vice president of the Coca Cola Company. He was implicated in an email to manufacturers in 2015 in which he said rules to cut back on sugar in the US would 'affect us significantly in many ways', The Guardian reported. Dr Sarah Steele, a Cambridge University researcher who led the study, said: 'This non-profit organisation has been used by its corporate backers for years to counter public health policies. 'We contend that the International Life Sciences Institute should be regarded as an industry group a private body and regulated as such, not as a body acting for the greater good.' Research funded by the ILSI is regularly published in scientific journals so experts have warned it's 'critical' that people understand how it works. WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL LIFE SCIENCES INSTITUTE? The International Institute of Life Sciences (ILSI) is a non-profit organisation which fund research into nutrition, public health and agriculture. On its website the ILSI says its mission is to 'provide science that improves human health and well-being and safeguards the environment'. It lists research with which it is involved under the categories of food safety, nutrition and health, toxicology, and sustainable agriculture and nutrition security. The ILSI says it is transparent about who funds it a study by Cambridge researchers said funders include Coca Cola, Nestle, Kraft and Monsanto. The confectionery company Mars was also involved with the ILSI until last year. Research it has funded appears in medical and scientific journals and the ILSI has advised the European Union and United Nations. The World Health Organization distanced itself from the ILSI because it was concerned about links to the tobacco industry, The Guardian reported. Advertisement The Cambridge team's study said the organisation was 'promoting its agenda with national and international bodies to influence policy and law'. And it added: 'ILSI seeks to influence individuals, positions, and policy, both nationally and internationally, and its corporate members deploy it as a tool to promote their interests globally.' Food representatives who have sat on the board include staff from Nestle and Kraft which owns Heinz and Capri-Sun. And a member of Monsanto, which sells crop seeds and makes weedkiller which contains a controversial chemical linked to cancer, was also involved. In one example of the institute trying to influence politicians, an email chain revealed executives targeting Margaret Chan, former director of the World Health Organization. Mr Malaspina was involved in an email chain which said Ms Chan's stance against junk food producers had 'hardened'. He said the ILSI 'must find a way of someone such as a famous scientist' to speak to Ms Chan on their behalf. If they didn't, Mr Malaspina continued, the WHO director would 'continue to blast us with significant negative consequences on a global basis'. In their study the researchers said public health officials should be 'wary' of the ILSI and think carefully before acting on research funded by it. 'ILSI is Big Foods global stealth network to defeat scientists, regulators and others who point out the health risks of their products,' said Gary Ruskin, co-director of US Right to Know. 'Big Food wants you to believe that ILSI works for your health, but really it defends food industry profits.' Mr Ruskin and the UK researchers published their paper in the journal Globalization and Health. doctors told her the crash impact had her destroyed fallopian tubes A mother who survived a horrific car crash is now pregnant with twins - despite being told her injuries had left her infertile. Danielle Bartley-Mould, from Yorkshire, broke her neck and spine after the accident in 2014, and was in a coma for 16 days. Doctors tried to save the 38-year-old's arm, but when she developed septicaemia, amputation was the only choice to stay alive. Four years later, Mrs Bartley-Mould was having difficult conceiving with her husband, Tony, 58, after having irregular periods. The foster carer was discovered to have delayed damage to her fallopian tubes from the car crash impact. The couple spent their savings on two rounds of IVF and they are now over the moon to be expecting twins on December 12. Danielle Bartley-Mould, 38, mother to Ethan, 11, is expecting twins through IVF after being told injuries from a car crash in 2014 had left her infertile. Pictured at home recently Mrs Bartley-Mould broke her neck and spine after the car incident in 2014 and was in a coma for 16 days (pictured). She left hospital six weeks later During the car incident, Mrs Barley-Mould's arm had been crushed by the car which rolled on it Mrs Bartley-Mould who is mother to Ethan, 11, said: 'I woke up after 16 days in a coma to find my left arm had been amputated. 'My parents had to make the decision for me. My arm had been pushed out of the car the window and the car rolled on it.' Mrs Bartley-Mould contracted septicaemia, which is blood poisoning. It is different from, but can lead to, sepsis, which is the body's response to an infection. Surgeons were trying to rebuild her arm, but the septicaemia had triggered sepsis and there was no other option other than to remove the limb. When someone has sepsis, excessive blot clotting stops blood from travelling through the body effectively. Limbs, the skin and tissues struggle to get enough oxygen and nutrients, leading to gangrene and amputation. Mrs Bartley-Mould said: 'I'd lost most of my arm from the crash but while surgeons tried to rebuild it using muscle and skin from my stomach and legs. 'But I ended up getting septicaemia and it was spreading so rapidly that my parents were told I had 36 hours to live unless they amputated my arm. 'I was in hospital for six weeks before I was allowed home, it was a huge shock to lose my arm but I did my best to stay positive for my son.' Mrs Bartley-Mould contracted septicaemia while in hospital (pictured) which is blood poisoning caused by an infection somewhere else in the body Mrs Bartley-Mould's parents had to decide to amputate their daughter's arm to save her life Mrs Bartley-Mould's periods stopped for 18 months after the crash and then became irregular. She was found to have damaged fallopian tubes. Pictured, holding her pregnancy scan Mr and Mrs Bartley-Mould, pictured together at an unknown date, were trying and failing to conceive for a baby at the start of 2018 CAN A CAR CRASH MAKE YOU INFERTILE? Dr Dimitrios Mavrelos, lead consultant for the Reproductive Medicine Unit at University College London Hospital, said it is possible for a car crash to leave you infertile. He said: 'I have seen this happen. 'Any time there has been an injury to the stomach there will be adhesions.' Adhesions are bands of tissue that cause tissues and organs to stick together and cause obstruction, as opposed to slipping around each other smoothly. They are a major cause of intestinal problems and female infertility as they pull or twist the fallopian tubes. 'It can block the tubes or damage them all together,' Dr Mavrelos said. 'Sometimes an infection can make all the organs get stuck together, and scar tissue blocks the tubes. 'The tubes are quite delicate and can be damaged in any way from surgery or infection. The ovaries are more robust and as long as they are they will be functioning.' Dr Mavrelos said the fallopian tubes would be damaged during a car crash or soon after but the woman may not know for a long time. Advertisement Retired administrator Mr Bartley-Mould and Mrs Bartley-Mould began trying for a baby at the start of 2018 - but they struggled. Mrs Bartley-Mould, who does not use a prosthetic arm, went to the doctors to see if her irregular periods were anything to worry about. She said: 'I didn't have a period for 18 months after my accident and then irregular periods, but I was told by doctors this can be normal as it can take my body up to seven years to repair. 'I had all sorts of tests and keyhole surgery done to try and find the cause. They found both my [fallopian] tubes were so damaged it was beyond repair. 'When someone tells you that you can't have children, it is heart-breaking.' Damaged fallopian tubes restrict the sperm from getting to the egg and fertilizing it. This and blocked fallopian tubes, normally due to endometriosis, are two common reasons women are infertile. The couple used their 12,000 savings for IVF, first trying in Cyprus in December as it was slightly cheaper. Mrs Bartley-Mould said: 'It was then like a race against time, we didn't want to wait any longer.' But the procedure failed and they gave IVF one more try in the UK. The couple scraped together our 12,000 savings and went to Cyprus in December for IVF which sadly failed. They then had one more shot in the UK. Pictured on an unknown date Mrs Bartley-Mould, pictured with Ethan before the car incident, said she is ecstatic to be having twins after the heartbreaking blow of finding out she couldn't have them naturally WHAT IS SEPTICAEMIA? Septicaemia, also known as blood poisoning, is an infection caused by large amounts of bacteria entering the bloodstream. It is often a result of another infection in the body, the NHS says. Septicaemia is potentially life-threatening, and can lead to other complications such as sepsis. It affects thousands of patients every year, according to Great Ormond Street Hospital, and those with pre-existing medical conditions are most likely to get it. Advertisement Mrs Bartley-Mould said: 'We couldn't believe it when our first two week pregnancy test told us that we were having two babies, we're so happy.' The family are now excited for the future and to become a family of five, with Mrs Bartley-Mould having her baby via C-section. Mrs Bartley-Mould said: 'We were absolutely ecstatic when we found out we are having twins, and are ridiculously excited to meet them. 'People wonder will I manage with just one arm, but I am very capable and I am always finding new ways to do things. 'It may take me a little longer to do things like tie my hair but I can still drive and look after myself and family. 'It has all happened so fast, last year I was told I was unable to have more and now I have two on the way, we couldn't be happier.' Kirsty James, 29, questioned her own sanity when she started having terrifying hallucinations in 2010 A woman who feared she was going insane after having terrifying hallucinations was actually losing her sight due to an eye condition. Kirsty James, 29, questioned her own sanity when she began seeing strangers in her living room and imaginary cars parked outside her house. But the charity worker suffered in silence as she feared people would think she was 'mad'. Mrs James, from Caerphilly in Monmouthshire, South Wales, 'cried with relief' when she discovered the hallucinations were caused by Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS), which she developed because of her Stargardt disease. Mrs James had been diagnosed with Stargardt - a genetic eye condition which affects the central part of the retina - aged 13. Doctors warned her from an early age that she would eventually go blind, but she never connected her hallucinations with her failing sight. It wasn't until 2011 that Mrs James was diagnosed with CBS - which is common among people who are losing their sight. CBS causes people who've lost part of their vision to see things that arent really there medically known as having a hallucination. It occurs in people who have lost over 60 per cent of their eyesight from a range of problems such as Stargardt, cancer, a stroke, diabetes or an injury. The main cause of CBS appears to be the brain trying to piece together what it's seeing as a result of the loss of vision. Mrs James said: 'I felt really insecure and embarrassed. I'd always been an independent person, a free spirit who loved socialising but suddenly, I didn't even know how to talk about what was happening to me. 'I remember looking out one night and seeing loads and loads of cars. I thought it was strange, but I didn't have anyone to confirm it with. 'Then, a few weeks later, I was in my living room when I suddenly saw a figure standing there. I shouted, "Hello?" but as quick as it had appeared, it was gone.' It wasn't until 2011 - when she met her husband Tom that she was diagnosed with CBS. Pictured: Mrs James with her Black Labrador guide dog Bass on her wedding day She added: 'When the hallucinations started... I genuinely thought I was going mad. But then, on hearing I actually had CBS, I burst into tears. 'I was so relieved that it wasn't my mental health, it was my sight.' Stargardt disease is an inherited eye condition that affects the macula a tiny part of the retina, the light sensitive film at the back of the eye. It causes a reduction in central, or detailed, vision that which is used when looking directly at something. WHAT IS CBS? In Charles Bonnet syndrome, a person whose vision has started to deteriorate sees things that aren't real. The hallucinations may be simple patterns, or detailed images of events, people or places. They're only visual and don't involve hearing things or any other sensations. It's important to be aware that hallucinations associated with Charles Bonnet syndrome are caused by failing eyesight. They're not caused by a mental health problem or dementia. Charles Bonnet syndrome affects people who've lost most or all of their eyesight. It's more likely to occur if vision loss affects both eyes. It's thought there are more than 100,000 cases in the UK. Advertisement The macula is crucial for sight and is responsible for what you see straight in front of you and your ability to appreciate colour. Those who have had the condition for a number of years may have a blank patch in the centre of their vision. Able to see perfectly until her teens, Mrs James said she first experienced symptoms in school in September 2003. The then-13-year-old said she struggled to read the blackboard properly. But the condition went undiagnosed at an optician appointment. From there her vision deteriorated rapidly and within months she struggled to recognise family members in the street. She said: 'It all came to a head one day when I was in town getting lunch on my break at school, and my mum walked past only I completely ignored her. 'She thought I was being a typical teenager, but it wasn't that at all. I genuinely didn't recognise her. 'The only way I can describe my vision by that point is that I could make out shapes, but none of the detail like when you're driving and can see a sign coming up, but can't read what it says. 'So, I knew a woman had walked past, but couldn't see her face well enough to know it was mum.' Returning to the optician, Mrs James was referred to a specialist eye clinic for a string of tests, leading to her diagnosis of Stargardt. 'It's so rare that you'd never spot it unless you knew what you were looking for,' she added. 'After my diagnosis, my family were determined for me to still be proactive and not let it change me. Mrs James 'cried with relief' when she discovered the hallucinations were caused by Stargardt disease and Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) WHAT IS STARGARDT DISEASE? The inherited eye condition affects the macula a tiny part of the retina, the light sensitive film at the back of the eye. It causes a reduction in central, or detailed, vision that which is used when looking directly at something. The macula is crucial for sight and is responsible for: what you see straight in front of you, the vision you need for detailed activities such as reading and writing - and your ability to appreciate colour. Stargardt disease, thought to affect around one in 9,000 people, is sometimes called a juvenile macular dystrophy as it can first appear between the ages of 10 to 20. At first, it makes vision unclear and then sometimes distorted or blurred. Sufferers may have problems with central, detailed vision and possibly colour perception. Those who have had the condition for a number of years may have a blank patch in the centre of their vision. This patch will not move and will always be in the very centre of the field of vision. The good news is that Stargardt disease does not usually affect other parts of the retina - so does not affect peripheral or side vision. Since we use peripheral vision when we are moving around, most people with Stargardt disease manage to keep getting out and about on their own. It would seem that some people with fundus flavimaculatus can develop more severe sight problems than people with more classic forms of Stargardt disease. Advertisement 'I tried my best to be positive, but inside I was terrified. I had no idea what would happen, or if I'd end up completely blind.' Mrs James' sight continued to weaken in the years that followed but, keen to maintain her independence, she left home aged 16 to live on her own. But in 2010, aged 20, the hallucinations began. Soon the disturbing visions were happening more often and Mrs James began seeing 'kaleidoscopes of colour', and imaginary puddles on dry ground. Frightened people would think she was 'mad', she kept her symptoms to herself until she met her husband Tom, 34, in 2011. Shortly after meeting Tom she completely lost her central vision - something she had been dreading since her Stargardt diagnosis. 'I had been struggling more and more, and finding I couldn't do as much alone as I once had,' she said. 'I'd go shopping and swear I'd bought something, only to come home and realise I'd either misread or hallucinated the label and it was something completely different. 'Then, when I was with Tom, I remember waking up one morning, looking out of my window and stopping cold. 'I suddenly realised I could no longer see the church door across the street that I used to look at all the time. 'My central sight had finally fully gone. I knew then it was time to accept I needed help but that in itself was so hard. My life had changed virtually overnight. 'But Tom was incredible. He didn't try to fix the problem he just listened.' She went to see a specialist after losing her central vision and was referred to an optician to be fitted for magnifying glasses. During her appointment, CBS was mentioned for the first time. She said: 'I was doing the test where they make you read a board and, suddenly, the optician asked if I had heard of CBS, saying he thought I may have it. 'I asked why and he said, "What you've just read is completely different to what the board says". 'I then told him about the hallucinations, and it was clear I had CBS. I cried with relief I genuinely thought I had been going mad.' Mrs James had been diagnosed with Stargardt - a genetic eye condition which dramatically reduces sight in the central part of the retina - aged 13. CBS is the brain's reaction to a loss of sight According to Esme's Umbrella, a campaign group working toward greater awareness of CBS, hallucinations are sharp and clear, and range from patterns and people to animals, water, fire and even gremlin-like creatures. Mrs James added: 'To me, it's almost like my brain can't quite figure out what it's supposed to be seeing, so it fires off random images to find one that fits. 'Out of my two conditions, CBS is by far the most difficult to live with. I struggle especially with faces. 'I can't distinguish if someone is male or female until they talk and I'll even sometimes hallucinate the faces of people I used to know when talking to someone new. 'It can be really exhausting, especially when I know, logically, the person I'm seeing isn't the person I'm actually talking to. The charity worker (pictured with Bass) is determined to raise awareness of CBS to save others the despair of feeling like they're going insane 'I can also see things like cars and lorries that aren't there, or the floor will look almost watery.' She said: 'The visions can change too, especially if I'm seeing something that wouldn't ordinarily be there. 'For example, my friend brought a big speaker over the other day and put it in my living room, but, because my brain couldn't recognise what it was, it was switching between things like a lawnmower, then a huge box.' Now, Mrs James is determined to raise awareness of CBS and works alongside both the RNIB and Esme's Umbrella. She said: 'My main drive is to help others. To anybody out there experiencing these hallucinations don't suffer in silence. Talking helps rationalise it and there is support out there. Mrs James and husband Tom at a fancy dress party when they met in 2011 'Dealing with this has been incredibly difficult. There have been times where I've been housebound with depression and anxiety, questioning how resilient one person can be, and how much they can take. 'But I know I had to hit rock bottom to come back up, and almost get through that grieving process, because of my failing sight, so I could keep going and help others.' RNIB's sight loss experts can provide practical and emotional support, whether it's on the phone, face-to-face at many hospital eye clinics, or through our online information. Contact the RNIB Sight Loss Advice Service on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk/advice for more information A man caught fire during an operation to repair his heart, surgeons revealed in a bizarre case study. Large amounts of oxygen and anaesthetic leaked out through a hole in the patient's lung and, when one of the surgeon's tools sparked, a fire broke out. The doctors in Australia managed to put the fire out immediately and carry on with the operation, with the patient recovering unscathed from the incident. The team who revealed the freak accident said it's not even the first time it has happened and medics should be trained what to do in the event of a surgical fire. As the surgical team increased how much oxygen was being pumped through the man's anaesthetic mask, the concentration of the gas in the air around him rose as it leaked out of his lung, helping to fuel a fire when a surgical device sparked (stock image) Medics at Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, revealed how the chest of their 60-year-old unidentified patient burst into flames. While surgeons were beginning an operation to repair a tear in the man's aorta the main artery out of the heart they punctured one of his lungs by accident. The man had suffered from lung disease in the past and his right lung was swollen and stuck to his rib cage, which the surgeons had to break to get to his heart. When they punctured the lung while doing this, air began to escape rapidly from the man's lung. To keep him breathing, the team increased the amount of oxygen being pumped through the patient's face mask but soon smelled the anaesthetic leaking out of his chest and into the room. Although oxygen itself isn't flammable, it helps other things to burn and fuels fire, lowering the temperature needed to start a blaze. HOW DID THE FIRE START? Dr Ruth Shaylor, at Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia, revealed the man had 'a flash fire in his chest cavity' during emergency heart surgery. The patient was having an operation to repair a tear in his aorta the main artery out of the heart and needed his rib cage cracked open so surgeons could access his heart. As the team broke through his breastbone they punctured his lung by accident, so pumped up the amount of oxygen going into his lungs increasing the amount which was leaking out. High levels of oxygen make things around them more flammable, although the gas itself doesn't catch fire. The temperature needed for something to catch fire is lower when there's more oxygen in the air. A surgical pack understood to be cotton swabs and gauze on the man's chest then caught alight when a hot tool used to cauterise flesh sparked onto it. Advertisement Then the surgeon's cauterising tool, which is used to close wounds by burning flesh, sparked and set fire to dry swabs in the man's chest. Quick-thinking staff managed to put the fire out straight away without injuring the man, and the rest of the operation went off without a hitch. Dr Ruth Shaylor, who revealed the tale at a conference, said it was important that staff understood how oxygen in operating rooms could fuel fires. 'There are only a few documented cases of chest cavity fires three involving thoracic surgery and three involving coronary bypass grafting,' she said. 'All have involved the presence of dry surgical packs, electrocautery, increased... oxygen concentrations, and patients with COPD or pre-existing lung disease.' The operation took place in August 2018 and Dr Shaylor revealed what had happened at the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology in Vienna. She added: 'This case highlights the continued need for fire training and prevention strategies and quick intervention to prevent injury whenever electrocautery is used in oxygen-enriched environments. 'In particular surgeons and anaesthetists need to be aware that fires can occur in the chest cavity if a lung is damaged or there is an air leak for any reason, and that patients with COPD are at increased risk.' Victims of racism may be more likely to get heart disease, dementia or cancer if they're stressed for a long time, according to research. A study found enduring racial abuse has a toxic effect on the body by triggering inflammation swelling controlled by the immune system. Inflammation among African Americans was almost two thirds as high as it was in white European Americans. Although scientists already knew being a victim of abuse could raise the risk of disease, they didn't understand why. The scientists suggested racial abuse may cause long-term inflammation through genetic changes driven by ongoing stress. The stress caused by racial abuse could cause the immune system to trigger its 'fight or flight' response and cause inflammation in the body for a long period of time, raising the risk of heart disease or cancer which have been linked to it in the past (stock image) Researchers led by a team at University of Southern California (USC) analysed 71 people, 48 of whom were African American and 23 white. They discovered levels of inflammatory molecules were 63 per cent higher among the African American group than in the white European Americans. And the African American participants reported higher levels of feeling discriminated against, the research showed. Inflammation can be caused by changes to gene activity which are a reaction to a threat from someone's living environment. Most often it is in response to infection or injury, but it can also occur after fear or distress. If inflammation continues for a long time without an infection or injury, white blood cells may build up in the body and start to attack other tissues or organs. In their paper, the scientists said racial abuse could be to blame for 'a substantial fraction' of the elevated inflammation in African Americans. They estimated more than 50 per cent of this spike could be accounted for by people's experience of racism. Dr Steve Cole, a professor at UCLA and co-author of the research, said prolonged stress could have serious health consequences. WHAT IS INFLAMMATION? Inflammation is swelling which happens as the immune system's response to a threat. It may be a noticeable swelling like when you sprain your ankle, or longer-term cell-level swelling. Although usually a response to injury or infection, chronic low-level inflammation can also be triggered by protective hormone changes brought on by stress. Inflammation causes more white blood cells to circulate in the body and, one theory dictates, if an infection or injury never appears for the immune system to fight, these cells could begin to attack healthy tissues or organs. Inflammation is also known to be able to disrupt how well certain cells work in the blood vessels or in the brain, potentially leading to heart disease or dementia. And it can cause sufficient damage to DNA to increase the potential of uncontrolled growth and raise someone's risk of developing cancer. Source: Live Science Advertisement 'If those genes remain active for an extended period of time, that can promote heart attacks, neurodegenerative diseases, and metastatic cancer,' he said. Past research has linked inflammation to heart disease, dementia and cancer through the way it disrupts certain cells from working properly. People who have continuously higher levels of the swelling at cell level are more likely to develop those illnesses in future. However, research continues into whether the inflammation is a warning sign or a direct cause of many conditions. Dr Cole added the toxic effects of long-term stress had already been studied in other marginalised groups, such as those in poverty, isolation or with PTSD. Dr April Thames, study author, from USC, said: 'We know discrimination is linked to health outcomes, but no-one was sure exactly how it harmed health. 'Our results showed that racial discrimination appears to trigger an inflammatory response among African Americans at the cellular level.' Dr Thames said that while people could be proactive against some types of chronic stress, it may be harder to stop racism. She added: 'People navigate poverty on a day-to-day basis and are aware that it is happening. 'They might even be able to address financial stressors through job changes, changes in earnings and financial management. 'But with discrimination, you don't always realize that it's happening.' Dr Thames added: 'You can't change your skin color.' The team's research was published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology. Several children died after heart surgery at one of the country's top hospitals, leading doctors to declare that they wouldn't even send their own kids there for surgery. In a months-long investigation, The New York Times found death rates in the pediatric cardiac unit of the University of North Carolina Children's Hospital was about five percent, higher than the two-to-three percent average of most hospitals in the country. At least four deaths were confirmed in just a three-month period alone. Secret audio recordings obtained by The Times showed that several physicians questioned the care that patients were receiving. One cardiologist said he wouldn't send his own children for surgery at the hospital while the chief of cardiology said the heart surgery program was 'in crisis'. An investigation has revealed that several children died or had complications after pediatric heart surgery at the University of North Carolina Children's Hospital (pictured) UNC Health does not provide its mortality data to the public website of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. But in raw data shared with The Times, the hospital had higher death rates than almost all of the other hospitals, 82 in total, that do share their data. Between July 2013 and June 2017, about a four-year period, the mortality rate was 4.7 percent. The Times reported that children were experiencing complications following low-risk procedures and deaths after high-risk surgeries. Between March and May 2016, at least two infants died following their respective operations. And a two-year-old girl's parents were told she should recover well from her surgery, only to be put on life support later that night. So, in June 2016, the nine pediatric cardiologists who worked at the hospital at the time met with top administrative staff to discuss these cases. An unknown source secretly recorded this meeting, and that recording was obtained by The Times. Dr Timothy Hoffman, the chief of pediatric cardiology, told his colleagues in one of the recordings: 'It's a nightmare right now. We are in crisis, and everyone is aware of that.' In another recording, cardiologist Dr Blair Robinson said that he wouldn't send his own children to UNC for care. 'I ask myself: "Would I have my children have surgery here?"' Dr Robinson is heard telling the other doctors. 'In the past, I'd always felt like the answer was "yes" for something simple...But now, when I look myself in the mirror, and what's gone on the past month, I can't say that.' In secret recordings, Dr Timothy Hoffman, the chief of pediatric cardiology (left), called it a 'crisis'. Cardiologists expressed concerns in the recordings about then-head surgeon Dr Michael Mill (right) after he failed to come in to perform a transplant surgery when a donor heart became available According to The Times, several meetings were held in 2016 and 2017 during which physicians expressed their concerns and worries about the complications and deaths. But hospital administrators brushed these concerns aside. Dr Kevin Kelly, the head of Children's Hospital, is heard telling the cardiologists in one recording that performing fewer surgeries could lead to job cuts. UNC Health Care told the newspaper that, in 2016, there were employees that caused 'team culture issues' but that the team at the hospital is different today. In the secretly recorded meetings, cardiologists said they could point to a few examples of why their patients were doing so poorly after surgery. One reason was that two pediatric cardiac intensivists, which treat children with complex congenital and acquired heart defects, had left UNC in 2015. The hospital also didn't have a cardiac intensive care unit, which is an ICU that focuses on diseases and surgeries related to the heart. Worries were also expressed about Dr Michael Mill, who was the chief surgeon at the time. The Times revealed that a few weeks before the meeting, Dr Mill had not gone to the hospital on a weekend to perform a transplant surgery on a baby when a donor heart became available. Dr Kevin Kelly, the head of Children's Hospital (pictured), is heard telling the cardiologists in one recording that performing fewer surgeries could lead to job cuts The baby eventually received another heart at Duke Children's Hospital, also in North Carolina, but physicians at UNC were 'horrified'. 'As a physician, I mean, we all took the [Hippocratic] oath,' Dr Jennifer Whitman, a cardiologist, said in one of the recordings. 'We are supposed to do what's right for our patients...This is what you signed up for. And who is he to play God with some kid's life? I can't get past this. This is beyond horrifying.' UNC told the Times that Dr Mill is currently taking a leave from the hospital for family medical reasons. This is not the first heart surgery program to come under fire for questionable practices. In 2018, the Tampa Bay Times reported that Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in Florida had experienced a death rate among pediatric heart surgery patients that had tripled. The team stopped performing surgeries in the aftermath of the investigation. North Carolina's Division of Health Services Regulation, part of the state's Department of Health and Human Services, has launched an investigation into UNC Children's Hospital. Meanwhile, The Times is suing UNC to obtain risk-adjusted mortality data to confirm other deaths. The hospital insists its program is 'very strong' and criticized the newspaper's report. 'We are proud of our pediatric congenital heart surgery program, and our current team is receiving top results that would place us among the best in the nation,' UNC Health wrote in a statement in part. 'We have been engaged in continuous quality improvement efforts for decades and have made significant improvements in the past 10+ years. 'To characterize today's program as anything but strong, would not only be misleading, but not factual. To say we ignored issues would also be false.' A Kentucky toddler spent a week in a coma after contracting Rocky Mountain spotted fever from a tick bite. Jackson Oblisk awoke on his second birthday on Friday and is still recovering from his battle with the rare, life-threatening infection. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is so rare that Jackson's mother, Kayla, was skeptical her son could possible be the one in 20,000 people bitten by a tick that carries the disease. But tick-borne diseases are on the rise across the US, meaning more children like Jackson could be at risk. Jackson Oblisk, now two, contracted Rocky Mountain spotted fever, leaving him with a rash all over his body, a high fever and whole-body swelling. He awoke from a coma on Friday Jackson's family didn't initially think too much of it when he was bitten by a tick. They simply plucked the bug off, assuming that was the end of it. But soon the little boy, just under two years old, spiked a fever. He wouldn't eat or speak and became increasingly lethargic, weak and hyper-sensitive to touch. 'We couldn't get him to do anything, if you touched him he screamed,' Kayla told ABC. When his fever hit 105 degrees and broke out in a pink dotted rash all over his body, Kayla was sure something was very wrong with her son. Doctors suspected Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but it's an exceptionally rare disease, so Kayla wasn't immediately convinced that could be what was ailing her son. There are only about 3,000 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever a year in the US, and they're typically concentrated in five states. Over 60 percent of people diagnosed with the disease are in Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina and Tennessee. Two types of ticks - the American dog tick and the Rocky Mountain wood tick - are the primary carriers of the disease and they are prevalent in the five hot spots for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Jackson became so sensitive that his mother, Kayla (right) said he could barley be touched without screaming in pain The normally happy toddler couldn't eat or speak for days as he battled the infection However, not all ticks of these two species carry the disease, and not everyone that gets bitten by a tick that is a carrier will develop Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The ticks that do carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever are infected with a bacterium called Rikettsia ricketsii. When they bite and burrow their heads under a human's skin, the ticks can transmit the vicious bacteria to that person. The bacteria quickly spread throughout the bloodstream and into the lymph nodes and system that carry immune cells and fluids. Ricketsia ricketsii attacks the blood vessels, and the damage they inflict can cause leaking, which in turn prompts swelling. People who get the infection - which is most common in five- to nine-year-olds - develop the trademark rash that spotted Jackson's body, a high fever, headaches and overall achiness, and nausea. A pink, dotted rash all over this body was the telltale sign that Jackson had the rare tick-borne disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever After antibiotic treatment, Jackson finally awoke in the hospital on Friday, his second birthday In severe cases, the infection may attack the brain's membrane, lungs and liver. Even once he was diagnosed, Jackson's fever remained high, his whole body was swollen and his blood and oxygen levels kept taking sudden nosedives. Doctors had to pump morphine into his tiny body just to keep Jackson comfortable. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is still the most lethal tick-borne disease in the US, killing between there an five percent of the patients that contract it, but it generally responds well to treatment with doxycycline, a common antibiotic. After the infection had attacked his brain and treatment had attacked the infection, at last, Jackson's eyes fluttered back open on Friday, just in time for his second birthday. He still has a fever, but is slowly regaining his appetite - and even enjoying some playful moments with his parents, according to Kayla's latest Facebook update. But the medical care was costly. The Oblisk family has already racked up over $20,000 in bills. And their fight may not be completely over. His mother wrote on Facebook that Jackson may need physical therapy, and is to be sent for an MRI to be sure his heart was untouched by the infection. Still, she told ABC, the family is 'just celebrating the fact that we are almost positive that he is going to be okay.' The NHS will work with parenting website Mumsnet to try and tempt former nurses back to work for the health service. An online 'returning nurses' campaign has been launched on the message board as part of the NHS's People Plan which addresses how it will plug staff shortages. There are almost 40,000 vacant nurse jobs in the UK and health bosses are now targeting already-qualified women on Mumsnet. The People Plan was revealed with an admission the NHS needs to 'significantly increase' the number of staff it hires from abroad. And Health Secretary Matt Hancock went a step further, suggesting he would scrap all immigration rules for doctors and nurses if made Prime Minister. Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary and candidate for next Prime Minister, today said the UK should offer freedom of movement for people around the world who can get jobs at the NHS A recruitment campaign is already under way on Mumsnet and encourages users to give their details to sign up to be sent information about how they could return to work for the NHS An advert has already appeared on the Mumsnet homepage encouraging users to sign up for the NHS to contact them about back-to-work opportunities. Another major component of the NHS's People Plan was a pledge to hire more people from abroad something reiterated by Mr Hancock. As long as someone can speak English, has the right qualification and has an NHS job lined up they should be allowed to move to the UK, Mr Hancock said this morning, according to The Guardian. Around 144,000 out of the 1.2million people working in the NHS are from outside of the UK, with most of them coming from the European Union. NHS COMMITS TO RETHINKING SENIOR DOCTORS' PENSIONS In its People Plan the NHS committed to reviewing how senior doctors' pensions are organised, in response to concerns from NHS staff. High earning medics had the amount of tax-free pension they are entitled to slashed by 30,000 per year in 2016. Those earning more than 110,000 can now only save 10,000 per year before they start paying tax on it, leading many to cut their hours or retire because they ended up paying more in tax than they were saving. Today's People Plan, however, suggested doctors could get the option to halve how much they paid into their pension pot in exchange for the NHS halving its contribution. The 50:50 plan would provide new 'flexibility', the report said. The British Medical Association, the doctors' union, welcomed the announcement but said more needed to be done. Its chairman, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said: 'We are giving a cautious welcome to the fact this is a step in the right direction for reform. 'We have modelled the proposed 50:50 scheme and it is clear that by itself this proposal will not remove the disincentive for doctors to reduce their working hours. It needs to be part of wider reform.' Advertisement Some 5.6 per cent of NHS staff in England are from the EU, 4.3 per cent are from Asia, 1.9 per cent from Africa and 0.9 per cent from elsewhere in the world, according to a House of Commons research briefing in October. Over the next year, the health service will set up connections with overseas recruitment agencies and find ways to streamline relocating foreign workers, it said. 'Our NHS could not provide its world-class service to patients without the hardworking doctors and nurses from other nations,' Mr Hancock said. 'Thats why I believe, after Brexit, we need to see the free movement of medics doctors and nurses from all around the world.' He added: 'Wherever youre from, if youre qualified, speak English and have a job offer, I want you to have an unrestricted right to work for our NHS and live in our country. 'We have the best health service in the world and if I become prime minister, I will make sure it has access to the very best talent in the world.' Mr Hancock, the MP for West Suffolk, is one of more than a dozen Conservative politicians contending to take over from Theresa May when she resigns this week. The NHS pledged in its staff plan to give regional and local health bodies more power to hire their own workers from overseas. A shortage of doctors and nurses has been at the forefront of the health service's crippling problems in recent years. There are around 40,000 empty nursing and midwifery jobs across the UK. And almost 94,000 full-time jobs were advertised between July and September last year, according to the Nuffield Trust think-tank. Medical staff moving to work in the UK were last week added to a fast-track migration list to help bolster the NHS's workforce. The Government's Migration Advisory Committee added doctors and nurses to the shortage occupation list meaning they will not be required to meet a certain salary or pay hefty visa fees in order to move to the UK. HOW SHORT ON STAFF IS THE NHS? The NHS is the fifth biggest employer in the world, with 1.5million staff, behind only the US Department of Defense, China's People's Liberation Army, Walmart and McDonald's. Qualified clinical staff make up around half of the NHS staff. Around 1.1million people are full-time equivalent staff working in hospitals, ambulances and mental health units. Around 130,000 work in GP surgeries. One in 12 jobs are vacant across the UK's hospitals. Nursing and midwifery is the worst hit by staff shortages, with a shortage of around 40,000 in the sector. There are around 20,000 admin and clerical jobs which also need to be filled. Between July and September last year there were nearly 94,000 full-time jobs advertised by the NHS. There is no single robust figure for the shortage of staff but these figures suggest it is around eight per cent. Shortages are not evenly spread across the country they are worst in Thames Valley (12 per cent) and lowest in the North East of England (four per cent). Source: The Nuffield Trust Advertisement The British Medical Association's chairman, Dr Chaand Nagpaul, said: 'It's very clear that overseas doctors have always made a valuable contribution to the success of our health service; their contribution is needed now more than ever.' As well as encouraging medics from overseas to move here, the NHS announced its commitment to training more British staff. It said it would offer universities more than 5,700 extra nursing placements this year and hire 7,500 more nursing associates. Nursing associates are ranked between a healthcare assistant and a nurse, and can progress to a fully registered nurse through training at work. The People Plan also said the NHS would launch a campaign with Mumsnet to try and convince nurses to return to work. In response to today's announcement Patricia Marquis, the England director for the Royal College of Nursing, said: 'This document begins to tackle the real issues but many will reserve final judgement until funding levels and practical details are revealed. 'The NHS - and the people who use it - deserve a detailed solution to the current crisis, including a new legal framework on accountability for the workforce. 'When there are 40,000 unfilled nurse jobs in England, we need to see urgency from Ministers. 'To attract the very best professionals into nursing and the NHS, it must be a world class employer that pays fair salaries, pensions and demonstrates the flexibility employees increasingly need and expect.' Rhonda Engle doesn't trust the water running through her taps. At 49, she believes that that water, which she drank, bathed in and brushed her teeth with from age eight, is the reason she's missing a kidney. Engle has suffered kidney cancer, high blood pressure, thyroid disease, high cholesterol and has had at least one seizure - all symptoms and illnesses that have been linked chemicals contaminating the Tennessee River, near her home. The river has high levels of PFAS - per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - so-called 'forever chemicals' used in the making of water- and fire-repellent products, nonstick pans, paints and cleaning products. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials warned today that the toxins have been found in many foods. A factory run by 3M - which makes a wide variety of plastics products - sits on the Tennessee River, and the company has already settled with at least one person who claimed PFAS from the plant have contaminated the river and caused health problems. Engle aims to be the next plaintiff to hit back at 3M in court. Rhonda Engle, 49, believes that 'forever chemicals' from a 3M manufacturing plant near her home in Hartselle, Alabama are to blame for her kidney cancer and plans to sue 3M For much of her adult life, Engle lived dangerously. She worked in one of the most high-risk industries - logging - and her mother feared she'd meet a tragic end falling from one of the trees she cuts down for a living. But it wasn't the heights she climbed to nor the dangerous tools she used, or even the enormous tree trunks she cut that ultimately posed the most serious threat to Engle's life: it was cancer. Although her health had been declining for two decades, 2016 was the turning point. Engle suddenly suffered a seizure and was hospitalized. There, doctors discovered a mass that they estimated had been growing on one of her kidneys for the past 15 years, she told Fox. Her kidney, by the time the mass was discovered, was more tumor than organ. She was just 46 then, and because she had developed cancer at a relatively young age, Engle said her doctors instructed that her children get screened for kidney cancer starting at age 28. So instead of getting them tested to see if any of her children could donate a kidney, Engle just lives with one. 'I'm not going to take a kidney from my kids because the same thing could happen to them and then theyre out of luck,' she told Fox. Instead, she hopes to hold 3M accountable for the disease and ailments she believes its factory caused for her - and may eventually cause for her family, too. 3M has its headquarters in Minnesota (pictured), but one of its manufacturing plants sits on the Tennessee River which has been found to be heavily polluted with the PFAS M3 makes 3M is the largest producer of commercial PFOS (one of the most widely used chemicals in the PFAS family) in the US, using it in products like Scotchgard, a water-repellent spray and coating. The chemicals are made up of long chains of molecules, which don't break down efficiently in the environment or the human body. Exposure to these substances has been linked to increased risks of cancer, liver damage, infertility, asthma, thyroid disease and high blood pressure - several of which Engle experienced. One of 3M's manufacturing plants sits right on the Tennessee River, and chemicals have been draining into the water for decades. Recent investigations revealed that the company knowingly under-reported the amount of of PFAS its factory was releasing int the river. In April, 3M settled a lawsuit with an Alabama water company - West Morgan East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority - over the high levels of PFAS in the water supply. The West Morgan East Lawrence Water and Sewer Authority (pictured) settled a lawsuit with 3M in August over the same chemicals in its water supply. As part of the settlement, 3M has agreed to pay for better filtration systems to improve the water quality in the area As part of that agreement, 3M is paying for a new filtration system to make the drinking water in the area safer. But it's too late for Engle, who refuses to bathe in, drink or brush her teeth or cook with tap water from her home in Hartselle, Alabama, 18 miles and downstream from 3M, because it is supplied by the same water company that just settled with 3M. She is on disability, which she told Fox only pays her $750 a month, most of which she claims she spends on bottled water. It certainly isn't enough to cover the medical expenses associated with kidney cancer, thyroid disease, hypertension and high blood sugar. But 3M should be the one paying for those, in Engle's eyes, considering that the Environmental Protection Agency says that 'there is evidence' that PFAS may lead to health problems like the ones Engle suffers. 'Ive had a lot of health problems that Ive had to pay out for years and years and years and years and yes, I feel like I should be compensated for that. I lost an organ because of it,' Engle told Fox. She says that she is currently gathering medical documents from the past 25 years to prove her case, although a lawsuit has not yet been filed. 3M had not responded to request for comment at the time of publication. A West Virginia pastor has regained his eyesight 14 years after he lost it, following a minor surgery that was never designed to cure his blindness. Doctors hoped that Pastor Philip Dunn would see some light after undergoing cataract surgery but were shocked when, weeks later, he walked into the kitchen and was able to see his wife. Dunn, from Charleston, was diagnosed with macular degeneration, which causes blind spots in the central vision, in 2003. Within months, he was completely blind. Yet, he says, he believed that his vision would be restored in the future. Years later, in 2018, he needed surgery after a cataract in his left eye ruptured, reported WCHS. When Dunn removed the patch from his eye, he was finally able to see his wife and children again, and to see his grandchildren for the first time, leaving doctors dumbfounded. Pastor Philip Dunn, of Charleston, West Virginia, was diagnosed with macular degeneration in 2003. Pictured: Dunn, right, with his wife, Suzette Within months, Dunn was completely blind, but he believed that he would see again one day. Pictured: Dunn, right, with his wife, Suzette, after his first cataract surgery When Dunn first visited his optometrist in 2003, he was diagnosed with cataracts, a clouding of the eye's natural lens, which lies behind the iris and the pupil. 'I was only 45 at the time,' Dunn told WCHS. 'And the doctor said: "It's not that bad, probably won't give you trouble for years".' But months later, Dunn began experiencing black spots that are the tell-tale signs of macular degeneration. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of vision loss for those age 50 or older, according to the National Eye Institute. The condition occurs when the macula, an oval area near the center of the retina that allows for sharp vision, becomes damaged. Sufferers will experience blurred vision or even 'blind spots' in their central vision that may grow larger. Treatments include medications that stop new blood vessels from forming in the eye as well as laser therapies that destroy abnormal blood vessels. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, 9.1 million Americans have early AMD and 2.1 million above age 50 have late AMD, which is a stage of severe vision loss. In August 2018, Dunn (left and right, with his wife) underwent surgery after a cataract ruptured in his left eye. After the surgery, his vision was restored in that eye Doctors found no signs of macular degeneration and decided to perform a second surgery to remove the cataracts in his right eye. Pictured: Dunn That number is expected to increase as the proportion of the US population aged 65 or older continues to grow. Those with AMD have a hard time performing everyday activities whether it's reading or holding a conversation with somebody. Dunn continued to preach and would prepare for his weekly Sunday sermons at Valley Christian Assembly by listening to a Bible on tape, reported WCHS. 'I knew in my heart I was going to be able to see again. I just didn't know when,' he told the station. Years later, in August 2018, Dunn started experiencing headaches and a sharp pain in his left eye. A visit to the eye doctor revealed that one of Dunn's cataracts had ruptured. Dunn's eyesight was completely restored and he was finally able to watch the father-daughter dance from his daughter's wedding day. Pictured: Dunn, right, and his wife walking his daughter down the aisle in September 2016 The pastor is now able to see his grandchildren's faces and says he wants to make sure he 'maximizes' each day. Pictured: Dunn, unknown date Because this risked damage to his optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, he was scheduled for surgery to have it removed. When Dunn was finally took off the patch from his eyes, his doctors had hoped he could see some light, but he saw much more. 'I went in the kitchen, my wife said: "Honey you took the patch off." I said: "Yeah,"' Dunn told WCHS. She said: "What do you see?" I said: "I can see you!" She was the first face I saw in 14 years,' Dunn said. Eye doctors were astonished when they did not find any signs of his macular degeneration when he went in for an examination. After a second surgery to remove the cataracts in his right eye, he fully regained his vision. Dunn said he watched the father-daughter wedding dance from his daughter Sarah's wedding day and saw his grandchildren's faces for the first time. He told WCHS that doctors don't know if his restored eyesight is temporary or permanent, but that he plans to 'maximize' each day. Over the past 12 months Ive had a constant watery eye. Now its happened to the other one and its so annoying. I recently saw an optician who suggested bathing my eyes with pads dipped in hot water. But its made no difference. What more can I do? Mary Stock, Newport. Watery eyes have a variety of causes. Some are short-lived and will be obvious, such as infection of the cornea (keratitis), an allergy or a stye (an infection that leads to a tender lump near the eyelid). In these cases, the watering is a result of an irritant to the eye causing excess tear production (one role of tears is to wash out dirt), and the watering will cease once the cause of irritation goes. Did you know? Dry eyes are typically the result of a problem with the meibomian glands in the upper and lower eyelids However, as the optician advised you to bathe your eyelids with pads soaked in hot water, this suggests they think you have dry eye syndrome. This might seem confusing that dry eyes lead to excess tears but let me explain. Dry eyes are typically the result of a problem with the meibomian glands in the upper and lower eyelids. These glands secrete the oil that helps encase tears, minimising the evaporation of the watery fluid. However, if the glands become blocked, the lack of oil means the tears evaporate more easily, causing dry patches on the eye itself. In response, more tears are produced; but, missing the stabilising effects of oil, these then tend to spill over the eyelid edge. Your optician suggested using hot water bathing good advice as heat can help melt any thickened oil clogging the glands and improve the output of the gland, too. However, you need to continue for some weeks to see the benefit. It may improve the results if you use an eye pad containing linseed (available from opticians and chemists) that can be warmed in a microwave. This can then be applied to the eyes, while reclining, for ten minutes twice daily. Production of oil by the meibomian glands is improved by this technique, as it boosts the blood flow to the eyelid margins and the Meibomian glands are more active when the blood supply is greater. I have threadworms. I have bought Ovex tablets from my chemist but I still have the problem. I have washed everything in the house. I am at my wits end. Name and address supplied. Threadworms infest the colon and rectum and are particularly common among the under-tens. You are correct to take Ovex, the drug mebendazole, at a single dose of 100mg. Mebendazole is also available in liquid form for children. The infection is easily transferred, so it is wise to treat every member of a household. Threadworm cause a persistent itch in the anal area, and children tend to scratch, particularly at night, when the worms which look like lengths of white cotton come out to lay eggs Write to Dr Scurr To contact Dr Scurr with a health query, write to him at Good Health Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT or email drmartin@dailymail.co.uk including contact details. Dr Scurr cannot enter into personal correspondence. His replies cannot apply to individual cases and should be taken in a general context. Always consult your own GP with any health worries. Advertisement Threadworm cause a persistent itch in the anal area, and children tend to scratch, particularly at night, when the worms which look like lengths of white cotton come out to lay their eggs. Mebendazole kills the worms within days, but not the eggs. Accordingly, when residual eggs hatch, the infestation will continue. So a second dose 14 days later will break the cycle. Why you continue to suffer is unclear. If you can see threadworms, then take a double dose, i.e. 200mg (as some infections are resistant to treatment) and repeat after 14 days If there are no worms, it might be that you have pruritus ani, a chronic itching around the anal area that can be triggered by a threadworm infection. I suggest you request a Sellotape slide test from your GP. This involves applying a 5 cm length of clear sticky tape over the anus and then sticking this on a glass slide provided. This is examined under a microscope. If eggs are present, there is a continuing infection; if not, you have pruritus ani. If the latter is the case, wash the area with aqueous cream and apply one per cent hydrocortisone cream (no prescription is necessary) twice daily for about two weeks. A baby girl who went under the knife while in the womb to treat and prevent a birth defect is now thriving at home. Allee Mullen was 20 weeks pregnant when doctors diagnosed her daughter with spina bifida, a severe birth defect that occurs when the spinal cord doesn't form properly. Doctors at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, discussed all the options with Mullen and her husband, including in-utero surgery that could preserve neurological function better than a surgery after delivery. So, in January, surgeons performed one of the first operations in the Pittsburgh area to close the spinal column with the baby still in the womb. There were no complications and Mullen gave birth at 33 weeks. She was so grateful that she named her baby girl Emery Greene after the two doctors that treated her, Dr Stephen Emery and Dr Stephanie Greene. SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO Allee Mullen, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was 20 weeks pregnant when her daughter was diagnosed with spina bifida. Pictured: Mullen, center, holding baby Emery Greene and flanked by Dr Stephen Emery, left, and Dr Stephanie Greene, right Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spinal cord doesn't form properly, which can cause walking and mobility problems. Pictured: Emery Green shortly after birth 'We found at my 20-week ultrasound. It was our anatomy scan that day,' Mullen told DailyMail.com.' 'It was a devastating feeling. It's devastating because you don't know what to expect.' Spina bifida is a defect of the neural tube, a structure from which the brain and spinal cord form. It normally closes early in pregnancy. But, in those with spina bifida, the neural tube fails to develop or properly close. This leaves the spine and the nerves susceptible to trauma and damage. The condition's symptoms can range from mild to severe, and can leave sufferers with physical and intellectual disabilities. Children often suffer from walking and mobility problems due to weak muscles or nerves in the legs not working properly. They can also experience bowel and bladder problems, difficulty breathing and swallowing, and a have higher risk of wounds. 'In the third world, this is a lethal diagnosis and [children] die,' Dr Stephen Emery, director of the Center for Innovative Fetal Intervention at UPMC Magee, told DailyMail.com. 'In the developed world, you can close the damage, but children often have no function of their legs, no control of their bowel.' Currently, there is no cure for spina bifida. Treatment consists of managing symptoms and preventing complications. More than 1,600 babies are born with spina bifida each year in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Doctors performed an in-utero surgery that has been shown to preserve neurologic function better than post-natal surgery (pictured) Emery Greene was born with her surgical wound healed and she performed well on her neurological tests. Pictured: Emery being held by Dr Emery, left, and Mullen, right, holding her older daughter, Anistyn However, a randomized controlled trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2011 found that performing surgery in-utero may result in better neurologic function for babies than if done after delivery. 'It's a really complicated risk-benefit assessment,' said Dr Emery. 'Put it all together and analyze it, and it's the difference between walking and being in a wheelchair.' Mullen went on a vacation with her family and discussed the options ahead of them, before choosing to have the in-utero surgery in Pittsburgh. Dr Stephanie Greene, the director of vascular and perinatal neurosurgery at UPMC Children's Hospital, performed the operation when Mullen was 25 weeks pregnant. Emery was born in February with the surgery wound fully healed, and she performed well on her post-natal neurological exam. 'The skin was closed, there was no evidence of leakage of cerebral spinal fluid,' said Dr Emery. 'She was kicking her legs and flexing her toes. And that's cute but, more importantly, it means that neurologic function is there. We won.' Mullen and her husband named their daughter after the two doctors that treated her: Dr Emery and Dr Greene. Pictured: Mullen holding Emery Greene Emery will be watched closely for the first year of her to make sure she hits her developmental milestones. Pictured: Mullen, left, with her husband, Kevin, and their older daughter, Anistyn Mullen said they were going to name their daughter Millie, but were having second thoughts. It was her mother who suggested naming her after the two doctors. 'They not only changed her life but our lives as a family,' Mullen explained. Both of the doctors said they were honored by this. 'I was so flattered,' said Dr Greene. 'Nobody names their baby after their neurosurgeon. What higher compliment could they pay?' For the first year of her life, Emery will be watched closely to make sure she doesn't develop hydrocephalus or any other defects. She will also likely meet with several specialists to make sure she's meeting her developmental milestones. 'Doctors can't away all the birth defects, but we can make it more manageable,' said Dr Greene. Investigate: Julie Smith, 42-year-old mother-of-one from Mansfield, suffering period pains, which led to her hysteroscopy After months suffering period pains so crippling they took her breath away, Julie Smith just wanted to know why. It was excruciating, recalls the 42-year-old mother-of-one from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. And some months it would last several days. Her GP told her to take painkillers but when, over the following months, she also started to bleed between cycles, she was referred to a gynaecologist. She was reassured that getting to the root of the problem would involve just a routine diagnostic procedure a hysteroscopy which was no worse than a smear test, painless and risk-free. The procedure involves using a narrow probe with a telescope at the end to investigate the inside of the womb Julie was told it would take minutes during an outpatient appointment. A few weeks later, in January 2018, Julie, an operations manager for a charity, duly returned to her local hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield. But far from pain-free, the hysteroscopy was, Julie says, one of the most agonising experiences of her life worse than childbirth leaving her physically and emotionally traumatised. Good Health, which first raised concerns about hysteroscopies in 2014, has discovered that tens of thousands more women could have suffered similarly. Shockingly, many may be being denied appropriate pain relief during the procedure because its in NHS trusts financial interests to do so. Id been told by the consultant that it might be a little uncomfortable, says Julie, who is married to Darren, 40, an HGV driver. But the moment the probe was inserted, I experienced the most horrific pain that shot straight through my abdomen. The consultant asked if I wanted him to stop but I was desperate to find out what was causing my abnormal bleeding so I said no. He then injected a local anaesthetic but it had no effect and after five minutes more it was so unbearable I shouted Stop, stop I need you to stop. He stopped and afterwards apologised and admitted some women do find it extremely painful. I was given a cup of tea and taken to a recovery area, where I sat shaking and crying. Fact: Up to 10,000 women a year in England alone undergo a hysteroscopy to investigate abnormal bleeding, which can be a sign of cancer Online forums are inundated with similar complaints. Some women say their hysteroscopy was worse than childbirth, broken bones or even a burst appendix one of the most painful medical emergencies anyone can experience. And an online petition calling for radical changes in the way doctors manage pain during the procedure has been signed by more than 48,000 people in the UK since it was launched last summer. Up to 10,000 women a year in England alone undergo a hysteroscopy to investigate abnormal bleeding, which can be a sign of cancer. The procedure is also used to check for fibroids or polyps in the womb, after repeated miscarriages or because a woman has difficulties conceiving. Doctors use a device called a speculum (as in a smear test), then insert the hysteroscope via this into the cervix and the womb. Gas or fluid may also be pumped in to inflate the womb to give the surgeon a better view. Most women are treated as outpatients, meaning they spend no more than 30 minutes or so in hospital. But its clear there is a vast gulf between what doctors say women may experience and what they actually do. Many are told prior to their appointments that hysteroscopies rarely cause discomfort but, if theyre worried, they should take a couple of paracetamol or ibuprofen an hour or so before their appointment. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) says 90 per cent of women experience little or no pain and that those who do tend to be in high-risk groups those without children and post-menopausal women with abnormal bleeding. These groups tend to have tighter cervixes and the RCOG says they are much more likely to need an injection of local anaesthetic. Importantly, if they still find the pain unbearable, the procedure should be stopped and rescheduled to be done under a general anaesthetic. But campaign group Hysteroscopy Action claims many women are never told that general anaesthetic is even an option; instead theyre forced to endure the trauma once its started because they have no idea the procedure can be stopped and repeated when they have been put to sleep. And it warns the numbers suffering are much higher affecting not just at-risk groups than official figures suggest. He stopped and afterwards apologised and admitted some women do find it extremely painful. I was given a cup of tea and taken to a recovery area, where I sat shaking and crying. A Freedom of Information request it submitted to NHS trusts in England, revealed the proportion of patients who reported severe pain during a hysteroscopy is much nearer one in four than the one in ten the RCOG suggests. Julie eventually had the hysteroscopy under a general anaesthetic, but her experience left her feeling so vulnerable that she says she completely broke down at a more recent smear test. Im angry and hurt that the hysteroscopy experience was so brutal, says Julie, who 18 months later is still undergoing tests to find the cause of her bleeding. Elaine Falkner, 70, from Little Sandhurst in Berkshire, remembers nearly having to be scraped off the ceiling during a hysteroscopy for post-menopausal bleeding five years ago. Two nurses either side of me started chatting like I was at the hairdressers, telling me to relax, she recalls. But when the doctor tried to get the scope through the cervix, the pain was off the scale and I thought I was going to pass out. The nurses kept saying Are you still with us? Elaine says the doctor then injected local anaesthetic but it made no difference, In fact the pain worsened as the doctor pumped in water to get a better view of the cause of the bleeding. It took 30 minutes and by the end I felt violated; it was utterly barbaric. She says she has a high pain threshold I delivered two children with nothing but gas and air but after this I crawled under a blanket and cried for the rest of the day. Someone should have explained it could be very painful and sometimes must be stopped and that post-menopausal women like me were at greater risk of pain. Katharine Tylko of Hysteroscopy Action says women should be offered a full choice of pain relief in advance of the procedure. At the moment, many just get their hand held and if they complain theyre told theyre very unusual just like with the vaginal mesh. So why is this happening? Firstly, general anaesthetic carries a degree of risk and is usually reserved for cases where the surgeon expects to do extensive treatment at the same time. But another factor is that cash-strapped hospitals are encouraged to do more procedures such as hysteroscopies in an outpatient setting to save money. Earlier this year analysis by Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust showed an outpatient hysteroscopy costs around 197; the cost for a day case involving a general anaesthetic soars to 995. The trust concluded it could save almost 70,000 a year if consultants did more outpatient procedures. The government has also pledged to reward hospitals that boost the proportion of outpatient hysteroscopies to at least 70 per cent; the current figure is 59 per cent. Hysteroscopy Action wants an end to these cash incentives and for women to be honestly warned about the risk of pain. It also wants doctors to routinely take pain scores from the women every few minutes during the procedure so theres a clearer indication of when to intervene. Lyn Brown, Labour MP for West Ham in London, recently highlighted the issue in a debate in Parliament after going through a hysteroscopy herself in 2017. The Department for Health is not working to reduce pain and trauma for women: it is incentivising hysteroscopies without effective pain relief, she says. When she requested a general anaesthetic because shes in the high-risk pain group having had no children, her consultant tried to talk her out of it. She argued it would only delay any diagnosis and treatment, Lyn told Good Health. She was very persistent and tried every piece of emotional blackmail she could, including taking up resources. I stood my ground and she eventually agreed but if we do not get rid of the perverse financial incentives, even women as strong as me will be browbeaten. The British Society for Gynaecological Endoscopy (BSGE), which represents consultants performing hysteroscopies, recently issued a statement stressing that women should be offered from the outset, the choice of having the procedure performed under general or regional anaesthetic. It added that it is important the procedure is stopped if a woman finds the outpatient experience too painful. Five years after her hysteroscopy, Elaine Falkner is emphatic: Its unbelievable that this is still happening in this day and age. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Cert: 12A, 2hrs 11mins Rating: Honestly, Id love to be able to say that in Godzilla: King Of The Monsters I saw some sort of grand cinematic homage at work. Either to the original, cautionary nuclear-age Godzilla films made in the Fifties and Sixties by the Japanese film-maker Ishiro Honda or, more simply, to the golden era of monster films when skilled model-makers and stop-motion animators joined forces to terrify/entertain more susceptible cinema audiences. Thats what Id like to say, but unfortunately I cant. Because what Godzilla: King Of The Monsters turns out to be is less a homage, more a very long, incredibly noisy and only occasionally spectacular film about gigantic monsters fighting each other and, every now and then, mankind too. Its the sort of film that gives you a headache, and not just because of the deafening decibel level. What Godzilla: King Of The Monsters turns out to be is less a homage, more a very long, noisy and only occasionally spectacular film about gigantic monsters fighting each other Theres the logic-defying plot, the challenge of keeping up with whos who, and dialogue so cliched that youre never quite sure whether its going to be greeted with giggles or groans. It begins where the last film from 2014 left off, amid the ruins of a devastated San Francisco. Gone are the entire Brody family you remember, surely, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen no? and in their place arrive the Russells. Scientist father Mark is played by Kyle Chandler, scientist mother Emma by Vera Farmiga, and their predictably feisty teenage daughter Madison by Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown. Dr Russell turns out to work for Monarch, the shadowy private company that now attempts to keep tabs on Godzilla and his so-called Titan friends, of which there are now 17 Slowly we learn that the Russells lost a son, Andrew, in the attack on San Francisco, a loss that has taken its toll with the parents now estranged and Madison living with her mother in China. Its around here the plot moves along so fast and so improbably that the first shooting pains arrived in my forehead. Dr Russell turns out to work for Monarch, the shadowy private company that now attempts to keep tabs on Godzilla and his so-called Titan friends, of which there are now 17. Gone are the entire Brody family and in their place arrive the Russells. Scientist father Mark is played by Kyle Chandler who is damagingly dull Whether that includes the office-block-size caterpillar that is about to be hatched at their high-tech facility is unclear, but dont worry, Emma has been working on some sort of bio-sonic communication system that should allow her to control this army of monstrous beasts. What could possibly go wrong? If the original Godzilla films can be seen as warnings of the destructive power of nuclear weapons, then this new film, directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty, does at least try to aim similarly high. Scientist mother Emma is played by Vera Farmiga who looks confused, and their predictably feisty teenage daughter Madison is played by Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown It places environmentalism and specifically the damage being done to an overcrowded, over-exploited planet by man centre stage. But it does so in a way so ham-fisted and Im not just talking about the arrival of Charles Dance as a murderous eco-terrorist that you can almost hear the screenplay groaning under the weight of its own towering improbabilities. One big plot twist is so unlikely that the supporting cast are still trying to explain it to each other an hour later. IT'S A FACT In Japanese, Godzilla translates as 'gorilla-whale', which reflects the original description of the monster when it appeared in 1954. Advertisement The monster-on-monster fight scenes are endless, particularly once the all-powerful Monster Zero raises its scaly head or three heads and a pair of wings, to be precise. But its the lack of an emotional heart that does the real damage. Unlike Kong, Godzilla has no discernible character and is impossible to root for. But the human cast is little more engaging. One gets eaten, two do what men/women have to do in this sort of film, and we never give a fig about poor dead Andrew, which, given what hes set in motion, seems significantly more than a shame. Ken Watanabe his presence acknowledging the franchises Japanese origins has the only decent scene in a production other cast members are likely to prefer to forget. Chandler is damagingly dull, Farmiga looks understandably confused and Bradley Whitford injects clumsy comedy as boffinish Rick Stanton. But this as the title suggests is a film about big monsters fighting each other. These days thats not nearly enough. ALSO OUT THIS WEEK Ma (15) Rating: Black actresses even Oscar-winning ones dont often get the chance to play the baddie in a slasher-horror pic, so you can see why Octavia Spencer was so taken with the idea of starring in Ma that she co-produces it too. Sadly her reliably classy presence is not enough to save this standard teens-in-peril offering, with director Tate Taylor injecting neither the scares nor humour required. When veterinary nurse Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer, above, with McKaley Miller) agrees to buy underage students alcohol, they think theyve won the jackpot A gang of underage, small-town high-school students like nothing more than getting drunk, so when veterinary nurse Sue Ann (Spencer) agrees to buy them alcohol, they think theyve won the jackpot. And she offers to host parties for them in her basement. But why? Its a disappointment when we find out. Rory's Way (12A) Rating: This is a film with lots of charming moments but almost as many less-than-charming ones too, which is maybe what we should expect from a small independent picture with two directors and a five-strong writing team. Brian Cox plays Rory, an ageing, irascible and alcoholic Scotsman who travels to San Francisco to be reunited with his estranged son and meet his infant grandson. Some of the scenes involving the baby and his often unlikeable grandfather are painful but, helped by nice cameo contributions from Peter Coyote and Rosanna Arquette, we just about get there in the touching end. Thunder Road (15) Rating: Jim Cummings stars, writes and directs this distinctly off-beat story of a small-town cop whose life falls apart when his mother dies soon after the collapse of his marriage. Its laboured mix of dark humour and real sadness is likely to prove an uncomfortable watch. Aracelis 16 Commercial Way, Woking Rating: Woking. Landing spot for those pesky Martians in The War Of The Worlds, Delia Smiths place of birth and drab inspiration for The Jams A Town Called Malice. Its also home to Aracelis, a small Mexican restaurant with a polished concrete floor, whitewashed walls and a queue winding out of the door. The room is briskly utilitarian, with a dozen or so tables and chairs, but no waiters. You join the line, passing the hot sauce station (filled, to my delight, with a dozen bottles of Valentina and El Yucateco, in various hues of heat), an emptily grinning papier-mache Dia de Muertos skeleton, photographs of various Mexican taco stalls (including one Bill and I are convinced weve visited in Tijuana) and a small section stocked with Mexican groceries dried chipotle chillies, masa flour, fresh tortillas, tinned tomatillos and bottled moles. Ive yet to eat a bite, but I love this place already. Once at the front (and the line moves fast), you order from the small but concise menu. Tacos, with three different fillings; empanadas, made from maize; vast burritos; a decent margarita; Modelo and Pacifico beers; fresh, home-made salsas and icy hibiscus juice. The service, manned by its two Mexican owners, is as swift as it is charming, the prices muy bueno too. Two tacos for under six quid, cocktails for under a fiver. Aracelis in Woking., The room is briskly utilitarian, with a dozen or so tables and chairs, but no waiters Aracelis started, as so many places do, with a local food truck. But such was its popularity that it moved into this bricks-and-mortar site, open all day from 11 until nine. These people work hard. And they can cook. Because this is the sort of Mexican food thats so damned rare in this country. Sure, El Pastor and Santo Remedio in London never cease to delight, but move outside of a major city and youre condemned to turgid Tex Mex, with its comedy sombreros, cheap tequila slammers, sizzling fajitas and wincingly awful puns. Here though, things are different. Suadero, slow cooked beef brisket, reminds me of the Mexican street, that joyous combination of bovine depth and glorious grease. All enclosed within a decent fresh tortilla. A dribble of Zaca Zaca, home-made chilli oil, a splodge of guacamole, a spoonful of onions and a lusty slug of fierce, habanero-spiked El Yucateco, then devoured in three bites. Its a six-napkin taco, as the juices stream down my hands and arms, staining the front of my shirt. Theres tinga de pollo too, where chicken is cooked in the most subtle of chipotle and tomato sauces. And, best of all, a cochinita pibil, stained orange with annatto, sharp with orange juice, and deliriously soft and juicy. Again, good tacos are nothing without decent salsas. And I pile this one high with a zinging pico de gallo, plus the requisite dousing of hot sauce. Its as good a taco as Ive eaten anywhere in this country. Hell, it could hold its head high in Yucatan. Empanadas, bright yellow with a soft, spongy texture, are filled with huitlacoche (that beloved corn fungus with its slippery texture and slightly musty taste), and potato and chorizo. Even the Californian-style burrito, so often a lumpenly stuffed afterthought, is a mighty riot of cochinita pibil, cool sour cream, perky salsas, black beans, chilli and rice. The soft flour tortilla wrapping is as delicate as a silk handkerchief. More burro than burrito, says Bill as he chops the great log in half. Not so much little donkey as fully grown adult beast. Not that were complaining. Serious Mexican street food, served up with lashings of warmth and soul As we eat, the pile of dirty napkins grows bigger before us. And still the punters come, the tables full, the queue eternally long. The people of Woking know a good thing when they see it. Serious Mexican street food, served up with lashings of warmth and soul. In a time where those mediocre middle-market chains are falling like flies, this is how to get things right. About 15 per head 'Are you allowed to wear a boyfriend sweater if you dont have a boyfriend?' I never did go to dinner with my ex David to catch up. We had a stupid virtual argument. He was upset Id written he lacks intelligence (I hadnt, not really; I wrote he doesnt read books and has nothing to say theres a difference). Your worlds media and fashion, he wrote. Mines not. I have/had an IQ of 148. Ah. So now hes implying that Im the one whos stupid. This is always the way with men: if you are manicured and Hollywood waxed, you are necessarily a frivolous idiot. At least Ive covered war, earthquakes in Pakistan, famine in Somalia, dying babies in China, garment workers living in slums in Dhaka, chained elephants in India, abused equines in Ethiopia, not to mention Brexit, Donald Trump and the last general election. He spent his career working in marketing for a luxury male fashion brand. Ironic, no? He added, Hypnotherapy does not seem to have improved your demeanour [Ive been having treatment with therapist Malminder Gill to encourage me to let go of past slights]. If you feel like you write, why would you still want a relationship with me? He really does know how to woo a woman, doesnt he? No hearts and flowers, no jaunts to Paris, no poems. Just mewling like a baby. Are all men this inert or is it just him? I had dinner with my friend D the other night: her last night in London having lived here for 52 years. What makes him think he deserves you? she asked me. So I replied to David: I dont want a relationship with you. What on earth made you think that? Me too. My mistake. Ah. What he means is, Me neither. Just saying. Anyway, I was beginning to feel a bit stupid, having ordered a relaxed navy boyfriend sweater from Navygrey. Are you allowed to wear a boyfriend sweater if you dont have a boyfriend? At the checkout, as well as your pin, should they also ask for the date you last had sex? Then I get a text. This time from my ex ex. Not for publication. Hmm. Oh well. I have a page to fill. Are you in town next week? Im not, but I type, Might be. Why? Im thinking of holding a press launch for my new venture. So youre inviting me to a press call? Is this the equivalent of Prince Harry texting Nicholas Witchell? I can tell he has no idea what Im talking about. He calls me. Um, it would be great if you could come. And we could have dinner after. It will be a group thing. Im not asking you to stay at my house again, given last time you dyed my loo seat with your fake tan, which I still havent been able to remove, by the way. This is strictly a work thing. I have a very small bottom, so the stain must be likewise. And I will say it twice in one week, which must be something of a record: I dont want a relationship with you. Anyway, what about Thong Woman [a girlfriend he brought with him last time we met]? Will she be a member of the Group Thing? He is used, of course, to my habit of calling people by their distinguishing features, not names. This comes from my job for many vegan latte-fuelled years as features editor on a daily newspaper. My tiny team and I didnt have time to learn names: it was just Weight-loss Lady, Miracle Baby, Runaway Bride and so on. Um, oh, her. No. OK, so you want to use my fame as a columnist to promote your upcoming vanity project, but I cant write about anything else. Exactly. I then get a long text from my friend S, cancelling a dinner that wed pencilled in for tonight. All about how she cant ever meet at 6.30pm or 7pm as shes so busy, but that from 8pm is fine in future, and why dont we meet in Primrose Hill? OK. Its really not a problem. Im puzzled, as weve known each other for over 40 years and if she cancels on me, its not a big deal. And then she gets to the crux. Anyway, if we can meet one night at 8pm, I will bring along a lovely friend. He loves your column. Hes a doll! Now, thats more like it. The country was split between the Pop Idol finalists, remembers Will superfan Bella Younger The final two Pop Idol contestants on the campaign trail Back in 2002, before anyone was Leave or Remain, the country was divided. Then, the issue wasnt the EU but which Pop Idol contestant you had pledged your allegiance to. In the climax of its first season, battle lines were drawn between Team Will and Team Gareth. This was the start of the golden era of TV talent shows when Simon Cowell was revered as a tastemaker and winning guaranteed more than a trip to the Im a Celebrity... jungle. Pop Idols frontrunners were two normal lads who just loved to sing: 23-year-old Will Young, a politics student from Berkshire, and 17-year-old Gareth Gates, a spiky haired A-level student from Bradford. My school was down the road from Wills family so geographical loyalty immediately bound me and my friends to his team. We wanted him to win more than wed ever wanted anything and, in our eyes, baby-faced Gareth favourite of the bookies and Simon Cowell had the edge. A squeaky-clean Christian who could only overcome a debilitating stammer when he sang, it was clear that mums everywhere loved him. But as far as I was concerned, Will was the music lovers choice (and he looked great in a vest). Will was not just one of our own, he was the underdog. A week before the final, the pair took to the streets in battle buses, met with adoring fans and released tongue-in-cheek manifestos. With the risk of a Gareth victory looming large (Will was 0.5 per cent behind Gareth in a previous public vote), my friends and I took matters into our own hands. We headed to the school art block, armed with paint and card, and snuck out into the nearby village to canvass the area. Every time a car beeped when they saw our Vote For Will posters, we convinced ourselves it was his eternally grateful mum. When Will won with just 53.1 per cent of the vote, we cried for hours. Almost as much as when he came out as gay a month after winning. Also that month Spike Milligan Jo and Sarah answer real questions from readers: to put your query, go to beautybible.com Q My teenage daughter is about to be a bridesmaid. Her skin isn't bad but she has blackheads on her nose, which make her very self-conscious. Can you suggest a way of getting rid of them and the best sort of concealer/foundation for the event? A GP and cosmetic doctor Rabia Malik, who has a special interest in skin health, explains that blackheads are the result of sebum being produced by sebaceous glands, which darkens when it comes in contact with oxygen in the air. They are most commonly seen in those with oily skin and adolescents, when sebum production is higher. There are two main issues to address, she continues. Firstly, reducing sebum production and, secondly, cleansing the skin effectively so there is no residual sebum left in the pores to cause blackheads. For more information follow Beauty Bible online here or on Facebook and Twitter Sebum production is often related to hormone balance, which is hard to control with teenagers. Keeping skin well-hydrated can help, says Dr Malik. Teens are often swayed by marketing towards harsh products that strip the skin of sebum. Paradoxically, this can send the sebaceous glands into overdrive to redress the situation by producing more sebum, which is not what you want. Skin experts agree that the best option is a salicylic-based cleanser. (Salicylic acid comes from willow bark; the botanical family is called salix.) These have fantastic pore-cleaning abilities, according to pharmacist Shabir Daya of Victoria Health (see his comprehensive feature on blackheads here. We like this explanation from beauty expert Alice Hart-Davis, the mother of two daughters. Salicylic acid can weasel its way into the pores and decongest the oily blockage of trapped sebum in a way that no other ingredient can. Alice suggests trying Nip+Fab Purify Salicylic Fix Gel Cleanser, 9.95 for 145ml. Other options: the Yes to range for blemish prone skin includes Detoxifying Charcoal Cleanser for combination skin, which is 97 per cent natural and contains a bunch of goodies including salicylic acid, 8.99 for 147ml. Derma E Acne Deep Pore Cleansing Wash, 15 for 175 ml, contains an Anti-Blemish Complex of natural ingredients including salicylic acid and tea tree. Facial scrubs are popular with people with problem skins but must be done GENTLY! emphasises Alice Hart-Davis. The temptation is to scrub away the problem but that is a very bad idea, have some mercy for your poor skin which is trying to provide a barrier between you and the outside world, and when you use a scrub, twice a week, think of it as polishing your skin rather than scrubbing. Alice formulated Good Things skincare when her daughters were in their teens. It includes Pore-Fectly Clear Face Scrub, 4.99. Theres also a companion Face Wash with willow bark (salicylic acid), which is in stock, 4.99 for 150ml. Dr Nick Lowes acclenzO range includes salicylic acid, niacinamide and eucalyptus to cleanse, strengthen and normalize skin. He suggests using Deep Action Blemish Serum daily, 40.83 for 50ml, and Deep Down Clearing Mask, 25 for 50 ml, as directed. Topical retinoids can also help. But, as with all retinol type products, they can sensitise skin so please only use them three times a week and only at night. Dr Malik suggests trying Medik8 Retinol 3TR, 27.95 for 15ml For intractable blackheads, Dr Lowe suggests considering Differin Cream, a prescription product which is now available online via Boots Acne Online Clinic. The temptation to extract blackheads with a mechanical extractor or a needle! is best resisted. It can leave marks and irritation, explains Dr Malik. Pore removal strips may help but need to be used with caution so skin is not pulled in the process, and should not be over-used, she warns. The old favourite of steaming your face over a bowl of hot water, with a towel over your head, opens pores, making blackheads easier to remove by gently (that word again GENTLY) pressing either side with a tissue. Finally, make up the fun bit! In terms of concealer and foundation for blemish-prone complexions, mineral-based products are better for skin health, says Dr Malik. She favours bareMinerals, which is available nationwide. Visit their website, bareminerals.co.uk, for a Store Locator. We recommend your daughter asks a bareMinerals consultant for help with products and how to tips then has several practice sessions before the Big Day. Beauty Bible loves Chantecaille Summer Make up collection, from 38. Heres a slice of heaven if you love exquisite summer cosmetics and these two don't often come in the same sentence Asian elephants. The link? Well, Chantecaille has just released their Limited Edition capsule collection and, as with every launch, the company is partnering with an environmental cause, in this case Elephant Family. Chantecaille has just released their Limited Edition capsule collection and, as with every launch, the company is partnering with an environmental cause, in this case Elephant Family Every sale of Lip Veil, Chantecailles luscious summer lippy, will support Elephant Family, the charity founded by author and adventurer Mark Shand and now led from London by Ruth Powys, now a close friend of the Chantecaille family. (Another Elephant Family campaigner was someone that Sarah, formerly an environmental reporter, met 30 years ago in Thailand.) The charitys main aim is to protect the migratory pathways of these gentle giants, creating safe corridors so both elephants and humans can co-exist without conflict. Semi-sheer Lip Veil is the creamiest formula you can imagine, due to organic baobab oil, wild mango butter and argan oil. The colours are the essence of a sunny day: vibrant coral Frangipane, warm rose Pink Lotus warm rose and watermelon pink Mandevilla. Please do also look at Real Bronze, Chantecailles truly amazing bronzer, now a permanent item of the collection in two shades golden bronze Sirena and cocoa bronze Goa. Thing is that Real Bronze looks like powder in the compact, but once you brush it on the feather-light gel-powder formula disappears, leaving glowing, almost flawless skin. They say the minuscule particle size and the texture just blurs lines and perfects your complexion. We can tell you, it does just that. Finally, Aqua Blush, a perfect gel blush in the prettiest bonbon-like pot, which gives a sheer, just-been-kissed flush. Simple as ABC to apply: just stroke and blend and with these innovative formulas you can apply it on top of the bronzer. In three shades: Marigold, a light warm coral (our fave), strawberry-pink Red Ginger and Gladiola, a cooler pink. Britain's biggest broadband and phone companies have signed up to a new set of commitments by regulator, Ofcom, promising fairer treatment for customers which includes allowing them to switch provider more easily. BT, EE, Giffgaff, O2, Plusnet, Post Office, Sky, TalkTalk, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Media and Vodafone have all signed up the commitments - covering the majority of broadband, mobile, pay TV and home phone customers. There are six pledges under the watchdog's new 'fairness for customers' programme which include helping the vulnerable, making sure services are reliable and helping people change supplier without hassle. Better service? Broadband and phone providers have signed up to new fairness for customers commitments The commitments should protect vulnerable people to give them fair treatment and equal access to services, companies working to sort out any problems promptly as well having procedures in place to ensure customers are treated well. Margot James, minister for digital, said: 'I'm pleased that all the major telecoms providers have signed up to Ofcom's commitments today. 'They will not only help consumers get fairer deals, but will support competition by making sure providers work to the same objectives and compete on standards.' Ofcom said it will be monitoring the firms' practices closely and will step in where it sees companies falling short. A progress report will also be published next year which will review whether companies are delivering what they have promised. Sharon White, Ofcom chief executive, said: 'I welcome the commitments the providers have made, and the action they're taking to ensure customers are treated fairly every step of the way. 'Great service cannot be optional. It has to be the norm. That hasn't always happened in the past in broadband and mobile services, but there is now a growing belief from providers that putting customers first is paramount.' New: There are six commitments major suppliers, including BT, EE and Sky, have agreed to follow The commitments are the latest in Ofcom's fairness for customers programme which also include giving broadband and landline customers their money back when things go wrong and helping broadband customers receive clear and honest information before they commit to a contract. It is also introducing new rules from July 1 allowing mobile phone customers to change provider with just one text. Caroline Normand, Which? director of advocacy, said: 'Until now too many people have received a raw deal from their broadband or mobile phone supplier. 'So it's a positive step that all the major players have signed up to Ofcom's new fairness commitments. 'Confusing and unfair terms, poor customer support and overcharging are just some of the problems people tell us they have experienced. 'Providers now have the opportunity to make things right for their customers by committing to offer good service, fair treatment and a straightforward solution when things go wrong.' Customers who think they could be paying too much on their broadband or phone bills are encouraged to use comparison sites to see if they could switch to a better deal. Advertisement Land Rover's next generation Defender has been eating up the lion's share of its engineers' off-road testing-time in Africa as a selection of awe-inspiring photographs of it in action reveal. The new long-awaited 4X4 has moved a step closer to production after successfully completing a demanding programme supporting the lion conservation initiatives of animal welfare group Tusk in Kenya to help highlight the critical situation faced by lions across Africa. This included tracking lions with special radio collars and transporting supplies. Bush Trucker Trial: Land Rover has been testing the new 40k Defender in Africa ahead of its official unveiling later this year The prototype model was even used to help replace a faulty tracking collar fitted to a male lion, which was sedated at close range from the security of the new Defender. The prototype Defender fitted with an integrated raised air intake and wearing a specially-tailored camouflage devised for the surroundings was in action at the 14,000-hectare Borana Conservancy where it has been an official partner for 15 years. Land Rover said the unique test programme gave Tusk's wildlife teams a chance to put the new Defender through a series of real-world tests of it capability, including fording rivers, pulling heavily loaded trailers and negotiating challenging terrain including flat plains, deeply rutted tracks, steep rocky inclines, muddy river banks and thick forests. It has also undergone extreme testing around the globe, including in the arctic and deserts. Land Rover said: 'Three-quarters of lion populations on the continent are in decline and black and white rhinos now outnumber the big cat in Africa. 'Fewer than 20,000 lions survive in the wild globally - a figure that has declined from 200,000 over the last century.' It is not the Defender' first encounter with big cats, however. The new long-awaited 4X4 has moved a step closer to production after successfully completing a demanding programme supporting the lion conservation initiatives of animal welfare group Tusk in Kenya to help highlight the critical situation faced by lions across Africa The prototype Defender fitted with an integrated raised air intake and wearing a specially-tailored camouflage devised for the surroundings was in action at the 14,000-hectare Borana Conservancy where it has been an official partner for 15 years The Defender's pre-production tests have taken it around the globe, including in the arctic and deserts Previous generation Defenders have had strong historic and continuing links with the separate Born Free Foundation named after the 1966 movie starring actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers who also founded the organisation, which protects animals on the continent. Land Rover announced in late April that new generation of its rugged Defender 4X4 will be built abroad in Slovakia rather than Britain. The confirmation to build what is considered an iconic British car abroad will be seen by many as a bitter blow for the UK but the firm insisted that Brexit 'had not played a role in the decision'. Earlier this month Prince Harry became the first person to enjoy an exclusive sneak-peek at the new Defender which could prove just the job to transport his wife Meghan and their new precious cargo son Archie ahead of the 4X4's official world premiere later this year. Defender of animals: The selection of epic photos show the new Defender being used in some of Kenya's most stunning areas Fans of the Defender will hope it will continue to be a go-anywhere 4X4. These new images suggest this will very much be the case The Land Rover Defender was pictures wading through a fairly deep river His exclusive tour came at a pre-launch event in Holland ahead of Invictus Games The Hague 2020, of which he is patron, taking place in the Dutch capital next May. The outgoing 71-year-old Defender model much loved and often driven by the Queen, other members of the Royal Family, and Winston Churchill was built at Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull factory near Birmingham until production ceased in 2016. Jaguar Land Rover holds three royal warrants from the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Charles. But its successor will be built at Jaguar Land Rover's new 1billion state-of-the art factory stretching over 30,000 square metres and with capacity for 150,000 vehicles a year with the option to double that - in Nitra, Slovakia, where the the Land Rover Discovery has been built since it opened in October. The prototype model was even used to help replace a faulty tracking collar fitted to a male lion, which was sedated at close range from the security of the new Defender On location: The Defender won't be officially unveiled until later this year and will go on sale from 2020 The testing programme for the new SUV has taken it around the world. Here it is arriving in Africa Land Rover said the new off-roader has been designed and engineered in Britain at its growing engineering centre in Gaydon in Warwickshire with petrol and diesel engines supplied from its factory in Wolverhampton. It said switching production to Slovakia would free up capacity at Solihull to build the flagship Range Rover and Land Rover models, including electrified versions of its 4X4, and would be 'balanced' by 'significant' new investment there. Nick Collins, vehicle line director at Jaguar Land Rover, said: 'We are now in the advanced stages of the new Defender's testing and development phase. 'Working with our partners at Tusk in Kenya enabled us to gather valuable performance data. 'The Borana reserve features a wide range of challenging environments, making it a perfect place to test to the extreme the all-terrain attributes of the new Defender.' Land Rover said the unique test programme gave Tusk's wildlife teams a chance to put the new Defender through a series of real-world tests of it capability, including fording rivers, pulling heavily loaded trailers and negotiating challenging terrain including flat plains, deeply rutted tracks, steep rocky inclines, muddy river banks and thick forests Tusk's chief executive Charles Mayhew, Tusk added: 'This year marks Tusk's Year of the Lion. Our aim is to raise awareness of the alarming decline in lion populations across Africa. 'Fortunately, within the Borana Conservancy, there are a number of prides of lion and tracking and monitoring their movements across this vast and tough environment is vital in order to protect them and reduce any conflict with neighbouring communities. 'The new Defender took everything in its stride, from deep river wading to climbing rocky trails.' The new Land Rover Defender makes its world premiere later this year with an official unveiling expected at the Frankfurt motor Show, ahead of first deliveries in 2020. The original Land Rover started life as a squiggle in the sand when, shortly after the Second World War, Rover director Maurice Wilks sketched out in the sand on a beach near his holiday cottage in Anglesey the workhorse 4X4 vehicle he needed to replace the American army surplus Jeep he was then using. The first pilot pre-production model called 'Huey' after its registration number 'HUE 166' and is fully working. Astonishingly, some three-quarters of the two million Defenders ever built since then are said to be still in regular use. The Defender name itself can be traced back to 1990. It was created to avoid confusion with a new Land Rover launched the previous year called Discovery. To cheering and applause from the workforce at Land Rover's Solihull factory near Birmingham, the final Land Rover Defender 4X4 drove off the production line in January 2016 and joined the firm's heritage collection. Billionaire British petro-chemical tycoon Sir Jim Ratcliffe is planning a rival back to basics 4X4 to fill the gap left by the original Defender, which could be built in Britain. Codenamed Projekt Grenadier after the pub in which the idea was conceived - Ineos Automotive's off-roader aims to recapture the rufty-tufty spirit of the original Land Rover Defender, amid concerns by purists that the old 'boxy' Defender shape is being smoothed out. Star fund manager Neil Woodford's flagship equity income fund has suspended trading Star fund manager Neil Woodford's flagship equity income fund has suspended trading as investors rush to the exit. Britains investors have been pulling money out of Woodfords fund after a sustained period of poor performance has combined with worries that too much has been invested in smaller and riskier businesses. Today, the shock move of stopping savers from buying into and selling out of it was made, to protect the investors in the fund. Investors have been told not to panic and reminded that similar instances have been seen in recent years with other funds that have suffered large and rapid levels of people trying to sell up. The move has been made to stop Woodford's fund being forced into a fire sale, as it has to sell the shares it holds to meet redemptions. Commercial property funds closed their doors to new investors and stopped existing savers from selling up in the wake of the Brexit, to avoid being forced into asset sales at unattractive prices. Woodford's fund is in the middle of shifting its mix of holdings back towards larger companies that are easier to trade shares in, after investors became concerned that it was holding too many smaller companies, with shares that can be more volatile and difficult to buy and sell. Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at investment platform AJ Bell, described the move as 'a shock to may people' but said that it showed 'the sheer scale of redemptions the fund has been suffering in recent months'. Investors selling out of Woodford's hugely popular fund and poor performance have seen it shrink in size from a high of 10billion two years ago to under 4billion now. It emerged last week that the Woodford Equity Income fund had lost 560 million of its value in just four weeks, according to financial data specialist Morningstar. Woodford's Equity Income fund has sunk 17 per cent in value over the past three years, whereas the average UK All Companies fund has risen 23.6 per cent. An investment in the average fund would have done 40.6 per cent better than Woodford's over that period. As Woodford shifts its investments during the suspension, 'investors may have to be patient for the fund to reopen', according to Mr Hughes. He added: Events such as this are rare but it is a reminder to all of the risks that come with investing in illiquid assets while offering daily liquidity to investors. This never appears to be a problem when money is flooding in but when sentiment turns it can come back to bite investors badly as has happened here. The manager's other two investment vehicles, the Woodford Patient Capital Trust and the LF Woodford Income Focus Fund are not affected by today's move. The Financial Times reported today that one of the factors that triggered the suspension was Kent County Council notifying Woodford that it would withdraw its 250million invested in the fund - one of the largest single investments. Woodford's Equity Income fund (yellow) has sunk 17 per cent over the past three years, whereas the average UK All Companies fund ( blue) has risen 23.6 per cent The Woodford Equity Income fund's top ten holdings contains a number of smaller and more volatile companies rather than bigger household name firms In a statement released today, Woodford Investment Management said: Link Fund Solutions Limited (LFS) as the Authorised Corporate Director of the Fund, has today obtained the agreement of the Funds Depositary to suspend dealing in shares in the Fund, with immediate effect and until further notice. After consideration of all relevant circumstances relating to the Funds assets, we have, in conjunction with Woodford Investment Management Limited (Woodford), the appointed Investment Manager, come to the conclusion it is in the best interests of all investors in the Fund to suspend the issue, cancellation, sale, redemption and transfer of shares in the Fund. Following an increased level of redemptions, this period of suspension is intended to protect the investors in the fund by allowing Woodford, as previously communicated to investors, time to reposition the element of the funds portfolio invested in unquoted and less liquid stocks, in to more liquid investments. During the period that share dealing is suspended no requests to redeem, purchase or transfer shares in the Funds will be accepted. When LFS elects to resume dealing in the shares of the Fund, we will write to all investors informing them of this fact. We will keep all investors appropriately informed about the suspension, including its likely duration. If investors have any questions regarding this suspension of dealing please contact us on 0333 300 038 or alternatively email us at info@woodfordfunds.com. Neil Woodford suffered another blow as shares in Kier crashed by 41 per cent Neil Woodford suffered another blow as shares in Kier crashed by 41 per cent. The under-fire fund manager is the construction group's biggest investor, with a 20 per cent stake. But in a bleak announcement to the stock market, Kier revealed its profits for the year would be 25 million lower than expected. The warning sent shares down 41 per cent, or 114.4p, to 163.8p their lowest level for two decades. Kier shares have fallen 87 per cent in less than two years. The slump saw the value of Woodford's stake in the business tumble from more than 90.2 million to 53.1 million, just weeks after he increased his holding in the company from 19.4 per cent to 20 per cent. The turmoil is another disaster for Woodford, 59, as he battles to stop disillusioned savers pulling cash out of his flagship fund. Other Woodford investments to turn sour include Provident Financial, where he is the biggest shareholder with a near 25 per cent stake, which has seen shares fall 81 per cent in the past two years, and AA, where he has a 13.8 per cent stake, which are down 88 per cent since their peak in 2015. Capita, where Woodford owns 5.6 per cent of the stock, is down 70 v in two years. Woodford yesterday took the drastic step of suspending trading in his flagship Woodford Equity Income fund 'to protect investors' and stop outflows. This means he cannot be forced into a fire-sale of shares to meet the cost of withdrawals also known as redemptions. Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at AJ Bell, said it showed 'the sheer scale of redemptions the fund has been suffering in recent months'. ... and Purplebricks adds to Woodford's woes Purplebricks has been another thorn in Neil Woodfords side. Shares in the online estate agent where Woodford is the biggest investor with a near 29 per cent stake are down 79 per cent since their peak less than two years ago. Founding brothers Michael and Kenny Bruce (pictured below) yesterday dumped their remaining shares. Michael collected about 34 million for his 11 per cent holding while Kenny bagged 7.8 million for his 2.6 per cent, all bought by German media giant Axel Springer. The share sale came less than a month after Michael stepped down as chief executive as it abandoned its Australian arm, and hinted it could also pull out of the US. Founding brothers of Purplebricks, Michael and Kenny Bruce The fund said the freeze would give it time to shift its mix of holdings back towards bigger companies that are easier to trade shares in. 'Following an increased level of redemptions, this period of suspension is intended to protect the investors in the fund by allowing Woodford time to reposition the element of the fund's portfolio,' a spokesman said. The sell-off at Kier, which has contracts for HS2 and Crossrail, came after it warned of a slowdown in business at its infrastructure, utilities and housing maintenance businesses. It said big clients such as Highways England were spending less on repairs, putting it on course to miss analyst predictions of a 169 million profit in the year to June 30 by around 25 million. The firm also admitted it would miss a target to eradicate its 180.5 million net debt by that point, while its turnaround costs had spiralled 15 million higher. John Moore, of fund manager Brewin Dolphin, said: 'Kier is in a dark place. It has broken trust with investors, which does not bode well. Where it goes from here is hard to say.' However, Kier said chief executive Andrew Davies, who took over after Haydn Mursell was ousted in January, would spell out the findings of a business review at the end of July. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: 'Davies will need to come up with a compelling vision, otherwise Kier risks being placed firmly on the 'discard' pile by the market.' The fate of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire will be decided tomorrow. Hundreds of the retailer's landlords and other creditors will gather at County Hall in central London for a meeting expected to last several hours. They will vote on seven company voluntary arrangements (CVA) proposed by Arcadia a type of insolvency procedure that will allow it to reduce rents, debts and other obligations in order to carry on trading. Last chance: The fate of Sir Philip Green's Arcadia empire will be decided tomorrow Some of the UK's biggest property firms, such as Intu, Hammerson and British Land, as well as Arcadia's suppliers, will be among those casting votes that will determine the future of Green's business and its 18,000 staff across brands which include Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge. CVAs have become increasingly common in the retail industry in recent years, with some of the UK's biggest High Street names including Debenhams, Mothercare, New Look and House Of Fraser using them as a way of slashing costs to stave off collapse. Green (pictured above), who faces assault charges in the US for allegedly smacking a pilates instructor at a spa in Arizona, is not expected to make an appearance. He is believed to be in Monaco, the tax haven where he lives with his wife Tina. Lady Green, who is the official owner of Arcadia, is also unlikely to turn up. Arcadia's lead representative will be interim chairman Jamie Drummond-Smith, a restructuring expert and former partner at accountancy giant Deloitte who took over from Baroness Brady in April. Arcadia's brands include Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge Deloitte, which is advising Arcadia on the CVA procedure, will chair the meeting. Creditors will be able to put questions to the board, which could take several hours. A source with experience of CVAs said: 'The questions are generally a lot more searching than at a typical general meeting because the attendees have done their homework and the maths on this because it represents a meaningful part of their livelihood. Arcadia is likely to get quite a grilling.' The Pension Protection Fund and Arcadia's retirement scheme trustees will be among those asking questions. Arcadia is thought to have a pension black hole of more than 500 million. The PPF has indicated that it is likely to follow the advice of watchdog The Pensions Regulator, which is thought to have opposed Green's latest funding proposals for the pension scheme. Lady Green has pledged to inject 100 million into the group's pension fund, in addition to 25 million a year contributed by the company, over the next three years, though that offer dismissed by The Pensions Regulator as inadequate is likely to be increased. Green needs 75 per cent of the votes, including the backing of The Pensions Regulator, to secure Arcadia's future. Arcadia is likely to fall into administration if the CVA is not approved. Richard Hyman, an independent retail analyst, said: 'A CVA is usually the last throw of the dice. This meeting would not be taking place had Arcadia's trading performance not deteriorated progressively to the point where if there isn't a CVA they may well go under.' Kcom has recommended a raised takeover offer to shareholders Kcom has recommended a raised takeover offer to shareholders after another suitor made an approach. The Northern telecoms company's board previously backed a 504 million offer from the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) private pension scheme. But yesterday Kcom came out in support of the rival 560 million bid from asset manager Macquarie Infrastructure And Real Assets (Mira) instead. It sent shares in Kcom surging more than 13 per cent. Patrick De Smedt, Kcom's interim chairman, said: 'This offer provides our shareholders with even greater value in cash for their shares.' Kcom shareholders will be asked to consider the bid at a meeting tomorrow. BP is under fire for an 'indefensible' deal that will see it pay more than 7 billion to a businessman embroiled in corruption claims BP is under fire for an 'indefensible' deal that will see it pay more than 7 billion to a businessman embroiled in corruption claims. The British energy major reportedly agreed to hand controversial City figure Frank Timis about 200 million for his stake in a West African oil field, and between 7.1 billion to 9.5 billion in royalties. It was despite allegations of bribery surrounding the project, which BP was told about when it carried out due diligence checks, according to BBC Panorama. BP and Timis both deny any wrongdoing. But Daniel Balint-Kurti, of anti-corruption campaign group Global Witness, said: 'It is absolutely indefensible that a company like BP should be rewarding somebody like Frank Timis.' Romanian-born Timis was convicted of dealing heroin twice in the 1990s and was behind failed AIM-listed miner African Minerals. His business Petro-Tim was given rights to explore potential oil and gas fields off Senegal in 2012. But there were claims one of Timis' firms had paid bribes to the brother of Macky Sall, the president of Senegal. President Sall had been urged by an official report to strip Petro-Tim of its rights but instead allowed the firm to keep them. BP bought Timis' stake in the gas field in 2017. The firm said: 'BP rejects any implication that it acted improperly in the acquisition of our interests in Senegal.' The company claimed the reported size of the deal with Timis was 'wholly inaccurate' but refused to comment further. A spokesman for Timis said: 'We are proud of our work and reiterate that these baseless claims are rejected.' More than 118 billion has been wiped off the value of some of America's biggest technology firms amid fears over a major regulatory crackdown. Shares in Facebook, Google's parent Alphabet, Amazon and Apple slumped last night as the prospect of investigations into anti-competitive behaviour loomed closer. Facebook suffered the biggest fall, with shares diving as much as 9.3 per cent after it emerged that the Federal Trade Commission is set launch an investigation into how the social media giant affects competition in the sector. More than 118 billion has been wiped off the value of some of America's biggest technology firms amid fears over a major regulatory crackdown Alphabet's stock slumped as much as 7.1 per cent following reports that the US Justice Department will probe whether the firm, which also owns video-sharing website YouTube, broke anti-trust laws. Meanwhile, shares in online retailer Amazon and Apple fell 5 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively amid concerns they are being watched closely by regulators. Technology firms are facing a backlash over fears they have too much power and are not competing fairly with rivals. President Donald Trump has previously called for closer scrutiny of social media companies, with the UK Government under growing pressure to rein them in. A review which was presented to Chancellor Philip Hammond earlier this year warned that the dominance of Google, Facebook, Amazon and Apple is hampering consumer choice and tipping the scales against smaller competitors. Residents in multiple Chinese cities have claimed to see a mysterious light moving fast across the sky, sparking speculation that Beijing was secretly testing its new nuclear missile. The shiny spot, which appeared to have a massive 'tail', was witnessed yesterday in eastern and central parts of China, including the provinces of Henan, Hebei and Zhejiang, according to state media. Sina, one of China's largest news portals, reported that the unidentified flying object was likely to be related to a classified military test of Julang-3 (or JL-3), a submarine nuclear missile alleged to be capable of reaching North America. The author also said that the suspected experiment could be China's response to Washington amid an intensifying trade war and after the U.S. recently tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. Residents from multiple Chinese cities have claimed to see a mysterious light in the sky at the wee hours yesterday. One trending video captures the object above Zhengzhou (pictured) One video of the mystical light, said to be shot from Zhengzhou in central China, shows the object flying above the city's central business district before turning away and slowly disappearing. One person can be heard saying 'wow, what is this?' before another voice added '[it] looks like something flown up from the ground'. A third voice then said 'wah, it is so fast'. The minute-long clip has gathered more than 1,900 comments from yesterday, with many viewers wondering what the light could be. Zhao Haibing, a researcher at the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, told Global Times that the object was unlikely a 'natural glowing object'. The researcher said it was likely to have been shot up from the ground. Sina Military today reported that the object could be related to Beijing's experiment of JL-3 and that the missile had been equipped with a hypersonic warhead. Aircraft and missiles are said to be hypersonic once they exceed speeds of Mach 5 and above, or five times the speed of sound. Chinese news portal Sina said the light could be a result of a test of a hypersonic warhead of JL-3, a missile shot from a nuclear submarine and could destroy targets in most part of the United States. JL-3 is reported to be an improved version of DF-41 ballistic missiles (pictured) The phenomenon collided with a military mission carried out on the Bohai Sea in eastern China The news outlet cited a notice posted by the Maritime Safety Administration of Liaoning Province which warned ships not to pass Bohai Sea and Bohai Strait to make room for 'a military mission'. The ban was imposed between 2:30am and noon yesterday, and the light was reportedly seen during the wee hours between Bohai Sea on the eastern coast and Xinjiang Autonomous Region in western China. Sina added that the light looked similar to other phenomena observed during previous experiment of hypersonic weapons in China. 'Therefore [we] judged: [it was] an experiment of a new type of submarine strategic missile shot from nuclear submarine such as 094B or 096 under Bohai Sea...', the article said. '... In addition, [it was] a new JL-2B or JL-3 missile carrying a hypersonic warhead. The combination of the two technologies means that China is the first to deploy hypersonic missiles on nuclear submarines,' it added. Chinese media Sina Military said Beijing would begin building the Type 096 nuclear submarine in a few years while U.S. Department of Defence said in its annual report this year that the construction would start in 2020. Pictured is a Type 094 submarine from the Chinese navy The article, written by a military critic called Chen Guangwen, said the suspected experiment could be Beijing's response to Washington amid an escalating trade war and after the U.S. tested Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile last month. The development of JL-3 has been gathering much attention in the West. Previous reports claimed that the missile, capable of carrying 24 missiles, would have a full operational range between 7,456 miles and 8,700 miles, which is enough to destroy targets in most part of the United States from Chinese coasts. Reports of the suspected military experiment from China comes at sensitive time as Beijing and Washington lock horns during an escalating trade war. Chinese President Xi and U.S. President Trump are pictured shaking hands in Beijing on November 9, 2017 It was also suggested that JL-3 was an improved version of Beijing's Dongfeng-41, or DF-41 ballistic missile. DF-41 is said to have the longest range of any ballistic rockets in the world. China has never openly commented on the development of JL-3. Nearly all of the information of the missile on the Chinese internet is cited from U.S. media reports. An annual report from the U.S. Department of Defence last year suggested that China's next-generation submarine Type 096 would be armed with JL-3 and construction of the submarine would begin in early 2020s. According to a report from Sina Military in July, Beijing will begin building the Type 096 submarine 'in a few years'. A Sydney chiropractor has been arrested for allegedly dealing and possessing drugs in the city's eastern suburbs during a crackdown on 'dial-a-dealer' operations. Dr Jesse Thurlow, 28, from Coogee, was stopped by officers from Strike Force Northrop in Bondi on May 25. He was charged with supply of MDMA, possession of cocaine, as well as dealing with proceeds of a crime after he was found with $250 cash, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Telegraph. Thurlow was initially denied bail by police but he was later released after appearing at Parramatta Bail Court. Dr Jesse Thurlow, 28, from Coogee, was arrested for allegedly dealing and possessing drugs in the city's eastern suburbs during a crackdown on 'dial-a-dealer' operations The doctor, an avid fitness fanatic, often shared photos of his workout sessions to his 1,000 followers on his Instagram, which has now been deleted. The chiropractor was charged with supply of MDMA, possession of cocaine, as well as dealing with proceeds of a crime after he was found with $250 cash According to his LinkedIn, Thurlow had been employed as an associate chiropractor at Health Space Clinics since 2016. The doctor, an avid fitness fanatic, often shared photos of his workout sessions to his 1,000 followers on his Instagram, which has now been deleted. His profile painted a blissful picture of his life as a fitness fanatic on the beach. One post showed him massaging former Bachelor star Tim Robards at work in 2017. Thurlow was among 28 alleged dealers who were busted in a six-day sting across Sydney's eastern suburbs including Paddington, Bondi, Coogee and the CBD. Officers carried out the operation while dressed in regular clothing over three weekends in May. Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Bell said the force is cracking down on what they call dial-a-dealer services, during which customers arrange to pick up drugs by calling a designated number. One post showed him massaging former Bachelor star Tim Robards at work in 2017 Thurlow's profile painted a blissful picture of his life as a fitness fanatic on the beach According to his LinkedIn, Thurlow had been employed as an associate chiropractor at Health Space Clinics since 2016 He said customers whose numbers were found on the dealers' phone were advised their phone numbers were discovered in a cocaine investigation. Last week, police revealed 55 people have been charged in an investigation into the supply and distribution of cocaine and illicit drugs across Sydney. More than 290g of cocaine, 13g of MDMA, 110g of cannabis and $63,000 cash were seized during the busts. They charged 28 people with drug supply and charged 27 people with drug possession. A black BMW was stopped and searched in Paddington on May 11, with 17g of cocaine and $4,200 cash found inside. Strike force Northrop's investigation was focused on Sydney's affluent eastern suburbs, with a number of cars stopped and searched The raid resulted in 55 people being charged after the investigation into the supply of cocaine and other drugs in Sydney Other cars were stopped and searched during the investigation, including a white Kia with more than $22,000 in cash hidden in envelopes and stashed in the glove box and boot of the car. Detective Bell said the investigation was still ongoing. 'These illicit substances are incredibly dangerous, and we will do everything we can to remove them from the streets of Sydney,' he said. 'Police do not want to see any more drug-related deaths and it is disappointing to see so many people putting other's lives at risk through the sale and distribution of these drugs. A single mother living on Sydney's wealthy north shore is spending almost two-thirds of her weekly income on rent and is pleading for a wage increase to keep up with the cost of living. Natalie Jasco, 43, and her six-year-old daughter live in the exclusive north shore suburb of Cremorne, paying $320 a week in rent. Ms Jasco earns just $550 a week working casually a a secretary. That means almost two-thirds of her weekly income is spent on rent, leaving not much for Ms Jasco and her daughter to get by. Natalie Jasco, 43, and her six-year-old daughter are living in the pricey northern Sydney suburb of Cremorne (pictured) paying $320 in rent a week Ms Jasco, who is currently studying a business degree, also receives a small parenting pension payment on top of her income. But after paying rent, bills, food, school fees and paying down a personal loan, there's no money left to save. Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Jasco said all of her expenses go up every year but her wage isn't going up. 'I've got no savings at all and I'm trying to help out my parents. They can't afford to go into a nursing home,' she said. Last week, the Fair Work Commission raised the minimum wage by just 3 per cent, amounting to an extra $21.60 a week for recipients, but many claim it isn't enough. The decision angered the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) which was calling for a 6 per cent increase. The union said the 3 per cent raise wasn't enough to be a 'living wage'. 'Wages need to increase in line with cost of living, not only from the private sector but the pension needs to be raised as well,' Ms Jasco said. Ms Jasco told News Corp she isn't hopeful anything is going to change and can't buy her daughter any luxury items. While she's just getting by at the moment, Ms Jasco said things could drastically change when her daughter turns eight as there are chances the pension could drop. If the pension does decrease Ms Jasco won't be able to keep living in Cremorne, which she needs to do in order to be close and care for her parents. 'That's why I'm studying, to get extra certifications so I can get a full-time job,' she said. A single mother living in Sydney's affluent North Shore is spending almost two-thirds of her weekly income on rent alone (pictured: Cremorne Point) According to a recent study completed by CoreData, nearly nine in 10 Australians under 55 years old are concerned about the rising cost of living. Concerns come from rising prices of energy and fuel as well as slow wage growth, economic instability and costs of healthcare. The study's respondents expressed worries over owning a home, financially supporting a family and investing in a university education. A 35-year-old mother-of-three from California has been identified as the young woman who died after she lost her footing and plunged to her death at Eagle Falls near Lake Tahoe on Friday. Stephanie Espinosa, who lived in the San Francisco Bay area, was sitting in one of the pools of water near the waterfall in Emerald Bay. According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, she reached for a tree branch to hold onto when she slipped and was swept over a waterfall. An initial statement by the North Tahoe Fire Protection District implied that Espinosa slipped as she was trying to take a selfie. Stephanie Espinosa, 35, was identified as the woman who died after she slipped and fell over a waterfall on Friday near Lake Tahoe Espinosa is a mother of three children from the San Francisco Bay Area According to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office, she reached for a tree branch to hold onto when she slipped and was swept over a waterfall Espinosa, an entrepreneur, was sitting in one of the pools of water near the waterfall in Emerald Bay when the accident happened It said: 'This is a sad reminder to be cautious when taking selfies and other photos in dangerous areas. 'Don't under estimate the power of water falls, rivers, and cold water temperatures.' But her brother, Nick Martinez, said his sister did not have her phone on her. 'When I go back to my furthest memory in life, its with her,' he told CBS13. 'She is my older sister but has been more of a mother to me. 'The whole reason why Im doing this with you guys is to clear up the articles, they were really disturbing. 'It really made Stephanie sound like she was a young girl who was just trying to take a selfie and fell off a cliff. 'Stephanie didnt even have her phone on her when she fell. 'She was trying to enjoy the moment which is something she was a big advocate of.' A GoFundMe page has been started to help the three teenage children that survived their mother The North Tahoe Fire Protection District issued a clarification on Sunday. 'We posted the information we had available at the time based on information from bystanders and the El Dorado County Sheriffs Office, encouraging others visiting the falls not to underestimate the power of the water in this popular area,' the agency said on its Facebook page. 'Since that time, EDSO has released a statement about the incident and family members of the victim have made public additional information about the tragedy and their loved one.' A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the family. She accessed the falls at Highway 89 near Emerald Bay, which has a drop of about 150 feet from that point. The Tahoe Truckee Regional Rescue Team, a multi-agency group, responded to the falls to recover the womans body, according to the fire protection district. Authorities initially said that Espinosa was 'taking photos at the falls' when she slipped But her brother, Nick Martinez, gave an interview to CBS13 of Sacramento and said that his sister did not have her phone with her at the time she fell The North Tahoe Fire Protection District on Sunday posted a notice on Facebook retracting its earlier claim that Espinosa was taking photos when she slipped A top pharmacist says there's little evidence 'natural' remedies for treating cold and flu actually work - and they can even do more harm than good. Over-the-counter remedies such as echinacea, garlic and vitamin C supplements are popular during winter. But Dr Geraldine Moses, from the University of Queensland's School of Pharmacy, said they are often ineffective, and can even 'interfere' with prescription medicines. But there is one remedy which does have some merit - that being the immune-boosting supplement zinc. A top pharmacist has urged people to take care this winter as many so-called natural remedies for the common cold and flu could be doing more harm than good Dr Moses said while people often stock up in cold and flu remedies, such as echinacea (pictured in its floral form), garlic and vitamin C, there is little evidence they work at all According to the Mayo Clinic, several studies show zinc lozenges or syrup can reduce the length of a cold by one day, especially when taken within 24 hours of the first signs and symptoms. Zinc is thought to work by hindering cold and flu viruses from multiplying. It can also prevent bugs from lodging in mucous membranes of the throat and nose. Associate Professor Geraldine Moses said if people insist on taking supplements for flu, it's crucial they speak to an expert first But before people buy over-the-counter elixirs, Dr Moses told The Sydney Morning Herald it's critical for people to talk to to their doctors or pharmacists. The experienced pharmacist said she has seen several people experience bad side effects by mixing prescription medication and supplements. 'Every step of how drugs get around your body, complementary medicines can interfere (with),' Associate Professor Moses was quoted saying. Popular ingredients such as echinacea and turmeric can have bad side effects if mixed with prescription medicine, Professor Moses said. Echinacea can worse autoimmune conditions. She has seen several people with asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis experienced symptom flare-ups after taking the herb. The pharmacist also mentioned the so-called healing effects of turmeric, which, at high doses, can have a blood-thinning effect. While having the occasional turmeric latte isn't likely to have a major impact on your blood, she said taking a larger doses of the supplement may cause harm. 'The tablets and capsules (people) buy, they are not natural any more, they have been made in a factory. And that's where we worry,' Professor Moses was quoted saying. Probably one of the most consumed supplements for flu is vitamin C, but according to Harvard research, the nutrient appears to have modest prevention power. 'The data show that vitamin C is only marginally beneficial when it comes to the common cold,' says Dr Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Harvard research found a daily dose of 2,000mg of vitamin C (pictured) or more can cause nausea, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and may interfere with tests for blood sugar A Pharmacy Guild of Australia spokesperson said pharmacists have a duty of care to be aware of clinical evidence that supports claims made about products they sell The research also revealed a daily dose of 2,000mg or more can cause nausea, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and may interfere with tests for blood sugar. Among the other commonly touted natural remedies known to alter the way conventional medicines work are black pepper, schisandra fruit, goldenseal root, green tea and guarana. Former director of medicine at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Professor John Dwyer advised people to not take natural remedies for colds and flu. 'There have been studies done on everything, and there is no consistent evidence that any of it makes a difference. There is no consistent evidence that anything works. And there is always a risk,' Professor Dwyer said. A Pharmacy Guild of Australia spokesperson said pharmacists have a duty of care to be aware of clinical evidence that supports claims made about products they sell. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Professor Moses and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia for comment. Britain should follow Donald Trumps advice and go for a No Deal departure from the European Union, leading Brexiteers said last night. In an interview before he flew to Britain, the US President said the UK should quit the EU without an agreement if Brussels refused to meet its demands. He said Britain had to get the deal closed and leave, and even suggested leaving without paying the 39billion divorce bill. If they dont get what they want, I would walk away, he told the Sunday Times. If I were them I wouldnt pay $50billion. President Donald Trump photographed speaking to the press as he departed the White House for his trip to London Tory leadership contender Esther McVey said: The US President is right about the need for us to be serious about walking away from the EU without a deal. The fact that the US President is so keen to do a trade deal with us shows we have a more prosperous future outside of the EU. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said: President Trump is correct. I told this to Theresa May back in December 2017 you cant accept the backstop, you have to walk. But she said no. Priti Patel, the former International Development Secretary, said: We should join forces with our strongest ally to secure our future outside of the EU that means leaving the EU on our terms whether the EU likes it or not. Brexit harliner Esther McVey (left) said Mr Trump was 'right' but former International Development Secretary Rory Stewart (right), tweeted: 'That's an no' And Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: Donald Trump sees the strength of the UKs position more clearly than some faint-hearted Britons. He knows how to win negotiations. But Tory leadership contender Rory Stewart rejected Mr Trumps advice. Above a news story about his No Deal comments, the International Development Secretary tweeted: Thats a no. In his interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Trump also said it was a mistake not to involve Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in negotiations, saying he has a lot to offer and is someone he likes a lot. In a separate interview, Mr Trump told the Sun he believed Theresa May messed up the Brexit deal by being too soft. He said: I think that the UK allowed the European Union to have all the cards. Surfers have been warned to stay away from beaches, with monster waves set to batter parts of the Australian east coast. Gale force winds are expected to lash New South Wales beaches with 1,000 kilometres of the coast to be impacted on Tuesday. Wild surf condition with waves up to six metres high are expected to batter the region. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a surf warning from the Byron Coast in northern NSW all the way down to Eden Coast in the state's south. Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast are all expected to be battered by the monstrous waves. 'The swell outside of Sydney will be increasing throughout the day and expecting a maximum of four to six metres coming from the south,' meteorologist Ellie Blandford told Daily Mail Australia. Places like Narrabeen Beach, on Sydney's northern beaches, are expected to see a swell slightly lower than the damaging waves that struck in 2016, which damaged several waterfront homes. Places like Narrabeen, in Sydney's north shore, are expected to see waves slightly lower than the damaging waves in 2016, which destroyed numerous waterfront properties (pictured, waterfront properties at Collaroy, in Sydney's north shore following the 2016 storm) Gale force winds are expected to lash NSW beaches bringing wild surf conditions with waves reaching as high as six metres on Tuesday (pictured, a graphic depiction of wind gusts expected to batter the NSW coast on Tuesday. The pink represents winds reaching up to speeds of more than 70km/h) Back then, an eight-metre swell eroded 50 metres of the coastline and left a trail of destruction in a matter of days. Properties along the coast were either partly destroyed, or their foundations left teetering on the edge of the banks, only metres away from destruction. University of Sydney School of Geosciences professor Andrew Short reassured residents in the area a repeat event was unlikely to happen tomorrow. 'The area will still get a big surf, but it won't be on the same scale as 2016. The erosion back then was justified by the fact the wind was coming from an unusual direction.' Professor Short pointed out the wind would be coming from the south, rather than from a north-easterly direction as it did in 2016. 'The south reef normally protects the area when the wind comes from that direction. In 2016, the wind was coming from the north-east and there was no reef to protect it. The area was exposed.' He noted that the combination of strong winds, a king tide and low pressure system had worked together for several days to cause the extent of damage. Unlike then, the gale force winds forecast for tomorrow are only expected to last a day. He also said a 'wave drought' over the past six months meant the beach had time to recover. 'The beaches at the moment are quite wide and the more exposed parts will erode. But beaches are only expected to be cut back by only 10 or 20 metres.' Surf Life Saving New South Wales added any sand movement was part of the natural cycle as the beaches regenerated. 'The sand will move with the waves and wind,' a spokesperson said. An eight metre swell had eroded 50 metres of the coastline and left a trail of destruction in a matter of days (pictured, aftermath at Collaroy in 2016) Properties along the coast were either partly destroyed, or their foundations left teetering on the edge of the banks, only metres away from destruction (pictured, aftermath at Collaroy in 2016) 'It will look like erosion, but it will just be the rotation of sand, which is part of cycle of sand nourishment.' Even so, Surf Life Saving New South Wales has urged swimmers and surfers to stay away from the coastline over the next couple of days. 'Tuesday winds and swell will be extremely hazardous and we advise that nobody goes to the beach along the entire NSW coast,' a spokesperson said. The surf warning comes as a low-pressure system continues to make its way north from Victoria, bringing heavy rainfall and wild weather with it. As much as 80mm of rain is predicted to fall on Monday as wild winds whip up to 70km/h, with peak gusts of 100km/h in the east. SES crews are on stand-by across the state, particularly in alpine regions, as the combination of wind and snowfall is likely to lead to blizzard conditions later on Monday. The SES warns those driving in alpine areas to be aware of the conditions and make sure they are carrying tyre chains. Though University of Sydney School of Geosciences professor Andrew Short reassured residents in the area a repeat event was unlikely to happen tomorrow (pictured, aftermath of storm at Collaroy in 2016) Surf Life Saving New South Wales added any sand movement was part of the natural cycle as the beaches regenerated (stock image) Up in Sydney, forecasters have warned of 90km/h winds with the worst of the gales to be felt in Sydney and Wollongong (stock image) In the Bellarine area, in the state's south, 50mm of rain has already fallen at Spargo Creek, 49mm at Ballan, 43mm at Trentham and 42mm at Anakie. The SES was called to 91 jobs overnight - mainly for leaking roofs and fallen trees. The busiest areas included Geelong, Torquay and Hepburn Springs. Up in Sydney, forecasters have warned of 90km/h winds with the worst of the gales to be felt in Sydney and Wollongong later today. The NSW capital is forecast to reach a maximum of 19C before the city is predicted to be hit with up to 50mm of rain, winds of up to 55km/h and a cool top of 17C on Tuesday. A combination of gale-force winds and snowfalls may lead to blizzard conditions across alpine areas from Monday evening into Tuesday morning, bringing winds of 120km/h. Sunshine will be scarce in Brisbane this week too, with showers expected to lash the city. The city has already seen the coldest start to winter it has seen since 2006, recording a chilly 7C on Saturday. And it looks set to continue to shiver throughout the week until Wednesday when the mercury should begin to rise to 21C. Temperatures will drop in Canberra this week with a cool 2C expected on Monday. There is a slight chance of showers in Hobart on Monday, but unlike other parts of the country, the city looks like it is in for a mostly sunny week. Perth will have a good start to the week with plenty of sunshine on Monday and Tuesday - but conditions look set to take a turn on Wednesday. The surf warning comes as a low-pressure system continues to make its way north from Victoria, bringing heavy rainfall and wild weather with it (stock image) As much as 80 millimetres of rain is predicted to fall on Monday as wild winds whip up to 70km/h, with peak gusts of 100km/h in the east (stock image) The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! Send information, pictures or videos, you remain 100% anonymous. Envia fotos, videos, notas, enlaces o informacion todo 100% Anonimo. Borderland Beat? We love to have you in our team, send Sol Prendido or HEARST an email! Want to be a contributor or citizen reporter forBorderland Beat?We love to have you in our team, sendoran email! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. A millionaire mining tycoon has been awarded around $250,000 after falling over in Woolworths. Stanley MacDonald, 77, sued for $37.5million after he slipped on a wet floor in Perth's Floreat Forum shopping centre in 2012. He damaged two spinal discs, injured his knee and bruised his calf. A millionaire mining tycoon has been awarded around $250,000 after falling over in Woolworths (stock image) Mr MacDonald, who made $100million from the $1billion sale of his mining company to Gina Rinehart in 2011, argued his injuries caused him economic loss. He said his pain impacted his quality of life and impeded his work duties, reported WA Today. Mr MacDonald's lawyers compiled 34 lever arch files of evidence, including records of his 'wheelings and dealings' in mining, to prove that he was affected by the injury. Under WA law, damages payments are limited to $200,000 - but a judge ruled the maximum could be exceeded and awarded him slightly less than $250,000. The case was protracted because Mr MacDonald was 'unable to sit and converse for long periods' with his lawyers,' the District Court of WA heard last month. This was due to his injures and also a spate of other medical difficulties. According to court documents, Mr MacDonald needed 15 operations since the start of the case. Stanley MacDonald, 77, sued for $37.5million after he slipped on a wet floor in Perth's Floreat Forum in 2012 (stock image) He was treated for depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, osteoporosis, kidney pain and irritable bowel syndrome. Mr MacDonald's lawyer described him as 'one of the most highly successful entrepreneurs in the Western Australian resource market.' The businessman was director of Giralia Resources for 20 years before it was sold to Gina Rinehart's Atlas Iron. He is an independent non-executive director of Zenith Minerals. A Woolworths spokesman said: 'The safety of our customers and team members is incredibly important to us. 'We continue to work hard on improving our processes and team training to create the safest possible environment in our stores.' An Australian man says he watched people go flying after an out-of-control cruise ship rammed a wharf and another ferry in the Italian city of Venice. Robert Lauretti was enjoying breakfast with friends on the balcony of the MSC Opera when the towering ship smashed into the dock while it tried to berth on the Giudecca Canal on Sunday. Four tourists, including an Australian woman, suffered minor injuries. It's unclear where they were located or what injuries they suffered. Video footage captured the moment when people on the dock realised the hulking vessel was not going to stop and ran away. Tourist boat The River Countess was left badly damaged after the MSC Opera cruise liner smashed into it on Sunday morning Australian Robert Lauretti (right) was on board the cruise liner when it crashed. He said people were running everywhere, including one woman who flipped as the ship made contact with the pier and a man who is thought to have dived off the tourist boat into the ship Mr Lauretti has told of watching a woman and a man go flying, but did not make clear if they were on his ship, the ferry or the dock. 'There were people running everywhere, in every direction,' told the Today Show from his ship apartment. (The vessel is still undergoing repairs in Venice). 'The one we noticed the most, it looked like a lady... she was the last one to run down the stairs ... as the ship actually hit, she flipped. 'I'm sure we saw a man flip into the water as the boat went past.' Other footage taken from the scene shows the ship apparently unable to halt its momentum; blaring its horns and ploughing into the much smaller ferry as dozens of terrified spectators fled the chaotic scene. Italian media have reported 110 passengers were on board the river boat. In another video, terrified passengers can be heard shouting 'hold on' as the luxury cruise boat crashes into the river boat and then the pier. Emergency teams rushed to the scene after the large cruise boat collides with a tourist river boat near the pier on Sunday But on the cruise ship itself, the collision was barely felt. 'My friends were on the balcony with us. They were saying brace, brace,' Mr Lauretti said. 'We were bracing quite hard but oddly enough we could hardly feel the actual impact.' Mr Lauretti said he'd decided to venture out onto his balcony to watch the ship berth. 'The closer it got the more we started to freak out, regarding the fact that it wasn't turning. 'There was not much we could do. We had the best seat in the house for it, I can tell you that.' Pictured: The damaged harbor quay after the MSC Opera cruise ship collided with a tourist boat in Venice in the early hours of Sunday Pictured: The damaged harbor quay after the luxury cruise boat collided with the pier and a small tourist boat in Venice on Sunday He said it was very lucky that the cruise ship went between the dock and the smaller vessel, with the only visual damage to the cruise ship being some scrapes along its side. But Mr Lauretti said he'd been told one of the ship's anchors has also been torn off during frantic efforts to stop the 2679-passenger vessel. The cruise ship's owner, MSC Cruises, has said the ship suffered a mechanical problem, and there are reports a steel cable connected to a tugboat snapped. Mr Lauretti had only been on the ship for about 24 hours when the accident happened but says he'll stay on board. 'I hope the next port will be just slightly less of a bang getting in.' Primary school-aged children have started meditating at school in a bid to help combat stress. Teachers at Brighton State School in Brisbane have started teaching their students meditation every day. The 10-minute meditation sessions have been introduced as the Queensland Education Department said about one in seven young people, aged between four and 17, experience some form of mental health issue every year. Primary school teachers at Brighton State School in Brighton, a coastal suburb of Brisbane, have started teaching their students meditation every day (File picture) Students at the Brisbane school have spoken about the benefits they've gained from meditating including how to handle stress (Students at Brighton State school pictured) Brighton State School teacher Sarah Mailey said meditation should be added to the list of compulsory subjects as it's important for children to learn how to 'cope with life'. 'There are certain different social skills and self-regulation skills that are already in our curriculum, but it's only a very small part I feel like it needs to be something that's touched on every single day,' Ms Mailey told ABC News. Ms Mailey and her colleague, who are currently working on a mindfulness strategy for the entire school, practice meditation with their students on a daily basis. The youngsters gather on the classroom carpet and listen to calming music and a guided meditation track. 'Some teachers will say, "Who has the time", but Kath (Ms Mailey's colleague) and I always say, "Who doesn't have the time?"' Ms Mailey said. 'Those are the social skills that really need to be explicitly taught rather than just incidental.' A growing number of teachers across the country have followed suit and are teaching meditation. The move comes as there's an increasing worry there is a possible anxiety epidemic among schoolchildren. The youngsters gather on the classroom carpet and listen to calming music and a guided meditation track on a daily basis (Students at Brighton State school pictured) The pressures to achieve academically as well as the added stress of social media are having a negative effect on children, proponents of the meditation program believe. Meditation in schools has also received support from the Federal Government. In the 2019 Federal Budget, Prime Minister Scott Morrison pledged $2.5million to go towards Smiling Mind, a school-based meditation program. The pledge was part of the government's mental health and suicide prevention plan. Addie Wooten, who runs Smiling Mind, said the program was important as more than 50 per cent of mental health conditions begin before a child reaches 12 years old. She said mental illness among children was increasing and it was important for teachers to look into new ways of supporting the youngsters. Australia's only full-time professional knight has defended his title as world champion jouster. 'Sir' Phillip Leitch, 44, of Kryal Castle near Ballarat, Victoria, defeated knights from France, Russia, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada over the weekend to take out the title. In the grand final on Sunday he defeated Russia's Sir Andrei Kamin by just one point. Mr Leitch told the ABC he has been competing in the jousting circuit for more than a decade. 'I like what it feels like being in armour as a knight, looking through a visor at these fantastic knights coming towards me with their lances and it's just these little snapshots of time just before the impact that will be there forever,' he said. Scroll down for video 'Sir' Phillip Leitch (pictured) of Kryal Castle, near Ballarat, defeated knights from France, Russia, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada over the weekend to take out the title Jousting wasn't the only activity on the agenda - other attractions such as a medieval catapult, archery and a children's knight school 'Valiant is my horse, he's 13 years old now and he's been with me since he was one year old.' Mr Leitch's armour based on a 15th century English harness was made by professional armourer Luke Binks. Mr Leitch, an ex-special forces soldier, who has experience in martial arts and historical sword fighting, said his gear cost $25,000 and weighs 36 kilograms. The 'brutal' event sees competitors ride towards each other at a combined speed of 40km per hour with lances made of 3.6 metres of solid pine tipped with a 3-pronged steel spear tip. The event, described as a family-friendly weekend, allows those in attendance to experience an old-fashioned village and castle. There are shops which sell items such as robes, jewellery and leather products. The 'brutal' event sees competitors ride towards each other at a combined speed of 40km per hour with lances made of 3.6 metres of solid pine tipped with a 3-pronged steel spear tip In the grand final on Sunday he defeated Russia's Sir Andrei Kamin by just one point. Pictured: Mr Leitch (right) while fans (left) showed their support The event, which is self-described as a family-friendly weekend, looks like it has transported through time with a village and castle Other attractions such as a medieval catapult, archery and a children's knight school. He said he didn't put pressure on himself to reclaim his title as champion as the sport is dangerous and he needed to just have confidence in himself. Mr Leitch told Country Legend magazine in 2016 he had an interest in medieval history. Mr Leith's armour is based on a 15th century English harness was made by professional armourer Luke Binks The armour of the ex-special forces soldier, who has experience in martial arts and historical sword fighting, cost $25,000 and it weighs 36 kilograms 'I've been interested in medieval things since I was a kid the stories of Robin Hood, St George and the dragon and King Arthur were my favourites and in grade 3, I made armour out of cardboard,' he said. 'Mum always had horses so taught me to ride, but it wasn't until later in life when I had done martial arts and weapons that I started looking at European martial arts weapons that knights used, and fighting in armour. 'Then I got the horse, the armour, got back into riding and had a go at combining them all.' Homosexuality in nature appears counter-intuitive but is observed in a range of species around the world. There has yet to be an accepted explanation based on neurological, chemical or behavioural factors to explain why some animals are homosexual and some or heterosexual. Some scientists say it may be due to exposure to testosterone levels in the womb, although this remains a hotly debated topic which has yet to be proved. In a book titled: 'Homosexual Behaviour in Animals: An Evolutionary Perspective', the author, UCL professor Dr Volker Sommer, writes: 'Within a select number of species, homosexual activity is widespread and occurs at levels that approach or sometimes even surpass heterosexual activity.' Homosexual behaviour has been observed in many animals, including: macaques, dwarf chimpanzees, dolphins, orcas and humans. Some studies claim homosexuality may be a common as being found in up to 95 per cent of all animal species. There are two principle schools of thought when it comes to the prevalence of homosexuality in nature. One theory states that homosexuality in animals doesn't need an explanation, with animals being homosexual just as naturally as they are heterosexual. It appears irrational for it to survive as a trait as it hinders the ability to procreate directly, but many speculate it allows individuals to ensure their genetic material is passed down the generations indirectly as they are able to look after members of their family with offspring. For example, helping nurture the offspring of a sister. Similar behaviour dedicated to the 'greater good' of a large group have been seen in various species. For example, in familial wolf packs only one pair of animals breeds - the alpha and the beta. The other animals ensure the protection, feeding and nurturing of the litter. This allows their genetic material to pass indirectly to the next generation through their sister, brother, mother etc or whatever the relationship may be. The same school of though applies to animals which have exceeded their reproductive age. For example, female elephants which are now too old to have offspring. They still play a crucial role in the protection of the young a the matriarch leads the group to spots of food, water and chases of would-be predators. These actions ensure the survival of the young and vulnerable members of her family, again helping ensure her genetic material is passed down through the generations indirectly. A similar concept can be applied to homosexuality, some experts claim. Without the ability to reproduce directly, they are able to expend energy looking after the offspring of their family members. Another theory states that homosexual behaviours aid in the successful passing on of genes in the long-term as young animals 'practice' mating techniques and ways of attracting a member of the opposite sex. Rates of homosexuality in different species continues to be unknown, as ongoing research finds more nuances to homosexuality in nature. It continues to be found in more species but the level of homosexuality in individual species is not well enough studied to be able to determine if homosexuality is becoming increasingly common. Kayleigh Woods, 23, had only been at HMP Eastwood Park, Gloucs for a matter of weeks before prison officials found the two convicts in a 'state of undress' A transgender killer who asked to be moved to an all-female jail has been caught romping with another female. Kayleigh Woods, 23, had only been at HMP Eastwood Park, Gloucs for a matter of weeks before prison officials found the two convicts in a 'state of undress'. She had been serving a 26-year sentencing for the horrific murder of her flatmate at men-only HMP Hewell, near Redditch, Worcs. Woods, formerly Kyle Lockwood, had requested the transfer to Eastwood Park shortly after arriving in 2017. She did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate, but the Transgender Case Board decided her lack of sex offences meant she posed little risk to female inmates. But it wasn't long before Woods had begun a secret affair with another convict. Prison staff suspicious of her found the pair together, and had her case reported back to the TCB. 'Prison officers found one of the pair in a state of undress. A toilet seat had also been broken. It was pretty clear what they'd been up to,' a source told the Sun. It is claimed the prison's governor 'went up the wall' when told about the incident. She had been serving a 26-year sentencing for the horrific murder of her flatmate at the men-only HMP Hewell, near Redditch, Worcs when she made the request to be moved to a women-only facility She has since been moved to HMP Gartree, Leics, but it is not known whether she will remain there. In 2016, Woods and then-boyfriend Jack Williams, 21, tied up flatmate Bethany Hill by her wrists before slashing her throat. She was found 'drenched' in blood with stab wounds to her neck. It was revealed that they practised the sadistic torture on a Barbie doll before murdering Ms Hill in Stratford-upon-Avon, West Midlands. Last year it emerged that another trans convict, Karen White, 52, had duped prison officials in order to target females at New Hall women's jail in West Yorks. Jailed: Kayleigh Louise Woods, 23, and Jack Williams, 21, were today convicted of her murder at Warwick Crown Court after killing Bethany Hill Twisted: After the sentencing, police released a picture of a naked Barbie doll which the couple had gagged and bound with tape, and coloured its hair to resemble Miss Hill's (right) White had not undertake gender reassignment and within weeks had molested her first inmate. Figures show that less than 0.2 per cent of the prison population identifies as transgender and there are thought to be around 125 transgender prisoners in England and Wales. Of these, 60 are sex offenders including 27 rapists, the Sun reported. The first transgender prison unit opened in March this year at Downview womens jail in Sutton, Surrey, with just three female inmates. They all have gender recognition certificates but are denied access to other inmates. A Prison Service spokeswoman said last night: 'The safety of all our prisoners is an absolute priority. While we work to manage all prisoners, including those who are transgender, sensitively and in line with the law, we can and will take action where their behaviour provides cause for concern.' There are about 125 transgender prisoners in England and Wales, of which 60 are sex offenders. Four missing British climbers huddled for a photograph to capture the start of their 25,000ft ascent up the Himalayan mountains - on which they would vanish days later. A picture has emerged of the two eight-strong mountaineering teams posing in front of the camera in the early stages of their expedition up Nanda Devi, India's second highest peak. On May 13, the group bunched together and smiled as they prepared to embark on the mammoth challenge, unaware that in 18 days time one of the teams would drop off the map following a devastating avalanche. This eight-man team includes UK nationals Martin Moran - the lead mountaineer - John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne. Four missing British climbers huddled for a photograph to capture the start of their 25,000ft ascent up the Himalayan mountains - on which they would vanish days later. Pictured: Rupert Whewell (back row, second from left), Martin Moran (back row, sixth from left), Richard Payne (back row, fourth from right) and John McLaren (back row, third from right) Martin Moran (right), who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight that included Rupert Whewell (left) who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed summit in a remote area Americans Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel, Australian Ruth McCance and Indian guide Chetan Pandey are also missing. Two helicopters were scrambled to search for the climbers after they vanished on Friday. But bad weather tonight has reportedly seen the hunt temporarily stood down. Although two groups merged for the picture, they split back off into two separate teams for the ascent. The second team reportedly ventured on to another peak. Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed summit in a remote area. While his family said it was 'not entirely clear' what had happened to the group - which included another three British climbers - they said there was 'clear evidence that a sizeable avalanche had occurred on the mountain'. Britons Richard Payne - a York University lecturer - and John McLaren (right) are among the eight missing following an avalanche Mr Moran has been a mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company Moran Mountain, which is based in Strathcarron in the Highlands, together with his wife Joy - with the couple's grown up children Hazel and Alex both also working with the family business. Searches have been taking place in a bid to find the missing climbers after the alarm was raised on Friday morning. In a statement, the Moran family said: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas. British mountaineer and group leader Martin Moran (left) has been reported missing after his team didn't return to base camp on Friday at Nanda Devi, India's second highest mountain. (Pictured) Friend of 20 years Nigel Vardy who said Mr Moran is an 'experienced climber' A Facebook post from their second base camp, at 16,000 feet, said the group were going to try to scale a previously unclimbed peak 'As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being of those closest to us.' Academic Richard Payne from the University of York is believed to be among the group of missing climbers. The university said it was 'extremely concerned for his safety', adding: 'Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.' Ruth McCance, from Sydney, and seven other climbers failed to return to base camp at Nanda Devi, the second highest mountain in India The group, which is led by experienced UK-based climber Martin Moran, last shared updates to social media on May 22. 'The Nanda Devi team has reached their second base camp at 4870m, their home for the next week,' the update said 'We do know that a British mountain guide who was in the area leading a trekking group, as part of the same expedition, was informed that the climbing group had not returned to base camp as expected. 'He immediately went on the mountain to search for the missing climbers. 'There was clear evidence that a sizeable avalanche had occurred on the mountain and it seemed to be on or very near the route that would be taken by the climbing group. 'The mountain guide gave instructions to base camp to alert rescue authorities. The alarm was raised early on Friday morning, May 31.' Ms McCance's group includes three men from the UK, two American men and an Indian guide The Morans said they were 'grateful to the Indian Mountaineering Foundation who are coordinating search and rescue efforts on the ground and in the air under extremely difficult conditions in a very remote area of the Himalayas'. They added: 'Today we have been informed by the Indian Mountaineering Federation that an air search by helicopter has revealed the scale of the avalanche but no sign of the climbers, their equipment nor their tents. 'We are pressing for the search area to be widened and continued until such time as firm evidence is found to ascertain the well-being or otherwise of all those in the climbing group.' A spokesperson from The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they are in communication with the family of an Australian As well as four Britons, the group is thought to include two American climbers, one Australian and one person from India. Indian authorities also confirmed they had airlifted four other climbers off the mountain today. They opted not to leave base camp with the group of eight who are still missing. Climber Nigel Vardy, who has known Mr Moran for 20 years, described him as 'an absolute professional and genuinely a really, really nice guy'. He said: 'Martin is a fantastic guy but if the weather and the conditions are not with you, then no matter how skilled you are the mountain is going to have its way.' At Mount Everest, where queuing chaos has been blamed for fatalities, 11 climbers lost their lives 13 days. Pictured: Climbers queue to stand on the summit of Everest on May 22 Mark Charlton, president of the British Association of Mountain Guides (BMG), said in a post on the organisation's Facebook page that Mr Moran had been leading six clients and an Indian national. 'The BMG is assisting where possible and is in contact with the Indian authorities,' he said. 'At the moment this is all the information we have as communication is very difficult.' A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: 'We are in contact with the Indian authorities following reports that a number of British nationals are missing in the Indian Himalayas. 'We will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help.' A Liberal Party frontbencher has been mocked by Labor after a Twitter fumble where he accidentally 'cut and pasted' a staffer's suggestion into his social media post. Greg Hunt, the minister for health, took to Twitter at the weekend to congratulate Chris Bowen on his new role as Opposition health spokesman. But Mr Hunt accidentally left two telling words at the beginning of his post, which read: 'What about ... Congratulations to Chris Bowen as Labor Health Spokesperson - however he's the man who forgot to allocate any funding for a hospital's agreement despite pledging to do so for 6 years - big promises - zero dollars when it counted.' The rogue words were quickly deleted and replaced - but not before Mr Bowen saw it and posted a cutting response. 'What about,' Mr Hunt's tweet read before continuing to congratulate Chris Bowen for his new portfolio Liberal Party Minister Greg Hunt (pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison) was caught in an embarrassing blunder by 'cutting and pasting' a staff member's suggestion 'Thanks for the congrats Greg. But a little hint: it's best to delete the "what about" before cutting and pasting a tweet suggested by your staff,' Mr Bowen wrote. Several people took to social media to mock Mr Hunt over the fumble, which some described as a 'back-handed congratulations'. 'Managed to stuff up even his backhanded congrats,' one Twitter user wrote. 'How goods Twitter? How goods Greg? How good is incompetence??' another person said. The social media gaffe comes after Liberal Party MP Angus Taylor was caught congratulating himself from his own account on Facebook last month. Mr Hunt's original post was quickly deleted and replaced without the suggestion, but not before Mr Bowen saw and posted a response Minister for Health Greg Hunt took to Twitter to congratulate Chris Bowen (right) on his new portfolio as Labor health spokesman. He was previously the party's treasury spokesman Last month Mr Taylor posted a video announcing 1000 extra car parks for rail commuters in Hume and there was a flurry of positive comments. Among the excited posts was one from Mr Taylor's official account, which said: 'Fantastic. Great Move. Well done Angus'. Many believe the comment was meant to be posted from a fake Facebook account instead of the official one, in a bid to boost positive engagement. Liberal MP Angus Taylor (pictured) has been left red faced after he was caught congratulating himself on Facebook The post was quickly deleted but not before people on social media caught wind of the gaffe. 'What a great tweet Angus, Sincerely, Angus,' one person joked. 'You know PR isn't going well when you have to congratulate yourself,' another person said. However, others jumped to his defence. 'Who says it's from the wrong account? May have done it on purpose?' one person asked. Daily Mail Australia has contacted to Greg Hunt's office for comment. Older women employees are the least likely to be late for work, according to a survey published yesterday. But men in their twenties and thirties are the ones to watch for bosses worried about staff punctuality, it said. The survey by timekeeping software company Deputy analysed data from company records on the punctuality of hourly-paid workers. Older women employees are the least likely to be late for work, according to a survey published yesterday (stock) It found that 99 per cent of women of the baby boomer generation aged between 55 and 75 started their work shifts on time on every working day between March 2018 and March this year. By contrast, 76 per cent of men in their twenties and thirties were late at least once. The greater punctuality of older workers may help explain the increasing success of those beyond traditional retirement age in holding down jobs. A massive 76 per cent of men in their twenties and thirties were late at least once to work in the past year Overall, 52 per cent of hourly-paid workers were late at least once in the last financial year, the report said. Workers in Scotland were more prone to be late than those elsewhere in the UK, with 69 per cent failing to arrive on time at least once over the 12-month period. Workers in Northern Ireland were the most punctual, with only 59 per cent late at least once. Advertisement Fighting on the beaches: Allied troops stormed Normandy on June 6, 1944 and began the process of liberating mainland Europe from the Nazis Anniversary: A number of events have been planned for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. US President Donald Trump will attend commemorations Extraordinary letters from Lady Lucan have thrown a new light on her torrid family life with her husband before their nanny was found bludgeoned to death and he infamously disappeared. The typed letters were uncovered by builders working on the family guest house in Belgravia that Lady Lucan, who died last year, moved to in 1977. In the letters to her solicitor, Lady Lucan documents her bitter battle with her husband over the custody of their three children, and complains about being 'portrayed as a b****' in a negative profile in an American magazine. Lady Lucan in 2017 (left) and with Lord Lucan before they married on November 20 1974 The typed letters were uncovered by builders working on the family guest house in Belgravia that Lady Lucan, who died last year, moved to in 1977. In this one she writes to her lawyers to instruct them to sue US magazine The New Review for libel over a 'defamatory' article In one exchange, she writes that the legal proceedings are 'bringing out the worst in my husband' who she said has been driven 'paranoid' with envy, according to The Times. In 1973, 11 years after they wed, John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, beat their children's nanny to death before attacking his wife and disappearing in one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 20th Century. But the couple's relationship had soured years before and at the time of his flight they were arguing over the future of their three children. The letters shedding new light on the row were found at the 3,250,000 house in Eaton Row, west London, which is being sold by Knight Frank after 1million worth of renovations. 3/4 - She complains about several 'defamatory and inaccurate' accusations in The New Review article 5/6 - Lady Lucan continues listing the points in the article that she disagrees with, presenting them under a series of numbers In one exchange, she writes that the legal proceedings are 'bringing out the worst in my husband' who she said has been driven 'paranoid' with envy, according to The Times. In 1973, 11 years after they wed, John Bingham, the seventh Earl of Lucan, beat their children's nanny to death before attacking his wife and disappearing in one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of the 20th Century. But the couple's relationship had soured years before and at the time of his flight they were arguing over the future of their three children. The letters shedding new light on the row were found at the 3,250,000 house in Eaton Row, west London, which is being sold by Knight Frank after 1million worth of renovations. 7/8 - 'The scurrilous rumours repeated here are all untrue - they are again highly damaging and defamatory', Lady Lucan writes 9/10 - Lady Lucan described herself as a 'perfectly normal person whose marriage went wrong mainly due to financial problems' 'I am shunned by my previous acquaintances': Extracts from Lady Lucan's letter On an article in US magazine The New Review that she claimed made her out to be a 'b****' and a 'neurotic woman' - 'I submit that I am a perfectly normal person whose marriage went wrong mainly because of financial problems,' she wrote. 'The custody proceedings over my children brought out the worst in my husband and I believe he was encouraged to pursue the course he did in those proceedings by others to such an extent that he became paranoid.' On the breakdown of her marriage - 'It is true I had been to see several doctors prior to the breakdown of the marriage mainly at my husband's instigation. 'I was concerned at the financial instability surrounding our family and because of my concern, my husband obviously considered that I was putting too much emphasis on this aspect of my life. 'He wrongly assumed I was suffering from a medical problem, but if I was suffering from anything at all it was the normal fears which any mother would feel if she could see no security for her children.' On the isolation she felt after Lord Lucan fled - 'I am shunned by my previous acquaintances. 'I feel wary of approaching my old school for fear of the reaction of the headmistress and I feel quite unable to re-enter society.' Advertisement Lady Lucan's longest letter is a furious instruction to sue the New Review magazine for libel for a piece where they portrayed her as a 'b****' whose 'neurotic' behaviour had taken a toll on her husband. In a 10-page rebuke, she wrote: 'I submit that I am a perfectly normal person whose marriage went wrong mainly because of financial problems.' The documents were stumbled upon by builders who were working on a house in Eaton Row, west London, which is being sold by Knight Frank after 1million worth of renovations. Lady Lucan also revealed her anger after her husband tried to paint her as a debt-laden lunatic to win custody of their children George, Camilla and Frances. The letter read: 'He wrongly assumed I was suffering from a medical problem, but if I was suffering from anything at all it was the normal fears which any mother would feel if she could see no security for her children.' Lord and Lady Lucan pictured on November 28 1963 following their marriage In this letter, Lady Lucan's solicitor replies to her instruction to sue the publishers of The New Review Here, the solicitor asks Lady Lucan to examine the proposed letter he is about to send to The New Review This document also discusses the article, which Lady Lucan considered highly defamatory Here a literary agent tells Lady Lucan's solicitor that he found the first draft of her memoirs to be 'commendable' Notes about Lady Lucan's legal case against The New Review, including several games of noughts and crosses at the bottom The aristocrat - born Veronica Dunn and who died last year - also wrote about how her life spiralled into isolation as she was palmed off by her former friends after she split from Lord Lucan. Other letters in the collection include ones written to Lady Lucan by a journalist from The News Of The World and another from her lawyers. The owner of the house, who is selling it, has not decided what to do with the letters. Advertisement Donald Trump is about to land in London for his long-awaited state visit, having weighed in on Brexit, his security concerns over Huawei, and taking time to hit back at London Mayor Sadiq Khan for calling him a 21st century fascist. The President is in the UK for three days where the Queen will throw a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in his honour tonight after he meets Prince Charles for tea. And Mr Trump is wasting no time in spelling out his views on the special relationship, backing a No Deal Brexit while praising Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage. But his visit will be met by large protests and London Mayor Sadiq Khan has already started a feud with the President by calling him a '21st century fascist'. The President hit back as he left the US last night, calling Mr Khan 'the twin of [New York Mayor Bill] de Blasio except shorter'. Mr Trump departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC aboard Air Force One last night and will land at Stansted at 9am before heading to the US Ambassador's residence in Regent's Park - Winfield House - his base for the next three days. The US President and First Lady Melania will first head to Buckingham Palace for lunch with the Queen - and will return this evening for the state banquet, which is being boycotted by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In between they will visit Westminster Abbey and also go for tea with Prince Charles at Clarence House. The Duke of Sussex will also attend a private lunch at the palace - although his wife Meghan Markle, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. On the streets of London hundreds of thousands of anti-Trump protesters have promised to bring the capital to a halt and will fly controversial blimps depicting him as a baby and a robot on a gold toilet. 20,000 police officers are being deployed to dozens of sites and central London is on lockdown in the largest security operation seen in the UK for years - costing the taxpayer 18million. Mr Trump's has hundreds of his own aides, secret service agents and a plethora of helicopters and military aircraft in the UK to protect him on the trip, also being attended by his children Donald Jr, Eric, Ivanka and Tiffany - but 13-year-old Barron is staying at home. The First Lady showed off a $4,400 Gucci shirt dress inspired by the UK capital as she boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Sunday. Printed in bright pinks, greens and oranges are beloved London landmarks including Big Ben, Tower Bridge, double-decker buses and the Houses of Parliament. Scroll down for video Trump and first lady Melania waved as they boarded Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Sunday night; the president is going to London, France and Ireland The Marine One helicopter used by the President to fly between visits is already in the UK and was waiting on the Tarmac at Stansted waiting for the US' commander-in-chief On the ground Britain's elite anti-terror units were stalking Stansted as part of Britain's 18million security operation Snipers and specialist police spotters stand on the rood of the airport preparing to protect Mr Trump on his three-day state visit Trump told DailyMail.com as he left the White House that he doesn't like Mayor Khan: 'He's the twin of [Bill] de Blasio except shorter' The first lady is seen above walking out of the White House to meet her husband on the South Lawn of the White House before their departure to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland The first lady wore a Gucci dress designed as a tribute to the United Kingdom, with images of Big Ben and the British Parliament A detailed plan of what Mr Trump will do during his state visit to the UK. He is expected to meet the Queen, Theresa May, and attend a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace The President's packed timetable for the first day of his London trip 9am: Air Force One lands at Stansted Airport. 9.40am: Mr Trump and Melania will be flown by helicopter to US Ambassador's residence in Regent's Park: Winfield House. Midday: The President and First Lady will take off for Buckingham Palace where the Queen will meet them, show them around and then host them for lunch. Prince Harry will also be there - but his wife Meghan is at home caring for baby Archie. 3pm: The couple will then fly to Westminster Abbey where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior - and have a tour of the historic church. 4pm: Prince Charles will then host them at Clarence House for a 15-minute meeting before heading back to Winfield House. 7.30pm: President Trump and his family will fly back to Buckingham Palace for the state banquet with the event last until around 11pm. Advertisement As he took off he mocked the height of Sadiq Khan as he took off for London from Washington last night after the city's mayor called him 'a 20th century fascist'. 'I don't think much of him. He's the twin of de Blasio except shorter,' he told DailyMail.com on the South Lawn of the White House, in response to a question about whether he would be willing to meet with Khan during his UK State Visit. Like Khan, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has a hate-hate relationship with the president. De Blasio, a towering hulk of a newly minted presidential candidate, stands at 6'5'. Khan is reportedly 5'6' tall. Trump strode to Marine One for his departure on Sunday night, ignoring a follow-up question about whether he would be willing to meet with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Mr Trump's arrival will coincide with mass protests in central London against the visit on Tuesday, with the 'Trump baby' blimp made for his visit last year due to put in an appearance. Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said that Mr Trump's welcome from protesters is disrespectful and pathetic - especially as he is here to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. He said: Theres something a bit warped about our values is Trump really worse than Putin and King Salman? The Americans fought and died alongside us on D Day. President Trump appeared Sunday at a Virginia church with slicked back hair after a game of golf - sending social media into a frenzy over whether he is trying a new hairstyle The Trumps make their way toward Marine One, which will airlift them to Joint Base Andrews. From there, they boarded Air Force One to take them across the Atlantic to London The president gives a thumbs up to reporters at Joint Base Andrews just before boarding Air Force One It will likely be an eventful trip to the British capital for the Trumps, particularly after the president's comments about the Duchess of Sussex and his affinity for Boris Johnson 6'3' Donald Trump's departure for London (left) became a measuring contest on Sunday as he said the principal difference between 5'6' Sadiq Khan (center) and 6'5' Bill de Blasio (right) is their height The protesters are planning to fly an offensive 20ft blimp depicting the President as an angry baby. A 16ft talking robot of Mr Trump sitting on a gold toilet is also expected to make an appearance. It depicts the American leader with his trousers round his ankles while tweeting. Mr Trump has praised Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, talked up the prospect of a Brexit trade deal and denied making 'bad' comments about the Duchess of Sussex as he set off for Britain. The US president said he expected his three-day state visit to be 'very important' and 'very interesting' as he left the White House on Sunday evening. Speaking to reporters over the din of his waiting Marine One helicopter, Mr Trump was asked if he planned to meet Mr Johnson during the trip. 'Well, I think I may meet with him. He's been a friend of mine. He's been very nice. I have a very good relationship with him,' the president said of the Tory leadership hopeful. He went on: 'I have a very good relationship with Nigel Farage, with many people over there (in the UK) and we'll see what happens. I may meet with him. They want to meet. We'll see what happens.' Full details of Trump's state visit to Britain have now been revealed, including all the royals he will meet over the three days A 20-foot-tall blimp depicting a cartoon baby Donald Trump flew in London during the president's last visit and is expected to make another appearance this week Protesters will also show off this giant robot of Donald Trump sitting on a gold toilet, which is being shipped to London from China; the 16-foot-high talking robot says well-known phrases like 'stable genius' and 'no collusion' while making fart noises James O'Brien sells Donald Trump toilet paper in London, as part of the protests against Trump's visit to the UK Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, the president will arrive aboard Air Force One on Monday morning having already created a considerable degree of political turbulence with comments on the Tory leadership race, Brexit and the Duchess of Sussex. Ahead of the visit, he called on Britain to leave the European Union without a deal if Brussels refuses to meet its demands and urged the Government to send Mr Farage into the negotiations. The controversy was further exacerbated on Sunday when the US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson, suggested the NHS would be on the table in post-Brexit trade talks. Addressing the prospect of a transatlantic trade deal, Mr Trump said: '(We're) going to the UK. I think it'll be very important. It certainly will be very interesting. There's a lot going on in the UK. And I'm sure it's going to work out very well for them. 'As you know, they want to do trade with the United States, and I think there's an opportunity for a very big trade deal at some point in the near future. And we'll see how that works out.' Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, the president departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC aboard Air Force One at around 8.45pm local time (1.45am BST). The Trumps arrive at Stansted Airport on Monday morning before heading to Buckingham Palace for a reception with the Queen, Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duke of Sussex will also attend a private lunch at the palace - although his wife, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. Mr Trump has already denied calling the Duchess of Sussex 'nasty' when he was recently confronted with comments she made before the 2016 US elections saying she would leave the country if he won. Asked at the White House on Sunday evening if he was willing to apologise to the Royal Family, or to clarify the comments made to The Sun, Mr Trump replied: 'No, I made no bad comment. Thank you.' Mr Trump's arrival in the capital is due to be followed by a protest through central London against the visit on Tuesday, with the 'Trump baby' blimp made for his visit last year due to put in an appearance. On Sunday, Mr Khan described the president as 'just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat' and compared the language he has used to that of the 'fascists of the 20th century'. Asked if he would be willing to meet the London mayor, Mr Trump replied: 'No, I don't think much of him. I think that he's a - he's the twin of (New York City mayor Bill) de Blasio, except shorter.' Mr Trump warned Theresa May not to let Chinese mobile giant Huawei have any role in Britain's 5G network in an interview published hours before arriving in the UK. Mr Trump said: 'We work very closely with your country and so you have to be very careful.' The President will ban Huawei from America's next mobile network and is urging allies to do the same, The Sun reported last night. The US ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, emphasised Mr Trump's message and said giving Huawei access to 5G would mean 'the Chinese are completely in'. He added: 'There's no such thing as the centre, the core or the outlying areas. It's all one big thing. You can't have antennas all over and think that they're not part of it. 'The government can call up and say 'I want this information and I want it now' and the company has to respond.' Trump paid special tribute to wife Melania, who dazzled in a $4995 black Michael Kors chain link gown More than 20,000 police officers will be deployed at 20 separate demonstrations across the country in a security operation expected to cost around 18million. The main protest will be held in central London on Tuesday with organisers claiming a quarter of a million people will march from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square. No comment: Trump walked away without answering a question about whether he would be willing to meet with Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn Scotland Yard has given them permission to protest just yards from Downing Street when US President has lunch with Theresa May at Number 10. The protesters are planning to fly an offensive 20ft blimp depicting the President as an angry baby. The blimp was flown at a demonstration during Mr Trump's previous visit after London's Labour mayor Sadiq Khan licensed its use. A 16ft talking robot of Mr Trump sitting on a gold toilet is also expected to make an appearance. It depicts the American leader with his trousers round his ankles while tweeting. The robot, which has been shipped to the UK from China, emits farting noises and recordings of some of Trump's provocative sound bites including: 'no collusion', 'a witch-hunt', 'you are fake news' and 'I'm a very stable genius'. The biggest protest in British history saw up to two million take to the streets in February 2002 over the impending Iraq War. The Met said officers have met organisers of the main anti-Trump protest and have banned the demonstrators from walking the entire length of Whitehall to allow his motorcade to enter Downing Street without hassle. A spokesman said: 'A very experienced command team is preparing the multi-faceted policing and security operation for the president's visit and whilst the Met has a responsibility to ensure the right to lawful protest this needs to be balanced with the complex requirements of this policing plan. Two Tory leadership candidates signalled a potential Government U-turn on Huawei last night. Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid questioned Theresa May's plan to allow the firm to help build Britain's new 5G network suggesting it could put national security at risk. And the US President made clear he intends to press the Government to tear up the plan when he jets into Britain today for a three-day state visit. He warned ministers to 'be very careful' and to seek 'alternatives' to Huawei and is expected to confront Mrs May over the issue in a meeting tomorrow. The US ambassador to Britain also warned that there would be consequences for trans-Atlantic intelligence sharing if ministers did not reverse the outgoing Prime Minister's controversial decision. Hundreds of thousands of activists are planning to paralyse London during Donald Trump's state visit next week. Last night, Home Secretary Mr Javid suggested he would scrap the Huawei deal if he becomes prime minister, while Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt warned of buying telecom products 'from a specific country' that may be a 'backdoor to espionage'. In an interview on the eve of his visit, Mr Trump called on Britain to seek 'alternatives' to Huawei. US officials believe the Chinese government is using the technology giant to spy on Western countries. Asked what the consequences would be if the UK presses ahead with the deal, US ambassador Woody Johnson said: 'I think, to be determined.' Mr Javid told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show he would scrap the Huawei deal if he becomes prime minister. He said: 'I would not want any company, whichever country it's from, that has a high degree of control by a foreign government, to have access to our very sensitive tech communications.' And Mr Hunt said: 'We have to look at the technical issues which are around whether buying products from a specific country could be a backdoor to espionage. 'And we have to ask as Western countries whether it's wise to allow one country to have such a commanding monopoly in the technologies that we're - all of us - going to be depending on.' Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt - seen by many as a potential leadership candidate - also expressed her concerns, saying: 'There are vulnerabilities with just having one supplier, so all nations facing these decisions have to look at the detail, and they have to weigh that up.' Last week the Mail revealed the close relationship between Mrs May's Government and Huawei. Since she became Prime Minister, no fewer than 14 ministers have held meetings with officials from the firm. The president left a scattershot pattern of tweets behind as he left Washington, including the announcement that his chief economic adviser had quit and a broadside against Russia, Syria and Iran for 'bombing the hell out of Idlib province in Syria' Last night, in advance of her meeting with Mr Trump, Mrs May spoke of the importance of the intelligence-sharing relationship between the two countries. 'Our security relationship is deeper, broader and more advanced than with anyone else,' she said. 'Through joint military operations, unrivalled intelligence-sharing and our commitment to Nato, our global leadership remains at the heart of international peace and stability.' Mr Johnson told the BBC that he would 'caution' the British Government to move 'much more slowly' on the Huawei decision. 'I think what you've heard from the President and other members of his staff is concern about the risk of allowing your infra-structure to be built by a country that has a totally different setup than we do,' he said.' Asked if he wants to see the next prime minister take a different stance, Mr Trump told The Sunday Times: 'You have other alternatives and we have to be very careful from the standpoint of national security. You see that maybe now more than ever before. 'National security is so important, so we all have to be very careful together. And the UK understands that very well.' Tory MP Bob Seely said: 'Donald Trump will read the riot act to our Government over the Chinese tech giant Huawei. We - and especially the main Conservative leadership contenders - would be well advised to listen. Let's remember who our real friends are; the US, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and others. We need to hold off on this decision, think about it, and then say no to Chinese hi-tech in our 5G infrastructure. 'Trade matters, but so do our allies. We don't have to choose between the two.' A Number 10 source said the Huawei issue was being reviewed and an announcement would be made 'in due course'. 'We all have to be very careful together'. The feud between Sadiq Khan and Trump began in 2016 when the president, then a candidate, challenged him to an IQ test after the mayor said his views on Islam were 'ignorant.' Trump had at the time called for a 'complete and total ban' on Muslims entering the U.S. as a short-term strategy to lower the threat of terrorist attacks. Speaking to the BBC shortly afterwards, the mayor said: 'Look, it was Donald Trump that began this by saying his blanket ban on Muslims would make an exception for me as Mayor of London.' Ivanka Trump arrived in the United Kingdom earlier on Sunday and visited the V&A Museum in Kensington, London Melania's collared frock with three-quarter-length sleeves and a mid-calf-length skirt was cinched at the waist with a forest-green belt. She topped the look off with a pair of nude pointed-toe pumps. The dress danced as Melania strutted across White House lawn to join her husband before they took off for London. The Trumps will arrive in the UK capital on Monday for a two-day whirlwind of pomp, circumstance and protests, including meetings with the royal family and an extravagant state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Melania is sure to show off other politically-savvy ensembles during the visit, just as she has throughout her tenure as first lady. Earlier on Sunday evening, the Trumps were busy with events and appearances that required frequent changes of clothing and even hairstyles. The president was seen earlier on Sunday playing golf at his club in Virginia. Afterward, he traveled straight from the golf course to a church in Vienna, Virginia. President Trump appeared Sunday at a Virginia church with a slightly altered appearance than what the public is used to While standing on stage with Pastor David Platt, he was seen with his hair combed back, which got people on social media wondering what happened to the president The president arrived at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia on Sunday after his golf outing, which apparently meant he did not have time to make his usual preparations The president, who is seen wearing his white golf shoes, didn't speak at McLean Bible Church but thanked Platt, and remembered to take off his golf hat before standing with him for the prayer Later on Sunday evening, Trump appeared at a gala at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. Having had time to prepare, the president returned to his conventional appearance It was at the church where he showed off his 'hat hair,' a combed back style that made some on Twitter observe that he looked like a 'normal' person. Afterward, he was able to return to the White House where he got ready for a gala at Ford Theater in Washington, DC. At that appearance, the president was able to sport his conventional hairstyle. President Trump's eldest daughter has already arrived in London ahead of her father's state and shared a photograph of herself playing tourist at a museum. Ivanka Trump, 37, posted a photograph of herself outside the Victoria and Albert Museum this afternoon wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee - aka Les Reveries. She paired the pure silk-crepe frock that falls to a flattering midi length with blue high heels as she stepped out to see the Mary Quant exhibit of over 200 pieces of clothing and accessories from the British designer. Ivanka's dress was listed at $655 but is now available for a bargain $458 on Net-a-Porter. What Twitter spats has Donald Trump had with the UK and why have they caused such offence? December 2015: While a Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said there were 'no go zones' in London because of terrorism. He said claimed parts of the city were 'so radicalised' the police force were 'afraid for their own lives'. June 2017 The US President took to Twitter to hit out at Sadiq Khan's 'pathetic' response to the London Bridge terror attack. He sparked outrage in the UK when he tweeted: 'At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack,' the president wrote on his personal Twitter account, 'and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!' Critics pointed out that the London Mayor was saying residents should not be alarmed at the increased police presence. October 2017 Mr Trump wrongly linked the rise in crime in England and Wales to 'Radical Islamic terror'. The US president sent a tweet referring to figures out yesterday showing crime increased by 13 per cent last year and warning 'We must keep American safe'. But British MPs tore into Mr Trump for talking 'nonsense' and said he is 'spreading fear and xenophobia' by wrongly blaming the rise on terrorism. November 2017 UK-US relations took a battering when Donald Trump retweeted anti-Muslim propaganda put out by far right group Britain First. Theresa May criticised the President saying he was 'wrong' to share the video. Mr Trump hit back on Twitter: 'Theresa, don't focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!' February 2018 Donald Trump tore into Britain's NHS - branding the UK's system of universal healthcare 'broke and not working'. He claimed that a major protest about the winter crisis in Britain's hospitals in London at the weekend was a sign it is not a system the US should copy. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt hit back saying he is 'proud' of the NHS and no Brit wants to live in a US system where millions have no health cover at all. Advertisement The Donald's dynasty: From the 'Melaniabot' and Ice Queen First Daughter to the rabble-rousing son, TOM LEONARD takes a look at the US President's family as they prepare to accompany him to UK for his state visit Love me, love my kids. That's a guiding principle of the Donald Trump presidency, one of the most nepotistic in U.S. political history. Trump values loyalty above all and who better than his offspring to show how it's done. His three older children work for him, as do their partners. Given The Donald's fond memories of his Scottish-born mother a big fan of royalty, apparently it's inevitable that his state visit would be a family outing that even includes young Tiffany, the so-called 'invisible Trump'. So who's who in the President's very personal entourage? Meet the Trumps: (From left) Donald Jr, wife Melania, President Donald, Ivanka, Eric and the lesser-spotted Tiffany at the Trump International Hotel in Washington Stylishly aloof, Melania's a mystery Melania Trump, 49 First Lady Melania Trump walking from her airplane to her motorcade wearing a Zara design jacket with the phrase 'I Really Don't Care. Do U?' on the back last year Family ranking: Donald Trump's third wife had a hesitant start as First Lady. It's been reported that she never encouraged her husband to run for office and burst into tears on election night 2016 when he won, a claim she has fiercely denied. She then remained in New York for six months, insisting their son Barron finished his school year. Even now, she's rarely seen at her husband's side while insiders say she barely sees him. Image: Glamorous and mysterious. Nobody knows what she thinks of her husband and his presidency, his hard line on immigration (she's one herself) and his alleged philandering. Interestingly, she has chosen to campaign against child cyber-bullying though her husband is arguably one of the biggest Twitter tormentors of them all. Monosyllabic in public, the Slovenian-born ex-model hopefully hasn't seen Tracey Ullman's BBC comedy series, which portrays her as the robotic 'Melaniabot'. Mother figure: Hugely protective of Barron, her only child,who is 13. He's expected to stay in Washington DC. Queen of protocol: Aides say her great White House interest is interior decoration and the placement at state dinners. She's taken a special interest in protocol on this visit, especially over what presents to give, and the flowers, menu and seating plan when the Trumps entertain Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador's Regent's Park residence. Wardrobe: A renowned clothes horse, Mrs Trump will have planned her wardrobe with just as much precision as her place settings, so watch out for at least one British-designed frock. Be prepared for surprises, too, as the First Lady is also famous for the odd fashion faux-pas, such as the Manolo Blahnik stilettos she wore en route to visit hurricane victims in Texas in 2017. It'll be a bad news for the 'special relationship' if she wears her notorious Parka coat with 'I really don't care. Do U?' scrawled on it which she donned to visit illegal immigrants on the Mexican border. Ambitious daddy's girl who's made enemies Ivanka Trump, 37 The 'Unofficial First Daughter' Ivanka Trump (pictured with husband Jared Kushner) will be one of the four Trump children tagging along for the state visit Position: America's unofficial 'First Daughter' by Trump's first wife Ivana, the unflappable 'Ice Princess' is the absolute apple of her father's eye. She has 'the best figure' in his opinion and he once said he'd consider dating her if, erm, she wasn't his daughter. She'd also be 'very, very hard to beat' if she ran for President. He'd like to have made her head of the World Bank or U.S. ambassador to the UN were it not for the public rows. Family ranking: Stratospheric. She and her husband Jared Kushner (both pictured left), 38, are senior White House advisers, with the President's ear. Image: 'Javanka', as the couple are known, were once seen by Left-wingers as the acceptable face of Project Trump, glamorous, sophisticated and liberal-minded New Yorkers counselling moderation. The gloss has since come off. An insider described them as a 'toxic mix of arrogance and ignorance', with an insatiable lust for power and the source of some of the President's most controversial policies. Work life: White House colleages reportedly can't stand them, allegedly dubbing Jared the 'Secretary of Everything' thanks to his insistence on having a finger in each pie, and Ivanka 'Habi', meaning 'Home of All Bad Ideas'. Home life: The couple live in a Washington DC mansion with their three photogenic children Arabella, Joseph and Theodore. Despite occasional whispers the couple want to return to New York, they've stuck it out. Money: Lots of it. She's a successful ex-fashion entrepreneur and he's a multi-millionaire property developer. The couple earned at least 61 million in outside income during their first year as unpaid advisers to the President. She sold her fashion firm last year, and he has stepped back from the day-to-day running of his business. They've been accused by some critics of being utterly brazen in their determination to use the Presidency to advance themselves. Ambitions: Enormous. Ivanka believes she may one day be President, too, and has told people that her father's administration is 'the beginning of a great American dynasty'. A loose cannon, just like Pop Donald Trump Jr, 41 Donald Jr is the President's oldest son and the first of his three children with Ivana Position: The President's oldest son and the first of his three children with Ivana. A former boardroom judge on his father's reality TV series The Apprentice, he and brother Eric took over the reins of the multi-billion-dollar Trump Organisation when their dad became President. Father's footsteps: A chip off the old block in private and public. He isn't exactly regarded as an intellectual heavyweight, but seems determined to try to live up to his father. Rabble rouser: Inherited his father's flair for causing trouble on Twitter, once posting a message comparing Syrian refugees with a bowl of the multi-coloured sweets Skittles, sprinkled with a few that 'would kill you'. Russian Ties: Donald Jr has been issued with a congressional subpoena over his dealings with Russia in the 2016 election, in particular his arranging for a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer to meet senior campaign figures to discuss getting dirt on Hillary Clinton. Family man: Last year, his wife Vanessa (with whom he has five children) filed for divorce after 12 years of marriage. Insiders blamed his long absences from the family home. Donald Jr was asked, just before his first child was born, what he was going to be like as a father. 'Trumps don't do diapers,' he replied. It's claimed their marriage failed as long ago as 2011 when Mrs Trump discovered he was allegedly having an affair with Aubrey O'Day, a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. Cheap date: Don Jr is alleged to have treated his ex-wife like a 'second-class citizen', giving her so little money she had to ask her mother for help. He proposed with an engagement ring he got free from a jeweller after agreeing to publicise the business. His new girlfriend is a former Fox News presenter, Kimberly Guilfoyle, 50, who has become a senior advisor on the Trump 2020 re-election campaign. Future leader: He lacks his sister's finesse but some say that if any Trump child is going to take up their father's political baton, it might be Donald Jr. Rank-and-file Trump supporters adore him. He rants about what they rant about he's one of them, they say. 'He's accessible, he's in the trenches . . . he's the one you want to have a beer with,' one activist told a magazine recently. On safari, he's a big shot Eric Trump, 35 Eric Trump runs the Trump Organisation's sprawling real estate portfolio along with his older brother, including the winery in Virginia and the famous golf courses Position: Executive vice president of the Trump Organisation, where he manages all the residential and commercial properties in the family's portfolio, plus the golf clubs, restaurants, retail outfits and a Virginia winery. Image: Generally portrayed by comics as the dunce of the bunch, and as lacking the aggressive political instincts of Donald Jr and Ivanka. Business savvy: Washington ethics campaigners are demanding to know how much public money was spent when Eric flew dozens of U.S. Trump golf club members over for a tour of his Scottish courses. In 2017, The Eric Trump Foundation was accused of shifting money meant for cancer patients to family businesses, notably its golf clubs. Eric denies wrongdoing and promises to co-operate. Hobbies: Same as Donald Jr game hunting. In 2010, an animal rights group attacked them for going on a safari killing spree. Spousal support: Wed TV producer Lara Yunaska in 2013. She is pregnant with their second child. Lara's a rising star in Team Trump. Rare outing for Tiffany Tiffany Trump, 25 The second youngest Trump after Baron, Tiffany has not been in spotlight as much as the other children, and is currently finishing a law degree at university Position: Donald Trump's only child from his marriage to his second wife, model Marla Maples. Nickname: 'The Invisible Trump'. Tiffany, named after the jewellers, acquired this moniker because she's barely seen. She didn't even get a mention in a documentary about her dad's life that was shown at the Republican National Convention. And she was the only adult Trump not invited to join his team after his election. Her inclusion on the London trip is unusual. Family ranking: While Trump was able to mould his other children, Tiffany was raised by her mother in California after her divorce from Donald. He once admitted he was proud of her to 'a lesser extent' than his other children. Career: Difficult to identify. Though she's studying law in Washington DC, she's done little to budge perceptions of her as a spoilt rich kid. Hobbies: Posting vacuous pictures of all the glamorous places she goes. Other half: She's split up with Ross Mechanic, a boyfriend at university who had Democrat sympathies. New beau Michael Boulos is from a Franco-Lebanese billionaire business family and is studying finance at London's City University. They recently holidayed on a yacht in the South of France, and she's been introducing him to the Trump family. Ambitions: After a failed attempt to be a pop star, sources say she would settle for becoming closer to her father and half-siblings. And getting married. A VERY fashionable arrival! Ivanka is the first of the Trump clan to land in London President Donald Trump's eldest daughter has arrived in London ahead of her father's state and shared a photograph of herself playing tourist at a museum. Ivanka Trump, 37, posted a photograph of herself outside the Victoria and Albert Museum this afternoon wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee - aka Les Reveries. She paired the pure silk-crepe frock that falls to a flattering midi length with blue high heels as she stepped out to see the Mary Quant exhibit of over 200 pieces of clothing and accessories from the British designer. Ivanka's dress was listed at $655 but is now available for a bargain $458 on Net-a-Porter. Ivanka Trump arrived in the UK today and visited the V&A Museum in Kensington, London Ivanka Trump boarding flight to London to meet the Queen of England. She will be joining her Father, President Donald Trump, On his State Visit. #Ivanka #London pic.twitter.com/PoMlk9DsvR Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) June 2, 2019 The First Daughter was spotted traveling through the airport Saturday in a black ensemble She stepped out to the Mary Quant Exhibit at the V&A Museum once she arrived in London Guests to the V&A exhibit can see miniskirts and hot pants, vibrant tights and makeup from the designer. The V&A, founded in 1852, holds the world's largest collection of applied and decorative arts and design. Her visit to the museum came after Ivanka was spotted walking through the airport on Saturday pulling her hand luggage while dressed in all-black. The President, who is known for his love of extravagant decor, has booked an entire floor of the Corinthia Hotel - which has 225 rooms, 51 suites and seven penthouses - in Whitehall Place Westminster. His family and extended entourage will stay there for this week's state visit to Britain. The US President will be accompanied by wife Melania and four of his five children for the visit, which begins on Monday. The President and his wife are expected to stay at Winfield House, the US Ambassador's official residence in Regent's Park, but sources say other members of his family will stay at the five-star Corinthia. Celebrity guests have included Mariah Carey, James Corden and Cuba Gooding Jr. Trump's visit begins on Monday morning when he will be received by the Queen before three days of meetings and ceremonial pomp which will include a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Guests to the V&A exhibit can see miniskirts and hot pants, vibrant tights and makeup Designer Mary Quant launched a fashion revolution on the British high street. One of her pieces are seen above The exhibit showcases over 200 garments and accessories, including unseen pieces from the designer's personal archive Mr Trump and his wife Melania are being given the full red carpet treatment, with the Queen hosting no fewer than four events in tribute to them. Royal gun salutes will fire in Trump's honor at the Tower of London and in Green Park, while Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry and the Duke of York will be heavily involved too. The Duchess of Sussex, previously a vocal critic of Donald Trump, will stay at home with baby Archie rather than meet the US President during his state visit to the UK. The President is due to receive a ceremonial welcome in the garden, inspecting the Guard of Honour, formed of Nijmegen Company Grenadier Guards. It was arranged for Royal Gun salutes to be fired in Green Park too. The Queen is also scheduled to host a private lunch at the palace, after which the President and Mrs Ivanka Trump were to view a special exhibition in the Picture Gallery, showcasing items of historical significance to the United States from the Royal Collection. The President and Mrs Trump, accompanied by the Duke of York, were also set to visit Westminster Abbey where the President would lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and then have a short tour of the Abbey. Prince Andrew will accompany Mr Trump for two of the three days of his trip, with officials hoping the Duke can defuse any political problems with conversations about golf, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Mr Trump is believed to have so far spent over 100 days of his 862-day presidency playing golf while Prince Andrew is qualified to a professional level. The Corinthia Hotel is one of London's most luxurious hotels, and is expected to be a home away from home for Donald Jr, Ivanka, Eric and Tiffany during their State Visit to the UK this week The royal-suite penthouse (pictured) costs 22,000 ($27,000) a night, and boasts four bedrooms The men met 20 years ago at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate and golf course in Palm Springs, Florida, and are already well-acquainted sharing a mutual friend in disgraced millionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who was was jailed on child prostitution charges in 2008. While the men make polite conversation, hundreds of thousands of activists are preparing to paralyze London with mass demonstrations. Fears for Mr Trump's safety have meant he will not be involved in a carriage procession down the Mall or the official welcome on Horse Guards Parade - which will instead take place in Buckingham Palace's garden. More than 20,000 police officers will be deployed at 20 separate protest events planned across the country in a security operation expected to cost about 18million ($22,744,800). On the itinerary were plans for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to host afternoon tea for Trump at Clarence House. The president's refusal to accept claims of climate change is likely to bring about some debate with Prince of Charles who has championed environmental causes for decades. Earlier this month Prince Charles said he was prepared for a frank exchange of views with Trump regarding climate change during the US President's State visit to Britain next month, The Mail on Sunday revealed. According to a source close to the Prince, Charles will be 'very happy' to talk about climate change if the subject is raised by the President. The source told The Mail on Sunday: 'Climate change is a subject that the Prince has talked about for 40 years and he will look forward to discussing it with the President should it come up. He would be very happy to have the opportunity to talk about it. In the evening on Monday the Queen will give a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. The Queen and Mr Trump will both make speeches at the start of the banquet. On Tuesday, the President and Prime Minister Theresa May will co-host a business breakfast meeting, attended by The Duke of York, at St Jamess Palace, with senior UK and US business leaders. Mrs May will then host President Trump and Mrs Trump at 10 Downing Street to hold talks and they will all have lunch together. President Trump and Mrs May will hold a press conference at 10 Downing Street. In the evening, The President and Mrs Trump will host a dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the American Ambassador to the UK. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will attend the dinner on behalf of the Queen. On Wednesday, the Trumps will spend the day with the Queen and the Prince of Wales at the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings commemorations in Portsmouth, which will include a fly-past of 25 modern and historical aircraft. The Queen will formally bid farewell to President Trump and Mrs Trump in Portsmouth in the afternoon. The President and Mrs Trump will depart on Air Force One later in the day. 'Is it for the Queen's benefit?': Twitter goes wild over Trump's 'normal' hair as he makes surprise visit to church straight from the golf course and still wearing his GOLF SHOES, hours before heading to London for state visit President Donald Trump sported a new hairdo on Sunday which left Twitter users comparing him to Gordon Gekko. The president was photographed during a visit to an evangelical church in McLean, Virginia, arriving directly from his golf outing at Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls still wearing his golf shoes. But the president appeared visibly uncomfortable as he had to remove a baseball cap that he was wearing during his golf game earlier in the day. While standing on stage with Pastor David Platt, he was seen with his hair combed back. On Twitter, social media users wondered what was up with the presidents new do. Scroll down for video While standing on stage with Pastor David Platt, he was seen with his hair combed back The president arrived at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia on Sunday after his golf outing, which apparently meant he did not have time to make his usual preparations The president, who is seen wearing his white golf shoes, didn't speak at McLean Bible Church but thanked Platt, and remembered to take off his golf hat before standing with him for the prayer Wow he looks like a real person and not an orange cheeto with fly away hair, tweeted one Twitter user. Another Twitter user wrote: Trumps hat hair...Jesus! Trump at Vienna VA church wearing Joe Biden's hair, wrote another Twitter user. Another Twitter user noted: He went to pray for the victims of the Virginia shooting only AFTER his golf game. That's his GOLF HAIR! So Trump has just gone full Gordon Gekko with his hair, tweeted another social media user. Gordon Gekko is the villainous character from the 1987 film Wall Street. He is played in the movie by Michael Douglas, who slicks his hair back. Gordon Gekko is the villainous character from the 1987 film Wall Street. He is played in the movie by Michael Douglas, who slicks his hair back One Twitter user wrote that Trump 'looks like a real person and not an orange cheeto with fly away hair' Trump's "hat hair" is even worse than his "every day hair",' tweeted Bobby Roberts 'That's his GOLF HAIR,' another Twitter user tweeted on Sunday Patty Glikman tweeted: 'Don't you love Trump's hair? Looking good!' Others on social media compared Trump's hair to that of Gordon Gekko 'Did anyone see Trump's hair today? Wholly molly!!' tweeted another Twitter user 'With normal hair he at least looks a little less bizarre,' tweeted another Twitter user Ting Shen tweeted about being 'thrown off by President Trump's hair in a Ducktail' Another Twitter user said that Trump's hair is 'an impeachable offense' Sue Brennan tweeted that Trump was 'wearing Joe Biden's hair' A Twitter user who goes by the handle Cozy Coder wrote: Wtf? Is that Trump on the right? He's not orange anymore? And what's wrong with his hair?' A Twitter user who goes by the handle Cozy Coder wrote: Wtf? Is that Trump on the right? He's not orange anymore? And what's wrong with his hair? Trumps new hair...cut? What is happening here in Virginia? tweeted another dumbfounded Twitter user. Later on Sunday evening, Trump appeared at a gala at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. Having had time to prepare, the president returned to his conventional appearance. The president, not known for engaging in regular Sunday worship, spent 11 minutes at McLean Bible Church near Washington, D.C. Later on Sunday evening, Trump appeared at a gala at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. Having had time to prepare, the president returned to his conventional appearance The White House said he was there to 'pray for the victims and community of Virginia Beach,' where a gunman killed 11 people on Sunday. Evangelical leader Franklin Graham and more than 250 other Christian luminaries had asked America's Bible-believers pray for President Trump on Sunday in the hope that God would take his side in political battles that have roiled Washington. Trump took off his white 'USA' baseball cap as he joined Platt on the stage that serves as the focus of services at the 58-year-old church. 'We pray that he would look to you,' Platt said, addressing the almighty, 'that he would trust in you, that he would lean on you, that he would govern and make decisions in the ways that are good for justice and good for righteousness, and good for equity.' Donald Trump stood on stage Sunday at a Virginia megachurch as Pastor David Platt prayed for him; Trump was in the church for 11 minutes Mclean Bible Church boasts a weekly attendance of 5,700 at its flagship Vienna, Virginia house of worship, plus another 4,600 at four satellite campuses and online A PRAYER FOR TRUMP: Evangelical pastor David Platt's words as president stood with him in church 'Many of you may have seen that there were calls to, particularly on this Sunday, pray for our president. We don't want to do that just on this Sunday. We want to do that continually, day in and day out, so I want to ask us to bow our heads together now and pray for our president. 'Oh God, we praise you as the one universal king over all. You are our leader and our lord and we worship you. There is one God and one savior, and it's you. Your name is Jesus, and we exalt you, Jesus. And we know we need your mercy, we need your grace, we need your help, we need your wisdom in our country. 'And so we stand right now on behalf of our president, and we pray for your grace and your mercy and your wisdom upon him. God, we pray that he would know how much you love him, so much that you sent Jesus to die for his sins, our sins. So we pray that he would look to you, that he would trust in you, that he would lean on you, that he would govern and make decisions in the ways that are good for justice and good for righteousness, and good for equity. Every good path. 'Lord we pray, we pray that you would give him all the grace he needs to govern, and ways that we just saw in 1 Timothy Chapter 2, that "lead to peaceful and quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way." 'God, we pray for your blessing in that way upon his family. We pray that you'd give them strength, we pray that you'd give them clarity, wisdom. Wisdom. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Please, oh God, give him wisdom. And help him to lead our country, alongside other leaders. We pray today for leaders in Congress, we pray for leaders in courts, we pray for leaders at national and state levels. 'Please, oh God, help us to look to you, help us to trust in your word, help us to seek your wisdom and live in ways that reflect your love and your grace, your righteousness and your justice. We pray for your blessings on our president toward that end. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.' Advertisement Pastor David Platt's prayer never mentioned Saturday's deadly mass-shooting in Virginia Beach, which the White House had said Trump was at McLean Bible Church to pray about Platt didn't mention the deadly Virginia violence, but prayed aloud with his Bible held aloft for Trump, judges, members of Congress and government officials at the national and state level. 'Lord we pray, we pray that you would give him all the grace he needs to govern,' he said of Trump. Platt also prayed for the president's family, asking God to 'give them strength. We pray that you'd give them clarity, wisdom.' The president didn't speak to the applauding worshipers or a string orchestra seated near him onstage, but told Platt: 'Thank you, reverend. I appreciate it very much.' Platt is formerly president of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board. Mclean Bible Church boasts a weekly attendance of 5,700 at its flagship Vienna, Virginia house of worship, plus another 4,600 at four satellite campuses and online. Franklin Graham wrote last Sunday on Facebook that pastors should lead their congregations in the 'Special Day of Prayer' to ask the almighty to 'protect, strengthen, encourage, and guide' the president. 'President Trumps enemies continue to try everything to destroy him, his family, and the presidency. In the history of our country, no president has been attacked as he has. I believe the only hope for him, and this nation, is God,' Graham wrote. Trump isn't known to be a regular churchgoer but has a coterie of evangelical leaders who counsel him and help him avoid alienating Christian voters on America's political right A woman takes part in a prayer for Donald Trump at the McLean Bible Church, in Vienna, Virginia, U.S., June 2, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts The president is pictured Sunday coming into the church building through a side entrance, obscured by the darkness of a backstage area Evangelist minister Franklin Graham (left) called on thousands of churches to say special prayers for Donald Trump this coming Sunday, in the hope that God would intervene to save the president from his political enemies Graham posted a call to prayer this weekend, asking for thousands of churches to get on their knees for Trump next Sunday This is a critical time for America. Were on the edge of a precipice. Time is short. We need to pray for God to intervene. We need to ask God to protect, strengthen, encourage, and guide the President, he continued. 'He's our president,' Graham added in a Twitter video clip, 'and if he succeeds we all benefit. But if his enemies are allowed to destroy him and pull down the presidency it will hurt our entire nation.' Graham said 'many thousands of churches' would take part in the targeted prayer sessions. The Texas preacher's father was the late evangelist Billy Graham. He now leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Samaritan's Purse charity. He's also a reliable Trump booster, along with other co-signers of the call to prayer who cautiously backed the president and quietly chuckled when the sometimes-Presbyterian clumsily cited 'Two Corinthians' instead of 'Second Corinthians.' But they have found in him a president eager to defend religious liberties, influence millions of evangelicals to vote, and autograph Bibles along the way. Graham risks drawing culture-war pressure to Trump with his unapologetic positions against gay rights. He said last week that Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg should repent his homosexual 'sin.' Franklin Graham risks becoming a cultural lightning rod that could fry Trump: He tweeted last week that '[t]he Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman not two men, not two women' The Trump-backing Graham has sparred with Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who would be the first openly gay U.S. president if he were elected 'Buttigieg is right God doesnt have a political party,' he tweeted. 'But God does have commandments, laws & standards He gives us to live by.' As a Christian I believe the Bible,' he added, 'which defines homosexuality as sin, something to be repentant of, not something to be flaunted, praised or politicized.' The Bible says marriage is between a man & a woman not two men, not two women,' he wrote. Graham has become a controversial figure both inside and outside Christian cultural circles because of his support for President Trump. When asked about allegations that Trump had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and then paid her hush money to keep quiet about it, he said last year: 'President Trump I dont think has admitted to having an affair with this person. And so this is just a news story, and I dont even know if its accurate.' Graham told NBC News at the time: 'We certainly don't hold him up as the pastor of this nation and he is not.' Other Christian leaders joining Graham in his call to prayer included former Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, preacher Kenneth Copeland, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr., civil rights activist Alveda King, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, Faith and Freedom coalition leader Ralph Reed, Christian recording artist Michael W. Smith and preacher Paula White-Cain. Sajid Javid was urged to get a grip on Britains borders as the sunny weekend weather brought a record number of migrant crossings from France. A total of 74 people, including women and children, were intercepted on Saturday having crossed the worlds busiest shipping lane. It was the largest single-day total since the Home Secretary declared the attempts to get into Britain a major incident in December. Sajid Javid was urged to get a grip on Britains borders this weekend as 74 people tried to cross to the UK on boats on Saturday Seven boats were stopped in the Channel by the Border Force and the RNLI and brought into Dover, Kent, while an eighth carrying eight men made it to Winchelsea beach in East Sussex. Two further boats were intercepted in France by French authorities. A criminal investigation has now been launched but the volume of migrants still reaching Britain has raised questions over the Home Offices failure to deal with the influx. Charlie Elphicke, MP for Dover, said: This crisis was meant to have been dealt with at Christmas, yet numbers continue to rise. It looks set to surge to record levels... The Home Office needs to get a grip on this crisis. Sacked Wallabies star Israel Folau could have prevented his multi-million dollar contract from being ripped up if he had avoided using two words in a controversial social media post. The rugby union player was found to have made a high-level breach of his contract during a code of conduct hearing in Sydney last month. If Folau, 30, had shared a direct Bible quote instead of the meme which warned 'Hell awaited homosexuals' unless they 'repented' then his employers Rugby Australia would reportedly have been unable to sack him. A source told The Daily Telegraph that while Folau's post included the words 'warning' and 'Hell' the Bible quote he claimed to have been referencing does not mention either word. Israel Folau (pictured left with wife Maria) could have prevented his contract with Rugby Australia from being ripped up if he had avoided using two words in his social media post If Folau had shared a direct Bible quote instead of the meme (pictured) the RA would have struggled to sack him, a source claimed 'Izzy was getting told he'd go to hell if he took down the post, but if he had removed that image and re-posted word for word what the verse says, they couldn't have sacked him,' the source said. A verse from Corinthians 6: 9-10, reads: 'Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? 'Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God'. A second source said if Folau had removed the post and instead uploaded the Bible quotation word for word he could have potentially stopped his rugby career from crumbling. A second source said if Folau (pictured left with wife Maria) had removed the post and instead uploaded the Bible quotation word for word he could have potentially stopped his rugby career from crumbling Folau (pictured), who did not appeal the decision made by the three-person panel through the RA's internal channels, said in a statement he had not accepted the verdict 'Certainly, it would have been a more problematic prosecution,' the source said. Izzy was getting told he'd go to hell if he took down the post, but if he had removed that image and re-posted word for word what the verse says, they couldn't have sacked him A source close to Israel Folau RA chief executive Raelene Castle had been concerned prior to Folau's hearing because of the lack of social media training he'd received as well as the absence of a social media clauses in his contract. Rugby Australia decided to alert Wallabies sponsors about the outcome of the hearing before they told Folau. The six sponsors Qantas, Vodafone, Land Rover, ASICS, Accenture and HSBC, had insinuated they would end their relationship with the RA unless Folau was sacked or apologised. Folau, who did not appeal the decision made by the three-person panel through the RA's internal channels, said in a statement he had not accepted the verdict. 'My decision not to commence Rugby Australia's appeal process is in no way an acceptance of the judicial panel's findings,' he said. 'I simply do not have confidence in Rugby Australia's ability to treat me fairly or lawfully throughout this process.' Folau's team are understood to be considering their next steps in regards to the case. They could lodge a complaint with the Fair Work Commission for an unlawful dismissal on religious grounds, or could take RA to the Supreme Court. Folau (pictured) had reportedly considered deleting his infamous post to save his career after he met with Rugby Australia boss Raelene Castle on April 12 Folau had reportedly considered deleting his infamous post to save his career after he met with Ms Castle on April 12. But after speaking with his father Eni, a Christian pastor, two days later, Folau refused to remove the controversial post, which left officials no other option but to sack him. 'You'll go to hell, son,' Eni reportedly told Folau, when he confessed he was thinking about deleting the Instagram post, The Sunday Telegraph reported. According to Eni, who played a crucial role in Folau becoming a born-again Christian in 2017, going back on his words would be sacrilege that would destine him for hell. The conversation was the clincher that, in Folau's mind, reaffirmed what he must do - and that was to stay true to his beliefs, which ended any hope for rugby redemption. A former ATO employee who exposed the organisation's allegedly dodgy practices has broken his silence as he faces more than 160 years behind bars. Richard Boyle is accused of breaching the Public Service Code of Conduct after he went public with allegations of mistreatment of taxpayer funds within the Australian Tax Office early last year. Boyle claimed workers were instructed to use an aggressive tax collection tactic known as garnishee notices, where they seized money from taxpayers' bank accounts without informing them, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported. After filing a disclosure, which was later dismissed, the former government worker approached the publication with his story in April 2018 and laid bare ATO's scheme. Former tax employee Richard Boyle is accused of breaching the Public Service Code of Conduct after he went public with allegations of mistreatment of taxpayer funds within the Australian Tax Office early last year Boyle (pictured with his Louise) was charged with 66 offences and is facing more than 160 years behind bars Since then, Boyle said the legal turmoil and pressure from the situation has taken a toll on his life, including his mental and physical health. He claims at one point he believed he was going to die, having developed insomnia and suffering a breakdown and stress-related heart problems. 'I feel like I almost died from the stress. I feel like they almost killed me and were trying to kill me', he told the publication. 'I've had some dark moments. I couldn't work. I couldn't sleep and my health spiralled into what I describe as a devastating situation'. Boyle's battle with the ATO first came about in 2017 when he made a disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act (PID) of 2013, after he couldn't 'stomach' what had allegedly been going on. When his claims were dismissed by a senior ATO officer, he took his story public instead. He revealed he was offered an opportunity to be let off the hook after the organisation proposed a settlement which included a payout and no admission of liability. Supporters have launched a Change.org petition ahead of his court hearing on Tuesday. It has received more than 92,000 signatures so far South Australia Senator Rex Patrick has voiced his support for Boyle, calling the issue a 'tragic' situation Mr Patrick has also publicly commented on the issue on Facebook, revealing he has asked for an inquiry into the performance into the Inspector General of Taxation Boyle, however, turned it down after learning he would have to sign a gag order, forcing him to keep shut about what he knew. When he finally spoke out, officials carried out raids at his home in Edwardstown, in Adelaide's southwest, taking his laptop and phone. In January, he was charged with 66 offences, including phone tapping and making a record of protected information. Boyle is set to appear in court on Tuesday, where could be locked up for 161 years, if convicted. In the midst of his ordeal, he revealed he also made the decision to marry long-term partner Louise Beaston last weekend, saying the two could not wait any longer with his fate still up in the air. Boyle's situation has sparked outrage among supporters who have called for protection of whistleblowers. In the midst of his ordeal, he revealed he also made the decision to marry long-term partner Louise Beaston last weekend, saying the two could not wait any longer with his fate still up in the air South Australia Senator Rex Patrick has voiced his support for Boyle, calling the issue a 'tragic' situation. 'There's a very strong message thats being sent to people inside the ATO if you blow the whistle, you're history', he told the Sydney Morning Herald. Patrick has also publicly commented on the issue on Facebook, revealing he has asked for an inquiry into the performance into the Inspector General of Taxation. Supporters have also launched a Change.org petition ahead of tomorrow's hearing. More than 92,000 people have signed the appeal as of Monday morning. The ATO decline to provide comment on matters that have been put before the court. Boris Johnson last night announced plans to spend at least 5,000 on every secondary school pupil if he becomes Prime Minister. Mr Johnson said he wanted to level up Britains education system and correct the yawning funding gap between pupils in London and the rest of the country. It is the first domestic policy Mr Johnson has put forward since he launched his bid for No10. Boris Johnson has pledged to spend at least 5,000 on every secondary school pupil if he becomes Prime Minister, saying there is a 'yawning funding gap' between London and the rest of the country He said: It is simply not sustainable that funding per pupil should be 6,800 in parts of London and 4,200 in some other parts of the country. Of course, there are special and extra costs of living in the capital, and London schools deserve that recognition. But I pledge to reverse the cuts in per-pupil funding so that thousands of schools get much more per pupil. The 5,000 pledged by Mr Johnson for every secondary school student in England was announced in his column in the Daily Telegraph. It is 200 higher per pupil than the current Governments aim for the next academic year. Mr Johnson said he wanted to 'level up' Britain's education system. (Pictured) The former Foreign Secretary campaigning in the Peterborough by-election This news comes as a perceived affront to rival Michael Gove, who was Education Secretary from 2010 until 2014. According to the Institute for Fiscal studies the amount of per-pupil spending in England has fallen by 8 per cent since 2010. Mr Johnson added that the educational attainment gap was not just a stark injustice but was also the biggest single cause of economic underperformance across the whole UK. He also pledged to increase the powers of head teachers to exclude pupils. Meanwhile, fellow leadership contender Andrea Leadsom has pledged an urgent review of the HS2 rail line and promised a managed exit from the European Union. She told BBCs Andrew Marr Show that she wanted experts to look again at the cost of the controversial rail project to ensure it provided value for money. Advertisement A young woman murdered in a Melbourne park was 'taken from us corrupted, violated and broken,' a priest said at her funeral on Monday. Courtney Herron was commemorated in a moving service at St Dimitrios Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds after she was found dead by dog walkers two weeks ago. Her mother, father and grandmother were among hundreds packed into the tiny church but only the parish priest made a short speech. 'How do you forgive a demon?' he said, struggling to provide any comfort or meaning in Ms Herron's senseless death. Grief: Dressed in black, loved ones of the 25-year-old left flowers outside St Dimitrios Greek Orthodox Church at Moonee Ponds on Monday. Pictured: Ms Herron's grandmother Emotional: Ms Herron's mother hugs mourners at her funeral. The 25-year-old's body was found in a Melbourne park Moving: Coffin bearers carry Courtney Herron's casket into the the St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne Mourners arrive to the St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds for the funeral of Courtney Herron. Pictured: Ms Herron's mother The funeral program contained pictures of Courtney with the words 'do not mourn my absence, feel me close and still talk to me, I will love you from Heaven as I have loved you on Earth' Ms Herron's grandmother Connie and mother Maxi were seen arriving in a stretch limo and walked beside the coffin as it was brought into the church. The casket, decorated with pink lilies and white roses, was carried by her crying father, John. The family then sat in the front row for the traditional service, which lasted just over half an hour. Mourners were handed a program which featured heart-breaking photos of Ms Herron as a child. It contained the words: 'Do not mourn my absence, feel me close and still talk to me, I will love you from Heaven as I have loved you on Earth.' In his speech, Father Manuel Lykopandis said: 'Courtney was a girl who actually believed in Jesus. We know that as a fact.' He asked that God provide everyone with the strength and power to 'overcome this tragic death of a beautiful life.' Tragic: Ms Herron's battered body was discovered by dog walkers in suburban Royal Park on May 25 The program for Courtney Herron's funeral at the St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds The casket, decorated with pink lilies and white roses, was carried by her crying father, John (back left with grey beard) In his speech, Father Manuel Lykopandis said: 'Courtney was a girl who actually believed in Jesus. We know that as a fact.' Pictured: Mourners Mourners depart the St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne The priest asked that God provide everyone with the strength and power to 'overcome this tragic death of a beautiful life.' The hearse carrying Courtney Herron's casket is seen outside of St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds 'It is very hard to express any words at this time,' the priest said. 'May God rest her soul and may they know that the comfort that they need, that what will give them strength, are in the words of what we said in today's (Gospel). 'Sadly this world will live with immense corruption, for some human before me succumbed her innocence taken from her and she was taken from us corrupted, violated and broken.' Rain fell on mourners as Ms Herron's coffin was loaded into the hearse for her final journey. Ms Herron was laid to rest at the Northern Memorial Park with her Pappou - her beloved grandfather. Before her body was found in suburban Royal Park on May 25, the young woman had been couch surfing and sleeping rough while struggling with drug and mental health problems. At a vigil staged in the park on Friday, Maxi paid tribute to her daughter. 'She is at peace. She is in the arms of her pappou,' she said in front of a crowd of hundreds of people. Homeless man Henry Hammond, 27, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court last week, charged with murder. Police investigating the death described the alleged attack as 'particularly horrendous'. An online fundraising effort has collected more than $14,000 for Ms Herron's funeral costs. A lady is seen making a donation to a charity outside of the St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds Mourners depart the St Dimitros Greek Orthodox Church in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne Police investigating Ms Herron's death described the attack as 'particularly horrendous'. Pictured: Her mother at the funeral Ms Herron's battered body was discovered by dog walkers in suburban Royal Park on May 25. Pictured: The coffin Advertisement Melania Trump looked set to win over the Brits as she donned a dress inspired by London's most iconic sights when departing Washington DC Sunday for the State Visit to the UK. The first lady showed off her gorgeous $4,400 Gucci shirt dress inspired by the UK capital as she boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Printed in bright pinks, greens and oranges are beloved London landmarks including Big Ben, Tower Bridge, double-decker buses and the Houses of Parliament. Melania's collared frock with three-quarter-length sleeves and a mid-calf-length skirt was cinched at the waist with a forest-green belt. She topped the look off with a pair of nude pointed-toe pumps. Melania strutted across the White House lawn in the flowing dress to join her husband before they took off for London. The Trumps will arrive in the UK capital on Monday for a three-day whirlwind of pomp, circumstance and protests, including meetings with the royal family and an extravagant state dinner at Buckingham Palace. Scroll down for video Melania Trump donned a $4,400 Gucci dress inspired by London's most iconic sights as she departed for her visit to the UK Melania and Donald Trump are seen disembarking from Marine One at Andrews Air Force Base on Sunday as they prepared head to the United Kingdom for a state visit A close-up of Melania's Gucci shirt dress shows colorful drawings of popular London landmarks adorned with polkadots and flowers. The gold buttons feature the Italian designer's trademark double-G design The pretty pattern features the Big Ben clock, which sits above the River Thames, filled in with orange and red (left). Driving among the landmarks are a number of the double-decker red buses London is known for (right) Melania is sure to show off other politically-savvy ensembles during the visit, just as she has throughout her tenure as first lady. The former fashion model loves to match her outfits to whatever occasion she may be attending. For example, on her solo trip across Africa last summer, Melania wore chic safari-inspired ensembles. She recently returned from a four-day trip to Japan where she was seen wearing a staggering $20,000-worth of clothes. It's unlikely that Melania's fashion prowess on this trip will be able to stop anticipated demonstrations against her husband like those which overshadowed his visit to England last summer as protesters flooded the streets and flew an inflatable balloon depicting the president as a baby. Donald and Melania are seen boarding Marine One before taking a short flight to Andrews Air Force Base, where Air Force One was waiting to fly them across the pond Melania has become an American style icon during her time in the White House. One of her most successful looks, during a visit to Africa last fall, is juxtaposed with her disastrous wardrobe choice when visiting the Mexico border in June 2018 President Trump's eldest daughter has already arrived in London ahead of her father's state and shared a photograph of herself playing tourist at a museum. Ivanka Trump, 37, posted a photograph of herself outside the Victoria and Albert Museum this afternoon wearing a yellow floral dress from New York sister designers duo Ai Ly and Wayne Lee - aka Les Reveries. She paired the pure silk-crepe frock that falls to a flattering midi length with blue high heels as she stepped out to see the Mary Quant exhibit of over 200 pieces of clothing and accessories from the British designer. Ivanka's dress was listed at $655 but is now available for a bargain $458 on Net-a-Porter. Ivanka Trump arrived in the UK today and visited the V&A Museum in Kensington, London Advertisement A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the country's failed nuclear summit with the United States has made a shock return to the political scene. On Sunday, local publications pictured Kim Yong Chol sitting near Kim Jong Un and other top officials as they enjoyed a musical performance by the wives of Korean People's Army officers. Kim Jong Un appeared to be in very high spirits at the event, seen clapping in the stands before smiling as he held up a child dressed in military uniform. Kim Yong Chol had been North Korea's top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since Kim Jong Un entered nuclear talks with the U.S. early last year. He traveled to Washington and met President Donald Trump twice before Kim Jong Un's two summits with Trump. However, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo last week cited an unidentified source who claimed that Kim Yong Chol had been purged from the ministry and sentenced to hard labor following the collapse of the second summit in February. On Monday, local publications pictured Kim Yong Chol (circled on screen at far right) sitting near Kim Jong Un (center) and other top officials as they enjoyed a musical performance by the wives of Korean People's Army officers People watch a TV screen showing an image of senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol in a musical performance by the wives of Korean People's Army officers in North Korea during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday Kim Yong Chol (far right) was North Korea's top nuclear negotiator during talks recent summits with the US. He is pictured sitting next to Kim Jong Un, and across from President Donald Trump at the second summit between to the two countries in Hanoi in February At the time, Americans described the deal as excessive, with North Korea demanding sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Since then, Kim Jong Un has said the United States has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations. If reports of Kim Yong Chol being sentenced to hard labor were accurate, it would mark a spectacular fall from grace for one of the men considered one of Kim Jong Un's closest aides. North Korea's leader appeared to be in very high spirits at Sunday's concert, seen smiling as he held up a young child in uniform. This photo was released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Monday Kim Jong Un (R) and his wife Ri Sol-Ju (L) are pictured at the performance on Sunday that was given by amateur art groups of the wives of officers of units of the Korean People's Army Kim Jong Un appeared to be in very high spirits at the event and was seen clapping in the stands alongside his wife But while it might have been shocking, it is not the first time there has been reported repercussions for North Korean politicians who have failed in the nuclear negotiations. Chosun Ilbo has also reported that senior envoy Kim Hyok Chol, who was involved in pre-summit working-level talks with American officials, was executed with four other officials from the North's Foreign Ministry for betraying Kim Jong Un after they were won over by the United States. South Korea's government and media have a mixed record on tracking developments among North Korea's ruling elite, made difficult by Pyongyang's stringent control of information about them. Kim Yong Chol was one of Kim Jong Un's top aides, before a report that he was purged from politics and sentenced to hard labor. The pair are pictured together in March The family of a 12-year-old girl is nervously awaiting the result of potentially life-saving operation by Dr Charlie Teo - with surgery risks including coma and paralysis. Amelia 'Milli' Lucas was all smiles on Monday as she was taken into the operating theatre for surgery, but the procedure is not without risks. Doctors say the operation could leave her with permanent weakness in one side of her body, or at worst, coma or paralysis. The 12-year-old's father, Grant Lucas, confirmed just before 7am this morning that Milli had gone into surgery, saying: 'Keep everything crossed.' Milli arrived in Sydney from her home of Western Australia last week after her family crowdfunded $160,000 for her treatment. The GoFundMe bill sparked a national debate about Dr Teo's pricey surgeries but Milli's family strongly supported the brain surgeon. Going in: Amelia 'Milli' Lucas (left) has been praised for her courage ahead of her life-saving brain surgery by renowned surgeon Dr Charlie Teo (right) that could leave her in a coma The 12-year-old's father, Grant Lucas, confirmed on Facebook just before 7am this morning Milli (pictured) had gone into surgery, saying: 'Keep everything crossed' Dr Teo said while the future is often grim for those who undergo the high-risk procedure, Milli should be commended for her courage and bravery. 'Milli's just the most beautiful, calm, courageous girl,' Dr Teo told The West Australian on Sunday. 'She has a very strong will to live.' Dr Teo said the type of tumour Milli has and its difficult location make the procedure even more precarious for surgeons, however, she and her family know that. 'They (the family) know the risks, they know it's not curative and could reduce her quality of life, but they just aren't ready to give up. It's a very brave decision,' he said. According to Dr Teo, the best case scenario following surgery is for Milli to have permanent weakness on the right side of her body. But paralysis and falling into a coma are a possibility. He said the life-changing procedure will hopefully improve Milli's quality of life and give her more time with her family. Miss Lucas's parents had to crowdfund $160,000 for the surgery - sparking a national debate about controversial surgeon Dr Teo's pricey fees. The surgery was made possible after a successful gofundme campaign raised more than $160,000, which helped pay for Milli's (left) medical costs and accommodation Cancer surgeon Dr Henry Woo set off a firestorm last week when he tweeted about Milli's surgery. 'Something is seriously wrong if a terminally ill girl with a brain tumour has to raise $120K to have surgery Dr Charlie Teo has offered to do for $60-80K,' he said. 'If it was valid surgery, it could/should be performed in the public system under Medicare #auspol.' The surgery was made possible after the 160,000 GoFundMe campaign, which helped pay for her medical costs and accommodation. Milli was diagnosed with an aggressive and malignant brain tumour in January 2016 - the same form of cancer that claimed the life of her seven-year-old cousin in 2007. Despite undergoing a series of treatments, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy, her brain tumour doubled in size within four months. Appearing on Today Tonight, her distraught parents claimed doctors in Western Australia had refused to carry out the procedure amid fears of paralysis. 'It's the biggest pain that you could ever imagine with your child,' her mother Monica said as she broke down in tears. So in a last ditch attempt, Dr Charlie Teo offered to do the $60,000-$80,000 procedure, but confessed it was going to be one of his most challenging surgeries. Appearing on Today Tonight , her distraught parents, Monica (left) and Grant (right) claimed doctors in Western Australia had refused to carry out the procedure amid fears of paralysis Milli (pictured) was diagnosed with an aggressive and malignant brain tumour in January 2016 - the same form of cancer that claimed the life of her seven-year-old cousin in 2007 But despite being criticised for accepting crowdfunded money, Dr Teo defended his price, blaming Australia's 'excessive' private health system, ABC News reported. 'The difference between public and private [and the] cost of medicine needs to be discussed,' Dr Teo said. 'But what you have to remember is that of that $120,000 [charged for surgery] most people think it all goes to me, and that's not the case at all.' He said while $80,000 goes to the private hospital, the remaining $40,000 is shared between the assistant, anaesthetist, radiologist, radiographer and intensivist. Milli (pictured left with her father Grant), along with most of her family, has a rare genetic condition called Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, which predisposes her to a wide range of cancers Despite being criticised for accepting crowdfunded money, Dr Teo (pictured) defended his price, blaming Australia's 'excessive' private health system Milli's mother, Monica Smirk, said the decision to allow Milli to go under the knife wasn't easy, but given the circumstances, there were no other alternatives. The 12-year-old, along with most of her family, has a rare genetic condition called Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, which predisposes her to a wide range of cancers. Her older sister Tess, 15, was also diagnosed with brain tumour but she has since been given the all-clear. Ms Smirk, who underwent a double mastectomy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, said on Sunday she was dreading having to wait for the outcome of Milli's surgery. 'The wait is what I'm most nervous about. Your stomach just turns and all you can do is pace. That's what we do best, we're pros at pacing. 'I know he (Dr Teo) will get it all, but will she be paralysed or not? I don't even want to think about it,' she said. A young mother has tragically died in a car crash just weeks before her 21st birthday - leaving behind her infant son who miraculously survived. Brianna Rapley was travelling with her family to Wagga Wagga when their car crashed on the New England Highway in Crows Nest on Sydney's lower north shore on Friday. The 20-year-old died at the scene, but her five-month-old son miraculously survived the crash. The 20-year-old died at the scene and her five-month-old son miraculously survived the crash 'Brianna was a young mother to Maurice, with plenty of life left in front of her,' the GoFundMe page reads RACQ LifeFlight attributed the baby's survival due to being strapped in a baby capsule. Ms Rapley's mother and stepfather were airlifted to hospital in a stable condition. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to support them during this devastating moment. 'Brianna was a young mother to Maurice, with plenty of life left in front of her,' the GoFundMe page reads. 'Any help towards this cause is greatly appreciated at this time.' RACQ LifeFlight attributed the baby's survival due to being strapped in a baby capsule Twelve other people have been killed on Queensland's roads last week in a horror streak before an annual safety initiative, Fatality Free Friday. A 90-year-old man died on Friday morning after being injured in a crash while attempting to exit a garage on Lather Street in Southport on Thursday. He lost control of the car, drove through the closed garage door and across the street, hitting a parked car on the other side of the road and crashing into the power pole. He was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment for lacerations on his head and knee, but died on Friday morning. A one-year-old boy was hit by a car and killed in Chinchilla on Thursday, and a 14-year-old boy died in a crash in a stolen car on Wednesday. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family to support them during this devastating moment It comes as homicide detectives investigate a crash last Monday that killed a Hervey Bay woman and her four young children. Charmaine Harris McLeod, 35, and her children Aaleyn, 6, Matilda, 5, Wyatt, 4, and Zaidok, 2, died in a fiery head-on crash with a truck. However, the family has not yet been added to the official road toll because Queensland Police Commissioner Ian Stewart says there is a possibility the crash was not an accident. Advertisement Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refused to let a pesky cold get in the way of her attending Queens Pride on Sunday as she shared her over-the-counter medicine regimen with Instagram followers. The New York Democrat took to Instagram early Sunday morning to regretfully announce that she wouldn't be able to attend the day's festivities as Pride Month kicks off. 'Hey everyone I was super excited to march in Queens Pride today, but sadly I came down with a really bad cold this weekend and won't be able to make it,' she wrote on her story. 'Our organizers will be marching + tabling at the festival with resources for the community. Celebrate extra for me!' She later shared a video of herself holding up a box of DayQuil and NyQuil as she remarked: 'Okay everyone, I'm trying to rally to at least pop by the Queens Pride festival - is this not the most Puerto Rican DayQuil you've ever seen? It's got Vicks VaporRub on the pill.' She added that her 'abuela' which is Spanish for grandmother would be proud of her choice in medication. The drugs appear to have worked their magic as Ocasio-Cortez later tweeted a photo of herself in a light lavender, crushed velvet pantsuit at the Pride Parade in her home district. 'Couldn't let this suit go to waste. Thanks to some extra rest, medicine + vaporu we were able to rally + join everybody for a bit at Pride today,' she tweeted. She also credited 'lots of makeup' for helping her erase evidence of illness. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refused to let a pesky cold stop her from attending Queens Pride festivities on Sunday. She shared a photo of her chic outfit on her Instagram story hours after announcing that she wouldn't be able to attend because she's been sick Early on Sunday morning Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Instagram that she wouldn't be able to march in the Queens Pride Parade due to a 'really bad cold'. She later shared her secret to fighting the symptoms - over-the-counter DayQuil and NyQuil capsules After returning home from the festivities, Ocasio-Cortez launched into one of her infamous diatribes on her Instagram story. 'Hey everyone, I wanted to take a quick minute to talk a bit about this morning and taking care of yourself and listening to your body and your intuition because I think it's something that organizers and activists and everyday people tend to struggle with a lot,' she said. After returning home from the festivities, Ocasio-Cortez launched into one of her infamous diatribes on her Instagram story 'People are always celebrated for pushing past their limits - and sometimes it's okay but sometimes I think we tend to glorify ignoring our bodies and our health to be productive.' She continued: 'We feel so committed to showing up every day that we will power through in the short term and sacrifice our long term investment and activism because we burn out, and it's not healthy.' Ocasio-Cortez said she had woken up Sunday morning feeling under the weather after having been sick all week. Explaining her first tweet about missing the march, she said: 'I knew that if I chose to power through and march today, I would have been out of commission all week because it would have taken everything that my body has and I know how my body works with sickness at this point.' 'That was a really hard decision to make, for anyone who knows about Queens Pride, it's such a huge event, it's so special. I've been really looking forward to it and getting ready all last month. 'I was really bummed out, but I also knew that if I just got some rest, if I ate a little bit, if I take medicine, I may be able to make it later in the day and stop by for as much as I could. That's the compromise that I made,' she said. Wrapping up her thoughts, Ocasio-Cortez said: 'I think that knowing and acknowledging when to challenge push yourself versus when to hold back and listen to your body is really about being really honest and disciplined. 'It doesn't mean not showing up because you don't feel like showing up, it means knowing when pushing yourself could compromise your long-term physical health or mental health but also when showing up is challenging you to grow when you otherwise wouldn't. Honesty with yourself is what determines the difference between those two things.' Ocasio-Cortez has a whopping 3.5 million followers on Instagram, a platform she uses far more regularly than the average politician. She has another 4.3 million followers on Twitter, where she shared a number of tweets documenting the time she was able to spend at Queens Pride. Ocasio-Cortez missed Sunday morning's parade but was able to attend afternoon festivities. Several fans shared pictures of themselves with the fashionable New York Democrat Ocasio-Cortez posed for a photo with a fan holding a poster with the congresswoman's face A waiter has failed to attract any sympathy after objecting to a group of patrons who spent nearly $4,000 on a meal and didn't leave a tip afterwards. The Sydney hospitality worker made the complaint on social media after serving the group of nearly 70 people on Sunday. 'How much would you expect from a 68-person function where everything went smoothly and guests said they were over the moon with how great it was?' the outraged worker posted. 'I had a function which I had been planning with the guests for four months leave $0 tips and it really left a rotten taste in my mouth.' A waiter has failed to attract any sympathy after objecting to a group of patrons who spent nearly $4,000 on a meal and didn't leave a tip afterwards (pictured, a post made to Facebook on Sunday) Attached to the post was a snapshot of the hefty bill of $3,921.50. 'Surely a $4k bill deserves at least $5?' he wrote. Though rather than draw any sympathy, outraged social media users have slammed the bartender for his unrealistic expectation. 'Tips dont exist anymore,' one person commented. 'Time to find new career options, hospitality was worth the pain for one hot minute in the late 90s.' Another person wrote: Cmon man, dont you have a salary? Other social media users even defended the patrons on the basis the food had been overpriced. 'We dont really know how over the moon they were. Just your word. It really shouldnt take four months to organise a function of 68 people,' one person said. 'Yeah, its a $4k bill, which I bet added up quickly when youre overcharging for kids' pizzas. 'This isnt a personal attack. But youre literally asking for a tip for doing your job. The product is what you sell, the service is part of your job. Its hospitality. Its not a forced occupation, but its the nature of the beast.' Another person said: 'You're not entitled to a tip.' The Sydney hospitality worker made the complaint on social media after serving the group of nearly 70 people on Sunday (stock image) According to the Fair Work Commission, a full-time or part-time waiter can be paid $20.22 an hour between Monday to Friday. The pay is increased to $25.28 on Saturday and lifted to $32.35 on Sunday. Public holiday rates are set at $45.49. The rates are increased for casual workers, who can enjoy $25.28 per hour on a weekday and as much as $50.55 on a public holiday. A dangerous rapist is back on the run after he escaped from prison for the second time in nine months. A desperate manhunt continues for Eric Ebatarinja, 39, who absconded from Darwin Correctional Facility and removed his electronic monitoring bracelet at about 8pm on Sunday. Northern Territory Police have urged members of the public to not approach Ebatarinja if they see him. Members of the public are urged not to approach Eric Ebatarinja (pictured) but to call police It's not the first time Ebatarinja has escaped from the facility after he fled in similar circumstances last September. He has been behind bars for rape, armed indecent assault and exposing a child to an indecent film. Ebatarinja absconded from cottage accommodation at the facility used to house serious sex offenders. He has repeatedly disobeyed strict supervision conditions, including drinking alcohol, smoking cannabis, watching pornography and and sneaking his on-off girlfriend into the facility for overnight stays, the NT News reported. A department spokeswoman redirected Daily Mail Australia's inquiries to police. Rapist Eric Ebatarinja escaped Darwin Correctional Facility (pictured) on Sunday night Ebatarinja is described as being Aboriginal, 160cm tall, slim build, brown eyes and black/brown hair. He was last seen wearing red and black shorts and a blue singlet. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is urged to call police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. An Australian Federal Police staffer who sent sick messages to his girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter claimed his phone could've been hacked by his ex-wife. The 49-year-old man, who has not been named, denied sending the young girl the inappropriate messages - in which he told her he 'wanted to see her nude body' - on Instagram in April 2018. Despite his denial the man was found guilty via a jury of one count of grooming at the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on Monday. An Australian Federal Police staffer has been found guilty of sending sick messages to his girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter (File picture) The man, who had held a communications role with the AFP, sent a series of illicit messages to the girl on social media (Mock up of messages pictured) The man, who had held a communications role with the AFP, sent a series of illicit messages to the girl on social media. He wrote: 'I want to see your nude body', before adding: 'Yes or no?' The Canberra Times reported. The man then persisted and asked the girl: 'Do you like me the same way I like you?' and then questioned if the girl 'liked being with him'. He also complimented the girl, stating he 'liked' her 'very short skirt'. The man rebuffed the allegations and instead suggested his ex-wife could have sent the messages from his account. He also said the victim's brother, who he said had shown a dislike for him, could have been the culprit. Prosecutors refuted his claims and labelled the suggestion his phone had been hacked as 'ludicrous'. The unidentified man was unable to be present when the jury delivered their verdict as he had been admitted to hospital as an involuntary inpatient on Friday. The man's sentence will be decided by the Supreme Court at a later date. The stock photo model who achieved internet fame in the viral 'distracted boyfriend' meme has resurfaced in a Sydney Trains Opal Card ad. A Reddit user recognised the woman in the Opal advertisement and believed she resembled the woman from the famous meme on Sunday. After getting home and procrastinating instead of doing his university work, the user found evidence that it was in fact the same woman. 'Meme Girl is now Metro Girl,' he titled the post. 'Our girl has moved up in life and has now joined Sydney trains. Sydney trains is literally a meme.' The stock photo model who become famous on the internet after the 'distracted boyfriend' meme (pictured) went viral has now resurfaced in a Sydney Trains Opal Card ad While on a train in Sydney, a Reddit user recognised the woman on the Opal Card advertisement (pictured) and believed she resembled the woman from the famous meme The woman was so easily recognisable as the 'distracted boyfriend meme' was almost inescapable online in 2017. The image is based on a 2015 stock photograph taken by Spanish photographer Antonio Guillem and has since received critical acclaim. It seems Sydney Trains have joined in on the hype as they managed to purchase an image from the same photographer, and the same model, for their new advertisements. The image shows her looking down at her phone and smiling to market the Opal Travel application on mobile devices. Many online users praised the sleuth's surprise discovery. 'As someone with face blindness I'm really impressed mate!' one user commented. 'Metro Girl is so looking forward to getting on the train to the city for that date with her boyfriend...' another user joked. The 17-year-old girl who lost a leg and several fingers in a horror shark attack on Sunday is putting on a brave face and speaking out from her hospital bed, assuring the public 'I will be okay'. Paige Winter's family beach day on Sunday at Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina took a life-threatening turn when she was bitten by a shark, leading her to have her leg amputated and sustain damage to her hand. After an evening of surgeries, Winter is speaking out saying she's staying positive. 'Although I have extensive injuries, including an amputated leg and damage to my hands, I will be okay,' the New Bern teen and high school junior said in a statement released by the Vidant Medical Center where she is being treated. 'I know I have a long road to recovery, which includes additional surgeries. I will continue to stay positive and be thankful that it was not worse,' she added, thanking the hospital for her care. Scroll down for video Paige Winter, 17, lost her leg and sustained damage to her hand after she was attacked by a shark at Fort Macon State Park in North Carolina on Sunday at 12.20pm Speaking out after her surgery she says: 'I know I have a long road to recovery, which includes additional surgeries. I will continue to stay positive and be thankful that it was not worse' Winter pictured above with her firefighter father Charlie who punched the shark five times in the nose to make it let go of his daughter The horrifying shark bite happened at 12.20pm, leaving the teen suffering deep lacerations to her leg, pelvic and hand areas, as per the Atlantic Beach Fire Department. In the attack, Winter was rescued by her firefighter father Charlie who came to her aid and punched the shark five times in the nose to scare it away, according to WPDE. Vidant Health also released a statement saying Winter is in 'good condition and receiving excellent care'. 'Her family expresses their appreciation for the first responders, the individuals on the beach who helped and her heroic father who saved her life,' the statement said. 'Despite this unfortunate circumstance, Paige is an unwavering advocate for the marine life and the animals who live in the water. She wishes for people to continue to respect sharks in their environment and their safety,' it added. A GoFundMe page of Winter has reached over a whopping $9,000 of its $15,000 goal on Monday afternoon. A GoFundMe page of Winter has reached over a whopping $9,000 of its $15,000 goal on Monday afternoon Winter is being treated at Vidant Medical Center. The hospital announced she's in 'good condition and receiving excellent care' 'Today, a familys life changed in a matter of seconds. A family day spent at the beach ended with a horrific shark attack. A 17 year old girl would have her life completely turned upside down,' the page said. 'Due to the severity of the attack, amputation of the left leg above the knee was inevitable. As family friends, we sit here hoping we can do something that could bring just a tiny bit of relief that may assist with Paiges road to recovery,' it added. An update on the page from Monday afternoon says 'Paige is being strong and optimistic while hanging with close family and friends.' Winter's grandmother also posted on Facebook Sunday evening saying Winter lost a leg above the knee in the surgery and may need a hand transplant in the future. 'Thank God our son was with her he said he punched the shark in the face 5 times before it let go. Wish we could be with them,' her grandmother Janet Winter posted on Facebook Sunday evening on her miraculous rescue. 'Surgery over she is still alive one leg gone. May need a hand transplant in the future and several on the other. Please keep her in your prayers,' she updated her followers into the night. Chad Morgan from Reel Faith Fishing Charters believes that on Friday he captured footage of a shark thrashing around in the water nearby where the girl was attacked on Sunday (scene of suspected shark above) Winter is out of surgery and according to her family is doing well and cracking jokes Despite the attack Winter's mother says that the animal-loving teen still wants 'everyone to know that sharks are still good people' According to social media, Winter is an avid animal lover and performed in her school's musical Little Shop of Horrors. She's a junior at New Bern High School. Firefighters and ABFD paramedics responded to the area by the bathhouse at 12.19pm and immediately transported her to a waiting East Care Helicopter at Carteret Health Care. 'All of a sudden, everyone started screaming, and I looked to my left and they were rushing towards this little girl. She looked little but she's actually 17,' witness Lacy Whorton said to WCTI. 'And it looked like she was belly crawling on the beach and officials were running towards her and whistles were blowing and everyone was screaming and they quickly got everybody out of the water,' she added. Fort Macon State Park police said rangers saw several sharks swimming close to the shore where Winter was attacked. Atlantic Beach-goers also helped save her life according to the hospital where she was airlifted and treated. Her mother Marcy Winter posted later on Sunday: 'Paige is out of surgery and awake, shes still pretty groggy but cracking jokes. She wants everyone to know that sharks are still good people.' The parent used to be a Marine. Paige Winter was attacked swimming at Fort Macon State Park, North Carolina around noon Her grandmother posted 'she is still alive' with 'one leg gone' and suffered injury to her hand Grandmother Janet Winter said on Facebook: 'Thank God our son was with her' Update: She followed up Sunday evening saying Winter's surgery was over and she lost a leg and may need a hand transplant in the future Paige's mother Marcy Winter posted later on Sunday: 'Paige is out of surgery and awake, shes still pretty groggy but cracking jokes. She wants everyone to know that sharks are still good people' Chad Morgan from Reel Faith Fishing Charters believes that on Friday he captured footage a shark thrashing around in the water nearby where the girl was attacked on Sunday. He added to WCTI that sharks are becoming a real problem in the area. There have been 16 shark attacks in the United States this year so far, most of them have taken place in Florida. Last Saturday a 65-year-old California man was fatally injured by a shark in Hawaii. In 2018 there were 33 shark bites reported in the US. Trackingsharks.com advises to avoid swimming in murky water, after storms, while wearing yellow or shiny jewelry. It also states sharks may be attracted to bright colored tattoos. If attacked it recommends fighting back if possible. Attack the face by hitting, ripping, poking and tearing at the shark's eyes and gills. Three gamblers who targeted a 95-year-old man seen carrying a large wad of cash in his pocket at Sydney's Star casino followed him home before pushing him and taking his life savings of $6,250. When police caught up with one of them and accused him of robbing an elderly man, Amandeep Singh replied: 'Yeah, that's why we gave him back $100 so he can eat.' The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday dismissed Singh's challenges to his conviction and his minimum three-year jail term. Three gamblers who targeted a 95-year-old man seen carrying a large wad of cash in his pocket at Sydney's Star casino followed him home before pushing him and taking his life savings of $6,250 The then 26-year-old gambling addict was working as a taxi driver in Victoria but travelled to Sydney in July 2017 to gamble $5,000 his father had sent him from India for his university tuition fees. He and two co-offenders had lost heavily at the Star when one noticed the elderly gambler getting a large amount of cash out of the inner pocket of his jacket. 'The offenders followed the victim on the light rail to Central railway station, on the train to Strathfield station, on another train to Concord West station, and then on foot to the victim's residence,' the agreed facts state. He answered their knock on his door, only to be pushed out of the way and back inside onto a milk crate near the front door. One assailant covered his mouth with his hand while another put his hand into the jacket and took out the $6,250 before handing him back a $100 note. They returned to the Star and gambled, losing all the stolen money. The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday dismissed Singh's challenge to his conviction and sentence The District Court sentencing judge found Singh developed a gambling addiction shortly after arriving in Australia in 2015 on a student visa. He was starting a Master's degree in business at a private college in Victoria. 'He gambled between $,1000 and $5,000 per day and went to the Crown casino in Melbourne even when he had no money,' Judge Siobhan Herbert said. Singh gambled and lost his parents' retirement fund of almost $50,000, borrowed money from friends, deferred his studies when he was unable to pay his fees, and became homeless having no money for rent. While he pleaded guilty to aggravated break and enter and robbery in company, he contended at his appeal that he did not 'break' in but knocked on the door. This submission was later withdrawn, but the Appeal Court went on to rule that the agreed facts supported the charge. In dismissing the sentence appeal, the court said the judge properly took into account Singh's gambling and substances disorders and the time imposed was not manifestly excessive. The 95-year-old victim was 'highly vulnerable', the cash stolen was not an insignificant amount of money to him and he was pushed over in his own home onto a milk crate. Singh's maximum term is four years and six months. Qantas has ditched plans to include gyms, play areas and bunk beds on long haul flights if they decide to go ahead with non-stop flights from Australia's east coast to London and New York. The Australian airline's CEO Alan Joyce said the decision on whether to buy a multibillion-dollar order of jets for Qantas' 'Project Sunrise' non-stop service would wait until Boeing and Airbus submitted their final offers in August. Both companies are going up against each with A350 up against Boeing's new 777X, and are pitching journeys of up to 21 hours, which could start in 2022, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The Australian airline's CEO Alan Joyce (pictured), said the decision will be announced at the end of the year with Boeing and and Airbus submitting offers by August for Project Sunrise 'We met in the last two days with both the senior executives of Boeing and Airbus and we had very good discussion with both of them,' Mr Joyce said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association's AGM in Seoul. 'Both are very keen to win this.' The flights will contain four newly designed cabins for economy, premium economy, business and first class. However, Mr Joyce has backtracked on original plans to include children's play areas, bar and offices, and even install bunk-beds for economy passengers to sleep in. Both companies are going up against each with A350 up against Boeing's new 777X, and are pitching journeys of up to 21 hours, which could start in 2022, Fairfax reported There will be more leg-room for economy passengers who are looking to stretch their legs on long flights. 'We are, on the aircraft, looking at a zone that we're calling the 'fourth zone', for people to stretch and exercise and hydrate,' Mr Joyce said. 'And that will be part of the product that we use to launch.' Paris, Frankfurt and Chicago are also currently being looked at as destinations on long-haul flight is on the horizon depending on if Qantas purchases A350s or 777Xs. The cost of the problem-plagued Sydney light rail project has now blown out to a whopping $2.7billion after a payout to a Spanish contractor. The light rail, which will connect the CBD to Randwick and Kingsford, was originally meant to cost taxpayers $1.6billion when major work began in October 2015. But the NSW government found itself amidst a legal battle after the consortium building the light rail alleged they were being misled over the project's complexity. The government settled the dispute with a $576million deal, which they say resolves $1.5billion worth of legal claims under its public-private partnership with ALTRAC. The problem-plagued Sydney light rail project has now blown out to a whopping $2.7billion after a payout to a Spanish contractor The NSW government found itself amidst a legal battle after the consortium building the light rail alleged they were being misled over the project's complexity. The government settled the dispute with a $576million deal The package also settles a court action brought by subcontractor Acciona which was separately seeking $1.1billion about alleged misinformation on the intricacies of the project. 'While Transport for NSW's position is that there was never any basis for this claim, the settlement and restructure package avoids significant legal costs to taxpayers and puts the focus of all parties back on delivering the project,' a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said in a statement on Monday. 'The package is expected to reach financial close in the coming days.' The settlement - with ALTRAC, Acciona and other subcontractors Alstom and Transdev - includes an agreement on a new timetable for the start of light rail services. Up to $129 million will only be paid once milestones are met, including the start of passenger services between Circular Quay and Randwick from December 2019, and between Circular Quay and Kingsford by March 2020. Transport for NSW has also agreed to withdraw its cross claims against ALTRAC and Acciona after dozens of businesses and landlords filed a class action against the government seeking hundreds of millions in compensation over 'poor' planning decisions. The light rail, which will connect the CBD to Randwick and Kingsford, was originally meant to cost taxpayers $1.6billion when major work began in October 2015. Pictured: worker chills out on the site 'This will assist in simplifying the proceedings and to obtain a quicker resolution,' the spokeswoman said. Transport Minister Andrew Constance sad the agreement was important ahead of project's anticipated opening in December. 'It is a reset of the contractual arrangements between all parties designed to ensure that Sydney has its light rail by the end of this year,' he told reporters in Sydney. 'It removes the uncertainty of the legal case and the uncertainty of the claims.' The cost of the project won't be known until passenger services start and when a 'completion review' is conducted by Infrastructure NSW, the Coalition says. Transport Minister Andrew Constance sad the agreement was important ahead of project's anticipated opening in December. Pictured: light rail departs Central Station Shadow Minister for Transport Jodi Mckay described the project cost as 'extraordinary' and told the ABC it was a sign of the Government's mismanagement. While the light rail is expected to open in December this year, it is only set to carry passengers between Randwick to Circular Quay. The branch line to Kingsford along Anzac Parade is a long way from completion - early agency reports have hinted work could continue until March of 2020. Under the original time frame, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was meant to cut the ribbon on the completed project ahead of the state election in March. When complete, services are tipped to run every four minutes in peak hours in Sydney's CBD and every eight minutes to and from Randwick and Kingsford. Kevin Spacey appeared relaxed and silent in Massachusetts court on Monday for a hearing in a sexual assault case where he's accused of groping an 18-year-old male at a Nantucket bar in 2016. The disgraced actor, 59, wore a smart gray suit and glasses to the pretrial hearing in Nantucket District Court where his defense attorney slammed the case as 'ridiculous' and pleaded for a summer trial to end Spacey's 'suffering'. The Oscar-winning star is accused of sexually assaulting the 18-year-old son of a former Boston TV anchor who worked as a busboy at The Club Car bar on the night of July 7, 2016. His court appearance was a surprise as he was not required to attend the hearing and the House of Cards actor has avoided the courthouse save for a brief hearing in January. Spacey remained tight-lipped as he walked through the courthouse flanked by his team of attorneys. Kevin Spacey, 59, made a surprise appearance in Massachusetts court on Monday where he appeared in a gray suit and glasses, though he was not mandated to attend and he's notably avoided the courthouse over the past year He looked grim at moments in the hearing where he's accused of groping an 18-year-old busboy at the Nantucket bar Club Car in 2016 The Oscar-winning actor remained silent as his attorney Alan Jackson did the talking for him After listening to his attorney Alan Jackson the House of Cards actor shared a brief smile Spacey pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery in January. He faces up to two-and-a-half years in jail if convicted. In the hearing Spacey's lawyer slammed the groping case as 'ridiculous'. Spacey's attorneys have stepped up their attacks on the credibility of the man who brought the allegations. In court documents filed Friday, defense attorney Alan Jackson accused the man of deleting text messages that support Spacey's claims of innocence. The prosecution said it does not have the phone. On Monday Jackson blasted prosecutors, accusing them of falsely denying they had access to that information on the accuser's phone. He then asked the judge to set a trial this summer because Spacey is 'suffering'. Judge Thomas Barrett replied saying the earliest the trial will happen is sometime this fall. Judge Thomas Barrett presided over the pretrial hearing for the actor on Monday Spacey pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery in January in the groping case. He faces up to two-and-a-half years in jail if convicted Spacey's attorneys have stepped up their attacks on the credibility of the man who brought the allegations. In court documents filed Friday, defense attorney Alan Jackson accused the man of deleting text messages that support Spacey's claims of innocence Former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh came forward to accuse Spacey of getting her son drunk and sexually assaulting him at the popular restaurant and bar on the resort island off Cape Cod. This is the only criminal case that has been brought against the two-time Oscar winner since his career fell apart amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations in 2017. Unruh's son told police that he wanted to get a picture with Spacey and went over to talk to him after his shift ended at the Club Car, where he worked as a busboy. The man said Spacey bought him several drinks and tried to persuade him to come home with him before unzipping the man's pants and groping him for about three minutes. He appeared calm and tight-lipped as he entered the Nantucket District Courthouse Monday The 59-year-old disgraced actor was silent as he followed his lawyers into the hearing Monday Spacey has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery and did not comment as he walked in with his lawyers. He faces up to two and a half years in jail if convicted The House of Cards actor appeared relaxed as he walked out of court with a coffee in hand The accuser told police that he tried to move Spacey's hands, but the groping continued, and he didn't know what to do because he didn't want to get in trouble for drinking. The man said he fled when Spacey went to the bathroom. Spacey's lawyers have called the allegations 'patently false' and accused the man of lying in the hopes of making money in a civil case against Spacey. They argued that the two engaged in nothing more than 'consensual flirtation' and questioned why, according to the man's story, he did not object or try to move away if he was being assaulted. Spacey is accused of groping the teenager at The Club Car bar and restaurant (above) on the night of July 7, 2016 A judge has also ordered CCTV footage from the night of the alleged incident (Spacey above with the bouncer - not the victim - at The Club Car in July 2016) Spacey's attorney urged the court in Friday's motion to order prosecutors to hand over a 'complete and unaltered' forensic copy of the accuser's cellphone, saying newly produced evidence confirms he 'deleted exculpatory text messages and provided falsified screenshots of his conversation from the night in question to law enforcement.' Spacey's lawyer is also seeking any communications about the case made by a top prosecutor in the Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office who disclosed that his sister is friends with the accuser's mother. Judge Thomas Barrett has ordered the Club Car to hand over any surveillance footage taken between 5 p.m. July 7, 2016, and 3 a.m. July 8, 2016 by Monday. A bankrupt father has been accused of stealing his 14-year-old son's identity and plunging him into $120,000 of debt. Charges were brought against Michael Trichilo Sr on Friday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, after his namesake, Michael Trichilo Jr, discovered that someone with access to his social security information had been wreaking havoc on his credit rating. Authorities say Trichilo Sr began using his now-22-year-old son's identity for the past six years, during which time he managed to accumulate $120,000 in debt under Trichilo Jr's accounts. The victim reportedly first noticed a problem with his credit when he was 16 and unsuccessfully sought a loan for his first car. A credit check revealed that he had a significant amount of outstanding loans and unpaid credit card bills believed to belong to Trichilo Sr, who had filed for bankruptcy the year before but allegedly continued to rack up debt on his son's behalf. Michael Trichilo Sr has been accused of stealing his son Michael Trichilo Jr's identity when he was 14 years old and plunging him into $120,000 of debt over the following six years Trichilo Sr turned himself in at the Lackawanna County Courthouse on Friday to face 18 felony counts including identity theft and fraud. His son initially refused to cooperate with the investigation and told detectives he didn't want to file charges against his father, according to WNEP, but changed his mind earlier this year when he felt he had no other option. WNEP reported that Trichilo Jr could be liable for his father's reckless spending if he doesn't accept responsibility. Trichilo Sr has allegedly failed to follow through with promises to fix the financial disaster, which led his family to contact authorities. The suspect has been released without bail and is due to appear in court this week. Debbie Kilroy (pictured) was sent to the notorious Women's Correctional Centre on Boggo Road in Brisbane A former drug trafficker who spent three years behind bars in a high-security prison has transformed her life to become a groundbreaking lawyer and campaigner. Debbie Kilroy, who was sent to the notorious Women's Correctional Centre on Boggo Road in Brisbane after she sold marijuana to an undercover officer in 1989, has now 'dedicated her life to fight' for criminalised women. As part of her campaign work Ms Kilroy has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to stop women being sent to prison for their massive fines. The 58-year-old previously witnessed the only murder to ever be commit inside an Australian women's prison, and was stabbed in the process of defending her friend. Following the harrowing incident she said she contemplated exacting revenge on the inmate who had committed the heinous crime. But when her plan was foiled by a prison guard, she instead vowed to turn her life around and used the rest of her time in prison to study for a university degree. Defeating all the odds, when Ms Kilroy was released from prison she made history by becoming the first ever woman with a serious criminal past to be sworn into the bar in Queensland. And in a true tale of self-reform Ms Kilroy has now 'dedicated her life to fight' and runs support group for females who have been criminalised called Sisters Inside. 'The whole purpose was to challenge what the system is doing to women and girls but I think people would say I have dedicated my life to fight,' she told ABC's Australian Story. Ms Kilroy (pictured) made history by becoming the first ever woman with a serious criminal past to be sworn into the bar in Queensland According to the Sisters Inside website, the organisation works alongside women and girls to support them and 'give them power' to control their own lives. 'We support women and girls to address their priorities and needs,' the website reads. 'We also advocate on behalf of women with governments and within the legal system to try to achieve fairer outcomes for criminalised women, girls and their children.' Ms Kilroy has also launched a campaign which aims to pay the fines and court fees of young women and mothers in order to keep them out of prison. Ms Kilroy (pictured) has also launched a campaign which aims to pay the fines and court fees of young women and mothers in order to keep them out of prison The crowdfunding campaign has already raised more than $402,862. The success of the campaign as allowed Ms Kilroy to repay the debts of 12 women who were at risk of being sent to prison. She's also been able to pay court fees for a further 122 woman who were facing the prospects of arrest. 'What we're doing is assisting individual women to talk to the infringement registrar, enter a small payment plan, if it's $20 a week or something so the warrants are gone,' Ms Kilroy said. 'At least you're not at risk of being arrested.' Australian Story's Lady Justice airs on Monday at 8:00pm on ABC TV and iview. The family and friends of a 27-year-old father found dead on a Queensland street have described their sorrow at losing a young father in suspicious circumstances. Jeremy 'Jerra' Turner was found dead on Barfoot Street in the north Brisbane suburb of Bracken Ridge about 5.45am on Saturday. Police cordoned off a crime scene and declared the death to be suspicious on Saturday. Homicide detectives are now investigating. Mr Turner's niece posted a social media statement to express her shock at her young uncle's sudden death. Jeremy Turner, 27, from Brisbane northern suburb of Deagon, was described as a young father who loved his children very much. His family are in shock and disbelief at his sudden death 'Just two weeks ago I was in your arms telling you my plans for the future and you telling me how you would always be there,' she said on Facebook. 'I love you more than anything, rest easy uncle until we meet again. You'll always be in my mind and heart.' Friends of the young father stepped forward to speak of their sorrow to the Courier Mail on Monday, saying how he had loved his family. 'He loves his kid so much. It's so shocking and I won't ever be able to deal and believe it,' said one close friend. 'He was so lost in life but the loyalty and love he had no one will ever match.' Police cordoned off this area near Barfoot street, Bracken Ridge, where Mr Turner's body was found on Saturday. Homicide detectives searched the area and have asked the public for help: if you have any information, please call police on 131 444 or 1800 333 000 Another friend took to Facebook in disbelief at the news. 'I actually can't believe this!' she said. 'I love you my brother. My thoughts are with your brothers and Dad.' 'I'm so sorry.' Police have called for the public to help them with information to find out what happened to Jeremy Turner. If you have information please call Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A British woman claims she was held in an American jail for three days and shown an electric chair after she tried to visit her boyfriend. Sophie Frampton, from Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, told the Times she was handcuffed, strip searched, and held without her migraine medication amitriptyline in Austin, Texas. The 30-year-old was on her fourth visit to the country in 11 months to see her partner Zaid Khayat, 25, but admitted there had been a change to her address since she had applied for her Esta. Sophie Frampton had travelled to America to see her partner Zaid Khayat, 25 Ms Frampton claims she was handcuffed, strip searched, and held without her medication in a jail in Austin, Texas Ms Frampton says she met her boyfriend on holiday in Thailand in May 2017. She said she first visited the US in August 2017 before going again in November and January 2018. But officials raised concerns over a visa application she made after her first visit, when she wrongly thought that her Esta permit was for a single entry. She had also put an Australian address on her Esta, where she was backpacking when she applied for it. The Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA) allows you to stay in the US for up to 90 days without needing a VISA. They cost around 9, and must be applied for at least 72 hours before you travel. Ms Frampton claims she was handcuffed and driven to jail, told to strip and kept in a cell without her migraine medicine. She also claims she was unable to use the toilet in her cell. Ms Frampton claims she has had counselling on her return to Britain. She and Mr Khayat have since been reunited in the UK and in Canada. This comes after a British marketing manager visiting his girlfriend in Chicago was locked in a cell for 24 hours and banned from the US for life, after immigration officials found a month-old text saying: 'I am moving to be with you.' Arrests Britons at US airports have increased every year since 2014, with 103 immigration-related arrests recorded by British consulates in the first four months of this year Ms Frampton said she'd had counselling on her return to Britain and had had to meet her boyfriend in the UK and Canada Isaac Roblett, 24, from Hastings, East Sussex flew to the Illinois city on April 24 for the trip of a lifetime with American girlfriend Camila Iglesia (pictured left together), 23. But when immigration officials found a text message (right), sent during an argument, saying 'I am moving to be with you', he was deported from the country for life What is an ESTA permit? How it lets you travel to the US for less than 90 days without a visa An ESTA lets you visit the US for less than 90 days without needing a visa as long as it's for a holiday or a business trip. It's called the visa waiver program. It is officially called an Electronic System for Travel Authorisation. To get one you must be a UK citizen or a citizen from another visa waiver country visiting the US. The US Customs and Border Patrol recommends that you apply for one at least 72 hours before departure. You will only need it if you are arriving by plane or cruise ship. It currently costs $14, which is around 9 in British money. That's if you decide to apply for one on the ESTA website. You will probably pay more if you do it through a travel agent. If you are refused entry to the US you will only be charged $4. If it goes through, however, it will be valid for two years and you can make multiple trips back to America during that time. You cannot just renew it when it runs out, you have to re-apply for it each time. If you are looking to stay for longer in the US you would need a different document, such as a work visa. Advertisement Isaac Roblett, 24, from Hastings, East Sussex flew to the Illinois city on April 24 for the trip of a lifetime with American girlfriend Camila Iglesia, 23. He had been talking about spending three months in the country under an ESTA permit. But when Mr Roblett arrived in the country, immigration officials questioned him about his reasons for travel. They scoured his phone and discovered a text message about 'moving' and feared he may stay in the country long term. He claims that in reality, he was visiting his girlfriend for their one year anniversary. The couple had met on Tinder as she studied on an exchange at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in Sidcup, Kent. As Mr Roblett was taken into a room for questioning his girlfriend, who is from Miami and studies acting at Columbia College Chicago, was left waiting in the airport. He claims she remained there for around 15 hours until going home. Marketing manager Mr Roblett was locked up in a cell for a day and interrogated in a windowless room for an hour and a half. He was deported the next day without seeing Ms Iglesia and is now also banned from visiting the US for life. Mr Roblett had previously flown to his girlfriend's home city of Miami and the pair drove to Chicago, where Ms Iglesia is studying to become an actress, late last year. This time, they had been planning to visit New York and Los Angeles. The couple (pictured) had met when Ms Iglesia was studying on an exchange at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in Sidcup, Kent The guards continued to comb his messages and Mr Roblett says they made comments about his relationship which were 'below the belt'. The next morning Mr Roblett spoke to the British Embassy, and paid 700 for a flight back to Heathrow with a stopover in Dublin. He was taken to the plane in handcuffs. Since returning to the UK he says he has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and now wants to warn others that US border officials will comb visitors' phones. The couple are going to try and stay together, despite Mr Roblett's ban. 'It's horrible, the love of my life is in another country and I can't even see her,' he added. A Queensland mother is appealing for a change to the law after her four-year-old daughter choked on a common household item found in many homes. Andrea Shoesmith, from Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast, is calling for a review of product safety laws after her daughter Summer Alice Steer, 4, swallowed a button battery. Summer died on June 30, 2013 after a battery got caught in her throat, causing her to bleed and then go into cardiac arrest, The Sunshine Coast Daily reported. A Queensland mother is appealing for legislative change after her four-year-old daughter Summer (pictured) choked on a common household item found in most homes Summer died on June 30, 2013 at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane after she went into cardiac arrest the button battery in her throat (pictured) caused her to bleed At the time of the tragedy, the coroner had recommended improving button battery safety and the health industry, but this is still yet to formally happen. Ms Shoesmith has now joined consumer advocacy group CHOICE in campaigning for legislative change to make lawmakers improve the industry. An investigation by CHOICE in March revealed manufacturers and retailers are ignoring safety risks posed by button battery powered items. '10 out of 17 button battery powered household items failed CHOICE safety tests with the potentially deadly batteries easily accessible,' CHOICE Head of Policy and Campaigns, Sarah Agar said. 'Given that at least one child a month suffers a serious injury after swallowing or inserting a button battery, it's essential that industry be forced to take this problem seriously.' According to Ms Agar, there have been at least 17 cases of children being seriously injured in Australia since December 2017. 'While toys for children under three are legally required to have secure battery compartments, many everyday household items do not. 'Thermometers, book lights, kitchen scales and a remote control were among the products that failed our button battery safety tests,' she said. Andrea Shoesmith (left), from Tewantin on the Sunshine Coast, is calling for a review of product safety laws after her daughter Summer Alice Steer, 4 (right), swallowed a battery Like many parents, Ms Shoesmith admitted she wasn't aware of how dangerous button batteries could be (stock) Like many parents, Mr Shoesmith, who works at Tewantin State School, admitted she wasn't aware of how dangerous button batteries could be. She said there isn't a day that goes by she doesn't think of Summer, so she wants to facilitate change to prevent another tragic accident like this from happening again. 'Summer didn't get the chance to grow up,' Ms Shoesmith told The Sunday Mail. 'The school has banned products with button batteries since Summer's death, but there is a whole big country out there with kids who are at risk.' Ms Shoesmith said 'it's too late for Summer (pictured) but we can help save other kids' Ms Agar said while the industry is aware of the potential safety risks, there is only a voluntary code that requires manufacturers to make the batteries secure. But CHOICE research has found some of the major brands sold in big retail outlets are ignoring the safety issue, she said. 'Self-regulation is failing, and it's putting Australian children at risk of serious harm.' 'Until these laws change, we will continue to see companies prioritise profit over safety and in the worst cases, the safety of children,' Ms Agar said. Ms Shoesmith, who is also the mother of 12-year-old Finn, said six years is too long for nothing to happen so she hopes the campaign will help to speed up the process. 'It's too late for Summer but we can help save other kids,' she said. A family of five were rushed to hospital in the early hours of Monday morning after accidentally giving themselves carbon monoxide poisoning. The family, who live in Cabramatta, had been using an outdoor charcoal burner inside their apartment, which released toxic gasses into the air. Paramedics and firefighters attended the home just before 2am, where the family were taken to hospital in a stable condition. A spokeswoman for NSW Ambulance told Daily Mail Australia all five - two adults and three children - had various reports of headaches, nausea and vomiting. A family of five were rushed to Liverpool Hospital (pictured) early on Monday morning after experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning Video taken at the home shows one family member carrying out a young boy, while paramedics help another person inside the ambulance. A spokeswoman for Fire and Rescue NSW says residents are urged to avoid using outdoor heating equipment inside their homes, including items that use 'head beads' or LPG as a fuel source. 'This type of equipment is not suitable for indoor use and can lead to a build up of carbon monoxide which could be fatal,' she said. 'All heating devices should be used in accordance with manufacturer's recommended practices.' The family are still at the hospital, but in a stable condition. More illegal boatloads of Sri Lankan asylum seekers could be heading to Australia just days after 20 were intercepted at sea and sent back home, according to Department of Home Affairs sources. The department is investigating a possible new threat to Australia's borders that up to six boats from Sri Lanka could be on their way or have recently attempted journeys to our shores, radio station 2GB reported. A senior department source told 2GB host Ben Fordham on Monday that Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has travelled to Sri Lanka this week because 'there could be up to six boats in play'. 'I've been told some of these journeys have already been disrupted but it's got Home Affairs worried that others are on the way,' Mr Fordham told his listeners. There are growing concerns Operation Sovereign Borders officers may intercept more boatloads of asylum seekers from Sri Lanka in the coming months (stock photo) 'Is there a chance that the people smugglers were able to flog seats on boats because they thought Labor was going to win the election?' Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for further comment. A boatload of 20 asylum seekers, including a baby were returned to Sri Lanka last week after their vessel was intercepted by Australian authorities, which Mr Dutton later described as disturbing. Operation Sovereign Borders officers spotted the boat heading towards Australia's north-west coast during aerial patrols of the Indian Ocean a week earlier. An Australian navy vessel transported the group to the recently reopened Christmas Island detention centre, where they were held for several days before being sent home on a government charter jet last Wednesday. Operation Sovereign Borders officers spotted a boatload of Sri Lankan heading towards Australia's north-west coast during patrols of the Indian Ocean last week (stock photo) 'Twenty potential illegal immigrants have been returned to Sri Lanka following a failed attempt at a dangerous and illegal maritime people smuggling venture to Australia,' an Australian Border Force spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia last week. 'The vessel left Sri Lanka illegally in early May, before being intercepted by Australian authorities. 'All passengers and crew have now been returned to Sri Lanka.' 'Since the establishment of Operation Sovereign Borders in September 2013, Australia has now returned to Sri Lanka 186 people from 10 people smuggling boats.' There are reports Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton (pictured) travelled to Sri Lanka this week The boatload were the first asylum seekers in five years to arrive by sea to Christmas Island, 1,500 kilometres north west of Australia's mainland, where they underwent health and security checks. It's understood they left Sri Lanka in early May, just weeks after the devastating Easter terror attacks on churches and hotels that killed more than 250 people across the country. Operation Sovereign Borders is a border protection operation set by the Coalition Government in 2013 led by the Australian Defence Force aimed at stopping asylum seekers from reaching Australia's shores. More than 50,000 asylum-seekers made it to Australia by boat under the previous Labor government, while an estimated 1,200 drowned while Labor were in government during 2007-2013. A group of 17 Vietnamese nationals made it as far as the Daintree rainforest in far north Queensland last August before they were flown to Christmas Island before being sent home. A boatload of Sri Lankan asylum seekers were transported to the recently reopened Christmas Island detention centre (pictured) before they were sent home last Wednesday Christmas Island detention centre was reopened earlier this year to guard against a feared influx of asylum-seeker boats. 'My job now is to ensure that the boats don't come,' Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the time. 'My job now is to do everything within my power, and in the power of the government, to ensure that what the parliament has done to weaken our borders does not result in boats coming to Australia.' The prime minister spent $185 million reopening the detention centre to accommodate refugees and asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island found to need medical assessments in Australia. It's understood no medical transferees have yet been taken to the facility. The recent budget revealed the government would try to repeal the laws and close the centre by July. Advertisement The pilot of an Italian cruise ship which crashed into a river boat on Sunday has described the horror moment he battled to regain control of the vessel during the accident. The unidentified pilot of the MSC Opera told emergency officials the ship experienced a loss of controls and that he had 'activated all procedures' to stop it before it crashed on the Giudecca Canal in Venice. In an audio clip revealed in the Italian media, the pilot said anchors were dropped and that tugboats connected to the ship's bow and stern took maneuvers to stop the ship. 'Here on the bridge, we don't understand what happened,' the pilot is heard saying. Five people were injured in the collision, all of whom had been on board the small pleasure cruiser River Countess at about 8.30am Sunday. Four female tourists, an American, a New Zealander and two Australians, were among those injured in the horror crash on Sunday. The passengers are seen toppling from the the river boat during the crash after it collided with the enormous cruise ship MSC Cruises, said the ship, the MSC Opera, was about to dock at a passenger terminal when it had a mechanical problem and hit the River Countess (pictured) The damaged harbor quay after the MSC Opera smashed into the concrete structure leaving it and the smaller boat severely damaged Horrifying images showed the hulking cruise ship sounding its horn as petrified tourists attempted leap from the river boat which was smashed in the head-on collision - leaving it severely damaged. Medical authorities say four female tourists - an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 - were injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the tourist boat. MSC Cruises said the 2,679-passengers onboard the 177-ft high and 902-ft long long liner, which dwarfed the Venice skyline, were approaching the terminal when the ship hit the dock after a technical problem. The collision comes days after seven people were killed and 21 remain missing after the Mermaid, a sightseeing boat, capsized on the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary. In another video, terrified passengers can be heard shouting 'hold on' as the luxury cruise boat crashes into the river boat and then the pier. The cruise ship's owner, MSC Cruises, said the ship, the MSC Opera, was about to dock at a passenger terminal when it had a mechanical problem. The ship then appeared to lose control after a steel cable that tied it to a tugboat snapped. Two towboats guiding the cruise ship into Venice tried to stop the massive cruise ship, but they were unable to prevent it from ramming into the small and powerless river boat. President of a towboat association in Venice, Davide Calderan, told the Italian news agency ANSA: 'The two towboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the river boat.' Mr Calderan said the cruise ship's engine was locked when the captain called for help. Following the accident, Italian firefighters were deployed to the scene as shocked spectators watched on in horror from the dock. Panicked tourists were filmed running away in shock as the huge cruise liner sounded its booming horn to warn them to get clear Shocking images show the cruise ship ploughing into the much smaller river boat on Sunday after a technical issue The damaged boat, River Countess, pictured with a twisted bow after it was hit in the head-on collision on Sunday morning Passers-by watch on in horror after the cruise boat crashes into the small boat. Two towboats guiding the cruise ship had initially tried to stop the massive cruise ship, but they were unable to prevent it from ramming into the small boat The luxury MSC Opera cruise liner stands by a tourist boat following the shocking collision in Venice yesterday morning Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash. 'There was this huge ship in a diagonal position in the Giudecca Canal, with a tugboat near which seemed like it couldn't do anything,' she said. She described the ship 'advancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock.' She said: 'The bow of the ship crashed hard into the bank with its massive weight crushing a big piece of it. Sirens were wailing loudly; it was a very dramatic scene.' The international cruise ship line with its headquarters in Geneva, says its ship, the MSC Opera, experienced a mechanical problem as it was docking at a passenger terminal and says it is cooperating with authorities to figure out what happened. The incident has now reignited calls to ban cruise ships in Venice which have been a source of contention in the over-extended tourist city. Danilo Toninelli, Italy's transport minister, said 'today's accident in the port of Venice proves that cruise ships shouldn't be allowed to pass down the Giudecca anymore.' He added: 'After many years of inertia, we are finally close to a solution to protect both the lagoon and tourism.' The MSC Opera was built in 2004 and can carry over 2,675 passengers in 1,071 cabins. According to its sailing schedule, the cruise ship left Venice on May 26 and travelled to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece before returning on Sunday to the popular tourist destination of Venice. The incident took place on one of Venice's main canals, the Giudecca Canal, during the early hours of the morning The cruise ship left Venice on May 26 and travelled to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece before returning on Sunday Smaller emergency boats attempt to help clear passengers from the wrecked pleasure cruiser after the hulking ship crashed into it The incident reignited calls to ban cruise ships in Venice which have been a source of contention in the over-extended tourist city Spectators take pictures after the tourist river boat is struck by a towering cruise liner in Venice, Italy, on Sunday Terrified passengers shout 'hold on' as the MSC Opera crashes into a dock and a tourist river boat following a technical issue Shortly after the crash, members of the city's 'No Big Ships' Committee were seen standing next to the MSC Opera cruise ship and staging a protest against large cruise boats that sail close to the shore in the area. Campaigners of the 'No Grandi Navi' movement have long since argued that cruise ships in the area damage the iconic city's ecosystem and disturb the ancient city's buildings. The crash comes days after seven people were killed and 21 remain missing after the Mermaid, a sightseeing boat which had 35 people onboard, including 33 South Korean tourists, capsized in just seven seconds on the River Danube in Budapest on May 29. Following the tragedy in Hungary, officials said there was a slim chance of locating the missing people after the sightseeing boat, sank almost instantly upon impact with a cruise ship called the Viking Sigyn outside the Hungarian Parliament building. Seven South Korean tourists onboard the Mermaid died and 21 are still missing, including a six-year-old girl, with searches still ongoing in the Hungarian capital. Officials confirmed that 30 South Korean tourists, three South Korean tour guides and two Hungarian crew were onboard the sightseeing boat. The captain of the Viking Sigyn, identified only as Yuriy C, 64, was taken in by police following the Danube tragedy, after authorities suspected him of 'endangering water transport leading to a deadly mass accident'. 19 South Koreans are still among the 21 missing. In an audio clip revealed in the Italian media, the pilot said anchors were dropped and that tugboats connected to the ship's bow and stern took maneuvers to stop the ship Angered members of Venice's 'No Big Ships' Committee take to the streets and stage a protest by the MSC Opera cruise ship Campaigners stand near the dock following the shocking crash this morning and protest against big ships being used in the area A worker is seen operating his boat after a tourist river boat and a cruise liner collide near a Venice dock on Sunday morning A 31-year-old survivor, who only gave her surname as Jung, told a South Korean news agency: 'The current was so fast and people were floating away but the rescue team did not come.' Following the collision, CCTV footage showing the larger boat colliding with the 89ft Mermaid, which had 35 people on board, began to emerge on social media. During the video, The Viking appeared to hit the Mermaid from behind, before the smaller Soviet-era vessel spun sideways on impact. Following the tragedy Pal Gyorfi, a spokesman for the Hungarian national ambulance service, told the M1 state broadcaster: 'I wouldn't say there is no hope, rather that there is a minimal chance (of finding survivors). 'This is not just because of the water temperature, but (also) the strong currents in the river, the vapour above the water surface, as well as the clothes worn by the people who fell in.' Earlier this week seven tourists were reported dead and 21 remain missing after the Mermaid, a sightseeing boat, capsized in just seven seconds in the River Danube in Budapest, Hungary A woman looks out onto the Danube as the search continues for the missing people of the boar crash earlier this week A man jogs passed as people lay flower tributes on the bank of the Danube river where a sightseeing boat capsized a few days ago A man lights a candle near the riverbank after a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists crashed by a large river cruise ship and sank in River Danube Two women sit on the banks of the River Danube river in Budapest, where a sightseeing vessel capsized on Wednesday Schoolgirls are using spray deodorant to self-harm in new concerning trend which causes painful blisters and chemical burns. An aerosol burn, also known as a 'frosty' due to its similarity to a frostbite, occurs when spraying the pressurised gas of a can in close proximity to the skin. The sudden drop of temperature to the skin produces painful blisters and chemical burns, also called bullae. Research in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology has documented two cases of the alarming self-harm trend where two UK teenagers, aged 11 and 16, displayed aerosol burns, Stuff reported. Schoolgirls are using spray deodorant to self-harm in new concerning trend which causes painful blisters and chemical burns (stock image) Pictured: The lesions an 11-year-old girl presented. An aerosol burn occurs when spraying the pressurised gas of a can in close proximity to the skin. The sudden drop of temperature to the skin produces painful blisters and chemical burns, also called bullae 'Both patients had an unremarkable history with examination revealing multiple bullae and erosions,' the authors wrote. The 16-year-old girl struggled to walk due to the blistering on her left foot while the 11-year-old had displayed the lesions on her left hand over a two-month period. Dr Caroline Mahon, who is writing on the cases, said a parent of one of the teenagers found a deodorant can 'under the sheets at the bottom of her child's bed... some months after the skin lesions started appearing'. The self-harm method is becoming 'increasingly common' with school-aged youths, but the skin condition in itself is 'uncommon', according to researchers from the University of Auckland. 'Bullae are an uncommon manifestation of dermatitis artefacta reported to be induced by pinching, thermal injury using a heated spoon and aerosolised products.' In 2016, the 'frosty challenge' swept across New Zealand and youths were dangerously encouraged to see how long they could stand the freezing spray. Dr Mahon suggested the 'social media stunts' inspired using deodorant cans to self-harm. Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 The 11-year-old's injuries are seen between two to three weeks after the first picture Sutcliffe, who lived in Bradford, West Yorkshire, believed he was on a 'mission from God' to kill prostitutes, although not all his victims were. His other victims, aged between 16 and 47, included two university students, a civil servant, a bank clerk and a supermarket worker. Sutcliffe was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper because he mutilated his victims using a screw driver, hammer and knife. He was also convicted of seven counts of attempted murder in and around Yorkshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. Timeline: Summer 1975: Peter Sutcliffe begins attacking women, two in Keighley and one in Halifax. All three survive and police do not link the attacks. 30 October 1975: Sutcliffe carries out his first fatal attack on Wilma McCann, a 28-year-old prostitute from the Chapeltown district of Leeds. 20 January 1976: He murders Emily Jackson, 42, from Leeds, battering her with a hammer and stabbing her with a screwdriver. 5 February 1977: He kills Irene Richardson, 28, another prostitute from Leeds. 23 April 1977: Sutcliffe strikes for the first time in his home town of Bradford, murdering 32-year-old Patricia Atkinson. 26 June 1977: The case comes to the attention of the national press after Sutcliffe murders Jayne MacDonald, a 16-year-old shop assistant. The murder, and the realisation that a serial killer is on the loose in Yorkshire, shocks the country. The attacker is dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper by the press, and West Yorkshire Chief Constable Ronald Gregory appoints his most senior detective, Assistant Chief Constable George Oldfield, to investigate the murders. 1 October 1977: Sutcliffe chooses Manchester for his next attack - on Jean Jordan, 20. He dumps her body on an allotment and throws her bag, containing a brand new 5 note he gave her, into nearby shrubs. Police find the bag and trace the serial number on the note back to the payroll of Yorkshire hauliers T and W H Clark, who employ Peter Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe is interviewed by police but provides an alibi placing him at a party. 21 January to 16 May 1978: Sutcliffe murders three prostitutes - Yvonne Pearson, 21, from Bradford; Helen Rytka, 18, from Huddersfield, and 40-year-old Vera Millward from Manchester. 4 April 1979: Sutcliffe kills Halifax Building Society clerk Josephine Whitaker, 19. June 1979: A tape is sent to police by a man calling himself Jack the Ripper, who has already sent a series of hand-written letters from Sunderland. Assistant Chief Constable Oldfield mistakenly decides that these are the work of the Ripper. Wearside Jack, as he becomes known, is pinpointed to the Castletown district of Sunderland by voice experts. Detectives are told they can discount suspects who do not have a Wearside accent. July 1979: Police interview Sutcliffe for the fifth time. Detective Constables Andrew Laptew and Graham Greenwood are suspicious but their report is filed because his voice and handwriting do not fit the letters and tape. 2 September 1979: Sutcliffe murders Barbara Leach, 20, in Bradford. 2 October 1979: A 1million campaign is launched to catch the Yorkshire Ripper. 20 August 1980: The Ripper claims another victim, Marguerite Walls, 47, from Leeds, followed by Jacqueline Hill, 20, a Leeds University student, on November 17. November 1980: Detective Chief Superintendent James Hobson replaces Oldfield. Hobson downgrades the importance of the Wearside Jack tape and letters. 3 January 1981: Sutcliffe admits he is the Yorkshire Ripper after police arrest him with a prostitute. Police admit the killer does not have a Wearside accent. 22 May 1981: Sutcliffe is jailed for life at the Old Bailey. The judge recommends a minimum sentence of 30 years. He is transferred to Broadmoor secure hospital in Berkshire in 1984. 24 May 1989: Wife of Sutcliffe wins damages. 21 March 2006: John Humble, a former builder, is sentenced to eight years in prison after he admits to being the Yorkshire Ripper hoaxer known as Wearside Jack. 1 June 2006: A report which has been kept secret for nearly 25 years reveals that Sutcliffe probably committed more crimes than the 13 murders and seven attempted murders for which he was convicted. April 2017: Sutcliffe is questioned by police officers over 17 unsolved cases that bear similarities to his past crimes. He is not being investigated over any murders and it is unknown which of the incidents police think are linked to the serial killer. Ramadan worshippers have detained a man at a London mosque after he reportedly attempted to attack people with a hammer. The worshippers seized the man at around 4.30am outside the Darussalam Cultural Centre in Southall, west London. He was arrested by police, who said the incident was not terror related. The worshippers seized the man at around 4.30am outside the Darussalam Cultural Centre in Southall, west London 'A 38-year-old man is reported to have attempted to attack people,' said a Metropolitan Police spokesman. 'He was detained by worshippers prior to police arrival. 'He has subsequently been arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm and is in custody at a west London police station.' No injuries were reported and the incident was not being treated as terror-related, the force said. 'It is believed the man may have been involved in a dispute with people who he believed to have been attendees from the mosque the previous day,' the Met said. Officers remained at the scene on Monday morning as an investigation took place. It is possible more have been injured by the thugs who are yet to be found One of the roos carrying a joey had an arrow through its chest was put down Two kangaroos have been shot with arrows at Greenvale north of Melbourne Cruel thugs have shot arrows at two kangaroos, with a mother bearing a joey in its pouch suffering injuries so bad it had to be put down. Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network was called after a female kangaroo was spotted on Saturday in Greenvale, an hour north-west of Melbourne with an arrow through her chest. After being unable to grab the injured animal they returned the following day and found a different kangaroo, a male with an arrow in his back. Scroll down for video Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network was called after a female kangaroo was spotted on Saturday in Greenvale, an hour north-west of Melbourne with an arrow through its chest The male kangaroo only sustained minor injuries but was given a sedative and taken to Melbourne Zoo for treatment. There are now fears the heartless thugs could have shot a more animals with wildlife rescuers continuing their search of the area. The mother kangaroo was carrying a joey that was taken in to care at the wildlife sanctuary. 'It's sickening and it makes us incredibly sad. These are unnecessary, deliberate acts of cruelty,' Mel Fraser from Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network said. After being unable to grab the injured animal they returned the following day and found a different kangaroo, a male with an arrow shot in to its back The mother kangaroo was picked up by rescuers on Monday and sadly had to be put down 'I've been involved in arrow cases before. Our team isn't new to it, but it never gets easier,' she said. The sickening behaviour comes just two weeks after a kangaroo was found decapitated in Adelaide. Another kangaroo found in Sydney with an arrow through its head in December last year. Victoria Police said they are conducting an investigation into the attacks. The mother of missing chef Claudia Lawrence (pictured) is 'shocked' after finding out her daughter's phone was still working hours after she disappeared, which supports the theory she was abducted by someone she knew The mother of missing chef Claudia Lawrence is 'shocked' after finding out her daughter's phone was still working hours after she disappeared, which supports the theory she was abducted by someone she knew. Phone records have only just revealed Ms Lawrence's phone was on for four hours after she failed to turn up for work in York on March 19 2009. It was deliberately switched off just after midday. Her mother Joan, 75, was not aware of the phone records, telling the Mirror: 'This is new to me. The police have never mentioned this. I'm a bit shocked. 'It must have been known and I don't understand why it's just come out now.' On the day she disappeared, Ms Lawrence, 35, was due to start work at 6am at Goodricke College on York University grounds, a 45-minute walk from her house in Heworth. At 10am when she had not arrived her manager called her mobile phone - a basic Samsung D900 model, not a smartphone - which connected to a mast at nearby York University, a North Yorkshire Police source told the Sunday Times. The source said: 'Her mobile phone never left the area of York. This is part of the reason why the police believe she fell victim to an attack by somebody that she knew who was familiar with the area.' Yesterday it emerged detectives' leading theory about what happened to Ms Lawrence is that she was taken by someone she knew close to her home. Her mother Joan, 75, (pictured on Good Morning Britain earlier this year), said: 'This is new to me. The police have never mentioned this. I'm a bit shocked. It must have been known and I don't understand why it's just come out now.' Her mother added: 'I had no idea about the manager's message. If someone abducted her and then realised Claudia had her phone, it makes sense they'd turn it off.' She says the idea of someone turning off her daughter's phone makes her 'physically sick'. A 1million murder inquiry was launched after Ms Lawrence vanished a decade ago. Nine people including several from her place of work have been arrested or interviewed under caution, but police have never found sufficient evidence to support a charge. Claudia Lawrence's Samsung D900 connected to a mast near her home in York on the day of her disappearance Her disappearance was investigated at the time and in a 2013 cold case review, but detectives have been frustrated by a lack of evidence unusual in the digital age. No body has been found, so there is no crime scene from which to extract forensic evidence. There was little CCTV in the area around her home, and she had neither a smartphone nor a social media profile to examine for clues. However the mobile phone evidence is a major lead for investigators, who have heard Claudia was a prolific user of the device. The call from her manager placed her handset in a nine-mile area from the university to Tockwith village, including her home in Heworth. Two hours after the call, at 12.10pm, mobile phone records indicate that Ms Lawrence's phone was switched off, though it is not known where it was at the time. Experts say the records show her phone sent the network a record - known as an 'explicit detachment' - that it was being powered down before being switched off. Friends said Ms Lawrence was never without her phone and her father, Peter, said the device was 'always charged up. She used it a great deal for texting.' The day before her disappearance, Ms Lawrence spoke to her mother, Joan, at around 8pm. Police believed she was at home at the time of the call. Her shift the next day was a 45-minute walk from her house. Mobile phones work by transmitting a signal to the nearest cell site, which has three aerials encompassing a 120-degree arc, called a sector or azimuth. Handsets can be placed within the arc of the vector, but not a specific location. Former detective chief inspector Colin Sutton, who helped investigate the crimes of serial killer Levi Bellfield, said: 'What may have happened is that the phone rings out at 10am and goes to voicemail simply because there is nobody there. 'Then whoever it is, possibly the suspect, looks at the phone at 12.10pm, realises there is a missed call, realises the phone is still switched on and then switches it off.' However, Mr Sutton said that Ms Lawrence's phone ringing did not necessarily mean she was anywhere near her phone. But investigators would treat it as her location until it was ruled out, he added. He said that rather than the phone being smashed or thrown in the river - which would send the network an implicit detachment record - her killer had the 'calmness of mind' to switch off the phone 'in the normal way' after seeing the missed call. Mr Lawrence said he had been 'in limbo' for ten years since his daughter's disappearance. 'We still don't know any more than we did. North Yorkshire Police handout CCTV image of a pick-up truck which was seen parked outside the house of chef Claudia Lawrence 'It's the not knowing that's what eats into you every single day. Claudia's father Peter Lawrence said he had been 'in limbo' since her disappearance 'If anybody knows anything, please, let the police know.' Last year Mr Lawrence received an OBE at Buckingham Palace for services to the families of missing persons. He said last year: 'She was relatively young. She was 35 when she went missing. So she would now be a completely different person anyway, so we've missed all that time.' 'Whatever that closure is, you always hope for closure. Good or bad. You need closure.' The retired solicitor campaigned for the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Bill, also known as Claudia's Law, which was passed in April 2017. The law, which applies to England and Wales, allows families of people missing for more than 90 days to deal with their affairs. Timeline of Claudia Lawrence's disappearance Wednesday, March 18, 2009 2.31pm - 2.36pm: Claudia leaves work and walks through the York University campus. CCTV catches her walking home and she appears to post a letter 7.27pm9.12pm - Claudia uses her mobile to speak to her mother and father and exchange texts with friends 9.01pm - White Vauxhall Astra Van seen parked near Claudia's home Thursday, March 19 5.35am - A cyclist sees a left-handed man smoking with a woman on Melrosegate bridge 5.42am - Old-style light-coloured Ford Focus seen braking outside Claudia's home 6.00am - Claudia does not arrive for work 6.10am - Man and woman seen arguing outside York University 6.45am6.55am - Man seen outside Claudia's house 10am - Claudia's manager calls her. HEr phone is in the York area 12.10pm - Claudia's mobile is switched off Friday, March 20 2.07pm - Claudia is reported missing by her father, Peter Lawrence Advertisement An experienced bank manager has been accused of hiding his colleague's alleged fraud in a bid to avoid his own alleged crimes from being discovered. Lee Zaragoza, 37, was working as a senior manager at the Commonwealth Bank when he allegedly began siphoning money into his own bank account to fund his gambling habit. The father-of-two allegedly redirected $463,240 from the bank between 2013 and 2014. During this time he allegedly discovered other suspicious transactions from within the internal accounts. Lee Zaragoza (pictured), 37, was working as a senior manager at the Commonwealth Bank when he allegedly began siphoning money into his own bank account to fund his gambling habit Kathy Ung, who worked under Mr Zaragoza, had also allegedly been defrauding the bank, Sydney Morning Herald reported. She has been accused of making 107 fraudulent transactions worth a total of $64,000 between 2015 and 2016. However, when the transactions were uncovered, instead of reporting her alleged crimes, Mr Zaragoza told her to repay the money. Both alleged frauds were discovered during an internal investigation. Police will allege in court that Mr Zaragoza fraudulently lodged reimbursements from the bank's internal accounts to personal accounts on more than 90 separate occasions. It is understood suspicions were raised when Mr Zaragoza began driving a grey Range Rover. Mr Zaragoza, who has more than 18 years experience in the banking sector, was arrested last month and charged with three counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception. Two former Commonwealth Bank employees are facing court for fraud charges Ms Ung was charged with one count of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception. They have both been granted bail and are due to appear in Parramatta Local Court next month. A statement from a Commonwealth Bank spokeswoman said no customers were impacted or experienced any financial loss as a result of the issue. She said the bank has zero tolerance for any illegal activity and behaviour that undermines their Code of Conduct. She said the organisation would remove any employee who knowingly does the wrong thing. 'Where allegations are raised of any wrongdoing by employees these will be taken seriously and fully investigated. 'Where we identify possible criminal conduct, we refer matters to the police and cooperate with authorities through any investigation.' This is the bizarre moment a harnessed horse tries to enter a McDonald's restaurant before leaving a trail of manure outside. Those enjoying their McDonald's meal at the restaurant in Staines, Surrey, could not hold in their laughter as the horse took a few steps inside the door. Despite being fully harnessed, and pulling a cart, the driver cracks his whip to tell his horse to move forward in to the restaurant. Those enjoying their McDonald's meal at the restaurant in Staines, Surrey, can not hold in their laughter as a horse takes a few steps inside the door The hungry horse tried to enter the fast food chain after its driver became fed up with long queues at the drive thru. The prankster, thought to belong to a group of travellers living nearby, can be heard 'translating' his horse's 'order' for McDonald's staff inside. He says: 'He wants a double cheeseburger. He's got money in his mouth. Check his mouth, his card is in there. It's contactless.' The filmer of the video bursts in to laughter as the bemused horse hesitates in the doorway. The driver quickly backs up the horse and cart as it leaves a pile of manure just outside the entrance to the McDonald's Despite being fully harnessed, and pulling a cart, the driver cracks his whip to tell his horse to move forward in to the restaurant Suddenly it lifts its tail and the urgent need to relieve itself takes over. The driver quickly backs up the horse and cart as it leaves a pile of manure just outside the entrance to the McDonald's. As two staff members walk out of the restaurant the horse and cart, joined by another man driving another horse and cart, speed away. After the horse leaves the pile of manure in the doorway to two pony and traps speed away A 23-year-old man has been killed in a fireworks accident in New Jersey, police have confirmed. The man, who has been identified as Antonio Ortiz, from Newark, was rushed to hospital after the deadly firework he was holding exploded close to his chest, sources told News 12. The young man was pronounced dead at 1.07am on Sunday after suffering from internal injuries and a burnt finger. A 23-year-old man, who has been identified as Antonio Ortiz, from Newark, New Jersey, was killed in a fatal accident involving fireworks. The accident took place on the 200 block of South Street Following the fatal mishap, which took place on the 200 block of South Street, Mr Ortiz was rushed to University Hospital. Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose told Nj.com that the fatal incident is now being investigated by police. It is currently unknown what type of firework killed Mr Ortiz and officials will now carry out an autopsy before an official cause of death is confirmed. Current firework laws in New Jersey stipulates that small fireworks, such as sparklers, can be purchased by those over 16 but fireworks that shoot above 12 feet in the air are outlawed. Mr Ortiz was rushed to University Hospital, Newark, following the fatal mishap on Sunday morning The law states that small fireworks can be purchased in New Jersey but those that shoot above 12 feet in the air are outlawed In 2016, Donny Freire, from California, lost his hand and his eyesight after the legal firework he had been lighting exploded in his face during July 4 celebrations. Mr Freire, whose left hand was blown off in the blast, was then rushed to a Torrance trauma treatment centre where medics attended to the major blast injuries to his face and chest. Newark Police are now appealing for anyone with information to call the department's 24-hour Crime Stopper tip line. A two-year-old boy was found next to the dead bodies of his parents two days after his father killed his mother with an axe in Ukraine. Car mechanic Andriy Demyanchuk, 33, attacked his family in their rented flat in the city of Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhia Oblast region. The jealous man went berserk during a quarrel with his wife Olena Demyanchuk, 26, who he suspected of having an affair, reports say. He grabbed an axe and butchered her to death in front of their two-year-old son, according to police. Andriy Demyanchuk, 33, with his wife Olena Demyanchuk, 26, and their child who survived Andriy and Olena pictured on their wedding day. He reportedly suspected of having an affair Demyanchuk then made two nooses going to hang himself and his little son from the ceiling simultaneously. He put the nooses on their necks while standing on a chair and holding the child in his arms. After that, the father pushed the chair away with his leg. Luckily for the boy his noose was large enough for him to slip out of it and escape death as his father died, cops said. Next two days the toddler spent in the flat with his dead parents. The child was so terrified that he could not cry while sitting near the corpses, neighbours said. After murdering his wife with an axe, Andriy Demyanchuk attempted to hang both himself and his son The block of flats where the incident occurred at the family's rented flat in the city of Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhia Oblast region The boy was found after his relatives, who could not reach the family by the phone, alarmed the police. A witness said to local media: 'When officers broke into the flat, they saw the mother lying on the floor and the father hanging from the ceilling. 'The terrified child was sitting near his dead parents and nibbling on a piece of bread.' The boy was rushed to hospital in a state of shock. He is receiving all necessary medical care now. Local authorities spokeswoman Natalia Syvorashka said: 'The child is in a state of shock. He received a severe psychological trauma. He is scared. 'Forensics found rope marks on the boy's neck.' Olena was reportedly butchered to death in front of their two-year-old son with an axe Police launched a criminal case on murder and suicide. The parents' bodies were taken for further forensic examinations. According to police, lately the spouses had financial problems and their relationships were tense. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the husband was jealous of his wife. He constantly accused her of infidelity and they quarreled because of that, neighbours said. Doctors say the toddler's life is not in danger but he will need a professional therapy and counselling to recover his mental wellness. The boys grandmother is in the hospital with him. She is expected to get custody of the child. The investigation is ongoing. Police have now released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the incident Police have released an image of a man in the first official hunt for an 'upskirter' suspect since new laws were introduced. The victim - a 21-year-old woman - was at a Wilko store in Banbury in Oxfordshire on Monday May 13 when she was targeted. She was shopping at 1pm when another woman approached her and said that a man had taken a photograph up her skirt. She then reported the incident to police and officers have now released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to in connection. It is believed to be the first public hunt for a suspected upskirter after new laws about the crime came into force in April. PC Anthony Cossar of Thames Valley Police said: 'We are releasing a CCTV image of man who we believe may have vital information about the incident. 'If you are the man, or know who he is then please contact the force as soon as possible. The victim - a 21-year-old woman - was at a Wilko store in Banbury in Oxfordshire (pictured) on Monday May 13 when she was targeted 'We are also want to speak to the female witness who informed the victim that the offence had taken place. What is the law around 'upskirting'? Taking pictures up a woman's skirt became a criminal offence in April. Perverts found guilty of the crime facing up to two years in prison. Upskirting sees perpetrators taking photographs or videos of a victim's groin area from under their clothing, without that person's knowledge. The new law banning 'upskirting' passed its final legal hurdle in January when it received its third reading in the Upper Chamber of the House of Lords. The upskirting bill became part of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and cover England and Wales. It was already a crime in Scotland. Advertisement 'If you have information about the man in the CCTV, believe you know who the witness is, or have any information that may help our investigation then please come forward.' Under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 upskirting became a specific sexual offence under the existing Sexual Offences Act 2003. It came into force on April 12. The new law followed a campaign by Gina Martin, 27, who was targeted at a Killers gig in Hyde Park in 2017. After informing the police, she was told upskirting was not a specific offence. The case had been closed. An online petition calling for police to reopen the case saw a Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse put forward a private members bill calling for the act to become an offence. It secured government backing last July and the new legislation was approved in the House of Lords. Offenders face up to two years in jail. A socially awkward truck driver who raped and sexually abused five girls is about to be released into the community. Leslie Arthur Faulkner has a criminal history spanning more than 30 years, and has spent a total of 15 years behind bars in prisons across Queensland. The 67-year-old truck driver from Ipswich repeatedly re-offended whenever he was released in the past, and will now be required to reside in a restricted community. Faulkner was charged with more than 40 offences involving girls aged between six and nine years old, beginning in 1988. He received a 13-and-a-half year jail sentence for the crimes. A socially awkward truck driver who raped and sexually abused five girls is about to be released into the community (stock) The offences included the rape and indecent treatment of multiple children, often luring them to him by offering to play with them. His defence barrister Chris Minnery previously told the court Faulkner 'was not a sophisticated man'. He was illiterate when he left school at 13 to go work with heavy machinery, and acknowledged he had a problem. 'It seems he is largely institutionalised. At the end of the 13-and-a-half years he was quite happy where he was and stopped applying for parole,' Mr Minnery said. In the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Peter Applegarth ordered Faulkner be released from jail, Sunshine Coast Daily reported. Faulkner will be transferred to the Wacol dangerous prisoners' precinct, where he will be made to comply with a list of stringent supervision terms. Faulkner was charged with more than 40 offences involving girls aged between six and nine-years-old, beginning in 1988 (stock) 'This order will impose significant impositions on you, but if you can engage with the people who supervise it, you will progress towards some positive work in the community and establishing friendships with adults, which will help your own rehabilitation,' Justice Applegarth said. There are currently seven homes in the Wacol precinct housing 15 former inmates on similar orders. They have served their sentences but are still considered dangerous sexual offenders, and live in the community where they are monitored and can undergo treatment. 'Prison reserves are by far the best option to house offenders, because of their security levels and provision of rehabilitation programs,' Corrective Services Minister Judy Spence said. 'Any offender placed in this accommodation will be subject to intensive supervision and surveillance and be required to undergo treatment to address their offending behaviour. 'These reserves play an important role in that they enable certain offenders to remain at the accommodation for an extended period of time to receive treatment and demonstrate compliance before transitioning to the community.' Sue Berger Ramin named Director of Brandeis University Press Sue Berger Ramin Brandeis University announced that Sue Berger Ramin, an experienced publishing professional, will join the Brandeis University Press (BUP) as Director, a newly-created position, on July 1. With experience in trade , academic, and business book publishing on both sides of the Atlantic, Ramin served as associate publisher at David R. Godine, Publisher, the Boston-based publishing house. In the course of more than a decade at Godine, Ramin acquired key authors, created new book series, and spearheaded a variety of marketing and sales initiatives. She previously worked at Penguin Books as vice president of film and TV publishing, and at Macmillan Press in academic and humanities publishing. She also taught as an adjunct professor in the Publishing and Writing Masters Program at Emerson College. We are so pleased that Sue Berger Ramin will be joining us as the inaugural Director of Brandeis University Press, said Brandeis University Provost Lisa Lynch. BUP is an important part of our institutional mission and I look forward to Sues leadership to build our portfolio to even greater prominence and impact. BUP was founded more than 45 years ago and was a long-time member of the University Press of New England. When the consortium dissolved last year, Brandeis remained fully committed to maintaining and growing the BUP publishing program. In Nov. 2018, BUP announced a partnership with the University of Chicago Presss Chicago Distribution Center for the distribution, marketing and sales of new and existing titles. In her capacity as press director, Ramin will work closely with Brandeis series editors to acquire scholarly monographs as well as books for course adoption and general interest titles in BUPs areas of expertise in Jewish studies, and the humanities and social sciences in general. She is also committed to developing new publishing opportunities fields that cover diverse subjects and perspectives that are central to the Brandeis University mission. Im very excited to be joining Brandeis University Press at this important moment in time. Brandeis is an outstanding University that is so well-respected both nationally and internationally and I am honored to be entrusted with continuing its tradition of excellent publishing and taking it into the future, Ramin said. At a time when the written word is coming under siege it is significant that Brandeis has chosen to make a commitment to its press. It is a wonderful opportunity and I look forward to serving both the university and the wider readership with a dynamic and effective University Press. BUP has produced critically acclaimed and award-winning books in the humanities and social sciences, as well as general interest titles, with a particular commitment to publishing compelling and innovative approaches to the study of the Jewish experience worldwide. Brandeis University Presss eight seriesthe Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life; The Hadassah Brandeis Institute Series on Jewish Women; Schusterman Series in Israel Studies; Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry; Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought; Brandeis Series on Gender, Culture, Religion, and Law; Mandel Lectures in the Humanities; and the Menahem Stern Jerusalem Lectures (sponsored by the Historical Society of Israel)account for the vast majority of its publishing program. With more than 300 titles in print, BUP has won numerous prestigious awards, among them the Baron Prize of the Academy for Jewish Research, National Jewish Book Awards, Jordan Schnitzer Awards of the Association for Jewish Studies, Azrieli Institute Prizes for Best Book in Israel Studies, the Shapiro Prize of the Association for Israel Studies, the Polonsky Prize of the Hebrew University, as well as numerous prizes for design. Serious health and safety issues have been revealed in American chicken plants that want to send meat to Britain following Brexit. Donald Trump's administration insists that Britain would be expected to open its shops to American food, including 'chlorinated chicken', as part of a free trade deal. The US government, farmers and processors insist their chicken is perfectly safe. However, an undercover investigation at a US processing plant operated by America's biggest poultry producer, Tyson Foods, has revealed a series of hygiene issues. An undercover investigation at a US processing plant operated by America's biggest poultry producer, Tyson Foods, has revealed a series of hygiene issues The investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches, to be shown tonight, found piles of chicken on conveyor belts for long periods of time Concerns have focused on whether the industry operates to the same environmental standards as in Britain. One key issue has been the use of various washes, some containing chlorine, to disinfect slaughtered chicken. The investigation by Channel 4 Dispatches, to be shown tonight, found piles of chicken on conveyor belts for long periods of time, or stacked in a way that could lead to cross contamination; chicken innards on the floor; blocked drains; and supervisors touching raw chicken with their hands. Ron Spellman, a former meat inspector and current Assistant Secretary General of the European Food and Meat Inspectors Association, said he was surprised at the poor standards. The probe found chicken innards on the floor, blocked drains and supervisors touching raw chicken with their hands A former meat inspector and current Assistant Secretary General of the European Food and Meat Inspectors Association said he was surprised at the poor standards One key issue has been the use of various washes, some containing chlorine, to disinfect slaughtered chicken 'I didn't imagine that they worked to such low standards in the US,' he said. 'From what we've seen, it would appear that the EU are right, it would appear that the US are working to much lower standards than we've got in Britain and in the EU.' When asked if he thought these were acceptable standards for British consumers he said: 'Definitely not, no. Definitely not. This would be a really big step backwards for us.' Tyson Foods said: 'Our plants only operate in the continuous presence of US government inspectors who, along with our own food safety staff, ensure we're producing good food that's safe to eat. 'Tyson Foods cares deeply about the safety of our employees and consumers. We have a robust quality and safety program that includes training for new employees, continuous safety education and daily meetings at our facilities to keep safety top of mind. 'Employees are encouraged to report any workplace safety concerns to their supervisor, a member of management or our compliance and ethics hotline.' Dispatches: The Truth About Chlorinated Chicken is on Channel 4 tonight at 8pm A 17-year-old girl has been raped following a night out in Manchester City Centre by a man who offered her a lift to a taxi rank. Police are appealing for information after the teenage girl was attacked at around 3.45am on Friday 31 May after leaving Lola Lo bar on Deansgate Locks in Manchester city centre. The girl had spoken to a number of people outside the bar, before getting into a dark coloured Vauxhall being driven by a man who offered to take her to a nearby taxi rank. After getting out of the car in in the Chester Road area of Trafford she was pursued on foot by the driver who followed her before raping her in the Salford Quays area. The 17-year-old girl had just left Lola Lo bar on Deansgate Locks in Manchester city centre when she was offered a lift by a man driving a dark coloured Vauxhall A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of rape and released under investigation. The girl is being supported by specially trained officers and enquiries are ongoing. The offender is described as black and of a skinny build, around 5' 7' with a southern or London accent. He is described as having a hair line which is far back on his head and his eyes are quite far apart. Detective John Seaton of Greater Manchester Police's Trafford District, said: 'We have been doing everything we can to identify the person responsible for this horrendous attack and we are now appealing for the public's help. She was pursued on foot by the driver after exiting the car at Chester Road, Trafford. The man followed her before raping her in the Salford Quays area, near Media City 'There were many people in the Deansgate Locks area around 3.45am in the early hours of Friday, so if you think you might have any information- or if you saw the dark coloured Vauxhall in the area then please get in touch with police. 'Whatever information you have, please call us immediately.' Anyone with any information should call police on 0161 856 7527 quoting incident number 463 of 31/05/2019. Details can be passed on anonymously by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant at the centre of the trade war between Beijing and Washington, also has one of the most mispronounced brand names in the West. The name consists of two characters in Chinese, Hua () and Wei (), and is written in pin yin, the standard spelling system in China to romanise Mandarin. To pronounce Huawei correctly, try reading 'Who-are-way' really quickly but with two rising tones - one on 'who are' and one on 'way'. Huawei consists of two Chinese characters 'Hua' and 'Wei' and can mean 'China is able' while put together. To pronounce it, try reading 'Who-are-way' really quickly with two rising tones Many Chinese tech companies have given themselves English-style names to break into the Western markets, such as Lenovo and Tencent. But Huawei has stuck to its hard-to-pronounce romantised name all these years to show its patriotism and loyalty to Beijing, as many believe. The company even made a video to teach American people how to pronounce the awkwardly spelt name shortly after it started its global expansion. The name Huawei was given by the brand's founder and CEO, Ren Zhengfei, in 1987 when he is said to have set up the company with just 21,000 yuan (2,388) of borrowed funds. While put together, the two characters can mean 'China is able' or 'China can make great achievements'. Huawei's founder and CEO, former Communist soldier Ren Zhengfei (pictured), has refused to westernise his company's name to show his patriotism and loyalty to Beijing, as many believe Huawei became the centre of the political tensions between China and the United States after Washington claimed that Huawei's gear could be used by China to spy on Americans - allegations Huawei has repeatedly denied. The brand is a key in the two nation's trade war It is said that Mr Ren, who founded the business at the age of 43, decided on the name after seeing a Communist slogan on the wall which can be translated into 'put China in your heart, do great things'. Huawei is the abbreviation of the slogan. Mr Ren was born in rural Guizhou Province to teacher parents. When he first established Huawei, he had to work - and sleep - into a run-down factory in Shenzhen with a dozen other colleagues to develop their own telecommunication devices. With the huge success of the company, Mr Ren, now 74, is one of the richest men in China and estimated to be worth $1.8 billion (1.42 billion) by Forbes. He has even splurged 10 billion yuan ($1.45 billion, 1.1 billion) building a fake European town for 30,000 of his workers near Shenzhen. Last August, Huawei beat Apple to become the world's second largest smartphone maker after South Korea's Samsung. Huawei has sold more smartphones worldwide in the first quarter of this year than Apple It has held on to the title of the world's second largest smartphone vendor in the first quarter of this year, beating Apple by 3.8 per cent in worldwide market share, according to a survey from research company Gartner. The feat was achieved by Huawei's strong performance in China, said the report. Huawei became the centre of the political tensions between China and the United States after the Trump government claimed that Huawei's gear could be used by China to spy on Americans - allegations Huawei has repeatedly denied. U.S. President Trump has banned Huawei from U.S. networks. Mr Ren's daughter Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei, was arrested in Canada in December and is facing criminal charges in the U.S. Mr Ren's daughter Meng Wanzhou (pictured) is facing criminal charges in the U.S. Ms Meng was arrested in Vancouver by Canadian police in December under the request of Washington Huawei has been under scrutiny in the West after Washington claimed that the firm's gear could be used by China to spy on Americans - allegations Huawei has repeatedly denied Ms Meng, widely considered as Ren's heiress, is accused of using a Hong Kong shell company to sell equipment to Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. Huawei has denied the accusation. Last month after Beijing and Washington failed to reach an agreement on tariffs during the trade war talks, the U.S. issued orders to ban Huawei from buying parts and technologies from American suppliers. A 90-day reprieve was later issued. Then Google said it would stop providing Huawei with its license to use Android, the operating system that powers all smartphones made by the Chinese firm and its sub-brand Honor. Beijing branded the U.S. sanctions as 'economic bullying'. Huawei claimed that it would use its backup components and the U.S. trade sanctions would not affect the company's continuous service to its clients. A Huawei sub-brand unveiled its next generation phones last month despite the brand's uncertain future. A senior Huawei executive has also claimed that the company's own operating system could be launched as early as this autumn. Huawei has filed a motion in the U.S. asking the court to rule on whether it is constitutional for the U.S. to implement a military spending provision that bars the government and its contractors from using its equipment. A Cabinet minister today urged no-hoper Tory leadership candidates to quit - warning they risked wasting 'weeks on navel-gazing'. Housing Secretary James Brokenshire warned that with 13 MPs having already declared - and potentially more to follow - there could end up being more runners than the Grand National. He said the Conservatives did not have the 'luxury' of spending time 'talking to ourselves as the field was whittled down. The blunt plea came after Sam Gyimah became the thirteenth candidate to throw their hat into the ring to succeed Theresa May. The gaggle of contenders will have to be narrowed to just two in a series of votes by MPs, before Tory members make the final choice. Housing Secretary James Brokenshire (pictured at Cabinet last month) warned that with 13 MPs having already declared - and potentially more to follow - there could end up being more runners than the Grand National Senior MPs have voiced concern that the process will be more like 'speed dating' after little-known figures such as Sam Gyimah (pictured right) and former chief whip Mark Harper (left) pitched in But senior MPs have voiced concern that the process will be more like 'speed dating' after little-known figures such as Mr Gyimah and former chief whip Mark Harper pitched in. Ex-chancellor Ken Clarke leadership said the battle was 'a shambles' and the party has 'never seen such a crisis'. Mr Clarke said he fears the party was 'tearing itself apart' and was at a 'very dangerous moment'. In a speech to the Policy Exchange think-tank today, Mr Brokenshire urged some candidates to pull out. 'We simply do not have the luxury of weeks of navel-gazing or days and days of whittling candidates down to the final two and talking to ourselves,' he said. 'So I say gently to some of my colleagues who have put themselves forward for what has been described as the Grand National of Political Contests. Please think carefully. 'If you already know it's going to be a bit of a struggle to get over the first fence, let alone Becher's Brook ahead, then maybe you should pull up. There is no embarrassment in that.' As the race gathered pace today, Jeremy Hunt appeared to toughen up his Brexit position after previously warning that leaving without a deal in October would be political 'suicide'. Rivals were gleeful that Mr Hunt had wrecked his chances by suggesting a further delay - but he insisted this morning that No Deal could happen 'in extremis'. As the race gathered pace today, Jeremy Hunt (pictured waiting for Donald Trump at Stansted Airport today) appeared to toughen up his Brexit position after previously warning that leaving without a deal in October would be political 'suicide' Michael Gove is also facing a backlash after indicating that he is ready to extend the UK's departure date beyond October 31. Meanwhile, font runner Boris Johnson is due to launch his social media pitch for the top job later. In his Telegraph column, he pledged 'significantly' to increase the amount spent on every secondary school pupil to at least 5,000 if he becomes the next prime minister. He said he wanted to 'unleash' the talents of the nation by giving every child the same opportunity to 'express their heaven-sent gifts'. The former foreign secretary likened Britain to a 'giant that is managing heroically to hop on one leg' but said funding schools properly could enable the nation to take 'gigantic strides'. Mr Johnson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said there was a 'yawning funding gap' between different areas of the country, with per pupil funding in some parts of London at 6,800 while in other parts of the country it is 4,200. 'Of course there are special and extra costs of living in the capital and London schools, which face unique challenges, deserve that recognition and a helping hand,' he said. 'But I pledge significantly to improve the level of per pupil funding so that thousands of schools get much more per pupil - and to protect that funding in real terms.' It is understood Mr Johnson would like every secondary school in England to spend at least 5,000 per pupil. He said the capabilities and ambitions of all schools should also be boosted, and called for vocational training and apprenticeships to be given parity of esteem. The prominent Leave campaigner said a 'dynamic Brexit Britain' should 'rectify the mistake' that had led to funding for further education not keeping up with schools. 'It is absurd that employers have been driven to import so much skilled labour from abroad, largely because of the failures of vocational training in this country,' he wrote. 'We need to recognise the range and richness of our educational needs. And yet at the same time we need to accept that there are some purely academic disciplines - mathematics in particular - where we must be more demanding.' He said the country's mission must now be 'not just to come out of the EU and do it properly, as the people requested, but also to level up, to bridge that gap, and to unleash the talents of the entire nation'. Michael Gove (pictured heading out for a run in London last week) is facing a backlash after indicating that he is ready to extend the UK's departure date beyond October 31 Donald Trump today mocked London Mayor Sadiq Khan for being a 'stone cold loser' as the US President arrived in Britain for his three-day state visit. In return the mayor's office immediately fired back, saying Mr Trump was offering 'childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States'. Mr Trump said Mr Khan had done a 'terrible job', hitting back after the mayor compared the language used by him to that of 'fascists of the 20th century'. A war of words has erupted over the past 24 hours after Mr Khan described Mr Trump as 'just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat'. The US President and Mr Khan have repeatedly clashed in recent years, including Mr Trump criticising the mayor's response to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack. US President Donald Trump (left, arriving at London Stansted Airport with First Lady Melania Trump today) has hit back at comments by London Mayor Sadiq Khan (right) Mr Trump compared Mr Khan to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Mr De Blasio (left) stands at 6ft 5in, while Mr Khan (right, pictured in Manhattan in September 2016) is thought to be 5ft 6in As he came in to land at London Stansted Airport this morning, Mr Trump posted these tweets As he came in to land at London Stansted Airport this morning, Mr Trump tweeted: 'Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. 'He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me... Kahn [sic] reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. 'In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!' In response, a spokesman for Mr Khan said: 'This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States. 'Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years.' Later, Mr Khan escalated the row by releasing a video message recorded for Elle magazine ahead of Mr Trump's visit saying the President stood for 'the complete opposite of London's values' in his views on diversity and women's abortion rights. Holding up a sign reading 'Only weak men fear strong women', he says: 'We think diversity is not a weakness, diversity is a strength, we respect women and we think they are equal to men. Later, Mr Khan escalated the row by releasing a video message saying the President stood for 'the complete opposite of London's values' 'We think it's important to safeguard the rights of all of us, particularly the vulnerable and the marginalised. 'What we are seeing in the USA is a rolling back of the reproductive rights of women.' It comes after he used a newspaper article to attack the President who he likened to a 20th century fascist. Sadiq Khan wrote in The Observer at the weekend: 'President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. 'The far-Right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years. 'Viktor Orban in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but with new sinister methods to deliver their message.' Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg told talkRADIO today: 'I think it's perfectly reasonable of the President of the United States... 'I think that Mr Khan demeans the office and demeans the nation... I am backing Mr Trump in this row. The realpolitik... that's how the world works. 'Mr Trump is a close ally and essential through his nation to our security. We should be rolling out the red carpet of the deepest red and finest hue.' A 20ft-tall blimp depicting a cartoon baby Donald Trump flew in London during the president's last visit in July 2018 (above) and is expected to make another appearance this week The President and First Lady make their way to Air Force One after landing in Marine One yesterday (pictured) at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to leave for Britain Last night, Mr Trump was asked as he left Washington DC if he would be willing to meet Mr Khan, but compared to him New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Trump compares Mayor Khan to 'the man who ruined New York', Bill de Blasio President Donald Trump has compared London Mayor Sadiq Khan to his giant New York counterpart Bill de Blasio as he touched down in Britain today. Mr de Blasio is well known in America for his extreme left-wing views and has come under fire since being elected Mayor of the Big Apple in 2014. He is loathed by the NY police department for his policies on crime. Residents of New York also blame the mayor for a deteriorating standard of life in the city with increasing levels of petty crime, homelessness and dirty subways. Like Khan, Mr de Blasio also has a hate-hate relationship with the president. De Blasio, is also running for the Democratic nomination for president. He stands at 6'5'. Khan is 5'6' tall (pictured together above). Trump may have to beat de Blasio to win a second term as president and last month he called the NYC statesman as the 'worst mayor' in history in a video message recorded on Air Force One as he flew to New York for a high-priced Republican fundraiser. He said: 'I can't believe it. I just heard that the worst mayor in the history of New York City and, without question, the worst mayor in the history of the United States is now running for president. It will never happen. I'm pretty good at predicting things like that. I would be very surprised to see him in there for a long period,' Trump said in the video, recorded at his desk aboard the presidential airplane. 'If you like high taxes and if you like crime you can vote for him. But most people aren't into that. So I wish him luck but, really, it would be better off if you get back to New York City and did your job in the little time you have left.' Advertisement He told DailyMail.com on the South Lawn of the White House: 'No, I don't think much of him. I think that he's a - he's the twin of De Blasio, except shorter.' Mr De Blasio stands at 6ft 5in, while Mr Khan is thought to be 5ft 6in. Mr Khan's administration has sanctioned the use of a 20ft blimp depicting Mr Trump as a nappy-wearing baby again during this week's demonstrations. Writing in the Observer yesterday, Mr Khan said: 'President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. 'The far-right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years. 'Viktor Orban in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage here in the UK are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but with new, sinister methods to deliver their message. 'And they are gaining ground and winning power and influence in places that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.' Meanwhile Mr Trump has praised Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, talked up the prospect of a Brexit trade deal and denied making 'bad' comments about the Duchess of Sussex. The US president said he expected his three-day state visit to be 'very important' and 'very interesting' as he left the White House yesterday evening. Speaking to reporters over the din of his waiting Marine One helicopter, Mr Trump was asked if he planned to meet Mr Johnson during the trip. 'Well, I think I may meet with him. He's been a friend of mine. He's been very nice. I have a very good relationship with him,' the president said of the Tory leadership hopeful. He went on: 'I have a very good relationship with Nigel Farage, with many people over there (in the UK) and we'll see what happens. I may meet with him. They want to meet. We'll see what happens.' Mr Trump has already denied calling the Duchess of Sussex 'nasty' when he was recently confronted with comments she made before the 2016 US elections saying she would leave the country if he won. Advertisement Hundreds of animal rights activists carried the bodies of dead animals through the streets of Los Angeles yesterday during a memorial service for the slaughtered creatures. As the macabre march commenced in the South Californian city, campaigners, dressed in T-shirts that read 'Our planet. Theirs too', flooded the streets to highlight the plight of animals killed by humans for their meat and fur. The sombre protest, which was held in conjunction with the ninth Annual National Animal Rights Day, took place along Beverly Boulevard between Fairfax Avenue and Gardner Street. Crowds of activists could be seen carrying dead animals in their hands as they walked through the iconic city to mourn the loss of animals across the globe and advocate a vegan lifestyle. Spectators looked on open mouthed as the campaigners, some of whom were spotted carrying dead pigs, cats and birds, walked with signs bearing images of the cruelty inflicted on animals inside factory farms. Animal rights activists carry the body of a dead pig through the streets of Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles to mourn the loss of slaughtered animals across the world Campaigners in T-shirts which read 'Our Planet. Their too' walk through the South Californian city in a sombre march Animal activists taking part in the ninth Annual National Animal Rights Day walk through the streets of Los Angeles with pictures of animals Campaigners march with signs bearing images of the cruelty inflicted on animals on factory farms in an effort to raise awareness of animal cruelty Animal rights activists carry the bodies of slaughtered animals in Los Angeles on June 2, during a sombre march through the streets of Los Angeles The march concluded on Pan Pacific Park on 7600 Beverly Boulevard where a public memorial for the animals was held. National Animal Rights Day was established by the non-profit organization Our Planet. Theirs Too. in 2011 and is now celebrated across 30 cities around the world on the first Sunday in June. A message on the organization's website reads: 'The National Animal Rights Day was created to give a voice to these billions and billions of anonymous nameless beings. On this day, we stop everything else, and remember them. 'We mourn their loss, express their pain through ours, and reach out on their behalf to anyone who has a heart to listen. We also celebrate the living animals who are part of our lives, and the great strides that are being made every year towards ending the suffering of animals, and transitioning mankind to a plant-based lifestyle. 'We will do so until all animals are free and have equal rights to human animals on planet Earth.' Animal rights activists hold dead animals in their hands as they walk along Beverly Boulevard between Fairfax Avenue and Gardner Street Crowds of activists make a sombre procession through the streets carrying images of cruelty inflicted on animals on factory farms Campaigners make their way to a public memorial for dead animals on 7600 Beverly Boulevard in an effort to celebrate a plant-based lifestyle and raise awareness of animal cruelty Animal rights activists hold signs showing animals that have been treated badly at the hands of humans during a protest march held in conjunction with the ninth Annual National Animal Rights Day in Los Angeles, California Activists dressed in black T-shirts and white trousers walk through the streets of Los Angeles before holding a memorial service for animals that have been slaughtered by humans Activists prepare to carry the body of a slaughtered animal through the streets of Los Angeles during a protest held during the ninth Annual National Animal Rights Day in Los Angeles. The annual event was established by the non-profit organization Our Planet. Theirs Too. in 2011 An animal rights activists carries the body of a dead cat in her hands as she walks through the streets of Los Anglese along with fellow campaigners. The annual day is now celebrated across 30 cities around the world on the first Sunday in June Activists carry the bodies of slaughtered animals during a protest march during the ninth Annual National Animal Rights Day in Los Angeles Animal campaigners lay the bodies of dead animals on the ground during a protest march raising awareness of animal cruelty in South California Advertisement President Donald Trump has brought his 1.2million 'Beast' limousine to London this week, and the heavily armed Cadillac was spotted over the weekend at a BP petrol station in London - which resulted in the road being blocked off by police in order for the vehicle to fill up ahead of the three day trip. Passers-by spotted the President's entourage and took to Twitter to post photos of the vehicle, which was surrounded by police on motorbikes and the rest of the motorcade. It is not known how big the tank is, or how much it would cost to fill, but it averages around eight miles to the gallon. The car was filling up for the trip, as it is expected to transport the President and his wife Melania around London during their stay, accompanied by American military personnel. It is part of the multi-million pound security operation keeping Mr Trump safe as hundreds of thousands of protesters vow to make their disagreements with Trump known during his three-day visit to Britain. The Beast was spotted at a BP garage in London on Saturday filling up for the President's state visit. The presence of the car and its motorcade led to the area being closed. At the time, there appeared to be no passengers inside the vehicle The President motorcade was seen blocking off the road at the weekend while pedestrians looked on at all the vehicles which had taken up the road in order for the Beast to re-fuel. Support vehicles as well as senior military were thought to have been on the scene Above the crowds a team of police spotters and snipers stand on the roof of Buckingham Palace, which Mr Trump will visit twice today After having touched down in the UK earlier this morning, arriving by Air Force One into Stansted Airport before being ferried away on the Marine One helicopter, Mr Trump is set to get from A-B on some trips while he is in the UK by travelling in the 1.2 million 'Beast' car. The Beast was spotted this morning on its way to the US Ambassador's residence in London's Regent's Park, however the President was not in the car, as he was flown to Winfield House by Marine One. This is while his security detail arrived at Buckingham Palace at around 12pm, ahead of his meeting with the Queen. The President and Melania were also transported from Winfield House to the Palace later on. As they arrived at the Palace, Ivanka Trump, Mr Trump's daughter, was seen peering out of a window as her father and Melania arrived. The graphic above details the various components of 'The Beast' which is set to transport the President and his family around London Trump's motorcade (pictured above) arriving at Winfield House today, after the President flew from Stansted Airport rather than using the Beast The Beast was pictured this afternoon arriving at Buckingham Palace, it will then take the President and Melania to Westminster Abbey later on President Trump's limousine the beast drives from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey through busy tourist areas of London, closed off for the journey Police horses and vans are used to barricade a temporary road closure as the public wait for the roads to be opened to go about their days The Beast is a seven-seat black limousine which is designed to give the President and his family ultimate protection. The car, which will be surrounded by a 20-strong team of vehicles, watching the President's every move, is equipped with a night-vision camera and reinforced steel plating said to be able to resist bullets, chemical attacks and bombs. The Cadillac has Kevlar-reinforced tyres and steel rims that can keep the vehicle moving even if the tyres have been destroyed. The President and Melania arrived into Stansted Airport this morning and were pictured disembarking Air Force One as they begin their three day state visit Donald Trumps motorcade in Park Road en route to the US Ambassador's residence in London's Regent's Park this morning. The vehicle above is thought to be the one which carries the satellite communications truck, or the vehicle which jams hostile radar and lasers President Trump's giant motorcade followed the helicopter through central London's roads, closed for Mr Trump's visit British armed police officers patrol streets at Westminster Abbey as US President Donald J. Trump arrives in London British armed police officers with vests holding tasers and speed cuffs keeping their hands free for semi-automatic weapons The entourage travels down the mall to Buckingham Palace with police on foot lining the streets as well as police bike escorts The president's car looks sparkling clean with immaculately presented flags despite its long journey across the pond for the trip It is believed to be equipped with a Duramax diesel engine. The reason it runs on diesel is because the fuel has a low volatility, which reduces the likelihood of it exploding. Bottles of the president's blood type are carried on board in case of a medical emergency, and a satellite phone enables communication to be maintained from anywhere in the world. The car itself is burdened with carrying a whopping 20,000lb of Beast. The engine however is far from a rocket and the car's top speed it said to only be able to max out a typical highway speed in the US, which is around 60mph. The weight of the vehicle means it is likely to be a guzzler when it comes to fuel consumption and it's unlikely it achieves better than 10 miles per gallon. Lightfoot's Automotive Propulsion Expert, Professor Chris Brace criticised the President's use of the car and said: 'The visit of President Trump might turn out to be good for diplomacy but his gas guzzling state car is one of the least ecofriendly ways to get around London. 'It has similar CO2 emissions to a double decker bus, but often only carries two passengers - the bus can carry 80 people.' As well as the Beast and its accompanying motorcade, the President will also be joined by his elite Hawkeye 'kill team' which are said to have been dispatched to London in order to protect the President in the event of a terror attack. Hawkeye was introduced following the failed assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan in 1981. The agents, who are trained for eight months, will be strolling around with the President - fully armed with SR-16 rifles, a pistol and stun grenades. A road map above shows the areas which have been closed due to the President's visit over the next three days. The areas include The Mall as well as the spots close to the Houses of Parliament A woman was pictured outside of Buckingham Palace this afternoon holding a banner that stated some UK politicians were worse that Trump A woman poses with a demonstration placard on the Mall, outside of Buckingham Palace today as the president arrives People of opposing views stand outside Buckingham Palace during U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit to Britain A banner draped across London's Vauxhall Bridge was pictured today which read 'resist racism'. It was put up as Trump starts his visit to the UK Security was massively beefed up across London due to the President's visit which will span over three days. Above officers can be seen in Regent's Park An arrested man is taken head-first into a police van on Trafalgar Square as police stepped up security for the State Visit Snipers and specialist police spotters stand on the roof of the airport preparing to protect Mr Trump on his three-day state visit On the ground Britain's elite anti-terror units were stalking Stansted as part of Britain's 18million security operation They work in partnership with the President's personal security detail and if one team is caught up doing something else, Hawkeye will be able to step in and protect the President. As well as this, the Met Police are thought to have stepped up their efforts for the visit and have spent around 25million, with 10,000 officers having been drafted in to handle to protests which are planned in London, with some already having draped anti-Trump banners across London's Vauxhall Bridge. It is not thought that Hawkeye will travel in the Beast with the President, but it is likely they will be part of the motorcade. Working from the front to the back of the Beast, the chassis has steel plate bomb protection while the tyres are Kevlar-reinforced and are resistant to shredding and punctures. They are also driveable on steel rims if they happen to be destroyed. As the President and Melania arrived at Buckingham Palace in the Beast, his daughter Ivanka was pictured peering out of the windows in the palace, wearing an elegant white dress, accessorised with a large belt around the waist The Beast (pictured above) is complete with a US flag and a UK flag at the front of the vehicle, a police officer is seen at the back of the car The President's motorcade was pictured driving around Buckingham Palace this afternoon. The vehicle above is thought to be the truck which includes a satellite communications system, for the President to launch nuclear weapons A vehicle with a US number plate enters Buckingham Palace this afternoon, ahead of the President's meeting with the Queen later on Luggage and other items were seen being unloaded from Air Force One this morning which included what appeared to be gifts in paper boxes and bags A security officer brings items off Air Force One after US President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at London Stansted Airport The car is driven by a chauffeur, an elite member of the President's staff, who is trained to cope with demanding conditions, the drivers compartment has a state of the art communications centre, as well as GPS tracking. In order to keep the passengers safe, the windows have been made up of five layers of glass and polycarbonate and can handle armour piercing bullets. Defence accessories within the car include tear gas cannons as well as pump-action shot guns. As well as this, bags of the President's blood type are carried on board in the event of an emergency. Keeping the President safe and secure, the doors of the vehicle are armour-plated and are eight inches thick in order to protect him from a chemical attack. This is while the bodywork of the car is five inch thick military grade armour. It is made up of a combination of steel, titanium, aluminium and ceramic, in order to break up any projectiles. Holding up traffic! The entourage can been seen far back down the road with police on motorbikes also being present. With vehicles being on the road which are thought to be carrying the President's senior military aides earlier today The motorcade (pictured above) took up the majority of the road this morning, halting buses and other traffic on its way to Regent's Park The graphic above shows the complexity of the President's motorcade which will accompany him around London during his state visit The rest of the President's entourage: The Air Force One plane and the Marine One helicopter The President of the United States is known for travelling in style, and that is just what he will do during his state visit to London. As well as the 1.2million Beast, the President also frequently uses Air Force One, which is the plane he arrived in this morning at Stansted Airport. Since the 20th century it has been standard practice to refer to the plane as the one that transports the Commander-in-Chief. The plane today is one of two highly customized Boeing 747-200B series aircraft, which carry the tail codes 28000 and 29000. The Air Force designation for the aircraft is VC-25A. It can refuel at mid-air and has electronics which are able to deal with electromagnetic pulse as well as being equipped with advanced secure communications equipment, this allows it to function as a mobile command centre. It has quarters for those accompanying the President and is maintained by the Presidential Airlift Group. This is while Marine One is flown by Marine Helicopter Squadron HMX-1,VA as well as the newer and smaller VH-60N White Hawks. The modified military helicopters are called 'White Tops' after their white upper accents that denote their Presidential airlift mission, also known as Marine One. It can also be the preferred mode of transport to motorcades which can be pricey and logistically difficult to manage, blocking off roads. Advertisement The fuel tank is also armour plated so that in the event of an incident, the car will still be able to drive away and fuel will not leak from the vehicle. In the back of the car, the rear compartment can seat the President and up to four passengers with a glass partition which only the President has the buttons to open. The rear seats are also equipped with a satellite phone, which has a direct line to the Vice President, as well as the Pentagon, this is while the boot has a fire fighting system, tear gas and smoke screens. Away from the vehicle itself and surrounding it for protection will be a decoy and a spare car for VIPs as well as a 'watchtower' which has lasers. There are also support vehicles in which cabinet members, bodyguards and the President's doctor will travel in, just three cars away from the President himself. A 'halfback' surburban car will sit behind the Beast, which is complete with rear facing seats in order for it to keep watch for oncoming threats to the President. Behind this will be a control vehicle, in which senior military aides will travel, while the care behind them will be full of secret service elite. Behind the secret service there will be an ID car which will liase with police and behind that sits a truck, which is in place to detect for nuclear threats and biological weapons. Then there is the roadrunner, this makes sure the President has access to communications, in the event he wants to launch nuclear weapons. At the back of the motorcade there is a cameraman filming the presidents car as well as an ambulance. At the very front of the entourage sits police cars which act as sweepers, guiding other road users and pedestrians. Despite the expense of bringing the vehicles to Britain, Trump will make many of his trips around London in helicopters. A number of presidential helicopters, either VH-3D Sea Kings or VH-60N White Hawks - which are known as Marine One when the president is on board - are also brought on overseas trips. The Marine One helicopter is fitted with communications equipment, anti-missile defences and hardened hulls. Staff and security personnel are ferried around in MV-22 Ospreys and CH-46s. The President and his first lady Melania arrived this morning and is in the UK for three days where the Queen will throw a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in his honour tonight after he meets Her Majesty and Prince Harry for lunch and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla for tea. These massive Ford SUVs, complete with satellite equipment were among the equipment that Mr Trump used during his last visit to the UK in 2018 The vehicle (pictured above) will be followed by a whole team of people including security personnel. The car is pictured above carrying Barack Obama in 2018 A detailed plan (pictured above) of what the President is set to be doing while he is in the UK this week, including tea with the Queen Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was waiting for the President at Stansted as he landed and briefly held hands with Melania before he boarded the Marine One helicopter and headed for central London. His visit will be met by large protests with hundreds of thousands of people set to hit the streets and Mayor Khan agreeing to let agitators fly two blimps lampooning Mr Trump: One showing his as a 20ft baby and the other as a robot in a gold toilet. Mr Trump departed from Joint Base Andrews near Washington DC aboard Air Force One last night and landed at Stansted at 9am before heading to the US Ambassador's residence in Regent's Park - Winfield House - his base for the next three days. The US President and First Lady Melania will first head to Buckingham Palace for lunch with the Queen - and will return this evening for the state banquet, which is being boycotted by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. In between they will visit Westminster Abbey and also go for tea with Prince Charles at Clarence House. The Duke of Sussex will also attend a private lunch at the palace - although his wife Meghan Markle, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. A large number of black Chevrolet and Ford SUVs pictured above on the President's last visit to the UK in 2018, they are seen departing Prestwick Airport A detailed plan of what Mr Trump will do during his state visit to the UK. He is expected to meet the Queen, Theresa May, and attend a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace The Beast is complete with containers of the President's blood along with oxygen tanks and firefighting gear Mr Trump was presented with the 1.2million limousine in 2018, the replacement of the car which is slightly higher off the ground than the previous presidential armour-plated Cadillac, could be an effort to avoid the same embarrassment faced by former President Obama in 2009. Barack Obama was left red-faced after one of his armour-plated Cadillacs was brought to a halt as it left the U.S. Embassy in Dublin. The gigantic bomb-proof General Motors vehicle, with eight-inch thick steel on its door, didn't even make it as far as the road outside the consulate after it got wedged on a ramp, balancing on its middle with it's front wheels off the ground. The car had to be abandoned after the collision in front of waving crowds while Mr Obama and his wife were en route to his ancestral home in County Offaly. Advertisement Hundreds of people gathered yesterday to remember the 12 victims of a mass shooting in Virginia on Friday as they lit candles for each of the dead. City and state officials were among the mourners yesterday at the vigil at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. Gunman DeWayne Craddock, 40, opened fire - including on one of his own supervisors - at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday. Community members hold hands and pray around the 12 crosses at the memorial located by Building 11 of the Municipal Center yesterday. They were placed there to honor the 12 victims of the mass shooting on Friday City and state officials were among the mourners yesterday at the vigil at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. Pictured: Del Kelly Fowler holds her daughter Sophie, six, in front of the row of crosses Gunman DeWayne Craddock, 40, opened fire - including on one of his own supervisors - at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday. After lighting 12 candles, Veronica Coleman leads the congregation in prayer during a vigil for Ryan Keith Cox who was killed while trying to help people during the mass shooting Shots started firing just after 4pm and cops arrived to the scene within two minutes of the call. Pictured: Debbie Childs, in black, from Trinity Church, prays with Miranda Brown, middle, and Kelsey Bohlinger, right, at the memorial yesterday Craddock killed a woman who was on her way out of the office, used his badge to access the building's second floor and opened fire. pictured: Christine Craig, left, and Brittany Perry, both from Great Bridge Baptist Church in Chesapeake, pray over each of the 12 crosses Shots started firing just after 4pm and cops arrived to the scene within two minutes of the call. Craddock killed a woman who was on her way out of the office, used his badge to access the building's second floor and opened fire. Cops found him about five to eight minutes after entering the building and engaged in a 'gun battle' with Caddock on the second floor of Building 2 - which was built in the 1970s and was described by police as a 'honeycomb maze'. Cops got to Craddock in an office where they broke down the door and exchanged gunfire. He was subdued, taken into custody, and administered first aid. Pictured: Patricia Olds rests her hands on a cross bearing the name of Olds' coworker, LaQuita Brown Craddock died on his way to a nearby hospital after a shootout with cops. Pamela Johnson (center) of Chesapeake joins other worshipers in song and prayer during a memorial service at Piney Grove Baptist Church yesterday Mourners hold hands with their heads touching as they pray following the memorial service for the mass shooting victims The vigil yesterday closed with the lighting of 12 candles standing alongside a framed photograph of the victims (pictured) slain by the gunman. A woman read each name aloud as she lit the candles Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Virginia Beach was among the speakers reflecting on the events at the vigil yesterday. Pictured: A woman prays during the vigil The number of rounds fired was reportedly 'well into the double digits'. Cops got to him in an office where they broke down the door and exchanged gunfire. He was subdued, taken into custody and given first aid. But he died on the way to a nearby hospital. Officials said the names of the 12 victims are: LaQuita Brown, Tara Gallagher, Mary Gayle, Alexander Gusev, Katherine Nixon, Richard Nettleton, Christopher Rapp, Ryan Cox, Joshua Hardy, Michelle 'Missy' Langer, Robert 'Bobby' Williams and Herbert 'Bert' Snelling. Twelve people were tragically killed in Friday's shooting. They are (from top left to bottom right): Laquita C. Brown, Ryan Keith Cox, Tara Welch Gallagher and Mary Louise Gayle. Middle row from left are Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Joshua O. Hardy, Michelle 'Missy' Langer and Richard H. Nettleton. Bottom row from left are Katherine A. Nixon, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Herbert 'Bert' Snelling and Robert 'Bobby' Williams Craddock was described as a satisfactory worker by his employers. He's also been described as a 'disgruntled employee'. He worked at Virginia Beach Municipal Center where he launched his shooting on Friday Craddock, pictured left in his school yearbook in 1995 and right in 1996, was spotted brushing his teeth in the office restrooms where he exchanged pleasantries with a colleague and wished him a good weekend The vigil yesterday closed with the lighting of 12 candles standing alongside a framed photograph of the victims slain by the gunman. A woman read each name aloud as she lit the candles. Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Virginia Beach was among the speakers at the vigil reflecting on the events of the previous few days. The son of Holocaust survivors who escaped Poland in the Second World War said the city 'lost its beautiful but also blinding innocence' in the attack. Rabbi Zoberman was joined by a Virginia Beach city employee who survived the deadly shooting and revealed he was face-to-face with the gunman during the rampage and yelled at him to stop. Account clerk Terry Inman recalled turning around and seeing DeWayne Craddock standing inside the building with a gun. Inman said he shouted at Craddock to stop. Both men worked in the city's public utilities department. Craddock turned toward Inman and looked straight at him but did not raise the gun or make any other gesture to indicate that he actually saw Inman or anyone else. After Craddock left the room, Inman and co-worker Ned Carlstrom heard gunshots again. They think that was when their friend and co-worker, Ryan Cox, was killed. Craddock wielded two legally purchased .45 caliber pistols and used a 'silencer' to mute his shots as he opened fire on three floors of the city building. In response to the attack, the Senate's top Democrat has called for a universal background check bill to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Charles Schumer said the victims were hardworking government employees who were 'just snuffed out.' He said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should bring the bill that would require background checks on all gun sales in the US to the Senate floor for a vote. The House passed similar legislation in February. Schumer said the background check legislation could help prevent future shootings. The Sunshine Coast editions of the Yellow Pages directories have been delivered to tens of thousands of homes - despite picturing the region's major competitor. The cover of the freshly printed directory shows a smiling sky diver upon landing on the golden sands of Kirra Beach, on the Gold Coast. The city skyline stands prominently behind him, but the misleading cover forgets that the Sunshine Coast does not boast skyscrapers, instead imposing strict limitations on the height of buildings. The Sunshine Coast prides itself as the more natural region in regards to tourism, where visitors can enjoy the beach without the extravagance seen on the Gold Coast. The Sunshine Coast editions of the Yellow Pages directories have been delivered to tens of thousands of homes - despite picturing Kirra Beach, on the Gold Coast (pictured) In regards to the failed cover, Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Simon Latchford said 'everyone makes mistakes' but the regions are 'are wildly different'. 'It's like confusing the South Pole with Africa,' he told The Courier-Mail. 'The Gold Coast is like Australia's Las Vegas, and we are the place to visit for a more natural experience.' Sensis, the marketing behind the combined White and Yellow Pages, confirmed the image showcased Gold Coast Skydive at Kirra Beach. Sensis spokesman Will Clarke said: 'In previous years we've taken a localised approach with our Yellow Pages covers, however this year we decided to feature some of our customers on the front covers as an extension of our advertising campaigns'. Mr Clarke said the cover represented the breadth and diversity of the businesses offered in their directories. He added the picture did not intend to cause any rivalry between the regions but understood locals could be upset. BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire hosted a replica of the Trump Baby blimp in her studio today as protesters prepare to fly the real version over huge protests against the US President's visit to London this week. Derbyshire appeared next to the miniature version of the blimp in her studio this morning, ahead of the real 20ft-high version taking to the streets this week after London Mayor Sadiq Khan gave his permission for it to fly. The full-size blimp depicts President Trump in a nappy on a mobile phone and has become a hallmark of protests against the President in London. After this week, The Museum Of London plans to display the huge inflatable as an exhibit. Victoria Derbyshire hosted a smaller version of the Trump Baby blimp in her BBC studio today The full-size blimp is expected to fly again during this week's state visit, which includes a private lunch with the Queen and a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Museum Of London director Sharon Ament said it would also like to display the Sadiq Khan balloon, which depicted the London Mayor in a yellow bikini. The Donald Trump Baby blimp is flown over London during Mr Trump's visit in July 2018 'They're both really important and of their time,' she said. 'They characterise a satirical characteristic of British people, the way in which we sometimes respond to big issues using satire. 'They acknowledge the social discourse and dialogue in society at the moment.' The museum is funded by a raft of major supporters, with the three key backers being the City of London, Arts Council England and Mr Khan's mayoral office. Ms Ament said the museum began talks with the owners of the famous Trump blimp last year. 'We are in an open discussion and they are very warm (to the idea). They would like it to come to the museum,' she said. Of the Khan blimp, which was used as part of a campaign seeking to remove the London Mayor from office, she said: 'We are trying to connect with the people who made it.' Derbyshire stood next to a smaller version of the blimp which was in her studio this morning The museum, which tells the story of the capital from 450,000 BC to the present day, is moving from its base near the Barbican to a larger site in 2024. US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania at London Stansted Airport today The balloons are so huge that 'we won't be able to display them until we move to our new site in West Smithfield,' the director said. 'We don't own the object and the owners are still making use of it,' she said of the Trump effigy. 'It's up to them to decide when they are ready to donate it.' The Trump balloon was flown above Parliament Square last year and its owners have been given the green light by the Greater London Authority, headed by the London Mayor, to fly it once again. The blimps would go on display alongside a 'powerful' range of objects in the museum's protest collection, including banners from the Suffragettes and tents which belonged to late peace campaigner Brian Haw. Ms Ament said the blimps are 'rich' objects, shedding light on 'how people protest in London'. 'It's extraordinary how some objects can capture the public imagination; certainly the balloon really did.' The owners of the famous effigy, pictured in July 2018, are keen for it to go to the museum Asked how the US President would respond to a museum displaying the blimp alongside important historical objects, she said: 'You'd have to ask him that question.' It comes as Donald Trump arrived in the UK and immediately launched a Twitter tirade at Mr Khan, branding the London Mayor a 'stone cold loser'. In return the mayor's office fired back, saying Mr Trump was offering 'childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States'. The spat came as Mr Trump touched down in the UK for a state visit that will see him meeting the Queen and other senior royals, as well as Theresa May. The Museum Of London plans to display the huge inflatable as part of its protest collection Regarding the blimp on the Victoria Derbyshire programme, a BBC spokesman told MailOnline: 'We featured a smaller version of the blimp in the studio to illustrate the protests due to take place and highlight one of the points of controversy about whether the blimp should be allowed to fly. 'It appeared as part of an interview with protestor Anna Vickerstaff who is one of the organisers behind the blimp and Daniel Mcelhinney from Trump UK, a group of people who support the president. 'Given the widespread protests across the UK at Trump's state visit, it's appropriate to be covering this topic.' YARDLEY BOROUGH >> Yardley Borough has always loved its ducks. From day one, the boroughs location on the Delaware River has made it the perfect stop over site for migrating waterfowl. And then theres the Delaware Canal and the historic towpath, where waterfowl enjoy congregating, and also Yardley Boroughs picturesque Lake Afton, a quiet nesting spot for ducks of all... Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has never been far from controversy 2009: Mehajer is convicted of possessing or attempting to possess a 'prescribed restricted substance' and of possessing a police uniform. The convictions are later overturned on appeal. March 2011: Mehajer unsuccessfully runs as an independent member of the Legislative Assembly for Auburn at the NSW state election. He is subsequently investigated by the Election Funding Authority of New South Wales, which did not take any action against him. January 2012: Mehajer loses control of his $300,000 Ferrari and injures a mother and daughter in Sydney's west. He is convicted of negligent driving and sentenced to 150 hours community service. The conviction is later overturned on appeal. September 2012: Mehajer is elected as an independent councillor for the City of Auburn and later elected to deputy mayor. February 2013: His construction firm SM Project Developments is forced into liquidation by the ATO over unpaid taxes. February 2014: A property owned by Mehajer in Lidcombe is damaged by a suspicious fire. June 2014: He is suspended from civic office for a month by the Division of Local Government for failing to disclose his business and property interests. The punishment is overturned in December. August 2015: The then deputy mayor of Auburn marries his partner Aysha in the so-called 'wedding of the century'. Mehajer is fined $220 by Auburn council over the closure of Frances Street, Lidcombe. A petition is launched to have him sacked over the wedding. October 2015: Several contractors launch legal action over allegedly unpaid debts, including a stonemason who installed a staircase at his Lidcombe home. The same month, he is pulled over twice in less than half-an-hour behind the wheel of an allegedly unregistered Ferrari. September 2015: Mehajer is re-elected as deputy mayor of Auburn, despite the petition demanding his sacking. October 2015: He reveals that he hopes to one day work his way to 'the top spot' in federal politics. November 2015: Mehajer announces he wants to study medicine and become a mental health specialist - as he tells fellow councillors he had stood down as director from six of his seven development companies. The same month, he is forced to defend allegations he intimidated the father of a Lindt Cafe siege survivor. December 2015: The Australian Federal Police investigate Mehajer over allegations he forged documents to rig the 2012 Auburn City Council election. January 2016: He is suspended from civic office for four months for failing to disclose his financial interest in a property. It was found he voted on changes which added $1million to its value. July 2016: Mehajer is reportedly investigated by police after he allegedly transferred $20million to Lebanon. The same month, he is told he must stay at least 50 metres away from his wife Aysha until at least 17 August after police took out an AVO on her behalf. August 2016: Mehajer refuses to reveal who videos allegedly containing threats of sexual abuse and death threats - made by him - were intended for. September 2016: He is banned from managing corporations for three years after losing an appeal against a ruling made by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. November 2016: Mehajer is publicly arrested by local police in the Spanish party island of Ibiza after an argument with a taxi driver. April 2017: Mehajer is arrested and charged after assaulting a taxi driver outside The Star casino in Sydney. Just hours later, he is charged with assault after slamming Channel Seven reporter Laura Banks' hand in a car door. June 2017: Mehajer's sister Fatima pleads guilty to 77 charges of electoral fraud relating to the 2012 Auburn City Council election. The same month, his property development companies, Sydney Project Group and SET Services, are placed in the hands of administrators. September 2017: Mehajer is accused of manipulating the courts over the approval of his plans for a western Sydney shopping mall and apartment block. October 2017: He is hit with a $1million bill after allegedly failing to pay for work on his Lidcombe 'marble palace' home. The same month, Mehajer is rushed to hospital after being involved in a car crash on his way to a court hearing over the taxi driver incident. Also in October, a phone recording is leaked in which Mehajer allegedly threatens to rape a custom car mechanic. November 2017: Police raid the Mehajer's home as part of an investigation into the alleged staging of the car crash on the way to court. Mehajer is arrested and charged with breaching an AVO preventing him from seeing his estranged wife Aysha Learmonth. February 2018: Mehajer is found guilty of assaulting female TV reporter Laura Banks with a car door outside a Sydney police station last year. He is also handed a three-year good behaviour bond and ordered to undergo anger management counselling after pleading guilty over the taxi driver assault. March 20, 2018: Mehajer is declared bankrupt by a Federal Circuit Court judge after one of his companies failed to pay a debt of over $200,000 to its creditors. May 17, 2018: Mehajer is given an 18-month good behaviour bond after pleading guilty to intimidating his estranged wife. June 22, 2018: Mehajer is ordered to serve 11 months behind bars for electoral fraud. His sister Fatima is given a two-month suspended sentence. May 17, 2019: Mehajer is charged after allegedly falsely putting speeding tickets he received in 2016 into the names of other people May 21, 2019: The property developer walks free from Cooma Prison after 11 months behind bars Two fearless D-Day veterans in their nineties are to parachute into Normandy 75 years after they first landed there. Harry Read, 95, and John Hutton, 94, will take part in the descent on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of the landings. Now a retired Salvation Army officer living in Bournemouth, Dorset, Mr Read was a 20-year-old wireless operator with the Royal Signals who had a battery the size and weight of a toolbox strapped to his right leg when he was pushed out of the plane in the early hours of June 6 1944. Mr Hutton - known by his friends as Jock - was 19 when he served in the 13th Lancashire Parachute Battalion. Among some 280 paratroopers, the pair will board a Dakota aircraft in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, and fly to Sannerville with the Red Devils, where they will perform a tandem jump and land in fields used as a 'drop zone' for the 8th (Midlands) Parachute Battalion, who went on to destroy bridges in a bid to restrict German movements during the missions. More used to descending within 800ft of the ground and landing after 30 seconds, Mr Read last year challenged himself to a skydive from 10,000ft. Harry Read (pictured at 19 left and today right), 95, and John Hutton, 94, will take part in the descent on Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary of the landings After visiting the Normandy battlefields - and in a bid to support the Salvation Army's anti-trafficking and modern slavery campaign - he resolved to try another jump again. The great-great-grandfather, who grew up in Middlesbrough, said the forthcoming descent - after which he will visit fallen comrades in cemeteries - will be tinged with sadness. Mr Read said: 'I will enjoy the jump. There are very real and definite pleasures in parachuting. It might be a little bit tricky, but I'm willing to have a go. 'But also in my heart I will be thinking of my mates. I get very moved when I think about them. 'I have lived one of the most fulfilled lives that it's possible for a person to live and they haven't. I will stand in that cemetery and I will be speechless and I'll weep.' Presented with the Chevalier medal - by order of the Legion d'Honneur - for the role he played in the operation as part of the 6th Airborne Division, Mr Read remembers the flight over was so turbulent they could barely stand, adding: 'It was like riding a bucking bronco.' Then they were shoved out of the plane. He said: 'You're at your most vulnerable as a para when you're hung by your shoulders. And you know that for every bullet you can see, there are five that you can't. 'Up ahead you could see the most magnificent firework display you had ever seen in your life, except it wasn't a firework display. It was horrendous.' Mr Read descended amid mortar fire while an aircraft went down in flames ahead of him and shells exploded all around. With a target just less than four miles inland, they landed with heavy equipment which was almost immediately discarded as he was submerged by flood water. He and a comrade spent 16 hours trying to get out of the swamp before seeking refuge with a French farming family. There a priest helped them reunite with the rest of their section so they could continue their advance towards the River Seine. Mr Read, who told how he saw soldiers blown up in front of him and was briefed by senior officers to expect 50% casualties upon landing, said: 'Our casualties had been heavy. 'When we were being briefed for the actual conflict, our major general said the objectives must be carried out 'at whatever cost'. 'The cost was us. We were talking flesh and blood. Young men think they are immortal. The reality was the chances of me coming back were much smaller than the chances of me being killed. 'I came to the conclusion there would be no withholding of energy or effort on my part. I would not surrender.' Being an experienced parachutist - most recently jumping at a similar event five years ago - Mr Hutton, from Larkfield in Kent, is not at all phased by the prospect of the descent. A member of the Parachute Regiment, he said he was 'itching all the time to join a fighting unit' and when he saw recruitment posters 'I put both arms up, celebrated, in my rush to get there.' He added: 'Military parachuting was a hurried affair, mainly by Winston Churchill. 'He was at the stage where he was tearing his hair out wondering what to do to match up to the German army. 'He insisted that the British Army produce 5,000 parachutists at the drop of a hat.' Landing at Pegasus Bridge near Caen, Mr Hutton said: 'It was in the dark, but I'd done a lot of parachuting. There was nothing strange about it.' Mr Hutton, who initially signed up as a boy soldier in Stirling aged 15, still has shrapnel lodged in his stomach after he was injured in an explosion later in the Normandy campaign. He said: 'Three weeks after the landings I was on a night patrol. Germans saw us in the moonlight and threw grenades. Such was the noise I didn't realise I had been wounded. 'It was only when I got back to my hole in the ground, I couldn't feel my legs.' An Australian brewery has been forced to apologise after sparking fury over an 'incredibly offensive' Facebook post. Southern Bay Brewery, in Victoria, posted the 'beer meme' on Monday night, but within an hour they were forced to remove it. The post read: 'Non-alcoholic beer - you mean gay lemonade?' Social media users flooded the Facebook page, calling the brewery a 'disgrace' for the homophobic image. Southern Bay Brewery, in Victoria, posted the 'beer meme' on Monday night but within an hour it was forced to remove the post 'Hey wow, your social media just dropped below the quality of your beer! Congrats. Now delete this rancid post,' one woman said. 'Well this wasn't one of your better business decisions,' another said. The company then issued a grovelling apology, where they begged for forgiveness. 'This was posted without any thought whatsoever and no offence was intended. I apologise unreservedly,' the post read. 'We realise this is not good enough and we should not have posted the homophobic beer meme. It will not happen again. Social media users flooded the Facebook page, calling the brewery a 'disgrace' for the homophobic image Many social media users were shocked over the post and demanded the brewery remove it 'It was a gross error and mistake and we would appreciate it if people were kind enough to forgive us.' However, the apology has been labelled 'p*** weak' by some users who claimed it seemed less than sincere. 'Can you please update and correct your apology, it wasn't a problem because it was a ''beer meme''. It was homophobic. Let's be really clear.' 'Don't minimise your actions, but own up to it or your response is meaningless,' one person said. 'What an absolute disgrace. You have tarnished its reputation and yet again we are reminded that this bulls**t still exists,' another said. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Southern Bay Brewery for comment. A little boy whose common cold turned into a 'polio-like' disease has lost feeling in his arm, and will spend the next six months in intensive care. In mid-April, three-year-old Jacob, from the NSW Central Coast started feeling achy and had a temperature, which his mother Sheryn James assumed was just a cold. Ms James 'didn't think anything of it' and when she gave him Panadol and he started to feel better, he was running around the house playing with his father in no time. But the family's world was turned upside down when Jacob's parents noticed he had no control over his left arm, which was paralysed with no movement at all. A little boy has lost feeling in part of his body after a virus caused a disease similar to polio, and will spend the next six months in intensive care. His mother Sheryn James said that they tried to pick up Jacob's arm, but it kept falling down. 'Jacob was laughing when I was picking his arm up. I said, ''Why are you doing that?'' He said, ''I can't leave it up, I can't move it'',' she said. Jacob's parents then rushed him to Gosford Hospital's emergency department, where an MRI showed that his spine was swollen. Mrs James told Daily Mail Australia that despite knowing about the swelling, the family planned to be home by Easter. After being taken to hospital Jacob, 3, from the NSW Central Coast, was diagnosed with acute flaccid myelitis, which is sometimes called the modern-day polio He was then transferred to Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney, where doctors couldn't figure out what was causing the swelling. Mrs James said Jacob was struggling to breathe so doctors put him on oxygen, before he deteriorated further. 'It wasn't really until we started seeing him struggle to breath on the Wednesday that we thought this may have been more serious than we had thought,' she said. She said every hour that went by from the middle of the night until the morning, he went further and further down hill. 'It was 4am and we could not only see Jacob struggling for every breath but we could also see the worried looks the medical staff were giving each other,' she said. Jacob was then rushed to the intensive care unit where he was intubated. Mrs James described her son being taken to ICU as the scariest moment her and her husband Craig have ever had to go through as parents. Doctors told Jacob's parents that if he wasn't intubated he would have died within an hour. 'Seeing his little body so lifeless and vulnerable is an image I never want to see again or anything a parent should ever have to see,' Mrs James told Daily Mail Australia. Confusion was growing with his parents about what was wrong, so more tests were ran that came back negative. It wasn't until three weeks later that Jacob's family got some clarity, when results came back that he had the common enterovirus. Jacob's mother Sheryn James said her son is coping extremely well given the circumstances, and said that every day they go to the park to get him out of his room in ICU Mrs James described her son being taken to ICU as the scariest moment her and her husband Craig have ever had to go through as parents Symptoms for enterovirus are usually mild, but doctors believe this triggered a rare disease called acute flaccid myelitis, which is similar to polio. Mrs James said that before his diagnosis, doctors had pointed out the similarities of his symptoms to polio. Acute flaccid myelitis affects only one to two people in a million per year, and is sometimes called the modern-day polio. Mrs James said that eight weeks on Jacob's diaphragm and left arm still haven't seen any improvement. He relies on a ventilator to help him breathe, and is expected to remain in the ICU for the next six months. 'He's is getting stronger in other ways. Every single day he wakes up with a smile and makes jokes with all the nurses.' Jacob relies on a ventilator to help him breathe, and is expected to remain in the ICU for the next six months Mrs James said Jacob's illness has turned their lives upside down, and her and her husband Craig are only able to see their daughters Lily and Rosie on weekends as they're living near Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney Mrs James said her family is hopeful that Jacob will receive a diaphragmatic pacemaker, but it's not a common practice in Australia. 'Our amazing team of doctors are doing everything they can to find out as much information as possible to make this happen.' Mrs James said Jacob's illness has turned their lives upside down, and now her and her husband Craig are unable to work as they are far from home at the hospital. 'It also means that we dont get to see our older girls Lily and Rosie every day and we only get to see them on the weekends,' she said. 'We were a happy, carefree family and overnight we have been split up. It's easy to ask ourselves ''why has this happened to him?'', ''why has this happened to our family''?' 'But when we see his beautiful smile and his positive attitude towards it and his amazing strength and determination we know that he can handle this,' she said. After being unable to talk for a number of weeks because of a tracheotomy, Jacob had his first conversation with his father on the phone on Sunday night So far a Go Fund Me set up for Jacob by a family friend has raised $5,700 of its $7000 goal for his medical bills. After being unable to talk for a number of weeks because of a tracheotomy, Jacob had his first conversation with his father on the phone on Sunday night. 'He called dad up last night and said, ''miss you'', and it came across so loud and clear and then he said ''I love you''. It was just absolutely beautiful,' she said. Advertisement These stunning photos capture what life was like in Burma under British Rule more than a century ago. Burma, which became Myanmar in 1989, was a British colony from 1824 until 1948 when the country was granted independence after the turbulence of the Second World War. The remarkable images, taken by German photographer Adolphe Philip Klier at the start of the 20th Century, give a fascinating insight into Burma and how its people lived at the turn of the 19th Century. An enraptured audience enjoy a puppet show in Burma. The photo is part of a 1900 series shot by German photographer Adolphe Philip Klier which shows how the Burmese people live under British rule In a scene that wouldn't be out of place in Oxford or Cambridge, an exciting boat race caught on film in Burma around 1900, during British rule of the south east Asian country This stunning photo shows a huntsman aiming for the kill. The man seems completely unaware of the German photographer as he poses for the photo while holding his bow This delightful photo shows Burmese people in full festival dress. The glamorous photo highlights the different ways of life for Burmese citizens in the country A buffalo pulling a cart and farmer. Klier photographed a vast range of subjects, from distinctive architecture to life in Burma's most rural regions Burmese Buddhist Priests guarding the temple. Burma was one of the first countries in South East Asia to accept Budhism and the photos show the importance placed on the religion Young Burmese join older worshippers in a morning prayer. Buddhism is the national religion in Burma, now Myanmar, and these photos show how important the religion was to the people in 1900 With boat races, puppet shows and flowing festival dresses, the influence of the British on the country seems clear. However, the images also give an insight into the importance of religion to the people of Burma, with the nation being one of the first South East Asian countries to adopt Buddhism. Photos show Buddhist monks guarding a temple and teaching young novices about the ways of their faith. Other photos show young people joining their elders in praying outside of a temple and dutiful young monks collecting alms. Klier photographed a vast range of subjects, from distinctive architecture to life in Burma's most rural regions. Some snaps show workers toiling in the fields, buffaloes pulling carts and farmers pounding rice for both food and trade. This incredible photo shows some of the breathtaking temples in Burma, now Myanmar, and shows how big of an impact religion had on its people, with Buddhist monks revered Although the German photographer took some incredible photos, he also managed to paint a picture of everyday life in Burma. Here, Burmese labourers pound rice for food and distribution Buddhist monks and Buddhism were a major theme of the photo series. Here, Young Buddhist lean the peaceful ways of their faith while paying their respects to the older monks In this photo, young Burmese Buddhist Priests are pictured collecting alms while being supported by young children. Burma was a colony of Britain until it gained independence after the Second World War Klier was able to portray the culture of the country, from its religion to its pomp and ceremony and even the everyday lives of its workers and farmers. Here, a working elephant shifts huge lumps of wood As well as the glamorous and exciting shots, Klier also managed to capture some more mundane shots of everyday life. Including this ornate Paddy or Rice Boat carrying its load downriver, as the rower strains his muscles More glamorous shots show Shan aristocrats posing for regal portraits while surrounded by admirers. The Shan are one of the four main Buddhist ethnic groups in Burma. The German photographer was also able to snap a hunter about to make a kill, and a worker riding an elephant to clear large lumps of wood. More everyday scenes show a smoking young man trying to impress a woman, who pulls an uncomfortable expression, and a worker rowing a rice boat down a river. Britain fought three wars against the Burmese, gaining various parts of the country, before finally occupying all the area of present-day Myanmar on 1 January 1886. A Landscape shot of Rangoon from circa 1900. Rangoon is the largest city in Burma and a mix of British colonial architecture, modern high-rises and gilded Buddhist pagodas define its modern skyline The Shwedagon Paya. a golden 326-foot-tall pagoda. The Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar, as it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. These relics include the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Konagamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa, and eight strands of hair from the head of Gautama Klier photographed a vast range of subjects in his 1900 photo collection. In this one, a Burmese models poses for Klier as she works near a mirror The First Anglo-Burmese War was the longest and the most expensive war in the history of British India. Around 15,000 European and Indian soldiers died, together with an unknown number of Burmese army and civilian casualties. The entire campaign cost the British between 5 million to 13 million and triggered a severe economic crisis in British India in 1833. Burma is sometimes referred to as 'the Scottish Colony', because of the significant role played by Scotsmen in colonising and running the country, one of the most notable being Sir James Scott. The British controlled Burma through direct rule, abolishing the monarchy, and separating the church and state before giving control of the new colony to the colonial Government of India. Burma was eventually given its independence in 1948, following the Second World War and an attempted invasion by Japan. A typical river scene in Rangoon. The population and business interests of the city exploded under British rule,paving the way for it to become the biggest city in the country A regal Shan princess surrounded by her followers. The Shan state is a important region in Burma and its people are one of the four main Buddhist ethnic groups in Burma A stately portrait of a Shan chief. Though no reliable census has been taken in Burma since 1935, the Shan are estimated to number 46 million Residents on Australia's east coast have been warned to brace for wild winds, hailstorms and horrific surf conditions. Most of NSW, parts of Victoria and Queensland are expected to be drenched on Tuesday as a cold front continues to drift north from Tasmania. More than 1,000 kilometres of the east coast is expected to be impacted. The conditions intensified on Monday evening in some regions, with heavy rain and flash flooding already recorded in parts of Melbourne. The State Emergency Service in Victoria have already received more than 140 requests for assistance in the last 12 hours alone. A woman was pulled from her car in Altona Meadows, in Melbourne's west, on Monday after she became trapped in floodwaters Hail the size of marbles was spotted pelting the northern Sydney suburb of Mosman on Monday afternoon A woman was pulled from her car in Altona Meadows, in Melbourne's west, on Monday after she became trapped in floodwaters. Floodwaters had risen to the windows of the woman's red hatchback as she drove through a railway underpass. 'Firefighters had to lift the lady out of the front window,' Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman Wally Runciman said, adding the waters made it impossible for the woman to open the car's doors. The woman wasn't hurt in the incident. The Mornington police station has also flooded, while Avalon airport received a month's worth of rain in one day. State Road Safety Minister Jaala Pulford urged motorists to take care. As much as 80 millimetres of rain is predicted to fall on Monday as wild winds whip up to 70km/h, with peak gusts of 100km/h in the east (stock image) Most of NSW, parts of Victoria and Queensland are expected to be drenched on Tuesday as a cold front continues to drift north from Tasmania An eight metre swell had eroded 50 metres of the coastline and left a trail of destruction in a matter of days (pictured, aftermath at Collaroy in 2016) 'Winter has well and truly arrived, it is wet and freezing cold and this is an important opportunity to remind people of the importance of driving to your skill level and conditions,' she said. Meanwhile, hail the size of marbles was spotted pelting the northern Sydney suburb of Mosman on Monday afternoon. Gale force winds are also expected to lash New South Wales beaches with 1,000 kilometres of the coast to be impacted on Tuesday. Wild surf conditions and waves up to six metres high are expected to batter the region. Temperatures could drop as low as -2C close to the Queensland border with NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology said. Gale force winds are expected to lash NSW beaches bringing wild surf conditions with waves reaching as high as six metres on Tuesday (pictured, a graphic depiction of wind gusts expected to batter the NSW coast on Tuesday. The pink represents winds reaching up to speeds of more than 70km/h) Surf Life Saving New South Wales added any sand movement was part of the natural cycle as the beaches regenerated (stock image) The State Emergency Service in Victoria have already received more than 140 requests for assistance in the last 12 hours alone Meteorologist Michael Gray said there is a 20 per cent chance that snow will fall in that region as a flurry - snowfall that does not accumulate on the ground. If snow does fall, Mr Gray said it is most likely to happen on Tuesday morning. Snow was last recorded in Queensland in 2015 and 1984. Coupled with cool winds in the area it will feel like -8C on the Granite Belt. Mr Gray said a low pressure system in NSW pushing cold dry air north from southern areas is responsible for the chilly weather. Queensland's south east corner would also experience below average temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday. BoM also issued a surf warning from the Byron Coast in northern NSW all the way down to Eden Coast in the state's south Gale force winds are also expected to lash New South Wales beaches with 1,000 kilometres of the coast to be impacted on Tuesday In Brisbane, low temperatures of about 7C are expected with the mercury dropping to 9C on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts. BoM also issued a surf warning from the Byron Coast in northern NSW all the way down to Eden Coast in the state's south. Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast, Hunter Coast, Sydney Coast, Illawarra Coast, Batemans Coast are all expected to be battered by the monstrous waves. 'The swell outside of Sydney will be increasing throughout the day and expecting a maximum of four to six metres coming from the south,' meteorologist Ellie Blandford told Daily Mail Australia. Places like Narrabeen Beach, on Sydney's northern beaches, are expected to see a swell slightly lower than the damaging waves that struck in 2016, which damaged several waterfront homes. That year an eight-metre swell eroded 50 metres of the coastline and left a trail of destruction in a matter of days. Properties along the coast were either partly destroyed, or their foundations left teetering on the edge of the banks, only metres away from destruction (pictured, aftermath at Collaroy in 2016) Surf Life Saving New South Wales has urged swimmers and surfers to stay away from the coastline over the next couple of days. 'Tuesday winds and swell will be extremely hazardous and we advise that nobody goes to the beach along the entire NSW coast,' a spokesperson said. SES crews are on stand-by across the state, particularly in alpine regions, as the combination of wind and snowfall is likely to lead to blizzard conditions. The SES warned those driving in alpine areas to be aware of the conditions and make sure they are carrying tyre chains. Though University of Sydney School of Geosciences professor Andrew Short reassured residents in the area a repeat event was unlikely to happen tomorrow (pictured, aftermath of storm at Collaroy in 2016) Up in Sydney, forecasters have warned of 90km/h winds with the worst of the gales to be felt in Sydney and Wollongong (stock image) In the Bellarine area, in the state's south, 50mm of rain has already fallen at Spargo Creek, 49mm at Ballan, 43mm at Trentham and 42mm at Anakie. Up in Sydney, forecasters have warned of 90km/h winds with the worst of the gales to be felt in Sydney and Wollongong. Temperatures will drop in Canberra this week with a cool 2C expected on Tuesday. There is a slight chance of showers in Hobart, but unlike other parts of the country, the city looks like it is in for a mostly sunny week. Perth will have a warmer start to the week with plenty of sunshine on Tuesday - but conditions look set to take a turn on Wednesday. The surf warning comes as a low-pressure system continues to make its way north from Victoria, bringing heavy rainfall and wild weather with it (stock image) Jail staff are struggling to control a young Melbourne carjacker with an 'extraordinary' rap sheet who's unable to get the 'intensive' rehabilitation treatment she needs because she's a woman. Heba Teryaki received a reduced prison term on appeal on Monday, after the Court of Appeal found her jail time could worsen her significant mental impairment, which has been blamed for her crimes. Teryaki requires 23-hour solitary confinement and handcuffs much of the time, has an extremely low IQ, borderline personality disorder and is violent and irrational behind bars. The appeal judges said no one had been able to solve how to deal with her in jail, other than keeping her isolated under the most stringent conditions. 'The applicant finds herself in an utterly deplorable situation,' they said in their ruling. Heba Teryaki received a reduced prison term on appeal on Monday, after the Court of Appeal found her jail time could worsen her significant mental impairment, which has been blamed for her crimes. Teryaki requires 23-hour solitary confinement and handcuffs much of the time, has an extremely low IQ, borderline personality disorder and is violent and irrational behind bars 'It seems as though she is in desperate need of some form of intensive therapeutic treatment. 'Facilities are available to provide such treatment in secure institutions, but only for male offenders. That situation is obviously unacceptable. It must not be allowed to continue.' Teryaki was jailed for three years, with a minimum of two years, in 2018 over a 30-hour crime spree that included a carjacking and two attempted carjackings across suburban Melbourne in 2017. The appeal judges reduced her term to two years and three months, with a minimum one year and nine months, saying jail has been more a burden for Teryaki than the sentencing judge realised. They said her behaviour in jail had been worsening, staff were struggling to deal with her and there was a risk her jail term would affect her chances of rehabilitation. Teryaki was 22 at the time she and a male co-offender threatened a woman with a knife before stealing her Hyundai. The next day Teryaki tried to carjack another woman, but she managed to drive off with Teryaki and a co-offender hanging onto the car mirrors. Teryaki was jailed for three years, with a minimum of two years, in 2018 over a 30-hour crime spree that included a carjacking and two attempted carjackings across suburban Melbourne in 2017 (pictured The Supreme Court of Victoria) That same night, a woman parked at a gym was approached by a male and Teryaki but refused to hand over her keys. The male stabbed her in the thigh, causing a small cut. The victim managed to run and the offenders couldn't start her car because she still had the immobilisation chip. At the time of the offending, Teryaki was living at a facility for young people with intellectual disabilities. When arrested, she admitted stealing the Hyundai and said she'd smoked ice, but couldn't remember specific allegations A Canadian businessman 'with 14 children' has left a British woman he met on Tinder caring for their baby while living on 400-a-month in state benefits after dumping her days before the little girl was born. Johnathan Patrick Terry, 43, who has an address in Ontario, Canada, and has links to a Las Vegas-based hair products business, defied a judge's orders to pay maintenance to the woman, in her 20s, and her eight-month old daughter. Terry, who is thought to have 13 other children, has also not attended hearings or provided information about his finances after the mother made a cash claim following the breakdown of their relationship, which had spanned 12 months. Johnathan Patrick Terry, who is in his 40s and has links to a Las Vegas-based hair products business, defied a judge's orders to pay maintenance to the British mother of his eight-month old daughter The mother had wanted maintenance for herself and their daughter. But judge Mark Everall said at the Central Family Court, in London, that Mr Terry, who left the woman a few days before their daughter was born, had not engaged in the proceedings. Judge Everall has now approved the woman's claim for around 10,000 a month in maintenance and a 22,000 lump sum to cover rent and furniture costs. Judge Everall has now approved the woman's claim for around 10,000 a month in maintenance and a 22,000 lump sump to cover rent and furniture costs However, Terry defied a previous order to pay interim maintenance while the litigation was ongoing, and is now 16,000 in arrears. The woman has been caring for the baby in her own mother's housing association flat, and living on state benefits totalling around 400 a month. The judge said there is evidence that Terry has fathered 13 other children. Judge Everall had been analysing evidence at private hearings in the Central Family Court in London. But he decided there is now a public interest in allowing journalists to report the case and name Terry. He outlined details of the case in a ruling delivered after the latest hearing on Friday. Lawyers representing the woman asked the judge to partially lift the anonymity veil. Barrister William Tyzack and solicitor Alistair Myles, who is based at law firm Levison Meltzer Pigott, said the woman thought that letting journalists name Terry, and publish his photograph, might encourage him to pay up. Judge Everall has given his approval but said neither the woman nor the girl can be named in reports. He said she was making reasonable claims and said evidence suggested that Terry was wealthy and could easily afford what she wanted. He said evidence indicated that Terry had financed a lavish lifestyle when they were together. Judge Everall said of Terry's refusal to participate: 'It is plain that the father has not engaged, and has no intention of engaging, in these proceedings.' 'The mother fears, and with some justification, that the father will take steps to avoid paying.' Judge Everall said at the Central Family Court, in London, that Mr Terry, who left the woman a few days before their daughter was born, had not engaged in the proceedings and had ignored an interim order to pay her maintenance He said: 'Meanwhile the mother and this young child are being supported by the State.' Companies House records show that Terry has had an address in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, and involvement in a hair products firm called Her Imports. Terry could not be reached for comment. A man is to appear before South African courts today after he allegedly raped his own mother as she walked home alone from a bar. The suspect was arrested on Saturday after his mother, 50, identified him as the alleged perpetrator of the disgusting attack. Reports in South Africa suggest the man is either 28 or 29 years old. Suspect was arrested on Saturday after his mother, 50, identified him as the alleged perpetrator of the disgusting attack. Stock image shown here News 24 said that the mother was walking in Willowvale, around 400 km north east of Port Elizabeth when she heard footsteps behind her before being accosted. 'It is alleged that the victim was [walking] from a local tavern at Phaphasini Locality, Mboya Village, Willowvale on Friday at about 19:00,' police spokesperson Captain Jackson Manatha said. 'She was on her way home. The victim felt some footsteps from behind. She continued walking until the person from behind grabbed her. 'She was dragged far from the road and the suspect accosted her. She was then raped by the suspect.' The accused fled the scene of the alleged crime before his mother identified him to police as her own biological son. Charged with rape, he will appear before the Willowvale Magistrate's Court today. 'Butterworth Cluster Commander Brigadier Ngangema Xakavu strongly condemned the alleged rape of the victim especially by the suspect who was supposed to protect her as his mother,' Captain Manatha added. In another case, in May, Willowvale police arrested a 36-year-old man for allegedly raping a 69-year-old grandmother and her 10-year-old granddaughter, according to local reports. He was tracked down by vigilantes and handed over police, reports said. Jeremy Corbyn will speak at a controversial street demonstration protesting against Donald Trump's state visit tomorrow after Labour became embroiled in an astonishing full-scale diplomatic spat with the US president. The party said the left-wing opposition leader, who is already boycotting the three-day state visit, 'will attend and speak' at a demonstration expected to bring central London to a standstill. He had already backed the demonstration saying its was 'an opportunity to stand in solidarity' with those 'attacked' by the American figurehead. It came after Mr Trump had earlier launched a Twitter tirade at Sadiq Khan, branding the London Mayor a 'stone cold loser' even before touching down on UK soil. It prompted the mayor to respond by accusing the president of making 'childish insults'. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt laid into Mr Corbyn and Commons Speaker John Bercow for their 'totally inappropriate' boycott. Mr Trump has lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace today along with First lady Melania and other members of the Royal Family US President Donald Trump (left, arriving at London Stansted Airport with First Lady Melania Trump today) has hit back at comments by London Mayor Sadiq Khan (right) Jeremy Corbyn said demonstrations were 'an opportunity to stand in solidarity' with those 'attacked' by the American figurehead, who met the Queen and other royals at Buckingham Palace today Mr Trump said Mr Khan had done a 'terrible job', hitting back after the mayor compared the language used by him to that of 'fascists of the 20th century'. As he came in to land at London Stansted Airport this morning, Mr Trump tweeted: 'Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. 'He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me... Kahn [sic] reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height.' In return the mayor's office fired back, saying Mr Trump was offering 'childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States'. Mr Khan later used a video made on conjunction will Elle magazine to attack the president's views on abortion, saying: 'Your values and what you stand for are the complete opposite of London's values and the values in this country.' A war of words has erupted over the past 24 hours after Mr Khan described Mr Trump as 'just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat'. The US President and Mr Khan have repeatedly clashed in recent years, including Mr Trump criticising the mayor's response to the 2017 London Bridge terror attack. In a tweet send shortly before Mr Trump was due to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace, Mr Corbyn said: 'Tomorrow's protest against Donald Trump's state visit is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked in America, around the world and in our own country - including, just this morning, Sadiq Khan.' Mr Khan this afternoon hit out at Donald Trump's views on abortion as their row showed no signs of stopping As he came in to land at London Stansted Airport this morning, Mr Trump posted these tweets Mr Trump arrived at Stansted on Air Force One with First Lady Melania this morning Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (pictured at Stansted Airport after meeting Donald Trump today) lashed out at 'virtue signalling' that has seen Labour, the Lib Dems and John Bercow shun a banquet at Buckingham Palace tonight The Foreign Secretary lashed out at 'virtue signalling' that has seen Labour, the Lib Dems and Mr Bercow shun a banquet at Buckingham Palace tonight. He insisted the visit was 'not political' and everyone should celebrate the 'great friendship' between the two countries on the anniversary of D-day. The stinging criticism comes as a raft of senior Labour MPs are preparing to lead as many as 250,000 anti-Trump protesters in a mass demonstration in London tomorrow, aimed at overshadowing the US President's three-day state visit. On the eve of his visit, Mr Trump issued a chilling warning that America could stop sharing vital intelligence with Britain if Mr Corbyn was in charge. He said the Labour leader was 'making a mistake' by failing to be friendly because of the country's close co-operation with Britain on military and intelligence matters. Last night, Mr Trump was asked as he left Washington DC if he would be willing to meet Mr Khan, but compared to him New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. He told DailyMail.com on the South Lawn of the White House: 'No, I don't think much of him. I think that he's a - he's the twin of De Blasio, except shorter.' Mr De Blasio stands at 6ft 5in, while Mr Khan is thought to be 5ft 6in. Mr Khan's administration has sanctioned the use of a 20ft blimp depicting Mr Trump as a nappy-wearing baby again during this week's demonstrations. A 20ft-tall blimp depicting a cartoon baby Donald Trump flew in London during the president's last visit in July 2018 (above) and is expected to make another appearance this week Mr Bercow announced last year that he would block any effort to grant Mr Trump the honour of a speech to Parliament during his state visit. The Speaker - who approved a similar speech by the Chinese president in 2015 - turned down an invite to the banquet at Buckingham Palace. Mr Hunt said people had become accustomed to 'unexpected moments' from Mr Trump over the past two years. But he insisted the state visit was about celebrating the 'great partnership' with the US. Asked what he thought of senior figures including the Speaker and Lib Dem leader Vince Cable shunning the visit, Mr Hunt said: 'What is really inappropriate is for anyone to boycott a visit by the President of the US. 'By the way, this is a state visit, this is not a political visit. He is being hosted by Her Majesty the Queen to mark the great friendship between our two countries. Mr Bercow (pictured in the Speaker's chair) announced last year that he would block any effort to grant Mr Trump the honour of a speech to Parliament during his state visit 'It's not about party politics.' Mr Hunt said there was a lot of 'virtue signalling' on the Labour side. 'We should be making him feel incredibly welcome on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. A string of other Tory MPs also warned that Labour's attitude was 'putting the special relationship at risk' and it was important to remember that America was Britain's 'closest and most important friend' in the world. Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry has revealed she is attending the protest rally, accusing Mr Trump of being a 'racist and a sexual predator'. She said the US President 'is destroying all the values that have always united Britain and America'. UB Educational Opportunity Center honors two alumni Donald Paulk and Paula Oliver were recognized as success stories by the center, which helps those with limited educational and financial opportunities The UB EOC takes pride in participating in the growth and development of all of its students so that they can truly become the people and professionals that they can and want to be. BUFFALO, N.Y. When Donald Paulk was 11 years old, his father died at the age of 34. He grew up one of 11 children living in a Buffalo housing project. He sang in a group called the Energetics as a child, and joined a street gang when he was a teenager. Paula Oliver was raised by her grandmother in Jamaica. After arriving in the U.S. at 17, she moved to Buffalo as a single parent with a 6-month-old child. She worked two jobs, but lived with the woman who provided her with child care services because she could not afford an apartment. Time has been kind to both Paulk and Oliver, so much so that they both were honored last month at the UB Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) annual Alumni Awards and Recognition Reception. Both count their EOC experience as one of the biggest reasons they went from troubled young people with uncertain futures to the latest headliners in the EOCs legacy of transforming lives. EOC administrators often refer to their graduates as redemption stories, and Paulk and Oliver are the latest to celebrate this EOC tradition. Once again we are excited about celebrating the accomplishments of our graduates and alumni, says Julius Gregg Adams, executive director of the EOC. Mr. Paulk and Ms. Oliver are evidence of the importance of supporting people and helping them overcome obstacles that life puts in your way. The UB EOC takes pride in participating in the growth and development of all of its students so that they can truly become the people and professionals that they can and want to be. Paulk was named the 2019 UB EOC Distinguished Alumni Honoree, presented to an alumna/alumnus who embodies the principles and values of the EOC, and turns efforts into achievements. Oliver received the 2019 Arthur O. Eve Education and Community Service Award. This award, which honors the legacy of Arthur O. Eve, former deputy speaker of the New York State Assembly under whose leadership the states EOC centers were launched and established, is given to a current UB EOC student or alumna/alumnus who demonstrates leadership, advocacy, community service and/or commitment to education. Both Paulk and Oliver were recognized at the EOCs Alumni Awards and Recognition Reception held May 17 at UB EOC, 555 Ellicott St.; the centers annual graduation ceremony took place on May 22 in Slee Hall on UBs North Campus. The theme of this years alumni reception was Saluting Your Prediction of Success. UB EOC alumni forecasted their success when they decided to enroll at EOC, says Margot Barrett Keysor, EOC alumni affairs administrator. They created their own futures through discipline and determination. EOC alumni truly embody their dreams and drive. Think of the possibilities Paulk enrolled in the EOCs College Preparation Program after serving in the military. As the first member of his family to earn a college degree, he made a career out of working and volunteering with mentally and physically challenged youth and substance abusers in Florida and California. Locally, he was a resident service coordinator for the Western New York Veterans Housing Coalition, a mental health coordinator at the Community Action Organization, a mental health specialist at Baker Hall School and a case manager at St. Augustines Center. Paulk says his experience with EOC taught him to think of the possibilities in his life, beyond what he was told to do in the military. The EOC inspired me to think beyond what I was told to do, instead to think about what I could do, he says. Paulk currently assists veterans involved in the Drug and Family Treatment Courts in Buffalo who are experiencing mental health issues. He is also a DJ at A Gathering Place, a social program run by Catholic Charities for adults age 60 and older who may need assistance with activities of daily living. Paulk is the third vice commander at the American Legion Jesse Clipper Post No. 430, where he plays bugle TAPS for flag ceremonies and military funerals. Post No. 430 also honored Paulk as the recipient of the 2018 Legionnaire of the Year Award. In recognition of his service and commitment to the Western New York community, Paulk was awarded a 2019 Community Change Maker Award from the Mary B. Talbert Civic and Cultural Club of Buffalo. A different path Oliver took a different path to the same EOC stage of honor. She worked as a customer service representative for HSBC bank for 10 years before she was laid off. At that time, Oliver was married and had four children under the age of 10. She enrolled in the EOCs registered medical assistant (RMA) program. As part of that program, she took part in clinical internships at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (now Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center). Her commitment to excellence and success in her internships led to her being chosen as the EOCs 2004 Student Commencement speaker. Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center hired Oliver upon graduation, where she continues to work as a clinical support assistant in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. She also serves as Roswells CSEA union first vice president, is a diversity advocate on the Labor Relations Board and a member of the African American Roswell Network. As a union steward on the Labor Relations Board, she assists with lobbying efforts and travels out of the region from Buffalo to New York City and Florida. When reflecting upon her time as an EOC student, Oliver says her marriage became strained. Walking the halls of EOC, she says, gave her a sense of belonging. Faculty and staff kept telling me I was amazing, so I began to feel important, she says. I soaked up everything EOC offered like a sponge. Oliver notes the EOC created independence in me. EOC knew how to meet me where I was at. I am living my best life now, she says. I like who I am. Oliver went on to earn a bachelors degree in social work from SUNY Buffalo State College while working full time. After that, she volunteered at Crisis Services Buffalo and Erie County, answering hotline calls and assisting rape victims. She is an active member of the Old Landmark New Covenant Church of God in Christ, where she formed Things Pertaining to Life, a young adult support group that offers mentoring to youth ages 12 to 21, helping them with job skills, life lessons and referrals to community resources. Thousands of murdered and missing indigenous women have fallen victim to a decades-long Canadian genocide, a major report has said. Indigenous women faced a high level of violence through 'state actions and inactions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies', the National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls found. The $92million report, titled Reclaiming Power And Place, was created over two and a half years and looked into the causes of violence towards indigenous women and girls. The review came about after pressure over the murder of schoolgirl Tina Fontaine (pictured on a canvas with her uncle and aunt Joe and Thelma Favel) in 2014 Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wipes his eyes during the closing ceremony of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Gatineau, Quebec. Indigenous women faced a high level of violence in Canada, with the report branding it the 'Canadian genocide' Trudeau (pictured with wife Sophie, right, today at the closing ceremony) has made it a government priority to reconcile with Canada's 1.6million indigenous peoples Prime Minister Trudeau greets people at the ceremony today at the Canadian Museum of History. The inquiry was scheduled to submit its final report in November 2018, but the government granted commissioners a six-month extension instead of the requested two years How murdered schoolgirl Tina Fontaine was repeatedly failed: Tina Fontaine, who was an indigenous schoolgirl, was failed by the system created to help her, according to a Canadian children's advocate. Her death in 2014 brought calls for an inquiry into the spiraling numbers of indigenous women and girls being killed or going missing in Canada. The teenager's body was found in Winnipeg's Red River in August, 2014, after a week-long manhunt for her. The 15-year-old was left dead in a blanket that had been weighed down by rocks. In March, it was revealed in a report that she was not able to get help from services she was entitled to and clearly needed. Manitoba child and youth advocate Daphne Penrose released a review into Tina's life and concluded: 'At times, particularly in the final months of her life, some of these services were unavailable, not easily accessible, or ill-coordinated, which did not provide the supports and interventions she desperately needed.' Tina Fontaine was killed in 2014 Advertisement It was officially released today at a closing ceremony at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec, which saw Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wipe away a tear. The inquiry, which was beset by delays and staff resignations, opened painful wounds as it heard testimony from 468 family members of missing or murdered women. The 1,200-page report read: 'The truths shared in these National Inquiry hearings tell the story - or, more accurately, thousands of stories - of acts of genocide against First Nations, Inuit and Metis women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people.' Victims' families have been questioning why up to 4,000 indigenous women were murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years. Prime Minister Trudeau has made it a government priority to reconcile with Canada's 1.6million indigenous peoples and opened the inquiry in 2016. Yet the report still contains 231 recommendations, according to CBC, and only came about after years of lobbying by native leaders, activists and victims' families. Its website says: 'For far too long, Indigenous women and girls have been publicly devalued or ignored. 'People's general perceptions have been shaped by harmful colonial stereotypes. 'People forget that every Indigenous woman or girl - no matter how she died or what she had been through - had an inherent strength and sacred worth.' The $92million report, titled Reclaiming Power And Place, was done over two and a half years and looked into the causes of violence towards indigenous women and girls. Pictured: Canadian First Nations occupy the Old City Hall in protest to diverse social issues they are facing. A large banner referring to Tina Fontaine murder 'on stolen land' Victims' families (pictured during the third annual Women's March in Vancouver in january) have been questioning why up to 4,000 indigenous women were murdered or have gone missing over the past 30 years The shocking death of Tashina General and her unborn child: Tashina General was murdered in 2008 Tashina General was killed by her boyfriend in January 2008 as he had a 'fit of rage'. The 21-year-old, who was four month pregnant with his child, was strangled to death outside the man's home near Brantford, Ontario. He dumped her body behind a barn on his land and put a sleeping bag over her. He later panicked and buried her in a shallow grave in a leafy area off Chiefswood Road, near Indian Line. General's family, including her activist cousin Beverley Jacobs, said her death had been a turning point in her work. Advertisement Bernie Williams, member of the grandmother council caring for Commissioner Michele Audette, said in the report: 'If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. This is every Canadian's responsibility not to turn a blind eye.' And Robyn Bourgeois, a campaigner on the issue, added to the BBC: 'It took 40 years to get to this present moment and only because indigenous women have been on the ground making noise about this.' The leaked recommendations from the report call for the police system to be restructured to reduce racism, an immediate end to birth alerts and to abolish male/female gender reports with non-binary made an option. Native women represent four per cent of Canada's population but accounted for up to 16-24 per cent of homicide victims during the period, according to the report. Official estimates say almost 1,200 women and girls went missing or were killed between 1980 and 2012. But inquiry commissioners have said the figure is probably too low. The four commissioners held 24 hearings across Canada over the past two and a half years and heard from more than 2,000 witnesses, including family members of missing or murdered women, survivors of violence, experts and officials. They admitted it was hard to agree on a definition of genocide, with the report stating it is 'the sum of the social practices, assumptions and actions detailed within this report. 'The national inquiry's findings support characterising these acts, including violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people, as genocide.' Leaked recommendations from the report released officially today call for the police system to be restructured to reduce racism, an immediate end to birth alerts and to abolish male/female gender reports with non-binary made an option. Pictured: Jenny Blackbird, from Kehewin Cree Nationm Alberta, but living now in Toronto, holds a cup of sacred water during speeches in Nathan Philips Square in a rally for murdered schoolgirl Tina Fontaine They added that there will be a 'supplementary report on the Canadian genocide of Indigenous peoples according to the legal definition of genocide'. The commissioners said they knew the report had been leaked to the media but would not comment further. They said in a joint statement: 'Out of respect for all those invested in the process, and most particularly the family members and survivors of violence who courageously shared their Truths over two years of public hearings and statement gatherings, the National Inquiry will proceed as planned to present its Final Report on Monday, June 3 at a solemn national ceremony to honour the missing and murdered.' 'We will not discuss specific findings or recommendations in advance of their official publication, and continue to encourage all Canadians to read the Final Report following its formal presentation to governments.' A high fashion brand seems to have taken inspiration from a lowly criminal in their latest collection, garnering criticism following several other high profile gaffes. Last week, Alessandro Michele's Gucci Cruise 2020 wardrobe was paraded in Rome's hilltop Capitoline Museum and some designs bore a striking resemblance to 'DEVAST8' - a New Zealand man with his moniker tattooed across his mouth. Twitter went into meltdown as several models stepped onto the catwalk with similar scribings on their faces, with the difference being that the words used were 'Amore', 'Roma' and 'Gucci'. DEVAST8 went viral in 2017 when he complained to media in his home country that he couldn't find work work because of the tattoo he got while drunk in jail. The man's real name is Mark Cropp and he was most recently convicted of assaulting and threatening a pregnant woman, according to the New Zealand Herald. Cropp, 21, also appeared in court in February in the district of Papakura, New Zealand with a bumbag with the word Devast8 penned in block letters on the waist strap. DEVAST8, or Mark Cropp, went viral in 2017 when he complained to media in his home country that he couldn't find work work because of the facial tattoo he got while drunk in jail Gucci was forced to apologise earlier this year when the brand was heavily criticised for selling a wool jumper that resembled black face. The turtleneck black wool balaclava jumper, which sold for around 700, featured a pair of large red lips around a model's actual lips, with the neck part pulled up over her nose. In the same 2018 runway show that debuted the balaclava jumper, Gucci again garnered criticism - this time being accused of cultural appropriation for flaunting an 'Indy Full Turban.' Gucci was mocked online for appearing to pay homage to the infamous petty criminal A model walks the runway at the Gucci Cruise 2020 on at Musei Capitolini in Rome last week The headgear was shown on white models, leading to the Sikh Coalition to tweet its dissatisfaction, branding the move 'appropriation'. The body said in a tweet: 'The Sikh turban is not a fashion accessory, but it's also a sacred religious article of faith. We hope more can be done to recognize this critical context. #appropriation.' A week after admitting his assault on a pregnant woman, Mr Cropp pleaded guilty in another court to charges of presenting a firearm during a fight. The court heard the firearm was an imitation. A model walks the runway at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2018/19 on February 21, 2018. He is sporting the much-criticized Turban from the Italian brand The blackface scandal at Gucci centred around a turtle neck and the balaclava pictured right Twitter is now awash with his name again and people are voicing their concerns in regards to the likeness between a criminal's tattoos, and the brand's designs. 'Oh Gucci.... wonder if they realised he assaulted a pregnant woman and will soon be sentenced for that...' said Anna Leask, a crime reporter at the New Zealand Herald. Gilda Kirkpatrick tweeted: 'Oh, did Gucci just copied [sic] our 'DEVAST8' guy in their autumn show? Go #DEVAST8 dude, you've made an impact on the fashion front.' Another user sarcastically tweeted his congratulations to Mr Cropp, saying: 'What about our very own Devast8, one of NZ's finest petty criminals who is influencing the new season of Gucci fashion. Well done Mark.' DEVAST8 went viral in 2017 when he complained to media in his home country that he couldn't find work work because of the tattoo he got while drunk in jail This woman said, tongue-in-cheek, that DEVAST8 had made a splash in the fashion world Birmingham First United Methodist Church is hosting a free screening of the Arthur episode 'Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone' on Saturday A Methodist church is screening an episode of the PBS children's show 'Arthur' that was shunned by Alabama Public Television for featuring a same-sex wedding. The First United Methodist Church in Birmingham says it will serve wedding cake and sparkling apple juice at its free screening of 'Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone' on June 15. The church teamed up with Sidewalk Film Festival and the Shout LGBTQ Film Festival to organize the event, which it is calling a 'wedding party.' 'Weddings take places at churches all the time. So First Church seems like a perfect venue for the cartoon in my opinion,' Rachel Morgan, creative director for both festivals, told Al.com '(The church) frequently communicates to the community that they are an 'open place for all,' and I think this event reflects that statement.' Alabama Public Television declined to broadcast the 'Arthur' episode on May 13, showing a rerun instead Organizers of the 'wedding party' event at the First United Methodist plan to serve wedding cake and sparkling apple juice at the event and the church says people of all ages are welcome to attend APT showed a rerun when the episode aired nationally May 13. Programming director Mike Mckenzie said parents trust that their children can watch the station without supervision. APT offered a similar response in 2005 when it refused to air another 'Arthur' episode featuring a same-sex couple. First United's senior pastor, the Rev. Stephanie Arnold, has urged Methodists to keep struggling for 'full inclusion,' saying, 'We want to extend God's love and grace for all people,' despite a recent vote by leaders of the nation's largest protestant denomination to strengthen its ban on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages. A scene from the 'Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone' episode of 'Arthur'. In 2005, Alabama Public Television refused to air another 'Arthur' episode that showed the character Buster visiting a girl who had lesbian mothers A picture of First United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama Morgan told Birmingham News that she felt 'ashamed' when APT announced it wouldn't show the 'Arthur' episode. 'I had to confirm that the news article regarding the episode not airing wasn't something from the archives, circa 1970,' she said. 'Personally, I was in disbelief and a little ashamed for our state. With all due respect to Alabama Public Television, it simply doesn't speak well for Alabama on a national level to censor such content.' Arthur creator Marc Brown told People he disapproved of APT's decision. 'I dont want children or people who are different to feel excluded. Thats not the kind of world we want to live in,' he said. 'And we want children to be educated so they can see theres not just one type of family. Everyone should feel represented. I think we did that with Arthur.' A Liverpool fan reported missing by his family was arrested for allegedly assaulting two police officers who went to his aid after spotting him lying drunk in the street, it emerged today. Liverpool fan Macauley Negus, 23, vanished in Madrid after watching the Champions League final. It emerged this morning after his family appealed for information on his whereabouts that he had been arrested. Well-placed police sources confirmed he had been detained for assault. Macauley Negus, 23, from Plymouth, was last seen at 10.30pm yesterday in the Goya area and is still missing One said: 'Two municipal police officers spotted him lying semi-naked and seemingly unconscious in Goya Street in central Madrid, around 2am on Sunday morning. 'They went to aid him but he was very drunk and reacted badly by punching and kicking the two officers who both suffered minor injuries. 'He was arrested for assault and has been held at the Salamanca district National Police station. 'Police had a missing persons' report but the reason officers didn't realise he was the man who had been arrested was because he gave them an incorrect name as a result of the state he was in. 'His name was logged as Mac Kullen which was the name he gave.' Negus was hauled to court this morning so he could be questioned by a judge. The hearing was set to take place in private and is expected to result in him being bailed pending an ongoing investigation.' Macauley had driven to the Spanish capital with his dad to soak up the atmosphere in the fan zone ahead of the clash with Tottenham Hotspur. And he was due to drive back home on Sunday but vanished the after-match celebrations. The search for Macauley, of Plymouth, Devon, had entered a second day with relatives saying they had contacted all the hospitals and police before news of his arrest broke. The crime he was arrested for in Spanish is 'atentado contra la autoriadad' which can cover behaviour such as insulting a police officer as well as assault. Under Spanish law a conviction can lead to a prison sentence of one to four years, although sentences of two years or less for first-time offenders in Spain are normally suspended. His older brother, Ashley, and sister-in-law, Carla, had launched appeals on social media in an effort to find him. Carla posted the same photo to her Instagram with the caption: 'Missing in Madrid!!! Macauley Negus last seen Saturday 1st June in Madrid! He's my brother in law! Please If you have any information or know anything please contact me.' Ashley posted a photo of missing Macauley on Twitter with the caption: 'Lads please retweet this get him to contact me please'. Carla posted the same photo to her Instagram with the caption: 'Missing in Madrid!!! Macauley Negus last seen Saturday 1st June in Madrid! He's my brother in law! Please If you have any information or know anything please contact me.' He was last seen wearing a white top with white shorts and trainers. Macauley had driven to Madrid with his father to revel in the atmosphere during the Champions League Final. The pair were meant to drive back to Plymouth at 5pm today but Macauley is still nowhere to be seen and his father still has his passport. The family are urging anyone who has seen him or has any information to get in contact via their social media pages. Thousands of people will take part in D-Day commemoration events across the UK and France this week. Hundreds of veterans, members of the royal family and US president Donald Trump will come together to remember what is considered one of the most important events of the Second World War and the biggest amphibious invasion in military history. Britain's national day of commemoration falls on Wednesday, when 4,000 military personnel, 11 Royal Naval vessels and 26 RAF aircraft will take part in events in Portsmouth. It coincides with President Trump's state visit, which veterans have argued risks distracting people from the historic anniversary. Veterans have already set off for France in large numbers to make it to Normandy in time for Thursday's memorial services. Here is your guide to the full list of events happening on both sides of the Channel to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings this week. Dozens of Second World War veterans set sail from Portsmouth on Monday afternoon so they can get to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, June 6. Members of the public are pictured waving Union Jacks as they sail off Veterans are pictured waving flags as the first boat, MV Boudicca, which is being sponsored by the Royal British Legion, left from Dover on Sunday evening A full flypast of wartime planes will take place tomorrow and Wednesday, with aircraft taking off from Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire. Pictured are three Spitfires as they fly in formation over the white cliffs on Dover on Sunday June 4 12pm Serving Royal Marines will take part in a public demonstration on board the Royal British Legion's ship in Poole, Dorset to salute veterans for their service. It will involve craft weaponry and blank ammunition, ending at 2pm. At the Imperial War Museum at RAF Duxford in Cambridgeshire on Tuesday there will be a showcase of more than 30 Douglas C-47 Skytrains, also known as Dakotas or Daks. Parachute jumps and flight displays will wow audiences ahead of the Dakotas taking off from Duxford for France on Wednesday afternoon. The event will take place from 10am to 6pm on both Tuesday and Wednesday. US Army vehicles travel in convoy near Graye-sur-Mer, in Normandy this afternoon as the final preparations take place for this week's commemorations Men dressed as WWII US soldiers get their binoculars out as they park up on the beach at Arromanches-les-Bains, in Normandy in their Jeep June 5 The UK's national commemoration day falls on Wednesday, coinciding with US President Donald Trump's state visit. From 11am to 8pm Portsmouth will be taken over by D-Day anniversary events to signify the port city's major role in the Allied Force's invasion. 11am The main commemorative event will begin at Southsea Common attended by both the Queen and President Donald Trump. Representatives from other allied countries as well as Germany are expected to attend the event at the Portsmouth Naval Memorial involving 4,000 military personnel, 11 Royal Naval vessels and 26 RAF aircraft. Mr Trump's attendance has led to a mass security operation and claims his presence will take the focus away from veterans. 12.45pm A Royal Navy frigate will fire a naval gun salute followed by a flypast of up to 25 historic and modern RAF aircraft, including the Red Arrows and Spitfires. 4pm The Red Arrows will come back for a second air display above Southsea Common. 4.30pm Around 280 paratroopers, including 130 UK troops and 150 from the French army, will take part in a parachute descent onto fields near Sannerville, in northern France which served as a drop zone for the Allied forces in 1944. A later display involves a tandem jump with D-Day veterans, followed by a re-enactment by 200 parachutists from Douglas C-47 Dakotas, flown over from the UK. 6.25pm MV Boudicca, the Royal British Legion's chartered ship will set sail from Portsmouth with more than 300 veterans on board. It left from Dover on the evening on June 2, taking former servicemen to commemorative events around the south coast before leaving for Normandy. It will be escorted by a Royal Navy vessel and flotilla and will arrive in time for the main anniversary on Thursday. Members of the public will be able to see the ship set off from Portsmouth on Wednesday evening from a number of viewing points. 7.40pm The RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will fly over Portsmouth to mark the departure of the Legion's ship. Events in Portsmouth Live broadcast of the events in Portsmouth, National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire is showing a live broadcast of the BBC coverage of the events taking place in Portsmouth on a large screen in Heroes Square from 9.15am to 1pm. Free entry. President Donald Trump and the Queen (pictured together today at Westminster Abbey) will attend the main UK commemoration day in Portsmouth on Wednesday Veterans line the decks of MV Boudicca, which is pictured as it left Dover on Sunday evening June 6 7.26am In Arromanches-les-Bains, the Army will mark the exact moment the first British soldier landed on Gold Beach with a piper playing atop a part of the Mulberry harbour. Directly afterwards, a short flag-raising moment will take place involving troops from the Royal Logistic Corps. From 7.45am, vintage military vehicles will be displayed on the beach. 8.30am Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the inauguration of the British Normandy Memorial, overlooking Gold Beach at Ver-sur-Mer. The memorial will honour the more than 22,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen who died fighting under British command during D-Day and the Battle of Normandy. 9.15am Theresa May will join the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, along with veterans and local residents for the British Legion's service of remembrance at Bayeux Cathedral. 10.30am A service of remembrance will take place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. This will be followed by a small procession to the Normandy Campaign Memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony, and coverage from events in France will be shown on a big screen. 11am Macron will join US President Donald Trump for a service at the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. Noon A second service takes place at the the Bayeux War Cemetery - the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission site of the Second World War in France - where wreaths will be laid. Prince Charles and Camilla will attend, as will veterans and serving members of the armed forces. 4.25pm Royal British Legion veterans will arrive in Arromanches from Bayeux to watch parachute displays by the Armys Red Devils as well as flypasts by the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. 5.15pm British veterans parade into the square in Arromanches for a series of informal events hosted by the local authority. 6pm The official international ceremony marking the anniversary takes place at Juno Beach, with French prime minister Edouard Philippe in attendance alongside his Canadian and Belgian counterparts, Justin Trudeau and Charles Michel. 11.30pm Events in Arromanches conclude with a firework display. June 7 6pm Veterans will join schoolchildren and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra for a performance of D-Day 75: A Musical Documentary at Southsea Common. June 8 Noon The British Legion's ship will bring 300 veterans back to Portsmouth after their six-day voyage to Normandy. D-Day veteran John Dennett, 94, is pictured waving from the deck of the Mont St Michel, which was escorted by Royal Navy vessels on its way to Caen Equipment partially buried in snow has been spotted near where pilots saw five bodies while searching for eight missing mountain climbers in the Himalayas. A team of eight mountaineers including Britons and Americans went missing on May 31 after a devastating avalanche on Nanda Devi, India's second highest peak. New aerial photos show what appear to be backpacks and other equipment buried in the snow, near the place where the mountaineers were heading. Today, District Magistrate Dr Vijay Kumar Jogdande said the bodies were found before a rescue operation in the northern state of Uttarakhand in India was suspended because of heavy snowfall and high winds. The search mission was now working on the assumption that all eight climbers had been killed, he added. Aerial photos of the area of the Nanda Devi the mountaineers were reportedly heading towards. Equipment and backpacks were seen submerged in the snow Four missing British climbers huddled for a photograph to capture the start of their 25,000ft ascent up the Himalayan mountains - on which they would vanish days later. Pictured: Rupert Whewell (back row, second from left), Martin Moran (back row, sixth from left), Richard Payne (back row, fourth from right) and John McLaren (back row, third from right) The sighting of the buried equipment comes after Indian air force pilots said they spotted five bodies in the area The search mission is now working on the assumption that all eight climbers had been killed The eight-member team has not been heard from since an avalanche on May 31 as they scaled Nanda Devi mountain (pictured) Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed peak in a remote area. Dr Jogdande says an operation to find the other three mountaineers will resume on Tuesday. He said officials are consulting with the Indian army on how to retrieve the bodies. The eight-member expedition set out to scale a 6,477-metre peak and had last been in touch with base camp on May 26. Contact was lost after an avalanche. Dr Jogdande said: 'Four bodies can be seen together and a fifth slightly away from the others. 'We are trying to retrieve the bodies. We believe the other three will be nearby. Jogdande said the bodies were above 5,000 metres and the possibility of a second avalanche would make accessing the site difficult. It had not been decided whether a team would go in by air or on foot, he said. 'We're considering both alternatives. Since the bodies are at high altitude it is inaccessible, it is still unstable terrain that could lead to a secondary avalanche. We're working out a plan.' 'It has always been a dangerous place to go. Mount Everest is easier to climb,' he said. Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was the leader of the party of eight mountaineers Martin Moran (right), who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight that included Rupert Whewell (left) who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed summit in a remote area Americans Ronald Beimel and Anthony Sudekum were also identified as two of the missing A team would take at least a week to reach the area, Sanjay Gunjiyal, a senior police official involved in the mission, told Reuters. Four climbers in the group had turned back and later raised the alarm about their missing colleagues. They were evacuated from their base camp by helicopter and were 'fine and healthy', said Tripti Bhatt, an official of the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force. The leader of the missing group, Martin Moran, was the first person to summit Changuch, another peak in the area, and was known as a 'godfather' of guiding in the Himalayas, according to a video diary of Rob Jarvis, who accompanied him on that expedition in 2009. 'He was very well versed with the area, but the route they were taking is not usually travelled,' Gunjiyal said. Many of the other missing climbers are veterans but with little experience of Nanda Devi and its surrounding peaks, he said. The climbers huddled for a photograph to capture the start of their 25,000ft ascent up the Himalayan mountains - on which they would vanish days later. On May 13, the group bunched together and smiled as they prepared to embark on the mammoth challenge, unaware that in 18 days time they would drop off the map. This eight-man team includes UK nationals Martin Moran - the lead mountaineer - John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne. Britons Richard Payne - a York University lecturer - and John McLaren (right) are among the eight missing following an avalanche Americans Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel, Australian Ruth McCance and Indian guide Chetan Pandey are also missing. Two helicopters were scrambled to search for the climbers after they vanished on Friday. But bad weather reportedly saw the hunt temporarily stood down. Although two groups of eight merged for the picture, they split back off into two separate teams for the ascent. The second team reportedly ventured on to another peak. Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight who were attempting to reach the top of an unclimbed summit in a remote area. While his family said it was 'not entirely clear' what had happened to the group - which included another three British climbers - they said there was 'clear evidence that a sizeable avalanche had occurred on the mountain'. Mr Moran has been a mountain guide since 1985 and set up his company Moran Mountain, which is based in Strathcarron in the Highlands, together with his wife Joy - with the couple's grown up children Hazel and Alex both also working with the family business. Searches have been taking place in a bid to find the missing climbers after the alarm was raised on Friday morning. In a statement, the Moran family said: 'We are deeply saddened by the tragic events unfolding in the Nanda Devi region of the Indian Himalayas. British mountaineer and group leader Martin Moran (left) has been reported missing after his team didn't return to base camp on Friday at Nanda Devi, India's second highest mountain. (Pictured) Friend of 20 years Nigel Vardy who said Mr Moran is an 'experienced climber' A Facebook post from their second base camp, at 16,000 feet, said the group were going to try to scale a previously unclimbed peak 'As a family, we share the same emotions that all next of kin are experiencing in not knowing the whereabouts or well-being of those closest to us.' Academic Richard Payne from the University of York is believed to be among the group of missing climbers. The university said it was 'extremely concerned for his safety', adding: 'Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time.' Ruth McCance, from Sydney, and seven other climbers failed to return to base camp at Nanda Devi, the second highest mountain in India The group, which is led by experienced UK-based climber Martin Moran, last shared updates to social media on May 22. 'The Nanda Devi team has reached their second base camp at 4870m, their home for the next week,' the update said 'We do know that a British mountain guide who was in the area leading a trekking group, as part of the same expedition, was informed that the climbing group had not returned to base camp as expected. 'He immediately went on the mountain to search for the missing climbers. 'There was clear evidence that a sizeable avalanche had occurred on the mountain and it seemed to be on or very near the route that would be taken by the climbing group. 'The mountain guide gave instructions to base camp to alert rescue authorities. The alarm was raised early on Friday morning, May 31.' Ms McCance's group includes three men from the UK, two American men and an Indian guide The Morans said they were 'grateful to the Indian Mountaineering Foundation who are coordinating search and rescue efforts on the ground and in the air under extremely difficult conditions in a very remote area of the Himalayas'. They added: 'Today we have been informed by the Indian Mountaineering Federation that an air search by helicopter has revealed the scale of the avalanche but no sign of the climbers, their equipment nor their tents. 'We are pressing for the search area to be widened and continued until such time as firm evidence is found to ascertain the well-being or otherwise of all those in the climbing group.' A spokesperson from The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade told Daily Mail Australia they are in communication with the family of an Australian Indian authorities also confirmed they had airlifted four other climbers off the mountain today. They opted not to leave base camp with the group of eight who are still missing. Climber Nigel Vardy, who has known Mr Moran for 20 years, described him as 'an absolute professional and genuinely a really, really nice guy'. He said: 'Martin is a fantastic guy but if the weather and the conditions are not with you, then no matter how skilled you are the mountain is going to have its way.' At Mount Everest, where queuing chaos has been blamed for fatalities, 11 climbers lost their lives 13 days. Pictured: Climbers queue to stand on the summit of Everest on May 22 Mark Charlton, president of the British Association of Mountain Guides (BMG), said in a post on the organisation's Facebook page that Mr Moran had been leading six clients and an Indian national. 'The BMG is assisting where possible and is in contact with the Indian authorities,' he said. 'At the moment this is all the information we have as communication is very difficult.' A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: 'We are in contact with the Indian authorities following reports that a number of British nationals are missing in the Indian Himalayas. 'We will do all we can to assist any British people who need our help.' Advertisement A protester scuffled with a Donald Trump supporter as the pair wrested over a MAGA cap as tensions look set to continue today with 250,000 set to take to the streets of London in demonstrations against the president. Anger boiled over outside Buckingham Palace last night as the Republican arrived for his State Banquet with the Queen and 15 other Royals. His state visit kicked off to a wave of protests in the capital as well as Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham with marches expected to continue over the next three days. Today up to 250,000 people are expected to walk from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joins the demonstration following his snubbing of the State Banquet. Anti-Trump campaigners are expected to fly a 20ft blimp depicting him as an angry, half-naked baby as well as unveiling a 16ft talking robot of him sitting on a gold toilet. Supporters and detractors of US President Donald Trump are pictured scuffling over a Make America Great Again cap outside Buckingham Palace as the State Banquet gets underway A Donald Trump supporter scuffles with a campaigner denouncing the US President in central today as they appeared to wrestle for control of a MAGA cap Campaigners outside Buckingham Palace this evening hit out at US President Donald Trump's outspoken support for he coal industry (pictured, left, a bust of the Republican in charcoal) as well as opposing his stance on climate change (right) Pictured: Approval ratings for the former and current sitting US president as obtained by UK poll company YouGov are projected onto the Tower of London. These figures represent the views of people polled and are not the official US approval ratings of the president The Marine One helicopter carrying US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump flies over Buckingham Palace as it prepares to land ahead of a State Banquet in central London Police are pictured speaking to two drone operators outside Buckingham Palace in central London today amid protests over the US President's state visit Protesters have gathered outside Buckingham Palace in central London to demonstrate against the state visit of Donald Trump (pictured, campaigners in the capital this evening) Pictured: A protester outside Buckingham Palace, central London, this evening with a placard calling for the President of the United States to be locked up Pictured: Campaigners hit out at Donald Trump's pro-life stance on abortion as demonstrators gather outside Buckingham Palace in central London this evening Police are pictured on duty outside Buckingham Palace in central London this evening as protesters gathered to oppose the state visit of Donald Trump Demonstrations began from 5.30pm today and have been backed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan, before up to 250,000 people are expected to take part in a march tomorrow. Protests are also underway in Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester and Birmingham, where protesters are marching with placards denouncing the president. Protests have hit cities across England as President Donald Trump visits London today. Demonstrators are pictured, left, in Leeds, West Yorkshire, and, right, marching through Birmingham, West Midlands Protesters faced off this afternoon in central London (pictured) as demonstrators against US President Donald Trump were confronted by supporters Anti-Trump protesters are pictured outside Buckingham Palace in central London this evening, where campaigners brandished placards denouncing the president In one volatile exchange caught on camera today in the capital, protesters argued over the infamous video of Mr Trump from 2005 when he used the phrase 'grab them by the p***y' in relation to meeting women. A female Trump supporter pointed out the video was more than a decade old and claimed 'real men talk about women that way' while a male supporter said he would say the same thing which riled those on the other side. A police officer breaks up a heated debate between a protester and a Trump fan (right) outside Buckingham Palace today A protester (left) and the Trump supporter (right) exchange fierce views on Mr Trump outside Buckingham Palace today Emotions ran high in London as the President began his state visit amid a wave of protests expected over the next three days Hundreds of thousands of protesters could join demonstrations this week, which have already started in London today The Trump supporter said the 'p***y' video was more than a decade old and claimed 'real men talk about women that way' An anti-Trump protester said: 'I'm proud to say I'd never ever speak about women like that. You should be ashamed of yourself.' But the Trump fan replied: 'I'm a working class cockney, and you lot are middle class Left-wing elitist.' But the anti-Trump protester said: 'There are plenty of intelligent, sensitive working class people who aren't ignorant, aren't racist, aren't sexist and aren't flaming morons - it just so happens you are all of those things.' Earlier today, Neil Clark, 39, from Woolwich in South East London, joined a growing crowd outside Buckingham Palace awaiting the arrival of the President and described Mr Trump as 'amazing'. A couple from Stoke-on-Trent wait outside Buckingham Palace with placards to welcome US President Donald Trump today Royal fan Joseph Afrana holds flags with tourists from Taiwan near Buckingham Palace during Mr Trump's state visit today Marine One lands as US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Buckingham Palace in London today The couple, who identified themselves as the Holdcroft, wait in front of Buckingham Palace during the state visit today A changing of the guard takes place outside Buckingham Palace in London this morning Art student, 18, mows a naughty welcome to Trump on Stansted flight path An art student has found an imaginative way of getting his message to US President Donald Trump today. Ollie Nancarrow, of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, mowed a rather rude welcome to Mr Trump into a field on the flight path into London Stansted Airport, where the US leader arrive at 9am today. One message featured an outline of a polar bear alongside the words: 'Climate change is real'. The 18-year-old said that 'living under the flightpath has to have some advantages'. He said: 'I wanted to show Trump that I oppose his views and policies on climate change and, as an artist, I use whatever canvas I have.' Mr Nancarrow, who is part of the sustainability and environmental awareness group 'Born Eco', won't get to take part in any other Trump protests until later as he is busy taking an A-level exam. Ollie Nancarrow, of Bishop's Stortford, mowed a rather rude welcome to Mr Trump into a field on the flight path into London Stansted Advertisement He said he was a 'massive fan', adding: 'Just his character, the energy he has, the passion he has. He's an amazing guy.' Mr Clark described the prospect of protests against Mr Trump as 'quite disrespectful' and 'quite shameful'. He also described Mr Trump's tweets about London Mayor Sadiq Khan as 'justified'. Mr Trump launched a Twitter tirade at Mr Khan this morning, branding him a 'stone cold loser' - which Mr Khan called a 'childish insult'. Members of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery made their way past the front of Buckingham Palace and into Green Park ahead of firing Royal Salutes later. A military band played music on the palace forecourt. Police officers could be seen standing at three different points on the roof at the front of the palace. The crowd outside grew and were entertained by the band, with tunes including the themes to both Rocky and Fame. The US President and the First Lady Melania Trump were greeted by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and US ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson at Stansted Airport this morning as they began their three-day trip. Activists from Amnesty International unfurl anti-Trump banners from Vauxhall Bridge in sight of the US Embassy today Another view of the anti-Trump banners unfurled from Vauxhall Bridge in London today in sight of the US Embassy Tourists watch as the Household Cavalry make their way down to Horse Guards Parade from Buckingham Palace today Crowds of tourists and observers wait near Buckingham Palace during US President Donald Trump's state visit today The Trumps then headed to Winfield House, the ambassador's residence in the capital. Mr Trump arrived having already created political turbulence with comments on the Tory leadership race, Brexit and the Duchess of Sussex. Mr Trump arrived on Air Force One at Stansted Airport, waving as he walked down the steps from the front of the jet, accompanied by the First Lady who wore a blue pencil skirt and blazer, dark sunglasses and heels. An array of US military helicopters arrived around an hour ahead of the President's white and blue plane, which bears the US flag on the tail fin and the words United States of America. There was a visible armed police presence around the airport and police vehicles parked alongside the runway. Other passengers on Air Force One, including members of the media, disembarked from the rear of the plane while 20 troops from the RAF Regiment formed a guard of honour for Mr Trump. Mr Trump and the First Lady made the short walk to helicopter Marine One which took them to central London. A military officer saluted Marine One as it taxied off, followed by a second US helicopter and a UK police helicopter. A Chinese state-run newspaper today accused the U.S. of being a threat to the world amid an intensifying trade war between Washington and Beijing and as Donald Trump arrived in Britain on a state visit. The propaganda by Communist Party's mouthpiece People's Daily said the Trump administration tried to reply on hegemony to 'Make America Great Again'. '[It] was not only a serious misjudgement, but also a serious threat to the peaceful development of the world,' wrote the piece published hours before Trump's Air Force One touched down in London. U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive in London today on a three-day state visit to the UK. A state-run newspaper in China blasted the U.S. trade policies as 'stupid' and 'twisted', and accused Washington of being a threat to the world hours earlier The Chinese propaganda was published after Beijing yesterday released a white paper to clarify its standpoint on trade war. The report said the U.S. was to blame for the setbacks in the two countries' tariff negotiations. Chinese President Xi was pictured during a speech in April The paper also accused that the U.S. trade policies were 'stupid' and 'twisted', and they 'brought dark clouds to the world economy'. The commentary was published after Beijing released a white paper yesterday to clarify its standpoint on trade war talks. The lengthy, 8,300-character report said the U.S. government was to blame for the setbacks in the two countries' tariff negotiations. It said the U.S. side had gone back on their word while China had stuck to the principle of being fair and mutually beneficial from start to finish. Before today's column, People's Daily had published a series of nine propaganda columns this month to declare Beijing as the destined winner of the trade war. 'America is bound to lose,' one of the columns wrote. Beijing also accused Washington of reneging on their promise during the trade war talks. The two side failed to reach an agreement on tariffs earlier last month. Xi and Trump are pictured in their bilateral meeting at the G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 1, 2018 The series accused Washington of being 'a bull in the china shop', and claimed if Washington insisted on its current path, there would be only one destination for it. 'That is to lose,' one of the lines said. In a separate commentary earlier this week, People's Daily also used a coded warning to threaten the U.S. with a possible export ban of essential 'rare earth' minerals. Rare earths are a group of 17 chemical elements used in the production of items such as hospital scanners, nuclear power stations and LED lights. They are also important to the American tech industries. China accounted for 80 per cent of rare earth imports between 2014 and 2017 to the United States. Washington claimed to have started to find ways to reduce American reliance on China in rare earth products. Beijing imposed new tariffs on 5,410 American products on Saturday. The tariffs, ranging from five percent to 25 per cent, impact various common items including condoms, perfume, wine, pianos, cordless phones, industrial robots, coffee and ovens. The U.S. is the six most popular country of origin for wine in China after France, Australia, Chile, Italy and Spain. American wine products now face a hefty 25 per cent tariff in China The hike came after Trump more than doubled punitive tariffs on $200 billion (158 billion) in Chinese goods to 25 per cent, and launched the process to hit nearly all remaining imports from the Asian country. The two nations, which are also the world's two largest economies, failed to reach an agreement during their trade talks earlier last month. They have exchanged tariffs on $360 billion (285 billion) in two-way trade so far. U.S. President Trump and First Lady Melania will be in Britain from today to Wednesday on a long-awaited state visit. Their packed timetable includes a meeting with the Queen today and talks with Prime Minister Theresa May tomorrow. Trump and Melania will travel to the Republic of Ireland on after the UK state visit to hold a bilateral meeting with Irish Premier Leo Varadkar. President Donald Trump slammed CNN's coverage of his state visit to the United Kingdom, complaining the cable news network is the only one available for viewing and it's reporting is 'negative' and 'fake news.' 'Just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesn't owner @ATT do something?,' Trump tweeted Monday from London. The president made his complaint shortly after arriving in the UK for a three-day state visit. President Donald Trump (CR) and First Lady Melania Trump (CL) disembark Marine One at Winfield House, the residence of the US Ambassador in Regent's Park, London He's resting at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence in London, before he heads to Buckingham Palace for a ceremonial welcome ceremony with the first lady and the Queen. 'I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldn't they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad!,' the president added. CNNs prime-time ratings dropped 26 per cent in April - network's worst month for total viewers since October 2015, according to Nielsen Media Research. But the president also grumbled he couldn't watch Fox News from his resting place in London. In August 2017, 21st Century Fox, the parent company of Fox News - the president's favorite cable news network - announced Fox News would no longer be broadcast in the U.K. after failing to attract an audience. The President's packed timetable for the first day of his three-day UK trip 9am: Air Force One lands at Stansted Airport. 9.40am: Mr Trump and Melania flown by helicopter to US Ambassador's residence in Regent's Park: Winfield House. Midday: The President and First Lady will take off for Buckingham Palace where the Queen will meet them, show them around and then host them for lunch. Prince Harry will also be there - but his wife Meghan is at home caring for baby Archie. 3pm: The couple will then fly to Westminster Abbey where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior - and have a tour of the historic church. 4pm: Prince Charles will then host them at Clarence House for a 15-minute meeting before heading back to Winfield House. 7.30pm: President Trump and his family will fly back to Buckingham Palace for the state banquet with the event last until around 11pm. Advertisement 'Fox News is focused on the U.S. market and designed for a U.S. audience and, accordingly, it averages only a few thousand viewers across the day in the U.K.,' 21st Century Fox said in a statement at the time. 'We have concluded that it is not in our commercial interest to continue providing Fox News in the U.K.,' it added. However, officials in the UK found the network breached British rules regarding impartiality in 2017. A January 2017 edition of Sean Hannity's show on Trump's ban restricting travel from seven majority-Muslim countries was found not to sufficiently reflect alternative viewpoints. Tucker Carlson's show was accused of a similar breach for its May program following the Manchester terror attack. AT&T took ownership of CNN after a judge approved its merger with Time Warner. Trump's Justice Department had sued to try and stop the merger of the two companies. The president has been active on Twitter during his arrival in London. He first criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a 'stone cold loser' and touted his work on tariffs with China. Trump had already weighed in on Brexit, the Tory leadership battle and his security concerns over Huawei as he took off from America and used his arrival in the UK to vent his fury over Khan's description of him as a '21st century fascist'. He also ridiculed 5ft 6ins Mr Khan him for being 'short' and compared him to 6ft 5ins New York counterpart Bill de Blasio saying: 'Khan reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio - who has also done a terrible job'. The US President is in the UK for three days where the Queen will throw a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in his honour tonight after he meets Her Majesty for lunch and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla for tea. Prince Harry will also attend the private lunch at the palace - although his wife Meghan Markle, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. Donald Trump stands alongside his wife on the steps of Air Force One and waves as he landed in the UK today Full details of Trump's state visit to Britain have now been revealed, including all the royals he will meet over the three days His visit will be met by large protests with hundreds of thousands of people set to hit the streets and Mayor Khan agreeing to let agitators fly two blimps lampooning Mr Trump: One showing his as a 20ft baby and the other as a robot in a gold toilet. The President had already wasted no time in spelling out his views on the special relationship, backing a No Deal Brexit while praising Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage and calling for the Brexit Party leader to be sent to Brussels to re-negotiate the deal that cost Theresa May her job. Sudip Sarker, 48, is currently serving a six year sentence for fraud after he exaggerated his experience in order to dupe bosses and land a lucrative job A rogue cancer surgeon who lied on his CV to bag a top 84,000-a-year job has been ordered to pay 337,000 of his earnings back to the NHS. Sudip Sarker, 48, is currently serving a six year sentence for fraud after he exaggerated his experience in order to dupe bosses and land a lucrative job. But suspicions were raised over his sky-high mortality rate - which was double that of his colleagues at Worcester Royal Hospital and Alexandra Hospital. A court heard Sarker had deceived a panel of experts by claiming he had performed over 50 keyhole operations solo - when he had really only completed six. Sarker, of Broadstairs, Kent, was imprisoned in February last year after being convicted of fraud at Worcester Crown Court. On Friday, he appeared at the same court via videolink from where he was told he would be stripped of assets to recover the cost of the salary he should never have received in the first place. Prosecutor Jacob Hallam QC said the total benefit figure Sarker received from the trust was 347,214, based on spending half and investing half of his salary. He said: 'On that fraud, the Crown suggest it is the salary he got as a result of the lie and the defence suggest it's rather different to that.' Suspicions were raised over his sky-high mortality rate - which was double that of his colleagues at Worcester Royal Hospital and Alexandra Hospital (pictured) Sebastian Winnett, defending, argued that Sarker had taken a modest pay cut to work for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. He said 'Did he benefit? He says not' He also argued that the majority of the work Sarker undertook during the period of his criminal conduct was done properly Judge Nicolas Cartwright said: 'I should proceed, should I not, on the basis that Mr Sarker would not have had the position at all if he had not committed the fraud?' Mr Hallam said this was correct, arguing that the evidence 'was essentially that he got the job because of the things he said that weren't true.' The judge made a confiscation order of 337,214 and Sarker has three months to pay upon release from prison, or serve another sentence of three years and eight months. Judge Cartwright said: 'I direct that the confiscated amount be paid as compensation to the trust in question, Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.' The court heard Sarker had available assets totalling 562,875 including a 420,000 house in South Kensington, London. A court heard Sarker had deceived a panel of experts by claiming he had performed over 50 keyhole operations solo - when he had really only completed six. Pictured: A general view of the hospital where he worked Sarker was suspended in 2012 and dismissed from his job in July 2015 after concerns were raised about the number of his patient's who had died. The court heard previously an investigation by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) found Sarker's standard of surgical knowledge fell 'significantly below' the levels expected. The hospital trust has paid out nearly 2,000,000 in damages to 19 of his patients who had sued the NHS. Campus News Pair are latest UBEOC redemption stories By CHARLES ANZALONE The UBEOC takes pride in participating in the growth and development of all of its students so that they can truly become the people and professionals that they can and want to be. When Donald Paulk was 11 years old, his father died at the age of 34. He grew up one of 11 children living in a Buffalo housing project. He sang in a group called the Energetics as a child, and joined a street gang when he was a teenager. Paula Oliver was raised by her grandmother in Jamaica. After arriving in the U.S. at 17, she moved to Buffalo as a single parent with a 6-month-old child. She worked two jobs, but lived with the woman who provided her with child care services because she could not afford an apartment. Time has been kind to both Paulk and Oliver, so much so that they both were honored last month at the UB Educational Opportunity Centers annual Alumni Awards and Recognition Reception. Both count their UBEOC experience as one of the biggest reasons they went from troubled young people with uncertain futures to the latest headliners in the EOCs legacy of transforming lives. EOC administrators often refer to their graduates as redemption stories, and Paulk and Oliver are the latest to celebrate this EOC tradition. Once again we are excited about celebrating the accomplishments of our graduates and alumni, says Julius Gregg Adams, executive director of the UBEOC. Mr. Paulk and Ms. Oliver are evidence of the importance of supporting people and helping them overcome obstacles that life puts in your way. The UBEOC takes pride in participating in the growth and development of all of its students so that they can truly become the people and professionals that they can and want to be. Paulk was named the 2019 UBEOC Distinguished Alumni Honoree, presented to an alumna/alumnus who embodies the principles and values of the UBEOC, and turns efforts into achievements. Oliver received the 2019 Arthur O. Eve Education and Community Service Award. This award, which honors the legacy of Arthur O. Eve, former deputy speaker of the New York State Assembly under whose leadership the states EOC centers were launched and established, is given to a current UBEOC student or alumna/alumnus who demonstrates leadership, advocacy, community service and/or commitment to education. Both Paulk and Oliver were recognized at the UBEOCs Alumni Awards and Recognition Reception held May 17 at UBEOC, 555 Ellicott St.; the centers annual graduation ceremony took place on May 22 in Slee Hall on UBs North Campus. The theme of this years alumni reception was Saluting Your Prediction of Success. UBEOC alumni forecasted their success when they decided to enroll at EOC, says Margot Barrett Keysor, UBEOC alumni affairs administrator. They created their own futures through discipline and determination. EOC alumni truly embody their dreams and drive. Jacob Rees-Mogg should not become prime minister because it is a 'miserable lifestyle' - according to his own sister. Annunziata Rees-Mogg, who became a Brexit Party MEP in last week's European election, praised her hardline Brexiteer brother and said that becoming the UK's leader is 'not a life I would wish on anyone'. The 40-year-old also claimed that staffing shortages caused by EU citizens who were forced to return home after Brexit could be solved by getting in people 'from Botswana', in an interview with the Times. The Lincoln-based politician, who once stood as a Tory candidate at a general election, became an MEP for the East Midlands last week as Nigel Farage's Brexit Party won more seats than any other party. Mr Rees-Mogg, the European Research Group chairman, has already indicated he would not stand in the race to replace Theresa May but has not ruled out standing for party leader at some point. Asked if her brother should be prime minister, Annunziata said: 'No, because I adore his wife and children and I think it's a miserable life for anyone. 'He's an extremely capable person, but it's not a life I would wish on anyone.' The Lincoln-based politician became an MEP for the East Midlands last week as Nigel Farage's Brexit Party won more seats than any other party Ms Rees-Mogg said she would not want her brother to be prime minister because of the 'miserable lifestyle' it creates On immigration she said: 'There's a big world out there. Where we've got shortages, obviously we will have to fill them, but it doesn't just have to be from Italy. It could be from Botswana' She told the paper that Brexit had taken a personal toll on her Somerset MP brother, adding: 'I saw the lifestyle that my brother had, the huge amount of work and dedication, but to the detriment of his family life. 'He makes immense efforts and is a wonderful father, actually. My eight-year-old thinks he's the most hilarious man ever.' Ms Rees-Mogg was unveiled as the Brexit Party's star candidate earlier this year. The 40-year-old married mother of two last appeared on the political stage in 2010 as the Tory candidate in Somerton and Froome, losing the Somerset seat to the Lib Dems by less than 2,000 votes. Ahead of the poll it was claimed David Cameron asked her to shorten her name to Nancy Mogg - but she refused and later claimed 'I think it's phoney to pretend to be someone you're not'. Annunziata married former soldier Matthew Glanville in 2010 and they have two daughters, Isadora, 8 and 14-month -old Molly. In her interview with the Times the Brexit Party MEP downplayed the risk of staff shortages after Brexit, if there is an exodus of EU citizens from countries like Italy. She told the paper: 'There's a big world out there. 'Where we've got shortages, obviously we will have to fill them, but it doesn't just have to be from Italy. It could be from Botswana.' A retired German didgeridoo saleswoman who travelled to Syria to rescue her grandchildren from her radicalised daughter and son-in-law is believed to have been killed in a US air strike. The woman, identified as Helga G., who is originally from the German city of Oberhausen, was reportedly killed in the Battle of Baghuz, according to German media citing ISIS sources. The American-led coalition attack on the Syrian town of Al-Baghuz Fawqani began on February 9 this year and was regarded as the last stand of the Islamic State in eastern Syria. The woman, identified as Helga G., who is originally from the German city of Oberhausen, was reportedly killed in the Battle of Baghuz In the fierce fighting that followed, there were numerous civilian casualties, up until the city was taken on 23rd March. Helga G is believed to be among those who died. She had got divorced in 2002 and decided to start a new life for herself by emigrating to Australia, where she set up a successful business selling didgeridoos, the traditional instrument used by aborigines. She ran the business for eight years, before deciding to sell up and move back to Oberhausen in Germany so that she could spend time with her daughter's children. Her daughter has been identified only as Maya G. Maya became radicalised after marrying Lebanese born Fadi al-Kurdi. He had several petty criminal convictions and as a result the family decided to leave the country for a fresh start, and in the summer of 2015 they departed for Syria, according to media in her home country. Smoke and fire billow after a shelling on the Islamic State group's last holdout of Baghouz, in the eastern Syrian Deir Ezzor province on March 3. It is not thought that Helga G was here The pensioner sold her property to fund the trip. It's believed that al-Kurdi had taken control of her money once they moved. He apparently did so in order to become a weapons dealer in the caliphate in Rakka, which reportedly gave them a decent living. A social media account was set up in her name and IS propaganda was frequently posted, urging Muslims around the world to support what they were doing. It is unclear, however, whether Helga G was responsible for the statements on the account, or whether the account was being operated in her name. With the Kurdish-led attack on Rakka the family were forced to flee while al-Kurdi was injured and captured, during the fighting. His wife and mother-in-law fled south with the children. There were numerous civilian casualties at Baghuz, up until the city was taken on 23rd March. Among those who died was Helga G The social media account used by the OAP continued to pour scorn on critics of IS, warning them of judgement day, for example, and calling Turkish opponents 'Jews'. The daughter ended up being seized by Kurdish militia fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG), earlier this year, whereas the pensioner, according to IS sources quoted in German media, retreated to the Baghuz stronghold where they say she was later killed during an air attack. They alleged that a bomb dropped by an AC-130 operated by the U.S. Air Force killed the woman. However, there was no independent corroboration of the statement. The daughter is reportedly in a YPG refugee camp hoping for a return to Germany. Smoke rising behind destroyed vehicles and damaged buildings in the village of Baghouz during a campaign of bombing in March that is thought to have killed the German national The camp is reportedly being operated by the female version of the YPG, known as the YPJ. The biggest is the al-Hawi camp which contains around 70,000 people, most of them refugees from Iraq and Syria. There is also a small section devoted to foreigners, that include several German women with their children. It has been reported that there are appalling hygiene conditions in the camps, with a hospital only recently being opened. German officials have so far delayed in bringing their refugees back home. The reason given is that there is no embassy in Syria at the moment. Kurdish officials want to get rid of the foreign Islamic radicals, but are insisting on diplomatic recognition in exchange for handing them over. That in turn would cause problems with Turkey, a country that does not recognise the YPG and instead alleges it is simply the replacement for the outlawed PKK. The latest development is that families of these radicalised Germans have written to interior minister Horst Seehofer urging him to intervene because of the threats to their lives and the rampant illness and lack of hygiene in the camps. A British soldier has drowned in a canal near the historic Pegasus Bridge just days before the 75th anniversary of D-Day after being sent to Normandy for the commemorations. Lance Corporal Darren Jones, of the Royal Engineers, is said to have gotten into difficulty while swimming in the Canal de Caen in the village of Benouville, Normandy, at the weekend. He had been in the country as one of thousands of soldiers assisting in the anniversary commemorations for D-Day. A British soldier has drowned near the famous Pegasus Bridge in Normandy ahead of the D-Day commemorations An Army spokeswoman said: 'It is with sadness that we must confirm the death of a service person in France. Our thoughts are with their family at this difficult time.' The history of Pegasus (Benouville) Bridge Every June thousands of soldiers and civilians flock to the bridge, once named Benouville Bridge, to commemorate the Second World War. The bridge marked the first site freed from the Germans by British troops during the allied invasion in June 1944. The bridge, at Benouville in Calvados, Normandy, was named Pegasus in honour of the British 6th Airborne Division, commanded by Major John Howard, who took the bridge as part of Operation Tonga - and used the mythical winged horse as its emblem. Securing the bridge was vital in preventing a counter attack from the Germans following the Normandy Invasion. Advertisement The incident is thought to have happened either late on Saturday night or early on Sunday morning during down-time. A post-mortem examination is yet to be carried out. French reports say the soldier's comrades alerted the authorities at around 9pm GMT after losing track of him. Rescuers are believed to have recovered his body from the canal at around 3am on Sunday Morning. It is believed LCpl Jones was on down-time over the weekend when he went swimming in a canal and got into difficulty on Saturday night. Press Association sources said it would appear he has drowned. French police are understood to be investigating and are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. A headmistress who allowed her paedophile boyfriend to mix with children with special needs was exposed when they booked a romantic holiday together, a tribunal heard. Maddalena Reina, 41, has now been banned from teaching for life for what education chiefs called a 'shocking case' of abuse of power. She was head of the the senior school - William Morris - at the Hornbeam Academy, Walthamstow, as well as the lead on safeguarding, when she invited the pervert there for the day and later lied to police about him being there. Maddalena Reina, 41, who was head of the senior school - William Morris (pictured) - at the Hornbeam Academy, in Walthamstow, has been banned from teaching for life after she allowed her paedophile boyfriend to mix with children with special needs The school has more than 250 pupils aged two to 19 with physical, behavioural, social, emotional and mental health needs; autism; and profound, multiple and complex medical and learning needs. The teacher's guilty secret only came to light when police alerted Waltham Forest Council about her dating the convicted child molester, referred to only as 'Individual A'. 'The relationship had come to light following a proposed holiday Ms Reina and Individual A were intending to take,' a disciplinary panel was told. 'Individual A was required to notify the police if he wished to leave the country and it was identified that Ms Reina was due to accompany him.' Ms Reina was interviewed by police in May 2017 and subsequently suspended. An investigation was launched but before it was concluded she resigned in July 2017. A Teaching Regulation Agency panel sitting in Coventry was told Ms Reina knew the man was a convicted child sex offender. But she let him sit in on a meeting at her home with colleagues discussing work-related matters. She then allowed him to hang around the school for nine hours and allowed him access to her work iPad containing confidential material. When quizzed by police later that month she suggested Individual A had never been to the school. At the hearing, Ms Reina admitted all of the allegations and unacceptable professional conduct that may bring the profession into disrepute. Panel Chairman Mary Speakman said: 'Ms Reina had allowed a known sex offender onto the School premises for an entire school day. 'This was a serious safeguarding matter and was a matter of grave concern to the panel. Ms Reina's actions presented a risk of harm to the pupils in her care.' While there was no evidence Individual A had been left unsupervised for a prolonged period, Ms Reina could have been called away urgently at any time, the panel said. Ms Reina told the panel in a statement: 'I failed and I accept that I failed, and I ask the panel to accept that my remorse and regret is sincere and genuine.' The panel accepted it could be 'a one-off episode in the context of an otherwise unblemished career' and she may have panicked when she 'lied' to police. But Ms Speakman added: 'It was also a matter of concern that her relationship with Individual A and his status as a sex offender only came to light following the police becoming involved. 'Whilst the full extent of Individual A's criminal record and restrictions may not have been known to Ms Reina, it was not apparent that she made any enquiries in relation to his conviction or what restrictions may have been in place. 'At the very least she was aware that the offence was committed against a minor and the fact that Ms Reina allowed such an individual into the school was inexcusable.' Banning her for life, Alan Meyrick, for the Education Secretary, agreed: 'Given her experience, and as a senior leader with specific responsibility for safeguarding, Ms Reina should have set the highest standards and been an exemplary role model.' Waltham Forest Council said: 'This is a shocking case of a person in a significant position of trust in public office abusing that responsibility. 'The individual knowingly allowed an unauthorised person access on to school grounds. 'As soon as the council was made aware of the incident, we worked with the academy to ensure they were immediately suspended and removed from the school. 'Following a thorough investigation, the individual was dismissed and struck off from teaching for life. 'During the visit the unauthorised person did not have unsupervised access to any child. Safeguarding partners have worked closely to ensure that the matter has been investigated thoroughly and we are satisfied that no child has been harmed. 'The mandatory safeguarding training for everyone who works in schools in the borough has been enhanced and we have strengthened our whistleblowing process to empower staff at all levels to report anything of concern.' A survivor of the Virginia Beach shooting said she owes her life to a man who died while trying to save his coworkers during a rampage that killed 12 people last week. When gunman DeWayne Craddock fired off the first three shots after entering the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, Ryan Keith Cox immediately jumped into action. Christi Dewar said she was running down a hall when she came across her friend Cox who yelled at her and seven other people to get inside an office and barricade the door. 'I said, "Keith, come on,"' Dewar recalled through tears. 'He said "I've got to see if anybody else needs help."' Dewar and her coworkers then locked the door and barricaded it with file cabinets. Scroll down for video Christi Dewar (pictured), a survivor of the Virginia Beach shooting, said she owes her life to Keith Cox, who died while trying to save his coworkers during a rampage that killed 12 people last week. 'He was a hero,' Dewar said through tears When gunman DeWayne Craddock fired off the first three shots after entering the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, Keith Cox (pictured) immediately jumped into action. Dewar said if it wasn't for Cox 'there would have been several more people that had perished' Twelve people were tragically killed in Friday's shooting. They are (from top left to bottom right): Laquita C. Brown, Ryan Keith Cox, Tara Welch Gallagher and Mary Louise Gayle. Middle row from left are Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Joshua O. Hardy, Michelle 'Missy' Langer and Richard H. Nettleton. Bottom row from left are Katherine A. Nixon, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Herbert 'Bert' Snelling and Robert 'Bobby' Williams She said just moments later Craddock, 40, fired four shots into the room where they were hiding. Dewar told The Virginian Pilot that she and her coworkers dropped to the ground but she fell against some boxes, making a loud sound. 'I don't know if he thought he hit somebody or what. But we could tell that he was away from the door,' she said. 'Then the next shot we heard is I guess when he found Keith.' The terrified employees called 911 once they realized that Craddock was no longer outside. Craddock killed 12 people, including Cox, during Friday's shooting A short time later police came to the door and identified themselves. 'We started screaming,' Dewar said. But as they opened the door they saw Cox's body lying about 10 feet away. Craddock killed 12 people, including Cox, on Friday. Officials identified the victims as: LaQuita Brown, Tara Gallagher, Mary Gayle, Alexander Gusev, Katherine Nixon, Richard Nettleton, Christopher Rapp, Joshua Hardy, Michelle 'Missy' Langer, Robert 'Bobby' Williams and Herbert 'Bert' Snelling. The next day, Dewar went to see Cox's family so that she could tell them how brave their son was. 'If it wasn't for him there would have been several more people that had perished,' Dewar told WAVY. 'He was a hero. A guardian angel that walked this earth that didn't deserve to leave us so soon,' she added. No motive has been established for the shooting, but police announced over the weekend that Craddock had submitted his resignation via email on the morning of the attack. On Monday, authorities said the resignation email was brief, unremarkable and didn't contain anything that foreshadowed the upcoming violence. No motive has been established for the shooting, but police announced over the weekend that Craddock (left, in his school yearbook in 1995 and right in 1996) had submitted his resignation via email on the morning of the attack Craddock was described as a satisfactory worker by his employers. He's also been described as a 'disgruntled employee'. He worked at Virginia Beach Municipal Center where he launched his shooting on Friday The resignation letter is now part of the investigative file and must be cleared by detectives for public release, city Communications Director Julie Hill said. Officials have given no indication why Craddock notified a superior of his intention to leave his job. He was an employee 'in good standing' and showed 'satisfactory' job performance, City Manager Dave Hansen said. In response to the attack, the Senate's top Democrat has called for a universal background check bill to be brought to the Senate floor for a vote. Charles Schumer said the victims were hardworking government employees who were 'just snuffed out'. He said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should bring the bill that would require background checks on all gun sales in the US to the Senate floor for a vote. The House passed similar legislation in February. Schumer said the background check legislation could help prevent future shootings. Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to remember the 12 victims of the shooting. City and state officials were among the mourners at the vigil at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday to remember the 12 victims of the shooting. City and state officials were among the mourners at the vigil at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Virginia Beach After lighting 12 candles, Veronica Coleman led the congregation in prayer during a vigil Mourners were seen praying during the vigil on Sunday Craddock opened fire - including on one of his own supervisors - at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday. Shots started firing just after 4pm and cops arrived to the scene within two minutes of the call. Craddock killed a woman who was on her way out of the office, used his badge to access the building's second floor and opened fire. Cops found him about five to eight minutes after entering the building and engaged in a 'gun battle' with Craddock on the second floor of Building 2 - which was built in the 1970s and was described by police as a 'honeycomb maze'. The number of rounds fired was reportedly 'well into the double digits'. Police got Craddock into an office where they broke down the door and exchanged gunfire. He was subdued, taken into custody and given first aid, but he died on the way to a nearby hospital. The vigil closed with the lighting of 12 candles standing alongside a framed photograph of the victims slain by the gunman. A woman read each name aloud as she lit the candles. Donald Trump and Theresa May (pictured at church in Maidenhead with husband Philip yesterday) will not have one-on-one talks during his state visit Donald Trump and Theresa May will not have one-on-one talks during his state visit, it emerged today - in an apparent snub to the outgoing PM. The US president and Mrs May will meet along with ministers and senior officials in Downing Street tomorrow. But they do not have any time scheduled alone, even though Mr Trump is hoping to see Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage during his three-day trip. Sources close to Mr Johnson suggested the encounter would 'probably' happen. Mr Farage told MailOnline last week that No10 was trying to block him from seeing the president, whom he says he speaks to regularly. The PM's spokesman tried to play down the slight against her, claiming the arrangements were normal for this kind of visit. Mr Trump and Mrs will also go on a tour of the Churchill War Rooms together, where Winston Churchill helped mastermind the Second World War effort. However, the lack of any one-on-one engagement will fuel the impression that Mr Trump's attention has already shifted to who comes after Mrs May. The PM's spokesman said it was 'always going to be the case' that the meeting in the Cabinet Room tomorrow would involve other ministers and delegations. 'These are always how the discussions take place with any leader,' the spokesman said, adding there was 'nothing unusual here'. No10 insisted the two leaders would have time for informal private talks during Mr Trump's visit. 'You can see the events they are at, you can see the fact she is providing him with a tour of the Churchill War Rooms, I would expect them to be having discussions with just the two of them.' The spokesman also refused to be drawn on Mrs May's response to Mr Trump's pre-visit interviews criticising her Brexit policy, backing Mr Johnson and praising Mr Farage. Mr Trump said the pair were 'friends' and 'big powers'. He also stressed the 'big' victory for Mr Farage in European elections - where his Brexit Party hammered the Tories. The spokesman said: 'The president was asked a series of questions and he chose to answer them.' The US president, pictured arriving with First Lady Melania today, and Mrs May will meet along with ministers and senior officials in Downing Street tomorrow Mr Trump said before departing for the UK that he might meet his 'friend' Mr Johnson (pictured campaigning in Peterborough on Friday) Mr Trump praised Mr Farage (pictured presenting his LBC Radio show last night) for his European election victory Asked whether Brexit Party leader Mr Farage should join the negotiations with Brussels, the spokesman said: 'The next phase of Brexit negotiations will be conducted by somebody else, not by the Prime Minister. 'It will be for them to seek a way forward.' Mr Trump said before departing for the UK that he might meet his 'friends' Mr Johnson and Mr Farage. He praised them as 'big powers' - effectively endorsing Mr Johnson's Tory leadership bid by saying he would make a great PM. A paedophile who killed schoolgirl Samantha Knight told police the nine-year-old was snatched from her Bondi home by aliens. Michael Guider, who was locked up in 2002 for Samantha's manslaughter, is due to be released from prison on Thursday without revealing where her body is buried. The state government has launched a legal bid to keep him locked up for at least one-year longer, with the movement being supported by Samantha's mother Tess Knight and some of Guider's other victims. Amid the court action, Guider's first police interview about Samantha's death was released last week. Michael Guider, who was locked up in 2002 for Samantha's manslaughter, is due to be released from prison on Thursday without revealing where her body is buried Samantha Knight (pictured) was snatched from an apartment in Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs in 1986, sparking one of the largest searches in Australian history The 69-year-old paedophile seemingly made a joke out of her disappearance by suggesting something supernatural occurred. 'I believe that it's possible that there are aliens here and they are kidnapping our young and other people,' he told detectives while in jail in 1996, The Daily Telegraph reported. Samantha was snatched from an apartment in Bondi in Sydney's eastern suburbs in 1986, sparking one of the largest searches in Australian history. Guider was serving a 16-year sentence imposed in 1996 for at least 60 offences against 13 children when police realised he was responsible for one of Australia's most high-profile unsolved crimes. He was arrested and charged with Samantha's murder in February 2001 but pleaded guilty to manslaughter under the weight of damning evidence. On Tuesday in the Supreme Court, Justice Richard Button will determine if Guider should be put on an interim detention order or continue with plans to have him released under strict supervision. The 69-year-old paedophile seemingly made a joke out of Samantha's disappearance by suggesting something supernatural occurred The order would keep him locked up in the lead up to a full hearing in August which would determine if he should be kept in jail on a Continuing Detention order. The police interview revealed Guider kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about Samantha's disappearance. The interview also sheds light on his fixation with other missing children, including five-year-old Renee Aitken who was taken from her bedroom in Narooma, far south coast of NSW, in 1984. Her body has never been found. Among suggesting Samantha was taken by aliens, Guider said she could have fallen victim to white slavery, witchcraft and a US Government conspiracy. 'I think I would look at white slavery, I believe that exists. I believe that kids can be taken out of the country and shipped overseas quite easily,' Guider said. The state government has launched a legal bid to keep him locked up for at least one-year longer, with the movement being supported by Samantha's family and some of Guider's other victims. Pictured: Samantha Knight's mum Tess at the NSW Supreme Court on May 27 'Now I believe they do exist but I've never seen them but aliens as in worldwide abductions, a distinct possibility, a UFO, a US Government conspiracy, mystery, other dimensions, time warp, accidental death.' He also said she could have vanished into thin air or may have been taken by witchcraft or satanists which would be 'extremely hard to find to prosecute.' Guider later claimed he had drugged Sam with the sleeping pill Normison and she died of an overdose. Some of his victims were drugged so he could take photographs and abuse them. Chantelle Hamilton, one of Guider's surviving victims, marched down Bondi Beach promenade on Saturday May 25 to protest the paedophiles release alongside Samantha's mother, Tess Knight, the girl's school mates and locals. This week, we commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history. It was the crucial turning point in the war with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, one that began the liberation of German-occupied France and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. The D-Day landings: There were at least 10,000 Allied casualties, with 4,414 confirmed dead It was also the moment that most perfectly exemplified and cemented the special relationship between Britain and America, the two nations that provided the vast majority of those who fought the ferocious battle on the beaches. There were at least 10,000 Allied casualties, with 4,414 confirmed dead. They, along with everyone who took part in D-Day, will be remembered in a special ceremony in Portsmouth on the south coast of England on Wednesday, attended by the Queen, President Trump and 300 veterans. That is why Trump has come to Britain for a three-day state visit. Hes not here as a private individual. Hes here as the democratically elected President of the United States, still Britains greatest ally. As such, he represents the 320 million citizens of the U.S. including many who have personal family connections to the D-Day landings and World War 2. Trump is in the UK on a state visit where he and Flotus are being hosted by the Queen So how has Mayor of London, Englands capital city, responded to this trip? The answer is with quite staggeringly offensive rudeness. Sadiq Khan, whos been Mayor for three years, launched a series of savage attacks on President Trump in the past 48 hours, both in print and on television, branding him a fascist, a growing global threat, and demanding Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet for him because it was un-British, adding that he was the antithesis of our values in London and as a country and his divisive behavior flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon equality, liberty and religious freedom. Mayor Khan also authorized, again, the flying of a giant orange Trump baby blimp over the Houses of Parliament during the visit, specifically designed to mock and humiliate the President. By doing all this, Khan knew exactly what he was doing, and that was to create a firestorm of hatred towards the American leader and to whip up bigger protests against him than might otherwise have occurred. Sadiq Khan (above, left) whos been Mayor for three years, launched a series of savage attacks on President Trump in the past 48 hours and also authorized the Trump baby blimp being flown Hes been joined in this unedifying campaign of anti-American negativity by numerous other senior British politicians including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow and even by some of the media who should know better, like SkyNews who unwisely used the blimp to promote their coverage of the visit. The politicians have all raced to denounce the state visit, refuse to attend a banquet in the Presidents honor, bar him from speaking to Parliament, and all but condemn Trump as the worst human being thats ever existed. Little wonder than that when President Trump arrived in the U.K. this morning and read all this, he responded in kind. British politicians including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (center), Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable (left) and Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow (right), have also been scathing of Trump's visit Sadiq Khan, he tweeted, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me. Khan reminds me very much of our dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job, only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! Predictably, this prompted an immediate roar of faux outrage from all those who had failed to be remotely outraged by Mayor Khans initial attacks. Khan himself, without any apparent self-awareness, accused Trump of childish insults. Yes, the man who approved a giant baby blimp of the U.S. President to fly over Parliament is accusing his target of being childish! Of course, Khan knew exactly how Trump would respond, which is why he has spent the past two days attacking, mocking and goading him. Little wonder than that when President Trump arrived in the U.K. this morning and read all the negative comments from Sadiq Khan and others, he responded in kind and compared Khan unflatteringly with New York City's Mayor Bill de Blasio (top right, with Sadiq Khan) in a series of tweets (above) The Mayor wants this trip to be all about him, the tough-guy left-wing London boss standing up to the evil leader of the free world, rather then the D-Day heroes. Yet by doing so, Khan is guilty of the very divisiveness, inflammatory rhetoric and childishness that he purports to find so distasteful in the President. And he most certainly doesnt speak for all of Britain, as he claims to. Ironically, what the likes of Khan, Bercow, Corbyn and Cable have done to President Trump is the very antithesis of the good manners and dignified politeness that used to be the bedrock of being British. Instead, given what Trump is here to commemorate, its been rude, obnoxious, self-interested and disrespectful. Now, I fully accept those are all things that could rightly be said about Trump himself from time to time. But that doesnt make it OK for us to behave the same way or to treat the leader of our greatest ally with such wanton disdain in such a momentous week. Theres also a sickening hypocrisy underpinning their treatment of Trump, and not just because there were comparatively very limited protests and no baby blimps for previous state visits by leaders of Saudi Arabia, Russia and China. (Is Trump really worse than Putin, Mohammad bin Salman or President Xi?) Sadiq Khan, as a human rights lawyer in a previous career, once passionately defended notorious Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has denounced white people as devils, described Jews as bloodsuckers and called Hitler a very great man. Khan led a legal bid for Farrakhans ban on coming to Britain (for his hateful behavior) to be lifted, and denied his client was either anti-Semitic or a preacher of racial hatred or antagonism. Sadiq Khan, as a human rights lawyer in a previous career, once passionately defended notorious Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has denounced white people as devils, described Jews as bloodsuckers and called Hitler a very great man'. So his concept of who is and isnt acceptable to let into Britain seems a rather fluid one, depending on whos signing the checks. Khan has also, as Trump rightly said, been an abject failure as London Mayor (even worse than Bill de Blasio in New York!) presiding over a terrible surge in knife crime that has led to dozens of young people being murdered on the streets of the city. So who the hell is this jumped-up pipsqueak to start barking out insults at the American President when he cant even protect our kids from being stabbed to death? As a Londoner, Im utterly ashamed by the selfish, puerile, virtue-signalling antics of my Mayor. He has diminished himself, his office, and his country, and I apologise to all Americans offended by this disgracefully antagonistic welcome to their President during such an important visit. But I say this to them: most Britons greatly value the support of America during World War 2. Without it, it is very doubtful we could have defeated Hitler. President Trump is here to represent those who enabled us to win the battle on the beaches of Northern France. In that capacity, he deserves our dignified respect, not our snobbish sneering and petty partisan sniping. As for those champing at the bit to protest against Trump this week, with their abusive placards, mocking chants, and pathetic baby blimp, I simply say this: the only reason you can do so in this country is because of what happened 75 years ago on D-Day. The heroic British and American forces (with the help of other Allied forces too) that fought that day did so to protect your freedoms. So whatever your view of Trump, this is surely the week to park the incessant anti-Trump hysteria for just a few days and instead honor those who died and risked their lives in Normandy? Bottom line is this: do we want the lasting images from this historic occasion to be of a pathetic orange baby balloon flying over our Parliament, or of a U.S. President standing shoulder to shoulder with the Queen to pay tribute to the D-Day heroes? If your answer is the balloon, then youre a stone cold loser too. Commuters in San Francisco might be able to bounce their way to work soon, as a Swedish start-up plans to bring pogo sticks to one of the hilliest cities in the country. Under the slogan 'Jump into the future', mobility company Cangoroo announced on its website last month that it wants to launch 'shared pogo sticks to every street corner of the world' to compete with e-scooters as a mode of transport. Cangoroo says Malmo and Stockholm will be the first cities to take the leap in summer 2019, with San Francisco and London to follow in the fall. Scroll down for video An advert by Swedish start-up Congoroo shows people bouncing on the pogo sticks it wants to bring to cities across the globe The company claims the product will provide 'a quicker alternative to walking, a more convenient alternative to having a bicycle and a more environmentally friendly alternative to cars and e-scooters' 'The on-going electric scooter hype has shown great success in establishing Mobility as a service to the public and helped open up for alternative players such as Cangoroo,' Adam Mikkelsen, CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. The company expects its product to be popular with people wanting to 'add friction, joy and movement to their daily commute' and millennials looking to combine exercise and transport. It claims that bouncing will provide 'a quicker alternative to walking, a more convenient alternative to having a bicycle and a more environmentally friendly alternative to cars and e-scooters'. Congoroo also hopes nostalgia will play a part, with Mikkelsen noting that 'the classic pogo stick is something a lot of people can relate to from their childhood'. But it's unclear if residents will jump on the idea, with concerns about the practicality of bouncing through bike lanes and busy city streets, especially San Francisco's sloping ones. The company named after a misspelled marsupial anticipates that its wacky concept might raise some eyebrows. Mock-ups of the app on Congoroo's website reveal a similar system to other shared transport apps. Users will locate a stick, unlock it and pay per minute The team behind the pogo sticks says it's 'driven by pushing boundaries and bring about change for people, communities and the world were all sharing' 'With a lot of initial questions along the line of is this for real?, we feel the need to underline that Cangoroo is 100% real,' it says in a statement. Suspicions that the pogo sticks might be a headline-grabbing prank could be heightened by the fact that the start-up is owned by the ODD Company, a creative communications agency that has produced viral stunts for companies including Carlsberg and German travel agency Tui. Cangoroos website shows mock-ups of its app, which is currently in development, that appear similar in design to other shared transport apps. The system would work as the dockless e-scooters do: Users have an app on their phone that locates a pogo stick in their vicinity and unlocks it, then they pay by the minute to use it, before parking and locking it up for the next hopper to use. Cangoroo's website shows the rates at $1 to unlock and then thirty cents per minute. With many eyebrows raised at the wacky concept, the company said: 'we feel the need to underline that Cangoroo is 100% real' The company says it chose San Francisco as one of its launch cities because of its reputation as an innovative metropolis. In terms of safety, Congoroo recommends people use the product 'when youre sober and to wear a helmet'. Mikkelsen said his start-up would be ready to work with city officials, including the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, before the launch. 'We dont have specific details about this company but we will review any new transportation service to ensure compliance with existing laws,' the agency's spokesperson Paul Rose said in a statement. San Franciscans complained last year when dockless e-scooters were being thrown on sidewalks and blocking walkways after multiple companies deployed them in the city. Following the launch, the city's transport authority created a permit policy for the scooters. Congoroo already has plans beyond pogo sticks, Mikkelsen told TNW. 'We aim to launch a second product, kickbikes. Shared kickbikes will have a way better life[span] than electric ones. We found that theres a huge demand for urban mobility and are trying to build a brand in the category one that appeals to the millennial generation,' Cangoroo's CEO and co-founder said. ADVERTISEMENT Ghislaine Maxwell has been found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges - and speculation was mounting on Wednesday night about who could be most concerned by her new incentive to 'name names'. Maxwell, 60, was convicted after six days of deliberation by a jury of six men and six women. They found the British socialite guilty on five of six counts - all except enticing an individual under the age of 17 to travel with intent to engage in illegal sex acts. She faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison for all five counts, giving her ample motivation to 'flip' and discuss the actions of others within Jeffrey Epstein's circle. Epstein himself took his own life in jail, awaiting trial, in August 2019. His victims have been calling for others he associated with to be held account, and pointing out that the disgraced pedophile financier counted a plethora of famous faces among his friends. Maxwell could now be willing to implicate others, in order to reduce her sentence. Maxwell's family attorney, Leah Saffian, who has been a regular in the courtroom seated with Maxwell's family, was spotted by The Miami Herald on Tuesday beckoning over James Hill, a producer for ABC News, to introduce him to Maxwell. Maxwell smiled and appeared to introduce herself to Hill and was heard to say that she was willing to speak to the media, the paper reported - before a U.S. marshal told the journalist to return to his seat. JT Dove has invested in a new ERP system to improve efficiencies and allow for the next phase of growth. Kerridge Commercial Systems K8 will be used across all of JT Doves 19 locations by around 190 users throughout the group, across the branches and in head office. The system will allow for better customer service through better support of the team and their daily activities. The decision follows a rigorous tender process. Managing Director at JT Dove, Steve Robinson (pictured), said: We made the decision to upgrade from our legacy system to improve efficiencies right across the business, in line with our continuing growth. After a detailed review of the ERP market, I have confidence that this is the right System for JT Dove and that there is no other product with such a depth of advanced functionality for builders merchants. K8 is a fully integrated system that comprises financial accounting as well as a suite of apps designed to digitally transform delivery, showroom and warehouse management tasks. These are accessed through the KCS Digital Services gateway that enables users to access, and proactively use, data from their version of K8 on an iOS or Android device. At JT Dove there will be 60 drivers using the K8 ePOD app that will enable them to access and manage a branch generated electronic manifest with signature capture. KCSs latest generation digital services will also be used to support their digital web development. New Business Sales Director at KCS, Paula Hayter, said: JT Dove was looking for an out-of-the box solution with functionality to support every aspect of its mixed merchant business. K8s timber and bathroom functionality far surpass that of JT Doves legacy system, as well as providing the centralised purchasing for core products and sophisticated rebate management they wanted. We know K8 is renowned for its ease of use and Im delighted that several staff who have worked with it before elsewhere have said how much they are looking forward to using the latest version in their roles at JT Dove. KCS recently acquired EDP, which developed JT Doves legacy system. Steve Robinson added: This has given us an extra level of confidence in the implementation, seeing as KCS will be managing both ends of our migration journey. Porn star Lily Adams broke down in floods of tears as she told DailyMailTV of the terrifying moment an award-winning porn director allegedly anally raped her during a 'go-see' meeting at his home. Speaking for the first time since she made the allegations on Twitter earlier this year, Adams said she cried out in pain when the director - who goes by Stills by Alan - held her down and sodomized her at his four-bedroom house in Los Angeles, California. When the then 21-year-old porn starlet asked him to stop, whimpering in agony as he raped her over and over again, the 40-year-old director told her: 'I'm old enough to be your father, you do as I say.' Adams claims Alan had invited her to his home for coffee and what she thought was a 'go-see' after reaching out to her on Twitter. A 'go-see' is a common practice in the porn industry where a director requests to see the model or performer in person. But Adams claims Alan - a porn industry veteran- had other, far more sinister motives. She claims he forced himself on her before holding her down on a bed in what he called 'The Princess Room'. 'The more I asked him to stop, the more aggressive he became,' she told DailyMailTV exclusively, her voice breaking with emotion. Porn star Lily Adams (pictured) broke down in floods of tears as she told DailyMailTV of the terrifying moment an award-winning porn director allegedly anally raped her during a 'go-see' meeting at his home Speaking for the first time since she made the allegations on Twitter earlier this year, Adams said she cried out in pain when the director - who goes by Stills by Alan (pictured) - held her down and sodomized her at his four-bedroom house in Los Angeles Adams continued: 'I started crying and said, ''please stop, please.'' It was really painful and the more I cried the harder he went and the more he got turned on and the sicker things he would say to me. 'I was so terrified and so confused by what was happening.' Adams said she and Alan had exchanged numbers and they began texting before they met. 'It was a little flirty, but when communicating with directors it's not uncommon for them to ask you what you're in to, what your fetishes are for example, because they need to know that for shooting - at the end of the day our industry is sex. 'It's also not uncommon for them to call you attractive, or to comment on certain aspects of your appearance, especially if it's something they might like for your site. 'He asked me how old I was, he told me he saw a lot of potential in me, so I got the impression this was all in a professional context.' Adams, from Mississippi, said Alan had given her the option of meeting at Starbucks or his house where 'he had a really good coffee machine'. She said she felt Starbucks would have been an awkward place to talk about porn so opted for his place. And up until the point 'he was completely on top of me', she thought it was a professional meeting. 'I recognized the house, it was a shoot house that was used not just for his company but tons of other companies, but I had no clue we were going to have sex, as far as I was concerned it was a professional go-see.' DailyMailTV found a clip in which Adams can be seen at the property during a porn shoot prior to the alleged rape. DailyMailTV found a clip in which Adams can be seen at the property during a porn shoot prior to the alleged rape. The house has a unique spiral staircase in the lounge seen behind Adams Adams said she believed the meeting at Alan's California home (pictured) was strictly professional. She said: 'I recognized the house, it was a shoot house that was used not just for his company but tons of other companies, but I had no clue we were going to have sex, as far as I was concerned it was a professional go-see' The house has a unique spiral staircase in the lounge seen behind Adams. The starlet said Alan sat down with her in his kitchen and gave her a speech about how he knows 'dozens' of directors. Adams said: 'He said they talk and they're friends and if one of them gets a bad vibe from a girl or doesn't like a girl or doesn't want to book her, they'll call up all of his other director friends and say, ''look dude don't waste your time with this girl, she's not worth it.'' 'He repeatedly told me that and that he saw a lot of potential in me and said I'd be successful in this industry if I made the right decisions and was strategic.' Adams thought she was getting good advice from an industry pro. And even when Alan asked her to go upstairs to the 'Princess Room' a pink decorative room with a double bed - Adams thought it was part of the 'go-see'. 'He followed me up and said ''get undressed''. That's completely a normal part of the go-see, directors will ask you to get undressed, spin in a circle to see what your body looks like, if you have any tattoos, body hair. At the end of the day we're in the porn industry and certain companies favor certain body types.' As soon as Adams was completely naked Alan approached her. 'He pushes himself on top of me, doesn't say a word, he doesn't give me time to react, he doesn't ask for anything, he's just on top of me. 'I was shocked and in my mind I'm thinking, ''oh I thought this was a go-see and he thought this was something else''. 'I couldn't believe I'd got myself into this situation and at that point I was thinking, ''I'm here, let me just get it over with''.' While Adams said she didn't want to have sex with Alan, she allowed him to continue. The starlet said Alan sat down with her in his kitchen and gave her a speech about how he knows 'dozens' of directors. Adams thought she was getting good advice from an industry pro. And even when Alan asked her to go upstairs to the 'Princess Room' a pink decorative room with a double bed - Adams thought it was part of the 'go-see' The two met over Twitter, with Alan reaching out to Adams directly. The two began texting (pictured) and learned of their mutual interest in 'DDLG' play, which stands for Daddy Dom/ Little Girl Adams said: 'It was a little flirty, but when communicating with directors it's not uncommon for them to ask you what you're in to, what your fetishes are for example, because they need to know that for shooting - at the end of the day our industry is sex' Adams said: 'He asked me how old I was, he told me he saw a lot of potential in me, so I got the impression this was all in a professional context.' Adams said Alan had given her the option of meeting at Starbucks or his house where 'he had a really good coffee machine'. She said she felt Starbucks would have been an awkward place to talk about porn so opted for his place Adams said she only had anal sex once before and tweeted about the experience. 'It was with somebody I consented to and I enjoyed it, I'm allowed to have anal sex with people I consent to,' she said. It's her guess Alan - who had already commented on how he liked her activity on Twitter - had seen the tweet and thought it was okay to penetrate her anally Adams said: 'Part of me kind of felt like I was a little bit at blame for not realizing he was luring me over to his house to f**k, how did I not realize that, how can I be so naive? 'I was so disappointed in myself for thinking this was just a go-see. 'It wasn't something I was looking for, I wasn't attracted to him, it wasn't something I went over there for. 'For a minute or two I'm processing it, trying to understand it and I guess accept it. 'I remember the detectives asking me whether I remember saying anything specific during the vaginal sex and I said ''no'', because I didn't want that either. 'It was just something I wanted to hurry up and get over with.' Adams said she only had anal sex once before and tweeted about the experience. 'It was with somebody I consented to and I enjoyed it, I'm allowed to have anal sex with people I consent to,' she said. It's her guess Alan - who had already commented on how he liked her activity on Twitter - had seen the tweet and thought it was okay to penetrate her anally. 'He flipped me over and he shoved it in there with no lube, no nothing, without my permission or anything,' she recalls. 'At first I'm kind of nice about it, ''I'm like no, can you please take it out. I've only had anal sex one other time, please this hurts''.' But Adams said her pleas fell on deaf ears and Alan continued, getting more aggressive. He grabbed the back of her neck and forced her head into the pillow, she claims. 'The more I asked him to stop, the more aggressive he became. He said, 'I'm old enough to be your dad, you do as I say.' An hour after the incident Adams said she sent Alan (left and right) some text messages which gave the appearance that all was well. Alan himself cites the text messages in his defense Hours after the alleged rape Alan texted her stating: 'My c**k is so happy right now (smiley face).' Adams replied: 'Glad I could please u daddy...My a*****e is pretty happy too.' To which Alan replied 'good girl' The night of the incident Adams posted a tweet (pictured) on her official Twitter page which Alan would also later use in his defense. 'I just took the biggest d**k in the world up my ass... I'm equal parts shocked and impressed.' The tweet essentially confirmed she had just had anal sex and liked it. Alan - who vehemently denies the allegations - told DailyMail.com that this clearly shows she was not raped ADULT FILM DIRECTOR STILLS BY ALAN DENIES LILY ADAMS' RAPE CLAIMS In a statement Stills by Alan told DailyMail.com: 'On December 29, 2018, my world was turned upside-down when an adult performer made criminal accusations against myself and Bree Mills on social media. 'Up until now I have been cooperating with Gamma Films' investigation into the matter, and thought it prudent to not make any public statements. 'Now that I have spoken and provided evidence to Gamma's attorneys, I will state publicly what I told them: the accusations made against me are completely false and baseless. 'Not only was the sexual encounter between myself and the performer 100% consensual, the circumstances under which it took place were misrepresented and fabricated by the performer to create the false impression that it arose out of a 'go see' appointment. 'I originally met with the performer while she was accompanied by an employee of her then-agent on September 16, 2016, 14 months prior to our sexual encounter. This fact is crucial. Conflating the two events, more than a year apart, creates a false and inappropriate context for the encounter. 'In fact, the sexual encounter arose from a date we made via several text messages. During our date, on November 13, 2017, we both actively and verbally consented to having sex. 'At no point during the date did she ever convey any physical or emotional discomfort to me. 'If she would have done so I would have immediately stopped. 'After the date, she and I exchanged text messages where we both indicated how happy we both were with the evening. 'She also made a social media post after the date where she tweeted that she was 'surprised & impressed' with herself after having anal sex that evening. 'We later worked together professionally on February 13th 2018 & March 9th 2018, without incident or issue. 'I supplied Gamma's investigators with copies of these text messages and social media posts, along with proof that I had done a formal, supervised, professional go see during business hours with this performer and a representative of her then-agent long before the consensual sex occurred. 'I also supplied Gamma's investigators with written character references from multiple talent agencies who have known me for a decade, stating that they have never had a model complain about working with me. 'It is not fair to take away a person's career, livelihood and reputation over an allegation that has been proven false and is completely untrue. 'I look forward to returning to work and continuing to create the quality adult content that so many fans have enjoyed over the years. 'I support and, if given the opportunity, will strictly adhere to Gamma Films' new Code of Conduct and look forward to continuing to provide a safe and creative workplace for adult performers.' Advertisement Despite her cries he wouldn't stop. 'I remember him saying, 'this hole is mine now' and 'you're not allowed to use it for anyone else, you can go get f**ked on set by other guys but you're going to come home to me and let me destroy this hole.' Adams said she wanted to keep crying and keep saying no but felt it was encouraging him to go harder. 'It made him think it was some sick, twisted fantasy, I feel like he thought me crying and saying no was a joke. 'And so I just had to shut the f**k up and take it. I don't know what was more painful, the physical pain or the mental pain of not being able to say anything, having your voice taken away.' Adams said it felt like the rape 'lasted forever'. 'I honestly couldn't tell you whether it was five minutes, an hour or a year,' she said. 'He got up pulled up his pants and acted like nothing had happened. He walks downstairs.' Adams said that after she composed herself she went downstairs and described how there was an 'awkward energy' in the room. 'We're both looking at each other, like we know what just happened, what is the next move gonna be. Is he thinking, ''are you gonna go and tell people you raped me or be quiet and work for me''. The actress said Alan offered her a cannabis joint which she refused and she stayed no longer than 5-10 minutes before leaving in her car. 'I just wanted to go home, I was in pain and bleeding,' she said. Before she left, Alan's parting words were to remind Adams that he will be sure to let his other director friends know what type of girl she is. This was Adams' greatest fear. Adams said that after she composed herself she went downstairs and described how there was an 'awkward energy' in the room. The actress said Alan offered her a cannabis joint which she refused and she stayed no longer than 5-10 minutes before leaving in her car. A few days later Alan texted Adams about a party they were both attending, where Adams seemingly got drunk and hit Alan Adams claims she has 'no recollection' of hitting Alan after becoming drunk at a party The porn star claims Alan forced himself on her before holding her down on a bed in what he called 'The Princess Room'. Adams said through tears: 'The more I asked him to stop, the more aggressive he became... he got turned on and the sicker things he would say to me' Pictured: Adams at the party mentioned above, days after the alleged rape in November 2017 She said: 'What was he going to tell them, that I'm a horrible person and then never book me and then I get blacklisted after being in the industry for a year-and-a-half. 'I've exposed myself to the whole world and then all of a sudden because I get raped I get blacklisted... I couldn't have lived with that.' Adams said she got in her car and broke down crying. 'I was trying to drive home but kept having to stop and pull over because I was crying so hard. It was just past sunset and getting dark outside.' An hour after the incident Adams said she sent Alan some text messages which gave the appearance that all was well. Alan himself cites the text messages in his defense. Hours after the alleged rape Alan texted her stating: 'My c**k is so happy right now (smiley face).' Adams replied: 'Glad I could please u daddy...My a*****e is pretty happy too.' To which Alan replied 'good girl'. But Adams, now 23, said those texts were sent to placate Alan, now 42, through pure fear that the director could ruin her entire career. She said she regrets sending the messages, but admits she would probably do the same again. 'If I was in that position again, back then, with that little power and that little voice, I probably would have done and said the exact same. I hate it, but it's just who I am as a person. I didn't understand and I was scared and confused.' Adams said she tried to forget about the attack and 'move on', saying the last thing she would have wanted to do was admit to being raped. But as the weeks and the months went by the incident ate away at her. Shockingly, Adams also worked with Alan a couple of times after being allegedly raped. But she messaged her agent Shy Love and told her the full story before doing so. 'I told her what I went through and that I was very hesitant to do the shoot in the first place and I would put my foot down if he tried anything, basically letting her know in case there was drama.' The agent told Adams what happened wasn't okay and urged her to report the incident, Adams said 'I didn't want to be the girl that got raped, once you accept that that happened you can't take that back, it's who you are now.' The night of the incident Adams also posted a tweet on her official Twitter page which Alan would also later use in his defense. 'I just took the biggest d**k in the world up my ass... I'm equal parts shocked and impressed.' The tweet essentially confirmed she had just had anal sex and liked it. Alan - who vehemently denies the allegations - told DailyMail.com that this clearly shows she was not raped. Adams said she understands how damning that looks - why would someone who had just been raped post such a thing? I didn't want to be the girl that got raped, once you accept that that happened you can't take that back, it's who you are now. But the starlet insists that at the time, aged just 21 and extremely naive, she posted it to reaffirm to her attacker that she wouldn't tell on him. 'I tweeted what I did because he told me that he found me through my Twitter, he thought my tweets were funny and I knew he'd be checking my Twitter that night.' Shockingly, Adams also worked with the director a couple of times after being allegedly raped. But she messaged her agent Shy Love and told her the full story before doing so. 'I told her what I went through and that I was very hesitant to do the shoot in the first place and I would put my foot down if he tried anything, basically letting her know in case there was drama.' The agent told Adams what happened wasn't okay and urged her to report the incident, Adams said. But the actress convinced the agent not to say anything that could damage her career. In a detailed statement released to DailyMail.com Alan vehemently denies Adams' claims. He also pointed out the text messages she had sent him and the tweet raving about having had anal sex Alan said he had already met Adams at a 'go-see' in 2016 - insisting that when they met in November 2017 it was a 'date' - not a professional meeting. Pictured: A text message exchange between Alan and Adams' former agent Shy Love indicating Adams had met Alan in 2016 Adams said Alan steered clear of her on set during two different shoots and avoided any awkward moments. She never saw Alan again after the second shoot and she tried to put the alleged rape out of her mind. Her profile as a porn star was on the up and she was popular in the industry. 'I swept the incident under the rug, nobody wants to be the girl that got raped, nobody wants to wake up every day and look in the mirror and admit to themselves that they got violated like that,' she said. 'So I tried so hard to forget about it.' But then in June, 2018 - seven months after the alleged rape - Adams received an email out of the blue. It had come from an encrypted, anonymous account and the person didn't give their name. The email claimed that Alan and a female porn director called Bree Mills were making fun of Adams on set over the alleged incident. The sender, believed to be another adult performer, claimed to have heard about what 'stillsbyAlan did to you' and said that 'many other girls' had complained about him before but were 'silenced' by Mills, Gamma Film's head of production. 'It really triggered me, I realized I couldn't avoid it anymore,' Adams said. 'It was all building up and it was as if the universe was telling me, ''you can't live with this pain any longer''.' Adams decided she had to do something. 'I felt like me keeping this to myself was selfish,' she said. 'I needed to stop other girls being victimized.' She called her new agent and told him what had happened. She then approached director Bree Mills about it. Adams said she never saw Alan again after a second shoot she did with his company and she tried to put the alleged rape out of her mind. But then in June, 2018 - seven months after the alleged rape - Adams received an email out of the blue. It had come from an encrypted, anonymous account and the person didn't give their name. The email claimed that Alan and female porn director Bree Mills were making fun of Adams on set over the alleged incident The sender, believed to be another adult performer, claimed to have heard about what 'stillsbyAlan did to you' and said that 'many other girls' had complained about him before but were 'silenced' by Mills, Gamma Film's head of production.' Pictured: Alan with Bree Mills (both in back) with three porn stars 'I broke down to her and was crying on the phone for about an hour,' she recalls. 'She sounded like she cared, she told me she would do something about it and I trusted her, but months went by and nothing happened. 'I waited and waited and then Alan is winning awards for best director and being promoted to bigger and better sets. 'So that's why I felt I had to take it into my own hands and that's why I came out with it on Twitter. 'I felt it was the only option I had left to tell the world and get the justice and the healing I needed.' After Adams posted the tweets accusing Alan of rape she was flooded with messages from fans telling her to go to the police. Hours later she did and filed a police report with an officer who came out to see her in the early hours of the morning. Adams' bombshell tweets made instant headlines and sent shockwaves across the porn industry. Alan, a contracted director, was immediately suspended by his company Gamma Films Inc. The firm, which is best known for its high-end lesbian porn site GirlsWay.com, which Alan helped create, immediately opened an internal investigation into the allegations. In a detailed statement released to DailyMail.com Alan vehemently denies Adams' claims and said he had already met her at a 'go-see' in 2016 - insisting that when they met in November 2017 it was a 'date' - not a professional meeting. He also pointed out the text messages she had sent him and the tweet raving about having had anal sex. But Adams said that while she had seen Alan popping in on porn shoots prior to November, she doesn't ever recall doing a prior 'go-see' with him. After posting the damning tweets alleging rape, Adams went on a therapy retreat in the Amazon jungle in Peru for 24 days in a bid to 'heal'. She said she came back with a clear head and a new focus but was shocked by what she saw on her return. 'I went on the retreat and it was amazing and I was ready to come back and start afresh,' she said. 'I hadn't had my phone for the entire month and when I finally checked it I saw this wave of negativity against me' DailyMail.com spoke with Adams' former agent Shy Love who confirmed that Adams had indeed attended a 'go-see' with Alan and that one of her staffers had acted as chaperone. The agent also claimed that all 'go-sees' are conducted that way for the safety of the performer but also to ensure that the performer doesn't try to book jobs directly with directors. Love, who has since parted ways with Adams, has also sided with Alan over the rape claims. She told DailyMail.com that she is bound by an NDA she signed with her former client but in a series of tweets she wrote that: 'I truly believe Alan in this situation.' She added that she couldn't understand why Adams would attend a shoot with Alan after claiming he raped her. 'If u were raped why would u want to shoot for a director,' she wrote. Love wasn't the only doubter to come out against Adams. After posting the damning tweets alleging rape, Adams went on a therapy retreat in the Amazon jungle in Peru for 24 days in a bid to 'heal'. She said she came back with a clear head and a new focus but was shocked by what she saw on her return. 'I went on the retreat and it was amazing and I was ready to come back and start afresh,' she said. 'I hadn't had my phone for the entire month and when I finally checked it I saw this wave of negativity against me.' In her absence Alan had posted a detailed denial to the rape online, and received the backing of many of his peers, including Love and a string of adult performers. Adams claims she has since been blacklisted from much of the porn industry and claims Alan personally reached out to several well known directors asking that they not work with her in future. The vitriol against Adams for coming forward with her claims spread cross social media. She explained: 'They tore me down and undid all the healing I'd done, it's so traumatizing to have people you thought were friends trade their lives off for money. So many girls' Adams' former agent Shy Love, who has since parted ways with Adams, has sided with Alan over the rape claims. She told DailyMail.com that she is bound by an NDA she signed with her former client but in a series of tweets she wrote that: 'I truly believe Alan in this situation' The vitriol against Adams for coming forward with her claims spread cross social media. She explained: 'They tore me down and undid all the healing I'd done, it's so traumatizing to have people you thought were friends trade their lives off for money. So many girls.' The starlet has since taken on a new agent, however, who has been supportive but work is scarce. DailyMailTV has confirmed that an LAPD investigation is underway into the rape, although Alan claims he has not yet been contacted by detectives. Adams' LA attorney Robert Rafii is handling her case and said he is considering filing a civil lawsuit against Alan, Mills and Gamma Films. He told DailyMailTV: 'Sexual assault cases are very difficult on the abused under any circumstance, but particularly here where my client is in the adult movie industry. 'But regardless, in all circumstances, NO MEANS NO. 'This is both a civil and criminal matter. We are encouraging other victims to come forward and to share their stories.' Mr Rafii said other alleged victims of Alan have already contacted him to tell their stories and he vows to respect their privacy and confidentiality. 'Many victims fear that they might be blacklisted by the industry for participating in our investigation, but I would like to assure them that we will not disclose their identities unless they give us permission. 'I can confirm that the police are already involved, but we are not going into further details about the police's involvement at this time. 'We will pursue civil claims alongside the government's investigation into the criminal components of this case.' The lawyer added that he and Adams are seeking 'positive change' to make the porn industry safer for women, and insists Adams is not motivated by monetary gain. Adams was not paid by DailyMailTV to participate in this interview. When contacted by DailyMailTV Karl Bernard, President of Gamma Films Group Inc., said in a statement: 'In regards to recent comments made concerning one of our contracted directors, Gamma Films Group Inc. is proactively encouraging, supporting and cooperating with the individuals involved to report their statements to the appropriate authorities to ensure that there will be a thorough legal investigation. 'As a company, Gamma Films Group Inc. takes these comments very seriously. We care tremendously about the adult industry and the safety and well-being of everyone in it. 'We will also be opening an internal investigation and, until further notice, have suspended all Gamma Films productions through Stills by Alan and SBA Creative Concepts.' Both Mills and Alan have pinned a statement to the top of their Twitter profiles. Alan has been nominated for 'Director of the Year' at prestigious Adult Video News Awards for three years running. Chicago saw its worst weekend of 'gang-related' shootings so far this year as ten people were killed and dozens injured on the city's streets. There were 52 people shot following a string of violent attacks that took place between Friday and Sunday evening. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson gave a press conference on Monday morning and said there was 'a despicable level of violence'. At least ten people have been killed after at least 45 people were shot at in a a string of sudden gang-related shootings in Chicago. Pictured: Chicago Police investigate the scene where a man was shot inside a restaurant in the South Shore neighborhood on Friday There were 52 people shot following a string of violent attacks that took place between Friday and Sunday evening Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie Johnson (pictured) held a press conference today and said the killings had been gang and drug related He said: 'Weekends like this remind us all of the challenges that we face and that they are complex and profound.' He hit out at the 'multiple gang-related attacks' from Friday night that was part of an increase in violence particularly on the west side of the city. Following the days of violence, Chicago Police confirmed that 18 people had been arrested on gun-related charges and as many as 92 weapons had been seized -double the number of that on a typical weekend. While calling on support from the community, Superintendent Johnson said: 'We take these shootings seriously, and there is a heightened sense of urgency and care when it comes to gun violence in this city.' He said he will increase the number of officers doing foot and bicycle patrols in Chicago. Chicago Police carry out searches in the area after at least 45 people are shot in a weekend of bloodshed in the area Police carry out investigations after ten are fatally wounded in a string of gun violence in Chicago One incident, which occurred on Saturday morning, saw four people shot near Chicago's Northwestern University and left two men, aged 28 and 25, dead according to ABC Chicago station WLS. The two survivors, a 28-year-old man and 26-year-old man, told the news station that they had been standing near a van when bullets were fired at them and they were wounded. At about 4am on Sunday morning a woman, 26, was fatally wounded in the 4900-block of South Princeton Avenue in Fuller Park after gunshots were fired at her chest. In one incident, four people were shot at and two were killed near Chicago's Northwestern University Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot condemned the spate of shootings and told the public she would be holding a meeting with the head of Chicago Police Police said that 18 people had been arrested on gun-related charges following the weekend of violence. (Stock image) She was rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Hours later, a 22-year-old and a 25-year-old man were shot and killed by people in another car as they drove through the 100-block of West North Avenue in Old Town. The shooters, who fled the scene in their vehicle, left the 22-year-old with a shot to the back of his head and the 25-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene. Following the bloodshed, Mayor of Chicago Lori Lightfoot condemned the spate of shootings and said she would be arranging a meeting with the head of Chicago Police. Speaking to ABC7 News on Monday Mayor Lightfoot said: 'I'm bringing in the superintendent, the deputy chief of patrol and any other commander whose district saw an uptick in violence over the weekend and we're gonna have what I'm gonna call Accountability Mondays.' Advertisement Godzilla would prove no match for the might of the US military, experts have said in a tongue-in-cheek explanation of how they would fell the fictional beast. Making a return to the big screen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the Japanese creation, which first appeared in cinema in 1954, is a giant prehistoric reptile with immense strength, supposedly empowered by nuclear radiation and ready to bring destruction to humanity. However, according to Air Force specialists, it would stand little chance against modern military technology and would quickly be dispatched to the depths of the Pacific from whence it came. The US Air Force's 18th Wing in Japan, which is America's largest combat wing, believes Godzilla would be destroyed with four helicopters loaded with .50-caliber machine guns, Senior Airman Mark Hermann told Air & Space magazine While, in an anonymous interview with War is Boring, one military scientist said: 'It has and needs eyes, the first thing we need to do it blind it.' And the military has munitions capable of doing just that, he pointed out. Graphic shows how the US Air Force would deal with an attack by the fictional beast Godzilla Godzilla would prove no match for the might of the US military, experts have said in an explanation of how they would fell the fictional beast. Making a return to the big screen in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (pictured right), the monster, which first appeared in cinemas in 1954 (pictured left), is a giant prehistoric reptile with immense strength, supposedly empowered by nuclear radiation and ready to bring destruction to humanity. Center is a low budget incarnation produced in Japan in 2004 'Unguided rockets filled with white phosphorous would do the trick. Nothing fancy required. Unload from a couple of rotary-wing gunships, a huge barrage, repeat as needed.' Adding: 'If the eyes are organic, they will be toast,' the expert added. 'If they are machine sensors, the heat of [white phosphorus] will damage or destroy them for sure.' But Godzilla, which was created in the aftermath of the devastation of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombings by the United States, which killed roughly 225,000 people including 12 American POWs and effectively ended the Second World War, is supposedly capable of breathing a fire-like blue beam of energy - meaning it could down helicopters. Godzilla 1999: In some carnations, the beast is supposedly capable of breathing a fire-like blue beam of energy - meaning it could down US helicopters. This low budget version of Godzilla was produced in Japan for the B movie Godzilla: 2000 Godzilla 2014: The military expert believes this is a limited weapon, though, as it is only capable of firing in one direction at a time. Meaning, helicopters attacking from different angles would have a good chance of blinding the monster before being targeted However, the military expert believes this is a limited weapon, as it is only capable of firing in one direction at a time. Meaning, helicopters attacking from different angles would have a good chance of blinding the monster before being targeted. And once the beast is blind and defenseless, the military is more than capable of delivering the killer blow with the help of two B-2 stealth bombers each loaded with a Massive Ordnance Penetrator. The 30,000-pound, precision-guided bunker-buster - one of the biggest munitions ever - filled with a deadly RDX explosive mix and designed to slice through solid rock would cut down Godzilla like a knife through butter, the expert predicted. And, as is typical air force strategy, there would be two separate sorties minutes apart using laser guidance to ensure maximum damage to the wounded monster. Once the beast is blind and defenseless, the military is more than capable of delivering the killing blow with the help of two B-2 stealth bombers loaded with one Massive Ordnance Penetrator 'Equipped with laser designators, the team illuminates a point on the massive body that will present a nice near-perpendicular aspect to the glide angle of the descending bomb.' 'The bomb will penetrate the beast, burying itself in its depths, whether they be organic or machine. Godzilla will be like a giant tub of play-dough,' the scientist said. 'With a delay fuse, the blast will have a devastating effect - tons of RDX turning its guts, lungs and mechanisms to plasma, steam and mist.' Despite the grisly scene following Godzilla's demise, the military clean up wouldn't be too arduous a task either. 'There may be a hazmat mess afterwards,' the scientist explained. 'But there will be no nuclear explosion. Local radiological clean-up. at worst.' Advertisement An iceberg with a stunning blue 'melt pond' that looks like a private pool has been filmed off of the Canadian coastline. Rodger Price captured the remarkable sight as he flew his drone around Bacon Cove in Newfoundland on May 25. In contrast to the land's brown rocky cliffs and dark blue sea, the large white iceberg hosts a small picturesque pool of turquoise water. The impressive feature, known as a 'melt pond', occurs as warm air and water melts snow and ice, creating the pools, according to The National Snow Ice and Data Center. Rodger Price flew his drone over the iceberg to film the 'melt pond' at the center, it would have originated in Greenland before drifting into the North Atlantic ocean The iceberg would have broken away from sheets of ice in Greenland, before drifting into the warmer North Atlantic waters and beginning to melt Price captured the stunning 'melt pond' that had formed within the glacier due to warm air and water They explain that the new climate the iceberg faces in the ocean 'attacks it from all sides', creating cracks which are then widened by warmer water. To be classified as an iceberg, a chunk of ice must be 16ft above sea level, with a thickness of 98-164ft, writes The National Ocean Service. Since, initially sharing the footage on May 26, Price wrote: 'Bagged n tagged! First berg of 2019' and later added, 'What. A. Day.' Since then the video has grown in popularity, attracting more than 33,000 hits on YouTube. Price wrote online: 'Thanks for all the love people... You all rock!' On social media, the public has been amazed by the video, with Elvira van Oudtshoorn describing it as 'Too, too fabulous! ' Another comment by 'Jan' wrote: 'Best iceberg footage I have seen so far! Amazing! #icebergally #IcebergsNL #icebergs' Price was amazed at being able to film the stunning 'melt pond'. Here he is pictured in earlier years filming another iceberg Price captured the iceberg using with his drone, as he flew it off the coastline to reach the icy block At the center of the iceberg is a 'melt pond', which hosts stunning turquoise blue waters, and was caused by hot air and water melting the ice 'Breathtaking' wrote Tracey, and Robert George referred to the icy feature as an 'Ice tub!' This iceberg would have originated from the Greenland glacier, before drifting into the North Atlantic Ocean - where it was spotted off the Newfoundland coast. According to scientists, icebergs break off as a result of rising sea levels containing warm water - and caused by global warming. NASA and NOAA report that 2018 was the fourth hottest year on record, in statistics released four months ago. Since 1880 the average global temperature has risen by nearly 1 Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit), according to NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Two thirds of this has happened since 1975, and the warming could continue to rise, with estimates up to 2.5 - 10 Fahrenheit over the next century. The temperature increase is a global average, meaning that some locations felt significantly warmer and others colder in different parts of the world. A seven-year-old California girl required 1,000 stitches to reconstruct her face after being bitten by an Akita while she and her parents were looking to adopt from a private kennel. The girl visited the no-kill shelter, A Passion for Paws Rescue, in Romoland, California, at about noon on May 26 when the dog, a two-year-old male Akita, was said to have lunged at her and bitten her on the right side of the face. The child, who has not been named, suffered puncture wounds which required 1,000 stitches during three hours of surgery, according to California's Riverside County Animal Services. Authorities said a seven-year-old girl was bitten in the face by this two-year-old Akita while she and her parents were at a no-kill shelter looking to adopt the dog At the time of the incident, the girl and her parents were at the shelter, which specializes in Akita rescue, looking to adopt the dog that bit her. The shelter's owner told the animal services officer who arrived at the shelter to quarantine the dog that the Akita in question wasn't aggressive and hadn't previously exhibited any such behavior in the past. The shelter owner also declined to hand the dog over for euthanasia. The animal services authorities said that they received testimony about the incident from the girl's father, as well as a representative from the animal shelter. Although the shelter's rep did not personally see the attack, authorities said 'she testified that the girl reportedly put her face to the dogs face and the parents were advised against such actions.' 'Her injuries were quite shocking because her injuries were to the face,' John Welsh, spokesman for the county Department of Animal Services told the Desert Sun. 'It's terrible when these attacks affect children.' The dog was said to have been in A Passion for Paws' custody since February. It had been rescued from a Los Angeles-area shelter for about a month before being transferred to the private, no-kill shelter. The dog, Tux, was said to have lunged at the girl and bitten her. She then required 1,000 stitches to reconstruct her face after the attack A shelter representative said that the girl had placed her face right next to the dog's face and that her parents were advised against such actions A Passion for Paws (shown here) retrieved the Akita from a Los Angeles-area shelter in February. The no-kill shelter's owner said the dog hadn't previously been aggressive Given the severity of the attack, Riverside County Animal Services has requested a destruction order for the two-year-old Akita, with a decision expected to be handed down by Monday. 'It is crucial that we protect the public from dogs that may not be suitable for adoptions,' Animal Services Director Allan Drusys said in a statement. 'We respect all of our rescue partners very much. These groups are helping us save lives. But its critical that everyone recognize that some breeds may not be a good pet, especially for households with children.' The Desert Sun noted that the no-kill shelter had posted about the Akita, named Tux, on its Facebook page the day prior to the girl being bitten. A caption for the photo of the dog reads in part, 'Tux wants to know if you have a kid he can play with? Or, are you a big kid? Meet him at #AkitaRanch.' Welsh noted that Akitas are big and a 'bully breed dog.' They were originally bred as guard and hunting dogs and are said to be 'affectionate, respectful, and amusing dogs when properly trained and socialized,' but also 'not overly fond of strangers,' according to Dogtime. At least five other serious biting incidents involving dogs either at or obtained from A Passion for Paws are said to have occurred between 2013 and 2018. Animal services said that a man returned an adopted dog after it attacked and bit him in both arms in November 2017, while another man returned his Akita after it bit his hands and arms in February 2018. Both dogs involved in the incident were issues dangerous dog restraining orders. Despite the previous incidents, Welsh said animal services has 'not taken any action' yet and 'may not even have legal precedent to reject the license' the no-kill, nonprofit shelter has. A Passion for Paws claims on its website that it has saved the lives of 1,000 Akitas and other breeds of dogs since its founding in 2004. A famous tourist city is close to running out of places to bury the dead and is considering radical options to fix the issue. Gold Coast's eight cemeteries are almost full and the city council has been advised to either raise fees or develop two new cemetery sites, one in the south of the city and the other on existing land at Pimpama. It has also been told to consider an underwater burial ground. Gold Coast's eight cemeteries are almost full and the city council has been advised to either raise fees or develop two new cemetery sites, one in the south of the city and the other on existing land at Pimpama (pictured The Mudgeeraba Lawn Cemetery) But Gold Coast city councillors are not on the same page. 'When you do put the fees up it disadvantages people,' Southport-based councillor Dawn Crichlow told Gold Coast Bulletin. 'It's tough at the moment, the way everything is. 'I would have supported an underwater burial ground, but it hasn't gone anywhere with the artificial reef (project).' The city council needs a 100-year plan to address its burial needs, according to a review by the council and a recent consultant report. After the report, councillors discussed many options to solve the crisis. This includes a 'tiered fee structure' to spread demand throughout cemeteries, and incentives to residents to surrender the pre-purchased or reserved sites. The other option before the council is to expand the Mudgeeraba Lawn Cemetery. In July, Gold Coast Council floated the idea of creating an underwater cemetery, mixing ashes with environmentally-friendly materials to create a dive precinct. Mayor Tom Tate (pictured) said the plan would ease overcrowding in graveyards, as well as create a new tourism venture. In July, Gold Coast council floated the idea of creating an underwater cemetery, mixing ashes with environmentally-friendly materials to create a dive precinct. Mayor Tom Tate told Seven News the plan would ease overcrowding in graveyards, as well as create a new tourism venture. 'Major cities in Australia and the world are running out of spaces to bury people,' he said at that time. 'In time to come, if people want to dive, say hello, they can do so and have a bit of fun with it.' The underwater burial concept is based on the Neptune Memorial Reef in Florida, where ashes are scattered or secured at an artificial, underwater reef. The underwater burial concept is based on the Neptune Memorial Reef (pictured) in Florida, where ashes are scattered or secured at an artificial, underwater reef. A gang of flytippers who illegally dumped hundreds of tonnes of building materials across a number of sites have been ordered to pay back 230,000. William Jones, 39, Sean Collard, 53, and Glenn Harper, 33, were caught on CCTV dumping a mixture of household waste, wood and textiles in Barking, Essex. On other occasions they broke in to a disused landfill site in Rainham, a printing works in Essex and rented a yard before dumping black bales full of plastic in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. Shocking CCTV footage shows waste spilling on to the ground as their lorry, which has false number plates, overflows. Scroll down for video William Jones (right), 39, Sean Collard, 53, and Glenn Harper (left), 33, were caught on CCTV dumping a mixture of household waste, wood and textiles in Barking, Essex Shocking CCTV footage shows waste spilling on to the ground as their lorry, which had false number plates, overflowed. Pictured, one of the dump sites on Oliver Road, Thurrock Investigators from the Environment Agency (EA) first discovered the men had broken into a yard on Choats Road in October 2012. Jones, of Stratford, London, Harper, of Wickford, Essex, and Collard, of Rainham, Essex, struck again the following month at a printing works in Thurrock, Essex. The men used an articulated lorry to tip 640 tonnes of stones, rubble, earth, clay and chalk at the site in Oliver Road, costing the landowners more than 120,000 to clear. On New Year's Day in 2013, Jones rented a yard from Network Rail in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire. EA officers later found that the site was filled with rotting waste wrapped in bales of black plastic. On other occasions they broke in to a disused landfill site in Rainham and a printing works in Essex Investigators from the Environment Agency (EA) first discovered the men had broken into a yard on Choats Road in October 2012 Some of the lorry-load of rubbish dumped illegally by the gang on Choats Road, Barking Nine months later, the gang struck again in Barking, Essex. In October 2013, agency investigators pursued a lorry driven by Collard between two addresses either side of the A13. Collard told police he was just test-driving the lorry. He was seen dumping more waste at a building site in Abbey Road and he was soon joined by Jones and Harper in a Citroen van. The final act in the gang's 18-month spree of dumping waste illegally, took place with a series of visits to a former landfill site in Rainham in 2014. The EA identified them using a lorry to move concrete blocks designed to prevent access. In October 2013, agency investigators pursued a lorry driven by Collard between two addresses either side of the A13. Collard told police he was just test-driving the lorry EA officers later found that the site was filled with rotting waste wrapped in bales of black plastic. Nine months later, the gang struck again in Barking, Essex Sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Court, London on May 22, Judge Patricia Lees said the trio's criminal behaviour was motivated by money, with a financial cost to landowners, residents and the public purse - as well as causing environmental damage. Jones was jailed for 13 months and ordered to pay 80,000 in three months or have his jail term extended by 18 months for four counts of breaking environmental law. Harper was jailed for 12 months and ordered to pay back 146,755 within three months or face an additional two years in prison, after admitting four counts of breaching environmental law. Collard was sentenced to eight months suspended sentence for two years, 200 hours of unpaid work and a curfew between 7.30pm and 5.30am, in force for three months. The EA awarded costs against Collard of 10,000. Sitting at Snaresbrook Crown Court, London on May 22, Judge Patricia Lees said the trio's criminal behaviour was motivated by money, with a financial cost to landowners, residents and the public purse - as well as causing environmental damage The final act in the gang's 18-month spree of dumping waste illegally, took place with a series of visits to a former landfill site in Rainham in 2014. The EA identified them using a lorry to move concrete blocks designed to prevent access Emma Viner, area enforcement manager for the EA, said: 'Jones, Harper and Collard had no concern for the cost to the landowners or taxpayers, less still, the harm dumping hundreds of tonnes of waste would have on the environment. 'This highly-organised operation broke the law on a commercial scale, but that same law caught up with them in the end. 'The prison sentences laid down in court by the judge show crime does not pay, also proven by more than 200,000 recovered from the men in a proceeds of crime order or court costs.' Harper and Collard each pleaded guilty to four counts of breaching environmental law and Jones admitted three counts. A Christian hip hop artist who murder his girlfriend's seven-year-old son tried to tell police the child's horrific head injuries were caused by falling off a pogo stick. An inquest into Levi's murder heard of the horrific abuse the child endured prior to his death in 2013 and a 'gross failure' by NSW Police and Family & Community Services (FACS) to prevent the death. The explanation given by Kodi Maybir, who was jailed for up to 42 years over the murder, is one of four different version of events he gave to explain the child's injuries. Kodi Maybir who murder his girlfriend's seven-year-old son tried to tell police the child's horrific head injuries were caused by falling off a pogo stick The inquest heard that Levi's aunt was desperately concerned for the boy's welfare and made it known to police, according to 9 News. 'She made repeated phone calls to the Hurstville police which were not recorded, and to FACS,' in an effort to save the child Counsel Assisting the Coroner Peggy Dwyer said. Ms Dwyer said there were multiple occasions were police responded to reports and did not take the matter further. 'A young person at risk event should have been created... that was a significant missed opportunity.' An inquest in to Levi's murder spoke of a 'gross failure' by NSW Police and Family & Community Services (FACS) to prevent the death She spoke of one incident when police visited a music studio in Oatley were the family lived but failed to speak to Levi's mother or his step father. On another occasion the boy was made to stand outside a tent during an Easter holiday while camping with Maybir assaulting him several times. The abusive behaviour was reported by campers to police in the Bulli Beach area but despite the evidence Maybir was not charged and FACS was not notified. 'A gross failure... and it was a missed opportunity to get him assistance' Ms Dwyer said. An inquest heard Levi's aunt was desperately concerned for the boy's welfare and called police several times reporting abuse During the Maybir's trial it was revealed he inflicted such brutal injuries to the back of the little boy's head in southern Sydney in May 2013 that it fractured the child's skull and knocked him unconscious. Levi's step father also regularly punished the boy by making him stand barefoot on a coffee container - an action which Maybir demonstrated to police while being questioned. Maybir also made the boy eat his own faeces, wear a dirty nappy on his head and undertake gruelling exercise regimes. Levi's mother was also sentenced to a maximum of 14 years after she failed to seek medical attention for her son. Buried in the thousands of pages of evidence released by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office on Friday night as part of the ongoing Jussie Smollett fiasco are surveillance photos of the Empire actor in his Mercedes, allegedly driving to do a 'run through' of the attack police say he staged. The photos are of Smollett's black Mercedes and were taken on January 27 in Chicago at around 12.30pm. The attack was meant to happen the next day, on January 28th, but was set back because Smollett's flight was delayed from New York City. The brothers say he was angry that he did not receive more attention when he got a racist and homophobic letter from Empire. Smollett is shown in his black Mercedes on January 27, allegedly driving to pick up the brothers he is accused of paying to attack him in a staged, racist and homophobic attack The actor's car was identified by police when he was claiming he was a victim of an attack by unknown assailants. The photographs were released on Friday He was on his way, according to police, to pick up brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo to do a 'run through' of the attack they allegedly staged together on January 29. Smollett maintains it was a legitimate attack and that he was the victim. The photos of his car were released on Friday among thousands of other documents obtained by DailyMail.com via an FOIA request and under the decision of a judge to unseal all the police and prosecutor documents attached to the case. There are also photographs of the white rope the brothers placed around Smollett's neck and the bottle of hot sauce containing bleach which they then discarded. The release of the documents comes after months of legal back and forth between the court, the prosecutor's office and the media. Also in the newly-released case files is this photograph of the rope purchased by the brothers to place around Smollett's neck This bottle of hot sauce contained the bleach the brothers poured on Smollett's sweatshirt Brothers Abel (left) and Ola (right) Osundairo are shown in their mugshots, taken on February 13, when they arrived back in the US from Nigeria and told police Smollett had paid them When Foxx's office suddenly dropped the charges against Smollett in March, a judge agreed - at his attorney's request - to seal the file. Since then, the empire actor's lawyers have given interviews about the case and he has also made public statements. Smollett was arrested on February 21. He maintains he is innocent despite prosecutors saying they think he is innocent. The charges against him were dropped in March A judge earlier this month decided to reverse the seal because, as they put it, Smollett was no longer entitled to privacy. Last week, the Chicago Police Department released 400 of the thousands of pages it has on file. Police are still redacting videos and photographs which they will release next week. The bulk of the files released by Foxx's office are emails between her staff, their correspondence with local reporters and text messages about the story. Much of the actual investigation into the attack and then into Smollett was already in the public record. Smollett was facing 16 felony counts of lying to police and a possible 48 year prison sentence until Foxx's office dropped the charges. Prosecutors have since said that they believe he is guilty but that he qualified for 'deferred' prosecution. She is now awaiting a judge's decision on whether or not she should be investigated for misconduct. Before recusing herself from the case, she exchanged text messages with one of Smollett's relatives and a family representative. Senior Advisor Jared Kushner said earlier this month that he never talked about his security clearance with his father-in-law President Donald Trump. 'Did you discuss your security clearance with the president?' journalist Jonathan Swan asked Kushner on May 21 as part of the Axios on HBO series. The full transcript of the two-part interview was published on Monday. Kushner was hesitant to answer the question posed during the second part of the interview in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. He said he didn't want to get into security clearance related issues. 'I understand, but your wife, Ivanka, said no,' Swan pushed in regards to Senior Advisor Ivanka Trump claiming she had not discussed her clearance with her father. 'Can you say no?' 'Yeah, I have not discussed it with him,' Kushner conceded. Senior Advisor and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner said he never talked about his security clearance with the president In an interview with Axios on HBO, Kushner said that like his wife, Ivanka Trump (left), he did not approach the president about being issued a top-secret security clearance However, former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said in an internal memo when he was still serving in the position that the president 'ordered' to grant the clearances 'You haven't?' 'No.' 'You never discussed it?' 'I have not discussed it.' In February, Ivanka told CNN she did not talk to her father about her or her husband's clearance, and went further to say that Trump did not get involved in the clearance process at all. 'The President had no involvement pertaining to my clearance or my husband's clearance. Zero,' Ivanka said at the time a claim that did not age well after several reports emerged claimed to the contrary. Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine 4-Star General, wrote in an internal memo last May, when he was still in the administration position, that the president had 'ordered' him to grant Kushner his top-secret security clearance. Ivanka went a step further and said in an interview earlier this year that Trump 'had no involvement' in her and Kushner obtaining their clearances Reports indicated that after Trump directed Kelly to grant clearances, and he did not, the president bypassed the chain and granted the clearances himself The order reportedly came after then-White House Counsel Don McGahn recommended to Trump that Kushner not be given such a top security clearance. According to White House insiders, the couple and Kelly frequently clashed, which could have been one of the factors in his departure at the beginning of 2019. The White House personnel security office determines which White House aides are granted security clearances after the FBI conducts a background check. The office expressed concern over granting Ivanka and Jared such clearances. Trump then bypassed the office's concerns and directed Kelly and McGahn to authorize the clearances, according to multiple reports. When they refused, Trump granted the clearances himself. Congressional Democrats are now investigating whether Trump ordered Kelly to grant them the clearances. Last month, Kelly said that when he was working in the White House he viewed Trump's family members as 'an influence that has to be dealt with.' Although he did not mention any family members by name, he did rule out that first lady Melania Trump, who he said is a 'wonderful person.' Ivanka and Kushner are the only two family members of Trump's that hold official White House positions. Two new merchants from south west England have joined buying group H&Bs Development Group. The Development Group was established in 2018, and offers smaller merchants access to the benefits of membership of a growing buying group, with structures and strategies in place to help them to achieve the turnover required to take them to the next level, into the main H&B group. The H&B management team aims to steer up to twenty-five merchants a year through the system, filling their place with new recruits as they graduate. Suitably qualified independent merchants can apply to join at www.tbgdevelopmentgroup.com. H&Bs Allan Durning said: These two south west merchants have committed to progressing their business in the H&B Development Group. This continued growth shows the appetite amongst strong, stable, smaller merchants to take advantage of the benefits that buying group membership offers, not least excellent rebates, the best buying deals in the business, and support and mentorship from successful merchants who have trodden this path before. H&B members have sales approaching 1 billion a year through its growing membership of independent builders merchants. Currently, 75 H&B merchant members with more than 215 branches are trading in partnership with around 280 suppliers across 400 deals. Advertisement Dutch coastguards yesterday saved a migrant trying to cross the North Sea on a makeshift wooden raft made of flower pots and tree branches. The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM) tweeted that the man was picked up on Sunday morning near Ijmuiden, west of Amsterdam. Dutch media reported that the man appeared to be a 26-year-old refugee from Eritrea who wanted to reach Britain. The V-shaped raft he built had no engine and only a sail made from a piece of plastic. It was constructed from empty plastic bottles and construction foam tied together with rope. Pots were tied end-to-end to make the makeshift craft into a dinghy-shaped vessel, according to Noordhollands Dagblad. The migrant's raft is pulled to safety by Dutch coastguard workers End-to-end flower pots were tied together with elastic ties and stuffed with construction foam with a small triangular area where the Eritrean man sat to steer the dinghy The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution (KNRM) pulled the vessel and the 26-year-old sailor ashore. His homemade V-shaped raft was held together with rope and camping ties. To move through the water he used oars made from tree branches with metal trays attached to the end to form a paddle The man had supplies such as coffee, chocolate spread, a jerrycan of water hanging from the bottom of the dinghy and a solar panel to charge his phone He even had a jerrycan with water, coffee and a solar panel to charge his mobile phone. To move through the water, the suspected migrant made oars from long, thin tree branches with metal trays attached to one end to form a paddle. In order to make the craft float the man stuffed building foam into the flower pots, which were sealed together with stretchy camping ties and hooks. The unnamed man, who could not speak Dutch or English, was discovered on a busy shipping route used by freighters entering the shipping lane towards Amsterdam. Dutch coastguard pulled him aboard and he was taken ashore to be handed over to border control officials in the Netherlands. The suspected migrant was rescued by Dutch coastguard as his home-made craft was drifting towards the freighter ships in dangerous shipping lanes Plastic bags covered the wooden craft, some contained the man's belongings, others were used as the 'hull' of the boat in his bid to sail towards the North Sea. There was a lower compartment that he used to store his possessions and two paddles could be seen resting on the rudimentary vessel The 26-year-old man was rescued 1km from Ijmuiden, drifting north towards the Amsterdam shipping lane, away from his destination of Britain via the North Sea The makeshift craft was made from tree branches tied together with rope, as well as flower pots stuffed with construction foam to help make the vessel float. Branches were tied together in a A-shape to form the main structure of the dinghy and then three pieces of wood were fashioned into a point in the middle where the man sat Edward Zwitser, spokesman for KNRM said he believed the man was trying to use the current of the North Sea to try and head towards the North Sea, but was more likely to be dragged towards Greenland. He told Sky News: 'He was already on the approach route [to Amsterdam] used by large ships. A captain of a large ship would overlook him and sail over him. He could sink or capsize and, moreover, [the boat] cannot be steered. You need a motor or well-functioning sail for that.' His condition was described as 'really good' and it is thought to be the first time a migrant has tried to sail from the Netherlands to Britain. President Donald Trump appeared to deliver an unusual handshake upon the meeting the Queen. Some remarked that his holding of the monarch's hand looked at first in photographs like a fist bump. But he actually seemed to clench her hand rather than shaking it with a flat hand. A smiling Queen welcomes US President Donald Trump for lunch at Buckingham Palace today Some remarked that Mr Trump's holding of the monarch's hand looked at first in photographs like a fist bump Body language expert Judi James suggested that Mr Trump - who is known for his extreme hand-holding - was not able to get a proper grasp because the Queen usually offers only her fingertips - and that his 'huge hands' did not help matters. The American leader has form for grabbing hands and holding on to them for a long period of time, but the Queen was spared this. Ms James said: 'Donald Trump is more inhibited when he's shaking hands with the Queen. He was leaning forward from a distance, with a tentative pawing of her hand. 'The Queen only ever offers her fingertips so he couldn't get a grasp. He probably wasn't touching much more than her fingers. 'Because he's got such huge hands, it probably does look like a fist bump.' She added: 'It's hilarious - watching the size differentiation between them is comedy gold. 'His huge hand was enveloping her tiny one. But she was quite happy, chuckling and laughing.' The monarchy's official website has some simple advice on how to greet the Queen. Mr Trump actually seemed to clench the Queen's hand rather than shaking it with a flat hand It declares of those who decide not to bow or curtsy: 'Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way.' Mr Trump has been described as approaching a handshake like an arm wrestle, in which he clasps the hand and pulls sharply, leaving the recipient off-balance. He yanked French President Emmanuel Macron's hand at the Bastille Day celebration in July 2017, holding on to it for nearly 30 seconds. At the White House in April 2018, he also led the French leader away from reporters after shaking his hand and keeping hold of it. Mr Trump yanked French President Emmanuel Macron's hand at the Bastille Day celebration in Paris in July 2017, holding on to it for nearly 30 seconds Prime Minister Theresa May also encountered Mr Trump's unusual mode of dealing with foreign leaders. They held hands as they walked along at the White House during their first meeting in January 2017. Mrs May later said the US president was 'actually being a gentleman'. 'We were about to walk down a ramp, and he said it might be a bit awkward,' she said. The son of polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs who exposed his father's group and revealed he sexually abused his own children has died by suicide at the age of 26. Roy Jeffs was found dead on Wednesday in his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. He would have turned 27 on June 5. Roy was one of the first in his family to break away from his father's sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and shed light on his father's egregious abuses. But he struggled to rebuild his life after he was rejected by most of his family and friends. His death was announced in a touching post by his sister Rachel Jeffs on Friday, where she praised him as a 'fun and loving' brother who was courageous enough to escape the cult. Roy Jeffs (left), the son of polygamist cult leader Warren Jeffs (right) was found dead by suicide at his Salt Lake City Utah home on Wednesday May 29 Roy Jeffs was one of the first in his family to break away from his father's sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 2014 and shed light on his father's egregious abuses His death was announced in a touching post by his sister Rachel Jeffs on Friday 'My heart is heavy and Im sad to say that my fun loving brother Leroy Jeffs, 27 years old, died Wednesday, May 29, 2019. His father, Warren Jeffs treated him the worse of all my brothers. He did not allow Roy to grow up with his siblings and he kept him hidden in houses of hiding most of his growing up life, telling the family that Roy was a bad boy and tried to turn us against him,' she wrote. 'Im proud of Roy for the courage hes shown in being the first of my siblings to leave the FLDS cult and trying to figure out life the best he could. Roy was fun and loving and always enjoyed a good laugh. You will be remembered and missed brother!' she added. Warren Jeffs is the President of the FLDS Church and is considered a prophet among his followers. He's currently serving a sentence of life plus 20 years in Texas after he was convicted of sexually assaulting two girls he married as plural wives in August 2011. In the polygamous cult he had as many as 87 wives - many of them minors - and has between an estimated 50 to 70 children. A GoFundMe page for his funeral costs surpassed $2,000 as of Monday morning Roy broke away from the cult in 2014 and in February 2018 exposed the abuse of the FLDS church saying he lived in a polygamist family where he had around 50 siblings and his father sexually abused him as a child In August 2011 Warren Jeffs was convicted of sexually abusing two of his minor wives and was sentenced to life in prison In 2014, Roy Jeffs left the church and in 2015 he spoke publicly saying he was molested by his father when he was four or five - marking the first time any of Warren's children accused him of sexual abuse. 'I remember him saying you should never do this. And then he did it to me,' Roy said to CNN. Roy said he was molested only one time but the incident scarred him and made him feel like he 'had done something wrong' for the rest of his life. Roy helped his siblings come forward as well. His sister Rachel Jeffs published a memoir in 2017 detailing how her father molested her and how she separated from her family. Warren Jeffs has also been accused of sexually abusing his nieces and nephews. In his absence, his religious group FLDS Church has been weakened amid government crackdowns and an exodus of members who were kicked out or decided to leave. Dozens of Warren Jeffs' brides pictured lined up as if for a school photograph in front of his portrait. In the polygamous cult Jeffs had as many as 87 wives - many of them minors Haunting: Jeffs kisses one of his child brides in one of the pictures that emerged from his trial Abuser: These are just some of the shocking images that show convicted child sex cult leader Warren Jeffs with one of his child 'wives' Roy shed light on the abuses of the FLDS church saying he lived in a polygamist family where he had around 50 siblings and his father shunned him, leading him to suffer psychological and physical abuse, according to The Salt Lake City Tribune. Warren Jeffs and the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) is one of the largest fundamentalist Mormon denominations It's one of the largest U.S. groups to practice polygamy The church is the result of a split with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) when they suspended polygamy The church has settlements in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, British Columbia, and South Dakota It has an estimated 6,000 to 10,000 members The church leaders are regarded as prophets Warren Jeffs became the President of the church in 2002 He had as many as 87 wives and between 50 to 70 children He was jailed for life in 2011, convicted of sexually abusing two of his minor wive Advertisement 'There were times he went out of his way to shun me. Just seeing how my mom was treated - she was treated horribly by my dad. Just a lot of psychological abuse,' he said in the 2018 interview with ABC4. Roy was born on June 5, 1992 by Warren Jeffs' third wife Gloria Barlow. He was separated from his mother at the age of 14 and was ostracized by his father who made him write letters describing his sins, in which he admitted he had sexual urges and attractions towards some of his stepmothers who were close to his age. His father sent him to a FLDS ranch in Wyoming where he worked for FLDS connected construction companies. He finally left in 2014, realizing he'd never live up to his father's standard of purity and obedience. He came forward hoping to help others, expose his father's work, but also reminded the public that many in the FLDS church are good people who believe what they are doing is right. A funeral will be held for Roy on Saturday June 8 at the Larkin Funeral Home in Sandy Utah. A GoFundMe page for his funeral costs surpassed $2,000 as of Monday morning. If you or people you know are at risk of self-harm, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24-hour support at 1-800-273-8255 An Extinction Rebellion lawyer who glued herself to the street in climate change protests refused to condemn plans to close Heathrow with a drone attack. Farhana Yamin said plans to fly the devices over Britain's busiest airport to cause 10 days of disruption are 'currently under consideration'. The environmental group has sparked fury over the 'reckless' proposals to ground flights until the airport's expansion plans are dropped Ms Yamin, 54, a leading member of Extinction Rebellion and international climate change lawyer, said the move is 'currently under consideration' and refused to condemn it today. Farhana Yamin (pictured as she glued herself to a pavement outside the Shell building in London in April, said plans to fly the devices over Britain's busiest airport to cause 10 days of disruption today are 'currently under consideration' Ms Yamin (pictured as she was arrested in April) is a leading member of Extinction Rebellion and an international climate change lawyer. She said the move is 'currently under consideration' and refused to condemn it today She was one of the more than 1,000 arrested in April when climate change protests brought chaos to the streets of London. She was held by police after she glued her hand to the pavement outside the Shell building in the capital. Speaking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, she was asked three times whether she thought bring Heathrow to a standstill was a 'good idea.' She said: 'It's under consideration. 'We're a big movement at the moment, there is thousands and thousands of people who've joined and they have all come with their ideas and that one is under consultation.' Speaking to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4, she was asked three times whether she thought bring Heathrow to a standstill was a 'good idea' Pictured: Ms Yamin interview on ITV's This Morning after her arrest in May Presenter Justin Webb then asked: 'What's your advice? 'My personal advice is, and the issue of aviation emissions is what we should be talking about, not whether drones are the right idea or the wrong idea. 'I personally think Heathrow, the expansion of Heathrow, the fact that are aviation emissions are growing are set to grow, means that we should be talking about this very seriously. Webb asked her twice more whether she thought it was a good idea, and she then replied: 'I think the use of drones isn't what I would use a strategy, as I said its under consideration.' She said that she believed 'civil disobedience' is 'best undertaken by human beings showing the courage to stand up to whats needed to be done and not using mechanical devices. Climate change activists Extinction Rebellion are threatening to throw the holiday plans of thousands of Britons into chaos by flying drones over Heathrow Airport. The protesters previously tried to disrupt services at the airport on April 19 (pictured) In April, protesters gathered at the head of the tunnel leading into Heathrow's terminals Groups of protesters held a demonstration outside Heathrow Airport in April She added: 'That is not the essence of non violent disobedneince for me. 'My personal view is we should focus on emissions, and whether or not Heathrow and the expansion of aviation is consistent with us declaring a climate and ecological emergency. 'That is the conversation we should be having, rather than focusing on whether we shut down Heathrow with this tactic or that tactic.' Ms Yamin has had a 30-year legal career and has worked on a number of international treaties including the Paris climate agreement. The protesters said they would inform authorities in advance of the use of drones to avoid any risk to aircraft Airport authorities called in the military in January to help pinpoint drones which had been spotted around Gatwick and Heathrow airports She is now one of Extinction Rebellion's senior committee members. Speaking at the Hay Festival last week she said she had originally chosen to throw paint up the Shell building - but the tin of Farrow and Ball paint leaked in her bag, the Times reported. She said: As I was going out to catch the bus, my husband said, 'What's that dripping out of your bag?' The thing had exploded in my bag. 'The glueing attempt did work. I guess I was very nervous but also really determined. 'It was very ironic being taken away in handcuffs for criminal damage to their building when actually those doing the criminal damage that is going on are not being held to account.' In April thousands of Extinction Rebellion supporters blocked key routes in London as the group demanded the Government announce a climate emergency Hours after Extinction Rebellion announced their plans last Friday to use drones to ground flights, aviation minister Baroness Vere issued a stark warning that culprits will face 'the full force of the law'. The Metropolitan Police has also said it will develop 'strong plans' to counter the group, which brought parts of London to a standstill during two weeks of demonstrations in April. An initial one-day protest will go ahead on June 18 to 'pause' flights before a longer protest of 'up to 10 days' begins on July 1, Extinction Rebellion said. Three Extinction Rebellion activists to stand trial in December Three Extinction Rebellion activists who allegedly glued themselves to a train during London-wide environment protests will stand trial in December. Cathy Eastburn, 52, Mark Ovland, 36, and Luke Watson, 29, are charged with obstructing the railway after a protest halted Docklands Light Railway services at Canary Wharf station on Wednesday April 17. They were arrested during two weeks of demonstrations organised by XR as the group urged Government to declare a climate emergency and cut carbon emissions to zero by 2025. Ovland, of Somerton, Somerset; Watson, from Manuden in Essex, and Eastburn, of Lambeth, south London, deny the charges. They claim the stunt was justified because of the threat of climate change. A trial date of December 16 was set during a brief hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Monday and all three were released on bail. Advertisement 'Extinction Rebellion demands the Government begins to act on its declaration of a climate and environment emergency by cancelling all Heathrow expansion,' a statement said. The group described air travel as 'genocidal', adding: 'The addition of the planned third runway would make Heathrow the single biggest carbon emitter in the UK; to expand the airport at this critical point in history would be madness. 'We understand the action will cause disruption to a great number of holidaymakers, however we believe that it is necessary given the prospect of far greater disruption caused by ecological and societal collapse, if we don't act now. 'Holidaymakers are being given advance notice to change travel plans.' In December Gatwick was brought to a standstill when drones were spotted around the airport, disrupting the Christmas travel plans of thousands of travellers. Baroness Vere warned: 'Flying drones near an airport is a serious criminal offence and using drones to deliberately put people's safety at risk carries a maximum life sentence. 'No Government has done more to reduce carbon emissions, and Britain is at the forefront of global efforts to tackle climate change. 'Any illegal activity must be met with the full force of the law.' The Department for Transport has said Heathrow expansion will only go ahead within the Government's carbon reduction targets. A Heathrow spokeswoman said the protest plans are a 'reckless action that if carried out could endanger the lives of the travelling public and our colleagues'. 'We agree with the need to act on climate change, but that requires us to work together constructively - not commit serious criminal offences just as hardworking people prepare to spend a well-earned holiday with their family and friends,' she said. In April thousands of Extinction Rebellion supporters blocked key routes in London as the group demanded the Government announce a climate emergency. A small group of mostly teenage activists unfurled a banner at Heathrow near a tunnel which leads to Terminals 2 and 3, but flights were not disrupted. The Met is pushing for more than 1,100 people to be charged over the April protests and said others who disrupt Heathrow this summer will face justice. A Kentucky pastor has been accused of trying to set up a threesome with two underage girls. Bobby J. Blackburn, 26, the pastor of the Elevate Church in Prestonsburg, was arrested last week and charged with using an electronic communication system to get a minor to commit a sex act, according to Prestonsburg police. On May 24, police obtained an arrest warrant for Blackburn after receiving a complaint that he allegedly messaged a minor and asked her to have sex with him and another minor. Kentucky pastor, Bobby J. Blackburn (left and right), 26, has been accused of trying to set up a threesome with two underage girls According to WYMT, both minors were employees of Blackburn's restaurant, Giovanni's pizza place, which plays Christian music and puts Bible verses on receipts. An arrest citation says one of the girls showed officers the sexual messages from Blackburn in which he allegedly asked for a 'threesome'. The citation also accuses the pastor of threatening to fire a third girl if she didn't take the blame for sending the messages. Officers also attempted to collect Blackburn's phone through a search warrant, but family members said the phone was thrown in a Pike County river. He surrendered to police on Wednesday and was taken to the Floyd County Detention Center. Blackburn posted $5,000 bail, according to online court records. If convicted of these allegations, this crime carries a penalty of one to five years in prison. Steven Ray Becky, 19, was charged with attempted criminal homicide and DUI with serious bodily injury over the weekend A Utah man was arrested Friday morning after hitting an 11-year-old girl with his car before telling her 'we all die sometime,' according to a police. Authorities said Steven Ray Becky, 19, later confessed to police and a witness that he intentionally hit the child, 'because she was white.' He was charged with attempted criminal homicide and DUI with serious bodily injury over the weekend, according to multiple local media sources. Police said Becky was driving his Volkswagen Jetta north on the wrong side of Winged Bluff Lane in Draper, Utah, around 8.30am on Friday when he struck the unnamed girl who was 'pushing' an electric scooter south in the street. Becky's front bumper hit the girl before the entire sedan flipped over an landed on its roof near the sidewalk in front of a neighbor's yard. Witnesses told investigators Becky exited his vehicle and 'charged' at the girl as she lay in the road before saying 'We all die sometime,' to her, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. Becky also told a witness he was high on marijuana and Xanax at the time of the incident, police said. Scroll down for video Police said Becky (pictured) told witnesses and investigators he was high on marijauana, Xanax, LSD and mushrooms when he hit an 11-year-old girl with his car Friday morning Authorities say Becky was driving north on the wrong side of Winged Bluff Lane around 8.30am Friday when his car hit the child who was heading south on an electric scooter The 19-year-old tried to flee the scene on foot, but a bystander tackled him and held him down until emergency responders arrived. Both Becky and his victim were taken to a local hospital after the incident. Becky was said to be in 'good' condition. A doctor who treated the 19-year-old suspect said he told medical staff he was high on LSD and had eaten psychedelic mushrooms. Police emphasized that the collision didn't appear to be an accident. Both the suspect and the victim were taken to a local hospital Draper Police Chief John Eining said the child's helmet may have saved her life 'This is not what I would describe as veered into the gal or drifted into the gal. My description would be turned into the gal,' Draper Police Chief John Eining said during a Friday press conference. Eining said Becky was staying with a family member whose child is friends with the victim, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. The 11-year-old girl was in serious condition when she was taken to a Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City on Friday. She was wearing a helmet when Becky's car hit her 'straight on,' according to Eining. 'It's very remarkable that the girl is in such good shape, very very fortunate,' Eining said. 'We believe [the helmet] probably has something to do with the condition she's in now.' Becky was still being held at Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork, Utah on $225,000 bond Monday morning. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao cancelled a trip to China after the U.S. embassy flagged ethics concerns over her efforts to include family members with business ties there in meetings. Chao's father, James S.C. Chao, founded Foremost Maritime Corporation, a U.S. shipping company with substantial business connections in China a nation currently engaged in a trade war with the U.S. following President Trump's imposition of tariffs to protest Chinese trade practices. It is a major shipping company that provided Elaine Chao and her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, with millions in inherited wealth following the death of Chao's mother. The abrupt cancellation, which came days after an official raised concerns, came despite Chao's staff devoting time to designing special luggage tags for the trip, which was to be her first to China as secretary. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao cancelled a trip to China in 2017 after U.S. embassy official raised ethics concerns about efforts to include family members in meetings One Transportation official wrote five other agency employees to update them on the design for the tag with the 'design slightly tweaked to accommodate the name.' A response from one official to five others to an email headed 'Luggage Tag design comps for the China 2017 trip' provided last names for the 'first set of tags.' 'Could we get this text in all caps placed to the right of the DOT logo,' wrote official Ben Siegrist.' According to a New York Times report, the U.S. embassy there raised ethics concerns, which then were taken up by the State Department and Chao's Transportation Department. Chao had been seeking to include family members in some of her meetings and even having U.S. officials help coordinate their travel. The paper obtained the documents following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. 'She had these relatives who were fairly wealthy and connected to the shipping industry,' a State Department official who was involved told the paper. 'Their business interests were potentially affected by meetings.' A U.S. official at the American embassy in Beijing first raised the concerns in an email, titled: 'Secretary Chao Ethics question.' The email is heavily redacted, and states: 'I am writing you because Mission China is in the midst of preparing for a visit from Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.' What follows has been blocked out, concealing the substance. Chao family members have been major donors to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Senate campaigns as well as to the state GOP in Kentucky President Donald Trump sits with Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao during the 38th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, in Washington Her father James S.C. Chao founded Foremost Maritime Corporation. McConnell disclosed a gift of $5 million to $25 million following the death of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, Elaine Chao's late mother Harvard University and Harvard Business School announced that they received a $40 million gift from a Doctor James S. C. Chao, and Family Foundation in tribute to the life and legacy of the late Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, the beloved matriarch of the prominent Chinese-American family. The Chao family is the only one in the history of the school to have had four daughters attend the Harvard Business School U.S. Vice President Mike Pence conducted a swearing-in of Elaine Chao as the Transportation Secretary, as her father James Chao, and her husband Senator Mitch McConnell, bear witness, in the Vice Presidents Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his wife, Secretary of Transportation nominee Elaine Chao arrive at the Kentucky Society of Washington's Bluegrass Ball at the Omni Shoreham January 18, 2017 in Washington, DC. Washington is playing host to many galas and black-tie events in the run up to President-elect Donald Trump's Inauguration Chao subsequently cancelled her trip, planned for late October 2017, just days after the official raised the concerns and media inquiries followed. Another State Department official, David Rank, who served as the deputy chief of mission at the time, called it 'alarmingly inappropriate.' Yet she had been planning on going for months. According to an August 2017 email, Secretary Chao wrote aides to inquire about 'White House souvenirs/gifts for China trip. An aide responded that another aide had been dispatched to the White House gift shop to photograph potential items, and had explored whether the presidential retreat at Camp David had a gift shop of its own that might be used. The company ships raw materials mined in China to the U.S., and obtains financing from Chinese lending institutions. A Transportation Department official said on background that no determination was made and the trip did not go forward, and that if there is a concern, the department abides by guidance from ethics officials. Chao had an 'important Cabinet meeting' on November 1, 2017 and was working on responding to hurricanes. At the meeting, Trump spoke publicly about a terrorist attack in New York and called for an end to the diversity visa lottery program. A Transportation Department spokesman said the Times story leaves out 'important context,' and said Chao 'has been one of this countrys greatest advocates for the U.S. flag ship industry and today, the Maritime Administration has the largest operating budget in its history in no small part due to her advocacy.' Chao family members have collectively donated more than $1 million to McConnell's campaigns over many years. A 2014 analysis of McConnell's financial reports revealed that most of a jump in his net worth, to a range of between $9.2 million and $36.5 million at the time, came from wealth inherited through Chao. Funds worth between $5 million and $25 million in a money market account were a 'gift from a filers relative.' Chao family members became generous donors to the state party of Kentucky, McConnell's home state. Donations over two decades totaled $525,000, according to the analysis. 'Im proud to have had the support of my family over the years, McConnell said in a statement to the paper. An 82-year-old Wisconsin man has been arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a young couple 43 years ago. The Marinette County Sheriff's Office on Friday said DNA evidence links Raymond L. Vannieuwenhoven to the shootings of 25-year-old David Schuldes and 24-year-old Ellen Matheys. The engaged to be married couple were killed in McClintock Park in the town of Silver Cliff, 1976. Matheys had also been raped. In this March 14, 2019 booking photo provided by the Marinette County Sheriff's Office is Raymond Vannieuwenhoven. Prosecutors said they used DNA and genetic genealogy to connect Vannieuwenhoven to the killings 43 years ago of a young couple David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys killed in July 1976 Raymond Vannieuwenhoven of Lakewood (pictured above) is assisted by a court security officer following a hearing Monday, May 20, in Marinette County Circuit Court Schuldes was a 25-year-old part-timer in the circulation department of the Green Bay Press-Gazette; Matheys, 24, worked at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay library. On on July 9, 1976, the couple had set up their campsite at a secluded spot in McClintock Park. They were about to go for a walk, according to court documents, but first Matheys stopped to use the bathroom. Two shots from a .30-caliber rifle were fired. One bullet struck Schuldes' neck from 50 feet away, killing him instantly. The other bullet lodged in a bathroom wall. Matheys ran, with the killer in pursuit, investigators say. He caught and raped her, then shot her twice in the chest. Her body was found 200 yards from where Schuldes lay, a camera slung over his shoulder. The killer took no money and left Matheys' purse in the couple's car. Ellen Matheys (pictured left) and David Schuldes (pictured right) were fatally shot at McClintock Park in Marinette County July 9, 1976. Matheys was also raped Police say DNA technology was key in Vannieuwenhoven's arrest. DNA profiling in the '90s brought new hope, but detectives got no matches when they submitted the semen from Matheys' shorts to the FBI's national database. Last year, detectives contacted Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA technology company whose work with genetic genealogy analysis has helped police identify 55 suspects in cold cases nationwide since May 2018, according to the company. Parabon uploads DNA from crime scenes to GEDmatch, a free, public genealogy database with about 1.2 million profiles, all voluntarily submitted by people who've used consumer genealogy sites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe. California law enforcement used GEDmatch to capture the alleged Golden State Killer last year by finding distant relatives and reverse-engineering his family tree. Raymond Vannieuwenhoven (pictured above) made his first court appearance on March 22 'Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty,' Vannieuwenhoven said, when the judge asked him if he understood the charges. His next court date is June 19 Parabon's experts completed Vannieuwenhoven's family tree in late December. They'd found his parents, who had lived in the Green Bay area. Detectives needed DNA samples from Vannieuwenhoven and his three brothers. Two were ruled out with DNA samples collected from one brother's trash and another's used coffee cup. On March 6, two sheriff's deputies knocked on Vannieuwenhoven's door, pretending they wanted him to fill out a brief survey on area-policing. They told him to put the survey in an envelope and seal it with his tongue. Detectives didn't need to visit the fourth brother. Eight days later, Vannieuwenhoven was in custody. At Vannieuwenhoven's first court appearance, on March 22, bond was set at $1 million. 'Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty,' Vannieuwenhoven said, when the judge asked him if he understood the charges. His next court date is June 19. In this 1976 police sketch provided by the Marinette County Sheriff's Office is the initial police sketch of a suspect shortly after the 1976 murders of David Schuldes and Ellen Matheys. Prosecutors said they used DNA and genetic genealogy to connect Raymond Vannieuwenhoven to the killings Neighbors of Vannieuwenhoven said they were shocked by the news of the 82-year-old's arrest. 'I said, "You gotta be kidding me,"' Wayne Sankey, his next-door neighbor said upon hearing the news. 'And then I told the wife and she couldn't believe it. "There's no way," she said. "Ray down the road?"' Sankey, 68, said he and his wife are still coming to terms with the allegations against their neighbor, the man who would occasionally repair his lawnmower or snow blower. 'People had the impression that he was a very good, normal person, just a retired guy,' Sankey said. 'No matter where you went you'd mention Ray and they'd say, "Oh yeah, old Ray." That was basically about it. It's still hard to believe.' Prior to his arrest, Vannieuwenhoven, a widower and father of five grown children, had lived quietly for two decades among the 800 residents of Lakewood, a northern Wisconsin town surrounded by forests and small lakes. Unknown to his neighbors, this isn't Vannieuwenhoven first time in jail. In this April 10, 2019 photo, Wayne Sankey, Vannieuwenhoven's neighbor sits on the front steps of his Lakewood, Wisconsin home. Sankey said he and his wife are still coming to terms with the allegations against their next-door neighbor, the guy who would occasionally repair his lawnmower or snow blower In 1957, when he was 20, married, and going by the name Lawrence Vannieuwenhoven, he was jailed for six months for an unprovoked attack on a 17-year-old girl. She was walking with three friends when Vannieuwenhoven struck her on the back, face, and shoulder. Shortly before, police said, Vannieuwenhoven also tried to attack a 16-year-old girl. Vannieuwenhoven said before sentencing he 'was only trying to scare the girls,' the Press-Gazette reported at the time. In 1960, he pleaded guilty to not providing financial support to his wife and their 1-year-old daughter, the Press-Gazette reported then. He was on probation for a year. The house where Raymand Vannieuwenhoven lived in Lakewood, Wisconsin. On March 6, two sheriff's deputies knocked on Vannieuwenhoven's door, pretending they wanted him to fill out a brief survey on area-policing. They told him to put the survey in an envelope and seal it with his tongue in order to collect his DNA More recently, some neighbors caught glimpses of a menacing side when he drank. He stopped only a few years ago, for his health, they said. 'I know this much - when he was drinking he was one son of a b****. You didn't want to be anywhere near him when he was drinking. Not just me, a lot of people,' said Fred Mason, 66, who works at the town dump where Vannieuwenhoven was seen frequently, rummaging through scrap piles for small engine parts. Robert Ganzell, 86, and his wife sometimes dined out with Vannieuwenhoven. He heard from others that he had a temper when he drank, but Ganzell said he never witnessed it. The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos and his girlfriend were arraigned at a Connecticut court on Monday. Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis made their first appearance in front of a judge after being charged with evidence tampering and hindering prosecution. Dulos arraignment was held first at Norwalk Courthouse. He entered the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit with his hands cuffed in front of him. Troconis arraignment was held immediately afterwards. She appeared tearful as she entered the court and blew a kiss to her parents who were present. She was also cuffed and wearing a sweater and jeans. Both entered no pleas. Their next hearing has been set for July 11 in Stamford. Bond was set at $500,000 for both on the condition that they surrender their passports and agree to GPS monitoring. The judge said they were to have no contact with the victim Jennifer's family. Jennifer, 50, has been missing for more than a week. She was last seen dropping off her children at school and is still missing. Details of the charges have not been released. Scroll down for video Fotis Dulos (left) and Michelle Troconis (right) arrive to a Connecticut courthouse where they will be arraigned Monday. Both were arrested Saturday night in connection with the investigation into the May 24 disappearance of 50-year-old Jennifer Dulos in New Canaan Fotis Dulos and Troconis (pictured) were arrested at a hotel in Avon, Connecticut, on Saturday night Fotis did not post bond immediately and was driven away from court in an unmarked police car as members of the public yelled: 'Justice for Jennifer.' Michelle Troconis lawyer said she planned to post bond today. Troconis parents attended the court hearing but declined to comment when approached by DailyMail.com, saying: 'I dont know what you are talking about.' Dulos has hired Eugene Riccio, a high-powered Connecticut attorney. Troconis is represented by Andrew Bowman. Their attorneys both asked for a 'substantial reduction in bond' due to their clients having no previous criminal history. Riccio said his client had businesses in the area and was a long-standing member of the community. Bowman said his client had a young daughter in the area and her family had come from Florida to be with her. The pair were driven separately to court in police convoys on Monday around 10am. Photos showed Fotis and Troconis holding their heads down as they were escorted inside. Fotis is being held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center and Troconis is being held at the New Canaan police station. They were arrested at a hotel in Avon, Connecticut, on Saturday night. A search is ongoing for 50-year-old Jennifer Farbuer Dulos (pictured), who was last seen on May 24 when she dropped her five children off at day care in New Canaan, Connecticut Jennifer (left) and Fotis (right) have been locked in a vicious custody battle for the last two years. In 2017 divorce documents, Jennifer said she was 'afraid' of Fotis and he would 'harm' her State Police conduct a search of 80 Mountain Spring Road in Farmington, Connecticut, one of Fotis' development properties A source with knowledge of the family told DailyMail.com on Sunday that the millionaire real estate developer is 'hot-headed, volatile and prone to over-reacting'. 'A lot of people don't like him because he was so volatile with them, yelling, getting into disagreements and screaming matches,' the source revealed. 'If people were going to a party, or a landscaper was doing some work, and they parked on his road, he would totally over-react and call the cops. He's also a reckless driver, very hot-headed. 'The family always had a lot of nannies and they were always very attractive. He owns a lot of property in the area.' Hours after the arrest, members of the New Canaan community held a vigil for Jennifer at St Marks Episcopal Church, WABC-TV reported. Residents who knew Jennifer said the missing mother of five children is a warm, caring person who is also a devoted mom. On Sunday morning, DailyMail.com learned that Connecticut police had conducted a large-scale search of a second property owned by Fotis. Some 20 state police units, including at least six K9 units, combed over another property owned by Fotis' company, The Fore Group, in Farmington. The search seemed to be focused on the back of the property, which abuts a heavily wooded area. The home, set off from the roadway with a private drive, is a $2.8million estate with five bathrooms and eight bathrooms, spanning 10,100 square feet, according to Zillow. Police activity continued over the weekend at Fotis' home on Jefferson Crossing. The private cul-de-sac has six properties which sit on secluded plots surrounded by trees. At the end of the road, there is an access area to the West Hartford Reservoir, a swampy area with a walking trail through it. On Friday, Connecticut police obtained DNA samples from Fotis while they searched his $4.3million, 14,000-square-foot home on Jefferson Crossing for clues. Investigators served a search warrant to Fotis and spent Friday and Saturday morning looking for evidence at his massive Farmington property near Hartford, according to the Hartford Courant. The search of that property was suspended on Saturday afternoon and resumed on Sunday, along with police being spotted at the 80 Mountain Spring estate. Some 20 state police units including at least six K9 units began searching a second property owned by Fotis Dulos' company, The Fore Group, in Farmington on Sunday morning Jennifer Dulos, a 50-year-old writer, has been living with her children in a rented home in New Canaan, Connecticut for the past two years, after she filed for divorce from her husband in 2017. The mother-of-five is locked in a vicious custody battle with Fotis. She was 'afraid' of her partner and feared he would harm her in retaliation for ending the marriage. DailyMail.com previously revealed that in 2017, Fotis called 911 claiming he did not know where his family was. It was the night before Jennifer filed for divorce. In her filing, Jennifer wrote: 'I know that filing for divorce, and filing this motion will enrage him. 'I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.' Police said Fotis and Jennifer's children are currently being cared for by their maternal grandmother in New York City under the protection of an armed guard It is believed that Troconis (right) and her daughter moved into Fotis' multimillion-dollar mansion soon after his wife and five children moved out in 2017 Fotis and Jennifer have twin boys, a twin boy and girl, and a daughter. The children are between the ages of eight and 13. Jennifer and Fotis have been locked in a vicious custody battle for the last two years. In 2017 divorce documents, Jennifer said she was 'afraid' of Fotis and he would 'harm' her It is believed that Troconis and her daughter moved into his multimillion-dollar mansion soon after his wife and five children moved out in 2017. The 44-year-old had been living in Miami, Florida, before moving to Connecticut. Family members hung up when contacted by DailyMail.com for comment on her arrest. Troconis is an event coordinator for Outsourced Marketing Group, according to her LinkedIn profile. She was previously marketing director for the Cerro Castor ski resort in the Tierra del Fuego province of Argentina for nine years. In 2004, Troconis was briefly a host and producer for an EPSN show, 'Snow Time' where she interviewed personalities and athletes connected to the ski world. She also had a stint as a therapeutic riding instructor for children and adults with disabilities at a riding school in Dubai and worked in public relations for the Ghantoot Racing & Polo Club in Abu Dhabi. She holds a degree in psychology from the Universidad Central de Venezuela. Around 20 minutes after police arrived, Fotis pulled up in an SUV and went into his driveway Officers spoke with Fotis and his girlfriend Michelle Traconis before the couple got into his black SUV and drove off the property escorted by police Fotis lives in a $4.3million, 14,000-square-foot home in Farmington, a suburb outside of Hartford, Connecticut Police are treating the investigation as both a missing person case as well as a criminal matter. The property on Jefferson Crossing is a single family home which was built in 2011, according to Zillow. Authorities were spotted at that property, as well, on Sunday, with the search for Jennifer still in full swing. Investigators were seen in the same area where Fotis was questioned on Friday, before departing with Troconis to head in to submit DNA samples. K9 units were also on the scene at the Jefferson Crossing home, searching relentlessly for any sign of the missing woman. The mansion sits on two acres of land in the suburb of Hartford. The median income of a household in Farmington is $92,933 a year - well above the US average of $53,482 a year Fotis was seen speaking to authorities shortly after 6pm on Friday evening on the grounds of his mansion and was escorted from that home by officers shortly thereafter. A convoy of police vehicles arrived at the property and at first spoke to Fotis at the rear of the home before entering with him and his girlfriend, Troconis. Around an hour later, Dulos left in his own car with the woman, followed by police. They were taken to give hair and DNA samples to investigators, according to the Hartford Courant . Police have also revealed they found traces of blood at her rented home in New Canaan, where she lives with her five children. The desperate search for Jennifer (pictured) continues as family revealed that her children missed her 'terribly' After filing for divorce, Dulos and her children moved from the family's luxury home in Farmington (pictured) to a home she rented in New Canaan in June 2017 Police found traces of blood which they say someone had tried to clean up in this New Canaan home which Jennifer was renting with her children Farmington Police Department confirmed to DailyMail.com earlier this week the existence of 'several incident reports' relating to the Dulos' family home at Jefferson Crossing. Police told DailyMail.com on Friday that they were no longer authorized to release the reports due to the ongoing investigation. Fotis and Jennifer's children are currently being cared for by their maternal grandmother in New York City under the protection of an armed guard. New Canaan Police Lt Jason Ferraro said the case is not classed as a homicide but the investigation is a missing person and criminal case. No body has been recovered. Police refused to discuss persons of interest or suspects due to the ongoing investigation. State police were also seen at Dulos' Jefferson Crossing home on Friday. On Friday, five unmarked police cars arrived at the Jefferson Crossing home shortly before 6pm. Officers walked up to front door and knocked and no one answered, then checked the rear of the property. They started canvassing the area. Around 20 minutes after police arrived, Fotis pulled up in a black SUV and went into his driveway. Officers spoke to him for five minutes in the car before he got out. When he got out of the car, he had a backpack and it was searched by officers. Fotis then walked with police into his home. They were in the home for 15 minutes and then he re-emerged onto the driveway with one officer while other police were still in the house. Fotis is seen arriving at his Jefferson Crossing home on Saturday before his arrest Officers spoke with Fotis and his girlfriend Troconis before the couple got into his black SUV and drove off the property escorted by police Dulos walked with police into his home. They were in the home for 15 minutes and then he re-emerged onto the driveway with one officer while other police were still in the house A convoy of police vehicles arrived at the Jefferson Crossing property and at first spoke to Fotis at the rear of the home before entering with him and his girlfriend Troconis Shortly afterwards a white Jeep pulled in and an older woman with a young girl got out. Search teams are shown on Thursday. They have now searched the park twice, an old house that belonged to Jennifer's late father and her home Shortly after she went missing, Jennifer's car was found near the 300-acre Waveny Park (pictured). The park is about a mile from her home Troconis, who according to her LinkedIn page worked as a producer and host for an international ESPN show called 'Snow Time' in 2004, also got out the car and shook hands with the officer. The three talked for five minutes in the driveway and then police escorted her into the house. She emerged ten minutes later with a travel bag, accompanied by the young girl and the older woman. The young girl was kissed goodbye by Troconis and the older woman, believed to be a nanny, left in the white Jeep. Fotis got into his black SUV with his girlfriend and drove off the property escorted by police. Authorities found Jennifer's car, a black 2017 Chevrolet Suburban, near Waveny Park, which is about a mile from her home in New Canaan. Detectives then shifted their search to the 300-acre park, scouring a wooded area, pond, and cornfield with K-9 officers and a police drone. It is the second time they have searched it and it remains unclear what led them to go back. On Thursday, search teams visited a house that previously belonged to Jennifer's late father, but it is unclear if they found anything. In a statement to DailyMail.com on Friday, Jennifer's family thanked well-wishers for their support and made an emotional plea for her to come home. 'We miss her beyond measure her five young children, her family, her friends, colleagues, and neighbors, as well as countless people who have never met her but who have responded to the spirit of grace and kindness that Jennifer embodies,' they said. 'Jennifer, we love you and we miss you, and we remain hopeful that you will return to us safe and sound.' Jennifer was last seen on the morning of May 24 in the wealthy town of New Canaan when she dropped her children off at school. Jennifer has been locked in a vicious custody battle with her estranged husband for the last two years. She was 'afraid' of her partner and feared he would harm her in retaliation for their 2017 divorce. DailyMail.com previously revealed that in 2017, Fotis called 911 claiming he did not know where his family was. It was the night before Jennifer filed for divorce. In her filing, she said: 'I know that filing for divorce, and filing this motion will enrage him. 'I know he will retaliate by trying to harm me in some way.' Fotis and Jennifer have twin boys, a twin boy and girl, and a daughter. The children are between the ages of eight and 13. Family spokesman Carrie Luft told ABC News this week: 'They miss their mother terribly, but they are doing as well under the circumstances as one could. Friends of Dulos describe her as an 'incredibly devoted mother' who would never leave her children behind voluntarily. 'She is the most reliable and conscientious person I know,' said Carrie Luft. 'She is never late for anything, she shows up early to everything in her life.' 'She is engaged in her children's lives. They make up her entire world.' Friends reported Jennifer missing on Friday night after they hadn't heard from her for 10 hours and discovered she had missed several appointments that day. The desperate search for missing Connecticut mother-of-five Jennifer Dulos, 50, continues as family revealed that her children missed her 'terribly' Jennifer claimed that Fotis had been obsessed with water skiing during their marriage and insisted that their children would become world-class water skiiers Authorities later found Jennifer's car, a black 2017 Chevrolet Suburban, near Waveny Park, which is about a mile from her home in New Canaan. Detectives then shifted their search to the 300-acre park on Wednesday, scouring a wooded area, pond, and cornfield with K-9 officers and a police drone. Jennifer's mother was also fighting Fotis in court, claiming he owed her $2.5million in property loans. Court records detail years of alleged abuse. 'During the course of our marriage, he told me about sickening revenge fantasies and plans to cause physical harm to others who have wronged him,' Jennifer said in her June 2017 filing. 'I am afraid for my safety and the physical safety and emotional well-being of our minor children.' In August 2017, Jennifer claimed that Fotis almost struck her with his car in her driveway in front of their children and called her 'insane'. 'Why don't you pop another pill,' he said, according to the court motion. 'You should be put in an insane asylum. You're an unfit mother.' He also allegedly told her: 'I can do whatever I want. You don't have a restraining order.' Jennifer filed an emergency order for full custody of her children in July 2017, saying that she feared her estranged husband would kidnap their children. 'I believe him to be highly capable and vengeful enough to take the children and disappear,' she wrote in the filing. Her request was denied. Jennifer claimed that Fotis had threatened to 'take all of the children' and 'disappear' in his native Greece or another country. She alleged he told her 'you will never find us.' In one filing, Jennifer claimed that Fotis had applied for Greek passports for himself and their five children, according to the Hartford Courant . The couple had both been required to turn over their US passports as part of their temporary custody agreement. Jennifer also claimed that Fotis had been obsessed with water skiing during their marriage and insisted that their children train to become world-class water skiiers. She alleged that he put them on a 'dangerous and excessive' training regiment, sometimes making them practice up to 11 hours in a day. Fotis allegedly threw a ski against a rock, breaking it, when one of his children refused to train one day. 'We are all terrified to disobey my husband,' Jennifer wrote in the affidavit. Jennifer said her children wanted to stop water skiing and begged for her help. She also claims the training was so intense that one of her son's developed severe issues with his mental health because of it. She mentioned this while noting that Fotis had purchased a handgun that he kept in the house. 'I am terrified for my family's safety, especially since discovering the gun, since my husband has a history of controlling, volatile, and delusional behavior,' she wrote. 'I am concerned that one of the children will find it, especially in light of my concerns with our son.' Fotis later turned the gun over to the Farmington Police Department. After filing for divorce, Jennifer and her children moved from the family's multi-million dollar home on Jefferson Crossing to Farmington to a home she rented in New Canaan in June 2017. Fotis still lives in the Jefferson Crossing home, where he operates his real estate development company The Fore Group. For more than a decade, Jennifer's family have been loaning money to Fotis for his company, according to court documents. Her father, the late Hilliard Farber, would lend Fotis money so that he could buy properties to build luxury homes. After selling the homes, he would repay Farber. Jennifer's mother Gloria and Hilliard's estate claim that Fotis has since stopped making repayments on the loans, alleging that he owes more than $2.5million. They also claim that Fotis has stopped paying the mortgage on the couple's six-bedroom Farmington home, which had been guaranteed by Hilliard and Farber. Jennifer said that she and Fotis had previously agreed they would separate and she and the children would move to her mother's house in Pound Ridge, New York while he would stay in the Jefferson Crossing home. But Jennifer said Fotis, who she claims cheated on her, then told her he planned to move his new partner and daughter into the home - even though the court forbade exposure to romantic partners as part of the Dulos' temporary custody agreement. In a 2017 court filing, Jennifer said that she and Fotis had previously agreed they would separate and she and the children would move to her mother's house in Pound Ridge, New York while he would stay in the Jefferson Crossing home. But Jennifer said Fotis, who she claims cheated on her, then told her he planned to move his new partner and daughter into the home - even though the court forbade exposure to romantic partners as part of the Dulos' temporary custody agreement. After Fotis allowed his Argentinian lover to stay at the Jefferson Crossing house, the judge began limiting his access to the Dulos' children. She also said that, around the same time, Fotis would switch between 'telling me our marriage is over and threatening me that he will never allow me to divorce him'. After Fotis allowed his Argentinian lover to stay at the Jefferson Crossing house, the judge began limiting his access to the Dulos' children. 'In view of the close bond among all five children the court finds it highly likely that all five of the children have been adversely impacted by the breakdown of their parents marriage, the defendant's relationship with [his Argentinian lover], and the pressure that the defendant has placed on them to lie,' the judge wrote. A court-appointed guardian recommended that Fotis have limited access to his children and that all visits be supervised and all phone calls be taped. In January 2018, the court suspended Fotis' phone privileges with his children after he cried during a conversation with them. Jennifer is a journalist and writer who has degrees from Brown University and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Anyone who had contact with Jennifer Dulos on Friday May 24th, 2019 or has information regarding her disappearance should call the New Canaan Police Tip Line at 203-594-3544. Peter Dutton has rushed to Sri Lanka after reports boatloads of asylum seekers are on their way to Australia. The Home Affairs Minister is expected to discuss people smugglers with Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other officials during his two-day visit. Mr Dutton said he was 'disturbed' with the interception of a vessel carrying 20 Sri Lankan asylum seekers off Australia's north-west coast two weeks ago, before it was revealed up to six more boats could be en route. Peter Dutton has rushed to Sri Lanka after reports boatloads of asylum seekers are on their way to Australia. He is pictured at St Sebastian's church, which was bombed during the Easter Sunday terror attacks, with Catholic priest Shameera Rodrigo He will meet with the country's leaders on Tuesday to discuss measures to combat people smuggling - as well as terrorism in the wake of the Easter Sunday attacks, The Australian reported. 'The purpose of the visit is to prosecute Operation Sovereign Borders' interests and to engage Sri Lankan authorities on counter-terrorism matters,' Mr Dutton's spokeswoman said. 'We greatly value the ongoing co-operation on regional maritime security.' Mr Dutton refused to confirm if six boats could be on their way or have recently attempted journeys to Australia's shores, as was widely reported on Monday. Mr Dutton said he was 'disturbed' with the interception of a vessel (pictured) carrying 20 Sri Lankan asylum seekers off Australia's north-west coast two weeks ago But he did say the 'borders were being tested' because people smugglers had expected a Labor victory at last month's federal election. 'That was always the prediction: That a Labor government, given that Mr Shorten had walked away from Operation Sovereign Borders during the election campaign, that they were always going to be tested,' Mr Dutton told Sky News. 'I want people smugglers and those that might be organising syndicates here in Australia to hear the message from me very clearly, that is that we do have a return arrangement with Sri Lanka and with other countries and people will be returned. Mr Dutton said the recent voyage of 20 asylum seekers travelling to Australia from Sri Lanka was the result of people smugglers expecting Labor to win the federal election (stock image) 'People are not coming here by boat and regardless of what people smugglers tell you, the Morrison Government, under the Prime Minister and myself, will not allow those people to arrive by boat.' During Mr Dutton's flying visit to Sri Lanka he will lay a wreath at a bombed church where two Australians were killed on Easter Sunday. In a statement on Monday night Mr Dutton said he had passed on the condolences of Australians following the bomb attacks on churches and hotels that left more than 250 people dead. He visited St Sebastian's, one of the bombed churches, in the seaside town of Negembo where the two Australians of Sri Lankan origin were killed. 'We're here to continue to provide support as Sri Lanka rebuilds, particularly its tourism market, but the economy otherwise off the back of these horrific attacks,' he said. The Sri Lankan tourism industry has crashed since the Easter attacks. Mr Dutton is due to meet Sri Lanka' President Maithripala Sirisena (pictured), Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and other officials during a two-day visit ending on Tuesday The question of whether Julian Assange is extradited to Sweden or the U.S. appeared to swing in favour of American authorities today following a court ruling in Sweden. The Wikileaks founder, who is currently in prison in Britain for skipping bail, is being investigated in Sweden over an alleged rape and is wanted in the U.S. for leaking secret documents. Today, Uppsala District Court in Sweden rejected a request by the country's prosecutors that Assange be 'detained in absentia'. The ruling doesn't mean the preliminary rape investigation will be abandoned, only that Assange won't be extradited to Sweden for now. Julian Assange, pictured on his way to jail in the UK last month, may not be extradited to Sweden after a ruling by a court in Scandinavia today Julian Assange pictured as he is led out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in handcuffs following his arrest by British police in April. He is being investigated in Sweden and the U.S. Swedish prosecutors will now have to either appeal the ruling or question Assange in Britain as part of their investigation. The ruling does however complicate and potentially delay the Swedish case, while U.S. authorities push ahead with their case to take Assange across the Atlantic. Eva-Marie Persson, Sweden's deputy director of public prosecutions, said she has not decided whether to appeal. 'I will also issue a European Investigation Order in order to interview Julian Assange,' Persson said, adding that she hasn't picked a possible date for the questioning in England. Assange's lawyer in Sweden, Per Samuelsson, said his client would 'be happy, we are happy' to learn he won't be extradited to Sweden. On May 13, Sweden reopened an investigation into the rape allegation against Assange, which he denies. Last month, Assange was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he had been holed up with political asylum since 2012. Assange is currently in London's Belmarsh high-security prison, where he has been visited by former Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson, who is a fan of his He was then immediately arrested by British police on April 11 and is currently serving a 50-week sentence in Britain for jumping bail in 2012. Assange, 47, is also fighting extradition to the U.S., which accuses him of publishing secret documents. He is facing a total of 18 charges - most relating to obtaining and disseminating classified information including military documents and diplomatic cables. Mr Assange could be sentenced to 175 years in prison if convicted on all 18 counts. Last week, Assange missed a court session in the UK, reportedly due to health problems. Nearly 300 species of trees, more than 170 species of birds, 30 species of mammals, and 15 species of amphibians and reptiles now call the area home It is now 'a fertile woodland, alive with flora and fauna' to which 'all the insects and birds and fish returned' He and his wife started planting seedlings in 1998 and rejuvenated the forest with millions over two decades When he returned from reporting in Rwanda in 1994, Salgado was shocked to find his family's old cattle ranch completely destroyed by deforestation Photos reveal the incredible transformation from a desolate and barren plot of land to a lush and lively forest Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado and wife Lelia have replanted an entire forest over the last 20 years Advertisement Brazilian photojournalist Sebastiao Ribeiro Salgado and his wife Lelia Deluiz Wanick Salgado have spent the last 20 years planting an 1,750-acre forest to transform a barren plot of land in Brazil's Minas Gerais state into a tropical paradise. When Salgado returned from a traumatic trip covering the Rwandan genocide in 1994, he was shocked to find his family's former cattle ranch in a state of natural degradation. 'The land was as sick as I was everything was destroyed,' the famed photographer said at a meeting on climate change in Paris in 2015. 'Only about 0.5% of the land was covered in trees.' Scroll down for video Slide me Slide me Sebastiao and Lelia Salgado have spent 20 years transforming the photographer's desolate former family cattle ranch into a fertile forest Salgado, now 75, remembered the farm he grew up on as a lush and lively sub-tropical rainforest, but the area had suffered from rampant deforestation and uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources. His wife had the idea to replant the forest. 'It was so natural, instinctive. The land was so degraded, so horrible. What a bad gift! Why not plant?' Lelia told Smithsonian Magazine in 2015. So the award-winning photographer known for his black-and-white depictions of human suffering around the world turned his hand to healing the land of his youth. In 1998, the couple founded the Instituto Terra, an environmental organization dedicated to the sustainable development of the valley. They elicited the support of Vale, one of the worlds biggest mining companies and reforestation experts, which donated 100,000 seedlings from its nursery and helped rejuvenate the 'dead soil'. Slide me Water once again flows in once dried-up creeks. Water had vanished from the area but the reforestation brought it back Slide me These black-and-white photos show the bare hills of the farm in 2001 and the abundant trees surrounding the houses in 2013 This picture shows the dramatic change in the valley's color over the years from a barren brown to a verdant forest in 2012 Animals have returned to the area in abundance, including more than 30 species of mammals such as this anteater. The turtle is one of the 15 species of amphibians and reptiles that have returned Those first seedlings were planted at the Bulcao Farm in 1999 by local school students, marking the beginning of a close relationship with the community. In the 20 years since then, the badly eroded land has been completely transformed 'into a fertile woodland, alive with flora and fauna,' according to Instituto Terra's website. Hundreds of species of flora and fauna now call the former cattle ranch home, including nearly 300 species of trees, more than 170 species of birds, 30 species of mammals, and 15 species of amphibians and reptiles many of which are endangered. The once-barren land is now a birdwatcher's paradise, with more than 170 species of birds including this saffron finch and these owls Hundreds of species of flora and fauna once pushed out by deforestation now grow on the former cattle ranch once again Sebastiao and Lelia Salgado, seen here in China in 2016, founded the environmental organization Instituto Terra in 1998 to rejuvenate the land The Salgados no longer own the property, seen here in 2015, which is now a federally recognized nature preserve that raises millions of tree seedlings in its nursery, trains young ecologists and welcomes visitors to see a forest reborn 'All the insects and birds and fish returned and, thanks to this increase of the trees I, too, was reborn this was the most important moment,' Salgado said. The rejuvenation has also had an impact on the ecosystem and climate, bringing back several once dried-up springs in the drought-prone area, and positively affecting local temperatures. The Salgados no longer own the property, which is now a federally recognized nature preserve that raises millions of tree seedlings in its nursery, trains young ecologists and welcomes visitors to see a forest reborn. 'In this way we are creating an engine of environmental transformation directed to the sustainable development of our region,' Salgado said of the school at Instituto Terra. The institute also trains and supports local farmers. 'The Instituto can be a laboratory for the world,' said technical project planner Gilson Gomes Junior in a video by the institute. 'The great problem of the globe today is climate and water. We create water and climate by means of the forest. The Instituto believes its work can be replicated.' Minas Gerais is 70 miles inland from Brazils Atlantic coast, in the Maine-size valley of the freshwater river Rio Doce. An arrest warrant has been issued for a 20-year-old woman after she failed to appear at a Neighbourhood Justice Centre. Police are looking for Melbourne resident Tyler Ayre in relation to the theft of a car and contravening a community corrections order. Ms Ayre is known to frequent the Fitzroy and Collingwood areas. Police have released Ayre's photo in the hope someone may have information about her current whereabouts. Residents are urged to share information on her whereabouts with Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. A former NRL star has revealed how he broke both hands fighting off home invaders armed with a knife and a crowbar who tried to rob his house in broad daylight. Michael Witt was confronted by a man and woman holding pillowcases filled with his family's belongings when he returned to his home in Broadbeach Waters, on the Gold Coast, last Monday afternoon. 'I knew what was going on, it was the fight or flight thing, I ran and grabbed the bloke,' the former athlete turned real estate agent told the Gold Coast Bulletin. Witt's daughters, aged six and nine, were with him at the time and bolted for the family car, locking themselves inside. Scroll down for video Michael Witt (pictured with wife Angie) had returned to his Broadbeach Waters home on the Gold Coast last Monday afternoon when he was confronted by a man and woman holding pillowcases filled with his family's property Three people forced their way into the Broadbeach Waters home (pictured) with a crowbar on Monday last week Witt, who played for the Parramatta Eels, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, then used his bare hands to fight off the intruders. When he managed to wrestle one of the robbers to the ground, the man begged Witt to let him go if he returned the stolen items. But when Witt refused, another man appeared from a black SUV that had been parked at the front of the home. The second man was carrying what appeared to be a knife. Witt chased after the second man, who retreated to the driver's seat and managed to flee. Neighbours were filming as Witt chased after the thieves, and he can be heard screaming for someone to call the police. 'I was pretty angry someone thought they had a right to let themselves into our home with a crowbar... It is also pretty sad it had to happen in front of the girls,' Witt said. Witt said he was relieved his wife wife Angie (both pictured) had not been the one doing the school run that day The thieves had forced their way into the family home using a crowbar. They had stashed jewellery, watches and bags inside pillowcases The thieves had forced their way into the family home using a crowbar, and crammed jewellery, watches and bags into the pillowcases. Witt told 9news he was relieved his wife Angie had not been the one doing the school run that day. 'To come home in the middle of the afternoon and have someone in your house is pretty scary,' he said. After the terrifying ordeal Witt shared his story and photos of the car on social media in an appeal for help. Former footy star Michael Witt broke both his hands fighting one off the intruders in the family's front yard 'Not one to post like this but hoping someone may know this car or these putrid humans,' he wrote on Twitter. 'On Monday 3:30pm I caught these three cowards in my house in Broadbeach Waters. 'The driver now has a cut under his left eye and very swollen face - please contact me!' Police are investigating the incident but no arrests have been made. As the American Civi Liberties Union (ACLU) continues to battle some of the strictest abortion bans the United States has seen in decades being passed around the country, the reality for women attempting to seek lawful abortions in Kentucky is disturbing. A video posted on Facebook by John Williams, who calls himself a 'street preacher,' shows a woman entering EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville as protesters shout at her, 'Don't kill your baby!' The loud crowd is seen lining the walkway leading up to the only clinic in the state which performs abortion procedures, coming close to the woman as she walks with her head covered and with volunteer escorts surrounding her on all sides. Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin recently signed into law both a so-called 'heartbeat bill' abortion ban and a ban on abortions for specific reasons, which have now been blocked from taking effect while litigation over the bills continues. Amber Duke, communications director for the ACLU of Kentucky which represents EMW Women's Surgical Center in its various legal challenges against the state, told DailyMail.com of the scene in the video, 'This is a pretty typical of Saturday. Any time that clinic is open there are protesters out front.' A video posted on Facebook shows a woman entering EMW Women's Surgical Center in Louisville, Kentucky, the state's only abortion clinic, as protesters shout at her, 'Don't kill your baby!' (scenes from the video shown) In the minute-long clip, the woman is seen as she's escorted by five Every Saturday Morning volunteers to the front entrance of EMW Women's Surgical Center. Some volunteers are hidden from view as the group walks closely together to keep the woman guarded To the left, a large sign reads, 'Abortion is murder,' and as the woman walks past it with the escorts, a woman's voice can be heard shouting, 'Don't kill your baby!' In the minute-long clip, multiple protesters can be seen walking alongside a woman as she's escorted by five Every Saturday Morning volunteers to the front entrance of EMW Women's Surgical Center. The protesters right by her side appear to be saying things to her, but their actual words can't be heard over voice of a man talking through a loudspeaker. To the left, a large sign reads, 'Abortion is murder,' and as the woman walks past it, a woman's voice can be heard shouting, 'Don't kill your baby!' As the woman nears the clinic's front door, a man says over the loudspeaker, 'Young lady, you don't have to be a murderer this morning, young lady.' He goes on, 'Don't listen to the wicked counsel of these orange-vested people, these orange-vested people who are rubbing you on the back and telling you that it's gonna be OK. It's not gonna be OK for your baby. It's not gonna be OK.' The man then continues to talk after the woman has entered the clinic, saying things that are medically inaccurate. 'Your baby is gonna be torn limb from limb,' he says. 'Your baby's head is gonna be crushed.' He continues, 'Your baby's gonna be destroyed with chemicals. It's not gonna be OK this morning, and it's not gonna be OK for you unless you repent.' As the woman nears the clinic's front door, a man says over the loudspeaker, 'Young lady, you don't have to be a murderer this morning, young lady' The man then continues to talk after the woman has entered the clinic, saying things that are medically inaccurate. 'Your baby is gonna be torn limb from limb,' he says. 'Your baby's head is gonna be crushed' Williams, who posted the video, is pictured on social media holding a sign that reads, 'Mom, please don't kill me. I love you Mom,' showing a developing fetus in utero In a separate photo, he's pictured wearing a tee shirt that reads, 'Homo sex leads to Hell. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10' As the video nears its end, a man can be seen walking with a sign that reads, 'babies are murdered here,' with a child in tow. Williams, who posted the video, is pictured on social media holding a sign that reads, 'Mom, please don't kill me. I love you Mom,' showing a developing fetus in utero. In a separate photo, he's pictured wearing a tee shirt that reads, 'Homo sex leads to Hell. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.' 'This is the status quo that's been going on for years outside the clinic,' Duke told DailyMail.com, referring to Williams' video. 'That video was taken on a Saturday, I believe. Those are usually the heaviest days of protest at the clinic.' Kentucky is just one of many states within recent months which has passed or is considering some of the strictest bans regarding abortion access that the country has seen since the United States Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. Alabama recently passed what is widely considered to be the most restrictive of such laws, amounting to a near total ban on abortion from the moment of conception, with no exceptions for incest or rape, regardless of the age of the victim. While many have asked the ACLU about the possibility of these kinds of laws resulting in today's court revisiting that landmark decision, Duke said abortion access in Kentucky has been under attack for a number of years, even with Roe firmly in place. 'There is certainly a lot that's happening now with some of the most extreme pieces of legislation ever being passed and considered,' Duke said. 'But we have our situation here in Kentucky which we've been in for a while. We have five active lawsuits now against the state. 'Roe vs. Wade is in place right now, and we're still down to one clinic here in Kentucky and we're fighting all sorts of attempts to shut down this last clinic.' There are many steps to get through between the latest batch of laws being passed and a challenge that could lead to the Supreme Court deciding on whether to take up the issue of reconsidering Roe vs. Wade. Those various potential paths are outlined below. Amber Duke, communications director for the ACLU of Kentucky which represents EMW Women's Surgical Center (shown) in its various legal challenges against the state, told DailyMail.com of the scene in the video, 'This is a pretty typical of Saturday. Any time that clinic is open there are protesters out front' Roe v. Wade: The landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in America In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a woman's constitutional right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade. The landmark ruling legalized abortion nationwide but divided public opinion and has been under attack ever since. The case was filed in 1971 by Norma McCorvey, a 22-year-old living in Texas who was unmarried and seeking a termination of her unwanted pregnancy. Because of state legislation preventing abortions unless the mother's life is at risk, she was unable to undergo the procedure in a safe and legal environment. So McCorvey sued Henry Wade, the Dallas county district attorney, in 1970. The case went on to the Supreme Court, under the filing Roe vs Wade, to protect McCorvey's privacy. Supreme Court Decision The Supreme Court handed down the watershed 7-2 decision that a woman's right to make her own medical decisions, including the choice to have an abortion, is protected under the 14th Amendment. In particular, that the Due Process Clause of the the 14th Amendment provides a fundamental 'right to privacy' that protects a woman's liberty to choose whether or not to have an abortion. nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law The landmark ruling saw abortions decriminalized in 46 states, but under certain specific conditions which individual states could decide on. For example, states could decide whether abortions were allowed only during the first and second trimester but not the third (typically beyond 28 weeks). Impact Among pro-choice campaigners, the decision was hailed as a victory which would mean fewer women would become seriously - or even fatally - ill from abortions carried out by unqualified or unlicensed practitioners. Moreover, the freedom of choice was considered a significant step in the equality fight for women in the country. Victims of rape or incest would be able to have the pregnancy terminated and not feel coerced into motherhood. However, pro-lifers contended it was tantamount to murder and that every life, no matter how it was conceived, is precious. Though the decision has never been overturned, anti-abortionists have prompted hundreds of states laws since then narrowing the scope of the ruling. One such was the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act signed by President George W. Bush in 2003, which banned a procedure used to perform second-trimester abortions. McCorvey lived a quiet life until the 1980s when she revealed herself to be Jane Roe Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe) Following the ruling, McCorvey lived a quiet life until the 1980s when she revealed herself to be Jane Roe. McCorvey became a leading, outspoken pro-abortion voice in American discourse, even working at a women's clinic where abortions were performed. However, she performed an unlikely U-turn in 1995, becoming a born again Christian and began traveling the country speaking out against the procedure. In 2003, a she filed a motion to overturn her original 1973 ruling with the U.S. district court in Dallas. The motion moved through the courts until it was ultimately denied by the Supreme Court in 2005. McCorvey died at an assisted living home in Texas in February 2017, aged 69. 'The Heartbeat bill' Multiple governors have signed legislation outlawing abortion if a doctor can detect a so-called 'fetal heartbeat,' part of a concerted effort to restrict abortion rights in states across the country. Under the ban doctors will be prosecuted for flouting the rules. Abortion-rights supporters see the 'heartbeat bills' as virtual bans because 'fetal heartbeats' can be detected as early as six weeks, when women may not be aware they are pregnant. Anti-abortion campaigners have intensified their efforts since Donald Trump was elected president and appointed two conservative justices to the US Supreme Court, hopeful they can convince the right-leaning court to re-examine Roe v. Wade. Georgia, Ohio, Missouri, and Louisiana have enacted 'heartbeat laws' recently, and Alabama passed an even more restrictive version in May, amounting to a near total ban on abortion from the moment of conception. Other states have similar legislation pending. Similar laws has also been passed in Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, Iowa and Kentucky, though they have been blocked by courts from going into effect as legal challenges have been brought against them. Advertisement A South African wine merchant who spoke out against attacks on white farmers was found dead after being shot on Sunday night while dining with family and friends. Stefan Smit, 62, had been openly critical of the threat of land grabs on his property - a large estate in Stellenbosch, Western Cape - South Africa's most famous wine region. It was a murder seemingly fuelled by a land dispute created when a squat straddling Smit's Louisenhof Estate was set up, expanding into a vast settlement. The farmer had previously complained about how citizens from a nearby township had begun erecting shacks at the back of his farm, culminating in him getting an injunction to prevent people from encroaching on his space. Stefan Smit, 62, (pictured) had been openly critical of the threat of land grabs on his property Smit was killed when four men entered his vineyard through an unlocked back door and shot him dead. His wife and a family friend managed to survive the attack. Pieter Haasbroek, a friend of Mr. Smit, told The New York Times: 'They were busy eating dinner with friends when four masked men came into the house. They shot Smit dead. What we feared came true.' The dispute over land has been ongoing and increasingly fractious, but police said it was too early to tell if Smit's death was connected to that or a random murder. Louisenhof Wine Estate in Western Cape, South Africa - which was owned by Mr Smit The same dispute saw the murder of Annette Kennealy, 51, a farmer activist from Limpopo province who was beaten to death with a hammer and iron rod in late May. South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress, has denounced the violence against farmers, but farming groups still accuse the party of not doing enough to stop it. Ms Kennealy's and Mr Smit's murders comes as the government, led by Cyril Ramaphosa, pushes ahead with plans to alter South Africa's constitution to allow land to be seized from farmers without having to compensate them. Annette Kennealy, 51, a farmer activist from Limpopo province was beaten to death with a hammer and iron rod Both of those who were killed were vocal opponents of the new land measures being proposed and last August, people from a nearby black township flooded Mr Smit's land, building shacks on it to the point where he 'couldn't breathe.' Zola Ndlasi, the township leader who organized the occupation of Smit's land, said there are 2,000 shacks there now. 'I'm not happy,' he said by phone to The New York Times upon learning of the 62-year-old's death. 'He's a human being. No one is allowed to kill anybody. ' Ramaphosa has said that his much-focused-on land reform is necessary to compensate for the 'historical imbalance' caused by apartheid and colonialism. Under Section 25 of the old constitution, citizens were granted the right to property which could be expropriated - but only upon payment of compensation. The power of government to seize land was also limited, meaning that the majority of farmland remained in white hands - despite the majority of South Africa's population being black. According to a 2017 census, 72 per cent of land was owned by white people, who made up just nine per cent of the population. However, in December last year parliament voted 209-91 to amend the constitution to say that land could be expropriated without anything being paid in certain circumstances. Cyril Ramaphosa has pushed ahead with changes to the constitution which mean land can be expropriated without any compensation being offered Ministers are now preparing a series of 'test cases' for the courts, despite warnings that it could take a decade or more to resolve the issue. The ANC has sought to reassure people inside and outside the country that its efforts to ensure the majority of black South Africans have better access to land - a long-standing party promise - will be legal and should not be cause for alarm. Ramaphosa has said everyone should 'relax' about the land reform process and that it would 'end up very well'. Political parties and NGOs have criticised the government's attempts to change land reform measures. The issue did not appear to play well for Ramaphosa at South Africa's recent election, the first since he seized power from predecessor Jacob Zuma, which the ruling ANC party won - but with a reduced majority. Transvaal Agricultural Union, a group representing the interests of farmers, recorded 84 farm murders in the 2017 calendar year. Of these, 59 victims were white farmers. A further 15 people, including eight white farmers, were killed on farms in the first three months of 2018. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said he spoke with the late Senator John McCain's wife, Cindy, a few days ago. He declined to provide any details of the conversation, but the call comes after the USS John S. McCain was hidden from President Donald Trump during his trip to Japan last week. The ship, commission in 1994, was originally named after The Republican senators grandfather and father, who were both Navy admirals. McCain, who was the third of his name, served in Vietnam and was captured and tortured as a prisoner of war. Last year, the Navy rededicated the ship to honor the senator as well. Shanahan confirmed details reported from a Navy email that said the White House Military Office requested the destroyer be kept 'out of sight' during Trump's visit to the naval base in Yokosuka, Japan. Trump said last week he knew nothing about the request for the ship to be moved, but claimed the individual who made the request was 'well-meaning' Acting Department of Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said that he spoke with Sen. John McCain's widow after controversy over hiding the USS John S. McCain when the president visited Japan Shanahan did not share the details of the conversation he had with Cindy McCain (pictured) Cindy and John (right) were married since 1980, until his death, and had four children. McCain died in August 2018, about a year after he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He served in the Senate until his death 'Somebody did it because they thought I didn't like him, OK? And they were well-meaning, I will say,' Trump told reporters last week, likely referencing his long-standing feud with the late Arizona lawmaker. Shanahan told reporters on Sunday he is not seeking an investigation into the matter 'because there was nothing carried out' by the Navy. He is, however gathering information about what happened and how service members handled it. Trump's acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that the individual who made the suggestion was probably a young, low level guy within the advance team. He also said that no one would be fired or disciplined because it was not 'unreasonable' to ask if hiding the ship was a good move. He scoffed that the controversy over the events is 'much to do about nothing.' 'I absolutely believe it was someone on the advance team,' Mulvaney told NBC when asked who gave the order to move the ship out of sight. 'An advance team is hundreds of people,' he continued. 'The fact that some 23 or 24-year-old person on the advance team went to that site and said, 'Oh my goodness. There's the John McCain, we all know how the president feels about the former senator, maybe that's not the best backdrop. Can somebody look into moving it?' That's not an unreasonable thing to ask.' The Pentagon has issued a directive to the White House to stop politicizing the military, and Shanahan is considering sending a formal guidance to military units to avoid situations like what happened last week It is still not clear who made the decision to hide the USS John S. McCain during Trump's visit to the naval base in Japan. It was not moved, but instead hidden by a barge Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said no one would be punished for the request to hide the ship, especially since Trump's sour feelings toward the late Senator are well known. He said it was not 'unreasonable' for someone to ask about moving the destroyer Among the controversy of the ship being moved, the Pentagon has told the White House to stop politicizing the military. A defense official said Shanahan is considering sending out a formal guidance to military units in order to avoid similar problems in the future. The acting defense secretary did not detail what the next steps could be after he has a more full picture of what transpired, but a defense official said Shanahan is considering a clearer directive to the military about avoiding political situations. The goal, according to the official, would be to ensure there is less ambiguity about how the military should support VIP events and how service members should respond to such political requests. Lt. Col. Joseph Buccino, a spokesman for Shanahan, said the acting secretary told his chief of staff on Friday to speak with the White House Military Office 'and reaffirm his mandate that the department of defense will not be politicized.' Buccino said the chief of staff reported back that he delivered the message. Shanahan said that the Navy did not move the ship, but that a barge was moved in front of it, so that it would be blocked, before Trump arrived. He said that a tarp that had been draped over the ship's name was removed, but that it was put there for maintenance, not to obscure its identity. Trump spoke to U.S. servicemen at U.S. Navy multipurpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) at the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base just south of Tokyo last week Shanahan has not yet been nominated to become the head of the Department of Defense, and his recent visit to Korea has been plagued with focus on the McCain incident Shanahan and South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo (right) met on Monday during his trip to Asia where he is dealing with national security-related issues connected to the deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and North Korea He also said that he was told that none of his senior staff were aware of the White House request to hide the ship. He also has said he was not aware of the request and that he would never have authorized it. Hiding the USS John S. McCain appeared to be an extraordinary effort by the White House to avoid offending the president. Even before he was elected, Trump was critical of McCain, who served as a senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in August 2018. He died about a year after he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017. Trump hit at McCain for being a POW, claiming he preferred war heroes who weren't captured by the enemy. He also hounded the Republican senator after he voted against GOP efforts to repeal former President Barack Obama's health care law. The McCain incident has dogged Shanahan throughout his weeklong trip to Asia, even as he tried to deal with critical national security issues involving the eroding U.S. relationship with China and the continuing threat from North Korea. Shanahan, who has been serving in an acting capacity since January 1, 2019, has yet to be formally nominated by Trump as permanent defense chief. A formal nomination has been expected, and members of Congress have said they believe there will be a hearing on his nomination in the next month or so. The McCain issue is sure to come up during his confirmation process, but it's not clear how it may affect either his nomination or confirmation by the Senate. It is still unknown who at the Pentagon may have been aware of the request and either agreed with it or chose not to discourage it. It's also not clear whether Navy leaders deliberately chose the McCain crew as one of the ships to be on holiday leave during Trump's visit, or if other measures were taken to ensure that the McCain was not visible from where the president stood when he arrived on the USS Wasp to make remarks. Tiffany Henderson, 29, of Bowling Green was charged with operating a twice in the same day on Sunday A Kentucky woman was arrested for OVI twice in the same day on Sunday. Bowling Green, Kentucky resident Tiffany Henderson, 29, was charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence during the two separate incidents that happened about 15 hours apart, county jail records show. She also was charged with public intoxication, domestic violence, assault and wontan endangerment. Henderson's first arrest took place at 5.45am Sunday, according to WBKO. She was released from Warren County Jail around noon. About nine hours later, the county sheriff said his deputies had received multiple complaints about a reckless female driver on the road. Henderson also was charged with public intoxication, domestic violence, assault and wanton endangerment, county jail records show When they responded to the area, they identified the reckless driver as Henderson, the station reported. She was arrested again at 9.15pm and put back in the county jail. It wasn't immediately clear Monday if she has an attorney. Advertisement Dozens of D-Day veterans arrived at Normandy today declaring their pride in having guaranteed Britain's safety for future generations 75 years after the historic mission. A group of 32 former servicemen set off from Portsmouth on board Brittany Ferries ship MV Mont St Michel yesterday afternoon, following the Fred Olsen Boudicca that journeyed from Dover to Dunkirk. They had set sail in time to reach Caen, Normandy in time for Thursday, which marks exactly 75 years since the Allied forces landed on the beaches. The voyage was part of a nine-day trip with charity D-Day Revisited, which will take the veterans, along with nearly 70 friends and family, around different commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the landings in Normandy. The ferry was accompanied by Royal Navy frigate HMS St Albans, and patrol vessels HMS Pursuer, HMS Puncher and HMS Explorer and a tugboat spraying water to mark the occasion. The 255 old soldiers, sailors and airmen, all D-day veterans, travelled in style on a cruise liner chartered by the Royal British Legion. And the first stop on their week-long Voyage of Remembrance to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day was Dunkirk. They left Dover on Sunday evening, the start of a week-long voyage for the D-Day veterans to attend 75th Anniversary ceremonies in both France and the UK. Here, they are pictured on a cruise ship MV Boudicca arriving in Dunkirk D-Day Veteran Joe Cattini, 95, who was in the Hertfordshire Yeomanry and landed on Gold Beach on D-Day, waves from the deck of the MV Mont St Michel as it sails away from Portsmouth on Monday afternoon Hundreds of Second World War veterans have set sail from Portsmouth this afternoon so they can get to Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day on Thursday, June 6. Members of the public are pictured waving Union Jacks as they sail off The Charity D-Day Revisited has commissioned a Brittany Ferries boat to take hundreds of D-Day veterans to France in time for the anniversary commemorations on Thursday The top deck of the MV Mont St Michel is pictured packed with veterans and their friends and family as they set sail for France This week's D-Day remembrance events will start tomorrow and continue to Thursday June 6 Among those on board the Fred Olsen liner Boudicca was Stanley Elliss, 97. Their arrival was a poignant moment as his brother Leonard had a particularly dramatic escape. On his first visit to the scene where his brother served, Stanley said: 'He was here with the Territorials and was evacuated from the beach. 'But the boat he was in was hit by a torpedo and sunk. He was in the water quite a while then a lifeboat came and he heard someone say, 'Don't pull him up he's dead'. Leonard shouted, 'Come and get me I'm alive'. They pulled him up and he survived. He went on to fight in the Middle East.' Leonard, two years older than Stanley, died in 2008. Yesterday Stanley, of Ashford, Kent, wiped a tear from his eye during his visit to Dunkirk with his daughter Sue Stevens, 67, who is accompanying him on the Boudicca. Stanley was an RAF sergeant and on a commando mission when he landed with his comrades on the first day of the invasion, June 6, 1944. His job was to capture a German airstrip and fit it out for the Allies. 'We left on the evening of the 6th on a tank landing ships with four lorries with us,' he said. 'We had to wait off-shore until the next morning. On the 7th, I finally put a foot on the beach. Among those on board the Fred Olsen liner Boudicca was Stanley Elliss, 97. Their arrival was a poignant moment as his brother Leonard had a particularly dramatic escape. On his first visit to the scene where his brother served, Stanley said: 'He was here with the Territorials and was evacuated from the beach' Among those returning was driver in the Royal Engineers, Lance Corporal Richard Pelzer, 95, who has not been able to join celebrations for eight years, as his wife, 96-year-old Dulcie Pelzer, is bed-bound. He said: 'The only D-Day story I have is a sad one. My mate was a corporal, he got killed by the side of me. It's left an indelible mark on my heart. 'Because we were in the military, I only knew him by the name Corporal Wray, I never even knew his first name. He was 21, and he was killed by an exploding mine on Gold Beach. Right beside me.' Mr Pelzer, from Fforestfach in Swansea, was called up for conscription in June 1942, aged just 18. The great grandfather of two said: 'Travelling over to Normandy, to be honest, there was no feeling. It was just doing your duty, and it just seemed like a big training exercise. 'The camaraderie on the boats - you couldn't get anything better. And the best part was getting to enjoy a nice warm tin of soup. 'But once we were there - I was part of a combined operation, clearing the beaches so others could land and get through. It was not nice.' RAF airman who survived D-Day bomb blast wipes away a tear as he recalls dramatic rescue of his older brother - who cheated death when his boat was hit by a torpedo Stanley Elliss, 97, from Ashford, stands on a the beach at Dunkirk, France, on the trip arranged by the Royal British Legion for D-Day veterans The port in north France was the scene of another landmark of the Second World War in 1940 when Allied troops had to be rescued. Among those on board the Fred Olsen liner Boudicca was Stanley Elliss, 97. Their arrival was a poignant moment as his brother Leonard had a particularly dramatic escape. On his first visit to the scene where his brother served, Stanley said: 'He was here with the Territorials and was evacuated from the beach. 'But the boat he was in was hit by a torpedo and sunk. He was in the water quite a while then a lifeboat came and he heard someone say, 'Don't pull him up he's dead'. Leonard shouted, 'Come and get me I'm alive'. They pulled him up and he survived. He went on to fight in the Middle East.' Leonard, two years older than Stanley, died in 2008. Yesterday Stanley, of Ashford, Kent, wiped a tear from his eye during his visit to Dunkirk with his daughter Sue Stevens, 67, who is accompanying him on the Boudicca. Stanley was an RAF sergeant and on a commando mission when he landed with his comrades on the first day of the invasion, June 6, 1944. He was deployed to capture, secure and fit out for operational use a German airstrip at Beny-sur-Mer ready for Spitfires squadrons supporting the invasion. 'We left on the evening of the 6th on a tank landing ships with four lorries with us,' he said. 'We had to wait off-shore until the next morning. On the 7th, I finally put a foot on the beach. 'We were told to keep our heads down because there were snipers in a church nearby. 'We got to a field where we were to expect some Spitfires which we had organised fuel for.' Stanley, who still grows all his own vegetables and makes his own marmalade and Christmas puddings, said: To be able to go back is marvellous. Its something that I didnt think was going to happen and all the attention we are receiving is amazing. Stanley (pictured with his daughter Susan), was an RAF sergeant and on a commando mission when he landed with his comrades on the first day of the invasion, June 6, 1944 Advertisement Brittany Ferries' MV Mont Saint Michel leaves Portsmouth harbour escorted by a flotilla of ships from the Royal Navy and Dunkirk small boats association, as it takes D-Day veterans to France MV Mont St Michel (left) is being escorted out of the port by five Navy vessels (one pictured, right) and 18 historical craft A historical floatilla sails behind a Brittany ferry transporting D-Day Veterans to Caen and the Normandy beaches where they will pay their respects to fallen comrades He added: 'Today, I'm pleased to have been part of giving people a safe country to enjoy their lives - that's been a great joy to me. It's been a pleasure to see all of the youngsters today are free and enjoying themselves.' Another veteran, Joe Cattini, 96, who was a driver and Bombardier on Gold Beach on June 6, 1944, said re-visiting Normandy each year to mark the anniversary has 'started getting easier'. He said: 'I've been going back every year for eight years now. At first it was quite emotional because it brought back memories, but such things start to ease off a bit. 'I wasn't really prepared. We didn't realise it was the real thing, we just thought it was another exercise until we were half way there. 'We didn't know what was waiting for us when we did find out. I landed at 10 o'clock in the morning, and the beach was in a mess. 'There were dead bodies and the injured all over the place. It wasn't a pleasant sight.' Mr Cattini, who was 21 on the day of the landings, was a driver in the Royal Artillery and was awarded a Legion d'honneur. He said: 'I was a driver, supplying ammunition and petrol for the guns. Off the beach, we didn't know where the German guns were because of all the high hedges. The MV Mont Saint Michel is pictured after setting off from Portsmouth Harbour in the sunshine at 2.45pm on Monday. Another boat, 'They could see us, but we couldn't see them. Even if you were infantry, walking out in the open spaces you would get shot. It wasn't an easy battle.' The veterans will visit Pegasus Bridge over the river Orne, a major objective of the British planes during the early hours of the landings, before visiting Ranville Cemetery and attending official commemorations at Bayeux on June 6. Cyrill Elliott, a driver in the Bridge Company of the Royal Army Service Corps, today remembered watching the bombers over the bridge 75 years ago. The 99-year-old from Sheffield, who was 24 at the time, said: 'When we arrived at Gold Beach, we had to wait for the Navy to stop shelling the coastline. 'When the sky had cleared, I remember looking up, and pointing out - 'oh look.' Passengers accompanying veterans from the UK to France wave as the MV Mont St Michel leaves Portsmouth today 'There were Halifax bombers, gliders, you name it, all heading for Pegasus Bridge. I remember it as if I could see it now.' Of the anniversary celebrations, he said: 'It's something that should never be forgotten. 'When we go back to France now, they bring out all the school children who thank us for freeing them from the Germans. 'It still amazes me how they managed to eradicate the Germans from all those European countries they were occupying. 'During the fighting, you just had to do what you were told, you didn't have time to be scared.' A family was left devastated after cutting into a high school graduation cake to find it was made of Styrofoam. Marsy Flores, 42, from Pasadena, Texas, became suspicious when the knife was struggling to cut through daughter Lea's cake. After closer inspection, the family realized that instead of a soft cake filling beneath the frosting there was actually Styrofoam. In the video, posted on social media by the graduate's aunt Nellie Flores, the family can be seen prodding the solid block beneath the blue and white icing. The family were 'very upset' upon cutting into the high school graduation cake to find out that beneath the frosting was in fact Styrofoam Lea during her high school graduation - her family could not believe the 'two tier' cake they bought for her was made of Styrofoam, after they claimed their previous order was 'lost' The family claim that Walmart 'lost' their order and then gave them the cake that had Styrofoam beneath its frosting One person described it as 'ridiculous' while another in disbelief said, 'This is what they gave you?' - in the clip that has drawn more than 113,000 views so far. The family claims this was the second error by Walmart. They say the store's bakers also initially 'lost the order' for the two-tier graduation cake - that would have cost between $32.98 - $55.00. It was then that the family was offered a different cake free of charge, according to Fox8. Mum Marsy opted for a smaller one, after which bakers took it away to add a picture of the graduate along with several decorations. Since the incident has been reported, the family has received a $60 gift card for the store. On Facebook, aunt Nellie Flores raged that the peace offering was not enough for the 'humiliation'. Lea is pictured at her high school graduation. Little did the family know their celebrations were soon to be disrupted The family were left 'very upset' by the mistakes, which Walmart have given them a $60 gift card for. Mother Marsy Flores (left) and Lea (right) She said: 'It cant make up for the embarrassment and humiliation she went through with family and school friends there... I hate Walmart.' Mother Marsy Flores remains 'very upset' by the incident and could be seen welling-up while talking to KPRC. She said: 'This is my baby and she was graduating so it was very important to me. I wanted it to be perfect. 'They didn't have her order, they didn't have anything ready. 'There was a small blue one, which is her school color, so I chose that one. Since being notified Walmart has given the family a $60 gift card Graduate Lea pictured after receiving her high school diploma Aunt Nellie Flores posted a video of the cake online, which has so far attracted more than 113,000 views on Facebook 'They said they would put a couple of graduation things on it and her picture. 'I go to cut the cake and it was not budging. 'They can't replace the moment that we lost. Its a special moment, and this is what we got for it, a Styrofoam cake. 'Not only did they mess up one time, they did it twice.' Lea added: 'It's mom's big day as well, it's not just mine.' Walmart released the following statement, after being approached by KPRC: 'The incident was a result of a misunderstanding. The matter has been resolved. The customer was given a gift card for her inconvenience.' Advertisement It was a triumphant day for some at Cambridge University as they came to the end of the exam period for another academic year and decided to celebrate the only way they know how; spraying champagne over each other as the 'trashing' tradition dictates. Students risked the eagle eye of the proctors standing watch outside the Guildhall exam venue in the city centre of Cambridge, as the professors prepared to slap anybody taking the 'trashing' tradition too far with a 175 fine. While the splattering of eggs, flour and anything else students could find in their cupboards used to be common place, that has since been outlawed due to upset locals and confusions leading to students being hit by the celebrations before having entered their last exams. It's a university steeped in tradition however this seems to be one they would rather forget since banning it from public areas in the historic town and much of their campus in 2012. Cambridge University students celebrating the end of exams in the town centre with the traditional spraying and soaking of champagne A girl and her backpack full of no longer needed revision books gets soaked with champagne by three friends waiting for her Shaking up the champers students spray their friends in celebration while also gifting them flowers and bottles to take home One girl rubs her eyes after being drenched in the fizz by her adoring friends who then film the funny stunt for social media Hands on his hips in a characteristically unimpressed pose a proctor observes his highly intelligent students cover themselves in alcohol Flour bomb! Three young men get covered in the white stuff despite the examination rules outlawing flour Ready for the rose! A young woman looks delighted to have gotten out of her final exam this year as she celebrates A proctor looks on disapprovingly in his academic gown as students run after each other spraying bottles of the fizz Unimpressed: Proctors from Cambridge University keep an eye on students celebrating the end of exams in the town centre What are the limits on post-exam celebrations at Cambridge University? Examination rule 14 says: 'Candidates shall have regard for the welfare of others.' The following is considered a breach of this rule: Throwing food, e.g. milk, flour, eggs etc. Throwing paint, dye, glitter or material that marks and cannot be brushed off. 'Spraying' in the street. 'Spraying' on a University site in areas from which it has been banned. Advertisement Trashing is now only authorised in designated 'trashing' areas on the Cambridge campus. Cambridge is not the only university with the tradition that they'd rather leave behind, last year Oxford University started an offensive against the practice with its 'what a waste' campaign. The university called the behaviour 'dangerous' and claimed that 'trashing has resulted in students and residents being admitted to the hospital through slipping on trashing materials'. Oxford University also stated the time-honoured tradition costs them 25,000 a year to clean up - university fees which they could otherwise spend on facilities. A web page dedicated to deterring students from 'trashing' urges them to think about those who cannot afford food before throwing it on to others. The university was also reported to have 'tipped off' Thames Valley police as to where the 'trashings' would take place in order to prevent the public disorder. Notices which appeared outside of Cambridge's exam halls last year read: 'In recent years some celebrations have gone beyond what is acceptable and caused annoyance to people and damage; unacceptable litter and mess requiring special cleaning; complaints from members of the public and the University.' Supportive friends hold bunches of flowers and chocolate for their friends, choosing to drink the Cava rather than spray it A girl looks overjoyed to see her friends as she exits the exam hall to find them waiting outside with champagne and flowers A young woman is sprayed head to toe with a non-alcoholic alternative as the students celebrate the much loved tradition Killjoy staff at prestigious Cambridge University made sure students behaved as they celebrated the end of their exams today No one is spared! The proctor turns his back and creeps past as celebrations are in full swing, one student ducks behind another to avoid the spray Soaked through with champagne as a group of onlookers clutch bottles waiting for their friends to emerge from their exams Examinations Rule 14 states candidates should have 'regard for the welfare of others, including the general public, at the end of examination sessions.' It says they should avoid noise, littering or damage, especially with food or drink. It explains that those who indulge in behaviour deemed to be in breach of university rules - including 'spraying' and 'trashing' - could be fined up to 175. Despite the rules students seemed to throw themselves into the celebrations with vigour and proved their consideration for 'the welfare of others' by offering gifts such as chocolate and flowers to their fellow students. What an atmosphere! The air is thick with flour and fizz and students look forward to their summer plans, which for some will include finding a graduate job A young man seems to be the most affected by the 'trashing' covered with a combination of flour and champagne Excited undergraduates spray sparkling wine over their friends after finishing their exams at the Guildhall in the city centre Beer is the drink of choice for this student who is doused in the brew by his amused friends before shaking his hair out to dry Eric Vail (pictured), 28, of Miami, had been in the jail since January, charged with the October shooting of Wadarius Harris, 27, who was gunned down with an AR-15-style rifle following a reported tit-for-tat rivalry An alleged gunman charged with first degree murder was released from county jail in a bizarre mix-up after a judge closed his case when a new more serious charged was applied for the same killing. Eric Vail, 28, of Miami, had been in the jail since January, charged with the October shooting of Wadarius Harris, 27, who was gunned down with an AR-15-style semi-automated rifle following a reported tit-for-tat rivalry. Vail was originally arrested on a second-degree murder charge, but a grand jury indicted him and a suspected accomplice, Christopher Avery Campbell, 29, with first-degree murder in April. Vail had two cases in Broward Circuit Court, one from his January arrest and the second based on the April grand jury indictment. Last Thursday, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer closed the original case since it involved the same matter as the April charge and Vail mistakenly walked free. 'Our main priority at this time is to locate and apprehend this dangerous criminal,' the Sheriff's Office said Sunday in a prepared statement. 'Something appears to have gone wrong here. Very wrong,' said Public Defender Howard Finkelstein, whose office is representing Vail. 'All I can tell you is he's not supposed to be out,' Finkelstein told the Sun Sentinel. 'We have not heard from the client. We have no idea [where he is].' The Sheriff's Office denied they were to blame for the mix-up and said the only information it had was about the closed case. A statement read: 'On Thursday, the Broward Sheriff's Office received unequivocal direction from the State Attorney's Office that the second degree murder charge on Eric Vail had been dismissed. Vail had two cases in Broward Circuit Court, one from his January arrest and the second based on the April grand jury indictment. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer closed the original case since it involved the same matter as the April charge and Vail mistakenly walked free 'We did not have and have not yet located any documentation stating the subject was to be held on another charge.' The State Attorney's Office disputed this however and said the Sheriff's Office should have known. 'The defendant was taken to court by the Sheriff's Office on the first-degree murder charge on Thursday, so it's hard to know how the Sheriff's Office didn't know about the first-degree murder charge,' said Paula McMahon, spokeswoman for the state attorney. Vail was arraigned on the more serious charge April 9, she said. In another damning blow, not only was Vail charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors had been pushing to have him treated as a habitual violent felony offender because of his prior criminal record. Campbell and Vail were driving a Nissan Altima when they pulled alongside Harri who was driving a Chevy pickup and opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle, police say. Harris was killed instantly, but his pickup veered into the gunman's path, causing their vehicle to crash into a utility pole and flip over, investigators said. Investigations determined that Vail was the shooter and Campbell was the driver. Authorities said that Campbell and Harris had been in a long-running feud that involved drive-by shootings, including the slaying Campbell's mother. Video Courtesy: WSVN A 'loud bang' was heard as a locker fell on top of a nine-year-old boy in a swimming pool changing room, an inquest heard. Leo Latifi suffered fatal injuries and was found 'laying on the floor with lockers on top of him'. The year-four pupil was at a swimming lesson when the tragic accident occurred at Great Baddow High School, in Chelmsford, Essex, on May 23. Leo Latifi suffered fatal injuries and was found 'laying on the floor with lockers on top of him' during a swimming lesson when the tragic accident occurred at Great Baddow High School, in Chelmsford, Essex, on May 23 He was treated at the school by paramedics and an air ambulance landed in the car park to take him to Broomfield Hospital, where he later died. An inquest into Leo's death was opened at Essex Coroner's Court this morning and has been adjourned until next year. Coroner's officer Rhia Hill told the inquest: 'Leo Latifi was attending school swimming lessons at Great Baddow High School, he was in the changing rooms when suddenly there was a loud bang. A 'loud bang' was heard when the lockers fell on Leo Lafti at the school (pictured). Leo later died at Broomfield Hospital. 'He was found laying on the floor with the lockers on top of him.' A post-mortem examination found Leo, who had been at the after-school swimming lessons with family, died from a severe head injury. CPR was administered at the scene before paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service arrived and took him to hospital. Essex Police also attended the incident and opened an investigation, as well as the Health and Safety Executive, who said Leo's death is non-suspicious. Senior coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, told the court that his body can be released to the family. She asked for police statements and reports from the Health and Safety Executive to be prepared for when the hearing is reopened. A post-mortem examination found Leo, who had been at after-school swimming lessons with family, died from a severe head injury (Above: police at the school after the lockers fell on Leo) The coroner said: 'Leo's family are welcome to write in anything they would like to about him and their recollection of that day.' 'Before I formally conclude the opening, please could the court's sympathies be expressed to Leo's family at this really dreadful time.' Leo's headteacher at St Michael's Primary School in Galleywood, Essex, said that 'his face lit up the classroom'. Maria Rumsey, headteacher of the primary school, said: 'All the staff, parents, governors and pupils from St Michael's school are shocked and immensely saddened to hear of the tragic death of our year 4 pupil, Leo Latifi. 'He will be greatly missed by all. 'We wish to extend our thoughts and condolences to all of Leo's family and friends at this saddest of times. Leo suffered serious head injuries after becoming trapped underneath the lockers (pictured: The air ambulance which arrived to treat Leo on May 23) 'Leo was a sparkle in our school. His face lit up the classroom and his mischievous blue eyes made us all smile. 'He was an avid scientist, who only on Wednesday (May 22) was in his element hunting for bugs on the school field. 'Leo was always keen to share his model-building and wowed the class when he brought in the finished masterpieces! 'He had a wide circle of friends in the year group, all of whom will miss him greatly. 'We are supporting all of our children and staff today as we try to come to terms with this sad loss. 'We are a strong and close community and will ensure that everybody is given the necessary help. In order to do this, we would ask that you respect the privacy of the family and school community at this time.' Flowers inside the school grounds at Great Baddow High School, in Chelmsford Mrs Carrie Lynch, Headteacher of Great Baddow High School, commented on the incident saying: 'The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Great Baddow High School are with the family and friends of the child who died, his school and swimming club. 'I can confirm that agencies will be carrying out an investigation following this tragic incident.' The inquest has been adjourned until February 10, 2020 and it is expected to take up to three days before a jury. A YouTube prankster who was jailed for tricking a homeless man into eating Oreos filled with toothpaste, also offered children and elderly people cat faeces sandwiches and targeted a disabled woman with his pranks. Kanghua Ren, 21, was sentenced to 15 months in prison by a court in Barcelona and ordered to pay $22,300 in compensation for the prank on the homeless man. In court, prosecutors claimed that he had also made sandwiches filled with cat faeces and handed them to young children and the elderly. Other videos on his channel show him performing a prank on a disabled woman, throwing an egg at an elderly man and throwing a slipper at a couple pushing a wheelchair. Ren was born in China before moving to Barcelona. Since he is a first-time offender, Spanish law usually suspends prison time for those sentenced to less than two years. YouTube prankster Kanghua Ren, 21, who tricked a homeless man into eating Oreos filled with toothpaste in January 2017, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution According to The New York Times, the court, however, did order Ren's social media accounts on YouTube and other platforms to be suspended for five years. Ren, who video blogs as RetSet, filled sandwiches with cat feces and fed them to schoolchildren and elderly people in another sick prank, the court heard. He defended himself in court, saying: 'I do things to mount a show: People like what is morbid.' 'This was not an isolated act,' the judge, Rosa Aragones, said when handing down her verdict. The blogger was also ordered off of social media platforms, including YouTube, for five years A video filmed in August 2016, shows him approaching a disabled woman being supported by another woman. He throws a balloon at the disabled woman who, in her panic, reels back and has to be propped up by her companion. Another video, recorded in April 2016, shows him throwing a slipper at an elderly couple as they push a wheelchair down the street. The third video, recorded in February 2016, shows him throwing an egg at the back of an old man. Other videos show him appearing to drink window cleaning solution, and offering cat faeces to children. Most of the victims of his pranks appear to be the elderly or young children. Ren completes the challenges given to him by his subscribers. The then-19-year-old gave the Oreos to a homeless man named Gheorge L (pictured) he found on the streets of Barcelona in January 2017 In January 2017, he filmed himself replacing the white filling in a whole packet of Oreos with toothpaste and re-packaging it. The then-19-year-old then gave them to a homeless man named Gheorge L he found on the streets of Barcelona. Gheorge, 53, said he felt sick and threw up five minutes after eating them, and feared for his life as he didn't know RetSet or what was in them. 'Maybe I've gone a bit far, but look at the positive side: This will help him clean his teeth. I think he hasn't cleaned them since he became poor,' RetSet joked in the video. RetSet earned $2,200 in advertising revenue through his channel that has more than a million subscribers, according to court documents seen by El Pais. RetSet filmed himself scraping off the filling inside a packet or Oreos for the prank He then squeezed toothpaste on them to mimic to filling, put them back together, and re-sealed them in their packaging The blogger was charged with a 'crime against moral integrity' with prosecutors initially seeking a two-year jail term and restitution to Gheorge. After facing backlash from his viewers, RetSet went back to Gheorge in another video to see how he liked the toothpaste-filled Oreos. 'People exaggerate over jokes in the street (played) on a beggar, when surely if it's done to a normal person they wouldn't say anything,' he said. He intended to spend a night on the street with the homeless Romanian man but a witness called police. RetSet later deleted the videos and offered Gheorge about $380 to keep quiet so he could 're-establish his image' and 'ingratiate himself with public opinion'. Gheorge said no one had ever treated him so badly in all the time he had lived on the street. A team of doctors and paramedics rejected a mother's fears that her six-year-old son had meningitis just hours before he died, an inquest heard today. Primary school teacher Georgie Hall, 38, said paramedic Graham Scott even rolled his eyes at her and claimed that her son Oliver was trying to 'milk' his illness after he was examined at their local GP surgery. The paramedic also asked her if she had used Google to check her son's symptoms and said he spent much of his time dealing with 'over-anxious mothers'. Ollie Hall died aged six after a team of doctors and paramedics failed to notice his symptoms of meningitis, an inquest at Suffolk Coroner's Court heard Parents Bryan and Georgie, who are also teachers, have both received paediatric training but were reassured by the medical professionals that their son was well Mrs Hall, 38, who is seven months pregnant, told Suffolk Coroner's Court how the doctors who checked her son did not properly look at the rash on his body or take proper note of his symptoms. She said she repeatedly told the medical professionals that she was worried that he had meningitis, but they insisted that he did not and sent them back to their home in Halesworth. Mrs Hall said she was slow to react even as her son's condition worsened after returning home because she had been wrongly reassured by the doctors and paramedics. But she eventually became so worried that she took him back to the Cutlers Hill surgery in Halesworth where a doctor finally began to suspect that he had meningitis and gave him an injection of penicillin. An ambulance was called for him, but Mrs Hall and her music teacher husband Bryan decided it would be quicker to drive him to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. After he was sent home by the doctors, Ollie's condition worsened and he was taken to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk where he died They carried Oliver, known as Ollie, into the hospital at around 8pm on October 23, 2017, and he was immediately given oxygen and had blood samples taken. Mr and Mrs Hall were told their son had suspected meningitis and he was taken to the intensive care unit while a specialist team of medics was summoned from London to transfer him to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. Before he could be transferred, he went into cardiac arrest shortly after midnight and had to be resuscitated three times, but then his heart stopped again and he died at just after 2am on October 24. His likely cause of death was given as meningococcal sepsis, the inquest at Suffolk Coroner's court in Ipswich was told. Mr and Mrs Hall sat together at the inquest with a framed photograph of their son and one of his cuddly Tiger toys on a desk in front of them. Mrs Hall who also has a son Charlie, five, said Oliver had first complained of having a headache and a sore jaw on the evening of October 22, and she thought he might have toothache. Ollie (right) first complained of having a headache and a sore jaw and the next morning he said he had a stomach ache and a high temperature The following morning he complained of having a stomach ache and she noticed he had a high temperature so she gave him Calpol She called the surgery and was told that an appointment was not available until 3.50pm, but during the morning his condition worsened with a rash appearing on his body and his breathing becoming faster and shallower. Mrs Hall said she rang the NHS 111 helpline to describe her son's symptoms and was told to fetch a glass and press it against his rash to see if his spots disappeared. When she revealed the spots were still present and that her son did not like the light, the call handler called an ambulance. Mrs Hall said she told paramedics Mr Scott and Oliver Denby that she was worried her son's rash could be meningitis after they arrived at her home. She described Mr Scott as being 'quite abrupt' and claimed that he asked her if she had been going on the internet to check her son's symptoms. Paramedic Graham Scott even asked Mrs Hall if she had been Googling symptoms and said Ollie (left) was 'milking' his illness The pair told her that it could not be meningitis because the edge of one of his spots was disappearing when they carried out a glass test. Mrs Hall said that Mr Scott then began 'mimicking' the 'grunting sound' that her son was making. When she asked him if he was a 'child person', he replied 'not really' and gestured to his colleague, saying: 'I leave paediatrics to him'. They then decided to take Oliver to the Cutlers Hill surgery with her at around 2.30pm so he could be examined by doctors as a precaution, she said. Oliver appeared 'vacant and confused' when he was initially seen by Dr Lester Braganza who found his temperature was slightly above normal. Another GP Dr Robert Treen was also called through to look at the larger mark on Oliver's inner arm. He decided it looked like it a trauma injury from him hurting himself earlier, and that he also had a 'normal child's virus', she said. Mrs Hall said she told them that she did not believe the mark was fading when under pressure from the glass. She said that it was then that Mr Scott made his remark about how they 'mostly dealt with over-anxious mothers' Mrs Hall said she kept lifting up Oliver's pyjamas to point out the rash in the rest of his body, but she added: 'They didn't seem to look'. Mrs Hall took a photograph of her son and a cuddly tiger to the inquest She added that Mr Scott kept interrupting the doctors and trying to persuade them that Oliver was 'fine' Mrs Hall said: 'I said I was worried about meningitis and they assured me he was well enough to return home. They rejected meningitis out of hand. I was told everything was fine. I was made to feel I had to trust the medical professionals.' She said that as her son walked from the surgery he appeared to trip on the path, prompting Mr Scott to say: 'Oh, he is going to milk this.' After returning home, Mrs Hall told her mother that she had been made to feel 'quite silly'. Her son continued to be lethargic as his temperature rose in the afternoon and she noticed that he was developing a more of a pin prick rash, but she felt reassured by what the doctors had told her. Eventually at 6.20pm, she said that Oliver had got so poorly that she called the surgery again and was told to bring him back in. He was seen immediately again by Dr Treen who gave him a penicillin injection after saying that his rash had now become 'typical' of meningitis. Mr Hall told the inquest said he and his wife both had paediatric training as teachers and fell that Oliver had been ill 'in a way he had never been ill before'. He added: 'We both suspected meningitis and Georgie was raising this as a potential diagnosis. 'We were made to feel we were over-sensitive parents who did not know what we were talking about.' Mr Hall described Mr Scott's actions in copying his son's grunts 'to mimic his distress' as being 'very unprofessional.' He added: 'He asked rather sarcastically whether Georgie had been goggling Oliver's symptoms.' Mr Hall said that he had also felt reassured when the doctors and paramedics had insisted that Oliver did not have meningitis. Professor Nigel Klein, a professor of infectious disease at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, said that he believed Oliver could have survived if he had been treated sooner. He said that even if he had been treated as late as 3pm on October 23, the time of his examination by the doctors, he would still have lived, although he might have been left with scarring or loss of fingers or toes. But he said that Oliver's death would have been 'inevitable' if he had not been treated by around 3.30pm. Jihadi Jack admitted he was a terrorist in a Facebook message to his parents while asking them to help him come home, a court heard. John Letts, 58, and Sally Lane, 56, are currently on trial accused of funding terrorism by sending cash to their son Jack while he was living in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria. But their lawyers say counter-terrorism police had given the parents from Oxfordshire the 'green light' to send money to their radicalised son. Jurors were told while the chief senior investigating officer, Louise Tompkins was off, the wrong advice was handed down the chain of command. John Letts, 58, and his wife Sally Lane, 56, (pictured outside court), are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of funding terrorism by sending money to their radicalised son Jack Letts Specialist Case Investigator Kerry Corbett told the Old Bailey: 'John was angry that he had been given the incorrect advice. 'He said that he had sent a message to Jack saying that they had been given the all clear and that they would be sending him money. 'He was concerned that it might be used against him by the police. They said they did not think the money was being used for a terrorist purpose. 'That was because it was helping Jack to leave where he was. Sally said that the guidelines state that that they might be investigated but not necessarily prosecuted. 'She seemed to think it would be unlikely that they would be prosecuted.' Jack Letts (pictured) was living in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa in Syria at the time his parents wired him the money Jurors heard John Letts told the officer: 'Jack was very angry that day as his friend had been killed in an air strike.' Alison Morgan, QC, prosecuting, said: 'Did John show any message where Jack had said that?' Ms Corbett replied: 'I don't believe so'. In a Facebook exchange Jack told his parents: 'Don't tell me now you hate black people as well as us terrorists.' Ms Corbett said she asked the parents whether the tone and wording of the messages made them re-think their position. 'I asked them why they believed Jack was telling the truth at this stage about wanting to leave. They replied that he wouldn't lie.' Henry Blaxland, QC, who represents the 23-year-old's father, summarised his client's position: 'He was angry because, and he made this clear to you, he felt that the police were putting his son in danger. 'He genuinely believed he was in mortal danger to use his expression.' Jurors were told while the chief senior investigating officer, Louise Tompkins was off, the wrong advice was handed down the chain of command Giving evidence retired Detective Inspector Tony Lees told the court: 'What I said was it was not an offence to send him money. However, it could be if the purpose of sending that money was for terrorism. 'So, I pointed out there is potential for committing an offence under the Terrorism Act - that offence being Funding Terrorism section 17 of the Terrorism Act. 'And, I pointed out for the offence to be committed money would have to be transferred but there must be a reasonable case for them to believe that the money was for the purpose of terrorism. 'As a result, if they were to send money it is imperative that they keep accurate reasons why they have done so, what their belief was and the transaction.' Ms Morgan asked Mr Lees if he thought he had given permission for the parents to send money to their son at any stage. He replied: 'I didn't. My understanding was he was fighting for Islamic State.' The prosecution allege Lane and Letts jointly attempted to send 1,723 to their son between September 2015 and January 2016. John Letts and Sally Lane, of Chiswell Road, Oxford, deny three charges of entering into a funding arrangement for the purposes of terrorism. The trial continues. Authorities in Texas announced this morning that the human remains found in a garbage bag in Arkansas last week are those of four-year-old Maleah Davis. The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences identified the victim as the toddler who had been missing for a month. Police found her remains near a freeway outside of Hope, Arkansas, after Maleah's stepfather, Derion Vence, who had been arrested in connection with the girl's disappearance, told a community activist he had disposed of her body there. A volunteer who helped with the search said the bag containing the child's remains was run over by lawnmowers. Human remains found in a trash bag in Arkansas on Friday were identified Monday as those of four-year-old Maleah Davis (left). Her stepfather Derion Vence has confessed to dumping her body in Arkansas after her accidental death Police searchers made the grim discovery of a child's remains inside a trash bag off this Arkansas freeway on Friday Police searchers followed the information provided by the suspect Vance to the freeway The institute of forensic sciences says the cause and manner of her death are not yet determined. The remains were flown back to Houston after they were discovered in Arkansas on Friday. Tim Miller, a volunteer with the search group EquuSearch who helped recover Maleah's remains, told KHOU 11 over the weekend it may be impossible to determine her cause of death, given that the bag containing her remains was run over by lawnmowers. 'It was a gruesome sight,' he said. 'It took hours gathering up body parts and evidence.' Vence, 27, is being held in Houston jail on a charge of tampering with human remains, after allegedly claiming that the girl had died accidentally and admitting that he dumped her body in Arkansas. The Harris County District Attorney released a new statement Monday, saying Vence's charge at this time remains unchanged. 'Prosecutors continue their review and are working with Houston Police,' the release stated. 'Additional charges would be filed as the evidence supports doing so. We remain focused on finding the truth and delivering justice for Maleah.' Sheriff James Singleton in Arkansas' Hempstead County said workers found the bag, which had a foul odor coming from it, near Hope, about 30 miles northeast of the Texas-Arkansas border. Vence is taking police 300 miles from Houston to Hope in Arkansas where he says he dumped her body Vence had claimed he, Maleah and his two-year-old son were abducted on May 4 by a group of men in a truck. He said he and his son were freed the next day but the kidnappers kept Maleah and his silver Nissan Altima. Police said Vence's story kept changing and didn't add up. Police arrested Vence and charged him with tampering with evidence, specifically a human corpse. He remains jailed on a $40,000 bond. Community activist Quanell X said he spoke on Friday in jail with Vence, the ex-fiance of Maleah's mother, who claimed that Maleah had died accidentally, but then admitted to him that he dumped her body in Arkansas. Quanell X had previously represented Maleah's mother, Brittany Bowens, but cut ties with her recently saying he feared she may have withheld information about the case. Chilling last known images of Maleah Meanwhile, the last known images of little Maleah alive show the four-year-old happily following her stepfather Vence into his Houston apartment on April 30 - but the adorable toddler went inside and was never seen again. Instead, three days later Vence was captured on surveillance camera emerging from the property alone, clutching a black trash bag believed to be containing Maleahs remains. Maleah Davis is shown walking into stepfather Derion Vence's home in Houston on April 30 but was not seen again In what is believed to be the final image of Maleah alive, the four-year-old is shown entering the apartment in a pink tutu Vence is seen leaving the family's apartment with a blue laundry basket carrying a large black trash bag on May 3. It is the day he claimed they were all kidnapped The same day, Vence told police that he, his two-year-old son and Maleah had been kidnapped by unknown assailants. He claimed that he and the boy had been released, but that the kidnappers had taken Maleah and the car. It has also emerged that earlier on May 3, Vence would not Maleah's father see the girl when he came to check on her. Craig Davis, the childs father, and his sister went to the apartment where Maleah lived with Vence and her mother to check on the young girl, Davis said during a Wednesday court hearing. Vence did not let them in, saying Maleah had the flu, and denied their request to see her as she was sleeping, Davis testified. What led police to search in Arkansas Community activist Quanell X came forward on Friday to say that Vence had revealed the location of the body in a conversation from behind bars. Quanell claimed the location of where the bag was found matched where Vence told him hed dumped her body. But despite the heinous nature of his crime, in an exclusive interview with Fox26, Quanell claimed that Vence appeared more concerned about his public image than he did his impending murder charges during their meeting on Friday. I was able by God's grace to visit Derion, Quanell said. He voiced his concerns about how he was being portrayed in the media. He was upset with Brittany. He thought he acted as more of a [parent than Maleahs mother Brittany Bowens]. Quanell (above) said he was struck by Vances demeanor, claiming he showed 'no remorse' and was more concerned about the public's perception of him Maleah suffered a brain injury last year which she had to have surgery for. Police said she needed extra care because of it But Quanell revealed what stunned him most about his face-off with Vence was that he showed absolutely no remorse for Maleah's killing. What hurt me [is] he had no remorse. He had no feelings of regret ... and I can't stop crying, an emotional Quanell admitted. I had to stop myself from crying because he was so cold in this discussion with me. He cared more about what people think about him, than what he did with Maleah. There was no remorse. Theorizing why Vence would allegedly commit such an atrocious act, Quanell said he believed the stepfather snapped after finding out that Bowens was having an affair. I asked him, 'Are you a cold-blooded murderer?' He said it was an accident ... He wanted to make it clear everything he was doing for the children by himself. He was cold. He had a cold spirit, almost like I don't care spirit. That's the part I expected emotions and remorse, there is none. Before eliciting the confession, Quanell briefly legally advised Maleahs mother, Brittany Bowens, before announcing that hed cut all ties with her this week. I'm a father. I have daughters, Quanell told Fox26. It was hard standing by Brittany's side, but I had to do what I had to do to make sure I could find out everything - what happened to Maleah and where is she. Quanell alleges that he discovered early on with his time with Bowens that she had actively sought to cover up Vences abuse against her daughter on more than one occasion. She never broke down in private conversations, always before the camera. She refused to ever say anything about Derion, even after charged with tampering with the body. Another surveillance photo shows Vence entering the hospital with his one-year-old son the day on May 4, after he said they were all taken captive Vences confession comes nearly a month after he first reported Maleah missing on May 4. He stumbled into a hospital with his one-year-old son claiming all three of them had been kidnapped by Hispanic assailants the day before while driving to the airport to pick up Maleah's mother, Brittany Bowens. Vence's far-fetched version of events claimed the kidnappers let him and his son go but kept Maleah. Police were quick to point out inconsistencies in his statements, saying he clearly wasnt telling the truth but they initially failed to produce any evidence in rebuttal. However, after the surveillance footage of Vence leaving the home with the trash bag was discovered police also found traces of Maleahs blood in his car. 'What happened to Maleah was an accident,' Quanell X told The Houston Chronicle on Friday morning. 'He says it was an accident. And he confessed to me where he dumped her body. Maleah Davis' mother Brittany Bowens' former spokesman, Quannell X, (shown with her) says Vence made the confession to him on Friday. Police have not yet confirmed it 'He was very specific with the amount of distance and time. 'When I was able to leave and look it up on my phone, he was to the point on the distance and time. 'He said that he pulled over in Arkansas, got out of the car, walked to the side of the road, and dumped the body off the road.' Quanell said he had met with the director of Equusearch, which works with the police in missing persons cases, to find her. 'I think it's true enough that I have an airplane lined up at 3 p.m. to fly a detective, and several officers to go up there and go ahead and start the search.' But on Friday, a police department in Arkansas confirmed that Vence was on his way with them to the scene of where the bag was discovered to aid the investigation. Maleah didnt have to die. That little girl did not have to die, an emotional Quanell later told KHOU 11. That child was being physically abused and physically tortured in that house and they were covering it up. It's a damn shame that her mother chose her mate over her own daughter. The silver Nissan Vence was driving when the alleged attack took place was found on Thursday at a shopping center in Missouri City, Texas, off Highway 6 Quanell had been representing Bowens - who maintains she had nothing to do with her daughter's disappearance - but he distanced himself from her earlier in the week, claiming she too had changed her story. Bowens says she was out of state when Maleah vanished. Rather than call 911 when her ex failed to turn up for her, she waited for someone else to collect her. She then claimed that he had done 'something' with her daughter in revenge against her for dumping him and calling him homosexual. Quanell has since claimed to have found his own evidence that Vence was molesting Maleah. He insists that Bowens did not know. Maleah was taken out of her mother's care last year amid claims of domestic abuse. She required surgery on a brain injury that her mother says she got by falling over. Robert McWhir, 25 allegedly drowned his partner in a four-inch deep pond after flying into a rage and accusing her of talking to 'other blokes' A 'jealous' boyfriend drowned his partner in a four-inch deep pond after flying into a rage because she was 'talking to other blokes', a court heard. Robert McWhir, 25, allegedly forced Marissa Aldrich's face down into the shallow pool of water that runs through Loves Farm housing estare in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. And the suspected murderer took a chilling phone call from a friend who he told 'I'm killing her, I'm killing her' as he pinned the groaning mother-of-two down, a jury heard today. When the friend asked McWhir why he was drowning Ms Aldrich, the defendant allegedly responded 'she's talking to blokes behind my back'. A group of his friends then rushed over and wrenched him off the oxygen-starved girlfriend and dragged her on to the bank. An ambulance was scrambled to bring Aldrich, who had suffered a cardiac arrest and had no pulse, to Hinchingbrooke Hospital where she died on December 22. Prosecutor Peter Gair QC told Cambridge Crown Court: 'The defendant, Robert McWhir, referred to by many witnesses you'll hear as Bobby, is accused of murdering his girlfriend. 'Drowning her in a pool of water, which flows through Loves Farm housing estate in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. It is the Crown's case. Marissa Aldrich's suspected murderer took a chilling phone call from a friend who he told 'I'm killing her, I'm killing her' as he pinned the groaning mother-of-two down, a jury heard today 'In the early hours, the defendant and Marissa who had been visiting friends nearby were seen to argue. 'They left alone together on foot to return to the Marissa's house. 'That route took them across a route where the pond and brook were and it was there where the defendant drowned Marissa. 'Pressed her face down into a pond containing water about 10cm deep.' The court heard McWhir told his friends to 'get to the wooden bridge now' where they allegedly saw him holding Miss Aldrich under the water. They wrestled him out of the way and pulled the 5ft 2 mother on to the bank, where they called 999. A post mortem found that she died as a result of drowning. McWhir previously pleaded not guilty to murder and today appeared in the dock at Cambridge Crown Court wearing a dark grey tracksuit. Mr Gair told the court that Miss Aldrich and McWhir had an 'on-off relationship' and that he could be jealous. An ambulance was scrambled to bring Aldrich, who had suffered a cardiac arrest and had no pulse, to Hinchingbrooke Hospital (stock image) where she died on December 22 McWhir had been served with a restraining order in 2017 after he smashed a window at Miss Aldrich's flat. However, the jury were told how Miss Aldrich chose not to enforce the order and continued to see McWhir. On the afternoon of December 21, the victim told a friend she was going to make a 'go of it' with McWhir. Mr Gair told the court the pair spent the evening with friends at a flat and witnesses heard the defendant becoming 'angry and agitated' throughout the evening. The prosecutor described him as a 'jealous man getting angry'. Miss Aldrich and McWhir left the house just after 2am to walk back through the Love's Farm estate to her flat. At 2.14am one of the friends from the house party rang McWhir to let him know he had forgotten his tobacco. He told the friend: 'I'm killing her, I'm killing her' and 'she's talking to other blokes behind my back'. The jury were told police were called moments after the 999 call and and officers were deployed to find McWhir. He was arrested after an officer in an unmarked police car saw McWhir knock on Miss Aldrich's front door. His clothes were notably wet and asked police who he was meant to have murdered, saying he had 'never heard of her' when the victim's name was put to him. Asked how Miss Aldrich got into the pond, he told detectives she was a 'drunken idiot', who was 'more than likely' scared of him. McWhir previously pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice after calling a friend on a police custody phone in an attempt to get him to give a false name when making a statement. The jury will be taken to where Miss Aldrich was found tomorrow and the trial will resume on Tuesday afternoon. Advertisement A senior Chinese official said it was 'a correct policy' for Beijing to kill unarmed students during a pro-democracy protest in 1989 because of the great changes the country has experienced since then. Commenting on the controversial crackdown, known as June the Fourth in China, Beijing's defence minister said: 'In the past 30 years, China has gone through tremendous changes under the leadership of the Communist Party of China.' He added: 'How can you say our handling of June the Fourth was not right?' Slide me 1989 and 2019: Beijing Tiananmen Square, the political heart of China, is seen during the crackdown three decades ago and now. A Chinese official yesterday said it was 'correct' for Beijing to crack down on pro-democracy protesters 30 years ago Slide me Then and now: 'In the past 30 years, China has gone through tremendous changes under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. How can you say our handling of June the Fourth was not right?' Beijing's defence minister Wei Fenghe said Slide me Hundreds, or by some estimates more than a 1,000, unarmed civilians were killed when troops and tanks were deployed to extinguish the demonstrations in Beijing on June 4, 1989. General Wei Fenghe yesterday said Beijing took 'decisive measures' The minister, General Wei Fenghe, also said: 'There is a conclusion on June the Fourth. It was a political dispute, a political upheaval. 'The central government took decisive measures. The troops took measures to prevent and stop the upheaval. This is a correct policy.' General Wei was speaking at a regional security forum in Singapore on Sunday ahead of the 30th anniversary of the military crackdown. Hundreds, or by some estimates more than a 1,000, unarmed civilians were killed when troops and tanks were deployed to extinguish the demonstrations in Beijing on June 4, 1989. Thirty years on, the tanks that lined Beijing's central avenue have been replaced by countless surveillance cameras perched like hawks on lampposts to keep the population in check. Slide me 'As a vaccination for the Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future,' wrote Chinese state newspaper the Global Times in a rare commentary on the event Slide me The Tiananmen crackdown, known as June the Fourth in China, is the most censored topic by the ruling Communist Party who bills the young participants as anti-government rioters misled by Western ideologies and aiming to overthrow their regime In this June 5, 1989 file photo, Chinese troops and tanks gather in Beijing, one day after the military crackdown that ended a seven week pro-democracy demonstration on Tiananmen Square. Hundreds were killed in the early morning hours of June 4 A young woman is caught between civilians and Chinese soldiers, who were trying to remove her from an assembly near the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in this photo taken on June 3, 1989. General Wei's speech echoed a commentary on a Chinese state-run newspaper, which claimed the Tiananmen protest 'immunised China against turmoil'. In a rare editorial, the Global Times hailed the Chinese government's handling of what it called the 'incident'. 'As a vaccination for the Chinese society, the Tiananmen incident will greatly increase China's immunity against any major political turmoil in the future,' wrote the nationalist tabloid, which is affiliated with the Communist Party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily. The Tiananmen crackdown is the most censored topic by China's ruling Communist Party who bills the young participants as anti-government rioters misled by Western ideologies and aiming to overthrow their regime. The bloodbath has been immortalised by the above picture called the 'Tank Man', which shows a student holding bags of grocers standing in front of a row of tanks to protest at the clampdown by the armies against its own people. The picture was taken by photographer Jeff Widener of the Associated Press from a sixth-floor balcony of the Beijing Hotel near Tiananmen On June 4, 1989, Chinese tanks and soldiers sent by the Communist Party leadership crushed the student-led movement, which had been going on for weeks, in the centre of Beijing. They killed hundreds, and by some estimates more than 1,000 'Thirty years after the Tiananmen Massacre, Chinese authorities have not acknowledged the atrocity or provided justice for the victims and their families,' said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch while commenting on the event It is rare for Chinese officials or media to publicly discuss the strictly taboo topic. Authorities have detained activists and tightened online censorship ahead of the anniversary. The party's 'control of the incident' in 1989 had been a 'watershed' that marked the difference between China's rapid economic progress and the fate of other communist countries such as the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia that disintegrated, the Global Times said. It added that today's China, with its growing wealth, has 'no political conditions' that could reignite 'the riot' seen three decades ago. 'Chinese society, including its political elite, is now far more mature than in 1989,' it wrote. The editorial - which only appeared in the English-language print and online edition of the paper - also rebuked dissidents, Western politicians and media, saying their criticism of the event would have 'no real impact' on Chinese society. A Chinese paramilitary policeman stands guard in front of a portrait of China's late leader Mao Zedong at Tiananmen Square A man buys water from a food truck at Tiananmen square in Beijing on April 9, 2019. China's defence minister said it was 'correct' for Beijing to kill unarmed students because the country has made 'tremendous changes' as a result A tourist takes pictures during the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen square in Beijing. China has never released an official death toll of the bloody event while human rights organisations have urged the Communist Party to take responsibilities Tourists arrive for the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen square in Beijing. Tiananmen Square is a popular scenic spot Beijing has never released an official death toll of the bloody event. Multiple Human rights organisations have urged the Chinese government to step up and take responsibilities of the 'massacre'. 'Thirty years after the Tiananmen Massacre, Chinese authorities have not acknowledged the atrocity or provided justice for the victims and their families,' said Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. 'The whitewash of Tiananmen and heightened repression across China have fueled activists' determination to fight for human rights.' A group of Chinese mothers who lost their loved ones during June the Fourth have urged Beijing to give them an explanation for more than 20 years. Chinese mothers whose children were killed during the 1989 Tian'anmen Square crackdown are pictured gathering at a secret meeting in March to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the event. The group consists of 127 members A banner with pictures of the young protesters killed during the bloodbath is hung at the meeting as their mothers try to heal their wounds. Beijing has never released an official death toll as a result of the event and any discussion of it is prohibited The group was founded in 1995 by two mothers whose children were killed on that fateful day. Over the years, more and more people with similar experience found them and they meet regularly to pay tribute to their love ones and compatriots The group, who call themselves the 'Tiananmen Mothers' risked their lives and commemorated the 30th anniversary of the crackdown in a secret meeting in March. 'In defying the government-enforced amnesia to document the truth of June Fourth, unearth evidence that the Chinese authorities try to bury, and insist on justice for those killed, the Tiananmen Mothers are a beacon and the conscience of Chinese civil society,' Mi Ling Tsui, a spokesperson of New York-based Human Rights in China, told MailOnline. The Communist Party has tightened its grip on civil society since President Xi Jinping took office in 2012, detaining activists and rights lawyers, intensifying online censorship, and using high-tech policing to keep the population in check. 'The spirit of the Tiananmen movement continues to burn in the hearts of veterans of 1989 and younger generations of activists who fight for a more just China,' Wang from Human Rights Watch said in a press release. 'President Xi Jinping should acknowledge, even in the face of extraordinary persecution, that demands for accountability and human rights remain strong.' See a timeline of the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989 here. A fisherman named his son Dee-Day for the historic military operation after welcoming the baby boy into the world on June 6, 1944. Dee-Day Rodney White is set to turn 75 on Thursday, the anniversary of the Normandy invasion. His father, Bert, decided on the unique moniker after hearing the phrase repeatedly on the news. Staff at the registry office weren't as keen on the name as he was, initially telling him he could not use it - but Bert had the dutch courage to put up a fight, having visited a number of pubs on the way, and eventually convinced them. Now an antiques dealer, Dee-Day has told of his father's decision and how the unusual name has affected his life - including how he named his own son Dee-Day too. Dee-Day Rodney White was born on June 6, 1944, and was named after the Normandy invasion when his fisherman father Bert struggled to get the phrase out of his head Dee-Day, pictured with his wife Beverley, has visited Normandy 10 times over his lifetime but will not be visiting this year for the 75th anniversary. But he says he will be thinking of our heroes, saying: 'I've visited Normandy and Dunkirk so many times and, after spending a lot of time with the veterans, you could not imagine what they went through' Dee-Day said: 'My mother, May, told my father on June 5 not to go out the next day because she thought she would be going into labour. 'At 3.40am on June 6, I was born and she asked my father to have my birth registered in the morning. He kept hearing "D-Day" on the news and couldn't get it out of his head. 'He visited a number of pubs along the way to the registry office - fishermen were big drinkers - and kept hearing "D-Day". 'So he told the registrar he wanted to call me D-Day - but they said no, that's not a real name - that's impossible. It's a secret codeword. So he left. 'He told my mother about it and she said she just wanted her baby to have a name. Staff at the registry office initially told Bert he could not name his son after the military operation as it was a 'secret codeword'. Pictured: Dee-Day as a toddler 'So he went back the next day with a copy of a newspaper and told them "it's not a secret anymore, those Germans know all about it". 'He cleverly told them he wanted to spell it "Dee-Day" and eventually they let him.' He has always worn the name as a badge of honour, visiting Normandy on his birthday 10 times in total to be a part of D-Day celebrations. But at times, the name has hindered him. Dee-Day said: 'When I was a teenager, I couldn't lie about my age - everyone knew when D-Day was. 'So if I was at the pub trying to get served while underage, they knew. And if I was trying to chat up an older girl, they'd know my age because of the name! 'And if I had been out with my friends causing trouble, policemen and other people would always remember me because of the name - not any of my friends. 'Other than that, I've never had any problems with it. Everyone knows me in the town and it's just been accepted by everyone. 'Everyone knows me as Dee-Day. I think some people have thought my surname is Day and the "D" is the initial of my first name. 'Whenever I tell anyone my name, I do always end up having to tell them the story of how I got it as well.' His middle name, Rodney, is after HMS Rodney the Royal Navy battleship his uncle Tom served on during the war. Dee-Day, from Hastings in East Sussex, first visited Normandy aged 18, and his last visit was two years ago. During those visits, he has proved popular among veterans because of his name. He said: 'There was an ex-paratrooper there one year who was selling a book about his story. 'People buying his book saw me being interviewed on French television because of my name and they started asking me to sign their books. When Bert told his wife May, pictured together, about his suggestion she said she 'just wanted her baby to have a name' For the most part, Dee-Day has had no name-related issues - except when attempting to buy a drink underage, as everyone knew exactly how old he was. Pictured: Dee-Day's brother Kenny, now 87, mother May, Dee-Day, father Bert, and brother Bertie 'Eventually, the man came over and even asked me to sign a copy for him with my name, date of birth and Hastings - then joked for me to go as people weren't asking for his signature!' His last trip to Normandy in 2017 was with his son - who he also named Dee-Day - and only grandchild Aaron, 24. Dee-Day Jr, 54, went on to serve as a Corporal in the Royal Green Jackets for six years. On choosing his eldest child's name, father-of-three Dee-Day said: 'If I wasn't going to call him Dee-Day, somebody else was. 'No one ever really questioned his name growing up. I know so many people in the town so they all understood why he was called that. 'When he decided to join the Army, I asked him if he wanted to change his name but he said no. 'They all get nicknames in there anyway, and when he came back from training I asked him "what are you called now then?" 'He was going to be called Chalky White, but because of what his name meant, everyone called him Dee-Day anyway.' Dee-Day's daughter Avaline, 53, also served for six years as a Lance Corporal within the security and intelligence of the Army. He will have the D-Day heroes in his mind on Thursday, but will not be making the trip over the Channel - instead enjoying a meal with family. Dee-Day added: 'I'm lucky just to be alive now, as so many of my friends and people I've known all my life have died, so I need to spend my birthday with my family. He said: 'Everyone knows me as Dee-Day. I think some people have thought my surname is Day and the "D" is the initial of my first name.' Pictured, Dee-Day as a teenager Dee-Day even named his own son Dee-Day - who went on to serve as a Corporal in the Royal Green Jackets for six years. Pictured: left, Bert, right, May He has lived in Hastings all his life, and has been running his antiques shop - a stone's throw from his parents' old home - for the past 32 years. Pictured: Dee-Day as a child. 'But I will be thinking of our heroes. I've visited Normandy and Dunkirk so many times and, after spending a lot of time with the veterans, you could not imagine what they went through. 'When you know the damage a gun can do, to fire it at someone must have been so tough. It must have been unbearable for them.' Dee-Day's parents' home in Hastings had been bombed by German forces just days before the D-Day landings, and so they had to move into another home in which May gave birth to him. He has lived in Hastings all his life, and has been running his antiques shop - a stone's throw from his parents' old home - for the past 32 years. Dee-Day runs the shop alongside Beverley, 63, his wife of seven years. May was a 'scrubber' who cleaned people's houses in Hastings Old Town, a poor area of the seaside town. Bert was relieved of National Service because of his job as a fisherman, and he also formed part of the local lifeboat crew. He was the head boat launcher and worked on the Cyril and Lilian Bishop - which was used in the Dunkirk evacuations in 1940. Dee-Day has invested much of his time - and around 40,000 - in getting the lifeboat back to its home Paris three years ago. The boat is thought to have helped save thousands of British and ally troops from the beaches. Dee-Day said: 'That boat is so special. It carries a lot of meaning for me because of its history. 'Because the naval ships were too big to get ashore, lifeboats were used to take troops from shore to the vessels. They carried around 50 people a time. She would have saved thousands of lives.' Dee-Day has also held a keen interest in collecting military gear including badges, uniforms and weapons. He added: 'I've always had an interest in the military, but I think more so because of my name and the story behind it.' Mayor Awoh Ndang facing the press Facebook Denis Awoh Ndang, Mayor of the Fundong Council and Boyo Divisional President of the United Councils and Cities of Cameroon has said Yaounde is host to well over 1,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Boyo who are fleeing the sociopolitical unrest in Cameroons North West and South West Regions. Yaounde counts more than a thousand internally displaced persons from Boyo. Many of them are suffering. You have seven, eight, nine ten people sleeping in one room and we thought that if we brought some assistance to them, it can ease their suffering a bit. We came to encourage them that all is not lost. They should know that one day, they will return to their various villages, Awoh Ndang said. He was speaking in Yaounde Saturday, June 1, 2019 at the Kom Community Hall in Mbankomo as the Mayors of Fundong, Belo, Fonfuka (Bum) and Njinikom councils in Boyo Division donated relief aid to hundreds of suffering IDPs to make their stay in Yaounde better. The ceremony was attended among others by Senator Barrister Ajuo Honore Ngam who represents Boyo Division in the North West Senatorial Constituency. Tata Emmanuel from Fonfuka says since the start of the sociopolitical crisis that has sent them out of their homes, things have not been the same again. Since this thing started, things have not been moving and when you stay in the village, you are either captured for whatsoever. Others say the gunshots, killings and burning of houses made life unbearable for them. Some of us are sleeping on the floor. Other put cloths on the floor on which they sleep. Today, I am very happy. Six of us were sleeping on one mattress. Im grateful to have received this mattress, one of the beneficiaries said. Another woman said she hosts six children who fled the restive area and expressed thanks to the mayors who came to their aid with the donations. Bags of rice, groceries, vegetable oil and mattresses were among the items given to the IDPs. Flanked by mayor Gwe Philip of Funfuka and Tifuh Emmanuel of Belo, Denis Awoh Ndang told the IDPs that it was just the first in a series of relief material that shall be distributed to IDPs from Boyo scattered in major towns across the national territory. Jamie Lee Warn will serve a minimum term of 19 years after he was convicted of killing Zsuzsanna Besenyei (pictured), 37, in May last year A man who murdered his secret lover before hiding her body in the boot of his car for three days has been jailed for life. Jamie Lee Warn will serve a minimum term of 19 years after he was convicted of killing Zsuzsanna Besenyei, 37, in May last year. The court heard he hid her corpse in the boot of her car before disposing of her remains on a beach in Jersey three days later. He then left her car on the sands at St Aubin to make it appear as though she had taken her own life. Warn, 55, denied murder and perverting the course of justice but was convicted by a majority verdict by a jury after almost seven hours of deliberation. Sentencing him at Jersey Royal Court today Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq said: 'There are some things that may never be known about the murder of Zsuzsanna Besenyei - precisely how you killed her or why. 'The way you tried to cover up the crime and the way you researched how to get rid of the body were aggravating factors.' He today received a mandatory life sentence and was told he will have to serve a minimum of 19 years before he can apply for parole. During the hearing, Crown Advocate Simon Thomas, prosecuting, said: 'The concealment of the body is a serious aggravating factor. 'Had the defendant's plan gone as planned Miss Besenyei's body would have never been discovered and this would have caused immeasurable pain to the family.' During the trial, the court heard how Warn engaged in an 'elaborate' cover-up in the hope of 'literally, getting away with murder'. Warn (pictured) engaged in an 'elaborate' cover-up in the hope of 'literally, getting away with murder' the court heard. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment Miss Besenyei's lifeless body was found washed up at La Pulec bay in St Ouen in Jersey on May 16 last year, six days after she had gone missing. Mr Thomas told the court Miss Besenyei went to Warn's flat on May 10 as she was trying to collect money from him. While the defendant had a girlfriend, the two were secretly involved, frequently exchanges texts. Miss Besenyei sent the accused a message from her phone at 7.30pm as she arrived and the prosecution believe she was killed sometime between then and 8.20pm. The court heard that Warn hid her corpse in the boot of her car (pictured) before disposing of her remains on a beach in Jersey three days later. He then left her car on the sands at St Aubin to make it appear as though she had taken her own life Miss Besenyei's body was discovered at La Pulec bay, two days after her car had been found at La Haule slip, in St Brelade. Mr Thomas told the court the defendant had disposed of her body 'in the dead of the night' on a 'remote beach'. After an eight-day trial, the jury of six women and six men convicted Warn of murder and two counts of perverting the course of justice by lying to the police. They reached unanimous verdicts on perverting the course of justice, and a majority verdict on the murder charge. The Supreme Court will not consider an appeal from anti-Islam political activist Pamela Geller over the D.C. public transit rejecting her advertisements that depict the Prophet Muhammad. The advertisements from Geller's organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, were intended to appear in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority buses and dioramas, but were blocked. The authority said it blocked Geller's request to advertise due to guidelines that bar issue-oriented displays. The new guidelines were passed just days after Geller submitted the cartoon, which depicted Muhammad holding a sword and saying, 'You can't draw me.' Across the top of the ad it says, 'Support Free Speech,' and now Geller argues that WMATA violated her and her organization's first amendment right to freedom of speech when it refused to put up the ads in 2015. Anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller claims the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority violated her and her organization's freedom of speech in rejecting its advertisement submission The Supreme Court on Monday declined an appeal from Geller and the American Freedom Defense Initiative that said WMATA's guidelines are against the First Amendment and are intended to 'silence the viewpoint' Geller is known for her anti-Islam writings and holding a 'Draw the Prophet' cartoon contest in 2015. In Islam it is prohibited to depict the Prophet Muhammed to avoid temptation of worshiping a false idol Islam forbids drawings of the Prophet Muhammed. Much like other Abrahamic religions, Islam practices the worship of God alone, and rejects the idea of worshiping false idols. The prohibition of drawing or depicting Muhammed is to help avoid the temptation of followers worshiping the prophet instead of God. Geller, who is Jewish, is now saying her and her organization's rights are being violated by the D.C. public transit, claiming WMATA's guidelines blocking issue-oriented displays are in violation of the First Amendment guarantee. The American Freedom Defense Initiative accused the Washington D.C. public transit authority of adopting the guidelines so it could 'silence the viewpoint' it was expressing in the cartoon. The group lost it's lawsuit in federal court in the country's capital. It also lost its appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which said the advertising space in WMATA was a nonpublic forum. Geller is known for her anti-Islamic writings and stances. She sponsored the 'Draw the Prophet' cartoon contest in Garland, Texas in May 2015. The day of the event, shots were fired resulting in the death of two of the suspects and injury of one Garland Independent School District police officer. The political activist says her campaigns are to fight against the religion she believes is 'creeping Sharia' into the U.S. A Polish daredevil known as the Silesian Spider Man has been arrested after climbing up the Marriott hotel in Warsaw using just his bare hands. Thrill-seeker Marcin Banot was spotted by passersby in the Polish capital scaling the 557-foot tower without a harness or safety ropes. The 31-year-old was charged with public disorder after officers waited for him at the top of the hotel checked if he was sober, according to reports in The First News. Marcin Banot climbs up one of Warsaw's tallest buildings using only his hands before he was arrested by police One of Warsaw's tallest hotels, the Marriott was first scaled without protection or permission in 1999 by French climber Alain Robert. Its notable guests have included Donald Trump, former US presidents Barak Obama and Bill Clinton, Three Tenors star Luciano Pavarotti and Russian premier Vladimir Putin. Banot who has over 178,000 followers on his YouTube channel has a long history with urban climbing. The Polish daredevil stands on top of the 557ft Marriott Hotel in Warsaw after scaling it without equipment The 31-year-old was charged with public disorder after officers waited for him at the top of the hotel checked if he was sober Last year he scaled the UK's highest bridge, the 500ft Humber Bridge to raise money for a girl suffering from glioma, a form of cancer, a 1,000ft chimney in Romania and the Hotel Melia Barcelona Sky (380ft), as well as a host of abandoned factory chimneys in his home region of Silesia. When asked asked if he was ever close to death, Banot said: 'This question would require a very long answer, as it is a philosophical subject. 'Seriously speaking, we are close to death from the moment of our birth, we actually die every day of our lives. Passersby were stunned to see the daredevil climbing one of Warsaw's tallest buildings without a rope or harness Last year, the Silesian Spider Man climbed the 500ft Humber Bridge (pictured) and a 1000ft chimney in Romania 'I am close to death every day by driving a car.' He added: 'I'm not sure if this is about my need to show off and seek attention, it's a bit against my introvert character, but this is the case. For his latest stunt in the Polish capital, he now faces a 200 fine. Dario Carboni, 25, has been jailed for nine years for running over a 75-year-old Army veteran after he tried to get his insurance details following a crash in Swindon last year A drug dealer who killed an Army veteran by running him over with his car when he tried to get his insurance details following a crash has been jailed for nine years. Dario Carboni, 25, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of former paratrooper Kenneth Kiley, 75. Carboni had been on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of murder but after 10 days of evidence pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The jury heard that Mr Kiley was a passenger in a Toyota Yaris driven by his wife Marion when a blue Vauxhall Corsa driven by Carboni collided with them on a roundabout near their home in Swindon on the evening of July 8 last year. Carboni failed to stop and drove away into a cul-de-sac while Mr Kiley got out on foot with a pen and paper, telling his wife he intended to find the driver and take their details. Minutes later, at around 8.48pm, Mr Kiley was fatally injured by the Corsa. Neighbours described hearing a man shouting, followed by 'screeching tyres' and then a 'loud thud', before seeing Mr Kiley lying in the road. They described finding a pen and a folded receipt from Marks & Spencer on the ground by Mr Kiley. Witnesses ran to help the pensioner and he was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford with injuries including a skull fracture, but died the following day. The Corsa was abandoned in a nearby street where Carboni and friend Patrick Cunnington were seen getting out and running away, having been in Swindon selling cannabis as a part of a 'county lines' operation. Kenneth Kiley was married to Marion, pictured together, for 48 years, and the pair had two children together. His family have said his loss has left an 'enormous hole' in their lives Stephen Kamlish QC, defending, said Carboni 'panicked' after the initial collision and wanted to get away because he was banned from driving. He read to the court a letter Carboni wrote to the family of Mr Kiley apologising for his actions. 'Every day I think about what happened that day and the devastating consequences of my actions for the family of Mr Kiley he has left behind,' he wrote. 'I am shocked and ashamed by what happened but not stopping to help Mr Kiley I am truly sorry for. 'I want to say how sorry I am for causing so much pain to Mr Kiley's family.' Judge William Hart formally directed not guilty verdicts on charges of murder and causing death by dangerous driving. Passing sentence, the judge said of the former University of Hertfordshire student: 'You were very keen to get away from the collision, whether or not you were responsible for that collision. 'The reason for that was that you and Patrick Cunnington had been dealing cannabis in a county lines drugs operation. 'Mr Kiley had done what any honest, decent person would have done in the circumstances which was to get out and try and exchange details. 'He was the sort of man who would have done that regardless of who was at fault for the first collision. 'You didn't try to stop or swerve around him and that was down to your choice to drive the way you did. 'You took the obvious risk that a collision was going to happen and you were reckless as to whether harm was to be caused. Carboni had been in Swindon selling cannabis shortly before the crash. The court heard he 'panicked' after the initial collision and wanted to get away because he was banned from driving 'What makes the loss of Mr Kiley so poignant was that it was so needless. 'Despite your background and despite all the opportunities you were getting in your life, you allowed yourself to stray from an honest world into the seedy drugs world.' Carboni, from Tottenham, north London, had already pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and was banned from driving for eight and a half years and ordered to take an extended driving test. Mr Kiley, who had been married for 48 years, served with the Parachute Regiment, the Intelligence Corps and later the Army reserves. In a statement, his family, including widow Marion and sons Adam and Matthew, said: 'Almost a year after Ken's death, his loss still leaves an enormous hole in the lives of our family and friends. 'Ken's death has devastated his wife, family and friends and has left an enormous hole in all our lives, which we are still coming to terms with, both in practical and emotional terms. 'Our mother, now in her late 70s and coping with Parkinson disease, has spent the last six months trying to rebuild her life without Ken. 'We feel this sentence is deserved and justified. Our family and especially our husband and father deserved justice and this sentence has gone some way to achieve this.' British holidaymakers were left fuming after a Rhodes restaurant landed them with a 72 (82) bill for just eight soft drinks. Vikki Scott was at The Gate on the Greek island when she was stunned to be charged 12 (14) for one milkshake. It comes amid a spate of complaints from tourists who face higher prices than expected while visiting other countries. Pictured: The Gate in Rhodes, where Ms Scott says she was furious to be receive a 72 bill after ordering just eight soft drinks Pictured, left, the receipt Ms Scott was shocked to receive at the end of her order at the restaurant, right Ms Scott was on a break with four of her family and friends when she was 'ripped off' and shared her story on social media as a warning to others. On Facebook, she wrote: 'Went to The Gate restaurant in Old Rhodes Town for a drink! The bill for eight soft drinks was 82 - 14 for a milkshake!! 'I confronted him and all he could say was 'thank you lady' people like him should not be allowed to rip off tourists. 'On our way back he posed for the photo until he realised who I was then he followed me down the street telling me I couldnt take his photo. Please share this especially in Rhodes sites to stop others getting ripped off!' She shared a photo of the receipt, showing the whopping prices that the restaurant charged. Social media users accused the business of exploiting tourists, with Judith Burry saying: 'All I can say is have your wits about you. Many places rip off the tourists. Easy money for them. I would have asked for a proper till receipt. No receipt no pay.' Xavier Lenarts warned that she had also experienced similar treatment and suggested holidaymakers avoid the area. The Gate is rated as one star on TripAdvisor, where 103 reviewers out of 161 branded it 'terrible'. Users have titled their negative reviews as 'awful', 'oh dear' and 'avoid at all costs' on the site. But some blamed Ms Scott, with Jan Manessi commenting: 'Check the menu prices- otherwise only yourself to blame!' Alexandros Angelopoulos pointed out the large size of one of the drinks, writing: '14 for a milkshake is expensive. But 14 for a litre milkshake is not.' Panos Boutsikos said: 'Next time READ THE MENU moron' The post follows a tourist being billed 521 for six pieces of calamari at a beach bar in Santorini, Greece, last month. Meanwhile an American couple forked were handed a 70 bill after ordering two burgers and three coffees. Author Michael Wolff said Saturday that that after writing two lengthy takedowns of Donald Trump, he's convinced the president's inner circle believes he's 'vile and ludicrous.' But as reporters pick through embargoed copies of 'Siege,' his sequel to last year's best-selling 'Fire & Fury,' Wolff conceded that a document he has boasted of obtaining from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office may not be exactly as advertised. Wolff claimed in an interview last week with the Guardian that Mueller had drafted a three-count obstruction of justice indictment against the president but decided not to pursue it and said he had the document to prove it. He backtracked in a weekend interview with NPR, saying the document was a 'memorandum of law' designed to sniff out holes in a future White House claim that Trump is beyond a prosecutor's reach. The memorandum 'assumes that the president has been indicted,' Wolff said. 'It assumes that the president has gone into court and made a motion to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that a president cannot be indicted. And this is the response to that motion.' Michael Wolff, the author of 'Siege,' says he has the draft indictment but Mueller's spokesman tells DailyMail.com that such documents 'do not exist' An author claims in a new book that Special Counsel Robert Mueller considered charging President Donald Trump with three felonies but decided against moving forward with an indictment after it was drafted President Trump, pictured Monday in London, has seen no practical legal consequences from the 22-month-long Mueller probe; the special counsel cleared him of colluding with Russians to swing the 2016 election and concluded nothing about whether he obstructed justice An indictment is a different thing, a former Justice Department official with knowledge of the special counsel's processes told DailyMail.com on Monday: 'There was never an indictment, so whatever Wolff says he has isn't an indictment.' The source said it's 'completely ordinary' for prosecutors to strategize about how to parry objections from defense lawyers, 'including writing long memos that spell out where you might win and where you might lose.' Wolff said Saturday that the first part of the 56-page document he obtained 'outlines all of the particulars of the indictment hence my characterization of this as a draft indictment.' Wolff's new book will provide explosive fodder for anti-Trump partisans but also will reignite controversy about his own methods and habits of factual embroidery 'And the second part is an argument, an incredibly powerful argument, by the way, about why the special counsel can in fact indict a sitting president.' Wolff's 'Fire and Fury' was a commercial success but largely fell apart under the weight of fact-checking journalists and his own admission that he included stories he believed were untrue. Mueller's spokesman Peter Carr, known in Washington mostly for holding his tongue, told DailyMail.com last week that Wolff couldn't possibly have what he claimed to have. 'The documents described do not exist,' Carr said, a carefully parsed statement that now appears crafted to punish Wolff for exaggerating. 'I guess it depends upon how you define a "draft indictment",' Wolff conceded Saturday. Wolff writes in 'Siege' that the three criminal counts explored in his document were under the heading 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - against - DONALD J. TRUMP, Defendant.' 'This is precisely what it says. That's word for word,' he told NPR. The former DOJ official said Monday: 'That's just stupid. No one captions a criminal case that way. It's "v." for "versus," not "against." No one says "against".' Indictments in the cases of Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, George Papadopoulos and other criminal defendants charged by Mueller's office are all introduced in that fashion for example, 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROGER JASON STONE, Defendant.' Wolff's book will hit stores Tuesday, and he's engaged in a last-minute flurry of pre-order publicity to drive sales that will count among his first week's total, a critical yardstick for best-seller status. He told NPR that he drew sweeping conclusions about the President of the United States after hearing his detractors criticize him for more than two years. 'There's no logic to what he does. There's no way to anticipate what he's going to do. Often what he ends up doing defies logic, defies everybody's expectations, defies explanation,' said Wolff. 'When I went into the first book I thought there was some rationality about Donald Trump, a method to his madness. I no longer believe that.' The Justice Department and its sub-agencies like Mueller's office operate under the guidance of an opinion from Office of Legal Counsel that it would be illegal to indict a sitting president. Federal indictments in criminal cases are universally described as the United States 'v.' (for 'versus') the defendants; Wolff says his 'draft indictment' says 'against' instead But Wolff writes that what he referred to as Mueller's 'draft indictment' included charges of obstructing justice, witness tampering and retaliating against a witness. The author claims Mueller's team traced corruption through the White House that began 'on the seventh day of his administration, tracing the line of obstruction from National Security Advisor Michael Flynns lies to the FBI about his contacts with Russian representative[s], to the presidents efforts to have [FBI director] James Comey protect Flynn, to Comeys firing, to the presidents efforts to interfere with the special counsels investigation, to his attempt to cover up his son and son-in-laws meeting with Russian governmental agents, to his moves to interfere with Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabes testimony.' And the case hinged on Mueller's belief, according to Wolff, that Trump went to 'extraordinary lengths ... to protect himself from legal scrutiny and accountability, and to undermine the official panels investigating his actions.' After 22 months of investigating Russia's efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Mueller delivered a 448-page report to Attorney General Bill Barr that doesn't mention any deliberations about whether he had the legal authority to charge President Trump with a crime. Because his team took for granted that indicting Trump would go nowhere, they didn't make any effort to discern if he engaged in criminal activity. That makes it difficult to understand how a draft of a charging document might have existed. Mueller ultimately exonerated Trump and his campaign of claims that they had colluded with Moscow and its agents to impact the election's results. He left open the question of whether Trump had obstructed justice, laying out nearly a dozen events that could become the basis for a case if the Justice Department were to pursue one. Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in 2017, jointly determined that the evidence wasn't strong enough to sustain a charge. Mueller's office operated under legal guidance that stated a sitting president couldn't be indicted, so his team made no effort to determine whether Trump committed a crime; that's difficult to square with Wolff's claim that a draft indictment sat on his desk for a year Congressional Democrats have taken steps to reopen that question through a handful of aggressive investigations, which Trump is dismissing as an unfair attempt at a 'do-over.' Wolff's first Trump book included a prologue that stated: 'Many of the accounts of what has happened in the Trump White House are in conflict with one another; many, in Trumpian fashion, are baldly untrue. These conflicts, and that looseness with the truth, if not with reality itself, are an elemental thread of the book.' 'Fire and Fury' included lengthy quotations from private conversations, reported in a way that left readers wondering how Wolff obtained them. He also freely described the thoughts and feelings of people he wrote about. President Trump claimed last year that it was '[f]ull of lies, misrepresentations and sources that dont exist.' White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders called the book 'complete fantasy and just full of tabloid gossip.' Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the legendary Vogue editor Anna Wintour were among famous names in 'Fire and Fury' who said Wolff's stories about them were 'absurd,' 'untrue' and 'preposterous.' A kindhearted cop has been caught on camera fixing a high school student's tie before the teen went to graduate. Officer James Flowers of Kingsland Police Department was busy directing traffic when he noticed the teen and decided to lend a hand. He stopped working to help the soon-to-be-graduate of Camden County High School by fixing his tie, before returning to his job, according to 6ABC. Police officer James Flowers generously takes time out of his day to fix the teen's tie At times the graduate can be seen smiling in the video while the kind police officer fixes his tie In the video, posted by Trish Wood, the teen can be seen smiling as the officer smartens him up ready for graduation day photographs. Since appearing online on May 23, the video has attracted over 2,000 likes and nearly a thousand shares. On Facebook, Camden County High School praised the cop for his generous act. The wrote: 'We are so grateful for Officer Flowers and all of our School Resource Officers and Deputies. 'While we know our SROs are in our schools to keep us safe, it is often forgotten the powerful impact they have on the lives of our students. The social media post has received over 2,000 likes so far and nearly a thousand shares Commenting online, Facebook users were full of praise for the officer This user did not seem 'surprised' by the kind actions of Officer Flowers Trish Wood shared the video in a popular Camden County, GA, Facebook page. Since then praise has poured out for the officer People were overwhelmed by the cop's kind actions 'It just takes a moment to make a connection and some moments are felt for a lifetime.' Online people have been overwhelmed by the kindness of the officer, with Christina Bruce commending the gentleman: 'Officer James Flowers... you are a true blessing.' Sean Strachan wrote: 'My man James Flowers not surprised at all. Seen him on his day off he visited a kid in a shelter for children out of town. He is a great man.' Another user, Cathy Shad-Willis Makes, said: 'Makes me proud to live in the same county with people like this.' Birdie Savage wrote: 'I love when men of the community are great role models to young men.' Dominican authorities investigating the alleged savage attack on an American tourist who was left bloodied and battered at an idyllic tourist resort are claiming there are holes in her story. Last Wednesday, Tammy Lawrence-Daley, a 51-year-old mother of two from Wilmington, shared a harrowing description of an alleged attack at the Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana, which left her hospitalized. 'There is a lot of conjecture about the case, a lot of information that doesn't match some of the statements,' Dominican Republic national police chief spokesman Col. Frank Duran said Monday. The suggestions come after Lawrence-Daley and her husband Christopher Daley accused local police of bungling the investigation, with reports that a rape test was administered 48 hours after the alleged attack, among a slew of other criticisms. Tammy Lawrence-Daley made the attack public on social media, detailing a vicious hours-long assault by a man she said was wearing the uniform of an all-inclusive resort In a lengthy Facebook post detailing the attack, Lawrence-Daley shared photos of her gruesome, bruised and bloodied facial injuries The story emerged after the Delaware mother-of-two, who was vacationing at a Punta Cana resort, alleged she was attacked by a man wearing the uniform of the Majestic Elegance hotel, where she was staying, who left her for dead following an hour-long brutal assault. Photographs taken in the aftermath of the attack show Lawrence-Daley nursing a badly bruised face with blood shot eyes, a cut lip and red marks. Following the attack, Lawrence-Daley claimed the investigation was conducted poorly, which has led to tit-for-tat accusations between the victim's family and Dominican Republic authorities over the veracity of the claims. The Dominican Republic Attorney General's Office said Lawrence-Daley declined to file a formal complaint. But her husband said this was a lie. He said they filed a complaint at a Higuey courthouse, adding: 'We were supposed to get a police report in February and we didn't get that.' Christopher Daley, left, spoke out after shocking images of his wife Tammy, right, were recently made public on social media following the horror attack in January The resort where Lawrence-Daley was staying, the Majestic Elegance Punta Cana, said in a statement it was cooperating with authorities and would not comment further out of respect for the 'dignity and integrity' of Lawrence-Daley He also told NBC10 claims they found 'discrepancies' in his statements 'crazy' after the couple were interviewed together. And the devastated husband also questioned officials' determination that his wife was not sexually assaulted after doctors took two days to conduct the exam. He says they are also yet to receive the rape kit results back. Lawrence-Daley herself has said she's still not positive if she was sexually assaulted after she showered before the test. 'We had to force them to do a rape kit and that didn't happen until 48 hours later. And even at that point it was an external swab, that was it,' she said. Police in the Dominican Republic have confirmed they are investigating the attack. Spokesman Col. Frank Duran said that immediately after authorities heard of the January attack investigators went to the hospital the mom-of-two was being treated, took her testimony and collected evidence from where she said the assault took place. The mother of two teenage boys said she decided to go public with her story now to help other women 'There is a lot of conjecture about the case, a lot of information that doesn't match some of the statements,' Duran said Friday. 'We have to wait for the investigation to end.' The resort where Lawrence-Daley was staying, the Majestic Elegance Punta Cana, said in a statement it was cooperating with authorities and would not comment further out of respect for the 'dignity and integrity' of Lawrence-Daley. Lawrence-Daley posted this week on Facebook about the attack in the thriving Dominican tourist area of Punta Cana, showing grisly pictures of the damage done to her face. She said she had been vacationing with her husband and a couple of friends. During the assault in a maintenance area of the beachfront resort, her mouth was ripped apart, requiring numerous stitches, she said. One tooth was knocked out and others were pushed out of position, she said. Her nose was broken in several places and she sustained an orbital fracture. There were teeth marks on her hip. She said she decided to go public with her story now to help other women and perhaps warn Caribbean tourists about what to expect from resort management in the wake of a similar attack on their properties. Lawrence-Daley, an insurance company employee in Wilmington, said she arrived at the Majestic Elegance resort in January. On her second night there, she said she walked alone through a rotunda on the property at about 10:30 p.m. intending to take some pictures of the moon over the water and perhaps grab a snack. She was attacked from behind, her assailant starting to choke her before dragging her into a nearby maintenance room. 'The only opportunity I got to turn was when he was strangling me. And that's when I saw the uniform. And when I tried to look up I couldn't just because I was passing out at that point,' she said. The devastated husband also questioned officials' determination that his wife was not sexually assaulted after doctors took two days to conduct the exam Lawrence-Daley claims she was attacked by a hotel employee because she remembers seeing him in a uniform with the resort logo on it She said any conscious moments that followed she was unable to make out the assailant's face because she had already been so savagely beaten that her eyes were swollen shut. But she's positive that her attacker was wearing a uniform with the resort's name embroidered on it. 'He was definitely wearing a uniform of the resort,' she said. Just as she was starting her long path toward a physical recovery, she said she was told that Dominican authorities would not investigate her assault unless she testified in a local court. She said she managed to testify at a court before flying back home. But after a three-month investigation and a failed attempt to negotiate an out-of-court settlement, the resort's insurance company eventually sent a letter saying Majestic Elegance bore no responsibility since she couldn't identify her assailant as an employee. She now has until late July to find a Dominican lawyer to take up the case. During her ordeal, her husband and friends went to the resort's front desk three times before security would agree to make even the most cursory search for her, she said, suggesting that she was drunk and sleeping it off somewhere. She was eventually discovered in the basement of the maintenance room when she came to. 'If they install cameras that's at least one step closer to really helping people,' she said. Advertisement National Trust conservationists have encased a 117-year-old house in a protective box to stop the 'masterpiece' building from crumbling. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald designed Hill House in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, using an experimental material which unfortunately allowed water to seep and settle into the walls. After decades of coastal wind and rain, it was feared the damage could destroy the bespoke interior finishes and designs. But now the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has completed a multi-million-pound project to save the house and contents from being lost forever, and is now opening the house to the public. Conservationists from the National Trust have put up a transparent shelter around Hill House in Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute The 'masterpiece' building was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald in 1902, including the interiors (pictured) Decades of coastal rain and wind have damaged the building, soaking the walls which now need to dry out before conservation work can begin. Pictured: some of the damage In what the NTS has called its most ambitious conservation project to date, the 'Hill House Box' is a semi-transparent shelter around the main house, consisting of a 165-tonne steel frame Charles Rennie Mackintosh: Arts and Craft giant Rennie Mackintosh on Scottish Cyldesdale bank 100 notes Renowned Scottish architect, artist and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1868 - 1928, is credited for helping to form the architectural landscape of Glasgow, Scotland, having designed many of the cities iconic buildings including The Glasgow School of Art, the villas Windyhill, The Lighthouse, The Hill House and Scotland Street School. Mackintosh was part of a new wave of architects who believed that the architect was not only responsible for the exterior of the building but every detail of the interior too. Generally associated with the Art Nouveau and arts and crafts movements Rennie Mackintosh sought to incorporate natural motifs into the curves of the walls, windows, furniture and textiles in his buildings to combat the somewhat bland architecture built during the industrial revolution - most notably with his rose motif, present in many of his designs. The Glasgow School of Art designed by Mackintosh in 1896 Hill House was designed from head to toe by Mackintosh and his wife Margaret Macdonald for Glasgow publisher Walter Blackie in 1902. The couple designed almost every object in the house from the furniture to the textiles as well as the exterior. It is considered Mackintosh's finest residential work, which was created after spending time with Blackie's family to consider their requirements from the house and design it to fit them. Despite The Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art having been ravished by fire in 2014 and again in 2018 during reconstruction work, Scotland has fought to rebuild the iconic building yet again from the blueprints of Mackintosh's original design at the cost of 100m, in order to preserve the historic building. Rennie Mackintosh can be seen on Scottish Cyldesdale bank 100 notes as a notable figure in Scottish history. Advertisement In what the NTS has called its most ambitious conservation project to date, the 'Hill House Box' is a semi-transparent shelter around the main house, consisting of a 165-tonne steel frame. Designed by award-winning architects Carmody Groarke, the frame is draped in chainmail made up of 32.4 million rings, weighing 8.3 tonnes - making it the world's largest chainmail structure. The box will protect the house from the rain while allowing it to dry out and let conservationists begin their work. Charles Rennie Mackintosh was at the peak of his architectural career when he was commissioned to create the Hill House. He had just finished the first half of the Glasgow School of Art a few years earlier and, working together with his wife Margaret Macdonald, he produced a design masterpiece. The house has original furnishings, fixtures and fittings - all of which were part of Mackintosh's all-encompassing approach to design. The total cost of rescuing the Hill House will be in the region of 4.5million. It may take up to three years for the house to dry out fully before conservation work can begin, and the box around it could stay in place for between seven and ten years. Simon Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of National Trust for Scotland, said: 'The box is incredibly impressive in itself and being able to see the house from angles that Mackintosh could only dream of takes your breath away. 'But it's more than that. We've completely rethought how the house and its history is presented and when people come to the Hill House they'll see how a house like this became a home to a family. 'There are surprises at every turn and no two visits will be the same. It's an active, evolving conservation project and there's nothing like it anywhere else. 'The Hill House is an exceptional place and our approach to rescuing it is as unique as Mackintosh's vision. 'What we're doing at The Hill House is really what the Trust is about. We're taking a radical approach to conservation and making sure that what we love about Scotland is here for future generations.' Andy Groarke of Carmody Groarke architects said: 'It has been an enormous privilege and education to work so closely with Hill House over the last few years. 'We were inspired by Mackintosh's residential masterpiece to create a new piece of architecture which protects it from further decay, and gives visitors the chance to experience the house from unique and dramatic points of view.' Hill House will be open to the public from Friday June 7. The house has original furnishings, fixtures and fittings - all of which were part of Mackintosh's all-encompassing approach to design. Pictured: protective sheeting covering books in the library next to a portrait of Charles Rennie Mackintosh The box will protect the house from the rain while allowing it to dry out and let conservationists begin their work. The total cost of rescuing the Hill House will be in the region of 4.5million. It may take up to three years for the house to dry out fully before conservation work can begin, and the box around it could stay in place for between seven and ten years. Macintosh's rose motif can be seen on the wallpaper Simon Skinner, Chief Executive Officer of National Trust for Scotland, said: 'The box is incredibly impressive in itself and being able to see the house from angles that Mackintosh could only dream of takes your breath away' Ivanka Trump will join President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May in their bilateral meeting on Tuesday as the first daughter takes center stage during the three-day state visit to the UK. Ivanka Trump, who serves as a counselor to the president, will also join the two leaders at a breakfast with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and other business leaders at St. James Palace, a White House official confirmed to DailyMail.com. The first daughter attended all her father's ceremonial events on Monday, including the welcome at Buckingham Palace, a tour of the royal collection with The Queen - where she chatted with Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex - and the lying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider at Westminster Abbey. Ivanka Trump, seen here with her husband Jared Kushner, will attend President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May's meetings on Tuesday Jared Kushner, his wife Ivanka Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US Ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson look on as President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump lay a wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey Trump and May, seen at the White House in January 2017, will meet with UK business leaders 'It was an incredible honor to meet Her Majesty The Queen, the longest ruling Monarch in British history. Thank you for a warm welcome to the United Kingdom,' she tweeted on Monday afternoon. Ivanka Trump has worked on business issues as part of her White House portfolio, including the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board. She owned her own company before joining the administration. Since President Trump signed the an executive order on Pledge to America's Workers last July, more than 200 companies and organizations have signed on, contributing to over 8.9 million new education and training opportunities for students and workers. But before she gets down to business, will be the glamour. Ivanka Trump also will joined her adult siblings - Don Jr., Eric and Tiffany - at Monday evening's state dinner at Buckingham Palace. She arrived at Buckingham Palace Monday night via Marine One with the president and first lady. And all the adult children are all expected to attend Tuesday evening's dinner at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador's residence in London, where Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will represent the Queen. But Ivanka Trump, who is the only child with a formal role in her father's White House, has been accompanying him on his rounds on Monday. Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, who serves as a counselor to the president, were pictured on a balcony at Buckingham Palace, watching the royal family formally receive the president. The first daughter donned an all white ensemble by Italian-born London-based designer Alessandra Rich, with a floating top cinched in at the waist by a chunky belt and a pleated skirt. She wore her long blonde locks straight and down. Ivanka (right) and husband Jared Kushner (left) admired the items on display at the Royal Collection. The pair arrived in the UK yesterday and visited the Victoria and Albert museum on Sunday Ivanka tweeted about her visit to Buckingham Palace and said she was honoured to have met the Queen Ivanka Trump was spotted peering out the window at the huge crowds gathering outside Buckingham Palace today ahead of the President's arrival After the ceremonial welcome, Ivanka Trump was spotted chatting with Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, during a tour of the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace. During a leader's state visit, palace officials bring out items from the royal collection tied to the visiting country. Prince Harry made a brief appearances at the back of the gallery room as President Trump and first lady Melania Trump began their tour of the Royal Collection with the Queen. But he ducked back out without ever fully joining the group. It comes after the president furiously backed-tracked at the weekend when he said he did not realize Meghan Markle was 'nasty' after learning about her criticism of him in 2016. Ivanka Trump (left) viewed US items on display at the Royal Collection in Buckingham Palace with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (right) Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at Buckingham Palace Despite the comment, the President insisted that Meghan would make a great royal and do an 'excellent job.' Ivanka Trump was also at Westminster Abbey with Kushner to watch the president and first lady lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknown warrior. She donned a white hat for the solemn occasion. Afterward she and Kushner joined White House staff in a tour of the abbey. Gun exchanges send civilians to forests/bushes Archives Refugees International, RI, in a detailed field report titled Crisis Denied, has revealed that Cameroon Governments refusal to acknowledge the Anglophone crisis, is one of the main reasons why relief and aid efforts have been underfunded by international bodies, especially as Governments denial scares away donors, The Post has reported. Refugee International in her report dated May 29, 2019 writes: Cameroon has long been viewed as a model of stability in a region fraught with conflict. Under the surface, however, tensions between its Anglophone and Francophone populations have simmered for decades. The Anglophone minority, mostly concentrated in the North-West and South-West regions (NWSW), has been marginalized, discriminated against, and economically disenfranchised since a referendum ended federalism and joined the two populations in a full political union in 1972. The report points out that Cameroon Governments use of the military to clamp down on dissenting voices rather fuelled existing separatist sentiments. Quoting statistics provided by the UN, RI states that the conflict has left 1.3 million people in need of assistance. Cameroonian authorities deny the severity of the displacement and humanitarian need. Making matters worse, both Cameroonian forces and non-State armed groups severely restrict freedom of movement, preventing local populations from accessing their land and basic services. Both also have taken steps to limit the access of humanitarian workers to populations affected by the conflict. However, through sustained engagement with local officials, communities, and armed groups, relief groups have been able to build trust and expand their reach into areas hit hard by the violence. Most of these groups have relied on their own internal funding, not specifically designated for the Northwest and Southwest, to assess and serve the affected populations, because, international donors have yet to step up and engage in a meaningful way. Instead, foreign donor governments and other international stakeholders have focused on supporting a peace process, which clearly deserves international engagement. However, it is unlikely to bear fruit in the near term, because, the parties involved refuse to engage in meaningful dialogue. This fact raises the question of why donors, so far, have refused to expand their engagement beyond the peace process to address the humanitarian consequences of the fighting. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating rapidly as aid organisations burn through the last of their resources, the report further stated. Refugees International Proposes Better Ways To Handle Pertinent Issues After chronicling the different issues, factors and actors making the crisis difficult to handle, Refugees International proposed that the Government should publicly recognise the severity of the Anglophone Crisis and that both sides of the conflict should also guarantee unrestricted access to health workers, NGOs, and the civilian population. They further proposed that the Government and armed groups must be able to accept the neutral stance of humanitarian organisations and the UN. To donors worldwide, RI maintained that funding for humanitarian efforts need to be increased, because, agencies are fast running out of funds, despite the fact that they have collected useful data and have created networks, through which they can access a considerable number of the population in need. Pointing out that the crisis shows no sign of waning out, and considering the fact that UN staff have been appointed to the Anglophone Regions only on a temporary basis, RI suggested that the UN should establish full-time positions within UN agency offices in the crisis hit regions. They have suggested that there is need to increase the visibility of the crisis. Mobilise donor support, and call for unfettered humanitarian access. Severe underfunding, lack of international attention, and the stalemate between aid groups and Cameroonian authorities, are crippling the humanitarian response. The report further suggests that, UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, must plan a visit to Cameroon to engage with President Paul Biya on these crucial issues The report reveal that RIs team travelled to Yaounde for two weeks (March and April), where, it interviewed International Nongovernmental Organisation, INGOs staff, on the situation on the ground. It also revealed that its: Team members also requested to meet with Cameroonian authorities, but these queries went unanswered or were denied. Refugees International also reports that its team in Cameroon did not attempt to meet with displaced populations, because, they have been subjected to numerous humanitarian assessments over time but have received remarkably little aid, so the team was concerned that such interviews would both worsen assessment fatigue and create false expectations among those in dire need. Moreover, a 10-day lockdown in the NWSW kept the Refugees International team from visiting these Regions. The report also notes that, while the Cameroon Government is serving refugees from other countries and has allowed foreign humanitarian organisations to provide aid and relief supplies to them, it has failed its own internally displaced population, by curtailing access to the affected, and restricting international organisations from fully accessing and providing for the needy. RI also regrets that, given the fact that the Government has downplayed the crisis and is unwilling to guarantee safe passage for humanitarian actors, many organisations fear speaking out against the Government or publicly reporting the extent to which it has interfered with aid delivery. Aid groups withhold their criticism in the hope of preserving the already limited humanitarian space. Many groups fear that the Government will retaliate by blocking their access not only in the Northwest, Southwest, but also in the Extreme North Region of Cameroon, where humanitarian organisations are providing for those displaced by Boko Harams on-going violence. The report also expresses the need for the Cameroon Government, as well as armed groups, to respect humanitarian principles. It regrets that; Aid workers have reported numerous cases in which the Cameroonian military requested that they provide their list of beneficiaries as the price of gaining access to certain areas. International humanitarian organisations have refused to provide such information because such a breach of confidentiality could violate the humanitarian principle to do no harm by endangering those beneficiaries. Commenting on the halt of military aid to Cameroon by the United States due to human right abuses, RI said it welcomes these condemnations of the role of Cameroonian security forces in the crisis but is disappointed they have not been accompanied by sufficiently increased funding for relief to cope with the humanitarian consequences of those violations. Although embassy staff from other countries claim to be practicing quiet diplomacy on this issue believing a bilateral approach is the best way to get Cameroonian leadership to rectify its behaviour very few of these countries have provided humanitarian funds for the Northwest and Southwest, it noted. Dr Jonathan Fielden, 55, watched the teenager through a hole in the ceiling at a private residence in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire for around 20 seconds before the girl spotted the pervert A former NHS doctor who spied on a naked 15-year-old girl taking a shower has avoided jail despite admitting doing it for his own sexual pleasure. Dr Jonathan Fielden, 55, watched the teenager through a hole in the ceiling at a private residence in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire for around 20 seconds before the girl spotted the pervert. The ex-medical director's sick act has left his glittering career in tatters after he was stripped of his licence to practice medicine. But the sex offender, whose previous 224,999 salary once made him one of the highest paid doctors in the country, was today handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting a charge of voyeurism. Fielden, of Regents Mews, Biddenham near Bedford, traumatised the victim to the extent that for weeks she could not bring herself to take showers, according to prosecutor Kate Fortescue. She eventually told other members of her family what had happened and, in December 2016, Fielden was arrested. At Luton Crown Court, Judge Richard Foster said: 'It's tragic to see you, a man of such brilliance in your career - a hardworking man at the pinnacle of your career, responsible for a substantial part of the NHS budget - to fall from grace in the way you have because of what you stupidly did.' Miss Fortescue said he had watched the teenager for 15 to 20 seconds, and went on: 'He looked down a ventilation pipe and watched her shower for his own sexual gratification.' She said that, since the incident, Fielden had taken steps himself to address his offending behaviour by having counselling. The ex-medical director's sick act has left his glittering career in tatters after he was stripped of his licence to practice medicine Judge Foster was told that when the girl's mother found out what had happened, it had deeply affected her own mental health and she had been prescribed anti depressants. The court was told that following the arrest of the doctor, his mobile phone was examined. Websites visited, said Miss Fortescue, featured underage girls and child sex abuse images. But barrister Alexandra Felix said: 'He accepts he hit upon them while looking at adult pornography.' She added: 'He accepts it shouldn't have happened, but it did, but not because of any concerted effort to do it. Circumstances arose for it to happen. 'If he had diverted his eyes immediately, it wouldn't have happened.' She said Fielden had had a high pressure job and been under 'particular stresses' which caused a 'loss of judgment.' Miss Felix added: 'The destruction he has brought about on himself he accepts is of his own doing.' She described Fielden as 'dedicated to his calling.' Fielden was today handed a suspended prison sentence at Luton Crown Court (stock image) after admitting a charge of voyeurism Judge Foster sentenced the doctor to five months imprisonment, which he suspended for 12 months and ordered he carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay costs of 3500 and must attend 30 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days. He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and his name will go on the sex Offenders' register. Following his arrest Fielden, who had been privately-educated at Bedford School before going to Bristol University, was suspended and later resigned as deputy medical director and director of specialised commissioning at NHS England. He had been Chairman between 2006 and 2009 of the Central Consultants and Specialists Committee of the British Medical Association. Fielden led the Care Quality Commission team which inspected Hinchingbrooke Hospital in 2014. He was appointed director of specialised commissioning at NHS England in October 2015. Subsequently, he was reckoned by the Health Service Journal to be the 49th most influential person in the English NHS in 2015. The Supreme Court declined to act on a Trump Administration request to speed up review of court rulings on its move to end protections for DACA recipients, keeping yet another immigration policy in limbo. The administration had sought an expedited review following lower-court decisions on the phased ending of the Obama-era program of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Although the high court still could intervene, the decision effectively pushes the matter off beyond the court's summer recess. The Supreme Court declined to act on a Trump Administration request to speed up review of lower court rulings on DACA recipients The administration announced the phased-out ending of the policy back in 2017, but immediately faced court challenges from states and DACA recipients arguing it violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The policy provides protection from deportation from people who were brought to the country illegally as children. The program has provided protection from deportation to about 700,000 so-called DREAMers. The Trump administration has run into court setbacks on a number of its immigration policies Palloma Jovita, 22, a senior at Framingham state, is humbled by a second round of applause after speaking during Immigrants Day at the Massachusetts State House in Boston on April 4, 2018. She is a DACA recipient and the only member of her family whose immigration status is in question Jessica, left, and Stephanie Ramirez, DACA beneficiaries, hold a photo of their mom and dad while posing for a photo in Haltom City, Texas, on May 8, 2018. Their dad was deported and their mom chose to go with him. They haven't seen her in four years The administration asked for speedy reconsideration in May after suffering adverse rulings in lower federal courts. 'The government has been required to sanction indefinitely an ongoing violation of federal law,' argued U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco, NBC News reported. 'And the very existence of this pending litigation continues to impede efforts to enact legislation addressing these issues.' The Trump administration has suffered legal setbacks in other areas of immigration policy including the travel ban. House Judiciary Committee Democrats haven't secured testimony from Robert Mueller or Attorney General Bill Barr but have lined up a series of hearings on the Mueller report and will feature Nixon White House counsel John Dean. Facing White House opposition to providing witnesses and testimony, with with Special Counsel Mueller revealing his reticence to go beyond a brief public statement, Judiciary Chairman Jerold Nadler announced the hearings Monday. The first will be titled: 'Lessons from the Mueller Report: Presidential Obstruction and Other Crimes.' Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is launching a series of hearings on the Mueller report It will focus on multiple cases of potential obstruction of justice probed by Mueller. Barr announced a decision not to charge President Trump with any crime after Mueller declined to make such a determination, citing internal Justice Department Guidelines on charging a sitting president and stating principle of fairness in leveling such a charge. Democrats are anxious to keep the public's focus on special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report, even as Mueller goes quiet and the White House repeatedly claims the report exonerated the president. With Mueller planning to head to the sidelines, Democrats will rely on Dean to try to make headlines. Dean delivered riveting 1973 testimony that helped reveal the existence of White House tapes. He testified that he knew key details of the Watergate cover-up that would eventually force Nixon's resignation. John Dean, former White House counsel to President Nixon, attends a hearing on the nomination of federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Hart Senate Office Building on September 7, 2018 in Washington, DC Former Presidential Aide John Dean III testifies for the second day before the Senate Watergate Investigating Committee. Photographed June 26, 1973 in Washington, DC Nadler said Monday that his panel will hold a series of hearings on 'the alleged crimes and other misconduct' in Mueller's report, starting with a hearing June 10 on whether President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice. The first hearing will feature Dean, who was White House counsel for President Richard Nixon, and former U.S. attorneys. 'Russia attacked our elections to help President Trump win, Trump and his campaign welcomed this help and the president then tried to obstruct the investigation into the attack,' Nadler said in a statement. 'Mueller confirmed these revelations and has now left Congress to pick up where he left off.' Special counsel Robert Muller speaks at the Department of Justice Wednesday, May 29, 2019, in Washington, about the Russia investigation. He said any testimony would not go beyond his report Attorney General William Barr refused to appear before the Judiciary Committee, citing the panel's decision to allow committee lawyers to question him on the Mueller report President Donald Trump has continued to attack the Mueller probe since the release of the report Amid pressure from a growing number of Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings, other hearings will focus on 'targeted legislative, oversight and constitutional remedies designed to respond to these matters,' according to Nadler. The hearings will serve as a stand-in of sorts for Mueller himself, who made clear in public comments last week that he does not want to appear before Congress and would not elaborate on the contents of his report if he were forced to testify. Democrats have suggested they will compel Mueller's appearance if necessary, but it's unclear when - or if - that will happen. Negotiations over Mueller's testimony are ongoing. In the meantime, Democrats are searching for ways to keep the spotlight fixed on Mueller's investigation - a challenge compounded by the White House's refusal to comply with request for documents and testimony related to the report, which has stymied their investigations. Mueller investigated whether Trump tried to obstruct his probe, but the report reached no conclusion on whether the president acted illegally. Nadler said in a statement that Mueller 'has now left Congress to pick up where he left off.' Mueller said as much in his brief comments last week. The special counsel reiterated that, bound by Justice Department policy, charging a sitting president with a crime was 'not an option.' But he also stressed he could not exonerate Trump. Instead, he said, 'The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system' - a clear nod to the oversight powers of Congress. More than 40 House Democrats have called on Nadler to open an impeachment inquiry, which would make it easier for them to compel document production and testimony. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has so far rejected that option, preferring a slower, more methodical approach to investigating the president. Republicans criticized the decision to hold hearings, with North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows calling the move 'another openly desperate move to resuscitate a dead collusion conspiracy.' Mueller's report did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in Trump's favor. But Democrats have said they will continue to investigate some of Trump's Russian contacts. 'Thank goodness the Democrats are calling 'Watergate Star' John Dean to testify,' Meadows tweeted sarcastically. Dean ultimately cooperated with prosecutors and helped bring down Nixon's presidency, though he served a prison term for obstruction of justice. Russia has withdrawn most of 'its people' from Venezuela, President Trump has said - in a sign of weakening support for socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Hundreds of contractors for Russian state defense contractor Rostec, which had been acting as key defence advisers to the president and to Venezuela's military, have left the South American country, according to the Wall Street Journal. It comes almost a month after US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido tried and failed to oust Maduro, who is supported by Moscow. 'Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela,' Trump tweeted Monday afternoon. President Donald Trump said Russia removed most of their forces from Venezuela a little over a month after violent clashes broke out between the government and opposition efforts Trump's tweet came after reports that hundreds of contractors for Russia's state defence firm Rostec had left Venezuela because the state could no longer pay them to be there Guaido declared himself the legitimate president of Veneuzela following what many saw as illegitimate elections last year that gave Maduro another term in power. Since then, Guaido has won the backing of most western nations by promising to oust Maduro and install a transitional government until fresh elections can be held. Moscow continues to support Maduro - having invested billions in his government - creating fear of a proxy conflict between the US and Russia. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking on behalf of President Trump, has said America is willing to oust Maduro by force if necessary. Meanwhile John Bolton, national security adviser, has warned Moscow that 'we expect the Russians not to interfere in Venezuela.' Nicolas Maduro's regime had taken in around 1,000 Rostec contractors at the height of cooperation between Moscow and Caracas around two years ago. But the Russian company has now cut its staff to just a few dozen, amid reports that Maduro was struggling to pay his debts. Chronic mismanagement of Venezuela's oil reserves - the largest in the world - has seen the country's economy all-but collapse, with rampant hyper-inflation, food shortages and power outages. Venezuela was South America's richest nation under Maduro's predecessor and mentor, Hugo Chavez. Rostec had worked with Venezuelan troops and advised Maduro's regime as well as helped to secure arms deals. The move will be seen as a sign of Moscow's weakening support for Venezuela, a month after US-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido tried and failed to seize power (pictured) Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) backs incumbent president Maduro and the Trump administration backs his opponent, Juan Guaido Guiado announced the start of Operation Libertad to oust Maduro last month, hoping the military was about to defect to his side, but the effort failed (pictured, street protests) On April 30, Guaido urged local military that were on the side of the opposition to rise up against the government in a video released that day from Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The effort, dubbed Operacion Libertad, which translates to Operation Freedom, was supposed to be the final phase of the plans to overthrow Maduro. Top U.S. officials, including Trump, Bolton, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly voiced support for Guido and the opposition. After the effort was unsuccessful, reports emerged that Trump was displeased with Bolton's advice. The Washington Post said that, according to sources, Trump felt he was misled into believing the opposition would be successful. Trump denied the reports and said, 'John's very good, and John has strong views on things, but that's OK.' The president also admitted that Bolton is even more aggressive than he is on national security and foreign policy issues. I actually temper John, which is pretty amazing, isn't it? I'm the one that tempers him,' Trump marveled. 'I like John, I get very good advice from John.' Russia wasn't the only country the U.S. was concerned would get involved with the clashes in Venezuela. During the height of the confrontations between Venezuela government and its people, Trump threatened he would issue a 'full and complete embargo' on Cuba if it did not cease military operations in the nation. The president accused the Caribbean nation of propping Maduro a claim the Cuban government challenged. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez called Bolton a 'pathological liar' for his claims that some 20,000 Cubans in Venezuela are providing security support for Maduro. Rodriguez said those few ten thousand Cubans are mostly medical workers. 'That State Department memorandum says Cuban special forces were deployed to the border between Colombia and Venezuela to engage in provocative military exercises. That's a lie. I invite them to provide evidence,' Rodriguez said at a news conference April 25. A Pennsylvania motorcyclist became an avian hero after he rescued an injured bald eagle that was trapped in the middle of a highway. Dandon Miller, 34, of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, was heading home from Philadelphia on his motorcycle on May 25 when he noticed that traffic had slowed down ahead of him on Route 30 near Downington, Pennsylvania. When he pulled off to the side to see what the problem was, he realized that traffic was being held up because people were trying to avoid hitting an injured bald eagle that was stranded in the middle of a highway lane. Dandon Miller, 34, was on his motorcycle on a Pennsylvania highway when he discovered that an injured bald eagle had stopped traffic. He quickly picked it up and carried it to safety Cars had been slowing down to avoid hitting the eagle that was trapped on the highway 'Another person was there and they kind of nudged her a little bit to see if she would walk off the road or fly away,' Miller told The Dodo. The eagle 'spread her wings open and was not going to go anywhere.' Having determined that the eagle was too injured to fly off, Miller decided to move the bird out of traffic while waiting for help. To do so, he wrapped his red and black flannel shirt his favorite article of clothing around the bird of prey to protect himself from her talons as he picked her up. Surprisingly, when he held the 15-pound eagle, 'she was very calm,' but Miller noted that the bird got 'a little worked up when people started wanting to take pictures, but we were able to get that under control.' 'It was an amazing feeling, to be able to pick up a bald eagle,' Miller told Lancaster Online. 'Its a massive creature you never imagine being able to hold in your hands or being able to help out.' It took about 45 minutes for help to arrive after Miller called 911. During that time, Miller said that he tried to keep the bird calm and reassure her that she was safe. Miller wrapped his shirt around the bird to protect himself from her talons and then held on to her while he called 911 and waited for rescuers from Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. PETA gave Miller (pictured) a 'Compassionate Action Award' Friday, in recognition for his efforts to save the eagle Tri-State Bird Rescue said that the 15-pound adult eagle (shown) had a wing injury sutured while under anesthesia and her other abrasions were also cleaned The eagle (shown) was said to be able to feed herself and was being closely monitored by staff. who anticipate that the bird will make a full recovery When a rescuer from local wild bird rehabilitation center Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. arrived, the eagle was disentangled from Miller's shirt and put into a cardboard box for transportation to the center's facilities. Tri-State Bird Rescue told The Dodo that the eagle suffered a mild injury to one eye, in addition to soft tissue injuries, but that there were no broken bones. The organization is optimistic that the eagle will make a full recovery. The organization wrote on Facebook that the adult eagle had had a wing injury sutured while under anesthesia and her other abrasions were also cleaned. She was said to be able to feed herself and was being closely monitored by staff. On Friday, PETA gave Miller its 'Compassionate Action Award' in recognition for his efforts to save the eagle. 'Dandon Miller showed selflessness and compassion by literally taking the shirt off his back to help an injured bird,' PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said in a press release. Tri-State Bird Rescue said that Miller's eagle was the 45th that had been admitted to the clinic since the beginning of 2019. Those looking to donate to the non-profit organization, which treats about 2,800 wild birds annually, can do so here in honor of what is being called the Downingtown eagle. The Navy is planning to launch a Goliath 50-ton underwater drone capable of waging war beneath the ocean's surface - making it one of the most sophisticated marine weapons ever designed. A $43 million contract with Boeing is set to produce four 'Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle' Orca's which will carry high-tech sensors and perform a variety of underwater duties to assist manned military vessels around the globe. If required the robot submarines will be able to fire torpedoes as well as conduct surveillance and provide support to other Navy vessels at depths of up to 11,000 feet. The Navy is planning to launch a 50-ton underwater drone capable of waging war beneath the ocean's surface - making it one of the most sophisticated marine weapons ever designed In addition, the drones will gather intelligence and be able to either place or remove underwater mines, clearing the way for submarines to pass. The Orca is based on Boeing's previous two UUVs, the Echo Voyager and Echo Ranger undersea drones but has adopted an advanced 'shrouded propulsor' rather than typical propeller, which is proven to be quieter on the move. Because of its capabilities, the drone will not be small enough to fit in a submarine launch tube, meaning it will be launched from land, but will 'instantly introduce a new realm of combat strategies and tactics,' according to Capt. Pete Small. The Navy will accelerate integration of medium and larger undersea drones, which will include launching and recovering multi-mission undersea drones from submarine torpedo tubes. A $43 million contract with Boeing is set to produce four 'Extra Large Unmanned Undersea Vehicle' Orca's which will carry high-tech sensors and perform a variety of underwater duties to assist manned military vessels around the globe (pictured is the predecessor the Echo) This Navy graphic displays the range of underwater designs the military has or will introduce 'An environmental sensing UUV (Unmanned Undersea Vehicle) will be hosted on a submarine, and we will develop torpedo tube launch and recovery for that medium size,' Small said. The construction strategy for the Orca is to engineer a new 'upgradeable,' multi-mission drone able to quickly integrate new technology and payloads as they emerge. This technical platform could reduce the need for the Navy to build new undersea drones in the future. The concept, when it comes to application, could involve newer, upgraded sonar, networking systems, new weapons and anti mine technologies. There is currently no date for when the drones will enter service. Advertisement Nineteen wine butlers, an army of chefs, sixteen royals and one US President: it was the perfect recipe for a State Banquet. Queen Elizabeth II laid on the grandest of welcomes to Donald Trump and his entourage last night, the highest of honours possible for a visiting head of state. The President led the 170 guests who were treated to a lavish feast of halibut, lamb and strawberry sable amidst the splendour of the Buckingham Palace ballroom. As expected although something of a first by royal standards as well as wife Melania, the US president brought four of his five children to the banquet: Ivanka, Eric, Donald Junior and Tiffany. Pictured: Guests stand for beginning of the State Banquet for Donald Trump in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace in central London last night U.S. President Donald Trump sits with Queen Elizabeth at the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in London last night as the Republican was granted the highest honour possible for the monarch to give a visiting world leader Top table: The guest list for the table that hosted the Queen and Donald Trump also included top royals and US officials Pictured: First Lady Melania Trump walks alongside Prince Charles as they enter the ballroom for the State Banquet to welcome the US President Prince William sat alongside Theresa May at last night's State Banquet to welcome US President Donald Trump to Buckingham Palace ahead of D-Day commemorations The Duchess of Cambridge and United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin arrive through the East Gallery during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace Guests take their seats for the State Banquet with Donald Trump as Buckingham Palace welcomed the US President to the ballroom last night The US Ambassador Woody Johnson was accompanied by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at the State Banquet last night Finding common ground: Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were paired with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Princess Anne respectively Fit for a Queen: The menu - personally chosen by Her Majesty - that was served to President Trump and the 170 guests US National Security Advisor John Bolton (2L) arrive through the East Gallery during a State Banquet in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace A steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse, asparagus spears and chervil sauce served as the banquet's starter, followed by a saddle of new season Windsor lamb with herb stuffing, spring vegetables and port sauce. Dessert was a strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream - made of crisp biscuits, smooth pastry cream and fresh fruit. But what the guests found to talk about between mouthfuls can only be the subject of imagination. The seating plan on the 171-place horseshoe-shaped table at which wine including a 1,400-a-bottle Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990 was served alongside a 34.99 Windsor Great Park 2014 for the toasts was fascinating. On the top table Mr Trump was sandwiched between the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall, who has been described by US Ambassador Robert 'Woody' Johnson as 'a riot'. Mrs Trump was placed between the Prince of Wales and the Lord Speaker, Lord Fowler, who attended despite the absence of his counterpart, Commons Speaker John Bercow. London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also a no-show, but the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Peter Estlin, was there next to the Duchess of Cambridge. Her husband, the Duke of Cambridge, was sat next to Prime Minister Theresa May, presumably at her last State banquet. Here Trump is pictured with the ladies of the evening, his daughter Ivanka, right, Tiffany, left, and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, far left, as his children documented their Buckingham Palace visit on Instagram All four of Donald Trump 's adult children attended the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on Monday night; L-R: Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump Eric Trump shared a snap with his wife Lara ahead of the event (left) and Don Jr. smiled in the back of a van as he showed off his tux on the way there (right) Snap-happy Ivanka has been documenting her trip on Instagram Pictured: A member of the Royal staff prepares one of the tables inside the ballroom of Buckingham Palace ahead of the State Banquet for Donald Trump, which took place last night The lavish setting was inspected by the Queen herself after staff had laid the tables in Buckingham Palace, spacing cutlery evenly apart and topping laying intricate candle holders next to place settings Each setting was laboriously laid out ahead of Donald Trumps State Banquet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace, where plates had to be precisely 18cm apart Pictured: Flowers are trimmed to be laid out for the president along with about 170 guests at Buckingham Palace for Donald Trump's State Banquet A bouquet is placed atop a table in Buckingham Palace's ballroom ahead of the State Banquet for US President Donald Trump last night Pictured: A Royal staff member fixes a candle into its holder as she lays place settings ahead of the State Banquet for Donald Trump, who was honoured by the Queen last night in Buckingham Palace's ballroom President Donald Trump makes a speech as Queen Elizabeth II listens during a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. The President spoke of the sacrifice made by British and American soldiers on D-Day The Queen is pictured viewing a state banquet table prepared for a summer opening of the palace. She would have inspected place settings ahead of Donald Trump's visit in the same manner A member of staff inspects a wine glass on the table, where place settings must be precisely the same distant apart from one another as do chairs Staff members lay the state banquet table as part of a display for the Buckingham Palace revealing how the formal dinners settings appear Pictured: The view President Trump enjoyed last night from the top table of the ballroom at Buckingham Palace, which was the setting for the President's State Banquet Also sat on the top table was Baroness Hale, the first female president of the UK's Supreme Court. Mr Trump's outspoken eldest son Donald Junior, 41, was sandwiched between Lady Bamford and Susan Hammond, wife of Chancellor Philip Hammond. The so-called 'First Daughter' Ivanka Trump, 37, was placed between International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the Countess of Wessex. Tiffany Trump, 25, the president's daughter by model Marla Maples, was paired with Mark Tucker, the chairman of HSBC, and Edward Young, the Queen's private secretary and most senior aide. Big game hunter Eric Trump, 35, had the pleasure of the company of Dame Vivian Hunt, chairman of British/American Business, and Janet Tucker, wife of the HSBC chairman. Other guests included Princess Anne, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Earl of Wessex and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, as well as a slew of senior White House appointees, including National Security Advisor John Bolton and press secretary Sarah Huckerbee Sanders. US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall enter the ballroom for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace Another interesting pairing was made with Princess Anne, who was escorted into dinner by Jared Kushner, the husband of Ivanka and one of the president's senior advisors. A RIGHT ROYAL GUEST LIST Sixteen members of the royal family attended the State Banquet. They were: The Queen The Prince of Wales with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Andrew, Duke of York The Earl and Countess of Wessex The Princess Royal with Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester The Duke of Kent Prince and Princess Michael of Kent Princess Alexandra Advertisement The Duke of Sussex, who was at the private lunch earlier, was noticeably absent, as was the Duchess of Sussex, who is on maternity leave looking after their four-week-old son, Archie. The state banquet saw 171 guests in the palace ballroom, eating from the Grand Service of silver gilt underneath vast floral displays of pink peonies and roses and the golden State Candelabrum. Each place setting had six glasses amounting to 1,026 piece of Royal Brierley Crystal and E II R embroidered napkins, folded like Dutch bonnets. The menu was designed to show off the best of British. Preparations in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace begin as close to the event as possible with every dish handmade from scratch. Mr Trump is known to have a sweet tooth, so he was likely to have enjoyed the pudding strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream made of crisp biscuits, smooth pastry cream and fresh strawberries. The Queen earlier inspected the ballroom in person to make sure everything was perfect for her visitors. Napkins were folded in the shape of a Dutch bonnet. The six glasses at each setting were for water, a champagne toast, red and white wines, a dessert wine and port. However, a teetotal Mr Trump was not expected to sample the wines on offer. A special red velvet cushion was ready on Charles' chair to help ease his back pain. Every place setting was 18 inches apart, with measuring sticks used to ensure precision. Preparation began six months before the event and it took palace staff four days to lay the table. Nineteen stations were set up around the table, each manned by four staff - a page, footman, under butler and a wine butler - who used a traffic light system to co-ordinate the serving of courses. The event operated with military precision. It took staff one hour and 15 minutes to serve the banquet and about one hour and 30 minutes to clear away afterwards. A 33-year-old father died last week after saving his five-year-old daughter from a dog that attacked her outside an Iowa home. Robert Joseph Quick was attacked by a large male boxer while protecting his daughter. According to a GoFundMe account set up by a family friend, Quick had a heart attack at the scene by the time EMT's got to him. Robert Joseph Quick (pictured with his two daughters), 33, died on Friday after saving his five-year-old daughter from a dog that attacked her outside an Iowa home According to a GoFundMe account set up by a family friend, Quick had a heart attack at the scene by the time EMT's got to him. Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber said Quick, of Dallas City, Illinois, was one of three people attacked Friday by the 'aggressive' dog outside a Fort Madison home. Weber said officers had to shoot the large animal because it wouldn't release a 49-year-old man who was pinned on his back in the front yard. That victim suffered superficial wounds and possibly a stress related cardiac emergency. First responders found the wounded Quick lying in the home's doorway. He was suffering from multiple bite wounds to his arms and legs. Weber said Quick asked medics to first help his daughter, who had been bitten on the face. Lee County Sheriff Stacy Weber said Quick, of Dallas City, Illinois, was one of three people attacked Friday by the 'aggressive' boxer (file image) outside a Fort Madison home. Weber said officers had to shoot the large animal because it wouldn't release another man in the yard She said that Quick 'undoubtedly saved her life by his actions'. All three victims were taken to Fort Madison Community Hospital, where Quick was pronounced dead. Weber didn't say what actions Quick had taken nor did she provide the names of the other man and the girl. The family's GoFundMe account was set up to help with Quick's funeral expenses. It's unclear what led up to the attack and authorities are still investigating. Thomas 'Tommy' Gilbert Jr, who is accused of murdering his own father, was kicked out of court and dragged out of his trial shouting 'objection!' on Monday. It was just the latest of more than two dozen outbursts the 34-year-old Princeton graduate has made in his trial where he stands accused of killing his investment banker father Thomas Gilbert Sr in January 2015. On Monday the annoyed Justice Melissa Jackson finally booted him from the courtroom after giving him several warnings over the week to end his interruptions, but later conceded and gave him one last chance to re-enter. He went off during a testimony by NYPD Detective Darryl NG about how police handle emotionally disturbed people, triggering Gilbert to starting yelling 'objection!' Thomas 'Tommy' Gilbert Jr, who is accused of murdering his own father, was kicked out of court and dragged out of his trial shouting 'objection!' on Monday. Pictured above in court on Tuesday May 28 for his murder trial On Monday the annoyed Justice Melissa Jackson finally booted him from the courtroom after giving him several warnings over the week to end his interruptions. Pictured above on Tuesday May 28 Throughout Monday's meeting he launched several outbursts yelling 'I'd like to ask to suppress the evidence' and other unintelligible phrases. Gilbert Jr pictured above on Tuesday He launched a lengthy, nonsensical tirade exclaiming, 'I'd like to ask to suppress the evidence' and other unintelligible legal phrases. 'Thank you, your application is denied,' Justice Jackson said, excusing the jury for a break and ordering Gilbert Jr to be removed from the courtroom, according to the New York Post. Three officers then dragged the defendant out as he continued to yell 'constitutional court misconduct as well as prosecutorial misconduct'. Police arrested Thomas Gilbert Sr's son on a murder charge after they say he went to his father's Manhattan apartment, shot him in the head after an argument about money, and tried to make it look like a suicide on January 4, 2015 Monday marked the fourth day of testimony in Gilbert's trial where his own mother took the stand against him and recalled how she found her husband's crumpled body on the ground in their upscale Manhattan apartment. Just last week in court on May 29 he was reprimanded by Judge Jackson for his outbursts. 'It is extremely disruptive. This is my final warning to you,' she said on Wednesday. Tommy is believed to have killed his investment banker father in January 4, 2015 in a dispute over his $600 allowance, which his dad cut by $200 and because he stopped paying the Princeton graduate's rent. He allegedly killed him by pressing a .40 caliber Glock 'tightly' to his father's head. Evidence shows that Gilbert Jr had allegedly searched websites including Hireakiller.com and hitman.com. On the day of the gruesome killing he allegedly asked his mother to get him a sandwich and while she was out, he fired at his fire, then tried to make it appear to be a suicide. Financial records aired in court suggest that Gilbert Sr. was not as financially flush as some believed. He was thought to be worth $200million at the time of his death. In fact he had just $10,000 in stocks and bonds, less than $20,000 in cash and retirement funds and some $500,000 in 'miscellaneous assets.' It is not clear if Gilbert Jr. was aware of any of this when he went to have his conversation with the older man that day. His mother Shelley Gilbert (pictured leaving court Tuesday) testified against her son Tuesday and Wednesday as the court heard her 911 call after finding her dead husband and pointed to her son as the murderer Gilbert Jr's 2019 appearance in court is a far cry from how he looked when he was arrested Gilbert's defense lawyer Arnold Levine has asked the judge for a competency exam. 'Hes the worst shes ever seen him,' Levine said. Over the weekend his mother Shelley Gilbert, 72, visited him in jail and says he began to bizarrely rant about Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. That request was denied but Jackson said she'd give Gilbert one last chance and let him back in to attend his own trial. 'I dont want any more outbursts in the courtroom whether to the jury, to myself, to the prosecutor or to the witnesses,' she reprimanded. Prosecutors say that Gilbert was a spoiled rich kid who became vindictive when his dad slashed his allowance. But his defense attorney says he suffers from schizophrenia and was in the midst of a psychotic break down when he shot his father dead with a .40 caliber Glock to the head. His mother Shelley has also spoken about how her son's mental health deteriorated when he was in the 11th grade and how one symptom of his OCD was that he became obsessed with 'contamination'. George Nader, who was a key witness in FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russian election meddling investigation, has been arrested in New York and charged with bringing child pornography into the US for a second time. Nader has been accused of bringing the materials into the US in January of 2018. He was taken into custody at John F Kennedy International Airport on Monday. Prosecutors say the 60-year-old Lebanese-American businessman had a cell phone in his possession at that time that contained visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This is the second time Nader has been implicated for possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to an identical charge in Virginia in 1991 and was registered as a sex offender. George Nader, a key witness in FBI Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, was arrested on Monday in New York and charged with bringing child pornography into the US for a second time. Prosecutors say the Lebanese-American businessman (pictured in 1998) was found in possession of a cell phone with 12 videos of underage boys engaged in sexually explicit conduct when he flew into Washington, DC, from Dubai in January of 2018 Nader was questioned in Mueller's probe due to his role as a sort of unofficial liaison between Washington politicians, supporters of then-President-elect Donald Trump, Middle Eastern officials and Russians hoping to connect with Trump's administration in early 2017, according to the Washington Post. His grand jury testimony came after a December 2016 meeting at New York's Trump Tower that he attended with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner, former chief strategist Steve Bannon and Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi. An affidavit filed in federal court in Virginia describes the contents of 12 videos allegedly found on Nader's iPhone 7 in vivid, shocking detail. They featured sexual acts with at least 12 young boys estimated to be between the ages of two and 14 years old. The videos were discovered when Nader was questioned by Customs and Border Protection agents at Washington-Dulles International Airport after arriving on a flight from Dubai on January 17, 2018. The child pornography charges were initially filed in April 2018 but were not unsealed until his arrest on Monday at JFK. Nader was questioned in the Mueller probe due to his role as a sort of unofficial liaison between Washington politicians, supporters of then-President-elect Donald Trump (pictured on May 24 departing the White House), Middle Eastern officials and Russians hoping to connect with Trump's administration in early 2017 Nader was convicted of a child sexual abuse charge 28 years ago, also for transporting child pornography. He pleaded guilty to that charge in Virginia in 1991 and was given a reduced sentence for that crime after private arguments were made before the court about his valuable role in national security affairs, as he worked to attempt to free US hostages then held in Lebanon. If convicted of the same charge again, Nader will face a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years. Calls to attorneys who represented Nader in connection with his grand jury testimony were not immediately returned on Monday. How firefighters battled to save SONARA Twitter Following very high instructions from Cameroons President Paul Biya, the countrys Prime Minister, Head of Government Dion Ngute Joseph has chaired a crisis meeting Sunday, June 2, 2019, after the lone National Oil Refinery (SONARA) was razed down by wild flames on Friday night. Though separatists have since taken turns to claim responsibility for the fire outbreak, government insists that the fire resulted from a technical fault, citing preliminary investigations. After the meeting attended by Government ministers and General Managers concerned by the fire incident at SONARA, three cabinet ministers have in a press conference reassured Cameroonians that measures have been taken to ensure that they are not affected by the unfortunate accident at the countrys refining company. The ministers at Sundays joint press briefing were: Minister of Communication Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Minister of Energy and Water Gaston Eloundou Essomba, and Minister of Trade Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana. They assure the countrys public that the prices of petroleum products will not change in Cameroon despite the effects of the fire incident on the National Refining Company, SONARA. The President of the Board of Directors of SONARA Ndoh Bertha, the General Manager of the Petroleum Products Distribution Company, SCDP, Veronique Mompea, and the General Manager of the Hydrocarbons Price Stabilization Fund, CSPH, Okie Johnson Ndoh participated in the joint press conference. The different officials took turns to shed light on the fire incident at SONARA. Governments spokesman, Rene Emmanuel Sadi said preliminary reports indicate that the fire resulted from a technical fault and investigations are ongoing to establish the exact cause. He said the President of the Republic, Paul Biya has instructed the continuance of the modernization of the National Refining Company, adding that no effort shall be spared to restore this vital company. The Minister of Energy and Water, Gaston Eloundou Essomba who traveled to Limbe on Saturday after the incident to ensure that the damage was efficiently contained said four out of the 13 production units at SONARA had been destroyed by the blaze. The Energy Minister said the Management of SONARA has been instructed to outline the possible causes of the accident. He indicated that government will employ a specialized firm to evaluate the damage and make recommendations for rehabilitation. The Minister said the rehabilitation process can last 12 months. In the meantime, SONARA will ensure the supply of petroleum products to the Cameroonian market through importation. Measures have also been taken to ensure continuous and steady supply. The first shipment is expected in Cameroon by Tuesday, June 4, 2019. The Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana assured consumers that the accident notwithstanding, the prices of fuel products remain unchanged. They currently stand at: Petrol: 630 FCFA Diesel: 575 FCFA Kerosene: 350 FCFA Domestic Gas: 6,500FCFA for 12,5 Kg bottle. Control teams will be on the field to ensure that prices are respected and remain unchanged, they added. The President of the Board of Directors of SONARA said Work at the National Refining Company continues as usual and workers are expected to be at work this Monday, June 3, 2019. Advertisement President Donald Trump toasted the 'eternal friendship' on the United States and the United Kingdom and the 'great, great' Queen of England on Monday evening at a state banquet in London's Buckingham Palace. Trump hailed Queen Elizabeth II's seven decades of leadership in a personal tribute to the monarch who's hosting him in London this week ahead of events in England and France commemorating the 75th anniversary D-Day. 'On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations, and to the long-cherished and truly remarkable reign of her majesty, the Queen,' he said. Neither the U.S. president nor her majesty the queen commented directly thorny issues of the day outright that have complicated each nation's relationship with its European allies. The leaders spoke in code, with Trump invoking Britain's longstanding commitment to 'self-determination' and the queen stressing the value of international institutions that were created to 'safeguard a hard-won peace' in dinner speeches affirming the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. President Donald Trump toasted the 'eternal friendship' on the United States and the United Kingdom and the 'great, great' Queen of England on Monday evening at a state banquet in London 's Buckingham Palace US President Donald Trump, left and Queen Elizabeth II laugh, during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, in London, Monday, June 3, 2019. Trump is on a three-day state visit to Britain. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool Photo via AP) President Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth II and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at a state dinner at Buckingham Palace BIG BANQUET: officials from both nations gathered Monday evening at Buckingham Palace for a grand dinner Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (R) walks with US First Lady Melania Trump as they arrive through the East Gallery STATE DINNER MENU Steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse, asparagus spears and chervil sauce. Saddle of new season Windsor lamb with herb stuffing, spring vegetables, port sauce. Strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream. Selection of assorted fresh fruits. Coffee and petit fours Wines included: Windsor Great Park 2014 and Chassange-Montrachet 1er Cru Morgeot 2014 Domaine Duc de Magenta, Monopole Clos de la Chapelle, Louis Jadot, Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990 1er Cru Classe, Pauillac and Hambledon Classic Cuvee Rose NV Advertisement They appeared to genuinely enjoy one another's company, laughing and smiling at the dinner that took place on the first night of Trump's second visit to the U.K. Trump is visiting London this week in advance of a D-Day commemoration he'll attend on Wednesday in Portsmouth with the royal family. He flies to Normandy, France and Shannon, Ireland after that for additional events. He follows in the footsteps of previous U.S. presidents who've come to Europe for D-Day on major anniversaries of the World War that saw the U.S., U.K. and France fight side by side. The Queen worked as a mechanic and military truck driver in WWII and is the only living head of state who served in the global war. She said that June 6, the start of Europe's liberation, 'reminds us of all that our country has achieved together' in her dinner remarks. 'After the shared sacrifices of the Second World War, Britain and the United States worked with other allies to build an assembly of international institutions, to ensure that the horrors of conflict would never be repeated. While the world has changed, we are forever mindful of the original purpose of these structures: nations working together to safeguard a hard-won peace,' she said. She noted that common bonds between the U.S. and U.K. are affirmed through ancestry and tourism, with more than 4 million Americans coming to the U.K. who claim British heritage annually. 'And with your own Scottish ancestry, Mr. President, you too have a particular connection to this country,' she said of Trump's late mother. Queen Elizabeth II toasted to 'the continued friendship of our two nations' before Trump delivered prepared remarks, saying, 'Visits by American Presidents always remind us of the close and longstanding friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States, and I am so glad that we have another opportunity to demonstrate the immense importance that both our countries attach to our relationship.' 'Ladies and gentlemen, I invite you all to rise and drink a toast to President and Mrs. Trump, to the continued friendship between our two nations, and to the health, prosperity, and happiness of the people of the United States,' she said. Trump read from a binder to attendees, declaring himself 'profoundly honored' to be a guest of the Queen. He said she's given the United States 'seven decades of treasured friendship' and she's a 'great, great woman.' 'This evening we thank God for the brave sons of the United Kingdom and the United States who defeated the Nazis and the Nazi regime and liberated millions from tyranny. The bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great crusade,' he stated. Trump said he was toasting the nations' shared commitment to 'freedom, sovereignty, self determination, the rule of law' and God-given rights. 'From the second World War to today, her majesty has stood as a constant symbol of these priceless traditions. She has embodied the spirit of dignity, duty, and patriotism that beats proudly in every British heart,' he stated. 'This week we commemorate a might endeavor of righteous nations and one of the greatest undertakings in all of history,' he said. 'Seventy-five years ago, more than 150,000 Allied troop were preparing on this island to be parachuted into France, storm the beaches of Normandy, and win back our civilization.' Nazi planes dropped thousands of bombs on London, he reminded. 'Buckingham Palace alone was bombed on 16 separate occasions. In that dark hour, the people of this nation showed the world what it means to be British. Prime Minister Theresa May and the Duke of Cambridge, followed by the Duchess of Cambridge and United States Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin arrive at Monday's dinner. This will be May's last major event at prime minister 'They cleared wreckage from the streets, displayed the Union Jack from their shattered homes and kept fighting on to victory. They only wanted victory. The courage of the United Kingdom's sons and daughters ensured that your destiny would always remain in your own hands.' The president and first lady were joined at the banquet by all of Trump's adult children and their spouses - Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner; Don Jr.; Eric and Lara Trump; and Tiffany Trump - and senior officials that include U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and his wife Louise Linton. President Trump sat next to the Queen at the head of the table, while Charles, Prince of Wales, sat next to the Queen and first lady sat to the prince's left. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, anchored opposite ends of the head table. The dinner made for several odd pairings. Mnuchin accompanied the Duchess of Cambridge into the seated event, as William walked into The Ballroom of Buckingham Palace with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May. Other staff at the White House who had a seat at the table included acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, press secretary Sarah Sanders, counselor Kellyanne Conway, the first ladys spokesperson Stephanie Grisham, senior adviser Stephen Miller, social media manager Dan Scavino, and National Security Advisor John Bolton. Trump friend Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of conservative Newsmax Media, also attended. Each place setting marked its owner, except the Queen's seat, per tradition, at the horse-shoe shaped tables decorated with 23 floral sprays in shades of summer pink, including sweet peas, mixed peonies, sweet avalanche roses, stock, larkspur and mixed foliage. The menu consisted of four courses: Steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse, asparagus spears and chervil sauce; saddle of new season Windsor lamb with herb stuffing, spring vegetables, port sauce; strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream; selection of assorted fresh fruits; and coffee and petit fours. Jeremy Corbyn will speak at a mass rally against Donald Trump today amid a war of words with the US President. The Labour leader last night snubbed a state banquet for Mr Trump and his wife Melania at Buckingham Palace despite having attended a similar event to honour China's communist ruler. Instead Mr Corbyn will today address a London demonstration against the presence of the US head of state. Jeremy Corbyn will speak at a mass rally against Donald Trump amid a war of words with the US President Pictured: Donald Trump stands for his country's national anthem as it was played in Buckingham Palace ahead of his address in the ballroom at a banquet snubbed by Corbyn Mr Trump's three-day state visit to Britain began yesterday with a row between him and Sadiq Khan. London's Labour mayor had used a newspaper article at the weekend to accuse the President of resembling a '20th century fascist' Fellow Labour frontbenchers Diane Abbott and Emily Thornberry are expected to join protesters who will fly an offensive blimp portraying the President as an angry baby in a nappy. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt accused Mr Corbyn of 'virtue signalling of the worst kind', which he warned could harm the special relationship with the UK. Mr Trump's three-day state visit to Britain began yesterday with a row between him and Sadiq Khan. London's Labour mayor had used a newspaper article at the weekend to accuse the President of resembling a '20th century fascist'. After landing at Stansted Mr Trump blasted the mayor in a series of tweets, branding him a 'stone cold loser'. Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt accused Mr Corbyn of 'virtue signalling of the worst kind', which he warned could harm the special relationship with the UK Former Labour minister Kate Hoey criticised her party's hostile approach toward the President. Miss Hoey said she was 'saddened by the hysterical reaction' of some senior figures, adding: 'A democratically elected president of our closest ally should be welcomed whether we agree with his views or not.' In other developments: Mr Trump praised the Queen's 'fantastic' hospitality after a day of pomp and ceremony including lunch at the palace; Theresa May prepared for tense talks with Mr Trump over China, with allies insisting she had taken 'a tough stance' towards Beijing; A senior Whitehall official appeared to suggest Mrs May was braced to tell Mr Trump she will allow Chinese firm Huawei access to non-core parts of the 5G phone network; Mrs May was expected to clash with Mr Trump over Iran and the fate of British jihadis in Syria; The President promised a 'big trade deal' if the UK 'gets rid of the shackles' of European Union membership; After landing at Stansted Mr Trump blasted the mayor in a series of tweets, branding him a 'stone cold loser' Met Police Chief Cressida Dick predicted that today's anti-Trump protests will be smaller than last year's; Downing Street was expecting the US President to hold protocol-busting talks with Tory leadership favourite Boris Johnson; Nigel Farage is said to have briefed Mr Trump on Brexit ahead of a series of interviews in which he urged the UK to leave the EU without a deal; Downing Street denied claims that the US had cancelled a planned one-to-one meeting between Mr Trump and Mrs May. The first day of Mr Trump's state visit passed off without major protests today. The US President said the relationship with the United Kingdom was 'very strong' and claimed he had been greeted by 'tremendous crowds of well wishers' whose presence had not been reported by the 'fake news media'. But anti-Trump campaigners are pledging to put 'hundreds of thousands' of protesters on the streets today. Mr Corbyn, who has spent decades campaigning against American influence around the world, yesterday claimed the protest was an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those Mr Trump has attacked in America, around the world and in our own country. Sadiq Khan earlier posted a video criticising Donald Trump, escalating his war of words with the President His decision came despite a warning from Mr Trump at the weekend that intelligence sharing with the UK could be threatened under a hard-Left Labour government unless Mr Corbyn made efforts to get along with Washington. Former Australian high commissioner Alexander Downer compared Mr Corbyn's anti-American stance with his willingness to don white tie for a state banquet in honour of Chinese ruler Xi Jinping in 2015. He added: 'I talked to Jeremy Corbyn at the state banquet for unelected Xi Jinping but he boycotts the elected President of the United States. What are the real values of the modern left?' Miss Dick yesterday warned protesters not to step out of line, saying: 'We will be pretty firm if protesters are intending to protest in a way which is unlawful, and very, very firm if anybody wants to do anything which might in any way impact the security of the visit' But she denied reports that 10,000 police had been called in to protect Mr Trump, saying: 'That's completely wrong. That's miles above what we will be having. 'And this particular visit in terms of the number of protests and the complexity of the protests - at least as they have been made known to us - is very much less than last year's.' A 20-foot-tall blimp depicting a cartoon baby Donald Trump flew in London during the president's last visit and is expected to make another appearance this week Mr Trump hit back at Sadiq Khan yesterday after the mayor used interviews at the weekend to liken the US President's language to that of 'fascists of the 20th century'. Mr Khan said it was wrong to 'roll out the red carpet' for him. As Air Force One came in to land at Stansted yesterday morning, Mr Trump hit back, mocking Mr Khan's 5ft 6in height and branding him a 'stone cold loser'. A spokesman for Mr Khan accused Mr Trump of using 'childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States'. He added: 'Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-Right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years.' Former Labour cabinet minister Yvette Cooper said she was 'appalled' by Mr Trump's comments, and said the UK should not be 'lavishing pomp on a President so determined to be divisive, childish and destructive.' But senior Tories said it was extraordinary that Labour was acting in such a hostile manner to the UK's longstanding ally. Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan said it was 'rude and ill-judged' for politicians to join the protest against the US head of state. He added: 'I think it's perverse to suggest that they are not allies who defend democratic values. I mean the United States has an enduring constitution, yes they've got a controversial president. 'For politicians to do it... what kind of relationship does Emily Thornberry and Jeremy Corbyn think that if ever they were in government they would have with the United States, if they have behaved like this?' Jacob Rees-Mogg said the UK had a duty to honour its ties with the US, particularly in a week when the tow allies the two countries celebrate their role in liberating Europe from Nazi occupation. The Tory Eurosceptic MP accused Labour of 'student union politics of an unserious kind', adding: 'Throwing about rude terms doesn't really develop the debate. 'He was democratically elected under the US constitution, he leads that country, he is an extraordinarily welcome visitor, I'm pleased he's here, it's a suitable commemoration for American support of us in D-Day.' Advertisement A Woolworths truck burned uncontrollably on a Sydney motorway on Tuesday morning, causing traffic to back up for seven kilometres. The fire broke out at about 4am on the Hume Highway at St Andrews in the city's south-west. Fire crews raced to the scene and doused the flames with the help of torrential rain. No-one was injured in the blaze, the cause of which is not clear. Traffic cameras facing north towards Liverpool showed enormous queues as commuters struggled to get to work. Firemen used trucks to tow the smouldering wreck off the road before getting traffic moving again. A Woolworths truck burned uncontrollably on a Sydney motorway on Tuesday morning, causing traffic to back up for seven kilometres The fire broke out at about 4am on the Hume Highway at St Andrews in the city's south-west. Fire crews raced to the scene and doused the flames with the help of torrential rain Firemen used trucks to tow the smoldering wreck off the road before getting traffic moving again Traffic cameras facing north towards Liverpool showed enormous queues as commuters struggled to get to work A blanket of snow has cut off towns in the Blue Mountains from reaching Sydney as Australia's east coast is battered by wild winds, torrential rain and huge waves. About five centimetres of snow settled on Katoomba, Blackheath and surrounding areas as temperatures dipped to -8C on Tuesday morning. The ice and snow forced the closure of the Great Western Highway in both directions at Katoomba, as well as at Mount Victoria and Blackheath following incidents involving trucks. Snow was also recorded in the NSW Central Tablelands, including Oberon and Lithgow, as well as Armidale in the state's north. The low-pressure system in NSW has driven the cold front up north, bringing flurries of snow to Queensland for the first time in four years. Snow joke: Blackheath residents were forced to bundle up after they were visited by some wintry weather Jack Frost also paid a visit to Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands, 195km south of Sydney Snow day: Residents in the Blue Mountains woke up to a fresh blanket of snow (pictured in Blackheath) on Tuesday morning Snow was also recorded in the NSW Central Tablelands, including Oberon and Lithgow, as well as Armidale in the state's north. Pictured above are snow-covered train tracks in Walcha, New South Wales Daredevil: One bold Katoomba resident was filmed welcoming the snow by making a mad dash outside in her bikini to make some snow angels 'Had to be done', Kate Bazevski said in a caption in the footage posted to Instagram One bold Katoomba resident was filmed welcoming the snow by making a mad dash outside in her bikini to make some snow angels. 'Had to be done', Kate Bazevski said in a caption in the footage posted to Instagram. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for residents across New South Wales including metropolitan Sydney, the South Coast and parts of the Mid North Coast, Illawarra, Central Tablelands and Southern Tablelands. The region is expected to be hit with locally destructive winds, averaging 60 to 70km/h, with reports of 130km/h wind gusts in Ulladulla, 230km south of Sydney, this morning. The wild weather is due to an intense low-pressure system and associated cold front coming from the Tasman Sea. Strong winds will move through the Sydney region around sunrise and extend to te north by this afternoon. The city's eastern suburbs are expected to see the strongest winds, while Sydney's west will experience lighter gusts. Weatherzone has warned of reduced visibility and slippery roads as heavy rain is expected to batter the region. The eastern suburbs are forecast to receive about 30 to 40mm of rain this morning. The South Coast town of Nowra received nearly 80mm of rain by 7am. An adorable pup was virtually invisible after its fur blended in with the blanket of snow in Goulburn The wintry weather has been brought on due to an intense low and associated cold front coming from the Tasman Sea Images shared on social media show snow falling in in Lithgow, 140km west of Sydney, before sunrise on Tuesday A snow-covered ute was snapped in Lithgow this morning Oberon also received some light snow. A woman poses in Mayfield Garden, just north of the town, on Tuesday Meteorologists have also warned of dangerous surf conditions - particularly at south-facing beaches - with reports of significant wave heights in excess of five metres. SES has issued road weather alerts warning commuters of dangers driving conditions this morning. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said roads will be slippery and visibility poor, and stressed the need for driver to go slow and follow directions. 'It's not just your life at risk - it's the lives of the emergency service workers, some of whom are volunteers,' he said in a statement. Surf Life Saving New South Wales urged swimmers and surfers to stay away from the coastline over the next couple of days. Snow was also recorded in the Central Tablelands, including Oberon (pictured) and Lithgow, as well as Armidale in the state's north About five centimetres of snow settled on Katoomba, Blackheath and surrounding areas, as temperatures dipped to -8C. Pictured: Katoomba train station Foliage in Bathurst, in the Central Tablelands in NSW froze over Road signs in NSW were dusted with snow Winter wonderland: A resident of Walcha, 410km north of Sydney, shared photos of a snowy field Most of NSW and parts of Victoria and Queensland are expected to be drenched on Tuesday as a cold front continues to drift north from Tasmania 'Tuesday winds and swell will be extremely hazardous and we advise that nobody goes to the beach along the entire NSW coast,' a spokesperson said. SES crews are on standby across the state, particularly in alpine regions, as the combination of wind and snowfall is likely to lead to blizzard conditions. The SES warned those driving in alpine areas to be aware of the conditions and make sure they are carrying tyre chains. Tens of thousands of savers were last night denied access to their nest eggs after one of Britain's best known fund managers banned withdrawals. In a dark day for investors, Neil Woodford said customers of his flagship fund would not be allowed to take out their cash for at least 28 days. It means that anyone planning to use the money for anything from a deposit for a house or building work to paying for holidays or a wedding will be forced to either wait or find the cash elsewhere. Experts say investors will be shocked and concerned by the news. Neil Woodford has said customers of his flagship fund Woodford Equity Income would not be allowed to take out their cash for at least 28 days, which came after investors pulled hundreds of millions of pounds in a matter of weeks The extraordinary move, which came after investors pulled hundreds of millions of pounds in a matter of weeks, leaves Mr Woodford's already tarnished reputation hanging in the balance. His 30-year investment track record, 25 of which were spent at Invesco, encouraged thousands of savers to back him when he branched out on his own and set up the Woodford Equity Income Fund in 2014. But the disastrous combination of a long run of underperformance and the plummeting share price of some of Mr Woodford's individual stock selections, prompted a rush for the door. The fund reached its peak in June 2017, valued at just over 10billion. High profile investors such as Jupiter withdrew millions in the second half of 2017, and since then the fund has been in decline. The fund reached its peak in June 2017, valued at just over 10billion. High profile investors such as Jupiter withdrew millions in the second half of 2017, and since then the fund has been in decline In recent months the withdrawal rate has accelerated. The Equity Income Fund dropped from 4.33billion in April to 3.77billion at the end of May, according to research by data firm Morningstar. Kent County Council then tried to pull out 250million of pension fund money, according to reports, but it too has been trapped by the suspension. Mr Woodford has taken the extraordinary decision to stop savers withdrawing their money for a minimum of 28 days. Savers were told all share dealings, including buying and selling would be suspended in the 'best interests of investors'. As more and more investors demanded their money back, alarm bells were ringing that the fund was running out of cash reserves to meet the requests. The Equity Income Fund dropped from 4.33billion in April to 3.77billion at the end of May. Kent County Council then tried to pull out 250million of pension fund money, according to reports, but it too has been trapped by the suspension Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at AJ Bell, said: 'The news that the Woodford Equity Income fund has suspended dealing will come as a shock to many people but it shows the sheer scale of redemptions the fund has been suffering in recent months.' Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen, said: 'Investors will understandably be concerned and, unfortunately, while the fund is suspended they will not be able to get their money.' Shares in one of Woodford's stock picks, Kier Group, fell 41 per cent yesterday in the latest setback for investors. AJ Bell removed the Woodford Equity Income Fund from its favourites list in September but fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown remained a supporter. When the investment manager reviewed its list of top 50 funds early this year, Woodford's flagship fund still had a firm footing. Following the trading suspension, Hargreaves Lansdown stripped the fund from its Wealth 50 list of top picks. Emma Wall, head of investment analysis at the firm, said: 'We are advocates of long-term investing and think Woodford's multi-decade track record remains compelling but we don't underestimate the disappointment investors must feel with Woodford's recent performance. 'The value of your investment will be dependent on the share prices of the portfolio's underlying holdings, which are not directly impacted by the suspension.' Since the launch of the fund in June 2014, investors have received only a 0.36 per cent return on their money, according to Willis Owen. Have you been affected? Write to moneymail@dailymail.co.uk Boosting vitamin D levels by taking a daily supplement could cut the risk of dying from cancer by 13 per cent, according to a study. Vitamin D is made by the body when exposed to sunshine but modern lifestyles mean many spend more time indoors and about one in five in the UK have insufficient levels of the nutrient. US researcher Dr Shifeng Mao, from the Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh, reported findings showing that people who were deficient in vitamin D were more than twice as likely to develop pancreatic cancer and also had a higher risk of bowel cancer. Vitamin D is made by the body when exposed to sunshine but modern lifestyles mean many spend more time indoors and about one in five in the UK have insufficient levels of the nutrient (stock image) A separate study involving 79,000 healthy adults found taking a supplement for at least three years was associated with a 13 per cent drop in risk of dying from any form of cancer later in life. A third study found taking a daily pill along with a statin was linked to a reduction in deaths from prostate cancer of almost 40 per cent. All three studies were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago. The work bolsters growing calls for the Government to add vitamin D to common foods such as milk or bread a policy used in the US, Canada, Sweden, Finland and Australia. While vitamin D is produced when skin is exposed to the sun, it can also be obtained by eating liver, eggs, red meat and plenty of oily fish. But millions who do not eat enough of these foods or fail to get sufficient sunshine, particularly in gloomy winter months should take supplements instead. The study that reported the 13 per cent reduction in cancer risk was conducted by Michigan State University and Hurley Medical Centre, which reviewed findings from ten trials involving adults with an average age of 68. While vitamin D is produced when skin is exposed to the sun, it can also be obtained by eating liver, eggs, red meat and plenty of oily fish (stock image) A study at Madrid University Hospital in Spain, involving 2,280 men, found those on standard treatments for prostate cancer who also took vitamin D and a statin had 38 per cent lower mortality rates than those who did not. Dr Tarek Haykal, lead researcher from Michigan State University, said: I would like to see more oncologists and primary care doctors consider prescribing vitamin D for their patients as it carries many benefits with minimal side effects. Professor Daniel Bikle, of the University of California San Francisco, said: In places such as the UK, there is not enough sun all year round, so supplements in winter are necessary. Researchers are not sure exactly how vitamin D fights cancer but some scientists believe it produces an enzyme that detoxifies natural acids in the body. Reducing the potency of these acids may help stop them causing damage to internal organs, which in turn reduces cancer risk. Authorities in the Dominican Republic say the Maryland couple found dead in their luxury resort hotel room last week appear to have died from a medical episode related to hypertension. An autopsy was performed on vacationing Cynthia Day, 49, and Nathaniel Holmes, 63, last week after they were found dead inside their Playa Nueva Romana resort hotel room in the Bahia Principe on May 25. National Police investigators said the autopsy revealed both lovers died from 'respiratory failure' and pulmonary edema.' Both Day and Holmes suffered from chronic high blood pressure, officials said. Maryland couple Cynthia Day, 49, and Nathaniel Holmes, 63, were found dead in the Dominican Republic Thursday Holmes posted that he didn't want to leave his vacation in week they both passed away 'The evidence in the room shows that they might have died from high blood pressure from the heart,' DR national police said Monday, according to CBS News in Baltimore. 'We found a lot of medicine used to treat that illness and according to the medical history the family provided, both of them had high blood pressure,' police said. Day and Holmes were due to depart Thursday, the same day their bodies were discovered in a room reportedly with 'no signs of violence'. A hotel worker found them, but it was not reported whether the bottles were empty. Diario Libre reported that Dominican Republic's National Police found in their investigation Holmes had called for a hotel doctor Thursday morning, complaining that he felt ill. They checked in to the Bahia Principe Playa Nueva Romana resort last Saturday for five nights However, he reportedly refused medical care when they showed up. Cyndi Day's sister, Sonya Jackson, told News4's that the US Embassy had confirmed the deaths. Police said there was no sign of violence in the couple's room. Holmes' sister said her brother was 'having a great time' when she spoke to him a couple of days ago. In Facebook images posted Tuesday Holmes said he was having fun. In a caption he declared he'd had the 'boat ride of a lifetime!!!' He also shared snaps of Day - who has an adult son - posing with a parrot and a monkey: 'On the way to Saona Island with my baby.' At one point he wrote: 'Can somebody please loan me $250,000 bcuz I don't want to come home!!!!!' Their bodies were discovered in a room reportedly with 'no signs of violence'. Pictured is an example of a room at the resort Vacation snaps show them loved up and having fun in the Dominican Republic this week He also shared snaps of Day - who has an adult son - posing with a parrot and a monkey US State Department officials have issued a travel advisory for American tourists heading to the DR, telling vacationers to exercise 'increased caution'. 'Violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault is a concern throughout the Dominican Republic,' the advisory stated on April 15. 'The wide availability of weapons, the use and trade of illicit drugs, and a weak criminal justice system contribute to the high level of criminality on the broader scale.' The US State Department sent its condolences to the couple's families. 'We are in close contact with local authorities regarding their investigation into the cause of death,' the Department said in a statement to ABC News. 'We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater responsibility than the protection of U.S. citizens overseas. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment.' 'Fun in the DR with my baby': Holmes last posted on Facebook on Tuesday, two days before the bodies were found Holmes' sister said she spoke to him a couple of days ago and he was having a fun on the trip. Day's sister, Sonya Jackson, said that the US Embassy had confirmed the deaths The Playa Nueva Romana resot said it is 'deeply saddened by the incident,' ABC News reported. November 2018 picture show Day and Holmes at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana. In December images Holmes' is seen visiting family members' grave sites to tell them about his new fiancee, 'I put a ring on it!' His daughter, Dajuan Holmes-Hamilton, wants to know the facts. 'It should have never happened,' she told NBC4, adding that he was grandfather who was looking forward to visiting her daughter. The property is located halfway between popular locations Santa Domingo, the capital, and Punta Cana. Holmes' daughter, Dajuan Holmes-Hamilton, said: 'It should have never happened' They are the second American couple who have died in the Caribbean country since March. Dominican Republic police said in April a combination of alcohol, speeding and dark roads may have led to the deaths of a couple from New York who stayed at the Grand Bahia Principe Cayacoa hotel in Samana. Orlando Moore, 41, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, were believed by authorities to be en route to the airport to return from their vacation at the same brand property when Moore may have lost control and crashed into the Caribbean Sea. This week Delaware woman Tammy Lawrence-Daley relived her January attack during an interview with CBS This Morning. New York couple Orlando Moore, 41, and Portia Ravenelle, 52, died while on vacation in the Dominican Republic in March The 51-year-old had been on vacation with her husband at the Majestic Elegance Resort in Punta Cana when she says that she went out alone to get a snack at 10.30pm. She claims that the man pushed her from behind and she tried to fight him off, only to lose consciousness as he beat her. She recalls telling her husband that she would be back in five minutes but Lawrence-Daley said she ended up going missing for eight hours. The woman claims her attacker dragged her down concrete stairs to an underground waste water area in what she says was an attempt to hide her body and mask the sound of the attack. Lawrence-Daley said: 'Majestic Elegance claims no responsibility for the attack since I couldn't identify the attacker even though he was wearing a uniform with the resort logo and hit me directly in front of the unlocked maintenance room and dragged me down concrete stairs to a basement so that no one could hear or find me.' Tammy Lawrence-Daley, 51, said she remembers being 'plowed into from behind' and felt her attacker's arms around her as he pulled her into a nearby unlocked maintenance room Lawrence-Daley claims she was attacked by a hotel employee because she remembers seeing him in a uniform with the resort logo on it A stepmom was sentenced to life in jail after she was convicted of strangling her nine-year-old stepdaughter to death in a bathtub in New York because of her jealousy over the girl's close relationship with her father, the court heard. Shamdai Arjun must serve at least 22 years in jail, the Queens County District Attorney's Office announced on Monday. Arjun, 58, was convicted last month in the 2016 death of Ashdeep Kaur, the daughter of her then-husband Sukhjinder Singh. It took the jury less than an hour to reach the verdict. Ashdeep was killed shortly after she immigrated to the United States to be reunited with her father and his new family. Shamdai Arjun, 55, is seen in a Queens County courtroom on May 3, 2019. She was sentenced to between 22 years and life in prison for the strangulation death of her stepdaughter In August 2016, Arjun (left) was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. Authorities said she strangled her nine-year-old stepdaughter, Ashdeep Kaur (right), to death in the bathtub of the girl's home in Richmond Hill, Queens 'The defendant in this case goes beyond the tales of evil stepmothers,' said Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan. 'This defendant committed the unimaginable - she wrapped her hands around her stepdaughter's little neck and squeezed the life out of her. 'The victim was an innocent child and just nine years old. 'The court has imposed a sentence that will likely guarantee this woman never sees freedom again. 'The sentence of the court is more than warranted in this tragic case.' Prosecutors say a witness observed Arjun and her ex-husband, Raymond Narayan, leaving her Queens home with her two grandchildren at around 5:30pm on August 19, 2016. The witness told the court that they had asked about the stepdaughter. Arjun replied that she was washing her hair and would be picked up later by her husband, the girl's father, Singh. The witness, however, noticed that the bathroom light had been on since 11am that morning. Prosecutors say the eyewitness called Singh who told her to break down the bathroom door. She did and found the girl strangled in the bathtub of her home in Richmond Hill, Queens. Police said that the girl also suffered blunt trauma to her head and had a cut inside her mouth and a loose tooth. The strangulation took place in the bathtub of the family home in Richmond Hill, Queens (seen above in August 2016) Upon hearing the news of his daughter's death, Sukhjinder Singh collapsed on the sidewalk and needed medical attention. He is pictured above on August 19, 2016 The ex-husband, Narayan, was arrested for obstructing governmental administration. The status of his case wasn't immediately clear. Narayan was charged with obstructing governmental administration for allegedly refusing to let police officers enter his apartment so they could to take Arjun into custody. Prosecutors say Arjun had threatened to kill the nine-year-old girl on numerous occasions. Arjun pleaded not guilty and denied killing the child. Ashdeep Kaur lived in South Richmond Hill with her father, Sukhjinder Singh, and her stepmother. She was in the US for just three months before she was killed. Relatives said that Ashdeep did not want to stay with her stepmother because of beatings she allegedly suffered at her hands. Authorities say Arjun was intensely jealous of her stepdaughter's close relationship with her father since her arrival from India to the United States three months prior. Singh is seen above on a stretcher outside the family apartment in August 2016 Ashdeep told her father that Shamdai threatened to kill her. She would also hit her and deny her food, according to the New York Daily News. Relatives also said they noticed scratch marks on Ashdeep's hands. Investigators said that Shamdai grew intensely jealous of the young girl's relationship with her father, Singh, since her arrival from India just three months prior. Singh and Ashdeep communicated to each other in their native tongue, Punjabi, a language which Shamdai did not understand, according to the Daily News. Singh rushed home and upon arrival learned of his daughter's death. He was later seen passed out on the sidewalk and was aided by first responders. Theresa May was last night braced for Donald Trump to defy protocol by holding talks with Boris Johnson as the US President looks to her potential successors. The Prime Minister will hold what are expected to be tense talks with Mr Trump in Downing Street today as his controversial state visit continues. Last night, No 10 angrily dismissed claims that the US President had cancelled a planned one-to-one meeting with Mrs May following her decision to step down as Tory leader at the end of this week. Theresa May was last night braced for Donald Trump to defy protocol by holding talks with Boris Johnson as the US President looks to her potential successors At the weekend, Mr Trump said Mr Johnson would do 'a very good job' as prime minister But her official spokesman confirmed that the Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt a leading contender to succeed her would attend her bilateral talks with Mr Trump in Downing Street. During the talks, the President is expected to try to change Mrs May's mind about allowing the Chinese firm Huawei to have access to the UK's 5G network. But Mr Trump indicated last night that he was ready to offer the UK a 'big trade deal' once it 'gets rid of the shackles' of the EU. In a message on Twitter, he said the two sides were 'already starting to talk'. Aides were last night resigned to the possibility that Mr Trump may use his visit to the UK to hold private talks with Mr Johnson and Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage. At the weekend, Mr Trump said Mr Johnson would do 'a very good job' as prime minister. The Prime Minister will hold what are expected to be tense talks with Mr Trump (pictured with Melania on the steps of Air Force One at London Stansted) Downing Street blocked similar talks during Mr Trump's visit to the UK last summer, which came shortly after Mr Johnson quit as foreign secretary. But a Whitehall source said that, with the starting gun now fired on the race to succeed Mrs May as PM, officials were now more relaxed. 'Last summer it would have been a huge problem if he had met Boris,' said one source. 'Now, it is maybe to be expected.' During a state visit the normal protocol would be for the visiting leader to hold talks only with the head of government, not with a backbench MP. Aides to Mr Johnson last night said they had received 'no correspondence' from the White House about a potential meeting, which could take place today or tomorrow. But a senior Tory said: 'I think it will happen. Boris and Trump get on. You have to remember that when Boris was at the Foreign Office he was tasked with building good relations with the Trump White House. He did that very successfully.' Mr Trump is also thought to be considering a private meeting with Mr Farage Mr Trump is also thought to be considering a private meeting with Mr Farage. Sources told the Daily Mail that Mr Farage briefed the President on Brexit before a series of weekend interviews in which he backed a No Deal departure from the EU. Mr Farage declined to comment yesterday, saying: 'I don't disclose private conversations with the US President. 'What I would say is that he does have a remarkable mastery of the issues around Brexit.' Mr Farage, whose party trounced the Conservatives in last month's European Parliament elections, said Downing Street had made 'very big attempts' to block him meeting Mr Trump in the UK. He said he had had no approach about a possible meeting this week. Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt was also invited to last night's state banquet with Mr Trump at Buckingham Palace as was fellow leadership candidate Michael Gove and a number of other senior ministers. Mr Farage struck up a friendship with Mr Trump when he campaigned for him in the 2016 US election But, in an omission that raised eyebrows at Westminster, Home Secretary Sajid Javid was not on the guest list. Allies of Mr Javid brushed aside the snub, joking that he might have been confused with London Mayor Sadiq Khan. One ally said: 'Maybe Downing Street was worried the President might confuse him with the other son of a bus driver.' British officials are braced for Mr Trump to confront Mrs May over the future of Huawei. Foreign Secretary Mr Hunt (pictured with wife Lucia) was also invited to last night's state banquet with Mr Trump at Buckingham Palace The US, which has banned Huawei from its own 5G network, has warned it could limit intelligence sharing with the UK if it gives the Chinese firm a foothold. Speaking at a briefing yesterday ahead of the talks, a senior Whitehall official said that when it came to the Chinese firm no intelligence sharing would be compromised. His comments suggest Mrs May is braced to tell Mr Trump that she is going ahead with allowing Huawei access to non-core elements that would not threaten secure elements. The Whitehall official said: 'The security of these networks is of paramount importance.' A man accused of a triple murder some 40 years ago has been denied bail after saying he would rather blow his head off than go to jail. Bruce John Preston, 63, was charged in April with the 1978 murders of three friends who set out on an outback motorcycle adventure and never came home. Their bodies were found in Queensland scrub less than a month after they started their journey. The cold case was likened to a 'real-life Wolf Creek', the story of three road-trippers who are kidnapped by a psychopathic killer. Friends Karen Edwards, Gordon Twaddle and Timothy Thomson (left to right) were on the adventure of a lifetime in the Australian outback in 1978 when their lives were cut short Preston, who maintains he is innocent, unsuccessfully sought bail in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday. He will remain in custody until he fights allegations he murdered Karen Edwards, 23, Timothy Thomson, 31, and Gordon Twaddle, 21, near a Mount Isa caravan park three days after they rode out of Alice Springs. Preston, a retired senior prison officer at NSW's Goulburn Supermax jail, argued he should be bailed because he was of good character. He had always co-operated with investigators, and it was a historical case reliant on circumstantial evidence. Bruce John Preston, 63, was recently charged with the triple murder near Mount Isa in 1978 However, Crown Prosecutor Danny Boyle said Preston was not only a flight risk but could potentially take his own life to avoid a prison sentence. Mr Boyle said a covert 2019 recording of Preston on the phone to his wife after the police investigation had recommenced had raised concerns about what he might do if released. 'I've never been this scared,' Preston said on the recording, Mr Boyle told the court. 'I am not going to prison. I'd rather walk out into the street and blow my head off before I go to jail.' But Preston's lawyer Russell Pearce said the Crown was 'nitpicking' from the recordings and would also have heard Preston declare his innocence many times. Tim, Gordon and Karen were last seen at this caravan park (pictured) before their bodies were found with gunshot wounds 19 days later in bushland 12km north of Mount Isa Tim 31, and Gordon, 21 were family friends from New Zealand with a passion for motorcycles. Karen, 23, was Tim's girlfriend and the trio was on the adventure of a lifetime trekking across the outback. The trio planned to ride from the Northern Territory to Cairns before heading down Australia's east coast to Melbourne to spend Christmas with family members. They were last seen on October 5 at the Moondarra Caravan Park jumping into a two-tone Toyota Landcruiser, similar to the one Preston's father owned at the time. Bruce Preston has always been a person of interest, charged with stealing Tim's motorcycle (pictured) in 1978 for which he was convicted and fined $300 Their bodies were found 19 days later in bushland near Spear Creek, 12km north of the outback mining town. All three died from gunshot wounds. The court heard Preston, a former corporal in the Australian Army, was also on a motorcycle trip across Australia at the time. A man matching his description was allegedly seen with the victims the night before they disappeared. Bruce John Preston (pictured), a retired senior prison officer at NSW's Goulburn Supermax jail The trio were travelling with Tim's dog Tristie (pictured). They lost Tristie and found him at a Mount Isa dump 18 days before their bodies were discovered Preston was later found in possession of Mr Edwards' near-new red and gold BMW motorcycle, which had a sidecar with a map of Australia painted on it. He told investigators he had found the bike and was charged with theft. The court heard Preston told detectives in 1978 he was not in Mt Isa the day the trio were murdered. But in an interview prior to his arrest in April, he contradicted this and said he was in Mt Isa when the trio disappeared. Judge Elizabeth Wilson refused Preston's bail application. Bruce John Preston (pictured) using a Joker filter on a Facebook profile picture) will remain behind bars Gabriel Mbene Vefonge Atia Azohnwi Gabriel Mbene Vefonge, President of the Cameroon Agricultural and Allied Workers Trade Union, CAAWOTU formerly known as the Divisional Syndicate of Agricultural Workers in Fako, DISAWOFA has said the May 31, 2019 fire that ravaged the National Refining Company, SONARA has topped the years of losses incurred by the locals since the company went operational. The trade unionist took to Facebook Monday, June 3, 2019 to pour out his frustration following what preliminary investigations say is a technical fault that caused an explosion that set four of SONARAs 13 production units alight. Mbene says when the National Refining Company was constructed in the 70s and inaugurated in 1981 by Cameroons first president Amadou Ahidjo of blessed memory, great was the delight of the Bakweri people and the riverine population. The populace were sure that new jobs would be theirs, coupled with developmental projects among other corporate social projects. But close to four decades after, Mbene says they are the biggest losers. His words: When SONARA was constructed in the 1970s and finally started its operations in 1981 inaugurated by His Excellency President Ahidjo, the Bakweris and all others riverine population of Limbe and Fako Division are today seen as the worst losers of this May 31, 2019 explosion and fire disaster. In justifying why he says they are losers, Mbene cited the following: discrimination in employment, discrimination in the award of contracts and supplies, oil spills on the sea that pollute [the environment] and deposits of solid waste; today, the risk of such explosion, collateral damages of property and toxic gases that might create unexpected health hazards in the community. Gabriel Mbene Vefonge argues that despite the aforementioned cases of deprivation and marginalisation, the locals should at least benefit from special measures in a social corporate accord. Hear Mbene: This is why the Bakweris ought to have been benefiting from special measures in a social corporate accord or agreements. As SONARA becomes our latest threat, its important for various authorities, and civil society organization to go to the drawing board to revisit the policy earlier put in place which has failed over the years to satisfy the surrounding community of this jewel. The House Judiciary Committee has launched a bipartisan sweeping probe into major tech companies, with hearings that will examine 'dominant, unregulated' platforms. The hearings come amid increased scrutiny of the power of big tech firms like Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, which already have come under congressional scrutiny and drawn calls for regulation. A statement by Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jerold Nadler of New York did not identify individual companies, but prior headlines left little doubt who the players would be. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has launched an investigation into big tech firms and their 'extraordinary power' 'A small number of dominant, unregulated platforms have extraordinary power over commerce, communication, and information online,' Nadler said in a statement announcing the hearings. 'Based on investigative reporting and oversight by international policymakers and enforcers, there are concerns that these platforms have the incentive and ability to harm the competitive process,' he said. He did not promise a legislative response, but his language suggested one could come. 'The Antitrust Subcommittee will conduct a top-to-bottom review of the market power held by giant tech platforms. This is the first time Congress has undertaken an investigation into this behavior,' Nadler said. The move follows news that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), will lead an antitrust investigation into how Facebook Incs practices affect its digital competition, leaving the Justice Department control over a possible Google probe. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has faced pressure from Congress over company practices Representative Doug Collins (Republican of Georgia) also released a statement backing the probe Apple CEO Tim Cook waves after speaking at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., Monday, June 3, 2019 Amazon has come under increased political pressure for practices that critics, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have called anti-competitive Google's search engine has drawn congressional scrutiny 'Given the growing tide of concentration and consolidation across our economy, it is vital that we investigate the current state of competition in digital markets and the health of the antitrust laws,' he added. The antitrust subpanel is overseen by Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, who has been an outspoken figure in the Mueller investigation. The probe includes backing from both Nadler and the Judiciary panel's top Republican, Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia. The two men have engaged in bitter exchanges over the Russia probe. 'As tech has expanded its market share, more and more questions have arisen about whether the market remains competitive,' said Collins in a statement. 'Our bipartisan look at competition in the digital markets gives us the chance to answer these questions and, if necessary, to take action.' The probe is set to look at key areas of the market power of the tech companies, who have led a surge in U.S. economic growth while also amassing increased market share in the lucrative industry that touches virtually every American in one way or another. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a presidential candidate, has blasted Amazon, Facebook, Google with squeezing out competition and has called for breaking up the companies. The move comes as news emerged that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will lead an antitrust investigation into how Facebook Incs practices affect its digital competition as part of an arrangement that would give the Justice Department control over possible Google and Apple probes. The news caused stock prices to tumble on Monday, wiping more than $149.4 billion off the value of some of America's biggest technology firms. The FTC and the Justice Department both oversee antitrust issues in the U.S. and must establish who will take the lead in different investigations into competitive practices. Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the FTC secured the rights to begin a potential investigation into whether Facebook engaged in what it called 'unlawful monopolistic behavior.' The Justice Department, in turn, will lead any possible Google probe, as well as any resulting review of Apple's degree of influence over app development, the New York Times reported. A blanket of snow has cut off towns in the Blue Mountains from reaching Sydney as Australia's east coast is battered by wild winds, torrential rain and huge waves. About five centimetres of snow settled on Katoomba, Blackheath and surrounding areas, as temperatures dipped to -8C on Tuesday morning. The ice and snow forced the closure of the Great Western Highway in both directions at Katoomba, as well as at Mount Victoria and Blackheath following incidents involving trucks. Snow was also recorded in the Central Tablelands, including Oberon and Lithgow, as well as Armidale in the state's north. The low pressure system in NSW has driven the cold front up north, bringing flurries to Queensland for the first time in four years. Snow joke: Blackheath residents were forced to bundle up after they were visited by some wintry weather Jack Frost also paid a visit to Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands, 195km south of Sydney Snow day: Residents in the Blue Mountains woke up to a fresh blanket of snow (pictured in Blackheath) on Tuesday morning Snow was also recorded in the Central Tablelands, including Oberon and Lithgow, as well as Armidale in the state's north. Pictured above are snow-covered train tracks in Walcha, New South Wales The wintry weather has been brought on due to an intense low and associated cold front coming from the Tasman Sea About five centimetres of snow settled on Katoomba, Blackheath and surrounding areas, as temperatures dipped to -8C. Pictured: Katoomba train station The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for residents across New South Wales including metropolitan, the South Coast and parts of the Mid North Coast, Illawarra, Central Tablelands and Southern Tablelands. The region is expected to be hit with locally destructive winds, averaging 60 to 70 km/h, with reports of 130 km/h wind gusts in Ulladulla this morning. The wild weather is due to an intense low and associated cold front coming from the Tasman Sea. Strong winds will move through the Sydney region around sunrise and extend to north area by this afternoon. Snow was also recorded in the Central Tablelands, including Oberon and Lithgow, as well as Armidale in the state's north A snow-covered ute was snapped in Lithgow this morning. An adorable pup was virtually invisible after its fur blended in with the blanket of snow in Goulburn Images shared on social media show snow falling in in Lithgow, 140km west of Sydney, before sunrise on Tuesday Oberon also received some light snow. A woman poses in Mayfield Garden, just north of the town, on Tuesday The city's eastern suburbs are expected to see the strongest winds, while Sydney's west will experience lighter gusts. Weatherzone has warned of reduced visibility and slippery roads as heavy rain is expected to batter the region. The eastern suburbs are forecast to receive about 30 to 40mm rain this morning. Nowra, in the South Coast received nearly 80mm of rain by 7am. Meteorologists have also warned of dangerous surf conditions - particularly at south facing beaches - with reports of significant wave heights in excess of five metres. SES has issued road weather alerts warning commuters of dangers driving conditions this morning. Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said roads will be slippery and visibility poor, and stressed the need to go slow and follow directions. 'It's not just your life at risk - it's the lives of the emergency service workers some of whom are volunteers,' he said in a statement. Surf Life Saving New South Wales urged swimmers and surfers to stay away from the coastline over the next couple of days. President Trump paid a glowing tribute to the Queen last night but then seemed to accidentally fall foul of strict Royal protocols by appearing to pat her on the shoulder as she stood up to toast him. The US leader had just given a warm and often moving speech in which he praised the 93-year-old monarch as a great, great woman. From the Second World War to today, Her Majesty has stood as a constant symbol of these priceless traditions, he said. She has embodied the spirit of dignity, duty, and patriotism that beats proudly in every British heart. On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations and to the long cherished and truly remarkable reign of Her Majesty the Queen. President Trump broke protocol by appearing to pat the Queen on the shoulder as she stood up to toast him But as the monarch stood up with her glass of Windsor Great Park sparkling English wine, the President reached out his left hand and put it behind her right shoulder, as if to pat it. While the term protocol is bandied around a great deal, it is considered extremely poor form to touch Her Majesty, particularly in such a formal setting. The Queen did not react and continued to play the gracious hostess. Mr Trump steered clear of controversy, however, and told her that he and his wife were profoundly honoured to be your guests for this historic state visit and spoke of your majestys nearly seven decades of treasured friendship with the United States of America. He went on to pay tribute to the mighty endeavour of righteous nations and one of the greatest undertakings in all of history D-Day, which happened 75 years ago and is one of the reasons for his state visit. He highlighted the role of the Royal Family the resolute face of the Commonwealths unwavering solidarity. Astronauts journeying to Mars could be bombarded with 700 times the radiation experienced on Earth rendering missions to the Red Planet 'impossible' at present. The European Space Agency has assembled a cross-disciplinary team of researchers to learn more about the health impacts of space radiation. They are also exploring how astronauts might be better protected as we journey further into the solar system. Researchers are working on developing risk guidelines for astronauts travelling to the moon and beyond. They are also testing biological samples, electronics and shielding materials against artificially-made cosmic rays in the laboratory. Scroll down for video Astronauts journeying to Mars could be bombarded with 700 times the radiation experienced on Earth rendering missions to the Red Planet 'impossible' at present An astronaut would be exposed to at least 60 per cent of the total radiation dose limit for their entire career doing just one six-month journey to Mars. This finding was revealed on data from the ExoMars Orbiter of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian Roscomos. 'One day in space is equivalent to the radiation received on Earth for a whole year,' said radiation physicist Marco Durante. Missions to Mars would take months to arrive at the Red Planet. 'As it stands today, we cant go to Mars due to radiation,' he added. 'It would be impossible to meet acceptable dose limits.' ESA has assembled a forum of researchers who are working to protect the health of future astronauts on missions to the moon and further out into the solar system. Covering disciplines across biology, medicine, physics and space science, these experts have been advising ESA since 2015. 'The real problem is the large uncertainty surrounding the risks,' explained Professor Durante, who is part of the ESA team formed to investigate radiation. 'We dont understand space radiation very well and the long-lasting effects are unknown,' he added. Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field act to protect us from the bombardment of cosmic rays. These are energetic particles travelling close to the speed of light that penetrate the human body. Unpredictable solar particle events from the sun can also deliver high doses of radiation across short periods of time. In space and on Mars, where the intrinsic magnetic field is dead and the atmosphere is comparatively thin, astronauts do not have the same protections. Even on the International Space Station, astronauts are exposed to 200 times more radiation as a result of their work than would be experienced by an airline pilot or a radiology nurse During long space missions, it is thought that cosmic ray bombardment would increase the risks of cancer and cause damage to the brain, central nervous system and heart, paving the way for various degenerative diseases. In addition, a higher percentage of early-onset cataracts have been reported in astronauts, while the results of NASA's recent twins study has revealed that radiation exposure can result in DNA damage and corresponding changes in gene expression. Even on the International Space Station, astronauts are exposed to 200 times more radiation as a result of their work than would be experienced by an airline pilot or a radiology nurse. As a result, NASA is constantly monitoring local space weather information. If a burst of space radiation is detected, mission control in Houston, Texas, can instruct astronauts to abort space walks, move to more shielded areas of the orbiting laboratory and even adjust the station's altitude to minimise any health impacts. HOW DOES SPACE RADIATION IMPACT ASTRONAUTS' HEALTH? Astronauts journeying to Mars would likely be bombarded with 700 times the levels of radiation experienced on Earth. Even on the International Space Station, astronauts are exposed to 200 times more radiation as a result of their work than would be experienced by an airline pilot or a radiology nurse. As a result, NASA is constantly monitoring local space weather information. If a burst of space radiation is detected, mission control in Houston, Texas, can instruct astronauts to abort space walks, move to more shielded areas of the orbiting laboratory and even adjust the station's altitude to minimise any health impacts. Solar flare activity can cause acute radiation exposure effects such as changes to the blood, diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting which can be recovered from, and other impacts that are non-reversible and/or fatal. Long-term cosmic ray bombardment is a greater concern. This can increases the risks of cancer, generate cataracts and cause sterility. It can also cause damage to the brain, central nervous system and heart, paving the way for various degenerative diseases. DNA changes from space radiation can even be passed on to subsequent children. Advertisement Using passive radiation detectors dotted around the International Space Station, the ESA has been working to map out the radiation field on-board the orbiting laboratory for the last seven years. More recently, ESA astronauts Andreas Mogensen and Thomas Pesquet wore a mobile radiation-measuring dosimeter during their respective missions to the ISS, which gave then a real-time readout on their exposure through their time in space. The same team who ran this research will also be using radiation detectors to determine what level of skin and internal organ radiation doses an astronaut would receive on a mission to the moon. The detectors will be placed within a model of a human body, known as a 'phantom', which will be taken on board NASA's Orion spacecraft. The European Space Agency has assembled a forum of researchers who are working to protect the health of future astronauts on missions to the moon and further out into the solar system One of the ESA team's main recommendations has been that a risk model should be developed for astronauts travelling out beyond the International Space Station one that outlines the recommended radiation dose limits. The model should 'provide information on the risks that could cause cancer and non-cancer health issues for astronauts going to the Moon and Mars in agreement with all space agencies,' said ESA flight surgeon and radiologist Ulrich Straube. In addition, the ESA has teamed up with particle accelerator facilities across Europe to create their own cosmic radiation in the lab. By bombarding biological cell samples and different types of materials with this artificially-generated radiation, researchers are hoping to learn more about the impact of space radiation and the best ways to shield against it. 'The research is paying off,' said Professor Durante. 'Lithium is standing out as a promising material for shielding in planetary missions,' he added. The ESA has teamed up with particle accelerator facilities across Europe (such as Germany's FAIR, pictured, which is under construction) to create their own cosmic radiation in the lab to learn more about the impact of space radiation and the best ways to shield against it The multi-disciplinary work to keep future astronauts safe and healthy continues. 'Space radiation research is an area that crosses the entire life and physical sciences area with important applications on Earth.' said the ESAs team leader for human research, biology and physical sciences, Jennifer Ngo-Anh. 'Research in this area will remain of high priority for the ESA.' Advertisement Dutch airline KLM are funding a pioneering aeronautical project which could see the shape and layout of commercial aeroplanes changed forever. The stunning 'Flying-V' design, financially backed by KLM, has the same wingspan as existing planes and is able to carry up to 314 passengers. It is named after the iconic Gibson Flying-V electric guitar used by a number of legendary players - from Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix, to Brian May and Keith Richards. The concept craft, developed by researchers at Delft Technology University in the Netherlands, flares diagonally backwards from it nose to create the striking V-shape. Its designers say this unique configuration uses 20 per cent less fuel. The wings would host the passenger space, cargo hold, fuel tanks and all other infrastructure, it is believed. Scroll down for video A stunning 'V-shaped' craft developed by researchers at Delft Technology University in the Netherlands has been financially backed by KLM It has the wingspan of existing planes but is shaped like a guitar, with the nose flaring backwards diagonally to create the striking V-shape. It is believed to use 20 per cent less fuel, be more aerodynamic and still be able to carry up to 314 passengers WHAT IS THE 'FLYING-V'? The aircraft name is derived from the moniker of the electric guitar developed by Gibson in 1958. Designs were drawn up by Delft Technology University in the Netherlands. KLM, the Dutch aeronautical giant, is funding the development of the unique plane. It has the wingspan of existing planes but is shaped like a guitar, with the nose flaring backwards diagonally to create the striking V-shape. Its total width is 215ft (65m) and its length will be slightly shorter, at 180 ft (55m). Its size makes it a comparable rival to the traditional Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787. Advertisement A pair of turbofan jet engines will be mounted at its rear and the design would drastically reduce both the carbon footprint of air travel and the expenditure on fuel. Pieter Elbers, the KLM chief executive, refused to reveal the exact extent of the project but it is being heralded as a potential leader in the field of 'sustainable aviation initiatives'. Its size makes it a comparable rival to the traditional Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 and it would be able to use existing gates, hangars and runways. Its total width is 215ft (65m) and its length will be slightly shorter, at 180 ft (55m). Details of what the inside will look like are scarce but it will inevitably allow for a range of innovative seating arrangements, rooms and fittings. The wings would host the passenger space, cargo hold, fuel tanks and all other infrastructure, it is believed Its total width is 215ft (65m) and its length will be slightly shorter, at 180 ft (55m). Details of what the inside will look like are scarcebut it will inevitably allow for a range of innovative seating arrangements, rooms and fittings Lightweight furniture will enable the plane to maximise its gains in fuel efficiency. Professor Henri Werij, dean of the university's faculty of aerospace engineering, said the object was to make aviation more sustainable, according to The Times. 'New and energy-efficient aircraft designs such as the Flying-V are important, as are new forms of propulsion. Our ultimate aim is emission-free flight,' he said. The aircraft name is derived from the moniker of the electric guitar developed by Gibson in 1958. Lightweight furniture will enable the plane to maximise its gains in fuel efficiency. Professor Henri Werij, dean of the university's faculty of aerospace engineering, said the object was to make aviation more sustainable, according to The Times The aircraft name is derived from the moniker of the electric guitar developed by Gibson in 1958 which was used by Chuck Berry, Brian May and Tom Petty Smartphones could soon hide the front-facing selfie camera underneath the display, as tech giants race to find new ways to provide more screen space. Chinese handset makers Oppo and Xiaomi have launched into an early battle over the technology, tweeting videos of prototypes of their technology. The so-called 'under-display' selfie camera is concealed entirely behind the phones screen, with no need for any notches or hole-punches, seen in Samsung and Honor devices. Oppo was first to show off its take on the invisible concept, before Xiaomi swiftly followed suit, though it is not entirely clear how either of the innovations work. Scroll down for video Smartphones could soon hide the front-facing selfie camera underneath the display, as tech giants race to find new ways to provide more screen space. Here, Oppo tweeted their video. Here, we see a person's fingertip hovering over the camera at the bottom of the display Oppo vice president Brian Shen wrote on Chinese social media site Weibo that there would be some loss of optical quality compared with normal cameras at this early stage Oppo vice president Brian Shen wrote on Chinese social media site Weibo that there would be some loss of optical quality compared with normal cameras at this early stage. 'For those seeking the perfect, notchless smartphone screen experience - prepare to be amazed,' the company later posted on Twitter. Not wasting any time, Chinese firm Xiaomi also tweeted a video showcasing their device, writing: 'Do you want a sneak peek at the future? Here you go...'. Just hours after Oppo revealed their prototype, Xiaomi hit back with its own take on the new technology. Xiaomi president Lin Bin posted a video to Weibo which they later posted to Twitter of the Xiaomi Mi 9 with a front facing camera concealed entirely behind the phones screen. Just hours after Oppo revealed their under-display camera, Xiaomi hit back with its own take on the new technology. Xiaomi president Lin Bin has posted a video of the Xiaomi Mi 9 with a front facing camera concealed entirely behind the phones screen Not wasting any time, Chinese firm Xiaomi also tweeted a video showcasing their device, writing: 'Do you want a sneak peek at the future? Here you go...'. Just hours after Oppo revealed their prototype, Xiaomi hit back with its own take on the new technology Xiaomi president Lin Bin posted a video to Weibo which they later posted to Twitter of the Xiaomi Mi 9 with a front facing camera concealed entirely behind the phones screen There was no indication when the companies intend to make such technology available to the public. Smartphone manufacturers have long been exploring alternative front-facing camera ideas in a bid to increase the amount of space users have on their display. The Phone Talks notes that Xiaomi recently filed for a patent that appears to cover similar functionality, which uses two alternately-driven display portions to allow light to pass through to the camera sensor. Apple kicked off the notch trend when it launched the iPhone X 2017, leading to a spread of similar designs. Pinhole cut-outs started to appear and more recently pop-up front-facing cameras that slide out of the top of the handset. Other attempts to increase smartphone display space include the foldable smartphone, of which Samsung and Huawei have both unveiled devices. Here, the Samsung Galaxy S10e Other attempts to increase smartphone display space include the foldable smartphone, of which Samsung and Huawei have both unveiled devices, although Samsung has delayed the release of its Galaxy Fold after some early reviewers reported issues with the phone's screen. Samsung has a proven record that it's capable of releasing ambitious phone designs. At its Unpacked event in February, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Fold, making it one of the first major gadget makers to bring a folding phone to market. Samsung said in a presentation last October that it was looking into several different technologies to maximize screen space, according to The Verge. Among the other designs Samsung is considering are in-display speakers, as well as haptic feedback sensors embedded in the screen. Analysis of DNA samples left behind in Loch Ness will reveal all the creatures living in the Scottish lake and may even support one theory on the existence of Nessie. Researchers collected samples of water from across the depths of the loch and sequenced the traces of DNA contained within. They have apparently identified 15 different species of fish from within Loch Ness, along with 3,000 types of bacteria that were living in the water. Cataloguing life within the loch has let experts test some of the theories around the Loch Ness monster such as that it is a prehistoric reptile, or just a big fish. Experts will reveal their findings in July 2019, but teased that some of the results were 'surprising.' Scroll down for video Analysis of DNA samples left behind in Loch Ness will reveal all the creatures living in the Scottish lake and may even support one theory on the existence of Nessie (stock image) Biologist Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues travelled the whole length of Loch Ness on the research vessel 'Deepscan', which is named after the operation to sonar scan the lake back in 1987. As they sailed, they took water samples from three different depths within the loch, in order to collect the traces of DNA found in the waters. This genetic material would have been left behind by all the different creatures in the lake, their coming off of their feather, fur, scales and skin, or being deposited in the water through their faeces or urine. If Nessie did exist, its DNA might have been picked up alongside those animals known to reside in the lake, such as pike, salmon and trout. The DNA samples taken from the Loch were sent off for sequencing and analysis at labs in Australia, Denmark, France and New Zealand. Prof Gemmell intends to announce the study's findings in Scotland in July, although there is the possibility that the release date could be postponed until September. The results, Professor Gemmell teased, are 'surprising'. 'Is there anything deeply mysterious? Hmm. It depends what you believe. Is there anything startling? There are a few things that are a bit surprising,' he added. 'What we'll have achieved is what we set out to do, which is document the biodiversity of Loch Ness in June 2018 in some level of detail.' Researchers have identified around 15 different of species of fish in the loch from the DNA samples, along with up to 3,000 species of bacteria. They used the DNA data to put common hypotheses about the nature of the Loch Ness monster to the test. Among these propositions is the idea that Nessie is a long-necked marine reptile like a plesiosaur that managed to survive the dinosaur-killing extinction 66 million years ago, as well as suggestions that the monster is really just a sturgeon or giant catfish. Researchers collected samples of water from across the depths of the loch and sequenced the traces of DNA contained within 'We've tested each one of the main monster hypotheses and three of them we can probably say aren't right and one of them might be,' said Professor Gemmell. 'Well never disprove that theres a monster, as we said at the beginning,' he told i news. 'If we find no evidence of the monster, that doesnt prove anything. All we can do is describe what weve found,' he added. It had been intended for the findings of the study to be made public already, but publication was delayed by endeavours to develop a documentary on the work. Researchers approached a series of production companies, but were unable to negotiate a deal to begin filming. It had been hoped that profits from the documentary might be used to fund further research. Cataloguing life within the loch has let experts test some of the theories around the Loch Ness monster (pictured, in this fake from 1934) such as that it is a prehistoric reptile 'Theres been an ongoing tension between wanting to tell people what weve found and wanting to maximise the vehicle through which we tell them,' Professor Gemmell told i news. 'I think a TV documentary wouldve been a wonderful way to document the search and what we found, and put it into the context of other studies of Loch Ness.' 'Its been something Ive worked on pretty hard.' The legend of Nessie is worth around 41 million ($52 million) each year to the Scottish economy, with hundreds of thousands of visitors flocking to the Loch each year in the hope of having an encounter with the mythical beast. Scottish tourist bosses are 'eagerly anticipating' the results of Professor Gemmell's study, i news reported. There have been six alleged Nessie sightings recorded so far in 2019. The latest was reported by a Mr Pycock, who claimed to have spotted the monster while holidaymaking with his son at 4pm on May 2017. The pair reported spotting something in the Urquhart bay area that initially 'looked like water breaking over a rock, or a log causing waves', but that lasted two minutes before water calmed. 'These are all very credible sightings,' said Gary Campbell, who maintains the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register. 'Do these latest sightings explain the Loch Ness mystery? No,' he added, 'Do they add to the weight of evidence that there is something happening that is unexplained? Yes.' Biologist Neil Gemmell (pictured) of the University of Otago, New Zealand, and colleagues travelled the whole length of Loch Ness on the research vessel 'Deepscan' 'Scotland is dear to my heart because my mother and her family are Scottish,' Professor Gemmell said when he announced the study last year. 'I'm delighted to be here [in Scotland] to undertake our environmental DNA investigation of Loch Ness.' 'It's a place of extraordinary natural beauty.' 'We're delighted with the amount of interest the project has generated in the science and, monster or not, we are going to understand Loch Ness, and the life in it, in a new way.' The genetic mutation introduced into two babies by a Chinese scientist in 2018 may be associated with a 21 per cent higher chance of early death in later life. Controversial scientist He Jiankui's justification for his experiment was to confer HIV immunity to the embryos to avoid infection from the father, who is HIV positive. Dr He reported using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit the human CCR5 gene in an attempt to artificially replicate a natural mutation, called 'CCR5-32'. However, this mutation had previously been linked to an increased susceptibility to certain diseases such as influenza. As the CCR5 gene codes for a protein involved in many body functions, researchers say that there could be many different possible reasons for the risk of early death. Scroll down for video The genetic mutation introduced into two babies by Chinese scientist He Jiankui (pictured) in 2018 may be associated with a 21 per cent higher chance of early death in later life, researchers say (file photo) Biologists Xinzhu 'April' Wei and Rasmus Nielsen of the University of California, Berkeley, analysed more than 400,000 human genomes and their associated health records from the UK Biobank, a British medical database. They found that individuals that had two copies of the CCR5-32 mutation had a 21 per cent higher death rate between the ages of 41 and 78 than those with only one of no copies of the mutation. In addition, fewer people with two of the mutations had enrolled in the UK Biobank database than was expected, suggesting that they had died at a higher rate than the general population. 'Beyond the many ethical issues involved with the CRISPR babies, the fact is that, right now, [...] it is still very dangerous to try to introduce mutations without knowing the full effect of what those mutations do," said Professor Nielsen. 'In this case, it is probably not a mutation that most people would want to have.' 'You are actually, on average, worse off having it.' 'Both the proportions before enrolment and the survivorship after enrolment tell the same story,' Professor Nielsen added. 'You have lower survivability or higher mortality if you have two copies of the mutation," he said. 'There is simply a deficiency of individuals with two copies.' Previous studies had linked possession of two copies of the CCR5-32 mutation with a four-fold increase in the rate of death following influenza infection. It is possible, therefore, that the higher mortality rate identified by the researchers is associate with 'flu-related deaths. However, the researchers say that there could be other possible causes, as the protein coded for by the CCR5 gene which is non-functional in individuals with two of the mutations is involved in many different functions within the body. 'Here is a functional protein that we know has an effect in the organism, and it is well-conserved among many different species, so it is likely that a mutation that destroys the protein is, on average, not good for you,' Professor Nielsen said. 'Otherwise, evolutionary mechanisms would have destroyed that protein a long time ago.' This graphic reveals how, theoretically, an embryo could be 'edited' using the powerful tool Crispr-Cas9 to defend humans against HIV infection The CCR5-32 mutation is relatively common among Northern European populations, Nielsen noted, indicated that it must have been beneficial and therefore favoured by natural selection at some point. It is unlikely that this benefit was protection against HIV, however, as the virus has only been circulating among humans since the 1980s. According to Dr Wei, there is some evidence to suggest instead that the mutant genes might increase the chance of survival after stroke and protect against smallpox and flaviviruses such as the dengue, Zika and West Nile viruses. Pictured, an embryologist who was part of the team working with scientist He Jiankui adjusts a microplate containing embryos at a lab in Shenzhen in southern China's Guandong province However, the researchers caution that the potential unintended effects from artificially creating genetic mutations such as the early death identified here is cause for caution. 'One gene could affect multiple traits,' noted Dr Wei, who added that the effects of a given mutation can also differ depending on the environment. 'I think there are a lot of things that are unknown at the current stage about genes' functions,' Dr Wei said. 'The CRISPR technology is far too dangerous to use right now for germline editing.' The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature Medicine. Dr He used gene-editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 to alter the embryonic genes of the twin girls, nicknamed 'Lulu' and 'Nana'. The disgraced researcher's justification for the experiment was to confer HIV immunity to the embryos to avoid infection from the father, who is HIV positive. Dr He said he chose to try embryo gene editing for HIV because these infections are a big problem in China. The fathers had their infections deeply suppressed by standard HIV medicines and there are simple ways to keep them from infecting offspring that do not involve altering genes. Instead, the appeal was to offer couples affected by HIV a chance to have a child that might be protected from a similar fate. Dr He has since been fired from his university post and is under investigation by Chinese authorities. Dr He was trained as a physicist, not a biologist, and was therefore unqualified and likely unable to carry out the research himself. It is believed he used his own 40 million fortune to fund the project and privately recruited highly-trained scientific professionals to carry out the research. Little is known about the research which staggered scientists for its brazen flaunting of every rule and guideline on ethics and legality in genetics. The whereabouts of the Chinese researcher have been a mystery since November. Reports claimed He was placed under effective house arrest in Shenzhen after making an appearance at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong in late November. He and his family are living in university housing on the grounds of Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, with guards stationed outside his apartment, according to a recent Bloomberg report citing Dr William Hurlbut, an adjunct professor at Stanford Medical School who has been in touch with the Chinese scientist. 'He told me that in both his living situation and in the process of the investigation, he's being treated respectfully,' Dr Hurlbut, a neurobiologist whom Dr He had consulted over the past two years on his genetics research, told reporters. The two children, LuLu and Nana, were born in October, it is believed, and the potentially dangerous changes made to their genome may then be passed down to future generations, a field of research still in its infancy and widely unknown. He's controversial work, which earned him the nickname of 'Chinese Frankenstein', was condemned by the medical community and Chinese health officials, who said they know nothing of the experiment. Gene editing is banned in Britain, the US many other parts of the world, and researchers said that, if Dr He's claims are true, the 'monstrous' experiment was 'not morally or ethically defensible'. There is no independent confirmation of Dr He's claim, and it has not been published in a journal, where it would be vetted by other experts. It's 'unconscionable ... an experiment on human beings that is not morally or ethically defensible,' said Dr Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert and editor of a genetics journal. 'This is far too premature,' said Dr Eric Topol, who heads the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California. 'We're dealing with the operating instructions of a human being. It's a big deal.' 'If true, this experiment is monstrous,' said Professor Julian Savulescu, Director of the University of Oxford's Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. 'These healthy babies are being used as genetic guinea pigs. This is genetic Russian Roulette.' A newly launched investigation could finally get to the bottom of a mystery that has baffled scientists since the 1950s. For decades, scientists have observed brief flashes of light that appear on the surface of the moon several times a week. But, no one knows exactly whats causing them. Now, using a specially designed lunar telescope in Spain that boasts two cameras, a team will keep an eye on the moons activity every night in hopes to capture these strange phenomena and ultimately pinpoint the source. Scroll down for video For decades, scientists have observed brief flashes of light that appear on the surface of the moon several times a week. But, no one knows exactly whats causing them Scientists have dubbed these strange events transient lunar phenomena. The new effort is led by researchers from Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg in Germany, who built the new telescope and put it into operation in April 2019. The telescope sits at a private observatory roughly 100 kilometers north of Seville, where the weather is optimal for viewing. There are several possible explanations that have circulated over the years, from meteor impacts to interactions between solar wind and moon dust, the researchers say. Seismic activities were also observed on the moon, says Hakan Kayal, Professor of Space Technology at Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany. When the surface moves, gases that reflect sunlight could escape from the interior of the moon. This would explain the luminous phenomena, some of which last for hours. The so-called transient lunar phenomena have been known since the 1950s, but they have not been sufficiently observed, Kayal said. When the new telescope logs a luminous phenomenon with both of its cameras at the same time, it will store the observations and send an email to the team. Using a specially designed lunar telescope in Spain that boasts two cameras, a team will keep an eye on the moons activity every night in hopes to capture these strange phenomena and ultimately pinpoint the source Artificial intelligence techniques will eventually be added to help it distinguish between different types of events on the moon, as well as false alarms. The researchers say understanding this type of activity at the surface of the moon will be critical in efforts to establish colonies. Anyone who wants to build a lunar base at some point must of course be familiar with the local conditions, Kayal said. The researchers will eventually compare their results with those collected by the European Space Agency to confirm the observations. They say that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burnt but now research suggests that the Romans lit so many fires that the resulting pollution cooled Europe. Researchers estimated the amount of air pollution, including soot and organic carbon particles, that would have been produced by the ancient Empire. From this they found that the dominant cooling effect of air pollution would have lowered the European climate of the time by 0.3F (0.17C). But the decrease would have been more than countered by the warm climate at this period of time. Experts also claim it is dwarfed by modern man-made climate change. Nevertheless, the researchers said, the study adds to the evidence that shows how human activity has been altering the natural climate for millennia. Scroll down for video Researchers estimated the amount of air pollution, including soot and organic carbon particles, that would have been produced by the Roman Empire Anina Gilgen of ETH Zurich, Switzerland, and her colleagues estimated the impact of the air pollution produced by the Roman Empire on the climate of Europe. 'We looked for the first time at whether anthropogenic aerosol impacts had an impact on climate a long time ago,' Ms Gilgen told the New Scientist. Researchers used existing studies of how much land the Romans used for farms, homes and other purposes to estimate the amount of air pollution the empire would have created and then factored this in to a model of European climate at the time. They found that while deforestation and greenhouse gas release had a modest warming effect of up to 0.27F (0.15C), air pollution had a stronger cooling effect. This lead to an overall average temperature drop of around 0.3F (0.17C), cooling Europe down to 32.3 (0.46C), Ms Gilgen and colleagues estimated. 'The novelty here is in their thinking about what the [Roman's] aerosol contribution would be, which seems to be quite considerable,' said Joy Singarayer, a past climate expert at the University of Reading who was not involved in this study. The results highlight how human activities have been altering the Earth's climate for thousands of years. The temperature shifts caused by the Romans, however, were tiny in comparison with current man-made climate changes driven by the widespread emission of greenhouse gases. In fact, the cooling was probably too minor to have had a significant impact on Roman society, researchers said. At the Empire's height, the climate underwent a hotter spell, known as the Roman Warm Period, which lasted from around 250 BC to 400 AD. First identified in the nineties, climatologists believe that this warm period was a natural phenomenon. As a consequence, the cooling from the air pollution may only have served to slightly counter the natural warming of the time. They say that Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burnt (pictured, artist's impression) but now research suggests that the Romans lit so many fires that the resulting pollution cooled Europe The fires, however, may have had a different harmful consequence. Air pollution today is known to cause various health issues, including increasing the chance of heart attacks and strokes. 'It might rather be that air pollution was a problem for people living in cities,' said Ms Gilgen. In addition, the pollution might have caused more rain locally, with water droplet condensing around the aerosol particles. 'There could have been an impact on precipitation patterns and therefore water availability,' Professor Singarayer said. 'Theres been similar things in the Sahara, where aerosols have impacted on where precipitation is falling and contributed to drought conditions in certain areas.' Advanced societies like the Roman Empire would have had the potential to impact the climate in various ways, including by burning fuel (Pictured: a reenactor in a street market in Braga, Portugal uses a fire to demonstrate how Roman blacksmiths would have worked) Advanced societies like the Roman Empire would have had the potential to impact the climate in various ways, from the burning of fuel and wood to heat homes to the cutting down of trees and the burning of crop residues. Previous research has quantified the impacts that these kinds of activities can have through both their release of greenhouse gases and conversion of forests to agricultural land. In fact, human-induced changes in temperatures from deforestation and greenhouse emissions can be seen in Europe and South-East Asia as early as 7,000 years ago. However, these studies have typically overlooked how air pollution can also bring about changes in the climate. For example, soot particles from fires trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, leading to warming, while organic carbon particles have a cooling effect thanks to how they reflect sunlight back into space. The Roman Warm Period was not the only other climate shift faced by the ancient empire, however. Researchers have proposed, for example, that the Roman conquest of northernmost Africa was aided by volcanic eruptions that took place around 250 BC. These eruptions would have disrupted the African monsoon, negatively impacting the local societies and weakening them prior to Roman invasion. Other experts have suggested that the collapse of the Western Roman Empire between 300 and 500 AD were associated with rapid changes to the climate. The full findings of the study were published in the journal Climate of the Past. Fresh fire and deep smoke from affected tank Facebook It was around 10:30 am this morning, June 3, at the National Oil Refinery company, SONARA, that residents in Limbe got another explosion followed by thick smoke and fire, which caused panic in the company, as many took to their heels. Reports say top officials of the company were on their feet, after they got the frightening sound, accompanied by a wave of fire. According to other reports, seemingly, the company has ran out of water preserved by the refinery, in times of crisis. The safety unit have been battling to put out the fire since the outbreak between on the 31st of May. Activities of the company were suspended after it was announced that a tanker had exploded. Different factions of separatists have been insisting that they carried out hr attacks on the refinery but government says it wasnt an attack, but a technical fault. Experts say today's fire is a residual combustion, which could have been stirred by the initial fire. However the population has been told to remain calm as all was under control. Meantime, residents around the refinery have been complaining about pollution as the deep smoke has filled the air, which has pushed some to have catarrh and cough. Environmental journalist, Regina Leke explains that the air pollution results from "emission of excessive amounts of Sulphur dioxide, benzene and Carbon dioxide. Normally, inhaling these gases causes irritation to the nose, throat and lungs". Amazon has begun rolling out free next-day delivery for Prime users, upping the ante in its ongoing delivery game with Walmart. The internet giant said Monday that more than 10 million items are now eligible for one-day delivery across the US, with no minimum purchase. Free one-day delivery will first roll out in North America, but it's expected to expand to other countries in the future. Scroll down for video Amazon has begun rolling out free next-day delivery for Prime users, upping the ante in its ongoing delivery game with Walmart. Over 10 million items are eligible for one-day delivery HOW DOES AMAZON'S NEXT-DAY SHIPPING WORK? In April, Amazon began rolling out next-day shipping for more items. It now covers over 10 million products on Amazon, 'from Echo devices and headphones to household items and cleaning supplies,' according to the firm. Amazon said items with one-day shipping will say 'eligible for delivery today' on the listing. One-day delivery now covers the U.S. 'coast to coast' and is expanding to more areas soon. Advertisement Amazon sent retailers scrambling when it first introduced two-day shipping in 2005. Similarly, Amazon announced in its latest quarterly earnings that it intended to spend $800 million in the quarter to expand one-day free shipping for Prime members. Prime members pay $119 a year for the subscription service. Not long after, Walmart said it would launch next-day shipping for 220,000 popular items on orders over $35. Amazon's one-day delivery service has already eclipsed Walmart's, with over 10 million items covered by the program and with no minimum purchase amount required. 'Today, the most popular one-day items range from books, beauty and baby wipes to devices, dish detergent and doggie bags,' Amazon said in a statement. 'In other words, Prime Free One Day is already 10 times larger than the original two-day offering launched in 2005. 'But we will keep adding more selection and expanding our delivery areas to ensure Prime members get their products faster than ever. Prime members will find that more and more items are being delivered in just one day,' the firm added. In April, Amazon said it 'significantly expanded' one-day delivery selection and it's still adding new items and areas in the meantime. Amazon has also expanded its same-day delivery service, Prime Now, in recent months. Prime Now, which is available in 44 metropolitan areas, offers delivery within hours for a range of items. Amazon's expansion of one-day delivery follows its announcement last month that it intended to spend $800 million in the quarter to expand one-day free shipping for Prime members Amazon said it's able to offer one-day and same-day delivery as a result of its robust logistics network. It now includes 110 fulfillment centers, 40 package sortation centers, 100 delivery stations and several Amazon Air cargo planes. 'This allows Amazon to work smarter based on decades of process improvement and innovation, and to deliver orders faster and more efficiently,' the firm said. Amazon's move into one-day delivery has already drawn the ire of leaders of a major labor union. Stuart Applebaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, told CNN that next-day delivery has the potential to make warehouse workers' lives dangerous. Many employees currently scramble to keep up with 200 to 300 orders per hour during a 12-hour shift, he added. In response, an Amazon executive told CNN that the criticisms were 'misguided' and intended to 'spout falsehoods.' 'We appreciate [Applebaum's] concern for our associates but his concern is misguided and self-serving,' Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations, told CNN. A high-flying timelapse of the International Space Station sends viewers on a stunning trip from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic in just 60 seconds. In the video taken by NASA astronaut Nick Hague, about 30 minutes of orbit time aboard the ISS -- or a third of the time the station takes to complete one full rotation around the planet -- takes place over just a minute, capturing the enormity of Earth's atmosphere. 'I was awestruck as I watched the wispy clouds disappear into the shadows,' said Hague on Twitter. Hague boarded the station on March 14 and is set to return from his six-month trip into space in October. According to him, outside of the seemingly boundless beauty of Earth's atmosphere, he has witnessed other, more personal, phenomenon during his time on the station. '[Two] months into my stay on [the ISS]! Whats it like adjusting to life in space? My back stretched out due to lack of gravity [and] Im now [two] inches taller,' reported Hague on Twitter. 'Fluid shifts make me feel a bit stuffy, [and] the tops of my feet now have calluses since we use them like hands on handrails.' Hague's journey may be awe-inspiring from the vantage of the astronaut's timelapse, but the mission's attempted launch last year was anything but. In the video, taken by NASA astronaut, Nick Hague, about 30 minutes of orbit time aboard the ISS -- a third of the time the station takes to complete one full rotation around the planet -- takes place over just a minute, capturing the enormity of Earth's atmosphere The ISS is currently home to Hague and several other astronauts who are conducting a range of experiments throughout the next several months Last year, Hague and fellow astronaut Alexey Ovchinin had to abruptly eject from the rocket due to anomalies with the ship's booster. 'We were violently shaken side to side, thrust back into our seats as the launch escape system ripped us away from the rocket,' said Hague in a NASA statement. 'As all of that's happening, you're being shaken around, vision is blurry. I hear the alarm sounding and see the red light where the engine has had an emergency. I had the vivid realization we aren't making it to orbit today, we've been pulled off rocket and we have to land.' The astronauts tumbled back down through Earth's atmosphere and escaped their harrowing trip safely without either of the astronauts being seriously harmed. Over the next several months, the astronauts will conduct a range of experiments on the use of robotic assistants called Astrobees, advanced biomedical chips, and more. Elephants can count using their sense of smell, research has found. It is so good that in tests they were able to detect which of two buckets contained more sunflower seeds. This is thought to be the first time that an animal is able to use its sense of smell to make a simple calculation of whether one of two quantities is more or less than another the most basic form of maths. The amount of seeds in each bucket was quite small varying between 4 grams and 24 grams. Many animal species have shown an ability to distinguish between more and less when presented with different amounts of food, the researchers said. Elephants can count using their sense of smell, research has found. It is so good that in tests they were able to detect which of two buckets contained more sunflower seeds. This is thought to be the first time that an animal is able to use its sense of smell to make a calculation But they have used vision to discriminate. Dogs have been unable to show they can perform the same trick in tests of their abilities to smell, known to scientists as olfaction. The researchers writing in the journal PNAS write: In this study, by contrast, elephants showed that they can detect differences between various quantities of food using only their sense of smell. Thus, elephants may be unique in their use of olfaction in cognitive tasks. For humans the ability to differentiate between more and less is helpful for instance, in the supermarket, the 10 items queue or less is usually quicker than others. But for an elephant it could be vital. The authors write that elephants often travel long distances to find better-quality food and water, which can vary according to seasonal availability, changes to their environment, and a risk they could be attacked by humans. The best performers two bull elephants called Pepsi and Phuki were able to get it right more than 80 per cent of the time. The scientists suggest that male elephants are better at the task because they need to eat more food, making it more important that their sense of smell is keener. Males also have to sniff out females in heat over long distances in order to reproduce, the authors write. The scientists suggest that male elephants are better at the task because they need to eat more food, making it more important that their sense of smell is keener. Males also have to sniff out females in heat over long distances in order to reproduce, the authors wrote Joshua Plotnik from Hunter College, City University of New York, New York and colleagues carried out the tests on six 12-45-year-old Asian elephants living in the grounds of a hotel in northern Thailand. The buckets containing the seeds was opaque and had a perforated lid to let the odour out. In experiments, the elephants chose the greater quantity of seeds in each pair, regardless of the quantity of seeds presented. The accuracy of the prediction was better when the difference between each pair increased. It worsened as the ratio between the pair of presented quantities decreased, reinforcing the notion that elephants have a nose for quantity. They say that while elephants do use vision, particularly in close contexts where they react to each others body language, they use it mainly to complement their more dominant senses hearing, smell and touch. The elephants were tested at the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort in northern Thailand. The research was published in the journal PNAS. That elephants have a nifty sense of smell is perhaps unsurprising. They have more genes related to smell than any other animal: 2,000 compared to around 800 for a dog. In a separate study, elephants were found to be better able to sniff out hidden TNT than trained explosive sniffer dogs. Google has pledged to investigate the source of an hours-long outage that left popular services that rely on its cloud technology down for most of Sunday afternoon. The search giant said YouTube, G Suite and Gmail were disrupted as a result of 'high levels of network congestion,' but that it intended to examine the issue further and make improvements to its systems to prevent a similar event from happening again. Google also insisted that the widespread outages, which primarily affected service in the Eastern United States, but also stretched across the globe, were not a result of cyberattacks. The outage lasted from about 12:25 p.m. (ET) to about 4 p.m. (ET) on Sunday. Scroll down for video Google has pledged to investigate the source of an hours-long outage that left popular services that rely on its cloud technology down for most of Sunday afternoon WHAT GOOGLE SITES WERE HIT BY THE OUTAGE? Gmail YouTube G Suite, which includes Google Drive, Hangouts, Docs, Sheets, Tasks, Voice and Keep Nest devices Snapchat Discord Shopify Advertisement The firm said it's still unclear what exactly led to the massive outage. Google said it would 'conduct an internal investigation of this issue and make appropriate improvements to our systems to help prevent or minimize future recurrence,' according to the New York Times. Aside from YouTube and Gmail, users reported having issues with G Suite, which includes more than a dozen Google services, like Hangouts, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Voice. Sites that rely on Google's cloud computing infrastructure were also affected by the outage, such as Snapchat, Discord, Shopify and Apple's iCloud storage service, which resulted in some slowdowns to iMessage, iMail, Photos and Documents in the Cloud. Some users also said they were having issues with third-party sites and applications including Pokemon Go, Uber, Uber Eats and Vimeo. What's more, the outage even extended to some of Google's Nest smart home devices that rely on Google Cloud for some functions. Many reported having issues accessing their Nest thermostats, Nest smart locks and Nest cameras during the outage, which may have prevented users from controlling their AC and keeping an eye on their homes, according to Fast Company. However, it only affected users who were controlling their smart home devices remotely, i.e. from the office or their car, as remote controls require a cloud connection. The outage mainly affected users in the US northeast on Sunday, but problems were also reported along the west coast near California, in Europe and South America Some users were gifted with grayed out video recommendation graphics in addition to the menu tabs column. The outage also hit Gmail, G Suite and a range of other popular sites Users who were inside their home or outside their front door could still use the services, as they run on WiFi connections, which weren't disrupted by the outage. The outage likely wasn't as disruptive as it would've been had it occurred on a weekday, but many users still took to Twitter to express frustration over the issue. #YouTubeDOWN ranked first among trending topics in the US Sunday afternoon. Instead of seeing the usual menu of recommended videos, users who visited the YouTube homepage were gifted with a blank screen. Most of the outages were reported along the US northeast coast, but many users in southern California, South America and Europe reported the site being down as well. The outage served to underscore just how widespread Google Cloud has become in popular sites in services. Amazon's cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services, suffered a similar outage in 2017, which the company later attributed to 'human error.' An Amazon employee accidentally took down a host of AWS servers when they were addressing a billing problem, resulting in services like Slack, Quora and others being down for hours. Production lines for Huawei's smartphones have reportedly halted as the company grapples with the effects of a U.S. blacklisting. According to a report from the South China Morning Post, the ban by the U.S. has prevented Huawei from accessing supplies that are 'crucial for international sales' including chips made by Intel and access to Google's Android operating system. The ban may also force Huawei to reassess its goal of becoming the most popular smartphone purveyor by 2020. Huawei has reportedly halted production at one of its smartphone facilities amid rising pressure from a U.S. ban. 'As the new situation has emerged, it is too early to say whether we are able to achieve the goal,' said Zhao Ming, president of one of Huaweis smartphone brands, at a media briefing in Shanghai on Friday night according to the report. The company still holds its number two spot in terms of global smartphone sales in the first quarter of the year, but may have difficulty staving off Apple or catching world leader, Samsung, in the midst of an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China. Huawei has denied the reports from the South China Morning Post, telling Forbes 'Huawei refutes these claims, our global production levels are normal, with no notable adjustments in either direction.' For Huawei, one of the biggest escalations in the U.S. government's ban was Google's decision to limit the telecom giant's access to its Android operating system. The company announced that it will no longer provide support or patches for any of Huawei's devices, a decision that would effectively knee-cap its phones on the user end by causing them to rapidly become outdated and vulnerable. Among the major issues faces by the company is limited access to Google's operating system, Android which Huawei uses to power its phones. As a result, Huawei is looking to speed of the creation of its own operating system which would forego the reliance on those of U.S. based companies. The U.S. government banned Chinese suppliers including Huawei and its smaller rival, ZTE Corp., saying that they pose an espionage threat since they're both beholden to China's ruling Communist Party, however, American officials have presented no evidence of any Huawei equipment serving as intentional conduits for espionage by Beijing. While Huawei has taken a major hit from the ongoing dispute, the U.S. is from rom immune to the effects of the escalations. Rural America may feel the consequences of the U.S. ban on Huawei the most as many small telecommunication companies rely on the company's hardware, which has since been banned, to build wireless networks. As a result, trade groups have stated that it could cost between $800 million to $1 billion to replace current infrastructure. If a vintage wooden tram rattles past your pavement cafe as youre served coffee and a warm, cinnamon-dusted custard tart, you can only be in Lisbon one of the sunniest cities in Europe and 2019s go-to place for a perfect long weekend. The Portuguese capital is a two-and-a-half-hour flight from the UK, its in the same time zone and the airport is only six miles (and a cheap taxi or bus ride) from the city centre. Its one of the oldest cities in the world proudly pre-dating Paris, London and even Rome and its raising its tourist game all the time. Watch the sun bounce off its gleaming marble streets and youll soon see why. Heres how to make Lisbon the best city break of the year. The Portuguese capital is a two-and-a-half-hour flight from the UK MUST STAY: The big hotel chains are moving in to serve the citys tourist boom, and theres plenty of choice if you want an apartment, thanks to Airbnb. But for the perfect stay, try one of the new boutique hotels. The elegant AlmaLusa (almalusahotels.com) is tucked away in the corner of a sunny square (ask for breakfast or evening drinks outside) and focuses on stylish local furnishings in oversized, glamorous rooms. Rising to the top: The Elevador de Santa Justa, above MUST SEE: Lisbon is built on seven hills (just like Rome), so wear sensible shoes and prepare to take in some fabulous views. Get to the best vantage points using elevators and funiculars that sprinkle the city. The most beautiful is the wrought-iron Elevador de Santa Justa, where up to 30 people a time rise 135ft in wooden cabins that have barely changed in 100 years. Rides cost 5.30, and if theres a queue, pass the time with an ice cream at nearby Santinis (santini.pt). At the top of the lift theres a viewing platform alongside a ruined convent and a great set of pavement cafes and bars. Street art is another key attraction. Head to the Chao do Loureiro multi-storey car park on the edge of the Baixa area each level is given over to a different artist. MUST RIDE: The trams. The colourful carriages have been trundling through Lisbon since the 1930s and the wooden seats and leather straps only add to the vintage feel. The most famous line is route 28, which twists through the most scenic streets. Queues are long in the summer, so it pays to travel early. You can buy single tickets on board for 3, but a 6.40 day pass is likely to be better value as it includes every other form of city transport too. If route 28 is too busy, route 25 is almost as good. Trams have been trundling through Lisbon since the 1930s - the most famous line is route 28 Once youve tried the tram, there are plenty of other ways to get around. The cobbled streets are awash with people riding tuk-tuks and scooters. You can also take to the water (taguscruises.com) and sail under the citys vast red suspension bridge. MUST DO: Learn about the citys extraordinary history. The Lisbon Story Centre (lisboastorycentre.pt entry 7) has GPS-activated audio tours and takes you from Roman times through to the earthquake that almost destroyed the city in 1755 and to the present day. Outside, you can climb the Rua Augusta Arch (3) for more city views. The square in front of the arch is the starting point for most guided walks, including the espionage tour, which follows in the secret footsteps of spies who made neutral Lisbon their home during the Second World War (lisbonwalker.com). For something faintly macabre, walk down Rua Augusta and go into St Domingos Church on the edge of Pedro IV Square. After a fire in the 1950s, the church was abandoned for nearly 40 years. Now it has a new roof and is open for worship, but most stones and columns are still scorched, scratched and sooty. The citys must-have custard tarts. Buy them from the new Time Out food market, says Neil Simpson MUST EAT: Custard tarts, or pastel de nata, are everywhere, and the new Time Out food market (timeoutmarket.com) in an old waterside warehouse is an atmospheric place to buy them. As befits a city on the coast, there is seafood galore. Cod is a favourite and you can eat on wooden terraces at Monte Mar (mmlisboa.pt). For a quick meal, try Honorato, Lisbons artisan take on McDonalds. At night, grab a table at the always-busy Bairro do Avillez in bustling Chiado (bairrodoavillez.pt). MUST DRINK: Its all about cherry liqueur, and a tiny kiosk, A Ginjinha, on the corner of Pedro IV Square, has been serving it since 1886. It comes with or without a pickled cherry. MUST BUY: Sardines! The city has gone crazy for decorated tins which are now kitsch souvenirs. Shops are stuffed with jazzy displays. Mundo Fantastico da Sardinha Portuguesa on Rua de Pedro V is one of the brightest shops. Theres even an outlet at Lisbon airport. Around 10 years ago, little-known chess champion Paul Charles Dozsa became a posthumous celebrity when footage of his dramatic arrest outside a Sydney restaurant for 'dining and dashing' went viral on YouTube. The bizarre clip, believed to have been recorded in 1988, showed Dozsa protesting as several cops escorted him into a police car after he had tried to avoid paying a $50 bill. His impassioned defence of his crime, for which he was later convicted, has been described by viewers as 'theatrical', 'eloquent' and 'hilarious', and inspired hundreds of Internet memes. Dozsa, who spoke in a posh English accent despite being Hungarian, said police had no right to arrest him as his only crime had been to 'eat... a succulent Chinese meal'. He then complained that one of the police officers touched his genitalia and yelled: 'Get your hand off my penis! This is the bloke that got me on the penis, people!' When an officer moved to put the suspect in headlock, he remarked dryly: 'Ah, yes! I see that you know your judo well! Good one.' What happened to the 'Succulent Chinese Meal' guy? The tragic story behind the Australian man in THAT viral arrest footage proves that some lives really are stranger than fiction Turning to another cop, the clearly inebriated Dozsa added: 'And you sir, are you waiting to receive my limp penis?' Dozsa's hilarious delivery and defiant attitude made him something of a folk hero in the eyes of many Australians, who consider him to be a lovable rogue. He never got to enjoy his Internet fame, however, as he died in Melbourne in 2003, according to an obituary in the chess column of the Weekend Australian. 'Democracy manifest!' Around 10 years ago, little-known chess champion Paul Charles Dozsa became a posthumous celebrity when footage of his dramatic arrest outside a Sydney restaurant for 'dining and dashing' went viral on YouTube But what is the story behind Dozsa's arrest? And how did he come to be known as Australia's most famous 'restaurant runner'? Dozsa was apparently born in Szeged, the third largest city of Hungary, in 1940 and emigrated to Australia sometime in the mid 1960s. Despite his European origins, later in life he adopted an accent closely resembling English 'Received Pronunciation'. This was just one of his many eccentricities. 'And you sir, are you waiting to receive my limp penis?' The bizarre clip, believed to have been recorded in 1988, showed Dozsa protesting as several cops escorted him into a police car after he had tried to avoid paying a $50 bill Dozsa worked as a chef but is best remembered as a chess player who competed in professional tournaments and eventually became a grandmaster. By his mid-forties, however, he fell on hard times. The exact cause of his downfall is unknown, but it can be assumed alcohol was a factor as fellow chess players recall him often being drunk and falling asleep during competitions. He made headlines in the late '80s and '90s for dining at expensive restaurants or staying at five-star hotels and trying to leave without paying his bill. Lovable rogue: Dozsa's impassioned defence of his crime, for which he was later convicted, has been described by viewers as 'theatrical', 'eloquent' and 'hilarious' At least one newspaper report of his 'dine and dash' escapades described him as being 'unemployed' and of 'no fixed address' - however he would nonetheless speak and dress in the manner of a Hungarian nobleman. His frequent arrests (one Associated Press article stated he had 54 past convictions) earned him the nickname 'The Restaurant Runner'. After being convicted, Dozsa would usually be forced to compensate the restaurant and pay a fine that usually well exceeded the bill he'd initially refused to pay. It is believed he also spent time in prison at some stage, an experience he 'didn't mind too much' because he enjoyed working in the kitchen. 'Ah, yes! I see that you know your judo well! Good one': Dozsa, who spoke in a posh English accent despite being Hungarian, said police had no right to arrest him as his only crime had been to 'eat... a succulent Chinese meal' According to those who claim to have known Dozsa, he was 'before the courts on at least 150 occasions' but most offences never got that far. He apparently died of brain tumour in 2003 after years of believing the Hungarian military had put 'secret implants' in his head in 1958 - a delusion that offers some insight into his mental state. Dozsa's bizarre life was mostly forgotten outside of Australian and New Zealand chess circles until footage of his 1988 arrest was uploaded to YouTube in 2009. He is now known around the world for his spirited defiance of authority, charming eccentricity and uniquely Australian larrikinism. One Reddit user summed up the public's response to Dozsa recently by writing: 'No one has ever been arrested with such grace'. Jack Vidgen made a triumphant comeback on The Voice on Sunday night, after a five-year hiatus from the music industry. After his spectacular blind audition, the 22-year-old revealed that one of the reasons he stopped singing was because he had been 'exposed to things' he shouldn't have while living in LA as a teenager. Speaking to TV Week on Monday, the former Australia's Got Talent winner spoke in greater detail about the traumatic events that made him give up his Hollywood dreams. Scroll down for video What really happened to me in LA: The Voice's Jack Vidgen (pictured) has spoken about the trauma that made him give up his Hollywood dreams Two years after winning AGT in 2011, Jack relocated to Los Angeles aged 16 in a bid to 'make it' in America. He hinted that he was exposed to bad influences during this time, saying: 'I was just way too young for what I was going through. I wasn't really handling it too well. 'I was 16, I'd moved over to LA by myself, I was just trying to do my thing and hustle over there.' Jack confessed he hit 'rock bottom' and realised that he needed the support of his family and friends back home. 'There was just the realisation that I wasn't enjoying it anymore,' he added. 'I was super alone. That was my rock bottom. I decided I needed to hug my mum.' Trauma: Two years after winning Australia's Got Talent in 2011, Jack relocated to Los Angeles aged 16 in a bid to 'make it' in America - but something awful happened to him Jack's rendition of Hello by Adele on Sunday's episode of The Voice saw all four judges turn their chairs. After his powerful audition, he hinted that something traumatic happened to him while living in America. 'When I was about 16, I ended up going over to the States for about a year by myself,' he began. Damaged: Jack told TV Week on Monday, 'There was just the realisation that I wasn't enjoying it anymore. I was super alone. That was my rock bottom. I decided I needed to hug my mum' 'At the time, my goal was like, "I want to make it in America". [But] I hit a lot of roadblocks and I got exposed to a lot of things that I don't think is great to be exposed to at that age. It's really scary to be alone and kind of at rock bottom.' He concluded: 'I think it was just kind of a snowball effect for me.' Jack made similar comments to News.com.au after his audition, saying: 'Over the course of the year [in LA], different things happened and I guess you get exposed to different things in the industry, and just being 16 that can be pretty heavy. 'It just got pretty heavy and it got to the point where I fell out of love with music. I wasn't enjoying it anymore.' House Rules host Johanna Griggs has denied claims she is engaged in a bitter rivalry with her co-star Jamie Durie. Woman's Day alleged that Joh, 45, was furious with Jamie's addition to the judging panel, claiming their 'bad blood' had even led to 'crisis talks' at Channel Seven. But Joh has denied these so-called meetings ever took place and accused the magazine of printing 'fantasy rubbish'. 'It's fantasy rubbish!' House Rules host Johanna Griggs (pictured) has denied reports of a feud with new judge Jamie Durie A 'source' had supposedly told Woman's Day: 'Joh's absolutely steaming and she has every right to be! 'She's been at the network for more than 15 years and is a big part of the success of [House Rules], yet she's feeling pushed aside by Jamie.' Jamie, who replaced architect Drew Heath on the panel this year, has featured heavily in adverts for the new season alongside co-host Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. 'It's difficult for people who have been involved in the show to understand why the network is promoting Jamie when Joh has proven her stripes,' the source added. Fake news! Woman's Day alleged that Joh, 45, was furious with Jamie's addition to the judging panel, claiming their 'bad blood' had even led to 'crisis talks' at Channel Seven Joh, a former competitive swimmer, is a longtime employee of Channel Seven, having first joined the Seven Sport team in 1993. The 'insider' claimed the 'snub' had particularly irked Joh's manager Sue Muggleton and that some heated words were being exchanged behind the scenes. But Joh rubbished the Woman's Day story in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, saying there were no 'secret crisis meetings behind closed doors at Seven about Jamie and me happening now'. 'In actual fact - Jamie and I just finished a great week away on the road together shooting for Better Homes and Gardens. We had an absolute ball!' she added. Setting the record straight: But Joh rubbished the Woman's Day story in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, saying there were no 'secret crisis meetings behind closed doors at Seven' House Rules has struggled in the ratings since its new season debuted in April, consistently lagging behind its rivals MasterChef and The Voice. The inclusion of celebrity horticulturist Jamie, 49, follows his appearances on other lifestyle programs including The Block, The Outdoor Room and Backyard Blitz. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Seven for comment. Jenelle Evans and husband David Eason are determined to regain custody of their children after they were taken away by Child Protective Services last month. And the Teen Mom 2 star, 27, was thinking back on better times as she shared a photo of husband cuddling with daughter Ensley, two, on her Facebook Sunday. The reality star's sweet throwback, which was a 'memory' of a 2017 post, was captioned the photo with a bow emoji and the tag '#DaddysGirl.' Better times: Jenelle Evans shared a throwback photo of husband David Eason hugging daughter Ensley, just two days after the couple failed to regain custody of their three children Jenelle and David failed to regain custody of their children on May 28 after a judge determined the couple 'failed to protect the children while they were in her care.' The pair have been in and out of courts since daughter Ensley, Evan's four-year-old son Kaiser, and Eason's 11-year-old daughter Maryssa were taken away from them following an incident where Eason murdered his wife's pet French bulldog back in April. After their last legal setback the couple are reportedly only seeking to regain custody of Ensley and Kaiser, who is being cared for by his father Nathan Griffith. Ensley was placed in the care of Jenelle's mother Barbara, who is already the primary caretaker for Evan's nine-year-old Jace. Meanwhile, Eason is reportedly not seeking to regain custody of his eldest daughter, who is from a previous relationship. Yesterday Evan's mother showed that the kids were in safe hands when she posted some sweet family photos. Legal woes: They have been in and out of courts since daughter Ensley, Evan's four-year-old son Kaiser, and Eason's 11-year-old daughter Maryssa were taken away from them following an incident where Eason murdered his wife's pet French bulldog back in April. Above February 8 Barbara posted a photo of Jace and Ensley, along with their cousin Gabriel, as the family attended Coast Guard Day, an event where Coast Guard members put their helicopters and equipment on display. Jace and Gabriel looked like they were having a great time as they stood in front of a helicopter and hung out on an airboat, though Ensley looked a bit concerned as she stood by the elevated seats. Another photo showed the two siblings from behind as they assessed a toy boat named 'Coastie.' 'Having fun at coast guard Day,eating hot dogs,frozen ice,and learning about rescue equipment,' wrote Barbara. Doing their best: Barbara Evans, 66, posted some sweet family photos of her 27-year-old daughter Jenelle Evans' children on Saturday after she assumed custody of Jace, nine, and Ensley, two Fun outing: Barbara posted photos of Jace and Ensley, along with their cousin Gabriel, as the family attended Coast Guard Day, apparently an event where Coast Guard members put their helicopters and equipment on display A little small: Another photo showed the two siblings from behind as they assessed a toy boat named 'Coastie' Family bonding: 'Having fun at coast guard Day,eating hot dogs,frozen ice,and learning about rescue equipment,' wrote Barbara Taking care of Jenelle's children is no new task for Barbara. The grandmother has had custody of Jace for the majority of his life (though he had frequent visitations with Jenelle and David), so she was presumably prepared to care for young children. But she has reportedly prevented Jenelle from seeing her son from a previous relationship with Andrew Lewis after David murdered one of the family's dogs. Following the May 28 court hearing in which Jenelle and David failed to regain custody, Barbara told E! News, 'Of course I would like for Jenelle to get them all back eventually, but certain things have to happen first.' Safety net: Barbara has already had custody of Jace for most of his life, so she was prepared to care for Jenelle's youngest daughter Ensley, who's her only child with husband David Eason; Barbara and Janelle pictured in 2015 in LA David has also allegedly claimed he no longer cares about custody with his 11-year-old daughter Maryssa, who comes from a previous relationship. According to Us Weekly, the mercurial reality fixture stormed out of a supervised visitation with their other children after she refused to see him. 'He said hes done with Maryssa, and that she can stay with her grandmother for good,' a source told The Ashley's Reality Roundup. Earlier on Saturday, TMZ reported that Eason is getting a psychological evaluation to find the root of this anger issues. He and Jenelle have also signed up for parenting classes and marriage counseling in hopes of impressing a judge enough to regain custody of their children. According to Us Weekly, David stormed out of a supervised visitation with their other children after his 11-year-old daughter Maryssa, who's from a previous relationship, refused to see him; (L-R) Maryssa, Jenelle and Ensley Anne Tanyi-Tang Facebook Prolific writer, Associate Professor Anne Tanyi-Tang is no more. The author of Ewa and other Plays died Sunday, June 2, 2019 at the University Teaching Hospital, Yaounde. Until her death, she was serving at the Department of Arts and Archeology at the University of Yaounde 1. The former Vice Dean in charge Programmes and Academic Affairs at the Faculty of Arts, University of Buea is known for her depths in drama and theatre arts. Her undying passion for drama and theatre arts could be read in some of her towering works including Ewa and other Plays. As a dramatist, her plays were gendered in nature and represented women in different socio-cultural and economic domains in contemporary Cameroonian society. Anne Tanyi-Tang was a literary giant whose works have contributed immensely to the development of Anglophone Cameroonian drama. From a feminist perspective, Tanyi-Tangs plays offer a more nuanced vision of women as assertive, rebellious and intelligent human beings who stage a successful resistance to patriarchy. Aside Ewa and other Plays and Chief Ayito & Other Plays, her other works include: Three Plays: The Heiress; The Song of Ayanta ; &, Obsessio. Theatre Production and Artistic Directing: Lessons from Bubbles Theatre Troupe is another epic piece for scholars. This daughter of Akiriba Village in Manyu Division will also be remembered for Down the Hill, "Visiting America," "Marienuelle" and Eneta vs Elimo. The literary world has since been drowned in tears given that the passing unto glory of Anne Tanyi-Tang follows the painful exits of Bate Besong and Bole Butake. She earned a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) Degree in English from the University of Yaounde before enrolling the Department of Drama and Theater Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Kent at Canterbury, England. In November 1989, she got admission for a degree of Master of Arts (MA) and then moved to the University of St Andrews, Scotland where she obtained a degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Drama Theatre and Social Anthropology in July 1994 from the Department of Social Anthropology, Faculty of Arts. Love Island 2019 will reportedly pay tribute to Mike Thalassitis in the shows launch on Monday night. The late reality star - who was found dead near his Edmonton home aged 26 in March - was allegedly not going to be mentioned on the show according to past claims. However, it seems ITV have made a U-turn as new reports claim the new series of the show will pay tribute as it is 'the right thing' to acknowledge it. Tribute: Love Island 2019 will reportedly pay tribute to Mike Thalassitis in the shows launch on Monday night after the star was found dead near his Edmonton home aged 26 in March According to The Mirror, a Love Island insider revealed: 'Producers wanted to pay their respects to Mike and show his friends, family and fans that he was a part of the Love Island family and is missed deeply by everyone. 'It is a really difficult subject but they wanted to address it rather than sweep it under the carpet or pretend it hasnt happened.' MailOnline has contacted representatives for Love Island for further comment. Love Island has faced backlash in recent months with its critics arguing that the show should have been cancelled in the wake of Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis' deaths. The show, which is fronted by Caroline Flack, reportedly had a more stricter acceptance procedure this year, with contestants having to pass mental health and STI tests to make it onto TV screens this year. Tragic: Sophie Gradon who took part in the 2016 series of the show, was found dead at her parents' home in June 2018 Sophie, who took part in the 2016 series of the show, was found dead at her parents' home in June 2018 and the inquest into her death found she had hanged herself. Fans have called for changes in light of the tragic suicides. It was recently confirmed that Love Island producers have offered extensive care to 2019 contestants before the dating show, and will do during and after, including increased therapy, social media training and even financial management. 'Evolved': The show, which is hosted by Caroline Flack, reportedly had a more stricter acceptance procedure this year, with Islanders having to pass mental health tests Host Caroline Flack, 39, said Love Island's duty of care has 'evolved' following the suicides of ex contestants. In an interview with The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, the presenter candidly discussed the wide-ranging issue of mental health aftercare, but added that no-one should be apportioning blame in the wake of the tragedies The ITV2 show, which returns on Monday night, have written an extra clause in the Islanders' contracts which vows to help the loved-ones of cast mates, as well as the contestants themselves. Paying respect: It seems ITV have made a U-turn as new reports claim the new series of the show will pay tribute as it is 'the right thing' to acknowledge it Change: Fans have called for changes in light of the tragic suicides of Sophie and Mike who appeared on the reality series in 2016 and 2017 respectively In a statement, they wrote: 'The production team have continued to evolve their processes with each series, as the shows popularity has risen and the social and media attention on Islanders has increased. 'The key changes this year are enhanced psychological support, more detailed conversations with potential Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show, bespoke training for all Islanders on social media and financial management and a proactive aftercare package which extends our support to all Islanders following their participation.' The extension in the welfare section means the whole family can have the support of ITV bosses throughout the duration of the Love Island experience. Pained: The Skillet opened in Essex in April, just weeks after Mike was found dead, after which his devastated family confirmed he had committed suicide (pictured in February last year) This comes after Mike was commemorated with a series of heartbreaking throwback snaps framed within his Essex restaurant. The Skillet opened in Essex in April, which Mike founded with business partner Scotty Neils. The restaurant has been host to a legion of stars and fans who have been keen to throw their support behind his final venture. Scott vowed to press ahead with opening as he took to Instagram to share a statement shortly after Mike's death reading: 'Just to address all the speculation... The big reveal: Scott vowed to press ahead with opening as he took to Instagram to share a statement shortly after Mike's death reading: 'Just to address all the speculation' 'I would like to make it clear that we will be opening The Skillet when it is ready, it has been a tough week trying to continue to sort things out. 'However, Mike would've wanted this cafe to open, he spent everyday for the past couple of months working hard to make this place a success so we are pulling together to get this ready for everyone and especially for Mike. 'Can't wait to share it with you all, and I will announce the date of the opening shortly'. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, or see samaritans.org for details. The Bachelor winner Alex Nation could be set to appear on the next season of Channel Nine juggernaut, Married At First Sight. After failing to find long-lasting romance on Ten's Bachelor In Paradise this year, the unlucky-in-love star is said to be on the radars of Nine producers. On Monday, New Weekly magazine quoted a 'source' as saying the bisexual single mother is a 'dream casting' for the controversial show. 'They could match her with a bride or groom': MAFS producers are chasing The Bachelor's Alex Nation, 27, (pictured) to star on the show's next season, according to NW magazine 'After the backlash of the last two seasons, they need a hook that doesn't involve affairs or couple swapping,' the source said. 'They can even match her with a bride or a groom.' However, Alex has made it clear that she won't be starring on Married At First Sight any time soon, telling the publication: 'Hell would have to freeze over. Controversial: 'After the backlash of the last two seasons, they need a hook that doesn't involve affairs or couple swapping,' a source told the magazine. Pictured: Jess Power, Dan Webb She also confirmed that she'd like to give dating reality shows a rest for a while. The Melbourne starlet, however, did hint she would be open to going on the Channel Ten series I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here. It comes after claims Alex could be getting back with her ex women's AFL player partner, Maegan Luxa. 'Hell would have to freeze over': Alex has denied claims she's set to appear on MAFS, however Are they back on? Alex penned an emotional tribute to ex-partner Maegan Luxa (L) earlier this month The star shared loved-up snaps of the pair in honour of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia this month. 'It's when I met you that something clicked. There was a shift within me and I knew everything was about to change in the most beautiful way,' Alex wrote. 'You gave me a safe place to discover and understand who I am. You were there when it all made sense and you were there when none of it did.' Fans may recognise him for being an original star on MTV's hit reality series Geordie Shore. But James Tindale is now setting his sights on a new show, revealing to New Weekly he wants to appear on the upcoming season of Love Island Australia. The Geordie hunk, 28, is embracing his single status and insists he would 'be in his element' living in the villa with 'loads of single girls'. Looking for love! Geordie Shore original James Tindale, 28, is now setting his sights on a new show and wants to appear on the upcoming season of Love Island Australia James said: 'Getting to come over to Australia and live with loads of single girls? I would just be in my element.' 'I like things with challenges - with Love Island I would have the mission of trying to pull.' The reality star revealed he is now making the most of being single, having been in a relationship with his long-term ex Kate Thorne for several years prior to their recent split. Newcastle to Mallorca? The Newcastle-born hunk is embracing his single status and insists he would 'be in his element' living in the villa with 'loads of single girls' Back on the market: The reality star revealed he is now making the most of being single While he and Kate never officially announced their breakup, James confirmed they were no longer together when he returned to film for Geordie Shore in 2018. He became a part-time cast member for series 18 - heading back into the house three years after he made the decision to quit. James had been an original cast member on Geordie Shore when it first premiered on MTV back in 2011. Claim to fame: James had been an original cast member on Geordie Shore when it first premiered on MTV back in 2011 - Pictured L-R: Scotty T, Holly Hagan, James Tindale, Kyle Christie, Aaron Chalmers, Vicky Pattison, Charlotte Crosby and Gaz Beadle Announcing his exit: James told his co-stars that he had 'outgrown' Geordie Shore and wanted to move onto something new - he left the series in 2015 after 10 seasons He joined the likes of Gaz Beadle, Holly Hagan, Charlotte Crosby, Vicky Pattison and Sophie Kasaei on the show. Announcing his exit, James told his co-stars that he had 'outgrown' Geordie Shore and wanted to move onto something new. 'I've been trying to figure out what it might be that's changed but I'm starting to realise it's me,' he confessed. Moving on: Since leaving Geordie Shore, James has gone on to set up his own gym business in his hometown that boasts over 700 members and keeps fans updated with his life on Instagram Muscle man: The fitness enthusiast is often seen flaunting his incredibly ripped physique in shirtless selfies and videos of his workouts Since then, James has gone on to set up his own gym business, located in his hometown, that boasts over 700 members. He keeps fans updated with his life on Instagram and the fitness enthusiast is often seen flaunting his ripped physique in shirtless selfies and videos of his workouts. While the Nine Network has confirmed Love Island will return with a second series in 2019, details surrounding the show are still under wraps. Host Sophie Monk revealed on The Kyle and Jackie O Show earlier this month that the production schedule and location for season two is still unconfirmed. Bachelor In Paradise's Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk announced their engagement on Sunday. The brunette beauty, 27, took to her Instagram to share the news three days after Gottschalk proposed in Dallas, Texas. 'Im keeping you forever and for always We will be together all of our days Wanna wake up every morning to your sweet face Always,' she captioned the black and white photo of the couple in a romantic embrace. Happy news: Bachelor In Paradise's Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk announced their engagement on Sunday The Instagram photo album also included a snap of Gottschalk in a suit on his knees as he asked Gates the big question. Afterwards, Gates bent down as she is overcome with emotion. Another snap had the Gottschalk twirling Gates around after the proposal. Wedding bells: The brunette beauty, 27, took to her Instagram to share the news three days after Gottschalk proposed in Dallas, Texas True love: 'Im keeping you forever and for always We will be together all of our days Wanna wake up every morning to your sweet face Always,' she captioned the black and white photo of the couple in a romantic embrace '5.31.19 #Engaged,' Gottschalk wrote along with a diamond ring emoji. The couple found love during season 4 of the Bachelor spin-off. In December 2017, Gates revealed the moment she knew she was in love with Gottschalk. 'I knew I was gonna keep Adam around the first weekend we spent together outside of paradise,' she wrote on Instagram with a picture of the couple kissing. 'We met in Memphis & had a blast that weekend (after the initial awkward moment we realized okay this isnt paradise anymore.. this is our REAL lives.) & the morning after a night of dinner, drinking & dancing Adam had put my phone on the charger, left a glass of water by my bed, food & an Advil (hah!),' she said. So much emotion: Afterwards, Gates bent down as she is overcome with emotion Ant McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett appeared in high spirits as they left the Britain's Got Talent final following their recent heated exchange. The TV presenter, 43, and his former personal assistant turned girlfriend, 42, laughed and joked around as they left the Hammersmith Apollo in London on Sunday. Anne-Marie, who has been dating Ant for more than a year, put a playful hand on his shoulder as they stood on the same balcony as their heated conversation took place. High spirits: Ant McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett appeared in high spirits as they left the Britain's Got Talent final following their recent tense exchange The former PA looked chic in a yellow dress for the final, which she paired with a black cardigan. Anne-Marie completed her look by styling her blonde locks into loose curls for the evening. Ant wore a patterned sleeveless shirt after completing his hosting duties alongside Declan Donnelly. The couple looked elated as they hopped into a care and left the show following a successful BGT finale. Heated: The couple appeared to be locked a tense exchange as they departed the Britain's Got Talent live semi-final on Friday Laughter: The TV presenter, 43, and his former personal assistant turned girlfriend, 42, laughed and joked around as they left the Hammersmith Apollo in London on Sunday It comes after the couple appeared to be locked a tense exchange as they departed the Britain's Got Talent live semi-final on Friday. The pair looked deep in conversation as they left the Apollo. Anne-Marie has supported her other half at every live show for this year's series. The couple's romance has gone from strength to strength since they started dating last year, shortly after his split from ex wife Lisa Armstrong. All smiles: The former PA looked chic in a yellow dress for the final, which she paired with a black cardigan Sweet: Anne-Marie, who has been dating Ant for more than a year, put a playful hand on his shoulder as they stood on the same balcony as their heated conversation took place Elated: The couple looked elated as they hopped into a care and left the show following a successful BGT finale Ant previously credited girlfriend Anne-Marie for 'saving his life', after battling addiction, a drink-drive conviction and divorce. Last year, the star took a lengthy hiatus from screens to battle his addiction woes during which Holly Willoughby took over his presenting role on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Ant and Dec are set to celebrate 30 years of working together this year after first appearing on TV screens in teen drama Byker Grove and their BAFTA nods are a clear welcome - particularly for Ant following his recent woes. High spirits: Ant wore a patterned sleeveless shirt after completing his hosting duties alongside Declan Donnelly Happy couple: Anne-Marie completed her look by styling her blonde locks into loose curls for the evening Ant made a return to television screens earlier in May for the new Britain's Got Talent as he makes a comeback to the showbiz circuit following a tough year. He was arrested for drink-driving in March last year and his presenting partner Dec hosted the live Britain's Got Talent shows solo. Ant's ex wife Lisa was granted a divorce him during a 30-second hearing at the Central Family Court in October last year. The I'm a Celeb host and his teenage sweetheart had been together for 23 years; they were married in 2006 but announced their split in January last year. The former flames first met in Newcastle in 1994 before they went onto exchange vows at a stunning country house in Buckinghamshire in 2006. Britain's Got Talent concluded this evening with War hero Colin Thackery, 89, winning the show. And Amanda Holden, 48, led the way as the stars of the variety talent show headed out to celebrate wrapping up the series after the finale at the Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday, with Cheryl also heading out in her car after watching the show. The fashion forward star ensured she caught the eye - much like she has during this year's series with her wardrobe of risque outfits - by slipping into a sexy little black dress. Sizzling: Amanda Holden, 48, led the way as the stars of BGT headed out to celebrate wrapping up the series after the who finale at the Hammersmith Apollo on Sunday How do you think I feel when you call my phone? Cheryl was glued to her phone as she jumped in her car after the exciting final came to a close The blonde bombshell was sure to set pulses racing in the satin mini-dress that featured one thin spaghetti strap and a drawstring up the side that allowed the silky material to be ruched up. Elongating her slim pins, the West End performer strutted along the pavement in a pair of black barely there heels. Radiating beauty, Amanda sported a face of dewy make-up and amplified her pout with a slick of gloss. She pulled her hair down into loose curls - after modelling an exquisite up-do during the show. LBD: The fashion forward star ensured she caught the eye - much like she has during this year's series with her wardrobe of risque outfits - by slipping into a sexy little black dress Always glam: Amanda's hair and makeup was flawless as she continued the night Simply stunning: The fashion fan changed up her look for the wrap party Lots to talk about: Cheryl put her hand to her face as she took the call, no doubt telling a pal what she had been up to that night Loving life: Cheryl had a big smile on her face as she continued her call Cheryl had looked on in shock during the show as daredevil Jonathan Goodwin as he appeared to get trapped in a box of grain. She looked incredible wearing an orange shirt and matching silk trousers for her night out. Earlier, she had posted an Instagram Story from the comfort of her car in which she had asked her assistant Lily England to explain why she wouldn't be performing on the night. Lily explained that the acts were booked before it was known that Cheryl's new single, Let You was being released. Happy: Simon Cowell, 59, looked in high spirits as he made his way out after the show in the back of his plush taxi Great night! The show's boss gave a thumb's up out the window as he sat with girlfriend Lauren Silverman Quick change: Earlier in the evening, Amanda dazzled in a sheer nude gown embellished with flowers for the live show (pictured left) for the after-party she changed into a more muted look (pictured right) So glam: The star was seen leaving the Hammersmith Apollo in her on screen dress before a speedy change for the party Leggy: Elongating her slim pins, the West End performer strutted along the pavement in a pair of black barely there heels Adding a touch of sparkle, the star adorned her ears with large diamond ear rings. Simon Cowell, 59, looked in high spirits as he made his way out after the show in the back of his plush taxi. He showcased a number of friendly gestures out of his window as he raised his hand up to do an okay sign and a thumbs up. The music mogul flashed his pearly white teeth as he beamed as photographers snapped pics of him as he sat next to his girlfriend Lauren Silverman, 41. Glowing: Radiating beauty, Amanda sported a face of dewy make-up and amplified her pout with a slick of gloss Bling: Adding a touch of sparkle, the star adorned her ears with large diamond ear rings Cheery: Simon showcased a number of friendly gestures out of his window as he raised his hand up to do an okay sign Marry: He also raised a thumbs up as he cruised by on his way to the glitzy after party Putting on an affectionate display the father-of-one held hands with his other half as they cruised along. Simon sported a crisp white shirt that he left unbuttoned in order to show off his hairy chest. Ant McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett appeared to put on a happy display as they left the venue too. The TV presenter, 43, and his former personal assistant turned girlfriend, 42, laughed and joked around as they departed the venue. Sparkling: Simon's teeth took centre stage as he showcased his perfect white gnashers Lively: The music mogul flashed his pearly white teeth as he beamed as photographers Cute: Putting on an affectionate display the father-of-one held hands with his other half, Lauren Silverman, 41, as they cruised along Anne-Marie, who has been dating Ant for more than a year, put a playful hand on his shoulder as they stood on the same balcony as their heated conversation took place. The former PA looked chic in a yellow dress for the final, which she paired with a black cardigan. Anne-Marie completed her look by styling her blonde locks into loose curls for the evening. High spirits: Ant McPartlin and Anne-Marie Corbett appeared in high spirits as they left the Britain's Got Talent final Elated: The couple looked elated as they hopped into a car and left the show following the BGT finale All smiles: The former PA looked chic in a yellow dress for the final, which she paired with a black cardigan Ant wore a patterned sleeveless shirt after completing his hosting duties alongside Declan Donnelly. The couple looked elated as they hopped into a car and left the show following a successful BGT finale. Also spotted was David Walliams, 47, the comedian remained in the tuxedo he had donned on live television as he sat in the passenger seat of his taxi. Time for bed? The show host seemed tired after a busy week of live shows Suave: David Walliams, 47, looked every inch the dapper gent in a tuxedo as he hopped into a car to take him to the bash Golden girl: Alesha Dixon, 40, flaunted her dewy complexion as she was seen smiling as she took a seat in the back of a car after the show Gorgeous: The beauty looked proud following a successful BGT finale Alesha Dixon, 40, looked proud following the successful finale as she sat in the back of a car following the credits. The radiant beauty smiled from ear to ear as she remained in the gold fringed dress that she had flaunted on TV during the live episode. Earlier in the evening, Colin who served in the military for 25 years, was announced as the winner of the show by hosts Ant & Dec, with the Chelsea Pensioner claiming he was 'astonished' at the news. VIP: Susan Boyle looked stunning in her sparkling navy gown as she left the studios Cheeky! The BGT star showed off her glittering shoes as the climbed into her car Winner! Colin Thackery clutched a bunch of red roses after his big night on stage He first captured the hearts of the nation when he auditioned for the show singing We'll Meet Again as a tribute to his late wife, Joan, who he married in 1950 before being sent to Korea. After his win was announced, he said: 'I am stuck for words for a change,' the charismatic fan-favourite quipped. 'Thank you very much, all of you, all the backing I've had.' Earlier in the show he declared he could 'die happy' if he won the series. The prize for the show is 250k plus a slot at the Royal Variety Performance, singing before the queen. Well deserved: War hero Colin, 89, won the show. After being announced as the winner by hosts Ant & Dec, the Chelsea Pensioner said he was 'astonished' at the news Fan-favourite: 'I am stuck for words for a change,' the charismatic pensioner quipped. 'Thank you very much, all of you, all the backing I've had' Colin said: 'I have served her for 25 years, to sing in front of her would be a dream come true.' After his rendition of Love Changes Everything earlier in the evening, judge Amanda Holden appeared to predict the show's outcome, commenting: 'You are unbeatable. You're a gentleman, I respect you, you inspire me, everyone loves you. 'This isn't about the glitz and the glamour for you. Or about fame. You served your country and I hope tonight they serve you.' Colin - who had people of all ages chanting his name - pipped magicians X and Ben Hart to the post, who had joined him in the final three. Victory: Earlier in the show he declared he could 'die happy' if he won the series. The prize for the show is 250k plus a slot at the Royal Variety Performance, singing before the queen Guy Martin's D-Day Landing Rating: Piers Morgan's Life Stories Rating: With the D-Day 75th anniversary later this week, broadcasters are queuing up to commemorate it. Getting in first was Channel 4 with Guy Martin's D-Day Landing as Martin, a motorcycle racer turned TV presenter, paid his own unique tribute to the brave troops who took part in the world's biggest military assault. Paratroopers were the first to land in Normandy, six hours before the beaches were stormed, and it was these men Martin wanted to honour by parachuting into France out of a restored Douglas Dakota. With the D-Day 75th anniversary later this week, broadcasters are queuing up to commemorate it with shows such as Guy Martin's D-Day Landing (above), writes Claudia Connell To achieve this, he helped with the six-month-long 1 million refurbishment of a Dakota, rescued from an Arkansas scrapyard by a World War II enthusiast. 'Let's hope I qualify as a parachutist,' said Martin at the start. It would certainly have made for a terrible ending if he hadn't not least because Night Fright, the Dakota undergoing refurbishment, ended up not being ready in time and another was drafted in. Thankfully, he passed the training and undertook a series of tandem and solo jumps in preparation. Clips of surviving D-Day veterans sharing their memories were the most moving and enjoyable part of the two-hour programme. Bob Stoodley, 95, was one of the Pathfinders, the first men to jump and tasked with planting radio beacons to guide the aircraft. Because they were going to be landing at midnight in the pitch black, Bob and his pals had been instructed to eat bags of carrots for better vision. Guy Martin, a motorcycle racer turned TV presenter, paid his own unique tribute to the brave troops who took part in the world's biggest military assault, writes Claudia Connell GRAVITY-DEFYING FEAT OF THE WEEKEND: The Britain's Got Talent final was dominated by magicians, but surely the most impressive trick was whatever it took to keep Amanda Holden's risque dresses in place all through the series? After the invasion progressed inland, Dakotas flew the wounded out of France. On board they were nursed by the 'Flying Nightingales', including Margaret Wilson who recalled getting paid eightpence extra for each flight she made. Joe Cattini, 96, took part in the sea invasion, Operation Neptune, and witnessed terrified young men in the landing boats who cried for their mothers before going ashore. After hearing the veterans' own stories, Martin's parachute jump fell sadly flat. A charismatic and likeable man, Martin wanted to jump as a tribute to his D-Day veteran grandfather, John. Learning more about John would have been a better way to fill the time. It takes a different kind of guts to interview a man widely accepted as one of the greatest TV interviewers of all time. But that's what happened in Piers Morgan's Life Stories when Sir Michael Parkinson was his guest. At the start, Parky quipped that he'd worked in TV for 63 years and 'the only thing I'm known for is being attacked by a bloody bird', a reference to the assault he suffered at the hands of Rod Hull's Emu puppet. Of course, he is known for much more and famous faces including Tony Blair, Cliff Richard and Twiggy queued up to pay tribute. It takes a different kind of guts to interview a man widely accepted as one of the greatest TV interviewers of all time. But that's what happened in Piers Morgan's Life Stories when Sir Michael Parkinson was his gues, writes Claudia Connell Parky's coal miner father, Jack, wanted a better life for his only child. As motivational speeches go, telling Michael 'if I ever see you at the pit gate I'll kick your a*** all the way home' seemed to do the trick. Parky wept when reliving the death of the father, who often sat in the audience of his chat shows and once urged his son to 'thump' Muhammad Ali. He admitted to cringing at his 1975 interview with Helen Mirren where he focused on her body. But 'nobody got hurt, nobody died', he shrugged, stopping short of an apology. The term 'national treasure' is overused, but in Parky's case it feels deserved. He even handled Morgan's constant fishing for compliments with wit and grace. Alessandra Ambrosio showed her lean legs Sunday while strolling by the beach in Santa Monica, California. The 38-year-old model wore shiny black shorts along with black trainers and no-show socks that accentuated her long legs. The Brazilian beauty also donned a white sweatshirt and plain grey cap. Beach stroll: Alessandra Ambrosio was spotted walking Sunday near the beach in Santa Monica, California in a plain black-and-white outfit Alessandra accessorized with sunglasses and had her cellphone in a cross-body holder down by her right hip. The Victoria's Secret model was spotted Saturday heading out to dinner at at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica. Alessandra stepped out with friends to the Italian restaurant after packing up her home Friday in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. She was seen carrying items out of her home and placing them into a half-full moving truck. Plain style: The Brazilian beauty wore a plain grey cap, white sweatshirt and black shorts Phone chain: Alessandra had her cell phone attached to a cross-body strap The move came a day after she treated her son Noah, seven, and 10-year-old daughter Anja to a day at Universal Studios. Alessandra chronicled the trip on Instagram and shared snaps giving Noah a piggy back ride and of Anja dressed up in an oversized yellow Despicable Me hoodie. She also flashed the peace sign as she took selfies with Anja in front of the Hogwarts Castle at Universal's The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Mother of two: The Brazilian beauty is the mother of 10-year-old daughter Anja and son Noah, seven Alessandra shares her two children with former fiance Jamie Mazur, 38. She has been dating Nicolo Oddi since last August. Nicolo is the founder and CEO of Alanui, a knitwear fashion label based in Milan that he created with his sister Carlotta Oddi in 2016. The Block's Suzi Taylor is currently in rehab undergoing treatment for alcohol-related issues and mental health problems. And the 47-year-old looked downcast while on a casual stroll outside The Sydney Clinic in Bronte on Sunday. The sighting comes a week after reports claimed she was involved in troubled NRL star Greg Inglis' recent 'three-day party bender'. Steps to recovery: The Block's Suzi Taylor was spotted outside rehab in Bronte, Sydney on Sunday, after she was embroiled in troubled NRL legend Greg Inglis' recent partying scandal Suzi went braless in a pink plunging top, which she paired with ripped jeans and Adidas sneakers. She concealed her gaze behind aviator sunglasses, styled her brunette hair loosely and went makeup-free for the occasion. Seemingly deep in thought, Suzi later engaged in conversation on her iPhone. Casual stroll: Suzi, a former Penthouse model who once dated INXS star Michael Hutchence, went braless in a pink plunging top, which she paired with ripped jeans and Adidas sneakers Rock bottom: Last Monday, Suzi was pictured checking into the private mental health hospital The Sydney Clinic, which offers treatment for mood disorders and substance abuse Last Monday, Suzi was pictured checking into the private mental health hospital, which offers treatment for mood disorders and substance abuse. A friend of the former Penthouse model addressed her mental health problems and alcohol dependence in a statement to the Gold Coast Bulletin last weekend. They explained that Suzi had been struggling with depression for many years, in addition to 'personal family matters' and 'external pressures'. Moving on: Suzi is being treated for alcohol dependence and mental health issues Getting help: Before entering rehab, Suzi was embroiled in the partying scandal involving recently-retired rugby league star Greg Inglis 'She has never got over the breakdown of her marriage, having to move cities and being separate from her family and children,' the friend added. Before entering rehab, Suzi was embroiled in the partying scandal involving recently-retired rugby league star Greg Inglis. Inglis disappeared during the Magic Round on May 24, leaving his girlfriend Alyse Caccamo, family and South Sydney Rabbitohs officials frantically searching for him. Making headlines: Greg Inglis disappeared during the Magic Round on May 24, leaving his girlfriend, family and South Sydney Rabbitohs officials frantically searching for him. He eventually resurfaced with Suzi and two other friends at a riverside mansion in Brisbane He had travelled from Sydney to Brisbane on the Thursday as a Rabbitohs club ambassador but vanished for three days. The sportsman, 32, later resurfaced at a luxury riverside mansion alongside Suzi and two other friends on the Saturday night, according to The Sunday Mail. Suzi denied anything untoward happened between her and Inglis, adding that she was 'devastated' by some of the suggestions being made. A source close to the reality star, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed that Suzi had simply been helping a 'friend in need'. She showed off a striking pale pink suit in Verona, Italy, last week as she shot a campaign for fashion label Calzedonia. But Julia Roberts prioritized comfort during a shopping trip on Sunday after returning to the United States. The 51-year-old Ben Is Back star sported a low-key sweatshirt while making some purchases at Trancas Market in Malibu. Relaxed look: Julia Roberts, 51, prioritized comfort with a gray sweatshirt during a shopping trip in Malibu on Sunday Julia's gray sweatshirt was appropriately film-themed and read 'FIN' ('the end' in French) over her chest. She paired the simple look with a pair of distressed acid wash jeans. The long, loose jeans wrapped around her laceless white sneakers. Her strawberry blonde tresses were messily curled, and she had on a large pair of black sunglasses. No fuss: She paired the sweatshirt with a pair of distressed bell bottom jeans The Homecoming star toted along two reusable shopping bags, including a multi-colored striped bag. On Saturday, Julia celebrated the new month and her return to the US with a sun-kissed selfie of herself with a beige sweater wrapped around her neck. 'Hello June ,' she captioned the photo. Back in the USA: 'Hello June ,' she captioned a recent selfie Surprise! Julia, who's currently between film projects, had a fairly low-key May, though she made time for a surprise appearance at the 2019 ASCAP Pop Music Awards; pictured May 16 Julia, who's currently between film projects, had a fairly low-key May, though she made time for a surprise appearance at the 2019 ASCAP Pop Music Awards. The Erin Brockovich star, a self-confessed Billie Eilish super-fan, presented the rising star and her brother Finneas O'Connell with the Vanguard Award. Her impassioned speech celebrated their 'indelible words.' 'Together they built universes of chaos, heartbreak, and humor that we never realized that we longed for.' Julia is set to star in the upcoming thriller Little Bee for Amazon, though a release date hasn't been set. She'll star as Sarah O'Rourke, a British magazine editor who meets a young Nigerian girl on a beach while on vacation. Their fateful meeting will have major consequences for both parties, who meet again two years later. They star together in the Netflix dark comedy Dead To Me. And on Sunday, Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini headlined a For Your Consideration Emmy event hosted by the streaming platform in Los Angeles. The two actresses matched in black ensembles, with Applegate choosing a tailored pantsuit and Cardellini opting for a mini dress. Dead To Me stars Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini headlined a For Your Consideration Emmy event hosted by Netflix in Los Angeles on Sunday Applegate, 47, first found fame, of course, as Kelly Bundy on Married... With Children. In Dead To Me, she stars as Jen, a recent widow who has lost her grip on reality. At a grief support group, she meets and becomes friends with Judy, played by Cardellini, 43. But as they grow closer, it emerges that Judy has a shocking secret that she's keeping from Jen. Sleek: Applegate, 47, looked lovely in a black tailored pantsuit and floral-themed black blouse and carried a black clutch purse Back on the small screen: The actress, of course, found fame as Kelly Bundy on Married... With Children and Dead To Me is her first TV role in seven years On trend: Cardellini, 43, put on a leggy show in a black mini dress with semi-sheer long-sleeved bodice, a polka dot collar and cuffs and a polka dot skirt Also attending the panel discussion at LA's Raleigh Studios were Mary J. Blige, Betty Gilpin, Natasha Lyonne and Dascha Polanco. Blige, 48, was nominated for an Oscar in the best supporting actress category for the 2017 Netflix movie Mudbound. She teamed up with Netflix again for this year's The Umbrella Academy and arrived at Sunday's event in a cream pantsuit with snakeskin patterned blouse. Gilpin, 32, is one of the star's of Netflix series GLOW. She looked stylish in a white blouse with cuffed long sleeves and mustard flared trousers with white stripes down the sides. Leading light: Mary J. Blige, 48, stars in Netflix series The Umbrella Academy and arrived at Sunday's event in a cream pantsuit with snakeskin patterned blouse Stylish: Betty Gilpin, 32, is one of the star's of Netflix series GLOW and wore a white blouse with cuffed long sleeves and mustard flared trousers with white stripes down the sides Orange Is The New Black, one of the first original series to win a big audience for Netflix, is in its final season. Lyonne, 40, and Polanco, 36, were on hand to talk it up for Emmy consideration. Lyonne opted for a gray check trouser suit with pink pinstriping that she wore with red shoes. Polanco had on a white coat dress with black markings on the bodice and a wide black leather belt. Swansong: Orange Is The New Black is in its final season and castmembers Natasha Lyonne, 40, and Dascha Polanco, 36, were on hand to talk it up for Emmy consideration Contrasts: Lyonne opted for a gray check trouser suit with pink pinstriping that she wore with red shoes, left, while Polanco had on a white coat dress with a wide black leather belt, right Relaxed look: Liz Feldman, 42, the creator and executive producer of Dead To Me, was also on hand and kept it casual in a houndstooth Varsity jacket, white shirt and black pants Hoping for awards glory: Applegate and Cardellini spoke on stage about their Netflix dramedy which has won rave reviews from audiences Martha Kalifatidis has raised eyebrows with her recent naked Instagram posts. And during an appearance on Monday's Today Extra, host Sonia Kruger grilled the Married At First Sight star, 30, over her penchant for sharing raunchy snaps. 'You actually share a lot of your life with your fans online,' said Sonia alongside co-host David Campbell, before discussing the selfies in more detail. 'I'll go to great lengths to take a good photo' MAFS' Martha Kalifatidis (right) was grilled over her naked Instagram selfies with Michael Brunelli by Sonia Kruger (left) while live on Today Extra with David Campbell on Monday Sonia continued: 'Your Instagram photos have caused a bit of a stir. Who actually takes your pics? Given that Michael, well, I hope that's Michael, is in most of them.' 'I mean, I'll go to great lengths to take a good photo,' responded a defiant Martha. The presenter was referring to Martha's most recent post, where she is baring all in the bath, as a naked male with his back to the camera showers besides her. 'I mean, I'll go to great lengths to take a good photo,' responded a defiant Martha, while addressing the pictures Sonia said had 'caused a stir' on social media 'I hope that's Michael': Sonia was referring to Martha's most recent post where she is baring all in the bath, questioning if the naked male next to her is her boyfriend On Instagram, Martha previously joked her mum Mary was the photographer. The brunette added that she 'can't give away all of my tricks' when it comes to taking headline-stealing selfies. Martha and Michael also used their live cross, which was filmed live from Melbourne, to confirm they're still very much together. Instagram queen! The brunette added that she 'can't giveaway all of my tricks' to taking pics 'I feel like we get that question a lot when we are out in public,' said Michael. 'We just tell everybody it's a paid appearance [laughs], but yes we are still together.' They appeared on the show to promote Michael's upcoming charity head shave, where he is hoping to raise $20,000 for Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation. Influencer! Since appearing on MAFS, Martha has shied away from her former career as a makeup artist to become a social media influencer Speaking to Nine Honey on Sunday, Michael said being a primary school P.E. teacher meant the issue of sick kids was close to his heart. 'As much as I absolutely love my hair I didn't hesitate when an opportunity to raise money for the kids at the Sydney Children's Hospital came about,' Michael said. 'I know there are many children who aren't able to enjoy the amazing experiences that come with being at school every day. 'By cutting off my hair, I hope it helps the sick kids receive the best medical treatment possible, enabling them to return to school happy and healthy.' Married At First Sight is up for Most Popular Reality Program at this year's Logie Awards, but it's still uncertain which of the show's stars will attend the ceremony. Channel Nine is reportedly in the process of narrowing down the invites and, according to Woman's Day, the restricted guest-list is fuelling cast rivalries. 'Some of these stars are so outspoken and unpredictable, there's just no way they can be at the same event,' a source claimed. Torn apart: Reports claim Married At First Sight cast have been 'torn apart' over their fight to attend the Logie Awards on 30 June, with Channel Nine restricting its invites to certain stars Only a handful of MAFS stars had attended the pre-Logies party last month, sparking a flurry of jealous gossip among the cast. Jules Robinson and her fiance Cam Merchant were at the event alongside Heidi Latcham, whose 'ex-husband' Mike Gunner did not attend. Their appearance at the party allegedly left their co-star Martha Kalifatidis 'reeling'. Cutting down: Channel Nine have reportedly deemed some stars 'too controversial' to attend the awards ceremony - Jules Robinson and Cam Merchant represented MAFS at the pre-Logies party ahead of the awards The insider said: 'Martha feels like she's been cast aside [by Nine] due to the way she is on social media and that her successful relationship with Michael has been swept under the carpet.' Martha is apparently locked in a feud with Jules, and recently branded her the 'biggest bully' from the 2019 season in a YouTube Q&A video. Channel Nine publicists are believed to be trying to keep them apart by making sure they do not attend the same industry events. Upset: Their appearance at the party allegedly left Martha Kalifatidis 'reeling' according to Woman's Day and the Greek beauty feels she has been 'cast aside' by Nine ahead of the show When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Jules denied she has a rivalry with Martha and also confirmed she will be attending the Logies. 'I don't have any rivalry between anyone,' the salon owner said. 'All I know is Cam, Heidi and I are attending [the Logies] and I'm not sure who else is, but I know there are others invited. It's not my business.' Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Martha Kalifatidis for comment. Red carpet approval: When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Jules shut down claims of a rivalry with Martha and confirmed her attendance to the Logies alongside Cam and Heidi Latcham (pictured above) Confirmation that Jules will be on the Logies red carpet comes after several MAFS stars were reportedly 'begging' Channel Nine for an invite. 'No one knows what's going on and half of them are scared they won't get invited despite being on the biggest show in Australia,' a source told Daily Mail Australia. 'Some of them are worried they'll be snubbed for being "too controversial"... which is ridiculous because producers encouraged this sort of behaviour during filming.' The Logie Awards take place on June 30 at The Star Gold Coast. The Bachelor's Anna Heinrich and Tim Robards are currently in a 'long-distance marriage', less than a year after tying the knot in Italy. And according to a new report, the couple are 'feeling the strain' after being forced to live in different cities due to Tim's new role on Neighbours. 'Anna doesn't love that the job takes him away from her a lot,' a source told NW on Monday. 'There seems to be a lot of tension between them.' Scroll down for video 'There seems to be a lot of tension between them': The Bachelor's Tim Robards and Anna Heinrich are reportedly feeling the strain of their long-distance marriage. Pictured last month Tim, 37, spends five days a week in Melbourne filming Neighbours, in which he plays Pierce Greyson, and flies back to Sydney on the weekends. Meanwhile, Anna is based permanently in Sydney, where she works as a lawyer. With 'tension' building, the insider claimed that Anna is still undecided on whether she would move to LA with Tim if he tried to pursue a career in Hollywood. Long-distance marriage: Tim (right) spends five days a week in Melbourne filming Neighbours, while criminal lawyer Anna (left) stays in Sydney Trouble in paradise? 'Anna doesn't love that the job takes [Tim] away from her a lot,' a source told NW on Monday. 'There seems to be a lot of tension between them' 'Whether she would be up for the move to LA should his career go that far, who knows?' the source said. However, Tim laughed off the claims when approached for comment on Monday and said all is fine in his relationship with Anna, 33. Meanwhile, the former Bachelor told TV Week on Monday that he open to all acting opportunities - including Hollywood Aspiring actor: The former chiropractor debuted as wealthy investor Pierce Greyson on Neighbours in October last year 'I'm enjoying acting and am looking at progressing and taking it further. I'd definitely be open to exploring new characters, new roles and constantly learning,' Tim said. The former chiropractor debuted as wealthy investor Pierce Greyson on Neighbours in October last year. Despite Tim spending his weekdays away from Anna, the couple have insisted that they are perfectly happy with the arrangement. 'People think it's an issue, but it's not,' Anna told OK! Australia in April. '[Tim] comes back every weekend and we speak to each other five times a day. It's really not an issue and I think it's only an issue if you want to make it an issue.' Setting the record straight: Despite Tim spending his weekdays away from Anna, the couple have insisted that they are perfectly happy with the arrangement She added: 'I'm not going to sit at home and be upset about it, I'm going to be happy that he's doing what he loves to do, and I'm doing what I love to do.' Tim and Anna fell in love on the first season of The Bachelor in 2013. Five years after meeting on reality television, the pair tied the knot at the Masseria Potenti hotel in Puglia, Italy in June 2018. The playful prank war between John Stamos and Nick Jonas was taken to another level over the weekend, as the Fuller House star posed with all of the Jonas Brothers while revealing a new tattoo. The 55 year old actor was in attendance at The Jonas Brothers' performance at iHeartRadio's Wango Tango concert in Los Angeles, where he revealed a tattoo of all three brothers on his arm. Stamos even declared himself #UncleJonas in the photo, and in a new video Nick Jonas seemingly conceded defeat, much to the chagrin of his wife Priyanka Chopra. Prank war: The playful prank war between John Stamos and Nick Jonas was taken to another level over the weekend, as the Fuller House star posed with all of the Jonas Brothers while revealing a new tattoo Defeat: Stamos even declared himself #UncleJonas in the photo, and in a new video Nick Jonas seemingly conceded defeat, much to the chagrin of his wife Priyanka Chopra The video shows Stamos approaching the brothers and taking off his jacket, revealing his tattoos of all three brothers, which causes Nick to laugh. All three brothers posed with Stamos, with Joe and Kevin pointing to the tattoo, but after the shot, Nick Jonas decided to at least try and put an end to the prank war. Nick then got down on his knees and bowed before Stamos, but his wife Priyanka Chopra wasn't too happy with her husband. Tattoos: The video shows Stamos approaching the brothers and taking off his jacket, revealing his tattoos of all three brothers, which causes Nick to laugh Concede: Nick then got down on his knees and bowed before Stamos, but his wife Priyanka Chopra wasn't too happy with her husband 'No don't concede defeat yet!,' Chopra exclaimed. 'Nick, how could you do that?' she added as a smiling Nick gave Stamos a hug. But it seems Stamos himself isn't ready to end this prank war either, stating in the Instagram caption, 'Come on Nick, dont be a sucker for me - this aint over yet.' The 'prank war' has been going on for months, which started last October when Stamos was seen wearing a t-shirt from The Jonas Brothers' 2009 tour at the American Music Awards. Defeat: 'No don't concede defeat yet!,' Chopra exclaimed. 'Nick, how could you do that?' she added as a smiling Nick gave Stamos a hug Prank war: But it seems Stamos himself isn't ready to end this prank war either, stating in the Instagram caption, 'Come on Nick, dont be a sucker for me - this aint over yet' In February, Jonas responded, seen out and about wearing a hoodie that had a picture of Stamos wearing the shirt. Stamos responded with a photo of himself hugging a pillow with a photo of Jonas wearing that hoodie. Jonas responded with a photo of him in bed, sleeping under a blanket featuring the photo of Stamos hugging the pillow, but Stamos took it up a notch. Responds: In February, Jonas responded, seen out and about wearing a hoodie that had a picture of Stamos wearing the shirt Bow down: Stamos responded with a photo of himself hugging a pillow with a photo of Jonas wearing that hoodie Hugs: Stamos responded with a photo of himself hugging a pillow with a photo of Jonas wearing that hoodie Stamos shared a photo of him getting Nick's face tattooed on his left forearm, but the tattoo of all three brothers is on his right bicep. Stamos also jokingly blamed Jonas for accidentally splitting his pants during a recent tour performance with The Beach Boys. The Jonas Brothers are getting ready for their Happiness Begins tour, which kicks off in Miami at the American Airlines Arena on August 7. Tattoo: Stamos shared a photo of him getting Nick's face tattooed on his left forearm, but the tattoo of all three brothers is on his right bicep Jokes: Stamos also jokingly blamed Jonas for accidentally splitting his pants during a recent tour performance with The Beach Boys Tour: The Jonas Brothers are getting ready for their Happiness Begins tour, which kicks off in Miami at the American Airlines Arena on August 7 On Sunday, Stamos was still displaying what appeared to be a tattoo of Nick Jonas as he stepped out for a bite to eat with his wife and baby in LA. The actor was snapped arriving at the celeb-friendly eatery Craig's in West Hollywood with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing the ink. He carried a large holdall over one shoulder as he entered the restaurant while his wife Caitlin carried their one-year-old son Billy. The 33-year-old looked lovely in an indigo denim dress with a thigh-high split which she paired with brown ankle boots. Casual dining: On Sunday, Stamos was still displaying what appeared to be a tattoo of Nick Jonas as he stepped out for a bite to eat with his wife and baby in LA Real or fake? The image was inked on the inside of his right forearm Tat:The actor was snapped arriving at the celeb-friendly eatery Craig's in West Hollywood with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up, revealing the ink. He carried a large holdall over his shoulder Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli had a nasty surprise when he opened up his $2.3million Sydney home to prospective buyers over the weekend. The Nova 96.9 host revealed on Monday that one of his guests walked dog feces through his house, ruining an expensive rug in the process. Speaking on his Fitzy & Wippa radio show, the 39-year-old joked that the smelly footprints made it look like the 'brown Easter bunny' had paid a visit. Yuck! Michael Wipfli revealed on Monday how his open house descended into a nightmare after a buyer traipsed dog poo through his $2.3million property. Pictured with his wife Lisa 'Some dog has done the biggest turd in the world and someone then stood in the poo and then walked it straight into the house,' he explained. 'There were footprints down the hallway into the front room and on my red and brown rug. Wippa's co-host Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald then suggested the messy house guest was there to 'mark their territory'. Unruly guest: The Nova 96.9 host revealed that one of his guests walked dog feces through his house over the weekend, ruining an expensive rug in the process To make matters worse, later that day a boy crashed a skateboard into Wippa's car, leaving scratches on the body and wheel. 'He's dragging himself off the pavement with a bad knee but I don't care. "Your skateboard scratched my car, champ!"' he said In June last year, Wippa's co-host Sarah McGilvray shared a similar story of how a prospective buyer had 'left a mess' in her bathroom during an open house. Disgusting! In June last year, Wippa's co-host Sarah McGilvray shared a similar story of how a prospective buyer had 'left a mess' in her bathroom during an open house 'I went to the bathroom and there's some footprints on the floor but they didn't just walk into the bathroom,' she explained. 'They've taken their liberties with it and used the facilities, shall we say.' Meanwhile, Michael and his wife Lisa's classic Federation semi-detached home in Queens Park, Sydney will go to auction this week. The home contains four bedrooms, two fully-tiled bathrooms, polished hardwood floorboards and light-filled interiors. She's known for her role on Bravo's Vanderpump Rules. And on Sunday evening, Lala Kent was among the famous small screen faces who attended the Critics' Choice Real TV Awards in Beverly Hills. The 29-year-old Utah native was on trend in an asymmetrical nude mini dress with a full-length sheer black patterned overlay. Red carpet ready: Lala Kent from Bravo's Vanderpump Rules was among the famous small screen faces who attended the Critics' Choice Real TV Awards in Beverly Hills on Sunday night The overlay had short sleeves and a round neckline and Kent paired her outfit with black sandal heels. Her blonde hair was worn tied up into a high ponytail fastened with a black bow, and she accessorized with diamond stud earrings. The reality star was accompanied to the event by her fiance, producer Randall Emmett, who was all in black in open-neck shirt, trousers and loafers. Stylish: The 29-year-old was on trend in an asymmetrical nude mini dress with a full-length sheer black patterned overlay and fastened her ponytail with a large black bow Getting married: The reality star was accompanied to the event by her fiance, producer Randall Emmett, who was all in black in open-neck shirt, trousers and loafers This Is Us actor Justin Hartley, 42, was at the awards show but on this occasion he was in a supporting role, to wife and Selling Sunset star Chrishell Hartley. Chrishelle, 37, a former soap actress, showed off her figure in a cleavage-baring metallic dress slit to the thigh on one side. Her hubby opted for a blue suit paired with white shirt, silver silk tie and brown shoes. E!'s Giuliana Rancic, 44, also walked the red carpet, putting on a leggy show in a monochrome patterned mini dress with long sleeves. Couple goals: This Is Us actor Justin Hartley, 42, was at the awards show but on this occasion he was in a supporting role, to wife and Selling Sunset star Chrishell Hartley Revealing: Chrishelle, 37, a former soap actress, showed off her figure in a cleavage-baring metallic dress slit to the thigh on one side Unmissable: RuPaul, 58, showed up in a striking yellow and black plaid suit that he wore with a bright yellow shirt fastened with a large clasp in the shape of a crown Role to play: Chrishelle and RuPaul both sang for their supper, serving as presenters during the awards show TV personality: E!'s Giuliana Rancic, 44, also walked the red carpet, putting on a leggy show in a monochrome patterned mini dress with long sleeves RuPaul, 58, showed up in a striking yellow and black plaid suit. The host of VH1's RuPaul's Drag Race added a bright yellow shirt fastened with a large clasp in the shape of a crown. Leah Remini opted for a figure-hugging black dress with cape shoulders and a cutout at the bust. The former King Of Queens star, 48, was set to receive the night's Impact Award for her TV series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Looking good: Leah Remini, 48, opted for a figure-hugging black dress with cape shoulders and a cutout at the bust. She wore her long hair loose and styled in relaxed curls Winner: Remini was honored at the event with the Impact Award for her TV series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. She was presented with the trophy by Lisa Kudrow Honored: The former King Of Queens star and the former Friends star posed together afterwards backstage Sandra Lee, better known as Dr. Pimple Popper, arrived wearing a shimmery midnight blue gown that revealed plenty of skin. The sleeveless number had an asymmetrical top and a long skirt gathered at the hips with a small train. Crikey! It's The Irwins stars Terri, Bindi and Robert posed together for photos as they arrived. The widow and children of late Australian wildlife conservationist and TV personality star in the Animal Planet show that follows their globe-trotting animal adventures. The awards show handed out trophies for nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Sparkly: Sandra Lee, better known as Dr. Pimple Popper, arrived wearing a shimmery midnight blue gown that had a long skirt gathered at the hips with a small train Night out: Alfonso Ribeiro, 47, was natty in a burgundy tuxedo jacket with white shirt and long black tie, left, while Marie Kondo, 34, was lovely in a dusty rose sleeveless gown, right Famous family: Terri, Bindi and Robert Irwin, stars of Animal Planet's Crikey! It's The Irwins, posed together for photos Opened an envelope: The famous family announced one of the awards On the guest list: Asante McGee flashed cleavage in a blue one-sleeve jumpsuit, left, while Nigel Lythgoe kept it classy inblack tie, right Dapper: Australian TV producers Chris Culvenor and Wesley Dening also attended the ceremony that hands out awards for nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming Winners: Dening and Culvenor won an award for their Netflix show Dating Around Got a trophy: Ryan Flynn accepted an award for Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Happy: Sophie Lanfear won the Best Limited Documentary Series Award for Netflix series Our Planet On stage: Alfonso Ribeiro and Joey Fatone also served as presenters Ratings success: Alex Rudzinski, Izzie Pick Ashcroft, and Craig Plestis were the winners of the Competition Series: Talent/Variety award for The Masked Singer Things to say: John Walsh, 73, and son Callahan Walsh, 34, spoke on stage during the ceremony Nice to meet you: Leah and Lala posed together for a photo as attendees mingled Bella Thorne's ex Mod Sun is making some bold claims about their ill-fated relationship. Attempting to extend his 15 minutes of fame, the Burning Up rapper dished about the multi-hyphenate during an interview for The Domenick Nati Show on Friday. During their chat the Minnesota-bred musical act, real name Derek Smith, seemed to accuse his ex of being unfaithful, telling the radio host: 'Were we both faithful? I sure as hell was... I'm not going to speak for her.' This comes after Bella and Mod hurled insults back and forth last week in a Twitter exchange which culminated with Thorne calling her former love 'a p***y.' Bella Thorne's ex Mod Sun suggested she may have been unfaithful during an interview with The Dominic Nati Show on . Above together in 2019 Questioning Bella's commitment, Mod explained: 'I'm not going to speak for her. You already saw that she [was] with someone the next day so you know how my head gonna head gonna be after I see that right? You know what I'm going to be thinking... You can put those two together.' But asked point-blank why he and the author/actress split, Mod's first instinct was to assert that he was the one who initiated the breakup. 'I'm gonna be honest with you... I broke up with her. I ended the relationship. She's the one who took it straight to the internet and went "We're done. We're done," because she wanted to have her name, her little two cents on the "we broke up." That's some lame, lame sh** to me anyway, to go to the internet right away.' He was wary of explaining the exact reasons for the breakup, however, telling the show: '....I'm not gonna tell you exactly why... It was one thing that happened that was the straw that breaks the camel's back. It [was] the undoable... 'I ended the relationship with her due to something that happened, a very, very public incident and that was it. And I honestly was hoping it would be a wake up call.' Over: Bella Thorne shared that 'all good things must come to an end' in a bittersweet post announcing the amicable end of her relationship with Mod Sun in April Yikes! The 21-year-old actress was not pleased with her ex's words and took to Twitter to decry his actions He didn't elaborate further. Though their split was first reported to be amicable, Bella hit back at her ex after he threatened to sell her things on eBay during an interview with TooFab Thursday. Taking to Twitter to decry his actions, she wrote: 'Awww looks like moddy really wants some press,' she tweeted. 'also didnt u call the cops on me when I wanted my computer? U p****.' When asked about where Bella's things were during a chat with TooFab, he responded that the 'Mod Sun storage unit' was taking care of her possessions. 'I figured if she doesn't get it soon I'm gonna have a really, really poppin e-Bay site,' he told the gossip site. Not great: The jokester seemed to be in a different mood after Bella responded to the reports of the possible sales, and took to Twitter to respond to his former lover While he was all about laughs during his impromptu interview, the jokester seemed to be in a different mood after Bella responded to the reports of the possible sales on her social media. 'Well u came over uninvited. 24 hours after we broke up, Thru the backdoor,' the rapper wrote. 'I wasnt at the house to see what u were gonna take + to be honest bellaur not the most trustworthy person. Ive also told u 6 times since lets SWAP each others stuff but which u refuse to gather mine.' He coyly followed up with: 'I'm doing good btw nice to hear from u.' In the past: The couple called it quits last month with Bella writing that she will 'always love' him in a post announcing their split; seen in March The couple called it quits last month with Bella writing that she will 'always love' him in a post announcing their split. Shortly before their relationship was over, Thorne ended her other romance with YouTube star Tana Mongeau. Bella won't have much time to dwell on the past though, as publisher's recently requested another round of prints for her book, The Life of a Wanna Be Mogul: A Mental Disarray. Tori Spelling got together with her BH90210 cast mates Jennie Garth and Gabrielle Carteris for a Sunday dinner, with all three actresses wearing black bikinis. Spelling, 46, captioned the snap, 'Sunday Family Dinner...' while tagging Garth, 47, and Carteris, 58, along with the BH90210 Instagram. Spelling also posted another shot of her co-stars, while revealing how much their friendship has meant to them. Co-stars: Tori Spelling got together with her BH90210 cast mates Jennie Garth and Gabrielle Carteris for a Sunday dinner, with all three actresses wearing black bikinis Spelling was wearing a black two-piece bikini, while Carteris was clad in a black one-piece and Garth was wearing a strapless black bikini with white polka dots. Earlier on Sunday, she posted another shot where she was wearing sunglasses and a strapless brown dress. Carteris was wearing a pink tank top while holding her dog, while Garth wore a striped top as they smiled for the camera. Cast mates: Earlier on Sunday, she posted another shot where she was wearing sunglasses and a strapless brown dress 'I never got the experience of going away to college after high school (well I went to pretend college on 90210) but now I get to have these beautiful ladies @jenniegarth @gabriellecarteris as my roomies for the summer!' Spelling said. The actresses are in Vancouver to film BH90210, which recently added two new cast members, La La Anthony and Vanessa Lachey. Spelling also took to her Instagram on Saturday to welcome her new cast members to the BH90210 family. New cast: The actresses are in Vancouver to film BH90210, which recently added two new cast members, La La Anthony and Vanessa Lachey 'Excited to welcome these two gorgeous inside and out ladies to our @bh90210 family!' Spelling began. '@lala & @vanessalachey Im so happy amazing mamas and talents will be along for this journey with us. Adore you both! Xoxo,' Spelling added. Other original Beverly Hills 90210 stars Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green are also returning for the show. Co-stars: Other original Beverly Hills 90210 stars Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Ian Ziering and Brian Austin Green are also returning for the show The six-episode event series puts a meta twist on the show, since it's not a remake, reboot or a sequel, but instead follows the actors as heightened versions of themselves. The show will be inspired by real-life relationships with one another as the cast members reunite to discuss a reboot of the original show. BH90210 is set to debut Wednesday, August 7 at 9 PM ET on Fox. Zendaya wished Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland a happy birthday as he turned 23 Saturday. The 22-year-old beauty, who plays Michelle Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, posted a kind message on Instagram with the actor in mind. 'Happy birthday weirdo, thanks for being the wonderful person you are, were all very lucky to have you and your weirdness,' wrote the multi-talented beauty, tagging the London native into the post. Any many more: Zendaya, 22, wished Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland a happy birthday Saturday as he turned 23. She posted a shot in which she and Holland were joined by her assistant Darnell Appling (far L) and actor Jacob Batalon (far R) In an accompanying shot, the 5ft10 performer, whose full name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman, was flanked by Holland, Spider-Man actor Jacob Batalon and her assistant Darnell Appling. The Euphoria actress referenced Holland in a video segment for Vogue's 73 Questions series, as she was requested to reveal something about Holland and Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays the role of villain Mysterio in the upcoming Spider-Man: Far From Home. 'When they are together, no one else exists,' Zendaya said of the actors, who have been promoting the upcoming Marvel film around the world over the past month. The cozy relationship between Zendaya and Holland has sparked rumors of a romance between the young stars, who often pop up in one another's social media feeds. Out and about: The pair was snapped together promoting Spider-Man: Homecoming in June 2017 in Tom's native London Chemistry: A source told People the pair 'have great banter back and forth' In 2017, an insider told People that the pair 'started seeing each other while they were filming' that year's Spider-Man: Homecoming. 'Theyve been super careful to keep it private and out of the public eye but theyve gone on vacations with each other and try and spend as much time as possible with one another,' a source told the magazine. 'Theyre both really ambitious and they challenge each other - but, most importantly, they make each other crack up. Rising stars: The young performers were snapped at the MTV Movie Awards in LA in May of 2017 At work: Zendaya shared a laugh with Holland (in costume) in NYC in October 2018 while filming in the Big Apple on location Fan favorite: Holland was cheered on by a phalanx of fans while promoting his new movie in Bali 'They seem to have a really similar sense of humor and love joking around together' and 'have great banter back and forth.' The film features an ensemble cast including Marisa Tomei playing May Parker, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and Michael Keaton playing Adrian Toomes. The pair appear in the Spider-Man: Far From Home, which arrives July 2. Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 9:20PM Embed from Getty Images Huawei seems to be managing expectations on how many phones itll be able to sell with the US ban still ongoing. According to a report from South China Morning Post, sources claim Foxconn has halted Huawei phone production lines as the company cut back on orders. It wasnt specified if this was going to be a short- or long-term cut, but this follows months of Huawei increasing its demand for phones. The move that reportedly prompted Foxconn to go on a hiring spree. Foxconn declined to comment on the report, while Huawei hasnt responded to initial requests for comments. If the report is to be believed, it looks like Huawei is buckling down to minimize its losses as it cant work with its US partners at the moment. Source: Engadget Eric Stonestreet cuddled up to girlfriend Lindsay Schweitzer on Sunday at the premiere of The Secret Life Of Pets 2 in Los Angeles. The 47-year-old actor wore a short-sleeved checkered shirt over green trousers for the event in the Westwood area. He wore glasses and accessorized with a watch while escorting Lindsay who donned a short-sleeved speckled grey dress with a blue fringe. Film premiere: Eric Stonestreet brought girlfriend Lindsay Schweitzer on Sunday to the premiere of The Secret Life Of Pets 2 in Los Angeles The Modern Family star and pediatric nurse Lindsay have been dating since 2017 after meeting at the Big Slick Celebrity Weekend in Kansas City, Kansas. Eric reprises his voice role as shaggy Newfoundland mix Duke in The Secret Life Of Pets 2. He was spotted at the premiere catching up with his co-star Kevin Hart, 39, who was holding his 18-month-old son Kenzo. Lindsay joined in on a group portrait with Eric and Kevin's family, including his wife Eniko Parrish, 34, and his 14-year-old daughter Heaven and 11-year-old son Hendrix. Going strong: The Modern Family star and Lindsay have been dating since 2017 Cute couple: The pediatric nurse and actor met at his Big Slick Celebrity Weekend fundraiser in 2017 in Kansas City, Kansas Voice role: Eric reprises his voice role as shaggy Newfoundland mix Duke in The Secret Life Of Pets 2 TV star: The Kansas native since 2009 has been portraying Cam Tucker on Modern Family Kevin voiced the character of white rabbit Snowball in the 2016 original and again voices the former flushed pet in the sequel. Eric also was seen with voice co-stars Harrison Ford, Bobby Moynihan, Lake Bell and Tiffany Haddish. Hannibal Buress, 36, and Eric both wore sunglasses while smiling and laughing during the after-party. Funny guys: Kevin Hart while holding son Kenzo caught up with co-star Eric Group portrait: Lindsay joined in on a group portrait with Eric and Kevin's family, including his wife Eniko Parrish, 34, son Kenzo, 14-year-old daughter Heaven and 11-year-old son Hendrix Hollywood stars: Harrison Ford, Bobby Moynihan, Eric, Lake Bell and Tiffany Haddish teamed up at the premiere in Westwood The Secret Life Of Pets 2 is scheduled to be released Friday in the US. The original film featured the voice of Louis C.K., 51, in the leading role of protagonist Max, a Jack Russell Terrier. Louis after admitting to past sexual misconduct was replaced by Patton Oswalt, 50. Glasses on: Hannibal Buress and Eric both wore sunglasses while hanging out together She most recently starred in the Netflix zombie series Black Summer. And on Sunday, Jaime King lent her support to the new big screen release The Secret Life of Pets 2 at the movie's premiere in LA. The actress, 40, brought along her youngest son Leo, three, whom she shares with her director husband Kyle Newman. The couple also have a son James, five. Big treat: Jaime King brought along her youngest son Leo, three, to The Secret Life of Pets 2 premiere in Los Angeles on Sunday Jaime held Leo in her arms as she posed for photos ahead of the screening. She was the epitome of a stylish mom with her ensemble of shiny pleated gold blouse and calf-length black skirt. Her hip-length top had padded shoulders and long sleeves and was cinched at the waist with a black belt. Jaime added pointed toe black Freda Salvador shoes with silver buckles on the side. Stylish mom: Jaime wore a pleated gold blouse cinched at the waist with a black belt and a calf-length black skirt. She added pointed toe black shoes with silver buckles on the side Juggles career and family: The actress, 40, shares Leo with her director husband Kyle Newman. The couple also have a son James, five Leo, whose godmother is Taylor Swift, was dressed in a nettle green sweater and black sweatpants along with slip-on shoes. The blonde former model met her husband in 2005 on the set of the film Fanboys. They tied the knot in LA in November 2007 and their first son was born in October 2013. In 2014, Jaime publicly revealed she had struggled with infertility issues prior to James's birth and had suffered several miscarriages and an ectopic pregnancy before welcoming her son. Leo, who arrived in February 2015, was born with a serious heart defect and had to undergo major surgery to correct it. His journey as the Bachelor is officially over. And Matthew Agnew looked every inch the TV-ready heartthrob on Saturday, as he filmed the season seven trailer in Sydney's CBD. The 31-year-old astrophysicist, who chose his winning girl in the finale just last week, cut a suave figure in a fitted blue suit. Hot stuff! The Bachelor's Matthew Agnew looked delightfully dapper while filming the season seven trailer in Sydney's CBD on Saturday afternoon Matthew coordinated his suit with a matching dress shirt and black leather shoes. He went without his signature glasses for the video shoot and in several scenes held onto a red rose. Matthew was warmly greeted by host Osher Gunsberg, who looked equally dapper in a white shirt, tailored grey suit and black loafers. Leading man: The Melbourne-based astrophysicist was pictured walking down Phillip Street in Sydney with a bevy of stunning models Dapper: Matthew wore a navy shirt, coordinating suit jacket and pants, and black leather shoes Ready for his close-up: He went without his signature glasses for the video shoot Confident: Matt looked a lot more self assured on Saturday compared to the first cocktail party, where he had seemed rather nervous The former Channel [V] host accessorised with a pocket square and, as usual, his locks were styled to perfection. At one stage, Osher was seen mugging for the cameras after paparazzi arrived mid-way through the shoot. A group of models in red dresses were seen walking behind Matthew, standing in for the actual contestants who were not present. Bold: The models wore red dresses and nude heels as they paraded down the streets of Sydney Following orders: The Bachelor's newest suitor seemed to be on friendly terms with the crew Feeling the chill: While rehearsing, the models braved Sydney's chilly weather in puffer jackets And... action! In one scene, Matthew was seen striding purposefully toward a brunette model In-between takes, Matthew was spotted sipping coffee and engaging in friendly conversation with crew members. Daily Mail Australia understands that filming for season seven has now wrapped, with production of The Bachelorette set to begin shortly. A Channel 10 insider revealed in March that executives had deliberately chosen a non-famous candidate to 'refresh' the Bachelor franchise. There he is! The Bachelor's host Osher Gunsberg will be featured prominently in the trailer Animated: At one stage, Osher was seen mugging for the cameras after paparazzi arrived mid-way through the shoot Dapper chap! The former Channel [V] host accessorised with a pocket square and, as usual, his locks were styled to perfection On-set antics: Osher held onto a bouquet of roses and attempted to balance them on one hand 'The novelty of watching a celebrity search for love has worn off and producers figured that out pretty quickly after Nick Cummins' finale,' the source said. 'Matt is a normal, decent guy who is genuinely looking to meet someone. 'Producers see this as a way of giving the public what they failed to give them last year - a happily ever after!' Social: Osher engaged in conversation with the crew while filming the season seven trailer Thirsty work: Matthew chatted with the crew during a quick break in-between filming Making friends: He later sipped a coffee while speaking with a pair of female producers According to NW magazine, Matthew was an instant hit with the female contestants at the first cocktail party back in March. This season's diverse selection of women were reportedly smitten with the 'hot nerd' and charmed by his intelligence. 'He seemed incredibly charming,' said an on-set source. 'He had all the girls in fits of laughter and hanging off his every word.' Touch-up: Matthew was primped to perfection, with a hair and makeup team on standby Cuppa and a chat! Osher was pictured sharing a laugh with a female crew member Can we go home? The models looked a bit bored while waiting on a stairwell in-between takes Meanwhile, the Melbourne-based academic told Woman's Day earlier this year that he's looking for a woman who will complement his down-to-earth nature. 'I want someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and we can just have a laugh and fun together,' he said. The Bachelor airs on Channel 10 later this year Chilly: The models wore a variety of red gowns, which no doubt left them feeling cold Not long to go! Daily Mail Australia understands filming for season seven has now concluded He's set to return as host of the seventh season of The Bachelor this year. And Osher Gunsberg couldn't contain his excitement as he filmed a new trailer for the upcoming dating series with 'hot nerd' Matt Agnew and a bevy of models in Sydney on Saturday. Osher, 45, cut a suave figure in a fitted grey suit and a pair of black loafers and put on an animated display during the promotional shoot on Phillip Street. Suits you! Osher Gunsberg cut a suave figure in a tailored suit while filming a promo for The Bachelor last week The former Channel V host added an abstract pocket square and his locks were styled to perfection. Osher appeared to channel his inner Fred Astaire during the shoot as he popped his toe to the side while outstretching his arms and fingers. The beaming host channelled old Hollywood charm as he balancesd bunch of red roses with aplomb. Razzle, dazzle! Osher, 45, cut a suave figure in a fitted grey suit and a pair of black loafers as he was seen hamming it up for the cameras during the promotional shoot on Phillip Street on Saturday Osher was also seen throwing his support behind the new leading man at one stage during the shoot. The host appeared to wish the Melbourne-based astrophysicist, 31, the best of luck for his dating journey as the pair engaged in a firm handshake. The 31-year-old cut a dapper figure in a fitted blue suit, as he was surrounded by a bevy of models, dressed in red gowns. Coming up roses! The beaming host channelled old Hollywood charm as he balancesd bunch of red roses with aplomb Bloomin' beautiful! Osher looked dapper as he held a bunch of red roses while filming the trailer in Sydney on Saturday According to NW magazine, Matthew was an instant hit with the female contestants at the first cocktail party. This season's diverse selection of women were reportedly smitten with the 'hot nerd' and charmed by his intelligence. 'He seemed incredibly charming,' said an on-set source. 'He had all the girls in fits of laughter and hanging off his every word.' Happy days: Osher appeared to be in high spirits as he filmed a new trailer for the upcoming dating series Good luck! The host appeared to wish the Melbourne-based astrophysicist, 31, the best of luck for his dating journey as the pair engaged in a firm handshake Meanwhile, the bespectacled scientist told Woman's Day recently that he's looking for a woman who will complement his down-to-earth nature. 'I want someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and we can just have a laugh and fun together,' he said. The Bachelor airs on Channel 10 later this year She received critical acclaim for portraying her grandmother in BBC mini-series Mrs Wilson. And Ruth Wilson, 37, cut a glamorous figure as she attended the 2019 Drama Desk Awards at Steinway Hall in New York City on Sunday. The actress looked nothing short of sensational for the event, donning a sleeveless black dress with a frilled, sequined embellishment. Style: Ruth Wilson, 37, cut a glamorous figure as she attended the 2019 Drama Desk Awards at Steinway Hall in New York City on Sunday Cinching her waist with a belt, Ruth added height to her frame with a pair of black strappy heels with a bejeweled finish. Ruth's garment also featured a collar and a variety of back straps while she styled her brunette locks into a sleek updo for the evening. During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Ruth discussed playing her grandmother Alison Wilson on the BBC One show. She said: 'It's completely insane. It's madness to turn up and play the mother to my dad and my uncle. Outfit: The actress looked nothing short of sensational for the event, donning a sleeveless black dress with a frilled, sequined embellishment 'I have to give birth to my own father at one point, which is totally bizarre. 'I do feel sorry for my dad. 'As an actor, I have put my parents through so much on screen and now he's got to watch his daughter give birth to him. It's so weird!' Ruth's grandmother Alison believed she was happily married to former MI6 officer and British spy Alexander Wilson prior to his death in 1963. She would later discover that Wilson, a decorated World War II veteran, had secretly married on a further three occasions during a 40-year army career that took him across the globe. Look: Cinching her waist with a belt, Ruth added height to her frame with a pair of black strappy heels with a bejeweled finish Head turner: Ruth added further glamour to her look by styling her brunette locks into a sleek updo for the evening Fashionista: Ruth's stunning garment also featured a collar and back straps Speaking previously on ITV's Lorraine, Ruth revealed the role was her most difficult to date as an actress. She said: It was one of the hardest things Ive done, definitely, because you have the pressure of delivering the story but protecting your family. 'Making sure that all the members of the family that are seen on TV are served in the correct way, or how theyd like to be seen. Sensational: Ruth looked effortlessly stylish as she walked the red carpet, completing her look with a dark red lip Role: During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Ruth discussed playing her grandmother Alison Wilson on BBC One show Mrs Wilson 'We made sure all of the scripts were seen by all of the family members and that they had a say.' Ruth will next be seen in His Dark Materials, a fantasy series based on the novel series of the same name by Phillip Pullman. Set in an alternate world where all humans have animal companions called daemons, Ruth plays Mrs Coulter, a character previously portrayed by Nicole Kidman in the film The Golden Compass. Colin Thackeray was awarded the Britain's Got Talent crown on Sunday evening. And Simon Cowell appeared overjoyed with the result, as he left the Eventim Apollo in London wearing a beaming smile with his partner Lauren Silverman, 41. The music mogul, 59, couldn't contain his glee as he displayed his pearly while veneers with a broad grin, while sat in the back of a car after the show. Beaming! Simon Cowell appeared overjoyed with the result, as he left the Eventim Apollo in London wearing a beaming smile with his partner Lauren Silverman Simon pulled some very animated facial expressions while showcasing a number of friendly gestures out of his window as he raised his hand up to do an okay sign and a thumbs up. Putting on an affectionate display the father-of-one sweetly held hands with his other half as they cruised along together. Simon sported a crisp white shirt that he left unbuttoned in order to show off his hairy chest. Dazzling: The music mogul, 59, couldn't contain his glee as he displayed his pearly while veneers with a broad grin, while sat in the back of a car after the show Okay! Simon pulled some very animated facial expressions while showcasing a number of friendly gestures out of his window as he raised his hand up to do an okay sign and a thumbs up Lauren looked chic in a thigh-grazing strapless black dress with silver detailing across the bust which she wore with a pair of trendy heels. She amped up the glamour by wearing her glossy raven tresses in a bouncy blown out style, while opting for light touches of make-up to enhance her features. Simon has long been known for his enviable smile. His teeth took centre-stage during a 2007 X Factor audition where a 70-year-old auditionee named Emily revealed she wanted to win so she could get dental care. Sweet: Putting on an affectionate display the father-of-one sweetly held hands with his other half as they cruised along together Smart: Simon sported a crisp white shirt that he left unbuttoned in order to show off his hairy chest Glam! Lauren amped up the glamour by wearing her glossy raven tresses in a bouncy blown out style, while opting for light touches of make-up to enhance her features Saying she wanted Simon's smile, the whimsical judge said: 'I can't help that I've got good teeth.' Earlier in the evening, Colin who served in the military for 25 years, was announced as the winner of the show by hosts Ant & Dec, with the Chelsea Pensioner claiming he was 'astonished' at the news. He first captured the hearts of the nation when he auditioned for the show singing We'll Meet Again as a tribute to his late wife, Joan, who he married in 1950 before being sent to Korea. Pearly whites: Simon has long been known for his enviable smile. His teeth took centre-stage during a 2007 X Factor audition where a 70-year-old auditionee named Emily revealed she wanted to win so she could get dental care Winner! Earlier in the evening, Colin who served in the military for 25 years, was announced as the winner of the show by hosts Ant & Dec, with the Chelsea Pensioner claiming he was 'astonished' at the news Heartfelt: He first captured the hearts of the nation when he auditioned for the show singing We'll Meet Again as a tribute to his late wife, Joan, who he married in 1950 before being sent to Korea After his win was announced, he said: 'I am stuck for words for a change,' the charismatic fan-favourite quipped. 'Thank you very much, all of you, all the backing I've had.' Earlier in the show he declared he could 'die happy' if he won the series. The prize for the show is 250k plus a slot at the Royal Variety Performance, singing before the queen. Colin said: 'I have served her for 25 years, to sing in front of her would be a dream come true.' Chic: Lauren looked chic in a thigh-grazing strapless black dress with silver detailing across the bust which she wore with a pair of trendy heels Lost for words: After his win was announced, he said: 'I am stuck for words for a change,' the charismatic fan-favourite quipped. 'Thank you very much, all of you, all the backing I've had' After his rendition of Love Changes Everything earlier in the evening, judge Amanda Holden appeared to predict the show's outcome, commenting: 'You are unbeatable. You're a gentleman, I respect you, you inspire me, everyone loves you. 'This isn't about the glitz and the glamour for you. Or about fame. You served your country and I hope tonight they serve you.' Colin - who had people of all ages chanting his name - pipped magicians X and Ben Hart to the post, who had joined him in the final three. 'Die happy': Earlier in the show he declared he could 'die happy' if he won the series. The prize for the show is 250k plus a slot at the Royal Variety Performance, singing before the quee She was crowned queen of the third series of Love Island with partner Kem Cetinay. And Amber Davies has said that the contestants that year were naive to the money and fame that they were met with out on the outside world, whereas this year's islanders are fully aware of what they are signing up for. The West End star, 22, discussed the new batch of contestants during an appearance on Lorraine ahead of the show's premiere on Monday evening. Love Island: Amber Davies claimed that this year's Love Island contestants know that they are signing up for money and fame When questioned about whether they know they are signing up for fame, she said: 'Its inevitable. Theyre singing up for fame. We didnt. 'This year, they know what theyre going in there to do and they know what kind of money theyre going to be coming out to.' Amber opted for daytime glamour for her TV appearance, as she donned a pink frilly silk dress and glitzy stilettos, while sleeking her hair back into a chic ponytail. When she left the villa Amber's life completely changed, as the stars are invited to glitzy launches, parties and dinners following their exit from the show. Former flame: Amber appeared on the third series of the show and went on the win the show with her then boyfriend Kem Cetinay Glam: Amber opted for daytime glamour for her TV appearance, as she donned a pink frilly silk dress and glitzy stilettos, while sleeking her hair back into a chic ponytail However Amber admitted that she had a very positive experience with the show's aftercare team: 'I cant speak for everyone else but my personal experience of aftercare was unbelievably and amazing.' She added that nobody is forcing contestants to apply, saying: 'However, you do sign up for it yourself and you know what youre signing up for. No one is holding a gun to your head. Discussing life on the outside world, Amber confessed that life after the show isn't all its cracked up to be as she revealed that jobs for reality stars are 'very slim' right now. Discussing the line-up for this year's series, Amber said: ' I think theres a lot bigger personalities going in which Im excited about. Weve obviously got the British Kim Kardashian going in. Shes a normal sized girl' Not what it's cracked up to be: Discussing life on the outside world, Amber confessed that life after the show isn't all its cracked up to be as she revealed that jobs for reality stars are 'very slim' right now When quizzed about her favourite contestants, she said: 'Tommy, only because I think hes really good looking. He is cute isnt he? I think theyve got a lot of sass this year, which would really scare me. I think therell be a lot more arguments this year' She said: 'It looks like were living the dream but were not. Jobs are very slim for reality stars at the minute. Youve got to think about it because your life changes completely' New islanders: The West End star, 22, discussed the new batch of contestants during an appearance on Lorraine ahead of the show's premiere on Monday evening 'It's inevitable': When questioned about whether they know they are signing up for fame, she said: 'Its inevitable. Theyre singing up for fame. We didnt' She said: 'It looks like were living the dream but were not. Jobs are very slim for reality stars at the minute. Youve got to think about it because your life changes completely.' Discussing the line-up for this year's series, Amber said: 'I think theres a lot bigger personalities going in which Im excited about. Weve obviously got the British Kim Kardashian going in. Shes a normal sized girl.' Amber said that she likes that Anna seems quite down to earth, adding: 'Shes beautiful, shes very confident and doesnt take herself too seriously and thats what I really like about her.' Amber also revealed that new islander Tommy Fury is 'her type on paper', admitting that she thinks he is very attractive before adding that we could bare witness to lots more confrontation this year. When quizzed about her favourite contestants, she said: 'Tommy, only because I think hes really good looking. He is cute isnt he? I think theyve got a lot of sass this year, which would really scare me. I think therell be a lot more arguments this year.' Amber was later spotted heading out of the studios wearing a black and white slogan T-shirt, teamed with a pair of loosing-fitting khaki shorts. She said: 'This year, they know what theyre going in there to do and they know what kind of money theyre going to be coming out to' Change of pace: When she left the villa Amber's life completely changed, as the stars are invited to glitzy launches, parties and dinners following their exit from the show She also rocked a blue denim jacket and a pair of sock-style trainers, while carrying her essentials in a pale pink leather bag. Amber revealed that she has had 'positive' feedback following her role in West End musical 9 to 5 and she can't wait to move onto the next job. However she was keen to quash rumours that she will appear on this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing following speculation on social media. She said: 'Ive seen this in the media. I mean Id love to do it. Its definitely not on the table. Maybe in a couple of years time. I definitely want to do another musical first. Or Broadway, that could be something.' High praise: Amber said that she likes that Anna seems quite down to earth, adding: 'Shes beautiful, shes very confident and doesnt take herself too seriously and thats what I really like about her' He's enjoying a brief break in this year's Formula 1 season. And Lewis Hamilton made the most of his days off with a trip back home to the UK last week. The sportsman, 33, was spotted arriving at London Heathrow airport on Sunday, turning heads in his designer ensemble. Despite the sweltering temperatures, the fashion fan wore a red beanie hat, teamed with 1192 Chanel x Pharrell trainers. Colourful: Lewis Hamilton turned heads in his designer ensemble as he arrived at London Heathrow airport on Sunday after spending a few days at home in the UK Lewis went for a colourful look for his airport arrival, rocking a pair of covetable graffiti-print sneakers from Pharrell's Chanel collection. He wore red and yellow striped tracksuit trousers, teamed with an embroidered black and yellow jacket. Gold designer shades were the finishing touch, while he was seen unloading a 1050 Supreme X Rimowa Suitcase out of the boot of his car. Feeling the heat? Despite the sweltering temperatures, the fashion fan wore a red beanie ha Lewis had been enjoying some time with family back home following his victory at the Monaco Grand Prix a week ago. Next up for the star is the Canadian race in Montreal on June 9. Sharing a snap on Instagram on Saturday, Lewis gushed about his rare time off, writing: 'Today I got to see my niece and nephew and my boy Roscoe.' 'Spending time with family is so important. I don't get very much time with them so I cherish every little moment I do get. There's really nothing else in the world more important than family.' Check out the shows! The Formula 1 star rocked 1192 Chanel x Pharrell graffiti print trainers Oops! Lewis showed off his look as he stooped to pick up some loose change he had dropped 'Summer is here in the UK and it's beautiful. Home is where the heart is. #uncle #family #grateful #blessed.' The Mercedes driver has revealed in a new interview that he wants to continue racing for at least another five years. Lewis told David Letterman in a new Netflix series called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction that he aims to race until he's 38 the same age seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher was when he first retired. I need that! The multi-millionaire sportsman was keen to retrieve his dropped money Baggage: Lewis was seen carrying a 1050 Supreme X Rimowa Suitcase into departures Fashion forward: The star chose teamed an embroidered black and yellow jacket with designer shades 'Michael retired when he was 38. I'm 33. In my mind I can definitely do five years,' he said. 'I am ridiculously determined to win. What really drives me, and I feel that somewhat the people I race against may lack, is that fire. 'I've got this opportunity. I could easily let go of it right now but I feel like I would be squandering it if I didn't continue to improve, grow and push. 'I've got to keep going for as long as I can basically - until I'm not enjoying it.' Family: Sharing a snap on Instagram on Saturday, Lewis gushed about his rare time off, writing: 'Today I got to see my niece and nephew and my boy Roscoe' Champ: Lewis has a couple of weeks off following his victory at the Monaco Grand Prix a week ago. Next up for the star is the Canadian race in Montreal on June 9 Nicolas Cage and his fourth wife Erika Koike are officially divorced after a four-day marriage. The former couple were granted the divorce three months after their wedding, which they tried to annul after four days, after Nicolas claimed he was 'too drunk' to marry. TMZ state that according to court records, the judge in Clark County, NV granted their divorce on Friday, May 31. Splitsville: Nicolas Cage is officially divorced from fourth wife Erika Koike following their FOUR DAY marriage ... after he claimed he was 'too drunk' to tie the knot Hollywood actor Nicolas, 55, had claimed the union was based on fraud, because Erika didn't disclose her criminal history and her relationship with another person. There appeared to be problems with the union almost immediately and hours after the wedding, which took place on March 23, they were seen fighting outside the Bellagio hotel. Erika later opposed Nick's hope to annul their marriage and made a claim for spousal support. TMZ claims that Nicolas was unable to get the annulment but managed to get a quick divorce and it's unclear if Erika was granted the spousal support she wanted. Troubled times: Nicolas was unable to get the annulment but managed to get a quick divorce and it's unclear if Erika was granted the spousal support she wanted Erika claims that her reputation has been damaged by Cage and she's lost out on career opportunities. The 34-year-old agreed that the couple should be divorced but said the Con Air actor's annulment request should be denied, claiming that his allegations that the marriage was based on fraud are false. According to TMZ, Koike says that less than two weeks after Nic filed for annulment, he contacted her to rekindle tings 'in the right way.' The pair had dated for about a year before their quickie marriage in Vegas. Drama: In the filing, Erika claims that her reputation has been damaged by Cage and she's lost out on career opportunities as a result of their relationship The couple tied the knot the same day that they applied for a marriage license but while at the Clark County Court House Marriage Licence Bureau, the Cage made a scene. He appeared to be 'very out of it' and was 'most likely drunk', an eyewitness told DailyMail.com. At one point Nic raised his voice and started shouting about how Koike's 'boyfriend' is a drug dealer and that 'he isn't doing it' - seemingly referring to getting a marriage license. The video shows Koike calmly telling Cage: 'I never asked you to do this', before he smiles and gently pushes her through the hallway, saying 'come on, let's go'. Just hours later, the newlyweds appeared in front of a casino in the throes of an argument as Koike grabbed her bags and left in a taxi. In the annulment papers filed less than a week later, Cage cited Koike's 'criminal history' among the many reasons he wanted to dissolve the marriage, according to The Blast. He initially claimed that he was 'too drunk' to realize he was getting married, and was further disturbed upon realizing her past was marred with two DUIs in the last 10 years in addition to being arrested for domestic violence in 2006. Koike pled no contest to two driving under the influence charges in Los Angeles, one in 2008 and another in 2011. Quite a stir: Cage appeared to be 'very out of it' and was 'most likely drunk' while applying for the license according to an eyewitness told DailyMail.com The site reported that Erika was 'sentenced to 5 days in jail, plus a very aggressive alcohol program' in addition to a device installed in her car. She was reportedly put on probation and sentenced to community service in addition to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The makeup artist was also required to attend an 18-month alcohol and drug education program. In court documents the actor claims he and now ex-wife Erika were intoxicated and he 'lacked understanding of his actions in marrying [Koike] to the extent that he was incapable of agreeing to the marriage'. Cage's lawyers stated: 'Prior to obtaining a marriage license and participating in a marriage ceremony, [Cage] and [Koike] were both drinking to the point of intoxication. 'As a result of his intoxication, when [Koike] suggested to [Cage] that they should marry, [Cage] reacted on impulse and without the ability to recognize or understand the full impact of his actions.' She's previously made known her horror of creepy crawlies and distaste for outdoor adventures. But Kim Kardashian brushed her fears aside as she embarked on a camping trip with her daughter North West, five, on Sunday's edition of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The TV personality, 38, ditched her home comforts and trademark glamour for a night under the canvas with her pals Larsa Pippen, 44, and Tracy Romulus, 39, in an attempt to please her mini-me North. Wahay! Kim Kardashian brushed her fears aside as she embarked on a camping trip with her daughter North West, five, on Sunday's edition of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (pictured with her friend Tracy Romulus and her daughter Ryan) Ahead of their trip in the woods, the TV personality revealed her eldest daughter gained an interest in camping after watching 1998 film The Parent Trap. During a conversation with her sister Kourtney, 40, a concerned Kim moaned: 'Camping is literally the last thing in my life that I would want to do... literally!' With North refusing to let the subject go, the make-up mogul eventually went on a shopping trip for some outdoor gear with her close friend and former PR Jonathan Cheban, 45. 'I want to make North happy, so I'm going to have to like, dig deep in my soul and find the like, nine-year-old camp girl,' Kim explained. The TV personality, 38, ditched her home comforts and trademark glamour for a night under the canvas with her pals Larsa Pippen, 44, and Tracy Romulus, 39, in an attempt to please her mini-me North Less than impressed: Ahead of their trip in the woods, the TV personality revealed her eldest daughter gained an interest in camping after watching 1998 film The Parent Trap Fear: She's previously made known her horror of creepy crawlies and distaste for outdoor adventures While tucking into tasty meringue ice cream, the pair eyeballed a pair of hiking sandals, which Food God star Jonathan teased would be perfect for her husband Kanye West's 2024 Yeezy line. The New Yorker then cautioned Kim, who was wearing white snakeskin pants, to dress appropriately on the trip. 'What if there's hunters there and they see your pants and they just shoot you?' he joked. 'That literally looks like a snake in the grass.' Further into the episode, the mother-of-four and North settled into the woods alongside her friends Larsa, Tracy and their daughters Ryan, seven, and Sophia, 10. Dedicated: With North refusing to let the subject go, the make-up mogul eventually went on a shopping trip for some outdoor gear with her close friend and former PR Jonathan Cheban, 45 Really? While tucking into tasty meringue ice cream, the pair eyeballed a pair of hiking sandals, which Food God star Jonathan teased would be perfect for her husband Kanye West's 2024 Yeezy line 'That literally looks like a snake in the grass': The New Yorker then cautioned Kim, who was wearing white snakeskin pants, to dress appropriately on the trip In good company: Further into the episode, the mother-of-four and North settled into the woods alongside her friends Larsa, Tracy and their daughters Ryan, seven, and Sophia, 10 Pleased with her purchases, the social media sensation showed off the air horn she bought to scare off bears, tested a Luggable Loo, and attempted to put up a tent in the wind. Later, the group went fishingbut hilariously caught no fish. Kim recalled her own fishing experience, noting how, at age 11, she would often cast a line with her former stepbrothers Burt, 40, Brandon, 37, and Brody Jenner, 35. Reminiscing on their past trips, Kourtney, via call, recalled the chant they'd recite to themselves, which read: 'Down with Kimberly. We must stop her. Don't kill worms, Kimberly. Don't kill worms.' Once back at camp, the mothers attempted to light a fire, but the tool embarrassingly blew up in flames. Uh oh: The social media sensation showed off the air horn she bought to scare off bears, tested a Luggable Loo, and attempted to put up a tent in the wind Unsuccessful: The group went fishingbut hilariously caught no fish Back in the day: Kim recalled her own fishing experience during a phone conversation with her sister Kourtney, noting how, at age 11, she would often cast a line with her former stepbrothers Oh dear: Once back at camp, the mothers attempted to light a fire, but the tool embarrassingly blew up in flames Having fun: North, Sophia and Tracy were in their element as they treated themselves to some yummy snacks by the campfire While Larsa threatened to go home after the disaster, a defiant Kim shared: 'Camping's not so bad!' However, she quickly changed her tune when she believed she came face to face with a spider. The businesswoman screamed: 'Oh my god, I thought I felt a spider on my head, with Larsa quipping: 'There's no spiders; they would've froze to death because it's too cold.' Not pleased: While Larsa threatened to go home after the disaster, a defiant Kim shared: 'Camping's not so bad!' 'Oh my god, I thought I felt a spider on my head': However, Kim quickly changed her tune when she believed she came face to face with a spider Family time: The children couldn't contain their laughter as their mothers read them bedtime stories in the tent Reflecting on their adventurous trip, Kim was upbeat as she enthused: 'We survived! We're not staying for breakfast. We want to go to Starbucks, we want to go home and get in the shower... [but] we did it.' 'I'm glad we got Larsa to stay because I really want to show the kids that there's not always an easy way out. If we agree to something and we commit to something, then we're going to follow through with that. 'But I hope North doesn't think it's a tradition and that we have to go every year, because that's not gonna happen', she added. Keeping Up With The Kardashians continues next Sunday on E!. He stunned viewers when he unveiled X's haunting mask on Britain's Got Talent's grande finale on Sunday night. And Marc Spelmann revealed the extreme lengths he went to keep his true identity secret as he appeared on Lorraine on Monday. The magician, 47, told the chat show host he hired his friend to speak for him and gushed about how his wife Tessa is the true 'warrior' following her breast cancer battle. Surprise! Marc Spelmann revealed the extreme lengths he went to keep his true identity secret for his illusion act X on Britain's Got Talent as he appeared on Lorraine on Monday Speaking of how he kept X's identity shrouded in mystery, Marc said: 'I had a very good friend of mine following me round talking. I wouldn't communicate to anyone during all the rehearsals. 'If anyone came over to speak to me, they had to talk to Colin.' He added: 'No one knew apart from my wife and my daughter that I was X - and that was only because I was rehearsing at home with the mask on. Devoted husband: The magician, 47, also gushed how his wife Tessa is the true 'warrior' following her breast cancer battle (pictured last April) Wow: Marc stunned viewers when he unveiled X's haunting mask on Britain's Got Talent's grande finale on Sunday night Shock: Ant and Dec put their hands to their mouths in astonishment when they recognised the man under the mask 'It was so hard to keep secret, but so much fun. We all want to be superheroes don't we?' Marc, who was the 2018's Golden Buzzer choice, left the judges agape when he took off his mask. The anonymous magician terrified with their act throughout the show, which saw him digital technology and use of social media to mystify the judges and audience. 'I am X': After performing a trick involving Ant and Dec, as well as the audience at London's Apollo, he unveiled his true identity, leaving the judges mouth's agape X left the judges on the edge of their seats, with Simon telling the magician that he 'got chills running through' him during the act, and loved their 'spooky, creepy presence'. Last year, Marc had the judges fighting back tears with his first audition, recounting his wife's Tessa's breast cancer battle while she was pregnant with their longed for baby following years of failed IVF. He cared for Tessa, 45, who struggled with fertility and was overjoyed with a surprise pregnancy with their daughter Isabella. Mysterious: Speaking of how he kept X's identity shrouded in mystery, Marc said: 'I had a very good friend of mine following me round talking. I wouldn't communicate to anyone' Secretive: He added: 'No one knew apart from my wife and my daughter that I was X - and that was only because I was rehearsing at home with the mask on' Inspiration: Marc said: 'It was so hard to keep secret, but so much fun. We all want to be superheroes don't we?' Speaking about being a father, Marc said: 'That is what real magic is. In life, there is real magic. 'For me and Tessa, our real magic was Isabella. When she was born, it was the most magical moment, an incredible experience.' Tessa was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was three months pregnant, and had to undergo chemotherapy when Isabella was still in the womb. Isabella was then delivered two months prematurely via c-section so Tessa could undergo higher intensity chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She also underwent a mastectomy and was given the all-clear from cancer. 'Tessa is doing incredible,' Marc said. 'I get a cold and I'm in bed. Tessa is a proper warrior. She's really good.' He added: 'X will continue to perform, he will be back.' He might perform alongside Mark Spelmanb. Maybe they'll come off the stage with a quick change somewhere. TV would be wonderful, X has a real positive message. I've got lots of ideas for it.' She once famously told James Argent that he was 'never going to get this candy' while sassily wearing a swimsuit on TOWIE. And now Gemma Collins, 38, has proved that there's more to her than meets the idea when it comes to her beach attire. On Monday she shared an impressive video of herself doing a cartwheel in a one-piece while on the beach during her Caribbean getaway. Scroll down for video There's the candy: Gemma Collins showed off her incredible agility as she performed a cartwheel in her swimsuit on the beach in the Caribbean on Monday and shared it on Instagram After completing the sporty move, the star, who has recently embarked on a weight-loss regime, fist pumped the air before heading to the water. She captioned the image with the words: 'Walking into MONDAY like .......#gcstyle.' Even Peter Andre was a fan, writing in the comments section: 'Love it!' Before her holiday, Gemma travelled to LA to film her own reality show, shortly after splitting from her long-term love, James Argent. She has been keeping her followers abreast of her experiences in America, sharing videos of herself hiking up the Runyon Canyon. While on her travels, she has been hanging out with good friend Jonathan Cheban, who she met on Celebrity Big Brother. Wow thing: Gemma showed off the results of her recent weightloss in her swimsuit as she looked body confident Exotic: Gemma also posed in a swimsuit a few days before as she's clearly feeling good about her new look He took her to see the plastic surgeon to the stars, Dr Ourian, to discuss getting fat sucked out of her face. And she took a trip to Rodeo Drive, where Pretty Woman was famously filmed. The latest post comes as it is rumoured Gemma has caught the attention of a top Hollywood director, as it is claimed he was 'mesmerised' by the TOWIE star. Raunchy: Elsewhere, Gemma took some time out from her gruelling regime to share a very raunchy snap of her bottom in a racy thong as she soaked up the sun Gemma is believed to have attracted the film industry mogul with her confidence, however she batted off the exchange as nothing more than 'friendly banter'. A source told The Sun : 'At the premiere some guy who is a director and producer from the industry was hitting on her... 'Her energy for Americans is very infectious, they love her confidence. The guy went straight over to Gemma and was pretty mesmerised by her... 'But Gemma just saw it as friendly banter and refused to acknowledge the man was flirting with her. She didn't seem to mind though.' They officially became husband and wife in May 2018. And just over a year later, on Saturday May 25, model Jade Parfitt, 40, and Jack Dyson celebrated their marriage with a country wedding at Ash Barton, an idyllic Grade II* listed manor house in North Devon. The mother-of-three and her music business boss partner celebrated the occasion with family and friends including model pals Jodie Kidd, Alek Wek and Erin O'Connor. The big day: on Saturday May 25, model Jade Parfitt, 40, and Jack Dyson celebrated their marriage with a country wedding at Ash Barton, in North Devon, surrounded by friends and family including world-famous models Jodie Kidd, Alek Wek and Erin O'Connor Jade oozed elegance in an ivory chiffon and silver beaded wedding gown gifted to her by designer friend Zac Posen. The bohemian gown featured cold-shoulder detailing, an embellished bodice and shimmering vertical stripes down its length. She revealed to Hello! Magazine: 'I messaged Zac asking where the dress was stocked in London and he just asked me what my address was. A week later this incredible dress arrived. 'It was just unreal, I know I've worked in fashion forever, but I was still so thrilled to bits. It is so special and unique.' Already husband and wife: The mother-of-three and her music business boss partner officially became husband and wife in May 2018 Happy: Jade oozed elegance in an ivory chiffon and silver beaded wedding gown gifted to her by designer friend Zac Posen (Pictured with Jack in 2016) First wedding: Taking to Instagram in May 2018, with photos from the day, Jade wrote: This was supposed to be the 'official bit' with a bigger wedding celebration planned for next year... Their wedding day was part of a full weekend packed with celebrations, which saw guests staying over in luxury bell tents. Jade gushed to the magazine: 'We are both so dazed from it all. It was so beautiful.' Taking to Instagram in May 2018, the model shared a series of photos from the day of their nuptials. Special: '...but it ended up being so much more than just an official signing of papers and was one of the most special days of my life!' continued the model Hands full: Jade, who has son Jackson, 12, from a previous relationship also shares daughters Tabitha, three, and Silver, one with Jack Dyson Jade wrote alongside: This was supposed to be the 'official bit' with a bigger wedding celebration planned for next year... '...but it ended up being so much more than just an official signing of papers and was one of the most special days of my life!' Jade, who has son Jackson, 12, from a previous relationship also shares daughters Tabitha, three, and Silver, one with Jack Dyson. She had raised her son on her own for some years before meeting her now-husband, a senior director at SAP Hybris, through mutual friends. Jade previously told Baby Magazine: 'I knew it would take a special relationship for me to want to introduce anyone to Jackson, but when I met Jack I just knew it was going to be him. 'We took our time and I am so grateful that we did. My son adores him and it has been a real delight watching their relationship flourish. ' Jade's modelling career began when she was just 15, when mother entered her into a modelling competition on the This Morning. After winning the competition she was awarded with a contract with MODELS1. Jade was among the crop of British models that stormed onto the scene at the tail-end of the Kate Moss/waif debacle in the mid-1990s, along with Jodie Kidd. After 10 years of entertaining kids as an original member of Hi-5, Nathan Foley made a triumphant return to TV during Monday's episode of The Voice. But it wasn't just his spectacular comeback that got people talking, the 39-year-old unveiled a new hairstyle. During his Hi-5 years, Nathan's hairline appeared to have been receding, but he appeared onstage with a full head of hair for his blind audition on The Voice. Scroll down for video Something in the hair: Nathan Foley appeared to have more hair when he appeared on The Voice on Monday than he did during his Hi-5 days. Pictured left on The Voice and right at a Hi-5 media call in Sydney in June 2006 Performing Footloose, Nathan showed off a head full of thick, straight hair, a departure from the thinning curls he displayed during his stint on Hi-5. And viewers couldn't help but notice too, with many of them flocking to Twitter to comment on Nathan's new hairdo. 'That's a rug right?' one viewer tweeted. Hair for it: Fans couldn't help but notice the drastic change to his appearance, with many of them flocking to Twitter to comment on Nathan's new hairdo 'Has the hi5 guy got a wig on... less hair when he was on hi5,' added another. One viewer jokingly wrote: 'Nathan has a dead #beaver on his head'. Another fan thought there was no denying Nathan was wearing a wig, writing: 'That is a really obvious toupe, Nathan'. Hair today, gone tomorrow: During his Hi-5 years, Nathan's hairline appeared to have been receding, but he appeared onstage with a full head of hair for his blind audition on The Voice Mane attraction: Performing Footloose, Nathan showed off a head full of thick, straight hair, a departure from the thinning curls he displayed during his stint on Hi-5 Nathan confessed he went through a 'difficult' period after leaving Hi-5 back in 2008, and now lives on the New South Wales Central Coast. 'That's why I went overseas, went to the States and went to Europe. [I] had to get away from Australia, because they just saw me as the Hi-5 guy,' he said on the show. He said he's getting married in six weeks, and revealed he and his fiancee, Nicolette, are already looking at starting a family and laying down some roots in Australia. Hard times: Nathan confessed he went through a 'difficult' period after leaving Hi-5 back in 2008, and now lives on the New South Wales Central Coast Cutting remarks: Another fan thought there was no denying Nathan was wearing a wig, writing: 'That is a really obvious toupe, Nathan' 'I want to be home, and I want to just set my career back here in Australia, and I want to show Australia what I can actually do,' he explained. After turning both Delta Goodrem and Boy George's chairs, Nathan ultimately chose to go with Delta, 34. 'What an absolute pleasure to have Nathan on #TeamDelta,' she tweeted. Laura Anderson says Love Island's infamous lie detector test doesn't need to be axed because contestants take it as a 'joke'. The reality star, 30, who starred on the hit ITV2 show last year, defended the task as she talked about islanders' mental health on Victoria Derbyshire on Monday. It comes as fellow alum Zara McDermott called for 'diversity of personality' after producers came under fire for only casting 'girls a size six to eight' and 'guys with a six pack'. Defensive: Laura Anderson says Love Island's infamous lie detector test doesn't need to be axed because contestants take it as a 'joke' as she appeared on Victoria Derbyshire on Monday Laura debated whether the test should be axed after it was thrown under scrutiny following the death of a former Jeremy Kyle Show guest and the suicides of Love Island stars Sophie Gradon, 32, and Mike Thalassitis, 26. 'I don't think it needs to be personally in my experience we all took it as a bit of a joke, she said. 'Lie detectors aren't 100% accurate anyway.' Victoria prompted: 'But it can lead to tension, it can lead to distress among other contestants?' Diversity: Fellow alum Zara McDermott called for 'diversity of personality' after producers came under fire for only casting 'girls a size six to eight' and 'guys with a six pack' 'It's a joke': The reality star, 30, who starred on the hit ITV2 show last year, defended the task Controversial lie detector: 'I don't think it needs to be personally in my experience we all took it as a bit of a joke, she said. 'Lie detectors aren't 100% accurate anyway' Her opinion: The former air hostess, who looked effortlessly chic in a white suit and nude heels, also discussed the show's criticisms over lack of body diversity No more: Bosses are reportedly set to axe the infamous lie detector tests from the show in the wake of the recent reality TV deaths (pictured Olivia Attwood in 2017) Laura replied: 'Yeah. I think there are other things that do that, not specifically the lie detector test. I don't think the lie detector was the hardest thing in there.' The lie detector tests were a dramatic part of the programme, which saw the couples grilled about their romances, with the results being showed to the rest of the islanders as well as the viewing public. A source previously told The Sun: 'One of the issues raised was the lie detector. The feeling was, in the wake of the Jeremy Kyle case, bosses must be whiter than white they cannot mess with people's emotions.' The insider continued to say that the tests used on the show were 'basic' and 'not approved by the 'British Polygraph Association.' Body diversity: She said: 'I think it's great we're talking about this but I don't think diversity is just appearance. It's about personality' Leggy: Zara was also at BBC studios and looked stylish in denim miniskirt and pale pink heels All about personality: Zara waded into the debate about diversity on the show she said: 'So as long as that diversity is done as well. It makes a really good show' They added: 'While nothing is set in stone and ideas change on an almost daily basis, at the moment there are no plans to bring the polygraphs back.' MailOnline contacted Love Island representatives for comment at the time. The former air hostess, who looked effortlessly chic in a white suit and nude heels, also discussed the show's criticisms over lack of body diversity. In the spotlight: She added: 'You go into the villa as a normal person but you leave more famous than a lot of other reality TV stars already out there' A slew of reality stars including Lucy Mecklenburgh, former islander Malin Andersson and Alexandra Cane have slammed the show for only casting 'girls a size six to eight' and 'guys with a six pack'. Giving her take on the fresh batch of singletons, Laura said: 'I think it's great we're talking about this but I don't think diversity is just appearance. It's about personality. 'I know it seems all glamorous watching it but for me it was a more inner challenge. Diversity is a lot more important on the inside.' Fashionista: Laura opted for a floral crop top and jeans as she carried her adorable dog Zara, 22, also waded into the debate as she told Metro: 'I think it is not only about appearance but it is about the diversity of personality. 'So as long as that diversity is done as well. It makes a really good show.' Zara met her ex-boyfriend Adam Collard on the show in 2018 and split from him after seven months of dating. Chic: The reality star toted a very stylish Balenciaga bag as while out and about with her pet Pomeranian She said: 'You go into the villa as a normal person but you leave more famous than a lot of other reality TV stars already out there.' Zara admitted the aftercare she received was enough and she felt like producers 'kept an open relationship' with her and the other contestants after they left the show. She added: 'For me, my aftercare was enough. The producers always wanted to keep an open relationship with us. Floral: Zara opted for a floral summer dress adorned with pink and orange roses 'I supposed this new aftercare plan is open for people who feel like they can't ask for help.' Samira Mighty was also interviewed for the Victoria Derbyshire show and revealed she stopped eating after her relationship with Frankie Foster broke down. The former West End star met Frankie on the show last year, but was left devastated when he was caught kissing another woman outside a club mere weeks after they left the villa. Fantastic: The reality star had her long bronzed pins on display as she strutted her stuff Amazing: Laura flaunted her slim figure in the summery ensemble as she walked the dog She said: 'The public break-up made me really depressed. You've got all these followers but you feel really alone. 'I had so much anxiety, I felt really sick all of the time. I was really skinny. I stopped eating. I looked awful.' Speaking about her thoughts on Love Island's aftercare, she said: 'The aftercare team were on tap, I could send them a message at 1am and they would reply. They would say hey I will call you in the morning and you were like fine.' Summer ensemble: Zara toted a Selfridges bag and a very enviable white handbag Fashion forward: Laura strutted her stuff in her summer wardrobe while cradling her very cute dog Samira Mighty was also interviewed for the Victoria Derbyshire show and revealed she stopped eating after her relationship with Frankie Foster broke down The harsh reality: She said: 'I had so much anxiety, I felt really sick all of the time. I was really skinny. I stopped eating. I looked awful' (pictured last year) Love Island: ITV has revealed key changes to their duty of care processes following the suicides of Mike Thalassitis (L) and Sophie Gradon (R) Ahead of the series five launch, ITV revealed some key changes to their duty of care processes including enhanced psychological support and social and financial training following reality star deaths. The channel was accused of hypocrisy after Jeremy Kyle was axed following the suicide of one of its guests. But Love Island will continue to be filmed, despite former contestants Sophie and Mike sadly taking their own lives. ITV have said that they have evolved their duty of care processes to protect contestants going forward ahead of the show's launch on Monday. They're the Instagram superstar siblings who routinely draw comparisons with the Kardashian-Jenner sisters. And on Monday, Tammy Hembrow and her equally glamorous sisters continued to build their empire as they launched their HemBROWS eyebrow kit with Benefit cosmetics at the QT Hotel on the Gold Coast. But for Tammy, 25, and Amy, 28, and Emilee, 27, the biggest attraction of the evening appeared to be their own reflections. Looking fierce! Tammy Hembrow (centre) and sisters Amy (right) and Emilee (left) launched their new Benefit eyebrow kit t the QT Hotel on the Gold Coast on Monday The trio could not stop snapping selfies, and perhaps livestreaming the event, as they took to the stage to promote their new makeup product. Tammy, who wore a white corset and matching pants, held up her phone multiple times to take a snap. The model adjusted her blonde hair, which was worn in beachy waves, as she took snap after snap. Looking good! The trio could not stop snapping selfies, and perhaps livestreaming, as they took to the stage to promote their new makeup product Pout about it: Tammy held up her phone multiple times to take a snap Pick the best one! Emilee could be seen gazing at her phone and scrolling through her snaps How's this angle? She seemed determined to get the right shot Working it! Tammy took photos at various distances from her face Hi followers! Tammy is known for having a close relationship with her fans Emilee, who was dressed in a black suit-themed dress with unusual loose, high-slit sleeves, also adjusted her ponytail for a photo. She played with her photo throughout the press call, pouting for the camera with Tammy by her side. Amy, wearing a long, sleek black dress with cutouts at the waist, touched up her lipstick for photos before posing with her sisters. Say cheese! The sisters posed together for photos as well as taking selfies Two of a kind: The siblings wore matching pouts as they posed Get lippy: Amy, wearing a long, sleek black dress with cutouts at the waist, touched up her lipstick for photos Last week, the sisters revealed they were collaborating on a make-up product with cosmetics giant Benefit. 'I can't wait to finally share our collaboration,' the social media sensation wrote in an Instagram promotion for the HemBROWS Basics Kit. The deal is likely to be highly lucrative for the sisters, with Benefit Cosmetics selling its products in more than 30 countries. Nice gig! Last week, the sisters revealed they were collaborating on a make-up product with cosmetics giant Benefit Moving up: 'I can't wait to finally share our collaboration,' social media sensation Tammy wrote in an Instagram promotion for the HemBROWS Basics Kit Doing well! The deal is likely to be highly lucrative for the sisters, with Benefit Cosmetics selling its products in more than 30 countries The kit is now on sale at Sephora for $66 online, with an RRP of $109. Tammy, an Instagram superstar and clothing designer, is the daughter of Australian director, screenwriter and musician Mark Hembrow, 64. Amy is the oldest Hembrow and has earned social media fame (over 178K follows) thanks in part to her younger sisters Emilee and Tammy. All white! Tammy wore a white corset and matching pants to the event Hairy situation: She wore her blonde hair down around her shoulders in beachy waves Got the look: A bedazzled arm cuff and coral toned lipstick completed the ensemble Neat! Emilee was dressed in a black suit-themed dress with unusual loose, high-slit sleeves Small touches: The classy outfit showed off a hint of cleavage and the beauty's long legs She's the general manager of popular clothing brand Saski Collection and has previously worked as a marketing coordinator and graphic designer. Just like Tammy, much of Emilee's social media success, including one million Instagram followers, comes from documenting her two pregnancies on Instagram. The beauty has earned her fair share of modelling contracts and commercial work, and even launched her own fashion line in 2015. Britain's Got Talent fans claim to have debunked how magicians 4MG planted a black 'X' in the palm of Amanda Holden's palm during one of their tricks. One of four magicians performed the clever illusion during their last performance at the grand finale of the show on Sunday night. Josh Hennes, 17, appeared to magically transfer the X from his own palm into Amanda's clenched fist, which seemed to have been made with a black Sharpie. Exposed: Britain's Got Talent fans claim to have debunked how magicians 4MG planted a black 'X' in the palm of Amanda Holden's palm during one of their tricks At the beginning of the trick, Josh asked Amanda to open her hand's out flat while banging on the judge's panel as he did so. Amanda then followed suit and kept her hands at the same level, however Josh then lifted her hand and told her 'just a bit higher', as he came into contact with her. Josh then asked to know whether she was right or left hand, before requesting that she make her left hand into a tight fist. Magic? Josh Hennes, 17, appeared to magically transfer the X from his own palm into Amanda's clenched fist, which seemed to have been made with a black Sharpie Trick: At the beginning of the trick, Josh asked Amanda to open her hand's out flat while banging on the judge's panel as he did s Performance: He then proceeded to draw a small X onto his own hand, before appearing to 'lift' it from his skin and transfer it to Amanda's palm by sprinkling above her hand He then proceeded to draw a small X onto his own hand, before appearing to 'lift' it from his skin and transfer it to Amanda's palm by sprinkling above her hand. When Amanda unfurled her hand she looked aghast as she saw that there was a black X marked in the centre of her palm. However viewers believe that they were able to easily tell how the trick was executed, explaining that when Josh touched Amanda's hand he planted the X. X marks the spot! He then proceeded to draw a small X onto his own hand, before appearing to 'lift' it from his skin and transfer it to Amanda's palm by sprinkling above her hand Shocked: When Amanda unfurled her hand she looked aghast as she saw that there was a black X marked in the centre of her palm One fan wrote: 'Isn't it obvious that X was put on her hand when the guy grabbed her hands and pulled them up? He chose the hand she didn't write with so the fist she made wouldn't be tight enough to smudge it. #bgt. A sceptical viewer responded to the tweet, saying: 'I thought this but how would it be on with permanent marker?' While the commenter hoped to debunk their defence by saying: 'Wet ink? Small stamp? There's a lot of ways I feel.' Not impressed? However viewers believe that they were able to easily tell how the trick was executed, explaining that when Josh touched Amanda's hand he planted the X Another dubious fan wrote: 'When that guy raised Amanda's hands up that's when he put the X on her palm #BGT '4MG.' One more viewer attempted to give explanations for the whole performance which included a magic spinning key and David Walliams picking a random name. They wrote: #bgt invisible thread on key, stamp on lid with x the x one hand is washable, the name Simon is always going to be David's pick.' For my next trick! One more viewer attempted to give explanations for the whole performance which included a magic spinning key and David Walliams picking a random name However 4MG weren't the only magicians in the final who fans claimed were less than discreet with their slight-of-hand. Ben Hart's shrinking playing card act was also exposed by eagle-eyed viewers, who claimed to have figured out the way he executed his magic trick. The magician, who came third after being pipped to the post by 87-year-old Colin Thackery, captivated the audience as he seemingly made the deck smaller until it was nothing but dust. While many viewers claimed Ben's act was astonishing, others scoffed at his magic as they admitted they had seen him reaching into his pocket to switch the cards. Foiled: Ben Hart's shrinking playing card act in the final of Britain's Got talent has been exposed by eagle-eyed viewers During the fascinating act, Ben told the audience it was the first trick his grandfather had shown him in India when he was first introduced to magic. He then seemingly shrank the playing cards until they were smaller, holding up a regular sized one form his pocket to compare them. But fans realised this sleight of hand was his way of switching the cards, with some claiming it was 'not really magic'. One complained: 'Not really magic if you keep going into your pocket for smaller cards.' Shrinking: The magician, who came third after being pipped to the post by 87-year-old Colin Thackery, captivated the audience as he seemingly made the deck smaller until it was nothing but dust Obvious: While many viewers claimed Ben's act was astonishing, others scoffed at his magic as they admitted they had seen reaching into his pocket to switch the cards Another argued: 'He kept retrieving the "big card" to hide the previous set back into his pocket.' One quipped: 'Isn't Ben swapping the cards in his pocket and very cleverly swapping them hand to hand (big hands!)? Must take hours of practice to be that slick!' After performing the magic trick, Alesha was prompted to say: 'I felt hypnotised, you have such magic eyes.' Amanda concurred: 'Yeah, that is absolutely right. You are otherworldly, ethereal, properly magic. I hang on to your every word, you are professional and slick.' Is that how he did it? Fans realised this sleight of hand was his way of switching the cards, with some claiming it was 'not really magic'. Simon said: 'I think you have a huge future. You're a joy to watch.' It's not the first time eagle eyed viewersspotted an awkward gaffe in Ben's act. The star was beaten to the winning spot by Colin Thackery. The 89-year-old, who served in the military for 25 years, first captured the hearts of the nation when he auditioned for the show singing We'll Meet Again as a tribute to his late wife, Joan, who he married in 1950 before being sent to Korea. They welcomed their baby boy Sid just six weeks ago, but it was back to work for Masterchef star Gregg Wallace, 54, and his wife Anne-Marie, 32 on Monday. The couple made their first appearance together since the arrival of their newborn, cooking live on ITV's This Morning. Sharing one of Anne's family recipes from their new joint cook book, the couple gushed about their little boy to hosts Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield. On screen: They welcomed their baby boy Sid just six weeks ago, but it was back to work for Masterchef star Gregg Wallace, 54, and his wife Anne-Marie, 32 on Monday As they expertly whipped up crepes with spinach and parma ham, smitten Gregg praised his wife, telling the show 'I'm very fortunate my wife's beautiful and a great cook. As talk turned to family dinner time, the couple said they couldn't wait until Sid is old enough to sit at the table with them and tuck into their cooking. 'Everyone sits round the table, it's lovely,' said Anne. 'We can't get the baby at the table yet but he will be though.' Cooking up a storm: The couple made their first appearance together since the arrival of their newborn, cooking together live on ITV's This Morning 'We have the two dogs sat at the table but not him!' added Gregg. Anne revealed that while the new parents worked, her mother was at home looking after Sid. 'Mum lives with us so she's on baby duty at the moment.' 'You don't just marry an Italian, you marry the whole family,' Gregg explained of their living arrangements. Phil was keen to know how hands on Gregg is, to which is declared: 'I'm good! I like changing nappies, I've been weed on three times. I like feeding, I like winding him.' Adoring: The Masterchef judge, 54, welcomed his first son Sid Massimo with wife Anne-Marie, 32, last month 'I find the sleepless nights difficult,' he added though, admitting mum of three Holly would understand 'as you have to get up in front of the cameras the next day. It's not easy.' Sid is the couple's first child together, while Gregg is already dad to Tom, 25, and Libby, 22, from his marriage to Denise Wallace. Appearing on Loose Women last week, Gregg revealed his eldest son put his fears about being an older dad to rest. Wave to Sid! Anne revealed that while the new parents worked, her mother was at home looking after Sid. 'Mum lives with us so she's on baby duty at the moment' Getting overcome with emotion as he spoke to the panel, Gregg teared up as Tom promised him that Sid will always be looked after. He admitted: 'I was a single dad. I bought my children up on my own, they are now 25 and 22 and they were at the hospital when their baby brother was born. Do you know what my son said? 'He said, "Look, the little boy Sid is a lucky boy". And I said, "But his dad's old?" My eldest boy said, "Thats alright dad, hes got me".' Hands on: This Morning hosts Holly and Phil were keen to know how hands on Gregg is, to which is declared: 'I'm good! I like changing nappies' The TV chef, who was on to promote his new cookbook Gregg's Italian Family Cookbook, admitted he worried about being so much older than his newborn son and feared not being around. He added: 'Well, I did say to Anna I wasn't sure because by the time you're my age, normally your children have grown up and you can have time with your wife again. 'I'm going to be in my 70s when Sid's 20.' Anne-Marie fell pregnant with their child last summer, shortly before the pair were due to start treatment to help them conceive after having spent years trying for a baby of their own. New mum: As they expertly whipped up crepes with spinach and parma ham, smitten Gregg praised his wife, telling the show 'I'm very fortunate my wife's beautiful and a great cook' Tough: Gregg admitted that while he's loving being a dad to a newborn again he's finding the sleepless nights hard 'Miracle baby': Anne-Marie fell pregnant with their child last summer, shortly before the pair were due to start treatment to help them conceive When they announced they were expecting, Gregg said: 'We were due to start IVF but then it happened naturally after two years of trying. The doctor told us it was a miracle Anna was pregnant.' Despite initially saying he won't have another child, Gregg appeared to change his tune during his appearance and admitted he wont rule out the possibility of becoming a father again in the future. Asked about the possibility of having another child, Gregg said: 'We said only one, but honestly now...' Gregg and photographer Anne-Marie first met in 2013 when they bonded over their love of food via Twitter, and despite a 21-year age gap they tied the knot three years later. Joint venture: Gregg and Anne are busy promoting their new book Gregg's Italian Family Cookbook which includes recipes from Anne's family Anyone who missed Cardi Bs performance on Sunday evening were given another opportunity to see her new piercings as she partied into the early hours later that night. The rapper, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, revealed a hitherto unseen dermal piercing beneath her throat while celebrating with her entourage at a lively New York club. Cardi, 26, also showed off a horizontal lip piercing in a series of Instagram stories posted following her show at New Jersey's annual Hot 97 Summer Jam music festival. There they are: Anyone who missed Cardi Bs performance on Sunday evening were given another opportunity to see her new piercings as she partied into the early hours later that night Held at each end by a small bar beneath the skin's surface, the horizontal piercing is believed to be among the rarer lip perforations, due in part to its general complexity. The dermal piercing can be added to any flat surface on the body, and is generally held in place with an anchor shaped clasp, fixed beneath the skin. Both made their debut as she took to the stage at East Rutherford's MetLife Stadium, but they were easier to spot on social media during the rapper's late night after-party. Hard to miss: The rapper, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, revealed a hitherto unseen dermal piercing beneath her throat while celebrating with her entourage Lip service: Cardi, 26, also showed off a horizontal piercings on her bottom lip in a series of Instagram stories posted following her show at New Jersey's annual Hot 97 Summer Jam Cardi was gifted with flowers before making her way to a New York nightspot, where she filmed herself drinking cocktails while grinding and dancing with a group of friends, among them rapper husband Offset. Further videos find members of her group asleep after returning to the rapper's hotel suite, where she performs an impromptu dance while listening to Lil Nas X track Old Town Road. Cardi's lively night comes after she cancelled a series of shows due to complications following liposuction and a boob job. Taking to the stage at Hot 97 Summer Jam, The I Like It rapper put on a very raunchy display as she writhed and twerked up on stage in a scantily-clad ensemble. Cardi appeared to be in top form as she entertained audiences wearing a skimpy yellow look which put her newly-enhanced figure front and centre. Unusual: Held at each end by a small bar beneath the skin's surface, the horizontal piercing is believed to be among the rarer lip perforations, due in part to its general complexity Good times: The rapper let her hair down at a New York nightspot following her performance on Sunday evening Here we go: Cardi grinded with husband Offset as the party wore on into the early hours of the morning Still going strong: Cardi also performs an impromptu dance to Lil Nas X track Old Town Road after returning to her hotel Previously: All three of her new piercings made their debut as she took to the stage at East Rutherford's MetLife Stadium Despite her recent break the star was ready to rock, giving it her all as she moved to the music with her backup dancers. After peeling off a revealing tie-up top, Cardi continued to show off her figure wearing a shimmering yellow bikini which barely covered her full front. As the former stripper paraded around the stage she put her toned center and legs on display wearing matching hot pants with nude fishnets underneath. She accessorised with diamond bracelets, huge hoop earrings and bedazzled sneakers. Paying attention to detail, she even performed with a gilded mic which matched her ensemble. Hello yellow! Earlier that night Cardi put on a very raunchy display as she writhed and twerked up on stage in a scantily-clad ensemble Focused: Cardi rocked a tiny look while singing her hit tunes at the concert in New Jersey Fierce: The rapper pouted up a storm surrounded by her backing dancers Getting a leg up! Cardi paraded around the stage wearing matching hot pants with nude fishnets underneath Go for the gold! Paying attention to detail, she even performed with a gilded mic which matched her ensemble Racy! Cardi B didn't hold back when it came to dancing up on stage Never one to shy away from an outrageous hairstyle, Cardi's locks were painted in a combination of gold, orange, and pink with a flash of silver framing her face. After performing a number of rousing renditions of her hits, the star welcomed a surprise guest on stage. Cardi got quite the thrill when husband Offset jumped on stage with her and pulled her onto his back for a piggy-back ride. It looked like the star had recovered from the surgical complications which forced her to cancel a series of shows last month. Having so much fun: She later added a cowboy hat while joined on stage by Lil Nas X Best tressed: Never one to shy away from an outrageous hairstyle, Cardi's locks were painted in a combination of gold, orange, and pink with a flash of silver framing her face Look who's here! After performing a number of rousing renditions, the star welcomed a surprise guest on stage Riding high: Cardi got quite the thrill when husband Offset jumped on stage with her and pulled her onto his back for a piggy-back ride After undergoing a post-baby boob job and bout of lipo, she was urged by doctors to lie low. Following his surprise stop by Cardi's set, Offset performed with Migos-mates Quavo and Takeoff. Also performing at the fest: Meek Mill, Melii, City Girls, Tory Lanez, Kash Doll, Megan Thee Stallion, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, and more. Two out of three: After his surprise stop by Cardi's set, Offset performed with Migos mates Quavo and Takeoff Rap royalty: Offset's bandmates Takeoff (left) and Quavo (right) can be seen above Ready to mingle: Wendy Williams enjoyed the single life at the festival Just do it: Colin Kapernick took in the music, making sure to save some memories to his phone Not for the Meek: Meek Mill was another one of the event's performers Yee haw: Megan Thee Stallion put on quite the show in a silver bikini set, cowgirl hat and peep toe heels with spurs It's hard to imagine Love Island without Caroline Flack at the helm and Iain Stirling hilariously narrating a group of sassy singles on the hunt for love. But Kelly Brook, 39, took to Instagram on Monday to remind fans that she hosted the first incarnation of the hit show, Celebrity Love Island, fourteen years ago alongside Patrick Kielty, 48, - a version which lasted only two seasons before being axed. Hours before Love Island series five debuted on ITV2, the model shared a series of youthful throwback snaps from 2005 of herself clad in summery ensembles, alongside her former co-host. The originals: Kelly Brook, 39, took to Instagram on Monday to remind fans that she hosted the first incarnation of Love Island, fourteen years ago alongside Patrick Kielty, 48 Kelly captioned the throwback snaps: 'Baby Brookie back in 2005 as Host of the First Series of Celebrity Love Island on @itv it's so great to see how its evolved over the years and can't wait to watch tonight @itv @loveisland.' The former presenter of The Big Breakfast parted her brunette locks on one side and styled into a bouncy blow and sported an array of busty outfits. Celebrity Love Island saw the likes of Calum Best, Rebecca Loos, Bianca Gascoigne hit Fiji with a host of other stars in search of romance. Caroline Flack, 39, began presenting Love Island when it returned to screens in it's current form in June 2015, and has stayed at the helm every since. Throwback: Hours before Love Island series five debuted on ITV2, she shared a series of youthful throwback snaps from 2005 of herself alongside her former co-host Glamorous: The former presenter of The Big Breakfast parted her brunette locks on one side and styled into a bouncy blow and sported an array of busty outfits A fan of the show: Kelly captioned the snaps: 'Baby Brookie back in 2005 as Host of the First Series of Celebrity Love Island on @itv it's so great to see how its evolved over the years and can't wait to watch tonight @itv @loveisland.' At the helm: Caroline Flack, 39, began presenting Love Island when it returned to screens in it's current form in June 2015, and has stayed at the helm every since (pictured in 2015) Meanwhile, after stepping away from the limelight for a time, Kelly recently joined London's Heart Radio, to co-host the drive-time show alongside Jason 'JK' King. Speaking to Hello! magazine in February, the model said that her slot on Heart is a dream job and has given her 'a new lease of life'. Kelly said: 'It's been really lovely because I feel like I have been given another lifeline. Co-hosts: Kelly recently joined London's Heart Radio, to co-host the drive-time show alongside Jason 'JK' King (pictured) Dream job: Speaking to Hello! magazine in February, the model said that her slot on Heart is a dream job and has given her 'a new lease of life' The end? The former presenter of The Big Breakfast confessed that she had felt her time in the public eye was waning and she might not get another chance Happy lady: Kelly said: 'It's been really lovely because I feel like I have been given another lifeline. You think: 'Oh, that's it, maybe I had my go and it's someone else's turn'' 'You think: 'Oh, that's it, maybe I had my go and it's someone else's turn.' When an opportunity like this comes along, all of a sudden you've got another shot. 'I think it's given me a new lease of life. To be doing something I love, making people feel good, is just the best.' Kelly has previously appeared on Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Juice, and had a successful career in modelling. Jessica Alba is going above and beyond in her dedication to motherhood. The actress, 38, admitted during Her Campus Media's annual Her Conference on Saturday that she attends therapy with her eldest daughter, Honor, 10. Saying she wants to be a 'better mother' and work on her communication with the preteen, Jessica explained her decision to seek guidance. Raising her right: Jessica Alba, 38, admitted during Her Campus Media's annual Her Conference on Saturday that she attends therapy with her eldest daughter, Honor, 10 Honest Company's mastermind talked to the crowd about her decision. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alba said she decided to go with Honor in order to 'learn to be a better mother to her and communicate better with her.' The move was also made in part due to her own upbringing, as mental health care was less of a focus during her adolescent years. 'Some people think, like in my family, you talk to a priest and that's it' she said. Alba also commented on how she doesn't feel comfortable talking to a priest about her feelings. 'I didn't grow up in an environment where you talked about this stuff, and it was just like shut it down and keep it moving...So I find a lot of inspiration just in talking to my kids,' Jessica continued. Great mom: This decision was made in part due to her own upbringing, as mental health care was less of a focus during her adolescent years And already, Alba is experiencing some drama with Honor, making her decision to go to therapy even more understandable. The Fantastic Four star told Jimmy Fallon that her daughter 'loves drama.' 'I don't encourage drama, so I'm like, 'Honor, it's not appropriate for you to have a boyfriend. It doesn't even make sense. You're in fifth grade, like where are you gonna go?' In response, Honor said, 'Mom, but I love drama.' Jessica and her husband, Cash Warren, share Honor, along with daughter Haven, 7, and son Hayes, 1, together. They all live in a stunning Beverly Hills mansion which was recently highlighted on the June cover of Architectural Digest following renovations. Family fun: Jessica and her husband, Cash Warren, share Honor, along with daughter Haven, 7, and son Hayes, 1, together The star's 40-year-old film producer husband can also be seen in the feature centered around their home as Jessica told the publication: 'This is our dream house!' This power couple lived in a house down the street of their current residence but had their children in mind when looking for a new home as the backyard features a large, grassy area. Jessica told Architectural Digest: 'We wanted a place to watch our kids play and grow up.' Jessica and Cash first crossed paths while filming the Fantastic Four in 2004 and they married four years later in Los Angeles. To top things off, they recently celebrated their 11 year wedding anniversary in Paris. Their first daughter Honor was born in 2008, Haven was delivered in 2011, and Hayes arrived on New Year's Eve 2017. Ernie Dingo has spoken out against what he dubs 'crazy' animal rights activists who attempt to liberate animals from industrial farms. The Australian actor, 62, told The Daily Telegraph, in an interview published on Monday: 'I don't know what vegans are trying to do by going out to these farms. 'They've got all this crazy thinking about going to farms to free the animals. I'd love be on the farm with the farmer when a whole bunch of vegans turn up. Two-by-four!' 'They've got all this crazy thinking about going to farms to free the animals': Ernie Dingo (pictured) slammed 'vegan protesters' in an interview with the Daily Telegraph on Monday The TV presenter also delved into his experiences of depression, about which he's been outspoken. 'You just do your job. Chin up (but) depression is a bitch (and) it's a bit hard to come to terms with a lot of the time,' he told the paper. Ernie added that he tells his children it's best to 'appear happy' when 'in the presence of others because they have sadness of their own'. The Australian actor, 62, told The Daily Telegraph: 'They've got all this crazy thinking about going to farms to free the animals. I'd love be on the farm with the farmer when a whole bunch of vegans turn up!' Pictured: Animal welfare activists in Melbourne Last year, the actor held remote men's camps to assist Aboriginal men who are struggling. In a segment for Bush TV, he said: 'I'm a big shot movie actor best job in the world right? But I bet you didn't know I suffer from depression. That's why I'm running these remote men's camps with the BushTV mob, to give our remote men a voice'. It comes after it was revealed that Ernie's latest show, Going Places With Ernie Dingo, has gone from strength to strength. Going places: It comes after it was revealed that Ernie's latest show, Going Places With Ernie Dingo (pictured) has gone from strength to strength The show - which began airing in 2016 - follows the veteran TV presenter touring some of Australia's most scenic areas. Due to its popularity, the hit travel series moved from NITV to SBS next month to debut its third season. 'Going Places with Ernie Dingo has been a firm favourite with NITV audiences for the last two seasons and I am thrilled that it will be reaching even more Australians on SBS,' NITV Channel Manager Tanya Orman said to TV Week last month. Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the death of her best friend Paul Burns. And, Vicky Pattison did her best to put on a brave face as she spent the afternoon with friends at Carpe Diem restaurant in Barcelona, Spain. The former Geordie Shore star, 31, looked chic in an orange-and-white splodge print midi skirt and plain white T-shirt as she indulged in a range of cocktails. Worse for wear: Vicky Pattison, 31, did her best to put on a brave face as she spent the afternoon with friends at Carpe Diem restaurant in Barcelona, Spain Vicky showcased her curves in her summery ensemble, which she teamed with a pair of open-toe wedges. She accessorised by draping the long strap of a small grey handbag over her shoulder. The television personality styled her brunette tresses into a voluminous 'do and accentuated her beauty with a flawless make-up application. Although she put on an animated display during what appeared to be a FaceTime call, at times the star looked understandably glum. Stylish: The former Geordie Shore star looked chic in an orange-and-white splodge print midi skirt and plain white T-shirt as she indulged in a range of cocktails One year on: Sunday also marked the one-year anniversary of the death of her close friend Paul Burns who died aged 37, with Vicky taking to Instagram to pay a heartfelt tribute to him Fresh for summer: Vicky showcased her curves in her summery ensemble, which she teamed with a pair of open-toe wedges Animated: Vicky put on an animated display during what appeared to be a FaceTime call Unamused: The television personality looked understandably glum at times Keeping her fans updated: In true Vicky P style, she documented her afternoon on Instagram, sharing pouty selfies to her story The reality star lit up a cigarette and puffed away as she chatted to her group of pals. In true Vicky P style, she documented her afternoon on Instagram, sharing pouty selfies to her story. Her day with pals also marked the one-year anniversary of the death of her close friend Paul Burns, who was dubbed 'Mr Newcastle' by friends. The former Geordie Shore star posted a touching tribute to her Instagram page sharing a photo of the pair and mourning his passing with a heartfelt message. She wrote: 'A year ago today... Theres nothing I can write or say that will do you justice. I want you to know that my life hasnt been the same. Listen up: Vicky listened to a voice note on her phone whilst sat with a pal Finishing touches: Vicky wore a pair of shades with small round lenses to complete her look Lighting up: The reality star lit up a cigarette and puffed away as she chatted to her friends Friendly: The reality star was happy to chat to fans who approached her at the bar Glam: Vicky styled her brunette tresses into a voluminous 'do and accentuated her beauty with a flawless make-up application 'That Ive missed you everyday and that Ive thought about you often. That we talk about you all the time. That we still cry. 'Not always sad tears- sometimes happy ones- at our memories of you. We toast to you everytime we go out- and then always tell our favourite Paul stories. 'We all have different ones. But theres always a theme - you were the best person we knew and we consider it a privilege to have called you a friend. 'Paul Burns, you were too good for us and too good for this world. Ill always love you.' Chic: She accessorised by draping the long strap of a small grey handbag over her shoulder Cosy: The former Queen of The Jungle concentrated on her FaceTime call Care-free: Vicky relaxed backwards as she smoked a cigarette Chatting away: The reality babe chatted away on her mobile phone Joining in: During her FaceTime call, another female friend joined the conversation An inquest heard that Paul died on June 2 2018 after collapsing while on a night out with friends in Newcastle, with a toxicology report confirming the presence of MDMA in his system. Paul, who was a bar boss, had finished his shift at The Botanist at around 11pm on June 1 2018, before going out with pals in the city centre, but an inquest heard that the evening ended in tragedy when the 37-year-old collapsed. Coroner Karen Dilks said in the early hours of June 2, Mr Burns was seen by a member of the public 'sitting on a wall and appeared to be swaying with his head in his hands'. A helping hand: Vicky strolled through Barcelona whilst holding onto her friend Cheers: The friends appeared to be in high spirits during their FaceTime call Supportive: Vicky wrapped an arm around her gal pal as they strolled around Fun times: At other times, Vicky laughed uncontrollably as she enjoyed her relaxing day Cocktails galore: The reality star appeared to be distracted at one point during her day 'A short time later he was seen lying unresponsive on the pavement,' she said. Paramedics attended the scene and attempted to resuscitate him, but their efforts were unsuccessful. Ms Dilks said a post-mortem examination showed no obvious signs of natural disease. She said a toxicology report confirmed the presence of MDMA - also known as ecstasy - in his system. She said in the absence of any other findings the cause of death 'can be attributed to the effects of MDMA'. Jordan Banjo's girlfriend Naomi Courts has hit back at a 'disrespectful' troll who contacted her to say that they should get their son Cassius checked for autism. The 27-year-old, who is currently expecting their second child, posted the message she had been sent by an anonymous follower on her Instagram story. The message read: 'Cass moves him arms a lot, sometimes that is a sign of autism. Maybe you should get that checked out. Not hating just curious!' Hitting back! Jordan Banjo's girlfriend Naomi Courts has hit back at a 'disrespectful' troll who contacted her to say that they should get their son Cassius checked for autism Clearly upset by the message, Naomi shot back that it was not 'friendly advice' like the message had suggested and argued that it was 'completely unacceptable'. She said: 'I never respond to messages like that but what an awful thing to message me, this is not 'friendly advice' this is a completely unacceptable, insensitive message. 'I am very open to other people's opinions, and would never ever make anyone feel bad for offering their advice even if I didn't agree, however the tone of this message is very upsetting. Sweet: Jordan and Naomi's welcomed their first child Cassius (pictured) back in May 2018 'He's 1 years old! Have some respect! he's a happy baby who was excited by the fact he was about to get fed! Autism would never ever be a problem but think before you send messages like this, would you say this to someone in the street?? We are human too.' After the couple revealed their second pregnancy, Jordan joked he might end up with 13 children before the pair get married - as he reveals he tried to propose twice before Naomi fell pregnant. The Diversity star, 26, said he was ready to get hitched before the couple found out they were expecting their son Cassius. Not happy: The 27-year-old, who is currently expecting their second child, posted the message she had been sent by an anonymous follower on her Instagram story Speaking to the Sun, he said: 'At this rate we're going to end up with 13 kids and not going to be married. I was ready to propose when I found out she was pregnant... 'So I thought, 'OK, I'll wait until he's a little older and then I'll take Naomi away and surprise her with a proposal... 'Then when I started thinking about doing it again this year I found out she was pregnant again. Now she's convinced we're not going to get married.' She said: 'I never respond to messages like that but what an awful thing to message me, this is not 'friendly advice' this is a completely unacceptable, insensitive' The couple revealed they were expecting their second child when Cassius was only eight months old. But Jordan confessed caring for the youngster was a 'real adjustment' as suddenly his son was 'my focus' and he had to 'find time for everything else, only if it fitted around him'. Jordan and Naomi shared the news of their second child on Instagram in January with a sweet picture of the dancer and Cassius holding a baby scan. Open: 'I am very open to other people's opinions, and would never ever make anyone feel bad for offering their advice even if I didn't agree, however the tone of this message is very upsetting' He captioned the image: 'CASSIUS IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER. Genuinely never felt more blessed, last year having Cassius was the best thing that's ever happened to me and @naomiella21. 'Being a dad is genuinely the best job in the world and now we're going to be mummy and daddy to another little bubba later this year! '@naomiella21 I'm so proud of you and the amazing mum/partner you are. Can't wait for the rest of this year and the crazy adventure of our little family getting that bit bigger!' He said: 'At this rate we're going to end up with 13 kids and not going to be married. I was ready to propose when I found out she was pregnant with Cass' Baby bump: The couple revealed they were expecting their second child when Cassius was only eight months old Jordan and Naomi's welcomed their first child back in May 2018. The dancer, famous for winning Britain's Got Talent with his troupe in 2009, announced the arrival of Cassius, two days after his birth. Jordan declared himself 'the luckiest man there is' as he shared the happy news on Instagram, along with a first picture of the tiny newborn. He explained at the time: 'Myself and @naomiella21 haven't shared this straight away because we wanted to take some time to appreciate and enjoy the beautiful moment that we had as a family. News: Jordan and Naomi shared the news of their second child on Instagram in January with a sweet picture of the dancer and Cassius holding a baby scan Devoted dad: The dancer, famous for winning Britain's Got Talent with his troupe in 2009, announced the arrival of Cassius, two days after his birth 'On the 07.05.2018 at 12:29am our beautiful son was born! Words cannot describe the feeling of seeing your future come into this world. 'I'm so proud of mum & baby, both are doing absolutely amazing and @naomiella21 you are a super woman. 'If I didn't know it before, I do now, I am the luckiest man there is. Welcome to the world Cassius Ashley Banjo.' Their son's middle name is a tribute to Jordan's brother and Diversity dance mate Ashley who recently welcomed a baby girl, Rose, with wife Francesca. He's the MasterChef hopeful who has wowed the judges with his culinary skills. But viewers of the show have slammed Sandeep Pandit for cooking 'too many Indian curries' on the show. Taking to Twitter recently, one viewer wrote: 'I know this is going to sound mean spirited but I want Sandeep to lose otherwise we are only encouraging his behaviour of only ever cooking one dish.' Scroll down for video 'I want to see him lose - he only ever cooks one dish': Fans SLAM MasterChef star Sandeep Pandit (pictured) for cooking 'too many Indian curries' via Twitter this week Another viewer tweeted: 'How can you be a ''MasterChef'' if you just know one type of cuisine? Shouldn't it be diverse?' 'I'm waiting to see Sandeep cook something other than Indian cuisine. Getting by too easily with these challenges just cooking Indian,' another fan tweeted. Other fans quickly jumped to Sandeep's defence on the social media platform. Yum! Sandeep is known for wowing judges with his amazing Indian food (pictured) - but fans think he should cook something different 'How can you be a ''MasterChef'' if you just know one type of cuisine? Shouldn't it be diverse?' Fans quickly took to Twitter to criticise Sandeep's culinary choices 'For everyone complaining that @sandeep_cooks cooks too many curries, It's an IMMUNITY PIN!!! You go with what you know best!!!!! It's your only chance!!!' one Twitter user wrote. Meanwhile, another stated: 'People complaining about #masterchefAU that Sandeep is making "too many curries" - um, there is no such thing as curry. It's something white people call Indian food. Everything that you call curry are completely distinct entities.' And the divide comes after Sandeep announced his first brush with fame was competing on Indian Idol back in 2007. 'Um, there is no such thing as curry': Other fans quickly jumped to Sandeep's defence on the social media platform 'I used to sing': Last week, Sandeep (pictured), 36, revealed his first brush with fame was competing on Indian Idol in 2007 during an interview with TV Week Speaking to TV Week last week, the 37-year-old reality TV star said: 'I used to sing for my engineering college band. [Indian Idol] was a good experience but I didn't make it past the first round.' And the IT project manager wept with joy last week after one of his meals on the show received rave reviews from British celebrity chef, Rick Stein. Sandeep welled up with tears as his Indian dish was lauded by the English restaurateur and fellow judges, Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston. 'This is almost like seeing god!': It comes after Sandeep (R) wept with joy on the show last week after his meal received rave reviews from celebrity guest judge Rick Stein (L) 'Exquisite': Upon tasting Sandeep's meal, Rick branded it 'exquisite,' while Gary gushed: 'That's damn good' The aspiring chef was seen holding his hands in prayer position as he described the moment as 'spiritual.' 'Cooking food to give someone pleasure has always been something that I've done and to me I think that is spiritual,' Sandeep told the judging panel. 'This is almost like seeing god,' The Victorian cook added. Blanca Blanco is turning heads yet again as she modeled a plunging jumpsuit for Swedish brand Chiquelle during a Los Angeles photo shoot recently. The photos, released Monday, are part of the star's second campaign with the brand since signing a modeling contract with them late last year. Shot by Filip Shobot, the fashion campaign comes after the star's trip to Cannes where she stunned on the red carpet and the beach. Hot look of the day: Blanca Blanco looked amazing in the skintight jumpsuit during a Los Angeles photo shoot New images: The photos were released on Monday for her collaboration with Swiss brand Chiquelle The Fake News star looked amazing in the skintight jumpsuit that featured a plunging neckline and tie at her waist. The Washington State alum was adorned with diamonds for the shoot, sporting a diamond necklace that hung down the center of her chest, a matching diamond bracelet and a large diamond ring. With her long brown locks down in loose waves, the partner of Deer Hunter actor John Savage kept the rest of the look simple with nude nail polish. Bling it on! The Washington State alum was adorned with diamonds for the shoot, sporting a diamond necklace that hung down the center of her chest, a matching diamond bracelet and a large diamond ring She posed in the jumpsuit at Angels Flight, the historic Los Angeles cable railway, made famous by La La Land. For the shoot's second look the American beauty showed off her long legs in golden hour photos. Wearing a short button up blue dress and nude stilettos she showed off her figure and a note able view of Downtown Los Angeles. Icons: She posed in the jumpsuit at Angels Flight, the historic Los Angeles cable railway, made famous by La La Land Downtown girl: For the shoot's second look the American beauty showed off her long legs in golden hour photos The actress is back in Los Angeles after hitting the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival at the end of May. She stunned in a semi-sheer nude dress featuring a sequined bodice and ruffled skirt before the viewing of South Korea's The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, which will get a US remake produced by Sylvester Stallone, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While in Cannes, the Teen Star Academy actress also was in attendance for the screening of The Traitor, an Italian-language biopic of Sicilian mafioso-turned-government-witness Tommaso Buscetta. Cannes Queen: She stunned in a semi-sheer nude dress featuring a sequined bodice and ruffled skirt before the viewing of South Korea's The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil at Cannes It wasn't all red carpets for Blanca in Cannes. She also made sure to document her down time exploring the city and while hanging on the beach. The brunette beauty showed off her amazing figure in a red bikini on the beach in Cannes. She took time to pose for photos in the bikini and in a long sleeved blue romper. A vision in red: The brunette beauty showed off her amazing figure in a red bikini on the beach in Cannes The bombshell rose to notoriety last year when she attended the Golden Globe Awards in a crimson Atria Couture gown. Her wardrobe choice flew in the fashion of the evening's fashion trend, which was to wear black in order to signal support for the Time's Up movement. Amid a storm of online backlash, Blanca insisted to Fox News: 'I love red. Wearing red does not mean I am against the movement.' She wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that she made sure to bring the gown with her when she fled her home before the Woolsey Fire destroyed her and John's home last year. The couple will star alongside each other in their upcoming film The Dog Of Christmas, a children's comedy that also stars John, whom she has been with for over a decade. They will also co-star with Jamie Lee Curtis in Spychosis, an action comedy co-written by Roseanne Barr's ex-husband Tom Arnold. Heidi Klum is back in action in New York after spending time in Germany with fiance, Tom Kaulitz. And on Monday, the supermodel, 46, was spotted donning a laid back style as she walked with food in hand through the city streets. Klum skipped her makeup routine and rocked white draw string sweats for the outing. Natural beauty: Heidi Klum, 46, enjoyed a make-up free outing in New York on Monday Carrying a sandwich and a cup of coffee, Klum looked ready to take on the day. She wore snow white Adaptation sweat pants with the brand's name in aqua blue up the side. Matching her pants, she sported white high top sneakers as well. Easy going: On top, she opted for darker choices, wearing a gray t-shirt and black leather jacket On top, she opted for darker choices, wearing a gray t-shirt and black leather jacket. Her long blonde hair was down with her bangs straightened against her forehead. With her sunglasses off, onlookers got a glimpse of the beauty sans makeup. Most recently, the mother of four has been spending time with Tom, 29, oversees as he's been playing several gigs with his band Tokio Hotel. She also celebrated her 46th birthday on Saturday while returning state side. Beautiful: Her long blonde hair was down with her bangs straightened against her forehead Klum and Kaulitz met on the set of Germany's Next Top Model in March 2018 and the musician popped the question just months later on December 24. The German-born beauty recently told ET that the two have set a date for their wedding and 'it will be very organized and on time.' Speaking to Closer magazine, she also revealed that her children - Helene, 15, Henry, 14, Johan, 12 and Lou, nine, who she shares with ex husband, Seal...'can't wait for the wedding'. 'The kids adore Tom. They can't wait for the wedding! They'll be very involved in it all.' Klum gushed.' Heidi was also previously wed to Ric Pipino from 1997 to 2002. She's Manhattan's hottest new dog mom. Emily Ratajkowski, 27, stepped out in a unique look to take her new puppy Colombo with her for a coffee run on Monday. While the supermodel certainly turned heads in her eye-popping look, she was slightly over shadowed by her adorable fur baby. Fur baby: Emily Ratajkowski was spotted baring her midriff in a crop top and ultra wide-leg slacks while taking her new puppy Colombo on a walk in her Manhattan neighborhood on Monday Colombo seems to already be taking after his dog mom as he amassed quite a gaggle of onlookers during their stroll in the SoHo area. Emily rocked an edgy yet studious look in a pair of wire rimmed eye-glasses and an oversized taupe suit. The super wide flared pants were slung extremely low on the model's petite hips, flashing quite a bit of skin in her midriff. Pleated at the hips, the billowing trousers were paired with chunky sneakers - a smart choice when trotting around town with a rambunctious puppy. Model vibes: The 27-year-old opted for a pair of super wide flared pants that were slung extremely low on her petite hips, flashing quite a bit of skin in her midriff Dog mom! EmRata rocked a simple pair of sneakers during her walk - a smart choice when trotting around town with a rambunctious puppy Style star: Emily's vibe was edgy yet studious in a pair of wire rimmed eye-glasses and oversized menswear EmRata donned a matching taupe blazer that was also oversized and kept it simple underneath with a plain cropped white T-shirt that emphasized her rock solid abs. The beauty carried an iced coffee in one hand and left her hair down and flowing in the breeze. Stopping so passersby could pet little Colombo, the advocate seemed tickled that her new pup was getting so much love. The pup also seemed to make friends with a big fluffy golden retriever. Good boy! The advocate for women's rights is taking her role as dog mom seriously and spent time during her walk to give Colombo some treats while training him to sit Mr. Popular! The pup is taking after his mom as he was seen the center of attention getting pets from strangers and making friends with a golden retriever The Inamorata designer is taking her role as dog mom very seriously as she was spotted with treats in hand, training Colombo to sit during their trot. Colombo joined the family earlier this month and Emily took to Instagram to announce that she and husband Sebastian Bear McClard adopted the little bundle. 'Dog mom,' she wrote on her Instagram story, amused by her new title. Famous! Shortly after Colombo joined the McClard-Ratajkowski clan, he had his first official appearance with his model mom on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon Shortly after Colombo joined the McClard-Ratajkowski clan, he had his first official appearance with his model mom on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon. The black and beige dog sat snuggled on Ratajkowski's lap during the segment. Emily tied the knot with McClard in a surprise ceremony last February at the courthouse in Manhattan. His 'dream come true' project finally hit production for the silver screen. And Lin-Manuel Miranda was in great spirits as cameras began rolling in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York on Monday morning. The 39-year-old playwright looked to be in his happy place while chatting with the cast and crew of the musical adaptation of his storied Broadway play In The Heights. Happiness: Lin-Manuel Miranda was in great spirits as cameras began rolling in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York on Monday morning Lin-Manuel walked around the set wearing a grey, zipped-up hooded sweatshirt with a blue T-shirt. He wore earphones around his neck and a pair of dark sunglasses while carrying a cup of coffee while production set up scenes near the Astor Place Subway stop. Miranda made sure to stop and chat with the cast and crew after praising the neighborhood for helping make his dream a reality. Lead actress Melissa Barrera showed off her best steps during an incredible choreographed dance scene. A dream! The 39-year-old playwright looked to be in his happy place while chatting with the cast and crew of the musical adaptation of his storied Broadway play In The Heights Moves: Lead actress Melissa Barrera showed off her best steps during an incredible choreographed dance scene Barrera donned a pair of blue plaid shorts with a pale pink shirt and a navy blue blazer as she sprinted down the sidewalk while singing and dancing. In a video shared by director John M. Chu, Lin-Miranda addressed a crowded room of actors waiting to audition to be extras on the film adaptation of his hit play. 'I started writing In the Heights when I was 19 years old. Quiara started writing it with me when I was 24 years old,' he said, referring to author Quiara Alegria Hudes. 'When I say I've waited a long time for this, I mean it. Dancing queen: Barrera donned a pair of blue plaid shorts with a pale pink shirt and a navy blue blazer as she sprinted down the sidewalk while singing and dancing Action! He wore earphones around his neck and a pair of dark sunglasses while carrying a cup of coffee while production set up scenes near the Astor Place Subway stop 'And the fact that we are filming the entire movie in the neighborhood that it's about is a dream come true for me.' Miranda who is of Puerto Rican descent then recalled the story in Spanish, to loud applause from the auditorium. 'Thank you so much for coming out,' he said. 'We're gonna be messing up traffic all summer, so I'm sorry and I love you.' As the crowded room began cheering, an actor screamed out, 'We're going to make you proud!' Nice: Miranda made sure to stop and chat with the cast and crew after praising the neighborhood for helping make his dream a reality Dance! The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Hispanic-American neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the play, which was released in smaller theaters in 2005 before making its way to Broadway in 2008. After 1,184 regular performances of the show, production closed on Jan. 9, 2011 and the play set off to tour around the world. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Hispanic-American neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. While the film version was first set to be released in 2011, Universal Pictures canceled the project and it was later picked up by The Weinstein Company. Following multiple sexual harassment and abuse claims against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, Hudes reportedly asked to take the project elsewhere and Warner Bros. Pictures eventually acquired the rights for $50million after a bidding war with several studios. They returned to the music scene after twenty years with their anniversary tour in May. And Westlife - comprising of Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan and Mark Feehily -have another reason to celebrate as they are taking their Twenty Tour further afield to Asia in July and August. The huge demand to see the Irish foursome, who have together knocked up a staggering fourteen No.1 singles, has led to a decision to take the tour global which will delight the bands huge fan base in Southeast Asia where they will perform ten massive stadium concerts. Big news: Westlife - comprising of Kian Egan, Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan and Mark Feehily - are taking their Twenty Tour further afield to Asia in July and August Speaking about Westlifes comeback and taking their tour to Asia, Louis Walsh who manages the band said: 'The response to Westlifes return has been better than we could have imagined. It is fantastic to be taking it global. 'We have come back with hit songs from Ed Sheeran and lots of hard work. This is a huge success because of the hard work that Westlife have put into choosing and recording the best songs. 'There is a real maturity about how Westlife has approached the comeback and I have to believe that is why the sales for the tickets went so well.' Celebration! The huge demand to see the Irish foursome, who have together knocked up a staggering fourteen No.1 singles, has led to a decision to take the tour global Proving that the band are also excited, Nicky shared at the Manchester Arena last night: 'The reaction to the twenty Tour has been phenomenal. Were overwhelmed by the response and we are so happy to be back performing to our fans.' Meanwhile, fellow band member Mark Feehily, who announced this week that he is expecting a baby with boyfriend Cailean ONeill, said: 'It is great to be back doing what we love and we cannot wait to take this tour to new places.' The band delighted their fans as they kicked off their tour in Belfast last week Nicky, said to the crowds: 'It was fantastic to play to a Belfast crowd and in front of all of our families. This means more to us now than ever before. The reaction has been incredible.' Speaking straight after the concert, the boys said: 'We genuinely missed each other and missed the buzz of performing on stage together. It is incredible to be back... Here come the boys! Longtime manager Louis Walsh shared: 'The response to Westlifes return has been better than we could have imagined. It is fantastic to be taking it global' They're back! Westlife kicked off their 20th anniversary tour in Belfast on in May 'The Belfast crowd were unbelievable. Were ecstatic and we loved every minute of it. It was emotional at times too. It was amazing to see everyone singing along to our new music and other hits... 'Were going to give the fans the best tour we have ever done. We are giving everyone the best version of ourselves. This is the best job in the world.' Westlife are back with a bang as their first single in eight years hit airwaves in January, ahead of their reunion tour kicking off. The hit group soared to fame in 1998 when they were formed in Dublin, with the original line-up also featuring Brian McFadden, who later left in 2004. They broke hearts of fans around the globe when they announced plans to disband in 2012 before all embarking on respective solo careers over the years. Shortly before the tour, it was revealed that the boys are in the best shapes of their lives after working hard on their fitness ahead of the shows. Sources revealed: 'Theyre in the best shape of their lives, they look fantastic and are ready to put in energetic stage performances. They've been training together, putting in serious gym time and even yoga to build their pre-tour stamina... 'Yoga has also helped them to relax and deal with a relentless rehearsal schedule to help them get familiar with old and new stage routines... 'Kian, Nicky, Shane and Mark are loving every minute of the comeback and cannot wait to be performing again throughout the summer.' Westlife, who have accumalated a whopping 14 number one singles, previously said they are excited to be getting the tour underway. It seems like at least once or twice a week for the past couple decades (and, sometimes a whole lot more frequently than that, as when Jay Greene and I examined the partisan makeup of the education reform community this spring), someone has e-mailed, called, or otherwise told me that something Id said or written wasnt helpful. Usually absent are the nouns and verbs that would give the sentiment more shape. Helpful how? Helpful to whom? That stuff is missing, I suspect, because including it would make clear that theres a perfectly good reason for a skeptic to be unhelpful. The funny thing is that I often think, Geez, Id like to be more helpful. After all, if you know me, you know that I dont enjoy spats. I dont like chasing clicks or engaging in theatrical debates, and I dont want to be some polarizing media personality. In fact, Id suggest that I rather like being helpful when I can. So, whats going on? Why do so many people think Im so monumentally unhelpful? It turns out that when someone says thats not helpful, what they usually have in mind is shut up and get with the program. Of course, the people instructing others to be helpful are always hugely sure about how to fix thingseven though that assurance is rarely accompanied by obvious expertise in the specific stuff (pedagogy, instructional materials, assessment, bureaucracy) that theyre out to fix. Weirdly, the lack of relevant knowledge often seems to fuel self-assuredness. Ive wondered why, and recently had an ah-ha! moment when steered to a 2018 article from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Across a series of studies, the researchers report that beginners who start off with a modest sense of their own expertise rapidly surged to a beginners bubble of overconfidence after a few experiences. Why? The researchers report that, This bubble was traced to exuberant and error-filled theorizing about how to approach the task formed after just a few learning experiences. As the authors put it, When it comes to overconfident judgment, a little learning does appear to be a dangerous thing. This hubris can be especially problematic because it turns out that were hard-wired to get emotionally invested in our certainties. As my colleague Jonah Goldberg observed , while discussing Robert Burtons On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When Youre Not, Certainty is not always what you think it is. More to the point, in your brain, certainty is a feeling. As Burton puts it, The message at the heart of this book is that the feelings of knowing, correctness, conviction, and certainty arent deliberate conclusions and conscious choices. They are mental sensations that happen to us. In any group, this kind of self-confidence tends to feed on itself. Goldberg opines: Other than anger, few things define a mob more than the collective feeling of certainty. Like a flood, it swamps decency and bursts through the levee of the law . . . Technocrats, planners, and leaders of mobs are certain that they know the truth and try to impose it on the rest of us. Now, Goldberg is no anarcho-nihilist; his point is not that certainty is bad. Rather, hes pointing out how tempting, comforting, and emotionally alluring certainty can be. Just the other day, I happened to read T.A. Franks remarkably well-done and truly bizarre profile of George Papadopoulos, the 31-year-old Trump hanger-on who triggered the federal investigation into Trump-Russia collusion, went to jail for a few days, and is now banging around Hollywood. Pondering the plight of Papadopoulos and his wife, Frank muses: The more a given narrative means to us, the harder it is to abandon, even if the facts don't support it . . . Perhaps more than anything, what unites the combatants in America's cold civil war is a need for heroes and villains who can keep us entertained. Whatever you think of George and Simona, they are great characters, and you can cast them as good guys or bad guys with equal ease, depending on your agenda. That reads like a spot-on description of so many charged education arguments of the past decade or two, and its precisely the way weve come to treat Betsy DeVos, Randi Weingarten, Diane Ravitch, and the like as caricatures of good or bad (depending on ones agenda). The older I get, the more Ive come to regard thats not helpful as the admonition of someone caught in an endorphin rush. And, when working toward educational improvement requires embracing a dubious cause as part of an exaggerated morality play, its okay to say noeven if that means youll be deemed unhelpful. The World's Greatest Detective is going to need more than one film. Robert Pattinson was not only recently confirmed to star in The Batman but it has since been revealed that the role is planned for a trilogy. Director Matt Reeves seemingly supported Deadline's report as he posted a .GIF of the 33-year-old actor with three bat emojis on Monday. Scroll down for video Dapper: Robert Pattinson was not only recently confirmed to star in The Batman but it has since been revealed that the role is planned for a trilogy Interesting: Director Matt Reeves seemingly supported Deadline 's report as he posted a .GIF of the 33-year-old actor with three bat emojis on Monday No doubt hardcore fans of Batman will be pleased to know that there will be more emphasis on Bruce Wayne's investigative skills. Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter back in January that his idea for the series of films is 'very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale. 'Its told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope its going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. Its more Batman in his detective mode that weve seen in the films. Its more Batman in his detective mode': Reeves told The Hollywood Reporter back in January that his idea for the series of films is 'very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale' 'The comics have a history of that. [Bruce Wayne] is supposed to be the worlds greatest detective, and thats not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been.' Last week it was reported that Warner Bros. officially approved Pattinson for The Batman. He fought for the ultimate role as the famed Caped Crusaderas after he had to battle his way through screen testing against Nicholas Hoult to portray the coveted superhero. He's back! Last week it was reported that Warner Bros. officially approved Pattinson for The Batman The studio was reportedly at odds over who they wanted to front the trilogy of films Matt Reeves is set to direct as both actors put on an impressive run for the role. The Wrap reporter Umberto Gonzalez revealed on Twitter Thursday that both Pattinson, 33, and Hoult, 29, are testing for the role. 'BATMAN UPDATE: Robert Pattinson & Nicholas Hoult are screen testing for the role. I suspect they're screen testing in the Batsuit because Wardrobe Department will need full wardrobe test,' Gonzalez said. Back in black: The studio was reportedly at odds over who they wanted to front the trilogy of films Matt Reeves is set to direct as both actors put on an impressive run for the role; George Clooney portrayed the character in 1997 Batman battle: Two weeks after Robert Pattinson was reported to be Warner Bros. top choice to play The Batman, a new contender has emerged, Nicholas Hoult Gonazalez added that, 'the film will now start production in Q1 2020,' giving the studio the rest of 2019 to secure the cast. Variety broke the news earlier this month that Pattinson was the studio's top contender, and that report also mentioned that pre-production is expected to begin this summer. Warner Bros. has already set aside a June 25, 2021 release date for The Batman, which will be written and directed by Matt Reeves (War For the Planet of the Apes). Tweet update: Gonazalez added that, 'the film will now start production in Q1 2020,' giving the studio the rest of 2019 to secure the cast The Batman was originally set to bring back Ben Affleck reprising the title character from 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017's Justice League. Affleck was also set to direct the superhero adventure and he was co-writing the script with Geoff Johns. Matt Reeves came aboard to take over as the writer and director, and it was confirmed in January that Ben Affleck was stepping away from the franchise entirely. Batfleck: The Batman was originally set to bring back Ben Affleck reprising the title character from 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and 2017's Justice League Affleck responded to the news on Twitter, stating, 'Excited for in Summer 2021 and to see @MattReevesLA vision come to life.' The Deadline report in January revealed that Warner Bros. was searching for a younger actor to play the Caped Crusader, which is certainly true with Pattinson and Hoult in the mix. Both Pattinson and Hoult are quite the in-demand stars who have busy years ahead of them. Busy star: Both Pattinson and Hoult are quite the in-demand stars who have busy years ahead of them Pattinson starred in two indie films this spring, High Life, which debuted in April, and The Lighthouse, which premiered at Cannes earlier this month. Hoult starred in the biopic of Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien, dubbed Tolkien, and he also stars in the X-Men superhero adventure Dark Phoenix on June 7. Hoult also has The Banker and The True History of the Kelly Gang in post-production. High Life: Pattinson starred in two indie films this spring, High Life, which debuted in April, and The Lighthouse, which premiered at Cannes earlier this month She became a breakout star from the 2018 series of Love Island after joining as a latecomer. And Ellie Brown, 21, led the way for a host Love Island alumni as she attended the Love Island launch night viewing party with boohoo.com at the Shankly Hotel in Liverpool on Monday. The blonde showcased her surgically enhanced assets by slipping into a black PVC crop top that laced up across her ample cleavage. Stepping out: Ellie Brown, 21, led the way for a host Love Island alumni as she attended the Love Island launch night viewing party with boohoo.com at the Shankly Hotel in Liverpool on Monday Continuing her sizzling look, the Liverpudlian squeezed into a black skirt that featured an asymmetrical hemline that dipped down from her thigh to her mid-calf. Boosting her petite frame, the reality TV star wore transparent perspex heels and accessorised with a black mock-croc handbag. The busty beauty styled her golden tresses down in a straight style and pinned a section up to expose her pretty features and dewy make-up. Alongside Ellie was her series co-star Alexandra Cane, who looked every inch the siren in a leopard print dress with a cupped bodice. Siren: Alexandra Cane, 27, looked every inch the siren in a leopard print dress with a cupped bodice Show pals: Ellie (pictured left) was joined at the event by Alexandra (pictured right) who both appeared in last year's Love Island The curvy star wowed as she showcased a golden tan and styled her tresses in a loose Hollywood curls. Showcasing her looks, the reality TV star modelled a face of expertly applied make-up complete with contouring and bronzer. The blue-eyed beauty elongated her legs by donning nude heels that laced up her pins . Bright: Also invited was Gabby Dawn Allen, from series 2017, who was sure to turn heads in her kooky ensemble Cute: The gym bunny, 27, flaunted her toned midriff in a patterned top with a cut-out detail across her stomach that was printed with a floral design and meshed with polka dot sleeves Also invited was Gabby Dawn Allen, from series 2017, who was sure to turn heads in her kooky ensemble. The gym bunny, 27, flaunted her toned midriff in a patterned top with a cut-out detail across her stomach that was printed with a floral design and meshed with polka dot sleeves. Flashing her lingerie, the star allowed her buttercup yellow bra top to be seen. Bride vibes: Meanwhile, Cara de la Hoyde, who is soon to marry her Love Island beau Nathan Massey appeared to take inspiration from her upcoming nuptials by dressing in head-toe-white Gabby continued her bright look by wearing a lemon yellow mini-skirt and carried the matching jacket in her hand. She stepped out in black leather wedges that laced up around her ankles. Samira Mighty, 22, from last year's show looked every inch the glamorous star in an apricot wrap dress. The West End performer added a pair of yellow heels to her outfit and clipped her hair off her face with a clip spelling out cutie in gems. Gorgeous: Samira Mighty, 22, from last year's show looked every inch the glamorous star in an apricot wrap dress Radiant: Love Island original, Hannah Elizabeth, 29, who recently announced her pregnancy showcased her blossoming bump in a neon orange ribbed unitard Eye-catching: Katie Salmon, 23, from the 2016 series of the looking for love show, was sure to stop traffic in her luminous green trouser suit Meanwhile, Cara de la Hoyde, who is soon to marry her Love Island beau Nathan Massey appeared to take inspiration from her upcoming nuptials by dressing in head-toe-white. The mother-of-one wore a snow coloured bodysuit that flashed the flesh thanks to its sheer, nude panels up the side. Covering her legs, Cara, 28, sported white wide-leg trousers and got into the spirit of the dating show by wearing a diamante clip in her hair that read love. Love Island original, Hannah Elizabeth, 29, who recently announced her pregnancy showcased her blossoming bump in a neon orange ribbed unitard. Cool: Leading the Love Island boys was Wes Nelson, 21, the Dancing On Ice contestant put on a edgy display in a black and white striped T-shirt and khaki trousers Lads: Sam Bird, 25, (pictured right) and Adam Collard, 21, (pictured left) both received invites Pals: Wes, Sam and Adam formed a firm friendship when they starred on Love Island 2018 She completed her electric look with a cropped orange raincoat that tightened up with the help of a drawstring below her bust. Katie Salmon, 23, from the 2016 series of the looking for love show, was sure to stop traffic in her luminous green trouser suit. The confident star allowed her neon yellow bra-let top to be spied due to the plunging neckline of her bold blazer. The brunette star carried a blue and cream camouflage print clutch and slipped her feet into black pointed heels. Essex set: Also at the event were TOWIE sister's Chloe and Demi Sims and Chloe Ross Bombshell: Chloe Sims, 36, kept it simple in a black mini-dress with a grey blazer atop and tottered around in black stiletto heels Neon: Demi, 22, showcased her quirky sense of style in a green tie-dyed T-shirt dress and wrapped a black bum bag around her torso Glowing: Chloe Ross, 26, put her best fashion foot forward in a tangerine blazer dress and continued her glamorous ensemble with gold statement ear rings Leading the Love Island boys was Wes Nelson, 21, the Dancing On Ice contestant put on a edgy display in a black and white striped T-shirt and khaki trousers and carried a bum bag across his shoulder emblazoned with Balenciaga. His fellow islanders, Sam Bird and Adam Collard also posed for snaps at the event. Channelling his inner rock star, Sam 25, sauntered out in a pair of black skinny jeans, a snake skin printed T-shirt and a leather jacket. Newcastle native Adam, 21, looked laid-back in a pair of Converse trainers, dark denim and a white T-shirt that featured blue sleeves. Reality TV royalty: Joining the hoards of reality TV personalities were Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry, 23 TV star: Holly Hagan, 26, looked pretty in pink as she tied a salmon coloured shirt that she tied up around her assets Also at the event were TOWIE sister's Chloe and Demi Sims and Chloe Ross. Chloe Sims, 36, kept it simple in a black mini-dress with a grey blazer atop and tottered around in black stiletto heels. Demi, 22, showcased her quirky sense of style in a green tie-dyed T-shirt dress and wrapped a black bum bag around her torso. Chloe Ross, 26, put her best fashion foot forward in a tangerine blazer dress and continued her glamorous ensemble with gold statement ear rings. Joining the hoards of reality TV personalities were Geordie Shore's Chloe Ferry, 23, and Holly Hagan, 26. Single? Also seen at the event was Chloe's on and off again boyfriend Sam Gowland, 23, who first rose to fame on Love Island and then joined the cast of Geordie Shore alongside his girlfriend Posers! The party goers happily posed for snaps together in their fashionable outfits Chloe highlighted her curves in a toffee coloured vinyl dress that was nipped in at the waist with a tortoise shell buckled belt. Adding a touch of glitz to her look, the party girl wore metallic gold heels and flaunted her designer wares by toting a Louis Vuitton handbag. Holly looked pretty in pink as she tied a salmon coloured shirt that she tied up around her assets and dressed down the look with a pair of skin-tight skinny jeans. The Geordie pair both paraded visages painted with a palette of heavy make-up for the party. Also seen at the event was Chloe's on and off again boyfriend Sam Gowland, 23, who first rose to fame on Love Island and then joined the cast of Geordie Shore alongside his girlfriend. The stars were getting together as part of online retailer Boohoo hosting a bash for them all to tune into the first episode of the latest series of Love Island. Love Island 2019 finally kicked off on Monday night, after months of laborious waiting. She just returned from a glamorous trip to France for the Cannes Film Festival. And on Monday, Bella Hadid, 22, was seen looking gorgeous in a tiny white dress as she had fun wandering throughout New York City with a girl friend. Revealing her lean legs, the dress was paired with unique rectangular glasses, making for an edgy get up. The sister of Gigi Hadid also revealed on social media she was picking up allergy medicine. Sex appeal: On Monday, Bella Hadid, 22, was seen looking like an absolute fox in a tiny white dress as she had fun wandering throughout New York City with a girl friend While roaming Manhattan, Hadid put her best foot forward... in green pumps. The highlighter green heels strapped across Bella's foot both at the toes and further up near her ankles. Matching the hue of her sunglasses, the green complemented the reflective style option nicely. Style While roaming through Manhattan, Hadid put her best foot forward... in green pumps Bella's dress was unlike the average sundress, as it looked stiff and was laid out like a buttoned up denim jacket on top, with buttons coming all the way down the front. The bottom hugged her thighs, showing off a good amount of leg with a giant slit on the side. Hadid's hair was done up in her signature slicked back look. Intriguing: Bella's dress was unlike the average sundress, as it looked stiff and was laid out like a buttoned up denim jacket on top Picture ready: Hadid's hair was done up in her signature slicked back look The supermodel looked stunning as she exited a building with a darker haired friend trailing behind her. Hadid also shared her day on social media, giving her 24.6 million followers an insider's look at their adventures. After cooking her friend, Yasmine Diba - a photographer who's worked with Bella in the past - up a meal, the girls headed out to explore. Babe alert: The supermodel looked stunning as she exited a building with a darker haired friend trailing behind her On the go: Bella climbed in and out of a car as she jetted around the city to find medicine Tiny: Bella's thin legs were on full display as she stretched them while hopping in a vehicle Gal pals forever: Yasmine Diba is a photographer who's worked with Bella in the past Fun: They ran across the street, laughing as Bella used filters to line them both in a blue glow They ran across the street, laughing as Bella used filters to line them both in a blue glow. She also took some car selfies, revealing more of her look, complete with giant hoop earrings and a bedazzled necklace. Wearing a different outfit - a grey crop top and skirt combo - Bella jogged down the sidewalk as Yasmine captured pictures of her. Apparently the point of their outing was to find some allergy medicine for Bella. She captioned her post, 'Finding flu and allergy remedies cause d*mn.' City girl: Wearing a different outfit - a grey crop top and skirt combo - Bella jogged down the sidewalk as Yasmine captured pictures of her Struggling: Apparently the point of their outing was to find some allergy medicine for Gigi's younger sister, as Bella captioned her post saying, 'Finding flu and allergy remedies cause d*mn' The day out comes after Bella lent her face and name to several brands while in the South of France for the 72nd Cannes Film Festival and the star-studded Monaco Grand Prix. Her schedule included attending an elegant dinner hosted by Swiss luxury company, TAG Heuer, where she was among the high-profile people to model the company's Monaco 1969-1979 Limited Edition watch. Hadid, who is the daughter of real estate man Mohamed Hadid and former Real Housewife Of Beverly Hills Yolanda Hadid, is once again with musician The Weeknd, who she first dated from around 2015 to fall of 2016, until reuniting around summer of last year. During one of their off periods, The Weeknd (nee Abel Tesfaye) dated Selena Gomez, and the two women unfollowed each other on Instagram. She rose to fame in the Love Island villa last summer. And Kendall Rae Knight was among a slew of stars to arrive to celebrate the launch of the hit show's fifth series at Rosso in Manchester on Monday. The bombshell, 27, looked effortlessly stylish in an oversized shirt dress as she joined her co-star Stephanie Lam, 25, at the I Saw It First Love Island Party. Chic: Kendall Rae Knight, 27, was among a slew of stars to show up to celebrate the launch of the ITV2 series' fifth series at Rosso in Manchester on Monday Kendall, who was the first to leave the villa last summer, paired her classic mini dress with strappy silver heels which tied around her ankles. She opted for a natural make up look and kept her sleek brunette locks loose around her shoulders for the occasion. Her co-star Stephanie put on a busty display in a plunging, cropped white blouse paired with ripped blue jeans. Stars: The bombshell looked effortlessly stylish in an oversized shirt dress as she joined her co-star Stephanie Lam, 25, at the I Saw It First Love Island Party She completed her ensemble with bright red heeled boots and wore her ombre locks in a high ponytail. Survival Of The Fittest star Sam Dewhurst, 25, was also in attendance at the star-studded event. Kendall's appearance comes after she recently faced backlash over having a nose job and revealed that she struggled to breathe ahead of the procedure. Taking to Instagram in December last year, the brunette beauty insisted her decision wasn't made 'lightly or quickly', while stressing that she doesn't want to 'glamourise cosmetic surgery'. Pals: Taylor Ward and Darby Ward posed next to Love Island alum Stephanie at the event Stylish: Kendall, who was the first to leave the villa last summer, paired her classic mini dress with strappy silver heels which tied around her ankles Showcasing her new nose in a make-up free selfie, the TV personality started her post: 'Your damned if you do, your damned if you don't... so do what makes you content in life because at the end of the day, your inner happiness is all that matters. (sic)' The reality star, who had her procedure done at the Elite Cosmetic Surgery in Turkey, insisted she'd been planning the surgery since she was 16. 'So last week it came out that I had a bump removed from my nose a few months ago (not a couple of weeks ago). I've never denied this or done this in secret as all my close friends and family had known I was planning on doing this for years and they saw me through it all. Guests: Survival Of The Fittest star Sam Dewhurst, 25, was also in attendance at the star-studded event 'I have had so many questions about it so thought I would answer these and put up a few stories about my little nose journey and why I wanted it doing.' The beauty added that she had a nose job due to 'personal reasons'. Kendall made her reality show debut on the 2018 series of Love Island, but became the first housemate dumped from the island. During the Love Island Christmas reunion, the former shoe shop worker shared a kiss with fellow contestant Eyal Booker, but the romance soon fizzled out. Love Island viewers were left in tears after the show paid tribute to Mike Thalassitis three months after he was found dead in a woodland near his Edmonton home in March. The reality star had appeared on last year's series of the hit ITV2 show, and bosses reportedly made a U-turn to honour him as they acknowledged it was 'the right thing' to do,. Viewers took to Twitter after the series five launch show on Monday night ended with a picture of Mike and a caption that read: 'In loving memory of Mike Thalassitis 1993 - 2019'. Tribute: Love Island viewers were left in tears after the show paid tribute to Mike Thalassitis three months after he was found dead in a woodland near his Edmonton home in March Viewers penned: 'In tears all over again now, rip mike #LoveIsland'; 'I'm happy #LoveIsland paid respect to Mike!; ' Omg that tribute to Mike at the end #loveisland 'Aww lil tribute to Mike #LoveIsland; ' in memory of mike #LoveIsland'; 'aw man was not expecting that for mike #loveisland'; 'aw that was lovely for mike at the end #loveisland' ;'The tribute to Mike was the sweetest ever #LoveIsland 'Yoo that tribute caught me off guard man big up Mike #loveisland' ;'How lush at the end for mike #LoveIsland'; 'Awwww RIP Mike #LoveIsland 'It was nice of them to leave that at the end of the episode for Mike. I hope all other islanders past and present are leaving their best lives. #LoveIsland'; 'Aw he little tribute for mike #LoveIsland' [sic]. Emotional: Viewers took to Twitter after the series five launch show on Monday night ended with a picture of Mike According to past claims, the late reality star - who was found dead in March - was allegedly not going to be mentioned on the show. However, ITV made a U-turn amid reports the producers accepted that it was 'the right thing' to acknowledge it. A Love Island insider told The Mirror: 'Producers wanted to pay their respects to Mike and show his friends, family and fans that he was a part of the Love Island family and is missed deeply by everyone. Honoured: According to past claims, the late reality star - who was found dead in March - was allegedly not going to be mentioned on the show. However, ITV made a U-turn 'It is a really difficult subject but they wanted to address it rather than sweep it under the carpet or pretend it hasnt happened.' Love Island has faced backlash in recent months with its critics arguing that the show should have been cancelled in the wake of Sophie Gradon and Mike Thalassitis' deaths. The show, which is fronted by Caroline Flack, reportedly had a more stricter acceptance procedure this year, with contestants having to pass mental health and STI tests to make it onto TV screens this year. Paying respect: Mike appeared on season three of Love Island in 2017 (pictured on the show) Tragic: Sophie Gradon who took part in the 2016 series of the show, was found dead at her parents' home in June 2018 Sophie, who took part in the 2016 series of the show, was found dead at her parents' home in June 2018 and the inquest into her death found she had hanged herself. Fans have called for changes in light of the tragic suicides. It was recently confirmed that Love Island producers have offered extensive care to 2019 contestants before the dating show, and will do during and after, including increased therapy, social media training and even financial management. 'Evolved': The show, which is hosted by Caroline Flack, reportedly had a more stricter acceptance procedure this year, with Islanders having to pass mental health tests Host Caroline Flack, 39, said Love Island's duty of care has 'evolved' following the suicides of ex contestants. In an interview with The Sun's Fabulous Magazine, the presenter candidly discussed the wide-ranging issue of mental health aftercare, but added that no-one should be apportioning blame in the wake of the tragedies The ITV2 show, which returns on Monday night, have written an extra clause in the Islanders' contracts which vows to help the loved-ones of cast mates, as well as the contestants themselves. Change: Fans have called for changes in light of the tragic suicides of Sophie and Mike who appeared on the reality series in 2016 and 2017 respectively In a statement, they wrote: 'The production team have continued to evolve their processes with each series, as the shows popularity has risen and the social and media attention on Islanders has increased. 'The key changes this year are enhanced psychological support, more detailed conversations with potential Islanders regarding the impact of participation on the show, bespoke training for all Islanders on social media and financial management and a proactive aftercare package which extends our support to all Islanders following their participation.' The extension in the welfare section means the whole family can have the support of ITV bosses throughout the duration of the Love Island experience. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, or see samaritans.org for details. Tammy Hembrow, 25, put on a busty display as she and her sisters launched their HemBROWS eyebrow kit with Benefit cosmetics on the Gold Coast on Monday. Hours before the launch party, Tammy posed for a series of Instagram snaps - all of which she shared to Instagram the following morning. Posing in a cleavage-baring white bustier jumpsuit, the blonde mother-of-two looked ready for business as she posed in front of what appears to be her front doorstep. Busting out! Instagram model Tammy Hembrow, 25 (pictured) showcased her perky assets in a white bustier jumpsuit on Monday She added a touch of bling to her monochromatic ensemble by wearing a silver bedazzled arm cuff. The model styled her long flaxen locks into beachy waves and opted for a black winged eyeliner and glossy coral toned lipstick. Later on Monday, Tammy and her equally glamorous sisters Amy, 28, and Emilee, 27, launched their HemBROWS eyebrow kit with Benefit cosmetics at the Gold Coast's trendy QT Hotel. Gold Coast glamour: The model styled her long flaxen locks into beachy waves and opted for a glamorous makeup palette White hot! She added a touch of bling to her monochromatic ensemble by wearing a silver bedazzled arm cuff Looking fierce! Tammy (centre) and sisters Amy (right) and Emilee (left) launched their new Benefit eyebrow kit at the QT Hotel on the Gold Coast on Monday Looking good! The trio could not stop snapping selfies, and perhaps livestreaming, as they took to the stage to promote their new makeup product The trio couldn't resist snapping selfies, and perhaps livestreaming the event, as they took to the stage to promote their new makeup product. Last week, the sisters revealed they were collaborating on a make-up product with cosmetics giant Benefit. 'I can't wait to finally share our collaboration,' the social media sensation wrote in an Instagram promotion for the HemBROWS Basics Kit. The deal is likely to be highly lucrative for the sisters, with Benefit Cosmetics selling its products in more than 30 countries. Pick the best one! Emilee could be seen gazing at her phone and scrolling through her snaps How's this angle? She seemed determined to get the right shot The kit is now on sale at Sephora for $66 online, with an RRP of $109. Tammy, an Instagram superstar and clothing designer, is the daughter of Australian director, screenwriter and musician Mark Hembrow, 64. Amy is the oldest Hembrow and has earned social media fame (over 178K follows) thanks in part to her younger sisters Emilee and Tammy. Nice gig! Last week, the sisters revealed they were collaborating on a make-up product with cosmetics giant Benefit Moving up: 'I can't wait to finally share our collaboration,' social media sensation Tammy wrote in an Instagram promotion for the HemBROWS Basics Kit She's the general manager of popular clothing brand Saski Collection and has previously worked as a marketing coordinator and graphic designer. Just like Tammy, much of Emilee's social media success, including one million Instagram followers, comes from documenting her two pregnancies on Instagram. The beauty has earned her fair share of modelling contracts and commercial work, and even launched her own fashion line in 2015. Married At First Sight's Jessika Power fears that her brother Rhyce will take his own life, after he was previously hospitalised over a mental health crisis. Jessika, 27, took to Instagram on Monday to plead with her followers to stop trolling Rhyce, 28, over domestic violence allegations made against him earlier this year. 'As a loving sister who has watched my brother struggle with suicide [thoughts] for years, I will not sit beside a hospital bed again with him,' she wrote. Fears: Married At First Sight's Jessika Power fears that her brother Rhyce (pictured) will commit suicide, after he was previously hospitalised over a mental health crisis Jessika continued: 'My brother has never been charged for these allegations made against him. I don't condone everything [Rhyce] does... but enough is enough. 'I know this post will offend many of you, but I love my family and I'm sick of watching my brother defend himself constantly.' She also urged her followers not to troll her for defending her brother, insisting that anybody 'in [her] position' would do the same thing to help a family member. 'He has never been charged': Jessika (pictured) pleaded with her Instagram followers to stop trolling Rhyce over domestic violence allegations made against him earlier this year Struggles: 'As a loving sister who has watched my brother struggle with suicide [thoughts] for years, I will not sit beside a hospital bed again with him,' Jessika wrote. Pictured with Rhyce Jessika then referenced her ex-boyfriend, known only as Eddy, who died by suicide in 2017. She concluded: 'I have lost a partner to suicide and I know how important mental health is to men. Please let this rest until the law has decided my brother is guilty.' It is unclear when exactly Rhyce was hospitalised. He is currently on holiday in Bali, which suggests that it did not happen recently. In a statement on Tuesday, Rhyce confirmed that he has experienced suicidal thoughts in the past and was once hospitalised when he was younger. United family: Jessika also urged her followers not to troll her for defending her brother, insisting that anybody 'in [her] position' would do the same thing to help a family member Rhyce became an overnight celebrity in January after appearing as a guest at Jessika's 'wedding' to Mick Gould on Married At First Sight. Since then, the so-called 'hot brother' has strongly denied claims on social media that he has physically abused ex-girlfriends. In March, Vanessa Sierra, who had been in a relationship with Rhyce for several months, alleged that he assaulted her on holiday in Thailand. The former couple were both in Phuket attending a fitness training camp together at the Unit 27 gym. But things soured and it is alleged the pair had a physical altercation, ending with Vanessa packing her bags, heading back to Australia and filing for an intervention order. Throwback: Rhyce became an overnight celebrity in January after appearing as a guest at Jessika's 'wedding' to Mick Gould (right) on Married At First Sight Denials: Since then, the so-called 'hot brother' has strongly denied claims on social media that he has physically abused ex-girlfriends Under the Victorian intervention order, which is similar to an apprehended violence order (AVO), the heavily-tattooed tradesman is banned from contacting Vanessa. In a lengthy statement shared to Instagram in April upon his return to Sydney, Rhyce said there was more to the story and appeared to deny Vanessa's claims. 'There's always two sides to every story, and everyone needs to believe that,' he said. 'Everyone's jumped on the bandwagon without even hearing my side of the story - which I understand - if a girl makes an allegation about a claim [sic], whether it's an attractive girl or any girl, everyone's going to jump on the bandwagon, and I fully understand that.' At the time, Rhyce claimed he was also feeling suicidal and had been receiving an onslaught of death threats. After Daily Mail Australia reported on the intervention order on April 23, Rhyce shared a cryptic post to Instagram that read, 'Time discovers truth', before swiftly deleting it. Following their break-up, Vanessa briefly dated Daniel Webb, the man whom Jessika Power had an affair with on Married At First Sight. Over: In March, Rhyce's ex Vanessa Sierra (right) alleged that he assaulted her while on holiday in Thailand. She later filed an intervention order in Australia In January, Rhyce denied earlier claims of domestic violence. 'Someone's got a photo saying I've got VROs [Violence Restraining Order] against me and [that I'm violent] against women,' he said on The Kyle and Jackie O Show. 'Someone took a photo off Google [of a heavily bruised woman] and posted that I've done it [assaulted her].' If you're struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 Cassandra Thorburn has finally explained why her new Mini Cooper S has the personalised number plate 'Fizzy'. 'Fizzy' is the well-known nickname of Jasmine Yarbrough, the former model her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic married in Mexico last December. Speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, Cassandra claimed that she inherited the number plate from a friend whose car she recently bought. The friend had apparently asked Cassandra not to change the number plate, as it holds a special significance to her family. Coincidence: Cassandra Thorburn has finally explained why her new Mini Cooper S has the personalised number plate 'Fizzy'. Pictured driving the car in Sydney on Friday 'I didn't know [Fizzy] was her nickname,' Cassandra said at the start of the interview. 'It's not common knowledge is it? Apparently it is now!' Radio host Kyle Sandilands then asked: 'So what, it's a coincidence that you got the "Fizzy" number plate?' 'No, no, it's not a coincidence!' Cassandra responded. 'The car, I purchased from my girlfriend, who was moving overseas for a couple of years. Second marriage: 'Fizzy' is the well-known nickname of Jasmine Yarbrough (right), the former model Cassandra's ex-husband Karl Stefanovic (left) married in Mexico last December 'She offered me to buy her car, which has had the same number plate for four years and she actually owned the number plate on her previous car. 'And she asked me if I wanted to buy her car, and I said yes. And she said, "I also want [you] to keep the private plates" because it has something to do with her and another member of her family. I don't know, people do that with private plates. 'And she said, "Can you hold onto it [the plates]?" And she actually still pays for the private plates. I've had the car since February and organised to buy it late last year.' Kyle asked: 'So it's nothing to do with Karl and the new wife?' 'No, nothing to do with it at all! It's simply the number plate a friend actually has had since 2015 on this car,' Cassandra explained. 'Are you sure you didn't know it was [Jasmine's] nickname and then approached the friend to buy the car for the number plate?' Kyle asked again. Cassandra denied this, saying she would never do something like that. Explanation: Speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, Cassandra claimed that she inherited the number plate from a friend whose car she arranged to buy late last year Later in the interview, the 48-year-old children's author claimed that the whole number plate saga was like a 'bad Jackie Collins novel'. She added: 'You couldn't write it, you know, it's just things... you know, I don't know, you just think, "How could something like that happen?" Y'know, there's nothing in it. 'It's a number plate that my girlfriend has had on that car since 2015!' Cassandra added that she fears people will now want to vandalise her car because the number plate makes her look 'crazy'. Interestingly, she said the most 'upsetting' thing about the whole saga was that she was 'not contacted' for comment beforehand by The Sunday Telegraph, which first ran the pictures over the weekend. The Sunday Telegraph insists that its journalist did seek comment from Cassandra before publication. Case of the ex: Cassandra and Karl were married for 21 years before separating in mid 2016. Five months after their split, Karl met Jasmine at a private party in Sydney. Pictured in 2012 She said: 'I was not contacted for that story. They said that they contacted me. They didn't contract me because I could have shown them all the paperwork that shows that this car [has had the "Fizzy" number plate since 2015].' Cassandra was pictured driving her slick Mini Cooper S around Sydney on Friday, with the 'Fizzy' vanity plate standing out like a sore thumb. 'Fizzy' happens to be the nickname given to Jasmine by Karl and their group of friends. The couple used the nickname as their wedding hashtag in December last year, with guests captioning their photos: '#LetsGetFizzyKarl'. Sighting: Cassandra was pictured driving her slick Mini Cooper S around Sydney on Friday, with the 'Fizzy' vanity plate standing out like a sore thumb. Pictured on The Project recently Over the weekend, after photos of her car were published by The Sunday Telegraph, Cassandra accused the media of a 'bullying campaign' against her. 'The facts are far from what's been said. I was never contacted by the media to ask about the four-year-old car and its number plate,' she wrote on Instagram. 'It seems the bullying campaign in some sections of the media, to make me out to be someone Im not, continues three years on [after splitting from Karl].' Cassandra and Karl were married for 21 years before separating in mid 2016. Five months after splitting with his wife, the former Today show host met Jasmine at a party on Sydney Harbour in December 2016. Karl married the 35-year-old shoe designer at a lavish ceremony in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico on December 8, 2018. Lauren Conrad, 33, celebrated the launch of Amazon's new Baby Registry Treasure Truck on Friday, providing essentials for expecting parents. The soon-to-be mom of two, who announced in April she is expecting her second child, was in Seattle looking summer ready in a maxi dress. The Hills vet recently revealed the struggles she faced while breastfeeding as it made her feel 'like a bad mom. Bumpin: Lauren Conrad wore chunky beige and wood heels and showed off her baby bump on Friday for Amazon's newest Treasure Truck focused on expecting parents Oh baby: The TV star touched a stuffed dog while holding on to a book by two bookshelves At the event Lauren was glowing in a salmon-colored maxi dress with gold flower designs. The lifestyle blogger wore chunky beige and wood heels and showed off her baby bump. At the event attendees had the opportunity to see essential baby products, best selling toys, clothes, and test new car seats and strollers. She is ready for her little one: Here she posed next to a white crib as she held a pillow Summer fresh: At the event Lauren was glowing and looking fresh in a salmon colored maxi dress with gold flower designs There are 25 Amazon Treasure Trucks in 35 major US cities, bringing trending discounted products directly to customers near by. The Baby Registry Treasure Truck will be in Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta and New York on specific weekends. Lauren recently partnered with Amazon Baby Registry to make sure she is fully equipped for baby number two. The television personality has been open regarding struggles she has had as a mother. She has recently branched out into podcasting with her new show Lauren Conrad: Asking for a Friend, which launched on May 8. On the first episode she shared that she felt like a failure when her milk supply was running low just four months into breastfeeding her now 23-month-old. She married former musician William Tell in 2014 and they welcomed son William in 2017. 'I felt like I was failing at something that should come really naturally and it was really difficult for me,' she said. The former Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County star 'felt ashamed' and 'like a bad mom' after her supply dropped, and tried various remedies to boost her milk. Cassandra Thorburn has well and truly moved on, three years after separating from her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic. And the 48-year-old children's author revealed on Tuesday that she has removed all photos of the Channel Nine star from her Sydney home. Well, almost all of them. Moving on: Cassandra Thorburn (pictured) has removed every picture of ex-husband Karl Stefanovic from her home in Sydney - except for one family photo in the kids' room Speaking to The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Cassandra said there is still one family picture featuring Karl in the house, but it's tucked away in the kids' playroom. 'In the movie room, the kids have... there's a big family photo,' she said. Cassandra added that she's done this because it's important as a single parent to encourage children to maintain a relationship with their father. Memento: 'In the movie room, the kids have... there's a big family photo,' Cassandra told The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday. Pictured: Karl and Cassandra in June 2012 Cassandra and Karl were married for 21 years before separating in mid 2016, and they share custody of three children: Jackson, 19, Ava, 13 and River, 12. Five months after splitting with his wife, the former Today show host met Jasmine Yarbrough at a party on Sydney Harbour in December 2016. Karl married the 35-year-old shoe designer at a lavish ceremony in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico on December 8, 2018. Second wife: Cassandra and Karl were married for 21 years before separating in mid 2016. He is now married to ex-model Jasmine Yarbrough (pictured together at the 2018 Logie Awards) Back in November 2017, Cassandra wrote an open letter for Woman's Day, in which she claimed that her children are her first priority. 'I don't feel the need to exact revenge on Karl for leaving me - I'm just happy to be starting a new chapter in my life,' she wrote. 'I'm most content spending time with my three children and making plans for our future.' A fresh measles alert has been issued in NSW after a baby travelling from the Philippines to the Central Coast was diagnosed with the disease. The infant, aged under 12 months, was infectious while travelling on a flight from Manila which arrived into Sydney Airport on the morning of May 25. The baby is the 42nd person to be diagnosed with measles in NSW since Christmas. NSW Health on Monday urged anyone who was on flight Cebu Pacific flight 5J 41 or who was at Sydney Airport that morning to be alert for symptoms of the disease, which can take up to 18 days to appear. The baby was also taken to two Central Coast medical centres while infectious. Measles symptoms include fever, sore eyes and a cough followed three or four days later by a red, blotchy rash, NSW Health says. "If you do develop symptoms, please call ahead to your GP so you do not wait in the waiting room with other patients," communicable diseases acting director Dr Sean Tobin said in a statement. Despite the high numbers of people being diagnosed with measles, a recent report has shown vaccination rates in NSW are at their highest levels, with more than 95 per cent of five-year-olds vaccinated. British Airways has resumed flights to Islamabad after suspending services a decade ago because of security fears British Airways landed back in Pakistan Monday, in a major vote of confidence from a Western airline after suspending operations due to security fears over a decade ago. The British carrier -- which halted services in 2008 following the deadly Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad -- is running three weekly flights from London's Heathrow airport to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad. Britain is home to more than a million people of Pakistani origin, making it the largest Pakistani diaspora community in Europe. "Britain's flag carrier is back. The two countries, so close in so many ways, take a step closer," British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Thomas Drew, said in a statement. "It is of course tribute to the great improvements in the security situation in Pakistan in recent years." BA had six weekly flights to Islamabad before the Marriott attack, which killed more than 50 people and triggered a major drawdown by embassies and international agencies over safety concerns. Struggling Pakistan International Airlines had until Monday been the only carrier with direct flights between the two countries. Since the Marriott attack, the country has been largely dependent on Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates and Etihad, with most international flights routed through the Gulf. "Usually I take the connecting flights so this was a very refreshing experience and looking forward to going back as well," Sana Khan, a doctor based Britain, told AFP after touching down in Islamabad. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific was one of the last major international carriers to cease operations in Pakistan after dozens were killed during a 2014 siege at Karachi airport by Taliban militants. Pakistan has battled homegrown militancy for nearly 15 years, with tens of thousands of people killed. But the country has seen a dramatic turnaround recently, with security largely stabilised following several military offensives along the Afghan border and crackdowns on insurgents in urban centres. Many Western countries continue to have travel advisories in place to warn their citizens of the potential for kidnapping and bomb attacks, especially in areas near the Afghan border. British Airwayss return also comes as Pakistan continues to restrict large swathes of its eastern airspace following a confrontation with India in February, effectively closing off major international flight routes in and out of Islamabad and Lahore headed east while also disrupting Indian flights. A Pakistani security official said the restrictions would continue until at least June 15. Nigeria's military has been battling a decade-long Islamist insurgency that has killed tens of thousands of people Boko Haram jihadists have carried out multiple attacks on military bases in northeast Nigeria's Borno state, overrunning three of them and stealing weapons, security sources said Monday. Fighters believed to be from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the IS-linked faction of Boko Haram, stormed four bases from Friday through Sunday in the latest spate of attacks targeting the army, sources from the military and militia said. There were no immediate details on casualties. In the latest incident, on Sunday, the insurgents made a failed attempt to seize a base in the town of Dikwa following a predawn attack. "The terrorists attacked troops in Dikwa around 4:00 am (0300 GMT) but the attack was repelled without casualty on our side," a military officer, who did not want to be identified, told AFP. The fighters came in 13 trucks fitted with heavy machine guns, said a second officer, who gave a similar account. Dikwa which lies 90 kilometres (56 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri, is home to more than 70,000 displaced people who live in several camps where they rely on food and humanitarian assistance from aid agencies. Late on Saturday, the jihadists blasted into a base in the town of Marte, 40 kilometres away, pushing troops out after a prolonged gunfight, the two military sources said. The militants ransacked the base, carting away weapons abandoned by fleeing soldiers and setting fire to it. The soldiers withdrew to Dikwa. As they retreated towards Lake Chad, the Islamist fighters sacked another base in Kirenowa village, 30 kilometres from Marte. - Soldiers evacuated - "The soldiers in Kirenowa have been evacuated to Dikwa after the attack by the terrorists", the first officer said. The jihadists were believed to have launched the attacks from their Lake Chad enclave where the Nigerian military has intensified aerial attacks on ISWAP camps. Troops in a base in Dalwa village, 16 kilometres outside Maiduguri, were dislodged after a six-hour battle with ISWAP fighters which continued into Sunday, said the military sources and an anti-jihadist militia. The fighting forced Marte residents to flee into Maiduguri, arriving in trucks on Sunday, according to residents of the city. However, troops returned to the town late Sunday with reinforcement from Maiduguri, the sources said. ISWAP has since July last year targeted dozens of military bases in attacks that have left scores of soldiers dead. Boko Haram's decade-long insurgency has killed 27,000 people and displaced about two million in Nigeria. The violence has spilled over into neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to defeat the Islamist group. abu/joa/mlr WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is making up facts about a veterans' health care program in his latest dig at late Sen. John McCain. He says he's no fan of McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and tortured prisoner of war, faulting him for failing to pass a program that gave veterans the option to see a private doctor at public expense. "He was never able to get Choice. I got Choice," Trump said Thursday to reporters. His jab at the late senator came as he defended a Trump administration order to keep a Navy ship named for McCain hidden from view during his recent trip to Japan as likely "well-meaning," though Trump said he knew nothing about the request. But McCain did get it done on vets' care. Trump routinely takes full credit for enacting the Veterans Choice program, ignoring the fact that it was signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2014. McCain was a co-sponsor of the legislation to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs. What Trump did was expand eligibility for the program. Meanwhile, Trump is also claiming exoneration and a possible case against him "closed" in the Russia investigation. But special counsel Robert Mueller, who announced this past week the end to his work , specifically declined to vindicate Trump on obstruction charges. Mueller indicated it was up to Congress to decide whether to take up continued investigations and bring charges of wrongdoing against a sitting president. President Donald Trump arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Thursday, May 30, 2019, for a short trip to the White House after attending the 2019 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colo. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A look at the claims, also covering his comments on Duchess Meghan, trade, the economy, North Korea and more: DUCHESS MEGHAN TRUMP: "I never called Meghan Markle 'nasty.' Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold!" - tweet Sunday. THE FACTS: Trump, in fact, did use the word "nasty" to describe Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. Trump was referring to an interview Friday with the British tabloid The Sun in which he was asked about comments the former American actress made in 2016, where she threatened to move to Canada if Trump won the White House. According to a recording of the interview released by The Sun, Trump responded: "I didn't know that. What can I say? I didn't know that she was nasty." It's unclear, however, whether Trump's use of "nasty" referred to the duchess herself or the negative things she said about him in 2016. Trump also spoke positively about Meghan in the interview. When asked whether it was good for an American to be a member of the British royal family, Trump said: "I think it's nice. I'm sure she will do excellently. She'll be very good." The former Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, in 2018 and gave birth to their first child, Archie, in May. ___ VETERANS TRUMP: "I disagree with John McCain on the way he handled the vets, because I said you got get to Choice. He was never able to get Choice. I got Choice." - remarks Thursday to reporters, according to a transcript released by the White House . TRUMP: "We passed VA Choice and VA Accountability to give our veterans the care that they deserve and they have been trying to pass these things for 45 years." - Montoursville, Pennsylvania, rally on May 20. TRUMP: "Another one they said could never get passed, they have been trying to do it for 40 years, we passed VA Choice. Veterans Choice." - El Paso rally on Feb. 11. THE FACTS: Trump was not the first president in four decades to pass the Veterans Choice program. What Trump got done was an expansion of the Choice program achieved by McCain and Sen. Bernie Sanders, the main lawmakers who advanced the legislation signed by Obama. McCain, an Arizona Republican, co-sponsored the legislation following a 2014 scandal at VA's medical center in Phoenix, where some veterans died while waiting months for medical appointments. Sanders was then chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. After helping pass the program, McCain also fought to expand it in his last months before dying of brain cancer last August. Trump signed the legislation last June, which is named after three veterans. The legislation's full name is the John S. McCain III, Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act of 2018, or MISSION Act. The Choice program currently allows veterans to see doctors outside the VA system if they must wait more than 30 days for an appointment or drive more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) to a VA facility. Under the expansion, starting Thursday, veterans are to have that option for a private doctor if their VA wait is only 20 days (28 for specialty care) or their drive is only 30 minutes. Still, the VA says it does not expect a major increase in veterans seeking care outside the VA under Trump's expanded program, partly because wait times in the private sector are typically longer than at VA. "The care in the private sector, nine times out of 10, is probably not as good as care in VA," VA Secretary Robert Wilkie told Congress in March. ___ RUSSIA INVESTIGATION TRUMP: "NO COLLUSION, NO OBSTRUCTION, NO NOTHING!" - tweet Sunday. TRUMP: "There was no crime." - remarks Thursday to reporters. TRUMP, on Mueller's statement on finishing his work as special counsel: "There was insufficient evidence and therefore, in our Country, a person is innocent. The case is closed! Thank you." - tweet Wednesday. SARAH SANDERS, White House press secretary: "The Special Counsel has completed the investigation, closed his office, and has closed the case. ... The report was clear_there was no collusion, no conspiracy_and the Department of Justice confirmed there was no obstruction. ...After two years, the Special Counsel is moving on with his life, and everyone else should do the same." - statement Wednesday. THE FACTS: Mueller did not fully exonerate Trump or declare that a possible case against Trump to be "closed." While announcing his work was now finished, Mueller specifically left it open for Congress to decide on possible charges of wrongdoing. Mueller also did not say there was "insufficient evidence" as to possible crimes of obstruction, making clear that his report did not draw a conclusion. Mueller said his team declined to make a prosecutorial judgment on whether to charge Trump, partly because of a Justice Department legal opinion that said sitting presidents shouldn't be indicted. As a result, his detailed report factually laid out instances in which Trump might have obstructed justice, leaving it up to Congress to take up the matter. "If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," Mueller said Wednesday. Based on that department's legal opinion, Mueller said, "the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing." Attorney General William Barr wrote in a March 24 letter that ultimately he was deciding that the evidence developed by Mueller was "not sufficient" to establish, for the purposes of prosecution, that Trump committed obstruction of justice. But Mueller explicitly declined to say that. It's true the Mueller report did not find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, saying it had not collected sufficient evidence "to establish" or sustain criminal charges. However, the report did not assess whether "collusion" occurred. ___ TRUMP, on Mueller's relationship with former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump: "He loves Comey. You look at the relationship with those two. So whether it's love or deep like, but he was conflicted." - remarks Thursday to reporters. THE FACTS: Though Comey succeeded Mueller as FBI director and though they served together in the Bush administration, the men are not known to be social friends. There is certainly no evidence, as Trump has repeatedly suggested, that they are "best friends" or have a relationship that is "love or deep like." ___ TRUMP: "I think he's totally conflicted. ...Robert Mueller should've never been chosen because he wanted the FBI job and he didn't get it. And the next day, he was picked as Special Counsel. So you tell somebody, 'I'm sorry, you can't have the job.' And then, after you say that, he's going to make a ruling on you? It doesn't work that way. Plus, we had a business dispute." - remarks Thursday to reporters. THE FACTS: Trump makes a groundless charge that Mueller was "totally conflicted." Mueller, a longtime Republican, was cleared by the Justice Department's ethics experts to lead the Russia investigation. According to the special counsel's report, when Trump previously complained privately to aides that Mueller would not be objective, the advisers, including then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, then-White House counsel Don McGahn and Reince Priebus, chief of staff at the time, rejected his complaints of an alleged business dispute and possible bad feelings over the FBI job as not representing "true conflicts." Bannon called the claims "ridiculous." Bannon told Mueller's investigators that while the White House had invited Mueller to speak to the president about the FBI and thought about asking him to become director again, Mueller did not come in looking for a job. Mueller was previously FBI director from 2001 to 2013. ___ TRUMP: "They don't talk about Russia anymore because it turned out to be a hoax. It was all a hoax." - remarks Thursday to reporters. TRUMP: "There's no nothing. It's nothing but a witch hunt." - remarks Thursday. THE FACTS: A two-year investigation that produced guilty pleas, convictions and criminal charges against Russian intelligence officers and others with ties to the Kremlin, as well as Trump associates, is not a hoax. Mueller's report concluded there was "sweeping and systematic" Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mueller charged 34 people, including the president's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and three Russian companies. Twenty-five Russians were indicted on charges related to election interference, accused either of hacking Democratic email accounts during the campaign or of orchestrating a social media campaign that spread disinformation on the internet. Five Trump aides pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Mueller, and a sixth, longtime confidant Roger Stone, is awaiting trial on charges he lied to Congress and engaged in witness tampering. ___ ECONOMY TRUMP: "Employment numbers are the best. We have close to 160 million people working today, which is more than we've ever had before." - remarks Thursday to reporters. THE FACTS: It's true that more people are working now, but that is driven by population growth. A more relevant measure is the proportion of Americans with jobs, and that is still far below record highs. According to Labor Department data, 60.6 percent of people in the United States 16 years and older were working in April. That's below the all-time high of 64.7 percent in April 2000, though higher than the 59.9 percent when Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate dropped in April to 3.6% from 3.8%. That drop reflected a healthy economy for sure, but also an increase in the number of Americans who stopped looking for work. ___ NORTH KOREA TRUMP, on limited progress by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to "denuclearize": "So I think that he is - he is going to try, at some point. I'm in no rush at all. ...We, as you know, are getting the remains - continuing to get the remains. A lot of good things are happening." - news conference on May 27 with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. THE FACTS: U.S. efforts to recover additional remains of American service members have stalled amid souring relations with North Korea. As tensions between the U.S. and North Korea spiked again, the Pentagon said last month it had suspended its efforts to arrange negotiations this year on recovering additional remains of American service members killed in the North during the Korean War. The Pentagon said it remained hopeful they can reach agreement for recovery operations in 2020. The Defense POW-MIA Accounting Agency said it has had no communication with North Korean authorities since the Vietnam summit between Trump and Kim last February. That meeting focused on the North's nuclear weapons and followed a June 2018 summit where Kim committed to permitting a resumption of U.S. remains recovery; that effort had been suspended by the U.S. in 2005. The agency said it had "reached the point where we can no longer effectively plan, coordinate, and conduct field operations" with the North during this budget year, which ends Sept. 30. The North, it said, never agreed to face-to-face negotiations to work out details for the recovery operations, such as payments required for the provision of support services by the North Korean army. Last summer, in line with the first Trump-Kim summit in June, the North turned over 55 boxes of what it said were the remains of an undetermined number of U.S service members killed in the North during the 1950-53 war. So far, six Americans have been identified from the 55 boxes. ___ TRADE TRUMP: "We're taking in billions of dollars in tariffs. China is subsidizing products. So the United States' taxpayers are paying for very little of it. " - remarks Thursday to reporters. TRUMP: "You know, foolishly, some people said that the American taxpayer is paying the tariffs of China. No, no, no - it's not that way. They're paying a small percentage, but our country is taking in billions and billions of dollars." - news conference on May 27. THE FACTS: That's not true. U.S. consumers and the public are primarily if not entirely paying the costs of the tariffs, as his chief economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, has acknowledged . That's how tariffs work: Importers pay the taxes and often pass on the cost to consumers. The U.S. is not "taking in" billions from China as a result. A sustained trade dispute is not painless for China, either. Its goods become pricier and therefore less competitive. But China is not paying a tab to the U.S. treasury in this matter. As Kudlow said, accurately: "Both sides will suffer on this." But in his view, "this is a risk we should and can take." ___ MARS TRUMP: "Prime Minister Abe and I have agreed to dramatically expand our nations' cooperation in human space exploration. Japan will join our mission to send U.S. astronauts to space. We'll be going to the moon. We'll be going to Mars very soon." - news conference on May 27. THE FACTS: Not very soon. The U.S. will almost certainly not be sending humans to Mars in his presidency, even if he wins a second term. The Trump administration has a placed a priority on the moon over Mars for human exploration (President Barack Obama favored Mars) and hopes to accelerate NASA's plan for returning people to the lunar surface. It has asked Congress to approve enough money to make a moon mission possible by 2024, instead 2028. But even if that happens, Mars would come years after that. International space agencies have made aspirational statements about possibly landing humans on Mars during the 2030s. ___ IRAN TRUMP: "If you look at the deal that (Vice President Joe) Biden and President Obama signed, they would have access - free access - to nuclear weapons, where they wouldn't even be in violation, in just a very short period of time. What kind of a deal is that?" - news conference on May 27. THE FACTS: That's a misrepresentation of what the deal required . Iran would not have access to nuclear weapons capability in a "very short period" without violating the terms of the 2015 accord. The U.S. withdrew from the multinational agreement last year. During the 15-year life of most provisions of the deal, Iran's capabilities were limited to a level where it could not produce a nuclear bomb. Iran was thought to be only months away from a bomb when the deal came into effect. After 15 years, Iran could have an array of advanced centrifuges ready to work, the limits on its stockpile would be gone and, in theory, it could then throw itself into producing highly enriched uranium. But nothing in the deal prevented the West from trying to rein Iran in again with sanctions. The deal included a pledge by Iran never to seek a nuclear weapon. In return, partners in the deal eased sanctions on Iran. ___ Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Cal Woodward, Christopher Rugaber, Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor and Michael Balsamo contributed to this report. ___ Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck Special counsel Robert Mueller speaks at the Department of Justice Wednesday, May 29, 2019, in Washington, about the Russia investigation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) In this May 30, 2019, photo, President Donald Trump talks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Special counsel Robert Mueller walks from the podium after speaking at the Department of Justice Wednesday, May 29, 2019, in Washington, about the Russia investigation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) By Harry Brumpton June 2 (Reuters) - Hospitality Properties Trust is nearing a $2.4 billion deal to acquire a rental real estate portfolio from Spirit MTA REIT, a major landlord of bankrupt U.S. retailer Shopko Stores Inc, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. The deal would allow Spirit MTA to cash out on most of its real estate. It would also diversify Hospitality Properties' portfolio beyond the hotel and travel center sectors and into retail properties such as restaurants, movie theaters and car service stations. More than two dozen U.S. retailers, including Sears Holdings Corp and Toys R US, have filed for bankruptcy in the past two years, succumbing to the onslaught of fierce e-commerce competition from companies like Amazon Inc and putting financial pressure on landlords with limited resources. Hospitality Properties has agreed to acquire 774 retail properties from Spirit MTA leased to tenants in 22 different industries, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The deal excludes about 100 properties that Spirit MTA leased mainly to Shopko, a general merchandise store operator that filed for bankruptcy in January, the sources added. The deal could be announced as early as Monday, the sources said, requesting anonymity because the negotiations are confidential. Spirit MTA, which has a market capitalization of $303 million, announced in January it planned to explore alternatives that could include a sale of the company, as it sought ways to cope with the fallout from Shopko's bankruptcy. Shopko accounted for 18% of Spirit's MTA revenue from contractual rent in 2018. Last year, Spirit MTA was spun out of Spirit Realty Capital Inc, which was seeking to reduce its exposure to the retail sector. Hospitality Properties will now take over most of Spirit MTA's properties, whose tenants span 164 brands, including Kohl's Corp, Lifetime Fitness and Pizza Hut. Hospitality Properties, which has a market capitalization of $4.1 billion, will use a $2 billion bank loan to help pay for the deal, the sources said. The Newton, Massachusetts-based company owned 326 hotels as of the end of 2018, managed by or leased to major operators such as Marriott International Inc, InterContinental Hotels Group Plc and Hyatt Hotels Corp. Hospitality Properties has made efforts to trim its portfolio down to a more profitable core this year, selling 20 travel centers to TravelCenters of America that the latter was already leasing for $308 million. (Reporting by Harry Brumpton in New York; Editing by Will Dunham) BUCHAREST, June 3 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Monday. DEBT TENDER Romanian debt managers tender 400 million lei ($94.29 million) worth of six-month treasury bills and 500 million lei ($117.86 million) worth of Feb. 2029 bonds. The finance ministry plans to sell 4.4 billion lei worth of leu currency bills and bonds in June, including 525 million lei at non-competitive tenders, it said on Friday. FX RESERVES Romania's central bank to release foreign exchange reserves data for May. POPE FRANCIS Pope Francis on Sunday asked forgiveness in the name of the Catholic Church for the mistreatment of the Roma people, a move likely to increase tensions with Italy's anti-immigrant Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Francis made the comment during a meeting with Roma people at the last event of his three day trip to Romania, saying his heart was made "heavy" by the meeting. On Friday, he urged Romanian leaders to shun personal interests and work together for the common good, arriving in the former communist country amid political upheaval caused by a corruption scandal. CEE MARKETS The forint eased early on Friday, giving back some of Thursday's gains, after final data confirmed first-quarter economic growth of 5.3 percent, well above Hungary's long-term potential. BOURSE LISTING Idea Bank Romania plans to list its shares on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and it is assessing when it might do so, chief executive Mioara Popescu said. Ziarul Financiar IT Romania's opposition Liberal Party said an exemption from paying a wage tax for the IT sector should be scrapped, drawing criticism from the industry. The wage tax exemption was introduced in 2000 to attract tech giants to the country. For other related news, double click on: --------------------------------------------------------------- Romanian equities RO-E E.Europe equities .CEE Romanian money RO-M Romanian debt RO-D Eastern Europe EEU All emerging markets EMRG Hot stocks HOT Stock markets STX Market debt news DBT Forex news FRX For real-time index quotes, double click on: Bucharest BETI Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX ------------------------------------------------------ ($1 = 4.2423 lei) ZARIT, Israel, June 3 (Reuters) - The Israeli army on Monday showed the inside of a sophisticated tunnel passing deep underground from Lebanon into northern Israel, saying it was intended for use by Lebanese Hezbollah militants. The tunnel was rigged with electrical wiring, fuse boxes and communications equipment. An army spokesman said it began almost a kilometer (mile) away inside Lebanon and reached depths of some 80 meters (265 feet) - about the height of a 22-storey building - as it crossed into Israel, near the town of Zarit. It came to light earlier this year during an army operation in which a number of attack tunnels dug by Iran-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah were discovered and sealed off, the military said. Hezbollah's leader, in response to Israel's tunnel operation, said in January that his group has been able to enter Israel for years. But he stopped short of acknowledging that the tunnels were the handiwork of Hezbollah, citing the heavily armed group's policy of "ambiguity" on military matters and a desire to deny Israel a pretext to attack. Israel and Hezbollah last fought a war in 2006. While they have at times traded blows within Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Israel-Lebanon border has mostly been quiet. Israel regards Iran as its biggest foe and Hezbollah as the main threat on its borders. It has waged an increasingly open campaign of military strikes against them both in Syria, where they have fought on the government side in the civil war. (Reporting by Avi Ohayon Writing by Ari Rabinovitch Editing by Mark Heinrich) Top-seeded Novak Djokovic became the first man to reach 10 consecutive French Open quarterfinals on Monday, posting a 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff. It's the 44th time the 32-year-old Serbian star has reached the final eight of a Grand Slam tournament. He broke Struff five times, saved the only break point he faced and committed only 13 unforced errors in the one-hour, 33-minute match. "I don't mind cruising along, to be honest," Djokovic said. "I have played plenty of tight matches in my career that I can rely on that experience. I think it's good to be tested from that perspective, but at the same time, it's also good to cruise along and conserve the energy for what's coming up." The world No. 1 hasn't dropped a set this year at Roland Garros as he enters a quarterfinal clash with fifth-seeded German Alexander Zverev. They have split four head-to-head matches, with the 22-year-old Zverev winning the only previous encounter on clay in 2017 in Rome. Zverev came from behind in his fourth-round match, beating No. 9 seed Fabio Fognini of Italy 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (5). In a match that was interrupted by darkness Sunday night, Kei Nishikori survived a slugfest against home favorite Benoit Paire. The Japanese No. 7 seed moved on to the quarterfinals in Paris for the first time with a 6-2, 6-7 (8), 6-2, 6-7 (8), 7-5 victory. "I'm just happy to win today," said Nishikori, who squandered two match points during the fourth set tiebreak. Nishikori improved his remarkable career record in deciding sets to 132-45, including 23-6 in five-set matches and 6-1 at the French Open. Up next for Nishikori is 11-time champion Rafael Nadal. The second-seeded Spaniard leads their head-to-head series 10-2, including 3-0 on clay. Another Frenchman's run ended when No. 4 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria eliminated No. 14 seed Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. Thiem had 27 winners and 14 unforced errors, compared to 25 winners and 35 errors for Monfils. Thiem, who has reached at least the semifinals at Roland Garros in each of the past three years, will face either No. 8 seed Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina or No. 10 Karen Khachanov of Russia in the quarterfinals. --Field Level Media Manohar Parrikar did a lot of things right as a Defence Minister the most important among them was team building. The Defence Minister is part of the hierarchy responsible for the security of the nation, and he built a team that included the three Chiefs and senior military officials to push forward an agenda that started the process of revitalising the forces post a decade of neglect. With the BJP using security as a major plank of their election campaign, a lot is now expected from Mr Rajnath Singh. Unfolding Challenges The Chinese are focused on a bipolar world with a Chinese hub challenging the American hub. We are looking at a bipolar Asia. However, to be the other pole in Asia can be a pipedream for a country that allocated the lowest in GDP percentage terms, for its defence this year our defence budget of over USD 60 billion is not even a third of the Chinese defence budget. Money (well) spent is directly proportional to capabilities developed. The Chinese leap in military capability building is phenomenal, be it land, sea, air, cyber or space resources. The two-front China-Pakistan threats only get graver with a USD 60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) taking shape. The proxy war and insurgencies that we have been facing continue to pose their own challenges. Notwithstanding the contesting priorities that every developing economy faces, growth and national security have to be addressed simultaneously with equal vigour. Blowing in the Wind: With CPEC taking shape, China-Pakistan threats only get graver. (Photo: Reuters) Changed Conceptual Premise for Strategising Defence Preparedness For too long we prioritised our land borders as the pivot of our defence preparedness plans. Such an approach was triggered by strong forces that have remained operative along these borders since independence. In 1947-48 we faced the first assault of tribal lascars, supported by regulars of Pakistani Army, in Kashmir. It was followed by a resounding defeat that the Chinese inflicted on us in 1962. In the 1965 India-Pakistan war, we held our ground and also gained in certain sectors. In 1971, we displayed our growing military capabilities and assisted the birth of Bangladesh. In the eastern theatre, it was a total victory. However, the long sequel of wars continued to fixate our attention on our land borders. Today, we are strong enough along our land borders China knows that and Pakistan experienced it first-hand. Our economic growth also pushes our aspirations to be a major regional player. However, the bigger challenge is emerging from the seas. If Chinese belligerence is to be deterred, our strategic focus needs to shift seawards while maintaining parity along the land borders. Budgetary allocations will need to take heed of these new equations while ensuring conventional deterrent capabilities along our land borders. Force Restructuring The issue of joint planning and execution of operational plans by the three services for the optimisation of resources has been debated in the Indian context for ages. However, we have not been able to evolve a system akin to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to head and integrated military headquarters at the apex and follow it up with joint theatre commands. The current system of the senior most Chief officiating as Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee has not been found adequate. The CDS would also be the primary advisor to the PM on defence issues, providing the political leadership direct contact with the armed forces. New Threats and Doctrines Are we future ready? Thats a question that needs to be answered. Technology has given the battlefield new dimensions. We havent built our capabilities adequately in such areas like cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, robotics, space, etc. These new threats and force multipliers impinge on our force structuring and employment. The evolution of our doctrines has also been pathologically slow. The Defence Planning Committee that suddenly made the headlines as the panacea for all defence issues, has been below the radar and hasnt even produced a draft National Security Strategy. In the bargain, the three services are either swimming in a void or making their decisions based on assumptions while also being inadequately involved in government decision making. Conventional threats and military modernisation The Indian military equipment today is a huge mass of vintage products. Approximately 68% of our equipment is outdated. (Representational photo: Reuters) The Vice Chief of Army Staff had stated last year that 68% of our equipment falls in the outdated category. A limited degree of progress has been made during the governments tenure from 2014 to 2019 however, we are miles behind the goalposts any military analyst would consider as acceptable. A profile of 30:40:30 of vintage, contemporary and futuristic technology-driven equipment is considered as an acceptable mix. We have also to take a call on 5G technology. In the future, the armed forces will use a lot of civilian communications and space infrastructure. The issue has wide-ranging security and foreign policy ramifications. The induction of S 400 air defence system from the Russians or going in for an American system will also need a re-look based on security and foreign policy requirements. They defend us. It's time we placed more funds and attention to their own defenses. (Photo: Reuters) Budgetary Support to Defence At 1.5% of the GDP, the interim budget presented in February 2019 was perhaps as close as we can get to the nadir on the GDP scale of evaluating budgetary allocation. The Chinese armed forces are undergoing a modernisation drive. They hope to be able to field world-class forces by 2050. We have a window of perhaps 15 years or so in which to develop enough deterrence both in the IOR and along the land borders as a nation, we have no choices. While diplomacy, building bi-lateral and multi-lateral partnerships need to carry on, the final guarantee of our sovereignty is the strength of our forces. Defence Production, Research and Accountability A new Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) is on its way and will possibly further liberalise policies for private sector participation. A lot has been done to promote exports. The offices of our defence attach abroad are being used to identify opportunities. However, the Strategic Partnership model of the DPP 2016, that was to be a springboard for the private sector to take off, hasnt seen adequate progress. Protecting the interests of public sector undertakings has clouded the functioning of the ministry. It will require a very determined effort by the new defence minister to liberalise the systems adequately to allow a more competitive atmosphere to prevail in the defence sector. Similarly, DRDO needs to be made more accountable for the budget they get. The story is the same for the Ordnance Factory Board. The latest technologies can barely be bought off the shelf. These will have to be developed in the country. Should we really want to achieve the stated objective of 70% of our equipment being of Indian origin, our research establishments will need to play a very dynamic role. There are a host of other challenges like attracting the right manpower to man lean, mean, techno-savvy forces; equation of service personnel with their civilian counterparts, progressing the National Defence University and a host of other issues that require to be progressed. However, the most important ones are the integration of the MoD with the Service Headquarters in real terms to ensure professional inputs are available at the MoD and creation of the appointment of CDS to ensure direct interphase between the political leadership and the armed forces. The current dispensation at Delhi has five years of policy-making behind it already. Its mandate for the next five years can hardly be stronger. It has to take the bull by the horns, find the funds and accelerate defence preparedness. Also read: Who's got the toughest job? Amit Shah Home Minister, Rajnath Singh Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman Finance Minister? National Australia Bank Limited provides financial services to individuals and businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Business and Private Banking, Personal Banking, Corporate and Institutional Banking, and New Zealand Banking segments. It operates through Business and Private Banking; Personal Banking; Corporate and Institutional Banking; New Zealand Banking; Corporate Functions and Other; and MLC Wealth segments. The company accepts transaction accounts, savings accounts, deposit accounts, and term deposits; and specialized accounts, such as foreign currency, business interest, statutory trust, community free saver, farm management, and project bank accounts, as well as farm management deposits. National Australia Bank Limited also provides home loans; personal loans; business loans; vehicle and equipment finance; and trade and invoice finance, as well as business overdrafts and bank guarantees. In addition, the company offers insurance products consisting of car, home and content, landlord, travel, caravan and trailer, life, and business insurance products; and pension, superannuation, self-managed super funds, cash management, and financial planning and advisory services. Further, it provides investment products; credit, debit, and business cards; payments and merchant services; travel services; online and internet banking services; small business services; international and foreign exchange solutions; and industry specific banking services. National Australia Bank Limited was founded in 1834 and is based in Docklands, Australia. Read More Novan, Inc., a clinical development-stage biotechnology company, provides nitric oxide-based therapies to treat dermatological and oncovirus-mediated diseases. Its clinical stage dermatology drug candidates include SB204, a topical monotherapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris; SB206, a topical anti-viral gel for the treatment of viral skin infections; SB208, a topical broad-spectrum anti-fungal gel for the treatment of fungal infections of the skin and nails, including athlete's foot and fungal nail infections; and SB414, a topical cream-based gel product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The company also develops SB207, an anti-viral product candidate for the treatment of external genital warts; WH602, a nitric oxide-containing intravaginal gel to treat high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV); WH504, a non-gel formulation product candidate to treat high-risk HPV; and SB019 for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Novan, Inc. has a license agreement with Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; and a strategic alliance with Orion Corporation. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of PPG Industries: AIPCF V Texstars Blocker Inc., AkzoNobel, Alermac Inversiones S.A. de C.V., Alpha Coating Technologies LLC, Alpha Coatings Inc., Broad Range Development Limited, Brown Brothers Distribution Limited, CG Holdings Manufacturing Co., Centro de Investigacion en Polimeros S.A. de C.V., Chemfil Canada Limited, Chorlton Trade Paints Limited, Comercial Mexicana de Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Comex, Comex Industrial Coatings S.A. de C.V., Consorcio Comex S.A. de C.V., Cristacol S.A., Cuming Microwave Corporation, Deutek SA, Dexmet Corporation, Dexmet Holding Corporation, Distribuidora Kroma S.A. de C.V., EPIC Insurance Co. Ltd., Eberle Design Inc., Empresa Aga S.A. de C.V., Ennis Canadian Holding Company, Ennis Flint Soluciones Seguras Para Trafico, Ennis Highway Traffic Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Ennis Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, Ennis Paint Australia Holding Pty Ltd, Ennis Paint Boya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Ennis Paint Canada ULC, Ennis Paint Germany GmbH, Ennis Paint Netherlands Holdings LLC, Ennis Paint U.K. Holding Company Limited, Ennis Traffic Safety Solutions Pty Ltd, Ennis Flint Mexico, Ennis Flint New Zealand, Ennis Flint New Zealand Holding Pty Ltd, Ennis-Flint, Ennis-Flint Africa (Pty) Ltd, Ennis-Flint Inc., Foshan Bairun Chemicals Co. Ltd., Fpu Industrial S.A. de C.V., Grupo Comex S.A. de C.V., Hemmelrath Automotive Coatings (Jilin) Co. Ltd., Hodij Coatings B.V., Homax Products, Industria Chimica Reggiana I.C.R. SPA, Johnstones Paints Limited, Kalon Investment Company Limited, Kalon South Africa Proprietary Limited, Manchester Thermoplastics LLC, Masterwork Paint, MetoKote Canada Limited, MetoKote Corporation, MetoKote Mexico Holding Inc., MetoKote UK Limited, MetoKote de Mexico S. de RL de CV, PPG AC - France SA, PPG ALESCO Automotive Finishes Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., PPG AP Resinas S.A. de C.V., PPG Aerospace Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Architectural Coatings (Puerto Rico) Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Inc., PPG Architectural Coatings Ireland Limited, PPG Architectural Coatings Italy S.r.l., PPG Architectural Coatings UK Limited, PPG Architectural Finishes Inc., PPG Asian Paints Private Ltd., PPG COATINGS SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., PPG Canada Inc., PPG Cieszyn S.A., PPG Coatings (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, PPG Coatings (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., PPG Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Thailand) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings (Wuhu) Company Ltd., PPG Coatings (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., PPG Coatings B.V., PPG Coatings Belgium BV, PPG Coatings Danmark A/S, PPG Coatings Deutschland GmbH, PPG Coatings Europe B.V., PPG Coatings Manufacturing SARL, PPG Coatings Nederland BV, PPG Coatings S.A., PPG Coatings South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PPG DYRUP S.A., PPG Deco Czech a.s., PPG Deco Polska sp. z.o.o., PPG Deco Slovakia s.r.o., PPG Deutschland Business Support GmbH, PPG Deutschland Sales & Services GmbH, PPG Distribution S.A.S., PPG Europe B.V., PPG Finance B.V., PPG France Business Support S.A.S., PPG France Manufacturing S.A.S., PPG Guadeloupe SAS, PPG Hellas S.A., PPG Hemmelrath Coatings Inc., PPG Hemmelrath Lackfabrik GmbH, PPG Holdco SAS, PPG Holdings (U.K.) Limited, PPG Holdings Argentina USA LLC, PPG Holdings Latin America USA LLC, PPG Iberica S.A., PPG Iberica Sales & Services S.L., PPG Industrial Coatings B.V., PPG Industrial do Brasil - Tintas E. Vernizes - Ltda., PPG Industries (Korea) Ltd., PPG Industries (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PPG Industries (UK) Ltd, PPG Industries Argentina S.R.L., PPG Industries Australia PTY Limited A.C.N. 055 500 939, PPG Industries Colombia Ltda., PPG Industries Czech Republic s.r.o., PPG Industries Delfzijl B.V., PPG Industries Europe Sarl, PPG Industries France S.A.S., PPG Industries International Inc., PPG Industries Italia S.r.l., PPG Industries Kimya a Sanayi VE Ticaret AS, PPG Industries LLC, PPG Industries Lipetsk LLC, PPG Industries Middle East FZE, PPG Industries Netherlands B.V., PPG Industries New Zealand Limited, PPG Industries Ohio Inc., PPG Industries Poland Sp. Z.o.o., PPG Industries Securities LLC, PPG Industries de Mexico S.A. de C.V., PPG Italia Business Support S.r.l., PPG Italia Sales & Services S.r.l., PPG Japan Ltd., PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes Canada LP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.K. LLP, PPG Kansai Automotive Finishes U.S. LLC, PPG Luxembourg Finance S.aR.L., PPG Luxembourg Holdings S.aR.L., PPG Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Mexico S.A. de C.V., PPG Packaging Coatings (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PPG Paints Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PPG Performance Coatings (Hong Kong) Limited, PPG Powder Coatings (Shanghai) Limited, PPG Romania S.A., PPG SSC Co. Ltd., PPG Switzerland GmbH, PPG Trilak Kft., PPG Vietnam Co. Ltd., PRC-DeSoto Australia Pty Ltd., PRC-DeSoto International Inc., PT. PPG Coatings Indonesia, Painter's Supply, Paintzen, Peintures de Paris SAS, Plasticos Envolventes S.A. de C.V., Polymeric Systems Inc., Prismo Road Markings Limited, ProCoatings B.V., ProCoatings BV, Protec Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 007 857 392, Reno A&E LLC, Revocoat France SAS, Revocoat Holding SAS, Revocoat Iberica SLU, Revocoat S.A.S, Road Infrastructure Investment Holdings Inc., SEM Products Inc., Sealants Europe SAS, Sierracin Corporation, Sierracin/Sylmar Corporation, Sigma Marine & Protective Coatings Holding B.V., SigmaKalon (BC) UK Limited, SigmaKalon Group, SigmaKalon Middle East B.V., Sikar (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Spraylat International Ltd, Texstars LLC, The Crown Group Co., The Crown Group Inc, The Homax Group, Tikkurila Group, Traffic Safety Intermediate LLC, Traffic Safety Parent LLC, United International Business NV, Vanex Inc., Vernisol S.p.A., Versaflex, Viasa S.A. de C.V., Whitford, Whitford B.V., Whitford Corporation, Whitford Jiangmen Ltd., Whitford Ltd. (HK), Whitford Ltd. (UK), Whitford Pte. Ltd., Whitford S.r.l., Whitford Worldwide Company LLC, Worwag Coatings, and Zaganite Industries Pty Ltd. 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. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited. Vesuvius plc provides engineering services and solutions principally to steel and foundry industries worldwide. It operates in two segments, Steel and Foundry. The company offers foundry consumables and equipment, including binders, coatings, feeding systems, filtration and gating systems, melt shop refractories, metallurgical and pouring control systems, die dressings and coatings, melt treatment products, crucibles, and ceramics for the iron, steel, and nonferrous foundries. It also provides nonferrous metals, such as primary and secondary aluminum, copper, and other metals and alloys; cement and lime solutions, iron ore pelletizing and calcination products, and grains and powders; and process heaters, FCC units, hydrogen reformers, boilers, coke calciners, and thermal oxidizers, as well as sulphur, ethylene, and ammonia plants. In addition, the company offers solutions for power generation and incineration; glass products comprising artistic, display, float, hollow, and optical glass; glass tempering, and reheat and forming products; and solutions for solar multi-crystal silicon ingots, thin film and cell processing, and feedstock. Further, it provides solutions for blast furnace stack repair; taphole clay, iron and slang runner, sampler and temperature, tilting runner, and torpedo ladle solutions; iron ladle solutions; lining, taphole system, bath agitation and tuyere system, electric arc furnace and BOF maintenance, and metallurgical sensor solutions; and ladle, ladle to tundish, and tundish solutions, as well as tundish to mold solutions for conventional slab, thin and slim slab, beam blank, flow control valve bloom or billet, and calibrated nozzle billet casters. Additionally, the company offers ingot casting solutions; and reheat furnace, steel hot forming, galvanized steel, and electrical and stainless steel solutions. Vesuvius plc was founded in 1916 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More 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.. iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Value ETF's stock was trading at $112.86 on March 11th, 2020 when Coronavirus (COVID-19) reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization. Since then, IJS shares have decreased by 7.1% and is now trading at $104.82. View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19. The following companies are subsidiares of Lennar: 360 Developers LLC, Alliance Financial Services Inc., Ann Arundel Farms Ltd., Aquaterra Utilities Inc., Arbor Mill Veteran Project 2018 LLC, Asbury Woods L.L.C., Astoria Options LLC, Autumn Creek Development Ltd., Aylon LLC, Azusa Associates LLC, B2 Milpitas LLC, BB Investment Holdings LLC, BCI Properties LLC, BMR Communities LLC, BMR Construction Inc., BMTD LLC, BPH I LLC, Bainebridge 249 LLC, Bay Colony Expansion 369 Ltd., Bellagio Lennar LLC, Belle Meade LEN Holdings LLC, Belle Meade Partners LLC, Black Mountain Ranch LLC, Blue Horizons Estates LLC, Bonterra Lennar LLC, Bramalea California Inc., Bressi Gardenlane LLC, Breton Park Lennar LLC, CAP IL 1 LLC, CL Ventures LLC, CML INACTIVE LLC, CML-MO HAF LLC, CML-MO HAF PARKING LLC, CP Block 6aS LLC, CP Block 8aS LLC, CP Block 9aS LLC, CP Center Apartments LLC, CP Center Garage LLC, CP Red Oak Partners Ltd., CP Vertical Development Co. 1 LLC, CP/HPS Development Co. GP LLC, CP/HPS Development Co.-C LLC, CPFE LLC, CPHP Development LLC, CalAtlantic Financial Services Inc., CalAtlantic Group, CalAtlantic Group Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Arizona Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Georgia Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Texas Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Washington Inc., CalAtlantic Mortgage Inc., CalAtlantic National Title Solutions LLC, CalAtlantic Title Agency LLC, CalAtlantic Title Group LLC, CalAtlantic Title Inc., CalAtlantic Title LLC, CalAtlantic Title of Maryland Inc., Camarillo Village Park LLC, Cambria L.L.C., Candlestick Retail Member LLC, Cardiovascular Medical Specialists LLC, Carolina Blue LLC, Carson 175 LLC, Cary Woods LLC, Casa Marina Development LLC, Central Park West Holdings LLC, Cherrytree II LLC, Club Bonterra Lennar LLC, Coco Palm 82 LLC, Colonial Heritage LLC, Columbia National Risk Retention Group Inc., Commonwealth Incentive Fee LLC, Concord Station LLP, Coventry L.L.C., Creekside Crossing L.L.C., Crest at Fondren Investor LLC, DBJ Holdings LLC, DCA Financial LLC, DTC Holdings of Florida LLC, Darcy-Joliet L.L.C., Durrell 33 LLC, EL Ventures LLC, EV LLC, Eagle Bend Commercial LLC, Eagle Home Mortgage LLC, Estates Seven LLC, Evergreen Village LLC, F&R QVI Home Investments USA LLC, FLORDADE LLC, Faria Preserve LLC, Fidelity Guaranty and Acceptance Corp., Fidelity Land LLC, Fox-Maple Associates LLC, Friendswood Development Company LLC, GDI MANAGER LLC, Garco Investments LLC, Greystone Construction Inc., Greystone Homes of Nevada Inc., Greystone Nevada Holdings LLC, Greystone Nevada LLC, Greywall Club L.L.C., HCC Investors LLC, HPS Development Co. LP, HPS Vertical Development Co. LLC, HPS Vertical Development Co.-B LP, HPS Vertical Development Co.-D/E LLC, HPS1 Block 1 LLC, HPS1 Block 48-1A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-1B LLC, HPS1 Block 48-2A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-2B LLC, HPS1 Block 48-3A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-3B LLC, HPS1 Block 50 LLC, HPS1 Block 51 LLC, HPS1 Block 52 LLC, HPS1 Block 53 LLC, HPS1 Block 54 LLC, HPS1 Block 55 LLC, HPS1 Block 56/57 LLC, HSP Arizona Inc., HTC Golf Club LLC, Hammocks Lennar LLC, Harbor Highlands Group LLC, Harveston LLC, Haverton L.L.C., Heathcote Commons LLC, Heritage Pkwy East Holdings LLC, Heritage of Auburn Hills L.L.C., Hewitts Landing Trustee LLC, Hingham Properties LLC, Huntley Venture L.L.C., Inactive Companies LLC, Independence L.L.C., Independence Orlando LLC, Isles at Bayshore Club LLC, KMC Real Estate Investors LLC, Kendall Hammocks Commercial LLC, Kentuckiana Medical Center LLC, Kingman Lennar LLC, LB/L Duc III Antioch 330 LLC, LCD Asante LLC, LCI Downtown Doral Investor LLC, LCI North DeKalb Investor GP LLC, LCI North DeKalb Investor LP LLC, LEN - Belle Meade LLC, LEN - OBS Windemere LLC, LEN - Palm Vista LLC, LEN BPT Investor LLC, LEN Mirada Investor LLC, LEN Notarize Investor LLC, LEN OT Holdings LLC, LEN Paradise Cable LLC, LEN Paradise Operating LLC, LEN-CG South LLC, LEN-Cypress Mill LLC, LEN-Ryan 1 LLC, LEN-Touchstone LLC, LENH I LLC, LENNAR HOMES OF TENNESSEE LLC, LFS Holding Company LLC, LH Eastwind LLC, LHI Renaissance LLC, LMC 10th & Acoma Holdings LP, LMC 144th and Grant Investor LLC, LMC 2401 Blake Street Holdings LLC, LMC 2401 Blake Street Investor LLC, LMC 360 Acoma Holdings LP, LMC 410 S Wabash Holdings LLC, LMC 808 Gateway Holdings LLC, LMC 808 Gateway Investor LLC, LMC 8th Avenue Apartment Investor LLC, LMC 990 Bannock Holdings LLC, LMC Axis Westminster Holdings LLC, LMC Axis Westminster Investor LLC, LMC Berry Hill Lofts Holdings LLC, LMC Berry Hill Lofts Investor LLC, LMC Block 42 Holdings LLC, LMC Build to Core III Investor LLC, LMC Build to Core III LLC, LMC Burnside Holdings LLC, LMC Burnside Investor LLC, LMC Chandler and McClintock Holdings LLC, LMC Charlestowne Holdings LLC, LMC Charlotte Ballpark Developer LLC, LMC Cityville Oak Park Holdings LLC, LMC Cityville Oak Park Investor LLC, LMC Cobalt Holdings LLC, LMC Costa Mesa Holdings LP, LMC Crest at Park West Holdings LP, LMC Denver Gateway I Investor LLC, LMC Denver Gateway II Holdings LLC, LMC Development LLC, LMC Downtown Doral South Holdings LLC, LMC Durham Gateway Holdings LP, LMC Evans School Holdings LLC, LMC Gateway Investor LLC, LMC Gateway Venture LLC, LMC Gilman Square Investor LLC, LMC Horton Street Holdings LLC, LMC Huntington Crossing Holdings LLC, LMC Inactive Companies LLC, LMC Lakeside Holdings LP, LMC Leya Holdings LLC, LMC Living Illinois LLC, LMC Living Inc., LMC Living LLC, LMC Living TRS LP, LMC Millenia Investor II LLC, LMC NE Minneapolis Lot 2 Holdings LLC, LMC New Bern Investor LLC, LMC North Park Holdings LP, LMC Parkfield Holdings LLC, LMC Parkfield Investor LLC, LMC Righters Ferry Holdings LLC, LMC River North Holdings LLC, LMC Spring Street Investor LLC, LMC Stonewall Station Investor LLC, LMC Triangle Square Investor LLC, LMC Venture Developer LLC, LMC Verbena Holdings LLC, LMC West Loop Investor LLC, LMCFX Investor LLC, LMCPNW Marymoor Holdings LLC, LMI - Jacksonville Investor LLC, LMI - South Kings Development Investor LLC, LMI - West Seattle Holdings LLC, LMI - West Seattle Investor LLC, LMI - West Seattle LLC, LMI Cell Tower Investors LLC, LMI City Walk Investor LLC, LMI Collegedale Investor LLC, LMI Collegedale LLC, LMI Contractors LLC, LMI Glencoe Dallas Investor LLC, LMI Lakes West Covina Investor LLC, LMI Largo Park Investor LLC, LMI Las Colinas Station LLC, LMI Naperville Investor LLC, LMI Pacific Tower LLC, LMI Park Central Two LLC, LMI Peachtree Corners Investor LLC, LMI Peachtree Corners LLC, LMI-JC Developer LLC, LMI-JC LLC, LMV 1640 Broadway REIT-DC LP, LMV 1701 Ballard REIT-DC LP, LMV 19H REIT-DC LP, LMV 2026 Madison REIT-DC LP, LMV 85 South Union REIT-DC LP, LMV ATown REIT-DC LP, LMV Annapolis REIT-DC LP, LMV Apache Terrace REIT-DC LP, LMV Block 42 REIT-DC LP, LMV Bloomington REIT-DC LP, LMV Bolingbrook REIT-DC LP (DE), LMV Central at McDowell REIT-DC LP, LMV East Village I REIT-DC LP, LMV Edina REIT-DC LP, LMV Fremont WS I REIT-DC LP, LMV Glisan REIT-DC LP, LMV Grand Bay REIT-DC LP, LMV II Grand Bay Pod V Holdings LP, LMV II Kierland Holdings LP, LMV II NoMo Holdings LP, LMV II Venture Developer LLC, LMV II Wynwood Holdings LP, LMV Kirkland REIT-DC LP, LMV Little Italy REIT-DC LP, LMV M Tower REIT-DC LP, LMV Millenia II REIT-DC LP, LMV Milpitas REIT-DC LP, LMV NE Minneapolis REIT-DC LP, LMV Oak Park REIT-DC LP, LMV One20Fourth REIT-DC LP, LMV QR Build to Core Manager LLC, LMV Rio Bravo REIT-DC LP, LMV Scottsdale Quarter REIT-DC LP, LMV Tysons REIT-DC LP, LMV Vallagio III REIT-DC LP, LMV Victory Block G REIT-DC LP, LMV Warren Street REIT-DC LP, LNC Communities II LLC, LNC Communities IV LLC, LNC Communities V LLC, LNC Communities VI LLC, LNC Communities VII LLC, LNC Communities VIII LLC, LNC Pennsylvania Realty Inc., LNC at Meadowbrook LLC, LNC at Ravenna LLC, LS College Park LLC, LS Terracina LLC, LV Opendoor Investor LLC, LV Opendoor JV LLC, LW D'Andrea LLC, Lagoon Valley Residential LLC, Lakelands at Easton L.L.C., Legends Club LLC, Legends Golf Club LLC, Len - Little Harbor LLC, Len FW Investor LLC, Len Paradise LLC, Len-Angeline LLC, Len-Hawks Point LLC, Len-Land LLC, Len-Land West LLC, Len-MN LLC, Len-Verandahs LLP, LenCom LLC, LenFive LLC, LenFive Opco GP LLC, LenFive Sub III LLC, LenFive Sub LLC, LenFive Sub Opco GP LLC, Lenalto CMBS LLC, Lencraft LLC, Lennar Aircraft I LLC, Lennar Arizona Construction Inc., Lennar Arizona Inc., Lennar Associates Management Holding Company, Lennar Associates Management LLC, Lennar Avenue One LLC, Lennar Berkeley LLC, Lennar Bevard LLC, Lennar Bridges LLC, Lennar Buffington Colorado Crossing L.P., Lennar Buffington Zachary Scott L.P., Lennar Carolinas LLC, Lennar Central Park LLC, Lennar Central Region Sweep Inc., Lennar Chicago Inc., Lennar Cobra LLC, Lennar Colgate Urban Renewal Development LLC, Lennar Colorado LLC, Lennar Colorado Minerals LLC, Lennar Commercial LLC, Lennar Communities Development Inc., Lennar Communities Inc., Lennar Communities Nevada LLC, Lennar Communities of Chicago L.L.C., Lennar Concord LLC, Lennar Construction Inc., Lennar Cory Road LLC, Lennar Courts LLC, Lennar Developers Inc., Lennar Ewing LLC, Lennar Financial Services LLC, Lennar Flamingo LLC, Lennar Fresno Inc., Lennar Gardens LLC, Lennar Georgia Inc., Lennar Greer Ranch Venture LLC, Lennar Heritage Fields LLC, Lennar Hingham Holdings LLC, Lennar Hingham JV LLC, Lennar Homes Holding LLC, Lennar Homes LLC, Lennar Homes NJ LLC, Lennar Homes of Arizona Inc., Lennar Homes of California Inc., Lennar Homes of Indiana Inc., Lennar Homes of Texas Land and Construction Ltd., Lennar Homes of Texas Sales and Marketing Ltd., Lennar Homes of Utah Inc., Lennar International Holding LLC, Lennar International LLC, Lennar Lakeside Investor LLC, Lennar Layton LLC, Lennar Living LLC, Lennar Lytle LLC, Lennar MF Holdings LLC, Lennar MPA LLC, Lennar MPA WIP LLC, Lennar Mare Island LLC, Lennar Marina A Funding LLC, Lennar Massachusetts Properties Inc., Lennar Middletown LLC, Lennar Monmouth Redevelopers LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP Subsidiary LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP Victory Block G Mezz LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II GP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II GP Subsidiary LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II LP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II Manager LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture LP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture Manager LLC, Lennar Multifamily Builders LLC, Lennar Multifamily Communities LLC, Lennar Multifamily Venture DC LP, Lennar New Jersey Holdings LLC, Lennar New Jersey Properties Inc., Lennar New York LLC, Lennar Northeast Properties LLC, Lennar Northwest Inc., Lennar OHB LLC, Lennar PI Acquisition LLC, Lennar PI Property Acquisition LLC, Lennar PIS Management Company LLC, Lennar Pacific Inc., Lennar Pacific Properties Inc., Lennar Pacific Properties Management Inc., Lennar Plumsted Urban Renewal LLC, Lennar Point LLC, Lennar QR Build to Core GP LLC, Lennar QR Build to Core LP LLC, Lennar Realty Inc., Lennar Reno LLC, Lennar Riverwalk LLC, Lennar Sacramento Inc., Lennar Sales Corp., Lennar Sierra Sunrise LLC, Lennar Spencer's Crossing LLC, Lennar Sun Ridge LLC, Lennar Texas Holding LLC, Lennar Ventures LLC, Lennar West Valley LLC, Lennar Winncrest LLC, Lennar at Franklin LLC, Lennar at Jackson LLC, Lennar at Marlboro 79 LLC, Lennar at Monroe LLC, Lennar.com Inc., Longleaf Acquisition LLC, Lori Gardens Associates II LLC, Lori Gardens Associates III LLC, Lori Gardens Associates L.L.C., Lorton Station LLC, Lyons Lennar Farms LLC, Madrona Ridge L.L.C., Madrona Village L.L.C., Madrona Village Mews L.L.C., Majestic Woods LLC, Maple and Broadway Holdings LLC, Menifee Development LLC, Mid-County Utilities Inc., Miralago West Lennar LLC, Mission Viejo 12S Venture LP, Mission Viejo Holdings Inc., Motomic Diagnostics LLC, Multibank 2009-1 CML-ADC Venture LLC, Multibank 2009-1 RES-ADC Venture LLC, NC Properties I LLC, NC Properties II LLC, North American Asset Development LLC, Northbridge L.L.C., OHC/Ascot Belle Meade LLC, One SR L.P., PD-Len Boca Raton LLC, PG Properties Holding LLC, POMAC LLC, PT Metro LLC, Pace Drive Holdings LLC, Palm Gardens At Doral Clubhouse LLC, Palm Gardens at Doral LLC, Palm Springs Classic LLC, Palm Vista Preserve LLC, Patuxent Infrastructure Inc., Pioneer Meadows Development LLC, Pioneer Meadows Investments LLC, Plaza Condominium Ventures LLC, Portside Marina Developers L.L.C., Portside SM Associates L.L.C., Portside SM Holdings L.L.C., Portside Shipyard Developers L.L.C., Prestonfield L.L.C., Quail Roost Lennar LLC, RCCF GP II LLC, RCCF GP III LLC, RCCF GP IV LLC, RCCF GP LLC, RES-FL EIGHT LLC, RES-FL SEVEN LLC, RES-FL VISION ONE LLC, RES-FL VISION TWO LLC, RES-GA CASCADE LLC, RES-GA DIAMOND MEADOWS LLC, RES-GA KAP LLC, RES-GA SOUTHERN PLANTATION LLC, RES-GA THIRTEEN LLC, RES-GA TWELVE LLC, RES-GA WEST LLC, RES-IL ONE LLC, RES-NC ONE LLC, RES-PA LSJ LLC, RES-PA POM LLC, RES-TX BOULEVARD LLC, RH Insurance Company Inc., RH MOA BBCMS 2017-C1 LLC, RH MOA CF 2017-C8 LLC, RH MOA LLC, RH MOA U 2017-C4 LLC, RH MOA U 2017-C6 LLC, RIAL 2014-LT5 CLASS B LLC, RIAL 2014-LT5 LLC, RL BB FINANCIAL LLC, RL BB INACTIVE LLC, RL BB-AL LLC, RL BB-FL ALHI LLC, RL BB-GA LLC, RL BB-GA RMH LLC, RL BB-IL LLC, RL BB-IN AA LLC, RL BB-IN KRE LLC, RL BB-IN KRE OP LLC, RL BB-IN KRE RE LLC, RL BB-MS LLC, RL BB-NC LLC, RL BB-OH LLC, RL BB-SC BROOKSA LLC, RL BB-SC CLR II LLC, RL BB-SC CLR III LLC, RL BB-SC CLR IV LLC, RL BB-SC CLR LLC, RL BB-SC CRRC LLC, RL BB-SC RACEDAY LLC, RL BB-TN BRISTOL LLC, RL BB-TN LLC, RL BB-TN RACEDAY TOWER LLC, RL BB-TX LLC, RL BB-WV LLC, RL CMBS Holdings LLC, RL CML 2009-1 Investments LLC, RL REGI ARKANSAS LLC, RL REGI Alabama LLC, RL REGI FINANCIAL LLC, RL REGI Florida LLC, RL REGI GEORGIA LLC, RL REGI INACTIVE LLC, RL REGI KANSAS LLC, RL REGI MISSISSIPPI LLC, RL REGI MISSOURI LLC, RL REGI NORTH CAROLINA LLC, RL REGI SOUTH CAROLINA LLC, RL REGI TENNESSEE LLC, RL REGI VIRGINIA LLC, RL REGI-AL HP LLC, RL REGI-AL VRC LLC, RL REGI-FL CRC LLC, RL REGI-FL ESH LLC, RL REGI-FL FT. PIERCE LLC, RL REGI-FL GDL LLC, RL REGI-FL ITALIA LLC, RL REGI-FL MRED LLC, RL REGI-FL RDI LLC, RL REGI-FL SARASOTA LLC, RL REGI-FL TPL LLC, RL REGI-FL VARC LLC, RL REGI-GA DRAD LLC, RL REGI-GA HAY DB LLC, RL REGI-GA MHU LLC, RL REGI-GA MPD LLC, RL REGI-GA RLR LLC, RL REGI-MO GMB LLC, RL REGI-MO MOSCOW MILLS LLC, RL REGI-MS Double H LLC, RL REGI-MS OCEAN SPRINGS LLC, RL REGI-NC CIL LLC, RL REGI-NC LITTLE WING LLC, RL REGI-NC MLD LLC, RL REGI-NC Mland LLC, RL REGI-NC RALEIGH LLC, RL REGI-NC SUGARM LLC, RL REGI-NM LLC, RL REGI-SC CTL LLC, RL REGI-SC LAKE E LLC, RL REGI-SC TDG LLC, RL REGI-SC TIG LLC, RL REGI-TN OAK LLC, RL REGI-TN SEVIERVILLE LLC, RL RES 2009-1 Investments LLC, RMF Alliance LLC, RMF Commercial LLC, RMF PR New York LLC, RMF Partner LLC, RMF SUB 1 LLC, RMF SUB 2 LLC, RMF SUB 3 LLC, RMF SUB 4 LLC, RMF SUB 5 LLC, RMV LLC, Raintree Village II L.L.C., Raintree Village L.L.C., Ral-Len BM LLC, Ral-Len LLC, Rannel Capital WeWork Series D LLC, Rannel Holdings LLC, Rannel Interests LLC, Rannel Investments LLC, Rannel Mortgage Investments LLC, Rannel Proprietary Investments LLC, Renaissance Joint Venture, Reserve @ Pleasant Grove II LLC, Reserve @ Pleasant Grove LLC, Reserve at River Park LLC, Reserve at South Harrison LLC, Rialto Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC, Rialto Credit Partnership GP LLC, Rialto Mezz Partners GP LLC, Rialto Mortgage Finance LLC, Rialto Partners GP II LLC, Rialto Partners GP III - Debt LLC, Rialto Partners GP III - Property LLC, Rialto Partners GP LLC, Rialto RSSF GP LLC, Riverwalk at Lago Mar LLC, Rocking Horse Minerals LLC, Rutenberg Homes Inc. (Florida), Rutenberg Homes of Texas Inc., Rye Hill Company LLC, Ryland Homes Nevada Holdings LLC, Ryland Homes Nevada LLC, Ryland Homes of California Inc., S. Florida Construction II LLC, S. Florida Construction III LLC, S. Florida Construction LLC, SC 521 Indian Land Reserve LLC, SC 521 Indian Land Reserve South LLC, SPIC CPCO Inc., SPIC CPDB Inc., SPIC CPRB Inc., SPIC Del Sur LLC, SPIC Dublin LLC, SPIC Mesa LLC, SPIC NC Fremont LLC, SPIC Otay LLC, SPIC Springs LLC, San Felipe Indemnity Co. Ltd., San Lucia LLC, San Simeon Lennar LLC, Schulz Ranch Developers LLC, Seminole/70th LLC, Siena at Old Orchard L.L.C., Sierra Vista Communities LLC, Silver Springs Lennar LLC, South Development LLC, Southbank Holding LLC, Spanish Springs Development LLC, St. Charles Active Adult Community LLC, St. Charles Community LLC, Standard Pacific 1 Inc., Standard Pacific Investment Corp., Standard Pacific of Colorado Inc., Standard Pacific of Florida, Standard Pacific of Florida GP Inc., Standard Pacific of Las Vegas Inc., Standard Pacific of Orange County Inc., Standard Pacific of Tampa GP, Standard Pacific of Tampa GP Inc., Standard Pacific of Tonner Hills LLC, Standard Pacific of Walnut Hills Inc., Standard Pacific of the Carolinas LLC, Stoney Holdings LLC, Storey Lake Club LLC, Storey Park Club LLC, Strategic Holdings Inc., Strategic Technologies LLC, Summerfield Venture L.L.C., SunStreet Energy Group LLC, SunStreet Manager LLC, TCO QVI LLC, TICD Hold Co. LLC, TIH Hold Co. LLC, Talega Associates LLC, Temecula Valley LLC, Terra Division LLC, Terra/Winding Creek LLC, The Baywinds Land Trust, The Bridges Club at Rancho Santa Fe Inc., The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe Sales Company Inc., The LNC Northeast Group Inc., The Oasis Club at LEN-CG South LLC, The Preserve at Coconut Creek LLC, The Vistas Club at LEN-CG South LLC, Titlezoom Company, Treasure Island Holdings LLC, Treasure Island Member LLC, Treviso Holding LLC, Two Lakes Lennar LLC, U.S. Home Corporation, U.S. Home Realty Inc., U.S. Home of Arizona Construction Co., U.S. Insurors Inc., U.S.H. Realty Inc., UAMC Holding Company LLC, UB 2018C14 MOA LLC, USH - Flag LLC, USH Equity Corporation, USH LEE LLC, USH Leasing II LLC, USH Leasing LLC, UST Lennar HW Scala SF Joint Venture, VII Crown Farm Investor LLC, Venetian Lennar LLC, Vineyard Land LLC, Vineyard Point 2009 LLC, Vista Palms Clubhouse LLC, WCI Communities, WCI Communities Inc., WCI Communities LLC, WCI Towers Northeast USA Inc., WCI Westshore LLC, WCP LLC, WIP Lennar OHB LLC, Waterview at Hanover LLC, West Lake Village LLC, West Seattle Project X LLC, West Van Buren L.L.C., Westchase Inc., Westchase Ltd., Westfield Homes USA Inc., White Course Lennar LLC, Wild Plum JV LLC, Willowbrook Investors LLC, Winncrest Natomas LLC, Woodbridge Multifamily Developer I LLC, Wright Farm L.L.C., and YLRichards4Acres 2015 LLC. Medtronic Plc is a medical technology company, which engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of device-based medical therapies and services. It operates through the following segments: Cardiac and Vascular Group; Minimally Invasive Technologies Group; Restorative Therapies Group; and Diabetes Group. The Cardiac and Vascular Group segment consists of products for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiac rhythm disorders and cardiovascular disease. The Minimally Invasive Technologies Group segment focuses on respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, renal system, lungs, pelvic region, kidneys, and obesity diseases. The Restorative Therapies Group segment comprises of neurostimulation therapies and drug delivery systems for the treatment of chronic pain, as well as areas of the spine and brain, along with pelvic health and conditions of the ear, nose, and throat. The Diabetes Group segment offers insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitoring systems, and insulin pump consumables. The company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Newmont: AC40689 Limited, Administradora de Negocios Mineros S.A. de C.V., Australian Capital Territory, Battle Mountain Resources Inc., Cayman Pampas Ltd., Con Exploration Ltd., Datawave Sciences Inc., Dawn Mining Company LLC, ELLC Grazing Membership LLC, EMH (BVI) Inc., Elko Land and Livestock Company, Empresa Minera Maria SRL, Fronteer Development (USA) LLC, Fronteer Development LLC, Fronteer Royalty LLC, GCGC LLC, GMK Investments Pty Ltd, Galore Creek Mining Corporation, Galore Creek Partnership, Glamis Rand Mining Company, Gold S.p.A., Goldcorp (Barbados) Inc., Goldcorp America Holdings Inc., Goldcorp Aureus Inc., Goldcorp Aurum Argentum Inc., Goldcorp Canada Ltd., Goldcorp Capital Corporation, Goldcorp Exeter Ltd., Goldcorp Faja de Plata S.A. de C.V., Goldcorp General Holdings Ltd., Goldcorp Global Services Inc., Goldcorp Holdings Europe B.V., Goldcorp Holdings GmbH, Goldcorp Inc., Goldcorp Insurance Company Inc., Goldcorp Internacional S.A. de C.V., Goldcorp Kaminak Ltd., Goldcorp Latin America Finance Limited, Goldcorp MC Holding S.p.A., Goldcorp Penasquito S.A. de C.V., Goldcorp Porcupine Nominee Ltd., Goldcorp Red Lake Nominee Ltd., Goldcorp Stratum Inc., Goldcorp Tesoro Inc., Goldcorp Trading GmbH, Goldcorp USA Holdings Ltd., Goldcorp USA Inc., Goldcorp USA Services Inc., Goldfields Power Pty Ltd, Hemlo Gold Mines (Ghana) Limited, Holdco S.p.A., Honduras Holdings Ltd., Hospah Holdings Company, Idarado Mining Company, International Mineral Finance S.AR.L., MMC Acquisition Limited, Mexicana Resources Inc., Minera Alumbrera Ltd., Minera BMG, Minera Choluteca S.A. de C.V., Minera Faja de Plata S.A. de C.V., Minera Los Tapados S.A., Minera Newmont (Chile) Limitada, Minera Penasquito S.A. de C.V., Minera Yanacocha S.R.L., Miramar Gold Corporation, Miramar HBG Inc., Miramar Northern Mining Ltd., Montana Exploradora de Guatemala S.A. de C.V., Moydow Limited, Musto Explorations (Bermuda) Ltd., N.I. Limited, NP Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd, NVL (USA) Limited, NVL Haiti Limited S.A., NVL PNG Limited, NVL Solomon Islands Limited, Nevada Eagle Resources LLC, Nevada Gold Mines LLC, New Verde Mines LLC, Newmont (Guyana) Incorporated, Newmont AP Power Pty Ltd, Newmont Australia Investment Limited, Newmont Boddington Pty Ltd, Newmont Bolivia Limited, Newmont CC&V Mining Corporation, Newmont Canada Corporation, Newmont Canada Holdings ULC, Newmont Capital Limited, Newmont Capital Pty Ltd, Newmont Colombia S.A.S., Newmont Euronimba B.V., Newmont FH B.V., Newmont GTR LLC, Newmont Galore Creek Holdings Corporation, Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Newmont Gold Company, Newmont Gold Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Australia Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Boddington Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Exploration Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Integrated Services Inc., Newmont Goldcorp Red Lake Holdings Ltd., Newmont Goldcorp Services Pty Ltd, Newmont Goldcorp Tanami Pty Ltd, Newmont Golden Ridge Limited, Newmont Holdings ULC, Newmont Indonesia Investment Limited, Newmont Indonesia LLC, Newmont International Exploration Pty Ltd, Newmont International Group BV, Newmont International Services Limited, Newmont Investment Holdings LLC, Newmont Landco Pty Ltd, Newmont Latin America Limited, Newmont McCoy Cove Limited, Newmont Mineral Holdings B.V., Newmont Mines Limited, Newmont Mining Finance Pty Ltd, Newmont Mining Holdings Pty Ltd, Newmont NGL Holdings Pty Ltd, Newmont Nevada Energy Investment LLC, Newmont North America Exploration Limited, Newmont Nusa Tenggara Holdings B.V., Newmont Overseas Exploration Limited, Newmont Pacific Energy Pty Ltd, Newmont Peru Limited, Newmont Power Pty Ltd, Newmont Realty Company, Newmont Second Capital Corporation, Newmont Suriname LLC, Newmont Technologies Limited, Newmont USA Limited, Newmont Ventures Limited, Newmont Woodcutters Pty Ltd, Newmont Yandal Operations Pty Ltd, Newmont de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Normandy Company (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Normandy Overseas Holding Company Sdn Bhd, Nusa Tenggara Partnership B.V., Orcana Resources Inc., Oroplata S.A., PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, Pequop Exploration LLC, Peridot S.A., Pittston Nevada Gold Company Ltd., Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation, Red Lake Gold Mine Services Ltd., Resurrection Mining Company, Saddleback Investments Pty Ltd, San Juan Basin Holdings Company, Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation, Sermineros de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Sermineros de Mexico S.A. de C.V. <0.0010% Sermineros Zacatecas S.A. de C.V., Sociedad Contractual Minera El Morro, Suriname Gold Project CV, Takari Mining SAS, Talapoosa Mining Inc., The LeClair Consolidated Mines Company, The Matoa Gold Mining Company, US Mineral Company Inc., Vol Mines Limited, and West Pequop Project LLC. Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. This segment offers financial products and services through branches, automated teller machines, and mobile sales network. Its Wealth Management segment provides a suite of advice-based solutions and strategies to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, and institutional clients. The company's Insurance segment offers life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, annuities, and reinsurance advice and solutions; and creditor and business insurance services to individual, business, and group clients through its field sales force, advice centers, and online, as well as through independent insurance advisors and affinity relationships. Its Investor & Treasury Services segment provides asset, cash management, transaction banking, and treasury services to institutional clients; correspondent banking and trade finance services for financial institutions; and short-term funding and liquidity management services. The company's Capital Markets segment offers corporate and investment banking, as well as equity and debt origination, distribution, sale, and trading services for corporations, institutional investors, asset managers, governments, and central banks. Royal Bank of Canada has a strategic partnership with Royal College Of Physicians & Surgeons Of Canada to support the needs of Canada's medical specialists. The company was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Read More The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services Colombia S.A.S., Fisher Clinical Services GmbH, Fisher Clinical Services Inc., Fisher Clinical Services Japan K.K., Fisher Clinical Services Latin America S.R.L., Fisher Clinical Services Limited Liability Company, Fisher Clinical Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Clinical Services Peru S.R.L, Fisher Clinical Services Pte Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services U.K. Limited, Fisher Emergo B.V., Fisher Germany Holdings GmbH, Fisher Hamilton China Inc., Fisher Hamilton Mexico LLC, Fisher Holdings ApS, Fisher Internet Minority Holdings L.L.C., Fisher Laboratory Products Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Fisher Luxembourg Danish Holdings SARL, Fisher Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Maybridge Holdings Limited, Fisher Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific (Austria) GmbH, Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Fisher Scientific (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific (SEA) Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific A/S, Fisher Scientific AG, Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Limited, Fisher Scientific Biotech Line ApS, Fisher Scientific Brazil Inc., Fisher Scientific Central America Inc., Fisher Scientific Chile Inc., Fisher Scientific Colombia Inc., Fisher Scientific Company, Fisher Scientific Company L.L.C., Fisher Scientific Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Fisher Scientific Europe Holdings B.V., Fisher Scientific GTF AB, Fisher Scientific Germany Beteiligungs GmbH, Fisher Scientific GmbH, Fisher Scientific Holding Company LLC, Fisher Scientific Holding HK Limited, Fisher Scientific Holding U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd, Fisher Scientific Holdings (S) Pte Ltd, Fisher Scientific International LLC, Fisher Scientific Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Fisher Scientific Ireland Investments Unlimited, Fisher Scientific Ireland Limited, Fisher Scientific Japan Ltd., Fisher Scientific Jersey Island Limited, Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd, Fisher Scientific Latin America Inc., Fisher Scientific Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Fisher Scientific Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Scientific Mexico Inc., Fisher Scientific Middle East and Africa Inc., Fisher Scientific Norway AS, Fisher Scientific Operating Company, Fisher Scientific Oxoid Holdings Ltd., Fisher Scientific Oy, Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Fisher Scientific S.A.S., Fisher Scientific S.L., Fisher Scientific SPRL, Fisher Scientific The Hague I B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague II B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague III B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague IV B.V., Fisher Scientific The Hague V B.V., Fisher Scientific U.K. Limited, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company 2, Fisher Scientific UK Holding Company Limited, Fisher Scientific Unipessoal Lda., Fisher Scientific Venezuela Inc., Fisher Scientific Worldwide (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Holdings I C.V., Fisher Scientific Worldwide Inc., Fisher Scientific de Mexico S.A., Fisher Scientific of the Netherlands B.V., Fisher Scientific spol. S.r.o, Fisher Servicios Clinicos (Chile) LLC, Fisher Servicios Clinicos Chile Ltda, Fisher WWD Holding L.L.C., Fisher Worldwide Distribution SPV, Fisher Worldwide Gene Distribution SPV, Flux Instruments, Fuji Partnership, G & M Procter Limited, G V Instruments Limited, GV Instruments Canada Ltd., GV Instruments Inc, Gatan Inc, General Scientific Company Sdn Bhd (M), Genomed molekularbiologische und diagnostische Produkte GmbH, Gerhard Menzel B.V. & Co. KG, Gold Cattle Standard Testing Labs Inc., Golden West Indemnity Company Limited, Goring Kerr Detection Limited, Greenville Service Company Inc., HENO GmbH i.L., Hangar 215 Inc., Helmet Securities Limited, Henogen, HighChem, HyClone International Trade (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Hybaid Limited, I.Q. (BIO) Limited, IDnostics AG, ILS Laboratories Scandinavia AB, Inel Inc., Inel SAS, InnaPhase Inc., InnaPhase Limited, IntegenX, Intrinsic BioProbes Inc., Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc., Invitrogen (Shanghai) Investment Co. Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. De C.V., Laboratoire Service International - L.S.I, Laboratory Management Systems Inc., Laboratory Specialties Proprietary Ltd., LambTrack Limited, Laser Analytical Systems Inc., Liberty Lane Investment LLC, Liberty Lane Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Life Sciences International (Poland) SP z O.O, Life Sciences International Holdings BV, Life Sciences International LLC, Life Sciences International Limited, Life Technologies AS, Life Technologies Australia PTY Ltd., Life Technologies BPD AB, Life Technologies BPD UK Limited, Life Technologies Brasil Comercio e Industria de Produtos para Biotecnologia Ltda, Life Technologies Chile SpA, Life Technologies Clinical Services Lab Inc., Life Technologies Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Czech Republic s.r.o., Life Technologies DaAn Diagnostic (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Life Technologies Europe B.V., Life Technologies Finance Ltd., Life Technologies Finland Oy, Life Technologies GmbH, Life Technologies Holdings PTE Ltd., Life Technologies Inc., Life Technologies International B.V., Life Technologies Japan Ltd., Life Technologies Korea LLC, Life Technologies Limited, Life Technologies Magyarorszag Kft, Life Technologies New Zealand Ltd., Life Technologies Norway Investments US LLC, Life Technologies Polska Sp z.o.o., Life Technologies SA, Life Technologies SAS, Life Technologies s.r.o, Linkage Biosciences Inc., Linkage Biosciences S.a.r.l., Loftus Furnace Company, Lomb Scientific, Lomb Scientific (Aust) Pty Limited, MTI-GlobalStem, Marketbase International Limited, Matrix MicroScience Inc., Matrix MicroScience Ltd., Matrix Technologies Corporation Limited, Matrix Technologies LLC, Maybridge Chemical Company Limited, Maybridge Chemical Holdings Limited, Maybridge Limited, Medical Analysis Systems Inc., Medical Analysis Systems International Inc., Medical Diagnostics Systems Inc., Metavac LLC, Microgenics Corporation, Microgenics Diagnostics Pty Limited, Microgenics GmbH, Microm International GmbH, Microm Laborgerate S.L.U, Molecular BioProducts Inc., Molecular Probes Inc., Molecular Transfer Inc., NAPCO Inc., NERL Diagnostics LLC, NOVODIRECT GmbH Labor- und Industrie- Megerate, Nalge (Europe) Limited, Nalge Nunc International (Monterrey) LLC, Nalge Nunc International Corporation, Nanjing WeiKangLe Trading Industrial Co Ltd, NanoDrop Technologies LLC, National Scientific Company, Navaho Acquisition Corp., Neomarkers Inc., New FS Holdings Inc., NewcoGen PE LLC, Nihon Dynal K.K., Niton Asia Limited, NovaWave Technologies Inc., Nunc A/S, ONIX Systems Inc., OXOID CZ s.r.o., Odyssey Holdings Corporation, Odyssey Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 1 S.a r.l., Odyssey Luxembourg IP Holdings 2 S.a r.l., Odyssey Venture Corporation, Omega Data Systems, One Lambda Inc, Onix Holdings Limited, Orme Scientific Limited, Owl Separation Systems LLC, Oxoid (ELY) Limited, Oxoid 2000 Limited, Oxoid AS, Oxoid Australia Pty. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. De C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (NK) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) Austria Holding GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN) UK Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-I) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN-II) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (PN1) UK Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Panama) Dutch LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Praha) s.r.o., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) GmbH & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Real Estate 1) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Schweiz) AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Instruments Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Suzhou) Instruments Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific AL-1 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific AU II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific AU Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Aquasensors LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Australia Pty Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific B.V.B.A., Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (I) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific BHK (II) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics UAB, Thermo Fisher Scientific Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Biosciences Corp., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brahms LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Instrumentos de Processo Ltda., Thermo Fisher Scientific Brasil Servicos de Logistica Ltda, Thermo Fisher Scientific C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cayman Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chemicals Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific China (C-I) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China (S) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific China Holdings IV B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings Aps, Thermo Fisher Scientific Chromatography Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus I Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus II Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus III Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus IV C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Cyprus V C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Denmark Senior Holdings ApS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie 1 Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Erie Financing S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Europe GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC Finance C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific FLC LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSIR Financing S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific FSUKHCO Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Falcon Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Finance Company BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific GENEART GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Germany BV & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific HR Services Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) I, Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings (Cayman) II , Thermo Fisher Scientific Holdings Europe Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific IT Services GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific India Pvt Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Luxembourg) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Malta) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments (Sweden) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Investments Malta (Sweden Financing) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Invitrogen Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings I B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings II B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Japan Holdings III B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific K.K., Thermo Fisher Scientific Korea Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific LSI Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life CV GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Enterprises GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Financing Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings III C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings I C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life International Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments III S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments IV S.a.r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta Holding II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments Malta II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Investments US Financing II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life NL Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Netherlands Holding C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior GP Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings II C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Senior Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Switzerland Holdings GP LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Tech Korea Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Enterprise Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment I LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment II LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investment UK II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Investments Holding LP, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment I Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Israel Investment II Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Life Technologies Luxembourg Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Enterprise Holdings S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg German Holdings S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Life Technologies UK Holding S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings I S.a r.l, Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Sweden Holdings II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings I S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Luxembourg Venture Holdings II S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Malta Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Messtechnik GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Mexico City S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific Middle East Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific Milano Srl, Thermo Fisher Scientific NHK Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Holdings, Thermo Fisher Scientific New Zealand Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway Holdings AS, Thermo Fisher Scientific Norway US Investments LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Financing (Barbados) SRL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Odyssey Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Operating Company LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Oy, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 C.V, Thermo Fisher Scientific PN2 LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific PRB S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Panama I Cayman Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific Peru S.R.L., Thermo Fisher Scientific Pte. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific SL, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Financing LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Senior Holdings Australia LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific South Africa Proprietary Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific SpA, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg I S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Holdings Luxembourg II S.a r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific Spectra-Physics Investments Malta Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Switzerland Holdings C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific TR Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific Taiwan Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific West Palm Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific Wissenschaftliche Gerate GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Worldwide Investments (Cayman), Thermo Fisher Scientific eCommerce Solutions LLC , Thermo Fisher Senior Canada Holdings LLC, Thermo Foundation Inc., Thermo Gamma-Metrics Holdings Pty Ltd., Thermo Gamma-Metrics LLC, Thermo Gamma-Metrics Pty Ltd, Thermo Holding European Operations LLC, Thermo Hypersil Ltd, Thermo Hypersil-Keystone LLC, Thermo Informatics Asia Pacific Pty Ltd., Thermo Instrument Controls de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Thermo Kevex X-Ray LLC, Thermo Keytek LLC, Thermo LabSystems Inc., Thermo LabSystems S.A., Thermo Life Science International Trading (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Thermo Life Sciences AB, Thermo Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo MF Physics LLC, Thermo Measurement Ltd, Thermo Measuretech Canada Inc., Thermo Neslab LLC, Thermo Nicolet Limited, Thermo Onix Limited, Thermo Optek (Australia) Pty Ltd., Thermo Optek Limited, Thermo Optek S.A., Thermo Orion Inc., Thermo Portable Holdings LLC, Thermo Power Corporation, Thermo Process Instruments GP LLC, Thermo Process Instruments L.P., Thermo Projects Limited, Thermo Quest S.A., Thermo Radiometrie Limited, Thermo Ramsey Italia S.r.l., Thermo Ramsey LLC, Thermo Ramsey S.A., Thermo Re Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Pte Ltd., Thermo Scientific Microbiology Sdn Bhd, Thermo Scientific Portable Analytical Instruments Inc., Thermo Scientific Services Inc., Thermo Securities Corporation, Thermo Sentron Canada Inc., Thermo Sentron Limited, Thermo Shandon Inc., Thermo Shandon Limited, Thermo Suomi Holding B.V., Thermo TLH (UK) Limited, Thermo TLH L.P., Thermo Trace Pty Ltd., Thermo-Fisher Biochemical Product (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC. The following companies are subsidiares of Lithia Motors: 797 Valley Street LLC, Albany CJD Fiat, Baierl Auto Group, Baierl Auto Parts LLC, Baierl Automotive Corporation, Baierl Chevrolet Inc., Baierl Holding LLC, Broadway Ford, Buhler Ford Inc, Cadillac of Portland Lloyd Center LLC, Camp Automotive Inc., Carbone Auto Body LLC, Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat of Morgantown, Cranberry Automotive Inc., Crater Lake Ford Lincoln, Crater Lake Mazda, DCH (Oxnard) Inc., DCH Auto Group, DCH Bloomfield LLC, DCH CA LLC, DCH Calabasas-A LLC, DCH California Investments LLC, DCH California Motors Inc., DCH DMS NJ LLC, DCH Del Norte Inc., DCH Essex Inc., DCH Financial NJ LLC, DCH Freehold - V LLC, DCH Freehold LLC, DCH Holdings LLC, DCH Investments Inc. (New Jersey), DCH Investments Inc. (New York), DCH Korean Imports LLC, DCH Mamaroneck LLC, DCH Mission Valley LLC, DCH Monmouth LLC, DCH Montclair LLC, DCH Motors LLC, DCH NY Motors LLC, DCH Nanuet LLC, DCH North America Inc., DCH Oxnard 1521 Imports Inc., DCH Riverside-S Inc., DCH Simi Valley Inc., DCH Support Services LLC, DCH TL Holdings LLC, DCH TL NY Holdings LLC, DCH Temecula Imports LLC, DCH Temecula Motors LLC, DCH Thousand Oaks-F Inc., DCH Torrance Imports Inc., Dah Chong Hong CA Trading LLC, Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation, Daron Motors LLC, Day Auto Group, Downtown LA, Driveway Motors LLC, Elizabeth Collision LLC, Florida SS LLC, Ford Lincoln of Morgantown, Freehold Nissan LLC, Fuse Auto Sales LLC, Hamilton Honda, Hazleton Honda, Hutchins Eugene Nissan Inc., Hutchins Imported Motors Inc., Jaguar Landrover Mission Viejo, LA Motors Holding LLC, LAD Advertising Inc., LAD Carson-N LLC, LAD Mission Viejo-JLR Inc., LAD Mobu Inc., LAD-AU LLC, LAD-MB LLC, LAD-N LLC, LAD-P LLC, LAD-T LLC, LAD-V LLC, LBMP LLC, LFKF LLC, LGPAC Inc., LLL Sales Co LLC, LMBB LLC, LMBP LLC, LMOP LLC, LSTAR LLC, Lithia AcDM Inc., Lithia Aircraft Inc., Lithia Anchorage-C LLC, Lithia Anchorage-H LLC, Lithia Armory Garage LLC, Lithia Auction & Recon LLC, Lithia Auto Services Inc., Lithia Automotive Inc., Lithia BA Holding Inc., Lithia BNM Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Baierl-S LLC, Lithia Bryan Texas Inc., Lithia Buffalo-A LLC, Lithia CCTF Inc., Lithia CDH Inc., Lithia CIMR Inc., Lithia CJDO Inc., Lithia CJDSA Inc., Lithia CJDSF Inc., Lithia CM Inc., Lithia CO Inc., Lithia CSA Inc., Lithia Community Development Company Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-F Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-M Inc., Lithia DE Inc., Lithia DM Inc., Lithia DMID Inc., Lithia Des Moines-VW LLC, Lithia Dodge of Tri-Cities Inc., Lithia Eatontown-F LLC, Lithia FLCC LLC, Lithia FMF Inc., Lithia Financial Corporation (previously Lithia Leasing Inc. and Lithia Credit Inc.), Lithia Florida Holding Inc., Lithia Ford of Boise Inc., Lithia Fresno Inc., Lithia HDM Inc., Lithia HGF Inc., Lithia HMID Inc., Lithia HPI Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Hamilton-H LLC, Lithia Hazleton-H LLC, Lithia Idaho Falls-F Inc., Lithia Imports of Anchorage Inc., Lithia JEF Inc., Lithia Klamath Inc., Lithia Klamath-T Inc., Lithia LBGGF Inc., Lithia LHGF Inc., Lithia LSGF Inc., Lithia MBDM Inc., Lithia MMF Inc., Lithia MTLM Inc., Lithia McMurray-C LLC, Lithia Medford HON Inc., Lithia Middletown-L LLC, Lithia Monroeville-A LLC, Lithia Monroeville-C LLC, Lithia Monroeville-F LLC, Lithia Monroeville-V LLC, Lithia Moon-S LLC, Lithia Moon-V LLC, Lithia Morgantown-CJD LLC, Lithia Morgantown-F LLC, Lithia Morgantown-S LLC, Lithia Motors Support Services Inc., Lithia NA Inc., Lithia NC Inc., Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #1, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #3, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #4, Lithia NDM Inc., Lithia NF Inc., Lithia NSA Inc., Lithia Northeast Real Estate LLC, Lithia Orchard Park-H LLC, Lithia Paramus-M LLC, Lithia Pittsburgh-S LLC, Lithia Ramsey-B LLC, Lithia Ramsey-L LLC, Lithia Ramsey-M LLC, Lithia Ramsey-T LLC, Lithia Real Estate Inc., Lithia Reno Sub-HYUN Inc., Lithia Reno-CJ LLC, Lithia Reno-VW LLC, Lithia Rose-FT Inc., Lithia SOC Inc., Lithia SSP LLC, Lithia Salmir Inc., Lithia Sea P Inc., Lithia Seaside Inc., Lithia Spokane-B LLC, Lithia Spokane-S LLC, Lithia TA Inc., Lithia TO Inc., Lithia TR Inc., Lithia Uniontown-C LLC, Lithia VAuDM Inc., Lithia VF Inc., Lithia Wexford-H LLC, Lithia of Abilene Inc., Lithia of Anchorage Inc., Lithia of Bend #1 LLC, Lithia of Bend #2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 1 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 3 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 4 LLC, Lithia of Billings II LLC, Lithia of Billings Inc., Lithia of Casper LLC, Lithia of Clear Lake LLC, Lithia of Concord I Inc., Lithia of Concord II Inc., Lithia of Corpus Christi Inc., Lithia of Des Moines Inc., Lithia of Eureka Inc., Lithia of Fairbanks Inc., Lithia of Great Falls Inc., Lithia of Helena Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-A Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-BGMCC LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-F LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-V LLC, Lithia of Killeen LLC, Lithia of Lodi Inc., Lithia of Maui-H LLC, Lithia of Missoula II LLC, Lithia of Missoula III Inc., Lithia of Missoula Inc., Lithia of Pocatello Inc., Lithia of Portland I LLC, Lithia of Portland LLC, Lithia of Robstown LLC, Lithia of Roseburg Inc., Lithia of Santa Rosa Inc., Lithia of Seattle Inc., Lithia of South Central AK Inc., Lithia of Spokane II Inc., Lithia of Spokane Inc., Lithia of Stockton Inc., Lithia of Stockton-V Inc., Lithia of TF Inc., Lithia of Troy LLC, Lithia of Utica - 1 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 2 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 3 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 4 LLC, Lithia of Walnut Creek Inc., Lithia of Wasilla LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 1 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 2 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 3 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 4 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 5 LLC, Medford Insurance LLC, Milford DCH Inc., Northland Ford Inc., PA Real Estate LLC, PA Support Services LLC, Paramus Collision LLC, Paramus World Motors LLC, Personalized Marketing LLC, Prestige Auto Group, RFA Holdings LLC, Ray Laks Acura, Ray Laks Honda, Sacramento-L Inc., Salem-B LLC, Salem-H LLC, Salem-V LLC, Sharlene Realty LLC, Shift Portland LLC, Southern Cascades Finance Corporation, Subaru of Morgantown, Tampa-H LLC, Tustin Motors Inc., Wesley Chapel-H LLC, Wesley Chapel-T LLC, Zelienople Real Estate I L.P., and Zelienople Real Estate L.L.C.. 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. Telstra Corporation Limited provides telecommunications and information services to businesses, governments, and individuals in Australia and internationally. It operates in four segments: Telstra Consumer and Small Business, Telstra Enterprise, Networks and IT, and Telstra InfraCo. The company offers telecommunication products, services, and solutions across mobiles, fixed and mobile broadband, telephony and Pay TV/IPTV, and digital content; and online self-service capabilities, as well as operates inbound and outbound call centers, owned and licensed Telstra shops, and the Telstra dealership network. It also provides sales and contract management; and product management services for data and Internet protocol networks, mobility services, and network applications and services products, such as managed network, unified communications, cloud, industry solutions, and integrated services and monitoring. In addition, the company engages in the development of industry vertical solutions; planning, design, engineering architecture, and construction of Telstra networks, technology, and information technology solutions; and delivering network technologies. Further, it provides telecommunication products and services through its networks and related support systems to other carriers, carriage service providers, and Internet service providers; access to fixed network infrastructure assets; disconnection services; and network services under the Infrastructure Services Agreement and commercial contracts, as well as holds fixed network infrastructure, including data centers, non-mobiles related domestic fiber, copper, HFC cable, international subsea cables, exchanges, poles, ducts, and pipes. The company was formerly known as Australian and Overseas Telecommunications Corporation Limited and changed its name to Telstra Corporation Limited in April 1993. Telstra Corporation Limited was founded in 1901 and is based in Melbourne, Australia. Read More Zurich Insurance Group AG is a holding company. The Company and its subsidiaries provide insurance products and related services. Its segments include General Insurance, Global Life, Farmers, Other Operating Businesses and Non-Core Businesses. The General Insurance segment provides a range of motor, home and commercial products and services for individuals, as well as small and large businesses. The Global Life segment is engaged in providing unit-linked, protection and corporate propositions through global distribution and proposition pillars. The Farmers segment, through Farmers Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, provides certain non-claims administrative and management services to the Farmers Insurance Exchange, Fire Insurance Exchange, Truck Insurance Exchange, and their subsidiaries and affiliates. The Other Operating Businesses segment includes the Company's Holding and Financing activities. The Non-Core Businesses segment includes its insurance and reinsurance businesses. Read More Its always gratifying when one of your former students comes back and lets you know how things have been going. Such was the case, actually several years ago now, when my former pupil Sanders McMillan phoned me up to shoot the botanical breeze. Sanders had been working within a local environmental consulting firm and had been involved in several projects embracing what is known as wetland delineation. One of his projects involved a forested wetland site, not too far from here, on the south side of Columbia. At this study site, he made a rather impressive discovery. His photograph is that of an orchid, and it is wild, in more than one way. This species has a slender, upright stem bearing a number of smooth, strap-shaped leaves. Flowers are loosely arranged along the upper end of the flowering stalk. The flowers tend to be somewhat greenish, or even a bit yellowish or, in the case of Sanders plants, snowy white. As with all orchids, there are three sepals and three petals. The two uppermost petals are small and squatty, but the lowermost petal is modified into what botanists call a lip. In this case, the lip is quite distinctive, and it rather easily differentiates this species from its relatives. A safety concern caused an American Airlines flight from Mississippi to Washington, D.C., to take an unscheduled three-hour detour to Charlottesville on Monday morning. According to Charlottesville Albemarle Airport officials and flight-tracking websites, American Flight 5359 left from Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport at about 6 a.m. on its regular route to Reagan International Airport. The CRJ200 plane with 43 passengers was scheduled to land at about 9:30 a.m. but instead touched down about 10 minutes early at the Charlottesville Albemarle Airport. All 43 passengers and crew members were disembarked safely at the American Airlines gate, local airport officials said. According to Reagan International flight arrival information and flight-tracking websites, the flight left Charlottesville at 12:03 p.m. and landed at its original destination at 12:24 p.m. The reason the flight was diverted to Charlottesville was not announced. The Canadian-built aircraft is a regional jet commonly flown by airlines in the United States and the world for regional flights. It didnt use to happen. We can have the usual debate about guns but weve always had guns in this country, and we didnt always have spasms of random violence like this. Whats changed? Is it simply that guns are more powerful, more capable of killing more people at once? Or is it some sickness in our culture? Or both? In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, then-Gov. (and now U.S. Sen.) Tim Kaine did some extraordinary. He ordered a study of what happened and what could be done to prevent another such mass shooting. Kaine put together an all-star commission. Some people wondered whether the panel would really ask the hard questions. The 260-page report that the panel issued put those concerns to rest for most people. It was an exhaustive account that did not spare criticism. The panels report made 72 recommendations. How many of those were acted on? We dont know. Some were, but nobody really knows how many because 12 years later, theres never been any kind of formal check-up to find out. Photo: Contributed If you're planning a trip out of the country this summer it's a good idea to make sure your vaccinations are up to date. A new survey conducted by Insights West on behalf of London Drugs shows many British Columbians don't take the proper precautions when travelling overseas. The study shows 78 per cent of British Columbians believe travelling outside of Canada puts them at risk for a number of vaccine-preventable diseases. However, only 54 per cent of those who have previously travelled overseas say they take the necessary precautions and just 35 per cent are aware that the Government of Canada recommends that Canadians visit a travel clinic before travelling. London Drugs pharmacists are urging British Columbians to make sure they and their family members are up to date on all age-appropriate vaccinations particularly measles due to reported outbreaks locally and throughout North America. "The measles vaccine is the best way to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus. If you're planning an international trip, or if you are unsure of your immunization status, get vaccinated before travelling," says Lily Liang, a Travel Clinic Pharmacist at London Drugs. Many warmer climate countries are home to diseases that arent prevalent in Canada and some travel vaccines take time to kick in, meaning its best for people to inquire as early as possible about vaccines before departure. Travel Clinics are offered at select London Drugs locations and Certified Injection Pharmacists can administer common travel vaccinations such as hepatitis A and B, yellow fever, typhoid, and traveller's diarrhea as well other recommended vaccinations like rabies, Japanese encephalitis, meningitis, pneumonia, shingles, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, and rubella. Travel vaccinations can be administered by pharmacists and this can be a more convenient, time-saving option for British Columbians, says Liang. Photo: Street Level Pundit Canadas economy is among the fastest growing in the G7. The unemployment rate is at a 40-year historic low, real wages are rising at the fastest pace in nearly a decade, and more than a million jobs have been created since December 2015. Its the kind of economy that makes investors interested in Canada, and why we are ranked third globally in foreign direct investment confidence and have seen some of the highest levels of venture capital investments since the 1990s. Much of this good news can be attributed to the strength of our small business community and it is the reason our government remains committed to making it easier to do business in Canada. On Jan. 1, we lowered the small business tax rate to nine per cent, giving Canada one of the lowest small business tax rates in the world and saving small business owners to up to $7,500 a year. Last fall, we proposed three immediate changes to Canadas tax system that will make it easier for small business: allowing businesses to immediately write off the full cost of machinery and equipment used for the manufacturing and processing of goods allowing businesses to immediately write off the full cost of certain clean technology equipment and, through a new Accelerated Investment Initiative, allowing businesses across all sectors of the economy to write off a larger share of the cost of newly acquired assets in the year the investment is made. We also kept our promise to cut red tape and make regulations more effective: since 2015, our government has cut more than 450 federal rules that impose an administrative burden on business; and we are tackling regulatory irritants by harmonizing food regulations and inspections and facilitating greater trade of alcohol between provinces and territories. As we pursue an ambitious trade diversification agenda, we are also investing more than $1 billion to help Canadian businesses and entrepreneurs scale up and access the $1.5 billion new customers made available through the USMCA, CETA and the CPTPP. These trade agreements make Canada the only G7 country with a trade agreement with all G7 partners. And, because we know the full and equal participation of women in the economy is essential to Canada's future competitiveness and prosperity, our government created the $2-billion Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), with a goal of doubling the amount of women-owned businesses in Canada by 2025. Buoyed by economic confidence at home, Canadian small businesses are succeeding at being more productive, more innovative and more competitive providing important paths to prosperity for families in our communities. As an advocate for our local business community you have my assurance I will continue to work to alleviate the pressures that small business owners face. Our community would not be the vibrant innovative regional hub it is without the hard work and determination of our entrepreneurs and our government is committed to doing everything we can to clear the path to success. Photo: File Fear not, altruistic blood donors, the move away from smaller centres for collection does not mean less availability of blood in your communities. The director of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services for B.C. and Yukon confirmed the shift to larger clinics was strategic. "There was at one point a time when we did run clinics in places like Salmon Arm and even Armstrong up until about five years ago," said David Patterson. "Over the last few years we've really tried to migrate to larger clinics." Patterson said it's all about efficiency. "We're now in Vernon three days every four weeks and that allows two things: To be more productive and efficient because we're setting up the equipment and taking it down only once in three days, and it gives us access to a larger community," he said. Despite population growth, doctors are getting better at using blood products more effectively, Patterson added. "Every year for the past five years we've needed less and less blood," Patterson said. "What I want to be cautious of is people thinking 'you don't need me at your clinic,' and we would say absolutely 'we do.' What we've lowered is the number of clinics that we have but we need to get all of the blood that we need to get at all of those clinics." One of the things people often ask is if they don't give blood in their community, will it be there for them? "We get this query all of the time and we like to separate it into two views," Patterson said. "One is, we supply all of Canada with the exception of Quebec, all of the blood that's needed for hospitals regardless of where you live. Two, on the collection side, what we're trying to do is have fewer events that are bigger, that collect more units." Patterson said his organization has found tremendous altruism in many communities like Salmon Arm and Armstrong, where they used to hold regular clinics. Those wanting to physically donate blood can and still do in regional clinics. "If they line up their visit to Vernon, or they may be coming to Kelowna, and they may book an appointment to see us here. We still have donors in those communities that are still active. They're finding a way to come to us," Patterson said. If people are travelling they can go to blood.ca and find the clinic closest to them. Photo: Monique Tamminga Its our mothers, our sisters, aunts and friends. It can be the grocery store clerk you chat with, or the neighbour down the street. Domestic violence impacts every aspect of society, said South Okanagan Women In Need Society (SOWINS) executive director Debbie Scarborough. They are among us, they are us, Scarborough told the participants at the sixth annual Walk to End Abuse held at Rotary Park in Penticton on Sunday morning. For victims of abuse and violence, silence can be isolating, dangerous and even fatal, she added. The walk is a way to break the silence and stop the violence in our community. This is an important day for those walking the journey and living with abuse and for those who have survived abuse, she told the crowd of more than 100 people who came out, including the mayor, RCMP officers and community members. I often get asked what can I do? I say to all of you, take the pledge not to commit an act of violence and dont condone domestic violence. We would be a better community and better world if we all took that pledge, said Scarborough. More than $46,000 was raised with more money pouring in for support programs, services and transition and permanent housing that SOWINS offers to women and their children who are at risk of or are experiencing abuse. One volunteer described SOWINS as an agency of hope. I experienced abuse. I remember it being so bad I had to take my babies in the middle of the night to safety. Knowing there are organizations like SOWINS can be life-saving, said longtime volunteer Diane Fru. When Fru retired, she was looking to volunteer with an organization she could connect with and SOWINS spoke to her. I started by sewing eight-inch squares for Afghan quilts that we would give women staying in the transition housing, she said. It just went from there. Her husband Rod is on the SOWINS board and together they have volunteered and helped organize many fundraisers for the South Okanagan agency. This years walk had special meaning for the Frus. Their great-niece Stephanie Hopkins wrote a powerful song called Dont Give Up Hope that was played at the walk. Our grand-niece wrote this song about when she had dark times in her own life, said Rod Fru to the audience at the walk. There is a line in the song that says, you are not alone, said Diane. Thats a really strong message we need to send to women, because they arent alone, said Diane. Sadly, the amount of women staying at the Penticton transition home is evidence that domestic abuse is still prevalent in our community, she said. There are 17 moms, 14 children in the transition house. Thats very sad, she added. Two weeks ago, a new subsidized apartment building opened for SOWINS clients. The buildings location is not being disclosed to protect its residents, but it will provide space for up to 36 women and children fleeing violence. The new housing is designed to provide permanent homes, rather than the existing SOWINS transition house. Boston Pizza helped raise $14,000 for SOWINS since May. An anonymous donor contributed $10,000 to the BP campaign. More than 4,000 paper tulips lined the grass at the walk. Each paper flag/tulip represented a woman or her children who were helped by SOWINS this year. In 2019, SOWINS took 1,580 crisis calls, helped house 3,289 children and more than 1,500 women in beds, provided 416 counselling sessions and 165 different services. Sadly, 1,534 women and children could not be sheltered, according to SOWINS. Photo: The Canadian Press Edible marijuana samples are set aside for evaluation at Cannalysis, a cannabis testing laboratory, in Santa Ana, Calif. The Canadian market for next-generation cannabis products is worth an estimated $2.7 billion annually, with edibles contributing more than half, according to a new report from Deloitte. This spending once the final edible pot regulations roll out in the coming months is expected to be on top of the roughly $6-billion estimated domestic market for recreational and medical cannabis, the consultancy said Monday. Consumers are looking to snap up these new pot products in addition to the dried flower, oils, plants and seeds they have been buying from legal retailers since legalization last fall, a recent survey of 2,000 Canadians conducted by Deloitte suggests. The first wave of legalization last October was quite limited in terms of product range and the type of consumer, said Jennifer Lee, Deloitte Canada's cannabis national leader. "When we legalize in October again for edibles, we are in a world where the formats and the assortment is much broader," she said. "The use cases are much broader." Canada is gearing up to legalize cannabis-infused foods, beverages, topicals and other next-generation products in the coming months, once Ottawa rolls out the final regulations. Pot companies, as well as food and beverage makers, have been preparing to roll out their own pot-infused products which they anticipate will appeal to a broader audience particularly those who aren't interested in smoking weed. The federal government wrapped up its consultation on the draft edible rules in February, and has said the regulations must be brought into force no later than Oct. 17, 2019. Deloitte estimates that roughly $1.6 billion will be spent on edibles in Canada, followed by cannabis-infused beverages at $529 million and topicals at $174 million. Spending on concentrates is expected to hit $140 million, followed by tinctures at $116 million and capsules at $114 million. Roughly half of likely edible users surveyed by Deloitte say they plan to consume gummy bears, cookies, brownies or chocolate at least every three months. The global market for alternative cannabis products is expected to nearly double over the next five years, the consultancy added. Lee doesn't expect these new products to eat into revenues from existing categories in Canada, at least in the early days. "Over time, in the long term, you may," she said. "But right now, there's too much demand in the market and there's not enough product." Legal pot retailers, both government and privately owned, have been contending with a shortage of cannabis since legalization last October, but have said the situation has improved in recent months. For example, the Alberta government lifted its moratorium on new cannabis retail licences, citing an increase in the pot supply. Deloitte's market estimates for cannabis 2.0 products reflect overall Canadian consumer demand, but realizing the market's full potential too may take some time. Many of the new pot products may not be available, or available in sufficient quality, come October, Deloitte said. Companies should take a three- to five-year view on the market, said Lee. "The regulations will need time to settle, even after legalization in October," she said. While this presents a growth opportunity for companies readying themselves for the next wave of the green rush, it may come at the expense of sales in more established industries. "Our research is showing that the occasions that consumers use the product, i.e. mostly edibles, overlap a lot with alcohol ... On a limited wallet, there are going to be tradeoffs," Lee said. As well, consumers view topical cannabis products such as lotions used for ailments such as pain as a potential replacement for other medicinal products, Deloitte's survey showed. "This could be cause for concern for the traditional pharmaceutical sector, as 45 per cent of current consumers and 48 per cent of likely consumers say they see cannabis topicals as an alternative to prescription medications, not a complement," Deloitte said in the report. Deloitte surveyed 2,000 adult Canadians online between Feb. 26 and March 11. Photo: The Canadian Press Canadian Army personnel ride through town after its capture from the Germans during the Second World War in Falaise, France, on August 17,1944. D-Day: the letter stands for nothing, but the term itself represents a great deal more. It conjures indelible images of landing craft speeding towards the beaches of Normandy. Of ramps lowering and soldiers being mowed down by withering German machine-gun fire. Of troops pressing forward in the face of certain death and driving the Nazis from the beaches. Of freedom and democracy prevailing eventually over tyranny and evil. Millions of Canadians will stop on June 6 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of that pivotal event, which saw Canada stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the U.S. and Britain in smashing through Hitler's supposedly impregnable Atlantic Wall on the coast of France, marking the beginning of the end of the Second World War. Yet as dramatic and harrowing as D-Day was for the 14,000 Canadian soldiers who eventually landed on Juno Beach that day, and the thousands more sailors and airmen supporting them, it was only the beginning. Over the next three months, the Canadians would score victories but also suffer defeats some of which would tarnish Canada's reputation for decades. Indeed, the Canadians would be criticized during the war and after for being slow, poorly trained and inept in the days and weeks immediately after D-Day particularly for their role in a key operation known as the Falaise Gap. Only in recent years have historians started to question that view, saying such assessments are inaccurate and paint over the very real challenges that the Canadians faced in Normandy. "There's a lot of complaints about the Canadians in Normandy as the campaign goes on that we're not aggressive enough, that we aren't all that good, that closing the Falaise Gap is our failure," says former Canadian War Museum head Jack Granatstein. "I think you can make a case for that. But you can also point fingers at the British and the Americans too. The reality is we were fighting a first-class army and the Germans were very, very good.... Everybody knew it was going to be a bugger of a fight." D-Day has come to be seen as a triumph for Canadian troops, who were able to push farther inland on June 6, 1944, than any other Allied force. The next four days, however, were arguably just as important as the Germans tried to prevent the allies from establishing a foothold on the European mainland by pushing them back into the sea. It was here that the Canadians, along with their British comrades, faced their first round of criticism. Specifically, the feeling at the time and for years afterward was that the Anglo-Canadians were slow and inept, as evidenced by their failure to quickly capture several key objectives such as the city of Caen and the airfield at Capriquet. Those same criticisms resurfaced in relation to the Falaise Gap, where the Canadians struggled in August 1944 to cut off the retreat of two German armies that were being encircled by the allies. The gap would eventually be closed, leading to the capture of 50,000 German soldiers, but tens of thousands of others managed to escape to fight again. "It is not difficult to put one's finger upon occasions in the Normandy campaign when Canadian formations failed to make the most of their opportunities," Canada's official Second World War historian C.P. Stacey wrote in 1960, in what would be an oft-cited and repeated view of the Canadian effort in Normandy, which cost 5,000 Canadian lives and left 13,000 wounded or missing. "In particular, the capture of Falaise was long delayed and it was necessary to mount not one but two set-piece operations for the purpose at a time when an early closing of the Falaise Gap would have inflicted most grievous harm upon the enemy and might even, conceivably, have enabled us to end the war some months sooner than was actually the case." However, the past 15 years or so have seen historians such as Marc Milner of the University of New Brunswick's Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society take a second look at such assessments, part of a growing consensus that such criticisms of the Canadian performance during the 77-day Normandy campaign are off the mark. Milner has argued that the primary task for Canadian soldiers in the days immediately after June 6 was not to capture huge swaths of territory, but to blunt the inevitable tank-driven counterattacks the Germans would inevitably launch following the D-Day landings. As evidence, he notes the Canadians had nearly twice as much artillery and heavy guns than any other unit. "It's only the panzers that can stop the D-Day landings," says Milner, whose 2014 book "Stopping the Panzers" was based on his extensive research. "So the expectation is the Germans will launch a massive panzer and mechanized (attack) on the flat ground north and west of Caen. And we're the people who stop the panzers from destroying the D-Day operation." Milner's assessment has gained acceptance among other Canadian historians, who have also started to question the long-held view Canadian troops were poorly trained and led in Normandy. There has also been pushback on the notion that the Canadians somehow failed the Allied cause when they were slow in closing the Falaise Gap two months later, with historians arguing that past assessments did not take into account various factors such as the German's skill and experience. "They're slow because they're fighting through very difficult terrain and against a very determined enemy," says Canadian War Museum historian Tim Cook, adding the Canadians had been fighting non-stop for weeks by that point. "(The Canadians) are constantly fighting and they're short of fuel and they're short of men and they've been fighting hard. ... I think of the words of one of the Canadians who was there who said: 'It wasn't slow for us.'" Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment. The French government, Renaults biggest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake, also declined to comment. Paris: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is discussing a Renault special dividend and stronger job guarantees in a bid to persuade the French government to back its proposed merger between the carmakers, sources close to the discussions said. The improved offer, if formalised and accepted, would also see the combined companys operations headquartered in France and the French state granted a seat on its board, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. FCA spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment. The French government, Renaults biggest shareholder with a 15 per cent stake, also declined to comment. A Renault spokesman did not return calls and messages seeking comment. Italian-American FCA is engaged in intensive discussions with Renault and the French government over the USD 35 billion merger proposal it pitched last Monday to create the worlds third-biggest carmaker. The concessions being discussed are not definitive and depend on other aspects of an emerging compromise deal, both sources cautioned. They nonetheless increase the chances that the merger plan will be approved by Renaults board, on which the French state has two seats. The board meets again on Tuesday. Some analysts and French industry leaders had voiced doubts about the 5 billion euros (USD 5.6 billion) in claimed cost and investment savings, and whether the proposal represents a fair deal for Renault shareholders. A Renault dividend would improve the valuation in their favour, balancing a 2.5 billion euro proposed dividend to FCA shareholders. The sources did not elaborate on the potential size of a Renault payout. The merger plan presented on Monday would see the two carmakers acquired by a listed Dutch holding company whose ownership would be split equally between current FCA and Renault shareholders, after special dividend payments. FCA had proposed locating the combined groups operational head office in a neutral city, most likely London, but has now indicated readiness to base it in the greater Paris area, meeting a key French government demand, both sources said. The French government is also likely to be granted a seat on the board to reflect its 7.5 per cent stake in the merged company, the people said. Nissan, whose matching 15 per cent stake in its French alliance partner will also be diluted to 7.5 per cent of the new group, receives a board seat under the plan unveiled on May 27. Guarantees to maintain Renaults French blue-collar jobs and industrial sites would also be extended to four years from the two initially proposed under the compromise being discussed, the sources added. Both Frances pro-business government and Italys populist administration back the merger in principle but fraught relations between the two could yet derail the deal if one side feels disadvantaged. Sales at Honda Cars India were also down 27.87 per cent to 11,442 units in May, down from 15,864 units. PUNE: Passenger vehicle sales would continue to decline for top carmakers, with potential buyers shying away from showrooms due to increased cost of finance and total ownership. While auto majors have reported a dip in May sales, Hitesh Goel, Senior Auto Analyst at Kotak Insti-tutional Research, attributed this to inventory corrections, and said the actual picture would be clear when the Society of Indian Automobile Manu-facturers, the trade body, releases aggregate May sales data later this month. The Federation of Auto-mobile Dealers Association or FADA, the apex body of the lobby, said the inventory levels have come down, but are still high by its estimate. "The gap (in the sales fall percentage) between retail and wholesale volumes ind-icate high levels of inventory in the industry," Ashish Kale, President at FADA, told Financial Chronicle. He said companies were now maintaining inventory of 40-50 days. Due to corrections in production effected by them in the last few weeks, the inventory has come down from 50-90 days. Kale said FADA is advocating for a leaner dealer inventory of 21 days (15 days inventory + 7 days of in-transit inventory) for its members. "This will help us reduce a huge cost burden and allow us to stay afloat in these challenging times," he pointed out. FADA claimed that there has been an unusual rise in dealership closures in recent times, especially in metros and Tier 1 cities, a substantial number of which were due to financial stress caused by accumulated losses and reduced access to working capital. Maruti Suzuki, the barometer of the country's passenger vehicle industry, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Honda Cars, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and Tata Motors reported negative sales in May, ringing alarm bells for a tough year ahead for the industry. Automakers curtailed dispatches to dealers amid slowing sales and piling up inventory stocks. Sales at Maruti Suzuki, which sells one car out of two bought, fell sharply 25.1 per cent in MAy. At Tata Motors sales the fall was 38 per cent, at Honda Cars, 28 per cent, at Toyota 7 per cent, at Hyundai Motor 5.6 per cent and at Mahindra 1 per cent. The automakers in the country count dispatches from factory gates to dealerships as sales. Due to fear of inventory building up from weak market sentiments, they cut down on dispatches. In May, Maruti Suzuki delivered 1,21,018 cars, down from 1,61,497 units dispatched in the same month last year. This was the third monthly decline. Sales at Hyundai Motor India fell 5.6 per cent to 42,502 units from, down from 45,008 units. Sales at M&M, India's second biggest utility vehicle maker, also fell 1 per cent at 20,608 units, down from 20,715 units it sold last year. "While consumer sentiment and demand continued to be subdued during the pre-election phase, our focus has been on correcting the channel inventory," Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector at M&M, said. Sales at Tata Motors, which had a good run for some time, too were hit hard. It sold 10,900 units, down from 17,489 units it sold last year. "In view of higher vehicle stocks in network, our strategy was to focus on retails," said Mayank Pareek, President, Passen-ger Vehicles, Tata Motors. He hopes that the industry will start improving gradually. Sales at Honda Cars India were also down 27.87 per cent to 11,442 units in May, down from 15,864 units. "The market continues to be tough for the auto industry with two consecutive months of such a high de-growth. It is unprecedented in the last two decades. After elections, we were expecting an upswing which has not yet come," said Rajesh Goel, Senior VP and Director, Sales & Marketing at Honda Cars India. Sales at Toyota Kirloskar Motor also fell 7.43 per cent at 12,138 units, from 13,113. "Customer demand had witnessed a continued slowdown before the election results," said N Raja, Deputy MD at Toyota Kirloskar Motor. He said other factors like liquidity tightening, high insurance costs, and rise in fuel costs have also weakened the retails. "However, with the formation of a stable government now at the Centre, there is an increase in customer walk-ins after the election results announcement," he said. When asked about the modus operandi of the probe, the source said, "The SFIO is also collecting details about all borrowings by IFIN from several banks as well as through market instruments. Besides, we are probing the exact role of officials of banks and the credit rating agencies involved in it as well." New Delhi: As the probe of IL&FS fraud, committed likely by its in-house top honchos, is taking an aggressive turn, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs-led investigating agency Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) is mulling interim attachment of all movable and immovable assets of auditors, independent directors and other top officials. Besides, their lockers, bank accounts and jointly held properties are also under the SFIO scanner. A source in the Corporate Affairs Ministry said, "The prosecution of former executive and independent directors of IL&FS Financial Services Ltd (IFIN) among others is showing the way how the fraud took shape where several defaults involved in a total estimated amount of over Rs 94,000 crore went unnoticed by the infrastructure giant." "We are also looking to seek interim attachment of all movable and immovable assets of all those officials, including auditors, independent directors and other top officials in the scam. Also, their running bank accounts, lockers and jointly held properties are under the agency's lens," the source said. The SFIO's first charge-sheet came on IFIN, the first subsidiary of IL&FS, which is proved to be a gateway to this huge fraud. When asked about the modus operandi of the probe, the source said, "The SFIO is also collecting details about all borrowings by IFIN from several banks as well as through market instruments. Besides, we are probing the exact role of officials of banks and the credit rating agencies involved in it as well." The first charge-sheet follows inspection of accounts of close to 400 entities, an extensive forensic audit, data collected from desktops and laptops seized from various IL&FS offices as also e-mails extracted from the IL&FS servers, RBI inspection reports, minutes of meetings, among other documents, as also the assessment reports from the government-appointed new board of IL&FS. In its chargesheet filed before a special court in Mumbai on last Friday, the SFIO has accused 30 entities/individuals of various violations and offences, including of financial fraud. Some of the accused persons are already in judicial custody. The former top-management members of IFIN have been charged with committing fraud with intent to injure the interest of the company, its shareholders and creditors, resulting in wrongful loss to the company. They have been accused of forming a 'coterie to control day-to-day affairs of the company and of colluding with others in using illegal methods on multiple occasions in violation of the RBI directions. Several associates such as Deloitte Haskins & Sells and BSR & Associates are named In the chargesheet. Other issues that will be prioritised by Ravi Shankar Prasad include 5G trials in 100 days, fast tracking of five lakh wifi hotspots, and promoting telecom manufacturing. (Photo: File) New Delhi: India will hold a mega spectrum auction for 5G and other radiowaves in the current calendar year, and intends to start 5G trials in the next 100 days, the newly appointed Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday. Setting an action-packed agenda for the ministry soon after taking charge, Prasad said he would prioritise the revival of crisis-ridden telecom PSUs Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) but added that the two companies will have to reciprocate and do their bit by adopting a professional attitude. On the contentious issue of whether Chinese telecom gear maker Huawei will be allowed to participate in the upcoming 5G trials, the minister told reporters that the "complex issue" will be looked at seriously including security aspects. The minister also cleared the air over timing of spectrum auctions in the country, saying, "I am of the belief that in the current calendar year, we will auction spectrum. We have adequate spectrum available." The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended auction of about 8,644 MHz of telecom frequencies, including those for 5G services, at an estimated total base price of Rs 4.9 lakh crore, but the financially stressed industry has contended that prices are unaffordable. "Trai has given its recommendation on spectrum. We have a system of standing committee, finance committee, they are examining it. Once they come with solution...whether there is a need for more consultation with Trai, we will have to look into it. Then, we have to go to the Cabinet and appoint auctioneer," the minister said. Other major issues on the minister's immediate agenda include starting 5G trials in 100 days and creating a Broadband Readiness Index, which reflects the realities of the Indian market, besides fast-tracking of five lakh WiFi hotspots, and promoting telecom manufacturing in India. The index will be based on parameters like infrastructure, approval processes and utilisation of high-speed Internet. "As far as 5G network is concerned, we will start trials in 100 days. We propose to earmark a portion of spectrum also for 5G purposes. It shall be our endeavour that 5G technology is also used for deprived sections, social causes, education and health, and for bringing technology to rural people," Prasad said. 5G will play a major role in digital inclusion, he said adding that the government will strive towards this goal. Another area would be channelising the start-up movement in India for proliferation of 5G, he said. Prasad acknowledged the role of state-owned corporations in maintaining a "sober equilibrium" in the market, but at the same time sent out a strong message to the two telecom PSUs - MTNL and BSNL, which are cash-strapped and have faced issues in payment of salaries in recent times. The minister emphasised that the two companies will have to "become professional". "Let my message clearly go to these two PSUs...It is in national interest that they remain healthy, we are working on that...But, they also need to become professional. While I will work towards their revival, they will have to respond with professional attitude," he said. On the question of whether Chinese company Huawei will be allowed to participate in 5G trials, the minister said, "We will take a firm view on it. There are also security issues...it is not only a matter of technology, as regard their participtation in 5G is concerned...Participtation of 5G is not conditional upon the trial being started. Whether a particular company is allowed to participate or not, is a complex question including security issues." Last month, the Trump administration had placed Huawei and its affiliates on blacklist, a move that essentially banned the Chinese telecom equipment company from purchasing parts and components from American firms without the US government approval. The US had subsequently relaxed some of the restrictions to reduce disruption for its customers. "The issue of GSP has been done in a little bit of haste...It is certainly going to hurt us, especially small item exporters," said CII President Vikram Kirloskar. (Photo: File | Youtube screengrab) New Delhi: The US decision to withdraw export incentives from India has been taken in a "haste" and would hurt the domestic exporters, industry chamber Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on Monday. CII President Vikram Kirloskar expressed hope that both the US and India would discuss the matter and find an amicable solution to this issue. The US has said it will withdraw incentives provided to Indian exporters under its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme with effect from June 5. "The issue of GSP has been done in a little bit of haste...It is certainly going to hurt us, especially small item exporters," he told reporters here. He added that rolling back these benefits would impact both Indian as well as US companies. "It impacts both the sides, not only us. It is boosting the competitiveness of US manufacturers by lowering their cost. About two-third of US imports are under GSP programme and they are raw materials or components to manufacture goods," Kirloskar said. He said the programme helps American consumer by eliminating duties on varieties of expensive consumer goods and these benefits are real and tangible. "US importers enjoyed nearly USD 730 million in savings on import duties under GSP programme in 2016 and 2017. It saved American companies USD 894 million," he said. Commenting on the issue, the Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) said India is firmly planning to counter the US decision to withdraw GSP on Indian goods by imposing retaliatory tariffs in the coming months. TPCI Chairman Mohit Singla said the withdrawal of benefits "will not" make much difference as Indian exports are all geared up to take this challenge. "Even the US was benefitting from the GSP regime, since the intermediary inputs provided by India helped keep its industry competitive. This withdrawal of GSP is only going to inject the estimated additional burden of USD 190 million, which is miniscule compared to India's overall export to US," he added. India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP programme in 2017 with USD 5.7 billion in imports to the US given duty-free status, Singal said in a statement. India's top exports to the US under GSP included motor vehicle parts, ferro alloys, precious metal jewellery, building stone, insulated cables, leather products, garment and wires. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that the US decision would have minimal impact on Indian exporters. "However, in respect of products having GSP benefits of 3 per cent or more, exporters may find it difficult to absorb the GSP loss," FIEO President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said in a statement. The sectors which would be impacted include most imitation jewellery, leather articles, pharmaceuticals, chemical and plastics, basic and processed agri goods, he added. "Government should provide some supports to products where GSP loss has been significant so that the market is not lost. Extension of rebate of state and central tax levies scheme on such products on exports to US will be beneficial," Gupta said. As many as 1,900 Indian products from sectors such as chemicals and engineering get duty free access to the US market under the GSP, introduced in 1976. The US has alleged that India is not providing equitable market access to its companies and has raised serious concerns over capping of price on certain medical devices. It is also seeking market for its dairy products. The US' demand for relaxation in norms for exports of medical devices and dairy products are non-negotiable for India. It was a not-so-pleasant surprise for Akshay Kumars fans when on Saturday morning they woke up to the news of the actor having just a 25 minute role in his upcoming release Mission Mangal. Considering the fact that the film was being promoted as the superstars next big patriotic film, the news was hard to digest. However, sources say that there is no truth to these rumours, and Akki indeed is the hero of the film. When Akshay has a cameo or an extended guest appearance in a film, he announces that himself loud and clear. He did that with Naam Shabana, right? Taapsee Pannu was the leading lady of the film and everyone associated with the film, including Akshay himself, made this clear to the fans well in advance, says an insider. Producer R. Balki, who last directed Akshay in PadMan, says, I have no clue from where this false news originated. Akshay has more screen time than just 25 minutes. The rumors originated because Mission Mangal has quite a few leading ladies including Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee and Kirti Kulhari. They all play characters that were involved in the true story of Indias biggest space mission. Fans began to wonder if Akshay will play a small or significant role in the film, which is being directed by Jagan Shakti. Akshay is the hero of the film. He will be seen for a longer duration than even Kesari, Balki retorts. Director Anubhav Sinha, who seems to have had a creative awakening, is busy shooting his second socio-politically relevant film after Mulk. Titled Article 15, the film was shot near Lucknow. Shooting began in the outskirts of Lucknow from March 1, and was completed in entirety by the first week of April. Talking about the film, Anubhav says, Article 15 prohibits any kind of discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, or religion. My film is about the discrimination we practice on various levels. The director also discussed his newfound love for Lucknow. Has Lucknow become his favourite shooting spot? It certainly seems like, he says. Or maybe I just use shooting as an excuse to dig into the exquisite cuisine that Lucknow has to offer. But seriously, its just that the city renders itself well to the theme and location of Mulk and now its Article 15. Anubhav is also enjoying the process of shooting with Ayushmann Khurrana. I was very sure I wanted him for the character of the cop protagonist. Once Ayushmann said yes, everything fell into place, says the director, who seems to have discovered his true bearings much later in his career. I didnt plan to make Mulk or Article 15. Nor did I anticipate that Mulk would be seen as a new beginning in my career. Its just that these were stories that had to be told, he says. The times are such when any Indian with a conscience would refuse to keep silent. Article 15 is an investigative drama where the audience too is an accused party. It is a very challenging film that needed an extraordinary actor like Ayushmann. Delighted to have him on board. SKJ Shah Rukh Khan, an outsider who took over the world via Bollywood, took time to thank the two people from the fraternity who have been the most supportive of his career. The Zero actor took to social media to thank Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra in a heartfelt note. He wrote, Dreamers r good. But if those dreams r not given a direction they mean nothing. These 2 fulfilled every dream I had, over & above every dream they had for themselves. Adi & Karan. Y share this with all? Cos u should know, more important than ur dreams r those who fulfil them for u. [sic] While Aditya directed SRK and Kajol in the classic romantic film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Karan Johar kickstarted his career with Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - In this Jan. 7, 2019 file photo, actor Kevin Spacey stands in district court during arraignment on a charge of indecent assault and battery in Nantucket, Mass. Sporting a gray suit and glasses, Kevin Spacey appeared Monday at a Massachusetts courthouse where a judge is set to hold a hearing in the case accusing the disgraced actor of groping a young man at a Nantucket bar in 2016. Spacey's appearance comes somewhat as a surprise as he was not required to attend the hearing and has stayed away from the courthouse except for a brief hearing in January, which he also tried to avoid. The 59-year-old former "House of Cards" actor, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of indecent assault and battery, did not comment as he walked in with his lawyers. Spacey faces up to 2 1/2 years in jail if convicted. Spacey's attorneys have stepped up their attacks on the credibility of the man who brought the allegations. In court documents filed Friday, defence attorney Alan Jackson accused the man of deleting text messages that support Spacey's claims of innocence. It's the only criminal case that has been brought against the two-time Oscar winner since his career fell apart amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations in 2017. The case first came to light that year when former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh said Spacey got her son drunk and then sexually assaulted him at the Club Car, a popular restaurant and bar on the resort island off Cape Cod. Unruh's son told police that he wanted to get a picture with Spacey and went over to talk to him after his shift ended at the Club Car, where he worked as a busboy. The man said Spacey bought him several drinks and tried to persuade him to come home with him before unzipping the man's pants and groping him for about three minutes. The accuser told police that he tried to move Spacey's hands, but the groping continued, and he didn't know what to do because he didn't want to get in trouble for drinking. The man said he fled when Spacey went to the bathroom. Spacey's lawyers have called the allegations "patently false" and accused the man of lying in the hopes of making money in a civil case against Spacey. They argued that the two engaged in nothing more than "consensual flirtation" and questioned why, according to the man's story, he did not object or try to move away if he was being assaulted. Spacey's attorney urged the court in Friday's motion to order prosecutors to hand over a "complete and unaltered" forensic copy of the accuser's cellphone, saying newly produced evidence confirms he "deleted exculpatory text messages and provided falsified screenshots of his conversation from the night in question to law enforcement." Spacey's lawyer is also seeking any communications about the case made by a top prosecutor in the Cape & Islands District Attorney's Office who disclosed that his sister is friends with the accuser's mother. Judge Thomas Barrett has ordered the Club Car to hand over any surveillance footage taken between 5 p.m. July 7, 2016, and 3 a.m. July 8, 2016. As Tovino-starrer Luca gears up for release, it promises to be an introduction of a few fresh faces to Mollywood. The romantic thriller directed by Arun Bose is the dream project of a bunch of childhood friends. Muvattupuzha Film Fraternity, as they jokingly call themselves, is a gang of buddies who share the common passion for movies. One among them, Mridul George, has already made headlines for his quirky and unique fan fiction short stories published under the title Paathi Murinja Ticketukal. The Kochi-based techie-turned-screenwriter of Luca is all excited about watching his work on screen on June 28. Writing Luca has been a long process. I and Arun spent almost five years on it. So leaving the base as it is, from the first draft to the last one we had discussed with Tovino, it has undergone a lot of changes. A lot of effort has gone into it and its a very joyous and excited wait for me, says Mridul. Mriduls expertise in writing is much evident in Paathi Murinja Ticketukal, which is perhaps the first published fan fiction in Malayalam. Starting a story from the point of view of a fan, from where the film left, it was totally a new idea for many when this techie posted it on his social media account. Ignited by a lot of likes and shares, I started writing more in that style and finally, published the collection. I got a lot of positive feedbacks, some of them appreciated the way I studied each character before giving them a new life in my own perception. Mridul says he has tried to add depth to each character in Luca. Tovinos titular role and the character played by Nithin George, who is also a friend and member of their fraternity, have a lot of complex traits. Tovinos character can be very relatable to many and even I could find a lot of similarities with myself. While writing, we tried to make it very legit and realistic. Nithins character, Akbar Hussein, a police officer, is going through a mental trauma after parting ways with his lover. While being part of the investigation, he has to tackle his trauma as well. We had to be wary of not exaggerating anything and keeping it subtle, leaving no room for error. Though Mridul wants to connect people with realistic characters and stories, he believes that one cannot stick to a single pattern of narration. Malayalam cinema has been trying to be very realistic in terms of narrating a story these days. But we cannot deny the fact that we have an audience for both realistic and mass movies. If you do well, you will be credited with what you owe from the audience. Content really matters. Since publishing his first book, he has written a few more short stories and published online. I am not planning to publish it as a book now as I am, like every other crew member, eagerly waiting for the release of Luca. We are confident that people will like the movie, he wraps up. After travelling to many parts of Asia and Eastern Europe, Chilean musical duo Ser O Duo, comprising of Tomas Carrasco and Moa Edmunds, recently performed in Mumbai. The performance was followed by an interactive workshop with music students, where they spoke about rhythmic development and the use of wind instruments from many places of the world. We have had an amazing welcome in India. I think we are on a good path. I hadnt expected anything from the audience here, but its good to see that audience in India is kind, says Moa, who plays the acoustic guitar. Popularly known by their project name Ser O Duo, both the musicians have mastered classical western and contemporary music styles. And on this particular trip to India, they are all set to chronicle their musical exchange with Indian musicians in a documentary. This is kind of a study travel where we will be recording all the experiences we have with local musicians. This is an opportunity to share with the world how music connects people and cultures, says Moa, and reveals that they have already recorded some sessions with a few local musicians, and have played with some other artiste as well. Moa and Tomas have worked for many bands and projects together for over 10 years. They admire each others musical talent, which helps them work through their differences. I think its important to respect each others process, both musical and personal. There is no competition among us. We admire each others work and the focus is on collaborating so we find solutions, says Tom, who plays wide range of flutes from all over the world. Talking about his love for the desi instrument, Tomas shares that he has grown up listening to veteran Indian classical musician Hariprasad Chaurasias music. He is now learning the intricacies of the bansuri from the maestro flautist himself. I am fortunate that I got accepted at his institution. I have started this long path of Indian classical music, which I will surely incorporate into my own compositions, Tomas says. After completing their trip, Ser O Duo is all set to launch their debut music album Testimonio in Chile and other parts of the US. Moa explains that the album is about the idea of believing in yourself and in your partner. While the duo has learnt to follow the rules when it comes to music, they have broken the monotony with their latest album. We believe in making music that comes from within. Each note is different with all our musical history in it, says Mao. When asked about their process of composing music, Tom says that it all starts with one vague idea. We work over each idea that we come up with, and figure out how an idea can be transformed into a process. It is a collective work that we do after a lot of discussion, concludes the musician. Coimbatore: As a fitting tribute to his late father V. Sivaraman who has left an indelible mark in history of textile industry, his son Venkatesh Sivaraman has penned his late fathers biography titled A Memoir of a Maverick that was recently launched in the textile city. In the book his son brings to light the life of a man who was known for his association with the renowned brand Bombay Dyeing. First copy of the book was received by K.R. Nagarajan founder chairman of Ramraj Cotton, Tiruppur. On the occasion, Mr. N.R. Swamy retired zonal sales manager of Bombay Dyeing Manufacturing Co. Ltd offered his felicitations. A born leader, V. Sivaraman joined his family business Venkatesh Vastralaya in 1956 before starting Shivrams Associates, a marketing organisation in the year 1974. The company went on to become the number one distributor of Bombay Dyeing in 1981. Better known as a peoples friendly leader, Sivaraman focusing on employee welfare, the same prompted him to introduce Employee Share Ownership (ESOP) and profit-sharing which was unique concepts in those days. On the sidelines of launch of the book, a nostalgic Venkatesh Sivaraman, said I was a very mischievous young boy and my feelings towards Appa were mixed with awe and fear. Hed always say Think Big with simple Living and encouraged me to think big. It may be recalled that Shivrams Associates as well his other ventures were awarded the Rashtriya Samman by the Income Tax Department of Tamil Nadu region and Central Board of Direct Taxes for being one of the highest tax payers consequently for five years. Its founder followed ethical values and principles business strategies easily making him role model for the generations of entrepreneurs. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Prasad had got into a dispute with his friends from Venkatreddynagar, which had most likely led to the murder. (Representional Image) Hyderabad: A 22-year-old man was killed by a group of friends outside a bar in Uppal early on Sunday. One Naresh Goud, a resident of Srinagar Colony, alerted the Uppal police of the murder. Uppal police identified the victim as M. Prasad, 22, a resident of KCR Nagar, Ramanthapur. He was beaten to death using sticks and boulders. Prasad, a native of Nalgonda district, along with his parents and two brothers, had shifted to the city around three years ago and was working in a private firm. Preliminary inquiry revealed that Prasad had got into a dispute with his friends from Venkatreddynagar, which had most likely led to the murder. Police found that in January Prasads father Yadagiri had lodged a complaint against two persons, Nagaraju and Ramesh, for allegedly attacking him outside the house. Prasad had apparently got into disputes with the other youths in the locality, which had led to the incident. Around 2 am on Sunday, Prasads friends asked him to meet them outside a local bar. A loud quarrel ensued, which woke Naresh Goud, a resident living in a nearby building, who scolded them and asked them to leave and then went back to bed. When he woke up around 5.30 am and looked down from his balcony, he found Prasad lying dead in a pool of blood, the Uppal police said. Prasads parents suspect the involvement of six persons, likely more, in the murder. A special team has been deployed to nab the suspects. The investigation is underway, but no one has been taken into custody yet, police said. The Supreme Court on Monday granted three months time to the CBI to complete its probe, including into the murder aspect, in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. (Photo: File) New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday granted three months time to the CBI to complete its probe, including into the murder aspect, in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case. Several girls were sexually and physically assaulted at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur and the issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). A vacation bench comprising Justices Indu Malhotra and M R Shah directed the CBI to also investigate allegations of unnatural sexual assault under section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and probe video recordings of the assault on girls at the shelter home. The bench asked the probe agency to also investigate role of outsiders who were involved and facilitated sexual assault of inmates after administering them intoxicants. The apex court directed the CBI to submit its report before it within three months in the case. It had earlier directed the probe agency to complete by June 3 its probe into the alleged murder of 11 girls at the shelter home and asked the agency to file a status report. The CBI had told the court that completion of probe on this aspect "will not be possible" within the two weeks' time granted to it. It had said that 11 girls were murdered and as per its recent affidavit filed in the apex court, it was found that there were a total of 35 girls with identical names who at one time or the other had stayed there. In the affidavit, the probe agency had told the court that 11 girls were allegedly murdered by key accused Brajesh Thakur and his accomplices and a "bundle of bones" was recovered from a burial ground in Muzaffarpur. The probe into the case was transferred to the CBI and the agency has charge sheeted 21 people, including Thakur. The CBI had said that allegations regarding involvement of outsiders, who used to physically or sexually abuse the girls, have been properly investigated by them and the accused have also been charge sheeted as per revelation made by victims. The apex court in February transferred the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi. On November 28 last year, the top court had directed the CBI to conduct probe into allegations of physical and sexual abuse of inmates in 16 other shelter homes in Bihar which were flagged in the TISS report. It also comes days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where PM Narendra Modi is expected to come face to face with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan. (Representational Image) New Delhi: The government on Sunday issued a strong statement over the gross intimidation of guests invited to an iftar in Islamabad on Sunday. A statement issued by the Indian High Commission read: The disappointing chain of events of June 1 not only violate basic norms of diplomat conduct but are against all norms of civilised behaviour. Some Indian officials were jostled, pushed, abused and aggressively threatened with bodily harm. In some cases, mobile phones belonging to officials were snatched away. It also stated: "Many guests from the diplomatic community based in Islamabad were also subjected to harassment. In complete violation of diplomatic norms, a large Pakistani security detachment, equipped with fork lifts, was detailed outside Serena hotel to aggressively turn away Pakistani citizens." Among the people stopped from attending the Indian envoys iftar was former chief Pakistani military spokesman Maj Gen (retired) Athar Abbas. Former presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar tweeted about the harassment and hurdles he faced in accessing the venue. Indian envoy Bisaria said: We apologise to all our guests who were aggressively turned away from our iftar yesterday. Such intimidatory tactics are deeply disappointing. Read | Indian envoy's guests invited for Iftar party turned away by Pak agencies The letter also called on the government of Pakistan to "urgently investigate these ugly events" and share the results of the investigation with the High Commission. The row comes against the backdrop of heightened tensions following the suicide attack by the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Pulwama on February 14 that killed 40 CRPF soldiers and the subsequent Indian air strike on Balakot on February 26. It also comes days ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan where PM Narendra Modi is expected to come face to face with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. (Photo :Rajnath Singh | Twitter) New Delhi: Less than 48 hours after taking over as Indias new Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Monday will visit the Siachen glacier and interact with soldiers deployed in the region. Defence Minister's office tweeted: During his visit he will interact with jawans at a forward post and pay his tributes to fallen soldiers at Siachen War Memorial. He will also interact with the jawans at the Siachen base camp. Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh will visit Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir tomorrow. During his visit he will interact with jawans at a forward post and pay his tributes to fallen soldiers at Siachen War Memorial. He will also interact with the jawans at Siachen base camp / RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) June 2, 2019 "Leaving New Delhi for Ladakh on a day long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Looking forward to interact with the troops in Siachen. Later in the day, I would be meeting the Indian Army personnel in Srinagar," Singh tweeted on Monday. Leaving New Delhi for Ladakh on a day long visit to Jammu and Kashmir. Looking forward to interact with the troops in Siachen. Later in the day, I would be meeting the Indian Army personnel in Srinagar. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Army chief General Bipin Rawat will accompany Singh who was on Saturday briefed by top officials on the functioning of the ministry. General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Northern Command Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh and Kargil war hero Lieutenant General YK Joshi are expected to brief Singh about the security situation in the region, news agency ANI reported. The glacier acts as a wedge between the Shaksgam valley under Chinas control and Baltistan, which is occupied by Pakistan. The Army has been posted at Siachen Glacier since 1984 when India carried out Operation Meghdoot to push back Pakistani forces and took the peak. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. Those whose names do not figure in the final NRC draft can challenge their exclusion in these tribunals. New Delhi: The home ministry will provide all possible assistance to the Assam government in setting up 1,000 foreigners tribunals across the state by July 31 when the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be published. Those whose names do not figure in the final NRC draft can challenge their exclusion in these tribunals. Top home ministry officials recently held a meeting in this regard to discuss the Assam governments proposal for creating e-foreigners tribunals and setting up an additional 1,000 foreigners tribunals. The Centre is also finalising its approval set up e-Foreigners Tribunals for those who were declared illegal immigrants. The draft NRC, which was published on July 30, 2018, had led to a huge controversy since 40.7 lakh people were excluded from it. The draft NRC included the names of 2.9 crore people out of the total 3.29 crore applications. The Supreme Court had recently questioned the state governments plan to set up 1,000 foreigners tribunals, saying it would be difficult to find 1,000 legal officers to preside over them. Following this, the Assam government along with the home ministry and other agencies started identifying retired judicial officers for the purpose. The tribunals will require nearly 12,000 personnel including judicial officers. The proposed new tribunals would ease the burden of 100 existing tribunals as cases of those languishing in detention centre will be disposed of faster. The apex court, which is monitoring the NRC update process, has made it clear that the final NRC has to be published on July 31, 2019. Of the 40.7 lakh people whose names did not figure in the draft NRC, 37.59 lakh names were rejected while the remaining 2,48,077 were on hold. However, they were given an opportunity to prove their Indian citizenship with 1971 as the cut-off year. The verification process is being carried out for these people who had submitted documents afresh. The Supreme Court-monitored NRC exercise is aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state particularly from Bangladesh. The process of identification of illegal immigrants in the state has been widely debated and is a contentious issue in state politics. Singh tweeted: 'Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world.' (Photo: ANI | Twitter) New Delhi: Taking over as Indias new Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday visited the Siachen glacier and interacted with soldiers deployed in the region. Singh tweeted: Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world. Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world. pic.twitter.com/Ns8uFpK4TT Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour. pic.twitter.com/hMRObJ1j9A Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 He also paid tributes to the martyred soldiers. Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/buWxgv6Nmg Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 The glacier acts as a wedge between the Shaksgam valley under Chinas control and Baltistan, which is occupied by Pakistan. The Army has been posted at Siachen Glacier since 1984 when India carried out Operation Meghdoot to push back Pakistani forces and took the peak. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. Chennai: The US Consul General, Robert Burgess, said events such as the Interfaith Iftar send an important message of unity of connection and understanding among communities. Addressing an Interfaith Iftar meeting in Chennai, Robert Burgess said very much like India, the US is a multicultural society with all faiths sharing space and communities living and working together. Reading out a statement from Michael R. Pompeo, US, Secretary of State, the Consul General said, Michael R. Pompeo said that for many Muslims, this month is an occasion to focus on spiritual rejuvenation, kindness and resilience, compassion for those less fortunate, and harmony across diverse communities. In the United States, many mosques and homes welcome friends and neighbours of different faiths to unite under our common American values of equality, charity, and generosity. Ramadan serves as a reminder to people of all faiths and backgrounds of the importance of shared compassion, respect, and support for one another. Through the daily act of breaking fast and sharing a meal, Ramadan revitalises community bonds and emphasises community service. In this spirit, we reflect upon our mutual responsibilities for one another, regardless of faith, and strive to be our best selves, said Michael R. Pompeo. Robert Burgess said across the world, including in US, people are gathering to break the fast and over the years this has become a ritual and routine in US too. The very first Iftar in US took place in 1805, when President Thomas Jefferson hosted the Iftar in the White House and come a couple of centuries later, President Gerald Ford issued first official recognition of Ramadan. Today there is uniquely American ways of celebrating Ramadan in breaking fast. It also reflects diversity of Muslim communities in US with representatives from around the world are part of the fabric of US and part of the culture as are all religions. Very much like India, the US is a multicultural society with all faith, sharing space and communities living and working together. Prince of Arcot, Nawab Mohammed Abdul Ali, said fasting is in every religion. Fasting is good for ourselves and it cleanses the body. Tamil Nadu is a peaceful state. The new government formed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi should create a new India and take minorities communities into confidence and the minorities should also forget the things took place in the past. A Faizur Rahman, Secretary General of Islamic Forum for Promotion of Moderate Thought, said Swami Vivekananda desired for collaboration of Islam and Hinduism for India to prosper. Swami Vivekananda said India needs Hindu mind and an Islamic body. The Interfaith Iftar organised by the South India Education Trust along with the Muslim Educational Association of southern India (MEASI), Anjuman-e-Himayat-e-Islam, Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought, Institute of Dialogue with Cultures and Religions (IDCR) and Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation, to mark the auspicious month of Ramzan, at the SIET College, Teynampet, on Saturday. Photo: UBCO UBC Okanagan will host six graduation ceremonies over two days this week. More than 1,725 students will cross the stage, earning their undergraduate degrees, while 215 students will receive their masters degree, and 40 their doctorates. This years UBC Okanagan graduating class goes out into a world where sweeping changes are happening, says Deborah Buszard, deputy vice-chancellor and principal. From geopolitics and the environment to the nature of work itself, rapid and radical change is all around us. As UBC graduates, we know our students have the intellectual tools to thrive in the face of change. The events begin Thursday morning, with students in the Irving K. Barber School of Arts And Sciences crossing the stage in three different convocation ceremonies. Students in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies will also cross the stage that day. On Friday, celebrations kick off early as Faculty of Health and Social Development students celebrate their achievements starting at 8:30 a.m. School of Education, Faculty of Management and School of Engineering students will be conferred their degrees in two following ceremonies. Three honorary degrees will also be presented. Lewis Kay, a biophysicist known for his research in biochemistry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, will receive a Doctor of Science. He is a professor at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist in the molecular medicine research program at Torontos Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. William Carpentier, an alumnus of the UBC Faculty of Medicine and flight surgeon for NASAs Apollo 11 crew, will also be honoured with a Doctor of Science. Olympic gold medalist Beckie Scott will be presented with a Doctor of Laws. Scott was an 11-year member of Canadas national cross-country ski team, and is widely recognized for advocacy for drug-free sport. She currently serves as chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency Athlete Committee. Other accolades of note during convocation include the Provost Award for Teaching Excellence that will be presented to biology Professor Andis Klegeris and Sally Willis-Stewart, a nutrition and physical activity instructor. The Killam Teaching Prize will be presented to engineering Professor Jonathan Holzman. The heads of class (top academic student) for this year include: 'Myanmar government is very much on our side as far as not giving shelter to terrorists are concerned and not allowing any terrorist action to take place and emanate from their side,' Lt Gen Naravane said. (Photo: Representational) Kolkata: The Myanmar Army's crackdown on the Indian insurgent groups taking shelter in the neighbouring country continues as talks between India and Myanmar have resulted in much progress with the Myanmar government being on the Indian side, said Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane on Monday. His assertion assumes significance as the Indo-Myanmar border falls under the Eastern Command. Lt Gen Naravane also warned the North East based militant groups to "rein in their rogue elements" to avoid ceasefire violations in the region where he called the situation has become "normal" now. "We have been talking to the Myanmar government. In fact, we have made a lot of progress. As we speak, operations are already on inside Myanmar by the Myanmar Army," he said at the Eastern Command Headquarters: Fort William after inaugurating a continuous ambient air quality monitoring system there. Lt Gen Naravane elaborated, "They are operating against the Indian insurgents who are filtering in their country. So that is very much on. And the Myanmar government is very much on our side as far as not giving shelter to terrorists are concerned and not allowing any terrorist action to take place and emanate from their side." On the recent violence by the militant groups in North East, he added, "These incidents will keep happening from time to time. We are at it. Operations and situation are nothing serious. Everything is very much under control. All is normal. There is nothing alarming or really much to write home about it." Asked about the ceasefire violation by militant outfit: NSCN-IM in Manipur recently the Eastern Army Commander explained, "Ceasefire with the NSCN is there but there are always certain rogue elements in these groups which do not abide by their own higher command or the chain of command unlike the army where we are very strict in implementing orders." He observed, "The rogue elements are the ones who are doing these activities. It is up to the groups to rein in their rogue elements lest things spiral out of control." Lt Gen Naravane, however, described the possibility of fresh trouble in the region as "speculative." Mumbai: Have you missed any news today? Here are the top national, international headlines of the day. Salaries of ASHA workers in Andhra increase: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday hiked the salaries of Asha workers in the state from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000. Reddy took the decision in a review meeting of the medical and health department at his camp office. He also ordered revamp of 108 and 104 ambulance services and directed for vehicles to be kept fully operational. Read: Andhra CM Jagan Reddy hikes Asha workers' salaries by Rs 7,000 Vidyasagar statue to be installed in WB: Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar's statue, which was vandalised during Union Home Minister Amit Shah's roadshow in Kolkata on May 14 will be re-installed on June 11, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced today. Read: Statue of Vidyasagar to be installed on June 11 BJP attacks AAP on free transport: Hours after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free ride for women in DTC buses, cluster buses and metro trains, BJP state unit chief Manoj Tiwari on Monday questioned the timing of the scheme and called it as another attempt to mislead people. Read: BJP attacks Arvind Kejriwal over new transport proposal Free travel for women: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced free ride for women in all Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses, cluster buses and Delhi Metro trains, a decision that comes close on the heels of the severe drubbing his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s suffered in the Lok Sabha polls and Delhi Assembly elections due early next year. Read: Free bus, metro rides for women in Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal Claim on Olympic association bldg.: Nobody can take the building of Andhra Pradesh Olympic Association (APOA) without getting approval from us, said APOA secretary KP Rao here on Monday. "As far as my knowledge goes, all the assets and liabilities of the building are ours. Nobody can take it without our acceptance," said Rao. Read: Olympic Association building belongs to us: Andhra Olympic body Ajit Doval to continue as NSA, also gets cabinet rank: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, a close confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Monday reappointed to the post for five more years and given Cabinet rank in the second term of the NDA government. Read | Ajit Doval to continue as NSA, gets Cabinet rank for 5 years Siddaramaiah on three-language imposition: In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah said the Centre was imposing Hindi on the states and asked it to give them more space. Read | 'Imposition of Hindi a brutal assault on our states,' says Siddaramaiah BJP MLA assaults NCP leader in Gujarat: BJP MLA Balram Thawani assaulted Nitu Tejwani, a NCP leader from Gujarats Naroda on Sunday for protesting over the issue of water scarcity in the area. Read | Video: BJP MLA assaults NCP woman leader in Gujarat, says will apologise Raj Babbar on Amethi and Rahul Gandhi: UP Congress chief Raj Babbar Monday said the poor electoral showing of the party in the state has left pain in the hearts of party president Rahul Gandhi and the people of Amethi. In his first interview after the election results, Babbar said Gandhi considered Amethi not just as his parliamentary constituency, but his family. Read | Amethi not just constituency but family for Rahul, loss has affected him: Raj Babbar Traditional dress code mandatory in Tamil Nadu: The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order for all state government staffs to wear attire permissible to them reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress in order to "maintain the decorum of the office". Read | To maintain decorum, TN mandates traditional dress code for govt employees India on iftar chaos in Pakistan: The government on Sunday issued a strong statement over the gross intimidation of guests invited to an iftar in Islamabad on Sunday. Read | Against civilised behaviour: India slams Pak over harassment at iftar Upendra Kushwaha cautious BJP for Nitish Kumar: Former BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha cautioned the BJP that Nitish Kumar will "betray" it and it should be ready for "Dhokha number 2" from the JD(U) president. Read | Nitish Kumar will betray you, Kushwaha warns BJP Hindi language imposition row: After a huge outcry and allegations of Hindi imposition by many states, the Centre on Monday made changes to the new Draft National Education Policy, making the language optional. Read | Amid 'Hindi imposition' uproar, Centre alters draft education policy Telangana BJP leader accuses Owaisi for financially supporting terrorist: BJP leader T Raja Singh on Sunday accused the AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi of "financially supporting" the terrorists while asserting that BJP will win the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency in 2024 and which will mark the "end for Owaisi." Read | Owaisi 'financially supporting' terrorists: Telangana BJP MLA A meeting of the RSS-BJP state core group will be held next week in Lucknow, where besides fine-tuning the caste combination of candidates, Sangh Parivar leaders will chart out the strategy to win the maximum numbers of seats. New Delhi: Notwithstanding the huge majority it got in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJPs poll managers have now focused their attention on the Uttar Pradesh bypolls. With 11 MLAs, including two of the SP-BSP alliance, now members of Parliament, the state will go into election mode again. The BJP won 62 of the total 80 parliamentary seats, nine seats less than 2014, and its Apna Dal ally won two seats. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi is the lone Congress member to represent the party in the Lower House from this politically crucial state. From the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, which was being dubbed as a formidable alliance by the Opposition, 15 won, including five SP and 10 BSP members. Of the nine BJP MLAs who won, three are ministers in the Yogi Adityanath government. A meeting of the RSS-BJP state core group will be held next week in Lucknow, where besides fine-tuning the caste combination of candidates, Sangh Parivar leaders will chart out the strategy to win the maximum numbers of seats. Though the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP and the Mayawati-led BSP are yet to announce whether their alliance along with the Ajit Singh-led RLD will continue and whether they will contest the bypolls together or not, the saffron partys poll managers have already started holding meetings and will also consider the scenario of contesting the polls against the alliance. The saffron poll managers have also started going through names to start the selection process of its probable candidates. It could be recalled here that in 2014, after the BJP won 71 seats in UP, the ruling SP won 12 of the 13 seats that went to the bypolls and the saffron partys poll managers do not want a repeat of that scenario. Sources said the Narendra Modi governments major initiatives, including rural electrification, housing, Ujjwala and Mudra, among others, will be at the core of the saffron partys election strategy for the bypolls. On its part, the Yogi Adityanath government has initiated the task of getting the maximum number of allocated quotas of the Centres popular schemes for his state. Three of the four ministers who contested the polls also won from their respective seats, including Rita Bahuguna Joshi, S.P. Singh Baghel and Satyadev Pacahuri. Hyderabad: Residents of ward 5 of the Secunderabad Cantonment, which is home to a population of 25,000, wrote a letter to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and have started a signature campaign for better water supply as they are currently receiving water only once a week. Residents lamented that although the SCB had hiked the tariff from Rs 315 to Rs 450, there was no improvement in the services. As a result, a group of residents has initiated a door to door campaign to collect signatures from the families suffering because of the water issue. Vasavinagar Welfare Association president Telukunta Sathish Gupta, who initiated the campaign, said, Water tankers take over 10 days to deliver despite booking in advance. Most borewells have dried up. Free water tankers are out of sight. How are we supposed to make it past this scorching summer without regular water supply? Residents also requested Mr Rao to consider merging the Secunderabad Cantonment Board with the GHMC as the civic body has been supplying water on alternate days at Rs 240. SCB vice-president J. Rama Krishna said they had been discussing the issue of regular water supply and a lower tariff with the state government. The situation should improve in a month, he said. The TS government had in 2014 allotted J, K, L, and South H and North H blocks in Secretariat to the AP government. Hyderabad: Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Sunday issued proceedings for the AP government to hand over its buildings located in Hyderabad to Telangana state. The move comes amid the bonhomie between Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and is being seen as a Formation Day gift to Telangana state. During bifurcation, government buildings in Hyderabad were divided equally between the successor states and the city was denoted as the common capital for a decade. The AP government offices functioned from the state for some time. The administration shifted to Amaravati after the cash-for-votes scam and since then its buildings in Hyderabad are lying vacant. The AP government is paying electricity bills and other maintenance costs for the buildings though it is not utilising them. In this backdrop the TS government urged the Governor to reallocate the buildings to the state. It requested the Governor to reserve one building for the AP government to house its police unit and another building for its other offices. Following this, Mr Narasimhan issued proceedings under Section 8 of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 and requested the TS government to waive outstanding claims of property tax and public utility charges on the buildings. According to an R&B official, about 30 lakh square feet of office space was divided between the TS and AP governments at the Secretariat, DGPs office, and offices of the heads of departments at Hyderabad. Hyderabad: Governor E.S.L. Narasim-han on Sunday issued proceedings for the AP government to hand over its buildings located in Hyderabad to Telangana state. The move comes amid the bonhomie between Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and is being seen as a Formation Day gift to Telangana state. During bifurcation, government buildings in Hyderabad were divided equally between the successor states and the city was denoted as the common capital for a decade. The AP government offices functioned from the state for some time. The administration shifted to Amaravati after the cash-for-votes scam and since then its buildings in Hyderabad are lying vacant. The AP government is paying electricity bills and other maintenance costs for the buildings though it is not utilising them. In this backdrop the TS government urged the Governor to reallocate the buildings to the state. It requested the Governor to reserve one building for the AP government to house its police unit and another building for its other offices. Following this, Mr Narasimhan issued proceedings under Section 8 of the AP Reorganisation Act 2014 and requested the TS government to waive outstanding claims of property tax and public utility charges on the buildings. According to an R&B official, about 30 lakh square feet of office space was divided between the TS and AP governments at the Secretariat, DGPs office, and offices of the heads of departments at Hyderabad. CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao welcomed the proceedings issued by the Governor. In a press communique, Mr Rao said, It is a welcome and auspicious sign that both the state government have decided to move forward with people's welfare in mind and development of both the states as the main aim with mutual goodwill and fraternity. Mr Rao hoped that both the state governments would work in tandem in a give-and-take relationship, keeping in mind the factual realties on the ground. He said his aim, ambition and effort would be to see to it that both the states develop with its people living in peace and prosperity. The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order for all state government staffs to wear attire permissible to them reflecting Tamil culture. (Photo: ANI) Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order for all state government staffs to wear attire permissible to them reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress in order to "maintain the decorum of the office". As per the order, women will have to wear "sarees or salwar kameez or churidaar with dupatta of the sober colour" and men will have to wear "formal shirts with formal pants" reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress. An order issued by the personnel and administrative reforms department signed by chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan dated May 28 stated, "...while in duty, saree/salwar kameez/churidaar with dupatta, for females staff and formal shirts with formal pants reflecting Tamil culture or any Indian traditional dress, for male staff." It added that "casual attire shall be avoided". The order further stated that the dress code prescribed in para 541 of the Tamil Nadu Secretariat Office Manual is required to be modified on the following lines to "suit the present-day circumstances and to maintain the decorum of the office". It added that a male officer who makes an appearance before a court or tribunal or any other judicial forum should wear a "short buttoned up coat with full sleeves, with trousers". "If the officer prefers an open coat, he should put on a tie as well and the clothes should be sober and subdued in colour and design. A woman officer should wear a sari or salwar kameez or churidar with dupatta of a sober colour." CHENNAI: Allaying apprehensions that Hindi would be imposed on Tamil Nadu in the wake of the Central government coming up with the draft New Education Policy 2019, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said the State government staunchly believes in the two-language policy of Tamil and English. This has been the firm stand since the times of (former Chief Ministers) Anna, MGR and Amma (J. Jayalalithaa). As far as the AIADMK and Amma government are concerned, Amma had on several occasions explained the stand and even went on record in the Assembly, Mr Panneerselvam said. While commenting on the controversy triggered by the NEP recommendations, the Deputy CM told reporters here that the former Chief Minister Jayalailthaa had always advocated two-language policy. She had clearly explained the stand, he said and averred that there would no deviation in the view point. At Sattur in Virudhunagar in the State, Milk and Dairy Development Minister K. T. Rajenthra Bhalaji said the ruling AIADMK believed in two-language policy and that his party would oppose any move to implement tri-lingual policy. He said the government would not promote any scheme that the people did not accept. In the draft NEP 2019, the committee constituted by the Union HRD Ministry recommended the implementation of three-language formula which includes English and Hindi besides mother tongue in the non-Hindi speaking States, while the Hindi-speaking States should include English and an Indian language from other parts of India. After a controversy erupted in Tamil Nadu with several parties opposing the move, Education Secretary R. Subrahmanyam on Saturday clarified that no policy decision has been taken by the government yet and there would be no imposition of any language in educational institutions. This is a draft policy submitted by the committee and is placed for the views of the general public. It is not the policy announced by the government. After getting feedback from the general public, and after consulting State governments, the National Educational Policy will be finalised by the government, Subrahmanyam said in a tweet. The national carrier said it has made alternative arrangements for 100 of the total 210 passengers who were supposed to take the return flight on the same aircraft. New Delhi: AI Boeing 777 aircraft of Air India has been grounded as a small crack was observed on the bottom right corner of one of its entry doors after the plane landed at San Francisco airport in US, the airline said Monday. The national carrier said it has made alternative arrangements for 100 of the total 210 passengers who were supposed to take the return flight on the same aircraft. B777 aircraft, VT-ALH arrived in SFO (San Francisco) on AI 183. During walk around inspection on arrival, a small cut/ crack on bottom right corner of left side #2 entry door (sic), said an Air India spokesperson. Air India is trying to get help from the local Aircraft Mainte-nance Repair Agencies for the repair, failing which men and material would be sent from India, the spokesperson said. The Delhi-San Francisco flight has the code of AI183, while the return flight has the code of AI184. In AI 184, there are 210 pax (passengers). Out of which 50 are shifted to AI174. 50 are shifted to other airlines. About 25 pax are cancelled their journey by own. Remaining pax are undecided, the spokesperson added. Just like AI184, the AI174 flight is also a non-stop Air India flight from San Francisco to Delhi. New Delhi: The government on Monday appointed Ajit Doval as the National Security Advisor (NSA) for a second consecutive term and elevated him to the rank of a Cabinet minister. The ministry of personnel issued orders of his appointment on Monday following approval by the appointments committee of the Cabinet. During Mr Dovals previous tenure as NSA, he held the rank of a minister of state. Mr Doval, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Kerala cadre and director of the Intelligence Bureau, is known to be a veteran of intelligence agencies. His appointment would be for a five-year period with effect from May 31, 2019 and it will be coterminus with the term of the Prime Minister, it said. Mr Doval, who was appointed as the countrys fifth NSA in May 2014, happens to be the first NSA to be granted a second consecutive term. During his previous tenure, Mr Doval played a crucial role in planning and executing the surgical strikes after the Uri terror attack as well as the Balakot aerial strikes in the wake of the Pulwama incident. He also played an important role in formulating strategy on other key security-related issues like containing the impact radicalisation of the youth by terror outfits such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) through social media. Mr Dovals efforts to help resolve the 73-day stand-off between India and China at Doklam was also praised among the international community. Having retired as chief of the Intelligence Bureau in 2005, Mr Doval also served in the intelligence agency in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. Mr Doval also played a crucial role as the chief negotiator with the hijackers of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar in 1999. He also has the distinction of being the first IPS officer to be awarded the Kriti Chakra. Bhopal: The probable visit of BJP national president Amit Shah to Madhya Pradesh this week has caused nervousness in Congress with the ruling party sparing no efforts to keep its flock in the Assembly together. Congress, which has strength of 114 in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, two less than the magic number of 116 to gain majority, has formed government in the state with outside support from two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs, one Samajwadi Party (SP) and four Independents. The Opposition BJP has demanded floor test by the Kamal Nath government to prove its majority in the House in the aftermath of return of NDA to power at the Centre in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections. Words have spread in BJP that Mr Shah is most likely to visit MP on June 7 to attend the 12th day post-death ceremony of father of former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The ceremony was scheduled to be held at Mr Chouhans native village of Jait in Budhni district. Mr Shahs schedule was however yet to be finalised. Mr Shahs visit to MP is yet to be finalised, BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal said. However, the speculation on Mr Shahs visit to MP to attend the occasion has already caused unease in ruling Congress here. We are keeping a watch on the development. Senior leaders of Congress as well as some ministers have been put on alert to ensure that no MLAs either from Congress or from our allies such as BSP, and SP, besides four Independents who are giving outside support to the Kamal Nath government, keep in touch with the rival party, a senior Congress leader told this newspaper here on Monday. While Congress has strength of 114 in the 230-member MP assembly, BJP has 109 MLAs. Photo: Explore Jasper A 63-year-old Jasper Alberta man is dead following a climbing accident in Jasper National Park. The victim has been identified as Steven Stanko. CTV News is reporting police responded to a call around 4 p.m. last Thursday, when they arrived they found Stanko who appears to have fallen approximately 30 metres, he died on scene. Stanko was climbing with another man and a local couple when he fell. Police say the incident is not considered suspicious, and no further information will be released. -with files from CTV News The Indian Air Force plane was flying to a landing strip in Mechuka Valley near the international border with China. Guwahati/New Delhi: An Indian Air Force transport aircraft that took off from Assams Jorhat airbase earlier on Monday with eight crew members and five passengers on board has gone missing, and is feared to have crashed. Air Force sources in Shillong said they had launched a massive search operation and pressed in to two aircraft as well to locate the Antonov AN-32, which lost contact with the ground at about 1 pm. The IAF plane was flying to a landing strip in Mechuka Valley near the international border with China. The sources said the AN-32 military transport aircraft had 13 people on board, including eight crew members and five passengers. The plane lost contact around 35 minutes after taking off. The Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground is one of the many rudimentary landing strips operated by the Air Force near the Line of Actual Control with China. It is significant that the terrain along the flight path to Mechuka is mountainous and heavily forested. In fact, the landing and takeoff approaches to Mechuka are also extremely difficult. The erratic weather condition makes the region one of the most challenging destinations for air transport. The AN-32 is a Soviet-designed twin-engine turboprop transport aircraft used extensively by the Indian Air Force for over four decades. In New Delhi, the IAF deployed all available resources to locate the aircraft. A C-130, another AN-32 aircraft, two Mi-17s of the IAF and the Armys ALH helicopters were deployed to locate the aircraft. The IAF is coordinating with the Army and various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. The search operations from the air and by ground parties of the Indian Army are planned to continue through the night, the IAF said. Defence minister Rajnath Singh was in touch with IAF officials. Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft, Mr Singh sai. Ahmedabad: A BJP legislator in Gujarat was caught on camera kicking and punching a local NCP woman leader, who approached him for resuming water supply to her locality in Ahmedabad district. The uproar over the incident was dramatically resolved on Monday when the victim tied him a rakhi. Both parties have claimed to resolve the issue. A video of the incident went viral on social media on Sunday late evening showing the BJPs Naroda constituency legislator, Balram Thavani, beating a woman who had come to him to complain about the poor supply of drinking water. Ms Nitu Tejwani, who was beaten up by the MLA and his supporters, is a worker of the Nationalist Congress Party in the Naroda area. After the video of the incident was widely shared, Ms Tejwani initially refused to lodge a complaint with the local police allegedly due to political pressure. Mr Thavani was reluctant to accept his mistake and apologise to Ms Tejwani. As pressure from women activists and political circles began to mount on Monday, the local police was forced to file a complaint. The Womens Commission also initiated a inquiry and sent a notice to the police commissioner. While the BJP was on the defensive, Congress and NCP leaders condemned the incident and demanded the suspension of Mr Thavani. State BJP president Jitu Vaghani remained silent on the issue but is learnt to have sent a message to Mr Thavani to apologise to Ms Tejwani. State BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya confirmed that the party had sought an explanation from Mr Thavani. The party has also condemned the incident. Mr Thavani then went to Ms Tejwanis home and reportedly struck a compromise. As a mark of this, Ms Tejwani tied a rakhi to Mr Thavani. Questions were raised regarding the quick compromise and reports spread that she might have buckled under political pressure. Ms Tejwani, however, denied that she had faced any pressure. Speaking after the compromise, Mr Thavani said: She is like my sister. Whatever happened was due to some misunderstanding and out of temporary anger. I have apologised for that and the issue has been resolved. India appears to be now stepping up efforts to persuade China not to block Indian entry into the coveted Nuclear Suppliers Group. New Delhi: After China lifted its objections to the designation by the UN of Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist, India appears to be now stepping up efforts to persuade China not to block Indian entry into the coveted Nuclear Suppliers Group. China is seen by India as the main obstacle to entry into the NSG. Nevertheless, the two nations continue to interact closely on the issue of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, with the two Asian giants holding their bilateral dialogue on this in New Delhi on Monday. In a statement, the MEA said, Within the framework of bilateral exchanges between India and China, the 6th round of India-China Bilateral Dialogue on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation was held in New Delhi on June 3. The two sides exchanged views on a variety of issues of mutual interest related to disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. Kasargod: Rashid Abdulla of Trikkaripur, who was leading the module of Islamic State recruiters from the state, was killed in the bombing by US forces in Afghanistan over a month ago, according to security agencies. A Telegram app message detected by security sleuths revealed that Rashid Abdulla was killed in the Khorasan province. " A total of three Indian brothers, two Indian women and four kids got killed," according to the message. The IS operative, in answer to a query on what happened to Rashid Abdulla, said, "he is no more." Earlier operating from the Nanjarahar region in Afghanistan, Rashid Abdullah was leading the online campaign and recruitment drive for IS which extends an auxiliary support to the warfront warriors. His Telegram account was silent for over two months which led to queries on his safety from IS operatives across cyber platforms. A former employee of Peace International School set up by Salafi preacher M.M. Akbar, Rashid Abdualla, an engineering graduate, was drawn towards the IS ideology. Later, he led a team of 21 persons from the state to an IS stronghold in Afghanistan in 2016. The group, including his wife Ayesha alias Sonia, managed to reach Afghanistan through UAE and Iran. He used to send video clips on the sacred life led by the warriors in the Khalifate through his various accounts in Telegram app. Over ten recruits from the state were killed so far in the 'holy war' in Syria and Afghanistan, according to intelligence agencies. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the Maldives on June 8 and 9 and also Sri Lanka on June 9, the ministry of external affairs (MEA) announced on Monday, adding that the visits will demonstrate the priority India attaches to its Neighbourhood-First Policy and the SAGAR Doctrine. It may be recalled that the SAGAR doctrine refers to Security And Growth for All in the Region. Furthermore, these two southern maritime neighbours of India are seen as vital to its strategic interests particularly in view of increased Chinese assertiveness in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). On Monday, meanwhile, new external affairs minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar also held a meeting with top officials of his ministry. In a statement, the MEA said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a state visit to the Republic of Maldives on 08-09 June 2019 at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives. This will be the first overseas visit of Prime Minister Modi after his re-election. The visit is reflective of the new momentum in high-level exchanges between India and Maldives. Prime Minister Modis forthcoming visit will provide an important occasion to review the recent developments in bilateral relations and exchange views on issues of mutual interest with the objective of further strengthening the special relationship between the two countries. The statement also read, Prime Minister Modi will also visit Sri Lanka on 09 June 2019 at the invitation of H.E. Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. On Monday, New Delhi lashed out over a reference in a communique by the OIC to the Kashmir issue at the 14th Islamic Summit of the OIC at Mecca, Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: Indias love-hate relationship with the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) continues. On Monday, New Delhi lashed out over a reference in a communique by the OIC to the Kashmir issue at the 14th Islamic Summit of the OIC at Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It may be recalled that just three months ago, India was the guest of honour at an OIC meeting in Abu Dhabi. Media reports said the OIC, at its conference at Mecca, had approved Yousef Aldobeay of Saudi Arabia as the OICs special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, besides making controversial references to the Kashmir issue. The MEA said: The OIC has no locus standi in matters relating to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The MEA said, We categorically reject yet another unacceptable reference to matters internal to India in the final communique adopted at the conclusion of the 14th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states held at Makkah, Saudi Arabia on 31 May 2019. It is reiterated that OIC should refrain from making such unwarranted references. It may be recalled that India was all set to join the OIC 50 years ago as a founding member in 1969 when then Pakistani military dictator Gen. Yahya Khan scuttled the move, creating an anti-India pitch at the forum. In March this year, then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj represented India as the guest of honour at the OIC foreign ministers meeting in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan had boycotted that meeting in protest against Indias presence. New Delhi: US secretary of state Michael R. Pompeo may visit India later this month and is expected to hold talks with new external affairs minister S. Jaishankar. The US last week announced that it will terminate Indias designation as a beneficiary developing nation from June 5, ending the countrys US$ 5.6 billion trade concessions under the key Generalised System of Preference (GSP). India has also stopped importing Iranian oil due to the threat of sanctions by the US. While speculation is rife that the visit is likely to take place, the MEA said it would make an announcement on a visit only when it is finalised. In response to media queries, the MEA said, High-level visits, including at the level of foreign minister, are an important component of the India-US strategic partnership. As you are aware, there is a standard protocol for the announcement of any high-level visit. We will keep you informed when such a visit gets finalised. In a blow to India that will be the Modi governments first major foreign policy challenge, US President Donald Trump had said he took the decision on the GSP after determining that India had not assured the US that it would provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets. The GSP essentially comprises unilateral, non-reciprocal and non-discriminatory benefits extended by some developed countries to developing countries. India had swiftly termed the US move unfortunate, with the commerce ministry saying that New Delhi had offered resolution on significant US requests but that it is unfortunate that this did not find acceptance by the US. In a clear message, India had said it would uphold its national interest with significant development imperatives and that this would remain the guiding factor in the governments approach. It may be recalled that last month, Mr Trump had called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi to congratulate him on his partys electoral victory, with the two leaders agreeing to meet at the forthcoming G-20 Summit at Osaka in Japan and also resolving to further strengthen the close strategic ties between the two nations. New Delhi: The Union Minister of State (MoS) for Development of North Eastern Region (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh chaired a review meeting on Monday with the officials of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and North Eastern Council (NEC) and said that development of the region was a priority for the Modi government . "Development of the northeastern region has been the priority for the Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Singh said at the meeting here. He added that the government will make all efforts to implement the projects and the ministers would soon start their visit to the region to see the ground realities and challenges firsthand. The officials briefed the Minister about the progress made on the ongoing projects in the North Eastern region of India. He was also briefed about the upcoming initiatives and projects to be implemented in the region. During the meeting, Singh was informed that an amount of Rs 11 crore has been released for the construction of a JNU hostel for northeastern students in Delhi whose construction is about to begin in a few weeks. This will be the first of its kind hostel in JNU. The hostel will have 224 rooms and accommodate 424 students. Out of 224 rooms, 24 rooms have been assigned for Divyang students. The remaining rooms will be occupied by an equal number of boys and girls ie 200 boys and 200 girls. The four-storey hostel will be built in approximately one and a half acre area. He was also informed that the hostel for North Eastern girl students, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister in Bengaluru recently, has also become functional. In addition to these, the land acquisition process has started for the Rohini hostel for Northeastern students studying in colleges and institutions related to Delhi University and Rs 2.5 crore has been released to DDA. The hostel will be built in an area of about 5 acres. The status of the North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre to be set up in Dwarka in New Delhi, was also discussed during the meeting. The estimated cost of the project is about rupees 50 crore. The Minister said that this centre will act as a cultural and convention/information hub of the North Eastern Region in Delhi. It will be constructed at par with the international standards and will have a library-cum-reading room with material on the North Eastern region and an art gallery showcasing the North East. Hyderabad: TPCC working president and MP A. Revanth Reddy on Monday opposed the Centres proposal of making the teaching of Hindi compulsory all over the country. He said the proposal would affect the very existence of southern states. Mr Reddy said the party was opposed to the K. Kasturirangan committee report that recommended that Hindi be made compulsory in schools in the southern states. He asked whether the Centre could make Telugu language compulsory in northern states. Later in the day, the Centre dropped the contentious provision in the draft education policy. Mr Reddy said that the Telugu language which stood second in the number of people speaking it had fallen to the third spot due to the negligence of the government. Vice-President M. Venkai-ah Naidu also spoke against the Centres proposal. At a meeting in Tirumala, he said, Making the learning of Hindi language compulsory is wrong and at the same time, opposing the learning of Hindi is also wrong. Hyderabad: Efforts by the Telangana Rashtra Samiti to weaken the main opposition Congress has allowed the BJP to emerge as a strong alternative in Telangana state. Should the BJP grow in Telangana state, the TRS will be in trouble as the BJPs organisational structure makes it a formidable opponent. After the Lok Sabha elections the BJP national leadership has announced that their next target after West Bengal is Telangana state from where it has won four seats. In the Assembly elections held four months ago the BJP had won just one seat. The Congress won three Lok Sabha seats last month, and 19 Assembly seats in December last year. Going by the votes polled in the Assembly elections in December, the TRS was ahead in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies out of 16. In Mahbubabad the vote difference between the TRS and the Congress was about 5,000. Despite this, the TRS won only nine seats in the Lok Sabha elections held six months later. Compared to the Assembly elections the TRS lead in the Assembly segments had reduced and the BJP and the Congress had gained. In the Assembly elections the TRS won 88 seats. Going by the votes received by the TRS in individual Assembly segments during the Lok Sabha polls, the ruling party was ahead in 71 seats. That means that in the five-month gap between the Assembly election and the Lok Sabha polls, the TRS majority has come down to 71 Assembly constituencies from 88. The BJP had won only one seat in the Assembly elections but in the Lok Sabha polls it got a majority in 21 Assembly segments. The Congress won 19 seats in the December elections but in the Lok Sabha elections it led in 21 Assembly segments. TRS leaders said that the results were the outcome of national dominating the Lok Sabha elections, and the TRS won only nine seats. State issues are thought to be paramount in the Assembly elections. As things stand now, there is little chance of the Congress gaining strength in the state or at the Centre where it has lost twice consecutively while the BJP has won twice at the Centre which will help strengthen its position in Telangana state. The TRS concentrated on weakening the Congress by encouraging defections of its MLAs and admitting important leaders into the party. A senior politician said that if the Congress had been strong, the BJP would not have won four Lok Sabha seats. He said the defections of Congress MLAs weakened the party and strengthened the BJP. People who are against the TRS usually vote for the Congress. But they were apprehensive that once elected the MLAs would defect to the TRS and chose the BJP instead. The BJP has the advantage when it comes to organisation and has committed hardcore workers. The Congress has no such workers; most of them can be lured away easily by other political parties. Photo: The Canadian Press A U.S. aircraft carrier the White House ordered to the Mideast over a perceived threat from Iran remains outside of the Persian Gulf amid efforts to de-escalate tensions between Tehran and Washington. The USS Abraham Lincoln on Monday was in the Arabian Sea, 200 miles off the coast of Oman. While U.S. Navy officials repeatedly declined to discuss why they hadn't gone through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf, they insisted they remain ready to launch any mission in the region. However, Capt. Putnam Browne, the commanding officer of the Lincoln, also told The Associated Press: "You don't want to inadvertently escalate something." The White House in May ordered the Lincoln and its strike group to speed to the Mideast. It's also sent B-52 bombers and ordered hundreds of troops to the area. Tensions with Iran have worsened since President Donald Trump pulled America out of Iran's nuclear deal last year and imposed sanctions on Tehran. On the 30th anniversary of the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, the USS Abraham Lincoln hosted journalists from the AP and other media outlets. They spent some four hours aboard the vessel after a two-hour flight from the United Arab Emirates and were greeted by camera-carrying sailors who documented every part of their four hours onboard. The day before, the U.S. Air Force announced a B-52 conducted a training exercise with the Lincoln that included "simulated strike operations." Thousands in Iran mark Khomeini's death by visiting his golden shrine south of Tehran. This year, Iranian military officials reportedly plan to guard it with Hawk surface-to-air missiles, the same kind the U.S. delivered to the Islamic Republic in the Iran-Contra scandal. However, in recent days, the Trump administration has stressed it is ready to speak to the Iranians without preconditions. Asked about why the Lincoln hadn't gone into the Persian Gulf, Rear Adm. John F.G. Wade, the commander of the carrier's strike group, said that his forces could "conduct my mission wherever and whenever needed." He declined to discuss any specifics about that mission, though he said Iran had presented "credible threats" to the region. "They do impose a threat to our operations, but also to the safety and security of commerce and trade going through the Strait of Hormuz and that's why we are here," Wade said. This is the first time the saffron party has spoken about the sharing of Assembly seats after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election. (Photo: ANI) Mumbai: Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrakant Patil has said that Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would contest 135 of the states 288 Assembly seats each while 18 would be set aside for allies. Mr Patil, a close associate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah, made this statement in an interaction with mediapersons while touring drought-hit regions of the state on Sunday. The BJP leader also said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was the natural choice of the people, the BJP and the Sena for the top post again. This is the first time the saffron party has spoken about the sharing of Assembly seats after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha election. In the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls, the saffron parties together won 41 of the 48 seats. While the BJP secured 23 of the 25 seats it contested, the Sena managed victory in 18 of the 23 seats it fought. Assembly elections in Maharashtra is scheduled to be held between September and October this year. Both Amit Shah and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had given a word that BJP and Shiv Sena will fight the assembly polls together. Our party doesn't go back on its word, Mr Patil said. We have 122 sitting MLAs and eight independents are supporting the BJP, whereas the Shiv Sena has 63 sitting MLAs. We will get only five additional seats, he added. Stating that the chief minister has balanced relations with Shiv Sena, Mr Patil said, He has good equations with Uddhav Thackeray. When Saamana (Sena mouthpiece) wrote critical editorials, he would tell the party not to make their criticism public in the newspaper, but express it internally, It was certain that both parties would contest the state Assembly election together but the parties leaders were tight-lipped about the seat-sharing formula. Earlier, there had been talk of the BJP contesting a large number of Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and the Shiv Sena contesting a large number Assembly seats. But matters have changed with the BJP proving its winning power in the state as well as in the country. The BJP had won 104 seats in the Assembly elections last year and added one more to its tally in the bypolls held along with recent Lok Sabha elections. (Photo: Twitter | @PMuralidharRao) Hyderabad: Senior BJP leader P Muralidhar Rao on Monday said his party would not try to destabilise the Congress-JD(S) government in Karnataka but indicated the coalition may fall before the year end. The party general secretary in charge of Karnataka affairs said the BJP has maintained in the past year that the coalition government is not a stable one, it cannot survive and it would not last. Rao, asked if the coalition government would last the calendar year 2019, told PTI here in Hyderabad, "2019 itself may be a little longer; I don't know because things are not stable is the fact." "New development has added to the problem", he said, obviously referring to the coalition worries that have been compounded by the BJP's spectacular performance, winning 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in the state, leaving a mere one each to the Congress and JD(S). The BJP-backed independent Sumalatha had also won. The BJP had won 104 seats in the Assembly elections last year and added one more to its tally in the bypolls held along with recent Lok Sabha elections. The ruling combine has 117 members -- 78 of the Congress, 37 of the JD(S), one of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and one Independent. "Basically, the government has become delegitimate, people have rejected it. Technically, as a combined force, they (Congress-JD-S) may say they have majority. But mandate is different, majority is different; so you are robbed off legitimacy," Rao said. "Why we (BJP) should destabilise (the government) when people are not accepting (the coalition)? They do not have people's support, so don't you think within Congress and JD(S) people (MLAs) will be eager to get out?", he said. Rao said it is not the responsibility of the BJP to keep the government in Karnataka going. "If anybody (MLAs of the ruling coalition) comes out, should I not meet? I am not doing any special game (not destabilising)," he said. Chennai: DMK president M. K. Stalin congratulated United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on her election as leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. I extend my hearty greetings to respected Annai (mother) Sonia Gandhi, he said in a Facebook post. Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu usually refer Sonia Gandhi as Annai Sonia as a mark of respect. Stalin said no power can remove the Congress partys excellent work from the hearts of the Indian people. The DMK chief said Congress was the permanent guarantee for pluralism, secularism, social justice and equality enshrined in the constitution. Also, the poor, middle-class and marginalised sections continued to believe in the Congress, he said. Sonia Gandhis name for the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) leader, proposed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was unanimously endorsed by all party lawmakers, on Saturday. With this, the suspense is now over whom the chairperson names as the leader of the party in Parliament - her son Rahul Gandhi, who wants to step down as the party chief, or another member. The DMK has been one of the most reliable allies of the Congress and it was Stalin who had pitched Rahul Gandhis name for Prime Minister before the Lok Sabha elections. Though the Congress was trounced by the BJP and its allies in most States in the polls, in Tamil Nadu, the DMK and the Congress won 37 of 38 parliamentary seats. Patna: In a surprise move, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday inducted eight JD(U) legislators into his Cabinet, overlooking NDA allies BJP and LJP in an expansion exercise that came just three days after differences forced the JD(U) to opt out of the Narendra Modi Cabinet. Though seen as a snub to the BJP, the chief minister sought to play down the rift in the NDA. There is no trouble with the BJP and everything is fine in NDA, he told reporters. He said that one berth was offered to the BJP but the party didnt look too keen on joining the Cabinet. This is the second time in two years when Mr Kumar has expanded his Cabinet. On July 29, 2017, he had inducted 27 ministers from all three NDA constituents the JD(U), the BJP and the LJP. The ministers inducted on Sunday included Shyam Rajak, Ashok Chaudhary, Sanjay Jha, Laxmeshwar Prasad, Bima Bharti, Ram Sevak Singh Kushwaha, Neeraj Kumar and Narendra Narayan Yadav. Five of them are MLAs while three are MLCs. With the latest expansion, the Cabinets strength had reached 33 against the permitted 36 in the 243-member Assembly. Political analysts claim that the berths have been allocated keeping 2020 Assembly elections in mind. In the expanded Cabinet, Mr Kumar has included two from the upper caste, two from extremely backward caste, two from mahadalit and one each from Yadav and Kushwaha communities. After the Cabinet expansion, Mr Kumar said, Posts were lying vacant and since Assembly session is also likely to commence soon we decided to induct ministers into the state Cabinet. BJP leader and Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who was also present during the oath ceremony at the governor house, tweeted, Nitish Kumar has offered the BJP to fill the vacant seat. The BJP decided to fill it in the future. Most of the state Cabinet vacancies were created by JD(U) ministers resigning from their posts for various reasons. Fresh vacancies were created after ministers Dinesh Chandra Yadav and Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh won Lok Sabha polls from Madhepura and Munger seats. The development comes amid reports of a rift between the JD(U) and the BJP over-allotment of berths in the Union Cabinet. Sources said that JD(U) opted out of the Union Cabinet to express its displeasure over being offered only one seat as part of symbolic representation. The JD(U) is the third largest NDA ally with 16 Lok Sabha seats. The party was eyeing for proportional representation in the Union Cabinet but was disappointed over being offered on berth. Political analysts are of the opinion that simmering discontent over the issue may cause unease among the two allies ahead of Bihar Assembly election which is due in 2020. Kushwaha was talking to reporters after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. (Photo: File) Patna: Former BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha cautioned the BJP that Nitish Kumar will "betray" it and it should be ready for "Dhokha number 2" from the JD(U) president. "I want to tell BJP people that Nitish Kumar has been known for disrespecting the people's mandate. Betraying people's mandate and alliance partners are his old habits...BJP people should be ready to witness ''Dhokha number 2''," Kushwaha told reporters. "Aisa koi saga nahi jisko Nitish ne thaga nahi (There is nobody who has not been cheated by Nitish)," he said. This idiom will be translated into action here soon and hence the BJP should remain "cautious", he said. Kushwaha was talking to reporters after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Kumar had snapped ties with the BJP in June 2013 after Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, was made the BJP's campaign committee chairman for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kumar later joined hands with the RJD and Congress to form Grand Alliance in Bihar which won the last state elections. However, in July 2017, Mr Kumar brought down the Grand Alliance government as he pulled out of the grouping. But within hours, he joined hands with the BJP and became chief minister again. Kushwaha said Kumar remarks that the JD(U) would not join the Modi cabinet reminded him of ''sour grapes''. Asked as to why he thought his party and the Mahagathbandhan were routed in the Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP chief claimed that the BJP's top leadership "misled the people of the country as part of their conspiracy to deflect attention from actual issues" and people voted on non-issues. "We have learnt a lesson and will be cautious and aware of their (BJP's) conspiracy in elections." Replying to another query, he said that the RJD-Congress-RLSP-HAM Grand Alliance in Bihar is united and will remain so in future. Asked if he though Tejashwi Yadav was responsible for Grand Alliance's defeat in Bihar, Kushwaha said one person cannot be held responsible. The former Union minister termed the Bihar CM's decision to fill 32,000 posts of teachers in the state's secondary and higher secondary schools as an "eye-wash". The decision would not bring quality education in state-run schools, he said. Kumar should alter the selection procedure and appoint quality teachers through examination held either by Bihar Public Service Commission or any other specialised body, he said. Kushwaha, however, extended his support to Kumar for getting special category status accorded to Bihar. If the state government forms a delegation of political parties or chalks out any programme, the RLSP would extend it support for the cause, he added. Hyderabad: Union minister of state for social justice Ramdas Athawale invited the TRS and the YSRC to join the newly formed BJP-led NDA government in the Centre as part of inclusive politics. The minister who was in the city on Saturday for his first visit after taking oath for a second term in the Narendra Modi government appealed to Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy of Andhra Pradesh and K. Chandrasekhar Rao of Telangana state to follow the path of Dr B.R Ambedkar, who preached on inclusive Politics. He said, The Modi government doesnt oppose any marginalised community. The government is in full support of the SCs, STs, OBCs, specially abled and others. The Centre wants to study their problems and make policies according to that. Asked about the recent suicide of Maharashtra medical PG student Dr Payal Tadvi following alleged caste harassment by her colleagues, and the institutional killing of Dalit students in the country, Mr Athawale said the Maharashtra government was investigating the case and the suspects had been detained by the police. Emphasising on the reservation policy of the Centre, he said, Our government has taken a decision on reservation based on economic status. We want to ensure social as well as economic justice. Mr Athawale said the Maharashtra government had allotted Rs 800 crore for the construction of Dr Ambedkars statue which when completed would be taller than the Statue of Liberty in the US. Hyderabad: The TRS won the byelections to all the three Legislative Council seats from the local authorities quota on Monday. The TRS victory in Warangal and Ranga Reddy was predicted, but it also won the Nalgonda seat where the Congress has an MLA and an MP. The victory continues the roller-coaster ride of the TRS which won the Assembly elections but fell short in the Lok Sabha polls. In the backdrop of these results, the outcome of the zilla and mandal territorial committees on Tuesday will be keenly awaited. In Warangal, TRS candidate P. Srinivas Reddy defeated E. Venkatrami Reddy of the Congress and in Ranga Reddy former minister Patnam Mahender Reddy over Mr Pratap Reddy of the Congress. A majority of the voters in both constituencies belong to the TRS which had won the civic polls in 2016. The victory of TRS nominee Chinnappa Reddy from Nalgonda district grabbed attention as he defeated Ms Lakshmi Reddy of the Congress, the wife of sitting MLA Komataireddy Rajagopal Reddy. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao congratulated the party candidates on their victory and thanked the representatives of local bodies who handed the party a one-sided victory. TRS working president K.T. Rama Rao also congratulated the candidates. Of the 2,799 voters in the three constituencies, 2,753 exercised their franchise in the elections held on Friday. The byelections were caused by the resignations of Mr Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy (Congress) and Mr P. Narender Reddy (TRS) on their election to the Assembly and Mr Konda Muralidhar Rao, who defected to the Congress. Their tenure was to end on on January 4, 2022. The one thing we will hear the Narendra Modi government and the BJP say now is, We have the mandate, to brush aside any objection, any criticism of anything that they would do. And the BJP would be partly justified too in saying so. Of course, the mandate is for implementing the BJPs agenda. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has astutely kept the agenda vague with his hazy vision of building a New India by the time India turns 75 in 2022, whatever that means. It is unlikely that the Swachchh Bharat Mission (SBM) will be complete, or that the Ganga would have been cleaned up, or the digitisation of the Indian economy would be widespread, or Smart Cities would emerge either from the existing ones or from greenfield projects. These are all laudable goals, but the government does not have the material and intellectual resources to execute them. It is always good to have dreams and visions, however hazy. And Mr Modi has done well to place before the country the vision of a New India. This goal will see him through the second term, and with the flair of a propagandist he would trumpet the few things that he would be able to accomplish. There is also the distinct danger that by invoking We have the mandate, the Modi government would take so-called strong action and worsen the situation than before. Of course, the government has the luxury of acting in a willful way, until the people protest. In case the government with the mandate would want to ride roughshod over the peoples complaints, then people will vote them out in 2024. It is to be assumed that governments with a mandate will not misuse their mandate, and that they would show enough tact though they have the power to do whatever they want to do. Home minister Amit Shah will be expected to tackle the illegal immigrant issue in Assam with a strong hand, and he has a free hand to do so. But he will have to use tact, which he is likely to use than not. That is what is really expected of politicians. But theres another thing that this second Narendra Modi government does not have the luxury of saying. It cannot blame the 55 years of Congress rule as a hurdle to implement their agenda. For the first two years of the first term in office, Prime Minister Modi and his colleagues referred to legacy issues the problems they inherited from the second Manmohan Singh government. There was some justification in that excuse, but it became a lame one in the next three years. Then, Mr Modi and his BJP colleagues invoked the 55 years of misgovernance of the Congress, right from the time India became independent. It was partly valid campaign rhetoric, but now that the BJP is in power, Mr Modi cannot take shelter behind for his governance failures. The first term of the Modi government had an advantage because it was compared to the ramshackle second government of Dr Singh. The second Modi government is on its own, and it will be expected not to commit the blunders of its first term. The inane platitudes of development that Mr Modi doled out in his speeches in the first five years would not stand him in good stead this time around. He has to get things done. His record on the economy in the first term is quite shaky, and that is reason that he fought the election on emotive issues like national security. Mr Modi is quite capable of conjuring another national security issue in the run-up to the 2024 election, but people may be less forgiving. The economy is not in a happy position and that India still is the fastest growing economy with its sub-seven percent growth rate (6.8 per cent for 2018-19) is of little solace. Mr Modis mind is focused on rolling out welfare measures with a trace of native business cunning. This can be seen in the insurance schemes, either for health or for farmers, which does not involve government spending the whole amount. It is a contributory affair, and the schemes would lapse through no fault of the government. It is welfarism at its prudent best, but it is unlikely to change the lot of the people who need help. What India needs is increased domestic economic activity, and stimulus packages from the government will not go too far in addressing the problem. The improved Ease of Doing Business rank is not of much use if there is no economic activity in the country. The lot of the people will improve not through government intervention but when people can stand on their own feet and do their own business. A big lacuna in the first Modi governments economic governance was the absence of private investment. The government cannot spend its way to economic growth for long. As of now, the Modi government has not done anything to address the issue. Mr Modis economic thinking is in the Congress mould, where the state has the dominant role. So, there will be very few steps where the state will allow the economy the breathing space it needs. The world is a tougher place for India in 2019 than it was in 2014. Xi Jinpings China and Donald Trumps America are not going to be too friendly. There is tough bargaining to be done. We have seen Mr Modi and the BJP leaders and the right-wing policy wonks speak tough, but we have not seen them handle tough situations. Indias handling of Doklam has not yet been deconstructed sufficiently to be of any use in handling China on other fronts. The time for Mr Modis euphoric declamations is over. It is time for dreary governance, where there is less room for photo opportunities. From June 5, the preferential trade terms for a category of Indian exports to the United States will come to an end. President Donald Trump's administration made the announcement last week, venting its frustration over India's stance as regards market access to some categories of US exports. In the larger scheme of things the changed American stance, which overturns decades of a pattern of trading ties, does not make much sense, especially since the values are relatively small in monetary terms. Under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), about 11 per cent of Indian exports to the US, that totalled around $54 billion in 2018, enter the US market without duty. Thus, around $6 billion worth of goods spanning 119 items will now become dutiable. India has considerably reduced the price of medical items such as stents for the heart, and knee implants. American pharmaceutical companies have long been upset over this as they now become uncompetitive. New Delhi has also raised tariffs on ICT (information and communication technologies) in order to promote its own nascent industry. India further seeks certification that US dairy products exported to it are not based on bovines fed on animal organs. Negotiations with America on these matters, stretched over a long period, have not produced results. Newly-imposed US tariffs on some Indian exports should spur our companies to become efficient and cut costs. That is the ideal situation instead of haggling interminably with the Trump administration on low-value items. India and the US have consolidated their relationship in the past two decades, especially in the strategic field. The latest trade blip does not spell a setback. Smriti Irani, the giantkiller of Amethi, gets back her portfolios of minister of textiles and minister of women and child development. After his historic victory in the recent parliamentary elections, in putting together his new Cabinet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rewarded experience, performance record and loyalty and also experimented with many new faces. Amit Shahs imprint is visible in the representation from Odisha and West Bengal where the BJP has done well, and Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana, where Assembly elections will take place shortly. Even Kerala, where BJP workers have lost lives, has got a minister: V. Muraleedharan. Mr Shah has played a crucial role in addressing allies demands and regional expectations. Subrahmanyam Jaishankars induction as the minister of external affairs has been the biggest surprise. One of the sharpest minds of the IFS, Mr Jaishankar enjoys a close rapport with Mr Modi, as did Brajesh Mishra, once with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He has been instrumental in several foreign policy initiatives of Mr Modi during his tenure as foreign secretary, including at the Wuhan informal summit with the Chinese President and the resolution of the Doklam impasse. It is certainly prudent on the Prime Ministers part to have a safe pair of hands of a polished and seasoned diplomat who is on the same page and follows a similar working style. Having served both in Washington and Beijing and overseen the unfolding of Mr Modis foreign policy from the headquarters, Mr Jaishankar is an excellent choice he should steady relations with the US and China, fast-track the Act East policy, broaden outreach with Africa and South America and navigate imaginatively with the EU, now undergoing virtual turmoil. He can also help execute Mr Modis new initiative Nara aimed at marrying national aspirations with regional aspirations. Mr Jaishankar has leapfrogged to the Cabinet ministers chair in a single jump, which three foreign secretaries J.N. Dixit, Shyam Saran and Shivshankar Menon couldnt! Arun Jaitley, who has opted out on health grounds, will be missed. A great deal of credit for the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, GST and direct transfer to the beneficiary, setting up a banking board, addressing NPAs and the implementation of the Jan Dhan Yojana should go to him. He was a suave, articulate and friendly face of the BJP. The Prime Ministers choice of Nirmala Sitharaman to step into Mr Jaitleys big shoes, dispelling speculation about Amit Shah or Piyush Goyal getting the job, has been another big surprise. Starting as a combative and articulate spokesperson, it has been a rise and rise for Ms Sitharaman. Her stints as minister of state in the ministries of finance, commerce and industry and her impressive record as defence minister might have weighed in her favour. Besides, she enjoys the trust of Mr Modi as well as the former finance minister, Mr Jaitley. Nitin Gadkari has proved his mettle. He has completed numerous infrastructure projects, especially highways/expressways. He returns to his ministries with MSMEs added to his platter. Reputed as a go-getter, he has his role cut out. Rajnath Singh makes way for the BJP president, Amit Shah, who emerges as a powerful number two in Mr Modis Cabinet. With the crucial role in the selection of governors and the police forces under his command, Mr Shah will play a major role in internal security and counter-terrorism and taking advantage of political turbulence in the states under Opposition governments. His detractors, like the Delhi chief minister, should be concerned. With his strong views on Articles 370 and 35A and the Citizenship Bill, Mr Shah can invite ire from the BJPs opponents. His selection reflects the convergence of his and Mr Modis strategic priorities for the BJP. As the new defence minister (an obvious demotion), Mr Rajnath Singh can address long wishlists of inventories of the three wings of the defence forces. Going beyond the burgeoning imports of defence equipment from the US, we must press for joint research and joint production. It might be a good idea for the new defence minister to advise the top brass of the Army to shun TV cameras unless it is most unavoidable. Gen. Bipin Rawat has probably appeared on TV more often than Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw! The recent mess in the civil aviation sector and the increasingly strident criticism of Indias high tariffs by the United States might have cost Suresh Prabhu, an honest, hardworking technocrat, his job. The decision on inducting Ramesh Pokhriyal, a well-known Hindi poet and former chief minister of Uttarakhand, believed to be close to Mr Shah and yoga guru Baba Randev, as HRD minister, is significant. HRD is much more than changing curriculums and promoting Hindi. It will need delicate handling of higher education, private universities and restive university campuses. Piyush Goyal returns to Rail Bhavan with the additional charge of the ministry of commerce and industry. Obviously, the Prime Minister rates him high, though he might induct a full-time commerce and industry minister later. Prakash Javadekar returns to his earlier portfolios of I&B minister and minister of environment, forest and climate change. Smriti Irani, the giantkiller of Amethi, gets back her portfolios of minister of textiles and minister of women and child development. Both are trusted lieutenants of Mr Modi. His high performance brings Hardeep Singh Puri back to the housing and urban affairs ministry. As the new civil aviation minister, he has to bring about stability in this sector and facilitate disinvestment from Air India. Maneka Gandhis comments about Muslim voters during an election rally might have sealed her fate. Mahesh Sharmas interaction with the alleged attackers of Mohammad Akhlaq had drawn a lot of flak for the BJP. His omission could be a signal to the minority community. Narendra Tomar is a good choice to head the ministry of agriculture, farmers welfare, rural development and panchayati raj. Addressing agricultural distress is a priority. The decision to extend the PM Kisan Samman Yojana to over 14 crore farmers and introduce the PM Pension Yojana for five crore farmers over 60 years should partly alleviate farmers distress. The creation of a separate jal shakti ministry to conserve rivers and other water resources is laudable. Hindus comprise 91.4 per cent of the members of the new Cabinet and1.7 per cent are Muslims; the upper castes account for 56.9 per cent and the dalits for 10.3 per cent. Ultimately, it is Mr Modis strong, dynamic, inspiring and visionary leadership that matters. He always oozes with energy and brims with new ideas. He has dared to introduce more new schemes than most Prime Ministers. Even if 60 per cent of these get implemented, India will be transformed beyond recognition. The Prime Ministers visit to the war memorial before getting sworn in and the first decision of the new Cabinet to increase the amount for children of members of the armed forces, paramilitary forces and the Railway Protection Force killed in the line of duty in the Prime Ministers scholarship scheme under the National Defence Fund will solidify Mr Modis image as the Prime Minister who stands with the armed forces/paramilitary forces. With his stature and authority, Mr Modi can afford to debar the hotheads of the BJP from making provocative statements. He should also win over the minorities with proactive and holistic policies. In the context of unflattering news of high rates of unemployment and the lowest rate of GDP growth in the last quarter, Professor Arvind Panagariyas (Columbia University) comments deserve a mention: Private entrepreneurs are the true drivers of economic growth, not the government... it must limit its responsibility to creating a healthy business environment by bringing about appropriate changes in laws, rules and procedures and business should take responsibility for job creation and production activity. As he opens his new innings, we must wish the Prime Minister well. But he must remember that unless his lofty promises are fulfilled and people can see concrete results, the public mood might change with unforeseen consequences. Day after the guests called to an Iftar party at Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Saturday was harassed by Pakistan officials, India on Sunday issued a strong-worded statement to protest the "gross intimidation of guests". Indian High Commission in its letter strongly condemned and criticised "a concerted campaign... by Pakistan's security agencies". In the letter, India also called on the government of Pakistan to "urgently investigate these ugly events" and share the results of the investigation with the High Commission. "Many guests from the diplomatic community-based in Islamabad were also subjected to harassment. In complete violation of diplomatic norms, a large Pakistani security detachment, equipped with forklifts, was detailed outside Serena hotel to aggressively turn away Pakistani citizens," the letter read. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi were among those invited to the event. In the letter, the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan, Ajay Bisaria, also said: "intimidation and coercion are entirely counter-productive for our bilateral relationship". The guests invited to an Iftar party hosted by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad were allegedly stopped and harassed by Pakistani officials on Saturday. The guests were intimidated and "aggressively" turned away from the venue by Pakistani officials. The Pakistani officials surrounded Hotel Serena, the venue of the Iftar party, and harassed hundreds of guests who had come to attend they, and harassed hundreds of guests who had come to attend the event organised by an Indian envoy, news agency ANI reported. The guests were forced to leave the venue, the news agency reported. "We apologise to all our guests who have aggressively turned away from our Iftar yesterday. Such intimidatory tactics are deeply disappointing," Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria said. Also read: Pakistan: Guest at Indian Envoys Iftar party harassed by Pak officials in Islamabad IEEE confirmed the restrictions and stressed that the curbs applied only to Huawei employees and peer review. (Photo: AP) The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) said on Monday curbs on employees of Huawei Technologies and its subsidiaries have been lifted, and they would be allowed to participate in a peer review process for its research papers. The US-based engineers association last week said it would bar Huawei staff from doing so, after the United States accused the company of being tied to Chinas government and effectively banned US companies from doing business with it for national security reasons. IEEE China said in a statement on its website it had decided to lift the restrictions after receiving further clarification from the US Department of Commerce. Our previous restrictive approach was wholly meant to protect our volunteers and members and to avoid relevant legal risks. After we received the relevant instructions, the legal risks were lifted, it said. On Thursday, IEEE confirmed the restrictions and stressed that the curbs applied only to Huawei employees and peer review. It added that Huawei employees can continue to submit papers for publication and participate in the IEEEs conferences. IEEEs move last week was met with strong responses from Chinas academic community. On Thursday, Beijing-based technology research group The China Computer Federation (CCF) said it would suspend communications with IEEE. One Peking University professor, Zhang Haixia, announced on social media that she would resign from the organization as a result of the restrictions. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. London: US President Donald Trump waded once again on Sun-day into Britains Brexit debate on the eve of a state visit to London, urging Theresa Mays successor to leave the EU with no deal. Whoever takes over as Britains next prime minister should not be afraid to walk away from negotiations with Brussels and should refuse to pay the agreed divorce bill, he told the Sunday Times newspaper. The intervention comes after Trump used another newspaper interview to declare that former foreign minister Boris Johnson would be an excellent replacement for May. Britain is rolling out the red carpet for the president this week, starting with a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Monday. But large protests are also planned over what London Mayor Sadiq Kh-an described as Trump's divisive behaviour, while opposition politicians are boycotting the banquet. Trump embarrassed May with outspoken remarks on Brexit during his visit to Britain last year. On Sunday he again urged the next government to follow his own negotiating rule book. If they dont get what they want, I would walk away... If you dont get the deal you want, if you dont get a fair deal, then you walk away, he said. May has already agreed to pay 39 billion to cover Britains liabilities as it moves to sever four dec-ades of EU membership. But Trump said: If I were them I wouldnt pay $50 billion. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number. May agreed a divorce agreement with Brussels last November, but British MPs have rejected it three times and she has had to delay Brexit twice. She has now been forced out and her Conservative party is beginning the process of finding a new leader, with 13 candidates already declared. Johnson, one of the frontrunners, is among several to say Britain should leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal. They are under pressure from the Brexit party, the latest political vehicle of anti-EU populist leader Nigel Farage, that came top in EU elections last month. Trump said he believed Farage should play a role in negotiating Brexit with the European Union. Trump has made clamping down on legal and illegal immigration a signature policy of his administration. (Photo:AP) Washington: Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration on Sunday as a top aide warned that the US president is "deadly serious" about imposing tariffs on imports from the southern neighbor. The attacks came despite efforts at conciliation by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said Sunday that "the president of Mexico wants to keep being a friend of President Donald Trump; but above all, we Mexicans are friends of the American people. "Let's pledge not to let anything get in the way of our beautiful, sacred friendship," Lopez Obrador said in Tabasco. Also Read: US to hit Mexico with tariffs over 'illegal migrants': Donald Trump Trump's surprise threat Thursday to place duties on all imports from Mexico, beginning at five percent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 percent, shocked Republican allies in Congress. It also rattled world markets, already shaky over trade war fears, with no solution in sight to a US-China dispute that has seen tariffs exchanged on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods. Trump has made clamping down on legal and illegal immigration a signature policy of his administration, and is facing a rising flow of migrants fleeing poverty and gang violence in Central America. In this Monday, April 30, 2018 file photo, Migrants wait for access to request asylum in the U.S., at the El Chaparral port of Entry in Tijuana, Mexico, Top officials from the U.S. and Mexico will begin talks Monday, June 3, 2019 in a scramble to fend off President Donald Trump s threat of devastating tariffs and meet his demand for fewer migrants at the border. (AP Photo/Hans-Maximo Musielik, File) "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving," Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday. Unless Mexico stops the "invasion," he warned, he would use tariffs to bring back "companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border." The New York Times reported that the move -- pushed by immigration hardliners -- was opposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, a White House intermediary with Mexico. But Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said Trump was "absolutely deadly serious" about proceeding with tariffs. "I fully expect these tariffs to go into at least a five percent level on June 10," he said on "Fox News Sunday." The number of migrants reaching the US border is "huge, the situation is real and the president is deadly serious about fixing the problem," he said. Mulvaney said Kushner and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet with Mexican representatives in Washington this week, as would Lighthizer, to spell out what the Mexicans could do to avoid the tariffs. In Mexico, Commerce Secretary Graciela Nunez said she would hold talks in Washington Monday with her US counterpart Wilbur Ross after the two met at the swearing-in in San Salvador of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who meets with Pompeo on Wednesday, led a delegation to Washington on Friday. "There is willingness on the part of US government officials to establish dialogue and reach agreements and compromises," Lopez Obrador told a news conference in Mexico City on Saturday. He said he doubted the tariffs would ultimately take place. "It is in everybody's interest to reach an agreement," he said. But on Sunday, Trump said he wants "action, not talk." "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border. Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years." US officials are insisting Mexico act more aggressively to stop migrants moving through the country from Central America long before they reach the US border. Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, said Trump wants "a vast reduction" in the number of migrants reaching the border. He said the US wants Mexico to intercept migrants on its southern boundary with Guatemala, taking action against what he described as cartel-owned bus lines moving them north, and coordinate with US authorities on asylum. "At any given moment we have 100,000 moving through Mexico," McAleenan said on CNN's "State of the Union." "These crossings into Mexico are happening on a 150-mile stretch of their southern border. This is a controllable area. We need them to interdict these folks before they make this route all the way to the US," he said. The threat to use Chinas rich supply of rare earths as leverage in the conflict has contributed to sharp losses in US stocks. (Photo:AP) Beijing: China fired back at the US Sunday over the two nations trade dispute, issuing a report that blamed the conflict on the Trump administration but refrained from escalating the trade war. The report from the Cabinet spokesmans office said China wont back down on major issues of principle, but offered no sense of whether or how the worlds second largest economy might retaliate against US tariffs on goods manufactured in China. The report said China has kept its word throughout 11 rounds of talks and will honor its commitments if a trade agreement is reached. It accused the US of backtracking three times over the course of the talks by introducing new tariffs and other conditions beyond what was agreed on. Also Read: Firms in US, China scramble as new tariffs hurt business But the more the US government is offered, the more it wants, it said, accusing Americas negotiators of resorting to intimidation and coercion. A countrys sovereignty and dignity must be respected, and any agreement reached by the two sides must be based on equality and mutual benefit, the report said. The report, delivered at a Sunday morning news conference, appears to be a bid to shore up Chinas arguments and justify its position in the face of what looks to be a protracted dispute. Over recent days, China has been mobilizing its representatives abroad to sell its position with foreign audiences, while the domestic propaganda apparatus has been working overtime to convince the public of the righteousness of the governments stance. Linda Lim, a professor at Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, said the report does not represent an escalation on Chinas part, but rather reiterates the governments position in a clear and measured way that leaves the door open for negotiations. They threw the ball back into the US court, she said. She said the report is a public relations win for Chinas government at a time when US President Donald Trumps trade policy is antagonizing other US trading partners, most recently Mexico. Trump announced last week that he would impose 5 per cent tariffs on Mexican imports starting June 10 if the Mexicans dont do more to stop the surge of Central American migrants across the southern US border. The US has accused China of stealing trade secrets and forced technology transfers. The Trump administration has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on USD 250 billion in Chinese imports and is planning to tax the USD 300 billion in imports that have so far been spared. It also escalated the stakes this month by putting Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that effectively bars US companies from supplying it with computer chips, software and other components without government approval. Beijing responded by imposing tariffs on USD 60 billion worth of US products, which went into effect Saturday. It also retaliated against the US blacklisting of Huawei by announcing Friday that it will establish its own list of unreliable entities consisting of foreign businesses, corporations and individuals. Wang Shouwen, Chinas vice commerce minister and deputy international trade representative, said China would issue more detailed information on the unreliable entities list soon, but that it was aimed at enterprises that violated market principles and cut supplies of components to Chinese businesses for non-commercial reasons. Chinas statement that it intends to publish such a list follows additional measures last week that deepened the bite of US sanctions imposed on Huawei in mid-May. Several leading U.S.-based global technology standards-setting groups announced restrictions on Huaweis participation in their activities under US Commerce Department rules that bar the sale and transfer of US technology to Huawei without government approval. Wang also repeated suggestions that China could restrict the export of exotic minerals known as rare earths that are widely used in electric cars and cellphones. Foremost among them is lithium, the main component in modern batteries. The threat to use Chinas rich supply of rare earths as leverage in the conflict has contributed to sharp losses in US stocks and sliding long-term bond yields. If some countries use Chinas rare earth metals to produce products to contain Chinas development, this is unacceptable by standards of both minds and hearts, Wang said. Sundays report lays out Chinas argument for blaming Washington for the frictions as well as the costs to both sides, and said China has room for fiscal policy changes to maintain the health of its economy amid the dispute. Wang said China had been forced to take forceful measures in response to US actions and denied China had backtracked on its earlier commitments. He said the US had made unacceptable demands, including on tariffs and compulsory requirements that infringed on Chinese sovereignty. You give them an inch, they take a yard, he said. Trump has touted the tariff increases as a way of reducing Chinas trade surplus with the U.S., which hit a staggering USD 379 billion last year. However, Wang questioned how much China was actually benefiting from its surplus, saying a joint Chinese-U.S. study showed the US figure could be inflated by as much as 20%. He also said many of those exports were produced by foreign companies operating in China and that Chinese firms often pocketed only a relatively meager fee for assembling. Subtracting the US surplus in the services trade with China, the actual surplus came to just USD 152.6 billion last year, Wang said. The US deficit with China has actually been worsening since tariffs were first imposed, Wang said, pointing to a 50 per cent decline in soy bean exports to China and a drop-off in US auto sales in the country. The average US family, meanwhile, will pay an additional USD 831 for consumer items over the year due to the higher tariffs, he said, while the disputes impact on businesses could end up costing 2.23 million US jobs overall. That shows that the deepening trade restrictions hurt US workers, Wang said. Seoul: A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington was shown in state media on Monday enjoying a concert near leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean publications on Monday showed Kim Yong Chol sitting five seats away from a clapping Kim Jong Un in the same row along with other top officials during a musical performance by the wives of Korean Peoples Army officers. Kim Yong Chol has been North Koreas top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since Kim Jong Un entered nuclear talks with the U.S. early last year. He traveled to Washington and met President Donald Trump twice before Kims two summits with Trump. Also Read: North Korea executed 5 officials after failed Trump summit: Report Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have been at a standstill since February, when the second summit between Trump and Kim broke down over what the United States described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo last week cited an unidentified source to report that Kim Yong Chol had been sentenced to hard labor and ideological re-education over the failed summit in Hanoi. The newspaper also reported that senior envoy Kim Hyok Chol, who was involved in pre-summit working-level talks with American officials, was executed with four other officials from the Norths Foreign Ministry for betraying Kim Jong Un after being won over by the United States. South Koreas government and media have a mixed record on tracking developments among North Koreas ruling elite, made difficult by Pyongyangs stringent control of information about them. Lee Sang-min, spokesman of Seouls Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean affairs, said the ministry would not comment on a specific internal event in North Korea or its participants when asked about Kim Yong Chols reappearance in public. Seouls spy service has said it could not confirm Fridays report of a possible purge, while the presidential Blue House cautioned against hasty judgments or comments. Pompeo told reporters in Berlin that he had seen the report and the U.S. was doing our best to check it out. The report came at a delicate time for diplomacy as North Korea in past weeks has tested short-range missiles and issued belligerent rhetoric toward American and South Korean officials. Kim Jong Un declared in April that the Trump administration has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations. Experts say the North is playing measured brinkmanship aimed at increasing pressure on Washington without actually causing the nuclear negotiations to collapse. North Korea has previously executed scapegoats to atone for high-profile political flops. But while many experts believe Kim Yong Chol was pushed to a back seat in negotiations with the United States, there were doubts about the report of a purge. Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Koreas Sejong Institute, said Kim Yong Chol, who is also rumored to have health problems, wouldnt have appeared in public this quickly if he was undergoing political re-education. Chang said it wouldnt make sense for Kim Jong Un to execute Kim Hyok Chol when Kim Yong Chol, the more senior official, would be seen as more responsible for the failure in Hanoi. If Kim Jong Un sentences senior officials to hard labor, executes them, or puts them in political prison camps over the collapse of meetings, then no official would be willing to step up in external negotiations, Chang said. Its unlikely that Kim would issue extreme punishment unless hes giving up on the talks with the United States. Kim Yong Chols rise during the nuclear negotiations had baffled many North Korea watchers because he handled South Korea ties, not international or U.S. relations. Previously, he was a military intelligence chief believed to be behind a slew of provocations, including two deadly attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans and an alleged 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures. Both Seoul and Washington imposed sanctions on him in recent years. Many experts in South Korea believe experienced foreign ministry hands such as Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui are likely to take the lead in North Koreas nuclear diplomacy as it prepares for the possibility of protracted and highly complicated negotiations with Washington. Berlin: The leader of Chancellor Angela Merkels junior coalition partner SPD said on Sunday she was resigning as her partys chief, raising the possibility that Germanys embattled government could collapse. Andrea Nahles, who he-ads the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), has come under intense pressure after voters handed the party its worst outcome in European elections a week ago. With an eye on three key state elections in eastern Germany in September, the SPD had initially pla-nned to re-examine its partnership with Merkels centre-right CDU-CSU alliance in the autumn. But ahead of a planned parliamentary leadership vote on Tuesday, Nahles said she would give up her jobs as both party chief and head of its parliamentary group. The discussions in the parliamentary group and the broad feedback from the party showed me that the support necessary for the exercise of my offices is no longer there, said Nahles in a statement. The 48-year-old said she hoped her resignation would open the possibility that the succession can take place in an orderly manner. Harald Christ, deputy chief of the SPDs economy forum, told the Bild daily, however, that Nahless decision had put the future of the coalition in serious doubt. To all those who are happy today: it is a great loss for German politics. Nahles stands for the existence of the GroKo whose stability is now in question, he said, using the German short-form for grand coalition. The alliance between Merkels Christian Demo-crats and the SPD has been fragile from the start. Stung by a election beating in 2017, the SPD had initially sought to go into Opposition. But it was reluctantly coaxed into renewing a partnership with Merkel, even as many within the party remain wary of continuing to govern in her shadow. After former EU parliament chief Martin Schulzs failed attempt at reversing the fortunes of the party, the SPD in April 2018 turned to Nahles, picking her as its first female leader. With her lectern-thumping speeches, Nahles, the daughter of a bricklayer, had sought to woo back voters who had deserted the party. Two years ago Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies cut ties with Qatar, sparking a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf region. Here is a recap. Simmering regional tensions boil over on June 5, 2017, when Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates announced they are severing diplomatic ties with Qatar. They accuse it of supporting Islamist movements and seeking closer ties with Riyadh's regional rival Iran -- charges Qatar denies. The four close land and maritime borders with the Gulf peninsula, suspend air links and expel Qatari citizens. In a country dependent on food imports, there is alarm over whether the border closures will lead to food shortages in Qatar. Saudi Arabia also closes the Riyadh bureau of Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. On June 22 the Saudi-led bloc sends Qatar a list of 13 demands which include shutting down Al Jazeera, curbing relations with Iran and closing a Turkish military base it hosts. Doha on July 4 rejects the demands as "unrealistic". Saudi Arabia and its allies threaten new sanctions. On July 25 they unveil a "terrorist" blacklist of 18 groups and individuals suspected of links to Islamist extremists and to Qatar. The blacklist grows to include almost 90 names. Seeking support from outside the region and vowing to uphold its sovereignty, Qatar signs a series of defence deals with foreign powers. They include a December contract with France for a dozen Rafale fighter jets and 50 Airbus A321 passenger planes, and a deal with Britain to buy Typhoon fighters. It also buys warships from Italy and F-15 fighter jets from the United States. In January 2018 it approves legislation allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in most sectors of its economy. Previously reliant on its Gulf neighbours, it increasingly turns towards Iran and Turkey, particularly for food imports. In April Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani says "we do not and we will not tolerate people who fund terrorism" during a meeting in the US with President Donald Trump. Trump calls him "a friend", softening his tone after having supported the Saudi-led bloc and accusing Qatar of funding terrorism. In June French daily Le Monde reports that Saudi Arabia threatened military action against Qatar if it acquired Russia's top-of-the-range S-400 air defence missile system. In late June the dispute moves to the UN's top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where Qatar accuses the UAE of racial discrimination and human rights abuses against its citizens in the Emirates. The court orders the UAE in July to protect the rights of its Qatari citizens, including by ending measures that would stop Qatari students from completing their studies. The UAE in May 2019 accuses Qatar before the ICJ of "aggravating" the two-year-old crisis and of "false accusations". A day later, Qatar accuses the Emirates of a "campaign of violence and hatred" against its citizens. The UAE detains for a week a Qatari military ship that had violated its territorial waters. In May 2019 there is the first high-level contact between the opposing sides in two years when Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani attends three regional summits in Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca. National Conference (NC) leader Mohammad Akbar Lone, who won from north Kashmirs Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency, is best-known for his provocative statements and creating controversies. From raising Pakistan Zindabad slogans at a public meeting during recently concluded election campaigning, to hurling abuses at rivals, Lones political career is full of controversies. On 4 October 2011, Lone as Speaker of Jammu and Kashmir Assembly used unprecedented derogatory language in the house against a Shia leader and then-opposition PDP MLA late Molvi Iftikhar Ansari. This shocked the whole assembly and is being discussed in political circles of the Valley till date. In December 2017, Lone, a three-time MLA, courted another controversy by claiming that BJP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders eat beef and pork together and are two faces of one coin. Consumption of beef is highly conflicting to Hindu beliefs, while in the Muslim community, it is pork. The BJP and the PDP were running a coalition government in the state that time. While taunting the PDP for entering into an alliance with the right-wing party, he had said, People who have joined hands with the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) are not Muslims. People in Kashmir will boycott those who have joined hands with them (BJP and RSS). During the campaigning for Lok Sabha polls in March this year, Lone said that militants should help him in fighting the polls against the BJP. Addressing an election rally in north Kashmirs frontier Kupwara district, the outspoken NC leader assured that he would continue to speak in the language of militants even after his win. A week earlier, he said that he will abuse those who hurl abuses at Pakistan and raised slogans in favour of the neighbouring country. The BJP had sent a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Jammu and Kashmir, seeking to disqualify Lone's candidature from the Baramulla Lok Sabha seat. With Lone set to take oath as Member of Parliament for the first time in his career, it remains to be seen how he behaves in the supreme legislative body of the country. The Centre on Sunday roped in External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to blunt the criticism from Tamil Nadu politicians over the three-language formula suggested in a draft national education policy. Tamil Nadu politicians, including DMK leaders, are up in arms against the imposition of the three-language formula in schools since a draft national education policy pitching for its continuation was released by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry for public comments and suggestions on Friday. The draft policy recommended making Hindi a compulsory subject in non-Hindi speaking states under the three-language formula. The study of languages by students in non-Hindi speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English. Study of three languages by students in Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages, it said. To quell apprehensions in Tamil Nadu, Jaishankar tweeted in Tamil and English, assuring that no language will be imposed on any of the states. The National Education Policy as submitted to the Minister, HRD is only a draft report. Feedback shall be obtained from general public. State governments will be consulted. Only after this the draft report will be finalised. GoI respects all languages. No language will be imposed, he stated on the micro-blogging site. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also came up with a clarification on the K Kasturirangan Committees push for the continuation of the three-language formula. The draft policy submitted by the committee will be implemented only after consulting people. The Prime Minister has launched #EkBharatSreshthaBharat only with the motive of promoting all languages, she tweeted. With no ministers representing Tamil Nadu sworn in, fielding Jaisahankar and Nirmala to counter the row over the issue was seen as an attempt by the Modi government to reach out to masses and quell apprehensions as both the Union ministers hail from Tamil Nadu. After the controversy broke out, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar, who held the HRD ministry in the previous regime of Modi, was the first to come out with a clarification on Saturday, assuring that no language will be imposed on any of the state. We have received the draft report to take suggestions from people. A draft report is not a policy. Somewhere, this misunderstanding has happened. People think this has become a policy. No language will be imposed on any state, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said on Saturday. Amid the row, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor said the solution to the three-language formula is not by abandoning the idea but ensuring its better implementation. A Congress leader in Kerala, A P Abdullakutty, has been expelled from the party on charges of praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi by stating that Modi's development agendas followed Gandhian values. Incidentally, Abdullakutty was a former leader of the CPM and was expelled from the party in 2009 for praising the Modi's development initiatives in Gujarat while serving as the Gujarat Chief Minister. A native of Kannur district, Abdullakutty was a two-time Lok Sabha MP representing the CPM and he also won the Kerala Assembly elections twice as a Congress candidate. Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullappally Ramachandran said in a statement that Abdullakutty was expelled from the party for making statement hurting the general sentiments of the party as well as its workers. Though an explanation was sought from him, he gave an unsatisfactory and ridiculing reply and also stated that he stood by his stand. Moreover, he continued to make statements insulting the party's prominent leaders. In a social media post last week, Abdullakutty had said that Modi's victory in the elections was the acceptance of his administrative acumen and development agenda. "When you conceive a development agenda, you should be considering the poorest person you had met in your life. Modi had used this Gandhian thought in his governance. Swachh Bharat and Ujjwal Yojana schemes are examples," said Abdullakutty in the post. Even as the post invited severe criticism from Congress workers, Abdullakutty did not withdraw it. He also justified that he had even praised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan earlier for various development initiatives. Even after being expelled from the Congress, Abdullakutty said that time will prove that his stand was correct. He also said that accusing Modi would invite insult to Kerala. Asked it he would join the BJP, Abdullakutty said that he was not in a mood to think about such aspects. Earlier there were allegations that Abdullakutty was eyeing the BJP seat in the coming by-polls to the Manjeswaram constituency in Kasargod district. Read Abdullakutty's post here - Xiaomi is one of the very few mobile-makers who constantly listen to the feedback of its loyal patrons and offer timely delivery of updates. And, another aspect of the company is that is it is only one who offers more than the three years of software support, provided there are no hardware limitations in the device. Now, Xiaomi's two popular phones Redmi 6 Pro and the Redmi Note 5 Pro have started receiving the Android Pie-based MIUI 10 update notification. The company is rolling out the latest MIUI 10.3 global stable update in several regions including India. It weighs around 1.6GB in size and brings lots of new features including Google's security patch to thwart malware, revamped interface, shortcuts, improve battery life and more. Notable enhancements also include a system-wide dark mode, which has been long awaited by the fans, as it makes the mundane user-interface visually appealing and also makes the display consume less power than usual. Android Pie-based MIUI 10.3 also comes with a new gesture-based feature to make use of full-view display, face-unlock, thus offering the second layer of security in addition to the fingerprint scanner. It also comes with new colour backgrounds, themes, and wallpapers. MIUI 10 brings the gesture-based interface to make use of full view display; picture credit: MIUI official forum How to install new Android Pie MIUI 10.3 stable update on Redmi 6 Pro and Redmi Note 5 Pro: Step 1: Once you get the Android Pie notification on the device screen- tap Yes and initiate the download process Step 2: Once the download process is done, tap yes to install the update Step 3: After the installation, the phone automatically reboots and it is now fully upgraded to the latest MIUI 10.3 global stable update Since the software roll-out is carried out in phases, it will take a few days to reach all corners of the world. Xiaomi device owners can manually look for the new update by going to the Settings >> About Phone >> Software update>> tap check for new updates. If you get one, follow the aforementioned procedure. Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps and more on personal technology only on DH Tech. MEDIA COURTHOUSE A Whitehall man entered an open guilty plea Monday to possessing contraband by an inmate, a felony of the second degree, for an attempted smuggling of Suboxone into the county prison in January. According to a release from Delaware County District Attorney Katayoun M. Copeland, William Ross Miller, 34, was caught Jan. 10 after staff at the county prison in Concord received word that he was in possession of contraband. Miller was ordered to remove his pants during a strip search by Sgt. Darold Williams and Corrections Officer Christopher Clyde. While pulling his leg from his pants, Williams noticed Miller holding something in his right hand and ordered him to turn it over. Inmate Miller ignored the commands and then attempted to place the item in his mouth, the release states. Officers were able to gain control over inmate Miller, and secure the item, which was identified as 10 orange-colored Suboxone. Miller, represented by defense counsel Kevin Coyne, will be sentenced before Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge Margaret J. Amoroso on Aug. 5, pending a presentence investigation and lab report. Assistant District Attorney Geoff Paine did not recommend a sentence due to the open nature of the plea. Should we or shouldnt we? The angst in Washington over impeaching President Trump is producing a Hamlet on the Potomac moment that even Shakespeare might appreciate. Democrats want to do it, but most Republicans dont, and voters overall while divided along party lines are mostly opposed. (65% opposed) Speaker Nancy Pelosi, while fully occupied by her daily hand-to-hand combat with the president, thinks impeachment is premature. Translation: Democrats will lose politically more than they gain if they impeach Trump. She is almost certainly correct about that. There is zero chance that a GOP-controlled Senate responsible to try Trump if the House impeaches would ever vote to convict and thus remove him from office. While articles of impeachment would deeply embarrass Trump and likely reveal much that would wound him, the cost benefit ratio is anything but clear. Independents, who well may determine the 2020 election, are lukewarm at best for impeaching. In addition, Trumps hard-core constituency of a third or more of the electorate are more likely to be galvanized by impeachment then abandon Trump. Against this background the arguments for and against impeachment have become almost ubiquitous in the national press with Democratic partisans mostly arguing that Trump is unfit for office, has broken the law, and perhaps justify his removal. To the contrary, Republicans argue as strenuously that Trump has been a successful president, and the architect of a booming economy that has produced both peace and prosperity. Whats a bitterly divided country, already deafened by the toxic rhetorical drumbeat of the approaching 2020 presidential election to do? Do we really need or want another divisive partisan battle about who should be president when we are only some 17 months from holding the election that will determine that question? Isnt the ballot box the best way decisions of this magnitude are made in a democracy? Unfortunately, too often these days we do things because we can rather than because they are good for the country. Republicans have been guilty of this recently with their failure to hold Supreme Court nomination hearings during Obamas final year as well as their machinations to usurp a revered Senate institution like the filibuster to naked partisan ends. Democrats, however, when in power, have not behaved better. They ran roughshod over Republican minorities through most of the New Deal period and more recently Obama undermined congressional majorities by greatly overusing executive orders. He used 276 of them between 2009 and 2017. Neither party is a paragon of political virtue. But now Democrats can mend their ways (as well as provide an exemplar to Republicans) by choosing not to impeach just because they can do it. Moreover, there is a larger point here one that Americans of both parties have been slow to recognize. Impeachment for presidents doesnt work it never has. The authors of our constitution, gathered in Philadelphia in 1787, carefully considered the Articles that would delineate impeachment, Article 1, Section 3 and Article 2, Section 4. James Madisons notes reveal the delegates were repeatedly frustrated about the process, tabling their deliberation multiple times before coming up with the imperfect solution we have today: impeachment in the House, followed by a trial in the Senate. Had they set out to consciously produce a more convoluted politicized process they could not have done better than what they actually did. Consequently, impeachment of the president has only been used twice in the nations history (there have also been 15 federal judges impeached, one U.S. Senator and one cabinet officer. One of the two presidents impeached was post-Civil War President Andrew Johnson, and the other was Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither was convicted and removed from office, and both impeachment processes were fetid with naked political motivations. More important, perhaps, both failed to remove a president. Johnsons trial led to allegations that several senators had been bribed by prosecutors while Johnson himself filled out his term and was later elected to the U.S Senate. Clinton was acquitted outright in 1998 on the charges adopted by the House while the trial itself produced such a sharp backlash from voters that Clintons job performance rose and his party actually picked up five House seats in the 1998 midterm elections. There well may be a better way to remove a president but without doubt there is no worse way than impeachment as it has been practiced. The recent 25th amendment has been proposed as a way to handle presidential disability. But most scholars doubt it is practical beyond very narrow circumstances. So, after some 230 years of national history we have had just one way that actually removes a president or keeps one and that is our quadrennial presidential election. The next one is Tuesday, November 3rd. Its not only a better solution than impeachment, its one that works. To the Times Im a former longtime Democrat of more than 25 years (Im 57) who still supports many typical Democratic party policies. However, Im a pro-life moderate Republican who opposes both the violence of legal abortion and capital punishment. Im pleased that on May 30, 2019, members of the New Hampshire State Senate voted to override Gov. Chris Sununus veto of a death penalty repeal. New Hampshire is now the 21st state to prohibit killing by capital punishment. Gov. Sununu favors a ban on taxpayer-funded abortions as well as a ban on partial-birth abortions, which are both two generally popular positions. However, Sununu told the Concord Monitor in October 2018, Im pro-choice. I support Roe v. Wade. In my view, its disturbing that he favors the deliberate killing of both innocent unborn human beings as well as killing convicted criminals. Please keep in mind that according to the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU), since 1973, more than 156 people have been released from death rows in 26 states because of their innocence. I commend the ACLU for their work to end capital punishment in our nation. However, its very unfortunate that the group supports the most extreme laws maintaining legal abortion for any reason. SALT LAKE CITY Four years ago, the Supreme Court said LGBTQ couples could marry in every state. Did it also give them the right to adopt from any agency? That question plagues officials across the country, who must decide whether faith-based adoption agencies that refuse to serve same-sex couples should still be allowed to partner with the government to place kids in new homes. LGBTQ and religious freedom rights advocates clash over what's best for prospective parents and vulnerable children. "How do we ensure that everybody's allowed to foster and adopt? How do we also ensure there's space for a diverse array of foster care and adoption agencies? That's what we're dealing with now," said Nick Reaves, counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a religious freedom-focused law firm that's been involved in multiple adoption cases. Each month seems to bring more news of lawsuits and legislation related to adoptions. Last month, Axios reported that the Trump administration will soon change federal policy to allow faith-based foster care or adoption agencies to receive public money even if they won't serve LGBTQ couples for religious reasons. It's hard to keep up with the ongoing conflict, even if you want to. The Deseret News is here to help with an overview of key debates playing out across the country. Catch up on what's happened over the last few years and learn what to expect next. How did adoption battles begin? It's not new for some faith-based agencies to work with only married, heterosexual couples. Many conservative religions teach that marriage should be reserved for unions of one man and one woman and that households led by same-sex couples are not a healthy environment for kids. It is relatively new for this policy to lead to discrimination lawsuits. Before states began legalizing same-sex marriage, faith-based agencies could turn away members of the LGBTQ community by working only with legally married couples, who were all heterosexual. About 15 years ago, that all changed. When Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, officials told faith-based agencies they needed to work with the LGBTQ community or lose their licenses. Catholic Charities of Boston chose to end its foster care and adoption services rather than violate Catholic social teachings. In lots of places, if you're not Christian or the right kind of Christian, you don't have the same opportunities to provide care for a child in need. Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU's LGBT and HIV Project Within a decade, faith-based agencies had also closed in Washington, D.C., and Illinois. They couldn't stay afloat without government contracts, but refused to work with LGBTQ couples in order to get them. Many religious freedom advocates spoke out against these developments. They argued that states were worse off with fewer child-placing agencies, noting that faith-based organizations are often more successful than others at recruiting foster and adoptive parents. Others, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argued and continue to argue that religious beliefs don't justify discrimination. They object to allowing faith-based agencies to screen prospective parents differently than other agencies receiving government funds. The child welfare system needs more volunteers, not agencies that turn qualified parents away simply because they're gay or don't share their beliefs, said Leslie Cooper, deputy director of the ACLU's LGBT and HIV Project. "In lots of places, if you're not Christian or the right kind of Christian, you don't have the same opportunities to provide care for a child in need," she said. When the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June 2015, justices acknowledged that the ruling would put pressure on religious conservatives. Religious freedom protections began to clash with LGBTQ rights in more states, and policymakers and judges are still dealing with the fallout, Reaves said. "After the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell, there was a lot of talk about the limits and scope of this new right," he said. Those debates continue to this day, and they can get pretty heated. Efforts to protect LGBTQ couples and faith-based agencies simultaneously are often derailed by a winner-take-all attitude, as the Deseret News has previously reported. What's happening in State legislatures The religious freedom rights of faith-based adoption and foster care agencies were a key concern for state legislatures last year. Four states considered bills on the issue and the bills passed in Kansas and Oklahoma, according to a Deseret News analysis. The new laws in Kansas and Oklahoma allow a religiously affiliated agency to refuse to participate in the placement of a child if doing so would violate the agency's religious convictions without losing access to public money. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat who was elected in November, has said she hopes to prevent her state's policy from being enforced. So far this year, state legislators in Tennessee, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts and Kentucky have debated similar measures. No bill has passed yet. Congress Federal lawmakers are also concerned with adoption-related conflict. This year, Congress is weighing competing measures aimed at redefining the rights of faith-based agencies. The Equality Act, which passed the House of Representatives in May, would outlaw LGBTQ discrimination in many areas of public life, including in adoption and foster care services. The act's supporters say new protections are needed to ensure same-sex couples won't be turned away. "Barring discrimination in foster care and adoption will increase the number of homes available to foster children waiting for foster and adoption families," the Equality Act explains. The act's opponents argue that it unnecessarily limits religious freedom. It's possible to ensure LGBTQ couples can adopt and foster children through agencies willing to serve them without forcing faith-based agencies to violate their religious beliefs, they say. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, introduced in the House and Senate in January by Republican leaders, prioritizes religious freedom rights. It aims to ensure that faith-based agencies won't be forced to violate their religious or moral convictions and instructs the federal government to withhold 15 percent of adoption-related funds from states that punish such agencies. The Equality Act is now before the Senate, which isn't expected to take it up this year. The Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act hasn't moved out of committee in either chamber. The White House Amid ongoing policy battles in Congress and across the country, the Trump administration has been debating how best to protect faith-based adoption or foster care agencies from being forced to choose between closing or violating their beliefs, according to Axios. As soon as this summer, the Department of Health and Human Services could update the nondiscrimination regulations governing child welfare funds, which states rely on to support foster and adoptive parents. "Administration officials said the White House is weighing two options: either rescinding (LGBTQ nondiscrimination) rules altogether, or adding an explicit exemption for religious organizations," Axios reported. This news didn't surprise those following recent adoption-related debates. Trump has repeatedly signaled his support for faith-based agencies and conservative religious Americans in general. "My administration is working to ensure that faith-based adoption agencies are able to help vulnerable children find their forever families, while following their deeply held beliefs," Trump said during the National Prayer Breakfast in February. His administration had previously granted a waiver to a faith-based foster care agency in South Carolina, allowing it to receive federal funds despite refusing to work with same-sex couples, non-Christians and Catholics. Lawmakers in Texas have also asked for a waiver. The courts The Trump administration's waiver in South Carolina prompted one of several ongoing lawsuits centered on the rights of faith-based agencies. Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the government in February on behalf of a Catholic woman who was turned away from a faith-based foster care agency, alleging that sending government funds to an agency that won't work with all qualified families violates the Constitution. On May 30, the ACLU announced it's also suing HHS and the state of South Carolina. "Religious liberty is the right to believe or not and to worship or not according to the dictates of your faith and conscience. It's not a right to discriminate against other people in the delivery of a government service," said Richard B. Katskee, Americans United's legal director. Judges and state leaders have shared similar views in other adoption cases. In Pennsylvania, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled Philadelphia could require the child welfare agencies it works with to abide by LGBTQ nondiscrimination rules, even if doing so violates an agency's faith-related policies. Becket, which challenged Philadelphia's policy on behalf of local foster parents, plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, Reaves said. "In the next month or two, we will be filing a cert petition and asking the court to examine the decision below and reverse the 3rd Circuit," he said. "We think there's a good chance the court will be interested." Becket is also involved in a lawsuit in Michigan, which challenges recent changes to the state's adoption contracts. In 2015, the Michigan legislature passed a law protecting faith-based adoption and foster care agencies. But after the ACLU sued over the policy and a Democrat became attorney general, Michigan announced it would no longer work with agencies that refuse to serve same-sex couples for religious reasons. "The state agreed to require all of its contracted agencies to comply with nondiscrimination requirements and accept all qualified families," Cooper said. In response, Becket filed a new lawsuit alleging religious discrimination. It's challenging the state's decision, as well as federal LGBTQ nondiscrimination regulations. The ACLU has filed a motion to intervene in the case. What will happen next? Even if the Trump administration adjusts the rules governing funding for adoption or foster care agencies, legal and legislative battles will be far from over. States will likely maintain the ability to pass and enforce their own LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections. The Supreme Court will still be asked to weigh in. The Trump administration's planned policy shift would ensure faith-based agencies in states like South Carolina and Texas, where leaders expressed concern about federal rules, could stay open. But elsewhere, state leaders might adjust their own policies to ensure that LGBTQ couples are protected, Katskee said. I think it's likely that these lawsuits will continue, but you're always hopeful for some sort of solution. Nick Reaves, counsel for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty "If (the Trump administration) abolishes its anti-discrimination rule or waives it for religious entities, you could still have state laws or regulations" requiring equal treatment of qualified couples, he said. However, the Trump administration might make it so that states have to choose between partnering with faith-based adoption agencies and losing federal funding, he added. Even then, Congress could undo the administration's efforts by passing the Equality Act. Under that law, agencies that partner with the government to place children in new homes would have to work with all qualified couples. "Acts of Congress would override agency regulation," Reaves said. And any policy change can be challenged in court. The debate about how to balance the rights of LGBTQ couples and faith-based adoption or foster care agencies may not be settled until the Supreme Court gets involved. "If the Supreme Court says these agencies have a First Amendment right to continue their religious ministry consistent with their religious beliefs, that would preempt any federal law or state law in conflict with that," Reaves said. A ruling like that could radically reshape how states approach child welfare services, prompting them to stop working with private agencies, Cooper said. Already, some states have expressed concern about being forced to defer to the wishes of faith-based agencies. The bottom line is that this issue isn't going anywhere anytime soon, experts said. "I think it's likely that these lawsuits will continue, but you're always hopeful for some sort of solution," Reaves said. SALT LAKE CITY When listing woes that might accrue to sleep-deprived teens, you can add risky decisions about sex. A new study published by the American Psychological Association on Monday suggests teens who regularly fall short of the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night may be more likely than well-rested peers to have sex while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, for example. The study, by researchers from the nonpartisan, nonprofit Rand Corporation, is featured in the journal Health Psychology. Very few teens regularly get enough sleep, a fact so well-documented that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it a national epidemic, said Wendy M. Troxel, Rand senior behavioral and social scientist, who led the study. The new study adds another layer to a stack of concerns parents have about teen schedules as risks associated with inadequate sleep have been piling up in research findings. Many of those risks, including greater likelihood of alcohol and drug abuse, suggest sleep loss impacts the parts of the brain that control our impulses and risk-taking behavior, Troxel told the Deseret News. The parts of the brain like the prefrontal area thats supposed to kind of rein in those impulses tends to be down-regulated under sleep-deprived conditions. Knowing that teens are more impulsive when they're tired and that sleep-deprived teens are prone to greater risk for alcohol and substance use, the Rand team wondered whether risks also increased related to sexual behavior, which they defined as having sex without using condoms or having sex while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Thats what we found, she said, noting the study indicated only an association between inadequate sleep and risky sexual behaviors, rather than making a direct causal link. Measuring Zzzzzs The researchers measured sleep by following 1,850 teens recruited through a Los Angeles school district for a period of four years, from 2013 to 2017. The teens were each around age 16 when the study began. Researchers looked at sleep outcomes, sleep duration and sleep quality, Troxel said, paying attention to both weekday and weekend sleep patterns. Even teens who want to get adequate sleep have a hard time for many reasons, the researchers said. School start times are usually too early to allow even teens who go to bed at a reasonable time to get enough sleep. As Psychology Today explains, "teen brains are wired to fall asleep later and wake later." Early rising imperatives run counter to typical teen biological rhythms, which has led some school districts to delay school start times. But the majority of schools follow a traditional schedule that contributes to the teen sleep-deficit problem, according to Troxel. There's really no way to make up lost sleep; it's a matter of doing better in the future. Sleep researchers no longer believe that sleeping longer on weekends can be banked to make up for deficits during the week. But they do believe that teens benefit from sleeping longer on weekends because any day a teen gets enough sleep is good, Troxel said. If they are sacrificing sleep during this time, it can have a big impact on their future. Wendy M. Troxel, Rand senior behavioral and social scientist Most teens in the study were chronically sleep deprived across the four years. The link was between increased risky sexual activity and inadequate sleep; they did not find a link between poor sleep quality or insomnia and risky sexual behaviors. Troxel said others have demonstrated sleep quality as a factor for risky behaviors, but the Rand study focused on quantity, not quality of sleep. We all have to wake up to the importance of sleep, particularly for our teenagers, who are very vulnerable, Troxel said. She described the teen years as an inflection point that sets the stage for their future health and well-being and productivity. Things can go awry during this critical developmental stage when their brain is still rapidly developing and theyre developing the social and behavioral skills to learn how to manage the world and make good or risky decisions. "If they are sacrificing sleep during this time, it can have a big impact on their future, she said. In the study, the almost-sufficient sleepers averaged almost 8.5 hours a night, still on the low end of the recommended range. The intermediate group averaged about 7.5 hours a night. Short sleepers averaged about 6.3 hours of sleep during the week. Only 1 in 5 teens were getting adequate sleep throughout high school, Troxel said. Four more reasons to care Here are four other research findings about inadequate sleep and risky teen activities: Inadequate sleep by teens appears linked to various adverse behaviors, including aggression, substance abuse and self-harm, according to a research letter in JAMA Pediatrics published in December. "These behaviors are common precursors to accidents and suicides, which are the leading causes of death among teens," the authors wrote. Research in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found inadequate sleep was associated with significant increases in delinquency. Teens who had a little sleep deprivation were more prone to property crimes than were teens who were well-rested. Those who were more sleep-deprived had increased levels of violent delinquency. "The findings suggest that sleep is an important, and overlooked, dimension of delinquent behavior and studies that focus on adolescent health should further investigate the effects of insufficient sleep," the study said. A 2015 study from the University of California Berkeley and Columbia University found an association between too little sleep and risky weight gain that can set teens on a course that could dog them for life. Teens who sleep too little have higher body mass index over time than well-rested peers. The study, published in Sleep, said one consequence of not getting at least nine hours sleep a night is that teens are tired and even sleepy at school. "The human circadian rhythm, which regulates physiological and metabolic functions, typically shifts to a later sleep cycle at the onset of puberty," the report said, making it harder for teens to get adequate sleep if they must rise early to get to school, but also increasing inactivity and weight gain. Teens who are sleep-deprived are not just more prone to abusing alcohol and drugs, but also to risky driving behavior and random injuries, both vehicle crash-related and not, according to The Child Mind Institute, which tackles issues related to child and adolescent mental health and overall well-being. Sleep deprivation puts teenagers into a kind of perpetual cloud or haze, Mary Carskadon, professor of psychiatry at Brown University and director of sleep research at Bradley Hospital in Rhode Island, told the institute. One of the metaphors I use is that its like having an astigmatism. You dont realize how bad your vision is until you get glasses, or in this case, good sleep. Markets thrive on certainty. By threatening Mexico with tariffs over undocumented immigrants crossing the border, President Trump has conflated trade with immigration two things that are unrelated. Investors now may rightly wonder where else trade might be used as a weapon. That uncertainty bodes ill for the economy. Congress holds the power to remedy this. The president has the ability to unilaterally impose tariffs under the guise of a national emergency only because Congress many years ago ceded that authority. It could, and should, reclaim it. Reports Friday indicated the president was going against the wishes of his trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, by threatening Mexico with 5 percent tariffs on $360 billion in goods. The Wall Street Journal said Lighthizer had been working closely with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and was making progress toward getting the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the replacement for NAFTA negotiated by the Trump administration, through the Democratic-controlled House before the presidents latest threats. That arrangement now is in jeopardy. The USMCA would provide much-needed certainty for businesses in North America. It also would signal to other nations that entering into serious trade negotiations with the United States can be beneficial. But a set of tariffs tied to a complicated migration problem, coming after the USMCA was negotiated, sends the opposite message. A report three months ago from the Congressional Research Office outlines how Congress gradually ceded its trade authority to the executive branch during the 20th century. This began with the Trading with the Enemy Act, passed in 1917 during the height of WWI, giving presidents the ability to respond nimbly to an unfolding crisis. In the 1930s, while the Depression raged and governments misguidedly toyed with tariffs as a remedy to domestic unemployment, Congress expanded the act, giving presidents the ability to declare emergencies during peacetime and assume broad trade authority. As the Cold War intensified following WWII, this power was used as part of a broader strategy to block Soviet expansion, to alternately punish or reward other nations, limit the hoarding of gold and keep foreign interests from investing too strongly in U.S. companies, the report said. In the 70s, Congress passed two new laws intended to limit the presidents emergency powers. They required him to be more transparent and to yearly assess whether emergencies should be extended. Congress was supposed to be able to end an emergency through a concurrent resolution, but the Supreme Court overturned that portion of the law. Congress then passed a bill allowing it to end emergencies through a joint resolution, which is politically difficult to do. However, Congress could and should revoke the presidents unilateral authority to impose tariffs after declaring national emergencies out of whole cloth. The Constitution explicitly grants Congress the authority to regulate commerce with foreign nations... It has a duty to reclaim that. The Congressional Research Office found that, since 1977, presidents have declared national emergencies 54 times to enact trade restrictions, and that 29 of those remained in effect as of March of this year. The oldest active one was invoked by President Carter after Iran took hostages from the U.S. embassy in 1979. True emergencies do require quick action, but border security is not a proper cause for using trade as a weapon, and national emergencies should not be allowed to continue for decades without serious review. Congress, made up of the peoples representatives, has ceded too much control over trade issues, which directly affect the way people conduct business. The result today is a level of uncertainty that inhibits investment and growth. A lighthearted look at the news of the day: The Salt Lake area received more than 3.5 inches of rain in May alone, and nearly 11 inches so far this spring. Now I understand why the government is considering letting astronauts land here later this year. This is becoming the perfect place for a splashdown. --- Now that June is here, however, it might be a good time to open your coin purses and leave them on your lawn. The experts say to expect change in the weather. --- Its OK if you dont have a coin purse. You can always hope for a rain check. --- If one thing is clear in Washington these days, it is that no one should come dressed as John McCain to the White House this Halloween. --- The New York Times says the White House ordered the Navy to hide the destroyer John S. McCain while the president recently visited Japan, so its name wouldnt appear in photographs. The president attributed the decision to a well meaning subordinate and said he knew nothing about it. Arent modern politics so much nastier than in the past? Just imagine what would have happened if, say, Franklin Roosevelt had removed the name of a political rival from some big project like a dam or something near Boulder City, Nevada, for instance. --- Congress finally named the Nevada structure Hoover Dam in 1947, reversing FDRs unofficial Boulder Dam moniker. But anyone who has lived in Nevada will tell you the name still depends on your party affiliation. Trump could end that controversy, you know, by buying the whole thing and turning it into a Trump Hotel. --- Robert Mueller is one person who wont be allowed to stay at a Trump Hotel any time soon. Last week he said the Justice Department prohibits him from charging a sitting president, but that the Constitution provides a different remedy, a word he wouldnt mention that begins with an i. Hmm. Judging by the presidents reaction, that word must be insult. SALT LAKE CITY Salt Lake City's water rates have slowly eked upward for the past three years and they're slated to continue going up for the foreseeable future. On top of past hikes, some sewer rates are proposed to more than double in the next five years, with a 112 percent total increase by 2024. That means a "medium-use" household's monthly sewer bill would increase from the current bill of about $24 a month to nearly $52 a month by 2024 or from about $291 a year to roughly $620 a year by 2024. This year alone, the proposed sewer rate increase is about 18 percent, which would bring the current medium-use household rate up by about $5 a month. The rate is proposed to continue to rise about 18 percent each year for the next few years. And that's just sewer rates. Department officials are also proposing increases to culinary water and stormwater rates, starting with 5 percent hikes on culinary water and 10 percent hikes on stormwater this year. However, the culinary water rate hikes would also come with a rate restructure, so while commercial and industrial culinary water prices will increase, most Salt Lake City residents won't see a big impact on their culinary water bills. As part of the rate restructuring, the city would also lower its minimum-use rates to alleviate pressure on low-income, low-water users. It's all part of public utility officials' plan to pay for several major infrastructure upgrades including a new wastewater treatment plant to replace the current decades-old facility while also integrating a new rate structure to encourage water conservation and stave off impact on budget-strained residents. The annual proposals needing approval from the City Council each year continue to build on past years' rate hikes. "Our main goal is to make sure we are protecting public health and ensuring we have a reliable water and sewer service now and into the future," Laura Briefer, director of the city's public utilities department, told the Deseret News on Friday. "That's what these budgets are all about." Salt Lake City's water rates have inched higher and higher since 2016, after the city's public utilities officials began urging city leaders to look ahead to major, looming costs. The city's sewer treatment plant was built in the 1960s and is approaching the end of its life span, Briefer said. The city is also required to bring the facility in line with upcoming federal and state regulations, as well as be able to accommodate anticipated growth. The new sewer plant, expected to be completed in 2025, would be financed with the new rate revenue plus bonds and, hopefully, federal grants that could save about $50 million in debt, Briefer said. The new facility's construction cost estimate is currently at more than $528 million, according to a department staff report. There's also a long list of other upgrades planned for the City Creek, Parleys and Big Cottonwood Canyon water treatment plants, as well as a slew of electrical system, water line, water meter and stormwater collection projects needed throughout the city, according to the staff report. "The infrastructure has given us good service, but we also have a very systematic capital asset program where we are looking at the condition of the infrastructure all the time and identifying where we need to replace or rehabilitate before it fails," Briefer said. "That's our goal. We don't want to be in a situation where critical infrastructure is failing or on the verge of failure." A second public hearing for this year's rate increases is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake City-County Building, 451 S. State. The City Council will consider the rates during its budget process in the coming weeks. Briefer said so far officials have received a mixed bag of reaction to the rate proposals. Many residents support the hikes, wanting to "take care of our critical infrastructure," and some even believe the city doesn't charge enough for water out of concern for the environment, Briefer said. But others are frustrated the city continues to propose the increases. "There are people across the board who feel the impacts differently, and that's why we want to make sure we understand those impacts to our residents," Briefer said, encouraging more public input. "The bottom line is we have a duty and an obligation to make sure our critical infrastructure for water and sewer and stormwater are in good condition and can operate now and into the future," Briefer said. "Some of these projects are generational." More information about the proposed rate increases can be found at slcgov.com. SALT LAKE CITY Downtown Salt Lake City will be losing some of its flavor and cultural diversity in June as the first Middle Eastern restaurant in the capital city serves its last customer after nearly four decades in business. Cedars of Lebanon, a family-owned establishment that has been located at 152 E. 200 South since 1981, is closing after 38 years as a staple of the downtown restaurant community. Started by Raffi Daghlian and a friend soon after graduating from the University of Utah with a biology degree, the eclectic eatery would become a unique place in the local culinary landscape serving Lebanese, Moroccan, Armenian and Greek food far different from the traditional fare usually found in Salt Lake City at the time, Daghlian explained. "We never had a full eastern Mediterranean restaurant (in Salt Lake City)," he said. "I just wanted to introduce the Middle East and Mediterranean culture to Salt Lake City." Upon undertaking the endeavor of becoming a restaurateur, Daghlian went "all in" and was there every day doing whatever was required to keep the establishment running. After six months, he bought out his partner and took over full control and responsibility for the business. "I was there doing everything from cooking, hosting and washing dishes," he said. Additionally, he also ran a small Oriental rug business, but keeping the restaurant going became his main priority, he said. At the time, he was focused on bringing a new cultural culinary experience to diners and visitors in downtown Salt Lake City, he said. "I kind of wanted to elevate our image, to be honest. Because people who haven't been to Utah they don't know (what to expect)," he said. "They know polygamy and cowboys that's all they would talk about. Coming and seeing something like (our) restaurant and we're educated and can talk to them this way they don't think Middle Eastern people are backward." He said he was proud that his family business was able to represent Utah in such a meaningful way. Though he is anxious to begin the next chapter of his life, Daghlian said he'll miss socializing with many friends and patrons that he has come to know over the years, but he's looking forward to spending more time with his family. "It's a mix of emotion," he said. "My dad always tried to get people to be a little bit more adventurous and try different ethnic foods," said eldest daughter Rina Daghlian. Patrons of Cedars were treated to traditional Middle Eastern belly dancing shows on the weekends. Additionally, the space included a Moroccan-inspired Casbah room adorned with colorful plush couches and furnishings all which served to express the family's Middle Eastern heritage, she said. "It's a place that kind of intertwined into all of our identities," she said. "I pretty much grew up dancing on the tables, and once I was old enough to actually help, I started helping out in the kitchen washing dishes. When I was 14, I started serving tables." Eventually, her younger brother and sister also worked in the restaurant in various capacities over the years. Her father also ran an Oriental rug store, Daghlian Oriental Rug Imports, which kept him busy as well, she said. But the main priority was always Cedars of Lebanon. "The restaurant has always been the main endeavor just because it's so labor-intensive," Rina Daghlian said. The decision to close was a long, painstaking process, she said, with the family considering many alternatives before coming to the final determination. Because the oldest children were already into their own individual careers, taking over the business would require sacrificing those professions something neither wanted to do at this point in their lives, she explained. "We figured that it's probably best that it's their legacy and we should just move on," she said. "If we ever wanted to come back and open up business again, then we would definitely take a lot of inspiration from (Cedars)." For now, the time has come for Raffi and his wife, Marlen, to move to the next phase of their lives, she said. Raised in Lebanon, both Marlen and Raffi Daghlian are of Armenian descent. Their families settled in Lebanon after fleeing the genocide in their native country. Marlen Daghlian said while her husband started out with the restaurant as a "side job," it eventually became his primary focus. When she moved to America from Lebanon in 1984 to get married, it became her main priority, too, she said. She has been one of the main cooks, preparing authentic Armenian dishes for more than 30 years. "We built clientele, we expanded," she said. "We have such a nice clientele. Whenever you have 38 years in business, most of our life is in that building." She noted that while they don't have extended family nearby, their customers and employees became like family. Realizing that they won't see those people very much anymore has been very emotional, she said. "It's been overwhelming," Marlen Daghlian said. "We expect when restaurants close or owners retire that customers will (be sad), but the messages from other restaurants and (people) on the phone have been overwhelming." She said former workers have messaged from out of state to say they will be flying in to wish them well before they close. That outpouring of love and support has been especially touching, she said. "To (have someone) come from another place makes you feel good," Marlen Daghlian said. She attributed part of her decision to retire was to needing a second knee replacement that she's been putting off for some time. After taking time to heal and recover, she and her husband hope to spend time traveling and enjoying retirement, she added. The thing she will miss the most will be the people she has met and befriended over the years, Marlen Daghlian said. "I have contact with lots of them. I've been getting call and texts from Seattle and San Diego and even from a waitress who worked for me 10 years ago that lives in Istanbul (Turkey), " she said. "I knew it would be overwhelming (and emotional), but I didn't know it would be this much." The last dinner service for Cedars of Lebanon will be on June 8. CHICAGO Pardeep Singh Kaleka has surveyed the landscape of an America scarred by mass shootings. Seven years ago, a white supremacist invaded a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and killed six worshippers among them Kaleka's father, who died clutching a butter knife he'd grabbed in a desperate attempt to stop the shooter. Now, whenever another gunman bloodies another town, Kaleka posts a supportive message on social media. Then later, either by invitation or on his own initiative, he'll journey to the community to shore up others who share his pain. He's been to Newtown, Connecticut. Charleston, South Carolina. Pittsburgh. "We've become kind of a family," Kaleka says. It's true. The unending litany of mass shootings in recent years the latest, on Friday, leaving 12 dead in Virginia Beach, Virginia has built an unacknowledged community of heartbreak, touching and warping the lives of untold thousands. All the survivors, none of them unscathed. The loved ones of the living and dead. Their neighbors, relatives and colleagues. The first responders, the health care workers, the elected officials. The attacks have changed how America talks, prays and prepares for trouble. Today, the phrases "active shooter" and "shelter in place" need no explanation. A house of worship will have a priest, a rabbi or an imam and maybe, an armed guard. And more schools are holding "lockdown drills" to prepare students for the possibility of a shooter. Post-traumatic stress disorder was once largely associated with combat-weary veterans; now some police and firefighters tormented by the memories of the carnage they've witnessed are seeking professional help. Healing centers have opened to offer survivors therapy and a place to gather. Support groups of survivors of mass shootings have formed. Mayors, doctors, police and other leaders who've endured these crises are paying it forward offering comfort, mentoring and guidance to the next town that has to wrestle with the nightmare. Former Oak Creek Mayor Stephen Scaffidi, who'd been on the job just four months at the time of the 2012 Sikh temple attack, remembers a call that night from the mayor of Aurora, Colorado, where 12 people had been fatally shot at a movie theater less than three weeks earlier. "He gave me the best advice I could ever receive in that moment: 'Be calm. Reassure your community. And only speak to what you know. Don't speculate, don't pretend to be an expert on something that you're not,'" Scaffidi recalls. Last year, two days after the fatal shooting of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Christine Hunschofsky, mayor of Parkland, Florida, met the mother of a 6-year-old killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School who offered a road map into the future. "She forewarned me of many of the things that we would encounter," Hunschofsky recalls. "She said at first it will seem like everyone comes together. Then it seems like a tsunami that hits the community. People become very divided. This is all normal after a mass trauma." Three months later, it was Hunschofsky's turn. She sent a message to the incoming mayor of Santa Fe, Texas, where a school shooting left 10 dead. "She told me this is not going to be the hardest day and harder days are coming," recalls Mayor Jason Tabor. "'Prepare for that.' She was 100 percent right." The two mayors have since become fast friends and Hunschofsky visited Santa Fe. "We're bonded for life," Tabor says. Mass shootings account for a tiny percentage of homicides, but their scale sets them apart. In 1999, the Columbine shooting shocked the nation with its unforgettable images of teens running from the school with their hands up scenes repeated in other similar attacks years later. Today, the public sees and hears about these events as they unfold, through live-streamed video or tweets. Each tragedy is horrifying, but the sense of it-can't-happen-here has worn off. "We're a desensitized society," says Jaclyn Schildkraut, a criminologist at the State University of New York at Oswego. "There is an element of mass shooting fatigue where we've gone from ONE MORE," she says, her voice rising with exasperation, "to add another one to the list. Everybody immediately goes for the gun argument ... and maybe throw a little mental health in there, but we really don't have a consistent, prolonged conversation about these events and how to prevent them." Studies have offered some hints of their emotional wallop. The National Center for PTSD estimates 28 percent of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about a third develop acute stress disorder. Laura Wilson, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia conducted a meta-analysis an examination of data from 11 studies of PTSD symptoms among more than 8,000 participants who ranged from those who'd witnessed shootings to those who just lived in the communities in a 20-year period. She found the greater the exposure someone who was at the scene or who lost a friend or family the greatest risk of developing PTSD. But, in her work, Wilson has found other factors, too, including previous psychological symptoms and a lack of social support, also played a role in increasing the likelihood. "Mass shootings are a different type of trauma," Wilson says. "People are confronted with the idea that bad things can happen to good people. ... Most people have a hard time reconciling the idea that a young, innocent person made the good decision to go to school, was sitting there, learning and was murdered. That does not make sense to us. ... It just rattles us to our core." And yet, some people don't fully appreciate the lasting psychological wounds of those who escaped physical harm. A study conducted by a University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor after the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting that left 58 people dead found PTSD levels for those at the concert remained elevated at least a year later. Most of these people had a friend, family member or co-worker asking as early as 1 months after the event why they were still troubled. "Almost everyone had someone say, 'Get over it. Why are you letting this bother you?'" says Stephen Benning, a psychology professor who conducted the research. Those kinds of remarks were associated with increased levels of PTSD, which lasted longer than depression. April Foreman, a psychologist and board member of the American Association of Suicidology, likens exposure to mass shootings to a flu epidemic that affects the entire community in different ways. "When we have these mass casualty events it's like an outbreak of a virus," she says. "Some people might be immune or not susceptible to that strain. Some people are going to get a little sick, some people are going to be very sick. Some people might have compromised immune systems and if they're exposed they have a very high risk for life-threatening illness. Suicide is like the extreme outcome." In one week in March, two student survivors of the Parkland school shooting killed themselves. Around the same time, the father of a 6-year-old killed girl in Newtown died of an apparent suicide. He had created a foundation in his daughter's name to support research on violence prevention. Austin Eubanks, a Columbine student who was shot and watched his best friend die in the school massacre, died last month, possibly of an overdose. He struggled with opioid use after the attack and later became an addiction recovery speaker. A memorial fund established in his name is seeking funds for a trauma-informed program for families and victims of mass violence. After the Parkland suicides, Hunschofsky says, many people sought mental health help for the first time. "They just told me, 'I thought I was OK, but after this happened, maybe I'm not. Maybe I do need to talk to someone.'" The community's wellness center, established after the Parkland shooting, extended its hours. A similar program, the Resiliency Center of Newtown, is an informal gathering place for those grappling with anxiety, depression and PTSD. Though the school attack occurred 6 years ago, the center still gets new clients and after every mass shooting, more people stop by. "Your heart hurts every time a new tragedy happens because you know what those people who are impacted are going to have to go through and what the community is going to go through, and that's hard," says Stephanie Cinque, the center's founder and executive director. "You don't just get over it and move on." In Florida, Orange County Sheriff John Mina, Orlando's police chief during the 2016 massacre at the Pulse nightclub, realized that when he reached out to law enforcement peers former chiefs of Aurora and Newtown afterward. "'What do you think I should be doing six months, a year from now?" he asked. "They said, 'John, you're not going to be dealing with this a year. You're going to be dealing with this five or 10 years. That was like a punch in the gut." There were some immediate lessons learned, he says. Among them: improved communications with the fire department and better equipment. After the Pulse shooting, officers were given Kevlar helmets and an extra layer of body armor that will stop rifle rounds. Mental health debriefings were held six months and a year after the shooting rampage for Orlando officers who went to the nightclub that morning. Some have reached beyond the department to UCF RESTORES, a clinic at the University of Central Florida that helps trauma victims. It was originally designed to serve the military, but has expanded to include first responders and sexual assault victims, among others. Deborah Beidel, the clinic's director, says first responders called to mass shootings face trauma similar to those in combat. About 50 firefighters, police and paramedics who were at Parkland and Pulse have been treated, most in a three-week outpatient program that exposes them to the sounds, smells and sights they encountered that caused their PTSD. For those inside the Pulse, Beidel says, "the sound of cellphones ringing and ringing and ringing and no one answering them became a trigger for many people. Afterward, any time they heard a cellphone, particularly that Marimba ring on the iPhone, they would have a flashback." Beidel says the goal isn't to make workers forget but to "put that memory in a file where it no longer affects every other aspect of their life, so that they no longer are restricted in what they can do because ... of flashbacks or panic or whatever they might be experiencing." Jimmy Reyes, a 35-year-old Orlando firefighter, enrolled in the program about five months after Pulse. He'd been haunted by the memory of tending to more than two dozen bloody, wounded people carried from the club, sprawled over a parking lot, screaming in agony. After more than four stressful hours caring for the wounded, not knowing who'd live or die, he returned home. As he and his wife watched the TV news, he began sobbing. She held him. "We did the best that we could," he told her. Less than a week later, Reyes had a panic attack while working a second job he was on a safety team in a jet ski race. "I couldn't breathe," he says. "I kept telling myself, 'You'll be fine. It'll pass.'" It didn't. He dreaded another big call at work. Firefighters, he says, "kind of bury a lot of stuff. It gets put in a file in the back of your head. That's what I thought this was going to be." But it didn't stay there. He was short-tempered with his family. He had little interest in doing anything but sitting at home. Finally, Reyes decided to seek help. For three weeks, he relived his experiences, answering questions from a therapist as he told his Pulse story over and over, recalling everything he saw, including one man talking on his cellphone who'd been shot in the head and another critically wounded who asked, "Am I going to die?" At certain points, the therapist would cue up sounds he'd heard gunshots from inside the club, the wail of the sirens, an explosion. At first, he says, he cried. By the end of the sessions, he was dry-eyed and calm. Reyes is better now and remains a firefighter. He never considered quitting. But he's changed. "I felt like I was normal before Pulse," he says. "I was a very happy guy, no problems, no issues with mental health. Now I still deal with depression. I still deal with anxiety. ... I look back at those days. ... June 11th, I was normal. Then June 12th happened. I'm a completely different person." So is Las Vegas trauma surgeon Dave MacIntyre. He talks in a rapid-fire, breathless way about the chaos 19 months after the Route 91 shooting. More than 90 severely injured patients in 113 minutes. He repeats that phrase as if it still hasn't completely sunk in. After 20 years, he's now a part-time trauma surgeon looking to get out of the operating room completely. MacIntyre enrolled in January in an executive MBA program for doctors, with plans on becoming a consultant for helping hospitals deal with similar challenges. He's trying meditation, too. MacIntyre didn't realize he had PTSD until an MBA program coach picked up on his symptoms anxiety, stress, short temper, avoidance. His marriage has suffered. His work, too. "I find it very hard to talk to family members and give them bad news ... much more so than before," he says. After the shootings, his hospital brought in therapy dogs and counselors for the staff but not everyone participated. "As physicians we're not going to want to show weakness. We're not going to want to go into an auditorium full of people or get on the floor and pet dogs," he says. "A lot of physicians internalize. You get to the point where it's unbearable." It was different for Brian Murphy. He says he didn't have any psychological trauma after the shootings at the Sikh temple. Murphy, the first officer on the scene, was shot 15 times. His face, hands, arms and legs were riddled with bullets. One bullet remains lodged in his skull; another in his throat after slicing one vocal card and paralyzing the other, leaving him with a permanent rasp. Medically retired from the Oak Creek police department, Murphy completed the master's degree in criminal justice administration he'd started before he was injured. He now works for the company that makes the bulletproof vest that stopped three rounds that struck him that August day. He counsels other wounded officers, talking about something deep in his DNA resiliency. Murphy gets injections in his throat every three months to stop scar tissue from tightening and has some trouble swallowing, but he has no complaints, noting he was first told he'd never talk or eat on his own. "Once I knew I wasn't going to die, everything else was butter," he says. He credits his family's support for rebounding. And he refuses to let the shooting dominate his thoughts. "It's not like I wake up and say, 'I can't believe this happened.' It's just life now. I don't think there's a tremendous amount of good that comes from looking behind." SALT LAKE CITY A Uintah County couple has been charged with kidnapping and accused of taking in a runaway juvenile and then not letting her leave. Laura Beth Moore, 36, of Roosevelt, and Jared Craig Ekker, 44, of Lapoint, were charged Monday in 8th District Court with child kidnapping, a first-degree felony. On Dec. 4, an 11-year-old girl ran away from her home in Lapoint, Uintah County. Ekker and Moore saw the girl walking outside their trailer and invited her in, according to charging documents. "The 11-year old victim told police that (Moore's) roommate had a gun when (she) called to her from his trailer," the charges state. Moore also had a police scanner "and was listening to the police as they searched for the 11-year-old victim throughout the night and into the morning." Police say at some point, the girl told Moore and Ekker "that she had been there long enough and that she wanted to leave and that she wanted to go see her mom," the charges state. That's when Ekker locked the trailer door and both Moore and Ekker allegedly told the girl that she could not leave and that she had to sleep in their trailer that night. The next day, Moore tried to arrange for a friend "to come pick up the child and take her away from the residence," the charges state. Police received a call that morning from Ekker's mother informing them that the girl was in the trailer. The girl was recovered after police spent 16 hours searching for her. Teams of searchers checked properties and buildings, went door to door, and utilized information from community members throughout the incident in an effort to locate the juvenile, the Uintah County Sheriff's Office said in a prepared statement when the girl was found. SALT LAKE CITY Utah designers in any field are encouraged to submit their work for the annual Utah DesignArts 19 juried exhibition by July 26. The Utah Division of Arts & Museums DesignArts Program will host the juried exhibition Sept. 9 through Oct. 18 at the Rio Gallery in downtown Salt Lake City. Information and how to submit designs can be found at visualarts.utah.gov. Realized, conceptual or prototype designs are eligible. The jurors award winner will receive $3,000. Two designers selected in the student category will each receive a $500 award. The exhibition honors and celebrates Utah designers and provides a venue for the public to learn about and engage with the design community. The exhibit will be free and open to the public. Gail Anderson, the creative director of Visual Arts Press at the School of Visual Arts New York, will serve as juror 9. Anderson, who has taught at the school for close to 30 years, is co-author with Steven Heller of 16 books on design, typography and popular culture, and is the recipient of the 2018 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Lifetime Achievement and the 2008 AIGA Medal. Anderson also serves on the Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee for the United Stated Postal Service. In conjunction with Salt Lake Gallery Stroll, a reception will take place on Sept. 20 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Rio Gallery, 300 S. Rio Grande St. Admission for the reception is also free and open to the public. SALT LAKE CITY Utahs favorite sketch comedy stars are heading to NBC. Bring The Funny, a comedy competition show premiering July 9 on NBC, will feature members of JK! Studios, the Utah-based comedy production company founded by the original cast of BYUtvs Studio C. The new NBC show will feature judges Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live), Chrissy Teigen and Jeff Foxworthy, and be hosted by comedian Amanda Seales. The winners will receive a $250,000 prize package. In a video interview with the Deseret News, JK! Studios members Matt Meese and Stacey Harkey said they spent most of March filming for Bring The Funny. As for which JK! Studios cast members are taking part, they werent allowed to say. We had a really great experience, Meese said. And we cant talk about how well we did in the competition, but we are pleased, and excited for it to start airing. According to Meese, the show finishes airing in September and will have some live elements and fan voting, so JK! Studios may be returning to the NBC lot in a few months. According to a news release, Bring The Funny incorporates comedy of all kinds, from sketch comedy to standup to anyone who can make audiences laugh. And the members of JK! Studios have a lot of experience with that. Between their experience at Brigham Young Universitys sketch comedy troupe Divine Comedy, then Studio C, and now JK! Studios, many of them have been doing comedy together for a decade. You put your live performance comedy skills to the test, which is how we started, Stacey Harkey said. They want people that can put on a show, not only in front of a live audience, but for a broadcast audience, which is our jam. For us, I think it reaffirmed our belief that what we do is accessible to everyone, Meese added. We make this safe-for-work content, if you will, and we hope that it will resonate everyone. And we got more evidence that that is the case. SALT LAKE CITY A man wanted in a disturbing case of child sex abuse has been extradited back to Utah and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail. Michael Lee Travers, 52, of Diberville, Mississippi, and Kristin Michelle Milsap, 32, of Albilene, Texas, are accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl. Milsap rented a motel room multiple times between January and April and would bring the young girl with her, according to charging documents. She would tell the girl's parents that she was baby-sitting at the Salt Lake County motel and needed the girl to help her, the charges state. Milsap abused the girl, allegedly at the prompting of Travers, who took pictures while it was happening, according to the charges. Police say Travers is a truck driver who frequently passes through Utah. Milsap used to live in Utah, police said. Travers and Milsap were each charged in 3rd District Court last month with four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony. Travers was also charged with an additional four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. Based on a tip, investigators were able to locate Travers on May 20 in Sacramento, California, and arrest him, said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku. That same day, Milsap was arrested in Arizona. Travers was returned to Utah on Friday and booked into jail. His initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday. Milsap had not been extradited back to Utah as of Monday. Two other people are listed in court documents as being "linked" to Travers and Milsap. Those two face misdemeanor drug charges, court records state, but are not charged with sexually assaulting the girl. SALT LAKE CITY A man already facing charges of enticing a minor is back in jail after police arrested him again, just 20 days after posting bail for his first case. Kyler Craig Robertson, 31, of Salt Lake City, was arrested Thursday for investigation of enticing a minor. A police officer posing online as a 15-year-old boy was asked by Robertson to meet him at a park to engage in sexual activity, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. He was arrested when he arrived. On May 7, Robertson was charged in 3rd District Court with enticing a minor, two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and dealing in harmful materials to a minor. At the time of that arrest, Robertson told police "that he does have a sexual interest in children and considers himself a danger to the community," according to a police affidavit. In his latest booking report, police note that Robertson was able to post bail three days after his arrest on May 7. "Twenty days later, (Robertson) was arrested for the same conduct. It is clear that (Robertson) is a danger to the children in the community," the new report states. Robertson was charged with rape in 2010, according to charging documents. A preliminary hearing was held and he was ordered to stand trial. A trial date was set, but then the case was dismissed, according to court records. WEST HAVEN, Weber County A man wanted for questioning in a domestic violence incident was shot by police early Monday after allegedly pointing a gun at deputies. Just before midnight, 911 dispatchers received calls from at least two residents who reported hearing gunshots in the area of 4300 West and 4300 South in West Haven, according to Weber County Sheriff's Lt. Matt Jensen. As of Monday afternoon, deputies were still investigating whether the shots were fired inside or outside a residence, and what they hit. No injuries were reported from that incident. Roy police were the first to arrive on the scene and learned there had been a domestic dispute between a woman and her boyfriend, he said. "Police were speaking to the woman involved but at that time, it was unknown where the man was. But information was that he was possibly armed with a handgun," Jensen said. Because police weren't sure if the man was still inside the house, a SWAT team was called. While SWAT members were clearing the house just after 3 a.m. Monday, two Weber County sheriff's deputies spotted a man walking just off the road near 4500 West and 4000 South. As the deputies attempted to talk to the man, "he pulled out a handgun, pointed it toward them and the deputies fired several shots striking the man multiple times. It is unclear at this time whether the man fired any shots at the deputies," the lieutenant said. Justin Richard Jessop, 37, of West Haven, who was the man police were looking for in the domestic violence incident, was taken to a local hospital in critical but stable condition, according to the sheriff's office. The two deputies who fired their weapons were placed on standard paid administrative leave. The Weber County Attorneys Office is investigating the officer-involved shooting. In 2008, Jessop was sentenced to one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison for conviction of two counts of burglary, according to court records. He was also sentenced to one to 15 years at the prison in 2000 for convictions of receiving a stolen vehicle and failing to stop for police. WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration found substantial levels of a worrisome class of nonstick, stain-resistant industrial compounds in some grocery store meats and seafood and in off-the-shelf chocolate cake, according to FDA researchers. The FDA's food-test results are likely to heighten complaints by states and public health groups that President Donald Trump's administration is not acting fast enough or firmly enough to start regulating the manmade compounds. A federal toxicology report last year cited links between high levels of the compounds in people's blood and health problems, but said it was not certain the nonstick compounds were the cause. The levels in nearly half of the meat and fish tested were two or more times over the only currently existing federal advisory level for any kind of the widely used manmade compounds, which are called per- and polyfluoroalykyl substances, or PFAS. The level in the chocolate cake was higher: more than 250 times the only federal guidelines, which are for some PFAS in drinking water. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Tara Rabin said Monday that the agency thought the contamination was "not likely to be a human health concern," even though the tests exceeded the sole existing federal PFAS recommendations for drinking water. As a handful of PFAS contaminations of food emerge around the country, authorities have deemed some a health concern but not others. The agency considers each discovery of the compound in food case by case, including the kind of food, levels of contamination, frequency of consumption and latest scientific information, Rabin said. There are nearly 5,000 varieties of PFAS, which DuPont created in 1938 and first put into use for nonstick cookware. Industries use them in countless consumer items food packaging, carpets and couches, dental floss and outdoor gear to repeal grease, water and stains. The chemicals also are found in firefighting foam, which the Defense department calls irreplaceable in suppressing jet-fuel fires. Especially around military bases and PFAS facilities, decades of use have built up levels in water, soil and some treated sewage sludge used to fertilize non-organic food crops and feed for livestock. They've been a topic of congressional hearings, state legislation and intense federal and state scrutiny over the past two years. Last year's federal toxicology review concluded the compounds are more dangerous than previously thought, saying consistent studies of exposed people "suggest associations" with some kinds of cancers, liver problems, low birth weight and other issues. The compounds have been dubbed "forever chemicals" because they take thousands of years to degrade, and because some accumulate in people's bodies. The Environmental Protection Agency earlier established a nonbinding health threshold of 70 parts per trillion for two-phased out forms of the contaminant in drinking water. The EPA has said it would consider setting mandatory limits instead after the toxicology report and after federally mandated PFAS testing of water systems found contamination. The administration has called dealing with PFAS a "potential public relations nightmare" and a "national priority." "I know there are people who would like us to move faster" on PFAS, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said Monday at the National Press Club. "We are addressing this much faster than the agency has ever done for a chemical like this." Impatient for federal action, several states have moved to regulate the chemicals on their own, including setting standards for groundwater or drinking water. The FDA study sampled market-basket items bought in three, undisclosed mid-Atlantic cities in 2017, testing for PFAS. PFOS already phased out of production in the U.S. as a health concern turned up at levels ranging from 134 parts per trillion to 865 parts per trillion in tilapia, chicken, turkey, beef, cod, salmon, shrimp, lamb, catfish and hot dogs. Chocolate cake tested at 17,640 parts per trillion of a kind of PFAS called PFPeA. The FDA presentation also disclosed PFAS findings one spiking over 1,000 parts per trillion in leafy green vegetables grown within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of an unspecified eastern U.S. PFAS plant and sold at a farmer's market. And it previewed test levels for a previously reported instance of PFAS contamination of the food supply in the feed and milk at a dairy near an Air Force base in New Mexico. The FDA called the milk contamination a health concern. FDA researchers discussed the results at a conference by the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry last week in Finland. The Environmental Defense Fund and the Environmental Working Group obtained the FDA presentation and provided it to The Associated Press. "What this calls for is additional research to determine how widespread this contamination is and how high the levels are," said Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, in an interview. "We have to look at total human exposure not just what's in the water or what's in the food ... or not just dust. We need to look at the sum totals of what the exposures are." "Drinking one glass of contaminated water is unlikely to be associated with health risks, as is eating one slice of contaminated chocolate cake," said Jamie DeWitt, a toxicologist at East Carolina University who studies PFAS. "Individually, each item is unlikely to be a huge problem, but collectively and over a lifetime, that may be a different story." ___ Flesher reported from Traverse City, Michigan, and Casey from Concord, New Hampshire. PROVO Formal charges were filed Monday against a former Scout leader accused of possessing child pornography. Bruce Marvin Quick, 56, of Provo, was charged in 4th District Court with 21 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. The Utah Attorney General's Office began investigating Quick in March when investigators discovered videos of child pornography were being shared on a peer-to-peer network, according to charging documents. On May 28, investigators served a search warrant at Quick's house and seized several electronic devices, including Quick's cellphone. "Police conducted a forensic search of Mr. Quicks phone and found that it contained 98,193 digital images and videos. Upon investigating a sample of those photos, police found 100 images containing child pornography. Police will continue investigating and believe there will be hundreds more files containing child pornography," the charges state. Bail was set at $200,000. In 2000, Quick was convicted of two counts of sex abuse of a child, pleading guilty to one count and no contest to the other, according to court records. Both counts were reduced to second-degree felonies. Quick was sentenced to nine months in jail. Quick, a Boy Scout leader at that time, was convicted of sexually abusing a 13-year-old Scout. LOGAN The man accused of kidnapping and killing his 5-year-old niece in Logan, prompting a massive five-day search, made a brief appearance in court Monday. Alexander William Whipple, 21, is charged with aggravated murder and child kidnapping, first-degree felonies; two counts of obstructing justice, second-degree felonies; and abuse or desecration of a body, a third-degree felony, in the death of Elizabeth "Lizzy" Shelley. On Monday, during a brief initial appearance in 1st District Court, a judge ordered that Whipple continue to be held without bail and set his next court hearing for June 24. "Given the recent charges, of course I'm not going to allow bail," Judge Kevin Allen told attorneys in court. On May 25, Lizzy was reported missing after her mother and live-in boyfriend woke up to find the front door open and both Lizzy and Whipple gone. Whipple had been invited to his sister's house late the night before and was told he could sleep on the couch, according to charging documents. Whipple was located by police about 3 p.m. and arrested for violating his probation. He was also uncooperative with officers and immediately considered a suspect in Lizzy's disappearance. He was charged with six misdemeanor crimes, including failing to disclose his identity to police and drug possession. The next day, he was chargedwith capital murder even though Lizzy's body still had not been found. After five days of searching, the Cache County Attorney's Office agreed to take the death penalty off the table in exchange for Whipple disclosing the location of Lizzy's body. A motive for the killing has not been revealed. Whipple's court hearing comes a day before Lizzy is to be laid to rest. Cache County Attorney James Swink said after Monday's hearing that the entire community was still in mourning, and that everyone's thoughts were with Lizzy's family. "Today's priority isn't about court and the case so much, it's about the family. Today is the day that there will be a viewing for our victim, Elizabeth. And we want to give due respect to the family. They're in mourning, and tomorrow there will be a funeral," he said. Swink also reiterated that it was because of the good work by police who investigated the case that he was able to file a charge of capital murder, and because of that charge they were able to negotiate a deal that resulted in Lizzy's body being found. "As mothers know, even better than fathers, not to have the body of your child is you just can't cope with that. You can't get your head around that. And because we were able to work out a resolution in that one small aspect, the mother has the body of her child back and is able to lay her to rest in a proper way," Swink said. Although he won't seek the death penalty, the county attorney said the state's priority now is to make sure they can "lock (Whipple) up for the rest of his life." Contributing: Paul Nelson WASHINGTON With talk of impeachment ramping up, the White House is digging in its heels with the mantra that congressional investigations are a waste of time. "Look, every single minute that Congress spends on that, we're not spending on infrastructure, we're not spending on lowering prescription drug prices, we're not spending on Iran, China, North Korea, new trade deals," said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders in response to multiple questions Wednesday after special counsel Robert Mueller summarized his findings and announced his job was done. "Every single thing that they're doing is taking away from things that could actually help the American people," Sanders said. Sanders may be both wrong and right in her prediction, according to scholars on American government. The federal government would continue to function on a basic level if an impeachment inquiry was launched. In fact, Congress and the White House got quite a lot done during previous impeachment proceedings as lawmakers investigated former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. But the fact that few people know what else was accomplished while the House moved toward impeaching Nixon in 1973-74 and Clinton in 1998 reveals a cost that could be exacted from both Congress and the White House if Democrats continue investigating allegations against President Donald Trump by the special counsel. Every single thing that they're doing is taking away from things that could actually help the American people. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders "Legislating and governing goes on, but if the president or congressional leaders want to push a certain agenda, sometimes the investigations can just get in their way because that's what the public, or reporters, want to hear about," said Matt Glassman, a senior fellow at Georgetown University's Government Affairs Institute. That assumes, he added, that a divided Congress and the administration would have realistically been able to get anything done before the 2020 election besides passing spending bills and raising the debt limit. So "getting things done" may not be the true main concern of either Congress or the White House when it comes to impeachment. "The main political calculation is what good does an impeachment inquiry do for the fuzzy goal of actually removing the president or the goal of winning the 2020 election," Glassman said. Multi-tasking In his 400-page report and in last week's public remarks, Mueller invited Congress to carry on the investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice, saying "the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing." That process begins with an impeachment inquiry by Congress. Pressure is building among liberal House Democrats to declare the House Judiciary Committee's ongoing investigation an impeachment inquiry, which could give the committee more legal clout to subpoena witnesses and access to more information, which could lead to an impeachment vote in the full House. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has so far resisted calls among a vocal minority of her party for an impeachment inquiry. She knows the Senate would not convict the president, so she instead wants to continue to have House committees investigate without impeachment. "You sort of move forward investigating until there's some sort of public support for (impeachment)," Glassman said. And so far, that support isn't there. A Washington Post poll in April showed majority of Americans oppose Congress launching impeachment proceedings. Congress, with its work distributed among committees, is set up to tackle more than one issue at a time. During the Watergate hearings that forced the resignation of Nixon, Democrats controlled both the House and Senate, passing the Endangered Species Act and the War Powers Resolution, among other major pieces of legislation. And the same year the House impeached Clinton, a Republican controlled Congress passed a $200 billion transportation infrastructure bill, and the International Religious Freedom Act. In 2019, the top five priorities Americans want the new Congress to tackle are lowering prescription drug prices, cutting the federal deficit, rebuilding the nation's infrastructure, reducing hate crimes and addressing the opioid crisis, according to a Politico poll conducted by Harvard University's School of Public Health after the November 2018 election. A Pew Research Center survey in April listed the economy, health care costs, education, terrorism, Social Security and Medicare as the public's policy priorities for 2019. Who's the obstructionist? Trump stated last month that as long as Democrats continue to investigate him, he won't work with them on bipartisan initiatives, such as an infrastructure bill or a new trade deal between Mexico, Canada and the United States. Ive said from the beginning, right from the beginning, that you probably cant go down two tracks, Trump told reporters after he abruptly ended a May 22 meeting with Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on rebuilding the nation's infrastructure. You can go down the investigation track, or you can go down the investment track or the track of lets get things done for the American people. Glassman said that kind of posturing gives Trump an excuse for not getting an infrastructure deal done, since the investigations aren't going away even if House Democrats don't initiate an impeachment inquiry. I don't think any of us can really predict the political effect of an impeachment. Susan Low Bloch, a Georgetown Law professor "In some ways, it's kind of self-serving to the president if he didn't want to propose a way to pay for the infrastructure deal or if he didn't have the Republican support to cut" a deal, he said. Pelosi told late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel last week that Trump "wants us to impeach him" because he believes the GOP-controlled Senate will exonerate him, which would work in his favor in reelection and when he is out of office. Charges based on the Mueller report could be brought against Trump when he is a private citizen. That could be a risky strategy as media coverage of the impeachment process would reveal all the allegations in the Mueller report, which most people will never read, said Susan Low Bloch, a Georgetown Law professor. "I don't think any of us can really predict the political effect of an impeachment," she said. Speaking about his experience leading the charge to impeach Clinton, former GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich said the strategy backfired against Republican House members in the 1998 election, while Clinton achieved one of the highest presidential approval ratings ever at 73 percent in his last two years in office. To be sure, Clinton was privately consumed by the impeachment investigation, distracting him from other priorities, according to a New York Times analysis comparing how Trump and Clinton publicly managed investigations into allegations. But, while Clinton tried to stay focused on his domestic and foreign policy agendas and delegate the handling of the impeachment issue to his staff, Trump can't resist responding to questions or threats of impeachment via Twitter, news conferences on other topics or in exchanges with the press, chief White House correspondent Peter Baker wrote. The presidents style is hands-on, and I doubt he would delegate this impeachment fight to aides and lawyers, Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax and a friend of the presidents, said to the Times. This is a man who in 2016 eschewed pollsters, campaigns staffs and advisers, running the campaign basically himself. He won, so thats his playbook. And that kind of approach can take a toll on an administration trying to accomplish other things with an election looming. "The most valuable thing the White House has is the president's time," said Glassman, "so there is certainly an opportunity cost to these investigations or fighting these investigations (if) the president can't focus on something else." SALT LAKE CITY A man who helped facilitate the straw purchase of the gun used to kill University of Utah student athlete Lauren McCluskey pleaded guilty on Monday. Nathan Daniel Vogel, 21, of Millcreek, pleaded guilty to making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm. Vogel, along with Sarah Emily Lady, 24, of Mapleton, were both accused of making a straw purchase of a Beretta PX4 Storm .40-caliber handgun on Sept. 8, 2018. Vogel later loaned the gun to an acquaintance. Five days later, Melvin Rowland used the gun to shoot McCluskey in a parking lot outside her campus dorm. "We went to the gun store in order to purchase a handgun that I needed for my employment. I was unable to obtain a handgun on the day of purchase because I had a waiting period due to my background in the military," Vogel said in his written statement to court accepting the guilty plea. "The plan was for Lady to purchase the gun for me. I had previously given her $400 to pay for the handgun. "A background check was completed and Lady was allowed to purchase the handgun. We left together. Once outside Lady gave me the handgun." Vogel and Lady were scheduled to go to trial next week. Monday's plea deal only involved Vogel. A new court date for Lady was expected to be set soon. We are pleased with the outcome in this case. Mr. Vogel has taken responsibility for his unlawful conduct, and is now a convicted felon. He is prohibited from possessing a firearm in the future, U.S. Attorney John W. Huber said in a prepared statement. We offer our condolences, once again, to the family and friends of Lauren McCluskey." Vogel and Rowland were co-workers. According to police reports from the University of Utah recently released through a public records request, Vogel told investigators that he believed Rowland "manipulated" him to get his gun. On Oct. 17, Vogel had just gotten fired from his job and was discouraged. "I had told (Rowland) about my problems and stuff like that he offered me $200, so he manipulated me using the guilt trip to use my weapon," Vogel said, according to the report. He then loaned Rowland the gun he had illegally purchased. Soon after, Vogel got a call from hotel security at Little America Hotel that the gun had been found there with marijuana and Vogel would need to go in and claim it. Vogel retrieved the gun and Melvin then "talked him into giving him the gun back" and paid him another $200, the report states. The security director at the hotel recalled the gun being found abandoned in a room, along with 75-100 rounds of ammunition in a box. The security director lectured Vogel about the incident and urged Rowland not to borrow guns, police wrote. Rowland was supposed to return the gun to Vogel after supposedly taking McCluskey target shooting. The night Vogel expected the gun back, Rowland told him he and McCluskey were stuck in Moab. Vogel continued texting him for days to get the gun back, but Rowland did not reply, according to the report. Vogel told police Rowland's actions seemed "premeditated." SALT LAKE CITY Apple announced dozens of new features today for their various operating systems, ranging from security updates to health tracking. And yes, theres a dark mode coming to iPhones. According to Gizmodo, the company announced the updates as part of its 2019 Worldwide Developer Conference keynote. Major software additions include new Apple Watch apps, increased data protection and the final nail in the coffin for iTunes, which will be replaced by other apps later this year, CNN reports. Here are some of the most interesting features coming to Apple devices later this year: Apple TV For All Mankind is a show exclusive to Apple TV+, the companys new streaming service. The show follows an alternate timeline where the Soviet Union reaches the moon first, inspiring the United States to innovate further into space travel. Multi-user support for tvOS will give multiple Apple TV users their own personal profiles and recommendations. Support for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 controllers will be added to support Apple Arcade on all devices. Apple Watch Apple Watch is getting new colorful watch faces and a taptic chime feature that chimes and vibrates on the hour. New apps include Voice Memos and Calculator, which now has a new tip/bill-splitting feature. A new watch App Store will also let users download apps that operate independently of a tethered iPhone. Streaming audio from music sources and live sporting events is also on the way. New health data includes in-depth activity trends, noisy environment warnings and fertility tracking. Other watch features include spoken navigation, song identification and Siri web searches. iPhone The iOS13 software will allow users to unlock their phones 30 percent faster and launch apps twice as fast. Dark mode is coming to iPhones along with swipe typing and time-synced music lyrics for songs. The Maps app will receive more detailed maps and street view information in 2020. A new Sign in With Apple feature will let users sign into apps and services without sharing personal information from Google or Facebook. Memojis will get makeup, jewelry and new hairstyles. They can also be converted into stickers that can be sent in any messaging app. New Photo app features include better photo organization and new video effects and editing. Portrait mode is also getting an intensity slider, which can help tone the effect. Siri will now use a text-to-speech system instead of recorded voices, which helps the virtual assistant sound a little more natural. iPad iPads are getting a new operating system, iPadOS, which will bring desktop computer functionality to tablets. USB drives, cameras and SD cards will be supported via accessories and dongles. Safari on iPad is getting support for desktop browsing, which includes support for Google docs. More notes: Additionally, a new Mac Pro desktop computer was announced and will feature stronger graphics and performance compared to the iMac Pro, according to the Verge. The computer will cost $5,999, can support the new Pro Display XDR and features a very shiny stainless steel cheese grater aesthetic. The new monitor, on the other hand, costs $4,999 and supports 6K screen resolution. An optional $999 Pro Stand will also let users rotate the display vertically, not unlike a TV Samsung revealed in April, according to Deseret News. WASHINGTON Mexico launched a counteroffensive Monday against the threat of U.S. tariffs, warning not only that it would hurt the economies of both countries but also could cause a quarter-million more Central Americans to migrate north. A high-level delegation from the Mexican government held a news conference at the embassy in Washington, making the case against President Donald Trump's threat of imposing a 5% tariff on Mexican imports by June 10. It is unclear what more Mexico can do and what will be enough to satisfy the president. "As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border. They can do it if they want!" Trump tweeted Monday from London. Trump's Republican allies warn that tariffs on Mexican imports will hit U.S. consumers, harm the economy and jeopardize the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade pact that the White House wants Congress to approve. "This calls into question our ability to pass the USMCA, much less get it passed by Canada and Mexico," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. The GOP senator said he couldn't imagine the hit to the economy if the tariffs rise to 25%, as Trump has threatened. "I don't even want to think about it," he told reporters Monday. "We need to put our heads together and try to come up with a solution." Trump all but taunted negotiators for a quick resolution. "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border," he tweeted Sunday. "Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years. We want action, not talk." But Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard replied Monday that both countries working together is "the best way to do it." Mexico said it will only go so far to avert the duties, and absolutely ruled out a "third safe country" agreement that would require asylum seekers to apply for refuge in Mexico first. "There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity," said Mexico's Ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena. Barcena said Mexico has taken steps to offer migrants visas in Mexico, and "without Mexico's efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019." Barcena said Mexico has accepted 8,835 returned migrants as of May 29, and they are now waiting in the country for an asylum hearing in the U.S. courts. The tariff threat comes just as the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA, which would update the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Monday with Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez. Afterward, Ross said the two had discussed the tariffs and the "next steps" for the trade pact. "I reiterated the president's message that Mexico needs to do more to help the U.S. address immigration across our shared border," Ross said in a statement. Delegations led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will also meet in Washington. Marquez told reporters her team is assessing potential reprisals in case the diplomatic efforts do not bear fruit this week. "We will have to make a strategic plan to take into consideration many elements," she said. Agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico was worth about $130 million a day last year, according to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Victor Villalobos. A 5% U.S. tariff would decrease that trade by $3.8 million a day, he said. Trump has been here before, issuing high-stakes threats, only to back off come crunch time. Trump claims Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades but that the abuse will end when he slaps tariffs on Mexican imports. His frustration with the flow of migrants is nothing new, but it's a subject he often returns to, as he did last week after special counsel Robert Mueller's rare public statement on the Trump-Russia report. The president said last week that he will impose the tariffs to pressure the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to block Central American migrants from crossing the border into the U.S. Trump said the import tax will increase by 5% every month through October, topping out at 25%. It swiftly refocused attention on the border issues. Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said on "Fox News Sunday" that the president is "deadly serious." Still, Mulvaney acknowledged there are no concrete benchmarks being set to assess whether the U.S. ally is stemming the migrant flow enough to satisfy the administration. "We intentionally left the declaration sort of ad hoc," he said. "So, there's no specific target, there's no specific percentage, but things have to get better," Mulvaney said. "They have to get dramatically better and they have to get better quickly." GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, called the tariffs a "mistake" and said it was unlikely Trump would impose them. Republicans on Capitol Hill and GOP allies in the business community have expressed serious unease with the tariffs. Some see this latest threat as a play for leverage and doubt Trump will follow through. Earlier this year, Trump threated to seal the border with Mexico only to change course. Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that the situation at the border was "unsustainable." But he said he was "hopeful this can be resolved" without Trump using his authority to impose tariffs. Republicans have repeatedly tried to nudge Trump away from trade wars and have specifically questioned the White House's ability to rely on executive authorities to impose some of them as national security issues. At the same time, Trump's efforts to revamp immigration laws have drawn little support in the Congress. "I think what the president said, what the White House has made clear, is we need a vast reduction in the numbers crossing," Kevin McAleenan, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said on CNN's "State of the Union." Mulvaney, who also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," said Mexico could take various steps to decrease the record numbers of migrants at the border. He suggested the Mexican government could seal its southern border with Guatemala, crack down on domestic terrorist organizations and make Mexico a safe place for migrants seeking to apply for asylum. Economists and business groups are sounding alarms over the tariffs, warning that they will impair trade and increase the costs of many Mexican goods that Americans have come to rely on. But Mulvaney played down those fears, saying he doubts business will pass on the costs to shoppers. "American consumers will not pay for the burden of these tariffs," he said. ___ AP correspondent Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report. There is hardly a Bollywood fan in the country who is not totally excited and intrigued about Brahmastra. It is not just about the real-life couple, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt coming together for the first time, but it also about the theme and scale that has got us really intrigued. Recently, the it couple of Bollywood, Ranbir and Alia, was spotted shooting for the film on the ghats of Varanasi. The actors were shooting on a boat it surely looked like an important sequence. Despite the fantasy theme of the film, the casual looks of Ranbir and Alia during the shoot has further heightened our excitement. Bollywood has generally not excelled at fantasy genre thus all hoped are on Ayan Mukerji, Ranbir Kapoor, and Alia Bhatt to deliver and meet our really high expectations. Brahmastra was initially slated to release on Christmas 2019, but recently Ayan announced that the release has been postponed to 2020. Polish operator Vectra has signed a frame agreement to acquire more than 1000 of Telestes E8 1.2 GHz optical nodes, which will be delivered to Vectra by the end of Q1 2020. Vectra is the second largest telecommunication operator in Poland with a cable network of almost 2,800,000 homes. The company offers its customers with services including cable television, broadband internet access - fixed and mobile as well as fixed and mobile telephony. With Telestes E8 node, Vectra is upgrading its cable infrastructure to DOCSIS 3.1 data transmission capacity in order to guarantee the future availability of services such as high-speed internet, VOD and online TV for their subscribers. With their high product quality and proven track record as a vendor of DOCSIS 3.1-compliant network products, Teleste was able to meet the requirements of our network upgrade. We trust that the combination of high performance and user-friendly features of their E8 node helps us transform our network in a reliable and future-proof manner stated Bartomiej Irzynski, CTO of Vectra. Supporting DOCSIS 3.1 frequencies, Telestes E8 is a compact optical node platform offering advanced technical features, outstanding performance and practical functionalities. For example, the node features a universal control that ensures its optimal performance by automatically aligning gains and levels of amplifier stages. In the highly competitive cable market, excellent product quality is certainly one of the major prerequisites for meeting consumers demand for more and more internet speed and increased service reliability, stated Rami Kimari, vice president of HFC Networks for Teleste. Besides optimal performance, the E8 node helps operators cut down operational costs over time by automatically ensuring correct alignment and reducing consumption of power through the innovative power save technology. Another practical feature in the E8 is the lid that can be opened from either side or removed altogether, thus making the node user-friendly and easy to install in various spaces. The new prepaid plan by Vodafone takes on Jio and Airtel offerings in the same price range. Vodafone-idea is currently the number one telecom operator in India in terms of active subscriber count. The company plans to maintain its lead over its competitors and to do so, it has announced a new prepaid plan priced at Rs 229. To entice new customers and retain its existing subscribers, Vodafone is offering 2GB of high-speed daily data and unlimited calling (local, STD and roaming) with the new prepaid recharge. The plan has a validity of 28 days and it also offers 100 SMS per day, along with free access to movies, live TV and shows via the Vodafone Play App. The new prepaid recharge is listed on the companys website but is currently available for only select circles like Mumbai, Delhi & NCR, and Rajasthan. In Assam, the Rs 229 unlimited plan is available for new consumers as a first recharge option. As always, we suggest that our readers check with Vodafone about the new packs availability in their circle before recharging. This new pack by the telco sits just below the Rs 255 prepaid plan that comes with 2.5GB daily data, unlimited calls with roaming and 100 sms per day for 28 days. Jio and Airtel also have their respective recharge options in the same price range. Jio offers a prepaid plan that is priced at Rs 299 and credits 3GB data per day with unlimited calls and 100 daily SMS for 28 days. Airtels Rs 249 prepaid plan comes with 2GB data and offers other benefits similar to Jios Rs 299 plan. However, Airtel is also offering additional benefits with the recharge like free one year subscription to Norton Mobile Security, access to Airtel TV Premium, a chance to avail up to Rs 2,000 cashback while purchasing a new 4G device and a Rs 4 lakh term life insurance cover from HDFC Life/ Bharti Axa with the recharge. You can learn more about this here. 2 hours ago Growth Investing: Should You Adopt This Investing Strategy in 2022? If investing was a Marvel character, growth investing might be like the Hulk, and value investing might be like Thor. You could debate the merits of each character all day and ultimately decide you'd like both to be at your disposal if you ever had to battle Thanos. It's kind of the same between value investing and growth investing. Read Article Subscriber content preview Several trends are holding back wage gains outside the C-Suite, including the dominance of multinational companies in many industries, leaving workers with fewer alternatives to jump to in search of a raise. By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK Did you get a 7% raise last year? Congratulations, yours was in line with what CEOs at the biggest companies got. But for chief executives, that 7% was roughly $800,000. Pay for CEOs at S&P 500 companies rose to a median of $12 million last year, including salary, stock and other compensation, according to data analyzed by Equilar for The Associated Press. The eight-figure packages continue to rise as companies tie more of their CEOs' pay to their stock prices, which are still near record levels, and as profits hit an all-time high last year due to lower tax bills and a still-growing economy. . . . Subscriber content preview NEW YORK (AP) New York City officials are considering a plan to turn an island where poor and homeless people have been buried for 150 years into a park. The City Council held a hearing Thursday on a proposal to turn Hart Island over to the Parks Department to be run as a park that would be reached by ferry. . . . India looks to Japanese, Korean steel mills as SAIL-ArcelorMittal JV deal delays The steel ministry has initiated talks with Japanese and South Korean steel makers with a view to forming a joint venture with state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) as a planned joint venture with ArcelorMittal gets delayed. The steel ministry is reported to be in talks with Nippon Steel, Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing and Posco for a joint venture with SAIL after ArcelorMittal's plan to acquire Essar Steel along with partner Nippon has been held up in court battles. According to SAIL chairman Anil Kumar Chaudhary, ArcelorMittal along with partner Nippon Steel is keen on acquiring insolvent Essar Steel and is now solely aimed at that. When we talk to them they are open but then they are too busy in the process of acquiring Essar," Chaudhary told reporters in New Delhi, adding that he is still waiting for a reply to a letter written to Arcelor in February. The pact with Arcelor is still valid and a partnership with others wont affect this venture, he said. SAIL had approved a plan to build an automotive steel plant in India with Arcelor in 2017, but the proposed venture has been plagued by delays as both mills finetune terms of the deal. The ministry is keen to stitch together ventures with foreign mills to make automotive steel as India is a big importer of high grade steel. Higher output of these products will also aid several Japanese and South Korean automobile companies that manufacture in India. Centre assures states as parties whip up anti-Hindi frenzy over draft education policy Amidst protests by anti-Modi elements over the draft version of the National Education Policy 2019, the NDA-ruled government at the centre on Sunday issued a clarification that what is being passed on for consultations with states is the draft of the recommendations by the Kasturirangan Committee and that there is no move by the central government to thrust Hindi upon any state. The original draft National Education Policy proposes that students from non-Hindi speaking states study Hindi and English apart from their respective regional languages under the three-language formula. According to the draft National Education Policy that was made public by the new government, the three-language formula should be introduced at an earlier stage in schools. The Centre has now made it clear that the draft education policy is flexible and that there is option to change one or more of the three languages midway if the student wishes so. This is a draft policy submitted by the committee and is placed for views of the general public. It is not the policy announced by government. After getting feedback from general public, and after consulting state governments, the National Education Policy will be finalised by the government. Government under the leadership of Narendra Modi is committed to equal development and promotion of all Indian languages. There will be no imposition of any language in educational institutions, nor discrimination against any language, says an official clarification. In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations some time during secondary school, says the revised draft. The expert panel, which prepared the National Education Policy, made a change to the draft even before consultations could begin. The study of languages by students in the non-Hindi speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English, the draft prepared by a committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan had said. In the non-Hindi speaking states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, political parties are whipping up frenzy against the Narendra Modi government. In Tamil Nadu, parties of every political shade from the opposition DMK to the Left and actor Kamal Haasans Makkal Needhi Maiam slammed the report, which they saw as a precursor to the imposition of Hindi The DMK will never allow imposition of Hindi. It will raise its voice in Parliament and outside and strive to stall it, DMKs MP Kanimozhi Karunandhi said. The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)in Tamil Nadu, an ally of the BJP, was muted in its response, but said the Tamil Nadu government maintained that the state will persist with a two-language formula Tamil and English. HRD ministry official said the clause on the three-language formula was changed by the Kasturirangan Committee itself. Kasturirangan said the idea was for a language policy that was multilingual, flexible and that the choice is left to state, institutions and even parents. But when this particular para went into the policy book and when you read it as an outsider with not much of a connection with the various elements of the language policy, it looked a little out of step. We realised the moment there was a concern expressed in certain quarters, he said. Nipah virus returns to haunt Kerala health authorities Kerala is once again under the threat of Nipah virus after a youth with symptoms of the disease has been admitted to a private hospital in Kochi. Twenty-two students who travelled with youth suspected to have Nipah, are also under observation. Health authorities in Kerala said they have extended the observation to nearly 86 people who had direct or indirect contact with the suspected patient. The authorities have traced others, including his family members and have kept them too under observation. Almost 50 people in Thrissur are under observation, but the Thrissur District Medical Officer (DMO) said that it seemed that the young man had not contracted the disease from the district. DMOs, however, said that there was nothing to worry for now as none of the people under observation were showing any signs of contracting the disease. The government is also waiting for the National Institute of Virology in Pune to confirm whether the young man has contracted Nipah virus. However, the government said it is taking all precautions to avert a spread of the disease and has already put various measures into place. The student who is suspected to have contracted the virus hails from North Paravoor in Ernakulam. He had studied in a college in Idukki and had gone from Idukki to Thrissur for an internship. From there, he then went back to his house in Ernakulam. As a result, all these three districts of Ernakulam, Thrissur and Idukki have been placed on alert. Of the 22 students with whom the patient had contacts, six are from Thrissur while the rest are from other districts. Isolations wards at Thrissur Medical college and General Hospital have been arranged. All protective equipments and medicines have been kept ready. We will take complete history and contract tracing of these patients, Dr KJ Reena, Thrissur DMO said. We have got the address and other details of the 22 students, out of which six are in Thrissur district. The other 16 students are in different places in Kerala. A similar kind of alert has been issued and facilities have been arranged in those places as well. We have taken note of these places and even the secondary cases in those places will be traced, she said. This infection is not to be feared. When the Nipah virus had struck earlier, I was one of the persons who had even gone to the houses of the infected. At that time, I was Additional Director, Public Health. So I can say that we have take the necessary precautions, this is just like any other disease. There are chances that it can spread severely, but if we take precautions, then there is no need to panic, the DMO said. So far, we havent got confirmation that it is a positive case of Nipah. Till we get such a confirmation, we are taking whatever steps that are needed to be taken, the DMO added. Bharti Infratel, Indus Towers get NCLT nod for merger The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the planned merger of tower company Bharti Infratel with Indus Towers. The proposed merger, which will create a mega tower company in India, will however, require approval from the Telecom Department also. "...National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chandigarh Bench, vide its order dated May 31, 2019, has sanctioned the scheme of amalgamation and arrangement between Indus Towers Ltd (Transferor Company) and Bharti Infratel Ltd (Transferee company) and their respective shareholders and creditors...," Bharti Infratel said in a BSE filing. "The scheme shall become effective on the date on which certified copy of the order of...NCLT is filed with Registrar of Companies upon fulfillment/waiver of other conditions prescribed in the scheme. The effective date will be communicated to the stock exchanges for further public dissemination as and when the scheme becomes effective," it said. Last year, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Group and Idea Cellular (now Vodafone Idea Ltd) had agreed on the merger of their tower business in a move that will create the largest mobile tower operator in the world, outside China. The merged mega tower company will have an estimated 1.63 lakh towers in 22 telecom service areas in the country. Last month, Bharti and Vodafone Group had named Bimal Dayal as the chief executive officer of the tower company proposed to be formed from the merger of Indus Towers and Bharti Infratel and had said the merger process is in "advanced stage of completion". Nifty ends above 12,000 for 1st time, Sensex surges 553 points; autos lead Market Closing: Benchmark indices ended at record closing highs as the three-day Monetary Policy Committee meeting started. The fall in crude oil prices, stronger rupee and hope of rate cut after weak Q4 GDP data boosted sentiment. The BSE Sensex rallied 553.42 points or 1.39 percent to 40,267.62 and the Nifty50 jumped 165.70 points or 1.39 percent to 12,088.50 but the market breadth was negative. About 1,396 shares declined against 1,185 advancing shares on the BSE. Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Indiabulls Housing, TCS, HCL Technologies, Reliance Industries and Hero Motocorp were leading gainers among Nifty50. GAIL was among losers. Among midcaps, Just Dial, Triveni Engineering, Ashok Leyland, Strides Pharma, BEML, Dabur, Jubilant Foodworks and DLF rallied. Jet Airways, V-Guard Industries and Gati were under pressure. Just In The US Food and Drug Administration inspected Cadila Healthcare's manufacturing facilities located at St. Louis, MO, USA of Nesher Pharmaceuticals (USA) LLC (100 percent subsidiary of Zydus Pharmaceuticals USA), from May 13 to 31, 2019. The inspection concluded with 3 observations at one facility and 8 observations at the other facility of Nesher Pharmaceuticals with a recommendation for Voluntary Action Indicated (VAI), the company said in its filing. This was a product specific preapproval inspection with general cGMP and there were no Data Integrity (DI) related observations, it added. Nifty Inches Towards 12,100 Benchmark indices continued to trade at around record high levels on hope of rate cut after weak GDP data in Q4 and further fall in oil prices. The Sensex climbed 507.31 points or 1.28 percent to 40,221.51 and the Nifty50 rallied 147.40 points or 1.24 percent to 12,070.20. Acquisition Suprajit Engineering entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire the Halogen Bulb manufacturing facility (near Chennai) from Osram India Pvt. Ltd. With this acquisition, Suprajit's Halogen Bulb's annual capacity will increase from 87 million to about 110 million, the company said, adding Suprajit will emerge as one of top 3 manufacturers of Halogen Bulbs in the world. Market At Record High: Benchmark indices touched fresh record high in afternoon on hope of repo rate cut or some big reforms from government to boost economy. The BSE Sensex rose 412.01 points to 40,126.21 and the Nifty50 climbed 123.70 points to 12,046.50 but the market breadth is weak. About 1,333 shares declined against 1,050 advancing shares on the BSE. Rate Cut Hope In terms of liquidity driven rally, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, Gautam Shroff of Edelweiss Securities said, I think flows will continue only if we see action from the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) together. So action is something which is much required. We have a policy this week. Anywhere between 25 basis points (bps) and 50 bps, if they do 50 bps then the market will surely cheer that because 25 is almost like a given and that is already priced in. So that is something that will help in action and flows will continue only after we see that decision come through. Elara Capital Sees 52% Potential Upside in Bharti Airtel Management confirmed a bulk of capex over FY18-19 was toward optic fiber rollout to connect towers, and peak capex is behind it, said Elara Capital which expects elevated access charges, with the new minimum tariff strategy encouraging correction of traffic asymmetry, the positive effects of which will be visible only in FY21. The brokerage expects debt reduction to be pushed out, as monetization of Bharti Africa and Bharti Infratel is likely only toward second half of FY20 or later. Elara reiterated buy with a new target price of Rs 530 from Rs 510 based on 6.5x (unchanged) FY21E EV/EBITDA adjusted for minority holding in Bharti Infratel. Stake Buy Canada-based insitutional investor CDPQ bought 1.54 percent stake in M&M for Rs 1,244 crore from promoter. M&M said proceeds from share sale will be used for company's operational requirements. Acquisition Quess Corp said its subsidiary acquired 53,87,155 equity shares of Allsec, representing 35.35 percent of the total share capital of Allsec by way of a block trade on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited. Accordingly, as on date, the subsidiary holds 93,49,095 equity shares of Allsec, representing 61.35 percent the total share capital of Allsec, it added. Just In Dilip Buildcon said its wholly owned subsidiary DBL Mangloor Highways Private Limited has received the appointed date i.e. April 12, 2019 by the National Highways Authority of India. The project included four laning of NH-161 from Mangloor to Telangana/Maharastra border in Telangana under Bharatmala Pariyojana on Hybrid Annuity Mode. Market Extends Rally: Benchmark indices extended rally in late morning deals with the Nifty50 reclaiming 12,000 and Sensex 40,000 on fall in oil prices and hope of repo rate cut in a policy meeting that began today. The BSE Sensex rallied 302.70 points to 40,016.90 and the Nifty50 jumped 85.60 points to 12,008.40. Stake Sale in DHFL Aion Capital is in the fray to buy majority stake in DHFL and may sign a term sheet soon to explore transaction, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. Lone Star, Piramal Enterprises and Oak Tree are also in talks with DHFL, sources said. Aion Capital and DHFL did not respond to CNBC-TV18's query. Aion Capital is a joint venture between Apollo Global & ICICI Ventures. DHFL's total AUM size is at around Rs 1.26 lakh crore. Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI Economic growth in manufacturing industry moved up a notch in May as companies responded to strengthening demand conditions by lifting output, quantities of purchases and employment to greater extents, IHS Markit said. Business sentiment also ticked higher. Price pressures remained relatively muted, with goods producers leaving selling prices unchanged on the back of a mild rise in overall cost burdens, it added. At 52.7 in May (against 51.8 in April), the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index pointed to the strongest improvement in the health of the sector for three months. Moreover, the current growth sequence was stretched to 22 months, it said. May Auto Sales Ashok Leyland said it sold 13,172 units in May, lower by 4 percent against 13,659 units sold in same month last year. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales declined 14 percent year-on-year to 8,946 units. Domestic sales grew by 6 percent to 12,778 units YoY in May 2019. Stake Sale Promoter sold 1.54 percent stake in Mahindra & Mahindra at Rs 648 apiece. Post stake sale, promoter stake reduced to 18.90 percent from 20.44 percent. Hero Motocorp Climbs 5% Hero Motocorp shares rallied nearly 5 percent intraday after May sales data was better than depressed estimates by analyst. The country's largest two-wheeler maker sold 6.5 lakh units in month of May, down 8 percent against 7.06 lakh units sold in same period last year. But numbers were better than Nomura expectations of 6.2 lakh units. Market Update Benchmark indices remained strong on fall in oil prices and US bond yields. The Sensex rose 164.33 points to 39,878.53 and the Nifty gained 44.60 points at 11,967.40 but the market breadth was in favour of bears. About 933 shares declined against 826 advancing shares on the BSE. KTM and Bajaj Auto Agree On New Electric Vehicle Alliance KTM Industries AG and Bajaj Auto have decided to initiate a serial production project for PTW (powered two wheeler) electric vehicles in the power range of 3 to 10 kW (48 volt) at the level of KTM AG. This platform will support different product variants - scooters, mopeds, small mopeds, under brands of both partners, the company said, adding this further step in the field of electro mobility is a logical addition to the existing activities with PEXCO in the HUSQVARNA e-bike sector. The serial production will start at Bajaj's production site in Pune, India by 2022. Goldman Sachs Lowers US Views Goldman Sachs Group Inc analysts on Sunday downgraded their second-quarter economic growth forecasts for the United States because of risks stemming from trade conflicts with Mexico and China, Reuters reported. The analysts also said they saw a rising probability of the US Federal Reserve cutting rates but not enough of a chance to pencil such a cut into its baseline forecast. Their second-quarter gross domestic product growth forecast is now 1.1 percent, down from 1.3 percent little more than a week ago. Bajaj Auto Gains 2% After Sales Data Bajaj Auto reported a 3 percent increase in its sales at 4.19 lakh units for May, against 4.07 lakh units sold in same month last year. Domestic sales increased 5 percent to 2.35 lakh units against 2.24 lakh units while exports increased 1 percent to 1.83 lakh units against 1.82 lakh units. Motocycle sales jumped 7 percent to 3.65 lakh units, but three-wheeler sales fell 16 percent to 54,167 units compared to same month previous fiscal. Market Update: Benchmark indices extended gains in early trade with the Sensex rising 205.27 points to 39,919.47. The Nifty50 jumped 49.50 points to 11,972.30, driven by HDFC and HDFC Bank. Market Outlook Arvind Sanger is the founder and managing partner of Geosphere Capital Management told CNBC-TV18 that GDP numbers for Q1FY20 should be worse than Q4FY19 and economy continued to decelerate. Trade war & preference to tariffs have raised risks significantly, he said. He feels the RBI cutting the rates not a solution to weak economy. "RBI rate cut might trigger sell on rally action." Sanger said he is not willing to bet on overall market, will buy into specific sectors. Market Opening: Benchmark indices opened marginally higher with Nifty reclaiming 11,950 levels despite correction in global markets. HPCL, BPCL, IOC, Hero Motocorp, Bharti Infratel, HDFC, GAIL and Wipro gained. Tata Motors, Yes Bank, Eicher Motors, M&M, Hindalco and Maruti are under pressure. Rupee Opening: The Indian rupee has opened at 69.50 a dollar on June 3, higher by 17 paise compared to Friday's close of 69.67 a dollar. Market Pre-Opening Benchmark indices were higher in pre-opening trade despite correction in global peers amid trade worries. The BSE Sensex rose 86.15 points to 39,800.35 and the Nifty50 gained 56.80 points at 11,979.60 in pre-opening trade. Market Trend By looking at weekly option data, 12,000 Call has significant open interest (OI), which is acting as a hurdle on the upside. However, ongoing positive trend in the index will remain intact until it holds 11,800 levels, ICICI Direct said. The brokerage feels the index will consolidate in the range of 11,800-12,000 for a couple of trading sessions. Nifty futures ended at a discount of 6 points with a rise in IVs by 2.86 percent on May 31. The highest Put base is at 11,500 strike with almost 23 lakh shares while the highest Call base is at the 12,500 strike with 17 lakh shares. Asian markets Update Major stocks in Asia were trading lower amid increasing concerns over the state of global trade which could hit global growth. China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.7 percent, Japan's Nikkei fell over a percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.5 percent, Gujarat Gas in Focus HDFC Securities has intitiated coverage on Gujarat Gas with a buy rating and target price of Rs 222, implying 20 percent potential upside from current levels. City gas distribution (CGD) companies deserve higher valuation multiples than utilities considering they are (1) Unregulated, (2) Relatively less capex-intensive, and (3) Competing for sales against viable alternatives (in industrial/commercial markets), the brokerage said. It believes their pricing freedom derives from the fact that superior returns in CGD can be reinvested and help increase the share of gas in Indias energy mix from 20 percent (from 6 percent currently) by 2025. This premium can only expand with time. Fiscal Deficit On the fiscal front, the latest data shows that the Government has been able to meet the revised fiscal deficit estimate of 3.4 percent of GDP. However, there has been Rs 1.45 lakh crore reduction in expenditure with Rs 69,140 crore cut in subsidies (major cut in food subsidy of Rs 69,394 crore), covering for Rs 1.57 lakh crore reduction in total receipts. Now that FY19 estimates are revised, the FY20 might seem to be on the higher side, Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, SBI said, adding given growth slowdown that the country is facing, the question arises whether the government should continue to focus on fiscal consolidation path or keep the deficit numbers constant for the next two years before reducing it further and try to propel growth. Sticking to a particular number is not that important. Instead, the Government should strive to make credible, transparent and achievable fiscal rules, he said. GDP Data for Q4 Was Weak GDP growth plunged to 20-quarter low to 5.8 percent in Q4 FY19. With this, the full year FY19 GDP growth comes to 6.8 percent (5-year low) compared to 7.2 percent in FY18. GVA growth for FY19 stood at 6.6 percent compared to 6.9 percent in FY18. Agriculture and Allied Activities grew at 2.9 percent in FY19, compared to last year growth of 5.0 percent. However, the projection of just-normal monsoon this year boosts the outlook of this sector for FY20, ?Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Adviser, SBI said. Market Update SGX Nifty indicated higher opening in equity markets despite correction in global peers following fresh trade concerns between US and Mexico. SGX Nifty was up 40 points at 11965.50. Boris Johnson launches UK leadership bid with `no deal' Brexit call Former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has launched his bid for UK premiership with calls to walk out of the European Union with or without a deal, sounding US President Donald Trumps advice to anyone who takes over as the new British prime minister. Boris Johnson has emerged as the frontrunner in the race for the next British Prime Minister, after Prime Minister Theresa May tenders her resignation on Friday having failed to deliver Brexit on time Theresa May, however, leaves behind a divided nation and parliament with no consensus on the way ahead for the words fifth largest economy. Johnson, a former foreign minister who resigned in protest at Mays handling of Brexit, looks the favourite to win a crowded contest, fielding about 13 contestants. US President Donald Trump, who is on a state visit to Britain, also tried to influence decision in the UK with comments that anyone who succeeds Theresa May as British prime minister should lead the country out of the EU with or without a deal. Whoever takes over as Britains next prime minister should not be afraid to walk away from negotiations with Brussels and should refuse to pay the agreed divorce bill, he told the Sunday Times newspaper. Trump had, earlier, in an interview with another newspaper commented that former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson would be an excellent replacement for May. If I get in well come out, deal or no deal, on October the 31st, Johnson was seen telling a member of the public in a campaign video released on Twitter. Cut some taxes and you get more money in, he is seen telling another member of the public, while also arguing for more investment in education, infrastructure and healthcare. Now is the time to unite our society, and unite our country. To build the infrastructure, to invest in education, to improve our environment, and to support our fantastic NHS (National Health Service), he said. To lift everyone in our country, and of course, also to make sure that we support our wealth creators and the businesses that make that investment possible. Britain is rolling out the red carpet for the President this week, starting with a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Trumps visit also invited protests over what London Mayor Sadiq Khan described as his divisive behaviour, while opposition politicians are boycotting the banquet. Trump had also embarrassed May with remarks on Brexit during his visit to Britain in 2018. And yesterday, he again urged the next government to follow his own negotiating rule book. If they dont get what they want, I would walk away... If you dont get the deal you want, if you dont get a fair deal, then you walk away, he said. May has already agreed to pay 39 billion (45 billion, $50 billion) to cover Britains liabilities as it moves to sever four decades of EU membership. But Trump said: If I were them I wouldnt pay $50 billion. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number. British Parliament had thrice rejected the divorce agreement that May signed with Brussels in November 2018, and she has had to delay Brexit twice and finally resign as prime minister. The state has filed a motion with the courts to remand cases against Emiliano Rodriguez to a Houston County grand jury. Rodriguez, 40, of Dothan is charged with 35 sex crimes, including 10 counts of second-degree rape, 20 counts of second-degree sexual assault, and five counts of second-degree sodomy. In his motion, prosecutor Mark Johnson said the state has become aware all submitted evidence was not tested and believes all evidence should be re-submitted and tested. The cases against Rodriguez are still under investigation, Johnson said. Bill Joe Sheffield, who represents Rodriguez, filed an objection to the states motion, saying the state has had access to the results of the forensic report since November 2018. The forensic report states the defendants DNA is not a match. The DNA is from an unknown male suspect and Rodriguez has been excluded. Sheffield also filed a motion to dismiss all the charges against his client and/or an immediate release from custody or bond for his client. Rodriguez has been in jail since he was arrested on May 8, 2018. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Through one setback after another, Jacobs had to retake one of her classes, but she couldnt afford it. I started working two jobs because one wasn't cutting it and I had no other help financially I registered to retake my last class for nursing and at this point I had to pay out of pocket, she said. I had a little over a week to get the money and I kept hitting dead ends. I was like, well, I guess it's not meant for me to be a nurse. She eventually turned to her church, First Community Primitive Baptist Church in Quincy, Florida, for help. Something just told me, maybe you should ask the church, she said. Theyre very helpful, and they dont mind helping when it comes to situations of any sort. She was right. It wasnt long before Jacobs mother handed her an envelope from the churchs First Lady. I opened up the envelope and it was all there, Jacobs said with tears in her eyes. Every penny was there that I needed. Eight nonprofit groups and the City of Dothan will receive money for tutoring, infrastructure, and other projects should the Dothan City Commission approve a measure Tuesday. Each year the City of Dothan receives Community Development Block Grant funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funds must be used in a manner that improves elements like neighborhoods, housing, and economic development opportunities for those living in low- or moderate-income areas. This year HUD allocated $485,750 to Dothan, an increase of $16,918 from the 2018 provision. The Community Development Advisory Board has recommended that eight nonprofit groups Alfred Saliba Family Services Center, Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention, Southeast Alabama Community Action Partnership, Wiregrass Rehabilitation Center, Hawk-Houston Youth Enrichment Center, Boys and Girls Club of the Wiregrass, Wiregrass Habitat for Humanity and Girls, Inc. receive funding for 13 different projects. The City of Dothan would also retain $120,000 for a Third Avenue sidewalk project and $30,000 for administrative costs should the commission approve CDABs recommendation during its Tuesday meeting. Byline: Jim Cook, Regional ANZ Director, Malwarebytes The introduction of the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme (NDBS) in February 2018 focused the attention of Australian businesses on security. Since that time, there have been more than 800 breaches reported the majority of them from the healthcare sector. With this focus in mind, the business sector is asking itself what can be done to beef up security and minimise the exposure of the organisation, and its customers, to threats such as malware, phishing and cryptomining scams. The answer is that theres a lot a company can do, and well come to that shortly, but its also worth bearing in mind that when it comes to security, there is no finish line. With threats constantly evolving, we will not reach a point where the security problem is fixed entirely. Instead, businesses need to approach security as something that needs to be managed and constantly monitored, understanding that new challenges will always appear. Businesses must adapt, and shake up the measures they are using to protect themselves. Australian companies are already spending more on security than they have in previous years, with the average budget for a 2,500-person organisation rising to $462,000 in 2017 and a further increase of 19 per cent anticipated in 2018. However despite these positive steps forward, Australia is still spending less than the global average on security by around 14 per cent. Clearly, Australia has some catching up to do. So what can be done to improve a companys security posture? Given that the goalposts are always moving, and that board attention is now being placed on a companys security efforts, one of the most important steps that a security team can take is working on communication with the business as a whole. From the board room to the bullpen Communication is important, because the business and its management needs to understand security threats, and the result of any security breach, in a language it can understand. Its all about the why. This means creating clarity around both the environment being defended, and also about the priorities of the business, and how the work of the security team directly supports these priorities. In other words, its answering the question of why security is important, and what the ramifications of poor security are. For security leaders, the best way to achieve clarity on business issues is to engage in a peer network. This peer network can provide insights into how other organisations are defending themselves, as well as the issues they have faced and the techniques they have used to maintain a secure environment. Engaging in employee education is also a key pillar in a companys security platform. Education means teaching people about cybersecurity. This means understanding what malware is and how it is spread, as well as becoming clear on how social engineering can induce people to give up passwords and other credentials to hackers and other bad actors. As well as providing their staff with the information and tools that they need to be across cyber threats, it is important that businesses also remember to seek external help to bolster their security measures. Smaller companies might consider hiring a security consultant, or outsource security to another company to allow their IT teams to get back to business, rather than monitoring day-to-day security concerns. The Australian government also supports a number of initiatives that connect small businesses with Managed service providers (MSPs), who can help SMBs to manage any security threats without exhausting their internal resources. Secure from all sides The final step that companies can take to protect themselves is to use end-to-end security and endpoint protection. This software needs to embrace both the desktop, as well as the BYOD mobile phones and tablets that staff are using every day on the corporate network and with corporate applications. Because of the rise of these BYOD devices, the traditional barriers of protection are no longer enough. Weve moved beyond the standard corporate security perimeters, and these mobile devices, if not protected, can easily be infected externally and then brought into the business environment to ultimately compromise the ecosystem. Android handsets in particular need protection, as the latest Malwarebytes Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques (CTNT) report has shown that in Asia Pacific for the first quarter of 2018, Android ransomware is the cyber threat that has increased the most, rising by 1173 per cent compared to the final quarter of 2017. The reality is that there is no finishing line for security, and while businesses still view security as an issue that can be solved, they will continue to leave themselves open to the next wave of evolving risk. A businesss security efforts need to constantly adapt to match the threats it faces. With communication, education and the appropriate tools, an organisation can meet the threats it encounters, protecting both the business and its customers. Trump claims Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades but that the abuse will end when he slaps tariffs on Mexican imports. His frustration with the flow of migrants is nothing new, but it's a subject he often returns to, as he did last week after special counsel Robert Mueller's rare public statement on the Trump-Russia report. Owner says demand for product still constant; new buyer sought Greg Southard with peanut patties, a staple of the Leslie Candy Co. he has owned since 2002. Southard ceased production May 15 with hopes to find a new buyer. Southard said opinions range on the peanut patty, but it's undeniably one of his best sellers. CLOVIS - You could see it, couldn't you? Homer Simpson holding treats from Leslie's Candy in one of his yellow paws, saying "Mmmmmm, cinnamon suckers." Alas, Homer is a fictional character, a cartoon. But plenty of actual life-sized, flesh-and-bon... Mission Chicago South Shore Medical Marijuana Dispensary, one of the few dispensaries on the South Side, is building a classroom to be used for marijuana education, adding registers and planning to double employee count to 20 by years end, said general manager Rick Armstrong. Its also changing the shops setup to be more self-serve, arranging the products by type topicals in one section, edibles in another. Customers will come in and see cards describing each product, like in a wine shop, and take that card up to the register for checkout. Next-generation 5G mobile communications technology could have a harmful impact on weather forecasting in the United States, based on expert testimony presented before a U.S. House committee during a hearing on the future of weather forecasting. Interference from 5G wireless phones could reduce the accuracy of weather forecasts by 30 percent, said Neil Jacobs, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere at NOAA. Jacobs made the remarks to members of the Environment Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The effect would be to return forecasting accuracy to 1980s levels, Jacobs added. Consumers and government agencies rely on accurate weather information, and it also can be important for disaster preparedness and recovery, noted the Aerospace Industries Association, an industry advocacy group, in a letter to the committee. Interference-free radio frequency spectrum communications that allow for accurate readings make these applications possible, the AIA maintained. Unfortunately, todays spectrum reality could directly impact the future of accurate weather readings, the association continued. Spectrum is a finite resource and as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) looks to free up spectrum for emerging technologies like 5G, the risk of interference with existing users rises, in both the incumbent band and the adjacent bands. The risks to weather forecasting came to light as the FCC prepared to auction off the 24 GHz spectrum, according to the letter. While it was a multi-year process to get to the auction itself, it is unclear if the proper testing to ensure that harmful interference with weather equipment in the directly adjacent band would not take place had been conducted fully, the organization asserted. Significant Security and Safety Implications Just days before the House hearing, two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Maria Cantwell of Washington, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai requesting that he block any companies from operating in the 24 GHz band until weather forecasting operations were protected. To continue down the path the FCC is currently on, to continue to ignore the serious alarms the scientific community is raising, could lead to dangerous impacts to American national security, to American industries, and to the American people, the senators wrote. The FCC began auctioning spectrum in the 24 GHz band despite the objections of NASA, NOAA and members of the American Meteorological Society, Wyden and Cantwell pointed out. Those organizations asserted that the out-of-band emissions from broadband transmissions in the 24 GHz band would disrupt the ability to collect water vapor data measured in a neighboring band used by meteorologist to forecast the weather. A D V E R T I S E M E N T The national security and public safety implications of this self inflicted degradation in American weather prediction capabilities would be significant, the senators wrote. They cited a U.S. Navy report released in March, which found the amount of interference to weather satellites permitted by future commercial broadband uses in the 24 GHz band at the FCCs emission levels would result in increased risk in flight and navigation safety, as well as degrade battle space awareness. Technology Leadership Jeopardized The wireless industry has voiced strong opposition to any delays in auctioning the 24 GHz spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission began looking at the 24 GHz band five years ago and put rules in place more than a year ago, said Meredith Attwell Baker, CEO of the CTIA, which represents the U.S. wireless communications industry. During that time the commission conducted an exhaustive review of all factors, consulted all relevant agencies, and balanced interests appropriately, she continued. An auction delay will not change the outcome of that review, Baker maintained. It will have the sole effect of risking Americas global technology leadership by slowing down the deployment of next-generation 5G networks. The group also cast doubt on concerns about 5G technology interfering with weather forecasting. This is an absurd and dangerous distraction that risks Americas 5G leadership in order to protect weather sensors that do not exist and that the government has no plans to launch, CTIA Senior Vice President Nick Ludlum said. The rules for the 24 GHz band were developed by the FCC in consultation with NASA, NOAA and many other federal agencies over the past five years, he maintained. Changing them now undermines President Trumps 5G strategy while doing nothing at all to protect actual weather data. Influenced by Money and Politics Despite the concerns raised by the scientific and military communities, it seems unlikely they will slow down the carriers implementation of 5G. A D V E R T I S E M E N T I dont doubt that there may be some issues with the frequencies that close together, but I doubt that this will change the rollout of 5G, said Phoenix-based Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research, a high-tech research and advisory firm. You have to realize that to get to 5G bandwidths, carriers are using a combination of technologies and frequency bands, he told TechNewsWorld. This may not even impact all of the carriers equally. The FCC should suspend the 24 GHz band auction until it solves this problem, maintained Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT, a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California. Despite the promotional yapping around 5G, sizable commercial availability is still some ways off, he told TechNewsWorld. The FCC could halt or delay the auction while it clarifies the issue but instead is going for a symbolic win, since the 24 GHz auction is estimated to bring in seven times more revenues than the previous 28 GHz spectrum auction, King said. Weve seen previous auctions touted for political gain, he added, and I expect more than a little of that is infecting the FCCs leadership and decision-making process. Bad Datas Ripple Effect Problems arising from spectrum reallocation are nothing new, noted Bill Menezes, senior principal analyst at Gartner, a research and advisory company based in Stamford, Connecticut. Whenever spectrum gets reallocated, frequently theres an existing use that may get affected, so the idea that this could happen is not unusual, he told TechNewsWorld. In the 3.5 GHz band, for example, there was an issue with interference with the Navys existing use of the spectrum for radar, so safeguards were imposed to prevent interference with naval operations. In the 5.0 GHz band, protocols were put in place to keep cellular users from infringing on WiFi users operations. When a frequency is adjacent to an incumbents, the FCC might set up a guard band and say new users cant stray into that band, Menezes explained. As for the 24 GHz band, he noted that problems there could reach far beyond weather forecasting. If you think of all the smart devices that are coming out for consumers and agriculture that rely on weather forecasting data, Menezes said, theres a potential huge ripple effect if the effectiveness of that data is compromised. it is indeed culturenot genes, geography, institutions, policies, or leadershipthat ultimately determines the differential success of societies. David C. Rose, Why Culture Matters Most, page 1 Some economists, including David C. Rose, find it interesting to debate the relative importance of culture and institutions in economic growth and development. The natural experiment in the aftermath of World War II that carved Communist and capitalist countries within the German population and also within the Korean population appears to support the primacy of institutions. But the more recent natural experiment in which the United States transplanted Western institutions to Afghanistan and Iraq via invasion with disappointing results appears to support the primacy of culture. In general, I think that the debate over culture vs. institutions is not well framed. I see a tendency for the definitions of culture and institutions to blend into one another. For example, on page 8 of his book, Rose writes the word institutions refers to consistent patterns in how we do things. On page 27 Rose writes, When someone says the word culture, for many the image that jumps to mind is some kind of consistent practice within a given society that is unique to that society or, at the very least, is not universal across all societies. The purpose of this essay is not to comment on Why Culture Matters, an important work deserving a comprehensive review. Instead, my goal here is to try to provide a more solid foundation for the discussion of culture and institutions. I propose that we think of culture as having two components: informal culture, which we can call folkways; and formal culture, which we can call institutions I suggest that we should stop trying to talk about culture and institutions as if they were separate. Instead, I propose that we think of culture as having two components: informal culture, which we can call folkways; and formal culture, which we can call institutions. In this framework, institutions are subsumed under culture, as an aspect of culture, a subset of culture, or a manifestation of culture. From Folkways to Institutions In the mid-1970s, a dance called The Hustle became very popular. I can recall reading an article about it in the newspaper that included a diagram of the footwork and descriptions of people going to classes to learn the dance. According to Wikipedia, the dance was created by Puerto Rican teenagers in 1972. As with many dances, it emerged spontaneously through a process of modification and imitation. But by the time I read about it in the newspaper in 1975 or 1976, the steps had been codified and a hierarchy of expert instructors had been created. In other words, The Hustle had become institutionalized. Not long afterward, its popularity waned. Folkways are beliefs and practices that develop within a society by a process of modification and imitation. Institutions are beliefs and practices that are consciously formulated. Institutionalized culture is codified, often in writing. Terms are defined, and practices are standardized. People stop to analyze why certain practices are necessary and to debate whether particular modifications are acceptable. Experts are recognized and certified. Organizations are formed. Individuals and organizations make capital investments pertinent to the particular cultural phenomenon. Some aspects of culture are closer to folkways. Other aspects of culture are highly institutionalized. Some aspects fall in between. Many forms of dancing around the world are folkways. But for some forms of dance, there are classes, performance troupes, and even competitions with written rules. Those forms of dance are institutionalized. If many people walking between two particular places take the same route, their trampling will eventually mark a path. That is a folkway. If the town paves the path with a sidewalk, that is an institution. When some academics start a new discipline or intellectual movement, at first it is a folkway. When it becomes a field in which a student can specialize, with its own journal and regular conferences, it has become institutionalized. The nature of religion changed when people began to write down rules, develop hierarchies, explain the reasons for practices, and debate about alternatives. What had been simple folkways became institutionalized. For more on the intersection between culture and institutions, see Culture Matters, by Virginia Postrel. Library of Economics and Liberty, December 3 2018. For additional examples, see also: Economic Institutions . Library of Economics and Liberty, College Guides. Young people are inclined to invent games and sports, some of which spread as folkways. If they become sufficiently popular, they become institutionalized. Skateboard competitions are an example of this institutionalization. Economist Hernando de Soto, in The Mystery of Capital, noted that in poor countries, squatters will attempt to assert property rights, and these can be recognized by folkways. But he pointed out that only when these property rights are institutionalized can they be used to build wealth. The English common-law tradition began as a folkway. But as laws came to be written down, and professional lawyers and judges took on a larger role, law became institutionalized. Peoples driving habits are folkways. Overlaid on these folkways are institutions such as speed limits and highway patrols. Combining Folkways and Institutions What is the secret to having a successful market economy? It seems reasonable to suppose that it requires a favorable combination of both folkways and institutions. In an adverse institutional environment, people who might otherwise engage in commercial activity and encourage others who do likewise might instead find their commercial inclinations repressed or corrupted. But in a society where the folkways discourage innovation or economic success, having a legal framework conducive to capitalism probably will not be sufficient to create a thriving market economy. In the absence of trust, transaction costs are high. In many types of transactions, one party has what Rose calls a golden opportunity to gain at the other partys expense by violating trust. If I think that you may do this, then I have to expend resources monitoring your behavior to protect myself against this sort of opportunism. This raises transaction costs, even to the point where many forms of economic exchanges become prohibitively expensive. This is particularly the case for transactions among strangers and transactions involving long-term promises. Our instincts to resent others success and to fear interaction with strangers need to be overcome if we are to enjoy the benefits of specialization and innovation. Economics teachers have a duty to get this across to students. Roses book can help. 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The four bills have been closely watched by state and national groups on both sides of the charter school debate, given fresh fire through local activism, charter-skeptical state leaders, and even presidential campaign rhetoric. California has more charters than any other state and one of the nations oldest state charter laws, passed in 1992. It educates about 650,000 studentsabout 11 percent of its total public school enrollmentin about 1,300 charter schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas, state data show. While the states overall student enrollment has declined in recent years, it has ticked up in charter schools. Supporters of the bills say the number and rapid growth of charters in the state add urgency to calls to update laws to ensure accountability for the publicly funded, privately managed schools and to ensure they dont negatively affect surrounding school districts. Sponsors of two of those bills have tabled them, while the two remaining proposals are still active. Charter supporters and charter school operators, who have called the proposals an existential threat, fear the bills will leave approval and renewal of their operations agreements susceptible to shifting political whims. And national school choice backers fear such visible action in such a large state could inspire changes elsewhere. You can bet that whatever California ends up passing if it proves to be as damaging to supporters as it looks now, our opponents will try to export it to other states, said Todd Ziebarth, the senior vice president for state advocacy and support for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Intense National Debate Nationally, the charter debate has become more intense under the administration of President Donald Trump, in part as national teachers unions rally opposition to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos , a highly visible and divisive supporter of school choice. Encouraged by those unions, some Democratic presidential candidates have criticized charter schools operated by for-profit management organizations. In the most dramatic step so far, Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders released an education plan that calls for a national moratorium on new charter schools until a federal audit is completed. Sanders policy echoes a 2016 call from the national NAACP to halt charter school expansion . But in California, local NAACP branches in San Diego, Riverside, and San Bernardino have voted to oppose a moratorium. Their resolutions cite an achievement gap that splits along racial lines in the state, where a majority of black students are enrolled in noncharter schools. The California legislative package builds off of the momentum generated by a wave of teacher activism in the state. Los Angeles and Oakland teachers included charter regulations alongside increased pay on their lists of demands when they went on strike in 2018. While district schools are struggling just for survival, charter schools lobbying against the bills are promoting a false narrative around school choice, David Goldberg, secretary treasurer of the California Teachers Association, told thousands of teachers gathered outside of the state Capitol May 22. Meanwhile, none of our students have the choice to have a fully funded neighborhood school, he added. Thats unacceptable. The assembled teachers called for increased school funding and put pressure on lawmakers, who later narrowly passed one of the charter bills that day. That measure, Assembly Bill 1505 , would eliminate the ability of charter schools to appeal petition denials to state and county authorizers, which have sometimes overridden district concerns in the past. It would let districts consider the fiscal and facilities impacts alongside academics when a charter applies for approval or reapproval, and allow for approval periods as short as two years. And it would require charter petitioners to explain how they plan to enroll a proportion of English-language learners and special education students that reflects the overall district enrollment. The Assembly passed the bill by a 42-19 vote. The other active bill would prohibit counties and districts from authorizing charter schools outside of their boundaries. The two tabled bills would have imposed a moratorium on the creation of new charters and capped the number of charter schools at current levels starting in 2020, only allowing for the creation of a new charter if another one closes in the same jurisdiction. Supporters of the measures say Californias charter school law has been unchanged for decades, leaving accountability concerns, especially for schools operated far from the jurisdictions that authorize them. As debate continued last week, the San Diego County district attorney announced an indictment against the A3 network of charter schools. Operators of the schools are accused of stealing more than $50 million from the state by creating phantom institutions and falsifying enrollment of 40,000 students, none of whom ever received any services, the Associated Press reported. Reassurance Falls Flat Assemblyman Patrick ODonnell, a Democrat who chairs the Assemblys education committee and who wrote bill 1505, said good charter operators have nothing to worry about under his bill. But operators of existing charters werent comforted. They fear that broader latitude to deny their renewal applications could be abused, and that new caps would squelch the launch of expanded options for families who arent satisfied with their school options. The needs of our students should always come before politics, Myrna Castrejon, the president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association, said in a statement. We must work together to balance the very real needs of local school districts with the needs of our students who deserve schools where they can learn and thrive. This is especially important in communities where good schools are too few. While union members packed the Capitol in support of the bills, charter supporters showed up to urge opposition. Past attempts to amend Californias charter law have stalled. The winds have shifted in part thanks to a receptive governor. In March, Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, signed a bill that requires charter schools to adhere to the states open records and public meetings laws. Similar bills had previously been vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown, also a Democrat. A task force convened by Newsom to analyze charters effects will release a report in July. Similar political shifts could boost charter restrictions in other states, said Ziebarth, of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. I think it is symbolic, and in some not-so-good ways, he said. But some states have also passed bills championed by charter supporters recently. Florida, for example, passed a bill that will require districts to share tax dollars collected through voter-approved referenda with charter schools, and Tennessee lawmakers created a statewide authorizing commission. Error, group does not exist! Check your syntax! (ID: 17) South Africa needs to more actively invest in the spectrum economy. With AI, IoT, big data and vehicle-to-everything communication (V2X), spectrum is at the centre of the future digital economy. Unless we change the way we view spectrum, South Africa and Africa will remain a relegated investment destination. Spectrum economy is what will drive South Africa into the digital economy and pave the way for the fourth industrial revolution. Andile Ngcaba, chairman of Convergence Partners delivered this strong message on the second day of the NPWG19-6 Meeting in preparation for World Radio Congress 2019 (WRC19). Government and industry are working together to prepare South Africas position to be taken at WRC19 which will be held in Egypt later this year. The NPWG19 meets regularly to review developments and shares its position with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) in an effort to canvas their support and achieve a unified Africa position on agenda items. Ngcaba believes that this is not enough and proposes that South Africa must become involved in organisations that develop future strategies to be adopted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). We need to achieve what is best for the country and the continent, he said. Ngcaba was speaking in his personal capacity as Andile the Technologist. In fact, I am speaking here as a South African who regards himself as a student at the intersection of software and spectrum and a learner of tropical propagation characteristics. I am aware of the amount of work involved when preparing for such conferences but no single individual, company or country can work alone, there is a need for a greater collaborative effort. It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that the international community started to organise themselves. The first International Radiotelegraph Conference was held in Berlin, 1906, to write the first global convention. It was not until the International Radiotelegraph Conference held in Madrid in 1932 where the decision to merge the International Telegraph Union and the International Radiotelegraph Union was made to form the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Africa looses out In 1963, the ITU held an Extraordinary Administrative Radio Conference where all orbital slots and space frequencies were decided on. Africa was not part of this process and no African country gained access to geo-stationary slots. Africa lost out! It was only in the late 1960s with the independence era that African countries started to participate in ITU activities. In planning beyond WRC19, we must understand that the next ten years are going to be very different from the previous ten. Today, most work leading up to an ITU conference happens at the 3GPP level and in different regional standardisation and specification bodies where expertise is located. By the time matters come to the WRC, the groundwork is complete. Most of the global standards institutions are located in the northern hemisphere in Europe, North America and a few in Asia. Countries with equipment manufacturing, semiconductor and electronics industries drive the standards-making processes because the standards-making process coexists alongside intellectual property (IP) activity. While standards at one level are open, IP is proprietary. The telecommunications sector has always been driven by closed systems that protect IP. In the activities leading up to WRC19, companies are developing IP to license. Therefore, failure to understand these dynamics will result in us supporting positions that are not in our best interest. We need to build research and development (R&D) capability to inform the positions we hold at world radio and standards conferences. We need to be clear about what we want to accomplish and what the gains look like, Ngcaba said. Participation in the open source ecosystem The growth and influence of the open source community have driven software to the centre of global innovation. The IT sector is predominantly open source; however, the telecommunications sector still lags behind. Africa should invest more in open source software expertise and skills. India and China employed this strategy and have been catapulted into the global technology ecosystem. Ngcaba said that he African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) created in 2018 is a sign of new initiatives enabling African trade. This is the largest free-trade area in terms of countries participating since the formation of the World Trade Organisation in 1995. We need initiatives to leverage radio spectrum economics to stimulate continental free communications. Africas population will reach 4-billion by the end of this century. This economic block would be the worlds largest free trade area with a single market for goods and services totalling over $3-trillion in GDP. CFTA would open up intra-African trade and position the union as a formidable player on the world economic stage. The continent needs to leverage resultant spectrum innovations for countries to diversify their trade offerings. Hence, Africa must develop a 5G implementation plan to complement these trends. WRC 2023 The agenda for WRC23 will be finalised during WRC19. It is envisaged that lower bands such as 470 MHz to 696 MHz will be under consideration for WRC23. The lower bands are great for the African continent. WRC 2027 will consider 6G. There is an argument that the ten-year generation cycles are too long for todays technology evolution process. This is why spectrum must be decoupled from hardware. New innovation will change the ten-year cycle of IMT 2020 and beyond the journey. Innovation will be at the software level. Therefore, as a country, we need to be forward thinking and establish institutions that will prepare for this future. It is imperative that Africa designs its own technological future, Ngcaba said Open Spectrum South Africa (OSSA) spectrum economy We need to explore new paradigms in how we respond to these global changes. There is a need for a private sector-led radio/spectrum engineering and open source software research platform. This initiative will collaborate with academia/research and all public sector institutions dealing with spectrum-related issues. The main objective is to carry out research and development in the interface of spectrum and software. The expertise required for OSSA would include radio engineers, software engineers and computer scientists. The recruitment drive would be in South Africa and the broader continent with an open employment policy to all Africans. OSSA would then collaborate with similar organisations worldwide. There would also be a need for economists to focus on spectrum economics and international law experts to ensure contribution to the various spectrum-based organisations is in line with treaties and conventions. It must, however, be emphasised that the primary role of OSSA is radio engineering and software. Ngcaba urged industry to negotiate with government and specifically treasury to set aside a portion of funds generated from spectrum fees towards this initiative. South Africa needs to take the lead for the good of the country and the continent. The OSSA budget is a reinvestment to unlock the spectrum economy which can contribute significantly to the development of South Africa and the continent. 3GPP The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) unites seven telecommunications standard development organisations (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC), known as organisational partners and provides their members with a stable environment to produce the reports and specifications that define 3GPP technologies. The project covers cellular telecommunications network technologies, including radio access, the core transport network, and service capabilities including work on codecs, security, quality of service and thus provides complete system specifications. The specifications also provide hooks for non-radio access to the core network, and for interworking with WiFi networks. 3GPP specifications and studies are contribution-driven, by member companies, in Working Groups and at the Technical Specification Group level. Send your comments to engineerit@ee.co.za Related Articles The publics trust is paramount to our work, said Foxx in a statement released with the documents Friday. It is my sincere hope that this transparency and the ongoing investigation of the Cook County independent inspector general will provide guidance and lessons on how to serve you better. I am sorry that, despite the best intentions, our efforts were less than what was required of the moment. Bomb attack killed fourteen civilians in Syria According to the report, the car bomb attack takes place at a market in the city of Azaz. At least 14 people were killed at a car bomb attack in northwestern Syria on Sunday, according to local sources. FOURTEEN CIVILIANS KILLED The incident took place at a market in the opposition-held city of Azaz, near the Turkish border, according to the sources who spoke anonymously due to fears of safety. No group has yet claimed responsibility for attack. Since 2016, Turkeys Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northern Syria have liberated the region from the YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, including Al-Bab, Afrin, and Azaz, making it possible for Syrians who fled the violence there to return home. Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed or displaced in the conflict, mainly by regime airstrikes targeting opposition-held areas. The Virginia House also failed to pass a bill earlier this year that would have let cities ban firearms from government buildings. Could that have made a difference in the government building where a dozen Virginians were gunned down? We cant know the answer to that. But if there was even the slightest chance such a law might help, why block it? European Union calls for democratic transition in Sudan EU called on Sudans military leaders to allow people to protest peacefully and urged a speedy transfer of power to civilians. The European Union on Monday called on Sudanese military officials to transfer power to civilians. HUMAN RIGHTS SHOULD BE RESPECTED Any decision to intensify the use of force can only derail the political process. The European Unions priority remains the rapid transfer of power to a civilian authority, said Maja Kocijancic, the EU foreign affairs and security policy spokeswoman. Kocijancic said the EU has been following the incidents closely, including the attacks on civilian protesters. We call on the Transitional Military Council (TMC) to act responsibly and respect peoples right to express their concerns, she added. At least 13 protesters were killed and scores of others injured as Sudanese security forces moved in to clear the main protest camp near the army headquarters in Khartoum. In early April, Sudans military establishment deposed President Omar al-Bashir following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule. The TMC is now overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections. Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets to demand that the TMC relinquish power at the earliest possible date to a civilian authority. IAF plane with 13 on board missing An Indian Air Force (IAF) with thirteen people on board went missing in remote northeastern mountains bordering China, government officials said. An Indian Air Force (IAF) plane carrying 13 personnel has gone missing after it took off from a town in the countrys northeastern state of Assam on Monday afternoon, officials said. AIR FORCE PLANE CARRYING 13 PERSONNEL The authorities have launched a search operation to trace the missing aircraft. Roshni Aparanji Korati, deputy commissioner of Jorhat district in Assam, told Anadolu Agency that the aircraft of Indian Air Force took off from Jorhat in the afternoon and didn't reach the destination. Meanwhile, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh prayed for the safety of all the passengers on board. Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board, Singh said in a Twitter post. Local media reported that the aircraft was a transport plane. The Antonov AN-32 took off at 12:25 pm [0655 GMT] for a remote military landing strip in Mechuka in Arunachal Pradesh, local broadcaster NDTV reported. The terrain under the flight's route is mountainous and heavily-forested. The landing and take-off approaches to Mechuka are extremely difficult, the broadcaster said. Macrons committee meets YPG terrorists French Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission Marielle de Sarnez visited the occupied YPG region in Kobani. The hypocritical attitude of the west towards the YPG continues. Europe, which accepts the PKK as a terrorist organization, continues to protect the YPG on the one hand. OFFICIAL VISIT TO KOBANI French Parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission Marielle de Sarnez, went to Syria's YPG-occupied Kobani. Sarnez visited the YPG's terrorist cemeteries and then spent time with the terrorists. I bow with respect in front of the relatives of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for their freedom. I came here for the memory of thousands of men and women who sacrificed their lives in the war with the terrorist organization DAESH, she added. Sudanese forces killed five protesters in Khartoum The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) said security forces have used excessive force to disperse the sit-in. At least five protesters were killed and scores injured as Sudanese security forces moved in to clear the main protest camp near the army headquarters in the capital Khartoum, according to protest organizers. 5 DEAD, SCORES INJURED Militias belong to the government have aggressively attacked thousands of civilians in the sit-in, The Sudanese Professional Association (SPA) said in a statement. The Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) said five protesters were killed and many others injured as security forces cleared the camp. Opposition negotiator Abbas Medani was reportedly injured during the dispersal, according to eyewitnesses. The sit-in near the army headquarters has been a magnet point for protesters to demand the Transitional Military Council (TMC) hand over power to a civilian government. We are holding the TMC responsible of what happened this morning, SPA said, going on to call on protesters to join the sit-in to resist this attempt. In early April, Sudans military establishment deposed long-serving President Omar al-Bashir following months of popular demonstrations against his 30-year rule. The TMC is now overseeing a two-year transitional period during which it has pledged to hold presidential elections. Demonstrators, however, have remained on the streets to demand that the TMC relinquish power at the earliest possible date to a civilian authority. Trump starts controversial Britain visit Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have arrived in Britain for a 3-day state visit. Donald Trump has arrived in Britain on Monday to start a three-day long state visit. TRUMP WAS GREETED WITH PROTESTS Accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump and his entourage, the president was welcomed at Stansted Airport by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt amidst strict security measures. Trumps visit came days before Prime Minister Theresa Mays departure from the top office after failing in Brexit strategies. The Queen will welcome Trump at the Buckingham Palace with an official ceremony and give a state banquet in the evening. Visiting president is expected to hold talks with the outgoing May and they are expected to discuss post-Bexit UK-US trade relationship among other national and international issues. Trump will visit Portsmouth during his visit to attend ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day. Trumps visit has been described as the most controversial visit by a Trump to the UK. Protests have been organized for Tuesday in central London where tens of thousands of people are expected to join a rally in Trafalgar Square. Trump has already caused controversy prior to his visit after making comments on Brexit the UKs top agenda item for the past three years and on countrys domestic politics after giving an open support to former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who is running for Conservative Party leadership. Trump also angered pro-EU camp as he said Brexit party leader Nigel Farage should be holding the Brexit negotiations with the EU. Also being criticized for calling the Duchess of Sussex, Megan Markle as nasty in an interview with a tabloid after learning she was critical about his leadership during his presidential election campaign, Trump is expected to see thousands of people protesting his visit. London Mayor Sadiq Khan described Trump over the weekend as "just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" and compared the language he had used to that of the "fascists of the 20th century." Celebrities are a rare breed - they are often eccentric and odd, known for their loveable quirks and fascinations, but with the deep pockets of multi-millionaires. This combination makes for some truly strange purchases. You hear stories about celebrities dropping huge sums of money on stuff like champagne, cars, jewellery etc. but those sorts of purchases are to be expected of the wealthy. These following purchases, on the other hand, are anything but ordinary. Whereas the average person could never afford the following four items - unless you make your lottery dreams come true overnight - for celebrities, these oddball purchases are all part of daily life. Here are five of the most outrageous celebrity purchases, ranked in order of ridiculousness. 4. Bono Buys a Plane Ticket for His Hat As the story goes, U2 was set to play a gig in Italy, when Bono realized that he had forgotten his hat all the way back in the UK. Rather than go onstage without it, or simply buy another one, the rock star arranged for his hat to be flown - first class, allegedly - to him, costing him a total of $1,700. That's a high price to pay for a bit of headwear, but then again, if you've ever been caught hat-less on a blustery day, you might sympathize. 3. Mike Tyson Nabs Three Bengal Tigers If you've seen The Hangover, you are no doubt already familiar with the fact that Mike Tyson, the one-time heavyweight champion of the world, owns Bengal tigers. According to an interview the boxer gave to Joe Rogan, he purchased them whilst still in jail, spending roughly $70,000 on the big cats, and a subsequent $4,000/month to take care of them. You thought the Fancy Feast you buy your cat is expensive? 2. Lady Gaga Pays a Scary Amount for Ghost Detection The popular pop diva might be best known now for her affecting turn in A Star Is Born, but her career as a performer has been long and filled with eccentricities. Case in point: that one time Gaga, convinced she was being haunted, paid around $50,000 for a ghost detection kit. Unfortunately, no info exists as to whether or not the pop star actually detected any ghosts, or whether the Electro Magnetic Field Ghost Detector was ultimately a very expensive piece of art. 1. Nicholas Cage Spends a Fortune on a Dinosaur Skull He hunts down lost treasure in his National Treasure movies, but did you know that the real-life Nicholas Cage also has a penchant for valuable rarities. The oddball actor spent a whopping $276,000 on a dinosaur skull that he subsequently had to return to the Mongolian government, after a lawsuit determined the skull had been illegally smuggled out of Mongolia. It's a yarn that seems ripped right from the synopsis of a Nick Cage movie, but it's all real. If you won the lottery, what would you spend your fortune on? Ghost detectors, dino skulls, tigers and hats, or would you settle for a nice beach house somewhere on the French Riviera? If you're anything like these four celebrities, you're probably thinking: why not both? WASHINGTON-- North Korea detonated a nuclear device in 2017 equivalent to about 250 kilotons of TNT, a new study estimates, creating an explosion 16 times the size of the bomb the United States detonated over Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. The new assessment of the 2017 explosion's size is on the high end of previous estimate ranges. The 2017 test was an order of magnitude larger than the previous five underground tests at North Korea's Punggye-ri test site, according to the new study in AGU's Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. The new study took into account the geology of the test site to estimate the size of the explosions from distant seismic recordings of the blasts. "From 2006 to 2016 North Korea steadily increased the size of the events, from somewhere around 1 kiloton up to around 20 kilotons. The very early events looked like they didn't work very well, because they were unusually small. And then in one year they jumped up to 250-ish kilotons," said Thorne Lay, a seismologist at the University of California Santa Cruz and an author of the new study. "The scary thing is that this was such a big device." North Korea has been testing nuclear devices underground since 2006. The 2017 nuclear test caused a magnitude 6.3 earthquake, according to the US Geological Survey, and produced sound waves recorded by seismometers around the world. These reverberations are clues to the size of the blast, but determining the size of the explosion from a distance based on seismic recordings is not simple, said Lay, who has served on the Air Force Technical Application Center Seismic Review Panel tasked with advising on nuclear testing for over 25 years. Unknown characteristics of the nuclear devices, the test sites and their geologic context create large uncertainties in estimates of explosion size. Previously published scientific estimates of the 2017 test's size have ranged from 30 to 300 kilotons. The U.S. intelligence community has estimated the size of the explosion at 140 kilotons according to a report in The Diplomat magazine. U.S. intelligence typically applies an uncertainty range of a factor of two to reported estimates. A reported yield of 100 kilotons, for example, would include the caveat that it could be as small as 50 kilotons or as large as 200 kilotons. The new research puts the magnitude of the 2017 test in a range of 148 to 328 kilotons. Steven Gibbons, a geophysicist with the program for Array Seismology and Test-Ban-Treaty Verification at NORSAR and a researcher unaffiliated with the new study, said the new research accurately determines the relative size of the six tests made by North Korea from 2006 to 2016. "I think the uncertainty the authors quote is quite a realistic range," said Gibbons. "The ratios between the exact numbers are quite accurate, so if the North Koreans told us, for example, that the second test shot in 2016 was exactly 25 kilotons, we could calculate the others accurately from it." Knowing the size of the tests relative to each other is itself useful information, Gibbons said, demonstrating steady progress in North Korea's nuclear program. "In 2006, when there was this little rumble, many people were quite dismissive that North Korea had the technology to do this properly, but I think from the progression we've seen with the increases of yield, it's been a very well-executed weapons development program," Gibbons said. "When you got to 2017, there's no question that this is an incredibly destructive weapon. Even at the lower end of this uncertain yield, it's a horrific weapon." A 250-kiloton explosion could plausibly be produced by either a boosted fission bomb or a modest fusion device, Lay said. The fission bomb detonated at Hiroshima released a blast equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT by splitting apart atomic nuclei. Fusion devices, also known as thermonuclear or hydrogen bombs, derive their enormous explosive power from combining hydrogen nuclei to form helium and can yield as much as 50,000 kilotons. Inherent uncertainties The researchers had information about how sound travels in different types of rock from previous research. "There are differences, depending on the rock conditions under the test site, in how loud the sound is when you are listening far away," Lay said. "It would be different in granite than in say, sandstone. So we calibrated by setting tests off in our own diverse rock environments and recording right next to the source." Other factors like the depth of the explosion, geometry of the access tunnel, tectonic history of the region, and temperature and fluid content of the rock also influence the rate at which sound waves created by the explosion are dampened, Lay said. Only a tiny amount of the energy generated by the blast is converted to sound and travels away from the test site as seismic waves. Because of North Korea's seclusion, details of the underground geology are not well known. The area experiences very few natural earthquakes that can reveal information about properties of the underlying rock. Researchers used satellite images and other information to estimate the type of rock at the North Korea test site. The researchers used the explosions from the nuclear tests North Korea conducted beginning in 2006 to calibrate models of how much explosive force transferred to the rock at the test site and how the sound waves traveled through the planet. The echo of the explosion off the surface of the test site distorts the sound recorded far away. The distortion is affected by the depth and size of the explosion. If the echo were not present, the outgoing sound from the six test explosions would be similar. The researchers used this idea to estimate the relative sizes of the bombs by finding a combination of depth and yield that compensated for the reflection of the sound from the surface. "They've modeled what the reflection would look like for different yields and depths and solved for what the signal would look like if you didn't have to account for this returning wave. The most impressive thing in the paper for me is how similar these waveforms are. This is what gives me confidence that they've done a good job," Gibbons said. Rebooting cold war strategies The new study revived modeling strategies developed in the early 1980s to resolve suspicions that the Soviet Union had cheated on the Treaty on the Limitation of Underground Nuclear Weapon Tests by testing bombs larger than the 150-kiloton size threshold for testing they agreed to in 1974. The treaty had been signed but not ratified by the U.S. Senate. The Regan Administration publicly aired intelligence concerns that Russian tests exceeded the size threshold, because observed sound waves produced by the tests were bigger than known test shots at the U.S.'s Nevada test site. But seismologists believed the signals from the Soviet tests were bigger because they transmitted through the earth more efficiently. "The mantle under the Nevada test site is very hot and has processes that dampen down the sound. It is very different from the former Soviet test site in Kazakhstan, where the rock under the test site is old and cold and transmits sound very efficiently, without much loss," Lay said. During negotiations for the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, U.S. and Soviet scientists travelled to the test sites in Nevada and Kazakhstan and conducted joint tests. Measurements at the test sites confirmed geologists' methods for estimating the extra dampening effect in Nevada compared to the Soviet test site. The new study applied some of the same methods validated in the 1980s to the North Korean tests. "The methods were nothing particularly new. The difference is that the quality and availability of the data is much better now than 40 years ago," Lay said. Gibbons said the new study's results are likely as close as scientists outside North Korea could to the true size of the nuclear tests without data from the test sites. "I think the authors have pushed it to the limits with this paper. I would be surprised if we can get tighter constraints on the absolute yield without additional information," he said. ### Founded in 1919, AGU is a not-for-profit scientific society dedicated to advancing Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. We support 60,000 members, who reside in 135 countries, as well as our broader community, through high-quality scholarly publications, dynamic meetings, our dedication to science policy and science communications, and our commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workforce, as well as many other innovative programs. AGU is home to the award-winning news publication Eos , the Thriving Earth Exchange , where scientists and community leaders work together to tackle local issues, and a headquarters building that represents Washington, D.C.'s first net zero energy commercial renovation. We are celebrating our Centennial in 2019. #AGU100 Notes for Journalists This paper is freely available through June 30. Journalists and public information officers (PIOs) can download a PDF copy of the article by clicking on this link: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2019JB017418 Journalists and PIOs may also request a copy of the final paper by emailing Liza Lester at llester@agu.org. Please provide your name, the name of your publication, and your phone number. Neither the paper nor this press release is under embargo. Paper Title "Yield estimates for the six North Korean nuclear tests from teleseismic P wave modeling and intercorrelation of P and Pn recordings" Authors: Dimitri P. Voytan and Thorne Lay, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, USA Esteban J. Chaves, Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (OVSICORI?UNA), Heredia, Costa Rica John T. Ohman, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA Through this months coverage, we have an opportunity to show respect to Chicagos Black community, a community that understandably distrusts mainstream media and hasnt always received fair, prominent coverage. It is our hope that this transparency will start a conversation. With you, our readers, and within the Chicago Tribune newsroom as well as others as we question why we follow certain guidelines and consider the people who did and did not have a seat at the table when these rules were created. Drinking coffee might keep us up at night, but new research has given us a reason to sleep easy knowing that the popular drink isn't as bad for our arteries as some previous studies would suggest. The research from Queen Mary University of London has shown that drinking coffee, including in people who drink up to 25 cups a day, is not associated with having stiffer arteries. The research, led by Professor Steffen Petersen, was presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Conference in Manchester and part-funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). Arteries carry blood containing oxygen and nutrients from your heart to the rest of your body. If they become stiff, it can increase the workload on the heart and increase a person's chance of having a heart attack or stroke. The study of over 8,000 people in the UK debunks previous studies that claimed drinking coffee increases arterial stiffness. Previous suggestions that drinking coffee leads to stiffer arteries are inconsistent and could be limited by lower participant numbers, according to the team behind this new research. Coffee consumption was categorised into three groups for the study. Those who drink less than one cup a day, those who drink between one and three cups a day and those who drink more than three. People who consumed more than 25 cups of coffee a day were excluded, but no increased stiffening of arteries was associated with those who drank up to this high limit when compared with those who drank less than one cup a day. The associations between drinking coffee and artery stiffness measures were corrected for contributing factors like age, gender, ethnicity, smoking status, height, weight, how much alcohol someone drank, what they ate and high blood pressure. Of the 8,412 participants who underwent MRI heart scans and infrared pulse wave tests, the research showed that moderate and heavy coffee drinkers were most likely to be male, smoke, and consume alcohol regularly. Dr Kenneth Fung, who led the data analysis for the research at Queen Mary University of London, said: "Despite the huge popularity of coffee worldwide, different reports could put people off from enjoying it. Whilst we can't prove a causal link in this study, our research indicates coffee isn't as bad for the arteries as previous studies would suggest. "Although our study included individuals who drink up to 25 cups a day, the average intake amongst the highest coffee consumption group was 5 cups a day. We would like to study these people more closely in our future work so that we can help to advise safe limits." Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "Understanding the impact that coffee has on our heart and circulatory system is something that researchers and the media have had brewing for some time. "There are several conflicting studies saying different things about coffee, and it can be difficult to filter what we should believe and what we shouldn't. This research will hopefully put some of the media reports in perspective, as it rules out one of the potential detrimental effects of coffee on our arteries." ### To request interviews or for more information please call the BHF press office on 020 7554 0164 (07764 290 381 - out of hours) or email newsdesk@bhf.org.uk. Notes to editors: This research was funded by the Medical College of Saint Bartholomew's Hospital Trust and is part of a larger collaboration between Queen Mary University of London and the University of Oxford that is funded by the BHF Just like humans leave DNA in the places we inhabit, water-dwelling animals leave DNA behind in the water column. In a paper published June 3 in the journal Current Biology, scientists report that sponges, which can filter 10,000 liters of water daily, catch DNA in their tissues as they filter-feed. This proof-of-concept study identified fish, seal, and penguin DNA in sponges from the Antarctic and Mediterranean, demonstrating that sponges can be used to monitor biodiversity. "Sponges are ideal sampling units because you find them everywhere and in every aquatic habitat, including freshwater," says Stefano Mariani (@stefanako71), a marine ecologist and population geneticist at the University of Salford. "Also, they're not very selective filter-feeders, they don't run away, and they don't get hurt by sampling - you can just grab a piece, and they will regenerate nicely." Additionally, the authors found that the presence of sponge DNA did not interfere with their ability to identify the DNA of other species caught within its tissue. Instead, they found that by using a particular DNA primer, which is a short sequence of nucleic acid that probes the DNA of specific organisms, they could selectively amplify vertebrate DNA while avoiding amplifying the sponge's DNA itself. Using this process in tandem with metabarcoding, which sorts the jumble of DNA from the tissue sample into distinguishable, species-specific piles, Mariani and his team were able to identify 31 taxa. Mostly, the species identified were fish, but one sponge sample from Antarctica included DNA from Weddell seals and chinstrap penguins. The sample was later identified to be located offshore of a penguin breeding colony. "This was a really exciting find and also makes a lot of sense," says Mariani, "because the penguins would be in and out of the water a lot, eating, swimming, and pooing." Currently, machines with large water-sampling capabilities are being developed to allow scientists to sample DNA from water, but the authors think using a natural sampler could be just as effective. Because the DNA found in water is extremely diluted, it needs to undergo extensive filtering - but with filtering, Mariani warns, comes the danger of DNA contamination. Further, preserving water samples risks degrading the DNA. Sponge tissue, however, has already filtered out the water, greatly reducing both the processing time as well as the risk of contamination. Further, bringing machines into some regions might not be feasible and may be too disruptive to fragile ecosystems. "If you want to study an endangered species of sawfish or a manatee in a mangrove forest in Mozambique, you can't go there with massive robots. You have to use a very low-tech approach," Mariani says. Moving forward, the authors would like to investigate the ability of other animals to act as DNA samplers, particularly in open waters where sponges are either rare or unreachable by humans for sampling. Mariani suggests that other organisms such as jelly fish or salps, which also sieve water but float through the water column, may be more accessible in the open ocean. Ultimately, the authors' goal is to improve how environmental DNA is collected in order to better monitor biodiversity in areas that may not be suitable for other methods. Determining whether sponges are more effective in capturing the biodiversity of an area over pre-existing methods, however, will require further research, but the authors say this paper is the first step in answering that question. "I am hopeful that this method will prove itself to be useful," Mariani says. "It's the quintessential environmentally friendly biodiversity assessment tool." ### The authors acknowledge support from a UK NERC grant. Current Biology, Mariani, S.: "Sponges as natural environmental DNA samplers" https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(19)30429-4 Current Biology (@CurrentBiology), published by Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that features papers across all areas of biology. Current Biology strives to foster communication across fields of biology, both by publishing important findings of general interest and through highly accessible front matter for non-specialists. Visit: http://www.cell.com/current-biology. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com. Hyperspectral data comprises the full light spectrum; this dataset of continuous spectral information has many applications from understanding the health of the Great Barrier Reef to picking out more productive crop cultivars. To help researchers better predict high-yielding crop traits, a team from the University of Illinois have stacked together six high-powered, machine learning algorithms that are used to interpret hyperspectral data--and they demonstrated that this technique improved the predictive power of a recent study by up to 15 percent, compared to using just one algorithm. "We are empowering scientists from many fields, who are not necessarily experts in computational analysis, to translate their enormous datasets into beneficial results," said first author Peng Fu, a postdoctoral researcher at Illinois, who led this work for a research project called Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE). "Now scientists do not need to scratch their heads to figure out which machine learning algorithms to use; they can apply six or more algorithms--for the price of one--to make more accurate predictions." RIPE, which is led by Illinois, is engineering crops to be more productive by improving photosynthesis, the natural process all plants use to convert sunlight into energy and yields. RIPE is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), and the U.K. Government's Department for International Development (DFID). In a recent study, published in Remote Sensing of Environment, the team introduced spectral analysis as a means to quickly identify photosynthetic improvements that could increase yields. In this new study, published in Frontiers in Plant Science, the team improved their previous predictions of photosynthetic capacity by as much as 15 percent using machine learning, where computers automatically applied these six algorithms to their dataset without human help. "I've loved seeing what's possible when you can use computational power to exploit the data for all its worth," said co-author Katherine Meacham-Hensold, a RIPE postdoctoral researcher at Illinois, who led the previous study in Remote Sensing of Environment. "It's exciting to see what a data analyst like Peng can do with my data. Now other non-data-analyst scientists can test several powerful algorithms to figure out which one will help them leverage their data to the fullest extent." However, more studies are needed to prove the relevance of this stacked algorithm technique to the plant science community and other fields of study. "By applying the expertise of data analysts to address the needs of plant physiologists like myself, we ended up refining a technique that is relevant to other hyperspectral datasets," said co-author Carl Bernacchi, a RIPE research leader and scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, who is based at Illinois' Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. "The next step is to test more stacked machine learning algorithms on datasets from many more crop species and explore the utility of this technique to estimate other parameters, such as abiotic stresses from drought or disease." "As scientists, we should try to use our domain knowledge to explain advanced performance from machine learning methods," said co-author Kaiyu Guan, an assistant professor in Illinois' College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES). "Combining computational methods and domain disciplines allows us to possibly unravel what causes the measurable differences in hyperspectral datasets--which is an unsolved mystery in our work and worth future exploration." ### Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) is engineering staple food crops to more efficiently turn the sun's energy into food to sustainably increase worldwide food productivity, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, and the U.K. Government's Department for International Development. RIPE is led by the University of Illinois in partnership with The Australian National University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Lancaster University, Louisiana State University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Essex, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Political and administrative scientist Prof. Dr. Koichiro Agata and legal scholar Prof. Dr. Harald Baum have been selected to receive the Eugen and Ilse Seibold Prize by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). They are being recognised for their many years of successful dedication to academic and cultural exchange between Germany and Japan. The winners were chosen by the prize jury at its meeting in May 2019. "Koichiro Agata and Harald Baum aren't just renowned as outstanding researchers in their respective countries and subject areas. They are also highly regarded in each other's country and have made a significant contribution to German-Japanese understanding through their considerable personal dedication, especially in the area of student exchanges," said DFG Vice President Prof. Dr. Katja Becker, who chaired the jury. The prize, worth 10,000, will be presented on 9 September 2019 in Bonn. Koichiro Agata is being recognised for his decades-long support in promoting exchange and cooperation between Germany and Japan. As a member of the selection committee for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Tokyo-based administrative scientist has been involved for many years in the awarding of fellowships to Japanese students. In 2008 he was appointed as the first liaison scholar for the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) in Japan. He has also served for many years as a member of the Foundation Council of the Japanese-German Center Berlin. Agata's research focuses on the comparison of municipal administration in Japan and Germany. He studied political science at Waseda University in Tokyo. Between 1984 and 1988 he was a DAAD fellow at the University of Cologne and the University of Administrative Sciences in Speyer, where he earned his doctorate in administrative sciences in 1992. He was subsequently appointed a professor at Waseda University, where he has held the Chair of Administrative Sciences since 1997. In 2008 he became Dean of the Okuma School of Public Management at Waseda University. He has regularly shared his expertise in the non-academic world, for example as an adviser to Japan's ministry of education (MEXT) and the country's interior and foreign ministries. For his services to German-Japanese relations, he was presented with the Cross of Merit of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006. Harald Baum has also made an outstanding contribution over many years to exchange and cooperation between Germany and Japan. Through his academic work he has enhanced understanding in both countries by enabling German scholars to understand Japanese law while making German law accessible in Japan. He has achieved this not only in his role as Vice-President of the German-Japanese Association of Jurists (DJJV), but also as founder and editor of the Journal of Japanese Law, which has been published regularly for over 20 years, presenting information on this topic in German and English. In recognition of this he was awarded the prize of the Foundation for the Promotion of Japanese-German Scientific and Cultural Relations (JaDe) in 2010. Baum's research interests are international private and procedural law, with a focus on Japanese law. He studied law in Hamburg and Freiburg and earned his doctorate at the University of Hamburg in 1984. He then became a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, where he is still based today. He has also spent periods of time researching abroad, particularly in Japan. In 2004 he completed his habilitation in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hamburg, where he was appointed professor in 2010. In addition to his teaching and research work in Germany and Japan, he has organised numerous conferences on law, with an emphasis on the training of early career scholars. The Eugen and Ilse Seibold Prize, presented by the DFG, has generally been awarded every two years since 1997 to Japanese and German researchers. The prizes honour special achievements in all areas of science and the humanities on a rotating basis, this year in the humanities and social sciences. The prize is financed through a fund set up by Eugen and Ilse Seibold. Marine geologist Eugen Seibold was President of the DFG between 1980 and 1985. In 1994, he and American environmentalist Lester Brown were jointly awarded the Blue Planet Prize by the Asahi Glass Foundation in Japan -- .at 400,000 the world's largest environmental prize. Eugen Seibold and his wife, Dr. Ilse Seibold, donated 150,000 of the prize money to the DFG for the establishment of a fund. The proceeds from this fund are used to promote research and understanding between Germany and Japan. ### Further Information More information about the prize and previous winners is available at: http://www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects/prizewinners/seibold_prize Media contact: DFG Press and Public Relations, Tel. +49 228 885-2109, presse@dfg.de DFG programme contact: Dr. Susanne Sangenstedt, International Affairs, Tel. +49 228 885-2923, susanne.sangenstedt@dfg.de ATTRACT, a Horizon 2020 research and innovation project funded by the European Union and backed by a consortium of 9 partners including ESO, has announced 170 breakthrough ideas which will each receive 100,000 to develop technologies that have the potential to change society. A kick-off meeting at CERN in Geneva today will start the clock on a one-year countdown for the selected proposals to prove the scientific merit and innovation potential of their disruptive detection and imaging technologies. The projects selected for funding were drawn from a pool of more than 1200 proposals from researchers and entrepreneurs in scientific and industrial organisations across the world. An independent Research, Development and Innovation (R&D&I) Committee used a rigorous evaluation process to determine which of these proposals should receive 100,000 of funding. "170 breakthrough ideas were selected based on a combination of scientific merit, innovation readiness and potential societal impact," explained Sergio Bertolucci, chair of ATTRACT's R&D&I Committee. "The idea is to speed up the process of developing breakthrough technologies and applying them to address society's key challenges." ESO's role as a partner in the ATTRACT consortium reflects its ongoing commitment to using astronomical technology to address societal challenges. The following selected ATTRACT projects highlight some of the societal applications of ESO's astronomical technology and expertise: 3D-CANCER-SPEC will bring astronomical technology to bear against cancer, one of the leading cause of death worldwide. This project -- coordinated by Martin Roth of innoFSPEC at the Leibniz-Institut fur Astrophysik Potsdam -- will combine the expertise of two partners involved in the development of the innovative MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope. By doing so, the team will carry out a design study for an imaging spectrograph suitable for clinical cancer studies. Spectroscopy is a powerful technique that can be used to determine the composition of an object from the light it emits, whether that light comes from an object in space or a person's body on Earth. Cancerous tissue differs enough from healthy tissue that it can be distinguished using Raman Spectroscopy -- providing a promising way to avoid taking invasive tissue samples. While this has previously been shown to work in principle, the imaging process took hours, which is far too long to be practically useful. To make this process fast enough in a clinical setting, the team plans to apply a special technique of integral-field spectroscopy -- as used by MUSE -- developed to solve a particular challenge of astronomical imaging. Single Photon Visible Light Image Sensors for Science and Technology seeks to lay the foundations for transformational changes in low-light imaging. This project, coordinated by Konstantin Stefanov of the Open University in partnership with ESO detector specialist Mark Downing, aims to develop single-photon visible-light imagers, suitable for adaptive optics systems and low-light level spectroscopic and imaging applications. The imaging performance of such sensors would be limited only by the photon absorption in the semiconductor and the quantum nature of light. By detecting and counting each and every photon without registering any additional noise, these sensors could offer the ultimate imaging performance -- helping us see and discover the unknown. "It's wonderful to see how this technology used in ESO's telescope instruments can be applied in a completely different field," commented Andrew Williams, ESO's representative on the ATTRACT Executive Board. "This is a key goal of the ATTRACT project, which provides seed funding to enable such ideas and continues the long tradition of fundamental research leading to innovative technologies that benefit society." From augmented reality to smart sensors and devices, many of the 170 ideas chosen will develop disruptive technologies that could help improve clinical diagnosis, health monitoring and personalised treatments for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, or malaria, as well as heart and neurological conditions. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers, entrepreneurs and companies from across the globe will also develop novel sensors and devices that will enable radical innovations in many other sectors with high market potential. New technologies will include smart devices for environmental monitoring, green solutions to fight climate change, advanced applications for citizens, smart systems for manufacturing processes, and disruptive technologies to expand our scientific knowledge. Details of the 170 funded projects are being released today, and are grouped into four broad categories: data acquisition systems and computing; front-end and back-end electronics; sensors; and software and integration. Most of the breakthrough ideas -- 64% -- will develop next-generation technologies involving sensors, 16% will focus on data-acquisition systems and computing, 12% are software and integration projects, and 8% will develop the front and back-end electronics needed for the interfaces of sensors and imaging technology. The 170 breakthrough projects funded by ATTRACT [1] will have one year to show that their disruptive ideas are worth further investment, and will present their results at a conference in autumn 2020 in Brussels. During the one-year development phase, business and innovation experts from the ATTRACT Project Consortium's Aalto University, EIRMA, and ESADE Business School will help the project teams explore how their breakthrough technologies can be transformed into innovations with strong market potential. ### Notes [1] The ATTRACT initiative involves the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the European XFEL, Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), Aalto University, the European Industrial Research Management Association (EIRMA) and ESADE. The initiative is led by CERN and is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. More information ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It has 16 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and with Australia as a Strategic Partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. Also at Paranal ESO will host and operate the Cherenkov Telescope Array South, the world's largest and most sensitive gamma-ray observatory. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". ATTRACT is a pioneering initiative bringing together Europe's fundamental research and industrial communities to lead the next generation of detection and imaging technologies. Funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme under grant agreement No 777222, the project aims to help revamp Europe's economy and improve people's lives by creating products, services, companies and jobs. More info at http://www.attract-eu.com. Links * ATTRACT website - https://attract-eu.com/ * The 170 ATTRACT projects - https://attract-eu.com/selected-projects/ Contacts Lars Lindberg Christensen ESO Head of Outreach Initiatives Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6761 Cell: +49 173 38 72 621 Email: lars@eso.org Virginia Mercouri Media Adviser, Science|Business Tel: +32 489 095 044 Email: virginia.mercouri@sciencebusiness.net Anna Alsina Bardagi Content Director, ESADE Business School Tel: +34 690 957 506 Email: anna.alsina@esade.edu As international exotic pet trade grows, a better understanding of forces driving the trade is needed to reduce the threat of new invasion events A large proportion of successful vertebrate invasions can be traced to the global exotic pet trade. However, surprisingly little is known about the economic, social, and ecological factors that shape the trade and how they influence the establishment of self-sustaining populations of non-native species. In a new study published in the Ecological Society of America's journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, a team of researchers gain further insight into the dynamics of the exotic pet trade and the role it plays in the introduction of invasive vertebrate populations across the globe. "The market in exotic pets has grown considerably since the 1970s, and the volume of vertebrate animals that are traded worldwide is shocking, even to relatively seasoned invasion biologists," says Julie Lockwood, lead author of the paper and professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources at Rutgers University. "In particular, the numbers of reptiles and marine fish have really skyrocketed over the past couple of decades, most of which could easily be traced back to an upsurge in their popularity as exotic pets." In the study, the researchers take a close look at the socioeconomic and socioecological forces that drive the exotic vertebrate pet trade. These are found to vary widely, depending on the unique economic, social, regulatory, and cultural contexts of a particular country or region. At the most fundamental level, however, basic market forces appear to be the main impetus for the trade in exotic vertebrates - specifically, a growing global demand for exotic vertebrates for pets, especially in economically emerging countries in South America and Asia. The authors are surprised at the degree of variability in the global exotic pet market. "Some species, like goldfish or monk parakeets, have been standard pets for decades," explains Lockwood, "while others only show up in the market for a year or two and then disappear. But it is not entirely clear what is producing this dynamic, except to note that some species are easy to care for and breed well in captivity, and therefore don't cost much to purchase." Hundreds of thousands of individuals of these species are sold each year, and if even a tiny fraction were to escape or were freed, they would have the potential to form viable wild populations. "It was also interesting to see that there were some very consistent patterns in which of the species in each group (fishes, birds, reptiles, amphibians) now have non-native populations," Lockwood adds. "In the US, for example, it is very clear that the species that are imported into the country at the highest volume (number of individuals) are the species most likely to have introduced populations." Factors that go into an owner's decision to release an exotic pet, instead of putting it up for adoption or having it humanely euthanized, are largely unknown. Additionally, very little information is available concerning the release of exotic pet stocks by importers, wholesalers, and retailers, or the frequency of escape from homes and breeding and wholesale facilities. Moreover, most countries do not maintain comprehensive records of imported pet species, and even among those that do, animals are often recorded as "unidentified" or are misidentified, deficiencies that greatly challenge monitoring, regulatory, and control efforts. Wider availability and increasing ease of buying exotic pets online, along with a lack of regulatory standards and enforcement and the growing appeal of owning exotic vertebrates, have facilitated the spread of these species from their native ranges into many new parts of the world, amplifying the potential for future invasions. Combatting the expected subsequent rise in non-native vertebrate invasion events will require a more thorough understanding of the socioeconomic and socioecological forces underlying the global trade in exotic pets. "We simply do not have a lot of information on what factors lead to a species being incorporated into the trade in the first place, or what factors lead to escape or release," Lockwood concludes. "Without this information it is very difficult to pinpoint policy directives so that people can still enjoy owning and interacting with exotic pets while reducing the chances that the trade will generate more harmful invasive species." ### Journal article Lockwood, Julie, et al. 2019. "When pets become pests: the role of the exotic pet trade in producing invasive vertebrate animals." Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. DOI: 10.1002/fee.2059 Authors Julie L Lockwood, Dustin J Welbourne, Oliver C Stringham; Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers University Christina M Romagosa, Bradley Udell, and Diane J Episcopio-Sturgeon; Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida Phillip Cassey; Centre for Applied Conservation Science, and School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide Nicholas E Mandrak; Biological Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Canada Angela Strecker; Environmental Science and Management, Portland State University Brian Leung; Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Michael F Tlusty; School for the Environment, University of Massachusetts Boston James Sinclair; School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida Michael R Springborn; Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis Elizabeth F Pienaar; Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida; Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria Andrew L Rhyne; Department of Biology, Marine Biology, and Environmental Science, Roger Williams University Reuben Keller; Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University Chicago Author contact: Julie Lockwood julie.lockwood@rutgers.edu The Ecological Society of America (ESA), founded in 1915, is the world's largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 9,000 member Society publishes five journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society's Annual Meeting attracts 3,000-4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at http://www.esa.org. Probing magnetic materials with extreme ultraviolet radiation allows to obtain a detailed microscopic picture of how magnetic systems interact with light - the fastest way to manipulate a magnetic material. A team of researchers led by the Max Born Institute has now provided the experimental and theoretical groundwork to interpret such spectroscopic signals. The results were published in Physical Review Letters. The study of the interaction between light and matter is one of the most powerful ways to help physicists to understand the microscopic world. In magnetic materials, a wealth of information can be retrieved by optical spectroscopy where the energy of the individual light particles - photons - promotes inner shell electrons to higher energies. This is because such an approach allows to obtain the magnetic properties separately for the different types of atoms in the magnetic material and enables scientists to understand the role and interplay of the different constituents. This experimental technique, called X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) spectroscopy, has been pioneered in the late 1980ties and typically requires a large-scale facility - a synchrotron radiation source or x-ray laser. To investigate how magnetization responds to ultrashort laser pulses - the fastest way to deterministically control magnetic materials - smaller-scale laboratory sources have become available in recent years delivering ultrashort pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range. XUV photons, being less energetic, excite less strongly bound electrons in the material, posing new challenges for the interpretation of the resulting spectra in terms of the underlying magnetization in the material. A team of researchers from the Max Born Institute in Berlin together with researchers from the Max-Planck-Institute for Microstructure Physics in Halle and Uppsala University in Sweden has now provided a detailed analysis of the magneto-optical response for XUV photons. They combined experiments with ab initio calculations, which take only the types of atoms and their arrangement in the material as input information. For the prototypical magnetic elements iron, cobalt and nickel, they were able to measure the response of these materials to XUV radiation in detail. The scientists find that the observed signals are not simply proportional to the magnetic moment at the respective element, and that this deviation is reproduced in theory when so-called local field effects are taken into account. Sangeeta Sharma, who provided the theoretical description, explains: "Local field effects can be understood as a transient rearrangement of electronic charge in the material, caused by the electric field of the XUV radiation used for the investigation. The response of the system to this perturbation has to be taken into account when interpreting the spectra." This new insight now allows to quantitatively disentangle signals from different elements in one material. "As most functional magnetic materials are made up from several elements, this understanding is crucial to study such materials, especially when we are interested in the more complex dynamic response when manipulating them with laser pulses", emphasizes Felix Willems, the first author of the study. "Combining experiment and theory, we are now ready to investigate how the dynamic microscopic processes may be utilized to achieve a desired effect, such as switching the magnetization on a very short time scale. This is of both fundamental and applied interest." ### SEATTLE -- June 2, 2019 --The results of a study led by physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that patients living with HIV and one of a variety of potentially deadly cancers could be safely treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, also known by its brand name, KEYTRUDA. During an ASCO presentation concurrent with release of a study in JAMA Oncology, Fred Hutch researcher and lead author Dr. Tom Uldrick said that in nearly all cases it was safe to use the drug in patients with cancer and HIV. The "adverse events profile," a measure of the safety of the drug in the study, was not substantially different from prior studies that excluded such patients. The results, study authors said, are likely applicable to five similar drugs that block receptors known as PD-1 or PD-L1 on the surface T cells. "Our conclusion is that anti-PD-1 therapy is appropriate for cancer patients with well-controlled HIV, and that patients with HIV and cancer can be treated with the drug and should be included in future immunotherapy studies," Uldrick said. The 30-patient trial studied only pembrolizumab, the anti-PD-1 therapy manufactured by Merck. Merck provided the study drug to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The NCI sponsored the trial. HIV-positive patients with different cancers that might respond to the drug were included in the trial. Among the cancers treated were lung cancer; Kaposi sarcoma, or KS; non-Hodgkin lymphoma; liver cancer; anal cancer and advanced squamous cell skin cancer. Fred Hutch immunotherapy researcher Dr. Mac Cheever is director of the NCI-funded Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network, which carried out the trial, and he is senior author of the JAMA Oncology paper. The study was conducted at seven different cancer centers across the United States, including the HIV and AIDS Malignancy Branch of the National Cancer Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland. Overall, the safety profile of pembrolizumab in people with HIV and cancer was similar to that noted in clinical trials in the general population. Although the primary purpose of the study was to evaluate safety, it also provided a snapshot of the anti-cancer activity of the drug on these patients. One patient with lung cancer had a complete response to treatment, and activity was also noted in important HIV-associated cancers, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Kaposi sarcoma and liver cancer. An unexpected death on study from a rare KSHV-associated B-cell lymphoproliferation was noted in one patient and while the association with therapy is still unclear, it has led to recommendations to use substantial caution if anti-PD-1 therapy is considered in the setting of KSHV-associated multicentric Castleman disease. The researchers concluded that anti-PD-1 therapy may be considered for FDA approved indications in patients with HIV who are on antiretroviral therapy and have a CD4 count above a certain threshold (100 cells per microliter of blood). However, more research is needed as to its effectiveness in the setting of HIV infection. The FDA, Friends of Cancer Research, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology have all recommended that HIV patients should be included in more clinical trials. The NCI has generally allowed patients with HIV to enroll on the immuno-oncology studies that it sponsors with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. However, this trial was one of only two trials sponsored by the NCI to focus exclusively on patients living with HIV, and it has been the first prospective trial to report its results. "Exclusion of people with HIV in clinical trials is a longstanding problem that grew out of the poor outcomes of AIDS patients with cancer, before there were effective antiviral therapies for HIV," Uldrick said. In prior research, Uldrick surveyed 46 recent clinical trials that led to approval of cancer drugs, and found 30 contained explicit exclusions for patients with HIV, and nine others where an exclusion was implied. This study was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP). Study drug was provided to the NCI by Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., via a collaborative research and development agreement. It was supported by U.S. federal funds from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), under Contract No.HHSN261200800001E, NIH Intramural Research Program Support ZIA BC011700 to Dr. Uldrick and ZIA BC010885 to Dr. Robert Yarchoan, and 1U01CA154967 to Dr. Cheever for the Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network. Dr. Uldrick reported the following disclosures: Merck & Co. during the conduct of the study, and Celgene and Roche outside the submitted work. In addition, Dr. Uldrick had a patent to the NCI and Celgene issued. Dr. Cheever reported the following disclosures: grants from NIH, NCI during the conduct of the study; as well as others from Merck, Horizon, Dendreon and Celldex outside the submitted work. ### Media Contact: Claire Hudson O: 206.667.7365 C: 206.919.8300 Email: crhudson@fredhutch.org At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, home to three Nobel laureates, interdisciplinary teams of world-renowned scientists seek new and innovative ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Fred Hutch's pioneering work in bone marrow transplantation led to the development of immunotherapy, which harnesses the power of the immune system to treat cancer. An independent, nonprofit research institute based in Seattle, Fred Hutch houses the nation's first cancer prevention research program, as well as the clinical coordinating center of the Women's Health Initiative and the international headquarters of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. The new website provides extensive and reliable data, without which the status of women in economics would be impossible to assess. Using a web-scraping algorithm, data is collected from the public websites of all research institutions in Europe, with particular focus on Europe's 300 most highly ranked economics research institutions. The website is the result of years of work. It began with an idea from the Women in Economics Committee of the European Economic Association (EEA), whose objectives include collecting data on the status of women in economics professions in Europe. WinE Committee member Guido Friebel, and Sascha Wilhelm, both at Goethe University Frankfurt, expanded the data collection efforts with financial support from EEA. Friebel is also a fellow at CEPR in London and IZA in Bonn. The website presents information about the proportion of women in different positions in universities, business schools, and other institutions. It paints a similar picture for Europe as in the USA, but there are substantial differences between the countries and regions of Europe. Institutions that rank higher in terms of their research output tend to have less women in senior positions. The finding supports the "leaky pipeline" hypothesis, according to which women are subject to a double burden, resulting in disadvantages in their career development. Surprisingly, higher ranking institutions also employ few women at the junior level as well. The website is meant to help promote the debate about women's representation in society, and to develop avenues for further data collection and research. Website: https://www.women-economics.com ### Further information: Professor Guido Friebel, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Goethe University Frankfurt. Phone: +49 69 798-34823; gfriebel@wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de. Sascha Wilhelm, wilhelm@econ.uni-frankfurt.de Current news about science, teaching, and society can be found on GOETHE-UNI online Goethe University is a research-oriented university in the European financial centre Frankfurt am Main. The university was founded in 1914 through private funding, primarily from Jewish sponsors, and has since produced pioneering achievements in the areas of social sciences, sociology and economics, medicine, quantum physics, brain research, and labour law. It gained a unique level of autonomy on 1 January 2008 by returning to its historic roots as a "foundation university". Today, it is one of the three largest universities in Germany. Together with the Technical University of Darmstadt and the University of Mainz, it is a partner in the inter-state strategic Rhine-Main University Alliance. Internet: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de Publisher: The President of Goethe University Editor: Dr. Dirk Frank, General Editor / Deputy Manager PR & Communication, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt am Main phone +49 69 798-13753, frank@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de, http://www.uni-frankfurt.de A new proof-of-concept study provides the first evidence that a speech-to-touch sensory substitution device can improve hearing in the hearing-impaired without any training, report scientists in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience Amsterdam, NL, June 3, 2019 - A novel study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience provides the first evidence that a simple and inexpensive non-invasive speech-to-touch sensory substitution device has the potential to improve hearing in hearing-impaired cochlear implant patients, as well as individuals with normal hearing, to better discern speech in various situations like learning a second language or trying to deal with the "cocktail party effect." The device can provide immediate multisensory enhancement without any training. "Despite recent advancements in hearing aid and cochlear implants, the most widespread surgical implant to restore audition, hearing-impaired users still encounter significant practical and social challenges with or without aids," explained lead investigator Amir Amedi, PhD, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, and The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel. "In particular, they all struggle with understanding speech in challenging, noisy acoustic environments, especially in presence of a competing speaker." The number of sensory deprived patients and auditory deprived patients is expected to rise so it is crucial to develop efficient techniques for auditory recovery designed to convey the missing information to patients. "We live in a world that is becoming steadily more multisensory and we really need to understand the mechanisms underlying multisensory perception and integration. Providing relevant information using the sense of touch can significantly help hearing," commented Dr. Amedi. In this current proof-of-concept study investigators hypothesized that they would be able to improve speech understanding under challenging conditions by exploiting the ability of the brain to integrate information coming simultaneously from different senses. They designed a minimalistic auditory-to-tactile sensory substitution device (SSD) that transforms low-frequency speech signals into tactile vibrations delivered on two fingertips. They asked a group of non-native English speakers to repeat a series of sentences, which was degraded by embedding them in speech-like noise. As expected, when participants could rely only on audition, their understanding of such sentences was poor. Crucially, however, their sentence understanding significantly improved when they paired the degraded speech signal with complementary vibration delivered on the participants fingertips. The vibration conveyed a specific set of frequencies known as fundamental frequencies that characterize speech signals. The reported improvement at the group level was 6 dB a major difference considering that an increase of 10 dB represents a doubling of the perceived loudness. These results are especially relevant when compared to earlier SSD studies showing effects in behavior only after demanding cognitive training. Our results carry important implications for further research, as well as possible clinical and practical solutions, noted co-author Tomasz Wolak, PhD Eng, Head of the Bioimaging Research Center, Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, World Hearing Center, Warsaw, Poland. The ability to hear through ones fingers can significantly help hearing. Our approach suggests that multisensory stimulations providing the same type of information (in this case spoken language conveyed through touch in addition to hearing) should be processed in the same brain region (in this case spoken language centers), ultimately then predicting that multisensory stimulations (both sounds and touch) should enhance perception. According to lead author Katarzyna Ciesla, PhD, World Hearing Center, Warsaw, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The most compelling aspect of our study is the fact that learning to use such speech-to-touch sensory substitution device did not require any training. We believe it can also serve as an aid for the elderly population, which finds it challenging to follow extensive training regimes. This might be the first study showing such immediate relevant enhancement of a sensory substitution device and suggests the brain is much more multisensory than the common wisdom. This study is a major step forward to introduce multisensory plasticity of the brain as an innovative paradigm to maximize the potential of patients to compensate for their sensory loss, commented Bernhard Sabel, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience. Next the team plans to further improve the device and training regimes in order to reach the goal of 10 dB enhancement and to test for human brain mechanisms using an MRI-compatible version of the device in various populations (both hearing and hearing-impaired people). ### ABOUT RESTORATIVE NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE (RNN) An interdisciplinary journal under the editorial leadership of Bernhard Sabel, PhD, Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience publishes papers relating the plasticity and response of the nervous system to accidental or experimental injuries and their interventions, transplantation, neurodegenerative disorders and experimental strategies to improve regeneration or functional recovery and rehabilitation. Experimental and clinical research papers adopting fresh conceptual approaches are encouraged. The overriding criteria for publication are novelty, significant experimental or clinical relevance and interest to a multidisciplinary audience.http://www.iospress.nl/journal/restorative-neurology-and-neuroscience RNN Editorial Office Prof. Dr. Bernhard Sabel Institut fur Medizinische Psychologie Medizinische Fakultat Otto-v.-Guericke Universitat Magdeburg 39120 Magdeburg/Germany Tel: +49-391-672-1800 Fax: +49-391-672-1803 E-mail: rnn@med.ovgu.de ABOUT IOS PRESS IOS Press is headquartered in Amsterdam with satellite offices in the USA, Germany, India and China and serves the information needs of scientific and medical communities worldwide. IOS Press now publishes more than 80 international peer-reviewed journals and about 75 book titles each year on subjects ranging from computer science, artificial intelligence, and engineering to medicine, neuroscience, and cancer research. http://www.iospress.com (CNN) An army of 100 life-sized cutouts of Mark Zuckerbergs took over the U.S. Capitol lawn ahead of the Facebook founder's Senate appearance Tuesday. The stunt is the work of global activist group Avaaz, which wants Zuckerberg, Internet CEOs and government regulators to fight disinformation campaigns across Facebook and other social platforms. "We know Facebook is doing things to address the fake news problem, but they are doing it in a way to that is too small and too secretive," Avaaz campaign director Nell Greenberg told CNN. The Avaaz campaign also includes an open letter in response to Zuckerberg's apology, which more than 850,000 people across the world have signed. Zuckerberg took out full-page ads in several British and American newspapers to apologize for a "breach of trust" in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The letter addresses four key elements the organization wants Facebook and other internet sites to address: tell the truth, ban the bots, alert the public and fund the fact-checkers. "We want Facebook to tell the truth regarding the work that is being done to stop this and the scale of the fake news and fake post problem. We just want to know the transparency of the problem and what is being done to tackle it," Greenberg said. The group says the cutouts represents the hundreds of millions of fake accounts still spreading disinformation on Facebook. Each is wearing a shirt that reads "Fix Fakebook." This is the first time Zuckerberg will personally sit for questions from Congress. His testimony marks a pivotal moment for Facebook, as Zuckerberg will spend two days answering lawmakers' questions about what the company is doing to protect users' privacy. This story was first published on "A sea of Mark Zuckerberg cutouts has taken over the Capitol lawn" Keanu completely got it, said Khan. First of all, he read the whole script. A lot of the time somebody of his stature will just read their section. He read the whole script and realized how his character fit in. Youre tracking Marcus during that section because hes trying to tell her how he feels and she throws this grenade, and it feels like his worst nightmare: Its literally Keanu Reeves that shes dating. We ubiquitously stream videos, we download audiobooks to mobile devices, and we store huge numbers of photos on our devices. In short, the storage capacity we need is growing rapidly. Researchers are working to develop new data storage options. One possibility is the racetrack memory device where the data is stored in nanowires in the form of oppositely magnetized areas, so-called domains. The results of this research have recently been published in the scientific journal Nature Materials. A research team from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany, together with colleagues from Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands as well as Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology and Sogang University in South Korea, has now made a discovery that could significantly improve these racetrack memory devices. Instead of using individual domains, in the future one could store the information in three-dimensional spin structures, making the memories faster and more robust and providing a larger data capacity. "We were able to demonstrate a hitherto undiscovered interaction," explained Dr. Kyujoon Lee of Mainz University. "It occurs between two thin magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic layer." Usually, spins align either parallel or antiparallel to each other. This would also be expected for such two separate magnetic layers. However, the situation is different in this work as the researchers have been able to show that in particular systems the spins in the two layers are twisted against each other. More precisely, they couple to be aligned perpendicular with one another at an angle of 90 degrees. This new interlayer coupling interaction was theoretically explained through theoretical calculations performed by the project partners at the Peter Grunberg Institute (PGI) and the Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS) at Forschungszentrum Julich. The Mainz-based researchers examined a number of different combinations of materials grown in multi-layers. They were able to show that this previously unknown interaction exists in different systems and can be engineered by the design of the layers. Theoretical calculations allowed them to understand the underlying mechanisms of this novel effect. With their results, the researchers reveal a missing component in the interaction between such layers. "These results are very interesting to the scientific community in that they show that the missing antisymmetric element of interlayer interaction exists," commented Dr. Dong-Soo Han from JGU. This opens up the possibility of designing various new three-dimensional spin structures, which could lead to new magnetic storage units in the long term. Professor Mathias Klaui, senior author of the publication, added: "I am very happy that this collaborative work in an international team has opened a new path to three-dimensional structures that could become a key enabler for new 3D devices. Through the financial support of the German Research Foundation and the German Academic Exchange Service, the DAAD, we were able to exchange students, staff, and professors with our foreign partners in order to realize this exciting work." ### A new publication in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) aims to help health care teams navigate clinical and ethical issues that arise when patients choose to donate organs or tissue after medical assistance in dying (MAiD) or withdrawal of life-sustaining measures. Deceased organ donation is a common practice that saves or improves lives worldwide, and accounts for more than 3 in 4 of all transplanted organs in almost 2000 Canadians every year. "The ability of donors to give first-person consent for both MAiD or withdrawal of life-sustaining measures and organ donation creates emotional and moral challenges for health care professionals, and raises unprecedented ethical and practical challenges for patients, families, health care professionals and their institutions, as well as society," says lead author Dr. James Downar, a palliative care and critical care physician at the University of Ottawa. Responding to requests from patients across Canada, Canadian Blood Services, along with the Canadian Critical Care Society, the Canadian Society of Transplantation and the Canadian Association of Critical Care Nurses, worked with medical, legal and ethics experts to develop recommendations for policy makers to support organ and tissue donation in patients who choose medical assistance in dying or withdrawal of life-sustaining measures. Patient partners brought valuable insight and unique perspectives in helping shape this work. Key recommendations: Protection for patients -- the decision whether to have medical assistance in dying or withdrawal of life-sustaining measures must occur before any discussion of organ donation. This mitigates the risk that the desire to donate organs would influence the type of end-of-life care that the patient requests. Choice -- medically suitable, conscious, competent patients who provide first-person consent to end-of-life procedures should be given the opportunity to donate organs and tissues. Consent -- the patient must be able to provide first-person consent and be able to withdraw consent for MAiD or donation at any time. Donor testing -- physicians, transplant teams and other staff should try to minimize the impact and disruption of donating, such as testing, for the patient. Determination of death -- the "dead donor rule" must be respected, meaning vital organs can only be removed from deceased donors after determination of death according to accepted criteria. Conscientious objection -- health care professionals may choose not to participate in MAiD or withdrawal of life-sustaining measures, but they should work to support the patient's wishes to donate. To help health care teams, the publication includes an easy-to-reference table with the complete recommendations. "We hope this policy guidance and its recommendations will be essential tools for health care teams so they can ensure quality end-of-life care for patients, navigate medical, legal and ethical concerns, and honour the patient's wish to become an organ donor," says Dr. Downar. "[T]he explicit focus must be on the patient undergoing MAiD. To preserve the confidence of the public, policies must clearly centre on protecting the patient who has chosen MAiD," writes Dr. Johannes Mulder, affiliated with the Dutch Family Doctors Association and the Dutch working group for the Guideline Organ Donation after Euthanasia, Zwolle Overijssel, the Netherlands, in a related commentary. "The linked guidance for policy represents an important step toward creating a Canadian guideline to support health care workers for the benefit of the patient who chooses organ donation after MAiD," he concludes. ### Permanent podcast link: https://soundcloud.com/cmajpodcasts/181648-guide The New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research awarded a $592,000 grant to Erica Weber, PhD, of Kessler Foundation, to participate in a multi-site study of the development of a cognitive assessment tool for individuals with spinal cord injury East Hanover, N.J., June 3, 2019. -- Erica Weber, PhD, research scientist in the Center for Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation, was awarded a $592,000 grant by the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research to conduct a study entitled, "Development and Validation of an Abbreviated Cognitive Screening Battery for Individuals with SCI," in collaboration with Craig Hospital and the University of Washington. In April 2019, the Commission announced $3.4 million in grants to successful applicants from qualified research organizations in New Jersey. This grant is one of three individual research grants awarded by the Commission to the Foundation, totaling $1.74 million. Researchers have discovered a high prevalence of deficits in learning and memory in the population of persons with spinal cord injury. More attention is being paid to these cognitive difficulties which interfere with the daily lives of persons with spinal cord injury, adversely affecting their ability to benefit from rehabilitation, how independently they are able to care for themselves, and how well they can re-integrate into their communities and the workplace. Despite these implications, cognitive assessment is not routinely conducted in these individuals, according to Dr. Weber. With this grant, Kessler researchers will lead a multi-site study to develop and test a brief cognitive screening tool, assembled from portions of common, well-regarded, neuropsychological tests that are not dependent on arm and hand function. A total of 240 participants will be recruited by three sites: two current Spinal Cord Injury Model System (SCIMS) sites--Kessler Foundation (Northern New Jersey SCI System) and Craig Hospital in Denver, CO (Rocky Mountain Regional SCI System) -- and the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, a former SCIMS site. Drawing on the collective expertise of this SCIMS-based team, the abbreviated test battery will undergo rigorous testing within the context of ongoing assessment and follow-up after spinal cord injury. "Based on our prior research, we anticipate that this study protocol will yield a cost-effective, easy to administer assessment tool that will allow cognitive screening to become part of routine assessment and follow-up of individuals with spinal cord injury," said Dr. Weber. "Identifying cognitive deficits will enable individuals to receive the care they need to achieve their goal of maximal independence." Funded by New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research grant CSGR19IRG021 ### About the New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Injury Research The New Jersey Commission on Spinal Cord Research, whose members are appointed by the Governor, was established on September 13, 1999, with the passage of the "Spinal Cord Research Act" by the New Jersey State Legislature. The Commission's mission is to ensure that the people of New Jersey receive the utmost attention and benefit in our nation's fight against spinal cord injury and disease through its promotion of research into the treatment and cure. The Commission was created to encourage and promote significant, original research projects in New Jersey through the funding of approved research projects at qualifying research institutions in the State. In addition, the Commission maintains, in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Health, a central registry of all persons who sustain spinal cord injuries. About Kessler Foundation Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information on Kessler Foundation's research, visit KesslerFoundation.org. Facebook |http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation Twitter | http://twitter.com/KesslerFdn Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/kesslerfdn YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/user/KesslerFoundation iTunes & SoundCloud | http://www.soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation Press Contacts Carolann Murphy, PA Senior Staff Writer 973.324.8382 CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org Rob Gerth Director, Communications 973.323.3675 Rgerth@KesslerFoundation.org A joint Russian-Omani paper appeared in Journal of Hydrology. In the 1950s, Russian academician Vladimir Kunin, one of the founders of the Institute of Water Problems in Moscow and the Institute of Deserts in Ashkhabad, discovered and described fresh water lenses in the Karakum desert of Turkmenistan. These lenses float on the top of saline and hypersaline groundwater. The genesis of these lenses and factors controlling fresh water storage, circulation in the lenses and their resilience to adverse climatic factors and anthropogenic impacts (pumping) were not clear. In the 1980s, a group from Kazan State University started investigating Kunin's lenses. This research endeavor was extended to geographical conditions of Eastern Arabia. Mathematical models of these fresh water bodies have been applied to similar lenses in Australia, Oregon (USA), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and other arid and semi-arid regions. Practical motivation stems from a global deficit of all kinds of fresh water resources, including drinking, irrigation, and industrial water, especially in arid deserts. Native populations of Central Asia and Arabia rely on such lenses to support camels, sheep, goats and other domestic cattle. In this paper, the homeostasis of water lenses was explained as an intricate interaction of the following physical factors: infiltration to the lens from occasional (sporadic) rains, permanent evaporation from the water table, buoyancy due to a density contrast of the fresh and saline water, and the force of resistance to water motion from the dune sand. As a result, water makes a kind of U-turn with a descending path from the aeration (vadose) zone converted to an ascending flow back to the desert atmosphere. The shape of these lenses resembles an UFO ("flying saucer") and the developed mathematical model matches Kunin's field observations well. Interestingly, the model predicts the interface between fresh and saline groundwater similarly to the one described by a Dutch hydrologist Van Der Veer in the 1970s for rather differing problems of sea water intrusion into coastal aquifers. The applications of this research can be multifaceted; specifically, Kunin's type lenses are now artificially created by managed aquifer recharge techniques. For example, near Abu-Dhabi a mega-lens is engineered by injecting desalinated water into a saline groundwater aquifer. This lens is considered by the government of UAE as a national reserve for emergency situations, i.e., if traditional water supply schemes of the country fail, recoveries of fresh water from this lens may commence. The research group involves hydrologists, hydrogeologists, ecologists, and microbiologists from Sultan Qaboos University (Oman) and mathematician, Professor Yury Obnosov from Kazan Federal University (Russia). ### Leipzig. An important contribution to a better parameterisation of clouds in climate models in the future will be made by a project that has now started at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS). Meteorologist Dr. Wiebke Frey will use a combination of measurements in the wind tunnel of the TROPOS cloud laboratory and model simulations in order to investigate mixing processes in atmospheric clouds over the next two years. The activities of the scientist, who previously worked at the University of Manchester in Great Britain, will be funded with an Individual Fellowship as part of the Marie Sk?odowska Curie Actions (MSCA). With this programme, the EU supports the career development of scientists. It is the first such MSCA fellowship to be awarded to an employee of TROPOS. Clouds and the realistic consideration of their feedbacks remain one of the greatest challenges in predicting the future climate. Climate models are not capable to resolve relevant small-scale cloud processes, due to their coarse resolution. Unresolved processes are represented in terms of statistical formulations - parameterisations - that are inherently uncertain; this is particularly true if the underlying processes are non-linear and if they are poorly understood. One of the key small-scale processes that necessarily require parameterisation is the turbulent mixing of cloudy and cloud-free air, i.e. entrainment. Since clouds are very dynamic structures and make an important contribution to the radiation balance of the earth, a better understanding of these mixing processes at the cloud edges is necessary. A new project at TROPOS wants to better understand the mixing processes at the cloud edges. These processes change the cloud particle properties such as number concentrations and sizes, which also modifies the radiative properties of the cloud . Mixing processes at the cloud edges have furthermore important implications for cloud lifetime. The mixing processes and their treatment in the numerical models have been found to be responsible for much of the large spread found in climate sensitivity estimates. "No reliable formulation exists to date that allows understanding and describing entrainment in terms of cloud- and environmental physical quantities ("the entrainment puzzle"). The model of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), for example, employs an entrainment rate that decreases with increasing relative humidity, whereas another widely used scheme (by Kain and Fritsch) does the opposite. This highlights that the entrainment process itself is not well understood. My project is therefore entitled 'Solving The Entrainment Puzzle'", explains Dr. Wiebke Frey. Dr Frey wants to employ the wind tunnel LACIS-T of the TROPOS cloud laboratory to characterise the mixing processes. The conditions for the experiments will be based on observations performed during the "Azores stratoCumulus measurements Of Radiation, turbulEnce and aeroSols" (ACORES) field campaign. An international research team led by TROPOS had investigated clouds around the archipelago of the Azores in the North Atlantic, in July 2017. Parts of the atmospheric measurements were performed by the helicopter borne measuring platform ACTOS. The experiments in the wind tunnel and accompanying high-resolution simulations (direct numerical simulations with resolution in the millimetre range) will help to obtain a more exact physical description for the entrainment process. Wiebke Frey intends to integrate this into coarser simulations, so-called Large Eddy Simulations (LES with resolution in the 10-meter range) in the following step. The field observations by ACTOS will be used to verify the new model entrainment calculation. The atmospheric model ICON-LEM, developed jointly by the German Weather Service and the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, will be used. For the modelling part of the project, Dr Wiebke Frey will be collaborating with the renowned cloud modellers Prof. Johannes Quaas from the University of Leipzig and Prof. Bjorn Stevens from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg. "We are very pleased that Dr Frey has joined our group and is dedicating her activities to a difficult but exciting topic. With our unique wind tunnel LACIS-T it will be possible for the first time to investigate the physical parameters that control these mixing processes in clouds. Probably the difference of air velocity inside and outside the cloud plays an important role, which we can adjust very precisely in LACIS-T. This accuracy has made the design of the system very complex. We are therefore very excited to see the results, which will be available in about two years' time," stresses Dr. Frank Stratmann, head of the cloud working group at TROPOS. Dr. Wiebke Frey studied meteorology at Leibniz University in Hanover and received her doctorate at Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz on aircraft measurements of ice particles in the tropical troposppause region. As a postdoc she has worked at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, the University of Melbourne in Australia and the University of Manchester in the UK. Her project in Leipzig is funded by the European Union under the Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). The programme is part of the European Framework Programme for Research and Innovation ("Horizon 2020"). It is part of the EU's "Excellence in Science" programme and has a budget of six billion euros over the lifetime of Horizon 2020 (2014-2020). The programme aims to strengthen research and technology in Europe and promote careers as innovative researchers. Researchers with a doctorate or at least four years of full-time postgraduate research experience can apply for an Individual Fellowship (IF). The Marie Sk?odowska Curie Actions promote mobility and transfer: researchers shall expand or deepen their competences in another country and share their knowledge with the host institution. ### Contacts: Dr. Wiebke Frey Scientist, Cloud Workgroup Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) Tel. +49 341 2717- 7386 https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/about-us/employees/wiebke-frey and Dr. Frank Stratmann Group leader of the working group Clouds Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) Tel. +49 341 2717- 7142 https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/about-us/employees/frank-stratmann or Tilo Arnhold TROPOS Public Relation Tel. +49-341-2717-7189 https://www.tropos.de/en/current-issues/press-releases/ Links: Solving The Entrainment Puzzle (STEP) project @ Twitter: https://twitter.com/@STEP_msca Cloud Workgroup at TROPOS: https://www.tropos.de/en/institute/departments/experimental-aerosol-and-cloud-microphysics/cloud-workgroup Messkampagne Azores stratoCumulus measurements Of Radiation, turbulEnce and aeroSols" (ACORES) 2017: https://azores2017.blogspot.com/ Unique turbulent wind channel started operation (2017): https://www.tropos.de/en/discover/galeries/opening-of-lacis-t https://www.tropos.de/en/research/projects-infrastructures-technology/technology-at-tropos/aerosol-research-facilities/lacis-t Marie Sk?odowska-Curie Actions (MSCA): https://www.kowi.de/kowi/marie-s-curie/marie-sk%C5%82odowska-curie-actions-msca.aspx https://www.kowi.de/kowi/marie-s-curie/individualfoerderung/individual-fellowships.aspx The Leibniz-Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) is member of the Leibniz Association, which connects 95 independent research institutions that range in focus from the natural, engineering and environmental sciences via economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic and ecological relevance. They conduct knowledge-driven and applied basic research, maintain scientific infrastructure and provide research-based services. The Leibniz Association identifies focus areas for knowledge transfer to policy-makers, academia, business and the public. Leibniz institutions collaborate intensively with universities - in the form of "Leibniz ScienceCampi" (thematic partnerships between university and non-university research institutes), for example - as well as with industry and other partners at home and abroad. They are subject to an independent evaluation procedure that is unparalleled in its transparency. Due to the importance of the institutions for the country as a whole, they are funded jointly by the Federation and the Lander, employing some 20,000 individuals, including 10,000 researchers. The entire budget of all the institutes is approximately 1.9 billion Euros. https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/home/ BOZEMAN -- A tweaked gene or two among the millions or even billions of proteins that make up an organism's DNA are often all that distinguish the drought-tolerant plant or the person pre-disposed to cancer. That's why a better understanding of genetic variation within a species could, among other things, help improve selection of crops for local conditions and detection of disease, according to Joann Mudge, senior research scientist at the nonprofit National Center for Genome Resources. A generation ago, recording an organism's DNA from beginning to end was so laborious and expensive that scientists celebrated when they completed the task for a single bacterium. But as genome sequencing becomes faster and cheaper, scientists increasingly have access to insights about which genes do what, Mudge said. "We're sequencing multiple individuals of some species," including plants and other complex organisms, Mudge said. That allows scientists to begin to sort out which segments of DNA form a species' core genome and which correspond to traits shared by only some individuals, she said. But the growing field of pangenomics, as it is called, presents a major analytical challenge. That's why NCGR recently partnered with Montana State University computer scientists to develop software that can compare multiple genomes and make sense of the results. The project is backed by a three-year, $662,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. "We've been very happy with the way it's working," said Brendan Mumey, professor in the Gianforte School of Computing in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering. He and Mudge are co-leading the project. According to Mumey, previously available software struggled with analyzing pangenomes for relatively primitive organisms such as the common yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whose genome contains only 12 million of the DNA units known as base pairs. (By comparison, the human genome contains 3 billion base pairs.) Among the known strains of the yeast, minor genetic variations account for physical adaptations such as the ability of brewer's yeast to survive alcohol during the making of beer and wine. "It's a classic 'big data' problem," Mumey said, referring to the field of computing that deals with exceptionally large and complex data sets. MSU assistant professor of computer science Indika Kahanda, a member of the research team, specializes in developing the "machine learning" models that help the new software adjust its gene-sorting analysis according to input from scientists. That approach has helped the team, which includes NCGR research scientist Thiru Ramaraj, identify genes of interest in a yeast pangenome that includes roughly 100 strains. Ramaraj earned his doctorate in computer science in 2010 at MSU, where Mumey was his adviser. Mumey said the researchers' next step is to continue to refine the software so it can handle larger and more complex genomes, such as those of plants. The computational techniques being used "are still in their infancy," he said. Eventually, pangenomics could help medical professionals diagnose a variety of diseases that have a genetic component, Mudge said. Most inherited breast cancer can be traced to mutations in just two genes, but other genetic diseases are thought to stem from more complex changes across larger areas of DNA. The improved pangenomics tool is already helping scientists break out of a mold of comparing genomes to a single, arbitrary reference, Mudge said. Instead, researchers can represent a species' entire genome with all its nuance and variety. "It's a hard problem to solve," Mudge said. "This has been a great collaboration." ### An international team of researchers has a plan to keep New Guinea's frogs safe from the species-destroying chytrid fungus New Guinea is one of the only places in the world where frogs are safe from the species-destroying chytrid fungus. An international team of scientists has published a new paper that shows how to keep it that way, but they need help to carry out their plan. The chytrid fungus has wiped out more than 90 frog species around the world, and it's driving hundreds more towards extinction. New Guinea - the world's largest tropical island, and home to 6% of all known frog species - is one of the last remaining refuges from the deadly infection. A team of scientists led by researchers from Macquarie University and the University of New England in Australia think they know how to keep the island's frogs safe, but they need support to establish a long-term program of monitoring and conservation. Writing in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, the group of 30 experts from Australia, the USA, China, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea calls for urgent action. "You don't often spot a conservation disaster before it happens and get the chance to stop it," says Deborah Bower of the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, who is the first author of the article. "We know what needs to be done." The infectious chytrid fungus has been described as the most destructive pathogen known to science. It has destroyed more than 90 species of frog entirely and caused declines in almost 500 more. The international pet trade helped the chytrid fungus spread rapidly from its origins in East Asia over recent decades, and it now infects frogs on every continent. It is one of the key reasons why 40% of the world's frog species now face the threat of extinction. New Guinea's tropical climate and hundreds of native frog species make it an ideal environment for chytrid. But field tests have so far found no traces of the killer fungus. "A lot of New Guinea's frogs are closely related to Australian species that have been devastated by chytrid, so we expect they would be just as vulnerable," says Simon Clulow at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, who leads the research team. "Other New Guinea frog species are unusual because they hatch from eggs as fully formed frogs, rather than going through a tadpole stage, and we don't know how chytrid will affect them." The team estimates that around 100 species of frog would be in danger if chytrid reaches New Guinea, and their decline could have huge impacts across the ecosystem as they are predators of insects and other small creatures but also prey for larger animals. The research team includes international experts in frog conservation - including Lee Berger, the Australian who first discovered the chytrid fungus and showed it was responsible for frog species declines and extinctions - alongside local researchers with deep knowledge of the environment of New Guinea. They have been studying frogs in New Guinea since 2015, and have already started working with zoos, universities and the Papua New Guinea government to build a program to keep captive frogs and store their sperm and eggs to preserve genetic diversity. The team has developed a 5-step program of preparation, prevention, detection, response and recovery to keep the deadly fungus off New Guinea and to minimise the impact if it does arrive. As well as preserving New Guinea's frogs, the program would build local capacity in science, and disease surveillance and diagnosis that will have applications for animal and public health. ### ROCKVILLE, MD - National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) Fellow Susan Band Horwitz, Ph.D., was recognized last Thursday evening as a Giant of Cancer Care in an event at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. She was accompanied by 14 other highly respected healthcare professionals who are advancing the field of oncology by their contributions in research and clinical practice in receiving the honor. Doctor Horwitz joins four other current and former NFCR-funded scientists--the late Waun Ki Hong, M.D., F.A.C.P., D.M.Sc. (Hon.) (inducted in 2018), W.K. Alfred Yung, M.D. (2018), Robert Bast, M.D. (2015), and Daniel Von Hoff, M.D. (2016)--as Giants of Cancer Care. Other oncology research luminaries, including James Allison, Ph.D. (2014), winner of NFCR's 2014 Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, too are members of this exclusive club, comprised of fewer than 100 of the world's cancer-battling elite. "Congratulations to Susan for this wonderful recognition," states NFCR President and CEO Sujuan Ba, Ph.D. "The National Foundation for Cancer Research is proud of you and your vast contributions to cancer drug development and overcoming drug resistance. Our organization is honored to have been supporting your work for the past two decades." A distinguished professor and Rose C. Falkenstein Chair in Cancer Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, Dr. Horwitz elucidated the mechanism of action of Taxol, a natural product obtained from the yew tree. Specifically, she discovered and proved that the molecule, whose chemical name is paclitaxel, binds to microtubules in cells, stabilizing them, thereby leading to cell cycle arrest and subsequent tumor cell death. This body of work enabled the successful translation of the drug into the clinic, and it is now one of the most frequently prescribed medications in the world for the treatment of ovarian, breast and lung cancers. Dr. Horwitz's current NFCR-funded work includes research into which tubulin proteins in the microtubules may have a role in resistance to Taxol, as well as efforts that may help predict which patients would be more likely to respond well to the treatment. Also, in collaboration with another NFCR fellow, the University of Pennsylvania's Amos B. Smith III, Ph.D., she is developing analogues of another natural product, discodermolide, a microtubule stabilizing agent which exhibits low toxicity. These may in the future serve as additional cancer treatments. ### Presented since 2013 by OncLive, a respected cancer communications website, Giants of Cancer Care awards celebrate the achievements of leading researchers and educators whose discoveries have helped propel the field of oncology forward and established the building blocks for future advances. In 2019, a selection committee of over 100 eminent oncologists, researchers and clinicians chose honorees from several different tumor type and specialty categories. About the National Foundation for Cancer Research The National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides scientists in the lab the funding they need to make and apply game-changing discoveries in cancer treatments, detection, prevention and, ultimately, a cure. It has distinguished itself in the cancer sector by emphasizing long-term, transformative research often overlooked by other major funding sources. With the help of more than 5.3 million individual donors over the last 46 years, NFCR has delivered more than $380 million in funding to public education and cancer research leading to several important, life-saving discoveries. For more information, visit http://www.nfcr.org. A high-resolution version of the included image is available upon request (sources: Albert Einstein College of Medicine and OncLive). COLUMBUS, Ohio--Researchers at The Ohio State University have created high-resolution maps of points around the globe where groundwater meets the oceans--the first such analysis of its kind, giving important data points to communities and conservationists to help protect both drinking water and the seas. In a study published June 3 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, the team showed that nearly half of fresh submarine groundwater discharge flows into the ocean near the tropics. They also found that regions near active fault lines--the area around the San Andreas Fault in California, for example--send greater volumes of groundwater into the ocean than regions that are tectonically stable. And, they found that dry, arid regions have very little groundwater discharge, opening the limited groundwater supplies in those parts of the world to saltwater intrusion. The Ohio State team worked with researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Saskatchewan to combine topographical data from satellites and climate models to show the flow of groundwater around the world's coasts. The findings could help coastal communities better protect and manage their drinking water. "Freshwater-groundwater discharge is a natural line of defense against saltwater intrusion," said Audrey Sawyer, assistant professor of earth sciences at Ohio State and a co-author of the study. "And saltwater intrusion is a concern in places like Miami, Georgia, Cape Cod--it's up and down the coast. It's a problem that dry regions have as little groundwater discharge as they do because these are also the places where people are going to tend to look for groundwater to meet their freshwater needs." Their work, the first near-global and spatially distributed high-resolution map of fresh groundwater flow to the coast, could give scientists better clues about where to monitor groundwater discharge. Such monitoring is more challenging than monitoring the water quality of a river or stream, because groundwater, by its nature, enters oceans and lakes under water--people can't see it from land. When researchers think about coastal water quality and the way water affects the biochemical makeup of the world's lakes and oceans, they typically think about rivers and streams--and for good reason. Most of the water that gets to lakes and oceans comes from surface water sources. But groundwater plays and important role, too, carrying minerals and, in some cases, pollutants, to surface bodies of water. "If you've ever been swimming in a lake or in the ocean in the summertime and you go through a cold patch, that is probably a place where groundwater is coming out," Sawyer said. "And that's just one way that groundwater affects surface water--in that case, it's affecting temperature, but it also affects the chemistry of the water. These effects can be hard to measure over large scales." That's why Sawyer's team started building these images: The research group focuses on groundwater, and realized that there was limited information showing--in detail--where groundwater was most likely to flow into the oceans. The study found that in some parts of the world, groundwater could be polluting oceans and lakes with nutrients and other chemicals. Groundwater, for example, can carry higher concentrations of nitrates--a key contributor of the types of harmful algal blooms that have caused problems for both fish and drinking water in Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico--as well as high concentrations of mercury. Understanding how and where groundwater gets to surface water could help policymakers create better plans to improve those bodies of water. The study also found that climate heavily influences groundwater flow, and that cities in dry areas are especially vulnerable to saltwater contamination of aquifers. "This study draws attention to the idea that surface water and groundwater are all connected, and if you start to extract groundwater, you're affecting that connection to our surface water bodies, and that can affect surface water quality, too," Sawyer said. "There is competition between the outward push of groundwater towards the coast and the saltwater that wants to come in, and if we don't have as much of an outward push because we're taking that fresh groundwater out of the ground instead of letting it flow to the coast, it puts us in a more vulnerable position. It's not that we can't use groundwater, but we need to monitor our impact and remember that groundwater is not an inexhaustible resource." ### Oregon is considering a bill to implement paid family leave, House Bill 2005, following in the footsteps of Washington, which approved a similar policy in 2017. Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University School of Public Health researchers concluded that it's not just approving paid family leave that's important for employees -- how that policy is implemented to make it equitable for all employees is just as critical. OHSU-PSU School of Public Health Assistant Professors Dawn Richardson, Julia Goodman and David Hurtado published "Employee Experiences with a Newly Adopted Paid Parental Leave Policy: Equity Considerations for Policy Implementation" in Health Equity's May edition. The researchers partnered with Multnomah County to evaluate a new paid leave policy adopted in November of 2015. Their findings offer insight and guidance for organizations implementing or considering implementation of paid family leave as well as steps to ensure equity in employee access to and experience of paid leave. "If Oregon approves paid family leave, we're hoping our work with Multnomah County can offer support to employers in Oregon to really think about how they carry out the policy," Richardson said. "Assuming it passes, this is a significant shift in employee benefits and there's not a lot of guidance on how to do this, and how to do this well." The researchers found that the policy was successful in supporting employees in taking paid leave when adding a child to their family through birth, adoption, or fostering. Overwhelmingly, employees were pleased with the benefit and noted how important it was for their families. But the researchers also found that some employees experienced inequity in the policy's implementation despite it being approved and accessible for all eligible county employees. One participant, a woman of color, said she saw her experience of inequity replicated despite the new policy. "Depending on the supervisor, someone gets something very generous and then a person in the next unit over gets not a lot," the participant commented. "This is kind of horrible for all of us to see that, to see this inequity, even though we have these great policies." Another participant said she had three different supervisors while preparing to take family leave, which led to inequitable decisions. "I feel like that supervision piece can make it extremely inequitable for people to experience their parental leave," the participant commented. "I had one plan with the first supervisor, which was very understanding, a very generous plan. And then that person left the week I went on leave. And suddenly I had this new person, and they didn't want to honor the plan that I had in place." The researchers were quick to point out that these experience are not specific to Multnomah County and would very likely be the story in any similar organization. Despite the best intentions of policies like these, an explicit focus on equity is needed. Richardson and Goodman said supervisory training is one key to achieving workplace equity. Supervisors need to be clear on what the policy entails and how to guide employees navigating paid leave and the blending together of multiple benefits. "The culture of the workplace matters a lot," Richardson said. "How are families shown they are truly valued?" Culture and environment influence how employees experience the policy. Factors driving experience include department size and resources, demographic makeup and the supervisor's attitude. If employees perceive that their use of paid leave is burdensome on the employer, it could have negative implications on the employee's contribution to the workplace. "The employees who felt most supported also felt passionate about their employer, felt committed, and returned to work in ways that facilitated better productivity," Richardson said. As Oregon considers approving its own paid family leave policy, she added that much of the negative debate comes down to the burden of cost -- specifically on small businesses. "The costs are the costs. But who do we as a society believe should pay those costs? And who benefits? Without paid leave, the costs are entirely on the shoulders of workers," she said. Numerous studies show offering paid family leave benefits both the employee and employer in the long run, but the conversation hasn't transitioned past the upfront cost. "We need to think about where we want to invest. And part of that investment is not just in adopting the policy, it's in training people," Richardson said. "It's in seeing the policy through." Employers may struggle with the costs of providing these benefits, she added, but she, Goodman and Hurtado hope work like theirs can show in the long-term the cost is worth it. ### Even on dry land, those narrow, low passageways make you rethink your feelings about claustrophobia; that efficient little kitchen might call to mind certain New York City apartments youve seen; those bunk beds hugging walls with weaponry stored on the floor in the middle will shame you for ever complaining about any sleeping situation youve ever found yourself in. Yeah, this tent is buggy and the air mattress is slowly deflating, but at least theres not a torpedo right next to me. HOUSTON - (June 3, 2019) - Help for patients with sickle cell disease may soon come from gene editing to fix the mutation that causes the disease and boost the patient's own protective fetal hemoglobin. New research shows that using CRISPR-Cas9 and a corrective short DNA template to repair the sickle cell mutation in a patient's hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) could be efficient and safe. Bioengineer Gang Bao of Rice University's Brown School of Engineering conducted the research in collaboration with Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University. The revelation is one of several in a new study led by Bao and Vivien Sheehan, an assistant professor at Baylor and a member of the sickle cell program at Texas Children's Hematology Center. The open-access study appears in the Oxford Academic journal Nucleic Acids Research. Sickle cell disease, which affects about 100,000 Americans and millions worldwide, is a painful and often fatal inherited condition. A single mutation in hemoglobin subunit beta (aka beta-globin) forces normal, disc-shaped red blood cells to stiffen and take characteristic "sickle" shapes. These cells can damage vessel walls and clot small blood vessels, stopping the delivery of oxygen to tissues. Today, some people afflicted with the disease are treated with stem cells from a matched, related donor, an option researchers says is available to fewer than 15% of patients. A better strategy would be modifying the patient's own hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), an option theoretically available to every patient because there would be no risk of rejection. Ideally, stem cells isolated from the patient's bone marrow would be gene-edited and tested, and chemotherapy would be used to reduce the patient's stem cells to make room for the edited cells. Bao said the corrected cells would then be implanted back into the patient, where they could proliferate and spawn healthy blood cells. For the new study, and for the first time, Bao and his team tested patient HSPCs in rodents and demonstrated that a fraction of the gene-edited cells from patients could survive and function for about 4 months. These stem cells were from the peripheral blood of five patients and the bone marrow of two patients with the disease, all obtained by Sheehan. The Sheehan lab characterized the type of hemoglobin made by the edited cells and showed that gene editing can provide enough protective and normal hemoglobin to prevent sickling, even under the severe hypoxia that promotes sickling. Early tests using wild-type Cas9 protein - the "scissors" that target and cut specific sections of DNA - from Streptococcus pyogenes led to stem cells with high levels of unintended DNA edits. These off-target edits included large chromosomal deletions and inversions that could cause disease. In a second round of tests, the Rice lab adopted a more recent "high-fidelity" version of Cas9 developed by Integrated DNA Technologies. That led to significantly reduced off-target edits, Bao said. Not all the stem cells isolated from a patient with the sickle mutation are fixed by gene editing. At best, according to experiments by the Bao lab, it fixed up to 40% of them. In another 50% of cells, DNA was cut and not repaired by the corrective DNA template, but that appeared to boost the stem cells' expression of fetal hemoglobin (HbF), a type made by a different gene that does not carry the sickle mutation and is normally turned off a few months after birth. Fetal hemoglobin is known to mute the effects of sickle cell disease. Bao suspects that if the expression of fetal hemoglobin in edited cells persists, 90% of the stem cells from patients will either have the sickle mutation fixed, or have sickling prevented by fetal hemoglobin. "Our hope is that if we take out a fraction of HSPCs from a patient's bone marrow and damage the remaining ones, then edit the HSPCs and deliver them back, the combination of gene-corrected and HbF-expressing cells will be enough to cure the disease," Bao said. That 10% of stem cells continued to produce sickle cells should not be a big concern, he said. "The good news is that normal red blood cells have a lifespan about nine times that of the sickle cells," Bao said. "That means over time, the majority of the red blood cells would be normal cells. That's the scenario we would like to see." The researchers don't yet know if cutting beta-globin to boost fetal hemoglobin levels would provide a long-lasting benefit or whether it risks inducing beta thalassemia, a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin. "There is a risk, and we need to understand it better," Bao said. It is also unclear how many stem cells must be edited to provide long-term relief to a patient. "We don't know what percentage of the HSCs with gene correction could effectively treat sickle cell disease," he said. "Some people say just a few percent, and some say 5-10%. My guess is around 5% would be sufficient, but the exact percentage could only be established through clinical trials." The road to human trials may still take some time, Bao said. "Technology-wise, we are ready to do a clinical trial," he said. "But just getting approval for a trial will require a lot of resources. We need to compile the data and do additional experiments to address the safety issues." ### Rice graduate student So Hyun Park and research scientist Ciaran Lee are co-first authors of the paper. Co-authors are Rice research specialist Timothy Davis; postdoctoral associates Yankai Zhang and Alireza Paikari and instructor Alicia Chang of the Texas Children's Hematology Center/Baylor, and research instructor Daniel Dever, undergraduate fellow Joab Camarena, graduate student Wai Srifa and Matthew Porteus, a professor of pediatrics, of Stanford. Bao is the Foyt Family Professor of Bioengineering at Rice. Sheehan is an assistant professor of pediatrics-hematology/oncology and hematology at Baylor. The research was supported by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, the Chao Physician-Scientist Award, the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, the Amon G. Carter Foundation, a Laurie Kraus Lacob Faculty Scholar Award in Pediatric Translational Research, and the Sutardja Foundation. Read the paper at https://academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkz475/5506860?searchresult=1. This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2019/06/03/new-genetic-weapons-challenge-sickle-cell-disease/ Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Related materials: Laboratory of Biomolecular Engineering and Nanomedicine (Bao lab): http://bao.rice.edu Vivien Sheehan: https://www.texaschildrens.org/research/laboratories/vivien-andrea-sheehan-md-phd Porteus Lab: http://med.stanford.edu/porteuslab.html Rice Department of Bioengineering: https://bioengineering.rice.edu George R. Brown School of Engineering: https://engineering.rice.edu Images for download: https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_SICKLE-1-WEB.jpg Rice University graduate student So Hyun Park prepares an experiment in the lab of bioengineer Gang Bao, in the background. The lab is working toward help for patients with sickle cell disease through gene editing. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_SICKLE-2-WEB-1.jpg Rice University researchers, from left, So Hyun Park, Gang Bao and Timothy Davis, are advancing gene-editing techniques to help patients with sickle cell disease. They are part of the team that discovered an unexpected boost in fetal hemoglobin production, which mutes the effect of the disease. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_SICKLE-3-WEB.jpeg An illustration shows the process by which a patient's own hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) can be removed, their genes edited and the corrected hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) returned to treat sickle cell disease. (Credit: Illustration by Gang Bao/Rice University) Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Editor's note: Links to an illustration and high-resolution images for download appear at the end of this release. David Ruth 713-348-6327 david@rice.edu Mike Williams 713-348-6728 mikewilliams@rice.edu HOUSTON - (June 3, 2019) - With a little practice, it doesn't take much more than 10 minutes, a couple of bags and a big bucket to keep nanomaterials in their place. The Rice University lab of chemist Andrew Barron works with bulk carbon nanotubes on a variety of projects. Years ago, members of the lab became concerned that nanotubes could escape into the air, and developed a cheap and clean method to keep them contained as they were transferred from large containers into jars for experimental use. More recently Barron himself became concerned that too few labs around the world were employing best practices to handle nanomaterials. He decided to share what his Rice team had learned. "There was a series of studies that said if you're going to handle nanotubes, you really need to use safety protocols," Barron said. "Then I saw a study that said many labs didn't use any form of hood or containment system. In the U.S., it was really bad, and in Asia it was even worse. But there are a significant number of labs scaling up to use these materials at the kilogram scale without taking the proper precautions." The lab's inexpensive method is detailed in an open-access paper in the Springer Nature journal SN Applied Sciences. In bulk form, carbon nanotubes are fluffy and disperse easily if disturbed. The Rice lab typically stores the tubes in 5-gallon plastic buckets, and simply opening the lid is enough to send them flying because of their low density. Varun Shenoy Gangoli, a research scientist in Barron's lab, and Pavan Raja, a scientist with Rice's Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment center, developed for their own use a method that involves protecting the worker and sequestering loose tubes when removing smaller amounts of the material for use in experiments. Full details are available in the paper, but the precautions include making sure workers are properly attired with long pants, long sleeves, lab coats, full goggles and face masks, along with two pairs of gloves duct-taped to the lab coat sleeves. The improvised glove bag involves a 25-gallon trash bin with a plastic bag taped to the rim. The unopened storage container is placed inside, and then the bin is covered with another transparent trash bag, with small holes cut in the top for access. After transferring the nanotubes, acetone wipes are used to clean the gloves and more acetone is sprayed inside the barrel so settling nanotubes would stick to the surfaces. These can be recovered and returned to the storage container. Barron said it took lab members time to learn to use the protocol efficiently, "but now they can get their samples in 5 to 10 minutes." He's sure other labs can and will enhance the technique for their own circumstances. He noted a poster presented at the Ninth Guadalupe Workshop on the proper handling of carbon nanotubes earned recognition and discussion among the world's premier researchers in the field, noting the importance of the work for agencies in general. "When we decided to write about this, we were originally just going to put it on the web and hope somebody would read it occasionally," Barron said. "We couldn't imagine who would publish it, but we heard that an editor at Springer Nature was really keen to have published articles like this. "I think this is something people will use," he said. "There's nothing outrageous but it helps everybody, from high schools and colleges that are starting to use nanoparticles for experiments to small companies. That was the goal: Let's provide a process that doesn't cost thousands of dollars to install and allows you to transfer nanomaterials safely and on a large scale. Finally, publish said work in an open-access journal to maximize the reach across the globe." ### Gibran Liezer Esquenazi, an alumnus of the Barron group at Rice, is a co-author on the paper. Barron is a professor emeritus of chemistry at Rice and the Ser Cymru Chair of Low Carbon Energy and Environment at Swansea University, Wales. Funding for the work was made available via the Robert A. Welch Foundation, the Office of Naval Research and the Welsh government through the Ser Cymru Chair Program. Read the paper at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42452-019-0647-5. This news release can be found online at https://news.rice.edu/2019/06/03/nanomaterial-safety-on-a-nano-budget/ Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Related materials: Barron Research Group: http://barron.rice.edu/Barron.html Rice Department of Chemistry: https://chemistry.rice.edu Wiess School of Natural Sciences: https://naturalsciences.rice.edu Images for download: https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_HANDLE-1-WEB.jpg Varun Shenoy Gangoli, a research scientist at Rice University, models the proper attire for handling bulk nanomaterials for laboratory use. Gangoli and his colleagues developed a quick, clean and inexpensive method for transferring carbon nanotubes and offered it to other labs through a journal article. (Credit: Barron Research Group/Rice University) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_HANDLE-2-WEB.jpg A plastic bucket and a plastic bag contain a 5-gallon supply of carbon nanotubes in a lab at Rice University, the beginning of the process to safely transfer the nanotubes for experimental use. The Rice lab published its technique in SN Applied Sciences. (Credit: Barron Research Group/Rice University) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_HANDLE-3a-WEB.jpg Rice University research scientist Varun Shenoy Gangoli puts gloved hands and a container into holes in a bag set up to contain nanomaterials while transferring them from bulk containers into smaller ones for lab use. The technique helps the lab keep nanomaterials from escaping into the environment. (Credit: Barron Research Group/Rice University) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2019/06/0603_HANDLE-4-WEB.jpg A clean container of carbon nanotubes, ready for experiments, is the product of a quick, inexpensive method used in a Rice University lab to transfer nanomaterials. The method is the subject of a paper in SN Applied Sciences. (Credit: Barron Research Group/Rice University) Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. The latest research, reported in the SPIE Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems, will support the most powerful ground-based solar telescope ever built BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA and CARDIFF, UK - An article published in the SPIE publication Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems (JATIS), "Polarization Modeling and Predictions for DKIST Part 5: Impacts of enhanced mirror and dichroic coatings on system polarization calibration," marks a substantial advance in ensuring the accurate solar information measured and collected by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST). As with any astronomical instrument, calibration is required in order to remove effects that the instrument itself might have on the data. By concentrating on characterizing the telescope's thin film metal coatings, anti-reflection coatings, and dichroic mirrors, the authors have developed unique computer models based on laboratory data for the polarization transmissivity of the entire telescope system. Not only was the team able to predict the performance of a variety of devices in the optical system, they were also able to specify, design, and build compensating devices to correct for unwanted polarization. In addition, the team has the ability to fit multi-layer coating designs; this allows them to predict system-level polarization properties of mirrors, anti-reflection coatings, and dichroics at arbitrary incidence angles, high spectral resolving power, and on curved surfaces through optical modeling software packages. Altogether, the researchers have demonstrated confidence in the precision calibration of the telescope. According to JATIS Associate Editor and SPIE Fellow James Breckinridge, the findings will help ensure that the DKIST will be one of science's most powerful observational instruments: "In order to make sure you're measuring what's going on in the sun and not in the instruments, you have to calibrate the instrumentation, which is precisely what this research has successfully demonstrated. I believe that this telescope system has the most accurate and comprehensive polarization calibration of any astronomical telescope in the world. This will allow astronomers to measure solar features and activity to unprecedented accuracy, and should lead to many significant discoveries." ### The article authors are David M. Harrington, Stacey R. Sueoka, and Amanda J. White of the National Solar Observatory, Pukalani, Hawaii. The open-access paper is part of a series investigating polarization performance expectations for the DKIST, a next-generation telescope, which, when completed later this year, will be the largest ground-based solar telescope in the world. Previous articles in this series were also published in JATIS. Mark Clampin, SPIE Fellow and director of the Sciences and Exploration Directorate at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, is the editor-in-chief of JATIS. The journal is published in print and digitally by SPIE in the SPIE Digital Library, which contains more than 500,000 publications from SPIE journals, proceedings, and books, with approximately 18,000 new research papers added each year. About SPIE SPIE is the international society for optics and photonics, an educational not-for-profit organization founded in 1955 to advance light-based science, engineering, and technology. The Society serves 257,000 constituents from 173 countries, offering conferences and their published proceedings, continuing education, books, journals, and the SPIE Digital Library. In 2018, SPIE provided more than $4 million in community support including scholarships and awards, outreach and advocacy programs, travel grants, public policy, and educational resources. http://www.spie.org. Contact: Daneet Steffens Public Relations Manager daneets@spie.org +1 360 685 5478 @SPIEtweets Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) and NEC Corporation, Japan, present a 39 GHz transceiver with built-in calibration for fifth-generation (5G) applications. The advantages to be gained include better quality communications as well as cost-effective scalability. A team of more than 20 researchers at Tokyo Tech and NEC Corporation has successfully demonstrated a 39 GHz transceiver that could be used in the next wave of 5G wireless equipment including base stations, smartphones, tablets and Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications. Although research groups including the current team have until now largely focused on developing 28 GHz systems, 39 GHz will be another important frequency band for realizing 5G in many parts of the world. The new transceiver is based on a 64-element (4 x 16) phased-array[1] design. Its built-in gain phase calibration means that it can improve beamforming[2] accuracy, and thereby reduce undesired radiation and boost signal strength. Fabricated in a standard 65-nanometer CMOS[3] process, the transceiver's low-cost silicon-based components make it ideal for mass production -- a key consideration for accelerated deployment of 5G technologies. The researchers showed that the built-in calibration has a very low root-mean-square (RMS) phase error of 0.08. This figure is an order of magnitude lower than previous comparable results. While transceivers developed to date typically suffer from high gain variation of more than 1 dB, the new model has a maximum gain variation of just 0.04 dB over the full 360? tuning range. "We were surprised to achieve such a low gain variation when actually using the calibration based on our local-oscillator (LO) phase-shifting approach," says project leader, Kenichi Okada of Tokyo Tech. In addition, the transceiver has a maximum equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP)[4] of 53 dBm. This is an impressive indication of the output power of the 64 antennas, the researchers say, particularly for low-cost CMOS implementation. Indoor testing (under anechoic chamber conditions[5]), which involved a one-meter, over-the-air measurement, demonstrated that the transceiver supports wireless transmission of a 400 MHz signal with 64QAM. "By increasing the array scale, we can achieve greater communication distance," Okada says. "The challenge will be to develop the transceiver for use in smartphones and base stations for 5G and beyond." The work is being presented at the 2019 IEEE Radio Frequency Integrated Circuits Symposium (RFIC) in Boston, Massachusetts, US, as part of the morning session (Session RTu2E) to be held on 4 June 2019. The paper of this work "A 39 GHz 64-Element Phased-Array CMOS Transceiver with Built-in Calibration" by Yun Wang et al., receives the best student paper award. ### [1] phased-array Referring to an electrically steerable array of antennas. [2] beamforming A powerful signal processing technique used to control antenna patterns. [3] CMOS Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor, the main processing method for creating integrated circuits. [4] Equivalent isotropic radiated power (EIRP) A measure of the signal strength or output power of an antenna in decibels per meter (dBm). [5] anechoic chamber conditions A non-reflective environment that is designed to be free from echoes. NEW YORK - The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research announced today that it has awarded a grant of $12 million to establish The Mark Foundation Center for Immunotherapy, Immune Signaling, and Radiation at the University of Pennsylvania. The Center will bring together cross-departmental teams of basic scientists and clinical researchers, who will focus on better understanding the interconnected relationships between advances in radiation therapy, important signaling pathways in cancer and immune cells, and the immune system's ability to effectively control cancer. "The results of this exciting project could have enormous significance for cancer patients," said The Mark Foundation CEO Michele Cleary, PhD. "This multidisciplinary effort is well positioned for success, and we expect these leading researchers will uncover novel insights into cancer biology that will substantially expand the options for treatments with better efficacy and minimal toxicities. We look forward to working with this powerhouse team over the next 5 years and beyond." The new center at the University of Pennsylvania follows in the footsteps of The Mark Foundation's establishment last summer of The Mark Foundation Institute for Integrated Cancer Medicine at the University of Cambridge, as well as previously announced collaborations with Cancer Research UK and Evotec. These awards all derive from the Mark Foundation's commitment to funding interdisciplinary research that shows significant promise to transform how cancer is prevented, diagnosed and treated. The Mark Foundation Center for Immunotherapy, Immune Signaling, and Radiation will be led by Andy J. Minn, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology in Penn's Perelman School of Medicine. The primary efforts of the center will comprise five key projects that converge on understanding the signaling pathways elicited by radiation therapy and how those pathways can be exploited therapeutically to enable the immune system to recognize and eradicate cancer. "These projects have the chance to change the paradigm when it comes to cancer treatment," said Minn. "Understanding important and potentially targetable mechanisms of immunotherapy resistance and how to use novel radiation therapies to enhance immunotherapies carries enormous benefits for patients." ### Specifics on the science funded by the grant can be accessed here. About the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research is dedicated to accelerating cures for cancer by integrating discoveries in biology with innovative technology. Launched in 2017, The Mark Foundation pursues its mission by funding a global portfolio of groundbreaking research carried out by individual investigators, multi-investigator teams, and inter-institutional collaborations. Since its launch in 2017, the Foundation has awarded over $57 million in grant funding to 70 institutions across 18 U.S. states and 3 countries. Recognizing the obstacles that can prevent scientific advances from improving patient outcomes, The Mark Foundation maintains a nimble, high-impact approach to funding research that encompasses grants for basic and translational cancer research, as well as venture philanthropy investment in companies that bridge the gap between the bench and the bedside. To learn more about the work of The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, visit: https://themarkfoundation.org/. Natural killer cells are part of the innate immune system. Their role is to detect virus-infected cells and destroy them. When an infection is detected, a small subset of the most effective killer cells is identified and selectively expanded - as a team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now been able to show for the first time. This could represent a simple and evolutionary ancient form of immunological memory. More than half of the global population is infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV), which remains in the body for life. Normally, these infections do not produce any symptoms. Together with T cells, natural killer cells (NKs) effectively keep the virus in check, although it can cause serious illnesses in people with a weakened immune system. NKs possess surface molecules that identify CMV-infected cells, such as the receptor Ly49H in mice. It is known that NKs equipped with this receptor (Ly49H-NKs) are particularly effective at destroying CMV-infected cells. Quantity of receptors determines effectiveness Dr. Veit Buchholz, research group leader at TUM's Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene, and his colleague Dr. Simon Grassmann set out to determine what exactly happens to these Ly49H-NKs during a CMV infection. To do this, they tracked immune responses derived from individual Ly49H-NKs in CMV-infected mice. They found that replication of individual Ly49H NKs was extremely varied. This variation correlated with distinct surface expression levels of Ly49H itself. Cells with higher Ly49H expression expanded more and were thus able to combat CMV more effectively. This trait seemed to be heritable, with the descendants of an NK resembling their "parent" cell in terms of Ly49H receptor levels. Inheritance of quantitative traits such as this had not previously been observed in NKs. Hint for "ancient" immunological memory "The really interesting aspect was that, even after the peak of the immune response, killer cells expressing high amounts of Ly49H remained detectable at elevated numbers," reports Grassmann. He goes on to explain that this is an important indication of the existence of a simple immunological memory based on NKs. Immunological memory can only work if there is a selection mechanism available that multiplies and then preserves the most effective cells for fighting an infection. "We show that in NKs - which are part of the evolutionary ancient, innate immune system - the quantity of receptor alone is a sufficient criterion to drive selection at a simple level," outlines Buchholz. This finding could also be significant for humans, since human NKs possess an equivalent receptor, which plays an important role during CMV infection. Fluorescent protein barcode The appropriate tool to track individual NKs in living organisms was developed by Grassmann, together with medical student Ludwig Pachmayr, within the context of TUM's "Translational Medicine" doctoral program: A barcode consisting of fluorescent proteins enabled the researchers for the first time to differentiate and track up to 30 individual NKs and their descendants. Next, the researchers are keen to find out how NKs transmit the information about receptor quantity to their descendants. NKs are considered a possible alternative to T cells for immunotherapy of infections and tumor diseases. ### Publication Simon Grassmann*, Ludwig O. Pachmayr*, Justin Leube, Lorenz Mihatsch, Immanuel Andrae, Sophie Flommersfeld, Jennifer Oduro, Luka Cicin-Sain, Matthias Schiemann, Michael Flossdorf and Veit R. Buchholz: Distinct surface expression of activating receptor Ly49H drives differential expansion of NK cell clones upon murine cytomegalovirus infection, Immunity, June 18, 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2019.04.015 *These authors contributed equally https://www.cell.com/immunity/pdfExtended/S1074-7613(19)30195-5 Contact Dr. Veit Buchholz Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Hygiene Klinikum rechts der Isar (TUM university hospital) Phone: +49 89 4140-4156 veit.buchholz@tum.de More information Research group led by Dr. Veit Buchholz https://www.mikrobio.med.tum.de/node/122 High resolution images https://mediatum.ub.tum.de/1488635 Irvine, Calif. - Nearly one-fifth of the world's population lives in a stressed water basin where the next climate change-driven incident could threaten access to an essential resource for agriculture, industry and life itself, according to a paper by University of California, Irvine researchers and others, published today in Nature Sustainability. The study's authors analyzed trends in global water usage from 1980 to 2016, with a particular focus on so-called inflexible consumption, the curtailment of which would cause significant financial and societal hardship. Those uses include irrigating perennial crops, cooling thermal power plants, storing water in reservoirs, and quenching the thirst of livestock and humans. "Many studies evaluating water scarcity have mainly centered on the share of the available supply being consumed by humans, but this ignores the fact that some uses are more flexible or productive than others," said lead author Yue Qin, a UCI postdoctoral scholar in Earth system science. "By looking at how water is actually used, we can begin to see what water is really difficult to do without and if there are any opportunities for savings in other areas." The scientists constructed a water stress index that takes into account the scarcity, flexibility and variability (a comparison of annual runoff to storage capacity) of global supplies. Evaluating watersheds on six continents, they found numerous hot spots - places where a drought or heat wave could put a strain on reserves - as well as numerous chances to conserve resources through new technologies and better management practices. According to the study, the top 10 percent of the most stressed river basins support about 19 percent of the world's population, 19 percent of thermal electricity generation and one-third of irrigated agricultural production. In addition, the researchers discovered a significant increase in water stress for the worst-impacted regions over the 37-year study period. Asia and - to a lesser degree - North America face a compounded dilemma due to their high stress indices and large exposure: total human and livestock population, reservoir capacity, electricity generation and production of irrigated crops. These areas are particularly vulnerable to shocks brought on by droughts or heat waves. "The new index tells us where water issues are greatest and for what reasons, so decisions now don't limit our options and ability to be resilient in the future," said Thomas Torgersen, a program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Earth Sciences, which funded the research. By examining the productivity and flexibility of water use in specific basins, the scientists also identified many opportunities to conserve water and build resiliency in the face of predicted risks posed by climate change. The Nile basin in Africa and the Tigris-Euphrates and Lake Balkhash basins in Asia all have high water stress indices and elevated consumption intensities for either maintaining reservoirs, growing food or generating power. Potential ways to save water include switching from cooling power plants with fresh water to so-called dry cooling technologies, which could decrease cooling water use in the Lake Balkhash basin by 95 percent. Available technologies that could potentially reduce evaporation from dams in the Nile basin by up to 90 percent, by some estimates, include photovoltaic floating covers, monomolecular films and suspended shades. The researchers compare their study to existing work on where carbon is embedded in the global energy infrastructure, which has provided insights into where there might be flexibility to lower greenhouse gas emissions in the future. "Given the limited political capital and resources when you're developing new technologies and policies, where do you focus those efforts for the most potential benefit?" asked co-author Julie Zimmerman, professor of green engineering at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. "We can't solve these problems in isolation. This study reinforces the linkages between these systems and why we need to be holistic in our approaches." ### Also contributing to the study from UCI's Department of Earth System Science were Amir AghaKouchak, associate professor; Steven Davis, associate professor; Nathan Mueller, assistant professor; and postdoctoral scholars Chaopeng Hong and Dan Tong. They were joined by Zimmerman; Stefan Siebert of Germany's University of Bonn and University of Gottingen; and Robert Jackson of Stanford University. About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 222 degree programs. It's located in one of the world's safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County's second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit http://www.uci.edu. Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists. Patients consulting their doctor by video link could reduce the need for GP visits but it is not suitable for everyone, a pilot study has found. People with long-term health problems are most likely to benefit, as they require frequent check-ups but do not necessarily need a physical examination each time. Working people also reported advantages as the technology can save time spent travelling to and from appointments. Doctors say face-to-face visits are appropriate when they are delivering bad news or discussing serious health issues. Patients too preferred seeing their doctor in person when discussing personal issues. The findings are the result of a trial involving 45 patients and six GP practices in Edinburgh and the Lothians. A Skype-style web-based programme called Attend Anywhere was used for the consultations. Patients were sent an email with a link to take them to a virtual waiting room at the time of their appointment. The study looked at the duration and content of video consultations. Researchers also carried out telephone interviews with around half of the patients who had taken part in video consultations to gauge their views. They also spoke to all of the doctors and nurses who had taken part in the study. Doctors reported advantages over telephone consultations as video allows them to pick up on visual cues - such as body language and facial expressions - that can inform an assessment. In some cases, however, seeing a patient in person remains preferable. Video links were favoured by younger patients, who are more familiar with web-based communications. Video consultations were similar to telephone consultations with regard to duration and content, but shorter and less detailed than a face-to-face consultation. Some people with mobility problems or mental health problems found the video consultation to be particularly helpful. Technical problems were common, however. The researchers say improvements in infrastructure are needed so that video consultations can be seamlessly integrated with practice appointment systems. The research, published in the British Journal of General Practice, was funded by the Scottish Government's Chief Scientist Office. The research was led by the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with the Universities of Exeter and Warwick. Professor Brian McKinstry, of the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute, said: "Our study showed that there is real potential for video-consulting particularly for conditions where a visual examination can be helpful for example when assessing people who have problems with anxiety and depression and have difficulty getting to their general practice" Dr Helen Atherton, of Warwick Medical School said: 'Video consultations were superior to a telephone consultation, providing visual cues and building rapport. However it, is clear that to get the most out of this type of consultation there are infrastructure hurdles yet to be overcome." ### A consortium of scientists from the Medical Imaging Center (University Medical Center Groningen), Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (University of Amsterdam), Palacky University in Olomouc, the University of Nantes, Stratingh Institute for Chemistry (University of Groningen) and the European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy in Florence have developed an entirely new class of molecular photoswitches that meet many of the 'holy grail' requirements so far thought to be impossible to achieve. The results have been published in Nature Communications on 3 June. In our macroscopic world, we are used to being able to switch a device on or off depending on whether we need it or not. Such control is not only useful in the macroscopic world but also one of the holy grails at the molecular scale. Molecular photoswitches are in this respect of particular interest as they allow for a non-invasive and localized means to activate, for example, a drug where and when it is needed. Such switches exist but are far from ideal as they require harmful ultraviolet light for their operation rather than harmless visible light, which is a show-stopper from a medical settings point of view. Furthermore, they cannot exclusively be switched from one state to the other, and normally do not function under physiological conditions of the human body. Absorption bands describe which wavelengths of light are needed for switching. When the absorption bands of the 'on' and 'off' state overlap, switching between the two states requires light of the same wavelength, which is very ineffective. If the absorption bands are, however, well separated switching between the 'on' and 'off' state can be done with high specificity and efficiency with light of different wavelengths. Molecular switches that would meet such requirements are thus highly sought after, but up till now, nobody has been able to come up with a suitable design. Best of both worlds Thioindigo and azobenzene are two chemical motifs that are extensively being used in molecular switches albeit that they suffer from the previously mentioned drawbacks. Dr Wiktor Szymanski at the University Medical Center Groningen realized that a fusion of these two should also be able to function as a photoswitch, and -similar to crossbreeding- would very likely have improved properties compared to its 'parents'. 'However, the initial results were very disappointing', says Mark Hoorens, the PhD student at the UMCG who synthesized the iminothioindoxyl (ITI) compound and tried to switch it. 'We didn't see any change in the absorption spectrum when we irradiated it, nothing seemed to happen. We therefore lost interest in this compound and went on with other research.' Looking faster At the 2017 International Symposium on Photopharmacology organized in Groningen, the group discussed their results with scientists of the Molecular Photonics group at the University of Amsterdam. Based on that discussion it was concluded that it might be worthwhile to repeat the irradiation experiments using the facilities at the University of Amsterdam which have a better time resolution. The new experiment produced a surprising result. 'At first, we did not believe our eyes' say Mark Hoorens and Michiel Hilbers (UvA). 'We saw a completely separated absorption band appear 100 nm to the red of the steady-state absorption band of ITI with a lifetime of about 10 to 20 milliseconds and in the first instance even suspected that we were looking at contamination in the sample'. One of its 'parents' absorbs in the UV region and has band separation, while the other parent absorbs in the visible light region but does not have good band separation. The new switch has the best of both. Such properties have never before been observed in a photoswitch. Follow-up experiments confirmed that ITI is indeed the fully-visible-light switch the scientists were looking for. Experiments on a femto- and picosecond timescale performed in the laboratories of dr. Mariangela Di Donato at the European Laboratory of Non-Linear Spectroscopy allowed for further mechanistic studies. Mariangela says: 'From these studies, it became clear that ITI switches on an ultrafast timescale of a few hundreds of femtoseconds, similar to how fast the visual pigment in our eyes is switched when light falls on it'. Quantum calculations The final confirmation was provided by quantum chemical calculations performed by Dr Adele Laurent (University of Nantes) and dr. Miroslav Medved' (Palacky University in Olomouc). These calculations predicted absorption maxima of the two photo-isomers that were very similar to those observed experimentally, but also a barrier for switching back to the original form that fitted excellently the observed lifetime. 'In the first instance, we were quite puzzled by this gigantic 100 nm band separation', say Laurent and Medved', 'but our calculations now provide a logical explanation for this. What is even better is that they allow us to predict how ITI can be modified to meet the specific requirements of its users'. ITI at work Mark Hoorens has by now synthesized several varieties that have been further characterized in Amsterdam, Florence, Nantes and Olomouc. From these studies, it has become clear that ITI is an incredibly versatile switch that can be operated under a wide variety of experimental conditions including, importantly, biological ones, and with properties that are relatively easy to tune. As the consortium puts it: 'the future is bright - and in the visible range'! ### Reference Iminothioindoxyl as a molecular photoswitch with 100 nm band separation in the visible range; Mark W.H. Hoorens, Miroslav Medved', Adele D. Laurent, Mariangela Di Donato, Samuele Fanetti, Laura Slappendel, Michiel Hilbers, Ben L. Feringa, Wybren Jan Buma & Wiktor Szymanski; Nature Communications, 3 June 2019 An international research collaboration will study the interplay of climate and grazing on shaping tundra vegetation over millennia -- coordinated by a biologist from the University of Konstanz How are tundra ecosystems impacted by grazing and climate change, and how will future changes to the Arctic affect the living conditions of its residents? These questions are being addressed by an international research collaboration between environmental genomics, ecology and anthropology in a project coordinated by Junior Professor Laura Epp from the University of Konstanz. The researchers will combine ancient DNA from sediment cores with current ecological data and anthropological studies. The knowledge gained will be transferred into the communities of the studied areas. Over the next three years, the project "Future ArcTic Ecosystems (FATE)" will be supported with a total of around 1.7 million euros through the BiodivScen ERA-Net COFUND programme, launched by BiodivERsA, the European network on biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as the Belmont Forum, an international partnership that mobilizes funding of environmental change research. The researchers will perform a long-term study of Arctic ecosystems reaching from the last ice age to current developments and generate results that are relevant for current land use. "Local inhabit-ants have a legitimate interest in knowing what is happening, both economically and climatically. Using the different sets of information, we will develop scenarios of how ecological changes in the Arctic will progress", says Laura Epp, who moved from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam to the Limnological Institute of the University of Konstanz in 2018. The Arctic is particularly affected by climate change. Although the region is only sparsely populat-ed, the impacts are very serious for its inhabitants. At the same time, grazing and a changed graz-ing pressure also have a large impact on the vegetation. Large mammals have been important herbivores in the tundra for a long time. During the ice ages, mammoths and woolly rhinos grazed on the ice-free areas of the Arctic tundra. Today, reindeer, which are economically highly relevant, make up the major part of the large mammals. The project consortium encompasses teams from seven countries - Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Canada and the USA - and uses a new method to reconstruct the environment of the past based on DNA from sediment samples. To collect these samples, which act as an archive for DNA traces, sediment cores are extracted from lakes. The oldest DNA traces in sediments ever found are from beneath a glacier and about half a million years old. Usually, Laura Epp examines sediments on time scales of millennia. In another future project, she plans to go back around 16,000 years and study sediments of Lake Constance from the final stage of the last ice age. Some of the Arctic samples in the current project will be tens of thousands of years old. Laura Epp's team for Environmental Genomics and the collaborating research teams will look for DNA traces of vegetation and mammal populations in the sediments. Through this collaboration, the project consortium will work on samples from all parts of the Arctic. For plants, the method has been well established and can be used for a detailed description of the vegetation. With as little as around two grams of Arctic sediment, 30 to 40 different plant species can be identified. Principally, this method of examining DNA from sediment samples can also be used to trace back mammals over the millennia. "We know that for plants, genomic palaeo-environmental methods are very reliable. However, before we can analyse populations of large mammals, we need to refine these methods and, for example, include DNA from fungi living on mammal dung. This will give us entirely new insights", says Laura Epp. The information from millennia-old sediments is supplemented by ecological data that ecologists have collected on grazed and non-grazed areas of the Arctic over several decades. This will un-cover the short-term developments and can reveal mechanisms of change. The data sets from both time scales are then combined and analysed. In addition, anthropologists work with a num-ber of Arctic communities, especially with "stakeholders" of reindeer herding, such as members of the reindeer herding community, local decision makers and politicians. They are interviewed in detail about reindeer herding and environmental changes they have noticed over the past few decades. This knowledge in combination with the scientific data will be used to predict future developments and develop scenarios for future ecosystems. BiodivERsA is a European network of national and regional funding organizations promoting pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services and offering innovative opportunities for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity. One major aim is to tailor the Bio-divERsA-funding programme to the requirements of society and political practicability, so that research results and new knowledge can be used for future developments. ### Key facts: International research collaboration on the interplay of climate and grazing in shaping tun-dra vegetation Interdisciplinary collaboration between ancient environmental genomics, ecology and an-thropology Junior Professor Laura Epp, Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, is project coordinator Studies in tundra areas of Scandinavia, Siberia and North America Supported with a total of 1.7 million euros through the 2017-2018 Belmont Forum and Bi-odivERsA joint call for research proposal, under the BiodivScen ERA-NET COFUND pro-gramme, and with the funding organisations DFG (DE), ANR (FR), NFR (NO), AKA (FI), FORMAS (SE), NSERC (CAN) and NSF (USA). Information on the funding program at https://www.biodiversa.org/1324 Project duration until 2022 Note to editors: Photos are available for download here: https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2019/Bilder/die_geschichte_arktischer_oekosysteme.jpg Caption: Juniorprofessorin Dr. Laura Epp https://www.campus.uni-konstanz.de/piipe/preview/Ei9oU15661557395681 https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2019/Bilder/die_geschichte_arktischer_oekosysteme_1.jpg Copyright: Samuel Roturier https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2019/Bilder/die_geschichte_arktischer_oekosysteme_2.jpg Copyright: Florian Stammler Contact: University of Konstanz Communications and Marketing Phone: + 49 7531 88-3603 Email: kum@uni-konstanz.de Or, as composer Stephenson puts it in program notes for the work, When Charlie Vernon first told me in November of 2015 that I would be writing a new bass trombone concerto for him, he highlighted two things: 1) that it be the most profound, beautiful and lasting musical event to be played on the bass trombone (thanks, Charlie, Ill do my best) and: 2) that it would be a great story, like a book you cant stop reading. New Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies will expand UMD's role as a national leader in this field The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a five-year $175 million cooperative funding agreement to the University of Maryland for collaborative research in Earth system science. The agreement funds the new Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS), a national consortium of more than two dozen academic and nonprofit institutions. CISESS builds on NOAA's long-term partnership with UMD, which includes the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites from 2009 to 2019 and the Cooperative Institute for Climate Studies from 1984 to 2009. CISESS will be led by three principal investigators: Fernando Miralles-Wilhelm and E. Hugo Berbery of UMD and Otis Brown of NC State University. "We are extremely proud to lead CISESS," said CISESS Executive Director Miralles-Wilhelm, who is interim director of UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) and chair of UMD's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. "Through CISESS, we will better understand how the natural atmosphere-ocean-land-biosphere components of Earth interact with human activities as a coupled system." CISESS will have two primary locations: in College Park, Maryland, at UMD and adjacent to NOAA's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction; and in Asheville, North Carolina, collocated with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information and hosted by NC State University. Brown, a research professor in the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at NC State University, will serve as director of the Asheville location. "This is an opportunity for the University of Maryland to further advance its national leadership in Earth system science research and innovation," said Mary Ann Rankin, senior vice president and provost at UMD. "We look forward to the great work that will emerge from this new institute as it helps NOAA and UMD protect the nation's environment, security, economy and quality of life." In support of NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service, CISESS research activities will cover three themes: satellite services, Earth system observations and services, and Earth system research. The activities proposed for the themes are interconnected and tightly coupled to allow for rapid feedback, prototyping and development. For example, CISESS researchers will use environmental data from satellites to develop new, more accurate products that help NOAA improve weather and climate forecasts and build resilience to extreme events. The researchers will also monitor the oceans, the atmosphere, and the cryosphere and share that information so that it can be used in environmental decision-making. Overall, CISESS will provide the capabilities and expertise to improve systems for data access, quality, management, processing, analysis, assimilation, modeling, dissemination and visualization. In addition to advancing research, CISESS researchers will educate and train students and scientists in this field and pursue outreach and engagement activities with the scientific community, decision-makers and the public. "The creation of CISESS demonstrates the importance of pursuing Earth system research to help improve how society perceives and is affected by the natural environment," said CISESS Deputy Director Berbery, a research professor in ESSIC. "The capabilities and strengths of CISESS institutions offer an innovative organizational approach commensurate with the breadth and complexity of the challenges of the Earth system to our environment and global society." In addition to UMD and NC State, academic members of CISESS include the University of Alabama; the University of North Carolina System; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Alabama; the University of Alabama in Huntsville; the City University of New York; George Mason University; Oregon State University; Howard University; the University of Michigan; the University of South Carolina; the University of Georgia; University of California, Irvine; South Dakota State University; Florida International University; and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Additional institutions in CISESS include the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the Nature Conservancy and the Research Triangle Institute. "We are at a crucial juncture in our efforts to observe, understand and predict changes in climate and weather," said Amitabh Varshney, dean of UMD's College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences. "This new cooperative institute positions the University of Maryland and our partners to make rapid and transformative progress in this area that has enormous impacts on life as we know it." ### Media Relations Contact: Abby Robinson, 301-405-5845, abbyr@umd.edu University of Maryland College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences 2300 Symons Hall College Park, MD 20742 http://www.cmns.umd.edu @UMDscience About the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at the University of Maryland educates more than 9,000 future scientific leaders in its undergraduate and graduate programs each year. The college's 10 departments and more than a dozen interdisciplinary research centers foster scientific discovery with annual sponsored research funding exceeding $175 million. ANN ARBOR--A universal flu vaccine that could prevent a potential influenza pandemic has been a holy grail for epidemiologists around the world ever since the first flu vaccines were developed in 1938. Now, an international team of researchers from the University of Michigan, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and other institutions believe they could bring the scientific community a step closer to developing one after proving that targeting a specific area of the flu virus does protect humans. Their study is published in the June issue of Nature Medicine. "Our research is the first to demonstrate that scientists are right in attempting to develop antibodies that target this specific location as a novel universal influenza virus vaccine candidate," said Aubree Gordon, a professor of epidemiology at U-M's School of Public Health. "This study addresses an important gap and provides information to support the further development of novel influenza virus vaccines." Co-author Florian Krammer, professor of microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where the analysis of the data took place, said the study shows that antibodies that target the conserved stalk can provide protection from natural infection with H1N1 virus. "While there are caveats and further studies needed, this is good news for the development of stalk-based universal influenza virus vaccines," he said. "It seems we are on the right track." How it works The flu virus is covered with two types of proteins: hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, after which they are named (H1N1, for example). The current flu vaccine targets the head of the hemagglutinin, a lollipop-like structure, which is the part that changes most often. Every season, researchers develop flu vaccines that target this part of the virus. Researchers believe that if they target the stem of the hemagglutinin, instead of the head, it would allow them to prevent a wider range of flu viruses, as these do not change as often. While this has been proven in animals, it had not been tested in humans until now. Experimental testing of flu viruses in humans can be controversial as it requires healthy people to be infected. There are also many requirements of individuals who can be tested, at what ages and even how to infect them. Emulating the natural transmission of the flu can also be difficult. Instead, for the current study researchers looked at naturally occurring influenza cases in a cohort investigators have followed in Nicaragua for years. After one member in a household was determined to have the flu, researchers took blood samples to test the rest of the household. They looked at who was infected with the virus antibodies and who got sick. "Once someone in the house has been diagnosed, we go into the household very rapidly and then we followed them for two weeks to see who gets the flu," Gordon said. "That way, we can get a blood sample and measure antibody levels pre-exposure and then see if they get infected (and if) they get sick." Traditionally, an antibody concentration of 1:40 (measured in the hemagglutination inhibition assay) has been used as a 50% correlate of protection from clinical disease--meaning that half of the people who have those levels will be protected from influenza. In the study, researchers were able to find a similar protection, corroborating the idea that the field study design is sound to examine correlates of protection. They also found that a rise of four times in the amount of stalk antibody levels correlated with 42% reduction in influenza infection. "We were able to show that stalk antibodies do correlate with protection," Gordon said. "That is great news as it supports the idea that stalk antibodies may be able to provide protection against influenza and could enable scientists to design a broader, more effective influenza vaccine." Krammer added that the study also showed new tests can be used in flu research. "An additional finding of this study is that ELISA based readouts can be used as independent correlate of protection," he said. "ELISAs are binding assays and do not indicate functionality, but are much easier and quicker than functional assays." In addition to U-M and the Icahn School of Medicine, collaborating institutions included the St. Jude Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance, Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis and Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. Partners in Managua, Nicaragua, included Laboratorio Nacional de Virologia and Centro Nacional de Diagnostico y Referencia and Centro de Salud Socrates Flores Vivas, both of the Ministry of Health and Sustainable Sciences Institute. ### The study was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIAID Centers for Excellence in Research and Surveillance. The Krammer laboratory receives funding for universal flu vaccine projects from the Department of Defense, PATH, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and GlaxoSmithKline. "Novel correlates of protection against influenza A(H1N1)pdm virus infection" will be available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0463-x The frequency of downpours of heavy rain -- which can lead to flash floods, devastation, and outbreaks of waterborne disease -- has increased across the globe in the past 50 years The frequency of downpours of heavy rain--which can lead to flash floods, devastation, and outbreaks of waterborne disease--has increased across the globe in the past 50 years, research led by the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has found. The number of extreme downpours increased steadily between 1964 and 2013--a period when global warming also intensified, according to research published in the journal Water Resources Research. The frequency of 'extreme precipitation events' increased in parts of Canada, most of Europe, the Midwest and northeast region of the U.S., northern Australia, western Russia and parts of China, (see maps and graphics). "By introducing a new approach to analyzing extremes, using thousands of rain records, we reveal a clear increase in the frequency extreme rain events over the recent 50 years when global warming accelerated," said Simon Papalexiou, a hydro-climatologist in USask's College of Engineering, and an expert in hydroclimatic extremes and random processes. Papalexiou, who led the research, added: "This upward trend is highly unlikely to be explained by natural climatic variability. The probability of this happening is less than 0.3 per cent under the model assumptions used." The USask study of over 8,700 daily rain records from 100,000 stations monitoring rain worldwide found the frequency of torrential rain between 1964 and 2013 increased as the decades progressed. Between 2004 and 2013, there were seven per cent more extreme bouts of heavy rain overall than expected globally. In Europe and Asia, there were 8.6 per cent more 'extreme rain events' overall, during this decade. Global warming can lead to increased precipitation because more heat in the atmosphere leads to more atmospheric water which, in turn, leads to rain. Torrents of rain not only lead to flooding, but can threaten public health, overwhelming sewage treatment plants and increasing microbial contaminants of water. More than half a million deaths were caused by rain-induced floods between 1980 and 2009. Heavy rain can also cause landslides, damage crops, collapse buildings and bridges, wreck homes, and lead to chaos on roads and to transport, with huge financial losses. Co-author Alberto Montanari, professor of hydraulic works and hydrology at the University of Bologna and president of the European Geoscience Union, said: "Our results are in line with the assumption that the atmosphere retains more water under global warming. The fact that the frequency, rather the magnitude, of extreme precipitation is significantly increasing has relevant implications for climate adaptation. Human systems need to increase their capability to react to frequent shocks." The researchers screened data for quality and consistency, selecting the most robust and complete records from the 100,000 stations worldwide monitoring precipitation. Regions in South America and Africa were excluded from the study, as records for the study period were not complete or robust. Papalexiou said planning for more frequent 'extreme' rain should be a priority for governments, local authorities and emergency services. "If global warming progresses as climate model projections predict, we had better plan strategies for dealing with frequent heavy rain right now," said Papalexiou. "Our study of records from around the globe shows that potentially devastating bouts of extreme rain are increasing decade by decade. "We know that rainfall-induced floods can devastate communities, and that there are implications of increasing bouts of heavy rain for public health, agriculture, farmers' livelihoods, the fishing industry and insurance, to name but a few." ### The research was funded by the USask-led Global Water Futures program and an Italian government grant to the University of Bologna's department of civil, chemical, environmental and material engineering. Hyperlinks to paper, maps and animations: Published paper: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2018WR024067 Animation 1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7frk1vtd9nrix9/NoOfExtremes.gif?dl=1 Animation 2: https://www.dropbox.com/s/yycz7h819x9oij1/TrendsNoOfExtremesV2.gif?dl=1 Static Image 1: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uxah5ne6we2nx6x/TrendsNoOfExtremesStaticFig.png?dl=1 Static Image 2: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xw6s40pcb3h5312/TrendMaps.png?dl=1 Papalexiou SM, Montanari A. Global and Regional Increase of Precipitation Extremes under Global Warming. Water Resources Research. 2019 doi.org/10.1029/2018WR024067 For more information contact: Jennifer Thoma USask Media Relations Specialist Jennifer.thoma@usask.ca (Canada) 1-306-966-1851 CHICAGO - Neoadjuvant, or pre-surgical, treatment with nivolumab plus ipilimumab resulted in an overall major pathologic response (MPR) rate of 33 percent of treated patients with early-stage, resectable non-small cell lung cancers, meaning these patients had less than or equal to 10 percent viable tumor remaining at surgery. With these results, the combination immunotherapy met the pre-specified trial efficacy endpoint of the phase II NEOSTAR trial conducted by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The trial arm testing nivolumab alone in the treated population of patients achieved a 17 percent MPR rate, for an overall MPR rate across both trial arms of 25 percent. The results of the trial will be shared today in an oral presentation at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting by principal investigator Tina Cascone, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology. "The NEOSTAR trial results definitely tell us this combination is clinically promising and warrants further investigation, possibly in combination with other therapies" said Cascone. "By learning from these results and from our preclinical and translational findings, we can identify the best combination and make a major step forward in the field to limit tumor recurrence for our early-stage lung cancer patients." Patients with early-stage or locally advanced lung cancer have the potential to be cured of their disease, but more than half of those patients will have a recurrence if treated with surgery alone, explained Cascone. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify the most effective neoadjuvant therapy options to reduce the risk of relapse. Preclinical studies in mice revealed that increased expression of PD-L1, an immune checkpoint protein, in lung adenocarcinoma tumors is critical for the development and survival of metastases, providing the rationale for testing immunotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting. "Prior to this study, we knew that single agent neoadjuvant immunotherapy has achieved a MPR rate of 22 to 45 percent, but the combination of anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 immune checkpoint blockade before surgery in resectable NSCLC patients had not yet been tested," said Cascone. "In mouse models of resectable and spontaneously metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, the combination of immunotherapy prior to surgery was superior to adjuvant combined therapy in prolonging survival and reducing the frequency of lung metastases, supporting further investigation of neoadjuvant combined immune checkpoint blockade in the clinical setting" The researchers designed the trial to test the effectiveness of combination immune checkpoint inhibitors priory to surgery. The trial enrolled 44 patients who were randomized to receive either neoadjuvant nivolumab (anti-PD-1) alone or nivolumab plus ipilimumab (anti-CTLA-4). The trial's primary endpoint was MPR, hypothesized to be higher for single and/or combination immune checkpoint inhibitors compared to the rate induced by historical neoadjuvant chemotherapy controls. The pre-specified trial efficacy endpoint for a specific treatment to be considered promising was greater than or equal to six MPRs in the intent to treat population. MPR has been adopted as a surrogate endpoint in neoadjuvant trials for patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer patients, as it has been shown to positively correlate with improved overall and recurrence-free survival outcomes, explained Cascone. Seven out of 21 patients treated pre-operatively with the combination therapy achieved an MPR, and four of 23 patients treated with nivolumab alone achieved an MPR. Although the trial was not powered to make a comparison between the two arms, the combination therapy appeared more effective at reducing viable tumor at surgery. Six patients (38 percent) that received the combination therapy and underwent surgery on trial achieved a complete pathological response, or tumor disappearance at resection, compared to just two patients (10 percent) receiving nivolumab alone. Also, the majority of patients with more than 50 percent viable tumor remaining at surgical resection received single-agent nivolumab therapy. The treatments were generally well-tolerated, said Cascone, with no unacceptable toxicity or increased perioperative morbidity and/or mortality noted, however, careful perioperative monitoring is advised with these agents. The trial also collected a variety of biospecimens from patients before, during and after treatment, which enabled researchers to investigate why results vary from patient to patient and understand the dynamic changes induced by therapy in potential biomarkers. They discovered that elevated tumor expression of the immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 prior to therapy was positively correlated with radiographic responses and with pathologic tumor regression at surgery. Preliminary immunologic characterization of resected tumors from patients treated with immunotherapy indicated that the combination therapy is associated with an increased number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes as compared to monotherapy, and that some of these T cells might have tumor reactive activity. Additional results to be presented in a poster session show that combination therapy appeared to be associated with greater diversity and reactivity of T lymphocytes in resected tumors as compared to pretreatment tumor specimens (Abstract # 8532). "This is important because we don't see patients with early-stage lung cancer as often as patients with metastatic disease in the clinic, and we want to take advantage of this opportunity for our patients. There are limitations to this trial, as it was overall a small cohort, but the positive results suggest we should continue to evaluate neoadjuvant combination immunotherapy as an option for our patients. Our ongoing exploratory analyses will help us to better understand this response and to identify potential biomarkers that could inform future trials," said Cascone The researchers already have added and are nearing complete enrollment in a third arm of the NEOSTAR trial to evaluate neoadjuvant nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy. Because of successful accrual, additional arms are being considered to evaluate further combination approaches. ### This study was supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb-MD Anderson Lung Strategic Alliance, the Conquer Cancer Foundation ASCO Career Development Award, the MD Anderson Physician-Scientist Training Program, the NIH/NCI P30 CA016672 CCSG New Faculty Award, the Khalifa Scholar Award supported by the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, and the Bob Mayberry Foundation. The trial also was supported by the Lung Cancer Moon Shot, part of MD Anderson's Moon Shots Program, a collaborative effort designed to accelerate the development of scientific discoveries into clinical advances that save patients' lives. A complete list of collaborating authors and their reported disclosures can be found with the abstract here. The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced that David Schmale, a professor in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to New Zealand, where he will work to improve the security of water systems by developing new remote-sensing capabilities to sense and respond to harmful algal blooms (HABs). Due to the ubiquity of HABs in New Zealand and the U.S. and their increasing prevalence with rising temperatures and higher nutrient runoff, this research area addresses a compelling problem requiring a deep integration across disciplines. Schmale will conduct research at the University of Waikato with professor Troy Baisden and members of the Lakes Ecosystem Research New Zealand group, a cross-institutional team of the country's top lake researchers. In addition to developing and testing unmanned sampling systems for tracking HABs in freshwater lakes, he and his colleagues will create a unique unit for secondary school students to design and fabricate robots for environmental monitoring, helping them take an active part in determining what role this new technology should play in the society they will inherit. A professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Schmale is one of more than 800 U.S. citizens who will teach, conduct research, and/or provide expertise abroad for the 2019-20 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership in their respective fields. "The proposed research will involve the creative collision of remote-sensing capabilities in the air and water and the targeted collection and analysis of water samples," said Schmale. "This project has the potential to transform environmental monitoring and management strategies for a wide range of natural or human-managed environments, including lakes as sources of drinking water and recreational activities. Our work will enable a more timely and accurate exposure assessment in affected areas. Moreover, the education units we will offer will have a direct impact on the indigenous people who live in the region." The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 380,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach, conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Fulbrighters address critical global challenges in all disciplines, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 82 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government. ### At Virginia Tech, the program is administered through the Global Education Office. For further information about the Fulbright Program, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright About 1.5 million people died of tuberculosis (TB) in 2017, making it the most lethal infectious disease worldwide. A growing rise in drug-resistant TB is a major obstacle to successfully treating the illness. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Umea University in Sweden have found a compound that prevents and even reverses resistance to isoniazid, the most widely used antibiotic for treating tuberculosis. The research, published the week of May 6 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was conducted in bacteria growing in the lab, setting the stage for future studies in animals and people. Using the compound in conjunction with isoniazid potentially could restore the antibiotic's effectiveness in people with drug-resistant tuberculosis. The compound also may bolster the antibiotic's power to kill TB bacteria - even those sensitive to drugs - which means doctors could start thinking about cutting down the onerous six-month treatment regimen they prescribe today. "It is very hard for people to comply with such a long regimen," said co-senior author Christina Stallings, PhD, an associate professor of molecular microbiology at the School of Medicine. "It's four drugs. They have side effects. It's no fun. The longer people have to be on antibiotics, the more issues with patient compliance you get, and that can lead to drug resistance and treatment failure. Here, we've found a compound that sensitizes bacteria to an antibiotic, prevents drug resistance from arising, and even reverses drug resistance - at least in the lab. If we can turn this compound into a drug for people, it could make our current therapies more effective and be really beneficial for fighting this pandemic." Tuberculosis is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Once inside the body, the bacteria morph into a tougher form that can withstand more stress and is harder to kill. Rather than look for new and better antibiotics, Stallings and co-first authors Kelly Flentie, PhD, a former postdoctoral researcher at Washington University, and Gregory Harrison, a graduate student, decided to look for compounds that prevent the bacteria from toughening up. When put in a low-oxygen environment to mimic the stressful conditions TB bacteria encounter inside the body, the bacteria come together and form a thin film called a biofilm that is resilient to not only low-oxygen conditions but also to antibiotics and other stressors. With the help of co-senior author Fredrik Almqvist, PhD, a professor of chemistry at Umea University, they screened 91 compounds that share a core chemical structure that inhibits biofilms in other bacterial species. The researchers found one compound, called C10, that did not kill the TB bacteria but prevented them from forming a biofilm. Further experiments showed that blocking biofilm formation with C10 made the bacteria easier to kill with antibiotics and even curbed the development of antibiotic resistance. The researchers needed only a fraction of the amount of isoniazid to kill the TB bacteria when C10 was included than with isoniazid alone. In addition, one out of 1 million TB bacteria spontaneously become resistant to isoniazid when grown under typical laboratory conditions. But when the researchers grew TB bacteria with isoniazid and the compound, the drug-resistant mutant bacteria never arose. "By combining C10, or something like it, with isoniazid we could enhance the potency of the antibiotic and block the TB bacteria from developing drug resistance," Stallings said. "That means we might be able to shorten the treatment regimen." Most surprisingly, the compound even reversed drug resistance. TB bacteria with mutations in the gene katG can withstand isoniazid treatment. But such bacteria die when treated with isoniazid plus the compound, the researchers discovered. The bacteria had not lost their genetic resistance, but they'd lost the ability to survive when exposed to isoniazid, as long as it was given alongside C10. "This was a totally unexpected finding," Stallings said. "We had no idea we would be able to reverse drug resistance. But this could mean that with all those millions of isoniazid-resistant TB cases, if we use something like C10, we could give people the option of using isoniazid again." The compound is not ready to be used in people or even tested in animals, Stallings cautioned. This study was conducted on bacteria growing in a lab. The researchers are still figuring out whether the compound is safe and how it might be processed by the body. "We have this great compound, and we've shown that it's possible to prevent and reverse antibiotic resistance," Stallings said. "But now we have to either improve on the compound itself so we can start testing it in animals, or figure out how it prevents biofilm formation so we can develop other drugs that target the pathway. We have a new strategy to treat TB, but it's going to take time before it's a reality." ### this news is not available Sen, who is a jury member in the Glass Lions category, says for her, judging entries will be about balancing the cause with the idea She has been one of the most vocal personalities in the ad industry on equal rights for women and more recently was the voice of The Collective, a group formed to help women speak out after the #MeToo wave, and it is only befitting that Tista Sen, Regional Creative Director, Wunderman Thompson, India & Sri Lanka, gets invited to be a part of the Glass Lions jury at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity, a category that recognises work that sets gender inequality right. exchange4media caught up with Sen to talk about what would she be looking for in the entries, Indias performance in the Glass Lions category and more. Edited Excerpts You have been a jury member for Glass Lions a couple of years ago too, what has changed from then to now in the category? Its 2019, and we have come a long way with regards to addressing gender discrimination, gender bias and even diversity. From the first Glass Lions jury which discussed a lot of ideas on domestic abuse, dowry, child marriage etc, we have started talking about women leaders, women in technology, getting equal pay, transgenders etc. Women are so much more empowered to come up and talk about things. Thats exciting. What would you be looking for in the entries that you judge? I dont like the cause distracting me from the idea, because sometimes the cause is so profound that you end up having a lot of sympathy for it, and then the idea becomes just a thing. For me, its always about balancing the cause with the idea, which is placed on human truth and insight, simplicity and how it changed the life of women. Have you ever felt that there was a great entry that didnt get through because the global jury didnt get the enormity of the problem women face in a different part of the world? There is always an opportunity to explain a perspective, because of course not everyone gets the culture. Women in Saudi Arabia are now allowed to drive, how do we explain that to somebody in the US. Thats why I read everything very meticulously. There is also a case video which talks about the problem and the idea. There are supporting documents describing the cultural context. Plus, on the jury panels that I have been on, I have found that people are always interested in finding out more. I dont think it has ever been about Oh, I wish I knew enough, because on the contrary it is, Oh, I had no idea, lets find out as much as we can. And in todays day and age where everything is available on the internet or even a call away, you can have access to so much information. There are several categories where we fail to get even a shortlist but we have performed remarkably well and consistently as far as Glass Lions are concerned since its inception, what makes Indian entries so good? In India we are never short of an issue to talk of. In a weird way I feel we are actually empowered because we are talking about these issues. Having said that it is not that a woman in the US is facing less problems than what the women in Philippines are facing, there are commonalities running throughout. I think whats important from India is that women are embracing and seeing the need to not just talk about women empowerment through one dimension but from all across the spectrum in terms of what is holding you back, from health to menstruation, discrimination at the workplace etc. There are so many things that women or brands are willing to talk about. And I think thats what makes the work from India really stand out, because its real and nobody is shying away from addressing it. Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India) MARKET UPDATE: The Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen exchange rates continued to extend gains against a basket of major peers into Tuesday's session with further developments on the trade front continuing to weigh on risk-appetite. The notable exception was the single currency, which despite relatively closer ties to China, gained against majors in early trade. Meanwhile, the US Dollar lost some of its safe-haven shine with investors expecting a larger than previously anticipated negative impact on the US economy from the now multi-fronted trade war. Elevated expectations for a Fed rate cut were spurred higher by comments from FOMC member Bullard who suggested lower interest rates could be warranted. Casting doubt on whether negotiations between the US and Mexico will be enough to stave off imminent tariff hikes, Mexico said on Monday it would reject a US demand which called for the nation to be designated a "safe third country" and take in all Central American asylum seekers - a term aimed at curbing migration across Mexico northern border into the US. Speaking to reporters, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said "An agreement about a safe third country would not be acceptable for Mexico. hey have not yet proposed it to me. But it would not be acceptable and they know it. The blame-game continued between US and China, keeping hopes of a resolution suppressed and maintaining the risk-off market undertone. "It is important to note that the impetus for the discussions was Chinas long history of unfair trade practices, the Treasury Department and the U.S. Trade Representative said in a joint statement adding "Our negotiating positions have been consistent throughout these talks, and China back-pedaled on important elements of what the parties had agreed to. For now, we expect safe-haven assets to remain bid as the outlook continues to deteriorate. The general risk-averse market undertone continued this week in the wake of Trump's fresh trade grenade - this time lobbed at Mexico - coupled with increasingly hawkish rhetoric from both sides in the US-China trade spat suggesting no-end to the dispute in the near-term. Under these conditions, the Swiss Franc and Japanese Yen have continued to shine with their safe-haven status prompting massive inflows as investors seek the relative safety to weather what storms may come as the skies darken. Monday say the CHF rally to its strongest level against the single currency in almost two years with the Euro to Swiss Franc (EUR/CHF) exchange rate last seen trading at F1.11440 after hitting a low of F1.11197. While the Swiss franc has appreciated strongly in recent weeks, much of that gains is due to the wave of risk aversion sweeping across markets and we need to see further substantial gains before the central bank has to step in, wrote currency strategist Manuel Oliveri of Credit Agricole in a note to clients. Versus the Yen, the Euro managed to tread water with the EUR-to-JPY exchange rate last seen at 121.044. Meanwhile, reacting sharply to last week's escalation of trade tensions, Brent (BCOUSD) sold-off sharply, exacerbating an already apparent slide which has seen the price of oil tumble by over 13% over the last two weeks, dragging the oil-coupled Canadian Dollar with it. With the prospects for global trade continuing to deteriorate, a number of economists have highlighted the growing risks to US and global economic health with the inversion of the US Treasury Yield curve back on the agenda once more. According to analysts at Morgan Stanley, a global recession could commence before the first quarter of 2020 is through should US and Chinese trade relations not improve - a fact which markets appear to be discounting for now, according to some analysts. "Recent conversations with investors have reinforced the sense that markets are underestimating the impact of trade tensions," wrote chief Morgan Stanley economist, Chetan Ahya, adding "Investors are generally of the view that the trade dispute could drag on for longer, but they appear to be overlooking its potential impact on the global macro outlook." Elsewhere, JPMorgan Chase & CO upped their estimates for a US recession, with the multinational investment bank warning of a 40% probability of the US entering a recession in H2 2019, a stark upward revision from their previously held 25% probability. Highlighting the drag of lower export demand vie global trade concerns and lending credence to the anticipated global slowdown, Monday saw Korean export figures - a bellwether of global health - continue to slide for a fifth successive month. Foreboding even lower demand ahead, the Baltic Dry Freight index - perceived as a leading indicator for raw-material demand is also on the year. With a slew of PMIs due globally this week, releases could be crucial in reinforcing or rejecting the perceived slide towards recession. Joining the growing clamour from Wall Street, while not quite as depressed about the outlook as others, Goldman Sachs trimmed their forecast for H2 US economic growth to 2% ahead of expected tariff hikes of 10% on all remaining Chinese goods as well as Mexican imports. While markets had been hoping US and Chinese leaders would abandon the aggressive rhetoric for the sake of the global economy, developments thus far have pointed towards further escalation rather than abatement. When you are the Piggy Bank Nation that foreign countries have been robbing and deceiving for years, the word TARIFF is a beautiful word indeed! Others must treat the United States fairly and with respect - We are no longer the fools of the past! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 1 June 2019 In line with the growing consensus of a reciprocated negative economic influence from escalating trade, analysts at Citigroup advised clients to buy US Treasuries while noting market precedent from late 2016 - with similar global economic conditions then foreshadowing a moderate global slowdown. "That episode may provide a useful blueprint for the coming months, wrote Citigroups director of macro strategy, Mark Schofield, adding "The U.S. economy has been resilient up to now, however, persistent themes of softening tailwinds in the form of declining fiscal stimulus and strengthening headwinds in the form of trade tensions and China slowdown, are a threat. Despite some similarities, there are also a number of disparities which appear to dent the recession-boding outlook and bring into question the efficacy of the curve inversion as a leading recession indicator. For one, the last two major recessions in the US have been preceded by a marked slowdown in hiring, promoting a stark rise in unemployment rates. Looking at the US labour market's current footing this appears to be almost as far from the case it's possible to be with the unemployment rate in the US currently residing close to a 50-year low. Furthermore, equities have continued to perform (relatively) well over the year thus far with May representing the first month in the red for global and US shares - a far cry from the 12 months on declines which were antecedent to the last two US recessions. Moving forward therefore, the outlook remains distinctly uncertain. Whether or not escalating trade wars push the US and global economies into recession remains to be seen. However, we can be sure than the risks to global growth are clear and present and with the US expected to extend their already multi-fronted trade war to include Japan and Europe - and potentially any other nations running a trade deficit. Amid nil signs of progress towards resolving the issues, conditions could definitely deteriorate further. PMI releases this week will be of key note ahead of next week's G20 summit with particular focus on a Trump-Xi tet-a-tet. For now, the risk-off undertone is likely to continue to support safe-haven currencies such as the Yen and Swiss Franc while commodity-linked currencies such as the Australian Dollar will likely remain subdued (especially ahead of the RBA). The Canadian Dollar is also likely to remain under the weather amid the current oil sell-off. Following four successive weeks of declines in the British Pound, the GBP kicked off the week on an uncharacteristically buoyant footing, pushing higher against a basket of major peers. Gains in some crosses were however short-lived, with a downbeat manufacturing sector PMI prompting a reversal of the UK's early gains. Against the Euro, the GBP quickly retreated from the 1.133 level with Sterling last seen at 1.13166, up 0.06%. The relinquishing of early gains came in the wake of the latest IHS Markit UK manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) release which, printing at 49.4 (down from 53.1), reflected a contraction in the sector and the lowest print in 34 months. Above: IHS Markit UK Manufacturing Sector Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) According to the survey findings, manufacturers were facing reduced new order inflows with the frenzied stockpiling which boosted the figure (and Q1 GDP growth) over recent months now translating to a lull in activity. Both domestic and overseas demand took a hit with export demand slumping at its fastest pace in over four and a half years. Commenting on the dismal release, director at IHS Markit, Rob Dobson, cited the seemingly inescapable impact of Brexit uncertainty as a key factor contributing to reduced sector activity. "The UK manufacturing sector was buffeted by ongoing Brexit uncertainty again in May. The headline PMI posted 49.4, moving back into contraction territory for the first time since July 2016, the month directly following the EU referendum result. The trend in output weakened and, based on its relationship with official ONS data, is pointing to a renewed downturn of production," wrote Dobson. Looking forward, he added that "With these demand, purchasing and inventory trends likely to stay in play for the foreseeable future, the current manufacturing downturn may have further to run and will have negative ramifications for growth in the broader economy in the months ahead. Duncan Brock, group director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply also provided commentary on the findings: "Supply chain managers voiced their deep anxieties over Brexits continuing impacts as some supply chains were re-directed away from the UK resulting in a drop in total new orders for the first time since October. Brock went on to note that Brexit uncertainty was compounded by concerns over the health of global trade, writing "A slowdown in the global economy, and trade wars hotting up could tip the scales even further next month and increase the likelihood that the UK manufacturing sector will remain in contraction territory. Moving forward, with Brexit anxiety in abundance and no-deal risks on the rise, manufacturing firms operating in the UK are likely to continue to face tricky operating conditions as we move inexorably closer to the October 31st Brexit deadline. "Some may opt to maintain elevated levels of stock ahead of the October deadline, which comes with an opportunity cost. Many others may be forced to unwind stock and rebuild it as we approach the Autumn," wrote developed market economist James Smith of ING. With the Brexit effect exacerbated by concerns on the global stage, the months ahead are expected to prove particularly challenging while the immediate slowdown in production evidenced by the latest figures is expected to contribute to lower second quarter GDP growth, all negatives for the Brexit-bedraggled GBP. His film is now 23 minutes longer and more complete. But any true story of Chicago crime, punishment and potential reform has a way of ringing false if a filmmaker simplifies any conclusions. While 16 Shots is far from perfect, Rowley (who co-directed the Oscar-nominated 2013 documentary Dirty Wars) knows full well that Chicago politics and crime may change quickly. Other things do not: civic reputation; paranoia on every side; hostilities and bloodshed. They have a way of causing and numbing our pain, simultaneously, while making true reform elusive. Hi all - First, let me just say that I've been reading through many threads on this forum, and it's been so helpful already! As I've seen that every case is different and have been wracking my brain wondering if obtaining French citizenship will be possible for me, I just thought I'd post and see if anyone's encountered a situation like mine and what the outcome was or even just get some opinions/advice.Here's my situation:I was born in the U.S. in 1980 to an American mother and a father who was born in Fontainebleau, France to a French mother in 1957. My paternal grandfather was an American soldier stationed at a military base in Fontainebleau, and my paternal grandmother was born in Le Portel, France in 1937 to a French mother and father. My paternal great grandparents were all born in France to French citizens as well.My paternal grandparents were married at the time of my father's birth, and their marriage and my dads birth are recorded in my grandmothers livret de famille (she still has the original book). I also have obtained my dads certified birth certificate from Fontainebleau and my grandmothers certified birth certificate from Le Portel. Unfortunately, my father never had a French passport. My grandparents moved to the U.S. when my dad was almost one year old (May 31, 1958 on his "baby" U.S. passport) but then they moved back to France not long after (still confirming dates), where he attended French school there until he was seven years old, and they moved to the U.S. permanently in approx. 1964 (Im waiting on my dad/grandmother to find his passport so I can try to confirm the dates). My grandmother was in the U.S. on a green card until she applied for and was granted U.S. citizenship in 1991. My dad hasnt been back to France since moving to the U.S. when he was a boy, and, of course, my dads marriage to my mom and my birth was never registered with the French consulate. My grandmothers French brother still lives in Paris.I think that covers everything. For me, Ive always been fascinated with France and French culture/language, but my mother had a nasty divorce with my dad when I was seven and was never fond of my French grandmother, so she pretty much did all that she could to keep me away from and discourage any strong bonds with my dads side of the family. I brought up the idea of French citizenship to my dad and grandmother over 10 years ago when I knew I wanted to go live in Europe, but they said it wouldnt be possible for me because my dad never served in the French army, would have had to apply for citizenship before he was 18, etc., so he didnt even have French citizenship, so I didnt pursue it any further at the time and moved to Prague instead, where I taught English on a residence permit before moving back to the U.S. to have my daughter. Ive just been wanting to go back to Europe so badly ever since, and now that my daughter is 9, I feel comfortable with going back over there, and thought Id take another look at the French citizenship question once more. From what I see, my Father was French at birth, because he was born to French mother, but, of course, what worries me is that I'm not sure he would have still been considered French back in 1958 after he was granted his U.S. passport (from what I've read dual nationality was okay for men at that time, but he was just a male baby, so not sure if that would to him?), and its been so long (more than 50 years now most likely) since my father moved to the U.S. permanently and had any connection with France, so I figured I check in here first to see if I could get an idea of how much of a chance others with more experience/knowledge of the issue think I might have at being able to get French citizenship.I appreciate any advice or insight, and thanks so much in advance!!Steph From: American Evaluation Association (AEA) For Immediate Release: Dateline: Washington , DC Monday, June 3, 2019 Susan M. Wolfe and Kyrah Brown. Susan is a community consultant at Here is the second part of Hot Tip: As part of the evaluation, explore the processes by which community members are engaged with the collaborative. Are all members notified of opportunities and do all have an equal opportunity to participate, or are members of the majority group inviting selected community members? Is the collaborative offering leadership development training to all interested community members to build their capacity to lead? To reach a level of true community inclusion and empowerment requires that collaboratives include them as partners that share planning and decision-making responsibilities at the very least, and ultimately, that community members fully lead the collaborative, have control over decisions, including which initiatives are priorities, and determine how funds will be allocated. Hot Tip: One indicator of the extent of true community inclusion is the extent to which community empowerment is explicitly included in the collaborative mission and vision, and whether structures such as by-laws and committees require community member leadership. If they do not, then there is always the potential for the collaborative to morph back to control by powerful and privileged individuals and organizations from outside the community. Additionally, take note of where meetings are held (in the community?), the time of day, and who is paid to attend versus there as a volunteer. Are community members paid for their time and efforts? Hot Tip: Attend meetings and use structured observational rubrics to assess dynamics such as who speaks most often, who is engaged in decisions, how often do community members defer to professionals, how do professional members and officials respond to community member ideas or input (do they follow up or dismiss their comments)? Rad Resource: To evaluate inclusion requires fully understanding the levels at which community members may be involved. One useful framework is Sherry R. Arnsteins The American Evaluation Association is celebrating CP TIG Week with our colleagues in the Community Psychology Topical Interest Group. The contributions all week come from CP TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. About AEA The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association and the largest in its field. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEAs mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods worldwide, to increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. For more information about AEA, visit www.eval.org. We areand. Susan is a community consultant at Susan Wolfe and Associates, LLC where she provides evaluation and capacity building services to nonprofit organizations and community collaboratives. Kyrah is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington where she conducts community-based maternal-child health (MCH) research and provides evaluation capacity building support to local MCH coalitions and collaboratives.Here is the second part of yesterdays post on tips for evaluating Community Inclusion Principles:As part of the evaluation, explore the processes by which community members are engaged with the collaborative. Are all members notified of opportunities and do all have an equal opportunity to participate, or are members of the majority group inviting selected community members? Is the collaborative offering leadership development training to all interested community members to build their capacity to lead?To reach a level of true community inclusion and empowerment requires that collaboratives include them as partners that share planning and decision-making responsibilities at the very least, and ultimately, that community members fully lead the collaborative, have control over decisions, including which initiatives are priorities, and determine how funds will be allocated.One indicator of the extent of true community inclusion is the extent to which community empowerment is explicitly included in the collaborative mission and vision, and whether structures such as by-laws and committees require community member leadership. If they do not, then there is always the potential for the collaborative to morph back to control by powerful and privileged individuals and organizations from outside the community. Additionally, take note of where meetings are held (in the community?), the time of day, and who is paid to attend versus there as a volunteer. Are community members paid for their time and efforts?Attend meetings and use structured observational rubrics to assess dynamics such as who speaks most often, who is engaged in decisions, how often do community members defer to professionals, how do professional members and officials respond to community member ideas or input (do they follow up or dismiss their comments)?To evaluate inclusion requires fully understanding the levels at which community members may be involved. One useful framework is Sherry R. Arnsteins Ladder of Citizen Participation. The American Evaluation Association is celebrating CP TIG Week with our colleagues in the Community Psychology Topical Interest Group. The contributions all week come from CP TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. Monday, June 3, 2019 Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian activist and leader of the India independence movement against British rule. He lived from 1869 to 1948. In 1888, he traveled to Britain and studied law in London. He said, When I was 18, I came in touch with a good Christianwho placed the Bible in my hand, and I became aware of the Sermon on the Mount, and it showed its practical relevance in the public affairs of the world. Gandhi's eclectic mind assimilated the message of Jesus and made it his own. Consequently, he emphasized its relevance for peaceful living, including the practice of non-violence. Gandhi returned to India in 1891 and was unsuccessful as a lawyer, so he took a job In South Africa. It was there he experienced racial prejudice and joined fellow Indians in working for their rights. He led them in challenging the British regarding civil rights, and in 1942, he led national campaigns for various social causes and for achieving self-rule. He was then imprisoned for many years in both South Africa and India. After numerous struggles, Britain granted independence to India in 1947, yet the British partitioned the land, simultaneously creating an independent Pakistan for the Muslims. The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous discourse of Jesus found in the New Testament, and is one of the most widely quoted elements of the Canonical Gospel. It includes some of the best-known teachings of Jesus, such as the Beatitudes and the Lords Prayer. The Sermon on the Mount is generally considered to contain the central tenets of Christian discipleship. Indeed, the Sermon endeared Jesus to Gandhi he greatly appreciated the spiritual and ethical ideals presented, seeing virtually no difference between Hindu and Christian tenets as regards this teaching. He saw the grace of expression and beauty in Jesuss wordshe called Jesus a Supreme artist. Gandhi often quoted, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who treat you badly. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, turn the other cheek; to the one who takes your coat, give also your shirt. This means we must not return evil for evil, and our response to evil must be good. How to respond to evil with goodness is a challenge. Gandhi often employed non-violencea principle ingrained in Hindu lifeto meet this challenge. I am aware that when I learned to respond to evil with goodness (for example when someone lied about my intentions, I forgave that person), my life became once more dedicated to peace. Albert Einstein said that Gandhis greatest contribution was his determination to moralize politics. Gandhi insisted that you can apply the same moral values to politics, business, or industry as you do in private life. Love, truth, non-violenceall these ideals can be applied here and now to every aspect of life. It is perfectly possible, as Gandhi said, for an in individual to adopt this way of life without having to wait for others do so. Dear readers in what way are you applying these ideals to your lifewhether in politics, in your workplace, or with your family and friendships? Where do you feel you are succeeding and where do you struggle? All comments are appreciated! Monday, June 3, 2019 Mexican Tariffs, Ethics, Companies Abuse Customers, Internet Dating Click to www.NewsReleaseWire.com to open and read all releases or click on release of interest. ----------------------------- Mexican Tariffs - How Big a Problem Will They Be? https://www.expertclick.com/NewsRelease/Mexican-Tariffs-How-Big-a-Problem-Will-They-Be,2019181446.aspx resident Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on all goods from Mexico starting on June 10th. The tariffs are meant to be "punishment" for allowing asylum seekers to cross into the U.S. from the Mexican border, and begin at 5%, increasing 5% per month until reaching a maximum of 25% in October. In reaction to this second trade war, stock markets have fallen sharply around the globe and in the U.S.. The impact of this threatened trade war would be felt most strongly in the U.S. automotive sector. Automobile manufacturing has a complex supply chain involving parts sourced from the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The U.S. imported $59B in auto parts and 2.7 million cars worth an additional $52B last year from Mexico, according to US government trade statistics. Lauren Pittelli 312-971-0680 -------------------------- *Comment Of The Day: ?Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 5/29/2019: ?It Depends On What The Meaning Of _____ Is? Edition? [Item #1] http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/181485 One of the many things I deeply resent about the "resistance"/Democratic Party/ progressive/mainstream media assault on the President, elections, our democracy and the connective tissue that has held the United States togetheraside from such minor inconveniences as the likely permanent damage it has done to society and the viability of the American experimentis how it has rendered so many familial, personal and professional relationships unsustainable after one party or the other has fallen prey to Stage 5 Trump Derangement. Jack Marshall Cell or Text: 571-212-0905 ---------------------------- *And the Survey Says... http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/181472 How do companies that abuse their customers, like auto dealerships, wireless phone companies, hotel chains, cable providers, heating and cooling companies and airlines that abuse their customers keep bragging that JD Power rated them high? I'll bet the surveys are rigged in the winner's favor Jim Mathis 404-922-8199 ------------------------------ *Internet dating Guidelines That Guarantee That You relationship that is successful http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/181482 Be Initial Certain Regarding The Passions Utilize the Appropriate Pictures Show Esteem You Need To Be Individual Write a profile that is error-free Be Funny Exciting Scott Lorenz 734-667-2090 ------------------------- *Another look at sleep https://www.gasdetection.com/interscan-in-the-news/magazine-articles/another-look-at-sleep/ Can lost hours of sleep be made up? Relatively small deficits can be made up, such as a total of five hours during a week, that could be recovered over a weekend. However, you may not recover all the lost sleep if you lose over 20 hours in a week. Still, the body can at least partially accommodate for this sleep deficit in other ways. Michael D. Shaw 1 800 458-6153 ----------------------------- *Dropbox Plus Subscribers Got New Features - and a New Price - June 1 http://www.NewsReleaseWire.com/181492 *136 ? 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While the original version relied on data from at least two types of sensors, the ultimate used just one, leaving the system without a critical safeguard. In both doomed flights, pilots struggled as a single damaged sensor sent the planes into irrecoverable nose-dives within minutes. But many people involved in building, testing and approving the system, known as MCAS, said they hadnt fully understood the changes. Current and former employees at Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration who spoke with The New York Times said they had assumed the system relied on more sensors and would rarely, if ever, activate. Based on those misguided assumptions, many made critical decisions, affecting design, certification and training. It doesnt make any sense, said a former test pilot who worked on the Max. I wish I had the full story. While prosecutors and lawmakers try to piece together what went wrong, the current and former employees point to the single, fateful decision to change the system, which led to a series of design mistakes and regulatory oversights. As Boeing rushed to get the plane done, many of the employees described a compartmentalized approach, each focusing on a small part of the plane. The process left them without a complete view of a critical and ultimately dangerous system. The company also played down the scope of the system to regulators. Boeing never disclosed the revamp of MCAS to FAA officials involved in determining pilot training needs, according to three agency officials. As a result, most Max pilots did not know about the software until after the first crash, in October. Boeing has no higher priority than the safety of the flying public, a company spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said in a statement. The FAA considered the final configuration and operating parameters of MCAS during Max certification, and concluded that it met all certification and regulatory requirements. At first, MCAS Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System wasnt a very risky piece of software. The system would trigger only in rare conditions, nudging down the nose of the plane to make the Max handle more smoothly during high-speed moves. And it relied on data from multiple sensors measuring the planes acceleration and its angle to the wind, helping to ensure that the software didnt activate erroneously. Then Boeing engineers reconceived the system, expanding its role to avoid stalls in all types of situations. They allowed the software to operate throughout much more of the flight. They enabled it to aggressively push down the nose of the plane. And they used only data about the planes angle, removing some of the safeguards. A test pilot who originally advocated for the expansion of the system didnt understand how the changes affected its safety. Safety analysts said they would have acted differently if they had known it used just one sensor. Regulators didnt conduct a formal safety assessment of the new version of MCAS. MORNING REPORT | NEWSLETTER Get all the news you need to start your day in Houston. See More Collapse The current and former employees, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that after the first crash, they were stunned to discover MCAS relied on a single sensor. It seems like somebody didnt understand what they were doing, said an engineer who assessed the systems sensors. MCAS Is Born In 2012, the chief test pilot for the Max had a problem. During the early development of the 737 Max, Ray Craig, a retired Navy airman, was trying out high-speed situations on a flight simulator. But the plane wasnt flying smoothly, partly because of the Maxs bigger engines. To fix the issue, Boeing decided to use a piece of software. The system was meant to work in the background, so pilots effectively wouldnt know it was there. To ensure it didnt misfire, engineers initially designed MCAS to trigger when the plane exceeded at least two separate thresholds, according to three people who worked on the 737 Max. One involved the planes angle to the wind, and the other involved G-force, or the force on the plane that typically comes from accelerating. aviation-images.com/UIG via Getty Images The Max would need to hit an exceedingly high G-force that passenger planes would probably never experience. For the jets angle, the system took data from the angle-of-attack sensor. The sensor, several inches long, is essentially a small wind vane affixed to the jets fuselage. Adding More Power In late January 2016, the first Max lifted off for its maiden test flight. The 737 Max just felt right in flight, giving us complete confidence that this airplane will meet our customers expectations, Ed Wilson, the new chief test pilot for the Max, said in a news release at the time. Wilson had replaced Craig the previous year. But a few weeks later, Wilson and his co-pilot began noticing that something was off, according to a person with direct knowledge of the flights. The Max wasnt handling well when nearing stalls at low speeds. Wilson told engineers that the issue would need to be fixed. He and his co-pilot proposed MCAS, the person said. The change didnt elicit much debate. It was considered a run-of-the-mill adjustment, according to the person. The change proved pivotal. Expanding the use of MCAS to lower-speed situations required removing the G-force threshold. MCAS now needed to work at low speeds so G-force didnt apply. The change meant that a single angle-of-attack sensor was the lone guard against a misfire. Although modern 737 jets have two angle-of-attack sensors, the final version of MCAS took data from just one. AP photo/Ted S. Warren Using MCAS at lower speeds also required increasing the power of the system. The FAA had already approved the previous version of MCAS. And the agencys rules didnt require it to take a second look because the changes didnt affect how the plane operated in extreme situations. External Events After engineers installed the second version of MCAS, Wilson and his co-pilot took the 737 Max for a spin. They tested two potential failures of MCAS: a high-speed maneuver in which the system doesnt trigger, and a low-speed stall when it activates but then freezes. In both cases, the pilots were able to easily fly the jet, according to a person with knowledge of the flights. In those flights, they did not test what would happen if MCAS activated as a result of a faulty angle-of-attack sensor a problem in the two crashes. Boeing engineers did consider such a possibility in their safety analysis of the original MCAS. They classified the event as hazardous, one rung below the most serious designation of catastrophic, according to two people. In regulatory-speak, it meant that MCAS could trigger erroneously less often than once in 10 million flight hours. William Campbell/Corbis via Getty Images That probability may have underestimated the risk of external events that have damaged sensors in the past, such as collisions with birds, bumps from ramp stairs or mechanics stepping on them. While part of the assessment considers such incidents, they are not included in the probability. A Times review of two FAA databases found hundreds of reports of bent, cracked, sheared-off, poorly installed or otherwise malfunctioning angle-of-attack sensors on commercial aircraft over three decades. A Simple Request On March 30, 2016, Mark Forkner, the Maxs chief technical pilot, sent an email to senior FAA officials with a seemingly innocuous request: Would it be OK to remove MCAS from the pilots manual? The officials, who helped determine pilot training needs, had been briefed on the original version of MCAS months earlier. Forkner and Boeing never mentioned to them that MCAS was in the midst of an overhaul, according to the three FAA officials. Under the impression that the system was relatively benign and rarely used, the FAA eventually approved Forkners request, the three officials said. Boeing wanted to limit changes to the Max from previous versions of the 737. Anything major could have required airlines to spend millions of dollars on additional training. Boeing, facing competitive pressure from Airbus, tried to avoid that. Forkner, a former FAA employee, was at the front lines of this effort. As the chief technical pilot, he was the primary liaison with the FAA on training and worked on the pilots manual. The pressure on us, said Rick Ludtke, a cockpit designer on the Max, was huge. JASON REDMOND/AFP/Getty Images Forkners attorney, David Gerger, said his client did not mislead the FAA. In thousands of tests, nothing like this had ever happened, he said. Based on what he was told and what he knew, he never dreamed that it could. The FAA group that worked with Forkner made some decisions based on an incomplete view of the system. It never tested a malfunctioning sensor, according to the three officials. It didnt require additional training. William Schubbe, a senior FAA official, told pilots and airlines in an April meeting in Washington, D.C., that Boeing had underplayed MCAS, according to a recording reviewed by The Times. The way the system was presented to the FAA, Schubbe said, the Boeing Corporation said this thing is so transparent to the pilot that theres no need to demonstrate any kind of failing. Boeing continued to defend MCAS and its reliance on a single sensor after the first crash, involving Indonesias Lion Air. Four months later, a second 737 Max crashed in Ethiopia. Within days, the Max was grounded around the world. As part of the fix, Boeing has reworked MCAS to more closely resemble the first version. It will be less aggressive, and it will rely on two sensors. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. San Antonio dental surgeon Dr. Wendell A. Wedge Edgin said access to dental care remains one of the most pressing issues in the profession and that veterans are especially at risk. Named president of the San Antonio District Dental Society in May, Edgin said he hopes to call attention to the barriers that are preventing people from accessing basic dental services. Not all military veterans are eligible for dental care through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, he said. Only fully disabled veterans or those with service-related injuries qualify for dental benefits through the VA. Some rural counties Edwards, Kinney, McMullen, La Salle and Zavala have no dentists, according to a report last year by the Texas Health Institute. The organization plans to host a two-day Texas Mission of Mercy in San Antonio next year with 40 dental chairs staffed by volunteer dentists and support personnel from around the state, Edgin said in an email. The patients will incur no cost for their treatment, he said. This TMOM will focus on care for the military veteran as a way for us to serve those who faithfully served us, our country and our way of life. The mobile dental clinic is a program administered by the Texas Dental Associations charity arm called the Smiles Foundation. Since 2001, Texas Mission of Mercy has treated more than 39,000 patients with nearly $23 million worth of donated care, according to a spokeswoman for the foundation. Founded in 1913, the San Antonio District Dental Society represents dentists and patients in more than a dozen counties in the area. The group has 950 members. Edgin will serve a one-year term through May 2020. He has 29 years of experience as an oral and maxillofacial surgeon and is the managing partner of Alamo Maxillofacial Surgical Associates, a practice with U.S. Oral Surgery Management. The retired Air Force colonel was also an associate professor at UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry and a consultant to the Surgeon General. Laura Garcia covers the healthcare industry in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her stories and more local coverage on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | laura.garcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @Reporter_Laura As health care costs continue to rise, a San Antonio-based insurance firm is beginning to market a less-conventional option for businesses that it says can lower costs. Vanesia Adkins, senior vice president of strategic accounts for SWBC Employee Benefits Consulting Group, said this is the first time the company is offering whats known as a health insurance captive. Private businesses often form their own self-funded health plan with a stop-loss insurance plan to cover the cost of claims above a set dollar amount. Under a captive arrangement, employers share the risk among other employers within their insurance group. Employers who join a captive group have an additional buffer between their stop-loss insurance and direct payment of their employees medical costs, Adkins said. This financial strategy is designed to give business owners with between 50 to 500 employees more control over their health care spending. The federal government estimates that the private business share of overall health spending has remained fairly steady since 2010, at about 20 percent. However, according to data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, national health spending is projected to grow 5.5 percent per year over the next decade, reaching nearly $6 trillion by 2027. Adkins said small- to mid-size employers will be able to better customize their health coverage rather than continue to absorb the growing costs of health care offered through large insurance companies. Salud: A Health Collective is a full benefits program expected to start Jan. 1. Adkins said employers will contract with the Cigna network and use the Baptist Health System for its medical services. Northeast Baptist Hospital is designated as a Center of Excellence and exclusive surgery provider for health plans offered by Walmart and other major employers. On ExpressNews.com: Will travel for surgery: Walmart handpicks San Antonio hospital for employee surgeries Those insured by the captive group of companies will also be required to use one of nearly 60 H-E-B pharmacies in the San Antonio area. The grocery chains pharmacy benefit management company, RxTRA Advantage, will also provide the captive with more control over prescription drug pricing. Craig Norman, a senior vice president at H-E-B, said the grocery chains pharmacy benefit management company offers 100 percent pass-through of drug manufacturers rebates. Adkins said that these funds can then be re-invested into the program. This is the community coming together, she said. The whole idea is to give them better control and create better value. SWBC plans to meet with business leaders on June 6 to discuss the captive arrangement. In 2013, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill in 734 giving the Texas Department of Insurance the responsibility of regulating and licensing captive insurance companies. Adkins said there are less than 50 captives licensed in Texas, although almost all operate as property and casualty insurance, not full benefit plans. Laura Garcia covers the healthcare industry in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her stories and more local coverage on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | laura.garcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @Reporter_Laura Texas biggest industries may be scrambling to manage escalating costs next month if President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to place tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico, the Lone Star States largest trading partner. The president Thursday night tweeted that the U.S. will impose a 5 percent tariff on all Mexican goods June 10, which gradually would increase until the influx of immigrants and asylum seekers at the Mexican border ceases. The announcement rattled financial markets and economists alike Friday, as the Dow fell more than 300 points and local experts fretted over the macroeconomic shocks that could ripple throughout Texas. If the tariffs are implemented, the impact to San Antonios economy would be significant. Since the creation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993, the Mexican and American economies have become increasingly integrated. Mexican avocados move north, passing cotton from Texas heading south. In the auto sector, companies such as Toyota rely on suppliers who move parts back and forth across the border before final assembly. Toyota, which builds Tundra and Tacoma pickups at its South San Antonio plant, declined to comment on the proposed tariffs. Instead, the Japanese manufacturer forwarded a statement from industry group the Alliance of Automakers. Any barrier to the flow of commerce across the U.S.-Mexico border will have a cascading effect - harming U.S. consumers, the statement said. About 75 percent of U.S.-Mexico land trade, worth about $343 billion in 2015, crosses through a Texas port of entry, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reports. If Trump adds a tariff to products coming from Mexico, all sorts of products in U.S. stores are likely to increase in price, from automotive parts to Mexican crude oil to beverages and produce. Border states like Texas are expected to be most affected. Trade between Mexico and Texas was more than $187 billion in 2017. With concerns over weakening global economic growth and tensions between China and the U.S. already ratcheting up, the potential for trade tensions in Mexico as well stokes even more uncertainty for businesses and consumers, which could slow spending throughout the business chain, experts said. While prices are unlikely to increase overnight, the impact would ripple throughout the regional economy. Mexico is an integral part of the U.S. supply chain in a number of industries, not to mention agricultural trade in both directions and the same for energy, said Bill Reinsch, a former undersecretary of commerce during the Clinton administration and now an adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Whatever the ultimate financial hit from the tariffs, the Trump administration maintains there is a longer-term economic impact of illegal immigration through benefits paid to migrants and jobs losses for American workers. Americans are paying for this right now. Illegal immigration comes at a cost, a White House official said Thursday evening. Fears for trade accord In 2016, San Antonio-area companies exported nearly $2 billion worth of merchandise to Mexico, second only to Canada, which bought $2.3 billion in Alamo City goods, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. In the midst of discussions around a renegotiated trade deal with Mexico, the United States- Mexico-Canada Agreement, many in Texas fear the new tariffs could derail talks. Eddie Aldrete, of San Antonio, chairman of the Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition, called the announcement by the president a step backward in the efforts to ratify the agreement. And with the ongoing U.S.-China spat, some businesses had looked to Mexico in the interim to shift parts of their supply chain to avoid exposure to China. They viewed Mexico as a stable place to shift manufacturing, since the U.S. had appeared to be nearing the end of its trade negotiations with the country. We were about to have the USMCA, and Mexico seemed like a really safe place to establish the supply chain, said Patrick Jankowski, an economist at the Greater Houston Partnership, a business-financed economic development group. The treat of tariffs creates a great deal of uncertainty as to how the U.S. is doing business overseas. Local economists said the impact to consumer goods from Mexico, such as fruits and beverages, likely would not be felt immediately in June. Grocers that import fruits, vegetables and other food products from China will have to determine whether to eat the cost of the tariff or pass it through to consumer products. Businesses mostly said they didnt know how they would respond to the tariffs yet, and would have to wait to see which products would be affected. One or two items, we can absorb the cost, said Joe Kelley, the Houston division president for Kroger. An awful lot of the time, you eat the cost. It affects the supply of goods, the cost of goods and the price at the shelf. Theres likely to be a pass-through effect this summer if the tariffs go into effect, economists said, particularly in Texas, where supply chains are more integrated with Mexico than other states. Consumers are going to wind up paying more, ultimately, as it works through the supply chains, said Jesse Thompson, a business economist for the Dallas Fed. We get a lot of produce from Mexico, and theyre going to be affected. But more than anything else, consumers will be most impacted by the shaken confidence in the economy, experts said. Mexicos response In the scenario that the president doesnt back down from his promise to implement the tariffs, some say it will do little to correct the immigration system. Immigration will not be resolved by tariffs, said Aldrete, the chairman of the Texas-Mexico Trade Coalition. Illegal immigration is an issue that impacts both Mexico and the United States and is, therefore, an issue we need to work on together, side by side. In the worst-case scenario, economists fear Mexico could retaliate against the U.S., similar to how China has responded. So far, following the president's tweet, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador responded with a letter requesting the matter be resolved with dialogue. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said he will meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week. erin.douglas@chron.com Staff Writers Jordan Blum and Paul Takahashi contributed to this report. This is what's called a "trip in vain," and it's a gray area for airlines and other travel companies. And for good reason. They don't want to advertise that they will offer a refund or credit if you can't make it to your destination on time. But they do. That's because the airline's published schedule certainly implies some kind of guarantee, even if the contract says otherwise. Authorities say Aranda told investigators he went to the mall "looking for someone to kill." The child survived the attack but has required multiple surgeries for head trauma and broken bones. AUSTIN Its a red-meat issue, but it feeds on chicken. San Antonios decision to exclude Chick-fil-A from its airport continues to resound in political circles. Legislators passed a religious freedom bill that gained steam after it was rebranded as the Save Chick-fil-A bill. Gov. Greg Abbott beamed over its success on Twitter. And Attorney General Ken Paxton, declining to wait for his own department to rule on a public records request, on Monday filed suit against the city to force it to hand over records he wants for his offices investigation. For subscribers: Texas public records get harder and harder to acquire The Constitutions protection of religious liberty is somehow even better than Chick-fil-As chicken, Paxton wrote in a letter to San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg early in his clash with the city. Unfortunately, I have serious concerns that both are under assault at the San Antonio airport. The decision to exclude the restaurant made national headlines in March after some City Council members said they couldnt support Chick-fil-A because of its anti-LGBT reputation and Nirenberg cited economic reasons related to its policy of closing on Sundays. In Austin, the timing couldnt have been better for Texas Republicans again pushing religious freedom legislation that had failed during the 2017 session. Save Chick-fil-A quickly became their rallying cry. The bill, as passed by both chambers, bars governments from punishing people and companies for affiliating or donating to a religious organization. While religious freedom advocates say it will stop anti-Christian discrimination, civil rights groups and LGBT supporters say it will essentially allow discrimination against minority groups. For subscribers: Attorney general to investigate San Antonio ban on Chick-fil-A at airport Its all but sure to become law after Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted May 20 a photo of a Chick-fil-A cup in front of his laptop screen with an article about the bill open. What are the odds Ill sign the Chick-fil-A bill? Ill let you know after dinner, Abbott said. Its already clear that other politicians will glady carry the banner after it becomes law. Republican U.S. Sen John Cornyn, raising money for his 2020 re-election campaign, launched a contest late last month for a supporter to win a Chick-fil-A dinner with him. Want to keep Texas red? Cornyn tweeted. Want to eat Chick-fil-A while doing it? And though city elections are nonpartisan, the chicken chains rejection has also become a flashpoint in the mayoral race in San Antonio, as Nirenbergs opponent, Council Member Greg Brockhouse, continually takes digs at the incumbent for making a move that hes called not welcoming. If Ron had shown any leadership on this issue, one way or another it would have been behind us by now, and we can move on to other things, Brockhouse said in a statement Monday. His poor leadership and bad decision-making has us retracing our steps over and over. For subscribers: Brockhouse revives San Antonios Chick-fil-A debate; Paxton seeks info Nirenbergs campaign manager Kelton Morgan shot back. (Brockhouse) has continued to rehash the Chick-fil-A issue for months because he has nothing substantive to offer San Antonio voters, Morgan said. Its time for all the politicians to show real leadership and stop playing politics. Critics have argued that Texas law and the Constitution already protects freedoms of religion and association and that the bill was more about making a statement. Save Chick-fil-A is code for Lets discriminate against LGBT people, said Equality Texas spokeswoman Angela Hale. Its unfortunate that (politicians) use this type of politics to campaign because symbols like that hurt real people. Conservative Christian group Texas Values, which had advocated strongly for the bill, sided with Paxton. Mayor Ron Nirenbergs lawless and defiant actions have proven he is unaccountable to the people, the groups president Jonathan Saenz said. Its not local control when the City Council shuts the public out and refuses to turn over public documents. Mayor calls suit staged political theater According to the suit filed in Travis County district court on Monday, Paxtons office requested records on April 11 including calendars, communications and records of meetings among City Council members, city employees and third parties related to the citys decision to remove the restaurant from its airport concessions contract. Paxtons suit seeks to compel the city to release the records. The City of San Antonio claims that it can hide documents because it anticipates being sued, Paxton said in a statement. But weve simply opened an investigation using the Public Information Act. If a mere investigation is enough to excuse the City of San Antonio from its obligation to be transparent with the people of Texas, then the Public Information Act is a dead letter. Nirenberg said in a statement Monday that the city never received a response to its request for a ruling. The fact that he went straight to filing a lawsuit instead of simply answering our questions proves this is all staged political theater, Nirenberg said. The deputy city attorney, Edward Guzman, responded to Paxtons request April 24 and again May 2, arguing the information is exempt because of litigation that was likely to come from Paxtons investigation, according to the suit. State law exempts the release of information related to pending or reasonably anticipated litigation. San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said in a statement Monday that the city provided nearly 250 pages of documents for review by the Attorney Generals Open Records Division and is still waiting for a decision. Segovia said the city will comply with any Open Records Division ruling. He also shed doubt on the motivation behind Paxtons investigation. The State Attorney Generals office has not specified the legislative authority they are relying on to investigate the airport contract, Segovia said. Furthermore, it is clear from the strident comments in his press release that any investigation would be a pretense to justify his own conclusions. What ends lives? Gunfire. What saves lives? The sound of gunfire. The Virginia Beach shooting on Friday, when an employee of the city government killed 12 people - 11 of whom were his co-workers - is notable only for its familiarity. Another mass shooting. In fact, it was the worst mass-casualty event anyone can remember since . . . November 2018, at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California. But details of the rampage include one fact unique to the growing list of active-shooter cases: the assailant used a .45-caliber handgun with extended magazines and a barrel suppressor. This small detail - that the loaded gun was fitted with simple, and lawful, "silencing" equipment - threatens to upend how we understand and train for active-shooter cases in the future. Gun violence in America is unique not simply because of our culture but also because we have lawful weaponry that can kill many people very quickly. In terms of death-to-time ratio, single-shot weapons are preferable to multi-round handguns and handguns are preferable to the semiautomatic, and the favorite of mass shooters, the AR-15. It's a simple calculation of time. But the Virginia Beach killer seemed to want the anonymity of silence, a tool of the coward, not one seeking fame or a blaze of glory. None of the videos or manifestos we've seen from New Zealand to Las Vegas appear to be part of the Virginia Beach story. The killer wanted silence. Silence is the enemy of time. An entire "run, hide, fight" policy that governs every school, workforce and the first-responder community in active-shooter cases is conditioned on an important premise: that there is situational awareness that shots have been fired, bullets are flying and it's always best to run the other way. Once you know where the bullets are coming from, you can - as I tell my own kids - "sprint if you can; duck if you can't; and fight only if you must. I only have one of each of you." Bystanders can run from the gunfire only if they know where it is coming from. This is why the best active-shooter training focuses on access to building or school exits and open, but protected, spaces so that potential victims can get out of the way. For first responders, in a world that has adapted to lessons learned in school shootings, they no longer assume a potential hostage situation and now are trained to run toward the gunfire - assuming, of course, they know where it is. As Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent, told me, this "is a major shift in the attack methodology. Now, absent having the situational awareness that an attack is taking place due to the sound of recognizable gunfire, we must reconfigure our ability to identify the immediate threat along with the corresponding response." Survival is all about sound. In a society with no movement toward sensible gun-control measures, the flight-and/or-fight reaction is one of the few elements in an attack that citizens can control. In some instances, flight is not possible; in other instances, potential victims engage. Recently, for example, in North Carolina and Colorado, brave bystanders have decided they had no choice but to "fight if you must," delaying the killer's spree; both young men saved the lives of others but died as a result. It is true that suppressors do not quiet guns; industry experts often cringe at the popular reference to "silencers." Instead, suppressors act like a car muffler - both devices were pioneered by the same inventor, Hiram Percy Maxim - by cooling and dissipating the gases that emanate from the chamber as the trigger is being pulled. That alters the sound enough that the gunshot's normal sound - a suppressed gunshot can sound like a chair scraping on the floor - is difficult to identify. Suppressors are legal in 42 states, though they are regulated under the National Firearms Act and therefore are treated like other specialty gun accessories, including requiring a background check and a $200 tax. Recently, making suppressors more easily accessible has become a focal point of gun rights activists who want to increase dwindling gun sales and hunting groups who argue that suppressors are actually a health necessity in that they reduce hearing loss. As recently as June 2017, the then-Republican-majority House was considering a law to make the regulation of suppressors less onerous. You know, for the sake of the auditory sensitivities of shooters. One mass shooting with a suppressor does not make a trend, nor does it require us to alter how we train for or respond to them. But, it does mean we must continue to vigorously regulate and even eventually ban these devices as essential steps in adopting common-sense gun-control measures. Gun rights advocates are correct when they say that laws will not end all gun violence. But they never finish that thought. Our gun safety goal, and homeland security goal, must be to minimize the increasing likelihood that lots of people can be killed in a matter of minutes, with no capacity for escape or rescue. To protect life, time is of the essence. And sound adds precious seconds. - - - Kayyem is a former assistant secretary of homeland security and is faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Regardless of the outcome of this years mayoral election, the public deserves a full accounting of a 2009 domestic violence police report involving District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse, who is running for mayor. Brockhouses recent comments that the report is false make that absolutely necessary, particularly in light of confirmation of the San Antonio police report from Department of Public Safety family violence records. That confirmation is significant because the 2009 police report has been removed from the public record, and city officials have not confirmed its existence even though it has a case number, officers name and badge number, among other key details. The theory is that the record has been expunged, and it is therefore a crime to acknowledge its existence. At issue is not just that a mayoral candidate was alleged to have committed domestic violence, but public confidence in the San Antonio Police Department and a basic understanding of the truth that residents deserve. What happened on the night of Dec. 23, 2009? And why was the report removed? These are basic questions that should have been answered months ago. This issue has been festering for some time throughout the campaign, but two recent developments have brought it to a head. The first development came during a recent appearance by Brockhouse on KLRNs On the Record with journalist Jim Forsyth. During that interview Forsyth held up a copy of the police report and said, The incident described in the police report never happened? This is a false police report? Brockhouse looked right at the report, pointed at it, and said, That police report is false. Forsyth then asked, Why would somebody do this? Why would a police officer do this? Brockhouses response: We dont know who did it. He then tilted the discussion toward the inaccuracies he sees in that report. A few days later, Express-News reporter Brian Chasnoff, who broke the original story, published a story about DPS family violence records that confirm the 2009 police reports existence, even though it has been removed from the official record. Under state law, all police officers are required to report family violence incidents to DPS using an agency form. In this case, the police officer who wrote the 2009 police report also filed two such reports to DPS. Lets back up. By saying the 2009 police report is false, Brockhouse seemed to be suggesting that it was manufactured to sully his name or reputation. Thats a serious charge, one we had said required the police to confirm or deny the existence of the report. But DPS records seem to now confirm the reports existence. But Brockhouse might also have been saying the allegation in the report is false because it is inaccurate, which would jibe with his earlier statements. This, too, requires a response, perhaps most of all from Brockhouse. It has been challenging to divine any clarity from him about this. Initially, it was difficult to get Brockhouse to even acknowledge the report. His public comments were limited to blanket denials of the allegation but lacked any recognition of the report. When we texted him photos of the report, he said those images did not come through. When Chasnoff held the report up to his face at a City Council meeting, Brockhouse would not look at it. Only after the Express-News published the police report online did Brockhouse acknowledge its existence, but it was only to highlight what he said were inaccuracies. Again, he and his wife, Annalisa, denied the domestic violence incident occurred, but their words were nuanced. They never spoke to the authenticity of the report. This led to a certain absurdity. Brockhouse would say the allegation was false or the report was inaccurate, but he would not say the report itself was inauthentic. For example, during a recent interview on Texas Public Radios The Source, host David Martin Davies asked Brockhouse if the 2009 report had been manufactured. Brockhouse could only say, I dont know, and yet he continued to dispute and deny the allegations in the report. When asked if the police came to his home on the night of Dec. 23, 2009, Brockhouse said he did not know. Enough already. This dance has gone on long enough. There is nothing mayoral about any of this. Brockhouse should have acknowledged the report when the story broke and provided context around what happened. Instead this issue has dragged on and on, becoming an issue of public trust. Election day is Saturday. Win or lose, Brockhouse owes the public a clear explanation about what prompted the report and why it was removed from the record. More than 3,000 walkers and runners, along with 200 volunteers, participated in the 23rd annual Hope in Motion Walk & Run at Columbus Park in Stamford on Sunday. Participants supported cancer survivors in their choice of a 5K, 10K, or fun walk to benefit Stamford Health's Bennett Cancer Center. "It is good to come here and honor our fallen comrade and friends, however, this is an opportunity to try to get back to normalcy," Marcelo said outside of the Convention Center. "It is not just going to take one day it is going to take a lot of time to try and get back to where we were before this happened. This is going to linger on, and everyone deals with grief differently." GREENWICH Police arrested a trio of men who tried to take money out of a bank account with false identification on Saturday. Police said the alleged bank-fraud attempt took place at a bank branch on Greenwich Avenue, and the suspects were caught nearby. The three men allegedly conspired to obtain money from another person's account, produced a fake driver's license, and attempted to withdraw money by impersonating the account holder. Bank employees became suspicious of the transaction and contacted police. The subjects were subsequently located on East Putnam Avenue and stopped, according to the arrest report. A bank employee became suspicious and notified police before any money was withdrawn. Police said the suspects gave false information about their identities when they were apprehended. Jason Howard, 39, of West 104th Street, New York City, was charged with criminal attempt at larceny, forgery, criminal impersonation and interfering with an officer. Daquan Davis, 24, of Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, New York City, was charged with criminal attempt at larceny and interfering with an officer. Sherman Alston, 23, of Hepburn Road, Clifton, N.J., was charged with criminal attempt at larceny and interfering with an officer. He was also cited for unsafe driving. Police said he was driving the vehicle in which the suspects were travelling Bail was set at $200 for each suspect. Authorities say bank-fraud perpetrators often work in teams, aiming to take money out of one or more bank branches at a time. A Conservative leadership candidate has said the government could buy thousands of tons of British sheep meat and send them to UK hospitals and schools instead of the EU. Kit Malthouse, the housing minister, said British sheep meat could be redirected to schoolchildren's plates and hospital canteens instead of EU markets in the case of a 'no deal' Brexit scenario. The MP, who represents rural North West Hampshire, told LBC there is 'quite a lot' of sheep farmers in his constituency. Something like 80,000 tonnes of sheep meat is exported every year. Now if we go out with no deal, they think that will be significantly affected, so what do we say to them? Do we say, look, what can we do to make sure that the lamb ends up on to British dining room tables - it probably equates to something like four to five lamb chops per person per year. He asked: Could we use it in hospitals and in schools or could we compensate farmers for any damage that might be caused? Mr Malthouse, who is a Brexiteer, said if the government is going to 'go over the line' then 'contingencies' must be in place. He added: We need to have a proper conversation with those industries that are going to be significantly affected by no deal. Those people who say it's going to be a catastrophe are wrong, those people who say it's going to be a walk in the park are wrong too. It will be somewhere in between. Who is standing to replace Theresa May? Defra Secretary Michael Gove Health Secretary Matt Hancock Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt Home Secretary Sajid Javid Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Former Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom Housing minister Kit Malthouse Former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab International Development Secretary Rory Stewart Brexit minister James Cleverly Former immigration minister Mark Harper Former universities minister Sam Gyimah The chair of an influential food, farming and environment committee has backed Michael Gove's bid to become the next Prime Minister. Neil Parish, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee (EFRA), said he has seen 'first hand' the 'dedicated and detailed work' of the Defra Secretary. EFRA scrutinises the work of Defra, with Mr Parish highlighting how Mr Gove has 'stood out' whenever it comes to the committee grilling ministers. Mr Parish, who is Conservative MP for Tiverton and Honiton, said: Michael Gove has been a stand out communicator when he has appeared in front of the Select Committee - and his eye for detail means I am confident Defra is in a strong position as we leave the EU. Furthermore, he has demonstrated time and again that he truly understands the needs of our farmers. He wants to see a productive and prosperous farming industry in this country, and he has seized the opportunities brought about by Brexit to try to make this happen. He added: Michael is ready to lead, and I am pleased to back him to be our next Prime Minister and Leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party. Michael Gove was named Defra Secretary in Prime Minister Theresa May's post-election reshuffle back in 2017. He took the role from Andrea Leadsom, who is also running to become the next Prime Minister. Who is standing to replace Theresa May? Defra Secretary Michael Gove Health Secretary Matt Hancock Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt Home Secretary Sajid Javid Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson Former Leader of the House Andrea Leadsom Housing minister Kit Malthouse Former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab International Development Secretary Rory Stewart Brexit minister James Cleverly Former immigration minister Mark Harper Former universities minister Sam Gyimah The NFU has hit back at the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) for excluding agriculture from its list of jobs in short supply once the UK leaves the EU. Recommendations from MAC exclude agriculture from its list of jobs that need to be filled by non-UK workers post-Brexit. Publishing a review of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), it omitted farming but included roles like dance choreographers and artists. During the consultation, the NFU provided a range of critical jobs that many non-UK workers perform on farms at all skill levels roles such as dairy herdsmen and poultry technicians. But NFU President Minette Batters said she is 'staggered' that farming has been 'ignored', and that the MAC has 'failed to recognise the needs of the industry'. The implications for shoppers wanting to continue to buy affordable high quality British food, she said. The consultation was poorly managed, with events arranged at just 48 hours notice. These events were supposed to gather evidence on those occupations in shortage across all skill levels highlighting the need for experience, aptitude and knowledge. In a post-Brexit world, access to overseas workers may be restricted for the farming industry. Farmers and growers fear their businesses will be limited purely to UK-based workers to fill those jobs. However, with the country at near full employment, rural businesses fear the numbers are just not there. Mrs Batters added: There are still options available to us through the new immigration policy the Home Office is designing, and the NFU will continue to campaign to raise awareness of these issues with MPs. We urge government to look carefully at these recommendations and add the roles we desperately need so the critical jobs that many non-UK workers perform on our farms at all skill levels are accounted for. It follows the National Sheep Association making a similar call to the government, urging a reconsideration of the UK's future migration policy to ensure wider agriculture is not damaged. The NFU has urged the government not to 'betray' British farming in future trade deals as US President Donald Trump begins his state visit to the UK. Mr Trump, speaking a few days prior to his visit on Monday 3 June, has vowed to 'go all out' to secure a free trade deal between the UK and the United States. But British farmers have consistently warned that standards must not be sacrificed in any future trade deal with the world's largest economy. It comes as the United States government published its negotiating objectives for a future trade deal with the UK earlier this year. It included comprehensive access for agri goods and a demand to pull down unwarranted barriers, such as rules which regulate the UK food and farming industry. The demands, which runs to 18 pages, fuelled concern within the industry which fears a lowering of food and farming standards once the UK leaves the EU. Meanwhile, the US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson said, Britain must leave the EU's ' Museum of Agriculture' and dismiss 'misleading scare-stories' about American agriculture. But as Mr Trump begins his state visit, NFU President Minette Batters questioned whether the British public would accept chlorinated chicken masking lower welfare standards on farm or hormone-fed beef flooding supermarket shelves in exchange for a US trade deal. Mrs Batters said British farming puts a level of 'trust and pride' in consumers when they buy food off the shelves. Our farm-to-fork approach delivers not only some of the most robust levels of food safety and traceability in the world, but also animal welfare and environmental standards that we believe should serve as a model for food production globally. She said some US food would be 'illegal' to produce in the United Kingdom: British farmers do not rely on chlorine-wash to ensure their chicken is safe to eat, nor do they feed growth hormones to their cattle, pigs or dairy cows. In the US, for example, there are few welfare laws for laying hens, with no federal laws on housing, which are in stark contrast to the UKs rules on laying hen welfare. And the use of antibiotics per animal in farming is on average 5 times higher than in the UK. Mrs Batters added: US farmers can out compete British farmers on price by using products and methods banned in the UK as early as the 1980s. Thats not a criticism of US farmers but a statement of fact about the different legal requirements facing farmers in the UK. British farmers are quite reasonably expected to meet the values of the British public when it comes to how our food is produced those values must not be sacrificed in pursuit of hurried trade deals, she said. Mrs Batters added that the government would 'betray' British farmers if it went ahead with pursuing a trade deal that facilitates products entering the country produced to banned methods. New plans in the making could see prisoners working on farms as part of a day release while they complete their sentence. The government's Justice Secretary David Gauke is planning to ease rules that will allow offenders to work outside of prison while they complete their sentence. One Northamptonshire-based farm business, Starkey's Fruit, told The Sunday Telegraph that the plans would help alleviate labour pressure post-Brexit. Suzannah Starkey, who runs the business, is already in discussions about how to recruit prisoners to pick fruit on her farm. She told the paper: I will be getting in touch with my local prison and tell them who I am and what I want, and they will go and find potential people for my fruit farm. They are free to work just like any other employee, they come here, work and go back with their pay packet at the end of the day. She added: I think we should be as a society giving chances to these people. The prisons are full of people who really ought not to be there and it is up to society who has chosen to lock people away to give them a place in society. It comes as farmers witness a sharp decline in the number of seasonal workers since the UK voted to leave the European Union. Nick Marston, Chairman of British Summer Fruits, said farms are reporting staff shortages of 10-20% already, and to have any effect in terms of supporting the industry, around 10,000 are needed now to fill in the gap. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. Two other men, 28 and 25, were also shot there and drove off in a silver Toyota sedan until they flagged down an ambulance at Cermak Road and State Street, police said. The 28-year-old suffered a graze wound to the head and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was stabilized. The 25-year-old was shot in the head and stabilized at Stroger Hospital. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category Salman Khans Bharat caught up in a legal hurdle Salman Khan and Katrina Kaifs upcoming next Bharat has now landed in legal trouble. According to a report, a Public Interest Litigation was filed in the Delhi High Court on Thursday, asking the filmmakers to change the title of the film. As per the petitioner Vikas Tyagi, the film is distorting the culture and political image of our great country Bharat and that the title is violating Section 3 of Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, which states that the word 'Bharat cannot be used for commercial purpose. Vikas Tyagi was quoted saying, This film is fraught with Salman's typical flippancy and vulgarity. Being a 'Bharatiya', I feel it is not appropriate to name such a film or any character associated with this film after our great nation. Katrina Says She Is Mature Enough To Ignore Link-up Rumours The Bharat actress was quoted as saying, "It doesn't even matter. These rumours are part and parcel of our life. Now I have that maturity to understand all that matters is the work that you do. That's what will make you sustain, that's what the audience love you for or judge you on." 'You Have To Make Peace With Public Speculation,' Says Kat All the rest just comes and goes as these are part of the job. We chose to come into the spotlight. There are a lot of people who hate to come into spotlight. But that is the nature of being an actor, you have to accept and make peace with public speculation. Some days it will be truthful, some days not truthful," she further added. When Katrina Opened Up About The Things She Has Learnt From Her Last Relationship Earlier in an interview with Filmfare, Katrina opened up about her last relationship and said, "I don't have regrets about anything because that was also an experience, a journey. Had it been balanced, calm and stable, I wouldn't have come to learn so many things. These are just wonderful experiences. She further added, "My last relationship was an experience, which was extremely important for me at so many levels. I've gained a lot more maturity, more understanding. Now, I don't have any fixed plan that this is how it has to go or this is how I have to be. That's the openness I want to maintain. I don't want to burden the other person or carry any baggage. It's important for a person to maintain their identity, have your own goals and purpose in life and to protect the friendships you have." Katrina Says She Is Single When prodded further if she's seeing someone, the actress said, "I am single. Earlier, I had said, until I get married, I'm single. I still stand by that. If you have a boyfriend, you're not single. If you're in a serious relationship, then you're not single. I am single." Divyanka Tripathi & Vivek Dahiya Divyanka looked beautiful in off-white dress, while her husband-actor looked dapper in blue kurti and white pants. Divyanka shared a picture and wrote, "Whatever I wear, wherever I go, you can't pull the #Bhaartiya out of me." Ankita Lokhande & Vicky Jain Ankita Lokhande was seen posing with Baba Siddique along with her boyfriend Vicky Jain. The actress looked stunning in a red sharara, while her beau looked handsome in looked dapper in a white kurta! Mouni Roy Naagin actress Mouni Roy looked beautiful in a white. The actress shared a few pictures and captioned it, "Iftar ready." Shraddha Arya Kundali Bhagya actress Shraddha Arya was seen posing for shutterbugs. She looked gorgeous in emerald green traditional attire. The actress captioned the pictures, "#Iftarparty " Srishty Rode Ex-Bigg Boss contestant Srishty Rode looked beautiful in a black-coloured sari. shared a few pictures from the Iftar party on her Instagram stories. Karishma & Pearl Exit Together! According to Latestly report, the rumoured couple Karishma Tanna and Pearl V Puri, who also attended the party were spotted exiting together. Apparently, Karishma exited first, while Pearl left in next ten minutes. The duo left the venue in her car. The Kapil Sharma Show: Sunil Grover opens up on not attending show with Salman & Katrina | FilmiBeat The Kapil Sharma Show has been in the news since inception. Ever since Season two began, there have been speculations of Sunil Grover's entry on the show. It has to be recalled that Sunil Grover exited Kapil's show post the mid-air feud! Although the actor has forgiven Kapil, he seems to have not forgotten the incident, which is stopping him from joining hands with Kapil! When Bharat promos released, there were reports of Sunil appearing on the show as a guest to promote the film along with Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. It was said that since Salman is producing TKSS, he might get Sunil on the show. But, Salman appeared on the show along with Katrina sans Sunil. It was said that 'Salman wanted Sunil to come on the show, but the comedian put his foot down'! Now, Sunil has himself revealed as to why he did not appear on Kapil's show. Sunil was quoted by Bollywood Hungama as saying, "Mera jaana kuch aisa zaruri bhi nai tha. Jis film mein Salman Khan hai, Katrina Kaif hai toh mukhe nahi lagta ki aapko promotion ke liye aur kisi element ki zarurat hai. Aur mera mann nahi kiya jaaneka toh mai nahi gaya (It was not necessary for me to go there because if you have Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif promoting a film, you don't need any other element. Also, I did not feel like going there so I did not go.)" When asked whether he would ever work with Kapil, he said, "Lot of time destiny plays a part in deciding how much would your presence be in a certain project. It is all related to destiny. A lot of things happened, lot of beautiful things happened too. I got a lot of love and recognition working with him and I would always remember that. If it is written in my destiny, I would work with him again." Well, whenever Sunil was asked on working with Kapil, his answer has been the same, which is 'destiny'! Most Read: Barun Sobti Says Pashmeen's Baby Shower Was Lovely; Has No Plans For A Babymoon Right Now! Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda") (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) today became the first private sector company to announce a financial commitment to the Global Fund's Sixth Replenishment. The new pledge, consisting of JP 1 billion over five years, builds on Takeda's previous contribution to the Global Fund. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190602005021/en/ Takeda, a leading global pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan, intends to support the improvement of maternal and child health by integrating quality HIV, tuberculosis and malaria services in antenatal and postnatal care in several countries in Africa. "We are very pleased to renew our partnership with Takeda and strengthen our collaboration in fighting HIV, TB and malaria," said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. "I hope Takeda's vote of confidence in the work we do will encourage other corporations in Asia and beyond to step up the fight to end the epidemics." Takeda's first pledge of JP 1 billion over ten years was invested in strengthening the capacity of health care workers in Africa. It helped boost malaria prevention efforts in Tanzania with the distribution of mosquito nets; accelerated access to TB treatment in Kenya; and expanded HIV services and increased awareness of the virus in Nigeria. "We are deeply inspired by the Takeda Initiative's impact on strengthening healthcare workforce capacity in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania to prevent and address the world's three biggest infectious disease killers," said Christophe Weber, President CEO, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. "Our commitment to Better Health and a Brighter Future extends beyond our work at the cutting edge of innovation to bold, long-term investments in disease prevention, capacity building, and access to healthcare in partnership with the global community. Supporting the Global Fund over the past 10 years has yielded results that are very important to us, and that is why we are proud to continue to partner with the Global Fund on the Takeda Initiative 2." The Global Fund has demonstrated extraordinary impact as a public-private partnership, saving 27 million lives since 2002. The number of people dying from AIDS, TB and malaria in countries where the Global Fund invests has been reduced by one-third. France will convene the Global Fund's Sixth Replenishment pledging conference on October 10, 2019 in Lyon, France. The Global Fund seeks to raise at least US$14 billion US$1 billion from the private sector for the next three years. The funds will help save 16 million lives, cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half, and build stronger health systems by 2023. The renewal of the partnership was facilitated by the Friends of the Global Fund, Japan, operated by the Japan Center for International Exchange. Akio Okawara, President CEO of JCIE, added: "Takeda's continued commitment to support the global fight against the three diseases provides an exemplary model of private sector engagement and adds momentum to Japan's public-private partnership efforts in promoting universal health coverage and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals." About the Global Fund The Global Fund is a 21st-century partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics. As a partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and people affected by the diseases, the Global Fund mobilizes and invests nearly US$4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 100 countries. By challenging barriers and embracing innovative approaches, we are working together to better serve people affected by the diseases. For more information, visit www.theglobalfund.org About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) is a global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader headquartered in Japan, committed to bringing Better Health and a Brighter Future to patients by translating science into highly-innovative medicines. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four therapeutic areas: Oncology, Gastroenterology (GI), Rare Diseases, and Neuroscience. We also make targeted R&D investments in Plasma-Derived Therapies and Vaccines. We are focusing on developing highly innovative medicines that contribute to making a difference in people's lives by advancing the frontier of new treatment options and leveraging our enhanced collaborative R&D engine and capabilities to create a robust, modality-diverse pipeline. Our employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients and to working with our partners in health care in approximately 80 countries and regions. For more information, visit www.takeda.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190602005021/en/ Contacts: Media Contacts The Global Fund Dominique De Santis Email: dominique.desantis@theglobalfund.org Tel: +41 78 911 5327 Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Kazumi Kobayashi Email: Kazumi.kobayashi@takeda.com Tel +81-3-3278-2095 AMSTERDAM, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Global payments innovator Verrency arrives at Money 2020 in Amsterdam having secured 32 strategic partners to leverage the company's enterprise grade, curated API capabilities at financial institutions. The non-exclusive partnership program is specifically curated for payment enabled fintechs and established service providers that provide capabilities such as loyalty, merchant offers, data enhancement, AI, round-ups, instalment credit, wallets and device management. Verrency's platform enables banks to easily leverage these partner capabilities and therefore rapidly deliver payment and card innovations, drive deep real-time customer engagement and deliver true personalization to their retail customers without major modification to their existing legacy payments infrastructure. Verrency is a major Australian fintech success story having signed significant commercial deals in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, LATAM and the US. Most recently Verrency was named Payments Innovator of the Year at the Fintech Business Awards 2019. Verrency's European operations is based at Level 39 in London and is looking to Money 2020 to expand its European client base as well as its European-based partners. Verrency Founder and CEO David Link said the partner program has resulted in significant traction and opened direct commercial opportunities for many of Verrency's partners. "This is an exciting time for Verrency and our partners as we have multiple implementations to go live by the end of the year, a growing global presence, and greater acceptance of our proposition as both an integration solution and a significant distribution channel for our partners. "The partners get it. By working with us they can dramatically enhance their distribution capabilities via connection into major enterprise clients locally, regionally and globally." Verrency's partner program is managed through its global partnership and investment initiative V+. About Verrency Verrency puts card issuers/ financial institutions back at the centre of innovation. Verrency's payments middleware platform helps issuers to acquire and retain customers and increase card spend while increasing security, control and connectability. Verrency works behind the scenes to enable an ever-increasing range of value-added services for an issuer's customers quickly and easily without major changes to existing payments infrastructure or the need to integrate to point-of-sale systems. Verrency also enables rapid connection to third-party fintech services via its FinTech marketplace with little to no integration. www.verrency.com Novartis International AG / Novartis Shows Growing Strength in Lung Cancer Innovation with New Capmatinib Investigational Data and Novel Canakinumab Clinical Trials . Processed and transmitted by West Corporation. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Primary analysis of investigational capmatinib (INC280) in the GEOMETRY mono-1 study demonstrates promising efficacy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring MET exon-14 skipping mutation Overall response rate among patients receiving capmatinib was 68% for treatment-naive and 41% for previously treated patients; median duration of response was also clinically meaningful irrespective of prior line of therapy The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted capmatinib Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC harboring MET exon-14 skipping mutation with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy; discussions with global health authorities are underway Additional Novartis lung cancer research presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2019 Annual Meeting include Phase III CANOPY clinical trial designs, evaluating canakinumab (ACZ885) monotherapy in patients with mid- to late-stage NSCLC Basel, June 3, 2019- Novartis announced today new data and clinical trial updates in NSCLC at the ASCO 2019 Annual Meeting. This includes primary efficacy results from the GEOMETRY mono-1 Phase II clinical trial demonstrating that investigational MET inhibitor capmatinib (INC280) shows promise as a potential treatment option for patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC that harbor MET exon-14 skipping mutation. There are currently no approved targeted therapies to treat this particularly aggressive form of NSCLC. Results of the Phase II study will be presented at an oral session today at ASCO, June 3, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. CDT (Abstract #9004)[1]. GEOMETRY mono-1 is an international, prospective, multi-cohort, non-randomized, open-label study evaluating 97 adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC harboring MET exon-14 skipping mutation who received capmatinib tablets 400 mg orally twice daily. Primary efficacy results among treatment-naive patients (Cohort 5b: 28 patients) were a 68% overall response rate (ORR) based on the Blinded Independent Review Committee (BIRC) assessment per RECIST v1.1 (95% CI: (47.6 - 84.1)). Forty-one percent of previously treated NSCLC patients (Cohort 4: 69 patients) also responded (95% CI: (28.9 - 53.1)). Data on median duration of response (DOR), a key secondary endpoint, was 11.14 months (95% CI: (5.55 - NE)) and 9.72 months (95% CI: (5.55 - 12.98)), respectively. Intracranial activity in 54% (n=7/13) of patients, including some cases of complete resolution of brain lesions, was also observed by ad hoc neuro-radiologist review in patients with brain lesions. All results were based on independent assessment by the BIRC, and all tumor CT scans were evaluated in parallel by two radiologists to confirm the response. The most common treatment related adverse events (AE) (>=10% all grades) across all cohorts (n=334), were peripheral edema (42%), nausea (33%), creatinine increase (20%), vomiting (19%), fatigue (14%), decreased appetite (13%) and diarrhea (11%); the majority of the AEs were grades 1/2. "New lung cancer treatment options are critical, as this deadly disease affects more than 2 million new patients around the world each year," said John Tsai, MD, Head of Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "The GEOMETRY mono-1 results are encouraging, and we look forward to discussing these results with health authorities with the hope of bringing this targeted treatment option to people with this aggressive type of lung cancer." Capmatinib Granted Orphan Drug and Breakthrough Therapy Designation Status The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently granted capmatinib Breakthrough Therapy Designation for patients with metastatic NSCLC harboring MET exon-14 skipping mutation with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Previously, both the U.S. FDA and Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency recognized capmatinib with Orphan Drug status. It is estimated that 3% to 4% of all patients with NSCLC have an identified MET mutation[3]. "The efficacy observed with capmatinib in the GEOMETRY mono-1 trial is promising," said Juergen Wolf, MD, University Hospital, Cologne. "In addition to positive overall response rate among first-line patients with the MET mutation, the duration for the responses, including the activity in the brain, and capmatinib's safety profile are important milestones for this patient population. As a group, patients with MET mutated NSCLC often require special clinical considerations, as they are generally older and with poor prognosis further limiting their treatment options." About GEOMETRY mono-1 GEOMETRY mono-1 is an international, prospective, multi-cohort, non-randomized, open-label Phase II study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of single-agent capmatinib (INC280) in adult patients with EGFR wildtype, ALK-negative rearrangement, advanced NSCLC harboring MET amplification and/or mutations. Patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC harboring MET exon-14 skipping mutation (centrally confirmed) were assigned to Cohorts 4 (previously treated patients) or 5B (treatment-naive), regardless of MET amplification/gene copy number, and received 400 mg capmatinib tablets orally twice daily. The primary endpoint was ORR based on the BIRC assessment per RECIST v1.1. The key secondary endpoint was duration of response (DOR) by the BIRC. The GEOMETRY mono-1 study found an ORR in the treatment-naive patients (n=28) of 67.9% (95% CI: 47.6 - 84.1) and an ORR of 40.6% (95% CI: 28.9 - 53.1) in the previously treated patients (n=69). Median DOR was 11.14 months (95% CI: 5.55-NE) in treatment-naive patients and 9.72 months (95% CI: 5.55-12.98) in previously treated patients[1]. The most common treatment-related AEs included peripheral edema, nausea, creatinine increase and vomiting. Of patients treated with capmatinib, 84% experienced an AE, with 36% having grade 3/4 AEs (only 4.5% were Grade 4)[1]. Capmatinib (INC280) is an investigational, oral and selective MET inhibitor licensed to Novartis by Incyte Corporation in 2009. Under the Agreement, Incyte granted Novartis worldwide exclusive development and commercialization rights to capmatinib and certain back-up compounds in all indications. Studying Tumor-Promoting Inflammation in Lung Cancer - Ongoing CANOPY Trials Trials in Progress (TiP) updates on the CANOPY clinical program were also included in the ASCO updates. CANOPY is made up of three randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled Phase III trials evaluating canakinumab (ACZ885), a selective IL-1 inhibitor (Abstract TPS9124) [4],[5]. CANOPY-A is a Phase III multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the efficacy and safety of canakinumab as adjuvant therapy in adult subjects with stages II-IIIA and NSCLC following complete surgical resection. The primary endpoint is disease-free survival (Abstract #7013). CANOPY-1 is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase III study investigating canakinumab versus placebo in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy (CTx) and pembrolizumab in previously untreated patients with stage IIIB/IIC-IV squamous and non-squamous NSCLC. The study will evaluate the incidence of dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) in the first 42 days of treatment, as well as PFS and overall survival (OS). CANOPY-2 is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase III study investigating canakinumab or placebo plus docetaxel in stage IIIB-IV NSCLC patients previously treated with PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitors, as well as CTx. The primary endpoints are incidence of DLT in the first 42 days of treatment and OS. Novartis Commitment to Lung Cancer Worldwide, lung cancer causes more deaths than colon, breast and prostate cancer combined, and more than 2 million new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year[2]. Despite treatment advances, patients with NSCLC still have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options. This includes the nearly 70% of NSCLC patients who have a genomic mutation that may be targeted with available therapies[6]. To determine the most appropriate treatment, medical organizations recommend genomic testing for patients with lung cancer[7]. Novartis Oncology's research has helped transform treatment approaches for patients living with NSCLC. Novartis continues its commitment to the global lung cancer community through ongoing studies, as well as the exploration of investigational compounds in NSCLC, including those that target genetic biomarkers and tumor promoting inflammation. Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch" or similar terms or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political and economic conditions; safety, quality or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches; or disruptions of our information technology systems and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach more than 750 million people globally, and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 105,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at www.novartis.com (http://www.novartis.com/). Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis (http://twitter.com/novartis) For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library (http://www.novartis.com/news/media-library) For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) References [1] Juergen Wolf. Capmatinib (INC280) in METVAR.ex14-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): efficacy data from the Phase II GEOMETRY mono-1 study. Abstract #9004. 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO), May 31-June 4, 2019, Chicago, IL. [2] Globocan. Lung Fact Sheet. Available at http://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/15-Lung-fact-sheet.pdf (http://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/15-Lung-fact-sheet.pdf) . Accessed October 9, 2018. [3] Salgia R. MET in Lung Cancer: Biomarker Selection Based on Scientific Rationale. Mol Cancer Ther. 2017;16(4):555-565. [4] Luis Paz-Ares. The CANOPY Program: Canakinumab in Patients (pts) With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Abstract TPS9124. 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO), May 31-June 4, 2019, Chicago, IL. [5] Edward B. Garon. CANOPY-A: A phase III study of canakinumab as adjuvant therapy in patients with surgically resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Abstract TPS8570. 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting (ASCO), May 31-June 4, 2019, Chicago, IL. [6] Hirsch FR, Suda K, Wiens J, et al. New and emerging targeted treatments in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. Lancet. 2016;388:1012-1024. [7] Lindeman NI, Cagle PT, Beasley MB, et al. Molecular Testing Guideline for Selection of Lung Cancer Patients for EGFR and ALK Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors. J Thorac Oncol. 2013;8(7):823-859. # # # Novartis Media Relations E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) Antonio Ligi Novartis Global Media Relations +41 61 324 1374 (direct) +41 79 723 3681 (mobile) antonio.ligi@novartis.com (mailto:antonio.ligi@novartis.com) Eric Althoff Novartis US External Communications +1 646 438 4335 eric.althoff@novartis.com (mailto:eric.althoff@novartis.com) Mary Curtin Creaser Novartis Oncology Communications +1 862 778 2550 (direct) +1 862 345 4102 (mobile) Mary.Curtin_Creaser@novartis.com (mailto:Mary.Curtin_Creaser@novartis.com) Novartis Investor Relations Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944 E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com (mailto:investor.relations@novartis.com) Central North America Samir Shah +41 61 324 7944 Richard Pulik +1 212 830 2448 Pierre-Michel Bringer +41 61 324 1065 Cory Twining +1 212 830 2417 Thomas Hungerbuehler +41 61 324 8425 Isabella Zinck +41 61 324 7188 Novartis Pharma AG Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation CH-4002 Basel Switzerland 2018 Novartis 6/19 G-PIP-1212319 East Hanover, New Jersey 07936-1080 Media release (PDF) (http://hugin.info/134323/R/2245511/886984.pdf) 3 June 2019 Panther Metals PLC ("Panther" or the "Company") Annaburroo Gold Project Application, Australia Panther Metals Plc (NEX:PALM) is pleased to announce that it has put in an application for licence EL32140, named Annaburroo Gold Project by the Company, in the Northern Territory, Australia. The licence covers an area of 150km2 and is located approximately 105km southeast of Darwin. Darren Hazelwood, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "I'm delighted we have been able to extend our reach into Australia, and particularly the Northern Territory, so quickly following the announcement of our maiden application on 20 May 2019. As we see the acceleration of tier one producers teaming up with exploration focused companies Panther shows the benefit a remarkably strong board brings in the identification of value adding assets." Highlights: Annaburroo Project Exploration Licence Application ("ELA") located in the highly-prospective Pine Creek Orogen, Northern Territory, Australia. ELA covers an area of c. 150km 2 and contains several highly prospective structural targets and gold geochemical anomalies, many of which require follow-up. Newmont Australia identified the Donkey Hill prospect on the southern end of the Annaburroo Dome, which yielded 61.2 g/t Au and 50.8 g/t Au from grab samples and 5m @ 6.68 g/t Au in trenching. Limited previous drilling at Donkey Hill provided near surface intercepts including 2m @ 3.10 g/t Au. Description of Project The Annaburroo Gold Project ("the Project") comprises a single licence application (EL32140) covering an area of 150km2, located 105km to the southeast of Darwin, Northern Territory. The Project is well-located near infrastructure and the Toms Gully (20km away) and Rustlers Roost (27km away) deposits, which are owned by China Hanking Holdings Limited. Toms Gully is a high-grade underground mine containing 1.1Mt @ 8.9 g/t Au (0.3 Moz); operations are expected to recommence in 2019. Rustlers Roost contains 51Mt @ 1.0 g/t Au (1.6Moz) and is one of the largest gold projects in the region. It is expected that this licence area will be explored by Panther contemporaneously with the Marrakai Gold Project, which is located 32km away to the west. The Project is located within the Palaeoproterozoic Pine Creek Orogen ("PCO"), proximal to the Mount Bundey granite and Mount Goyder syenite. The host rocks in the area are metamorphosed (greenschist facies) sandstone, siltstone, mudstones, tuffs and sulphidic/carbonaceous units of the Palaeoproterozoic South Alligator and Mount Partridge groups, which represent highly prospective but variable hosts for gold mineralisation in the Pine Creek Orogen. These units are folded throughout the region to create several doubly-plunging anticlines, some showing evidence of limb faulting. The area around these intrusive rocks is known to contain several uranium (e.g. Quest 31 to 33) and gold prospects, and may also have potential to host an unusual style of hydrothermal Au-PGE (U) mineralisation encountered at the Coronation Hill (4.85Mt @ 4.31 g/t Au, 0.65 g/t Pd and 0.19 g/t Pt), Gold Ridge and Sargents North deposits found elsewhere in the PCO. The presence of suitable host structures and stratigraphy (particularly carbonaceous units), proximity to high-heat producing intrusions and spatially related uranium and gold mineralisation is suggestive of potential for this style of deposit. Despite the potential for the area to host various styles of gold mineralisation, exploration since the early 1970s has been sporadic and geographically limited. Only two phases of work during the past fifty years have involved significant field activities with several other operators having conducted only cursory exploration, field reconnaissance and data review. During the late 1980s Newmont Australia identified the Donkey Hill gold prospect from several grab samples with results up to 50.8 g/t Au and 13.7 g/t Au from different veins. Follow-up trenching recorded five-metre composite chip samples up to 6.68 g/t Au. This work led to a short Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling programme (four RC holes totalling 244m) with a best intercept of 2m @ 3.10 g/t Au from 28m in hole RCD-3. No further work of significance was undertaken in the area until Rum Jungle Resources proceeded with an airborne magnetic, radiometric and electro-magnetic survey in the late 2000s, which was followed up by field reconnaissance and a geochemical soil survey of 665 samples. Grab samples of up to 61.2 g/t Au from veins at the Donkey Hill prospect and 0.27 g/t Au from a large outcropping quartz vein 3.8 km to the north of Donkey Hill, highlighted the prospectivity of the broader "Annaburroo Dome". This work was followed-up with six RC holes for a total of 666m designed to test parts of the Donkey Hill prospect and three geophysical anomalies approximately 5km to the north. The results of this drilling were equivocal, particularly given the earlier successful Newmont drilling results, with a best intercept of 5m @ 0.35 g/t Au from 86m in hole DHRC003. Panther recognises that the Annaburroo Project is highly prospective for the discovery of orogenic gold systems. This is underpinned by the underexplored nature the licence area, which is characterised by highly prospective bedrock and potential host structures. The widespread post-mineral cover and the very limited drill testing to date suggests there is opportunity for gold deposits to have been overlooked in earlier exploration. Almost all of the previous drill-testing occurred in a limited area at the Donkey Hill gold prospect. The Directors accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. - New Parcel Perform office in Germany to focus on the European markets - Partnership with Coureon Logistics offers end-to-end e-commerce logistics from multi-carrier parcel booking to multi-carrier parcel tracking - Global brand refresh of Parcel Perform along with new logistics intelligence feature introduced BERLIN, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Parcel Perform, the leading carrier-independent parcel tracking SaaS platform covering 600 logistics carriers worldwide, today announced its expansion into Europe with its new office in Germany. The new European team will focus on working with Parcel Perform's existing customers in Europe and further grow Parcel Perform's customer base in the European e-commerce markets. At the same time, Parcel Perform will partner with Coureon Logistics, a digital logistics provider for national and international shipping, to offer end-to-end multi-carrier logistics from parcel booking to parcel tracking for e-commerce retailers in Europe. "We look forward to expanding our success into Europe. The e-commerce market in Europe is particularly exciting for us with e-commerce retail sales growing at an average of 12% per year[1]. However, Europe remains an extremely complex continent from a supply chain perspective with a multitude of logistics players across all markets," says Dr. Arne Jeroschewski, Founder and CEO of Parcel Perform. "Our proven Parcel Perform platform aggregates and standardizes logistics data, allowing e-commerce businesses to track, analyze and predict parcel movements, enabling companies to make sense of their logistics data and better manage their operations. The market for customer experience, personalisation and tech-enabled logistics management is ripe for growth and we are well-positioned to help companies grow in this area." Parcel Perform's expansion into Europe comes on the heels of momentum for the company as it introduces a global brand refresh along with new logistics intelligence features on its platform. New features include enhanced real time reporting to analyze logistics performance and an improved dashboard with more detailed insights and intuitive overview of parcel statuses. This enables e-commerce businesses to improve customer experience, reduce customer service costs and optimize logistics performance. "With over 600 logistics carriers integrated on Parcel Perform and thousands of customers worldwide, we have seen how parcel tracking data -- when standardized and analyzed -- can help e-commerce retailers grow. Our customers have seen at least 10% increase in revenue through upselling and increased touchpoints, 30% reduction in customer service costs and a 10% reduction in last mile costs by using Parcel Perform," added Dana von der Heide, Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Parcel Perform. "We are excited to bring our platform to more customers in Europe and offer a tool to improve the overall e-commerce experience for end consumers." [1] 2018-2023, Forrester https://www.forrester.com/report/Online+Retail+Will+Drive+Overall+European+Retail+Sales+Growth+Through+2023/-/E-RES142232 About Parcel Perform Parcel Perform is the leading carrier-independent parcel tracking software platform for e-commerce merchants covering 600 logistics carriers worldwide. Established in 2016, Parcel Perform offers the most comprehensive parcel tracking data for e-commerce businesses to track, analyze and optimize their e-commerce delivery experience. Parcel Perform is based in Singapore, Vietnam, and Germany and serves thousands of customers globally. In addition to its core B2B business, the company also offers a tracking service for end-consumers called Parcel Monitor ( www.parcelmonitor.com ). Accessible to the general public, users can subscribe to delivery updates, see results in multiple languages and save their parcels for future reference. For more information, visit www.parcelperform.com About Coureon Coureon offers a unique multi-carrier management platform, allowing e-commerce retailers and logistics companies to seamlessly orchestrate multiple providers in their supply chains. By providing the right technology platform coupled with an extensive delivery network in Europe, Coureon enables faster transit times and competitive rates. Coureon is a brand of UBsend with offices across five European countries. For more information, visit www.coureon.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/895545/Parcel_perform_pic.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/895546/parcel_perform_infographic.jpg Some people driving or walking through the street slowed down to glimpse the investigation, but the only ones who lingered outside were three men across the street from the yellow bike. The trio huddled by a patch of grass staked with a black cross, its base adorned with flowers and pastel candles. It was a memorial for another man they said was killed in a shooting three years ago on the same block. Watneys Beer Company is making a comeback by equity crowdfunding to re-launch more iconic British beers Watneys, once the UK's biggest selling beer, is back with a difference. The beer, originally brewed in London in 1837, was once synonymous with a cheeky tipple in pubs around the country, especially their (in)famous Watneys Red Barrel. Watneys is now back having reinvented the iconic brand for the tastes of the modern drinker and with a fresh approach to tackle the UK's craft beer industry. Since 2015, Watneys Beer Company has enjoyed success in growing its craft beer business (up 85% YOY in 2018) all without owning a brewery, lorry or a barrel. Watneys is now looking for equity crowdfunding on Seedrs (https://www.seedrs.com/watneys-beer-company) to expand its portfolio of strong regional craft beer brands and to build Watneys into a national brand again. In a competitive craft beer market with over 15% growth but more than 2,000 brewers in the UK, Watneys is taking a different approach to building its business by partnering with award-winning craft brewers to make its beers, instead of investing in costly premises. This allows it to take advantage of wasted capacity in current breweries (which up to 45% of UK breweries hold), whilst minimising Watneys overhead and capital requirements. Nick Whitehurst, Director of Watneys Beer Company, says: "The nostalgia and history of Watneys give us provenance, but what we've done is taken this heritage and reinvented the brand to appeal to a whole new generation of drinkers. Now we're modern, relevant and have a business model to make Watneys a key brand in the craft beer market." Brewed in London since 1837, Watneys is still etched into the architecture of pubs around the country and in the hearts of many. The brand disappeared in the 1980s, but it is setting up to become a great brand once again. It's inviting the crowd to raise investment to expand the company's sales marketing resource to break into additional markets like off-trade and export. The company is also planning to relaunch other cherished heritage beer brands such as Federation in Newcastle, North East England and Matthew Brown from Lancashire, North West England. Watneys Beer Company is already backed by a group of industry veterans and over 30 angel investors, including East Midlands Business Angels. Watneys is crowd raising investment on Seedrs, seeking 400,000. You can see the campaign at https://www.seedrs.com/watneys-beer-company --ENDS-- About Watneys Beer Company: Watneys Beer Company was launched in 2014, to bring heritage beer brands back to the craft market. The old recipes are gone and replaced with new delicious brews for today's modern drinker. The first iconic brand to relaunch was Home Ales 2015, back into its Midlands heartland. 2016 saw the launch of Watneys in London, once the UK's biggest beer brand. Watneys is now back and reinvented, with affection with the brand strong and finding fans with the younger generation who love the new, modern Watneys. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005069/en/ Contacts: For press enquiries please contact: Simon Franklin Dynamo PR on +44 (0) 203 946 6862 watneys@dynamopr.com Syngenta signs up to the United Nation's LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business 5 Standards drawn up by the UN set out steps for companies to ensure equal treatment at work Syngenta is proud to announce its support for the United Nations' Standards of Conduct for Business to help tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in the workplace, the marketplace and in the community. CEO Erik Fyrwald said, "As a global company operating in nearly 100 countries, we are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to creating an environment where all employees are supported and can be themselves. We also have very diverse customers and partners, and signing these Standards shows the importance we place on a fostering a culture of respect and inclusion". "Syngenta is one of more than 250 early supporters of the UN Global LGBTI Standards for Business. The private sector has a crucial role to play in respecting and supporting the human rights of LGBTI people. The support of Syngenta sends a powerful signal to the farming and agricultural innovation sectors and beyond." said Fabrice Houdart, United Nations Human Rights Officer and co-author of the Standards. These Standards, consisting of five principles, provide a framework for companies to tackle discrimination, and support the implementation of inclusive policies and practices. In addition, the Standards encourage signatory companies to prevent discrimination against LGBTI business partners and to encourage suppliers to do the same. Syngenta's Head of Human Resources Laure Roberts said, "Syngenta is committed to championing greater inclusion both within the company and beyond, and LGBTI discrimination, or any other kind of discrimination, has no place in our culture." Find out more about the UN Global LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business here. About Syngenta Syngenta is one of the world's leading agriculture companies. Our ambition is to help safely feed the world while taking care of the planet. We aim to improve the sustainability, quality and safety of agriculture with world class science and innovative crop solutions. Our technologies enable millions of farmers around the world to make better use of limited agricultural resources. With 28,000 people in more than 90 countries we are working to transform how crops are grown. Through partnerships, collaboration and The Good Growth Plan we are committed to improving farm productivity, rescuing land from degradation, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing rural communities. To learn more visit www.syngenta.com and www.goodgrowthplan.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Syngenta and www.twitter.com/SyngentaUS. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005327/en/ Contacts: Media Relations Central Line +41 61 323 23 23 media.relations@syngenta.com Head of Corporate Communications U.S. Paul Minehart +1 202 737 89 13 West Street Capital Partners VII, a fund managed by the Merchant Banking Division of Goldman Sachs ("GS MBD"), Altas Partners ("Altas") and Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec ("CDPQ") announced today their entry into a definitive agreement under which GS MBD will acquire Capital Vision Services, LP ("CVS") from Altas and CDPQ. CVS, which provides management services to MyEyeDr. O.D.'s ("MyEyeDr." or the "Company") optometry practices, supports affiliated independent MyEyeDr. optometrists and their practices with a complete array of financial, marketing, human resources, and accounting services, along with managed care credentialing and claims processing. MyEyeDr. practices offer patients personalized and essential eye care services, an unmatched selection of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses, and standard and specialty contact lenses to meet their unique vision, health and wellness needs. "We are thrilled to partner with GS MBD as we turn to the next chapter of our growth and champion a new path for eye care," said Sue Downes, Co-Founder and CEO of CVS. "GS MBD's funds have a long and established track record of successfully scaling healthcare companies, and we look forward to leveraging their expertise as we provide even more patients access to the latest in vision care technology." "We also thank Altas and CDPQ for their partnership and invaluable support these last several years," added Downes. "By leveraging their operational expertise and strategic insight, we were able to significantly enhance our capabilities, processes and systems and strengthen our senior management team with the addition of multiple key hires." "We are very excited to announce this transaction and mark the beginning of the next chapter of CVS' success," said Jo Natauri, Global Head of Healthcare Investing for the Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division. "We look forward to partnering with this talented management team and building on their foundation of commercial and operating excellence. CVS has a proven consumer-directed healthcare model that champions optometrists and promotes eye health. We are proud to support the Company's continued growth and pleased about this new investment, which expands our portfolio in the healthcare services sector." "We are extremely proud to have partnered with Sue Downes, David Sheffer and the entire CVS management team during this time of tremendous growth and development for the Company," said Scott Werry, a Managing Partner of Altas. "At the time of our investment in 2015, CVS managed 165 practices in 7 states; by the end of this year, the Company's footprint will have grown to 575 practices in 18 states nationwide. CVS is well ahead of schedule in achieving our strategic vision for the business, which was focused on significantly enhancing its scale and scope while delivering improved patient outcomes across its affiliated practices." "CVS achieved tremendous success in growing the Company during the past few years. This is now a world-class organization that is poised for continued growth in the coming years," said Stephane Etroy, Executive Vice-President and Head of Private Equity at CDPQ. "It is a great experience to work alongside an exceptional management team such as the one leading CVS and support them with the right mix of strategic input and tools that enable them to thrive." The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. About Capital Vision Services, LP Founded in 2001, Capital Vision Services, which provides management services to full-service optometry practices, is a market leader. Its affiliated MyEyeDr. practices offer patients exceptional full-service vision care, a wide selection of prescription eyeglasses and sunglasses, and standard and specialty contact lenses. Capital Vision Services provides affiliated, independent optometrists with a complete array of financial, marketing, human resources and accounting services, along with managed care credentialing and claims processing. For more information: https://www.capitalvisionservices.com/ About Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division Founded in 1869, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division is the primary center for the firm's long-term principal investing activity. With nine offices across seven countries, Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division is one of the leading private capital investors in the world with equity and credit investments across corporate, real estate and infrastructure strategies. Since 1986, the group has invested approximately $180 billion of levered capital across a number of geographies, industries and transaction types. About Altas Partners Founded in 2012, Altas Partners is an investment firm with a long-term orientation focused on acquiring significant interests in high-quality, market-leading businesses in partnership with outstanding management teams. The firm manages more than $6 billion on behalf of endowments, foundations, public pension funds and other institutional investors. The firm's past and present portfolio companies include University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, Tecta America, Hub International, PADI, Capital Vision Services, Medforth Global Healthcare Education, and NSC Minerals. For more information: http://www.altas.com About Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2018, it held CA$309.5 billion in net assets. As one of Canada's leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005360/en/ Contacts: For Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division: Leslie Shribman U.S.: +1 (212) 902 5400 For Altas Partners: Sard Verbinnen Co. Julie Rudnick Kevin Siegel U.S.: +1 (212) 687 8080 altas-svc@sardverb.com For CDPQ: Cesaltine Gregorio Senior Advisory Director, Global Media Relations +1 212 596 6314 +1 347 241 3248 cgregorio@cdpq.com BOSTON, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xceedance (https://xceedance.com/), a global provider of insurance consulting, managed services, technology, data sciences, and blockchain solutions, today announced that Blue Zebra Insurance (https://www.bzi.com.au/) (Blue Zebra) has successfully deployed the company's MGA Agility Suite to modernize policy lifecycle management processes. Blue Zebra required a flexible insurtech platform with modern functionality to compete effectively in today's market. The Australia-based managing general agent (MGA) also required a partner with deep insurance knowledge to help minimize system implementation costs and operational risk. "The MGA Agility Suite elevates our personalized, advice-driven service model, especially with its end-to-end broker and underwriter portal, and a configurable rating/pricing engine," said Blair Nicholls, CEO of Blue Zebra. "This unique platform empowers our personal lines and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) business with highly-automated workflows and a streamlined policy lifecycle, which creates transactional efficiencies for our brokers while enhancing customer-centricity in our mutual operations. On a related note, at the recent Insurance Business Australia Awards (https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/au/news/breaking-news/insurance-business-australia-awards-tonights-big-winners-revealed-166352.aspx), Blue Zebra was honored as the underwriting agency with the best digital strategy, in part due to the strengths of our platform." Engineered as an insurtech accelerator for established and startup program administrators, MGAs, and managing general underwriters (MGUs), the Xceedance MGA Agility Suite is a highly-configurable platform designed for rapid deployment and as-needed scalability. The MGA Agility Suite incorporates on-demand insurance operations services from Xceedance, to boost dexterity and responsiveness in managing dynamic policyholder requirements. "Both startup and established MGAs need hands-on partners who can facilitate time-to-market and rapid growth, while alleviating risks associated with launching, scaling, and managing operations," said Arun Balakrishnan, CEO of Xceedance. "For growth-oriented MGAs, Xceedance provides an engagement model that minimizes fixed costs. Also, we correlate our success with the advancement of MGAs - by structuring relationships where Xceedance is compensated when our MGA partners succeed and profit in their markets." The MGA Agility Suite creates value for program administrators through intelligent technologies, process optimization, advanced analytics, and strategic operations support. The integrated technology, managed services, and strategic consulting approach of Xceedance simplifies the entire insurance process from broker onboarding, submission, quote and issuance, to policy service and billing. "Xceedance has significant experience in supporting a variety of insurance organizations worldwide, and we excel at helping MGAs fulfill technology implementations and realize operational excellence," said Amit Tiwari, chief technology officer at Xceedance. "We congratulate Blue Zebra for winning a prestigious digital strategy award, and it's gratifying to see the company and its broker network achieve process optimization and growth in a demanding market. Additionally, we're excited about the availability and flexibility of the MGA Agility Suite for diverse MGAs, looking to scale and transform the way they do business." About Xceedance Xceedance is a global provider of strategic consulting and managed services, technology, and data sciences to insurance organizations. For more information, please visit www.xceedance.com (http://www.xceedance.com). Media Contact: Jennifer Overhulse St. Nick Media Services +1 859-803-6597 jen@stnickmedia.com (mailto:jen@stnickmedia.com) - New company is global leader in two large, attractive markets - seed and crop protection - underpinned by expanding digital capabilities - Begins regular way trading under "CTVA" ticker symbol WILMINGTON, Deleware, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Corteva, Inc. (NYSE: CTVA) successfully completed its separation from DowDuPont, becoming a leading, global pure-play agriculture company that offers the complete solutions farmers need to maximize yield and profitability. Corteva Agriscience launches today with global scale and a balanced offering across seed and crop protection, underpinned by expanding digital capabilities and powered by the broadest and most productive innovation pipeline in the industry. The distribution of Corteva common stock was completed on June 1, with each DowDuPont stockholder of record receiving 1 share of Corteva common stock for every 3 shares of DowDuPont common stock held as of the close of business on May 24, 2019. DowDuPont stockholders will also receive cash in lieu of any fractional Corteva shares. Corteva common stock begins trading today on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under its new ticker symbol "CTVA". "Today marks the launch of a new kind of agriculture company, well positioned to compete and win by providing farmers the complete solution they need for sustainable, long-term growth and improved profitability," said Jim Collins, Chief Executive Officer of Corteva Agriscience. "As a global leader in the combined $100 billion seed and crop protection market, Corteva Agriscience has the most robust pipeline in the industry, a world-class innovation engine, and advantaged routes to market that provide us with unparalleled customer relationships - all of which will fuel our growth as an independent company and drive value for stockholders. Our more than 21,000 dedicated employees are committed to fulfilling our purpose to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come." With a presence in more than 140 countries, Corteva Agriscience generated $14 billion in net sales in 2018. The Company has more than 150 research and development facilities and more than 65 active ingredients. "As a new, independent agriculture company, we are intently focused on disciplined investment in innovation to deliver above market organic revenue growth and improve Return On Invested Capital," said Greg Friedman, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Corteva Agriscience. "We are on schedule on our commitment to achieve $1.2 billion in cost synergies by 2021, and we are confident in our plan to expand margins. Equally important, we are committed to returning significant capital to stockholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases." The new Company's name, Corteva Agriscience (kohr-'teh-vah), is derived from words meaning "heart" and "nature." The branding acknowledges the Company's history while looking forward to its commitment to enhancing farmer productivity as well as the health and well-being of the consumers they serve. The Company is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware with Global Business Centers in Johnston, Iowa and Indianapolis, Indiana and five regional offices in Calgary, Canada; Johannesburg, South Africa; Geneva, Switzerland; Singapore; and Alphaville, Brazil. More information about Corteva Agriscience is available on its new Investor Relations website: www.corteva.com/investors. About Corteva Agriscience Corteva Agriscience provides farmers around the world with the most complete input portfolio in the industry to enable them to maximize yield and profitability - including some of the most recognized brands in agriculture: Pioneer, Granular, Brevant seeds, as well as award-winning Crop Protection products - while bringing new products to market through its robust pipeline of active chemistry and technologies. The company is committed to working with stakeholders throughout the food system as it fulfills its promise to enrich the lives of those who produce and those who consume, ensuring progress for generations to come. Corteva Agriscience became an independent public company on June 1, 2019, and was previously the Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. More information can be found at www.corteva.com. Follow Corteva Agriscience on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. TM SM Trademarks and service marks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners. Cautionary Statement About Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which may be identified by their use of words like "plans," "expects," "will," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "projects," "targets," "estimates" or other words of similar meaning. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about Corteva's strategy for growth, product development, regulatory approval, market position, anticipated benefits of recent acquisitions, timing of anticipated benefits from restructuring actions, outcome of contingencies, such as litigation and environmental matters, expenditures, and financial results, as well as expected benefits from, the separation of Corteva from DowDuPont, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events which may not be accurate or realized. Forward-looking statements also involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Corteva's control. Consequences of material differences in results as compared with those anticipated in the forward-looking statements could include, among other things, business disruption, operational problems, financial loss, legal liability to third parties and similar risks, any of which could have a material adverse effect on Corteva's business, results of operations and financial condition. Additionally, there may be other risks and uncertainties that Corteva is unable to currently identify or that Corteva does not currently expect to have a material impact on its business. Where, in any forward-looking statement, an expectation or belief as to future results or events is expressed, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and expectations of Corteva's management and expressed in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished. Corteva disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except as required by applicable law. A detailed discussion of some of the significant risks and uncertainties which may cause results and events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements is included in Corteva's Registration Statement on Form 10 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/880919/Corteva_Logo.jpg New Nature Genetics publication describes novel high-throughput single-cell ChIP-seq approach to studying heterogeneity of chromatin states within complex biological systems HiFiBiO Therapeutics, a pioneer in innovative biotherapeutics with a unique single-cell analytics platform for extensive immune profiling, today announced results from a breakthrough translational study in collaboration with scientists at world-leading academic institutions. A manuscript, "High-Throughput Single-Cell ChIP-seq Identifies Heterogeneity of Chromatin States in Breast Cancer," was released online ahead of publication in Nature Genetics In this study, scientists from HiFiBiO Therapeutics, ESPCI Paris and the Institut Curie applied HiFiBiO Therapeutics' proprietary single-cell CelliGO platform and unique Drug Intelligent Science (DIS) capabilities to probe why certain disease cells are resistant to available therapeutics. The team demonstrated a novel high-throughput single-cell ChIP-seq (scChIP-seq) approach that overcomes the current limitations of chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) technologies to better understand the role chromatin heterogeneity plays in cellular differentiation and development. The team used the scChIP-seq approach to discover new biomarkers for triple negative breast cancer, which led to several patent applications. "This publication is a major milestone for HiFiBiO Therapeutics and another example of how we are applying our proprietary single-cell technology platform to develop new solutions that can address unmet medical needs and transform patient care," said Liang Schweizer, PhD, CEO and President of HiFiBiO Therapeutics. "The new HiFiBiO scChIP-seq approach enables us and our collaborators to target more precise patient subsets and generate higher and longer lasting responses to the innovative therapeutics under development." The new scChIP-seq approach profiles chromatin landscapes of thousands of cells in tumors and other complex biological systems with high accuracy at single-cell resolution. Using patient-derived xenograft models of acquired resistance to chemotherapy and targeted therapy for triple negative breast cancer patients, the team identified a subset of cells within the untreated drug-sensitive tumors that share a common chromatin signature with resistant cells, undetectable by using bulk approaches. This signature has the potential to lead to the discovery of new drug targets and biomarkers for patient stratification. "We are committed to partnering with leading academic institutions, as well as pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We strongly believe that our proprietary CelliGO platform and unique DIS capabilities can accelerate the development of high-quality antibody drugs and enable novel biomarker discovery for better patient stratification and clinical success," said Annabelle Gerard, PhD, Senior author of the publication and Head of External Innovation at HiFiBiO Therapeutics. "Together with scientists at ESPCI Paris and the Institut Curie, we have demonstrated a new approach that enables the scientific community to decipher novel biology, understand mechanisms of action, develop more effective therapeutics, and design targeted clinical trials for patients with cancer and other complex diseases." To read the full manuscript, please visit https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0424-9. About HiFiBiO Therapeutics HiFiBiO Therapeutics is an emerging multinational biotherapeutics company mobilizing the human immune system to combat disease. The company integrates deep-rooted biological expertise with its comprehensive single-cell profiling technologies to discover and accelerate a pipeline of antibody drugs to treat cancer and autoimmune disorders. In addition, HiFiBiO Therapeutics aspires to address unmet medical needs around the world through open-innovation partnerships with industry and academia. The company features a strong global footprint with cutting-edge laboratories on three continents in Cambridge, Mass., Paris, France, and Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit www.hifibio.com. HiFiBiO Therapeutics, the HiFiBiO Therapeutics logo, CelliGO, and DIS are trademarks of HiFiBiO Therapeutics, Inc. All other brands may be trademarks of their respective holders. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005274/en/ Contacts: Media Andrew Noble Noble Communications (415) 722-2129 andrew_noble@noblecomms.com Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. SpendEdge, a global procurement market intelligence firm, has announced the release of their Global Real Estate Professional Services Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005452/en/ Global Real Estate Professional Services Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report. (Graphic: Business Wire) The real estate sector is observing a high office occupancy rate that is catering to the peaking industrial activities across significant sectors across the globe. For instance, the increasing economic activities in APAC across the IT, e-commerce, BFSI, and pharmaceuticals sectors are spurring the demand for office spaces. Consequently, the growing occupancy rate is stimulating the demand for real estate professional services to tend to the specific requirement of buyers. The e-commerce industry is emerging as one of the prominent end-users of this category and is simultaneously, driving the spend growth of the real estate professional services category. The expansion of this sector is necessitating the establishment of efficient warehousing spaces to ensure faster movement of goods across various countries. This is driving buyers from the e-commerce sector to procure from the real estate professional services providers that can optimize the value of properties for such buyers. Download the free sample copy of this real estate professional services market intelligence report. High demand for flexible space solutions from the IT and consulting sectors in the US is driving the requirement to seek specialized assistance from the real estate professional service providers. This will serve as one of the critical growth drivers of this category in the region. The investments in the commercial real estate sector in MEA reached USD 10 billion in 2017 that is mainly driven by the sovereign wealth funds from Qatar and UAE. The growth in the investments is increasing the need for real estate professional services in MEA. In an information-sensitive real-estate industry, the adoption of automation by the service providers in North America is catering to buyers with real estate pricing trends analysis, average occupancy, and location analysis. While this is enhancing the quality of their services and reduce OPEX, it is boosting their feasibility across the real-estate buyers in the region. This real estate professional services procurement research report offers a comprehensive analysis of the significant cost drivers and its subsequent impact on the overall pricing. Current supply market forecasts and the spend opportunities for the suppliers are also offered in this real estate professional services market intelligence report. In this report, the category spend is analyzed from the perspective of the buyers and the suppliers. Want personalized information? Request free customization of this market intelligence report here! "Engaging with service providers that use digital mapping and 3D technology to showcase properties across various countries reduce the requirement for buyers to visit the sites, and thereby; save on their travel costs," says SpendEdge procurement expert Tridib Bora. This real estate professional services procurement research report has estimated that the following cost drivers will influence the category growth in the following years: Rise in outsourcing of real estate services will drive the category growth Increase in demand for transactional management and office space consultation services will drive category spend momentum in North America Buy the full real estate professional services market intelligence report here! SpendEdge is now offering limited-time discounts on report purchases. Buy two reports and get the third one for free SpendEdge's procurement market intelligence reports for the facility management category provide detailed supply market forecasts and information on cost drivers that impact category growth. Such information will help procurement managers as well as the suppliers to determine the total cost of ownership and change their procurement strategies accordingly. Additionally, SpendEdge's reports provide category management insights and information on the procurement best practices for the category. Report scope snapshot: Real estate professional services US market insights Supplier cost structure in the US Margins of suppliers in the US Category cost drivers Interested to know more about the scope of our market intelligence reports? Download a FREE sample Best practices Procurement excellence best practices Procurement best practices Sustainability practices Want customized information from the real estate professional services procurement research report? Get in touch Category ecosystem Competitiveness index for suppliers Buyer power Supplier power score To view the table of contents of this market intelligence report, Download a FREE sample Do you purchase multiple reports in a year? Our subscription platform, SpendEdge Insights, provides ready-to-use procurement research reports for multiple categories. Now access the latest supplier news, innovation landscape, markets insights, supplier tracking, and much more at the click of a button. Start your 7-day FREE trial now Related Reports: Global Real Estate Property Purchasing Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report Global Real Estate Agents and Brokerage Services Category Procurement Market Intelligence Report About SpendEdge: SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more, https://www.spendedge.com/request-free-proposal View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005452/en/ Contacts: SpendEdge Anirban Choudhury Marketing Manager US: +1 630 984 7340 UK: +44 148 459 9299 https://www.spendedge.com/contact-us Addresses Need for Improved Standards and Regulations Oakville, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. (TSX: CRDL) (OTCQX: CRTPF) ("Cardiol" or the "Company"), a leader in the research and commercial development of pharmaceutical cannabidiol (CBD) and targeted therapies for inflammatory diseases, announces that Noramco, Inc. (Noramco) of Wilmington, Delaware, Cardiol's pharmaceutical partner and manufacturer of its pure pharmaceutical CBD, was selected to present at the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Scientific Data and Information about Products Containing Cannabis or Cannabis-Derived Compounds, Part 15 Public Hearing, that took place on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The goal of the hearing was to obtain additional scientific data and other information related to cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds to inform the FDA about these products. The FDA invited important stakeholders, including patients, researchers, manufacturers, retailers, and public health and government bodies, all of whom contributed data and experience. Noramco has more than 40 years' experience and expertise in the manufacture and supply of controlled drug substance active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), including cannabinoids. Their APIs are sold in over 30 countries and they have 24 active US Drug Master Files (DMF), including a DMF for pharmaceutical CBD. Noramco is fully cGMP-compliant (FDA inspected and regulated) and has demonstrated a total capacity of >750,000 kg annually in state-of-the-art facilities. Key messages and recommendations presented at the Hearing by Bill Grubb, Chief Innovation Officer and Executive VP of Business Development of Noramco, included the following: There is a Need for Federal Oversight of Manufacturing and Testing of CBD Products Noramco's own analysis using certified analytical reference standards and scientifically-sound analytical methods confirmed impurities of up to 4.39% in several available botanical CBD products - over 1,000 times higher than Noramco's pure pharmaceutical CBD. Numerous other examples of mislabeled and impure CBD products in the marketplace have been cited, including a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) study finding 69% of 84 cannabidiol botanical extract products were mislabeled, triggering the FDA to send warning letters to 14 businesses. The average amount of THC in the products was greater than 4000 parts per million (PPM), enough to produce intoxication or impairment. cGMP Production is Essential to Provide Safe CBD Noramco follows formal FDA-administered cGMP procedures to ensure the highest level of quality, purity, consistency, and Noramco has established multi-ton cGMP production capability for pure pharmaceutical CBD in excess of 180,000 Kg per annum. Noramco utilizes organic chemical synthesis to produce CBD. This process eliminates the risk of contamination by pesticide residues or heavy metals from soil and therefore there are no environmental influences on quality. Tight Control Limits for Impurities and Assess Stability of Active Ingredients in all CBD Products The FDA should adopt International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines for producers of CBD, from any source, for control of impurities, setting specifications, and for monitoring product stability. Product stability and label accuracy over time can only be assured if CBD is produced and monitored according to long-established regulations, and all commercially available CBD products should have expiry dates. Limit THC Impurity Levels to <=1000 PPM in CBD medicines CBD producers should control THC to <= 1000 PPM. Noramco's pharmaceutical CBD has THC levels orders of magnitude lower, measuring less than <10 PPM; meeting Health Canada's strict standards for products that do not require a warning label concerning THC content. "Noramco's commitment to making the purest, safest, and most consistent CBD in the world, at multi-ton scale, underscores Cardiol's rationale for selecting their world-class pharmaceutical production capabilities for our proprietary CardiolRx pure pharmaceutical CBD formulations," said David Elsley, President & CEO of Cardiol Therapeutics. "In collaboration with Noramco and Dalton Pharma, our exclusive global drug formulation partner, Cardiol is now positioned to commercialize pure pharmaceutical CBD products designed to set the highest industry standards for product purity, safety, and consistency for consumers, patients and healthcare providers around the world." "Noramco is pleased to be partnering with Cardiol Therapeutics to provide consumers access to the purest and safest CBD. Noramco's pharmaceutical CBD is produced in accordance with cGMP and is tested to assure identity, purity, quality, and strength. Noramco has clearly demonstrated that multi-ton cGMP-compliant production of CBD is now viable," stated Mr. Grubb of Noramco. About Noramco, Inc. Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Delaware, USA, Noramco maintains operations around the world, including Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and is a global leader in the manufacture and supply of controlled drug substance Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), including select cannabinoids. With the acquisition of Tasmanian Alkaloids, the addition of the Athens, Georgia site in 1982, and continuous expansions over the past three decades at both US facilities, Noramco now contributes to billion-dollar affiliate franchises, as well as to significant third-party generic and branded pharmaceutical products worldwide. About Cardiol Therapeutics Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. is a leader in the research and commercial development of pharmaceutical CBD products and targeted therapies for inflammatory disease. The Company is leveraging its expertise in pharmaceutical CBD to develop pure CBD products for commercialization in the global multi-billion-dollar market for medicinal cannabinoids. The Company is also developing nanoformulations of CBD and other anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of heart failure. Heart failure is a leading cause of death and hospitalization, with associated healthcare costs exceeding $30 billion annually in the U.S. alone. For further information about Cardiol, please visit the Company's website at www.cardiolrx.com. For further information, please contact: David Elsley, President & CEO 905.491.6793 david.elsley@cardiolrx.com Trevor Burns, Investor Relations 905.491.6791 trevor.burns@cardiolrx.com Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information: This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: future events; the future performance or the intended business strategy of Cardiol Therapeutics Inc. ("Cardiol"); the potential for Cardiol's licensed drug encapsulation and delivery technologies to enhance the bioavailability of pharmaceuticals; management's expectations regarding estimated future pharmaceutical research and development opportunities, collaborations and prospects; the success and proposed timing of Cardiol's product development activities, including, but not limited to, the proposed timeline of Cardiol's product candidate pipeline for commercial introduction; the ability of Cardiol to develop its product candidates; Cardiol's plans to research, discover, evaluate and develop additional products; Cardiol's proposed future collaborations to advance Cardiol's lead nanoformulations into clinical development; and the potential for Cardiol's cannabinoid-based products to provide sources of future revenue. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Cardiol believes, expects or anticipates will, may, could or might occur in the future are "forward-looking information". Forward-looking information is frequently identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "projects", "intends", "believes", "anticipates", "forecasts", and other similar words and phrases, including variations (and negative variations) of such words and phrases, or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions, events or conditions "may", "could", "should", "would", or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information contained herein reflects the current expectations or beliefs of Cardiol based on information currently available to it and is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual events or results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These risks and uncertainties and other factors include that the success of Cardiol's product candidates will require significant capital resources and years of clinical development efforts; the results of clinical testing and trial activities of Cardiol's products; Cardiol's ability to obtain regulatory approval and market acceptance of its products; Cardiol's ability to raise capital and the availability of future financing; Cardiol's lack of operating history; unforeseeable deficiencies in the development of Cardiol's product candidates; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future for Cardiol's research and development initiatives; Cardiol's ability to manage its research, development, growth and operating expenses; the potential failure of clinical trials to demonstrate acceptable levels of safety and efficacy of Cardiol's product candidates; Cardiol's ability to retain key management and other personnel; risks related to fluctuations in medicinal cannabinoid markets in Canada and worldwide; uncertainties regarding Cardiol's ongoing collaborative and manufacturing partnerships; uncertainties regarding results of researching and developing products for human use; Cardiol competes in a highly competitive and evolving industry; Cardiol's ability to obtain and maintain current and future intellectual property protection; and other risks and uncertainties and factors. These risks, uncertainties and other factors should be considered carefully, and investors should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Cardiol disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although Cardiol believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve certain assumptions, risks, and uncertainties and are not (and should not be considered to be) guarantees of future performance. It is important that each person reviewing this news release understands the significant risks attendant to the operations of Cardiol. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45233 What I said to them in the opening was if theyre not going to bed every night and waking up every morning worrying and having a sense of urgency and asking themselves what more they can personally do to fight crime and stem the violence in their city, theyre in the wrong job, she said. Deal Emphasizes Cypherpunk's Commitment to Funding Outstanding Privacy Technology Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. (CSE: HODL) ("Cypherpunk" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has become the lead investor in Katana Cryptographic Ltd., whose main product is Samourai Wallet Katana Cryptographic is an early-stage, London-based computer software company, focused on developing privacy technologies. Katana has developed numerous algorithms and actively maintains open source software designed to mitigate against common surveillance tactics and enhance transactional privacy. Its main product, Samourai Wallet, is described by the coinsutra.com as "the most secure and privacy-centric Bitcoin wallet currently available in the market." Samourai is still in alpha-mode, but it already has a user-base of 27,000. Full-release 1.0 is expected before the end of June. Katana's founders, Keonne Rodriguez and William Hill, were, respectively, Product Lead and Lead Mobile Developer at blockchain.info between 2013 and 2016, overseeing the growth of the user-base from from 1m to 6m. Other Katana privacy technologies include Open Exploration Tool, Ricochet, Stonewall, Whirlpool and Dojo. Commentating on the investment, Cypherpunk Director Dominic Frisby said: "We met with Katana, and were most impressed with the technologies they are developing and with Katana's commitment to privacy. We share similar values, so are delighted to be able to aid the future development of Katana's products from such an early stage. This deal shows the edge that we at Cypherpunk have." Cypherpunk Chief Economist Jon Matonis added: "As transactional privacy by default becomes the norm in digital wallets, Samourai may be leading the way in fungibility innovation and maintaining proper coin hygiene." Katana's CEO Keonne Rodriguez commented, "Katana is excited to have found a partner in Cypherpunk Holdings. We look forward to their partnership and support as we continue executing on our mission to deploy easy to use, privacy enhancing software on the Bitcoin blockchain. Financial sovereignty is more important now than ever before, with the freedom to transact being tantamount to freedom of speech. Cypherpunk Holdings have demonstrated their commitment to these core values and we look forward to working on delivering this vision with their support." Cypherpunk Holdings Inc. is a vehicle set up to invest in companies, technologies and protocols, which enhance or protect privacy. Its strategy is to make targeted investments in businesses and assets with strong privacy, often within the blockchain ecosystem, including select cryptocurrencies. The stated mission of Cypherpunk Holdings is "to become the world's leading privacy-focused investment vehicle." This is a seed capital investment of US $100,000. Cypherpunk's common shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "HODL". More details, and the latest company presentation, can be found at the company website: https://cypherpunkholdings.com/ Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Generally, any statements that are not historical facts may contain forward-looking information, and forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or indicates that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" taken, "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to the Company's goal of making investments in the blockchain and other sectors and enhancing value. There is no assurance that the Company's plans or objectives will be implemented as set out herein, or at all. Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions the Company believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. Investor Relations Contact: Marc Henderson, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Cypherpunk Holdings Inc., Office: 416.599.8547 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45183 Critical milestone in de-risking the Yerington Copper Project with ARC committing to funding and work plan Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - Quaterra Resources Inc. (TSXV: QTA) (OTCQB: QTRFF) today announced its wholly-owned subsidiary Singatse Peak Services LLC ("SPS") has entered into a master agreement with Atlantic Richfield Company ("ARC") as part of a state-regulated, privately-funded solution to long-standing environmental issues associated with previous mining activity at the Anaconda Copper Mine site located on its Yerington property in Nevada. The agreement, effective June 1, 2019, defines the terms under which the two companies will work together on the Yerington mine site, allowing ARC to complete its remedial actions and SPS to move forward with exploration and development of the site for mining. It memorializes the Parties' commitments concerning cooperation, access, property rights, liabilities, federal land acquisition, and ensures preservation of SPS's property and mineral rights. The Agreement also contains covenants not to sue and indemnification provisions between the Parties. Of particular note, the ARC-SPS agreement will: Further reduce SPS's risks regarding environmental liabilities at the Yerington site associated with past mining prior to SPS's acquisition in 2011. This includes both the former Anaconda mining operations and the former Arimetco area known as Operable Unit 8 ("OU8"), previously an unfunded liability. ARC has agreed to design, build, operate and fund the remedy for the Arimetco portion of the Site as well as to implement a CERCLA-protective remedy for the Site. Provide SPS with the opportunity to consolidate its land position at Yerington with the possible conversion of certain Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") mining claims into private land transferred to SPS at nominal cost without attached liability for previous mining activity. Dovetail with more comprehensive plans by government agencies to transfer oversight of the Yerington mine site from federal to state jurisdiction under the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection ("NDEP"). Assist in creating a simpler path for mine cleanup and development by way of private land ownership and state oversight. "Today's agreement with Atlantic Richfield marks a critical milestone in de-risking Quaterra's Yerington copper project," says Quaterra Chairman and CEO Tom Patton. "It is part of a privately funded process that we believe will enable the Yerington mine site to be remediated more quickly and more efficiently than under EPA's Superfund process." Says Quaterra President and COO Gerald Prosalendis: "For Quaterra, the agreement addresses lingering concerns about potential liability for previous mining at the site. It strengthens our land position. It puts the project on a simpler path towards cleanup and subsequent mine development. As a consequence, we believe potential partners will feel more comfortable participating with SPS in mining development at the site." The ARC-SPS agreement is one part of a larger set of agreements being negotiated among ARC, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), NDEP and the BLM, to permanently address the impacts from previous mining activities by the Anaconda Mining Company and Arimetco Inc. at Yerington. ARC has continued its remediation activities at the site under previous orders by NDEP and the EPA. Once arrangements are completed, it will finalize cleanup of the Yerington site consistent with Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA") standards. The cleanup is being overseen by NDEP. ARC's remediation plan is multi-phased and comprehensive and includes, among others, capping former heap leach pads, constructing new ponds to handle runoff, installing a site-wide storm water management system, closing aging fluid management ponds, re-contouring the area with more natural features, implementing measures for groundwater contamination, and disposing of former mine infrastructure. The work is targeted for completion by 2029 and does not preclude ongoing exploration and mine development during this time period. ARC has committed to both tribal and community involvement as the cleanup continues. In December 2015, the EPA requested the state of Nevada's support for listing the Anaconda-Yerington Mine Site on the EPA Superfund National Priorities List ("NPL") as a mechanism to provide federal funds for remediation of contamination at the site left by former owners Arimetco, in the area known as OU8. On September 9, 2016, the EPA proposed listing the entire Anaconda Copper Mine on the NPL. In July 2017, NDEP requested the EPA defer the listing of the Site on the NPL while ARC and NDEP negotiated a Statement of Work for a Site-Wide Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. In 2018, the EPA signed an agreement that transferred responsibility for remediation of the Yerington mine site from the federal government to ARC and the state of Nevada. In terms of this agreement, ARC will fund and undertake a remedial investigation, feasibility study and cleanup of the Yerington site consistent with CERCLA standards. The cleanup, which is being overseen by NDEP, will be protective of human health, protective of ecological health, give preference for solutions that are durable over the long term, and will comply with all federal requirements as defined in CERCLA, the NCP and EPA guidance, and any more stringent state requirements. SPS purchased the Yerington Site in 2011 to explore the resources at the Site and to develop and operate a mine. SPS has and continues to perform activities to qualify for the Bona Fide Prospective purchaser defense under CERCLA and the Nevada State equivalent. The Agreement acknowledges and preserves this defense between the Parties. A portion of the Site is owned by SPS and a portion of the Site is owned by the BLM subject to the unpatented claims of SPS. About Quaterra's Yerington Copper Project Quaterra's 51-square-mile Yerington Copper Project is located in the historic Yerington Copper District, a mining-friendly jurisdiction with a history of copper production and good infrastructure, about 70 miles southeast of Reno, Nevada. Assets on the property consist of the MacArthur oxide-leach and sulfide copper deposit; the Yerington pit sulfide and oxide deposit previously mined by Anaconda; the Bear porphyry copper system; and several untested exploration targets. The Company has reported oxide and sulfide resources at both MacArthur and the Yerington pit, and the 2012 PEA at MacArthur, all prepared under National Instrument 43-101. Quaterra also owns valuable water rights in the district. About Quaterra Resources Inc. Quaterra Resources Inc. (TSXV: QTA) (OTCQB: QTRRF) is a copper exploration company with the objective of advancing its U.S. subsidiary's copper projects in the Yerington District, Nevada. Quaterra also holds an option to earn a 90% interest in the Groundhog copper prospect, a 40,000-acre property situated on an established copper porphyry belt 200 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, and immediately north of the large Pebble copper-gold porphyry project. The Company continues to look for opportunities to acquire copper projects on reasonable terms that have the potential to host large mineral deposits attractive to major mining companies. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Thomas Patton, Chairman & CEO Quaterra Resources Inc. For more information please contact: Karen Robertson, Corporate Communications, 778-898-0057 Gerald Prosalendis, President and COO, Quaterra Resources Inc., 250-940-3581 Thomas Patton, Chairman & CEO, Quaterra Resources Inc., 604-641-2758 Email: info@quaterra.com Website: www.quaterra.com Disclosure note: Some statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements under Canadian securities laws and within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified in this release by words such as "believes", "anticipates", "intends", "has the potential", "expects", "hopes"' and similar language, or convey estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives, potential outcomes, expectations, or goals. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. In particular, forward looking statements in this press release include that federal and state governments and agencies and their private sector partners will implement an agreement to remediate the Yerington mine site and complete the work, the Company will continue to receive funding, that near term opportunities exist to enhance value, that a pre-feasibility study will be completed supporting the development of the MacArthur project, that value can be placed on the Company's remaining water rights, that exploration drilling will be undertaken, that results will define further mineralization or high grade zones; that historical and new exploration will support a resource on the property; that the Yerington assets have the potential to support mining operations; and that the copper price will support mining investment. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. A summary of risk factors that apply to the Company's operations are included in our management discussion and analysis filings with securities regulatory authorities, and are publicly available on our website. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45228 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - Precipitate Gold Corp. (TSXV: PRG) ( "Precipitate" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results of the detailed infill geochemical soil sampling survey conducted within the Loma Cuaba Lithocap Zone of the Company's 100% owned Pueblo Grande Project located three kilometres west of Barrick's world-class Pueblo Viejo gold-silver mine in the Dominican Republic. The detailed infill soil sampling program conducted within the highly altered Loma Cuaba Lithocap Zone has identified and refined numerous multi-element anomalies of surface mineralization within the target zone; several of which have an important northwest trend. Northwest trending geological structures at the neighbouring Pueblo Viejo gold mine frequently host high-grade feeder-style gold mineralization. See the accompanying map or the Company's website (www.precipitategold.com) for the Loma Cuaba soil anomaly illustration map. Highlight results are as follows. The largest northwest trending multi-element soil geochemical anomaly exceeds 2,000 metres ("m") in length, by 400m width, and is open to the southeast, projecting from the eastern property boundary shared with the Pueblo Viejo mine site; Soil anomalies contain elevated gold, silver, molybdenum, copper, zinc and lead values, with important pathfinder elements associated with high-sulphidation epithermal systems, such as arsenic, antimony, mercury, selenium and tellurium. Soil anomalies on the north portion of Loma Cuaba have a stronger base metal signature; Many of the northwest trending soil anomalies are coincident with silica enriched (erosion resistant) topographic high ridges, which provide clear linear early stage exploration targets; and Historical drilling has tested only small portions of these large soil anomalies, or in some cases not at all, leaving large areas prospective for future drill testing. Jeffrey Wilson, Precipitate's President & CEO stated, "We are very pleased that our first phase of field work within this highly prospective zone has identified and refined numerous multi-element soil anomalies enriched with many of the important elements commonly associated high sulphidation epithermal mineralization. The infill soil sampling program provides us with an important layer of high-resolution data that will greatly assist with our ongoing geological interpretation of the Loma Cuaba Lithocap Zone. We look forward to augmenting this new geochemical data with pending results from our ground magnetic survey and geological mapping program as we compile critical components for plotting our initial drill targets in the months ahead." Pueblo Grande Loma Cuaba Lithocap Zone Soil Geochemistry To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/1718/45248_131a1034945808d4_003full.jpg Detailed soil sampling now encompasses an area measuring about 3.3km by 2.6km covering much of the prospective Loma Cuaba Lithocap alteration zone. The recent infill soil samples augment the historical samples with an updated soil sampling dataset collected at 50m intervals along east-west oriented grid lines at 100m line intervals, resulting in a current soil sample density for most of the prospective target area of 50m by 50m. The multi-element soil anomalies outline overlapping clusters of anomalous element zones, which collectively demark the multi-element anomalous regions of modest strength (with local spot high values). Anomalies are defined by element values exceeding the 80th percentile as follows: gold (14.3 ppb), silver (91 ppb), arsenic (27.0 ppm), antimony (0.9 ppm), copper (46.4 ppm), lead (14.0 ppm), zinc (13.5 ppm), mercury (138 ppb), molybdenum (4.6 ppm), selenium (8.1 ppm) and tellurium (1.2 ppm). This news release has been reviewed by Michael Moore P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of Precipitate Gold Corporation, the Qualified Person for the technical information in this news release under NI 43-101 standards. Soil samples were bagged, sealed and delivered directly to Bureau Veritas ("BV") preparation facility in Maimon Dominican Republic where they were dried, sieved and pulped. Sample pulps were then delivered to BV facilities in Vancouver BC (an ISO 9001 accredited facility) for analyses. Samples were sieved to with up to 80% passing 2mm and split (code SS80). A 15 gram sub-split from the resulting pulp was then subjected to aqua regia digestion and ultra-trace multi-element ICP-MS analysis (code AQ251). About Precipitate Gold: Precipitate Gold Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on exploring and advancing its mineral property interests in the Pueblo Viejo Mining Camp and Tireo Gold Trend of the Dominican Republic. The Company also maintains the Reef property located immediately adjacent to Golden Predator's 3 Aces Project in the Upper Hyland River area, Yukon Territory. The Company has entered into an Option to Purchase Agreement with Golden Predator whereby Golden Predator can earn a 100% interest in the Reef claims by making certain staged payments in cash and shares and warrants. Precipitate is also actively evaluating additional high-impact property acquisitions with the potential to expand the Company's portfolio and increase shareholder value. Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.precipitategold.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Precipitate Gold Corp., "Jeffrey Wilson" President & CEO For further information, please contact: Tel: 604-558-0335 Toll Free: 855-558-0335 investor@precipitategold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Precipitate Gold Corp.'s ("Precipitate" or the "Company") current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Company and on assumptions it believes are reasonable. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Precipitate to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the exploration concessions may not be granted on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the concessions acquired by the Company may not have attributes similar to those of surrounding properties; delay or failure to receive governmental or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation affecting mining; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. Although Precipitate has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Precipitate does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45248 Acquisition adds complementary aircraft to bolster Light Jet Offering and Charter Marketplace NEW YORK and ELKHART, Indiana, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Wheels Up, the membership-based private aviation company, announced today the acquisition of Travel Management Company (TMC), with an effective closing date of May 31, 2019. TMC, the largest wholesale-focused light jet operator in the U.S., operates an owned and leased fleet of Hawker 400XP aircraft in North America. This strategic acquisition is in response to increasing demand from Wheels Up Members for high-quality light jets that meet Wheels Up's stringent safety and operational standards. As a complement to the current Wheels Up fleet of 93 aircraft, TMC's fleet of 26 Hawker 400XP aircraft will further strengthen the Wheels Up Light Jet offering and growing Charter Marketplace. "This acquisition is a foundational piece in our continued brand evolution and mission to provide our members with a total private aviation solution, and we are thrilled to be welcoming TMC into the Wheels Up family," said Kenny Dichter, Founder and CEO of Wheels Up. "TMC and their light jet fleet are a perfect complement to our anchor partner, Gama Aviation, and their pilots, who will continue to operate the aircraft in our Wheels Up fleet and provide our members with the same high level of safety and service that they do today." Phil Dodyk, CEO of TMC, said, "The team at TMC is world-class, and we're proud of the reputation we've earned for being one of the safest and most reliable operators in private aviation. By joining Kenny and the Wheels Up team, we're excited to become part of such a renowned brand and a larger company that is deep with talented leadership, which shares our collective vision of building an industry leader." TMC will operate as an independent subsidiary of Wheels Up and continue to provide the same service to their existing wholesale channel partners. TMC customers and wholesale channel partners will continue to engage with their respective TMC contacts, including Phil Dodyk and the TMC leadership team. TMC will continue to operate out of its current location in Elkhart, IN. Specific financial terms of the deal are not disclosed. For more information, please visit https://wheelsup.com/news. About Wheels Up Wheels Up is a revolutionary membership-based private aviation company that significantly reduces the upfront costs to fly privately, while providing unparalleled safety, service, flexibility and quality. Created and led by renowned entrepreneur Kenny Dichter, Wheels Up offers a total private aviation solution for its 5,000+ members through three unique membership options-Connect, Core, and Business-and a vast selection of program features. The first of these features is guaranteed access to a members-only fleet of 93 aircraft (operated exclusively by Gama Aviation)-up to 365 days a year, with as little as 24 hours' notice. The Wheels Up fleet consists of the King Air 350i, Citation Excel/XLS and Citation X. Membership also provides access to the Wheels Up Charter Marketplace, a new and innovative digital feature available on the Wheels Up App, which allows members to search and choose from a real-time inventory of Wheels Up safety-vetted and verified partner aircraft that can be instantly booked. Through the Wheels Up Flight Desk, members can take advantage of the Wheels Up Light Jet and Super-Mid Jet offerings with fixed hourly rates. Wheels Up acts as agent for Wheels Up Members and is not the operator of the program aircraft; FAA-licensed and DOT-registered air carriers participating in the program exercise full operational control of all flights offered by or arranged through Wheels Up. All aircraft owned or leased by Wheels Up are leased to the operating air carrier and are operated exclusively by that air carrier. Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google. Wheels Up Media contact: JONESWORKS Ayla Richards wheelsup@jonesworks.com 212-839-0111 About Travel Management Company Travel Management Company, TMC, or TMC Jets is the largest wholesale-focused light jet operator in the U.S. Based in Elkhart, Indiana (EKM), the company owns and operates a uniform fleet of 26 Hawker 400XPs, which primarily service wholesale charter customers for their on-demand private charter flights east of the Mississippi. TMC's unrelenting commitment to safety is reflected in their fleet's safety record and their ARG/US Platinum, Wyvern Wingman, and IS-BAO safety ratings. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/896668/Hawker_Exterior_Wheels_Up.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/896667/Hawker_Interior_Wheels_Up.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/701884/Wheels_Up_Logo.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/896666/Travel_Management_Company_Logo.jpg Approval by shareholders of all resolutions proposed at GeNeuro's Annual General Meeting (AGM), with over 90% of shares represented 5m drawn from credit facility, providing cash for operations until mid-2020 Following positive results from ANGEL-MS, continuing constructive discussions for partnering lead product temelimab CMO steps down for personal reasons; COO to assume responsibilities Regulatory News: GeNeuro (Euronext Paris: CH0308403085 GNRO) (Paris:GNRO), a biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments for neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and type-1 diabetes (T1D), today announced the approval by shareholders of all resolutions proposed at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) of 24 May, 2019. These included among others: Approval of the annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 December 2018 Re-election of the Chairman and Members of the Board of Directors Approval of maximum aggregate Board of Directors and Managerial compensation for 2020 Re-election of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Geneva, as auditors Change in conditional capital options to provide financial flexibility On 31 May, 2019, GeNeuro drew down the final 5 million from its credit facility with its shareholder GNEH SAS, a subsidiary of Institut Merieux. This final tranche will ensure that GeNeuro has the maximum resources and flexibility for ongoing business activities, and now has solid financial visibility until mid-2020 covering all planned activities. These activities include continued constructive discussions on partnering its lead product, temelimab, to tackle the key unmet medical need of disease progression in multiple sclerosis, as a single agent and/or combined with existing anti-inflammation MS drugs. Separately, GeNeuro announced the departure of its Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Robert Glanzman, who will be returning to the US for family reasons at the end of June. Dr Francois Curtin, GeNeuro's Chief Operating Officer and former CMO of the company, will take over the functions of CMO ad interim. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank Robert for his contribution to GeNeuro, in particular his role in the clinical development of temelimab. While we regret his departure, we do of course understand the reason for his decision and wish him all the best for the future. Francois has previously held the CMO position so I am confident there will be a smooth transition," said Jesus Martin-Garcia, CEO of GeNeuro. About GeNeuro GeNeuro's mission is to develop safe and effective treatments against neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, by neutralizing causal factors encoded by HERVs, which represent 8% of human DNA. GeNeuro is based in Geneva, Switzerland and has R&D facilities in Lyon, France. It has 27 employees and rights to 17 patent families protecting its technology. For more information, visit: www.geneuro.com Disclaimer: This press release contains certain forward looking statements and estimates concerning GeNeuro's financial condition, operating results, strategy, projects and future performance and the markets in which it operates. Such forward-looking statements and estimates may be identified by words, such as "anticipate," "believe," "can," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "is designed to," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "predict," "objective," "should," or the negative of these and similar expressions. They incorporate all topics that are not historical facts. Forward looking statements, forecasts and estimates are based on management's current assumptions and assessment of risks, uncertainties and other factors, known and unknown, which were deemed to be reasonable at the time they were made but which may turn out to be incorrect. Events and outcomes are difficult to predict and depend on factors beyond the company's control. Consequently, the actual results, financial condition, performances and/or achievements of GeNeuro or of the industry may turn out to differ materially from the future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by these statements, forecasts and estimates. Owing to these uncertainties, no representation is made as to the correctness or fairness of these forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates. Furthermore, forward-looking statements, forecasts and estimates speak only as of the date on which they are made, and GeNeuro undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005620/en/ Contacts: GeNeuro Jesus Martin-Garcia Chairman and CEO +41 22 552 48 00 investors@geneuro.com NewCap (France) Louis-Victor Delouvrier / Mathilde Bohin (investors) +33 1 44 71 98 52 Nicolas Merigeau (media) +33 1 44 71 94 98 geneuro@newcap.eu Halsin Partners Mike Sinclair (media) +44 20 7318 2955 msinclair@halsin.com LifeSci Advisors Chris Maggos (investors) +1 646 597 6970 +41 79 367 6254 chris@lifesciadvisors.com Carnival Corporation & plc Announces Exchange Rate For Quarterly Dividend MIAMI, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 18, 2019, Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK) announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.50 (U.S.) per share. The dividend is payable on June 14, 2019, to shareholders of record on May 24, 2019. Holders of Carnival Corporation common stock or Carnival plc ADSs will receive a dividend payable in U.S. dollars. The dividend for Carnival plc ordinary shares will be payable in sterling unless shareholders elected to receive the dividend in U.S. dollars by May 24, 2019. Dividends payable in sterling will be converted from U.S. dollars at the exchange rate quoted by Bloomberg (BFIX) at 12 noon London time on June 3, 2019 (US$1 = 79.06076 pence). Accordingly, the dividend payable in sterling on June 14, 2019, will be 39.53038 pence per share. Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard. Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 104 ships with 243,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 19 new ships scheduled to be delivered through 2025. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices. With a long history of innovation and providing guests with extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has received thousands of industry awards - including recognition by the Consumer Technology Association as a CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for OceanMedallion. A revolutionary wearable device that contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies, OceanMedallion enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform transforming vacation travel on a large scale into a highly personalized level of customized service. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com. CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT, Carnival Corporation & plc, 1 305 599 2600, ext. 67862, or INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT, Beth Roberts, 1 305 406 4832 Regulatory News: Gecina (Paris:GFC): Created in 2016, the California-based venture capital fund manager Fifth Wall Ventures is focused on technologies serving the real estate sector. Today, it has over 900 million dollars in committed and invested capital under management across multiple funds, raised primarily from a limited number of major international investors, investing in companies that are developing innovative real estate-related solutions: energy efficiency, data and statistics, digitalization, modular construction, smart cities, Blockchain, urban mobility, etc. Alongside this, Fifth Wall Ventures has built up expertise in supporting its investors with their innovation strategies, which Gecina will be able to fully benefit from for its transformation. Following the investment in Paris Fonds Vert, managed by Demeter, announced in December 2018, this latest investment will enhance Gecina's ability to identify and target, on a very wide scale, innovative partners and technological solutions that will enable it to further strengthen its strategy's relevance over the long term, while accelerating the Group's technological and service-driven transformation. These investments in funds with highly complementary geographical and industrial features come in addition to the Group's open innovation approach, built around strong partnerships. Gecina is also partnering with the incubator Paris&Co and the accelerator Wilco. "With this latest agreement, we are looking to further strengthen our ability to anticipate and source, on a wide scale, innovative new services and technologies relating to real estate in France and internationally. This will enable us to deploy new methods and technologies to serve our 100,000 YouFirst customers. Our innovation policy aims to combine immediate operational benefits with an acceleration of our teams' learning curve and long-term support for our transformation. Our ambition is to continuously enhance our value propositions, supporting our occupants' wellbeing, creating value through and capitalizing on our spaces effectively, and personalizing our services", confirms Meka Brunel, Chief Executive Officer Gecina, at the heart of urban life Gecina owns, manages and develops property holdings worth 19.3 billion euros at end-2018. As a specialist for centrality and uses, the Group is building its business around Europe's leading office portfolio, with nearly 97% located in the Paris Region, and a diversification division with residential assets and student residences. Gecina has put sustainable innovation at the heart of its strategy to create value and anticipate the expectations of around 100,000 customers and end users, thanks to the dedication and expertise of its staff, who are committed to an understated, fluid and inclusive city. To offer its customers high-quality services and support their changing needs, Gecina has launched YouFirst, its relational brand. Gecina is a French real estate investment trust (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris, and is part of the SBF 120, CAC Next 20, CAC Large 60, Euronext 100, FTSE4Good, DJSI Europe and World, Stoxx Global ESG Leaders and Vigeo indices. In line with its commitments to the community, Gecina has created a company foundation, which is focused on protecting the environment and supporting all forms of disability. www.gecina.fr View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005653/en/ Contacts: GECINA CONTACTS Financial communications Samuel Henry-Diesbach Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 52 22 samuelhenry-diesbach@gecina.fr Virginie Sterling Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 62 48 virginiesterling@gecina.fr Press relations Julien Landfried Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 65 74 julienlandfried@gecina.fr Armelle Miclo Tel: +33 (0)1 40 40 51 98 armellemiclo@gecina.fr Arix Bioscience plc Results of Annual General Meeting LONDON, 03 June 2019: Arix Bioscience plc ("Arix", LSE: ARIX) a global venture capital company focused on investing and building breakthrough biotech companies, announces that its Annual General Meeting (the "Meeting") was held on Monday, 3 June 2019 at 10.30am (BST). At the Meeting, the ordinary and special resolutions set out in the Notice of the Annual General Meeting dated 2 May 2019 (the "Notice of AGM"), were proposed and voted on by way of a poll. Full details of the poll results are set out below and will also be available on the Company's website www.arixbioscience.com. No RESOLUTION VOTES FOR % VOTES AGAINST % TOTAL VOTES % of ISC VOTED VOTES WITHHELD 01 To receive the Directors' report and the accounts for the Company for the year ended 31 December 2018 79,740,015 100.00 0 0.00 79,740,015 58.86% 3,894 02 To approve the Directors' Remuneration Policy 40,079,954 50.26 39,658,365 49.74 79,738,319 58.86% 5,590 03 To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 December 2018 23,179,050 32.41 48,338,181 67.59 71,517,231 52.79% 8,226,678 04 To re-elect Jonathan Peacock as a Director 75,716,711 94.95 4,025,628 5.05 79,742,339 58.86% 1,570 05 To re-elect Dr Franz Humer as a Director 74,175,937 93.02 5,566,402 6.98 79,742,339 58.86% 1,570 06 To re-elect Professor Trevor Jones as a Director 77,691,164 97.43 2,050,547 2.57 79,741,711 58.86% 2,198 07 To re-elect Giles Kerr as a Director 79,739,711 100.00 2,628 0.00 79,742,339 58.86% 1,570 08 To re-elect Dr Joseph Anderson as a Director 79,741,711 100.00 628 0.00 79,742,339 58.86% 1,570 09 To re-elect James Rawlingson as a Director 79,741,711 100.00 628 0.00 79,742,339 58.86% 1,570 10 To elect Art Pappas as a Director 76,266,164 95.64 3,476,175 4.36 79,742,339 58.86% 1,570 11 To elect Mark Breuer as a Director 79,741,711 100.00 0 0.00 79,741,711 58.86% 2,198 12 To re-appoint PwC LLP as auditors of the Company 72,224,733 90.57 7,524,156 9.43 79,748,889 58.87% 4,020 13 To authorise the Audit & Risk Committee of the Company to fix the remuneration of the auditors 78,313,875 98.21 1,426,485 1.79 79,740,360 58.86% 3,549 14 To authorise the Directors to allot shares 73,634,398 92.34 6,105,491 7.66 79,739,889 58.86% 4,020 15 To authorise the Directors to disapply statutory pre- emption rights in respect of 5% of the Company's issued share capital* 70,676,320 88.63 9,063,088 11.37 79,739,408 58.86% 4,501 16 To authorise the Directors to disapply statutory pre- emption rights in respect of an additional 5% of the Company's issued share capital* 71,033,320 89.08 8,706,088 10.92 79,739,408 58.86% 4,501 17 To authorise the Company to buy back shares* 79,736,396 99.99 5,063 0.01 79,741,459 58.86% 2,450 18 To authorise the Directors to call a general meeting other than an annual general meeting on not less than 14 clear days' notice* 79,739,242 100.00 2,250 0.00 79,741,492 58.86% 2,417 * Special resolution In accordance with Listing Rule 9.6.2, copies of resolutions passed at the Meeting concerning items other than ordinary business will shortly be available for inspection on the National Storage Mechanism, which can be accessed at www.hemscott.com/nsm.do The Board is pleased that all resolutions at the meeting were passed other than the resolution to approve last year's Directors' Remuneration Report, Resolution 3. Over the next six months we shall engage with those shareholders we can identify who did not support this resolution to fully understand their concerns. Engagement will also take place with the small number of shareholders who did not support the resolution to approve the new Directors' Remuneration Policy, which was passed but with a significant minority of votes against. Since being set up in 2016, the Arix portfolio has grown and developed with 17 investments to date and four IPOs of portfolio companies in the past year. Multiple clinical milestones are expected over the next 12 months and the Company looks forward to reporting on continued progress throughout the year. ENDS Enquiries For more information on Arix, please contact: Arix Bioscience plc Charlotte Parry, Head of Investor Relations +44 (0)20 7290 1072 charlotte@arixbioscience.com Optimum Strategic Communications Mary Clark, Supriya Mathur T: +44 (0) 203 922 0891 optimum.arix@optimumcomms.com About Arix Bioscience plc Arix Bioscience plc is a global venture capital company focused on investing in and building breakthrough biotech companies around cutting edge advances in life sciences. We collaborate with exceptional entrepreneurs and provide the capital, expertise and global networks to help accelerate their ideas into important new treatments for patients. As a listed company, we are able to bring this exciting growth phase of our industry to a broader range of investors. www.arixbioscience.com (CNN) A cruise ship crashed into a Venice dock on Sunday, hitting a moored tourist boat and sending onlookers running for safety in what one witness said resembled a "scene from a disaster movie." The cruise ship, MSC Opera, rammed into the San Basilio terminal, and hit a smaller tourist boat the River Countess that was docked there, the local port authority told CNN. Four people suffered "light injuries" in the accident, it said. The incident happened at around 8.30am local time on the Giudecca canal, one of the busiest in the Italian city which is hugely popular with tourists. Video on Twitter showed the huge cruise ship heading for the dock, shoving the smaller boat out of the way, and causing onlookers on land to flee. "The noise of siren and of clash is totally frightening, looking like a scene from a disaster movie," wrote Twitter user Tancredi Palmeri, who posted a video of the dramatic collision. The cruise ship operator, MSC Cruises, said in a statement that the vessel "experienced a technical issue" while heading towards the terminal for mooring. "Investigations to understand the exact causes of the events are currently in progress," it said. In the meantime, the ship has "received authorization to be moored at the Marittima terminal, as planned." From there, it will continue to carry out "passenger boarding and disembarking operations." The local port authority for Venice told CNN its priority on Sunday was managing the accident, but that from tomorrow it would be looking to "finally create a solution to the traffic of large ships in Venice." The country's Environment Minister, Sergio Costa, said on Twitter that the incident is a "confirmation of what we have been saying for a long time: Cruise ships must not sail down the Giudecca (canal). "This is why for months we have been working with the ministers... to move them (the vessels) and we are close to a solution." This story was first published on CNN.com "Cruise ship rams tourist boat in busy Venice canal, four hurt" Solution Enables Compliant Data Annotation for Organizations Working With Sensitive Information SAN FRANCISCO, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Figure Eight , an Appen company, today announced its Secure Data Access Solution, which enhances Figure Eight security capabilities for customers working with personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI) and those requiring other sophisticated compliance needs. "Data security is of the utmost importance for Figure Eight and Appen as we empower AI in the real world," said Wilson Pang, CTO, Appen. "This comprehensive Secure Data Access Solution ensures no classified data leaves the customer's network and that all data security requirements are met. Whether customers seek to protect the PII within their data or manage file types such as images on their own secure servers, our platform allows them to annotate their information within a secure environment." Organizations often rely on third-party platforms for data annotation needs. As a result, the requirements for trust and transparency with regard to data handling are very stringent. To enhance the security Figure Eight already provides its customers, Secure Data Access Solution allows customers to maintain ownership and governance over all source data. This ensures the data that customer teams supply never leave their servers. Appen provides a suite of secure service offerings, including secure facilities that are ISO 27001 accredited in the United Kingdom and the Philippines. These offerings provide flexible options to ensure customers meet their data security and specific business needs. The Secure Data Access Solution maintains strict privacy controls and secure data access through those service offerings and a variety of mechanisms, including: Private content buckets: These buckets offer additional restrictions on content access for Figure Eight Job Requestors, Figure Eight Contributors (Secure Contributors and Open Crowd) and Internal Contributors. These buckets offer additional restrictions on content access for Figure Eight Job Requestors, Figure Eight Contributors (Secure Contributors and Open Crowd) and Internal Contributors. Public content buckets: These buckets allow customers to store data in public buckets and maintain security through Expiring Links, IP Whitelisting, and Referral Headers. These buckets allow customers to store data in public buckets and maintain security through Expiring Links, IP Whitelisting, and Referral Headers. Secure contributor populations: Contributors bound by NDA and PII agreements access tasks through machines owned and operated by the channel in a controlled and monitored physical location. Contributors bound by NDA and PII agreements access tasks through machines owned and operated by the channel in a controlled and monitored physical location. Internal contributor population: Customers may elect to supply their own labelers (either their own employees or other approved vendors). In addition to this new Secure Data Access Solution, Figure Eight has SOC2 Type II certification for security. This certification is a widely recognized gold standard for data security and signifies an independent third party has validated Figure Eight's data security policies, procedures, and controls. About Appen Appen is a global leader in the development of high-quality, human-annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence. Appen brings over 20 years of experience capturing and enriching a wide variety of data types including speech, text, image and video. With deep expertise in more than 180 languages and access to a global crowd of over 1 million skilled contractors, Appen partners with technology, automotive and eCommerce companies - as well as governments worldwide - to help them develop, enhance and use products that rely on natural languages and machine learning. To learn more, visit www.appen.com About Figure Eight Figure Eight, an Appen company, combines the best of human and machine intelligence to provide high-quality annotated training data that powers the world's most innovative machine learning and business solutions. With over a decade of experience and 10+ billion judgments, Figure Eight's enterprise-ready data annotation platform delivers unprecedented quality and scale across a diverse set of industries and use cases. To learn more, visit www.figure-eight.com Contact Information Sammy Totah, BOCA Communications for Figure Eight sammy@bocacommunications.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661541/Figure_Eight_Logo.jpg North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. (TSXV: ACU) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received an order to supply another major China-based manufacturer of high-efficiency PERC solar cells with four DM-110e measurements systems. The systems will be shipped in June 2019. This order marks the third China-based manufacturer customer that Aurora has secured since February 2019. "Over the past few months we have now gained orders from three of the global top ten solar cell manufacturers. These orders have followed a period of thorough competitive product evaluations by these industry leaders, demonstrating that Aurora's products are technically and commercially superior. We are also in active discussions and evaluations with other top ten manufacturers," said Gordon Deans, Aurora's Chief Executive Officer. "Building these customer relationships puts the company in a strong position for future sales of all of our products - DM, Insight and Visualize, as these product lines each provide complementary value to solar cell manufacturers." Aurora is exhibiting its DMTM, InsightTM and VisualizeTM product lines at the SNEC trade show in Shanghai, China, from June 4 to 6. Visit us at booth 225 in hall N3. About Aurora Solar Technologies: Aurora's mission is to deliver exceptional results to the photovoltaic industry through measurement, visualization and control of critical processes during solar cell manufacturing. We measure and map the results of critical cell fabrication processes, providing real-time visualization of material properties, cell parameters and production tool performance. Our products provide process engineers and production-line operators with the means to rapidly detect, analyze and correct process excursions, limit variations, and optimize processes, thereby increasing yield and profits. We are creating the quality control standard for the global photovoltaic manufacturing industry. For more information, Aurora's website is located at www.aurorasolartech.com. For further information contact: Gordon Deans, P.Eng. President and Chief Executive Officer Aurora Solar Technologies Inc. Phone: +1 (778) 241-5000 info@aurorasolartech.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45200 Prosafe SE ("Prosafe", Oslo Stock Exchange ticker PRS) and Floatel International Ltd ("Floatel") have today signed an agreement to merge their respective businesses. The aim is to create a more robust company with improved services and geographical presence, able to sustain a prolonged cyclical downturn and challenging markets for offshore accommodation. Prosafe SE, Stavanger, is a leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels (flotels) listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and, like Floatel International Ltd, Bermuda, delivers offshore accommodation to clients in the oil and gas industry worldwide. In a merger of equals, Prosafe will acquire Floatel with consideration in Prosafe shares, whereby Floatel's principal shareholders will become large shareholders in Prosafe. - The need for consolidation in oil services is well known. We consider this transaction not only strategically sound, but also necessary to adapt to the significant changes in our markets and competitive landscape in recent years, says Glen Ole Rdland, chairman of the board at Prosafe SE. A merged company will have the most modern and flexible fleet in the global market, with lower costs, increased geographical presence and a strengthened customer offering. If all conditions are met, including clearances from competition authorities in Norway and the UK, required consents from its creditors and shareholder approvals, the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019. Reduced activity, increased competition Driving the motivation to merge are the fundamental and lasting changes in the market for offshore accommodation vessels in the wake of the oil price drop in 2014. Lower activity in exploration, production and maintenance, combined with extensive efficiency improvements among the oil companies has led to significantly intensified competition for "beds at sea". - 2014 was a paradigm shift that triggered an unprecedented downturn and lasting changes in the oil industry. We also face far tougher competition than before, due to a considerable overcapacity of both drilling rigs and supply vessels that are now being used as temporary accommodation. This situation is expected to continue, says Rdland. - A combination of Prosafe and Floatel will also be able to offer a better product to the customers, through a more flexible and geographically diversified fleet. We will to a greater extent offer the right capacity at the right time in all central regions for offshore oil and gas, says Rdland. A large and versatile fleet Prosafe owns and operates a total of nine vessels, each with a capacity of 300-500 beds, and has options for delivery of two newbuilds over the next five years. Floatel's fleet counts five units, each with capacity of 440-550 beds. A merged company will at the outset have the bulk of its activity in the North Sea and Brazil. Prosafe's current contracts on the Norwegian continental shelf expire during the first half of 2019, while Floatel's contracts in the same region expire in Q3 2020 including options. Rdland emphasizes that the main point of the transaction is to create a company that is better equipped to compete in the global market, especially in less mature regions where demand for flotels is still growing. Audiocast An audiocast will be held at 10am CEST on Tuesday 4th of June 2019 where the transaction will be presented by Peter Jacobsson, Glen Rdland and Jesper Kragh Andersen. The audiocast can be followed live by clicking on the webcast link on the front page of www.prosafe.comor www.floatel.bm Stavanger*), 3 June 2019 Prosafe SE For further questions, please contact: Glen Ole Rdland, Chairman of Prosafe: + 47 907 41 662 Peter Jacobsson, CEO of Floatel: +46 768 56 3618 Jesper Kragh Andresen, CEO of Prosafe: +47 51 64 25 00 / +47 907 65 155 *) Prosafe SE is in process of moving its legal domiciliation to Norway (head-office in Stavanger) prior to the consummation of this transaction. ***** Key transaction highlights include: The merger will create the world's largest offshore accommodation company, combining Prosafe's existing nine semi-submersible vessels and options for two newbuild semi-submersible vessels with Floatel's five semi-submersible vessels. The combined company will be positioned to take advantage of further operational efficiencies as well as enhanced global reach from an enlarged fleet. The combined entity will be better positioned to sustain a prolonged cyclical downturn, with challenging market outlook and falling utilization and reduced hook up and commissioning work. For the year ended 31 December 2018, the combined company had revenues of more than USD 600m and an EBITDA of more than USD 300m. The combined entity is anticipated to realize significant cost and efficiency synergies. Combined firm contract backlog at 31 March 2019 is approximately USD 225m. In addition, Prosafe recently announced a three-year contract for the Safe Eurus in Brazil which adds about USD 80m to the contract backlog, while Floatel has recently been awarded a 4-month extension at Martin Linge which adds a further USD 22m to the contract backlog. The transaction is an all-share merger of equals and will be implemented through issuance of new shares in Prosafe as consideration for all ordinary shares in Floatel. After completion, Prosafe and Floatel shareholders will, on a fully diluted basis (including Prosafe convertible bonds and Prosafe warrants), own 55% and 45% of the combined company's equity, respectively. The name of the combined company will be Prosafe SE, and the shares of the combined company will continue to be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under ticker code PRS. The transaction is unanimously supported and recommended by the board of directors of the two companies. Transaction details Pursuant to the transaction agreement, the transaction will be structured as a transfer of 100% of the ordinary shares and management warrants in Floatel to Prosafe, against consideration to the shareholders in Floatel in the form of 79,991,178 new shares (the "ConsiderationShares") to be issued by Prosafe. The number of Consideration Shares is based on an agreed exchange ratio of 55/45 (Prosafe/Floatel) on a fully diluted basis and includes 2,017,469 warrants to be issued to the management of Floatel as replacement of existing management warrants in Floatel. Total number of ordinary outstanding shares in Prosafe following the transaction will be 159,837,921, and the total number of shares on a fully diluted basis will be 177,758,173. No agreements have or will be entered into in connection with the transaction for the benefit of the board of directors of either company. In addition, the Floatel shareholders will be allocated new non-voting, non-interest bearing conditional preference shares. The conditional preference shares shall entitle the holders to have a preferential right to receive dividends, up to a total maximum value of USD 20m and such dividend may be adjusted downwards to a minimum value of USD nil depending on the outcome of the Westcon case. These preference shares will be cancelled once the Westcon case is concluded and any dividend has been paid. The combined company's largest shareholders will be FELS Offshore Pte. Ltd., funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. ("Oaktree") and HitecVision, which, respectively, will hold approximately 22%, 19% and 16% of the shares on a fully diluted basis. Post completion, these shareholders have agreed to a 12-month lock-up of their shares. The transaction will imply a business combination between Prosafe and Floatel, with Prosafe after completion of the transaction remaining listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The transaction will not trigger a mandatory offer pursuant to the Norwegian take-over rules. The companies will seek required consents from their creditors to the business combination. No material amendments are intended to be requested from the respective creditor groups other than what is required to effectuate the combination. As such the current financing structure for both companies will be kept intact and separate. The creditor process will be carried out based on the principle of equal treatment between the Prosafe creditors and the Floatel creditors. Therefore, the transaction will be carried out so that Prosafe will remain as the listed group holding company for Floatel and Prosafe. To provide for such structure, a demerger of certain Prosafe assets will be carried out to a newly incorporated and wholly owned subsidiary of Prosafe. The new subsidiary will, inter alia, accede as debtor under the existing Prosafe debt. Existing secured creditors in Prosafe and Floatel will continue with the same security structure as they have today. In addition, Prosafe SE, being the ultimate holding company, will be co-borrower for all existing secured debt in Prosafe and Floatel. The companies firmly believe that the positive effects of the merger described above also will benefit the creditors of the combined entity. Board of Directors It has been agreed that Glen Ole Rdland, Chairman of Prosafe SE, will become chairman of the combined company. FELS Offshore Pte. Ltd. and Oaktree will nominate one board member each. Timing and conditions precedent Completion of the transaction remains subject to certain conditions, including: 1. Approval by the shareholders of Prosafe by 2/3 majority at an extraordinary general meeting in the company expected to be held later in 2019; 2. Approval from applicable competition authorities; 3. Approvals as required under all material agreements of the companies, including creditor approval under both companies' financing arrangements; 4. No material adverse effect with respect to the respective businesses having occurred. Subject to completion of all conditions precedent, the parties expect that the transaction will complete by end Q3 2019. The transaction is subject to a long stop date of 31 December 2019. ***** About Prosafe Prosafe is a leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker code PRS. For more information, please refer to https://www.prosafe.com/ About Floatel Floatel International owns and operates five semisubmersible accommodation vessels, all vessel where delivered within the period 2010 to 2016. Floatel has two bond issuances listed on Oslo ABM with ticker code FLOAT02 and FLOAT03. For more information, please refer to http://www. floatel.bm ***** IMPORTANT INFORMATION This release does not constitute an offer, invitation or solicitation of an offer to buy, subscribe or sell any shares in the companies. The distribution of this release in certain jurisdictions is restricted by law. This release is not for distribution or release, directly or indirectly, in or into any jurisdiction in which the distribution or release would be unlawful. Matters discussed in this release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of the companies and/or the industry in which they operate. Forward-looking statements concern future circumstances and results and other statements that are not historical facts, sometimes identified by the words "believes", expects", "predicts", "intends", "projects", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "foresees", "anticipates", "targets", and similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release, including assumptions, opinions and views of the companies or cited from third party sources are solely opinions and forecasts which are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from any anticipated development. Neither the companies nor any of their subsidiary undertakings or any such person's affiliates, officers or employees provides any assurance that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors, nor do any of them accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. The companies assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to confirm these forward-looking statements to our actual results. ?? This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act Attachment Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 3, 2019) - Tethyan Resources plc (TSXV: TETH) ("Tethyan" or the "Company") today announces that it has set the date of its Court Meeting and General Meeting (the "Meetings") at which shareholders will be asked to approve the proposed redomiciling of the Company to British Columbia, Canada, as previously disclosed on May 21, 2019 (the "Scheme"). The Meetings will be preceded by the Company's Annual General Meeting and all will be held at the offices of Memery Crystal LLP, 165 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2DY, on Friday, June 28, 2019, starting at 11:00 a.m. (London time). In connection with these meetings, notices of meeting, management information circulars and proxy materials have been mailed to the shareholders of record as of May 24, 2019. The expected timetable of principal events in the redomiciling is set out in the Scheme Circular, and key dates relating to the Meetings will be posted on the Company's website at www.tethyan-resources.com. The terms and expressions in this news release have the same meaning as given to them in the Scheme Circular, unless the context requires otherwise. About Tethyan Tethyan Resources plc, a member of the Augusta Group of Companies, is a precious and base metals mineral exploration company incorporated in England & Wales and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Tethyan is focused on the Tethyan Metallogenic Belt in Eastern Europe, mainly Serbia, where it is acquiring and exploring a portfolio of quality precious and base metals projects with known mineralization and compelling drill targets. Tethyan emphasizes responsible engagement with local communities and stakeholders, and is committed to the proactive implementation of Good International Industry Practice (GIIP) and sustainable health, safety and environmental management. More information can be found on Tethyan's website: www.tethyan-resources.com. Contact Tethyan Resources plc +44 1534 881 885 Jerrold Annett, Chief Executive Officer +1 416 366 5678 Ext. 207 | jerrold@tethyan-resources.com Jacqueline Allison, Vice President, Investor Relations and Strategic Analysis +1 416 366 5678 Ext. 205 | jacqueline@tethyan-resources.com TSX Venture Exchange Disclaimer Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results of operations, financial condition, prospects and the development of the sector in which Tethyan operates to differ materially from the impression created by these forward-looking statements. Tethyan does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Do not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/45253 Air cooler makers expect a shift in leading markets with a huge replacement demand for branded coolers. New Delhi: Air cooler makers are expecting double-digit growth in sales this season, led by north and central Indian market as severe heat wave continues across the country. Branded air cooler makers are offering the latest technologies which include IoT (Internet of Things), touch digital control panel, multistage air purification, high-efficiency cooling pads, intelligent remote, anti-bacterial tank in several sub-categories such as personal, window, tower, and desert air coolers. Besides, they are also spending a good amount on branding to promote their products. Air cooler makers expect a shift in leading markets with a huge replacement demand for branded coolers. "This year the market is showing higher traction, compared to last year, due to a strong summer, and is expected to grow in double-digit," Voltas MD & CEO Pradeep Bakshi told PTI. He further said: "The market for air cooler in west and south is growing faster. However, the volumes are more in north and central India." Echoing the same view, Bajaj Electricals Executive President & Country Head, consumer products Atul Sharma said: "We expect a very healthy season this year and hope that the industry will grow by 10-15 percent between April-June 2019." "Bajaj Electricals Limited is expected to grow by 3-4 times of the industry growth rate in the current season," he added. Symphony, the market leader in the segment, is also witnessing higher air cooler sales this season. "Though we cannot get into specifics, April this year was a lot better than April last year which anyway was a disaster," Symphony founder, Chairman and Managing Director Achal Bakeri said. Although the unorganised segment players continue to dominate the air cooler market, gradually branded coolers are making inroads in the segment, helped by factors such as the introduction of GST, which has helped reduce the price gap. "With the introduction of GST, the price gap between the unorganised market product vs organised have shrunk and consumers are getting more exposed to branded coolers," Sharma said. Bajaj Electricals expects 30 percent of its sales to come from rural areas this season and the remaining 70 percent from urban markets. "While the unorganised market in air coolers is as big as the organised market, the rural market is slowly graduating towards purchase of plastic branded body air coolers," said Sharma. Bakshi said: "There is also a huge replacement demand for branded coolers in the organised segment from the unorganised segment." Bajaj Electricals is the first company to introduce an IoT enabled air cooler in the Indian market. "This technology extends consumer benefits like controlling all the functions of the cooler with a smartphone app from anywhere in the world, a smart sensor installed in the cooler detects the actual humidity and temperature inside the room and adjusts the cooler setting accordingly, and various other features like auto mode, tank water level notifications, performance dashboard on the mobile app," Sharma said. Meanwhile, Voltas has introduced 39 new SKUs of its Voltas Fresh Air Coolers this season, which is "powered by a smart humidity controller, triple filter advantage, and anti-bacterial tank" across various sub-categories such as personal, window, tower and desert air coolers. A total of 42,83 people travelled from five airportsIndore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Khajuraho and Gwaliorduring the last financial year Indore: Air passenger traffic across five airports in Madhya Pradesh spiked 23 percent to 42.83 lakh in the last fiscal over the financial year ended March 2017-2018 amid rising connectivity with different parts of the country, as per AAI data. According to the AAI data, a total of 42,83 people travelled from five airportsIndore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Khajuraho and Gwaliorduring the last financial year as compared with 32.89 air passengers in 2017-18. The growth was highest at the Indore Airport among the five airports which saw a whopping 74 percent increase in passenger traffic to31.58 lakh during the previous fiscal. The capital city Bhopal's Raja Bhoj airport saw 8.09 lakh passengers flying in and out of the aerodrome during the period while passenger traffic at Jabalpur's Damna airport stood at 2.40 lakh in the reporting year, as per data. Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry has cleared the decks for setting up of immigration counters at the AAO-run Indore's Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport here, paving the way for international flight operations from here, a senior airport official said. "After the Gazette notification of the Union Home Ministry on 27 May, our airport is prepared for the first international passenger flight. We have already got the requisite approvals for the operation of international flight," said Aryama Sanyal, director Indore Airport. Sanyal said that Air India has already submitted a proposal to connect Indore with Sharjah with a direct daily flight, adding the airline is expected to make an announcement soon about the commencement of the new flight after taking necessary approvals. Meanwhile, the Secretary of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh, Hemendra Singh Jadaun told PTI on Sunday, "In the last one year, new flights have been started from different cities of Madhya Pradesh for the different destinations like Chennai, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Vadodara, Chandigarh, among others". The programme, under which orders are shipped in their original packaging without any secondary or additional packaging, will also be available in Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Noida New Delhi: E-commerce major Amazon Monday said it is expanding its 'packaging-free shipment' (PFS) programme, an India-first initiative, to nine cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur. The programme, under which orders are shipped in their original packaging without any secondary or additional packaging, will also be available in Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Noida, Chennai and Hyderabad. Through this initiative, Amazon aims to reduce the waste generated from the secondary packaging of customer orders. "The program is one of many sustainability initiatives to help achieve Shipment Zero, the companys vision to make all Amazon shipments net zero carbon, with 50 percent of all shipments net zero by 2030, an Amazon India spokesperson said. The programme is applicable on certain orders based on pre-defined parameters like the location of the customer, the distance the order has to travel and the category of the product ordered. Products that are shipped packaging-free include automotive accessories, tech accessories, home and home improvement products, shoes and luggage. Liquids, fragile items, or products that need privacy are never shipped packaging free, the spokesperson said. Akhil Saxena, Vice President (Customer Fulfillment) at Amazon India, said feedback from customers had indicated that they are looking for more sustainable packaging solutions. "This has led to the new packaging innovation - delivering products packaging-free. Our investment in protecting the environment ensures a triple win -- it is good for our planet, good for our customers and community, and good for the business," he added. He said customers who receive their orders without secondary packing are informed of this initiative via email and also in a paper pouch placed on their physical shipment. Passing through one of the longest sales slowdowns, the auto industry has sought a reduction of GST on all vehicles to 18 percent from the current rate of 28 percent New Delhi: Passing through one of the longest sales slowdowns, the auto industry has sought a reduction of GST on all vehicles to 18 percent from the current rate of 28 percent. Spelling out its Budget wish list, the Society of Automobile Industry (SIAM) has also asked the government an incentive-based vehicle scrappage scheme in order to get polluting, unsafe and old vehicles off the road and help them replace with new ones. During a pre-Budget meeting with finance ministry officials earlier this month, SIAM stated the GST rate on all categories of vehicles be "brought down to 18 percent from the current rate of 28 percent". Bringing down the tax rate will reduce vehicle prices, which will help in spurring demand that has been sluggish for the last 11 months, said an industry executive. In April, passenger vehicles sales witnessed the steepest decline in nearly 8 years with sales dropping by 17.07 percent -- the biggest fall since October 2011 -- as weak customer sentiment led by liquidity crunch, uncertainty before elections and high product prices hit sales. During the meeting with the ministry officials, SIAM also proposed an incentive-based vehicle scrappage scheme to get polluting, unsafe and old vehicles off the road. With an aim to support local manufacturing, SIAM has asked for applied customs duty on fully imported commercial vehicles (CV) to be increased to 40 percent from 25 percent. Moreover, customs duty on semi-knocked down CVs should be reduced to 20 percent from 25 percent to promote local value addition, SIAM said in its recommendation. The auto industry body also pitched for customs duty on CKDs (completely knocked down units) of all form of vehicles to be reduced to 10 percent from 15 percent, as it was earlier. Follow full coverage of Union Budget 2019-20 here By Andrew Galbraith SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's central bank sought to calm investors on Sunday after last month's takeover of Inner Mongolia-based Baoshang Bank, saying regulators are not planning any more such moves for the moment. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) took control of Baoshang on May 24, rattling Chinese markets and prompting the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to inject cash into the banking system By Andrew Galbraith SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's central bank sought to calm investors on Sunday after last month's takeover of Inner Mongolia-based Baoshang Bank, saying regulators are not planning any more such moves for the moment. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) took control of Baoshang on May 24, rattling Chinese markets and prompting the People's Bank of China (PBOC) to inject cash into the banking system. In response to concerns that regulators planned more takeovers of financial institutions, the PBOC said on Sunday that Baoshang was a standalone case. "Everyone, please don't worry. At present we don't yet have this plan," it said in a statement on its website. The PBOC also said it would use various monetary policy tools to stabilise money markets and boost banking system liquidity, but did not mention broader easing. "The PBOC has fully estimated and prepared for the various factors that will affect liquidity in June, and will flexibly use reverse repurchase agreements and the medium-term lending facility in accordance with the cash supply-and-demand situation of the market," it said in a statement. The central bank has previously pledged more policy support for a slowing economy, but PBOC Governor Yi Gang has said there is less room for further monetary easing. On Sunday, the PBOC said relatively low reserve requirements for medium- and small-sized banks would boost their liquidity, while a previously announced phased cut to reserve requirements is expected to release 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) in long-term liquidity to medium- and small-sized banks on June 17. The PBOC said deposit insurance funds and its own funds provided sufficient guarantees for all types of creditors in Baoshang Bank following the takeover, which it said had been triggered by the improper and illegal use of significant bank funds by Tomorrow Holdings, which holds 89% of Baoshang's shares, leading to a serious credit crisis at the bank. All personal accounts and interbank debts of less than 50 million yuan would be guaranteed, the PBOC said, adding that the average guarantee ratio of debts of above 50 million yuan would be "around 90%". Chinese regulators issued instructions to banks last week that could see larger creditors facing haircuts of as much as 30%, sources told Reuters. ($1 = 6.9027 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Andrew Galbraith and Meng Meng in SHANGHAI, and Cheng Leng in BEIJING; editing by Deepa Babington and Alexander Smith) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. FARGO, N.D. Abortion rights supporters are considering a lawsuit over a new North Dakota law that would require the clinic to read women a "junk science" script about reversing a medication abortion, according to the director of the state's only abortion clinic. Anti-abortion lawmakers had remained mostly quiet since 2013 when North Dakota passed what was considered the country's most strict abortion law, only to see it overturned by courts. But the Republican-led Legislature approved two abortion bills this year. One of them, which prohibits doctors using certain instruments in a common second-trimester procedure, is on hold awaiting court rulings. The other is scheduled to go into effect Aug. 1. It would require the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo to tell women undergoing medication abortions they can still have a live birth if after the procedure they change their minds. Clinic director Tammi Kromenaker said she and other opponents are "considering what to do, which could be legal action." She declined to elaborate. North Dakota is among several states to enact new restrictions on abortion as the U.S. Supreme Court makeup has changed to be more favorable to conservatives' cause. Lawmakers who once couched anti-abortion bills as protecting women's health are now open about wanting it banned. State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who unsuccessfully defended the 2013 measure that made North Dakota the first state to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, said he will be required to defend the current law as well. "It is my duty to defend enactments of the Legislature so that's what we'll do if a lawsuit ensues," Stenehjem said. Republican Rep. Daniel Johnston, who sponsored the measure, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment. The new law states that a doctor or doctor's agent must tell the woman that "it may be possible to reverse the effects of an abortion-inducing drug" and adds that "time is of the essence" if she changes her mind. Kromenaker said the bill is based on "junk science" and puts the clinic in a bad position. Abortion-rights supporters have said the procedure is based on a flawed 2018 study by an anti-abortion doctor, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said claims about the treatment "are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards." "The Red River Women's Clinic believes very deeply in giving the best information that we can based on the most accurate and up-to-date information," Kromenaker said. "This puts us at odds with our mission and our relationship with our patients." The anti-abortion movement slowed in North Dakota after two of the GOP lawmakers who spearheaded the issue in 2013, Fargo's Bette Grande and Bismarck's Margaret Sitte, were defeated in 2014 by abortion-rights candidates. That same year, voters soundly defeated a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have stated that "the inalienable right to life of every human being at any stage of development must be recognized and protected." Kromenaker said the abortion moves by this year's Legislature were driven by the elections of President Donald Trump, Gov. Doug Burgum and a fresh group of Republican legislators who weren't around in 2013. Kromenaker said she was "astonished" to hear Burgum say during a campaign debate he would have supported the 2013 fetal heartbeat bill that cost the state nearly half a million dollars in legal and settlement fees. "The governor has talked about being fiscally responsible, about not taking a salary and about bringing to politics the things he did as a successful businessman," Kromenaker said of the former Microsoft executive. "Instead, he is fitting the current mold of being politically expedient and politically agreeable." Asked about Kromenaker's comments, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said in a statement that "Gov. Burgum is pro-life and supports a culture of life." The second bill passed this year bans the abortion method of so-called dilation and evacuation. It would make it a crime for a doctor performing a second-trimester abortion to use instruments such as clamps, scissors and forceps to remove the fetus from the womb. Opponents have called it "human dismemberment abortion." Kromenaker said the clinic has received calls from some patients wondering if abortions were still legal in North Dakota, but most have been undeterred by the legislative action and the elements many of them face when making hours-long drives to the facility. "When it was 35 below this winter, nearly every patient who was scheduled showed up," she said. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. By Laurence Frost PARIS (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler is discussing a Renault special dividend and stronger job guarantees in a bid to persuade the French government to back its proposed merger between the carmakers, sources close to the discussions said. By Laurence Frost PARIS (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler is discussing a Renault special dividend and stronger job guarantees in a bid to persuade the French government to back its proposed merger between the carmakers, sources close to the discussions said. The improved offer, if formalised and accepted, would also see the combined company's operations headquartered in France and the French state granted a seat on its board, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. FCA spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment. The French government, Renault's biggest shareholder with a 15 percent stake, also declined to comment. A Renault spokesman did not immediately return calls and messages seeking comment. Italian-American FCA is engaged in intensive discussions with Renault and the French government over the $35 billion merger proposal it pitched last Monday to create the world's third-biggest carmaker. (Reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Richard Lough) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. IL&FS subsidiary IFIN was allowed to continue operations despite adverse RBI inspection reports The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has said that Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) timely intervention could have helped detect crisis at Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) earlier, a media report said. According to The Economic Times, IL&FS subsidiary IFIN was allowed to continue operations despite adverse RBI inspection reports. Action at the right time may have prevented ballooning of the matter, the SFIO was quoted as saying by the newspaper on the IL&FS matter. The report further said that no penalties were imposed and IFIN was allowed to continue operations without any corrective measures. Launching a massive crackdown on perpetrators of the IL&FS scam, the SFIO has charged the erstwhile top management members of the group's financial services subsidiary IFIN of forming a 'coterie' with its auditors and independent directors to defraud the company while running the business as their 'personal fiefdom', PTI reported on Sunday. Officials also said it is just a tip of the iceberg in this massive fraud case, involving defaults totalling an estimated amount of over Rs 90,000 crore, as the SFIO's first charge sheet concerns just one entity, IFIN, and the probe is already underway against the parent firm Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) and several other subsidiaries. The SFIO is also collecting details about all borrowings by IFIN from banks and through market instruments, as also about the role of banks and their officials and of credit rating agencies. Last week, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) asked IL&FS group companies, which are being upgraded to the 'green' category, to start servicing their debts as per the payment schedule. A two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya said the IL&FS board should allow the new entities, which are coming into 'green' list from 'amber' to pay their debts after getting their terms-sheet approved by the retired Supreme Court judge Justice DK Jain. Last month, Fitch Ratings said the debt crisis in IL&FS had adversely impacted the growth of the NBFC sector in India and might lead to its consolidation. Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) are commonly referred to as the shadow banking sector. The Indian shadow banking industry's rapid growth and reliance on short-term funding sources "bubbled over" in 2018, most evident by the default of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) in September last year, Fitch Ratings report said. With PTI inputs The SEBI had conducted a probe from September to December, 2016 in the trading of KTL's shares. New Delhi: Markets regulator SEBI has slapped a total fine of Rs 42 lakh on 14 individuals for executing fraudulent trade in shares of Kushal Tradelink Ltd (KTL). The 14 individuals were fined Rs 3 lakh each, totalling Rs 42 lakh, according to a SEBI order. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had conducted a probe from September to December, 2016 in the trading of KTL's shares. During the probe, the regulator found that the individuals were connected to each other, traded among themselves and manipulated the share price of the KTL. "It is established that noticees (14 individuals) had contributed to manipulation in the scrip price of KTL, besides trading among themselves and indulging in synchronized and reversal trades, which are manipulative/unfair/fraudulent in nature," Sebi said in an order dated May 31. They violated PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) norms, SEBI said, making them liable for monetary penalty. In three separate orders, SEBI also imposed a total fine of Rs 15 lakh on three entities Mittal Pigments Pvt Ltd, MMG Steels Pvt Ltd and Manoj Goel for indulging in manipulative trade in illiquid stock options segment of the BSE. The entities by engaging in non-genuine transactions, created a misleading impression of trading while dealing in stock options contracts in a fraudulent manner, Sebi said in separate orders dated May 31. By doing so, the entities violated PFUTP regulations, SEBI said. Accordingly, a fine of Rs 5 lakh each was imposed on the three entities. Under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), India will start receiving information about cash stashed in Swiss banks from September 2019 New Delhi: Industrialist Sanjay Dalmia, Dinesh Kumar Himatsingka, Executive Chairman of Bangalore-based Himatsingka group, are among about a dozen Indians with Swiss bank accounts whose names have been made public in Switzerlands Federal Gazette with regard to the ongoing probe into offshore accounts by the Income Tax authorities. The names of Dinesh Kumar Himatsingkas brother Ajoy Kumar Himatsingka, Renu Tharani, Rakesh Kathiota, Pankaj Kumar Saraogi, Nalini Bhaskaran have also been made public after their details were sought by the Indian authorities. Email queries to Sanjay Dalmia's office, Himtasingka and Saraogi did not elicit any response. Another reminder sent last week remained unanswered. This story will be updated as and when they respond. According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs record, Pankaj Kumar Saraogi is the director in at least 9 Kolkata-based companies. As per the Federal Gazette notification, Sanjay Dalmia's name was made public on 7 May 2019. Dinesh Kumar Himatsingka, who figured in the notification dated 14 May 2019, can file an appeal before the Federal Administrative Court, St. Gallen, Switzerland within 30 days while providing reasons and evidence in his support. Under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI), India will start receiving information about cash stashed in Swiss banks from September 2019. In November 2016, India and Switzerland had signed a joint declaration for the implementation of AEOI between the two countries and subsequently, a mutual agreement was signed on 21 December 2017 to enable the exchange of data with respect to 2018. The government had received information about 628 Indians holding bank accounts in HSBC bank in Switzerland under the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) that has been signed between India and France. Subsequently, further investigation was launched by Indian authorities, which revealed an undisclosed income of approximately Rs 8437 crore in 2017. Apart from recovery of taxes, the concealment penalty of Rs 1287 crore was slapped in more than 160 cases. The Narendra Modi government has also detected more than Rs 11,010 crore in undisclosed foreign accounts after a massive data leaks by a whistleblower pertaining to offshore entities. A multi-agency group under the Ministry of Finance has also been set up for coordination and speedy investigation into undisclosed foreign assets of Indian citizens. There are several other mysterious Indian nationals whose name figures in the list but their details were withheld by the Swiss authorities. For example, a certain 'D M born on 6 April 1989, Citizen of India' and 'J K J born on 19 June 1965, Citizen of India' figure in the list. Another name in the list is 'RN born on 30 October 1948.' According to Swiss authorities 'RN is linked to 'C C Limited, a firm that was floated in tax haven British Virgin Island on 17 February 1999. Swiss authorities in the notification said: A complaint can be lodged against this final decision within 30 days of opening at the Federal Administrative Court, PO Box, 9023 St Gallen. Any order prior to the final order may be contested together with the final order. The notice of appeal shall contain the request to give reasons for it, indicating the evidence and the signature of the applicant or his representative. As far as offshore shell firms are concerned, there has been a sustained effort by the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for cracking a whip against mailbox companies operating in tax haven countries. After a high-level meeting with British Virgin Islands authorities in July 2017, some information has already been provided to the Indian government. Two other Indians with Swiss bank account numbers areJD born on 8 February 1960 and AD born on 10 May 1956. Both the Indian citizens have been provided with an opportunity to approach the court against Swiss authoritys decision of sharing information within 30 days with reasons and evidence. Another notification carries the names of 'S L S and B L Sperhaps siblings and S S born on 15 August 1958 and PS born on 23 September 1958. Three other Indian citizens have been named in a separate notification including 'OPL born on 26 May 1949, UL born on 28 August 1952 and VL born on 28 September 1977. They are also linked to British Virgin Islands-based firm Middleburg Capital Limited. A few other Indians on the list of Swiss bank account holders are 'PM born on 1961, YA born on 30 April 1963 and PKK born on 23 January 1946. The first robust step by the government was the enactment of a lawBlack Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and imposition of Tax Act in July 2015 to effectively tackle the cases involving black money stashed abroad. According to the Finance Ministry, which commissioned at least three studies on unaccounted income and wealth abroad, has revealed that the reliable estimation of unaccounted income is extremely difficult, however, it could be ranging from 7 percent to 120 percent of the GDP. These measures along with other laws like the Fugitive Criminal Offenders Act, have brought an undisclosed income of about Rs 1,30,000 crore to tax in the last five years and seizure of assets worth approximately Rs 50,000 crore excluding foreign assets worth Rs 1,600 crore during the same period. Ajit Doval began his second term as the National Security Advisor with an elevated stature equivalent to that of a Union Cabinet minister New Delhi: Ajit Doval began his second term as the National Security Advisor with an elevated stature equivalent to that of a Union Cabinet minister, according to an official order made public on Monday. A 1968-batch IPS officer who retired as Intelligence Bureau chief in 2005, Doval's appointment is the first key posting announced by the Narendra Modi government after assuming office for a second term on 30 May. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment for a five-year period with effect from May 31, 2019 and it will be co-terminus with the term of the prime minister, the order said. "During the term of his office, he will be assigned the rank of Cabinet Minister," the order said. This makes Doval, 74, as the first NSA who has been appointed for two consecutive terms. He was appointed to the post on 30 May, 2014 and he was given a stature that of a Minister of State sometime in September that year after the Chinese side insisted for ministerial-level talks. During his first tenure, Doval is believed to have played a pivotal role in the surgical strikes on terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after the Uri terror attack. He has been widely hailed for his contribution in the national security domain, including his role during the Balakot air strike after the Pulwama terror attack, officials said. Having the distinction of being the first police officer who received 'Kirti Chakra', a military honour, Doval will be providing his deep insight about the threats faced by the country from within and outside. He was awarded the Kirti Chakra in 1988 for conducting anti-insurgency operations in Mizoram and bringing Mizo insurgent leader Laldenga to the negotiating table by winning over six of his seven commanders. He had also clandestinely entered Myanmar and China to break the dominance of Mizo insurgent outfit. After a few years in uniform, he worked with the Intelligence Bureau for over 33 years during which he had served in the Northeast, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab. He served in the UK as well. Doval, known as one of the best operational brains in intelligence circles, was one of the main negotiators from India with the hijackers of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 taken to Kandahar in 1999. After his retirement from service, he had been running Delhi-based NGO Vivekananda International Foundation, which provided a platform for dialogue and conflict resolutions. Known for his clear insight into and vision on Indian and global security issues, Doval has spoken extensively at home and abroad on strengthening the Indian security apparatus and forging closer cooperation among security forces globally. The chief minister, however, said that the subsidy will not be imposed on anyone as the scheme will be voluntary, and those who can afford their travel will be encouraged to do so. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday announced that to ensure the safety of women, the Delhi government has proposed for free rides for them on the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and other cluster buses, as well as the Delhi Metro. The expensed of the proposed scheme will be fully borne by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Kejriwal said in a press conference in the capital. "On all DTC buses, cluster buses and metro trains, women will be allowed to travel free of cost so that they have safe travel experience and can access modes of transport which they were not able to, due to high prices," he said. The move, which is yet to be cleared by requisite authorities, will cost the Delhi government approximately Rs 700 to 800 crore for the remaining of the year. The chief minister, however, said that the subsidy will not be imposed on anyone as the scheme will be voluntary, and those who can afford their travel will be encouraged to do so. "There are several women who can afford these modes of transport. Those who can afford can purchase tickets, they needn't take subsidy. We encourage those, who can afford, to buy tickets and not take subsidy so that others could benefit," Kejriwal said. He, however, denied that the governments initiative had anything to do with the Lok Sabha election outcome and the upcoming Delhi Assembly election in 2020. There is no auspicious time for a good decision, he said, describing it as part of continued efforts by his government to provide maximum facilities to people at lowest costs. He said that the government's latest move will encourage the use of public transport, which is the 'safest' for women. The Delhi government has estimated that a minimum of 30-33 percent of Delhi women commute by the metro and buses each, out of40 lakh people which is the total ridership of the DTC buses, he said. The DMRC and the DTC have been given a week's time to prepare a detailed proposal for the same, as the government looks to roll-out the scheme in the next two to three months, Kejriwal said. Kejriwal also asked for people's suggestion on the scheme and asked them to mail the feedback at: delhiwomensafety@gmail.com or write to the chairman of the Dialogue and Development Commission of Delhi, an advisory body of the AAP government. Apart from this, the chief minister also announced that around 2,80,000 CCTV cameras would be installed across the city by December and the work will start from June itself. He also said that a total of 1.5 lakh cameras would be installed in various government schools of the city by November. The chief minister also announced that the government is in the process of procuring new buses for the state and 20-25 new buses will be added to the existing fleet by month-end. Similarly, 10-12 will be added each month thereafter and therefore, about 3,000 physical delivery of buses will be made possible by the government by next year, all of which will have CCTV cameras installed in them. He further said that all DTC buses have a security martial seated among the passengers and despite their availability, women commuters are often not aware of their presence. Thus, to ensure that women can take their help, in case of need, posters will be pasted in all buses highlighting their existence. Kejriwal clarified that the state government doesn't need Centre's permission for the implementation of these schemes and that the entire financial burden is being taken care of the Delhi government alone. While reiterating the AAP government's work regarding reducing the water and electricity bills of people and providing quality education in government schools and free services in mohalla clinics, Kejriwal said that the government will call an additional budget session to see through the implementation of this new proposed scheme. Meanwhile, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said that their government believes that public transport is an investment for the welfare of the people and therefore this a step in that direction taken specifically with regards to women safety. We consider this as an investment in enhancing women security, Sisodia said. Soon after, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also held a press conference led by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari to discredit Kejriwal's plan as a 'false promise' only done to lure voters ahead of the Assembly election. Tiwari said the chief minister hasn't implemented the central government's Ayushman Bharat scheme in the capital city, not it allowed for the provision of 10 percent reservation for economically weaker sections of the general category, until recently, after receiving the drubbing in Lok Sabha election. He also pointed out that there has been no new addition of schools, despite the state government's promise of building 500 new schools and the promises of free wifi; and security martials in all buses, have also been unsuccessful, Tiwari alleged. Tiwari said that the citizens of Delhi are 'wise' and will reject this appeasement politics of the AAP government which nothing but another false rhetoric of Kejriwal whom he termed 'ghoshna mantri' (announcement minister). Tiwari claimed that even the BJP is in the process of finalising a public transport system where citizens wouldn't have to pay for bus rides, but they won't announce it until everything is finalised. He also questioned how the AAP government is planning to make rides free for approximately 1.25 crore women of Delhi despite only 3,500 to 3,800 buses currently in service against the requirement of around 2,000. Calling Kejriwal the "shikari ghoshna mantri", Tiwari said that people should expect more such sops in the coming days as the chief minister is looking trap voters with pre-poll sops. The BJP MP took a dig at Kejriwal by alleging that among his other promises, the Delhi chief minister had also promised to install panic buttons in all public buses, but, instead he himself is getting panicked now. He mocked the latest announcement by saying that the next thing the AAP government will do is to station a bus outside every citizen's house, which will take them through the city and then drop them back as per their wish. Tiwari said that the chief minister has lost his sanity ("mansik santulan gadbad ho gaya hai") and therefore, instead of accepting his defeat in the recent polls he shrugged it off it by saying that AAP was never in the competition as the general election was actually a fight between Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, even though he had earlier claimed that his party will win all seven seats in the capital. He has earlier also done "70 vaade, (and said) 74 jhooth", Tiwari said taking a barb at Kejriwal and appealed to the people of Delhi to not let the latter "buy votes" through such tricks. He urged the voters to chose BJP which has been kept out of Delhi government for 24 years now as the main issues the city is grappling with have been sidelined, Tiwari claimed citing problems of pollution, sewer management, water crisis. A group of Hindu seers on Monday decided that they will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying 'Hindus' have reelected him with a huge majority to complete the task. Faizabad: A group of Hindu seers on Monday decided that they will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying "Hindus" have reelected him with a huge majority to complete the task. The meeting was organised in Faizabad by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and attended by its national vice-president Champat Rai. "Hindu seers will soon be meeting Modi to discuss the issue of early construction of the temple," said Ram Janambhoomi Nyas president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. The Nyas is a trust to promote construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Das, who presided over the meeting, also said, "Hindus have elected Modi and (Uttar Pradesh chief minister) Yogi Adityanath for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. So, it is their responsibility to get a grand Ram temple built on the disputer site at the earliest." Reacting to the VHP meet, Dinendra Das, the Mahant of Nirmohi Akhara, the main litigant in the case from the Hindu side, said, "The VHP meeting has no relevance as the land of Ram Janambhoomi belongs to Nirmohi Akhara and we have worshipped Lord Ram there for ages." "We want the construction of Ram temple in a peaceful way," he added. The main litigant from the Muslim side, Iqbal Ansari, termed the VHP meet a "political stunt". "The matter of Babri Masjid and Ram Janambhoomi is pending before the Supreme Court. We must wait for the final verdict," he said. Mahant Kanhayya Das, president of Sant Samiti of Ayodhya, said the Hindu seers believe that the Muslim community in India is "satisfied" with the Modi and Yogi governments. "So both the governments must not waste time in deciding on the construction of Ram Mandir," he said. CHSE Odisha 12th Result 2019: The Odisha Class 12, or HSC board exam results are likely to be released by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha today (3 June) at 12 pm. CHSE Odisha 12th Result 2019 | The Odisha Class 12, or HSC board exam results are likely to be released by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE), Odisha today (3 June) at 12 pm. Students who appeared for the exam can check their results on official website chseodisha.nic.in. Students can also check the official website for result-related information once the results are declared. Students are also advised to keep details like their roll number and/or date of birth ready to log in to the official website. CHSE Odisha is likely to declare the Class 12 arts and commerce results by Friday, 7 June. The board conducted the Class 12 board exams from 7 March to 30 March, 2019. Follow LIVE blog on Odisha Class 12 science exam result here This year, 3.69 lakh students, including 2.35 lakh students in arts, 99,000 students in science and around 27,200 students in commerce, appeared for the Class 12 exams conducted by the Odisha board. How to check your CHSE Odisha Class 12 board exam 2019 results: Step 1: Log on to the official website of CHSE Odisha at chseodisha.nic.in. Step 2: Select the link saying 'Odisha HSE Result 2019', however, students must note that this link will only become active once the official declaration of the result happens. Step 3: In a new window, log in with relevant details like roll number and/or date of birth. Step 4: After entering all the details, click on the Find Odisha CHSE Result 2019 tab. Step 5: Once the Odisha HSE Result 2019 appears on the screen, students are advised to take a printout and for reference. Other than the websites, students can also check their Odisha Class 12 results 2019 via SMS service provided by the government. Type - RESULTOR12ROLL NUMBER - Send it to 56263 to receive your Class 12 scores. As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed around. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. S Jaishanka's remakrs on the draft education policy came after the recommendations related to Hindi drew sharp reactions from Tamil Nadu parties like the DMK and Kamal Haasan's MNM, New Delhi: Following outrage in Tamil Nadu over a draft education policy favouring teaching Hindi in non-Hindi-speaking states, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said state governments will be consulted before a final decision is made on the issue. Jaishankar's response came after a Twitter user posted a query to him on the issue. "The National Education Policy as submitted to the Minister of HRD is only a draft report. Feedback shall be obtained from the general public. State governments will be consulted. Only after this, the draft report will be finalised. GoI respects all languages. No language will be imposed," Jaishankar tweeted, first in Tamil and then in English. The National Education Policy as submitted to the Minister HRD is only a draft report. Feedback shall be obtained from general public. State Governments will be consulted. Only after this the draft report will be finalised. GoI respects all languages. No language will be imposed Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 2, 2019 Following the footsteps of his predecessor Sushma Swaraj, Jaishankar on Sunday responded on Twitter to various queries and calls for assistance by several Indians abroad. The draft national education policy recommends a range of reform measures and favours teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking states. The recommendations related to teaching of Hindi drew sharp reactions from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam. Former HRD minister Prakash Javadekar, who is now Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the second Modi government, on Saturday said a committee had prepared a draft report on the education policy, and that no decision had been made on implementing it. CARSON CITY, NEV. Nevada lawmakers are bucking a national trend of restrictive abortion laws by voting to repeal requirements that physicians document a pregnant woman's marital status and tell her about the "emotional implications" of an abortion. Democrats in the Assembly passed the bill in a largely party-line vote on Tuesday, the same day protesters across the country decried actions in other statehouses that toughen abortion laws. Nevada has the first overall female-majority Legislature in the country. "When the rest of the country may feel hopeless, may feel bleak, they should look to Nevada as the shining beacon that we are for women's rights," Democratic Sen. Yvanna Cancela told dozens of bill supporters who rallied outside the Nevada Legislature before the vote. Some supporters at the rally held pink signs that said "protect safe, legal abortion." The legislation also removes a criminal penalty for anyone who supplies a woman with medication to induce an abortion without the advice of a physician. That criminal statute also extends to anyone who uses an "instrument" to terminate a pregnancy without the advice of a physician. Despite the Nevada bill, Cancela described actions by lawmakers in other states the last few weeks as "awful" in the push for reproductive rights for women. "We're here today fighting a national fight and getting to see Nevada move forward," she told the crowd. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey last week signed the most stringent abortion legislation in the U.S. and made performing an abortion a felony in nearly all cases. The bill spurred hundreds to protest in Alabama. Governors in other states, such as Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio, have approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Supporters of the Nevada legislation argue it will modernize the state's informed consent laws and reaffirm a woman's reproductive rights. Republican lawmakers on Tuesday argued against a portion of the bill that mandates a physician to document a pregnant woman's age. Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen, a Republican, argued the possibility of a negative emotional impact from an abortion should be part of the informed consent process. "This bill is a slippery slope that (will) leave women and children less informed and more susceptible to exploitation," she said. The legislation cleared the Senate last month in a 12-9 vote. Cheryl Bruce, executive director of the Nevada Senate Democrats, said the bill now must receive a passing voice vote from the Senate before going to the desk of Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak. His office did not immediately return a message seeking comment on whether he would sign the bill. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. S Jaishankar must now not only dig deep into his bag of experience and expertise but also involve other government departments. Throughout his career as a top diplomat in key postings around the world, and later as foreign secretary of India, Subramanyam Jaishankar carved a niche as a tough negotiator with silken skills. Those skills will be put to test quite early on in his new innings as Indias external affairs minister in the Narendra Modi 2.0 Cabinet. And he will face trial by fire in dealing with a petulant United States president whose fixation on trade issues is set to become increasingly fiercer and more transactional. On Friday, Donald Trump announced that he will strip India of the preferential trade status that it enjoyed under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) a 30-year-old programme that allowed India to export around 2,000 products, including auto components and textile material worth $6 billion duty-free to the United States, conditional on India meeting certain parameters. Trump had threatened to withdraw Indias status as a member of the United States' largest and oldest trade preference system because, according to him, New Delhi indulges in unfair trade practices by restricting access to its market for United States' companies in numerous sectors and has adopted "hostile" policies such as regulation on data localisation for e-commerce firms, price control on dairy products, medical devices, telecommunication equipment, etc. Trump, whose political plank rests on a grievance narrative in which the United States is being sucked dry by numerous parasites because it is not strong-willed enough, has called India a tariff king and launched a review of Indias GSP status in April last year. The 60-day notice ended last May. In a White House notification issued on 31 May, Trump declared that India will be removed from the list of beneficiary developing countries under the Trade Act of 1974 from 5 June, 2019, because he has determined that India has not assured the United States that India will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets. Accordingly, it is appropriate to terminate India's designation as a beneficiary developing country. The GSP imbroglio, though not an end-of-the-world situation for India, remains a marker of the larger issues that plague bilateral trade ties. Though India was the largest beneficiary of the GSP pact in 2017 with $5.7 billion in imports to the US, in real terms, the move is not expected to dent total Indian exports to the United States which decreased to Rs 229.46 billion in January 2019 from Rs 236.56 billion in December 2016. Annually, Indias gains from the GSP programme amount to around $190 million. Nevertheless, the development adds to the downward trajectory in US-India trade ties that have been subject to major irritants in recent years, and the fear in policy and administrative circles in both nations is that annoyance over trade and Trumps demand for reciprocity may bleed over into the robust strategic partnership amid hopes that co-operation on security and defence will maintain its upward trajectory. As of now, Washington and New Delhi have both been trying to tiptoe around the trust issues that trade ties suffer from to avoid precisely the eventuality that everyone fears. India, for instance, has called Trumps declaration to withdraw preferential trade status unfortunate and has reiterated that its policies shall always be guided by national interest, as is the case with the United States and other nations. It has stated, We have significant development imperatives and concerns and our people also aspire for better standards of living. This will remain the guiding factor in the governments approach, it said. Significantly, the statement also added that it will resolve the ongoing issues and build on its strong ties with the United States. We are confident that the two nations will continue to work together intensively for further growing these ties in a mutually beneficial manner, it said. This attempt to compartmentalise trade ties and the strategic partnership into separate boxes is mutual. A day after Trump pulled the trigger on GSP keeping India in the crosshairs, the United States Department of Defense came out with its Indo-Pacific Strategy Report which reinforces Indias role in the country's Indo-Pacific policy. The document mentions the Modi governments "Act East" policy as complementary to the larger shared goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. It states, The United States and India share a common outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Both countries recognise the importance of the Indo-Pacific to global trade and commerce and acknowledge that developments in this region will shape the larger trajectory of the rules-based international order. India, through its 'Act East' policy, continues to make significant security, economic, and development investments to secure the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. The issue, therefore, is two-fold. It is important to ease the United States-India economic relationship that has already been subject to differences that have proved intractable, and also to prevent newer irritants from piling up on older ones. These irritants have resisted concerted efforts from both sides including repeated trade talks to find a mutually acceptable solution. In absence of a solution, or even a tangible movement towards a solution, the Trump administration has taken a grim view of the trade deficit and the United States presidents personal obsession over tariffs has further complicated the situation. The second issue is that while close strategic partnership has so far been able to balance out the trade irritants and has even led to net positive bilateral ties, there is a palpable fear that time is running out and before long, the intractable differences over trade will cast their shadow on overall bilateral ties. It is worth noting that even in the arena of strategic partnership and defence co-operation, India is heading towards United States secondary sanctions if it remains committed to buying the Russian S-400 Triumf missile shield. The United States president can, theoretically, provide India with relief from CAATSA sanctions even if the $5 billion deal goes through, but at no stage has the United States promised India an automatic waiver and unlike in the decision around GSP, this position remains bipartisan. We have serious concerns about the S-400, and we would not encourage any country to rely on waiver status for the purchase of any prohibited Russian items, especially the S-400, a senior Trump administration official was quoted, as saying by The Hindu. It also must be considered that even if in the unlikely event of a CAATSA waiver that allows New Delhi to purchase the Russian missile defence system, the entire strategic partnership with the United States will come under strain because of the larger dynamic around Russias great power rivalry with the United States and on a micro scale, lack of interoperability of United States weapons systems and platform with Russian equipment. To fix this puzzle which has the potential of derailing bilateral ties, Jaishankar will have to work closely with his colleague Piyush Goyal in the commerce ministry and the prime minister himself, but the heavy lifting to fix the broken United States-India trade ties will probably be left to him. And it makes good sense too. Jaishankar, who possesses and retains the unbureaucratic trait of thinking out of the box and challenging accepted notions, had famously called for India not to demonise Trump but to analyse him. During a seminar in Mumbai in 2017, the then foreign secretary had stressed on the need to be patient with Trump. Dont demonise Trump, analyse Trump India may not be part of the problem but India will be affected by Trumps policies, he had said. As the foreign minister, faced with a tricky negotiating posture with the United States one whose outcome is likely to have a far-reaching impact on overall bilateral ties Jaishankar must now not only dig deep into his bag of experience and expertise but also involve other government departments in a teamwork to crack the code. One thing is certain. There is certainly none better than him to solve the seemingly intractable issues. From avian vomitologists, langur kidnappers and gross stunt testers, there is more than one strange job in the world which involves wild animals. From avian vomitologists, langur kidnappers and gross stunt testers, there is more than one strange job in the world which involves wild animals. *** Every morning when I get to my office in Shastri Bhavan, I hear a man shout. He shouts pretty much the whole day. His job is to scare away monkeys. The monkeys run when they see him, but they return the minute the man goes away and sit on the ledges of the upper stories of the building outside my window, where I feed them. Illegal langur kidnappers go from building to building and tie the langurs up on the gate to keep rhesus monkeys at bay. Some even have the job of dressing up as monkeys to scare others away. Snake milkers, those who extract venom from snakes and other reptiles for medical purposes (snake venom is useful in treating minor heart attacks and preventing blood clots, and for anti-venom serums). Venom is in great demand every year, and milking a snake for its venom is not an easy task the milker spends all day catching and squeezing a snakes mouth open so that he can push the fangs into a plastic container to milk them. Being bitten is not unusual. In India, the Irulas in Tamil Nadu, who were snake hunters for snakeskin, were taught by Romulus Whittaker and Harry Miller to collect venom and sell it to the snake institutes. In 1978, an Irula Snake-catchers Co-op, owned and operated by the Irula tribals, was formed with Romulus as the technical advisor and permissions were given to catch snakes and bring them to the Snake Park in Guindy (in Chennai) where they were milked. Mosquito researchers in Brazil, while fighting malaria, must study the biting habits of the mosquito that spread this deadly disease. In order to study these insects, Brazilian scientists offer themselves as bait. In the early evening, when mosquito activity is the most, a mosquito researcher sets himself up inside a mosquito-netting tent with a gap at the bottom. Mosquitoes fly in and get trapped inside, where the researcher sits. As they bite the legs, he or she draws them into a mouth tube and then into a container, catching up to 500 in at least three hours (which means at least 3,000 bites). Despite precautions, many researchers get malaria. An avian vomitologist is employed by entomology laboratories to collect vomit samples from sick birds, to analyse the avian flu pattern. This means moving through fields and forests in search of vomit. In 2014, the Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, in China's Sichuan, announced its worldwide search for panda cub caretakers. Contenders faced several elimination rounds before getting the job. The ad stated, "Your work has only one mission: spending 365 days with the pandas and sharing in their joys and sorrows." Better that, than working in Chinas bear bile centres. Bears have a permanent tube fastened to their gall bladders, and the bile gatherers have to make sure the bile comes out and the bear, though in extreme pain, does not die. The bile is collected in jars and sold for the Chinese medicine industry. Movies, that need insects and bugs, employ a wrangler someone who grows ants, cockroaches and flies for films and exhibitions. Sometimes they even get exotic insects depending on the movie order. The wrangler directs the insects during filming, by motivating them with food or pushing them away with air, etc. He has trained them to respond. In Thailand, there is a whole industry of jewellery made out of butterfly wings. One can see them on sale at the airport. There are people who actually tear the wings of live butterflies and quickly push them between plastic covers edged with a gold lining. Add a hook and voila earrings! That is in the same league as snakeskin catchers who pin a live snake to the board and then strip its skin off. This is made into shoes/wallets/handbags for the rich and stupid. Crocodile skinners do the same. Their job is to catch a baby crocodile and tightly shut its mouth. Hammer a nail into the neck which paralyses it and then strip the skin off. For every guy who eats a live grasshopper, on reality shows like Fear Factor and Survivor, there are people who are paid to do the same thing in real life. They are called Gross Stunt Tester and their highly paid job includes doing everything that's gross, like eating worms or cockroaches. The film and television industry employs them to test disgusting items, such as bugs and fluids, to make sure it is safe for others to consume on camera, in order to avoid lawsuits. Professional elephant painters and dressers are hired to paint and decorate elephants during the festivities in Kerala. Sri Lanka has official outfitters for the elephants taking part in festivals. Each elephant has to be measured, and custom made outfits are made for the body, trunk, ears, and tail of the animal. The drapery has to be snug instead of tying it with a rope. The elaborate creations take at least two months to make. The outfits are bought by wealthy families and donated to the temple. Captive elephants are transported across the country to take part in these festivals. Every year, at least ten elephants revolt under the heat of these dresses, the noise and the beating of the mahouts, and run amok. They are either killed immediately or punished for months with beating. Till a few decades ago, leeches were collected to draw blood from patients for therapeutic reasons. Leech-gatherers waded through dense leech-filled areas and allowed them to latch onto their legs and suck, losing tremendous amounts of blood. When they were covered with leeches they waded back and took them off. Indian companies have to follow multiple legislation (local and global), increased cost of compliance and loss of business in some cases in the GDPR era. The European Union (EU) adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on 27 April 2016 and it came into effect on 25 May 2018, but it looks like Indian companies are ignorant about its implication and applicability. The GDPR seeks to protect EU citizens' rights to data privacy through this regulation, so any Indian company which has customers from Europe for its online or offline services, are mandated to be compliant with the GDPR regulation. One of the features of the GDPR is that when personal data of EU resident is transferred to non-EU countries, these nations have to provide data protection. The GDPR has an extra-territorial ambit. Violation of GDPR can invite fines of up to 4 percent of a company's GDP. It is applied to Indian entities acting as a controller or processor of personal data of EU residents. In India, the GDPR will impact the information technology (IT), Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) companies, outsourcing companies and international e-commerce firms. According to Na. Vijayashankar (Naavi), the chairman at the Foundation of Data Protection Professionals in India (FDPPI), Companies need to comply with laws for residents of different geographies. For instance, for data of EU residents, the GDPR is applicable, while for Indian citizens the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) will come into force as and when it is implemented. Similarly, for citizens of Canada, Singapore or any other country the respective data protection law holds good. Kamal Dave, the Managing Partner of law firm Cyber Juris, says, Many Indian companies are ignorant of the GDPR, and have a misconception about it. Dr Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate and expert in cyber-security laws, agrees with Dave about the lack of awareness about the GDPR. Indian companies feel that the GDPR is a European concept, and doesnt apply to them. However, the moment an Indian firm is handling or processing data of Europeans, it is amenable to it. Though no Indian company has been fined so far, it potentially carries a reputational risk. Besides, it can affect current and prospective business interests. Big organisations are ahead of the curve and trying to be compliant. The general perception is that Indian companies can work around these issues. Presently, Indian companies need to comply with the Information Technology Act as the country doesnt have a privacy act yet. The government needs to strengthen data protection at the earliest. The impact of GDPR will be maximum on IT/ITeS industry as software development is happening on the outsourcing model. The business of the Indian companies may also be hampered if they are non-compliant with GDPR. EU companies will definitely do their due diligence before outsourcing contracts to India regarding compliance to GDPR by the outsourced companies. The cost of compliance to GDPR will be another component while taking outsourcing projects which will be borne by the Indian companies. The Indian companies will also have to adhere to local laws which are IT Act currently and the proposed Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 which is expected to be passed by parliament soon. In nutshell, Indian companies have to follow multiple legislation (local and global), increased cost of compliance and loss of business in some cases in the GDPR era. The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governor issued orders reallocating the buildings in accordance with the reorganisation act after both chief ministers gave consent. Hyderabad: In a significant development, Governor ESL Narasimhan Sunday ordered re-allocation of all government buildings in Hyderabad, which were earmarked for Andhra Pradesh at the time of its bifurcation in 2014, to the Telangana government. Since the Andhra Pradesh government is functioning from its capital Amaravati, the official buildings allocated to it are lying vacant, an official release said. The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governor issued orders reallocating the buildings to the newly-carved-out state in accordance with the provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, following the consent given by the chief ministers of the two neighbouring states, it said. At the time of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, government buildings in Hyderabad were allocated equally to the two state governments, but the Andhra government has been paying the electricity bills and other maintenance costs of the buildings even though it was not utilising them. The order was issued as per Section 8 of the APRA, 2014, after the two chief ministers YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and K Chandrashekar Rao consented to the re-allocation of the buildings. Hyderabad remains the common capital of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana till 1 June, 2024, as per the Act. The release said most of the buildings were in a "dilapidated condition" since they were not utilised. Two buildings, one for the police and another for other department offices, will be earmarked in Hyderabad for use by the Andhra Pradesh government, it added. Welcoming the governor's orders, the Telangana chief minister called it an "auspicious sign". "It is a welcome and auspicious sign that both the state governments have decided to move forward with mutual goodwill and fraternity, with people's welfare in mind and development of both the states as the main aim," Rao said. Since the buildings were not utilised they were in a dilapidated state. Against this backdrop, the Telangana Cabinet on Sunday urged the governor to re-allocate the office buildings given to the Andhra Pradesh government. Rao said his aim, ambition and effort would be to see to it that both the states develop with its people living in peace and prosperity and all the issues between the two states be amicably solved. Strikes, such as those organised by Greta Thunberg, are a start an important start. But the choices you and I make who to work for, who to vote for, and who to buy from will be what moves the world. Dear Greta, Youre 16 an age where one is often almost entirely self-absorbed with learning, romance, high school politics. You, however, are concerned about the fate of the world because those of us who were 16, decades ago, were and are not. I heard your speech on how if climate change were indeed a crisis, the papers and the news channels would carry nothing but stories on the climate crisis. Instead, as I flip through the newspapers and my news sites one morning in India, possibly the most vulnerable country to climate change, this is what I see: Elections and cabinet postings. There is a small sliver on below-normal monsoon rainfall in the Northwest and Northeast of the country there is no mention that climate change is projected to change rainfall patterns across the country with the Northwest progressively becoming drier. There is another small sliver on temperatures edging close to 50C where brief exposures outside will cause the body to start shutting down but again, no mention of a climate crisis which will make such heat waves far more common and widespread in the future. What worries me even more than the heat is that many (most?) jobs available in India today require people to work outside (farming, construction); how will those jobs and those people be viable in the years to come? As I turn to the business papers, again the new government looms large, with what Nirmala Sitharaman as finance minister will mean for the markets and the expansion of the farmer income-transfer scheme. As I scroll down, flip the pages, articles on GDP growth having slowed and high joblessness begin to crop up, along with one on the increased push on the Swachh Bharat programme, and an opinion piece on the water crisis. Again, no mention of climate that I could see, apart from noting that Prakash Javadekar would be helming the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. A couple of days ago, I came across a paper in Nature Geoscience on the change in El Nino frequency and intensity the patterns seen in the last 30 years represent a clear break from what was seen earlier for four centuries. This is not good news for India, but there is hardly anyone talking about it. The situation is different on Twitter, where one can, if one chooses, exist in a wonderful self-selected echo-chamber. In that self-selected world, climate change is indeed everywhere. But it would be the greatest blunder if I mistook it for the real world, and what the real world cared about. At my institute, we have just begun our annual survey this year on the state of waste and water this time, we have included a section on climate change and election-issues. Its early days yet but initial data reveals that while almost everyone we have surveyed thus far is worried about climate change, they are unwilling to vote on performance on that issue. Im bracing myself for World Environment Day the one day when environment takes up a large share of news space. This years theme is #BeatAirPollution. Air pollution is indeed a serious environmental issue one that robs a million Indians of their lives prematurely. But how many of us understand that some part of this deadly pollution could be keeping temperatures down? As the climate warms, as it no doubt will, large numbers of people will tend to get more desperate. Thats never a good thing. I try to think of solutions, and the one solution to get temperatures down quickly (and would work well within the Man-control-Nature philosophy) is to geo-engineer the climate. It is possible, but the last time that amount of cooling particles was shoved into the stratosphere, the world went without a summer. I somehow feel the PM Kisan Scheme, or the billions of dollars of agricultural subsidy the developed world provides would pale before the devastation farmers would undergo. Another solution is for large groups of people to migrate, as they likely will. Photographs of Aylan Kurdis small, still body shook Europes conscience and pried open closing doors. Hundreds of migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean since, but the photos have been submerged in the popular anti-immigrant wave. By the time you are my age, the world is likely to become profoundly unsettled because of water and because of climate. I teach a class on climate change for postgraduate management students. I administered an anonymous survey for my students (a self-selected lot, no doubt) on their understanding and action preferences on climate and water. Not all answered, but in the 283 responses I got, almost every student answered that they were worried about climate change and were willing to act on it. On buying: Most students answered that they were willing to pay more for a green product. When probed further, a significant majority answered that they were willing to pay 2-5 percent more for greener products. On who they would work for: Most students (and these are ones with options) said the green-ness of their employer was a top priority. Probed further, many students were willing to take a financial hit to work in a green company. Taken together, this set of responses should give deep food for thought for companies the very same who have, as you said Greta, profited by selling your future. Agreed, that this response should be taken with a large helping of salt, as it cost students nothing to make them and the students themselves were a self-selected lot (they elected to take a course on climate change). But these are anonymous (and thus hopefully reflective of the truth) responses management students from a leading management school in India, not activists protesting at a climate rally. Taken together, they suggest that going green really green, not greenwashing is a strategic no-brainer for companies. Are industry captains and industry associations listening? Your latest battle cry We young people are waking up, and we promise we will not let you get away with it anymore reminded me of the words of a young student of mine from years ago. She, 16 then like yourself, said I dont want to be another person holding a placard (she put it a tad more strongly, but leave that be). Strikes are a start an important start. But the choices you and I make who to work for, who to vote for, and who to buy from will be what moves the world. Thank you for what you do. Best wishes, Mridula The writer is the founder of the Sundaram Climate Institute, cleantech angel investor and author of The Climate Solution India's Climate Crisis and What We Can Do About It published by Hachette. Follow her work on her website; on Twitter; or write to her at cc@climaction.net. HD Kumaraswamy requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recommend the name of Sivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganaga mutt for 'Bharat Ratna' posthumously Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to recommend the name of Sivakumara Swamiji of Siddaganaga mutt for 'Bharat Ratna' posthumously. Shivakumara Swamiji, the 111-year-old head of the Siddaganga Mutt, known as the 'Walking God', died on 21 January this year after prolonged illness. In a letter to Modi, Kumaraswamy said Swami ji's service to the people deserves recognition at the highest level through the award of Bharat Ratna. Several memoranda have been received from political parties and civilians, institutions and associations, for conferring the 'Bharat Ratna' on the seer, he said and urged the prime minister to recommend the seer's name for the country's highest civilian honour posthumously. The seer was considered as the incarnation of Basavanna, the 12th century social reformer, as he accepted all irrespective of their religion or castes. Listing his contributions, Kumaraswamy said the Shree Siddaganga Education Society, set up by the late Swamiji, has established more than 130 educational institutions, mostly in rural and semi-urban areas. "These institutions are providing education ranging from Sanskrit studies to engineering and technology, thus making rich contribution to the educational development of the people," he said. Shree Siddaganga Math also hosts more than 9,000 children who are provided free food, shelter and education, the chief minister added. Indian Air Force's (IAF) missing AN-32 aircraft with 13 people on board is still not located, over 12 hours since it lost contact following take off from Jorhat in Assam. C-130J and ground patrols of the Army are currently carrying out search operations to trace the aircraft. Indian Air Force's missing AN-32 aircraft with 13 people on board is still not located, over 12 hours since it lost contact following take off from Jorhat in Assam. C-130J and ground patrols of the Army are currently carrying out search operations to trace the aircraft. According to the latest updates, search and rescue operations have resumed after the weather cleared up. Reports further added that one advanced light helicopter has already been deployed with the ground party of the Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). More assets may be deployed later, reports added. According to ANI, the aircraft was overdue for landing for more than two hours in Menchuka air field of Arunachal Pradesh. It last contacted ground sources at 1 pm, after taking off from Jorhat airbase at 12:25 pm. CNN-News18 reported there were 13 people on board the aircraft, of which eight were crew members and five were passengers. To locate the missing aircraft, the IAF launched Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft and C-130 special operation aircraft on a search mission. It also launched ground troops for locating the aircraft and people on board. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that IAF vice-chief Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria apprised him of the steps taken in view of the incident. Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Few reports on Monday evening claimed that officials had spotted the wreckage of the aircraft near Payum village. However, the IAF rejected the reports and said the search operations will continue through the night. IAF is coordinating with Indian Army, various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. Search operations will continue from air and by ground parties of Indian Army through the night. 4/4 Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 3, 2019 The Soviet-era aircraft was inducted into the air force in the 1980s and have been undergoing upgrades. The missing plane is not part of the upgraded AN-32 fleet of the air force. The last time an IAF transport aircraft went missing was in 2016 when an AN-32 disappeared over the Bay of Bengal after taking off from Chennai for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The search and rescue operation continued for weeks but the aircraft was never found. With inputs from agencies The Kerala state health department has summoned resources after a 23-year-old youth admitted in a private hospital in Ernakulam with severe fever showed signs of Nipah virus in his samples tested at the National Institute of Virology at Alappuzha; confirmation is awaited from institute's Pune office The Kerala government is gearing up for another battle against the deadly Nipah virus that claimed 17 lives, including five members of a family, in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in May last year. The state health department has summoned resources after a 23-year-old youth admitted in a private hospital in Ernakulam with severe fever showed signs of the virus in his samples tested at the National Institute of Virology at Alappuzha. The results of the samples sent to the institute at Pune are awaited for confirmation. The youth, who studies at a college in Thodupuzha town of Idukki district, developed fever after he came to Thrissur for an internship in a private company. While the youth has been moved to an isolation ward, 22 students who travelled with him to Thrissur and another 28 persons who came in contact with him have been put under observation. Thrissur district medical officer Dr KJ Reena said none of the people under observation in the district have shown any sign of fever or other diseases. However, the authorities have stepped up facilities at Thrissur Medical College for meeting any eventuality. Precautionary measures have also been taken in the nearby districts of Kozhikode and Ernakulam. Isolation wards have been set up in medical colleges in Thrissur, Kozhikode and Ernakulam. State health minister KK Shylaja said that the government has also stocked adequate medicines to provide timely treatment to the affected people. The minister has asked all government, private and periphery hospitals to remain cautious and report if any suspected cases come to their notice. Shylaja said there was no need for panic among the people as the department was fully equipped to deal with the outbreak of the virus. However, reports about the case in the mainstream and social media have triggered panic among the people across the state with many with even ordinary fever making a beeline to hospitals across the state. A doctor at Thrissur Medical College said that they were finding it difficult to cope with the rush. Dr B Padmakumar of Medicines department at Alappuzha Medical College said people are scared because most of the people who had come in direct contact with the person who first contracted the virus in 2018 had died. Majority of the deceased had infected the virus from the Kozhikode medical college hospital, where the affected were treated. The government was caught off guards when the Nipah virus had hit the state for the first time in 2018. Doctors at the Kozhikode Medical College did not suspect anything unusual when the first victim of the virus was referred from the Perambara government hospital on 4 May, 2018. The doctors had also not tested his blood even though he had showed unusual symptoms. He had died the next day. When his brother Salih was admitted with similar symptoms in a private hospital in the city, the doctors had initially suspected it as a case of Japanese encephalitis. The neurologists had sought outside help after the patient had shown signs that were not associated with encephalitis. After ruling out all common causes of encephalitis one by one, the samples of Salih were sent to Manipal Centre for Virus Research (MCVR), who confirmed Nipah, a virus that was not seen in Kerala before. Before the confirmation came, Salih had departed the world. The doctors also could not stop the death of another 15 people, including the nurse who had treated Sabith and his father and a paternal aunt. However, the measures taken by the health department to contain the virus had helped prevent the spread of the virus to more people in the affected areas and to new places. It was a massive operation involving all stakeholders health workers, state government, scientists, researchers and the Central government. The measures included orienting hospitals and health workers on infection prevention and control practices, surveillance and contact tracing, contagion treatment protocols, the use of personal protection equipment, and safe burial practices. The success in containing the virus had received international recognition as well. The Institute of Human Virology in Baltimore had honoured Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state health minister Shylaja for the governments efforts in curbing the outbreak. The medical community in the country also accepted it as a model for emulation by other states. This experience helped the state government in containing the risk of many zoonotic diseases spreading in the state following the August flood that killed large number of animals. However, health experts see the outbreak of Nipah as a sign of the emergence of zoonotic diseases and a major health challenge that the country is least prepared to face. Dr A Sukumaran, state epidemiologist with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) said that these diseases could be more threatening as there is little information on their origin and many of their epidemiological features remain unknown. The health authorities took three months to identify the source of the Nipah virus. Fruit bats were identified as the carrier of virus after two species of bats were tested. The first batch of 21 bats trapped and tested in May were found to be insectivores that do not carry the Nipah virus. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) confirmed the source after testing the second batch of 55 bats trapped by the officials of the animal husbandry. They included fruit bats, which tested positive for the Nipah virus. Sabith had contracted the virus after he consumed a fruit bitten by the virus-carrying fruit bats. His brother, father and a paternal aunt had contracted the virus after coming in contact with him. Dr Sukumaran said that the health authorities would not be able to deal with the zoonotic diseases unless people realise that their health is connected with the health of animals and the environment around them. A day after Ernakulam district officials rejected reports claiming confirmation of Nipah virus case in the region as baseless, the Kerala government on Monday confirmed that a 23-year-old college student, admitted to a private hospital in Kochi, is suspected to have been infected with the Nipah virus. A day after Ernakulam district officials rejected reports claiming confirmation of Nipah virus case in the region as baseless, the Kerala government on Monday confirmed that a 23-year-old college student, admitted to a private hospital in Kochi, is suspected to have been infected by the virus. A final confirmation is still awaited. In a statement on Sunday, Ernakulam district collector Mohammed Y Safirulla said usual medical examinations were carried out on patients arriving with the symptoms of Nipah virus. Some social media reports had said that Nipah virus had been confirmed on a patient admitted to a hospital in Ernakulam district was baseless, he said. There was no need for any concern, he added. On Monday, however, Kerala health minister KK Shailaja confirmed the reports and said that all precautions have been taken and isolation wards were set up at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital in Kochi. Earlier also, there have been suspected cases and samples sent for tests but results had turned out to be negative, she said. "In this case also the patient's samples have been sent to National Institute of Virology in Pune and the government is awaiting results. Only after we get the report from the institute can it be confirmed if the patient is infected by the virus or not," Shailaka told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram. Reports said that results from Manipal Institute of Virology were also awaited. The student, hailing from Ernakulam district, had studied in a college in Thodupuzha in Idukki and had stayed in Thrissur recently in connection with a camp. According to Thrissur District Medical Officer Thrissur District Medical Officer KJ Reena, the student was in Thrissur just for four days and had been suffering from fever. "The student came to Thrissur on May 21st. He had a fever while he came here. After two days consulted doctors in two private hospitals in Thrissur. The infection is only in his head right now, it has not been passed to his respiratory system. An isolation wing has been readied in Thrissur Medical College too," she was quoted as saying by The News Minute. There were 16 other students with him and six of them who came in direct contact with him, are under observation she said. The Idukki district medical authorities said the college in Thodupuzha, where the student is studying, is also under observation. The minister said there was no need for people to panic as the government has taken all precautionary measures and asked all private hospitals to inform them if suspected cases are reported. Government, private and peripheral hospitals have bee asked to be cautious, she said, adding a high-level meeting of health officials would be held in Kochi on Monday afternoon. According to state government figures, the Nipah virus had claimed 17 lives -- 14 in Kozhikode and three in neighbouring Malappuram in May last year. With inputs from agencies The MHT CET result has been declared on the official website. This year, at least four lakh students registered for the exam, which is a five percent dip from the number of registrations in 2018, reports said. Auto refresh feeds The State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra, has released the result for the state-level MAH CET 2019 examinations today (Tuesday, 4 June). Candidates who had appeared for the examination can check their scores for the MHT CET through the official website mhtcet2019.mahaonline.gov.in. Step 4: The MHT CET 2019 result will appear on the screen. Download and take a print out for future reference. Step 3: On a new page click on the result link for the exam. (The link is likely to be available around 5 pm tomorrow) Candidates who qualify and meet the required eligibility criteria will be called in for the counselling session and will be allowed to participate in the admission process at the different participating institutes. The MHT CET is a state-level entrance exam conducted for admission into undergraduate engineering courses in Maharashtra. Based on the MHT CET score, students will be able to apply to the colleges across the state, reports said. Priyant Jain and Kimaya Shikarkhane of Mumbai and Siddhesh Agarwal from Amravati have emerged as the MHT CET toppers of this year with a score of 99.98 percent. This year, at least four lakh students had registered for exam, however, of those, 3,92,354 candidates appeared for the MHT CET exam held in May 2019. Here is the direct link to the scorecard on the official website mhtcet2019.mahaonline.gov.in . The MHT CET result has been declared on the official website. This year, at least four lakh students registered for the exam, which is a five percent dip from the number of registrations in 2018, reports said. The State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra, has released the result for the state-level MAH CET 2019 examinations today (Tuesday, 4 June). Candidates who had appeared for the examination can check their scores for the MHT CET through the official website mhtcet2019.mahaonline.gov.in. Step 4: The MHT CET 2019 result will appear on the screen. Download and take a print out for future reference. Step 3: On a new page click on the result link for the exam. (The link is likely to be available around 5 pm tomorrow) Candidates who qualify and meet the required eligibility criteria will be called in for the counselling session and will be allowed to participate in the admission process at the different participating institutes. The MHT CET is a state-level entrance exam conducted for admission into undergraduate engineering courses in Maharashtra. Based on the MHT CET score, students will be able to apply to the colleges across the state, reports said. Priyant Jain and Kimaya Shikarkhane of Mumbai and Siddhesh Agarwal from Amravati have emerged as the MHT CET toppers of this year with a score of 99.98 percent. This year, at least four lakh students had registered for exam, however, of those, 3,92,354 candidates appeared for the MHT CET exam held in May 2019. Here is the direct link to the scorecard on the official website mhtcet2019.mahaonline.gov.in . The MHT CET result has been declared on the official website. This year, at least four lakh students registered for the exam, which is a five percent dip from the number of registrations in 2018, reports said. Maharashtra common entrance test (MHT CET) 2019 Date and Time Latest Updates: The MHT CET result has been declared on the official website. This year, at least four lakh students registered for the exam, which is a five percent dip from the number of registrations in 2018, reports said. Priyant Jain and Kimaya Shikarkhane of Mumbai and Siddhesh Agarwal from Amravati have emerged as the MHT CET toppers of this year with a score of 99.98 percent. Candidates who qualify and meet the required eligibility criteria will be called in for the counselling session and will be allowed to participate in the admission process at the different participating institutes. The State Common Entrance Test Cell, Maharashtra, has released the result for the state-level MAH CET 2019 examinations today (Tuesday, 4 June). Candidates who had appeared for the examination can check their scores for the MHT CET through the official website mhtcet2019.mahaonline.gov.in. Earlier this month, State CET cell authorities had released the answer key, the question paper and candidates' responses. Candidates had the opportunity to raise objection over them till 18 May after paying a prescribed fee of Rs 1,000, plus the necessary service charges as applicable for each objection that they raise. How to download MHT CET 2019 result: Step 1: Visit the official website mhtcet2019.dtemaharashtra.gov.in Step 2:On the homepage click on 'MHT CET 2019 Result' Step 3: On a new page click on the result link for the exam. (The link is likely to be available around 5 pm tomorrow) Step 4: The MHT CET 2019 result will appear on the screen. Download and take a print out for future reference. Candidates who qualify and meet the required eligibility criteria will be called in for the counselling session and will be allowed to participate in the admission process at the different participating institutes. About Maharashtra common entrance test (MHT CET) 2019: MHT CET is common entrance test for admission to first year of full time degree courses of technical courses (Engineering and Technology, Pharmacy and Pharm D), Agriculture Courses and Fisheries Science/Dairy Technology courses under MAFSU for the academic year 2019-2020. Flexibility in your destination can be important, too, the experts said. Travelers often limit their searches specifically to where they want to go, but if they were to fly somewhere nearby and then take a bus, train or another plane to their target destination, they could potentially be saving hundreds of dollars. For example, if you wanted to go to Paris but found a much cheaper flight to London, you could fly to Englands capital and take the train to France via the Chunnel. In Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, two people, a militant and an overground worker for militants, were killed in an encounter with security forces on Monday. Two people, a militant and an overground worker for militants, were killed in an encounter with security forces on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district. The encounter took place in the Moolu Chitragam area of the district, where the army had set up a checkpoint. In the early hours of Monday, a private vehicle jumped the checkpoint, after which militants got out of it and opened fire on the officers. A patrol party of the Indian Army's Rashtriya Rifles unit was reportedly involved in the operation. "In the retaliation process, one terrorist identified as Firdous Ahmad Bhat and an active associate Sajad Ahmad, who was driving the vehicle, got killed. Both were residents of Kulgam. Moreover, one terrorist, taking advantage of dark, fled the spot," the Jammu and Kashmir Police said in a statement. "The group affiliation of the slain militant and the overground worker is being ascertained," the police added. News18 reported that internet services have been suspended in Kulgam district. The police said they had handed over the bodies of both terrorists to their legal heirs "after completion of medico-legal formalities". "Incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, were recovered from the spot." Overground workers of militant outfits work as their eyes and ears in areas they want to operate in. They keep watch on the movement of security forces, arrange hideouts for militants and also provide logistic support to them. With inputs from agencies Tharoor said that the three-language formula goes back to mid-1960s but it was never properly implemented. 'Most of us in the South learn Hindi as a second language but nobody in the North is learning Malayalam or Tamil,' he said. Trivandrum: Congress MP and former Union Minister Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said the solution to the three-language formula is not by abandoning the idea but ensure its better implementation. "The solution is not to abandon the three languages formula but to implement it in a better manner," said Tharoor when asked to comment on the new draft policy of National Education, which recommends among other things three languages formula in schools. Tharoor said that the three-language formula goes back to mid-1960s but it was never properly implemented. "Most of us in the South learn Hindi as a second language but nobody in the North is learning Malayalam or Tamil," he said. In the draft National Education Policy 2019, the three-language formula recommends inclusion of English and Hindi besides mother tongue in non-Hindi speaking states, while Hindi speaking states should include English and one Indian language from other parts of the country. When asked about the guests who were aggressively turned away by Pakistani security officials from an 'Iftar' party hosted by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad, Tharoor said: "I am sorry. I was not aware of that incident. Unfortunately, the relationship between India and Pakistan is really in bad shape. It's in a trough." "The new government really needs to do a thorough review of our Pakistan policy and decide in what ways and how they will pursue the matter. As you know the Pakistani government was not among the one invited for the prime minister's swearing-in unlike 2014, so the question that comes up is whether we are going to allow a negative feeling on both sides or whether some serious efforts have to be made to change this relationship," he said. On being asked about the US withdrawing preferential trade agreement with India, Tharoor said: "The US policy on trade has become much tougher or shall we see less generous than it used to be. Not only India, even with China the US is at a trade war at the moment and other countries are facing the brunt as well." "I leave to our competent negotiators to figure out what kind of solution is possible. I am told that there are about 11,000 goods we sell to the US and more than 5,000 will be affected by the new tariffs that will hurt our economy, our exporters and businesses. It is in our interest to find some sort of compromising formula at least for the majority of these items," he added. Replying about his visit to his constituency after the Lok Sabha poll victory, Tharoor said: "It is a lovely Kerala tradition where we do 'thank you' parade and tour the constituency. I will be spending one day in every assembly constituency meeting the people and thanking them for their support." Rajnath Singh will first arrive at the Thoise airfield in Ladakh, from where he will travel to the Kumar post and then to the Siachen glacier, where he will interact with the army's field commanders and soldiers. New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will visit the Siachen glacier and Srinagar on Monday to review security preparedness along the borders with Pakistan as well as to take stock of anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources said on Sunday. In his first visit after taking charge of the defence ministry, Singh will first travel to the Siachen Glacier the world's most dangerous battlefield where he will interact with field commanders and soldiers, they said. The defence minister will be accompanied on the trip by army chief General Bipin Rawat. From Siachen, Singh will go to Srinagar where Northern Army Commander Lieutenant General Ranbir Singh and Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lieutenant General YK Joshi are scheduled to brief him about the security scenario along the borders will Pakistan as well as on the anti-terror operations, official sources said. In the morning, Singh will first arrive at the high-altitude Thoise airfield in Ladakh, from where he will travel to the Kumar post. The defence minister will then go to Siachen glacier where he will interact with Army's field commanders and soldiers, the sources said. Singh will also lay a wreath at the Siachen war memorial. The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. According to official figures, the army lost 163 personnel deployed at the glacier in the last 10 years. India and Pakistan started deploying troops at the strategically key glacier in 1984. Sources said the defence minister will be given detailed and specific presentations on functioning of the 14 Corps and 15 Corps, including the army's overall preparedness to to deal with any possible eventualities and misadventure by Pakistan. The army's 14 Corps guards the Line of Actual Control with China as well as the Line of Control with Pakistan. The Srinagar-based 15 Corps is mainly tasked with carrying out anti-terror operations in the Kashmir Valley. The defence minister is scheduled to return to New Delhi on Monday evening. A Polish woman has tweeted a letter written by her 11-year-old daughter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking help to return to Goa. Panaji: A Polish woman has tweeted a letter written by her 11-year-old daughter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking help to return to Goa. Marta Kotlarska and her daughter Alicja Wanatko were staying in Goa, where the latter attended school before they were sent back to their country due to non-renewal of visa. On 24 March, 2019, Alicja's mother, on her return to India from Sri Lanka, was turned away from Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru when she went to renew her Indian visa. the letter my daughther who is out of school due to lack of action from MHA officers has written to Honoreable Prime Minister of India for help in our case @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/PVIolpD9Ez Marta Kotlarska (@KotlarskaMarta) June 2, 2019 Marta had to wait in Thailand before she could return to India to pick up her daughter from Goa and leave the country. Both are right now in Cambodia. "Please help us @narendramodi my daughter is very distressed and she is only 11 years old," the mother tweeted, attaching her child's handwritten letter. In a series of tweets, she said for her daughter "India is the place we call home". Alicja, in the handwritten letter, expressed love for Goa. "I love my school in Goa, the beautiful nature and I am missing my volunteering in the animal rescue centre there where I was helping to take care of cows. My mum could not re-enter India on 24 March, 2019 after a short trip out and we were told we were blacklisted due to our overstay," the daughter said in the letter. "I am now with my mum, but am missing my old life in my favourite country more than ever. I feel so alone away from everything I have always known in India. I know my animals will be so confused without me and I cannot sleep without feeling angry or upset," she has said. RBSE Result 2019 Date| The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) announced the Class 10 board examination results today (3 June) on its official website rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in RBSE Result 2019 declared| The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) announced the Class 10 board examination results today (3 June) on its official website rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in This year, 11.2 lakh students registered for the RBSE Class 10 exams. As a large number of students will be trying to access their scores, the official website might crash or become unresponsive. In such as case, students can visit alternative websites to check their RBSE Class 10 results while the glitch in the official website is being fixed. Follow LIVE updates on the Rajasthan Class 10 results here Alternative websites: Steps to check RBSE Class 10 result 2019 on examresults.net: Step 1: Visit the website : examresults.net Step 2: Select the state board, in this case Rajasthan Step 3: Look for the result link that says BSER Class 10th results 2019 Step 4: Fill in your roll no. and Submit Step 5: Check your result, download and take a print out of it for future use. Steps to check RBSE Class 10 results on indiaresults.com: Step 1: Visit indiaresults.com. Step 2: Click on Rajasthan in the list of the states or type the URL rajasthan.indiaresults.com on your browser and press enter. Step 3: Look for the link for the RBSE Class 10 results. Step 4: Click on the link. It will take you to a new page. Fill in all the details to get your results. Students can also check their Rajasthan Class 10 scores on Firstpost by entering their details below: Steps to check RBSE Class 10 result 2019 on rajresults.nic.in: Step 1: Go to the website: rajresults.nic.in Step 2: Click on the result link for Class 10 result 2019. Step 3: Log-in by entering your roll no as per your admit card and hit Submit. Step 4: Download your result and take a print out of it. RBSE Class 10 Results on SMS If students fail to access their RBSE Class 10 scores via websites, they can avail SMS service. To receive RBSE Class 10 results on your mobile phones, type RESULTRAJ10ROLL NUMBER and Send it to 56263. As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed around. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. RBSE Result 2019 declared | The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) announced the Class 10 board exam today (3 June) on the board's official websites rajresults.nic.in and rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. RBSE Result 2019 declared | The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) announced the Class 10 board exam today (3 June) on the board's official websites rajresults.nic.in and rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. This year, 11,22,651 lakh candidates appeared for the RBSE Class 10 exams. In 2018, 79.86 percent candidates had cleared the Class 10 board exams, the results of which were declared on 10 June. The pass percentage among regular students was 80.13 percent and that of private students was 14.55 percent. Follow LIVE updates on the Rajasthan Class 10 results here Steps to check RBSE Class 10 result 2019: Step 1: Visit the official website of the board: rajresults.nic.in Step 2: Click on the link for the Class 10 results on the homepage Step 3: On the new login page, enter your roll number as mentioned in your admit card and click Submit. Step 4: Once your result appears on your screen, download them and take a printout for future reference. Students can also check their Rajasthan Class 10 scores on Firstpost by entering their details below: Students can check their results on alternative websites such as indiaresults.com and examresults.net/rajasthan. Similarly, candidates can also get their scores using the Rajasthan board's SMS service. To receive their RBSE Class 10 results on their mobile phones, students need to type RESULTRAJ10ROLL NUMBER and send it to 56263. As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed around. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in. RBSE Result 2019 Declared| Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE or BSER) has announced the RBSE Class 10 board examination results today on its official website- rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in and rajresults.nic.in. This year the pass percentage recorded for RBSE Class 10 exam was 79.85 percent. RBSE Result 2019 Declared| Nearly 80 percent students who appeared for the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE or BSER) examination passed, reports said. The Rajasthan Board announced the RBSE Class 10 board examination results today on its official website rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in and rajresults.nic.in. This year, the pass percentage recorded for RBSE Class 10 exam was 79.85 percent, reported NDTV. The overall pass percentage for boys is 79.45 per cent whereas for girls, it is 80.35 per cent. As many as 11.2 lakh students registered for RBSE Class 10 exams 2019. In 2018, pass percentage was recorded at 79.86 percent. Out of which the overall pass percentage of girls stood at 79.95 percent while for boys was 79.79 percent. As many as 10,58,018 students appeared for the examinations that year that was conducted from 7 March to 4 April. Steps to check RBSE Class 10 result 2019: Step 1: Visit the official website of the board: rajresults.nic.in Step 2: Click on the Class 10 result link on the homepage Step 3: On the new log-in page, enter your roll number as per your admit card and click Submit. Step 4: Once your result appears on the screen, download and take a printout of it. Students can also check their results through alternative websites like: rajresults.nic.in and examresults.net/rajasthan. If students fail to access their RBSE Class 10 scores via websites, they can avail SMS service. To receive RBSE Class 10 results on your mobile phones, type -RESULTRAJ10ROLL NUMBER - Send it to 56263. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to Sweden for a revived rape investigation, but should still be questioned in the case while he is imprisoned in Britain, a Swedish court ruled Monday Copenhagen: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange should not be extradited to Sweden for a revived rape investigation, but should still be questioned in the case while he is imprisoned in Britain, a Swedish court ruled Monday. The ruling by the Uppsala District Court doesn't mean the preliminary rape investigation must be abandoned, only that Assange won't be extradited to Sweden for now. Eva-Marie Persson, Sweden's deputy director of public prosecutions, said she has not decided whether to appeal. "I will also issue a European Investigation Order in order to interview Julian Assange," Persson said, adding that she hasn't picked a possible date for the questioning in England. Assange's lawyer in Sweden, Per E Samuelsson, said his client would "be happy, we are happy" to learn he won't be extradited to Sweden. The 47-year-old Assange was evicted on 11 April from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had been holed up with political asylum since 2012. He was immediately arrested by British police and is currently serving a 50-week sentence for jumping bail in 2012. He is also fighting extradition to the United States, which accuses him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing secret documents hacked from the Pentagon containing the names of confidential military and diplomatic sources. Last week, Assange missed a court session in Britain, reportedly due to health problems. The imposition of Hindi has created language chauvinism, and made the love of language and its sustenance for education and jobs a political issue. This is a serious problem in India, where the states were carved out on a linguistic basis. Linguistic diversity has to be sustained for a global democracy, and linguistic parochialism requires to be challenged by politics that favours economic equality. The limitations of your language are the limitations of your life. For me, this saying is a lived experience, both negative and positive. Am I victim or a successful product of linguistic diversity? I am not sure. The outbreak of protests in Tamil Nadu against yet another looming threat of Hindi imposition is occasion to reflect on how circumstances determine the limiting or liberating potential of language. Language, like life, precedes all states and constitutions. Therefore, it may be said to be a pre-constitutional right. After blood and land, language is the most important basis of identity and sustenance. It evolves in an individuals life, moulded by social conditions, sustained by emotional and cultural ties, and motivated by economic aspirations and material ambitions. India has several hundred languages and dialects. Hindi and English are official languages for administrative purposes. There are several national languages. Hindi is not the national language, as many Hindi speakers and those in the Hindi-speaking regions believe. I was born in Kerala on the border it shares with Tamil Nadu. My mother tongue was a dialect of Tamil spoken in Kerala and different from the classical version. After some months of schooling in the village kalari, we moved to Mumbai, where Marathi is the state language. I started in a Marathi medium school and later went to an English medium school run by Irish Redemptorists. Hindi was a second language from Class II, Marathi a third language from Class III and Sanskrit as an alternative to French or Latin the fourth language from Class VIII. In those years in Mumbai, South Indians like me were perceived as a dominant minority of outsiders by Maharashtrians who were not socially, educationally and economically mobile. It was rare to find a Maharashtrian speak in Marathi in offices where South Indians would converse freely in English and even their own language. This reflected a social order, which gave rise to anti-South Indian protests. My entire education was in English. It is also the medium of my writing, though I have written articles in Hindi. I was equally fluent in Marathi, studied French at the university, German in Germany and Tamil through correspondence. Although I could speak and read Tamil, and had to follow the Tamil press as a newspaper reporter, I had not learnt to write the language, which is at least half my mother tongue. The other half of my mother tongue is Malayalam, in which I can converse. As an English-educated, upper caste Indian, such a linguistic development has alienated me. I have not had access to any of the rich and varied literature in Indian languages. The dependence on English over the years retarded my Marathi and Hindi, and there was never any need to write in Tamil. The only Tamil I wrote was letters that the domestic help who worked in my house in Delhi wanted me to write to her folks in a Tamil Nadu village. I used to write to my mother in English, not in Malayalam or Tamil, which were her languages. She had picked up English and knows the script used to write in Hindi Devanagari which is the same script for Sanskrit, a language she had studied. She used to write replies to me in a mixture of Roman and Devanagari characters, freely using these to form the phonetic equivalents of words in Tamil and Malayalam when she could not recall the English or Hindi words. I feel the vacuum of not knowing my mother tongue or any Indian language in depth. Yet English has liberated me through education and access to employment, which could be pursued in other countries, too. It has gifted me with a worldview or weltanschauung and an eclectic outlook. English opened my mind to so much that would have been closed to me in my own mother tongue. Yes, I unashamedly admit to being a beneficiary of English language imperialism. But, I can hold my own against the imperialists in their language, which is now mine. Like most people in the South and East, I feel there is Hindi imperialism in India and there are tendencies towards one country, one culture and one language. The imposition of Hindi has, in turn, created language chauvinism, and made the love of language and its sustenance for education and jobs a political issue. This is a serious problem in India, where the states were carved out on a linguistic basis. There are states which have made their language compulsory at the primary level and for a percentage of jobs. While this offers prospects to the socially and educationally backward sections, it imposes a handicap on the middle and upper classes in a situation where English is associated with the elite. Politicians are using it, and with great effect, for pursuing a divide and rule policy. The other side of this the emancipatory potential of English is evident most in the case of information technology. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are among the states where linguistic identities are strong. Yet, the bulk of IT professionals going to the US and other countries are from these states; they account for the highest number of work visas to the US. Had they been victims of linguistic parochialism in their states, they would not be where they are with their achievements. They too are beneficiaries of English imperialism. They opted for the advantages of this in opposition to Hindi imperialism, as well as the parochial imposition of their own state language or mother tongue as a medium of education. On a global scale, Hindi imperialism is less threatening to linguistic diversity than English imperialism. But, for the person facing Hindi imposition, it is more oppressive than the bigger imperialism of English, which at least offers more opportunities and new horizons. Where is the need to impose Hindi, unless it is for the self-serving ulterior motives of only-Hindi speaking elected elite that wants to exercise power and domination over the non-Hindi people? Hindi doesnt need political props or official patronage at the expense of the non-Hindi states to grow. For the last 50 years, Hindi has been growing at a high rate because of the population growth in the Hindi heartland. The higher population growth in the Hindi-speaking states has caused a big surge in the use of Hindi. Whereas the lower population growth in the five southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala has resulted in a decline in native speakers of the states languages. On a recent visit to Kerala, when I spoke to migrant workers in Hindi, they responded in Malayalam. And their Malayalam is better than mine. Figures suggest that Hindi has grown at double the rate of the Dravidian languages of these five states. Hindi is also growing in the South because of migration from Northern and Eastern states. Increased Hindi usage does not in any way diminish the South, but Hindi imposition does. Besides, the promotion of Hindi is more at the expense of Southern states, which contribute more to the national exchequer because of their superior economic development and growth. Unfortunately, they are even penalised for this, as for example, Tamil Nadu had to settle for reduced seats in Parliament as a result of better population policy. If Hindi is useful for people to make a living and succeed, then Hindi will flourish. Not otherwise. There can and should be no imposition of language. The policy should be to let a thousand languages bloom. Linguistic diversity has to be sustained for a global democracy, and linguistic parochialism requires to be challenged by politics that favours economic equality. It is a question of creating the circumstances and deciding whether the state or people should be accorded primacy in making the decision. With the support of even Muslim voters uncertain in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee and her TMC have their work cut out for them ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls to keep the flock together. Growing up with a brother six years older and twice my size was not easy. While he could be helpful when he wanted to be, more often than not, he drove me to my wits end. One of his most annoying habits was mimicking me and doing exactly what I would ask him not to. The more annoyed I got, the more he did just that. The reports coming in West Bengal these days take me back to this part of my childhood. Only today, it's an irritated Mamata Banerjee versus irksome BJP workers and supporters chanting "Jai Shri Ram", trying to provoke a reaction out of her. So far, they have been successful in every attempt, with the Chief Minister of West Bengal even stopping her convoy during a visit to North 24 Paraganas district to yell at a group of men shouting the slogan. "What do you think of yourself? You will come from other states, stay here and abuse us? I will not tolerate this. How dare you all abuse me? All of your names and details will be noted down," Mamata was heard saying in a video widely shared on social media. Now one might wonder what it is about "Jai Shri Ram" that gets her blood boiling hot enough for her to have the West Bengal Police detain those shouting the slogan. Although Mamata's Trinamool Congress won 22 of the 42 seats in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections, it was a virtual defeat for her party, enough to be considered a drubbing by the BJP, which improved its tally from two to 18 seats in the eastern state. This, according to political analysts, was a result of the Hindu votes in the state moving to the BJP's kitty, with the TMC retaining its Muslim support. "The trend of polarised voting is clear. In Muslim-dominated Assembly constituencies, Trinamool got an overwhelming majority due to consolidation of Muslim votes. There is another side to this consolidation, which benefited the BJP they got the lead in 23 segments where Hindus seemed to have voted almost en masse for the saffron party's candidates," The Telegraph quoted political scientist and Rabindra Bharati University faculty member Biswanath Chakraborty as saying. Let's clarify here that this is not to say Mamata and her TMC are anti-Hindu. That religious polarisation would more likely than not determine the outcome of the polls in West Bengal became clear during campaigning, with BJP big-hitters Narendra Modi and Amit Shah bringing up issues like the National Register of Citizens, infiltration from Bangladesh and TMC's "Muslim appeasement" policy repeatedly at rallies. The Modi-Shah duo made their agenda abundantly clear, making sure to bring up Mamata's "pro-Muslim" decisions, such as her move to try to prohibit immersion of Durga idols the day Vijaya Dashami coincided with Muharram. Besides trying to ban Durga idol immersions keeping Muharram processions in mind, her support for Bangladeshi immigrants was another point the BJP made sure to raise at election rallies this year. Her support for Bangladeshi immigrants and her targeting Modi for declaring he would send them all back to the neighbouring country goes back to the BJP-TMC campaign ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While her reasons for making such decisions may have been noble we may never know it gave the BJP fodder for its campaign and allowed it to gather its target vote bank of Bengali Hindus. The results of the Lok Sabha elections made plenty clear that there is dissatisfaction in the state with Mamata's style of governance and policies. However, a deeper point to note would be the indication that years of efforts to consolidate Muslim votes for the TMC, with its "appeasement policies" as the BJP calls it, may not work for her party in the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. In the 2016 Assembly polls, the TMC won from 85 minority-dominated Assembly segments. The Left Front and the Congress, which fought the elections together that year, were ahead in 39. The BJP had bagged just one. In the Lok Sabha polls this year, the Congress tally dropped to nine Assembly segments, whereas the Left failed to open an account in any. This points to the fact that a significant majority of those who had voted for the Left and Congress earlier had now opted for either the TMC or the BJP. But looking at the shrunken size of the Trinamool's seat share and the dramatic rise in the BJP's from just two in 2014 to 18 in 2019 it is clear that the saffron party was the bigger beneficiary of this chunk of votes. There is also the matter of the BJP further consolidating its Hindu vote bank over the next two years leading up to the Assembly elections. Much of the BJP's gains in West Bengal have been attributed to the Left and the Congress being pushed to the fringes of West Bengal politics and the saffron party eating into their votes. The BJP is likely to cash in on this sentiment and further strengthen its base in the state in the run-up to the polls. That this fete is no longer a tough task for the party which once had negligible presence in Bengal and continues to lack organisational structure in the state speaks volumes about the threat it now poses to the TMC. Moreover, attempts by the saffron unit itself to draw Muslims cannot be ruled out either. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP launched a drive to enrol Muslims into its fold and also fielded minority candidates from four seats. This, along with the desire for inclusion among members of the community, are two factors that could also lead Mamata to lose some of her trusted voters to the rival side. It would not be wrong for the Trinamool Congress to fear this sudden spike in support for the BJP. It wouldn't be a stretch either to assume that Mamata's reactions to provocation by BJP workers and supporters could partly be due to this fear. Her efforts to hold on to Muslim votes may not yield the desired results in the 2021 Assembly polls as there is the risk of these votes getting split with the Congress and Left. In April, at a rally in Muslim-majority Malda, Mamata had declared that she would not allow the BJP to play a "Hindu-Muslim game in West Bengal". In June, she emotionally said: "Some accuse me of Muslim appeasement. My question to them is whether loving Hindus means you have to hate Muslims. I respect and love all communities and religion. This country belongs to everybody." Over the course of the election campaign, the chief minister was neither successful in spoiling the BJP's Hindutva game, nor could she truly dispel the image of appeasing the state's near 30 percent population of Muslims entirely. With the support of even this section of voters uncertain for various reasons, Mamata and her TMC have their work cut out for them to keep the flock together ahead of the 2021 Assembly polls. It's what happens when a reader takes something you've written and fixes it to the refrigerator at home or in the breakroom at work that others might see. It is the best award in all of journalism. And many win the Refrigerator Prize each day. BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj compared Mamata Banerjee to 'demon king Hiranyakashyap', saying he had also put his son Prahlad behind bars for saying Jai Shri Ram. Haridwar: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj said on Sunday West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee "belongs to the family of demon king Hiranyakashyap", an ancient Hindu ruler who is believed to have put his son Prahlad behind the bars and tortured him for believing in god. "As we talk of West Bengal, I remember the demon king Hiranyakashyap who had put his son behind bars and tortured him for saying 'Jai Shri Ram'. This is being repeated in Bengal, and it seems that Mamata Banerjee belongs to the family of demon Hiranyakashyap as she put all those who say 'Jai Shri Ram' behind bars," he said. "She gets irritated, puts people behind bars, abuses them and conspires against those who say 'Jai Shri Ram'", he added. On Sunday, Mamata criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said its leaders were using the religious slogan 'Jai Shri Ram' as their party slogan in a "misconceived manner". on 30 May, she had reprimanded people chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' in North 24 Parganas, saying "they are BJP people and criminals from outside the state". Later, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh slammed Mamata, saying the chief minister has completely lost her mind. On Saturday, a scuffle broke out between the police and a group of people who were allegedly shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans outside the residence of TMC leader and Minister for Fire Department Sujit Bose in Kanchrapara. While speculations are rife about the possible reasons for Spandana's departure from social media, some reports say that she has taken the decision as a part of her break from politics. The Congress party is reeling under the heat of its recent loss of face in the Lok Sabha election after it was reduced to a mere 52 seats in the Parliament, as opposed to rival Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) mammoth 303. Many review meetings, including that of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), have been held since then to dwell on the poll drubbing and delve deep into the reasons for the party's debacle. In what may be an effect of the result, one of the party's most visible faces and its social media and communications in-charge, Divya Spandana, quit Twitter on Sunday. In a context where the Congress is struggling to match the BJP's social media presence, this comes as bad news for the grand old party. Speculations are rife about the possible reasons for Spandana's exit from social media. She has reportedly also exited the party's internal WhatsApp groups PTI quoted sources to state that Spandana has taken the decision as a part of her break from politics. Earlier as well, in October 2018, Spandana had gone off Twitter for some time, leading to rumours of her possible rift with the party. She had received criticism for her aggressive anti-Modi stance. However, the party's national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had then denied reports of Spandana being expelled from the party and later, the former Congress MP re-joined the micro-blogging site putting an end to all speculations. Spandana was also in the news when a member of the Congress' IT cell, Chirag Patnaik, was accused of sexual harassment during India's #MeToo movement and she had come to his rescue calling the allegations 'baseless'. Interestingly, just after Spandana's exit from Twitter, Patnaik who is still associated with the party also quit the platform. As per reports, Patnaik was arrested in Delhi last week for allegedly sexually harassing a former colleague. As per India Today's report, a former employee with the team had accused Patnaik of violating her personal space and indulging in "immoral behaviour". In her police complaint, the survivor alleged that Patnaik a senior office-bearer had made indecent advances at her between 4 April to 23 May 2018. A case was registered under Section 354-A and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after the survivor said that she feared that she might lose her job due to Patnaik's strong influence within the party. In fact, she had also accused Spandana of being 'arrogant' and not acting on her complaint. Spandana had called the allegations "false and without any basis" and even tweeted regarding the matter, stating that an internal complaints committee had been set up to probe the same. Some reports suggested that Sapnadan's no-show on Twitter might be on account of Congress' official ban on its spokespersons or members participating in television debates for a month. According to another report for The Indian Express, while some of her colleagues had said that she had indicated that she will be around only till 19 May, party leaders claimed that she is very much around and is in touch with her department, working on its immediate and future strategy. Spandana's exit from social media comes close on the heels of Priyanka Chaturvedi, a prominent spokesperson for the Congress, leaving the party and joining the Shiv Sena. Chaturvedi had alleged disrespect towards her with regards to her complaints about unruly behaviour by some members and their re-inclusion in the party after their initial expulsion following her complaint. Apart from Chaturvedi, senior party leader Tom Vadakkan had also quit Congress to join the BJP ahead of the general election. Historically, the insurmountability that the BJP faces in south India arises mainly from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but their stories of resistance the politics, the underlying ideologies, and the circumstances are completely different from each other. One is strongly based on self-respect and counter-nationalism while the other is based on the habitual secularism of a plural society and age-old Centre-Left politics. Close on the heels of the routing of the BJP and its allies in Tamil Nadu, opposition to alleged Hindi imposition in the state suddenly trended on social media with multiple hashtags. Curiously, there was no new policy announcement on the issue from the Centre or any political provocation from the loose cannons of the BJP still, the situation reached a near boiling point. This is the essence of how regional nationalism defeats Hindu nationalism in Tamil Nadu, or how the DMK defeated the BJP and its allies in the recent elections. Last weeks anti-Hindi noise that followed the DMK victory appeared to have been engineered as a loud follow-up warning to the BJP at the Centre that as long as the state is proud of its socio-cultural identity, the party better be careful. The rhetoric that many upcountry observers, freelance bigots, and the BJP-supporters read as Tamil versus Hindi was, in fact, a simple Tamil Nadu style regional versus national pitch. It was also probably a message to other southern states, as well as West Bengal, on how to take on nationalist politics. In neighbouring Kerala too, the BJP was decimated with about 85 percent of the voters rejecting the party, but there was no such anti-Hindi sentiment. Neither was there a regional versus national debate. It was a different story of pushback against the BJP. Historically, the insurmountability that the BJP faces in south India arises mainly from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, but their stories of resistance the politics, the underlying ideologies, and the circumstances are completely different from each other. One is strongly based on self-respect and counter-nationalism while the other is based on the habitual secularism of a plural society and age-old Centre-Left politics. Despite their fundamental differences, both are effective in blocking the rise of the BJP and they are unlikely to change for a long time. What makes them interesting is that they offer the key to a potentially successful strategy against the BJP when the Opposition parties across the rest of India are clueless. In fact, West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee's opposition against the BJP has elements of both. Tamil Nadu's regional nationalism stems from its self-respect movement anchored in rationalism and the ideals of the Dravidian leader EV Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar. Broadly, Periyar's socio-political philosophy had two characteristics. One was the belief that faith and faith-based discrimination was fundamental to all forms of inequality. He was against Hinduism as he believed that it inherently fostered social discrimination and hence he asked people to reject God, respect themselves and believe only in humanity. Periyar also asked people to be rational and believe in science. He burned the Manusmriti and Periyapuranam a sacred text of Saivites breaking Hindu idols and fighting for rights that conflicted with religious beliefs. This is exactly opposite to the idea of political Hinduism and hence Periyar's ideology is still the states bulwark against the BJP. As long as Periyar and the Dravidian politics are on their mind, people wont easily fall for the BJP. Not that they are non-believers, but they are educated on how to separate one's religious faith from one's political one and never to mix both. Whenever this principle is under threat, all it takes is a reminder to defend their self-respect. Tamil, their language, is a symbol of this self-respect and saying no to Hindi is its assertion. The resistance to Hindi as a socio-political ideology has stood the test of time. The anti-Hindi agitations which began way back in the 1930s continued through the 1940s and the 1960s and they get revived whenever there's a threat to their regional pride. The same sense of regional identify united them on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, Cauvery, Mullapperiyar water disputes, Jallikkattu, NEET, GST and against the comment by BJP leader H Raja when he said all statues of Periyar should be brought down when Lenin's statues were destroyed in Tripura. This ideological wall is almost impregnable. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP did try to gain a backdoor entry by taking control of the AIADMK and sugarcoat itself with Dravidianism, but it further helped the DMK because people detected the trick and gravitated towards the latter to demonstrate their Dravidian affirmation. In Kerala, it was a textbook resistance by a plural society and Centre-Left politics. The first wall of protection is the states demography. Statewide, only 55 percent of its population is Hindu and the rest are minorities mostly Muslims and Christians and hence it's hard to polarise them because the numbers will not be good enough. There are regional variations from this average composition that make the situation a little conducive for the BJP, but even in such circumstances, the second wall of protection, the Centre-Left politics, automatically takes precedence over everything else. For instance, constituencies such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Palakkad, and Thrissur have an above-average composition of Hindus, but even at these places, the BJP couldnt force a victory because when the states secular credentials appeared to have been under threat, people instinctively backed Centre-Left politics. Finding an effective alternative to the BJP is important for the survival of democracy in India, but it may not be through another national party, but through regional politics similar to that in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. These two are longest running pilots that other states can learn from. Andhra Pradesh, although not as openly defiant as these two states, is also a highly successful regional example. The ongoing battle between Mamata, who has deployed both regional pride and secular politics, and the BJP would be an interesting case-in-point to learn from. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expanded his cabinet on Sunday by inducting eight ministers. Otherwise a normal exercise and a prerogative of a chief minister, but the timing and the manner in which only JD(U) lawmakers were made ministers ignoring the ally BJP has raised many eyebrows. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expanded his cabinet on Sunday by inducting eight ministers. Otherwise a normal exercise and a prerogative of a chief minister, the timing and the manner in which only JD(U) lawmakers were made ministers ignoring ally BJP, has raised many eyebrows. The sudden move by Nitish, also the president of JD(U), is being widely seen as a response to the development in New Delhi on Thursday (30 May, the day the Narendra Modi government was sworn in) when Kumar's party decided to sit out of the government peeved with Modi's offer of just one ministerial berth to the JDU. Politely, but firmly, Kumar turned down the offer. He said that he was not miffed and even attended Modi's swearing-in to maintain the all-is-well optics. But within 48 hours of returning to Patna he hit back with the finesse of a political grandmaster that he is. Out of nowhere, Kumar called on the Governor Lalji Tandon on Saturday for expanding his council of minister. The numbers said it all: Eight ministers of JDU were sworn-in against the offer of one berth to ally BJP, which the latter unsurprisingly refused for now. Nitish's deputy and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, was silent and inaccessible. When pressed by the media for a reaction at the swearing-in ceremony, he just said. " Nitish ji had offered BJP for inclusion in his cabinet but the party felt that the vacancies can be filled later on." JD(U) sources say the induction of ministers became imminent after three of the ministers were elected to Lok Sabha. Already there were vacancies and the cabinet had only 25 ministers. There was still scope for three more ministers as per the limit of maximum 36 ministers. LJP, whose single minister has been elected to the Lok Sabha, now has no representation in Nitish cabinet. The party was not even consulted, sources said. Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who has been retained in the Union government, was clueless but said it was not a big issue. Nitish also skipped deputy chief minister's Iftar party on Sunday and instead organised a "hasty" Iftar thrown by his own party. The leaders may not admit that this could be the beginning of mistrust between the BJP and Kumar but the Bihar chief minister has already given hints through his media bytes and actions that he was not comfortable and definitely hurt with Modi's decision not to give more than one Cabinet berth to JD(U). The growth of the BJP and its current political heft has put many regional satraps in the NDA in a highly uncomfortable position. Kumar is one of them but the JD(U) leader has shown courage and refused Modi's offer, unlike the Shiv Sena which has two more MPs than the JD(U) in Lok Sabha. Kumar believes that when the Assembly elections are held in Bihar next year, it will be his party taking the lead over the BJP in spite of the alliance. Prem Kumar Mani, a close aide of Kumar during his political struggle days, feels that the Bihar chief minister had been humiliated but held Kumar responsible for this. "Sometimes a victory is worse than defeat. Kumar was a sad man despite a victory," said Mani. "Demanding proportional representation was unwise on part of Kumar." He also felt that after effectively sidelining Lalu Prasad Yadav in Bihar politics, the BJP's next target will be Kumar. "BJP has certain ideologies and will not tolerate people openly opposing Article 370 and common civil code. They will prefer followers like Ram Vilas Paswan who can clap and raise hands to shout Vande Matram and Jai Sri Ram and not sit idle and silent like Kumar," Mani added. But undeniably, Kumar is also a smart player. Through his cabinet expansion, he gave a befitting reply to Modi with caste chemistry. In the Union Cabinet, the BJP ignored their representation from Bihar. Of the five ministers chosen from the state, where casteism is deep-rooted, four are from upper castes and one from the backward caste. In his expansion, Kumar included eight ministers; two Dalits, two from Economically Backward Caste, two from backward castes and two from upper castes on the agenda of equal representation. "Kumar avenged his humiliation by ignoring the BJP and giving suitable representation to all sections in his cabinet," said a JDU functionary on condition of anonymity and added, "through his caste chemistry he has given a clear message to the people". After being expelled from Kerala Congress, Abdullakutty told mediapersons, 'It is sad news. I expected it from Mullappally Ramachandran (KPCC president). I'm not an opportunist. I am a person who took a stand on developmental issues.' Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has expelled party leader AP Abdullakutty for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the action against him, Abdullakutty told mediapersons, "It is sad news. I expected it from Mullappally Ramachandran (KPCC president). I'm not an opportunist. I am a person who took a stand on developmental issues." Abdullakutty had last week heaped praises on the prime minister and said that while criticising the latter one should not forget his work for the country's poor. In a Facebook post, Abdullakutty said that the BJP's landslide victory in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha election is the affirmation of the people's faith in Modi's vision and policies. Abdullakutty had met the same fate when he was suspended from CPM in 2009 for praising Modi who was then the chief minister of Gujarat. Later, he joined Congress and was elected to the Kerala Assembly in 2011. "It is an acceptance of Modi's developmental agenda. The secret behind his popularity is (that) he has used Gandhian values in his governance. Mahatma Gandhi said that when you frame a policy, you remember the poorest man you met in your life. Modi has done it promptly," he wrote on Facebook. Hailing Modi government's schemes, the former CPM MP said that the prime minister provided toilets to 9.16 crore families and LPG connection to 6 crore families. He said: "(One) should not forget these realities while criticising Modi." Raising questions about the voting machines, Mamata said, 'Many of the EVMs were replaced during the election without conducting mock polls on them. Who knows that the replaced EVMs were not programmed? A few lakhs of EVMs also went missing (during the polls).' Kolkata: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee raised questions on Monday over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls and urged the Opposition parties to demand the return of ballot papers in elections. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said a fact-finding committee should be constituted to find out the details about the EVMs used in the recent polls. "We have to save the democracy. We do not want machines, we demand a return to the ballot paper system. We will start a movement and it will be initiated from Bengal," she told reporters after a meeting with her party MLAs and state ministers to review the TMC's poor show in the parliamentary polls. "I ask all the 23 political parties in the Opposition to come together and demand the return of ballot papers. We must raise our voices. Even a country like the US has banned EVMs," Mamata said. The fact-finding committee should find out whether the machines were programmed or not, she said, adding, "I do not accept the Lok Sabha poll results as the people's mandate." Mamata said, "I appeal to all Opposition political parties to ensure that there be a fact-finding committee so that we can find out the exact cause of this kind of election results." The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alone won 303 seats and ensured a landslide victory in the parliamentary election this time. Raising questions about the voting machines, Mamata said, "Many of the EVMs were replaced during the election without conducting mock polls on them. Who knows that the replaced EVMs were not programmed? A few lakhs of EVMs also went missing (during the polls)." The TMC chief accused the BJP of using "money, muscle, institutions, media and the government" to win the election. The saffron party managed to win 18 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal because of the Left Front, she claimed. "The BJP managed only 18 seats, not 23 as they were claiming... And that also because of the Left Front parties. But we (TMC) have managed to increase our vote share by four percent," she added. The TMC chief claimed that the votes of the Left Front had gone to other parties, which, she said, had been happening since 2018's panchayat polls in the state. On the post-poll violence in West Bengal and the alleged occupation of TMC party offices by the BJP, she referred to the Congress winning 16 Lok Sabha seats in the state after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. "But even then, there were no incidents of any party office being captured or vandalised in the state like now," she said. "This happens when elections are not won spontaneously. This (result) is not the people's mandate, it has been done artificially. That is why they (BJP) are hurriedly trying to take over party offices, fearing that they will lose whatever they have gained," Mamata, who was elected as a Congress MP in 1984 and went on to be a minister in then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet, said. The TMC supremo, who has been a strident critic of the BJP, accused the saffron party of giving out fake news to create a false notion about West Bengal and incite the "politics of hatred and violence". Talking about her meetings with her party MLAs, Mamata said the lawmakers would visit every household in the state to revive their connect with the common people. Asked to comment on the tampering of the state's official "Biswa Bangla" logo at Jagatdal in North 24 Parganas district, the chief minister said the law will take its own course. The Bihar cabinet expansion was Nitish Kumar's 'tit for tat'; he offered one berth to the BJP just as the JD(U) was offered one berth in the new Narendra Modi government at the Centre When Nitish Kumar landed in Patna on Saturday after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers, he made an exception to himself, not being economical with words. He spoke at length of the actual conversations that took place between him and BJP president Amit Shah, between him and BJP general secretary-in-charge of Bihar, and the deliberations within his own party over the "symbolic" one ministerial berth that was offered to his party JD(U) and his rejection of it. He maintained that he had no qualms about it, and that the BJP-JD(U) relationship was as strong as ever and the two would unitedly continue to serve the people of Bihar. Nitish is a mature and seasoned leader. He means what he says and thus has he has built a reputation of a no-nonsense, astute administrator and wily politician. Its not very often that he gives vent to his feelings in public but when he does, he conveys strong message to all concerned. His words about his alliance with the BJP, the coalition government in the state, and his support to the Modi government at the Centre should be taken at face value their relationship was not going to be impacted in immediate term. In his brief statement, Kumar used the word symbolic representation on multiple occasions, both in English and Hindi sanketic pratnidhitav and how that was unacceptable to him and his party. But then this statement was given at an occasion when there as was so much to read between the lines. He gave a loud and clear message to the BJP leadership, more particularly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. He didnt mince his words in reminding them as to how coalition partners were handled in terms of giving berth in the Council of Ministers in the Atal Bihari Vajpayees NDA government (1998-2004) and the present JD(U)-BJP coalition government in Bihar, as to how the established norm in this regard was that of proportional representation (number of berths in Cabinet determined by number of seats an ally had, major or minor) and why the idea to have only one minister at the Centre for JD(U), which had 16 Lok Sabha MPs and six Rajya Sabha MPs, was not acceptable. Without saying in as many words he had made his displeasure known. Thus when the news broke on Saturday that Nitish was going to expand his Cabinet in Bihar, there was hardly any doubts as to what was going to unfold. By expanding his cabinet, all eight from JD(U), Nitish took his turn to show that Modi-Shah may have the last word about the nature of the NDA government at the Centre, but when it comes to Bihar, his was the last word. In politics, timing of a move is most important thing, both in conveying a message and making the desired impact among those concerned. Nitish's political astuteness lay in timing of his Cabinet expansion and in offering one berth to the BJP (just as they were offered one at the Centre). This was seen as his "tit for tat" to the BJP. By making such headlines, he had succeeded in what he intended to. But then as a seasoned politician, he knows that after having given a message to the right quarters, he shouldnt escalate it to distress point. And the BJP doesn't want to escalate it either. It was not without reason that both Nitish and his deputy in Bihar from BJP Sushil Kumar Modi sat next to each other (as protocol would also demand) and then both of them came together to give sound bites to the gathered media, playing down political import of Cabinet expansion. Nitish is right when he says that as per the proportional representation, five seats from JD(U) quota was vacant and then there were three vacancies on account of election of two ministers, Dinesh Yadav and Rajeev Ranjan alias Lalan Singh as MPs, and earlier there was one resignation, Manju Verma. The JD(U) has 70 MLAS while the BJP has 53 MLAs in the 248-member Bihar Legislative Assembly. With the latest expansion, the Bihar Cabinet has 33 ministers including the chief minister. JD(U) along with Chief Minister Nitish has 21 ministers and BJP has 12. If Nitish chooses to expand his council of ministers to fullest permissible limit then he can induct two more ministers. Its true that the BJP made some compromise in the run-up to parliamentary elections, agreeing to contest only 17 seats (five less than what it had won in 2014 and 13 less than what it had contested in 2014) and give equal number of seats to JD(U). The BJP had then attributed it to the importance of the coalition and how it values its allies. Bihar elections is due in October-November 2020. Nitish has played his first card in game of brinkmanship. Live bombs were also recovered from the area as workers of TMC and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) clashed in multiple locations with TMC blaming the BJP for creating unrest in the state. The political violence which started in West Bengal prior to the Lok Sabha election hasn't subsided yet. On Monday, in another instance of continued post-poll violence, a group of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers allegedly hurled a country-made bomb at a BJP victory rally in Hooghly. The BJP has blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the attack on its workers. In another incident also on Monday, as reportd by the The Financial Express, five BJP workers were allegedly thrashed by TMC supports in North 24 Parganas district. According to the report, BJP supporters of TMC leader Bidhan Biswas were behind the attack. So far, over six BJP workers have lost their lives in the state since the declaration of the Lok Sabha election result, the report added. Banerjee, however, rejected the charge of political killings by her party and even refused to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony citing her displeasure over the allegations. In May, TMC workers had allegedly hurled a bomb at a BJP rally in Birbhum when the saffron party workers were celebrating the poll victory. Meanwhile, BJP worker Ajay Mondal who was missing since Saturday evening was found dead in Basirhat area of the North 24 Parganas district. Mondals hacked body was found in Bajitput area on Sunday morning and police said that his body bore multiple injuries, the report said. UP Congress chief Raj Babbar on Monday said the poor electoral showing of the party in Amethi, in the state of UP, has left pain in the hearts of Rahul Gandhi and its people Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar on Monday said the poor electoral showing of the party in the state has left pain in the hearts of party president Rahul Gandhi and the people of Amethi. In his first interview after the election results, Babbar said Gandhi considered Amethi not just as his parliamentary constituency, but his family. The Gandhi scion lost to BJP's Smriti Irani from the constituency in the recently-held general elections. "Rahul Gandhiji did so much for Amethi and he considered Amethi as his family. He never viewed it as his constituency. Now, the family members have given such a verdict," the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief told PTI. "One thing, of which I am 100 percent sure is the fact that despite becoming an MP (from Wayanad), there will be pain in the heart of Rahulji and also among the people of Amethi... that a person who considered Amethi as his family and gave an identity to Amethi, we did not allow a person from our family to emerge (victorious)," he said. On whether Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was appointed Congress general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh ahead of the polls, could not make the desired impact for the party, the actor-turned-politician said party workers and local leaders failed to rise to the occasion. "She (Priyanka) did her job. But, party workers, local leaders, candidates, and the organisation could not accumulate the (electoral) benefits from it. Rahulji worked so hard and Priyankaji worked with such a high degree of enthusiasm," he said. "We (party workers, local leaders, and candidates) were unable to prove ourselves and rise to the occasion," Babbar said. Asked about the future course of action, the 66-year-old Congress leader said Uttar Pradesh cannot be analysed in a single line. "You have to take steps after a lot of deliberations (on various aspects) and strengthen the organisation," he remarked. The Congress' performance in the Lok Sabha election was perhaps its worst, with the party managing to win only one out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The lone victory for the party came from Rae Bareli where UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi retained the seat in the party bastion. Refusing to state any particular factor behind its poll drubbing, Babbar said, "First we must accept our defeat and acknowledge the victory of the winner. Having said so, I cannot sit alone and deliberate upon the possible reasons for the defeat. Everyone has to sit together. "I believe there is no point in putting the blame (of defeat) on others, instead we should ponder as to how 52 people from our party were able to emerge victorious," he said. The Uttar Pradesh Congress chief said he would like to engage with the party's winning candidates and seek to know what they did among the people, their plus points and what the party did in their respective constituencies. On tasting defeat from Fatehpur Sikri Lok Sabha seat despite opting for it (after being initially named as party candidate from Moradabad), Babbar said, "The main reason for opting Fatehpur Sikri was that people there never asked my religion, caste or community. "They accepted me the way I was. This was an incentive for me. Apart from this, I also identify myself with that place," he said. The Congress had changed the seat earlier allotted to Babbar from Moradabad to Fatehpur Sikri, in an apparent bid to make the contest easier for the party leader. Babbar was elected from Agra Lok Sabha in 1999 and 2004. However, following delimitation in 2008, the Lok Sabha seat was reserved for scheduled castes. In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, he lost from Fatehpur Sikri to BSP's Seema Upadhyay by a margin of 9,936 votes. But he got re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Firozabad in a by-election held the same year. He is currently a Rajya Sabha member. Addressing the public meeting in Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav defended the poll performance of the SP-BSP alliance, saying that the Lok Sabha poll battle this time was of a different kind, which he could not understand. Azamgarh: The Samajwadi Party will fight for social justice together with the Bahujan Samaj Party, said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday, hours after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati expressed dissatisfaction over the poll performance of the alliance between the two parties. "We and BSP will fight for social justice together," said Akhilesh, addressing a public meeting in Azamgarh during his first visit to the constituency after declaration of the Lok Sabha poll results. BSP chief Mayawati earlier told her party workers in New Delhi that the Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Uttar Pradesh was due to the "poor performance" of the alliance with the SP. She also asked her party leaders and workers to prepare to contest the Assembly by-elections on their own, raising questions over the future of the 'gathbandhan'. Addressing the public meeting in Azamgarh, Akhilesh, however, defended the poll performance of the alliance, saying that the Lok Sabha poll battle this time was of a different kind, which he could not understand. "It was a race between Ferrari and a cycle (the SP's election symbol). Everybody knew the Ferrari will win. The Lok Sabha elections were not fought on issues, it was fought on something else," said Akhilesh. The SP chief also subtly blamed media for his party poor performance in the polls. "Tell me who was seen on televisions everyday? They penetrated into our brains. They played with our minds with TV and mobile phones. This was a different kind of battle, which we could not understand. The day we understand this, we will emerge victorious," he said. Conceding that his party's "opponents are very strong", the former UP chief minister said he would try to counter them through social alliance. "Our party may have lost the elections, but we throw an open challenge to rival parties that they compare the developmental works done during their regime with those done in our tenure. Their work will not be able to stand in front of ours," he said. Before Akhilesh's public meeting in Azamgarh, an SP spokesperson said the party was "waiting" for the BSP's "official stand" on whether to continue with the alliance or not. The Samajwadi Party's statement followed Mayawati's direction to her party leaders to prepare to contest the coming Assembly bypolls on their own. "No one has got the official stand of the BSP regarding the alliance. We are waiting for an official statement," SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said earlier. Earlier, in her party workers' meet, Mayawati had asked her party leaders not to depend on the alliance to win votes but work to expand the organisation. According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati also referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP could not transfer the community votes to the BSP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. She said the SP could not even save its "family seats". "These are all hearsay. What was the matter of discussion has to be understood," the SP spokesperson said. Akhilesh will take a decision on the developments once he comes to Lucknow from his parliamentary constituency Azamgarh, Chaudhary said. First, city lawyers must allow COPA to take greater ownership of the litigation of COPA matters before the Police Board. In the Bright matter, despite the fact that the citys lawyers had defended the city in a lawsuit filed by Brights family, the citys lawyers, not COPAs, were the ones who drafted the formal charges against the officer and oversaw the lawyers who litigated the disciplinary proceedings before the Police Board. The fact that four fully-vetted COPA cases resulted in no officers being discharged raises concerns about how vigorously these matters are being prosecuted before the Police Board under the direction of city lawyers. Indeed, there is an inherent direct conflict of interest when city lawyers defend the city and/or the officer in a civil case by denying misconduct, then turn around and seek to fire the officer in proceedings before the Police Board. tech2 News Staff Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has announced that 5G trials in India will commence within 100 days. Spectrum auctions will be held later this year. According to a report in Mint, last year, TRAI had recommended that spectrum be auctioned off in the 3,300-3,600 MHz band in 20 MHz chunks at a cost of Rs 492 cr per MHz. This is the spectrum that will use 5G services. Another report in The Economic Times adds that the new Minister intends to revive BSNL and MTNL as he felt that these services were necessary to provide sober equilibrium. He also announced that over 5 lakh Wi-Fi hotspots will be rolled out and that there will be a push towards telecom manufacturing. Beleaguered Huawei will not be participating in the 5G trials since the US ban on the company directly impacts Huaweis ability to provide and maintain 5G infrastructure. tech2 News Staff Apple's WWDC 2019 Developer Conference is about to kick off today in San Jose, California from 10.00 am PT (10.30 pm IST) onwards and as usual, the Cupertino giant's focus will be on its Software services as its hardware slowly becomes stagnant. If you aren't the lucky ones to experience the keynote in person, here's how you can stream the event from the comfort of the home. How to watch WWDC Usually, Apple streams the event on all its devices such as iPhones, iPads, MacBooks and Apple TV. If you are on any one of these devices, then you would just have to open the Safari browser and open Apple's website where you will see the stream link on the homepage. Chrome and FireFox also support the stream but only if they have support for MSE (Media Source Extensions), H.264 video, and AAC audio. Apple also recommends Mac users to update to macOS Sierra 10.12 or later for streaming the event. (Also Read: Apple's most important task at WWDC 2019 will be to make its PC direction clear) For lesser mortals who don't own iOS devices, the event can be streamed on Windows 10 as well. For that, you would have to open Microsoft Edge browser and open Apple's website to see the stream link. Although Apple does not usually do this, it could be possible that the company live stream the event from its official YouTube page. There will also be a live stream of the event on Apple's official Twitter handle. Tech2 will be running a LIVE blog of the event so do tune in to our website and also follow us on Twitter for regular updates from the event. What to expect from WWDC While WWDC still remains a developer focussed event, the opening keynote has always been more about Apple's annual public software refreshes, one that touches upon all of Apples latest developments. Now, the spotlight will continue to be iOS 13 and macOS 10.15 but there a few other major announcements expected which, at least as far as leaks go, appear interesting. You can check out here in detail on What to expect from WWDC 2019. tech2 News Staff Google products such as YouTube, Gmail, Gsuite and more in the US had suffered a temporary outage but services have now been restored. As per Google, the main reason for the problem happened to be Googles Cloud service that powers these apps. The most affected were on the east coast of the US but as per a report by The Verge, YouTube was down in some parts of Europe as well. Indian users, to the best of our knowledge, did not suffer from this Google shutdown. The issues started cropping up by 12.00 pm PT (12.30 am IST, next day) and Google resolved it in four hours. Apart from just Google services, Snapchat, Discord, Nest and more products were also affected as they run on Google Cloud on the backend. A Google spokesperson told The Verge that high levels of network congestion in the eastern USA is to be blamed for the issue. This outage comes in the backdrop of an ongoing feud of the company with US antitrust regulators who have reportedly evinced a new interest in pursuing competition charges against Google. (Also Read: Here's an explainer on why Google is being hounded by the US antitrust regulators) Governments around the world are becoming increasingly unnerved by the power amassed by major technology companies with the dominance of Google in search, Facebook in social networking and Amazon in e-commerce raising the sharpest concerns. In the most dramatic scenario, a case might be made for breaking the companies into smaller pieces. With inputs from Reuters tech2 News Staff HMD Global, which owns the Nokia brand, will be organising a launch event in India on 6 June. Amongst the candidates of hopeful launches is the flagship device from the company called the Nokia 9 PureView smartphone. Apart from that a new teaser from the company has also hinted a possible launch of the Nokia 6.2, which will be a rebranded version of the Nokia X71, which was recently announced in China. The Nokia X71 itself is the first phone from Nokia to feature a punch-hole display and was announced in China on 8 April. If rumours are correct, and in this day and age they mostly are, Nokia 6.2 will be the global variant of the X71. It is even possible that the Nokia 9 PureView will be a no show at the 6 June event and we are likely to see only the Nokia 6.2. Since Nokia 6.1 was priced around Rs 16,999, the Nokia 6.2 should fall in the same segment. Coming to the specs of the Nokia 6.2 aka X71, the device is said to feature a 48 MP sensor similar to the Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review) or the Oppo F11 Pro (Review). The camera will have Carl Zeiss branding and be paired with a 120-degree ultra-wide angle lens. The phone has a 6.22-inch AMOLED display with a punch-hole to house the front camera. Under the hood, the device has a Snapdragon 660 chipset although in India the company could launch a variant with the Snapdragon 700 platform to keep up with the competition. There is also 6 GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. It also supports expandable storage up to 256 GB via microSD card slot. Software-wise the phone will come with Android 9.0 out-of-the-box and will be part of the Android One program. It has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and is backed by a 3,500 mAh battery with support for fast charging. Agence France-Presse For the first time since the 1970s, the United States is planning to send equipment to the surface of the Moon in 2020 and 2021, in anticipation of a crewed lunar mission in 2024, NASA said Friday. The US space agency has chosen American firms Astrobotic, Intuitive Machines and Orbit Beyond to send instruments and other scientific equipment to the Moon as part of the Artemis program. The administration of President Donald Trump has accelerated the timetable for putting humans back on the Moon with 2024 the new target date moved up by four years. Each company has developed lunar landers of different sizes and shapes: one is tall, and the other two are more compact. The landers will deliver up to 23 small payloads of equipment provided by NASA. That should include material that will gather information to help astronauts later on to land, navigate and protect themselves from radiation. Orbit Beyond will land in Mare Imbrium, a lava plain in a lunar crater, by September 2020, after being launched by one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets. Intuitive Machines will try to land by July 2021 in Oceanous Procellarum, a dark spot on the Moon visible from Earth. SpaceX will also facilitate that launch. Astrobotic, which is based in Pittsburgh, will target Lacus Mortis, a large crater on the near side of the Moon, by July 2021. It has yet to choose a delivery rocket. NASA awarded the companies $77-97 million each for development of their landers. "Next year, our initial science and technology research will be on the lunar surface, which will help support sending the first woman and the next man to the Moon in five years," said NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine. "Investing in these commercial landing services also is another strong step to build a commercial space economy beyond low-Earth orbit." The United States last sent a crewed mission to the Moon in 1972, the year of the final Apollo mission. NASA regularly sent lunar probes into orbit, but it only has two active missions today: the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the ARTEMIS probes. China has meanwhile landed twice on the Moon in recent years: in 2013, and in January on the far side. The Chang'e-4 probe and its motorized robot Yutu-2 are the only probes active on the surface right now. By Idrees Ali SEOUL (Reuters) - The Pentagon has told the White House that the U.S. By Idrees Ali SEOUL (Reuters) - The Pentagon has told the White House that the U.S. military will not be politicized, a U.S. official said on Sunday, in response to a controversy after officials directed the United States Navy to keep the USS John S. McCain out of sight during a recent speech by President Donald Trump in Japan. The White House military office directed the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet to minimize the visibility of the USS John S. McCain, a warship bearing the name of Trump's former political rival, during the president's speech last week. While the directive was not implemented after senior Navy officials found out about the request, the incident has raised questions about the politicization of the military, which has traditionally been seen as being apolitical. "Secretary (Patrick) Shanahan directed his chief of staff to speak with the White House military office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defense will not be politicized," Lieutenant Colonel Joe Buccino, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement. "The chief of staff reported that he did reinforce this message," Buccino said. Concern has increased about the politicization of the U.S. military under Trump. He has given a number of overtly political speeches to military audiences and the military has been drawn into a mission along the border with Mexico, which some critics have described as a political stunt rather than a national security necessity. The USS John S. McCain controversy led acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to ask his chief of staff to find out what happened. On Sunday he told reporters that after reviewing the facts, he did not plan to call for an inspector general investigation into the incident. "There is no room for politicizing the military," Shanahan told reporters traveling with him to Seoul. Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney on Sunday downplayed the incident, saying that a young White House staffer - knowing how Trump felt about McCain - likely made the request to the Navy. "That's not an unreasonable thing to ask," Mulvaney said on NBC News' Meet the Press program. He said it would be "silly" to fire that staffer over the incident. Shanahan said he had spoken with late Senator McCain's wife in the past few days about the incident but declined to give details of the conversation. He said that his chief of staff did not have prior knowledge of the White House directive and reiterated that a search had not found any emails to his staff about it. Trump said on Wednesday he had not been aware of the request. The USS John S. McCain was initially named after the late Senator McCain's father and grandfather, who were both Navy admirals. In 2018, the Navy added Senator McCain to the official namesake of the guided missile destroyer. McCain, the unsuccessful 2008 Republican presidential nominee, was shot down during the Vietnam War and tortured by his North Vietnamese captors during more than five years in captivity as a prisoner of war. Trump has long criticized McCain on a variety of fronts, and has kept up his attacks even after McCain's death in August. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici Editing by Alex Richardson and Bill Berkrot) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Canada announced on Sunday it was temporarily shutting its embassy in Venezuela, blaming President Nicolas Maduro for refusing to accredit diplomats critical of his regime. Ottawa: Canada announced on Sunday it was temporarily shutting its embassy in Venezuela, blaming President Nicolas Maduro for refusing to accredit diplomats critical of his regime. At the same time, Ottawa is reviewing the status of Maduro envoys to Canada. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement that "the regime has taken steps to limit the ability of foreign embassies to function in Venezuela, particularly those advocating for the restoration of democracy" there. In January, Canada, along with the United States and major Latin American powers, was among the first to recognise Venezuelan Opposition leader Juan Guaido's claim to be acting president, beginning a months-long power struggle between him and Maduro. Soon, Canadian diplomats in Venezuela "will no longer be in a position to obtain diplomatic accreditation under the Maduro regime, and their visas will expire", Freeland said. "Therefore, we are left with no choice but to temporarily suspend our operations at the Embassy of Canada to Venezuela, effective immediately." More than 50 countries now recognise Guaido rather than leftist firebrand Maduro, who has presided over a crumbling economy and was re-elected in a ballot widely regarded as a sham. Freeland also said Canada is "evaluating the status of Venezuelan diplomats appointed by the Maduro regime to Canada". HELSINKI (Reuters) - Five centre-left parties concluded talks on Sunday to form a new government in Finland, Social Democrat leader Antti Rinne, set to become the first leftist prime minister for 20 years, said on Twitter. HELSINKI (Reuters) - Five centre-left parties concluded talks on Sunday to form a new government in Finland, Social Democrat leader Antti Rinne, set to become the first leftist prime minister for 20 years, said on Twitter. "The government programme is ready and ministerial posts have been allocated," Rinne wrote. While he said he would not release details until Monday, a leaked draft of a coalition agreement included 730 million euros ($815 million) in proposed tax increases to fulfil a campaign promise to maintain spending on public services. In an interview with Finland's public broadcaster Yle, Rinne said his new government would consist of 19 ministers. He said he would not unveil the cabinet lineup until Monday. Rinne's Social Democrats placed first in the April 14 general election by a tight margin with just 17.7% of the vote, forcing them to partner with four smaller parties to form a majority government. A nearly-final draft of the coalition agreement was leaked to Finnish tabloid Iltalehti which published the entire 135-page document on Sunday. It showed plans of tax hikes worth 730 million euros to fund an increase in permanent public spending by 1.23 billion euros a year by 2023. In his electoral campaign, Rinne had promised tax hikes to preserve Finland's vast welfare state. Rinne's election promises included boosting state pensions, a change that will cost 183 million euros, according to the draft text. In addition to the permanent spending hikes, the coalition plans one-off infrastructure investments, notably to Finland's railway network. The planned tax hikes in the draft text include collecting additional 250 million euros in fossil fuel taxes over the government's four-year term. Income taxes will not be raised. Finland will renew its ageing Hornet fighter jet fleet in its entirety and the new fleet's supplier will be picked in 2021, the draft text said. The five-party coalition also plans to change the law on rape to remove a requirement that prosecutors prove an attack was violent. The nationalist and eurosceptic Finns Party placed a close second in the general election with 17.5% of the vote, but Rinne excluded them from the coalition talks, opting to partner up with outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipila's Centre Party as his main coalition ally in addition to the Greens, the Left Alliance and the Swedish People's Party. ($1 = 0.8955 euros) (Reporting by Anne Kauranen; editing by David Evans and Peter Graff) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarians took to the streets of central Budapest on Sunday to protest plans to overhaul the country's leading scientific research body, which they see as part of a wider government attempt to curb academic freedom. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who took power in 2010, has tightened controls over public life, including the courts, the media, universities and scientific research, putting him on a collision course with the European Union. In its latest move, the government has said it plans to strip the 200 year-old Hungarian Academy of Sciences of its network of research institutions and hand over their buildings and assets to a new governing council. By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarians took to the streets of central Budapest on Sunday to protest plans to overhaul the country's leading scientific research body, which they see as part of a wider government attempt to curb academic freedom. Right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who took power in 2010, has tightened controls over public life, including the courts, the media, universities and scientific research, putting him on a collision course with the European Union. In its latest move, the government has said it plans to strip the 200 year-old Hungarian Academy of Sciences of its network of research institutions and hand over their buildings and assets to a new governing council. News website Index.hu reported on Tuesday that the government was now drawing up draft legislation for the plan. The academy said on Wednesday that the government wanted "total political control" of vital research. "If it was up to Orban, there would be no free thought in this country, and I can't let that just happen without raising my voice," Maria Lantos, a 45 year-old teacher said as a crowd gathered to march past the main institutions affected by the government's moves: from several public universities to the Academy. There appeared to be up to several thousand people on the streets, but there were no official or police estimates of the size of the demonstration. The government has said it wants to shake up funding of research institutes to encourage more lucrative and innovative research. "Nationalisation is not innovation," read one banner held up by one of the protesters. "We will not allow government bureaucrats to decide about research, scientific work," Judit Gardos, a member of the Academic Worker's Forum, which organised the demonstration, told protesters. "That is unheard of anywhere in the democratic world," she said. The forum is a group set up by scientists in January to protect their freedoms. The European Commission said on Tuesday that it would monitor developments in Hungary's public research system and urged authorities "to refrain from any decision restricting scientific and academic freedom." The planned new government council for the Academy - to be chaired by Innovation and Technology Minister Laszlo Palkovics - would set out areas of research that would receive funding, website Index.hu said on Tuesday. In recent years, Orban's ruling Fidesz party also changed the law to force Central European University (CEU), a top international graduate school and liberal thought centre, to move much of its activity to Vienna. It also centralised the operations and curriculum of lower level education and banned teaching in subjects that are ideologically alien to its perceived Christian nationalist politics, such as gender studies. While popular protests and diplomatic problems accompanied most of those moves, including a massive march of several tens of thousands of people in support of CEU two years ago, the government ultimately has gone ahead with its plans. CEU was one of the main issues that led to the ruling Fidesz party's suspension in the European People's Party, a pan-Europe party, which has moved to isolate Orban and Fidesz as they drift further to the nationalist populist fringes of European politics. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Susan Fenton) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Iran's president on Monday ruled out negotiations with Washington until it acts 'normal' after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is ready to talk to Tehran without preconditions Tehran: Iran's president on Monday ruled out negotiations with Washington until it acts "normal" after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US is ready to talk to Tehran without preconditions. "The party that has left the negotiating table, the party that has trampled the pact must return to a "normal" behaviour, Hassan Rouhani said in a televised speech. "If the enemy truly realises that the path it took was wrong, that will be the day to sit at the negotiation table and fix any issue," the president added. Tensions have spiked in recent weeks between Tehran and Washington, which last year pulled out of a landmark Iran nuclear accord and imposed tough sanctions on the Islamic republic. But Washington's top diplomat appeared to soften the US stance on Sunday, saying "we are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions." Washington is "certainly prepared to have (a) conversation when the Iranians will prove they are behaving as a normal nation," Pompeo said in Switzerland, which represents Washington's interests in Iran in the absence of bilateral relations. Pompeo, however, gave no indication that lifting sanctions would be on the table. On Saturday, Rouhani insisted that Iran would not be "bullied" into talks with the United States, saying "total respect" was needed for negotiations to take place. There are only two questions the Tribune, any journalist or any American should be asking the president at this time. One, do you continue to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin as you said at the time, that Russia did not invade our electoral system in 2016? If Mr. Trump says he still does not believe Russia invaded our electoral system ,then we know he is either a fool or a compromised tool of Russia. If he says he has changed his mind and he agrees Russia invaded our electoral system, then the second question is, are they still doing so and if so, what are you doing about it? LONDON (Reuters) - Reacting to a U.S. offer to talk with Iran without pre-conditions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday it was Washington that had left the negotiating table, and it 'should return to normal state'. U.S. LONDON (Reuters) - Reacting to a U.S. offer to talk with Iran without pre-conditions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday it was Washington that had left the negotiating table, and it "should return to normal state". U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States is prepared to engage with Iran without pre-conditions about its nuclear program, but needs to see the country behaving like "a normal nation". Rouhani was quoted by the government's official website as saying: "The other side that left the negotiating table and breached a treaty should return to normal state. Until then, we do not have a choice but resistance." (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Peter Graff) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Two Muslim governors in Sri Lanka resigned Monday after thousands of people, including majority Buddhist community monks, launched a protest in the pilgrim city of Kandy, demanding their sacking Colombo: Nine Muslim ministers and two provincial governors from the minority community resigned Monday to allow the Sri Lankan government to investigate allegations against some of them on links to an Islamist extremist group blamed for the deadly Easter suicide bombings. The Muslim politicians also protested what they term the government's inability to ensure the safety of their community which constitute 9 percent of the island's 21 million population. There are 19 Muslims lawmakers in the 225-member Parliament and nine of them held Cabinet, state and deputy ministerial positions. "Until security of the people is ensured and until investigations are done by the police's Crime Investigations Department (CID) is finalised we will stay as government back benchers," Rauff Hakeem, a lawmaker for Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, told reporters. Their resignations came four days after thousands of people, including majority Buddhist community monks, launched a protest in the pilgrim city of Kandy, demanding the expulsion of three Muslim leaders whom they alleged were linked to the National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) - the banned outfit blamed for the attacks on three Colombo hotels and three churches. Following the 21 April attacks that claimed 258 lives, some Muslim politicians representing the government came under criticism for their alleged support extended to the rising Muslim militancy. Industry and Commerce Minister Rishath Bathiyutheen was accused of supporting the ISIS linked NTJ. The Sinhala majority nationalists were demanding the sacking of Bathiyutheen. The Opposition moved a motion of no confidence in the Parliament against Bathiyutheen, who has denied links to the NTJ and its terror activities. In the wake of the bombings, majority Sinhala community mobs attacked Muslim-owned properties in towns north of the capital killing one Muslim man and leaving hundreds of homes, shops and mosques vandalised. "We took this decision (to resign) as a responsible community who is keen on ensuring reconciliation and peace in the country," said Kabir Hashim, a senior minister. He said since the Easter Sunday attacks, the Muslim community had volunteered to give information on the NTJ. Hakeem said the Muslim community is concerned over the arrests of some innocent Muslims for alleged connections to the Easter Sunday attacks. He said that police must hold a proper inquiry and punish anyone if the terror group had been supported by them. Western Province Governor Azath Salley and Eastern Province Governor MALM Hisbullah, handed over their resignation letters to President Maithripala Sirisena in response to protests by the Buddhist monks, officials said. Salley and Hisbullah, both Muslim allies of Sirisena and appointed by him, were under pressure to resign after being accused of being linked to extremism. Both Salley and Hisbullah have rejected the allegations. Buddhist monk Athuraliye Rathana, who is also a parliamentarian from a Sirisena allied party, staged a hunger strike in the central town of Kandy near the foremost Buddhist shrine, the Temple of Tooth. "I will end my fast only after the president will sack the two Muslim governors," Rathana said at the commencement of his protest. A crowd of about 10,000 Buddhists held demonstration at the famous temple on Monday morning raising anti-Muslim slogans. Firebrand monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, released from jail on a presidential pardon last month, was also present. Gnanasara has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against Muslims. The head of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, also travelled to Kandy on Monday to express solidarity with Rathana. Shops and offices remained closed in the city, 115 kilometres east of Colombo, while black flags were raised in support of Rathana. A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington was shown in state media on Monday enjoying a concert alongside leader Kim Jong Un Seoul: A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington was shown in state media on Monday enjoying a concert alongside leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean publications on Monday showed Kim Yong-chol sitting near a clapping Kim Jong-un and other top officials during a musical performance by the wives of Korean People's Army officers. Kim Yong-chol has been North Korea's top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since Kim Jong-un entered nuclear talks with the US in 2018. He traveled to Washington and met President Donald Trump twice before Kim's two summits with Trump. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo last week cited an unidentified source to report that Kim Yong-chol had been sentenced to hard labor following the collapse of the second summit in February over what the Americans described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Kim Jong-un since then has said the United States has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations. Chosun Ilbo also reported that Senior Envoy Kim Hyok-chol, who was involved in pre-summit working-level talks with American officials, was executed with four other officials from the North's Foreign Ministry for betraying Kim Jong-un after being won over by the United States. South Korea's government and media have a mixed record on tracking developments among North Korea's ruling elite, made difficult by Pyongyang's stringent control of information about them. Seoul's spy service has said it could not confirm the newspaper's report, while the presidential Blue House declined to comment. At the three-day Shangri La Dialogue (held from 31 May to 2 June), the two main protagonists the US and China set out competing visions of the Indo-Pacific Singapore: Tiny but ebullient, this country where the East mingles effortlessly with the West is a natural theatre for a Great Power Game unfolding in the Indian Ocean Region the most important piece of geopolitical real estate in the world today. Primarily, this is a war of ideas that have had currency for decades; but the impact of the outcome on real world events and the balance of power will reverberate for many more decades to come. And in the immediate foreground is the explicit threat of war in one of the most militarised stretches of ocean anywhere in the world. At the three-day Shangri La Dialogue (held from 31 May to 2 June), the two main protagonists in this battle the US and China set out competing visions of the Indo-Pacific. Notably, it was the first time they did so from the same stage. Speaking first, Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan was blunt in his warning to China: "No one nation can or should dominate the Indo-Pacific," he said, detailing at length Chinese tactics to intimidate smaller nations diplomatically and militarily, by reclaiming and building military bases in disputed waters across the South China Sea. The Chinese say these bases are to defend China against "outside powers" like the US, France and Britain, who conduct freedom of navigation operations to keep the waters claimed by China open to all. "The Indo-Pacific," Shanahan continued, "is our priority theatre". In this heavily militarised theatre, the US has 370,000 soldiers deployed, four times as many as any other region in the world. It also has 2,000 aircraft, 200 submarines and ships. In addition, aircraft carrier groups call at port regularly. Speaking after Shanahan, both British and French defence ministers expressed strong commitment to the US-led Indo-Pacific policy explicitly aimed at containing China. Britain's Penny Mordaunt revealed that British forces had an "unbroken presence" in the region for the whole year. French defence minister Florence Parly warned of a global confrontation in the region. The current "evolving" security order, she said, contained the "building blocks" of global confrontation. And France was "not going anywhere". As she spoke, a French aircraft carrier group led by the Charles De Gaulle was anchored nearby. Accompanied by frigates and submarines, the De Gaulle had just completed "advanced" training exercises with the Indian Navy, she said. The carrier group will go on to hold exercises with Japanese and Australian forces. Parly said France had five military commands and three bases in the region. Responding from the same stage the very next day, Chinese defence minister Wei Fenghe dismissed the tough talk by the US and its allies. "Talks, we welcome. To fight, we are ready. Till the end," he said, "The PLA is not afraid of sacrifice." The Chinese defence minister clearly specified two areas where the PLA would not "yield an inch": Taiwan and the South China Sea. Wei, whose presence here itself is noteworthy, was remarkably self-assured as he deftly handled questions from the audience, at one point sneering at western values as evidenced by the historical enslavement of black Africans and persecution of the Jews. "Hegemony over others, those are not Chinese values," he said. The Chinese have, over the years, kept a light presence at this annual security summit attended by defence professionals from the West and across the region. Since the dialogue began in 2002, only once has a Chinese defence minister been in attendance. This time, Wei's presence and his calibrated but unrestrained utterances were clearly meant to provide an unequivocal response to the US and its allies amid the rising tensions over the new Indo-Pacific policy. First voiced by US president Donald Trump a year earlier, the new Indo-Pacific policy had its most comprehensive rollout last year, when India took a central role in it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's sweeping keynote speech. This time, perhaps by design but caused primarily by the recent national vote, there was virtually no Indian presence. A senior defence official said that the just re-elected prime minister was contemplating changes in the top leadership of the armed forces. Only two relatively junior officers attended. Sources said National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had expressed his inability to attend well in advance but organisers were keen to have him and tried to get him to attend till the last minute. As a result, he was billed to speak at a session. He did not attend. The Chinese defence minister, who was asked how China would react to India's simultaneous rise in the neighborhood, did not give a direct answer. Wei responded by saying only that there was "some growth" in the relationship since the Xi Jinping-Modi Wuhan summit last year. "The momentum is getting better," he said, noting that the disputed border was stable. The confrontation between China and the democratic West has long been billed as a "clash" of "civilisations" and the divergent values that underpin these societies. In fact, the speeches of western military leaders at the conference were liberally sprinkled with the word "values", a word that was ubiquitous during deliberations. The Americans, perhaps with some justification, claimed a universal status for liberal western values. "These are not American principles; they are broadly accepted across this region and the world," Shanahan said. He also pointedly reminded the Chinese that their prosperity itself was owed to the trade and security framework put in place by the Allies after the Second World War and enforced by the US Navy in these waters. Singapore, a remarkable success story, itself owes much to this "rules-based order". But more: Its relevance to this unfolding saga is replete with symbolism. It was here, on a visit in 1978, that then senior vice-premier, Deng Xiaoping, impressed by this tiny nation's success, found the model he replicated at home on a gigantic scale. It is here also that Deng borrowed from founder Lee Kuan Yew's limited "democracy with Asian characteristics" model. Back home, he coined the phrase "socialism with Chinese characteristics" and used it to bridge the ideological gap between Communism and China's dalliance with market economics. Paradoxically, Xi, who has declared the beginning of a "new era" in Chinese history, is nothing like the leader envisaged by Chinese tradition or communist thought. Xi is flamboyant in a culture that frowns on displays of personality or showmanship. The contrast was on display months before he took full charge of the State apparatus, during his first "rollout" in front of the world. Unlike any other Chinese leader, Xi strode across the stage, mike in hand, basking in the adulation of party cadre rather like a rock star. Supremely confident, even brash, he seemed completely at ease in front of the world media, a change from the forbidding mien cultivated by past Chinese presidents. This brashness has since been evident in the suddenness and irrevocability of the change he has wrought. In a short time, Xi has changed the entire structure put in place by Mao Zedong, and added brick-upon-brick by successive leaders. Xi has abolished term limits, enshrined his 'thought' into the Constitution and taken China's engagement with the world in a dramatic new direction. His scope and ambition is breathtaking, and his decisions seem to be marked by flamboyance. Although the modernisation of the Chinese military began over two decades ago under Deng's successor, President Jiang Zemin, it took on a whole new life under Xi. The hugely, perhaps overly, ambitious Belt-Road Initiative is also Xi's baby as are the Confucius Institutes being used in a big soft power push to influence neighbours. And the aggressive, sometimes predatory, loans to participating States. In the current tussle with the West, Xi faces two important shortcomings. First, he is the first Chinese president not to have been picked by Deng. Second, Singapore's Lee, China's best interpreter to the West, is no more. For all of the 19th Century, there was a politico-diplomatic tussle between Britain and Russia for colonies. Britain was fearful of Tsarist Russia's designs on its "jewel" India. And Russia blocked Britain's reach into Central Asia. It was called the First Great Game. In the Second Great Game, oil companies vied for untapped oil wealth in the Baltic States after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the 21st Century, a Third Great Game is being played over values Chinese and Western. India, the other big Asian power, which is philosophically and politically allied with the West, entered this Great Game last year, when Modi cited history to claim an Indian Ocean legacy stretching "from Africa to the Americas". Singapore, which has a Chinese majority that sees itself as uniquely Chinese, and is multicultural, best illustrates the challenges Xi faces as he tries to sell his version of a benevolent, peaceful China trying to "rise peacefully" in a deeply suspicious world. While Singapore has stuck to a Swiss-like neutrality in dealing with the two Big Powers, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong made clear where his heart lay in his keynote speech to open the dialogue. "The United States is welcome and has many friends in Asia," declared Lee, "Its not that they (the US) buy them, but there is a certain breadth of spirit, generosity, policy." That breadth and a healthy respect for harmony can be found in decorous and formal Chinese culture, too. But will Chinas neighbours ever taste it? A former South African police officer will face trial over the 1971 killing of an anti-apartheid activist after a court ruling that could lead to the prosecution of similar crimes Johannesburg: A former South African police officer will face trial over the 1971 killing of an anti-apartheid activist after a court ruling that could lead to the prosecution of similar crimes. The high court in Johannesburg on Monday dismissed 80-year-old Joao Rodrigues' application for a permanent stay of prosecution. An inquiry had been reopened into the death of Ahmed Timol, who police said jumped to his death from a Johannesburg police station where opponents of white minority rule were often held. Timol's family argued he was tortured and killed. A court in 2017 agreed, saying evidence suggested that Timol was pushed out the window, and paving the way for Rodrigues to face trial. Rodrigues has said the activist dove out of the window before he could stop him. A National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman, Phindi Louw, said Monday's ruling affirms that people who committed crimes during the apartheid era cannot dodge prosecution on the basis of how long ago the crimes took place. The prosecuting authority now should pursue perpetrators of other apartheid-era crimes, said the Southern Africa Litigation Center, which made submissions in the Timol case. "I'm hopeful that this case will pave the way for other such crimes to be prosecuted," SALC's Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh said. Timol's nephew, Imtiaz Cajee, said his family was fortunate to have Timol's inquest reopened. He also urged the NPA to prosecute similar cases in which families of victims had not found justice. Timol was one of 73 political detainees who died in police custody in South Africa between 1963 and 1990. A small plaque inside the lobby of the Johannesburg building where Timol died lists their names. White minority rule ended in the country with all-race elections in 1994. Nearly 300 apartheid-era cases had been referred to the NPA for prosecution by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was chaired by Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu and investigated apartheid-era atrocities and granted amnesty to some accused perpetrators. Other apartheid-era police officers implicated in Timol's death have died over the years. LONDON (Reuters) - The 'Trump Baby' inflatable balloon that was the focus of protests when the U.S. president visited London last year will fly again this week when he returns for state visit including a lavish banquet hosted by the queen, activists said. LONDON (Reuters) - The "Trump Baby" inflatable balloon that was the focus of protests when the U.S. president visited London last year will fly again this week when he returns for state visit including a lavish banquet hosted by the queen, activists said. The team behind the blimp said on Sunday it would be flown at locations near Donald Trump throughout his visit, after a crowdfunding campaign raised a target of 30,000 pounds ($38,000) for groups backing causes from climate action to women's rights. This six-metre high blimp, which depicts Trump as a snarling, diaper-wearing orange baby, became a rallying symbol for hundreds of thousands of anti-Trump protesters, who packed central London during his previous trip. "Trump will try his best to avoid the public on his trip, but with Trump Baby flying we're sending a very clear message of solidarity to those affected by his despicable politics," said Ajuub Faraji, one of the organisers who label themselves Trump blimp "Babysitters". Trump and his wife Melania are due in Britain on June 3-5 for a state visit - a pomp-laden affair involving a banquet at Buckingham Palace. The invitation comes from Queen Elizabeth although the decision was taken on her behalf by politicians. It is the most prestigious welcome Britain can offer a dignitary, a step above last year's official visit. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who gave approval to demonstrators to fly the blimp last year, strongly criticised the government's decision to offer such a high honour to Trump this year. It is "un-British to be rolling out the red carpet this week for a formal state visit for a president whose divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon equality, liberty and religious freedom," Khan wrote in the Observer newspaper. Nigel Farage, a Trump ally and one of the leading campaigners to bring Britain out of the European Union, called the decision to allow the blimp last year "the biggest insult to a sitting U.S. president ever". While much of the British public is hostile to Trump, there have been calls to tone down protests against him during this visit, when he will attend observances of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing by U.S. and British forces on the beaches of Nazi-occupied France during World War Two. "This is not, then, all about Donald Trump; it is about honouring a crucial offensive that helped bring an end to the war in Europe," the Evening Standard newspaper wrote in an editorial, noting that for many surviving veterans it was the last major anniversary they would be able to attend. "The U.S. president is right to attend; whatever we think of Mr Trump, we should make him welcome for this important anniversary." ($1 = 0.7910 pounds) (Reporting by Paul Sandle) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. US president Donald Trump said Britain should refuse to pay a $50 billion (39.5 billion pounds) European Union divorce bill and walk away from Brexit talks if Brussels does not give ground. London: US president Donald Trump said Britain should refuse to pay a $50 billion (39.5 billion pounds) European Union divorce bill and walk away from Brexit talks if Brussels does not give ground. Trump told the Sunday Times newspaper ahead of a state visit to Britain, which starts on Monday, that Britains next leader should send arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage to conduct EU talks. Once Britain leaves the EU, which Trump said must happen this year, then he would go all out to agree a trade deal. Theyve got to get it done, he said in the Sunday Times interview. They have got to get the deal closed. British prime minister Theresa May will step down shortly after this weeks Trump visit, having failed to win backing for the Brexit divorce deal she negotiated with the EU. Trump said her successor should pursue a no-deal Brexit if he or she could not get more concessions from Europe by the end of October, when Britain is due to leave. If they dont get what they want, I would walk away, he said. If you dont get a fair deal, you walk away. The 13 candidates already in the leadership race are split between those willing to accept a no-deal and those opposed. In the no deal camp are former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, whom Trump praised in an interview with the Sun newspaper on Friday, along with former Brexit minister Dominic Raab and interior minister Sajid Javid. Trump said the United States could work very, very quickly on a trade deal if Britain was not constrained by a transition period agreed with Brussels. All on the table The US Ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, said any such trade deal would include agriculture and healthcare. In a trade deal, all things that are traded will be on the table, he told the BBC on Sunday. Asked if that included healthcare, he replied: I would think so. Concerns have been raised in Britain about accepting US agricultural standards, notably chlorine-washed chicken, and about opening up its state-funded healthcare system to US companies as the price of a trade deal. American products would come over, and be allowed to come over, Johnson told the BBCs Andrew Marr Show. You give the British people a choice, if they like it they can buy it, if they dont want it, they do not have to buy it. Nigel Farage Trump said it was a mistake for the Conservatives not to involve Farage, the Brexit Party leader, in negotiations with Brussels after his success in European Parliament elections. I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer he is a very smart person, Trump said. They wont bring him in but think how well they would do if they did. They just havent figured that out yet. Farage, who led the unofficial campaign to leave the EU in the 2016 Brexit referendum, wants to leave the bloc without any agreement. His new Brexit party swept to victory in the United Kingdoms European parliament election last month, prompting him to demand a seat at Brexit negotiations. However, none of the candidates seeking to replace May are expected to offer an olive branch to a longstanding rival who has the potential to split the right-wing vote in Britain. Trump also said he would have to know Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn before authorising US intelligence to share its most sensitive secrets with a hard-left government. He said Britain must be careful not to jeopardise intelligence-sharing by letting Chinese firm Huawei Technologies Co Ltd into its 5G mobile phone network. I dont consider the present time to be as dire as the civil unrest of the 60s. However, why doesnt the governor dispatch the Guard to saturate the at-risk areas during summer nights when families are out enjoying the weather? I know one argument is optics. Soldiers may be an admission that civil authorities are unable to keep city streets safe. Since the National Guard is already in existence and available to the governor as a state militia, what better event, short of wholesale rioting is needed to call out the Guard? This is not something that is going to happen overnight, but we are looking forward to working with folks and come up with a proposal that does give a real pathway for those parents that are on the (local school councils), those parents who were CPS students, to really have their seat at the table, Lightfoot said. differential question 2wd 99 f150 xl v6 Hello I have a question about the diff In my 99 f150. First some info. My truck is a 99 f150 Xl standard cab long bed 2wd with a v6 auto trans and a tad under 70k miles. I am wanting to do something to help traction since it is my daily driver here in Michigan. It dose ok with some sand bags in the back and I think the heavy fiberglass cap helps a tad as well but traction is still pretty bad in the winter. From the door code I know it has an 8.8" with 3.55 gears. I have looked at differential options and the best option that I will be able to afford after a few months of saving will be a spartan locker. I figure that would be a lot better on the street than a mini spool and easier on tires. And it is still something I can install myself. Will a spartan locker fit my differential property? A few of the parts sites with them for sale say they only work in the v8 trucks so I was wondering if the cross pin was smaller on the v6 differential, or if it used smaller axles or if the parts sites were just wrong. Thanks for your time. {Press Trip} Last week I shared the first instalment of my Morocco travel diary, with the details of our stay inside the Fes Medina. And now its time for part two After checking out of the Riad Fes hotel we were driven directly to the Riads sister-property, Hotel Sahrai. Riad Fes is ornate and traditional, whereas Hotel Sahrai has a sleek and contemporary feel. Personally, although I marvelled at the spectacle of Riad Fes, Hotel Sahrais modern take on Moroccan style was more my jam. Its exactly the kind of hotel I would gravitate towards on Booking.com so I was really excited to check in and explore. The hotel has a gorgeous selection of modern rooms and suites all with chic, glass-walled bathrooms, sculpted plastering and insanely comfortable beds! But we spent very little time in our rooms. Wed been invited to experience the Namaste yoga package that had just launched at Hotel Sahrai. So, throughout our stay, we were either on the rooftop doing yoga at sunrise and sunset, or lounging alongside the spectacular infinity pool. And, seriously, look at the view from the pool! Can you blame us for wanting to lap up every possible poolside moment?! WHY FES SHOULD BE YOUR NEXT TRAVEL DESTINATION Before this experience I never would have thought to visit Fes. Marrakesh or Casablanca, maybe. But I dont think Fes would have ever come to mind. (Previously, Fes always made me think of Rory Gilmore. In the first season of Gilmore Girls Richard describes Rory as my granddaughter Rory. Shes going to Fes someday. And at her 16th birthday party he presents her with a cheque for Fes.) However, Im now here to sing Fes praises. And I truly believe its a destination that you should consider for the remainder of 2019 and 2020. As I mentioned in my last blog post, the direct flight from London Gatwick into Fes took less than three hours. So its really no different that travelling to the Mediterranean. But, unlike the Mediterranean where youre not guaranteed sunshine and tropical temperatures during April, May, and June Fes is a solid bet if youre seeking good weather. I would 100% return for a long weekend of sunshine! Swimsuit by Sweaty Betty (gift). Also available in black and blue. The Namaste Yoga Retreat As you know, Ive been really into yoga for the past year. And attending a yoga retreat is one of the items on my 19 for 2019 list. So I feel unbelievably grateful that this epic travel experience with Riad Fes and Hotel Sahrai came my way! The Namaste yoga package at Hotel Sahrai was run by the wonderful Idi (AKA Yogidille). And every morning we began the day with a 7am, sunrise yoga class on the rooftop. Idi is such a fantastic and inspiring teacher. And by our second class she had coaxed us out of our comfort zones, and we were all experimenting with acro yoga. It was my first time trying acro yoga, and I absolutely loved it! I dont think I would have been confident enough to take an acro class, in London. But Idi provided the perfect introduction, and I cant wait to try it again soon. At 6pm, each evening, wed somehow summon the willpower to peel ourselves away from the pool. And wed wind down with another yoga class. In the evenings Idi focused on Yin yoga, which felt so restorative and relaxing. I usually practise Vinyasa yoga, but our Yin sessions encouraged me to try some slower, and more gentle classes back at home. After our evening yoga classes we would quickly change for indulgent dinners on the hotel terrace. And Sweaty Bettys Gratitude jumpsuit (above / gift) was my favourite evening outfit, during our time in Morocco. I wore it for a special Ramadan Ftour feast, at sunset, to mark the breaking of the fast. The wide-legged, 70s vibes made me feel a bit like one of Charlies Angels! I loved every moment of our stay at Hotel Sahrai, and would not hesitate to go back. If youre craving a relaxing break, where you can soak up the sun beside a gorgeous pool and get a little culture, here and there (there are shuttle buses from hotel to the Medina, every day) then Hotel Sahrai should be a top contender! Is Fes now sitting at the top of your travel bucket list? And have you visited Morocco, before? Comment below to share your experiences Press Trip: We stayed in the Fes as guests of the Riad Fes and Hotel Sahrai. P.S. Morocco, part one: Spending 24 hours inside the Fes Medina Aaron's And Progressive Leasing Finish 37th Keystone Club Makeover As School Year Grand Finale For Atlanta Teens ATLANTA, May 31, 2019 // PRNewswire // - Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), a leading omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions, and its divisions Aaron's and Progressive Leasing, surprised Atlanta area teens in May with a freshly remodeled Keystone Teen Center at the Samuel L. Jones Boys & Girls Club, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. Through a partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and input from the teen members, Aaron's associates and Club officials decorated and furnished the Club's multipurpose space. Local Aaron's associates and Club officials revealed the new space, now equipped with new technology, sectionals, tables and chairs, sound systems and fresh paint. Teens chose the special Sherwin-Williams paint colors for the room: Dynamic Blue and Earl Grey. The teens can enjoy the redesigned areas dedicated to leadership development, study, lounging and games. "With Atlanta being our hometown, this renovation was close to our hearts and we made sure to provide the Samuel L. Jones Club members with great resources to help them be successful leaders," said John Robinson, CEO of Aaron's, Inc. "Boys & Girls Clubs of America is the number one youth-serving organization in the nation helping provide opportunities that our teens otherwise would not have." "The partnership between the Samuel L. Jones Boys & Girls Club and Aaron's will benefit the many students who will be able to use this newly renovated facility," said U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. "The Boys & Girls Clubs organization makes a difference in the lives of many young Georgians, providing them with a place to explore their interests and grow. I appreciate the support Aaron's has given to the organization." "Boys & Girls Clubs are a vital part of life for American youth, providing communities across the country and in Georgia with comfortable spaces where parents know their children are safe," said U.S. Senator, David Perdue, R-Ga. "We are all grateful to our friends at Aaron's for this makeover, supplying these bright young minds with better futures and making a difference in the Peach State." "My duty as Georgia's Attorney General is to protect Georgians, and especially our youth and other vulnerable populations. Strong public-private partnerships help make the most of our state's assets, and I'm thrilled to congratulate the Samuel L. Jones Boys & Girls Club and Aaron's, Inc., on this outstanding partnership to provide an improved space for our youth at the Keystone Teen Center," said Attorney General of Georgia, Chris Carr. "This refresh isn't just about a fresh coat of paint or new furniture. It's a transformation to our Samuel L. Jones Club, where teens now have the resources they need to achieve their dreams," said Missy Dugan, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. "Thanks to Aaron's, we can now support more teen membership with the Keystone Program and foster a safer environment." In September 2018, the Aaron's Foundation renewed its national partnership with the BGCA. The continued partnership supports the Keystone Club, BGCA's premier national teen leadership and character program, for an additional three years with a $5 million commitment. This follows the 2015 Aaron's Foundation's three-year national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Keystone Program, helping underserved teens ages 14-18 develop their character and leadership skills in hopes of helping them reach their potential and creating positive change in the community. Over the past five years, Aaron's has performed 37 makeovers at Teen Centers in cities such as Cincinnati, Las Vegas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Baltimore, Memphis and San Antonio. The Samuel L. Jones Boys & Girls Club makeover was made possible by Aaron's in-kind donation of furniture, electronics and appliances valued at $28,000 and the hard work of the company's associates. "I love hanging out with Keystone Club in the Teen Center. I always feel encouraged to do my best. I'm really glad that other people see how important it is to us." Alana G., 14 (Atlanta) "With the leadership skills I've learned in Keystone Club, I feel ready to help my society. Keystone Club has helped me be a better person. It has helped me become a leader as I help younger kids with their homework." Kyla G., 13 (Atlanta) "Keystone Club has helped me advocate to fight for what's right. For me, the most meaningful experience is when we all sit down and just talk." Nevaeh F., 14 (Atlanta) Aaron's partnership with BGCA's Keystone Program inspires teens to "Own It" by taking ownership of their choices to build the lives they deserve. The Aaron's and Keystone Club "Own Your Future" campaign supports three principles: Own Your Path : No matter where you come from, the future is yours to decide. : No matter where you come from, the future is yours to decide. Own Your Decisions : Making good choices opens more doors for your future. : Making good choices opens more doors for your future. Own Your Community: Use your talents to make an impact in your community. To see photos of the Keystone Club remodel at the Samuel L. Jones Boys & Girls Club, visit Aaron's on Facebook (www.facebook.com/aaronsinc), and Twitter (www.twitter.com/AaronsInc). About Aaron's, Inc. Headquartered in Atlanta, Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), is a leading omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions. Aaron's Business engages in the sales and lease ownership and specialty retailing of furniture, consumer electronics, home appliances and accessories through its approximately 1,600 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada as well as its e-commerce platform, Aarons.com. In addition, Progressive Leasing, a virtual lease-to-own company, provides lease-purchase solutions through over 20,000 retail locations in 46 states. Dent-A-Med, Inc., d/b/a the HELPcard, provides a variety of second-look credit products that are originated through federally insured banks. For more information, visit Aarons.com, ProgLeasing.com, and HELPcard.com. About Boys & Girls Clubs of America For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,400 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at Facebook and Twitter. Aarons, Inc., a leading omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions, and its divisions Aaron's and Progressive Leasing, finished the 37th Keystone Club Makeover for Atlanta teens in May. The freshly remodeled Keystone Teen Center at the Samuel L. Jones Boys & Girls Club, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta was completed with input from the teen members. Aarons associates and Club officials decorated and furnished the Clubs multipurpose space. In May, Aarons and Progressive associates and Club officials revealed the new Keystone teen space in Decatur, now equipped with new technology, sectionals, tables and chairs, sound systems and fresh paint. Boys & Girls Clubs of Americas Keystone Program helps underserved teens ages 14-18 develop their character and leadership skills in hopes of helping them reach their potential and creating positive change in the community. Media Contact: Garet Hayes garet.hayes@aarons.com 678-402-3863 Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aarons-and-progressive-leasing-finish-37th-keystone-club-makeover-as-school-year-grand-finale-for-atlanta-teens-300860088.html SOURCE Aaron's, Inc. ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Brightway Agency Owner with locations near Austin, Texas, and Indianapolis named a 2019 Franchise Rock Star Fishers-based business owner selected from more than 27,000 franchisees June 03, 2019 // Franchising.com // FISHERS, IND. - Franchise Business Review recently named Brightway Multi-unit Agency Owner Man Phung to its list of 2019 Rock Star Franchise Owners. Phung, who owns Brightway, The Phung Agency with locations in Fishers and Round Rock, Texas, is one of only 50 franchisees selected from more than 27,000 franchisees who participated in Franchise Business Reviews research over the past 18 months. The Rock Stars recognized were nominated by their franchisor as ones who set the bar when it comes to leadership, business acumen, financial and professional success, and contributing to their community. Phungs profile can be found on FranchiseBusinessReview.com along with the list of 2019 Rock Star Franchise Owners. Man Phung has been a trailblazer since becoming a Brightway Franchise Owner. He was the first to open a Brightway agency in Indiana, and in less than two years he opened a second location in another state, said Brightway CEO and Co-Founder, Michael Miller. Our franchise model is dedicated to the growth of our teams so that we can bolster the success of goal-minded owners like Man with comprehensive support. There are so many deserving franchise owners out there who are achieving their dreams of business ownership through franchising, said Michelle Rowan, President and Chief Operating Officer of Franchise Business Review. It was incredibly difficult to narrow down the list, but in the end, we chose individuals who exemplify the qualities that make the franchising model work: a strong work ethic, leadership, and a real commitment to their business and community. Each one of them is truly a franchise Rock Star. Brightway agencies enjoy a suite of support in customer service, carrier relationships, marketing, accounting and technology. As a result, they consistently outsell other insurance agencies two-to-one. Im very happy and humbled to be recognized as a Rock Star Franchise Owner two years into my career at Brightway, said Phung. I love being able to provide such a vital service to my community and giving them the peace of mind that comes with the service and the counsel that we provide. Im thrilled to be a part of a system that supports its franchisees so that we can focus on providing expert counsel to our customers. Phung opened his first Brightway agency in 2017 and went on to open a second location in Round Rock, Texas, in 2018. In January, Brightway named him its 2018 New Agency Owner of the Year, recognizing him as the highest-producing new Agency Owner. In addition, the company presented him with the 2018 Mover and Shaker award for climbing the most spots in the new property/casualty policies written rank in the calendar year. He also received the Midwest Sales Leader regional award. Prior to joining Brightway, Phung spent more than a decade in the sales industry, acting as a General Sales Manager for a Nissan dealership for four years. Brightway, The Phung Agency is located at 8756 E 116th Street in Fishers and at 1101 Satellite View, Suite 404 in Round Rock. The stores offer customized Home, Condo, Renters, Auto, Flood, RV, Motorcycle, Boat, ATV, Umbrella, Business and Life insurance policies from a wide variety of insurance brands including Progressive, Safeco, State Auto, Allied/Nationwide, American Strategic Insurance and Encompass. About Brightway Insurance Brightway Insurance is a national property/casualty insurance distribution company with more than $592 million in annualized written premium, making it one of the largest Personal Lines agencies in the U.S. Brightways focus is on producing Win, Win, Win outcomes for consumers by offering customized insurance solutions and for people wishing to sell insurance by providing business opportunities that span from single Agent to multi-unit enterprises. Regardless of the path taken, Brightway provides the support necessary to consistently outsell other insurance agents. Brightway got its start in 2008 and has since grown to nearly 900 people in 186 offices across 21 states serving customers in all 50 states. For more information about Brightway, The Phung Agency, visit BrightwayPhung.com or call 317-863-9216. Media Contact: Courtney Heidelberg 904-405-1883 courtney.heidelberg@brightway.com SOURCE Brightway Insurance ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Minuteman Press Franchisees in Rhode Island Lead the Way for Women in Business Across Rhode Island, every Minuteman Press franchise is a strong woman-owned business. See how each of them became their own boss and what owning a business means for them and their communities. June 03, 2019 // Franchising.com // PROVIDENCE, R.I. Throughout Rhode Island, Minuteman Press franchisees are making a difference for their clients and their communities. Each of these Rhode Island-based franchises are independently owned and operated by strong women in business. They have unique insights to share about how they became entrepreneurs, why they chose Minuteman Press, and what its really like to own a business. Dynamic Duo in Warwick and Providence: Meet Karen Fraielli and Valerie Chanoux For 20 years, Karen Fraielli and Valerie Chanoux have been business partners. They have owned and operated their Minuteman Press franchise in Warwick since 1999, and then bought a second franchise in Providence in 2002. Before Minuteman Press, Karen was a CPA working for a public accounting firm in Providence for ten years, and Valerie worked as an operations manager for UPS and Airborne Express. Why did they choose Minuteman Press? Valerie says, In looking at different options and franchises, we knew that we wanted a business with longevity, to work on a business to business level with skilled, trained employees. We didnt want to be in the food service industry or a retail business with high employee turnover. In looking at franchises, Minuteman Press International stood out as fitting those criteria as well as the support that they provided to the owners. Also, the potential customer base was vast in that every business needs some type of printing done. The ongoing support from Minuteman Press has also been a huge help. Minuteman Press is always there when we need them. Twenty years ago, the support was more technical in nature, and now the amount of support they provide in the research of industry trends, equipment, and outside vendors has been a great help in getting us to where we are today. Karen and Valerie have proven themselves with customers and in their community for two decades. Valerie says, When we first opened our Warwick location, we had Karen, Valerie and one press operator. Today, we have a staff of 10, a logo wrapped delivery vehicle, two locations and we provide a full range of marketing services to our customers including large format posters and banners, a full range of offset printed stationery, promotional items and full color marketing materials. And now we even offer custom dye sublimation. Now our production time is as soon as same day service. The fact that we have stayed up on technology is how we provide these services, and do so quickly. Karen adds, Being involved in the community is important. Not only as a business owner, but as a person. People do business with people. If you are recognized in the community by some sort of involvement, business will come organically. I have been a mentor to a young student for many years, providing not only time, but teaching skills, developing trust and building a relationship that will help a young girl grow up successfully. Rhode Island Mentoring recognizes me not only as Karen Fraielli, but as Karen Fraielli from Minuteman Press. We are happy to donate to this organization. Valerie has been involved with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for over 18 years. She says, Minuteman Press designed marketing materials for local events, including t-shirts, posters, etc. Just recently, the Susan Komen Cancer Foundation reached out to Minuteman Press to design a new logo and print marketing materials that are distributed in the Northeast. Ron Rubin is Minuteman Press International Regional Vice President for New England. Ron says, Karen and Valerie have been very focused on running the business the way Minuteman Press is designed to run. They dont reinvent the wheel and their hard work has paid off. Karen and Valerie echo that sentiment, saying, Hard work and a determination pays off, thats for sure! We are fortunate to have a business partnership and friendship in which respect for each other is our first priority. Looking back on 20 years, they reflect, Running a business takes hard work. When looking back at the years we have worked hard, together, to build a strong reputation in the industry that we care about our customers, take pride in what we do, offer a quality product, and we have a staff that does the same. Most of our staff has been with us for over 15 years. We take pride in this and truly believe that our customers trust us to be the best for them. Our business has grown because of our reputation and through referrals. To say that we have been in business for twenty years is rewarding in itself. Their advice to others is this: If you really want it do it. Plan on working hard and take nothing for granted. Always plan for the future and dont be complacent. To learn more about Minuteman Press in Warwick and Providence, visit https://www.warwick.minutemanpress.com and https://www.providence.minutemanpress.com Printing Veteran and Stay at Home Mom Jeanne Salisbury Finds a New Path in Pawtucket Jeanne Salisbury was no stranger to the printing industry when she joined the Minuteman Press family. She explains, I started working at Rapid Printing in North Providence in the early 1980s. I worked for a few years and then left to have kids and be a stay at home mom until my kids were in school. I returned to work at Rapid Printing again in 1993 and stayed on until 2005. I was a little down in 2005 when I left Rapid Printing and thought, What do I do now? I loved working in the printing business, the ever-changing fast pace kept me invigorated. Jeanne found her answer with Minuteman Press in Pawtucket, where she opened a brand-new location in 2006. She says, I saw Minuteman Press advertised, and I called Ron Rubin. I loved the industry already and decided to open a new shop and build it from the ground up. Ron Rubin adds, Jeanne had experience and wanted her own business. Her original location was 1,000 sq. ft. and she built this business by working hard and always doing right by her customers. In 2018, Jeanne bought her own building which is 2.5 to 3 times the size. Her son Jeremy is now on board with the business and just completed training himself. Like so many Minuteman Press franchises, we are proud to welcome the second-generation into Jeannes Pawtucket location. The bond that Jeanne has with her many clients that have been with her since she opened has helped build business partnerships and friendships. Jeanne says, I have a lot of clients that have been around since I started in 2006. The rapport that I have with them is amazing, I love it when they come in the shop and always make them feel special. Every day is different. My clients are the main reason for that. Whether I am meeting someone new, making a sale or just shooting the breeze with old clients, it just makes your day fly by. Jeanne continues, I love the independence that Minuteman Press has given me. There arent a lot of people who can say they love their jobs. My saying is: Its never boring in the print industry. Printing is always evolving and leading us to offer new products and services to help our clients and get the job done, and I love that. Jeannes advice to others is similar to Karen and Valerie, as she states, Take the risk. You will never know the outcome of your efforts unless you actually try it. If I had never opened my business, I would have regretted not trying. Theres no doubt that running a business takes a lot of time. The only way to be satisfied in your life is to do work that you truly love and believe in. She continues, Everything has a beginning. Success will not be handed to you. Be ready to invest time in your new business. Building a successful business takes a lot of work and a lot of persistence. There is also great pride in building it. Just this week during a busy day, I looked around and every machine in the shop was humming and employees were busy completing jobs. I said to myself, I did this, I built this business by myself. A lot of pride comes out of that. I have come a really long way on a long road to success. While I feel proud of my accomplishments at this point, I know there is always growing and building to be done. For more information about Minuteman Press in Pawtucket, visit https://www.minutemanpawt.com From Medicine to Printing: How Helen Andromalos Found Her Calling with Minuteman Press in Middletown Helen Andromalos worked in the medical field as a specialist in Nuclear Cardiology at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket and Hawthorn Medical in North Dartmouth. After she was laid off because of unforeseen circumstances due to a worldwide radioactive shortage, Helen was looking to take back control of her career. She says, I listened to money-talk radio on the way to my job every day and they talked about people having to reinvent themselves when they found themselves out of a job in this down economy. I never considered what I would do if I ever lost my job because I didnt imagine it as possible. After trying her hand at flipping houses, Helen was looking for something more consistent and I absolutely wanted to be my own boss. I just did not know how to do it. After a year of looking into different franchises, Helen found Minuteman Press. She says, I researched franchises and some needed me to own several locations before making any money and some had royalty fees that were absurd. About a year later, I came across Minuteman Press International and what they offered seemed too good to be true so I continued my research. I called around the country and talked to many different franchisees and I asked them if the good things I learned about the company were true and that was very helpful. Every single one said, Yes and that they would buy their Minuteman Press franchise again. Being in Rhode Island, Helen came to find that two of her friends from years ago - Valerie Chanoux and Karen Fraielli were already Minuteman Press franchisees. Helen says, I used to hang out with Valerie and Karen. All this time, I was still looking for a job as my job paid very well and had nice hours. I had a very tall list of high standards to be filled because thats what I was used to professionally. Valerie and Karen confirmed all the positive points I was skeptical about, so I met with Ron Rubin, Regional Vice President and bought my franchise in Middletown. Helen opened a brand-new Minuteman Press franchise in Middletown (Aquidneck Island) in 2011 and she earned the trust of her community. She credits her medical background for helping her build her business, saying, My medical background helps my customer service because when someone is sick, you do not turn them away or tell them to come back at another time. I simply say yes, we can help you. It is what I have always done and it is what we do here at Minuteman Press. Ron Rubin shares his admiration and respect for Helen, saying, I am very proud of Helen, she joined the Minuteman Press family having come from the medical field with no experience in the print industry. She followed our proven business model of providing excellent customer service, producing high quality work, and getting involved in the community. This has made Helen the premier marketing service provider on Aquidneck Island / Middletown. For more information about Minuteman Press in Middletown, visit https://www.middletown-ri.minutemanpress.com How Kimberly Sherman-Leon Transitioned from Minuteman Press Employee to Franchisee in Johnston As a dedicated entrepreneur, wife, and mother of three children, Kimberly Sherman-Leon does it all. Kimberly previously worked for the Minuteman Press franchise that she now owns and operates, taking over the business in 2016 from retiring owners Linda and Dave Buttery, who owned the franchise for 17 years. She says, I worked at Minuteman Press in Johnston as a Senior Designer and Store Production Manager for 5 years and it was one of the best work experiences I ever had. It was very hard work and I always needed to stay on my toes and be sharp no matter how many jobs I was doing at once, but working at Minuteman Press helped me grow as a person, learn the business, expand my skillsets, and become a very well-rounded professional. I am very grateful to have had that experience and two great employers to work for. Today, Kimberly is approaching three years as the owner of the franchise. She says, We offer everything to help build and promote your business from brand identity development, print on paper, and promotional products to mail stream and digital platforms. We take every idea and bring it to life in whatever format our clients need! I have worked for corporate companies and it doesnt even compare. When asked about the most rewarding thing about owning her business, Kimberly lights up and answers, I always liked working for myself. I am a creative person and an entrepreneur. We cant be locked in a box. We need to breathe and move around outside our limits and reach for the sky. Working for someone else is okay but it wasnt something I would settle for. It was a steady paycheck and it allowed me to build my empire on the side without worrying about money. Yes, I have been sleep deprived many times running on coffee and few hours of sleep and lets not forget I have 3 children and a husband! But I wouldnt change it for anything! How does Kimberly successfully manage her business and family lives? She explains, People would ask me, How do you do it? I just say put a Nike symbol on me, I just do it! I have passion and drive and I am determined to achieve my goals and ambitions I have for myself. I can now say I feel accomplished and that I am happy where I am because this is where I belong. If there is one thing I learned on my journey in life, everything comes full circle, it all happens when it does for a reason. This opportunity came at this time in my life because it was the right time! Working for myself is wonderful, fulfilling and rewarding. I have worked for corporate companies and it doesnt even compare. For Kimberly, owning her very own Minuteman Press franchise means she can continue to make a difference in Johnston and advocate for both a community and an industry she loves equally. She says, Giving back to the community is very important! I am very involved in giving back, lecturing at networking events and classrooms in high schools and colleges. I work with interns and students from all areas. I am on the Board with a few schools and printing industry organizations in RI. I am an advocate for this industry. For a better idea, you can visit my website for Rhode Island Creative Magazine which is a magazine I publish for the creative arts community in RI! Ron Rubin praises Kimberly, saying, Kimberly is very driven to succeed and make a positive impact on her customers. She follows the program, offers great customer service, and is very engaging with her clients. They trust her, and she does a fantastic job meeting their business needs. As for others who are thinking about becoming an entrepreneur or owning a Minuteman Press franchise, Kimberly offers these words of advice: Stick with it, dont give up, it all takes time! Breathe, take one thing at a time and it will all come together. Keep going, keep building, always look forward and upward! To learn more about Minuteman Press in Johnston, visit https://www.minmanri.com About Minuteman Press International Minuteman Press International is the number one rated business marketing and printing franchise that offers world class training and unparalleled ongoing local support. Started in 1973 by Roy Titus and his son Bob, Minuteman Press began franchising in 1975 and has grown to nearly 1,000 business service franchise locations worldwide including the U.S., Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Minuteman Press is ranked #1 in category by Entrepreneur 28 times and 16 years in a row, including 2019. Independent franchisee satisfaction firm Franchise Business Review has also named Minuteman Press International to its 2019 Top Franchises, 2018 Top Franchise Leaders, Top Franchises for Women, and Top Franchises for Veterans lists thanks to positive reviews from our owners. At Minuteman Press, We Are The Modern Printing Industry providing high quality products and services that meet the needs of today's business professionals and go way beyond ink on paper. Today, our centers offer innovative branding solutions and produce custom designs, promotional products, branded apparel, direct mail marketing, large format printing (banners and posters), signs and graphics, and much more. Prior experience is not necessary to own and operate a successful Minuteman Press franchise. To learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities and speak with one of our experienced franchise representatives at no obligation, call 1-800-645-3006. Continue your franchise research, watch exclusive owner videos and access Minuteman Press franchise reviews at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com Contacts: Minuteman Press International Franchise Opportunities 1-800-645-3006 https://minutemanpressfranchise.com Chris Biscuiti Media Relations cbiscuiti@mpihq.com SOURCE Minuteman Press International ### Add to Request List Added Request Information Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus Veterans Find Meineke Ownership a Great Second Career Training and Skills Developed in Military Service Help Fuel Success for Franchise Owners June 03, 2019 // Franchising.com // CHARLOTTE - While Nate and Josh Ramsay were serving their country in Iraq, their older brother Ben was building the foundation for a business that they could both work in when they returned home. I had the automotive experience of managing a Meineke store in Harrisburg, PA for someone else, said Ben Ramsay. When the opportunity came up to purchase a franchise in York, PA in 2012, my brothers and I sold everything we had to finance the purchase. We were partners from the beginning. The plan was that I would get things started, and Nate and Josh would join me once their deployment was over. Nate Ramsay knew nothing about cars when he finished his three tours of duty as a Staff Sargent in the U.S. Army 82nd Airborne Division, serving from 2006 to 2013. Neither did Josh, also an active duty Staff Sargent in the U.S. Army National Guard serving until late 2013. I enlisted in 2002 while in high school, said Josh Ramsay. On Friday I graduated high school, and the next Monday I was in boot camp. The skills they learned in the service had nothing to do with vehicles, but it did help prepare them for success in business. Josh Ramsay was involved in aviation life support and Nate Ramsay was a forward observer during their duty in Iraq. Military service breeds a good work ethic, said Nate Ramsay. The military is a standards-driven organization, and setting standards in your business is critical to success. None of us went to college, but military service helps you develop people skills necessary for successfully dealing with both employees and customers. It also gave us the attitude to just put our heads down and drive forward, said Josh Ramsay. And that is what the three Ramsay brothers did. Between older brother Bens experience managing a Meineke store, the support they received from the Meineke Operations team, and the sharing among the network of other Meineke operators, they have grown to five centers in just six years. Sales our first year in business exceeded our expectations, said Ben Ramsay. It was head down, six days a week that first year. When my brothers returned in 2013, we began a rapid expansion. Two more stores in 2014, one in 2015, and the fifth in 2018. And we are looking to grow more. Meineke has greatly evolved in the last five to six years, said Nate Ramsay. We have confidence that with the current leadership it is moving in the right direction to keep us at the cutting edge of operational excellence and customer satisfaction. Meineke has a strong playbook and their operations people are incredible at supporting multiple location owners. With five stores and three brothers, they each have had to make the transition from owner/operator to owner. It forces you work on your business instead of in your business, said Ben Ramsay. And it requires that you hire good employees. Nate Ramsay said that hiring veterans is a priority for them. We advertise for veterans because veterans are your best employees, Nate Ramsay said. We love to hire veterans and we have had good success in that area. Every Veterans Day they offer free oil changes for veterans, a practice many other Meineke locations have adopted. Veterans are one big family, and we take care of each other. We shut down all other operations on that day and perform only oil changes, said Nate Ramsay. Veterans are extremely appreciative and loyal people. We do it to give back, but it also can create a new and loyal customer. The Ramsay brothers have found a formula for success, as evidenced by their recognition at the Meineke convention earlier this year, winning the Commitment to Excellence award, an award which is presented to the franchisee that represents and supports the brand above self. An accurate description for the Ramsay brothers! Meineke is actively seeking single-unit and multi-unit franchise owners to expand the brands footprint. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Meineke, visit https://www.franchisewithmeineke.com. About Meineke Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc., is a division of Driven Brands, Inc., the leading automotive aftermarket franchisor in the world. Founded in 1972, Meineke has more than 800 centers that service approximately 3 million cars a year. Meineke continues to be ranked as one of the best franchise opportunities in the country. About Driven Brands Driven Brands, headquartered in Charlotte, NC, is the parent company of North Americas leading automotive aftermarket brands across four distinct verticals: Repair & Maintenance, housing Meineke Car Care Centers; Paint & Collision, housing Maaco and CARSTAR North America; Distribution, housing 1-800-Radiator & A/C; and Quick Lube, housing Take 5 Oil Change. Driven Brands has more than 2,500 centers across North America, and combined, all businesses generate more than $2.6 billion in system sales and service approximately 8 million vehicles annually. For more information, visit drivenbrands.com. Media Contact: Dale Ross dross@vmg1.com 651.207.9652 SOURCE Meineke ### Comments: Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Disqus The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF in Jena has developed a new generation of vehicle lights which not only exceeds legal and automotive-industry requirements for illumination performance and functionality, it is also more efficient, more compact and significantly more flexible than current systems as regards their location on the vehicle. 200,000 micro-optical elements per headlamp At this years LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair, scientists from Fraunhofer IOF will present the second functional prototype of a segmented high-beam unit which minimizes light scatter. The unit is based on a multi-aperture projector which has been in continuous development for several years. 200,000 micro-optical elements focus the light optimally in the vehicles direction of travel. The segments can be deactivated as necessary, either individually or in groups, without time delay. Combined with modern vehicle sensor technologies, this makes it possible to effectively prevent the high beam from blinding oncoming motorists. In addition, the design requires significantly less installation space compared to conventional systems. Reduced glare Not only can the light be dimmed specifically for oncoming traffic, it is even possible to protect pedestrians and e.g. cyclists without lights from being impeded by glare. This increases the level of safety for all road users. Were developing the headlamp as part of the WISA project SSL StructuredSpotLight with Fraunhofer-internal funding. In-house research projects with commercial relevance enable cross-institute precompetitive research and lay the foundation for subse-uent industry development projects, says Stephanie Fischer, research associate in the Micro-Optical Systems department at Fraunhofer IOF. The project relied on a group of advisors from automotive manufacturers and component suppliers. They were thus able to provide input on the desired parameters of the high and low beam light as well as on the mechanical design requirements. Participants in the group include such renowned brand names as AUDI, HELLA, Trilux and OSRAM. Function follows design The automotive manufacturers will profit in coming years from considerably greater creative freedom when it comes to designing headlamps. Designers are thus completely free to decide whether to install the headlamps on the outer edges of the vehicles nose, as is usually done, or as a narrow strip across its center. This is because the system enables a very small installation depth and provides much greater freedom in terms of dimensions and shape. The headlamps no longer have to be rectangular: the designer can choose any other shape desired, says Stephanie Fischer. Space requirements of larger optical units limited design possibilities in the past. In addition, the new system increases the LED light yield. For example, when set to low beam only 35 percent of the light yield is lost, an excellent value for LED headlamps. This increase in efficiency also improves the energy balance in the vehicle and raises acceptance levels for automotive applications. The high-beam unit consists of two modules, each containing seven individually controllable LED clusters. A total of four collimation lenses direct the light from the LED clusters onto two tandem lens arrays. These micro-optical elements handle the distribution of the light from the individual LEDs. Thousands of micro-lenses precisely guide the light to the respective illumination segments. Each segment can be switched on or off in a fraction of a second by individually controlling the total of 24 LEDs. Production process developed in-house For the first time, rectangular polymer lenses of various dimensions were used to achieve more precise light modeling. The smallest variant measures 0.045 mm x 0.180 mm. Here Fraunhofer IOF developed its own new production method for rectangular lenses, the High Five grayscale lithography system. High Five is not only capable of producing extremely fine microstructures, it can also create the relatively large depth of profile (up to 100 m) needed to optimally exploit the available luminance of the LEDs. Fraunhofer IOF has now successfully realized the first prototype of a low-beam headlamp module. Once all the components have been completely developed, 8 000 micro-lenses will ensure optimum visibility at night and in poor weather conditions. The researchers will present their results at the LASER World of PHOTONICS trade fair in Munich from June 24 27, 2019 in Hall B3, Booth 327. When a child runs out onto the road, the average human driver takes 1.6 seconds to hit the brake pedal. The reaction time is cut to 0.5 seconds for automated vehicles fitted with radar/lidar sensors and a camera system. But at a speed of 50 km/h, that still means that the vehicle will continue for another seven meters before the brakes are applied and it comes to a standstill. In response, the Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM has teamed up with a range of partners from both industry (InnoSenT, Silicon Radar, Jabil Optics Germany, AVL, John Deere) and research institutes (Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems FOKUS, DCAITI) to develop a camera radar module that is significantly faster in capturing changes in traffic conditions. The new unit, no bigger than a smartphone, will have a reaction time of less than 10 milliseconds which, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan (see source), makes it 50 times faster than current sensor systems and 160 times faster than the average human driver. With the new system, the vehicle from our earlier example would travel on for just 15 cm before the system intervenes and initiates the braking maneuver potentially eliminating many inner-city road accidents. Integrated signal processing reduce reaction time The real innovation in the new system is its integrated signal processing capacity. This allows for all processing to take place directly within the module, with the system selectively filtering data from the radar system and stereo camera so that processing can either take place immediately or else be intentionally delayed until a subsequent processing stage. Non-relevant information is recognized, but not forwarded. Sensor fusion is applied to combine the data from the camera and radar. Neural networks then evaluate the data and determine the real-world traffic implications based on machine learning techniques. As a result, the system has no need to send status information to the vehicle, but solely reaction instructions. This frees up the vehicles bus line to deal with important signals, for instance detecting a child suddenly running out onto the road. Integrated signal processing drastically cuts down reaction times, says Christian Tschoban, group head in the RF & Smart Sensor Systems department. Together with his colleagues, Tschoban is currently working on the KameRad project (see info box). The functioning demonstrator he and his team have developed looks like a grey box with eyes to the right and left the stereo cameras. The project runs until 2020. Until then, project partners AVL List GmbH and DCAITI will be busy testing the initial prototype, including road testing in Berlin. Tschoban hopes that in a few years time his grey box will be fitted as standard in every vehicle, bringing added safety to automated inner-city traffic. Source: Study by the University of Michigan, August 2017: Sensor Fusion: A Comparison of Sensing Capabilities of Human Drivers and Highly Automated Vehicles There are only two ways to do it, Roberts said. You have to grow them or you have to attract them. He said that theres been a shift in economic development from focusing on attracting companies to concentrating on attracting workers. That, in turn, can have an impact on a localitys education system and the quality of life it offers. One of the big benefits for us was how the state structured the Amazon incentive package, Roberts said. There is no upfront funding for Amazon, which is the right way to build an incentive package. It had to be performance-based. What the state has done is throw a lot into workforce development and education. The centerpiece of Virginias proposal for HQ2, as Amazons new headquarters is called, was a performance-based, statewide investment in computer science and related programs to more than double Virginias tech-talent pipeline. The idea is that this will benefit tech employers across the commonwealth. Out of this has come two initiatives that Roberts called the tech talent pipeline and the promise pipeline. We did this because the number of racers over the years has dropped, said Michele Staples, the events volunteer coordinator. By using a double-elimination method, each racer was afforded additional opportunities to win. Everyone starts on the winner side of the brackets and gets two runsone run down each lane against the same person, said Keith Burgess, president of the Rappahannock Regional Soap Box Derby Committee. Burgess said those racers on the brackets winner side keep racing until theres only one winner. The losers go to the consolation side of the bracket. They continue to race until they lose, said Burgess. The winner of the winner bracket faces the winner of the consolation bracket to determine the overall winner in each class. Burgess said he misses the small-town feeling of Fredericksburg when the city hosted the race between 1997 and 2017. After all those years, the race moved to Spotsylvania due to a decline in participants and sponsors. Burgess feels the present site has lots of room, ample parking and offers spectators a closer view at the action. There are local regulations regarding electric scooters, but they vary, according to a WAMU story detailing a workshop held last week by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and Transportation Planning Board to address scooter concerns. Scooter technology is in the pilot phase in D.C., as well as Montgomery County, Md., Arlington County and Alexandria. The key issues are safety, education and regulations. This is the most challenging, exciting, interesting and perhaps frustrating thing Ive ever done in my life, Jim Larsen, with the Arlington Commuter Series, told WAMU. Fredericksburg officials may soon feel the same way. While those two-wheeled electric scooters havent made their way here, its a good bet they will, and city officials are just now dipping their toes into the scooter water. Fredericksburg Attorney Kathleen Dooley and other city officials met Friday to discuss the issue, because they dont know what kind of regulations the city should have regarding electric scooters. Jeanne Chowning: Fostering science education for all For more than 25 years, Chowning has focused her professional efforts on improving science education and promoting opportunities for underrepresented students in science. She began her career as a public high school biology teacher and became acquainted with Fred Hutch in the mid-90s as an early participant in its Science Education Partnership program. Established in 1991, SEP has served as a science boot camp of sorts for more than 545 Washington state high-school and middle-school science teachers. For three years in a row, Chowning spent part of her summer vacation working beside scientists in research and teaching labs at the Hutch, updating and honing her lab techniques and teaching skills in subjects ranging from genetics to molecular biology. Today Chowning oversees the program that she says changed how she taught biology. The SEP program not only helped me grow professionally, but it also allowed me to bring hands-on, cutting-edge science into the classroom, said Chowning, who joined the Hutch in the fall of 2016 after the retirement of SEP Director Dr. Nancy Hutchison, who oversaw the program for 25 years. Teachers make a tremendous difference in the quality of a young persons education. By supporting educators, Fred Hutch has inspired hundreds of thousands of Washington state students and engaged them in the excitement of modern biology, she said. Chowning not only leads the SEP program but also oversees the strategic efforts of Fred Hutchs pre-baccalaureate science outreach. She also serves as principal investigator on two grants totaling more than $3 million from the National Institutes of Health to enhance science-education efforts at the Hutch. Prior to joining the Hutch, Chowning directed education programs for the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research and served as the associate executive director of Rainier Scholars, a 12-year leadership and academic-enrichment program for underrepresented students. Denise Galloway: Understanding, treating, preventing infection-related cancers More than three decades of research by Galloway, a virologist, and her colleagues at the Hutch and UW shed light on the mechanisms by which certain types of HPV, a sexually transmitted pathogen, contribute to cervical, anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers. Galloway, director of the Pathogen-Associated Malignancies Integrated Research Center at Fred Hutch, led the 12-member interdisciplinary team of molecular biologists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and clinicians who were instrumental in the development of the HPV vaccine, which prevents at least six types of genital tract and head and neck cancers. For their contributions to public health, Galloway and colleagues received the 2011 Team Science Award from the American Association for Cancer Research. Last year Galloway, who holds the Paul Stephanus Memorial Endowed Chair, was inducted into the Washington Life Science Hall of Fame. This year, she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Galloways lab at Fred Hutch continues to work to understand the natural history of genital HPV infections and why only a small number of women infected with high-risk HPVs go on to develop cancer. Over the years, Galloway estimates that she has trained more than 50 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students. It is so rewarding to watch students and postdocs, and other junior faculty at Fred Hutch develop their own wonderful careers, said Galloway, who is also a research professor in the departments of Microbiology, Pathology and Global Health at UW. The Seattle AWIS chapter, founded in 1985, seeks to advance the careers of women in science and technology and promote the participation of girls in the sciences. Its offerings include peer mentoring, undergraduate scholarships and a science program for middle-school girls. Previous AWIS award recipients from the Hutch include Dr. Beverly Torok-Storb, a transplant biologist and student mentor who last year received the Award of Excellence in Science Education/Outreach; Dr. Colleen Delaney, an expert in cord blood transplantation and holder of the Madeline Dabney Adams Endowed Chair in AML Research who last year received the Award for Scientific Advancement and Leadership; HIV researcher Dr. Julie Overbaugh, associate director of Graduate Education and holder of the Chair for Graduate Education at the Hutch, who in in 2015 received the Award for Scientific Advancement; and Dr. Nancy Hutchinson, former director of the Hutchs Science Education Partnership, who in 2014 received the Award for Scientific Education/Outreach. Note about banquet tickets: Although individual tickets to the AWIS Banquet have sold out, please email awards@seattleawis if you would like to be added to a waitlist for an available seat. Supportive Services welcomes doctor Katherine Steele recently joined Samaritan Supportive Services, providing palliative care to patients. Steele earned a bachelors degree from St. Olaf College and a doctoral degree from Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. She completed residency training at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and fellowship training at Nathan Adelson Hospice. She is board-certified in hospice and palliative care as well as internal medicine. Steele believes in empowering patients with serious illnesses to make the best care decisions by educating them about their condition and treatment options. Albany lodge installs new officers On March 16, Albany Elks Lodge 359 conducted its annual officer installment. As of April 1, officers are Exalted Ruler Roy Ellis Jr.; Leading Knight Darwin Christiansen; Loyal Knight Karen Force; Lecturing Knight David Kreiger; Secretary Cheryl Wolverton; and Trustees John Dunn, Guy Teague and Barry Holsworth. Real estate office opens in Lebanon In April, Windermere Willamette Valley expanded into Lebanon with a new office at 744 S. Main St. The expansion comes in response to market trends showing a growing community and home affordability in Lebanon. Officially opening April 15, the Lebanon location represents Windermeres third office in the Willamette Valley. According to a February report by the Lebanon Express, real estate prices have increased substantially in the mid-Willamette Valley in recent years the average price of a home is above $400,000 in Corvallis and $300,000 in Albany. These new averages mark an increase of more than $100,000 in sale prices since 2014. Windermere Willamette Valley also is looking forward to welcoming new real estate brokers to its Lebanon office. Grant helps assist with life jackets The City of Lebanons Tourism Committee recently awarded the Lebanon Fire District a tourism grant of $4,500 for the districts new life jacket program. Committee chair Don Fountain presented the check to Lebanon Division Chief Jason Bolen in April. The program will see the construction of three permanent kiosks: one at Gills Landing/River Park on East Grant Street and two in Waterloo County Park. The kiosks will be located near each locations boat ramps and swimming areas and designed to hold upward of 12 life jackets of various adult and child sizes. Lebanon Deputy Fire Marshal Ken Foster designed the kiosks and was to begin constructing them soon after receipt of the check. Visitors to the parks can follow the bilingual instructions posted at each kiosk to size themselves or a loved one for a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket and can use the jacket free of charge, then return it to the kiosk to be used again. Similar programs are in place in multiple locations in Oregon, including Albany and Jefferson. Officers graduate from police class The Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training recently announced the graduation of its 386th Basic Police Class on April 12 at the Oregon Public Safety Academy in Salem. Graduating members include Police Officer Jacob Coon of the Philomath Police Department, Police Officer Chance Snyder of the Lebanon Police Department and Deputy Sheriff James Young of the Benton County Sheriffs Office. The Basic Police Class is 16 weeks long and includes dozens of training areas such as survival skills, firearms, emergency vehicle operations, ethics, cultural diversity, problem-solving, community policing, elder abuse, drug recognition and more. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 The strong economy is pretty much the only thing President Trump has going for him right now. And for some reason he seems keen on destroying it. On Thursday evening, the Trump administration announced that it would impose a new 5% tariff on Mexican imports, ratcheting up in increments to 25% by Oct. 1. This is allegedly to pressure Mexico to stop the flow of immigrants coming to the United States. This decision is so mind-bogglingly stupid, it's hard to keep track of all the reasons it's dumb. Here are a few. 1. Americans are paying these tariffs. We already have two studies by teams of top-notch trade economists who have found that the costs of Trump's earlier tariffs are being passed along to American businesses and consumers. An update of one of those studies pegged the cost of tariffs announced before Thursday at $831 per U.S. household. It seems reasonable that this latest round of tariffs on Mexican goods will also be largely absorbed by Americans. 2. This will seriously screw up supply chains and hurt American companies including American companies that need Mexican parts to make their own products that get sold here or exported abroad. Mexico recently became our No. 1 trading partner. Two-thirds of our imports from Mexico are intra-company trade (i.e., a firm trading with itself across the border). The auto industry is especially vulnerable; of U.S. auto exports, about 35% of the value-added comes from imported inputs, according to Deutsche Bank Securities Chief Economist Torsten Slok. Note also that the U.S. auto industry is already in trouble. Announced layoffs for the first four months of this year in autos are the highest since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. 3. We don't know the full economic cost of the tariffs, but it would be painful for the United States. Two years ago, a research and consulting firm calculated an estimate for the costs of a similar (20%) tariff on Mexican imports: "Over three years, the bill comes to $286 billion in lost value to the U.S. economy and a loss of 755,000 American jobs. Two-thirds of those job losses would be at the expense of low- to medium-skilled workers." 4. It's not clear the tariffs are legal. The White House said its legal justification for the tariffs is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. This 1977 law is mostly related to sanctions; it has never been used for tariffs, and some trade lawyers have suggested that it does not give the president power to do so. 5. Mexico does not have power to do the thing Trump seems to be asking the country to do. He's asking Mexico to block people from Central America from crossing into the United States to exercise their internationally recognized legal right to seek asylum. 6. There is no plan. There was never a plan. Even acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged this in a call with reporters. When asked what it would take to remove the tariffs, he said the decision would be "ad hoc." 7. This new self-inflicted trade-war wound gives us less leverage in negotiating a new trade deal with China (and the European Union and Japan, both of which we're also simultaneously trade-warring with). Basically, it makes our stated willingness to absorb a little more trade-war-related pain less credible, since we'll be absorbing so much pain already. 8. It will also damage our ability to negotiate with China (and the EU and Japan) for another reason: It proves, once again, that Trump can't be trusted to keep his word, or even a signed trade agreement. Recall that Trump had previously said that his global steel and aluminum tariffs would stay on our friends in Canada and Mexico until a new North American Free Trade Agreement was signed. But after it was signed last fall, he still didn't remove the tariffs. Finally, two weeks ago, under pressure from lawmakers, he did remove them ... only to turn around and announce fresh across-the-board tariffs on everything from Mexico. Why would anyone ever make a deal with this president, one that required literally any concessions, given this track record? 9. The decision to impose tariffs and thereby harm red-state farmers and manufacturers could cause a rift with the Republican lawmakers who have been protecting him. To be sure, they've supported him through the trade wars so far. But at some point even they might break, especially if they think another trade war front could jeopardize their own reelection chances. Catherine Rampell's email address is crampell@washpost.com. Follow her on Twitter, @crampell. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021. Google Down - Internet's Search Giant Stopped Working in US, UK, Canada, And Australia News oi-Vivek Internet services like Facebook, Twitter, and, Instagram have gone down due to some unexpected reasons. Now, almost for the first time in the last decade, Google has faced a similar issue to network congestion, which in simple word means, more users are using the service, which has created a blackout. Users across the globe, including the US, the UK, Canada, and Australian users have faced this blackout on both smartphones and desktop devices. However, there were no cases reported in India or any other part of Asia. With Google services going down, users faced issues to access some of the Google services like Google Drive, YouTube, Google Search, and other apps and services that are directly derived from Google. Google was quick enough to fix the issue, and the company has released an official press note, which explains some of the reasons for the blackout. Google's statement for blackout We are experiencing high levels of network congestion in the eastern USA, affecting multiple services in Google Cloud, G Suite, and YouTube. Users may see a slow performance or intermittent errors. We believe we have identified the root cause of the congestion and expect to return to normal service shortly. Google's statement after fixing the issue The network congestion issue in eastern USA affecting Google Cloud, G Suite, and YouTube has been resolved for all affected users as of 4:00 pm US/Pacific. We will conduct a post mortem and make appropriate improvements to our systems to prevent this from happening again. We sincerely apologize to those that were impacted by todays issues. Customers can always find the most recent updates on our systems on our status dashboard. What do we think about the Google Down or Google Blackout We think that online services can go haywire at any movement, and just like natural calamities, one cannot predict the blackout, and one has to have a backup plan to do damage control as soon as possible. It looks like Google had all the support that it needed to make Google services up and running in no time, and there is no way for sure to tell that, the same incident might not happen in the near future. If you are a user who likes to store everything in the cloud, make sure to back up the most important files on a physical drive, that does not require an internet connection to access. Via Best Mobiles in India Nokia 8.1 Now Available With Up To Rs. 6,000 Discount Via Amazon News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Are you interested in buying a Nokia smartphone this time? There could be many reasons for you to choose these phones but the interesting aspect is that the company is offering discounts on many of its offerings from time to time. The latest one to get the discount is Nokia 8.1. Well, the Nokia 8.1 is available at up to Rs. 6,000 discount via Amazon India. Nokia 8.1 Discount On Amazon India The online retailer Amazon India is offering a whopping discount of up to Rs. 6,000 on the different storage configurations of the Nokia smartphone. The base variant with 4GB RAM is available at a whopping discount of Rs. 6,000, which will take its pricing down to Rs. 21,000. On the other hand, the high-end variant of the Nokia 8.1 with 6GB RAM is available at a discount of Rs. 4,300, which will take its pricing down to Rs. 25,699. The discounts on Amazon were first spotted by NokiaPowerUser. Notably, these discounts are similar to that of the Nokia Phones Fan Festival hosted last month. Nokia 8.1 Price In India Back in 2018, the Nokia 8.1 was launched in India late last year in two variants. The base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space was launched for Rs. 26,999. The high-end variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage space was launched in February this year for Rs. 29,999. Since then, the device has been available via Amazon India and the official Nokia online store in Iron and Steel and Blue and Silver dual-tone colors. Should You Buy Nokia 8.1 Now? The highlights of the smartphone include the presence of dual cameras at its rear from Carl Zeiss. There is a 12MP primary sensor and a 13MP secondary sensor with OIS, EIS, Pro Camera UI, Bothie feature, dual-LED flash and more. Also, there is a 20MP selfie camera with 4-in-1 technology for better low-light photography. Also, there are other aspects such as PureDisplay with support for HDR10. Right now, the mid-range market is crowded with many offerings from Chinese brands that have triple cameras and a pop-up selfie camera. But the Nokia smartphones have carved a niche for themselves in terms of durability and timely updates, thanks to the stock Android experience. So, if you are looking for a device that doesn't have any heavy customizations, which is a value for money offering, then you should not miss out this deal. Best Mobiles in India Realme 3 Pro Open Sale Via Flipkart And Realme Website News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Realme is a spin-off from Oppo, which was launched back in May 2018. The company is a direct rival to the dominant Chinese brand Xiaomi. Initially, it was launched as an online-only smartphone brand but it started expanding its offline presence. The latest flagship smartphone - Realme 3 Pro was made available offline last week and now it has gone on open sale. Initially, the Realme 3 Pro was available via flash sale model and witnessed tremendous response from buyers. After the same, it was made available offline since last week so that interested buyers can get hold of the same via any of the 8,000 retail stores across the country. Now, the device is available on open sale via both Flipkart and the official Realme website. Realme 3 Pro Open Sale In India Recently, during the Realme Summer Surprise Sale for three days, the company made the Realme 3 Pro available on open sale so that buyers can purchase it 24x7 via both Flipkart and Realme.com. After the sale, the Realme CEO Madhav Sheth took to Twitter to announce that it will go on open sale via the two online channels. So, there is no more flash sales of this Realme smartphone and buyers can get hold of the device as and when they need. Notably, all the variants of the smartphone and all the color options will be available for purchase 24x7. Realme 3 Pro Price In India Realme 3 Pro has been launched in India in April in three storage variants. The base variant with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space is priced at Rs. 13,999. The mid-variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage space is priced at Rs. 15,999. And, the high-end variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage space is priced at Rs. 16,999. The device has been launched in three color variants - Nitro Blue, Carbon Gray and Lightning Purple. What Do We Think About Realme 3 Pro? Realme 3 Pro (review) is one of the affordable smartphones that is a good buy if you are on a budget. If you want a value for money smartphone without burning a hole in your wallet, then you should get your hands on it. The device comes with many features and design elements that are seen in the high-end flagships and offers an acceptable performance that isn't disappointing. Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications Samsung Galaxy M40 With 32MP Primary Camera, SD 675 Shows Up On Amazon Listing News oi-Sandeep Sarkar Samsung Galaxy M series is all set to get a new edition next month in India. The South Korean tech giant is gearing up to launch the Galaxy M40 which has been suggested over the web via numerous leaks and rumors. The company has scheduled the launch of the device on June 11 in the country. Now, ahead of the device's official launch, the complete renders have been leaked online via Amazon listing. Samsung Galaxy M40 Renders Suggested By Amazon Listing: The Samsung Galaxy M40 has been listed on the e-commerce platform Amazon with some primary hardware features. Starting with the display, the smartphone is likely to sport a high-resolution 6.3-inch Infinity-O display panel. The display will offer a full HD+ screen resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The display will feature an under-display camera cutout unlike the waterdrop notch on the remaining Galaxy M series smartphones. This is a major upgrade which the device brings over the Galaxy M30, and the Galaxy M20. This confirms the previous reports which also suggested the same punch-hole display design. At its core, there will be a Snapdragon 675 processor powering the smartphone. The device is expexcted to come with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage configuration. However, the listing does reveal the camera hardware of the Galaxy M40. The device will follow the latest trend of triple-lens camera setup and will feature a 32MP primary sensor. The remaining sensor will be an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 5MP lens for depth mapping. The smartphone will run on the Android Pie OS and will feature copmany's One UI interface. The Amazon listing also confirms the battery specifications of the device. The Galaxy M40 will be backed by a 3,500mAh battery unit which has recently been tipped via leaks. Our thoughts on the upcoming Galaxy M40 smartphone: Samsung primarily introduced the Galaxy M series in India to take on the popular Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Realme, and Honor among others. The previously launched smartphones in this lineup including the Galaxy M10, Galaxy M20, and the Galaxy M30 have been fairing well against the competitions in the market. The renders of the upcoming Galaxy M40 smartphone seems promising. The device is expected to be priced around Rs. 20,000 in India. The high-resolution display and a capable lens camera setup with a premium mid-range processor will give it a fair chance against the popular mid-range Redmi Note 7 Pro, Realme X, and the Realme 3 Pro, etc. via Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications June 1, 2019 News Release Press Operations Release No. NR-139-19 Australia-Japan-United States Strategic Action Agenda The defense ministers of Australia, Japan and the United States affirm their countries' alignment in strategic interests and universal principles, including a commitment to democracy, human rights, free trade, and the rules-based international order. Together, the three countries recognize the importance of enhancing engagement with our Indo-Pacific partners, in order to foster regional prosperity, resilience and transparency in a time of geostrategic change. The trilateral relationship complements the strong and effective bilateral defense relationships between each of the three countries, and enables us to pool our resources in support of peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. The three defense ministers are committed to advancing trilateral cooperation, enhancing engagement with like minded partners in the region, and reinforcing the rules-based global order through actively supporting key regional security and defense architectures. This Strategic Action Agenda articulates our vision for trilateral activities, and our strong commitment to work both trilaterally and together with our regional partners. To that end, Australia, Japan and the United States intend to pursue the following lines of effort: Strengthen trilateral cooperation in the areas of maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, peacekeeping, counter-terrorism, amphibious activities, and non-conventional domains like space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum. In close collaboration with regional partners, identify and coordinate opportunities to build partner capacity through regular information sharing, complementary programs and cooperative activities. Increase the complexity and sophistication of trilateral exercises to enhance interoperability, build common understanding, and better enable our defence forces to work together to contribute to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Promote transparency, regional cooperation and the rule of law through port visits and other defense-related activities that demonstrate every nation's right to freedom of navigation and overflight, in accordance with international law. Improve common understanding and shared regional situational awareness through enhanced trilateral information sharing. The three defense ministers commit to identifying new opportunities to further trilateral cooperation, with the objectives of maintaining and promoting a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1863425/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 1, 2019 News Release Press Operations Release No. NR-140-19 Australia-Japan-United States Defense Ministers Meeting Joint Press Statement Australian Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds, Japanese Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya, and U.S.Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, convened a trilateral defense ministerial meeting in Singapore on June 1 on the margins of the 18th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Asia Security Summit (2019 Shangri-La Dialogue). The ministers were united in their shared commitment to do more together in support of security, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. This was the eighth meeting among the three nations' defense leaders. Minister Iwaya and Acting Secretary Shanahan congratulated Minister Reynolds on her appointment to Minister for Defence following Australia's recent elections. The ministers affirmed their shared vision for an Indo-Pacific region that is open, inclusive, rules based and respectful of sovereignty, where disputes are resolved peacefully and free of coercion. The ministers recognized the importance of supporting Association of South East Asian Nations-led regional architecture and their support for ASEAN centrality which has played an instrumental role in establishing norms of behavior and habits of cooperation in the region. The Australian and Japanese ministers welcomed the United States Indo-Pacific Strategy Report announced by Acting Secretary Shanahan. The ministers agreed to continue to closely coordinate support to the region to maximize the benefits of their national and combined engagement activities in the region in a transparent, efficient and effective manner under their shared strategic vision. The ministers underscored the importance of the international community's ongoing commitment to achieving North Korea's abandonment of all of its weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles, and related programs and facilities in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs). The ministers welcomed the United States' and Republic of Korea's diplomatic efforts to achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea and called on North Korea to return to negotiations with the United States toward this goal. They confirmed that while a diplomatic path to peace on the Korean Peninsula exists, North Korea remains an extraordinary threat, exemplified by its recent missile launches, that requires continued vigilance. They agreed to continue to fully enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. The ministers welcomed and reaffirmed their commitment to sustained international cooperation to deter, disrupt, and ultimately eliminate illicit activities, such as illegal ship-to-ship transfers. The ministers expressed strong opposition to the use of any coercive unilateral actions that seek to alter the status quo or increase tensions in the East China Sea. They also expressed their intention to remain in close contact on the security situation in that area with a view to deter such actions. The ministers discussed the importance of adherence to international law and their shared commitment to upholding freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea. The ministers remained seriously concerned about any action including militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea that are destabilizing or dangerous. They emphasized the importance of the peaceful resolution of conflict in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and expressed strong opposition to the use of force or coercion to alter the status quo; calling instead for all countries in the region to take meaningful steps to ease tension and build trust. All sides called for the Code of Conduct for the South China Sea to be consistent with existing international law, as reflected in UNCLOS; to not prejudice the interests of third parties or the rights of all states under international law; to reinforce existing inclusive regional architecture; and to strengthen parties' commitments to cease actions that would complicate or escalate disputes. The ministers underscored their commitment to work with their Pacific partners to support a Pacific region that is prosperous, secure and respects sovereignty. The ministers welcomed and acknowledged the significance of each state's military-to-military activities, particularly when those activities contributed to whole of government engagement with the Pacific. The ministers agreed on a Strategic Action Agenda (SAA) that articulates their shared long-term vision for trilateral cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. They affirmed the SAA would enable their respective defense organizations to plan and implement enhanced trilateral defense cooperative activities. The ministers underscored the close defense relationship between the three countries, and agreed to do more to coordinate their respective regional defense engagement activities, such as joint exercises and training and capacity building. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1863427/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 1, 2019 News Release Press Operations Release No. NR-144-19 Readout of Acting Secretary Shanahan Meeting With Southeast Asian Counterparts Secretary of Defense Spokesperson LTC Dave Eastburn provided the following readout: Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan met today with ministers and heads of delegation from across Southeast Asia on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore to discuss the United States' vision and strategy for the Indo-Pacific region and to listen to their perspectives on security challenges and opportunities for increased cooperation. Acting Secretary Shanahan had a robust exchange of views with the ministers and representatives on regional security issues, focusing on counterterrorism and maritime security cooperation. Participants welcomed strong U.S. engagement in the region and expressed appreciation for U.S.-ASEAN cooperation, particularly the upcoming U.S.-ASEAN Maritime Exercise (AUMX) planned for later this year. Secretary Shanahan reaffirmed support for ASEAN centrality and the U.S. vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific that safeguards the rules-based international order in which every voice is heard and respected. The Ministers highlighted the importance of ASEAN speaking with one voice, welcomed continued progress in fostering practical defense cooperation within the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) framework, and looked forward to the conduct of the seventh ADMM-Plus in November of this year. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1863544/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address June 1, 2019 News Release Press Operations Release No. NR-145-19 Japan-Republic of Korea-United States Defense Ministerial Meeting Joint Press Statement Japanese Minister of Defense Takeshi Iwaya, Republic of Korea (ROK) Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo, and U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan convened the 12th Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on June 2 on the margins of the International Institute for Strategic Studies 18th Asia Security Summit (2019 Shangri-La Dialogue). During the meeting, they held discussions on North Korea, the regional security situation, and trilateral security cooperation. The three ministers pledged that Japan, the ROK, and the United States will closely cooperate to support diplomatic efforts to establish complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. They also exchanged their views on the recent missile launches by North Korea, and confirmed that they would stay vigilant as defense authorities. They underscored the importance of the international community's commitment to fully implement United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), including sustained international cooperation to deter, disrupt, and ultimately eliminate North Korea's illicit ship-to-ship transfers. They recognized the international community's shared goal of North Korea's full compliance with its international obligations in accordance with all relevant UNSCRs, which call for North Korea's complete denuclearization in a verifiable and irreversible manner. The three ministers discussed other regional security issues and concurred on the importance of a rules-based order. They reaffirmed that freedom of navigation and overflight must be ensured, and that all disputes should be resolved in a peaceful manner in accordance with the principles of international law. In addition, the three ministers shared the recognition that defense-related confidence-building among countries in the region is important, and committed to strengthening cooperation to institutionalize such efforts. The three ministers emphasized that trilateral and multilateral security cooperation led by the three countries plays an important role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. They committed to further trilateral security cooperation, including information sharing, high-level policy consultation, and combined exercises. The United States reaffirmed its ironclad security commitments to Japan and the ROK, and the ministers pledged to continue to work closely together for peace and stability in the region and around the world. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1863648/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the Prime Minister Albania of Albania, Edi Rama NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 02 Jun. 2019 Prime Minister Rama, Edi, it is great to see you again. Thank you for that warm welcome. It is a pleasure to be back in Tirana.This year we mark NATO's 70thanniversary. And ten years since Albania joining the Alliance. So I really appreciate this opportunity and am glad to be able to mark this important anniversary together with you. Ever since you joined, Albania has been a committed and highly valued NATO Ally. Albania has forces serving in NATO's multinational battlegroup in Latvia. And I want to pay tribute to the two brave Albanian soldiers who lost their lives in the tragic accident in Camp Adazi last month. So please accept my condolences. My thoughts and deepest condolences go out to their loved ones, and to the people of Albania. Your troops also help build greater stability as part of NATO's KFOR mission in Kosovo. And you help us fight international terrorism by contributing troops to our training mission in Afghanistan. NATO is also committed to the security of Albania. We are investing 51 million euro to modernise the existing facilities at the Kucove air base. Including projects on fuel storage and logistics. This will help all of us to be more effective, more resilient, and more secure. And it shows how NATO, through its investment programmes, is investing in NATO countries such as Albania. Through hard work and dedication, Albania is setting an example in promoting peace and stability in the Western Balkans. The European Commission has recommended that the EU open accession talks with Albania. It is important that this progress continues. NATO is an Alliance of democracies. In democracies there will always have differences and debates. This is not a weakness. It is at the heart of what makes our democracies strong. But political violence contradicts our democratic values. It is absolutely unacceptable. So I call on all political actors to behave responsibly and with restraint. And to show the political consensus necessary for continued Euro-Atlantic integration; and to resolve any difference through dialogue and established political processes. Because this contributes to a better future for the people of Albania, and for the whole region. Prime Minister, Dear Edi. It is great to be here. Thank you again for Albania's strong commitment to our Alliance. And for your personal commitment to our Alliance and your strong leadership in guiding Albania on its Euro-Atlantic path. Question [Top Channel] [Translated]: [inaudible] Top Channel Television. A question for both Mr Stoltenberg and the Prime Minister: in the last months, we have seen a number of protests in Serbia, Montenegro and Albania, where opposition has handed over the parliamentary debate and has refused to take part in the upcoming elections on 30th June. From your information, are there data that suggests that there is a Russian influence in these protests, which seeks to have destabilised Balkans far from Euro-Atlantic standards? Thank you. Jens Stoltenberg [NATO Secretary General]: So, political debate, political disagreement, that's part of democracy and that is not a sign of weakness, that's actually a sign of strength. But what is not acceptable is any use of violence and any attempt to undermine democratic institutions. And therefore I call on the full respect for our democratic institutions in all member countries. NATO is a political military alliance which is built on some core values, democracy, the rule of law, democratic institutions are of course an important part of that and therefore any disagreements have to be resolved through political dialogue and through participation in democratic processes, and elections are of course a core part of democratic processes in our member countries, in NATO Allied countries, including in Albania. And therefore I call on all political actors to participate and to contribute in a dialogue and to resolve differences through dialogue and not by undermining democratic institutions. We have seen attempts by Russia to try to meddle in our democratic institutions and domestic political processes in different countries, including try to meddle in democratic processes in NATO Allied countries. When it comes to the situation in this country, in Albania, I will leave it to the Prime Minister to comment on that specifically. But any attempt to interfere, to meddle in domestic political processes, is always unacceptable. What we have to do is to support our democratic institutions and solve disagreements/differences through democratic processes and through political dialogue. Edi Rama [Prime Minister of Albania] [Translated]: First, it's not a secret or maybe it's the biggest public secret I would say, that Russia's approach to NATO, to the European Union, to integration processes is not a friendly approach. Second, I would like to underline the fact that in no NATO member country there has been or there has happened what is happening here, and what some main opposition forces are warning of and apparently will try to stage it here, it would be unquestionably an indelible stain for our country as a NATO member, which is not a military Alliance, but it's a military Alliance of a number of countries that share values and principles that are not negotiated. Third, of course something like this is not in favour of a country, does not coincide with the interests, values, principles, neither of NATO or the European Union, and as such [inaudible] it will lead to the mill of those, it will bring water to the mill of those who don't want the full integration of the Western Balkans, either in NATO or in the EU. Question [Report Television] [Translated]: Report Television. A joint question: how do you rate the political situation in Albania from internal domestic or external actors? Is there any risk to instability and, in this condition, will NATO speed up its investment in Kucove base? Jens Stoltenberg [NATO Secretary General]: So, we will move on with the programme, with investments in the air base as planned. The political turmoil, the tensions we have seen will not affect that decision and will not affect the way we implement this decision. Because this is a decision made based on advice from our military commanders, from our military planners, and we have a budget, we have a programme and then we invest or upgrade military facilities, including this air base in Albania. And we will continue with that. So, for me, this is just an example of how NATO is important for Albania, but also how Albania is important for NATO. We support each other. NATO is a way to bring countries together, 29 Allies, and as long as we stand together, as long as we are united, we are safe. And the reason for NATO to be strong and to also invest more in defence is that that's the best way to prevent a conflict. Deterrence and defence has kept us all safe for 70 years and will continue to do so in the future, as long as we continue to stay united. So, I once again thank Albania for its contributions to our Alliance, for the contributions to NATO missions and operations, and also for the people you send to different NATO activities, including the people you have at the NATO Headquarters, the ministers, the people that participate in NATO decision making, because you are around the table together with 28 other Allies. So, once again, thank you for your strong contribution to our Alliance. Edi Rama [Prime Minister of Albania]: Just as Secretary General said, the decision to invest in the air base of Kucove and the investment programme to transform that base into an integral part of NATO infrastructure cannot be discussed. And I will add to that, that in Albania we will never allow to happen any form of destabilisation that might affect the image of our country, beyond the affection brought to this image by the organisation of violent manifestations, in a small perimeter and without popular support. I am sure when I say this, because I am sure that every citizen and every Albanian who loves this country, irrespective of what they think about this government, whether they vote of not, for the majority they are not going to participate in the process which would prove the notorious thesis of Albanian's enemies that Albanians are incapable of building a state and not respecting their own rules. And the last thing, this is not a manifestation of major concern, popular concern, it is a political staging and it has no possibility or chance of going beyond the political stage. We are going to hold elections as an [inaudible] democratic process. If the opposition or whatever opposition party deliberately or legally is prevented to join elections, elections will not be democratic. But if someone does not like to join elections, this doesn't make elections undemocratic. It's time that we put an end to a very protracted history of political whims vis a vis the democratic process. Once again, I want to thank the Secretary General and, as I have assured him during our talk, I want to assure him again that all our commitments vis a vis the Alliance are commitments that we will abide by to the end. On the other hand, I am certain that even in this artificially staged process, Albania, as a NATO member, is not going to stain its image or the calm of Euro-Atlantic Alliance. Many thanks. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Where there are threats, there are defenses: Chinese defense minister on South China Sea People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 16:11, June 02, 2019 SINGAPORE, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said here on Sunday that China's construction on its South China Sea islands and reefs is its legitimate right and is purely defensive in nature. "The current situation in the South China Sea is improving towards greater stability. It is attributed to the common efforts of the countries in the region," Wei said. "However, there are always people trying to rake in profits by stirring up troubles in the region." He said over 100,000 ships sail through the South China Sea each year, and "none has been threatened." However, in recent years, some countries outside the region come to the South China Sea to flex muscles, in the name of freedom of navigation. "The large-scale force projection and offensive operations in the region are the most serious destabilizing and uncertain factors in the South China Sea," he said. If there is chaos in the South China Sea, the regional countries are the ones who will bear the brunt, and China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries have made progress in negotiating the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, he added. Wei noted that China's construction on its South China Sea islands and reefs is legitimate and defensive in nature. "It is the legitimate right of a sovereign state to carry out construction on its own territory. China built limited defense facilities on the islands and reefs for self-defense," he said. "Where there are threats, there are defenses. In the face of heavily armed warships and military aircraft, how can we stay impervious and not build some defense facilities?" he asked. He also refuted the saying of "militarization" of China's defensive construction on its South China Sea islands and reefs at the Q&A session. "Anyone who has some military sense would know it's not militarization," he said. Wei is here to attend the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue from Friday to Sunday, and he gave a keynote speech on Sunday morning at a plenary session entitled "China and International Security Cooperation." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Reports of casualties after blasts rock Afghan capital Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 09:50AM Three successive blasts have rocked the Afghan capital Kabul, leaving one person dead and 17 others wounded. The Sunday bombings began with the detonation of a magnetic bomb attached under a van carrying officials headed to the Kabul Education University, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. Shortly afterwards, two more bombs that had been planted by the side of the road went off. "In total, one Afghan civilian was martyred and 17 others, including a local journalist and five Afghan forces, have been slightly wounded," Rahimi said. The wounded journalist was apparently live-streaming the aftermath of the first explosion when the second bomb went off. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but both the Taliban and Daesh militants have carried out blasts in the past week. On Friday, a Taliban car bomber killed at least four Afghan civilians and wounded four US troops in an attack on a US convoy in Kabul A day earlier, at least six people were killed and 16 more wounded in a explosion outside a military academy in the capital, claimed by Daesh. Eight Afghan police officers were killed on Saturday and seven others wounded in an attack in the eastern Ghazni city, provincial police spokesman Ahmad Khan Seera told AFP. Violence across Afghanistan continues unabated despite the presence of foreign troops, led by the US. The Taliban and the US are set to begin a new round of peace talks in Doha, Qatar this month. On Saturday, the leader of the Taliban vowed to continue battling US forces until its objectives are fulfilled, saying the group aimed for "an end to the occupation and establishment of an Islamic system". He also gave little sign that the militants would repeat last year's truce over the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which led to unprecedented scenes of Taliban members and government soldiers mingling and even embracing in the streets of Kabul. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two killed at protest site as Sudan junta digs heels Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 09:42AM Sudanese security forces have opened fire, killing two protesters and wounding 10 others near a protest site in the capital Khartoum. Thousands of protesters have been camping at the sit-in site outside the army headquarters in Khartoum for months, demanding civilian rule amid increasing tensions with the country's military rulers. On Thursday, military rulers said the protest camp in the capital had become a threat to the country's national security as they ordered the office of Qatar's Al Jazeera TV in Khartoum to be shut down. The ruling military council's foreign ministry said on Saturday that its ambassador to Qatar had been summoned to Khartoum for consultations. Sudan's main protest group blamed the violence on the Transitional Military Council (TMC), saying that it is part of a plan to violently clear the protests. In a statement late Saturday, Sudanese Professionals' Association (SPA) said, "The killing and intimidation on Nile Street is just a prelude to committing a massacre to end the sit-in by force." Tensions are mounting between the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and an alliance of protest and opposition groups who want a quick handover of power to civilians. The sit-in site has become the central point of Sudan's protest movement, which saw longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir overthrown last month. Since the ouster, protesters have been calling for the generals who replaced Bashir to hand over power to a civilian-led administration. Negotiations between protest leaders and the ruling military council have broken down amid differences over whether a planned transitional body would be headed by a civilian or a military figure. The SPA said Saturday it had reason to believe the military council was "planning and working to end the peaceful sit-in at the headquarters with excessive force and violence." Soldiers and security forces blocked off the city's Nile Street on Saturday afternoon, while gunfire rang out in the distance, reports said. The doctors' committee said three people were wounded by gunfire and most of the other casualties were hit with rifle butts and steel bars. The latest violence comes after a man was shot dead Thursday on Nile Street, a day after a woman was killed in the same area. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 'We will have surprises for you!' Yemen warns aggressors Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 07:56AM Yemen's Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser al-Atifi says the country has made great strides in the defense sector and will "surprise" Saudi Arabia and those of its allies that are waging a war on the impoverished nation. Speaking at the committee on Yemen's defense doctrine in the capital, Sana'a, on Saturday, Atifi said that the military had developed advanced weapons as well as technology that met the country's need to defend its sovereignty, unity, and independence. He stressed that Yemen had surprises in store for aggressor regimes. "We have surprises for... [them] that they can never see coming," the Yemeni defense minister said. Yemeni armed forces are moving forward with manufacturing missiles as well as armed and offensive unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), rockets, and other kinds of weapons, Atifi said. The Yemenis are currently in the final stages of developing various air defenses, he added. The Yemeni forces would free the whole country and defend its territorial integrity, he said, emphasizing that they are now capable of launching attacks deep inside Saudi Arabia and targeting its vital facilities. Yemeni fighters regularly target positions inside Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the Saudi-led war, which began in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall the former regime and eliminate the Houthi Ansarullah movement. While those strikes often target Saudi Arabia's border areas, a number of drone strikes were carried out deep inside Saudi territory on May 14. The drones used in the attacks flew undetected until they reached the designated target, namely two oil pumping stations, disrupting the flow. Yemen has warned that it would carry out more such attacks. The defense minister expressed Yemen's readiness for peace based on a United Nations-brokered ceasefire agreed between the Houthis and the former regime in Sweden last December. He said that under the truce, Yemeni fighters unilaterally retreated from Hudaydah. However, he added, aggressor forces maintain the siege of the Durayhimi district in violation of the truce. The minister also said that the Saudi-led coalition still prevented food and medicine from entering the impoverished state. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US special envoy to Afghanistan to talk peace with Taliban militants Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 02:33AM The US envoy for "peace in Afghanistan" reportedly plans to meet with representatives of the Taliban militant group later this month during an international tour to promote the peace talks opposed by the Afghan government. The US State Department announced on Saturday that Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad will visit Afghanistan, Belgium, Germany, Pakistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates through June 16, noting that he will hold talks with Taliban officials in the Qatari capital of Doha. According to the announcement, Khalilzad is to meet with the Afghan government and other Afghans, including representatives of civil society and women's rights groups. The ongoing peace talks came more than 17 years after the US military invaded Afghanistan to overthrow the ruling Taliban government and to flush out the Saudi-backed terrorist group at the time, vowing to bring stability to the war-ravaged nation. The Trump administration is currently negotiating with the group to facilitate a withdrawal of US troops, though the talks have been met with bipartisan skepticism on Capitol Hill. The negotiations between Washington and Taliban militants have also failed to make significant progress thus far, though they did raise eyebrows earlier this year when the Pentagon reportedly asked Congress for funds to reimburse the armed group for transportation and other expenses related to attending the peace negotiations. The development comes as Taliban's leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada vowed earlier on Saturday to continue battling US-led foreign forces in the country until its objectives are fulfilled, stressing that the group did not plan to sit down for talks with the government in Kabul. In an official message, the Taliban leader further sought "an end to the occupation" and a government that represented the entire Afghan population, but offered no sign of agreeing to a ceasefire or negotiating with the central government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Stoltenberg, North Atlantic Council Visit NATO Hopeful North Macedonia By RFE/RL's Balkan Service June 02, 2019 SKOPJE -- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has embarked on a two-day visit to North Macedonia, which is expected to become the next country to join the Western military alliance. Stoltenberg arrived at Skopje International Airport on June 2, and will later be joined by ambassadors from the North Atlantic Council, NATO's main civilian decision-making body. During the visit, they plan to discuss the reform process in North Macedonia with the country's leadership. In February, Skopje signed a protocol that could see the former Yugoslav republic become the alliance's 30th member if the move is ratified by all 29 NATO allies. The signing was made possible after Skopje and Athens settled a decades-old name dispute through a compromise that changes Macedonia's moniker to the Republic of North Macedonia, thus allaying Greek fears of any claim to its region of Macedonia. So far, 13 member states of the alliance have ratified the Accession Protocol. On June 3, Stoltenberg and the ambassadors will attend a meeting of the North Atlantic Council and North Macedonia's Committee for NATO Integration. Stoltenberg will also hold talks with President Stevo Pendarovski, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, and parliament speaker Talat Xhaferi. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/stoltenberg-north -atlantic-council-visit-nato-hopeful- north-macedonia/29977388.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Carrier, Strategic Bomber Do 'Simulated Strike' Near Iran's Maritime Borders Sputnik News 21:15 02.06.2019 The drills took place amid simmering tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the US sending a carrier battle group into the Middle East last month and threatening to sail it into the Persian Gulf, claiming the deployment was a response to intelligence about an alleged Iranian threat to US interests in the region. The USS Abraham Lincoln, multiple fighter jets and helicopters and a B-52 strategic bomber have carried out joint exercises in the Arabian Sea, the US Air Force has said in a statement. According to the USAF, the drills, which took place Saturday, "simulated strike operations," and involved carrier-based F/A-18 Super Hornets, MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters and E-2D Growlers, with the aircraft simulating missions with the B-52, which is a nuclear-capable long-range bomber. Tensions between Iran and the US escalated last month, with the US deploying a carrier strike group, strategic bombers and Patriot missile defence batteries to the region amid alleged "deep and serious" intelligence on threats posed by Iran against the US and its interests in the region. US-Iranian relations began to deteriorate significantly starting in May 2018, when the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and slapped Tehran with a series of crippling sanctions. On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US would be willing to talk to Iran when it began behaving "like a normal nation." The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Pompeo of "playing with words" and said that a change in conduct, and not just rhetoric, was necessary for "for any talks to take place." Earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran would be willing to engage in dialogue with the US if Washington showed Iran respect and followed international rules. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Hits EU With Ultimatum to Save Close Ties to American Arms Industry - Report Sputnik News 20:26 02.06.2019(updated 20:32 02.06.2019) The Western alliance has come under increasing strain in recent years amid President Trump's insistence that NATO's European members commit more to defence spending, and reports that the president has repeatedly raised the issue of withdrawing Washington from the bloc. The Trump administration has presented America's European allies with an "ultimatum" demanding that the countries make changes to their defence policy to ensure that Europe remains closely linked to US defence manufacturers in the creation of new arms, El Pais has reported, citing documents from a meeting in Washington, DC on 22 May between US officials and members of the EU's Political & Security Committee. According to the Spanish newspaper, US officials warned their EU counterparts that they may be left alone in the face of threats, supposedly including Russia, if Brussels rejected the US defence companies' participation in the creation of new weapons systems. At the meeting, State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Michael Murphy reportedly warned European officials that EU members' citizens "would not be impressed" if, in the event of a crisis and the failure of European defences, the continent was armed only with European weapons. In addition, Murphy also warned that "if the language" of Europe's arms development legislation and guidelines were not changed to allow US participation, "the EU will have to choose: either renounce the use of the best technological capabilities which exist or develop their own." Murphy also hinted that the lack of interoperability between US and EU weapons systems may mean that at some point, their armies may not be able to fight together in defence of the continent from external threats. The 22 May meeting was reportedly aimed at reaching common ground on the issue of the standards of the European Defence Fund and arms projects for the Permanent Structured Cooperation Program, an initiative launched by Brussels in 2017 attempting to increase Europe's independent military power which the US has complained prevents companies from outside the EU from taking part. The warning was the latest in a series of threats by Washington going back to late 2018 amid European efforts to develop independent military capabilities. Last month, the Financial Times reported that Washington had threatened the EU with 'retaliation' if the bloc went ahead with its plans, with US undersecretaries of defence and state Ellen Lord and Andrea Thompson sending a letter to EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini expressing their 'deep concern' over the EDF and PESCO's proposed rules. "It is vitalthat independent EU initiatives like EDF and PESCO do not detract from NATO activities and NATO-EU cooperation," the letter said. In March, US Ambassador to Europe Gordon Sondland accused Brussels of "stubbornness" and "protectionism" with its defence project rules and warned the US might respond with actions which wouldn't "be positive for either side." According to El Pais, undersecretary Murphy's comments represent "the biggest threat by Washington since Brussels began to promote the Defence Union." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon Urges WH to Keep Military Out of Politics Amid USS John McCain Debate Sputnik News 20:25 02.06.2019 The vessel was initially named after the senator's father and grandfather, both navy admirals also called John McCain. Last year, the navy added the late senator as a namesake to honour his memory. The Pentagon has called on the White House to avoid politicising the military amid a Trump administration request to conceal the USS John McCain warship from the president's sight during his visit in Japan, Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan's spokesperson, Army Lt. Col. Joe Buccino, said on Sunday in a statement as quoted by Reuters. Buccino said that the Pentagon head instructed his chief of staff to speak with the White House Military Office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defence will not be politicised. Earlier this week, AP reported citing anonymous officials that the White House directed the US Navy to move the USS John McCain so that US President Donald Trump wouldn't see the vessel during his visit to Japan over Memorial Day weekend. President Trump and Secretary Shanahan said they were not aware about the request. The US president and late Republican Senator John McCain feuded with each other on numerous occasions and their relations remained tense until McCain's death of brain cancer in August 2018. McCain's family didn't invite Trump to the politician's funeral, stressing he was not welcome, while the US president has continued to slam the late Arizona senator's policies. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo And Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis At a Joint Press Availability Press Availability Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State and Ignazio Cassis, Swiss Foreign Minister / June 2, 2019 Castelgrande Bellinzona, Switzerland FOREIGN MINISTER CASSIS: (Via interpreter) Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome to this press conference and this meeting between Switzerland and the United States. This meeting follows my visit to Washington, which dates back to February of this year. It's a great joy for me to welcome here the Secretary of State of the United States Mike Pompeo here in Switzerland. We welcome him in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, and it's again and with great joy I welcome him here in the San Michael Castle, like his name, Michael like Mike Pompeo. And this is a classical bilateral meeting, classical as far as the structure is concerned; but chronologically speaking, there hasn't been such a bilateral meeting between the U.S. and Switzerland between the foreign ministers of Switzerland and the U.S., so we're very happy to have Mike here with us today. Thank you very much for granting us his time, precious time. This visit wants to witness how strong our relations to the U.S. are, a country with which we share many values, the restructuring of Europe after World War II, and this year is the 100th anniversary of the bilateral system which was created mainly by the U.S. During our face-to-face meeting and with the two delegations, we approached various topics which are important in the world today: Iran, Venezuela, Russia, the free trade agreement, and bilateralism. On every single topic, I will spend just a few words, first of all about Iran. The situation is very tense, and we are fully aware both parties are fully aware of this tension. Switzerland, of course, wishes that there is no escalation, no escalation of violence in Iran, although the situation seems to be quite tense at present. There is suffering for the sanctions which have been applied on Iran. These sanctions, of course, cause suffering, suffering in the Iranian people. And Switzerland, which is in charge of Iranian interests in Iran, wants to give humanitarian aid to Iran, especially pharmaceutical products and foodstuffs. In order to supply these foodstuffs and pharmaceutical items, Iran needs to pay for this supplying, and this is only possible if the U.S. free this channel of payment as far as banks are concerned. We have discussed this back in February in Washington. Today we have re-discussed the situation, and we are confident that the U.S. will help us come up with the best possible solution in the shortest possible time. Then we approached the topic of Venezuela. We have signed an agreement to protect Venezuelan interests as far as the diplomatic American interest in Venezuela are concerned. We've been active on a humanitarian basis, but we have not we are not fully active on all aspects because Maduro's regime, Maduro's government, is waiting for a reciprocity by the U.S. in order to confirm Switzerland's presence as a protector of the American interests. We have discussed this as well, and we have tried to come up with some solutions. We have then moved on to the relations with Russia and China, two powers with which there are tensions nowadays, both with the U.S. and between China and Russia in our multipolar world, and we have discussed the role that Switzerland could have with good offices with its very well-balanced action in interacting with these two countries without forgetting the shared common values we have, the common values we have, we share, as a Western world, and that in some other parts of the world these values are quite different. With Russia there's been sort of modulation in that Russia is active in Syria, for instance, in Venezuela, in ways that not always align with the interest of the Western world, but we still have constructive relations with Russia and we're trying to act as a discussion platform. We have then touched upon multilateralism. The 100th anniversary of the birth of the League of Nations in 1919, multilateralism which the U.S. are now trying to put under pressure so as to cause changes. But we both agreed that the world needs multilateralism, and this has to be as effective as possible, and that's why Switzerland, like U.S., are in favor of the ongoing reforms with different approaches. I would now love to give the floor to Mike Pompeo for his remarks. SECRETARY POMPEO: Thank you, Foreign Minister Cassis. It was an honor to host you in Washington in February. It's great to be with you today here in Ticino. I'm the first Secretary of State to be Bern in 20 years. I'm thrilled that we've had this opportunity to have an extended discussion here today. We in the United States have enormous respect and appreciation for Switzerland and the role that your nation plays all around the world internationally. We know that Switzerland prizes its neutrality but never shies away from defending its values, including democracy, peace, and good governance around the world. The United States and Switzerland are thus natural partners, and today we are driving towards even greater cooperation. Just a couple weeks back now, President Trump was proud to be the first U.S. president ever to host a Swiss president at the White House. And today, Foreign Minister Cassis and I followed up on the ground that they covered. The first thing we spoke about was trade. It's easy to see why American businesses love to do business here in Switzerland. It's a central location in Europe; it has financial and political stability, first-class infrastructure, and a highly trained workforce. It's a great place for American businesses to come and work. Two U.S. companies, Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are currently competing to provide Switzerland with its newest fleet of fighter jets, while another, Raytheon, is competing to provide its ground-based air defense system. American defense products are the best in the world, and we want to help Switzerland maintain its best-in-class defense, as we do for our other close defense partners. Switzerland and the United States also continue to explore a potential bilateral trade agreement. Foreign Minister Cassis mentioned this. While we're in the early stages, I feel optimistic about the opportunity for progress. Our economic interests are closely aligned, and so I think we'll be able to achieve a good outcome there for each of our two countries. Across all industries in both economies, a broad agreement would indeed make trade much faster, fairer, and more mutually advantageous. And a trade deal would also reinforce the economic values that we both hold dear. It would also reinforce this notion that there are other countries that seek to undermine the way that we do business. China is one such nation. Its ambitions are on full display here in Switzerland. Under the free trade agreement that went into force in 2013, China has gained an extensive presence here while denying Swiss companies the same access inside of China. As I have said before, the United States welcomes China's participation in the global economy, as long as it plays by the rules. But we encourage our Swiss friends and partners to recognize the security risks associated with many of China's economic activities, and we discussed that at some length today. Strong relationships between countries are built on good faith and mutual respect, and the U.S.-Switzerland relationship certainly proves that. Last December, we signed an MOU to advance our partnership in vocational education. The Swiss experience offers compelling lessons for the United States, and U.S. industry has taken note of the model here in Switzerland. The Trump administration is grateful to Swiss companies currently sharing their expertise on this subject with us. I reminded the foreign minister too how deeply appreciative the United States is of Switzerland's service as America's protective power in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this role, Switzerland guards American interests inside that dictatorship. You perform important consular services for our citizens there, and you manage the cases of our missing or imprisoned U.S. citizens, visiting them in Iranian jails and assuring them and their families that their country are doing everything that it can to bring them home. This is an important part of our bilateral relationship, as you know. Bringing home unjustly detained persons is one of President Trump's highest foreign policy priorities, and we throughout the administration work on it every single day. Our two countries have enjoyed sturdy bonds ever since the formation of a unified Swiss state in 1848. Over time, the world has come to look to both of our nations in our own unique ways as leaders in peace and democracy. Today we seek to build an even brighter partnership between our two countries with great implications not only for the United States and Switzerland but for the entire world. Thank you. FOREIGN MINISTER CASSIS: Thank you. (Via interpreter) Thank you, Mike Pompeo, for your kind words towards Switzerland. MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much. Now we have some time for a couple of questions from the Swiss and the American press. Let's start with a Swiss journalist who would like to ask the first question. QUESTION: (Via interpreter) My name is Pierre Ograbeck from the local radio/television. A question for both of you, Mr. Secretary and Mr. Federal Councilor. In the last days, President Trump has expressed his wish to create a dialogue with Iran. So from Washington today came a very specific question towards Switzerland so that Switzerland can use its good offices. FOREIGN MINISTER CASSIS: (Via interpreter) Yeah, we grant U.S. interests in Iran. We are a channel of communication. This is not a new request. This has always been the case. We've been doing this for years, and we have discussed the communications which went on over the past few weeks up to the very highest levels, so with the foreign ministry of Iran. The situation and what we can do as Switzerland is to be intermediators, not mediators, if there is no goodwill from both parties. Both parties are now increasing the pressure, and for us this is a matter of worry, but we cannot do anything unless we get a mandate from both parties. SECRETARY POMPEO: I'd just add since you asked both of us, you said that President Trump had indicated his willingness to have a conversation with the Iranians in the past few days. He's said this for an awfully long time, more than just the past few days. We're certainly prepared to have that conversation when the Iranians conclude that they want to behave like a normal nation. There's real challenges inside of Iran today. They're not caused by our economic sanctions. They're caused by 40 years of the Islamic regime not taking care of its people, instead using their resources to destroy real lives, to use resources to underwrite Hizballah, to using resources to fight in Syria, where 6 million human beings, 6 million people, have been displaced because of Iranian activity in support of the Assad regime there. They have used their resources in ways that fundamentally undermine the well-being of their own country. The foreign minister spoke about the need for humanitarian, for medicine, and for food. This is going on while the Iranians are working to build out their missile program. This is going on while the Iranians continue to put people in Venezuela. This isn't about an absence of resources for the Islamic Republic of Iran. It's the decision by their leadership to deny their citizens the basic necessities they need while continuing their expansionist efforts, their revolutionary efforts, all around the world. That's what America's policy is aiming to reverse. MS ORTAGUS: David Brunnstrom, Reuters. QUESTION: Thank you very much. For Secretary Pompeo, I was wondering if you could give us a specific comment on President Rouhani's remarks yesterday about Iran's willingness to engage but not under pressure. And on the issue of U.S. detainees, are there any talks at all underway via Switzerland or anyone else to get them free? And if they were to be released, how much of a confidence-building measure would that be? I've got one other on North Korea. Can I ask when the U.S. side was last in contact with Kim Hyok-chol and Kim Yong-chol, and who you see as your current interlocutors with the North Koreans? And finally, when were you when were the last direct contacts, direct talks, between United States and North Korea? Many thanks. SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, I'm not going to answer the question about the conversations with North Korea. We conduct our negotiations in private. The same thing holds true for our conversations about the release of American detainees. I want every family of every American who is held unjustly by the Islamic Republic of Iran to know we take it seriously. The Levinson family, all of the families that are impacted by this wholly unjust detention of American citizens by the Islamic Republic of Iran, is something that is at the center of what we work on each and every day. But I'm not going to talk about the scope of the conversations or who may be helping us get them back. Know that the United States is working with all willing nations to assist us in getting those folks returned. Your first question again, sir? QUESTION: It was essentially about President Rouhani's remarks the other night. SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah. We're prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We're ready to sit down with them. But the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue. MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much. One more question from the Swiss press. QUESTION: My name is Rafaella Machine from the Swiss television. As far as free trade agreements are concerned, I would like to ask you what is your priority there? Where are they on the list of priorities? And to Federal Councilor Cassis, I would like to ask him if he's satisfied with the negotiation, today negotiations, and if you moved forward. SECRETARY POMPEO: It's a priority. We think engaging in these discussions is important. We want to do it as quickly as we can. We have important trade relationships here, and we'd like to get a good outcome, an outcome that is a winning outcome for each of the two countries. I can't speak to the actual timing over which we can achieve it, but today we both committed to doing our best to move forward this as expeditiously as we can. FOREIGN MINISTER CASSIS: (Via interpreter) I can confirm that we are very satisfied on both parties' commitment. Both parties are very much interested in concrete matters trade interests, economic interests. And you know that the trade balance is now in favor of Switzerland right now, so to open up the market more means what kind of mechanisms are putting into discussion again, and we have to come up with a new balance. But today we have committed ourselves to continue those exploratory talks so as to clear whether we want or not to open a negotiations on these free trade agreements. It might last a little longer than expected, because if you want to open the negotiations is to finish it up quickly, not to go on for too long. MS ORTAGUS: James Rosen, Sinclair. QUESTION: Thank you. First, on behalf of the American traveling party, I want to say how grateful we all are to be exposed to such an extraordinary and beautiful setting, so thank you for taking us here. Gentlemen, with your indulgence, I have two questions on Iran for the Secretary, but I will begin with one question on a different topic for the foreign minister. Sir, do you see President Trump with his words, his actions, his conduct, his "American First" foreign policy, enhancing or harming the image of America in your country? And for Secretary Pompeo, with respect to the latest IAEA report covering Iran's alleged compliance with the JCPOA, do you regard that what the report had to say about Iran's installation of advanced centrifuges constitutes a violation of the accord? And then secondly, where the report stated that the agency had had access to all sites in Iran to which it needed to have access, do you agree? And if not, has the Trump administration suggested to the IAEA any sites which Washington believes should be inspected? Thank you. FOREIGN MINISTER CASSIS: (Via interpreter) I'll go first and I'll reply to the question on President Trump's enhancing or not the image of the U.S. in Switzerland. I can say that it's not up to a state to judge another state's work or the president of another state's work. Secondly, both realities are true. In Switzerland, I feel that there is a perception of a very profile president, and of course, that's dividing the opinions. Part of Switzerland believes that the image has been enhanced, and another part believes that he hasn't. This happens all over the world in human relations. We smile if somebody has shares the same opinion with us, and we dislike those who don't agree with us. But globally speaking, going beyond social psychology, we have figures trade exchanges which have never been as good as they are right now with the U.S. So we are amongst the top 10 trade partners of the U.S. We're number seven in the ranking. We create jobs for half of million people in the U.S. with a very with very high wages over there. And so there is a very strong relation binding Switzerland and the U.S., let alone the scientific world, where we are really cooperating strongly. And multilaterally speaking, despite what seems to go against multilateralism, today we have discussed this with Secretary Pompeo and again in the past in February with Secretary Bolton. So our aim is to go back to the initial mission, and of course, the multilateral organizations need to do this. And we believe it's got to be done from the inside, not from the outside, like they believe it should be done. So this was always Swiss vocations. We both want a multilateral system which works, a credible and an effective one. And this is why the common values are still common today like they were in the past. Thank you very much for your appreciating our invitation to Bellinzona. I've been extremely happy as foreign ministry to do something for my canton, my little corner of the country. There's not much more I can do. I cannot build roads or railroads or bridges or open schools, but I can invite people to this side of the country. And having such an important representative coming to Switzerland and seeing the castles is something that makes me very proud, let me say so. SECRETARY POMPEO: Again, and it's been thrilling for me to come here too to the Italian part as a Pompeo, again to come back to a very special place. And I really thank the foreign minister for doing that. I just want to comment on your first question as well. I think the foreign minister got it exactly right. If you look at the relationship between our two countries for these past now two years and a handful of months, they are significantly more robust than they were in the previous administration. Our trade relationships are strong. Our conversations are candid and clear. I think what we have been able to do together in these two years has fundamentally put the trajectory of the U.S.-Switzerland relationship on the right course. And I hope we in the months and years ahead can continue to do that. You asked about the IAEA report. I don't want to comment on that other than to say is that we're tracking closely the work product of the IAEA. We also have our own independent understanding of what's taking place there. And the world should be mindful that we are watching closely how Iran is complying with the requirements that were set out in the JCPOA, not only the heavy water issue but the amount of highly enriched uranium which they are accumulating. We are watching closely as they put centrifuges into work, and whether they're actually beginning to spin those centrifuges and load those centrifuges. We are very mindful of these issues. And this really gets to your third question about America's efforts to make sure that we have a deep understanding of what's going on there and whether there is not only JCPOA compliance we've withdrawn from the deal; but importantly, if there's work taking place that presents risk to the world, that Iran will begin to move forward on its program to develop its nuclear capabilities which threaten the entire world in which every country, every European country, agrees presents real risk. And so yes, we have urged the IAEA to make sure that they are looking at all the right places, to do all the things that need to be done to ensure JCPOA compliance. That's their mission set. But you should know independently of that we are doing our work to make sure that Iran never ends up in a place where it can have a nuclear weapon. It's why we withdrew from the JCPOA. It was a time-limited agreement that allowed them to build out their missile program, as you can see, to within hours be able to begin to spin centrifuges. These were the fundamental failings that President Trump identified when we made the decision to move down that path. Other countries have chosen a different path, but collectively we all understand the need to ensure that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not have the capacity to build out a nuclear weapons program that threatens us all. QUESTION: Are they in violation? SECRETARY POMPEO: Yeah, we're looking at it constantly. We've been doing that for years and we'll continue to do that. I don't have a conclusion that I'm going to provide for you today. Thank you, James. You can ask one more time if you like. (Laughter.) MODERATOR: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much for being here today. The press conference is now over. Have a good afternoon. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Envoy Discusses Afghan Peace in Visit to Pakistan By Ayaz Gul June 02, 2019 U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, visited Pakistan Sunday at the beginning of his 16-day multi-nation trip that will also take him to Qatar for another round of peace negotiations with the Taliban. Officials said Khalilzad held delegation-level talks at the Foreign Ministry before meeting with other senior Pakistani civilian and military leaders during his day-long stay in Islamabad. The Pakistani government takes credit for arranging the U.S.-Taliban peace dialogue by using its contacts with the Afghan insurgent group. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that in the talks with Khalilzad's team its delegation reiterated Pakistan's commitment for Afghan peace. "It encouraged all sides to agree to seize the moment to end the prolonged conflict through a political settlement," Faisal added. US-Taliban talks Afghan-born chief American negotiator Khalilzad has held six rounds of direct talks with Taliban envoys in the Qatari capital of Doha since the process began last fall in a bid to bring an end to what has now become the longest U.S. overseas military intervention. At the end of their latest round of discussions in early May, insurgent officials and Khalilzad noted the two sides have reached a preliminary draft agreement that would see foreign troops leave Afghanistan in exchange for assurances the Taliban would disallow transnational terrorists from using Afghan soil for attacks against other countries. Khalilzad tweeted on Saturday he would "try to bring the first two parts of our peace framework to closure" during the engagement with the Taliban later this month. "We've made substantial progress over the last month. On this trip, I want to take that momentum and accelerate the Afghan peace process," he noted. The American envoy in previous statements repeatedly explained that a final agreement must also cover a Taliban cease-fire and the insurgent group's participation in internal peace talks in post-withdrawal Afghanistan. For its part, the insurgent group has refused to discuss issues related to a cease-fire and intra-Afghan peace talks until all American and other foreign troops leave the country. The differences have slowed down, if not stalemated, further progress in U.S.-Taliban meetings. Skeptics continue to caution Washington against concluding a deal without seeking political reconciliation and other pledges from the Taliban. "Pushing process forward is good, but "closure" of US-Taliban deal on troop withdrawal in exchange for counter-terrorism promises before peace talks among Afghans have even begun is a dangerous concession. Balance of leverage would shift even more to Taliban," tweeted Laurel Miller, a former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Taliban chief rejects cease-fire calls On Saturday, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada again rejected cease-fire calls and stopped just short of saying his group's demand for foreign troop withdrawal must be met for ending the current stalemate in the dialogue process. "The Islamic Emirate [Taliban] with its peaceful policy invites America to adopt a policy of reason and understanding, to remain a sincere partner in the negotiations process and accept the logical proposals of the Islamic Emirate for advancement of this process," emphasized Akhundzada in his annual message ahead of this week's Muslim festival of Eid in Afghanistan. Khalilzad in his response, tweeted Sunday that the Taliban leader's statement provides "some welcome support" for the Afghan peace process. "At the same time, the statement's bombastic tone is unnecessary and only serves to complicate and disrupt as we advance peace talks, lamented the American envoy. The Taliban statement, he noted, suggests the United States seeks violence. "We do not. The level of violence in Afghanistan is unacceptable and we have no desire to perpetuate it," Khalilzad stressed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Afghan Violence Reports: Nearly 2,300 Casualties in May By Ayaz Gul June 02, 2019 The armed conflict in Afghanistan has reportedly caused more than 2,300 casualties, including 1,317 deaths, over the past month in operations conducted by pro-government forces and Taliban insurgents. The private Afghan news agency, Pajhwok, released the casualty figures Sunday, crediting its own sources from across 30 out of 34 provinces of the war-shattered country. It noted the casualties in May increased by an alarming 37 percent compared to the previous month. It said that victims included Afghan security forces, insurgents and civilians. There is no let up in the violence as the Afghan Defense Ministry claimed to have killed nearly 200 Taliban fighters in the past 24 hours while the insurgent group also has made similar assertions of inflicting massive casualties on government forces. A bomb explosion also struck a bus carrying students in the capital Kabul on Sunday, causing more than 22 casualties. Separately, an Afghan watchdog reported Sunday that the violence killed nearly 190 civilians, including 33 children, and injured 340 others in May. The Civilian Protection Advocacy Group (CPAG) said in its monthly report that the number of fatalities almost doubled in the past month, which was also the Muslim holy month of fasting. The non-governmental organization said that most of the civilian casualties occurred in capital Kabul and the provinces of Nangarhar, Herat, Ghazni and Helmand. It blamed landmines, suicide attacks, bomb blasts and incidents of targeted killings. The second major cause for the civilian casualties during the previous month were airstrikes by pro-government forces, according to the CPAG. The watchdog urged the warring sides to protect civilian lives and seek a resolution to the Afghan conflict. The United Nations has also warned the civilian casualty toll continues to rise and documented 1,773 civilian casualties, including 581 deaths, in the first three months of 2019. The number of casualties has particularly been increasing since the Taliban unleashed its annual spring in mid-April, which leads to intensified battlefield and other violence in Afghanistan. A U.S.-led initiative to seek a negotiated settlement to the war with the Taliban is currently underway but the insurgents have refused to cease fighting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon Tells White House Not to Politicize Military By Carla Babb June 02, 2019 The Pentagon has told the White House to keep the military out of politics, after someone from the White House directed the Navy to keep the warship USS John S. McCain "out of sight" when President Donald Trump visited Japan. "On Friday, May 31, Secretary Shanahan directed his Chief of Staff to speak with the White House Military Office and reaffirm his mandate that the Department of Defense will not be politicized," Shanahan's spokesman Army Lt. Col. Joe Buccino said Sunday. Eric Chewning, Shanahan's chief of staff, told the defense secretary that he had reinforced this message to the White House, according to Buccino. "There's no room for politicizing the military," Shanahan told reporters aboard a U.S. military aircraft en route to Seoul. "We take these things seriously, and my office and others will deal with it directly." The directive to hide the USS John S. McCain from Trump was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. An email seen by VOA showed discussions about the warship between the White House Military Office and an officer with the U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet ahead of Trump's trip. "USS John McCain needs to be out of sight," reads the email's third bullet-pointed request. "Please confirm #3 will be satisfied," the email emphasized. Shanahan confirmed Sunday that the White House Military Office gave the directive that the warship should be hidden from view "directly" to the Navy's Seventh Fleet, which manages naval operations in the Western Pacific. "The directive was not carried out," Shanahan added. According to Shanahan, officials have told him that a white tarp was placed over the ship's stern on the days preceding the visit, but the tarp was for "hull preservation" and was removed prior to the president's visit. A paint barge was moved the day prior to Trump's visit "to support ongoing maintenance," but the barge "did not obscure the view of the ship during the visit," said Shanahan. Sailors with the USS John S. McCain and the USS Stethem were on a 96-hour Memorial Day weekend liberty unrelated to the visit and did not participate in the Trump event, he confirmed. VOA had previously reported these details provided by a U.S. Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Shanahan said he had called the late Senator John McCain's wife "a couple days ago" after news of the incident broke, but declined to discuss the "private conversation. On Thursday, Shanahan said he did not authorize and was not aware of the White House directive to hide the USS John S. McCain from Trump. "I would never dishonor the memory of a great American patriot like Senator [John] McCain," Shanahan told reporters traveling with him. "I'd never disrespect the young men and women who crew that ship." Trump tweeted Thursday that he was not informed about the controversy surrounding the USS John S. McCain during his visit to Japan. The president later told reporters outside the White House that whoever was involved in the move was "well meaning" but that he was unaware of the decision to hide the warship. "I don't know what happened. I wasn't involved. I would not have done that," he said, adding, "I was not a big fan of John McCain in any way, shape or form." Trump frequently feuded with longtime Republican senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who died last year. The USS McCain was originally named for the senator's father and grandfather, both Navy admirals, and now honors all three men. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump calls Mexico an 'abuser' of US, defends trade move Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 10:51PM US President Donald Trump has ruled out the possibility of holding talks with Mexico to resolve differences with the southern neighbor and accused the country of abusing the United States. Bilateral ties between the two neighbors have been on shaky ground since the American head of state pledged to build a long wall along the US-Mexico border to stop the flow of immigrants into his country and said he would make Mexico pay for it. "The problem is that Mexico is an "abuser" of the United States, taking but never giving. It has been this way for decades," Trump said in tweet on Sunday. "Either they stop the invasion of our Country by Drug Dealers, Cartels, Human Traffickers...Coyotes and Illegal Immigrants, which they can do very easily, or our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border, will be brought back into the United States through taxation (Tariffs)," he added. "America has had enough!" Trump announced in a statement on Thursday that Washington would impose tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in an effort to curb the flow of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border. The White House website said the tariffs will start at 5 percent on June 10 and increase monthly until reaching 25 percent on October 1 unless Mexico takes immediate action. In another tweet on Sunday, the US president also lashed out at Democrats and urges them to vote with Republicans "to fix the loopholes" without further elaboration. "The Democrats are doing nothing on the Border to address the Humanitarian and National Security Crisis! Could be fixed so easily if they would vote with Republicans to fix the loopholes," Trump wrote. The comments were made ahead of a planned high-level meeting in Washington this week to discuss the border situation. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is expected to meet with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, and other officials to attempt to defuse the trade dispute over the new tariffs. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador expressed optimism on Saturday about achieving "good results" from the talks and called the US president his "friend." Last Thursday, a federal judge turned down the US administration's request to begin building the wall using Pentagon funds while it appeals an earlier order blocking the use of the funds. Building the wall was one of Trump's most frequently repeated campaign promises. He vowed to crack down on illegal immigration in part by building the wall on the border with Mexico but more than three years into his term, the US president has failed to fulfill that promise. Congress refusal to provide the president with the $5.7 billion he needs to build the wall resulted in the longest government shutdown in the US. On January 25, the president signed legislation to temporarily end the 35-day partial government shutdown, dropping his previous insistence on immediate funding for construction of the barrier. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Speech at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue by Gen. Wei Fenghe, State Councilor and Minister of National Defense, PRC Global Times By Wei Fenghe Source:Global Times Published: 2019/6/2 10:57:51 Speech at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue by Gen. Wei Fenghe State Councilor and Minister of National Defense, PRC 2 June, 2019 It gives me great pleasure to attend the 18th Shangri-la Dialogue. I would like to thank Dr. John Chipman for inviting me here and thank the Singapore government, the Ministry of Defense in particular, for the warm hospitality. I would also like to congratulate His Excellency Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on his excellent keynote address the other day. This is my first attendance at the Shangri-la Dialogue as China's defense minister. I am here for mutual confidence, cooperation and peace. I am glad to speak on China and International Security Cooperation. I. Humanity is at a crossroad. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is the right path forward and the trend of the times. The world today is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Destabilizing, uncertain factors and challenges continue to rise. President Xi Jinping's great vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind is the answer to harmonious coexistence of people across the world, the effective solution to global problems and the right path towards world peace and human progress. We take note that the US expounded on its perspective on regional affairs yesterday. We believe that any such perspective should take into account the common security and interests of regional countries. No approaches to regional issues should resort to military blocs, nor should they undermine the interests of others. We hold different views with the US side on several issues, and firmly oppose its wrong words and actions concerning Taiwan and the South China Sea. Now let's think about the following questions: First, which should we choose, peace and development or conflict and confrontation? Peace and development remain the call of our times and the trend of history. However, global and regional hotspots flare up one after another and the risk of conflict and war persists. What is the cause for regional wars and conflicts, the spread of terrorism, the chaos in the Middle East and the refugee crisis in Europe? Who are behind all these and what is the root cause? These are the questions to be reflected on. Some deliberately create division and hostility, provoke confrontation, meddle with regional affairs, interfere in internal affairs of others, and frequently resort to arms. Whose interests on earth do they serve and whose do they harm? Second, which should we choose, openness and inclusiveness or isolation and exclusiveness? See the world with an open and inclusive mind, and there will be friends and partners everywhere. See the world with a narrow and exclusive mind, and there are only enemies and adversaries. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. However, lately we see a growing backlash against globalization and a surge of protectionism. A certain country champions unilateralism, puts its own interests before others, withdraws from international treaties and organizations. Aren't there many countries suffering from the willful infringement and sanctions? Third, which should we choose, win-win cooperation or zero-sum game? Win-win cooperation makes the pie bigger and brings more benefits to all. However, zero-sum game makes no winner and harms the interests of both sides. Currently, over 150 countries and international organizations have proactively joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Not long ago, over 6,000 delegates from 150 countries and 92 international organizations gathered in Beijing for the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. People can tell what is right. Fourth, which should we choose, mutual learning among civilizations or arrogance and prejudice? A few days ago, China successfully hosted the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. We believe that human civilizations are and should be colorful, equal, inclusive and willing to learn from each other. Not a single civilization should be worshiped or belittled. There are scars and tragedies in the history of human civilization which do not go away, to name only a few, the enslavement of Africans, the expulsion of native American Indians, the colonization in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and the killing of Jewish people. Unfortunately, some people recently pick up the decadent idea of "clash of civilizations". As racist and narrow-minded as it is, this is not right. How can we tolerate such a regress of history? II. Facing complex and volatile international security situation, the Chinese government and armed forces stay committed to regional and world prosperity and stability. Those who are familiar with China's modern history must know that the country was once poor and weak and went through enormous misery. The Chinese people know only too well the value of peace and the cruelty and destructiveness of war. Over the years, some have been recklessly hyping up, exaggerating and dramatizing the "China threat theory", partly due to the lack of understanding of China's history, culture and policies, but more likely due to misunderstanding, prejudice, or even a hidden agenda. China sticks to the path of peaceful development. Such a commitment is underpinned by China's socialist system, the independent foreign policy of peace, and the cultural tradition that values peace and harmony. China shall follow the path of peaceful development, which is a solemn commitment to the people of China and the world. This has been written into the Constitution of the Communist Party of China and the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, thus reaffirmed as the will of the CPC and the state. If this is not even convincing enough for some people, then we don't know what they would believe? Over the past 70 years since the founding of the P.R.C., China has never provoked a war or conflict, nor has it ever invaded another country or taken an inch of land from others. In the future, no matter how strong it becomes, China shall never threaten anyone, seek hegemony or establish spheres of influence. History has proven and will continue to prove that China will not follow the beaten path of big powers seeking hegemony when it grows strong. Hegemony does not conform to China's values and national interests. China adopts a military strategy of active defense. China's military strategy adheres to the principles of defense, self-defense and post-strike response. It stresses that "we will not attack unless we are attacked, but we will surely counterattack if attacked". China develops its military entirely for self-defense. The purpose is to defend the country and provide the people with a peaceful working environment, and ensure that our people are free from the disasters of war and enjoy a better life. We have never bullied or preyed on others, and we shall not let others bully or prey on us either. China develops its military to cope with security threats. Similar scenario can be found in the past when China had to develop nuclear capabilities of its own under nuclear threat. China's defense expenditure is reasonable and appropriate. China enhances national defense in order to meet the legitimate needs to defend its own security as well as contribute to the world force for peace. The Chinese military is dedicated to safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. The PLA is the people's force under the leadership of the CPC. The PLA has fought many battles and is not afraid of sacrifice. In face of aggression, coercion or hardships, it has stridden forward from victory to victory. The more severe the pressure and difficulties are, the stronger and braver the Chinese people become. Adversity only brings our nation greater solidarity and strength. As the lyrics of the Chinese national anthem go, "Arise, all those who do not want be enslaved. Let's build the new Great Wall with our flesh and blood." Faced with daunting and complex security challenges, the PLA vows not to yield a single inch of the country's sacred land, but it shall not seize anything from others either. The PLA has no intention to cause anybody trouble, but it is not afraid to face up to troubles. Should anyone risk crossing the bottom line, the PLA will resolutely take action and defeat all enemies. The Chinese military stays committed to safeguarding regional and world security and stability. China is an active supporter of UN Peacekeeping Operations. It is the largest troop contributor among the permanent members of the UN Security Council and a major contributor of funds. We have established a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops that is ready to be deployed. For years, China has been active in promoting bilateral and multilateral security cooperation. The China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination has been running at a high level. The state-to-state and military-to-military relations between China and the US remain generally stable, despite twists and difficulties. We have strengthened the sense of shared destiny with ASEAN countries, deepened traditional friendship with India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries, maintained peaceful coexistence and good-neighborliness with surrounding countries, and built good relationship with the countries and militaries of Africa and Latin America. In October this year, China will host the 9th Beijing Xiangshan Forum. We welcome defense and military leaders and scholars from all over the world to attend the Forum. III. While striving for common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, we must respect the core interests and accommodate the security concerns of all. China advocates that all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are equal members of the international community. We should respect and accommodate the legitimate security concerns of one another. China understands and respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries, and supports the social systems and development paths they independently choose. China is not able to progress in isolation from the rest of the world; the world also needs China to prosper. We in China do not covet the interests, nor envy the development, of others. However, we shall never give up our legitimate rights and interests. No country should ever expect China to allow its sovereignty, security and development interests to be infringed upon. As for the recent trade friction started by the US, if the US wants to talk, we will keep the door open. If they want a fight, we will fight till the end. As what the general public of China says these days, "A talk? Welcome. A fight? Ready. Bully us? No way." I would like to further illustrate China's position on a few issues you may be interested in. First, on Taiwan. The Taiwan question bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Not a single country in the world would tolerate secession. I visited the US last year. American friends told me that Abraham Lincoln was the greatest American president because he led the country to victory in the Civil War and prevented the secession of the US. The US is indivisible, so is China. China must be and will be reunified. We find no excuse not to do so. If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs for national unity. Hereby, I have a message for the DPP authorities and the external forces. First, no attempts to split China shall succeed. Second, foreign intervention in the Taiwan question is doomed to failure. We took note that the US side mentioned the Taiwan Relations Acts in yesterday's speech. Is it of Taiwan or the US? Is it a Chinese law or an international law? We can find no justifiable reasons for the US to interfere in the Taiwan question by its domestic law. Third, any underestimation of the PLA's resolve and will is extremely dangerous. We will strive for the prospects of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and greatest efforts, but we make no promise to renounce the use of force. Safeguarding national unity is a sacred duty of the PLA. If the PLA cannot even safeguard the unity of our motherland, what do we need it for? Second, on the South China Sea. The current situation in the South China Sea is improving towards greater stability. It is attributed to the common efforts of the countries in the region. However, there are always people trying to rake in profits by stirring up troubles in the region. Before the Dialogue, I paid a visit to Vietnam and Singapore and reached broad consensus with Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and Dr. Ng Eng Hen on maintaining the stability in the South China Sea. I have a few questions concerning the issue to discuss with you. First, who on earth is threatening security and stability in the South China Sea? Over 100,000 ships sail through the South China Sea each year. None has been threatened. The problem, however, is that in recent years some countries outside the region come to the South China Sea to flex muscles, in the name of freedom of navigation. The large-scale force projection and offensive operations in the region are the most serious destabilizing and uncertain factors in the South China Sea. Second, who would benefit and who would suffer from the chaos in the South China Sea? In case of chaos in the South China Sea, we, the regional countries, are the ones to take the blunt. What are the purposes for certain countries to send military vessels and aircraft all the way from afar to the region? Aren't there enough examples that some big countries intervene in regional affairs, make troubles, walk away and leave a mess behind? Third, should the stability in the South China Sea be maintained by countries in the region or outside the region? China and ASEAN countries have made positive progress in negotiating the COC. We hope that relevant parties will not underestimate the wisdom and ability of regional countries to properly handle differences and maintain peace. However, we welcome constructive suggestions from all countries. Fourth, is China's construction on its South China Sea islands and reefs militarization? It is the legitimate rights of a sovereign state to carry out construction on its own territory. China built limited defense facilities on the islands and reefs for self-defense. Where there are threats, there are defenses. In face of heavily armed warships and military aircraft, how can we stay impervious and not build some defense facilities? Third, on the DPRK nuclear issue. China is committed to denuclearization, peace and stability of the Peninsula and to a negotiated solution through dialogue and consultation. In recent years, the Chinese side has made active efforts in promoting peace talks and played an irreplaceable and constructive role. We hope that the US and the DPRK will accommodate each other's concerns with cool heads and patience, work towards the same goal and resume the dialogue for peace at an early date. The US and the DPRK should follow the dual-track approach and combine denuclearization with the establishment of a peace mechanism. We hope that the international community will positively respond to the legitimate concerns of the DPRK, trigger the reversible clause of the UN Security Council resolutions in due course, push for a declaration on the end of the war, and actively build trust among all parties. Fourth, on China-US relations. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the US. Despite all the ups and downs, China-US relationship has been steadily growing in the past 40 years. The most valuable lesson we have learned from the 4-decade-long relationship is that cooperation benefits the two sides while confrontation hurts both. Looking forward, the two countries should follow the consensus by the two heads of state and promote a China-US relationship featuring coordination, cooperation and stability. Through continued communication, the militaries of the two countries have agreed on many important issues. First, in terms of implementing the consensus of the heads of state, the two militaries agreed on building their relationship a stabilizer for the overall relations. Second, we agree on maintaining regular communication on the strategic level. The day before yesterday, I had a candid and practical discussion with Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan. We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining communication and to develop a constructive military-to-military relationship. Third, in terms of managing risks and preventing conflicts, the two sides recognize that military conflicts or even a war between them would bring disasters to both countries and the world. It takes two to cooperate, but only one to start a fight. We hope that the US side will work with us towards the same goal, follow the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and steer the China-US relations in the right direction. The achievement China has made in the past 70 years since the country was founded is not a windfall or a handout from others. Neither was it made by engaging in military expansion or colonial exploitation. Instead, the country has developed through its people's hard work, wisdom and bravery as well as the win-win cooperation with the world since reform and opening-up. At present, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, China enjoys political stability, social cohesion and steady economic growth. Blessed with peace, harmony, prosperity and good governance, the country is making progress on all fronts. The Chinese people are committed to realizing the Chinese Dream of great national rejuvenation. The Chinese military is ready to work with the armed forces of other Asia-Pacific countries to jointly respond to challenges, promote NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Wei's speech demonstrates China's confidence Global Times By Li Aixin in Singapore Source:Global Times Published: 2019/6/3 0:23:07 Tackling sensitive questions head on shows 'frank' image The Chinese keynote speaker at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Sunday stunned attendees by responding to questions about Taiwan, South China Sea and other sensitive issues, after a speech that showcased the full confidence of China and the Chinese military. The speech and remarks by Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe demonstrated China's strong determination to safeguard its sovereignty as he insisted "China must be and will be reunified" and "if anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs for national unity." Wei warned the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities and external forces that try to interfere in China's domestic affairs, saying no attempts to split China shall succeed and foreign intervention in the Taiwan question is doomed to fail. The DPP is a pro-secessionist political party in the island of Taiwan. It was extremely dangerous to underestimate the determination and will of the Chinese military, Wei asserted. "If the People's Liberation Army [PLA] cannot safeguard the unity of the motherland, what do we need it for?" he asked. The minister's comments came as a response to remarks by US Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan a day earlier, who said the US would continue to meet "obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act" to conduct defense cooperation with the island of Taiwan. It was also a tough response to US provoking China on the Taiwan question, including sending naval vessels to the Taiwan Straits and passing acts in the US Congress to empower the US government to strengthen its connection with Taiwan secessionist forces. Zhou Bo, director of the Security Cooperation Center of the Office for International Military Cooperation at China's Ministry of National Defense, told Global Times on Sunday that "Wei's attitude is firm. Taiwan question touches on China's core interests and Wei put it bluntly saying what do we need the PLA for if it cannot safeguard the country's unity? That means it is a self-evident question which needs no explanation." Wei slammed the legitimacy of the US to interfere in the Taiwan question. "We took note that the US side mentioned the Taiwan Relations Acts in yesterday's speech. Is it of Taiwan or the US? Is it a Chinese law or an international law? We can find no justifiable reasons for the US to interfere in the Taiwan question by its domestic law." Showing confidence Foreign observers attending the conference told the Global Times that the Wei's remarks were tough, but very frank and outlined China's policy clearly. Chinese experts said his remarks and performance showed the confidence of China and the Chinese military. Setting aside the Taiwan question, Wei also mentioned the South China Sea, saying that the US was threatening security and stability, and China's construction of islands for self-defensive purposes were to deal with the threat from the US. Wei said, "Where there are threats, there are defenses. In the face of heavily armed warships and military aircraft, how can we stay impervious and not build some defense facilities?" Some observers from within the region found the statement powerful and convincing. Commodore Sadeed A Malik Kashir from the Karachi Council on Foreign Relations, a Pakistani think tank, said China had the authority to speak like this. "Look at how many wars the US launched over the past decades" and "it might launch another war against Iran very soon," he said. China had not invaded anyone, Kashir said, and so "when Wei talks about regional peace and stability, he makes a stronger point than the US." Wei also issued direct answers to questions about vocational and educational training centers in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and "the June 4th incident." When a question was raised about the political turmoil between spring and summer in 1989, whispers could be heard around the conference hall. Wei quickly responded that since the incident passed 30 years ago, tremendous changes have taken place in China. "The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China took decisive measures to cease political turbulence, and thanks to that, China has maintained stability," and "If you come to China, you will understand it," he said. Pierre Noel, a senior fellow in economic and energy security at London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, expressed his appreciation for Wei's speech, saying "he covered the difficult subjects and did not avoid any of them. I think people liked his speech and it was very frank and very respectful as well." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China draws bottom line Global Times By Wang Cong Source:Global Times Published: 2019/6/3 0:18:39 Analysts: Key document lays groundwork for retaliation China on Sunday made clear that it would not give any ground on core issues of principle despite mounting pressure from US bullying on trade and technology and that it will "fight to the end" if forced, as officials issued a key document that harshly criticizes the US for repeatedly backtracking and jeopardising the trade talks. China's Position on the China-US Economic and Trade Consultations released by the State Council Information Office, offered China's most comprehensive response yet to US accusations since talks broke down last month and clearly draws China's bottom line for potential negotiations, analysts noted. "China will not bow under pressure and will rise to any challenge coming its way," the document read, "China is open to negotiation, but will also fight to the end, if needed." Draw bottom line Though Chinese officials have made similar comments before, it was necessary for China to clarify its stance and draw a bottom line in the trade talks in a written document, given continuing accusations and bullying from US officials, said Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. "The US has become so unreliable that we must draw our bottom line clearly. That way, if they can accept it, we can; if not, why waste time?" Tu told the Global Times on Sunday. The white paper stated that China's "sovereignty and dignity must be respected, and any agreement reached by the two sides must be based on equality and mutual benefit. On major issues of principle, China will not back down." The document comes amid looming speculation about whether leaders of the two countries will meet during the G20 summit scheduled later this month in Japan. A meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, if it happens, is widely expected to reach some breakthrough as it did in Argentina in December 2018, when they reached a truce. However, in light of recent US actions, Chinese officials have appeared reluctant to agree to a meeting. Asked about the potential for such a meeting at a press briefing about the white paper on Sunday, Wang Shouwen, a vice commerce minister, said he had no information to offer. Wang said that China is open to talks but it must be based on mutual respect, mutual comprise and equality. "If we cannot achieve this, then there is no point for consultations; even if we talk, we won't be able to reach an executable and sustainable agreement," he said. Trade talks between the two countries stalled after the US announced on May 6 that it would increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, accusing Chinese officials for backtracking. The US has also blacklisted Chinese telecom Huawei citing national security concerns. China has also raised tariffs on $60 billion worth of US goods, which went into effect on Saturday, and said that it would establish an "unreliable entity list" of foreign companies and individuals who harm the interests of Chinese companies. US to blame The white paper released Sunday also pushed back on US officials' accusations that China had backtracked during negotiations. "The US government should bear the sole and entire responsibility for this severe setback," it stated, adding that "the US government's accusation of Chinese backtracking is totally groundless." The document detailed how it was the US that backpedaled three times over the past year. Even after China overcame difficulties to find pragmatic solutions to many issues raised by the US, it still wanted a yard after China offered an inch," said Wang, who is part of the Chinese negotiating team, noting that the US insisted on "unreasonable" demands, including terms that violate China's sovereignty. "If the US thinks it can force China to make concessions through maximum pressure and by escalating the trade friction, that's absolutely impossible," he said. "China will definitely not flinch under US pressure," Song Guoyou, director of Fudan University's Center for Economic Diplomacy, told the Global Times on Sunday, "If the US exerts more pressure, China will certainly take tougher countermeasures to retaliate." Though the white paper did not mention any countermeasure, it signals that, if forced, China will take necessary countermeasures, including restricting rare earths export to the US, analysts said. Asked whether China will restrict rare earths export to the US, Wang said that "it would be hard to accept" if some country uses products made of China's rare earths to contain China's development. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese defense official calls for efforts to avoid conflict at sea People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:46, June 02, 2019 SINGAPORE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense official on Saturday at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue called for reducing and avoiding close military activities at sea that are viewed by the other side as unfriendly or even hostile. "This is the most direct and effective way to avoid conflict at sea," said Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, director of the Center for Security Cooperation at the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese Defense Ministry. Zhou said that most of the existing rules are arrangements for accidental encounters, but tactical arrangements work best when both sides have a strategic consensus that they do not engage in conflict and do not confront each other. As the world's largest trading and exporting country, China attaches great importance to maritime security, and its initiative to jointly build the 21st century Maritime Silk Road is aimed at promoting maritime connectivity and practical cooperation in various fields, as well as promoting common security through economic development, said Zhou. Zhou added that due to the smooth progress of negotiations on the code of conduct in the South China Sea between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the situation in the region has calmed down significantly. However, some countries outside the South China Sea have obviously violated their commitments of not taking a position on the South China Sea issue, and have openly increased their involvement in the South China Sea, thus significantly increasing instability in the South China Sea, said the Chinese official. China is committed to working with other countries to safeguard maritime security, said Zhou, adding that China's consultations, dialogues and cooperation with other countries have played a positive role in promoting maritime security and avoiding maritime incidents and conflicts. He also called for cooperation between China and the United States to seek common ground while shelving differences on the principles of freedom of navigation. One side should not impose its own unilateral interpretation on the other side, and even send military vessels or aircrafts to conduct dangerous military activities in the other side's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone on the pretext of "freedom of navigation," he said. The 18th Shangri-La Dialogue, officially known as the Asia Security Summit, opened Friday with participants discussing the security situation and its challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. The dialogue has been held by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Singaporean government annually since 2002. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China makes 3-point proposal on enhancing defense cooperation in Asia-Pacific People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:45, June 02, 2019 SINGAPORE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China on Saturday made a three-point proposal on enhancing defense cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region at the Shangri-La Dialogue being held here. Addressing a special session on "New Model of defense cooperation" during the dialogue, Major General Ci Guowei, chief of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China's Ministry of National Defense, said China is fully aware that its peaceful development is closely linked with the future of the Asia-Pacific. "We advocate active bilateral and multilateral security dialogue and cooperation, and strive to facilitate regional cooperation in both economy and security," Ci said. "China adopts a holistic approach to security governance that addresses both symptoms and root causes. China's proposals on the Asia-Pacific security architecture are meant to complete and improve the existing mechanisms rather than overturn them and start all over again," he said. To this end, China proposes three points in enhancing defense cooperation in the region, he said. First, to promote positive interaction between major countries for defense cooperation. Only when major-country relations remain generally stable can the Asia-Pacific enjoy relative tranquility, Ci said, adding healthy interaction between major countries requires their joint efforts towards the same goal. Noting that while the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is running at a high level, the state to state and military and military relations between China the United States remain generally stable despite twists and difficulties, Ci said. China has always adhered to the principles of non conflict, non confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation in China-U.S. relations, he said. Second, to build an open and inclusive architecture for defense cooperation. Military blocs left over from the cold war were the choices of only a small number of countries and do not represent the preference of the majority of regional and international communities, Ci said. China advocates that all newly-proposed initiatives should be in favor of greater transparency and inclusiveness with wide participation, and fit in the era of integrated global economy, political pluralism and shared security, he said, adding none should undermine the interests of others or develop into exclusive military blocs, he said. Third, to enhance practical cooperation in non-traditional security. Compared with traditional security issues, non-traditional security is an area where countries have reached more consensus and carried out more joint engagement, Ci said. "Therefore, we should proceed from the lower-hanging fruits and continue our cooperation with non-traditional security as the priority for greater mutual trust." China will proceed in the right direction by continuing to pursue its own security in the bigger context of maintaining security for all in the region and promoting cooperation with innovated security concept so as to contribute to a bright future of the Asia-Pacific region, Ci said. Defense ministers from Canada, Australia, Japan, among others, also presented their views on enhancing defense cooperation in the region. Officially known as the Asia Security Summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue has been organized and convened annually by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Singaporean government since 2002. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China does not want but is not afraid of a trade war: white paper People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:58, June 02, 2019 BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The China-US commercial relationship serves as both the ballast and the propeller of the overall bilateral relationship. At stake are the fundamental interests of the two peoples, and the prosperity and stability of the world, according to a white paper released Sunday by the State Council Information Office. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the US, bilateral trade and economic relations have come a long way, with expanding fields of cooperation at higher levels. A mutually beneficial and win-win relationship with strong complementarity and interlinked interests has been forged, benefiting not only the two countries but also the entire world, according to the white paper titled China's Position on the China-US Economic and Trade Consultations. Given the differences in stage of development and economic system, it is inevitable that the two countries will experience differences and friction in their commercial cooperation. The history of China-US trade and economic relations has seen twists and turns and difficult situations. By adopting a rational and cooperative attitude, the two countries have managed to resolve previous conflicts, bridge differences, and render the bilateral commercial relationship more mature through dialogue and consultation. Since it took office in 2017, the new US administration has threatened additional tariffs and other measures and provoked frequent economic and trade friction with its major trading partners. In response to the economic and trade friction unilaterally initiated by the US since March 2018, China has had to take forceful measures to defend the interests of the nation and its people, the white paper noted. At the same time, committed to resolving disputes through dialogue and consultation, China has engaged in multiple rounds of economic and trade consultations with the US in an effort to stabilize the bilateral commercial relationship. China's position has been consistent and clear - that cooperation serves the interests of the two countries, that conflict can only hurt both, and that cooperation is the only correct choice for both sides, it said. Concerning their differences and frictions on the economic and trade front, China is willing to work together with the US to find solutions, and to reach a mutually beneficial and win-win agreement. However, cooperation has to be based on principles. There are bottom lines in consultations. China will not compromise on major issues of principle. China does not want a trade war, but it is not afraid of one and it will fight one if necessary. China's position on this has never changed, the white paper pointed out. The white paper was issued by the Chinese government to provide a comprehensive picture of the China-US economic and trade consultations, and present China's policy position on these consultations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US accusation of China IP theft, forced technology transfer unfounded: white paper People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 11:01, June 02, 2019 BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Accusing China of stealing intellectual property to support its own development is an unfounded fabrication, according to a white paper titled China's Position on the China-US Economic and Trade Consultations released by the State Council Information Office on Sunday. Historical records confirm that China's achievements in scientific and technological innovation are not something we stole or forcibly took from others; they were earned through self-reliance and hard work, the white paper said. China has established a legal system for the protection of intellectual property that is consistent with prevailing international rules and adapted to China's domestic conditions. The understanding of the importance of intellectual property among the general public and business community in China has increased, the value of royalties paid to foreign rights-holders has risen significantly, and the number of intellectual property applications and registrations has surged, said the white paper. Former WIPO Director General Arpad Bogsch spoke highly of China's legal framework for intellectual property protection, noting that China's achievements are "unmatched in the history of intellectual property protection." The US Chamber of Commerce recognized that China is making concrete progress in creating an intellectual property environment appropriate to the 21st century. In its 2018 China Business Climate Survey Report, the American Chamber of Commerce in China noted that among the main challenges facing its member companies operating in China, concern over intellectual property dropped from 5th place in 2011 to 12th place in 2018. An article in The Diplomat predicted that China will become a leader in global intellectual property. Many of the concerns raised by foreign firms doing business in China have already been addressed through judicial reform and a strengthened enforcement mechanism, according to the white paper. In terms of some key innovation indices, China is already among the world's leading players, the white paper said. In 2017, total R&D investment in China reached RMB 1.76 trillion, ranking second in the world. The number of patent applications reached 1.382 million, ranking No. 1 in the world for the seventh consecutive year. The number of invention patents granted reached 327,000, up by 8.2 percent year-on-year. China ranks third in the world in terms of valid invention patents held, the white paper noted. China's economic development has benefited from international technology transfer and dissemination. International holders of technology have also reaped enormous benefits from this process, said the white paper. China encourages and respects voluntary technical cooperation between Chinese and foreign firms based on market principles. It strongly opposes forced technology transfer and takes resolute action against intellectual property infringement. Accusations against China of forced technology transfer are baseless and untenable, the document noted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China to 'fight at all costs' to defend Taiwan, South China Sea claims Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 08:10AM China says a war with the United States would be a disaster for the world as it warns Washington not to meddle in Taiwan and the South China Sea. Defense Minister Wei Fenghe warned Sunday that China will "resolutely take action" and "fight at all costs" to defend its sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and South China Sea waters. US President Donald Trump's administration stepped-up support for secessionist forces in Taiwan and US Navy sailings through the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from mainland China have incensed China. Wei told the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier defense summit, that China would "fight to the end" if anyone tried to interfere in Taiwan, which Beijing considers a sacred territory to be taken by force if necessary. "We will strive for the process of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and greatest efforts but we make no promise to renounce the use of force," Wei said. The United States, like most countries, has no formal ties with Taiwan, but is its strongest backer and main source of weapons. "China must be and will be reunified. We find no excuse not to do so. If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs, at all costs, for national unity," Wei said. His remarks came a day after Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said in Singapore that the US was investing heavily in the Indo-Pacific region with the aim of confronting China. "The Indo-Pacific is our priority theater. We are where we belong. We are investing in the region," he said. "We want to ensure no adversary believes it can successfully achieve political objectives through military force," Shanahan said, adding the US would no longer "tiptoe" around Chinese activities in Asia. China-US ties have become increasingly strained due to a bitter trade war. Tensions have further risen over the sailing of American warships and warplanes near a chain of islands in the South China Sea which Beijing considers its own. "Some countries from outside the region come to the South China Sea to flex muscles in the name of freedom of navigation," Wei said in a clear reference to the United States. Washington has long challenged China's sovereignty claims over most of the strategic waters, which act as gateway to trillions of dollars in annual maritime trade. The fresh war of words came just after Wei and Shanahan met on the sidelines of the conference Friday and agreed to improve communication and deepen exchanges and cooperation between their militaries. Wei said on Sunday a conflict or war between the United States and China would have wide-reaching effects. "It takes two to cooperate but only one to start a fight," he said. "We hope that the US side will work with us towards the same goal, follow the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and steer the China-US relations in the right direction." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China Blames Washington for Trade Talks Breakdown By Bill Ide June 02, 2019 China says Washington bears the "sole and entire responsibility" for the breakdown in trade talks earlier this month and that Beijing won't back down on matters of principle. In a defiant rebuttal of who is to blame, China released a white paper Sunday, arguing that it is the United States that has backtracked in the talks and that tariffs will not resolve the two country's trade issues. Since talks broke down earlier this month, Beijing has doubled-down, issuing its own tit-for-tat tariffs in response to Washington's increase to 25% of a tax on $200 billion in Chinese goods. Beijing has also been stepping up anti-American propaganda through state media. On Friday, China's Commerce Ministry announced the establishment of a "non-reliable entity list." That move was a response to Washington's ban on the sale of American made goods to Huawei and 68 of its affiliates. The ban is expected to go into effect in less than 90-days. Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, China's vice minister of commerce Wang Shouwen said it was Washington, not Beijing that was backpedaling. "If the U.S. side wants to use extreme pressure, to escalate trade friction, to force China to submit and make concessions, this is absolutely impossible," he said. Wang is a member of China's trade negotiating team. Speaking to reporters, he said that by announcing a decision to raise tariffs earlier this month while talks were ongoing and then later launching procedures for tariffs to cover $300 billion more in Chinese goods, Washington had broken an agreement reached by President Donald Trump and Xi Jinping late last year in Argentina. "During the consultations, China has overcome many difficulties and put forward pragmatic solutions. However, the U.S. has backtracked, and when you give them an inch, they want a yard," he said. In Argentina, Xi and Trump agreed to a temporary truce on raising tariffs. But there was no agreement to take that option off the table. Trump originally agreed to 90 days and later extended that period in early March citing progress in talks. In early May, however, Trump Tweeted that talks were moving too slowly and accused Chinese negotiators of trying to renegotiate the text of the agreement. That was one instance where the white paper argues that Washington backtracked, it also gives two other examples. The white paper also said American negotiators "insisted on mandatory requirements concerning China's sovereign affairs in the deal." It was not clear what that refers to, but earlier reports have suggested that having an enforcement mechanism as part of a trade agreement between the two sides has long been a tough pill for Beijing to swallow. In an April interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the countries had "pretty much agreed" on an enforcement mechanism, adding that both sides would set up "trade offices." It is unclear when the two sides may be able to resume talks, if at all. President Trump has said he is willing to meet with Xi later this month on the sidelines of Group of 20 Nations summit in Japan. China has yet to confirm the meeting. When asked about it on Sunday, Wang said he did not have any information to provide. One thing that is clear from the white paper is that China cares a lot about tariffs. The white paper said that one prerequisite for a trade deal is that the U.S. should remove all additional tariffs imposed on Chinese exports and keep demands for Beijing's purchase of goods "realistic." The paper gave several examples of how tariffs are having an impact on the United States and not good for either country or the global economy, but those critiques have all been part of the robust debate that is ongoing in the United States and elsewhere. In China, however, as Beijing struggles with a slowing economy, concerns about jobs and ballooning debt, authorities have clamped down on any reporting about the trade war that strays from the communist party's narrative. China has also stepped up anti-American propaganda, airing decades old movies about the Korean War, which Beijing fought alongside the North against international forces led by the United States. The Global Times claims the trade dispute "reminds Chinese of the military struggles between China and the U.S. during the Korean War." Some state media have called the trade war a "people's war" and there have been suggestions Chinese consumers should boycott American goods. But the effort to stir up nationalist fervor is a risky one for Beijing, analysts note. Too much public backlash could have an impact on stability and hurt investment as well, said Liu Meng-chun, director of the Chung-Hua Institution of Economic Research's mainland China division in Taiwan. "The reason why there are arising calls or nationalistic sentiment is because China is to a certain degree trying to reach a consensus in society and rally support behind the government so that the country can shoulder the consequences of the breakdown of the trade talks," Liu said. Joyce Huang contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Spokesman urges US to correct its anti-Iran policy IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, June 2, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Sunday urged Washington to correct its anti-Iranian policy instead of playing with words. For the Islamic Republic of Iran, playing with words is not important, but change of the US' general approach and practical measures is important, Abbas Mousavi said. He made the remarks in reaction to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement that Washington is ready to hold negotiations with Iran with no preconditions. Pompeo's stress on Washington's "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran shows the fact that the US seeks to continue its wrong approach, Mousavi added. He urged the US to correct its wrong policy towards Iran. This is while; Pompeo earlier mentioned 12 preconditions for holding talks with Iran. 9191**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zarif : Talks with Iran not to work under pressure IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, June 2, IRNA -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned the US against consequences of the economic warfare, saying negotiations with Iran will not work under pressure. "This may work in a real estate market. It does not work in dealing with Iran," Zarif said in an interview with US media 'ABC News' . He added: "It may work even with in dealing with other countries, for a brief period, not for long term, but it doesn't work with Iran for a brief period, or in medium or long." "If the objective of President Trump is to impose pressure on normal Iranians, on ordinary Iranians, he is certainly achieving that," Zarif noted. "But he will not achieve his policy objectives through pressure on the Iranians." Iranian top diplomat went on to say: "the prospects of potential talks are "not very likely, because talking is the continuation of the process of pressure." "The only thing that works with Iran is respect," he reiterated. He went on to say: "I've said it before, threats against Iran never work." "Never threaten an Iranian. Try respect, that may work." "We call this place the Persian Gulf for a reason," said Zarif. He added: "It's next to us. We have a right to defend ourselves." "Just imagine if Iran were to come to California coast [or the] Florida coast," he added. "How do you feel? How would you treat that? The United States is sending nuclear ships to our waters, to our vicinity." "I like to keep President Trump guessing because he likes everybody in the world to keep on guessing about what is happening in the United States," said Zarif. "We don't differentiate between economic war and military war," he cautioned. "The U.S. is engaged in war against us, and a war is painful to our participants. We have a very clear notion that in a war, nobody wins. In a war, everybody loses the loss of some will be greater than the loss of others." "All options are on the table belongs to the time when the use of force was legal, and that is about 100 years ago," said Zarif. "What we say is that we exercise our self defense. Self defense is allowed. President Trump has announced that he is engaged in a war and economic war against Iran, and we have an obligation to defend our people against that economic war." Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US is ready to hold negotiations with Iran with no preconditions. According to the US media 'Associated Press', Pompeo made the remarks Sunday in a meeting with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis. Although Switzerland as Foreign Interests Section of the US had mediated between the two countries, it is unclear whether Pompeo is seeking further assistance from Switzerland to protect American citizens arrested in Iran. Trump administration's officials said they will welcome any attempt for releasing at least five US citizens and two individuals with a permanent residence permit in Iran, who have been imprisoned in Iran. 9376**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pompeo: US ready to talk with Iran with no preconditions IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, June 2, IRNA -- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US is ready to hold negotiations with Iran with no preconditions. According to the US media 'Associated Press', Pompeo made the remarks Sunday in a meeting with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis. Although Switzerland as Foreign Interests Section of the US had mediated between the two countries, it is unclear whether Pompeo is seeking further assistance from Switzerland to protect American citizens arrested in Iran. Trump administration's officials said they will welcome any attempt for releasing at least five US citizens and two individuals with a permanent residence permit in Iran, who have been imprisoned in Iran. During his visits to four European states, Pompeo is trying to assure them that Trump administration is not after war. This is while, Pompeo earlier mentioned 12 preconditions for holding talks with Iran. 9376**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Commander: Iran not to compromise on its defensive power IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, June 2, IRNA -- Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major-General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri on Sunday reaffirmed Iranian sovereignty right to bolster defense power, saying that Iran never compromises on the main issue of Revolution, the self-defense. In his message which was released on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the demise of the Father of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini, Baqeri said that expansion of Iran's strategic depth and its regional authority have created new conditions and there is no doubt that today, no problem in West Asia can be solved without Iran's contribution. In spite of enjoying all-out support of West and some Arab countries, formation of the Islamic Resistance front has created security nightmare for the occupying regime of Israel, he added. He said that enemies of Islam need a big coalition to stand against Iran, adding that they will be defeated. The Islamic Revolution has entered its second phase for social life and and civilization by taking advantage of valuable experiences of 40 years strategic confrontation with enemies, Baqeri noted. Elsewhere in his remarks, Iranian commander said that the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran serves to beef up national security and boost defensive and deterrence power against Takfiri terrorism and the US cruel sanctions. 9376**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran, Turkey to create new financial mechanism ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sun / 2 June 2019 / 11:15 Tehran (ISNA) - Iran and Turkey are reportedly planning to establish a joint bank to promote trade in the face of the US sanctions campaign against the Islamic Republic. Iranian Ambassador to Turkey, Mohammad Farazmand was quoted as saying by a Turkish TV network that the two sides are working on the project. "Iran and Turkey are involved in mutual cooperation to create a new financial mechanism to pave the way for strengthening of trade ties amid the US sanctions," the Iranian diplomat said. Farazmand said Turkey is a major purchaser of Iranian gas and the exports need to increase. "So, we need a new mechanism. Parts of it are already in place," he said. "We should also establish a new exchange mechanism to further use our own national currencies instead of the US dollar in international trade." Farazmand stressed that Iran and Turkey are pressing ahead with their trade cooperation within the international law as all countries had a fundamental right to develop mutual ties. "Neither Iran nor Turkey are planning to do anything illegal. The cooperation is not meant to bypass the US sanctions," he said. Still, he said, the US has committed "economic terrorism" against both countries and kept violating their basic rights. Besides running a campaign of zero tolerance against Iran, the administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened Turkey with sanctions over its military ties with Russia, IFP reported. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Playing with words no enough, US must change its practical stance: Iran Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 10:56PM Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman says a game of words on the part of the United States is not important to Iran, but the Islamic Republic expects a change in Washington's general approach to the Iranian nation. Abbas Moussavi made the remarks on Sunday in reaction to the latest statements by the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Washington is willing to speak with Iran "with no preconditions." "For the Islamic Republic of Iran, a game of words and expressing covert goals under the guise of new words is not a criterion for action, but a change in the United States' general approach and practical stance toward the Iranian nation is the criterion," the Iranian spokesperson said. Moussavi added, "The emphasis put by Mr. Pompeo on the need to continue a campaign of maximum pressure on Iran is indicative of persistence of the wrong approach of the past, which needs to be rectified." Addressing a news conference in Switzerland earlier in the day, the US secretary of state said Washington is keen to hold negotiations with Iran "with no preconditions" amid the intensification of tensions between the two countries. "We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them," Pompeo said. He; however, added that the United States would continue working to rein in Iran's "malign activity." "The American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic Republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue," he said. The United States remarkably stoked tensions with Iran in May 2018 when US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and re-imposed harsh sanctions against the Islamic Republic in defiance of global criticisms. The tensions saw a sharp rise on the first anniversary of Washington's exit from the deal as the US moved to ratchet up the pressure on Iran by tightening its oil sanctions and building up its military presence in the region. Washington has since further increased the pressure on Iran, sending military reinforcements, including the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles, to the Middle East. Speaking weeks after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Pompeo laid out 12 tough conditions for any "new deal" with Tehran. The conditions included withdrawal of Iran's military advisers from Syria, who have been helping the country's legitimate government in its fight against terrorist outfits, which have been mostly aided and abetted by the US and its Western and regional allies. Later in December 2018, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif strongly dismissed the possibility of holding negotiations with the United States after Washington set conditions for talks with Tehran, saying the Islamic Republic will never talk to those who set conditions for it. In a post on his official Twitter account, Zarif released a video showing him seated with US journalist Robin Wright on the sidelines of the Doha Forum 2018 in the Qatari capital and wrote, "We will not talk to anybody who sets 12 conditions for us to talk to them after having violated a [UN] Security Council resolution that they sponsored themselves." Pompeo's Sunday comments marked the first time that the US administration has so clearly stated its willingness to open a no-strings-attached dialog with Iran. Late last month, Trump toned down his anti-Iran rhetoric after a period of saber-rattling that saw him and other US officials threaten the Islamic Republic with war in hope of getting concessions, saying his administration is not looking for regime change in Iran and would rather sit down for talks. "We're not looking for regime change, we're looking for no nuclear weapons. I really believe that Iran would like to make a deal, and I think that's very smart of them, and I think that's a possibility to happen," Trump said at a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo. Pompeo's new remarks on Iran talks come after various Iranian officials at high levels have frequently noted that following Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA, Tehran can no more trust it for any further negotiations on the nuclear issue. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei late in May ruled out the possibility of talks between Tehran and Washington, saying such negotiations will be "fruitless", "harmful", and "a total loss". "The Islamic Republic of Iran will absolutely not sit for talks with America because first, it bears no fruit and second, it is harmful," the Leader said in a meeting with a number of university professors, elites and researchers in Tehran. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on April 24 that Washington's claims of seeking negotiations with Iran are "mere lies" and that the United States, in fact, intends to force the Iranian nation to its knees. Contrary to what some are trying to promote, "the US is not willing for negotiations at all," the president told a cabinet session. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address POLO trial for advanced pancreatic cancer: a new standard of care Treatment with the drug olaparib significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death from metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to findings from the recently completed, international, phase-III POLO (Pancreas cancer OLaparib Ongoing) trial. Olaparib (trade name LYNPARZA, jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Merck) is a PARP inhibitor. It targets cancer cells that have a defect in DNA damage repair. Progression-free survival, the primary endpoint in this study, was 7.4 months on the olaparib arm, and 3.8 months on the placebo arm. From 6 months onwards, more than twice the proportion of patients on the olaparib arm were progression-free. "This is clearly a practice changing trial," said cancer specialist Hedy Kindler, MD, lead author of the study and a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. "It will change how we think about patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and who should consider germline testing." This global study -- to be featured at the Plenary Session at ASCO, the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology in Chicago, and published online June 2 in the New England Journal of Medicine -- is the first from a randomized trial to validate a targeted treatment in a biomarker-selected population of pancreatic cancer patients. Pancreatic cancer tends to be "very resistant to treatment," said Kindler. "There are few drug regimens with significant activity, and most clinical trials of new agents are unfortunately negative." "This is a devastating disease, with the briefest survival of any solid tumor," Kindler said. Pancreatic cancer will soon become the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III POLO trial focused on a selected group of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had inherited mutations in the BRCA 1 and 2 genes. The study screened 3,315 patients at 119 centers on 4 continents for germline BRCA mutations, which were detected in 7.5 percent of patients. After they received at least 16 weeks of platinum-based chemotherapy, 154 patients were randomized to receive either olaparib or placebo. Treatment continued until radiological exams detected progression of the disease. Beyond the improvement in progression-free survival, there were no new safety concerns with olaparib. Health-related quality of life was maintained with treatment. "About a quarter of these patients responded to olaparib for a median of two years, which is truly remarkable in a disease where most patients survive for less than a year," said Kindler, an internationally recognized authority on the treatment of pancreatic cancer and malignant mesothelioma. "That's almost unheard of," she added. "When we saw the progression-free survival data, my first reaction was a little scream of joy. We finally made real progress in the treatment of a subset of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer." One of Kindler's patients has been on the study for more than two years. "He's leading a normal life," she said, "feeling fine, living well and taking his pills twice a day." "In a disease where almost nothing works," she added, "it is truly remarkable to finally have a drug that makes such a difference, even for a small subset of patients." "A strategic approach of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy followed by maintenance olaparib treatment should become a new standard of care for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who have a germline BRCA mutation," Kindler said. ### Olaparib is FDA approved for patients with ovarian cancer and germline BRCA mutated breast cancer. The study was funded by AstraZeneca and Merck and by the NIH/NCI Cancer Center Support Grant P30-17 CA008748. Additional authors include Talia Golan from Tel Aviv University, Israel; Pascal Hammel from Hopitaux de Paris, Paris France; Michele Reni, Ospedale San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy; Eric Van Cutsem, University Hospitals, Gasthuisberg and Leuven, Belgium; Teresa Macarulla, Hebron University, Barcelona, Spain; Michael Hall, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Joon Oh Park, Samsung Medical Center, South Korea; Daniel Hochhauser, University College, London, UK; Dirk Arnold, Asklepsios Tumorzentrum, Hamburg, Germany; Do-Youn Oh, Cancer Research Institute, Seoul Korea; Anke Reinacher-Schick, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany; Giampaolo Tortora, Ospedaliera Universitaria, Verona, Italy; Hana Algul, Technische Universitat, Munich, Germany; Eileen O'Reilly, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA; David McGuinness and Karen Y Cui, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK; Katia Schlienger and Gershon Locker, Merck. This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. 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 First shot fired in Persian Gulf will push oil to over $100: Iranian commander Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 10:46PM A senior Iranian commander has dismissed the United States' aggressive posturing against Iran, reasoning that any potential confrontation in the Persian Gulf would instantly increase oil prices to over 100 dollars per barrel, something that Washington and its allies would not be able to endure. Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a top military adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, said in an interview with Fars on Sunday that America was all but blustering. "The first bullet fired in the Persian Gulf will push oil prices to above $100 [a barrel], and $100 oil would not be endurable for America, Europe, and America's friends like Japan and South Korea," he said. Safavi also said that the Americans had more than 25 military bases in the region, which hosted over 20,000 personnel, all of which he said were well within Iran's missile reach. He said US President Donald Trump knew that any war with Iran would bring about both a military defeat and massive economic costs for America. The United States recently took a quasi-warlike posture against Iran when it dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber task force, and an amphibious assault ship to the Persian Gulf, citing an alleged Iranian threat. Iran said it posed no threat to anyone but would defend itself against any aggression. 'Iran standing firm' Also on Sunday, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, who is the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, said that the country would not back away from its right to defend itself. In a message to mark 30 years since the passing of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, Major General Baqeri said Iran would not hesitate to defend its independence, territorial integrity, and national security. Iran's missile might 'non-negotiable' Separately on Sunday, Coordinating Deputy of Islamic Republic of Iran Army Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the country's missile might was non-negotiable. He dismissed the possibility of holding talks with any foreign country on Iran's defensive might. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pompeo Says U.S. Willing To Talk To Iran With 'No Preconditions' By RFE/RL June 02, 2019 U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the United States is willing to talk to Iran with "no preconditions" but will continue to pressure the country. Pompeo made the comments on June 2 after talks with his Swiss counterpart, Ignazio Cassis, in the southern Swiss town of Bellinzona. Switzerland represents U.S. interests in Iran. "We are prepared to engage in a conversation with no preconditions. We are ready to sit down with them," Pompeo told a joint news conference with Cassis, adding that "the American effort to fundamentally reverse the malign activity of this Islamic republic, this revolutionary force, is going to continue." Responding to Pompeo's remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said that Iran "does not pay attention to word-play." He also ruled out talks between Tehran with Washington unless the United States changes its "general behavior." Relations between Iran and the United States have plummeted since Washington one year ago pulled out of the 2015 nuclear accord between world powers and Tehran. Since then, Washington has reimposed sanctions, stepped up its rhetoric, and beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, citing "imminent threats" from Iran. Tehran dismisses the allegations. Both U.S. and Iranian officials have said that they are not seeking a war. U.S. President Donald Trump has signaled willingness to negotiate with Iranian leaders, telling reporters on May 30: "If they want to talk, I'm available." However, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has rejected talks with Washington, saying that negotiating with the current U.S. administration would be "poisonous." President Hassan Rohani on June 1 suggested that Iran may be willing to hold talks if Washington showed it respect, but said Tehran would not be pressured into talks. And in an interview with U.S. television network ABC broadcast on June 2, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that it was "not very likely" that Tehran would agree to talks with Washington any time soon. Trump "is imposing pressure," Zarif said, insisting that "threats against Iran never work." "Try respect. That may work," he added. At the joint press conference with Pompeo, Cassis said that Switzerland would be pleased to serve as an intermediary, but not a "mediator," between the United States and Iran. To do so, however, would require requests from both sides, the Swiss foreign minister said. Cassis did not say whether such a request has been made. "The situation is very tense and we are fully aware of these tensions. Switzerland, of course, wishes there to be no escalation to violence with Iran," he said, adding: "Both parties are now increasing the pressure and this is a worry for us." In announcing the U.S. pullout from the nuclear deal that curbed Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions, Trump said the terms were not tough enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and did not address the country's missile program or its support for militants in the region. Iran has denied it supports insurgent activity and said its nuclear program was strictly for civilian energy purposes. Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pompeo -says-u-s-willing-to-talk-to-iran-with -no-preconditions-/29977160.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iranian General Says Iran's Missile Power Non-Negotiable Sputnik News 01:16 03.06.2019(updated 01:24 03.06.2019) Deputy Chief of the Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Sayyari, echoing Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's recent remarks, stated that Iran's defense and missile capabilities would never be subject to negotiations. Sayyari told Tasnim News Agency that the Supreme Leader's words about the impossibility of talks on Iran's defense and missile capabilities were crystal clear. "We declare explicitly that Iran's defense and missile power is absolutely non-negotiable," the general stressed, adding: "Europeans may have many wishes and dreams, but we won't let them achieve the dream of (holding) missile talks with Iran." The commander also dismissed any possibility of negotiating with the US, comparing them to a lethal poison. In comments last month, Ayatollah Khamenei categorically dismissed the idea of talks with the US, saying, "Negotiation is poison. As long as the US continues to be what it is now as Imam once said, 'as long as he does not act like a decent human being': this is how he worded it our negotiation with the US is poison, even more so with the current administration." On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US would be willing to talk to Iran when it began behaving "like a normal nation." The Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Pompeo of "playing with words" and said that a change in conduct, and not just rhetoric, was necessary for "for any talks to take place." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Two more French Daesh terrorists put on death row in Iraq Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 11:06PM An Iraqi court has sentenced two more French citizens to death for joining the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and involvement in acts of terror across the conflict-ridden Arab country and neighboring Syria, bringing the total number of former French terrorists condemned to death over the past few weeks to nine. The pair sentenced to death on Sunday was identified as Fodil Tahar Aouidate and Vianney Ouraghi. They are among a group of 11 French citizens and one Tunisian, who were captured by US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria and handed over to Iraq in January. Aouidate first appeared in court on May 27, but a judge postponed his trial and ordered a medical examination after the 32-year-old violent extremist alleged he had been tortured into confession. "The medical report shows that there are no signs of torture on his body," the judge told the court before handing down his death penalty. Aouidate appeared unmoved when the judge passed the ruling. He first went to Syria in 2013 and returned in 2014 with 22 members of his family to join Daesh. Ouraghi, who has Algerian roots, left France for Syria in 2013, and joined the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, there before switching to Daesh when the terror outfit declared its "caliphate" in 2014. Iraq has been trying hundreds of suspected Daesh members, many of whom were detained as the outfit's strongholds crumbled throughout Iraq. This includes hundreds of foreigners. Hundreds of European nationals traveled to the Middle East to join Daesh after the terror group captured large swathes of territory in Iraq and neighboring Syria in mid-2014. On May 29, French rights ombudsman criticized Paris for the "inhumane treatment" of children of Takfiri terrorists stranded in Syria. "The French state needs to adopt effective measures allowing the halt to the inhumane and degrading treatment of children and their mothers and put an end to the violations of the rights of the child," France's Human Rights Defender Jacques Toubon said in a statement. Toubon added that France was flouting its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which the Western European country is a signatory. According to the French Foreign Ministry, some 450 French citizens linked to Daesh are either detained by Kurdish forces in northern Syria, or being held in refugee camps. But France is reluctant to bring back the militants or their families in the wake of a string of terrorist attacks that have claimed the lives of more than 250 people since 2015. Former Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi declared the end of military operations against Daesh in the country on December 9, 2017. On July 10 that year, he had formally declared victory over Daesh in Mosul, which served as the terrorists' main urban stronghold in Iraq. In the run-up to Mosul's liberation, Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters had made sweeping gains against Daesh. Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January 2017 after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19 last year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq Sentences 2 French Citizens to Death for Being Daesh Members - Reports Sputnik News 17:45 02.06.2019(updated 17:47 02.06.2019) MOSCOW (Sputnik) - An Iraqi court has sentenced two more French citizens to the death penalty for belonging to the Daesh* terrorist group, the Al-Sumaria broadcaster reported on Sunday. The total number of French nationals sentenced to death for similar crimes in Iraq in past several days reached nine, the local media added. According to the broadcaster, 32-year-old Fodil Tahar Aouidate became the ninth French citizen sentenced to death by an Iraqi court over the past week. This comes after media reported on 26 May that three French citizens had been given death penalty in Iraq for belonging to the Daesh. They were detained by the Arab-Kurdish forces in Syria and were then transported to Iraq in February along with nine other Frenchmen. Under Iraqi law, a sentence may be appealed within 30 days. *Daesh (also known as IS/ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State) is a terrorist group banned in Russia Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Investigators Seeking Cause Of Russian Explosives Plant Blast By Current Time June 02, 2019 Regional authorities say emergency rescue operations have been completed following a series of massive blasts that devastated an explosives plant in central Russia, and investigators are seeking the cause of the accident. Emergency Situations Ministry official Valery Sinkov told reporters at the site on June 2 that "the emergency rescue operation has been completed. Now work is in place to remove the effects linked to the damage of buildings and evaluate the situation." He added that some 700 personnel and 150 vehicles responded to the June 1 disaster. The Russian Health Ministry said on June 2 that 89 people, including 44 employees of the Kristall plant in the town of Dzerzhinsk, have been seeking medical help following the explosions. The ministry said one woman remains in serious condition. Emergency officials said 39 workers and 46 local residents were injured in the blast that sent shock waves through the city of Dzerzhinsk and neighboring communities of Pyra and Zhelnino, about 400 kilometers east of Moscow. A health official said most victims were suffering from "shrapnel wounds of mild and moderate severity." Officials said there appeared to have been three explosions. The BBC quoted local officials as saying the factory was used to make and store high-explosive bombs for the military. It said the processing facility at the plant had been destroyed in the blast. Windows were shattered and scores of buildings were damaged. It was the second such incident at the plant in two months. The Interfax news agency said the plant director had been fired "literally a day before" for violating safety rules earlier in the year. The director was blamed for an explosion that occurred in April. A local news site, V Gorode N, published video of a car driver passing by the plant, and sound waves from the explosions echoed through the countryside. Dmitry Krasnov, deputy governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, told state TV that at least two people were missing. The Nizhny Novgorod governor's office said that people injured in the explosions will receive about $2,235 each in compensation from the regional and Dzerzhinsk town funds. Owned by the state conglomerate Rostec, the facility is decades old and is now a major producer of explosives and related equipment for military and civilian industrial purposes. V Gorode N said the blasts were the second such incident at the factory in two months. On April 4, an explosion destroyed a workshop facility at the plant. No injuries were reported at the time. With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, the BBC, Interfax, TASS, and AF Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/authorities -seek-cause-of-blasts-at-russian explosives-plant/29976753.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Forget Changing The System. Just Don't Build The Church Here: 'Localized' Protesting Poses A New Challenge To The Kremlin By Mike Eckel June 02, 2019 Eight years ago, it was "Stop Lying," and "Down With The Party Of Crooks And Thieves." Today, it's "We're For The Square," and "Close The Dump," and "Hands Off Our Pensions." As President Vladimir Putin closes in on his 20th year as Russia's preeminent leader, the Kremlin has effectively sucked the oxygen out of any viable, independent political opposition. It has neutered civic society and nongovernmental groups through the implementation of "foreign agent" and "undesirable organization" laws. Public demonstrations are broken up as "unauthorized"; crippling fines are imposed on protesters. A new elite police force is tasked with quelling threats to the state. But rather than crush the spirit of political protests in Russia, protesting is evolving. Demonstrations are focused more on local issues, rather than taking on the system as a whole. They're unscripted, younger, and more often than not, they don't involve established civil-society groups or political parties. Four days of raucous demonstrations that erupted earlier this month in Yekaterinburg are the most recent example. Protesters -- who appeared overwhelmingly to be teenagers and young adults -- faced off against riot police over plans to build a church on the site of a popular park in the Urals region city. Others include protests against a landfill in a remote Arctic region for household garbage from Moscow; a proposed new toll system for long-haul truckers; an increase to the retirement age; and a proposal to swap swaths of farmland between the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia and its neighbor, Chechnya. These protests have also been more unpredictable, as Andrei Kolesnikov, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center noted in a recent commentary. For authorities looking to keep a lid on direct challenges, that's problematic. "What is already clear is that Russia is entering a new period of civil and political activity," Kolesnikov wrote. The Yekaterinburg protests drew sympathy across the country. Images and footage of people throwing chain-link fences into a nearby pond, and singing and dancing to pop music while facing off with helmeted riot police, were amplified by social media channels like the popular messaging app Telegram. The ire that inspired the chants and slogans weren't directed at the Kremlin or the powerful ruling party United Russia. They were directed at saving the park, or square: "We're For The Square!" Still, the message was heard clearly by the Kremlin; Putin himself weighed in on the issue, an issue that on its face has no real national significance. "There is huge appetite for political change across the country," Lilia Shvetsova, veteran Russian political observer, told RFE/RL. "People are tired of the system, tired of the leadership." But the paradox there, she said, is that there is no force capable of being the catalyst of change. The Yekaterinburg protests, however, show how demonstrations are becoming more localized and more spontaneous, and are drawing in, she said, a new generation of activists. "It gives us hope that civil society is not entirely dead," she told RFE/RL. Change Russia, Start With Yekaterinburg? In 2011, at the outset of what was effectively Putin's second tour as president -- between 2008 and 2012, when his protege Dmitry Medvedev was president -- there was an outburst of public unhappiness with both Putin's return, but also the Kremlin-backed, ruling United Russia. The demonstrations were confined to Moscow, and to a lesser degree, St. Petersburg -- the cities where much of Russia's liberal class and intelligentsia, and ruling elite, are concentrated. Aleksei Navalny, a lawyer and crusader against government corruption, harnessed that anger and helped spearhead what became known as the Bolotnaya protests. His slogan "Down With The Party Of Crooks And Thieves" was directed at United Russia, and Navalny started building a political party and running candidates in local elections. Navalny ran in the 2013 Moscow mayoral election under the slogan "Change Russia, Start With Moscow." In 2012, following Putin's return to the presidency, government authorities moved to tighten restrictions of how civil-society organizations received funding, particularly from foreign sources. Two years later, the government substantially increased fines for people who take part in protests deemed to violate public order rules. A 2015 law that outright bans nongovernmental organizations "undesirable" or threatening to the Russian state made it harder still on civil-society groups. The following year, the Kremlin moved to carve out a new elite police force known as the National Guard, entrusting it with being the premier agency charged with quelling public disorder. "There is no real reason for creating the National Guard out of the Interior Troops and other forces unless you have a serious worry about public unrest," Mark Galeotti, an expert on Russia's security agencies, wrote after Putin's reorganization order was published. But Russians still found pointed, public ways to make their unhappiness with government initiatives known. Long-haul truckers fought back against a national road toll system. A series of driving protests brought major roads, including in Moscow, to a standstill in what was one of the largest signs of public discontent since 2012. In 2017, authorities cracked down on the truckers organization, labeling it a "foreign agent." Bread And Butter Putin's strong popularity, particularly in the wake of the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, helped propel him to easy reelection in 2018. Among the issues he set out to tackle was the country's looming pension problem. The Kremlin pushed through deeply unpopular measures to change the Soviet-era system. The result was months of public demonstrations, some organized by official political parties like the Communists. Navalny also called on mass protests -- and in August, he was jailed preemptively, accused of organizing an unauthorized demonstration in Moscow eight months earlier. The political potency of local grievances was thrown into even sharper focus last fall, in the North Caucasus, where unemployment is high, memories are long, and ethnic tensions lurk just under the surface. In 1992, Russian authorities carved up what has been the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic to create Chechnya and Ingushetia. But that opened up a Pandora's box of problems as the Chechens and the Ingush squabbled about who had rights to which landsThe Ingush fought a brief war with another neighboring republic, in North Ossetia, in 1992 over a district known as Prigorodny. Chechen and Ingush lawmakers had tried for years to settle the two regions' shared borders. In October, the Ingush legislature signed off on a deal that outraged Ingush protesters, and brought thousands of people into the streets repeatedly. The Kremlin tried to quell the discontent by, among other things, turning off Internet service. In March, after a new round of protests, the region's top law-enforcement official resigned -- or was forced to, some experts say -- because he refused to order his troops to disperse the crowds. In January, groups of demonstrators held protests in the northern region of Arkhangelsk to oppose a plan to bring waste from the Russian capital to a massive new landfill in the remote region. Those protests echoed similar ones held in the Moscow region over a landfill that people said was sickening local children. And in at least two provincial towns in recent months, protests over proposed cuts to health care providers have helped fuel support for a trade union called the Alliance of Doctors. Ambulance workers in the northern town of Okulkova announced last month they were going on strike to protest low wages. Prosecutors responded by summoning the local head of the Alliance of Doctors for questioning. Adding further fuel to the fire is a stagnating economy, where real wages have declined for the past several years even as the Kremlin continues to pump money into its rainy-day funds -- now some of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. Yekaterina Schulmann, a longtime expert and political scientist at the Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, said she saw no real difference between the effectiveness of the Bolotnaya protests in 2011 and the more recent phenomenon of protests focused on "localized" issues. "Protesters want their voice to be heard," she told RFE/RL. "It's a basic political demand: wanting participation in the system." After three days of protests in Yekaterinburg, which drew wide attention particularly in social media and non-national media, Putin weighed in on the issue -- suggesting a public poll should be held whether to build the church in the October Square Park. Local authorities quickly endorsed the idea, and the construction proposal was put on hold. The Yekaterinburg church protests also reflect this push for participation in the system, Schulmann said. Andrei Pertsev, a reporter for the Latvia-based Russia-language news site Meduza, said the localized protests were more about symbolism: that demonstrators were angered by their inability to participate in the political process rather than the actual issue at hand. In other words, it's not about trash from Moscow being dumped in a subarctic forest, and it's not about a church being built in the middle of a city; it's that people felt they didn't have any say in the matter. "Participants in the protests aren't ready for quite radical actions, they do not retreat under pressure, they take to the streets again and again," he wrote in a commentary published by the Carnegie Moscow Center. "The authorities are clearly confused; they're not ready to suppress the protests, they're trying to meet the formal reason for the action, but the underlying causes -- social and political discontent -- aren't going anywhere," he said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/forget-changing-the-system -just-don-t-build-the-church-here-localized-protesting-poses -a-new-challenge-to-the-kremlin/29976950.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Rights Groups: Abuses on the Rise in Syria's Afrin By Sirwan Kajjo June 01, 2019 Rights groups are expressing concerns over the increasing abuses against civilians by rebel forces in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin. Last week, a 10-year-old boy with Down syndrome, who was kidnapped by a rebel group, was killed along with his father and grandfather after their family failed to pay the kidnappers a ransom of $10,000, local media reported. Such incidents have been rampant since Turkish military and allied Syrian rebels took control of Afrin after a two-month-long military campaign that ousted the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the region in March 2018, rights groups said. "There has definitely been an uptick in terms of persecution of anybody that shows any kind of dissent to Turkish or rebel presence in Afrin," said Philippe Nassif, the Middle East and North Africa advocacy director at Amnesty International. He added that "behaviors such as [kidnapping for] ransom and indefinite detentions and the fear of just being out and about living your life in Afrin is very real for all residents." Turkish military, rebel groups In addition to the Turkish military, there are at least a dozen rebel groups in control of Afrin, including the National Liberation Front and several other Islamist groups who have been accused by rights groups of committing crimes against the local population in the Kurdish-majority city. In February, the United Nations' Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a report assessing the situation in Afrin. "The commission finds there are reasonable grounds to believe that armed group members in Afrin committed the war crimes of hostage-taking, cruel treatment, torture, and pillage," the report said. "Numerous cases involving arbitrary arrests and detentions by armed group members also included credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment, often targeting individuals of Kurdish origin, including activists openly critical of armed groups and those perceived to be so," the U.N. report added. Turkey's responsibility Rights experts say that Turkey has a responsibility to stop such violations and to protect civilians in the Syrian city. "Turkey is an occupying power, so it absolutely has an obligation to be responsible for the actions of its proxy forces that are operating within Afrin," said Nassif of Amnesty International. He told VOA that Turkey instead has "empowered them to go after anybody who is opposed to the presence of these groups. They have empowered these groups to particularly carry out some of Turkey's own domestic agenda when it comes to crushing Kurdish resistance." Ankara views the Kurdish YPG as part of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been engaged in a three-decade war with Turkish armed forces for greater Kurdish rights in Turkey. The PKK is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Since pushing back Kurdish YPG fighters from Afrin in March 2018, the Turkish military has rarely commented on the situation there, but during a press conference in January of this year, Turkish presidential spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin, said that Turkey "is committed to the safety of life and property of Syrians in Afrin." Aykan Erdemir, a Turkey expert at Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, says that Turkey's influence on its proxy forces in Syria has not prevented Turkey-backed rebels from abusing Afrin residents. "The composition of Turkey-backed rebels and their ethos make them prone to undertaking criminal acts and violating the rights and freedoms of the locals," he told VOA. Erdemir added that, "Building an inclusive polity with rule and law and greater governance capacity is the only remedy against such abuses, but Ankara's Syria strategy implemented through proxy rebels is at odds with such a course of action." Limited coverage With the military developments in the nearby Syrian province of Idlib escalating, the ongoing abuses against civilians in Afrin has received scant attention from the outside world, some experts charge. "Beyond coverage by local media and some rights groups, the situation in Afrin doesn't get enough coverage in the Western media," said Ilhan Tanir, an editor with Ahval News, a Turkish website. "For observers, what's happening in Afrin is a 'small issue' compared to what's happening right now in other Syrian regions like Idlib," Tanir told VOA. Inside Turkey, pro-government media outlets are misleading Turks by painting the situation in Afrin and Syria in general as a success for the Turkish military, Tanir said. "When opposition parties in Turkey try to criticize what the Turkish military and its allied Syrian rebels are doing in places like Afrin, they are dubbed as supporters of terrorism," he said. Demographic change The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors human rights in Syria, says Turkish-backed rebels have been carrying out demographic changes in the Afrin region since taking control of the city in March 2018. "We have been documenting hundreds of cases of demographic change and forced displacement in Afrin," Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory, told VOA. Turkish analyst Tanir believes the Turkish military is complicit with allegations of settling Arab families across Afrin, including many Syrian refugees who had been living in Turkey since the beginning of Syria's civil war in 2011. "It seems that [rebel forces] have already got the green light from Turkey to carry out demographic change and Arabize this Kurdish region," he said. Some of the groups that operate under Turkey's command in Afrin have a goal of turning Afrin into a Sunni Muslim region and resettling people who have been displaced from other parts of the country during the conflict, experts charge. "This is a pattern that has taken hold in Syria, which has made it even harder to come to a resolution of the conflict," Nassif said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria rebuffs statement issued after OIC Mecca summit Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 11:20PM Syria has rejected a final communique issued following a Saudi-hosted summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Mecca, saying it reflected the submission of some participating countries to their masters in Washington. A source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry told Syria's official SANA news agency on Sunday that the final statement issued at the end of the summit showed unrelenting dependence of some OIC member states on the United States and its cronies. "The closing communique of the summit only expresses the obvious and continuous dependence of these countries on their masters in the West," the source said Harking back to the Saudi-backed Geneva proposals "and the idea of a government transitional body (...) confirms the chronic blindness of participating states to developments" in Syria in recent years, the source added. The remarks came after the OIC backed an outdated proposal of the transitional body integrating foreign-backed opposition elements in the violence-hit Arab country The term "political transition" is interpreted by the foreign-backed opposition as the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or at least erosion of his powers. In 2016, Assad had offered the notion of a unity government conclusive of both government and opposition while rejecting a "transitional body with full executive powers." Saudi Arabia and Israeli regime remain hostile to President al-Assad government, who has made a comeback after liberating almost two-thirds of the country's territory from foreign-backed militant groups in recent years On Saturday, Saudi Arabia tried to hijack the summit's agenda for its Iran-bashing campaign, creating sharp differences among OIC member-states on a gamut of issues. But the final statement left out the kingdom's political grandstanding, instead stressing support for a future Palestinian state. Elsewhere in its statement, the OIC rejected any decision to change the legal and demographic status of Syria's Golan Heights, especially the recent US move to recognize Israeli "sovereignty" over the occupied territory. The organization called for Israel's complete withdrawal from the Golan and its return to the 1967 borders in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions. Back in March, US President Donald Trump signed a controversial decree recognizing Israeli "sovereignty" over the occupied Golan in a move which is in obvious contravention of international law. In response, Syria's government said "it was not waiting for support or a statement from this summit or others like it to assert its right over the Golan," SANA said. Damascus has also stressed that it will liberate all its territories occupied by Israel or by foreign-backed Takfiri terrorist groups by all available means. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian air defenses confront Israeli attacks: State media Iran Press TV Sun Jun 2, 2019 04:48AM Syria's air defense systems have confronted Israeli attacks in the country's southwest, state media say, adding that three soldiers were killed in the raids. Syria's official SANA news agency anonymously quoted a military source as saying that the air defenses had "confronted" and "downed the hostile missiles" that were targeting positions in southwestern Damascus at 03:22 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) on Sunday. Israel, the source added, then engaged in renewed aggression by firing several missiles into the eastern countryside of Quneitra Province at 04:10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT). The aggression killed three Syrian soldiers and injured seven others while causing some material damage, the source said. According to the source, the missiles were coming from the direction of Syria's Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. SANA did not specify whether the missiles were fired from a ground or an aerial platform, but the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the Israeli regime had carried out airstrikes targeting "positions and warehouses" belonging to Syrian and allied forces near Damascus' al-Husseiniyah and al-Kiswah areas. Later in the day, the Israeli military confirmed that its helicopters and planes had struck a number of targets linked to the Syrian army, including two artillery batteries, several observation and intelligence outposts, and an SA-2 type air defense unit. It said the attacks came in response to two rockets that it alleged were fired from Syria at the occupied Golan Heights on Saturday night. The Israeli army has even released footage of the strike as well as aerial stills of various Syrian targets before they were reportedly attacked. Israel has repeatedly attacked positions inside Syria. The Syrian military has mostly absorbed the Israeli strikes, locking its defense systems on incoming fire. In early 2018, Syria targeted and shot down at least one Israeli F-16 that had intruded into its airspace. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel Strikes Syrian Military Targets in Response to Golan Rocket Fire Sputnik News 12:03 02.06.2019(updated 12:14 02.06.2019) On Saturday evening, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) reported that two projectiles were fired from Syrian territory in the direction of Mount Hermon in Northern Israel. The Israeli Defence Forces have uploaded a video of a retaliatory missile strike against Syria on their official Twitter account. The IDF stuck several Syrian Armed Forces targets that included two artillery batteries, observation and intelligence posts, as well as a SA-2 aerial defence battery. Three Syrian military personnel died as a result of the strike, while seven were wounded. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 10 were killed, seven of which were Iranian and Hezbollah militants. The Israel Defence Forces has repeatedly hit targets in Syria, with the latest strikes prior to this taking place last week. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has justified these actions by the necessity to prevent Iran's apparent attempts to 'gain a foothold' in Syria. Israel fought off the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War of 1967, and annexed them in 1981. The status of the mountain plateau is considered one of the main sticking points of the Israeli-Syrian conflict. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli Army Says Attack on Syrian Military Targets Was Retaliatory Sputnik News 03:53 02.06.2019(updated 08:04 02.06.2019) Syria's air defence systems have shot down enemy missiles to the south of Damascus, Syria's SANA state news agency reported Sunday. Later, the agency reported that continued missile strikes resulted in three Syrian soldiers killed. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday that it attacked Syrian military targets in response to a missile strike from Syria. "Last night, 2 rockets were launched from Syria to Israel, 1 landing within Israeli territory. In response, we struck a number of Syrian Armed Forces military targets The Syrian Armed Forces targets we struck included: 2 artillery batteries; Observation & [intelligence] posts; An SA-2 aerial defense battery. We hold the Syrian regime accountable and will firmly operate against any attempt to harm Israeli civilians," the IDF wrote on Twitter. Syrian air defences has confronted "hostile targets" over southern Damascus countryside, according to Syrian state media reports. Earlier, the media reported explosions heard over the area, Syrian Arab News Agency reported on Sunday morning. A military source told SANA that the "hostile targets" were coming from the Golan heights. The source added that later several missiles were fired by Israel at the eastern Quneitra countryside, which resulted in deaths of three Syrian soldiers and injuries of seven others. Previous month, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported that Syrian air defences fired at projectiles that were launched from Israeli-controlled areas into southern Syria, coming just after another report a day before about Syrian air defence shooting down a number of "luminous objects" launched from "occupied territories." Back then, the sound of several explosions was heard in the Syrian capital of Damascus overnight. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel Makes Missile Strike on Syrian Airfield, 1 Person Killed - Syrian Source Sputnik News 00:07 03.06.2019(updated 00:51 03.06.2019) Several powerful explosions have occurred and fire started at T-4 military airbase in Syrian province of Homs, source reported earlier. Later, a Syrian military source reported a missile attack by Israel. Syrian state media reported on Sunday night about missile attack targeting T-4 military airfield in Syrian Homs province. A source in Syrian military said that the missile attack was conducted by Israel. Syrian air defence reportedly managed to shoot down two missiles. However, according to the source, one person was killed and two were injured as a result of the strike. "Our air defence repelled the Israeli attack and destroyed two missiles out of those attacking the T-4 airfield," the source said. An ammunition depot as well as several other buildings and equipment were damaged after the attack, Syrian Arab News Agency reported, quoting a military source. Last night, Syria's SANA state news agency reported that Syria's air defence systems have shot down enemy missiles to the south of Damascus. According to the agency, the strikes continued, which led to deaths of three Syrian soldiers. The Israel Defence Forces said later that it attacked Syrian military targets in response to a missile strike from Syria. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China rejects U.S. acting defense secretary's "false remarks" on Taiwan People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:45, June 02, 2019 SINGAPORE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- China firmly rejects the "false remarks" on Taiwan-related issues made by U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at the ongoing 18th Shangri-La Dialogue, Chinese Lieutenant General Shao Yuanming said here on Saturday. China welcomes the U.S. wish to develop a stable relationship between the militaries of the two countries, but "we resolutely reject" some "false remarks" on Taiwan made by Shanahan when addressing a plenary session at the dialogue, said Shao, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission. Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times, Shao noted, saying that the one-China principle constitutes the political foundation of Sino-U.S. relations, and is also a universal consensus of the international community. However, the U.S. side once again claimed at the Shangri-La Dialogue that it will offer necessary support to Taiwan according to the so-called "Taiwan Relations Act." "The series of negative acts and comments recently made by the U.S. side on Taiwan-related issues violated the one-China principle and the three joint communiques between the two countries, jeopardized China's sovereignty and security, and damaged regional peace and stability," Shao said. He emphasized that China must and will certainly realize its unification, and if anyone intends to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will resolutely safeguard the unity of the motherland at all costs. Officially known as the Asia Security Summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue has been organized and convened annually by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Singaporean government since 2002. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Court To Hear Arguments In Crimea Occupation Case By Crimea Desk, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service June 02, 2019 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to hold public hearings this week in Kyiv's case over Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea region and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Russian representatives are expected to present Russia's objections against the case before the court in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 3. Ukraine will present its arguments the next day. A second round of arguments will be held on June 6-7. Ahead of the hearings, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russian officials will challenge the jurisdiction of the ICJ, the UN's top court, in the case. Ukraine filed the case at the ICJ in January 2017, accusing Russia of violating the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It said Moscow had stepped up its interference in Ukraine's affairs since 2014, "intervening militarily...financing acts of terrorism, and violating the human rights of millions of Ukraine's citizens, including, for all too many, their right to life." Moscow seized control of the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and has supported the separatists who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine in a war that has killed some 13,000 people since April of that year. In April 2017, the ICJ issued a provisional ruling calling for a halt to what it says is "racial discrimination" against Crimean Tatars and ethnic Ukrainians in Russia-occupied Crimea. However, it rejected Ukraine's request to order Moscow to stop supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine. With reporting by TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/un-court-to-hear-arguments-in -crimea-occupation-case/29977346.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. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Velocity Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: VLC) (Velocity or the Company) announces that it has entered into an option agreement (the Agreement) with Bulgarian partner, Gorubso Kardzhali A.D., (Gorubso) to acquire a 70% interest in the 194-hectare Nadezhda property (the Property), which includes the Makedontsi gold project (Makedontsi or the Project); a geological resource registered on the Bulgarian State balance. Under the terms of the option agreement, Velocity can earn a 70% interest by delivering a mineral resource estimate prepared under National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101). Makedontsi Gold Project The Makedontsi deposit is located in southeast Bulgaria, approximately 10km by road from Gorubsos modern CIL processing plant (Figure 1). The deposit is open for expansion and requires systematic exploration to investigate its full potential and to deliver a mineral resource estimate prepared under NI 43-101. Concurrent with and building upon the Companys Rozino prefeasibility activities, a program of modern integrated exploration is planned in order to assess blind mineralization amenable to open pit mining under a thin post mineralization limestone cover sequence. The resource which is registered with the Ministry of Energy in Bulgaria (Table 1) is based on historical exploration, including approximately 250 drill holes (11,500m) and 5,000m of trenching completed by Gorubso. Table 1: Historical Resources for Makedontsi1, calculated by Gorubso using the Bulgarian classification system. Please review cautionary language below with respect to Historical Resources. Cut-off Grade (g/t gold) Tonnes (Mt) Gold Grade (g/t gold) Contained Gold (ounces gold) Bulgarian Resource Category 0.5 5,954,349 1.0 210,745 C1 + C2 0.5 2,653,814 0.9 84,814 C3 Note 1. Historical resources at Makedontsi were calculated by Gorubso using the Bulgarian classification scheme, based on manual polygonal methods of resource classification. Resources were submitted to and accepted by the Bulgarian government, Dragiev H, 2013 "Mlechino Prospecting License, Geological Report at the Nadezhda Prospect, with Resource and Reserve Recalculations of Au Ores at the Makedontsi, Dangovo and Kalina deposits. Additional work will be required in order to verify historical resources and any potential additional resources and to complete a mineral resource estimate consistent with NI-43-101 standards of disclosure. The Company cautions that it is not treating the historical resources as current mineral resources and/or mineral reserves. Historical resources are not consistent with the standards of disclosure defined by NI 43-101 and may not necessarily be consistent with CIM best practice with respect to reporting mineral resources and reserves. The historical resources are included because they are considered relevant by the Company as they confirm the presence of significant gold mineralization on the property which has not been fully delineated. The inclusion of historical resource estimations provides information as to the potential size and nature of the immediate exploration targets within the Makedontsi Property. Planned Work Mineralization is outcropping locally, but elsewhere the prospective sediments are covered by a thin veneer of post-mineral limestone estimated to range from 10 to 30m thickness. Consequently, the initial work program will focus on surface geochemistry and gradient array induced polarization (IP) surveys. The mineralization appears to be closely associated with silicification and it is expected that the planned IP geophysical survey will help locate prospective silicified zones if they exist below the limestone cover. Limited historical drilling indicates that locally mineralization does exist below the cover sequence (Figure 2). In tandem with the above work the Company plans to assess the reliability of historical drill results with angled heel-to-toe drilling (approximately 22 drill holes for an expected total of 1,000m). This initial phase will be completed on one drill section through the existing Bulgarian-registered historical resource area. The aim of the drill campaign is to verify mineralization intersected by historical drill holes, infill untested portions of the mineralized body, as well as increased understanding of geometry, continuity of mineralization, and geotechnical and hydrogeological aspects of the deposit. Discovery History at Makedontsi The Makedontsi gold project was initially discovered in 1998 by Velocitys VP Exploration as part of a regional surface geochemical survey (BLEG) undertaken by a subsidiary of Anglo American plc, Minorco SA (Minorco). The discovery was interpreted by Minorco as potentially epithermal gold occurrence hosted by terrigenous sediments in a favorable geologic-structural position similar to the epithermal Au mineralization at Perama Hill Deposit in Northern Greece. As well as regional BLEG sampling, Minorco completed geological mapping, soil geochemistry, rock chip sampling and trenching. A Bulgarian explorer (Gramex OOD) completed additional detailed mapping and drilled a single drill hole in 2001 intersecting 34.80m@0.58g/tAu (incl. 8.80m@1.17g/tAu). Gorubso acquired the project in 2005 and between 2007-2008 and 2012-2014 completed significant exploration including 5,115m of trenching and 252 drill holes for a total of 11,530m, and established a mineral resource estimate within the Bulgarian classification system. Qualified Person The technical content of this release has been approved for disclosure by Stuart A. Mills, BSc, MSc, CGeol, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and the Companys Vice President Exploration. Mr. Mills is not independent of the Company. About Velocity Minerals Ltd. Velocity is a gold exploration and development company focused on Bulgaria. The Company envisions staged open pit mining of satellite deposits and processing in a central, currently operating carbon-in-leach plant. The Companys management and board includes mining industry professionals with combined experience spanning Europe, Asia, and the Americas as employees of major mining companies as well as founders and senior executives of junior to mid-tier public companies. The team's experience includes all aspects of mineral exploration, resource definition, feasibility, finance, mine construction and mine operation as well as a track record in managing publicly listed companies. About Bulgaria Bulgaria is a member of NATO (2004) and a member of the European Union (2007). The local currency (BGN) has been tied to the Euro since 1999 (1.956 BGN/EUR). The country is served by modern European infrastructure including an extensive network of paved roads. Bulgaria boasts an exceptionally low corporate tax rate of only 10%. The countrys education system is excellent with good availability of experienced mining professionals in a favourable cost environment. Foreign mining companies are successfully operating in Bulgaria. The countrys mining law was established in 1999 and updated in 2011. Mining royalties are low and compare favourably with more established mining countries. On Behalf of the Board of Directors Keith Henderson President & CEO For further information, please contact: Keith Henderson Phone: +1-604-484-1233 E-mail: info@velocityminerals.com Web: www.velocityminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: future exploration and testing carried out on the Nadezhda property; use of funds; and the future business and operations of Velocity. Often, but not always, forward looking statements can be identified by words such as pro forma, plans, expects, may, should, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, believes, potential or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development and mine development activities for the Nadezhda property, including the geological mapping, prospecting and sampling programs for the projects, the fact that the Companys interests in the Nadezhda property is only an option and there is no guarantee that the interest, if earned, will be certain, actual results of exploration activities, including the program, estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and timing of the development of new deposits, the availability of a sufficient supply of water and other materials, requirements for additional capital to fund the Company's business plan, future prices of precious metals, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the TSX Venture Exchange), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, hedging practices, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, risks related to joint venture operations, and risks related to the integration of acquisitions, as well as those factors discussed under the heading. "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual management's discussion and analysis and other filings of the Company with the Canadian Securities Authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3bf8eaeb-7da5-49ae-b691-31e59fb47a67 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/94228b19-148f-4541-a22f-95d408b601b5 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8ab04f02-70e1-45c2-97bc-c64f19fc084e Oslo, 2 June 2019: Scatec Solar and partners have grid connected and reached commercial operation for another 65 MW of the 400 MW Benban project in Egypt. Scatec Solar now has 130 MW in operation in Egypt and expects to have completed the project during second half of 2019. The Benban solar power plant is Scatec Solars largest project under construction and the first solar plant with bi-facial solar panels, capturing the sun from both sides of the panels to increase the total clean energy generation. In April 2017, Scatec Solar with its partners KLP Norfund and Africa 50 signed a 25-year Power Purchase Agreements with the Government of Egypt for delivery of electricity from six solar plants, equal in size, totaling 400 MW. The estimated annual 870 GWh of electricity produced from Scatec Solars plants in Benban will avoid about 350,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year and provide energy for more than 420,000 households in Egypt. For further information, please contact: Mikkel Trud, CFO tel: +47 976 99 144 mikkel.torud@scatecsolar.com Ingrid Aarsnes, Communication & IR tel: +47 950 38 364 ingrid.aarsnes@scatecsolar.com About Scatec Solar Scatec Solar is an integrated independent solar power producer, delivering affordable, rapidly deployable and sustainable clean energy worldwide. A long- term player, Scatec Solar develops, builds, owns, operates and maintains solar power plants and has an installation track record of more than 1 GW. The company has a total of 1.7 GW in operation and under construction in Brazil, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Honduras, Jordan, Malaysia, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Ukraine. With an established global presence and a significant project pipeline, the company is targeting a capacity of 3.5 GW in operation and under construction by end of 2021. Scatec Solar is headquartered in Oslo, Norway and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol 'SSO'. To learn more, visit www.scatecsolar.com. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act English German BELIMO Holding AG is enhancing their appeal for start-ups and innovative ideas in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning industries (HVAC) with BELIMO InnoVision AG. The newly founded BELIMO InnoVision AG will get operational in June 2019 with a majority shareholding investment in a first start-up company. BELIMO InnoVision AG, a wholly-owned subsidiary of BELIMO Holding AG, was founded at the end of January 2019. BELIMO InnoVision AG is located in Switzerland and, as a 'business incubator', will invest in innovative start-ups in the HVAC sector and actively support them during the foundation phase. The company will also enter into strategic partnerships with interesting international partners in the future. BELIMO InnoVision AG will not only be able to offer financial support to start-up companies in the initial phase, but also know-how, technical infrastructure and access to additional sales channels. The Belimo Group expects that its participation in selected start-ups will further enhance its innovative strength. Applications for chillers In June 2019, the newly founded BELIMO InnoVision AG will, as a first step, acquire a majority interest in the start-up company BEREVA GmbH. Following its foundation, the company will be active in the development, manufacturing and sales of motorized valves used to control and optimize refrigeration circuits. BEREVA GmbH will be headquartered in the Veneto region of northeastern Italy. A large number of manufacturers in the refrigeration technology sector who are currently buyers of Belimo actuators, valves, and sensors are already present in this region. In addition, the University of Padua, also located in the region, with its own laboratory for research and validation activities, is the most important competence center for refrigeration applications in Italy. The Belimo Group is a leading global manufacturer of innovative actuator, valve, and sensor solutions for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. The Company reported sales of CHF 642 million in 2018 and has over 1,700 employees. Information about the Company and its products is available on the Internet at www.belimo.com . The shares of BELIMO Holding AG have been traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 1995 (BEAN). Contact Dr. Markus Schurch, CFO Tel. +41 43 843 62 32 The press release can be downloaded from the following link: Attachment AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlueSnap , an online payments technology company, today announced the availability of its new Integrated Payments for Platforms product in Europe. The new offering provides embedded payments for independent software vendors and will be on display at Money20/20 Europe in Amsterdam. The product also gives European-based ISVs the ability to scale and monetize their business with a single payments provider that complies with the latest PSD2 directive for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) and offers the tools to manage their entire program end-to-end. Through the new product, ISVs can now embed payments into their software across all channels, all around the world, with a single integration to BlueSnaps 30 global banking partners thereby reducing the number of payment solutions they maintain. The product also enables streamlined global onboarding of the ISVs customers via a REST-based, easy-to-integrate onboarding API. Compliance with evolving global regulations is a major challenge for ISVs so BlueSnap manages the underwriting and compliance processes while absorbing the payment risks so ISVs can focus on their core business. Strong Customer Authentication is covered by 3D Secure 2.0 so European businesses comply with the latest PSD2 directive. As an added benefit, BlueSnaps ISV partners can automatically split payments and determine revenue share of each transaction processed by their customers, and this entire process is managed with 100% visibility using the BlueSnap Partner Portal. Giving ISVs a PCI compliant offering that allows them to sell globally, onboard global customers and have more visibility into their payments program is a top priority for us, said Ralph Dangelmaier, CEO of BlueSnap. 3D Secure 2.0 takes care of the SCA requirement by the latest PSD2 directive so ISVs can be confident that they have the highest level of PCI compliance. BlueSnap already supports ISVs around the world, and this new product will allow them, as well as new European-based ISV customers, to circumvent the typical difficulties associated with scaling globally. This is because a single connection to BlueSnap also provides ISVs and their customers with all the powerful benefits of the BlueSnap All-in-One Payment Platform , including: The ability to offer more than 100 local payment methods and currencies used in every part of the world and used in every part of the world Onboarding API so ISVs can automatically sign up customers with ease Split payment functionality to collect a percentage of every transaction 3D Secure 2.0 for Strong Customer Authentication An extensive global network of global banks and BlueSnaps intelligent payment routing system , both of which help reduce declined transactions , both of which help reduce declined transactions Built-in, sophisticated fraud-fighting technology provided by industry leader Kount provided by industry leader Greater visibility into customer and transaction data through enhanced analytics and extensive reporting tools To learn more about BlueSnaps Integrated Payments for Platforms, visit https://home.bluesnap.com/integrated-payments-for-platforms/ . About BlueSnap BlueSnap provides an All-in-One Payment Platform designed to increase sales and reduce costs for B2B and B2C businesses. Our Platform supports online and mobile sales, marketplaces, subscriptions, invoice payments and manual orders through a virtual terminal. With a single-integration to our Platform, businesses can accept or embed any payment with ease. The Platform includes access to 110 payment types, including popular eWallets, built-in world-class fraud prevention to protect sales and detailed analytics to help businesses grow. Learn more at https://home.bluesnap.com/ . TTS Group ASA has been awarded new contracts with Cosco (Dalian) Shipyard Co., Ltd in China. Total order value is approximately MNOK 104. The contracts regard four shipsets of cargo cranes and hatch covers for use on multi-purpose vessels. Deliveries are expected to take place first half of 2020. The contracts follow similar announcements in 2017, 2018 and in January 2019. Bergen, 3 June 2019 TTS Group ASA www.ttsgroup.com Contact person: Toril Eidesvik CEO M: +47 900 78 218 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act German English Sparx Services CE and AIT launch new cybersecurity management system for the automotive sector In February 2019 the EU launched a cybersecurity initiative designed to strengthen Europe in this critical sector. Already this has resulted in the launch of an Austrian product, THREATGET, jointly developed by the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and Sparx Services CE. It helps developers identify threats at an early stage, allowing them to quickly assess the associated risks. With the introduction of the new European security guideline according to ECE level (UNECE WP29; valid in the EU and partly in Asia), in future vehicle manufacturers will be required to verify the cybersecurity of their vehicle systems before their products can obtain type approval. From now on, manufacturers must prove every three years that they have applied a certified cybersecurity management system which covers all stages ranging from vehicle engineering through to documentation. Using the cybersecurity management system, manufacturers must test the cybersecurity of all vehicle types, identify and document potential threats, address security-critical problems and suggest solutions, and finally demonstrably verify that these problems have been solved. THREATGET permits ECE conformity This cybersecurity verification requires a modern tool which, for the first time, allows manufacturers to test their systems for ECE compliance. Peter Lieber, the founder of Sparx Services CE: We have been working with AIT on this solution for two years and are proud that we can launch it on the market so quickly. THREATGET offers IT system designers effective support for security procedures designed to prevent potential cyber attacks, or threats. The two partners contribute highly complementary areas of expertise to the project: AIT develops cutting-edge AI technologies for application in a critical market segment, and for years has been perfecting the THREATGET technology, while Sparx Services CE has extensive knowledge of model-based system development using the Enterprise Architect modelling platform. Helmut Leopold, Head of Center for Digital Safety & Security at AIT: For the first time it is now possible to consider safety and security requirements as early as the system design phase. This offers European companies a considerable competitive advantage in an area of increasing importance. Set against the background of a strongly growing security engineering industry, THREATGET is targeted at vehicle manufacturers, as well as all companies involved in analysing vehicle architectures and systems in order to issue certification (e.g. the technical inspection association TUV), as well as those working in the automotive training sector. Artificial intelligence as a means of managing complexity The database of potential threats and suggested solutions included in THREATGET is currently being updated and maintained as part of applied research and development activities. Users are provided with a list of potential problems and associated solutions for their specific system model (e.g. vehicle platform) which can then be implemented by a security engineer. This manually updated catalogue is complemented with updates of additional threat catalogues which, for example, are compiled by computer emergency response teams (CERT). In future, these external threat catalogues will be updated into the THREATGET catalogue automatically, using artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms. AI thus helps in managing the complexity of our increasingly networked systems. THREATGET ensures that in future the same basic security principle can be guaranteed for all manufacturers. Furthermore, manufacturers of special vehicles (e.g. for the security sector) will also be able to build on this basic principle, at the same time manually expanding specific security levels and rules in their own vehicle systems. The global market for cybersecurity solutions is strongly growing because legal regulations are finally becoming compulsory and the attraction as targets for criminal activity is also growing. In contrast to other countries, Europe is clearly positioning itself as a market with a high degree of security awareness. The framework conditions for our solution in the EU are very good. Thats why we want to quickly inform the market about our product, and exploit the competitive edge we have created, Lieber concludes. Further information: https://www.threatget.com (website will be online shortly) and https://cybersecurity.sparxservices.eu/ . About Sparx Services Central Europe We are experts in planning, designing and implementing active Enterprise Architecture Management (EAM) systems based on Enterprise Architect (Sparx Systems). As an experienced sparring partner, we provide expert support to organisations in software-intensive industries. Our focus is on ensuring effective implementation, transparency and individuality for the EAM projects of our customers and their consultant ecosystem. We use established technologies and open standards (Archimate, TOGAF, BPMN, ), best practices und current market challenges such as cyber security modelling. We also include the latest research findings (e.g. Threatget) of the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) to make security by design a reality. THREATGET offers effective guidance for system designers, allowing them to design security measures into the system in order to protect it against potential cyber attacks (threats). THREATGET automatically analyses cybersecurity threats and system vulnerabilities and suggests appropriate solutions. https://cybersecurity.sparxservices.eu/ About AIT The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austrias largest non-university research institution. With its eight Centers, AIT regards itself as a highly specialised research and development partner for industry. In the context of comprehensive and global networking and digitalisation the Center for Digital Safety & Security is developing modern information and communication technologies (ICT) and systems in order to establish secure and reliable critical infrastructure. The Dependable Systems Engineering group at AIT has a long-standing history in addressing the interdependencies of safety, security and reliability and is developing new methods and tools to ensure comprehensive system security. AIT experts are also helping to shape future industry standards by contributing to, for example, ISO TC 22 (Automotive), ISO TC 299 (Robotics), IEC TC 56 (Dependability), IEC TC 62 (Medical), IEC TC 65 (Industrial Control), and AIOTI WG03 (M2M). The group also makes this accumulated experience and expertise available to customers through training and consulting. Contact: Dipl.-Ing. Rudiger Maier, M.A. Leitung Presse- und Offentlichkeitsarbeit Sparx Services CE / 4biz.at Consulting GmbH Tel.: +43-1-9072627-204 ruediger.maier@4biz.at Mag. (FH) Michael W. Murling Marketing and Communications AIT Austrian Institute of Technology Center for Digital Safety & Security T +43 (0)50550-4126 michael.muerling@ait.ac.at I www.ait.ac.at Mag. Michael H. Hlava Head of Corporate and Marketing Communications AIT Austrian Institute of Technology T +43 (0)50550-4014 michael.hlava@ait.ac.at I www.ait.ac.at Attachments TULSA, Okla. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jericho Oil Corporation (Jericho) (TSX-V: JCO; OTC PINK: JROOF) announces positive offset operator well results in conjunction with our Geology Teams revealing geochemical study. Jerichos strategy of steady patience since entering the prolific, low-cost STACK Play of Oklahoma in September 2017 continues to build Company confidence. With a primary focus on the Osage formation, we saw surrounding activity from multiple, well-known offset operators converge upon our position allowing our Company to prudently evaluate production results and compare them against various drilling and completion techniques observed. Public production data from recent horizontal wells targeting the Osage in the Northern STACK have impressive results which are associated with focused lateral landing and improved stimulation design. Wells completed by Gastar (LUKE 1909 21-1LOH, BIGGIO 1909 7-1LOH), Fairway (BURSON 1-33H) and Alta Mesa (TERMINUS 2109 3-10MH) surround the Company acreage with a combined average 6-month cumulative oil production of 63,000 barrels of oil demonstrating the vast potential for high-return wells in the Osage formation on Company acreage. As a result, we are very pleased with the validation of our resource and acreage value on the backs of strong well results and offset operator capital. While the pace of operated drilling activity by Jericho has been slow, we believe this is for good reason and a part of our overall strategy for Jerichos long-term shareholder base. Allowing surrounding operators to spend their capital while converging upon our position will yield the strongest return on investment for Jericho as we minimize our capital outlay. Jerichos Geochemical Study Jerichos Geology Team, in conjunction with its neighboring operators, have been working with Advanced Hydrocarbon Stratigraphy (AHS) over the last several months to harvest additional subsurface data to analyze the potential of various STACK formations around its Northern Stack acreage. AHS has worked with leading companies in the Northern STACK identifying the productive nature of the Meramec and Osagean deposits. Utilizing cuttings captured during the drilling process, AHS technology allows for a high-resolution image indicating changes in hydrocarbon content, permeability and mechanical strength for better understanding of perforation cluster placement and stimulation consideration. Shane Matson, Jerichos Lead Geologist noted, In the most recent well analysis adjacent to Jerichos Acreage AHS testing shows outstanding oil storage capacity, high permeability and outstanding rock mechanics. This data will be a part of our location selection process as we consider a new drilling program for the second half of 2019. Mike Smith, PhD, President of AHS commented significant producible Hydrocarbons, chiefly oil, and remarkably good quality reservoir rocks are indicated throughout the Mississippian (Meramec and Osage) in this well. Mr. Smith also noted that results are specific to a given location, as other well locations nearby, could have varying prognoses. All other geological, geochemical and nearby production need to be considered in any evaluation. Jerichos CEO, Brian Williamson, said, Our geology team is all about data capture and data sharing. The Northern Stack needs good wells in all formations and cooperation with our neighbors is key. Strong results across the operating teams is good for the basin and ultimately all STACK value. Jericho holds ~16,000 acres in the North STACK Play and is looking to grow that position as well as considering new drilling in the second half of 2019. Mr. Williamson further stated, Our geology team continues to do an outstanding job of digging, digesting and extrapolating data into usable information for our organization. We look forward to the selection of future STACK locations. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- enCore Energy Corp. (TSX.V: EU) (the "Company") is pleased to announce, effective June 1, 2019, that it has appointed Greg Hayes as Chief Financial Officer and Jordan Butler as Executive Vice President. Greg Hayes, Chief Financial Officer, CPA A Chartered Professional Accountant, Mr. Hayes also serves as Chief Financial Officer of Golden Predator Mining Corp. and Taku Gold Corp. He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer for Golden Predator Mining Corp. and Northern Tiger Resources Inc. and as the Chief Financial Officer of Shear Minerals Ltd. Mr. Hayes has a broad range of management and accounting experience and has been focused primarily on the junior resource sector for the last twelve years. Jordan Butler, Executive Vice-President Mr. Butler brings significant capital markets and corporate development experience within the natural resource sector to enCore Energy. He recently served as Vice President of Corporate Development for Callinex Mines Inc., where he led a major expansion of the corporate assets that added over 3.5 billion pounds of zinc equivalent mineralization. Prior to this role, he provided asset and equity valuations for the natural resource portfolio of Till Capital Ltd. He has also worked in various capacities within the uranium sector including with Uranium Energy Corp. and enCore Energy Corp. Mr. Butler holds a Master of Business Administration from Vancouver Island University and a Master of Science in International Business from the University of Hertfordshire. The Company has also granted a total of 3,995,00 stock options to officers, directors and consultants of enCore Energy Corp. The options were granted for a period of 5 years and will allow the holder to purchase a common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.15. The Company also wishes to thank Mr. Scott Davis, former Chief Financial Officer, for his service and wishes him great success in the future. About enCore Energy Corp. enCore Energy Corp., with assets based entirely in the United States, has a 100% interest, with no holding costs, on 115,000+ acres (46,400 ha) of private mineral rights in New Mexico, including the Crownpoint and Hosta Butte uranium deposits. These deposits contain an Indicated Mineral Resource of 26.6 million pounds of U3O8 at an average grade of 0.105% e U3O8(1). A portion of these resources are under NRC license. The Company also holds the Marquez and Treeline projects in New Mexico as well as other properties in Utah, Arizona, and Wyoming. The Company owns or has access to an extensive collection of proprietary North American and Global uranium data including the Union Carbide, US Smelting and Refining, UV Industries, Ranchers Exploration databases in addition to a leading geophysical data collection concerning the high- grade Northern Arizona Strip district. For additional information: William M. Sheriff Executive Chairman 972-333-2214 info@encoreenergycorp.com www.encoreenergycorp.com Technical Report, titled, "Crownpoint and Hosta Butte Uranium Project Mineral Resource Technical Report, McKinley County, New Mexico, USA, Mineral Resource Technical Report - National Instrument 43-101," dated May 14, 2012, and authored by Douglas L. Beahm, PEng, PGeo. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws including the anticipated completion of the transaction and acquisition of the Marquez, Nose Rock and other properties, and the potential advancement thereof. Forward- looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward- looking statements often address expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could", "should", or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions. Estimates of mineral resources and reserves are also forward looking statements because they constitute projections regarding the amount of minerals that may be encountered in the future. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation; statements about the terms and completion of the transaction are forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date that statements are made and the respective companies undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. CALGARY, Alberta, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FluroTech Ltd. (TSX-V: TEST) (OTCQB: FLURF), (FluroTech or the Company) is pleased to provide a technology update. The Company previously disclosed the pause of sales after the company detected a contamination of certain test kits due to packaging materials. Finding alternative packaging, the issue has been resolved. Extensive testing internally and by beta testers validated the test kits perform with the accuracy and repeatability as intended. The CompleTests accuracy for CBDa and THCa testing is within a 2% variability range, when compared to reference data. This accuracy exceeds the performance of other competitive alternatives available to producers. In addition to high accuracy, the CompleTest consistently demonstrates repeatable results of the same sample. With the resolution of the packaging issue, the Company has executed on its staffing plan to build out the sales and marketing team through the addition of Eric Entz to its sales team. Eric has built an extensive network in the cannabis industry. In addition to his commitment to FluroTech, he is the Vice President of Western Canada Leaf Forward, the Treasurer and Secretary of The Alberta Cannabis Collective and a Senior Manager of Operations at Cultivated Solutions. I welcome Eric to the team, commented Danny Dalla-Longa. Although determining the proper packaging material for our product took longer than expected, Im very pleased with the product we can now deliver. I believe the CompleTest accuracy will be enhanced as we continue to refine our testing protocol. Our device will go a long way in fixing the pronounced cross-lab variability issues that currently exist in the marketplace. FluroTechs sales representatives will be attending the Lift & Co. Cannabis Business Conference (LCBC) in Toronto commencing June 7th where they will be conducting test demonstrations. LCBC brings together leading experts from across the industry to tackle subject matter from a uniquely Canadian perspective. FluroTech has a number of revenue streams to pursue, currently focused on CompleTest sales, finalizing the development of a low concentration THC test for hemp and the commercialization of the biomarker technology for seed to sale tracking. For more information on FluroTech please refer to the Companys annual MD&A posted on April 25th and recent interim Q1 MD&A posted on May 29th. About FluroTech (TSX-V: TEST) (OTCQB: FLURF) FluroTech is a technology and marketing company whose core business is focused on the commercialization of new technologies in the cannabis industry. FluroTechs proprietary spectroscopy-based technology allows for the testing and identification of organic and inorganic compounds contained within biological samples. Using the technology that was developed at the University of Calgary, FluroTech has developed a two-part solution comprising an instrument called the CompleTest and consumable testing kits. To learn more, visit www.FluroTech.com . Contact Information Danny Dalla-Longa Chief Executive Officer 403.680.0644 danny@flurotech.com FluroTech Ltd. Alistair Ross Technology Centre Suite 111, 3553-31 Street NW Calgary, AB T2L 2K7 info@flurotech.com This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the benefit or account of U.S. persons, absent such registration or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuers business, capital, technology or operations that is prospective in nature, and includes future-oriented financial information about the issuers prospective financial performance or financial position. The forward-looking information in this news release includes disclosure about the performance, in terms of accuracy and repeatability of test results of the CompleTest, opportunity for fast, affordable, accurate and easy to use test and measurement instruments, the continued resolution of the packaging contamination issues, the CompleTest being delivered to the market, the future enhancements to the CompleTests accuracy range, and the CompleTest fixing the pronounced cross lab variability issues that currently exist in the marketplace. The Company made certain material assumptions, including but not limited to prevailing market conditions and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, the need and demand for the CompleTest technology in the cannabis and hemp industry, to develop the forward-looking information in this news release. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, adverse market conditions and regulatory and other risks associated with the cannabis and hemp industries in general, users of the Companys the CompleTest failing to achieve the anticipated benefits of the product, competition from other developers of similar technology, failure to reach commercialization of the technology and failure for the products anticipated market to develop. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of material risk factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information in this news release, unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities legislation. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy of this release. TORONTO, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Restaurants Canada, the national association representing the Canadian foodservice and hospitality industry, is excited to announce its fourth association partnership with the Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island (TIAPEI), which represents all geographical regions and sectors within the tourism industry on Prince Edward Island. TIAPEI provides access to programs and projects that support the success of the entire tourism industry on the Island. Now, through this partnership with Restaurants Canada, TIAPEI members will gain access to benefits including national affinity partner programs, digital communication, education and research assets, as well as access to Restaurants Canada industry events. A strong and vibrant tourism industry is a vital contributor to a healthy economy for Prince Edward Island, said Kevin Mouflier, CEO of TIAPEI. This partnership with Restaurants Canada allows us to promote and advance the tourism industry on the Island, and leverage it on a national scale. TIAPEI has worked diligently since 1980 to ensure the voice of all tourism operators could be heard, said Christopher Barry, Director of Membership at Restaurants Canada. By partnering with them, it allows us to bring additional voices to the table to support the continued growth and success of culinary tourism throughout the province. This partnership will allow for more direct industry feedback and alignment on policy issues so that both organizations can better represent the needs of the foodservice and hospitality sector both within the province and nationally. About Restaurants Canada Restaurants Canada represents a growing community of more than 30,000 businesses, advancing their potential through services, research and advocacy. Canadas foodservice sector is an $89 billion industry, directly employs 1.2 million Canadians, is the number one source of first jobs and serves 22 million customers every day. About Tourism Industry Association of PEI The Tourism Industry Association of Prince Edward Island (TIAPEI) was officially formed in 1980 and represents all geographical regions and sectors within the tourism industry. Tourism is a vital industry in Prince Edward Island that provides over 17,000 full time, part time and seasonal jobs for Islanders. It accounts for approximately $490 million in economic activity each year and 6.3 percent of GDP, the highest percentage of any Canadian province. Henderson, NV, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International Virtual Learning Academy (IVLA), an online K-12 accredited private school, announced a $1,000 college scholarship in 2018 for students who have been accepted to an accredited U.S. college for the Fall of 2019. This scholarship was available to any college-bound student, whether they attended IVLA or not. To be considered for this scholarship award, students were required to submit no more than 500 words about how technology advanced their education. After reviewing hundreds of entries, a winner has been selected. Caitlyn Jodon, a 2019 graduate of Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, Arizona, was selected by the IVLA board of directors as the 2019 scholarship winner. You can read Caitlyns winning essay, and learn more about the 2020 scholarship, on the IVLA website. Caitlyn will be attending the University of Arizona to study to become a speech-language pathologist. Caitlyn found her passion for speech-language pathology while volunteering for the Best Buddies program in high school, where she met and befriended many students with intellectual disabilities. She was also a teachers assistant for a special education classroom, where she assisted on a daily basis. During her high school career, Caitlyn was involved in many extra-curricular activities including the Key Club, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, and her church youth group. I am so honored to have been selected for IVLA's very first annual scholarship. I appreciate every single penny that will help me further my education and pursue my goal of becoming a speech-language pathologist. Thank you, IVLA, for investing in my education! Caitlyn Jodon To learn more or apply to the 2020 IVLA scholarship program, please visit https://internationalvla.com/college-scholarship-from-ivla/. This opportunity is open to any learner with the desire to achieve a higher education at a U.S. accredited college, university, or trade school. IVLA understands that there are countless paths and destinations for success. Students who aspire to attend any accredited higher education program of any major or focus of study can apply for the scholarship program if they meet the scholarship criteria. If you or someone you know has one or more years left of their education at an accredited U.S. college or trade school, share this scholarship opportunity! Attachment Stanford, CA, USA, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As worshippers in churches, mosques and synagogues are being slaughtered and hate crimes and violence fueled by tensions between people of different beliefs are on the rise, the United Religions Initiative (URI) will gather representatives of the worlds religious, spiritual, and Indigenous traditions on the Stanford University Campus June 26 and 27 for a two-day, international conference. The conference will be open to the public, exploring interfaith strategies for global and local peacebuilding. Speaking of the work of the United Religions Initiative, His Excellency Mr. Adama Dieng, Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide said, The United Nations Office of Genocide Prevention is working closely with United Religions Initiative (URI) as we highly value the work of this organization in promoting enduring interfaith cooperation to end religiously motivated violence and foster a culture of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings. URI is the worlds largest grassroots interfaith peacebuilding network, working in 109 countries and headquartered in San Francisco. Accelerate Peace: Interfaith Action in Global Peacebuilding will bring together grassroots interfaith peacebuilders, policy experts, religious leaders, young leaders, and representatives from civil society, the private sector, the United Nations, and international and interfaith organizations. Together, they will address issues of religiously-motivated violence and prejudice-based injustice, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The conference will promote peacebuilding through interfaith cooperation to address key humanitarian issues, including human rights, poverty, womens empowerment, environmental sustainability, and eliminating nuclear weapons. The gathering will take place at the Hoover Institution on the Stanford University Campus. It is sponsored by former US Secretary of State, George P. Shultz, a fellow at the Hoover Institution and member of URIs Presidents Council. Testifying at a 2015 hearing of the US Senate Arms Services Committee on Global Threats and National Security Strategy, Secretary Shultz spoke about URI, saying, Interfaith efforts like the United Religions Initiative are the kind of positive, non-military approach to dealing with the rising violence of religious extremism that we must support. Joining Secretary Shultz will be grassroots peacebuilders of all beliefs from around the world, and a broad array of the conferences keynote speakers and panelists including: Kehkashan Basu, Founder/President of Green Hope Foundation H.E. Adama Dieng, UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers Dr. Azza Karam, Senior Advisor on Culture at the United Nations Population Fund Valarie Kaur, Human Rights Activist and founder of The Revolutionary Love Project The Rev. Victor Kazanjian, Executive Director of URI Rabbi Daniel Lehmann, President of the General Theological Union Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswati, Secretary General of the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance The Right Rev. William E. Swing, Founder and President of URI, former Episcopal Bishop of California Participants in the conference will develop a deeper understanding of interfaith efforts towards global peacebuilding and consider targeted action steps to be undertaken locally and globally. For ticket information, sponsorship opportunities, and more details, visit the Accelerate Peace conference webpage: https://uri.org/acceleratepeace ### ABOUT THE UNITED RELIGIONS INITIATIVE The United Religions Initiative is the largest grassroots interfaith peacebuilding network in the world. It cultivates peace and justice by engaging people to bridge religious and cultural differences and work together for the good of their communities. We implement our mission in 109 countries through local and global initiatives that build the capacity of over 1000 member groups and organizations, called Cooperation Circles, to engage in community action such as conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, womens and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights. URI holds the prestigious distinction of being a non-governmental organization (NGO) with consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, and has long-standing partnerships with several other UN agencies. Learn more at URI.org. Attachment OTTAWA, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Phzio Canada developer of the industry-leading Phzio platform for telerehabilitation, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Benefits by Design (BBD) Inc. and Green Shield Canada (GSC) to enable BBDs existing group benefits members to have access to Phzios innovative solution for telerehabilitation services (aka. virtual physiotherapy). Our brand in the marketplace is directly linked with being able to deliver new and innovative solutions for our members. said Mike McClenahan, Managing Partner at BBD. And Phzios telerehabilitation solution is a perfect fit! Using Phzio, we are providing better access for employees needing physiotherapy. In the long-term, this is about healthier people living pain-free. Peter Gove, Innovation Leader at GSC adds, GSC realizes that the role of physical health is growing in importance for employers and employees. Musculoskeletal issues have been on our radar for a while, and with Phzio, we are able to support BBD in the launch of a virtual care model pilot that increases the reach and positive impact physiotherapy providers can have on plan members. A pilot like this is so important for GSC, as it helps us evaluate new virtual services for possible future inclusion in benefits plans. Darwin Fogt, CEO at Phzio stated, We are very excited to launch our relationship with BBD and GSC to introduce Phzio to plan members. This collaboration effectively breaks down many of the traditional barriers of time and travel for employees and their families getting access to a physiotherapy professional. Employees will have faster, easier and less expensive access to have a physiotherapist diagnose and treat most musculoskeletal disorders. About Phzio Canada Phzio is the first physiotherapy telehealth company to offer insurance reimbursable real-time distance monitored treatments. The Phzio Telerehab platform is the most advanced technology available for Physiotherapists to treat patients virtually and is available in Canada and the US. The physiotherapy market in Canada is approximately $3 billion annually. About Green Shield Canada GSC is Canadas only national not-for-profit health specialist, and their reason for being is the enhancement of the common good. GSC seeks innovative ways to improve access to better health for Canadians. From coast-to-coast, their service delivery includes drug, dental, extended health care, vision, hospital and travel benefits for groups and individuals, as well as administration services. Supported by sustainability and outcomes-based strategies, advanced technology and exceptional customer service, they create customized programs for over two and a half million plan participants nationwide. Learn more about GSC at greenshield.ca. About BBD Benefits by Design (BBD) Inc. is a third-party administrator working in partnership with independent advisors to help working Canadians connect with employee benefits plans and services. In business for over 20 years, BBD offers a full suite of group insurance products and the companys technology solutions support health and drive growth for Canadian workplaces. Visit https://www.bbd.ca/ for more information. Gettysburg, Pa, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OPEN MINDS has released an updated suite of Medicaid market intelligence resources on the state of New Hampshire. The resources include analysis of the New Hampshires Medicaid system, Medicaid managed care vendor contracts, and additional state-specific information. New Hampshire operates two Medicaid managed care programs: Medicaid Care Management (MCM) This program delivers physical and behavioral health and pharmacy benefits to children, parent/caretaker relatives, and the aged, blind, and disabled population. The MCM program contracts with two statewide health plans. Individuals have a choice of health plans: New Hampshire Healthy Families Cenpatico Well Sense Health Plan Beacon This program delivers physical and behavioral health and pharmacy benefits to children, parent/caretaker relatives, and the aged, blind, and disabled population. The MCM program contracts with two statewide health plans. Individuals have a choice of health plans: Note: The state is in the process of reprocuring the MCM health plans, with a planned start date of July 1, 2019. Granite Advantage This program replaced the New Hampshire Health Protection Program (NHHPP) program for the Medicaid expansion population on January 1, 2019. Under the new program, the Medicaid expansion population will receive coverage through the Medicaid Care Management health plans and will be required to complete community engagement requirements. Ambetter Anthem Harvard Pilgrim of New England This program replaced the New Hampshire Health Protection Program (NHHPP) program for the Medicaid expansion population on January 1, 2019. Under the new program, the Medicaid expansion population will receive coverage through the Medicaid Care Management health plans and will be required to complete community engagement requirements. Note: The Granite Advantage program adds community engagement requirements. Members must have 100 hours of qualifying activities each month, including employment, education, vocational and job skills training, job search activity, volunteer service, addiction disorder treatment, and activities for work requirements in other programssuch as SNAP and TANF. If community engagement hours are not met for two consecutive months, it will lead to a suspension in coverage, which will be reinstated after hours are met. If an individual does not meet their hours requirement, they will have the opportunity to cure to maintain coverage by submitting additional hours the next The New Hampshire Medicaid Managed Care Contracts are available now for all Elite OPEN MINDS Circle members. Individual contracts may be purchased in the OPEN MINDS shop for $1,500 each. Additionally, the OPEN MINDS team has four in-depth profiles of the New Hampshire state health system: The New Hampshire suite of state profiles is now available now for the Elite OPEN MINDS Circle members. In addition, the OPEN MINDS team has a wealth of additional New Hampshire-specific resources. A monthly OPEN MINDS market intelligence update is available to all health and human services executives. To sign up, OPEN MINDS Circle members should set their email preferences under the My Account Settings. All of these resources, and more, are available as part of an OPEN MINDS Circle Elite membership. Membership includes unlimited organizational access to all OPEN MINDS content and databases, plus executive education events, and other exclusive Elite member benefits. Learn more about becoming an Elite OPEN MINDS Circle member online at www.openminds.com/elite. ABOUT OPEN MINDS OPEN MINDS is an award-winning information source, executive education provider, and business solutions firm specializing in the domains of health and human services serving consumers with chronic conditions and complex support needs. For thirty years, weve been pioneers for change helping organizations implement the transformational business practices they need to succeed in an evolving market with new reimbursement, competition, policies and regulations. OPEN MINDS is powered by a national team of experienced executives and subject matter experts with specific expertise and experience in nine key market areas mental health, addictions, chronic conditions, autism and intellectual/developmental disabilities, long-term care, childrens services, social services, juvenile justice, and corrections health care. Our mission is to improve the quality of care for consumers with complex support needs by improving the effectiveness of those serving them provider organizations, payer and insurance organizations, government agencies, pharmaceutical organizations, and technology firms. Learn more at www.openminds.com BACHELORS HALL Billy Hardy was mowing a field when he saw smoke billowing from a nearby trailer. I just jumped off the tractor, called 911 Hardy recalled at the scene of trailer fire that destroyed the rear end of the structure Sunday afternoon at 260 Old Farm Road in southwestern Pittsylvania County. An occupant, a 90-year-old woman, had escaped and was standing on the front porch. Hardy went to her and led her to the shade of a nearby pine tree. She was being treated by emergency technicians at the scene for smoke inhalation. The fire was reported at 3:22 p.m. and firefighters arrived before 3:30 p.m., said Bachelors Hall Fire & Rescue incident commander Larry Coston. Fire and smoke were visible when firefighters arrived. They started with an exterior attack and then entered the trailer to face the inferno inside. The back end was fully involved, Coston said. The back half of the trailer is gone. Crews from Brosville and Cascade also responded to the blaze. The woman in the trailer was on oxygen, Coston said. As to whether she would be transported to the hospital, Coston said, She probably needs to go. Pittsylvania County Assistant Fire Marshal Jeff Conner said he did not yet know the fires cause. At this point, its undetermined, Conner told the Danville Register & Bee. Its still very early. A firefighter doused hot spots behind the trailer while personnel and a dog milled about the scene, which included blackened grass and bits of wood and siding littering the ground. Hardys wife, Joy Hardy, owns the property where the trailer was located and is the occupants niece, Billy said. The occupant was in an ambulance just before a reporter Danville Register & Bee left the scene. She still hasnt decided whether she wants to go to the hospital, Coston said. John Crane reports for the Danville Register & Bee. Contact him at jcrane@registerbee.com or (434) 791-7987. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. As a National Environmental Research Park, Fermilab studies our many ecosystems which include the amazing plants and animals that make our natural sites unique, said Maureen Hix of the Fermilab Office of Education and Public Outreach. We want kids and parents to connect with this nature through hands-on opportunities, to discover the wonder and value that nature provides us. Thanks to a hyperpartisan environment, special elections have gone national, with money and press attention flowing to these races as never before. At the moment, this is a particularly challenging development for Republicans, who since the 2016 general election have faced repeated, and at times shocking, defeats in a string of special elections.Nationally, the party has lost dozens of state legislative seats, a U.S. House seat in a Pennsylvania district that Donald Trump won by nearly 20 points, and what had been thought to be an ultra-safe U.S. Senate seat in Alabama.Republicans, concerned that the poor special election results suggested that a "blue wave" was coming last November, played down each loss as the result of a particular set of circumstances. This argument is based on a legitimate question of whether special elections are an accurate look at the wider electorate or are instead a kind of race that gives a special advantage to challengers in a what is typically very low-turnout balloting.But while special elections could appear to be in a class by themselves, this may not be the case. There is one common type ofspecial elections -- recalls -- that suggests that special elections can in fact be a fairly good indicator of regular elections.It's true that in special elections turnout is usually lower than in general elections, sometimes dramatically so. Despite some rare examples of high-turnout special elections, such as the gubernatorial recalls in California in 2003 and Wisconsin in 2012 and the 2017 race to fill a vacant Alabama U.S. Senate seat, special elections generally take place in the shadows of the news cycle.Unlike most special elections, recalls can take place either on a separate date or they can be put on the ballot at the same time as a regularly scheduled primary or general election. Much as with the arguments that special elections are a unique, atypical portrait of the electorate, when I began studying the recall I thought that stand-alone recalls would be more likely to result in an incumbent losing office than those that take place on a regularly scheduled election date. According to this theory, the fact that it is a special election means that the more motivated, "angrier" party will have an easier time turning out its base -- which would explain why the out-of-office party has done better in many special elections.But after compiling a list of the recalls that took place over six years, my theory was shot down. Sitting officials, it turns out, are not disproportionately hurt -- and sometimes may actually be helped -- by when a recall election is held. Moreover, the more-motivated, angrier voters do not seem to skew special elections in an obviously predictable way.From 2011 to 2018, there were 861 recall efforts in 30 states -- from Wisconsin's governor and three state Senate leaders to mayors, sheriffs, school board members and fire district commissioners -- that went to a vote. (Another 169 officials resigned in the face of a recall.) Of those 861 recalls, 519 resulted in an ouster, while in 342 cases the incumbent survived the vote, a 60 percent removal rate.What is particularly meaningful for followers of special elections is that in breaking those 861 recalls down, the date of the vote did seem to have had an impact, but not the expected one.The vast majority of these recalls, 539 of them, were stand-alone special elections, where 58 percent of the incumbent officials lost their vote. But recalls that took place on the same day as a general or a primary election saw a 64 percent removal rate. Every recall is different -- though despite perception, only a small few are about corruption issues -- but apparently having a special election where the presumably more angry group of voters is motivated to turn out to vote for a single issue may not help. On the whole, it seems that special elections may not always benefit the more motivated party.The same phenomena may be at work with special elections in general. Turnout may be lower and one party may be angrier or more likely to show up at the polls. But the smaller turnout may nonetheless be presenting a reasonably accurate picture of the electorate as a whole.While a string of special election defeats can be seen as simply one-off losses that have little to do with the overall tenor of the electorate, recalls provide evidence that special elections can be a real warning of impending trouble beyond just a small subset of motivated voters. A failure to reverse the trend of setbacks in special elections -- no matter when they're held -- may be a real sign of things to come in the next general election. Waubonsee Community College at 18 S River St. will hold Stonewall: The First and Next 50, a moderated panel discussion on the LGBTQ+ movement in the 50 years since the Stonewall Uprising and what the hopes are for the next 50 years. Admission is free for the event, which will go from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday. For years a group of Colorado lawmakers have tried and failed to pass two laws they said would improve the lives of LGBTQ Coloradans.One bans mental health professionals from trying to change a minor's sexual orientation or "sexual or romantic attraction or feelings toward individuals of the same-sex." It also makes advertising conversion therapy a deceptive trade practice under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. The second bill makes it possible for transgender Coloradans to update their birth certificates without having to prove they surgically changed their gender or submit a public notice.On Friday morning, Gov. Jared Polis signed them both into law in front of a cheering crowd gathered on the west steps of the Capitol."This has truly been a testament of how progress takes time," Rep. Daneya Esgar, D-Pueblo, told the crowd moments before Polis signed both bills.Polis, the first openly gay man to be elected governor of a U.S. state, recognized the historic significance of the moment, saying Colorado has come a long way since being nicknamed the "hate state" in 1992, when voters amended the Constitution to prohibit protections for people on the basis of sexual orientation."What a great way to kick off pride month for 2019," Polis said.What made the bills successful this legislative session was Democratic control of the Colorado Senate. Earlier versions of both bills failed to pass out of the state's upper chamber in recent years, when Republicans held a one-seat majority.Those who objected to the conversion therapy bill said they worried it would infringe on the ability of pastors and others to talk about their personal religious beliefs on homosexuality. And the concerns raised about issuing new birth certificates to transgender persons largely centered around whether birth certificates are historical documents that shouldn't be altered.Both bills weren't passed on partisan lines, however. Some Republicans supported each bill.Rep. Colin Larson, R-Littleton, voted to ban conversion therapy. The 32-year-old told a committee back in February that his party's divide on the bill was "a generational issue, to be frank with you.""This (bill) protects them until the age of 18, so they have the ability to grow up and explore who they are and not be forced to do anything until they are a legal, consenting adult," Larson said at the time.Four Republican state senators also voted for the transgender identity documents bill, which several of the speakers noted as a sign of how much public opinion has shifted on the issue of gay rights in the last three decades."That is a testament to the work you all have done year after year," Sen. Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday he's concerned about having government officials sign off on vaccine exemptions, arguing those decisions should be made between patients and doctors without government involvement."I'm a parent. I don't want someone that the governor of California appointed to make a decision for my family," he told reporters after his speech at the California Democratic Party Convention.Although he didn't mention the bill explicitly, his comments indicate he doesn't support a bill by state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, that would require the California Department of Public Health to sign off on doctors' medical exemption requests. If the Legislature passes the bill, it would need Newsom's signature to become law.Pan's bill, SB 276, would have physicians fill out a uniform document and then send it to the California Department of Public Health. If it's denied, a doctor could appeal the decision.The proposal is a result of what Pan says are a few "unscrupulous physicians" selling exemptions after he passed his SB 277 in 2015 that eliminated personal beliefs from a list of reasons a child could not be vaccinated and still enroll in school.Pan says the legislation would still allow students who need the medical exemption to get them. But some parents say the bill is "government overreach," and that the doctor-patient relationship will be compromised if it becomes law.Although Newsom said he strongly supports the bill Brown signed in 2015, he said he's concerned about handing those decisions over to a government appointee, not a doctor."I believe in immunizations... however I do legitimately have concerns about a bureaucrat making a decision that is very personal," Newsom said.. "That's just something we need to pause and think about." Missouri's only abortion clinic won a temporary reprieve in court on Friday, and may continue providing abortions for now, a St. Louis judge ruled.St. Louis Circuit Judge Michael Stelzer granted a request from Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region for a temporary restraining order that stopped the clinic's license from expiring at midnight on Friday.But Stelzer's ruling effectively extends the license for only a few days. He scheduled a hearing at 9 a.m. Tuesday for further debate.The news disappointed some abortion opponents, but they remained hopeful. "It's inevitable they're going to lose," said Rita Frances Ward. "Because God wins."Stelzer's order comes a day after hearing arguments over Planned Parenthood's future here, and a week after Gov. Mike Parson signed one of the nation's strictest abortion laws. The two events have together turned the nation's attention on Missouri, one of several states to pass stricter abortion laws. Activists on both sides protested in St. Louis on Thursday and Friday. Police arrested sixteen abortion-rights advocates Thursday after a protest spilled into the Wainwright building downtown. On Friday, abortion opponents gathered in front of Planned Parenthood's Central West End clinic, 4251 Forest Park Avenue.On Tuesday, Planned Parenthood sued the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, alleging the state agency was illegally refusing to renew the St. Louis abortion clinic's yearly license until the department could complete an investigation into an unspecified patient complaint.The legal fight stems from the state's Department of Health and Human Services' request to interview seven physicians, all of whom had worked at the clinic, as part of the investigation. Five of the doctors, who aren't employed by Planned Parenthood but come from local university medical programs to treat patients at the clinic, have refused to be interviewed as part of the state's investigation.Planned Parenthood said it has no power to compel those doctors to speak to the department about the investigation, which began in April after a routine inspection a month earlier. The clinic said the March 11-13 inspection included interviews with doctors and staff and cited some "non-remarkable" deficiencies -- such as failing to ensure all staff participated in a fire drill. The inspection also cited Planned Parenthood for the timing of a pelvic exam and the clinic's failure to ensure that the same doctor who provided an "informed consent visit" three days before an abortion was also the one performing the procedure. The clinic says it submitted a correction plan as required.A lawyer for DHSS argued Thursday that the doctors' refusal to be interviewed as part of the investigation is "unprecedented" and that the clinic has the burden of forcing the physicians to cooperate. He said it is common to seek interviews with people who work in health care facilities as part of the license renewal process.On Friday, Stelzer said he was not ruling on the merits of the controversy. The state argued that there was "no prospect" it would decide whether to renew the clinic's license before midnight Friday."Petitioner has demonstrated that immediate and irreparable injury will result if petitioner's license is allowed to expire," Stelzer wrote.About 60 abortion opponents protested on Friday outside Planned Parenthood, hoping Stelzer would side with the state. Some carried "Choose Life" signs. Others prayed the rosary. Some hoped to deter women coming in for abortions.Every few minutes, cars on Forest Park Avenue honked loudly in support. One driver cheered as she waited at a stoplight.But by the early afternoon, news of Stelzer's decision had reached the clinic sidewalk.A handful of abortion-rights supporters counter-protesting a few feet away erupted in high-fives and celebration, nearly drowning out Ward, the abortion opponent, who was singing the third verse of "Amazing Grace" into a microphone. In 1890, as white politicians across the South cracked down on the black population with Jim Crow laws, Mississippi inserted into its constitution an unusually high bar for getting elected governor or winning any other statewide office.The provision, which remains in force to this day, says candidates must win not only a majority of the popular vote that is, more than 50% but also a majority of the states 122 House districts.On Thursday, more than a century later, four black Mississippians sued in federal court to put an end to what they say is a racially discriminatory system, unique in the U.S. and aimed at thwarting the election of African Americans.The scheme has its basis in racism an 1890 post-Reconstruction attempt to keep African Americans out of statewide office, said former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the first black person to hold that position. He added: In the 21st century, its finally time to say that this provision should be struck down.Holder is chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, whose affiliated foundation is providing financial and legal backing for the lawsuit. I did not know any of the victims, but their namesonce the names were releasedrang so familiar. Mostly common Anglo-Saxon surnames, like my own: Brown, Gallagher, Nixon, Gayle, Cox, Williams, with a few of more varied ethnic origin among them. Gusev stood out.I had wandered the same halls where these people worked when I was a reporter forin the 1990s, my first newspaper job. Indeed, I had grown up with people like this, because Virginia Beach isnt just where I started my career. Its my hometown.Of course youve read the news stories by now: On Friday, a disgruntled employee of the Public Utilities department opened fire in the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, killing 12 of his colleagues and wounding several others. Eleven of the people who were killed were civil servants; one was a local contractor visiting the permitting office.One thing that may not have come across in the news stories is that the municipal complex has an unusual location. It sits far out in in the country, although the subdivisions this city, the largest in Virginia, are edging ever closer. When the sprawling Princess Anne County merged with the tiny town of Virginia Beach in 1963 to form a new city, it was decided to keep the heart of government at the old county courthouse, even though it was a long way away from everything, back then.As a reporter covering City Hall with a strong interest in urban planning, I spent untold hours in the Public Utilities offices, although I hung out more in the Planning Department nearby. All were in the brick, neo-Colonial architecture thats often favored in Virginia.Where I spent my time even more regularly was the chambers of the City Council, covering their meetings. Over the years as a reporter, I became close to Barbara Henley, who like me loved urban planning. In 1990 when she was voted out of office for a four-year stretch, she went back to school and got a masters in urban studies from the local university, Old Dominion. Then voters returned her to office.Amazingly, she is still a city councilwoman today, having first been elected in 1978. She is about as local as you can get. She runs a nearby farm, renowned in the area for its fruit. My adolescent son picked strawberries there on a recent visit in April.Henley was there at Fridays shooting and has been quoted in many of the news stories about it. She had gone to pick up the council agenda, per her routineshe has always been known for her rigorwhen she heard what turned out to be gunfire and was told to get down. I was scared to death, she said.We are all scared to death, I believe, every time one of these terrible and nonsensical shootings occur. My first thought when I heard the news of this one was, Now it comes home.I did not particularly fear for my 94-year-old mother, or my oldest sister, both of whom live in Virginia Beach. They were unlikely to be down in the south end of the city, at the municipal complex, far from their homes at the north end. But I was nonetheless worried, and I was relieved to hear from both that they were okay.For those of us who inhabit the world of local government, the Virginia Beach shooting hits home in yet another way. Seeing dedicated public servants gunned down in their place of work adds another dimension of sadness to an already unspeakably tragic eventjust as it did in December 2015 when a gunman opened fire at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif. All but one of the 14 victims in that attack were county employees.But of course the truth is that were all in the same boat. Were all waiting. Waiting for the time one of these shootings touches us personally, involving someone we love. Now one has come home to me, too close for comfort. I passionately hope that is not the case for everyone else. But sadly, I know that unless we take effective action, that will be case, and sooner rather than later. (TNS) The new computer-aided dispatch system Owensboro-Daviess County 911 dispatch will install in the next two years will provide more information to law enforcement and emergency responders than they could ever receive from the current system, 911 Director Paul Nave said.Earlier this year, officials selected Tyler Technologies to provide the new computer-aided dispatch and records management system for the dispatch center. While the current CAD system is still operational, there is no way to repair the old system if it breaks down.Nave said officials are still in contract negotiations with Tyler Technologies on the price of the new system. Nave said he expected the system to be installed and operational within 18 to 24 months.When the system is ready, it will immediately provide more information to firefighters and law enforcement officers than before through the mobile data terminals in patrol and fire vehicles, Nave said."It's going to be an information overload for first responders," he said last week.The system will improve officer safety when they are going to calls by immediately sending information about previous calls for service to that residence, Nave said. That information is now only provided to officers and deputies over the radio something that's not always possible if dispatchers are tied up with other calls."The CAD system will communicate with the MED system flawlessly," Nave said. The system will also help officers and responders better locate apartments by giving dispatchers an exact location of the apartment a call is coming from, he said.Officers and firefighters "are going to have floor plans" sent to their MDTs, Nave said. On calls to businesses, the system will also provide a list of key-holders, if that information is available.Nave said the fire department does surveys of businesses and collects information for fire response, such as whether a business houses hazardous chemicals. When the new system is online, information about chemicals and other hazards will be sent to firefighters and responders through their MDTs.Hydrant information will also be updated so firefighters can be routed by MDT to the nearest hydrant, Nave said.When an officer checks a driver's license, the new system will send a photo of the driver to the MDT so the officer can check if the driver is using a fake license, Nave said. Officers will also be able to immediately enter all of a person's driver's license information into the system by scanning the bar code on the back of a license."The other thing we are looking at is streamlining the officers' workload," Nave said.Information that officers put into their MDTs will go into the entire CAD system, making it available to others a short time later, Nave said."The ultimate goal is to improve services for the community and speed up response time," he said.James Mayse, 270-691-7303, jmayse@messenger-inquirer.com , Twitter: @JamesMayse2019 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)Visit the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.) at www.messenger-inquirer.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. OAKLAND GetCalFresh, the process by which to apply online for food stamps in California, is going statewide after a nearly two-year partnership, state and technology officials announced on Friday during the last day of the eighth annual Code for America Summit.Californias method by which residents apply for food assistance still has room to improve, according to Kim McCoy Wade, chief of the CalFresh Branch of the Department of Social Services (DSS); and Caitlin Docker, senior program manager for GetCalFresh at Code for America (CfA). But the process, they and Jens Egerland , senior managing director at Accenture, agreed, is greatly improved from once comprising around 200 questions divided among more than 55 unique screens online.Tomorrow is going to be a big day for people receiving CalFresh food stamps," Egerland said, praising the partnership between CfA and DSS as the key to the success of this.Theyre going to be accessing and making new functionality available as part of the GetCalFresh app. This is what were all striving for. GetCalFreshs statewide launch is aimed at benefiting an estimated 500,000 elderly and people with disabilities who are newly able to apply for CalFresh, the partners said in a news release, adding in a statement: This is a direct result of the states decision to expand eligibility for CalFresh to include Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients as of June 1. McCoy Wade called it the biggest expansion of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the nations history, as the system welcomes approximately 800,000 elderly and disabled combined.Some people had said technology is not for this customer, and we disagree. But this is so much more than technology. Its about constantly improving, and theyre never done, McCoy Wade said. The effect of the technology, built by CfA, has been fundamental. After deploying initially in San Francisco and then to other counties, GetCalFresh has reduced the time to get benefits by 75 percent and driven up application rates. But nearly 30 percent of applicants have told CalFresh that missing interviews set by the state caused them to be denied making this the partners next hurdle to clear. Docker said the agency now asks online in real time during the application process whether residents have interviewed, and helps get those conversations scheduled and outstanding documents uploaded. The problem isnt solved yet, but denials due to missed interviews have fallen 5 percent statewide, and DSS is working with counties to learn more. Other changes are imminent. The state is transitioning from three eligibility systems to one this month, McCoy Wade said, calling it an incredible moment, technology-wise. And, in an effort to drive equity, GetCalFresh will be available in traditional Chinese in July. The bar for smart use of technology keeps moving, CfA founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka said, specifically referencing CalFresh during a speech Thursday opening the Summits second day.The CfA-DSS collaboration, she said, is a great example of closing a communication gap in the program and continually streamlining the application process and making the benefit more and more accessible to the people who really need it. And weve done this through an iterative process of listening to users. Michigans search for a new chief information officer is officially underway.In a job announcement posted Friday, the state outlined what its looking for in its next IT leader, who will serve under the direction of newly elected Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Tricia L. Foster, the director of the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.Under the previous administration, Michigans CIO and director of the DTMB were the same person David DeVries, who stepped down Jan. 1 as Whitmer took office. Over the course of 16 months in the dual role, DeVries launched a statewide enterprise resource planning system, moved most of the states 57,000 computers to Microsoft Windows 10, moved the states treasury systems to the SAP HANA cloud, created an award-winning mobile portal for citizens and families to get benefits through the Department of Health and Human Services, and set the stage for a new online system for obtaining motor vehicle titles.Under the direct supervision of Foster heading the DTMB , Michigans next CIO will be responsible for implementing IT projects and strategies throughout the state, representing the department and state in IT matters at meetings, and generally being proactive about solving IT problems and advancing Michigans technology goals.The job description said Michigan policymakers continue to recognize the need for upgrading legacy technology, appropriating more than $40 million for it in 2019.By some industry measures, the next CIO will have a high bar to clear to maintain the states progress. Along with Utah, Michigan is one of two states to receive five consecutive A ratings froms biennial Digital States Survey . Recently appointed Chief Security Officer Chris DeRusha also credited Michigan as being ahead of the curve with the organization of its centralized IT department, as well as its collaboration on cybersecurity with private partners.For anyone with extensive experience leading large IT organizations, the job is located in Lansing and open to qualified applicants here The Royal Automobile Club of Catalonia (RACC) has joined the fight to help keep the Spanish GP in Barcelona. It appears that the annual race at the Circuit de Catalunya could be a victim as Liberty Media makes room for new races at Zandvoort and in Vietnam for 2020. With the uncertainty continuing, the RACC has issued a statement asking for help. "The RACC asks all administrations and the business world to make a unity of action to achieve the renewal of the Formula 1 race," it said. "We want to keep in our country one of the most important sporting events held every year in the world." The club said the Spanish GP contributes EUR 163 million to the economy and 2700 jobs, and also gives the region and Spain "maximum visibility" in the media. McLaren driver Carlos Sainz agrees: "1991 was the first one, let's make sure that 2019 is not the last one." Well-known Ferrari insider Leo Turrini predicts that the Maranello team and Renault are about to align politically in F1. Fiat Chrysler chairman John Elkann is reportedly behind a $37 billion proposal to merge the carmaker with Renault. The new alliance would make Fiat Chrysler Renault the third largest automotive player in the world, behind Toyota and Volkswagen. But Turrini said the deal would not have a massive impact on Formula 1. "First, Ferrari as a company and a racing team is not part of the FCA world. The spin off from the parent company averted the danger that Maranello would be swallowed by such a mega deal," he told his Quotidiano blog. "But with an equal agreement with the French, it is logical to suppose that Renault would coordinate its political positions with Ferrari more than it already does in F1." Turrini also thinks the Renault-Fiat alliance could spell trouble for the late Sergio Marchionne's plans with Alfa Romeo in F1. "In his absence, and now with Simone Resta's return to Italy, the project seems to have jammed," he said. This was really a make-or-break moment for this transformative project, Oswego Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said. We are thrilled with the efforts of our legislators in writing letters of support for this project and for making tough votes to seal the deal this weekend. We are elated that our legislators and the governor share our vision for bringing public transit to the fastest growing region in Illinois. Nico Hulkenberg has praised Renault for reacting to early engine problems in 2019. Amid Renault's performance and reliability struggles this year, the German is actually being linked with a move to Red Bull for 2019. But Hulkenberg said he was actually impressed with how the French works team fixed an engine flaw that was discovered early in the 2019 season. "They found solutions very quickly, redesigned it, remade it and made all of the necessary corrections," he is quoted by France's Auto Hebdo. "It was pretty impressive, and in Monaco we could feel that the engine came back to life and we were able to fight properly. So it's very positive." With its brand new facilities, the Canadian GP venue in Montreal looks safe for the long term. That is the view of promoter Francois Dumontier, who played down suggestions the new pit building will not be ready for this weekend's race. "There is no embarrassment for Montreal," he told Le Journal de Montreal newspaper. "I cannot wait to show our new facilities to the various stakeholders of F1. They had been wanting changes for years and will be just as satisfied as the spectators." Amid delays, a contract dispute and Montreal's harsh winter, the deadline to finish the upgrade was tight. But Dumontier said: "I knew everything would be finished on time, and that's the case. We are ready and I am very proud of it. "We are moving to another level. The Canadian GP is now part of the major league." And he said that unlike many other circuits on the calendar, Montreal can feel confident about its place in F1. "We can now think about the future," said Dumontier. "We are here for a long time. We did not do all this work to lose the grand prix in 2029. "I think F1 needs Montreal, and vice versa. When we lost our race in 2009, everyone wanted it back the following year. And that's what happened." Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are now locked in a struggle to be the future host of the Brazilian GP. Currently, the race is held at Interlagos, a neighbourhood of Sao Paulo. But recently, new Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro caused a major stir by saying the race would be held at a new track in Rio in 2020. That has now been ruled out, with Sao Paulo insisting on its 2020 contract with F1 and even the Rio organisers denying that a track can be built that quickly. "In reality, the expected duration of construction is 16 to 17 months," JR Pereira, boss of Rio Motorsports, told Agence France Presse. Not just that, Sao Paulo is fighting for a new contract beyond 2020. "The grand prix will take place in Interlagos in 2020 and stay here," state governor Joao Doria insisted. "If Rio wants to compete with Sao Paulo, I can guarantee that Sao Paulo is more likely to win." Preparation is also part of the effort as it was when the collapsed teachers life was saved. Aire said there are AEDs in every school in the district. Not only the nurses but the teachers know how to use them, as well as administer CPR. Something that is really important to us in Buffalo Grove is that this parade is for the family and its all about the kids and about them starting to have the conversation with their parents that being gay, or being trans, or whatever it may be, is completely normal, Carolyn Pinta said. Its just part of our community. British Columbias Zero-Emission Vehicles Act (ZEVA), passed on 29 May, will require all new light-duty vehicles sold in the province to be zero-emission vehicles by 2040. This target will be met using a phased-in approach: 10% of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2025, 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. British Columbians are already buying the most zero-emission vehicles per capita in Canada. In the first quarter of 2019, they made up more than 6% of new light-duty vehicle sales in BC. Due to the popularity of its CEVforBC rebate program, the government recently topped up the incentives with another $10 million, part of the $42 million that was committed in Budget 2019. The government announced its commitment to bring in a ZEV mandate on 20 November 2018; ZEVA was introduced in the legislature on April 10, 2019. Zero-emission vehicles include battery electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. ZEVA applies to new vehicles for retail sale or lease, with annual requirements for automakers to meet starting for model year 2020. Multiple NASA centers have partnered with Virgin Orbit to develop and to test a 3D printed combustion chamber. Virgin Orbit air launches rockets carrying small satellites to space. The company partnered with NASA experts in combustion and additive manufacturing (3D printing) at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland; and Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The goal: to create a 3D printed combustion chamber that combines multiple materials and takes advantage of advanced manufacturing processes. A 3D-printed rocket engine combustion chamber awaiting hot-fire testing at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Credits: NASA/Virgin Orbit Traditionally, it takes many months to manufacture, test and deliver a conventional combustion chamber. We can reduce that time considerably. Additive manufacturing is primed to augment and enhance traditional processes. It provides new design and performance opportunities and yields a highly durable piece of hardwareand with this partnership, were advancing that capability even further. NASA senior engineer Paul Gradl, who leads the joint project at Marshall The effort incorporates a proven NASA additive copper alloyGRCop-84which was developed at Marshall and Glenn in 2014 to successfully print and test the first full-scale 3D printed copper rocket engine part. GRCop-84 (Cu-8 at.% Cr-4 at.% Nb) is a new high-temperature copper-based alloy that possesses excellent high-temperature strength, creep resistance and low-cycle fatigue up to 700 C (1292 F) along with low thermal expansion and good conductivity. GRCop-84 can also be processed and joined by a variety of methods including extrusion, rolling, bending, stamping, brazing, friction stir welding, and electron beam welding. Considerable mechanical property data has been generated for as-produced material and following simulated braze cycles. The data shows that the alloy is extremely stable during thermal exposures. To strengthen this new engine thrust chamber further, Virgin Orbit used its own hybrid additive/subtractive machine to apply a second bimetallic super-alloy jacket and precisely machine the part. Engineers test-fire a 3D-printed rocket engine combustion chamber at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA is partnering with Virgin Orbit of Long Beach, California, to deliver advanced engine hardware that employs NASA and commercial additive manufacturing processes. Researchers will continue to explore advanced 3D-printing solutions, introducing even higher-performing alloys and further refining the printing process. Credits: NASA/Virgin Orbit In late 2018 and early 2019, Marshall, in consultation with Glenn and Virgin Orbit engineers, tested the combustion chamber using high-pressure liquid oxygen/kerosene propellants. The test article delivered more than 2,000 pounds of thrust successfully in nearly two-dozen, 60-second test firings. The combination of multiple optimized materials and additive manufacturing technologies weve employed represents a significant advancement from the compromises typically made in the production of 3D printed rocket engine combustion chambers. Information gained from our partnership with NASA will be key in applying these technologies to further improve cost, performance and lead time of Virgin Orbits propulsion systems for the LauncherOne vehicle. Kevin Zagorski, Propulsion Advanced Manufacturing manager at Virgin Orbit NASAs goal is to continue working with industry to advance technology and improve access to space by making launch technology safer, faster and more cost effective, said Ed Hamlin, project manager at Armstrong. At Marshall, that means refining 3D printed combustion devices even further by exploring even higher-performing copper alloys. In time, Gradl said, additive manufacturing solutions could support a variety of crewed or robotic deep space exploration missions, including lunar landers and advanced propulsion systems. Earth-based applications also may present themselves. The collaborative partnership between NASA and Virgin Orbit, created via an Announcement of Collaborative Opportunity by NASAs Space Technology Mission Directorate, seeks to advance technology across the commercial sector and benefit future NASA missions, reducing launch costs and enabling more robust scientific exploration of the Moon and Mars. Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) and Magnum Development announced an initiative to launch the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in central Utah. The worlds largest project of its kind, the ACES initiative will develop 1,000 MW of 100% clean energy storage, thereby deploying technologies and strategies essential to a decarbonized future for the power grid of the Western United States. According to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, carbon emissions from the US power sector have dropped 30% since 2005 because of a combination of natural gas and renewable power replacing retiring coal-fired power plants. MHPS has been instrumental in this transition and last year became the global market share leader for heavy duty gas turbines. As a next step in decarbonization, MHPS has developed gas turbine technology that enables a mixture of renewable hydrogen and natural gas to produce power with even lower carbon emissions. The MHPS technology roadmap aims to use 100% renewable hydrogen as a fuel source, which will allow gas turbines to produce electricity with zero carbon emissions. Magnum Development owns and controls the only known Gulf Coast style domal-quality salt formation in the western United States. With five salt caverns already in operation for liquid fuels storage, Magnum is continuing to develop Compressed Air Energy Storage and renewable hydrogen storage options. Strategically located adjacent to the Intermountain Power Project, the Magnum site is positioned to integrate seamlessly with the western US power grid utilizing existing infrastructure. In many parts of the western United States, there are times of day when demand for electricity is lower than the production of renewable power. This leads to curtailment of renewable generation and negative electricity pricing. Continued deployment of renewables will require that excess power be stored for later use. To serve the needs of the entire western United States, many gigawatt-hours of storage capacity are required. Initially developing enough energy storage to completely serve the needs of 150,000 households for an entire year, the ACES initiative will deploy four types of clean energy storage at utility scale. These energy storage technologies include: Renewable hydrogen Compressed Air Energy Storage Large scale flow batteries Solid oxide fuel cells The ACES project will engineer, finance, construct, own, and operate facilities to be located in Millard County, Utah. Over the coming weeks and months, additional strategic and financial partners will be invited to participate. Autonomous trucking startup TuSimple has been hauling mail more than 1,000 miles between Phoenix and Dallas as part of a two-week pilot with the US Postal Service. Halfway through the test, the self-driving prototypes from TuSimplean NVIDIA DRIVE partner and NVIDIA Inception memberhave been arriving at the delivery hubs earlier than expected. In just a week, weve been able to operate safe and efficient deliveries autonomously. Chuck Price, chief product officer at TuSimple The pilot comprises five round trips, each consisting of nearly 2,200 miles along the I-10, I-20 and I-30 corridors. The commonly traveled route typically takes human drivers about 48 hours to complete. This trip length creates a logistical challenge for shipping companies such as the USPS. Regulations limit truckers to 11 hours at a stretch and theres a growing driver shortage. The American Trucking Association estimates the industry is short 50,000 drivers, a number that is expected to more than triple to 175,000 by 2024. By incorporating autonomous driving technology into these long-haul trips, shippers can improve efficiency, ease the strain on drivers and deliver more goods faster. While TuSimples trucks can operate on surface streets and highways, for this project it was agreed to start with highway only, with two human operators supervising the system. This type of geofenced autonomous driving is at SAE Level 4. Achieving this level of autonomy requires high-performance, energy-efficient compute capability, which enables the vehicle to process sensor data and perceive objects in real time. TuSimples trucks use NVIDIA technology to perform onboard processing as well as to train its deep learning algorithms to recognize specific objects such as traffic signs and emergency vehicles. NVIDIA is the only company able to deliver the technology we need to achieve these milestones. Chuck Price The USPS pilot is just the start for TuSimples autonomous trucks delivering goods across state lines. The startup already has 15 contracts with shipping companies and travels routes around Tucson, Ariz. Sixty percent of economic activity in the US lies in the freight that travels along the I-10 corridor, which connects the southwestern states and makes up a significant portion of the current pilot. Formed in 2015, TuSimple develops technology for autonomous long-distance freight delivery. In 2017, NVIDIA GPU Ventures joined a group of investors led by Chinese social media company Sina in investing more than $20 million in the Chinese startup. TuSimple uses NVIDIA GPUs, NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2, Jetson TX2, CUDA, TensorRT and cuDNN to develop its autonomous driving solution. In June 2017, the company successfully completed a 200-mile Level 4 test drive from San Diego to Yuma, Arizona, using NVIDIA GPUs and cameras as the primary sensor. Since then, theyve received more than 170 reports in 46 counties of the mostly nocturnal mammal, and wildlife biologists are seeking the publics help with documenting the population. People who observe an armadillo are asked to take a picture and upload it to iNaturalist.org via the iNaturalist app, available free for iPhone and Android. Or they can can send the photo via email to armadillo@ncwildlife.org. The email should also include the date and time it was observed and its location. GPS coordinates are best, but a detailed location description is acceptable, officials say. The armadillo is expanding its range naturally throughout North Carolina, rather than being helped by human intervention, according to Colleen Olfenbuttel, the commissions black bear and furbearer biologist. Whether armadillos continue spreading beyond their current range will be largely determined by climate, Olfenbuttel said in a news release. Mild winter temperature conditions are good for armadillos. Since they lack thick insulation and must dig for most foods, freezing conditions can cause them to starve or freeze to death. Their natural predators include feral hogs, dogs, black bears, coyotes, bobcats and raccoons. When threatened, armadillos may jump straight up several feet possibly to distract the predator and usually flee. But they also can defend themselves by expelling a foul-smelling anal spray. Source: N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission Contact Kenwyn Caranna at (336) 373-7082. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BATON ROUGE, La. A Louisiana Catholic school principal has been arrested after visiting a strip club while on a school field trip to the nation's capital. Diocese of Baton Rouge spokesman Dan Borne says Michael Comeau was arrested early Thursday in Washington, D.C., where he was with students from Holy Family Catholic School, a K-8 school in Port Allen. According to an arrest report, officers were dispatched to Archibald's Gentlemen's Club on a complaint about "an intoxicated man refusing to pay his bill." The Advocate reports the 47-year-old faces charges of public intoxication and possession of an open container of alcohol. It was unknown if he has an attorney. Borne says Comeau has resigned. An interim principal will be appointed. Comeau also resigned from his position as a reserve Brusly (brew-lee) Police officer. Minnesota appears to offer the most detailed reports on infants born alive during an abortion. A 2017 report by Minnesotas health department found that three infants were born alive during the course of an abortion in 2017, but later died (page 27 of the report: nando.com/53-). In two of those cases, no care was given. In one of those two, the infants vital signs were already weak. Further information about the cases isnt immediately available from the Minnesota Health Department, spokesman Doug Schultz told PolitiFact in an email. Its also unclear whether the medical professionals in those abortion cases acted within the limits of the law. Providing additional information on specific cases would have to be carefully reviewed and likely would not be possible as the information could be potentially identifying. Penalty and prosecution of physicians are outside of our jurisdiction and we dont have any information on that, Schultz said. Contributed / Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is asking people to steer clear of the baby deer. In a post on its Facebook page, the DEEP explained that this time of year between late May and mid-June is typically when deer fawns are born and everyone is reminded to avoid disturbing or picking them up. It is best to keep your distance because the fawns mother is almost always nearby. Theres only so much you can schedule in our community room, and while were grateful for the cooperation of the schools in letting us use their facilities, their own programs take priority in scheduling activities, he said. NORWALK The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos and his girlfriend were caught on camera discarding trash bags containing blood of the 50-year-old mother of five who has been missing for more than a week, according to their arrest warrants. The warrants claim Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis made stops at more than 30 trash receptacles over a four-mile stretch of Albany Avenue in Hartford on the night of Jennifer Dulos disappearance. Police searched the trash cans and found garbage bags containing clothes and household items, such as kitchen sponges, that were stained with blood, the warrants said. State forensic teams determined the blood belonged to Jennifer Dulos, the warrant said. Fotis Dulos, 51, and Troconis, 44, were arraigned Monday in state Superior Court in Norwalk after being arrested Saturday night on charges of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and first-degree hindering prosecution. According to an arrest warrant, a black Ford F-150 Raptor caught on security video was traced to Fotis Dulos. A warrant also revealed Fotis Dulos and Troconis cellphones were in the Hartford area when the videos were captured. One video clip showed a man inserting an item into a storm drain grate near Garden Street. Detectives later searched the area and recovered two Connecticut license plates that had been altered with adhesive and tape, the warrant said. The plate was connected to a canceled registration for a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban belonging to Fotis Dulos. The arrest warrants confirmed that multiple bloodstains and suspected blood splatter were found, along with evidence of an attempted cleanup, in the garage of Jennifer Dulos home on Welles Lane in New Canaan. Based upon the crime scene processing, investigators came to the consensus that a serious physical assault had occurred at the scene, and Jennifer Dulos was the suspected victim, the arrest warrant said. Authorities continued on Monday to search for Jennifer Dulos. The FBI Evidence Recovery Team concentrated its search for hours in a wooded area of Waveny Park near the Merritt Parkway. They placed several evidence markers down in the woods and scanned the area with metal detectors. The investigators were assisted by police dogs specifically trained to find electronic equipment. One of the handlers said the dogs are trained to smell a chemical found in cellphones. High bond upheld As the search continued, Jennifer Dulos estranged husband and his new flame were arraigned at state Superior Court in Norwalk. Wearing an orange jumpsuit with cuffs on his arms and legs, Fotis Dulos was escorted into the back entrance of the Norwalk courthouse shortly before 10 a.m. Monday. Members of the media and the public crowded around the fence as Fotis Dulos was led into the courthouse. He had no reaction as reporters shouted questions as he entered the building. Troconis arrived a few minutes earlier, wearing the same clothes she had on when she was arrested Saturday night. She kept her head low, avoiding the flash of dozens of cameras, as she was escorted from a New Canaan police cruiser into the Norwalk courthouse. The two were arraigned separately in front of a packed courtroom that included their relatives. Fotis Dulos came before Judge Stephanie McLaughlin with a bowed head and clenched jaw, and listened as his lawyer Eugene Riccio failed to get his $500,000 bond reduced. Troconis, a mother and CEO, appeared to blow kisses at family members before receiving the same news. Both defense lawyers argued their clients have no criminal records and are in good standing in community, but state prosecutor Suzanne Vieux argued the serious nature of the allegations warranted the high bond. In addition to upholding the bonds, McLaughlin ruled the defendants must wear GPS monitoring, turn over their passports and avoid all contact with Jennifer Dulos family if they post bond. Troconis was released after posting bond later Monday afternoon, while Fotis Dulos was transported back to the Bridgeport Correctional Facility where he has been held since his arrest. Fotis Dulos attorney, Eugene Riccio, said his client was likely not going to post bond on Monday. Neither defendant entered a plea on Monday. Both are scheduled to appear at the Stamford courthouse on June 11. Additional criminal charges are expected as the investigation continues, police said. Search for Jennifer Dulos Jennifer Dulos was last seen dropping off her children at New Canaan Country School on May 24. Her black Chevy Suburban was found later that night on the side of Lapham Road near Waveny Park after she was reported missing. The search for Dulos has been mostly focused in New Canaan in Waveny Park and in her Welles Lane neighborhood. The police also searched a property owned by her parents in Pound Ridge, N.Y. The investigation quickly shifted to the Hartford area on Friday with authorities searching the Upper Albany section of the city, focusing on a storm drain outside a bakery and trash bins in the area. A few hours later, they arrived at Fotis Dulos Farmington home before escorting him to the state police Troop L barracks in Litchfield, where blood and hair samples were taken. For most of the weekend, authorities focused their searches on Dulos Jefferson Crossing home in Farmington and a property his company recently developed on Mountain Spring Road in that town. Jennifer and Fotis Dulos have been involved in a two-year divorce case. In court documents, Jennifer Dulos said she was afraid of her estranged husband and was fearful he would retaliate against her for seeking a divorce. Two years ago, Jennifer Dulos left the Farmington home with her children and moved to New Canaan before filing for divorce the next day. In March 2018, the court denied Fotis Dulos access to the children, saying there was an immediate and present risk of psychological harm to the children if they have unrestricted and unsupervised contact with the defendant, as well as a risk of physical danger. The court also said he had a history of lying under oath and had encouraged the children to lie on his behalf. However, the court reversed its decision and found it in the childrens best interest to implement supervised parenting time. After the court granted Fotis Dulos supervised visitation this February, he and Jennifer Dulos could not reach an agreement on a schedule. In March, Judge Donna Heller granted Fotis Dulos supervised visitation every other weekend, starting March 30. He was allotted seven hours on Saturdays in Fairfield County and six hours on Sundays in Hartford County, which could take place at the Farmington house. Fotis Dulos was also granted three hours of visitation on Wednesdays in Fairfield County. However, the judge banned Troconis and her daughter from interacting with the Dulos children. John Kovach and Grace Duffield contributed to this story. Follwing the Nokia 3.2 and 4.2 at this years MWC HMD is looking to add two more members to its midrange portfolio - Nokia 5.2 and 6.2. The phones are expected to appear at the companys June 6 event, which will take place simultaneously in Italy and India. The companys Twitter account teased several of the new features in a series of short videos. The first teaser gives us a glimpse of the upcoming Night Mode which will make its way to the new phones. We can see a single camera lens which zooms into a shot of mountains in the night. The title of the video see things in a new light is another hint at the improved low light camera performance of the new devices. See things in a new light on 06 June 2019. Stay tuned to #GetAhead in life. pic.twitter.com/Jy01t9Zyp5 Nokia Mobile (@NokiaMobile) May 30, 2019 The second video points to a refined design with subtle curves and plenty of colors including black, white, green, pink and blue. We can also see a 3.5 mm audio jack on the top meaning the new devices will retain the audio jack. #GetAhead with a sleek design & customizability. Stay tuned! 06 June 2019 pic.twitter.com/hBUVc1BpGa Nokia Mobile (@NokiaMobile) June 1, 2019 The new Nokias will come with built-in notification lights in the power button. This feature is already available with the Nokia X71 and will now make its way to the new devices. #GetAhead with just a tap on 06 June 2019. Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/9O61Oyqxov Nokia Mobile (@NokiaMobile) June 3, 2019 Source | Via The Sony Xperia 1 is now available in Europe and will launch in the US in a couple of weeks. This is hands-down the most capable phone Sony ever made, but the competition hasnt been sleeping since its introduction at the MWC months ago. Still, no one has managed to deliver another 4K OLED display actually, there are no other 4K displays, save for Sonys older Premium phones. And despite its singular name, the Xperia 1 is a heir to the Premium family. This 6.5 screen is one of the few to feature a 21:9 aspect ratio, which Sony argues is better for both video watching (e.g. Netflix and Amazon Video) as well as browsing (you can fit more text vertically). Its great for split-screen multitasking too. Sony Mobile borrowed expertise from Sonys professional outfits and cinema buffs may recognize some names. For example, engineers from CineAlta helped ensure the display offers perfect color accuracy. Even if you havent heard the name before, youve definitely seen films shot on CineAlta professional-grade cameras - Avatar and Tron: Legacy are among them. The Xperia 1 also benefits from Sonys experience in building Master Monitors (the kind that directors watch when shooting the movie). This led to the creation of Creator Mode, which promises professional-grade 10-bit color rendering (DCI-P3 and BT2020 standards are supported). This mode can be enabled constantly or automatically when the content can benefit from it. The triple camera on the rear of the phone is Sonys first. It combines three 12MP cams: ultra-wide (16mm), wide (26mm) and 2x tele (52m). Both the wide and tele cameras feature Optical SteadyShot a combination of optical and electronic image stabilization for superior smoothness. The pros were called in once again, this time the team behind the BIONZ X image processor inside the Alpha cameras. This enables the brand new Eye autofocus and can do auto focus and exposure at 10fps. In low light, the Xperia 1 puts its main camera into action. The image sensor has large 1.4m pixels, a bright f/1.6 lens and OIS. Noise reduction tech was borrowed from Alpha cams. Both the main camera has Dual Pixel autofocus for faster focusing too. The Cinema Pro app (powered by CineAlta, of course), can shoot 21:9 videos to match the display. And it can record at 24fps for that cinematic feel, plus it offers several professional color presets for those who want to edit their videos later. Videos are shot in HDR, naturally. The second half of the audio-visual equation is covered by built-in stereo speakers with a Dynamic Vibration system that simulates bass (in games too, not just music and movies). Audio is rendered in high-quality thanks to Dolby Atmos and LDAC (theres no headphone jack, unfortunately). The phone has IP65 and IP68 ratings, no surprise as Sony was among the first to start waterproofing its phones. The front and back of the handset are panes of Gorilla Glass 6, sandwiching the aluminum frame. After all these superlatives, the flagship Snapdragon 855 chipset feels almost trivial. Unlike the Xperia 1s other features, most other flagships can easily match it. With the Xperia 1, Sony is finally jumping on the fast charging bandwagon the 3,300mAh battery can take in up to 18W of power (USB Power Delivery 2.0). This phone also marks the return of the side-mounted fingerprint reader, though the design here is unusual the reader is separate from the power button. So, that was the short version of Sony Xperia 1s story a 950/850 phone that has professional written over almost every square inch of it. The long version, complete with detailed tests of the screen and camera, is coming soon as were already working on a full review. Most recently, this item appeared on our Speak Out page: We buried the patriarch of our family, a Purple Heart Korean War veteran on June 19. As the procession of cars made its way to the cemetery, I was so moved by the homeless man on 143rd Street and Harlem Avenue. He removed his hat, placed it over his heart and bowed his head God bless him. This week kicked off with one of the most exciting releases so far this year - the Redmi K20 Pro. It's the newly established sub-brand's first flagship phone. It immediately sparked a lot of interest among Android fans due to its low price and high-end specs and features. Soon after its official debut in China, rumors started flying in that the Redmi K20 Pro will make it outside of the country under different names - likely branded as Mi 9T Pro and Poco F2 Pro in overseas markets. The first Google Pixel 4 images surfaced even if there are several more months until the phone is released. But if the renders, courtesy of the company making the screen protectors are to be believed, the Pixel 4 will come with a punch-hole camera design accommodating not one but two sensors like the Galaxy S10+. Speaking of early reports, the upcoming Galaxy Note10 was a subject of particularly interesting leaks this week as well. We've learned that it could come without a headphone jack and fully eliminate physical buttons, but the latter was disproved yesterday. The removal of the headphone jack, on the other hand, will likely happen. We also had a pretty good look at the handset from the front and back thanks to the renders that surfaced. Another phone that debuted this week was the Motorola Moto Z4 - an upper midranger with Snapdragon 675 and a 48MP main camera. Specs also include a 6.4-inch OLED panel, under-display fingerprint reader and 3,600 mAh battery. The phone looks slick, but pricing could be its own worst enemy. The Huawei trade ban drama continues to unfold, as this week the Chinese tech giant got a breath of fresh air. The SD Association reinstated Huawei as a member meaning future devices can be licensed to use microSD cards. The Bluetooth and WiFi associations also brought Huawei back on board. More importantly though, new information regarding Huawei's own operating system surfaced and will likely be called Ark OS. It's in talks with Aptoide to be the company's replacement of Google Play Store. And finally, some news from the iOS camp - the upcoming iPhone XR successor will have new color schemes according to the leaked renders showing Gold, Gray, Black and Red in addition to the White, Yellow and Blue colors that leaked earlier. Some of them will likely be discontinued, however, to make room for the new ones. Some leaked screenshots of the upcoming iOS 13 appeared showing the UI in Dark Mode. Newer iPhones with OLED screens will surely benefit as dark themes tend to draw less power on such devices. The leak reveals a couple more design revamps in other iOS apps and on iPad. That was the TL;DR version of week 22 for those of you who didn't have enough time - you can get more details on each topic below. Redmi K20 Pro arrives with Snapdragon 855 and 48 MP camera Redmi K20 also makes an appearance with SD730; both phones to have sweet price tags. Huawei's Android replacement could be called Ark OS A metaphorical vessel to save Huawei from the US flood? Too deep? This is what the Samsung Galaxy Note10 will look like The punch-hole camera is in the middle of the screen, and there's just one selfie snapper on both models. Here's what the Galaxy Note10's rear camera arrangement might look like If recent rumors are correct, Samsung is going a different route than it has for the past few years. Motorola Moto Z4 debuts with Snapdragon 675 and 48MP camera For an extra $200 youll get the 5G Moto mod which lets you access the next-gen networks. New iPhone XR 2019 renders show an alternative color scheme Instead of colors like Yellow, Blue, Coral that the current XR offers, these renders show Black, Gray and Gold, similar to the XS color scheme. Huawei reinstated in the SD Association Although its memebership was never cancelled, according to a representative. Haiti - News : Zapping... Cap-Haitien : a money changer shot down Saturday in Cap-Haitien a Joseph Bergand changer was shot dead by several bullets at the corner of 12 L Street, by unidentified individuals riding motorcycles. He was rushed to hospital and died as a result of his injuries. Grenadiers lose [1-0] to El Salvador On Sunday, at the Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington DC, our Grenadiers, face El Salvador in their first friendly preparation match for the 15th edition of the Gold Cup, conceded victory to Salvadorans on a David Rugumas goal scored at 66' [1-0]. On June 6th, the second pre-season match in Santiago de Chile against Alexis Sanchez's Selection and the last friendly against Guyana on June 11, before their first official match of the Gold Cup against Bermuda on June 16 at the National Stadium of Costa Rica. See also : https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-27874-icihaiti-gold-cup-2019-haiti-salvador-this-sunday-at-rfk-stadium-washington-dc.html Automated Case Management System The Court of First Instance of Port-au-Prince, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID - Haiti) as part of its program of strengthening the justice recently launched, the phase of extension and of appropriation of the Automated Case Management System (ICGAM). Levelt Milord, the representative of the Ministry of Justice applauded this innovation which he said will simplify the work of clerks and magistrates. Closure of a major program In partnership with the Office of the Protection of the Citizen of Haiti and Terre des hommes-Lausanne, the Minujusth closed last week a project that affected 12,736 beneficiaries, including 40 community leaders and associations, focused on the school reintegration of children family reunification, vocational training and the promotion of children's rights. Recalling October 2017 and April 2019, more than 75,000 people, including 36,900 women, benefited from community violence reduction projects implemented by 68 partners (60 local, 6 international and 2 UN agencies) with support of the Mission. Joris Mergelus arrested in Florida Former Commander of the Narcotics Control Brigade (BLCS), Joris Mergelus was arrested last week in Florida. He had left Haiti without authorization and was the subject of a provisional measure of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) suspected of receiving bribes to hinder the investigation of the file of the boat Manzanares aboard which several hundreds of kg of drugs had been discovered in April 2015. See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-27640-haiti-drug-trafficking-the-haitian-justice-extraded-gregory-georges-in-the-united-states.html Dany Laferriere guest of honor of Livres en folie Quebec writer and screenwriter, of Haitian origin, Academician Dany Laferriere will be the guest of honor at the 25th edition of Livres en Folie to be held on June 20, 2019 in Haiti. HL/ HaitiLibre Havre Police Department Isaac Alexander Chapa of Havre, 26, was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended or revoked driver's license, during a vehicle stop on Sixth Avenue Friday at 8:32 a.m. -- A Havre area caller reported Friday at 10:24 a.m. that an air conditioner was stolen. -- Officers made an arrest at the police station Friday at 2:01 p.m., but no details were provided on the charges. -- Russell Clifford Cooper of Havre, 49, was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge after a caller at Child and Family Services reported Friday at 2:26 p.m. that a man wearing an orange... Officials continue to warn Medicare recipients that they should not take cold calls offering to send them durable medical equipment like back or leg braces, and Montana Senior Medicare Patrol is calling on people to help in the fight. Medical supplies are continuing to be big business for fraudsters, a release from Senior Medicare Patrol said. Though Medicare has ways of helping combat this fraud, the first line of defense is you, the person receiving the Medicare Summary Notice. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said in a consumer a... Stanley W. Gardipee Jr., 84, passed away due to natural causes at Peace Hospice on Sunday, June 2, 2019. Wake service began at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, June 3, 2019, at St. Marys Catholic Church, and continued until his funeral service. A Rosary was held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, and his funeral was at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 4, 2019, also at St. Marys. Burial will follow in the Warriors Burial Ground Veterans Cemetery. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements. Please visit Stanleys online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for his family at http://www.hollandbonine.com. Stanley was born on November 22, 1934, in Harlem, Montana, to Stanley and Louise (Paranteau) Gardipee Sr. He was raised in Rocky Boy, and graduated from Flandreau Indian School in 1952. Upon graduation, Stanley enlisted in the U.S. Army, and served until his honorable discharge in 1955. He returned home to Rocky Boy, and in 1958, he married Rena Sangrey. The couple had four children before divorcing. He married Kathy Windy Boy in the 1980s with whom he had a daughter. Upon his discharge from the Army, he worked as a mechanic. In the mid-60s, he began working in law enforcement for the BIA and Tribal Police, retiring in 2014. Stanley was a dedicated family man who enjoyed playing electric Solitaire, listening to classic country music, and cruising in his car. He loved to spend time with his family, especially his grandkids and work on his cars. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Rena Gardipee; second wife, Kathy Gardipee; son Kenny Gardipee; parents, Stanley and Louise Gardipee, Sr .; and brothers William and Henry Gardipee. Stanley is survived by his children Ronald and Richard Gardipee of Rocky Boy, Susie (Clyde) Werk Jr. of Hays, and Marissa Gardipee of Rocky Boy; 22 grandchildren, several of whom he adopted; 23 great-grandchildren; sisters Ramona Favel of Great Falls, Shirley Seymour of Havre and Mary Olive Brist of Kalispell, and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family and friends. This year, Heifer International is celebrating its 75th anniversary. As a part of the celebration, were sharing some important moments in our organizations history. The caption on this photo from Heifer's archives reads: "The Brahman bull is the most gentle and friendly of animals if you like him and learn how he should be handled." Heifers first shipment to Ecuador landed in Quito on October 13, 1948. In 1954, Heifer Project began ongoing work in Ecuador with a shipment of bulls to the Ronald Ranch in Santo Domingo de Los Tsachilas. The ranch was owned by the Evangelical Church of Ecuador and later became the property of the United Brethren Foundation. Staff members of the Ronald Ranch and Peace Corps volunteers received the animals and then delivered them to family farmers in the provinces of Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Manabi and Lago Agrio. Early work in Ecuador focused on crossbreeding and improving livestock, since one of the countrys high cattle mortality rate was one of its most pressing agricultural problems. Soon after, emphasis shifted slightly to dairy programs. A permanent Heifer office was established in Quito in 1993 and continues to help small-scale farmers improve quality and production. Current Heifer Ecuador programs focus on farm- to-market processing of milk and other dairy products, honey, seafood, cacao and other crops. Additionally, families living in the coastal mangrove region are promoting community tourism and traditional fishing. Two boys pose with the sheep donated to their families in Checa, Ecuador. Ask Matt ... where 'Hendo' came from Q. Where did the nickname Hendo come from? I am hearing it a lot recently. We started our search at Hendersonville City Hall but uncovered no clues. But if you look up Hendo in the Urban Dictionary, it says its a bruising right hand knockout punch often delivered by mixed marshal art fighter Dan Henderson. Getting Hendoed, folks, is no blessing. If you do a Google search for Hendo, the first hit is the Hendo hoverboard (a motorized skateboard with bigger wheels). The hoverboards founder, Greg Henderson, a West Point grad and Army Airborne Ranger carried the nickname Hendo and slapped it on his machine. So then is Hendo a manly name? Or a chicken name? HenDough, the chicken and donut restaurant on Kanuga Road, pulled the Hen part of their name from the Citys name but only two years ago. Some locals say that Hendo, the affectionate moniker which has overtaken Hooterville as the nickname of choice, has been around for probably 20 years. It was probably first used at Hendersonville High School. One self-appointed resident historian attributed the migration of the name to local musicians who might be heard saying, Yea, were doing a gig in Hendo this weekend, bro. You may have seen the name associated with Vintage Hendo, an enterprise that attracts over 50 regional vendors who sell handmade items such as jewelry, pottery, clothing, and yes, food. Vintage Hendo holds several events during the year in the Citys Seventh Avenue District. The Hendo half of the name came from the name used by high school kids. Our group didnt like the hipster name at first, said Kathy Lombardo, one of the groups organizers. But our customers thought it was a great name so we kept it. Even Lightning columnist Bill Humleker uses HendoRock to describe two towns at once. Maybe the rise of Hendo has something to do with the LUVHENDO license tag seen about town on a green Honda CRV. It was love at first sight when I arrived in Hendersonville five years ago, said Terrye Jacobs, a Key West resident and former proprietress of Jongo Java. I got the license plate right away. Jongo Java, the Main Street coffee shop that was a favorite spot for many years, closed last year when Jacobs was unable to work out a lease extension. Jacobs still lives in town, still loves Hendo, and is planning a new business venture. Stay tuned. Many of North Carolinas larger cities have nicknames. Raleigh is the City of Oaks or the Capital City, Greensboro the Gate City, Winston-Salem the Twin-Cities, High Point the Furniture Capital of the World, Charlotte the Queen City, Durham the Bull City. Leaving aside the origin or popularity of Hendo, the county seats older nickname is the City of Four Seasons. Even Laurel Park has, more recently, coined its own nickname: the Town on a Mountain. * * * * * Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com. THE bravery of a former captain of Henley Rowing Club who died during the Second World War has been revealed by an amateur historian. Mike Willoughby, from Woodcote, researched the life of RAF bomber pilot Flight Lieutenant John Andrew Edward as part of his work to honour soldiers with Henley connections. Mr Willoughby, who launched the Lest We Forget Project to honour those who lost their lives in the Great War, is now concentrating on those who fought in the Second World War. Ft Lt Edward, who was known as Johnnie, may have even saved the life of one of the other members of his crew when their bomber was shot down by an enemy plane in 1944 and he was killed. He had already been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was born in Antwerp in 1914, the son of Harold Westbrook Edward, a steamship manager of Bowden in Cheshire, and his wife Harriet Emily, who already had a daughter Margaret, who was born in 1910. Johnnies birth was registered as a consular birth, or British subject. Little is known about his early life and education apart from when as a teenage student in August 1930 he embarked at Manchester dock aboard the SS Manchester Citizen bound for Montreal, returning on September 8. He was educated at Brambletye, Sidcup, before going to Radley College, near Abingdon, in 1928. As well as the usual subjects at school, he studied Spanish in the sixth form and was a junior sculler. After leaving college in 1931, he was articled to Montague Spencer Ell, chartered accountant, of Northfield End, Henley. He was elected as a member of Henley Rowing Club on June 14 that year and his address was given as care of Mr Spencer-Ell. He was elected deputy captain on July 12, 1934, by which time he had lodgings in Greys Road. Ft Lt Edward rowed in both fours and eights at the up-river regattas as well as sculling. He was number two in the eight that won the Sagamore Challenge Cup at the 1935 Henley Town and Visitors Regatta along with L T Waring (bow), L Weston, R H C Goddard, R W Green, A Windham, C Horsfall, A C Waring (stroke) and J Sudgen (cox). He was elected club captain on April 7, 1936 and served on the committee until 1939, playing an important part in the revival of the clubs fortunes. On the outbreak of the Second World War Ft Lt Edward enlisted as Private 1543432 in the Royal Artillery Territorial Army and originally served in a light anti-aircraft unit. He was discharged to commission on December 8, 1939 and his commission as gunner (acting sergeant) 109128 to be 2nd lieutenant under the heading of Emergency Commissions was gazetted the same day. On May 4, 1943, the London Gazette showed Fl Lt John Andrew Edward 51120 Royal Artillery to be a temporary flying officer RAF (general duties branch). After completing his flying training, initially at an elementary flying school where he achieved his first solo flight in a DH Tiger Moth, he went on to a service flying training school where he gained his wings, probably in an Airspeed Oxford. Ft Lt Edward was then posted to 14 operational training unit at RAF Cottismore in Rutland and trained to fly Vickers Wellingtons. From there he went to the 1660 heavy conversion unit at RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire to convert to four-engine aircraft. On June 28, 1943, he was posted to 50 Squadron as flying officer (acting flight lieutenant) 51120. The squadron had been stationed at RAF Skellingthorpe in Lincolnshire in May the previous year, flying Avro Lancasters. At 9pm August 23, 1943, Ft Lt Edward was the pilot of Lancaster III W5004 which took off from RAF Skellingthorpe for a bombing attack on Berlin. Also on board were flight engineer Sergeant R A (Bobbie) McCullough, navigator Pilot Officer L T (Lorne) Pritchard, wireless operator Sergeant G E (Gerry) Hobbs, bomb aimer Sergeant J A (Jackie) Brook, mid upper gunner Sergeant R V (Ronnie) Pooley and rear gunner Sergeant S (Sammy) Isherwood. As they started their bombing run over the target, the crew were attacked at a range of about 800 yards by a Junkers 88 and a Focke Wolfe 190. Accurate commentary by the gunners enabled Johnnie to take the correct evasive action a series of corkscrew manoeuvres. The combined fire power from Sammy and Ronnie hit the JU88 and it fell away in flames while the evasive action forced the FW190 to break off its attack. The Lancaster resumed its bombing run and successfully attacked the target from 18,200 ft at 12.13am on August 24 before returning safely to Skellingthorpe at 3.31am. At 7.18pm on September 27, 1943, the same crew took off from the base in Lancaster W5004 for a bombing raid on Hanover. This time they were attacked by another Junkers 88 and again they shot down the German aircraft before completing their mission successfully. However, instead of returning to base, Johnnie decided to make a precautionary landing at the nearest aerodrome, RAF Binbrook in Lincolnshire, due to navigational equipment and the wireless transmitter being unserviceable. On February 15, 1944, Johnnie and the crew were posted to 617 Squadron at RAF Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire. They flew their first mission with the squadron on March 15, 1944 on board Lancaster III EE146 coded K. This was intended to be a bombing mission to Woippy in north-east France but for some reason it was abandoned and all the aircraft were recalled. Johnnie flew a further 11 missions until his final one on June 29, 1944. He took off from RAF Woodhall Spa at 4.25pm in Avro Lancaster Mk 1 serial no DV403 coded KC-G armed with a Tallboy a 12,000lb bomb designed by Barnes Wallis to penetrate thick concrete and with instructions to destroy a flying bomb launch site at Wizernes in the Pas de Calais in northern France. His crew were Flying Officer Lieutenant Les W J King DFC (flight engineer), Flying Officer Lorne T Pritchard DFC RCAF (navigator), Flight Sergeant Jackie H Brook (bomb aimer), Flight Sergeant Gerrard H Hobbs (wireless officer) and air gunners Pilot Officer James I Johnston DFC RCAF, Warrant Officer 2 Thomas W P Price RCAF and Flight Sergeant Samuel Isherwood. The Lancaster was hit by flak, or anti-aircraft fire, and the port wing caught fire. The bomber began to lose height, slowly at first, but then went out of control and blew up before hitting the ground at the village of Leulinghem, which is 7km south-west of St Omer in the Pas de Calais, at 4.58pm still carrying their bomb load. Ft Lt Edward (Johnnie), W O Price and Fl Sgt Isherwood were killed outright. FO Lt King died as a result of his injuries soon after the crash. Fl Sgt Hobbs, Flt Sgt Brook and FO Pritchard were all taken prisoner of war. Brook was sent to Stalag Luft 7 and Pritchard to Stalag Luft 1. The camp to which Hobbs was sent is not recorded. Hobbs had managed to bail out, although he remembered nothing about it. He could only remember coming to in a cornfield close to the village of Leulinghem, surrounded by Germans. The burning wreckage of the aircraft was not far away. With hindsight, he believed that he must have blacked out due to the lack of oxygen and thought that Ft Lt Edward probably pushed him out of the aircraft. Ft Lt Edward, W O Price and Fl Sgt Isherwood were buried by French locals in Leulinghem churchyard in coffins which the villagers had made themselves. FO Lt King and Plt Off Johnston were buried in the Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery. Ft Lt Edward flew 25 operational flights with 50 Squadron and a further 14 with 617 Squadron. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, which was gazetted on February 11, 1944 and mentioned his attacks on both Berlin and Hanover. The official citation also stated: He invariably presses home his attacks regardless of the enemy opposition. Both in the air and on the ground. his courage has been worthy of the highest praise. Mr Willoughby says Fl Lt Edward was Henleys unsung hero, He said: There was only one man on the town hall memorial who had eluded me J A Edward. Now, thanks to the help of Hilary Fisher and her resources, the minutes of Henley Rowing Club, the Henley Standard archives and my own research, I have been able to piece together this story. Mr Willoughby, who received the town medal in February in recognition of his work, added: It had always been my intention that my research on the men of Henley and surrounding villages would continue into the Second World War, especially as this year is the 80th anniversary of the start of that war. To that end, research is well under way and nearly all the men on the local memorials have been identified, plus another 40 who are not recorded on any local memorial have been traced. It is my intention to have this information written up in time to be displayed in November. I also plan to once again hold drop-in sessions at Henley library so that anyone who wishes can bring information or pictures of their relatives to be included in the project. For more information, visit www.henley-lestweforget.co.uk LOVE it or loathe it, the Eurovision Song Contest has been a fixture in the cultural calendar for 64 years. Thats a lot of music. But if you were to ask virtually anyone who the contests greatest ever winners were, it would be no contest. After storming to victory at the Brighton Dome with Waterloo in 1974, Swedish four-piece ABBA went on to conquer the world and establish themselves as one of the greatest pop bands of all time before splitting in 1982. Last year it was reported that the group members Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog, and Bjorn Ulvaeus were working on a television special set to air later this year on BBC One. The band had also worked on two new songs, the release of which has since been set back, with rumours of a third song being added. But even if ABBA were to end up making a new album the dream scenario for their millions of fans they would be most unlikely to tour. Fortunately, for more than 30 years now, a ready alternative has existed in the form of Australian tribute act Bjorn Again. Having previously played the Reading Festival to great acclaim, Bjorn Again will this year headline the Henley Festivals floating stage on Saturday, July 13, at 8.45pm. A spokesman for the festival said: The internationally acclaimed Bjorn Again show was created and founded in 1988 in Melbourne by Australian director and musician Rod Stephen. Designed as a rocked-up light-hearted satirical ABBA spoof, the show rapidly achieved worldwide cult status and was acknowledged for singlehandedly initiating the ABBA revival which brought about ABBA Gold, Muriels Wedding and Mamma Mia! The enduring appeal of ABBA is reflected in the ongoing success of the Bjorn Again show having amassed 5,000 performances in 72 countries in 30 years. Be sure to bring your dancing shoes and fellow Dancing Queens for an evening of fun at Henley Festival! With a track record like that, its no surprise that Rod Stephen well recalls how he and his colleagues first came to pay tribute to ABBA. It was 1988, and none of the groups I had been in amounted to anything, he says. I felt like doing something different and thought of a parody band. I had three choices Queen, the Beatles or ABBA. Growing up in the Seventies I already had the flared trousers, so picked ABBA. I got together a group of musicians and we spent months rehearsing and watching videos of ABBA then came our first gig. It was at a pub in Melbourne, and the only publicity was on the chalk board outside ABBA tribute band here tonight. We had 350 people in, they couldnt hold any more! We were invited back the next month, and before we knew it we were performing quite a few nights of the week in either Melbourne or Sydney and the media picked up on us. We were even booked for a tour of Sweden, the UK and Ireland, and it was the same in every venue a sell out! In fact, our reputation preceded us. When we arrived in the UK the media were there as the plane landed and we got changed into the ABBA gear to leave the plane. We didnt know England too well, and from arriving we went straight on to the Jonathan Ross Show on TV in London. Then we had to drive through the night to Wakefield to get to our first gig. Other than the groups already mentioned, who were his musical influences? I was probably more into the rock scene than music like ABBA. The main group who I liked at the time started off as a New Zealand group called Split Enz. You probably know them better as Crowded House. It was not just their musicality and vocals, but also they opened my eyes to the theatricality of pop music. I remember seeing them once live and the entire stage looked like a front room, the keyboard player was playing with a standard lamp behind him. What can this years Henley Festival audience expect from Bjorn Again? All the great well-known ABBA hits and some of the others they can sing along to. With Bjorn Again in authentic costumes. Hopefully like Agnetha we can get everyone dancing in the aisles. Speaking of whom, there is a picture of Rod and Agnetha on Bjorn Agains website. What do ABBA make of the band? The time I met Agnetha was a surprise for me it was during one of our tours of Sweden and we had been booked for a private event. It was only after the soundcheck when we were relaxing with the organisers that someone said the guest of honour was there. When I asked who it was, they said that was why we were booked the companys CEO was going out with Agnetha and she was there. I said I would love to meet her and then, while I was on the phone backstage, I suddenly realised someone was standing next to me it was her. We chatted and that show I wasnt needed on stage and so I watched and she really enjoyed herself. We have also met Benny and Bjorn, and on one occasion they kindly helped us out when a piece of equipment failed and they had another one we could use. They have actually been very friendly towards us and in the past on some occasions we have been involved in their album launches. Looking ahead to July 13, is this the first time Rod has appeared at the festival or on a floating stage? Its the first time we have appeared at the Henley Festival, and weve performed on floating stages though I hope it doesnt put us too far from the audience. We did make an appearance just up the Thames at the Reading Festival in 1992. I had this call from my agent to say we were needed to play the Reading Festival, and I said Needed why? Apparently it was one of the late Kurt Cobains requests that we open for Nirvana. It was a great gig and that night we really rocked the ABBA hits. To this day, I can still remember the cheers of the crowds. Tickets for Bjorn Again at the Henley Festival are priced from 65 to 135 with a 10 concession for under-18s (plus booking fee). For more information and to book, visit www.henley-festival.co.uk WEB EXCLUSIVE: BONUS QUESTIONS 1. When did you first discover your love of music? I grew up in Melbourne, and in addition to hearing the well-known European and American groups, we had weekly programmes on the television like Countdown, which profiled the top bands from Australia and New Zealand. I was working in metallurgical research during the day and playing guitar or bass in average bands on a Friday and Saturday evening. 2. You have performed in 71 countries around the world, but is there a country or venue you would still love to perform in? Personally, I would love to perform in the Seychelles or Cayman Islands. But the festival that everyone is telling us we should perform at is the Festival International de Benicassim in Spain. Maybe one year we will make it! 3. You still perform with Bjorn Again, but if you had a chance to sing a duet who would it be with? Ever since we opened for Nirvana at the Reading Festival, I have been friends with Dave Grohl. He is probably way too famous to do it, but I would so love for one day him to come and play guitar or drums behind us at a gig. 4. Have any of your children gone into music? They both play musical instruments my daughter the violin and my son the recorder but they havent gone into the industry. My daughter works in the photo library of an oceanographic company and my son is at university studying to be a vet. With the films and the musical Mamma Mia!, Abba is really popular with their generation. They got tickets for their friends when we toured and then went off to ABBA parties afterwards. Gerard Whyte was comforted by a bus driver after he was hit A man has been charged over an incident in which a young pedestrian was killed. Gerard Whyte (21), from Ballymun, died after an incident involving a lorry. The tragedy happened in Whitehall at the Collins Avenue junction in the early hours of Friday. The accused, who is 50, is expected to appear before a sitting of Dublin District Court this morning. Gardai previously said the HGV articulated unit had been recovered. They also said a family liaison offer had been appointed to help Mr Whyte's grieving family. The vehicle is reported to have been travelling from Whitehall in the direction of Donnycarney in the northside of the city. Vigil Mr Whyte was believed to have been crossing the Collins Avenue junction at Whitehall when the incident occurred. The Herald revealed on Saturday that a heroic bus driver, who witnessed events unfold, jumped from his vehicle to maintain a vigil at Mr Whyte's side. According to sources close to the driver, he leapt out of his bus and raced over to Mr Whyte. He comforted him as he lay critically injured until the arrival of the emergency services a few minutes later. A neighbour of Mr Whyte said on Friday afternoon he had been "extremely shocked" to hear about the young man's death. "I only found out what happened after I came home from town today," he told the Herald. "Although I didn't hang around with him I would have known Gerard from the area. "I was just so surprised and extremely shocked when I found out he died last night," the neighbour added. The Dublin City councillor for Artane-Whitehall, Patricia Roe, has previously described the loss of the young man as "absolutely horrific". "It's shocking and we're very upset for him and his family," she said. "I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to his family," she said. Arthur Liwembe went to the station to complain This is the man who took a bag of cannabis to a Dublin garda station to complain that it was "not of good quality". Arthur Liwembe (34) went to the station of his own accord and presented the cannabis to a garda to say he was not happy with it. The former student nurse has been spared a six-month jail stretch. Instead, he has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. Dublin District Court was told that he has separately been given a deportation order. Guilty Liwembe, an asylum seeker, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cannabis at Kilmainham Garda Station last July 10. He also pleaded guilty to a number of other charges. Defence solicitor Anne Fitzgibbon told Judge John Hughes that since his last court appearance in March, Liwembe had been found suitable for community service. The only problem, she said, was the issuing of an order to leave Ireland by June 22, or present for deportation on June 26. She accepted this was a separate system and said Liwembe, from Malawi, might appeal that because he now wished to stay and work in Ireland. The accused, who had had a "very difficult upbringing", was now clean of cannabis, she told the court. Judge Hughes said he recalled the case because of "the unusual nature of going to a garda station" with cannabis. "Looking to be arrested springs to mind," he said. Ms Fitzgibbon explained that Liwembe had been concerned that the cannabis he had bought "could be detrimental to other people's health". Previously, Garda Ian Foley gave evidence that Liwembe went to the garda station and produced a bag of cannabis valued at 10 from his pocket. He was searched and a boxcutter knife was found on him. Ms Fitzgibbon said Liwembe had "walked into the police station and handed the cannabis to the garda". The knife was for working as a handyman, she said. Gda Foley told Judge Hughes he believed Liwembe was suffering from problems at the time of the incident. "He said he had bought the drugs, and believed them not to be of good quality, and that was why he attended the garda station," Gda Foley said. Liwembe returned on a later date, asked for the confiscated knife to be returned, and became aggressive when this was refused. Judge Hughes said Liwembe's behaviour was "illogical to say the least". He added that it was indicative of a cannabis-induced "psychosis". Separately, Liwembe admitted repeatedly trespassing at an address in Tyrconnell Road, Inchicore, where he used to live and work. The court heard he got in without permission and damaged an internal door on one occasion. Once he was discovered in a bedroom and told gardai he was "just trying to sleep". He was under the "misapprehension that he still lived there". Liwembe came to Ireland in 2012 as a student nurse. When his visa ran out, he applied for residency on the basis that he had an Irish-born child, the court was told. Liwembe had been using cannabis which could lead to "transient psychotic symptoms", said Ms Fitzgibbon. The community service order was imposed for trespassing, with the drugs charge taken into consideration. Shane Cawley had a doctored ID card, the court was told A father-of-three who ran a bogus charity collection in a supermarket car park has been left without a criminal record. Shane Cawley (23), who set up a wooden table and had a doctored identity D card, was given the benefit of the Probation Act at Blanchardstown District Court. Cawley, of Palmerstown Lodge, Kennelsfort Road Lower, Palmerstown, pleaded guilty to acting as a collector and holding an unauthorised collection. It happened at the Lidl car park on Nangor Road, Clondalkin, last August 26. The case was heard previously and came back before Judge David McHugh for a probation and restorative justice report. Defence barrister Jennifer Jackson said the report was positive and Cawley had done everything the court had asked him to do. Lunchbox He also had 200 with him to donate to charity. Judge McHugh left him without a conviction. The court previously heard gardai came across the accused at 12.40pm, holding a collection at a wooden table with a plastic lunchbox containing money. Gardai asked him what he was collecting for and he told them it was for the Irish Lung Foundation. Asked if he had a licence, he produced an Irish Lung Foundation ID card, but it was "clear that it had been altered and doctored and was not valid", a garda said. Cawley, who had no drink or drugs problem and no previous convictions, had been unemployed and staying in B&Bs. "From a moral, never mind a legal perspective, it is absolutely appalling that someone would take advantage of the public in the name of a charity," Judge McHugh said. It is time for Ireland to give electronic voting a second chance, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has said. He wants the new electoral commission, which is expected to begin work later this year, to prioritise a study of international best practice in the area. "Coming up to the 20th anniversary of the electronic voting debacle, I think we should revisit it," he told the Herald. Intolerable Mr Flanagan believes the possibility that voters in Ireland South may have to wait 28 days for a recount result in the European elections is "intolerable". He warned there were logistical challenges in "ensuring that everything is absolutely and utterly in order for the duration of the count". A number of gardai will have to be taken off the beat to provide round-the-clock security for 750,000 votes. E-voting was first mooted in 1999, and the Fianna Fail government at the time spent 51m on machines. The system was trialled in three constituencies during the 2002 general election, and in six constituencies for the Nice II referendum. However, they were decommissioned and sold for scrap after an independent review warned of security issues. Mr Flanagan acknowledged that the matter was politically dangerous, but said technology had moved on a lot over the past two decades. "I'm not asking that we re- invent the wheel here," he said. "We haven't even debated the concept since the debacle 20 years ago. It's time to revisit that." He said the idea of not having a final result for five weeks was "mind-boggling". Sinn Fein's sitting MEP Liadh Ni Riada has called for a full recount in Ireland South in a bid to overturn a 326-vote gap between her and the Green Party's Grace O'Sullivan. The minister said he respected the right of any candidate to seek a recount, especially as a few hundred votes "is not a huge number at all". Fine Gael's Sean Kelly and Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher reached the quota in the original count, but will not be able to take up their seats in Brussels until the result is confirmed. Independents 4 Change's Mick Wallace will take the third seat. The battle for the fourth and fifth seats is between Fine Gael's Deirdre Clune, Ms O'Sullivan and Ms Ni Riada. Mr Flanagan said when he heard the recount could take up to 28 days, he thought it was "April 1, or a mistake". He called on those organising the count to bring in experienced counters from other areas to help speed up the process. France will seek the extradition of British freelance journalist Ian Bailey after his conviction in Paris for the 1996 murder in Ireland of mother-of-one Sophie Toscan du Plantier. The move threatens to place the Irish and French on a judicial and diplomatic collision course. The EU judiciary potentially faces the first extradition case in which a person was convicted of murder in one European country for a crime committed in another. Ireland has been warned by Ms Toscan du Plantier's family that it must fully comply with European agreements for judicial co-operation. Refused Any failure to comply will see the family press for France to take formal action against Ireland at EU level. In 2012, the Supreme Court here refused to extradite Mr Bailey (62) to France for questioning by Paris prosecutors. In 2015, a second French European Arrest Warrant did not progress beyond the High Court. However, the Paris authorities will now seek Mr Bailey's extradition on the basis that, under French law, he is a convicted murderer. Mr Bailey said he understood the latest warrant was forwarded to Dublin by the French authorities on Friday evening. However, because of the June bank holiday weekend, nothing is expected to happen before tomorrow morning. "The knock on the door [from gardai] could come at any time," Mr Bailey said. He is occupying his time making bodhrans, and said he had tried to keep life "as normal as possible". He has attended farmers' markets in west Cork as part of a routine established years ago, and said he had been deeply touched by the support of many local people convinced of his innocence. "There are people [in authority] in Ireland who are fully aware of the fact I am innocent, but those devils have remained silent," he said. Victory Judge Frederique Aline imposed a 25-year prison sentence at the Cour d'Assises on Friday for the murder of Ms Toscan du Plantier (39) near her holiday home in West Cork. Her son, Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, called it "a victory for justice". A group that is supporting the family, founded by Ms Toscan du Plantier's uncle, warned the Irish authorities to adhere to their judicial commitments. A business owner has said his staff members were left traumatised after thugs held up his premises. Joe Mannion, who owns the Daybreak in Clondalkin village, said that as a shopkeeper you could expect to be hit by criminals at least once a year. He said he had been lucky that the shop hadn't been targeted so far this year, but armed robbers left his staff with symptoms similar to post-traumatic stress in the past 18 months. "We had a hold-up situation with two lads in balaclavas on a quiet Sunday. They had what looked like a blade, but you couldn't be sure. I had two members of staff with me and your priority is to keep them safe, but also to get to the tills and open them," he said. "It's also hard to get to the panic button, because you're wondering, 'will they cut you?'. "They decided we didn't have enough money in the till and wanted me to open the safe. I finally could reach the panic button and once we hit that, they left." Joe said the two staff members had been "terrified" during the ordeal and didn't want to identify the culprits when they were caught by gardai. "I'm in business 35 years, and I've experienced a lot. But the two young people were terrified. It's almost like post-traumatic stress," he said. "When they tracked down the guys, they wouldn't identify them - I had to go alone." He said another incident had involved a man entering the shop with a machete and grabbing a shop assistant. Invasion A customer rang gardai in that instance - Joe said this was the best thing customers could do and it was always safest for them to stay out of harm's way. He said young staff and females were still taken advantage of by thieves. "You deal with it the best you can. You put it to them to have counselling and you watch them over a few months. I know 20 years ago I was involved in an incident with a cash transfer van and I was held up. I went into the van to keep myself safe. "I'd react badly to little things after that. It is an invasion. "You can over-react to things. Staff worry 'will I meet this thug on the street?'. "It is aggressive, it's as you see it on Crimecall - they don't exaggerate, and it is in your face. "With a bit of luck, they will be picked up." However, he said that shopkeepers also see their premiums shoot up when cash is stolen. "You're not really insured. You get charged double to get it back and your premium goes up, particularly for cash." My mom was a single parent, and although she did a great job raising me, she worked a lot to support us. My dad floated in and out of my life until he died when I was just 10 years old. I dont think I will ever be over that loss, but Chuck whether he knew it or not stepped into that role for me and has continued to be there for me for every major life event over the last 24 years. Hospitals seeing a spike in COVID cases, fewer clinicians to help them Our teams are doing everything they can, but we continue to see patients die," said Malik Joshi, president and CEO of Meritus Health. Dozens of men from the area will participate in the event, which is expected to attract 1,000 people. For Jackson, 42, the annual event is part of his roots. He is the son of the events co-founder Yvette Moyo. He is on the board of Real Men Charities Inc., the nonprofit presenting the event. Over the years he has played many roles, including helping secure sponsors for Real Men Cook, promoting the bash and serving as president. I wanted to find my passions, Aaronson said. You will learn from your passions and that will lead you to your success, added the school band member who will be part of the Marching Illini at the University of Illinois next year. Actor Kareena Kapoor has quite a few films in hand apart from television commercials and brand photo shoots. The actor recently shot for Vogue magazines May issue with other fashionable celebrities like Karan Johar, Diljit Dosanjh and Natasha Poonawalla. Kareena stands out on the cover in a short snake-print dress paired with colourful jacket and multicoloured stilettoes. She has worn a green dress in another shot with the three celebrities. Kareena and Karan are close pals and have shown their chemistry in a different shot. While Katrina is seen on a sofa in an orange ruffled dress, Karan is standing besides her in a long quirky shrug. Kareena has also shared a frame with her Good News co-star Diljit Dosanjh in another shot. She can be seen sitting beside Diljit in a pink gown with a huge heart pattern on the front. Diljit had recently released a new single Kylie + Kareena post which Kareena had shared a video message for him. She had said, I am really, really, actually humbled that Diljit has sung this song which iswith my name in it. I have never really had a song. I definitely know ki do picturein ki hain Diljit ke saath, zyada baat nahi karta hai wo (I have worked in two films with Diljit but he doesnt speak much). She has worn many quirky outfits in her other solo shots. Also read: Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan chill under the Tuscan sun with son Taimur. Check out their vacation pics Kareena recently flew to Italy with husband Saif Ali Khan and son Taimur. Her stylist Poonam Admania shared their vacation pictures from Tuscany on Instagram. Kareena has recently made her television debut as a judge on dance reality show Dance India Dance. Besides Good News with Diljit, her other films in the lineup include Karans multi-starrer Takht and Irrfan Khan starrer Angrezi Medium, in which she plays a cop. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Amitabh Bachchan celebrates his 46th wedding anniversary with wife Jaya Bachchan on Monday. The Bollywood couple isnt known for frequent displays of affection but on Sunday night, Amitabh shared a special post on his blog about their wedding. Talking about the unusual circumstances around their wedding, Amitabh revealed the real and rather unbelievable reason behind why he decided to tie the knot with Jaya Bachchan in 1973. He said that him, Jaya and their friends wanted to vacation in London but his father, Harivansh Rai Bachchan told him he could go only after the two were married. Amitabh and Jaya were dating at that time. Also read: After Katrina Kaif speaks about Janhvi Kapoors very short shorts, Sonam Kapoor comes to cousins defence He said that he had promised his friends that if Zanjeer became a hit, he would take his friends on a holiday to London. Seeking or rather informing parents that we were a group of friends going to England .. who all are going came the query from Babuji .. names disclosed .. Jaya is also going with you .. you both are alone .. yes .. if you have to go marry and go, he wrote on his blog. So Amitabh and Jaya decided to tie the knot the very next day and catch their flight to London at night. I dress up in formal marriage Indian .. get into my car and want to drive to Malabar Hill where her friends lived and where the ceremony was to be done .. my driver Nagesh, pushes me out and insist he would drive me to the wedding .. the substitute for the tradition horse... off I went .. wedding over in a few hours .. done .. Mr and Mrs proclaimed .. over !!, he wrote. Amitabh and Jaya have also worked together in films like Sholay, Silsila, Abhimaan, Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham and more. They have son, actor Abhishek Bachchan, and daughter, author Shweta Bachchan, together. Abhishek took to Instagram on Monday to wish his parents on their anniversary. He shared a picture of the two and captioned it, Happy Anniversary to the parentals! Love you both eternally. #46andcounting. Amitabh was last seen in Badla with Taapsee Pannu. The film was a commercial success and received good reviews as well. He will now be seen in Chehre. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Priyanka Chopra and husband Nick Jonas are having the time of their lives, walking red carpet at events, having fun at concerts and sharing romantic pictures on social media. She has now said that she would love to run for prime minister of India at some future date. On being asked about her political aspirations in a recent interview, Priyanka told The Sunday Times, I would love to run for prime minister of India. I would love Nick to run for president. She added, I dont like the things associated with politics but I know that both of us really want to make a change. Never say never. Priyanka recently cheered Jonas Brothers during their performance at iHeart Radios Wango Tango concert on Sunday. She even shared a candid picture from the event as the two went on to recreate Romeo and Juliet story. While Nick can be seen standing on a balcony with a paper cup in his hand, Priyanka is seen looking at him from below. She captioned the picture, Romeo oh Romeo.. and Ava drew #nightout. Priyanka was recently rumoured to have met friend and Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and her newborn son Archie. But the actor later made it clear that she was in London for work and had not met her royal friend. Also read: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatts pics from Brahmastra shoot in Varanasi leak online, see pics The actor made her Cannes debut this year by walking the red carpet in a shimmery black gown. She walked the red carpet again with husband Nick the next day and the two stole the attention with their romantic gestures. Pictures of Nick holding an umbrella for Priyanka on the stairs of the entrance went viral on the web. Priyanka will now be seen in Shonali Boses The Sky Is Pink. The film also stars Farhan Akhtar and Zarina Wahab and is set to hit theatres on October 11 this year. She is also working on a Hollywood project with Mindy Kaling. Cannes 2019: Priyanka Chopra dazzles in a black gown by Roberto Cavalli Follow @htshowbiz for more Actor Sonam Kapoor has offered a clarification on her recent comments defending cousin Janhvi Kapoors very, very short shorts as Katrina Kaif described them. Katrina in an episode of BFFs with Vogue had expressed concern about the length of Janhvis shorts to host Neha Dhupia. Sonam on Sunday tweeted, Guys I wasnt defending Janhvi over something my very dear friend Katrina might have innocently said. Its an inside joke with my sister on her gym looks that get papped. Pls dont create drama mediawallas. Guys I wasnt defending janhvi over something my very dear friend Katrina might have innocently said. Its an inside joke with my sister on her gym looks that get papped. Pls dont create drama mediawallas. https://t.co/CJaWToFNzb Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) June 2, 2019 Asked by Neha which celebrity goes over the top with their gym looks, Katrina had said, Not OTT, but I am concerned about the very, very short shorts that Jahnvi wears! She comes to my gym as well, so we, often are together in the gym. I just worry about her sometimes. Seemingly responding to Katrinas comments, Sonam over the weekend had shared pictures of Janhvi, and written on her Instagram stories, She also wears regular clothes and rocks it. Sonam had recently been involved in another online spat with a fellow Bollywood actor when she slammed Vivek Oberois tweet, in which he had shared a meme of ex-girlfriend Aishwarya Rai. Calling the tweet disgusting and classless Sonams comments were received with animosity by Vivek, who advised her in an interview to overact less in films, and overreact less on social media. Sonam was last seen opposite father Anil Kapoor in the same-sex romance, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga. Katrina will be seen with Salman Khan in Bharat on June 5, and Janhvi is currently filming the biopic of IAF pilot Gunjan Saxena. Sonam and Katrina were both present at GQs Best Dressed awards over the weekend. Follow @htshowbiz for more Actors Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor are currently shooting for Remo Dsouzas dance film, Street Dancer 3D. The two will reportedly recreate Guru Randhawas popular Punjabi number, Lahore in the film. A source informed Pinkvilla, The movie will feature as many as 12 songs, out of which almost 3-4 are recreations of hit Punjabi songs. Given that the movie will feature an interesting face-off between India and Pakistan dancers, Lahore was decided as one of the songs for recreation. The report claims the recreated version is being composed by music composer duo Sachin-Jigar. Prabhudheva has also recreated his popular dance number Mukkala Muqabala from the 1994 Tamil film Kadhalan. Composer Tanishq Bagchi has reportedly recreated the AR Rahman original that was dubbed in Hindi for the film, Humse Hai Muqabala. A source had told Mumbai Mirror, It was shot during the on-going Dubai schedule with Prabhudheva taking centrestage for a minute-long solo performance, effortlessly repeating the difficult moves in a single take. Varun and Shraddha are enjoying themselves while working on the film. Recently, Varun shared a video on his Instagram account showing the entire crew shouting and screaming when director Remo DSouza asked them to leave. When u dont want to leave the set SD3, crazy peeps, he captioned the video and can be seen saying, We dont want to go home, we want to keep shooting. Also read: Ali Abbas Zafar reacts to Salman Khans comments on Priyanka Chopra: What hes doing to her happens to me on set everyday The Street Dancer 3D team is currently in Dubai for the shoot. The film was earlier scheduled to release on November 8 but will now hit screens on January 24, 2020. Follow @htshowbiz for more As I start writing as a new government begins its term, I find myself overwhelmed. Im not a news reporter or political analyst. I am only a citizen of India, gazing at my nation from half a world away. Im also someone who has lost many old friendships over increasingly polarised political disagreement in the past five or six years. Why has India become such a divided nation in our time? Those like me, who are in their thirties and older, have lived through a few cycles of Congress- and BJP-led governments. Each of those governments had their failings, but recent years have brought a surge in political conversation like we have never seen before. We have all observed friends who never had firm political opinions before vocally consolidate to stands. Something has changed in India, greater than the rising and falling prices of everyday things, or the occasional bad news that we used to largely take in our stride. What has changed is the idea of the nation. There arent many Indians today who personally remember participating in the Independence movements; the few senior citizens who were born before 1947 were children when the nation changed. Most of us have lived our entire lives in independent India. Every government weve seen was a government of independent India, their differences contained within that larger, unchallenged idea of India. This is what is slowly passing from our living memory: A nation is an idea spun upon a land. It is not the land itself, though we call a land by the name of the nation currently existing upon it. The word India does not exist in any Indian language; its a mispronunciation by Greek travellers of the 4th century BCE for the regions by the river called Sindhu, which returned with the British colonisers. Bharat refers to an equally ancient kingdom that existed over some regions of the Gangetic plains; Hindustan was coined by Muslim travellers as early as 500 BCE and returned with the Mughal rulers. None of these terms in their original connotation represents the nation of today. India the nation only started existing from 1947. A nation is not any of the several nations that existed upon the same land in the past; if anything, it is a rejection of them. If it would be seditious to India to call for a return to the British or the Mughal empire, it is equally seditious to call for Ram Rajya or any mythical Hindu nation of the past. Those nations whether they existed historically or not are not India. India exists in its current geographical location because those nations do not. Nationalism is the movement to replace an existing nation with a different one on the same land, while patriotism is allegiance to the existing nation to which one belongs. The last major nationalist movements of India existed before Independence, precisely because it was the drive to replace one nation, the British Indian Empire, with another, an independent India. This is why Hindutva nationalism is unsettling: It is not merely proclaiming pride in Hinduism as a religion; it threatens to unmake India and replace it with a different nation. The noncommittal voter who elects whichever partys policies currently sounds good to them is more of a patriot of India than the hardliner who would follow their ideology no matter what. In our disloyalty to party lines in the past, we used to be truer Indians; that was what held us together with the friends who voted differently from us. The rise of hardline Hindutva nationalism feels like those people no longer even want to be part of the same nation as us. When someone who opposes the Hindutva nationalist line is brazenly labelled anti-national or ordered to leave the country, that is not empty rhetoric: Hindutva nationalists truly dont consider them part of their nation. The proclaimed anti-national may not be opposed to the nation of India, but theyre opposed to the other nation that Hindutva nationalists are projecting. India has always been a somewhat dissatisfying nation, as any nation built on a delicate but precarious balance of hundreds of communities must be. A massive tilt of that scale towards any particular ideology does not improve India; it only threatens to collapse the balance that defines our nation. When the sight of thousands of Indians joyously dancing in the streets because their leaders have won makes thousands of other Indians anxious for their lives, we cannot deny we have tilted too far off that balance. As patriots of India, this destabilising nationalism is not what we need today. We need progress, jobs, less corruption, a stronger economy, but we need to build those things within India, equally accessible to others who are Indians too. We dont need to be threatened into leaving our nation, or demand that another citizen leaves. I hope no hardline nationalist who doesnt believe in India manages to convince us otherwise. Mimi Mondal is a speculative fiction writer and editor, and the first Hugo Award nominee from India The views expressed are personal The family of a 50-year-old Delhi government school teacher who died on Saturday claimed that he died due to a heatstroke. Doctors, however, said that the death appeared to having been caused due to a cardiac arrest but would know for sure only after getting the autopsy report. Uday Chandra Jha was a Sanskrit teacher at a school in Ambedkar Nagar and lived in Molarband. He came back from school on Saturday using public transport. At home, he complained of the heat and said he was feeling uneasy, said Jhas 18-year-old daughter Akanksha,adding that her father was troubled by the schools workload. Relatives said Jha was taken to Batra Hospital. The hospital declared him brought dead upon arrival. Chest pain was the immediate reason why the patient was brought in. He must have had a massive cardiac arrest because of which he became unconscious and probably died. However, we will get to know exactly what happened only after the autopsy report is received, said the chief medical officer of Batra hospital. On Sunday, Jhas body was taken to AIIMS for post mortem. He has always been a healthy person and had never complained of anything. He died of a heatstroke, said Akanksha. Jha , the sole breadwinner of the family is survived by a wife and three children with Akanksha being the eldest. The government school teachers association (GSTA) blamed the Delhi government for continuing with the extra-classes and summer camps despite the heatwave. The teacher had no history of heart diseases. He died after discharging his duty in extreme heat, said Yashpal Malik, GSTA vice president. Malik did not offer any evidence how he found that Jha had died of a heat stroke. GSTA said it would ask Delhi government to consider his death as death on duty and compensate his family. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said he had asked the director to share reports on Jha with him. We are very sad at the death of our teacher. Our heartfelt condolences to his family. We stand by them in their moment of grief, Advisor to Education Minister, Shailendra Sharma said. Mobiles phones stolen from Delhi are being sold in Nepal to avoid detection, police said Sunday after recovering 310 mobile phones worth 60 lakh. These high-end mobile phones, which included 90 iPhones, were recovered after the arrest of seven persons, most of who earlier earned their living by repairing mobile phones in central Delhis Gaffar Market, said Rajesh Deo, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch). The police will upload the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers of the phones on their website for their owners to claim ownership. We will have the details up on our website in a couple of days, said the DCP, adding that it would be a first by the city police. Police said the seven men, aged between 23 and 58, were part of an elaborate arrangement to the sell phones in Nepal. Of the arrested was a 58-year-old man from Nepal named Ram Singh who was paid 20,000 every month and his job was to coordinate the movement of mobile phones to Nepal, said the officer. The DCP said that the gang began their operations early last year after some of them working in Delhis popular mobile phone market, Gaffar Market, lost work. The police had been conducting regular raids because of which they werent getting enough phones for resale. Since the prices of phones have also been dipping, they wouldnt get enough business in repairing mobile phones, said the officer. Over the past few years, the demand of used high end phones has been rising in Nepal. The gang also realised that the regular bus services between Delhi and Nepal provided easy and uninterrupted transportation of the stolen mobile phones in the neighbouring country, said the DCP. But the main reason why Nepal was preferred was that the thieves and snatchers did not have to worry about having the stolen phones recovered through their IMEI numbers. The search of a mobile phone through their IMEI numbers is restricted to India. So, phones stolen in India and sold in Nepal would never be traced by the Indian agencies. It totally negated the risk of the thieves getting traced through the IMEI number of mobile phones, said the officer. Mobile phone snatchers have been known to change the IMEI numbers of stolen phones before selling them, but the officer said that the gang found Nepal to be a lucrative avenue in every way. Buyers of used phones in Nepal also paid a higher price compared to their counterparts in Delhi, said the officer. Police said that the arrested men included Naresh Kumar, the 30-year-old alleged mastermind, who worked for a finance firm before taking to this crime. From Kumar alone, we recovered 211 mobile phones. From his associates, we recovered the other 100. The total worth of these phones is above R 60 lakh, said DCP Deo. As heatwave gripped the city over the last week, and the mercury expected to remain over the 40 degree mark, how does one cope if the job demands you to stand under the sun for several hours at a stretch? On Sunday when the maximum temperature was 42.8C and humidity levels at 30%, Hindustan Times went across the city and spoke to different persons for whom the summer is not always pleasant. The homeless Sleeping on the pavement under a flyover, barely 30 steps away from two free government-run shelter homes near Nigambodh Ghat in North Delhi, was Shyam Girri. The 21-year old man from Darbhanga in Bihar said his work as a waiter at parties and weddings does not earn him enough money for him to stay in a rented room, not even in a jhuggi. Despite having his right leg severely injured after a food counter stall used at weddings fell on his leg, Girri like many others in that area choose the streets and parks over the shelter homes. They said they prefer the occasional natural breeze outside than the stuffy shelters. Yes, the roads are unsafe but we prefer sleeping out. The shelter homes are made of tin which during the day make the indoors extremely hot. It is a furnace inside. The ceiling fans are at such a height that the circulated air does not reach us. Also, they have provided three coolers in the one where I sleep, but the care taker uses one completely for himself which means about 50 others have to make do with just two, he said while showing the interiors of the shelter home, which had only about 10 occupants. The delivery man For Dinesh Bhatnagar (25), a food delivery man working with an app-based company, his worst nightmare in this heat is getting stuck in traffic. I shudder each time I see a green signal turning red from a distance. Riding on my two-wheeler, I am always directly exposed to the heat emanating from all the static cars and buses. It gets worse in summer as the heat gets worse, he said. The hot packed food that I need to deliver to the clients only makes things worse as we have to carry the packages on our back. His work starts with breakfast delivery at 8 am and ends at about 7 pm. Bhatnagar said their nature of work demands them to be out for 9-11 hours because of which even sun protection hardly yields any result. I wear arm sleeves and gloves apart from the helmet, but I still end up getting a sunburn. Wearing helmets for 8-10 hours daily in this heat has led to hair loss because of excessive sweating, he said. After all these hurdles, there are some flats which do not have elevators and we have to climb them to deliver at peoples doorstep. Some are gracious to offer us water and cold juices. I dont get dejected with all my occupational hazards because at the end of the day people get happy and excited about good food being delivered to them, said Bhatnagar. Traffic police A sub-inspector with the traffic police, Junaid Khan (57), has no option but to stand at the busy Kashmere Gate ISBT intersection and man traffic in the scorching heat. Unlike the deliverymen, the street vendors, electricity linemen or even rickshaw pullers, Khan does not have the option to cover his face with a handkerchief or wrap a cloth around his head to beat the heat. We are in uniform. If we also start using what others wear then the sanctity of our uniform will be lost, he said. In the madness of zooming cars and two-wheelers and the heat, a splash of water to soothe his face is the only respite Khan has to keep him going. With three-years before he retirement, Khan said hell prefer to remain indoors for his next innings. I take small breaks and sit under a flyover where we have kept plastic chairs. We buy ice for 10 and fill it in our water bottles to drink and keep us cool. We try to do our job to the best of our ability. It is not easy to be on your toes for 12 hours, he said. Tourist photographers Be it India Gate, Qutub Minar or any other monument in Delhi, photographers at these tourist hubs have no designated space for them to sit. So roaming around in the sun convincing people to get clicked is the only option for them. The photographers at India Gate said they use water-soaked towels and handkerchiefs to avoid heat stroke. Most of them also wear caps to protect them from the sun. According to Saurabh Thakur (21), a photographer who makes a living by clicking photographs of visitors at India Gate, resting means missing out on money. Consider it as our badluck that this season is such that maximum tourists come during the afternoon when the sun is the harshest. In the morning and evening hours, mostly Delhiiites come who obviously do not want our services. Foreigners and other tourists come during the day. We have to be ready and out in the sun to take their pictures and earn money, he said. Cycle rickshaw, hand-cart pullers Its a Sunday, but 37-year old Amit Yadav has been working since 5 am. Unlike many, Yadav does not even have the liberty to tweak his work schedule to suit the weather. At 2 pm, his dilapidated wooden handcart is piled five feet high with sacks of spices and he is pulling on it with all his might. I will take this through Yamuna bazaar and will unload it to the other side of the Loha Pul. I will get 10 for this carrying these goods, he said. How does he continue to work without a break in this sun? He says with a smile, Break lete hain na. Hanuman mandir ke saamne piyau hain. Wahan paani peeta hoon aur muh dho leta hoon. Ho gaya break. Garmi sardi toh ata jata rahega. (I do take a break by drinking water from the free taps at the nearby Hanuman temple. That is a break for me. Summers and winters will come and go)." While ,we decided to return after the interviews, Yadav was loading his handcart, this time with note pads, for yet another contractor - making it his third order for the day. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The balance of power before and after the 2019 elections has decisively altered within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Even though the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had won the 2014 election on its own and accommodated allies in the government, it gave them little power. But over the past two years, the party became more open, perhaps fearful of what an exodus of allies would do to their prospects as talks of a united opposition grew. It was in this spirit of pragmatism, and even punching below its weight, that the BJP reached out to the Janata Dal (United) and accepted an equal seat sharing deal in Bihar, with both parties getting 17 seats each. It gave six seats to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) of Ram Vilas Paswan. Even though the Shiv Sena had spent five years criticising the BJP, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, the party reached out and did a respectable seat sharing deal in Maharashtra for both the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls. It also was inclusive and gave two seats to Anupriya Patel of the Apna Dal in Uttar Pradesh, besides other allies. After the elections, with the BJP winning a majority on its own, it did not need allies. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the parliamentary meeting of the NDA that he believes that coalitions are necessary for Indian democracy and his government would combine national ambition and regional aspirations. This gave hope to the allies. Indeed, at the swearing in, important allies the Shiv Sena, LJP, Republican Party of India, Akali Dal got a portfolio each. But there were others who stayed out. The most notable among them was the Janata Dal (United), which wanted two berths at the minimum, but was offered only one. Its reasons for staying out may well be because of internal party dynamics with many claimants, but has a larger message. The Shiv Sena is also reportedly unhappy about the ministerial portfolio it has got. The question in the future is this: as the BJPs hegemony gets entrenched, what will be the space of allies in the NDA? This will first get tested in Maharashtra when the Shiv Sena insists on an equal seat sharing arrangement and perhaps even the chief ministers face. It will play out in Bihar next year. Will the BJP claim its space as a senior partner or will it be willing to accept Nitish Kumar as the face? Even as all the attention is on the dynamics among regional parties in the opposition, which have just lost out, it will be as instructive to keep an eye on the dynamics between the BJP and regional formations in the NDA in the new power matrix. The Odisha board Class 12 science stream exam result was announced on Monday. Odisha higher education minister Arun Sahu will release the results in Bhubaneswar. Students can check their result using their exam roll number and date of birth at the following websites: chseodisha.nic.in and orissaresults.nic.in. Here is the direct link to check Odisha board Class 12 science result. The CHSE Odisha board Class 12 science stream exam was between March 8 and 30 and 99000 students wrote the exam. The Council of Higher Secondary education which conducts the examination, had announced the Science results on May 19 last year. Nearly 78% of the students had cleared the exam in 2018. The Odisha Board of Secondary Education (BSE) declared the Class 10 or High School Certificate examination results in May. 70.78% or 3.97 lakh students passed the exam out of which 2.05 lakh were girls and 1.9 lakh were boys. In 82 Schools not a single students passed the exam while 289 schools had 100% pass percent. A total of 5,87,720 students appeared in the examination at 2,953 centres. Two days after a 51-year-old former headmistress of a city-based school was found dead at her house in Sector 23, police are yet to make headway in the case. Police on Monday said that the womans body did not have external injury marks to suggest that she had sustained wounds from a rod on her head as was mentioned in the complaint filed by her husband. Savinder Kaur, who had also taught at senior positions in Dubai, Singapore and Pune, was found dead at her house on Saturday. A police official privy to the investigation, requesting anonymity, said, Apart from minor bruises, the victims body did not have any external injury marks and we did not find any evidence to suggest she was hit by a rod. There were no bloodstains in the house. The victims son and husband said that the house was locked from inside and they entered by breaking the latch. The womans husband had allegedly told the police that when he and his son had broken into the house, she was lying unconscious on a sofa-cum-bed. Her clothes were covered in dust, her hand had a blood clot and the forehead had two marks from a rod, he stated in his complaint. Police did not divulge details of questioning the suspects, maintaining that they were probing all angles, including a property dispute, suicide or death by poisoning. Jaibir Singh, station house officer (SHO), Palam Vihar, said, No suspects have been arrested so far. The exact cause of death would be established once the viscera report is received. The samples have been sent to the forensic laboratory. Police said preliminary probe did not find any signs of forced entry into the house. After the victims husband had filed a police complaint on Saturday, the police booked his brother, his wife and their daughter on charges of murder. We are verifying the allegations of the complainant that a property dispute, which is sub-judice, might have been the reason for her death, said the official. In a daring operation, the Ahmedabad Fire Brigade here around Sunday midnight rescued as many as 40 people stuck in a tall merry-go-round at a fun fare. Minutes after getting a call, the staff of the Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services rushed to the west end of the Sabarmati Riverfront and brought down the people stuck in the tall ride. The fire brigade used a 55-metre-tall snorkel. Those rescued included 14 children and eight women. Fire brigade officials said they got a call from a person stuck in mid-air in the uppermost cubicle of the ride. The merry-go-round developed a technical snag when it was at its full pace. (The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.) After a serious drubbing in the recently held assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, popular Telugu film actor and Jana Sena Party founder-president Pawan Kalyan now stands at a virtual crossroads. His party won just one out of 138 seats it had contested in the elections in alliance with CPI, CPI (M) and Bahujan Sama Party for the 175-member state assembly. Pawan himself failed to win either of the two seats he had contested Bhimavaram in West Godavari and Gajuwaka in Visakhapatnam. The party registered a meagre vote share of 6.78 per cent and lost deposits in as many as 120 assembly seats. In the parliament elections for 25 seats in the state, it drew a blank as the YSR Congress party swept .both the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh. Shocked by the election results, Pawan had gone into a silent mode after making a brief appearance before media on the day of results on May 23 conceding the partys defeat. It was only three days ago that Pawan Kalyan surfaced in the party office at Mangalagiri to discuss the future course of action with his party seniors. The election results are no doubt a big setback to Pawan, but he is not a person who will give up his fight. He will come back strongly. He has promised to come to the party office regularly from second week of June to chalk out party programmes, a Jana Sena leader familiar with the development said. However, his party leaders and cadre have already started losing hope on the party and looking for greener pastures. Pawans close confidant and party treasurer M Raghavaiah and Addepalli Sridhar quit the party much earlier and on Monday, a large number of party workers in Guntur district joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of BJP state unit president Kanna Lakshminarayana. Like his elder brother and mega star Chiranjeevi whose Praja Rajyam Party floated in 2008 was a failed experiment, Pawan, too, made the same mistake of entering politics when there was no political vacuum in the state. In the run up to the elections, N Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which has a strong cadre base was going all out to retain power even as the YSR Congress party of Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy mounted a serious challenge to wrest power. At this stage, there was hardly any place for Jana Sena, which had neither resources nor cadre support, to win the elections. In 2009 elections, his elder brother could at least put up an impressive show, by winning 18 assembly seats with a vote share of 16.3 per cent, because of his charisma and presence of senior politicians who defected from Congress and TDP. In fact, compared to Chiranjeevi, Pawan had lot of advantages he established Jana Sena in March 2014 but did not contest the elections then. So, he had full five years to develop the party in the next five years. He used to make occasional appearances in public whenever there is an issue and then go back into his own shell. Unlike Jagan who systematically built up an anti-establishment atmosphere in the state, Pawan never came out with a clear political stand. Only a few months before the elections, he started attacking Naidu and his son Lokesh, but by that time, the mood of the people had already swung towards Jagan, senior journalist and political analyst Mallu Rajesh. Even the Kapu dimension did not work in favour of Pawan who was initially backed by the community. Though the Kapu youth rallied behind Pawan, his inconsistent stand on their demand for reservations under OBC quota disappointed them. In fact, whatever little vote share Jana Sena got, it was only because of Kapu votes in East and West Godavari, parts of Viskakhapatnam and Krishna districts, where it caused immense damage to the TDP, rather than splitting the anti-establishment vote, Rajesh said. When he was in film industry, Pawan was one of the most highly-paid actors and now, there is a talk in the film circles that he might be back into films to regain his lost image while continuing his political activity. However, there is no such indication from the actor himself so far. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa is heading to Sweden on a four-day visit beginning Monday, an IAF spokesperson said. He said the air chief will visit a slew of operational and training units and also interact with top officials of the Swedish Air Force. The visit would provide an impetus to defence cooperation and pave the way for greater interaction and cooperation between the two air forces, the spokesperson added. Dhanoas visit comes at a time when the Scandinavian country is eyeing projects worth billions of dollars under the Make in India initiative. Dhanoa is scheduled to visit various operational and training units and interact with senior functionaries of the Swedish Air Force among others. Swedish defence firm Saab is pursuing opportunities to build fighter jets and next-generation submarines in the country under the governments strategic partnership model that seeks to provide impetus to the Make in India programme. India and Sweden concluded a security protection agreement in February 2019 in order to share classified information with each other, in a sign of deepening military cooperation. Interestingly, Swedish Company SAAB is a contender in the Indian Air Forces multi-billion dollar 114 fighter aircraft programme. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had visited Sweden in February this year. Members of the Sanitation Board seated in front (l-r) Nelly Wouleseje as Secretariat, Loic Bernier as Deputy Chairman, Minister Jack Norris, Chairman Narand Beerbul and Director of Public Health Len Tarivonda A Soviet-origin Antonov-32 military transport plane carrying 13 people, including an eight-man crew, went missing in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, prompting the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the army to launch a massive search operation, two defence officials said. The crew included six officers a wing commander, a squadron leader and four flight lieutenants and two personnel below officer rank. The others were three personnel below officer rank and two non-combatants. The IAF plane took off from Jorhat in Assam at 12.27pm and was on its way to an advanced landing ground at Mechuka in Arunachal Pradeshs West Siang district when it vanished from the radar, said an IAF spokesperson. The landing ground is about 15km from the Line of Actual Control, the disputed border with China. Also Read | Massive search Ops on to locate missing AN-32 aircraft, to continue overnight The aircraft last contacted ground control at 1pm, the spokesperson said. Thereafter, there was no contact with the aircraft. Since the aircraft did not reach the destination, overdue actions were initiated by Indian Air Force, he added. The plane was on an air maintenance mission, a second official said. Several of the armys border outposts in the state are air maintained. The aircraft involved in the search for the missing plane include C-130J special operations aircraft, AN-32s, Mi-17 choppers and the armys advanced light helicopters. Some ground reports were received on the possible location of a crash site. Helicopters were routed to the location but no wreckage was sighted till the time of going to print. IAF is coordinating with the Indian Army as well as various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft, the spokesperson said, adding that the search operations from air and by ground parties are planned through the night. Defence minister Rajnath Singh spoke with IAF vice chief Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria for an update on the missing plane. He [Bhadauria] has apprised me of the steps taken by IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board, tweeted Singh, who visited the Siachen glacier on Monday. An AN-32 can carry up to 40 men. The IAF operates around 100 AN-32s inducted in the early 1980s. Also Read | IAF aircraft with 13 on board goes missing after take off from Assam Although IAF calls it a reliable workhorse, the AN-32 safety record has been blemished by two fatal crashes over the last decade. In July 2016, an AN-32 went down in the Bay of Bengal with 29 people on board. Also, a decade ago, an AN-32 crashed in West Siang killing all 13 men on board. The wreckage of that plane was spotted by a search team at over 12,000ft above sea level, more than 24 hours after it went down. An AN-32 also crashed near Palam in March 1999 killing all 18 personnel on board. Some of the AN-32s in the IAF fleet have undergone an upgrade in Ukraine to improve avionics and increase engine lifespan. Several planes are also being upgraded at an IAF repair facility in Kanpur as part of the same contract. India and Ukraine inked a $400-million contract in 2009 for upgrading IAFs fleet of 100 AN-32 planes. Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies, said, The AN-32 going missing is bad news. The aircraft by itself is sturdy and is IAFs workhorse, especially for operations in the border areas. The crew who fly those tricky missions are very experienced and specially cleared for such operations. The search and rescue personnel would be working all night. Lets hope for the best. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ajit Doval was reappointed as the National Security Adviser (NSA) to Prime Minister with the rank of a Cabinet minister for another five years. A government notification issued on Monday said his appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister...He will be assigned the rank of a Cabinet Minister. Doval is credited for having enunciated the Pakistan policy for the first Modi-led NDA government. India introduced an element of unpredictability, with Pakistan, analysts said. The two cross border strikes -- in 2016 after the terror attack on the Uri Brigades HQ and the air strike on Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot in Pakistan after the February Pulawama suicide attack -- are the result of this unpredictability in response. Assigning Doval the rank of a Cabinet minister was only to be expected, a senior government official said. It is partly protocol driven, this person added, asking not to be identified. The inclusion in the cabinet of S Jaishankar, who served as foreign secretary in the last Modi government when Doval was the NSA, is believed to be one reason for this. You cannot have a situation where the former foreign secretary enjoys a cabinet rank but the NSA under who he worked for as foreign secretary continues as an adviser, the officer added. Beside protocol issues, elevating the NSA to the rank of cabinet minister has much to do with smooth functioning and strengthening the office of NSA, under Doval, a second senior official said, asking not to be identified. With the NSA elevated to the rank of a cabinet minister, bureaucratic delays and opposition is unlikely, this person added. Importantly, the NSA will now have more latitude to implement the vision of the Prime Minister. In a Westminster style of government, elevating the post of the NSA to rank of a cabinet minister empowers him. In the past, ministers have expressed unhappiness when critical events were planned and implemented through the office of the NSA, a third senior officer who did not want to be named said. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has been re-appointed to the top post in the Prime Ministers Office with an upgrade. He will hold the rank of a Cabinet Minister. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Ajit Doval, IPS (Retired) as National Security Adviser with effect from 31.05.2019. His appointment will be co-terminus with the term of the Prime Minister or until further orders, whichever is earlier, a government order issued on Monday said. During the term of his office, he will be assigned the rank of Cabinet Minister in the Table of Precedence, the brief order said. Doval was Prime Minister Narendra Modis first choice to advise him on security when he first assumed office in May 2014. As NSA, Doval has been seen as a major influence on the governments security policy, right from its handling of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir to dealing with Pakistan and China as well as deepening Indias relationship with Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and UAE. The elevation places him on par with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, with who he had worked closely to work on Indias foreign policy during the NDA governments previous term, helping forge stronger ties with the US, end the military standoff with China at Doklam and embark on an ambitious outreach to West Asia. Jaishankar was then Indias foreign secretary. A 1968-batch Kerala cadre IPS officer, Doval was the first police officer to be awarded the second-highest peacetime gallantry award for his role in Operation Black Thunder-II launched to flush out militants from the Golden Temple in 1988. Also read : Kerala Congress leader expelled for praising PM Modi for his Gandhian values Former BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha Sunday cautioned the saffron party that Nitish Kumar will betray it and it should be ready for Dhokha number 2 from the JD(U) president I want to tell BJP people that Nitish Kumar has been known for disrespecting the peoples mandate. Betraying peoples mandate and alliance partners are his old habits...BJP people should be ready to witness Dhokha number 2, Kushwaha told reporters here. Aisa koi saga nahi jisko Nitish ne thaga nahi (There is nobody who has not been cheated by Nitish), he said. This idiom will be translated into action here soon and hence the BJP should remain cautious, he said. Also read: Brutal assault: Congress Siddaramaiah joins attack against draft policys Hindi formula Kushwaha was talking to reporters here after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Kumar had snapped ties with the BJP in June 2013 after Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, was made the saffron partys campaign committee chairman for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kumar later joined hands with the RJD and Congress to form Grand Alliance in Bihar which won the last state elections. However, in July 2017 Kumar brought down the Grand Alliance government as he pulled out of the grouping. But within hours, he joined hands with the BJP and became chief minister again. Kushwaha said Kumar remarks that the JD(U) would not join the Modi cabinet reminded him of sour grapes. Asked as to why he thought his party and the Mahagathbandhan were routed in the Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP chief claimed that the BJPs top leadership misled the people of the country as part of their conspiracy to deflect attention from actual issues and people voted on non-issues. Also read: Hindi not our mother tongue, dont incite us: Raj Thackerays party on draft education We have learnt a lesson and will be cautious and aware of their (BJPs) conspiracy in elections. Replying to another query, he said that the RJD-Congress-RLSP-HAM Grand Alliance in Bihar is united and will remain so in future. Asked if he though Tejashwi Yadav was responsible for Grand Alliances defeat in Bihar, Kushwaha said one person cannot be held responsible. The former Union minister termed the Bihar CMs decision to fill 32,000 posts of teachers in the states secondary and higher secondary schools as an eye-wash. The decision would not bring quality education in state-run schools, he said. Kumar should alter the selection procedure and appoint quality teachers through examination held either by Bihar Public Service Commission or any other specialised body, he said. Kushwaha, however, extended his support to Kumar for getting special category status accorded to Bihar. If the state government forms a delegation of political parties or chalks out any programme, the RLSP would extend it support for the cause, he added. (The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed) A 37-year-old alleged serial killer has been arrested for sexually assaulting and murdering six women since 2013 in West Bengals East Burdwan. Kamruzzaman Sarkar is also accused of attempting to kill another six women. A district court in East Burdwan on Monday remanded Sarkar in 12-day police custody a day after he was arrested and booked under Indian Penal Codes sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 376 (rape). Sarkars victims were aged between 15 and 75 according to police. He allegedly carried out two murders and one attempted murder in 2013 and the rest of the crimes this year. East Burdwan police superintendent Bhaskar Mukherjee said they were looking for a serial killer since a few women were murdered over the past few months while some narrowly escaped murder attempts. We noticed a pattern though attempts were made to divert the polices attention. Mukherjee said Sarkar allegedly targeted 12 women and killed six of them. He would conduct a recce for two-three days to find out whether the woman he wanted to target was alone at home, said Mukherjee. He added the police would reconstruct every crime scene over the next few days.Sarkar, who lived with his wife, mother-in-law, a 14-year-old daughter and two sons, made a living from selling scrap. The police claimed that Sarkar admitted to his crimes during interrogation. But his lawyer, Subhra Roy, accused the police of framing his client because they had failed to solve these murder cases. Police are framing my client to hide their failure in solving a number of cases. I will produce medical certificates in the court on the next date [of hearing] to prove that he [Sarkar] suffers from mental ailments, Roy said. A police officer, who is involved in the investigations and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the victims were strangulated with chains in the first three cases this year. some of his targets had narrow escapes. The victims were initially hit with heavy and blunt weapons behind their heads and then strangulated, he said. The alleged serial killer would enter houses of his targets posing as an electricity department employee on the pretext of recording metre readings, investigators said.A 20-year-old survivor said her husband and father-in-law were away when a man came one afternoon and introduced himself as an electricity department employee. He asked me when the men will return home. I said they will return in the evening. He came back after some time and entered the house on the pretext of recording the metre reading. Suddenly he put a chain around my neck. I played dead and he loosened the noose, she said. Another 40-year-old woman echoed her. She said the attacker came with half his face covered and tried to strangulate her with a chain. One of my daughters heard my screams and raised an alarm, following which the attacker fled, she said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Bombay High Court (HC) on Monday upheld constitutional validity of Section 376E of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which states that a repeat rape offender can be awarded life imprisonment or death penalty. Vijay Jadhav, 27, Mohammed Kasim Shaikh Mohammed Hashim Shaikh, 24, and Mohammed Salim Mohammed Kudus Ansari, 32, who were convicted for the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman at Shakti Mills on August 22, 2013, had challenged constitutional validity of the legal provisions under which they were awarded life sentence in 2014. During probe, the police found the trio had also gang raped an 18-year-old woman on July 31 at the same place. The amendment brought in place in 2013, after the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi in 2012. Section 376-E is not ultra vires the Constitution, a bench of justice BP Dharmadhikari and justice Revati Mohite-Dere said while dismissing petitions filed by the three convicts. The bench rejected an argument advanced on behalf of the trio that Section 376E was arbitrary, disproportionately harsh and therefore violated the mandate of equality enshrined in the Constitution of India. Their argument further said the section prescribes death penalty, even when no death (murder) is caused by the accused person. The bench said it would be highly unrealistic to compare rape with the offence of murder, as the consequences are incomparable. A victim of rape undergoes a traumatic experience with which she has to live for rest of her life. Rape is a highly reprehensible crime and demonstrates a total contempt for the personal integrity and autonomy of the victim. Needless to state, the stigma that is attached to rape victims is lifelong, the bench said, adding, In a sense, the offence of rape can be said to be graver than that of murder. The bench said the legislature, while enacting Section 376E, was aware of peoples needs and necessary measures to meet those needs (the growing incidents of rape). It added there was no doubt that courts have the jurisdiction to interfere when the punishment prescribed is outrageously disproportionate to the offence, but legislature is in the best position to understand the needs of the society. Besides, the judges said there were other penal sections that prescribed death penalty for offences involving no murders. The bench also rejected the argument that Section 376E created a new punishment imprisonment till death of the offender that is unknown to the penal law in India. In this regard, the judges referred to Supreme Court rulings holding that life imprisonment means imprisonment for rest of the natural life of the offender and therefore, it was not a new punishment. In 2013, the three convicts were tried in the two cases simultaneously, and on March 20, 2014, the accused were convicted in both cases. The next day, the trial court sentenced the trio in one of the cases. When proceedings for sentencing in the other case were taken up, the prosecutor presented an application for amendment of the charge added under Section 376E. On March 24, the trial court allowed the application and invoking Section 376E handed death sentence to the trio. Also read: Muzaffarpur shelter home case: SC grants 3 months time to CBI to complete probe Congress leader Siddaramaiah on Monday joined a chorus of voices against the Centres draft national education policy, which recommends making the teaching of Hindi compulsory up to Class 8, amid the governments attempts to douse the controversy. Several political parties and academicians in non-Hindi speaking states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal have already cautioned the Centre against imposing any language against their wishes. In a series of tweets, Siddaramaiah said the Centre was imposing Hindi on the states and asked it to give them more space. Ours is a land that exhibits Unity in Diversity. Peaceful coexistence is the need to establish harmony &any force shall work against the laws of society. For us Kannada is an identity, &learning any other language should be by Choice & not by imposition. #StopHindiImposition (sic), Siddaramaiah tweeted. New National Education Policy draft imposes Hindi in non Hindi states & this goes against our sentiments. If recognition of regional identity is inconsistent according to few then imposition of Hindi is nothing but a brutal assault on our States. #StopHindiImposition (sic), he wrote. Also read: After protests in south, govt tweaks Hindi formula in draft education plan Instead of imposing Hindi, the government should focus on recognising regional identities & give more space to the states to express & manifest their ideas through their own culture & language. We are all Kannadigas in India. #StopHindiImposition. The draft national policy on education, which was made public by the new government on Friday, says the three-language formula should be introduced at an earlier stage in schools. In Tamil Nadu, the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Left and actor Kamal Haasans new Makkal Needhi Maiam have slammed the report, which they saw as a precursor to the imposition of Hindi. Pro-Tamil parties projected it as a Dravidian versus Aryan fight. The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also lashed out against the imposition of Hindi, saying it is not their mother tongue. Hindi is not our mother tongue, do not enforce it on us and incite us, the MNS Twitter handle said on Sunday quoting its spokesperson Anil Shidore as saying. On its part, ministers of the Modi government including finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Union minister for information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar and external affairs minister S Jaishankar have gone on a damage control mode and said that it was only a draft report and no decision has been taken on implementing it. Also read: Protests in South over Hindi formula in education plan, govt says not final The draft of the new National Education Policy (NEP) was handed over to the countrys new human resources development (HRD) minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Friday by the committee that was formed in 2017 and led by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan. It was also uploaded on the ministrys website. The recommendations, spread over 500 pages, also include changes to the training of teachers, suggestions on how school fees must be regulated, and the start of a new, four-year liberal arts undergraduate course that will let college students pick from a wider variety of disciplines to study. The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992. A new education policy was part of the BJPs manifesto ahead of 2014 general polls. Private weather forecaster Skymet on Monday issued an advisory, asking farmers in southern and central India to delay the sowing of certain crops because of the late onset of monsoon. According to Skymet Weather, farmers in Maharashtra should sow crops such as cotton, soybean and lentils tur, moong, urad around June 15, and those in southern states, especially Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been advised to sow maize, tur and cotton after June 15. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been asked to start sowing in the third week of June. This caution has been extended for the simple reason that sowing of crops at this point of time, when the onset of monsoon is delayed and chances of good rains are less, will only push up the cost for farmers and also hamper the yield of the crop, Skymet Weather said in a statement. Skymet also updated its monsoon onset forecast date by three days on Monday. The private forecaster had on May 14 put the onset date around June 4 with an error margin +/- 2 days but now it has delayed the date to June 7. The normal date for monsoon onset over Kerala is June 1. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast that monsoon would hit the southern state on June 6 with an error margin of +/- 4 days. When asked if the Met department would also issue an advisory for farmers, DS Pai, senior scientist at IMD Pune, said, IMD cannot advise farmers on what to do. Its for the state governments to decide when they want to advise on sowing. Sowing will depend on location, irrigation facilities and other local factors. Rainfall in June as a whole can be below normal but there will be rainfall. IMD director general KJ Ramesh said, farmers need not worry because sowing of most monsoon crops happens in July. Monsoon will arrive in good strength and there will be good rainfall, he added. National Agromet Advisory Service Bulletin, issued by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), states that monsoon rainfall will be weak between May 31 and June 13. Monsoon will progress slowly after the onset with subdued monsoon condition will remain during the first half of June, 2019, it said. A Delhi court, which is hearing a money laundering case against Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, on Monday allowed him to travel to the US and the Netherlands for six weeks on medical grounds. Vadra is facing investigations by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with alleged money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property worth 1.9 million pounds. It, however, did not allow Vadra to go to the UK. Vadras counsel KTS Tulsi told the court that his client will not go to the UK in view of the objections raised by the ED regarding... The businessman had submitted his itinerary to the court seeking permission to travel to London, New York and the Netherlands. The agency had opposed Vadras plea, saying two other co-accused, Sanjay Bhandari and Sonia Bhandari were staying in Britain. It feared that if Vadra was allowed to travel to London, he might tamper with the evidence. Special CBI judge Arvind Kumar, while allowing Vadra to travel abroad, asked him to furnish a bank guarantee of ~25 lakh, inform the court of his arrival in India within 24 hours and to join investigation within 72 hours of so informed by the IO [investigating officer]. US President Donald Trump landed in London on Monday morning for a two-day state visit preceded by rare atmospherics that saw the visiting dignitary wading into the Conservative leadership contest, and making personal remarks about mayor Sadiq Khan. Jousting between Khan and Trump began nearly three years ago, when Washington imposed curbs on travellers from some Islamic countries. It continued during the London Bridge terror attack, when Trump flayed Khans handling of the response. On Sunday, Khan took it further, saying it is un-British to be rolling out the red carpet for someone who amplified the tweets of a British far-right racist group, denounced as fake news robust scientific evidence warning the dangers of climate change, among other reasons. Minutes before landing at Stansted Airport, Trump took a swipe at Khans height, called him nasty and stone cold loser, and reiterated his criticism of his performance as the mayor of London. He tweeted: @SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me...... ...Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! Khan responded through a spokesman: This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States. Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years. Demonstrations are due in central London, besides a Trump baby blimp flying overhead, as Trump meets Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace for a ceremonial welcome marked by royal pomp and pageantry. Speaking ahead of the evenings State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, Prime Minister Theresa May said: This is a significant week for the special relationship and an opportunity to further strengthen our already close partnership. During his State Visit to the UK the President and I will be taking part in an historic commemoration of the D-Day landings and the sacrifice our armed forces made 75 years ago. And as we reflect on our shared history and honour those who fought so bravely on the beaches of Normandy, we also look to the future. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON We decided to have a Circle DJ night once a month, he said. We used to have them come on after the bands, and they were really popular. We decided to have a night for DJs. A 23-year-old man in Keralas Ernakulam district has been tested positive for the deadly brain-damaging Nipah disease in an initial test, the states health minister KK Shailaja said on Monday, prompting the government to open fever clinics and isolation wards in three cities. State health minister KK Shailaja admitted that the initial test result from the Kerala State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases in Alleppey showed the man was positive for Nipah. Hectic efforts are on to contain a secondary outbreak, she said. The health minister will camp in Kochi to co-coordinate measures to contain the viral outbreak. The state government has opened fever clinics and isolation wards in three medical colleges in Kozhikode, Thrissur and Ernakulam. Doctors, who treated Nipah patients in Kozhikode last year, have been directed to move to Kochi. Help has also been sought from experts at the virology institute in Manipal. People, who interacted with the man for the last two weeks, have been asked to appear for screening. Thrissurs district medical officer KG Reena said a list of 50 people has been made and that they will be under observation. Medical professionals, who treated him, have also been asked to be vigilant. Six people, who were in contact with the patient, have already been quarantined as the government opened an emergency control room in Ernakulam. The man was admitted to a private hospital after he complained of persistent fever and headache for ten days. He was then kept isolation ward in the hospital and his blood samples were sent to two virology institutes for testsManipal Virology Institute and Kerala State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases. It is suspected that man contacted the deadly disease from his hostel in Thodupuzha in Idukki district. He was admitted to a private hospital after he complained of persistent fever and headache for ten days. The patient was then kept in an isolation ward in the hospital. Centre will rush an experts team to Kerala as the state government assured people that there was nothing to worry about and advised people to take precautions. The virus that causes high fever, headache and coma in extreme cases is spread by fruit bats. Body fluids can cause human-to-human transmission of Nipah, which has a mortality rate of 70% and has no vaccine. A Nipah outbreak in May last year had claimed 17 lives, including that of a nurse who treated one of the patients. A senior health official said if it spreads in Kochi it will be difficult to contain. Last year, the outbreak was localised and contained within two weeks. What is Nipah virus? Nipah is a virus-borne disease; was first reported in Malaysia in 1999 It is a zoonotic virus or transmitted from animals to humans Virus can be contracted from droppings of fruit bats and excreta of pigs Spreads through contacts with infectious body fluids Initial symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and breathlessness Death can occur in as many as 70-80% cases No vaccine for Nipah as of now Supportive care and symptom-specific treatment only line of treatment Nipah is a virus-borne disease; was first reported in Malaysia in 1999It is a zoonotic virus or transmitted from animals to humansVirus can be contracted from droppings of fruit bats and excreta of pigsSpreads through contacts with infectious body fluidsInitial symptoms include fever, headache, vomiting and breathlessnessDeath can occur in as many as 70-80% casesNo vaccine for Nipah as of nowSupportive care and symptom-specific treatment only line of treatment Also read: Kerala youth admitted to hospital with Nipah-like symptoms SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rescuers on-board an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper on Monday spotted bodies of five out of eight missing mountaineers near the 7,434-metre-high Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhands Pithoragarh district even as bad weather hampered rescue operations, two officials said. Pithoragarhs district magistrate, Vijay Kumar Jogdande, said the bodies were sighted at a height of about 5,000 metres close to another unscaled peak two hours after the chopper took off to the mountaineer groups last location. He added the bodies could not be retrieved since the high altitude location is difficult to access. The spot [where the bodies were seen] is about 500 metres from the Nanda Devi peak. The eight-member group of British, American, Australian and Indian mountaineers went missing after leaving Nanda Devis base camp in Munsyari on May 13. They were scheduled to complete their expedition on June 1. Mangal Singh, a porter, informed the authorities that the mountaineers had gone missing on Friday after he returned to the base camp, which is located about 132 km from Pithoragarh . Jogdande said ace British mountaineer, Martin Moran, led the group. He said the group had permission for an expedition to Nanda Devi East but they moved towards another peak. Instead of heading there [Nanda Devi East], they moved towards an unnamed peak, he added. He said Moran had earlier scaled Nanda Devi East twice. Jogdande identified the seven other members of the team as John McLaren, Richard Payne, Rupert Havel, Ruth Macrain, Anthony Sudecam, Rachel Bimmel and Chetan Pandey. He said the five mountaineers perhaps died while ascending the unscaled peak after they failed to scale Nanda Devi East. Nanda Devi East is the lower of the two adjacent peaks of Indias second highest mountain -- Nanda Devi. District disaster management officer, Prashant Kumar, said bad weather conditions were hampering the rescue operations. The teams involved are facing difficulties, he said. The IAF chopper was also unable to conduct another sortie due to bad weather today. The efforts to recover the bodies would be made on Tuesday morning by the chopper which too would depend on the weather, he added. He said the identifies of the five could only be ascertained after the recovery of their bodies. Earlier on Sunday, four British mountaineers were rescued from the Nanda Devi base camp. They were a part of a bigger group of 38 mountaineers, which included the missing eight. The four also provided the authorities clues about the possible location of the eight missing climbers. Jogdande said they were sending a report to the Centre and further rescue operation will be conducted after they get more instructions. We have an expert team from State Disaster Response Force, besides experts from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. In addition to these teams, we have stationed our search teams at Laspa and Bugdiyar camps close to the Nanda Devi base camp in Munsyari, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Union government on Monday dropped a controversial clause in the draft National Education Policy (NEP) that mandated the compulsory teaching of Hindi in schools across the country, after protests by a number of southern states and even an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged imposition of Hindi. The modification was made to the clause 4.5.9 of the draft policy that dealt with the bouquet of languages a student had to learn in middle school. The title of the controversial section was also tweaked from flexibility in the choice of languages to flexibility in the three-language formula. In the original draft, made public last week, under the three-language policy, a student in Grade 6 in a non-Hindi-speaking state would have had to learn the regional language of that state, Hindi and English. Students who wish to change one of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6, so long as the study of three languages by students in the Hindi-speaking states would continue to include Hindi and English and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English, the earlier draft policy said. The revised version of the provision does not specify what language a student has to study. In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one language at the literature level) in their modular Board Examinations some time during secondary school, read the new clause inserted by the human resource development ministry. The revision was welcomed by a number of states in southern India, especially Tamil Nadu, which had been rocked by protests against Hindi imposition since Friday, bringing back memories of the widespread agitations to stop Hindi from being declared as the official language of the Union in the 1960s. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which led the protests in Tamil Nadu, hailed the decision. At a time when we are celebrating the birth anniversary of Thalaivar [leader] Kalaignar [late chief minister M Karunanidhi], the central government withdrawing the Hindi compulsory subject clause shows that Kalaignar is living. Let us guard mother Tamil always breaking up the hegemonic imposition of Hindi, party chief MK Stalin said. Speaking at a public meeting later, however, Stalin said that the revised draft was just a smokescreen meant to hide the real intentions of the Centre. He said the revised draft could not be accepted. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an ally of the BJP that opposed the clause, said the Centres announcement was a thing of joy. This is a huge victory for the PMK which raised its voice against the Hindi imposition and the Tamil Nadu people, party founder S Ramadoss said. Draft (NEP) policy corrected. Beautiful solution, musician AR Rehman tweeted. The draft policy was strongly opposed in neighbouring Karnataka as well. Former chief minister Siddaramaiah said earlier in the day that no attempt should be made to impose Hindi. Nothing should be done against our opinion. There is no need for three languages. English and Kannada are there, he told reporters. There were protests in Telangana and West Bengal as well.Each state has its own character and language. Regional language is our first priority. There should be a freedom of choice, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said. Stung by the protests, the Centre clarified on Sunday that the draft policy was open to public consultations and was not final yet. Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar -- who served as human resources development (HRD) minister in the first Modi government and was replaced last week by Ramesh Pokhriyal -- said there was no attempt to impose any language. However, that did not stem the demonstrations. A senior HRD ministry official said on condition of anonymity that the clause was changed by the drafting committee, headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief K Kasturirangan. When contacted, Kasturirangan said the changed clause had the committees approval. There was formulation in a particular para 4.5.9 that spoke about flexibility in the three-language formula. That formulation, we initially thought, will convey the spirit of the language policy, which is that the policy should be multilingual, flexible and that the choice will be left to state, institutions and even parents. But when this para went into this policy book and when you read it as an outsider, it looked a little out of step, he said. We realised the moment there was a concern expressed in certain quarters. We had also discussed it. Therefore, we had a version that was approved by the committee. And that version was not giving this kind of impression at all. It was in tune with the spirit of the policy. We thought that would be more appropriate with this particular formulation, Kasturirangan added. A 23-year-old woman admitted to the city government medical college and hospital ended up delivering her baby without medical assistance early on Monday after hospital staffers did not respond to her cries for help. Sukeshni Shrikant Chatare, 23, a resident of Hudkeshwar in south Nagpur locality, had been under treatment at the government hospital right from the beginning of her pregnancy. It was her first. On Saturday evening, she was hospitalized on Saturday evening as her due date was approaching. Initially, she was made to lie down on the floor. When her relatives complained with senior officials, she did get a bed in the hospitals gynaecology ward. According to her relatives, her labour pains started on Sunday evening and she was taken to delivery ward. But when the pains eased, the doctors left the ward. Sukeshni was alone in the delivery ward past midnight when the pains started again. She cried for help that eventually woke up a relative of another patient. This person found the babys head coming out of the womb and asked Sukeshni to pull out the baby. Initially she refused to do so, but when she was unable to bear the pain, she somehow pulled the baby out, her relatives said. Later, when Sukeshnis mother arrived there, she woke up the nurses on duty who then cut the umbilical cord and told the woman to sleep on floor along with her new-born baby, not the bed. The patient was still on the floor with her new-born on Monday morning when her relatives again complained to the gynaecology department head. She got a bed, again. Sukeshnis husband, Srikant, demanded punishment for the doctors and nurses for their casual approach on the issue. I have lodged a formal complaint with the medical administration in this regard, he said. NG Tirpude, the acting dean of medical college, says the incident was unfortunate and ordered an inquiry. We have set up a three-member committee to probe and told them to submit the report as soon as possible, he informed. The hospitals Dean Tirpude said the hospital would take appropriate action against the persons concerned after getting the report. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make the first foreign visit of his second term to the Maldives during June 8-9 and make a stopover in Sri Lanka on his way back home, reflecting the importance India attaches to its neighbourhood first policy. Modi had never visited the Maldives during his first term, with a trip being called off because of a downturn in ties due to the policies of the previous administration headed by Abdulla Yameen. The upcoming visit is also meant to signal Indias commitment to stronger ties with the Indian Ocean archipelago, whose leadership was not invited to Modis swearing-in as the focus at the event was on the Bimstec grouping, people familiar with developments said on Monday. Modi is visiting the Maldives at the invitation of President Ibrahim Solih, who made a state visit to India last December. The visit is reflective of the new momentum in high-level exchanges between India and Maldives, the external affairs ministry said in a statement. The visit will provide an important occasion to review the recent developments in bilateral relations and exchange views on issues of mutual interest with the objective of further strengthening the special relationship between the two countries, it said. The Maldives is looking to India to help bolster its economy as it grapples with debt from a Chinese building spree undertaken during Yameens reign. During Solihs visit last year, India had announced financial aid of $1.4 billion as budget support, currency support and a line of credit. Modis visit to Sri Lanka on June 9 at the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena will be an occasion to express solidarity following the Easter Sunday suicide attacks that killed more than 250 people, the people quoted above said. The visits to the two countries will also demonstrate the priority India attaches to its neighbourhood first policy and the Sagar (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine, the external affairs ministry said. Days after the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) appointed a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir, India on Monday said the grouping had no locus standi in matters related to the state that is an integral part of the country. Yousef Aldobeay of Saudi Arabia, an assistant secretary general of OIC, was among four special envoys appointed at the groupings summit meeting in Makkah on May 31. The development came almost two months after former foreign minister Sushma Swaraj represented India for the first time at a meeting of OIC foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi in March. At the time, Indian officials described her participation in the meet as a significant development in efforts to boost ties with West Asian states. The 14th OIC Summit extended support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the realisation of their legitimate right to self-determination, in accordance with relevant UN resolutions and condemned outbreaks of violence in the region. A communique issued after the summit called on India to implement UN Security Council resolutions to settle its protracted conflict with Pakistan and welcomed recommendations made in a UN report on Kashmir last year. It called for setting up a UN commission of inquiry to investigate alleged rights violations in Kashmir and said the commission and global rights groups should be allowed to access Kashmir. Reacting to the communique, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said: We categorically reject yet another unacceptable reference to matters internal to India in the Final Communique adopted at the conclusion of the 14th Islamic Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states held at Makkah, Saudi Arabia on May 31, 2019. He added, The OIC has no locus standi in matters relating to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. It is reiterated that OIC should refrain from making such unwarranted references. People familiar with developments said India continued to be satisfied with the breakthrough made during Swarajs participation in the OIC meeting and would continue to engage with the grouping. There are pro-Pakistan members of OIC who will always rake up Kashmir. This is nothing new, said an official who asked not to be named. The Indian governments outreach to West Asia over the past five years is widely regarded as one of the successes of Modis foreign policy approach, the people noted. An AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force with 13 people onboard has gone missing after taking off from Jorhat in Assam. The aircraft was headed to Mechuka Advance Landing Ground, the landing strip in the eastern Himalayas of Arunachal Pradeshs West Siang district. The landing strip is about 30-odd km from the nearest point on the India-China border. The transport aircraft took off from Jorhat at 12.25 pm. It was in contact with ground agencies for the next 35 minutes. An Indian Air Force official said there had been no contact after 1 pm. Since the aircraft did not reach the airfield, overdue action was initiated by IAF, the official said, adding that all available resources had been deployed to locate the aircraft. News agency ANI said Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft and C-130 Special Ops aircraft had also been deployed on a search mission to locate the IAF aircraft. One official said ground troops had spotted some fire and smoke but there was no official confirmation from the IAF. A total of eight crew and five passengers were onboard the aircraft. Defence minister Rajnath Singh who was visiting Siachen tweeted his concern over the missing aircraft. Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 The AN-32s joined the IAF in 1983 and continue to remain in service. The air force has a fleet of more than 100 AN-32s. Mondays missing aircraft revived memories of the AN-32 that went missing while flying from Chennai to Port Blair in July 2016. A massive search mission had been launched to find the 29 people on the transport plane. The IAF had then carried out 200 search sorties to cover over 2 lakh square nautical miles multiple times by these aircraft. The IAF court of inquiry later concluded that it was unlikely that the missing personnel on board the aircraft survived the accident. The new government in Andhra Pradesh headed by YSR Congress party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to restore the general consent for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to exercise its authority in the state. Though an official order to this effect has not yet been issued, YSRC general secretary and Rajya Sabha member V Vijay Sai Reddy tweeted confirmation of the move on Monday. The latest decision by Jagan is a reversal of an earlier order given by his predecessor and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu in November last. Sai Reddy, who is a confidant of Jagan tweeted that Naidu had taken up a big agitation to ensure that nobody should question his authority to do whatever he wanted. He banned CBI, stalled Income Tax department raids and fired at Enforcement Directorate. But now, Jagan is issuing orders allowing the CBI into the state, thereby making it clear that he will not spare the thieves. Are you listening, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, he tweeted. The CBI functions under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act. It needs states permission to conduct raids and take up investigations in state establishments and personnel. The state governments routinely renew the permission and there had never been controversy over it. However, the previous TDP government in AP issued an order on November 8, stating that the general consent given to all the members of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise the powers and jurisdiction under the said Act in the state of Andhra Pradesh. As such, the the CBI and other central investigation agencies were barred for carrying out searches and conducting investigations in Andhra Pradesh. The general consent was earlier accorded to the CBI on August 3, 2018. Interestingly, West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress president Mamata Banerjee also issued a similar order, a day after Naidu announced his decision to ban CBI. Both Naidu and Mamata were strongly resisting the alleged witch-hunting of political rivals by instigating the central agencies to conduct raids on them. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath will not host the annual iftar party at his official residence in Bhopal, according to ruling Congress leaders. The leaders said this was being done as per the Congress high commands view of not organising such events this year following the partys humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections. Congress president Rahul Gandhi will also not host an iftar party this year. The Congress in Delhi had organised an iftar party in 2018 after a gap of two years. Nath attended an iftar party Madhya Pradeshs minority affairs minister Arif Aqueel organised on Saturday. Officials said there was no chance of Nath hosting an iftar party as the fasting month of Ramzan will end on Tuesday or Wednesday. Naths predecessor, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, hosted an iftar party annually at his official residence until last year when his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was voted out of power. State BJP spokesperson, Hidaytullah Sheikh, said during the BJPs rule the size of iftar gathering went up to 7,000 to 8,000 invitees. The Congress government is not serious about minorities, he said. State Congress spokesman, Bhupendra Gupta said, holding an iftar at the chief ministers house is hardly an issue. The minister for minorities welfare, Arif Aqueel, held a roza iftar party at his bungalow and the chief minister took part in it. In a way, it was also an official programme. Hence, whether it is held at the chief ministers house or at any ministers house, there is hardly any difference, Gupta said. Muslim Vikas Parishad state convener Mohd Mahir said it does not matter whether or not there is an iftar held at the chief ministers house. But traditions must be followed. When the then chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan could hold roza iftar year after year, the same can be done during the Congress regime too. The chief minister should be asked why there is no roza iftar at his house, Mahir said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Congress Kerala unit on Monday expelled former lawmaker A P Abdullakutty from the party for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for following Mahatma Gandhis values. In a Facebook post last week, A P Abdullakutty had said Prime Minister Modi won handsomely for the second time because he inculcated Gandhian values in governance. This victory is a reward for governance strategies and development agenda of the Modi government. What made him so popular was that he inculcated enough Gandhian values in governance, he said citing the Swacchh Bharat mission and free LPG connections to the poor. Gandhi once told his followers when you create a policy, think the face of the poorest person you may have met in your life. Modi has done exactly that. Through Swacchh Bharat he gave toilets to 9.26 crore families and gave free LPG connections to six crore families, he said in the post. The party had sought an explanation from him for his remarks in favour of the Prime Minister. Kerala Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran said Abdullhakuttys explanation was not satisfactory and he continued to raise allegations against some of the state leaders. But Abdullhakutty said the party action was on the expected line and that he will continue to serve people. There is strong speculation that he will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has already welcomed the leader from the minority community. Soon after Abdullhakuttys post, many Congress leaders criticised him and sought action against him. But he maintained that he only pointed out the flaws in party policies and wanted the Congress to correct them. As a CPI(M) leader, Abdullhakutty represented Kannur in the Lok Sabha seat from 1999 to 2009 and after his expulsion from the party, the Congress made him a legislator twice. He had been sulking after he was denied a seat in the April-May Lok Sabha elections. A year after an outbreak of Nipah virus infection claimed 17 lives in north Kerala, fear has gripped the state again as a 23-year-old man has been hospitalised with Nipah-like symptoms in Ernakulam. State health minister KK Shailaja on Monday morning said the 23-year-old engineering graduate had tested positive for the virus at the Kerala State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases in Alappuzha. But she retracted her statement in the evening, saying that his symptoms were Nipah -like. She said a clear picture will emerge after the diagnosis is confirmed by Indias apex diagnostic lab, National Institute of Virology, in Pune. It is not yet confirmed. Doctors said his symptoms are Nipah-like... Results from Pune are expected either by Monday night or Tuesday morning. At least 86 persons, who were in contact with the patient, are under observation, she said. Shailaja added that no other cases had been reported from Ernakulam and the neighbouring districts. Shailaja has been camping in Kochi to coordinate measures to contain a possible Nipah virus infection outbreak. Hospitals have opened fever clinics and isolation wards in Kozhikode, Thrissur, and Ernakulam to deal with the situation. Doctors, who treated Nipah patients in Kozhikode last year, have been moved to Kochi. Help has also been sought from experts at Karnatakas Manipal Institute of Virology. Since the usual incubation period or the interval from infection to the onset of symptoms ranges from 4 to 14 days, people who have been in contact with the 23-year-old over the past two weeks have been asked to get screened. Thrissurs district medical officer, K G Reena, said a list of 50 people, including medical professionals who treated the patient, has been made and they will be under observation for two weeks. Two relatives, who were in close contact with the patient, have also been quarantined. The patients father said he developed a fever when he was interning in Thrissur 10 days ago. Doctors said though the patient had developed encephalitis (swelling in the membranes of the brain), he was responding well to treatment. He was moved to an isolation ward and his blood samples were sent to two virology institutes for testsManipal Virology Institute and Kerala State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases on Saturday. On Sunday, his blood samples were sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for confirmation. Shailaja said she was in touch with the Union health ministry and a team was expected on Tuesday. The outbreak in May last year had claimed 17 lives, including that of a nurse Lini Puthussery, who was part of a team treating one of the patients. The outbreak was localised in two districts and contained within two weeks. The experience of containing last years outbreak has helped in formulating a faster response this year, said state health department officials. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed reservations over electronic voting machines used in the Lok Sabha elections and urged opposition parties to unitedly demand the return of ballot papers for polls. She also urged the opposition parties in the country to set up a fact-finding committee to probe possible tampering of electronic voting machines (EVM) in the Lok Sabha elections. Banerjee who also heads the Trinamool Congress said that her party will launch padayatras across the state to raise the demand for abolishing EVMs and restoring ballots in the country. We dont want machines. We want ballots. Give us back our ballot (system). Save democracy, said Mamata Banerjee after the meeting of party MPs, legislators and ministers. We will spread the movement all over the country. We will urge all opposition parties to raise this demand. Remember, the US, too, has moved away from the EVMs, said the TMC chief. Two padayatras would raise the slogan for a return to the ballot. The processions would culminate in TMCs Martyrs Day programme on July 21 when the partys annual flagship political event is held in Kolkata. Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Bhattacharya said that his party would support the campaign and take part in it. In 1984, Congress won 16 (Lok Sabha) seats (from Bengal). In 2009, there was an alliance between the TMC and Congress (and won 25 seats). But no questions were raised since people voted spontaneously, remarked Mamata. Incidentally, on January 19, after the rally of 23 opposition parties in Kolkatas Brigade Parade Ground, the Bengal chief minister had announced that a four-member committee comprising Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Akhilesh Yadav, Satish Mishra and Arvind Kejriwal would draft the oppositions arguments against it. The TMC chief said on Monday that her partys MLAs would begin a door-to-door campaign to establish public contact. In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the BJP made deep inroads in Bengal winning 18 seats - a 900 per cent rise from its tally of two (also its historic high) in 2014. The TMCs tally dropped from 34 in 2014 to 22. The TMC vote share stood at 43.28% and the BJP was breathing down its neck at 40.25%, recording a jump of 23.23 percentage points over 2014. The TMC voteshare was 39.79% in 2014. Bengal has been simmering in political violence since the election dates were announced and the bloodletting did not stop even after the results. Analysts have predicted a tough fight for the states ruling party in the 2021 Assembly polls. Mamata Banerjee will find it difficult to keep her flock together. It appears that the fall of the government is just a matter of time, said psephologist Bidwanath Chakraborty and professor of political science. Slamming the BJP, Mamata Banerjee said that in Tarakeswar, the saffron party workers threw away the national flag from a government (read Malpaharpur panchayat) office and replaced it with their party flag. In the same area, BJP workers painted the word Ram on a government logo (of Biswa Bangla), she said. In these cases, the law will take its own course, said the chief minister. The BJP hit back at her and dared her to hold elections to 19 civic bodies. Why are you not holding elections to the 19 civic bodies where polls are due? Why are you installing administrators there? Dont complain, or agitate, if someone installs an administrator (read Presidents Rule) above you for this throttling of democracy, BJP Bengal unit vice-president Jay Prakash Majumdar said. A massive search operation involving the Indian Air Force and the Army is under way to locate the AN-32 transport aircraft that went missing with 13 people onboard just 35 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam on Monday afternoon. The IAF and the army have pooled their resources to keep two planes a C-130 and AN-32 aircraft and two choppers in the air to try locating the missing aircraft. Some ground reports were received on possible location of a crash site. Helicopters were routed to the location, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far, the Indian Air Force said. The statement rebuts reports that the plane had crashed and the wreckage had been found. Also Read| IAF aircraft with 13 on board goes missing after take off from Assam A total of eight aircrew and five passengers were onboard the aircraft, the IAF said in a statement. An IAF spokesperson also underlined that the search operation was a combined effort. IAF is coordinating with Indian Army as well as various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft, the spokesperson said. The IAF said the search operations from air and by ground parties of Indian Army are planned to continue through the night. The aircraft was flying to Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground, a landing strip that had been renovated just a few years ago in the eastern Himalayas of Arunachal Pradeshs West Siang district. The landing strip is about 30-odd km from the nearest point on the India-China border. The AN-32 took off from Jorhat in Assam at 12.27 pm and last contacted ground agencies at 1 pm. Thereafter, there was no contact with the aircraft, the IAF said. When the aircraft did not reach the destination, overdue actions were initiated by Indian Air Force. Defence minister Rajnath Singh who was in Siachen on Monday tweeted his concern at the missing aircraft. Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 The Russian-origin AN-32s joined the IAF in 1983. The IAF has more than 100 AN-32s in its fleet. Mondays missing aircraft revived memories of the AN-32 that disappeared while flying from Chennai to Port Blair in July 2016. A massive search mission was then launched to find the 29 people on the transport plane. The IAF had carried out 200 search sorties to cover over 2 lakh square nautical miles multiple times but neither the aircraft nor its wreckage was ever found. The 29 people most of them passengers were then presumed dead. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati told party office-bearers on Monday to prepare to fight 11 upcoming assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh on their own, raising doubts about the continuation of her partys electoral alliance with the Samajwadi Party (SP) that fared poorly in the recently concluded general elections. Addressing a meeting in Delhi, Mayawati directed office-bearers, MLAs and newly elected MPs from Uttar Pradesh to not depend on the alliance to win bypolls on seats that had fallen vacant because the sitting MLAs were elected to the Lok Sabha. Ten of these seats were held by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one by the SP. The two regional powerhouses buried years of acrimony to come together last year and forged what was considered a formidable caste coalition to take on the BJP in the general elections. But the alliance failed to stop the BJP, which won 62 of the states 80 Lok Sabha seats. The BSP won 10 seats, up from zero in 2014 while the SP remained stuck at its 2014 tally of five though it lost a number of Yadav family pocket boroughs, including Kannauj, where SP chief Akhilesh Yadavs wife Dimple lost by around 12,000 votes. A senior BSP leader present at Mondays meeting said that Mayawati blamed the poor show on an ongoing feud in the Yadav family between Akhilesh and his uncle Shivpal, who formed a separate outfit and cut into the Yadav vote bank in key seats. Samajwadi Party failed to transfer its votes to BSP candidates. The Yadav community, considered the core vote base of the SP, voted for the BJP candidates on majority of the seats, dumping the alliance candidate, the leader quoted Mayawati as saying. The BSP chief could not even save family seats, he quoted Mayawati as saying. Shivpal used his influence to transfer a large chunk of Yadav votes to the BJP. It clearly indicates that Akhilesh has lost grip on the Yadav community voters. He was unable to transfer the SP vote to alliance candidates, Mayawati added, according to the leader. There was, however, no official statement from the party. The leader said that Mayawati did not directly talk about the future of the alliance and appeared to favour a wait and watch approach. Her comments appeared to have taken the SP leadership by surprise. Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said the party will meet to discuss the issue. We are yet to receive an official statement of the BSP chief, he said. In his constituency of Azamgarh, Akhilesh said he was not aware of Mayawatis statement. Hard work is needed on the ground to defeat the BJP and our party will do that, he said. BJP spokesperson Salabh Mani Tripathi called the alliance opportunistic and forged to serve vested interests. It was not an alliance of ideology and principles. Akhilesh should come clear on the charges levelled by Mayawati that he failed to transfer SP votes to the BSP, he said. The BSP chief has been in Delhi since May 25 to review the performance of the party in the Lok Sabha elections. She has redrawn the BSPs UP unit and dissolved all divisional, zonal and assembly units. The district unit organisations will continue to function. A militant and his associate were killed in a brief encounter which began after security forces flagged down their vehicle at a checkpoint in south Kashmirs Shopian district on Sunday night, police said on Monday. Security forces intercepted an SUV in the night at a checkpoint on Turkawangom road at Mool Chitragam in Shopian. A police spokesman said that militants in the vehicle opened fire at security forces who retaliated. One terrorist identified as Firdous Ahmad Bhat and an active associate Sajad Ahmad who was driving the vehicle were killed in the retaliatory fire, the spokesman said. One terrorist taking advantage of darkness managed to flee from spot. Both of the slain men were the residents of nearby Kulgam district. The police, quoting records, said that Firdous Bhat was a listed terrorist but did not reveal to which group he belonged. The bodies of both the men were handed over to their legal heirs after completion of medico-legal formalities. Security forces have killed 101 militants and their associates in counterinsurgency operations in the first five months of the year, most of them after acting on intelligence inputs provided by informants, police officials said. This includes 25 foreign militants and 76 locals, belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e- Toiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. In 2018 and 2017, from January to May, security forces had managed to kill 70 and 57 militants, respectively. Most counter-insurgency operations were executed in south Kashmirs four districts Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag. On May 23, security forces gunned down the Valleys most wanted militant commander, Zakir Musa, 25, who had formed the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, in south Kashmir. Musa, who was active in South Kashmirs Tral area, was a close associate of Burhan Wani. In the first five months, 61 security personnel were killed by militants, and they included the 40 CRPF personnel who died in a suicide car bombing in Pulwama on February 14. The Jaish had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack. Mortal remains of sepoys Palu Ram of Hisar and Hari Singh of Jhajjar who went missing in Italy while fighting the German army during World War-II reached their native villages after 75 years on Monday. We are proud that our ancestor participated in World War-II. Now, we can immerse his ashes as per our religious rites, said Ramesh Koth, a relative of Palu Ram. He added that Palu Ram was 19 years old when he took part in the war. He participated as a soldier of the Fourth Battalion of the 13th Frontier Force Rifles, which was under the British Indian Army. He went missing on September 13, 1944, fighting the German Infantry division at Poggio Alto in Italy. We were surprised after the Indian Army, in October last year, broke the news about the recovery of his mortal remains, added Ramesh. Ramesh said the army contacted him on the basis of the pension records. My great grandfather Pat Ram had been getting the pension of Palu Ram since he was reported missing in action. Subedar Jagrattan Singh, who brought the mortal remains, said a team under the leadership of Air Vice Marshal Bakul Upadhyaya of the National Defence College had reached Itlay and brought the ashes of Sepoy Hari Singh of Jhajjar and Sepoy Palu Ram of Hisar to India with full military honours. In Jhajjar, agriculture minister Om Prakash Dhankar was present when the ashes of Sepoy Hari Singh reached the district Sainik Welfare Board. Dhankar said many bravehearts from Haryana had participated in the World War-I and World War-II. A relative of Hari Singh said the latter had joined the army when he was 17. Hari Singh was member of 4/13 FF Rifles and got martyred on September 13, 1944. According to reports, bones were found in Poggio Alto in 1966. The Italian authorities began investigations to identify the remains in 2010. The DNA tests in 2012 revealed that the remains belonged to non-European adults aged 20-21 years who were later identified as Palu Ram of Nangthala and Hari Singh of Jhajjar. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A plan to build 111 naval utility helicopters in India under the strategic partnership model to replace the navys outdated fleet of French-designed Chetak choppers moved forward on Monday, with the opening of the technical bids of the foreign firms competing for the project. US firm Lockheed Martin, European Airbus Helicopters and Russian Helicopters are eyeing the 21,738-crore project that involves manufacturing the choppers in India in partnership with Indian firms. The project will take several years as several key processes have to be completed, senior officials said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Less than 48 hours after taking over as Indias new defence minister, Rajnath Singh on Monday visited the Siachen glacier and interacted with soldiers deployed on the worlds highest battlefield, his first outstation visit in the new role. Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world, Rajnath Singh tweeted. Visited a forward post and Siachen base camp today and interacted with the Army personnel serving in this region which is also known as the the highest battle field in the world. pic.twitter.com/Ns8uFpK4TT Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour. pic.twitter.com/hMRObJ1j9A Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Army chief General Bipin Rawat also accompanied Singh, who was on Saturday briefed by top officials on the functioning of the ministry. Newly appointed as defence minister, Rajnath Singh paid tributes to the martyred soldiers. Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice, Rajnath Singh wrote on Twitter. Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/buWxgv6Nmg Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 The officials had said the minister would get a low-down on the security scenario in the region, apart from being briefed on the operations conducted by the army and the air force in the snowy wastes of the glacier. The glacier, a 76-km river of slow moving ice, is of extreme strategic importance to India. Army officials say that as long as the glacier is under Indias control, the Pakistani army cannot link up with the Chinese and pose threat to the Ladakh region. It also acts as a wedge between the Shaksgam valley under Chinas control and Baltistan, which is occupied by Pakistan. The visit by the Raksha Mantri to Siachen is rich in symbolism. While this is indeed welcome, there are many more important operational and administrative needs of the armed forces that need to be addressed urgently by the new government, said Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. He has flown extensively in the Siachen area as a helicopter pilot. Singhs predecessors, Nirmala Sitharam and Manohar Parrikar, also visited the glacier to understand the challenges Indian soldiers face. In October 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spent Diwali with soldiers at the base camp to boost their morale. When George Fernandes was the defence minister from 1998-2004, he paid more than 30 visits to the glacier. Islamabad has made several demands for demilitarising the glacier invoking the aspect of long-term peace but India has always taken a cautious approach on the issue. The Indian Army launched Operation Meghdoot in April 1984 to secure the glacier after Pakistan army occupied the heights at Siachen. Several rounds of talks between India and Pakistan on demilitarising the Siachen glacier have failed, with Islamabad refusing to authenticate troop positions on the ground. In fact, India deployed its soldiers on Siachen after Pakistan began allowing international mountaineering expeditions to the glacier, sending out a signal that it controlled the area. Different interpretations of the 1949 ceasefire agreement by the two countries also aggravated the dispute. India has deployed around 3,000 soldiers at Siachen where temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees. Soldiers have to trek for almost a month, covering a stretch of 128 km, to reach some of the farthest pickets on the glacier. Almost 80% of the posts on the glacier are located above 16,000 feet, with Bana towering above the rest at 21,753 feet. Also read | 5 frontbenchers gone, Lok Sabha has new-look seating plan Rescuers onboard an Indian Air Force helicopter spotted the bodies of five of the eight mountaineers missing since May 25, near an unnamed peak adjoining Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhand on Monday, officials said. The bodies were trapped in an avalanche were detected during a sortie by one of the two helicopters of IAF pressed into the search operation, Pithoragarh district administration officials said. On Monday morning, the IAF chopper left for a sortie from Pithoragarh at 8.51 am for the groups last location of Nanda Devi East. During the sortie which lasted for about two hours, it detected five bodies at a height of about 5000m, said Vijay Kumar Jogdande, district magistrate, Pithoragarh. The bodies were seen in the middle of an avalanche and due to its remote location and height it is difficult to recover them. The spot is about 500m away from the Nanda Devi East Peak, he said. Jogdande also claimed that the group lead by one of the ace mountaineers Martin Moran of United Kingdom was given permission for the expedition for Nanda Devi East peak but they moved towards another. ITBP: Equipment and bodies seen in open/ partially buried in snow through aerial view (Helicopter) today near the unclimbed peak where the 8 missing mountaineers who were reported heading towards Nanda Devi East at around 20000 ft pic.twitter.com/KXwmSqx5OU ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 Instead of heading there, they moved towards an unnamed peak, Jogdande said. District disaster management officer, Prashant Kumar said inclement weather was hampering rescue operations. As the weather conditions are bad, the teams involved are facing difficulties. The IAF chopper is also not able to conduct another sortie due to it, Kumar said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Jolted by the Bahujan Samaj Partys (BSP) decision on Monday to contest the 11 assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh on its own, the Samajwadi Party which is still smarting after a disastrous performance in the Lok Sabah elections, is scrambling for a response. BSP chief Mayawatis announcement on the UP by-polls in Delhi on Monday is being seen as an indication of the end of the SP-BSP alliance. We dont know how to react. She herself had said that the alliance is for keeps and the two parties will go to the 2022 UP poll together. The way she has blamed the SP for the poor poll results, indicate that she has called off the alliance though she has not said so yet. Its better that we be cautious in what we say. We dont want to make any premature comments and are waiting for party chief Akhilesh Yadavs response and direction on it, said a senior SP leader. The shocker from Mayawati came on the day when Akhilesh began an attempt to reactivate the party. He was in Azamgarh on a thanksgiving visit to his constituency. Ten BJP MLAs and one SP MLA won the Lok Sabha elections in UP and by-polls are to be held on all those 11 assembly seats. I am not aware of it. Hard work is needed on the ground to defeat the BJP and our party will do that, Akhilesh told reporters in Azamgarh when asked for a response to Mayawatis accnouncemnt. The SP, BSP and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) contested the 2019 polls in alliance against the BJP. BSP contested 38 seats, SP 37, and RLD 3. They left two seats Amethi and Rae Bareli for the Congress but refused to ally with it. However, BSP emerged the gainer from the polls with 10 seats. It had drawn a blank in 2014. The SP could win just five the same as it did in 2014. RLD had won none in 2014 and drew a blank this time too. This was the third successive poor show of the SP since Akhilesh Yadav took over the reins of the party. The first drubbing was the 2014 polls followed by the 2017 UP assembly polls, and now the 2019 LS polls. The SP had won 23 seats in 2009 Lok Sabha polls and the tally came down to five in 2014 and 2019. In 2017 assembly polls the SP shrunk to 47 seats against its 224 seats of 2012. Akhileshs alliance with the Congress did not work in 2017 and it has been the same story with the alliance with the BSP in 2019. Prof SK Dwivedi, a political analyst and retired head of department of political science, Lucknow University, said: Akhilesh continues to be an immature leader of a large political party. I had said earlier also that he should have had mended fences with Shivpal in some way or should have allied with the Congress. His father had cautioned him, yet Akhilesh went ahead with the alliance with BSP ignoring the history of BSP-SP alliance earlier. BSP has gained and also revived itself and SP has lost. Now, BSP is cashing in on its gains and has turned ambitious about the forthcoming by-polls. What everyone saw and predicted about Mayawati, he (Akhilesh) could not. And see all those predictions seem to be coming true, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The full house for the show included people with rainbow hats and accessories like boas. They lifted their drinks high at applause moments during the more than one-hour show. The US and India have a common outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and New Delhis Act East policy and the convergence of strategic interests are helping the two countries to build new partnerships within the extended region, according to a new report from the Pentagon. The US has been focusing on the Indo-Pacific to forge closer security ties with India and to ensure a rules-based order and freedom of navigation in the area ranging from its western coast to the western shores of India, especially against the backdrop of growing assertiveness by China and its navy. The Indo-Pacific Strategy Report of the US department of defense describes the region as a priority theatre and lays out a roadmap of preparedness, partnerships and creation of a networked region in which India is expected to take on a central role. The US and India share a common outlook on the Indo-Pacific. Both countries recognise the importance of the Indo-Pacific to global trade and commerce and acknowledge that developments in this region will shape the larger trajectory of the rules-based international order, the report states. The Indian Ocean offers unprecedented opportunity as it has some of the fastest growing economies and nearly 45,000 commercial vessels and two-thirds of global oil trade travel through its sea lanes. However, it is also grappling with security challenges such as terror, transnational crime, human trafficking and illicit drugs. To combat these challenges, the US seeks opportunities to broaden and strengthen partnerships with India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal to respond to shared regional challenges, the report states. Indias Act East policy is making significant security, economic and development investments to secure the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, it states. The US-India strategic partnership has strengthened significantly because of a convergence of strategic interests, and the two sides are building new partnerships within and beyond the Indo-Pacific, it adds. The US has taken several steps to boost security ties, including designating India a major defence partner, starting the 2+2 ministerial dialogue and the signing of the Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement to facilitate greater interoperability. The US and India will conduct their first tri-service exercise this year and bilateral defence trade has grown to $16 billion since 2008. Acting US defense secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a message that geopolitical rivalry between free and repressive world order visions is a primary concern for US national security. In particular, the Peoples Republic of China, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, seeks to reorder the region to its advantage by leveraging military modernisation, influence operations and predatory economics to coerce other nations, he added. The Pentagon will encourage China to engage in behaviours that maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and that support rather than undermine the rules-based international order, the report states. In the 1990s, when she was struggling to make it big in Mumbai, union cabinet minister Smriti Irani, then known as Smriti Malhotra, landed a job at the Bandra outlet of the fast food giant McDonalds. This was just after she was rejected in an interview for the job of an air hostess, for lacking good personality. Now a slice of her life from those days could go under the hammer and for a good cause. The Provident Fund certificate relating to Iranis job at the fast food outlet will be auctioned soon, and proceeds from the sale will go to a cluster of women artisans, HT learns. The auction will be conducted by The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL), an industry body, and senior officials of the union ministry of textiles said that the process to identify the group of women artisans to whom the proceeds will go, has started. It all started during a conversation between Irani and officials of TEXPROCIL about her time as an employee of McDonalds in the 1990s. Looking for a job to make ends meet, Irani took the first offer that came her way and, as she has previously said, ended up clearing tables and swept floors. Her monthly salary was 1,800. Once she moved on from her job there to being one of the countrys most-watched faces on TV as part of the hit series, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Irani never look back. Her Provident Fund earnings have remained untouched. A Mumbai-based TEXPROCIL member who asked not to be named said that he took it upon himself to find Iranis PF certificate. Once we told her that we found the account under her maiden name, we discussed how it could be leveraged to make the lives of women, struggling in the same manner that she did, better, added this person. It was then that a decision was taken to auction the certificate and hand over the proceeds to the ministry. A senior ministry official confirmed that while the plan exists, nothing has been finalised yet. The idea, this person added, is to benefit women artisans . We will look at a cluster of women whose work needs to find takers and should be highlighted, said the official. Earlier this year, over 1,800 mementos that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was gifted during his foreign visits were auctioned off by the ministry of culture. Proceeds of the auction, conducted by the National Gallery of Modern Art, amounted to 8 crore and were given to the Namami Gange project. Using social media to raise funds for their initiative, a group of 40 Muslim volunteers has been distributing 100 iftar packets daily to the fasting poor during the holy month of Ramzan here. Initially, members of the group began the work by contributing money from their own pockets. But as we kept updating our initiative on social media, help started pouring in, with many coming forward to contribute. So far, we have distributed 4,000 iftar packets costing about 55,000, out of which 30,000 was donated by our group members while another 25,000 came from social media, says 26-year-old Yusuf Wahab, an LLB student behind the idea. After offering namaz at around 5 pm daily, the volunteers, who also observe fast, have been carrying the food packets on their bikes to distribute them to the poor for the last 27 days. The food packets contain a pack of glucose biscuit, a banana, two dates, a snack and a 150-ml water bottle in Muslim localities in Gorakhpur as well as adjoining districts, including Maharajganj and Deoria. Those who called us to extend help included our Hindu brothers as well. After Eid, the group has decided to take a step forward by starting a free weekly community kitchen for the poor in Golghar area, which will be funded by both Hindus and Muslims, adds Yusuf. Yusuf recently also floated a charity organisation Majlis- e-Mohammadi- Islamic Samiti (MMIS) to extend financial assistance to poor Muslims in distress, including medical treatment and marriage of their daughters. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Monday attacked the Centre and said that the revised draft National Education policy (NEP) is governments attempt to hoodwink Tamils. According to him, the revised draft of the Centre making Hindi optional for students who are willing to take it, was only a smokescreen and a ruse hiding the real intent. Only the resistance from Tamil Nadu had forced this revision, but it could not be accepted, he reasoned. The DMK will never allow the hegemony of Hindi imposed on the Tamils, he asserted at a public meeting held in Chennai to thank the voters for the huge victory of the DMK in the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly bypoll. The event was also to mark the birth anniversary of the late DMK patriarch, who passed away in August last year. I ask Modi to think as to why he had lost out in Tamil Nadu. You disrespected the sentiments of the Tamil people. Thrust down projects like hydrocarbon extraction and NEET exam for medical admissions which they were totally opposed to. And now, you are playing with their pride, their language, Stalin said. The DMK will not give up its fighting spirit, he said. The Avon and Somerset police have confirmed the death of Indian-origin doctor Uma Kulkarni, who went missing early April from her home in Herefordshire, after her body was found from water along the coast in Wales . The police first raised concerns with a missing persons appeal in the Bristol-north Somerset area in April when Kulkarnis car was found near the Severn Bridge crossing that links England with Wales. The body was found nearly 210 km from the crossing along the Welsh coast in Pembrokeshire. A police spokesman said on Monday: The body of a woman recovered from the water off St Annes Head in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, on Wednesday, April 24, has been confirmed to be that of missing 42-year-old woman Uma Kulkarni. Our thoughts are with her family at this difficult time. This is now with the Coroners office and we are carrying out further enquiries on their behalf. Kulkarni completed her MBBS qualification from Nagpur University in 1999 and registered with the General Medical Council to practice in the United Kingdom in 2015, according to records. She was last employed as a general practitioner in Hereford in the west Midlands. The police said: She is thought to have travelled into the Avon and Somerset force area as her car a bronze coloured Toyota Auris was found near Aust Services near to the Severn Bridge crossing. The police had described her as an Asian woman, 5ft tall of slim build, with black hair and both ears pierced. She normally wears earrings. It is not known what Uma was wearing when she went missing. No further details were available about the cause of her death. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Pimpri-Chinchwad police booked at least 250 Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) members, mostly women, who wielded air rifles and swords during a celebratory procession held on Sunday. Three, among the booked procession members, were identified as Sharad Inamdar, VHP city president; Dhanaji Shinde, Pune district executive president and Nitin Vatkar, district coordinator. The march was held on the penultimate day of a training session, Durga Vahini Prashikshan, organised by VHPs women wing for its 200-250 members from western Maharashtra. The VHP is a right-wing organisation affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad members had gathered at Ankush chowk in Yamunanagar in Nigdi at 5pm on Sunday and marched to Thakare ground in the same area. The march lasted till 10pm, according to the police. We teach girls about skills required and problems faced by women in todays world. This was a part of the eight-day training. We had written to the police in advance and sent them our eight-day schedule as well. In fact, police officials were present during the march, said an official from the Chinchwad office of Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Along with the identified three men, four women were brandishing air rifles while five other women were seen with swords during the procession, according to the police. According to the complaint lodged by an official of the Nigdi police station, the women with the air rifles were firing in the air. Upon firing, the rifles were making a sharp gunshot-like sound, according to the complaint. Neither have the women been identified nor have the three men been arrested by the police yet. A case under Section 3(25) of Arms Act and Sections 37(1)(3) along with 135 of Maharashtra Police Act was registered at the Nigdi police station on Sunday. Around 5,000 citizens joined hands to clean 16,000kg trash from nine beach fronts, two rivers and two mangrove forests over the weekend as a part of operation Jallosh-Clean Coasts, a first-of-its-kind city-wide network of citizen volunteers, environment groups, corporates, state agencies, and students. The initiativescheduled around World Environment Day on June 5is led by non-profit group Project Mumbai to rid water bodies of domestic waste. HT is partnering with the effort to save citys waterfronts. The clean-up was scheduled on June 1, 2 and 5. The enthusiasm among citizens to change the way we view our coastline and rivers is heart-warming, said Shishir Joshi, chief executive officer and co-founder, Project Mumbai. Beach clean-up crusader and advocate Afroz Shah led the beach clean-up on Saturday and Sunday, with his volunteers (more than 350 people) using excavation machines and waste removal equipment. The initiative has been instrumental in bringing together a large number of citizens together. The sooner more citizens get together to manage their own garbage, the better it is, said Shah. Maximum trash was removed from Dana Pani beach and Mithi River. A little over 7,000kg trash, mostly plastic, was removed from nine beach fronts Dana Pani beach in Malad, Chimbai in Bandra, Versova, Juhu, Girgaum, Dadar, Mahim, Cuffe Parade, and Carter Road and 8,000kg trash was removed from Mithi and Poisar rivers on Saturday and Sunday. Led by Mangrove Foundation of Maharashtra, an autonomous society assisting the state in coastal marine conservation, citizens handpicked trash from two mangrove forests in Malad and Gorai. Removing plastic waste from mangroves was difficult as we were trying to maintain balance on sticky mudflats while pulling out plastic, which was stuck to tree roots. Joint effort of students and mangrove cell officials helped clear 120kg trash across a stretch of 200m in Gorai, said Moon Bhandari from Mangrove Foundation. Non-profits such as the Girgaum Chowpatty Lifeguard Association, Earth Day Network, Via Green, Beach Warriors, Jay Foundation, Beach Please, Mahim Beach Clean Up, River March, United Way of Mumbai, and several corporates were present for the clean-up drive. One hundred staffers from Bharat Diamond Bourse, along with staff members from Fortis Healthcare (which provided free medical support to volunteers) and Lions Club, Juhu, were also part of the initiative. During the clean-up, we realised the quantum of waste we are responsible for. We must reclaim our beaches, rivers and mangrove areas, said Dr Kersi Chavda, practising psychiatrist and former president, Bombay Psychiatric Society and consultant to three hospitals. On Wednesday, the initiative is likely to witness its highest participation. Clean-up drives will be held from 7am to 8am at Cuffe Parade, Girgaum Chowpatty, Dadar, Mahim, Bandra, Juhu, Versova; 8am to 11am at Mithi River-Filter Pada end; and 7am to 10am at Bandra mangroves. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena could contest 135 seats each in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, keeping the remaining 18 seats for allies, senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil indicated on Sunday. The state revenue minister, who is virtually number two in the state government, however, did not specify if the post of chief minister would be split by the two parties after the next Assembly elections. The elections for the 288 seats in the state Assembly are likely to be held in October. On February 18, the two parties announced an alliance for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls, stating they would contest on equal number of seats, keeping aside some seats for allies. They had agreed upon equal power-sharing between the two parties after the election. Speaking to reporters, Patil said, After leaving 18 seats for our allies, we will be left with 270 seats. We will split 135 each. This wont be an easy decision because BJP has 122 MLAs and has support of eight independents, while Sena has 63 MLAs. Well get only five additional seats to contest. After the BJP secured a huge mandate on its own, some within the Sena were sceptical about whether the national party would keep its promise. However, Patil said they plan to keep their word. Both Amit Shah and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had promised that the BJP and Shiv Sena will fight the Assembly polls together. Our party doesnt go back on its word, Patil said. In 2014, the 25-year-old alliance of Sena and BJP ended after the two parties failed to reach a consensus on seat-sharing. The Sena, which wanted to maintain its big brother status in the state, rejected the BJPs offer to contest 135 seats. In the 2009 Assembly elections, the Sena had fought 169 seats and the BJP 119 seats. When asked if the BJP and Sena would share power and positions equally if they come to power again, Patil said, It has been decided that we will share the posts equally. I dont know if the CMs post will be split for 2.5 years between the two parties I think the way Devendraji has led the state in the past five years, he will be the natural choice for people, BJP and Uddhavji.Patil expressed confidence that the alliance would win 220 seats. However, Sena functionaries said formal discussions between the two allies on seat-sharing for the Assembly polls are yet to start. When the CM announced equal sharing of post and power, it included the CMs post too. There is no need for speculation So far, no discussion on seat-sharing has happened with Uddhavji, said a senior Sena functionary. Pawar: Did BJP lose 3 states to win ls polls? NCP chief Sharad Pawar has once again raised doubts over electronic voting machines (EVM) malfunctioning. At a party meeting on Saturday, he said, In Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Rajasthan, the BJP lost to Congress (in the Assembly polls) while in power. I also had a doubt what if this defeat was to win the general elections? (by dispelling doubts over the EVMs). SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Its 1am on Sunday. Bhakti Patel, 43, a homemaker from Vile Parles Mani Bhavan society has just wrapped up her chores at home. She puts on a blue shirt, and white cap and makes her way to a police check point on the western express highway. In a few minutes, she would help the police catch a teenager riding without a helmet and licence. Patel and six other women from Vile Parle lawyers, homemakers, teachers, social workers have volunteered to stand with the police after midnight to catch violators on the western express highway, a stretch that sees several cases of accidents, drink-driving and rash driving every month. On Sunday night, HT visited one such check point, near the domestic airport, to catch Patel and other women volunteers in action. Minutes after she started her patrol, Patel spotted the 16-year-old riding a Honda Activa near the domestic airport junction, with neither helmet nor licence. The teenager spots the check point too, and quickly turns into a narrow lane. But Patel sees him again when he comes back on the highway, this time with a helmet on. She stops him, only to find out he stole the helmet from the lane. The teenager gets an e-challan. Police sub-inspector Arun Bankar, who is on duty that night, takes over from here and issues the e-challan. Like Patel, 36-year-old Kusum Sawant is also a Parle Police Mitra on patrol on Sunday. She stopped a couple on a motorcycle, as the man riding the bike kept his helmet on the handle. When he tried to argue with Sawant, she calmly replied: People wear helmets when they spot policemen; you removed it. The helmet is for your safety, not for the safety of the bikes handle. The Vile Parle police had started the Parle Police Mitra, known better in the area as Eagle Brigade, in 2007, to get citizens involved in keeping their localities safe. In the past decade, the programme lost volunteers until it was revived again this February, when Mumbai police stations received two e-challan machines to penalise traffic violators. Today, 39 volunteers, including eight women, stand with the Vile Parle police at various spots on the western express highway. Their patrol is between 1am and 5am, three nights a week; their aim, however, is not just to catch errant drivers and racers, but also ensure the safety of women travelling in taxis and autos late at night. But why women volunteers? Police inspector Rajendra Kane explained that there were cases of taxi and auto drivers misbehaving with women passengers on the stretch. These passengers feel scared or intimidated if their auto or taxi is intercepted by policeman, said Kane, adding that if such women were in danger, they may not speak up. But, if a woman stops their vehicle and asks the auto driver to show his licence badge, the passengers may feel safer to speak, said Kane. During every nakabandi, we intercept at least 300 to 400 drivers for offences such as riding without helmets, drink-driving and speeding, said Patel, who stands vigil for four hours after a long day of preparing meals and taking care of her 82-year-old mother-in-law. Despite staying up till 5am, Patel starts her day at 6.30am. What drives her is the satisfaction she gets from helping the police guard her locality. We are a close-knit neighbourhood, and we do this to ensure safety of residents, especially women. If these nakabandis can save even one life a night, we consider the long hours and hard work have paid off, she said. Patels brother, son and husband are also volunteers. The police said womens efforts have helped immensely. Kane said that in the past month alone, the women volunteers helped stop 700 autorickshaws and taxis, of which 400 were seized for violations such as driving without licences or not having valid papers. The women are mostly accompanied by three police sub inspectors, a police inspector on night duty and four constables to help them intercept drivers. The women of Vile Parle also make sure that drivers of commercial, tourist vehicles do not park haphazardly near the airport blocking traffic. Drivers who come to pick up passengers wait for them on the highway to save parking charges of the airport, blocking the highway traffic, said Sawant. . He knows he is allowed to turn left from Garfield onto westbound Chicago Avenue, but often the drivers behind him think left turns are prohibited, he said. Consequently, as he sits in his car with his left turn signal blinking, the drivers behind him start honking, he said. At least 19 people were killed Sunday in a car bomb near a bustling market and mosque in a rebel-held city in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said. Four children were among those killed in the explosion in Azaz, in the heart of a Turkish zone of influence in Aleppo province, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack also wounded more than 20 people, according to the Britain-based monitor. Many people were leaving evening prayers when the explosion happened, Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP. Shoppers buying clothes and gifts ahead of the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday were among those killed, said Jihad Berro, a coroner at a local hospital. He said the medical facility was crammed with victims and their relatives. The emergency rooms were full, we placed corpses on the floor, he said. It is a real catastrophe before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, said Berro. An AFP photographer saw a large crowd gathering at the scene of the attack, charred vehicles dotting the side of the road. Rescue workers searched through mounds of rubble, looking for bodies, he said. Resident Abu Youssef said the explosion torched the neighbourhood. The damage is severe: at least six stores were burned, the storefronts of dozens of other stores were blown out, he told AFP. It was not clear who was behind the attack, which came a day after a similar explosion killed 10 people and wounded 20 in the northeastern city of Raqa. Turkey launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016 and seized more than 2,000 square kilometres of northern Syria including Azaz, clearing the area of Islamic State jihadists while preventing any Kurdish advance in the region. Ankara keeps Turkish troops and intelligence forces in the area, and still backs Syrian rebels serving as police officers. (The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.) Explosions and machine gunfire were heard in Sudans capital early Monday, and troops blocked roads in an apparent move against a sit-in camp where protesters have demanded an end to military rule. An Associated Press journalist saw smoke rising from the area early Monday and civilians being detained. Protest leaders said the military is trying to break up the protest site, and urged supporters to come to the area. The Sudan Doctors Association said at least one person was killed early Monday. The sit-in has lasted weeks as civilians and military officials argue over the makeup of a transitional government. The military overthrew longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir in April after mass protests against his 30-year rule. Tens of thousands of protesters have been camped outside the militarys headquarters, the epicenter of Sudans uprising that led to the military overthrow of al-Bashir. The protesters are calling for limited military representation in a sovereign council that would lead the country as it transitions to civilian rule over three years. Both sides are split over the makeup and leadership of the council, with the ruling generals refusing to relinquish power. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who is among the few people with access to President Donald Trumps under-construction but ambitious West Asia peace plan was reportedly not very optimistic about its prospects in a closed-door meeting with American Jewish leaders last week. One might argue that the plan is unexecutable and it might not gain traction. Pompeo said, according to a report in The Washington Post based on a leaked audio recording of the meeting He added: It may be rejected. Could be in the end, folks will say, Its not particularly original, it doesnt particularly work for me, that is, Its got two good things and nine bad things, Im out. The much awaited plan is being put together by the Presidents son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner and a former lawyer Kason Greenblatt. One part of the plan rolls out later this month at a business summit the US is hosting jointly with Bahrain to attract investors to West Asia - Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Egypt. Palestinians, who have stopped talking to the US for Trumps decision to recognize disputed Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, have been cold to the business summit, saying they were not consulted. The most intractable parts of the Israel-Palestine conflicts status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements in West Bank will be tackled by the remaining part of the plan. Kushners most recent remarks on Palestinians may not help his case for his plan. In an interview to Axios, Kushner expressed doubts about the ability of Palestinians to govern themselves, free of Israeli interference in military and governmental affairs. I think thats a high bar ... if you dont have proper government structure and proper security when people are living in fear of terror, that hurts the Palestinians. The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing, he said. Pompeos sobering assessment of the plan is the first by a senior Trump aide. But the secretary of state tempered his skepticism with hopes that the plan will get a fair hearing. I hope everyone will engage in a serious way, he was quoted from the recording. Asked about Pompeos remarks, the President told reporters, Were doing our best to help the Middle East to get a peace plan. And he (Pompeo) may be right. I mean, most people would say that. When Mike says that, I understand when he says that because most people think it cant be done. I think it probably can. But, as I say often, well see what happens. Kushner on Trump In the same interview to Axios, Kushner denied Trump was a racist. You cant not be a racist for 69 years and then run for president and be a racist, he said. And when asked if Trumps birtherism charges, that President Barack Obama was not born in the US and was thus not qualified to be President, amounted to racism, Kushner repeatedly said he was not involved in that. And when pressed, he said, Look, I know who the President is and I have not seen anything in him that is racist. So again, I was not involved in that. President Donald Trump insisted Sunday that he never called Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and the wife of Britains Prince Harry, nasty. The president used the adjective while discussing Meghan in a recent interview with Britains The Sun newspaper in the run-up to his state visit to the U.K. on Monday. But debate on social media since then has raged over whether his use of nasty referred to the duchess herself or the negative things she said about him in 2016. Trump and his defenders have accused the news media of spreading a deliberately false narrative about him. A look at the claim: TRUMP: I never called Meghan Markle nasty. Made up by the Fake News Media, and they got caught cold! tweet Sunday. TRUMP: I made no bad comment he told reporters Sunday when asked about the comment as he left the White House for the trip to London. THE FACTS: Trump, in fact, did use the word nasty to describe Meghan when asked about her comments about him during the 2016 campaign. In audio of the interview posted on the newspapers website, Trump discusses the upcoming state visit, his second meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and the Trump family members who are tagging along on the trip. The reporter then asks about Meghan, who isnt joining other royals to meet Trump and his wife, Melania, due to the recent birth of her first child, Archie, in May. Asked if he was sorry to miss out on meeting the American-born Meghan and told that she wasnt so nice about you during the campaign, Trump says: I didnt know that. No, I hope shes OK. I did not know that. When told that Meghan once said she might move to Canada if Trump was elected, Trump responds: No, I didnt know that she was nasty. The former Meghan Markle supported Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential candidate in 2016, calling Trump divisive and misogynistic. The former actress also said she might move to Canada. Suits, the cable TV legal drama she starred in at the time, was filming in Toronto. She ultimately married Prince Harry in 2018 and moved to Britain. After the interview was released, reporters at some news organizations tweeted that Trump called Meghan nasty, sparking debate. The case isnt as clear as Trump portrays it to be, said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the University of Pennsylvanias Annenberg Public Policy Center. Jamieson said in an email that since Trumps interviewer is informing him about a statement that Trump says he was unaware of one would ordinarily assume that his answer refers to that statement. But she says the answer was nasty could refer to a person or to what the person said. Complicating matters, Jamieson said, is Trumps history of verbal attacks on people he views as antagonists and his sensitivity to negative statements about his election. As a result, difficult to know what he meant, she said. In the Sun interview, Trump also spoke positively about Meghan when asked whether it was good for an American to be a member of the British royal family. I think its nice. Im sure she will do excellently, Trump said. Shell be very good. Shell be very good. I hope she does. Two Muslim governors in Sri Lanka resigned Monday after thousands of people, including majority Buddhist community monks, launched a protest in the pilgrim city of Kandy, demanding their sacking for allegedly supporting Islamist extremists responsible for the Easter suicide bombings. Western Province Governor Azath Salley and Eastern Province Governor MALM Hisbullah, handed over their resignation letters to President Maithripala Sirisena in response to protests by the majority Buddhist monks, officials said. Salley and Hisbullah, both Muslim allies of Sirisena and appointed by him, were under pressure to resign after being accused of being linked to extremism. Both Salley and Hisbullah have rejected the allegations. This is a direct fall out of the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks carried out by ISIS linked local Islamist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ). The resignation came four days after Buddhist monk Athuraliye Rathana, who is also a parliamentarian from a Sirisena allied party, sit on a hunger strike in the central town of Kandy near the foremost Buddhist shrine, the Temple of Tooth.I will end my fast only after the president will sack the two Muslim governors, Rathana said at the commencement of his protest. A crowd of about 10,000 Buddhists held demonstration at the famous temple on Monday morning raising anti-Muslim slogans. Firebrand monk Galagodaaththe Gnanasara, released from jail on a presidential pardon last month, was also present. Gnanasara has long been accused of instigating hate crimes against Muslims. The head of the Catholic Church in Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, also travelled to Kandy on Monday to express solidarity with Rathana. Shops and offices remained closed in the city, 115 kilometres east of Colombo, while black flags were raised in support of Rathana. Following the April 21 attacks that claimed 258 lives, the Muslim minority politicians representing the government came under criticism for their alleged support extended to the rising Muslim militancy. One such minister, the Industry and Commerce Minister Rishath Bathiyutheen was directly accused of supporting the NTJ, which carried out the suicide bombings on three Colombo hotels and three churches.The Opposition moved a motion of no confidence in the Parliament against Bathiyutheen who has denied links to the NTJ and its terror activities. The Muslim politicians in the government are said to be considering a move to resign from their positions to protest what they term the governments inability to ensure the safety of the Muslim minority who constitute 9 per cent of the islands 21 million population.In the wake of the bombings, majority Sinhala community mobs attacked Muslim-owned properties in towns north of the capital killing one Muslim man and leaving hundreds of homes, shops and mosques vandalised. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Russias communications regulator says that Tinder is now required to provide user data to Russian intelligence agencies. The Russian Communications Oversight Agency published a new list of online services operating in Russia that are required to provide user data on demand to Russian authorities, including the FSB security agency. Russia adopted a flurry of legislation in recent years meant to tighten control over online activity. The regulator said Monday that Tinder had shared with them information about the company and that it is now on the list of online apps and websites that are expected to cooperate with the FSB. Russian authorities last year issued an order to ban messaging app Telegram after it refused to provide the user data as required by the Russian law. (The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.) Sudans military rulers denied trying to break up a protest sit-in by force Monday in Khartoum, saying their forces were targeting a site nearby, after a doctors committee said nine people had been killed. We did not disperse the sit-in by force, said Shamseddine Kabbashi, spokesman for the ruling military council. The tents are there, and the youth are moving freely, he told Sky News Arabia. Heavily armed security forces in pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns were deployed in large numbers all around the capital, while gunfire was heard from the protest site by an AFP journalist. Kabbashi said the military was targeting a dangerous area near the sit-in protest. This morning... security forces wanted to disperse a gathering in the area near where the sit-in was taking place, he said. This area, called Colombia, has long been a hotbed of corruption and negative practises that go against the conduct of Sudanese society, said Kabbashi. Many escaped from the Colombia area and entered the area of the sit-in... and as a result many of the youth left the area. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, which is close to the protesters, said at least nine people had been killed by forces of the military council. (The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.) It took Wan Runnan, now 73, and his Stone Corporation, Chinas first high-profile tech start-up, just months from being the Communist countrys poster boy of private entrepreneurship to a counter-revolutionary in 1989. Around the time Infosys was set up in Bangalore in the early 1980s, Wan was setting up his computer hardware company in a Beijing district. In a few years, it was to become Chinas first multi-million dollar tech company, touted to be Chinas IBM. Wan was sitting alone in his Stone Corporation office in Beijing on 3 June 1989 when news reached him that tanks and guns had crushed the pro-democracy protesters at and around Tiananmen Square, killing an unknown number of civilians by the dawn of 4 June. Wan knew he had to escape from China. He was among those who had bankrolled the movement, hoping that the pro-democracy protests could usher in political reform, transparency and economic opening-up. In online interaction with HT from Paris, Wan said his company had given money, communication equipment, medicine, in all about 100000 RMB to the protesters. Reports say he had pumped in much more money and openly extended political support to the movement. Yes, so the government said that our company was the command, staff and logistics department of the 1989 student movement, Wan said. I have (since) been wanted by the Chinese government and the warrant is still in effect, Wan said. Just a year earlier, in 1988, Chinas official news agency, Xinhua had heaped praises on Stone Corporation, calling Wan one of the red capitalists of the 1980s. He had even set up one of Chinas first privately-funded think tanks: Stone Social Development Research Institute. Wan said at that time local leaders in Beijing helped him achieve success. Wan said he had to withstand a severe test before emerging (to) become the largest IT enterprise in China at that time. The company, he said had been established for five years, with an annual increase of 300 per cent. In 1988, the operation scale exceeded 1 billion RMB. Overseas commentators, according to him, said that the company was one of the most outstanding achievements of Chinas ten-year reform. Unfortunately, 1989 ended such a golden period of development and the fate of the Stone company began to reverse, Wan said. The company was specifically targeted by Beijings Mayor Chen Xitong in a report on the incident. Wan Runnan, general manager of the Stone Company, listed the following six conditions for retreating (of students) from Tiananmen Square when he called together some leaders of the Autonomous Students Union of Beijing Universities: To withdraw the troops, cancel martial law, remove (premier) Li Peng, ask Deng Xiaoping and Yang Shangkun to retire and let Zhao Ziyang resume his post. During the meeting, they also planned to organise a grand march to claim victory, Chen Xitong, wrote in a report on the protests titled Report on Putting Down Anti-Government Riot. Clearly, the accusations were serious enough for Wan not to be able to return to China in the last 30 years since 1989. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Trump Baby inflatable balloon that was the focus of protests when the US president visited London last year will fly again this week when he returns for state visit including a lavish banquet hosted by the queen, activists said. The team behind the blimp said on Sunday it would be flown at locations near Donald Trump throughout his visit, after a crowdfunding campaign raised a target of 30,000 pounds ($38,000) for groups backing causes from climate action to womens rights. This six-metre high blimp, which depicts Trump as a snarling, diaper-wearing orange baby, became a rallying symbol for hundreds of thousands of anti-Trump protesters, who packed central London during his previous trip. Trump will try his best to avoid the public on his trip, but with Trump Baby flying were sending a very clear message of solidarity to those affected by his despicable politics, said Ajuub Faraji, one of the organisers who label themselves Trump blimp Babysitters. Trump and his wife Melania are due in Britain on June 3-5 for a state visit - a pomp-laden affair involving a banquet at Buckingham Palace. The invitation comes from Queen Elizabeth although the decision was taken on her behalf by politicians. It is the most prestigious welcome Britain can offer a dignitary, a step above last years official visit. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who gave approval to demonstrators to fly the blimp last year, strongly criticised the governments decision to offer such a high honour to Trump this year. It is un-British to be rolling out the red carpet this week for a formal state visit for a president whose divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon equality, liberty and religious freedom, Khan wrote in the Observer newspaper. Nigel Farage, a Trump ally and one of the leading campaigners to bring Britain out of the European Union, called the decision to allow the blimp last year the biggest insult to a sitting US president ever. While much of the British public is hostile to Trump, there have been calls to tone down protests against him during this visit, when he will attend observances of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing by US and British forces on the beaches of Nazi-occupied France during World War Two. This is not, then, all about Donald Trump; it is about honouring a crucial offensive that helped bring an end to the war in Europe, the Evening Standard newspaper wrote in an editorial, noting that for many surviving veterans it was the last major anniversary they would be able to attend. The US president is right to attend; whatever we think of Mr Trump, we should make him welcome for this important anniversary. ($1 = 0.7910 pounds) (The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text, only the headline has been changed.) The sentencing announcement states that Norwood physically and emotionally harmed the 15-year-old girl after meeting her in 2015. It states that he exploited the girl in graphic online advertisements offering commercial sex, and then sent her to have sex with strangers, leaving her alone in hotel rooms. US President Donald Trump on Sunday told Syria and Russia to stop bombing the hell out of Syrias last jihadist stronghold Idlib. Hearing word that Russia, Syria and, to a lesser extent, Iran, are bombing the hell out of Idlib Province in Syria, and indiscriminately killing many innocent civilians. The World is watching this butchery. What is the purpose, what will it get you? STOP! he said on Twitter shortly before he was to depart for a state visit to Britain. His comments came after Syrian NGOs on Friday decried international inaction in the face of mounting violence in the northwestern region. As well as killing dozens of civilians, the recent bombardments by Syrian and Russian forces in northwest Syria have pushed 300,000 people towards Turkeys border, the NGOs said at a press conference in Istanbul. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Friday that almost 950 people had been killed in the latest clashes in Idlib. A September deal was supposed to avert a full-out regime offensive on the province and adjacent areas held by Syrias former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. But the jihadists have refused to leave the area, and the deal is on the verge of collapse as Syrian and Russian forces allied to Syrias President Bashar al-Assad ramp up air strikes and rocket fire. Iranian fighters and Hezbollah paramilitary forces are also stationed in Syria to back the Assad regime. The worsening unrest in Idlib comes with tensions soaring between Iran and the United States. The stand-off has been simmering since the US last year withdrew from the 2015 nuclear treaty Iran reached with major world powers. Glowing object that streaked across Connecticut sky in 1807 puts a young nation on the scientific map AS A QUIET WINTERS NIGHT in the Northeast was nearing its end, light blazed in the darkness. At half past six on the morning of Monday, December 14, 1807, a fiery mass traversed the sky north to south, rocketing into and out of sight in 30 seconds. In Wenham, Massachusetts, a woman named Gardner wondered where the moon was going. In Weston, Connecticut, Judge Nathan Wheeler was making his usual early morning survey of his farm when a sudden flashilluminated every object. The jurist looked up to see a globe of fire just then passing followed soon after by three loud reports and lesser rumbles whose reverberations suggested a cannonball rolling over a floor. A meteorite had exploded overhead, rattling residences in New Milford, Connecticut, 20 miles away. Fragments of space debris rained on then rural Weston in the states southwest corner. One stampeded a dairy herd. Another chunk buried itself a meter deep. The Weston Fall, the first meteorite documented to have landed in the United States fascinated locals and their president, Thomas Jefferson. The meteorite strike deep in Connecticut also put American science on the world map. The United States of the early 1800s was a scientific backwater much condescended to by Europeans. Among civilized nationsfew have made less progress in the higher sciencethan the United States, wrote Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America. The young country boasted a few first-class scientific minds, like Benjamin Franklin. A founder of the American Philosophical Society, a center of scientific study, he theorized that meteorites might come from spacea crazy notion, according to many fellow citizens. The ancient, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Chinese had noted the phenomenon, sometimes regarding it as an ill omen. Meteorite derives from the Greek for thing in the air. As far back to 2,300 BCE, observers in southern Iraq had noted how a meteorite left a two-mile crater. By the Renaissance, however, the Vatican had decreed it heresy to claim stones fell from heaven because that suggested that Gods creation was less than perfect. This tension between believers and scientists has waxed and waned but never gone away and remains strong even today. Enlightenment thinkers initially hypothesized that meteorites were volcanic projectiles, a theory adjusted to locate the presumed eruptions as coming from the moon. Another thesis held that lightning in clouds fused dust particles into three-dimensional lumps, like geological hail. An 1803 meteorite fall at LAigle, France, got sky watchers rethinking meteorites origin because so many people saw the event. Analyzing meteorites makeup, European chemists discovered the objects geology differed from Earths, lending credence to the theory these projectiles were not of this world. The Weston meteorite caused a sensation. Reported the Connecticut Herald, The meteor which has so recently excited alarm in many and astonishment in all brought with it the apprehension of some impending catastrophe. Benjamin Silliman, 29, was tapped to investigate the mystery object. A professor of chemistry at Yale College in New Haven, Silliman was the son of a farmer who had fought alongside George Washington in the Revolution. He was a native of Fairfield, a coastal town a few miles away. Founded in 1701 to educate young men in theology, Yale Collegeuniversity came in 1887was one of the first schools in New England to schedule classes in chymistry. Shortly after Silliman graduated in 1796, Yales progressive president, Timothy Dwight, picked him to expand science curricula at the institution, at the time no center of science compared with Boston and Philadelphia. To learn chemistry, Silliman went for a year of advanced study in Philadelphia, London, and Edinburgh. He returned to Yale in 1806 as the colleges first professor of chemistry and natural history. Silliman, tall and handsome with dark hair and dark eyes, was known for his gracious manner and integrity; his undergraduate nickname was Sober Ben. And though he worshipped at the altar of logic he held strong Christian beliefs. There was little chance of him upsetting Yales theological applecart since he could appreciate both science and faith. Silliman made it his business to investigate the Weston Fall after receiving a letter from Dr. Isaac Bronson, a friend and physician from nearby Greenfield who had witnessed the flame in the sky. Energized, Silliman, conversant with meteorites and the phenomena that attended their Fall, immediately broke off everyengagement and immediately resorted to the scene of this remarkable event. Treading lightly, Silliman invited fellow Yale Professor James L. Kingsley to join him in the enterprise. Kingsley was an astute choice. A classical scholar with knowledge of ecclesiastical history, Kingsley bore himself with religious faith that would balance Sillimans rationality should their findings stir controversy. The two left New Haven by chaise the morning of Saturday, December 19, arriving later that day in Fairfield. Honoring the Sabbath by not traveling, they made Weston Monday morning December 21, eight days post-factoin that era, swift. Weston had changed little since colonial times. Heavily forested, hilly, marked with granite outcroppings and rutted roads, the town was one of Connecticuts poorest and most isolated. Its 2,500 residents were subsistence farmers mainly growing onions and beets in fields so rocky plowmen referred to cobbles as New England potatoes. The fall was the talk of Weston. William Prince had been asleep when a hunk of meteorite buried itself within 25 feet of his house. He went outside but saw nothing and assumed he had heard a lightning strike. Learning of the meteorite at a town meeting that day he looked again, finding a noble specimentwo feet from the surface. Prince sold a 12-lb. fragment to Bronson; it was the source of the sample sent to Silliman. Bronson introduced Silliman and Kingsley to townsfolk who led the men to six of the seven sites struck by fragments along a line six to ten miles long roughly matching the flaming objects trajectory. A piece that was estimated to weigh 200 lb. plowed a 100-foot trench. Farmers knew their land well enough to recognize disturbed spots, making it easy to find some strike zones, such as one crater a foot wide and two feet deep. And meteorites, usually blackened by heat, contain a disproportionate amount of iron, making them heavy. Merwin Burr had been standing near his house when a chunk weighing 20 to 25 pounds struck a boulder 50 feet from him. The impact so pulverized the falling piece, he told Silliman, that the largest fragment did not exceed the size of a goose egg [but] wasstill warm to [Burrs] hand. Emulating the entrepreneurial Prince, a few Westonians put a price on their finds. Silliman had to purchase at least one specimen for it had now become an article of sale, he noted. It had pleased heaven to rain down this treasureand they would bring their thunderbolts to the best market they could. Others held onto their heavenly souvenirs, impressed with the idea that these stones contained gold and silver. That wish did not pan out. For two days Silliman and Kingsley tramped the woods lugging sample boxes, scales, compass, and notepaper. Silliman took measurements with which he hoped to calculate the meteorites weight, trajectory, and rate of descent. We visited and carefully examined every spot where the stones hadfallen, obtained specimens [and spoke] with all the principal witnesses, he wrote. Silliman deemed the account by Wheeler, a justice on the court of common pleas, as the most trustworthy of those he heard, characterizing Wheeler as a gentleman ofundoubted veracity, who seems to have been entirely uninfluenced by fear or imagination. Silliman and Kingsley missed at least one fragment, a 36.5-lb. piece that was sold, to Sillimans disappointment, to Colonel George Gibbs, a wealthy mineral collector from Newport, Rhode Island. The largest sample Silliman obtained weighed six lb. He and Kingsley returned to New Haven to analyze their space bits. To satisfy public interestand perhaps to stake a claim on academic immortalitySilliman rushed into print a two-part letter on his preliminary findings. The first portion appeared December 29 in the Connecticut Herald and was reprinted by other papers. Everyday Americans were not alone in wanting to know more about the stone from the sky. Coverage spread to England and France. A March 1808 update of Sillimans report included one of the first chemical analyses of a meteorite. Silliman estimated the original meteorite to have been at least three hundred feet across, traveling 200 to 300 mph when it struck Earth. The object was everywhere covered with a thin black crust, destitute of splendor, he wrote, adding, The surfacefeels harshproduced probably by the intense heat[and] the stone is thickly interspersed with black globular massesthe largest the size of a pigeon shot. That pigeon shot, which Silliman encountered when he broke open the stones, came to be called chondrules, a defining characteristic of a meteorite and not found in terrestrial rock. Silliman found nickel alloyed with iron, now known to be common in meteorites, as well as silex (silica or flint), magnesium, and sulfur. The Weston fall was one of the few to be so geographically concentrated and widely witnessed, and the relative speed with which Silliman arrived on the scene meant he obtained the most accurate and comprehensive account extant of a meteorite strike. The event itself was exceedingly rare; most meteorites burn up on entry, as evidenced by the tally of only 154 meteorites that are known to have landed in the United States since 1807. Thomas Jefferson was midway through his second term as president when the Weston meteorite fell. Hed hardly won a mandate in 1804; for him to return to the White House, the House of Representatives had to break a tie in the Electoral College between him and opponent Charles Pinckney of South Carolina. Connecticut voters largely opposed Jefferson, a southerner pious New Englanders viewed as an apostate because he worked on the Sabbath and rarely attended church. In addition, Jefferson advocated on behalf of centralized federal control of foreign policy, an anathema to many in Connecticut, where Yales President Dwight regularly railed at Jeffersons foreign policy as a threat to the colleges solvency. Two weeks after the Weston fall the indefatigably curious Jefferson wrote to a friend who had a sample of the object. It may be difficult to explain how the stone you possess came into the position in which it was found, Jefferson wrote. But is it easier to explain how it got into the clouds from whence it is supposed to have fallen? The actual fact however [sic] is the thing to be established. Though he preferred botany to geology, which he dismissed as too idle to be worth an hour of any mans life, Jeffersons obsession with fossils earned him the disparaging sobriquet, Mr. Mammoth. We certainly are not to deny whatever we cannot account for, Jefferson said regarding the Weston event. However, his approach to the event diminished Yale and Silliman. Instead of relying on Yales findings, Jefferson appointed astronomer Nathaniel Bowditch to learn everything he could about the stones that fell from heaven. Bowditchs inquiry confirmed Sillimans findings. Sillimans report, co-authored with Kingsley, ran in the Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences under the title AN ACCOUNT OF THE METEOR, Which burst over Weston in Connecticut, in December 1807, and of the falling of Stones on that occasion. BY PROFESSORS SILLIMAN AND KINGSLEY. WITH A CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STONES, BY PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. The paper was republished by the American Philosophical Society and was read aloud at The Philosophical Society in London and the Academy of Sciences in Paristhe worlds most prestigious forums, implicitly validating Sillimans report not only for quality but significance. In 1818, Silliman founded the American Journal of Science, now ranked as the oldest continuously published scientific journal in the United States. In a 50-year career at Yale, he educated many young scientists, earning the sobriquet of father of science education in America. He married Harriett Trumbull, daughter of Connecticuts governor; they had four children. He married Sarah Isabella Webb after Harrietts death and died at 85 in 1864. A college at Yale bears his name and his portrait hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. Scientists now believe that the Weston meteorite probably began its long journey 30 million years ago with a collision involving asteroids. Gravity pulled one hunk to Earth in 1807. That meteorite is classified as an H4 chondriteH meaning high in ironand was the first meteorite collected by Yales Peabody Museum of Natural History when that facility opened in 1866. Only 50 lb. of the 1807 meteorites estimated 350 lb. mass can be accounted for. Some pieces likely collected dust on Weston mantelpieces until being thrown out; others may lie where they buried themselves that chilly morning long ago. Of the fragments of sky stone that Silliman collected, some saw use in his analysis; others went to fellow scientists and other institutions in exchange for samples from other meteorites. The remaining Weston Fall sample is the fragment that Colonel Gibbs purchased soon after the event. Yale bought that space souvenir in 1825, along with the other contents of the Gibbs mineral collection. The Weston piece, roughly the shape of Australia, is on display at the Peabody Museum in New Haven, Connecticut. "We have fully cooperated with the Emergency On Scene Coordinator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency and have moved quickly and effectively to follow all of the EPAs recommended measures to protect human health, public safety and the environment," the statement read. We will continue to do so regardless of the status of the complaint from the Attorney Generals Office." Several of us have called the street department in Zion to pldase patch some serious holes on Highway 173, just by the exit to the Jewel Food Store. There are some major holes which can damage your car or cause an accident, and we can't get anyone over the past week to patch them. What does it take? A call or visit to the Zion City Hall to talk to the mayor about it? Come on. It won't take that long for these serious holes. If I have to get my car repaired because they won't fix the holes, then I'll talk to the village of Zion about paying my car repairs. I know they have a big job this time of year, but when residents take the time on several occasions to alert them of a problem, I would think they might at least show some respect and listen to people. Renovation 3 June 2019 MELBOURNE, Australia - DoubleTree by Hilton - Flinders Street introduces Level 14, a bold new renovation and re-style of the hotel's spectacular top floor. Guests exit the elevator into a compressed, warm lobby which dramatically opens to higher volumes when reaching the modern, plush rooms. Level 14 is comprised of seven new hotel rooms that are distinctly Melbourne in style and feel: three loft-style suites with soaring double-height ceilings, two of these loft-style rooms feature incredible views across Federation Square. Other rooms include: one King and King-accessible room, plus one King room and one suite both with balconies which capture cityscape views of Melbourne's most famous landmarks from the MCG across to the Arts Centre, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra River and beyond. MELBOURNE, Australia - DoubleTree by Hilton - Flinders Street introduces Level 14, a bold new renovation and re-style of the hotel's spectacular top floor. Guests exit the elevator into a compressed, warm lobby which dramatically opens to higher volumes when reaching the modern, plush rooms. Level 14 is comprised of seven new hotel rooms that are distinctly Melbourne in style and feel: three loft-style suites with soaring double-height ceilings, two of these loft-style rooms feature incredible views across Federation Square. Other rooms include: one King and King-accessible room, plus one King room and one suite both with balconies which capture cityscape views of Melbourne's most famous landmarks from the MCG across to the Arts Centre, Flinders Street Station, the Yarra River and beyond. The architecture iWolff Atelier Architects have captured the opportunity of utilising the existing space on the uppermost floor of DoubleTree by Hilton Melbourne - Flinders Street. "Based on Melbourne's bold philosophy of expressive architecture, iWolff have transformed the existing raw volumes into individually designed hotel rooms. Each room expresses the industrial structure where possible and captures framed vistas to the Yarra River and beyond. This led to an opportunity to individually design each of the rooms to have their own unique qualities," said iWolff Director Gary Wolff. Three suites utilise the industrial qualities of the building to create loft rooms within the double height volumes. Each bedroom loft area is accessed via carefully crafted staircases with glazed balustrades allowing views into the living area below and through framed windows to the busy streets of Melbourne. With Melbourne design elements, industrial-chic architecture and spectacular views across Federation Square and Flinders Street Station when you experience Level 14, there's no mistaking which city you're in. Supplier News 4 June 2019 Onyx CenterSource, a leading global provider of B2B payments and business intelligence solutions to the hospitality industry, today announced that it has partnered with Sovos, a leading global provider of tax software, to provide electronic signing, validation and connection to tax authorities for the expansion of Onyx's InvoicePro e-invoicing capabilities. Legal requirements for trust and compliance evolve rapidly and demand immediate attention. Governments in all parts of the world have mandated rules around technology-enabled electronic signatures, proofs of authenticity and e-invoicing. Recently, the European Commission granted Italy permission to mandate domestic e-invoicing to validate payments and decrease risks associated with tax noncompliance. Similar mandates are on the horizon for Greece, Portugal and Norway, among others. Onyx's InvoicePro is the only commission payment system on the market that helps hoteliers and travel agencies maintain compliance with indirect tax legislation for their commission supplies. Onyx has enabled e-invoicing since 2015 and selected Sovos to help expand its InvoicePro capabilities to meet the forthcoming changes in the compliance sector. "Sovos' unique global solution for e-invoicing compliance and its blend of deep legal and technical expertise made it the best-fit partner for Onyx," said Mark Dubrow, Onyx chief executive officer. "Onyx and Sovos will look toward continued expansion of the partnership over time." With the partnership, Onyx gains higher levels of security, compliance, automation and support for post-audit compliance, including e-signatures in compliance with the meticulous EU regulatory framework known as eIDAS (electronic identification, authentication and trust services). "Regulatory and compliance are at the top of mind for our clients across the industry, and we have continuously evolved our services over our 25-year history to ensure we provide the highest level of trust," Dubrow said. "Sovos has proven its ability to analyze regulatory changes and respond quickly while eliminating regulatory risk and uncertainty for our clients around the world." Andrew Chi, vice president of global alliances at Sovos, said, "We have seen how companies struggle to keep up with laws around digital signatures, time stamps, secure archiving and similar trust services, and this is a high priority in hospitality as an increasing number of governments in the EU and around the world target VAT fraud. "As the trends in e-invoicing across Europe show, businesses must acknowledge that legal requirements for trust and compliance will continue to evolve and increase. We are the premier partner for compliance as a service, and Onyx's position at the center of the hospitality market enables us to serve this industry." About Onyx CenterSource Onyx CenterSource is a leading global provider of B2B payments and business intelligence solutions to the hospitality industry. The company strives to build long-lasting relationships with its partners and is passionate about providing quality customer service, consultative insight and cost-effective solutions. With a legacy dating to 1992, the company facilitates in excess of $2.1 billion in payments annually, partnering with more than 150,000 hotel properties and 200,000 travel booking providers in 160 countries. In addition to its headquarters in Dallas, Onyx CenterSource has regional hubs in Seville, Spain and Tnsberg, Norway. Onyx CenterSource and InvoicePro are trademarks of the company. About Sovos Sovos is a leading global provider of software that safeguards businesses from the burden and risk of modern tax. As governments and businesses go digital, businesses face increased risks, costs and complexity. The Sovos Intelligent Compliance Cloud is the first complete solution for modern tax, giving businesses a global solution for tax determination, e-invoicing compliance and tax reporting. Sovos supports 5,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500, and integrates with a wide variety of business applications. The company has offices throughout North America, Latin America and Europe. Sovos is owned by London-based Hg. For more information visit www.sovos.com, and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. Opinion Article 3 June 2019 INTRODUCTION (I HEAR THE DRUMS ECHOING TONIGHT) - Ever since its release in '82, Africa by TOTO became a quadruple platinum record, with around 300M streams on Spotify, 400M YouTube views and even a solar-batteries-powered sound installation in the Namib Desert, "to keep TOTO going for all eternity". But what makes this song so special after all these years? I doubt it's simply because of the '80s wave of nostalgia we are experiencing and, even though TOTO was (and still is) a super-band of extremely skilled musicians, there must be a deeper reason. Most genetic experts today agree that the entire humankind originated in Africa, and that all non-African people descend from what anthropologists describe as the "Out of Africa Migration", happened some 70,000 years ago. It is undeniable, therefore, that this continent does strike a chord in us. The reason, quite simply, seems to rely on our DNA. Advertisements THE AFRICAN INDUSTRY SITUATION (I KNOW THAT I MUST DO WHAT'S RIGHT) Africa's hotel industry is booming (even though mainly in selected destinations, such as Johannesburg, Cape Town, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zanzibar), with 149 Marriott properties, 116 AccorHotels', 42 Radisson's, 39 Hilton's, 24 Best Western's, and 100,000 Airbnb's listings. Room revenue is expected to grow by over 9% in the next two years but, on the other hand, Africa continues to be a step behind the Western World. When it comes to internet penetration, for example, only 18% of the population has access to the web, putting local entrepreneurs in jeopardy. It is estimated that barely 10% of the 200,000+ hospitality and tourism African suppliers have a digital presence, and this unbalance produces missed opportunities for independent local players, opportunities that oversea brands can (and do) easily exploit. Marriott, notably, expects to increase its African portfolio by a stunning 50% by 2023 and, helped by the organic growth attained by the Starwood acquisition, will likely be the industry's Goliath. CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES (THERE'S NOTHING THAT A HUNDRED MEN OR MORE COULD EVER DO) To discuss this delicate topic, I got in touch with Thomas Mueller, Founder and CEO of Rainmaker Digital, Namibia. "Currently", Mueller says, "African providers cannot participate in this digital paradigm shift, putting them at an enormous disadvantage". According to Mueller, however, this is not just a local obstacle, rather it is intrinsic in the industry: "with the exception of a few start-ups disrupting single aspects of the business", he continues, "we pretty much stopped in the past, and did not adapt reactively to the market's changes". This paralysis, anyhow, is more evident in Africa: "most African destinations still provide and promote their products the same way as they did twenty years ago, and this is where most providers fail". In simpler terms, when the traveler is ready to book, providers on the other side are not. "When travelers shift to instant-gratification-mode, they do not expect to write emails, send inquiry forms or call in order to book, and this creates a vicious circle of lost opportunities for local providers". In this situation, there are mainly two typical outcomes, both equally negative for local providers: travelers simply decide to go elsewhere, as it is just too complicated to book, or they decide to save the efforts and reserve via foreign distribution channels, resulting in local suppliers losing a good share of profit for no reason. THE DMC' MONOPOLY (I BLESS THE RAINS DOWN IN AFRICA) "Another major challenge", Mueller continues, "comes from destination management companies pushing local provider to offer lower rates and higher commissions, squeezing their already-low margins. Not to mention extra payments requested, such as brochure contributions, exhibitions, and fam-trips. Moreover, many DMCs make block bookings to keep out other market players, effectively monopolizing the inventory. Unsold rooms can be released as little as 30 days prior to arrival with no penalty. This inventory is, then, very hard for the supplier to resell, as African destinations are not last-minute ones. DMCs are running an unsustainable business model on the account of the suppliers and, in the long term, they harm the entire industry". CONCLUSIONS (GONNA TAKE SOME TIME TO DO THE THINGS WE NEVER HAD) Western world hotels often complain about the current distribution landscape, but the African situation is, as we can see, even more precarious. As Mueller puts it, in order to develop a sustainable African industry, it is critical to empower local providers, by guiding them into a digital transformation: "education, training, awareness and capacity building in African destinations are crucial, with training on market and technology aspects, as well as economic, social and ecological sustainability". As naive as this may sound, we all want to believe it is possible even though, to paraphrase David Paich and Jeff Porcaro, "gonna take some time to do the things we never had". 1. https://content.knightfrank.com/research/1493/documents/en/hotels-africa-2018-5422.pdf Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants announced today its first property in Nebraska, a complete rehabilitation of the historic Blackstone Hotel and former office building. The project is scheduled to open in the spring of 2020. Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants announced today its first property in Nebraska, a complete rehabilitation of the historic Blackstone Hotel and former office building. The project is scheduled to open in the spring of 2020. Located in the popular and vibrant Blackstone District of Omaha near several iconic American companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Mutual of Omaha, Ameritrade, and the Kiewit Corporation as well as the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the century-old property will feature 205 guestrooms, a steakhouse and the reimagined celebrated Cottonwood Room bar. A swimming pool in a resort-style setting and almost 11,000 square feet of meeting space including the restored famed rooftop Grand Ballroom round out the project. In collaboration with two prominent Omaha developers, Clarity Development Company and GreenSlate Development, Kimpton will help to create a world-class hotel that embraces its place in the community and the history of Omaha. Tom McLeay, President of Clarity Development,commented: Were very excited to join forces with Kimpton in bringing one of the most important buildings in the state back to life. We feel privileged to have this opportunity to renew a treasured Omaha landmark that has meant so much to our community, and at the same time offer a unique experience and product to the Kimpton traveler that showcases the best of Omaha. Built in 1916 in the heart of the city, the building is rich with history. One of the earliest structures in Nebraska listed on the National Register of Historical Places, it was once the premier hotel for travelers going between Chicago and San Francisco. Richard Nixon announced his presidential run from the Grand Ballroom in 1967 and in its heyday, the Orleans Room was the most famous restaurant in the city, as well as the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich. Mike DeFrino, Chief Executive Officer at Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, said: Were thrilled to expand our portfolio in the Midwest with this iconic property. Adding Omaha alongside other Kimpton cities like Chicago and Milwaukee strengthens our presence across this part of the country and is key to our continued growth. Clarity Development and GreenSlate Development are like-minded partners who will help bring Kimpton to one of Omahas most desired neighborhoods. Leo A Daly and DLR Group will lead the architecture and interior design process in partnership with Kimptons design team, Global Senior Vice President of Design Ave Bradley and Design Director Jennifer Porterfield. The Kimpton Omaha property is owned by the principals of Clarity and GreenSlate and their local investment partners, and will be managed by Pivot Hotels & Resorts, the lifestyle and luxury operating division of Davidson Hotels & Resorts. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource Marriott Internationals current portfolio of 130 luxury hotels across ten countries and territories in Asia Pacific is poised to grow in 2019 with new openings from JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and The Luxury Collection. Marriott International today announced strong growth of its Asia Pacific luxury portfolio with 13 new luxury properties projected to open in 2019, offering a wide range of transformative experiences designed to capture the modern luxury traveler. Marriott International's current portfolio of 130 luxury hotels across ten countries and territories in Asia Pacific is poised to grow in 2019 with new openings from JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and The Luxury Collection. Additionally, Marriott International's unified loyalty program, Marriott Bonvoy, will offer more guests unique experiences in coveted destinations across the region. "Asia Pacific's luxury travel industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world, driven by markets like China and India. On top of this, global luxury travelers today are seeking more than just the opportunity to indulge, they want experiences that deliver personal meaning and significance," said Peggy Fang Roe, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific, Marriott International. "In response, Marriott International continues to grow its footprint and experiential offerings in Asia Pacific, providing highly contextualized and carefully curated experiences, allowing luxury travelers to explore their passions and The Ritz-Carlton continues its growth in Asia Pacific with four anticipated openings. The Ritz-Carlton, Perth, which is expected to open in October, will mark the brands return to Australia. The brand is also slated to bring its legendary service and style to key markets in in China and India with the opening of The Ritz-Carlton, Xian in June, The Ritz-Carlton, Nanjing in October and The Ritz-Carlton, Pune in September. W Marriott continues its expansion by adding five new properties, including the newly opened JW Marriott Hotel Qufu and soon-to-open JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Shanghai Pudong in July. The Pudong property will be the first JW Marriott Marquis in Asia, and the third globally. The brand expects to also debut in the Maldives in August. The Luxury Collection continues to make its mark, with the exciting debut of IRAPH SUI, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Okinawa, in January 2019 and two anticipated hotels in Nanning, China and Kolkata, India. St. Regis also debuted The St. Regis Hong Kong in April 2019. Designed by the award-winning Andre Fu, the brands timeless elegance is brought to life in a modern way through silhouettes representative of the citys architectural and cultural diversity. Advertisement Marriott International Speaks to the Passions and Interests of Todays Global L uxury Travelers with New, Transformative Experiences Throughout Asia Pacific Known for its legendary service and craftsmanship, The Ritz-Carlton will continue to define luxury fine dining by hosting The Stellar Dining Series for the second year in Asia Pacific. It is a rare and remarkable alignment of its Michelin starred chefs, mixologists and patissiers who will tour three of Asia Pacifics gourmet cities in Tokyo, Kyoto and Guangzhou throughout September and October. Each destination on the three-city tour will see The Ritz-Carlton chefs and artisans collaborate to present their signatures and create spectacular new dishes, orchestrating a constellation of dining events as well as exclusive masterclasses and cocktail craftsmanship. Inspired by the legacy of JW Marriott founders, J. Willard and Alice Marriott, and the brands pillars of culinary, culture and well-being, Family by JW has been tailored in keeping with this philosophy to include three kid-friendly themes creativity, activeness, and culture. Intended for children ages 5 to 12, the program consists of thoughtfully curated and creative adventures designed to leave all families feeling inspired and connected throughout their journey at JW Marriott. Followed by the successful Family by JW launch with former Olympic gold medal winner and renowned Chinese Ping Pong player, Wang Nan, at JW Marriott Hotel Sanya Dadonghai Bay early this year, the brand eis slated to officially launch Family by JW across Asia Pacific at JW Marriott Hotel Phuket in July by collaborating with world-class former Olympic gold medal players. The programs promise exclusive, interactive programming that cultivates engagement and enrichment among family members of all ages. The Luxury Collections Global Explorer program continues to bring together influential voices from the worlds most discerning tastemakers, celebrating the vibrancy of the worlds most enchanting destinations through the eyes of leading cultural voices. Limited-edition Lingua Franca cashmere travel kits in collaboration with the brands newest Global Explorer, Rachelle Hruska-MacPherson, launched at The Prince Gallery Tokyo Kioicho, a Luxury Collection Hotel in March this year. Lingua Franca, which stands for Common Language, is the brainchild of American entrepreneur and designer, Rachelle Hruska MacPherson, who created the cult-favorite brand with the goal of connecting individuals to local cultures and trends through her designs, just as The Luxury Collection does through their storied hotels. St. Regis Hotels & Resorts new E-Butler Service redefines luxury in the region, allowing guests to enjoy signature offerings, such as assistance with packing and unpacking, coffee or tea service in-room and garment pressing, at any hour via email and text message. In October 2019, St. Regis Connoisseur and renowned fashion designer, Jason Wu, will debut a limited-edition pajama collection designed especially for the brand in celebration of the opening of The St. Regis Hong Kong. Marriott Bonvoy Enhances New Luxury Openings and Experiences Throughout Asia Pacific With Additional Benefits and Exclusive Experiences Marriott Internationals recently unveiled travel program, Marriott Bonvoy, further elevates luxury travel in the Asia Pacific region through an expansive list of experiences allowing members to pursue their passions while traveling or during a stay-cation, alongside unmatched benefits and rewards. In Asia Pacific alone, members can dine and earn at over 2,800 participating restaurants and bars and earn points for spa treatments at over 210 participating spas in the region, even without a stay. Past experiences in Asia Pacific this year ranged from VIP treatment at the Hong Kong Sevens and Art Central Hong Kong, to insider access at Maroon 5 concerts; and experiences like being chauffeured to the F1 China Grand Prix by Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport driver and Grand Prix Melbourne winner, Valtteri Bottas. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource Hotels are going beyond the normal these days to add a unique factor in their property by giving guests some weird hotel amenities that could never have been imagined. Hotels are going beyond the normal these days to add a unique factor in their property by giving guests some weird hotel amenities that could never have been imagined. Scented soaps and coffee facilities have been given the flick. Some hotels are now setting themselves apart with weird and wonderful amenities thatll surprise you. These guest services go to the next level, offering weird, wacky, and yet oftentimes surprisingly useful services and amenities, from pillow concierges to pet psychics. Pillow Concierge This service is currently offered by The Benjamin in New York. The pillow concierge helps guests pick out the perfect cushioning for their heads. Theyve got everything from anti-snore pillows to special pillows for back sleepers plus lullaby pillows with embedded speakers that you can attach to your phone or MP3 player. Once youve settled on a few possibilities, the concierge can come to your room and give you pointers while you find the option that works best for you. Genius? Fragrance Butler Dont even bother packing your favourite eau de toilette in your luggage in the first place, especially if youre headed to Vancouver and staying at Hotel Georgia. A simple call to the concierge will send up a white-gloved fragrance butler who carries 10 fragrances (five for women, five for men) on a silver platter. One scent a day for your perfect 5 night stay perhaps? Pet Psychics or Psychologists Brought your pet along on holiday with you? Unsure if they are having as much fun as you are? Never fear. If you are traveling in Portland and your pooch or cat is suffering from a bit of travel fatigue, you can book them in for a pet therapy session of sorts, or in the form of psychic readings that tap into your pets energy and well-being. They will be relaxed in no time. Pet Goldfish If you had to leave your pooch or feline behind and are missing them, the United States has a program called Guppy Love in their Kimpton Hotels. They will put a goldfish in a customers room for the duration of their stay. The unusual amenity could be helpful for those who are on a stressful business trip aquariums can supposedly reduce anxiety and lower blood pressure. And best of all, the hotel staff are responsible for caring for the fish. In-House Tattooist This definitely wont be everyones cup of tea but in the hip Venice Beach area of California, Hotel Erwin provides their own tattoo artist on the premises for any guests looking to get an inky souvenir of their stay. As part of the hotels Ink and Stay package, guests are treated to a $100 tattoo voucher towards any design of their choosing, a bottle of Lubriderm lotion to numb the pain, an ice-pack, and a complimentary bottle of Tequila. So rock and roll right?! Unique guest experiences are always fun to know. If you have had any tell us more about it. Write to us at marketing@staah.com This article was originally published by STAAH. For more hotelier tips, trends, and news please click here. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource Price range: Beverages from $2 to $5.50. Egg dishes from $10 to $14. Benedicts are $12. Omelets from $11 to $14. Skillets from $12 to $14. Pancakes from $8 to $13. Waffles from $8 to $13. Crepes are $11 and $12. French toast is $9 and $12. Sandwiches/burgers from $11 to $14. Paninis/wraps are $12 and $13. Salads from $10 to $13. Yogurt and fruit from $3 to $9. Sides from $3 to $10. Kids meals from $3 to $6. The contracted sale price reflects a 15.8x EBITDA multiple and a 5.7% net operating income capitalization rate (after an assumed annual capital reserve of 4.0% of total hotel revenues) based on the hotels operating performance for 2018. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) today announced that it executed a contract to sell the 132-room Hotel Amarano Burbank in Los Angeles, California for approximately $72.9 million to a third party. The contracted sale price reflects a 15.8x EBITDA multiple and a 5.7% net operating income capitalization rate (after an assumed annual capital reserve of 4.0% of total hotel revenues) based on the hotels operating performance for 2018. Based on the trailing 12-month period ended March 2019, the contracted sales price reflects a 16.9x EBITDA multiple and a 5.3% net operating income capitalization rate (after an assumed annual capital reserve of 4.0% of total hotel revenues). Both the EBITDA multiples and net operating income capitalization rates are adjusted for the estimated annualized impact of real estate taxes for Californias Proposition 13. The sale of Hotel Amarano Burbank is subject to normal closing conditions, and the Company offers no assurances that this sale will be completed on these terms, or at all. The Company is targeting to complete the sale in the third quarter of 2019 and continues to be encouraged with pricing levels and overall buyer interest in the investment markets. Following the completion of the sale, the Companys estimated total net debt to trailing 12-month corporate EBITDA ratio will decline to approximately 4.6 times. The Company also continues to make progress on its strategic property redevelopment plan and provided the following updates: Mason & Rook Hotel: On July 1, 2019, Viceroy Hotels & Resorts will become the third-party operator of this 178-room upper-upscale hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. Following the completion of a comprehensive property renovation and improvement program by early 2020, the hotel will become Viceroy Hotel Washington, D.C., a part of the luxury Viceroy Hotels & Resorts brand family; and On July 1, 2019, Viceroy Hotels & Resorts will become the third-party operator of this 178-room upper-upscale hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. Following the completion of a comprehensive property renovation and improvement program by early 2020, the hotel will become Viceroy Hotel Washington, D.C., a part of the luxury Viceroy Hotels & Resorts brand family; and Donovan Hotel: On July 1, 2019, Viceroy Hotel & Resorts will become the third-party operator of this 193-room upper-upscale hotel in downtown Washington, D.C. The Company plans to reconcept, redevelop and relaunch this hotel as part of the Unofficial Z Collection in 2020. We are very excited to bring Viceroy to Washington, D.C. to manage these two unique lifestyle hotels, which have so much upside potential, noted Jon E. Bortz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. We expect that Viceroy will generate significant long-term revenue improvement and increased operating efficiencies at both of these hotels, given their extensive experience operating urban lifestyle hotels including Viceroy Santa Monica, Hotel Zeppelin, Hotel Zelos and Hotel Zetta for our company. In addition to bringing the luxury Viceroy brand to D.C., we are also excited to create our first Unofficial Z Collection hotel on the east coast following the comprehensive and transformative redevelopment and renovation of Donovan Hotel. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) and the largest owner of urban and resort lifestyle hotels in the United States. The Company owns 60 hotels, totaling approximately 14,500 guest rooms across 16 urban and resort markets with a focus on the west coast gateway cities. Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Amarano Hotel Burbank Reconciliation of Hotel Net Income to Hotel EBITDA and Hotel Net Operating Income Trailing Twelve Months (Unaudited, in millions) Twelve months ended December 31, 2018 Hotel net income $ 2.7 Adjustment: Depreciation and amortization 1.9 Hotel EBITDA $ 4.6 Adjustment: Capital reserve (0.4 ) Hotel Net Operating Income $ 4.1 Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Amarano Hotel Burbank Reconciliation of Hotel Net Income to Hotel EBITDA and Hotel Net Operating Income Trailing Twelve Months (Unaudited, in millions) Twelve months ended March 31, 2019 Hotel net income $ 2.4 Adjustment: Depreciation and amortization 1.9 Hotel EBITDA $ 4.3 Adjustment: Capital reserve (0.4 ) Hotel Net Operating Income $ 3.9 Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource Representing the Seller in the sale of the 89-unit Country Inn & Suites Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Lodging Partners, LLC, a member of Hotel Brokers International, announced it has arranged the sale of the 89-unit Country Inn & Suites Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Ford C. Barton, Principal of Lodging Partners, LLC, exclusively represented the Seller on this transaction. This is the 19th Hotel deal that I have been involved with in the Myrtle Beach market. We continue to see very strong investor interest in hotels throughout the Carolina region driven by solid growth, great fundamentals, and a positive supply & demand environment, noted Ford Barton. About Lodging Partners, LLC Lodging Partners is a specialized hotel brokerage and advisory firm focused on the sale of select service hospitality investment properties on behalf of institutional and private investors throughout the United States. Over the past 5 years, Lodging Partners has had an advisory role on 96 hotel assets that included portfolio and single asset sales. The firm offers a range of hotel real estate services, including brokerage, valuation consulting, and strategic acquisition planning and has an unwavering commitment to client service. Lodging Partners may be accessed online at www.lodging-partners.com. About Hotel Brokers International Founded in 1959, Hotel Brokers International members lead the industry in hotel real estate sales. HBI hotel brokerage specialists have successfully negotiated more than 10,000 hotel real estate transactions and consistently account for the largest share of all select-service and economy hotel sales in the United States. The organizations database currently comprises more than 100 property listings and the HBI website attracts site visitors from around the world. HBI is the founder and administrator of the Certified Hotel Broker Program, the real estate industrys only professional designation program for hotel brokers. In addition to hospitality real estate advisory services, HBI offers affiliate membership to professionals in allied fields, including franchising, lending, appraisals and investment services. For more information about HBIs hotel listings or to become a broker or affiliate member, visit www.hbihotels.com. For more information contact: Ford C. Barton, Principal Lodging Partners, LLC Phone 704.341.8488 Ford@Lodging-Partners.com Glenda J. Webb, Managing Director Hotel Brokers International Kansas City, Missouri 816.505.4315 gwebb@hbihotels.com Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest Hotel industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hotel News Resource Coca-Cola has come out with a plethora of flavors over the years with some being much more successful than others. Humans are creatures of habit so when they taste something they're not used to, sometimes there is some heavy push back. Well, that's exactly what happened in 2006 when the soda company released Coca-Cola Blak to the world which was a coffee-flavored take on the classic drink. Americans were pretty opposed to the beverage and after a while, it was discontinued. Over the past year, Coca-Cola has released an updated version of the coffee-infused drink called Coca-Cola Plus Coffee, which has been sold in countries like Australia, Italy, Spain, Thailand, and Poland. The drink has been catching on and now, the brand believes the beverage could work in the United States. "That was a trend before its time," the company's chief technical officer, Nancy Quan told CNN Business. "I don't think people were ready to have a coffee portfolio within the Coca-Cola brand." By the end of this year, Coca-Cola plans to introduce the drink in 25 other countries which will truly put it to the test. Caffeinated drinks are nothing new and have been on the upswing over the years so a coffee flavored Coke doesn't seem like too much of a stretch of the imagination. Would you want to drink this or is it a hard pass? DreamDoll is one of the only remaining Dolls after Asian Da Brat decided to switch up her name. The artist is back in the headlines after she decided to share her plastic surgery experience with the world. DreamDoll has been open in the past about the procedures she's had done in the past, confirming that she's gotten minimal work on her face. She ended up taking a trip to Colombia recently to fix up her look, getting liposuction in a few different areas on her body and this time, she decided to film herself the entire way through. Thankfully, DreamDoll didn't actually have a camera on her while they were actually suctioning fat out of her chin and waist but the rapper made a vlog video to show the before and after results of the procedures. The clip includes appearances from her boyfriend YBN Almighty Jay, who disgustingly admits that he doesn't wash his hands after going to the bathroom, and her doctor who has trouble following the conversation. Her friends also came through with a nice arrangement of flowers and a teddy bear. Jay was actually with her a few days prior in Colombia but he needed to leave for some business. He went with her to several of her appointments and was with her on FaceTime for the rest. Watch the vlog below. [via] There are some things that should just never happen and this is one of them. According to a report by WWNY 7 News, an elementary school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after instructing students to conduct a mock slave auction. A mother of one of the children involved in the class exercise has spoken out about just how problematic the situation was. "He and another African American child were put up in the middle of the class and told they were now slaves," said Nicole Dayes about her 10-year-old son. "The teacher then started the 'bidding' by assigning prices to the Caucasian students. After the winning bid was placed, my son was then told how slaves would take the slave owners' last name and what he was to call the slave owner by. Then my son and the other 'slave' were instructed to call the Caucasian child by 'master' and the childs last name." Sean Gallup/Getty Images It's important for children to learn about the history of slavery but this... this is not the way to do it. As noted by Complex, the teacher in question has been placed on leave after exhibiting "poor judgment." "The Watertown City School District has received complaints from parents that a fourth grade teacher exercised poor judgment in teaching a recent lesson," wrote the district in a statement. "The teacher has been placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation into the matter. The school district will not be providing additional comments until the investigation has been completed." You may recall that in April, a similar incident happened in Jacksonville when a teacher used racist language and played "slave games" in class. Over the last few weeks, the Los Angeles Lakers have been an absolute disaster, especially when you consider the problems they have had with their front office. Magic Johnson recently called out general manager Rob Pelinka for being a backstabber, all while it was revealed that some of the ownership group of the team is starting to lose confidence in Jeanie Buss. It's been a pretty hard time to be a Lakers fan and with Free Agency coming in just a few weeks, they'll have to hope for some superstars to come over and help out LeBron James. TMZ recently caught up with Lakers star and ear blower Lance Stephenson and asked him about legend Kobe Bryant's affiliation with the team. As Stephenson explained, the five-time Lakers champion comes to all of the team's practices and has been a huge mentor to the team's young stars. Of course, the Lakers have young players like Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma who are coming into their own, so having Kobe around must be a huge bonus. Just a couple of week ago, Kobe was reportedly livid over his name being brought up in all of the drama surrounding the Lakers. Considering his rumored anger, it's good to see he's still a big part of the team and is looking to help them become successful again. It's believed that Bryant is trying to bring Kyrie Irving to the Lakers as well. WWE has a lot in store for tonight's episode of Monday Night Raw emanating from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. In addition to Brock Lesnar's pre-announced cash in, The Undertaker will also make his return to Raw tonight ahead of his first-ever matchup against Goldberg at the WWE "Super ShowDown" event in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on June 7. The Deadman is reportedly set to make an appearance on SmackDown Live on Tuesday night as well, where Goldberg will also be in attendance. https://twitter.com/_/status/1133546946109427712 The Undertaker, 54, has popped up here and there over the last couple of years, with his most recent appearance coming at the April 8 edition of Monday Night Raw immediately following Wrestlemania 35. The Deadman's last official match came at the November 2018 "Crown Jewel" event in Saudi Arabia, where he and Kane lost a tag-team match to Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Goldberg, 52, has not competed in WWE since dropping the Universal title to Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 33 in 2017. Gaye Gerard/Getty Images In addition to Goldberg vs Undertaker, the WWE has also announced the following matches for the Super ShowDown event: Triple H vs Randy Orton, Baron Corbin vs Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler vs WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, Shane McMahon vs Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman vs Bobby Lashley, Andrade vs Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, Lars Sullivan vs Lucha House Party in a Handicap Match, and a 50-Man Battle Royal the largest in WWE history. WWE Super ShowDown will stream live on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view outside of the Middle East on June 7 starting at 2pm ET. https://twitter.com/_/status/1133765087892787200 For the average Houston home, priced at $310,700, real estate agent commissions cost $18,600. If the same deal had closed in London, the homeseller would have only paid agents about $3,700. The reasons for the difference are at the center of a class-action suit that could dramatically change the way homes are bought and sold in the United States. The case, brought by a Minnesota homeowner, seeks to strike down the standard practice of agents splitting commissions. If successful, the suit would potentially save individual home sellers thousands of dollars in commissions, but it would also cut the earnings of real estate agents across the country including some 37,000 in the Houston area and put more pressure on traditional brokerages, already contending with a host of discount and online competitors. If defeated or dismissed, as the National Association of Realtors has requested, it would mean business as usual for years to come and, perhaps, pose a stumbling block for startup companies seeking to shake up the real estate business through the use of technology. The case, brought by lead plaintiff Christopher Moehrl, argues that if not for rules put in place by the National Association of Realtors and used by local groups including the Houston Association of Realtors, commissions in the U.S. would be similar to those in the U.K., where sellers only pay the agent who lists the home, not the agent who helps the buyer make the purchase. In the U.K., the average listing agent fee has been falling steadily since 2011, according to a survey by the homeseller website The Advisory, sinking to a mere 1.18 percent in 2018. NAR, which is being sued along with Austin-based Keller Williams Realty, Re/Max Holdings, Homeservices of America and Realogy Holdings (owner of Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Sothebys International Realty and other household-name brokerages), argued the complaint characterized its rules incorrectly. On Wednesday, a Federal Judge in Illinois allowed Moehrl to file an amended complaint by June 14. Now both sides are retrenching, the Department of Justice has opened its own investigation and the property data company CoreLogic has been dragged into the fray. The claims are devoid of accuracy, said Mantill Williams, vice president of public relations at the National Association of Realtors. They withdrew their complaint and are going to regroup to try to salvage what we see as a baseless claim. Expanded inquiry Court filings also showed the Department of Justice has opened an investigation into real estate agent fees. In the investigation, which is separate from the Moehrl case, the DOJ has demanded information from CoreLogic, which provides many real estate agents with platforms where they can share listings, known as multiple listing services. The inquiry centers on whether or not multiple listing services prevent competition in the real estate agent fee structure. Multiple listing services are drawing scrutiny for their central role in negotiating these fees. Homesellers in the United States pay both the listing agent and the buyers agent. And when listing agents add homes into the National Association of Realtors listing service which holds the majority of listings and often syndicates it to other real estate search sites such as Zillow and Realtor.com they must say upfront how much theyre offering to pay the agent whose client buys the home. Agents can negotiate that offer as the transaction progresses. The commission on the sale of a home is usually 6 percent, which is traditionally split between the agents for the buyer and seller. As a result, Moehrl alleges buyers agents have little motivation to sell their clients on homes that will offer them less than the industry standard of 3 percent. The Department of Justice has requested information regarding whether buyer agents can sort listings by fees paid. By the numbers Regardless of whether that is the case, Alex Doubet, chief executive of the discount brokerage Door, said hed seen the systems upward pressure on pricing firsthand. When the company started in 2015, it listed comparable homes priced at the same price in the same gated community at the same time. One said it would pay the buyers agent the standard 3 percent, while the other offered 2 percent. The 2 percent one was getting half the showings than the 3 percent one was, Doubet said. The seller finally agreed to offer 3 percent, and then the houses went one for one, equal showings If youre a seller and you dont offer a 3 percent buyers fee, your listing gets discriminated against. Others have found success in circumventing the multiple listing services altogether. When Houston resident Larry Lanclos was looking to sell his home, he searched for a way around paying the buyers fee. But Lanclos real estate agent friends who offered to list his home at cost said he would have to pay 3 percent to the buyers agent, even if he found a buyer himself. It kind of gets into a Catch-22, he said. Youre having to give money to someone who really didnt do anything theyre just called in by the Realtor who is representing you. He ended up going with REX, a discount brokerage charging only 2 percent to sell a home. The price is made possible by not paying the buyers agent buyers have the option of having a salaried REX agent guide them through the transaction for free or paying for an outside agent themselves. But not making the buyers agent an offer also means that the listing cannot be advertised on multiple listing services, such as HAR.com and Realtor.com. Instead, REXs homes can only be advertised directly to customers or on websites such as Zillow and Trulia, which only receive part of their listings from multiple listing services. Jonathan Friedland, the companys head of communications, said such restrictions are worth it in order to offer lower fees. If youre in the (Multiple Listing Service) youre bound to live within these rules. Thats what makes the MLS so problematic for anyone who is really trying to innovate in the industry, he said. If you dont abide by some of these rules, you are kicked out. Kara Biggs found Lanclos home through Zillow and closed four weeks after it went on the market. Downward pressure The United Kingdom provides an example of what an alternate system could look like. Thats because in the U.K., sellers only pay the agent who lists the home, not the agent who helps the buyer make the purchase. Thats up to the buyer, many of whom opt out of using an agent altogether, instead hiring a lawyer to guide them through paperwork. Gavin Brazg, the founder of the U.K. homeseller webite the Advisory , which conducts an annual survey of agent fees, said even in the pre-internet era, British buyers did not usually turn to agents to help them find homes. Instead, they would walk down to real estate agencies in the area they wanted to live and ask to see their listings. But what has changed in the U.K. during the internet era is an intensifying competition among real estate agents, who have dropped their average fee from 1.8 percent in 2011 to 1.18 percent in 2018. Brazg said the internet made it too easy for real estate agencies to set up shop, and the oversupply of brokers is driving down revenues and pushing many brokerages to the financial breaking point. Shares in the major agencies have plummeted. Countrywide PLCs share price has fallen to 7 from 272 in 2015, and Foxtons share price is 60, down from 283 in 2015. Theres just too many real estate agencies in our countries, Brazg said. With the low fees come financial issues for the agencies. Theres going to be massive closures, he predicted. Doubet of Door said that he foresaw a similar winnowing of real estate agencies in the U.S. if real estate agent fees fall to U.K. levels. That could greatly impact Houstons economy, where the Houston Association of Realtors has 37,000 members. If the average fee on the buy side is going to go from $6,000 or $7,000 to $1,000 or $2,000, you now have a situation where you have to do more volume to make that an economic business, Doubet said. He suggested that large firms could invest in technology allowing real estate agents to increase their volume of deals, but traditional firms without such technology may struggle. You cant survive if your fee is cut by two-thirds. This story has been corrected to reflect that Kara Biggs did not choose to pay a buyer's agent. Instead, she had an agent from REX, the company that had listed the property, guide her through the transaction free of charge. Rattlesnakes, bobcats and coyotes, oh my! As part of its efforts to land a federal permit to build a liquefied natural gas export terminal at the Port of Brownsville, Houston-based Annova LNG commissioned a unique study deploying wildlife cameras that captured an amazing array of candid images in a 15-mile radius around the proposed project site. The company seeks permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build an LNG plant along the south shore of the Brownsville Ship Channel, an area that is considered the linchpin in a wildlife corridor between the United States and Mexico for two endangered wildcats the ocelot and jaguarundi. If a permit is approved, Annova LNG has pledged to dedicate at least 185-acres of land to create a wildlife corridor next to its plant and take impacts to wildlife into consideration during both construction and operations. But the company went one step further by commissioning a study that used motion-sensitive wildlife cameras to see if the ocelot and jaguarundi were present beyond the proposed site. Report: Proposed LNG plants would undo ocelot conservation efforts in Rio Grande Valley Historic ranges of both wildcats went deep into the Lone Star State until hunting and fragmentation of their their preferred dark thorn brush habitat confined their presence to the Rio Grande Valley where agriculture and urban development have also taken their toll. Both wildcats can be found in healthier numbers south of the border in Mexico but the last confirmed sighting of a jaguarundi in Texas was near Brownsville in 1986. Some 60 ocelots remain in the Valley split between one population centered at the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Cameron County and another group in the ranch lands of neighboring Willacy County. Ocelots have not been seen on Port of Brownsville property since the late 1990s when a radio-collared cat was tracked on land that now makes up part of Annova LNGs proposed site. The golden wildcat swam across the Brownsville Ship Channel on a path to the Bahia Grande, an inland bay surrounded by cactus, yucca, mesquite and thorn brush. Annova LNG tapped Lakeway environmental consulting firm Blanton & Associates for a one-year wildlife study that took place between January 2016 through January 2017. Working in a 15-mile radius of the proposed plant, Blanton & Associates set up wildlife camera stations at 125 locations in all directions. Each station was made up of two motion-detecting cameras placed opposite one another in dense thorn shrub habitats, usually near a wildlife trail or along suspected travel corridors. Placed throughout Annova LNGs proposed site, area wildlife preserves and private property, the motion-triggered cameras were able take high-quality photographs during the day or at night when ocelots and jaguarundis are more likely to be active. Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox Blanton & Associates reported that no ocelots or jaguarundis were observed during the yearlong wildlife survey but their cameras captured a stunning array of other wildlife that included 16 species of mammals and numerous species of birds and reptiles. With 93 images captured, the most photographed animal was the bobcat. Requiring a smaller hunting range and less specialized habitat than the ocelot or jaguarundi, bobcats appear to be handling the large-scale agriculture and urbanization taking place around them. The wildcats were photographed in mating pairs, interacting with other animals, traveling with babies and using highway underpasses that were built to prevent wildlife from being hit by cars. Cottontail rabbits and armadillos made up the next most photographed animals with 83 images each. The wildlife cameras captured some 77 images of coyotes, 77 photos of javelinas and 47 images of white-tailed deer. The cameras also captured 14 images of Nilgai, a large antelope that is native to India but has escaped from nearby hunting ranches in the area to establish a wild population. Some of the more surprising images included a pair of mating rattlesnakes and a Texas tortoise casually lumbering through the camera station. Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox The images and wildlife survey results were recorded in an October 2017 report filed with FERC but recently resurfaced in an environmental report that the agency released about Annova LNGs proposed project. FERC officials are not expected to make a permit decision about the Annova LNG project until July. But in the meantime, a furtive debate has erupted between wildlife experts over the cumulative impacts on the ocelot and jaguarundi by the Annova LNG project and two similar export terminals proposed to be built at the Port of Brownsville. Over the past few decades, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife service has spent $90.4 million to buy nearly 158,000 acres of land in the Rio Grande Valley to develop a cross-border wildlife corridor. The agencys 2016 ocelot recovery plan further estimates that it could take up to 100 years and another $343 million in projects to create a viable corridor and remove the ocelot from the endangered species list. In a report released in April, Mike Tewes, an ocelot expert with the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, called creating a wildlife corridor an ecological fairy tale. Tewes favors improving habitat for the ocelot in areas where it is already found and relocating some of the animals to private ranches where landowners are willing to receive and protect them. Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group based in Washington released a report a couple of weeks later stating that combined traffic, light, noise and habitat loss from Annova LNG and the other two projects would fragment ocelot habitat beyond repair. Leonas said the owner of the business, Iryna Kiyan, was not the sole owner. Five percent of XO is currently owned by her husband, Vadym Pobyegayev. Pobyegayev was not listed on the liquor license and the corporate charter was not included with the application. The application stated no owner owning less than five percent was ever convicted of a felony. Charo Oquets Written on Skin and Sacred Gestures is one of six installations in Round 49, Penumbras: Sacred Geometries at Project Row Houses, 2515 Holman, open noon-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, through June 9. The word penumbra, which refers to the shadow cast during a partial eclipse, and the mathematical concept of sacred geometries, which influenced artist John Biggers, provide the artists of Round 49 at Project Row Houses with a compelling springboard. The mojo is most palpable in Charo Oquets space, an explosively colorful installation where a constellation of ceramic-headed spirit figures could also be planets in a solar system with a pulsating May pole of a sun at its center, constructed with a raw wood frame, draped fabrics, pennants, vining plastic plants and the flotsam and jetsam of massed yarn blobs. You dont see this part until you walk into the space and look toward the front window, when it zaps you with its powerful presence. Oquet has painted the walls and floor with geometric and abstract shapes that appear to be shooting out of the central force. One wall contains small framed paintings of slightly more complex and messy shapes. Colored bottles, each transformed into a pint-sized spirit figure with feathers, yarn and other materials, sit on the windowsills to capture sunlight. The ceramic-headed figures, each about 2 feet tall, are terrifying but also somehow reassuringly benevolent-looking, seeming quite alive, with their bulbous, malformed heads, feather crowns, sprouting greenery, manes of wildly colored hair and layers of ceremonial necklaces. In the show brochure, Oquet describes all of the objects as conduits of energy she has accumulated over the years from her research into the religious symbols of Vodum (voodoo) and Ethiopian healing scrolls that were commissioned to purge demons from the sick. A native of the Dominican Republic who lives in Miami, Oquet calls her practice of integrating Afro-Caribbean folk traditions and rituals with participatory social practice an art of uncertainty. It is a double vision: on the one side the ancestral African, on the other a modern mix that synthesizes beliefs, techniques, visual and performance strategies, she writes on her website. Oquets work also has an activist side: She founded Edge Zones, a 23-year-old organization that brings art to a Dominican community in Miami, much like what Project Row Houses does in Houston. Visit during a quiet time to absorb it all, or enjoy it with a crowd during the Round 49 Closing Party, 6-9 p.m. June 9. Daily admission is free; party admission is $35, with music from a Latin Jazz band, street food and drinks inspired by Ettas Kitchen and Shakti Baum inspired by the Afro-Latin Diaspora. molly.glentzer@chron.com Six years ago, Bryan Klevens, a sergeant with the Houston Police Department, decided to indulge his dream of opening a tattoo studio geared toward first responders. Today, that dream is a reality and will also be reality TV. Prison Break Tattoos, located at 5306 Washington Ave., is the subject of A&E Networks Hero Ink, a 12-episode series debuting 9 p.m. Thursday chronicling the lives of those who work at or patronize the shop. Each half-hour show focuses on firefighters, police, EMS professionals or members of the military who come to Prison Break looking for a design that means something special to them. Its a safe haven for first responders to feel comfortable getting tattoos by other first responders who can relate to their stories, said Klevens, better known as B.K. Klev, an active-duty sergeant. When I opened the studio I had been getting tattoos for years and working undercover and different assignments I never quite felt comfortable as an officer in some of the studios I went to. I felt when I started this place, if I could make it to where I felt comfortable, then other first responders from across the country would probably feel comfortable, as well. Hero Ink Season Premiere Watch Parties When: 7 p.m. Thursday Where: 360 Midtown, 2400 Brazos; and Standard Bar, 5306 Washington Ave. Details: Free 'Hero Ink' When: 9 p.m. Thursday Network: A&E See More Collapse That comfort starts at the front door of the 1,800-square-foot storefront, as visitors are greeted by jail bars that lead into a space resembling a cell, except the walls are decorated with law-enforcement paraphernalia photos, caps, patches, banners from jurisdictions all across the country, from New York to Washington state. The shop has gotten first-responder visitors from Israel to Australia, Klev said. While many reality shows have covered tattoo studios theyve ranged from Inked to Americas Worst Tattoos and Tattoo Nightmares Prison Breaks angle was different enough to attract producers attention. Ive been approached by five different production companies Most of them wanted some sort of drama. They wanted Real Housewives type stuff. And I turned them down. I wanted to tell the stories of first responders and the stories behind their tattoos, Klev said. Then he got a call from Matador Content, the L.A. and New York-based production company known for such non-scripted shows as AMCs Geeking Out, Vicelands What Would Diplo Do? and A&Es own Epic Ink. The guy on the other end said he was sitting in the offices of A&E about to have a weekly meeting when he saw a police officer with tattoos on TV, Klev said. Intrigued by the concept of law-enforcement tats, the producer hit Google and came across a 2016 Texas Monthly article about Prison Break. It just went from there, Klev said. Klev is committed to remaining a sergeant all of his artists, including those on staff who arent on the show and those brought in to guest on the series, have some connection to the world of first responders. He plans to juggle police work and the demands of TV as long as he can. Chief (Art) Acevedo asks me all the time, When are you leaving? he said with a laugh. Straddling two worlds In fact, customers might actually end up with a tattoo artist who is still an active first responder such as 29-year-old Houston firefighter Robbie Carson. When hes working the hook and ladder instead of the needle and ink, he can be found at fire station No. 27 on the east side of town. I dont sleep, he said with a laugh by phone about his busy schedule. I have such a passion for helping people and being there for someone on their worst day, which is my firefighting job. Ninety percent of my job is not that serious, as far as firefighting goes. Then you have that 10 percent thats super intense, and thats what I love about it. When Im not at the fire station, the following day Im tattooing, and Im completely involved in the artistic world. But his worlds merge when he starts chatting with his tattoo clients. Working at Prison Break is like working at a fire station, he said. Im always joking around with the first responders who come in. I was also prior active-duty Marine Corps, and a lot of the first responders were prior military and we just banter, and its hilarious. Its like tattooing at the fire station. Its really awesome and unlike any of the other studios Ive worked at. You have that camaraderie, that sense of family. The convergence of interests can happen the other way, too. I transported one person to the hospital that Id tattooed a couple of years prior, he recalled. Carson originally from San Antonio, though he has lived in the Houston area since age 11 long has had an interest in both art and the military. He had an apprenticeship at a tattoo studio after going to Dayton High School and then joined the Marines, where he would tattoo in his spare time. His firefighter buddies like to joke about his potential TV fame. Theyre starting to call me a celebrity in the department, he said. Say were responding to a car accident, all the other firefighters that show up are like, Oh, youre the TV guy. I cant go anywhere without someone knowing who I am. Of course, the general public may start recognizing him now, too. There are two watch parties for the first episode Thursday night at Standard Bar, next door to Prison Break, and sports bar 360 Midtown. Im ready for anything, Carson said. Obviously, I dont know the future, but Im going to stay true to who I am and continue to do my job as a civil servant for my city, which I love dearly. Texas TV Texas has been a favorite spot for reality and non-fiction TV producers to set up shop over the years. Houston has been home to CNBCs Billion Dollar Buyer (starring Tilman Fertitta), TLCs The Little Couple, Animal Cops: Houston and a short-lived iteration of Bravos Married to Medicine. San Antonio is the setting for Texicanas, currently airing on Bravo while D-FW can claim another Bravo series, The Real Housewives of Dallas, as well as CMTs Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team and Discoverys top-rated, car-themed Fast N Loud. West Texas has gotten in on the action with CNBCs The West Texas Investors Club (featuring Mike Rooster McConaughey, Matthews brother) while East Texas had Foxs Anchorwoman, in which a former Miss New York with no journalism experience was parachuted into a Tyler TV station as an anchor/reporter. Central Texas can claim the distinction of being the only Lone Star State region to ever host MTVs groundbreaking The Real World though its also the place that brought us A&Es American Hoggers, about a family that removes feral pigs. cary.darling@chron.com twitter.com/carydar Forget France. A drive to the Texas Hill Country is all thats required to get a Provencal fix this time of year. Acres of the rolling countryside will be blanketed in blooming lavender fields over the next two months. Lavenders gorgeous perfume is probably most recognizable in soaps, lotions, candles and other soothing forms of aromatherapy, but the plant has a longstanding place in the kitchen as well. Were celebrating the Texas lavender season by dishing up everything you need to know about using more of it in your cooking. Weve got buying advice, some simple ways to use it and four recipes that show off its powerful aroma in a salad, a grilled shrimp appetizer, a showy roasted leg of lamb and a bowl of elegant cocktail nuts. Keep it culinary: Lavender grown for use in soaps, lotions and whatnot can be treated with things you wouldnt want to ingest. If youre buying lavender for the kitchen, make sure its specifically designated for culinary use. Find culinary lavender in the herb section of grocery stores. Eat it all: Every part of the lavender plant that grows above ground is edible. The tender fresh leaves and delicate flowers are the star of the show, but the stems and buds can be dried and used to infuse flavor into tea and into milk for puddings and custards or for other uses. 15th Annual Blanco Lavender Festival Visit a commercial lavender farm, browse a sprawling lavender market, learn how to grow your own and more, all in Blanco. Noon to 6 p.m. June 7, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 8 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 9 Most events will be held on the grounds of The Old Blanco County Courthouse, 300 Main St. Admission is free. More info at blancochamber.com, 830-833-5101 See More Collapse Safekeeping: Properly dried lavender has an intense perfume thats slow to fade. Stored in an airtight container in a cupboard, it can keep most of its potency for at least two years, so theres no need to buy a fresh batch every spring. Grind it finely: Dried lavender blossoms can have an offputting texture in some applications, but thats no reason to pass on its remarkable flavor. Grind dry blossoms with a mortar and pestle to help smooth out the experience. Herbs de Provence: Interesting fact: Lavender does not appear in traditional herb blends hailing from the Provence region of France, but it nearly always shows up in blends made for the American market. And we arent complaining. Try making your own blend from dried savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme and both lavender leaves and blossoms. Rub it in: Give your next brisket or rack of ribs a touch of refinement by adding lavender. Combine 2 tablespoons of dried and ground lavender leaves and 1 tablespoon of dried lavender blossoms to a quarter-cup each of ground black pepper, salt and garlic powder to make a simple dry rub. Extra aromatic: Give your next rice dish an extra splash of perfume by adding teaspoon of dried lavender flowers per cup of jasmine or basmati rice before cooking. Give it lemons: Steep a quarter cup of lavender flowers in 2 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes. Strain and discard the flowers, let the water cool and then use it to make lemonade with your favorite recipe. Glazed over: Add a quarter teaspoon of dried lavender blossoms to 2 cups of confectioners sugar. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of lemon juice until a thick paste forms. Use this to give your next batch of cupcakes, pound cake or other baked good a floral boost. So simple: Lavender-infused simple syrup can seriously punch up your cocktail game. Bring a tablespoon of dried lavender, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water to a simmer and stir until the sugar melts. Let the syrup steep for 30 minutes, then strain out the flowers. Recipe: Lavender Leg of Lamb Recipe: Lavender Shrimp Skewers Recipe: Beet and Radish Salad with Lavender Dressing Recipe: Lavender Spiced Nuts As an energy industry executive, John Ardill knows just how hard it is to turn natural resources into usable energy. But when he started looking for a new home a couple of years ago, energy efficiency was not his top criteria. He put his home on the market with the goal to find a modern house that was well made, efficient and low maintenance. What he found was Houstons first LEED Platinum single-family home, with a quartet of WaterFurnace geothermal heat pumps, a 7,000-gallon water cistern/filtration system and 140 solar panels forming brilliant blue rectangles on the roof. Designed by Adams Architects and built in 2007, the 3,789-square-foot Upper Kirby home has every green product and technique imaginable, from the energy, water and heating/air conditioning systems to its low-maintenance metal exterior, strategically placed windows, and even an electric car charging station in the garage. Joe and Gail Adams said they talk to every client about solar panels and energy efficiency, but few buy into it as readily and as deeply as this homes original owners. The reach of the residential green building movement in Houston has been mixed, with the citys LEED numbers lagging behind other Texas cities, but faring better in other programs such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Energy Star program, TopBuild Home Services Environments for Living program and the Green Built Gulf Coast program of the Greater Houston Builders Association. MORE DESIGN: Galleria-area home whimsically blends antique and contemporary LEED, a national program administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Homes and commercial buildings are awarded certification for things like renewable energy systems, water conservation and recycled materials. In the LEED program, Houston has 302 certified homes, a good bit behind other Texas cities such as Dallas (3,405), Austin (2,123) and San Antonio (539). In the EPAs Energy Star program though Houston shines, with 225,352 earning that certification since it began in 1997. That compares to the San Antonio-New Braunfels areas 49,395, Austins 37,882 and 181,248 in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area. In a local Green Built Gulf Coast program, some 18,000 homes have been built to green standards since it began in 2010. Nicole Keown, that programs committee chair, said two dozen local builders and remodelers are certified in that program now. Eric Johnson, executive vice president at TexEnergy Solutions/U.S. Ecologic, firms that consult on green building and conduct LEED inspections, said Texas leads the country overall in green building. One issue in Houston, he said, is that theres such a huge demand for housing that the extra status of LEED or any other certification isnt needed to get homes sold. That theres a payback for going green, though, has already been established. The University of Texas and the U.S. Green Building Council issued a report last year showing that more energy-efficient homes sell for an average of $25,000 more in Texas. Their survey included 3,800 green-certified homes that had sales prices 6 to 8 percent more than homes that werent. Ardill understands the value. We stepped into it a little unknowing and unaware that the house is so special. Its been a pleasant surprise, said Ardill, 48, who is the senior vice president for upstream acquisitions and divestments at ExxonMobil. He purchased the home in 2017, and since then, has been amazed at the savings in energy bills. His partner Maria Valdes, 45, is an energy consultant with Optimus LLC. Growing up in the U.K., theres a big focus on energy efficiency and the use of energy. Were taught from the time we can walk to turn lights off, Ardill said. Access to affordable energy directly impacts our quality of life its not something we can take for granted or afford to waste. We put gas in our cars, or for that matter, charge our electric cars, and its only when you know how much effort it takes to produce the gasoline or generate the electricty, you start using it a little more efficiently. Recently, the couple had the homes mechanical systems including the solar panels cleaned and theyre generating more power than they did before, leaving them with electric bills of about $50 a month. The cistern and water filtration systems provide all the water they need for cooking, cleaning, bathing and drinking. ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Father-daughter team restores historic cottages for city's newest design community So far, the couple hasnt bought electric cars like the previous owners did, but Ardill, who moved to the U.S. in 1998 and is now a U.S. citizen, said he will when the technology and infrastructure improves. He also works in a LEED Gold building in ExxonMobils campus in Spring. Retired attorney Dan Hedges and his late wife Adele, a former chief justice of the 14th Court of Appeals, were the original owners of Ardills house. Hedges said they were simply ready for a more energy-efficient and easier-to-maintain home after living in an older but similar-sized home in River Oaks. He said they were influenced by other energy-efficient homes they saw elsewhere and built the house to make a statement: that it could be done. In Memorial, David and Ann Ronn are proud of the home they constructed in 2007 when it was still difficult to find many of the green materials you can build with today. Then, the Ronns three daughters were all still home, and they needed more space. They considered buying a new home but ultimately decided to demolish their 1950s ranch and build a two-story home with 4,200 square feet but on the same footprint. The Ronns worked with architect Kathleen Reardon of RD Architecture to design an energy-efficient home, asking that they look at LEED rules for commercial buildings and see how much of it could apply to a single-family home. Before long they realized that the national green building council wanted to launch a residential component, and the Ronns jumped in and became the first certified single-family home in the city. As they came up with the rules we were involved in it that rule makes sense, that rule doesnt make sense, why would you do that? said David Ronn, 57 and an attorney. LEED certification comes on four levels, starting with a basic certification (40-49 points), then advancing to silver (50-59 points), gold (60-79 points) and platinum level (80 or more points) as points are accrued for a variety of things, from the type of wood on your exterior to energy-saving appliances, sourcing of materials and bigger mechanical items such as solar panels and geothermal heat pumps. The Ronns home was built with insulated concrete forms two panels of 2-inch polystyrene foam with 6 inches of concrete and rebar in the middle earning them many points toward their certification. Icynene spray foam insulation has made their attic no more than five degrees warmer than their home at any time of the year. Opting for lower ceilings no wasted dead space that has to be warmed or cooled mattered too. Part of green building is using your home most efficiently and using every inch of your house, David said. But it wasnt nearly as much about lowering the cost (of electricity) as it was about building something that would be sustainable. Its caring for the world, right? How do you build something that not only is going to be energy efficient, but is also going to be built in a way that deals with our environment the best way that we can? The Ronns, Reardon and their builder were figuring everything out the hard way, since most green construction materials then were aimed at commercial applications. David said his home probably cost 15 percent to 20 percent more, partly due to inaccessibility of materials. With recently replaced solar panels, he said his electric bill has been as low as $5 in the winter but more like $150 in warmer months. Reardon has designed other LEED certified homes since the Ronns residence was completed. One more recent project was the Spring Branch home of Charles and Susan Elder, influenced by Charles career at Hines, a developer thats long been devoted to healthier commercial buildings, including declaring 15 years ago that every building it creates would be LEED certified. Charles retired in 2016 as senior managing director for development in Hines southwest region. When the Elders launched a big home remodeling project, they quickly realized like the Ronns that what they really needed was a new home. They started from scratch, and the couple always knew they wanted LEED certification. LIVING IN HOUSTON: Get the most out of the city. Read about new trends, home decor, gardening and more at HoustonChronicle.com. We wanted LEED certified for a couple of reasons. First, I didnt want to bump into Gerry Hines and have him say I hear you have a new home, is it LEED certified? I wanted the answer to be yes, Elder said, only half joking. Gerry used to say if we dont do this who will? Susan and I felt that responsibility. He said that their home scored 34 points alone for energy efficiency and air quality. There also were points for rebuilding on the same site, for protecting the site from erosion or contamination during construction and for using drought-tolerant turf and plants. Our strategy was to underpromise and overachieve. We aimed for basic certification and our team was innovative to just get us into the LEED Silver category, Charles said. We proselytize all of the time. Welcome to our home, its LEED certified. Between the homes owned by the Ronns and Elders, Reardon learned a considerable amount about designing a home for LEED certification, and she acknowledges the learning curve is steep. Prompted by more green building they were seeing in the commercial market, Scott Frankel, co-president of the Frankel Building Group, said he and his staff spent more than two years figuring out how to build more environmentally friendly homes, developing their own list of suppliers and best practices as they shifted to building homes that would qualify for LEED certification starting in 2010. Frankel Building Group and McVaugh Custom Homes are the citys two LEED Power Builders, meaning that most of the homes they build are LEED certified. Frankel has registered 180 homes with the green building council and since 2015 has been a LEED Power Builder. Jim McVaugh, his firms CEO, created the Royal Oaks Courtyard Villas neighborhood as an 80-home community of all LEED-certified homes. So far, 52 homes have been built, and McVaugh said the energy savings are what sells the concept to buyers. In addition to using energy-efficient Lennox heating and cooling systems, he uses spray foam insulation. He said in a 3,000-square-foot home, traditional insulation might cost $3,000 compared to $9,000 for spray foam. The payback is quick, though, as homeowners often earn back the money through dramatically lower energy bills in one and a half to three years. Frankel knows that not many other builders are as committed to the LEED program as he is, but he believes being an early adapter will encourage others to look into green building. The challenge of being a builder who builds LEED is that the market isnt demanding it yet. Youre acting as a martyr, and its not appreciated yet, but I truly believe it will be, he said. diane.cowen@chron.com STAY IN THE KNOW: Get caught up on what's going on around Houston. From sports to news and entertainment, check out the newsletters we're offering. Former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper, one of the 14 presidential candidates who got seven minutes to speak at the California Democratic Party State Convention this weekend, wasn't surprised when the crowd booed him. And he has no regrets. "If we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive goals, socialism is not the answer," Hickenlooper said on Saturday afternoon in San Francisco. As many in the crowd of 4,500 jeered, he added: "You know, if we're not careful, we're going to end up helping to reelect the worst president in American history." Referring to Medicare-for-all, Hickenlooper said: "We shouldn't try to achieve universal coverage by removing private insurance from over 150 million Americans." Speaking about the Green New Deal, he added, "We should not try to tackle climate change by guaranteeing every American a government job." Hickenlooper's remarks evoked another Democratic presidential candidate's intentionally provocative speech 27 years ago. In May 1992, Bill Clinton chastised hip-hop artist Sister Souljah for suggesting that killing white police officers might not be so bad in the wake of the Los Angeles riots. Speaking at a convention organized by Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition, the then-governor of Arkansas said: "If you took the words 'white' and 'black' and reversed them, you might think David Duke was giving that speech. We have an obligation, all of us, to call attention to prejudice whenever we see it." A Sister Souljah Moment has become shorthand for when a candidate directly challenges a core constituency in their party. Clinton, of course, did not invent this. At the 1990 California Democratic Party convention, for instance, a candidate for governor touted her support for the death penalty knowing she would get booed. She used the clip in commercials that autumn to reassure independent voters that she wouldn't be cowed by the left. Hickenlooper called me on Sunday as he crossed the Bay Bridge to attend services at a black church in Oakland. "There's certainly a liberal element that shows up at these state conventions, so I wasn't surprised. I was aware that there might be some pushback," he said. "I was careful not to call any of the other candidates socialists. What I was trying to do is make sure that we recognize - all of us, all 23 candidates - that it's our responsibility to define who we are but also who we are not. The Republicans are going to use this against us, and we have to draw a clear line that we are not socialists. . . . Is guaranteeing everyone a federal job socialism? We can debate that, but certainly I guarantee you that Republicans are going to call it socialism." Taking the stage immediately after Hickenlooper walked off, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee took an unmistakable shot. "I am a governor who doesn't think we should be ashamed of our progressive values," he said. The crowd roared. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the only candidate in the 2020 field who has identified as a democratic socialist, spoke to the party convention on Sunday. He didn't mention Hickenlooper or use the word socialism, but he said that there can be "no middle ground" when it comes to pulling U.S. troops out of wars, lowering prescription drug prices and enacting universal health care. "We cannot go back to the old ways," Sanders said. Despite his popularity in Colorado, and eight years as the chief executive of a purple battleground state, Hickenlooper has struggled to break beyond 1 percent in the national polls. But Hickenlooper is gambling his candidacy on the assumption that the nominee won't be determined by far-left activists in San Francisco. The 67-year-old is a self-made millionaire. Laid off as a geologist in the 1980s, he started a successful brewpub that helped revitalize a downtown neighborhood and then expanded. In 2003, he became mayor of Denver. He was elected governor in 2010 and reelected in 2014, despite Republican waves both years. This isn't some academic debate. Accusing Democrats of falling under the spell of socialism has become one of Trump's favorite lines on the trail. Gallup polling released last month showed that 43 percent of U.S. adults say socialism would be a good thing for the country, while 51 percent say it would be bad. The survey found that 47 percent of Americans said they would vote for a qualified presidential candidate who is a socialist. Last summer, another Gallup poll revealed that Democrats hold a more positive image of socialism than capitalism for the first time: 57 percent of self-identified Democrats have a favorable view of socialism while only 47 percent see capitalism positively. This delta is driven mainly by young people. Overall, a 51 percent majority of all Americans aged 18 to 29 see socialism positively. Only 45 percent of that cohort feels positively about capitalism, down 12 points from 2010. Public opinion research and interviews with voters have revealed that the term means different things to different people, and that its perceived definition has changed over time. Generations ago, people understood socialism to mean government control over the means of production. Nowadays, many see it as something akin to social equality. But it remains overwhelmingly unpopular with Republicans and many older people. "There's an awful lot of baggage in this country attached to the word socialism," Hickenlooper said. "Those of us who grew up in the Cold War saw firsthand the slow, continuous deterioration of the quality of life of people that lived under socialism and communism. That's an experience that some of the younger Americans haven't had." Hickenlooper said young people are also understandably hungry for dramatic change because they have been let down by society. "You've got to remember that 65 to 70 percent of our kids are never going to get a four-year degree," he said. "That's been true for 40 years. We have to recognize that we haven't been giving them the skills that they're going to need to compete in this new economy." I asked Hickenlooper if he sees Medicare-for-all and the Green New Deal as socialist ideas. "Well, I think they're massive government expansions," he said. "Those are the kinds of things that Republicans will try to turn into 'socialism.' They're going to call it 'socialism,' and they're going to say this is taking away the freedom and independence of the individual. They're going to try and twist it in every way they can because that's about the only card they're left holding as long as they're still supporting Trump." But are the Republicans correct on that point? "Well, it depends," Hickenlooper replied. "If you're going to guarantee everybody a job and that's a basic fundamental characteristic [of your economy], you're certainly moving toward socialism." Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, has long identified as a democratic socialist. "Donald Trump is going to say that about every single candidate in the field, whether you're Kamala Harris or Beto O'Rourke or Pete Buttigieg," Faiz Shakir, Sanders's campaign manager, told Bloomberg News last week. "The only difference is that Bernie Sanders is going to lean into it. He'll talk about the corporate socialism of Trump." While Sanders seldom uses the s-word of his own volition anymore, he continues to vigorously critique the failures of capitalism."We must understand that unfettered capitalism and the greed of corporate America are destroying the moral and economic fabric of this country, deepening the very anxieties that Mr. Trump appealed to in 2016," the senator wrote in an op-ed for Monday's New York Times. "We are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world and, according to Trump, the economy is 'booming.' Yet most Americans have little or no savings and live paycheck to paycheck. . . . If we are to defeat Mr. Trump, we must do more than focus on his personality and reactionary policies." Hickenlooper said he shares the same goals as many of the people who jeered him, and he thinks his approach - which includes trying to work with Republicans to seek bipartisan consensus - can accomplish what they want more effectively. "Most Democrats share this notion of universal coverage. Most Democrats really understand the urgency of climate change. But I think we'll get to better solutions faster by recognizing that big, massive government expansions are not going to be as successful," he said in our interview. "We're in a national crisis of division, and Trump is fueling it but he's not the cause of it," he added. "He's the symptom. He's not the disease. My whole point is that I'm the one person who's actually done all the progressive things the other people are talking about. As such, I think I can I can win in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan. But, almost more importantly, I've demonstrated that after we beat Trump, I can bring people together. We've got a national vision for climate change and a national vision for universal health care that we can get to rapidly with relatively modest investments. A lot of what we've done in Colorado is a template of what will work nationally." Hickenlooper pinpoints 1980, the year Ronald Reagan was elected president, as "an inflection point" that sent America on the path toward today's "crisis of division." This weekend's convention took place at the George R. Moscone Convention Center, which was named for the murdered San Francisco mayor and which also hosted the 1984 Democratic National Convention, where Walter Mondale declared so self-destructively that he would raise taxes if he defeated Reagan. Mondale carried only his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Hickenlooper is determined not to repeat the mistakes that have made Democrats unelectable in the past. That's partly why running to save capitalism for future generations has become a central rationale for his candidacy. "From 1946 to 1980, literally almost every person in this country doubled their income. Since then, roughly half of Americans have had no increase and, if anything, have lost ground," Hickenlooper said. "The shrinking, some would say the evisceration, of the middle class is a real concern. . . . Our system historically has been a place where a middle class has not only security but opportunity. If people could get a hold of that latter, they could pull themselves up. That's no longer the case." The governor said it's crucial to raise the minimum wage, expand the earned income tax credit and invest in community colleges to improve skills-based training. But he's calling for more than incremental fixes. "In my first term as governor, we had wildfires, floods and the [movie theater] shooting in Aurora," Hickenlooper recalled. "One of the things I learned is if someone has lost everything, you can't go back to people and say we're going to rebuild it back the way it was. That's not going to be sufficient to inspire them to recover and to be resilient. So what I said during those disasters, and what I say in terms of the damage that Trump has done, is that we're going to rebuild and be much better than we were back then. . . . A Hickenlooper presidency is really kind of bringing a whole different approach to a lot of these issues." As with several of his Democratic rivals, antitrust has become a focus. Hickenlooper faults the Reagan administration for taking steps in 1981 to scale back enforcement of the antitrust laws, which led to an era of consolidation that he believes has hurt small businesses. He endorses collecting data and looking at whether the biggest technology companies have too much power, but he says the problem is bigger than tech. "Capitalism will only work if you've got open, fair and competitive markets to be sure that we get the best choices at the lowest prices," Hickenlooper said. "Over 80 percent of hardware sales are from two companies. No wonder people aren't starting hardware stores or neighborhood stores on Main Street. These consolidations are happening in so many industries. We get distracted by saying, 'What about Google and what about Amazon?' Those are legitimate questions to be asking, but I think in a broader sense, we need to ask: How do we get more start-ups? For the last 20-plus years, every year there have been fewer businesses started than in the previous year. That's not healthy for capitalism." Colorado is a must-win state for Democrats in 2020, and Hickenlooper does not think someone who gets defined as a socialist can prevail there. Geography might be a factor that helps explain why Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who served as Hickenlooper's chief of staff when he was mayor of Denver, has also made opposition to socialism part of his presidential bid. Bennet likes to point out that he stood to applaud Trump during the State of the Union when the president declared that America will never be a socialist country. "When he said we're never going to be a socialist country, I was the first Democrat out of their chair," Bennet said at a March house party in New Hampshire. "I didn't know this at the time, but Bernie is sitting right behind me and he's sitting in his chair scowling while I'm standing up and applauding. ... The reason I was on my feet is that I'm not going to let him disqualify us that way. I know what he's trying to do. . . . I want to show that Democrats don't feel that way. Most Democrats don't." If Hickenlooper was trying to get attention, his gambit worked. He generated significant cable conversation on Sunday. It was a hot topic during the roundtable on CNN's "State of the Union," for example. Former Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, the liberal who won an upset in last year's Democratic primary to be Florida governor but lost the general election to Ron DeSantis, criticized Hickenlooper for "parroting a Republican trope." "There is not a single Democrat . . . who is running as a socialist," said Gillum, who campaigned with Sanders in the Sunshine State. "Social democracy is different than socialism." "It was an important statement to make," countered Joe Lockhart, who was White House press secretary for Clinton. "There are some people in the Democratic Party who believe in socialism. A very small number. If the Republicans are able to brand a Democrat as a socialist, then they'll be very successful. None of them are, but I give Hickenlooper credit for going in and saying that's not right. He may not have said it precisely right, but it is an important message." The leading liberal candidates - including Sanders and Elizabeth Warren - used their speeches in San Francisco to take digs at Joe Biden, who continues to lead in early national polls and skipped the convention to campaign in Ohio. "Some say that if we just calm down, the Republicans will come to their senses," Warren said, referring to the former vice president. "But our country is in a crisis. The time for small ideas is over." "Leftist candidates and activists have concluded they can no longer wait for Biden to fade on his own, as some once hoped," the Post's Sean Sullivan reported from San Francisco. "Nor can they count on Democratic congressional leaders to fight Trump with all the tools at their disposal, without some prodding. . . . But the power of their newly emboldened movement remains unclear. Even here in deep blue California, it faces hurdles. Late Saturday, the state party overwhelmingly elected a labor leader from the mainstream ranks of the party as its new chairman. He defeated a liberal activist backed by many Sanders supporters. "Interviews with current and former elected officials, strategists and donors in California revealed a relatively high level of confidence in Biden's ability to defeat Trump. Many Democrats see that as the most important quality in a candidate. 'This is not a normal presidential election,' said former U.S. senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who called beating Trump a 'moral imperative.' Asked who fits that bill, she replied, 'I think the only one right now is Joe.' That could change with time, said Boxer, who has not endorsed a candidate." "Bernie's clout in the party might be overrated," The Post's Dave Weigel wrote in his list of takeaways from the weekend: "Kamala Harris doesn't have California locked up . . . but most other candidates can't compete for it. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Rep. Eric Swalwell - whose district was a short 30-minute BART ride away - had the most distracted crowds. . . . Pete Buttigieg did well without surprising anyone. . . . Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota out-hustled a number of stronger-polling candidates, appearing at every caucus and reception she could, but didn't leave with one strong theme. "Just a couple of candidates performed in a way that had Democrats talking about a possible breakout: Cory Booker and Jay Inslee. The senator from New Jersey, one of the most dramatic orators in the party, used his speech to declare 'the normalization' of gun violence 'the challenge of our generation,' and got a standing ovation. "Warren's very good month was capped off by a series of Bay Area coups. She drew the largest crowd of her campaign in Oakland, where at least 6,000 people came to hear her, and thousands waited in line to get a photo with her. . . . She got the best reception at the convention on Saturday, with a speech that subtly but unmistakably pitched her as the alternative to a race-to-the-middle Biden candidacy." Harris has fallen out of the top tier of 2020 candidates. The Los Angeles Times's Melanie Mason and Mark Z. Barabak reported: "There is a prevalent sense that for all her seeming potential, California's charismatic U.S. senator has fallen short of expectation. The disappointment, observers say, stems in part from Harris' failure to present a compelling case for her candidacy beyond her background as a prosecutor, her buoyant personality and a deep contempt - shared by others in the contest - for Trump. . . . Backers say Harris' slow-and-steady approach is the right one for this early stage of the campaign, arguing that consistency on the trail and fundraising matter more than catchy sound bites or viral moments." Strapped for cash, several Democratic hopefuls who talked a big game about rejecting big money are now going hat in hand to Wall Street, Hollywood and Silicon Valley. The Post's Michelle Ye Hee Lee reported: "Last month in Manhattan, Beto O'Rourke held a private reception for supporters who had paid the maximum amount to his campaign or brought in as much as $25,000 by persuading others to do the same. It was the first such fundraiser of O'Rourke's presidential bid - and a contrast from the early days of his campaign, when he emphasized that he had 'no large-dollar fundraisers planned, and I don't plan to do them.' . . . Many of the candidates previously had held a handful of high-dollar fundraisers or avoided them altogether. . . . But after a disappointing fundraising haul in the first quarter of the year, and as the primary drags on with no clear front-runner, many of the candidates are turning their focus to wealthy donors." Several candidates held fundraisers in the Bay Area over the weekend, including Buttigieg, Gillibrand and Klobuchar. Booker, Gillibrand and Klobuchar also recently schmoozed with the "Hillblazers," who raised at least $100,000 for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, at a gathering at the D.C. home of Esther Coopersmith. And on Wall Street, a group of Democratic donors recently met with Buttigieg. In New York, a group of wealthy and prominent Democratic donors recently opened their homes and offices in Manhattan to host private "salons" with O'Rourke, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Booker and Bennet. "Many of those donors have made maximum donations to multiple candidates," Lee reports. "One of those donors is Robert Wolf, a former investment banker and an Obama supporter. He said he has met with about a dozen candidates, which included a recent one-on-one with O'Rourke, and has given money to 10 presidential contenders." During a town hall on Fox News on Sunday night, Gillibrand attacked the network for spreading a "false narrative" about abortion rights.Politico's Elena Schneider reports: "'We want women to have a seat at the table,' Gillibrand said. At that, [Chris] Wallace jumped in and asked: 'What about men?' 'They're already there - do you not know?' Gillibrand said, greeted by one of the biggest rounds of applause of the night. 'It's not meant to be exclusionary, it's meant to be inclusionary,' she said. 'All right, we're not threatened,' Wallace responded." The DCCC policy that bars consultants from working for primary challengers may undermine women of color who are trying to emulate the success of rising stars like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York or Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. "Of the 50 longest-serving House Democrats, two-thirds are white and about the same share are men. Insurgents are often female, often young and often nonwhite," Jennifer Steinhauer notes in the New York Times. Wisconsin Democrats elected a longtime leader of the liberal group MoveOn.org to chair the state party. Madison native Ben Wikler held a string of national political positions within MoveOn, where he helped lead the successful organizing push to halt the repeal of Obamacare. (Wisconsin State Journal) In case you missed it: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he will not challenge Trump in the GOP primaries. Hogan's decision dashed the hopes of conservative Trump critics who envisioned the popular governor as a viable alternative to the president. But Hogan said he wanted to focus on his role as governor and as the incoming chair of the National Governors Association. "I have a commitment to the 6 million people of Maryland and a lot of work to do, things we haven't completed," Hogan told Bob Costa. But he also criticized the direction of the Republican Party, saying, "We need to have a bigger tent and find a way to get things done." WASHINGTON - A federal judge in Washington on Monday rejected a House lawsuit to block spending on President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall at the border with Mexico. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden of the District of Columbia denied a House request to temporarily stop spending on the wall saying the House lacked legal standing to sue the president for allegedly overstepping his power by diverting billions intended for other purposes to pay for it. "While the Constitution bestows upon Members of the House many powers, it does not grant them standing to hale the Executive Branch into court claiming a dilution of Congress's legislative authority," McFadden wrote in a 24-page decision, continuing, "The Court therefore lacks jurisdiction to hear the House's claims and will deny its motion." The decision is at odds with a May 24 ruling by a federal judge in California that temporarily blocked part of the plan because it was allegedly using money Congress never appropriated for that purpose. A central issue for both courts is whether diverting the funds is an illegal act that violates the constitutional separation of powers between government branches. Both challenges were brought shortly after the president declared a national emergency along the southern border, but the plaintiffs in California included border communities and environmental groups. The judge in Washington never reached the merits of the Democratic-led House's complaint, ruling instead that a single chamber of Congress had "several political arrows in its quiver" remaining to address disputes with a president, and could not show that it needed courts to intervene as "a last resort." McFadden granted that the case "presents a close question," and he added that his ruling "does not imply that (the full) Congress may never sue the Executive to protect its powers." Still, he said the Constitution provides the House other levers to use against the executive, including specifically denying funds, passing other legislation, conducting hearings and investigations, or overriding a president's veto. McFadden's order effectively kills the House suit, which sought to block the administration from tapping not only $1 billion already transferred from military pay and pensions accounts but also money from an emergency military construction fund that the administration said it intends to transfer but has not yet moved. McFadden's decision ran counter to a 2015 ruling that found the then GOP-led House could sue the Obama administration for allegedly spending on an Affordable Care Act program that Congress never approved, a ruling that would have marked the first time the House was able to challenge an administration in court. The case was settled before it withstood appeal. McFadden wrote that "Applying Burwell (the 2015 decision) to the facts here would clash with binding precedent holding that Congress may not invoke the courts' jurisdiction to attack the execution of federal laws." He added: "The Executive and Legislative Branches have resolved their spending disputes without enlisting courts' aid," he said, finding Congress had many other levers to deploy in its conflict with a president. "The House thus 'lack(s) support from precedent,' and 'historical practice appears to cut against (it) as well," he wrote. In a hearing last month, McFadden had said it was "problematic" whether the House had legal standing to sue as a single chamber of Congress and said that is a "significant issue in this case." On May 24, U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam, of the Northern District of California, said that the parties challenging Trump's actions in that case had a good chance of prevailing on their claims that the administration is acting illegally in shifting money from other programs to pay for the wall. Gilliam is a 2014 appointee of President Barack Obama. He ruled in response to lawsuits brought by the Sierra Club and the Southern Border Communities Coalition. The court in California ruled against using the already transferred funds and blocks projects slated for immediate construction. The court said it would come back with a ruling on the emergency military construction funds once the administration actually shifts them. The decision applies to wall segments around Yuma, Arizona, and El Paso, Texas. With some contracts already awarded for construction, Gilliam said that allowing work to go forward before the legal issues have been fully resolved could cause irreparable harm. He also said plaintiffs can come back to seek injunctions if the Trump administration announces additional projects at the border. A spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the California plaintiffs, said Gilliam's order remains in place. The Justice Department has argued that the funding dispute amounts to a political disagreement that should be settled outside of the legal system, suggesting that instead of suing, Congress could instead have passed a law explicitly saying that "no money shall be obligated" in any form to construct a border barrier. The House sued on April 5 in Washington to block Trump's plan to transfer $6.7 billion for a "big beautiful" wall he had promised during his campaign. Congress declined to fund it, and after a 35-day partial government shutdown, it appropriated $1.375 billion for border barriers. On the same day he signed the spending bill, Trump made his emergency declaration. The administration said added financing for the wall will include $3.6 billion diverted from Pentagon construction projects, $2.5 billion transferred from other defense programs into a military program to install counterdrug fencing at the border, and $600 million collected in enforcement and forfeiture actions by customs and treasury agencies. The law the administration invoked to shift funds allows transfers for "unforeseen" events. In his ruling, Gilliam said the government claim that the wall construction was unforeseen did not square with the president's many funding demands dating to early 2018 and even in the 2016 campaign. Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. POINTE DU HOC, France - Seventy-five years ago Thursday, a battalion of elite U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot promontory overlooking Omaha Beach, with nothing more than ropes and rickety ladders. As enemy gunfire and grenades rained down, picking them off as they climbed, the Rangers secured the strategic high ground and silence a small battery of long-range German guns that had been moved inland. The battle for Pointe du Hoc became of one the most heroic moments of the D-Day invasion. It was lionized by the legendary Hollywood film "The Longest Day" and by President Ronald Reagan, who stood on this hallowed ground to deliver one of his most famous speeches, extolling the bravery of the "Boys of Pointe du Hoc" on the 40th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in the world's history. But a little more than 3 miles down the windswept Normandy coastline, an archaeological dig on a vast swath of farmland is starting to tell another story about what took place that day. A World War II artifact collector and historian accidentally stumbled upon a massive German artillery installation that was buried after the invasion. His discovery, along with a trove of declassified U.S. and British military documents, threatens to alter the narrative of Pointe du Hoc and its importance as a military objective during the D-Day invasion. Only now are historians beginning to reckon with the implications. Depending on which is talking, the discovery of what is known as Maisy Battery either calls into question the wisdom of the entire Pointe du Hoc operation or is simply one more footnote in a war full of footnotes. One thing is certain: The mythology of Pointe du Hoc is firmly established. Those who challenge the story do so at their own peril. "Historians always shatter the idol, but let me tell you, when they do, they get a lot of pushback and angry emails in the middle of the night," said Rob Citino, the senior historian at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans who has written 10 books about the war and only recently learned about Maisy Battery. "Pointe du Hoc is such sacred ground, it's like bringing someone to Gettysburg and saying, 'Actually, there was a much bigger battle fought just a few miles away.' " The artifact collector and historian Gary Sterne has received nothing but pushback since he found a map at a military flea market 15 years ago that led him to the discovery of Maisy Battery, a complex that covers 144 acres 1 mile inland between Omaha and Utah beaches - the prime objectives of the U.S. invasion forces. He has published a two-volume, 1,160-page encyclopedia full of photographs, military documents and interviews with Army Rangers who climbed the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. His startling conclusion: The assault was unnecessary; the commander of the U.S. Army Ranger unit failed to follow orders, putting his men directly in harm's way; and U.S. military leaders should have targeted Maisy and its battery of heavy artillery guns instead of Pointe du Hoc, which the Germans had largely abandoned by the time of the Normandy invasion. "I have nothing but respect for the Rangers and what they did at Pointe du Hoc," Sterne said in a recent interview from his home in England. "It was truly heroic. But the facts are the facts." - - - Sterne has been collecting military memorabilia since he was child growing up near Manchester, England. It became a full-time pursuit after he purchased a home in Normandy. In 2004, he traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend one of the largest military flea markets in the world. Beneath one of the 5,000 tables set up there, Sterne spotted a cardboard box. Inside was the complete uniform of a U.S. Army soldier who had fought in WWII. Sterne bought it for $180. Inside one of the pockets was a map of Normandy. The map was marked with hand-drawn circles, each with an "X" in the middle, and the words: "Areas of High Resistance." Sterne was confused. He knew the precise locations of those areas. "I thought, 'There's nothing there. It's just fields,' " Sterne recalled. Back in Normandy, Sterne drove to the fields and started to walk through the tall grass. He came across a clearing and a large slab of concrete. At first he thought he had found the foundation of a building destroyed long ago. As he stepped off the slab, he tripped over a small chimney protruding from the concrete. He was standing on the roof of a building, not the floor. "I thought, hang on a minute," Sterne said. "It was a lightbulb moment." Sterne and his brother grabbed some shovels and began to dig. They unearthed a perfectly preserved, bombproof German ammunition bunker. He and his son, Dan, have been digging ever since, uncovering bunkers and barracks and large concrete gun placements. They discovered a field hospital, a command and control center, evidence that an SS squad was embedded at the battery and the skeleton of a German soldier. All of it was buried by Allied forces after the invasion and Maisy was lost to history. For nearly two years, Sterne kept his discovery a secret as he purchased dozens of tracts of land from their owners, quietly piecing together vast sections of Maisy for a World War II museum. When he went public with his findings in 2006 and opened the site to the public a year later, he said the backlash was ferocious. Other historians labeled him an opportunist, a fabulist, a "Mad Englishman." Sterne returned fire. He argued that Maisy, not Pointe du Hoc, should have been a primary target on D-Day. The guns at Maisy, he noted, were still firing three days after the invasion and capable of striking positions on Utah Beach, about 5 miles away. What he said next amounted to heresy in the military world. Based on previously secret intelligence and field reports he obtained from military archives in the United States and Britain, Sterne said the 2nd Ranger Battalion commander of the Pointe du Hoc mission, Lt. Col James Rudder, knew that the Germans had removed their guns from Pointe du Hoc as the D-Day invasion neared. When Rudder and his men reached the top of Pointe du Hoc on June 6, 1944, the guns were gone, some of them replaced with long wooden telephone poles resembling artillery cannons. The real guns had been moved inland. The Rangers found five guns that had been moved from Pointe du Hoc that morning and disabled them with thermite grenades. Sterne went further. He said Rudder jeopardized the lives of his men by disobeying orders. The declassified orders show that the 2nd Ranger Battalion was tasked with attacking Pointe du Hoc, moving inland and knocking out the German artillery batteries at Grandcamp and Maisy. The orders, issued March 26, 1944, directed Rudder's Rangers to "capture enemy batteries at GRANDCAMP and MAISY" after taking Pointe du Hoc. Instead, Rudder attacked Pointe du Hoc, despite the reports documenting that the guns were being moved, and he remained in the area without advancing to Maisy. He later said he was ordered to hold the Grandcamp-Vierville Highway to prevent a German counterattack. But Sterne said he could find no orders in the thousands of records he has reviewed directing Rudder to remain at Pointe du Hoc and hold that highway. Of the Rangers who served under Rudder during the invasion, 77 were killed, 152 were wounded and 38 were listed as missing in action. Rudder, who died in 1970, went on to become a war hero, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross, and was later appointed president of Texas A&M University. One of the Rangers who said he fought under Rudder, Lt. George Klein, went on to become a world-famous narrator of the Pointe du Hoc story. Klein frequently lectured about the assault, telling audiences that he was wounded by a German bayonet and had to be evacuated. During the 73rd anniversary of the invasion, Klein traveled to Normandy, where he was feted as "one of the great celebrities of the battle." He signed autographs. He posed for pictures. He planted trees in Normandy villages. But there was a problem: Klein never fought at Pointe du Hoc. Sterne said Klein visited Maisy during one summer and told Sterne that "you have your history all wrong." Sterne had written a book by then called "Cover Up at Omaha Beach." It was a based on interviews Sterne had conducted with Rangers who fought at Pointe du Hoc. Sterne said he asked Klein about the role he played that day. Klein told him he had destroyed a gun pit at Pointe du Hoc. But records show that the gun pit had been destroyed months earlier. Klein said he was a lieutenant in F Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. But F Company already had a full complement of lieutenants. Klein could not recall details of the battle. The Rangers Sterne had interviewed could never forget. Klein said he returned to his original artillery unit after he was wounded. Sterne and other historians found the papers documenting the activities of that artillery unit during D-Day. Klein and his unit were in Ireland on June 6, 1944. Klein eventually admitted that he had fabricated his military past and the tales he told about the attack. The story was picked up by news outlets around the world. Klein, like Maisy, faded into history. Now 98 and living in Illinois, he did not return calls for comment. - - - Each year, nearly 1 million tourists descend upon Normandy, many of them from the United States. Tour guides escort them to Omaha and Utah beaches, the American Cemetery and historic military sites, such as the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. The piece de resistance of any tour is Pointe du Hoc. Adrian Ridley-Jones, 63, a top-rated battlefield guide in Normandy, has recently added a new site to his tour: Maisy Battery. The former signal officer in the British Army said he has come to appreciate the significance of the Maisy discovery and the documents Sterne has obtained. It has become increasingly clear to him that as D-Day approached, the need to take Pointe du Hoc diminished. The guns were gone, the Germans were changing their positions and the Pointe du Hoc mission would be perilous. He wonders why Rudder didn't alert his commanders that the guns were being removed from Pointe du Hoc and didn't urge them to make Maisy and Grandcamp the primary targets instead. Rudder never told his men that the guns had been removed, either. "As archaeological evidence becomes clearer, history gets rewritten," Ridley-Jones said. "Problems come as you do this. You upset preconceived ideas and entrenched positions. Instead of people looking at this dispassionately, it becomes a political hot potato." Ridley-Jones is careful to note the bravery of the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. "If it wasn't for the Americans, we wouldn't have won the war," he said. "It was indeed a symbiotic relationship, and I am in no way denigrating them. " World War II historians note that the Germans built numerous batteries along the coast as part of Hitler's Atlantic Wall. Even though there were reports that the guns at Pointe du Hoc were being moved, the promontory remained a strategic position, occupying the high ground above Omaha Beach, where the Americans suffered their heaviest losses of the landing. A plan the size of the D-Day invasion, code-named "Operation Overlord," is not easily changed. "The fog of war was never foggier than on the morning of June 6, 1944," said Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has written a three-volume history of World War II. "What is the overall impact on Operation Overlord and the specific events on the morning of June 6, 1944? Pretty minimal. There were a lot of moving parts; some of them were moving, and some of them were moving sideways. Did it cause substantial degradation of the operation? I don't think so." Citino, the senior historian at the World War II museum in New Orleans, has been lecturing about Pointe du Hoc for 35 years. It's a story that captures the imagination of everyone who hears it. "What you have at Maisy is little harder to explain," Citino said. "It's interesting, and it's wonderful to see the outlines of a military base, but you can't take a little kid there and say, 'Look, Johnny, the Rangers scaled those cliffs with nothing but rope.' " Citino acknowledged that Maisy was an important installation for the Germans during D-Day, and U.S. military commanders might have considered placing it higher on their list of targets. The discovery, he said, is starting to change the narrative of what happened 75 years ago. But changing history takes time. "We are learning all the time and that's the best thing about the Maisy battery story," Citino said. "Just below the surface, there are any number of buried stories that will tantalize us just as much as the Maisy Battery story. It clearly played a role in D-Day, and I never heard about it until five years ago. And I've been studying this all my life." The annual start of hurricane season casts a shadow of dread over coastal sections of the United States. People fret over the next Big One, even as communities struggle to recover from the last one. For some communities, the devastation remains an open wound, as in Florida's Panama City, slammed by Hurricane Michael in October. Even years later, many towns still bear the scars, physical or psychological. GALVESTON It's been nearly 11 years since Hurricane Ike smashed Murdochs gift shop to splinters in Galveston while devastating homes on the Texas island and wiping away beaches that were the lifeblood of its tourism economy. The shop was rebuilt on its stilts about a year later and today is more successful than ever, co-owner Todd Flores said. "It was hard, but we had a lot of people helping us," Flores said of the rebuilding, which was sped by a loan from a local bank when insurance money was slow in coming. "We knew this is what we wanted to do." For subscribers: Before the next hurricane, plan to protect most vulnerable people The hurricane's 110 mph (177 kph) winds and 15-foot (4.6-meter) storm surge damaged 80% of Galveston's homes. Its population of 55,000 dropped by about 10,000. The population has bounced back, but the demographics shifted. Many of those who lived in public housing that was destroyed never came back. That meant Galveston lost many African American families, changing the city's character, said Leon Phillips, president of the Galveston Coalition for Justice. "When you displace that many people in one fell swoop, that leaves very little to ... keep the history of African Americans on this island," Phillips said. Phillips has pushed for a full rebuilding of Galveston's four public housing complexes against the resistance of some residents who say they are a haven for poverty. Only half of the lost units have been rebuilt, but the mayor is committed to finishing the job. "In my mind, the city was too slow to respond to the underserved or those who couldn't raise Cain and get answers," Mayor Jim Yarbrough said. Between 2008, when Ike hit, and 2015, Galveston's black population dropped 9%. But it has increased in the past few years. THE PREDICTION: 'Average' hurricane season arrives; residents reminded to get ready Meanwhile, Galveston has spent more than $200 million to largely restore its infrastructure, improving storm drainage and building a $75 million wastewater treatment plant. Last year the Gulf Coast city had its best year on record, with 7.2 million visitors. "The city is definitely doing really well," said Keith Bassett, who rebuilt and consolidated his two stores that were flooded in Galveston's historic downtown. "Based upon what happened after Hurricane Ike, you never would have believed we would be at this point." Hurricane season is a reminder that it's only a matter of time before the next one. A hurricane in 1900 killed 6,000 Galveston residents. Murdochs has been rebuilt five times since it opened in 1910 inside a bathhouse. "You don't really breathe until November," Flores said. Associated Press writer Juan A. Lozano PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA Janelle Crosby steps out of the cramped recreational vehicle where she has lived since Hurricane Michael ripped apart her world more than seven months ago. More than a half-dozen friends and relatives live in three domed tents near the front of the RV, and a daughter is just feet away in Crosby's former home, an old trailer that was split open by trees. A homeless man lives in a tent on the other side of the RV; Crosby and her husband, Wilbur, let him stay on their little plot of property because he had nowhere else to go. Crosby, 55, rode out the Category 5 storm at a hotel and feels fortunate, despite her living conditions and poor health she has breast cancer because no close friends or family died in Michael. Yet she is terrified that hurricane season has begun and her Florida Panhandle community still is in ruins. "I've already lost everything once. We can't do it again. I can't. I'm not strong enough. A lot of these people aren't," Crosby said over the drone of a gasoline-powered generator. It's hard to imagine what another hurricane would do to Crosby's part of the Panhandle, where she lives near Panama City in Springfield. Both cities are in Bay County, where 25 people were killed as Michael blew ashore with winds of 160 mph (257 kph). About 70% of the county's homes were damaged or destroyed, and some 20,000 people were displaced. Three schools remain closed because of damage, as do many businesses and apartment buildings. Officials estimate 13% of the county's 185,000 residents simply left. The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided Crosby and her husband $1,300 in aid and offered a temporary condominium nearly 15 miles (24 kilometers) away in Panama City Beach, she said. The family declined the housing because her husband didn't have transportation to get to his job at a transmission shop, Crosby said. So the couple remains in the camper, shooing away the occasional rat and pooling resources with the tent dwellers. "If one of us has generator gas, we all have a fan, or if we have propane, we all get to cook that night," she said. "If not, we get out here and make fires and cook. We're surviving." They're also praying there's not another hurricane anytime soon. "I don't want to live through another," she said. "I don't want to ever witness what we witnessed. It was just terrifying." Associated Press writer Jay Reeves NICHOLS, SOUTH CAROLINA Thomas Lee tenses up whenever a forecaster mentions trouble in the tropics. He dreads a third round of flooding from hurricane-swollen rivers, which might mean finally telling his South Carolina hometown of 70 years goodbye. That's after devastating flooding from Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and again from Hurricane Florence in 2018. When the first drops of rain from Florence fell last September, Lee considered leaving. But exactly 238 days later, he put the last coat of bright yellow paint on his walls, covering the 2018 high-water mark, several inches above the 2016 line. Some $13,000 later all out of his own pocket for now his house is home again, while the town of a few hundred souls struggles to stay alive. "These are my roots," Lee said, pointing to a nearly collapsed structure next door where he was born in 1949. Nichols, 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the sea, lost more than half its businesses and a third of its homes in 2016 and shrank some more after 2018, Town Administrator Sandee Rogers said. Along Nichols' two-lane main drag, every building is boarded up. Many houses abandoned in 2016 are collapsing. Its bustling core gone, Nichols now tries to attract residents with its proximity to the coast, Rogers said. "It's real small-town America, but close to other things," Rogers said. "We can't give up on small-town America." Some research suggests global warming is increasing the intensity of rains across the Southeast. A $1.5 million federal grant will study Nichols' topography and flow to see how to prevent flooding, but the results won't be in in time to make any difference this season. "We're on pins and needles now," Rogers said. Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA Siblings Patty and John Vogt remember brisk traffic on Louisiana Highway 23 that brought oilfield workers to their roadside produce business. Grocery stores and farmers markets were regular customers for the citrus they grew in Plaquemines Parish. "Our business was really blooming," Patty recalled as she sat next to her brother in a cavernous red barn behind their produce stand and next to a small orchard. "We had a lot of customers. We delivered to wholesalers, fruit stands, stores." Then came Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It blew ashore in Plaquemines Parish on its way to New Orleans, where it caused a catastrophe. In its aftermath, Patty managed to salvage and rebuild the 60-foot (18-meter) contraption that washes, rinses and dries their harvest. But their citrus business never fully recovered. She once tended 5,000 trees. Now, it's about 1,000. The 200 citrus producers in Plaquemines before Katrina hit dwindled to 60 by 2017, according to the Louisiana State University AgCenter. Patty, 65, said she is determined to continue their family business of four generations but always frets when hurricane season nears. "Everybody does that's been totally wiped out," said Patty, whose business has also been hurt by drop-offs in customers as a result of low oil prices and the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. John, 68, reminisced about the competition at the annual parish Orange Festival. "There used to be eight, 10, maybe 12 vendors at one time selling oranges," he said. "Now, you got one," the brother and sister said, almost in unison. "Us." -- Associated Press writer Kevin McGill HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA Nearly 27 years after Hurricane Andrew cut a path of destruction south of Miami, Karon Grunwell is still overcome with sadness when she thinks about how the Category 5 storm forever changed her hometown. In 1992, Homestead was a sleepy agricultural town bordered by the Everglades and large farms planted with winter tomatoes and other crops. It was also the site of Homestead Air Force Base. Now Homestead is full of sprawling gated developments where many residents commute 40 miles (60 kilometers) north to Miami with no memory of the monster storm. Grunwell still lives in the sturdy concrete block home where she and her family rode out the storm in the early morning darkness of Aug. 12. Thousands of homes and businesses in the town of about 27,000 were leveled. "The Air Force base was totally destroyed. Andrew caused a major impact to schools, grocery stores, retail businesses. And it caused huge economic problems for just your everyday people," Grunwell said. "The vegetation has come back, but it's not anything like it was." "I still cry when I talk about it," she said. Families who had lived in the area for generations got their insurance payouts and moved away. Many went to neighboring Broward County. Grunwell, who was a manager for the Postal Service, said there were 35,000 change-of-address forms processed for the towns of Homestead, nearby Florida City and Princeton. Jeff Blakley, 69, remembers watching the exodus while pulling 12-hour shifts as a BellSouth lineman, repairing telephone lines for the ravaged area. "As I went home in the evenings, I remember seeing a solid line of cars heading north," Blakley said. "It was bumper-to-bumper, and it was heartbreaking because you would see cars with everything they owned. Stuff was coming out the windows and mattresses were strapped to the roof. And they were just leaving because the devastation was so horrific." The Air Force base was downsized, its population going from 5,123 before Andrew to 466 in 2000. The storm stunted Homestead's growth rate in the 1990s, but it surged in the early 2000s as land sold by departing farmers was transformed into housing developments. The town now has about 70,000 people. But for hurricane survivors, "the stuff will not go away for quite some time," Grunwell said. "You will keep remembering how things were." Associated Press writer Freida Frisaro WASHINGTON - Jereme P. Whiteman rose quickly through the Department of Veterans Affairs, reaching the top grade on the main employee classification scale in only seven years. But his future within VA appears stymied. He's become a rebel within the department's establishment - a whistleblower who says the scandals that shamed the department during the Obama administration haven't stopped. Whiteman, VA's national director of clinic practice management and a former Marine, has accused the department under President Donald Trump of having "a secret VA wait list" for veterans seeking health care. It's starkly reminiscent of the tsunami-level scandal that broke in 2014 over the coverup of long patient wait times. That coverup included falsifying records to indicate the wait for medical service was shorter than it really was. Congress went ballistic, and the controversy drove then-VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, a former Army general and chief of staff, from office. Whiteman said figures from internal reports indicate the actual number of veterans waiting for VA health care could be much higher than the numbers VA makes publicly available. Whiteman provided copies of the internal reports to The Washington Post. From May 1, 2018, through May 1, 2019, the monthly average on the department's public electronic wait list (EWL) was 14,971. During that period, the monthly average on the internal electronic wait list was 44,478. In a Wednesday night email to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie, Whiteman said, "I discovered a secret VA wait list" in September and that "the agency has taken steps to conceal this wait list from the public." He warned Wilkie this could hurt the agency "unless swift actions are taken to properly address my concerns." Through its Veterans Health Administration, the department runs 1,250 health-care facilities, serving 9 million veterans annually. VA press secretary Curt Cashour said Whiteman's allegations are false. Cashour said VA's electronic wait list has two components - clinical and administrative. He said the clinical list - the public list - tracks the number of veterans waiting for medical treatment. Of the other list, he said "the administrative component of the EWL has nothing to do with waits for medical treatment and tracks routine actions, such as facility and provider transfer requests." Cashour said VA does not publicly post the administrative component of the EWL "because it has nothing to do with waits for medical treatment and would only create confusion." Whiteman punched back, telling Wilkie that Cashour's statement to The Post was "incredibly disingenuous." Whiteman said any veteran waiting for treatment should be included on the public list, including veterans waiting for VA-funded care by private providers or veterans waiting to be transferred to another facility. Unlike many federal whistleblowers, Whiteman went public while still on the job. Whiteman went through his chain of command months before becoming frustrated and contacting The Post's Federal Insider. Whiteman, 39, said he rose to GS-15, the top of the General Schedule, last year, after just seven years as a federal civilian, all with VA. The Temple Hills, Maryland, resident started as a GS-7, doing pharmacy billing. Before joining VA, he was a Marine for eight years, leaving as a staff sergeant working on jet weapons systems. His pride in that service is evident from his glass-enclosed uniform displayed on his office wall, along with other Marine and family decorations in his windowless spot on the eighth floor of VA's Central Office, across Lafayette Square from the White House. In a September email to his boss, Susan Kirsh, the acting assistant deputy undersecretary for health for access to care, and her boss, Steven Lieberman, VA's acting principal deputy undersecretary for health, Whiteman said the discrepancies in public and internal wait list numbers "could be seen as VA hiding a very large wait list of Veterans waiting extremely long for care." Whiteman was so disappointed in the way leadership handled his concerns that he filed a verbal complaint, under oath, about the discrepancies with the department's Office of the Medical Inspector. He asked the office to investigate circumstances for patients who died while on the wait list to determine whether the deaths were connected to wait times. Cashour said the medical inspector's office found the allegations unsubstantiated. In the email to Wilkie, however, Whiteman said the medical inspector never followed up with him beyond his initial statement. Whiteman has filed official complaints charging VA with retaliation against him because of his whistleblowing. In an April 27 email, Whiteman told VA's whistleblower protection office that one example of retribution followed the successful deployment of a text messaging reminder system that led to a significant reduction in the number of missed medical appointments, saving an estimated $112 million annually. "I lead a team of four VA employees on this project," he wrote in an email to the whistleblower office. "I was the only one of the four who did not get an award for this project. I believe this was retaliation for my Whistleblower activity." Cashour said the department does not tolerate retaliation, but he did not comment on this allegation. Whiteman also filed a retaliation complaint in an April 29 email to the Office of Special Counsel. This independent federal office protects federal whistleblowers. Despite the name, it is not led by or related to Robert Mueller, who led a special counsel investigation into Russia's actions in support of Trump's candidacy. Although Whiteman is a GS-15, his email to the special counsel office said he was subjected to "numerous undesirable work assignments" from Kirsh, including "reporting to a lower grade GS-11 employee. . . . I find this degrading and humiliating, yet I do the work as directed." Cashour said, "Whiteman has always reported to someone above the GS-15 level." Whiteman said that is on paper, not in reality. Married and the father of five, Whiteman plans to remain at VA, considering it the best place in the federal government for him as a health-care administrator. But his work life is no longer the same. "It's well known within headquarters that I am whistleblowing," he said. "And I see it when I walk down the halls. People, you know, don't look at me, they don't make eye contact with me." Because of his disclosures, "There's no more upward mobility for me at this point." Whiteman said. "I consider myself probably stalled." The station is anticipated to generate $2.5 million in fare revenue, the study said. An analysis of market and ridership anticipates an average of 1,040 people per day would board the train at a Niles stop by 2040. A new station will add about two minutes of travel time for commuters on the Milwaukee District North line, but is not expected to significantly affect boardings at the nearby Morton Grove and Edgebrook stations, according to the study. Published June 3, 2019 Fifth of six parts Pastor Ruben Garcia was arrested nearly two years ago in Hays County, prosecuted on charges of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and prohibited by a judge from being alone with children. But the preacher kept his job at a Southern Baptist church. Garcia, 60, sang hymns and taught kids about the Lord at Betania Baptist Church in Austin, a church so small that Sunday services feel more like a family gathering. Ruben Garcia In February 2016, a teenage girl told police in the Austin suburb of Buda, where Garcia lives, that he put his hands down her pants and sexually assaulted her multiple times in the summers of 2013 and 2014, records show. Police arrested Garcia in June 2017, and he was later released on bond. Then Garcia continued serving as co-pastor of his church, where few members of the congregation questioned the appropriateness of their spiritual leader remaining in his post with sexual-assault charges pending against him. Their support continued in 2018 after Garcia pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and avoided prison but was prohibited from being around children as part of the terms of his sentence. All I have to say is that I love him, said Edel Perez, a longtime church member. Garcia is hardly the only Southern Baptist pastor to stay in the pulpit after being accused of a sex crime. The Houston Chronicle confirmed that since the 1990s, at least 30 SBC churches were aware that a pastor, employee or volunteer had faced allegations of sexual misconduct in the U.S. yet the churches hired them anyway or allowed them to continue serving in their spiritual roles. At two churches that harbored predators, employees faced criminal charges of failing to notify authorities about an allegation of sexual abuse involving a child. And in at least seven cases, Southern Baptist ministers who have been accused of sex crimes are still serving at a church. These new revelations come as the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest and most influential coalition of Baptist churches in the United States, is wrestling with a burgeoning sexual abuse crisis as it prepares for its upcoming national meeting in Birmingham, Ala. An investigation published in February by the Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News, Abuse of Faith, sparked a national outcry. Among the findings: At least 10 SBC churches knowingly welcomed pastors, ministers and volunteers since 1998 who had faced accusations of sexual misconduct. More than 350 readers contacted the newspapers to offer tips or share their own stories of abuse. Some said they were concerned about other Southern Baptist churches that employed sexual predators out of a misguided sense of forgiveness or failing to hold a beloved pastor accountable. With the help of tips from those readers and by reviewing news stories and court records, the Chronicle found another 20 churches that knew an employee or volunteer had been accused of a sex crime but allowed them to keep serving at the church. Once theyve committed a crime of that nature, they should not work in any capacity around children, said Rodney Pires, owner of Church Security 360 Degrees, an Atlanta firm that helps churches strengthen their hiring and security practices. Pires said its commendable for churches to offer people a second chance. But sexual abuse is a crime, he said, and putting abusers in a position of trust places other children at risk. The number one priority of the shepherd is the sheep, Pires said. At least one church that knowingly employed an offender is tied to SBCs leadership. In the early 1990s, First Baptist Church in Rockwall welcomed back a former part-time church employee, Jason Leon Austin, as a volunteer assistant in the churchs youth program, despite a prior conviction of indecency with a child in 1991 in Harris County and despite a separate complaint that he had molested another child inside the church, according to court documents and a deposition. A lawsuit filed against the church in Rockwall by one of Austins victims alleged that pastor Steve Swofford knew about the prior criminal conviction. Swofford is a past president of the Southern Baptist Convention of Texas and helped select the new president of the Southern Baptist Conventions executive committee, Ronnie Floyd. Swofford declined to comment for this story. The lawsuit was dismissed because the statute of limitations had lapsed for complaints related to the alleged assaults. SBC President J.D. Greear said he was broken by the findings in the newspapers investigation and promised concrete reforms to prevent sexual abuse. Greear said any Southern Baptist church that knowingly employs a sex offender doesnt belong in the SBC. There can simply be no ambiguity about the churchs responsibility to protect the abused and be a safe place for the vulnerable, Greear said in response to the newspapers stories. Abuse can never be tolerated, minimized, hidden, or handled internally. Those in leadership who turn a blind eye toward abuse are complicit with it and must be held accountable. But accountability is rare. Southern Baptist churches dont belong to a diocese or answer to a bishop. From tiny churches such as Betania to megachurches with thousands of members, every Southern Baptist church operates independently and ordains or hires its own pastors. The result: SBC leaders have no idea how many churches employ sex offenders. SEARCH OUR DATABASE: Look at Southern Baptist church officials who were convicted or pleaded guilty In Austin, Garcias church is still listed in the Southern Baptist Conventions directory, even though he continued to preach after his arrest. Last year, Garcia reached an agreement with prosecutors in Hays County and pleaded guilty to a charge of enticing a child with intent to commit a felony. He was sentenced to 10 years deferred adjudication, a type of probation. As part of the terms of the plea deal, Garcia didnt have to register as a sex offender, but he was barred from being near children without supervision, except for his grandchildren. He currently serves as the churchs music minister. If you want a close relationship with Jesus Christ, study his word, Garcia told the congregation at Betania at a recent worship service. Youll learn a lot more about him. After the service, Garcia declined to speak with a reporter. His lawyer, Bob Phillips, also declined to discuss details of the allegations against Garcia. But he said his client agreed to step down from his duties dealing directly with children. Hes not doing that kind of stuff anymore, Phillips said of Garcias previous youth ministry. He is well aware of the dangers of being misconstrued if he were alone with an individual or several youths. No oversight With a decentralized network of 47,000 churches in the U.S., the SBC is trying to figure out how to respond more quickly to churches that employ pastors accused of sexual abuse, said Roger Sing Oldham, a spokesman for the SBCs executive committee. The SBC has no investigative powers of its own, Oldham said, and it never received a complaint about Betania Baptist Church. I didnt know about it until you raised the question with me, Oldham said. The lack of oversight means churches might employ sex offenders for years without the SBC doing anything about it. In Houston, registered sex offender Michael Lee Jones founded Cathedral of Faith church 20 years ago. His church had no problem joining the SBC even though Jones pleaded guilty in 1998 to sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl who was supposed to be taking counseling sessions with him. The pastor was sentenced to eight years of deferred adjudication. Abuse can never be tolerated, minimized, hidden, or handled internally. Those in leadership who turn a blind eye toward abuse are complicit with it and must be held accountable. J.D. Greear, president of the Southern Baptist Convention The girl said she had known Jones all her life. Pastor Jones took advantage of my trust and confidence in him as our congregations pastor to cause me to have sexual intercourse with him, she said in a sworn affidavit. Jones did not return messages. Cathedral of Faith church member Betty Cotton defended the pastor. You need to know the whole story, Cotton said. Whats the whole story? You figure it out, she answered. I dont know anything more than you do. Hes been forgiven, OK? In February, Greear called for greater scrutiny of Cathedral of Faith and nine other churches that were mentioned in the newspapers investigation of sexual abuse at Southern Baptist churches. Greears inquiry had mixed results. Southern Baptist leaders in Houston raised questions about Jones past criminal conviction, and his church voluntarily withdrew from the SBC. The church also lost its home at Aldine Independent School District, where the congregation rented space at Spence Elementary School for Sunday worship services. In light of the information regarding the leader of the church, there has been distraction and substantial disruption to the district operations, Deputy Superintendent Selina Chapa wrote in an April 4 letter notifying the church the school district was canceling the rental agreement. Another church on Greears list, Trinity Baptist Church in Ashburn, Ga., dismissed a music minister who a church official says admitted he molested young teens decades ago. Trinitys pastor, Rodney Brown, told the SBCs news organization, Baptist Press, that the music minister was a friend who had repented of his past sins and was allowed to serve at the church. Brown later apologized for how he handled the situation. I have come to realize that I failed my duty as pastor in not taking action against an individual who had been accused of child abuse in the past at another church, Brown said in a statement. I now realize that what I first thought was an isolated incident was much more, Brown said. I should have understood that earlier and not doing so was a great mistake on my part. I cannot apologize enough for my actions. Forgiving sin Other churches on Greears list denied any wrongdoing or blamed former pastors for poor hiring decisions. Sovereign Grace Churches in Louisville, Ky., rejected calls for an independent review after it was accused in a lawsuit of covering up sexual abuse. The lawsuit was dismissed on procedural grounds. At First Baptist Church of Bedford, pastor Billy Taylor said the hiring in 2015 of worship pastor Charles Adcock, who faced 29 counts of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Alabama, was an earnest but misguided attempt by a former pastor to help Adcock and his family. Charles Adcock Adcock had insisted he was innocent. Without admitting any guilt, he pleaded to a single charge of second-degree sodomy in January 2016 and served 15 months. He is now a registered sex offender. It was a bad hiring practice at the time, said Taylor, who noted the pastor who hired Adcock no longer works at the church. State and local Southern Baptist groups are also trying to prevent churches from employing ministers who were accused of sexual abuse. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention removed a small San Antonio church from its membership in May after Baptist leaders found out the church's pastor, Erbey Valdez, is a registered sex offender. Valdez was a married middle school principal in the West Texas town of Sonora when he was arrested in October 2009 on charges of having an improper sexual relationship with a 17-year-old high school student and taking sexually explicit photographs of her. Valdez, who pleaded guilty to the charges but served no time in prison, said he and his wife reconciled and started a Christian counseling service for troubled couples. Last year, they founded New Spirit Church in a strip mall on Culebra Road near Fast Eddies Billiards. I understand that some would say, I would never go to that church, Valdez said. And thats OK. But he emphasized that his crime occurred before he became a church leader and he hasnt tried to hide from his past. The congregation knows what he did, he said, and they accept him anyway. During a recent Sunday service, children gleefully gave roses to their mothers to celebrate Mothers Day and Valdez prayed over the group of women. The preacher cried during a Bible study group as he talked about the parable of the prodigal son, his own troubled past and the redemptive power of God. We feel like a family, said Francisco Vega, a deacon at the church. We know how repentant he is. It comes from the heart. The importance of forgiveness is a fundamental Christian belief. But forgiving a convicted sex offender doesnt mean putting him in a position of trust at a church, said Dee Parsons, a victims advocate in Raleigh, N.C., who has blogged for years about sexual abuse cases in Southern Baptist churches. Yes, God can forgive anybody. We get that, Parsons said. But pedophiles and rapists and sex offenders will target any organization that has young people in it. And theyll go to places where people are trusting and where they can manipulate people. James Cantor, a Canadian psychologist and expert on pedophilia and sexual behavior, said its important to remember that there are different types of sexual abusers. For people who suffer from pedophilia a sexual attraction toward prepubescent children there is no known cure. Nobody has ever shown a meaningful way to turn a pedophile into a non-pedophile, Cantor said. But he emphasized that many of his patients dont want to hurt children, and they make a deliberate effort to avoid situations where theyre alone with them. Cantor said its a red flag if a pedophile claims to have changed and wants to work with children. Forgiving somebody does not mean taking every word they say at face value, Cantor said. Changing church culture The problem of harboring predators goes beyond the churches singled out by Greear. Other churches have done the same thing without facing any repercussions from the SBC. When Kevin Glenn served as pastor at the Southern Baptist Memorial Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., nearly 20 years ago, he learned disturbing news about the churchs popular organist, Tammy Irovic, who performed with the childrens choir. Tammy Irovic A visitor at the church recognized Irovic as a registered sex offender and told Glenn, who was relatively new to the church. Glenn discovered Irovic had been convicted in Lubbock in 1990 on a felony charge of indecency with a child. Glenn said he met with other church leaders to discuss his concerns about Irovic serving in a church role. He was surprised by their response: They already knew about Irovics status as a sex offender. Irovic had repented and apologized, they said, and they had decided to give her a second chance. Glenn said he worked out a compromise Irovic would be allowed to remain as a church member, but she had to step down as organist. But tensions flared again a year later when Irovic wanted to host youth group meetings at her house. Glenn objected. Irovics defenders sided with her. Irovic eventually left the church, but Glenn said he was reprimanded by the churchs personnel committee, and he later resigned. I dont get it, man, said Glenn, who is now a pastor in New Mexico. That one still bewilders me. Messages left with Irovics new church in Columbia werent returned. The new church isnt affiliated with the SBC. Irovic is a pianist there. Sex offenders, but still trusted Churches in the Southern Baptist Convention have knowingly employed sex offenders who worked in positions of trust since the 1990s. Experts say its commendable that churches give people a second chance. But giving accused sexual abusers a church role as spiritual leaders puts children at risk. Once theyve committed a crime of that nature, they should not work in any capacity around children, said Rodney Pires, owner of Church Security 360 Degrees, an Atlanta firm that helps churches strengthen their hiring and security practices. Created by Jordan Rubio Failure to report Southern Baptist churches are sometimes the first to learn of an allegation of sexual abuse against an employee. In many states, including Texas, adults are legally required to report suspected cases of child abuse to authorities. Failure to do so is a crime. In Abilene, Amanda McKee, a day care supervisor at Wylie Baptist Church, was arrested last year after police charged her with failing to notify authorities after she had received multiple complaints about one of her employees, Benjamin Roberts. Roberts was seen sitting with children on his lap and becoming visibly aroused, court records allege. Employees saw him go into the bathroom alone with boys. And parents raised concerns with McKee about Roberts behavior. Several parents reported to McKee that they didnt want their child around Roberts because of the way he had been touching their children, according to a criminal complaint filed against McKee. McKee told authorities she had problems with her memory and didnt remember the specific complaints. Roberts was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child. McKee, his boss, was arrested and accused of failing to report the alleged abuse. Both cases are pending, and they no longer work at the day care. Wade Burleson, a Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma who believes the SBC needs to do more to prevent sexual abuse, said changing the attitudes of some church members is just as important as adopting strong policies and reforms. At the SBCs annual meeting in San Antonio in 2007, Burleson proposed creating a database that would keep track of church employees and volunteers accused of abuse. A year later, an SBC committee rejected Burlesons proposal, saying the independence of Southern Baptist churches prevented the SBC from mandating a database. More recently, Burleson made another proposal to the SBC for a database of offenders, which is being considered by a different SBC commission. It could unveil its findings in June, when thousands of Baptists from across the country will gather for the SBCs annual meeting. Burleson said hes hopeful that the SBC will adopt his proposal. But he also believes the culture at some Southern Baptist churches needs to change. Forgiving sex offenders, he said, doesnt mean giving them unfettered access to children. Yet some people dont understand the risk. Ive come across it within my own church, said Burleson. Years ago, a member of his congregation had been arrested for indecent exposure, Burleson said. The man later asked to work with children in the churchs youth ministry and didnt understand why Burleson told him no. He said, Wade, you preach about grace; you preach about forgiveness. Why cant I work with young people? Burleson recalled. The pastor said the church member had crossed a line that disqualified him from ministry at his church forever. Does it mean you cant be forgiven? Burleson asked. Of course not. You can be forgiven. But they will never, for life, be able to work with children. READ THE REST OF THE SERIES: Part 1: Southern Baptist sexual abuse spreads as leaders reject reforms Part 2: Southern Baptist churches hired ministers accused of past sex offenses Part 3: All too often, Southern Baptist youth pastors take advantage of children Part 4: Missionaries left trail of abuse, but leaders stayed quiet Tell us your story Do you have information about sexual misconduct in Southern Baptist churches? Help us investigate by telling us your story. Fill out our confidential questionnaire here. Support our journalism Help our journalists uncover the big stories. Subscribe today. John Tedesco, a longtime investigative reporter for the San Antonio Express-News, has exposed shady telemarketers at the Texas Highway Patrol Museum, bribery scandals at San Antonio City Hall and the deaths of oil-and-gas workers on the Eagle Ford Shale. He joined the Chronicle projects team in January. Follow him on Twitter @John_Tedesco and reach him by email at john.tedesco@chron.com. Jon Shapley is a staff photo and video journalist for the Houston Chronicle. A native Houstonian, he joined the Chronicle in 2015. He previously worked at the NPR affiliate in Austin, as well as monthly magazines in Austin and San Antonio. He can be reached at jon.shapley@chron.com. Design by Jordan Rubio and Jasmine Goldband *** Two juveniles were rushed to Texas Children's Hospital after a crash Monday in southeast Houston. The crash happened in the northbound lanes of Interstate 45 south at Beltway 8 around 1:30 p.m., Houston police said. Two juveniles involved in the crash were rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Information on the extent of their injuries or what caused the crash was not immediately available. Houston police officers have several northbound lanes of the Gulf Freeway closed as they investigate the crash. No other information was available. Check back for updates as they come in. 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 KeYana Holmes entered the Afrolicious dressing room Sunday morning looking ready for the catwalk. She wore golden lashes with painted stars twinkling about her eyes, and her hair was braided upward into a swirling bun the result of hours spent after work in the home of Mara Gooden, her stylist, preparing for the hair braiding competition. But she was just getting started. Gooden, the owner of the salon Your Head Is My Canvas, picked up a replica of Saturn nearly three feet across made from braided blonde and purple hair wrapped around a styrofoam core. She balanced the celestial orb on Holmes bun and began affixing it with wooden skewers. Gooden was one of three stylists who had spent two weeks preparing for the hair braiding competition at the Afrolicious Natural Hair and Beauty Expo. In addition to preparing teams of models, they had created earrings, dresses and even shoes made of Kanekelon, a brand of synthetic hair. The theme was futurism, which Gooden said had inspired her to break the boundaries with her hairstyles. I thought about spaceships, unicorns big, hopeful stuff. Rwanda Ray founded the Afrolicious Hair Expo six years ago to celebrate naturally textured black hair. The expo now takes place yearly in California, Houston and Dallas. I wanted black women to feel beautiful with their naturally textured hair, and not to feel pressure to conform, she said. I wanted to make black hair the standard for beauty. Hair braiding has a rich cultural history that stretches back thousands of years, but in the United States, it also has a history of being misunderstood. . In 2018, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case of a black woman, Chastity Jones, who had her job offer rescinded when she did not cut off her dreadlocks. Just this February, New York City made it illegal to discriminate against people for wearing their hair naturally after receiving multiple complaints. Ray said she wanted to get together with others who had similarly textured hair so that they could share hair care tips. Throughout the showroom floor, vendors were selling products they had created to address their own hair needs. When Vicki Baker of Matties Bonnets couldnt find a bonnet with a durable elastic band that would not rub against her forehead, she made one herself out of two-ply satin, which she began selling in response to demand from friends and neighbors. When Nuram Karim of Sakinah was selling essential oils in 1999, his customers began asking for all-natural shea butter, so he started whipping his own. And when Jean Asonye of Pretty Eclectic couldnt find an African-printed scarf made from silk most are made from cotton, which dried out her hair and caused it to break she commissioned an artist to help make her own line. We arent seeing the products were looking for, Asonye said. Thats why events like this are so exciting. Eight-year-old Kennedy Youngbloods excitement was evident as she flitted between booths with her mother and cousin. This is where you learn about yourself and how youre afrolicious, she said before running over to a display of artwork by Yvette Oles, who combines painting with actual objects such as synthetic hair and earrings. Youngblood peered at a painting of a mother and little girl, both of whom had their hair pulled up in buns. For many people, memories of styling hair trace back to when they were kids. My mom did my hair every single day, said Holmes, whom Gooden was transforming into Saturn. Holmes mother worked the night shift, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., but she didnt let that stop her from styling her daughters hair in twists, braids, plaits and spiral curls with barrettes that coordinated with her outfit of the day. It wasnt until Holmes was 16 that she ever put her hair up in a simple ponytail. Holmes said her mothers untiring work drove home a lesson: I was never regular. I was never average. I was always original. Dorette Dorceus, who owns the salon Braids Bydough and led a separate team in the braiding competition, discovered she loved braiding when she was 14 years old and her mom asked her to braid her older sisters hair. She quickly became known as the neighborhood braider in New Orleans. Although she moved to Houston following Hurricane Katrina, she still travels back to her hometown about once a month to style peoples hair. I love it, Dorceus said. Its creative. Its also time consuming; preparation for the show had begun long before Saturday. Contestants each received a box of hair May 15 and said theyd been meeting every day after work for at least a week, braiding, creating costumes, and practicing their catwalk struts. As soon as they sent me the hair, I started working, Gooden said. I didnt sleep some nights. Judging from the audiences reactions, the work paid off. When Dorceus group was the first to hit the catwalk, exclamations spread through the crowd. Okay, baby, yes! cheered Dorceus childhood friend, Regina Taylor. One models hair had been crafted into a halo strung with fairy lights, while another had hers twisted into the shape of an airplane. The following group, styled by Toni The ColorBully Fizer, featured a dress dripping with purple ombre braids hanging like fringe from her neckline. When Goodens team came out, the models wore matching silver dresses, and their hair pieces included a unicorns horn and the planet Earth. One wore an intricate crown made from hair in the shape of a purple moon; another had long pigtails sculpted to look like a chain of orbs. A little girl in the audience gasped and took off her sunglasses for a closer look. Goodens space-glam hair took the prize, and the team celebrated with a round of photographs. But while the show was over, that didnt mean the braids were coming down. I mean, the unicorn horn is coming off, said the model Lorelle Jackson. But Im keeping the style underneath. rebecca.schuetz@chron.com twitter.com/raschuetz MISSION MOON: Nearly 50 years have passed since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. Our special Apollo 50 anniversary coverage explores how the country came together to fulfill President John F. Kennedys goal of reaching the lunar surface by 1970, NASA's bold missions - and crippling tragedies - since that historic day, and the future of space exploration and Houston as America's "Space City. *** Buzz Aldrin had had about enough. Hed flown in combat, earned a doctorate degree, and walked on the moon, taking a bounding leap into the future on the cold and dusty lunar surface. But still there were naysayers. So when a pesky conspiracy theorist named Bart Sibrel ambushed him one day in 2002 outside a Beverly Hills hotel with accusations and impudent questions Why dont you swear on the Bible that you walked on the moon? he did what any red-blooded, moon-walking astronaut named Buzz would do: he clocked his nosy questioner in the face. Theres still grainy, wobbly footage of the contretemps on YouTube footage that, incidentally, no one claims is faked. But as bizarre as it is watching the aging space voyager cold-cock a man barely half his age in public, the point of their contention is one that still survives: Polling shows roughly one in 20 people do not believe the moon landing really happened. It has been pretty much consistent that there has been this very tiny group of people, said former NASA historian Roger Launius, who discount the moon landing, who dont think it happened. The skepticism, he said, began as early as 1969, almost as soon as Aldrin planted the planted the pole of an American flag on July 20, 1969 in the lunar surface with enough force to make it vibrate and prompt questions about the appearance of a breeze in an airless environment. That year, New York Times writer John Noble Wilford uncovered an early crop of moon landing deniers at a Windy City saloon, already claiming the entire thing was a hoax. Any event worth a line in the history books invites skepticism, he wrote in the opening sentence of his Dec. 17 column. A few stool-warmers in Chicago bars are on record as suggesting that the Apollo 11 moon walk last July was actually staged by Hollywood on a Nevada desert. Skeptics and deniers That narrative persists today, and the arguments have hardly changed. Skeptics still want to know why the U.S. flag appears to be waving in the wind, why they cant see stars in the sky and why mankind has not been able to repeat the high-tech feat in decades. Often, Launius said, moon landing deniers posit that the U.S. always intended to put a man on the moon but then got behind schedule, realized they couldnt and lied their way out of it with the help of willing astronauts and a sound stage. The moon landing for those who really have the eyes to see and the willingness to get over the patriotism it dies a death of a thousand cuts, said Patricia Steere, a longtime lunar landing skeptic who lives in the Heights. If you look into it deeply, youll see so many things, and Im not talking about shadows or a flag flapping in the wind. Those are red herrings; Im talking about how much money was taken and what we have to show for it. MOON ROCKS WANTED: Friendswood attorney tracks down missing lunar artifacts To some experts, moon landing denials and other off-beat beliefs are more about psychology than facts. According to Launius whose latest book, Apollos Legacy, features a chapter on moon landing deniers there a few discrete types of lunar landing doubters. The first type is the folks who are technologically naive, he said. His own grandfather, a rural Illinois farmer who always viewed the tractor as a passing fad, fell into that category, refusing to believe man set foot on the moon all the way up to his death in 1984. Then, theres the people who simply dont trust anything the government says. Theres the crowd that relishes the sense of lording superior knowledge over uninformed commoners. And, there are those who like Sibrel rely on their outspoken skepticism to make a buck. Yes, we did To the people behind actual space travel, it can all be a bit annoying even when it doesnt end in fisticuffs. Victor Murray, who last year celebrated his 50-year work anniversary at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, finds it incredibly frustrating when people say the moon landing was faked. I brushed moon dust off the spacesuits after Neil (Armstrong) and Buzz came back from the moon, he told the Houston Chronicle in September. That wasnt faked. For the most part, NASA ignores the skeptics. But in 2001 officials made a rare foray into the fray, with a simple post on their homepage: Yes, we did. Generally, though, ignoring the naysayers may not make them go away, and Launius instead suspects they could grow in number. The more time passes and the fewer people remember the moon landing, he said, the more people will probably question it. To Steere who also believes the earth is flat and hosts a YouTube show dedicated to the topic thats all OK. The more skeptics, the better. But please, she says, dont call her a moon landing denier. She doesnt like labels. Im just a person, she said, thats looked and found evidence. Alex Stuckey contributed to this report. POINTE DU HOC, France - Seventy-five years ago Thursday, a battalion of elite U.S. Army Rangers scaled the 100-foot promontory overlooking Omaha Beach, with nothing more than ropes and rickety ladders. As enemy gunfire and grenades rained down, picking them off as they climbed, the Rangers secured the strategic high ground and silence a small battery of long-range German guns that had been moved inland. The battle for Pointe du Hoc became of one the most heroic moments of the D-Day invasion. It was lionized by the legendary Hollywood film "The Longest Day" and by President Ronald Reagan, who stood on this hallowed ground to deliver one of his most famous speeches, extolling the bravery of the "Boys of Pointe du Hoc" on the 40th anniversary of the largest amphibious assault in the world's history. But a little more than 3 miles down the windswept Normandy coastline, an archaeological dig on a vast swath of farmland is starting to tell another story about what took place that day. A World War II artifact collector and historian accidentally stumbled upon a massive German artillery installation that was buried after the invasion. His discovery, along with a trove of declassified U.S. and British military documents, threatens to alter the narrative of Pointe du Hoc and its importance as a military objective during the D-Day invasion. Only now are historians beginning to reckon with the implications. Depending on which is talking, the discovery of what is known as Maisy Battery either calls into question the wisdom of the entire Pointe du Hoc operation or is simply one more footnote in a war full of footnotes. Now Playing: Archeologists using laser scanning are mapping caves where French civilians sheltered on D-Day and in the battle of Normandy. The data is then turned into 3-D models allowing viewers to see for themselves the network of caves used on D-Day. (May 29) Video: Associated Press MORNING REPORT | NEWSLETTER Get all the news you need to start your day in Houston. See More Collapse One thing is certain: The mythology of Pointe du Hoc is firmly established. Those who challenge the story do so at their own peril. "Historians always shatter the idol, but let me tell you, when they do, they get a lot of pushback and angry emails in the middle of the night," said Rob Citino, the senior historian at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans who has written 10 books about the war and only recently learned about Maisy Battery. "Pointe du Hoc is such sacred ground, it's like bringing someone to Gettysburg and saying, 'Actually, there was a much bigger battle fought just a few miles away.' " The artifact collector and historian Gary Sterne has received nothing but pushback since he found a map at a military flea market 15 years ago that led him to the discovery of Maisy Battery, a complex that covers 144 acres 1 mile inland between Omaha and Utah beaches - the prime objectives of the U.S. invasion forces. He has published a two-volume, 1,160-page encyclopedia full of photographs, military documents and interviews with Army Rangers who climbed the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. VINCENT MICHEL/AP His startling conclusion: The assault was unnecessary; the commander of the U.S. Army Ranger unit failed to follow orders, putting his men directly in harm's way; and U.S. military leaders should have targeted Maisy and its battery of heavy artillery guns instead of Pointe du Hoc, which the Germans had largely abandoned by the time of the Normandy invasion. "I have nothing but respect for the Rangers and what they did at Pointe du Hoc," Sterne said in a recent interview from his home in England. "It was truly heroic. But the facts are the facts." - - - Sterne has been collecting military memorabilia since he was child growing up near Manchester, England. It became a full-time pursuit after he purchased a home in Normandy. In 2004, he traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend one of the largest military flea markets in the world. Beneath one of the 5,000 tables set up there, Sterne spotted a cardboard box. Inside was the complete uniform of a U.S. Army soldier who had fought in WWII. Sterne bought it for $180. Inside one of the pockets was a map of Normandy. The map was marked with hand-drawn circles, each with an "X" in the middle, and the words: "Areas of High Resistance." Sterne was confused. He knew the precise locations of those areas. "I thought, 'There's nothing there. It's just fields,' " Sterne recalled. Back in Normandy, Sterne drove to the fields and started to walk through the tall grass. He came across a clearing and a large slab of concrete. At first he thought he had found the foundation of a building destroyed long ago. As he stepped off the slab, he tripped over a small chimney protruding from the concrete. He was standing on the roof of a building, not the floor. "I thought, hang on a minute," Sterne said. "It was a lightbulb moment." VINCENT MICHEL/AP Washington Post photo by Scott Higham. Sterne and his brother grabbed some shovels and began to dig. They unearthed a perfectly preserved, bombproof German ammunition bunker. He and his son, Dan, have been digging ever since, uncovering bunkers and barracks and large concrete gun placements. They discovered a field hospital, a command and control center, evidence that an SS squad was embedded at the battery and the skeleton of a German soldier. All of it was buried by Allied forces after the invasion and Maisy was lost to history. For nearly two years, Sterne kept his discovery a secret as he purchased dozens of tracts of land from their owners, quietly piecing together vast sections of Maisy for a World War II museum. When he went public with his findings in 2006 and opened the site to the public a year later, he said the backlash was ferocious. Other historians labeled him an opportunist, a fabulist, a "Mad Englishman." Sterne returned fire. He argued that Maisy, not Pointe du Hoc, should have been a primary target on D-Day. The guns at Maisy, he noted, were still firing three days after the invasion and capable of striking positions on Utah Beach, about 5 miles away. What he said next amounted to heresy in the military world. Based on previously secret intelligence and field reports he obtained from military archives in the United States and Britain, Sterne said the 2nd Ranger Battalion commander of the Pointe du Hoc mission, Lt. Col James Rudder, knew that the Germans had removed their guns from Pointe du Hoc as the D-Day invasion neared. When Rudder and his men reached the top of Pointe du Hoc on June 6, 1944, the guns were gone, some of them replaced with long wooden telephone poles resembling artillery cannons. The real guns had been moved inland. The Rangers found five guns that had been moved from Pointe du Hoc that morning and disabled them with thermite grenades. Sterne went further. He said Rudder jeopardized the lives of his men by disobeying orders. The declassified orders show that the 2nd Ranger Battalion was tasked with attacking Pointe du Hoc, moving inland and knocking out the German artillery batteries at Grandcamp and Maisy. The orders, issued March 26, 1944, directed Rudder's Rangers to "capture enemy batteries at GRANDCAMP and MAISY" after taking Pointe du Hoc. Instead, Rudder attacked Pointe du Hoc, despite the reports documenting that the guns were being moved, and he remained in the area without advancing to Maisy. He later said he was ordered to hold the Grandcamp-Vierville Highway to prevent a German counterattack. But Sterne said he could find no orders in the thousands of records he has reviewed directing Rudder to remain at Pointe du Hoc and hold that highway. Of the Rangers who served under Rudder during the invasion, 77 were killed, 152 were wounded and 38 were listed as missing in action. Galerie Bilderwelt/Getty Images Rudder, who died in 1970, went on to become a war hero, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross, and was later appointed president of Texas A&M University. One of the Rangers who said he fought under Rudder, Lt. George Klein, went on to become a world-famous narrator of the Pointe du Hoc story. Klein frequently lectured about the assault, telling audiences that he was wounded by a German bayonet and had to be evacuated. During the 73rd anniversary of the invasion, Klein traveled to Normandy, where he was feted as "one of the great celebrities of the battle." He signed autographs. He posed for pictures. He planted trees in Normandy villages. But there was a problem: Klein never fought at Pointe du Hoc. Sterne said Klein visited Maisy during one summer and told Sterne that "you have your history all wrong." Sterne had written a book by then called "Cover Up at Omaha Beach." It was a based on interviews Sterne had conducted with Rangers who fought at Pointe du Hoc. Sterne said he asked Klein about the role he played that day. Klein told him he had destroyed a gun pit at Pointe du Hoc. But records show that the gun pit had been destroyed months earlier. Klein said he was a lieutenant in F Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. But F Company already had a full complement of lieutenants. Klein could not recall details of the battle. The Rangers Sterne had interviewed could never forget. Klein said he returned to his original artillery unit after he was wounded. Sterne and other historians found the papers documenting the activities of that artillery unit during D-Day. Klein and his unit were in Ireland on June 6, 1944. Klein eventually admitted that he had fabricated his military past and the tales he told about the attack. The story was picked up by news outlets around the world. Klein, like Maisy, faded into history. Now 98 and living in Illinois, he did not return calls for comment. - - - Each year, nearly 1 million tourists descend upon Normandy, many of them from the United States. Tour guides escort them to Omaha and Utah beaches, the American Cemetery and historic military sites, such as the town of Sainte-Mere-Eglise. The piece de resistance of any tour is Pointe du Hoc. Washington Post photo by Scott Higham. Adrian Ridley-Jones, 63, a top-rated battlefield guide in Normandy, has recently added a new site to his tour: Maisy Battery. The former signal officer in the British Army said he has come to appreciate the significance of the Maisy discovery and the documents Sterne has obtained. It has become increasingly clear to him that as D-Day approached, the need to take Pointe du Hoc diminished. The guns were gone, the Germans were changing their positions and the Pointe du Hoc mission would be perilous. He wonders why Rudder didn't alert his commanders that the guns were being removed from Pointe du Hoc and didn't urge them to make Maisy and Grandcamp the primary targets instead. Rudder never told his men that the guns had been removed, either. "As archaeological evidence becomes clearer, history gets rewritten," Ridley-Jones said. "Problems come as you do this. You upset preconceived ideas and entrenched positions. Instead of people looking at this dispassionately, it becomes a political hot potato." Ridley-Jones is careful to note the bravery of the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. "If it wasn't for the Americans, we wouldn't have won the war," he said. "It was indeed a symbiotic relationship, and I am in no way denigrating them. " World War II historians note that the Germans built numerous batteries along the coast as part of Hitler's Atlantic Wall. Even though there were reports that the guns at Pointe du Hoc were being moved, the promontory remained a strategic position, occupying the high ground above Omaha Beach, where the Americans suffered their heaviest losses of the landing. A plan the size of the D-Day invasion, code-named "Operation Overlord," is not easily changed. "The fog of war was never foggier than on the morning of June 6, 1944," said Rick Atkinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has written a three-volume history of World War II. "What is the overall impact on Operation Overlord and the specific events on the morning of June 6, 1944? Pretty minimal. There were a lot of moving parts; some of them were moving, and some of them were moving sideways. Did it cause substantial degradation of the operation? I don't think so." Citino, the senior historian at the World War II museum in New Orleans, has been lecturing about Pointe du Hoc for 35 years. It's a story that captures the imagination of everyone who hears it. "What you have at Maisy is little harder to explain," Citino said. "It's interesting, and it's wonderful to see the outlines of a military base, but you can't take a little kid there and say, 'Look, Johnny, the Rangers scaled those cliffs with nothing but rope.' " Citino acknowledged that Maisy was an important installation for the Germans during D-Day, and U.S. military commanders might have considered placing it higher on their list of targets. The discovery, he said, is starting to change the narrative of what happened 75 years ago. But changing history takes time. "We are learning all the time and that's the best thing about the Maisy battery story," Citino said. "Just below the surface, there are any number of buried stories that will tantalize us just as much as the Maisy Battery story. It clearly played a role in D-Day, and I never heard about it until five years ago. And I've been studying this all my life." More coverage on D-Day anniversary: Chasing demons: 75 years on, D-Day haunts, drives its vets D-Day succeeded thanks to an ingenious design called the Mulberry Harbours AP PHOTOS: D-Day's landscape in 1944 - and today The claim: "Climate change has a distressingly disproportionate impact on poor and minority communities across the United States and around the world. Race is the No. 1 indicator for where toxic and polluting facilities are today." Democrat Beto ORourke, in his plan to combat climate change. PolitiFact ruling: Mostly True. Several studies say that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to live near hazardous waste facilities and other plants. Theyve also found that race is a stronger indicator than other variables, such as income or property value. There isnt consensus on ORourkes claim, but much research and feedback supports it. Discussion: O'Rourke's claim mirrors a statement by an NAACP program that highlights environmental and climate issues affecting communities of color and low-income, and draws from a 2016 editorial in The Nation citing examples of "environmental racism." Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox About PolitiFact PolitiFact is a fact-checking project to help you sort out fact from fiction in politics. Truth-O-Meter ratings are determined by a panel of three editors. The burden of proof is on the speaker, and PolitiFact rates statements based on the information known at the time the statement is made. See More Collapse The types of facilities that ORourke is talking about include coal-fired power plants, hazardous waste landfills and incinerators, oil refineries, and chemical manufacturers. "The vast majority of research indicates that in the United States, minorities, particularly blacks and Hispanics, are disproportionately burdened by environmental hazards of pollution as compared to whites," said Jeremy Mennis, a geographer and professor at Temple University. Blacks and Hispanics in the United States tend to be poorer than whites, so theres been some debate on whether the geographic disparity of these facilities is due to race or socioeconomic status, Mennis said. But even when socioeconomic factors are similar across white and non-white communities, minorities are still more likely to be near environmental hazards, said Paul Mohai, an environmental justice expert and professor at the University of Michigan. Some studies have found that the racial composition of a neighborhood is a stronger predictor than income, property value, and other socioeconomic factors, Mohai said. Those studies used "distance-based" methods and examined racial and socioeconomic disparities at the time of the facilities siting. In a study published in 2015, Mohai and Robin Saha, a collaborator at the University of Montana, explored which came first to a neighborhood, people of color and low-income, or commercial hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. They examined facilities sited from 1966 to 1995 and the demographic composition of host neighborhoods around the time of siting and demographic changes after siting. "Our findings show that rather than hazardous waste (treatment, storage, and disposal facilities) 'attracting' people of color, neighborhoods with already disproportionate and growing concentrations of people of color appear to 'attract' new facility siting," their study said. Experts said that factors analyzed regarding the racial disparity in the location of hazardous facilities include: intentional discrimination in siting; historical zoning and land use patterns related to segregation and redlining; minority communities having less political clout to fight back a proposed facility; and a "coming to the nuisance" phenomenon in which after a facility decides where to locate, people of color and low-income move in as property values and quality of life decline, and people who can afford to move out do so. For more on the research and the conclusion, visit Politifact Texas, www.politifact.com/texas/ WASHINGTON The Maryland congressman leading an investigation into the error-filled effort to purge suspected noncitizens from Texas voter rolls referred to Texas officials as laggards who are taking a minimalist approach to satisfying demands on Capitol Hill for emails that could show the origin and motivation for the program. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat who chairs the Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, says his panel will continue to aggressively press Texas for documents despite the resignation last week of Secretary of State David Whitley after scrutiny of the botched effort. Whitleys five-month tenure in the job ended after state Senate Democrats blocked his appointment. Raskin said that Georgia, another state under investigation, has sent hundreds of thousands of pages of materials to Washington. But Texas, he said, is cooperating minimally and treating the congressional demand as some kind of unlawful imposition. Were going to continue to press for meaningful disclosure, he said. The sudden departure of the Texas secretary of state only makes us that much more determined to get all the information we sought. Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox Raskin, a constitutional law professor, argued that the Constitutions Election Clause and other provisions give Congress clear authority to deal with matters of alleged voter suppression. Attorney General Ken Paxtons office, in the most recent refusal letter last month, steadfastly declined to turn over privileged and confidential documents. Instead, the attorney generals office has forwarded general materials along with a dismissive note that Congress may request records from this office under the Texas Public Information Act. The letter to Raskin and full Oversight Committee chair Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asserted that none of the constitutional powers Raskin cites override the inherent and reserved power of state constitutional officers to lawfully assure the integrity of that states own democratic elections through maintaining the voter rolls A spokesman for the Texas secretary of states office said 3,600 pages have been turned over to the panel. In a letter to Raskin and Cummings on May 29, Adam Bitter, the office general counsel, wrote that barring a ruling from Paxton we do not anticipate producing additional documents in response to your request. Raskin observed that his panel has subpoena power, albeit not yet invoked. The back-and-forth suggests an impasse that could wind up in the courts - a likely destination of other disputes simmering at present between Congress and the White House. For subscribers: Texas voter purge came amid push in 8 states carried by Trump Raskin said he worried that a refusal of late by the White House to allow administration officials to testify in front of congressional panels has somehow affected the willingness of these Republican state officials to cooperate. He observed that the new Democratic-run House is spending considerable effort on the topic of elections. As terrible as the Russian intervention was in our 2016 campaigns, its worth noting that the Russians did not invent voter suppression and voter purges. That was a home-grown product, he said. Gojko Kasich, public defender for Dashana Fowler, asked Lake Superior Judge Salvador Vasquez to clear the courtroom of press and "non-essential personnel" when Dashana Fowler, 22, was called up for sentencing Monday morning. Fowler was originally charged with one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a level 1 felony; and three counts of neglect of a dependent, a level 6 felony in the death of her daughter, Jayla Miller, but in May agreed to plead guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury. Editor's note: An earlier version of this opinion piece misstated Dell Technologies' stance on the Equality Act. Dell signed on in support of it in March. For many years now in our country, and especially in the last two decades, LGBTQ rights have become a flashpoint in the national conversation. The discussion has become so mainstream that even corporate America has taken notice. There have been many victories since the days when Kimberly Hively was fired for being a lesbian, or Kim Davis was denying marriage licenses to gay couples in Kentucky the most profound victory being the landmark case in 2015 when the Supreme Court effectively legalized gay marriage in all 50 states. But there is still a long way to go, as evidenced by current legislation recently re-introduced in Congress, the Equality Act. The Equality Act has become one of the focal points of the conversation on LGBTQ rights in Washington. To make a long story short, the bill would amend several laws to ban discrimination for sexual orientation and gender identity against LGBTQ Americans in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, education, federal programs, and credit. The bill has bipartisan support and, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a broad coalition of support among businesses. There are noticeable absences from that list, however, and many of those companies have large footholds here in Texas. They profess to have corporate values that should align with the Equality Act, yet have not come out in support of the bill. One noticeably absent name is Compass Real Estate, a company with growing footprints in Austin and Dallas. The companys founder once wrote on the buying power of the LGBTQ community, but when it comes down to it, wont actually support the community. He also mentions the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP) in his piece, but Compass is nowhere to be found on NAGLREPs list of corporate partners, though many other real estate companies are. Dell, one of the largest employers in Austin, has also not supported the Equality Act even while their company website professes, Diversity, inclusiveness and creating a sense of belonging for all Dell employees form the basis of Dells Winning Culture and are essential to Dells business success. With statements like that, Dell should be one of the leading organizations supporting the Equality Act. Despite these companies not stepping up to the plate, it seems that by and large, the American business community has made up its mind. Bloomberg Law found that 91 percent of Fortune 500 companies prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, and 83 percent already prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. And the American people agree, with 69 percent of Americans supporting broad protections for LGBTQ persons. Between corporate America and public opinion, its obvious that much progress has been made. But companies such as Compass and Dell can do more. While they have spoken highly about diversity and openness, it is only words and marketing unless they back those words up with action. A good first step would be for them to step up and support the Equality Act. America - and Texans - are watching. Grady served as a Regional Field Director for the Texas GOP and is a former staff member of President Donald J. Trump's 2016 campaign. MONT BELVIEU - Ask Ismael Martinez what it took to get internet access at his home in years past, and youll get an earful. There was the satellite-based service that was so slow, streaming Netflix was impossible and even simple email was agony. Then there was a cable internet adventure in which the provider would only run a line to the edge of his 1-acre property. He had to jury-rig a wireless connection for the final 700 feet to his house. But ask Martinez, pastor of Iglesia Cristo Viene in nearby Baytown, about his current provider, and he waxes rhapsodic. You know, I could go stand on a mountain in Mexico in the middle of nowhere and get a better internet signal than I was getting before, he says. Now, its beautiful. We can stream video, my children can play games, everything is much, much faster. His new internet provider is MB Link, which has only been in business for about a year, offering 1-gigabit-per-second service to every residence in town. Its run by the City of Mont Belvieu, a municipal broadband system in a state where many assume such an operation is forbidden by law. On HoustonChronicle.com: Wait a while before jumping on the 5G wireless train But the citys administrators, who say they could not get existing internet providers to expand service or step up their speeds, went to court in 2017 and got a state district judge to rule that broadband internet is a utility on a par with electricity and water service. So-called home rule cities in Texas have the power to operate utilities, so the judges declaration opened the door. Now, with MB Link up and running to rave reviews from residents, other small towns in Texas that struggle with subpar online access are expressing interest in Mont Belvieus approach. We were at a Broadband Communities conference in Austin, and people came up to us and said, How did you do that? said Nathan Watkins, Mont Belvieus city manager. But we stressed that our approach may not work for everyone. Mont Belvieu residents pay $75 a month for 1-gigabit-per-second service. Thats the only tier available to residential customers, though a recently launched business-class service offers slower tiers of service and more extensive support. There are no data caps and no throttling of service if residents use too much data. In comparison, AT&Ts fiber-optic service in Houston sells for $70 a month, but its not full fiber-to-the-modem. The same with Comcasts 1-Gbps service, which sells for $90 a month. Both services have data caps. Uneven access Mont Belvieu is about 30 miles east of Houston on Interstate 10, a small town of about 7,800 that sits at the confluence of hundreds of oil and natural gas pipelines that terminate on the upper Texas coast. Its also known for the salt dome beneath it, one of the worlds largest. There are multiple petrochemical plants in the area. Industrial tax revenue has made Mont Belvieu a fairly affluent city, yet city leaders couldnt lure private communications companies to invest in building out or improving its internet infrastructure. We even told providers wed pay to get cable to the front of the neighborhood, wed lay it ourselves, but that was too far outside their business model, Watkins said. We offered to pay for fiber and lay it, and provide right-of-way. This is a common issue in rural America, where the lack of population density isnt enough for telephone and cable companies to see a decent return on the investment of stringing wires or laying fiber-optic cable. That, in turn, poses larger problems. Rural communities may not compete for 21st century workers and jobs, said Chris Lewis, vice president of Public Knowledge, an advocacy group that promotes investment in rural broadband. Young people seeking a career may need to go elsewhere, even though more companies allow you to work from home, wherever you are. He added that small towns without fast connections cant take advantage of innovative services for public works, or smart grids for traffic or sewer systems. Basically, rural communities become disconnected from economic opportunities, Lewis said. Seeking a solution, the 2019 Texas Legislature approved the creation of a broadband council overseen by the governor to find ways to improve rural internet access. The bill awaits the governors signature at this writing. Mont Belvieus offers to get incumbent providers to improve service were generous because the situation was dire. Residents complained of slow speeds. In 2014, when the city began exploring its options, telephone-based DSL service from Verizon averaged around 1.5 megabits a second, while cable-based service from SuddenLink was only a little better, at 5 Mbps. A lot of residents complained that, even if they had service, it was unreliable and went out all the time, Watkins said. And that was if residents could get internet access at all. Some parts of town were digital deserts. Those who sought refuge in satellite-based service like Martinez found it frustratingly slow and expensive. A 2016 survey by the city found that 60 percent of residents and 79 percent of businesses werent happy with their internet service. And 90 percent of residents and 100 percent of businesses considered broadband internet access to be as important in the 21st century as electricity and water services often provided by small municipalities like Mont Belvieu. On HoustonChronicle.com: The golden age of streaming is about to end There was a hurdle to addressing this problem. A Texas communications law passed in 1995 and reaffirmed in 2005 banned municipalities and electric utilities from offering telecommunications and video services.But Mont Belvieu officials believed that telecommunications did not apply to internet access. Watkins said the citys reading of the law was that telecommunications means telephone services, which the city had no interest in providing. Headed to court City officials decided to hang their hats on another state statute the same one that, in the early 1900s, allowed home rule cities to provide electrical service. Mont Belvieu opted to go to court and ask a judge to declare that internet access was as critical to modern life as electricity, essentially making it a utility they could provide to residents. The city filed suit in early 2017 in the 344th State District Court in Chambers County, seeking the right to issue certificates of obligation to build and operate a fiber-optic broadband internet-access service. Watkins said the Texas Attorney Generals office didnt really contest the matter. They basically told the judge that they also wanted a clarification on whether home-rule cities could offer internet access, Watkins said. The attorney generals office did not respond to a request for more detail. State District Judge Randy McDonald ruled in Mont Belvieus favor on April 20, 2017, telling the plaintiffs that, if the fiber-optic system was as good as they promised it would be, hed consider moving there himself. And with that, MB Link was born. Building a system Talk to any of Mont Belvieus administrators about the hero behind their internet service and theyll say its Dwight Thomas. A veteran communications network engineer whos quick to tell you Ive worked for all the big boys like Time Warner Cable and Sprint, he designed the network and oversaw its construction. Thomas, who lived in East Texas most of his life, had left corporate life and gone into consulting. But he got tired of traveling and wanted a job where he could stay close to home. When Mont Belvieu began looking for a manager to oversee MB Link, he jumped at the job. We went with all fiber-optics because its simple, easy to maintain and we can grow it quickly, said Thomas, who designed the network and chose its hardware. Mont Belvieus fiber now passes every residence in town, covering 65 miles of road. Paid for with $13 million in bonds, the network now has seven employees, including a customer service department. Its a small operation, and everyone helps where they can. On HoustonChronicle.com: 5G promises Houstonians faster internet, more choice Thomas says the network is capable of as much as 2.5 Gbps, but is currently limited to 1 Gbps because of limitations in the modems given to MB Link customers. Watkins said MB Link has blown out of the water the citys original projections. They expected to have 400 households signed up in the first year, but as the 1-year mark in June nears there are more than 1,200. They anticipated 60 percent penetration in three years, and MB Link is already at that point. Assistant City Manager Scott E. Swigert said revenue from MB Link was more than $79,000 in April, more than double projected revenue at the one-year point of $30,000. Mont Belvieu will make a bond payment this year of $477,586.76. Swigert said payments for the first two years were originally structured as interest-only, anticipating fewer paying customers. Industry pushback Customers may be happy with MB Link, but traditional telecom companies and internet providers have done what they can across the country to discourage and, in many cases, lobby for bans of municipal broadband. They argue that, among other things, its unfair for a government entity to compete against a commercial provider of internet or telecommunications access. According to BroadbandNow, a broadband advocacy group, 26 states including Texas have some kind of statute that restricts or blocks municipalities from offering internet and communications services. Among the groups opposed to municipal broadband efforts is USTelecom, a trade association for the telecommunications industry. Jonathan Spalter, its president and chief executive, said in an interview that municipalities like Mont Belvieu run the risk of cost overruns and maintenance issues when they go it alone with their own broadband service. They are far better off in the longer term by structuring partnerships with communications companies to actually deliver and deploy that service, Spalter said. Thats how its being done in Shenandoah, a town of about 3,000 just north of The Woodlands on Interstate 45. Despite its proximity to the larger suburb, Shenandoah also suffers from poor or, in many locations, no internet access. Joseph Peart, director of public works, said Shenandoah hired a contractor to install fiber-optic cable. Tachus, an internet provider with experience in fiber networks, will maintain and operate the network once its built. After 20 years, the entire operation will be turned over to the city to run. In the case of Mont Belvieu, such a partnership was sought, to no avail. Christopher Mitchell, director of Community Broadband Networks, said incumbent providers who cant or wont provide adequate service essentially forfeit the right to complain about cities getting into the internet business. I strongly believe in competitive markets, Mitchell said. But here it is in 2019, and we were having this conversation (about rural internet services) in 2012. The telcos have had 10 years to build out broadband and they havent done it. Opening the door The Mont Belvieu success story may have sparked a movement in Texas. Brian Ligon, the citys director of communications and marketing, said four Houston-area towns have contacted Mont Belvieu for information on MB Link, though he declined to name them. Mont Belvieu also has heard from three near Dallas: Celina, Lucas and Farmersville. Slow, inconsistent, unreliable, is what Ben White, Farmersvilles city manager, hears from the residents of that town of 3,700 about internet access there. He has had a tour of the MB Links system and is now putting together the same kind of residents survey that got Mont Belvieus ball rolling. Like Mont Belvieu, Farmersville seeks to own and operate its own network, but White is not sure if his town will need to file suit to do so. Senate Bill 14, which was approved by both chambers of the Texas Legislature in the session that just concluded, gives electric cooperatives the ability to launch fiber-optic internet networks. White said Farmersville operates one of those, and if signed by the governor the bill could make the path smoother. If you are outside of a big metro, you dont get the attention from the AT&Ts, Spectrums and Time Warners of the world, he said. They are just not coming to your community. dwight.silverman@chron.com As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content. When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to. After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. "This federal judge seems to believe that every large city in the state is entitled to its own abortion clinic," Hill said in a statement. "She further seems to think that state licensing requirements must give way whenever a clinic proposes to open in a city without one. The U.S. Supreme Court has never even remotely implied that such a rule exists." Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Key takeaways from this years South East Asia Hotel Investors Summit (SEAHIS) at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok, which HVS proudly sponsored for the third consecutive year. HVS proudly sponsored the third edition of the South East Asia Hotel Investors Summit that was held May 16-17 at the Westin Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok. This years event saw over 200 delegates interacting with hospitality industry leaders on a number of key issues, such as the role of the sharing economy, franchising, demand and supply outlook for 2019, and new distribution channels disrupting the industry. HOFTEL and HVS also presented the intermediary results of the first OTA survey in an effort to shed some light on the actual costs of distribution. Below are some key takeaways from the 2019 SEAHIS conference: Thailand post-Election, post-China? As the election was just held in Q1 2019 without a clear winner, there was no escape from lively debates on the political situation in Thailand. One of the key concerns for owners is the minimum wage as most political parties have made campaign promises to raise it to at least 400 baht per day, from the current 325 baht per day. Increasing labour costs are likely to hurt not only the bottom line, but also the development plans of a number of investors as construction costs are also set to rise. These concerns come at a time when tourism growth is subdued, with a notable slowdown of arrivals from China. Another main issue being discussed was the high price of land in Bangkok, especially in the core areas and along Sukhumvit Road, which has foreign investors shy away from investing in the city. However, there are still opportunities in other key tourist destinations in Thailand, such as Phuket, Krabi, Pattaya, etc. Some of these markets are suffering from supply/demand imbalances nonetheless, Thailand remains a tourism darling in South East Asia due to its ability to bounce back despite the supply challenges and its political instability. The rise of economy hotels in APAC Paola Orneli Bock from HVS Bangkok office led a lively roundtable discussion with participation from Archipelago International and Tauzia Hotels as well as the Erawan Group (home grown players in the sector in Indonesia and Thailand, respectively). Economy hotels account for approximately 15-20% of branded supply in APAC and with the rise of travellers (such as Millennials and Gen Zs), who are willing to spend more on experiences than accommodation, the sector is set to continue to boom. Efficiency, construction costs and location are the three main factors to consider when investing in this sector. Location is yet again key, as a few dollars in average rate can make a tremendous difference in the expected payback period. Investors can expect return in approximately seven years (with some mentioning as short as four years in locations with strong average rates!). For some of the key cities in the region where land is scarce and street frontage is valuable, budget hotels might not only be the savviest choice, but sometimes the only appropriate choice for small sites! The much-anticipated OTA Survey Results This years conference saved the best for last! The event concluded with Simon Allison from HOFTEL and Daniel Voellm from HVS presenting the results of the OTA commission survey the two firms carried out. Surprises were to be expected in the first study that aimed to survey the commissions paid by 400+ properties in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. The results were rather startling for both speakers and audience. They showed a wide range of commissions paid, from a low of 8% to a high of 25%. However, it should be noted that most of the results fell within the 13% to 15% range. Commission rates, as expected, differed on whether the property was independent, or managed by a domestic or international chain and on its geographical location. The findings certainly caught the interest of the owners in the room as OTA commissions remain largely undisclosed. The discussion left the audience hungry for more! HVS and HOFTEL aim to collect more responses. The findings will initially be shared among the survey participants. Please reach out to us for more information on how to contribute. Many owners nowadays understand distribution and how much business each OTA contributes to their properties. However, they are also keenly aware of how much of the pie they need to share. Nonetheless the total, true costs of distribution (including brand fees) are not as clear cut as OTA commissions and are not as widely debated as commissions are. Outlook Supply increases as well political uncertainty (read: various elections in the region, the US-China trade war, etc) have given reasons for concern to hotel investors in South East Asia. Additionally, markets that have been Chinese-outbound travel dependent are starting to feel the crunch, with the Chinese government increasingly promoting domestic travel. Nonetheless, the outlook for several countries remains positive, albeit investors are watching certain markets (like in Vietnam where supply is unabated) with growing concern. Additionally, the industry has to embrace a new generation of digital native travellers who will evolve the sector further. Daily News Delivery Join your colleagues and stay up to date on the latest all industry news and trends. Subscribe 2021 Hospitality Trends Live Show Set List Submission: Are You Getting All Your Royalty Money? As a songwriter, having your songs performed in public presents an opportunity for you to collect royalty money, a valuable source of income. But how can you be sure you're getting what you are entitled to? _______________________________ Guest post by Amanda Colleen Williams of Songpreneurs "My cowriter says he's submitting his live set lists to his PRO, but I haven't seen any money yet. What should I do? #AskAmanda" First a little background to answer this question submitted by one of our Songpreneurs Leadership Community members. We'll start with the most basic information and build forward from there. Background As a songwriter, you have an opportunity to collect royalty money when your song is performed in a live music venue. Whether you perform the song yourself, your cowriter performs it, or someone else covers your song, you are eligible to collect public performance money as a songwriter and music publisher. There is a procedure for each of the United States based PROs (performing rights organizations), and for most international performing rights societies that you can find on their online FAQs. As a performing songwriter, it's easy to submit your set lists to your PRO, and to get paid. But what the question is asking is about a cowriter's submission, so let's go into that. Reasons Why You Might Not Be Getting Paid There are a couple of reasons why you haven't gotten paid yet for your public performances. First, as the question suggests, your cowriter is lying to you about submitting the sets. This is probably the least likely of your problems, and one that cannot be completely addressed in the context of this answer, but we'll give it some thought. Importance of Trusting Your Cowriters In general, you should have a good level of trust in your cowriters, because it's a serious endeavor to create intellectual property with another person. You are essentially entering into an agreement with a person that has implications that last longer than either of you will live. Copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years in the United States, so you should think carefully before writing with people you don't know well or trust. It can help to work with trusted advisors when looking for new cowriters, or to take recommendations from friends and business associates you trust. Being part of a group like Songpreneurs can help you to find quality cowriters that will keep up with their business paperwork. But keeping in mind that not all groups are created equally, and not all put the focus on the business aspect of writing, you have good reason to tread carefully into the cowriting waters. Assuming your cowriter is telling the truth about submitting the live performance setlists, there are a couple of other reasons why you might not have received any money yet. Your song is registered incorrectly If your song is registered incorrectly in the PROs, your payment will be delayed. You should check the listings for the song in all the PROs where it is registered, and make sure the information is the same. Also check that your contact information including your address is correct. This is very important. No correct address equals no payment getting to you. Just wait longer Given the fact that it takes up to a year or more for some payments to process through the performing rights organizations, you might just need to wait longer to see those royalties come in to your mail box. If you thought the music business was fast paced, you're in for a surprise. Sure a few things happen quickly when you have the right team and preparation, but usually royalty payments take at least six months to process, and that's if the income is significant. For smaller live performance venues, it may take as much as a year to see the money on your end. So be patient. Other things to consider A couple of other things to consider with this question. If you are a songwriter who has not signed with a music publisher, you can collect the publishing income as well as the songwriter income for the public performances. Just make sure you are registered as a writer and a publisher with your PRO, or if you're with BMI, you can register yourself as a self published writer by claiming 200% of your writer's share. This is a thing unique to BMI among the three big U.S. based PROs. Both ASCAP and SESAC operate as 100% writer, 100% publisher for each song, and require a separate registration as a writer and publisher if you're both. If you have more questions about how this works, pick up a copy of our red workbook called "Getting Started the Right Way in the New Millennium of Music Business." It's a simple resource for songwriters by songwriters about how to understand your music business foundations. Even if you think you know this stuff (especially if you think you know it all) you might want to give it a read. Conclusion There are a few things to consider when trying to make sure you're collecting all your royalties for live public performance. Make sure you have done your paper work correctly, work with trusted cowriters, and be patient with your dealings in the music business. ___ Got a question about songwriting and music business entrepreneurship? #AskAmanda Share on: Apple Set To Kill iTunes Today, New iPod Touch Unveiled Apple is set to announce the end of iTunes today. Ironically, the company unveiled a new iPod Touch last week, the newest iteration of the hardware that made it so easy to put a whopping 1000 iTunes tracks in your pocket. During Tim Cook's keynote at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California today June 6th, Apple is set to replace iTunes with standalone music, television and podcast apps, reports Bloomberg. Apple is re-positioning itself as a next generation media company, and an 18 year old service with rapidly dwindling sales does not fit the new portfolio. Rumors have swirled about the demise of iTunes since 2016 and the growth of Apple Music and Spotify. Last year, Apple began telling labels that 2019 was the year that iTunes would end, multiple sources tell Hypebot. The attraction of Napster was not just that it was free, but more importantly, it gave people a way to connect with pretty much any piece of music, the former Warner Music vice-president Paul Vidich told Rolling Stone in 2013. What Steve was doing with iTunes was to replicate that type of experience a vast catalogue, available on a singles basis, with a convenient interface. It had to be easier than Napster. New iPod Touch In its first real update since 2015, Apple announced a new iPod touch last week featuring an Apple A10 Fusion chip. The new addition also has a 256 GB model for the first time. Share on: With the passage of new copyright legislation in Europe, many are assuming that Big Tech will finally be held accountable to the new laws, but Chris Castle takes a somewhat different view, predicting a two-year copyright war is just heating up. _____________________________ Guest post by Chris Castle of Music Technology Policy [This post originally appeared in the MusicTechPolicy Monthly Newsletter.] If youve heard about the new copyright law in Europe, youve probably heard that the new rules with either break the Internet or bring Big Tech to heel. Id suggest neither proposition is true but not for the reasons you might think. The reason is that Big Tech has absolutely no intention of complying with the law unless they are made to do so and few-if any- governments have the stomach to make them. Cynical much, you may think? Not really. Hardly a day goes by that some new horror story doesnt break about some awful business practice at Google, Facebook, Amazon or Twitter. Lawmakers wring their hands, maybe fine the company concerned and everyone goes back to sleep until the next eruption. Those fines are in the billions, but the bad behavior continues. Theres a simple explanation for why. It should be obvious by now that relying on good corporate citizenship is no more likely to produce a good outcome with Big Tech than it has been with Big Anything Else. You can dress them up in hoodies, they can tell you to lean in and that they wont be evil, but trust me has not worked out very well so far. Not only has trust me not worked out in terms of outcomes, it also hasnt resulted in compliance with the law. And this is the real reason why the bad behavior continues. Its not that these horror stories are glitchesno, the platforms that produce the inhuman results are working exactly as they are designed to do. Do you really think that companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon arent able to control their platforms, algorithms and applications? No, these companies make things that work very, very well. For them. They wrap them in extraordinary spin and mythology and deceive their users into increasingly addictive behaviors. At their core, all these platforms are in two business linessurveillance capitalism and addiction. They use access to music and movies and journalism as a honeypot to draw in users whose data they can scrape and resell in an unvirtuous circle. Face itthe Amazon shopping jones is not that different that a Home Shopping Network addiction, and none of the engineered behavior addictions from Silicon Valley are that different that Brown & Williamson Tobacco chemically engineering their product to be physically addictive to smokers with the messaging to match. Nowhere is the unvirtuous circle more obvious than in Europe during the run up to and final passage of the new European Copyright Directive. It cannot be overlooked that the European Commission fined Google billions of dollars twice during the period that overlapped with the ultimate passing of the Directive, for a total of $6.8 billion. Those fines seem large, but were barely discussed compared to the braying from YouTube over the Copyright Directive. Her grandfather was in Vietnam and others in our family fought as well, so I believe she should know as much as can absorb at her age, she said. As she gets older and we keep coming to events like this she will see things in a clearer light. Translation: IATA anuncia ganadores de los Premios de Diversidad e Inclusion (pdf) Anunciados os vencedores dos Premios Diversidade & Inclusao da IATA (pdf) Annonce des laureats des prix de lIATA pour la diversite et linclusion (pdf) (pdf) Seoul The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the winners of the inaugural IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards in three categories: - Inspirational Role Model: Christine Ourmieres-Widener, CEO, Flybe - High Flyer Award: Fadimatou Noutchemo Simo, Founder and President, Young African Aviation Professional Association (YAAPA) - Diversity & Inclusion Team: Air New Zealand Nominations for the awards were adjudicated by a panel of four judges: Angela Gittens, Director General, Airports Council International; Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, World Travel and Tourism Council; Mark Pilling, Vice President Publishing and Conferences, FlightGlobal; and Karen Walker, Editor-in-Chief, Air Transport World. Selecting the winners was a difficult task. The large number of high-quality applications reflects the breadth of work being done across the industry on gender diversity and inclusion. There can only be one winner in each category, but all the applicants should inspire the industry to move forward. To meet the demands of the future, aviation needs a diverse and inclusive workforce, said Angela Gittens, on behalf of the judging panel. I congratulate all the nominees and winners of these awards, all of them should be proud of what they have achieved and how they are contributing to the Diversity & Inclusion agenda. Our industry is diverse and we need an equally diverse and inclusive workforce to meet their needs. But there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the balance we need, particularly on gender diversity at senior levels. Todays impressive awardees both demonstrate and inspire progress, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO. The IATA Diversity & Inclusion Awards are sponsored by Qatar Airways. Each winner receives a prize of $25,000, payable to the winner in each of the categories or to their nominated charities. Qatar Airways is very pleased to sponsor the IATA Diversity and Inclusion Awards. We know that diversity and inclusion are strengths in helping us serve the needs of our customers and we sponsored these awards to help us and the industry as a whole identify those who are leading in this field so that we might learn from their success. Congratulations to all the winners and all those who were nominated helping to drive important change in our industry, said HE Mr Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive and Chair of the IATA Board of Governors (2018-2019). The awards were presented at the conclusion of the World Air Transport Summit (WATS) which followed the 75th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The IATA AGM and WATS gathered more than 1,000 leaders of the global air transport industry. Profiles: Inspirational Role Model: Christine Ourmieres-Widener, CEO, Flybe Christine Ourmieres -Widener began her career in aviation as a young engineer in maintenance department. From there she has worked her way up through various high-profile roles on multiple continents, leading her to the role of the CEO of Flybe. One of her main areas of focus includes raising the profile of aviation among young people and inspiring young women to join the aviation industry. She introduced the highly successful FlyShe initiative which is designed to change aspirations and create opportunities for women. The FlyShe program has received coverage both in the UK and abroad and continues to be recognized as a way to address the future skills shortage in aviation. Christines mantra is that young women cannot be what they cannot see which is why she uses her position as a CEO of an airline to champion women in aviation at every opportunity, becoming a true role model for young and ambitious women. High Flyer Award: Fadimatou Noutchemo Simo, Founder and President, Young African Aviation Professional Association (YAAPA) Fadimatou is a woman with a mission to raise awareness of aviation as a potential career, particularly in those communities which may not ordinarily be exposed to aviation. In 2014 she founded the Young African Aviation Professional Association (YAAPA) to help make this a reality. As part of YAAPAs outreach program Fadimatou introduced the Heleta Aviation Scholarship Program to encourage underprivileged children in rural areas of Africa to consider aviation as a future career choice. YAAPA is also an active player in establishing a Community Center in Cameroon which will aim to introduce a Youth Aviation Tech Program for Africa by matching interested young people with aviation professionals and providing them with strong mentorship opportunities. Diversity & Inclusion Team: Air New Zealand Air New Zealand embarked on its Diversity and Inclusion journey in 2013. Thanks to the commitment from its Board and Executive team as well as Diversity and Inclusion champions across the organization, the airline established an organization that represents Aotearoa, a place to work where all Air New Zealanders can be themselves and thrive. The initial focus of the program was on gender and accelerating the advancement of women. A Women in Leadership Program aimed to empower women to realize their full potential while working at Air New Zealand. The airline also created various networksWomen in Digital, Women in Engineering & Maintenance and WINGS (female pilots). The number of females in senior leadership roles has increased from 16% in 2003 to 42% today. Air New Zealands efforts have been broadly recognized with the Gender Tick Accreditation, Rainbow Tick Accreditation and the Accessibility Tick Accreditation. Importantly, 80% of employees say Air New Zealand is open to and accepts differences which is a 22% improvement over 2016. For more information, please contact: Corporate Communications Tel: +41 22 770 2967 Email: corpcomms@iata.org Notes for editors: ACI World, IATA and WWACG agree on new industry-wide governance Montreal Airports Council International (ACI) World, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG) announced the agreement of a new governance structure for the WSG that puts the interests of the traveling public at the center of the process. Airport operators, airlines, and slot coordinators will now play an equal role in determining the global guidelines for the allocation of airport slots. More than 200 airports require slot coordination because they have insufficient capacity to meet demand at all times of the day. Coordination based on global standards helps to maximize utilization of existing capacity, avoid delays and improve the passenger experience. The new industry-wide governance was signed today in Seoul, South Korea by ACI World Director General Angela Gittens, IATA Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, and WWACG Chairman, Mr. Eric Herbane. All parties agreed that new governance and increased collaboration provides an opportunity to further modernize slot allocation mechanisms to the benefit of the travelling public and the aviation community at large. This new agreement on airport slots will have a transformative effect on a crucial component of the air transport industry and is a result of close collaboration between ACI and its global partners, IATA and the WWACG, ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said. ACI and IATA forecasts show that global traffic will double by the 2030s. This highlights the need for airports and airlines to make best use of existing infrastructure as well as plan for new infrastructure. This fully reformed governance sets the ideal ground to regularly review the slot allocation process with the appropriate level of ambition and in line with an increasingly competitive and highly connected global network. IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac said the new guidelines would make slot allocation even more responsive to changing needs of the market. For more than 40 years, the Worldwide Slots Guidelines has managed scarce airport capacity fairly, transparently and independently, Mr de Juniac said. This has enabled airlines to make network investments with certainty. But more importantly it has benefitted consumers by ensuring schedule reliability while enhancing competition by providing opportunities for new entrants in even the most congested airports. By working together with ACI and WWACG the time-tested WSG will become even more responsive to evolving market needs. But it is vital that policy-makers remember insufficient capacity to meet demand forfeits economic opportunities. The new WSG governance will make the best use of what we havebut it is no substitute for investing in modern airports and air traffic management. Worldwide Airport Coordinators Group (WWACG) Chairman Eric Herbane also welcomed the announcement. In the context of Air Transport liberalization for a growing number of regions around the world which results in an ever increasing number of congested airports, it is of the utmost importance that scarce airport capacity available is allocated in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory way by airport coordinators or schedules facilitators acting independently from any interested party to guarantee the benefits of the liberalization, Mr. Herbane said. Our international airport coordinators and facilitators association welcomes this new WSG governance that now brings together, as equal partners, the three main Industry stakeholders representing capacity providers and capacity users of an airport, together with those in charge of the capacity allocation, with the same goal to ensure the Industry airport slot allocation best practices meet the needs of the passengers. We trust that in the future, should regulators around the world ever still feel necessary to act in slot allocation, they will understand the global nature of this industry by taking their inspiration in the WSG for the backbone of their regulation, relying on such broad and various experiences brought together with this new WSG governance. For more information, please contact: Corporate Communications Tel: +41 22 770 2967 Email: corpcomms@iata.org Sabrina Guerrieri Manager, Communications ACI World Telephone: +1 514 373 1200 Email: mediarelations@aci.aero Eric Herbane Chairman, WorldWide Airport Coordinators Group Email: chairman@wwacg.org Notes for Editors: She and the families of other students who lived in the four-story Uptown East apartment buildings, some of which are sublet through the university and some of which are leased through a management company, said their apartments lacked heat during the winter and they were given small space heaters that couldnt begin to heat their living quarters. They found doors that didnt properly close, wall sockets that didnt work, water damage and other problems, and a runaround as they tried to have their concerns resolved. This has been the time of my life, professionally speaking, he said during his final weekend in business. Hundreds of people so thrilled to walk out of the store with a bag or more of books is nothing less than thrilling for me. In every way it could be, it has been the best of all worlds for me, and also for my customers I think. This content is from: People and Culture While momentum is building for ESG in finance in Asia, the lack of product diversification and standard alignment creates unevenness in decarbonisation efforts Imperial Valley News Center Kansas Cardiologist and His Practice Pay $5.8 Million to Resolve Alleged False Billings for Unnecessary Cardiac Procedures Wichita, Kansas - Joseph P. Galichia M.D., a Wichita, Kansas, cardiologist, has agreed to pay $5.8 million to resolve allegations that he and his medical group, Galichia Medical Group, P.A. (GMED), violated the False Claims Act by improperly billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary cardiac stent procedures, the Department of Justice announced. Galichia also agreed to a three-year period of exclusion from participation in any federal health care program. The settlement relates to a lawsuit in which the United States intervened on December 12, 2014. This settlement reflects the Department of Justices commitment to ensuring the safety of federal health care program beneficiaries and that taxpayer monies are properly spent, said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Department of Justices Civil Division. Patient safety is critically important, said U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister for the District of Kansas. Performing medically unnecessary procedures puts patients at risk and defrauds federal health care programs. When a physician bills the government for medically unnecessary procedures, both patients health and taxpayers can end up paying the price, said Special Agent in Charge Steve Hanson of the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. OIG is excluding Dr. Galichia from participation in Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal health care programs, and we will continue to work with our partners to protect the health and welfare of Medicare beneficiaries. The government contended that Galichia and GMED knowingly submitted false billings from Jan. 1, 2008, through Dec.31, 2014, for surgical procedures in which Galichia implanted coronary stents that were not medically necessary. The allegedly false billings were submitted to Medicare, the Defense Health Agency, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. This is the governments third False Claims Act settlement with Galichia and GMED. In 2009, Galichia and GMED paid $1.3 million to settle allegations that they submitted claims for services not provided or lacking proper documentation. In 2000, Galichia and GMED paid $1.5 million to settle allegations that they submitted claims for a higher level of service than provided, billed twice for the same services, and billed for services not provided. The settlement announced resolves allegations in a lawsuit filed by Aly Gadalla M.D., in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas. The lawsuit was filed under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals to sue on behalf of the government for false claims and to share in any recovery. The Act also allows the government to intervene and take over the action, as it did in this case. Dr. Gadalla will receive approximately $1.16 million. The governments resolution of this matter illustrates the governments emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477). The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Kansas and the Department of Justices Civil Division, in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, the FBI, the Defense Health Agency on behalf of the TRICARE program, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service of the Inspector General for the Department of Defense, and the Office of Personnel Management, Office of Inspector General. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Gadalla v. Dr. Joseph Galichia, et al., Case No. 12-1259 (D. Kan.). The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. Imperial Valley News Center Neurologist Pleads Guilty for Role in Scheme to Unlawfully Dispense Controlled Substances and to Commit Health Care Fraud New Orleans, Louisiana - A neurologist from Mandeville, Louisiana, pleaded guilty Thursday for his role in a scheme to unlawfully prescribe controlled substances, namely oxycodone and hydrocodone, without performing required face-to-face examinations, and his role in a scheme to commit health care fraud. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Peter G. Strasser of the Eastern District of Louisiana, Special Agent in Charge Eric J. Rommal of the FBIs New Orleans Field Office and Special Agent in Charge C.J. Porter of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector Generals (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office made the announcement. Anil Prasad, M.D., 62, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern District of Louisiana to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Sentencing is set for Sept. 4, 2019, before Judge Milazzo. In pleading guilty, Prasad admitted that he conspired with others to unlawfully distribute and dispense controlled substances at a medical clinic that was, in actuality, a pill mill. Prasad admitted that he rarely performed face-to-face examinations of patients at the clinic to determine whether any medical necessity existed for the controlled substances that he dispensed to them. Instead, Prasad admitted he pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances for patients. Those patients then picked up the prescriptions from the clinic after making a cash payment to the clinic. Prasad also admitted that he pre-signed prescriptions before traveling internationally, and that patients would pick up those prescriptions while he was out of the country. Further, Prasad admitted that he knew certain patients who received the pre-signed prescriptions used their Medicare and Medicaid benefits to fill the prescriptions at area pharmacies. In total, Medicare and Medicaid paid approximately $1,657,461.15 for those prescriptions, Prasad admitted. This case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Louisiana Attorney Generals Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Trial Attorney Jared Hasten of the Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharan Lieberman of the Eastern District of Lousiana are prosecuting the case. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force is part of a joint initiative between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country. Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, which maintains 14 strike forces operating in 23 districts, has charged nearly 4,000 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $14 billion. In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers. To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov. Imperial Valley News Center Justice Department Requires Amcor to Divest Medical Flexible Packaging Assets in Order to Proceed with Bemis Acquisition Washington, DC - The Department of Justice announced Thursday that Amcor Limited will be required to divest three manufacturing facilities and other assets in order to proceed with its $6.8 billion acquisition of Bemis Company Inc. The Department said that, without the divestiture, the proposed acquisition would eliminate competition between two of only three significant suppliers of three medical packaging products that are critical to the safe transportation and use of medical devices. The Departments Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction. At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Departments competitive concerns. The medical packaging products that Amcor and Bemis manufacture are integral to the safe sterilization, transportation, and use of medical devices in hospitals, medical offices, and labs around the country, said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division. Todays settlement, which requires Amcor to divest its medical flexible packaging business at these three facilities, will ensure that medical care providers continue to benefit from competition for these critical products. According to the Departments complaint, Amcor and Bemis both supply three types of heat-seal, coated medical packaging products critical to the safe transportation and use of medical devices: medical-grade Tyvek rollstock, medical-grade paper rollstock, and medical-grade Tyvek die-cut lidding. Due to Amcors and Bemiss collective overall expertise in meeting the needs of doctors and hospitals, Amcor and Bemis are two major competitors supplying these products. According to the complaint, the combination of Amcor and Bemis would eliminate head-to-head competition between the companies in the markets for these products and threaten the benefits that medical care providers have realized from that competition in the form of lower prices and better service. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Amcor must divest manufacturing facilities located in Ashland, Massachusetts; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Madison, Wisconsin; along with certain related assets, to Tekni-Plex Inc., or an alternate acquirer approved by the United States. Tekni-Plex is an international leader in flexible films and medical supplies. Amcor, headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, had total sales of over $9 billion in 2018, including approximately $288 million in sales of flexible packaging for medical use in the United States. Bemis, a Missouri corporation headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, had total sales of over $4 billion in 2018, including approximately $260.9 million in sales of flexible packaging for medical use in the United States. As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed consent decree, along with the Departments competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days of its publication to Maribeth Petrizzi, Chief, Defense, Industrials, and Aerospace Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 8700, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest. Imperial Valley News Center Darknet Fentanyl Dealer Indicted in Nationwide Undercover Operation Targeting Darknet Vendors Dallas, Texas - Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas announced the indictment of a darknet drug dealer who has been indicted for leveraging Bitcoins apparent anonymity to sell fentanyl online. The charges against him are the result of the first nationwide undercover operation targeting darknet vendors that the Justice Department announced in June 2018. Sean Shaughnessy, 51, of the Dallas Fort Worth, Texas area, was charged by federal grand jury with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of a controlled substance, distribution of a controlled substance analogue and eight counts of money laundering. According to the indictment, which was unsealed on May 24 following the defendants initial appearance, Mr. Shaughnessy allegedly sold fentanyl and fentanyl analogues over the dark web, an unindexed portion of the internet accessible only via specialized software that allows users to conduct transactions with relative anonymity. His buyers purchased the fentanyl and fentanyl analogues, which was shipped to their addresses, using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the indictment alleges. One user, who allegedly purchased a fentanyl analogue from Mr. Shaughnessy, overdosed on the substance and died. Mr. Shaughnessy allegedly transferred his Bitcoin proceeds to other cryptocurrency wallets in exchange for regular fiat currency, which was shipped to his home in Dallas. Unbeknownst to Mr. Shaughnessy, he sent more than $120,000 bitcoin to wallet addresses controlled by federal agents. Yesterday, he was ordered to remain in federal custody. The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The investigation into Sean Shaughnessy was part of Operation Dark Gold, a year-long, coordinated national operation that used the first nationwide undercover action to target vendors of illicit goods on the darknet. Special agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Field Office posed as a money launderer on darknet market sites, exchanging U.S. currency for virtual currency. Through this operation, HSI New York was able to identify numerous vendors of illicit goods, leading to the opening of more than 90 active cases around the country, including the investigation into Mr. Shaughnessy in the Northern District of Texas. The Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the Department of Justices Criminal Division, coordinated with law enforcement and federal prosecutors from more than 50 U.S. Attorneys Offices to investigate 65 targets identified by the undercover operation, which led to the arrest and impending prosecution of more than 30 darknet vendors. One year after 70 search warrants were executed in May 2018, numerous opioid and narcotics distributors have been charged and convicted around the country. Those include: Brian Gutierrez-Villasenor, 27, of San Francisco, California, was sentenced recently to serve 120 months in prison for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and transporting funds to promote unlawful activity. Gutierrez-Villasenor was charged by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of California. According to his guilty plea, between 2014 and May of 2018, Gutierrez-Villasenor distributed cocaine and methamphetamine for a darknet vendor site called JetSetLife. In addition to the prison term, Gutierrez-Villasenor was ordered to pay a $40,000 fine and to serve an additional five-year term of supervised release to begin after his prison term. Gutierrez-Villasenor has been in custody since his arrest on May 17, 2018, and is serving his prison sentence. John Edward Monette, 50, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was sentenced to serve five years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Monette was convicted of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance on Nov. 15, 2018. On April 25, 2018, a federal search warrant was executed on Monettes residence as part of Operation Dark Gold. Law enforcement officers seized approximately 838 grams of MDMA, numerous ecstasy pills, approximately 69 grams of cocaine, drug packaging, scales, shipping materials, computers, cell phones and a rifle. Also seized were 3.3882104 bitcoin (approximate value $32,464.38) from a Mycelium wallet on Monettes cell phone. Monette had been buying MDMA and other controlled substances from sellers in Europe and elsewhere via the dark web. He used Bitcoin to pay his suppliers, and received the drugs via mail. He also used the mail to deliver drugs to his customers. Ryan Farace, 34, of Reisterstown, Maryland, and Robert Swain, 34, of Freeland, Maryland, were charged by the U.S Attorneys Office for the District of Maryland. Farace was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for drug distribution and money laundering conspiracies. The charges arose from a scheme to manufacture and distribute Alprazolam, or Xanax, through sales on the darknet in exchange for Bitcoin. Farace and his co-conspirator, Robert Swain, laundered the drug proceeds through financial transactions designed to conceal the source and ownership of the illegal funds. Farace was ordered to forfeit a money judgment equal to $5,665,000 and 4,000 bitcoin (currently worth approximately $3.2 million). Farace was also ordered to forfeit assets seized by law enforcement during the execution of search warrants in 2018, at locations associated with the conspiracies, including approximately $1.5 million in cash, 1.100 bitcoin and approximately $2.5 million in computer equipment. Robert Swain previously pleaded guilty to the money laundering conspiracy and faces a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison at his sentencing on June 18. Tyler Lee Ward, 35, of Moody, Alabama, and Henry Long Nguyen, 33, of Birmingham, Alabama, pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Alabama to three counts including conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute Alprazolam; maintaining a drug-involved premises; and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Ward was sentenced to serve 24 months in prison and Nguyen was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison. Both Ward and Nguyen were ordered to forfeit numerous assets, including more than $200,000 in cryptocurrency. Joseph William Davis 26, of Madison, Alabama, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute Alprazolam and was sentenced to serve 126 months in prison. Sam Bent, 32, of St. Johnsbury, Vermont (and formerly of East Burke, Vermont), and his cousin, Djeneba Bent, 26, also of St. Johnsbury (and formerly East Burke) were both charged by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Vermont. They both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Sam Bent also pleaded guilty to three counts of money laundering and agreed to a forfeiture money judgment. As part of his plea agreement, Sam Bent admitted that he set up accounts on dark web marketplaces, established online identities, accepted Bitcoin in exchange for sales over the dark web, and mailed controlled substances from several different post offices in Northeastern Vermont and Northwestern New Hampshire in an effort to avoid detection. Their sentencings are currently scheduled for July 2019. Kyle Lindemann, 31, of Birmingham, Michigan, was charged by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, and pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute MDMA. As part of his plea, Lindemann admitted that he had managed a vendor account on the darknet marketplace known as Dream Market, on which he sold Alprazolam (Xanax), Adderall, Ecstasy (MDMA), and GHB. Lindemann also agreed to the forfeiture of 4.430550289998 Monero and 39.17488 MilliBitcoin that were seized during Operation Dark Gold, in May 2018. The investigations are pending. Imperial Valley News Center California Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor He Met While Playing Clash Of Clans Los Angeles, California - A Fresno, California, man was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison followed by seven years of supervised release for using the internet to coerce and entice a minor into producing child pornography. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia and Acting Assistant Director in Charge John P. Selleck of the FBIs Washington Field Office made the announcement. Emilio Morales, 29, was sentenced Friday before U.S. District Judge Liam OGrady. According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Morales met the 11-year-old victim while playing the online game Clash of Clans. In 2017, Morales began grooming the victim over Clash of Clans before proposing that he and the victim communicate privately over the online chatting application Kik Messenger. While communicating over Kik Messenger, Morales coerced and persuaded the victim to produce and send him sexually explicit images and videos. The conduct ceased when, despite Moraless attempts at manipulation, the minor victim refused to participate in any further sexual activity. The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Offices Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Prince William County Police Department, with substantial assistance from the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). The case was prosecuted by CEOS Trial Attorney Kyle P. Reynolds and Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitney D. Russell of the Eastern District of Virginia. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. May steps down as head of the governing Conservative Party at the end of the week and will stay on as prime minister only until a successor as party leader is chosen. The leading candidate to replace her is Boris Johnson, a former London mayor and onetime truth-stretching journalist who in 2015 blasted then-candidate Trump as unfit to be president because of his "stupefying ignorance." Trump hasn't changed but Johnson's view of him has. Both are identified with the wave of nationalist populism tainted by racism and xenophobia that has befouled Western democracies. Imperial Valley News Center Cowboy Gun Bandits Who Used Large-Caliber Handgun During Robbery Spree Each Sentenced to Decades in Federal Prison Los Angeles, California - Two men dubbed the Cowboy Gun Bandits by the FBI for using a large-caliber revolver during a series of robberies that targeted gas station convenience stores and a bank to serve federal prison sentences of at least 35 years. Dominic Dorsey, 51, of Hollywood, was sentenced late Friday by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder to 40 years in federal prison. Reginald Bailey, 74, of the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, was ordered Friday afternoon to serve a 35-year sentence. In addition to the prison sentences, Judge Snyder ordered both men to pay restitution totaling $58,700. Following a two-week trial in July 2016, a federal jury found Dorsey and Bailey guilty of 11 felony counts conspiracy to interfere with commerce in violation of the Hobbs Act, five specific Hobbs Act robberies and five counts of using a firearm during the robberies. The jury specifically found that Dorsey and Bailey committed five robberies: a September 24, 2013, robbery at a Shell gas station in Woodland Hills; an October 6, 2013, robbery at an ARCO gas station in Newhall; an October 18, 2013, robbery at a Chevron gas station in Woodland Hills; an October 25, 2013, robbery at an ARCO gas station in Encino; and a November 5, 2013, robbery of a Citibank branch in Glendale that netted more than $55,000. In addition to these robberies, the jury heard evidence in relation to the conspiracy count that Dorsey and Bailey also committed robberies at three other gas stations in October 2013. Documents filed by prosecutors in relation to the sentencings described the violent, terroristic nature of Dorsey and Baileys criminal conduct, and how they repeatedly brandished and used a firearm to control and instill fear in innocent civilians in order to steal from them and their businesses. Many of the robberies were captured by video surveillance, which allowed investigators to determine that one of the robbers was missing part of his ring finger on his left hand. The video evidence helped lead authorities to Bailey, whose left hand is missing a portion of his ring finger. The investigation into the string of robberies by the Cowboy Gun Bandits was conducted by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Task Force on Violent Crime, which is made up of investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department. The Glendale Police Department provided substantial assistance during the investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph D. Axelrad and Jeffrey M. Chemerinsky of the Violent and Organized Crime Section. A lot of lawyers at Amazon and Google had to cancel plans this past weekend, I'm willing to bet. The reason: a series of news reports that broke over the weekend, suggesting the federal government is teeing up antitrust investigations against both tech giants. The news started dripping out Friday evening, with reports that the Justice Department was looking at Google. And on Sunday, The Washington Post reported that Amazon is now facing "heightened antitrust scrutiny" by the Federal Trade Commission, after the FTC worked out an agreement with the Justice Department. In other words -- and as a nonpracticing lawyer, I find this really interesting -- the two federal agencies in charge of antitrust investigation reportedly just worked out a deal in which one of them would go after Google, and the other one would scrutinize Amazon. At this point, all of us on the outside (along with the lawyers at Amazon and Google), are left to speculate and wonder what the agencies have in mind. Lawsuits have not been filed to our knowledge. But, "if there is an active discussion of where the boundaries are, that would indicate there's a reason for that discussion," as Maureen Ohlhausen, a partner at the law firm Baker Botts who previously served as chair of the FTC, told the Post. Google has weathered antitrust investigations before, including a 2013 FTC probe that led to no changes, and some big fines in Europe, as the Post points out, and "E.U. officials are actively investigating Amazon." This seems like a new, tougher era, however, and a time when the dangers for the tech giants are much more acute. In part it's the difference between the Obama administration and the Trump administration's approach to the tech giants. In part it's that public sentiment has mostly shifted against the tech giants over the past few years: Google dropped 13 points to 46th this year in a Harris Poll; Facebook fell 43 spots to 94th. (Exception to the rule however, is Amazon, which is ranked No. 2, down from No. 1 last year.) That said, we're in a time when both Republicans and Democrats want to look at the idea of breaking up big tech companies. Let's put it this way: Find another issue, if you can, on which both Attorney General William Barr and Senator Elizabeth Warren agree. Warren has also called for the breakup of Facebook. At this point it almost feels like an insult if you run a tech company and politicians aren't calling for you to be broken up. And once these investigations start, they can easily take on a life of their own. As Shira Ovide wrote for Bloomberg on Saturday: "Once the U.S. government pores over every internal email and business development contract, there's no telling what it will turn up. If the DOJ moves ahead, it will also be an open invitation for every company or individual with a gripe against Google to pile on, and an investigation will embolden critics of Facebook, Amazon, and other tech giants as well." Oh, and Facebook didn't have a great weekend in Washington, either. The District's attorney general won a court victory letting his case against the social-media giant go forward, "to begin 'obtaining all of the evidence proving that Facebook broke District law and did not follow its own policies to protect the privacy of more than 340,000 Facebook users who reside in the District.'" Before my current company, Trainual, I consulted small businesses on operations efficiency. Most young companies are running on fumes and the tiniest bit of productivity or new capacity can provide a massive boost. I remember working with one agency entrepreneur and in our first meeting I asked him, "when is the last time you took a vacation?" He said, "probably back in high school with my parents." Hold on. This guy is married with kids and has been running his own business for three years. "What about your honeymoon?" I asked him. Nope. They had skipped their honeymoon, as it didn't seem practical for a startup to waste money on something so luxurious. In fact, a lot of the wedding presents went toward fueling the new business. We start our businesses because we dream of the rewards it will bring. But what good is running a business if you never cash in on your accomplishments? Here are five ways to build celebration into your culture. Celebrate via Slack. Slack is the perfect place to celebrate every day wins. My team and I have a slack channel dedicated solely to wins and praise, where we take a minute to shout out other team members for their hard work, share a new feature that our development team built, or announce a huge milestone we achieved. It's a great outlet to express immediate gratitude to your team. Plus, you can customize your own "slackmojis", so that's pretty fun, too. Host monthly events. At least once a month, we coordinate a company-wide outing of some sort. But what I think is really important here is that these events or outings aren't always done after work hours when people have other obligations. Many of our team events are during work hours -- like the time we went and saw a matinee movie on a Friday afternoon. Not every monthly event has to have a monetary component. In fact, a lot of the activities we do as a team are free -- like our team hikes. Nearly everyone at my company has an affinity for the outdoors, so we've coordinated a monthly sunrise hike before the Arizona heat rises. Go on a retreat. Earlier this year, we kicked off the start of the new fiscal year by packing up and heading to Lake Tahoe for a week-long retreat. The whole company flew out from Scottsdale and Boston to be together under one roof -- literally. While one of the major goals of the retreat was to do some yearly and quarterly goal-setting and planning, I really wanted to take an opportunity for team bonding. When your team members connect with each other on a personal level, it makes for better working relationships within the office. Reward with bonuses. This year we rolled out a bonus structure for all employees. But unlike many companies whose bonuses are based on individual performance or merit, we opted into a team mentality. In order for anyone to get a bonus, the whole company has to meet the key growth metrics that we collaborated on at our retreat. This has everyone aligned and motivated together! Track your metrics publicly. Accomplishing big wins is awesome, and worthy of celebrating. So, don't keep your milestones in the dark. In our office, we programed an analog ticker that loudly resets our customer count every time a new subscriber is charged. It's a fun way to see that our efforts are paying off, and that we're helping businesses all over the world to simplify their onboarding and training efforts. Maybe you don't want a ticker around your office, but finding some outlet to showcase your metrics will help your team stay connected and working toward a shared goal. Start cashing in. Celebrating your wins is huge for company culture and morale, and worth cashing in on. Before I left the office of that agency CEO, I gave him an ultimatum. "If you don't book a vacation before I come back next time, I can't work with you." He was a quick learner, took out his laptop right away, and booked his first vacation in years. He carved out time to celebrate all his major accomplishments and has since returned to the same place five times. A friend with a wearable fitness tracker defines herself by 10,000 steps. If she gets 10,000 steps today, she feels healthy. If she doesn't get 10,000 steps tomorrow, she doesn't -- even though she also lifts weights four times a week, cycles 80-100 miles a week, and has a BMI of less than 20. Another friend hits the 10,000 step mark every day, no matter what. If he's lagging behind at the end of the day, he paces around his living room while watching TV. To him, 10,000 steps is everything: Getting 10,000 steps means he's healthy and fit -- even though he's at least 50 pounds overweight, gets winded after climbing one set of stairs, and has been on cholesterol meds for years. And even though, as new research shows, there's no science behind a 10,000 step goal. 10,000 Steps: Marketing, Not Science In fact, instead of being an accurate way to measure health, the 10,000-step goal is mostly the result of marketing. As the researchers write: A common goal of 10 ,000 steps per day has been perpetuated by the press and is often used as the default by software programs on wearables and smartphones. However, the origin of the goal of 10 ,000 steps per day... likely derives from the trade name of a pedometer sold in 1965 by Yamasa Clock and Instrument Company in Japan called Manpo-kei, which translates to '10 ,000 steps meter' in Japanese. Yep: That default 10,000 step goal on many fitness trackers (and on the first Fitbit I purchased) is the result of marketing, not science. And it turns out there's almost no research on how many steps are required for health. To start to bridge that gap, the researchers assessed step totals and mortality rates for 16,000 elderly women. Here's what they found: Participants who averaged 4,400 steps per day had a 41 percent lower mortality rate compared to those less active. had a 41 percent lower mortality rate compared to those less active. Participants who averaged over 4,400 steps per day experienced even lower mortality rates... steps per day experienced even lower mortality rates... But only up to around 7,500 steps per day; that's when mortality rates plateaued. (Meaning walking more than 7,500 steps per day had no appreciable effect on life expectancy.) And here's the real key: Participants who increased their daily activity by 2,000 steps experienced positive health outcomes. The risk of heart disease and diabetes in particular decreased dramatically. The Problem With Numbers... Say you believe 10,000 steps per day is an important number. So you get a fitness tracker -- and then you struggle to get to more than 5,000 steps per day. Maybe you're overweight. Or out of shape. Or have joint problems. Whatever the reason... right now, walking a lot more seems impossible. Which makes you feel hopeless. 10,000 steps is out of reach. So you put away your fitness tracker, and give up. Even though increasing your steps by as little as 1,000 or 2,000 per day would still make a meaningful difference to your overall health. While you may not hit 10,000 steps, that's ok: Walking more than you currently do is good for you. Or say you're trying to lose weight: While you may not hit an arbitrary number like 1,800 calories per day, reducing your overall intake by 100 or 200 calories per day is good for you. Improvement, however small, is good for you -- regardless of how far away you might be from some arbitrary "optimum" target. In fact, the farther away you are from "optimal," the more you need those small improvements. If you're at 9,000 steps and you increase to 10,000, that's nice... but if you're at 3,000 steps and you increase to 4,000, that's awesome. An arbitrary goal can be helpful as a long-term target, but what really matters is the change you make relative to what you currently do. If you average 5,000 steps a day and increase to 7,000 a day, for you, that's great. And is all that matters. Regardless of the default setting on a fitness tracker. ... Is That One Number Can Never Tell the Whole Story The same applies to business. Say your goal is to hit the $1 million revenue mark; reach $1 million in sales and you've "made it." Or not. If your operating costs are too high, or your incremental costs are too high, or your customer acquisition costs are too high, you might hit $1 million in revenue... but be even farther in the red. Which would you prefer: $500,000 in revenue with a 20 percent profit margin, or $1 million in revenue and no profit? Most will take the profits. But then again: Reaching the $1 million mark may provide the cash flow required to add a new product line, or new salespeople, or launch a joint venture with a key partner... and within a year, turn that unprofitable $1 million into a profitable $3 million in revenue. One number never tells the whole story. Arbitrary numbers don't matter. Conventional wisdom -- like 10,000 steps, or eight glasses of water a day, or working on and not in your business is the only path to success -- doesn't matter. The first trailer for Martin Scorseses new film about Bob Dylan has been released, just nine days before its debut on Netflix. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story tells the tale of Dylans 1975-1976 Rolling Thunder Revue concert tour, during which he performed in a series of small venues with a troupe of other musicians such as Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell and Roger McGuinn. The clip, which lasts for two and a half minutes, includes archive footage as well as photos from the Seventies, including a brief video of Dylan driving his own bus tour, hoping aloud that he and the rest of his troupe arrive to Boston on time for a scheduled show. The trailer includes concert footage of Dylan performing in whiteface make-up with a flower-adorned hat his trademark get-up throughout the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. It also highlights some of the interviews given by Dylan and Baez for Scorseses documentary. Joan Baez and me could sing together in our sleep, muses Dylan, now 78, right before the trailer cuts to an archive video of them duetting. Best films of 2019 (so far) Show all 49 1 /49 Best films of 2019 (so far) Best films of 2019 (so far) The Favourite Macabre and fraught though The Favourite gets, this isnt so much a film about sex or power as it is about plain mischief. Its a hilarious, buffoonish pleasure, right down to the sets and costume design, and a breeze to spend 120 minutes with. Christopher Hooton Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Beautiful Boy Casting Chalamet as Nic was a very clever move. The young actor from Call Me by Your Name and Lady Bird has a natural charm and charisma. He still engages an audiences curiosity and sympathy even when his behaviour is at its most selfish and erratic. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) The House by the Sea Guediguians storytelling style is deceptive. At first, it seems as if this is low-key social realism in the Dardennes or Ken Loach mould, albeit set on the French Riviera. Gradually, though, we realise how stylised and theatrical his approach really is. Geoffrey Macnab Best films of 2019 (so far) Stan & Ollie Director Jon S Baird, whose previous film was scabrous Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth, wrings every last drop of pathos he can from his material. This is very much a case of the tears of the clowns. Geoffrey Macnab Entertainment One Best films of 2019 (so far) Vice Vice is bravura storytelling. McKay isnt only taking us through Cheneys life and career but is giving us a whistle stop tour through US politics from the Nixon administration almost right to the present day. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Can You Ever Forgive Me? Playing Lee Israel, McCarthy manages something very special: she makes a character who is odd, obnoxious, difficult and alcoholic seem lovable and even heroic. The rest of the world is at fault, not Lee. Geoffrey Macnab Fox Searchlight Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Green Book "Green Book flatters the audience about its own good sense and tolerance. It deals with racism and homophobia but still has a fairytale, fantasy feel to it. Whatever humiliations Don endures on their road trip, we know no real harm will ever come to him as long as Tony is at his side. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Velvet Buzzsaw The golden age of bonkers horror movies is gloriously evoked by Netflixs latest feature length presentation. Beginning as a satire of the arts world, Velvet Buzzsaw swiftly and gleefully descends into a savage splatter-fest, smeared in paint, viscera and garishly-bright blood. Ed Power Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) If Beale Street Could Talk The setting is New York in the 1970s. Anyone who has watched Martin Scorseses Taxi Driver knows this was an era of violence, corruption and sleaze on a monumental level, but [Barry] Jenkins somehow makes the city seem like a modern-day Eden. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) All Is True Written by Ben Elton and directed by its star Kenneth Branagh, the film plays so fast and loose with the playwrights final years that they neednt have bothered fitting Branagh with a prosthetic nose accuracy is clearly not the priority here. Alexandra Pollard Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is the doomed progeny of a celebrated genius brilliant but slightly stunted by the knowledge they will never live up to their predecessor. Clarisse Loughrey Warner Bros. Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Piercing Nicolas Pesces sleek and stylish horror comedy is repulsive and funny by turns. In adapting Ryu Murakamis cult novel, Pesce strikes just the right balance between humour and Grand Guignol-style shock tactics. Geoffrey Macnab Universal Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Capernaum "The best moments here are remarkable. Labaki elicits an astonishing performance from her young lead. Hes an irrepressible figure with such an inbuilt sense of moral decency the film seems upbeat and optimistic, even at its darkest moments. Geoffrey Macnab Sony Pictures Classics Best films of 2019 (so far) The White Crow "Ralph Fiennes combines thriller elements with poetic flashbacks to ballet legend Rudolf Nureyevs childhood and keeps a tight focus on the dancer. When he is most at risk, Nureyev makes decisions with his artistic future more in mind than his personal safety. As Fiennes reminds us again and again in what is his best film yet as a director, the 'white crow' will do anything to put himself in the limelight, the one place he is convinced he belongs." StudioCanal Best films of 2019 (so far) Border "Border reverses the perspective taken by most other horror films. In more conventional genre fare, Tina and Vore would be portrayed as malevolent outsiders, but in the world conjured up by director Ali Abbasi, the humans are the monsters. Tina is the innocent a visionary who hardly understands her own powers but who can sense human venality and corruption wherever it appears." TriArt Film Best films of 2019 (so far) Fighting with My Family "Certain scenes feel very trite and predictable but the film gets you in a choke hold early on and wont let you go. It is far more gripping than its subject matter might suggest. Who ever would believe a story about a wrestling family from Norwich could have quite such heart and resonance?" James Field Best films of 2019 (so far) Us "Doppelgangers abound in Jordan Peeles weird, creepy and ingenious new horror film. As in his Oscar-winning 2017 feature Get Out, Peele leavens matters with ironic humour but the joking becomes increasingly uncomfortable once the main characters come face to face with dark shadows of themselves which wish them extreme harm." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Avengers: Endgame "The Avengers cycle comes to a rich and very satisfying conclusion with Endgame, surely the most complex and emotional superhero movie in Marvel history. At 181 minutes, this is a veritable epic, but with so many characters and plot strands, it fully warrants its lengthy running time." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Eighth Grade "Its a rare and precious feeling when a film completely dismantles you. Eighth Grade the directorial debut of US comedian Bo Burnham breaks down every delusion we have about ourselves and burrows deep into those parts weve made such an effort to lock away. You may cry. You may shudder as every awkward social interaction thats kept you up at night replays in your head all at once. You may feel the sharp pain associated with those moments when you feel completely isolated from the world. Burnham may have crafted a simple story about the most ordinary of teenage girls, but it speaks with the emotions of a true cinematic epic." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Vox Lux "Natalie Portman gives her fiercest, most memorable performance since Black Swan in Brady Corbets enjoyably subversive satire about a troubled pop star whose loss of innocence mirrors the fall from grace of the US itself. Portmans character, Celeste, is certainly one of the most objectionable figures she has played: a pampered, hard-drinking drug-taking floozy whose appearance and high-handed behaviour rekindle memories of Liz Taylor and Joan Crawford at their monstrous worst." Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) High Life Robert Pattinson gives one of his most striking performances as Monte, the death-row criminal in outer space, tricked into making a voyage described at one stage as a class-one suicide ride. The former Twilight star makes his shaven-headed, gaunt-faced character seem hyper naturally sensitive and feral at the same time. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Amazing Grace Amazing Grace is as uplifting a film as you will see all year. Its a concert movie filmed over two nights and featuring Aretha Franklin, the first lady of soul, performing gospel standards in a church in Los Angeles in 1972, with a huge backing choir and an enthusiastic congregation. Neon Best films of 2019 (so far) Aladdin Disneys live-action remake of its 1992 animated feature is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned matinee-style spectacle that turns out far better than we had any right to expect. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Booksmart Olivia Wilde is a visually inventive director, who keeps the tempo here so brisk that we hardly notice how glib the storytelling sometimes becomes. We can tell exactly how the film will end, but it still feels original both in its screwball energy and in the deft way it continually reverses stereotypes and gender cliches. Geoffrey Macnab Annapurna Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) Late Night Late Night is a caustic satirical comedy that turns into an unlikely tearjerker. Its by turns snide and uplifting, and often very funny too. Its writer/producer/star Mindy Kaling makes vicious observations about the inanity, narcissism and corruption of the mainstream US media at the same time as she celebrates the professionalism of many of those who work within it. The film has a glorious performance from Emma Thompson and a very sly one from Kaling. Thompson is at her most imperious as Katherine Newbury, a legendary entertainer, the only female in a male-dominated field, but one whose career is beginning to slide. Geoffrey Macnab Amazon Studios Best films of 2019 (so far) Gloria Bell Gloria Bell is somewhat exhausting both unbearably intimate and at a constant remove but it is endlessly pulled back into focus by Moore, who has a firm understanding of the delicate balance between contentment and yearning, joy and pain, recklessness and spontaneity. In a remake that could have felt indulgent in the hands of people less skilled, she more than justifies its existence. Geoffrey Macnab Curzon Best films of 2019 (so far) Toy Story 4 "The brilliance of the new film lies in the surefooted way it caters both for children too young to have seen its predecessors and for adults whove grown up (or grown older) watching the previous instalments. It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single use plastic spork retrieved from the trash." Pixar/Disney Best films of 2019 (so far) In Fabric In Fabric feels like Peter Strickland at his most free and playful, drawing as much from the British sense of humour dry and morbid to a fault as from Italian glamour. Curzon Artificial Eye Best films of 2019 (so far) The Flood "Perhaps The Flood isnt quite the urgent, profound film a crisis of this scale deserves, but in a culture where refugees are so rarely shown any empathy in mainstream media, maybe this is the film we need right now." Best films of 2019 (so far) Midsommar "Ari Aster's follow-up to Hereditary serves up much of the same: its a break-up movie wrapped up in pagan horror. Its also bound to be one of this years most memorable films, proving that Aster is far from a one-hit wonder." A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Lion King "The Lion King is undoubtedly a technological marvel that, much like Avatar, will come to be viewed as a milestone in special effects history, yet its just as interesting to see how all this innovation has been employed." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Varda by Agnes "For a film thats almost entirely narrated by Agnes Varda's own voice, it doesnt feel driven by ego, but by pure intellectual and emotional curiosity." Best films of 2019 (so far) Animals "Animals treats its subjects with patience and generosity. Youll find no life lessons here. Its main characters are free to pursue their desires, to whatever end." Best films of 2019 (so far) Blinded by the Light "Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteens lyrical genius, but of how hes always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised." Warner Brothers Best films of 2019 (so far) Good Boys Lined up against some of this years other more heartfelt offerings, including Booksmart, Good Boys offers further proof that putting a little humanity in our comedy always gets the best results. Best films of 2019 (so far) Hustlers "Hustlers is an electrifying response to the deluge of stories weve had over the years about very rich, very bad dudes. Finally, we can turn the tables on every film thats used women, specifically strippers, as decorative accessories to drape over businessmen as they conduct their illicit backroom meetings. Or, failing that, to shake their out-of-focus tits in the background of a shot." AP Best films of 2019 (so far) For Sama For Sama is one of the most profoundly intimate depictions of the Syrian conflict ever put to film. Its the push to help those on the outside process something so incomprehensible in the depth of its horrors. Republic Film Distribution Best films of 2019 (so far) Ad Astra The real drama here is not whether or not apocalypse can be avoided but whether Brad Pitts character can reconcile himself with his father and overcome his own extreme emotional repression. In other words, in spite of all the jargon and the hardware, this is an intimate family melodrama at heart. Thanks to Pitts performance and Grays delicate direction, it turns into a very moving one. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Best films of 2019 (so far) The Farewell Wrapped up in all the intricacies of immigrant identity and family politics, The Farewell is a comedy of warmth and bracing honesty. Simply put, its one of the best films of the year. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) Judy This is Renee Zellwegers Judy. It doesnt belong to Rupert Goold, its director. Nor does it belong to Tom Edge, its screenwriter. Its a performance of such overwhelming force that it wrests authorship from every other hand that guided the films creation. Pathe Best films of 2019 (so far) Ready or Not As absurd and self-indulgent as Ready or Not can get, it doesnt mess around with its social commentary. The class system is the game we never asked to play, dont get a fair chance at, and have no hope of winning. Its a timeless metaphor. 20th Century Fox Best films of 2019 (so far) A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon Despite its mouthful of a title, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon is an utter delight proof that good storytelling and strong craft are what matters, however familiar the packaging. Studio Canal Best films of 2019 (so far) The Beach Bum Clearly, Harmony Korine is steered by his attraction to the theatrical, the absurd and the grimly nihilistic. The Beach Bum is all of that and absolutely none of it, too a leisurely, neon-soaked stroll through chaos and hazy bohemia, full of slapstick and pathos. It is as much Korines most mature film as it is his most juvenile. Neon/Vice Best films of 2019 (so far) The Last Black Man in San Francisco Its a beautiful, frightening and tragic vignette of the urban nightmare, though The Last Black Man in San Francisco isnt really an angry film. Its less of a rallying cry against gentrification than a rumination on the kind of pained acceptance those who suffer its effects must face. A24 Best films of 2019 (so far) The Irishman Scorseses signature camerawork goes down like a glass of fine whisky, as smooth and as elegant as youd expect. The violence arrives in short, sharp shocks. Steven Zaillians screenplay even nails the mobster patter, with arguments about fish, tardiness, and business shorts that feel destined to one day be quoted to death. Netflix Best films of 2019 (so far) Le Mans '66 The films greatest trick is saved for its final reel. For much of its running time, youd be easily fooled into thinking Mangold had made a grand ode to the American dream. Its a film about an immigrant worker who, through perseverance and toil, gains the respect of one of the richest men in the country. And then the rug is pulled right out from underneath you. Le Mans 66 may relish in the high life, but its final moments feel devastatingly hollow. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Marriage Story The film never loses its sense of humour and absurdity. Somehow, in spite of the bleakness of the subject matter, it feels more redemptive than despairing. Best films of 2019 (so far) The Report Adam Driver plays Jones, Annette Bening Senator Feinstein, and director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But thats the point. The Report chooses to value the truth over bombastic displays of morality. AP Best films of 2019 (so far) Knives Out Casting an ensemble film is a little like perfecting a cocktail blend, balancing flavours until they sing together in harmony. Knives Out hits the mark here: the actors all feel well-suited to their roles and they bounce off each other with ease. Lionsgate Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story is Scorseses second film dedicated to Dylan. His previous one, No Direction Home, told the story of Dylans rise to fame as well as his decision to go electric in the mid-Sixties. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Scorseses new film, which has been described by Netflix as part documentary, part concert film, part fever dream, is scheduled to be released on 12 June on the streaming platform. A brand new poster for mysterious Christopher Nolan film Tenet is duping film fans. Days ago, an impressive-looking one-sheet surfaced on the internet despite no confirmation from Warner Bros. Many Twitter users claimed the poster was legitimate, though many others have deemed it fake. Despite this, the poster is now appearing on the films iMDB page. As is the norm with Nolan projects, the film is shrouded in a lot of secrecy. However, some users are so convinced the poster is real that theyve used it to help analyse what the Interstellar directors new film could be about. The poster bears a clock theme with one Twitter user believing the espionage spy thriller which is said to be Nolans longest film to date will come with a time travel twist. Intriguingly, the films logo which was released last month is very similar to the font used in 2010 film Inception. Could the films be set in the same universe? Whether or not the poster is real, one things for sure Christopher Nolans next film is going to keep fans guessing right up until its release in July 2020. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Show all 47 1 /47 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination American Psycho (2000) Starring future Oscar-winner Christian Bale, Mary Harrons adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel in which the Vice star plays the psychopathic Patrick Bateman - didnt receive a single nomination. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Before Sunrise (1995) While the final two chapters of Richard Linklaters Before trilogy earned screenplay nominations, the film that introduced the world to future married couple Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) was criminally overlooked. Columbia Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Big Heat (1953) Fritz Lang had a number of films overlooked by the Academy; this noir, starring Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin and and Gloria Grahame, was one of them. Columbia Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Big Lebowski (1998) The Academys generosity to the Coen brothers peaked when No Country for Old Men beat There Will Be Blood in one of the ceremonys closest Best Picture races of all time. It remains surprising that one of their few films to evade any nominations is this endlessly quotable mistaken identity comedy starring Jeff Bridges as The Dude. PolyGram Filmed Entertainment 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Blow Out (1981) Brian De Palma doesnt exactly make films in the hope of winning award, but his political thriller - based on Michelangelo Antonionis Blow Up would have deserved any Oscar it was nominated for. Filmways Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Breathless (1960) Breathless' failure to receive a nomination is proof that the Oscars cant be trusted. Despite being one of the most studied films in the world, Jean Luc-Godards French masterpiece has an Academy Award tally of zero. Films Around The World 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Bringing Up Baby (1938) The Academy rewarded many notable screwball comedies, though this Howard Hawks-directed standout starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn - whod go on to hold the record for most wins - wasn't one of them. Courtesy of BFI 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Don't Look Now (1973) Nicolas Roeg, who directed this Venice-set chiller, is one of the most unfairly overlooked directors in Oscars history. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Donnie Darko (2004) Richard Kellys science-fiction mind-bender, which made a star of Jake Gyllenhaal, was a festival favourite upon its debut in 2004. Many expected a screenplay nomination to manifest. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) It wouldnt be until the 1990s that western films found favour with the Academy. It was ironically thanks to Unforgiven, a film directed by Clint Eastwood whose career flourished after starring in this Sergio Leone film that many consider to be the genres peak. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination La haine (1995) Mathieu Kassovitzs black-and-white drama translated in English as Hate follows three young friends and their struggles living in the suburbs of Paris. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Halloween (1978) The Academy may not be frothing at the mouth to nominate horror films, but do have previous (see: The Exorcist and The Silence of the Lamb), which makes the absence of John Carpenters influential Halloween a glaring oversight. Aquarius Releasing 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Harold and Maude (1971) This offbeat romantic drama was a critical and commercial flop at the time of release, which probably accounts for its lack of Oscar nominations. Today, though, its cult following ensures it remains in good favour with film fans. Paramount Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Heat (1995) On paper, the big screen union of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Michael Manns cop drama was a shoo-in for awards, but no Oscar nominations manifested. Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination His Girl Friday (1940) Yet another Howard Hawks screwball comedy starring Cary Grant that criminally failed to secure a single Oscar nomination. L/Columbia/Koba/Rex/Shutterstock 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Insomnia (2002) While falling short of Christopher Nolans best, modest drama Insomnia made years before Batman Begins had enough strong performances (Al Pacino, Robin Wiliams, Hilary Swank) to warrant acting nominations. Alas, it received none. Warner Bros Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Local Hero (1983) Bill Forsyths beloved comedy-drama follows the mishaps of an American man sent to buy up a Scottish village where the oil company he works for wants to build a refinery. Forsyth won the Bafta for Best Director, but the film received no such love from the Academy. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination M (1931) Youd be mistaken for thinking the M stands for masterpiece in Fritz Langs German drama that follows the manhunt for a serial killer - not that the Academy agreed. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination A Man Escaped (1956) Robert Bressons adaptation of Andre Devignys memoirs charts the French Resistance members time as prisoner of the Germans during World War II, and is even more enthralling considering Bresson himself was held captive years before. Gaumont Film Company 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Margaret (2011) Kenneth Lonergan would go on to win an Oscar for Manchester but he Sea, but Margaret - his three-hour plus drama featuring a searing performance from Anna Paquin - failed to secure a single nomination. Fox Searchlight Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination In the Mood for Love (2000) Wong Kar-wai set the benchmark for romance in film with his acclaimed Hong Kong drama following a man and woman (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who develop feelings for one another after suspecting their respective spouses of having an affair together. defd Deutscher Fernsehdienst 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The King of Comedy (1982) It may have taken him decades to win an Oscar, but the Academy has rarely balked at nominating Martin Scorsese films especially for films starring Robert De Niro. The King of Comedy was an exception. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Long Goodbye (1973) Robert Altmans superior thriller stars Elliott Gould as Raymond Chandlers private investigator Philip Marlowe in one of the directors most entertaining films. The director would go on to be the recipient of the Honorary Award in 2006. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Man With Two Brains (1983) He may have hosted several times, but Steve Martin has never been nominated for an Oscar. One film he deserved recognition for was Carl Reiner's 1983 sci-fi comedy, The Man with Two Brains. Warner Bros. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination A Matter of Life and Death (1946) The Academy Film Archive may have preserved A Matter of Life and Death in 1999, but voters failed to recognise the Powell & Pressburgers fantasy-romance at the time of its release in 1946. Eagle-Lion Films 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Mean Streets (1973) It may not be credited as his debut, but Mean Streets is very much the first true Martin Scorsese film. The director would go on to win a belated Oscar for The Departed in 2007, but hed have to wait until 1975 for his first nomination (Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore). Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Melancholia (2011) No Lars von Trier film has ever been nominated for Best Picture, though Dancer in the Dark came close (it settled for a Best Original Song nomination). He came close with Melancholia, but ultimately, the drama didn't get Canal+ 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Miller's Crossing (1990) Despite being revered as a Coen brothers favourite, not to mention its notable performances from Gabriel Byrne and Albert Finney, Millers Crossing is one of few Coen brother films not to receive a single Oscar nomination. 20th Century Fox 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Once Upon a Time in America (1984) Though it's by no means a masterpiece, its staggering to think that Sergio Leones gangster epic - starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci - didnt acquire any Oscar nominations (the film's music was disqualified from consideration after Warner Bros accidentally omitted the composer's name from the opening credits when trimming the films lengthy running time for its American release). Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Paterson (2016) Critics assumed Jim Jarmuschs Paterson would have been a shoo-in for awards recognition - most notably in the Best Actor category, thanks to a quietly fantastic performance from Adam Driver - but no such luck. Amazon Studios 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Paths of Glory (1957) Stanley Kubrick never won Best Director despite being nominated four times. One of his films that didnt make the Oscars cut in any category was his black-and-white anti-war film, Paths of Glory. United Artists 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Play Misty for Me (1971) Clint Eastwood would go onto become something of an Oscar darling thanks to Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River, but his directorial debut was ignored by the Academy. Univeral Pictures/Courtesy of Getty Images 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Reservoir Dogs (1992) Reservoir Dogs may not touch Quentin Tarantinos best, but it remains a surprise that the filmmakers debut didnt get recognised in the screenplay category, at least. Miramax Films 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Rider (2018) Of all the 2018 films to be snubbed at this years Oscars, Chloe Zhaos drama - which stars a real-life rodeo cowboy and his family - smacks as the most unfair. Sony Pictures Classics 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Searchers (1956) The role of Civil War veteran Ethan Edwards might be considered John Waynes best role, but the Academy didnt agree: he would win his sole Oscar for True Grit in 1970. Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Shining (1980) Another Kubrick film that was completely ignored by the Academy is the directors Stephen King adaptation, The Shining. Today, its considered one of his finest works as well as being one of the most revered horror films of all time. Warner Bros 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination The Shop Around the Corner (1953) It may have endured as one of the best loved romcoms of all time, but it has zero Oscar nominations to its name. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Still Walking (2008) Japanese director Hirokazo Kore-eda's portrait of a family over roughly 24 hours as they commemorate the death of the eldest son was a glaring oversight by the Academy. IFC Films 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Swingers Before he became Disney's go to, Jon Favreau (Iron Man, The Jungle Book and the forthcoming live-action Lion King) wrote this independent film about the lives of single, unemployed actors living in Hollywood, California during the 1990s swing revival. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination This Is England (2006 The 2007 ceremony would have been far better had Shane Meadows' coming-of-drama been in contention for awards. Optimum Releasing 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Three Kings (1999) The Academy deemed Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle worthy of nominations, but not David O Russells Three Kings, which remains one of his greatest films to this day. Warner Bros Pictures 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Tokyo Story (1953) Tokyo Story is deemed Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu's masterpiece and was named Sight & Sound's best film of all time in 2012. Rex Features 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Touch of Evil (1958) Orson Welles' classic noir wasn't as well loved at the time of release as it is today. BFI 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Tyrannosaur (2011) Olivia Colman may be in contention for Best Actress at this years ceremony, but the fact she failed to earn a nomination (or Bafta, for that matter) for her role in Paddy Considines hard-hitting drama Tyrannosaur is one of the biggest oversights in awards history. StudioCanal UK 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Walkabout (1971) Another exceptional achievement in filmmaking from Nicolas Roeg that somehow failed to receive any Oscar nominations. 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination You Were Never Really Here (2018) Notch it down to bad timing, but Lynne Ramsays You Were Never Really Here - starring Joaquin Phoenix - is a sensational piece of work worthy of reward. Amazon Studio 47 brilliant films that didn't receive a single Oscar nomination Zodiac (2007) Three years later, David Fincher would go head-to-head with The King Speech's Tom Hooper for The Social Network. In truth, serial killer drama Zodiac is every bit as good as the Facebook drama. Warner Bros Pictures Tenet will star Robert Pattinson, John David Washington and Elizabeth Debicki in the lead roles. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia and surprise, surprise Michael Caine will also appear. Hundreds of climate change experts have urged Theresa May to confront Donald Trump over his approach to the emergency during his state visit. As the US president arrived in the UK, the letter signed by 250 scientists and other academics states his refusal to tackle global warming is increasing risks for lives and livelihoods worldwide. The experts from UK universities and research bodies praise the UKs international role in tackling climate change but say Mr Trumps visit is incompatible with it while he is undermining US and international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It reads: The presidents refusal to tackle climate change, and particularly his initiation of the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement, is increasing risks for lives and livelihoods in the United States, the United Kingdom and around the world. They urge the prime minister to tell Mr Trump to accept the scientific evidence of the threat of man-made climate change; support policies in the US to reduce greenhouse gases to zero by 2050 and collaborate with international efforts to combat climate change. Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Show all 9 1 /9 Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Gentoo penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctic, where global warming has affected the glaciers that the penguins live on and has brought new species to compete with AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Gentoo penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctic, where global warming has affected the glaciers that the penguins live on and has brought new species to compete with AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Gentoo penguins in Cuverville Island, designated as an Important Bird Island. These penguins feed on krill but krill is growing scarcer due to climate change AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctic, where global warming has affected the glaciers that the penguins live on and has brought new species to compete with AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Gentoo penguins in Cuverville Island, designated as an Important Bird Island. These penguins feed on krill but krill is growing scarcer due to climate change AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Chinstrap penguins on King George Island. Global warming has affected the glaciers that the penguins live on and has brought new species to compete with AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Gentoo penguins in Cuverville Island, designated as an Important Bird Island. These penguins feed on krill but krill is growing scarcer due to climate change AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change A penguin and a seal. Global warming has affected the glaciers that these animals live on and has brought new species to compete with AFP/Getty Penguin habitats threatened by climate change Gentoo penguins on Ardley Island, Antarctic, where global warming has affected the glaciers that the penguins live on and has brought new species to compete with AFP/Getty The president has previously called climate chaos a Chinese hoax and b******t. He has been a strong supporter of fossil fuel industries, reversing environmental regulations on oil, gas and coal. After his own administration last year published a report on the dire effects of climate change compiled by 13 federal agencies, he said he did not believe it. Then six months ago, his administration held an event promoting the use of fossil fuels at a major UN climate summit. Scientists on the IPCC have warned the world has just 12 years left to cap global temperature rises at 1.5C, beyond which they would rise exponentially, causing irreversible disaster. The Paris deal aims to limit rises to 2C, and to strive for 1.5C if possible. Bob Ward, of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, who coordinated the letter, said: President Trumps refusal to accept and address global climate change is putting at risk lives and livelihoods of current and future generations in the UK. The state visit is an opportunity for the prime minister to challenge the presidents reckless approach and advance the UKs reputation as an international leader on climate change before she steps down as prime minister. The special relationship between the UK and USA is meaningless if the government does not use it to confront the actions of a president that are a threat to UK citizens. Additonal reporting by the Press Association This year, the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr begins on the evening of Saturday 23 May. The holiday marks the end of Ramadan, a month-long period of fasting and deep reflection. Translated from Arabic as the feast of the breaking of the fast, Muslims observe the religious holiday by taking part in traditions such as holding prayer services and donating money to charity. Heres everything you need to know about Eid al-Fitr: What is Eid al-Fitr? Eid al-Fir follows Ramadan, the Islamic holy month which sees Muslims fast during daylight hours. Ramadan commemorates the Quran first being revealed to the Prophet Muhammad and is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Show all 30 1 /30 Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Britain Muhammad, 4, and Sanaa, 6, (left) arrive for the Eid celebrations in Small Heath Park, Birmingham PA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Pakistan Muslims girls show their hands painted with henna to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr at a Mosque in Peshawar AP Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Libya Muslim worshippers gather to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Martyrs Square of the capital Tripoli. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Lebanon Palestinian girls ride on human-powered swings at an amusement park EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Syria Syrians shop in the Bazurieh market in Damascus' historic bazaar ahead of Eid al-Fitr AFP/Getty Images Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Lebanon Children wave their hands as they pass in a mini transport car inside Sabra and Shatila Refugee Camp during Eid al-Fitr in Beirut EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Pakistan Muslims greet each other after offering the Eid al-Fitr prayers at a Mosque in Peshawar AP Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Pakistan Muslims greet each other after a morning prayer session to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in Peshawar EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Turkey Muslim worshippers perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Romania Girls wait for the start of Eid al-Fitr prayers in Bucharest AP Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Afghanistan Muslims greet each other after a morning prayer session in Jalalabad EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Romania A boy attends Eid al-Fitr prayers in Bucharest AP Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Bangladesh People cram onto a train as they travel back home to meet their families ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, in Dhaka AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Kenya Muslim women take pictures with their mobile phone after attending Eid al-Fitr prayers at the Pumwani grounds in Nairobi AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Democratic Republic of the Congo Young Muslim worshippers are seen ahead of a mass prayer to celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the Stade des Martyrs, Kinshasa AFP/Getty Images Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Kosovo Young Muslim devotees perform Eid al-Fitr prayers at the grand mosque in Pristina AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Kenya A muslim girl decorated with Hina on her hands at the Pumwani grounds in Nairobi AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Afghanistan Children play during the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in Kabul Reuters Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Libya Men exchange Eid al-Fitr greetings at the port of Benghazi AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Saudi Arabia Two women embrace each other to as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr, after prayers in the courtyard of the mosque of the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in Riyadh EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Britain Two young worshippers eat ice cream during Eid celebrations in Small Heath Park PA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Russia Muslims attend a morning prayer session to celebrate Eid al-Fitr on the street outside the Central Mosque in Moscow EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Saudi Arabia Men embrace each other to as they celebrate Eid al-Fitr, after prayers in the courtyard of the mosque of the King Abdulaziz Historical Center in Riyadh EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Turkey Muslims offer prayers during the first day of Eid al-Fitr at the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul AP Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Afghanistan Men greet each other after offering Eid al-Fitr prayer at the presidential palace in Kabul EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Saudi Arabia Adults take pictures of children in their new clothes after Eid al-Fitr prayers EPA Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Albania Muslims pray at Skenderbej square on the first day of the Muslim festival marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Tirana AFP/Getty Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Afghanistan Men hug each other after offering Eid al-Fitr prayers during the Eid al-Fitr at the presidential palace in Kabul AP Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Albania Muslims attend the morning prayers of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan in Skanderbeg square Tirana Reuters Eid 2019: Celebrations across the world Syria People shop in the old city of Damascus EPA Eid al-Fitr marks an end to the solemn period of reassessment that is Ramadan. When is the festival? Ramadan lasts between 29 and 30 days, depending on when a new moon is sighted by local religious authorities. The sighting of the new moon means that Eid al-Fitr can commence. Recommended Thousands worship at Grand Mosque in Mecca for Ramadan Precisely when followers choose to observe it varies because there is some discussion within the faith about whether the moon must be spotted with the naked eye and whether it needs to be seen in the country where the celebrations are happening. The date of Eid al-Fitr depends on the lunar calendar, which is why it falls on a different date on the Gregorian calendar on an annual basis. This year, Eid al-Fitr takes place from the evening of Saturday 23 May until the evening of Sunday 24 May. The festival is a day when Muslims thank god, known as Allah in Arabic, for strength and blessings, hoping the commemoration of Ramadan has brought them closer to god. It was first celebrated by Muhammad in 624CE following a victory in battle. How is it celebrated? Several traditions are observed on Eid al-Fitr, one of which involves the reciting of a certain set of prayers especially for the occasion called Salat al-Eid. Muslims will generally gather at mosques or in open-air locations such as parks to recite the prayers on the first morning of the festival. They will then sit down with their family and friends for breakfast, their first daylight meal following a month of fasting. However, this year traditional celebration practises may have significantly adapted due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Traditionally, Eid al-Fitr is celebrated for three days and is a national holiday in Muslim countries. In the UK, Muslims tend to celebrate the festival for a day and may take time off work or school for the occasion. Another important tradition is Zakat al-Fitr the act of giving charity to the poor at the end of Ramadan. In 2016, it was estimated that British Muslims gave on average 371 each to charity during Ramadan. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Whats the difference between Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha? Eid al-Adha takes place later on in the year, and is considered a holier observance than Eid al-Fitr. It takes place on the 10th day of the final month of the Islamic calendar, and involves Muslims from around the world travelling the Mecca for pilgrimage. This year, Eid al-Adha takes place from the evening of Thursday 30 July to Monday 3 August. It is known as the sacrifice feast, and honours the prophet Ibrahims sacrifice of his son Ishmael, an act of submission under the order of Allah. How to wish someone a happy Eid The phrase commonly used by Muslims to wish someone a happy Eid is Eid Mubarak, which translates to Blessed Eid in Arabic. After months of anticipation and controversy, Donald and Melania Trump have officially touched down in the UK for the presidential state visit. While the president has stayed true to his humdrum sartorial roots his only outfit thus far has been a boxy navy suit paired with a cobalt blue tie Melanias fashion choices for the London trip have been far more eclectic. For her departure from Washington DC on Sunday, the first lady paid homage to her destination by wearing a colourful Gucci shirt dress covered in prints depicting the British capital's landmarks. When she arrived at London's Stansted airport on Monday morning, Melania stepped off the Air Force One jet sporting a navy skirt suit and a Burberry pussy-bow blouse. Melania changed into her third ensemble for the day ahead of visiting Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen alongside her husband, choosing a white two-piece suit with a navy trim on the collar and belt. Marking the sense of occasion, she accessorised the look with a wide-brimmed boater hat. But the most notable ensemble of day one came via the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, for which Melania wore a custom Dior haute couture dress complete with a jagged neckline and a contemporary mesh panel. See how the first lady is earning her style credentials across the pond by clicking through the gallery above. She called it her deepest, darkest secret, one she had never even shared with her husband. When Saffiatu Sillah was growing up in the west African nation of Sierra Leone, her clitoris was cut off in a ritual circumcision. She was left with scar tissue that caused pain during sex and agony during childbirth. After her second child was born, Sillah, a pharmacist then living in Philadelphia, searched for medical help. Dr Ivona Percec, a plastic surgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, said she thought an operation could ease the pain but might fail to uncover any remnant of the clitoris beneath the scarring. There might not be anything left, Percec cautioned. But she was willing to try. Its like digging for buried treasure. Everyone thinks its just the little triangle that protrudes. Thats just the tip of it. More than 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone genital cutting in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, ranging from nicks to extreme damage. Yet despite the extraordinary need for appropriate medical care, there has been little rigorous research on how surgeons can relieve enduring physical harm or improve sexual sensation. They come to us seeking solutions that will optimise their health both physical and psychosexual, says Dr Nawal M Nour, an obstetrician-gynecologist who directs the African Womens Health Centre at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Presently, we are failing them because we lack the research that can guarantee their best outcome. Recommended Burkina Faso arrests more than 30 for illegal female circumcisions With Sillahs operation in 2016, Percec joined a small but growing number of doctors worldwide performing such surgeries. The procedure, often called clitoral reconstruction or restoration, is viewed with caution and scepticism by some medical experts. The World Health Organisation says that while there are some promising reports that the operation may relieve pain, there is not yet enough evidence of safety and effectiveness. The organisation advises against raising unrealistic expectations, especially for women seeking sexual improvement. Still, demand for such operations is growing in the United States and other western nations as more women who have been genitally cut move to countries where medical techniques are advanced, insurance often covers surgery, and women can make decisions about their bodies. Over the past two years, four women a health professional, a hairstylist, a bus driver and Sillah, the hospital pharmacist shared intimate details of their experiences, and one allowed me to be in the operating room during her surgery. They described physical and emotional traumas, struggles with ruined relationships and feelings of shame that they were not normal. All were patients of Percec (pronounced per-check). She regularly performs plastic surgery for medical or cosmetic reasons, including labiaplasty to reshape the inner labia, but until Sillah contacted her, she had never tried clitoral reconstruction on women who were cut. Her most complex patient so far is a health professional from Sudan, where 87 per cent of women have been cut. Like many Sudanese women, this patient underwent the most extreme form, called infibulation: clitoris, labia majora and minora are severed, labia are repositioned and the vagina is sewn mostly closed, requiring surgical opening for childbirth. Infibulation makes urination, menstruation and sex arduous, and increases risks of pregnancy complications. The main types of female genital mutilation The 30-year-old patient, who asked to be identified only by her initials, SA, because relatives in Sudan were unaware of her 2017 surgery, says she was infibulated at age nine. She was told that it was needed to reduce sexual sensation and prevent promiscuity, and that when you become tight, your husband will love you more. In her twenties, she married a Sudanese-American man she met via Facebook. Her husband, AA, 37, says he was determined to be sensitive about her discomfort so she could be enjoying her wedding night without being scared. Still, she says, for a while, sex hurt. She never had an orgasm. After she joined him in Pennsylvania, he encouraged her search for clitoral reconstruction. My God, that place is really sewn up; hows the baby going to come out? he wondered at the time. My God that place is really sewn up; hows the baby going to come out? Survivor SAs husband Percec cut through SAs stitching and scar tissue, removed a large uncomfortable cyst that resulted from the circumcision, widened the vaginal opening and surfaced the remaining clitoris. SA so appreciated her new anatomy that she frequently looked at it with a mirror. After weeks of recovery she felt more sensation, and intercourse became more comfortable. It was so tight, says SA, who has since given birth without complications. Now, relations are much better. Yes, yes, yes, 600 per cent, her husband agrees. There is a lot of change, not only from her side, but from my side because she gained confidence in herself, and now shes more natural. For Sillah, the trauma of circumcision began at age seven, when she was blindfolded and cut, causing the most excruciating pain. She was told: This is what makes you a woman. As her wound healed, her labia fused together, leaving a narrow opening. After joining her mother in New Jersey at 16, she held off on dating, fearing men would be appalled. When she finally had sex, she says, it was so painful. Two gruelling childbirths drove her to seek surgery. Percec counselled Sillah, now 36, to inform her husband Mtijan Kamara about the operation an emotionally difficult request because Sillah had told him before they married that she had not been cut. Although he was also from Sierra Leone, he was raised to oppose cutting. She had worried he would think less of her. Nervously, she disclosed the truth. You sure? he replied, surprised because, unlike some women who have been cut, she experienced sexual pleasure. He comforted her, saying: Youre fine, leave it as it is. But because she feared pain with future pregnancies, he supported her choice. After she awoke from surgery, Percec announced remarkable news: I found your clitoris! Sillah says she felt complete as a woman for the first time. Like wow I actually have a clitoris sitting there, says Sillah, who now lives in Maryland. I always had an orgasm but, oh my gosh, its so much better. I always had an orgasm but, oh my gosh, its so much better Saffiatu Sillah Mixed results, rising demand Genital cutting, also called female genital mutilation (FGM), is a centuries-old practice that varies by culture. International efforts to end cutting have been somewhat successful, but it persists in many countries. It often involves severing a girls visible clitoris, while the rest, several centimetres or more, remains beneath the surface. One pioneer of surgery to counteract the effects of genital cutting is Dr Pierre Foldes, a French urologist, who helped found humanitarian organisation Doctors of the World. He realised that the uncut clitoris was sealed underneath scar tissue, often pushed back and up, adhering to the pubic bone. He devised a technique to unearth the clitoral remnant and shift it into position by detaching connective tissue called a suspensory ligament. He says he has operated on about 6,000 women, mostly in France, and trained about 200 surgeons, primarily in Africa. Women from the Pokot tribe reproduce a part of a circumcision ceremony at their initiation site in Chelel village, northeast Uganda, in 2018 FGM has been banned there since 2010 (AFP/Getty ) (AFP/Getty) He led the largest, most comprehensive study of clitoral reconstruction, involving 2,938 women from 1998 to 2009, although the study had limitations, including that he assessed his own work. Post-surgical complications, like blood clots and fever, were experienced by 155 women, 108 of whom required brief re-hospitalisation. Longer-range results were assessed in a one-year check-up, which less than a third of the patients attended. Most reported improvement, or at least no worsening, in pain and clitoral pleasure. Sexual satisfaction varied. About a third of women who had never had orgasms reported experiencing them to some degree. But a few who already had regular orgasms reported less sexual satisfaction. Foldes says results have since improved, with re-hospitalisations rare and more women reporting positive outcomes. New data hasnt been published. Dr Marci L Bowers, a pelvic and gynaecological surgeon in Burlingame, California, visited Foldes and uses a similar technique, which she says she has performed on over 500 patients. She says she was asked to learn clitoral restoration in 2007 by Clitoraid, an organisation that helps provide the operation in various countries as part of a religion, the Raelian Movement. The groups website, which promotes fundraising programmes like Adopt a Clitoris, says one of its principles is that humans were created by aliens from another planet: Our body is their masterpiece and the pleasure we feel from it has a purpose. Bowers, a transgender woman who has long performed genital reassignment surgery, says that while she is Clitoraids lead surgeon, she is not Raelian. She describes the religions founder, Claude Vorilhon, called Rael, by saying: If the Man from Glad and George Jetson had a love child, this is the guy. Why have vaginas - which were once worshipped - become taboo? Show all 3 1 /3 Why have vaginas - which were once worshipped - become taboo? Why have vaginas - which were once worshipped - become taboo? newpic.jpg Why have vaginas - which were once worshipped - become taboo? 5450270.jpg Alamy Why have vaginas - which were once worshipped - become taboo? 5450271.jpg AFP/Getty Images Their organisation is controversial, but the goodness is there, Bowers says about Clitoraid, which refers some patients to her California clinic, where she has a year-long waiting list for clitoral restoration. Bowers says that initially she did not always fully detach the suspensory ligament, and I had quite a number of patients where the clitoris just retracted. Now, she says, complications are rare, besides a few infections. About a third have emerged from surgery with an intact clitoris like a pea in a pod, and pain has been eased for patients whose constricted vaginal openings were previously tearing and retearing during sex, she says. We get anecdotal nice stories of people having their first orgasm, Bowers says. But, she adds, some patients say their sexual enjoyment did not improve, and others report a sensation, but not the sensation. Some experts are much more cautious about recommending or performing clitoral reconstruction. Dr Jasmine Abdulcadir, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Geneva University Hospitals in Switzerland, trained with Foldes, but says she has agreed to requests for clitoral surgery for only about 15 women. She is a co-author of a review of clitoral reconstruction studies that concluded more evidence of safety and efficacy was needed. Why do women have to be considered incomplete or sexually deprived? she said. Maybe the woman already has orgasms. She doesnt have pain, but she wants the surgery to feel more like a woman. Unless women are in pain, Abdulcadir requires they wait three months and undergo counselling and psychosexual therapy. After that, she said, less than a fifth choose surgery. Nour, at Brigham and Womens Hospital, also prefers counselling over surgery, noting that sexuality is so complicated. She has referred a few patients to Foldes, but worries about nerve damage from surgery and discomfort from a resurfaced clitoris. She says she would consider supporting surgery for women who undergo counselling, understand the safety and efficacy risks and strongly believe they need reconstruction to feel complete. If data clearly demonstrates that clitoral reconstruction is the best method, Id be the first person to tell everyone to do it, she says. If data clearly demonstrates that clitoral reconstruction is the best method, Id be the first person to tell everyone to do it Dr Nawal M Nour Mending mind and body Marian Gbayas experience shows that there is still much to learn about surgical methods and patients desires. Gbaya, now 27, initially accepted what she was told as a girl in Sierra Leone: that if her clitoris was not severed, she might become sexually promiscuous and men would think youre walking around with the dirty stuff that needs to be cut. But at 20, soon after joining her mother and sisters in Columbus, Ohio, she began seeing things differently. At a Job Corps programme, she heard young women discussing sex, mentioning the clitoris. How come you still have that? Gbaya says she wondered, keeping quiet because she had been told in Sierra Leone that if she disclosed her cutting you will die. Men she dated, she says, reacted harshly to her anatomy: Cant deal with that. Im gone. Her solution was to avoid sex. But while studying cosmetology and training in weight lifting, she increasingly felt her body was not whole. I do beauty, Im trying to be a body builder, she says. I cannot do that if Im walking around with an insecurity. Describing a 2017 consultation with Gbaya, Percec says: I remember her specifically saying, I dont care if I lose pleasure. I just want to look normal. Gbayas clitoris and labia minora, the thin rim around the vagina, had been partly cut off. The sulcus, between the clitoris and labia majora, was gone, Percec says. Percec, director of basic science research in plastic surgery at Penn Medicine, has developed her own surgical approach, reusing scar tissue whenever possible, she says. Unlike Foldes, she does not cut the suspensory ligament, believing that her method better protects nerves and blood vessels. Yet she is also learning on the job. For example, until she can find a psychologist to help ease womens post-surgical adjustment, she has started requiring patients to read books about intimacy and sex. With each of her 11 patients from Delaware, Maryland, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania by way of Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone and Sudan Percec has adjusted her method. When her first patient, Sillah, remained in pain two weeks post-surgery, Percec began prescribing women an ointment with lidocaine. When another patient struggled with a dressing, Percec began sewing on gauze with dissolving stitches. Two patients needed additional surgery, one because her clitoris partially readhered, possibly because her work uniform included tight trousers, Percec says. Instruments used in the process of clitoral restorative surgery funded by Clitoraid in Nairobi (AFP/Getty ) (AFP/Getty) Later, Percec began grafting fat into the labia, theorising it would aid healing and add fullness to depleted tissue. She typically takes fat cells from patients bellies, but Gbayas muscled body had so little fat that it was taken from the thigh. Initially, Gbaya was enthusiastic about the results. She soon returned to the gym and experienced new feelings, she says, as if the clitoris were saying hey, Im here. She began a new romance, and says that during sex, I do notice the sensation. But eventually, she says, scar tissue formed back over the clitoris. She recently visited Dr T Wayne Bloodworth, a cosmetic and gynaecological surgeon who last year opened a nonprofit centre in Johns Creek, Georgia, that provides free clitoral reconstruction. Bloodworth, who trained with Foldes, says he excised Gbayas reaccumulated scar tissue, cut the suspensory ligament and anchored the clitoris using tiny stitches, steps he considers necessary to keep it from retracting. Gbaya says she is now doing great. Percec, whose hospital prevents her from waiving surgery fees, says she understood why Gbaya, who is uninsured, would go elsewhere. Had Gbaya returned for follow-up care, Percec says she might have prevented scar-tissue build-up with a technique she incorporated in 2018: taking skin from inside the cheek and grafting it over the clitoris. When you leave it uncovered like I was doing initially, letting it heal on its own, that raw surface can adhere to itself, forming scar tissue, she says. With any operation that we design, its going to be a work in progress, and its going to get better. In the operating room Before her surgery last year, Aminata Welcome, 33, who immigrated from Niger, talked with her pre-teen daughter, showing her drawings from a website. I explained to her, This is what a womans private part looks like versus someone who went through cutting, mutilation, Welcome recalls. As a baby, this happened to me. Im missing this part. Yours is like this; Mommys looks like that. Welcome, a Philadelphia bus driver who regularly works nights, assured her child that medicine has come up with solutions, and I am getting fixed. Are you going to be OK? her daughter asked. Yes, Welcome replied, Mommys going to be OK. Surgeons at work in Nairobi a 2013 Unicef report said up to a quarter of Kenyan women are subjected to FGM (AFP/Getty) The morning of her operation, dressed in a black-and-gold abaya, she swept the air with orange-polished fingernails as she described how American men she dated after her divorce dumped her when they learned she had been cut. Ive been rejected three times because of it, she said. One boyfriend asked if she was transgender. Another told her that he likes to play with the clitoris, so if I dont have one, he doesnt know what he can do with me. Heading to the surgery centre, Welcome said: Im realistic that its never going to be like it never was cut away from me. She shielded her eyes, praying silently. This surgery is going to make me feel more like a woman. Im realistic that its never going to be like it never was cut away from me Aminata Welcome In Operating Room One, after Welcomes anaesthesia took effect, Dr David Colen, the chief plastic surgery resident, scraped tissue from inside her cheek. Cheek skin cells are closest to the skin cells over the clitoris, Percec explained. She removed fat from Welcomes abdomen with a syringe. Pressing the scar tissue, she said, I can feel the clitoral remnant. She sliced carefully. There are 8,000 sensory nerves on the tip of the clitoris, as opposed to the tip of the penis, which has about 4,000, she said. But whos counting? Colen replied. An hour later, Percec unearthed about 3cm of the clitoris. No labia minora remained. Percec stitched skin to recreate the rim that was lost, she said. The doctors placed the cheek-cell skin graft over the surgical opening and injected fat around it. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events After two hours in recovery, Welcome was discharged. Exhausted, she rested on a green velour sofa at home. This is something Ive been looking for for the longest, she said, her voice soft but strengthening. And here I am. New York Times "One of the reasons we do this is to bring out exactly the words you brought to me," he said. "We want to teach people how to communicate with those with dementia." Herefordshire, a county of apple blossom and wild daffodils overlooked by the dark Welsh hills, is Englands arcadia. Its landscape inspired the magical land of Narnia according to CS Lewis. Its ancient gnarled oaks were the reputed model for the Ents, the fabulous trees that walk through the woods and talk to hobbits and wizards in JRR Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings. For anybody in search of an idyllic pastoral England, Herefordshire appears to be the right place to come. Everything is on a human scale, from the small cathedral city of Hereford with a population of 70,000, to the scattering of towns, villages, and hamlets filled with black-and-white timber frame houses. For those seeking signs of a more robust England, recalling heroic battlefields from Agincourt to Arnhem, there is the comforting presence of the SAS headquarters on the outskirts of Hereford. Many people living here do not relish change for understandable reasons and regret the changes in Britain since the country entered the EU a half century ago. There is a lot of nostalgia in Herefordshire, says local historian David Whitehead. He notes that local newspapers like to run two-page spreads of old photographs of the county in the inter-war period when life appeared to be more stable and predictable. People feel closer to the past here than in most of England, he says. Prehistoric humans invented tools on multiple occasions, according to researchers who have found a collection of 327 stone weapons carved more than 2.58 million years ago. This is the first evidence of ancient hominids sharpening stones to create specific tools, according to new research led by Arizona State University and George Washington University. The collection of Oldowan tools which are created by chipping off bits of stone were found in the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia. They were probably made so our ancestors could carve up meat. Before this discovery, the oldest example of an Oldowan tool was found in Gona in Ethiopia and was believed to be 2.56 million years old. It was widely believed this technology was invented once and then spread across the continent. However, this latest study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, proves that theory wrong. Oldowan tools are now believed to have been invented many times by several hominid groups before becoming an essential human survival tool. Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary Kaye Reed research associate with Arizona State Universitys Institute of Human Origins told The Independent: This is the first time we see people chipping off bits of stone to make tools with an end in mind. They only took two or three flakes off, and some you can tell werent taken off quite right. The latest tools seem slightly different in the way theyre made from other examples. The tools were found near the oldest fossil attributed to the genus Homo, which is at an excavation site known as Bokol Dora 1 or BD 1 in Ethiopia. For five years researchers had been trying to find if there was a connection between the origins of our genus and the creation of systematic stone tool manufacture. The breakthrough came when Arizona State University geologist Christopher Campisano saw sharp-edged stone tools sticking out of the sediments on a steep, eroded slope. It was here they went on to find hundreds of small pieces of chipped stones. Researchers found the collection of Oldowan tools in the Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia (Erin DiMaggio) These tools were dropped by early humans at the edge of a water source and then quickly buried. The site then stayed that way for millions of years, said geoarchaeologist Vera Aldeias from the University of Algarve in Portugal. Our ancestors were making and using tools for one million years before this latest find. Old hammering or percussive stone tools described as Lomekwian tools were first found in Kenya 3.3 million years ago. Like monkeys and chimpanzees, these early hominids were using tools to hammer and bash food items like nuts and shellfish. However, something changed by 2.6 million years ago and our ancestors became more accurate and skilled at striking the edge of stones to make tools. The BD 1 artefacts capture this shift. Discovery of little monkey from 55 million years ago rewrites history of humans Show all 2 1 /2 Discovery of little monkey from 55 million years ago rewrites history of humans Discovery of little monkey from 55 million years ago rewrites history of humans pg-20-monkey-1.jpg Discovery of little monkey from 55 million years ago rewrites history of humans pg-20-monkey-2.jpg We expected to see some indication of an evolution from the Lomekwian to these earliest Oldowan tools, said Will Archer of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the University of Cape Town. Yet when we looked closely at the patterns, there was very little connection to what is known from older archaeological sites or to the tools modern primates are making, he said. This change coincided with a change in our ancestors teeth. As our ancestors began to process food prior to eating using stone tools, we start to see a reduction in the size of their teeth. David Braun, an archaeologist with George Washington University and the lead author on the paper said; Given that primate species throughout the world routinely use stone hammers to forage for new resources, it seems very possible that throughout Africa many different human ancestors found new ways of using stone artefacts to extract resources from their environment. If our hypothesis is correct then we would expect to find some type of continuity in artefact form after 2.6 million years ago, but not prior to this time period. We need to find more sites. Dr Reed said: Our team is going back to the field early next year and we will do some more excavations of other localities and well keep looking for more hominids that made the tool. Sadiq Khan's office has hit back at "far-right" Donald Trump after the US president launched an extraordinary attack on the London mayor moments ahead of landing in the UK. Minutes before touching down outside the capital aboard Air Force One, Mr Trump branded Mr Khan a "stone cold loser" who had done a "terrible job" as mayor. He also compared the former Labour MP to New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio, who Mr Trump dislikes, and insulted his stature. "Kahn (sic) reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job - only half his height," Mr Trump tweeted on Monday morning. In response, a spokesperson for Mr Khan said: "This is much more serious than childish insults which should be beneath the President of the United States. President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, pose for a photo during dinner at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence in London AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May share a laugh outside of Downing Street Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with the Queen while other guests follow as they arrive at a state banquet in Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The red carpet is rolled out in front of Downing Street prior to the arrival of President Trump AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with prime minister Theresa May for a business roundtable meeting at St James' Palace in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump makes a speech at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen share a toast at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Philip May and Melania Trump attend a garden party for families of Downing Street staff on the second day of President Trump's visit Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with the Queen at Buckingham Palace as he arrives on the first day of his three-day state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A mixed crowd of supporters and detractors waits outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen view an exhibition of items from the Royal Collection that are of historical significance to the US PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump inspects an honour guard during a welcome ceremony in the garden of Buckingham Palace AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The police block a road leading to Westminster Abbey, where Donald Trump is visiting on the first day of his state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The McDonalds restaurant on Whitehall near to Westminster Abbey provides an excuse as to why they are not serving milkshakes today, though many have speculated that it is due to the recent trend of pouring milkshakes over right wing political figures Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Protesters with anti-Trump signs stand on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania are welcomed by the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace EPA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery perform a gun salute to honour President Trump's state visit and to mark the 66th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Green Park Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester stands on Whitehall near Downing Street holding a sign with an anti-Trump message Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A supporter welcomes the president's visit on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A miniature Trump balloon in the protest on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester wears a "No Trumps" card in his hat as he walks nearby to Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles and a Buckingham Palace guard as he is welcomed on the first day of his three-day state visit AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Crowds watch as Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Trump, arrives at Buckingham Palace PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president - and detractors of London mayor Sadiq Khan - await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Donald Trump salutes an honour guard as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania arrive at Winfield House, the US ambassadors residence in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester mowed this message into a field nearby to Stansted Airport Born Eco President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A marching band parades down the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump shakes hands with Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A policeman stands on the Mall, one of the roads leading to Buckingham Palace that is closed for the president's visit Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Air Force One lands carrying U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arriving for their state visit to Britain Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An honour guard await Trump's departure from Air Force One at Stansted Airport Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport AP "Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years." The war of words was sparked when Mr Khan described the US president over the weekend as "just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat" and compared the language he had used to that of the "fascists of the 20th century". After landing at Stansted Airport, Mr Trump was due to head from there to Buckingham Palace for a reception with the Queen, Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Duke of Sussex will also attend a private lunch at the palace - although his wife, who is on maternity leave, will be at home with their four-week-old son, Archie. Donald Trumps attack on Sadiq Khan is the latest in a long line of statements reflecting the far-rights obsession with the London mayor, experts have said. Shortly before the US president landed for the start of his state visit to the UK, he launched a Twitter tirade accusing the London mayor of doing a terrible job and being a stone cold loser who should focus on crime. There were warnings that the comments could fuel harassment targeting Mr Khan, who is already under 24-hour police protection because of death threats. A spokesperson for Mr Khan said the comments had gone beyond childish insults, adding: Sadiq is representing the progressive values of London and our country, warning that Donald Trump is the most egregious example of a growing far-right threat around the globe, which is putting at risk the basic values that have defined our liberal democracies for more than 70 years. It came two years after Mr Trump launched another attack on the Labour mayor in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack. President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, pose for a photo during dinner at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence in London AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May share a laugh outside of Downing Street Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with the Queen while other guests follow as they arrive at a state banquet in Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The red carpet is rolled out in front of Downing Street prior to the arrival of President Trump AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with prime minister Theresa May for a business roundtable meeting at St James' Palace in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump makes a speech at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen share a toast at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Philip May and Melania Trump attend a garden party for families of Downing Street staff on the second day of President Trump's visit Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with the Queen at Buckingham Palace as he arrives on the first day of his three-day state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A mixed crowd of supporters and detractors waits outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen view an exhibition of items from the Royal Collection that are of historical significance to the US PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump inspects an honour guard during a welcome ceremony in the garden of Buckingham Palace AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The police block a road leading to Westminster Abbey, where Donald Trump is visiting on the first day of his state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The McDonalds restaurant on Whitehall near to Westminster Abbey provides an excuse as to why they are not serving milkshakes today, though many have speculated that it is due to the recent trend of pouring milkshakes over right wing political figures Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Protesters with anti-Trump signs stand on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania are welcomed by the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace EPA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery perform a gun salute to honour President Trump's state visit and to mark the 66th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Green Park Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester stands on Whitehall near Downing Street holding a sign with an anti-Trump message Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A supporter welcomes the president's visit on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A miniature Trump balloon in the protest on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester wears a "No Trumps" card in his hat as he walks nearby to Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles and a Buckingham Palace guard as he is welcomed on the first day of his three-day state visit AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Crowds watch as Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Trump, arrives at Buckingham Palace PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president - and detractors of London mayor Sadiq Khan - await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Donald Trump salutes an honour guard as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania arrive at Winfield House, the US ambassadors residence in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester mowed this message into a field nearby to Stansted Airport Born Eco President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A marching band parades down the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump shakes hands with Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A policeman stands on the Mall, one of the roads leading to Buckingham Palace that is closed for the president's visit Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Air Force One lands carrying U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arriving for their state visit to Britain Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An honour guard await Trump's departure from Air Force One at Stansted Airport Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport AP The US president took a statement where Mr Khan urged Londoners not to be alarmed by increased armed police patrols out of context to write: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!. Mr Trump used the rampage, which left eight people dead on 3 June 2017, to promote his proposed travel ban on people from selected Muslim-majority countries. His son, Donald Trump Jr, was labelled a disgrace months earlier for attacking Mr Khan in the wake of the Westminster attack by twisting his statement that being prepared for terror attacks was part and parcel of governing a major Western city. Both the part and parcel and no reason to be alarmed soundbites have been incorporated into countless memes, blogs and videos spread online by anti-Islam extremists. Jacob Davey, the lead on far-right research at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said Mr Trumps attacks on Mr Khan acted as a nod and a wink to his extremist supporters. There is this absolute obsession with Mr Khan amongst the alt and far-right, and it is intrinsically linked to the fact hes a Muslim of Pakistani origin, he told The Independent. It ties in with broader far-right conspiracy theories, including the idea of Islamisation and that white Europeans are being culturally and ethnically displaced globally. Mr Davey said that the far-rights focus on Mr Khan goes beyond legitimate criticism by implying that he is implicitly supportive of terror attacks and violence. Analysts in the US have pointed to Mr Trumps consumption of Fox News, links to Breitbart through his former chief of staff Steve Bannon and interaction with far-right social media accounts as potential sources for his statements. Donald Trump leaves Stansted on Marine One Mr Davey said Mr Trumps extremist supporters were already sharing and celebrating his latest attack on Mr Khan across the internet. Threads were started on the messaging board 4chan known for its racist memes and alt-right subculture and Tommy Robinson and UK yellow vest activist James Goddard were among those praising the presidents comments. Its a self-reinforcing cycle where his most extreme supporters feed off his output and use that to encourage their behaviour, Mr Davey added. When Mr Khan is targeted directly in this personal fashion by Mr Trump it acts as a nod and a wink to his extremist followers, potentially legitimising their harassment. It emerged last month that Mr Khan has round-the-clock police protection after receiving a deluge of death threats, which have intensified since 2016. The Finsbury Park terrorist named the former Labour MP in a suicide note written before he ploughed a van into Muslims in 2017. Darren Osborne told his trial that it would have been like winning the lottery to murder Mr Khan, if he had been able to reach a pro-Palestinian protest that was his original target. He is frequently targeted by right-wing activists and anti-Islam groups who hold him responsible for rising violent crime and other grievances, even though stabbings in London have fallen after Mr Khan boosted police funding. Police figures show that violence started rising in the capital in 2014, when Boris Johnson was mayor, in the wake of Conservative budget cuts to policing and preventive services. Boris Johnson was mayor of London when violent crime started rising in 2014 (AFP/Getty) Mondays comments came after Mr Khan slammed Mr Trumps response to white supremacist violence, immigration policies, proposed Muslim ban and repeated and deliberate lies. In an open letter published on Sunday, the London mayor said it was un-British to roll out the red carpet for Mr Trump in light of his divisive behaviour, accusing him of interference in the Conservative leadership race. Mr Trump has said Mr Johnson would do a very good job as prime minister, adding: I like him, I have always liked him. Recommended Stabbings and murders plummet in London as police hail stop and search The praise appeared to overlook some of Mr Johnsons previous comments, including a 2015 statement accusing the Republican presidential candidate of quite stupefying ignorance that makes him, frankly, unfit to hold the office of president over claims about Muslim no-go zones in London. The feud between Mr Khan and Mr Trump dates back to 2016, when the London mayor called a proposed Muslim immigration ban divisive and outrageous and voiced hope he would lose US presidential election. Before being alerted to his comments, Mr Trump suggested he would make an exception for Mr Khan because of his position, but then challenged him to an IQ test after being called ignorant. Animosity deepened during last years presidential visit, when Mr Khan gave approval for a giant balloon depicting Mr Trump as an angry baby to be flown over London by protesters. Supporters of the US president hit back by crowdfunding their own balloon of Mr Khan in a bikini, which he also approved for flight, but the Trump blimp will be back for protests this week. Close Donald Trump lands at Buckingham Palace and shakes hands with the Queen Protesters have denounced Donald Trump as frightening and dangerous and claimed his state visit is an invitation for his ideology to be imported to the UK, during a dramatic first day of the US president's second state visit to the country. During a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II greeted the president, and reminded those in attendance of the "close and longstanding friendship" between their two countries and appeared to rebuke Mr Trump's so-called America-first ideology that has threatened once close alliances and shaken the international community. "I am so glad that we have another opportunity to demonstrate the immense importance that both our countries attach to our relationship," the Queen said. The itinerary for Mr Trump going forward includes meetings with business leaders, a tour of historic British buildings, and trips to Portsmouth and Normandy with the latter coming on the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The Queen, during her remarks, used that historic moment in the Second World War to reinforce the importance of the US-UK relationship. Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Show all 15 1 /15 Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Pre-flight Melania wears a calf-skimming shirt dress by Gucci before departing the White House in Washington DC. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Pre-flight The cream, orange and green gown was covered in prints depicting London landmarks including the Tower of London and Big Ben. Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania arrived at London's Stansted airport wearing a navy-blue skirt suit paired with a printed pussy-bow blouse by British heritage brand Burberry. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania accessorised her post-flight look with a pair of oversized sunglasses. EPA Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania arrived at Buckingham Palace later that day to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Here she is pictured standing alongside HRH and her husband during a welcome ceremony. She wore a fitted white dress by Italian label Dolce and Gabbana. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Both the Duchess and Melania struggled to hold onto their hats during the ceremony. Melania's opted for a large wide-brimmed hat by American fashion designer, Herve Pierre. The Duchess wore a cream by Irish milliner Philip Treacy. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 At the Palace, the Trumps also met with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, who was wearing a light-coloured ensemble by Anna Valentine. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 Melania's hat matched the navy trim of her dress. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 1 For the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace that evening, Melania made a sartorial statement in custom Dior haute couture. The ivory-coloured sleeveless gown boasted a flame-shaped neckline. The first lady accessorised the look with matching ivory gloves and diamond earrings. REUTERS Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 For the presidential meeting between Theresa May and her husband Philip May, Melania wore a belted beige trench dress by CELINE. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 Melania also wore stiletto black heels and carried a crocodile Birkin bag by Hermes. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 On Tuesday evening, the US president and first lady hosted a dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the US ambassador. Melania wore a 5,000 floor-length red Givenchy gown for the occasion, complete with a cape design. PA Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 2 The bold Givenchy dress featured a red sequinned v-shaped neckline. Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 3 On the third day of the UK state visit, Melania and Donald Trump attended a ceremony in Portsmouth in honour of the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The first lady of the US dressed in an all-white ensemble for the occasion, wearing an ivory coat by New York-based brand The Row and accessorising with a wide-brim fascinator by Philip Treacy. AFP/Getty Images Every outfit Melania Trump has worn for the UK state visit Day 3 The US first lady completed her look with a pair of nude Dior heels. REUTERS "On that day and on many occasions since the armed forces of both our countries fought side-by-side to defend our cherished values of liberty and democracy," she said. "As we face the new challenges of the 21st Century, the anniversary of D-Day reminds us of all that our counties have achieved together," she continued, addressing the kinds of international coooperation in the post war years that Mr Trump appears to have disregarded as president. "After the shared sacrifices of the Second World War, Britain and the United States worked with other allies to build an assembly of international institutions to ensure that the horrors of conflict would never be repeated." But, nearby in London, protesters denounced the president who had lashed out at mayor Sadiq Khaan as his trip loomed. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Its one thing to tolerate it, it is something else to promote it, 46-year-old Hada Moreno told The Independent outside Buckingham Palace of Mr Trump's ideological stance. But the US presidents backers were also present, calling him a hero. One said: After Brexit we will need him for trade as well as security. It came after Mr Trump lashed out at Londons mayor on Twitter, branding him terrible and a stone-cold loser. Mr Trump and his wife Melania dined with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The pair were met by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, and will also take a tour of Westminster Abbey. Observers were curious as to how the Prince of Wales, a keen environmentalist, would get along with the fossil fuel-loving president. Please allow a moment for the live blog to load A teenager has mowed an anti-Trump message, complete with a giant penis, into the grass of his family home ahead of the US presidents UK state visit. Ollie Nancarrow spent his weekend mowing the words Oi Trump into his lawn, near Hatfield Heath, in Essex. The 18-year-old also used the mower to etch a giant polar bear, penis and the words climate change is real into the grass, according to the Bishops Stortford Independent. The A-level student hopes that the US president will spot his creation as Air Force One approaches Stansted Airport, which is near Hatfield Heath, on Monday morning. Donald Trump and his denial of climate change are not welcome and I want him to be fully aware of that when he flies in to Stansted on Monday, he said. Ollie Nancarrow has etched the image into his lawn (Born Eco/Twitter) The teenager is the founder of Born Eco, a website which connects shoppers with eco-friendly traders. Mr Trumps controversial state visit will unfold over three days. President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, pose for a photo during dinner at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence in London AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May share a laugh outside of Downing Street Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with the Queen while other guests follow as they arrive at a state banquet in Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The red carpet is rolled out in front of Downing Street prior to the arrival of President Trump AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with prime minister Theresa May for a business roundtable meeting at St James' Palace in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump makes a speech at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen share a toast at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Philip May and Melania Trump attend a garden party for families of Downing Street staff on the second day of President Trump's visit Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with the Queen at Buckingham Palace as he arrives on the first day of his three-day state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A mixed crowd of supporters and detractors waits outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen view an exhibition of items from the Royal Collection that are of historical significance to the US PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump inspects an honour guard during a welcome ceremony in the garden of Buckingham Palace AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The police block a road leading to Westminster Abbey, where Donald Trump is visiting on the first day of his state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The McDonalds restaurant on Whitehall near to Westminster Abbey provides an excuse as to why they are not serving milkshakes today, though many have speculated that it is due to the recent trend of pouring milkshakes over right wing political figures Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Protesters with anti-Trump signs stand on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania are welcomed by the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace EPA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery perform a gun salute to honour President Trump's state visit and to mark the 66th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Green Park Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester stands on Whitehall near Downing Street holding a sign with an anti-Trump message Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A supporter welcomes the president's visit on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A miniature Trump balloon in the protest on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester wears a "No Trumps" card in his hat as he walks nearby to Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles and a Buckingham Palace guard as he is welcomed on the first day of his three-day state visit AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Crowds watch as Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Trump, arrives at Buckingham Palace PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president - and detractors of London mayor Sadiq Khan - await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Donald Trump salutes an honour guard as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania arrive at Winfield House, the US ambassadors residence in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester mowed this message into a field nearby to Stansted Airport Born Eco President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A marching band parades down the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump shakes hands with Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A policeman stands on the Mall, one of the roads leading to Buckingham Palace that is closed for the president's visit Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Air Force One lands carrying U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arriving for their state visit to Britain Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An honour guard await Trump's departure from Air Force One at Stansted Airport Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport AP He is expected to meet the Queen and senior royals at Buckingham Palace, before dignitaries gather for a state dinner on Monday evening. Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, is boycotting the event, while Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has compared Mr Trump to the fascists of the 20th century. Ollie Nancarrow drew the message near Stansted (Twitter/Eco) Thousands of protesters are also expected to rally against Mr Trumps presence at a protest in Trafalgar Square on Tuesday. Mr Trump has repeatedly dismissed the threat of climate change since taking office. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Last week the White House instructed a major US government department to cease predicting the long term effects of the climate crisis, in a move which infuriated environmental campaigners. Boris Johnson has pledged to significantly increase the amount spent on every secondary school pupil to at least 5,000 if he becomes the next prime minister. In his first major domestic policy proposal, the front-runner in the Tory leadership race said he wanted to unleash the talents of the nation by giving every child the same opportunity to express their heaven-sent gifts. The former foreign secretary likened Britain to a giant that is managing heroically to hop on one leg, but said funding schools properly could enable the nation to take gigantic strides. Mr Johnson, writing in the Daily Telegraph, said there was a yawning funding gap between different areas of the country, with per pupil funding in some parts of London at 6,800 while in other parts of the country it is 4,200. Of course there are special and extra costs of living in the capital and London schools, which face unique challenges, deserve that recognition and a helping hand, he said. Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Show all 3 1 /3 Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Boris Johnson - 157 votes PA Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Michael Gove - 61 votes Getty Who is standing to be the next prime minister? Jeremy Hunt - 59 votes PA But I pledge significantly to improve the level of per pupil funding so that thousands of schools get much more per pupil - and to protect that funding in real terms. It is understood Mr Johnson would like every secondary school in England to spend at least 5,000 per pupil. He said the capabilities and ambitions of all schools should also be boosted, and called for vocational training and apprenticeships to be given parity of esteem. The prominent Leave campaigner said a dynamic Brexit Britain should rectify the mistake that had led to funding for further education not keeping up with schools. It is absurd that employers have been driven to import so much skilled labour from abroad, largely because of the failures of vocational training in this country, he wrote. We need to recognise the range and richness of our educational needs. And yet at the same time we need to accept that there are some purely academic disciplines - mathematics in particular - where we must be more demanding. He said the country's mission must now be not just to come out of the EU and do it properly, as the people requested, but also to level up, to bridge that gap, and to unleash the talents of the entire nation. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mr Johnsons pledge comes after the number of MPs vying to replace Theresa May reached 13, with former minister Sam Gyimah throwing his hat in the ring. Candidates have spent the weekend setting out their stalls, with Sajid Javid announcing plans to establish a 100 billion fund to invest in UK infrastructure and rebalance the economy. Andrea Leadsom outlined her intention to leave the EU by the end of October in a managed exit and Matt Hancock said he would seek a time limit to the Irish backstop as he set out his Brexit delivery plan. Press Association An investigation has revealed the risk of food poisoning because of dangerous practices at a US chicken factory, ahead of trade talks which could force the UK to accept the meat after Brexit. The undercover probe by Channel 4 laid bare the danger of cross-contamination with the deadly bacteria salmonella and campylobacter, because of poor standards outlawed by the EU. As normal in the US, the chicken is washed in chemicals a practice banned in the UK under EU law because scientists fear it does not remove bacteria and simply masks safety failures. Nevertheless, the US has made clear it will demand the UK accept chemical-washed poultry in any trade deal and Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, has suggested a ban will be impossible. The expose by the Dispatches programme ahead of exploratory trade talks between Theresa May and Donald Trump on his state visit uncovered: * Piles of chicken left on conveyor belts for long periods of time, at the risk of cross contamination. * Boxes of chicken stacked on top of each other which could also cause cross-contamination. * Workers touching raw chicken with bare hands while one cleared drains with gloved hands, merely washing the gloves before going back to touching raw chicken. * Drains blocked with chicken while pieces of and innards lay on the floor and water leaked from machinery. * Flooded and broken floors where bacteria could breed, an EU meat safety expert warned. * A worker having three fingers amputated, after being asked to operate a machine they had not been trained to use. Ron Spellman, the assistant secretary general of the European Food and Meat Inspectors Association, said the programme exposed much lower standards than weve got in Britain and in the EU. Asked if they were acceptable for British shoppers, he said: Definitely not, no. This would be a really, really big step backwards for us. On the accumulation of meat on conveyor belts, Mr Spellman said: Some of that poultry will be carrying campylobacter without a doubt, and some salmonella. The more contact they have with other bits of meat, the more contamination will spread. And he added: This practice of stacking the boxes up like that, with the bottom of the box on the chicken thats underneath, makes it appear to be a comparatively innocent and harmless practice. It isnt. Its dangerous. For the programme, entitled The Truth About Chlorinated Chicken recruited an undercover reporter for a job at the plant in Texas, owned by Tyson Foods, Americas biggest poultry producer. She said: On several occasions, I saw supervisors touching chicken with bare hands. The hygiene in the plant, it was just really kind of a shocker. Criticism has grown that ministers will bow to US pressure to accept chlorine-washed chicken after Brexit, in their desperation for a trade deal with Washington. At the weekend, Woody Johnson, the US ambassador, made clear it would expect UK markets to be opened up to US agricultural products, in a trade deal already being lined up. American products would come over. You give the British people a choice. If they like it they can buy it, if they dont want it they dont have to buy it, he said. Jeremy Hunt has praised Donald Trump's economic record and suggested he could introduce similar tax cuts for business if he becomes prime minister. The foreign secretary, who is one of 12 candidates standing to succeed Theresa May, said the US president had delivered "double the GDP growth that we have" and said we would want to "look at" the Republican's policy of "big business cuts in tax". Mr Trump arrived in the UK on Monday morning for a three-day state visit and was greeted at Stansted Airport by Mr Hunt and other dignitaries. The foreign secretary had earlier praised the US president and insisted that people were wrong to oppose his visit to the UK. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "America under President Trump has got double the GDP growth that we have and he's done that through some big business cuts in tax, and we could look at that." The prospect of a post-Brexit trade deal is likely to be one of the main issues during discussions between Mr Trump and UK government ministers during the visit. Describing the prospect of a deal with the US as "a very, very big opportunity for us", Mr Hunt said: "President Trump is a champion of the view that there are great opportunities for Britain post-Brexit." However, he ruled out including the NHS in a possible trade deal, despite Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, having suggested that US access to the health service should be "on the table" during negotiations. Echoing comments made by Matt Hancock, the health secretary, Mr Hunt said: "I can't conceive of any future prime minister for any party ever agreeing that we would allow NHS procurement to be part of trade talks, because the NHS as a publicly run, publicly owned institution is part of our DNA." President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May and Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, pose for a photo during dinner at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence in London AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May share a laugh outside of Downing Street Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with the Queen while other guests follow as they arrive at a state banquet in Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The red carpet is rolled out in front of Downing Street prior to the arrival of President Trump AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with prime minister Theresa May for a business roundtable meeting at St James' Palace in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump makes a speech at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen share a toast at the state banquet in Buckingham Palace Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Philip May and Melania Trump attend a garden party for families of Downing Street staff on the second day of President Trump's visit Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump meets with the Queen at Buckingham Palace as he arrives on the first day of his three-day state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A mixed crowd of supporters and detractors waits outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and the Queen view an exhibition of items from the Royal Collection that are of historical significance to the US PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump inspects an honour guard during a welcome ceremony in the garden of Buckingham Palace AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The police block a road leading to Westminster Abbey, where Donald Trump is visiting on the first day of his state visit PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles in the gardens of Buckingham Palace AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures The McDonalds restaurant on Whitehall near to Westminster Abbey provides an excuse as to why they are not serving milkshakes today, though many have speculated that it is due to the recent trend of pouring milkshakes over right wing political figures Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Protesters with anti-Trump signs stand on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania are welcomed by the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace EPA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery perform a gun salute to honour President Trump's state visit and to mark the 66th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Green Park Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester stands on Whitehall near Downing Street holding a sign with an anti-Trump message Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A supporter welcomes the president's visit on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A miniature Trump balloon in the protest on Whitehall near Downing Street Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester wears a "No Trumps" card in his hat as he walks nearby to Buckingham Palace Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump walks with Prince Charles and a Buckingham Palace guard as he is welcomed on the first day of his three-day state visit AFP/Getty President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Crowds watch as Marine One, the helicopter carrying President Trump, arrives at Buckingham Palace PA President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president - and detractors of London mayor Sadiq Khan - await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Donald Trump salutes an honour guard as he and first lady Melania Trump arrive at Stansted Airport AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania arrive at Winfield House, the US ambassadors residence in London AP President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Dedicated pro-Trump and pro-Brexit campaigner Joseph Afrane awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A protester mowed this message into a field nearby to Stansted Airport Born Eco President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An anti-Trump protester awaits the president's arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A marching band parades down the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of President Trump Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Supporters of the president await his arrival at Buckingham Palace Tom Batchelor / The Independent President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump shakes hands with Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures A policeman stands on the Mall, one of the roads leading to Buckingham Palace that is closed for the president's visit Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures Air Force One lands carrying U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arriving for their state visit to Britain Reuters President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures An honour guard await Trump's departure from Air Force One at Stansted Airport Sky News President Trump in Britain for state visit: In pictures President Trump and First Lady Melania depart from Air Force one at Stansted Airport AP Mr Hunt said that, as prime minister, he would be willing to opt for a no-deal Brexit if he cannot secure a better exit deal. He faced criticism from some Tory MPs last week after appearing to shift his stance on a no-deal outcome, warning that it would be "political suicide". He had previously claimed Britain would "flourish and prosper" if it left the EU without a deal. Speaking to Today, he insisted Today: "My position on this hasn't changed at all. I've always said that in the end, if the only way to leave the European Union, to deliver on the result of the referendum, was to leave without a deal, then I would do that but I would so so very much as a last resort, with a heavy heart, because of the risks to businesses and the risks to the union. "I would be prepared to do in extremis but I wouldn't do it if there was a prospect of a better deal and I think there is a prospect of a better deal and I think it's possible to get one before 31 October, although I don't pretend it's going to be easy." Outsiders in the race to replace Theresa May as Conservative leader are objecting to proposals to cull the crowded field of contenders. The executive of the partys backbench 1922 Committee meet on Tuesday to consider plans to increase the nomination threshold for taking part in the contest. Senior figures, including James Brokenshire, the communities secretary, and ex-leader Iain Duncan Smith, have already called for the field of 13 contenders to be slimmed down. They fear a drawn-out contest will delay the arrival of a new leader and eat into the time available to solve Brexit by the deadline of 31 October. Kenneth Clarke, a former chancellor, warned that the contest was in danger of becoming a rather tragic farce unless some order is brought into it. A mooted threshold of 12 MPs nominations rather than the proposer and seconder previously required could knock out outsiders like Rory Stewart, who has toured the country with a platform ruling out a no-deal Brexit, and Sam Gyimah, the only candidate arguing for a second referendum. Tory leadership rules state only that the 125,000-strong membership in the country will elect the new leader from a shortlist of two drawn up by MPs, leaving it up to the 1922 Committee to draw up the rules for narrowing down the field. Previous contests have seen twice-weekly ballots of MPs, each removing the least popular candidate until only two remained. But with 13 in the race, this process could take more than a month to produce a pair of rivals for the final face-off, delaying the choice of a leader until late in the summer. Sam Gyimah says he will be joining Conservative leadership race Nigel Evans, a joint secretary of the committee, said that requiring each candidate to gather 10 nominations on top of their proposer and seconder would allow the contest to be kept to manageable proportions, reducing numbers in the first round to six or seven. If we dont implement rules which allow us to whittle away those with little support, the whole process will be totally unwieldy, he said. None of the contenders has spoken out publicly against a change in rules. But it is understood that some are privately angry. A source close to one of the campaigns said a rule change at this stage might give an unfair advantage frontrunners such as Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, who have been outside the government in recent months. It would be remarkable for the rules to change in favour of those who quit cabinet or their ministerial posts to get a head start on their leadership campaigns, said the source. Of the declared candidates, only Mr Johnson, Mr Raab, Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Sajid Javid and Matt Hancock have enough declared supporters to pass a 12-nomination threshold. Mr Stewart, Mr Gyimah, Mark Harper, Kit Malthouse, Esther McVey, James Cleverly and Andrea Leadsom could find themselves knocked out before the contest has begun. Mr Johnson kicked off his campaign proper on Monday with a launch video showing him on the doorstep in the campaign for the Peterborough by-election and promising to deliver Brexit and unite our fantastic country. The former foreign secretary is seen repeating his commitment to take the UK out of the EU on 31 October, deal or no deal. And he boasts of achieving a 20 per cent crime reduction in London as mayor, in part through the use of stop-and-search tactics. Mr Johnson also launched a pledge to close the funding gap between schools in different areas of the country, with per-pupil support in some parts of London at 6,800 compared to 4,200 elsewhere in the UK. 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 Ed Davey, the Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesperson, challenged his claims on crime, arguing that figures show the actual fall in crime in the capital was 15 per cent during Mr Johnsons time in office and that a Home Office analysis found no statistically significant crime-reducing effect from extra searches for weapons. For Johnson to kick off his leadership campaign with a lie is at least very on-brand, said Davey. Unofficial tallies of declarations of support put Mr Johnson near the head of the pack, with more than 30 MPs, followed by Mr Gove and Mr Hunt slightly below 30 and Mr Raab and Mr Javid around 20. Mr Brokenshire used a speech in London to urge those with little chance of winning the race to consider dropping out, warning: We simply do not have the luxury of weeks of navel-gazing or days and days of whittling candidates down to the final two and talking to ourselves. I say gently to some of my colleagues who have put themselves forward for what has been described as the Grand National of political contests: please think carefully. If you already know its going to be a bit of a struggle to get over the first fence, let alone Bechers Brook ahead, then maybe you should pull up. Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, backed his call: I hope those who are not really, numbers-wise, in the running, will think twice about whether they really want to go ahead with their candidacies. Shake Shack features a modern menu devoted to burgers, chicken, hot dogs, shakes, frozen custard, beer and wine, according to its website. Matthew Meyer from Shake Shack said less than 5% of its business involves beer and wine. He said the restaurant will comply with the villages prohibition of marketing logos on patio umbrellas and the 25-foot outdoor smoking free zone from anywhere food is served. At least 13 Sudanese protesters have reportedly died after security forces began trying to break up a long-running demonstration in the capital Khartoum. Protesters at a sit-in have been engaged in a weeks-long standoff with the military commanders who toppled dictator Omar al-Bashir in April. Although the downfall of the autocrat was led by an alliance between the army and civilian demonstrators, the two sides have since fallen out over the creation of a transitional government. The main protest organisers have accused the army of carrying out a massacre but the generals have denied the claims. The military has insisted it will hand over power to a civilian administration in due course, but the protesters have refused to leave the streets until they are allowed to lead the handover. Although the transitional military council had pledged not to use force to disperse the sit-in outside its headquarters, Sudanese troops began moving in on the demonstrators early on Monday morning. Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Show all 10 1 /10 Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Sudanese forces are deployed around to disperse protesters taking part in a sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum AFP Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Tyres are set alight as soldiers move in to disperse protesters outside of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum A protester reacts as soldiers move in to disperse protesters outside of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Protesters build a wall to block soldiers as they move in to disperse protesters AFP/Getty Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Tyres are set alight as soldiers move in to disperse protesters outside of the military headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Sudanese soldiers escort civilians away from the scene of a protest in Khartoum AP Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Sudanese forces are deployed around to disperse protesters taking part in a sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum AFP/Getty Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Protesters build a wall to block soldiers as they move in to disperse protesters AFP/Getty Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Police officers run down a street in Khartoum as sudanese forces are deployed around to disperse protesters taking part in a sit-in outside the army headquarters in Khartoum AP Gunfire heard as military moves in on protesters in Khartoum Protesters flee as soldiers move in to disperse a sit-in being staged outside the military headquarters in Khartoum Reuters Witnesses in Khartoum have reported gunfire, black smoke and the sight of protesters running in terror. Roads leading to the sit-in have also been blocked by soldiers. Arab TV stations have shown chaotic footage of people running away as security forces apparently torch their tents. Recommended Sudan protesters vow to take rallies to Europe and US The group spearheading the protests said: The protesters holding a sit-in in front of the army general command are facing a massacre in a treacherous attempt to disperse the protest. It also called on ordinary Sudanese to take to the streets and stop the military crushing its sit-in. The demand has been heard in Khartoums twin city of Omdurman which sits just across the Nile from the capital. Thousands there have blocked roads with stones and set tyres on fire, Reuters has reported. Four die in Sudan protests as military rulers say they won't allow 'chaos' A local doctors association linked with the protesters said at least 13 people had died during the clashes with security forces. But the military leaders have insisted they are not trying to violently break up the demonstrators. The military councils spokesperson, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, denied that authorities were trying to clear the protest camp and said the raid was only targeting criminals. The protest camp has not been dispersed, Mr Kabbashi said. The security forces were trying to disperse unruly elements in the Colombia area, near the protest site, and some of these elements fled to the protest site and caused this chaos. The council was still committed to a political settlement and was ready to resume talks, Mr Kabbashi added, speaking before the alliance called off the negotiations. The British ambassador in Khartoum, Irfan Siddiq, tweeted he could hear heavy gunfire from his home. Extremely concerned by the heavy gunfire Ive been hearing over the last hour from my residence and reports that Sudanese security forces are attacking the protest sit-in site resulting in casualties. No excuse for any such attack. This. Must. Stop. Now. Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, bid $4.57m to have lunch with Warren Buffett, who once called Bitcoin rat poison squared. Mr Sun launched a cyptocurrency called Tron, or TRX Troken, in 2017. Its valued at $2.56bn, and listed on CoinMarkCap.com as the 10th largest cryptocurrency in the world. As some of you might know, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has said publicly he sees no unique value in Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency, Mr Sun wrote in a Medium post, referencing more remarks from Mr Buffett. Yet, he has pointed to the potential in blockchain, the underlying technology behind all cryptocurrency. Mr Buffett serves as the chairman of the holding company Berkshire Hathaway, and is thought to be worth over $82bn, making him the third richest person in the world. In 2018, the billionaire said Berkshire Hathaway would "never have a position" in the trend, saying "cryptocurrency will come to a bad ending." The high-priced lunch is part of an annual auction to raise money for the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco-based charity which Mr Buffets late wife Susan supported. Glide provides meals for the citys homeless, offers support to domestic violence victims, and helps people find shelter. It has raised over $30m over its years. Mr Suns nearly $5m lunch was the highest a bidder has ever paid for a lunch with the famed investor. I look at the upcoming lunch with Buffett as an opportunity to seek mutual understanding and growth, Mr Sun said his announcement. To aid in the conversation and support the overall cryptocurrency and blockchain community, I will invite several industry leaders with your input to accompany me to New York City for the lunch. The auction for the lunch with Mr Buffet this year drew 18 bidders. Previous winners have included hedge fund manager David Einhorn, of Greenlight Capital, in 2003, and Ted Weschler, who won two years in a row and now works as one of Mr Buffetts portfolio managers at Berkshire Hathaway. Im delighted with the fact that Justin has won the lunch and am looking forward to meeting him and his friends, Mr Buffett wrote in an email sent to Bloomberg on the lunch. We are going to have a good time, and Glide will use his contribution to help many thousands of people. Republicans in Louisianas state legislature are attempting to block a law that would set the minimum age for marriage to 17. The bill was introduced by state senator Yvonne Colomb, a Democrat from Baton Rouge, who first proposed the age as 16. Louisiana currently has no minimum age for marriage. State representative Stephanie Hilferty, a Republican out of New Orleans, convinced the House to raise the age to 17. This is to make sure we dont have people covering up acts of rape as a marriage, said representative Hilferty. This is a child protection issue. Ms Hilferty, however, remained a minority in her party on the matter. According to the Advocate, Republicans rewrote the bill to allow for minors to get married under some conditions, and then sent to back to the Senate. It is currently awaiting their vote. Many Republicans in the state legislature considered the bill unfair to minors who might be having children. This is especially prescient for the state; last week, the governor, a Democrat, passed a bill banning abortion in all cases after six weeks. Recommended Democratic Louisiana governor signs six week abortion into law We want children to be born into wedlock if possible, said representative Nancy Landry, a Republican from Lafayette. Were discouraging that with this. If theyre both 16 or 15 and having a baby why wouldnt we want them to get married? A lot of 16-year-olds get pregnant, added representative Valarie Hodges, also a Republican Do you feel its better for them to not get married at all and for the child to be born illegitimately? Representative Beryl Amendee, a Republican backed by the Louisiana Family Forum, a conservative organisation which opposes abortion and same-sex marriage, brought forth an amendment that would allow minors to get married if they undergo a judicial review. I met my husband when I was 14 and he was 15 and if it wasnt for the belief that we should get a high school diploma before we get married, I would have gotten married at 15, she said. Environmental catastrophe looms on Louisianas coast Show all 2 1 /2 Environmental catastrophe looms on Louisianas coast Environmental catastrophe looms on Louisianas coast 364282.bin ALAMY Environmental catastrophe looms on Louisianas coast 364221.bin AP According to the Advocate, over 4500 people under the age of 18 were legally married between 2000 and 2010 in Louisiana, including one child as young as 12. Representative Pat Smith, a Democrat who supported the bill, told the newspaper that she was in awe of the opposition to the protective measure. Thats not right in our state, she said. We need to protect our children. A transgender woman from El Salvador died after falling ill at a private Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centre in New Mexico, officials said on Sunday, drawing new scrutiny to a facility that has faced allegations of mistreatment of gay and transgender detainees. Johana Medina Leon, 25, died on Saturday at Del Sol Medical Centre in El Paso, ICE officials said. She had been taken to the hospital, complaining of chest pains on Tuesday at the Otero County Processing Centre. Earlier that day, she had requested an HIV test, which came back positive, officials said. This is yet another unfortunate example of an individual who illegally enters the United States with an untreated, unscreened medical condition, Corey Price, field office director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in El Paso, said in a statement. There is a crisis at our southern border with a mass influx of aliens lured by the lies of human smugglers who profit without regard for human life or well-being. A transgender mans journey Show all 24 1 /24 A transgender mans journey A transgender mans journey Massie, when he was 22, poses on his bed in St Louis, Missouri. He says: Im extremely fortunate to have the people in my life and to even have the transition I've had Reuters A transgender mans journey Aged 22, posing with Heaven. Heaven and I had a very brief relationship, which was always more of a friendship, we went through some very hard times together Reuters A transgender mans journey Its beyond luck, karma, blessed, whatever you believe in. I honestly never thought I would get to this point in my life. Massie, aged 21, in 2011 Reuters A transgender mans journey With Heaven when he was 24 Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie poses in the shower at his mothers apartment. My mother has always supported me. Even if it took a minute Im the favourite Reuters A transgender mans journey Testosterone, a needle and an alcohol swab. When I first started it was painful and scary because Ive never liked needles or shots, but you just get used to it. Its everyday life now Reuters A transgender mans journey My dad has always been my person, I fully believe I get my strangeness and my weirdness from him. Massie, 28, and his father Robbin Reuters A transgender mans journey Aged 21 in 2011. At my private school, I was the pretty girl who fell in with the wrong crowd. I remember the most popular girl at the time saying she didnt know why I hung out with lesbians Reuters A transgender mans journey Growing up in Saint Louis shaped me as a human... Its truly my home. Massie with his car, aged 25 Reuters A transgender mans journey Fiancee Sandra and Massie, 28, at their home in 2018 Reuters A transgender mans journey In 2015, aged 25. I want surgery because Ive never had an attachment to the fat that has been on my chest since puberty. I will finally be able to go outside without a binder. Finally be able to swim Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie, at 26, talks with Elle (left) and Mackenzie (centre) in Elles apartment in 2015. I have very long-lasting friendships in my life. About nine of us have been friends for over 10 years now Reuters A transgender mans journey In 2012, aged 22 Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie and Sandra joke around in their backyard in 2017 Reuters A transgender mans journey Giving himself a testosterone shot in his bedroom in 2017, aged 27 Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie serves a cocktail at Planters House in St Louis. When I first started transitioning I couldn't find a job for the life of me Reuters A transgender mans journey Posing behind a curtain on the day before his 22nd birthday Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie smiles as Reeny prepares his testosterone shot on the day before his birthday in an alley in St Louis Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie, 27, and Sandra at a Pride in St Louis. Its the rarest of the rare, and the most healthy relationship I could ever hope for. Were not just partners, were best friends. Sandra is my everything Reuters A transgender mans journey I started shaving before any hair had shown itself, because I wanted more to grow. Harrison, 22, looks in the mirror as he applies shaving foam Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie, aged 24, wears a binder in 2013. After seven years of binding Im having back, shoulder, collar bone, and sternum issues Reuters A transgender mans journey Wanting a beard was one of my first ways of letting my friends know I was going to transition. Now, I have a beautiful red beard that I am very proud of. Aged 25 Reuters A transgender mans journey Massie, 25, eats breakfast with his cat Reuters A transgender mans journey Sandra has her head shaved Reuters Many of these aliens attempt to enter the United States with untreated or unknown diseases, which are not diagnosed until they are examined while in detention. ICE officials said Ms Leon was taken into custody after presenting herself on 11 April at the Paso del Norte Port of Entry in El Paso. On 18 May, she passed an interview to determine whether she had a credible fear of persecution if returned to El Salvador. She was paroled from custody the day she went to the hospital, ICE officials said. Nathan Craig, a member of Advocate Visitors with Immigrants in Detention (AVID) in the Chihuahuan Desert, said he has been communicating for months with two of the four transgender women detained at Otero; he said they frequently complained about conditions at the facility. He did not meet with Ms Leon, but he said another transgender woman told him on 24 May that all four transgender women at the facility were sick and werent given adequate medical attention. Mr Craig said he learned that Ms Leon was not feeling well and that others had requested that she be given intravenous fluids but that staff members said they couldnt administer that kind of treatment. Grecia, a transgender activist in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, announced Leons death in a news release Saturday night. She said she visited Ms Leon, whom she calls Joa, at the El Paso hospital on Saturday morning. Grecia said she was alarmed by Ms Leons condition and worried that she would face the same fate as Roxsana Hernandez Rodriguez, a transgender woman from Honduras who died on 31 May 2018, after being in ICE custody at another New Mexico detention centre. Unfortunately, tonight at nine oclock, I got called by the hospital to tell me that she had passed away, Grecia said in her news release. The official autopsy on Ms Hernandez by the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator has never been released. An independent autopsy performed for the Transgender Law Centre said she died of dehydration and complications of AIDS/HIV. Police investigate possible links between 3 transgender women's deaths in Texas The Transgender Law Centre has filed a lawsuit alleging improper care by ICE contributed to Ms Hernandezs death, an allegation ICE has denied. In March, the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups sent a letter to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, complaining about the treatment of gay and transgender detainees at the Otero County Processing Centre, the southern New Mexico facility where Ms Leon was held. ICEs practices at Otero have created an unsafe environment for transgender women and gay men who are detained there, the letter said. One of the complaints in the letter was that requests for medical care often didnt get responses for days or weeks. ICE officials didnt respond directly to the allegations in the letter but said they are committed to ensuring that those in our custody reside in safe, secure and human environments and under appropriate conditions of confinement. Washington Post A man who says he gave food, water and shelter to migrants is facing up to 20 years in prison for shielding the men from US authorities. Scott Warren, from Arizona, was arrested by border patrol agents last year along with two undocumented men who had recently crossed into the country from Mexico. Prosecutors said the 36-year-old harboured the two men Kristian Perez-Villanueva, of El Salvador, and Arnaldo Sacaria-Goday, of Honduras as part of an alleged conspiracy to protect them from law enforcement. Mr Warrens defence lawyer said his client was working squarely and fully within the law as part of voluntary work to halt migrant deaths in Arizona. His trial began last week. Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Show all 23 1 /23 Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants climb the US border fence in Tijuana AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants cross the dried up Tijuana river AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Mexico police emerge from a cloud of tear gas Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Mexico police work to keep migrants from getting over the border with the US AP Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border US border patrol agents stand guard as migrant seek to cross the border at Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Adults help a child over the US border fence AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants near the US border in Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants climb the US border fence in Tijuana AFP/Getty Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants clash with riot police as they near the US border in Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A migrant is detained by US border patrol officers after illegally crossing the border Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants cross the dried up Tijuana river Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Tear gas is deployed at the border Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants make their way to the US border fence Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A migrant man wears a homemade gas mask Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants stand on the banks of the Tijuana river opposite the US border fence Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A group of migrants cross the Tijuana river Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants gather at the border crossing in Tijuana AP Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Tear gas is fired by border police to deter migrants EPA Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border A migrant covers his face as tear gas surrounds him Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrant families seek to cross the US border at Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Mexico police try to stop migrants from crossing Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Migrants force their way through the border fence at Tijuana Reuters Migrants clash with authorities as they seek to cross the US border Reuters Border Patrol agents arrested Mr Warren in January 2018 raid near Ajo, Arizona, after finding two migrants hiding in a building used by humanitarian groups. Mr Warren faces three felony counts for allegedly transporting, harbouring and hiding the men in a case likely to set a precedent over what aid US citizens can give to illegal border-crossers. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts. Mr Warren was indicted after former US attorney general Jeff Sessions instructed prosecutors to prioritise cases involving harbouring of migrants. There has been a rise in arrests of people for harbouring, sheltering or providing aid to migrants since Donald Trump entered office in 2017, according to data from Syracuse University. Scott Warren has been charged with harboring two undocumented migrants (No More Deaths / Reuters) This case is not about humanitarian aid, or anyone in medical distress, said Nathaniel Walters, an assistant US attorney. Instead, he said, the case is about an attempt to shield two men for several days from law enforcement. His defence lawyer, Gregory Kuykendall, told the court his client was trying to "help someone who needs medicine, or someone who needs food, or water, or orientation, especially on a cold winter night". Mr Warren, he added, was a "law-abiding, life-giving Good Samaritan" and Ajo was at the "epicentre of a humanitarian crisis". Mr Warren is a volunteer for No More Deaths, a group providing water, food and medical aid to migrants crossing Arizonas southern deserts, where temperatures drop below freezing in winter and exceed 46C in summer. More than 3,000 migrants have died trying to cross the area since 2001, according to Pima County data. By taking in the migrants when they showed up at the building, Mr Warren believed he was operating within legal and medical guidelines, Mr Kuykendall said. However, Mr Walters said the men had first contacted a mutual acquaintance of Mr Warren, identified as Irineo Mujica. Ms Mujica, a Phoenix-based migrant activist, picked them up at a nearby town and drove them to the the barn", Mr Walters said. Mr Kuykendall said Mr Warren was in contact with Ms Mujica to organise a search for lost or missing migrants and coordinate aid at a Mexico shelter. Mr Warren was arrested the day No More Deaths published a video showing Border Patrol agents destroying water supplies the group had left for migrants. His lawyers argue the arrest was in retaliation for the video. Additional reporting by Reuters Amazon could face heightened antitrust scrutiny under a new agreement between US regulators that puts it under closer watch by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), three people familiar with the matter said. The move is the result of the FTC and the Department of Justice, the US governments leading antitrust enforcement agencies, quietly divvying up competition oversight of two of the countrys top tech companies, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the governments work is confidential. The US Justice Department is set to have more jurisdiction over Google, The Washington Post reported on Friday, paving the way for a potential investigation of the search-and-advertising giant. The FTCs plans for Amazon and the justice departments interest in Google are not immediately clear. But the kind of arrangement brokered between the justice department and the FTC typically presages more serious antitrust scrutiny, the likes of which many Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill have sought out of fear that tech companies have become too big and powerful. How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control Show all 8 1 /8 How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control Donald Trump, Mike Pence and technology company chiefs at a meeting at Trump Tower in New York, 2016 Alamy How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly agreed to testify before the US Congress following pressure from politicians Alamy How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control The 2017 movie The Circle, based on the Dave Eggers novel and starring Emma Watson, tapped into the present mood of unease around technology Alamy How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control Googles mapping technology is used for geospatial intelligence purposes, such as supporting US troops in Iraq Alamy How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control Christopher Wylie, one of the founders of Cambridge Analytica and now a whistleblower who exposed how the data firm harvested data from millions of Facebook users Getty Images How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control According to The Observer, billionaire Robert Mercer applied a big data strategy to the political scene with a $10 million stake in the company Cambridge Analytica. Getty Images How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control According to Sam Woolley of the Oxford Internet Institutes computational propaganda unit, prior to the US 2016 election, online automated bots were 5-1 in favour of Trump with many of them Russian. Getty Images How Silicon Valley and the super rich took control Whisteblower Edward Snowden's files confirmed that intelligence agencies monitor sites including YouTube and Facebook. Alamy The Justice Department this week declined to comment, citing a policy against confirming or denying investigations. The FTC also declined to comment. Amazon did not immediately have comment. If there is an active discussion of where the boundaries are, that would indicate theres a reason for that discussion, whether its a new interest, study or investigation, said Maureen Ohlhausen, a partner at the law firm Baker Botts who previously served as chair of the FTC. Recommended US government preparing potential investigation into Google The early moves from the governments twin antitrust agencies mark the latest attempts by US regulators to better supervise tech giants. Earlier this year, the FTC established a special task force it said would monitor tech and competition, including investigating any potential anticompetitive conduct in those markets, and taking enforcement actions when warranted. For years, the European Union has taken the lead in probing whether Silicon Valley too easily stamps out rivals to the detriment of web users. EU officials are actively investigating Amazon and have repeatedly fined Google for violating its antitrust laws. Antitrust also has become an early flash point among Democrats vying for the White House ahead of the 2020 election. Senator Elizabeth Warren recently threatened major investigations of Amazon, Apple and Facebook. This week, she offered early support in response to news that the justice department could bring such an investigation against Google. Politicians have long raised concerns that Amazons dominance in online retail as well as its growing reach across a variety of business fields has given it too much power. It holds sway over third-party sellers on its site, who pay for advertising to compete against first-party and private-label sales by Amazon. Its low prices also have helped it draw customer spending at the expense of brick-and-mortar competitors. Jeff Bezos predicts we'll have 1 trillion humans in the solar system The e-commerce giant sells roughly half of all online goods in the United States, but it makes up a much smaller portion of total retail sales. It has expanded into other areas, too, such as cloud computing with Amazon Web Services and grocery sales with the acquisition of Whole Foods, a deal the FTC allowed to proceed in 2017. Googles chief critics contend the company has acted illegally to protect its huge footprint in search and advertising as well as its newer ambitions, ranging from smart thermostats to self-driving cars. The FTC previously investigated Google but closed the matter in 2013 without breaking it up or forcing it to make major changes to its business practices. This should be a wake-up call to both Google and Amazon to behave themselves because it at least shows that the justice department and FTC are thinking about them, said Gene Kimmelman, the president of Public Knowledge, a Washington-based consumer advocacy group. Washington Post Democratic presidential hopeful Cory Booker took a firm stance for gun control after the Virginia Beach shooting that killed 12. Mr Booker, who has already presented a policy plan for gun reform, spoke to CNNs State of the Union about everyday gun violence in inner city black and brown communities. Mr Booker said that Virginia Beach was a tragedy today but every day in the aggregate we have mass shootings that go on in neighbourhoods like mine an inner-city black and brown community. We are not helpless to stop this. This is a uniquely American problem. We have carnage in our country that no other nation sees, he added. Mr Booker has introduced a 14-point plan, which includes licensing reform, a ban on assault weapons, and high capacity magazines. 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 New Jersey senator presents gun control as a public health issue, looking towards successful reforms at state and city levels. This idea that we are helpless to stop this, evidence points differently, he said. We know that licensing like Connecticut did, dropped gun violence in their state by 40 per cent, suicides by 15 per cent. When asked how he, as a democratic candidate for president, would succeed in reforming gun laws when his predecessors could not, Mr Booker stressed the similarities between gun reform and the Civil Rights Movement. People said it couldnt be done and there were states that were standing against it, he said. But you know what happened is that we had leaders who called to the moral imagination of our country, who called to the conscience of our nation, who built the kind of coalitions necessary to tear down segregation. Here we have a nation that has untold levels of carnage, and violence and shootings every single day, of suicides, 90 to 100 people dying every single day. I believe that just because weve failed in the past doesnt mean we will fail in the future. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events I believe it takes grit and fight and will and we can muster that in the United States to do common sense things that do not take away peoples second amendment rights. A woman has allegedly thrown a drink over a right-wing Republican congressman, in an assault similar to the milkshake protests seen against far-right figures in the UK. Amanda Kondratyev is suspected of throwing a plastic cup, containing a drink, at Matt Gaetz, a pro-Trump Republican. The second term congressman was leaving a coffee house in Penascola, Florida on Saturday, when he was struck in the back by the cup, which was thrown by a protester. Around 20 demonstrators had gathered outside the venue, rallying against the right-wing politician. Mr Gaetz was not injured during the protest. 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 Amanda Kondratyev was arrested and charged with misdemeanour battery and released on bail after paying for a $1,000 (790) bond. The activist was one of several people who ran against Mr Gaetz in the 2016 House of Representatives election before dropping out of the race. It is unclear if the thrown drink was a milkshake, but similar incidents were reported in the UK, during the 2019 European elections campaign. Clearly it takes more than a drink to slow down our great team, Mr Gaetz said after the alleged assault. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The pro-Trump Republican has previously caused controversy by inviting Charles Johnson, a suspected Holocaust denier, to be his guest at the State of the Union. The milkshake trend appears to have taken off in the UK after Tommy Robinson, a far-right campaigner, had milkshake thrown over him while campaigning in Warrington. The anti-Muslim activist was repeatedly accosted by protesters armed with milkshakes during the campaign, as he tried to win votes while standing to be an MEP in Britains north-west. Nigel Farage and Carl Benjamin, a far-right YouTube personality, also had milkshakes thrown at them before the European elections. Additional reporting by agencies Democrats in the US House of Representatives have announced a series of Mueller report hearings that will first examine what they are calling Donald Trump's "most overt acts of obstruction". The hearings will also look into findings by special counsel Robert Mueller's team that Russia actively sought to meddle in the 2016 presidential election, and are set to begin with the question of obstruction on 10 June. Jerry Nadler, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, announced the hearings in a statement accusing the White House of attempting to "stonewall" Congressional oversight, and pledging to move forward with the investigation whether the president cooperates or not. "Given the threat posed by the president's alleged misconduct, our first hearing will focus on President Trump's most overt acts of obstruction," Mr Nadler's statement reads. "In the coming weeks, other hearings will focus on other important aspects of the Mueller report." Mr Nadler also said that Mr Mueller, who submitted his report to the Justice Department in March, "has now left Congress to pick up where he left off." 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 Among those expected to testify in the public hearings will be former White House counsel John Dean, legal experts, and former US attorneys. The announcement comes as Democrats and the White House have sparred over who can deliver testimony to the House, and just days after Mr Mueller delivered public remarks for the first time since his probe had ended. He said then that he has no interest in testifying before Congress publicly, and that his report can stand on its own. Mr Nadler has not indicated if he would use his committee's power to subpoena Mr Mueller, even as members of his own party have called for such measures. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Attorney general William Barr has said that he determined from the report submitted to him that there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Trump with obstruction. A growing number of Democrats have nonetheless begun calling for Mr Trump's impeachment, citing what they see as evidence in the Mueller report that the president did in fact obstruct justice. Mr Mueller said during his recent statement that they had not found evidence to clear Mr Trump of obstruction, and cited a Justice Department policy that prohibited his office and the Justice Department from indicting a sitting president. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has sided with the Supreme Courts conservative justices in a criminal sentencing case that ended with a 5-4 decision. The court determined a defendant can be sentenced for violating their supervised release even if that release was to expire during their incarceration while facing new charges. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent that the Supreme Court reached its decision by adopting a backward-looking approach. Because I cannot agree that a person is imprisoned in connection with a conviction before any conviction has occurred, I respectfully dissent, she added. Ms Ginsburg joined Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts and Samuel Alito in the majority decision. 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes Show all 13 1 /13 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On feminism 'Feminism I think the simplest explanation, and one that captures the idea, is a song that Marlo Thomas sang, 'Free to be You and Me.' Free to be, if you were a girldoctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Anything you want to be. And if youre a boy, and you like teaching, you like nursing, you would like to have a doll, thats OK too. That notion that we should each be free to develop our own talents, whatever they may be, and not be held back by artificial barriers - manmade barriers, certainly not heaven sent.' (Interview with Makers, 2012) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how she wants to be remembered 'Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. Cause Ive gotten much more satisfaction for the things that Ive done for which I was not paid.' (Interview with MSNBC, 2015) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the advice she'd give women today 'Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.' (Speech at Harvard University's 364th Commencement, 2015) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On women being included in the conversation 'Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. I don't say [the split] should be 50-50. It could be 60 per cent men, 40 per cent women, or the other way around. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.' (Interview with USA Today, 2009) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how she copes with criticism 'Well, Im dejected, but only momentarily, when I cant get the fifth vote for something I think is very important. But then you go on to the next challenge and you give it your all. You know that these important issues are not going to go away. They are going to come back again and again. Therell be another time, another day.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On women's rights 'Women's rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy.' (ACLU) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On rejection 'You think about what would have happened ... Suppose I had gotten a job as a permanent associate. Probably I would have climbed up the ladder and today I would be a retired partner. So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.' (Interview with Makers, 2012) AFP/Getty 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the biggest issue women face 'In some ways its the most familiar issue and the largest one. Its, Who will take the responsibility for bringing up the next generation? That, I think, is the hardest problem. There can be incentives and encouragement, but women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On sexist, unconscious bias 'I think unconscious bias is one of the hardest things to get at. My favorite example is the symphony orchestra. When I was growing up, there were no women in orchestras. Auditioners thought they could tell the difference between a woman playing and a man. Some intelligent person devised a simple solution: Drop a curtain between the auditioners and the people trying out. And, lo and behold, women began to get jobs in symphony orchestras.' (Interview with Elle magazine, 2014) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On having a supportive partner 'If you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it. I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his, and I think that made all the difference for me.' (Interview with Yahoo, 2014) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how many women should be on the Supreme Court 'People ask me sometimes, when when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.' (Talk at Georgetown University, Washington, 2015) (There are nine judges on the US Supreme Court) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the impact of discrimination 'We should not be held back from pursuing our full talents, from contributing what we could contribute to the society, because we fit into a certain mold because we belong to a group that historically has been the object of discrimination.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On her most treasured talent 'If I had any talent in the world, any talent that God could give me, I would be a great diva.' (Talk at Georgetown University, Washington, 2015) AFP/Getty Images Meanwhile, Neil Gorsuch a Supreme Court justice nominated by Donald Trump sided with the courts liberal justices. In his majority opinion, Mr Thomas wrote time in pretrial detention constitutes supervised release only if the charges against the defendant are dismissed or the defendant is acquitted." This ensures that the defendant is not faulted for conduct he might not have committed, he added, while otherwise giving full effect to the lawful judgement previously imposed on the defendant." The decision arrived in the case of Jason J Mont v The United States. The defendant had served 84 months as part of a conviction surrounding felony gun and drug charges, but he faced new additional charges in 2015 and 2016. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Despite being scheduled for a five-year supervised release due to end in March 2017, the defendant was determined to have violated his supervised release and had another prison sentence imposed on him by a district court. Attorneys for Mont argued the court had repeatedly delayed his hearing until after the supervised release term had expired. Mont is now scheduled to serve another 42 months in prison beginning immediately after the sentencing for his latest charges. When he started the program, the concept of mixing kids that are typically developing with kids who have special needs in a single classroom was novel, District 39 School Board President Lisa Schneider-Fabes said. It required strength of conviction and bringing people together to step into change ... reminding us that inclusion is critical for all of us, recognizing and celebrating all of our differences. A journalist who extensively covered the unusual election of a Ukrainian comedian to serve as the nations next president has been hired as his spokesperson, sparking ethical questions from both journalists and readers. Lullia Mendel was writing about Volodymyr Zelensky just two weeks ago for the New York Times, and covered the presidents historic rise in the polls throughout his campaign for the US newspaper. A recent article she co-authored with reporter Kenneth Vogel alleged Joe Biden faced conflict of interest questions in Ukraine a purported controversy pushed by Donald Trump and his allies in Washington. That article claims the former vice presidents son, Hunter Biden, was part of a broad effort in recruiting influential Democrats to join him on the board of an energy company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch, after it had come under scrutiny by officials during former President Barack Obamas administration. Viktor Shokin, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, had reportedly been considering opening extensive investigations into the company, Burisma Holdings, before he was voted out of the role by the Ukrainian Parliament in March 2016. The article went on to claim Mr Bidens son had a stake in the outcome of whether or not the prosecutor general would be removed from his post, so he and his father actively worked to ensure Mr Shokin would be ousted. However, the article published early last month has raised numerous questions from readers, who called it a hit job as Ms Mendel announced her new role under the Ukrainian president. Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Show all 26 1 /26 Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Volodymyr Zelenskiy, centre right, and his wife Olena Zelenska, greet supporters after exit polling gave the comedian a commanding lead AP Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Outgoing Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko raises his hand with his wife Maryna at his party headquarters in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll REUTERS Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Comedian and leading Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy plays ping pong with a journalist at his election night gathering in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21 Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Election officials count ballots at a polling station in Kiev during the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures People walk in front of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev during Ukraine's presidential election AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian servicemen sit in a truck to head to a polling station, near the front line with pro-Russian separatists, near Butivka, Donetsk region AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishke AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian citizens living in Kyrgyzstan vote in Ukraine's presidential election at a polling station in the Ukrainian embassy in Bishkek AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A young girl casts the ballot of a man at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, on. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 2 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky waves in front of voting booths at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Yulia Tymoshenko speaks with the media after casting her ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky casts his ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky gestures in front of voting booths at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian comic actor, showman and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelensky walks with his ballot at a polling station during Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev AFP/Getty Images Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A view of the building of the Ukrainian Central Election Commission in Kiev during Ukraine's presidential election. AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (L) casts his ballot at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election, The 53-year-old president has positioned himself during the political campaign as the only person able to stand up to the Kremlin and has promised to return Crimea to Ukraine if he is re-elected. AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A voter emerges from the voting booth after filling out her ballot for Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21. Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian president Petro O. Poroshenko (C), running for re-election, receives his ballot in Ukraine's presidential election on in Kiev, Ukraine. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will face off in a second-round election on April 21 Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A woman holds her ballot as she leaves a voting booth at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election. - Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures A young girl casts the ballot of a man at a polling station in Kiev on the first round of Ukraine's presidential election. Exit polls are expected when voting stations close at 8 pm local time (1700 GMT). First preliminary results are expected several hours after. Barring a shock result in which one candidate crosses the 50 percent threshold in the first round, a run-off will be held on April 21 AFP/Getty Ukraine Elections 2019 in pictures Ukrainian servicemen queue to cast their ballots at a polling station near the front line line with pro-Russian separatists near Avdiivka, Donetsk region, during the first round of Ukraine's presidential election AFP/Getty It became a point of focus when the co-author announced her new role on Monday, writing on Twitter: Thanks everyone for your congratulations. There were 4000 applications. It is a big honour and big responsibility to become a spokesperson for the President of Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa. The Administration will be as transparent as possible, she added, announcing a meeting for later in the afternoon. In a response to that tweet, Walter Shaub, the former director for the US Office of Government Ethics, wrote, When did the NYT become aware that you had applied for this position? Journalists also called attention to the piece, with NBC News reporter Ben Collins writing on Twitter, Hard to overstate how nuts this is. This instantly reeked of a Mercer Special, a clear attempt at Clinton Cash 2.0. The journalist appeared to have covered Mr Zelensky's campaign throughout the election, describing her future boss' victory in the elections first-round of voting as a walloping rebuke to the countrys political class, in one article, also calling the candidate a maverick with no political experience. Mr Biden has said he was unaware of his sons work with Burisma and that he had conducted US policy without regard to his familys business activities during his tenure as vice president. Hunter Biden also denied any involvement in probes surrounding Burisma, telling the New York Times in a statement, I have had no role whatsoever in relation to any investigation of Burisma, or any of its officers. I explicitly limited my role to focus on corporate governance best practices to facilitate Burismas desire to expand globally, he added. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The New York Times terminated its public editor role which presumably would have responded to a controversy of this sort in 2017, announcing it would instead favour a reader centre and noting social media has allowed audiences to respond to controversies. The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Five bodies have been spotted by air force pilots searching for eight missing climbers in the Himalayas, officials say. The bodies were found on Monday before a rescue operation in the northern state of Uttarakhand was suspended because of heavy snowfall and high winds. An operation to find the three unaccounted for mountaineers will resume on Tuesday. The group, including four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian, began climbing Nanda Devi, Indias second-highest peak at 6,477 metres (21,250 feet) on 13 May. The eight-member expedition had last been in touch with base camp on 26 May. Contact was lost after an avalanche. Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Show all 7 1 /7 Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Climbers wait in line to reach the peak of Mount Everest AFP/Getty Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures A long queue of climbers line a path on Mount Everest just below camp four AP Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Climbers descend from the summit of Mount Everest following a line of Climbing the Seven Summits/Reuters Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Climbers near the summit of Mount Everest behind a long line of others Reuters Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures This is not the first busy season, 2018 also saw long queues AFP/Getty Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Climbers near a camp on the south face of Mount Everest, 2018 season AFP/Getty Everest peak crowded in deadly climbing season: In pictures Climbers queue to reach the peak of Mount Everest AFP/Getty UK national Martin Moran, who is originally from Tyneside, was leading the party of eight who were attempting to reach the top of another unnamed peak in a remote area. Officials are consulting the Indian army on how to retrieve the bodies. Dr Vijay Kumar Jogdande, a civil administrator in the northern state of Uttarakhand said: There is always a fear that people going for the rescue may get stuck there. Four other British climbers who were originally part of the same group turned back before the attempt on the summit because of bad weather. Amit Chowdhary, spokesman for the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, said when the team at base camp stopped receiving radio updates from the other expedition team, one person went to look for the missing climbers the next day. Subsequent searches revealed signs of an avalanche on the peak the group were thought to be on, two state officials said. The four who had turned back were picked up by helicopter on Saturday and named by India TV as Mark Thomas, Ian Wade, Kate Armstrong and Zachary Quain. They received first aid at a hospital, and were all later released. The eight members of the expedition who had been missing were named as Martin Moran, the expedition leader, John McLaren, Rupert Whewell and Richard Payne, all from the UK, Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel from the US, Ruth McCance from Australia, and Chetan Pandey, a guide from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation. Dozens of people are reported to have died in a heatwave across India that has seen temperatures reaching more than 50C (122F). Scorching temperatures and water shortages have caused heavy casualties, including dozens of deaths by sunstroke and other heat-related causes, according to The Weather Channel. Indian media said on Friday that 17 people had died in three weeks. Meteorological Department officials issued an extreme weather event warning as the severe heatwave continued in northern and central areas for a third day in a row. The thermometer hit 50.6C (123F) in the city of Churu in the northwestern state of Rajasthan on Saturday, the weather department said. Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures In the protest that started a movement, Greta skips school to sit outside of the Swedish parliament in Stockholm in order to raise awareness of climate change on 28 August 2018 Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta speaks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 25 January AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta stages a protest at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 25 January Reuters Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta speaks at the House of Commons in London on 23 April PA Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta addresses to the occupation at Marble Arch in London on 21 April AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta meets the pope on a visit to Rome Reuters Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta speaks at the senate in Rome on 18 April Reuters Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta addresses a debate of the EU Environment, Public Health and Food Safety committee at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 16 April AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta receives the Special Climate Protection Award at the German Film and Television awards in Berlin on 30 March AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta attends a children's climate protest in Berlin on 29 March AFP/Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta addresses a children's climate protest on 1 March in Hamburg Getty Greta Thunberg inspires climate activists everywhere: In pictures Greta attends a meeting for the Civil Society For rEUnaissance at the EU Charlemagne Building in Brussels on 21 February AFP/Getty Hospitals have issued emergency wards with extra air conditioners, coolers and medicines, said Ramratan Sonkariya, an additional district magistrate. Water is being poured on roads in Churu, known as the gateway to the Thar Desert, to keep the temperature down and prevent them from melting, he said. A farmer from Rajasthan died of heatstroke yesterday, officials said. In the western-central state of Maharashtra, farmers struggled to find water for thirsty animals and crops. We have to source water tankers from nearby villages as water reserves, lakes and rivers have dried up, said Rajesh Chandrakant, from Beed, one of the worst-hit districts. Farmers only get water every three days for their livestock. Of the 15 hottest places in the world on Sunday-Monday, eight were in India and the others in neighbouring Pakistan, according to weather monitoring website El Dorado. The intense heat could be another manifestation of an extreme weather event, say experts from the Indian research organisation Centre for Science and Environment. Scientists worldwide have long warned that rising global temperatures from climate change will intensify heatwaves. Fresh heatwave warnings were issued today for some places in western Rajasthan and the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Water shortages were reported as lakes ran dry (AFP/Getty Images) In May 2016, Phalodi in Rajasthan recorded Indias highest ever temperature, of 51C. As New Delhi touched 44.6C, food delivery app Zomato asked customers to give delivery staff a glass of cold water. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events The three-month pre-monsoon season, which ended on May 31, was the second-driest in the past 65 years, according to Indias private forecaster, Skymet. Forecasters said the official severe heatwave will persist over pockets of Rajasthan and East Madhya Pradesh over the next three days, but many other places will still suffer a heatwave including Punjab and New Delhi. Monsoons bringing down the heat are due to begin on the southern coast later this week. A senior North Korean official who had reportedly been purged over the failed nuclear summit with Donald Trump has appeared in state media enjoying an art performance with Kim Jong-un. Kim Yong-chol, who had been the Norths top nuclear diplomat and counterpart of Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, was shown sitting five seats away from the clapping North Korean leader. They were seen with other top officials enjoying a musical performance by the wives of Korean Peoples Army officers. Last week, South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo cited an unidentified source who said Kim Yong-chol had been sentenced to hard labour and ideological re-education over the failed summit in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi. Negotiations broke down over what the US described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Show all 18 1 /18 North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Participants wave flowers AFP/Getty North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (R) waves with China's Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Li Zhanshu (L) from a balcony AFP/Getty North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Airplanes forming the number 70 fly in formation and fire flares AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korean performers dance EPA North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korean military officers applaud near portraits of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korean tanks roll past AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers take part AFP/Getty North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Korean People's Army (KPA) soldiers march AFP/Getty North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Participants march during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang AFP/Getty North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary A girl reacts during a parade AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, reacts as he chats with China's third highest ranking official, Li Zhanshu AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary People carry flags in front of statues of North Korea founder Kim Il Sung (L) and late leader Kim Jong Il Reuters North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Performers take part in a concert at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium AFP/Getty North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary North Korean artillery roll past AP North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Students perform Reuters North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Soldiers march during a military parade Reuters North Korea military parade celebrating nation's 70th anniversary Participants wave flowers AFP/Getty The newspaper also reported that Kim Hyok-chool, the Norths working-level nuclear envoy to the US, was executed with four other officials for betraying Kim Jong-un after being won over by the US. Mr Pompeo said he had seen the report and the US was doing our best to check it out. Pyongyangs stringent control of information has made it difficult for the South Koreas government and media to track developments among the Norths ruling elite. Kim Yong-chol had been described as Kim Jong-uns right-hand man and previously worked as a military intelligence chief. Donald Trump is not 'bothered' by North Korea missile tests During denuclearisation talks with the US last year, he travelled to Washington and met Mr Trump twice before the US president met Kim Jong-un. He was believed to be behind two deadly attacks in 2010 that killed 50 South Koreans and the alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures in 2014. A Swedish court has said it will not seek to detain WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in relation to a suspected rape case. The ruling by the Uppsala District Court does not mean a preliminary investigation in Sweden should be abandoned. It states Assange would not be extradited and could be questioned in Britain, where he is currently in prison. In April, the 47-year-old was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he had sought political asylum since 2012. He was immediately arrested by police on 11 April and is currently serving a 50-week sentence in Britain for breaching bail. Key moments for Julian Assange Show all 9 1 /9 Key moments for Julian Assange Key moments for Julian Assange The situation today Assange was arrested after Metropolitan Police officers were invited into the Ecuadorian embassy on April 11 2019. How did it come to this? Ruptly TV Key moments for Julian Assange The break Assange shows the front page of the Guardian on July 26 2010, the day that they broke the story of the thousands of military files leaked by WikiLeaks AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Wanted A warrant for Assange's arrest was issued in August 2010 for counts of rape and molestation in Sweden AFP/Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Ruling The UK's Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face trial Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Sanctuary Following the ruling, Assange was given asylum by the Ecuadorian governement over fears that his human rights would be violated if he were extradited, he has since remained in the embassy in London Getty Key moments for Julian Assange A friend in Pam Friend Pamela Anderson delivers lunch to Assange at the embassy in October 2016. She has since spoken against his arrest Getty Key moments for Julian Assange Arbitrarily detained A UN panel found in 2016 that Assange had been arbitrarily detained and that he had not been able to claim his full right to asylum. It urged Sweden to withdraw the charges against him Getty Key moments for Julian Assange The cat ultimatum Last year, the Ecuadorian embassy threatened to revoke Assange's internet access unless he stopped making political statements online and started taking better care of James, his pet cat. Assange accused Ecuador of violating his rights Reuters Key moments for Julian Assange Arrest Assange was arrested on April 11 2019. Ecuador revoked his asylum status and invited the Metropolitan Police in to the embassy to arrest him. Reuters Eva-Marie Persson, Swedens deputy director of public prosecutions, said she has not decided whether to appeal against the decision. I fully respect the courts decision, she added. The investigation continues with interviews in Sweden and I will also issue a European investigation order in order to interview Assange. No date has been set yet. We will constantly review the state of the investigation. Assanges lawyer in Sweden, Per E Samuelsson, said his client would be happy to learn he will not be extradited to Sweden. Julian Assange: Swedish prosecutors reopen investigation into rape allegation made against Wikileaks co-founder Last month, Sweden reopened an investigation into the rape allegation against Assange, which he denies. He is also fighting extradition to the United States, which has accused him of publishing secret documents. Angela Merkels government is facing another crisis and possible collapse after the leader of her main coalition partner resigned. Andrea Nahles quit as chief of the centre-left social democrats (SPD) after a series of terrible election results which saw her party eclipsed by the Greens. The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties, the outgoing leader said. Ms Merkels conservative CDU group is in coalition with the SPD in a so-called grand coalition or GroKo an agreement between the two largest parties to form a government together. Ms Nahles departure potentially opens the door for an anti-coalition party leader with anyone standing as a replacement likely to come under pressure from the partys grassroots to quit government. The SPD has been consistently sliding in the polls since it joined the GroKo in 2013, with the party renewing the pact in 2017 despite losses at federal elections, including to the far-right AfD. In March last year 66 per cent of the SPD leadership voted in favour of a grand coalition, but since then the party has continued to be punished at the ballot box for its participation in the pact. Crucially, the party has started shedding votes to the Greens, who beat it into third place in the European Elections and are now polling first place above all the other parties in some surveys. The SPD won an all-time low of just 16 per cent last week, with polls released over this weekend showing them course to get just 12 per cent, its worst ever showing in a survey. Prominent dissenting voices within the social democrats such as Kevin Kuhnert, leader of the SPDs youth wing, have called for the party to ditch the establishment alliance and renew itself outside of government. Andrea Nahles failed to reverse the slide in the party's fortunes (AFP) If the SPD does pull out of the government, Ms Merkel could try to secure the support of the Greens and liberal FDP though previous attempts to form a government with those parties failed in 2017, leading to the present arrangement. The Greens surge in the polls also make it unlikely that they would want to avoid new elections, given the potential gains they could make at the ballot box. The iron Frau: Angela Merkel Show all 11 1 /11 The iron Frau: Angela Merkel The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351161.bin EPA / WOLFGANG KUMM The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351162.bin GETTY IMAGES / REUTERS The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351163.bin AFP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351164.bin The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351165.bin REUTERS The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351166.bin AFP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351167.bin AFP / GETTY IMAGES The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351168.bin The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351169.bin AP The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351170.bin EPA The iron Frau: Angela Merkel 351171.bin REUTERS The CDU could also try to govern as a minority to avoid new elections. Ms Merkel has said she would not stand at the next German federal elections, and that she would instead hand over the reins to a new chancellor. She has also quit her party leadership, which is now occupied by her protege, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer widely referred to as AKK. I assume the SPD will undergo a succession in short order without hindrance to the functioning of the grand coalition, Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer. In the CDU we believe that this is not the time to play politics. We want to serve our country with good governing policies. Jared Kushner, Donald Trumps son-in-law, has suggested that the Palestinians are not ready to govern themselves and cannot expect freedom from Israeli military interference, dashing hopes that an upcoming US peace plan will endorse a two-state solution. Mr Kushners comments come just weeks before the US is due to unveil the so-called deal of the century peace agreement at an economic workshop in Bahrain. He had hinted before it may not include an independent Palestinian state, which has been a key Palestinian demand and the long-accepted solution to the decades-long crisis. The hope is that over time they can become capable of governing, Mr Kushner told US website Axios when asked if he believed the Palestinians could run their own affairs without Israeli interference. He added that they need to have a fair judicial system ... freedom of press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions before they can become investable. Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Show all 10 1 /10 Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters burn tires during a demonstration on the Israel border on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters run through smoke from tear gas and burning tires during a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters climb the fence along the border with Israel during a demonstration AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters holding national flags walk past burning tires during a demonstration on the Israel border AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A Palestinian protester wears a head band as he takes part in a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel, east of Gaza City on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters and a medic run to pick up a child during a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border Palestinian protesters run through smoke from tear gas and burning tires during a demonstration near the fence along the border with Israel on February 22 2019 AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A man carries the Palestinian flag during a demonstration near the border fence with Israel AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A Palestinian protester wears a mask painted in the colours of the national flag during a demonstration on the Israel border AFP/Getty Palestinian protesters light fires along the Israel border A Palestinian protester returns a tear gas canister thrown by Israeli troops during a demonstration on the border AFP/Getty Mr Kushner also said he thought it was a high bar when asked if the Palestinians could expect freedom from any Israeli governmental or military oversight. If you dont have a proper government structure and proper security when people are living in fear of terror, that hurts Palestinians, he added. The peace plan efforts have been dogged by disaster. Last year the Palestinians cut diplomatic ties with the US after Mr Trump moved his embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, recognising the disputed city as Israels capital. Mr Trump also slashed all funding to the UNs Palestinian refugee agency, causing devastating budget shortfalls and sparking further uproar. Netanyahu holds up map gifted from Trump showing Golan Heights as part of Israel Despite this, Mr Trump and his son-in-law have pushed ahead with penning the agreement which is supposed to be unveiled at an economic peace conference in Manama, Bahrain on 25-26 June. So far there has been no confirmation that any Israelis or Palestinians will attend. The Palestinians for their part have already rejected the plan before reading it on the grounds it is likely to be too pro-Israeli. The unveiling may also be postponed since Israel is preparing for early elections in September after the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government, despite being re-elected two months ago. On Sunday Mr Trump lashed out, saying Israel had to get their act together as the political situation was all messed up. Were not happy about that, he added, before preparing to fly to Europe. Mr Trumps own administration has raised doubts about the peace plan. In a leaked recording published by The Washington Post, the US secretary of state Mike Pompeo apparently told a group of Jewish leaders in New York that the long-delayed plan may not gain traction. When questioned about the leak Mr Trump replied: I think we have a good chance, but well see what happens. The Palestinian media, meanwhile, have continued to reject the plan. Abd-al-Majeed Suwaylem, writing in the pro-Fatah Al-Ayyam newspaper, said the only win the Trump administration will have is keeping the entire region busy and duped. Yahya Rabah, in Palestinian Authority-owned newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadidah, added that the Bahrain workshop was based on lies. Doctors working in rebel-held northern Syria will no longer share the locations of medical facilities with the United Nations after doing so failed to stop them being targeted by airstrikes. Some 25 hospitals have been bombed by Syrian government and Russian forces in the past month, as the two allies push an offensive against the last opposition bastion of Idlib. The coordinates of nine of those facilities were shared with the UN, which passed them to Russia in an effort to protect them from being bombed and encourage some form of accountability for attacks. Instead, they also came under fire. Most of the partners will never again share their coordinates with the UN because it is not working, said Dr Mohamed Zahid, from Physicians Across Continents, a medical organisation working in Syria. Last year six hospitals were attacked, and this month another eight hospitals were attacked after their coordinates were shared with the UN. So most NGOs in Syria decided to stop this process, he told The Independent. The move reflects a growing desperation on the part of doctors and medical staff working inside Idlib, as they struggle to treat patients while dealing with an unprecedented level of attacks on their facilities. Syrian government offensive in Idlib Show all 8 1 /8 Syrian government offensive in Idlib Syrian government offensive in Idlib Syrians, including a member of the White Helmets civil defence rescue teams, run for cover during an air strike by pro-regime forces on the market town of Kfar Ruma in Syria's southwestern Idlib province, on May 30, 2019. - Regime forces and their Russian allies have over the past three months escalated bombardment of Syria's last major jihadist bastion in the province of Idlib and adjacent areas AFP/Getty Syrian government offensive in Idlib Syrian rescue teams and civilians search for survivors amid the rubble in a freshly bombarded area following a reported air strike by regime forces and their allies on the market town of Kfar Ruma in Syria's southwestern Idlib province, on May 30, 2019. - Regime forces and their Russian allies have over the past three months escalated bombardment of Syria's last major jihadist bastion in the province of Idlib and adjacent areas. AFP/Getty Syrian government offensive in Idlib Syrian rescue teams and civilians search for survivors amid the rubble in a freshly bombarded area following a reported air strike by regime forces and their allies on the market town of Kfar Ruma in Syria's southwestern Idlib province, on May 30, 2019. - Regime forces and their Russian allies have over the past three months escalated bombardment of Syria's last major jihadist bastion in the province of Idlib and adjacent areas AFP/Getty Syrian government offensive in Idlib Syrian rescue teams and civilians look for survivors in a heavily damaged area following a reported air strike by regime forces and their allies on the market town of Kfar Ruma in Syria's southwestern Idlib province, on May 30, 2019. - Regime forces and their Russian allies have over the past three months escalated bombardment of Syria's last major jihadist bastion in the province of Idlib and adjacent areas. AFP/Getty Syrian government offensive in Idlib This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows Civil Defense workers searching for victims under the rubble of a destroyed building after an airstrike by Syrian government forces, Maaret al-Numan, a town in south Idlib, Syria, Thursday, May 30, 2019. Rescue workers and activists say at least five, including three from the same family, have been killed in Syria's last rebel stronghold when warplanes targeted the building they live in, leveling it. AP Syrian government offensive in Idlib A Syrian girl cries as she runs for cover during an air strike by pro-regime forces on the market town of Kfar Ruma in Syria's southwestern Idlib province, on May 30, 2019. - Regime forces and their Russian allies have over the past three months escalated bombardment of Syria's last major jihadist bastion in the province of Idlib and adjacent areas. AFP/Getty Syrian government offensive in Idlib Syrians run for cover during an air strike by pro-regime forces on the market town of Kfar Ruma in Syria's southwestern Idlib province, on May 30, 2019. - Regime forces and their Russian allies have over the past three months escalated bombardment of Syria's last major jihadist bastion in the province of Idlib and adjacent areas. AFP/Getty Syrian government offensive in Idlib A man rescues a child while members of the Syrian civil defence known as the White Helmets search the area for survivors following following a reported air strike by regime forces and their allies on Maaret al-Noman in Syria's southwestern Idlib province. AFP/Getty The Syrian government and its Russian ally launched an offensive to recapture parts of Idlib in late April. The province is mostly controlled by the formerly al-Qaeda-linked rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and the Syrian government frequently cites the groups presence as a justification for military action. But intensive bombing of densely populated areas has killed more than 270 civilians since the offensive began. More than 300,000 people have been displaced during that time, pushing the province to the brink of a major humanitarian disaster. Idlib is home to some 3 million people, more than half of whom are displaced from other parts of the country. An open letter signed by dozens of doctors from around the world and published over the weekend said the targeting of medical facilities by the Syrian government and Russia has forced the hospitals that remain to operate under a state of emergency, only treating the most urgent cases and unable to take in patients for routine care. The targeting of healthcare facilities is not new in Syrias civil war. The US-based Physicians for Human Rights documented more than 500 attacks on more than 350 medical facilities between 2011 and 2018 90 per cent of which were carried out by Syrian and Russian government forces. We dont have a Plan B. This is a sector that should only have to have a Plan A. You shouldnt attack hospitals. They shouldnt be part of this war Dr Mohamed Zahid, Physicians Across Continents The scale of the violence has forced doctors to adapt and hide, or face destruction. Dr Zaher Sahloul, president of MedGlobal, recently returned from a week-long visit to Idlib, where he saw first-hand the attempts of doctors to protect themselves from attack. One hospital he visited had been bombed twice before it was moved. They dug it in the heart of the mountain. Its like a cave, but inside its like any other hospital, he told The Independent. It was still bombed and went out of service. They are using sophisticated missiles. They are becoming very successful in getting these places out of service. It is happening every day, he said of the Russian and Syrian government attacks. Other organisations have taken to setting up mobile clinics, which can be moved around to avoid being targeted. But even the mobile clinics are at risk of being attacked, according to Dr Zahid. And a lot of specific and specialised services cannot be provided through a mobile clinic. We dont have a Plan B. This is a sector that should only have to have a Plan A. You shouldnt attack hospitals. They shouldnt be part of this war. Footage shows desperate conditions for families displaced by conflict in Idlib, Syria Doctors had hoped that sharing coordinates with the UN would lead to some form of accountability for the frequent attacks, even if they didnt stop them. But Mohamad Katoub, of the Syrian American Medical Society, which also operates medical facilities in the province, said some now feel that it has put them in greater danger. Local staff feel like the deconfliction didnt push anyone to use the information to stop attacks. On the contrary, they think that information was used to attack the hospitals, he said. I dont think our local staff will be convinced that deconfliction of their facilities will protect them, or bring accountability or condemnation of the offenders, he added. That perceived lack of accountability has brought criticism of the UN from various NGOs working in Idlib. People are asking: what is the purpose of the UN? Dr Zaher Sahloul, president of MedGlobal The UN is not only expected to be a news agency, reporting which hospital was destroyed. There are all kinds of human rights organisations reporting these details. The UN is supposed to provide protection and assign responsibility, said Dr Sahloul, whose organisation provides medical and humanitarian relief in Idlib. It has failed in doing so. There is no effort in the UN to form an investigation team or to assign responsibility. People are asking: what is the purpose of the UN? In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Show all 6 1 /6 In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Damage at a Save the Children-supported maternity hospital in Idlib province, Syria, after it was hit by air strikes on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike A maternity hospital in Idlib province that was damaged by an air strike on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Damage inside a Save the Children-supported hospital in Idlib province, Syria, after it was hit by air strikes on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike A maternity hospital in Idlib province that was damaged by an air strike on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike A burned-out car near a maternity hospital in Idlib province after an air strike on 29 July Save the Children In pictures: Idlib maternity hospital damaged by air strike Damage at a maternity hospital in Idlib province after an air strike on 29 July Save the Children That sentiment was echoed by Raed Salah, the head of the Syria Civil Defence, or White Helmets a US and UK-backed organisation which acts as a first response in rebel-held areas. He told reporters in Istanbul last week that a western diplomat had confided to him that UN officials had not yet any documentation to apply for increased resources for those in Idlib. Were talking about 350,000 people living among the olive trees in the open air, and the UN does not have a clear assessment, he said. So far the UN is not playing a good role inside Syria. He added, None of the people are talking about the people dying in Syria, as if the Syrians are just numbers. Mike Daryoushs first restaurant Mobys Luncheonette in Bethesda, Maryland was a typical American breakfast-and-lunch joint, with fare including steak-and-cheese sandwiches, Reuben sandwiches corned beef, Swiss cheese and sauerkraut in rye and tuna melts. He opened the eatery in 1987 with $36,000 he saved after leaving his native Iran in his early twenties and settling in the United States, where he worked as a dishwasher, a waiter and a bartender. Struggling to distinguish his restaurant from the profusion of similar lunch establishments, Daryoush installed a clay oven used to make traditional Iranian naan. The new offering proved popular encouraging him to expand his menu to include other Iranian specialties and marking the beginning of his restaurants rebirth as Moby Dick House of Kabob. Daryoush, whose popular fast-casual chain grew over three decades to include 24 locations across the Washington region and gave many local diners their first taste of Persian food, ran the business with his son Ned , who is vice president of the business. When Daryoush replaced Mobys Luncheonette with the first Moby Dick House of Kabob in 1989, he had two purposes, he once told a publication of the US State Department: To make a lifetime career, and to support the Iranian culture. Through the stomach is a good way of reaching people, he added Moby Dick appetisers today include a dish of sauteed eggplant and yoghurt, called kashk bademjan, and the yoghurt shallot dip must-o-mooseer. Platters feature marinated ground beef called kubideh, chenjeh grilled steak, lamb barreh and joojeh grilled chicken breast. The kebabs, restaurant critic Phyllis C Richman once wrote in The Washington Post, are as lean as one could wish, well marinated and crisp-edged from the open grill. Theyre generously portioned, and grilled carefully so theyre cooked through but not dried out. The platters are served with basmati rice, dotted with saffron and sumac. But the bread, Richman wrote, was the drawing card at Moby Dick. The breadmaker apportions and weighs balls of dough, then rolls them out one at a time, scores them so they dont balloon in the oven, stretches them to fit over a large white cushion and then using that cushion as a kind of puffy potholder slaps them against the sides of the oven, she wrote in 1994. In a few minutes, when the flat breads are browned and blistered, he removes them and hangs them up to cool. The process is hypnotic, and the resulting bread has a fragrant wheatiness. Persia on a plate: the famous chelo-kebab kubideh rice with minced beef (Moby Dick House of Kabobs) Daryoushs operation was cited as one of numerous Iranian-owned businesses that have thrived in the Washington area since the 1979 Iranian Revolution brought an influx of Iranian immigrants to the region. Before the explosion of quick-service restaurants and the appearance of globally inspired eateries on every corner, Moby Dick was ahead of its time, a writer for the website Eater DC observed in 2017. Mike Daryoush was born in the Iranian city of Shiraz in 1953. His father died of appendicitis before he was born, and his mother died of a heart ailment when Daryoush was eight. Daryoush lived with an aunt before moving in the mid-1970s to the United States, where he began going by the name Mike. He studied electrical engineering at George Washington University, then began his work in the restaurant industry. He became a US citizen in 2001. His marriage to Laura Rogers ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 17 years, Suzan Behpour; two sons from his first marriage, Ned and Josh; and two sons from his second marriage, Aarod and Aaram Daryoush.. A frequent question from Moby Dick patrons was the provenance of the restaurants name. By one account, Moby Dick House of Kabob was named after a Tehran establishment that catered to US Embassy workers before the revolution. By another, one of Daryoushs business partners was reading Herman Melvilles classic novel when they opened the original location. For the American palate, Daryoush tempered the spiciness of some Persian dishes and used less butter in his rice. He traced his success in part to his own perseverance, but also to the curiosity of his patrons. This food is the new wave of taste for Americans, he said in 2003. In the United States, people are not afraid of trying. Mike Daryoush, Iranian-American restaurateur, born 7 March 1953, died 9 May 2019 The Washington Post The TWA Hotel at New Yorks JFK airport is a mid-century fever dream. Enter and you leave the modern-day jumble that is New Yorks international airport for a simulacrum of what jet age travel might have been like if you were so lucky to be clicking your way across the penny tile floor in kitten heels, boucle skirt and pillbox hat or a grey suit and a grey tie, on your way to Egypt or Spain or San Francisco. I happened to be wearing a raspberry trench as I walked up the white steps into the white interior. Your coat is the perfect accent colour for this place, I was promptly lauded by a couple taking photos from the mezzanine. While today the hotel is sheer Instagram nostalgia porn, when the Eero Saarinen-designed TWA Flight Center opened in 1962 with its curving, ovoid roofs that make it look like a bird in flight, it was a marvel of modernity that drew sightseers. My grandparents, my mother and my aunt drove out to see what people called the bird building. Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel Show all 10 1 /10 Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Three Marks Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel Inside JFK's new TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel TWA Hotel This was during the height of American power at the peak of the American century. What couldnt America do? Leading Nato and containing the Soviets, sending astronauts into space, building suburban dreamscapes and thousands of oversized cars made of American steel. Americas many faults were hidden from view, and the hotel embodies a glamorous look back at a time that was very good indeed, but only for some. (That the TWA colors and MAGA hats are both red and white is pure coincidence.) This version of American history is thrown into relief by the highly diverse staff working here, who thankfully keep the whole thing from turning into some kind of time travel cosplay. But that doesnt take away from how simply spectacular it looks; how thrilling the pale, soaring, concrete ceilings and original Chili Pepper Red Carpet are to the eye. Im greeted at the information desk with its Solari di Uldine split flap arrivals/departures board (one of two) by a woman outfitted in a neat-as-a-pin TWA uniform, hat at the perfect angle and scarf tied just so (she was later replaced by other greeters wearing pilot uniforms with gold epaulettes). To the left is the hotel check-in desk, in front of what used to be baggage claim, and to the right is the Departures Hall food hall, where travellers like myself dropped their bags and picked up their paper boarding passes. The counters are now populated by food vendors selling paninis, fruit bowls, empanadas and falafel, plus an Intelligentsia coffee bar. Connie, the former jet turned cocktail bar, at TWA (Aaron Locke) Stairs lead up to the heart of the terminal, the red-upholstered Sunken Lounge, whose wall of windows once had views of the Idlewild runways and now look out onto the Jet Blue Terminal 5, built in 2005, and the courtyard where a 1958 Lockheed Constellation L-1649A Starliner is parked. Connie, as she is called, is now a 150-seat cocktail bar with vintage seats and intact cockpit. The courtyard already has a waiting list for proposals. The rooftop pool, which overlooks the runway (TWA Hotel) I flew out of the terminal once before it closed in 2001 and TWA went out of business, and I remember the excitement of walking past the Sunken Lounge to one of the womb-like, red-carpeted tunnels that connected the terminal to the gates. Travellers could imagine themselves as astronauts walking up the gangway to a spaceship; it was all very 2001: A Space Odyssey and very groovy. Today those tubes lead to the new Saarinen and Hughes (for Howard Hughes) wings of the hotel, with a total of 512 rooms. The rooms have bathroom amenities packed in first class flight kits, tiny mirrored cocktail bars and masculine walnut tambour millwork on the walls, crafted by Amish woodworkers. On the ninth floor of the Hughes wing, the rooftop infinity pool and bar has palpitating views of Runway 4 Left/22 Right as I watched, an Air France plane touched down like a feather as a line of jets waited for their turn to take off. Turn around and the New York City skyline hovers in the distance. The Sunken Lounge (TWA Hotel) An amazing attention to detail can be found in every inch of the hotel, as it should after its $265 million (210m) facelift and expansion, from the bespoke Flight Center Gothic font created just for the signage to the period Chryslers parked inside to the museum in the London Club, the former first class lounge, with TWA stewardess uniforms from Pierre Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent and 90-year-old Stan Herman, who was asked to design some of the staffs current uniforms. The museum will expand with more mid-century exhibits curated by the New York Historical Society. The vintage travel posters that line the walls near check in are so covetable that I was surprised the TWA shop didnt carry a calendar of them. Someone take my money, please! Below the store is a fitness centre and a 50,000 square foot dark-panelled conference and event space that includes The 1962 Room and the first wedding has already been booked. Writer Sunshine and her friend Jan at the TWA Flight Center in the 90s, heading to Barcelona (Sunshine Flint) On the mezzanine, the Paris Cafe is a perfect period piece, with Saarinen-designed Knoll tulip tables and chairs divided by curving banquettes into four colourways: cream, blush, grey and yellow. I listened to Frank Sinatra croon while looking out at the air traffic control tower and perusing the menu from celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, which includes a bright spring pea soup an indulgent black truffle pizza with poached egg. The rotary phones, the old LIFE magazines, the three-sided Vulcain ceiling clock, everything is so Don Draper-ed that I, a reformed smoker, desperately wanted a cigarette. But as I sat in the Sunken Lounge under the split flap departure board, sipping my Come Fly With Me cocktail which I set it down on a TWA-branded square napkin, natch I realised I felt relaxed. At the airport. At JFK, no less. I had checked in to the golden age of travel and it was worth the stay. Travel essentials A day rate for a room at TWA Hotel starts from $149, and overnight from $249. twahotel.com You are here: Business China's corn acreage is forecast to fall to 41.63 million hectares this year and next, a recent agricultural report said. Corn output will likely retreat 1.2 percent year-on-year to 254 million tonnes this year, according to the report from Chinese Agriculture Outlook Committee (CAOC). Farmers have a strong willingness to expand the growing areas of soybean, as soybean subsidies remain higher than corn subsidies, said Wang Dongjie, CAOC analyst. Northeastern regions are China's top growing areas for both soybeans and corn, with farmers there switching between the two crops based on what will be more profitable in a given year. Corn consumption is expected to hit 283 million tonnes, down 0.2 percent year on year. The report also forecast that the wholesale prices of corn will keep at 1,750 yuan (about 257 U.S. dollars) to 1,850 yuan per tonne. Q Im booking multi-city tickets to Australia next February. When is the best time to buy tickets, and the best site? Ann F A In your position I would start looking towards the end of 2019, with an option to book earlier if there is a really tempting seat sale by airlines that might appeal, from Cathay Pacific of Hong Kong to the big Gulf carriers: Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. I do not believe that there is likely to be much benefit in booking more than a few months in advance, and any advantage is offset by the exposure to a risk that you may need to change or cancel for non-insurable reasons such as professional or family obligations. From a foodie escape on the Adriatic to festival adventures in the South Pacific, look no further for your summer inspiration. Istria, Croatia While the Game of Thrones effect means the crowds descend on Dubrovnik, a small set of well-travelled foodies know that Croatias most northerly region, Istria, is the place to be. Imagine the best bits of northern Italy handmade pasta, vineyards, ancient hilltop villages with a little less bravado and you start to get a picture of this heart-shaped peninsula. In fact, its truffles and olive oil have been named the worlds best; sorry, Italia. Venetian architecture lines the cobbled lanes of coastal gem Rovinj, while Pula is all Roman grandeur with its soaring amphitheatre and triumphal arches behind which is an unexpectedly happening music scene, with dance music festival Dimensions (28 August-1 September) and Last Minute Open Jazz Festival (1-4 August) held in nearby Bale each year. The best beaches in the world Show all 25 1 /25 The best beaches in the world The best beaches in the world 1. Baia do Sancho, Fernando de Noronha, Brazil The best beaches in the world 2. Grace Bay, Providenciales, Caribbean The best beaches in the world 3. Rabbit Beach, Lampedusa, Italy The best beaches in the world 4. Playa Paraiso Beach, Cayo Largo, Caribbean The best beaches in the world 5. Playa de Ses Illetes, Formentera, Spain The best beaches in the world 6. Anse Lazio, Praslin Island, Seychelles The best beaches in the world 7. White Beach, Boracay, Philippines The best beaches in the world 8. Flamenco Beach, Culebra, Caribbean The best beaches in the world 9. Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, Australia The best beaches in the world 10. Elafonissi Beach, Elafonissi, Greece The best beaches in the world 11. Camp's Bay Beach, Camps Bay, South Africa The best beaches in the world 12. Radhanagar Beach, Havelock Island, India The best beaches in the world 13. Woolacombe Beach, Devon, UK The best beaches in the world 14. Siesta Key Public Beach, Siesta Key, United States The best beaches in the world 15. West Bay Beach, West Bay, Honduras The best beaches in the world 16. Cayo de Agua, Los Roques National Park, Venezuela The best beaches in the world 17. Playa Manuel Antonio, Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica The best beaches in the world 18. Nai Harn Beach, Rawai, Thailand The best beaches in the world 19. Sharm El Luli, Marsa Alam, Egypt The best beaches in the world 20. Iztuzu Beach, Dalyan, Turkey The best beaches in the world 21. Playa Paraiso, Tulum, Mexico The best beaches in the world 22. Diani Beach, Kenya The best beaches in the world 23. Palm - Eagle Beach, Aruba, Caribbean The best beaches in the world 24. Ngapali Beach, Burma/Myanmar The best beaches in the world 25. Maunganui Beach, Mount Maunganui, New Zealand Pack something with an elasticated waistband: a truffle-hunting expedition with cute dogs at the family-run Prodan Estate, truffle-laced tasting menus at restaurant San Rocco in Brtonigla and Deniz Zembos artistic culinary creations at Amfiteatar in Pula are all musts. And who better to be your host than an esteemed winemaker? Producer Roxanich recently opened a boutique spa hotel, with 32 design-forward rooms on the achingly beautiful slopes of Motovun (from 135 per night, B&B). Uncork a bottle of their Super Istrian red and let the indulgence begin. Istrian truffles with pasta Average temperature in August: 28C Flight time: 2hrs Papua New Guinea Looking to channel your inner Robinson Crusoe? You cant beat Papua New Guinea for intrepid, tropical escapism. And the peak of dry season (which runs from June to September) is definitely the time to go. You could take on the challenge of hiking the storied, 96km Kokoda Track, once the site of a gory Second World War battle between Japan and the Allies, through steaming jungle. Or take a lower tempo kayaking or birdwatching trip, basing yourself at the countrys first eco-tourism accommodation Napatana Lodge. Either way, Augusts slew of cultural festivals means youre in for some incredible encounters with indigenous tribes and local folklore. Theres the Mount Hagen Cultural Show, where masked mudmen, heavily pierced tattooed chieftains and Chimbu skeleton dancers are among the 100-plus communities gathering, or the three-day Sepik River Crocodile Festival, highlighting the major role these scaly residents (some of the worlds largest freshwater and saltwater crocs) play in local folklore. Average temperature in August: 21C Flight time: 21hrs 20m via Manila East Devon, UK A floundering pound adds to the case for a staycation this summer. Lucky, then, that the already-idyllic West Country has been seriously upping its hospitality game, adding a luxurious new sheen to all those wholesome cream teas, countryside rambles and pristine sandy beaches. With a prime position overlooking the marbled sands of the River Exe estuary and its Michelin-starred tasting menus by local chef Michael Caine, two-year-old Lympstone Manor (rooms from 315 per night including breakfast) is one of Devons most lavish retreats, and now the first British hotel to have an on-site vineyard. Exmouth is getting a revamped waterfront (Getty) (Getty Images) Follow the scenic cycle path along to Exmouth, a bucket-and-spade seaside resort thats smartening up its act with a new strip of beachfront cafes and boutiques, try a cheese-and-wine tasting at Sharpham Vineyard, then live out your Downton Abbey dreams at historic country houses Al La Ronde and Powderham Castle. When the weather plays ball, its true that Devon really is heaven. Average temperature in August: 21C Flight time: 1hr 10min or national rail Svalbard, Norway Halfway between the Norwegian mainland and the North Pole, this archipelago comes up trumps for bracing travel adventures and spell-binding wildlife. The unofficial big five in these cooler climes has to count orcas, reindeer, walrus and, of course, polar bears with summer being your best chance to spot them, since ice melts enough for ships to pass into their territories. No wonder the number of polar cruises has jumped 20 per cent year-on-year, cutting through glass-like fjords like Kongsfjorden, passing mighty glaciers and cliffs swarming with nesting birds. Reach new parts of Svalbard on a summer cruise (Hurtigruten) Cruise company Hurtigruten, for example, takes you well within 600 nautical miles from the Geographic North Pole and docks regularly for hikes, kayaking and expeditions on dry land as it circumnavigates Spitsbergen (Svalbards largest island). And of course, visiting the Land of the Midnight Sun in August gives you a lot of daylight hours to explore this ice-sculpted wilderness. From 1,008pp for a 12-day excursion. Average temperature in August: 21C Flight time: 6hrs 10min via Oslo Cape Cod, US If its good enough for presidents and movie stars, the sun-kissed dunes of southeast Massachusetts will do for us too. Here, its all about windswept, salt-tinged beach days mooching between seafood shacks, picture-perfect lighthouses and history-rich spots like the Pilgrim Monument, site of the Mayflower landing back in 1620. But prettily whitewashed Provincetown (P-Town to locals) is far from puritanical this fun-loving, bohemian seaside town loves to let its hair down and has a smattering of great art galleries. Recommended Where to go on holiday in June The annual Provincetown Jazz Festival (913 August), LGBTQ+ celebration Provincetown Carnival (22 August) and massive Pops by the Sea concert (11 August) are high notes in the summers music scene, while jazz venues are open most nights throughout the Cape. Its worth a boat ride out to summer colonies Marthas Vineyard and Nantucket, too. If you arent one of the lucky few with your own clapboard beach house in the area, take a room at the Salt House Inn (rooms from $160 per night); this converted salt miners house offers a stylish spin on the traditional New England decor. Average temperature in August: 25C Flight time: 7hrs 15min to Boston Extinction Rebellion, the climate-change protest group, says it intends to shut down operations at Europes busiest airport, Heathrow, for 11 days this summer. Heres everything you need to know. What is Extinction Rebellion planning? The group has asked supporters to congregate on the fringes of Heathrow on 18 June, to carry out nonviolent direct action to ensure Heathrow Authorities close the airport for the day. Extinction Rebellion protesters intend to fly drones to force operations to be suspended at Europes busiest airport, as what it calls a pause in recognition of the genocidal impact of high carbon activities, such as flying, upon the natural world. The move follows widespread shutdowns of key London traffic locations by the group in April. Extinction Rebellion supporters Show all 19 1 /19 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter dressed as Charlie Chaplin at the closing ceremony in Hyde Park on Thursday 25 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Tuesday 23 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters An Extinction Rebellion supporter at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent Extinction Rebellion supporters Extinction Rebellion supporters at Marble Arch on Saturday 20 April 2019 Anu Shukla/The Independent The climate-change protesters have also told the government that if expansion plans for Heathrow are not cancelled, Extinction Rebellion will act to shut the airport down for up to 10 days from 1 July. It says: The addition of the planned third runway would make Heathrow the single biggest carbon emitter in the UK; to expand the airport at this critical point in history would be madness. Extinction Rebellions plan is to launch drones during the night, when flights are not usually operating, and prevent the airport opening in the morning. Where did they get the idea? From whoever decided to close down flights at Gatwick shortly before Christmas. Unauthorised drone activity closed Britains second-busiest airport for 33 hours, leading to the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights and disrupting travel for 150,000 people. The financial cost ran into tens of millions of pounds. The authorities have not yet identified the perpetrator(s). Why are flights immediately grounded if there is a drone in the vicinity? Recommended Extinction Rebellion threatens to use drones to shut down Heathrow Although drones are tiny compared with passenger aircraft, they can jeopardise safety. For example, a drone ingested into an engine could shut it down. Were key surfaces to be hit by a drone, the airworthiness could be affected. A drone striking the windscreen of the flight deck might also have serious consequences. Therefore if an unauthorised drone if flying in a potentially dangerous area, operations are suspended. This has happened more than once at Gatwick and also at Heathrow. What does the law say? It is a criminal offence to fly a drone near an airport. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says: You must not fly within the Flight Restriction Zone of a protected aerodrome. Heathrow and all other passenger airports count as protected aerodromes. The exact specification of the exclusion zone is complex but, in the case of Heathrow, drones should not be flown within 5km of the airport. The aviation minister, Baroness Vere, said: Flying drones near an airport is a serious criminal offence and using drones to deliberately put peoples safety at risk carries a maximum life sentence. With weeks of warning, presumably the police will be out in force? Yes. When Extinction Rebellion tried to disrupt roads in the Heathrow area, Metropolitan Police were augmented by officers from as far away as South Wales and the protesters left after a couple of hours. Police chief says Extinction Rebellion protesters will be arrested 'very, very fast' and suggests officers were not assertive enough last time In addition, the Mets commissioner, Cressida Dick, has said that the protests will be tackled sooner, saying police will be very, very fast and assertive about getting people arrested and getting obstructions where we can lawfully out of the way quickly. But the climate-change group believes that if enough supporters turn up with drones which cost less than 40 from Argos the police could be overwhelmed. What does the airport say? A Heathrow spokesperson said: This is reckless action that if carried out could endanger the lives of the travelling public and our colleagues. We agree with the need to act on climate change, but that requires us to work together constructively not commit serious criminal offences just as hardworking people prepare to spend a well-earned holiday with their family and friends. Extinction Rebellion stresses that it is fully committed to nonviolence and will not take action that would put airline passengers at risk. But if, for example, a drone was flying at Heathrow in the early hours of the morning and an overflying aircraft needed to divert, there could be some risk. Should people booked to fly on 18 June or 1-10 July make alternative arrangements? Recommended How to claim money back if your journey is delayed or cancelled Extinction Rebellion says so: Holidaymakers are being given advance notice to change travel plans. But with 2.5 million people likely to be booked to fly in or out of Heathrow during the 11 days of protests, there is simply not enough additional capacity in the system. In addition, no airline will offer full refunds for flights on the affected dates because they currently expect operations to go ahead as normal. It is also possible that the highly publicised plan for closure on those dates is actually a decoy for other action at other times at Heathrow or elsewhere. What happens if flights are disrupted? European air passengers rights rules mean that airlines are responsible to provide alternative flights, possibly on another carrier from a different airport, and to provide meals and accommodation until the passenger reaches their destination. Disruption at Gatwick before Christmas cost easyJet alone 10m, and a significant shutdown at Heathrow could dwarf that figure. Consequential losses, for example if a cruise is missed because of a cancelled departure from Heathrow, may be covered by travel insurance. But my prediction is that anything other than temporary disruption is unlikely. It is now three decades since tank man unwittingly created one of the great images of the late 20th century, one that might, for once, be fairly labelled iconic, by standing in protest in Tiananmen Square, carrier bags in hand, ready to die for liberty. Unlike the 70th anniversary of the foundation of the Peoples Republic, and the centenary of the May Fourth Movement, both landmark events in the making of modern China, no one much in that country is commemorating what happened in that brief Beijing spring thirty years ago. Instead, the government of President Xi prefers to pretend that it simply didnt happen. Every year the rest of the world bows its collective head in remembrance at the estimated 1,000 who died in confrontations between protestors and soldiers; in China it is studiously ignored by a regime with a firm grip of the political and historic narrative the great forgettance. Today, as the momentous events of that era are recalled, it is worth mentioning that innocent civilians have, in recent days, been summarily attacked by police and soldiers in places as disparate as Sudan, Venezuela and Pakistan. Nothing new there perhaps, but yet further reminders of how precious a culture of democracy, free speech and peaceful political change are to any society, and how fragile they can prove. Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Show all 12 1 /12 Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Man blocks tank A tank driving down a road nearby Tiananmen Square is blocked by an unidentified man on 5 June. The picture is seen around the globe as a protest against the previous days events, when tensions that had been building for months came to a head... Bettmann Archive via Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Hu Yaobang dies - 15 April Former general secretary of the Communist Party Hu Yaobang dies aged 73 of a heart attack. He was a leading reformer of the Chinese system who the public saw to be unfairly removed from government. Citizens flock to Tiananmen Square to mourn him. Mourning soon turns to anger as they dwell on the state of China. AFP/Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Protests spread - 17 April In the days after Hu's death, university students around China are organising. On 17 April, thousands of students march on Tiananmen Square to demand democracy and greater freedoms. AFP/Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events "We must a clear stand against disturbances" - 26 April So begins the editorial on the front page of the People's Daily, the Chinese state newspaper, on 26 April. The editorial goes on to attack the protesters as anti-party and anti-government. Protesters read a clear message that the government is against them and call for the editorial to be retracted. Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Protests spread further - 4 May Thousands more students in five cities across China join the protests. Head of the Communist Party Zhao Ziyang tells a meeting of bankers that the protests are sure to subside. Pictured are journalists from the China Daily newspaper showing support in Tiananmen Square. Protesters were calling for freedom of the press, among other rights common to democracies Reuters Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Hunger strikes begin - 13 May Hundreds of students begin hunger strikes, upping the stakes of the protests. Pictured: Paramedics remove a student protester who has been on hunger strike on 17 May 1989 AFP/Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Zhao visits Tiananmen Square - 19 May Now doubting that the strikes will subside without intervention from the government, party head Zhao Ziyang visits Tiananmen Square and urges students to end the hunger strike. Chinese premier Li Peng briefly joins Zhao but leaves soon after arriving. Zhao was removed from office later in the day. AFP/Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Martial law declared - 20 May Chinese premier Li Peng declares martial law. Soldiers move in on Tiananmen Square but many are held up by protesters. Soldiers are ordered not to fire on civilians. AFP/Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Protests continue - 22 May to 1 June On 22 May, a military helicopter drops leaflets above Tiananmen Square that instruct protesters to leave immediately. Despite this, protests continue while the army withdraws. Reuters Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Soldiers move in to clear the square - 3 June On the evening of 3 June, soldiers advance with force. Protesters are warned that the troops have the right to use any methods necessary to clear the square. AFP/Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Soldiers open fire - 4 June In the early hours of the morning, some troops begin to shoot dead protesters who defy their efforts to clear the square. Pictured: A man is covered in blood after the People's Liberation Army open fire on protesters in Tiananmen Square Getty Tiananmen Square massacre: Timeline of events Man blocks tank - 5 June A tank driving down a road nearby Tiananmen Square is blocked by an unidentified man. The picture is seen around the globe as a protest against the previous days events. Bettmann Archive via Getty Tiananmen Square was a moment that seemed to fit with wider trends in the world in 1989. It followed the death of a prominent Chinese reformer, Hu Yaobang. Hu offered the hope to many, particularly students, intellectuals and some in the hierarchy of the Chinese Communist Party that the economic freedoms cautiously and partially launched by Deng Xiaoping a decade earlier would be accompanied by political freedoms hitherto denied the people of China. The events were looked on first with hope, and then resignation, by the inhabitants of Hong Kong, then in its final few years of British administration. As it turned out, the modest attempts to entrench democracy in the former colony have proved only partly effective at restraining Beijing from curbing dissent. Today, China has rejoined the world economy, and, on some measures, ranks as the most powerful economic power, eclipsing even the United States. In contrast to the former Soviet Union, where people ran headlong from a communist-planned economy and totalitarian police state to a wild west version of capitalism and a crudely functioning democracy, in China the pace of change was more measured, and was not accompanied by the disintegration of the state and economic chaos. Now China is set upon moving from its past passivity in global affairs towards a more assertive outlook, its Belt and Road Initiative embodying the confluence of geopolitical and global economic power. Meanwhile, the countrys trade war with the United States is remarkable, by the standards of the past, for two things. First, China is evidently now strong enough with its trillions of US dollars held in its reserves to stand up to President Trump; and second, the Chinese are now so integrated with the world economy that the fortunes of the German car industry are intimately linked to Chinese consumer confidence; and the value of the euro goes up and down with the yuan. Even a decade ago, during the banking meltdown, the Chinese economy was relatively disconnected from that of the west. No longer and that is a source of strength but also of weakness, as modern recessions can become synchronised and self-reinforcing across continents. The end of history, then, as the triumph of western liberal pluralistic values was so fondly imagined around the time of Tiananmen and the fall of the Berlin Wall, never did quite include the people of the Peoples Republic of China. Indeed, the last 30 years have proved, to the disappointment of democrats and progressives everywhere, that economic freedoms and political freedoms do not necessarily go hand in hand, at least for substantial periods of time. It may be that, as China become more prosperous, sees its educated middle classes visiting (and studying in) Europe and America, and grows more confident and demanding (having learned western ways), it will change. As it becomes more exposed to the outside world the powerful appeal of democratic freedoms will become attractive to the people and maybe the Communist Party. Just as the fax machine was an unexpected weapon in the Cold War against Soviet communism, so now could the internet yet prove an unstoppable force in the liberation of China. Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events On the other hand, from Bolsonaro to Modi, from Duterte to Salvini, and from Trump to Putin, the world seems to be edging towards a new form of semi-democratic, nationalistic, authoritarian rule, different in key respects to the Nazism or fascism of the past, but also carrying some of those same dangerous, not to say evil, characteristics. From this distance, the harsh, uncompromising, violent reaction of the Chinese authorities in Tiananmen Square 1989 was not so much the end of history as the beginning of a new normal. Ireland should act against local authorities which fail to spend money intended for Travellers accommodation, A European anti-racism watchdog urged (Niall Carson/PA). Ireland should act against local authorities which fail to spend money intended for Travellers accommodation, A European anti-racism watchdog urged. The European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) said the severe housing shortage, high rent and discrimination against migrants created enormous challenges for vulnerable communities. Most councils have consistently failed to provide adequate and culturally-appropriate accommodation, the Strasbourg-based body added. The report said: ECRI is shocked that the amount of 4.1 million euros of available money was returned unspent, while many Travellers continue to live in squalor and deprivation. ECRI has been informed that prejudice and opposition from local residents to providing halting sites has translated into lack of political will at the local level to resolve the accommodation needs of TravellersECRI It recommended Ireland impose sanctions on local authorities for failure to spend funding allocated for Traveller accommodation or transfer responsibility to a central housing commission. In 2017, out of an overall budget of nine million euros allocated by the Department of Housing to invest in building and upgrading Traveller-specific accommodation, only 4.8 million euros were drawn down. Seven local authorities drew down the entire amount they were allocated, while nine councils did not invest anything in accommodation. The report added: ECRI has been informed that prejudice and opposition from local residents to providing halting sites has translated into lack of political will at the local level to resolve the accommodation needs of Travellers. As there is no provision for sanctions, there is no accountability for under-delivery. ECRI also said hate speech involving verbal abuse in public places was quite common in Ireland, and there was an undercurrent of low-level racist violence which is not adequately recorded or addressed. There are no provisions in Irish criminal law defining common offences of a racist or homo/transphobic nature as specific offences, nor is racist or other hateful motivation considered an aggravating circumstance, the review added. It said the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act is seldom used and is particularly ineffectual in combating online hate speech. Expand Close In October 2015, a fire at a halting site in Carrickmines in south County Dublin killed 10 travellers including a young pregnant mother (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp In October 2015, a fire at a halting site in Carrickmines in south County Dublin killed 10 travellers including a young pregnant mother (Brian Lawless/PA) In October 2015, a fire at a halting site in Carrickmines in south County Dublin killed 10 travellers including a young pregnant mother. In January 2019, the Dublin Coroners Court returned a verdict of death by misadventure in the case of the 10 tragic deaths. The court heard that the Carrickmines site was exempt from fire and planning regulations as it was an emergency temporary site although it had existed for eight years. The total number of Travellers is around 31,000, Tuesdays report said. ECRI recommended that the authorities provided funding to reinstate the Traveller Movement Independent Law Centre or establish a similar body to provide a legal advice and advocacy service for Travellers and Roma. The ECRI highlighted positive developments including the formal recognition of Travellers as an indigenous ethnic group, the legalisation of same-sex marriage and a new law allowing transgender people to officially change their name and gender through self-determination. Vicky Phelan has opened up about losing her boyfriend and two friends, in a car crash which left her with severe injuries, leading her to question the Irish medical system, even as a teenager. The cervical cancer campaigner, from Limerick, is currently being treated with wonder drug Pembro, has revealed the tragedy she endured at just 19-years-old which built an inner strength in her. Id had a really bad car accident in 1994. It was the first big thing that happened in my life that made me realise Im not invincible and life is not fair, Ms Phelan, 45, said. These thing either make you or break you . At the time of the car crash, I had to grow up very quickly. I lost three friends. I was in hospital nearly four months, I broke 70 pc of the bones in the left hand side of my body, I had to do a lot of rehab. It shapes you, you see the fragility of life, I was only 19. The campaigner, who was transferred from a French hospital back to Ireland, praised the French health system but noticed problems as she returned to Ireland. A host of French specialists had taken up to half an hour each to explain the treatment shed received and a care plan going forward for Ireland. And most notably shed been advised specifically not to sit up for two weeks or I would damage my pelvis. But as soon as she arrived into an Irish hospital, Ms Phelan, claims she was told by an orthopedic surgeon here, the exact opposite. It was the first time I challenged the medical profession after my car crash, she said. He (the surgeon) looked at my files and said well have a physio and have you out of that bed tomorrow. I said no, you wont. I said excuse me, Im going to go with the doctor who did the procedure in France. He said I was not to sit up for weeks. I said theres no way Im getting up until whatever date it was. He (the surgeon) turned on his heel and marched out of the ward. The (ward) sister came back and had a go at me, I said Hang on, this is my body, Im not a child and I can speak for myself. Ms Phelan had to remain in the hospital for three months, apparently at odds with the surgeon, who had begun taking junior doctors to see her injuries every morning on his rounds. Again, she said she blocked him from continuing this practice and stated: Im not giving you permission. Everyday they were pulling back the blanket like I was a piece of meat, she said. The mother-of-two said she told the doctor: Do not come back here, I dont appreciate it. He (the surgeon) was like a demon He sent the sister in and I said no, this is my body, I have my rights. We hopped off each other, me and this orthopaedic surgeon, she said. He brought my mum and dad in, he wrote in my report I had an attitude problem. Id lost three of my friends, including my boyfriend and I had all these injuries and all he could see was I had an attitude problem. But I stuck to my guns, that was my first foray into standing up for myself against an authority figure. I think he thought Id be an easy walkover. I wonder if my parents were lawyers or doctors would he have spoken to me the way he did. He probably saw me as having an attitude problem, as I was from this working class background. Ms Phelan, who spoke to the Love and Courage podcast with its presenter Ruairi McKiernan, added that despite her terminal diagnosis: Ive lived more in the past year than I had in the last eight years. Ive been through a lot with depression which debilitated me. I feel so well. Its amazing to be faced with youre going to die and your life is limited. I dont know how long the drug will work for. The reality is Im time limited unless a drug comes to cure me. I might have 12 or 24 months. If I get two years, Ill be delighted but unless something new comes down the line, I wont be here for two or three years - thats hard, some days it consumes me and I get upset. And last week we had my son (Darraghs) communion and I think will I be here for his confirmation but I didnt think Id be here for his communion. You have to take one day at a time. Im so delighted Im this well, I could be at home in bed really sick, in pain and Im not and Ill live my life as long as I can, as well as I can. It was one of the reasons I argued for the (Pembro) drug, she added - to give other women a better quality of life. But she admitted I dont want that [to be severely ill]. I dont want to get to that point and if I do, I wont linger too long, put it that way. Its about making memories, living my life, even mending bridges, not taking small stuff seriously - theres a great freedom in that. If people embrace life more and stop worrying about the small s**t, theyd be so much happier. A Swedish court has ruled that it will not seek the detention of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in relation to a suspected rape case. Monday's ruling by the Uppsala District Court does not mean a preliminary investigation in Sweden should be abandoned, only that Assange would not be extradited and could be questioned in Britain. Last month, the 47-year-old was evicted from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London where he had been residing with political asylum since 2012. He was then immediately arrested by UK police on April 11 and is currently serving a 50-week sentence for jumping bail in 2012. He is also fighting extradition to the United States, which accuses him of publishing secret documents. Former Central Bank Deputy Governor Stefan Gerlach has described as very odd the decision by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoes not to appoint Sharon Donnery to replace Philip Lane as Governor. Mr Gerlach left the Central Bank in 2015, replaced by Sharon Donnery, and he is now chief economist at EFG bank in Zurich. He frequently comments on Irish issues on the social media platform Twitter. On Monday, as outgoing Central Bank Governor Philip Lane took up a new role at the ECB and Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery became acting Central Bank Governor here, Mr Gerlach posted a message on Twitter, the social media platform, questioning the decision not to promote her permanently. Sharon Donnery is now Acting Governor of @centralbank._ie. She knows Irish banking inside-out, has plenty of @ecb experience, a high profile in Frankfurt and is committed to public service. Her profile is excellent but apparently not good enough to be appointed Governor. Vy odd!, he wrote. Mr Gerlachs Twitter followers include former EU Commissioner Olli Rehn, now the head of Finlands central bank, Ashoka Mody, former head of the IMF mission to Ireland, and high profile economist Megan Greene. Paschal Donohoe named Gabriel Makhlouf to take over from Philip Lane last month. Mr Makhlouf is c urgently New Zealands Treasury Secretary, heading the finance department there. He was engulfed in a leaking scandal last week after parts of New Zealands annual budget fell into the hands of opposition parliamentarians before it was published. Mr Makhlouf claimed it had been hacked and called the police, it later transpired the budget had been available early on his departments website. Lump sum payments for older farmers who permanently transfer their holding to young farmers has been suggested by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan as a measure to improve the age profile of farmers in the EU. In a speech to members of EU young farmers group CEJA he said for the first time ever, the crucial importance of young farmers and generational renewal has been explicitly stated as a key objective of the CAP. "I promised that, as a former young farmer myself, I would make it one of my top priorities to put general renewal and young farmers as high as possible on the EU agenda," he said. According to Commissioner Hogan, young farmers will benefit from a wide range of instruments, through a combination of mandatory and voluntary aspects under the new CAP. At least 2pc of the national direct payments envelope will have to be devoted to generational renewal. Spending today amounts to only 0.8pc. This amount has to be allocated either in the form of top-up income support in Pillar I and/or lump sum installation grants in Pillar II. "This is a very important innovation Member States will have to use it or lose it. "Member states may wish to spend more if there are identified needs. "You can see that with this financial earmark, we are more than doubling our firepower to support generational renewal," he said. He said the Commission proposal in the next CAP Member States will have more capacity to tailor the scheme to the specific needs of young farmers. In addition, he said reserves for payment entitlements will be used, as a matter of priority, for young farmers and farmers commencing their agricultural activity. There will be an increase in the maximum amount of available aid for the installation of young farmers and rural business start-ups, up to 100,000. Beyond direct payments, Hogan highlighted that Member States will have the option to support different forms of cooperation between farmers. "This could encompass farm partnerships between different generations of farmers. "It could mean retirement planning and lump sum payments for older farmers who permanently transfer their holding; "It could mean improved brokerage for land acquisition, he explained. Commissioner Hogan said making it easier for young farmers to enter the sector through such direct aids, should hopefully see the overall proportion of young farmers increase. "This should ensure that the total pot of direct payments reaching young farmers will be well into the double digits as a percentage of the overall envelope," he said. U.S. retailers have voiced concern that the latest round of tariff hikes on Chinese goods and possible future increases of tariffs on more Chinese imports will force them to raise prices. Warehouse club operator Costco was among the retailers to acknowledge the tariffs' impact on its business operations. The company's chief financial officer (CFO) Richard Galanti said on a post-earnings call Thursday that the company is looking to accelerate shipments before certain tariffs go into effect, despite the fact that the company has limited ability to do that. He said the company has reached out to suppliers to look for ways to reduce costs. "At the end of the day, prices will go up on things," Galanti said, adding that it was not immediately clear how the tariffs would affect prices on imports from China, such as luggage, furniture, bicycles and vacuums. Half a month ago, Walmart also indicated a possible price hike for the products it sells in order to offset the impact of the additional tariffs Washington has imposed on Chinese goods. "We have mitigation strategies that have been in place for months. But increased tariffs will increase prices for customers," Walmart CFO Brett Biggs said Thursday when the company reported its quarterly earnings. Jeff Gennette, chief executive of department store chain Macy's, had similar remarks. He said it would be hard for the company to get to a place "where you don't have a customer impact" if the additional tariffs go into effect. U.S. retailers depend heavily on China in their supply chains, as China accounted for about 41 percent of all apparel, 72 percent of footwear, and 84 percent of travel goods imported into the United States in 2017, according to a recent letter sent by several retail trade groups to U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. The letter said duties on U.S. imports of these consumer products from China already represent more than 22 percent of all tariffs the United States collects from all countries on all products. "To be clear, such duties are paid by U.S. workers, U.S. consumers, and U.S. companies -- not China," said the letter jointly submitted by 17 groups. In an escalation of trade tensions, Washington on May 10 increased additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent, and has threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports. In response, China raised additional tariffs on a range of U.S. imports on June 1, and has vowed to "fight to the end" to safeguard not only its own rightful interests, but also the norms of international relations and the free trade system. The latest round of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods will impose a total annual cost of 831 dollars for a typical U.S. household, according to research posted Thursday on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's website. Imposing further tariffs in the escalating trade disputes between the United States and China would lead to widespread closures of soft-line stores and substantial disruption across the industry, according to a report by Swiss investment bank UBS. The report warned that over 12,000 U.S. stores of apparel and textiles, which have about 40 billion dollars of annual revenue, would be at risk because of the possible new tariffs. Statistics show that the U.S. retail industry has already lost more than 3,000 stores, or more than 5 percent in the first quarter of 2019. Fonterra, the large New Zealand dairy co- operative, which has long been admired by the Irish dairy industry, has issued a second profit warning in three months. Last year the dairy giant reported its first annual loss in its 17-year history. Unsuccessful investments made in pursuit of the Chinese market are partly the source of its problems. It has announced plans to sell some of its overseas businesses as well as closing processing plants overseas. Its shares fell to an all-time low and credit rating agencies last week warned of possible downgrades in its debt rating. Although Fonterra's milk volumes in New Zealand alone are several times larger than the total Irish milk volumes, Irish dairy processors have for many years seen Fonterra as an efficient and innovative exporter and they have studied its business carefully. Irish dairy farmers have also sought to learn from their New Zealand counterparts who supply milk to Fonterra. While Brexit is a significant source of concern for the industry in Ireland, sources close to the industry noted that the current difficulties in Fonterra underlined the precarious nature of expanding and investing in international dairy markets. "When rapid expansion in markets such as China does not go according to plan, the thin margins of dairy processors leave little room to absorb the losses," said a source. Irish processors have been cautious in their overseas expansion and are well served by Ornua in their export operations. Fonterra has invested NZ$1bn (585bn) in its China farms division over the past decade, as it sought to build a milk supply business in a major export market for New Zealand and Fonterra. However, the division has continued to be an under-performer and its seven farms have not delivered a profit. "China farms has been an integral part of Fonterra's strategy, which was aimed at buying goodwill in China by teaching their farmers dairy techniques," said Oyvinn Rimmer at Harbour Asset Management, a New Zealand funds manager, told the Financial Times. "But it is very capital intensive and has never made them a dollar." The Irish dairy sector is not the only Irish food business seeking growth opportunities in China. The Irish beef industry is also targeting in significant growth there. For example, Larry Goodman's ABP is currently supplying the Chinese food service industry. Already this year Ireland has shipped more than 2,000 tonnes of frozen beef to China while the number of Irish factories approved to export to China in increasing. It was confirmed last week that an exceedance for the herbicide glyphosate has been detected in the public drinking water supply in Newport, Co. Mayo. Irish Water has confirmed a significant increase in pesticide exceedances detected in public water supplies so far this year. Currently, for 2019 there have been 20 pesticide exceedances in public water supplies. In the same period last year, there were just 2. Data from Irish Water also shows that from May 2018 to May 2019 there were 80 pesticide exceedances detected in public water supplies in Ireland. This does not include the group water sector or private wells. Irish water said while the detections in 2019 are high, it also highlighted that last year's figures were untypical low due to a combination of the drought and a relatively high level of compliance for pesticides. However, it did say what is becoming particularly apparent is that some supplies continue to have persistent issues with pesticide detections and/or exceedances. It was confirmed last week that an exceedance for the herbicide glyphosate has been detected in the public drinking water supply in Newport, Co. Mayo. While in Ballinasloe, Co Galway Irish Water has detected exceedances for the herbicide MCPA following two above limit detections in the past two months. It has advised users of pesticides in this area that the Ballinasloe Regional Water Supply scheme could be placed on the EPAs Remedial Action List if there are a further two exceedances for MCPA detected. Ballinasloe takes its water supply from the River Suck, and farmers in this catchment that takes in large parts of counties Galway and Roscommon have been told to be particularly vigilant. Recent Drinking water monitoring results for Ireland show that a number of pesticides commonly used such as Bentazone, MCPP, MCPA, Clopyralid and Fluroxypyr, are being detected more frequently. Dr Pat OSullivan, Regional Drinking Water Compliance Specialist said in Co Mayo, the exceedance of the drinking water regulations for Glyphosate was noted in the Newport supply in May. "While the HSE has advised that the levels seen do not represent a threat to public health, it is however undesirable and it is therefore imperative that users of pesticides are mindful of best practice when spraying their lands," he said. Irish Water said it is working in partnership with the National Pesticides and Drinking Water Action Group (NPDWAG), is appealing to farmers, sporting organisations and other users of pesticides to carefully follow the guidelines when applying these chemicals to their lands. Irish Water has highlighted that a single drop of pesticide can breach the drinking water limit in a small stream for up to 30 kilometres. This, it says clearly highlights the potential risk facing many of Irelands drinking water sources. The efforts to reduce the incidence of these detections are being coordinated by the NPDWAG. This group is chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. All of the key stakeholders are represented in this group and include other Government departments and agencies; local authorities; industry representative bodies; farming organisations; water sector organisations; and amenity sector organisations. At training events to highlight Best Management Practice in the use of herbicides and pesticides by farmers last week organised by the Animal and Plant Health Association its, Chief Executive, John Keogh, said pesticide contamination of drinking water has become a significant focus of environmental concerns. "While the overall quality of drinking water in Ireland is very high, testing has revealed a number of drinking water supplies where pesticide contamination has been detected, including a small number of locations which have shown persistent exceedances of the permitted levels. "In Ireland, most of the contamination issues concern herbicides and, in particular, MCPA which is used in the control of rushes in grassland. It is important to recognise that the permitted levels are set considerably below levels which would impact on peoples health. The basic steps in reducing pesticide risks are: The Brazilian government reported on Friday a case of atypical mad cow disease in an animal in Mato Grosso state, according to a statement from the countrys Agriculture Ministry. The ministry said the case of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was detected in a 17-year-old cow. It said it collected the necessary material for tests and incinerated all other parts of the cow. No part of the animal entered the food chain, there are no risks for the population, the statement said. The case was considered atypical as the animal contracted the BSE protein spontaneously, rather than through the feed supply. Classical cases of mad cow are caused when cattle are fed brain or spinal tissue of other ruminants, which is now forbidden in nearly all beef producing countries including Brazil. In 2012 in Brazil tests showed that a cow that had died two years earlier in Parana state had developed the protein that causes mad cow disease, though the animal never developed the disease and died of natural causes. The World Organisation for Animal Health maintained Brazils status as a country with an insignificant risk of BSE at that time, after it confirmed the atypical Parana case. Even so, several countries including South Korea, China and Egypt banned some or all beef imports from Brazil, the worlds top exporter. That trade was later reopened. Brazils Agriculture Ministry said it had informed all importers on Friday about the case, as well as the World Organisation for Animal Health. Niamh Hamrock and she is the CQMS Event Organiser (CQMS is where women can go and try out the simulator machine). Pics are repro free and by Lorraine OSullivan Photography. Niamh Hamrock and she is the CQMS Event Organiser (CQMS is where women can go and try out the simulator machine). Pics are repro free and by Lorraine OSullivan Photography. WOMEN and recent retirees are now being targeted for heavy plant machinery construction jobs as the building boom continues unabated. With all building activity in Ireland up 10.1pc year on year, industry experts have said that there is a crisis in recruitment for machine operators with an estimated 1,500 vacancies in the sector. Expand Close Niamh Hamrock and she is the CQMS Event Organiser (CQMS is where women can go and try out the simulator machine). Pics are repro free and by Lorraine OSullivan Photography. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Niamh Hamrock and she is the CQMS Event Organiser (CQMS is where women can go and try out the simulator machine). Pics are repro free and by Lorraine OSullivan Photography. Brian Coogan of the Construction and Quarry Machinery Show said that technology has developed so quickly that muscle and brawn are not necessary attributes for the job. One manager rang me in sheer desperation that he cant get anyone to fill a particular role. With a salary of 50,000+ he couldnt understand it. I told him to start thinking outside the box, stop looking at young, male candidates as his only option, to start looking at recruiting female candidates, he told independent.ie. I dont believe carrying bricks or blocks is beyond the scope of women. But (plant operator jobs) are not so much about strength, its about capability and ability to understand technology. The job is not defined by whether the candidate is male/female, old/young. I know of a windfarm in Kerry, where they employed a man aged 71-years-old on a 21 tonne digger. Another man in a quarry in Wicklow is in his 80s, driving a machine. Mr Coogan said that more Irish firms are looking to the example set by the likes of Western Australia, and fill traditionally male roles with female candidates. In Western Australia, they couldnt get enough people to work in the mines, where there was great money up to $2,000 a week. A lot of young girls, in their late teens and early 20s, applied for jobs. They found that the female employees took better care of the equipment, were much more responsible. This is very important in terms of an asset that is worth hundreds of thousands of euro. Its more about the technology than the grunt of lifting heavy machines, he added. Mr Coogan said that they will have a simulator in situ at an event in Punchestown, Co Kildare between June 21 to 22. The CQMS show which will feature talks from Construction Industry Federation Tom Parlon and economist Jim Power - will offer buyers and sellers an opportunity to see the latest equipment from Irish dealers, distributors and manufacturers as well as connect potential employees with employers. An Arts organisation called on Culture Minister Josepha Madigan to "spearhead" a campaign on insurance reform amid fears that spiralling premiums had led to a "crisis" for street performers and other artists. Ms Madigan - who has been dragged into the controversy over Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey's personal injury action against a Dublin hotel - was lobbied by the Irish Street Arts Circus and Spectacle Network (ISACS). The correspondence shows how concern over rising insurance is affecting organisations that fall into Ms Madigan's area of responsibility. The cost for businesses and community groups has come into sharp focus in the wake of revelations about Ms Bailey's legal action. Madigans Solicitors, which is owned by her brother and which Ms Madigan left in June 2017, represented Ms Bailey in the case she took against the Dean hotel after she fell off a swing in 2015. The hotel denied liability and Ms Bailey has dropped the case. Ms Madigan has faced questions over whether or not she advised her Fine Gael colleague on the legal action before she left the firm. The minister has so far refused to clarify if she advised Ms Bailey, saying: "Whether I did or didn't, there's client-solicitor confidentiality so I'm not in a position to say." ISACS director Lucy Medlycott wrote to Ms Madigan last June, praising her for her leadership of Fine Gael efforts to Repeal the Eighth amendment on abortion. She wrote: "I now would like to ask you to spearhead another campaign and that is the issue of insurance reform. The insurance sector in Ireland right now is forcing many organisations into crisis." Ms Medlycott claimed the industry appears to be "totally unregulated" with underwriters "naming their price". She said claims were increasing gradually by 12pc but her sector had seen increases of more than 400pc. Ms Medlycott asked that Ms Madigan highlight the issue with junior finance minister Michael D'Arcy, who is responsible for insurance reform, and set three objectives: A Garda Insurance Fraud Unit funded by the insurance industry; The reinstatement of the 'Blue Book' overview of insurance industry data published by the Central Bank; To require judges who award damages in excess of the Book of Quantum to set out detailed reasons for doing so. Ms Madigan's private secretary wrote back thanking Ms Medlycott for "highlighting this very important issue". She said the correspondence would be forwarded to Mr D'Arcy and said: "Unfortunately, Minister Madigan has no remit in this area and would not be in a position to intervene in this matter." Ms Medlycott told the Irish Independent her members are still calling on the Government to implement insurance reform urgently. She accused the industry of targeting clients for price hikes and sending out a message "to anyone who engages in any type of physical activity that this is not a country where physical, community and creative work is valued or encouraged". Ms Medlycott called on all ministers to realise the impact on communities and "our cultural infrastructure" and to "protect the many over the few, before it is too late". A spokesperson for the Department of Culture said the Government "highly values culture and the arts and strongly supports cultural groups", pointing to increased funding. She insisted the Government was making progress on insurance reform but was also "conscious of the difficulties that the cost and availability of insurance are having on some organisations". The statement said there was "no silver bullet" but "significant progress" had been made in areas raised by ISACS. While there is no plan for a dedicated Garda unit funded by the industry, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is said to be adopting a divisional focus on insurance fraud, with plans to train members around the country. The statement also pointed to plans for a committee made up of judges to set guidelines for payouts in various types of personal injury claims. Supermac's founder Pat McDonagh has slammed the personal injury system in Ireland, accusing the judiciary of "letting the whole country down" in handling exaggerated claims. He hit out at a "flawed" legal system where barristers "encourage you to settle on the steps of court if a certain judge is assigned to your case". "It's a terrible state of affairs when you have a barrister telling you if you go before one judge you might have a chance but if you get another judge, he's known as Santa Claus and your best bet is to settle the case beforehand," he said. "There's no justice and there's no consistency." Mr McDonagh's comments follow the recent withdrawal of a claim against the popular fast-food outlet. A woman - who claimed she suffered "possible PTSD" and stopped eating in restaurants after she allegedly found a thumbtack in her chips - dropped a personal injuries case against Supermac's after footage emerged of her dining in a hotel. She took legal action after eating in the Carrick-on-Suir branch in February 2016. The woman alleged she bought a portion of chips and was in the course of eating when she bit into a thumbtack that was embedded in a chip. In her affidavit, she said she felt a sharp pain in her left jaw and suffered nightmares following the incident. She claimed she stopped eating in restaurants and became anxious about her children possibly swallowing a thumbtack. She proceeded to Tipperary Circuit Court but withdrew the case last week after the defence declared it had video footage of her eating a carvery at the Carraig Hotel in Carrick-on-Suir in October 2017 - over two months before she swore an affidavit claiming she could no longer eat in restaurants. The particulars of the affidavit stated: "She continued to attend her general practitioner in relation to her anxiety and nervousness. "She was diagnosed with possible PTSD and was referred for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. "Her symptoms are ongoing and she reserves the right to furnish particulars of personal injury and loss in advance of the trial of action." She accused Supermac's of being guilty of negligence and breach of duty by: - Causing, allowing or permitting a thumbtack to become embedded or stuck in one of its chips; - Serving a portion of chips to the plaintiff which included a chip in which a thumbtack embedded; - Failing to have a system in place to prevent foreign objects from getting into its product at the production or preparation stage; - Exposing the plaintiff to a foreseeable risk of injury. Supermac's denied all liability and refused to settle the case. The woman's solicitors did not respond to queries from the Irish Independent about why she withdrew her claim. Mr McDonagh said business owners are constantly up against it and called on the Government to show some "political will" to intervene. "It's not a fair system and it's not a system you can rely on," he said. "The fall guy ends up being the business or the customer. Insurance companies, the legal profession, engineers and all that, they're all kind of working together and the only one that loses out is the taxpayer. "The whole system is flawed and very difficult to beat." Mr McDonagh admits there are genuine injuries but he believes exaggerated claims are closing businesses down and leading to a hike in premiums. The self-made businessman previously defended the decision to install cameras in the bathrooms of a number of its stores around the country. Supermac's released a clip of CCTV footage taken at a branch showing a man splashing water on the floor of the bathroom and then staging a slip. The video was shared on the Supermac's Facebook page with the question: "Do you know this man? We'd like to speak to him". According to a Supermac's spokesperson, the man in question approached the restaurant counter that day, complaining that he had fallen as a result of the wet floor and that his phone was broken, and he required compensation for same immediately. The employee contacted his area manager who in turn called the gardai but the man left the store before the authorities arrived. Mr McDonagh said that the purpose of having CCTV in the bathrooms is to prevent such a claim from taking place. "We are safeguarding our own business. The camera is never in a compromising position. There is absolutely no fear of anyone's privacy being violated. The videotapes are there to act as a deterrent." Neil McDonnell, CEO of Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME), said business owners are being faced with an impossible burden. "Cases are becoming exceptionally difficult to defend because with decisions lately you only have to be on someone's premises and liability kicks in. It's not a case of proving negligence any more, something just needs to happen," he said. "These are extremely difficult cases when someone is making an allegation as effectively the burden of proof is totally reversed. The judiciary is excessively pro-plaintiff. Costs were used as a weapon to force people into settling." Global airlines slashed a widely watched industry profit forecast by 21pc yesterday as an expanding trade war and higher oil prices compound worries about an overdue industry slowdown. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents approximately 290 carriers or more than 80pc of global air traffic, said the industry is expected to post a combined $28bn (25bn) profit in 2019, down from a December forecast of $35.5bn (31.7bn). "Airlines will still turn a profit this year, but there is no easy money to be made," IATA Director General Alexandre de Juniac said at the group's annual meeting in Seoul. "Creeping protectionist or isolationist political agendas are on the rise." Airlines reported $30bn (26.7bn) in annual profits in 2018, but conditions in the air cargo market have weakened substantially. IATA voiced concerns the trade tensions, which have forced several carriers in Asia to ground or delay taking delivery of air freighters, could spill into the passenger market. Passenger capacity growth, which reached 6.9pc in 2019, is forecast to slow to 4.7pc this year, with average fares flat following a decline in 2018. In a $900bn (803.6bn) cut-throat industry brimming with tensions, the head of Germany's Lufthansa hit out at low-cost airlines who slash fares to what he called unrealistic levels. "I'm not complaining about the competition. Don't get me wrong ... but that kind of ticketing below 10 is hurting the ... trust of public and politicians (and) congesting air traffic," chief executive Carsten Spohr said. The practice also undermines climate goals by spurring trips that would not otherwise exist, he added. The CEO of recently acquired UK-based Flybe said she saw a risk of "massive consolidation without independent and challenging carriers". Christine Ourmieres-Widener plans to step down on July 15, months after the sale of the low-cost airline to a consortium including Richard Branson. (Reuters) Tesla Inc began taking orders for its China-made Model 3 vehicles on Friday, with deliveries expected to begin in six-to-10 months, the latest effort of the United States-based electric carmaker to step up its presence in the world's largest automotive market. In a statement on Friday, Tesla said the model, with a comprehensive range of 460 kilometers and to be made at its plant in Shanghai, has a starting price of 328,000 yuan ($47,469.5). That is around 13 percent cheaper than the same version imported from the US, which is priced from 377,000 yuan, including import duties and value-added taxes, according to its website. A source close to Tesla said that the carmaker has not reached a deal with Chinese authorities on the locally produced model's eligibility for government subsidies for new energy vehicles. A Tesla China representative said construction is going smoothly at its Shanghai plant, with buildings already roofed and equipment ready to be installed soon. Production is scheduled to begin by the end of the year. In its early stage of operation, the plant is expected to produce around 3,000 Model 3 vehicles a week but will not produce batteries for the vehicles, the company said, adding that full production capacity could reach 500,000 vehicles a year. Tesla plans to introduce other models including the forthcoming Model Y to the Chinese production line as well, although it has not released the schedule. The plant, Tesla's first manufacturing facility overseas, broke ground in January 2019. The company has acquired credit of $521 million from several Chinese banks, including China Construction Bank and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, for its plant. A Tesla representative said localized production will help the company alleviate tariffs. Getting closer to Chinese customers will also enable Tesla to react quickly to any changes in the sector, said the representative. China is now the second-largest market for Tesla after the US, but Tesla founder Elon Musk said China will soon surpass the US to become its No 1 market. New energy vehicle sales are growing fast in China despite a slowdown in the overall market. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers expects sales of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to reach 1.6 million this year, up from 1.2 million last year. Tesla is now selling its Model X, Model S and Model 3 vehicles in China. It has built a sales network of 48 dealerships and a charging network covering 150 cities in the country. Globally it delivered 245,240 models in 2018, with 145,846 of them Model 3s, according to its financial statement. Analysts say the lower prices of the localized model will help boost Tesla's sales in China, the world's largest new energy vehicle market. The timing of Tesla's arrival will further sharpen its competitive edge over models from other startups in China, including Nio, as the government continues to slash subsidies on new energy vehicles. The subsidies are expected to stop completely by the end of 2020. The introduction and localization of electric models into China by international premium brands will lead to a more competitive market, one that is already packed with over 100 electric carmakers. For instance, Audi's electric SUV e-tron will be imported into China this year before local production starts in 2020. BMW is making China a hub of production for its electric iX3 model, which will roll off the assembly line in 2020. Analysts say their arrivals will lure some potential customers away from startups including Tesla because the majority of Chinese customers are more inclined to choose long-established brands. Kevin Spacey has made an unexpected appearance in court where his lawyer demanded access to the phone of the man who has accused the actor of groping him at a bar on the resort island of Nantucket in 2016. Lawyer Alan Jackson called the case against Spacey ridiculous and accused prosecutors of withholding information from the defence. Mr Jackson urged the judge to set a trial date as soon as possible, saying the former House Of Cards star is suffering without a resolution to the case. The judge said the earliest the trial will happen is in the autumn. This is a ridiculous case and (prosecutors) should havent filed it, Mr Jackson said. First assistant district attorney Brian Glenny denied his office misrepresented anything to the defence. Spacey, who was wearing a grey suit and glasses, sat at a table alongside his lawyers in the Massachusetts court. He occasionally whispered in Mr Jacksons ear but did not speak during the hearing, or respond to questions from reporters as he walked in and out of the courthouse. Spacey was not required to attend the hearing and has stayed away from the court except for his arraignment in January, which he tried to avoid. The 59-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty to indecent assault and battery, faces up to two and a half years in jail if convicted. Expand Close Kevin Spacey in court with his lawyer Alan Jackson (Steven Senne/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kevin Spacey in court with his lawyer Alan Jackson (Steven Senne/AP) Video of the Day His lawyers have stepped up their attacks on the credibility of the man who made the allegations. In court documents filed on Friday, Mr Jackson accused the man of deleting text messages that support Spaceys claims of innocence. It is the only criminal case brought against the two-time Oscar winner since his career fell apart amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations in 2017. The case came to light that year when former Boston TV anchor Heather Unruh said Spacey got her son drunk and then sexually assaulted him at the Club Car, a popular restaurant and bar on the resort island off Cape Cod. Ms Unruhs son told police he wanted to get a picture with Spacey and went over to talk to him after his shift ended at the Club Car, where he worked. The man said Spacey bought him several drinks and tried to persuade him to come home with him before unzipping the mans trousers and groping him for about three minutes. The accuser told police he tried to move Spaceys hands, but the groping continued, and he did not know what to do because he did not want to get in trouble for drinking. The man said he fled when Spacey went to the toilet. Expand Close The Club Car restaurant (Rodrique Ngowi/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The Club Car restaurant (Rodrique Ngowi/AP) Spaceys lawyers have called the allegations patently false and accused the man of lying in the hopes of making money in a civil case against Spacey. They argued the two engaged in nothing more than consensual flirtation and questioned why, according to the mans story, he did not object or try to move away if he was being assaulted. Spaceys lawyer urged the court in Fridays motion to order prosecutors to hand over a complete and unaltered forensic copy of the accusers mobile phone, saying newly produced evidence confirms he deleted exculpatory text messages and provided falsified screenshots of his conversation from the night in question to law enforcement. A German hypnotist has been spared a spell in jail for groping an air hostess at Dublin Airport while he was waiting for a connecting flight to New York. Ulrich Trappe, 45, stared and smiled at the upset flight attendant when she turned around to confront him, Dublin District Court was told today. The divorced father-of-two was given a one-month suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to the sexual assault which happened on Sunday in Terminal 1. Trappe, with an address in Berlin, Germany, was exasperated when he was brought before Judge John Cheatle after telling gardai it was game he would not dare play in Germany or America. Garda Jack Farrell told the court Trappe made no reply when charged at Ballymun Garda station. In an outline of the allegations, Garda Farrell told the court that gardai received a call from Dublin Airport Police who had detained the Berliner for an alleged sexual assault on a female flight attendant at Terminal 1 in Dublin Airport. The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal, meaning the defendant should be tried at district court level and not in the circuit court, which has tougher sentencing powers. Judge Cheatle accepted jurisdiction. Garda Farrell told the court there was an objection to bail because the accused was a flight risk. He had no ties to Ireland, he added. He told the court there was clear CCTV footage of the incident taking place. Defence solicitor Tony Collier told Judge Cheatle his client had no previous convictions. He had flown in from Berlin but was transiting through Dublin Airport on his way to New York. It was not clear whether his trip was for work or pleasure, the solicitor said, adding that his client was exasperated and anxious to get home. After a brief recess in the case, Mr Collier said Trappe was pleading guilty. Garda Farrell said the flight attendant was not physically hurt but was more hurt emotionally. However, she identified Trappe to gardai. She was not present for the hearing but in her statement she described to Garda Farrell how she had been going through the security area in Terminal 1 on Sunday when the assault took place. The accused approached her from the rear and grabbed her buttocks for a couple of seconds and proceeded to stare. When the injured party turned to confront the man, he stared and smiled at her. His solicitor told Judge Cheatle that Trappes explanation to gardai for his behaviour was, He was playing a game he would not dare play in America or Germany. The garda agreed with the solicitor that Trappes behaviour in the station was erratic. He was touching the Gardas tie and the officer had to tell him to keep his feet and his hands to himself. When his fingerprints were taken he was touching gardai on their legs, thighs and feet. Mr Collier said his client, who did not address the court, had been diagnosed with depression and was on medication to balance his mood. His bizarre behaviour and the way it persisted was probably the most unusual feature of the case, the solicitor said. He asked the judge to note that Trappe had suffered a psychiatric episode. Trappe wanted to leave it behind him, go back to Germany to his parents, and have two weeks rest, the court heard. Mr Collier said his client was an unemployed hypnotist. Pleading for leniency, Mr Collier said he was not minimising the crime in any way but he asked the court to note it was on the lower of the scale in respect of these offences, and the victim was an adult. It lasted for seconds and Trappe had touched her on the outside of her clothing, the solicitor added. Sentencing, Judge Cheatle said it was a very unusual case. The victim was undoubtedly touched inappropriately and she was entitled to go about her place of business without this type of interference, he told the Berliner. He imposed a one-month sentence but suspended it on condition Trappe did not re-offend within the next year. Prepared: Ian Bailey says he is expecting an attempt to extradite him to France. Photo: Mark Condren Ian Bailey could be the subject of an extradition request within 24 hours following his murder conviction in France. Mr Bailey (62), a British freelance journalist living in Ireland, was convicted in his absence of the 1996 murder of mother-of-one Sophie Toscan du Plantier (39) in Co Cork. He said yesterday he understood the French authorities' latest extradition request was sent to Dublin on Friday. "The knock on the door [from gardai] could come at any time," he said. The extradition move threatens to put the Irish and French authorities on a judicial and diplomatic collision course. It could potentially involve the first extradition case of its kind, in which a person was convicted of murder in one European country but with the crime having occurred in another EU member state. Expand Close Sophie Toscan du Plantier / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sophie Toscan du Plantier Ireland has already been warned by the family of Ms Toscan du Plantier that it must fully comply with existing European agreements for judicial co-operation. Any failure to do so will see the family press for France to take formal action against Ireland at EU level. In 2012, the Supreme Court refused to extradite Mr Bailey to France for questioning. In 2015, a second French European Arrest Warrant (EAW) did not progress beyond the High Court. However, the Paris authorities will now seek Mr Bailey's extradition on the basis that, under French law, he is a convicted murderer. Mr Bailey said he understood the latest warrant was sent by Paris prosecutors on Friday. However, because of the June Bank Holiday weekend, nothing is expected to happen before tomorrow morning. Mr Bailey - who now occupies his time making bodhrans - said he has tried to keep life "as normal as possible". He has attended farmers' markets near his home in Co Cork as part of a routine established for years - and said he was deeply touched by the support of many locals who believe that he is innocent. "There are people [in authority] in Ireland who are fully aware of the fact I am innocent. But those devils have remained silent," he said. Judge Frederique Aline of the Cour d'Assises imposed a 25-year prison sentence on him last Friday. Ms Toscan du Plantier's son, Pierre-Louis Baudey-Vignaud, said that it was "a victory for justice". The group set up to support the family, ASSOPH, founded by Ms Toscan du Plantier's uncle, Jean-Pierre Gazeau, warned the Irish authorities that they would be expected to adhere to judicial commitments under European law. Manchester-born Mr Bailey has always protested his innocence of the killing in west Cork on December 23, 1996. Ms Toscan du Plantier was battered to death on the lane leading to her isolated holiday home at Toormore outside Schull. Gardai arrested Mr Bailey for questioning over the killing in 1997 and 1998 but he was released without charge on both occasions. Mr Bailey dismissed the French prosecution as "a show trial" and "farcical", claiming: "I was convicted in France even before the trial opened." His solicitor, Frank Buttimer, also slated the Paris prosecution as "a gross miscarriage of justice". A cannabis user brought a bag of the drug to a Garda station to complain it was "not of good quality". Arthur Liwembe (34) was immediately arrested when he went to the station of his own accord and presented the cannabis to an officer to say he was not happy with it. He has been spared six months in jail and instead ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service. However, Dublin District Court heard he has separately been given a deportation order. Liwembe, an asylum seeker and former student nurse, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cannabis at Kilmainham Garda station on July 10 last year, and other charges. Defence solicitor Anne Fitzgibbon told Judge John Hughes that since his last court appearance in March, Liwembe had been found suitable for community service. The only problem, she said, was the issuing of an order to leave Ireland by June 22 or present for deportation on June 26. She accepted this was a separate system and said Liwembe, from Malawi, might appeal as he now wished to stay and work in Ireland. The accused, who'd had a "very difficult upbringing", was now clean of cannabis. Judge Hughes said he recalled the case because of "the unusual nature of going to a Garda station" with cannabis. "Looking to be arrested springs to mind," he said. Ms Fitzgibbon explained Liwembe had been concerned that the cannabis he had bought "could be detrimental to other people's health". Previously, Garda Ian Foley gave evidence that Liwembe went to the station and produced a bag of cannabis valued at 10 from his pocket. Judge John Hughes said Liwembe's behaviour was "illogical to say the least" and was indicative of a cannabis-induced "psychosis". Separately, Liwembe admitted repeatedly trespassing at an address where he used to live and work at Inchicore. He was under the "misapprehension that he still lived there". Gerard Whyte: Friends described him as hilarious and so kind A truck driver has been charged with dangerous driving causing the death of a 21-year-old man in Whitehall in the early hours of Friday morning. Prince Aibangbe (50) of Williams Way in Ongar, Dublin 15, was brought before Dublin District Court at the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning where he was charged before Judge John Cheatle. Garda David Jordan gave evidence that after the incident images and video of the truck they were trying to trace was circulated in the media and came to the attention of Aibangbes employer, who in turn contacted gardai in Bray. Gardai then met with Aibangbe and his employer by arrangement at his place of employment in Blackchurch on the Naas Road. Gardai seized the truck Aibangbe had been driving and on Saturday night he was charged with dangerous driving causing death. The court heard that Aibangbe replied: It happened yesterday, it was an accident. Gardai objected to bail. Aibangbes solicitor Rory Staines said that his client is a father of eight, four of who are in his native Nigeria and four who are of school going age and living with his former partner in Malahide. He has been driving trucks for 31 years and has never before been involved in an accident. He is two to three years with his current employer, said Mr Staines. Mr Aibangbes former partner and family were in court. Aibangbe has applied for Irish citizenship which has not yet been granted. Mr Staines said his client has indicated that he didnt realise that he had been involved in an incident. Garda Jordan said that Mr Aibangbe fled the scene, but this was disputed by Mr Staines. Mr Staines said that if bail was not granted his client could spend some time in custody as it would take time to prepare the case which was likely to be heard in a higher court on indictment. He said his client has significant ties to this jurisdiction. Judge Cheatle granted bail on condition that Aibangbe provide his own bond of 5,000, half of which was to be lodged in cash. He also has to sign on every day in Blanchardstown garda station, provide a telephone number for gardai, and surrender his passport. He remanded him in custody with consent to bail to appear in court at the CCJ again next Friday. Aibangbe, wearing a green hoodie and blue tracksuit bottoms, remained silent during the hearing. Gerard Whyte (21) who was from Ballymun in North Dublin, died after being rushed to Beaumont Hospital following the incident which happened on the Swords Road, Whitehall, at the Collins Avenue Junction shortly after midnight on Thursday night. It's alleged the defendant failed to remain at the scene and drove off following the incident. Garda forensic investigators examined the scene and made an appeal for information from the public. They also issued a photograph and video footage of the truck they were searching for. The truck was turning left from the Swords Road onto Collins Avenue when Mr Whyte was knocked down. Campaigner Vicky Phelan says the courtroom is a ''terrifying'' place for plaintiffs in negligence cases. The mother of two last year settled her case against a US testing laboratory for 2.5m over the alleged misreading of her smear tests under the CervicalCheck programme. After resisting efforts to impose a gagging order, she helped reveal how many other women were affected too. Speaking about her High Court case, she described the courtroom as intimidating and confusing and the seating as uncomfortable for the sick. It is also difficult for some plaintiffs to follow what is going on in court, Ms Phelan told the Bar of Irelands Laws & Effect Conference in Killenard, Co Laois. She described the difficult experience of having lawyers refer to her terminal diagnosis, which she was still coming to terms with at the time. Ms Phelan said she only started a new medication a few days before having to give evidence. She had a terrible reaction to the drug, with really bad hallucinations. I was very sick and I was on a lot of painkilling medication, she said. She also said her husband, Jim, struggled with the court process and at one point required medication for anxiety. Going to court is a very, very terrifying experience for most people, she said. The courtroom is a terrifying place for plaintiffs. She said this was not just because she was ill and worried about what was to come, but because of the layout. I felt the layout of the court, with the stepped arrangement and everybody on different levels, was very intimidating and confusing to me, she said. When giving evidence witnesses sit on an elevated stand and cannot see their solicitors, who face a different direction. I couldnt see the people who I trusted the most. I couldnt see my family or my friends. I couldnt see my solicitors, she said. Until that day I went in to give evidence, I did not know I wouldnt be able to see my solicitor. It threw me. Ms Phelan said it would be useful to demystify the court. I would have liked to have been shown the courtroom, maybe a tour, to be walked around the courtroom, she said. Or, even if that was not possible, to be shown photos of the courtroom and to go through that with my solicitor or barrister or somebody who would be an advocate for plaintiffs. 'I WAS upset," admitted Simon Harris. But, as the Fine Gael euro-candidate is a mannerly young man, he didn't express his upset in the way of individuals with less couth, such as flinging toys out of his cot amid a flurry of finger-pointing and a fusillade of effs. The cause of Simon's angst was a four-page election leaflet which his party colleague and Ireland South rival Deirdre Clune placed in yesterday's Irish Independent for distribution not only around her own patch in Munster, but also within the Wicklow TD's supposedly exclusive territory of south Leinster. For the leaflet included a letter from the Taoiseach urging people to give the Cork-based senator their Number One vote, which is all fine and dandy inside Deirdre's turf but not outside it, where both Sean Kelly and Simon are also competing for what's expected to be Fine Gael's haul of two seats. Yesterday, while out on a canvass in Bray and Greystones with Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, Wicklow TD Andrew Doyle and a couple of local candidates Mick Glynn and Sarah Wray he expressed his disapproval. "I'm not going to get embroiled in tit-for-tat, but I was upset by this because I think it undermines the work that everybody is doing, including Deirdre Clune who is also working very hard," he explained. "But the rules are very clear, the divides are very clear," he added. As he and Frances set off down Bray's main street, it looked as if the torrential downpour was determined to rain on his parade in the literal sense. The new Justice Minister was in a mischievous mood and persuaded the candidate to hold an umbrella and walk with her under a gushing water-pipe for the photographer, half-drowning the pair of them. And she proved to be an indefatigable canvasser, bustling in and out of cafes and local businesses. "You have your hands full, haven't you?" suggested one lady in a coffee-shop, adding, "We need more shops in the town. Jobs give people hope." Simon assured her that if elected to Europe, he would try and access more money for town development from the Structural Funds piggy-bank. It was a view echoed by Liz Rooney, manager of the Enable Ireland shop. "This town could do with a bit of law and order. The police have very little presence here as far as I'm concerned," she told Frances. It was clear that these two towns were indeed Simon's home turf, with many locals greeting him by name. But he knows he's the underdog in this fight. "We have an uphill battle," he acknowledged. The 27-year old is the party's youngest TD and he happily plays the youth card, telling people, "We've never sent anyone as young as me to the European Parliament, it has been viewed as a retirement home for politicians you go there if you can't get elected to the Dail," he said. "But this is not a ceremonial position. This is a policy position, a position with teeth." And fresh-faced and fogeyish as he is, Simon isn't afraid to bare those teeth. He reckoned that Clune's leaflet "isn't fair" to the party leader, either. "He's worked his backside off to get the best result possible for this party," he said. "The Taoiseach isn't asking people in Ireland South to give Deirdre Clune their number one vote the Taoiseach is asking that if you live in Cork vote for Deirdre, if you live in Leinster you vote for Harris and if you live in the south-west, you give your number one to Kelly". Outside Greystones DART station in the early evening, Frances and the team were busy handing out leaflets. But the candidate was nowhere in sight. Then Simon dashed around the corner in a fanfare of apologies. "Sorry, but I just met a man who actually wanted to talk about the EU," he explained, wide-eyed in wonder. That cheered him up no end. Seeking evidence: Gardai conduct a fingertip search at the scene of the shooting near Lidl on the Blakestown Road in Mulhuddart. Photo: Frank McGrath A man shot in broad daylight outside a Lidl supermarket was under threat from associates of murdered criminal Eric Fowler. The capital's latest shooting victim, Noel Boylan, in his mid-40s, is lucky to be alive after he was targeted on Blakestown Road shortly after 5pm on Saturday. Boylan was shot twice in the arm and chest in front of shocked onlookers and shoppers. Gardai are probing links between the shooting of Boylan and the murder of Kinahan cartel-linked criminal Fowler, as well as the shooting of Boylan's own son, Lee. Lee Boylan (24) was left paralysed after suffering life-altering injuries when a gunman shot him while he was sitting in his van on Blakestown Road, west Dublin, on March 6. The shooting happened just 450m from where his father was attacked on Saturday evening. Gardai are now investigating if all three shootings are connected. They have been probing if the botched attack on Lee Boylan was carried out in revenge for the Fowler murder. The killing has been blamed on associates of Boylan who have links to the cartel. Gardai previously received information that Fowler (34) was blamed for the theft of 50,000 and suspect this may be the prime motive for his murder. While not considered a suspect in the Fowler murder, Lee Boylan has personal links to some dangerous gangland criminals. Sources have said that "his life will never be the same again" following the devastating injuries that he sustained in the shooting. His father, meanwhile, is recovering following Saturday's shooting attack. He was rushed to Connolly Hospital, where he was being guarded by armed officers and was being treated for serious but non-life threatening injuries. Sources said Boylan remained conscious as onlookers rushed to his aid, and witnesses said that he had been shouting: "First they shot my son, leaving him paralysed... now they shoot me." While Boylan was shot in the chest, it's understood the bullet missed vital organs. Gardai cordoned off the busy shopping centre on Saturday night and the Lidl store was evacuated while Boylan was treated for his injuries by paramedics. While gardai are keeping an open mind, at this stage there is no suggestion that the shooting was connected to a recent spate of gangland murders that happened in north Dublin. In January, Zach Parker (23), a barber, was shot in the head and chest outside a gym in Swords. Last month his friend Jordan Davis (23) was shot dead in Darndale, just 17 hours after his close friend Sean Little (22) was murdered on a back road that leads from Walshetown in north County Dublin to the M1. The fourth victim, Hamid Sanambar (41), an Iranian who was granted asylum in Ireland, was murdered last Tuesday. Noel Boylan has a serious criminal record. In March 2007, he was jailed for his role in the attempted armed robbery of a bookmaker after the Irish Grand National. The general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council have jointly released a circular on improving the system of administrative adjudication and strengthening related work. According to the circular, administrative adjudication refers to the act of administrative organs which adjudicate the civil disputes that are closely related to administration. With higher efficiency, lower costs and easier procedures, administrative adjudication can help facilitate quicker solutions to disputes, and serve as an important method to handle civil disputes, the circular reads. More efforts should be made to improve the administrative adjudication of disputes in areas such as the ownership of natural resources, infringement of intellectual property rights and government procurement, according to the circular. It asks for more application of modern information technology in administrative adjudication, as well as further legislation to regulate the system of administrative adjudication. The circular also calls for better mediation work in administrative adjudication, suggesting the establishment of one-stop service platforms in fields that see more civil disputes, to reduce people's burdens when protecting their rights. Moreover, the circular calls on local authorities to improve the ranks of those engaging in administrative adjudication, with more supervision, examination and guidance from superior administrative organs over their subordinates in terms of the work. The Ministry of Justice should also strengthen its coordination and supervision of the work in administrative adjudication, organize evaluations of the implementation of the circular, and provide timely suggestions, according to the circular. The former Director of Public Prosecutions has rejected claims by the French authorities that Ireland "failed" to prosecute Ian Bailey for murder. James Hamilton, who retired as DPP in 2011, concluded that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Mr Bailey for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier under Irish law. The DPP's refusal to prosecute Mr Bailey was repeatedly presented by French prosecutors as a "failure" during the former journalist's trial in absentia for murder. Mr Bailey was convicted by the Paris court last Friday. In a statement to this newspaper, Mr Hamilton noted that "evidence means facts" and "does not include material which is merely prejudicial such as hearsay, rumour, innuendo, speculation, suspicion, gossip and evidence of bad character lacking any evidential link to the offence charged". After being asked to comment, Mr Hamilton provided a statement to the Sunday Independent. It begins: "I do not think it would be appropriate for me to make any comment on the trial in his absence in Paris of Ian Bailey for the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. My sole source of information about that trial is contained in the press reports of it. However, I noted that in the course of the trial the prosecution authorities in Ireland were criticised for their 'failure' to bring Ian Bailey to trial for the murder in Ireland. "Sophie Toscan du Plantier was brutally murdered in December 1996. My predecessor as DPP, the late Eamonn Barnes, decided in 1997 that there was not sufficient evidence to try Ian Bailey for the murder. However, he deferred a final decision to enable the Garda Siochana to conduct further enquiries. "In 1999, following my appointment as DPP and having considered the result of those further enquiries, I decided that there was still insufficient evidence to prosecute Ian Bailey. Before making that decision I had the benefit of the advice of senior counsel who had arrived at the same conclusion. My decision was subsequently reviewed by me again some years later following a Garda re-examination of the case but my decision remained that the evidence was still insufficient to warrant a prosecution. "It is important to emphasise that these decisions did not amount to any failure by me or my predecessor to exercise our functions but rather were made in exercise of our duty to determine whether there was a proper basis in Irish law to bring a prosecution. The decisions were also fully in accordance with the DPP's own published guidelines." The statement continued: "In Irish law it is possible to convict a person only on the basis of admissible and credible evidence given orally in court by witnesses which is relevant to the offence charged and a jury must be convinced of the case against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. "Evidence means facts which prove the case against the accused and does not include material which is merely prejudicial such as hearsay, rumour, innuendo, speculation, suspicion, gossip and evidence of bad character lacking any evidential link to the offence charged. The Irish courts will refuse to admit into evidence material which is prejudicial but lacking in evidential value. "A large quantity of such material does not, in the Irish legal system, add up to a case. "I do not propose to comment further on the substance of the case alleged against Ian Bailey in the Garda Siochana file. My reasons for the decision not to prosecute were fully set out in a memorandum prepared in my office and approved by me which was sent to the Garda Siochana and my decision was never challenged by the Garda to me. That memorandum was provided to Ian Bailey's solicitor when his client was at risk of being extradited and has, I believe since entered the public arena." The memo referred to is the now infamous 44-page critique of the Garda's evidence. A couple whose healthy baby was aborted at the National Maternity Hospital have called for a full statutory inquiry into the case. Solicitor Caoimhe Haughey, who represents the parents, has written to Health Minister Simon Harris and Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan on their behalf. In the letter, she indicates a proposed external review might not go far enough and the distressed couple believe a sworn Section 9 inquiry may be warranted "to eliminate risk". The mother's pregnancy was terminated in March after a chorionic villus sampling (CVS) test showed that her baby had Trisomy 18, known as Edwards syndrome, and would not survive. But a more advanced test, returned after the termination, disclosed to the distraught parents that the baby had been healthy. The testing was carried out at the Merrion Fetal Health Clinic and the termination was then performed in the hospital. In her letter, Ms Haughey refers to the judgment of Judge Charles Meenan in the case of the late Malak Thawley, a pregnant woman who died after a surgical error at the Holles Street hospital. She said: "Notwithstanding the main finding of the judgment of Mr Justice Meenan, the learned judge stated the object of a Section 9 enquiry is to eliminate risk rather than a learning exercise. "He went on to state if certain practices in a hospital are reported as presenting a risk to patients, the Minister for Health has a statutory responsibility to inquire into those risks and intervene in the interest of public patient safety and health." The letter also refers to the Meenan judgment's quotation: "The potential for learning from some patient safety incidents is so great or the consequences so significant that these incidents require a comprehensive response." Despite their enormous and overwhelming grief, the couple are putting themselves forward to highlight "a serious patient health and safety risk" in the interest of the greater good, the letter states. They want to ensure that no other parents will endure a similar tragedy, it added. The National Maternity Hospital wants to proceed with the external review and is hoping the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists will be in a position to suggest experts this week. Terms of reference for the review have yet to be drawn up, and the parents have insisted they want input. The head of the Catholic Church in Dublin has warned those behind the recent spate of fatal gun shootings in the capital that they wont be allowed to exploit church funerals to glorify their dead criminal associates and criminal family members. In a strongly worded statement on Monday on the recent upsurge in violence in Dublin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the recent spate of shootings had taken on an unprecedented level of depravity with shootings carried out unscrupulously near schools and shopping centres, leaving families terrified and children witnessing brutality that will leave scars on their lives for years. Expand Close Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Picture: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Archbishop Diarmuid Martin. Picture: Collins Dr Martin said the perpetrators and sponsors of such violence merit nothing but rejection and distain. They belong behind bars and their business of death must be undermined and destroyed. He also announced that where it can be ascertained that individuals hold direct responsibility in this traffic in evil they will no longer be allowed to exploit religious services in the Archdiocese of Dublin to enhance their image. The Irish Independent understands that the Archbishop would prefer the criminals go for civil funerals rather than use any church setting for showy displays or the glorification of criminals. However, if a funeral is requested in a catholic church, the parish will insist that the service is a simple and modest affair. Calling for their business of death to be destroyed, Dr Martin appealed to anyone who can provide information about the sickening underworld behind the violence to have the courage and the decency to come forward in the interest of all. He also appealed to civil and community leaders to show a united and uncompromising response. I urge people to approach the Gardai either directly or indirectly to provide any information which can help remove this malignance from our streets. Archbishop Martins outrage at the violence follows the shooting on Saturday of Noel Boylan in broad daylight outside a Lidl supermarket in West Dublin in front of shocked onlookers and shoppers. Boylan was shot twice in the arm and chest. Last March his son, Lee Boylan (24) was left paralysed after suffering life-altering injuries when a gunman shot him while he was sitting in his van on Blakestown Road, west Dublin. In January, Zach Parker (23), a barber, was shot in the head and chest outside a gym in Swords. In May his friend Jordan Davis (23) was shot dead in Darndale, beside a school and a church, just 17 hours after his friend Sean Little (22) was found murdered on a back road that leads from Walshetown in north County Dublin to the M1. Another victim of the violence, Hamid Sanambar (41), an Iranian who was granted asylum in Ireland, was murdered last Tuesday. He was shot in the head during a wake for Sean Little at his North Dublin home on Tuesday. Gardai fear an escalation in gun violence within the network of criminals in north Dublin following the murder of Hamid Sanambar. Maggie's tweet has been liked by nearly 750 people and shared by over 500 users including Health Minister Simon Harris. The ten year old dog was found after being "dumped" in the centre while the owners were away. Staff at the centre upload a photo of Maggie on Twitter seeking a new home for the dog but received no replies. An abandoned older dog has received dozens of offers for a new home after a plea from the shelter that saved her. Maggie the Jack Russell arrived at ASH Animal Rescue Co. Wicklow to the surprise of the centre's owner Helena Le Mahieu. The ten-year-old dog was found after being "dumped" in the centre while the owners were away. "We were taking some dogs to hydro therapy, we do this for some of the dogs that have problems with their hind legs and back, and when we came back we noticed that some of the dogs were in different places to where they should be," said Le Mahieu. "Then we went inside and found Maggie upstairs." Expand Close The ten year old dog was found after being "dumped" in the centre while the owners were away. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The ten year old dog was found after being "dumped" in the centre while the owners were away. Described as a "gentle and timid" dog, staff at the centre quickly upload a photo of Maggie on Twitter seeking a new home for the terrier. Unfortunately, the centre received no replies. Posting again on Twitter the animal charity said: "We had not a single enquiry about our Maggie. "We know that with 10 years old she is not a cute puppy anymore but for her breed this is not yet old either and just look at those sad eyes. "We really think she deserves to be loved forever in a relaxed home Expand Close Staff at the centre upload a photo of Maggie on Twitter seeking a new home for the dog but received no replies. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Staff at the centre upload a photo of Maggie on Twitter seeking a new home for the dog but received no replies. Since the post, interest in Maggie has exploded with her tweet has been liked by nearly 750 people and shared by over 500 users including Health Minister Simon Harris. Comments on the post have been flooded with offers from sympathetic dog lovers willing to take Maggie into their home. Nadine Rodel, who volunteers at the centre and runs the animal sanctuary's Twitter page said the response has been overwhelming but hopes that Maggie will now be adopted this week. "She is a very gentle dog. She is a bit older but still young for her type of breed. She might be a bit overweight but she is healthy and just a bit timid but she is great around other dogs. "We do not know much about her background but we think she might not have been treated well," Ms Rodel explained. Expand Close Maggie's tweet has been liked by nearly 750 people and shared by over 500 users including Health Minister Simon Harris. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Maggie's tweet has been liked by nearly 750 people and shared by over 500 users including Health Minister Simon Harris. "It was amazing to see the responses because Ash are doing a great job and deserve the attention, they are located in the Wicklow Mountains so it can be harder for some people to get to them but they do great work. "Some people said that they were interested but we have to wait and see if they will come today." ASH Animal Rescue is a non-profit organisation and is based in Rathdangan, Co.Wicklow and has taken in hundreds of unwanted dogs and cats and a variety of other animals since it's beginning in 1990. The centre operates under a strict NO-KILL policy, with all animals unable to be re-homed being housed permanently within the sanctuary. In 2017, 916 dogs were put down in Ireland, a 40pc reduction from the 1,522 dogs euthanised the previous year. Meanwhile, 11,559 dogs entered Irish pounds last year, an decrease of 8pc from the 12,549 who entered such institutions in 2016. The figures for 2018 are yet to be released. A well-known summer festival has become the latest victim of rising insurance costs - and has had to cancel its 2019 event. The Promenade Festival, which was founded in 2014, said an increase in insurance costs - as well as stricter insurance regulations - is behind its decision. "General insurance costs just increased too much for us. They just doubled from last year to this year," said Chair of the Tramore Events Team, Helen Young. Ms Young also said that stricter regulations make it harder for festivals that want to include live acts in their line-up. "The stricter regulations also include rules on the kind of insurance that the artists and bands have to have. Many of the local artists couldnt provide those." As a a result, the festival's insurance premium of 2,000 was doubled for this year. Organisers are now not sure whether the festival will return in 2020. "We would love to run it again next year. We always wanted to reflect the town in its best possible light. But unless the costs go down, I cant see it take place again in the future," said Ms Young. "The flair of the festival was coming from the live acts and the interaction with the audience. Live music enhances every festival. If we cant have that it would change the whole feel of it." And while the difficulties with insurance companies played their part in the cancellation, she does not solely put the blame on them. "It is easy to just blame the insurance companies but its also the general culture that is an issue. The outrageous claims of some people drive up the prices for insurance." Furthermore the organisers also acknowledge the difficulties they were facing beyond the insurance issues. "We had a lot of trouble to find enough volunteers for this year. Also there was just not enough support from local businesses to bridge the financial gaps." The Promenade Festival is the latest Irish festival that has fallen victim to rising insurance costs, with the Ballina Salmon Festival in Ballina, Co Mayo issuing a similar cancellation statement in early May. In the public statement, the Board of Directors also mentioned growing insurance costs as one of the reasons. "The festival has experienced a difficult period since the end of the 2018 festival. This coupled with increased insurance and general festival costs have resulted in the decision that the 2019 Festival will not go ahead." In this case, the organisers are already planning the comeback of the Ballina Salmon Festival for the next year. "We do, however, recognise that planning for Festival 2020 will be more effective given the added time now and we feel confident that a new, invigorated and fresh festival can be delivered next year." The latest figures from the National Cancer Registry (2019) estimate that on average 3,141 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. Jill Murphy, 27, has just finished treatment for breast cancer. "I had my last dose of chemotherapy yesterday. I'm so happy - mixed with underlying nausea," she says. Jill, from Killiney, Co Dublin, was diagnosed a year ago, following a visit to her doctor that nearly didn't happen. "I went for something else," she says, "and while there I said 'would you mind just checking these lumps' I felt almost embarrassed asking, because you never think, at the age of 26, that you're going to get cancer." So what made her ask? "A nurse from Breast Cancer Ireland, Adrienne McCreery, had recently attended the place where I work, to give a talk about checking your breasts: what to look for, what to be suspicious of. I didn't attend, but a friend told me all about it, and I was interested. I began following Breast Cancer Ireland on Instagram and looked through the information and infographics they have. "A friend had been diagnosed in the UK not long before, and that too made me more interested and more aware. "If it wasn't for that - Adrienne's visit and me following up on social media - I would never have got myself checked, and I could still be living with cancer now." Even so, when Jill found the lumps, she wasn't worried at first. "There's a history of cysts in my family so I assumed that's what it was," she says. "But, I noticed there was a different shape to the sides of my breasts where the lumps were. One of them, the part with the lump felt like muscle tissue. That turned out to be the more invasive tumour." Friends and family told her not to worry but urged her to get a professional opinion. "Thank God I did," she says. "I had been very tired . . . I knew something wasn't right." Her GP referred her to St. Vincent's Hospital and initially she was told that it would be four months before she would get an appointment, but she had health insurance through work so went private. She was due to be given a biopsy and an ultrasound but on the day of her appointment, she was told she would also be given a mammogram. Two weeks later, she got her diagnosis: bilateral breast cancer. "It was such a shock," she says. "I felt like someone else was in that room, not me, being told that news. My mother was with me, and she was in floods of tears. 'I'd rather it was me than you,' she said, but I told her 'No, I'm young, and I'm going to bounce back from this'." Her treatment was a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction, followed by chemotherapy. "The first thing was, I wanted to get my eggs frozen. I was told there was a high chance that my fertility would be okay, but I wanted to be safe, not sorry." Jill got through the surgery, and then the first 12 weeks of chemotherapy "relatively okay. I still had energy, and only a few setbacks", but the final four weeks, on a different drug, Taxol was harder. "Oh my God that was rough," she says, adding: "I have learned so much through this. It has given me a new perspective. A new lease of life, and a determination to spread awareness. I want to say to girls under 30: if you feel something, don't ignore it. It might be nothing - probably it will be nothing - but it's better to get yourself checked." For 53-year-old Jenny Power, the catalyst for investigating the lump she found one night last April was a talk given by the same Breast Cancer Ireland nurse, Adrienne McCreery, at Clane Hospital where Jenny works in administration. "I nearly didn't go," she says. "Ours is a busy office. In the end, I said I'd pop along." A few weeks later, "I remembered Adrienne's advice about self-checking," Jenny says. "I found a very small lump, right behind my nipple. At that talk, Adrienne had shown us, on a simulated breast, exactly how to do a self-check, all the different lumps to watch for, and what to be concerned about, and it's very lucky she did. She mentioned 'not moving' and 'not round' as causes for concern, and that fitted with the lump I found. "I'd say the last time I'd checked properly was around two years earlier, and I could easily have carried on, not checking, for a few more years, if not for Adrienne's talk. That could have meant the difference between stage 1/2 cancer, and stage 3/4, which is all the difference in the world. It is a real stroke of luck for me that I went to that talk." She made an appointment with her GP and, at the same time, by coincidence, a letter arrived inviting her for a routine mammogram. "Following that, I got a letter sending me to St. Vincent's for a second mammogram and a biopsy." Because the lump was right behind the nipple, Jenny was told a mammogram alone might not have caught it; that her testimony of what she had found was vital. Being told 'you have breast cancer,' was "like a slap in the face," Jenny says. "Your whole world stands still. You think 'why me?' The nurse was talking, telling me things, and I couldn't hear a word she said." But, like Jill, she rallied swiftly. "My husband and I got into the car to drive home, and I remember saying 'it's not going to get me, I'm going to get it'," she says. Jenny had a lumpectomy, followed by six sessions of chemotherapy - "that was the hardest. Every three weeks, for four or five days, my sitting room became my bedroom, until finally I decided I had to get up and get out of the house" - and then, in February, radiotherapy. She is still being given herceptin but "other than that, I'm good. My consultant is very happy, and as far as I'm concerned, I won't let this beat me." What is the Outreach Programme? Breast Cancer Ireland's complimentary Outreach Programme was originally launched in 2015 aimed at informing and educating Transition Year students on the importance of good breast health. In 2017 the programme was extended, with Outreach coordinators expanding their reach into Leinster and Connacht and, this year into Munster (this was done largely as a result of support received from Cornmarket Group Financial Services). As a result of increased demand, the programme was further extended to include companies and women's groups across the community. The main aim is to encourage women of all ages to become more breast aware. How does it work? Through the use of a specially designed medical mannequin, Breast Cancer Ireland's Outreach nurses and coordinators educate women on how to perform a self-breast examination, highlighting the eight signs and symptoms to recognise so they'll know what is normal for them; and should an abnormality occur, it will be identified early and the treatment outcome is a lot more positive. The programme also encourages participants to download the free Breast Aware app. Breast Cancer Ireland believe women need to be more breast aware, and should aim to set patterns of behaviour that will safeguard them into the future. To book a presentation for your organisation, please go to the Education Awareness section on breastcancerireland.com Jennifer Zamparelli is no stranger to the headlines and she made the news again recently by revealing that she has had her 'tubes tied' after she and her husband Lau decided that their family is complete. After giving birth to her second child Enzo last year (she also has a four-year-old daughter called Florence), the 39-year-old presenter got 'stitched up' as she believes there is enough going on in her life without having to worry about contraception. "My tubes are tied," she said in an interview with VIP Magazine. "I had a C-section and while the surgeon was down there - job done. Lau really didn't want to have any more. Life is busy enough with two and with work. And the jobs that we are in, they're not steady jobs." Having a busy lifestyle is certainly one reason to put a cap on the amount of children you have. And this is also the reason why accounts assistant Sarah Doyle underwent the same procedure before her third child was born as she decided "enough was enough". "We had only intended on having two children and while we were naturally overjoyed with the news that our third was on the way, the reality of pregnancy does cause you to reevaluate where you are going in life, how you will cope with the pressure and how you will manage time and finances," says the 41-year-old. "Having my tubes tied wasn't something that I undertook lightly as it is a big decision to make. But both my husband and I felt that three children was our limit. We had planned the first two and although we were being careful enough not to conceive again, it happened anyway and was more than an unexpected surprise. Expand Close Dr Peter McKenna / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dr Peter McKenna "But while we were very grateful to have had three healthy children, we felt that we would be pushing our luck in that regard if I was to become pregnant again as due to my age, the chances of something going wrong would be considerably higher." So the Dublin woman discussed the next step with her doctor and then during an elective Caesarean section underwent a tubal occlusion procedure which blocks, seals or cuts the fallopian tubes to prevent further fertilisation of eggs. "Having decided that we definitely wanted to down this route, I spoke to my doctor, who went through all my reasons for having it done," she says. "But my family was complete and as I am a mature woman in a happy relationship, it was agreed that we could go ahead and have permanent sterilisation." So in February of this year, Sarah welcomed her third child and underwent the procedure to ensure she didn't have any more. And while there was some discomfort afterwards, she has suffered no ill-effects and does not regret the decision. "I was allowed home after a couple of days and told to rest as much as possible," she says. "This was mainly due to the section as the other procedure didn't really add much more discomfort. I am now totally back to normal and while I have to admit that it feels strange to know that I cannot have any more children, there is a great freedom in it as well because it allows us to have a sex life without worrying about getting pregnant. And much as I adore my children, the fact that I won't have any more is strangely liberating." There are no official statistics regarding how many women undergo permanent sterilisation like Sarah has, but Dr Peter McKenna, clinical director of the National Women and Infants Health Programme, says figures have gone down in the past two decades. "The need or demand for tubal ligation by laparoscopy was far greater in the past," he says. "But since the advent of the Mirena coil, we see a lot less of it as it is very effective - it has answered a demand, can be fitted better without anaesthetic and is more efficient. About 20 years ago, laparoscopic sterilisation was a fairly common occurrence whereas these days we have seen an increase in it (sterilisation) being done during a planned Caesarean section. "On that note, I might add, that it would not be considered good practice to perform this procedure during an emergency section as this could lead to regret if the decision was made quickly and under pressure. So it is not advisable for a woman to undergo sterilisation if she is feeling stressed or in any way rushed." The consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist says there are rarely any added complications following tubal ligation performed during a Caesarean section, but while the procedure can be reversed, there is no guarantee that future pregnancies will be successful. "If done at the same time as a C-section, there are no added complications and the recovery time would be as expected for a section," he says. "But the failure rate of female sterilisation is about one in 200 as the cut end of the fallopian tubes can end up linking back together with the passage of time - so it is not always a guaranteed success. And of course, the younger the woman is the greater the chance of this happening. So it is definitely not a decision to be taken lightly. "There is also no guarantee of it being reversed, so women need to be very sure of their decision to undergo this procedure as if they change their minds and want another baby, this might not be possible. And in some cases, if this does happen, it could result in an ectopic pregnancy. "Some women also cite heavier periods afterwards but this is more likely due to the fact that they have probably come off the contraceptive pill which will increase the menstrual flow." Due to the finality of sterilisation, Dr McKenna, formerly the Master of the Rotunda Hospital would advise women to hold off having it done until they are older. "The younger a woman has this procedure done, the greater the long-term failure rate," he says. "So it is also fair to say that the older she is, the less chance there is of regret as it is less likely that her world will change and she might want more children. Whereas in her twenties, all sorts of things can happen, she might have a new partner or have a change of heart. So it is advisable to wait until she is totally sure that this is what she wants." Mother-of-three, Sarah Doyle, was sure that she wanted to be sterilised and says she can now enjoy her life without worrying about another pregnancy. "I'm very happy that I've had the procedure done, but I'm also glad that I waited until now," she says. "My husband and I had discussed it in the past because we were adamant that we only wanted two children, but now that our third is here and is healthy and happy, we are profoundly grateful that we waited until he arrived. "Everyone is different and circumstances change, so my advice to anyone else considering sterilisation, is to make sure they have either completed their family or they definitely don't want children. "We feel very blessed with our three children and now that we have removed the chance of pregnancy, I'm sure we will experience a lot more freedom in our physical relationship in the future." WHAT IS FEMALE STERILISATION? Female sterilisation is an effective form of contraception which aims to permanently prevent a woman from getting pregnant. It is suitable for most women, but sterilisation is only recommended to be considered by women who don't want children at all or have completed their families as it is very difficult to reverse the process. Sterilisation is usually carried out by blocking the fallopian tubes using a technique called tubal occlusion - this can be done using clips or by tying and cutting the tubes. Hysteroscopic sterilisation is another form which involves inserting implants into the fallopian tubes. Sterilisation does not protect against sexually transmitted diseases, so if you are concerned about a partner's sexual health, it is advisable to still use condoms. It is possible for the procedure to fail, particularly over time. There is a very small risk of complications, including internal bleeding and infection or damage to other organs. The procedure can be done under the public health system during a Caesarean section. Costs will vary under the private health system, depending on participating hospital, but averages at around 1,500 For more information visit hse.ie I love fashion insights. For instance, in the midst of chatting to Arnotts' Swim and Lingerie Buyer, Rachelle Hanley, she casually mentions that the Arnotts' customer is eminently practical in her choice of lingerie - but when it comes to her holiday wardrobe, she is the furthest thing from basic. "The bolder the colour, the brighter the print, the more details there are, the more she goes for it," says Rachelle. "Our customer loves to make a statement when she goes on holiday." Which proves my long-held belief that the typical Arnotts customer is a woman who works hard and plays hard, and her wardrobe has to be a hard-working team player that supports her. "Another interesting thing is that she loves snakeskin. She always has," says Rachelle as she points me in the direction of excellent French lingerie-and-swim label Chantelle, citing it as fabulously strong this season for design, cut, fit - and high-fashion snake print. Expand Close Bikini top, 66; bikini briefs, 55, both Seafolly; large hoop earrings, 110, Inner Island; small hoop earrings, 65, Loulerie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Bikini top, 66; bikini briefs, 55, both Seafolly; large hoop earrings, 110, Inner Island; small hoop earrings, 65, Loulerie "In general, French brands tend to be very clean; the aesthetic is very colour-block, very pared-back. Chantelle, though French, is a bit more edgy. Lejaby is sophisticated, with a strong design aesthetic," explains Rachelle of these lingerie brands that are now doing swimwear. "Our average customer is a 34E, and I am very conscious of her. I will always buy more styles to cater to that customer. I do buy triangle bras for A-cups and B-cups, but I am really about ensuring we always have something for the fuller figure." And Panache and Fantasie, bigger-cup-size specialists, have the kind of swimwear that makes a woman proud of her womanly body. "Our customer loves strong reds, botanicals, floral prints. She loves making a style statement on the beach. She likes her cover-ups to look more like outerwear so that she doesn't need to go back to her room to change out of her swimwear to go out again," Rachelle says. West Seventy Nine, which is exclusive to Arnotts and a new sustainable brand, is all about the play lifestyle. "Nicky Clayton is a charismatic woman, and so is her collection," Rachelle says. "It is a bit of a fashionistas' brand. It's for that customer who is looking to make a statement on the beach. It is that little bit sexier than we have had before. And it goes up to an F-cup and G-cup." American brands do things differently again. Michael Kors keeps it classy, but sexy, in doing a Sharon Stone-in-the-1990s vibe, while Calvin Klein does it with more darkness and danger. Tommy Hilfiger rejects the logo for his trademark colours, and creates figure-fabulousness. Yum. Photography by Alex Hutchinson Styling by Courtney Smith Fashion edited by Constance Harris They have not all been JFKs, you know - marching in boldly to the strains of 'The Boys of Wexford' and exiting to the plaintive choruses of 'Toora Loora Loora' - while the Irish public wiped their tears of pride. US president John Fitzgerald Kennedy's magic visit in 1963 was a tee-totally genuine one-off national experience, replete with mutual warmth, affection and respect. It was, quite simply, a homecoming for him and a milestone in opening a new era of Irish self-confidence. But it also happened in an age of considerable Irish and US political innocence. And months after it happened, the visit's piquancy was heightened by being viewed through a lens of sorrow and shock at his brutal murder. Since then, the serving US presidents visiting "the auld sod" have engendered mixed feelings here. Let's count them off and invoke some memories. There was Richard Nixon in October 1970, looking up his Irish Quaker roots in Timahoe, Co Kildare, and also visiting his wife Pat's forebears' home place in Co Mayo. It was the height of the Vietnam war and there were anti-war demonstrations in Dublin, with his motorcade being pelted with eggs. This writer recalls exchanging greetings with Nixon on the Tipperary Road outside Limerick city, or so it seemed for a brief moment, as I waved and he waved just after that. Mind you, the poshies have long since been disabusing me of that one with their "correlation does not imply causation" guff - but let's not digress too much here. Point is that Nixon's visit is now dubbed the "forgotten visit". Unlike JFK, Irish recall might be through the lens of Tricky Dicky's enforced resignation in disgrace in August 1974. Cue June 1984, and one Ronald Reagan coming to call. It brings us another excuse to remember that rambunctious song 'Hey! Ronnie Reagan' the sizeable number of Irish dissidents took as their own. A future Irish President, Michael D Higgins, was among the hundreds who protested at Shannon Airport when Reagan's plane touched down. The song is bolshie in tone but far from malicious, as you'll see from the refrain: "Hey Ronnie Reagan, I'm black and I'm pagan/I'm gay and I'm left and I'm free/ I'm a non-fundamentalist environmentalist/Please don't bother me." Writer John Maguire's lyrics also reflected on changes in the intervening 21 years since Kennedy had been feted. Ireland's banished age of innocence, and no longer total ambivalence about aspects of American politics and foreign policy, is very well caught. "I remember the show 21 years ago/ When John Kennedy paid us a visit/Now the world's rearranged - not improved, only changed/ But our heart's in the same place - or is it?" The demonstrators' objections were about US policies in Central America, opposition to nuclear weapons, and Reagan's close relationship with controversial UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher. Mind you, we were later to learn, that last one was not all bad for Ireland. Still, there was also a great sense of occasion and fun attaching to Reagan, whose great-great grandfather was Irish, and this visit was well received by many. The south Tipperary town of Ballyporeen was en fete to greet the president and he warmly and likeably reciprocated all welcomes. We are back in far more positive territory when we consider the many visits, in and out of office, by President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary. Their first visit in November 1995 was arguably the most politically significant and historically resonant of any US presidential visit. He was notably the first serving American president to visit Northern Ireland. He had over the years angered the British for his positive interventions in the North's efforts to gain peace. That first visit was a landmark on that long and arduous journey. Still, there were some of an older generation who were not impressed by his personal life's travails. Unlike JFK, his image, slotted between two popes, will not appear on Irish kitchen walls. Next up was President George W Bush whose visit in June 2004 is in the same category as that of his fellow party man, Nixon, as it is also largely forgotten. It lasted a net 16 hours but saw some 7,000 security personnel deployed to protect the EU-US summit he attended at Dromoland Castle, in Co Clare. Apart from the tedium of a stop-start tour of east Clare in a double-deck press bus, dictated by the security funny fellas talking into their sleeves, this writer has only one memory. It was the appearance of Mr Bush in his vest at the window inadvertently aired on television. But let's not forget that George W was also loyal to the Irish peace process even beyond the ending of his presidential term. Almost five decades of social and political upheaval on from JFK and 1963, President Barack, er, O'Bama's visit in May 2011, did have a huge feel-good and sense of magic about it. His "Is feidir linn!" ('Yes we can!') injunction became a rallying call for a nation fretfully trying to shake off recession and gloom. There was also more than a little tongue in cheek. "My name is Barack Obama, of the Moneygall Obamas, and I've come home to find the apostrophe we lost somewhere along the way," the president quipped. For all that, Obama - America's first black president - firmly reasserted Ireland's long historic ties to the US. His emergence into the political limelight also involved alliances with Irish American Democrats. "For the United States, Ireland carries a blood link," he notably said. So we come to Wednesday and the visit of Donald Trump. Many of us really dislike his politics and his utterances and his general behaviour. Clearly, some people do like and approve and he still has a big following in the USA. But we must leave all that to one side. This is the point where we all need to get over ourselves and remember two simple things: this is about the office of president and it is about long-standing and deep familial, cultural, business and other links between two nations which go back two centuries. Somewhere in the mix, let's note his big investment in west Clare and the local people's acknowledgement of the 300-plus jobs this brings to an area short of employment opportunities. It is doubly insulting to defame local people's realism and good manners. So, let's keep it simple and focus on two key points: He is the duly elected US president, and these precious US-Irish links long predate 'The Donald' - and hopefully will persist when he's long gone to that "big White House in the sky". Otherwise, let's just hope the weather is good and it passes without a glitch. An 82-year-old Chinese female pilot has set a record in the country's aviation industry after flying a small plane for 40 minutes in Beijing on Tuesday. Miao Xiaohong, one of China's second batch of female pilots, controlled the Tecnam P2010 plane to take off, turn, climb, dive and land safely at the Shifosi Airport in Pinggu district in Beijing. A trainer accompanied her. After stepping down from the plane, Miao, who has retired for 30 years, told her former colleague who accompanied her at the airport that she felt it was great, and that her heartbeat was normal and suitable for flight. China started to train its first batch of 14 female pilots in 1951. In 1956 Miao, who graduated from a high school in Jinan, East China's Shandong province, won a position in the second batch after going through strict selection procedures and training. She graduated from the flight school in 1958. In the following years, she flew many important missions, including transportation and emergency rescues, experiencing lots of dangerous situations. In 1963 she undertook a mission to airdrop materials for the flood-stricken areas in North China's Hebei province. Poor visibility restricted her from locating the target areas as the clouds were about 100 meters above the ground. But her excellent skills secured a successful mission. In 1989, Miao retired and started her writing career. She published her nonfiction works A Daughter of the Sky and China's First Batch of Female Pilots which depict the stories of China's women aviators. When she searched for materials for her books, she found that many aged pilots in other countries still flew, and she had the idea to return to the sky. To prepare for Tuesday's flight, during the past two months Miao walked 3,000 steps every day and moved her arms to meet the requirements for high-altitude flight. She said she had worried about the flight a lot because she was 82 years old and had not piloted any aircraft for 30 years. But when she sat in the cockpit, she was calm enough to finish the flight steadily. Different from past flights for missions, this time her goal was to enjoy the flight. Miao said it was exciting and fresh. "Seeing the boundless blue sky unfold in front of me, it was very open." The trainer said that Miao could finish 30 hours of flight to get a license for commercial aviation. Miao said her physical condition is good enough to finish the 30 hours of flight but it was not so important for her to get such a license. If the country needed her to fly, she will, she said. After fulfilling her dream of returning to the sky, she hopes to encourage young women to join in the aviation industry. "I'm 82 years old and can fly again. You, the young people, can fly and will fly better than me." Electronic voting comes second only to water charges on the list of politically toxic ideas to raise in Ireland. It would take a very brave minister to push for an end to our love affair with the 'auld pencil' and paper. Step forward Charlie Flanagan. The Justice Minister was Fine Gael's director of elections for the mammoth Ireland South constituency where 750,000 cast their vote in the European elections on May 24. It's now June 3. And we may not have a result until the start of July. There's no doubt that the situation is, as the minister put it, "mind-boggling". He believes it is justification for opening up a fresh discussion on electronic voting, something people have been afraid to do for the past two decades. Late last year, the Minister with responsibility for Electoral Reform, John Paul Phelan, categorically ruled out considering the notion. "There is no prospect in the short to medium term of the chicken coops being taken out of retirement and used," he said. Mr Phelan argued there was something "quaint but also fantastic" about our old-fashioned system. "The image which appears regularly of a ballot box being transferred to an island, it's a great image and it goes everywhere," he said. But we live in a fast-moving world where being 'quaint' is rarely reason enough to stop progress. The recount in Ireland South is also far from quaint. Yes, it's democracy in action - but it will also amount to democracy delayed if counting is still going on when the next European Parliament convenes on July 2. Mr Flanagan notes that the public now interact with government services using technology. The courts and other pillars of State rely heavily on IT. Ireland is not alone in having had a bad experience with electronic votes. The Netherlands tried it in 2007 and Germany in 2009 but both countries ran into similar problems. France dropped plans to let its citizens abroad vote electronically because of concern about the risk of cyber attacks. But the US along with parts of Canada and Belgium make it work. E-voting may not be the answer, but Ireland South shows a conversation about what represents a timely conclusion to an election is needed. When Donald Trump flies into Shannon on Wednesday, there'll be a bit of a chill in the air. Forecasters are predicting that most Irish of days which brings together sunshine and showers. A bit of everything. But Met Eireann says the winds will be calm if the US president ventures on to the golf links at his five-star resort in Doonbeg. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar could take his lead from the weather on this one. He meets Mr Trump at a time of great international turmoil. Trade wars, climate change and Brexit will all be on the agenda. But there is little point in the Taoiseach trying to light a fire under his guest. Trump is not coming to Ireland to be lectured or hectored. If we're being brutally honest, he will be here to promote his hotel and skive off work for a couple of days. In any event, he doesn't respond well to being told off. So Mr Varadkar must extend a warm hand of friendship while simultaneously expressing the somewhat chilly view the majority of people in Ireland hold towards the current White House. Sunshine and showers. No matter what happens, the Taoiseach will want to avoid creating a storm. The US president goes to Britain today where he has already created more than a stir by backing Boris Johnson in the race to be the next prime minister. He has also waded into the most contentious issue in British politics by urging the UK government to leave the EU without a deal if it can't get a better Withdrawal Agreement. The former businessman urged politicians to "walk away" from talks and refuse to pay a 39bn (44bn) divorce bill. He also suggested the Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage should be given a role in the negotiations, describing him as "a very smart person". "They won't bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just haven't figured that out yet." What can Mr Varadkar do to convince the president that Brexit is a negative move? Probably very little. At best he can restate the importance of protecting the open Border on this island. Given the result of the local and European elections, the Taoiseach is also likely to raise the climate emergency. Over the weekend, hundreds of climate change experts urged Theresa May to confront Trump over his approach to the issue during his state visit this week. A letter signed by 250 academics from universities and research bodies across the UK states the US president's "refusal" to tackle global warming is "increasing risks for lives and livelihoods" around the world. Mr Varadkar will need to echo that message to have any hope of pacifying the thousands of protesters who will gather in Shannon. There will be little pomp or ceremony for the president, who is essentially here on a summer holiday. As always when a Taoiseach meets the US president, time will be found for plaudits and conversations about renewing Irish-American ties. But within an hour Trump is likely to be on his way from Shannon Airport to Doonbeg, while Mr Varadkar legs it back to Dublin. On the drive back, the Taoiseach is likely to keep an eye on Twitter to make sure he hasn't accidentally started a global shouting match. Mr Varadkar recently said he would have voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump if he was an American. But he has been to the White House twice now and enjoyed the president's hospitality. That honour comes with a cost. A meeting in the airport is probably the cheapest payback the Government could hope for. Short, quick and little opportunity to land in hot water. Spare a thought for Mrs May, who steps down as Conservative Party leader on Friday. We need to talk about Nigel Farage, that is. His newly formed Brexit Party was the standout winner in the European elections in the UK. Reluctant as they will be to admit it, the Irish political establishment will now have to meaningfully engage with Mr Farage. It's the Backstop, of course, that's the dealbreaker. For the EU, it keeps the UK impaled to the EU. Ireland has mired itself in political hyperbole about the prospective risks to the Good Friday Agreement of changes to the Backstop - it also nurtures the illusion of Ireland being at the centre of the 'EUverse'. For Westminster, it threatens the break-up of the UK - which is why the May/EU withdrawal agreement containing the Backstop will never get through the House of Commons. Mr Farage knows that and he now has a mandate to insist on a change in the Backstop - or to insist on Brexit on October 31. The Irish Government, tacitly empowered by Brussels, has contrived to create this impasse. It has to - and will - change. The Government has to invite Mr Farage to tea, metaphorically, of course, in a meeting room at the Berlaymont. Watch out for cliches: "The outcome of the European elections is a matter for the UK." Beware the assertions: "Ireland's position has been quite clearly set out by Mr Barnier." It won't do. The Government will have to engage with Mr Farage. It's for just such exigencies that the Department of Foreign Affairs exists. Mr Farage's critics point out that the performance of the LibDems, who stood on the single-issue platform of Remain, demonstrates the strength of voter opposition to Mr Farage. That misses the point. Boosted as the LibDems were by protest votes, from Tory grandee Michael Heseltine to Labour pundit Alastair Campbell, the Brexit Party still emerged, by several lengths, the winner. In doing so, it has left the established political mainstream in pieces and in chaos. Whatever way you cut it, UK voters have spoken - again - and more informed than was the case back in 2017. Brexit. This changes the political calculus for the Irish Government. Brussels is no longer dealing with the single most inept administration in modern British history. Neither is the Irish Government. Every candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party - and, therefore, the government - knows that in the absence of changes to Mrs May's toxic withdrawal agreement, the UK will leave on October 31. That affects Ireland and, crucially, it affects any future UK/EU trade arrangements when it gets to that stage in the Article 50 process. The obstacle to this, of course, is the opposition in the House of Commons to a no-deal Brexit. But each of the main parties know - as do the LibDems - that a refusal by Brussels, aka France and Germany, to mitigate the Backstop and a failure, in these circumstances to leave on October 31, will mean a general election - an election which the Brexit Party are likely to win. It's a second-best situation for every stakeholder. But it may well be what it takes to deliver on the UK referendum. And then? The conventional wisdom espoused by the Remainers, notably the 'Financial Times', is that the EU 27 will continue to insist that the withdrawal agreement cannot be renegotiated. But it doesn't have to be renegotiated - just the small but pivotally important part of it called the Backstop. Game theory suggests that all Brussels has to do is to sit back and watch the UK self-destruct. France has been very clear that exit comes at a price - and that's not just the 39bn. But President Macron has been mauled in the recent elections - he is no longer the force he was a year or two ago. Chancellor Merkel, too, has been chastened by recent elections and will be gone in six months. Jean-Claude Juncker is about to depart. The centre of gravity in the European Parliament has shifted too. What all of this means is that the implacable refusal to look again at the Backstop looks increasingly contrived. It will make less and less sense to the new political regime in Europe who want a fresh start. There is increasing support for a rebalancing of the hegemony that marked the last decade and greater respect for national autonomy, aka nationalism. That was the catalyst for Brexit in the first place. Rebalancing will come. It will change the EU mindset on the Backstop and it will leave Ireland's present stance horribly vulnerable. Professor Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England, got it absolutely right when he pointed out that there's a case for exit and there's a case for remain, but there's no case for pretending to leave and really remaining while lacking any influence or respect. Mr Farage knows that. He knows that 'Project Fear' will shrivel under the pressures of competitive markets, exporters who want to export to the UK - and a new political dynamic in Europe. The Irish Government - or, with an election looming, its successor - needs to wise up and smell the coffee. The French have a warped sense of justice. The mantra since a court in Paris found Ian Bailey guilty on a trumped-up murder charge is he will one day find himself in a French prison. Given the history of cowardly French justice, this is a strong possibility. Can we expect co-operation from our Government to this outrage? Surely not. Regardless of extradition attempts failing in the past (and future?), the freedom-loving French are not beyond kidnapping this man from Ireland and telling us here to get stuffed. He has been chosen, without a shred of evidence, and convicted on hearsay and gossip. End of story, as far as Paris is concerned. When the Germans invaded France in the last big European war, French police began rounding up Jews on the first week of the occupation for deportation to death camps, at the behest of Berlin. They extradited the Catalan president Companys in exile and living under French asylum there, to the Spanish dictator Franco who put this sovereign leader to immediate death. France had more concern for saving its buildings from Hitlers bombs than it did for humanity. This, the culture which France today ignores while portraying itself as the home of liberte, egalite, and fraternite. This is a living lie going back to the despot Napoleon, whose laws still prevail. The French are shouting about putting severe pressure on Ireland to submit to its demands; upon our civilised system of justice and government. The French system of justice and government is apparent when we look around the world and see the corrupt nature of its recent colonial rule. Our Government, and particularly the courts, which is the cornerstone of our every freedom, hard won, must never give in to foreign bullying under such threats of measures yet to come should we repeat a simple non. We in Ireland do not quite obviously extradite those against whom there is not a shred of evidence to the latest baying mob. Do we? Stay strong. Robert Sullivan Bantry, Co Cork Catholics share a truly global religion with wide viewpoint Declan Foley (Letters, Irish Independent, May 31) accuses the Catholic Church of brainwashing Irish people into a narrow Hiberno-Catholic-centred view of the world with little knowledge of the great big world. Mr Foley seems blissfully unaware that being a Catholic a truly global religion already connects one to the great big world. Leaving aside the many secular links with their Mass-going emigrant diaspora, Irish Catholics have always had multiple religious connections with the wider world. At a time when few people could afford to travel, even the poorest would have managed a pilgrimage to one of the many Marian shrines or holy places around the world; many families had a son or daughter in the Missions in places as far apart as Brazil or the Philippines. The Far East magazine graced many an Irish Catholic home along with publications from Fatima and elsewhere, and I remember with fondness the visits home of ever-serene Fr Tadgh, a family friend and well-loved missionary priest in Japan. Secondly, Mr Foley asserts incorrectly that Christian universities omitted any mention of Islamic scholars. Most western Christian universities examined the works of Islamic scholars along with classical and Christian insofar as they had access to them. Perhaps Mr Foley can tell us if the Islamic world in turn taught the work of the many Christian scholars? Islamic scholars obtained much of their information on Classical Greek philosophical thought from the Syriac-Persian Christians who had copied these works before those regions fell to Islam. Finally, into the mix for some inexplicable reason, Mr Foley throws Hollywood portrayals of the Islamic world. Of course, we all know Hollywood is really just another great arm of that Vatican conspiracy at world domination. Nick Folley Carrigaline, Co Cork Billys right we must record the memories of our elders It was 1978. The man-made Blessington Lake was at its lowest ever. Ruins of old farmhouses and outlines of small fields were visible, having been submerged for 38 years. A British film company decided to make a documentary about the flooding of the valley. Jimmy was standing at the end of Nortons Lane in Ballinastockan. An English-registered Land Rover stopped. The driver, with an Oxford accent, addressed Jimmy. We would like to interview the oldest person in the area. Jimmys reply? Yer late. He died last week. This brings me to Billy Keanes plea to young people to record the old folk and not make the mistake we made by neglecting to collect the tales of our elders until it was too late. Billy points out the dead are still with us while their stories are kept alive. Once again, Keanes Kingdom is on the ball. Mattie Lennon Blessington, Co Wicklow A projection of Donald Trumps UK approval rating on the Tower of London was part of protests against the US Presidents state visit on Monday. The stunt was organised by anti-Brexit protest group Led By Donkeys and featured YouGov figures of Donald Trumps UK approval rating (21%) compared to Barack Obamas (72%). Organisers confirmed the projection went up in the early hours of Monday and was displayed for around an hour. Hi @realDonaldTrump. Just so you know, youre wildly unpopular here in Britain. SAD! People REALLY dont like you (though they love @BarackObama). Hope you like seeing your FAILING approval numbers projected onto the Tower of London. #TrumpUKvisit pic.twitter.com/oT332Fd6fE Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) June 3, 2019 As Mr Trump began his three-day state visit to the UK, a security operation came into force to prepare for protesters demonstrating in London. On Monday, banners were unfurled by Amnesty International in front of the US embassy in London. The five banners on Vauxhall Bridge read resist sexism, resist racism, resist hate, resist cruelty and resist Trump. Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK director, said: We need to strongly resist Donald Trumps trashing of human rights and it was important to put this message right in front of the US embassy itself. We want Downing Street to show far greater resolve in standing up for human rights principles with this reckless administration. Several protest groups plan to march through London during the Presidents three-day visit, with the main demonstration due to convene at Trafalgar Square at 11am on Tuesday. Scotland Yard placed streets surrounding Buckingham Palace and Downing Street in lockdown, with around 10,000 police officers deployed in the capital in a 25 million operation. A section of Whitehall will be closed on Tuesday for security reasons. Around 250,000 anti-Trump activists gathered when Mr Trump flew into the UK on July 13 2018 for his first visit as US president. It is not expected protests on Tuesday will reach that size. During Tuesdays demonstration, organisers have been given permission by the Greater London Authority headed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan to fly a large inflatable nappy-wearing Donald Trump baby blimp over the city. Organisers plan to fly the blimp, which depicts Mr Trump wearing a nappy and clutching a mobile phone, over Parliament Square on Tuesday, the second day of the state visit. Tomorrow's protest against Donald Trump's state visit is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked in America, around the world and in our own country - including, just this morning, @SadiqKhan. Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 3, 2019 Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn will join thousands of protesters on the streets of London on Tuesday, with the Labour leader expected to speak as the US President meets Prime Minister Theresa May for talks. Mr Corbyn said the protest was an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those hes attacked in America, around the world and in our own country. The Labour leaders attendance at the rally follows his decision to boycott Monday nights state banquet. Earlier on Monday, Mr Trump received a formal ceremonial welcome to the UK, followed by lunch at Buckingham Palace with senior royals. He then visited Westminster Abbey and attended tea at Clarence House with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. Ahead of his royal engagements, the President tweeted about China, CNN, and the Mayor of London. He said: Sadiq Khan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me. China's defence minister has defended 1989's bloody crackdown on protesters in Tiananmen Square, which he claimed was justified in the name of stability. Referring to the demonstrations as political "turbulence", Wei Fenghe said it had been the "correct policy" for troops with assault rifles and tanks to open fire on the unarmed, student-led protesters. Estimates of the death toll in the June 1989 massacre range from 1,500 to 4,000 with 10,000 wounded. "Throughout the 30 years, China under the Communist Party has undergone many changes," General Wei said in a hard-line speech about trade and security at a regional forum in Singapore. "Do you think the government was wrong with the handling of June 4?" he said. "There was a conclusion to that incident. The government was decisive in stopping the turbulence." He said the Tiananmen protests were "political turmoil that the central government needed to quell, which was the correct policy" and claimed that China's stability and development justified the actions. It is rare for Chinese authorities to even acknowledge the demonstrations, in which students and workers occupied Beijing's Tiananmen Square in a pro-democracy protest. It was joined by a million people at its peak, but then tanks and troops moved into the square and opened fire on unarmed protesters in and around the central Beijing landmark. Afterwards, the Chinese authorities blamed the protests on counter-revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the Communist Party and claimed no one had been shot dead in the square itself. A nurse who performed on Britain's Got Talent was stabbed more than 70 times by her boyfriend in an "utterly terrifying" attack, a court has heard. Simonne Kerr, 31, was last seen leaving the hospital where she worked on August 15 last year, heading to former solider Desmond Sylva's flat in Clapham, south London. At lunchtime that day, Sylva, 41, telephoned his brother to say he had just murdered his girlfriend before alerting emergency services, the Old Bailey heard. Police found Ms Kerr's lifeless body lying beside a bed wrapped in a blood soaked duvet. Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC said: "Her throat had been slashed and she had been repeatedly stabbed to the right side of her face and her neck. "Desmond Sylva had used a kitchen knife to inflict more than 70 wounds to her body and despite her efforts to fight him off, she was clearly powerless to do so." Afterwards, the defendant told police he had mental health problems and that he defended himself during an argument with Ms Kerr, jurors heard. Sylva explained he had stabbed her with a knife that was nearby, the court was told. Mr Glasgow told jurors they would have to decide if Sylva was telling the truth and whether to believe he had partial amnesia. He went on: "But what is obvious is that Simonne Kerr did not stand a chance. "The last few minutes of her life must have been utterly terrifying: repeatedly stabbed by the man who was supposed to care for her but who in the end simply butchered her and then tried to blame her for what he had done. "The question that you will have to determine is why he did what he did." Having initially claimed to have been defending himself, Sylva later admitted that he killed the Guy's and St Thomas's nurse while suffering an "abnormality of mental function", the court heard. But Mr Glasgow said the Crown's case was that he simply "lost his temper". He told jurors: "He chose to pick up a knife and he chose to use it again and again to stab Simonne Kerr at a time when he was not acting in lawful self defence and did not need to defend himself from her. "His depression neither explains nor justifies his actions and what happened was that his anger got the better of him and he simply lost his temper." Sylva had served in the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers between 2002 and 2012, completing two tours in Iraq and one in Kosovo before being discharged on medical grounds. Since then he has been given treatment on a number of occasions and diagnosed with bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and depression, jurors heard. By the time of the killing, he was working as a security guard in Canary Wharf and had been prescribed medication for his depression. Jamaica-born Sylva, of Grayshott Road, Clapham, has denied murder but pleaded guilty to Ms Kerr's manslaughter. The Old Bailey trial is expected to go on for up to 10 days. 'One in five men lived for almost three years after receiving the targeted radiotherapy' (stock photo) A game-changing "search and destroy" treatment could offer hope of a longer life to thousands of men with incurable prostate cancer. The first two British patients were treated last weekend, after research found it could significantly extend survival for men with no other options. Charities said they were "thrilled" by the promise shown by the treatment, which identifies and attacks a protein found on the surface of prostate cancer cells. One in five men lived for almost three years after receiving the targeted radiotherapy. Medics at the world's largest cancer conference in Chicago said the treatment was a "huge" breakthrough, giving hope to around 3,400 men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer in Ireland each year. The method, which experts described as delivering "a bullet instead of a light", is based on imaging techniques that light up tumours in order to plan treatment. The technique simultaneously delivers a radioactive payload. The technique - called prostate-specific membrane antigen radiotherapy - has been dubbed a "search and destroy" method of treatment. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Lucky escape: Engineers look at the damaged River Countess tourist boat alongside the MSC Opera cruise ship, which struck it. Photo: ANDREA PATTARO/AFP/Getty Images A towering, out-of-control cruise ship rammed into a dock and a tourist river boat on a busy Venice canal yesterday, injuring five tourists and sparking new calls for curbs on cruise ships in the famed city. The collision happened about 8.30am on the Giudecca Canal, a major thoroughfare that leads to St Mark's Square in the north-eastern Italian city. Expand Close The giant vessel is believed to have broken free from its tugboats, leading it to hit the other boat and smash into the quayside. Photo: REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The giant vessel is believed to have broken free from its tugboats, leading it to hit the other boat and smash into the quayside. Photo: REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri The cruise ship, apparently unable to stop, blared its horn as it slammed into the much smaller river boat and the dock as dozens of people ran away in panic. Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash. She described the ship "advancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock". She said "the bow of the ship crashed hard into the bank" with its massive weight crushing a big piece of it. When the cruise ship rammed the river boat, she said the smaller vessel looked like it was "made of plastic or paper" rather than steel. Expand Close Crashed: MSC Opera cruise ship was badly damaged on its hull. Photo: REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Crashed: MSC Opera cruise ship was badly damaged on its hull. Photo: REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri Medical authorities say four female tourists - an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 - were injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the tourist boat, the River Countess. The cruise ship's owner, MSC Cruises, said the ship was about to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice when it had a mechanical problem. Two tugboats guiding the cruise ship into Venice tried to stop the massive vessel, but a cable snapped. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has vowed to continue with her government after the leader of a junior partner in her coalition resigned due to a series of disappointing election results. In a surprise announcement hours earlier, Social Democrats leader Andrea Nahles announced plans to quit, saying she wanted "clarity" after questions were raised about her ability to lead the centre-left party. The party finished third in last month's European Parliament election, receiving 15.8pc of the vote behind Merkel's centre-right CDU with 28.9pc and the Greens with 20.5pc. Expand Close Resignation: Coalition party leader Andrea Nahles. Photo: REUTERS/Michele Tantussi / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Resignation: Coalition party leader Andrea Nahles. Photo: REUTERS/Michele Tantussi "The necessary support for me to carry out my duties isn't there any more," Ms Nahles (48) said. She would be stepping down to ensure that her successors were found "in an orderly fashion." Ms Merkel voiced respect for Ms Nahles' decision, calling her a "fine character" who she had worked with closely over the years. "Of course I also respect the decisions that the Social Democratic Party now needs to take," she said. "We will continue the work of government, with all seriousness and especially with a great sense of responsibility," Ms Merkel added, noting the numerous challenges that need to be tackled in Germany, Europe and beyond. The leader of Ms Merkel's party also sought to downplay the possibility that the "grand coalition" of Germany's two biggest parties would collapse. "I'm working on the assumption that the Social Democrats will now swiftly make the necessary personnel decisions and the grand coalition's ability to act won't be compromised," Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said. "We continue to stand by the grand coalition," she added. In a swipe at her own critics within the CDU, Ms Kramp-Karrenbauer warned "this is not the hour for tactical considerations within the party." Ms Nahles took over as party leader in February 2018 as the Social Democrats reluctantly extended their coalition with Ms Merkel's conservatives following a poor showing in the previous year's general election. While the Social Democrats have managed to push through their agenda of improving social welfare and working conditions for millions, voters haven't rewarded the party for it in the polls. Instead, many have turned to the environmentalist Greens, the far-right anti-migrant Alternative for Germany, the socialist left party or Ms Merkel's increasingly centrist CDU in recent years. An election loss last week in a long-time bastion of the Social Democrats, the tiny north-western state of Bremen, and the prospect of further defeats in upcoming regional votes in eastern Germany this autumn has alarmed many in the party. "The party is in an extremely serious situation," said Ms Nahles' deputy Malu Dreyer, the governor of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. "If we don't manage to stick together and find a way out of it then things will look really bleak." Former party leader Sigmar Gabriel said the Social Democrats needed a "detox" to prevent internal power struggles from further harming the party. Brazilian footballer Neymar, the most expensive player in the world, has denied he raped a woman at a hotel in Paris last month, claiming that he is the victim of an extortion attempt. An unidentified woman told Brazilian police the Paris Saint-Germain forward drunkenly assaulted her after they met through Instagram. Neymar (27) responded by posting a seven-minute video on Instagram, in which he showed what he said was an exchange of WhatsApp messages with the woman, including topless photographs of her in bed. "These are intimate moments but it is necessary to make them public to prove that nothing really happened," he said. "What happened that day was a relationship between a man and a woman, inside four walls, something that happens with any couple." He added: "It was a set-up and I was caught out. It's very sad to believe the world is like that, that there are people who want to take advantage, want to extort other people." The woman, who lives in Brazil, told Sao Paulo police he drunkenly assaulted her at a hotel near the Champs-Elysees. She returned home to Brazil two days after the alleged rape without reporting it to French police because she was "emotionally shaken and afraid to register the facts in another country". She lodged a complaint with police in Sao Paulo on Friday. In 2017, Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona 222m for Neymar. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Blessing: Pope Francis meets members of the Roma community in the Barbu Lautaru district of Blaj, Romania. Photo: Andreas Solaro/Pool via REUTERS Pope Francis has apologised to the Roma ethnic minority for their history of discrimination in Europe. The pontiff also paid homage to Romanian Catholics persecuted during communist rule as he wrapped up the third and final day of his visit to the country with a message of forgiveness. Francis reached out to the minorities of Transylvania during the deeply symbolic visit about 20 years after St John Paul II made the first papal trip to the majority Orthodox country. In his final stop before heading back to the Vatican, Francis visited a community of Roma, also known as Gypsies, in a newly built Catholic church that was so small organisers asked the clergy to leave to make more room for Gypsy families to get in. There, Francis apologised for the "many experiences of discrimination, segregation and mistreatment experienced by your communities". It was a reference to the second-class status of the Roma minority in Romania and throughout Europe. Roma are more likely to be poor, uneducated and at risk of harassment, according to EU studies. Neighbouring Hungary, for example, has been warned by the EU about discrimination against Roma children in education. And the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights reported last year that 80pc of the Roma population in Europe is at risk of poverty. Francis recently met members of Roma communities at the Vatican. "History tells us that Christians too, including Catholics, are not strangers to such evil," he said, in an apparent reference to the World War II deportation of Roma along with Romanian Jews that is commemorated by a Holocaust memorial in Bucharest. "I would like to ask your forgiveness for this," he went on. "I ask forgiveness - in the name of the Church and of the Lord - and I ask forgiveness of you. "For all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you ... and were unable to acknowledge you, to value you and to defend you in your uniqueness." Francis has made it a point to use his trips and meetings with foreign leaders to ask forgiveness for past injustices, just as John Paul did. He apologised to indigenous peoples for the conquest of the Americas while in Bolivia and during a meeting with the president of Rwanda, apologised for the failures of Catholics in the Rwandan genocide. Also yesterday, he beatified seven Greek-Catholic bishop martyrs in Blaj, a stronghold of the Greek-Catholic Church outlawed during communism. KCOMs board has put its weight behind a bid from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets for the firm (PA) Shares in East Yorkshire telecoms firm KCOM have surged after the firms board threw its weight behind a new offer to buy the company. The firm had previously backed an offer by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension fund but has now spurned the offer in favour of a new bid from a Macquarie Investment fund. KCOM, which holds a monopoly over telecoms in Hull and other areas of East Yorkshire, said its board has backed the 563 million bid from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA). The bid marks a significant upgrade in value on the 504 million offer from USS, which the board publicly supported last month. The Macquarie offer values the group, which provides broadband and telephone services to more than 140,000 customers in East Yorkshire, at 108p per share, up from the 97p per share offer tabled by USS. The Hull-headquartered firm is due to hold its EGM (Extraordinary General Meeting) on Wednesday. This will be opened and adjourned, with shareholders set to consider the new bid and the meeting will be reconvened on a later date. Patrick De Smedt, interim non-executive chairman of KCOM, said: This offer provides our shareholders with even greater value in cash for their shares, as well as providing KCOM with a strong partner as we work to maintain, build and enhance our offering and position. Leigh Harrison, head of MIRA EMEA, said: KCOM has a strong local heritage that has been developed over more than a century and is well-positioned to continue to meet the evolving telecommunications needs of the region, which is why we have made this compelling offer to shareholders at an attractive premium. As an experienced, long-term telecommunications investor, we are committed to supporting KCOMs sustainable growth. We look forward to partnering with management to increase broadband take-up in its core region and beyond, enhancing the quality of service delivery while giving local businesses and residents greater access to the opportunities that high-speed broadband can provide. Shares in KCOM were up 12.8% at 109.4p in early trading on Monday. Lisa Smith before she turned to Islam when she says she was feeling suicidal Hundreds of women and children, including relatives of jihadists, are to be released today from the Syrian camp where Isil bride Lisa Smith was held until recently. Despite warnings over security, up to 800 will be handed to their families following talks between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the mainly Kurdish US proxy group that runs the camp, and leaders of the tribes to which the camp inmates belong. Expand Close Ms Smith gives an interview to ITV in Syria. Picture: Independent.ie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ms Smith gives an interview to ITV in Syria. Picture: Independent.ie The Al-Hol camp is notorious as it holds Shamima Begum, one of the so-called teenage jihadist brides from east London, along with at least half a dozen British Isil members. Irish Isil bride Lisa Smith and her young daughter were moved from there to another camp in Syria in April. A second mass release of Al-Hol residents is expected to follow later this week. The releases were decided despite concerns the camp has become a powder keg for extremism, with some of its people still radicalised. The SDF has maintained a practice of negotiating with local Arab tribes to engineer the controlled release of Syrians back into society. "The SDF early on decided on this approach, and it worked very well in Raqqa, for example, two and a half years ago," said Dareen Khalifa, International Crisis Group's senior Syria analyst. "They find a member of the community, usually a Kurd, who acts as an interlocutor between the SDF and the Arab tribes." Huge swathes of the Syrian population were swept up into Isil, many not on ideological grounds, but just for basic survival as the jihadist group took over large swathes of Syria.. Those to be returned, Ms Khalifa said, will be pardoned by the SDF before being released from custody. Today's group consists of residents of Raqqa and the town of Tabqa, 60km to the west. Those suspected of having links to Isil will be kept under surveillance by local tribes, who have given guarantees, said Abd al-Mehbach, co-chairman of the Kurdish administration's executive council. "It is the (Kurdish) administration's duty to its people to play a role in the rehabilitation of these women and children and their reintegration into society," he said. Ali Mahamid Ali, a Raqqa tribal leader, said Arab tribes were trying to secure the release of all Syrian women held in Al-Hol, including by offering guarantees. "They are all our sisters, our mothers," he said. In deeply tribal eastern Syria, such a guarantee is an ironclad promise and could serve as a bulwark against the spread of Isil ideology by former members. But, for the SDF, there is also a powerful financial driver to get Al-Hol's population under control. Each camp resident costs around 27 per day to feed and house, according to Crisis Group research - and that's before security costs. Despite its military backing, the US has offered limited support for the battle's aftermath, supporting the construction of just one prison. Although there has been extensive coverage of foreign fighters, women and children, they are relatively few: fewer than 2,000 foreign men are thought to be in SDF custody. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] Emotion: A co-worker of one of the victims cries at a memorial in Virginia Beach. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The gunman who killed 12 people inside a government building in the US state of Virginia had handed in his notice hours before the attack. The killer, who worked as a civil engineer, was an employee "in good standing" in his department, said a spokesman of the city of Virginia Beach, who described the man's performance as "satisfactory". Spokesman Dave Hansen said the shooter had notified superiors of his intention to quit via email on Friday, hours before the shooting. Authorities have identified the attacker as 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock. He was killed following a gun battle with police. Police Chief James Cervera said they were unsure whether the suspect targeted anyone specifically. Among the victims were four other engineers who worked to maintain streets and protect wetlands and three right-of-way agents who reviewed property lines. Others included an account clerk, a technician, an administrative assistant and a special projects co-ordinator. In all, they had served Virginia Beach for more than 150 years. Police have declined to comment on the gunman's motive. City officials uttered his name just once and said they would not mention it again. Joseph Scott, an engineering technician with the utilities department, said he had worked with Craddock and had a brief interaction with him on Friday, passing him in the men's toilet about five minutes before the shooting. "He was in there brushing his teeth, which he always did after he ate," Mr Scott said. "I said 'Hey, how you doing? What are you doing this weekend?' It was just a brief conversation." Mr Scott said he left for the day right afterwards and learned of the shooting when a colleague and then his son called him asking whether he was OK. "I couldn't believe that it happened," he said. One of the dead employees had worked for the city for 41 years. Six worked in the same department as the suspect. The victims were found throughout the building, on three floors, police said. The municipal building was open to the public, but security passes were required to enter inner offices, conference rooms and other work areas. As a current employee, Craddock would have had the pass to enter the inner offices. Craddock appeared to have had no record, making him eligible to buy guns. Investigators found two .45-calibre pistols used in the attack. LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she officially welcomes US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (L) with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (R) during their visit on June 03, 2019 at Buckingham Palace in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Britain rolled out the royal red carpet for Donald Trump on Monday but the pomp, pageantry and banquet with Queen Elizabeth looked set to be overshadowed by the US President's views on Brexit, the UK's next leader and a row over China's Huawei. Trump and his wife, Melania, were greeted by the 93-year-old monarch at Buckingham Palace at the start of a three-day state visit which sees him feted with the full force of royal ceremony: a formal dinner with the queen, tea with heir Prince Charles, and a tour of Westminster Abbey, coronation church of English monarchs for 1,000 years. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II (second left) officially welcomes US President Donald Trump (C) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (R) during their visit on June 03, 2019 at Buckingham Palace in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II (2nd left) officially welcomes US President Donald Trump (C) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (R) Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019 in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Simon Dawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II (second left) officially welcomes US President Donald Trump (C) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (R) Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019 in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Simon Dawson - WPA Pool/Getty Images) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II (second left) officially welcomes US President Donald Trump (C) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (R) during their visit on June 03, 2019 at Buckingham Palace in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) "I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit," Trump wrote on Twitter as he landed at London's Stansted Airport. But beyond the theatre, the proudly unpredictable 45th US president is rocking the boat with the United States' closest ally, whose political establishment has been in chaos for months over Britain's departure from the European Union. As he was flying into the British capital, he reignited a feud with London Mayor Sadiq Khan - who had written on Sunday that Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet for the US president - describing him as a "stone cold loser. The state visit, promised by Prime Minister Theresa May back in January 2017 when she became the first foreign leader to meet him after he took office, is cast as a chance to celebrate Britain's "special relationship" with the United States, boost trade links and reaffirm security cooperation. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) meets with US President Donald Trump (R) and US First Lady Melania Trump (L) during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. - Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by TOBY MELVILLE / POOL / AFP)TOBY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she officially welcomes US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump (L) with Prince Charles, Prince of Wales (R) during their visit on June 03, 2019 at Buckingham Palace in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) (L-R) US First Lady Melania Trump, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Britain's Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall smile as they watch an honour guard during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of their three-day State Visit to the UK. - Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images (L-R) US First Lady Melania Trump, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and US President Donald Trump watch an honour guard during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of their three-day State Visit to the UK. - Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) stands with US President Donald Trump (R) and US First Lady Melania Trump (L) as they listen to the US national anthem during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. - Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by TOBY MELVILLE / POOL / AFP)TOBY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) talks with US President Donald Trump (R) during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. - Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by TOBY MELVILLE / POOL / AFP)TOBY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C) meets with US President Donald Trump (R) and US First Lady Melania Trump (L) during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London on June 3, 2019, on the first day of the US president and First Lady's three-day State Visit to the UK. - Britain rolled out the red carpet for US President Donald Trump on June 3 as he arrived in Britain for a state visit already overshadowed by his outspoken remarks on Brexit. (Photo by TOBY MELVILLE / POOL / AFP)TOBY MELVILLE/AFP/Getty Images At Buckingham Palace, Melania, stood beside Elizabeth and Charles's wife Camilla, while Charles and Trump inspected the guard. Trump will have lunch with the queen before the monarch's second son Prince Andrew accompanies him to Westminster Abbey where the president will lay a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior. The day culminates with a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace - where men wear white tie coats with tails and women evening gowns. UNCONVENTIONAL Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she officially welcomes US President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) during their visit on June 03, 2019 at Buckingham Palace in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth II greets US President Donald Trump as he arrives for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of his three day state visit to the UK. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 3, 2019. See PA story ROYAL Trump. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire Queen Elizabeth II greets US President Donald Trump as he arrives for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of his three day state visit to the UK. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 3, 2019. See PA story ROYAL Trump. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Buckingham Palace, in London, Britain, June 3, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville/Pool Queen Elizabeth II greets US President Donald Trump as he arrives for the Ceremonial Welcome at Buckingham Palace, London, on day one of his three day state visit to the UK. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 3, 2019. See PA story ROYAL Trump. Photo credit should read: Victoria Jones/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 03: Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she officially welcomes US President Donald Trump (L) and First Lady Melania Trump (L) during their visit on June 03, 2019 at Buckingham Palace in London, England. President Trump's three-day state visit will include lunch with the Queen, and a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, as well as business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) But away from the pageantry, Trump is set to make his trip the most unconventional state visit in recent British history. He has already waded far into Britain's turbulent domestic politics, where more than a dozen candidates are vying to replace May, who announced last month she was quitting after failing to get her EU divorce deal through parliament. The president, who has regularly criticised May's Brexit tactics, said Britain must leave the bloc on the due date of October 31 with or without a deal and praised a more radical Brexit-supporting potential successor as British leader. He also called for arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage, a scourge of May's ruling Conservative Party, to conduct talks with the EU. Brexit is the most significant geopolitical move for the United Kingdom since World War Two and if it ever happens then London will be more reliant on the United States as ties loosen with the other 27 members of the EU. HUAWEI TENSIONS At a meeting with May, Trump will also warn Britain that security cooperation, a cornerstone of the western intelligence network, could be hurt if London allows China's Huawei a role in building parts of the 5G network, the next generation of cellular technology. The Trump administration has told allies not to use its 5G technology and equipment because of fears it would allow China to spy on sensitive communications and data. Huawei denies it is, or could be, a vehicle for Chinese intelligence. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Britain last month it needed to change its attitude towards China and Huawei, casting the world's second largest economy as a threat to the West similar to that once posed by the Soviet Union. Britain's relationship with the United States is an enduring alliance, but some British voters see Trump as crude, volatile and opposed to their values on issues ranging from global warming to his treatment of women. Hundreds of thousands protested against him during a trip last year and a blimp depicting Trump as a snarling, nappy-clad baby will fly outside Britain's parliament during the visit. Other protesters plan a "carnival of resistance" in central London. Jeremy Corbyn, the socialist leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, who has declined an invitation to attend the state banquet, scolded Trump for getting involved in British politics. Another senior Labour lawmaker, Yvette Cooper, said it was wrong to gift Trump the opportunity of photographs with the royal to boost his re-election campaign next year. "So appalled Theresa May has given this man a red carpeted platform to do this," she wrote on Twitter. "Doesnt help Britain to be lavishing pomp on a president so determined to be divisive, childish & destructive." While Monday is dominated by pageantry, the second day of Trump's trip will focus on politics, including a breakfast with business leaders, talks with May in 10 Downing Street, a news conference and a dinner at the US ambassador's residence. US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive at Stansted Airport in Essex, aboard Air Force One for the start of his three day state visit to the UK. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 3, 2019. See PA story ROYAL Trump. Photo credit should read: Joe Giddens/PA Wire US President Donald Trump delivered a withering verdict on British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Brexit strategy, tipped Boris Johnson to be next prime minister, and criticised Meghan Markle ahead of a visit to Britain this week. Here are some of the main quotes he has given about Brexit, the British royal family and protests against his visit: Expand Close European Chief Negotiator for the UK exiting the European Union Michel Barnier (L) and the EU deputy chief negotiator for Brexit Sabine Weyand. Photo: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp European Chief Negotiator for the UK exiting the European Union Michel Barnier (L) and the EU deputy chief negotiator for Brexit Sabine Weyand. Photo: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images Trump's advice for British politicians on how to handle Brexit: "If they don't get what they want, I would walk away," Trump said in an interview with the Sunday Times published over the weekend. "If you dont get a fair deal, you walk away." "They've got to get it done," he said. "They have got to get the deal closed." Expand Close President Donald Trump walking with Prime Minister Theresa May prior to a joint press conference at Chequers (Stefan Rousseau/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp President Donald Trump walking with Prime Minister Theresa May prior to a joint press conference at Chequers (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Trump on Prime Minister Theresa May's approach to Brexit negotiations: "I think that the UK allowed the European Union to have all the cards. And it is very hard to play well when one side has all the advantage," he told The Sun in an interview. Expand Close Boris Johnson Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Boris Johnson Photo: PA "I had mentioned to Theresa that you have got to build up your ammunition. I am sure that you could have built up a big advantage for your side and negotiated from strength." Trump on Boris Johnson, the front runner to be Britain's next prime minister: "Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent," he told The Sun. He added: "I like him. I have always liked him. I dont know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person." Expand Close Donald Trump and Nigel Farage / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Donald Trump and Nigel Farage Trump on Nigel Farage, one of the leading figures in the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union: "I like Nigel a lot. He has a lot to offer," Trump told the Sunday Times. "He is a very smart person. They wont bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just havent figured that out yet." Expand Close London mayor Sadiq Khan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp London mayor Sadiq Khan Trump on London Mayor Sadiq Khan: Khan "by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom," Trump said on Twitter before landing in Britain. "He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me." Expand Close No show: Meghan will not meet the US president. Photo: PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp No show: Meghan will not meet the US president. Photo: PA Trump on Meghan, Prince Harry's wife, after being told she referred to him as divisive and a misogynist: "I didn't know that. What can I say? I didnt know that she was nasty," Trump told The Sun. But he wished her well in her new life as a princess. "I am sure she will do excellently." Trump claiming he predicted Brexit: It wasnt that I was a supporter. I predicted it was going to happen and I was right. And people laughed when I predicted it," he told reporters in March. Trump on protests planned during his visit: "I don't imagine any US president was ever closer to your great land," he told The Sun. "I think I am really I hope I am really loved in the UK. I certainly love the UK." Trump on the Queen: Asked if Trump felt the queen had liked him after a meeting last year, he told the British broadcaster ITV: "I dont want to speak for her, but I can tell you I liked her. So usually that helps. But I liked her a lot." "Just very elegant. And very beautiful. It was really something special, Trump said of the meeting. She is so sharp, so wise, so beautiful. Up close, you see shes so beautiful. Shes a very special person." Trump on Scotland, the birthplace of his mother: "I have a mother born in Scotland. And as you know, Stornoway is serious Scotland. You dont get any more serious than that," he told The Sun. "It is so beautiful. My mother loved Scotland. My mother also loved the Queen." Flash Germany's Social Democratic Party(SPD) leader Andrea Nahles is to resign after a series of election setbacks and constant low popularity, according to a SPD statement on Sunday. "The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer secure the needed support to carry out my duties," Nahles said in a statement. Nahles said she will declare resignation as the party leader and the SPD parliamentary group formally on Tuesday. She called on the SPD to stay together and act prudently in the coming times. Nahles' resignation was partly due to the poor performance of the SPD in the recent European parliamentary elections and the state election in Bremen. The center-left party crashed to 15.5 percent, a sharp decrease from 27.3 percent in 2014 and an all-time low result in its party history in the European polls. The party also lost its stronghold in Bremen yielding its leading position to the Christian Democratic Union(CDU). The SPD is now facing a shake-up in its administration level, which is feared to be the first step of a chain reaction that it might quit Germany's grand coalition in the lower house of the parliament Bundestag, consisting of SPD and its governing partner CDU/CSU, forcing Chancellor Angela Merkel to dissolve her government and start an earlier federal election. Since 2005, the SPD has served as junior partner to the CDU/CSU at the federal level for three times. The party has shared responsibility for unpopular decisions including refugee policies but failed to left its own impression on public. Some local analysts said that the political alliance with CDU/CSU has blurred the SPD's identity, and many voters thought that the SPD is no longer a policy-changing force in Germany's political map. In June 2018, Cabarrus County Schools Executive Director of Facilities Tim Lowder told the school board that it would cost about $21 million to rebuild a new school on the current Beverly Hills site and over $23.7 million to renovate the building. When Todd Berg gave the results of his feasibility study early in May, he said construction costs of a new building for 500 students would be around $16 million. That cost does not include furniture, equipment and other fees. After that presentation, members of Save Our Schools were ecstatic because of the lower estimation. Lee Shuman, one of the leaders of the group, said the feasibility study proves what SOS has been saying all along; a new Beverly Hills can be built on that site and it can be done without spending an extravagant amount of the countys money. I was thrilled and everybody was trying to understand it because we didnt see it beforehand. So everybody was trying to comprehend it as the night went on. But it was extremely positive, Shuman said. Our group met up outside (after the meeting) and everyone was really celebrating. This is the one thing we have fought for over the last two years. All weve ever wanted was an unbiased, third party feasibility study to tell us the truth and we got it. The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi is preparing to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its casino in Michigan with a new hotel tower. The FireKeepers Casino and Hotel currently features 243 rooms. The second tower will bring another 200 rooms to the facility. "The new hotel will just allow us to bring more visitors to the town so that they can go to all the great things here in Calhoun County when they're not gaming," chief executive officer Kathy George said on the 95.3 WBCK Morning Show with Tim Collins. Since the opening of FireKeepers in 2010, the tribe has shared more than $48.2 million with the local community, The Battle Creek Enquirer reported. Another $143.7 million has gone to the state of Michigan, bringing the total amount shared to more than $192.7 million. In both instances, the payments represented an increase. The local payment went up was 1.63 percent higher than a year prior while the state payment was 2.03 percent higher. The leadership and tribal members of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi are proud to continue a pattern of impactful contributions to the State of Michigan and our Local community through the growth of our leading regional gaming destination at FireKeepers Casino Hotel, Chairperson Jamie Stuck said in a news release on March 5. Stuck has since been sworn in for another term as chairperson. Also remaining in officer positions on the tribal council are Dorie Rios as Vice Chairperson, Nancy Smit as Secretary, Jeff Chivis, Ph.D., as Treasurer, and Homer A. Mandoka as Sergeant-at-Arms. A groundbreaking for the hotel tower project hasn't yet been announced. Read More on the Story Join the Conversation Related Stories A Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, became the flashpoint of national controversy in 2017 following White supremacist demonstrations that led to the death of one person. But did you know the city is also home to prominent statues that depict Native people? Anthony Guy Lopez, a citizen of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe who attended the University of Virginia in Chartlottesville and is the founder of a group that seeks to establish an Indigenous Studies Center at his alma mater, says the George Rogers Clark, Conqueror of the Northwest sculpture and another one of Sacagawea with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark should be taken down because they symbolize colonization and the "violent taking" of tribal lands: One of the statues is in the center of Charlottesville. It depicts Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea. The City Council is considering removing this statue because the intersection that it adorns needs to be redesigned to increase public safety and traffic flow. Area residents, led by women such as Mayor Nikuyah Walker and Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell, oppose the statue because of its unfortunate depiction of Sacagawea, who is shown in a demeaning pose crouched behind the standing figures of Lewis and Clark. Various interpretations have been offered to explain her odd position. Perhaps she was tracking something. Or she is looking downward at the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Whatever the explanation, the test is to switch Sacagaweas pose with Lewis or Clark, or some other man. It is difficult, if not impossible, to find any male American leader depicted in such an awkward manner in public statuary. Further, after reviewing the several dozen other depictions of Sacagawea in public art across the U.S., one would be challenged to find a more unflattering depiction of Sacagawea. For that reason alone, the city should consider permanently removing the statue from the public square. This could be what Charlottesville needs to exorcise some of its past colonial tendencies, as illustrated by the other Charlottesville statue depicting American Indians, which honors George Rogers Clark (William Clarks eldest brother) and his victories in the brutal wars against the indigenous nations in the Northwest Territory. The statue, named The Conqueror of the Northwest, is owned by the University of Virginia and it features Clark mounted on a horse along with a heavily armed troop of three soldiers about to violently attack a family of American Indians, including two men, a woman and a baby in a cradleboard. Read More on the Story Another Opinion Join the Conversation With Pride Month upon the nation, The Advocate magazine named Champions of Pride from every state and Native Americans and Indigenous people are well represented. Of the 104 Champions of Pride, at least are 12 Native or Indigenous, accounting for more more than 10 percent of the honorees. Two states -- New Mexico and Oregon -- even boast two Native representatives. "Im so honored to represent my home state of OK for @TheAdvocateMag 2019 Champions of Pride," Jen Deerinwater, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, wrote in a post on social media . "Im also thrilled to see so many of my Indigenous relatives & bi+, & trans/nonbinary/TwoSpirit fam represented here." The annual list celebrates activists, artists, politicians, influencers, and others for their work in and on behalf of the LGTBQ community. Here are the Native and Indigenous representatives: Natalie G. Diaz (Mojave from Gila River Indian Community), poet from Arizona Tommy Pico (Viejas), author from California At least I do what I dream. n/s #HIGHLIGHT pic.twitter.com/rwq2q9i84g Thomas Lopez (@TomvsLopez) February 24, 2019 Cathy Taffy Kapua (Native Hawaiian), activist and advocate from Hawaii Lady Shug (Navajo), performer from New Mexico Trudie Jackson (Navajo), activist, advocate and politician from New Mexico Qwo-Li Driskill (Cherokee), scholar, activist and author from Oregon Dr. Qwo-Li Driskill, Associate Professor in WGSS/QS at Oregon State, is one of Meet The Advocate's @TheAdvocateMag 104 Champions of Pride for 2019! #WGSSLove #QSLove #GoBeavs https://t.co/owv0ezsPAd WGSS Oregon State (@WGSSOregonState) May 30, 2019 Jennifer Lanier (Saponi), actor from Oregon Ella Mendoza (Indigenous from Peru), artist in Utah Layha Spoonhunter (Eastern Shoshone, Northern Arapaho and Oglala Lakota), youth activist and advocate from Wyoming Read More on the Story Also Today Ryan Young is Two Spirit, identifying with both masculine and feminine spirits. Growing up in an Ojibwe community, they struggled to find an identity. I had to pick: Be Native, or be queer. I didnt want to pick. https://t.co/0EQt0ZAZvz NYT National News (@NYTNational) May 31, 2019 Join the Conversation No More Deaths isnt on trial, prosecutor says in opening, Scott Warren is Cronkite News TUCSON The trial of No More Deaths volunteer Scott Warren began Wednesday with the prosecutor asserting that federal authorities are not targeting humanitarian aid along the border with Mexico. No More Deaths is not on trial, Nathaniel Walters told the jury. Scott Warren is. In his opening statement, however, defense attorney Gregory Kuykendall said Warren did not intend to break the law when he came across two undocumented immigrants early last year. Scott intended to perform basic human kindness, he told jurors, and was acting in accordance with his Christian faith. Scott Warren is facing 20 years in prison. His crime? Providing food and water to migrants in Arizonas deadliest desert corridor. https://t.co/uI0yfumLqn pic.twitter.com/AalaNKd7Ge New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) May 30, 2019 Warren, who is charged with conspiracy to transport and harbor two undocumented immigrants, faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. His trial is expected to continue for 10 days. His family, friends and supporters filled the courtroom and an overflow room, and gathered outside the U.S. District Courthouse downtown. They claim the Trump administration is targeting humanitarian aid groups. Kuykendall said Warren was careful to follow the health and legal protocols set forth by No More Deaths to make sure efforts to provide water, food and clothing for migrants attempting to cross the inhospitable desert stay within the law. Outside the courthouse, dozens of supporters carried signs and voiced their alliance with Warren. Scott Daniel Warren, who formerly taught online classes in environmental studies at Arizona State University, was arrested on January 17, 2018, and accused of alien smuggling. Courtesy photo One of them, Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler, the news media coordinator for No More Deaths, said the charges against Warren are an escalation of legal tactics used by federal authorities against the kind of work the group does. We think this is stemming from both the current administration and efforts to really target humanitarian aid workers, as the crisis on the border continues, she said. Warren was arrested January 17, 2018, near Ajo. Border Patrol agents John Marquez and Brendan Burns were surveilling the barn, which is an old house that serves as a base of operations for No More Deaths. As they approached the structure, they spotted Warren and two undocumented Central American immigrants, Kristian Perez-Villanueva and Jose Arnaldo Sacaria-Goday. Three days before the arrest, Warren had gone to the barn after going grocery shopping to make dinner for 15 volunteers, Kuykendall said, adding that Warren was not expecting to see the two undocumented immigrants there. Warren and the men had a hard time communicating, but it was clear they were hungry and tired, the lawyer said. Warren has said he provided the men with food and water and contacted a nurse in the area. Both migrants were dehydrated, had blisters on their feet and one of them had severe chest pain. Warren advised them to rest. In testimony, Marquez said he saw Warren making hand gestures pointing to geographical interests. At that point, Marquez said, he and Burns entered the home. Border Patrol contends that Warren was helping the two men cross illegally into the United States. The eventual verdict could set a precedent for future cases involving humanitarian aid given to undocumented immigrants. Warrens arrest occurred just hours after No More Deaths released videos that purportedly showed Border Patrol agents destroying water jugs and food volunteers had left behind. Volunteers contend his arrest was retaliation by Border Patrol. Pastor Alison Harrington of Southside Presbyterian Church, who was outside the courthouse, said she believes Warrens faith, just like her own, commanded him to care for others. Orlovsky-Schnitzler is adamant that, no matter the outcome of the trial, it wont stop No More Deaths from helping those who are in need. Regardless of what happens in the courtroom, the need for humanitarian aid continues, and so our work continues. Since 2000, the remains of nearly 3,000 people who died while crossing the border in southern Arizona have been recovered, according to the Pima County Medical Examiners Office. No More Deaths began operations in 2004. This story originally appeared on Cronkite News and is published via a Creative Commons license . Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University Join the Conversation WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States will be taking testimony this week on tribal homelands and tribal treaty legislation. Four bills are on the agenda for the legislative hearing on Wednesday. They are: H.R.733 , the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act The bill returns nearly 12,000 acres to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe . The tribe lost the land when the Bureau of Indian Affairs , between 1948 and 1959, sold allotments on the reservation in northern Minnesota despite lacking approval from all of the owners to do so. H.R.1031 , the Pala Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Act The bill requires the Bureau of Indian Affairs to acquire about 700 acres in southern California in trust for the Pala Band of Mission Indians . The tribe bought the land in San Diego County to protect Chokla, a sacred place also known as Gregory Mountain , from development. H.R.1803 , a bill to nullify the Supplemental Treaty Between the United States of America and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of Indians of Middle Oregon The Warm Springs Tribes are asking Congress to repeal an agreement concluded on November 15, 1865 . The agreement purports to limit the rights of the Warm Springs people but it has never been recognized or enforced as legitimate by either the tribe or the federal government. The Senate version of the bill, S.832 , has already been advanced by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs H.R.2961 , the Samish Indian Land Reaffirmation Act The bill confirms that certain lands acquired for the Samish Nation are in trust. The tribe has repeatedly faced lengthy delays when seeking to restore its homelands through the land-into-trust process at the Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal homelands bills like H.R.2961 typically enjoy bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives and are considered non-controversial in the chamber. They usually pass under a suspension of the rules , often without a recorded vote, regardless of which party is in charge. The 116th Congress, which began in January under Democratic control, was following the same pattern up until President Donald Trump lashed out against tribal homelands legislation with a "racist" tweet last month. The last-minute social media post prompted the bills to be pulled from consideration by the House on May 8. A week later, the chamber passed H.R.312 , the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act, and H.R.375 , a bill to clarify that all tribes can follow the land-into-trust process regardless of the date of their federal recognition. But, as expected, Republicans ditched both measures in droves as a result of the unexpected missive from the White House. The hearing takes place at 2pm Eastern on Wednesday in Room 1324 of the Longworth House Office Building. It will be webcast. The House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States, which is part of the larger House Committee on Natural Resources , is chaired by Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona). The ranking Republican is Rep. Paul Cook (R-California). House Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States Notice Join the Conversation Flash Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan paid a visit to Germany from Thursday to Sunday at the invitation of the German Federal Government. During his visit in Berlin, Wang met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas separately. When meeting with Steinmeier, Wang said that China and Germany were both major world economies and major countries with great influence. The relations between the two countries have gone beyond bilateral scope and bear global significance. Wang said in recent years the high-level contacts were frequent, and the cooperation in all fields has been constantly deepened, adding he is willing to push for new development of the all-around strategic partnership through his visit. Noting the ties between China and Germany is currently facing a new situation, Wang called on the two countries to set a model of win-win cooperation for the world through deepening collaboration, to bring stability to the world through guiding the China-EU cooperation, and to strength the power to safeguard multilateralism through boosting global governance. For his part, German President Steinmeier said that the current international landscape is complicated and turbulent, and multilateralism is under threat. He noted that Germany highly values the ties with China, adding Germany is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China at all levels, and to continue the pragmatic cooperations in Industry 4.0 and in other fields. Germany and China, and Europe and China, should join hands to maintain the world peace and stability, free trade, and existing international orders, Steinmeier added. When meeting with Merkel, Wang said China sticks to peaceful development, and will through steadily deepening reform and opening up, solve the existing problem of imbalance and insufficient development to meet people's desire for a better life and to fulfill the promises of the party and the government to the people. Wang said China cannot develop itself in isolation from the world, nor can the world develop without the 1.4 billion Chinese people, and China advocates countries to together build a community of shared future for humankind. Facing the profound and complex changes in the international situation, China always insists on doing its own share firstly, staying calm and clear-headed, showing composure, shouldering responsibility and reacting rationally, he noted. Wang called on China and Germany, as all-around strategic partners, to strengthen cooperation in building a more fair and reasonable global governance system, and to jointly face the uncertainties. The Chinese vice president also said that China has always viewed Europe from a strategic height and with a long-term vision, and firmly supported the European integration. Wang added that China is a trustworthy partner for Europe to have dialogue on an equal footing. Chancellor Merkel said Germany appreciates China's great achievements in economic development and believes that China can definitely achieve the ambitious goals of eradicating poverty and finishing building a moderately prosperous society on schedule. Facing the current complex and volatile international environment in which various new problems emerge, Merkel said, Germany is always committed to safeguarding the principle of multilateralism and the existing international order. She noted that Germany advocates to strengthen international coordination and collaboration through dialogue, disagrees with the action of exerting threat and pressure to solve problems. She believed that Germany and China, as well as Europe and China, share broad consensus on a wide range of issues, expressing Germany's willingness to strengthen communication, exchanges and cooperation with China, and to improve global governance system jointly with China. When meeting with Heiko Maas, Wang said China and Germany share common interests in many fields such as deepening pragmatic cooperation, safeguarding multilateralism and free trade, improving global governance and promoting world peace. Looking to the next stage of the bilateral relations, Wang advocates that both sides should set the right direction for the Sino-German, Sino-European win-win cooperation, encourage the enhanced exchanges in ideology, talents as well as science and technology, cement the friendship between the two peoples, and to inject more positive energy into the world. Echoing Wang's comments, Maas said Germany is willing to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation on multilateral issues with China, as well as to jointly tackle global challenges, safeguard multilateralism and international order, promote the liberalization of international trade. During his visit to Germany, Wang also met with mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and Bavarian governor Markus Soeder and visited the port of Hamburg. Before his tour to Germany, the Chinese Vice president also visited Pakistan and the Netherlands. Supreme Court ruling important to all tribes Herrera hunting case ongoing continues battle between state jurisdiction and tribal sovereignty RAPID CITY Five years ago the state of Wyoming fined Montana resident Clayvin Herrera, an enrolled member at Crow Agency, $8,080 for illegally hunting elk in Wyomings Bighorn National Forest. On May 20, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS), having heard Herreras case earlier this year, ruled in favor of Herrera , by a vote of 5-4. Sorting out the rationale for their decision, and the implications of that decision, has not been comprehensively covered by media, but it is an important decision for all of Indian country, with a direct impact on the ongoing battle between state jurisdiction and tribal sovereignty. Contrary to what many people believe, sovereignty is not mentioned in any treaty. It is defined and asserted through court rulings. Because future court rulings can render past court rulings invalid, sovereignty is always a court ruling away from being reduced, perhaps one day, even eliminated. States have shown a persistent pattern of attempting to increase their jurisdiction over tribal lands, by reducing treaty rights on state controlled land mainly through state friendly court rulings, creating an adversarial relationship of mistrust, and occasionally, open conflict, with tribes and individual tribal members. Supreme Court Audio: Herrera v. Wyoming Rationale for how and why state jurisdiction takes precedence over treaty rights in the Herrera case was based upon two previous rulings, the 1896 Ward v Race Horse and the 1995 Crow Tribe of Indians v Repsis In Ward v Race Horse, SCOTUS held by a vote of 7-1 that the Bannock Tribe, whose reservation was within the state of Wyoming, despite having a treaty established right to hunt upon the unoccupied lands of the United States so long as game may be found thereon does not give them the right to exercise this privilege within the limits of that state in violation of its laws. Although the accepted difference between a privilege and a right is seen as a privilege being revocable, but a right being unalienable, the legal difference between the two is far from definitive, let alone binding. In 1989, another Crow hunter, Thomas L. Ten Bear, illegally hunted elk in Wyoming. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held in 1995, the Repsis case, that Ward v Race Horse determined Ten Bear no longer had a right to hunt these state controlled lands, as they were occupied, and his right was stated explicitly in the treaty to apply to only unoccupied lands. In 1999, SCOTUS ruled 5-4 against Minnesota in Minnesota v Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians , in another hunting and fishing rights case, invalidating Race Horse, and in so doing, invalidating Repsis, because it relied on Race Horse. Because of this, Herrera had the right to hunt in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming, despite the lower court rulings siding with Wyoming. Race Horse was expressly repudiated in the 1999 ruling, which logically repudiated RepsisRace Horse and Repsis nonetheless applied, ignoring the 1999 ruling. Beyond all of this, the dissenting justices also completely ignored the 1975 ruling of Antoine v Washington. By a 7-2 vote, SCOTUS held that treaties and laws must be construed in favor of the tribe or tribal members where there is any ambiguity. Justice Sotomayor made this very clear: First, the Wyoming Statehood Act does not show that Congress intended to end the 1868 Treaty hunting right. Nor is there any evidence in the treaty itself that Congress intended the hunting right to expire at statehood, or that the Crow Tribe would have understood it to do so. Supreme Court Decision: Herrera v. Wyoming Supreme Court Documents: Herrera v. Wyoming James Giago Davies is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota tribe. He can be reached at skindiesel@msn.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation Related Stories View this post on Instagram Thank you to my incredible @unicefethiopia family. I am in awe of your tireless efforts and unwavering commitment to bettering the lives of children around the world. You are my true heroes! Keep changing lives and know you are so appreciated! Thank you for an inspiring trip and memories that will last a lifetime. A post shared by Priyanka Chopra Jonas (@priyankachopra) on May 24, 2019 at 12:15pm PDT The Bombay High Court has upheld the death penalty of three convicts in the 2013 Shakti Mill gang-rape case. The Bombay HC on Monday ruled that section 376(E) of the Indian Penal Code under which repeat offenders in rape cases can be awarded life imprisonment or death penalty is constitutionally valid and is applicable in the case. BCCL/ FILE A division bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere made the ruling while dismissing the petitions filed by three convicts in the Shakti Mill gang rape case challenging Constitutional validity of the legal provisions under which they were sentenced to death in 2014. The amendment was made after the gang rape of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi in 2012. "We are of the opinion that section 376(E) of the IPC is not ultra vires to the Constitution and hence need not be quashed in the present case," the court said. BCCL/ FILE The three convicts Vijay Jadhav, Kasim Bengali, and Mohammed Salim Ansari were sentenced to death after they were arrested for sexually assaulting a photojournalist in 2013 at the deserted Shakti Mills compound, near Mahalaxmi in South Mumbai, with a male colleague on an assignment. BCCL The five accused in the case, including two juvenile, allegedly tied up the male colleague and took turns raping the photojournalist while holding a broken beer bottle to her neck to keep her from shouting for help. BCCL/ FILE After the victim approached the police and it made headlines, another girl, a 19-year-old telephone operator also came forward and alleged that she was gang-raped at the Shakti Mills compound by five men earlier that year. Three of the men involved were also accused in the photojournalist's case. The trio was sentenced to death for their involvement in the two cases. The Bombay High Court has upheld the death penalty of three convicts in the 2013 Shakti Mill gang-rape case. The Bombay HC on Monday ruled that section 376(E) of the Indian Penal Code under which repeat offenders in rape cases can be awarded life imprisonment or death penalty is constitutionally valid and is applicable in the case. A division bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere made the ruling while dismissing the petitions filed by three convicts in the Shakti Mill gang rape case challenging Constitutional validity of the legal provisions under which they were sentenced to death in 2014. Read more Ten Hottest Cities In The World Are In India Right Now, People Feel They Are Living In Furnaces The acute heatwave that has gripped northern India has thrown normal life out of gear for the past few days and is most likely to remain the same at least for a few more days. On Sunday the day temperatures crossed 50-degree Celsius in Rajasthan's Churu, making it the hottest city in the world. It is not just Churu, other cities like Sri Ganganagar, UP's Banda and Narnol in Haryana were among the hottest places in the world. Read more Kerala Woman Wrongly Diagnosed With Cancer, Suffers Severe Side Effects Of Chemotherapy A woman in Kerala was undergoing Chemotherapy at the Kottayam Medical College after tests conducted at a Dianova Laboratories, private lab in the city "wrongly" diagnosed her of having cancer. The woman had undergone treatment at the General surgery department of the hospital on February 28 for a lump on her breast. Read more Eight Climbers On Nanda Devi Still Missing, Officials Say Little Chance Of Finding Them Alive After unsuccessful attempts to trace right missing climbers in Himalayan region, around Nanda Devi mountain with the help of two Indian Air Force helicopters, the officials have now said its unlikely to find the survivors. The eight climbers included climbers from Australia, Britain, United States and India and the rescue effort were started on Saturday when they didnt return to the base camp. Read more Colleges In Bengal Give Students The Option To Keep Faith Matter Private & It's A Great Move In a welcome move, at least 50 college across West Bengal have added humanity, secular, agnostic, and non-religious as options in the religion column of their online admission forms and this has specially been done for students who dont want to disclose their faith. The move would allow the students applying for undergraduate course in these colleges to keep their religious beliefs secret. Read more Over 6,800 Cases And Rs 71,500 Crore Bank Frauds Were At An All Time High In 2018-19 Over 6,800 cases of bank fraud involving an unprecedented Rs 71,500 crore have been reported in 2018-19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said.A total of 5,916 such cases were reported by banks in 2017-18 involving Rs 41,167.03 crore, it said. As many as 6,801 cases of fraud were reported by scheduled commercial banks and select financial institutions involving an amount of Rs 71,542.93 crore in the last fiscal (increase of over 73 per cent in the fraud amount), the Reserve Bank said in reply to an RTI query. Read more After unsuccessful attempts to trace right missing climbers in Himalayan region, around Nanda Devi mountain with the help of two Indian Air Force helicopters, the officials have now said its unlikely to find the survivors. The area was hit by an avalanche after which the climbers went missing. The eight climbers included climbers from Australia, Britain, United States and India and the rescue effort were started on Saturday when they didnt return to the base camp. It may take days to trek to the avalanche hit area where the missing climbers were known to have been seen last. Reuters "The first aerial recce has concluded," said Vijay Kumar Jogdanda, heading authorities in Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand told news agency Reuters. "There were only tents spotted, but no human presence. The second helicopter has left for the recce." He added, "Chances of survival are bleak," and confirmed the occurrence of an avalanche that is feared to have caught the climbers in the area around India's second-highest peak. Officials have declined to identify them. Reuters Tripti Bhatt, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) official told Reuters that a team of 15 rescuers which includes police, administration officials, and disaster response personnel have been sent to find the survivors. She also told that the casualties of the climbers in this region are five times higher than on Mount Everest where lately there have been reports of many casualties. She also told that the rescue team has all equipment needed such as avalanche gear, drones and satellite phone to help them find the survivors. But the rescue team will need at least three days of walking to get to the site where avalanche has hit. Rashid Abdulla, leader of the Kerala module of Islamic State group, is believed to have been killed in Afghanistan more than a month ago. A message sent by an unidentified IS operative from Khorasan province of Afghanistan through Telegram app says that Abdulla was killed in random bombing by US forces. Total three Indian brothers, two Indian ladies and four kids got killed, said the message accessed by TOI. The message was a reply to a query as to what happened to Abdulla, who was very active on social media in spreading IS ideology. The Telegram account of Abdulla, who belonged to Kasaragod district of Kerala, was silent for more than two months. He is no more was the terse reply given by the IS cadre, who didnt identify himself. Abdulla was the leader of the 21 people from Kerala who migrated to the IS stronghold in Afghanistan in May-June 2016 along with his wife Ayesha alias Sonia was also in the group that travelled from India via UAE and Tehran to reach Afghanistan. An employee of Peace International School set up by Salafi preacher MM Akbar, Abdulla was drawn towards IS ideology around 2014. An engineering graduate, Abdulla was the head of the department of Other Cognitive Area at the school. His associates at the Peace School had stated that Abdulla was indoctrinated mainly through IS propaganda material available on the internet. After reaching Afghanistan, Abdulla had sent audio clips to lure more people to IS. He had sent more than 90 audio clips through various accounts on Telegram app. The audio messages tried to convey the life under the Khalifate and contained what IS thought was true Islam. Abdulla took the leadership of the Kerala module after the killing of Shajeer Mangalasseri Abdulla, another engineering graduate from Kozhikode. Shajeer too was killed in Afghanistan. Muslim scholars in Kerala including MM Akbar, CP Salim and Zakkariyya Swalahi had refuted the contents in Abdullas messages, which were sometimes very provocative. Swalahi has written a book arguing that Abdullas positions were against Islam. Abdulla had asked Muslims in Kerala to attack non-believers. Security agencies, however, have not yet confirmed the death of the IS leader. Sources in the agencies said that they needed to get some more details to reach a conclusion. They are waiting for the reaction from Abdullas relatives, who are now in the Gulf. Six people in Uttar Pradeshs Baghpat have been arrested after two army soldiers were beaten recently. A video, which has been making rounds on social media shows that two men in plainclothes can be seen being attacked by a group of people. The news agency ANI shared the video, on Sunday, which shows a group descending upon two soldiers with stick and also can be seen abusing them. One jawan whose name was reported as Amit can be seen fighting back, but later he tried to escape but failed and was mercilessly beaten by the mob. #WATCH Baghpat: Two Army jawans(one with a red bag and one in green kurta) thrashed by restaurant employees yesterday after a minor argument.More than 7 people have been arrested by Police. (Note: Abusive language) pic.twitter.com/Of0oaDWdr5 ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 2, 2019 The police said the soldiers were having lunch at a restaurant in Baghpat when an argument broke out between them and a person. As the argument escalated, the restaurant staff got involved and the argument turned into a brawl. The reason for the argument, however, is still unknown. A case has been registered and seven people have been arrested. Ramnand Kushwaha,CO: Two Army jawans were having lunch at a restaurant when they had an argument with a person, then the restaurant staff got involved and a fight broke out. Case registered and 7-8 restaurant employees have been arrested, further probe underway. #Baghpat pic.twitter.com/O3H3SmL6UV ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 2, 2019 "Two Army jawans were having lunch at a restaurant when they had an argument with a person, then the restaurant staff got involved and a fight broke out. Case registered and 7-8 restaurant employees have been arrested," Ramnand Kushwaha, Circle Officer, was quoted as saying by ANI. The crown jewel of US airline manufacturer Boeing -- the Boeing 737 line of airplanes -- has suffered yet another setback. And it isn't a software glitch. Boeing has revealed in a statement that some of its 737 planes, including many of the 737 Max aircraft, may have faulty parts on their wings. This points to a much larger fundamental defect in the Boeing 737 plane's design than previously feared. Reuters After 300 deaths in two international airplane crashes, India has grounded its fleet of Boeing 737 Max aircrafts from flying domestically. And more misery is piling on the aircraft manufacturer, as Boeing has confirmed that some 737 Max aircrafts may have faulty wing parts attached to them. According to several reports, Boeing is actively reaching out to airlines around the world, asking them to inspect a particular section of the 737's wings -- specifically the slat track assembly -- for design defects. Slat track assemblies are part of the aircraft wing that protrude or retract to give the aircraft lift during take-off and increased resistance during landing, and Boeing is asking 737-600, 737-700, 737-800 and 737-900 plane operators, including Boeing 737 MAX variants to verify their slat assemblies. Reuters Boeing is suggesting that faulty aircraft wings in some 737 shipped out may need to be serviced prematurely and replaced. If not looked into, the US airline manufacturer claims that these faulty parts could crack or fall apart, and while it won't be enough to bring down a plane, it may well damage the airplane while in flight. Airlines around the world who have their Boeing 737 planes grounded are being asked to have their wing slat assemblies checked and verified within the next 10 days. With the Assembly election due early next year in the capital city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free Delhi Metro and DTC bus rides for women. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gehlot earlier met senior Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) officials and asked them to submit a proposal in this regard. The free ride scheme project will cost Rs 700 crore, CM Arvind Kejriwal said. "Right now our concern is the safety of women. There are questions regarding the metro, but we will let you know how the proposal evolves at every step," he added. The Delhi government will bear all the expenses, and the scheme for free rides for women was announced at a press conference held in Delhi today. Twitter "On all DTC buses, cluster buses and metro trains, women will be allowed to travel free of cost so that they have safe travel experience and can access modes of transport which they were not able to, due to high prices," he said during the press conference. He also said that subsidy will not be imposed on anyone and the free ride scheme is voluntary. He said that anyone who can afford these modes of transportation can buy their own tickets, so that it can benefit those who are in need of it. "There are several women who can afford these modes of transport. Those who can afford can purchase tickets, they needn't take subsidy. We encourage those who can afford, to buy tickets and not take subsidy so that others could benefit," Arvind Kejriwal said. Representational Image According to reports, around 30 lakh people commute by the Delhi Metro on a daily basis and an official also said that it would be too difficult to calculate the revenue loss. The reports also say that people in the National Capital use buses more than the Delhi Metro. Around 42 lakh passengers commute by buses. People on social media did not appreciate the move and criticised it. Take a look: 1. #FreeMetroRides Working women want safe environment not a free DMRC metro ride What do you think we are not capable enough to pay our bills Understand diff between Equality & Equity#ArvindKejriwal #kuchbhi Arika Bragta (@BragtaArika) June 3, 2019 2. A better solution would have been to alternatively run women-only #metro trains. That would have made sense, at least revenue generation would not have suffered. A populist decision in desperation by a former IRS officer #DelhiMetro #freerides #freemetrorides Amit Chaturvedi (@amittchaturvedi) June 3, 2019 3. Here comes the Good news for Delhities and big surprise for male taxpayers. Your money is going to be utilised soon. Delhi Metro, bus rides likely to be free of cost for women. This is next level of discrimination against men. God save Indian men.#MENTOO pic.twitter.com/Kr6eMKOg2S Vickram Bisyar (@BisyarVickram) June 2, 2019 4. inequality kaha sir at the end family ki saving he ho rhi h free transport se.aur safety bhi rhegi AnkurTiwari (@AnkurTiwaricryp) June 2, 2019 5. Or Give them 60 free rides per month on Delhi Voter ID. That will make sure that women dont awail #FreeMetroRides for der job& notjust to b vid their boyfriends Delhi CM betterment state state Alka Sahu (@AggaAlka) June 2, 2019 6. Wow Kejriwal Ji! What a move. Is this the reaction you expect from Women in Delhi? Sorry to disappoint you but please take a note,we dont sell our votes for free metro and bus rides. #DelhiMetro Prerna Bhardwaj (@prernabhardwaj_) June 3, 2019 Nice move by the Delhi government! Picture Credits: Twitter/Times Now As kids, do you remember what we'd do when somebody asked for a chocolate and we didnt want to give it to them? We used to either hide it or eat it all up! This man in UK did something not too different. A man in the United Kingdom has been jailed for over five years after he blew up his home to prevent his former wife from getting its ownership. Seriously, can you ever think of doing that? Ian Clowes almost got himself and his wife Elain killed after he triggered a huge gas explosion that ripped the house apart, The Bournemouth Daily Echo reported. The couple separated their flats following their divorce, according to BBC. Clowes allowed the insurance on the building to lapse after undergoing severe financial difficulties and was ordered by a court to hand over control of both the flats to his 63-year-old wife. Representational Image - Reuters Following this, on the afternoon of October 22, 2018, Clowes blew up the house by igniting a gas canister. While his wife was rescued, Clowes suffered serious burn injuries that left him for six weeks in a hospital. Stuart Ellacot, prosecuting at the Bournemouth Crown Court said, "There is a level of malice with this case. It may be that he did not intend to cause injury to Mrs Clowes but he did not want her to get the house. The malice comes from him not wanting her to get what he thought she should not," he was quoted as saying. Representational Image Elain said that she was at home when the incident happened and she heard a noise from above and the ceiling crashed down into her flat. Her victim impact statement, which was read aloud to the court, said, I would never suspect he would do something like this. How could somebody behave like this just so his wife doesn't get the house? Flash U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in Switzerland on Sunday that Washington is ready for unconditional talks with Tehran, according to a press release issued by the State Department. The United States is prepared to engage "in a conversation with no preconditions," Pompeo told media during a joint press conference with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis in Switzerland. "We're ready to sit down with them," Pompeo added. However, the top U.S. diplomat also emphasized that Washington would not change its effort to reverse Iran's "malign activity." Pompeo's remarks came one day after Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the talks between Tehran and Washington would be likely if the latter shows respect. "We favor logic and negotiations if they sit at the negotiation table with full respect and follow international regulations," Rouhani said, according to official IRNA news agency. Rouhani's words slightly deviated from the earlier position of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of negotiations with the United States, calling it would be "fruitless and a loss." By implementing "maximum pressure campaign" against Iran, the Trump administration has called for the renegotiation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Washington chose to abandon May last year, as well as Tehran's developing missile program and its regional role. Over the recent weeks, Washington has ratcheted up pressure against Tehran by a series of sanctions, designations and military threats. Iranian authorities have stressed that Tehran would not sit for negotiations under Washington's threats or sanction pressures. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seen during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Buenos Aires, on Nov. 30, 2018. Trumps ending of Indias GSP benefits comes ahead of a meeting between the two leaders in Japan later this month during the G20 Summit. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star... Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri has unusually given credit to President Muhammadu Buhari over the reduction in air mishap Nigeria has witnessed since 2015. The popular critic of the president pointed out that Nigeria has not experienced any plane crash since 2015, thus commending President Buhari for this act. Reno Omokri, however, noted that he does not believe President Buhari has the intellectual capacity to lead Nigeria out of the mess, the president led Nigeria into. Also Read: Watch out Annie, Ladies Are Coming For Your Husband Kemi Olunloyo Warns He wrote: A core critic of President Muhammadu Buhari, Reno Omokri has given the president a pass mark score for his achievement in the countrys aviation sector. Omokri, a former presidential aide, who says hes Buharis official tormenter said this because the country hasnt experienced a single plane crash since Buhari assumed office in 2015. Omokri notes however that although the president still doesnt possess the required intellect to lead Nigeria, he needs to be commended for his work in securing the aviation industry. He tweeted this on Monday via his Twitter handle: In the last 4 years, Nigeria hasnt had ONE plane crash. Obviously, aviation security has improved. I commend @MBuhari for this. I still dont believe he has the intellect to lead Nigeria out of the crisis he led her into. But on this, he scores a pass. Shortly after news broke that men of the Nigerian Police Force have sealed the Corporate headquarters of Oando Plc on Ozumba Mbadiwe street in Victoria Island, ex-presidential aide, Reno Omokri took to Twitter to react. According to the reports, the police sealed off the building following the directives of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the constitution of an Interim Management Team, headed by Mr. Mutiu Olaniyi Adio Sunmonu Omokri said Bola Tinubu, a National Leader of the All Progressives Congress(APC) was going through this because he had insulted former president Olusegun Obasanjo. He urged the former Lagos state governor to go and apologise to the ex-president As his tantrums at Obasanjo marked the beginning of his crisis. Bola Tinubu is the uncle of the Group Chief Executive Officer of Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu who was asked to resign alongside other affected board members after the Securities and Exchange Commission concluded its investigation. What Omokri wrote via Twitter: When you opened that your smelly yellow teeth mouth to openly insult Olusegun Obasanjo, a man old enough to be your father, a man who fought for Nigeria in war and led her in peace, I told you God will reward you. Tinubu, go and apologise to Obasanjo. See how they are disgracing him anyhow with Oando. When you sold your people so cheaply, how will they respect you? In their eyes, a used sanitary pad has more value than you. When will you learn? Jagaban? By the time they finish with you, you will be jagajaga! The former acting director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Calistus Obi has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment. The judgement was delivered by Mojisola Olatoregun of the federal high court in Lagos on Monday. More details shortly Contrary to reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of State, Local Government Police, the Presidency has issued a statement debunking the claim. According to the presidency, Buhari only requested that the report be studied and white paper produced within three months. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu in a statement on Monday said, President Muhammadu Buhari Monday received a report on the reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The President requested that the report be studied and a white paper produced within three months. President Buharis specific directive is that a three-man panel be set up to produce the white paper. We killed our master, daughter after taking tramadol with Indian hemp(Opens in a new browser tab) The report of the white paper committee will form the basis of the decisions of the government on the many recommendations, including the setting up of state and local government police made by the Ojukwu panel. Until a white paper is produced, it will be premature and pre-emptive to suggest that the recommendations contained in the report have been approved by the President in part or whole. Nollywood actress, Shan George, has reacted to claim by Ned Nwokos son, Emzy, that she asked for the lawmakers number. The actress poked controversy in the nose when she lambasted the lawmaker over his marriage to teenage Nollywood star, Regina Daniels. This pushed Emzy Ned Nwoko to call out the actress, describing her as a hypocrite because she also wants to enjoy like Regina Daniels. Also Read: Tee Billz Blames Anthony Joshuas Defeat On Girls Reacting to this, Shan George described the claim as a lie. She wrote: Renowned cleric and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, William Kumuyi has come under severe criticisms after he urged his members not to attack the president and other leaders in the country. The cleric had on Sunday during his sermon at the Deeper Life Bible Church, Headquarters, Gbagada, in Lagos said that real Christians must refrain from attacking President Muhammadu Buhari. He said: Dont attack the president of the country whether in words or in the newspapers or through the internet. Honour kings; dont disrespect or dishonour the governors. Dont disrespect leaders of the community and leaders in the church. If we are to honour the governors in the states, how much more the pastors, Mr. Kumuyi said. A former minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode is one of those who have found fault in the clerics admonition. Taking to Twitter on Monday morning, the former minister said Kumuyi has by his words Kumuyi has spat on the blood and pissed on the graves of every single Christian martyr who have died because they opposed tyranny and injustice. Fani-Kayode said: By his shameful words and his bogus and misleading counsel Kumuyi has spat on the blood and pissed on the graves of every single Christian martyr that ever sacrificed their lives for the faith by opposing tyranny, injustice, and evil. You are here: World Flash At least five people were killed and one was injured Sunday after a car carrying them collided with a truck in southwestern Indian state of Karnataka, police said. The accident took place in Belgaum town, about 505 km northwest of Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka. "An accident took place here today, in which a car collided with a goods truck coming from the opposite direction, resulting in killing of five people," a police official said. "One person critically injured in the accident was removed to hospital." Officials said the impact of the accident was so severe that the car was completely mangled. Meanwhile, in a separate accident a dancer, Queen Harish, and three other folk artists were killed and five others injured in Rajasthan's Jodhpur. "Their vehicle rammed into a stationary truck which left Harish and three others dead on spot, besides injuring five others," a police official said. Deadly road accidents are often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving in India. However, one Emzy who claims to be the son of Ned has come out to slam Shan saying she asked for his dads number. Emzy also leaked some of their chats. He wrote: Wow it just came to my notice.. shan gorge called my dad a dirty and ugly disgusting man but she keep disturbing me for his phone number what a a life.. my dad dont do old school Sorry to disrespect you ma but family first. i know so many nollywood actress who wish to be in reginas position.. instagram save this one here before she unsends dem my dad is a soft guy thats why they keep tripping for him.. he is bazed on soft. emzy ned nwoko jnr.. swipe to see chats Nigerians have taken to their Twitter handle to fire heavy shots at Pastor Kumuyi of the Deeper Life Bible Church for saying President Muhammadu Buhari be left alone and not attacked. He made this known during a Sunday church sermon yesterday, June 2nd. What Nigerians are saying: Pastor Kumuyi should mind his business at Deeper Life Nigerians are taking their destinies in their own hands our clergies have failed us woefully!!! BEng (FUTO), MSc (NMU), PhD (CUT) (@eastunltd) June 3, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Dear Pastor kumuyi, When was the last time you raised a voice against the massacre of Christians by Buharis kinsmen? im pretty sure you must have lost church members in different parts of the country, These are the men who reduce Christianity to a religion of cowards.shame! pic.twitter.com/Lqtn6skq7W U C H E E Z O NY E (@uche_ezeonye) June 3, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Pastor Kumuyi is a respectable and responsible man of God,i like him;But he should allow people to express their views about their leaders and speak truth to power;that is their only shield of defending democracy and propelling the wheel of freedom and justice. Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) June 2, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Pastor Kumuyi should mind his business and not look for our trouble. When did he even start watching news on TV self, thought it was a sin. Confused people. Flakky Flakky. (@adisa_flakky) June 2, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js Pastor Kumuyi said Christians should stop criticizing Buhari by quoting Peter 2: 11-25, but I think he skip or forget the below verses. Jesus, who came from heaven, criticised King Herod, a political leader (Luke 13:32). Olusegun (@theboyisgreat) June 3, 2019 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js A number of clerics on Sunday warned people to stay away from using a trending sex enhancer, Kayan Mata because of its spiritual implications. These clerics while speaking with the News agency said although this particular s3x enhancer may seem to work for the short-term need, it does have long term repercussion. Reverend Joshua Aribisala of the Tabernacle of Glory Church, on his part, said he had to look into the product after his members kept bringing it to his notice. He said: I have heard so much about this Kayan Mata, so many married women in my church have come to ask me if using it tampers with their faith. Due to these many questions, I decided to look into the whole Kayan Mata thing and I discovered that some of these sellers invoke demons to make their products effective. An example is one blue eye bead that they claim gives protection, the blue eye bead is an amulet that was forged by calling on spirits to grant the user protection. However, the devil does not give without taking, the originator of this amulet had to give a sacrifice to the spirits she invoked. These things definitely have spiritual implications that may not manifest until much later in the users life. The cleric recounted the tale of his church member whom a friend gave a waist bead before her wedding. Aribisala went further to narrate the experience of one of his church members who was given a waist bead by her friend as a gift before her wedding. He said: She found out that for the period she kept the waist bead on, she enjoyed good sexual relationship with her husband but the moment she decided to do away with it, her husband suddenly no longer found her attractive and refused to sleep with her. Now, she had no idea the waist bead was the cause of her problem until her friend confessed that she had bought the waist bead from one of these Kayan Mata vendors on social media. She claimed the waist bead possessed some hypnotic qualities and that the woman should have allowed it to break on its own instead of destroying it herself, so you can imagine the mess she is in, A traditionalist, High Chief Kukoyi Ijakande, on his part said, using such products even though they are herbal have various spiritual implications. He said: I am a High priest of Ifa and Orunmila teaches us that whatever you get forcefully will not last, a lot of these Kayan Mata products, though are made with herbs, are concocted calling on spirits that could be dangerous. When you use products that are said to bond you to your husband forever, dont you know that the bonding goes beyond the physical realms? Some women have altered their husbands destinies through the use of these products, they call on spirits to keep their husbands tied to them and in return, the spirits begin dining on the husbands ethereal form. Or when a woman uses a kajal guaranteed to get her anything she wants, the day she gets tired of the man, he might run mad, every spiritual action has a reaction, he said. Controversial Nollywood actor, Uche Maduagwu, has prophesied that actress, Ini Edo, would get married to a rich guy from the south-west region of Nigeria. Uche who made this known via his Instagram page today, June 3rd, asked the actress to be on the wait for the proposal which according to him would happen before December. His post: //www.instagram.com/embed.js This illustration shows how the lettering of the new Philadelphia Inquirer logo compares to the old. The major differences include adjustments to the P and I, with smaller changes to the T, d, p, and q. Read more The Philadelphia Inquirers logo has changed many times since 1829, when the first edition published under the flag The Pennsylvania Inquirer. Every incremental tweak or major redesign has been an attempt to modernize The Inquirer brand to keep pace with our changing region and the greater media landscape. With The Inquirers journalism being published and shared on more platforms than ever, it was time to again update our logo in a way that represented the brands past, present, and future. Here are four things to know about the change: Why Was an Update Needed? We wanted a logo that would capture the life of our brand, speak to new audiences, and integrate seamlessly into all of our products, said Sara Pfefer, an Inquirer graphic designer. She was part of an in-house design team that worked on The Inquirers first logo change in decades. After more than six months of research, analysis, revisions, internal feedback, and reader focus groups, Pfefers logo design emerged as the best choice to represent The Inquirer. We like that the new logo maintained the unique characteristics of the original, iconic design, but made subtle yet recognizable changes for a better experience across all formats," said Jen Strauss, Associate Director of Design at The Inquirer. Whats New? The new design preserves the visual connections to its original typeface, while being optimized to work across digital and print platforms. These small changes will have a big impact on the way the brand is represented on Inquirer.com, mobile apps, social media channels, in print, and throughout the Philadelphia region. What was the Biggest Challenge? As the company looks toward its digital future, it was important to create a logo that will function well not just on the top of the newspaper, but also on icons for apps and on social media. One of the biggest obstacles with the original logo design was the ambiguous look of the I in Inquirer. The team focused significant effort on making the I more readable so it could stand alone as an icon. What Do the Experts Say? When the design team had developed a handful of strong logo options, they brought in an expert with deep connections to our brand: Matthew Carter, a world-renowned type designer and MacArthur Fellowship recipient, had digitized The Inquirers previous masthead in 1997. Matthews inclusion was no accident, Strauss said. He helped us identify all the issues around making a recognizable capital Gothic letter I. He acted as a catalyst to energize our team to find a solution that worked for us now and well into the future." Citing operating deficits and a lack of financial stability, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania announced Monday that it would lay off 10 staff members, about 30 percent of the total, trim programming and services, and focus on its role as a library and archive. In a statement, board chairman Bruce K. Fenton said the hope was that by eliminating jobs, the organization would buy time for "a period of financial recovery and careful planning for its future. The society, at 13th and Locust Streets, has been seeking to partner with an academic institution for about three years. Extensive talks with the University of Pennsylvania did not bear fruit, but over the last year and a half, the society has been discussing affiliation with Drexel University. Those talks have gone slowly more slowly than anticipated, at least by society officials and sources close to the matter said Drexel was proceeding with caution after digging into the societys financial situation. Charles T. Cullen, the societys interim president and chief executive, said that the effort to partner continues. Our active interest in forming a close alliance with an academic institution has not ended, but the protracted nature of the exploration was unexpected, and has contributed to a lack of clarity as to our recently adopted mission, Cullen said, referring to the societys partnering efforts, and its expanded programming and services. The combination of uncertain mission and continuing transition mode has created a challenging fundraising atmosphere, leading to operating deficits and increasing difficulty in achieving financial stability, Cullen said. The societys operating budget is about $3 million, Cullen said, and the operating deficit is at $400,000 for the fiscal year. Founded in 1824, the society houses over 600,000 printed items and nearly 20 million manuscripts. It had a staff of about 34 or 35 before the layoffs, Cullen said. With a leaner team in place, we will be refocusing our efforts on the core of our mission: serving as a research library and archive, Cullen said. Pennsylvania Legacies, HSPs biannual public history magazine, will cease publication after the spring 2019 edition. But library hours, grant projects, and publication of the scholarly journal the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography will continue. The cuts come only a little over a month after a public meeting at the National Constitution Center focusing on the fate of the Philadelphia History Museum at the Atwater Kent. The city cut funding for the history museum on South Seventh Street less than a year ago and the museum closed last summer. In 1999, the historical society agreed to transfer its collection of 10,000 artworks and artifacts to what was then known as the Atwater Kent Museum, in a bid, officials said at the time, to fashion the historical society into an archive and library. Now, the museum is seeking to transfer its collection to Drexel, with which the society wants to partner. The common thread is not so much Drexel, but the inability of either the society or the museum to build significant independent revenue streams in an era of declining public funding and, perhaps, declining public interest. Cullen said the societys debt has not been an issue in the talks with Drexel. A spokesperson for Drexel could not be reached for comment Monday evening. I do know that Drexel is still looking at our financial situation, and Drexel has known our financial situation from the beginning, Cullen said. Drexel is not assuming any debt we have. Cullen said he came to the society on an interim basis to manage the institution through to some kind of partnership. That hasnt happened. Without a partner, he said, the implementation of expanded programming and services had to be scaled back. We needed to pull back and focus on our primary function, he said. Being a library. Were nowhere near where the Philadelphia History Museum was, Cullen said. "We need to put more emphasis on the core mission of this institution rather than trying to find a partner. " UPDATE JUNE 17: DuPont officially unveils Invent a Better N:OW" campaign, stressing the power of essential innovation, according to Barbara Pandos, chief communication officer. Ad agency is R/GA, New York. JUNE 2: The new and reorganized DuPont Co., scheduled to separate from farm-sales giant Corteva on June 3, plans a $10 million-plus advertising, social-media, and marketing campaign to rebuild its image around a new slogan Inventing the Better Now: DuPont to be blasted across public communications media later this month. The company hasnt yet announced the campaign but has begun posting materials based on the campaign Welcome to n:ow and exhorting staff and customers to Invent the better now The campaign, which will include sponsored content video ads prepared at the New York Times Co.'s T Brand Studios, is slated to roll out starting June 10. DuPont plans to tell workers about the campaign this week. The Inquirer learned key details from people familiar with the plan before it was announced, speaking on condition they not be named because they werent authorized to talk about it. The ads are to roll out a week after DuPont goes back into business as a stand-alone company, after merging and swapping some businesses with Dow Chemical Co. over the past two years. The complex transaction was designed to cut central research and management costs, save on income taxes, and boost profit margins. The two chemical conglomerates were pushed into a merger after hedge-fund investors demanded higher profits. A reconstituted Dow separated from the temporary DowDuPont on April 1. NASA astronaut Cady Coleman will be among the spokespeople featured in the DuPont videos, which portray highlights of the companys long list of products from its three business groups, focused on autos and smartphones, military and protection products, food and drug additives and biochemicals. The company last week moved its Wilmington-based biosciences unit, which had been slated to constitute a fourth business group, into the food and drug additives unit, and based the combination in Denmark. The ongoing moves underscore the fluidity of DuPonts businesses and the challenges facing its marketers under executive chairman Edward Breen, who previously broke up Tyco International. Businesses totaling $2 billion of the companys $20 billion in yearly sales are now for sale, and others could follow. DuPont was a pioneer in the public-relations and corporate-communications field. After years of gunpowder explosions literally blew workers (and an occasional du Pont family member) across Brandywine Creek, the companys rapid expansion into chemical industries in the early 1900s was followed by gruesome reports of lead poisoning in its gasoline-additives works and other lethal industrial problems. In response, DuPont established a safety culture and has sold its safety expertise as a consultant to other manufacturers, and worked hard to burnish its image as a corporate citizen proud of its engineering advances. Mid-1900s DuPont slogans included Better Living Through Chemistry, the subject of a mural in DuPonts former headquarters, now home to DuPont chemical spin-off Chemours Corp., along with the Hotel du Pont, Wilmingtons largest commercial theater, and a new food court. The company has continued to face a legacy of environmental damage lawsuits and allegations. Hollywood star Mark Ruffalo is producing a movie also starring Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins, which is expected to screen this fall about lawyers for workers and residents around DuPonts Teflon-producing plants in Ohio and West Virginia suing the company (and Chemours). They gain multimillion-dollar awards after persuading the courts that fatal cancers were linked to their exposure to dangerous chemicals. DuPont products are ubiquitous in the U.S. and other industrial countries, where they are commonly used in construction and electronics as well as processed foods and medicines. The company has sold or closed most of its Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey plants in the past 25 years, though it maintains an office center outside Wilmington, the nearby Experimental Station, and units of scaled-back plants in Deepwater, Salem County, and other locations. Sources familiar with the companys plans say that Barbara Pandos has been working with advertising, publicity, and crisis-management agencies, social media producers, and the New York Times T Brand Studios, among others, on the new slogan and multimedia brand-marketing campaign, and is preparing to spend in the low eight figures to get the word out, starting a week after the stock begins trading. Exelon Generation says it will close the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant unless state policymakers come up with a rescue plan to compensate nuclear energy for its clean-energy contribution. Read more The Pennsylvania House Consumer Affairs Committee on Monday held the first of four planned hearings in Harrisburg about a proposed $500 million rescue for the states nuclear industry. The committee heard from four advocates for contentious House Bill 11, and four opponents of the rescue, introduced last month by Rep. Tom Mehaffie (R., Dauphin). A similar measure was introduced by Sen. Ryan P. Aument (R., Lancaster) in the upper chamber last week, Senate Bill 510. The committee has scheduled additional Harrisburg hearings at 9 a.m. April 15 in the Main Capitol, at noon on April 29 in the Ryan Building, and May 6 in the Main Capitol. Both the Senate and the House proposals would amend the states 2004 Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act (AEPS) to add a category of zero-emission power reserved largely for nuclear producers that would supply 50 percent of the states electricity demand. Electricity customers would pay for subsidies to the nuclear generators, as they do now to alternative-energy producers that supply almost 18 percent of the market. The General Assembly will need to act in the next few months if it wants to avert a threatened closure of Three Mile Island Unit 1, which owner Exelon Generation says is losing money. Critics say the states other nuclear power plants are still profitable, and the rescue would unnecessarily increase earnings of nuclear power producers and diminish competition. The committee on Monday heard from bill supporters, including former Gov. Tom Ridge; Mike Pries, a Dauphin County commissioner; Steve Brame, a spokesman of the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association; and David Griffing, vice president of FirstEnergy Solutions, which says it will shut down its Beaver Valley nuclear power plant in 2021 without support. The opponents included Kevin Sunday, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry; Glen Thomas, a former chair of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; Todd Snitchler, a marketing vice president of the American Petroleum Institute; and Desiree Hung, the AARPs Pennsylvania advocacy director. FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2005, file photo, steam billows from two active cooling towers of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pa. The owner of Three Mile Island, site of the United States' worst commercial nuclear power accident, is acknowledging in a Wednesday, May 8, 2019, statement that it is unlikely to get a financial rescue from Pennsylvania and says it plans to go through with a shutdown starting June 1. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) Read more Exelon Generation on Wednesday acknowledged that a proposed $500 million Pennsylvania nuclear rescue had failed to win sufficient support for passage and said that the company will move forward, as promised, to shut down its money-losing Three Mile Island reactor this fall. Today is a difficult day for our employees, who were hopeful that state policymakers would support valuing carbon-free nuclear energy the same way they value other forms of clean energy in time to save TMI from a premature closure, Bryan Hanson, Exelon senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, said in a statement. The plant, which employs about 700 people near Harrisburg and produces a significant amount of the states carbon-free electricity, will shut down Sept. 30. The closure deals a financial blow to the municipality where it is the biggest employer, and taxpayer, and could derail Pennsylvanias plans to aggressively cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. State Sen. Ryan Aument (R., Lancaster) a co-chair of the Nuclear Caucus and co-sponsor of the legislation, also threw in the towel Wednesday on saving Exelons Unit 1 reactor. Unfortunately, it is clear at this point in time that there is not sufficient support to advance a proposal in time to preserve TMI," Aument said in a statement. This is just a tough blow, devastating, said John Levengood, president of Electricians Local 777 in Middletown, which represents about 280 reactor workers. Its a sad day for the state of Pennsylvania, honestly. Despicable. It didnt even come up for a vote. Gov. Tom Wolf, who had not declared a position on the controversial nuclear rescue package, said in a statement that he was disappointed to learn of Exelons announcement and promised to support workers and the community surrounding the Dauphin County power plant. While I understand the operator is working to offer internal positions to these workers, we will not spare our resources to provide assistance to those who will be impacted. he said. Exelon Generation, which is headquartered in Kennett Square, successfully engineered state rescues in Illinois, New York and New Jersey, but not in Pennsylvania, which hosts the nations second-largest nuclear fleet behind Illinois. In the face of a growing number of nuclear plant closures in America, the sponsors of Pennsylvanias rescue had worked two years to cobble together a tenuous coalition of support. But the legislation fell flat almost immediately upon introduction, opposed by consumer advocates, some environmentalists, and the states natural gas industry, a deep-pocketed rival that also has substantial political clout. The legislation would add a surcharge to customers bills to steer as much as $541 million of subsidies to clean-energy power producers, primarily nuclear generators. But most of the states five nuclear power plants are profitable, and opponents derided the rescue as a bailout that would weaken competitive power markets. PJM Interconnection, the operator of the regional power grid, said the transmission system could withstand the loss of several reactors without imperiling reliability. But Three Mile Islands closure will increase the states emissions of greenhouse gases. Unit 1 produces more zero-carbon electricity than all the states wind, solar and hydro plants combined, and it will likely be replaced by power produced from combusting natural gas, experts say. Exelon acquired Unit 1 in 1999, two decades after the infamous nuclear accident that destroyed its twin in the nations worst commercial accident. The damaged reactor, owned by FirstEnergy Corp., is now dormant and its fuel removed. But it awaits a full decommissioning in tandem with the shutdown of Exelons plant. Eric Epstein, chairman of Three Mile Island Alert, a Harrisburg nuclear watchdog group, said attention will now be aimed at pressuring Three Mile Islands two owners to accelerate decommissioning, rather than taking six decades to complete the task, as Exelon announced last month. Were at the point of no return," Epstein said. "The plant is going to shut down. We need to clean up the site. Exelon placed a June 1 deadline for the legislature to act on a nuclear rescue because the company needs advance notice to either order new uranium fuel to be installed this fall, or to schedule workers to begin shutting the plant down. With only three legislative session days remaining in May, the prospect of passage was fast disappearing. Although we see strong support in Harrisburg and throughout Pennsylvania to reduce carbon emissions and maintain the environmental and economic benefits provided by nuclear energy, we dont see a path forward for policy changes before the June 1 fuel purchasing deadline for TMI, said Kathleen Barron, Exelon senior vice president, government and regulatory affairs and public policy. Exelon announced in 2017 that the station would prematurely shut down, absent financial support, because of economic challenges and market flaws that fail to recognize the benefits from the states zero-carbon nuclear energy plants. Largest employer Three Mile Island is the largest employer, and largest taxpayer, in Londonderry Township, which began belt-tightening efforts two years ago in anticipation of the plants possible closure. Still, Wednesdays announcement was a blow, said Steve Letavic, the township manager. Were heartbroken, he said. We know these people. Theyre our neighbors. They were never a nameless, faceless corporation. Look around, whenever a big employer shuts down, theres a devastating regional impact,," said Letavic. "Theres no viable industry in Pennsylvania that is coming forward to replace 675 good-paying jobs. Three Mile Island and other single-unit nuclear power stations are 22 percent more expensive to operate than multi-unit sites, such as Exelons Limerick and Peach Bottom plants, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Many of the reactors across the nation slated for early retirement are single-unit plants, such as Exelons Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey, which shut down last year. Wednesdays decision will not end the nuclear debate in Pennsylvania. FirstEnergy has announced it plans to retire its twin-unit Beaver Valley Power Station in Western Pennsylvania in 2020 and 2021. But the industry has warned that the economic pressures will continue to mount on the industry. Make no mistake, these pressures will soon be felt by all of the other nuclear plants across Pennsylvania, and unfortunately Exelons announcement only serves to reinforce that conclusion," said Aument, who promised to continue to work on a better solution. Nuclear supporters argue that the industry is a big employer in Pennsylvania and that the industry produces 93 percent of the states zero-carbon electricity. The closure of the Three Mile Island plant will make it more challenging to meet Wolfs goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2025, from 2005 levels. I still believe it is essential to continue this important conversation about preserving and growing Pennsylvanias carbon-free energy footprint," the governor said in his statement. "I remain hopeful that a consensus on a path forward can be reached in the coming weeks. Flash "While striving for common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, we must respect the core interests and accommodate the security concerns of all," said Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe during his speech at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday. "We in China do not covet the interests, nor envy the development, of others. However, we shall never give up our legitimate rights and interests," Wei added. "No country should ever expect China to allow its sovereignty, security and development interests to be infringed upon." This was the first time for a Chinese defense minister to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue after eight years. Wei's honesty, frankness and not shying away from harsh questions gave delegates a good impression, said Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Cooperation benefits China, U.S. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States, and the bilateral relationship has been steadily growing in the past 40 years, despite all the ups and downs, Wei said. "The most valuable lesson we have learned from the four-decade-long relationship is that cooperation benefits the two sides while confrontation hurts both," the defense minister said. Wei's speech mentioned the essential part of China's policy on the United States, that is "fighting but not breaking," said Li. "We've seen the fighting, but Wei also emphasized cooperation, which is very important to all, so that regional countries don't have to choose sides." During his speech, Wei noted that the two militaries have agreed on building their relationship into a stabilizer for the overall relations, maintaining regular communication on the strategic level, and managing risks and preventing conflicts. "The two sides recognize that military conflicts or even a war between them would bring disasters to both countries and the world," he said. "It takes two to cooperate, but only one to start a fight." Wei's speech echoed U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan's remarks a day ealier on building a bilateral military relationship as a stabilizer for the overall relations, said Francois Heisbourg, a senior adviser for Europe of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). "So I think maybe the two militaries have some scope for a degree of maintaining normality in relations. But that will depend on the political development," he added. All participating defense ministers and other delegates to the dialogue were glad to hear from Wei that the Chinese military will interact more with the U.S. military and develop a better relationship, said Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen. "This is good news for all of us," Ng said. "From the Singaporean perspective, both sides strengthening interaction will help lower risks and reduce misjudgement for either party." Asia-Pacific security At the event this year, over 600 defense ministers, policymakers and experts from about 40 countries gathered from Friday to Sunday to discuss security issues in the Asia-Pacific. "We should respect and accommodate the legitimate security concerns of one another," Wei said. "China understands and respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries, and supports the social systems and development paths they independently choose." "The minister has systematically elaborated China's concept on international security order, world peace and stability, regional security and safety, and explained some of China's specific actions, these have yielded positive results," said Li. For one, Wei refuted the allegation that China is militarizing the South China Sea islands and reefs. "It is the legitimate rights of a sovereign state to carry out construction on its own territory. China built limited defense facilities on the islands and reefs for self-defense," he said. "Where there are threats, there are defenses." The current situation in the South China Sea is improving towards greater stability, Wei said. Over 100,000 ships sail through the South China Sea each year and "none has been threatened." A state grand jury is investigating New Jerseys tax-break programs for businesses, raising the stakes of an already heated debate in Trenton over economic development incentives. The grand jury last week issued a subpoena to the state Economic Development Authority, which oversees the multibillion dollar incentives programs, a person familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to discuss it and requested anonymity, confirmed Sunday. News of the subpoena was first reported by Politico. Gov. Phil Murphy appointed a task force to investigate the tax credit programs in January, after a state audit found significant problems with oversight at the agency, including the EDAs ability to verify whether jobs were created in return for the tax breaks. In response to that same audit, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced in January that his office was launching an inquiry into the tax incentive programs, to figure out what exactly happened and whether any laws were broken. At the time, Grewal called the reports finding deeply troubling and said the audit raised the possibility that the EDA may have failed to identify material misrepresentations when companies applied for tax breaks. The attorney generals office on Sunday said, It is our policy to neither confirm nor deny investigations. The scope of the criminal investigation wasnt clear Sunday, except that information sought by the grand jury in the subpoena to the EDA largely tracked information that the task force has been gathering, the person said. The task force has held a series of public hearings examining information submitted by tax-credit recipients, among them businesses that planned to relocate to Camden. A spokesperson for the EDA didnt respond to a request for comment Sunday. PSEG operates the Salem and Hope Creek nuclear power plants on Delaware Bay in South Jersey. The cooling tower is associated with the Hope Creek reactor. Read more With the states nuclear reactors under imminent threat of closure, New Jersey regulators on Thursday voted to approve $300 million in ratepayer subsidies to benefit nuclear power generators, primarily benefiting Newark-based PSEG. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) voted 4-1 Thursday to approve new zero-emission credits for the Salem and Hope Creek power stations in South Jersey. The approval comes two days after PSEG, the plant operator that lobbied lawmakers to approve the subsidy last year, notified authorities that without state support it planned to close the reactors beginning this fall. The subsidy amounts to 0.4 cents per kilowatt hour, or about $4 more on the bill of a residential customer using 1,000 kWh monthly. New Jerseys ratepayer advocate and environmental activists had argued that PSEG had failed to establish that its plants in Lower Alloways Township, Salem County, face financial peril, as required under the zero-emission credit law. The BPU sold out the ratepayers and renewable energy today by going along with this unnecessary nuclear subsidy," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said in a statement. "This giveaway is about greed and not need. PSEG, which separately owns New Jerseys largest utility, Public Service Electric & Gas Co., maintained that the plants were disadvantaged compared with low-cost natural gas generators and with subsidized solar and wind producers. Supporters of nuclear rescues argue that the closure of reactors would lead to higher electricity costs, as well as the loss of jobs and zero-carbon emissions associated with nuclear plants. The BPU just saved the people of the state hundreds of millions of dollars in what would have been higher energy costs, thousands of jobs lost, and tons of environmentally damaging air emissions, PSEG said in a statement. More than a hundred PSEG employees, wearing orange T-shirts, attended the BPUs meeting in Trenton on Tuesday. New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Connecticut have approved subsidies to the embattled nuclear industry, which says seven reactors have closed prematurely since 2013 because they could not complete in low-cost energy markets, and a dozen more reactors have announced planned early retirements. The risk of closure is real, Maria Korsnick, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, told New Jersey regulators last year. We are seeing it play out in slow motion across the region. Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Maryland are also considering rescues. The legality of such programs was affirmed Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up challenges to the New York and Illinois subsidies. PSEG said the timing of its notice Tuesday to the regional grid operator, PJM Interconnection, that it would begin closing its New Jersey reactors this fall was coincidental to the boards vote and was dictated by an April 16 deadline to notify PJM that the plants would be unavailable to the power grid in the near future. PSEG owns all of the single-unit Hope Creek Generating Station, which can produce 1,172 megawatts of electricity. It owns 57 percent of the older Salem Nuclear Generating Station. Exelon Generation owns a minority share of the twin-unit Salem plant, which can produce 2,327 MW. Exelon has been deeply involved with promoting nuclear rescue bills in Illinois and New York and is leading a contentious effort in Pennsylvania to pass a $500 million nuclear subsidy. New Jerseys nuclear-subsidy program differs structurally from the proposal in Pennsylvania. Both programs require subsidized generators to demonstrate an environmental benefit to their states. But New Jerseys specifically requires the power producer to establish a financial need. The authors of Pennsylvanias legislation say they wanted to steer clear of a means test to avoid accusations that the subsidy amounts to a bailout. The Board of Public Utilities had the legal authority to determine that no plants are eligible for subsidies. Supporters of the nuclear subsidies argued that they are similar to the renewable-energy certificate programs that New Jersey has established for solar and offshore wind generation. In this August 2018 photo, family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses protest outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn. Oklahoma's attorney general announced a $270 million settlement on March 26 with Purdue Pharma. Many counties are suing the firm in Pennsylvania, and their suits are coordinated in Delaware County, Pa. Read more When Oklahoma wrested a $270 million settlement last week from Purdue Pharma for its alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic, the reverberations were felt about 1,400 miles away in Delaware County. Thats where upward of 40 cases, including Philadelphias, are grouped together in a coordinated action against opioid makers and distributors, and where little progress has been made over the last 18 months. More than a dozen counties are taking new steps to get out of Delco, and get on with litigation in their home counties, citing the cases lack of movement in the Delco courthouse. Its my opinion that we are not getting a fair shake to get our cases to trial in a reasonable amount of time, said lawyer Joseph Cappelli, who represents Bensalem township and 14 counties, largely in Western Pennsylvania. The Oklahoma settlement," he added, was the result of the plaintiffs in that case having an opportunity to push their case and get a trial date. Oklahomas attorney general is still barreling toward a May 28 trial for the remaining defendants in the lawsuit. About 1,600 opioid cases, consolidated in federal court in Cleveland, are heading for a bellwether trial set for October. The companies accused of downplaying the risk of addiction, including Purdue, and of failing to flag suspicious orders of painkillers, are vigorously defending against the claims. At the state level, Cappelli filed a motion Monday in Delco court, asking to break up the proceedings on behalf of 13 counties. One reason for the request, he said, is that Delaware Countys case isnt there anymore. That suit the first opioid case filed by a Pennsylvania county brought all the others to Media, Pa. It has since been transferred to federal court. Another reason: Nothing is progressing," Cappelli said. It would be more efficient to have each and every [case] sent back to their counties for that litigation to go forward. On Friday, Lehigh County District Attorney James Martin submitted a status update to a Lehigh judge, and asked the court to let his case resume there, as well. The update, from the law firm representing the suit, cited the utter stagnancy of the Delaware County action. Theres been no discovery in the cases, the letter said, and no rulings or orders issued by the third judge to oversee the suits despite repeated requests by multiple counsel for various parties. Whereas Oklahomas strategy succeeded, Lehigh Countys similar litigation strategy was derailed, wrote attorney William Platt. The Lehigh case had a court-ordered trial date for March 2020, but the lawyers say theyve lost nine months on that schedule. A spokesperson for the Delaware County court said the timelines for the cases, under two case management orders, have been adhered to, and that a final deadline for certain filings is set for early this month. The court has every confidence that Judge Barry Dozor, who took over the cases in January, will continue to fairly, justly and efficiently preside, said district court administrator Gerald Montella. Paul Hanly, who represents Delaware County, and is one of the lead attorneys in charge of the Pennsylvania state cases, called the Oklahoma settlement a welcome development for our clients in Pennsylvania, because it suggests, but does not guarantee, that at least one defendant appears anxious to resolve cases without the risk of trial. Hanly is co-lead counsel for the block of federal cases in Cleveland, too. But it remains unclear just where Hanlys Delco case will end up. On Thursday, a panel of judges met to review whether to transfer the case from federal court in Philadelphia, to federal court in Cleveland with the other opioid suits. As of Monday afternoon, the panel had not yet issued a decision. Hanly previously told The Inquirer that if the case goes to Cleveland, he will try to convince the court there to send it back to Pennsylvania. Hanly also has maintained that coordinating the Pennsylvania cases in one court is more efficient, and that he, and his colleagues representing Delaware County, are the best equipped to oversee them. But lawyers for other counties, and for Philadelphia, are still trying to land spots on the lead counsel committee. Montella said the Delaware County court will be taking up those petitions, as well. Another one of the lead attorneys for the federal opioid cases, Joe Rice, also has a foot in Pennsylvania. The cases here are bogged down, said Rice, whose firm represents opioid suits for Pittsburgh, and for Allegheny and Erie counties. The Oklahoma settlement in which Purdue denied any wrongdoing was the first, and involved just one company so far. Its a multi-billion-dollar problem, Rice said. But for Pennsylvania to get the benefit from litigation, we need to get the litigation moving. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, whose opioid case is also in Delco, declined to comment on the pending litigation. Baby Depot, Burlington Stores selection of baby clothes, strollers, toys, and other accessories, is one of the New Jersey companys top-selling categories, especially after the Toys R Us liquidation. Burlington now displays its toys front and center in stores, where as in the past they would be moved to the back of the store once the holiday season ended, Thomas A. Kingsbury, Burlington Stores chief executive officer and chairman, told analysts last week. Weve been able to really capitalize on whats currently happening in the marketplace, Kingsbury said referring to the bankrupt competitor, which was liquidated in 2018 Toys R Us now operates as Tru Kids under a new ownership, which has plans to revive the brand in time for 2019 holiday sales. Last week, Burlington said the increase in total sales by 7.3 percent to $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2019 was in part due to strong sales at Baby Depot stores. Burlington also views former Toys R Us locations as valuable real estate and opened three stores in the former toy retailers stores in late 2018 and has plans to open more, according to the CEO. Clearly, the disruption in this business caused by the Toys R Us bankruptcy has created an opportunity that we have begun to capitalize on, Kingsbury told analysts in March. And we see additional opportunity for outpaced growth over the next few years. Its not just Burlington Stores thats benefiting from Toys R Us closure, which left an estimated $1.3 billion void in the market, according to real estate firm CBRE. Walmart and Target expanded their toy departments, Amazon launched a toy catalog, Party City opened Toy City pop-ups, and FAO Schwarz reopened its Manhattan store. Still, U.S. retail sales of toys declined 2 percent to $21.6 billion in 2018 after four years of industry growth, the NPD Group reported in January. Nobody is not going to purchase a toy because Toys R Us isnt there, Adrienne Appell, a Toy Association spokesperson, told The Inquirer last year. Youre going to see a lot more toys in a lot more places. Burlington is based in Burlington, N.J., and has 684 stores in 45 states and Puerto Rico. It made its name as a coat-focused off-price store, but transitioned to more of a department store model in 2006. When that didnt work, the company focused on being a well-known off-price retailer, Wells Fargo Securities analysts wrote in a Thursday note to investors. The company employs about 44,000 people, including part-time and seasonal employees, as of Feb. 2, according to the companys annual report. Burlington announced last month that Michael OSullivan, most recently the president and chief operating officer at Ross Stores will become CEO, replacing Kingsbury, who will move into the role of executive chairman of the companys board. As BURL strives to close the gap between themselves and their larger peers, taking on best-in-class leadership is certainly a strong step along the right direction, according to the note from Wells Fargo Securities analysts. Attorneys from the SEC will educate seniors - and anyone else - who want to learn to avoid investment scams and recognize the red flags. Read more Want to avoid becoming a victim of financial fraud? Learn directly from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities, and Temple Universitys Institute on Protective Services about various investment products and how to protect yourself from financial scams. The SECs Philadelphia Regional Office will host an event for senior investors on Tuesday, June 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Montgomery County Community College. The program will take place in College Hall 144/148/151 on the campus at 340 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell, Pa. This senior outreach event is free to the public and lunch will be provided. Register by email to attend the event (SECSeniorOutreach@sec.gov) or call 215-597-0200 and provide your name, phone number, and whether you require special assistance for a disability. An important reason why we come to work every day is to help people understand investing and how to identify potential fraud," said Jeffrey Boujoukos, regional director of the Philadelphia office for the SEC. A program like this one helps us talk with senior investors directly, answer their questions in person, and show them our website Investor.gov so they can use it as a resource to learn more about protecting their money in the days and years ahead, he said. Boujoukos will kick off the program on Tuesday morning, followed by a two-part panel on Understanding Financial Products. Speakers include Peter Chandler, director, investor education at FINRA; Glenn Skreppen, director, bureau of securities compliance and examinations, at the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities; and Mark Zehner, deputy chief, public finance abuse unit, Division of Enforcement at the SECs Philadelphia regional office. The second panel takes place in the afternoon with additional speakers. In addition, Ronald Costen, professor at Temple University with the colleges Institute on Protective Services, will speak on Changes in Thought and Memory and How That Affects Decision Making." After noon, another panel takes place describing Red Flags of Investment Fraud and FINRA Trusted Contact Rule, followed by the lunchtime keynote speaker Lori Schock, director, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy with the SEC. In addition to the Investor.gov website, the SEC maintains a current checklist for all investors, reminding them to: identify goals and create a financial plan; pay off high-interest debt; participate in company retirement plans and take full advantage of employer matching; do a background check on any investment professional; understand fees; research investments; maintain a diverse portfolio; and avoid investment opportunities that sound too good to be true. Noah Bank is headquartered in Elkins Park at the intersection of Rte. 611 and Cheltenham Avenue, just over the Philadelphia city line. Its CEO, Edward Shin, was charged with self-dealing and bribery on May 29, 2019. Read more The CEO of Elkins Park-based Noah Bank was arrested Wednesday and charged with secret self-dealing and taking bribes in exchange for issuing loans. Edward Shin, 56, allegedly siphoned off commissions on loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. One of the loans, $950,000 issued to a New York company in which Shin held a 50 percent ownership stake, went into default, resulting in a $611,500 loss to the SBA, according to court papers. Shin allegedly directed an employee to deposit a check for $113,300 into one of his companys accounts. The employee then told investigators that she provided a signed check worth $50,000 against that account and that Shin attempted to sign it over to a Las Vegas casino. The casino refused to honor the check when it could not determine if Shin had a connection to the company. Also known as Eungsoo Shin, the executive previously headed Royal Asian Bank which became Noah Bank in 2011. Noah Bank primarily serves the Korean American community. In addition to allegedly exploiting his position as a bank officer to illegal issue SBA loans to entities in which he had a financial interest, Shin allegedly took kickbacks on commissions for those loans from a third party broker who did not legitimate work in the loan process, said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman of the Southern District of New York. Shin, of Ambler, was charged by the U.S. Attorneys office Money Laundering and Transnational Criminal Enterprises Unit with single counts of conspiracy to commit bank bribery, bank bribery, theft of funds by a bank officer, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. If convicted, Shin faces up to 30 years in prison. Developers have been trying for six years to build a 124-mile natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania to New York. Despite winning a federal approval in 2014, the project is still no closer to reality. Enter President Donald Trump, who on Wednesday is poised to issue an executive order to promote projects such as the long-stalled Constitution Pipeline, according to people familiar with the matter who asked for anonymity to discuss it before a formal announcement. The move seeks to short-circuit regulators in New York who have denied the planned pipeline a crucial permit, invoking their powers under the Clean Water Act to reject projects they deem a threat to water supplies and the environment. Other states and tribes have wielded the power to restrict a coal export terminal and hydropower project on the West Coast. The Clean Water Act wasnt intended to give a state veto power, said Dena Wiggins, president of the Natural Gas Supply Association. The actions New York is taking not only impact New York, they are impacting the entire Northeast, because we cant get a pipeline through the state in order to provide gas service to the Northeast. But New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that no corporation should be allowed to endanger our natural resources, and vowed the state will not relent in our fight to protect our environment. Trumps order, slated to be unveiled during a visit to the International Union of Operating Engineers International Training and Education Center in Crosby, Texas, comes as the president continues to chafe at regulatory barriers he says throttle the full potential of American energy dominance, while keeping the nation hooked on foreign gas imports. Trump also is set to issue an executive order aimed at boosting cross-border energy infrastructure, following long delays on high-profile projects such as TransCanada Corp.s Keystone XL oil pipeline, according to two people familiar with the matter. The edict represents a reprise of earlier presidential memos and orders Trump issued in 2017 in a bid to hasten permitting of U.S. energy infrastructure. The order slated to be released Wednesday focuses on promoting projects with facilities or land transportation crossings at U.S. borders. Trumps action is unlikely to jump-start widespread construction, because its up to Congress not the president to restrict states authority under the Clean Water Act. And the initiative isnt expected to solve legal problems thwarting several pipelines in the Mid-Atlantic U.S., which hinge on inadequate Interior Department reviews not formal objections from states. Still it marks a formal push by Trump to rein in states that have emerged as a major barrier to constructing pipelines. Even if its not a silver bullet, the pipeline order will be construed as opening the door to overcoming these hurdles that states are throwing up, said Christi Tezak, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners. Trumps pipeline order is set to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to revise its handbook for how states can use their certification power to vet projects that cross wetlands, rivers and other bodies of water. Those Section 401 certifications named for a provision in the Clean Water Act are supposed to be approved, denied or waived by states and tribes within a year of a project application. Yet federal regulators have said the one-year clock can be restarted whenever developers submit new or revised applications for state review. Fights over state permits have led to years-long delays and protracted federal court battles, with some analysts urging investors to consider elevated risk premiums in making decisions about projects designed to cross some particularly challenging states. Prime location In addition to the Constitution pipeline, a joint venture between Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Williams Cos., Duke Energy Corp. and AltaGas Ltd., New York also has denied water quality certifications for Millennium Pipeline Co. LLCs CPV Valley lateral project in the states Orange County and National Fuel Gas Co.s Northern Access project. The denials have drawn scrutiny because of the states prime location, standing between a prolific shale gas formation and consumers throughout the Northeast U.S. who are hungry for it. Limited pipeline capacity and other legal constraints prompted the region to import natural gas from Russia last year. New York will continue to use all available means to vigorously oppose any efforts to reduce states ability to protect our water resources, the states Department of Environmental Conservation said in an emailed statement. Trumps order cant override provisions in the Clean Water Act that give states a powerful role vetting such projects, Tezak said. An executive order cannot take off the table the ability of a state to say no for reasons it believes are appropriate, and the venue for adjudicating that is not the White House its the courts, Tezak said. But what states will be constrained from doing is meaningfully extending the process. Federal courts and regulators are already moving in the same direction. Even without Trumps order, analysts say they expect the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to soon overrule New Yorks denial on the grounds it came too late. Environmentalists have blasted the plan. This executive order is nothing but an attempt to trample peoples rights to protect their air, water, and climate from polluting oil and gas pipelines, said Greenpeace USA Climate Campaigner Rachel Rye Butler. The presidents effort also has rankled some Republicans including governors in the Western U.S. who say his initiative threatens to infringe states rights. The Western Governors Association warned Trump in a Jan. 31 letter that curtailing the vital role of states in maintaining water quality within their boundaries would inflict serious harm to the division of state and federal authorities established by Congress. Brandon Flood, the new director of the State Board of Pardons, shown here in Lt. Gov. John Fetterman's office at the Capital Building in Harrisburg, PA, April 1, 2019. Flood is a former inmate. Read more This column will probably come as something of a shock to all the people in Harrisburg who only know Brandon Flood a bow-tied, bespectacled policy wonk with sartorial flair as the persona that he laughingly calls Urkel Brandon, in a homage to one of TVs most famous nerds. Flood, now 36, readily admits most folks who know him from nearly a decade as a legislative aide or lobbyist will be shocked to learn of his past that includes boot camp for juvenile offenders, a physical scuffle with Harrisburgs then-police chief, and finally felony convictions and two lengthy prison stints for dealing crack cocaine and carrying an unlicensed gun. But starting last week, Floods turnaround saga has become a talking point and a mission statement for his new job as secretary of the five-member Pennsylvania Board of Pardons anchoring one leg of a broader push in Harrisburg for criminal justice reform, aimed at giving more convicted felons a chance for clemency or to wipe their slate clean with a pardon. What makes Floods appointment even more remarkable is that to steal a phrase from TV infomercial lore hes not just Pennsylvanias new top pardons administrator, hes also a client. Gov. Wolf signed off on Floods own board-approved pardon, erasing his past convictions, just a few weeks before Flood stepped in as secretary. Taking a break last Monday during his first day on the job for a sit-down interview, the soft-spoken Flood said a number of new initiatives to not only call attention to Pennsylvanias pardon process but also to make it easier to apply for one will hopefully show former inmates that the state is more focused on rewarding good post-prison behavior. If they see this [a pardon] as a viable option, they will continue to be productive citizens, Flood said, who plans to use his own story as a powerful example of that. They will see theres a light at the end of the tunnel. Floods hiring was the brainchild of Pennsylvanias new lieutenant governor, John Fetterman. Policy-oriented, progressive and looking for areas where he can make a difference in the oft-neglected No. 2 slot, the burly, black-shirted Braddock ex-mayor has honed in on his designated role as chairman of the Board of Pardons. Fetterman told me that Flood is a singularly unique person to have in order help remake the process ... which is only the only remedy for anyone in Pennsylvania who wants to move forward with their lives in this way. Floods arrival helps mark the beginning of one era in Pennsylvania criminal justice and arguably the end of another. It was exactly 25 years ago that a convicted murderer named Reginald McFadden was granted his freedom by a Board of Pardons led by then-Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Singel, who was also running for governor that year. McFadden almost immediately killed two people and raped a third, and the case, with its overtones of the infamous Willie Horton affair, was cited by experts as a reason for Singels defeat that fall. The political fallout dramatically changed Pennsylvanias pardon math. Critics (including the man Fetterman ousted in a 2018 primary, ex-Lt. Gov. Mike Stack) came to say that the states pardon system was broken in an era of skyrocketing mass incarceration. Commutations of life sentences ground to a virtual halt, post-McFadden, while pardons for lesser crimes slowed as long backlogs and a confusing process discouraged applicants. Brandon Flood doesnt need any schooling on the era of harsh justice in Pennsylvania. He was on the front lines. Growing up in Harrisburg, Flood said he and some buddies started selling marijuana as a way to make a quick buck or two when he was just 13, and within a couple of years hed moved on to dealing crack cocaine when the highly addictive rock was at its peak. His story crushes many of the cliches about young urban crime especially the one about absent fathers. Floods father (who died in 2010) was an ex-military man and college-educated government accountant raising him and two sisters as a single dad. A self-described iconoclast, Flood thinks he turned to the street to rebel against his straight-arrow upbringing. I was trying to take the easy route, he said of his youthful forays into drug dealing, although his first arrest at age 15 had nothing to do with dope. Police were making a habit of stopping by Harrisburgs John Harris High School even the then-chief Charles Kellar. Flood says Kellar demanded that the then-teen remove his coat, but he refused and ended up in a tussle with the lawman, taken to the police station and booked. Floods problems with the law accelerated. He did the states four-month boot camp and ultimately earned his high school degree at the Abraxas youth-detention program in Marienville, Pa. He was arrested for dealing drugs at 18, turned down a plea deal and sent away for four years only to get arrested again at 22 for the unlicensed firearm as well for selling crack again. It was just as hard to reconcile the mild-mannered accountants son with the street life then as it is now. When I was involved in criminal activity, even some of the addicts in the throes of their addiction would say to me, Why are you out here?" Flood recalled. Nonetheless, with his two adult felony convictions by the age of 22, his mindset as he ended up an inmate at the state correctional facility in Chester was that hed chosen his lifes career: Criminal. Instead, Flood credits the atmosphere at the Chester site -- with college-level courses and a spirit of reform advocacy -- with helping the iconoclast to pull a complete 180-degree turn during his final five years of incarceration, Once shy, he found a voice moderating events on criminal-justice issues and editing the prison newsletter. He said he gained special inspiration from reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Flood explained that the books power wasnt so much spiritual as just understanding how systems work and understanding where the true levers of power are located. That meant returning to Harrisburg after his freedom and looking toward a career in politics. Like for so many returning prisoners, it wasnt easy at first. He said the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) interviewed him three times before getting cold feet over the gun charge on his record. But he was able to get work as a legislative aide with help from two Philadelphia then-lawmakers, Frank Oliver Sr. and Vanessa Lowery Brown, who eventually helped make Flood legislative director of the Pennsylvania Legislature Black Caucus. He later did lobbying work for the SEIU labor union and the NAACP, making friends all over the capitol. One was former pardons secretary Mavis Nimoh -- who badgered Flood to apply for one himself. Like other Pennsylvanians, Flood despite his newfound insider status found the pardon process hard to navigate. He said he screwed up the application the first time. Ultimately, the process including the public review by the full board last fall took about three years until it was approved and signed by Wolf in early March. By then, Flood was already talking to the new lieutenant governor Fetterman about taking over as secretary, which means overseeing the pardon boards day-to-day operations and its small staff of five people. Flood -- today a father with two sons of his own -- is making $89,000 a year in the position. For Fetterman, who hails his close working relationship with Wolf on criminal justice reform, Floods hiring is symbolic of both down-to-earth pardon reforms -- a $63 application fee was eliminated last month, and the board is looking to digitize the application process and possibly open satellite offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and eventually elsewhere -- and a bold new attitude. In December, Wolf granted board-recommended clemency to three life-sentenced inmates -- after only signing two in his first 47 months in office. Fetterman, whos currently on an all-67-county tour to discuss the possibility of legalizing marijuana, also said he wants a task force to look at granting widespread pardons for past pot-related convictions. These are simple charges that are damning peoples career possibilities, he said. What the lieutenant governor and Flood are suggesting is not so much a complete reversal from the post-McFadden clampdown as creating more chances and more incentives for more Pennsylvanians to seek state-sanctioned redemption. People shouldnt look at this as opening the floodgate, no pun intended, Flood said. He cited his good working relationship with Pennsylvanias victim advocate, Jennifer Storm. But Flood also expressed his hope that a more accessible pardon process could help Pennsylvania show the rest of the nation a pathway toward creating more comeback stories like his own. We need to be smarter on crime on what works as opposed to what makes for a better soundbite, he said. The climate is certainly ripe for that. A good beer can become great with time in a barrel, the right bacteria bugs to do the work, and an intuitive brewer who knows how to be patient enough to let the magic happen. You know me, I just dump it in oak and let the beer rot for few months until it tastes good, says Jean Broillet IV of Tired Hands Brewing Co. And then we put it in the bottle. It was a coy bit of false modesty considering Tired Hands rising national acclaim, and the fact Id also just informed Broillet that his Ardmore brewery had won one of the top prizes at The Inquirers 10th annual Brewvitational for local beer, a second place in the barrel-aged category for an oak-aged honey saison called Sticky Drippy Crystals. Though the sweetness is fermented out of the beer completely, it was aromatic with yeasty tropical fruits and black pepper, and in the distinct perfume of honeysuckle that hovered in the frothy mist of a head that just wouldnt quit. That guy is completely stoned to the bone on honey," Broillet said of both the beer and the besotted, psychedelic cartoon character sketched on Sticky Drippys label. Of course, none of the 16 judges who convened from different corners of the beer world for the private tasting had any idea. The Tired Hands entry was just one of 82 beers from 43 brewers served in two categories new and barrel-aged beers to the panel in clear plastic cups simply marked with a numbered code. Its a blind-tasting method that levels the playing field for unknowns and big names alike and that inevitably produces some surprise winners and story lines. This year was no exception, from the little-known first-place winner from New Jersey that blends and barrel-ages multiple vintages of beers but doesnt brew them to a clear push toward lower-alcohol brews and a lighter touch across a wide range of styles. It was the biggest field yet for a competition that began with just 28 beers from 18 breweries in 2010. And the BrewviX judges got to glimpse the vast range of beer visions bubbling through todays local scene, from the crisp technical prowess of the well-crafted German-style pilsner from Sterling Pig that won first place for best new beer, to oddities made with everything from basil to peanut butter, to aromatic saisons, barrel-aged dark beers, spontaneously fermented sours and fruit-infused summer gose sippers. READ MORE: Meet the Philly beer experts who judged Brewvitational 2019 I feel like I tasted nearly every flavor profile known to the beer world, said Mike Fava, the panels guest out-of-town master brewer, a barrel beer specialist at Oxbow in Maine who trained locally at Dock Street and Nodding Head before leaving the region seven years ago. It truly is a testament to how advanced and mature of a beer scene exists in Philadelphia. Nowhere in the world has the diversity and variety that exists in Philadelphia. This years special focus on barrel-aged beers seemed particularly apt for a scene thats hit a certain level of sophistication but that still continuously produces treasures from unexpected places. True to form, a new star and a new local trend altogether were revealed this year with the first-prize winner in the barrel category, an ethereally tart and well-balanced spontaneously fermented wheat ale called Berliner-Messe: Credo 2018 from the Referend. The who? That was the reaction from most judges in the room save for Tom Peters and Felicia DAmbrosio, the tasting duo also known as Tomlicia (he sniffed, she sipped) from Monks Cafe, the Belgian beer temple that happens to have several beers on its list from the Referend, a blendery housed in a Pennington, N.J., industrial park. I actually met [Referend owner James Priest] at Cantillon, Peters said with a nod of approval. He was referring to the legendary lambic producer in Brussels, an inspiration to wild yeast brewers everywhere, which is essentially the ultimate place youd like to run into your ambitious neighborhood beer-blender on vacation. READ MORE: Inside the award-winning beer company that doesnt actually do any brewing Priest, 31, even has an open-top fermenter called a coolship inspired by the one at Cantillon in order to capture the terroir of ambient yeasts floating in the air. Of course, Priests is a mobile version in the back of a box truck because he does not actually own a brewery (yet), but instead sources wort (the base of beer) made to his recipes from up to 10 local brewers. Once he returns to his cellar, the beers are fermented further, put in barrels to mature, and eventually blended. Its an old European method prized by the gueuze masters of Belgium, like Tilquin, that is gaining traction locally with other examples. The beer for Credo 2018, for example, was assembled from four barrels brewed between 2016 and 2017 over the course of three seasons at Stickman Brews in Royersford, fermented in multiple methods, and drawn from some barrels that were neutral and others that previously held port. Judges raved about its balance of tart and funky notes, as well as its elegant carbonation. We intervene as little as possible in the process, and from there we let intuition drive all the little individual blends and moves, Priest said. Mastering the vagaries of barrel-aging and the introduction of wild yeasts like brettanomyces, which can produce challenging aromas of barnyard funk and sourness, is not always an easy task. That was obvious from judges tasting notes, who described off notes like cheese rind and Tabasco sauce in less-impressive barrel beers. READ MORE: Heres what the best beers in Philly taste like, according to the experts French fries, yoooo, wrote bartender Jessica Miller of the International Bar, echoing a similar tasting note for the beer coded #44b. Tastes like moldy cheese. Whats up with the nail polish [smell]? Again. Not good, brewing consultant Scott the Dude Morrison wrote of the beer identified only as #6b. Morrison found several to like, however, including a bourbon barrel-aged Russian Imperial stout from Brewery ARS, Colored Moon, that took fourth place: Yea, Yea, Yea, its outta here! Home run! Sipping beer all afternoon does have its rewards. Like the bourbon barrel-aged version of the historically inspired George Washington Porter brewed with molasses by Yards that took third place in the barrel-aged category: Instead of chocolate cake, Ill have this for dessert, wrote judge Ned Foley, whose Royersford farm, Two Particular Acres, produces malt for several local brewers. Its a little frisky! In a good way, former Inquirer columnist Rick Nichols wrote of the porters pleasantly boozy edge. The ever-opinionated Nichols, though, also had an unpleasant run-in with a saison. For fans of vinegar purges, this should be a godsend. Tasting this many beers can be a challenge considering the wide range of brewing skill levels on display with entries that are inevitably trying to make a big statement. A decade ago, the Brewvi contenders were all about big double IPAs, lip-numbing hops bombs, and high-alcohol heavies. Over time, the competition has charted the scenes shift into more diverse interests, with yeasty Belgian styles, fruity sours, a return to lagers, and the now-popular juicy Northeast-style IPAs whose hazy brews emphasize fresh hops aromatics over pure bitterness. This years competition saw brewers take a decisive step toward more finesse, as the best examples that won BrewviX prizes ratcheted back the intensity of sour notes (while still delivering a fruity pucker) and embracing the national trend toward lower-alcohol brews. Of the top six beers across the two categories, only one came in at higher than 5.1% alcohol. Hersheys Troegs Brewing Co., which in 2018 placed high with a wickedly sour wild peach ale called Dear Peter, took a far softer approach to fruit beer this year with a refreshing but far more accessible gose plush with red berries accented by Himalayan salt called Raspberry Tart Ale. Highway Manor took second place in the new beer category with a Belgian-style table beer initially called Microflora Diaspora that still shows the bretty funk of a spontaneously fermented beer but that is considerably less intense (at just 4.2%) than sours like Say John and Mr. Cherry that first put the Camp Hill brewery on the beer-nerd map. The biggest challenge, says brewer Johnnie Compton III, has been the cumbersome name, which he recently rebranded as Manor Light: No one wants to buy a beer they cant pronounce, Compton says. Even this years winning new beer from Sterling Pig, a newly canned (and now widely available) version of its flagship beer, Shoat, is less intense than the more powerfully hopped keller pils that won Sterling Pig a second-place award in the 2018 competition. That a clean, crisp pilsner could win beside far showier styles proves there is still a thirst in this region, with its long established German roots, for classic beers done right. That breweries like Sterling Pig and Troegs should place so well in back-to-back years (and two wins in three years for Tired Hands) is a testament to their consistent excellence especially considering that the judging panel is significantly different every year. Troegs, meanwhile, can claim the distinction of also being a top finisher in the original Brewvitational of 2010, with a massive barley wine called Flying Mouflan that was a product of its more is better era that now also gets aged in bourbon barrels (because barrels, of course!) Troegs admirable longevity, not to mention a first Brewvi win for Philly pioneer Yards, should reassure any veteran brewers concerned about the continuous flood of new breweries across the region. The Brewvi has hosted nearly all of them over the last decade. And the verdict from all that blind sipping is clear: Phillys good beer scene has become great over time, and quality still rises to the top. When there are more than 80 beers to consider in a blind tasting, its no small accomplishment to make the cut for the second round at the Brewvitational. Here are the top 18 finalists for the 10th annual Brewvi, divided between two categories. They are listed in order of finish. The best beers in Philly: Meet the 18 finalists from the 2019 Brewvitational New Beers 1. Shoat German Pilsner (5%, 24 IBU), Sterling Pig Brewery. 2. Manor Light Microflora Diaspora (4.2%, 30 IBU) Belgian Table Beer, Highway Manor Brewing. 3. Raspberry Tart Ale (4.5%), Troegs Independent Brewing. 4. (tie) Mojo Belgian-style Wit (5%, 20 IBU), Brewery Techne. 4. (tie) Sauer Sauce Berlinerweisse with Peach (4.8%), Stoudts Brewing Co. 6. (tie) Wild King Wild-Fermented Double IPA (8.9%), Dock Street Brewery. 6. (tie) IP-Yay! India Pale Ale (6.2%, 32 IBU), Manayunk Brewing Co. 8. Pretty Persuasion Raspberry Farmhouse Ale Saison (5.8%, IBU), Love City Brewing Co. 10. (tie) Amorphous Anniversary NE IPA (6.5%), Locust Lane Craft Brewing Co. 10. (tie) V Grand Cru (12.7%, 15 IBU), Conshohocken Brewery. Barrel-aged Beer 1. Berliner Messe: Credo 2018 Spontaneously Fermented Pale Wheat Ale (4%), the Referend Bier Blendery. 2. Sticky Drippy Crystals Oak-Fermented Honey Saison (5.1%), Tired Hands Brewing Co. 3. Washingtons Reserve Porter Aged in Bourbon Barrels (7%, 40 IBU), Yards Brewing Co. 4. Colored Moon, Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout (10%, 30 IBU), Brewery ARS. 5. Sweet Sunshine, Sour Barrel-Aged Imperial Porter (7.3%), Conshohocken Brewery. 6. Bourbon Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout (11.3%, 82 IBU), Double Nickel Brewing Co. 7. En Passant, Saison (6%, 25 IBU), Forest & Main Brewing Co. 8. Oak-Aged Honor Wagon, Mixed Fermentation Saison Conditioned in French Oak (6% IBU N/A), Tonewood Brewing Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D, N.Y.) speaks during a protest against abortion bans on May 21 outside the Supreme Court in Washington. Read more At a time when the right to abortion is on the line, two prominent economists argue that legalized abortion has been the nations single most powerful antidote to crime over the last 30 years. John J. Donohue, a Stanford professor of economics and law, and Steven D. Levitt, a University of Chicago economist, first put forth that innovative and incendiary proposition in a paper nearly 20 years ago. Using reams of data and statistical modeling, they deduced that after the U.S. Supreme Courts 1973 decision legalizing abortion, it was disproportionately used by women at high risk of having children who would grow up to be criminals. The economists estimated that abortion accounted for up to half of the drop in violent and property crime between 1985 and 1997 and they predicted the pattern would continue as the full effects of legal abortion access played out. Now, they say, they were so right. By updating their analysis to look at 1997 through 2014, they credit legalized abortion for 45 percent of the decline in U.S. crime rates, which have fallen by about half since the early 1990s. It is rare for an economic theory to make predictions for 20 years into the future that are both bold and precise. The abortion-crime hypothesis, however, did just that, Donohue and Levitt write in a working paper circulated last month through the National Bureau of Economic Research. More than a few scholars disagree. The methodology and the merits of the hypothesis have been subject to intense criticism for years. Their story doesnt add up, said Theodore Joyce, a professor of economics at Baruch College of the City University of New York. Criminologists are struggling to explain it. Here in New York City, the homicide rate is now down to 3 per 100,000 [people]. That is nothing less than miraculous. The national rate is 4 per 100,000. But its not because of abortion. In an interview, Donohue said, Ted is someone who has worked in this area for a long time. He feels people infringing on his turf, but thats not a good basis for evaluating the data. Outside academic circles, the abortion-cuts-crime theory was popularized when Levitt included it in the 2005 bestseller Freakonomics. Both Levitt and Donohue have said they are not advocating abortion or pushing a social, political, or racial agenda. They just wanted to understand a puzzling trend: U.S crime rates began falling in the early 1990s, defying respected criminologists who warned America was a ticking crime bomb. We were and have continued to be interested in explaining one of the most profound mysteries of American life, Donohue said. In addition to crime and abortion data, the economists drew on reproductive health research done in the U.S. and other countries showing that young, disadvantaged, and minority women have higher abortion rates, and that unwanted children are more likely to have troubled lives. As they recap in the new paper: Decades of social scientific research have demonstrated that unwanted children are at an elevated risk for less favorable life outcomes including criminal involvement, and the legalization of abortion appears to have dramatically reduced the number of unwanted births. Their updated analysis, like the original one, found that crime rates fell earlier and further in the five states that legalized abortion before 1973, and crime fell more in states with high abortion rates than in states with low abortion rates. Those who doubt abortion drove down crime acknowledge that other explanations including better policing, more imprisonment, the war on drugs, a strong economy, gentrification, immigration also have weaknesses. Besides pointing to technical flaws in the original papers methods, critics say the correlation between abortion and crime could simply be circumstantial. Correlation isnt causation, said Douglas Baird, a law professor at the University of Chicago. As an example of a dubious link, he cited the so-called hemline index, which says dresses get shorter or longer depending on the stock market. Christopher Foote, senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, echoed: I see people who eat broccoli are much healthier than those who dont. I dont know if its the broccoli or something else about those people. I dont believe [Donohue and Levitt] made a compelling case that crime was falling because of abortion. Another issue: U.S. abortion rates have been declining for decades and are now at historic lows. In 2015, the rate was about 12 abortions per 1,000 women, down from the 1980 peak of 29 abortions per 1,000 women, according to federal data. Logically, if abortions reduce crime 15 to 20 years later, then dramatically reducing abortions should produce a spike in crime 15 to 20 years later. But from 1997 to 2014, property crime rates fell despite declines in abortion, an anomalous finding that Donohue and Levitt speculate reflects the birth of fewer unwanted children. Drops in abortion are starting to muddy the initial picture for property crime, Donohue conceded. The question is, is that inconsistent with the theory. The critics will say, Yeah, thats inconsistent. Now that abortion is falling and crime is still falling, they have to explain this, Joyce said. They say its because of less unwanted pregnancy. In other words, they dont have an explanation. The updated analysis comes as more and more states including Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Georgia, and Alabama are passing ultra-restrictive abortion laws that violate the constitutional protections laid out by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade. Although the laws are not being enforced, abortion foes hope this sets the stage for the high court to revisit and overturn that 1973 landmark. Then abortion legalization would again be up to individual states. Donohue said the loss of abortion access could show up in future crime rates. We could conceivably see the unwinding of the [anti-crime] effect because of restricted abortion access today, he said. But it wont show up for 20 years, so it makes teasing out the effects complicated. For me, he added, I dont think abortion is a good thing. The good thing is preventing women from being oppressed and mistreated in ways that increase unwanted pregnancy. But I do think, in general, its a very bad idea to interfere too much with the ability of a woman to control her own fertility. If states are effective in achieving the goal of preventing women from getting abortions women whose lives would be impaired in significant ways if they were forced to have children that would be very bad. MCS Industries' CEO Richard Master poses for a photo at MCS Industries Inc., a company that supports OMedicare for AllO national health program Monday, June 03, 2019 in Easton, Pennsylvania. WILLIAM THOMAS CAIN / For The Inquirer Read more EASTON, Pa. Walk into a big-box retailer such as Walmart or Michaels and youre likely to see MCS Industries picture frames, decorative mirrors, or kitschy wall decor. Located next to a dairy farm a few miles west of downtown Easton, MCS is the nations largest maker of such household products. But MCS doesnt actually make anything here anymore. It has moved its manufacturing operations to Mexico and China, with the last manufacturing jobs departing this city along the Delaware River in 2005. MCS now has about 175 U.S. employees and 600 overseas. We were going to lose the business because we were no longer competitive, CEO Richard Master said. And one of the biggest impediments to keeping labor costs in line, he said, has been the increasing expense of health coverage in the United States. Today, hes at the vanguard of a small but growing group of business executives who are lining up to support a Medicare for All national health program. He argues not that health care is a human right, but that covering everyone with a government plan and decoupling health care coverage from the workplace would benefit entrepreneurship. In February, Master stood with U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) outside the Capitol after she introduced her Medicare for All bill. This bill removes an albatross from the neck of American business, puts more money in consumer products, and will boost our economy, he said. As health costs continue to grow, straining employer budgets and slowing wage growth, others in the business community are beginning to take the option more seriously. While the influential U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other large business lobbying groups strongly oppose increased government involvement in health care, the resolve of many in the business community especially among smaller firms may be shifting. There is growing momentum among employers supporting single-payer, said Dan Geiger, co-director of the Business Alliance for a Healthy California, which has sought to generate business support for a universal health care program in California. About 300 mostly small employers have signed on. Businesses are really angry about the system, and there is a lot of frustration with its rising costs and dysfunction, he said. Geiger acknowledged the effort still lacks support from any Fortune 500 company CEOs. He said large businesses are hesitant to get involved in this political debate, and many dont want to lose the ability to attract workers with generous health benefits. There is also a lingering distrust of the government, and they think they can offer coverage better than the government, he said. In addition, some in the business community are hesitant to sign on to Medicare for All with many details missing, such as how much it would increase taxes, said Ellen Kelsay, chief strategy officer for the National Business Group on Health, a leading business group focused on health benefits. Democrats propel the debate For decades, a government-run health plan was considered too radical for serious consideration. But Medicare for All has been garnering more political support in recent months, especially after a progressive wave helped Democrats take control of the House this year. Several 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, strongly back it. The labor unions and consumer groups that have long endorsed a single-payer health system hope that the embrace of it by employers such as Master marks another turning point for the movement. Supporters of the concept say the health system overall would see savings from a coordinated effort to bring down prices and the elimination of many administrative costs or insurance company profits. Its critical for our success to engage employers, particularly because our current system is hurting employers almost as much as it is patients, said Melinda St. Louis, campaign director of Medicare for All at Public Citizen, a consumer-rights group based in Washington. Master frequently travels to Washington and around the country to talk to business leaders as he seeks to build political support for a single-payer health system. In the last four years, he has produced several documentary videos on the topic. In 2018, he formed the Business Initiative for Health Policy, a nonprofit group of business leaders, economists and health policy experts trying to explain the financial benefits of a single-payer system. Dan Wolf, CEO of Cape Air, a Hyannis, Mass.-based regional airline that employs 800 people, calls himself a free-market guy. But he also supports Medicare for All. He said Master helps turn the political argument over single-payer into a practical one. Its about good business sense and about caring for his employees and their well-being, he said, adding that employers should no longer be straddled with the cost and complexity of health care. It makes no more sense for an airline to understand health policy for the bulk of its workers than for a health facility to have to supply all the air transportation for its employees. Employers are an important voice in the debate because 156 million Americans get employer-paid health care, making it by far the single-largest form of coverage. Master said his company has tried various methods to control costs with little success, including high deductibles, narrow networks of providers, and wellness plans that emphasize preventive medicine. Insurers that are supposed to negotiate lower rates from hospitals and doctors have failed, he added, and too many premium dollars go to covering administrative costs. Only by having the federal government set rates can the U.S. control costs of drugs, hospitals and other health services, he said. Insurance companies are not watching the store and dont have incentives to hold down costs in the current system, he said. Glad the boss is trying to make a difference Whats left of MCS in Pennsylvania is a spacious corporate office building housing administrative staff, designers, and a giant distribution center piled high with carton boxes from floor to ceiling. MCS pays an average of $1,260 per month for each employees health care, up from $716 in 2009, the company said. In recent years, the company has reduced out-of-pocket costs for employees by covering most of their deductibles. Medicare for All would require several new taxes to raise money, but Master said such a plan would mean savings for his company and employees. MCS employees largely support Masters attempt to fix the health system even if they are not all on board with a Medicare for All approach, according to interviews with several workers in Easton. I think its a good idea, said Faith Wildrick, a shipper at MCS who has worked for the company 26 years. If the other countries are doing it and it is working for them, why cant it work for us? Wildrick said that even with insurance, her family struggles with health costs as her husband, Bill, a former MCS employee, deals with liver disease and needs many diagnostic tests and prescription medications. Their annual deductible has swung from $4,000 several years ago to $500 this year as the company has worked to lower employees out-of-pocket costs. Im really glad someone is fighting for this and trying to make a difference, said Wildrick. Jessica Ehrhardt, the human resources manager at MCS, said the effort to reduce employees out-of-pocket health costs means the company must pay higher health costs. That results in less money for salary increases and other benefits, she added. Asked about Medicare for All, Ehrhardt said, Its a drastic solution, but something needs to happen. For too long, Master said, the push for a single-payer health system has been about ideology. The movement has been about making health care a human right, and that we have a right to universal health care, he said. What I am saying is, this is prudent for our economy, and am trying to make the business and economic case. Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. Summer is the hungriest time in the city, because kids don't have access to school meals. Andrea Cooper of Darby gets help from the Philadelphia Archdiocese, which also works with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and others. Read more As the school year comes to a close, I cant help but think of the fact that nearly one in four kids in Philadelphia dont get the food that they need to lead a healthy, active life. How is it that in a country of wealth and excess, many of childrens basic life needs are not being met? Medical visits for hunger-related complaints have two major peaks: in the depth of winter and when school is out of session. As a pediatrician in the emergency department, I see this hunger present as belly pain quickly cured by a sandwich; poorly controlled diabetes because of inexpensive calorie-dense, nutrient-poor food; and in severe cases, even seizures in babies because of watered-down formula. When society fails these kids, it becomes the health-care systems responsibility not only to address health concerns, but also to help improve the familys resources. Community agencies have been addressing social need for far longer than the health-care system. By partnering with and learning from organizations in the community, we can address food insecurity, or hunger, and improve the health outcomes of children while strengthening the social safety-net in Philadelphia neighborhoods. During the school year, more than 21.5 million low-income children across the country rely on free and reduced-price school breakfast and lunch as their primary source of nutrition. While summer should be a carefree time of playing outdoors for kids, without food provided through school, it is instead too often a time of hunger. Federal summer nutrition programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide meals to children during the summer months. Unfortunately, due to lack of awareness of these programs, few families who could benefit from them participate. Although there are more than 1,000 of these summer meal sites in Philadelphia, only one in seven children who receives free or reduced-price school meals also participate in summer meal programs. This is the exact scenario that calls for strong collaboration between health systems and community partners to ensure these children are not falling through the cracks. For the past two years, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia has partnered with the Nutritional Development Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to feed kids a complete lunch while school is out, and to provide families with information about nearby summer meal sites. This program is aptly named Complete Eats. Through the Complete Eats program, we served nearly 7,500 balanced lunches to patients and their siblings last summer, and connected families with food sites in their communities. An early evaluation results publishing soon of this program demonstrated that providing summer meals to children in a clinical setting is feasible and acceptable to families, and did not interfere with clinical care. Caregivers reported feeling that the hospital was a good location for the program, and while the majority had not previously heard about the federal governments summer nutrition programs, after participating in Complete Eats, nearly all participants shared plans to access a meal site in their community. The Complete Eats program provides tangible evidence of the potential of community-clinical partnerships to connect families with the services that they need most. As an increasing number of health-care systems begin to screen for social needs, I would advise them to take stock of the strength in their communities and build effective and lasting partnerships for the benefit of their patients. Here in Philadelphia, the Summer Meals program begins on June 10, so if you are a health provider and suspect that your patients are struggling with hunger, ask aboutthe resources available. Anyone, anywhere across the country can text Food to 877-877 to find free summer meals in their area and help kids play, grow, and return to school ready to learn. Its time to forge more partnerships and reinforce the safety net for kids. No child should be left hungry simply because school is out of session. Its time to strengthen our community-clinical connections to improve food-insecure childrens access to food, because hunger doesnt take a holiday. Danielle Cullen, M.D., MPH, MSHP, is a researcher at PolicyLab and an emergency medicine physician at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Chris Wallace and Daiyon Kpou, co-directors of MOVES, foster a safe and inclusive environment centering queer people of color at their pop up gallery in West Philly. Read more This story is part of Made In Philly, a series about young residents shaping local communities. Daiyon Kpou greeted people as they enter what used to be a Baltimore Avenue tattoo shop. The store front, bustling with queer people of color, is the latest venture of Philadelphia based non-profit MOVES, a collective striving to provide safe spaces centering black and brown queer and trans people. Being in that former tattoo shop is the culmination of years of work for Kpou and her team in order to create a space for celebrating the creativity of the community. That night, attendees could look at the work of various artists, or stop at a station to create their own work. The tattoo shop had left a stencil board and people were using it as a place to paint. When the pop up does not have programming it operates as a coworking space and rec center. The Womanist Working Collective donated a couch, while Fresh Grocer donated snacks. MOVES had one mission for this space: Everyone has something to offer, and there you could show it. The pop up gallery, operating through June 15, is located at West Philadelphia, only seven blocks from Kpous childhood home. The location is deliberate. She notes that the neighborhood has changed drastically over the years and not always for the better, mentioning concerns of over policing and gentrification. But MOVES is in a place that is accessible to the community they are trying to reach. We can provide something unique while considering the social and economic changes that are happening here, Kpou said. In addition to maintaining the gallery space, the MOVES team is working to produce their annual arts culture and film festival JUICE, happening June 8 at West Phillys One Art Community Center. In its third year, Kpou describes it as what a more inclusive Pride festival might look like, where people can come together build community and celebrate in a space that is affirming and inclusive. For Kpou, the search for safe community events and spaces was largely driven by her experiences in the Gayborhood. I started MOVES because I really wanted to be out and feel what it might be like to be authentically queer in the city of Philadelphia, she said. In 2016, she began posting on Instagram to curate events that were free of the micro-aggressions, like dress code policies and confrontational security, she felt were common in an area that claimed but failed in regards to racial and cultural diversity. Kpou was not the only Philadelphian to take note of this behavior. A long standing history of discrimination in the Gayborhood can be traced back to a report conducted by the Coalition on Lesbian-Gay Bar Policies in 1986 that noted how the neighborhoods establishments including the still-operating Bike Stop and Woodys catered to largely a white male audience. More recently, the lack of inclusivity and discrimination resulting in a hearing hosted by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) that issued recommendations to Gayborhood bars highly focused on diversity trainings. In the three years since MOVES began, Kpou has been immersed in a community of friends, found a network of people willing to support the organization and met her co-director who works alongside her with a team of roughly 10 volunteers. Chris Wallace joined the MOVES collective in 2017 after volunteering at the original JUICE festival and experiencing a space that catered to black and brown queer and trans folks for the first time in Philly. Wallace is moved by the positive feedback the organization has received. Others, they observed, needed MOVES as much as they did. Becca Graham found MOVES at its start when she was looking to engage with black and queer communities after finding little success doing so while growing up in Ithaca, New York. She has interacted with the nonprofit as an event attendee, volunteer and recently as a performer at the gallerys Tea and Tunes event that centered around healing and wellness. They dont just organize parties. Its community. Its being able to set up community that feels like it can sustain, said Graham. As MOVES works to fulfill their mission in Philly, similar work is being done for communities of color in New York. Chroma recently celebrated the opening of their studio space, on the Lower East Side, and Najla Austins Ethels Club is projected to open in Brooklyn this August. Like MOVES, both organizations aim to create spaces that center a specific demographic. After June 15, the MOVES team plans to keep growing and learning as an organization in any way they can. They currently do not have access to another physical space, but hope that with continued support they will secure another consistent place for community building. Creating these spaces is allowing us to feel free and empowered with each other, said Wallace. We need to do this type of work because no one else is going to do it for us. There needs to be safe spaces for black and brown queer and trans folks. Columbine High School shooting survivor Austin Eubanks was found dead earlier this May in his Colorado home. Read more Austin Eubanks voice held steady as he recalled his memories of a spring morning long ago, and the moment an innocuous visit to his high school library became something different a scene in a national tragedy that he would replay for the rest of his life. Just minutes later, I was playing dead underneath a table, next to a pool of blood, Eubanks said during a TEDx talk in 2017. He was one of 21 people who survived being shot by a pair of heavily armed students at Columbine High School in 1999; 13 others died. Doctors prescribed powerful painkillers to treat his hand and knee wounds, but he quickly discovered that the drugs were even better at smothering his emotional pain. I was addicted, he said, before I even knew what was happening. On May 18, Eubanks, 37, was found dead in his house by his father. In a statement, Eubanks family said he lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face. His death served as a grim reminder of the trauma that gun violence survivors carry with them, long after theyre discharged from a hospital. Mental-health and emotional needs are among the wide array of issues that U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans proposed studying in legislation they introduced earlier this month to create a federal Advisory Council to Support Victims of Gun Violence. The bill was drafted in response to an Inquirer investigation last year into the crushing financial burdens that gun violence survivors and their families shoulder, forcing many to hunt for government resources to help meet their basic needs. Post-traumatic stress and anxiety can be even more overwhelming. Earlier this year, two survivors of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida committed suicide, as did Jeremy Richman, whose 6-year-old daughter was fatally shot at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. Eubanks, meanwhile, sank deep into addiction, getting arrested multiple times and divorced before completing a dramatic turnaround in recent years that saw him become a motivational speaker and a chief operational officer at a Colorado drug-treatment center. Cathy Plush, the executive director of Springs Recovery Connection in Colorado Springs, watched Eubanks speak about his demons at a 2016 rally her nonprofit hosted for several hundred people. There wasnt a dry eye in the place, she said. Eubanks struggle is likely familiar to many Philadelphians. About 1,400 people were shot here last year; on average, gun violence victims face an average of $46,632 in medical costs. Some, such as Jalil Frazier, who was shot and paralyzed while protecting three children during a barbershop robbery in January 2018, turned to social media to commiserate with other gun violence victims. Stories such as Fraziers and Eubanks will be shared at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 5 p.m. on Wednesday during a rally, Fill the Steps Against Gun Violence, thats been organized for a fourth year by Inquirer columnist Helen Ubinas. >>READ MORE: Shot and Forgotten: Shooting victims face lifelong disabilities, financial burdens Justin Hoffman speaks about his lawsuit against the Diocese of Camden, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, and St. James Parish, at a news conference Tuesday. Read more Do not for a moment buy the adage that justice is blind. Not in Pennsylvania. Not this week. After a stunning change to New Jersey law that became official on Monday, and an equally stunning change to New York law in February, justice for sexual assault victims in Pennsylvania now is a second-tier matter, denied by politics and the poor luck of geography. The divide is stark. It is absurd. And it is make no mistake entirely a product of Republican leadership of the House and Senate in Pennsylvania. Were you raped as a child by a Pennsylvania priest or schoolteacher? If you want justice, then you had better hope it happened in New Jersey or New York. Only those states, under groundbreaking laws, allow civil action for abuse that happened years ago. It is why a Philadelphia man on Monday announced he is suing the Camden Diocese for alleged clergy abuse in Ventnor, N.J. If, however, you were violated by a Pennsylvania priest or teacher somewhere between Erie and Philly, your only legal option is to shut up and move on. The men who control the House and Senate have chosen to bow to bishops and insurance underwriters rather than stand for the children damaged for life by abusers. This is the moral fault line. An immoral one. Pennsylvania at its most bankrupt. It was not magic that made New Jersey and New York care about victims. It was voters and Democrats running the show. Republican Gov. Chris Christies being replaced by Democrat Phil Murphy in 2017 set the stage, after two decades of legislative struggle, for changing the statute of limitations so that people no longer had only a few years, essentially, to sue before losing that right. Another foe of such a reform, Democratic Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto, then got out of the way in January 2018 by stepping down. His replacement as speaker, Democrat Craig Coughlin, was supportive of suspending the statute of limitations so that all victims could sue. Then came revelations late last year in Pennsylvanias sweeping grand jury report into Catholic Church abuse across the state a staggering prosecutorial document that outraged people across the world. It was enough that, across the Delaware River in New Jersey, the Democratic Senate and Assembly finally united behind victims. They passed a bill, signed by Murphy this week, allowing all victims of sexual abuse, regardless of age, to sue their rapist or the institution that oversaw their abuser. Any victim for whom the statute of limitations had run out will now have two years, starting in December, to file suit. This is a similar, if not exact, version of what Pennsylvanias Republicans have fought for years. New York passed a similar bill only after Democrats there took control of the state Senate in November. Its probably in the top one or two pieces of legislation Ive worked on in the past 21 years, Democratic Sen. Joe Vitale, 64, the bills longtime advocate in New Jersey, told me Tuesday. It took 18 years, Vitale said. Bishops called lawmakers. Lobbyists fought to protect the insurance industry from potential payouts. To the end, Vitale had doubters. I won some dinner bets, Vitale quipped. I think good triumphs over evil. Yes. A moral victory. If every member of the Pennsylvania legislature sat through a hearing and listened to the stories of victims and their parents who lost their children to suicide because they couldnt live with the pain of their abuse," he said, "they would likely change their minds. Republican leaders in Pennsylvania have not held a single hearing in 15 years to hear from abuse victims. And their leader now, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, unapologetically defeated a statute of limitations bill late in October that would have done much of what New York and New Jersey are now allowing. >> READ MORE: The Catholic Church Owns the Pa. Capitol Democratic voters made Scarnatis party pay in November. The GOP majority in both chambers is now vulnerable enough that Democrats may have a chance at flipping control in 2020, unless its gerrymandering holds. This is the prescription for justice in Pennsylvania. Get the wrong guys out and get the right guys in. Democratic Sen. Katie Muth of Montgomery County, who ousted a longtime Republican in November, has introduced a statute of limitations bill that would give victims two years to file lawsuits. Odds are long for its passage with Republicans in charge. Youre talking to someone whos not supposed to be in the Senate right now and didnt have the odds to win, Muth told me Tuesday. I think our odds are maybe against us. But again, Im not a quitter. Neither was Vitale. Thank God. The two towers in the Centre Square office complex at 15th and Market are among the 700 properties involved in a lawsuit that alleges Philadelphia illegally targeted commercial properties in a 2018 revaluation project. The case went to trial Monday, June 3. Read more Assessors deliberately chose to single out some of the citys most-prominent and valuable commercial real estate in a 2018 revaluation that significantly increased their tax bills, an attorney for 700 commercial property owners argued Monday. The allegation by Adam Koelsch came at the opening of one of the largest assessment appeal cases in the citys history Monday, with about $63 million in tax revenue at stake and involving office complexes, hotels, and apartment buildings that include One Liberty Place, Centre Square, and the Bellevue Hotel. The city countered that its methodology was appropriate. The case hinges on a 19th-century law known as the uniformity clause, which requires counties to assess all properties at the same percentage of value. The property owners allege that the 2018 revaluation, which raised an additional $118 million in tax revenue for the city and School District, focused only on commercial and industrial parcels and therefore violated the state constitution. In short, commercial properties were revalued at market value and residential were not," said Koelsch, a lawyer with Chamberlain Hrdlicka, who delivered opening arguments on behalf of the property owners. The city deliberately chose to single out commercial properties." The city maintains that its work was legal, and that while all properties were reviewed in 2018, the nonresidential parcels were most in need of updates. Another key issue is the citys implementation of the so-called Actual Value Initiative (AVI) that took effect in 2014. Under it, the city assesses all property at 100 percent of its value, or the amount for which a property could sell on the open market. Deputy City Solicitor Benjamin Field said the implementation of AVI included values for commercial and industrial properties that were too low and in need of revision. The property owners benefited from the imperfection of those values until 2018, when they were corrected, Field said. Field said the Office of Property Assessment (OPA) does its best each year to improve uniformity and keep values up to date in the citys voluminous and complex property inventory." OPAs processes were appropriate, were neutral, and improved uniformity each year," he said. Testimony began Monday with Chief Assessment Officer Michael Piper, who explained the citys methods of valuing property. Asked whether the city achieved its goals with the Actual Value Initiative, Piper said: In some respects we did, in some respects we didnt. A lawyer representing the 700 property owners questioned Piper about news releases, testimony before City Council, internal emails, and presentations that referred to the 2018 assessment project, in an effort to prove that only commercial and industrial properties were revalued. Pipers days as chief of OPA are likely numbered; after City Council called for new leadership in the office and declined to approve his appointment to another term, Mayor Jim Kenney launched a search in February for his replacement. The search for a new chief assessor comes amid an unrelated but continued outcry from City Council members and residents over a 2019 reassessment that raised the median value of a single-family home by 10.5 percent. Values and corresponding tax bills are set to rise again in 2020 for thousands of homeowners. Former Mayor John F. Street, who has filed his own lawsuit against the Kenney administration over property assessments, attended the trial Monday wearing a T-shirt underneath his blazer that read, Stop illegal real estate assessment tax increases." Street said he designed the shirt himself. In court Monday, lawyers for the property owners cited the 2019 reassessment that changed the values of most residential properties in the city as evidence that commercial property owners were unfairly singled out in 2018. Two administrators of OPAs residential property division also testified Monday. They said OPAs modeling team modeled only commercial and industrial property values for 2018. The residential property unit, they said, did only routine work for 2018, which included updating values for new construction, tax abatements, and changes in conditions of properties. Whether that work amounted to a reassessment of residential properties is at issue in the case, because the commercial property owners allege that there was no full reassessment of residential properties that year. The trial, before Senior Common Pleas Court Judge Gene Cohen, is expected to last two weeks. Steve Castillo operates the 13-cubic-yard excavator used to break up and dredge rock from the Delaware River. JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer Read more Steve Castillo reclined in a vinyl seat in the cramped cockpit of the New York, a 3,400-horsepower monster dredge, manipulating controls that extended the vessels mighty excavator arm deep into the dark waters of the Delaware River. He glanced at a monitor depicting the scene 45 feet below the surface, where the excavators giant bucket gouged bedrock on a recent morning, deepening the river channel to accommodate a modern fleet of larger cargo ships. Castillo, who is from West Palm Beach, Fla., was fortified with a case of bottled water, a cooler full of snacks, and a radio that he joked seemed only to receive stations playing holiday music. He was settled in for the long haul. The same could be said for the Delaware River deepening project, which officials say will finally be finished next year nearly three decades after it was first approved, and two years behind schedule. "Weve been waiting a long time for this, but were excited, said Sean E. Mahoney, director of marketing for the Port of Philadelphia, the state agency that is paying for 35 percent of the dredging costs about $140 million of the total tab of $400 million, which has increased from its initial budget of $300 million. Mahoney hopes that by the end of March, PhilaPort can notify international shipping companies that the deeper river channel is open for traffic. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the agency overseeing the dredging, estimated it will generate net annualized benefits of more than $40 million to the U.S. economy. Local officials say the deeper channel will keep PhilaPort from being marginalized in the competition for the new vessel traffic. Since Congress approved a plan in 1992 to deepen the Delawares main channel from 40 feet to 45 feet, the project has survived litigation from environmentalists, who alleged it would harm marine life, and from neighboring states, which saw no benefit in improving the shipping industrys access to Philadelphias port. After dredging finally began in 2010, federal funding was not always reliable, further slowing progress and driving up costs. Earlier this year, the project was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. The Army corps said that rock outcroppings concentrated in a 10-mile stretch of the river between Eddystone and Wilmington were larger and more durable than anticipated. It needed to call in reinforcements. The corps' contractor was able to dislodge much of the rock with explosives, but blasting is limited to four winter months to reduce harm to migrating sturgeon. And several areas could not be blasted because they were too near to buried gas and fuel pipelines and a submarine Comcast fiber-optic cable there are about 30 separate utility crossings under the Delaware. So the corps imported an eight-ton underwater hammer from Europe to break up the hardest bedrock near the pipeline crossings. It also extended its contract with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. LLC to bring back New York, the monster dredge whose specialty is clawing out the hardest material. Last month the corps approved the final payment of $29.2 million to finish the deepening project. The deepened 103-mile channel will enable the Port of Philadelphia to handle ships that can carry up to 14,000 20-foot shipping containers, or 14,000 TEU, in tradespeak. The largest ship handled by the port at the current 40-foot depth was 12,200 TEU, which arrived earlier this year. The deepened channel will allow those ships to come fully loaded to Philadelphia, rather than having to stop first at another port to lighten their cargo. Several East Coast ports Boston; Charleston, S.C., Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville and Port Everglades, Fla. have also deepened their channels to accommodate larger ships that can pass through the Panama Canal since it was enlarged in 2016. While the Philadelphia project dragged out, New York and Baltimore deepened their channels to 50 feet. Congress has authorized Norfolk to go up to 55 feet, the deepest on the East Coast. As evidenced by the fact that every other major port on the East coast currently enjoys channel depths of 42 to 50 feet, deepening the Delaware River navigation channel to 45 feet is critical to regional commerce and an important economic development priority, the Maritime Exchange for the Delaware River and Bay said in a 2016 pitch for continued support for the deepening project. The deepened channel comes as PhilaPort faces tougher competition just 35 miles downriver from the Port of Wilmington, which this year agreed to lease its facilities for 50 years to a Gultainer, a United Arab Emirates operator that has promised to invest $600 million to upgrade the ports container capacity from 350,000 TEU to 1.8 million. PhilaPort, with state backing, is investing $300 million to upgrade the citys primary container wharf, the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, with taller cranes and bigger berths to handle larger vessels. Although Delaware and New Jersey are not paying for the deepening project those states sued to block it their terminals on the Delaware River will also benefit from access to larger vessels. As the old adage goes, a rising tide will lift all boats, said Mahoney. Just look at the investment thats going on, all over the river, on both sides and further south. It all hinges on a deeper channel. Philadelphia port officials say the Delaware deepening project will make the city more competitive and more attractive to shipping companies, which can easily take their business elsewhere. Its all about productivity and economies of scale, said Mahoney. Carriers want to take as much cargo as they can. Larger container vessels, especially those loaded with refrigerated fresh produce from South America for which Philadelphia has developed a market, can now carry bigger loads to Philadelphia without having to lighten their cargo. Crude-oil tankers, which typically must unload part of their cargo into smaller lightering vessels in the Delaware Bay so they can move up the 40-foot deep channel to the areas refineries, will now move more efficiently in a 45-foot deep channel. 'A boring project, really The Army Corps needed to demonstrate a national economic benefit to deepening the Delaware River channel, not just a benefit to the Philadelphia port that might come at the expense of another region. The corps' calculus was much disputed, and some critics still say the numbers were engineered to produce a net national benefit. The corps maintains that neither the dredging nor the disposal of 16 million cubic yards of sand, muck and rock has caused environmental harm. The finer dredge spoils are dumped in federal facilities, such as the Fort Mifflin Disposal Area located beneath I-95 on the southern approach to the Girard Point Bridge. The heavier rocks are deposited into state disposal areas in Delaware Bay to create an artificial reefs. The biggest squawk we heard over the years is that by going deeper, youre going to unlock this Pandoras box of hideous stuff, and all of our tests told us was that were likely to see the same stuff weve been seeing the last 70 years, said Ed Voigt, the chief of public and legislative affairs for the corps' Philadelphia office. Thats exactly what has happened. It has been a boring project, really. Environmentalists are skeptical. They say there has been little testing of the effects of dredging, and that the environmental harms are likely to be long-term impacts on tidal flows and wildlife that will not be immediately detected. The bottom line is that we know the harms will come, it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when and how bad (just like climate change), said Maya K. van Rossum, head of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which fought a long and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle to block the project. And we also know, from the ports themselves, that the deepening was not necessary, there were other options, and that in the end the taxpayer footed the bill to pit one port against the other, not to secure a net gain for the nation," she said. The projects advocates say the Riverkeepers arguments are water under the bridge, and theyre now focused on finishing the job. Were 99 percent done, said Voigt. The whole project has 16 million cubic yards, we have 150,000 left, or under 1 percent. Dredging is laborious, methodical work, and not all earthen materials are alike. Some mud and gravel can be literally sucked out of the river in great volumes with giant hydraulic dredges, and the spoils are then pumped into lagoons where the water drains off, leaving behind essentially soil that is "beneficially reused as fill material. Much of the land beneath the runways of Philadelphia International Airport formerly resided at the bottom of the river. But hard rock requires more time and money to extract. Such is the case in the area of the river called Reach B, where the dredge New York was working recently on the outbound side of the river, a few miles below the Pennsylvania state line. The original rock-removal contract won by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock was $90.8 million, based on a excavation price of $217 a cubic yard. Other contracts in less demanding sections of the river 10 contracts were split up among four dredging companies were priced as low as $4 a cubic yard. This is some of the hardest rock Ive ever dealt with, said Cecil Constanzi, chief engineer of the New York, who has worked on the vessel for 17 years. Some of the rock was dislodged with explosives, which are packed into holes drilled into river bottom and detonated. But the areas where the river flows over submarine pipelines proved more challenging, particularly just below the Commodore Barry Bridge in Chester, where a 20-inch diameter natural gas pipeline crosses less than six feet below the deepened river channels new bottom. No explosives were allowed, said Kenneth Goldberg, chief of the corps technical support branch in Philadelphia. Rather than blasting, a scheme was devised in which rock was drilled with a series of holes, reducing it to what the engineers called Swiss cheese. The dredge then broke up the perforated rock using a hydraulic hammer that was brought in from Holland and attached to the excavator arm. That worked, until it fell off, said Goldberg. Retrieved from the river bottom, the hammer now rests on a dock at the corps' Fort Mifflin facility, awaiting repairs, and a more durable harness. The dredge New York, meanwhile, continues to chug away, 24 hours a day. There is nothing sleek about the vessel its an industrial workhorse, purely utilitarian. The dredge plants itself in the river on jack-up legs that lift the hull for stability. Its bucket can remove 12.8 cubic yards of rock with each pass, enough to fill a dump truck. The dredge is under contract in March in Jacksonville, Fla., so its Delaware River engagement is limited. The dredge costs the corps $200,000 a day, Goldberg said, so the government agency is sensitive about more delays. This is the fifth time the Delaware River channel has been deepened since 1898, when it was dredged from its natural depth of 17 to 24 feet to a depth of 26 feet. (It has been 40 feet deep since 1942.) The high cost of removing bedrock raises a question about whether it would ever be economically feasible for the corps to go deeper than 45 feet, since it will encounter much more rock, and some pipelines might need to be relocated. The Delaware Memorial Bridge in Wilmington, with an air clearance of 174 feet, might also be a barrier to a new generation of big ships. By comparison, the corps project to deepen the Port of New York and New Jersey to 50 feet cost $2.1 billion, more than five times as much as Philadelphia. That did not include an additional $1.7 billion to raise the level of the Bayonne Bridge, from 151 feet to 215 feet, to allow larger vessels access to the port. The consolidated New York area ports handled more than three million containers in 2016, six times the volume of PhilaPort. Philadelphia officials say they arent even thinking about going deeper, for now. We think the 45-foot channel will suit us perfectly fine for decades to come," said Mahoney. No arrests had been made Sunday. Read more A 55-year-old man was shot and killed early Sunday morning in the Penn Area section of East Germantown, Philadelphia police said. The man was shot once in the chest on the 800 block of East Chelten Avenue at 3:06 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterward. Police did not release the mans name, and no arrests had been made Sunday. Artist's rendering of apartment buildings at planned Beach Street development, as seen from entry at Scirra Street. Read more A development team plans a sprawling complex of apartment buildings and rowhouses on the vacant 30-acre waterfront lot straddling Fishtown and Port Richmond where a Wynn Philadelphia casino had been proposed. The Concordia Group and D3 Real Estate Development are proposing about 850 apartment units spread across four seven-story buildings and almost 250 rowhouses at the former shipyard property along Beach Street, near East Cumberland Street. The teams other projects include the Southwark on Reed townhouse complex where the Mount Sinai hospital once stood in South Philadelphia. The structures are to be arranged along a new grid of streets to be built at the site, around a broad central greenway. The proposal stakes out a new northern frontier for the residential development thats been creeping up the Delaware Rivers banks and could aid efforts by the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. (DRWC) to extend its walking and bike trail into new neighborhoods. Transforming a vacant, formerly industrial parcel into a dense, active development, the project will create a new center of gravity to the DRWC plan at the north, encouraging linkages along the entire waterfront, the developers wrote in a presentation prepared for Philadelphias Civic Design Review (CDR) board. The property bounded by Schirra and Cumberland Streets, between Beach Street and the river sits just south of a cluster of industrial buildings on the other side of I-95 from the Port Richmond Village shopping center, soon to be renamed Fishtown Crossing. It was once part of the vast William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Co., which operated from 1830 until the end of World War II, producing battleships and naval cruisers. Steve Wynn, who has since left his company in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations, had sought permission to build a $926 million casino at the site in 2013, pitting himself against others vying to build Philadelphias second gambling resort. He withdrew his proposal from consideration before a decision on the license was made. Since then, development has accelerated in the nearby residential areas of Fishtown, Kensington, and Port Richmond, and along the waterfront. From the rowhouse complex under construction about a mile to the south beside Penn Treaty Park, near SugarHouse Casino, down to the vacant tracts beside the big-box shopping district in Pennsport, the waterfront is dotted with development sites, including those controlled by real estate giant Durst Organization. Concordia and D3 are also working to provide the DRWC with a 50-foot strip of land along the waters edge, so the waterfront agency can build an extension of its trail on the property, D3 managing partner Greg Hill said by email. Under its current phases of construction, the DRWCs trail only goes as far north as Penn Treaty Park. Hill said his group has a deal to buy the property from New Hope builder James Anderson and hopes to present the project to the CDR board in July. The CDR panel offers nonbinding suggestions on Philadelphias biggest development proposals as part of the citys building-approval process. The developers said in their presentation that the project aims to link the waterfront with the Fishtown and Port Richmond rowhouse communities opposite I-95. Our project proposes to straddle this boundary with a uniquely hybrid community referencing the citys urban rowhouse heritage while opening access to its historically closed riverfront both for residents and the general public, they wrote. Jeff Carpenter, head of the Arcadia Commons nonprofit, is pushing for ways to reduce property theft. Read more Renaldo Robichaw was a frequent flyer to the deed room at City Hall. Early last year, he showed up three times and calmly submitted to its security check each time voluntarily turning over his drivers license to be photocopied. Then, prosecutors say, he proceeded to file fraudulent deeds to steal six properties. Clearly, the citys property thieves arent deterred by the citys locks and bars. Amid a previous furor over house theft about 15 years ago, the city imposed some reforms. The deed room started making copies of buyers IDs and taking their photographs. It also began notifying property owners by mail when a sales deed for their properties had been filed. Such a notification alerted one of Robichaws victims, who in turn reported to prosecutors that the house of his late aunt and uncle had been stolen with a bogus deed. Authorities charged Robichaw, 46, late last month with that theft and five others, saying he routinely forged the names of the dead to deeds. Still, its all not enough. Complaints of deed fraud in Philadelphia shot up 75 percent last year and there are no signs the problem is abating. As The Inquirer has reported in recent stories, the competition to acquire houses of the dead has gotten so charged that people have staged rival attempts to take the same house. Here are seven ways the city can crack down on property theft: 1) Scrutinize records To steal a property, fraudsters typically follow a couple of paths. The most common route is to file faked documents with the deed room. This includes counterfeit deeds with forged signatures of dead or absent owners. The other ploy is to pose as an heir to the city Register of Wills office and take the property as an inheritance. At City Hall, deed-room clerks simply approve and record deeds provided they meet a list of 16 requirements, many clerical in nature. Critics say the review must get tougher. Mark Goodheart, a lawyer who has fought property thieves in civil cases, said that he respected the deed-room staff there but that its emphasis was staying ahead of the paper flow. They just record what is put before them, Goodheart said. I talked to the guys there they said, We get it, but our statute and our marching orders are that we record. We do not check for validity.'" This may reflect an embarrassing moment in the Records Departments past. In 1997, the agency was sued by the Pennsylvania Land Title Association because documents were sitting around for months. In all, 30,000 deeds and other records were stashed in 100 boxes waiting to be filed. Performance improved after a Common Pleas Court judge ordered it to catch up and to take all action necessary to avoid the creation of any new backlog. Still, there are simple ways that city clerks can spot suspicious paperwork without forensically reviewing all 48,000 deeds that the city processes yearly. There are markers for fraud: decades-long gaps between a deeds supposed signing and its recording date; a series of transfers of a property after years of inactivity; the repeated surfacing of certain questionable buyers and notaries; deeds filed by hand, rather than electronically. Jeff Carpenter, whose Kensington nonprofit recently spent $101,000 in legal fees to save park space from a forgery attempt, said the city had responded to the past criticism about its handling of deeds with an attitude of move 'em through faster, whatever it takes. He said it was past time for it to hire enough staff to both handle deeds efficiently and to block fraud. 2) Match deeds with the dead To find target properties, thieves walk the streets to pick up the stories behind seemingly abandoned buildings. They also pore over lists of coming sheriff sales of properties with tax debts and unpaid mortgages. Their hope is to find places of dead or long-absent owners, guaranteeing a lack of protest when names are forged on deeds. In the recent case brought against Robichaw, prosecutors say he forged the names of five dead people in stealing the six properties. But the city Records Department, which staffs the deed room on the bottom floor of City Hall, could routinely check sellers against a database of the dead. Such a database is available. The city commissioners, who oversee Philadelphia elections, regularly tap into one maintained by the state Department of Health to strike the dead from election rolls. It removed 8,655 deceased voters last year, according to Tim Dowling, a chief deputy in that office. 3 ) Double-check notaries By vouching for the signature of buyers and sellers, notaries are the main bulwark against fraud. For that reason, thieves often forge their names and stamps as well as those of the sellers. Carpenter, president of the Arcadia Commons nonprofit, urges the city to check deeds by routinely calling notaries to verify their oversight of sales. All this would require, he pointed out, was the creation of a reliable list of contact numbers or emails for notaries. Along with increased training for deed-room staff, city Records Commissioner James Leonard is moving to keep a digital record of notaries. according to lawyers working with the city to combat the fraud problem. Leonard could not be reached for comment. 4) Take thumbprints of sellers State legislators from Philadelphia have introduced bills to mandate thumbprints, but the legislation has never made it out of committee. In California, the only state to require this, the requirement has made a big impact, according to the National Notary Association. Since 1996, notaries have had to keep thumbprints in their business journal. If a deal proves to be false, the record provides investigators with an immediate guide to suspects. If you talk to any prosecutor, when it comes to mortgage fraud, or deed fraud or property crime, they will tell you a journal thumbprint is a critical piece of evidence, said Phillip Browne, a spokesperson for the California-based organization. We believe it an essential part of notarization. It provides the best evidence of what occurred and who was involved in the transaction. 5) Improve the paper trail Philadelphia Police Sgt. Jerry Rocks, who leads the small band of detectives who investigate real estate crimes for the District Attorneys Office, noted that deeds require little information from buyers. Thieves, he said, often merely list the property they are buying as their address and a corporate name as their identity. Requiring the true names and addresses of sellers, he said, would do a lot to help investigators unravel frauds. 6) Assign more prosecutors Recently, District Attorney Larry Krasner doubled the number of prosecutors assigned to house theft to two. Previously, Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Esack was the only prosecutor tackling these cases, along with identity theft, guardianship abuse, and other economic crimes. While Esack in just the last four months has brought four complex cases against five alleged thieves who collectively took 40 properties, the problem clearly requires more resources. 7) Tighten the net on fraudsters While regulators, judges, and prosecutors all play roles in stemming deed fraud, they dont necessarily share information. There should be a formal way of doing that. The state Secretary of States Office, which regulates notaries, has brought civil complaints against a handful of notaries who have approved signatures of dead people. Common Pleas Court judges have ruled deed forgeries in a few civil cases. Yet prosecutors say they learn of these cases only on a hit-and-miss basic. Krasner has announced a push to pull together stakeholders in the antifraud fight. The Philadelphia Bar Association, too, has gotten active. A key step would be for all players to keep talking. Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Esack, shown with Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, heads up the office's investigations into housing theft, an endemic problem in the city. Read more After allegedly stealing nearly two dozen properties in Philadelphia, three foreign nationals appear to have fled the country with their profits, the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office says. Prosecutors Tuesday made public arrests warrants naming the men Demitri Premislov, 71, an Israeli, and Sergiejus Kolomyjcevas, 53, and Algirdas Tamulionis, 58, both Lithuanians who face more than 200 counts of forgery, theft, and records-tampering. They are charged with stealing 21 properties in neighborhoods across the city, from West Philadelphia to North Philadelphia and Germantown. Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Esack said the three men stole the houses with forged deeds between April 2017 and June 2018. Esack, a top official in the offices economic and cyber crime unit, said the suspects were in the United States on temporary visas and are believed to have left the country. She said he hoped the pending warrants would deter them from returning or lead to their arrest if they do. The men used ploys that have become routine in housing thefts, a growing problem in Philadelphia. They scouted targets in gentrifying neighborhoods and then forged and filed bogus deeds transferring the properties to themselves. In all but a few of the thefts, the actual owners were dead at the time of the alleged sales. As a check on fraud, signatures on deeds must be verified by notaries. But prosecutors said that the notary signature and stamps were also forged. In such crimes, thieves typically try to flip the properties as quickly as possible, to cash out before heirs discover their losses. Of the 21 properties, 13 were resold for a total of at least $470,000, city real estate records show. Its difficult to know how much of this was real profit. Prosecutors are looking into the buyers in some of the resales to see if the sales were merely another round of paperwork to bury the original theft and fool title companies. For the price of blank deed forms, housing fraudsters will sometime file multiple fake deeds to create a trail of false transactions before they sell the property to an unsuspecting buyer. They want to flip, flip, flip down the road, Esack said. The title companies are only going to go back so far. The arrest warrants date to April 15, Feb. 11, and last August; prosecutors held back from making them public until all three had been filed. Investigation is continuing, Esack said. Some of the resales may have been wrapped up after the men fled. Premislov used a notary working at the U.S. Embassy in Israel to verify his signature on one resale, deed records show. The deed was filed electronically. This spared Premislov from having his identity checked and photograph taken, as would have happened if he had gone in person to the deed room in City Hall. That procedure is a check to deter fraud. In a typical sale among the 21 at issue, prosecutors said Kolomyjcevas filed a deed with the city on April 18, 2017, to buy a property in the 400 block of Winton Street in South Philadelphia. The deed said he bought it from Susanne Walton, who had been dead for 48 years. Three months later, he sold the property to a firm headed by Mikhail Albegov in an electronically filed deed in which Albegovs signature was notarized in Germany. Prosecutors said they have been able to learn little about Albegov, who also did business with the other two men sought in the warrants. Last fall, Albegov sold the Winton Street property for $113,000. In the arrest warrant, prosecutors said the 2018 buyer told them he had no idea the house was stolen and had already spent $220,000 to rehab it. Esack unraveled the complex cases together with Police Officer Mathew Raudenbush and Detective Sgt. Gerald Rocks, both with the economic crimes unit. They began their inquiry after the grandson of a Queen Village man called the District Attorneys Office when he discovered that his grandfathers house had been stolen by Kolomyjcevas with a forged signature. The grandfather had died in 1954, and the thief apparently settled upon his house as a target after consulting public records that showed the family owed taxes on it. This, too, is a common way thieves identify property for theft, Esack said. Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell blamed her loss in Tuesdays Democratic primary election on the pro-development political action committee that backed her opponent, Jamie Gauthier, and the groups funders, who, she said, bought control of the district. Several people have come to me and said it wasnt about me," she said after the City Council session, in her first public remarks about losing reelection. "It was over my head. It was about my area that all those who have the money, the 3.0 and others, came after my district big time, that was the issue. Blackwell, 74, who has represented West Philadelphias 3rd District since 1992, and worked for her husband, Lucien, who held the seat before her, called the loss kind of unbelievable." She described the PAC Philadelphia 3.0 as coming after me, backed by developers eager to make money in the district, which includes the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, the University of the Sciences, and the Philadelphia Zoo. Ive got quite an area. I represent a great deal of institutions, universities, and many monied interests and companies, she said. They decided it was time that they took over, and so they decided. It wasnt about me; it was about them taking control of my district, and thats what happened. Gauthier, who beat Blackwell by about 3,000 votes challenged that narrative. Tuesdays election wasnt about me, Councilwoman Blackwell, or any third-party groups that supported me or her. The election was about the voters and their desire for new ideas and new leadership to help make housing more affordable, tackle poverty, and improve public education, said Jamie Gauthier. Philadelphia 3.0s role in the race Philadelphia 3.0 spent at least $300,000 advocating for Gauthier in the final two weeks, sending out mailers attacking Blackwell as too cozy with developers, as well as funding digital advertising and field teams to get supporters to the polls. The group has supported challengers since its founding, noting that its incredibly difficult to beat incumbents in Philadelphia. Blackwell is the first district Council member to lose reelection since 1995. Philadelphia 3.0s primary funders this cycle were venture capitalists Richard Vague and Josh Kopelman (who is chairman of the board of Philadelphia Media Network, the parent company of The Inquirer, the Daily News, and Philly.com). Philadelphia 3.0 has not had to report all donations because it has an affiliated nonprofit that does not have to disclose its backers. The group was started by parking magnates and is considered pro-development. But a look at campaign finance reports shows Blackwell also had support from various real estate developers during her campaign, though her biggest donations came from unions. And while Philadelphia 3.0 played a key role, Gauthier also raised more money than Blackwell early. She benefited from higher turnout in neighborhoods that have become wealthier and whiter in recent years. She also secured votes in older black neighborhoods that were considered Blackwells base. Gauthier had said throughout the race that while she is grateful for the support of the 3.0 organization, she isnt beholden to it or its donors. I dont think I lost touch with voters Blackwell was asked Thursday if shed failed to connect with newer residents in the district and whether she thought she campaigned hard enough. She referenced her record. I work seven days a week, all my legislation comes from the people. I go to meetings all the time, she said. "No, I dont think I lost touch. I dont think it was about me. The mood surrounding her Thursday was somber. Before the meeting started, colleagues approached Blackwell, bending to kiss her on the cheek or give her a hug and condolences. Blackwell dabbed at her eyes with a tissue and signed resolutions for the upcoming meeting. One Council staffer, watching the parade of people going to greet her, commented that it felt like a funeral, only shes sitting right here. Her colleagues on Thursday described her as a tireless advocate for the homeless and a dedicated public servant. She is one of the great ones," Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. said. What Ive learned is, your public policy passion has nothing to do with your political reelection. So whatever you do for the public, you should do from your heart, and then you also have to have your political stuff, because people dont care what you did for them yesterday. Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown said Blackwell "opened up her heart, sometimes to her own detriment. She was one of the examples of what a public official is all about," said Councilman William K. Greenlee. All you had to do is walk by her office and see people waiting every day in those chairs. I think its a loss. And no disrespect to Jamie Gauthier the people chose but I think theres a loss when you lose someone like Jannie Blackwell. This was her life. Blackwell said she wished Gauthier all the best, though she has yet to talk to her and shrugged when asked if shed act as an adviser to her. She said she doesnt know whats next but has seven months remaining as a Council member. Shell spend that time sitting in the same seat her husband used from 1974 to 1992. When I took this seat, when I came here, you couldnt sit in the front row unless you were a senior member," she said. "They allowed me to take this seat because I was Lus wife, so Ive been in my chair for a long time. Im honored to be here, my first seat and my last seat. The man was shot at in the street on the 5300 block of Pentridge Street. Read more A 23-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting in the Kingsessing neighborhood in Southwest Philadelphia early Sunday morning. Police said that the man was shot in the street on the 5300 block of Pentridge Street at 3:18 a.m. Sunday. He was hit five times: once in the chest, twice in the lower back and twice in the right hip. The man, whose name was not disclosed, was in critical condition Sunday at Penn Presbyterian Hospital, police said. No arrests had been made. Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says Mexico will not respond to U.S. President Donald Trump's threat of coercive tariffs with desperation, but instead push for dialogue, during his daily morning press conference at the National Palace, in Mexico City, Friday, May 31, 2019. Read more CULIACAN, Mexico (AP) Tomato exporter Sergio Esquer Peiro spent much of Friday in hastily called meetings with other stunned growers, trying to evaluate the potential fallout of U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to slap coercive tariffs on all imports from Mexico. The sudden announcement caught observers on both sides of the border by surprise and prompted President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to dispatch his top diplomat to Washington for talks seeking to head off the proposed tariffs. Obrador said Mexico won't panic over the threatened hike, but economists and those whose livelihoods depend on the trade relationship worth hundreds of billions of dollars a year worry that stiff duties could have dramatic, negative consequences and potentially spark a trade war between the neighboring countries. Already, Esquer and other exporters were having to contend with a 17.56% tariff on tomatoes imposed after Washington announced in March it was ending a longstanding agreement over alleged Mexican dumping of the fruit. If the new duties do take effect, Esquer is looking at another 5% being slapped on his products potentially increasing to 25% in subsequent months unless Mexico does more to stop illegal migration through its territory by a June 10 deadline per Trump's demand. "Right now more than anything there is a reaction of disbelief with everything that is going on," Esquer, who's been sending tomatoes and other crops to the United States for 60 years, told The Associated Press by phone during a break in the meetings. "It also goes against the spirit there is between both countries, the agreements we have, the bilateral trade we have, which is very successful," Esquer continued. "On the other hand, we'll have to wait for the reaction of U.S. exporters to Mexico, because they are also going to see their exports threatened if Mexico launches some kind of mirror policy." From berries and automobiles to machinery and household appliances, all of Mexico's exports stand to be hit with the tariffs. Avocado growers in Michoacan, electronics factory workers in Tamaulipas, across the border from Texas, auto parts exporters, all would feel the pinch. Esquer, who does business from the tomato-growing northwestern state of Sinaloa, said it's not just businessmen who stand to lose, since Mexico's estimated 700 tomato exporters are responsible for directly generating some 450,000 jobs. According to Mexico's Agriculture Department, last year some $2 billion in tomatoes were exported to the United States, second only to tequila and ahead of avocados. The threat also throws into question the future of the USMCA trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, hammered out in months of contentious negotiations as a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, one of the Trump administration's most touted achievements. Trump's threat came the same day Mexico announced it would begin the process of ratifying the USMCA and less than two weeks after it successfully negotiated the lifting of U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs that had been a roadblock to final approval for the trade deal. "It would really have a terrible impact on our producers and our exporters," said Kenneth Smith Ramos, who led then-President Enrique Pena Nieto's delegation to USMCA talks and is now an international trade consultant at Mexico City-based AGON. "And it would hurt U.S. producers as well because they rely a lot on Mexican inputs for their production," he added. "So it would reduce their competitiveness and force them to raise prices, which would ultimately of course hit consumers." That means people like Chuck Sholtis, CEO of El Paso, Texas-based Plastic Molding Technology Inc., which employs 100 people. Most of its business involves plastic injection molding for automotive, electronics and business products for maquiladoras, factories in Mexico that are run by foreign companies. Sholtis said his company has already suffered from U.S. steel tariffs on China that increased the costs of their tools, and it's also been hit by slowdowns at ports of entry Sholtis said the United States has found a niche in high-tech specialized manufacturing that's part of a global supply chain. He fears that if more tariffs like this are implemented, or if the USMCA doesn't take effect, the United States will lose its edge in manufacturing. He's also worried about possible recession in Mexico and the United States. "It's illogical," Sholtis said, "Tariffs go against one of the stated goals of the administration: to help manufacturing and thereby create high-skilled manufacturing jobs." The economic impact for Mexico was swift, with the peso down more than 3% against the U.S. dollar Friday. U.S. stocks likewise tumbled on Wall Street. Initial macroeconomic projections from economists were also chilling. Analyst Alfredo Coutino of Moody's Analytics said Mexican exports to the U.S. totaled $358 billion last year, or 80% of all goods the country sold overseas. Over the course of a year, he said, a 5% tariff would represent about $18 billion in damage or 1.5% of Mexico's GDP, while a 25% tariff would amount to $90 billion or 7.3% of GDP. Banco Base estimated that a 5% tariff could knock 2.85 percentage points off growth of Mexico's exports, but said a weaker peso would help compensate. Such tariffs would "likely push Mexico into a recession," as well as disrupt regional supply chains and hurt investor confidence, Oxford Economics economist Gregory Daco wrote in a report. Coutino said Mexico could impose retaliatory penalties, sparking a tariff war. A second, "less aggressive but potentially more effective" option would be to allow the peso to depreciate to the point where the tariffs would be neutralized, he added. Via Twitter, Trump argued that "Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades. Because of the Dems, our Immigration Laws are BAD. Mexico makes a FORTUNE from the U.S., have for decades, they can easily fix this problem. Time for them to finally do what must be done." Mexico already has implemented policies and actions to discourage irregular migration. Last month, it raided the latest caravan of mostly Central American migrants traveling through the southern state of Chiapas, arresting hundreds and effectively breaking it up. There have been no significant caravans since then, with many migrants saying they now fear to travel in large groups. Mexico also has deported thousands of migrants and frustrated thousands more with seemingly endless waits for permits that would allow them to travel legally through the country. But sealing its porous southern border with Guatemala is probably impossible because Mexico lacks sufficient infrastructure to completely patrol a frontier that includes a river passing through dense jungle. "We are carrying out our responsibility in immigration policy," Lopez Obrador said Friday morning, while making no promises of new action to stem the flow of mostly Central American immigrants transiting Mexico to reach the U.S. border. "We have to help so that they don't enter the United States illegally, but we also have to do it respecting human rights," said Lopez Obrador. "Nothing authoritarian. They're human beings." Lopez Obrador espouses a longer-term, holistic approach focused on improving security, development and economic opportunity in the migrants' countries of origin, especially Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. For now Lopez Obrador is betting on diplomacy and dialogue. Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard announced talks would take place next Wednesday in Washington with him and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo leading their respective nations' delegations. "There is a disposition for dialogue," Ebrard tweeted. "We will be firm and we will defend the dignity of Mexico." In Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, 21-year-old Jennifer del Carmen Perez Hernandez, said she moved there three years ago because she couldn't find work in her home state of Veracruz, on the Gulf coast. Perez said when she first arrived she was told that if Trump were elected, staff cuts might be possible. She's kept her job operates an upholstery machine specialized for cars so far, but the tariff threat gives her new cause for concern. "I've worked in sewing the three years that I've been in Juarez. It's what I know," Perez said. "If there are cuts and I have to find work elsewhere, I would start at zero." Associated Press writers Christopher Sherman and Peter Orsi reported from Mexico City, and Cedar Attanasio contributed from Ciudad Juarez. A view of the Bala Cynwyd Shopping Center, in Bala Cynwyd, PA, May 24, 2019. Read more As a child, Amanda Olsen recalls, she ventured down to Bala Avenue to meet friends, check out the shops, maybe even see a movie at the theatre. I remember it being a vibrant, awesome place," said Olsen, 36, who eight years ago moved back to the neighborhood with her young family. Now, its kind of sad but its growing. When the first few residents moved into a luxurious Bala Cynwyd apartment complex last month, Kevin Michals said he saw signs of such growth. To him and his colleagues at Cross Properties, the opening of the Kelly apartments marked the first wave of revitalization for a sleepy area off City Avenue that he and his fellow developers have coined NoBA, short for North Bala. NoBA was just a way for us to signal theres a new sheriff in town, new money coming into town," said Michals, the manager partner for Cross. He hopes others will follow their lead, he said, and invest in the small community on the edge of Lower Merion Township, which has a median household income of more than $125,000. He wants to transform the main drag on Bala Avenue from its current, ghost-town-esque state, he said, to a happening suburb similar to Phoenixville or Media. With its rooftop dog park and sundeck, clubhouse and private conference rooms, and 24-hour front-desk concierge, the Kelly certainly looks and feels as if it belongs in a trendy town. The $50 million, 109-unit building (16 of which were occupied or pre-leased as of last week) is the first of three complexes Cross plans to open in coming years. In all, they say, theyve invested $110 million, bought 20 properties, and made plans to incorporate an upscale food court and community gathering and co-working space alongside the 258 new apartments. Lower Merion Township Commissioner Mike McKeon said he thinks Bala Avenue declined due to changing times. Its very typical for a lot of our old main streets, he said. Market conditions and what people want changes over time. CVS and Rite Aid replaced local pharmacies, he added, and megaplexes replaced many small-town movie theaters (although on Bala Avenue, a personal feud also contributed to the historic movie palace closing its doors). McKeon believes that these developers could bring life back to the area, he said, because they arent focusing on purely residential projects. You cant just dump people in some place, McKeon said. On Bala Avenue, what I think is helpful there is youve got a concentrated effort between people and retail. If that type of thing is going to succeed, he added, its going to succeed there. In the works for several years, these efforts play into larger goals of the City Avenue Special Services District. Officials with the district have been working to reinvigorate the congested, three-mile stretch that straddles Philadelphia and Lower Merion, a strip that often goes by the misnomer City Line," especially in Delaware County, said Terrence Foley, the districts president and CEO. McKeon said he expects improvements along City Avenue to take more time. Theres been good work done, he said, but the commercial side is trailing really far behind. Thats no ones fault, McKeon said its simply a product of the market. Residential projects have been constructed there because theyre selling, he said. Yet on the commercial side, City Avenue has for years struggled to compete with the likes of King of Prussia, not to mention online shopping options. Foley said he has seen positive signs, however. The corridor has gotten younger in recent years, he said, with more millennials moving into apartment buildings such as the revamped Presidential City and the Mansion at Bala. A lot of young people would like to be in Center City or University City, but the rents are too high, said Foley, noting that City Avenue dwellers can drive to the city in about 15 minutes. While apartments can still be expensive closer to the suburbs (rents at the Presidential are more than $3,000 for some two- and three-bedroom units), he said residents often get more for their money: more space, easier parking, and plusher amenities. The district has been working to make the area even more attractive, Foley said, with a focus on bringing in a wider variety of businesses, making it more pedestrian-friendly, and decreasing road congestion, thanks in part to real-time traffic-flow-improvement technology. From Overbrook to Bala Cynwyd, residents should be rooting for the success of City Avenue, Foley said. Our success is critical to the financial well-being of taxpayers on both sides of City Avenue, he said. On the suburban side, residents said they had hope for a NoBA revitalization but tempered expectations for City Avenues future. I feel like Cross Properties has an opportunity to be very revolutionary on Bala Avenue, said Olsen, a mother of two young sons. Theres no reason that couldnt be a destination place and a place for people to connect and come together. Having lived near East Passyunk Avenue during its rebirth, Olsen said she would love to see more restaurants and a wider variety of community-invested businesses come to this neighborhood. As for City Avenue? Olsen said she avoids going there whenever possible. Too much congestion, she said, and not enough places to eat that arent chain restaurants. Its like a highway, she said. I dont know how you make City Avenue a walkable place. When her family is looking to go out, theyll drive to Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, Wayne, or the Fairmount section of the city We go like everywhere else aside from City Avenue, she said. Matt Weiss, 34, who lives in Bala with his wife, Liz, said hes looked at the City Avenue plans and thinks cautiously that they could work. We think it still has a long way to go, he said. But, in general, its better than it used to be. His family moved out of the city six months ago, he said, but still wanted walkability. They found that in their home, a few minutes walk from Bala Avenue, and are hoping new development will soon give them more places to walk to. In Gladwyne, John Appleby, 41, a software executive, said he loved living in the City Avenue District a decade ago. His family moved, he added, only because they wanted more privacy and space. At the time, there were places that looked a little bit tired, he said. But its safe. Its walkable, and its nice to be close to the city. Although Appleby has broader concerns about the density of Lower Merion, he said, he believes the NoBA projects are much-needed. Its been an eyesore for the last 10 years," he said. Its been run-down. Its not Narberth yet, he added. But it could get there. Jamie Gauthier with family member at her watch party at Bookers Restaurantin West Philadelphia. Gauthier estimates she knocked on 1,000 doors, distributing fliers and personally introducing herself. Read more Jamie Gauthier sensed an under-the-radar swell of support early in her campaign. She wasnt seeing it in big donations or hearing people take up megaphones for her, but in individual meetings and smaller events in the living rooms and kitchens of West Philadelphia, something was building. It did feel like I had a lot of silent support," said Gauthier, who defeated longtime Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell in Tuesdays Democratic primary election. "People were kind of afraid to be public about their support of me, afraid of retaliation. But they were ready for a change. The upset was one of three Tuesday that defied the long-held belief that in low turnout elections, party-backed incumbents tend to win. Register of Wills Ronald Donatucci, with 40 years on the job, lost the Democratic nomination to Tracey Gordon, a former deputy city commissioner with little apparent support. And Sheriff Jewell Williams, under a cloud of sexual harassment lawsuits, was ousted by a former police officer, Rochelle Bilal, in a four-way primary race. The reasons vary, but the races share key characteristics. In each, voters chose a fresh name, and each victor expected to coast to election in November was a woman who knocked out an older member of the party establishment. Blackwells loss marks the closing chapter of a dynasty in Philadelphia politics. Blackwell worked with her husband Lucien Blackwell on his Council staff, beginning in the late 1970s, before taking over his seat in 1992. Mustafa Rashed, a political consultant, said Gauthier proved to be an ideal candidate. If there was going to be a candidate to dethrone a longtime incumbent, it would have to be someone with a compelling story, Rashed said. Shes a mom from the neighborhood I think she captured a sentiment that she had a vision for the district. Gauthier estimates she knocked on 1,000 doors, distributing fliers and introducing herself. She said she thought people needed to meet the challenger to the legendary Blackwell name. Also important was the support of Philadelphia 3.0, an independent political action committee that poured $300,000 into the race, in the form of mailers accusing Blackwell of being beholden to developers. The group itself was founded by parking magnates and developers and has traditionally supported political newcomers. I think all of the help we got helped us, Gauthier said. But I dont think theres anything that can replace the real dialogue that we had with voters. Blackwell, who had never had a credible challenger, also failed to mount a robust campaign. Her party, too, didnt mobilize behind her. Party leaders in at least one key ward the 44th, which includes Parkside, West Powelton and Mill Creek put Gauthiers name instead of Blackwells on its sample ballots. The results from the 19 divisions there ended up almost split evenly between the seven-term incumbent and the newcomer. Blackwell carried 10 divisions, Gauthier nine. Blackwell is the first district incumbent to lose reelection since 1995, when Dan McElhatton lost his reelection bid in the 7th District. McElhatton lost to machine-backed Rick Mariano, who was later convicted of bribery. Gauthier benefited from a gentrifying district, with a growing population in the areas that produced big numbers for her, such as Spruce Hill and Cedar Park. She was able to win pockets of support in the older, more African American neighborhoods. Blackwell left her campaign party Tuesday night without talking to reporters, and again declined to give interviews when she showed up for work Wednesday morning. A steady stream of advisers, friends and supporters filtered in and out of the office shes worked in either as councilwoman or a staffer to her husband for 45 years. Life moves forward and the true and loving God still lives on, her scheduler, Belinda Church, told a woman who came by Wednesday afternoon, upset by the outcome. We are OK, Church told the woman, who declined to give her name. Life moves forward. City Hall staffers, present and past were shocked. "Everyone thought (Blackwell) was going to win. Everyone, said one former staffer. We all feel like our grandma just died and we wish she could have just gone out on retirement. Democratic Party boss Bob Brady said he was disappointed about Blackwells loss, but could see how that happened Gauthier raised significant money and had direct mail ads. In the sheriffs race, Brady said, it was obvious that Williams #metoo scandals caught up with him. We just know what happened with that one. Everyone does, Brady said. What remains a mystery is the race for register of wills. How did Donatucci, a 71-year-old South Philadelphia ward leader who heads of an office known as a source of Democratic patronage, lose? I still cant figure out what happened, Brady said, noting that perhaps Gordon was helped by her top ballot spot and by being a woman. In a three-way race, Donatucci had the third ballot position. But his name wasnt hidden from voters, unlike more crowded races that had dozens of candidates. And other party-backed candidates with bad ballot positions still won in larger races. Maybe we took it for granted," Brady said. "We paid a lot of attention to (Council) at-large and judges. We probably should have paid more attention to this one. One party insider said that voters didnt necessarily know what the Register of Wills does. Everyone scrolled down, saw Tracy, Jacque and Ron Don and said What is this office?" the insider said. She was a woman at top of ballot for a race no one knows what it is. Rashed agreed that there were barely any conversations during the campaign season about the office or the candidates. Gordon ended up getting more than 70,000 votes, one of the best showings. It was an aberration and people thought they were voting for something else, Rashed said. Im hard pressed to believe 70,000 people showed up to vote for her. Gordon, who didnt respond to calls or text messages requesting comment on her victory, beat Donatucci in Bradys own ward, which is mostly African American. The party leader speculated many voters went with Gordon because she is black. Other ward leaders also failed to deliver votes for Donatucci, including party treasurer Sonny Campbell and two ward leaders who work in the Register of Wills Office. When the party wants to win, it wins, said another Democratic Party insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity to honestly assess the partys performance. Theres no reason he shouldve lost. For his part, Donatucci said Wednesday that he hasnt looked at any formal analysis on his loss. The numbers dont lie. I know there will be a million reasons from the ward leaders, he said. Donatucci, a devout Catholic, spent his morning at a mass for the Feast Day of Saint Rita of Cascia. By midday he still hadnt been to City Hall and was running errands. His office, though, hummed to the sounds of keyboards clacking and printers running. It was like any other day; people needed wills, birth certificates and marriage licenses. Donatucci said he wishes Gordon luck and will help her transition, should she win in November. Look, the voters spoke and Im moving forward, he said. "Theres a lot of other things in my life that can keep me busy the Board of City Trusts and different boards Im on and Im fortunate. Staff writer Chris Brennan contributed to this article. Benjamin Seing of Rebel Ventures chops vegetables at the Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprise. Rebel Ventures, a youth-led organization, has sold over 1 million healthy breakfast cakes and aims to open a convenience store next year. Read more Theyve sold more than a million healthy, whole-grain-rich breakfast cakes. They regularly educate other youth about flavors and nutrition. They run a nonprofit business with an annual budget of $200,000. Now, the members of Phillys own Rebel Ventures, the student-run food business whose goal is to create nutritious, tasty foods, have their sights set on bigger things: If all goes well, next year theyll open a convenience store in West Philadelphia, selling nutritious meals and snacks like beet brownies, healthy stir-frys, and smoothies. Their motivation comes from a question that has propelled Rebel Ventures crew members ever since their enterprise was born in a middle-school classroom in 2010: How is four bags of chips a dollar at the corner store, but a smoothie is $4? That doesnt make sense, said Rebel TreCia Gibson, 20, a Rebel Ventures co-executive director. They have been doing something about the conundrum ever since. MORE UPSIDE STORIES: Kids need bathing suits at the rec center? She bikes to the store to buy them Supported by the University of Pennsylvanias Netter Center for Community Partnerships, Rebel Ventures signature food item is its Rebel Crumble, a dense, soft breakfast cake (ingredients include oats, apples, and cranberries) sold in local grocery stores and offered on the menu at Philadelphia public schools across the city. Rebel members, mostly high school students, also visit schools and camps to share with children what theyve learned about food, flavors, and entrepreneurship. They also have started a grant fund to seed youth-adult collaborations to promote healthier schools, and are piloting a program to designate in-school Rebel Champs who will promote breakfast participation and cafeteria beautification. Students power the crew with an assist from Jarrett Stein, a Netter Center employee. Nine years ago, Stein was a recent Penn grad trying to teach students at Pepper Middle School about nutrition. It was frustrating, at first. The kids told him there was no healthy food in their neighborhood, that only junk food was cheap and accessible. (Research shows that the obesity rate for Philadelphia children ages 5 to 18 was nearly 21 percent in 2015.) Stein challenged his students to address that issue and, together, they approached the problem. They brainstormed healthy-food ideas, sampled new flavors, learned to cook and bake, and eventually learned how to run a business so they could sell the nutritious snacks that resulted from all that hard work. They called themselves the Rebels, because they were rebelling against not just what was unhealthy in their community, but also against peoples unfounded notions that city kids are apathetic, violent, or uneducated. At first, they sold granola bars in a few schools and markets, with Stein delivering the products on his bike. In 2015, the Rebels began to talk to the Philadelphia School District about distributing Rebel products widely. As they had been from the beginning, students were involved in every part of the process, from figuring out production and distribution to agreeing on packaging. School officials gave the Rebels parameters, and a price point. In January 2017, Rebel Crumbles were introduced in the district, where they remain a popular staple on school breakfast menus. The crew continues to refine the Crumbles recipe and hopes to introduce a new flavor soon. Next up is the opening of a convenience store. If that lofty goal seems out of reach, consider that the Rebels raised over $12,000 in one week to fund the project, as part of the Full City Challenge, a competition designed to help end Philadelphias hunger problem. (The Rebels didnt take the top prize but earned the Peoples Choice Award and a $2,500 grant.) They are currently in the midst of planning a funding campaign to raise $120,000 in start-up costs for the Rebel Market, a bricks-and-mortar operation they hope to open next spring. Our mission is a youth-powered social enterprise creating healthy deliciousness with kids in our communities. Where there are opportunities to do that in a way that we can have some impact, we try our best to seize them, said Stein, who is now a Rebel co-executive director. Its going amazingly well. MORE UPSIDE STORIES: She whipped up a batch of doughnut-shaped chalk in her kitchen and now sells it in 350 stores in the U.S. and overseas Simin Deveauxbray, a senior at Prep Charter in South Philadelphia and another co-executive director, works after school and summers toward the groups goals. Shes a two-year veteran who came to Rebel at a friends suggestion. She wasnt so much motivated by the drive toward healthy food as she was by her desire, at 15, for a job. Somehow, she fell for the mission along the way. This changed my mind-set, said Deveauxbray, now 17. I learned how certain companies target certain students to get their products. This changed the way I eat: I dont drink soda or juice, and I try to watch my foods. I look at nutrition facts daily. On a recent day, the Rebels kitchen space in West Philadelphia hummed with activity as the young people chopped bell peppers, peeled sweet potatoes, and mixed batter for a staff meal. Tiguida Kaba, a freshman at the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, joined the crew because she liked the idea of gaining experience as an entrepreneur in high school, and she hasnt been disappointed. Being able to bring a healthy change to my peers thats great, said Kaba, 15. I just want to spread healthy deliciousness. The inaugural knit-in, on April 23, for Philadelphia's"Tempestry" chapter at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. Local organizer Christina Catanese is second from the left, in the patterned shawl. Read more The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education in Roxborough has been teaching Philadelphians about the natural world since 1965 but never like this. On a Tuesday night in late April, 30 activist crafters convened there for the first Philly chapter meeting of a nationwide initiative that is sounding the alarm on global warming. With science. And yarn. One lively group sat around a large table weighing fibers on electronic balances. A smaller contingent worked diligently in a corner, winding colorful skeins with names like Peapod and Firecracker. All are volunteers for the Tempestry Project, an initiative founded in Washington state two years ago that now has chapters coast to coast and abroad. Tempestry is short for temperature tapestry. Group members knit or crochet scarflike banners designed as bar charts of local temperature data over time, with bands of color progressing from cool blues and greens to hot oranges and reds. The new Philly group is the largest outpost of the project to date. I think [the response] is a testament to the power of the project," said local Tempestry organizer Christina Catanese,"giving people something tangible to do and using the craft for a bigger cause than making hats or blankets. Catanese is the Schuylkill Centers director of environmental art. For local temperature data, she reached out to the Franklin Institute, which has been measuring the citys daily temperature since 1872. The local groups Tempestry tapestries will represent local temperatures from 1875 to 2018. Where Tempestries come from The first Tempestry was based on 2016 data taken from the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island, Wash. Project founders Emily McNeil, Justin Connelly, and Marissa Connelly were inspired by scientists and hackers who were taking measures to preserve climate research data before the Trump administration took office. We were just sort of joking one night about how we should return to more concrete forms of data storage, like tapestries, because you cant just get rid of them on the internet, McNeil said by phone from Anacortes, Wash., where she manages Fidalgo Artisan Yarn & Clothing. Word about the venture quickly spread via social media. McNeil and her partners started assembling Tempestry kits for those who wanted to get involved. Demand soared. In 2017, they sold 40 kits. In 2018, 500 people bought them. Were not knitting [Tempestries] ourselves anymore, but we have people in every state except Delaware, she said. Crafters in Mexico City are also developing a Tempestry collection similar to Philadelphias. Philly joins the cause Catanese first reached out to McNeil in January about getting the Schuylkill Center involved. Some climate change art "feels very distant and disconnected, she said. To counter that, the center likes to ask, What are climate change impacts in Philadelphia? and seek out artists who are exploring those ideas. Previous climate-focused art projects there have ranged from sculptures that manage storm water to a hybrid nature walk/dance performance. Catanese has a masters degree in applied geosciences from the University of Pennsylvania and previously worked at the Environmental Protection Agencys Philadelphia office. Shes also a dancer and choreographer, and a hobbyist whos been knitting for about 10 years. My grandma knitted a lot when I was growing up [in Pittsburgh], but I never learned from her, she said. When Catanese put out a call for volunteers on the Schuylkill Centers website, she received about 100 replies. Her original goal was to make Tempestries that illustrated changes in Phillys annual temperature over 10-year intervals from the late 1800s to 2018. Thanks to the enthusiastic response to the initiative, the project will represent data from every five years within that period. Thirty knitters and crocheters have each been assigned a different year, with additional participants serving as alternates who will assist the core group. The local project has all the crafters it needs right now, but would-be volunteers can sign up for a wait list. Chris Arnott, 40, has the assignment to crochet Phillys weather from 1945. Shes a biologist with the National Park Service and has been crocheting for eight years. Arnott, who lives in Mount Airy with her husband and 2-year-old son, learned about the project through the Schuylkill Centers Facebook page. It appealed to her because she could complete it while staying home with her son. Volunteers are also invited to join monthly knit-ins at the center. Nora Trejos, 31, of West Philly, will be making a Tempestry for 1915. She heard about the project from a friend who works for the city. Maureen Keeney, 55, of Broomall, is an alternate, and this is her second experience with a wide-scale fiber art project. In June 2018, she crocheted blocks for Love Across the USA: Marian Anderson, a tapestry that was part of a series celebrating strong women. Its now on display at Phillys Marian Anderson Recreation Center. She was drawn to the Tempestry Project because "it really helps when people can get a visual representation of what is going on with climate change, she said. To see the progression over time will be really impactful. Kindergarten teacher Ann Ward is a knitting newbie. Her Tempestry will show temperature data from 1965, the year she was born. Next year, she hopes to start a companion project with her class. Each tapestry takes about 20 hours to complete. The goal, Catanese says, is to have the Philadelphia collection finished by fall. Alonda Talley, a Philadelphia transgender woman, is one of three Pennsylvanians who filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Commonwealth Court challenging a 20-year-old provision that prevents them from legally changing their names. Currently, the states name-change law contains a provision barring people convicted of certain felonies including rape and aggravated assault from ever changing their names, said Patrick Yingling, one of the attorneys representing the women. People convicted of other felonies may change their names after a two-year waiting period. The provision being challenged, Yingling said, was an amendment enacted in 1998 that barred those with serious felonies from ever obtaining a new name the presumption was it would be for fraudulent purposes, such as avoiding financial obligations. The people in this lawsuit are barred from changing their names because of felonies they committed before they identified as women. There is a big problem with the law. It ends up prohibiting a lot of people with legitimate reasons for getting a name change, said Yingling, one in a group of Reed Smith lawyers who are representing the transgender women pro bono. In particular, for transgender people, they just want a name change that reflects their identity and true gender. In an affidavit filed with the lawsuit, Talley, 32, said she was convicted of aggravated assault in 2009. Now, 10 years later, she identifies as a woman but her only government-issued identification cites her birth name, Adolphus. As a result, shes experienced run-ins with police and challenges to voting. She hasnt even tried to board a plane. I have been harassed and insulted by police who have repeatedly insisted that Adolphus is not my real name and demanded I provide my real name,' " Talley said in the lawsuit. Police have threatened to arrest me for misrepresentations or false pretenses after they demanded I provide my identification and then perceived a mismatch with my identity. A spokesperson for the Department of State, which is named in the lawsuit, was not aware of the filing early Thursday. The other plaintiffs listed in the court filing are Chauntey MoNique Porter and Priscylla Renee Von Noaker. Both live in Allegheny County. In her affidavit, Porter said she was convicted of aggravated assault in 2008: I have endured abuse, harassment, and humiliation from police, employers, coworkers and other service providers, such as bank employees," she said. "Recently while attending a club with friends, a bouncer viewed my government-issued identification card and announced Thats a dude! to surrounding patrons. Such incidents can lead to potentially dangerous situations for transgender people in what otherwise should be mundane, everyday encounters, said Luke E. Debevec, a partner in the firms Philadelphia office. Theres an opportunity for violence and misunderstanding and all sort of affronts to a persons dignity if you cannot be known by your own name, Debevec said. Debevec said he believes this lawsuit is the first to challenge the constitutionality of the provisions irrebuttable conviction bar" irrebuttable because those affected are not allowed to seek a court hearing to tell a judge the reason for the name change. Were seeking a declaration and permanent injunction against the law being enforced the way it is, Debevec said. The law -- which includes murder, sexual assault, and kidnapping as the serious felonies barring a name change -- already contains provisions requiring criminal background checks, judgment record searches, public hearings, and publication notices of the name change, he said. Its also a free-speech issue, Debevec said. Pennsylvanians have the right to protect ones own name and reputation, and in addition, to free speech, which means the right to speak and not to speak, he said, as in not being forced to tell strangers that their name doesnt match their gender identity because they are transgender. Under the current law, he added, people can live their entire lives being forced to speak a name they dont recognize as their own identity. Thats not justice. The lawsuit came out of the work of the Name Change Project, a long-running pro bono enterprise in multiple cities involving Reed Smith and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, among others, to help indigent transgender people get their names changed. If home is where the heart is, developers are adding a bit of both to Bala Cynwyd in hopes of reinvigorating the communitys corridors into trendy town centers to live, shop and eat. But will their lofty goals pan out? In other news, a new database released this weekend revealed that hundreds of current and former Philadelphia police officers have made racist, intolerant or otherwise offensive Facebook comments or posts actions researchers say could could erode civilian trust and confidence in police. Reading this online? Sign up here to get this newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning. Oona Goodin-Smith (@oonagoodinsmith, morningnewsletter@philly.com) Youre invited: Thousands of young people will graduate from Philadelphia schools this spring. Come hear from some of the best and the brightest on Tuesday, June 4. Inquirer education reporter Kristen Graham will speak with students from a variety of schools, including Mastery Charter-Shoemaker and Strawberry Mansion about their hopes, dreams, and experiences in city schools. Register for free at philly.com/inquiringminds. Is Bala Cynwyd on the cusp of revitalization? Developers certainly hope so. On Bala Avenue in North Bala or NoBa, for those in the know theyve invested in luxury apartments, and say thats just the beginning of the areas renewed lease on robust residential life. And on City Avenue the congested, three-mile stretch that straddles Philadelphia and Lower Merion revamped residential options have arrived, and some hope it, too, can become a trendy place to be. More than 500 current and former Philadelphia police officers have made Facebook posts or comments that researchers consider dehumanizing, supportive of violence, or that could erode civilian trust and confidence in police, a new database from advocates researching police bias shows. Highlighting posts from officers in eight police departments across the country, the database lists 330 active Philadelphia police officers including an inspector, six captains, and nine lieutenants who made racist, intolerant or otherwise offensive posts. Police Commissioner Richard Ross said he was very troubled" by the report, adding that the citys Internal Affairs has been investigating officers for potential policy violations since February. Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania ACLU said the databases information should be treated as a potentially troubling cultural issue. Tens of thousands of acres of Pennsylvanias native trees that produce some of the commonwealths most vibrant spring, summer, and fall scenes are at risk due to climate change, a state agency says. Facing rising temperatures, more frequent storms, and overall wetter years, species like the mountain maple, American beech, balsam fir, paper birch, and quaking aspen may not be suited for the states forests in coming years, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Instead, the Keystone State should look to shift to nonnative climate resilient species, the agency says a change which would impact an ecosystem. What you need to know today Through Your Eyes | #OurPhilly Mural, mural on the wall, whos the newest of them all? Check out this tribute to Philly life sciences, unveiled yesterday at 11th and Sansom. Thanks for the photo, @9thday_ofmarch. Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and well pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out! Thats Interesting Philadelphia Cream Cheese is made in New York, so how did the spread get its very Philly name? It all dates back to an 1880s marketing strategy and some dairy moo-vers and shakers. UFOs are out there, yes, but dont start checking for crop circles just yet. The aerial phenomena spotted by pilots may have a very reasonable explanation, scientists say. Can you spell champ"? Shruthika Padhy of Cherry Hill, N.J. sure can along with bresaola, thymele, paulopost, and just about everything else. The 13-year-old whiz was one of eight winners at the 92nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Md. After regularly seeing the heartbreak that comes when babies are born fighting for life, dont make it, or when mothers are unable to conceive, a Macungie neonatal intensive care nurse and mother of three wanted to do something to help. So, she donated her uterus to a stranger. Opinions Crumbling, aging, ill-maintained school buildings with lead paint, asbestos, outdated systems, and rodents are not just health hazards to our children, but physical symbols of the decades of shortchanging the education of our citys children, especially the most vulnerable. - The Inquirer Editorial Board on prioritizing the clean-up of the citys dangerous schools. If youre worried about reproductive rights in Pennsylvania and across the country, heres what you can do to protect them, writes Kathryn Kolbert and Linda Wharton co-counsels in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the 1992 Supreme Court case often credited with saving Roe v. Wade. Beating Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2020 is just as important as beating President Donald Trump when it comes to keeping liberty alive, argues columnist Will Bunch. What were reading After 37 years of profiling politics, government and daily life in Philadelphia, the aggressively fair Dave Davies is stepping away from beat reporting. But hes not leaving Phillys airwaves, Billy Penn explains. Inmates placed in solitary confinement spend 23 hours each day alone in a cell, which can produce negative psychological effects. WHYY highlights the new program from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons offering isolated inmates out-of-cell therapy in hopes of mitigating mental damage. The House That Quality Built, Acme was once Phillys go-to grocery. But will it even exist in 20 years? The decline of the middle-class staple signals Americas changing economy, writes Philadelphia Magazine. Your Daily Dose of | Music The famous Wanamaker Organ in Macys on Market Street the worlds largest playable instrument has a new look, complete with $72,800 in gleaming gold leaf. In recent months, I have given at least half a dozen talks about the dangers of fake news and how best to distinguish misinformation from factual news. Inevitably, during the question and answer sessions that follow these talks, Ill be asked what the public can do to separate the facts from the avalanche of misleading information that blankets our political campaigns. I often answer with the mantra that all of us should read broadly, read deeply, and read skeptically. What that means in practical terms is that if you read an editorial in The Inquirer or the Washington Post, applauding Republican Rep. Justin Amashs statement that Special Counsel Robert Muellers report made it clear that President Trump had engaged in acts that meet all the elements of obstruction of justice, then its also important to read a piece from the more conservative Wall Street Journal taking the opposite point of view. In that way, readers have the benefit of absorbing the full spectrum of opinion and can form their own, informed conclusions. It is equally important, I believe, to take the time to investigate improbable stories or social media posts from websites like Facebook and Twitter by using a respected fact-checking site like FactCheck.org or Snopes.com, which examines in depth dubious news stories, political charges and countercharges, and many other issues. Last but definitely not least, I always emphasize the importance of education education at home and education in our schools beginning in elementary school. We need a commitment to education that instills in our youngest generation the virtues and obligations of being a citizen in a democracy, the importance of taking an active interest in public affairs and participating in debate over issues of public importance. For me, this began in fifth grade in October 1957 with the distribution of My Weekly Reader in Miss Suzanne Loders class at Brookline Elementary School in Haverford Township. The edition that I recall most vividly, emblazoned with blue headlines, heralded the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Soviet Union and prompted a spirited and concerned class discussion about whether Russia was eclipsing the U.S. in science and technology. Why, I asked in many of my talks this year, couldnt we revive a My Weekly Reader-type news digest online and use it as a catalyst for having students dissect and detect misinformation. So I was surprised and inspired last week to read about a national initiative in Finland now in its third year to focus sharply on how to detect the false information that has permeated political campaigns here in the United States and in Europe. Finlands efforts, recounted in an excellent piece produced by CNN, began with the nations president, Sauli Niinisto, declaring in 2015 that it was the duty of all Finns to combat the rising tide of misinformation. Finland, which shares 832 miles of its border with Russia, has for decades had a wary yet compatible relationship with Russia, but the Finns are acutely aware of allegations that Russian troll operations have influenced elections throughout Europe and the U.S. A year after President Niinisto's call to action, CNN reported, Finland revamped its critical thinking curriculum in its public schools to show students how to detect false information. Given the Finns affinity for reading Finlands 5.5 million people borrow almost 68 million books a year from their libraries the nation clearly has a population that would be receptive to courses that help debunk fake news and destructive propaganda. Taken together, the revised curriculum combines critical thinking, working with fact-checking organizations and classes that emphasize voter literacy. Theres also abundant evidence that Finlands approach is having a positive effect: Other nations throughout the European Union and as far flung as Singapore have visited Finland to observe firsthand how their educational program is working. In my opinion, its an opportune time for American educators to travel to Finland and import the best of the program to the United States, where those skills are desperately needed. Bill Marimow, who received two Pulitzer Prizes as a reporter at The Inquirer, was the editor of The Inquirer for eight years. He is now the vice president of corporate strategy for The Inquirers parent company. Last Thursday night, Americans took to the streets to protest our nations latest innovation in the world of scandal: The cover-up of a cover-up, which after more than two weeks is pretty much the only way to characterize how the most anticipated report into White House corruption in a generation has been bottled up with a less-than-four-page trust me summary from an attorney general just appointed by the president being investigated. And let me be clear: When I say that Americans took to the streets to protest this outrageous state of affairs, I mean several thousand citizens, in a nation of 320 million. As I watched the pictures from the demonstrations which called on Attorney General William Barr to release the entire nearly 400-page report from special counsel Robert Mueller on issues surrounding Russian interference in President Donald Trumps 2016 election win pop up in my Twitter feed, something struck me about the hearty souls out on an unseasonably chilly April night, from the White House fence to the courthouse in suburban West Chester. The majority of these people so worked up about the Barr cover-up of an alleged Trump cover-up to make signs and voice their anger looked to be primarily from my generation baby boomers, probably with an average age probably close to the landmark (60) that I just hit a couple of months back. Of course, they were. The people who grew up with Vietnam-era protest songs blaring in mono from an AM car radio, who stayed up past their summer camp bedtimes to watch Richard Nixon resign on a hot August night in 1974, are the generation raised at the fulcrum of two worlds: the can-do, fighting-fascism brio of post-World War II American dreams, and the decades of lost faith and cynical manipulation that inaugurated in the 1970s. It was an era of both stupendous wrongs (government lying about the conflict in Southeast Asia, the dirty tricks of Nixons buggings and break-ins) and heroic figures: the whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg who leaked the Pentagon Papers, the honest Watergate judge, John Sirica, the simple country lawyer of North Carolinas Sam Ervin seeking the truth about Nixon. To come of age in those years (as tens of millions of U.S. citizens did ... they dont call it a baby boom for nothing!) was to grow into a uniquely American narrative that fused cynicism and hope. Yes, the United States still struggled with corruption, injustice, and ill-advised flights of imperialism, but there was also a system that could deal with the worst excesses. And so it was that when America produced its worst crisis in 40 years, when a man described by his own lawyer as a racist ... conman ... cheat was elected our 45th president, folks with that story line hard-wired into their nervous system waited for someone to activate the switch and turn the system on. Some 29 months later, were still waiting. Go to Amazon.com and you will see not one but two popular listings where you can preorder your copy of the Mueller Report. One of them is listed by the Washington Post, which also assigned two top journalists to analyze the report and which bills its version of this historic document as the most complete and authoritative available. (Technically speaking thats not wrong ... think about it.) The editors of the Washington Post are people who grew up with the Senate Watergate Report, the Starr Report, the 9/11 Commission report so why wouldnt the Mueller Report be released? I guess the question is: Whos living a more delusional dreamworld: the Post or the people preordering a nonexistent book whove made its current sales rank No. 674? The thing is, many of the pundits that you see on TV, not to mention the anchors interviewing them, the producers who book them, and the newspaper editors and headline writers who travel down those same highways, powered by ink, all come from the same dreamland. I watched them on the Friday night that Mueller delivered his tome to Barr as they prattled on for hours with no information, convinced that something momentous had just happened. Two days later when Barr released his slap-dash book report, the must-say-something crowd grew so eager to take Trumps total exoneration bait hook, line, and sinker. Besides, the Beltway 500 reasoned, the actual full Mueller Report was coming any day now ... ... any day now. Heres the state of play right now, two weeks after Barr published the Mueller Report: the Cliffs Notes Edition. Barr insists that a much more informative version of the Mueller Report is coming, after a series of redactions a task that could have been done with Muellers help in hours yet which for some reason is taking the attorney general and his massive Justice Department days, which are now turning into weeks. The slow-walking of the Mueller redactions is a tell, as is the AGs failure to go before a judge and ask for permission to disclose grand jury material as was done in Watergate. Thats because every judgment call from Barr has been on the side of slowness, obfuscation, and whatever is good for Trump, and never on the side of transparency, the inherent right to know, and whatever is good for the American people. You dont need a Harvard law degree to see whats really happening here. Barr and Team Trump surely knew that todays media and political tornado abhor a vacuum, and so they were able to fill it with the presidents bogus claim of total exoneration, backed up by an online lynch mob going after any journalist who insists otherwise with their torches and pitchforks. Yes, Team Mueller, in its weird button-down way, is finally making it known that the Barr letter isnt exactly whats in the report, and, yes, its possible that pressure from Democrats may eventually force the release of decent-sized chunks of the full document. But if that happens, alarming disclosures about the president or his team will be greeted with cries of We already knew that! and So what? Its not a crime! and When are the dead-end Democrats and the fake news going to stop with the conspiracy theories?" And then get ready for a giant pitchfork in the tuckus for anyone who disagrees. What the hell just happened? If you thought that Congress after two years of total Republican obstruction that allowed bombshell revelations about Team Trump misconduct to slowly rot into old news could dust itself off and conduct an in-depth investigation in the mode of Ervin, Peter Rodino and their Watergate-era ancestors without the GOP labeling it a partisan witch hunt that TVs talking heads will browbeat as Democrats blowing the 2020 election, youve been living in a dreamland. If you thought that the media would be able to process that the Barr letter was an obvious sham not to mention the even-more-obvious fact that were less than 1 percent closer to knowing whats in the real Mueller Report than we were when when they were breathlessly waiting for it in February and not instead instantly run with banner headlines that the president has been cleared, youve been living in a dreamland. If you think that Americas drift toward authoritarianism under Trump not just the stuff that Mueller investigated but the rank corruption and the increasingly brown-shirted cruelty toward refugees will eventually cause the masses to rise up, when the young people who are typically the vanguard of any revolution have been raised in the cocoon of the soma of cyberspace and resume-driven parenting to worry about different things than you do, then youve been living in a dreamland. And if you think that an independent judiciary is going to ultimately save the day the way Sirica and a unanimous Supreme Court preserved the rule of law during Watergate, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his minions shredded the Constitution to gain control of the Supreme Court and are now ramming through an army of right-wing judges for the next 30-40 years, then ... maybe its time to wake up. Donald Trump is not going to be impeached, and it boggles my mind that anyone even suggests that a cabinet handpicked for its Trumpian loyalty would consider the 25th Amendment, no matter how much the president unravels in public. In fact, Trump wont even be denied a second term unless something changes the status quo 40 percent whose hatred of the media and fear of a diverse America trumps anything that happens in this White House, the 6 percent wholl be peeled off by the Democrats endless civil wars and Facebook manipulation, and an Electoral College created to preserve slavery that, in a perverse way, still is. The irony is that the Barr cover-up somehow managed to reveal the one thing every American needs to know. That the dreamland of a working democratic system in a landscape populated by an empowered, truth-seeking Congress, honest judges, and investigative reporting that can change public opinion died a long, long time ago. Knowing that is both terrifying and empowering. Because the real, radical work of waking up can finally begin. President Donald Trump during a Make America Great Again rally at Williamsport Regional Airport on May 20. Read more Perhaps youve noted the rash of national political stories suggesting our beloved Keystone State will be the decider of next years presidential contest. The short take? President Donald Trump must win here, as he did in 2016, in order to stay in the White House. And Democrats must retake the state in order to boot Trump out. So, 2020 is one, true battleground, the place to feed for campaign news, is the home of scrapple, pierogies and the Snack Food Capital of the World. For the coming race, Pennsylvania is all that and a bag of chips. Or is it? One can see how the narrative developed. Democratic pack leader Joe Biden is running his national campaign from Pennsylvania, headquartered in Philly. A large part of the argument for his nabbing his partys nomination is that, as a native son with touted connectivity to working-class voters, he can carry the state. Meanwhile, Trumps campaign talks up Pennsylvania, taking credit for its upward-bound economy and its record-low unemployment. Trump adviser David Urban, in a Patriot-News op-ed piece, wrote that Pennsylvania is a major beneficiary of the Trump economy and much better off than in 2016. And when the president held a rally in an airplane hangar near the middle of the state last week, he said, I got to win this state, got to win Pennsylvania. Trump ostensibly was in the state to boost a Republican candidate, Fred Keller, in a special election for the rural, conservative 12th Congressional District, an election in which the president later said Keller had only a 50-50 shot. Keller won by 37 percentage points. I guess one could argue Trumps boost worked. Except the last Republican to win the district, U.S. Rep. Tom Marino, since retired, won by 32 points in 2018. And Trump carried Marinos district in 2016 by 36 points. Point being, Trump wasnt in Pennsylvania for Keller. Trump was in Pennsylvania for Trump. But did he/does he have to be? Pennsylvania is big, diverse, in many ways representative of the nation. Large urban areas at either end. Some good-sized cities spread throughout. Vast rural regions in between. Its got (for now) its prized 20 electoral votes. It voted for the winner in eight of the last 10 presidential elections. Its key in national races. And will be in 2020. In fact, because there is so much predictably red and blue across the Electoral College map, Pennsylvania is one of just a handful of states including, lets say, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin likely to decide the outcome. So, yeah, its key. Its just not the key. Especially not for Trump. And Im not saying Trump wins the election. Im saying if he wins, he can do it without Pennsylvania. George W. Bush did it twice. In 2000 and in 2004. Pennsylvania went for Al Gore and John Kerry, respectively. And if Biden is the Democratic nominee (and, yes, its early, things can change), hes positioned to carry the state. A Quinnipiac University poll released May 15 shows Pennsylvania backing Biden over Trump 53-42. But remember, it takes 270 electoral votes to win the White House. In 2016, Trump got 306 electoral votes. He didnt need Pennsylvanias 20. He would have won without carrying the state. Theres another element that could reduce Pennsylvanias overall role in 2020. There are 32 Democratic primaries and caucuses before Pennsylvanias primary on April 28. Maybe Biden stays in front for the next 11 months. Maybe he doesnt. Either way, with so many primaries, including big-state primaries (California, Texas, Florida, Illinois) ahead of Pennsylvanias, the race for the Democratic nomination might be over by the time the roadshow arrives here. That presents the possibility Pennsylvania ends up with no say in picking the Democratic nominee. And that could be the first of a double downer regarding the states political impact. In the general election, Democrats could win the state, which seems likely, and not win the White House (as happened three times in the last half-century: Hubert Humphrey, Gore, Kerry). And Republicans could lose the state and keep Trump in office. Which really doesnt seem to make Pennsylvania the decider. But grab some snacks and follow along. The shows just getting started. The Croda surfactants plant, between I-95 and the Delaware River at Atlas Point south of Wilmington. England-based Croda was urged to close the plant and move the works to Texas by its Gulf Coast-based ethylene suppliers, to avoid the cost and risk of shipping volatile organics by rail across the country. Instead, Croda, committed $170 million to building an ethanol-to-ethylene oxide plant (top of photo) to make its raw material on site, expanding employment from 215 to 250. The state of Delaware gave tax breaks and training subsidies. Read more A new chemical reactor at the Croda chemical plant at Atlas Point remained closed Tuesday, while work elsewhere at the 140-acre complex returned to normal, a day and a half after a flammable gas leak shut the twin Delaware Memorial Bridge spans and snarled traffic for more than seven hours. No one at the plant, which employs 250, was injured. The company said its initial finding was that an "incorrect gasket fitted on one of the pipes during the plant construction" failed Sunday afternoon, causing the leak. Company and state investigators are continuing to review the accident at Croda's ethanol-to-ethylene oxide unit that the state of Delaware wanted badly for its aging riverside industrial corridor. The Atlas Point plant which dates to 1937, 14 years before the first bridge span has used ethylene oxide for years, but only recently started producing it at a new facility on site. Sunday marked "the longest closure of both spans during my 27 years" at the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which owns the bridges, "and I couldn't find any such occurrence" in William J. Miller's 1983 history of the bridge, Crossing the Delaware, said authority spokesperson James Salmon. At least "70 percent" of the volatile organic compound in a storage tank on the site escaped on Sunday afternoon, George Greenley, a spokesperson for the Holloway Terrace Volunteer Fire Company, which was among the first responders, told local media on Sunday. A revised permit that the state granted for the facility on June 7 describes processing tanks of up to 50,000 gallons. Company, state, and fire company officials have declined to estimate how much gas ultimately leaked. The leak was reported to local fire companies, who initially recorded it as a building fire, at 4:15 p.m. Sunday. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control rushed hazardous-materials staff to assist Croda staff at the plant, and set up monitors on the bridge, where they soon detected traces of ethylene oxide. The commission shut the bridge at 4:23 p.m., at the request of Croda and Holloway Terrace, according to spokesperson Salmon. Rob Snyder, deputy chief at the Holloway Terrace company, said they acted in "an excess of caution." Police sent "reverse 911" calls urging residents of the nearby Collins Park development and parts of nearby New Castle to stay indoors. Monitors showed "there was no point at which there was an unsafe level of ethylene oxide in the air outside the facility perimeter," Croda said in a statement the next day. The bridge commission says DNREC and Croda both told it the ethylene oxide concentrations on the bridge side of the property line did not exceed federal OSHA exposure limits. Besides its volatility, federal officials say short-term exposure to the gas can cause lung injury, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and shortness of breath. Long-term exposure can cause cancer. "There was concern that if people were stuck on the highway or the bridge there could be safety issues," Shawn Garvin, the former Environmental Protection Agency official who heads DNREC, told me later. "We did find elevated levels" of ethylene oxide, he added. Fire crews spent the evening helping Croda staff spray water onto the ethylene oxide facility, pipes, and surroundings to dissipate the leak. The company declared the leak contained, and the commission reopened the bridges at 11:23 p.m. Croda marketing director Cara Eaton said: "We are now conducting a systematic review of all other equipment on the ethylene oxide plant pipework. Until this work is completed, and we, along with regulatory authorities, are confident that the plant can resume safe operations, we will not manufacture ethylene oxide. This process is anticipated to be completed, carefully and thoroughly, over the next two weeks." Garvin, the DNREC chief, said he wouldn't predict how long his department's probe will last. The ethylene oxide unit "is still down until we can figure out what happened," he added. He praised local and state first responders and the bridge commission, who all "did this the way it should be done." Like many chemical makers aware of public sensitivity to pollution, Croda cultivates a reputation as a careful, environmentally conscious operator. "My bet, Croda did everything by the book," said Craig Melville, of Maple Glen, a retired chemical distributor who handled Croda products as well as those made by Dow, DuPont, FMC, and other producers. "They know it's a dangerous chemical," he added. "Things happen like this all the time in Texas, sort of goes with the business." The Gulf Coast is where most U.S. ethylene oxide is made, and where Croda had considered relocating the Atlas Point works after its previous supplier, Sunoco's chemical unit, stopped ethylene production in Marcus Hook due to a fire. Melville said it's in the chemical industry's interest and in the Philadelphia area's to continue producing basic industrial compounds close to customers who rely on their products. Conrails Jocelyn Gabrynowicz Hill walks the Port Richmond rail yard. Police say they will crack down on trespassing in the space that is closed to the public. Read more Philadelphia's gritty, colorful, and ever-popular Instagram attraction, Graffiti Pier, was shut down Tuesday. Police in the 26th District sent out an alert saying officers would enforce a no-trespassing ordinance at the former coal-loading pier that juts into the Delaware River at Port Richmond. Cars parked near the entrance on Beach and Cumberland Streets will be ticketed and towed, authorities announced. The area has been private property and technically closed since its owner, Conrail, installed a locked gate in 1991. But that barrier is easily traversed, and tourists and locals alike have visited undisturbed for years. Police said an increase in illicit activity, sparked by a surge in tourists to the area, has changed all that. Conrail did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "People are coming from outside the city who read about it and want to get pictures of the pier," said Capt. Krista Dahl-Campbell of the 26th District. "They come down, they leave their cars unlocked, come back, and their stuff is missing." Dahl-Campbell said there's also the risk of more serious crimes. In recent years, she said, police have responded to robberies, assaults, a rape, and a drowning on the property. "I think people think it's like a city park or attraction, but it's not ," she said. "It's private property, and it's not cared for. It's not safe. There's nobody watching out for you back there." Back when it was in use, Pier 124 was a loading dock for ships transporting coal. Over time, the abandoned, vast concrete walls and passageways have become canvases for graffiti artists and a playground for paintball enthusiasts. Lovers of the space have advocated for making it a protected public park to prevent its closure. Kae Anderson, director of economic development for the New Kensington Community Development Corporation, said some community groups periodically clean up the area, which often attracts illegal dumping. While iconic, Anderson said, it's unsafe in its current condition. "I would love to see that space become something that could be activated and could bring that connection back with the river," Anderson said. "But in the state it's in now, it's not conducive nor is it safe for public gathering." Conrad Benner, founder of the street art blog StreetsDept.com, said that if the city was worried about violent crime, arrangements should be made for officers to patrol the area. "I guess we'll have to wait to see what exactly this new enforcement looks like," Benner said. "But, if it means eliminating what has effectively operated as a public space for the neighborhood for many, many years, then I think that is an enormous loss not only to the graffiti writers, street artists, photographers, and neighbors that use the space but also for the city. "This is a special spot. The kind of city-defining spot that most cities would kill to have. Seriously, the graffiti writers that have shown this abandoned pier love for over a decade now have helped to make this one of the most stunning, ever-changing spots in the city." Mayor Jim Kenney celebrates at the podium with supporters after announcing victory in the primary election results, during a party at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Pa. Tuesday, May 21, 2019, Read more Voters have cast their ballots in the 2019 primary election, weighing in on races for mayor, City Council, and row offices in Philadelphia. Here are key things to know about the results: Mayor Jim Kenney handily won the Democratic primary for mayor in his reelection bid. Former Philly police officer Rochelle Bilal defeated incumbent Sheriff Jewell Williams in the Democratic primary for sheriff, a significant upset. In the race for register of wills, another row-office incumbent was ousted, as former deputy city commissioner Tracey L. Gordon won over Ron Donatucci in the Democratic primary. In closely watched district City Council races, Councilman Kenyatta Johnson fended off challenger Lauren Vidas in the Second District, while Maria Quinones-Sanchez claimed victory in the Seventh District. In the Third District in West Philadelphia, Jamie Gauthier defeated longtime Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. The at-large race for City Council featured the largest field in decades, and the Democratic primary winners represented a mix of millenials and the political machine. With the vast majority of votes counted, turnout Tuesday surpassed the 2017 primary and general elections, as well as the 2018 primary election. More than 237,000 people voted on election day, with absentee ballots still to be counted. In the 2015 primary election, 269,635 people voted; in the 2017 primary, 210,838 people voted. Register of Wills loses 11th reelection bid Longtime Register of Wills Ronald R. Donatucci has been ousted. The South Philly politician held the office since 1980, but voters Tuesday declined to give him an 11th term. Instead, they voted for former deputy city commissioner Tracey L. Gordon. Former Deputy Sheriff Jacque Whaumbush finished third. The office has a $4 million annual budget and about 70 employees; its responsible for receiving wills for probate, maintaining wills and estate records, collecting inheritance taxes, and issuing marriage licenses. READ MORE: Tracey Gordon wins register of wills race, ousting 40-year incumbent Ron Donatucci Jannie Blackwell unseated in 3rd District, leaves watch party In the Third District, longtime incumbent Jannie Blackwell appeared to be unseated after facing her first credible challenger in decades. At 11 p.m., Jamie Gauthier, the former head of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, had 56 percent of the vote with 95 precincts reporting, putting her ahead of the powerful councilwoman who has represented the district since 1992. Blackwell walked out of her watch party without giving a speech, instead hugging and shaking hands with supporters and saying, See ya, everybody. See ya. Thanks, everybody. Blackwell took over from her husband, Lucien, who had held the seat since 1975. Blackwell is the oldest member of Council and its second-longest-serving. The race was one of the most closely watched this election, with a longtime member of the Democratic establishment being challenged by a progressive political newcomer on issues of political power and land development. Gauthier is essentially guaranteed the seat, as there is no Republican challenger. READ MORE: Jamie Gauthier ousts Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell in City Council 3rd District Millennials and the machine win in City Council At-Large races In a crowded field of Democratic candidates for City Council at-large, two millennial challengers joined three incumbents in taking the top five spots, all but guaranteeing their election in a deeply Democratic city. Isaiah Thomas, 34, and Kathy Gilmore Richardson, 35, will inject a dose of youth to City Council, where the current average age is 58 and no members are younger than 45. They join incumbents Helen Gym, Allan Domb, and Derek Green in the top five. Overall, 28 Democrats ran for those spots, the most in four decades. All five winners were endorsed by the city Democratic Party. There are seven at-large members, who represent the city as a whole, and no party can win more than five seats. In effect, that means five seats go to Democrats and two to Republicans. They join the ten Council members who represent individual geographic districts. READ MORE: Party-backed millennials come out on top in Phillys at-large City Council primary election What happened in the suburbs In Philadelphias suburbs, Montgomery County Board of Commissioners incumbents Valerie Arkoosh and Ken Lawrence Jr. won the Democratic nominations in a landslide, according to unofficial election results. It is the first time Lawrence won reelection to the board. He was initially appointed in January 2017 to fill the seat of Josh Shapiro, now the states attorney general. The race was among a handful of county-wide elections in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. READ MORE: Primary results in Bucks, Chester, Montgomery and Delaware Counties bring new faces and familiar names Lisa Deeley and Omar Sabir win race to run Phillys elections Incumbent City Commissioner Lisa Deeley won her bid for a second term as one of Phillys top elections officials. And with fellow Democrat Anthony Clark retiring, shell be joined by Omar Sabir. Thats a win for the citys Democratic establishment, as the city party endorsed both candidates amid a larger field than has been seen in decades. And with their victory comes a loss for advocates for hand-marked paper ballots, who had sought to make the election a referendum on new touchscreen voting machines that they say are more costly and less secure than paper ballots that voters manually fill out. Deeley and incumbent Republican Al Schmidt, who was unopposed in the GOP primary, selected the touchscreen systems. Sabir said he isnt concerned about the new machines we have the new voting machines, I don't like to cry over spilled milk and is looking forward to working with Deeley on expanding community outreach to increase voter turnout. I have a new partner in Omar, and I look forward to four great years, Deeley said. Were going to work together, were going to do great stuff, and Im sure Omars going to bring a lot of great ideas to the table. READ MORE: Lisa Deeley and Omar Sabir win Democratic nomination for Philadelphia City Commissioner Philly judge, Chesco deputy DA lead in Superior Court race Philadelphia Common Pleas Court Judge Dan McCaffery has a commanding lead in the Democratic primary for Superior Court, a statewide appellate court. In the GOP primary, the leading candidate is Megan McCarthy King, a deputy district attorney in Chester County. The top two candidates in each primary will advance to the general election. READ MORE: Phillys Dan McCaffery, Chescos Megan King in contention for Pa. Superior Court primaries Maria Quinones-Sanchez claims victory in 7th District In one of the most closely watched races this election, incumbent Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, a fiercely independent Democrat who lacks party backing and prides herself on battling the citys political machine, claimed victory over her challenger, State Rep. Angel Cruz. Quinones-Sanchez had publicly said her opponent would only win if he did so illegally. Instead, she appeared to have won. As of about 10:30 p.m., Quinones-Sanchez had 52 percent of the vote, with about 95 percent of precincts reporting results. I want to thank god because there was a lot of negativity in this campaign," the councilwoman told supporters. She said constituents deserve someone who shows up to work, is prepared and delivers for you. The Democratic winner will not face a Republican candidate in November. READ MORE: Incumbents dominate in City Council District races, with one exception in West Philly Rochelle Bilal takes upset victory in sheriffs race Former Philadelphia Police officer Rochelle Bilal beat incumbent Sheriff Jewell Williams in the Democratic primary for sheriff in an upset victory. As of 10 p.m. and with 86 percent of precincts reporting results, Bilal was leading the four-way race by nearly 20,000 votes. Williams, who has been embroiled in three cases involving alleged sexual harassment and also faces scrutiny for giving professional services contracts to campaign contributors and soliciting campaign donations from employees, has not conceded. In addition to Williams, Bilal finished ahead of former sheriffs deputies Malika Rahman and Larry King Sr. Bilal, 61, is president of the Guardian Civic League, a group that represents black police officers. READ MORE: Rochelle Bilal wins primary election for Philadelphia sheriff in upset of Jewell Williams Kenyatta Johnson wins Democratic primary in 2nd District Kenyatta Johnson, the incumbent Second District councilman who has faced scrutiny over city land deals that benefited his friends, held off lawyer and consultant Lauren Vidas in a closely watched race that had revolved around issues of Council power, land use, and gentrification. As of shortly after 10 p.m., Johnson had nearly 60 percent of the vote, with 87 percent of precincts reporting. In November, he will face Michael Bradley, head of the Grays Ferry Civic Association, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination. READ MORE: In a changing district, Councilman Kenyatta Johnson easily wins Democratic nomination Ballot measures appear to pass Philadelphia voters approved four proposed charter amendments on Tuesday: the creation of a new class of law officer dedicated to traffic enforcement, the use of gender-neutral language for City Council and its members; making permanent the Office of Immigrant Affairs, created by executive order in 2016; and urging the state legislature to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. With more than 70 percent of the votes counted, the yes votes comfortably outnumbered no votes for all four questions. READ MORE: Voters approve amendments to Philadelphias City Charter Kenney: Serving as your mayor has been the greatest honor of my life Mayor Jim Kenney told supporters at his election-night party that the job was a privilege. Serving as your mayor has been the greatest honor of my life," the mayor said at the National Museum of American Jewish History. Theres something special about being mayor when you walk into a pre-K classroom and see how a quality education serves our children. READ MORE: Jim Kenney wins Democratic mayoral primary Nail-biters in the Third and Seventh Districts Two of the most closely watched Democratic races this election season remain in the spotlight as results come in. In West Phillys Third District, longtime Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell was running slightly behind Jamie Gauthier, the first credible challenger she has had in years, with 30 percent of precincts reporting results. Blackwell has held the seat since 1992, when she took it over from her husband, Lucien, who had represented the district since 1975. The challenge from Gauthier, the former head of the Fairmount Park Conservancy, forced issues of Council power, land development, and gentrification to the forefront of the race. Meanwhile, the fight to represent Kensingtons Seventh District also remained close, with 90 percent of precincts reporting. Incumbent Maria Quinones-Sanchez, known for challenging the party establishment and lacking its support, holds a slight lead over State Rep. Angel Cruz. The race has been nasty, with allegations of electoral impropriety in a district where shenanigans have occurred in the past. Helen Gym leads the City Council at-large pack With half the precincts reporting their results, first-term Councilwoman Helen Gym had about 15 percent of the vote, putting her at the top of the 28 Democratic candidates in the crowded at-large City Council race. For the at-large seats, which represent the entire city, no party can hold more than five seats. In effect, that means the five Democrats in deep-blue Philly who win Tuesday will nearly certainly win those seats in November. With the results still coming in, Gym was followed by incumbent Allan Domb, third-time challenger Isaiah Thomas, incumbent Derek Green, and first-time challenger Katherine Gilmore Richardson. Click here to see where all of the candidates in the sprawling field stand, as well as tallies from other races. Potential upset alert: Sheriffs race With more than one-third of precincts reporting their election results shortly after 9 p.m., former Philadelphia Police Officer Rochelle Bilal held a sizable lead in the race for sheriff, representing a potential upset of incumbent Jewell Williams. Williams, who has been in office since 2012, has been embroiled in three cases involving alleged sexual harassment and also faces scrutiny for giving professional services contracts to campaign contributors and soliciting campaign donations from employees. Bilal had slightly more than 40 percent of the vote, with Williams and former sheriffs deputy Malika Rahman each taking about 25 percent of the vote. Larry King Sr., another former sheriffs deputy, had about seven percent of the vote. There is no Republican candidate, meaning the winner of Tuesday primary is almost certain to win in November, unless challenged by a third-party or independent candidate. Mayor Jim Kenney coasts to primary win in reelection bid Mayor Jim Kenney, the 99th mayor of Philadelphia, handily won the Democratic primary in his reelection effort, the Associated Press projected about an hour after polls closed Tuesday. Kenney had faced two challengers in the Democratic primary: State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams and former City Controller Alan Butkovitz. Both had sought to attack Kenney on his signature first-term achievement, the sweetened-beverage tax, as well as crime, policing, poverty, and other issues. In the end, Williams and Butkovitz failed to make history no mayor who has run for reelection has lost since the citys two-term limit took effect in 1952. Butkovitz conceded the race shortly before 9:15 p.m. In November, Kenney will face defense attorney Billy Ciancaglini, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Mayoral campaign watch parties: Stuffy conference rooms, Rihanna, and a slideshow While we wait for election results, lets take a look at the watch parties for the three mayoral campaigns. At a quiet gathering in Center City, a group of Alan Butkovitz supporters sat around a long table in a conference room on the 16th floor of a coworking space, watching a television displaying the election results webpage. Butkovitz sat at the front of the table, eyes on the screen. Some supporters ate sandwiches from paper plates and sipped beer, discussing the numbers as they trickled in. It was a speedy recovery from a few moments prior, when people were scrambling to turn on the air conditioning in the overly warm room. More than half of the 13 people at the start of the night were reporters. Meanwhile, in State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams event at the former Berean Institute on Girard Avenue, a DJ has kept a festive atmosphere going for several hours now. The high-energy music of Rihanna, Beyonce, Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson, and others played for the handful of supporters who have arrived so far, while a large group of election day workers, many of them young, lined up to get paid by the campaign. A projector screen behind what will be Williams podium sits blank. As for Mayor Jim Kenney, not much is happening yet at his watch party, either. His room at the National Museum of American Jewish History decorated with bunches of red, white, and blue balloons remained largely empty before 9 p.m., with music playing and the stage and podium ready for the mayor to speak later. A slideshow of photos from his first term played to the largely empty room. We already know the winners in these races Even though the polls only just closed, and results arent even in yet, were going to go ahead and call it. We feel comfortable declaring winners in half the City Council district races. (Its easy: The candidates ran unopposed.) Council President Darrell L. Clarke, first elected in 1999, is unopposed in the Fifth District and will face no Republican candidate in November. In the Sixth District, Bobby Henon, the majority leader who is under indictment for allegedly using his position to benefit Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, did not face a primary challenger. He will face Pete Smith, a delivery truck driver, who was unopposed in the Republican primary. Democratic incumbents Cindy Bass and Cherelle L. Parker were unopposed in the Eighth District and Ninth District, respectively. Neither faces Republican competition in November. In the Tenth District, incumbent Republican Brian J. ONeill the longest-serving Council member, in office since 1979 was unopposed in todays primary. He will face Judy Moore, the Garces Group chief strategy officer who was unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the Second District, Michael Bradley ran unopposed on the Republican side and Billy Ciancaglini had the Republican primary for mayor all to himself. We feel pretty safe calling those two races as well. Polls have closed Polls closed at 8 p.m. though any voters still in line at that time will be allowed to cast ballots. Stick with us throughout the night for the latest updates as results come in. Did voters turn out? While the primary season brought out a crowded field of candidates, early indications are that turnout was low. Still, there were some eager voters, the usual buzz at the typical election day power spots, and signs of voter excitement in some parts of the city. Here are more scenes from polling places around Philly on primary day. Joining the post-work voting crowd? Heres what you need to know Turnout has been reportedly less than enthusiastic in Philly so far as one solomonic worker put it, Ive seen worse but Ive seen better as well but theres always the post-work crowd. Polls are open until 8 p.m., and as long as you are in line by that time you are allowed to vote. (Find your polling place here.) Here are some resources to help you get the information you need: Voters guide for the Philadelphia primary election: Find your candidates by address or view all the candidates on each partys ballot. Whos running for Philadelphia City Council?: Learn about the dozens of candidates seeking Council seats and how the field breaks down by age, occupation, cash, and more. Where do City Council candidates stand on the issues?: We asked candidates for their views on issues from the soda tax to sanctuary cities to bike lanes to charter schools. Find out what they said. Whats motivating Philly voters this primary What was on the minds of Philly voters as they cast their ballots Tuesday? Here are a few of the issues that Philly voters said influenced their choices. Soda tax: Debra Serota, 37, said she voted for Mayor Jim Kenney: Hes made some serious changes like the soda tax. Im into that. We dont really drink soda and it benefits the schools, pre-school." Safe injection sites: Jihad Ahmed, 45, said he voted for State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams in the mayoral race: I like that (Williams) is against (safe injection sites) ... youre like legalizing people to be able to go in there and get high. Give our people treatment." Urban planning: Stephen Rafferty, 30, said he voted for Jamie Gauthier in the 3rd District race: I was excited that there would be hopefully someone thoughtful about the built environment in elected office. I Voted stickers, and custom ones on the way? You may be showing off those I Voted or He Votado Hoy stickers on social media today, but do you know the history of the election emblem? The practice may have begun in the 1980s to raise voter awareness on Election Day, Newsweek reports, but its origins are a little more fuzzy. The Miami Herald mentioned such a sticker in 1982, while one group in Phoenix and a company in North Carolina believe they have a rightful claim. Not all states go the traditional route, however. Some opt for a bit of local flare. Georgias sticker shows a peach, while New Yorks connects the boroughs with a minimalist subway map. City Council offered some suggestions with some Philly attitude this week, just as it had during the midterm elections. Back in November though, the City Commissioners office responded that it was already working on this which was apparently no joke. A sticker redesign is one of several projects being worked on, a spokesperson said last week. Election day power lunch: Where schmoozing is on the menu By the afternoon, insiders and hopefuls gathered or attempted to gather at what are election day staples for the politically connected: lunch at Relish in West Oak Lane or Famous 4th Street Deli in Queen Village. At Famous, Comcast executive vice president David L. Cohen lunched at political consultant Neil Oxmans table. Also at Oxmans table? Former Mayor Bill Green III, state Treasurer Joe Torsella, and former 6ABC anchor Marc Howard were also spotted. Nearby, former State Sen. Vince Fumo talked about his work as a political consultant. READ MORE: Joe Biden, at Philly fund-raiser hosted by Comcast exec, says Trump has shredded Americas moral fabric Over at Relish in West Oak Lane, elected politicians and candidates filtered in and out, shaking hands and fueling up on fried chicken, mac n cheese and collard greens. The whos-who of Philly politics included Mayor Jim Kenney, several representatives from Harrisburg, State Attorney General Josh Shapiro and a slew of candidates hoping to win their races in Philly tonight. I love your commercials, Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., said as he shook hands with Councilman-at-large Allan Domb. Bring it home, attorney Kevin Greenberg said to Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who is hoping to hold on to his seat representing the 2nd District. Not everyone was allowed inside. At-large candidate Erika Almiron was denied entry. She said she wasnt invited to the event and was told it was invite-only at the door. Rochelle Bilal, running for sheriff, also said she didnt get an invitation. The event was hosted by the Laborers District Council. Ive been coming here every year, Bilal said. Steps away was Sheriff Jewell Williams, who distributed his fliers but declined an interview. Thats our Democratic Party in there, Bilal said. It should be open to every candidate running. Chris Brennan and Julia Terruso End of the morning rush Voting continued as normal following the morning rush, said Pat Christmas, policy director of the Committee of Seventy, an elections watchdog group. By 11 a.m., phones were not exactly ringing off the hook," though Christmas noted there were a few calls concerning late openings and machines not working. The District Attorney Offices Election Task Force received 23 complaints by Tuesday afternoon, the majority of which concerned electioneering allegations, according to the office. Voting otherwise continues smoothly, the district attorneys office tweeted. In the 7th District, where eyes are on what is most likely to become one of the most competitive council races, a sample ballot posted outside the Luis Munoz-Marin School on Third and Ontario Streets listed candidates for the 8th District. That meant Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez and state Rep. Angel Cruz were excluded, among others. The error, noticed at about 9:30 a.m. by committee person Maria Cruz, was changed by 11:20 a.m., after about 85 people had voted in its three divisions. By mid-morning, Christmas said theres a chance that turnout this year wont be as high as it was in the 2015 primary, when Philly saw an open mayoral race. Kenney won the 2015 primary with 130,775 votes over State Sen. Tony Williams, who collected 61,160 votes, according to the City Commissioners office. One of the most important variables in turnout is whether theres a prominent race with a well-financed candidate, Christmas said. " ... The district Council offices and row offices are just not as high profile." Christmas said hes watching Sixty-Six Wards as an indicator of turnout. Ballot positions You may notice two blank spots among the Democratic at-large positions while pulling up your sample ballot. The No. 4 position belonged to Willie Singletary, who a judge ruled in March couldnt run for council due to a felony conviction for lying to FBI agents in a corruption probe. The No. 16 spot belonged to former Lt. Gov. Mike Stack III, who withdrew because of the ballot position, the Inquirer reported in March. While neither name appears on the online sample ballot made available on the City Commissioners website, at least one Twitter user noted that Singletarys name appears in the voting booth, though a paper sign in English and Spanish alerts residents that votes cast for the candidate would not be counted. In Philly, ballot positions are assigned by pulling numbers out of an archaic Horn & Hardart coffee can. Love it or hate it, the can holds a lot of power. It even has its own Twitter account. Its pretty much incontrovertible that you have an advantage if you come first. Just flat-out, Monika McDermott, a political scientist at Fordham University, previously told The Inquirer. Ballot positions may be particularly important for this years primary, where 34 Democrats and seven Republicans are vying for seven at-large Council seats. Thats the largest field of candidates since 1983. This year, Adrian Rivera Reyes, a Democratic socialist, and Deja Lynn Alvarez, a public-health LGBTQ activist and the first transgender woman to run for City Council, got the top spots. Paper ballots debut in Montco Montgomery County residents were greeted with a new way of voting this morning: paper ballots. READ MORE: In Montgomery County, some voters concerned by new paper ballots They are full-sized sheets of paper that a voter fills out and then is fed into a scanner machine. Gov. Tom Wolfs Department of State last year ordered counties to buy new, more-secure voting machines that leave a paper trail. Experts say that is best practice to ensure proper post-election audits and recounts and instill voter confidence. Reviews so far appear mixed with some voters complaining that it took longer to vote than it did with the old machines. READ MORE: How Montgomery Countys new paper ballots have stolen my mother-son tradition Voting off to a typical Philly start The Committee of 70 elections watchdog group says voting got under way Tuesday morning with no major problems except that some polling places opened late, which is not unusual. Sixty-six Wards, an effort to track real time turnout based on reports from voters, estimated that more than 41,000 people had cast ballots by 9 a.m. Turnout for the last mayoral primary in 2015 was 247,000. Along with libraries and schools, you can find voters in todays election casting their ballots at some pretty unusual places. There are restaurants like Lees Hoagie House in Rhawnhurst or Gold Standard Cafe in West Philly, as well as spots like the Mummers Museum or the Painted Bride. Dont believe it? Have a look at the list yourself your neighbors garage might just be a polling place. The rather unconventional spots are born out of the desire for polling places to be close to voters, as well as Philadelphias status as an older city and the need for locations to be accessible to people with disabilities. If youre not sure where to find your own polling place, consult the Department of States database online. Learn about the ballot Over the past several months, the Inquirer has produced several guides to help you get ready to vote. Need to read up before heading to your polling place? Read on. Voters guide for the Philadelphia primary election: Find candidates in your district by address, or view all the candidates on each partys ballot. Whos running for Philadelphia City Council?: This years primary features a crowded field. Learn more about the candidates seeking Council seats, and how the field breaks down by age, occupation, cash, and more. Where do City Council candidates stand on the issues?: We asked candidates for their views on issues from the soda tax to sanctuary cities to bike lanes to charter schools. Find out what they said. Quiz: Whats on the 2019 Philly primary election ballot? Test your city government knowledge. Complete primary election coverage Polls are open Polls opened at 7 a.m. in Pennsylvania for a primary election in which the main focus is on heavily Democratic Philadelphia, where Mayor Jim Kenney is facing two challengers and a crowded field of candidates is vying for the partys seven at-large City Council slots. Other than the at-large City Council race, Republican candidates are running unopposed in the city. In other races, 13 Democrats are running for two slots in the city commissioners race, vying to lead the office that runs Philly elections. Three candidates, including incumbent Jewell Williams, are seeking to be the partys choice for sheriff. All Philadelphia voters are being asked in a special election to say yay or nay to four amendments to the Home Rule Charter. The only statewide races are for Superior Court, with three candidates running in each partys primary for the two slots each has on the general election ballot. Local judicial races also are on the ballot. The weather forecast calls for sunny skies with a high around 72. Polls will close at 8 p.m. Welcome to primary day Pennsylvania voters head to the polls Tuesday for the primary election. Stick with the Inquirer throughout the day for updates on turnout, scenes from the polls, and last-minute campaigning, and come back in the evening for the latest news as results come in. Throughout the day and night, youll be hearing from the Inquirer team on races in Philly and beyond. During the day, Patricia Madej and Joseph A. Gambardello will be your guides here to what you need to know before casting your vote, while Jonathan Lai will take the reigns in the evening to keep you informed as the races are called. Theyll be joined by other staffers bringing you stories on philly.com and our social platforms: Chris Brennan, Laura McCrystal, Michaelle Bond, and Justine McDaniel will be tracking the mayoral race. Julia Terruso, William Bender, Craig McCoy, and Maddie Hanna will have all the City Council action. Claudia Vargas will keep you up to date on the sheriffs race, while Andrew Seidman covers the judicial contests, and Tom Fitzgerald will let you know ballot-measure results. Chris Palmer and Tommy Rowan will have the latest from election court, while TyLisa Johnson, Samantha Melamed, Jesenia De Moya Correa, and Juliana Feliciano Reyes tell you whats on voters minds and bring you other election day updates from around the region. READ MORE: Inquirer Poll: What Philly voters think of Mayor Jim Kenney, crime, and the soda tax READ MORE: Repeal the tax abatement, rent control: Heres what Philadelphia City Council candidates say theyd do first READ MORE: Could the Philly City Council elections determine the fate of the soda tax? READ MORE: Heres what the primary election could mean for the future of Phillys 10-year tax abatement READ MORE: Pilloried for thinking about saving lives: injection sites are a hot issue in Philly politics The signs are out along Park Boulevard outside the polling place in the Camden County Parks Department headquarters in Cherry Hill on June 4, 2019, for the primary election. Read more For South Jersey, the biggest story in Tuesdays partisan primaries figures to be the challenge to the dominant Camden County Democratic machine and its unofficial leader, insurance executive George E. Norcross III, by a group of progressive Democrats. The insurgents say they have about 20 candidates on their slate running for Assembly, county clerk, and mayor or council positions in the countys three biggest municipalities Cherry Hill, Camden, and Gloucester Township and six other towns. Its been a battle, with the county clerk, a party regular, disqualifying the groups nominees for the Board of Freeholders. And then came the phantom candidates, names placed on the ballot without any real campaigns; the progressives say they were put up to it by the machine to clutter the ballot, and the party leadership says its the progressives who are running ghosts. In addition, the group is running a number of candidates for seats on the Camden County Democratic Committee, taking the fight to the heart of the party organization. Assembly races New Jersey voters on Tuesday will chose the Democratic and Republican nominees for all 80 seats in the Assembly ahead of the general election in November. Only a relative handful of the party primaries across the state are contested, four of them in South Jersey legislative districts. 8th District: President Donald Trump seems to pervade all levels of politics, and he is the main point of contention in the Republican primary for Assembly in this district, which lies mostly in Burlington County, with several Camden County towns and one in Atlantic County. And its also about local frictions. Incumbent Republican Joe Howarth lost the imprimatur of the powerful Burlington County GOP when leaders suspected he was about to bolt to the Democrats, as the districts Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego did last year. So the party gave its endorsement along with the valuable first column on the ballot to retiring Sheriff Jean Stanfield and first-term Assemblyman Ryan Peters. Howarth, who had a moderate record, rebranded himself as a Trump acolyte and qualified for the ballot under the MAGA Republican label. He says his opponents are disloyal to the president. Attorney R. Jason Huf, a Lumberton resident, is running alone in the primary under the Fresh Leadership banner. The Democrats also have a contested primary in the 8th District, but the three candidates are all newcomers. John Johnny" Bravo of Marlton is running as A True Democrat for one of two Assembly seats against endorsed Democratic candidates Gina LaPlaca of Lumberton and Mark Natale of Marlton, who are running as Burlington County Regular Democrats. Both are lawyers. 3rd District: Incumbent Democratic Assemblymen John Burzichelli and Adam Taliaferro face a challenge in the primary from John Kalnas, a Gibbstown retiree who ran for the seat in 2015 and 2017. The 3rd District includes all of Salem County and parts of Gloucester and Cumberland Counties. 6th District: Two challengers encouraged by the South Jersey Progress Democrats grassroots group are challenging the incumbent Democrats, Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, the majority leader in the lower house, and Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt. The newcomers are Julian Jordan III and Danie Moss-Velasco. Polling place hours, locations, and what else to know before voting Polling place hours and locations: New Jersey polling places are open from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. Go to the Department of States website (https://bit.ly/1lZ6JCc) to find your polling place. Party affiliations matter: New Jersey is considered a closed primary state, but unaffiliated voters can declare a party up to or on election day and vote for that partys nominees in a primary election. In Novembers general election, all voters will be able to cast ballots regardless of party affiliation. Voter ID rules: The New Jersey Department of State says you may be asked to show ID if you didnt provide it while registering to vote or if there was information that couldnt be verified. That ID could range from a drivers license to a utility bill. Write-in votes: If you have a candidate in mind whose name doesnt appear on the ballot, choosing to write in the candidates name could be an option. New Jersey allows voters to name anyone as a write-in candidate thats how three members of Bergen County school boards were elected last fall. Voting rights: As a registered voter, you have rights protected under federal and state laws. New Jerseys Voters Bill of Rights, available in multiple languages, outlines everything from ID requirements to what you might see in polling places as a first-time voter. Further protections, from accessibility rights for those with disabilities to rights for ex-felons, can be found on the Department of States website, https://bit.ly/2ERq3EL, What to do if you have problems at the polls: Voter intimidation, coercion, threats, and anything else that hinders a person from voting fairly is considered a civil rights violation of federal election law, according to the U.S. governments explanation of voting and election laws. New Jerseys Division of Elections voting information and assistance number is 1-877-NJ-VOTER (658-6837). Contact information for each countys election office is on the Department of States website. Staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this article. In this May 3, 2018 file photo, Doug Mastriano, one of eight Republicans running for the U.S. House in Pennsylvania's 13th District, speaks to a crowd of party faithful at the Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services social hall, in Hanover, Pa. Read more HARRISBURG A look at the winners in key races in Pennsylvanias primary: U.S. House Special Election Republican Fred Keller, a state lawmaker from Snyder County, won the special election for Congress in a heavily Republican district that sprawls across central and northern Pennsylvania. Keller, 53, will replace the Republican congressman who resigned in January. He beat Democrat Marc Friedenberg and ran with the support of President Donald Trump. The 12th District also strongly supported Trump in the 2016 election. The two-year term runs through 2020. Keller is a fifth-term member of the state House of Representatives, and one of its most conservative members, with a 90% lifetime rating by the American Conservative Union. Legislative Special Election Republicans won special elections for three open seats in the state Legislature in heavily GOP districts in southcentral and western Pennsylvania. For the 33rd Senate district in southcentral Pennsylvania, Republican Doug Mastriano beat Democrat Sarah Hammond; for the 41st Senate district in western Pennsylvania, Republican Joe Pittman beat Democrat Susan Boser; and for the 11th House district in Butler County, Republican Marci Mustello beat Democrat Sam Doctor. Candidates looked to fill the seat once occupied by GOP Rep. Brian Ellis, who resigned in March, days after a woman who accused him of sexual assault filed a formal complaint with the majority House Republicans. >>READ MORE: Pennsylvania state Rep. Brian Ellis, accused of sexual assault, resigns >>READ MORE: Woman accusing State Rep. Brian Ellis of sexual assault files complaint with House Republicans All three seats were last held by Republicans, and the special elections have no effect on Republican control in both chambers. Superior Court Judges A steelworkers' union lawyer and a county prosecutor have been nominated to run for open seats on a statewide appellate court. Democrat Amanda Green-Hawkins, a Pittsburgh lawyer, and Republican Megan King, a Chester County prosecutor, won spots on the fall ballot in Tuesdays primary election for the state Superior Court. >>READ MORE: 3 things to know about the Pa. Superior Court candidates: Their legal heroes, fundraising, and biggest weaknesses Races for the last two spot remained too close to call Tuesday night. Allentown Mayor Ray O'Connell declared himself the winner in Allentown's mayoral race over challengers Michael Daniels, Cheryl Johnson Watt and Patrick Palmer. The interim mayor will run against Republican Tim Ramos in November to fill imprisoned former Mayor Ed Pawlowski's term. Pittsburgh District Attorney Pittsburghs longtime top prosecutor has fended off a challenge in the Democratic primary, his first in 20 years. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala on Tuesday defeated Turahn Jenkins, a former public defender who criticized his handling of the case of a white police officer charged in the fatal shooting of a black teenager. Council upset in Pittsburgh Longtime Pittsburgh Councilperson Darlene Harris was defeated by Bobby Wilson during Tuesdays Democratic primary, in what the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette calls an electoral upset that will surely shock City Hall and give Mayor Bill Peduto a cause to celebrate. Wilson, a medical researcher, earned the endorsement of the citys mayor, Bill Peduto. Harris has served on council for more than a decade. Inquirer staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this report. Artist's rendering of office building proposed by developer Parkway at a former car-rental lot it owns at 20th and Arch Streets. Read more A Center City community group has signaled its consent for a 15-story office tower at 20th and Arch Streets, opening a path for what could be the first new corporate headquarters building to rise in Philadelphias core since work on the Comcast Center began 14 years ago. The Logan Square Neighborhood Association voted Tuesday to green-light Parkway Corp.'s plan for about 400,000 square feet of offices and ground-floor retail at a former Avis rental car lot, which the Philadelphia-based developer has owned since 2014. The proposal would require City Council legislation to relax a height limit that applies to the site because of its proximity to the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and to tweak the citys system of awarding bonuses that permit greater density. Brian Berson, Parkways senior vice president for real estate and development, said in a presentation to the community group that the legislation was needed to assure the corporate tenant eyeing the site that the plan would be able to progress. He did not identify the tenant, who he said would sign an initial 20-year lease. Council President Darrell L. Clarke, whose district includes the development site, had indicated to Parkway that he would introduce that legislation if the community group backed the proposal, Parkway president Robert Zuritsky said in an interview Tuesday. Clarke spokesperson Jane Roh said in an email Wednesday that the Council president will be prepared to work with the property owners toward a final development proposal that makes sense for the area and provides a net benefit to the city," providing that support from near neighbors is verified. The plan also would require the relocation of a historically protected gas station building from the early 20th century at the site. Zuritsky said Parkway is working with the Philadelphia Historical Commission to find a new home for the terra-cotta tile-roofed Spanish Colonial-style structure. New office projects have been rare in Center City, where market rents are typically considered too low to justify the cost of new construction. Parkway is seeking $5 million in state redevelopment funds to help jump-start another office tower proposal, at a property nearby on Market Street. Zuritsky said during the community meeting that the prospective tenant for the Arch Street parcel also is considering sites outside the state, as well as a Philadelphia site that has been designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ), which can qualify companies for city and state tax breaks. One such site with that designation is the West Philadelphia tract where the Schuylkill Yards development is underway. Zuritsky conceded that it may be costlier for Parkways prospective tenant to locate on Arch Street than it would be for it to lease space in a KOZ, where it might be able to afford higher rents because its tax payments would be lower. But he said the prospective tenant wants to be in Philadelphias central business district, which is enjoying a growing cachet among other businesses and potential recruitment candidates. This is a validation of the city being strong enough so that someone is willing to pay the high cost for new construction as well as not get incredible tax breaks, he said. Bill Luff, who leads commercial property consultancy CRE Visions in Philadelphia, said Parkway has the advantage of having bought the development site when Center City land costs were lower than they are now, which makes the project less expensive. And because the tenant would be the buildings sole occupant, it can decide which features and amenities it wants, said Luff, who has no involvement in the proposal. Parkway representatives said during their Tuesday presentation that the company has had a presence in the Philadelphia community for many years and that its move would involve personnel from outside the city. That description matches insurance giant Chubb Ltd., which is known to be searching for new office space, according to a person familiar with the companys real-estate requirements but unauthorized to discuss it publicly. Luff said Chubb, which is based in Zurich but maintains executive offices in Philadelphia, New York, and Whitehouse Station, N.J., is a logical tenant." Chubb spokesperson Eric R. Samansky said in an email that the company is always looking at options to meet our needs [but has] nothing to report. In Philadelphia, the insurer occupies a historic building that it owns at 436 Walnut St., in addition to space that it leases at the near-neighboring former Penn Mutual Tower. Philadelphia is also home to Chubbs oldest active subsidiary, Insurance Company of North America, which had been a unit of insurer ACE Ltd. when that company acquired Chubb in 2016 and assumed its name. In 2016, a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker was dedicated to INA, as the 227-year-old firm is known, outside Chubbs main Walnut Street building. John Laprocido of architecture firm L2P, which is designing the proposed tower at 20th and Arch Streets, said during Tuesdays presentation that the buildings prospective tenant is considering a ground-floor museum to illustrate its history if it selects the site. An architectural rendering of the building portrays a boxy glass tower with reddish-brown panels on parts of its lower stories that echo neighboring brick structures. Luff said such austerity may be just what a company such as Chubb wants in a new headquarters. Theyre in a very competitive business, the insurance business, he said. Imaging could be important to them that theyre not building the Taj Mahal. The first group of townhouses planned by Shovel Ready Projects is going up next to Penn Treaty Park on the Delaware River. The company plans another 58 homes where the white industrial building now stands. Instead of bringing density to the river, these two developments will feel like suburban enclaves. Read more When Philadelphia released its master plan for the Central Delaware waterfront in 2011, it changed the way the city thought about that chaotic junkspace of warehouses, strip malls, and gas stations. Instead of repeatedly trying and failing to imitate the elegant, skyscraper-lined waterfronts of Vancouver and Miami, the plan argued that Philadelphia should focus on attracting more modest residential projects to the river. Mid-rise apartments were what the market wanted, the plan concluded. It sounded like smart advice at the time. By spacing out those smaller buildings, the thinking went, the city would create the beginnings of a true urban streetscape along Delaware Avenue. The mid-rises would populate the river, bringing just enough people to Delaware Avenue to support retail and justify adding a trolley line. The waterfronts zoning was adjusted to make it easy to erect buildings under 25 stories, using a category called CMX-3. Yet despite considerable enthusiasm for the strategy, the story has played out very differently. Only one mid-rise has gone up over the last decade: PMCs 16-story One Water Street, next to the Ben Franklin Bridge. Virtually every other residential project has been townhouses. The problem on the waterfront today isnt overbuilding, said Matt Ruben, the longtime chairman of the Central Delaware Advisory Group. Its underbuilding. Townhouses have always been Philadelphias favorite housing form, so its not surprising to see them migrate to the Delaware. Compared to what exists on the waterfront, townhouses are a real improvement. Theyre a significantly better use than the Wawa gas stations and storage facilities that some developers have proposed. At the same time, those townhouses are doing little to further the master plans goal of creating a walkable, mixed-use riverfront neighborhood. The Delaware waterfronts greatest asset has always been its stunning views and the availability of large, empty tracts of land. The problem with building townhouses on those sites is that they consume lots of space, yet add little in the way of population. None of the new developments are dense enough to support retail. Worst of all, the townhouse designs generally follow a suburban model, one that results in self-contained, auto-centric enclaves. Take the two townhouse projects now going up in Fishtown on adjacent sites between Penn Treaty Park and SugarHouse Casino. Although the two clusters the Views at Penn Treaty and 1121 N. Delaware Ave. will be only a street-width apart, they will function as discrete islands of habitation. A quick look at the ground plan shows that a landscaped median strip will form a hard border between the Views and 1121. None of their interior streets will connect. That means, if you live at 1121 N. Delaware and want to visit someone in the Views at Penn Treaty, youll have to leave your compound and walk along Delaware Avenue. In a city defined by its street grid, no arrangement could be less urban. Both projects are the work of the same developer, Shovel Ready Projects. Because the company acquired the two sites in separate deals, it has treated them as unrelated projects, even though they are contiguous and could easily be combined into a single development. The houses even look alike. Despite their suburban configuration or maybe because of it the 19 houses at the Views, and the 58 planned for 1121, are already selling for $1.5 million to $2 million, according to George Polgar, Shovel Readys marketing director. But the same sites could have supported several hundred apartments or condos. The popularity of such low-density townhouse developments has become deeply concerning to the two groups charged with overseeing the master plan, the Delaware River Waterfront Corp. and the Central Delaware Advisory Group. Ruben said he worries the waterfront will end up with a string of suburban-style subdivisions. The townhouses could also undermine the expensive infrastructure investments the DRWC has been making to lure developers to the river. Because of the haphazard way the Central Delaware had developed in the past, the master plan called for a series of parks along the six-mile stretch there. The belief was that improvements would make the waterfront more attractive to developers, who would then build apartments overlooking the parks. The centerpiece of the plan is an 11-acre cap that will span I-95 between Market and Walnut Streets, reconnecting Front Street in Old City with the Delaware waterfront. The cap, which will be covered with a lush green park, is costing the city $225 million. The first phase of work started last summer. Yet the promise of that park was not enough to persuade an Old City developer to abandon the townhouse model at Front and Sansom Streets. Even though the site, a former parking lot, will have a front row seat on the new park, the developer, U.S. Construction, is now completing the construction of 19 townhouses. Thats not much of a return on a $225 million investment. Job Itzkowitz, who runs the Old City District, told me he was baffled by the developers thinking. This is the biggest park project in the city, he said. It should be more dense. Only a block away, in Society Hill, another developer has proposed a 31-story tower, 1 Dock Street. Its odd for two developers to see the market so differently. Ironically, the same developer, U.S. Construction, is now considering adding apartments to a townhouse development it plans to build on the Delaware in South Philadelphia. The Front Street site, like most of the land along the rivers edge, is zoned CMX-3, which allows for mid-rise development. But like Shovel Ready Projects, U.S. Construction chose to build less that what the zoning allowed. In a city where developers are always scouring the zoning code for ways to cram more onto their land, why would they build less? There are several possible explanations. Building apartments costs more per unit and take longer than townhouses, especially on the waterfront where the ground is marshy and requires expensive engineering. While housing developers are responding to market demand, they are also responding to the demands of their lenders. Those lenders want to see a quick profit. Townhouses ensure they get it. But Ruben believes there is another reason: Too many loopholes in the CMX-3 zoning classification. He has been working with city planners to revise the zoning code in the hope of encouraging more mid-rises on the Delaware. Its going to be tough to convince developers, said Polgar, of Shovel Ready Projects. Townhouses sell well," he said. "There is a demand for them. And thats what we do well. Changing the zoning code wont solve all the Delawares problems. But without it, the riverfront is in danger of turning into a long, endless suburb. GOLD may slide at new year: Elliott Wave analysis EW-Forecast.com - 31 minutes ago Gold has recovered as expected, but only in three waves that we see as wave B) towards the first 1815 resistance. 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CTH22 : 112.53 (-0.41%) CTK22 : 109.87 (-0.45%) CTZ21 : 111.55s (+0.25%) The addition of JLTs global aerospace operations to our existing aviation team propels Gallagher into a market leadership position within an industry that has seen huge growth over the past 20 years, said Simon Matson, CEO of Gallaghers UK broking and underwriting business. The way the aviation sector, along with other industries, thinks about risk is evolving. Its no longer simply about the detection and containment of risk but rather applying strategic risk management practices to drive growth and face all future eventualities with confidence, he added. Over the past decade we have invested in attracting and retaining specialist expertise across all industries to ensure we truly understand the risks associated with the clients and sectors that we serve. We now look forward to playing a greater role as a global partner to the aviation industry. JLTs 250-strong global aerospace team and its client base will all transfer over into Gallagher. JLTs London market operations, Hayward Aviation and its teams in India, the US and Singapore will transition immediately, while the remaining operations will move as part of a phased approach, in accordance with local employment and regulatory requirements. Gallagher is the perfect home for our clients and for our people, Peter Elson, newly appointed CEO of Gallagher Aerospace. The team is excited to be joining forces with a broker-led, specialist risk advisory firm that has earned a strong reputation for helping organisations to successfully navigate the increasingly complex risks they face. We look forward to being part of the Gallagher family and building on our existing momentum as the go-to insurance broking partner within the aviation world." There are two basic types of reinsurance arrangements: facultative reinsurance and treaty reinsurance. Facultative reinsurance is designed to cover single risks or defined packages of risks, whereas treaty reinsurance covers a ceding companys entire book of business, for example a primary insurers homeowners insurance book. Facultative reinsurance With facultative reinsurance transactions, the ceding company can offer an individual risk or a defined package of risks to a reinsurer. The reinsurer retains the right to accept or reject the risk, just like the primary insurer has the right to decide whether to insure a policyholder. Under a facultative arrangement, the reinsurer will perform its own underwriting for some or all of the policies to be reinsured, and each policy is considered a single transaction. Facultative reinsurance is typically used for high-value or hazardous risks because the policies can be tailored to specific circumstances. It can sometimes be less attractive to the ceding company, because the reinsurer may insist the ceding company retains some of the liability on the riskiest policies. In those scenarios, the ceding company may have to approach multiple different reinsurers to transfer any remaining liability. Treaty reinsurance In treaty reinsurance transactions, the ceding company transfers all risks within a book of business to the reinsurer. For example, a primary insurer might transfer its entire book of commercial auto or all of its homeowners risk. The two parties will enter into an agreement, known as the treaty, in which the reinsurer is obliged to accept all covered business. Treaty reinsurance arrangements are typically long-term, and they will accept policies that the ceding company has not yet written, as long as they fit in with the treatys pre-agreed risk class. The reinsurer typically expects to make a profit, but these expectations are measured and adjusted over time. In contrast to facultative arrangements, reinsurers do not carry out individual underwriting on the risks assumed via treaty arrangements. That responsibility is left to the ceding company, which is why reinsurers will do lots of due diligence to ensure the ceding company is practicing adequate underwriting processes before entering a treaty. Pro rata versus excess of loss Both facultative and treaty reinsurance arrangements can be written on either a pro rata or an excess of loss basis. Global reinsurer Munich Re describes pro rata as: A term describing all forms of quota share and surplus share reinsurance in which the reinsurer shares the same proportion of the premium and losses of the ceding company. Pro rata reinsurance is also known as proportional reinsurance. Along with sharing proportionally in premium and losses, the reinsurer typically pays a ceding commission to the ceding company to reimburse for expenses associated with issuing the underlying policy. Pro rata reinsurance is typically quite easy to administer, and it offers good protection against frequency and severity. In an excess of loss agreement, also known as non-proportional reinsurance, the ceding insurer will retain a certain amount of liability for losses. It will pay a fee to the reinsurance company for coverage above that retention, and that coverage is generally subject to a fixed upper limit. Excess of loss arrangements are often more economical in terms of reinsurance premium and cost of administration. According to the joint announcement by Issavis previous and new employers, he will serve as senior executive at RSG, its managing general underwriting division RSG Underwriting Managers, and RSG affiliate company Ryan Re Underwriting Managers. Emil brings deep knowledge and insights to the role with his 25 years in the reinsurance business, said RSG founder, chair, and CEO Patrick G. Ryan. With Emils long and impressive career at Aspen, we look forward to expanding our strong relationship with Aspen. Aspen executive chairman and group chief executive Mark Cloutier thanked Issavi for his contributions over the last 12 years. Emil has been instrumental in helping us build a strong reinsurance platform with a talented team, positioning Aspen well for continued success, noted Cloutier. We wish him all the best with his new opportunity and look forward to maintaining a close working relationship with him in his new role. Meanwhile Aspen Res managing director for London and global head of specialty Peter Emblin has been appointed as senior managing director, also with immediate effect. Commenting on the appointments, Cloutier said: I look forward to working closely with Christian and Peter in their new roles as they oversee our successful Aspen Re business. Christian and Peter have both served in a number of senior leadership roles within Aspen Re, and we have the utmost confidence in their ability to continue driving the business forward. Their appointments not only provide continuity for our customers, trading partners, and associates but also illustrate the depth of talent and experience within our group. Read more: Michigan's landmark auto insurance reform bill is signed into law Although the bill bans the use of credit scores, there is no language that prohibits insurers from using aspects of an individuals credit history to set rates. Insurers are also allowed to group auto insurance risk by territory a loophole critics say negates the ban against using zip codes as a pricing factor. Some believe the bill could set a precedent for other states. This would put Michigan in sort of a leadership role - granted, they were dragged kicking and screaming, Consumer Federation of America director of insurance J. Robert Hunter told MLive. Hunter mentioned that other states have been banning insurers from using one or more non-driving factors in pricing, but it is rare for a state to put a blanket ban on multiple factors all at the same time. Others believe the legislation could lead to more issues down the road. Robert Passmore, assistant vice-president of personal lines policy at American Property Casualty Insurance Association, believes the bills language would create one of the more restrictive regimes in the US for insurers to follow. Passmore added that limiting the tools insurers can use to differentiate risk between customers squeezes everybody more into the middle instead of lowering rates. Addressing rating factors doesnt do anything about addressing the underlying cost that everybody pays, he warned. Theres still going to be costs, no matter how you limit or allow the rating factors. Striking down certain non-driving factors might have truly helped drivers living in high cost areas like Detroit, but the law still allows insurers to use credit history and geographic location to determine rates, reminded Robert M. Raitt, chairperson of the State Bar of Michigans Negligence Law Section in a statement. He also warned that the provisions of the bill are only smokescreens if credit history and zip code-based insurance pricing continue through technicalities. Pritchards more than 25 years of customer and distribution sales experience includes time spent at Marsh, Aon UK, and JLT Risk Solutions. She was head of distribution and market management in the UK for Zurich prior to her move to Crawford. Meanwhile Frazier-Levett, who brings 14 years of insurance industry experience to the role, most recently served as business development leader at Zurich North America. Her career spans positions in underwriting, proposition development, and sales. This announcement demonstrates Crawfords continued commitment to delivering exceptional levels of service to our clients, said chief client officer Benedict Burke, who leads the global client development unit. Caroline and Tenesha are extremely talented individuals who excel at fostering highly collaborative, value-generating relationships with companies across the insurance spectrum. At Crawford, our focus is on achieving greater client cohesion and ensuring that we operate as a seamless extension of their global capabilities. That closeness will enable us to boost our performance and provide the client-specific insights to develop new services, evolve new capabilities, and introduce new technologies that serve to further enhance our overall offering. The winner and up to seven friends will join Buffett for dinner at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan. The billionaire said that during the course of the dinner, he will discuss anything with his guests apart from his upcoming and future investments. Proceeds go to the San Francisco-based Glide Foundation, which serves the poor, homeless, and those who struggle with substance abuse. Buffett has been supporting Glide since his late first wife, Susan, introduced him to the organization after volunteering for the charity. Glide President Karen Hanrahan told Reuters that Buffett is committed to continuing the auction as long as hes able. He has been a thought partner in thinking through Glides future, and how to set it up for the next 50 years, Hanrahan added. The flood damage from Florence caused more than 10 times as much loss as the damage from wind. But whereas wind damage was insured, 85% of the losses from flood were not, causing financial hardship for affected property owners, said Shelly Yerkes, senior professional of product management at CoreLogic. Soon thereafter, however, Hurricane Michael made landfall on the Florida Panhandle in an area with less development. Its cat 5 level winds devastated structures and surrounding forests, but the impact of flooding was low. Analysis from CoreLogics US Inland Flood model revealed that the correlation of flood to wind damage varies depending on storm severity and where the storm makes landfall, a finding that has compared well to real events, explained Yerkes. Weve seen that along the gulf coast and Mid-Atlantic regions, the contribution of flooding is much higher relative to wind damage, as we saw with Harvey, Katrina, and Florence. Compare this to hurricanes that make landfall around Florida that tend to be drier storms that make headlines as wind events, she told Insurance Business. The correlation between flood and wind damage as a result of hurricanes is important for insurers to pay attention to because it can be a critical obstacle when a company is considering writing a flood endorsement. Atlantic Hurricanes are the source of the greatest catastrophe loss potential for many insurers in the United States. Wind insurance is the primary driver of these losses. In order to grow business and extend flood insurance to the many properties without NFIP protections, they will look to add flood endorsements to their insurance policies or offer separate flood policies, said Yerkes. This has the potential to increase their loss profile for a single hurricane event, and consequentially will require them to carry more capital or transfer more risk to the reinsurance market. Understanding the variability of flood to wind risk along the hurricane-exposed coastline in the US can then impact insurers capital allocation and reinsurance decisions. The challenge is that the correlation between hurricane wind and flood losses varies with landfall location and hurricane intensity and speed, though granular quantitative risk models for flood can help insurers assess this correlation across their unique portfolios, in turn providing them with the information they need to make better decisions when considering a flood endorsement. As for whether insurers should consider buying more hurricane reinsurance when taking into account the events we've seen in recent years, Yerkes says that with the loss potential for hurricanes being carriers key catastrophic exposure, she expects that continued growth in flood insurance availability will trigger carriers to re-evaluate their reinsurance programs. After all, the catastrophic events from the past decade are pointing to a critical need for more flood insurance in the marketplace. Almost 60% of all FEMA disaster declarations in the past 10 years have included flooding associated with severe storms in addition to the major hurricane events. During this past decade, development has also accelerated in low lying metro areas across the country, and many properties outside of the 100-year flood zone are being damaged. Over 80% of these properties are uninsured for flood, pointing to a need in the market for viable insurance products, Yerkes told Insurance Business. The introduction of flood models like the CoreLogic model is triggering the expansion of the flood endorsement to more policyholders. This increase in flood insurance will inevitably lead to increased losses, especially from hurricanes and tropical storms. Read more: 2018 was another big year for catastrophes - CoreLogic Nonetheless, the help that CoreLogic provides insurance companies goes far beyond catastrophe models. Before a company can determine its exposure to loss, they need to make sure they actually know the where and what of their exposure. CoreLogic has vast libraries of property data and analytic tools to ensure companies can enrich their property data and ensure with our structure footprint geocoding that its in the right spot, said Yerkes. With a peril like flood, a 50-foot error in locational accuracy can make a significant difference in the quality of the loss estimates. This is helpful at the point of underwriting to event response to portfolio management. In 2018, the US market witnessed an average of almost six recalls per day involving ingestible and topical products, according to data from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Of those recalls, over 90% were classified by the FDA or the USDA as either class 1 (urgent threat level) or class 2 (intermediate threat level). While the total number of product recalls in 2018 was below the average for the prior four years, the complexity of the recalls has trended upwards. According to FDA and USDA data, more than 20% of 2018 recalls were still ongoing as of the end of April 2019. This shows that performing a recall and dealing with its sideline implications can take a significant amount of time. In addition, the financial losses stemming from a contamination event can be devastating, making insurance a vital risk transfer mechanism. Advances in science have had a major impact on product recall activity, according to Nicky Alexandru (pictured), senior vice president, US head of crisis management at Aspen Insurance. Pathogen detection methods, such as Whole Genome Testing (WGS), have significantly improved and more tests are being performed at every level of the supply chain to allow stakeholders to connect the dots and identify the source of a pathogen contamination. Read next: Product recall insurance only part of the recall solution Liability in the supply chain has been one of the toughest challenges for insureds and carriers alike, Alexandru told Insurance Business. Its widely believed that a product contamination can be traced to its source and that the cost of the recall can be ultimately recovered from the company that caused the contamination. Despite technology improvements, its not always possible to find the smoking gun. Some contaminations are detected long after the product was made, production lines cleaned, and ingredients comingled and used in the manufacturing process. Going back and figuring out exactly what went wrong is not always possible. The buck stops somewhere along the supply chain, just not always at the contamination source. Alexandru gave the example of a cookie factory that buys flour from two suppliers, which it then mixes together in a big silo to make the cookies. Three weeks later, a consumer finds something wrong with one of the cookies and the product is recalled. Investigators can look at who distributed the cookies and they can look at who produced the cookies (the factory), but they cant go any further than that because the flour from all six suppliers was mixed together during the production process. The cookie factory might not be at fault for the faulty ingredient, but the buck stops with them regardless. As evidenced in the recent Starr Surplus Lines Insurance Company vs. Mountaire Farms Inc. case, there also can be disagreement as to whether the presence of a naturally occurring pathogen in a product represents a contamination. In this case, a manufacturer made a product using raw chicken purchased from Mountaire Farms. The chicken was found to have salmonella, which was passed on to the finished product, which was subsequently recalled. Starr insured the manufacturer and paid a recall loss, and then took Mountaire Farms to court to try and recover the money because the product contamination started from the raw chicken ingredient. The court decided that salmonella naturally occurs in chicken and, therefore, it should be expected and theres no recourse. Even when the contamination source can be identified, the company behind it may turn out to be unable to pay the damages, Alexandru added. Companies that sell basic products such as spices, flour, sugar, flavors, peanut butter, dry milk, nuts, etc. can trigger third party product recalls that are exponentially more expensive than their own product. Some of these companies may not have the financial strength and/or sufficient insurance coverage to respond to the claims of their customers. If the supplier happens to be a foreign company, pursuing damages in a foreign jurisdiction adds an additional layer of complication. Last, but not least, general liability (GL) is not always the failsafe solution it is believed to be. GL policies have exclusions (e.g. pollution and impaired property) that may come in play in a recall situation. Sometimes third property damage is hard to prove if a false positive or adverse publicity event triggers the recall. Read more: Busting E&O insurance myths for manufacturers Underinsurance is widespread when it comes to product recall, according to Alexandru. This is partly due to limited understanding of the insurance product. Although widely known as recall insurance, this insurance product offers much broader coverage than the name suggests. As Alexandru pointed out: Recall is only one of the potential consequences of a contamination. Its the easiest one to picture, hence the first one to be considered, but its inherently limiting. Virtually all contaminations cause manufacturing disruption until the root cause is identified and remedied. This is not always a simple job and it may bring production to a standstill for months. The loss of customer confidence, whether its a drop in retail sales and/or contract cancellations, can threaten the survival of any company. Similar to a property policy, the most important coverage of a recall policy may turn out to be the business interruption section. For companies with revenues under $1 billion, losses that reach 10% to 15% of their annual sales have become increasingly common. East Alera Group, Phalanx Healthcare Alera Group has acquired Phalanx Healthcare Solutions LLC, effective March 1, 2019. Located in New York City, Phalanx is an insurance and reinsurance broker of medical malpractice insurance for healthcare facilities, large physician groups and individual physicians predominately in New York and New Jersey. All Phalanx employees will continue operating out of the firms existing location under the name Phalanx Healthcare Solutions, an Alera Group Agency LLC. Based in Deerfield, Ill., Alera Group serves clients in employee benefits, property and casualty, risk management and wealth management. AssuredPartners, Goodworks Financial AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Goodworks Financial Group of Glastonbury, Conn. Following the acquisition, Goodworks Financial Groups team of 14 employees will remain under the operational leadership of Dennis Dressel and Paul Brian. The agency currently reports $3 million in annualized revenues. Headquartered in Lake Mary, Fla., and led by Jim Henderson and Tom Riley, AssuredPartners Inc. acquires and invests in insurance brokerage businesses in the property and casualty, employee benefits, surety and managing general underwriting industries across the U.S. and in London. Midwest Employers Mutual Casualty, EMC Insurance Group Des Moines, Iowa-based Employers Mutual Casualty Co. and EMC Insurance Group Inc. have entered into a mutual agreement under which EMCC will acquire all the remaining shares of EMCI that it does not currently own for $36.00 per share in a cash transaction. EMCC currently owns 55% EMCIs outstanding shares. The transaction, which is expected to close in the second half of 2019, has an equity value of approximately $356 million based solely upon the outstanding shares of EMCI not owned by EMCC, the companies said. EMCC has formed a new wholly owned subsidiary to be merged into EMCI. The proposed transaction is subject to satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions. Hilb Group, Keane Insurance The Hilb Group LLC has acquired Missouri-based The Keane Insurance Group Inc. The transaction became effective May 1. KIGs associates and John Keane, the agency leader, are joining THG under its existing name and will continue to operate out of its main office in St. Louis and other locations. KIG is an insurance brokerage specializing in medical professional liability insurance for physicians and other healthcare providers throughout the nation. The Hilb Group is a middle market insurance agency headquartered in Richmond, Va. Southeast The Hilb Group, Summit Insurance The Hilb Group LLC has acquired Summit Insurance Services LLC, the insurance operations of Summit Financial Group Inc. of Moorefield, West Virginia. The transaction became effective May 1. Virginia-based SIS is an insurance agency that primarily provides employee benefits solutions to businesses and individuals throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. SIS will continue to do business under its existing name and remain in its current offices in Leesburg, Va., and Moorefield, W.Va. Ricky Spiro, THG CEO, said the combined resources will allow the companies to expand product offerings and expertise available to all SIS customers. West Frederick H. DiMeo, Ozwald and Speaker The Frederick H. DiMeo Insurance Agency Inc. has purchased the personal lines division of Oakland, Calif.-based Ozwald and Speaker Insurance Services Inc. The acquisition includes the purchase of six books of business, adding a reported $1.2 million of written premium to the agencys current writings. Terms of the deal werent disclosed. Frederick H. DiMeo Insurance is based in Morgan Hill, Calif. Alera Group, HighRidge Insurance Alera Group has acquired HighRidge Insurance Services in Westlake Village, Calif. HighRidge will join Alera Group through California firm Capital City Benefits & Insurance Services and will operate under that name. HighRidge provides employee benefits services to clients throughout the state. Progress requires change, though it is not always easy. The insurance industry, notoriously known to be slow to adopt change, is in the midst of a significant transformation. Some may even call it a rebranding. Insurers and brokers alike are partnering and making strides in helping to meet the ever-evolving needs of customers and manage advancements in our society. What is different today is the customers are demanding all companies, in all industries, meet them where they are in life and in the buying journey. The customer is more in control and driving change more than ever before. As we use technology to speed up the transfer of information, accelerating the migration of data to the cloud and crafting new digital systems, significant opportunities have been created for businesses and their customers. New ways of working and living, such as the on-demand economy, are transforming industries. We now find ourselves in a 24-hour news cycle with social media and online reporting documenting the moves of every company and every leader. With these evolving realities, come new risk. The industry has been responding. Diversity and inclusion have become one powerhouse behind the drive to change. Its clear that diversity drives innovation. A classic Forbes study found workforce diversity and inclusion to be a key driver of internal innovation, as alternative perspectives challenge assumptions and lead to new approaches. Again, the insurance industry responded. In 2016, carriers, brokers and others in the insurance industry came together to sign the Business Insurance Diversity + Inclusion Institute commitment statement one that embraces diversity and inclusion in the commercial sector. When diversity and inclusion efforts are aligned across the entire organization, companies witness enhanced performance, greater employee retention and a stronger bottom line. Robust, proactive diversity and inclusion programs pave the way for a culture of innovation and opportunity for all. While weve made great strides, there are several areas the insurance industry should focus on to elevate diversity and inclusion efforts, working toward the innovation that is needed in todays changing environment. Diverse Talent Recruiting a more diverse workforce does not in itself shift workplace culture. Work processes must be modified to ensure inclusive practices. Leaders and employees need to understand and demonstrate inclusive behaviors. In order to retain diverse talent, organizations need to build and foster inclusive cultures. For some organizations, such as CNA, this has meant taking proactive and positive action to address culture and people. A systematic, multi-dimensional approach to D&I education, at events such as IICFs Women in Insurance Global Conference, starting with the most senior level executives, is important. Additionally, employee training and targeted inclusive leadership education are incredibly important to attract and retain a diverse workforce. Mentorship This is a critical component to the overall success of a diverse workforce. A recent study, Insurance in Black and White, found that 73 percent of survey respondents said sponsorship or mentoring was the most important way for African Americans to propel their careers. Access and exposure are critical components to the success of talent. However, diverse talent is often at a disadvantage as their networks are not as broad. This is where effective networking and mentorship can assist diverse talent in appropriately connecting and developing business relationships that can help propel their careers and the innovations of their businesses. New Skillsets and Education This will allow the insurance industry to thrive in this new era. Skills focused on data and AI, which were not needed before, are table stakes today. Organizations need to think about how they create and design jobs, organize talent and promote them to bring in new hires. At the same time, we must also balance the need to maintain business as usual. In tech, for example, we need the new talent to help us go digital but also help maintain legacy systems. When we achieve a more diverse workforce, we obtain greater access to fresh thinking and new perspectives. More inclusive cultures will stimulate innovation, enhance organizational reputation and employer brands as well as drive higher levels of engagement among employees. The insurance industry is making great strides in meeting customers changing needs. It is our joint efforts through technology innovation and employee innovation that are helping our industry and in turn, our customers to excel in a changing society. Topics InsurTech Talent Market Training Development Total direct written premium in the California workers compensation system fell for the second consecutive year in 2018, declining 3.8 percent to less than $12.3 billion as nine of the 10 largest insurer groups in the state wrote less premium that year than they did in 2017. Thats according to a brief published in mid-May from the California Workers Compensation Institute. CWCI reported on market data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which shows California the aggregate premium of workers comp insurers dropped by nearly $489 million in calendar year 2018, as declining premium rates more than offset the increase in covered payroll. The latest NAIC report also reveals the rankings of the top 10 insurer groups by premium volume. Berkshire Hathaway Group topped the list, despite its premium volume declining nearly 5.7 percent. State Compensation Insurance Fund retained the second spot, with total premium of nearly $1.34 billion. A total of 76 insurer groups, encompassing 227 individual companies, reported California workers compensation direct written premium in 2018, but the majority of statewide DWP was concentrated among the two dozen largest groups, each of which had at least 1 percent market share. Together, these 24 groups accounted for 88.2 percent of total DWP. Topics California Workers' Compensation Pricing Trends Resolving claim disputes involves a four-step process of reading, researching, documenting, and pleading your coverage position. This process evolved from a series of seminars I introduced in the 90s. However, when I sat down to write the book on which this series of columns is based, I realized there is a step that precedes them all what I refer to as Step 0. Step 0 bridges the two ways to deal with claim disputes avoidance and resolution by ensuring that a claim denial is tendered in a manner that meets industry standards of fairness and good faith. No claim denial should go unchallenged that doesnt meet certain prescribed criteria. So, in this months column, were going to focus on statutory and regulatory standards for claims handling. Specifically, well examine claim declination and reservation of rights letters and unfair claim settlement practices and bad faith laws. In the companion webinar from the Academy of Insurance, well dig even deeper with numerous examples of declinations. In my book, When Words Collide: Resolving Insurance Coverage and Claims Disputes, I cite an excerpt from a 1983 insurance company claims manual which said, [There is a] requirement to meet the duty of good faith to the insured. The most positive way to do that is to look for coverage in our policies, and not to look for ways to deny coverage. We are an industry founded on uberrimae fidei, the duty of utmost good faith. I believe that most insurers, culturally and procedurally, strive to abide by that philosophy. There is some evidence of this in the paucity of successful bad faith lawsuits. For example, according to attorney Dan Kohane, it has been more than 20 years since a New York appellate court found insurer conduct egregious enough to constitute actionable bad faith. Admittedly, though, part of the success may be attributable to just how difficult it is to prove bad faith; the legal criteria being more along the lines of beyond a reasonable doubt criminal law standards than the preponderance of the evidence civil law standards applied to coverage determinations. Even so, I suspect that most successful bad faith litigation involves localized bad apples rather than anything systemic. However, unfair claim settlement practices are another matter. My experience is that too many claim denials do not comply with statutory or regulatory unfair claim settlement practices. I dont think this is typically due to any maliciousness or disregard for the law, but rather most often results from inadequate training or oversight, or simply shortcuts believed to be necessitated by excessive workloads. Unfair Claim Settlement Practices Laws To the best of my knowledge, every state has an unfair claim settlement practices law, all but a half dozen or so based largely on the model law of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Some states elaborate on NAIC criteria by being more detailed and/or stringent. For example, the California Code of Regulations, Title 10, Chapter 5 says: Where an insurer denies or rejects a first party claim, in whole or in part, it shall do so in writing and shall provide to the claimant a statement listing all bases for such rejection or denial and the factual and legal bases for each reason given such rejection or denial which is then within the insurers knowledge. Where an insurers denial of a first party claim, in whole or in part, is based on a specific statute, applicable law or policy provision, condition or exclusion, the written denial shall include reference thereto and provide an explanation of the application of the statute, applicable law or provision, condition or exclusion to the claim. Every insurer that denies or rejects a third party claim, in whole or in part, or disputes liability or damages shall do so in writing. Based on the wording and intent of such laws, there are certain criteria all claim declination and reservation of rights letters should and should not include. All Declinations SHOULD The first rule in the claim resolution process is to never accept an oral declination of coverage. Oral declinations are not only a bad idea, theyre likely unlawful. All claim declinations should meet at least three criteria: Be in writing. This means more than a letter that says, You have no coverage for this loss (quoted from an actual letter). That is no more acceptable than an oral declination. Cite the specific policy language (and only that language) that is applicable to the present denial. One exception would be, if a reservation of rights is included (quite likely), additional policy language that may be cited. However, as discussed below, the letter should not include a laundry list of policy language excerpts that border on copying and pasting the entire insurance contract. The validity of a claim denial is not based on the volume of words used nor their obfuscatory weight. Explain why and how that policy language works to exclude coverage. It is not enough, for example, to simply list one or more exclusions and leave it up to the policyholder to figure out why such exclusions apply to the loss. To fulfill its obligations under the contract, especially as the sole drafter of the form language, the insurer is compelled to explain how the language applies to preclude coverage. In my experience, the third criterion is the one most often deficient in a claim denial, though Im seeing an increase in the second one. All Claim Declinations Should NOT There are also at least three practices that should not be evidenced in a claim denial or reservation of rights letter, each of them related to the second criterion just discussed. Policy language citations should NOT: Generalize or paraphrase policy language. Only the exact language from the insurance contract should be the basis for the denial. The declination letter should not include only a summary or paraphrasing of the referenced policy language nor, as I have seen on a number of occasions, should this generalization be presented in quotation marks as if it is actual contract language. Include policy language excerpts that misrepresent the intent of the language. In one coverage (not claim) dispute, an underwriter was asked if a condo unit owners homeowners policy covered his use of the condo clubhouse rented for a birthday party. The underwriter responded that there was no coverage because of an exclusion for liability Arising out of a premises: (2) rented to an insured. The problem was, the policy language actually said, Arising out of a premises: (2) rented to an insured; that is not an insured location. The clubhouse WAS an insured location, but this highlighted language was left out of the coverage opinion. Essentially consist of copying and pasting most of the exclusions in a policy regardless of relevance to the claim in question. I see this frequently. Most recently, an insured returned home from work to discover that her home was flooded due to a burst water pipe fitting. The adjuster initially denied the claim, citing an exclusion for Constant or repeated seepage or leakage of water over a period of weeks, months, or years. Aside from the fact that this exclusion was not relevant to the facts of this claim, the adjuster went on to cite a litany of other exclusions in the policy ranging from agricultural smudging to birds, vermin, rodents, and insects, none of which even remotely applied to the claim. Again, in the companion webinar series, Ill explore a number of examples of actual claims where denials were likely not in regulatory compliance in order to illustrate what to look for to ensure that such denials meet legal and ethical duties to policyholders. We will also effective reservation of rights letters. Next Steps Were now halfway through this 2019 series. In the remaining six installments, we will delve into the details of exactly how a claim can be equitably resolved. That involves addressing some policy interpretation basics, at least a dozen legal and contractual doctrines, and up to 17 dispute resolution principles. Well conclude the series with tips on how to plead your case if the scales of justice are tipped in your favor as a result of your research and documentation. In the meantime, if you are not a member of the Academy of Insurance, I recommend that you consider becoming one. Not only will it give you access to the complete series of companion webinars for this column, but also scores of other educational programs. Its one of the best educational deals in the industry. Topics Carriers Legislation Training Development By Stephanie K. Jones Texas property insurer of last resort for wind and hail along the Texas coast voted at a May 24, 2019, meeting of its board of directors to withdraw a 10% rate increase filed last year that was subsequently put on hold by the states governor. The board had approved the rate increase in early August 2018, nearly a year after Hurricane Harvey devastated the state in 2017. The increase, if it had been allowed to go forward, would have been effective beginning on Jan. 1 of this year. Insurance Commissioner Kent Sullivan had until Oct. 15, 2018, to approve or disapprove the filing or simply allow it to go into effect. Coastal lawmakers balked at the rate increase, however, sending a letter to Sullivan asking that TWIAs filing not be approved. In the letter, members of Texas coastal legislative delegation said the 10% rate increase would be unfair, excessive and unreasonable for coastal residents who continue to struggle to recover from Hurricane Harvey. We would be retroactively charging policyholders a rate increase. Gov. Greg Abbott subsequently weighed in, sending a letter to Sullivan, dated Oct. 12, 2018, putting the rate filing on hold until June 16, 2019. In his letter to Sullivan, Abbott also said a rate increase at that time would be unfair to Texas coastal residents who were still recovering from Harvey. Abbott said he wanted state lawmakers to have an opportunity to address any actuarial deficiency in TWIA in the legislative session that began in January. The session ended on May 27. TWIA noted at the time of the filing that the average premium on a TWIA residential policy was around $1,600; a 10% rate hike would have raised the premium for the average residential policy by $160. The rate increase would have applied to both residential and commercial policies. Rate Filing Withdrawal At the May 24 board meeting TWIA General Manager John Polak explained that although it was the organizations understanding that the August 2018 filing had been deemed approved, that is, it had not been disapproved by the Oct. 15, 2018, approval/disapproval date, there are problems with the filing that need to be resolved before it could become effective. The main issue, Polak said, is the question of what would be the effective date of the filing? It would be problematic to try to use the original effective date for a number of reasons. One, we would be retroactively charging policyholders a rate increase. Were not sure from a legal perspective, given our contract, that were able to do that, he said. He added the board has a couple of alternatives for dealing with the dilemma of the effective date. One, we need to withdraw the filing completely and come back in August for our annual filing. Or amend that filing in various ways, in other words amend the amount and amend the effective date. The first option is a little cleaner and provides more certainty, Polak said. The board voted to withdraw the filing and revisit the issue of a rate increase at its August 6, 2019, meeting in Galveston. At the May 24 meeting, TWIAs board also approved a plan to refinance outstanding balance of the $500 M in Class 1 public securities issued in 2014. On its website, TWIA said it used the proceeds of the issued Class 1 bonds to pay policyholders Hurricane Harvey claims. The outstanding balance may be refinanced early without penalty beginning July 1, 2019. The association will work with the Texas Public Finance Authority and the Texas Department of Insurance on the refinancing effort. Topics Carriers Catastrophe Natural Disasters Trends Texas Windstorm Pricing Trends National Bermuda-based specialty insurer Sompo International Holdings Ltd. has hired Steven E. Grippo as senior vice president, where he will lead the units U.S. Architects & Engineers practice. Grippo brings to Sompo nearly 30 years of experience as a professional liability underwriter. He joins the company from AIGs Lexington Insurance Co. Prior to AIG, Grippo served as Employment Practices & Fiduciary Liability product line leader for Travelers Casualty & Suretys Boston office and as a senior bond underwriter for Aetna Property & Casualty. He reports to Daniel Wadley, executive vice president of Sompo Pro, and is based in the companys Boston, Mass., office. East BroGue Insurance & Financial Services has promoted Heather Kinney to agency manager and hired Derek Cole. In her new role, Kinney will work with existing clients as well as new clients to find the best coverage and rates for their business or personal property. Cole previously worked for BroGues sister company, Brown, Holmes & Milliken Agency. In his new role, he will work as an outside sales agent for commercial, personal and marine insurance. BroGue Insurance & Financial Services is a full-service independent insurance agency offering personal, business, life and health insurance from a variety of carriers, established by Daniel Guerette in Bangor, Maine, in 1983. PMA Companies has named Kara Thompson as vice president and chief segment officer in its Specialty Markets Underwriting division. As segment leader, Thompson is responsible for growing PMAs captive, program and group business. She reports to Drew Jones, executive vice president of Insurance Segments and is based in PMA Companies Blue Bell, Penn., headquarters. Thompson has been with PMA for 13 years in positions of increasing responsibility, and most recently served as regional underwriting manager. RT Specialty has promoted Joseph Nawa to vice president within its National Environmental and Construction Professional Liability Practice. For the past five years, Nawa has been integral to the companys new business efforts within its Southern U.S. region while developing and leading other consultants in the practice. Nawa joined the New Day team as a consultant in 2013. Prior to joining New Day, Nawa was an A&E Underwriting Manager at RLI Insurance Company. RT New Day is a Hamilton, N.J.-based division of R-T Specialty LLC. South Central Alliant Insurance Services added Billy Crocker as vice president in its Austin, Texas, office. Prior to joining Alliant, Crocker was vice president with one of Texas largest independent insurance brokerage firms. Dana Scott also has joined Alliant in Austin as senior vice president in the Employee Benefits Group. Prior to joining Alliant, Scott was Austin health and benefits market leader with a multinational insurance and employee benefits consulting firm. He also has experience as a finance officer and controller both within the benefits and media sectors. Alliant Insurance Services Inc. is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. The Leavitt Groups Risk Services Leavitt Insurance Agencies (RSL) is opening a new location in Corpus Christi, Texas, and a group of the companys employees are transferring from a sister agency to establish the new office. Three producers John Otto, Olivia Jaimes and Stacy Rodgers are transferring from Heavin Otto & Leavitt Insurance. Also moving to the new location are Ottos service team, including Erica De La Garza and Melanie Fugate, and Jaimes account manager, Jesse Belock. Otto has been an agency co-owner at Heavin Otto & Leavitt, but is forgoing his co-ownership status to transfer. Midwest AAdvantage Insurance Group in Glen Carbon, Ill., has hired Alexis Hutt as an account executive and Ana Reyes as a sales agent. Hutt will assist agents in procuring new business as well as serving existing clients. Prior to joining the agency, Hutt served in managerial positions in the health and hospitality industries. Reyes will generate prospects, develop new relationships and handle existing accounts. She will be responsible for creating custom insurance plans in order to meet each clients needs. Reyes has 13 years of insurance industry experience including managerial, sales and underwriting. AAdvantage Insurance Group specializes in farm, commercial, home, auto and life insurance. Managing general agency and surplus lines broker, J.M. Wilson, added Nicole Lloyd as assistant transportation underwriter in its Westerville, Ohio, office. Lloyd is responsible for assisting underwriters on a variety of transportation risks, as well as quoting new and renewal business, corresponding with carrier underwriters and assisting independent agents in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. Before joining J.M. Wilson, Lloyd worked as a casualty liability adjuster, large loss field contents adjuster and centralized property adjuster II for 10 years. J.M. Wilson provides coverage for standard and hard-to-place commercial transportation, property and casualty, professional liability, garage, personal lines and surety. Southeast Charlotte, N.C.-based AmWINS Group Inc., a global distributor of specialty insurance products and services, has named Alycia Kiley as senior vice president at the company. In this role, Kiley will be focused on building strategic partnerships with the firms retail clients. AmWINS works with retail insurance agents, brokers and consultants on complex commercial property, casualty and financial lines placement challenges. In her new role, Kiley will focus on collaborating with executive teams of AmWINS retail clients. Kiley served as senior vice president at The Council for Insurance Agents and Brokers and focused on membership from 2010 to 2019. Prior to her tenure with The Council, Kiley worked at RCM&D, where she was responsible for new business development and client retention. EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty insurance brokerage and employee benefits consultant, has added two senior vice presidents in its Atlanta, Ga., office. Chris Knight has joined EPICs Integrated Risk Solutions Consulting Practice as senior vice president of Analytics and Innovation. Knight joins EPIC from Beecher Carlson in Atlanta, where he served as vice president of Analytics. In his new role, Knight will be responsible for creating and delivering EPICs advanced analytical tools. The company also added Vanessa Smiley to its Atlanta team. Smiley will lead operations with a focus on building processes and procedures, assuming a role in EPICs Integrated Risk Solutions Consulting Practice as senior vice president of Operations. Smiley joins EPIC from Beecher Carlson in Atlanta, where she served as vice president of Claims Operations. West Newfront Insurance in California has named Garett Kaneko head of carrier relations. Kaneko will manage external market relations and partner strategy as well as overall business and growth strategy for Newfront. Kaneko has more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry. He was formerly senior vice president of sales and marketing at RIC and has previously worked at Liberty Mutual and Travelers. Newfront is a retail brokerage with expertise in commercial coverage across all industries. SAIF has hired Ian Williams as vice president of human resources. Williams will oversee all aspects of HR, including compensation and benefits, employee engagement and retention and recruitment. Most recently, he was vice president of human resources at Belden Inc. in Portland. In addition, SAIF promoted Laura Robison to vice president of actuarial, audit and underwriting services. She will also continue to serve as chief actuarial officer. Robison joined SAIF in September after serving as the chief financial officer at Oregon Health Authority. She previously served as the insurance commissioner, chief actuary and administrator within the Division of Financial Regulation of Oregons Department of Consumer and Business Services. Her promotion comes on the heels of the retirement of Bruce Hoffman, SAIFs previous vice president of underwriting. SAIF is Oregons not-for-profit workers compensation insurance company. Topics Texas Oregon AM Besthas revised the outlooks to negative from stable while affirming the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (ICR) of a- of Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd. (Cayman Islands) and Greenlight Reinsurance Ireland, Designated Activity Company (DAC). Additionally, AM Best has revised the outlook to negative from stable and affirmed the Long-Term ICR of bbb- ofGreenlight Capital Re, Ltd.(GLRE), the Cayman Islands-headquartered holding company. The negative outlooks reflect AM Bests concern over the companys business profile, owing to its track record of negative underwriting performance, which has led to a five-year average company reported combined ratio of 105.3 percent (2014-2018) and has contributed to a five-year average return on equity of -13.3 percent (2014-2018). Going forward, AM Best expects GLRE to improve its underwriting profitability. Failure to do so may result in further negative rating actions. The ratings reflect GLREs balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its marginal operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). GLREs consolidated surplus has decreased materially in recent years, to US$480 million as of year-end 2018 from US$1.2 billion at year-end 2014, primarily due to the outsized losses generated by its investment adviser. However, management has taken appropriate actions to de-risk the balance sheet significantly, thereby reducing the potential for volatility in the investment portfolio going forward, said the ratings agency. In the medium to long term, AM Best said it expects the company to stabilize its earnings and gradually replenish its capital position through internal capital generation. The rating affirmations and revised outlooks follow an accepted appeal from the rated company in which new material information was provided that enhanced AM Bests opinion of the companys risk-adjusted capitalization and forward-looking operating performance volatility. Source: AM Best Topics Trends AM Best Prime Minister Theresa Mays successor must avoid a no-deal Brexit or risk losing the Conservatives moniker as the party of commerce, the U.K.s biggest business lobby group said. The task facing the next prime minister is to restore the U.K.s reputation as the stable and trusted country to start and grow a business, Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said late Thursday [May 30] in an open letter to the wide field of candidates trying to win the Tory leadership contest and become prime minister. Firms large and small are clear that leaving the EU with a deal is the best way forward, Fairbairn wrote. Short-term disruption and long-term damage to British competitiveness will be severe if we leave without one. The vast majority of firms can never be prepared for no-deal. Fairbairns letter is a shot across the bows of some of the 11 politicians who have so far declared their candidacy in the Tory leadership contest. The favorite, former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, has said Britain should be prepared to leave the European Union without a deal, as have fellow contenders Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom and James Cleverly. Former Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey has gone even further, saying Britain should actively pursue a no-deal Brexit, while Kit Malthouse is pushing a plan that could also involve leaving the bloc without an agreement. F*** Business The next prime minister can only claim the Conservatives are the party of business if they secure a Brexit deal that protects the economy, jobs and living standards, Fairbairn wrote. We have a clear message for the next Conservative leader and future prime minister. Champion business. Speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Friday, Fairbairn said the option of a no-deal Brexit should not be considered, adding that businesses cannot be prepared for that outcome. It isnt just Johnsons potential support for a no-deal Brexit that is causing concern. Last year, he didnt deny reports that hed said f*** business to a European diplomat in relation to Brexit. It may be that I have from time to time expressed skepticism about some of the views of those who profess to speak up for business, Johnson later told the House of Commons. The Tory leadership contest officially begins when May steps down on June 7, but was effectively triggered by her announcement last week. Its likely more candidates will emerge before nominations close in the week of June 10. The party aims to install a new prime minister before Parliament breaks for its summer recess, typically toward the end of July. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Topics Europe Leadership Uk Zurich Insurance Group said it has completed the acquisition of the life insurance businesses of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ), becoming a major life insurer for retail customers in the Australian market. The A$2.85 billion (US$2 billion) deal to purchase OnePath Life, which was first announced in December 2017, expands Zurichs bank distribution footprint by providing access to up to 6 million new customers in Australia, the company confirmed in a statement. The acquisition reinforces Zurichs strategy of focusing on protection and less capital-intensive savings products, said Zurich. Further, Zurich added, the acquisition is in line with the groups M&A strategy, focused on building leading positions in attractive markets while releasing capital from non-core operations. As part of the transaction, Zurichs existing independent financial adviser (IFA) and bank distribution channels in Australia will be broadened by a 20-year agreement with ANZ to distribute life insurance products through bank channels. This cooperation agreement strengthens Zurichs business by giving it access to ANZs customer base served through more than 630 branches, and additional capabilities in independent distribution channels. As a result of this acquisition, Zurich will have a market share of around 20 percent in retail life and 6 percent in the local group life market. Zurich is strengthening its business in Australia and we can now engage with up to 6 million new customers with this acquisition of OnePath Life and the access to ANZs distribution channels, said Group Chief Executive Officer Mario Greco. Asia Pacific is a key region for Zurich and this deal adds further complementary products and additional bancassurance distribution capacity in the region, he added. OnePath Lifes retail business, focused on protection and savings products, is perfectly aligned with our strategy in life insurance and should further add to our strong cash remittances. Since Zurich laid out its strategic three-year plan in November 2016, Zurich said it has made significant progress in improving the overall business mix and has strengthened its customer focus. During the past few years, Zurich affirmed that it has released capital through the exit of a number of non-core businesses, while reinvesting in a series of bolt-on acquisitions. These acquisitions have been focused on creating leadership positions in chosen market segments in key geographies, including Australia, Argentina, Indonesia and the U.S. Related: Topics Mergers Australia Arthur J. Gallagher, the Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based insurance broker, confirmed the previously announced acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plcs (JLT) global aerospace operations was completed on June 1, 2019. The addition of JLTs global aerospace retail and wholesale insurance broking operations will significantly expand Gallaghers existing aerospace team and firmly establish the company as one of the largest aviation brokers in the world, said Gallagher in a statement. JLT and Marsh & McLennan Cos. decided to divest the aerospace division prior to Marshs acquisition of JLT in April in order to address potential competitive overlap identified by the European Commission, explained MMC in a statement in March. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Gallagher noted that its expanded global aerospace operations now will have a specialist presence and offices in the UK, Continental Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Alongside Gallaghers existing aviation capabilities, the newly strengthened team will offer comprehensive products and services to clients spanning the entire aerospace industry, including airlines, aerospace manufacturers and infrastructure, general aviation and space. Hayward Aviation, a specialist in general aviation such as private jets and helicopters which will expand its core strength in servicing clients in the UK and Continental Europe to provide global reach as part of Gallagher. Gallagher said the 250-strong global aerospace team and its client base will transfer into Gallagher as part of the asset purchase agreement. JLTs London market operations, Hayward Aviation and the teams in India, U.S. and Singapore will transition immediately. The remaining countries will move as part of a phased approach, in accordance with local employment and regulatory requirements, said Gallagher. The addition of JLTs global aerospace operations to our existing aviation team propels Gallagher into a market leadership position within an industry that has seen huge growth over the past 20 years, said Simon Matson, CEO of Gallaghers UK Broking and Underwriting business. The way the aviation sector, along with other industries, thinks about risk is evolving, Matson added. It is no longer simply about the detection and containment of risk but rather applying strategic risk management practices to drive growth and face all future eventualities with confidence. Peter Elson, newly appointed CEO of Gallagher Aerospace, said: Gallagher is the perfect home for our clients and for our people. The team is excited to be joining forces with a broker-led, specialist risk advisory firm that has earned a strong reputation for helping organisations to successfully navigate the increasingly complex risks they face. We look forward to being part of the Gallagher family and building on our existing momentum as the go-to insurance broking partner within the aviation world. Source: Arthur J. Gallagher Related: Topics Mergers Europe Aviation A.J. Gallagher Aerospace A federal jury in Milwaukee on Friday awarded $2 million each to three men who sued three major paint and pigment companies which the men claimed were responsible for the lead poisoning they suffered as toddlers in their homes. The jury agreed with the plaintiffs claims after a three-week trial, The Journal Sentinel reported. It determined that Sherwin-Williams, Armstrong Container Corp., and DuPont should each pay a portion of the award, depending on their market share, which will be determined next week in the trials second phase. The plaintiffs did not have to prove which specific product poisoned them under Wisconsins unique risk contribution theory, which was established by the state Supreme Court in 2005. The companies had to prove they were not marketing or providing their products in Milwaukee at the time the plaintiffs claim they were sickened. Sherwin-Williams plans to appeal. Sherwin-Williams Company has a strong history of working together with public health officials to remove lead from paints decades before the government banned lead paint for residential use and to provide information to the public about the potential risks of deteriorated lead paint, said Antonio Dias, one of Sherwin-Williams attorneys. Lead poisoning can cause brain and nervous system damage, as well as learning and behavior problems. The plaintiffs, Glenn Burton, Ravon Owens and Cesar Sifuentes, struggle with reading comprehension because of childhood lead poisoning, their attorney Fidelma Fitzpatrick told jurors during closing arguments. Lead is a weight on their shoulders, holding them back from certain career choices and opportunities, she said. Attorneys for the paint companies questioned whether the plaintiffs were injured at all and argued their products were never in Milwaukee during the time the plaintiffs said they were poisoned. Another Sherwin-Williams attorney, Richard Deane, told jurors that none of the plaintiffs had brain swelling, lead in their bones or MRIs of brain abnormalities. Lead-based paint was banned in the U.S. in 1978. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $5 million to resolve a discrimination claim filed by a male employee who alleged the banks parental leave policy was biased against dads. The payout resolves a 2017 complaint brought by the American Civil Liberties Union alleging bias against Derek Rotondo, who had applied unsuccessfully for the 16-week parental leave benefit available to employees who are the primary caregiver of a new kid. JPMorgan doesnt admit liability in the settlement. Its the biggest recorded settlement in a U.S. parental leave discrimination case, according to Rotondos attorneys, and the most high-profile warning to companies with policies that are gender-neutral on paper but not in practice. Parents need to be treated with equality, said Rotondo, who investigates financial crimes for the bank. There cant be an assumption that just because someone is a new mom, shes going to be doing all the work, and that dads just need to be quiet and get back in the office. In the complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Rotondo said the company told him it started from the presumption that a childs birth mother was the primary caregiver. And because his wife, a teacher, wasnt incapacitated and had the summer off, he couldnt qualify. Rotondo claimed that the banks policy relies on and enforces sex-based stereotypes and violates the federal prohibition on workplace sex discrimination. In 2015, the EEOC distinguished between postpartum medical leave, which the agency said could be limited to women affected, and leave for bonding with and caring for a new child, which had to be provided equally to men and women. JPMorgan said its policy was always intended to be gender-neutral. Both sides said the settlement would be filed with the court Thursday. The $5 million payment will be shared among other employee dads who also missed out on the longer leave available to primary caregivers, according to Rotondos attorneys. JPMorgan has also agreed to training and monitoring to ensure it equally encourages male and female employees to take leave. We are pleased to have reached an agreement in this matter and look forward to more effectively communicating the policy so that all men and women employees are aware of their benefits, the banks associate general counsel Reid Broda said in a statement. We thank Mr. Rotondo for bringing the matter to our attention. The U.S. is one of only a few countries without a national paid parental leave policy, and most companies dont offer it. In 2018, 35% of companies said they gave new moms paid time off, up from 26% two years earlier, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. The share of firms saying they offered paid paternity leave rose to 29% from 21%. In order for women to compete on an even playing field at work, we need to ensure that men can play an active role at home, ACLU of Ohio legal director Freda Levenson said in an emailed statement. Some companies, like Facebook Inc., say they offer all their employees the same amount of paid parental leave. But many other firms, like Wells Fargo & Co., use a system akin to JPMorgans, with more leave for parents who will be the primary caregiver of a new child than to those who will be secondary. Uber Technologies Inc. last year changed its policy from one with a distinction to now offering 18 weeks of leave for any new parent, according to a spokesman. JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon told shareholders in April that last year it increased the amount of paid leave it provides non-primary parental caregivers from two weeks to six. Companies would be better off just ditching the distinctions, said Peter Romer-Friedman, one of Rotondos lawyers. Providing all new parents the same amount of leave is a simpler and superior approach: Its easier to administer, and it doesnt import the stereotypes or the distinctions that our society has artificially set. With assistance from Rebecca Greenfield and Michelle F. Davis. Copyright 2021 Bloomberg. Memo to insurance agency owners seeking to onboard new employees: Expect to pay more, offer more and train more. Those trying to hire know that already. What were seeing in particular in Texas, and I imagine in other places, too, is the market is extremely candidate-driven. We are facing a situation where, really, the industry is paying younger insurance professionals larger salaries than what their value is, than what theyre bringing to the table, said Taylor Jones, college recruiting manager for Questpro Consultants, a Dallas-based staffing company solely focused on the insurance industry. That reality is creating big problems for smaller agencies especially, because larger agencies can usually afford to pay for that talent, Jones said. The smaller, Mom and Pop shops are struggling to keep up with that. Phil Lackman, CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, said hes seeing a similar situation in his state. Hiring talent for independent insurance agencies has been and continues to be one of the biggest challenges we hear from our members. As a result, agencies are having to readjust, particularly when it comes to hiring new producers, Lackman said. Whereas previously, it might have been standard practice for an agency to start a new producer at a straight salary and a 20 percent commission and then nine months later put them on full commission, thats changing. I think agency owners understand to make a successful and long term hire, that particular model just doesnt work well today. Its got to be a longer-term phase-in, he said. Mary Newgard, partner and senior search consultant for Capstone Search Group, a national recruiting firm for the insurance industry, told Insurance Journal that todays job market favors employees and applicants. Dont kid yourself thinking that you dont have competition, Newgard said as part of Insurance Journals annual Agency Salary Survey. Its a candidates market. Newgard said agencies can struggle to find solid candidates to interview for a position. I think they are lucky to find two (good ones), she said. And if you find two, you better be willing to make a decision quick because those two candidates will each have three offers going at once. Behind the Trend There are a couple of primary reasons for the hiring difficulties agencies are facing today. One is the fact that older workers are disappearing into retirement like Alice sliding down the rabbit hole. And, they will continue to do so at an alarming pace, Jones said. The insurance industry is facing retirements on all fronts. By 2020, 40 percent of the industry is of age to retire, she said. The second reason? With the economy in full recovery mode from the recession that began in 2008, unemployment rates are at historical lows. Questpros Taylor said in her experience, Texas agencies first and foremost are seeking candidates for account management roles. CSR, assistant account manager, account manager roles are the bulk of what we are always trying to fill. Every client that we speak to always says, if you ever have an account manager, send them over, we want to see them, we want to meet them. Account managers and CSRs are the most popular openings for these agencies, Taylor said. And agencies are willing to pay a hefty price for strong account manager candidates. Agencies are looking for producers as well but are finding it difficult to attract top level sales professionals, she said. The high compensation packages top tier producers expect, along with non-compete agreements, are limiting the available talent pool for producers. So many agencies are looking for account manager candidates that have a producer mindset, Taylor said. Were seeing a shift from maybe more talented, more seasoned account managers to the younger, next generation of insurance talent who can start with that CSR role [and move to] the account management role after three-to-five years. But they want them to be production oriented, to have that mindset of always being producing and being comfortable being client-facing. In-House Training Agencies, especially the larger ones, also are investing in-house training programs in order to be more competitive in attracting talent, Taylor said. They are taking the time to develop really strong training classes, developing different universities, they like to call them. Theyll have property and casualty universities, theyll have different continuing education opportunities. And theyll market it as their own training class. Some of the in-house educators are industry veterans who have extensive insurance knowledge but are not quite ready to retire. Because these educators are onsite, they are available to answer any questions trainees and new hires might have. Some agencies also develop a tiered training approach, offering one instructional channel for those who are brand new to the industry, one to those with some experience and another for experienced professionals who may just want to keep their license up to date or want to learn about a new insurance sector, like cyber, for instance. Lackman, with the IIA of Illinois, said hiring producers is challenging for both small and large agencies in Illinois, though the smaller agencies located away from large urban centers face obstacles that larger firms might not. For one, there are just more candidates to choose from in a metropolitan area. And, he said, younger people are gravitating from the more rural areas of the state to the bigger cities. Still, whether a large agency or a small agency in a small town in Illinois, some of the challenges are the same. Because its a unique position, he said. Agencies are realizing the importance of investing in a training regimen. Some are turning to the agent association for assistance and some are developing their own programs, Lackman said. He cited an agency in Decatur that has developed a training program and has had success with young producers, giving them more time to learn the business and phasing them into the commissioned producer role over a longer period of time. While a smaller agency may need that new hire to be bringing in income as soon as possible, the reality is that the investment and training needs to be for a longer term than it once was. Theres a lot of competition out there, he said. Both Lackman and Taylor said the agent/broker community needs to do a better job letting young people know about the positives of the agency universe compared with the carrier side. In Texas, Taylor said, theres about a 50-50 split where about half of the young graduates coming out of the college and university risk management and insurance programs she works with are going to work in brokerages, especially the larger ones, and about half go to the carrier side. Lackman said because Illinois has a number of large, well-known insurance companies such as State Farm, Allstate and CNA, students graduating from insurance programs in his state tend to gravitate toward the company universe. Lackman and Taylor also said that young graduates in both states tend to want to be in the large population centers. Chicago in Illinois is a big draw, Lackman said. In Texas, Dallas and Houston, and San Antonio to a certain extent, are attractive to new grads, according to Taylor. But Austin is the big-ticket item, she said. Austin is very popular. As far as relocating to a city in Texas, thats where candidates from all over the country want to go, she said. Topics Agencies Texas Talent Market Training Development Illinois Reid French has stepped down as CEO of the insurance agency technology firm Applied Systems, and cloud technology executive Taylor Rhodes has joined as Applieds new chief executive officer. French, who served as CEO for eight years, will continue to advise Applied as a member of the board of directors. Rhodes joins Applied from SMS Assist, a cloud-based software platform for multi-site property management, where he has been CEO since May 2017. Prior to SMS, Rhodes was CEO and president at Rackspace, a managed cloud company, since 2014. He led this company as a cloud pioneer to an industry leader with more than $2 billion in revenue. Prior to Rackspace, he served as a leader in enterprise, financial and corporate strategy roles at Electronic Data Systems Corp. He is also former U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer from 1996 to 2000. French joined Applied Systems in 2011 from Intergraph Corp., a geospatial and computer-aided design software company. High Hopes for High Tech: Interview with New Applied Systems CEO French A company spokespersons said that Reid worked with the board on this succession and believes a CEO should be in that role for about five to seven years before making way for new ideas and energy to enter a company. The executive change comes about eight months after Google bought a minority stake in Applied Systems. Applied Systems, a privately-owned company, has grown considerably since launching in 1983. It produced $194 million in revenue in 2012 and that figure has grown robustly, reaching $331 million in 2017, according to numbers from the firm. Through the 2018 third quarter, Applied Systems has generated $388 million in revenue. Part of that growth has come from expanding globally, with locations now in Canada, the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. More than 1,500 people work for Applied Systems. In 2013, Applied Systems was acquired by investment funds advised by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman from the private investment firm Bain Capital in a transaction valued at approximately $1.8 billion. JMI Equity, a private equity firm that focuses on software and technology businesses, invested alongside H&F. In 2006, Bain Capital acquired a majority stake in Applied Systems from Vista Equity Partners in a buyout that was reported to be worth $675 million. Long-time Applied Systems chief executive Jim Kellner retained a major stake in the company. Kellner remained as CEO until September, 2011, when French was appointed CEO. In April, Applied Systems announced it had acquired TechCanary, an insurance customer relationship management (CRM) system built on the Salesforce.com platform. Related: Topics France Plumbers in Texas will no longer be subject to state regulations after lawmakers this week flushed the state plumbing code and the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners, a state agency that employed dozens and generated $5.2 million in revenue in 2017. Soon, anyone can call themselves a plumber without completing the agency-required education and tests, said Roger Wakefield, master plumber and owner of Texas Green Plumbing in Richardson. Wakefield, who has been a plumber for 40 years, said the industry is now completely unregulated, and will lead to more unqualified workers entering the workforce. Were going to put the safety of the homeowners and the public of Texas in jeopardy, he said. Plumbers install medical gas, they install the potable drinking water that we have every day. If theyre not doing it right, peoples safety is at risk. Wakefield said he and other plumbers are calling Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and asking him to order lawmakers back to Austin for a special legislative session to remedy the situation. Abbotts press office did not respond to requests for comment, but the governor indicated on Twitter on Monday that he has no plans to reconvene legislators before the next regular session in 2021. The state plumbing code will cease to exist on Sept. 1 while the state plumbing agency, which had 28 employees as of March, will have a wind down period to wrap up operations by September 2020. Several requests for comment left with the state board were not returned. That entity is responsible for licensing plumbers and enforcing the state plumbing code. The agency was up for whats known as the sunset review process, when lawmakers periodically assess how efficiently state entities are organized and whether they should continue to exist. Two bills filed during the legislative session that ended Monday would have extended the agencys life. Senate Bill 621 received pushback from members of the plumbing industry because it would abolish the state board and move its duties under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, a larger agency that oversees more than two-dozen other professions. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, voiced her opposition to the bill after a committee of House and Senate lawmakers took out her amendment delaying the move of the plumbing board until 2021. The bill failed 57-88. State Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall, later tried to reconsider the vote, but he failed again, 68-76. However, House members say Paddie had the power to save the plumbing board with House Bill 1550, a sunset safety net bill. Lawmakers usually pass such a bill every session to keep a number of state agencies from shutting down by pushing their sunset review to the following session. Paddie had earlier called for a committee of lawmakers from the House and Senate to iron out the differences on the safety net bill, but they didnt issue a report by a key deadline. Thompson said from the House floor Sunday that if Paddie chose to discharge the committee and call a vote before the House gaveled out for the night, then both the safety net bill and the plumbing board bill could have been saved. Paddie said the plumbing board operated with some inefficiencies, including that in order to take a plumbing exam, an applicant must come to Austin for the test, no matter where he or she lives. He said it also took the plumbing board up to eight months to send a license to applicants after completing their education requirement, whereas the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation estimated they could do it in a few weeks. However, members of the industry say the long licensing period is important to maintain the safety risks of the general public. Wakefield, owner of Texas Green Plumbing said Texas has one of the more stringent exams and requires more hours before plumbers are given a license. Texas has about 58,000 licensed plumbers, but the growing population and rebuilding after Hurricane Harvey has led to a shortage, according to a report by the Sunset Commission. However, Rick Lord, business manager at the Plumbers Local Union 68, said the shortage is more about the money than the waiting period. He said the shortage is due to to low pay, not the plumbing board, and his union has seen an increase in applications to join the union because it helps them secure benefits and fair pay. Alicia Dover, executive director of the Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors of Texas, said the organization was meeting Tuesday afternoon and could not yet comment on how the elimination of the plumbing agency will affect plumbers in Texas. Many cities around Texas have local plumbing codes that build off larger codes, including the Uniform Plumbing Code, a policy developed by International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, and the International Plumbing Code, developed by International Code Council. Without the state code, regulation will probably go back to the cities and municipalities, Wakefield said. Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated what the Texas plumbing code is based on. The state code is based on both the Uniform Plumbing Code, a policy developed by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, and the International Plumbing Code, which comes from the International Code Council. This story originally appeared in The Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/05/28/texas-plumbers-future-laws-board-abolished/ The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans and engages with them about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. Topics Texas Legislation A young man and a teenage boy have filed a lawsuit accusing the staff at a Texas ranch for at-risk youth of not protecting them from sexual abuse by older residents, an advocate for child abuse victims says. In recent years, an increasing number of former residents have come forward to say they suffered physical and sexual abuse at Cal Farleys Boys Ranch near Amarillo decades ago. But too many years had passed for legal recourse. But the plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit filed May 21 in Potter County District Court lived at the 80-year-old facility within the past decade. One plaintiff was 13 years old when he was enrolled at the ranch by his parents in 2010. The other arrived in 2015 at the age of 9. Both say they were exposed to sexually aggressive behavior by an older resident within days of arriving. The plaintiffs, who are seeking a jury trial, want more than $1 million in damages. Ranch spokesman Cary Varnado says theyre in the process of gathering more information and hes unable to say more other than theyll defend the rights of the ranch. He notes they continue to provide counseling for any former resident who says they were hurt in their time there. The lawsuit says the boys exposure to sexual activity by older residents resulted from the continuation of a long-standing and deeply entrenched dangerous condition at the ranch. That accusation mirrors allegations made by men who lived at the ranch dating back to the 1950s who said they were subjected to brutal whippings with belts for infractions such as forgetting a Bible verse or getting a bad grade. Some said they were molested or raped by older boys. Many struggled with homelessness, drug addiction, suicide and prison after leaving the ranch. The lawsuit says the boy who arrived at the ranch when he was 13 became severely anxious and depressed. It says the younger boy started acting out sexually and has since been hospitalized in a residential treatment center for child victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse. The lawsuit also includes the testimony of older former residents who say they were abused. I think that these survivors, in talking to the attorneys, felt that this was their way of allowing their suffering from their childhood trauma to help two kids in need, said Janet Heimlich, whose Austin-based nonprofit The Child-Friendly Faith Project advocates for victims of child abuse. Heimlich said that those who talked about their experiences in support of the lawsuit did so to achieve transparency and to ensure current residents at the ranch are safe. The lawsuit says the ranch hasnt implemented adequate safety measures or security to protect those in its care from sexual assault by other residents. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Texas Abuse Molestation The high water content of Colorados mountain snowpack has forecasters concerned about the potential for flooding from the annual snowmelt runoff. The National Weather Service says water content ranges from 324 percent of normal in the South Platte drainage basin above Denver to 728 percent of normal in the San Juan Mountains. The Denver Post reports snow water equivalent of snowpack in the mountains peaked at 20.5 inches on April 15, but was still at about 16.5 inches as of Thursday. The 16.5 inches is more than three times higher than the normal for May 30. However, the water content readings are significantly lower than years when huge floods killed people and destroyed property. Meteorologist Natalie Sullivan says the levels are worth keeping an eye on but not overly alarming. Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Flood Colorado EU changes VAT liability for transactions facilitated by digital platforms On March 20-22 2019, the OECD Global VAT Forum endorsed measures proposed in its report,entitled The Role of Digital Platforms in the Collection of VAT/GST on Online Sales, that address the VAT/GST treatment of digital platforms that facilitate online transactions between two or more persons (typically buyers and sellers). The 87-page report included measures that would make e-commerce marketplaces liable for VAT/GST on sales made by online traders through their platforms. Therefore, this would make it easier for tax authorities to ensure that tax is collected on such transactions, i.e. monitoring a limited number of platforms is easier than monitoring a multitude of smaller businesses doing business through such platforms. The report examined two possible models to ensure the collection of VAT/GST in a world where online sales are booming: The first model would make the platform fully liable for the payment and remittance of VAT/GST on the online sales they facilitate; and The second is a softer model, limiting the responsibility of the platforms to assisting the VAT authorities in the collection of VAT/GST. The report also described possible ways in which this assistance may work in practice. It should be noted that OECD reports are not binding on member states, but instead they aim to influence countries tax policies by functioning as a reference point and encouraging consistent approaches. EU gets impatient The EU did not await the approval of the OECD report and instead issued a directive approved by the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on December 7 2017, as well as a proposal for an implementing regulation on December 11 2018, yet to be approved by the ECOFIN. The new rules form part of the European Commissions 2016 e-commerce VAT package that becomes effective from January 1 2021. Under the EU directive, platforms would be treated as the seller of goods when they facilitate sales by non-EU sellers to EU non-taxable persons (such as private customers); thus, they would be responsible for paying the VAT due on the sales. Platforms also would be responsible for the payment of VAT when they facilitate imports within the EU of goods that have a value up to 150 ($168), with the exception of alcohol and tobacco products. The directive would abolish the VAT exemption on low value imports with a value of 22 or less. The platform would have to pay the VAT due in each EU member state in which the customers or importers reside, using the one-stop-shop scheme of their own member state. As a result, the platforms would not have to VAT register in the member state of the customers or importers but they would be required to maintain certain records. The EU thus opted for the full liability model because it considers the lighter model to be inefficient (where platforms assist tax authorities in the collection of the tax). The underlying idea in the EU rules is to introduce a system which ensures that non-EU sellers (and EU non-taxable persons importing goods) fulfil their VAT obligations. Digital platforms have until December 31 2020 to adapt to these changes imposed by the EU rules. This article was written by Christian Deglas, partner, Michel Lambion, managing director and Eric Reolon, director, at Deloitte Tax & Consulting Luxembourg. Christian Deglas Michel Lambion Christian Deglas (cdeglas@deloitte.lu) and Michel Lambion (milambion@deloitte.lu) Deloitte Tax & Consulting Luxembourg Website: www.deloitte.lu The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ. Share this article Vancouver, British Columbia - June 3, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) SilverCrest Metals Inc. (TSXV: SIL.V; NYSE American: SILV) ("SilverCrest" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders ("AGM") held in Vancouver, BC on May 31, 2019. Shareholders voted in favour of all items of business, including the election of each director nominee by show of hands. A total of 58,560,126 votes were represented in the meeting amounting to 68.51% of the issued common shares as of the record date. A total of 42,209,784 votes were submitted by proxy with the following tabulation of these votes: In addition, shareholders voted in favour to re-appoint Davidson & Company, Chartered Professional Accountants, as auditor of SilverCrest and reconfirmed the Company's rolling 10% stock option plan. N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng, and CEO, remarked, "Shareholders continue with their confidence in management with the election of proposed Directors. We are extremely pleased with the election of Ms. Ani Markova to the Board. She is a Senior Executive, with over 25 years of work experience including financial analysis, capital allocation, marketing, and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topics which make her a valuable addition to the SilverCrest team. Ani is an award-winning portfolio manager who managed up to $2 billion of mutual fund assets and spent more than 15 years investing in the global mining sector and commodity markets while at AGF Investments Inc. Ms. Markova holds an MBA from George Washington University in Washington DC and holds Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Canadian Investment Management (CIM) and Corporate Board International (CDI.D) designations." At the Board of Directors meeting following the AGM, the Company granted stock options under its Stock Option Plan to certain employees and Ms. Markova for the aggregate purchase of 150,000 common shares at an exercise price of $4.54 per common share for a term of five years expiring May 30, 2024. The stock options vest as to 25% on each of August 30, 2019, November 30, 2019, February 28, 2020 and May 30, 2020, and are subject to necessary regulatory approvals. ABOUT SILVERCREST METALS INC. SilverCrest is a Canadian precious metals exploration company headquartered in Vancouver, BC, that is focused on new discoveries, value-added acquisitions and targeting production in Mexico's historic precious metal districts. The Company's current focus is on the high-grade, historic Las Chispas mining district in Sonora, Mexico. SilverCrest is the first company to successfully drill-test the historic Las Chispas Project resulting in numerous discoveries. The Company is led by a proven management team in all aspects of the precious metals mining sector, including taking projects through discovery, finance, on time and on budget construction, and production. N. Eric Fier, CPG, P.Eng Chief Executive Officer SilverCrest Metals Inc. For Further Information: SilverCrest Metals Inc. Contact: Jacy Zerb, Investor Relations Manager Telephone: +1 (604) 694-1730 Fax: +1 (604) 357-1313 Toll Free: 1-866-691-1730 (Canada & USA) Email: info@silvercrestmetals.com Website: www.silvercrestmetals.com 570 Granville Street, Suite 501 Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3P1 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Disclosure: Investorideas.com is compensated by SilverCrest Metals Inc for annual news publishing effective January 2017. Denver, Co. - June 3, 2019 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Simplifya, the leading provider of regulatory compliance software for the cannabis industry, announced today that banking regulation expert and former senior Department of Justice official John Vardaman will join the company as Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel on June 17. Mr. Vardaman spent 15 years in senior positions in the U.S. Departments of Treasury and Justice, focused on the enforcement of federal policies concerning money laundering and other financial crimes. In 2014, as Assistant Deputy Chief in the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, Mr. Vardaman drafted the DOJ policy regarding marijuana banking, which set parameters for banks to serve marijuana-related businesses. "John Vardaman helped write the book on cannabis compliance," said Simplifya founder and CEO Marion Mariathasan. "Our mission at Simplifya is to help cannabis businesses protect their most valuable assets - their licenses. With John at the head of our legal team, Simplifya puts an unmatched expert at the fingertips of every one of our clients." Mr. Vardaman joins Simplifya after serving for three years as General Counsel at Hypur, a compliance-based cannabis banking and payments company. As fellow companies dedicated to bringing enhanced compliance to the cannabis industry, the addition of Mr. Vardaman to the Simplifya team will only strengthen the connection between Simplifya and Hypur. "Based on my experience at both the DOJ and Hypur, I appreciate how complicated cannabis regulations can be," said Vardaman. "Whether a cannabis business can manage those regulations will always be one of the most important factors in its success. The beauty of Simplifya's solution is that it makes it easy for every employee on a cannabis business's team to protect the business's compliance. That's why I'm excited to join this company." Simplifya was founded in 2016 by a group of attorneys, compliance experts, and software development professionals. Simplifya's compliance team analyzes complex legal, regulatory, and licensing requirements at the state and local level, then breaks them down into a series of yes/no questions and checklists that make it easy for licensed cannabis businesses to ensure compliance at every level. Cannabis retailers, cultivators, and product manufacturers are currently using Simplifya to protect their licenses across more than 12 states. About Simplifya Simplifya is the nation's leading regulatory and operational compliance tool for the cannabis industry, empowering small and large businesses to proactively manage compliance tasks across all facilities and license types. Simplifya's web-based self-auditing system distills complex state and local regulations into a simple series of yes-or-no questions to facilitate self-audits, identify areas of non-compliance, hold employees accountable for remediation, and generate management and audit reports. Simplifya's SOP feature automates the assigning, tracking, and versioning of standard operating procedures, while its Smart Cabinet digital filing system houses all of a business's required compliance and operational documents in one place. Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions. More disclaimer info: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Disclaimer.asp Learn more about publishing your news release and our other news services on the Investorideas.com newswire https://www.investorideas.com/News-Upload/ and tickertagstocknews.com Global investors must adhere to regulations of each country. Please read Investorideas.com privacy policy: https://www.investorideas.com/About/Private_Policy.asp Taxi drivers are calling for a single taxi stand at Dublin Airport. At present, each terminal has its own taxi stand, but they are calling for just one to serve both terminals. About 1,400 taxi-permit holders have access to the airport, but they say they're sometimes sent to the wrong taxi stand. David McGuinness, the chairman of the Tiomanai Tacsai na hEireann organisation, says they believed they'd already come to a solution with the DAA. "Shortly after Terminal 2 opened and was operational, the taxi industry had looked for a single taxi stand to be operated to cover both terminals or a road connected Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 for the taxis," he said. "Currently, if taxis had to be moved from one terminal to Terminal 2, they would nearly have to exit the airport to come back around." Sinn Fein is facing a major identity crisis and is at risk of losing up to half of its 23 Dail seats, some of the partys leading TDs have said. Following the partys disastrous showing at the local and European elections last month, senior TDs have said the party has been punished for being too negative. They said radical changes are needed in how the party does its business. We need to have a very quick but very honest review of what happened, said Dublin Mid West TD Eoin O Broin. We are going to have to make changes in how the party does its business, how we communicate, how we campaign, how we work in the Oireachtas. Waterford TD David Cullinane said yesterday: Low turnout, the boundary issues, and Sinn Fein not articulating our positive vision, are all issues we have heard from Sinn Fein people over the last number of days. We are hurting, because we lost a lot of good councillors and one MEP at least in Lynn Boylan. We have to listen, we have to learn. The Irish Examiner has spoken to Sinn Fein TDs, councillors, and activists who have expressed concern that an early general election this year could heap further losses on the party, with many warning that unless serious changes are made, up to 12 of its Dail seats could be lost. We have an identity crisis and people will not vote for a party which is unclear in its policies, said one TD. We could fall to 12 or 13 TDs the way things are. It is that bad and we do not have a lot of time to put it right. That prediction of seat losses was shared by a number of TDs contacted by the Irish Examiner. A number of TDs said the party grew too big too fast in 2014 and 2016 and struggled to stay true to its core ideals. The TDs also hit out at the partys overly aggressive tone in the Dail and on national media, with criticism being levelled at Mr Cullinane and Dublin Fingal TD Louise OReilly for being over exposed. People are fed up listening to them lecturing, said one TD. We have to moderate our tone, but also spread out more who the party is putting on radio and TV. @sinnfeinireland TD @EOBroin says that voters need to hear "how we would do things differently and how we would make things better for people" pic.twitter.com/ux1Q6tUf7x The Week in Politics (@rtetwip) June 2, 2019 Speaking yesterday, Mr O Broin agreed with such sentiments about the partys tone being overly negative, which he said was an issue on the doorsteps. One of the things we were hearing on some of the doors was criticism that we are a bit too negative as a party. The people we are trying to represent want to hear constructive solutions, said Mr O Broin. Between now and the general election, our target voters will want to hear how we are going to do things differently. Despite it being her second poor election in a row, there was little or no appetite being expressed by Sinn Fein members for president Mary Lou McDonald to stand down, with some describing her as a valuable political asset. Ms McDonald has led the party since February 2018. A man is due to appear in court this morning in relation to a fatal hit-and-run in Dublin. It happened in Whitehall on the northside of the city in the early hours of Friday morning when a white HGV articulated tractor unit hit a pedestrian on the Swords Road at the Collins Avenue Junction in Whitehall at 12:20am on Friday. A German hypnotist has been spared a spell in jail for groping an air hostess at Dublin Airport while he was waiting for a connecting flight to New York. Ulrich Trappe, aged 45, stared and smiled at the upset flight attendant when she turned around to confront him after he grabbed her buttocks, Dublin District Court was told. The divorced father of two was given a one-month suspended sentence after he pleaded guilty to the sexual assault which happened on Sunday in Terminal 1. Trappe, with an address in Berlin, Germany, was exasperated when he was brought before Judge John Cheatle. Garda Jack Farrell told the court Trappe made no reply when charged at Ballymun Garda Station. In an outline of the allegations, Garda Farrell told the court that gardai received a call from Dublin Airport Police who had detained the Berliner for an alleged sexual assault on a female flight attendant at Terminal 1 in Dublin Airport. The Director of Public Prosecutions directed summary disposal, meaning the defendant should be tried at district court level and not in the circuit court, which has tougher sentencing powers. Judge Cheatle accepted jurisdiction. Garda Farrell told the court there was CCTV footage of the incident. Defence solicitor Tony Collier told Judge Cheatle his client had no previous convictions. He had flown in from Berlin but was passing through Dublin Airport on his way to New York. After a brief recess in the case, Mr Collier said Trappe was pleading guilty. Garda Farrell said the flight attendant was not physically hurt but was more hurt emotionally. She identified Trappe to gardai. She was not present for the hearing but in her statement she described how she had been going through the security area in Terminal 1 on Sunday when the assault took place. The accused approached her from the rear and grabbed her buttocks for a couple of seconds and proceeded to stare. "When the injured party turned to confront the man, he stared and smiled at her. His solicitor told Judge Cheatle that Trappes explanation to gardai for his behaviour was: He was playing a game he would not dare play in America or Germany. The garda agreed with the solicitor that Trappes behaviour in the station was erratic. He was touching the gardas tie and the officer had to tell him to keep his feet and his hands to himself. When his fingerprints were taken, he was touching gardai on their legs, their thighs, and their feet. Mr Collier said his client, who did not address the court, had been diagnosed with depression and was on medication to balance his mood. His bizarre behaviour and the way it persisted was probably the most unusual feature of the case, the solicitor said. He asked the judge to note that Trappe had suffered a psychiatric episode. Trappe wanted to leave it behind him, go back to Germany to his parents, and have two weeks rest, the court heard. Mr Collier said that his client was an unemployed hypnotist. Pleading for leniency, Mr Collier said he was not minimising the crime in any way but he asked the court to note it was on the lower end of the scale in respect of these offences, and the victim was an adult. It lasted for seconds and Trappe had touched her on the outside of her clothing, the solicitor added. Sentencing, Judge Cheatle said it was an unusual case. The victim was undoubtedly touched inappropriately and she was entitled to go about her place of business without this type of interference, he told Trappe. He imposed a one-month sentence but suspended it on condition Trappe did not re-offend within the next year. Visiting travel writers and explorers will shortly explore the theme of extraordinary adventures at the 17th annual Lismore Immrama Festival of Travel. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend events from June 12-16 when the speakers will include Neil Oliver, Sarah Outen, Rosita Boland, Lerato Morgalathe, Robyn Rowland, and Charlie Piggott. Opening the festival on the Wednesday evening will be a screening of the documentary Congo An Irish Affair, a poignant study of the Irish-led 1961 UN peacekeeping mission to Katanga. The festival has offered an open invitation to soldiers who were involved in the Siege of Jadotville. Thursday, June 13, will see author Robyn Rowland share personal stories of exploring war, change, family and friendship in Ireland, Turkey, the Balkans and Australia. The following day, journalist and author Lerato Mogoatlhe, who has been writing about Africa for more than 10 years, will share tales from her book Vagabond. Two keynote addresses will take place on Saturday afternoon from broadcaster Neil Oliver. The archaeologist, historian, author and broadcaster has travelled and explored every corner of the UK, through hosting eight series of the BBC Two programme Coast. Also hosting a keynote address is the first woman and the youngest person to row solo across the Indian Ocean and also the Pacific Ocean from Japan to Alaska, British athlete and adventurer Sarah Dilys Outen. She has traversed oceans alone in tiny rowing boats, spending months in solitude; has biked continents in extreme seasons and kayaked remote island chains and has written two books with a film being released this year. Donald Brady will host a free talk on Waterford novelist Regina Maria Roche while Dr Rowland will host a creative writing workshop, also on festival Saturday. A founding members of De Dannan, Charlie Piggott, will discuss music and travel. Sunday mornings literary breakfast will be hosted by journalist and author Rosita Boland. Fringe events include tours of the ancient Cotton Library at St Carthages Cathedral, a family fun Sunday at the Millennium Park, the Lismore Farmers Market on the Lismore Castle Avenue, and also a Gregorian Mass. Festival curator Jan Rotte says Immrama has become entrenched in the calendar of literary fans and adventurous travellers. We are looking forward to welcoming back many of our loyal festival fans and lots of new faces to Lismore for the festival weekend, said Mr Rotte. lismoreimmrama.com A woman in her 70s has died following a road traffic accident in Dublin. Gardai in Howth are appealing for witnesses following the collision in Howth yesterday. At around 3.20pm yesterday afternoon, a single vehicle crashed on Windgate Road, Howth, gardai say. The female driver was the sole occupant of the car when it collided with a pillar of a house. She was seriously injured and removed to Beaumont Hospital where she passed away in the early hours of this morning. Garda forensic collision investigators were at the scene and examined the site. The road was closed but has since reopened. Investigating Gardai are appealing for any witnesses to the collision to contact them at Raheny Garda Station. You dont have to be a cat owner to be familiar with the sound of a low humming cat purr. Most people find the sound pleasant and soothing. But why do cats purr at all and how? First the how The cats purr has been quite the puzzle for scientists but they now believe that the sound is created by the vibration of muscles within the cats larynx (voice box). Cats purr when they inhale and exhale, unlike other sounds they make, like meowing, which they can only do as they exhale. That is why the purr often seems like long continuous sound. Do all cats purr? All domestic cats purr, some more than others and some of the larger wild cats do too. The cougar is the largest of the purring cats. The really big cats (lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars) do not purr; they are more known for their roar. Kittens purr when they are just a few days old. At this stage of their lives, purring likely helps bonding between mother and offspring, as well as allowing her know where they are for feeding. Kittens can purr while they feed, providing continuous feedback to the mother. The why Cats keep purring as they grow into adulthood and they do so for more than just bonding and communication. They purr as a sign of contentment, as we would expect but they also purr when hungry, stressed, frightened, ill or in pain. It is not known why cats purr in all these instances but there are a number of theories based on a number of recent studies. Scientists are unsure whether cats purr though voluntary or involuntary processes but one strongly help theory suggests that they purr in response to endorphins released when they experience pleasure or pain. When in pain, the cats may purr as a form of self-soothing but studies into the frequencies of a cats purr provide other theories too. A cats purr is a sound of low frequency, typically 25 to 150 hertz. Low frequency sounds have been shown to affect specific parts of the body. Bones are known to strengthen in response to low frequency sounds (around 25 hertz) and skin and soft tissue cell growth can be stimulated in response to sounds of slightly higher frequencies (around 100 hertz). So are cats also purring as a form of self-healing? Sharing the benefits It would appear that it is not just cats that benefit from their purring. Studies have made direct correlation between regular cat contact and a reduced risk of stroke or heart disease. Cat owners that regularly pet their cats can greatly reduce their stress levels and improve their health. All purrs are not created equal Although to our ears a cats purrs may all sound the same, research has found that is not always the case. In particular, the purrs of a hungry cat contain hidden sounds that are more likely to attract the attention of their owners. A high pitches sound is embedded in these purrs that is more like a cry and trigger an unconscious response in humans. So, while cats may be able to reduce our stress levels and possibly even help us heal, there is still little doubt as to who the real boss is in the cat-human relationship. Des OSullivan previews a sparkling sale poised to be a real jewel in the crown for Christies in New York The Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence sale at Christies in New York on June 19 promises to be the most valuable jewellery auction ever eclipsing that of Elizabeth Taylor (pictured) which totalled $144m (129m) in December 2011. The mystic east at its most fabulous is revealed in this unprecedented group of jewels, gemstones and decorative objects from The Al Thani Collection. It consists of almost 400 lots spanning more than 500 years. The Arcot II is internally flawless. It features in the upcoming auction that promises to eclipse that of Elizabeth Taylor The Al Thani family rules Qatar and numerous pieces in the sale have been seen at exhibitions of the familys collection at The Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Among many highlights are the Patiala ruby choker, created by Cartier, Paris, in 1931, which is considered by many to be the finest ruby necklace ever made, and a riviere necklace from the collection of the Nizam of Hyderabad with nearly 200 carats of fine Golconda diamonds. Works from The Al Thani Collection will be shown at a new museum space due to open in central Paris next year. A diamond turban ornament, from India, 1907. The weight of the diamonds in this piece is 152.60 carats. The galleries intend to explore the lesser-known works of The Al Thani Collection, which extends to more than 6,000 objects across a rich diversity of cultures. The collection begins in Mughal, India, and showcases the sophistication of artistic production from the royal courts of India from the 17th century onwards. There are delicate jades, vivid enamels, opulent jewels, gemstones and royal portraits including a jade hilted dagger owned by Shah Jahan, creator of the Taj Mahal. A diamond-set and enamelled gold-covered bowl and stand, c1790-1810. There is a jade cup with an ibex head so realistically carved that the Chinese emperor Qianlong composed a poem in its honour; a gem set; and an emerald, ruby and diamond gold state pen case and inkwell. There are carved Mughal emeralds from around 10 carats to over 200 carats, the Arcot II diamond presented to Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III, by Muhammad Ali Wallajah Nawab of Arcot, and the Mirror of Paradise D-colour internally flawless Golconda diamond of 52.58 carats. The Patiala ruby choker, Cartier, Paris, 1931, from the collection of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. Significant historical pieces are complemented by an important selection from the 20th century by the houses of Bulgari, Cartier, Janesich, LaCloche, Linzeler, Mauboussin, and Mellerio. The Patiala ruby choker was commissioned by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, one of the Cartiers most important Indian clients of the 1920s and 1930s. He often travelled to Paris with trunks of diamonds and gemstones from his treasury for Cartiers workshops. Who would have thought that the scum of fermented barley would prove so attractive a substance? Someone, somewhere in the mists of time discovered that if you distil said scum, you will have concocted a beverage with a percentage of alcohol so high (up to 90%) that it could blow your britches off. The illicit substance known as poitin, or anglicised to poteen, was a staple drink in the countryside for many generations and provided a heart-warming drink for many country people, as well as a source of income. Its more usual method of manufacture was using potatoes, sugar, and yeast. If taken in excessive quantities, of course, it could be lethal. Its manufacture was deemed illegal by the State as it deprived it of revenues, as well as posing a substantial health risk. The British passed the Illicit Distillation Act of 1831 and perpetrators could expect heavy fines. The practice continued long after independence, however. Remote valleys and mountains, woods, or anywhere deemed difficult for the guards to access was perfect to make it. And where is access more remote than on islands? The myriad islands in Kilkieran Bay, Co Galway, was one such area where the cottage industry thrived and where the gardai launched numerous attempts to quench its fires but it always sprang up anew. The Connacht Tribune reported in 1950 that the Garda boat was too well-known in the area to arrive with the element of surprise and everything illicit could be hidden by the time they arrived. No locals would willingly row the guards in their boats, so on one occasion two guards dressed as fisherman arrived and inveigled a young girl into thinking they were looking for a drop of the crathur. She rowed them to Inisherk, where they duly arrested some poteen makers. The Tribune reported that as they approached the island they saw men putting barrels into a boat and going out to sea on the far side of the island. Defendant Patrick Folan was fined 20 in court. The poitin cost 18 shillings for a five-naggin bottle on the islands. And on the mainland the illegal spirits fetched 1 pound a bottle. The guards were making little progress, but one determined judge, TG Burke, at Derrynea Court in Connemara declared in 1961 that Ill have to put a stop to this when sample after sample were produced for him. He imposed sentences ranging up to six months on several defendants. One woman said her son had the measles and that was why she had the firewater. A man said his doctor prescribed a certificate to drink the stuff and a man over 70 said everyone was drunk that night. In 1960, around 60 raids were carried out on the islands in a matter of weeks. Around 80 gallons of wash ready for the still was captured hidden in earthenware jars or barrels under the rocks. Poteen makers were undeterred, and so were the guards. The Connemara Tribune reported in 1961 that all-out war was declared on the poteen makers of Connemara as eight complete stills, a thousand gallons of beer, raw material for poteen, and poteen itself were seized. A case in 1963 saw the guards engage in a five-mile chase around the islands where they eventually apprehended a Patrick McDonagh and a 15-year-old boy from Inisherk who had three gallons of poteen in their boat. Both were fined in court. The wave of raids only seemed to increase the resolve of the poteen makers and they devised ever more careful ruses to avoid detection including distilling on windy days when the smoke from the still would be harder to spot. The raids continued in 1972 with 200 gallons worth 75 found on Inisherk, along with other quantities on the unpopulated Freaghillaun More. Radical treatment was proposed in Galway council chamber. It would serve us better if we cleared all the people from the islands, said Cllr Patrick Collins in 1957. Perhaps the harassment of their way of life got too much for the inhabitants of the lovely island of Inisherk. The last person left in 1960. A row of houses at the waterfront is the only reminder left of its few former inhabitants. How to get there: Inisherk is near Lettermullan in south Connemara Young male orcas are mammys boys. Instead of leaving to seek his fortune when he comes of age, a young buck stays on in the home pod, where his doting mother pampers him. She leads her son to the best places to feed, and is there for him when rival males challenge. In due course, the golden boy starts visiting other pods for one-night stands with females. His mothers nurturing now begins to pay off. Big and strong, thanks to her efforts, he gets to father more offspring and, in doing so, helps promulgate her genes. Pilot whale youths behave like orcas, but the mother-mo-croi fixation was thought to be confined to just those two species. Now researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology have discovered that it isnt. In a paper in Current Biology, Martin Surbeck and colleagues claim that young bonobo males and their mothers have similar family arrangements. In the 1920s, a crate containing early pigmy chimpanzee specimens was shipped from Bolobo on the Congo River. The name of the town was misspelt on the shipment and a new noun, Bonobo, was added to the lexicon. The Japanese zoologist Takayoshi Kano studied these forest-dwelling primates during the 1970s. Make love not war, he concluded, is the golden rule in their society. Females mate with all and sundry, even with juveniles and infants. Unusually for mammals other than humans, bonobos even adopt the missionary position in about a third of copulations. Zanna Clay of Durham University, however, drew more nuanced conclusions following her recent research on the species. There is this perception, she noted, that bonobos have sex all the time, they are like nymphomaniacs. In fact, she claims, they are no more sexually active than their cousin, the common chimpanzee. Given such a permissive regime, its impossible for a young bonobo to know the identity of its father. It hardly matters, because this society, like that of the orca, is matriarchal. Powerful females call the shots; a young males standing in the community depends on his mothers rank. She defends her son in conflicts with rivals and gives him access, says Surbeck, to popular spots within social groups in the community, introducing him to the right people. But despite the bonobos anything-goes attitude to sex, there are restrictions on mating. When her son seeks out a female and tries to mate with her, the mother will prevent other males from joining in. She tries to disrupt the mating attempts of young males other than her own. Surbeck and his co-authors estimate that, by doing so, a mother increases her sons chance of fatherhood three-fold. Just like orcas and pilot whales, by supporting her son, a bonobo mother is trying to increase the number of grandchildren she will have. Its all about her, not him. Bonobos and common chimps are closely related, having shared an ancestor less than a million years ago. A chimp mother may help her son if he gets into a scrape, but she draws the line at interfering in his sexual encounters. The crucial factor seems to be that, while bonobo society is female-dominated, males rule the roost among chimpanzees. Martin Surbeck et al. Males with a mother living in their group have higher paternity success in bonobos but not chimpanzees. Current Biology. 2019. There has been a drop of up to 85% in the number of Irish women travelling to Britain for abortions, one year on since the Eighth Amendment was repealed from the Irish Constitution. Nine women had been leaving Ireland every day to have a termination in Britain. While the amendment was repealed by popular vote of 66% on May 25, 2018, legislation to allow for the termination of pregnancy in Ireland was only passed on December 20, 2018, meaning that services did not begin until January 2, 2019. UK figures, from private providers, are showing that for the first quarter [of 2019] there is a drop of two-thirds for the number of Irish women travelling compared to before, Mary Favier told the Irish Examiner. But why is there still a third? It could be that the three-day wait period is too much for them, or they have exams and they cant wait, or that they are in the 12- to 14-week period. Dr Favier is a Cork GP and a member of Start Ireland, a support group of GPs who provide termination of pregnancy services. While the exact figures on the number of legal terminations of pregnancy taking place here will not be available until the end of the year, the Irish Examiner contacted a British provider to see if the number of Irish women they are seeing has fallen in 2019. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has seen an 85% drop in women travelling from here to access its services. In January 2019, we were still seeing a significant chunk of our usual caseload from the Republic of Ireland but we saw a drop in February and March, perhaps suggesting that the initial teething problems with the Irish service are now being resolved, said a spokeswoman for BPAS. In February 2019 we saw 13 women from RoI, so roughly 15% of our previous caseload, most of whom were over the 12-week mark. In March 2019, we saw 11 women from RoI, again most of whom were over 12 weeks. So its early days but the figures seem to suggest that the number of women travelling who are under 12 weeks is now very low. "Interestingly, weve also seen a drop in numbers of women who are post-12 weeks, but at the moment its too early to know why. In relation to abortion pills, Dr Favier said there has also been a dramatic drop in the number of tablets being bought online. This was of major concern before the referendum, as up to three people had been purchasing the pills over the internet every day and taking them without any medical supervision. We dont know how many tablets are still being sold online, said Dr Favier. The numbers have dropped dramatically, but not to nothing. For people living in remote areas or in difficult situations where privacy is a concern, they may be buying online still. A woman can now have a legal abortion in Ireland up to 12 weeks into pregnancy, and later in pregnancy based on other grounds such as the diagnosis of a fatal foetal anomaly or in cases of risk to life or serious harm to health. The two pathways to care are either via a GP or in a hospital. The first point of contact for a woman or girl seeking a termination of pregnancy here has been through the HSEs MyOptions.ie help-line, where information, counselling, and nursing advice is offered. The caller will then be told of GPs in their area that are contracted to provide the termination. There have been 6,000 calls to the HSEs crisis pregnancy helpline since abortion was legalised in Ireland, and there are 319 GPs contracted to provide the service. In January, the MyOptions helpline received 1,925 calls for information and counselling, and 387 nursing-related queries. In February, there were 1,026 calls to information and counselling services and 218 nursing queries. In March, there were 1,102 calls for information or counselling and 261 for nursing. And in April, there were 919 calls for information or counselling and 293 nursing queries. However, the number of pregnancies that have been legally terminated here since the legislation was enacted will not be available until a year has passed. Accessibility Dr Favier said there are still gaps in accessibility to care, with the HSE confirming to the Irish Examiner that Sligo, Leitrim, and Carlow still have no GP providing a termination of pregnancy service. This is no small thing. This means women having to travel and get several buses to do so, Dr Favier said. Then there are active anti-choice people who are targeting GPs and there are comments being made to them on the side of GAA pitches. But we dont expect that to last. Only 10 of the countrys 19 maternity hospitals provide full termination of pregnancy services. A spokeswoman from the HSE said: Work is ongoing with the hospital groups to roll out the service in additional maternity hospitals in 2019. In relation to the three counties without a GP-based service, the HSE said it is satisfied with the geographic spread. In her own GP practice on the Commons Road in Cork, Dr Favier said the main response from people accessing abortion care is one of deep appreciation. The biggest feeling you get is that people are deeply appreciative, those and its most people who were aware of the Repeal campaign, she said. Dr Mary Favier. Picture: Michael Mac Sweeney However, Dr Favier said the three-day waiting period, as is legally necessary between a persons first medical consultation and the termination of a pregnancy, is causing issues. The three days is hugely problematic, she said. A bank holiday weekend can push the second appointment to a Tuesday and there is re-rostering at work and childcare needed. "If you have to make an excuse to get out of work you have to then make a second excuse. The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) is providing HSE-funded training to any of its members who opt in to provide termination of pregnancy services. Mary Short, who is the ICGPs director of sexual and reproductive health, said that at the beginning there were some teething problems, like any new service, such as pharmaceutical stock of medication and rhesus blood testing. For the vast majority of cases it is working, but there is a greater urgency to get tests done, the closer women are to nine weeks, said Dr Short. A key issue that has emerged is access to ultrasounds to date a pregnancy when the woman does not have a regular menstrual cycle and the date of conception is hard to estimate. This is key so that the termination is done in accordance with the law, which is up to 12 weeks in early pregnancy. Dr Mary Short, director of sexual and reproductive health for the Irish College of General Practitioners You date a pregnancy from the first day of the last period, but not every woman has a regular cycle, said Dr Short. (Between 21 and 35 days in length is considered a regular cycle.) A pregnancy is dated from the first day of the last menstrual period, so then if you go into women who only have periods six times a year, then you cant date the pregnancy from the first day, so thats when you need a scan, and they need to be done in special ultrasound units. The ultrasound provision continues to be patchy. The other major issue is access to free and appropriate contraception. Everybody should have access to free contraception, said Dr Short. If a woman has access to the contraception that is appropriate to her needs, then she is less likely to have a contraceptive failure. It makes for healthier women, it allows them to take charge of their reproductive health. Health Minister Simon Harris has commissioned a review into how best to deliver free contraception. It was one of the suggestions of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment as a way to reduce the number of crisis pregnancies. The law The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is the legislation under which abortions may take place in Ireland. The three key provisions are, firstly, for early pregnancy up to 12 weeks, the second is for fatal foetal anomalies and the third is where there is a risk to the life and serious harm to the health of the pregnant woman. Mairead Enright is a barrister, lecturer at the Birmingham School of Law, and a member of Lawyers for Choice. She says that there are key defects in the current legislation, which affect both women and doctors working under the threat of criminalisation. Ms Enright cites the three-day waiting period as being intensely problematic and in practice, that is something that GPs have said patients are being most affected by. In the provision for care up to 12 weeks the three-day waiting period is making it practically difficult to access terminations, said Ms Enright. There is no medical justification for it, and we would say it is a massively disproportionate infringement on a persons rights. The Government said the purpose of it was to give a person the opportunity to reflect on their decision, but even if you accept that rationale, there is no evidence to say that a three-day waiting period assists. It is intensely problematic that the three-day waiting period cannot be waived for whatever reason. "What if youre in a situation of domestic abuse and couldnt get out, or if you cant travel? And the closer you get to the 12-week deadline, the more pressure. Ms Enright also said the wording in the legislation around fatal foetal anomalies is problematic. The law states that a termination can be carried out where there is a condition affecting a foetus that is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before, or within 28 days of, birth. Say it is 30 days after birth, that is not a scenario that comes under legislation, its black and white, said Ms Enright. What matters is the effect on the woman, under the shadow of stigma. There are cases on that borderline, where the parents suffering is just as great. Under the other provision in the legislation, where there is a risk to the life or serious harm to the pregnant woman, Ms Enright said the ground is too vague. We dont know in practice how the medical professional will implement that ground, she said. If you miss the 12-week deadline, this is going to be your main route to service, for cases of rape, or if the pregnancy is a threat to your mental health. "Its a black box maybe that ground is just too vague. What is risk? What is serious? You have all these factors that doctors have to weigh up. Lastly, the threat of criminalisation that hangs over doctors is another concern. The 2018 Act decriminalises a woman, but if the doctor steps outside the legislation they can be criminalised, said Ms Enright. When the Minister [for Health] was asked why he was retaining criminalisation, it was to deter coercement and unregulated terminations. "But if they are the evils he wants to address, you need better legislation, because the shadow of potential criminalisation hangs over a doctor. Ms Enright said there will be a review of the legislation in 2022, although there might be a test case around the risk to life and serious harm to health provision in the meantime. Any amendments to the current legislation will happen as standard through the various Houses of the Oireachtas, with TDs and senators of the day voting on any changes. Termination for Medical Reasons During the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment, a group called Termination for Medical Reasons (TFMR) outlined multiple scenarios whereby their members had to travel to the UK for abortions after receiving a diagnosis of a fatal foetal anomaly. There is now a provision within the legislation to allow for abortions in Ireland for these types of medical conditions, said Claire Cullen from TFMR. However, the group is still experiencing barriers to care. Exactly what we hoped wouldnt happen is still happening, even without the Eighth Amendment in the Constitution. Diagnoses are being made in the most conservative, narrow sense. Some doctors arent declaring that theyre conscientious objectors and that they just dont believe in fatal foetal abnormalities. She also claimed that some medical professionals had made insensitive comments to women who had just received a diagnosis of a fatal foetal anomaly and were seeking a termination of their pregnancy. What good is an abortion to you anyway? Your baby is going to die anyway at some stage are some of the alleged comments. Some of the things that have been said to women, that have come up at support meetings, include: I dont know what youre crying for, and then a midwife not even dressing the baby, said Ms Cullen. It has to be confronted and challenged. Then there are women who travelled earlier this year and they were diagnosed just before Christmas. A woman was told: You wont get an abortion here even after Christmas. She had to wait all over Christmas, she was so stressed the legislation wouldnt cover her. Another incident that is alleged to have arisen is women having to deliver a stillborn baby alongside other women having healthy babies. The Irish Examiner asked the HSE about these alleged incidents. A spokeswoman for the HSE said it cannot comment on individual cases and that more details need to be sought and brought to the attention of the relevant hospital groups, in order to address these allegations. Ms Cullen said that despite the fact that the Eighth Amendment has been repealed and legislation is now in place, TFMR is still fielding weekly phone calls from distressed parents. In 2018, wed get two calls a week, but post-Repeal there has been an increase were hearing from more people, maybe 10 cases a month, she said. Were seeing a lot more of severe abnormalities but they wont be treated here. They are catastrophic diagnoses but not fatal, they can be rare enough and they go across a whole spectrum you didnt even know existed. What were seeing more of now is couples who think we can arrange care for them abroad. "Even without changing legislation, for people who dont come under our current law, if we can arrange a care pathway to be put in place between Ireland and somewhere in the EU for women. An added issue that has arisen after the legislation for terminations in the case of a fatal foetal anomaly diagnosis, is increased stigma. The stigma now of travelling is much worse because if the babys diagnosis was bad enough youd be looked after here. There are assumptions around that, said Ms Cullen, who experienced her own loss after a fatal diagnosis. She said it is a devastating situation to find yourself in, and one that is made far worse by judgement and shame. You think youre going to have a baby and your bubble is burst, she said. That moment in the scan when you ask: Is everything OK? and the answer is no, there is just no going back from that. "Its devastating. Your child could be in pain the longer the pregnancy goes on or if you go into labour. You cant cook. You cant have a shower. Youre so stressed and your self-esteem hits the floor. Then on top of that, youre being judged. We know whats right for us and when youre told your instinct is wrong its horrible. "The idea that any of us choose a termination our choice would be to bring our baby home and raise our child. TFMR estimates that there are still up to three women per week travelling abroad for a termination, having received a devastating diagnosis. Just one week before the first anniversary of the referendum on the Eighth Amendment, it was revealed that an external review was taking place into a fatal foetal diagnosis that resulted in the termination of a pregnancy at the National Maternity Hospital. The parents, speaking through their solicitor, said they were utterly devastated to find out through later tests that there had been a misdiagnosis. Marginalised groups Meanwhile, even after the repeal of the Eighth Amendment and the subsequent legislation has been enacted, there are still access issues that are affecting minority groups in Ireland. For example, those seeking asylum in Ireland and living in direct provision can find it difficult to access termination of pregnancy services. It can range from finding it difficult to access a GP or speak to a GP about abortion, because of stigma. For women with disabilities, the three-day wait period and needing to visit the GP twice is proving problematic. All of this is happening in a context where there are significant barriers to sexual and reproductive rights for people with disabilities broadly, said lawyer Maria Ni Fhlatharta, of Disabled Women Ireland. There is a huge misconception that disabled people dont have sex. There is this persistent infantilisation. People with disabilities are more likely to have high-risk pregnancies. Of the maternal deaths in this country, 68% of them are women with disabilities. The three-day wait period is a problem because you have to make multiple visits, meaning youll need extra transport and support cover for personal assistance. "Its having to arrange all of this multiple times. It would make things impossible for some people in certain situations. Another issue is the fact that not every GP is the country has signed up to the service. Therefore women with complex conditions who have strong relationships with their doctor must go to a different GP. Because there are only 319 GPs providing, youre likely not going to be able to access care with your usual GP and that has issues, said Ms Ni Fhlatharta. You will have to disclose your disability and they may not have an understanding of a complex condition. "It makes a big difference to have a doctor that knows you and your condition. The Clare roar was nowhere to be heard yesterday as the relative silence of Cusack Park in the second half was eventually broken by chants of Tipp, Tipp, Tipp. A third consecutive win for the 2016 All-Ireland champions saw them yet again hit the 30-point marker. The same questions that were asked of Limerick going well too early have now shifted to Tipperary but you sense Liam Sheedy wont mind. Fortress Cusack Park was ransacked here, 18,316 souls treated to the kind of bludgeoning Clare havent experienced on their home soil for a considerably long time. Donal Moloney and Gerry OConnor will be hoping to re-fortify the place when Cork arrive in 13 days time, but theres the little matter of facing Limerick before that, and on the basis of this non-performance, they will make the short skip across the M18 with trepidation. Tipperarys movement and intensity was too much for them in both halves. Although it wasnt until the second quarter that the visitors began to put some distance between the sides, when they did Clares response was meek. With a breeze billowing from the town end, Clare would have been expected to eat into Tipperarys six-point lead at the break (1-14 to 0-11). Instead, it was Tipperary who began the strongest, Seamus Callanans 41st-minute goal a result of the captain reacting quicker than the flat-footed Clare backs to a Jason Forde free hitting the post. As Moloney admitted afterwards, the score knocked the stuffing out of us. Ronan Maher did that to Cathal Malone in the literal sense with a piledriving shoulder just six minutes after the goal. Tipperarys aggression never let up and neither did their sharpness; Noel McGraths point in the 32nd minute was schemed after a Clare shot went wide. Patrick Mahers 50th-minute goal was fashioned by him being more alert to a sideline ball, although Malone and David McInerney looked sluggish in trying to cut him out. Donal Tuohys last-ditch attempt to deny him the shot was cynical and dangerous, but Maher still had the presence of mind to shorten his grip and place the ball to the far corner. With that goal, Tipperary went 13 clear and Clares reply, other than placed balls, was a Jason McCarthy point. Just seven points from play and two of them in the second half was a dismal return. In this context and considering what has happened to Waterford since that opening win, Clares form looks decidedly dodgy. Tipperary, on the other hand, are only getting better, creating close to 40 scoring opportunities in difficult conditions yesterday. Eleven scorers against Cork, nine in the home win over Waterford and seven here, the load is being shared pretty evenly. Not only that, three of them each produced six points, two of them five. For the third game in a row, it was hardly surprising that a Tipperary forward picked up the individual award. But some kind words for Tipperarys defence save for Corks consolation goal in Round 1, Brian Hogans goal-line has not been breached. Their defence might still be coughing up too many frees but that cant disguise how splendid Cathal Barrett and Brendan Maher have been thus far. Tipperarys John ODwyer and Clares David McInerney tumble during yesterdays Munster SHC clash at Cusack Park. Picture: Piaras O Midheach Yet again, Maher was given the duty of marking the playmaker in Tony Kelly and yet again he starred. Nine times in the first half Tipperary quickly cancelled out Clare scores, and their work on the Clare restart, admittedly against the wind, was deadly. And yet Sheedy still found fault with how they hounded their opponents. Diarmuid Ryan was an outlet for them for certain ball and he was delivering it into John Conlon and we were struggling to defend that, but look, overall, when you weigh up the whole performance, youre never going to have the perfect performance. Speaking of Conlon, he was so strangely off-colour. Four wides to his name, there would have been little gripe had he been removed from the play earlier than the hour mark. His marker Barry Heffernan, a late replacement for the sick James Barry, had cause to believe he was part of the reason for the All Stars disappointing showing. Conlon wasnt alone Kelly was anonymous in the opening half and Clares midfield was subdued by Noel McGrath and Michael Breen. McInerney may have been caught a couple of times, but such was his workload he could be forgiven. Clare will hope for a Cork-like revival in six days time John Meylers men showed their reverse against Tipperary didnt entirely maim them although Limerick have ground to make up, too. As for the victors, Sheedy wasnt getting ahead of himself. Certainly theres no team yet guaranteed to be in the Munster final, but what I am certain of is that were going to come out of Munster and from where we were, I set the ambition at the start of the year that we wanted to get into the top three and qualify for the All-Ireland series. To have reached that on June 2 is very pleasing. Scorers for Clare: P. Duggan (0-9, 8 frees); T. Kelly (0-3, 2 frees); P. Collins; D. Ryan, D. Fitzgerald, S. Golden, J. McCarthy (0-1 each). Scorers for Tipperary: J. McGrath (0-6); J. Forde (0-6, frees); S. Callanan (1-3); N. McGrath, Patrick Maher (1-2 each); J. ODwyer, B. Maher (0-1 each). CLARE: D. Tuohy; S. Morey, P. OConnor (c), D. McInerney; C. Malone, J. Browne, D. Fitzgerald; S. Golden, C. Galvin; P. Duggan, T. Kelly, D. Ryan; S. ODonnell, J. Conlon, P. Collins. Subs for Clare: C. Cleary for S. Morey (52); A. McCarthy for P. Duggan (57); G. Cooney for J. Conlon (60); A. Shanagher for S. ODonnell (65); R. Taylor for S. Golden (68). TIPPERARY: B. Hogan; A. Flynn, B. Heffernan, C. Barrett; R. Maher, B. Maher, Padraic Maher; N. McGrath, M. Breen; D. McCormack, J. ODwyer, Patrick Maher; J. McGrath, S. Callanan (c), J. Forde. Subs for Tipperary: W. Connors for M. Breen (56); J. Morris for J. ODwyer (61); R. Byrne for R. Maher (66); G. Browne for D. McCormack (69). Referee: A. Kelly (Galway). Dalo's Hurling Show: Tipp quench the inferno. Kiely's statement. The Deise inquest Derek McGrath and Ger Cunningham review the weekend's hurling with Anthony Daly The hard-fought campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment began as soon as it was inserted into the Constitution 35 years ago. Last year the nation collectively stood up for the women of Ireland, writes Ailbhe Smyth, former co-director of Together for Yes. When we realised we had won so irrefutably, it was for many of us as if a great weight had been lifted from our shoulders, as if we could see the clear blue sky of freedom for the first time in our lives as women. It was all the more extraordinary for being so unexpected. Its still hard to believe that, a year ago, more than 66% of Irish people voted to remove the Eighth Amendment from our Constitution. The results meant there will be no more boats, no more flights, and no more hiding in shame. There is still much to be done of course. We need to ensure that abortion services are available to all women throughout the country. There needs to be legislative measures put in place to make sure that no patient, healthcare provider or member of the public is ever harassed for entering premises where abortion services are provided. Very importantly, we must monitor closely the application of the law to ensure we can amend and expand it when it falls due for review in two and a half years time. The success of the campaign has had the greatest and most immediate everyday meaning for women who are now entitled to access abortion here in Ireland, as part of normal healthcare. There is also the wider impact the referendum had for women in Ireland last May, the entire nation collectively stood up for us, for our freedom, our autonomy, our equality, and our dignity as people. And there is the impact for Irish society more broadly in confirming that we have definitively put behind us an authoritarian, miserable, punitive past. Last years victory demonstrated that there is a generation of young people who are liberal, open-minded, and tolerant, as well as energetic, politically engaged, and impressively capable. And its not only young people either. Significant numbers of older generations (my own included) worked towards a Yes vote for a much fairer, kinder Ireland than the one we grew up in. It goes without saying that what stood out about the campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which began 35 long years ago, was that it was a campaign led by women. Over the past few decades, women set up grassroots groups and organisations, volunteered, marched, canvassed, donated, organised, made our voices heard. We never gave up. And we were successful. Last year, we led a very determined, compassionate and dignified campaign. We listened to each other and to the voters, and we showed that people of all ages and from all political parties and none can come together to bring about real political change which impacts on the everyday lives of Irish people. The knock-on effect of this is already being seen. According to Women for Election, 566 of the 1,960 candidates in the recently held local elections were women. Thats 29% of the candidates, up from 21.6% in 2014. With more women being elected to positions of power, the realisation of a more equal and just Irish society will grow that bit closer. Last years campaign is also having a positive impact for women in the North, currently denied the rights women have in Britain and we now have here in the Republic. Since last May, activists in the North say they are seeing a groundswell of support, especially from young people. It is our responsibility now to support wholeheartedly women in the north and those campaigning for reproductive rights to achieve success similar to our own. Throughout the world, we are seeing the backlash against womens reproductive rights intensifying. From the near-total prohibition in Argentina and the very recent ban on abortion in Alabama, to closer to home in Poland, in Croatia, even in Germany, womens rights are being threatened, restricted or denied. Abortion rights protestors in the US As a small country on the edge of a rich, powerful continent, our voice is not loud. However, the referendum result here was a real boost for the morale of pro-choice campaigners throughout the world; and we hope it can be a beacon of light wherever and whenever abortion rights are denied or at risk. It is my hope that the recent global recognition by Time magazine for the Together for Yes campaign victory will help inspire those fighting for reproductive rights worldwide. Last Mays result must be of some value in a world where the forces of misogyny, repression, and intolerance are so darkly omnipresent. Where abortion is concerned, Ireland has moved from virtually total prohibition to a relatively pro-choice position although, it must be acknowledged that the shift took all of 35 hard, bleak years. Nonetheless, the referendum result marked a resounding defeat for misogyny and extreme right-wing forces. While I sometimes struggle still to believe the events of last May ever really happened, I am immensely proud of what we achieved, together. Ailbhe Smyth is a former co-director of Together for Yes. After its poor showing in the recent elections, Sinn Fein faces a tough task to make up ground before the next general election, writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell. Last Sunday night, a weary-looking Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald arrived at the count centre at the RDS in Dublin and faced the music. The normally assured and poised leader appeared shaken and unsteady as she addressed a large media gaggle over the mauling her party got from the electorate two days before. As she spoke, she held and squeezed a ball of bluetak or perhaps chewing gum, rolling it constantly in her fingers, an outward sign of the whallop she had taken. Her voice wavering ever so slightly as she spoke. She said her party must take stock of what happened and have the humility to acknowledge if mistakes were made, but insisted her leadership is not under threat. No, I dont believe so, Ms McDonald said when asked. I believe when you take on to lead an organisation such as ours were a big organisation, were a national organisation. "You have to steel yourself for the days that things dont go your way and that really is a more direct test of a leader. The next day it was confirmed that MEP Lynn Boylan, the 2014 poll-topper in Dublin, had lost her seat and Liadh Ni Riada was in trouble in Ireland South. Defending the decision to call for a full recount in South, Sinn Feins director of elections Jonathan OBrien said he estimated only 2% of all the total ballots had been checked. He added the only way of knowing for certain whether the outcome would change was by the recount being conducted. At council level, the partys vote halved in percentage terms in key urban areas in Dublin and Cork and it lost 78 seats, dropping from 159 to just 81. Having surged so far ahead five years ago, the party is truly shaken by its first serious reversal since it took its first Dail seat in the modern age in 1997. The movement has had wobbles, like when McDonald herself lost her MEP seat in 2009, but this election was a major rejection of its overtly aggressive politics of protest. Some of the partys former members and its most loyal supporters gave their views on where it all went wrong when canvassed over the past week. It was a shock, we didnt see it coming, this was not coming up on the doors, said Dublin Fingal TD and health spokeswoman Louise OReilly. Nobody thought it was going to be this bad. Had we picked it up on the doors, we would have changed direction or tone. But it was a disaster, said one TD. We have rushed headlong into the centre under Mary Lou that we have abandoned our old clothes in a manner many of us were not comfortable with. Now we are stuck in a position where our core vote did not turn out and the middle classes still dont trust us. Many were reluctant to speak on the record. But Eoin OBroin, speaking on RTE yesterday conceded that perhaps the partys messaging was overly negative and it needed to moderate it. We need to have a very quick but very honest review of what happened, he said. We are going to have to make changes in how the party does its business, how we communicate, how we campaign, how we work in the Oireachtas. "One of the things we were hearing on some of the doors was criticism that we are a bit too negative as a party. The people we are trying to represent want to hear constructive solutions. Between now and a general election, our target voters will want to hear is how we are going to do things differently, he said. Waterford TD David Cullinane concurred with OBroins assessment but expanded on it. He cited three main factors as to why his partys vote collapsed low turnout, boundary changes which affected the party, and the partys overly negative tone. Low turnout, the boundary issues and Sinn Fein not articulating our positive vision are all issues we have heard from Sinn Fein people over the last number of days. "We are hurting because we lost a lot of good councillors and one MEP at least in Lynn Boylan. We have to listen, we have to learn, he said. However, others canvassed were more direct. We made a mess of it, said one TD. We were well marshalled in 2014 and we focused on the water charges issue which the people connected with across the board. "But this time, we were too aggressive on issues that didnt land as well. They saw us as the angry mob with no solutions, rather than the party of answers. But several people at Oireachtas and council level sought to criticise the over-exposure of the likes of Cullinane and OReilly on the national airwaves as a problem. People are fed up listening to them lecturing. We have to moderate our tone but also spread out more who the party is putting on radio and TV, said one TD. However, senior party figures point out to a deficit of Oireachtas members who are able to hold their own on radio or TV panel shows and hence Cullinane and OReilly are frequently put forward. Exceptionally low voter turn out in many urban areas across the country had a devastating impact in Sinn Fein but also some of the other hard left parties like Solidarity/People Before Profit. For example, in South Dublin County Council areas, the Sinn Fein vote was down 12.5%, down 12.2% in Dublin City, and 9.3% in Cork City. In all areas, overall turnout was well down on 2014 and ran at below 50%. Put simply, the Sinn Fein voters of 2014 stayed at home or they voted for other parties and independents. Unlikely to vote for Fine Gael, Fianna Fail or Labour, this time they did not feel it worthwhile to even vote for Sinn Fein. They dont see the point in engaging, that is the challenge we have to address, said OBroin. The big fear, especially for many of Sinn Feins 23 TDs is that were a general election to be called this year, half of them would lose their seats. One angry TD said: We have an identity crisis and people will not vote for a party which is unclear in its policies. We could fall to 12 or 13 TDs the way things are. It is that bad and we do not have a lot of time to put it right. That prediction of seat losses was shared by a number of TDs contacted by the Irish Examiner. So McDonald and her bruised colleagues have a big call to make. Continue on the politics or protest and see themselves pushed back to the margins, or genuinely seek to play a constructive role in Government. The big risk there is that the middle classes, still highly suspicious of Sinn Fein, will not reward them for doing so. The party is genuinely caught in a catch-22 scenario and there is no obvious way out. OK, maybe the Green wave ended up lapping gently against the shore and didnt sweep away all before it. I must admit to having a grudging respect for the first places to buck the green trend. You know those local election areas that just elected Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors with such a two fingers to the environment, you had to laugh. Youd wonder why they bothered opening up the ballot boxes at all. Theyd just know from the weight of the box. There wouldnt be much into the kombucha around here now. There might be the odd tinfoil-hat looper who thinks the place is being run by George Soros. But equally there wouldnt be much call for the likes of George Soros around here. Shur even the post office closed. Regardless of the final vote tally, this time it feels different. Its not just about recycling the newspapers and putting plastic in the new bins in Lidl. Its not like the ozone layer hole. Do you remember that? Oh for life to be so simple again. Dont throw your fridge over a ditch, check your Silvikrin to make sure it doesnt have CFCs and bingo, the hole closes up like something being fixed at the end of Captain Planet. That was how we viewed bad things happening to the environment before. Identifiable villains like Duke Nukem pouring sludge into a rainforest? Get the Planeteers with their magic rings. But now it turns out were the bad guy? Not just us as individuals, but the systems we vote for and live in. Our throwaway culture, our insistence on new stuff, our pensions which have to grow at 2% every year just to keep us in cords and cardigans and pay for our thyroid and diabetes tablets and nursing homes when were old, our, our it kind of looks like every single thing we do is just a big pile of stink. So everything has to change. We live on a planet of finite size. Its not getting any bigger. If we grow at 2% ever year that means doubling every 36 years. Where do you get the extra from? Its not from converting the attic. OK, so we have to change everything. Im up for that. I can definitely consume less clothes. Im a 41-year-old male with poor body image. Excluding underpants, I reckon I probably only need four more items of clothing until my dotage and then I start going to M&S for the cardies and cords. I LOVE the possibility of a sort of austerity of STUFF. Im also heading for peak Dad, so over-elaborate thrift and notions about value for money are just around the corner. But what happens if we all turn into thrifts? Doesnt our current economy depend on us having no sense whatsoever? Like, if big things need to change, Im here for it. I just wonder what it is? Is it completely revolutionary? Is it mainly about consumption? Most of the worst pointless consumption appears to be in the last few decades. So we should try and go back to the 90s? In theory this shouldnt be too hard anyway since half our GDP seems to be based on nostalgia. So fewer flights, fewer stupid takeaway hot drinks, fewer stupid plastic-wrapped salads, fewer toys, fewer charity fundraising treks to Macchu Piccu, fewer individually wrapped wedding favours, more chicken and less steak at gala balls. Paying more for everything that we consume so that we end up spending more time just plain bored. And possibly a little less full. Im genuinely interested what will the future look like when we stop growing and consuming as much? Will we be poorer but happier, or thinking weve been transported back to Italia 90 without Big Jack? Will we be nostalgic for now or mad we didnt start sooner? When a Pulitzer prizewinning biographer produces evidence that one of the most admired men in history colluded in and even applauded a rape, its to be expected that the story will land on the front page of a major mainstream newspaper and create an international firestorm. The strange thing is that when Professor David Garrow wrote a big read accusing Martin Luther King of what would today be called sexual misconduct, neither happened. No major mainstream media outlets fought to publish his findings, which are based on summaries of tape recordings made in hotels and other locations in the early 60s by the FBI. What actually happened, and how the world has reacted to the information, is as puzzling as it is fascinating. According to Garrow, who published a major biography of Martin Luther King Jr in 1986, FBI files show their agents audio recorded King with another clergyman who has since died, in a room with women who attended their church, one of whom objected to the dirty talk going on. At which point the second clergymen attacked and raped her while King looked on, laughed, and offered advice. This anecdote comes into the public domain at a time when abusive sexual behaviour has changed attitudes and destroyed careers and also at a time when the statues of historic figures like Robert E Lee are being removed from public spaces because the gallantry they represent is considered, contemporaneously, to be outweighed by what they fought for the continued subjugation of African American slaves. Yet nobody has called for the public holiday named after Martin Luther King to be chopped from the calendar, or any of the myriad of roads named after him to be renamed. In the light of the lack of reaction when it eventually was published, it may be worthwhile to backtrack a little. The piece was rejected for publication by several big US newspapers. It was eventually purchased by The Guardian, which then decided against publication. Some of the sparse commentary since they decided not to publish has wondered at the decision, interpreting the paper as being cowardly in the face of potential hostile reaction. However, anyone who reads the 8,000-word essay eventually published by online magazine Standpoint might counter-suggest that one of the reasons behind The Guardian decision may have been that, having bought it because it contained a few hand-over-mouth revelations, they may then have found it impossible to edit into any kind of coherence because of its endless digressions into changes in US law since the recordings were made and into the fates of obscure FBI informants. In its entirety, the essay comes close to Gertrude Steins famous comment that when you get there, theres no there there. The rape is horrific. But the account of it is as padded as an immersion tank in a green home. Any good mainstream outlet has its expensive no-shows: work by a trusted writer that, when filed, just doesnt fit the bill. The writer gets paid something and the piece is spiked. The Guardian havent said why they decided not to publish, but its fair to speculate that, quite apart from its padded irrelevancies, the first worry they may have had was that, without hearing the recordings, they were relying on a man who also doesnt seem to have listened to them. So, in sequence, they would be hanging their reputation on summaries written by agents for an organisation generally viewed as having declared a fatwa on the civil rights leader during his short public life. In addition, if they published, their story would depend on dead men who themselves colluded in the alleged rape by not intervening when they could hear what was going on. However, other stories which first saw the light on limited-readership websites have created a global stir, which this one assuredly did not. But then, King was not the personification of a power bloc within American politics or industry. Harvey Weinstein and several others highlighted by the #MeToo movement were precisely that. Each of those guys started powerful and worked up to omnipotent. Even Bill Cosby had reached a point of wealth and it seemed benign power. As a massive financial contributor to academic institutions, he attained mythic status and his tearing down, accordingly, delivered a purgative satisfaction that went beyond the man himself. Cosby and King have something else in common. Their sexual exploitativeness was contemporaneously known but overlooked. The man who a decade ago wrote what at the time looked like the definitive biography of the actor/comedian has confessed that he knew about Cosbys transgressions but confined himself, in the book, to a brief reference to presumed infidelities forgiven by Cosbys wife. Similarly, earlier books, like Hellhound on his Trail, published in 2010, established that Martin Luther King was a womaniser and a binge drinker. But being known as a womaniser and a binge drinker does not quite explain the lack of outrage when it is suggested the preacher was complicit in a rape and himself violent with women, as Garrow proposes. Perhaps that lack of outrage has its roots in fear of being called racist. The racial issue matters, too, because Kings victims were black unknowns, whereas the women taking cases against Weinstein in the US and Philip Green in the UK were in the main if not exclusively white and, just as important, were known. Not all of them are household name famous, although some of those who ended up in anonymity and in jobs other than acting would claim it was Weinsteins predation that curtailed their climb to the top in showbusiness. But enough of them were familiar faces to create a new understanding of this kind of behaviour; even the beautiful, the talented, the ambitious, experience workplace groping the rest of us assumed was the prerogative only of the forgotten anonymous. The sheer scale of the deification of Martin Luther King also mitigates against discussion. Every second city in the United States has a road named after the civil rights leader. Every emerging black leader is compared to him. His rhetoric is definitive. No other African American figure has achieved that permanent presence in the lives of so many Americans. In fact, many of the 20th and 21st century African American figures have faded into a puzzling obscurity. But and this may be important perhaps, also, readers of the expose have come to the nuanced view of King he would himself hold. There is a schizophrenia, as the psychologists or psychiatrists would call it, going on within all of us. There are times that all of us know somewhere that there is a Mr Hyde and a Doctor Jekyll in all of us, he observed in a sermon preached in 1968. God does not judge us by the separate incidents or the separate mistakes we make, but by the total bent of our lives. Let us this week spare a weepy thought for Jean-Claude Juncker, who in November concludes his five-year term as president of the European Commission. Ruminating on the trials he has endured on behalf of Europe, he observes that unlike the many heads of national governments he has to meet, he has not had an impressive official residence. Even Natos secretary-general has one of those in Brussels, he laments. Homeless families across Europe will feel his pain, forced as he has been to live in a 3,250-a-month apartment. And, of course, running the European Commission entails essential worldwide travel, but again, unlike other heads of state and governments he has not had an official EU presidential aircraft. The president of the United States has one, he notes. Our government has its jet, Frances president has one, and Britains prime ministers flies Royal Air Force. The EU president must use commercial flights or air taxis at up to 36,000 a trip. But with the rough comes the smooth: the EC president pockets an annual compensation package comprising salary, and money for accommodation and travel worth 369,600, and in Junckers case there might be a reward in the form of a pension as former prime minister of the tax haven also known as Luxembourg. Perhaps during his remaining months, well hear more from him about the EUs achievements and challenges and less about the trappings of office. Business US, China Must Work Together: Singapore PM Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivers a Keynote speech on the opening night of the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue, May 31, 2019. / IISS YangonSingapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong cut a middle path through the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China on Friday at the Shangri-La DialogueAsias biggest security conference, held annually in Singapore and attended by representatives from more than 40 countries, including China and the U.S. Here are the main takeaways from the conference. Lee said that when the lines start to get drawn, everybody asked, are you my friend or not my friend? And that makes it difficult. He called on both China and the U.S. to accept and adapt to a rising China. Chinas growth has shifted the strategic balance and the economic center of gravity of the world, and the shift continues, he said. It is natural that the two powers will vie for power and influence, but competition should not inevitably lead to conflict. We hope the U.S. and China find a constructive way forward, competing certainly, but at the same time cooperating on major issues of mutual interest. Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe, the highest-ranking Chinese official to attend the conference in eight years, said that China hold[s] different views with the U.S. on several issues, and firmly opposes its wrong words and actions concerning Taiwan and the South China Sea. China has never provoked a war or conflict, taken land or invaded another country, he added. China has never preyed on others. We shall not let others prey on or divide us either. U.S. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan called the U.S. a Pacific nation. We are a resident power, with deep economic, cultural and personal connections that inextricably link us with the growth and vitality of the worlds most dynamic region, he said. Shanahan didnt name China explicitly in his remarks but made his target clear by referencing Beijings campaign to put advanced weapons systems on disputed islands in the region. Perhaps the greatest long-term threat to the vital interests of states across this region comes from actors who seek to undermine, rather than uphold, the rules-based international order, he said. If these trends in these behaviors continue, artificial features in the global commons could become tollbooths. Sovereignty could become the purview of the powerful, he added. Americas annual two-way trade here is US$2.3 trillion [3,508 trillion kyats], and U.S. foreign direct investment is $1.3 trillionmore than Chinas, Japans and South Koreas combined, he said. Gen. Wei Fenghe told delegates Beijing would not yield an inch of territory, and any foreign interference was doomed to failure. He specifically called out the U.S. and its Taiwan Relations Act, the 1979 law which permits Washington to provide defense weapons to the Taipei government and help defend the island from invasion. Wei defended Chinas detention of hundreds of thousands of Uighurs in Xinjiang province on economic and security grounds. The policy of China in Xinjiang is absolutely right, because over the past more-than-two years there [hasnt been a] single terrorist attack in Xinjiang. The living standard of the local people has improved, he said. Lee struck a more moderate tone. The U.S., being the preeminent power, has the most difficult adjustment to make. But however difficult the task, it is well worth the U.S. forging a new understanding that will integrate Chinas aspirations within the current system of rules and norms, he said. The bottom line is that the U.S. and China need to work together, and with other countries too, to bring the global system up to date, and to not upend the system. To succeed in this, each must understand the others point of view and reconcile each others interests. The only question is: was anyone from the U.S. or China listening? You may also like these stories: Digging Deep: Singapore Plans an Underground Future As Singapore Enters Twilight of Lee Era, Ruling Party Prepares for Change Making Myanmars Last Royal Capital an ASEAN Smart City From the Archive We Have Always Supported the Democratic Process Aung San Suu Kyi receives a posthumous gift from former Czech deputy prime minister Karel Schwarzenberg during a meeting in Naypyidaw, July 17, 2012. / The Irrawaddy Working closely with the late president Vaclav Havel, former Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg championed democracy movements, including the one led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, during his time in office. To mark the State Counselors visit to Prague this week, The Irrawaddy revisits this interview with Schwarzenberg, which was first published in March 2014. PRAGUE Karel Schwarzenberg, a former deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs for the Czech Republic, has long supported Burmas pro-democracy movement, together with his former President Vaclav Havel, who was the first to nominate opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for a Nobel Peace Prize. Schwarzenberg, a candidate for the presidency in 2013, spoke recently to Kyaw Zwa Moe, editor of The Irrawaddy magazines English edition, at his office in Prague. He shared his views on Burmas reform and explained the Czech Republics dedicated support to the countrys democracy process. When you met with Burmas President U Thein Sein and Lower House Speaker U Shwe Mann in Naypyidaw in 2012, what kind of promises did you hear from them, regarding the countrys reform process? They spoke quite openly, saying they needed to start with rule of law and democracy, and they have been partially successful in this, but not fully. Of course, the main problem seems to be that these things are impossible as long as you have wars with ethnic armed groups and conflicts between Muslims and Buddhists, as is the case in the western part of the country. Its important to end all this fighting in different states. Its impossible to have it [rule of law and democracy] as long as soldiers and armed conflicts dominate. In the two years since you visited, have you seen any political progress in Burma? Last year you said the reform process was moving slower than expected. Whats your assessment now? The reform is rather slow. They are making some progress, but its too little. Ahead of Burmas 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders are trying to get the 2008 undemocratic Constitution amended. Do you think it will likely be changed? Its necessary to change the Constitution and to remove privileges for the armed forces, which are really extraordinary. But its clear to me that it will be very difficult as long as there are existing armed conflicts in Burma. Of course there is always a danger that some people are interested in prolonging armed conflicts, which justify the strong presence of the army and the special privileges granted in the present Constitution. What role did the armed forces play in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution in 1989? Not a special role. There were civil commands, and ministers were not members of the armed forces. Ministers of defense have not been members of the armed forces since the 1970s. There were only two exceptions. Normally our defense ministers are civilians. And we dont have such a big armed force because we are not facing any armed conflicts at the moment. Our armed forces are perfectly integrated into the democratic state. Aung San Suu Kyi contested the by-elections in 2012 and became a parliamentarian. It is believed that her mission is to collaborate with the government and military. Is she on the right track? She has to cooperate with them. Otherwise, things could turn again in the wrong direction. I think we need to see the military slowly give up its special privileges, which again is always difficult as long as you have armed conflicts. The European Union has offered a lot of support to Burma, including by supporting the governments peace process. What kind of policy should the European Union take against the Burmese government if they dont keep their promises for the reform process? Well, first of all, the European Union has problems which are more urgent than the situation in Burma. Thats why we have to have a good relationship with Burma, for economic and security reasons. Burma is an important country and has economic potential. Of course, the EU would prefer democracy and rule of law in Burma. But they know, anyway, that they have much less influence than big powers that are neighbors of Burma. Burma is not so much economically dependent on the European Union. That means, compared with China, India and then the United States, the EU has less influence. Currently, in which areas and sectors does the Czech Republic support Burma? Thanks to our former President Vaclav Havel, we have supported Aung San Suu Kyi. As you know, it was Havel who nominated her for the Nobel Peace Prize. We have always supported the democratic process in Burma. Its quite clear we are still trying to help. Thats our position. Vaclav Havel and the Czech Republic, as you said, have been quite supportive of Burmas pro-democracy process, perhaps more so than other countries. Why is that? Haval was convinced that when we achieved a free and democratic country at the end of 1989, it was our duty to help other nations which didnt yet have that privilege. It was our duty, for the other people who were still under dictatorial regimes. That was a conviction of Vaclav Havel, and its my conviction, too. You were in exile for more than 40 years. Burma also has a large diaspora community across the world. What kind of experiences or message do you want to share with them? Never give up. I was outside for 41 years. All that time, I always hoped to get back and was always very interested in what was happening in the country. You never should give up the fight for democracy and freedom. In 2015, we will have general elections. The past general elections in 2010 were rigged and the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) won by landslide. Whats your take on the upcoming elections? I think it will be better than the last time. It probably wont be perfect yetthat would be a miracle. In the past, Czechoslovakia and socialist Burma had a business relationship. Do you think the Czech Republic should start doing businesses now in Burma, like some other foreign countries have? Of course. Ive always said they [Czech businesses] should urgently compete in Burma. I know Chinese [businesses] have a very strong position in Burma. Also, Japanese and other European countries are in strong positions. We were there in the 70s. But I still think its worth fighting for. So they [Czech businesses] should be there today. The Czech Republic has started establishing its diplomatic mission in Rangoon. What should be at the top of the agenda for the Czech government and its mission? To travel more around the country so they can know the whole country, not only Rangoon and the capital [Naypyidaw]. They also can and should encourage Czech businessmen, entrepreneurs and industries to enter Burma and see their opportunities to invest there. Because Burma, if it is wisely ruled, has a great future. Aung San Suu Kyi has publicly said she wants to be president in 2015. Can you comment on that? She is the best candidate and hopefully she will make it. Fingers crossed for her. From the Archive Tell the World the Truth Minn Latt Yekhaun photographed in Czechoslavakia. / Burma Center Prague / Dagmar Beckova As a linguistic scholar and political activist based in Prague in the 1950s and 60s, Minn Latt Yekhaun called into question existing ideas about the way his native language was taught, while challenging the authoritarian rulers of his homeland. Along the way he established relationships that continue to shape Myanmar-Czech ties to this day. To mark State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis official visit to Prague this week, we revisit this profile of Minn Latt Yekhaun first published in the September 2010 issue of The Irrawaddy magazine. Minn Latt Yekhaun was one of the first three Burmese students to study in Prague during the 1950s. Despite his tragic death more than 20 years ago, his influence on Burmese-Czech relations remains to this day In 1966, Burmese intellectual Minn Latt Yekhaun was sitting in Tatran, his favorite Wenceslav Square cafe in Prague, Czechoslovakia, when a convoy passed by escorting Gen Ne Win, the authoritarian ruler of Burma who had taken power four years earlier in a military coup. Minn Latt immediately left the cafe and contacted his friend and colleague, Dr. Dagmar Beckova, and made a dangerous request. A few days later, during a reception in honor of Ne Win, Beckova and several other friends of Minn Latt approached a member of the generals entourage and handed him a parcel. Inside the package was a letter addressed to Ne Win that said simply: Tell the world the truth about Burma. Minn Latt knew he was taking a big risk by confronting Ne WinBurmese studying overseas who became political were normally required to return home, and the junta would certainly not have given Minn Latt a warm welcome back in Burma. Minn Latt could not have known at the time, however, that while his propensity to boldly speak truth to power would ultimately lead to his tragic death, it would not come at the hands of Ne Win, but from guns fired by his own Communist comrades in the jungles of northern Burma. Minn Latt was a Burmese linguist, historian and writer who studied at the prestigious St. Pauls Grammar School in Rangoon. Born in 1925, he joined the Burmese resistance against the Japanese during World War II in the Pegu region of Lower Burma. After the war, he became a member of the White Flag faction of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) and went underground in 1948, shortly after Burma regained its independence from Britain. When Minn Latt arrived in Prague in 1950, he was one of the first three Burmese students ever to come to the Czech capital. He studied English and history at the Faculty of Philology of Charles University, and his Burma in English Letters became an introduction to Burmese studies in Prague. In 1955, Minn Latt began teaching Burmese at the Prague Language School. He also published The Prague Method Burmese Reader with Burmese-English and English-Burmese Alphabetical Vocabularies, which gave Czech students their first chance to study the modern Burmese language. In addition, Minn Latt became a researcher at the Oriental Institute of the Czechoslovak Academy of Science in Prague and a lecturer at the Faculty of Philosophy at Charles University, positions he held until he left Prague in 1967. Minn Latts contribution to Czech-Burmese relations is significant. His book Burma the Crossroads of Asia, published in Prague in 1958, was the first introduction to the history, politics and economics of Burma for the Czech public, Beckova wrote in Focus on Burma, a 2008 publication by Burma Center Prague, a non-profit NGO run by Burmese living in the Czech Republic and supporters of Burma. Minn Latts greatest research milestone, according to Beckova, was his book Modernization of Burmese, in which he performed a deep analysis of the Burmese language and its modern usage and offered his own proposal for further development of the language. Not only was Modernization of Burmese significant in terms of its academic impact, the book also demonstrated once again Minn Latts willingness to openly challenge those in power, this time in the form of the academic establishment who resisted the use of anything other than classical Burmese. In addition to being an academic and activist, Minn Latt was also an active writer whose short stories and poems were published in Burma under the name Yekhaun. And during the period that Minn Latt was in Prague, a young Czech by the name of Vaclav Havel was also making a name for himself by writing plays that spoke truth to authoritarian power. The two contemporary author activists shared the ability to stand up and risk their lives in opposition to government oppression. Havel went on to lead the 1989 Velvet Revolutionwhen Communism fell peacefully in Czechoslovakiaand became the countrys first president. His personal motto was certainly one that Minn Latt would have appreciated: Truth and love must prevail over lies and hate. Despite Minn Latts academic accomplishments in Czechoslovakia, his native land remained close to his heart. Minn Latt closely followed political events in Burma, and kept in touch with his CPB comrades who were operating both on the Sino-Burmese border and in the Pegu Yoma mountains in central Burma where the CPB had established its headquarters. By the late 1960s, the CPB also began to penetrate the Wa Hills in northern Burma. The CPB received military support from Beijing and in 1967, inspired by the Cultural Revolution in China, the Burmese Communists launched their own semi-cultural revolution that included purges and gruesome killings of intellectuals, including CPB members own relatives. In reaction to the purge, anti-Chinese riots broke out in Rangoon. Diplomatic ties soured between China and Burma and Beijing officially cut aid to Burma and recalled its students. Radio Beijing blasted Ne Wins government, calling it fascist, counter-revolutionary and reactionary. Also in 1967, the year before the Prague Spring reformists were crushed by the Warsaw Pact invasion, Minn Latt decided to leave Czechoslovakia for China. He arrived in Beijing and remained there until 1969, studying the Shan language. He then went to Shan State, Burma, where he took up residence on the Sino-Burmese border, rejoined his CPB comrades and studied Wa and Shan. According to former CPB members, his work included transcribing Wa into Latin script. Minn Latt, however, was a man who understood that speaking truth to power does not only mean confronting those one opposes, but also the powerful within ones own camp. He courted trouble with the CPB by submitting critical reports to politburo leaders, and although the contents of his reports remain unclear, what is known is that they didnt please party leaders. In the late 1970s, Minn Latt was detained by the CPB in the northeastern region of Shan State and kept together with Burmese prisoners of war. The scholar spent his time with 15 Burmese soldiers, including an officer, who were captured in battle. According to former CPB members, when the soldiers planned an escape in [1985], Minn Latt decided to join them. The CPB learned of the break-out, however, and its troops chased down Minn Latt and the Burmese soldiers, opened fire and killed them all. Former Communists are reluctant to talk about Minn Latts final episode, and it is not known whether the CPB headquarters gave a shoot-to-kill order or troops acted on their own. Despite his tragic demise in a remote jungle, Minn Latts inspirational and intellectual influence on Burma and its relationship with the current Czech Republic remain to this day. Modernization of Burmese, along with Minn Latts other works, became a great inspiration and support to modern Burmese scholars, writers and journalists in their fight against traditionally conservative scholars who considered the classical Burmese language the only suitable means of expression for writing serious texts, said Beckova. She said the younger generation of Burmese authors began to use modern language not only in literature but in other texts as well, demonstrating that the modern method of expression makes the language clearer and more comprehensible. This has carried over until the present, with more and more articles and studies in Burmese newspapers, magazines and books being written in the modern language. In addition, due certainly in part to Minn Latts trailblazing efforts during his time in Prague in the 1950s and 60s, Havel and the current Czech Republic have become prominent supporters of the Burmese opposition and its struggle for democracy and human rights. In April, the Czech Republic became the third country to back the recommendation made by the UN human rights special rapporteur on Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, that the UN Security Council examine setting up a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. In a statement sent to The Irrawaddy, the Czech foreign ministry also said that the Czech Republic remains concerned at continuous grave human rights violations in Burma/Myanmar and questioned the efficacy of the regimes road map to democracy. Although this show of Czech support comes more than 40 years after Minn Latt left Czechoslovakia and more than 20 years after his death in the jungles of northern Burma, Minn Latt and the others like him who traveled overseas and demonstrated a willingness to stand up to the successive Burmese regimes were the ones who laid the foundation for future generations of activists and built the bridges that led to support from foreign nations. Like many Burmese and Czech activists, Minn Latt did not see the results he wanted in his lifetime. But the current democratic state of the Czech Republic is proof that a seemingly hopeless oppression can be reversed if the opposition perseveres. If the Burmese people are one day able to overcome their persecutors the way the Czechs did, then the two countries will share the further bond of two nations that were able to throw off the chains of totalitarian oppression to become free and democratic states. Minn Latt will have been one of the forefathers of that bond, and if he were alive today, he would most likely deliver the same message to junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe that he previously delivered to Ne Win: Tell the world the truth about Burma. Asia Thirty Years After Tiananmen, Protesters' Goals Further Away Than Ever People take pictures of paramilitary officers marching in formation in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China on May 16, 2019. / Reuters BEIJINGThree decades after Chinas bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijings Tiananmen Square, increased government suppression of rights activism has pushed the demonstrators original goals further away than ever. In April 1989, weeks before Chinese leaders ordered a military assault to clear the protesters from central Beijing, tens of thousands of students got behind seven key demandsincluding a free press and freedom of speech, disclosure of leaders assets and freedom to demonstrate. With the demands embodied in a 10-metre (33-ft) high Goddess of Democracy sculpture modelled on the Statue of Liberty and printed on thousands of leaflets, the students defied Beijings declaration of martial law in calling for reforms to a government rife with corruption and a country shaken by growing inequality. But rights advocates say the ruling Communist Party, which on Tuesday faces the highly sensitive June 4 anniversary of Chinese troops opening fire on their own people, has in the past 10 years suppressed a civil society nurtured by years of economic development. It is much, much worse than 1989, Shao Jiang, one of the student leaders instrumental in crafting the list of demands, told Reuters from London, where he lives in exile. The Chinese government has turned China into a big prison, Shao said, referring to the internment of a million or more minority Muslims in its Western Xinjiang region, and the governments extensive stability maintenance measures to monitor dissidents. China describes the camps as vocational training centers and has justified martial law-like conditions, with mass surveillance, police patrols and DNA collection, in the name of counterterrorism. Despite a constitution that promises freedom of speech, religion and assembly, large-scale political protests like those seen in 1989 are almost unthinkable in todays China, where even small demonstrations can be quickly snuffed out by police with sophisticated digital surveillance. But those who practice more politically anodyne forms of advocacy have also run afoul of authorities. Patrick Poon, who researches China at Amnesty International, said only very brave, diehard advocates would raise systemic questions about governance. It is activism itself that has become the target, he said. Last year, authorities moved to contain a fledgling #MeToo movement on Chinese campuses, cancelling marches and censoring online posts supporting the womens rights cause, and detained Marxist activists from some of the top universities who supported workers in the southern city of Shenzhen seeking to form an independent union. Some of the student activists are still missing. A foreign non-government organization law adopted in 2016 has put restrictions on hundreds of groups in China, forcing some to suspend operations, cancel events and forego partnerships. One foreign environmental researcher who asked to not be named told Reuters that her charity was unable to give away funds for the conservation of endangered species in China because Chinese sponsors shunned the group under the law. Rights awareness rising International rights campaigners say President Xi Jinping, who took power in 2012, has accelerated efforts by the party to insulate itself from the political demands of an increasingly educated, wealthy and rights-aware population. Rights awareness was rising. Civil society had been empowered, and the party saw this as a fundamental threat to its rule and it started to tighten up, Yaqiu Wang, China researcher at Human Rights Watch, said of Chinas renewed crackdown on lawyers and activists since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The values those (Tiananmen) protesters aspired to are further away than ever. The anniversary remains taboo in China and will not be marked by the government. On Thursday, Chinas Defense Ministry took exception to the use of the word suppression to refer to how the military put down the protests, and said China had made great strides. In the last 30 years, the course of Chinas reforms, development and stability, the successes we have achieved have already answered this question, spokesman Wu Qian told reporters, when asked for his assessment of the anniversary. Economic freedom? China has never provided a death toll of the 1989 violence, but rights groups and witnesses say it could run into the thousands. In the intervening years, China has joined the World Trade Organization and become the worlds second-largest economy, lifting millions of people out of poverty. From that day on they said, okay, were going to give you economic freedom. In exchange you give us your submission, Wuer Kaixi, one of the Tiananmen student leaders who now lives in Taiwan, told Reuters. That has meant efforts to stifle challenges to the party, including the jailing of dozens of rights lawyers and activists under Xis administration. Ahead of the anniversary, censors at Chinese internet companies say tools to detect and block content related to the 1989 crackdown have reached unprecedented levels of accuracy, aided by machine learning and voice and image recognition. The party has also tightened its grip over academic freedom on university campuses. Xi has acknowledged that rampant graft and scandals over officials extravagant lifestyles risked the partys legitimacy. But in 2014, as he escalated a sweeping anti-corruption campaign, China handed out multi-year prison sentences to numerous activists who had pushed for government officials to reveal their assets, one of the Tiananmen protesters demands. The party, which does not have an independent anti-corruption body, still insists that it can police itself. Xi in 2018 cemented his status as Chinas most powerful leader since Mao Zedong by removing presidential term limits from the constitution, allowing him to remain in office indefinitely. Shao, the London-based Tiananmen activist, said the world failed to hold China to account ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which symbolized the countrys arrival on the world stage. Chinese leaders have been emboldened by Chinas economic might, and many of the worlds top companies and politicians feel it is too strong to rebuke, said Shao, who was arrested briefly in 2015 by London police for protesting against a visit by Xi. Now, democracy is not only facing problems in China, he said. Democracy cannot survive if China is the global power. You may also like these stories: China Ready to Hit Back at US with Rare Earths: Ruling Party Newspaper China, US Have Wisdom to Resolve Trade Dispute, Says Beijings Top Diplomat China Official Says West Using Christianity to Subvert Power Burma Five Civilians Killed by Artillery Shelling in N. Rakhine Wounded civilians from Sa Par Htar village are taken to Minbya Hospital on Monday afternoon. / Nyi Nyi Aung / Facebook YANGONAt least five civilians from northern Rakhine States rural Minbya area were killed Monday when artillery landed near a monastery sheltering more than a hundred villagers, as ongoing fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA) intensified in the forested mountains along the Laymyo River, locals say. Social activist Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, from Minbya Township, told The Irrawaddy that he and a rescue team went to the contested Sa Par Htar village to retrieve the bodies from the monastery but were only able to retrieve two. The two bodies retrieved were transported to Mrauk-U Townships Myaung Bway model village hospital in the afternoon. Because of the chaotic situation, the victims have not yet been identified by relatives. Ko Nyi Nyi said nine villagers were wounded and transported to Minbya General Hospital for medical treatment in the afternoon, a few of them in critical condition. Seven of the injured were woman, while the other two consisted of a novice monk and an elderly man. Ko Nyi Nyi said he heard the artillery fire around 2:30 p.m. on Monday as he and some locals arrived at neighboring Than Shin village. The Irrawaddy has learned that, at that time, there was no fighting in the area, and cannot independently confirm where the artillery fire came from. Soon after the artillery shelling, we were told some villagers had been killed on the spot [in the monastery), Ko Nyi Nyi Aung said. A few hours later, a local charity group reported that one of seven injured women, Ma San San Win, 14, had died at Minbya General Hospital in the late afternoon and transportation was being arranged to have another three women from Sa Par Htar villageMa Aung Than, Ma Win Kyi and Ma Aye Nandartaken to Sittwe General Hospital. On Sunday, a woman from Myaung Bway village was also struck by a bullet in the back, and another three villagers sustained minor injuries. In a battle update, the AA claimed on its website on Monday to have killed at least 40 Tatmadaw soldiers in Sundays fighting in the villages of Minbyas Shwe Ta Mar and Aung Taing. The website said fighters clashed with Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 417, which is under the control of Light Infantry Division (LID) No. 99, and retrieved the bodies of 10 deceased Myanmar military soldiers and confiscated a number of firearms and ammunition rounds. The AA said the fighting lasted nearly six hours, and acknowledged the loss of three fighters and the injuries of four. It said the Myanmar military reinforced troops with two Navy vessels near Minbya. Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, of the Office of the Commander-in-chief, told The Irrawaddy that he had no information on civilian deaths as of this afternoon. AA officials predict fighting will intensify in the coming days. You may also like these stories: Fresh Clashes Break Out in N. Rakhine 20 Civilians Killed in Clashes Between Army, AA Since January, Govt Says Military Detain Village GAD Official and Local in N. Rakhine At Least 20 Troops Killed in Paletwa Clashes, AA Says Burma Fresh Clashes Break Out in N. Rakhine An AA soldier / Nan Lwin Hnin Pwint / The Irrawaddy SITTWEFierce clashes broke out between the Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, and the Arakan Army (AA) on Sunday afternoon in the mountains along the eastern bank of the Laymyo River, in Rakhine States Minbya Township. Clashes have been taking place in the mountains between Shwe Tamar and Aung Dine Villages and near Myaung Bwe Village since, Shwe Tamar Village administrator U Kyaw Thein said. The clash erupted around 2 p.m. and stopped for a while around 7 p.m. We heard gunshots again around 9 p.m., and we are still hearing gunshots today, U Kyaw Thein told The Irrawaddy on Monday. Shwe Tamar Village has a population of over 800 people in more than 160 houses. Villagers have fled their homes and taken shelter in the Village monastery, according to U Kyaw Thein. A local who spoke on the condition of anonymity said a 40-year-old female villager in Myaung Bwe Village was injured by a bullet and sent to Sittwe Hospital, and that her condition is not yet known. Three locals from nearby Muslim Villages have also sustained gunshot wounds and are receiving treatment at the local hospital in Myaung Bwe, they said. A local woman in Myaung Bwe Village was injured yesterday. She was brought to Sittwe with a serious injury. I saw that a young Muslim man and a mother and her son were receiving treatment at Myaung Bwe hospital, he told The Irrawaddy. Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team confirmed the clashes with the AA. We engaged with them in the east of Myaung Bwe Village, the first time in the afternoon and the second time at night. The other side did not suffer casualties, nor did we, he told The Irrawaddy. We came under mine attack near the Village of Paung Toke. We came not by car, but by foot, and no one was injured. We are carrying out clearance operations, he said. But AA Information Officer Khaing Thuka gave a different account, saying the armed group clashed with Light Infantry Battalion 417 under Division 99 of the Myanmar military. He said the AA attacked military trucks carrying reinforcements from Mrauk-U near Paung Toke Village and was able to stop two of them, injuring over 40 soldiers from the Myanmar military. We clashed with them around 2 p.m. yesterday. It stopped only because the night came. We got 10 bodies and 10 guns from the Bamar army in the clash, and we suffered three casualties and four were injured, he told The Irrawaddy. Minbya Township Police Major Min Soe told The Irrawaddy police could not yet confirm any details of the clash. You may also like these stories: 20 Civilians Killed in Clashes Between Army, AA Since January, Govt Says Military Detain Village GAD Official and Local in N. Rakhine At Least 20 Troops Killed in Paletwa Clashes, AA Says Burma Military Says It Tolerated UWSA Parade for Sake of Peace The UWSA holds a military parade to mark the 30th anniversary of its ceasefire with the government in April 2019. / Myo Min Soe NAYPYITAWThe Myanmar military put up with the United Wa State Army (UWSA)s grand-scale military parade in April for the sake of the peace process, despite the fact that the group acted as if it were a parallel government and parallel army, said military (or Tatmadaw) spokesperson Major-General Soe Naing Oo. The UWSA celebrated the 30th anniversary of its signing of a ceasefire with the government with a military parade on April 17 in Panghsang, showing off some of its military hardware including drones and anti-aircraft missiles. The UWSA held a military parade with weapons. We can see that they acted like a parallel government and parallel army. I would say the Tatmadaw has shown the greatest possible tolerance in that regard, Maj-Gen. Soe Naing Oo told reporters on Friday in Naypyitaw. When asked by The Irrawaddy why the Tatmadaw tolerated it, he responded, The Tatmadaw shows tolerance because it wants peace. Founded on April 17, 1989, the UWSA signed a ceasefire with Myanmars then military governmentthe State Law and Order Restoration Councilin the same year, after splitting from the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). It also founded the United Wa State Party and the Wa State Peoples Government. Since then the UWSA has quietly grown into the largest, best-equipped ethnic armed group in Myanmar with an estimated 30,000 troops and 10,000 auxiliary members, according to Myanmar Peace Monitor. Since the ceasefire deal in 1989, there have been no clashes between the UWSA and the Tatmadaw. The Wa army demands autonomy, like other ethnic armed groups in Myanmar. Myanmars 2008 Constitution acknowledges the Wa areas in Shan State as a self-administered region, covering six townships split between two districts. Although such zones are supposed to be under the control of the central government, the Wa effectively exercise total control over the area with their own government and administration. Wa leader Bao Youxiang repeated the UWSAs demand for autonomy at the anniversary event. State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar Army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing did not attend the celebration despite being invited. Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun of the Tatmadaw True News Information Team said the Army would officially complain through the UWSAs liaison office about the parade. They should not act like a parallel army. A complaint will be made through the liaison office, he told the reporters. Nyi Rang, liaison officer at the UWSAs Lashio Office, said the armed group does not view any group, including the Tatmadaw, as an enemy, and therefore invited all groups to the celebration. There are many armed groups, and it is not that we alone stage military parades; all the others do [as well], he told The Irrawaddy. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), which was formed in 1989 after splitting from the CPB, will also celebrate the 30th anniversary of its signing of a truce on June 30. Whether the Tatmadaw attends would depend on the nature of the invitation, Brig-Gen. Zaw Min Tun said. The NDAA controls Mong La, Nanban and Sele districts, which constitute Shan State Special Region 4, also known as the Mong La Area. The previous military regime acknowledged the presence of the Wa and Mongla, and designated special zones for them, but the emergence of the 2008 Constitution has called their legitimacy into question, said political analyst U Maung Maung Soe. I think [the Tatmadaw is not happy with the UWSAs military parade] because it is concerned with dignity. It violates the [Tatmadaws] policy of a single army, he said. You may also like these stories: State Counselor, Military Chief to Skip Was 30th Anniversary Celebration Blacklisted Arms Expert Continues to Work for Myanmar Military Military Seeks Second Defamation Suit Against Mandalay Monk Military Vows to Remain in Politics as Long as EAOs Exist Burma Mon State Schools to Offer Classes in Mon Language During Regular Hours Mon National Education High School in Arn Din Village in Mon State's Ye Township / Lawi Weng / The Irrawaddy For the first time, students at government schools in Mon State will be allowed to take some classes in the Mon language during regular school hours, according to local sources. The new classes have yet to begin but will be added during the current school term, which began Monday, starting with first-graders. The move has been welcomed by many ethnic Mon. According to a class timetable published by the state government, Mon-language classes will be taught from 1.40 p.m. to 2.20 p.m., five days a week. Ethnic Karen and Pa-O attending government schools in Mon State will also allow be able to attend some classes taught in their own languages. Three days a week, the lessons will be devoted to studying the Mon language; for the other two days students will learn Mon culture and history. This year, the classes will be for Grade 1 only, according to the state government committee tasked with writing the Mon-language curricula. Committee members said the panel has completed draft versions of the curricula for grades 2 and 3, but they are not fully ready to be implemented yet. We have completely finished the Grade 1 curriculum, and finished drafts for grades 2 and 3, said Nai Rot Gakao, a member of the committee. Work on the curricula for more advanced grades is ongoing, he said. Previously, Mon-language instruction was only provided outside of regular school hours, starting at 3.40 p.m. Mon community leaders have long asked the government to offer the classes during school hours, as students interest tends to wane later in the afternoon. Mon leaders welcomed the action from the government, though they had reservations about the conditions under which Mon teachers will be employed. We are happy that our language can now be taught at government schools. But we are not completely satisfied, Nai Rot Gakao said. The government will not pay Mon-language teachers a salary; they will be hired on a daily basis, according to Nai Rot Gakao, who said he wasnt happy about this situation. Our Mon teachers should get equal pay with Burmese teachers, he said, adding that the instructors were university graduates with good teaching skills. Teachers at government schools hired on a daily basis are paid 4,500 kyats a day; they are paid only for the days they work, with nothing extra for weekends. Like other teachers, they are paid at the end of the month, but their pay is lower. Most school administrators cannot read the Mon language; this poses a problem when it comes to managing Mon-language teaching at government schools. According to Nai Rot Gakao, the government needs to appoint ethnic education officers to manage and monitor ethnic education programs. Teachers need training in how to teach this curriculum, as well as in-classroom monitoring, he said. The students will pay less attention if they are not interested in the program, he said. He urged the state government to appoint ethnic language education managers for each of Mon States two districts: Moulmein and Thaton. The ethnic language teaching system needs to be properly managed if it is to work well, Nai Rot Gakao said. Outside of the state-run education system, the Mon National Education Committee (MNEC) operates more than 100 schools that provide instruction in the Mon language. Until now, MNEC, a nonprofit organization, has been the main provider of Mon-language education. MNEC has asked the government to recognize it as an official organization, and to allow it to teach a full curriculum entirely in the mother tongue in Mon State. The organization currently only teaches Mon language as a subject. MNEC has also asked the government to fund its ethnic education activities. You may also like these stories: Election Commission Rejects Name of Proposed Mon Political Party Death of a Politician and Life-Long Fighter of Ethnic Mon Rights Tatmadaw Cracks Down on Posters Celebrating 71st Mon Revolution Day Burma Police to File Charges Against Cement Factory Protesters Police and Aung Thabyay residents seen before the confrontation on May 15, 2019. / Zaw Zaw / The Irrawaddy MANDALAYThe Mandalay Region Police Force will arrest and take action against all those involved in a violent protest on May 15 against the construction of a cement plant project near the village of Aung Thabyay in Patheingyi Township, Mandalay Region, according to region police force chief Police Brig-Gen Sein Lin. Between 50 and 100 [protesters] are involved, the police chief said at a press conference on Sunday. We police are to act in accordance with the law. As the project and the company are legal, the farmers can only oppose the project in line with the law. If they act anarchically and lawlessly, action will be taken against them in line with the law, said Police Brig-Gen Sein Lin. Since 2018, the township general administration, police and the company have opened 12 cases involving 54 individuals, 12 of whom have been arrested. The US$200-million Alpha Cement factory is being implemented by Chinas Myint Investment Co. near Aung Thabyay with the approval of the Myanmar Investment Commission. The project is to be operated on electricity from a coal-fired power plant. The project was approved in 2012 but suspended since then due to opposition from local residents. The Mandalay Region government reviewed the project, and gave the green light to its resumption, saying it is in line with the law. Locals said that they are protesting against the project over environmental and health concerns. Project manager U Win Hlaing suggested that protest was instigated by an individual. We bought the lands from owners in 2014. They accepted [the price we offered] and signed the purchase deals on their own volition. Protestors are not complaining about land [compensation], he said. Since May 14, residents of Aung Thabyay blocked the road leading into the village and staged a sit-in protest, calling for the termination of the project and the release of the detained villagers who were arrested regards to the previous protests against the project. Tensions arose as officials from the township general administration department and security police came and asked the villagers to leave. At around 4.30 a.m. on May 15, 150 police used rubber bullets and tear bombs to disperse the crowd. We didnt want that to happen. We have reported to different levels of authorities about our grievances, and we have had to do this because they didnt care. Some of the villagers were injured in the clash, said Aung Thabyay resident Ma Yin Yin Aung. Police Brig-Gen Sein Lin said the crowd constituted an unlawful assembly. There were people in the crowd who we had to arrest. When we went there to make the arrests, they blocked our way by lighting fires and shooting at us with slingshots. The crowd was out of control and we had to fire warning shots. Rubber bullets only cause injuries in close-range shooting, so no protestor was injured. Even if they were injured, it would be with minor injuries. Following the clash, locals went into the site of the factory and set vehicles on fire. Two vehicles and three motorbikes were burnt with damage caused to some buildings, according to police records. We are only arresting key suspects and those manipulating [the protesters] from behind, said Police Brig-Gen Sein Lin. Over 50 police have been deployed at the site to provide security following the incident. You may also like these stories: Mandalay Police Officer Seriously Injured in Landmine Training Military Seeks Second Defamation Suit Against Mandalay Monk Four More US Citizens Wanted in Connection with Mandalay Marijuana Plantation 17 Injured as Police Break up Protest Against Cement Factory Project in Mandalay Burma USDP Vows to Bring Back Security-Related Laws if Reelected USDP chairperson U Than Htay (second left) and leading party members at an event in Naypyitaw in 2018. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy YANGON The chairperson of the former ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) U Than Htay said his party will restore security-related laws that were abolished by the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) party when they are re-elected, in a video released by his party. At a rally staged by the USDP in Irrawaddy Regions Eimme Township on Saturday, U Than Htay said the NLD revoked laws which are crucial for the countrys security after power was transferred to them in March 2016. With the emotion that they were aggrieved (jailed) because of those laws or other reasons, [the NLD] abolished around five laws, he told the audience. The NLD-dominated Parliament revoked some oppressive laws which were widely used to jail individual political dissidents under the successive military administrations soon after it convened in February 2016. It repealed the 1975 State Protection Law, also known as the Law to Safeguard the State Against the Dangers of Those Desiring to Cause Subversive Acts; the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act; and provisions of the countrys Ward or Village Tract Administration Law which required citizens to report overnight guests to authorities. U Than Htay said during the rally that because of the revocation of the laws, no one has information about how many foreigners are in the country and that local authorities cant conduct inspections to find out that information either. When we come into government, we will inspect those issues immediately, he said. USDP spokesperson U Thein Tun Oo, who was also present at the rally, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that it is necessary, for the sake of the countrys security, to review legislation regarding overnight guest registration and State surveillance. Regarding State surveillance, the NLD-dominated Parliament enacted a new law in March 2017 to protect citizens privacy and freedom from State surveillance and intrusion. The USDP, led by former military generals, was defeated by Daw Aung San Suu Kyis NLD in the 2015 general election with the latter winning a landslide victory. You May Also Like These Stories: USDP and Military Propose 4 New Charter Amendments USDP-Proposed Charter Amendment to be Examined by Panel, Not Parliament USDP Lawmaker Proposes Abolishing Charter Amendment Committee Monday, June 3rd, 2019 (9:04 am) - Score 4,757 In a surprise 11th hour twist the incumbent telecoms and broadband ISP for Hull in East Yorkshire, KCOM, has rejected a 504m cash offer for its business from a subsidiary of pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd (USS) and gone with a 563m takeover bid from Macquarie Infrastructure (MIRA). Under the new proposal KCOM and Macquarie Infrastructure (aka MEIF 6 Fibre) are said to have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of the telecoms operator, which will see MEIF 6 Fibre pay 1.08 in cash for each KCOM share (USS offered 97p). This marks a premium of 49% on the Closing Price of 72.5p for each KCOM Share on 23rd April 2019. The announcement comes shortly after KCOM quietly confirmed the completion of their 85 million Lightstream deployment (here), which has deployed their 1Gbps capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based ultrafast broadband network to cover around 96% of their addressable network area (200,000 premises); the remaining 4% have gained 75Mbps capable Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / VDSL2) technology. Todays announcement also helps to explain why KCOM has so far chosen to hold off on making a bigger and more public announcement about Lightstreams completion, even though it was technically completed around a month ago (a few small patches are still waiting but should be fixed soon). KCOM Statement In light of the superior proposal put forward by MEIF 6 Fibre as compared to the USS Offer, the KCOM Directors, who have been so advised by Rothschild & Co as to the financial terms of the Acquisition, consider the terms of the Acquisition to be fair and reasonable. In providing its advice to the KCOM Directors, Rothschild & Co has taken into account the commercial assessments of the KCOM Directors. Accordingly: The KCOM Directors intend to recommend unanimously that KCOM Shareholders vote in favour of the Scheme at the Court Meeting, and in favour of the General Meeting Resolution to be proposed at the General Meeting; and The KCOM Directors have withdrawn their recommendation of the USS Offer and the KCOM Board proposes to adjourn the USS Scheme Meetings convened for 5 June 2019 to consider the USS Offer. Leigh Harrison, Head of MIRA EMEA, said: We are pleased that the KCOM Board is recommending our takeover offer. KCOM has a strong local heritage that has been developed over more than a century and is well-positioned to continue to meet the evolving telecommunications needs of the region, which is why we have made this compelling offer to shareholders at an attractive premium. As an experienced, long-term telecommunications investor, we are committed to supporting KCOMs sustainable growth. We look forward to partnering with management to increase broadband take-up in its core region and beyond, enhancing the quality of service delivery while giving local businesses and residents greater access to the opportunities that high-speed broadband can provide. Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) is one of the worlds leading alternative asset managers and theyve also invested in Arqiva, which is one of the UKs main wireless infrastructure developers. At the time of writing KCOMs share price has already shot up by around 13% on early trade. The announcement included a rough outline of MIRAs plan for KCOM, which among other things seems to include expanding their fibre network beyond the current footprint and making the network available via more third-party ISPs (theyll need to come up with a better wholesale proposition for that). MIRAs Own Plans MIRAs own plans at this stage do not contemplate significant redundancies in the KCOM Group. However, as a result of the early stage of MIRAs work and KCOMs ongoing strategic review, MIRA has been unable to determine the precise impact on the KCOM Groups headcount going forwards. Nevertheless, MIRA believes that the skills of the employees within the KCOM Group will be key to delivering high quality services to customers, and MIRAs vision for growth. MIRA believes that the expansion of KCOMs existing footprint will increase fibre accessibility to the region and contribute to the ever-growing Northern Powerhouse. Following completion of the Acquisition, MIRA intends to: work with KCOMs management team to review the strategy of the HEY business with the aim of maximising network utilisation and consumer choice. MIRA is intending to work with KCOM to increase the number of households and businesses being served by its best in class network, by both increasing the number of customers buying KCOMs own retail offerings, and by increasing the amount of business with third party Internet Services Providers; work with KCOMs management to establish opportunities to use additional investment to expand the fibre network beyond the current footprint of the HEY business, to drive growth and employment opportunities. Whilst no decisions have yet been taken on whether additional investment would be made, if such additional investment was made, it would be funded from KCOMs existing cash resources, new equity from MEIF 6 Fibre, and/or third party debt; review initiatives to improve the performance of the National Network Services and Enterprise businesses to enhance customer experience, provide relevant and profitable services to customers, and improve platform efficiency to enhance margins; undertake a review of the strategic options for the National Network Services and Enterprise businesses. The review will focus on operating performance, viability of its offerings and long-term strategic fit in relation to MIRAs overall strategy. MIRA will work closely with management to evaluate different possible outcomes. At this stage, MIRA does not have sufficient insight to conclude on any outcomes, however it would expect potential options to include disposal of these businesses to a third party, refocusing of product catalogues, and integration into other business lines, among others; and work with KCOMs management to understand and implement any recommendations as to costs efficiencies, service improvements and organisational structure which result from the KCOM Review. MIRA has not yet begun to carry out the detailed evaluation referred to in the paragraph above or made any decisions in relation to specific actions that may be taken as a result of this evaluation, including in relation to any impact on organisational structure and headcount. Independently of the KCOM Review, MIRA plans to carry out its own strategy review in close collaboration with KCOM management over three to six months following the Effective Date and expects to start implementation of any additional actions resulting from that review as soon as possible thereafter. Once KCOM ceases to be a listed company, some central management, corporate and support functions, including PLC-related functions, may be reduced in scope, which is likely to require reduced headcount in these areas. MIRA intends to safeguard the existing employment rights of the management and employees of the KCOM Group in accordance with applicable law and does not envisage any material change to the balance of skills and functions of existing employees and management of the KCOM Group, or in their conditions of employment (other than the possible implementation of incentivisation arrangements for certain members of management as described below). MIRA confirms it is also fully supportive of KCOMs initiatives to help foster a diverse local employment pool by actively encouraging participation in STEM subjects. MIRA intends for KCOM to continue its current local initiative during its stewardship as the benefits of a diversified workforce are also a high priority to MIRA both as an owner and employer. The non-executive directors of KCOM have informed MIRA that they intend to resign as KCOM Directors with effect from completion of the Acquisition. As usual the new deal will be subject to all of the usual approvals and could be signed off by around the middle of 2019. Monday, June 3rd, 2019 (12:01 am) - Score 1,956 The biggest home broadband, phone, mobile and pay TV providers from across the United Kingdom have today announced that theyre signing up to Ofcoms new Fairness for Customers commitment, which covers a variety of areas from the quality of support to clarity of information and fairness in pricing. Recently the regulator has been on somewhat of a roll in terms of improving consumer protections across the telecoms industry. So far theyve introduced a new system of automatic compensation for fixed line broadband ISPs (here), launched a tougher code of practice for broadband speeds (here), confirmed their plans for a new end of contract notification system (here) and easier mobile switching will soon follow (here). However Ofcom says they also want to help ensure people are always treated fairly by their provider whether they are signing up to a new deal, trying to fix a problem or switching to a new company and in keeping with that theyve encouraged all of the UKs biggest providers to sign-up to a set of new commitments. At the time of writing this means that BT, EE, Giffgaff, O2, Plusnet, Post Office, Sky (Sky Broadband), TalkTalk, Tesco Mobile, Three UK, Virgin Media and Vodafone have all agreed to support the following.. The Fairness for Customers Commitments 1. Customers get a fair deal, which is right for their needs. Providers offer customers packages that fit their needs and have a fair approach to pricing. Prices are clear and easy to understand; 2. Customers get the support they need when their circumstances make them vulnerable. Providers understand and identify the characteristics, circumstances and needs of vulnerable customers such as vulnerability due to a disability, age, mental illness or having recently been bereaved and act to give them fair treatment and equal access to services too; 3. Customers are supported to make well-informed decisions with clear information about their options before, during, and at the end of their contract. Providers design and send communications in a way that reflects an understanding of how customers generally react to information so that they can understand and engage with the market; 4. Customers services work as promised, reliably over time. If things go wrong providers give a prompt response to fix problems and take appropriate action to help their customers, which may include providing compensation where relevant. If providers cant fix problems with core services they have promised to deliver within a reasonable period, customers can walk away from their contract with no penalty; 5. Customers can sign up to, change and leave their services quickly and smoothly. Providers ensure that customers who are leaving do not face additional barriers or hassle compared to those who are signing up to new services; 6. Customers can be confident that fair treatment is a central part of their providers culture. Companies can demonstrate that they have the right procedures in place to ensure customers are treated well. They keep these effective and up-to-date. The commitments are all fairly generalised and on the surface it doesnt sound like there are any particular penalties attached for those who fall short of expectations. On the other hand most of these commitments are also underpinned by existing consumer law and Ofcoms rules, which can be enforced when needed. In keeping with the above, the regulator has said they will be monitoring companies practices closely and will step in where we see firms falling short (i.e. reiterating their existing approach). Nevertheless we suspect that some consumers may argue that several of the providers named above are already in breach of a few commitments. Sharon White, Ofcom CEO, said: I welcome the commitments the providers have made, and the action theyre taking to ensure customers are treated fairly every step of the way. Great service cannot be optional. It has to be the norm. That hasnt always happened in the past in broadband and mobile services, but there is now a growing belief from providers that putting customers first is paramount. Margot James, UK Minister for Digital, said: Im pleased that all the major telecoms providers have signed up to Ofcoms commitments today. They will not only help consumers get fairer deals, but will support competition by making sure providers work to the same objectives and compete on standards. At the end of the day we dont expect the new commitments by themselves to produce a seismic industry change, mainly because most of them are already based around existing rules. On the other hand this may give consumers a little extra ammunition to fire back at providers when things go wrong and itll be interesting to see how some of the providers adapt to that fair deal pledge on pricing. Speaking of which, Ofcom are continuing their review of broadband pricing, which looks at why some people pay more than others (particularly vulnerable consumers). The regulator expects to publish the findings from this during the autumn 2019. INTRODUCING ITWIRE TV iTWire TV offers a unique value to the Tech Sector by providing a range of video interviews, news, views and reviews, and also provides the opportunity for vendors to promote your company and your marketing messages.We work with you to develop the message and conduct the interview or product review in a safe and collaborative way. Unlike other Tech YouTube channels, we create a story around your message and post that on the homepage of ITWire, linking to your message.In addition, your interview post message can be displayed in up to 7 different post displays on our the iTWire.com site to drive traffic and readers to your video content and downloads. This can be a significant Lead Generation opportunity for your business.We also provide 3 videos in one recording/sitting if you require so that you have a series of videos to promote to your customers. Your sales team can add your emails to sales collateral and to the footer of their sales and marketing emails.See the latest in Tech News, Views, Interviews, Reviews, Product Promos and Events. Plus funny videos from our readers and customers. SEE WHAT'S ON ITWIRE TV NOW! A forthcoming release of Pega Platform Pegasystems' low-code app development environment will make it easier for citizen developers to create compliant enterprise applications. There's a lot to be said for tapping the skills and enthusiasm of non-IT employees by allowing them to create the special-purpose apps they need to get their jobs done efficiently. But experience shows that while these efforts can be very successful in the short to medium term, issues can arise. This can get worse if the apps are used by people other than the individuals who created them (and their immediate co-workers). These issues can include security concerns, shortfalls in updating the apps, work duplication, and organisational silos. So digital transformation software vendor Pegasystems has announced Enterprise Low-Code Factory to help any employee to quickly create enterprise software that complies with corporate standards. The company says this will help organisations cultivate and scale their own home-grown community of citizen developers without sacrificing software quality, consistency, or governance. "We have always been focused on model-driven [software]," said Pegasystems founder and chief executive Alan Trefler. "The model has become so complete that people are able to do amazing things." Enterprise Low-Code Factory provides users with pre-defined templates that can be turned into custom apps, plus 'guardrails' that let users produce their own apps while giving IT control over their broader use. It is already in use at certain customers, said Trefler. "Low code" doesn't mean "no skill", so Pegasystems will provide educational resources including Pega Academy courses, video tutorials, help documents, and Pega Community articles. The Factory's dashboard gives users quick access to the apps they use most, the apps they are building, and the ecosystem of approved apps built by others to enable better software reuse, plus links to those education resources. As part of the Pega Infinity digital transformation suite, the Pega Platform low-code app development environment takes advantage of digital process automation, including AI and robotics. These back-end processes with Pega's customer engagement applications to enable superior customer experiences regardless of channel. "Enterprise Low-Code Factory encompasses three decades of learning from model-driven application development so businesses can immediately roll out low code organisation-wide," said Pegasystems CTO and vice president of product marketing Don Schuerman. "Whether youre a businessperson, developer, or designer, you now have the potential to become a maker within your own organisation to create applications that innovate. At the same time, IT managers can rest easy knowing they can balance control and collaboration through repeatable governance processes." Schuerman added "We provide a low-code environment for enterprises to deploy at scale" as Enterprise Low-Code Factory is easily adopted by people on the business side of the organisation while providing IT with strong governance and controls. Enterprise Low-Code Factory is scheduled to be available by the end of Q3 2019 for Pega Platform customers with current support contracts. Disclosure: The writer attended PegaWorld 2019 as a guest of the company. Smartphone shipments in 2019 are predicted to reach 1.35 billion units, a year-on-year fall of 3.1%, the research firm Canalys says, adding that this reflects a lowered forecast due to the increasing uncertainty that a trade deal will be reached by the US and China. The company said it had assumed that once the 90-day grace period given to the Chinese vendor Huawei expired, it would be difficult for it to roll out new devices as before, especially outside China. "Canalys anticipates that Huawei is taking steps to mitigate the effect of component and service supply issues, but its overseas potential will be hampered for some time," Canalys said in a statement on Monday. "The US and China may eventually reach a trade deal to alleviate the pressure on Huawei, but if and when this will happen is far from clear." The company said its published forecasts reflected what would happen if there was no political change. It is important to note that market uncertainty is clearly prompting vendors to accelerate certain strategies to minimise the short- and long-term impact in a challenging business environment, for example, shifting manufacturing to different countries to hedge against the risk of tariffs," Nicole Peng, Canalys' vice-president of Mobility, said. "But with recent US announcements on tariffs on goods from more countries, the industry will be dealing with turmoil for some time. Canalys research director Rushabh Doshi said it was expected that other major smartphone vendors would have short-term opportunities while Huawei struggled. "Samsung will be the biggest winner, thanks to its aggressive device strategy and its ability to quickly ramp up production, through the South Korean firm may struggle to entirely fill the shortfall, he said. It will take other vendors until late 2019 to react to the new opportunities. Samsungs control over component supply gives it a major advantage. By next year, Canalys said it anticipated that a majority of the mobile supply chain and channel would have active contingency plans to mitigate Huaweis decline and be ready for 5G device rollout in many markets. It expected that 5G and other hardware innovations would be positive drivers for consumer demand and smartphone shipments globally were expected to return to soft growth in 2020, rising 3.4% to 1.39 billion, with some regions recovering faster than others. Smartphone fatigue and a lack of meaningful innovation are still major market forces. Consumers are holding onto phones for longer. But as device lifecycles move toward a new equilibrium point, the rate of quarterly shipment decline will ease, said Doshi. Samsung has revealed its plans to sell the refurbished versions of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. The decision comes after internal and independent investigations found no other problems in the devices except for the batteries. As reported by Reuters, there are speculations that the tech giant could recoup some of its losses by selling the refurbished Galaxy Note 7. Last year, Samsung was forced to pull out the model from the market due to fires caused by defective batteries. It happened just two months after the launch of the device. Samsung lost an estimated $5.5 billion in profits due to the scandal. Aside from selling refurbished Galaxy Note 7, Samsung also plans to reuse some parts of the device such as camera modules and semiconductors. It will also extract metal parts, such as copper, gold, nickel and silver, from the devices that can no longer be revamped, as reported by The Verge. However, Samsung is only planning to sell revamped devices in its home country, South Korea. According to reports, the company is aiming to sell up to 500,000 Note 7 sometime in July or August. Samsung told The Verge that it will not offer refurbished Note 7 in the United States. It will also not come to India. In addition, the company said it will change the model's name, specifications and price range, which will be announced when the devices are already available. "The objective of introducing refurbished devices is solely to reduce and minimize any environmental impact," the company added. Environmental group Greenpeace, who has been pressuring Samsung to find ways to deal with the waste of its Note 7s, welcomed the news. "Greenpeace will make sure Samsung takes into account the voice of millions of our supporters and abides by its commitment," it added. Samsung's announcement regarding its Galaxy Note 7 came just before the launch of its newest flagship device, the Samsung Galaxy S8. The new smartphone is slated to come out on Wednesday in the U.S. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register For a better experience on our website and avoid any trouble, we strongly recommand to activate Javascript ( click here ). Hello and welcome to Journal des Palaces You are a communication or the PR manager? Click here You are an applicant? Check out our questions and answers here ! However, a federal law banning the act was struck down in November by a federal court in Michigan, which said states should decide what they want to permit. Krawiec said she filed the bill because we must protect our girls from this abuse of being mutilated ... and this barbaric procedure. When this issue has been brought up, most people cant believe its not already illegal to do this in North Carolina, she said. When asked about the prevalence of female genital mutilation in North Carolina, or what counties are affected in particular, Krawiec has said she is not aware of any specific data for the state. We just want to make sure it never happens in North Carolina, she said. The bill, if passed into law, would make it a Class C felony with a 44- to 182-month prison sentence for someone who performs the procedure in North Carolina and for a parent, guardian or another person who consents to the procedure. No one was answering telephone calls at the church on Monday afternoon. A woman seen pushing a cart loaded with boxes from the church around 4 p.m. said she had no connection with the church, and that she did not know what the church's plans were for conducting services this Sunday. The woman appeared to be the only person on the property. A white car was parked in a slot labeled for the finance director, but the woman said no one connected with the car was on the property. Apex Bank had offered to settle with Greater Church for $2.7 million last year, and that had some people thinking the church property might go for a discount when the foreclosure auction was held on May 24. The sale went forward after bankruptcy Judge Catharine Aron ruled against the church on May 22, during a hearing lasting almost two hours in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The church was trying to change the terms of a reorganization plan in a way that would have allowed it to stay on the property. The property consists of a church sanctuary and family life center on the 15-acre site. The property has a tax value of $6.3 million, although the church paid no property tax because of its religious exemption. ELIZABETH CITY A North Carolina legislator says hes looking for his colleagues support for a trial run of an Inner Banks ferry this fall. Rep. Ed Goodwin, of Chowan County, tells The Daily Advance of Elizabeth City he hopes the trial run would lead to a project to link waterfronts across the Albemarle Sound. The Harbor Town Ferry project was proposed a year ago by a business professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. It recommends buying five fast ferries to connect Elizabeth City and several other communities along the Albemarle Sound. Goodwin is former director of the state Ferry Division. He says details about the trial Inner Banks ferry service need to be settled, including where it would stop. Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Most congressional Republicans today display a similar versatility of conviction. They were for free trade until Donald Trump informed them that they were not. They were defenders of the U.S. intelligence community until Trump announced in Helsinki that he believed Vladimir Putin rather than this community regarding Russian support for his election. They excoriated wishful thinking regarding North Korea until Trump spent a few hours with Kim Jong Un and, smitten, tweeted, There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. Republicans have moved from stressing presidential dignity to cowed silence when, to take only the most recent example, Trump endorsed a North Korean state media outlets ridicule of low IQ Joe Biden (a taunt Trump falsely ascribed to Kim). Republicans railed against Barack Obamas executive overreaching but are eloquently mute when Obamas successor promiscuously declares emergencies in order to repurpose funds Congress appropriated for other purposes, and to truncate the process of congressional approval of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and its allies. Given that migration flows are seasonal, it's possible those flows could drop, and Trump could then end the tariffs and declare that they "worked," as Dara Lind suggests. That would be the whole point of being shifty about what counts as "working." But even if that happens, it probably would have done so without the tariffs, and there's no telling what other damage they might do. Beyond all this, it's not clear how much of an impact Mexico can have, even if it does everything Trump wants, because it's such a complicated and vast problem, and has many causes. Trump is raging at Mexico over migrants, while also cutting off aid to Central America. Trump wants Mexico to do more to stem the flow of asylum seekers, but he's actively undermining efforts that have a real chance at reducing that flow. He has cut off aid designed to mitigate the terrible conditions in Northern Triangle countries that are a key cause of the migrations. Members of Trump's own administration disagree with this: Kevin McAleenan, the acting Homeland Security commissioner, has repeatedly called for such aid to continue. While Clinton raged in private about his treatment at the hands of independent counsel Kenneth Starr and the Republicans who controlled Capitol Hill, he deflected questions about the subject as he went about his business in public. All of it paid off in steadily rising poll numbers. He could not prevent the investigation from going forward, or Congress from trying to remove him from office. In December 1998, the House voted two articles of impeachment against him, for perjury and for obstruction of justice. But that very week, Clinton's job approval in the Gallup poll reached 73% - not only the highest of his presidency, but among the best recorded by any chief executive since the mid-1960s. By then, it had become clear that the charges against him would not stick in the Senate, which just under eight weeks later acquitted him. By doing his job, Clinton saved his presidency. Even in this polarized environment, there are still opportunities for Trump to do the same. Thin skin Im willing to accept President Trumps claim that he didnt know about the staff effort to hide the USS John S. McCain from his line of sight during his recent visit to Japan (Trump distances himself from flap over USS McCain, May 31). But what does it say about him that his staff thought the sight of the Navy destroyer would likely raise his temper? What does it say about the administration that they wouldnt even allow sailors from the warship, wearing hats that read USS John S. McCain (instead, perhaps, of MAGA?), to attend Trumps Memorial Day speech like the other sailors did? These are U.S. military personnel. They likely didnt choose to serve on the ship named after McCain, but theyre probably proud to serve in the U.S. Navy and they should be proud to serve on a ship named after McCain. Yet they were ostracized because of the presidents thin skin. How can conservatives continue to support this man-child? Everything he does makes us all look like buffoons. Chris Hannigan Winston-Salem Please submit letters online, with full name, address and telephone number, to Letters@wsjournal.com or mail letters to: The Readers Forum, 418 N. Marshall St., Winston-Salem, NC 27101. Letters are subject to editing and are limited to 250 words. For more guidelines and advice on writing letters, go to journalnow.com/site/forms/online_services/letter/ Moncks Corner, SC (29461) Today Mostly cloudy...isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. Near record high temperatures. High 78F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Scattered thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with more showers at times. Low 63F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corvus Gold Inc. (Corvus or the Company) - (TSX: KOR, OTCQX: CORVF) announces it has received positive results from four additional holes targeted on the western and southwestern extension of the Mother Lode deposit (Table 1). Results continue to demonstrate the expansion potential of the deposit to the west where mineralization remains unconstrained. Furthermore, Corvus believes that these results have increased the potential for adding a new and higher-grade block to the current mineral resource model as well as outlining new target areas for mineral resource expansion drilling (Figure 1). In this important Western extension of the Mother Lode deposit, hole ML19-116 (36.6m @ 2.03 g/t gold & 25.9m @ 2.43 g/t gold, as detailed in Table 1 below) has a deep intercept that intersected a dike in the lower plate carbonates, below the main deposit, which like other intrusive related deep intercepts consistently returns +2 g/t gold with broad core zones of +3 g/t gold. These results continue to outline a deeper, hotter, intrusive related, lower plate hosted, gold system like the deep intercepts in holes ML19-104 (NR19-05, Mar. 19, 2019) with 16.8m @ 4.4 g/t gold and the bottom of hole ML19-109 (NR19-06, Apr. 3, 2019) which ended in 4.1 g/t gold, and will be the focus of the next round of exploration at Mother Lode. Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of Corvus, said, The results from the West Zone are encouraging for the expansion to the initial Mother Lode mineral resource to the west. Additionally, results from hole ML19-116 continue to show higher grade at depth below the main deposit and suggest a deeper and hotter style of gold mineralization that may be analogues to the litho-structural style of mineralization being pursued by AngloGold at its Silicon discovery, a few kilometres to the north of Mother Lode. Corvus continues to study this new style of mineralization to integrate it into its District exploration model. Results from the Mother Lode, phase 3 mineral resource expansion drilling are nearly complete and drilling has now moved to testing priority New Discovery targets at the neighbouring 100% owned North Bullfrog project where early geologic indications are encouraging. As Corvus continues to unravel the key controls on gold mineralization in the District, we believe that the potential for new deposits continues to grow in this re-emerging Nevada Gold District. Table 1 Phase III - Mother Lode Drilling Results (Reported intercepts are not true widths as there is currently insufficient data to calculate true orientation in space. Mineralized intervals are calculated using a 0.3 g/t cutoff unless otherwise indicated below) Drill Hole # from (m) to (m) Interval (m) Gold (g/t) Silver (g/t) Comment ML19-111 AZ 085 dip-80 278.89 306.32 27.43 0.89 n/a West of ML18-045 West Zone inc 284.99 288.04 3.05 1.19 n/a 1 g/t cut 345.95 361.19 15.24 1.15 n/a inc 347.47 352.04 4.57 2.68 n/a 1 g/t cut 365.76 374.90 9.14 0.49 n/a ML19-112 AZ 085 dip-87 414.53 432.82 18.29 1.89 n/a West of ML18-068 West Zone ML19-115 AZ 090 dip-75 121.92 128.02 6.10 0.56 n/a West ML17-007 Southwest Zone 150.88 155.45 4.57 0.45 n/a Upper OX Zone 172.21 196.60 24.39 0.74 n/a Upper OX Zone 220.98 248.41 27.43 1.28 n/a ML19-116 AZ 085 dip-70 143.26 147.83 4.57 0.92 n/a West ML17-014 Southwest Zone 170.69 207.26 36.57 2.03 n/a 289.56 315.47 25.91 2.43 n/a Deep Zone inc 297.18 315.47 18.29 3.30 n/a 1 g/t cut Figure 1 accompanying this announcement is available at Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance Jeffrey A. Pontius (CPG 11044), a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101), has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Pontius is not independent of Corvus, as he is the CEO & President and holds common shares and incentive stock options. Carl E. Brechtel, (Nevada PE 008744 and Registered Member 353000 of SME), a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has coordinated execution of the work outlined in this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Brechtel is not independent of Corvus, as he is the COO and holds common shares and incentive stock options. The work program at Mother Lode was designed and supervised by Mark Reischman, Corvus Golds Nevada Exploration Manager, who is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project log and track all samples prior to sealing and shipping. Quality control is monitored by the insertion of blind certified standard reference materials and blanks into each sample shipment. All resource sample shipments are sealed and shipped to American Assay Laboratories (AAL) in Reno, Nevada, for preparation and assaying. AAL is independent of the Company. AALs quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Finally, representative blind duplicate samples are forwarded to AAL and an ISO compliant third-party laboratory for additional quality control. Mr. Pontius, a qualified person, has verified the data underlying the information disclosed herein, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information by reviewing the reports of AAL, methodologies, results and all procedures undertaken for quality assurance and quality control in a manner consistent with industry practice, and all matters were consistent and accurate according to his professional judgement. There were no limitations on the verification process. Mr. Scott E. Wilson, CPG (10965), Registered Member of SME (4025107) and President of Resource Development Associates Inc., is an independent consulting geologist specializing in Mineral Reserve and Resource calculation reporting, mining project analysis and due diligence evaluations. He is acting as the Qualified Person, as defined in NI 43-101, and is the primary author of the Technical Report for the Mineral Resource estimate and has reviewed and approved the Mineral Resource estimate and the Preliminary Economic Assessment summarized in this news release. Mr. Wilson has over 29 years of experience in surface mining, resource estimation and strategic mine planning. Mr. Wilson is President of Resource Development Associates Inc. and is independent of the Company under NI 43-101. Mr. Wilson, a qualified person, has verified the data underlying the information disclosed herein, including sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information by reviewing the reports of AAL, methodologies, results and all procedures undertaken for quality assurance and quality control in a manner consistent with industry practice, and all matters were consistent and accurate according to his professional judgement. There were no limitations on the verification process. Metallurgical testing on North Bullfrog and Mother Lode samples has been performed by McClelland Analytical Services Laboratories Inc. of Sparks Nevada (McClelland), McClelland is an ISO 17025 accredited facility that supplies quantitative chemical analysis in support of metallurgical, exploration and environmental testing using classic methods and modern analytical instrumentation. McClelland has met the requirements of the IAS Accreditations Criteria for Testing Laboratories (AC89), has demonstrated compliance with ANS/ISO/IEC Standard 17025:2005, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories, and has been accredited, since November 12, 2012. Hazen Research Inc. (Hazen), an independent laboratory, has performed flotation, AAO testing and cyanide leach testing on samples of sulphide mineralization from the YellowJacket zone and Swale area of Sierra Blanca, and roasting tests on Mother Lode flotation concentrate. Hazen holds analytical certificates from state regulatory agencies and the US Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA). Hazen participates in performance evaluation studies to demonstrate competence and maintains a large stock of standard reference materials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Canadian Centre for Mineral and Energy Technology (CANMET), the EPA and other sources. Hazens QA program has been developed for conformance to the applicable requirements and standards referenced in 10 CFR 830.120 subpart A, quality assurance requirements, January 1, 2002. Pressure oxidation test work on Mother Lode concentrate samples was performed by Resource Development Inc. of Wheatridge, CO. For additional details, see technical report entitled Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Integrated Mother Lode and North Bullfrog Projects, Bullfrog Mining District, Nye County, Nevada, dated November 1, 2018 and amended on November 8, 2018, with an effective date of September 18, 2018 on the Companys profile at www.sedar.com. About the North Bullfrog & Mother Lode Projects, Nevada Corvus controls 100% of its North Bullfrog Project, which covers approximately 86.6 km2 in southern Nevada. The property package is made up of a number of private mineral leases of patented federal mining claims and 1,057 federal unpatented mining claims. The project has excellent infrastructure, being adjacent to a major highway and power corridor as well as a large water right. The Company also controls 445 federal unpatented mining claims on the Mother Lode project which totals approximately 36.5 km2 which it owns 100%. The total Corvus Gold 100% land ownership now covers over 123.1 km2, hosting two major new Nevada gold discoveries. The combined Mother Lode and North Bullfrog Projects contains a Measured Mineral Resource for the mill of 9.3 Mt at an average grade of 1.59 g/t gold, containing 475 k ounces of gold and Indicated Mineral Resources for the mill of 18.2 Mt at an average grade of 1.68 g/t gold containing 988 k ounces of gold and an Inferred Mineral Resource for the mill of 2.3 Mt at an average grade of 1.61 g/t gold containing 118 k ounces of gold. In addition, the project contains a Measured Mineral Resource for oxide, run of mine, heap leach of 34.6 Mt at an average grade of 0.27 g/t gold containing 305 k ounces of gold and an Indicated Mineral Resource for, oxide, run of mine, heap leach of 149.4 Mt at an average grade of 0.24 g/t gold containing 1,150 k ounces of gold and an Inferred, oxide, run of mine, heap leach Mineral Resource of 78.7 Mt at an average grade of 0.26 g/t gold containing 549 k ounces of gold. About Corvus Gold Inc. Corvus Gold Inc. is a North American gold exploration and development company, focused on its near-term gold-silver mining project at the North Bullfrog and Mother Lode Districts in Nevada. Corvus is committed to building shareholder value through new discoveries and the expansion of its projects to maximize share price leverage in an advancing gold and silver market. On behalf of Corvus Gold Inc. (signed) Jeffrey A. Pontius Jeffrey A. Pontius, President & Chief Executive Officer Contact Information: Ryan Ko Investor Relations Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Phone: 1-844-638-3246 (toll free) or (604) 638-3246 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, including, without limitation, statements regarding the advancement and development of our Mother Lode project and the expansion of our drill program; potential for additional mineralization and mineral resource potential; updates on the development progress at the Mother Lode project; the potential for new deposits and expected increases in a systems potential; anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2018 filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Companys most recent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). All of the Companys Canadian public disclosure filings in Canada may be accessed via www.sedar.com and filings with the SEC may be accessed via www.sec.gov and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Companys mineral properties. Authorities and politicians like to talk of the fight against impunity. Yet while the reality of this struggle has intensified, it remains worrying that it is so limited. The case of Hissene Habre president of Chad in the 1980s, tried in Senegal three years ago offers us a good perspective on one of the main limits of this struggle. The fight against impunity can be described in three stages. Recognition of suffering Hissein Habre ( Dominique FAGET / AFP) The first one is recognition of victims suffering. This recognition should be public. It is sometimes through the courts if victims use legal channels to establish the violations suffered: these are the different human rights procedures that can be carried out at national, regional or global level. In the Habre case there was first a non-judicial attempt via a national commission of inquiry which published a report in May 1992. This commission represented a recognition by the State of abuses committed against part of the population. Then the UN Comittee against Torture, seized by the victims, handed down a decision in May 2006 reminding Senegal of its obligation to prosecute alleged perpetrators of torture, and implicitly recognizing that the allegations of torture were well-founded. Finally there was a recognition of this suffering by the African Union itself through a multitude of decisions, of which the first one led to the creation of a committee of experts in January 2006 to determine the consequences of the Habre case for the African Union, and so thereby also recognizing implicitly that there had been a violation of rights. The sanctions stage Secondly, the fight against impunity tends to identify those responsible for this suffering in order to punish them in accordance with the law. This is the stage of criminal proceedings, at the national or international level. For Habre, this led to his trial before the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC) in Senegal. This court tried only one person, Hissein Habre, sentenced to life imprisonment on appeal on 27 April 2017. But it also prompted Chad to quickly organize, in March 2015, the trial of some 20 other people involved in the regimes crimes. There was certainly some political motivation behind this Chadian initiative, since it removed some suspects from the jurisdiction of the EAC, where their words might be freer and therefore riskier for the government in NDjamena. But it is a victory nonetheless since it has led to the establishment of accountability for individuals who have committed international crimes. Unfortunately, victims remain only partially satisfied. Recommended reading Reed Brody: We have the power to bring you to justice Reparations This is the third stage in the fight against impunity, which is reparation for victims. And the Habre case illustrates how often this step is overlooked. At the national level, on 25 March 2015, the Chadian judiciary granted financial compensation of 75 billion CFA francs (114 million euros) to the 7,000 victims registered as civil parties, with the Chadian State being liable for 50% of it. To date, it has not been paid. At the international level, the Extraordinary African Chambers also awarded financial reparations of more than 82 billion CFA francs (125 million euros), to be paid by Hissene Habre to the 7,396 civil parties. This compensation has also remained a dead letter. Why? In the case of Chad, the lack of reparations reinforces the perception that the authorities only organized the trial for political purposes that had little to do with the fight against impunity. Rather, it was to put a few individuals behind bars to protect others, with little regard for the victims. In the case of Senegal, there is an indisputable possibility of bringing civil action to seize Habres property as a first step. To date, however, such a possibility has not materialized. The existence of a treaty at the foundation of the Extraordinary African Chambers (2012 Agreement) cannot be an excuse for this lack of consideration for victims, further reinforcing the political stakes here. To force the Senegalese justice system, it may be necessary for the victims legal representatives to bring action before the High Court of First Instance of Dakar. Such a referral could allow the conversion of the protective seizures made at the time of Habres arrest into monetary benefit for the victims, as well as action beyond Senegals borders if Habre had property elsewhere. The uncertainties of the Compensation Fund As for the African Union, it has also failed. The 2012 agreement with Senegal provides for the establishment of a Victims Compensation Fund. It took time for the statute of this fund to be written and adopted by the AU Assembly in January 2018, and one may wonder whether it was appropriate to wait until the end of the trial to do so. Once the Fund was established, it took time for its effective implementation and then for contributions to enable it to grant reparations. However, this is a total unclear. It would appear that the Extraordinary African Chambers transferred some 300 million CFA francs (457,000 euros) to the Compensation Fund, which remained in their accounts. There is also talk of a budget line of US$5 million that the African Union planned. But the status of the Fund is not public allowing these credits to be chacked. And it is not clear whether the Fund has received any other contributions to date. Such a situation calls for two observations. First, the available financial resources should already have been used for compensation and it is surprising that nothing has been done so far. Also, in the name of State continuity, the Fund should be financed mainly by Chad, whose State apparatus is responsible for these human rights violations. Responding to victims rights For the time being, it must be acknowledged that the African Unions discourse on combating impunity has only very partially translated into reality. The right to reparations continues to be violated, and victims can initiate proceedings in this regard. This is in line with the request submitted by victims to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights in November 2017. Victims could also hold the States concerned, Senegal and Chad, accountable to UN human rights bodies such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture. It is unfair in this regard that the system locks victims into an infinite sequence of legal proceedings, since exhaustion of domestic remedies is a condition of admissibility and will take a few years to achieve. Finally, victims could engage in high-level political lobbying. A definitive resolution of this issue would indeed be in the interest of the African Union because it will thus be able to show that its discourse on impunity is not just words. The Habre trial is generally considered an example of how international crimes can be redressed. But it still has a long way to go to set an example in terms of reparations. Two years ago Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and their allies cut ties with Qatar, sparking a major diplomatic crisis in the Gulf region. Here is a recap. Regional rupture Simmering regional tensions boil over on June 5, 2017 when Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates announce they are severing diplomatic ties with Qatar. They accuse it of supporting Islamist movements and seeking closer ties with Riyadhs regional rival Iran charges Qatar denies. The four close land and maritime borders with the Gulf peninsula, suspend air links and expel Qatari citizens. In a country dependent on food imports, there is alarm over whether the border closures will lead to food shortages in Qatar. Saudi Arabia also closes the Riyadh bureau of Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera. Demands, blacklist On June 22 the Saudi-led bloc sends Qatar a list of 13 demands which include shutting down Al Jazeera, curbing relations with Iran and closing a Turkish military base it hosts. Doha on July 4 rejects the demands as unrealistic. Saudi Arabia and its allies threaten new sanctions. On July 25 they unveil a terrorist blacklist of 18 groups and individuals suspected of links to Islamist extremists and to Qatar. The blacklist grows to include almost 90 names. Breaking isolation Seeking support from outside the region and vowing to uphold its sovereignty, Qatar signs a series of defence deals with foreign powers. They include a December contract with France for a dozen Rafale fighter jets and 50 Airbus A321 passenger planes, and a deal with Britain to buy Typhoon fighters. It also buys warships from Italy and F-15 fighter jets from the United States. In January 2018 it approves legislation allowing 100-percent foreign ownership in most sectors of its economy. Previously reliant on its Gulf neighbours, it increasingly turns towards Iran and Turkey, particularly for food imports. Saudi threat In April Qatar ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani says we do not and we will not tolerate people who fund terrorism during a meeting in the US with President Donald Trump. Trump calls him a friend, softening his tone after having supported the Saudi-led bloc and accusing Qatar of funding terrorism. In June French daily Le Monde reports that Saudi Arabia threatened military action against Qatar if it acquired Russias top-of-the-range S-400 air defence missile system. International justice In late June the dispute moves to the UNs top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where Qatar accuses the UAE of racial discrimination and human rights abuses against its citizens in the Emirates. The court orders the UAE in July to protect the rights of its Qatari citizens, including by ending measures that would stop Qatari students from completing their studies. The UAE in May 2019 accuses Qatar before the ICJ of aggravating the two-year-old crisis and of false accusations. A day later, Qatar accuses the Emirates of a campaign of violence and hatred against its citizens. The UAE detains for a week a Qatari military ship that had violated its territorial waters. Contact in Mecca In May 2019 there is the first high-level contact between the opposing sides in two years when Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Thani attends three regional summits in Saudi Arabias holy city of Mecca. acm/eab/br/dco DASSAULT AVIATION Top European Union and member states officials should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity over the drownings of thousands of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, international lawyers said Monday. The Paris-based lawyers presented the International Criminal Court with a detailed 245-page file which they said was handed to chief prosecutor Fatou Bensoudas office. The information provides enough evidence implicating the EU and member states officials and agents with crimes against humanity committed in pursuant to EU migration policies in the Mediterranean and Libya since 2014, they said. More than 12,000 people have died since 2014 trying flee Libya to Europe by what the UN refugee agency calls the worlds deadliest sea crossing. The lawyers alleged that in order to keep Europes borders safe, the EU resorted to a deterrence-based migration policy, intended to sacrifice the lives of migrants in distress at sea. The sole objective was to dissuade others in similar situation from seeking safe haven in Europe, they said in their filing, of which a copy was handed to AFP. When the policy failed because of rescue work by NGOs, the EU adopted a second strategy by employing the Libyan Coast Guard to intercept and send migrants back to concentration-camp like facilities in Libya. It was perfectly clear that they were people accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and they (the EU) voluntarily funded these individuals, lawyer Juan Branco told AFP. Instead of immediately rescuing and bringing the civilian population in distress at sea to safety, the EU has facilitated the death of thousands by drowning, before introducing a comprehensive system of forced deportation to concentration camp-like detention facilities, Branco and colleagues said. It is however not clear how Bensoudas office will treat the file drawn up by Branco, a former ICC jurist and Omer Shatz, an international law lecturer at Sciences Po university in Paris. Their communication refers to EU and member states officials and agents but also mentions countries such as France, Germany and Italy, which are all ICC member states. The present case provides evidence implicating nationals of powerful States acting in concert as part of a supranational structure, the European Union, the lawyers said. Set up in 2002 to try the worlds worst crimes, the ICC prosecutes individuals only and receives hundreds of requests for investigation every year. Bensouda was given a UN Security Council mandate in 2011 to probe crimes committed in Libya since the ouster of long-time leader Moamer Kadhafi. The prosecutor in her latest report to the Council said her office was continuing to probe alleged crimes against migrants and refugees in Libya to determine whether they fall within the jurisdiction of the court. After two and a half years of hearings, a Canadian inquiry Monday released its final report on the disappearance and death of hundreds, if not thousands of indigenous women, victims of endemic violence it controversially said amounted to genocide. The 1,200-page report was unveiled with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and victims families on hand at a ceremony at the Canadian Museum of History, against a backdrop of totems and aboriginal artifacts, framed by a view of parliament across the Ottawa River. It is the culmination of years of lobbying by native leaders, activists and victims families seeking to address disproportionate crime levels affecting indigenous women over the past three decades. According to official estimates, almost 1,200 indigenous women and girls went missing or were killed between 1980 and 2012, out of a community of 1.6 million people. But inquiry commissioners have suggested the true figure could be many times higher. Entitled Reclaiming Power and Place, their report concludes that through state actions and inactions rooted in colonialism and colonial ideologies indigenous women and girls have indeed faced a disproportionately high level of violence. The commissioners found that perpetrators of violence include indigenous and non-indigenous family members and partners, casual acquaintances, and serial killers. Their report linked the deaths to endemic poverty, racism, sexism and other social ills traced back to failed attempts by early colonizers to force indigenous people to integrate. And it called for sweeping changes, detailed in 231 recommendations for improving the security, justice, health and culture of Canadas indigenous people. Despite their different circumstances and backgrounds, all of the missing and murdered are connected by economic, social and political marginalization, racism, and misogyny woven into the fabric of Canadian society, said chief commissioner Marion Buller. The hard truth is that we live in a country whose laws and institutions perpetuate violations of fundamental rights, amounting to a genocide against indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people, she said using an acronym for two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual. The commissioners held 24 hearings across Canada over the past two and a half years and heard from more than 2,000 witnesses, including family members of missing or murdered women, survivors of violence, experts and officials. ASHLAND, Ore. -- Ashland High School seniors are about to enter the real world. The school held its graduation ceremony this past Friday at Lithia Park. More than 200 seniors crossed the stage to get their diplomas. Before diving into the real world, students got one last celebration together, the Senior All Night, an event organized entirely by a group of parents. The all-night party includes everything the Family Fun Center has to offer plus bounce houses, food carts, and thousands of dollars in prizes. Parents start organizing the event months in advance and reach out to local businesses to raise about $20,000 to pull it off. It's a lot of work and time on their part, but it's all worth it so that they know their kids are safe during graduation night. One of the parent organizers, Jennifer Ferreira, said safety is the main reason for the event. "Graduation night is statistically, the most dangerous night for all students so it's nice to have them off the streets, away from the parties, in one place with all their friends for the last time and they have a great time," Ferreira said. Ashland senior and Associated Student Body Co-President Rylan Rogers said the party is a great way for students to celebrate together while staying safe. "You hear a lot about after grad parties and a lot of drinking and partying can happen at those, which leads to underage people drinking and driving, which is very unsafe," Rogers said. Rogers said not only is the event a safe option, but students can't wait to attend it. "It's the thing, everybody's going," Rogers said. Ferreira said this year's event was extra special because parents raised even more money from local businesses than usual. They work hard to make sure every student who comes to the event leaves with something. MEDFORD, Ore. In today's health alert, Kristin Filer from Providence Medford Medical Center discussed the association between drinking wine, and how it has the same risk for cancer as smoking cigarettes. She explains what the American Heart Association recommends in regards to drinking, and the new study that the British Medical Journal just published. By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) The federal government for years has kept under wraps the names of hundreds of nursing homes around the country found by inspectors to have serious ongoing health, safety or sanitary problems. Families seeking a nursing home for a loved one deserve to know when a facility has systemic shortcomings. For years, a subset of underperforming homes have been excluded from public disclosure. @SenBobCasey & I are working to change that. https://t.co/afS7t48w9v Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) June 3, 2019 Nearly 400 facilities nationwide had a "persistent record of poor care" as of April, but they were not included along with a shorter list of homes that get increased federal scrutiny and do have warning labels, according to a Senate report released Monday. Budget cuts appear to be contributing to the problem by reducing money available for the focused inspections that are required for nursing homes on the shorter list, according to documents and interviews. The secrecy undermines the federal commitment to ensure transparency for families going through the difficult process of finding a nursing home for a loved one and raises questions about why the names of some nursing homes are not disclosed while others are publicly identified, according to two senators who released the report on Monday. "We've got to make sure any family member or any potential resident of a nursing home can get this information, not only ahead of time but on an ongoing basis," said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., who along with Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., issued a report on the issue. "When a family makes the hard decision to seek nursing home services for a loved one, they deserve to know if a facility under consideration suffers from systemic shortcomings," said Toomey. The senators released a list provided them by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, of nursing homes with documented problems whose names were not publicly disclosed by the government. The report and list were provided exclusively to The Associated Press and to PennLive.com. About 1.3 million Americans are nursing home residents, cared for in more than 15,700 facilities. The senators' report noted that problem nursing homes account for about 3 percent. CMS does publicly disclose names of a smaller group of about 80 nursing homes that are getting special scrutiny to help them resolve documented quality problems. They're in what's called the Special Focus Facility program, which is more than 20 years old. Nursing homes that don't improve can be cut off by Medicare and Medicaid. But if the nursing home resolves its problems, it "graduates" from the program. Consumers can identify special focus facilities on the government's Nursing Home Compare website by looking for an icon shaped like a small yellow triangle that resembles a traffic "caution" sign. Also, the website does not display starred quality ratings for the special focus facilities. Usually, nursing homes receive from a low of one star to the highest quality score of five stars. But there's no similar visibility for the much bigger group of some 400 nursing homes, whose problems have placed them on the official list of "candidates" for the special focus program. These facilities "qualify for the program because they are identified as having a 'persistent record of poor care' but are not selected for participation as a result of limited resources at (CMS)," said the report from Casey and Toomey. "Despite being indistinguishable from (special focus nursing homes) in terms of their qualifications, candidates are not publicly disclosed," the report added. In a letter last month to Casey, CMS Administrator Seema Verma singled out federal budget problems as a contributing factor. "The total number of (special focus) slots and total number of (special focus) candidates nationally are based on the availability of federal resources," Verma wrote. She added that as recently as 2010, there were 167 nursing homes in the special focus program and 835 candidates. That's now down to as many as 88 special focus slots and up to 440 candidates. She said federal budget cuts in 2014 reduced the number of available slots. Verma said her agency is evaluating whether it has legal authority to publicly release the list of "candidate" nursing homes. The Trump administration has asked Congress for more money for health care inspections, but the final amount and how it will distributed remain unclear. Consumer groups say disclosure is long overdue. It might help consumers "know what to avoid," said Toby Edelman, a senior policy lawyer with the nonprofit Center for Medicare Advocacy. "It might help them avoid facilities that the government is acknowledging are very, very troubled." The nursing home industry trade group says it generally supports transparency and takes no position on release of the list. But David Gifford, vice president for quality with the American Health Care Association, said the inspection reports on which the list is based are only one measure, and people should also consider other factors such as staffing levels and clinical outcomes. Monday's report from Sens. Casey and Toomey identified several nursing homes from the list of special focus candidates. Among the details: In Quitman, Texas, the Heritage Healthcare Residence did not prevent the septic system from backing up, causing a foul-smelling black substance to come through the drains and seep into the kitchen floor near food-preparation areas. In an interview, officials of the company that currently owns the nursing home said they had corrected all the problems after purchasing the facility in February. Suzanne Koenig, president of the company that now runs the nursing home, renamed the Heritage House Healthcare Centre, said she'd be concerned about releasing the list since "it doesn't really focus on what is going on in the facility." In Ormond Beach, Florida, inspectors found that staff at Avante at Ormond Beach, were not cleaning and disinfecting blood sugar measuring devices between tests of different patients, putting the residents at risk of infection. The same inspection report noted the nursing home quickly started to address the issue. John Hornack, a vice president of the nursing home's management company, said in an interview that the old devices were replaced with new ones and the staff was retrained. Hornack said the problem has now been completely resolved. LEXINGTON After an eight year search the Dawson County Childrens Museum will now have a location of their own to operate out of. The organization will be moving into the building at 800 N. Washington St. Dawson County Childrens Museum board president Pat Longly said the location on Washington St. was, "the right size, affordable and felt like the right fit." She added the building will be known to, "old timers," as the old Maloley grocery store and the site where Department of Health and Human Services used to have a call center. Longly started the Childrens Musuem organization back in 2011 after she retired from teaching, but the group has never had a building to call their own. Until now the Childrens Museum has been operating out of the Lexington Public Library, hosting events on the second Saturday of each month, Longly said. The new space will allow the museum to create learning centers focused on specific subjects as well as space for social functions such as birthday parties. Longly said the ideas for different centers is still being decided but they hope to feature areas for reading, the outdoors, art, theatre and STEM subjects. KEARNEY The Veterans Memorial will be built at the Central Nebraska Veterans Home in Kearney. A groundbreaking ceremony for the $2 million project will be at 4 p.m. Thursday at the veterans home at 4510 E. 56th St. The public is asked to park in the east main parking lot. The ceremony will take place in the area east of the parking lot. The Central Nebraska Veterans Memorial Committee has secured the pledges, in-kind donations and cash toward the memorial. About $1.5 million of the fund will cover costs to erect the 173-foot by 103-foot memorial. The remaining $500,000 will be set aside in an endowment managed by the committee, which will be utilized for memorial repairs and upkeep. The fundraising campaign started in September 2016. So far, the committees top donor is the city of Kearney, which pledged $500,000. The memorial will feature 16-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide and 3-foot-thick concrete pillars encased in granite each recognizing a branch of the military. Other pillars, which will be 8 feet tall, 6 feet wide and 2 feet thick concrete encased in granite, will represent each conflict since Nebraskas statehood, beginning with the Civil War. YORK A 30-year-old Omaha man is facing four felony charges after he was caught stealing aluminum foil at a travel center store in York. Brock S. Booker is charged with possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), a Class 4 felony; three counts of possession of a controlled substance (all prescription drugs), Class 4 felonies; and misdemeanor theft. The case was bound over to District Court and he appeared this week before Judge James Stecker. According to court documents, the York Police Department was dispatched to the store where Booker had been detained by employees. The employees, according to the affidavit filed with the court, said they saw (on surveillance footage) Booker opening a box of aluminum foil and tearing off a piece of the foil and then leaving the box in the store. They followed him to his car, they told police, and because they believed the foil was taken for methamphetamine use, they asked him to empty his pockets. They told police they saw prescription pills when he did so, according to court documents. LINCOLN The Consumer Protection Division of the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office is aiming to inform residents about family emergency scams, or "The Grandparents Scam," through 3D Consumer Alert, a series of 60-second educational radio spots. The purpose of these radio spots is to prevent the victimization of Nebraskans by arming them with the education and tools to Deter, Detect, and Defend (the 3Ds) against the frauds, scams, and pressing consumer issues prevalent across our state. Alerts are distributed as often as breaking news warrants but no fewer than 24 times per year. Hear an example of one of the alerts below: I come from a small D-2 school district where I attended the school board meeting. The reason I was there was to find out why we were spending money on things we did not need. There were three new items on the agenda. They were new bleachers for the gym, a new John Deere tractor and loader, for who knows what, and to redo the crows nest. These three items were to cost much more than $100,000. The problem is there is nothing wrong with the bleachers we have now. The new tractor and loader was to replace the skid loader to move snow. The skid loader is a very good one and is much better for moving snow on sidewalks anyway. The crows nest is enclosed and is in good shape. The reason they went ahead with all of these items is they had the money. The money came from you, the taxpayer, but they called it a depreciation fund, or sometimes its called a slush fund, savings account or emergency fund. This money cant be used to pay salaries or to pay anyone associated with the school. What I have described is happening all over the state of Nebraska and its costing taxpayers millions of dollars. President Trump has escalated his war on facts and fact-finders. On issues ranging from climate change and missile testing to intelligence estimates and economic statistics, the Lord of the Lies consistently fabricates evidence to fit his own misshapen view of reality. As a result, he is polluting the whole policy process. Its totally legitimate to have different priorities, preferences and constituencies. But sensible and effective programs are impossible if there is no agreement on independent information gathered and analyzed by professional procedures. The Emperor of Error has extended his pattern of perversion to the political sphere where he retweeted a video of Speaker Nancy Pelosi that deliberately distorted her speech cadence to make her seem incoherent. That went too far even for some Republicans, like Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, who told CBS, You shouldnt disseminate information that you know is ultimately doctored. The presidents strategy of deception, Hurd added, is something that gets at the heart of our democracy. The Nebraska Legislature has ended its 2019 session without any meaningful action on an issue that was heralded as a top priority: high property taxes. There are two principal reasons why the problem has remained so intractable. One is the War on Poverty and its successors, and the other is the way Nebraskans pay for local government. More than 50 years ago, a prosperous nation turned its attention to a segment being left behind: the poor. Thus was born the War on Poverty of the 1960s. In rapid order, President Lyndon Johnson presided over an avalanche of social legislation. Included was the establishment of Food Stamps in 1964, then Head Start, Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Other initiatives included the Job Corps, federal funding for education and a variety of other anti-poverty programs. In addition, the 50 states began to spend their own money to combat poverty and its effects. These efforts have produced both successes and failures, as expected. But not expected were the billions and billions of dollars now spent annually by all levels of government, as they address a host of social needs and ills ... some old, some new. BEEMER A 59-year-old former Nickerson woman was sentenced Friday to six months in prison and a $10,000 fine after being convicted of misapplication of bank funds. The U.S. Attorneys office said Diane Ludwig was convicted stemming from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ludwig was employed as a cashier, information technology officer and bank secrecy act officer for First Community Bank of Beemer. She also was a director and shareholder. While working for the bank, Ludwig misapplied bank funds by transferring funds from First Community Banks general ledger accounts to her personal bank accounts. In a series of 56 transactions between May 2014 and May 2018, Ludwig misapplied $491,411 in bank funds. After being caught, Ludwig repaid First Community Bank $491,411. As part of Ludwigs conviction, she is prohibited from serving as an officer, director, employee or institution-affiliated party of a federal financial institution without approval. I would like to thank the Wisconsin Assembly for creating the Suicide Task Force. Its main mission is to investigate the increasing number of suicides in our state and the impact they have on not only their families but their community. As a board member of Just Live, Inc., a local nonprofit that supports mental health education and suicide prevention programs, I applaud Assembly Speaker Robin Vos for bringing light to this important issue. Again, I commend their actions but I fear they will take no action. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the nation with approximately 123 people dying by suicide per day. The rate of suicide in Wisconsin has steadily increased since 2007, yet the state continues to cut funds to mental health education and suicide prevention programs. Wisconsin may have a balanced budget but at what cost? As my grandmother used to say, dont be penny wise but pound foolish. I have met with several state senators and representatives and experienced firsthand their ignorance on this topic. One representative asked how they should respond to questions regarding suicide being the easy way out. This alone showed me how much mental health education programs are needed in this state. I ask the Kenosha News to report on the Suicide Task Force and its findings so we can hold the state responsible. Mark Mullins Burlington Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 21K Shares Share Across the country, many doctors, nurses and other health care workers have remained silent about what is being called an epidemic of violence against them. The violent outbursts come from patients and patients families. And for years, it has been considered part of the job. When you visit the Cleveland Clinic emergency department whether as a patient, family member or friend a large sign directs you toward a metal detector. An officer inspects all bags and then instructs you to walk through the metal detector. In some cases, a metal wand is used even on patients who come in on stretchers. Cleveland Clinic officials say they confiscate thousands of weapons like knives, pepper spray and guns each year. The metal detectors were installed in response to what CEO Tom Mihaljevic calls an epidemic. There is a very fundamental problem in U.S. health care that very few people speak about, he said, and thats the violence against health care workers. Daily literally, daily we are exposed to violent outbursts, in particular in emergency rooms. Many health care workers say the physical and verbal abuse come primarily from patients, some of whom are disoriented because of illness or from medication. Sometimes nurses and doctors are abused by family members who are on edge because their loved one is so ill. Cleveland Clinic has introduced other safety measures such as wireless panic buttons incorporated into ID badges and more safety cameras and plainclothes officers in ERs. But these incidents arent limited to emergency rooms. Allysha Shin works as a registered nurse in neuroscience intensive care at the University of Southern Californias Keck Hospital in Los Angeles. One of the most violent incidents she has experienced happened when she was caring for a patient who was bleeding inside her brain. The woman had already lashed out at other staff, so she had been tied to the bed, Shin said. She broke free of the restraints and then kicked and punched Shin in the chest before throwing a punch at her face. There was this one point where she swung, and she had just glanced off the side of my chin. If I hadnt dodged that punch, she could have knocked me out, Shin said. And she very well could have killed me. The encounter left Shin shaken and anxious when she returned to work days later. She still has flashbacks. She used to be afraid to speak about these types of attacks, she said, because of what she calls a culture of accepting violence in most hospitals. It is expected that you are going to get beat up from time to time, Shin said. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, incidents of serious workplace violence are four times more common in health care than in private industry. And a poll conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians in August found nearly half of emergency physician respondents reported having been physically assaulted. More than 60% of them said the assault occurred within the previous year. Groups representing doctors and nurses say that, while the voluntary safety improvements that some hospitals have enacted are a good first step, more needs to be done. There is still a code of silence in health care, said Michelle Mahon, a representative of the labor group National Nurses United. What happens if they do report it? she said. In some cases, unfortunately, they are treated as if they are the ones who dont know how to do their job. Or that its their fault that this happened. Theres a lot of focus on de-escalation techniques, Mahon added. Those are helpful tools, but oftentimes they are used to blame workers. In California, the nurses labor union pushed for a law giving OSHA more authority to monitor hospital safety. The group is now backing a national effort to do the same thing. The standard that we are recommending federally holds the employer responsible, Mahon said. It mandates reporting of incidents and transparency. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, introduced last fall in Congress, would require hospitals to implement plans to prevent violence. And any hospital could face fines for not reporting incidents to OSHA, Mahon said. The goal of the legislation and of the union is to hold administrators more accountable for acts of violence in their hospitals. Marlene Harris-Taylor is a correspondent, Kaiser Health News. Image credit: Shutterstock.com PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon State Police said a 7-month-old infant has died in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 84, and a 3-year-old child is in critical condition. Police said the driver of the vehicle was Veronica Andrade, 39, of Boardman. Andrade was arrested on charges including manslaughter, reckless driving, driving under the influence of intoxicants and assault. It's unclear if Andrade has an attorney. According to police Andrade was eastbound in a 2003 Cadillac CTS when the vehicle veered off the road and rolled early Sunday morning. The infant died after being ejected. Police said a 3-year-old child in the vehicle was taken to a hospital before being flown to a Portland hospital in critical condition. According to police, Andrade also was taken to a hospital. Andrade was arrested after she was released from the hospital. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- A Texas man who helped run an illegal pill mill in Portland, recruiting customers from Narcotics Anonymous meetings and others from a homeless shelter, has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports 56-year-old Osasuyi Idumwonyi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute or dispense Oxycodone and was sentenced Monday. Idumwonyi and nurse practitioner Julie DeMille opened the Fusion Wellness Clinic in January 2015. Both were arrested in July 2016. Prosecutors say the clinic had no business bank account and didn't report wages to authorities. Prosecutors say Idumwonyi commuted from Houston to assist DeMille in running the Portland clinic. DeMille was sentenced in March to four years in prison. Idumwonyi said in court he could have used "better judgment," saying he was led astray by a desire to help a former girlfriend who was addicted. Ryan Ermey: Travel horror stories. Like opinions and belly buttons, everyone has one. So ahead of summer travel season we took some of the most common vacation nightmares and ran them by travel expert Henry Harteveldt who brought plenty of advice for navigating snafus in our main segment. Episode Length: 00:32:56 Links and resources mentioned in this episode SUBSCRIBE: Apple Google Play Spotify Overcast RSS Ryan Ermey: On today's show, Sandy and I give you the ins and outs of setting up and donating to crowdfunding campaigns and wrap things up with a new game of Financial Fact or Fiction. That's all ahead on this episode of Your Money's Worth. Stick around. Ryan Ermey: Welcome to Your Money's Worth. I'm Kiplinger's associate editor Ryan Ermey joined as always by senior editor Sandy Block. Sandy, how was your long weekend? Sandy Block: Oh, it was great. It was great, Ryan. I got out in the country. The weather was good. I didn't hurt myself so all good. Ryan Ermey: Well I sat by a pool and drank margaritas and mimosas and stuff. Sandy Block: There you go. Ryan Ermey: So mine was pretty decent, as well. Ryan Ermey: A lot of people on my social media anyway, not quite so lucky. There's been any number of sort of disasters going on around the country and I've been seeing, I don't know about you, a lot of crowdfunding campaigns coming across my dashboard if you will. Sandy Block: Yeah, I see those too and I even see them where I spend a lot of my time out in the country. You often see people launching GoFundMe campaigns to raise money for medical expenses because they either don't have insurance or their insurance doesn't cover all of their costs. Ryan Ermey: Right. So this is something that we wanted to talk about because I think in the sort of popular consciousness, these crowdfunding campaigns are often for someone raising money for a business or a project or some sort of venture- Sandy Block: Student loans- Ryan Ermey: But yeah. It's totally legitimate to raise money and people have indeed raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay bills for medical care, for funerals, education, volunteer missions and it's something that's totally legitimate and something that a lot of people are interested in. So there's sites such as YouCaring, GoGetFunding, GoFundMe, GiveForward. These are all ways to raise money for personal causes. Ryan Ermey: One thing ... So we kind of wanted to look at both sides of this and if you're the person who is raising money, it's not enough to just set up a campaign and wait for donations to just start happening. It's not like the internet is just going to find your page. There's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these. So it's up to the organizer of the campaign to blast this stuff out over social media. You should be promoting it on your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, wherever you have any sort of presence. Sandy Block: Right and find the right platform too. Because it depends on what you're raising money for. People tend to use GoFundMe for personal tragedies and things. If you're actually starting a business, you might want to look to Kickstarter or- Ryan Ermey: Indiegogo- Sandy Block: Yeah, Indiegogo, which are more targeted at entrepreneurs and often people who are offering perhaps their product or something to folks who contribute. Ryan Ermey: As always, we urge you to shop around when you're looking for something like this. Obviously, if you're raising money for some sort of serious cause, maybe that's like the last thing you want to think about, but these sites do charge fees. Sandy Block: Right. Ryan Ermey: Some of them charge a platform fee, which might be... You know, say I think GoGetFunding charges a 4% fee for using the platform. Some platforms don't charge the fee, but they still have a 2.9% card processing fee, plus thirty cents on each donation. That's GoFundMe's model. So they may pass off the charge onto people donating to you and maybe that's not what you want. Sandy Block: Right. Ryan Ermey: So it's worth examining how people can pay on the platform, whether you think it's going to be convenient for people in your life, and what you and the people donating to your cause are going to pay in fees. Sandy Block: Right. Now I want to talk about people who actually want to give through crowd funding- Ryan Ermey: Yes. Sandy Block: Because they... I mean it seems like every time I watch the news, there'll be a story about some terrible tragedy and they'll say at the end, "This family has set up a GoFundMe page, and you can find it at NBC4" or whatever. Ryan Ermey: Sure. Sandy Block: So fine. There are a lot of perils to giving money to people that you don't know. There's been a lot of news about a couple in New Jersey who- Ryan Ermey: How dare you. Sandy Block: Who got a lot of press because they claimed that they ran out of gas and a homeless man gave them $20, even though he was homeless man and they got home and they felt really bad for him and they ended up raising over $400,000 and everybody felt really good until they found out that the couple and the homeless man colluded and that most of the money went to cars, vacations and luxury handbags. And all of these three people who apparently, there's no honor among thieves, because I think the woman and her boyfriend have broken up, but they are all facing multiple charges for money laundering and fraud and things like that. Sandy Block: Now this is an extreme example, but this does go on. And really, I think the thing that you should really think about is, only give money on these sites to people that you know, or maybe someone in your community that has been... the sites say they do some vetting, but clearly they can't... there's thousands of campaigns, they can't look at all of them. Some people are very good at tugging at your heartstrings, so the best advice is to only give to people or causes that you are familiar with, that you know. And the other thing I would like to add is that even if you give money to someone that you know is a legitimate cause, usually these contributions are not tax deductible- Ryan Ermey: Right. Sandy Block: Unless it's a registered- Ryan Ermey: It's not the same as a charity donation. Sandy Block: No it's not. And that's the other thing is, when you give to charity, you can go to the Better Business Bureau, you can go to Charity Navigator, lots of ways to vet a charity. There's really no way to vet a GoFundMe, or any other kind of crowdfunding campaign. So if you do contribute, it's not going to be tax deductible unless a legitimate charity is using the platform and there are some charities that are crowd funders like we mentioned a couple weeks ago, DonorsChoose, that allows people to give money to different school projects. That is a charity. Those are tax deductible, but if it's just someone in your town raising money to pay for surgery, you're not going to be able to deduct your contributions no matter how heartfelt they are. Ryan Ermey: So how can you check if something is a legitimate 501-C3 charity? Sandy Block: You can go to IRS.gov and look them up there. You can Google them. You can go to Charity Navigator. And the other thing I would say, is in any of these look for contact information. If this is legitimate there out to be a way to reach out to the people who are organizing the campaign and find out more and if you can't that should be a really big red flag. Ryan Ermey: Alrighty. Ryan Ermey: After the break, Henry Hartveldt prepares you for travel catastrophes. Don't go anywhere. Ryan Ermey: Alright we are back and we're here with Henry Hartveldt who is the president and a travel industry analyst with the Atmosphere Research Group and today we are talking travel snafus. So Henry, thank you so much for coming on. Henry Harteveld: My pleasure. Ryan Ermey: So I think one of the most common things that people face during the sort of summer travel season, or anytime they travel, is they run into delays or cancellations when it comes to their flights. Are the rules for these sort of things... you know, are you rights different depending on the source of the delay? Henry Harteveld: Yes. They can vary based on a few factors. What is the source... what is the cause of the delay? How long the delay is and are you on a domestic flight or flying to certain parts of the world, in particular Europe and are you on a US airline or a foreign flag airline? So the challenging thing for us as travelers, is there's no one blanket set of standards. And airlines... what airlines are obliged to do, can and does vary. Sandy Block: So this is the summer season when often times, particularly if you're flying through Chicago, there are storms that can delay or even cancel flights. What are... do you have any rights if it's really not the airlines fault that you're crowded because of weather? Henry Harteveld: Right. So this is a really good point. Something that is within the airlines control, for example, crew member doesn't show up or maybe there's a maintenance problem, the airline is obliged to do one thing. When it's outside their control, namely weather, there's really... The airline can say, "Hey not our fault. You're on your own." Now what an airline is supposed to do, is get you to your destination and obviously if there's bad weather and airplanes can't fly, well there's not much they can do. Depending on where you're going, a airline sometimes may arrange ground transportation and if you have status with the airlines frequent flyer program, they may be willing to make certain accommodations for you. For example, they may say, "Look, you're driving 300 miles, we'll reimburse you for the price of a rental car." Ryan Ermey: Right. Henry Harteveld: However, if you are just a leisure traveler, you happen to be on an airline where you don't have frequent flyer status, you're on an inexpensive ticket, you're almost at the airlines mercy in these situations. Airlines are not obliged to provide meal vouchers. They're not obliged to provide hotel accommodations or anything else during weather delays or events that are caused outside the airlines control. And it's very frustrating. Sandy Block: You know one thing I've noticed Henry when there is a delay, is you'll see these big long lines of people looking to get connections and then you'll see other people off to the side on their phones. Is it sometimes more efficient to call when you need to find another flight, rather than wait in that long line? Henry Harteveld: Well so the best thing honestly, is when you're traveling make sure you've downloaded the app to your airline. Even if you don't fly the airline very often, download the app. Sandy Block: Okay. Henry Harteveld: Especially in the U.S., the largest airlines have invested in technology that during bad weather or other situations that cause a delay or a flight cancellation, you can often go onto the app and rebook yourself. In some cases they may have even rebooked you. So make sure, regardless of how you booked your fight, whether you booked through a travel agency, and online travel company, or through the airline itself, make sure you create a profile with the airline, make sure that the airline has you email address and importantly your mobile phone number so they can send you text alerts. Make sure you opt in for these alerts, push notifications and so on. If there's a delay, you can often rebook through the mobile app and that will save you a lot of time. Ryan Ermey: Definitely gonna be stuck with a change fee? Henry Harteveld: Yes. So again, a few things and I just saw this happen. If you get to the airport... remember, most airlines will close the doors to their flights ten to twenty minutes before the scheduled departure. So that means if your flight is supposed to leave at 10:30, if you're not at the gate by 10:10, there's a chance they may not let you on the plane. Now a lot depends on the mood of the agent, and is the jet bridge still attached and the airplane door open and the type of ticket you have and so on. But if you are cutting it close, go to the ticket agent, just go right to an agent, say, "I'm running late, here's my flight. Please call the gate. Ask them to hold it." If you get a decent agent, they are often willing to do that. That way the agent knows you're on your way and you're running and if they have the ability to hold the door open they may do so. Henry Harteveld: However, if you miss that flight and it's for a legitimate reason, traffic, whatever else, you know you show up and they've already closed the doors, usually they will send you to a customer service counter to get rebooked. Here's the problem, especially in the U.S. and especially in the summer, airplanes are running at record load factors, the percentage of seats that are occupied. That may mean it could be a wait of several hours or even a day or more to get to your destination, but most airlines will put you on the next available plane if you are able to split up. If you're traveling with a friend, a spouse a partner, kids and you're able to divvy up into a smaller group, that can help you because sometimes they may have two seats open, but not three or four. So be willing to figure out who's going to go first. Henry Harteveld: I mean you know seriously, which kid do you love the most and which kid do really not trust to you know... but you know, obviously the airline will also not let a minor child traveling with parents travel alone, so they would insist that you do this and sometimes they may even seek out someone to give up their seat for you on the next flight. It all depends. Again, keep calm. Acknowledge that the... it's your fault for missing the flight and actually like an adult. In most cases the agents are going to try to help you. To be honest, if you blame the airline for your problem, the agents are gonna simply shrug their shoulders and say, "Gee, that's a you problem. Nothing I can do to help you." Ryan Ermey: Well listen, Henry, we gotta run, but thank you so, so much for coming on. Where can our listeners find what you're working on? Henry Harteveld: Oh thanks. The best thing to do is follow me on Twitter. My Twitter handle is @Hharteveldt. Ryan Ermey: Alright. Fantastic. Obviously everyone's gonna be having fun trips this summer and we hope that no one has any travel disasters, but if they do, you're now better equipped to deal with it. Henry thank you so much again. Henry Harteveld: My pleasure. Ryan Ermey: How much do you know about estimated taxes? What about mutual fund fees? See how you stack up with Sandy and me in Financial Fact or Fiction, next. Ryan Ermey: Alright and before we go, Sandy and I wanted to unveil yet another edition of Financial Fact or Fiction and I will go first. Over the course of your lifetime as an investor, Sandy, a few hundredths of a percent in mutual fund fees can cost you thousands upon thousands of dollars. Sandy Block: I think Ryan that that is true. Ryan Ermey: That is true. It is a fact and bear with me folks we're gonna have to do a tiny bit of math, but I've already done it for you. So don't worry about it too much, but let's say you invest in a mutual fund that charges 1% in annual fees. Sandy Block: Seems like a good deal. Ryan Ermey: You start with $10,000 and invest over 40 years at 8% annualized return. Without contributing another dime to it, you'd end up with a $145,000. Take 1/2 % off of that. So now it's charging 0.5% in fees and you would end up with $178,000. Sandy Block: Which is big bucks. Ryan Ermey: Well exactly. We're talking big money. Think what you can do with an extra $30,000 in retirement and that's a calculation solely based on plunking $10,000- Sandy Block: One time, yeah. Ryan Ermey: And leaving it- Sandy Block: Right. Right. Ryan Ermey: Rather than contributing continuously which is the way that most people tend to invest. So the lesson here is to take a look at the mutual fund expense ratios that's you're paying in your portfolio. The tool that I used was at BankRate. I will link it in the show notes or you can just Google mutual fund fee calculator. There's multiple of these out there and you can adjust an expected rate of return. You can adjust the fees that you're paying, the amount of time you can ... You know, all of these are variable and so you can tailor it to where you are in your ... On your financial journey. The lesson is take a look at your funds and see if any of them could be substituted for a lower fee fund. Ryan Ermey: For instance, if you have a large cap US stock fund, which just about everyone has a large cap US stock fund, you shouldn't be paying humongous fees for it. Especially if it's an underperforming fund. The VanGuard total stock market ETF, which is part of the Kiplinger ETF 20, which we will once again link in the show notes, charges just 0.03% of assets and tracks a performance of the entire US stock market. So pay attention to what you're paying in fees, it's part of being a savvier investor and will save you a lot of money over time. Sandy Block: Right, because the fees are the one thing that you can control. Ryan Ermey: Right. Sandy Block: People get so obsesses with the ups and downs of the market and whether they're going to a bearer market and you really don't have a lot of control over that. Fees are the one thing that you can control. They are a certainty if... the lower the fees, the higher your returns. Ryan Ermey: Exactly right. Ryan Ermey: What do you got Sandy? Sandy Block: Okay. Here's my Fact of Fiction. Sandy Block: If you pay the IRS everything that you owe on April 15th, you could still face an underpayment penalty. Fact or fiction? Ryan Ermey: If I pay my entire tax bill? Sandy Block: Yes. Ryan Ermey: Oh, I think... well this seems tricky, but I pay my entire tax bill every year and I don't think I've ever been hit with an underpayment penalty, so I think I'm safe. Sandy Block: No. You're not. Well you are, because you have your taxes withheld, so you're having your taxes withheld throughout the year. Where this becomes a problem, and we'll talk about this in a story in our upcoming July issue on the gig economy, is if you don't have your taxes withheld. If you are a... someone with a side gig or you work for yourself. Then... we work on a pay as you go system. The IRS expects you to pay taxes throughout the year. You just can't wait until April and square up, even if you pay everything you owe on April 15th, you could be hit with an underpayment penalty because you haven't been paying all along. While I will let the real analysts debate about how we should handle our trade deal regarding China, I am only here to discuss the sentiment around the China deal. This past week, I have seen many posts like this one: We wouldn't be down at these relatively low levels had China settled with Trump. Guaranteed. The posters logic works like this: The market has been dropping ever since the China deal fell apart. So, it is clear that the cause of the drop is the China deal debacle. And I am quite certain that almost all of you think in this exact same way. I mean it so logical, right? Well, it sounds logical only if you ignore facts that blow this logic out of the water. Consider that the S&P500 rallied 9% in 2018 during the heart of the trade war with China. With each escalation, we saw the markets continue higher and higher. How could that even be possible based upon the logic everyone seems to espouse today? Now, I am quite certain there will be some of you that will try to explain away this clear lack of consistency. And, you would likely be those with the best blinders in the room. But, how can a person who is viewing the market through the lens of intellectual honesty come to such a conclusion? If the China trade war clearly causes declines in the market, then this would be true all the time. And, the fact that we saw a 9% rally (which, at the time, had many scratching their heads) should make everyone question the basis for such an assumption. Back in 1940, Ralph Nelson Elliott noted the following about causation for market moves: The causes of these cyclical changes seem clearly to have their origin in the immutable natural law that governs all things, including the various moods of human behavior. Causes, therefore, tend to become relatively unimportant in the long term progress of the cycle. This fundamental law cannot be subverted or set aside by statutes or restrictions. Current news and political developments are of only incidental importance, soon forgotten; their presumed influence on market trends is not as weighty as is commonly believed. In fact, he went so far as to state that: At best, news is the tardy recognition of forces that have already been at work for some time and is startling only to those unaware of the trend. And I think this China trade war is providing factual support for Elliotts understanding of markets. As I have been outlining over the last few weeks, the market has a set up in place that is similar to what we experienced in the fall of 2018, in January of 2016, in August of 2015, and in August of 2011, with it most resembling the market action of late 2015 into early 2016. And, this past week, the market stepped through that trap door. Now, this does not mean I am guaranteeing you a market crash. Rather, this simply suggests that the conditions are in place for one to occur. And, should the market continue down through the 2720-35SPX region early in the coming week, we are well on our way for such an event. You see, as I try to explain to those willing to listen, there is nothing definite in life. Well, as a former tax attorney, I recall an old joke: There are three things that are definite in life death, taxes, and tax reform. But, I digress. Since there is nothing truly definite in life, we have to view markets through the lens of probabilities. This means that while I have a pattern that is currently following through based upon its initial set up, I have to be mindful that this can change. So, I need to know what signals to look for to provide me with a warning that the market will not follow through in the current set up. As I write this article late Saturday night as a bit of a diversion for myself, I simply want to provide goalposts for you to follow in the coming week. 2735/40SPX is our support just below where we closed on Friday. We next need to see the market break strongly through that support to maintain our crash scenario. However, if the market is unable to do so, and rallies back through the market pivot (2770-2800) we outlined to our members, then it tell us that the immediate crash set up has been postponed, and the market will see another higher retracement before we see another downside set up take hold in the coming weeks/months. But, overall, my expectations remain that the market will likely see lower levels in the coming months before we are ready for the rally I expect to take us to the 3500-4000 by the 2022/23 time frame. Lastly, since I have been writing about life, I want to take a moment to remind all of you how precious life truly is, and it must not be taken for granted, for it can be taken from you within an instant. On Friday, while we were in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, my wife had a freak accident which caused a traumatic brain injury. While I am sitting here in the ICU in Idaho as she is sleeping, thanking G-d for bringing her to a point where we are now quite hopeful, I want to remind those of you who read my articles to always focus on what is most important in life. I would also beseech those of you so inclined to say a prayer for my wifes recovery. I would greatly appreciate it. And, please take a moment this weekend to recognize what is truly important in your life. We too often take it for granted. Senior Producers, Larger-Cap Near-Term Production Aluminum Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Alcoa Inc AA 2.1 US$21.19 186 $3,931 3.58 0.78 2.45 27.0 8.7 2.38 4.76 7.15 4.5 3.0 6.0 0.0% Alumina Ltd AWC 2.3 US$1.66 2880 $4,775 0.24 0.18 0.15 9.4 11.0 0.22 0.18 0.17 9.3 9.9 6.2 13.9% Aluminum Corp China Ltd (ADR) ACH 2.3 CNY$2.48 17023 $9,036 0.04 0.12 0.18 20.4 14.0 0.77 0.99 0.99 2.5 2.5 14.4 0.0% Century Aluminum CENX 2.7 US$5.59 89 $496 (0.14) (0.81) 0.81 -- 6.9 (0.79) 0.38 1.81 14.7 3.1 25.9 0.0% United Company Rusal Ltd (HK) 486 1.9 US$0.37 15193 $5,576 0.11 0.11 0.12 3.4 3.0 0.05 0.12 0.11 3.0 3.3 8.7 0.0% Average 15.0 8.7 6.8 4.4 12.2 Iron Ore Cliffs Natural Resources CLF 2.1 US$8.70 283 $2,461 3.71 1.79 1.42 4.9 6.1 1.57 2.21 2.08 3.9 4.2 11.6 1.0% Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (AU) FMG 2.8 US$5.59 3079 $17,196 0.57 0.83 0.72 6.7 7.8 0.83 1.16 1.06 4.8 5.3 5.1 8.2% Kumba Iron Ore Ltd (SA) KIO 4.0 ZAR$442.04 322 $9,765 30.06 47.02 34.55 9.4 12.8 47.32 67.95 61.07 6.5 7.2 7.7 10.7% Labrador Iron Ore Royalty (CA) LIF 2.3 C$31.52 64 $1,493 2.01 3.07 2.55 10.3 12.3 2.32 2.94 2.81 10.7 11.2 21.7 2.6% Mount Gibson Iron Limited (AU) MGX 4.0 AUD$1.22 1128 $955 0.06 0.10 0.08 12.7 15.8 0.09 0.10 0.11 12.4 10.7 45.0 5.6% Average 8.8 11.0 7.7 7.7 18.2 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Consensus Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Base Metals & Diversified Large Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Anglo American PLC (UK) AAL 2.3 US$23.94 1405 $33,632 2.50 2.90 2.65 8.3 9.0 5.50 5.86 5.65 4.1 4.2 7.0 4.5% Antofagasta PLC (UK) ANTO 2.5 US$9.89 986 $9,748 0.52 0.72 0.74 13.6 13.4 1.33 2.21 2.05 4.5 4.8 8.3 0.7% BHP Billiton Ltd BHP 2.8 US$26.20 5058 $124,784 1.87 2.08 2.08 12.6 12.6 3.37 3.44 3.47 7.6 7.5 8.5 5.1% China Molybdenum Co Ltd (HK) 3993 3.3 CNY$2.17 21599 $11,547 0.22 0.12 0.14 18.2 15.6 0.44 0.32 0.25 6.8 8.7 39.2 3.9% Freeport McMoran C&G FCX 2.6 US$9.71 1451 $14,086 1.52 0.40 0.93 24.2 10.4 2.65 1.63 2.35 5.9 4.1 6.2 1.6% Glencore International PLC (UK) GLEN 2.0 US$3.22 13724 $44,142 0.41 0.35 0.40 9.3 8.0 0.81 0.73 0.86 4.4 3.8 7.5 5.4% Grupo Mexico (MX) GMEXICOB 2.6 US$2.49 7785 $19,415 0.17 0.27 0.29 9.3 8.7 0.22 0.35 0.40 7.1 6.2 8.2 5.6% Hindustan Zinc (IN) HZ 2.9 INR$245.80 4225 $14,875 19.47 21.19 22.44 11.6 11.0 24.09 27.76 28.28 8.9 8.7 8.2 0.0% MMC Norilsk Nickel (RU) GMKN -- RU$5,429.84 158 $33,308 -- 899.94 1210.92 6.0 4.5 -- 689.72 1388.13 7.9 3.9 12.1 12.0% Rio Tinto PLC (UK) RIO 2.7 US$57.30 1633 $98,118 5.12 6.00 5.26 9.5 10.9 6.88 9.09 8.58 6.3 6.7 8.4 6.3% Sesa Sterlite Ltd (ADR) SSLT 2.7 INR$160.55 3702 $8,513 17.89 22.05 24.97 7.3 6.4 46.00 53.54 59.76 3.0 2.7 5.0 10.2% South32 Ltd (AU) S32 2.6 US$2.30 5031 $11,543 0.24 0.23 0.22 10.2 10.6 0.36 0.38 0.38 6.0 6.1 6.1 4.8% Southern Copper Corp SCCO 2.7 US$33.73 773 $26,075 2.00 2.31 2.62 14.6 12.9 3.02 3.07 3.45 11.0 9.8 14.1 3.8% Sumitomo Metal Mining (JP) 5713 2.4 JPY$2,862 291 $7,688 265.40 253.58 267.40 11.3 10.7 438.78 428.15 432.06 6.7 6.6 10.5 2.2% Teck Resources Ltd TCK 1.9 C$27.47 565 $11,496 4.07 3.95 3.50 7.0 7.9 7.62 7.60 7.20 3.6 3.8 6.1 0.6% Vale SA (ADR) VALE 2.5 US$48.90 5284 $66,026 5.27 7.47 6.92 6.5 7.1 9.94 9.05 9.09 5.4 5.4 9.6 3.8% Average 11.2 10.0 6.2 5.8 10.3 Mid Cap Assore Ltd (SA) ASR 3.7 ZAR$381.69 140 $3,620 54.69 55.06 46.75 6.9 8.2 26.55 25.09 20.96 15.2 18.2 15.4 7.6% Aurubis AG (GR) NDA 2.4 EUR$39.21 45 $1,962 5.50 4.50 4.84 8.7 8.1 5.09 6.76 6.27 5.8 6.3 5.9 3.2% Boliden AB (SW) BOL 3.0 SEK$216.30 274 $6,232 26.32 23.82 22.72 9.1 9.5 43.03 40.42 41.91 5.4 5.2 6.2 3.4% Eramet (FR) ERA 1.8 EUR$50.62 27 $1,501 1.83 9.50 10.44 5.3 4.8 16.01 20.15 22.32 2.5 2.3 6.3 1.0% Exxaro Resources Ltd (SA) EXX 1.8 ZAR$169.88 359 $4,139 20.57 28.09 27.29 6.0 6.2 (0.17) 20.10 17.60 8.5 9.7 11.1 7.9% First Quantum Minerals (CA) FM 2.2 US$7.28 689 $5,020 0.71 0.78 1.25 9.3 5.8 2.87 2.08 2.95 3.5 2.5 13.7 0.1% Iluka Resources Ltd (AU) ILU 2.0 AUD$9.74 422 $2,855 0.72 0.90 0.95 10.9 10.2 1.49 1.23 1.28 7.9 7.6 -- 3.8% Jiangxi Copper Co "H" (HK) 358 2.6 CNY$8.62 3463 $6,202 0.70 0.86 0.86 10.0 10.0 1.54 1.23 1.34 7.0 6.4 11.7 2.5% Kazakhmys PLC (UK) KAZ 2.4 US$6.44 471 $3,035 1.18 1.11 1.17 5.8 5.5 1.51 1.64 1.65 3.9 3.9 21.4 1.8% KGHM Polska Miedz (PO) KGH 3.3 PLN$95.00 200 $4,929 8.29 11.97 12.44 7.9 7.6 16.48 21.27 22.74 4.5 4.2 5.8 0.0% Lundin Mining Corp (CA) LUN 1.9 US$4.47 736 $3,292 0.30 0.39 0.66 11.4 6.7 0.65 0.89 1.34 5.0 3.3 5.3 0.0% MMG Ltd (HK) 1208 3.1 US$0.30 8052 $2,452 0.01 0.02 0.03 12.8 10.5 0.21 0.19 0.20 1.6 1.6 12.2 0.0% Turquoise Hill Resources TRQ 3.0 US$1.20 2012 $2,383 0.20 0.08 0.08 15.9 15.0 0.09 0.04 0.14 32.9 8.6 10.7 0.0% Vale Indonesia Tbk PT (ID) INCO 2.0 US$0.19 9936 $1,864 0.01 0.00 0.01 40.5 20.3 0.02 0.02 0.02 9.7 8.4 12.1 0.0% Vedanta Resources PLC (UK) VED -- US$10.85 285 $3,089 -- 0.87 1.24 12.5 8.7 -- 9.96 12.60 1.1 0.9 -- -- Average 11.5 9.2 7.6 5.9 10.6 Small Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Anglo Pacific Group PLC (UK) APF 1.3 GBP$2.00 181 $458 0.18 0.23 0.21 8.9 9.5 0.20 0.25 0.23 8.0 8.6 23.4 6.5% Atalaya Mining PLC (UK) ATYM 1.0 EUR$2.40 137 $368 0.25 0.27 0.45 8.9 5.3 0.40 0.00 0.00 -- -- 21.2 0.0% Hudbay Minerals HBM 2.3 US$4.91 261 $1,284 0.40 0.22 0.34 22.1 14.3 1.84 1.59 1.81 3.1 2.7 4.0 0.2% Independence Group NL (AU) IGO 2.2 AUD$4.46 590 $1,827 0.11 0.20 0.28 21.9 15.9 0.61 0.69 0.72 6.5 6.2 17.5 1.0% Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (CA) IVP 1.9 US$2.41 1018 $2,456 0.03 (0.03) (0.00) -- -- (0.02) (0.01) 0.05 -- 48.3 -- 0.0% Mechel OAO (ADR) MTL 4.0 RU$61.40 555 $630 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8.2 0.0% Mineral Resources Ltd (AU) MIN 1.8 AUD$15.02 188 $1,960 1.08 1.32 1.55 11.3 9.7 1.71 1.60 2.02 9.4 7.4 8.8 0.0% Mitsui Mining & Smelting (JP) 5706 2.3 JPY$2,300 57 $1,217 58.51 234.66 313.91 9.8 7.3 649.22 826.35 878.66 2.8 2.6 6.0 2.5% Outokumpu (FN) OUT1V 2.9 EUR$2.63 416 $1,220 0.34 0.15 0.43 17.3 6.2 0.52 0.73 0.97 3.6 2.7 8.2 4.6% Oz Minerals (AU) OZL 2.5 AUD$9.02 324 $2,027 0.73 0.58 0.75 15.6 12.1 1.45 1.35 1.60 6.7 5.6 6.6 2.6% Philex Mining Corp (PH) PX -- Php$2.99 4940 $284 0.15 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 5.9 1.0% Sandfire Resources NL (AU) SFR 2.9 AUD$6.15 160 $681 0.75 0.98 1.20 6.3 5.1 1.53 1.80 1.99 3.4 3.1 4.0 3.9% Volcan Cia Ninera VOLABC1 2.3 US$0.14 4077 $2,040 0.01 0.01 0.01 14.2 14.2 -- -- -- -- -- 10.0 2.2% Western Areas NL (AU) WSA 2.4 AUD$2.18 274 $414 0.06 0.13 0.22 16.5 10.0 0.30 0.38 0.47 5.7 4.7 7.5 1.0% Average 15.0 10.5 5.1 9.3 7.9 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Consensus Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Gold Large Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd AEM 2.1 US$43.59 236 $10,282 0.31 0.57 0.96 76.9 45.3 2.60 3.26 4.14 13.4 10.5 13.5 1.0% Barrick Gold Corp ABX 2.9 US$12.42 1752 $21,796 0.35 0.38 0.46 32.9 27.3 1.51 1.50 1.58 8.3 7.9 7.4 1.2% Franco-Nevada FNV 2.2 US$77.24 187 $14,459 1.17 1.30 1.51 59.6 51.0 2.55 2.83 3.24 27.3 23.8 29.7 1.3% Newcrest Mining Ltd (AU) NCM 2.8 AUD$18.88 768 $14,507 0.67 0.84 0.91 22.4 20.8 1.75 1.80 1.93 10.5 9.8 11.5 1.2% Newmont Mining NEM 2.1 US$33.09 820 $27,122 1.34 1.28 1.43 25.9 23.2 3.41 4.13 4.38 8.0 7.6 12.2 1.6% Polyus Gold International (UK) PGIL 1.8 RU$5,170.50 134 $10,532 617.74 664.72 687.47 7.8 7.5 589.63 779.37 845.02 6.6 6.1 -- 5.1% Zijin Mining Group (HK) 2899 1.8 CNY$2.44 23031 $10,168 0.18 0.21 0.23 11.7 10.8 0.44 0.44 0.51 5.6 4.8 17.7 0.0% Average 33.9 26.6 11.4 10.1 15.3 Mid Cap Alamos Gold AGI 2.4 US$4.88 389 $1,900 0.05 0.16 0.19 30.7 26.0 0.55 0.64 0.72 7.6 6.8 11.4 0.6% AngloGold Ashanti Ltd AU 3.0 US$13.35 414 $5,532 0.51 1.02 1.19 13.1 11.2 2.05 2.84 3.41 4.7 3.9 4.7 0.5% B2Gold Corp BTG 1.7 US$2.73 1008 $2,753 0.16 0.16 0.22 17.6 12.5 0.43 0.42 0.51 6.6 5.3 9.6 0.0% Buenaventura (ADR) BVN 2.8 US$15.17 276 $3,992 (0.02) 0.64 0.77 23.7 19.7 1.36 1.00 1.27 15.2 11.9 13.9 0.6% Evolution Mining Ltd (AU) EVN 2.8 AUD$3.87 1697 $4,557 0.14 0.16 0.20 23.8 19.5 0.38 0.39 0.43 10.0 9.0 10.0 2.0% Gold Fields Ltd (ADR) GFI 3.0 US$4.46 829 $3,683 0.07 0.13 0.22 35.7 20.7 0.75 1.07 1.24 4.2 3.6 4.5 1.6% Kinross Gold Corp KGC 2.7 US$3.27 1252 $4,096 0.10 0.15 0.16 22.5 19.9 0.63 0.77 0.82 4.2 4.0 6.6 0.0% Kirkland Lake Gold (CA) KL 2.4 C$34.60 210 $7,266 1.36 2.22 2.28 15.6 15.2 2.58 3.31 3.43 10.5 10.1 39.0 0.3% Northern Star Resources (AU) NST 2.8 AUD$9.71 640 $4,309 0.33 0.49 0.66 19.9 14.8 0.60 0.82 1.04 11.8 9.3 14.0 1.2% Oceanagold Corp (AU) OGC 2.5 US$2.74 622 $1,718 0.20 0.13 0.17 20.7 16.5 0.55 0.42 0.45 6.5 6.1 6.4 0.7% Polymetal International PLC (UK) POLY 2.4 US$10.74 470 $5,048 1.00 1.12 1.21 9.6 8.9 1.14 1.48 1.63 7.3 6.6 8.7 4.6% Royal Gold Inc RGLD 2.4 US$87.99 66 $5,765 1.68 1.88 2.24 46.9 39.3 4.66 4.53 4.89 19.4 18.0 21.6 1.1% Sibanye Gold Ltd (SA) SGL 2.2 ZAR$13.76 2380 $2,246 (0.01) 1.63 2.82 8.4 4.9 5.31 4.64 6.29 3.0 2.2 5.3 0.0% Yamana Gold Inc AUY 2.5 US$2.00 950 $1,906 0.12 0.04 0.04 54.2 46.0 0.43 0.45 0.52 4.4 3.8 6.1 0.8% Zhaojin Mining Industry Co Ltd (HK) 1818 2.4 CNY$6.34 3221 $2,955 0.15 0.21 0.29 29.6 21.6 0.83 0.69 1.14 9.2 5.6 17.5 0.6% Average 24.8 19.8 8.3 7.1 11.9 Small Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Acacia Mining PLC (UK) ACAA 2.6 US$1.99 410 $814 0.11 0.18 0.22 11.0 9.1 0.31 0.42 0.56 4.7 3.6 1.8 0.0% Alacer Gold Corp (CA) ASR 2.5 US$3.01 294 $885 0.05 0.31 0.37 9.6 8.2 0.33 0.66 0.75 4.6 4.0 39.4 0.0% Centamin Egypt (CA) CEE 2.2 US$1.12 1156 $1,295 0.06 0.06 0.07 17.8 15.0 0.19 0.10 0.14 11.0 8.2 2.5 9.0% Centerra Gold (CA) CG 2.6 US$5.73 292 $1,675 0.26 0.53 0.84 10.8 6.8 0.74 1.36 1.77 4.2 3.2 4.9 0.0% Detour Gold Corp (CA) DGC 1.9 US$9.44 176 $1,660 0.37 0.30 0.48 31.1 19.5 1.47 1.48 1.59 6.4 5.9 6.6 0.0% Eldorado Gold Corp EGO 2.8 US$3.94 159 $591 (0.17) 0.06 0.55 64.2 7.1 0.42 1.03 1.81 3.8 2.2 6.5 0.0% Endeavour Mining Corp (CA) EDV 1.8 US$14.93 110 $1,642 0.49 0.62 1.53 24.2 9.7 2.33 2.75 3.65 5.4 4.1 10.0 0.0% Harmony Gold Mining Ltd HAR 2.8 ZAR$25.25 540 $926 1.69 2.67 3.14 9.5 8.0 9.01 10.96 11.22 2.3 2.3 4.1 0.0% Hecla Mining Co HL 3.3 US$1.31 486 $637 (0.11) (0.10) (0.05) -- -- 0.22 0.18 0.27 7.3 4.9 4.9 0.4% Highland Gold Mining Ltd (UK) HGM 3.0 US$2.10 364 $764 0.15 0.22 0.22 9.8 9.8 0.37 0.38 0.38 5.5 5.6 6.4 7.9% Hochschild Mining PLC (UK) HOC 2.4 US$1.96 511 $1,001 0.05 0.10 0.12 20.1 15.8 0.36 0.47 0.49 4.1 4.0 3.5 2.0% Iamgold Corp IAG 2.3 US$2.50 468 $1,167 0.06 0.03 0.07 81.4 34.1 0.41 0.66 0.70 3.8 3.6 3.0 0.0% Lundin Gold Inc (CA) LUG 2.2 US$4.22 222 $939 (0.12) (0.13) 0.21 -- 20.3 (0.17) (0.17) 0.54 -- 7.8 -- 0.0% Pretium Resources PVG 2.1 US$8.53 184 $1,571 0.54 0.52 0.79 16.4 10.7 1.07 1.13 1.55 7.6 5.5 -- 0.0% Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd OR 2.1 C$14.08 155 $1,616 0.20 0.18 0.26 76.5 54.2 0.53 0.63 0.74 22.2 19.1 56.9 1.3% Regis Resources Ltd (AU) RRL 3.4 AUD$4.45 508 $1,568 0.34 0.36 0.38 12.3 11.6 0.49 0.49 0.54 9.0 8.2 8.5 3.3% St Barbara Ltd (AU) SBM 2.6 AUD$2.56 696 $1,231 0.33 0.28 0.27 9.1 9.6 0.51 0.44 0.44 5.8 5.8 5.3 2.6% Sandstorm Gold Ltd (CA) SAND 2.1 US$5.44 179 $971 0.03 0.07 0.09 77.7 61.8 0.24 0.29 0.34 18.6 16.1 26.3 0.0% Saracen Mineral Holdings (AU) SAR 3.0 AUD$3.20 820 $1,814 0.10 0.16 0.20 20.1 16.2 0.25 0.28 0.30 11.5 10.7 26.9 0.0% Semafo (CA) SMF 1.9 US$3.00 333 $1,000 (0.01) 0.32 0.33 9.3 9.0 0.34 0.83 0.81 3.6 3.7 7.2 0.0% SSR Mining SSRM 2.4 US$11.68 121 $1,416 0.23 0.41 0.53 28.5 21.9 0.50 1.28 1.63 9.1 7.2 6.2 0.0% Torex Gold Resources (CA) TXG 1.9 US$9.18 85 $781 0.23 0.49 0.62 18.6 14.7 2.68 2.41 2.63 3.8 3.5 6.2 0.0% Average 27.9 17.8 7.4 6.3 11.9 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Reuters Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Silver Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Americas Silver Corp (CA) USA 1.7 US$1.72 78 $134 (0.25) (0.02) 0.17 -- 10.1 0.21 0.22 0.49 7.8 3.5 0.0 0.0% Coeur Mining Corp CDE 2.0 US$2.84 205 $582 (0.01) (0.28) (0.02) -- -- 0.11 0.57 0.95 5.0 3.0 4.5 0.0% Endeavour Silver Corp EXK 3.0 US$1.78 131 $234 (0.10) (0.17) 0.00 -- NM 0.21 0.09 0.22 20.9 8.0 6.4 0.0% First Majestic Silver Corp AG 2.6 US$6.08 199 $1,213 (0.21) (0.07) 0.04 -- NM 0.18 0.49 0.73 12.3 8.3 11.3 0.0% Fortuna Silver Mines FSM 2.3 US$2.58 160 $414 0.24 0.20 0.48 13.2 5.4 0.52 0.36 0.87 7.2 3.0 4.7 0.0% Fresnillo (UK) FRES 2.3 US$9.70 737 $7,148 0.46 0.44 0.58 21.9 16.7 1.09 1.02 1.08 9.5 9.0 7.3 3.7% Mag Silver Corp MAG 1.8 US$9.78 86 $843 (0.09) (0.06) 0.41 -- 23.7 (0.05) (0.05) 0.42 -- 23.3 95.5 0.0% Pan American Silver PAAS 2.5 US$10.87 209 $2,274 0.39 0.27 0.59 39.8 18.3 1.01 1.41 2.09 7.7 5.2 9.3 1.1% Wheaton Precious Metals WPM 1.9 US$22.10 445 $9,849 0.48 0.52 0.66 42.2 33.6 1.22 1.15 1.27 19.2 17.4 18.1 1.5% Silvercorp SVM 1.5 US$2.19 170 $372 0.21 0.20 0.21 11.1 10.6 0.40 0.35 0.35 6.3 6.3 -- -- Average 25.6 16.9 10.7 8.7 17.4 Platinum Group Metals African Rainbow Minerals (SA) ARI 2.3 ZAR$164.95 222 $2,487 26.66 28.81 25.37 5.7 6.5 15.36 16.45 38.63 10.0 4.3 35.2 8.1% Anglo Platinum Ltd (SA) AMS 3.3 ZAR$732.78 270 $13,424 28.22 40.28 43.14 18.2 17.0 59.17 53.94 56.65 13.6 12.9 21.1 2.1% Impala Platinum (SA) IMP 2.3 ZAR$58.00 735 $3,221 1.84 5.11 5.02 11.3 11.6 5.53 8.17 7.72 7.1 7.5 16.3 0.0% Lonmin PLC (UK) LMI 3.1 US$0.91 290 $264 0.18 0.30 0.32 3.0 2.8 0.40 0.48 0.02 1.9 59.7 -- 0.0% Northam Platinum Ltd (SA) NHM 2.5 ZAR$56.31 510 $1,950 (0.35) 2.20 3.10 25.6 18.2 3.91 9.55 9.34 5.9 6.0 45.5 0.0% Average 12.8 11.2 7.7 18.1 29.5 Diamonds & Gems Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % AK Alrosa PAO (RU) ALRS 2.4 RU$33.75 7365 $9,962 12.29 12.77 14.16 2.6 2.4 17.41 15.01 17.01 2.2 2.0 3.9 10.9% Lucara Diamond Corp (CA) LUC 1.7 US$1.12 397 $447 0.03 0.08 0.09 14.8 12.7 0.11 0.18 0.16 6.4 7.2 2.3 6.5% Mountain Province Diamonds (CA) MPVD 2.3 US$1.32 210 $205 (0.10) 0.14 0.22 9.2 6.1 0.69 0.57 0.72 2.3 1.8 -- 3.4% Petra Diamonds Ltd (UK) PDL 2.1 US$0.28 865 $240 0.01 0.04 0.07 7.1 3.9 0.12 0.14 0.18 2.0 1.5 5.3 0.0% Average 8.4 6.3 3.2 3.1 3.8 Fertilizers Arab Potash Co (JR) APOT -- JOD$16.60 83 $1,953 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 12.0 6.8% CF Industries CF 2.5 US$40.24 221 $8,896 1.24 2.12 2.70 19.0 14.9 6.40 5.96 6.54 6.8 6.2 18.2 2.9% Compass Minerals CMP 2.3 US$51.01 34 $1,728 1.93 2.65 3.97 19.3 12.9 5.63 8.02 8.72 6.4 5.8 10.9 5.3% Incitec Pivot Ltd (AU) IPL 2.4 AUD$3.28 1606 $3,654 0.19 0.15 0.25 21.5 13.3 0.38 0.36 0.44 9.1 7.5 10.7 2.4% Israel Chemical (IS) ICL 2.3 US$5.05 1280 $6,498 0.37 0.37 0.40 13.7 12.5 0.48 0.65 0.66 7.8 7.7 8.7 3.8% K & S Aktiengesellschaft (GR) SDF 2.1 EUR$15.20 191 $3,237 0.22 1.18 1.54 12.9 9.9 1.88 3.43 3.60 4.4 4.2 11.0 1.5% Mosaic Co MOS 2.4 US$21.47 386 $8,283 2.12 1.73 2.35 12.4 9.1 3.75 3.91 4.71 5.5 4.6 11.5 0.4% Sociedad Quimica Minera (ADR) SQM 2.7 US$30.33 263 $7,768 1.67 1.56 1.85 19.4 16.4 1.99 2.38 2.45 12.7 12.4 10.9 6.2% Yara International ASA (NO) YAR 2.5 NOK$42.94 273 $11,733 1.68 2.95 3.78 14.6 11.4 2.77 6.16 6.29 7.0 6.8 9.8 1.8% Average 16.6 12.5 7.5 6.9 11.5 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Reuters Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Uranium Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Cameco Corp CCJ 2.4 C$13.64 396 $3,995 0.53 0.04 0.20 NM 69.2 1.68 0.73 0.79 18.7 17.2 9.7 0.5% Denison Mines DNN 2.2 US$0.72 589 $314 (0.04) (0.04) (0.03) -- -- (0.04) (0.03) (0.03) -- -- -- 0.0% Energy Resources Australia (AU) ERA 4.0 AUD$0.21 518 $75 0.04 (0.05) (0.02) -- -- (0.15) 0.12 0.03 1.8 7.0 -- 0.0% Uranium Participation Corp (CA) U 1.9 C$4.35 138 $445 (0.03) (0.03) 0.02 -- NM (0.04) (0.04) (0.04) -- -- -- 0.0% Average 69.2 10.2 12.1 9.7 Coal Large - Mid Cap Price Shrs O/S Mkt Cap Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Cash Flow Per Share Price/Cash Flow EV/EBITDA Div Yld Symbol Rating 31-May-19 (MM) (US$MM) 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2018 2019E 2020E 2019E 2020E 2019E % Adaro Energy TBK (ID) ADRO 2.0 US$0.09 31986 $2,878 0.01 0.01 0.01 7.6 7.0 0.03 0.02 0.02 4.0 3.8 5.0 6.6% Banpu Public Co Ltd (TH) BANPU 2.2 THB$0.47 5162 $2,422 0.08 0.06 0.06 7.6 7.7 0.08 0.10 0.09 4.9 5.0 17.2 4.2% China Coal Energy Co (HK) 1898 2.5 CNY$2.82 13259 $7,999 0.34 0.37 0.37 7.5 7.6 1.54 1.21 1.25 2.3 2.3 11.7 2.9% China Shenhua Energy Co (HK) 1088 2.3 CNY$14.18 19890 $50,908 2.22 2.17 2.15 6.5 6.6 4.11 3.83 3.59 3.7 3.9 5.3 5.8% Consol Energy CNX 2.4 US$7.72 195 $1,509 1.36 0.72 0.75 10.7 10.3 4.13 4.04 3.97 1.9 1.9 6.9 0.0% Whitehaven Coal Lyd (AU) WHC 2.0 AUD$3.93 1026 $2,798 0.56 0.52 0.43 7.5 9.2 0.87 0.77 0.62 5.1 6.4 0.0 0.0% Yancoal Australia Lyd YAL -- AUD$3.23 1320 $2,948 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0.0 0.0% Yanzhou Coal Mining Co Ltd (HK) 1171 2.3 CNY$6.49 4912 $6,404 1.75 1.55 1.43 4.2 4.5 3.71 2.89 3.08 2.2 2.1 18.3 0.0% Average 7.4 7.6 3.5 3.6 8.0 Small Cap Fushan Int'l Energy Group (HK) 639 2.3 HK$1.63 5302 $1,101 0.21 0.21 0.22 7.7 7.5 0.23 0.29 0.30 5.5 5.4 7.2 10.6% NLC India Ltd (IN) NLCINDIA -- INR$65.10 1387 $1,298 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 7.9 -- New Hope Corp Ltd (AU) NHC 2.8 AUD$2.63 831 $1,517 0.38 0.44 0.32 6.0 8.3 0.53 0.52 0.39 5.0 6.8 15.1 4.0% PT Tambang Batubara Bukit (ID) PTBA 2.3 IDR$3,060 11521 $2,449 477.00 422.25 431.26 7.2 7.1 746.44 395.30 445.35 7.7 6.9 10.4 8.1% PT Bumi Resources (ID) BUMI -- US$0.01 65476 $537 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 0.0% Average 7.2 7.7 4.2 4.4 9.0 Limited Partnership Alliance Resource Partners LP ARLP 2.0 US$17.21 128 $2,210 2.99 3.84 2.54 4.5 6.8 5.31 3.26 3.10 5.3 5.6 4.0 10.3% Natural Resource Partners LP NRP 3.0 US$39.76 12 $488 6.43 5.75 6.15 6.9 6.5 9.19 6.55 7.97 6.1 5.0 4.4 4.4% Average 5.7 6.6 5.7 5.3 4.2 Note: Currency shown is that used by the company for financial reporting. Currency does not always reflect the country/market in which the company/stock symbol trades. GAAP may differ between stocks due to countries and markets. The tables are compiled from the Thomson Reuters database of consensus Ratings & Estimates of equity analysts. The historicals and estimates of earnings and cash flows exclude non-operating, special items. Thomson Reuters Rating System: Buy (1.0), Buy/Hold (2.0), Hold (3.0), Sell/Hold (4.0), Sell (5.0) Source: Thomson Reuters. Recent and Forecast Commodity Prices Cash Price (31-May-19) Aluminum ($0.80 / lb) Cobalt ($15.42 / lb) Copper ($2.62 / lb) Lead ($0.81 / lb) Molybdenum ($12.18 / lb) Nickel ($5.46 / lb) Tin ($8.55 / lb) Zinc ($1.22 / lb) Palladium ($1310 / oz) Platinum ($791 / oz) Silver ($14.56 / oz) Years of underinvestment, long lead times for mine development and a coming surge of electric vehicle demand are all bullish factors for nickel, said Michael Beck, managing director at Regent Advisors. Beck spoke to Kitco News at Palisade Global's Hard Asset Conference in Georgia on Jekyll Island held mid-May. Nickel is a key component of lithium-ion batteries, and Beck said Tesla's next generation of lithium-ion batteries uses more of the element. "The ramp-up of demand is just beginning," said Beck. "Electric vehicles are going to impose a new demand source on nickel that never really existed before. It takes seven to 10 years to bring on new nickel projects. So you have the makings I thinka??at least this is our thesisa??of a perfect storm." Interview is edited for clarity. Kitco: What impact is the electrical vehicle revolution going to have on nickel? Michael Beck: Nickel is probably the single most important metal component in battery fabrication. It's where all of the energy is stored and increasing the battery chemistries are being refined to allow the inclusion of as much nickel as possible. The more nickel, the higher the energy density of the battery. And nickel is particularly interesting from a supply-demand outlook because of the collapse of nickel prices in 2007. The commodity has remained relatively depressed. The current nickel price is US$12,000 a tonne versus the high in 2007, which was $15,000 a tonne. And in this intervening almost 12 years there was no material investment in new nickel capacity. The last 12 years has been a draw down of excess inventory, and that's coming to an end. The ramp-up of demand is just beginning. Electric vehicles are going to impose a new demand source on nickel that never really existed before, particularly for class one nickel. It takes seven to 10 years to bring on new nickel projects. So you have the makings I think, at least this is our thesis, of a perfect storm. You have a baked in structural deficit for the next 12 years. You have seven to ten years lead time to bring in new capacity, and all of a sudden you have inventories in the next 18 months going down to almost zero. You also have this new demand source that never existed for nickel. So that gets us rather interested as prospective investors. And in the universe of metals it's our favorite. We think in the next two to three years you're going to see a major up-tick of nickel price, and that's as shortages emerge and that's what's going to be required to get new investment in the sector. Kitco: Why is nickel important for electric vehicles? Michael Beck: Well it's interesting. Elon Musk said a couple of years ago that really lithium-ion batteries was a misnomer. It should be really called nickel-iron, and that's because that's the energy density of a battery. The energy is stored by the nickel units. And if you look at an average Model 3, it consumes something on the order of 30 kilograms of nickel. And increasingly the cathode makers, which are really the principal components for battery fabrication, are tinkering with chemistries that use more nickel. The higher the energy density, the longer range you have on the vehicle. It is the most important element in in a battery. Without nickel you don't have the energy storage. Kitco: If you have a nickel thesis, how does this play out in the junior space? Michael Beck: It's a little bit of a challenge because the world's largest nickel producer, at least in the Western world, is Vale. But Vale is really an iron ore producer. Nickel represents probably less than 15 percent of the company's portfolio. So if you buy Vale, you're not really getting nickel. You're getting an iron ore share. Vale has its own challenges. It has a rather impaired balance sheet, which is why it trades where it does. Another interesting nickel producer that we own is Independence Group NL out of Australia. They have a market cap of about a $1.5B, and the company is growing its nickel production. But you're right, there aren't a lot of opportunities to invest in existing nickel producers, because they're few and far between. Maybe the most interesting in the larger cap of established players is Norilsk. They're the number two nickel producer, and they're based in Russia. That's probably the single best large-cap way to get exposure to nickel. It has a good dividend yield. It's a major producer of the metal, and when nickel goes up, their share price goes up accordingly. At the smaller cap end of the spectrum, there are a bunch of smallish nickel explorers and emerging developers. One that we like particularly is a company called Giga Metals. It's listed on the TSX. Even though it has a market capitalization of less than $10 million, it happens to own the world's second-largest undeveloped nickel sulfide deposit. Nickel sulfide is the preferred form of nickel for the production of class one nickel, which is what is required for a battery fabrication. We think the company is completely mis-priced asset, and we look at it as an un-dated call option on nickel. So if our thesis on nickel is correct and nickel goes from $12,000 a tonne to $20,000 a tonne and then perhaps beyond to $50,000 a tonne where it peaked in 2007, then this stock will be disproportionately re-rated and you have a chance, if your thesis is right, to make 10 to 20 times your money. If you're wrong, maybe the market cap goes from where it is today, from $8 million to $4 million. So we like to see those kinds of bets. There is another company that's sort of similar, and it's an asset is not nearly as large but it's called Grid Metals, and it has a relatively advanced smaller nickel sulfide deposit in Manitoba and it has a market cap of $3 to $4 million dollars. But again any of these companies, whether they're at the microcap end of the spectrum or whether they're big established producers like Norilsk or somebody in between, will benefit when the nickel price rises. We've got a fair degree of conviction about our thesis: the adoption rates for EV will accelerate. Nickel shortages will emerge, and all these companies with nickel exposure will benefit. Cate Cadell BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States cannot use pressure to force a trade deal on China, a senior Chinese official and trade negotiator said on Sunday, refusing to be drawn on whether the leaders of the two countries would meet at the G20 summit to bash out an agreement. Trade tensions rose sharply last month after U.S. President Donald Trumps administration accused China of having reneged on its previous promises to make structural changes to its economic practices. Washington later slapped additional tariffs of up to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese goods, prompting Beijing to retaliate. Speaking at a news conference, Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said it was irresponsible of the United States to accuse China of backtracking. If the U.S. side wants to use extreme pressure, to escalate the trade friction, to force China to submit and make concessions, this is absolutely impossible, said Wang, who has been part of Chinas negotiating team. Switching into English, he said: Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. During the consultations, China has overcome many difficulties and put forward pragmatic solutions. However, the U.S. has backtracked, and when you give them an inch, they want a yard, he said. Wang said the U.S. had made unreasonably high demands and insisted on adding demands relating to Chinas sovereign rights to the countries agreement. The raising of tariffs escalated tensions and severely frustrated the talks, he added. His comments were echoed by Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe at a defense forum in Singapore on Sunday. If the U.S. wants to talk, we will keep the door open. If they want a fight, we will fight till the end, Wei said. Trump has said he will meet President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Osaka at the end of the month, though China has not confirmed the meeting. When asked if Xi would meet Trump in Japan, Wang said: I dont have any information on this to provide. WHITE PAPER Wang, who was speaking at the unveiling of a new government policy paper on the trade war, said U.S. officials overestimate the trade deficit between the two countries and China should not be blamed for a decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. The U.S. goods and services deficit with China is closer to $150 billion and not the $410 billion quoted by U.S. officials, he said, adding that Chinas processing trade with the United States should not be included in deficit calculations. The white paper cited three instances of the U.S. backtracking on its commitments, adding that Washington was reponsible for setbacks in the talks. It said China had enough fiscal and monetary policy tools and good momentum to sustain economic development despite the trade war. Data last week showed Chinas factory activity shrank in May at a more severe pace than expected. It followed soft data in Chinas retail, export and construction sectors, raising expectations that Beijing may need to roll out more stimulus to support the economy. Wang also rejected assertions that Beijing is directing domestic companies on overseas acquisitions and investments. Chinas government is not involved in the specific commercial behavior of companies, and wont instruct or require companies to invest in a project or buy a technology, he said. Wang reiterated that China is willing to meet demand for rare earths from other countries, but it would be unacceptable if some nations used Chinese rare earths to create products that limited Chinas development. Xis visit to a rare earths plant last month sparked speculation that China would use its dominant position as an exporter of rare earths to the United States as leverage in the trade war. Wang said the commerce ministry is investigating reports of delays in customs checks and will make efforts to speed up inspections and reduce costs for importers. A top U.S. business lobby group said last month that its members face increased obstacles in China such as government inspections, slower customs clearance and slower approval for licensing and other applications. Reporting by Cate Cadell; Additional reporting by Meng Meng and Andrew Galbraith in SHANGHAI and Lee Chyen Yee in SINGAPORE; Writing by Andrew Galbraith; editing by Darren Schuettler Editor's Note: Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today's must-read news stories and expert opinions that moved the precious metals and financial markets. Sign up here! (Kitco News) - The idea for gold-backed currency got a nod of approval from the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who proposed a common trading currency pegged to gold for all of East Asia. Mahathir made his statement at the Nikkei Future of Asia conference held in Tokyo last week. In the Far East, if you want to come together, we should start with a common trading currency, not to be used locally but for the purpose of settling of trade, he said on Thursday. The currency that we propose should be based on gold because gold is much more stable. Malaysian Prime Minister described the world as filled with conflicts in which currencies are being manipulated. The situation in the world is not stable. We see conflicts everywhere There is a confrontation between America and China. We are all affected even though we are not part of the contestants, Mahathir said. Currency trading is not something that is healthy because it is not about the performance of countries but about manipulation. With his gold-backed currency proposal, Mahathir drew the line at settling imports and exports, noting that his idea would not be used in local stores. During his speech, Mahathir also criticized American world dominance, adding that its power is undemocratic. You [the U.S.] are not democratic. That is not for any single power to decide. If you want to live in a united world, a stable world, we must resort to sustainability through agreement between all nations that have a stake in that problem. Malaysian PM is known for his rhetoric against currency trading, especially after Mahathir stated that billionaire George Soros bet against Asian currencies and triggered the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Sharay Angulo MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Top Mexican and U.S. officials on Sunday prepared for crunch talks next week aimed at averting a major trade clash after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose punitive tariffs on all Mexican goods in an intensifying dispute over migration. Mexicos Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday she would meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, as the two governments begin holding talks to resolve the issue in the U.S. capital in the coming week. Trump says he will apply tariffs of 5% on Mexican goods on June 10 if Mexico does not halt the flow of illegal immigration, largely from Central America, across the U.S.-Mexican border. The tariffs will gradually rise to 25% if Mexico does not comply with Trumps demands. That threatens major economic damage to Mexico, which sends about 80% of its exports to the United States. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Saturday hinted his government could agree to tighten migration controls to defuse Trumps threat, and said he expected good results from the talks in Washington next week. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard is heading the Mexican delegation, which includes Marquez. Marquez said she spoke to her U.S. counterpart Ross during the inauguration of El Salvadors new president on Saturday, without giving details. Ebrard is expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for talks on the crisis on Wednesday, though Mexican officials say they will be holding other meetings beforehand. Trumps ultimatum has hurt Mexican financial assets and global stocks, but it met resistance from U.S. business leaders and lawmakers worried about the impact of targeting Mexico, one of the United States top trade partners. The U.S. president went on the attack again on Twitter on Sunday morning, calling Mexico an abuser of the United States, taking but never giving and repeating his threats. Our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border, will be brought back into the United States through taxation (Tariffs), Trump wrote. America has had enough! Lopez Obrador said on Saturday that Mexico would not engage in a trade war, but noted that his government had a plan in case Trump did apply the tariffs, without providing details. He also noted that Mexico reserved the right to seek international legal arbitration to resolve the dispute. Meanwhile, some Mexican business groups have urged the government to strike back against any Trump tariffs. On Friday, Mexicos top farm lobby said Lopez Obrador should target agricultural goods from states that support Trumps Republican Party if the American leader carries out his threat to punish Mexico for the migrants heading north. Apprehensions at the U.S. border with Mexico have surged in recent months, though Mexican data also show more deportations and detentions at Mexicos southern border with Guatemala, mostly of Central Americans trying to reach the United States. The bulk of migrants are fleeing widespread violence and poverty in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Many seek asylum in the United States when they cross the border. Trump is pushing Congress to change U.S. law to make it more difficult for the migrants to claim asylum. Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Stefanie Eschenbacher; writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill Berkrot MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexicos Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Sunday she would meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday, two days before the neighboring countries are due to discuss possible tariffs on Mexican goods. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose punitive tariffs of 5% on Mexican goods, that would gradually increase to 25%, if Mexico did not stem migration north. Mexicos deputy minister of foreign trade Luz Maria de la Mora later specified in a tweet that both would analyze the commercial relationship between the two countries, adding that Mexico had become the United States largest trade partner in early 2019. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had been optimistic that they could find a way to avoid the tariffs. Meanwhile, Trump called Mexico an abuser in tweets on Sunday morning. He called for a construction of a wall along the United States southern border and reiterated threats of tariffs. Our many companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border, will be brought back into the United States through taxation (Tariffs), Trump wrote. America has had enough! Marquez and Ross met in El Salvador, where both attended the inauguration of the Central American countrys new president, Nayib Bukele, in San Salvador. Reporting by Sharay Angulo; writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Bill Berkrot (Kitco News) - As gold fever grips Western Canada, it took one family less than 24 hours to find a hidden treasure and walk away with a chest full of silver and gold, worth $100,000. GoldHunt, the group behind the treasure hunt, announced late Saturday that the Edmonton treasure was located by the Duff family of Sherwood Park. However, there are still two more chests of gold and silver up for grabs in Vancouver and Calgary. Chris Cromwell, the spokesperson for Gold Hunt said that would-be pirates might want to take a page from the Duffs. The family did a ton of research even before leaving their house, he said. They located the treasure just six hours after leaving their house. The Edmonton gold hunt might have been a little too easy for the family that regularly spends time together solving riddles and geocaching -- using GPS to hide and find containers at specific coordinates. We are a game-playing family, said the father, Bryon Duff. My son and I like to look at logic games on YouTube. We really like doing puzzles and are big into geocaching; its something we like to do as a family. We thought GoldHunt was a great idea, he added. We didnt do it with the belief that we would find the treasure. We thought it was a good fit because of all the stuff we do regularly. The gold and silver treasure hunt are still going on in Calgary and Vancouver, and has captured the imagination of all of Canada. Cromwell noted that #goldhunt was the fourth highest trending topic in Canada during the weekend. He added that the response to the treasure hunt has been overwhelming for the small group. Its not just about the gold and silver. We are getting message from people thanking us for showing them how valuable their family is and things like how great their cities are, he said. We would definitely love to host these gold hunts in other cities. However, Cromwell did issue a warning to all treasure hunters: everyone needs to respect private and public property. The hunt has been plagued by people digging where they shouldn't be and not cleaning up their mess. As for the Duff family, how do they plan to spend their newly-found pirate hoard? Cromwell said that they plan to take a family vacation and to pay some bills. * GRAPHIC-2019 asset returns:* Manufacturing PMIs highlight problems ahead (Updates with official prices, ISM data and dollar impact) By Pratima Desai LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - Copper prices touched five-month lows on Monday, pressured by the escalating trade dispute between the United States and China and concerns over the damage to manufacturing activity and demand for industrial metals. Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) ended up 0.2% at $5,842 a tonne as funds took profits on short positions - bets on lower prices. Earlier prices hit $5,801, the lowest since Jan. 4. "Pessimism has taken hold. A recovery will need an end, or at least conciliatory moves, between the two sides," a fund manager trading metals said in reference to the U.S.-China trade dispute. "Manufacturing PMIs show the decline in activity, the outlook for industrial metals doesn't look good." Copper prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange fell to a two-year low at 46,050 yuan. HIT LIST: China on Friday threatened to unveil an unprecedented hit list of "unreliable" foreign businesses, groups and individuals that harm the interests of Chinese companies. On Saturday it imposed additional levies on the majority of U.S. imports on a $60 billion target list. "These actions could be viewed as putting China back on to a level playing field," ING analysts said in a note. "The U.S. should now know that suppressing China will result in bounce-back retaliation from China. Whether this will encourage the U.S. to go back to the negotiation table is hard to gauge." CHINA: Factory activity in China expanded at a modest pace in May, a private survey showed, but analysts say that front-loading of exports to the United States in an effort to avoid higher tariffs masked underlying weakness in the economy. EURO ZONE: Manufacturing activity in the euro zone contracted for a fourth month in May and at a faster pace, a survey showed. ISM: The Institute for Supply Management's U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index slipped to 52.1 from 52.8 in April, marking the lowest level since October 2016. Expectations had been for a number at 53. DOLLAR: A weaker U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated metals cheaper for holders of other currencies. This is a relationship used by funds to generate buy and sell signals. POSITIONS: "The copper net speculative short position has inched up to 7.4% of open interest, or 13,000 lots, largely back to levels not seen since October," Marex Spectron analysts said in a note. One lot is 25 tonnes. "Last year the short in copper peaked at 30% of open interest on July 19." PRICES: Aluminium ended down 1% at $1,777 a tonne, zinc lost 2.2% to $2,468, lead rose 0.3% to $1,810 and tin gained 2.3% to $19,150. Nickel was untraded at the close, but was down 1.2% at $11,880 in electronic trade. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Top Base and Precious Metals Analysis - GFMS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Pratima Desai Editing by Mark Heinrich) LME price overview COMEX copper futures Base metals news All metals news All commodities news Metals diary Foreign exchange rates SPEED GUIDES )) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexico on Monday made clear it would reject a U.S. idea to take in all Central American asylum seekers if it is raised at talks this week with Trump administration, which has threatened to impose tariffs if Mexico does not crack down on illegal immigration. President Donald Trump last week said he will impose tariffs on all Mexican imports from June 10 as a way to pressure Mexico to tackle large flows of mostly Central American migrants passing through on the way to the United States. The threat was a shock to global markets, which are already suffering from a trade war between the United States and China. Speaking to reporters in Washington before this weeks meetings, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the country is committed to continuing to work to keep illegal immigrants from Central American from reaching the United States border. However, a more radical proposal favored by some U.S. officials to designate Mexico a safe third country, which would force Central Americans seeking asylum in the United States to instead seek that status in Mexico, is not an option, he said. An agreement about a safe third country would not be acceptable for Mexico, Ebrard said. They have not yet proposed it to me. But it would not be acceptable and they know it. The talks in Washington will be closely watched by financial markets concerned that import tariffs would ultimately hit the U.S. economy by adding to the cost of a wide range of goods in the United States, from Mexican-made cars and auto parts to beer and avocados. U.S. business groups have opposed the tariff plan and the influential U.S. Chamber of Commerce is looking at ways to challenge it, including legal options. MEXICAN ECONOMY The Mexican economy which is heavily reliant on exports to the United States, shrank in the first quarter and would reel under U.S. levies that would start at 5% but could reach as high as 25% this year under Trumps plan. U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday as the multi-front trade war made investors increasingly risk averse and fueled worries of a recession, although the market ticked higher, propped up by healthcare stocks. Trump, who has embraced protectionism as part of an America First agenda aimed at reshaping global trade, said in a tweet last Thursday that he would ratchet up tariffs on Mexico until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied. Since January, the government of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has ramped up migrant detentions and deportations, but that has not been enough to stop the growing tide of families reaching the United States, mainly from Guatemala and Honduras. In May, numbers are expected to have outpaced the 99,000 people apprehended at the U.S. border in April, with many of those crossing in groups of families who will mostly be released to await asylum hearings in the United States. Mexican officials in Washington on Monday warned that the tariffs could backfire, fanning further migration by hammering regional economies. Tariffs, along with the decision to cancel aid programs to the northern Central American countries, could have a counterproductive effect and would not reduce migration flows, Mexicos ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena, told the news conference. The tariffs also could cause financial and economic instability, reducing Mexican authorities capacity to address migration flows and offer alternatives to migrants fleeing Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, she said. Approval of a deal to revamp the NAFTA free trade agreement between Mexico, the United States and Canada is also pending and could be hampered by the latest dispute over immigration, Mexican authorities said. Jesus Seade, Mexicos deputy foreign minister for North America described the imposition of tariffs on Monday as a stumbling block that puts at risk passage of the trade deal. The talks in Washington come as Trump is out of the country on an extended trip to Europe. Several of his key advisers on immigration and trade issues are with him, including Treasury Secretary Mnuchin, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and immigration adviser Stephen Miller. The discussions will include a meeting of Mexican Agriculture Minister Victor Villalobos and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday, Mexican officials said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and acting U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan also are expected to participate in talks, Mexican officials said. Mexican Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will meet this week, as will Ebrard and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. LONDON (Reuters) - A four-course meal, more than 2,000 pieces of silver-gilt cutlery and a toast to the queen: Donald Trump will enjoy all the trappings of a state banquet when the U.S. president is received by Queen Elizabeth on Monday. While this is the first time Trump and his wife Melania have experienced a royal British banquet, the queen is used to such occasions: it is the 113th time Queen Elizabeth has hosted a state visit. State visit invitations are extended by the government, but the queen acts as host. After being greeted at Buckingham Palace with a cannon salute and marching Guards band, Trump had a private lunch with the monarch and tea with her son Prince Charles. Elizabeth will give a speech and a toast, and Trump will also be expected to say a few words ahead of the banquet. Then the meal begins: a steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse followed by a saddle of Windsor lamb and then strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream and a selection of assorted fresh fruits. The meal is served on the silver-gilt Grand Service, originally commissioned by George IV when he was Prince of Wales in 1806. It consists of over 4,000 pieces for dining, including dinner plates and 107 candelabra. Buckingham Palace says the final build of the State Banquet table starts around five days before the arrival of the visiting head of state, and that every detail of the meal is checked and approved by Queen Elizabeth. Flower displays are in shades of summer pink and comprise of sweet peas, mixed peonies, sweet Avalanche roses, stock and larkspur. Each of the napkins is folded into a Dutch bonnet by a person titled Yeoman of the China and Glass Pantry. Trump joins Barack Obama and George W. Bush as the only U.S. presidents to have official state visits to Britain with Queen Elizabeth. She has met all 13 presidents in her reign except Lyndon Johnson. Trump was widely seen to have broken royal protocol when he failed to bow when he met the queen in 2018, and then walked in front of her as they inspected a guard. And Trump may be well advised to keep his remarks brief to avoid the mild embarrassment suffered by his predecessor. During his state banquet in 2011, Obama spoke over the British national anthem after musicians struck up during a pause in his toast, and then raised his glass to the queen at the wrong moment. (Adds Australian minister comment, detail) SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday said aluminium exporters are complying with the terms of a deal with the United States after the New York Times reported President Donald Trump had considered imposing tariffs on Canberra. The New York Times, citing unidentified sources, said Trump had been urged to impose tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium in response to an increase in exports of aluminium to the United States over the past year. Trump was persuaded to backtrack on the plan after advice that imposing tariffs on Australia would alienate a key ally in the Asia-Pacific region, the New York Times reported. Morrison said Australian exporters were doing nothing wrong. "We have an arrangement with the United States and we are working within that arrangement," Morrison told reporters in Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands. Trump imposed a 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminium imports in March. He agreed to an exemption for Canberra after lobbying by then Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Australia exports about A$500 million ($347.00 million) in steel and aluminium to the United States each year. "Australia's aluminium producers trade at market prices in a competitive environment, receiving no government subsidies or similar support," the nation's trade minister, Simon Birmingham, said in an emailed statement. Australia has long been a staunch ally of the United States and won favour with Washington in recent months for pushing back against growing Chinese influence in the Pacific region. China has sought to increase its clout in the Pacific through increased foreign aid, which Australia has moved to undercut in recent months. Australia has offered Pacific countries up to A$3 billion in grants and loans to build infrastructure, with Morrison declaring the region was "our patch". Supplementing the fund, Morrison said on Monday that Australia would also dedicate A$250 million over the next 10 years to financing infrastructure in the Solomon Islands. ($1 = 1.4409 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Paul Tait and Joseph Radford) Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. SAR govt is obligated to seek judicial cooperation with Chinese mainland Updated: 2019-05-31 06:38 (HK Edition) Rao Geping explains that the proposed changes are legitimate, sensible and consistent with 'one country, two systems' and Basic Law in HKSAR It is a common practice in the international community to fight serious crime with joint actions through mutual legal assistance between different jurisdictions. The homicide case in which a Hong Kong man is accused of killing his girlfriend, also from Hong Kong, in Taiwan last year has highlighted the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's lack of statutory basis for the rendition of a murder suspect to Taiwan for trial. In order to meet the immediate need for such a statutory basis in this case and to plug loopholes in Hong Kong's legal structure, the SAR government introduced the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance (Amendment) Bill 2019 to the Legislative Council for approval. This is a normal exercise of amending existing laws and should be completed by LegCo dutifully, but the opposition camp has mobilized resources in and outside Hong Kong to obstruct the legislative process by filibustering as well as a mud-slinging campaign to politicize the matter and mislead the public at the expense of Hong Kong's rule of law. The cause of the opposition's hysteria over the anti-extradition law amendment bill is that the proposed amendments include the mainland as a jurisdiction with which the HKSAR will cooperate in the extradition of fugitive offenders and providing mutual legal assistance in criminal matters if the amended ordinances allow. Why does the bill include the mainland as a jurisdiction the HKSAR may cooperate with? Does it have a statutory basis and will it harm the basic human rights of Hong Kong residents? How should one make sense of this "controversy"? Currently Hong Kong society is looking for consensus over the matter and it is obviously time to go back to the facts. We need common ground to build consensus on and that common ground can only be the "one country, two systems" principle and the Basic Law of the HKSAR. The existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was promulgated long before China resumed the exercise of sovereign rule over Hong Kong on July 1, 1997. According to this law, Hong Kong has reached long-term agreements with 20 other jurisdictions in the world and signed agreements on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with 23 jurisdictions according to the existing Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance. Regrettably, those two existing ordinances do not apply to such agreements with other regions of China, namely, the mainland, Macao and Taiwan. Until this day Hong Kong still does not have the statutory basis for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with the mainland, which is closest to Hong Kong geographically and in almost all other aspects, not to mention the constitutional reality that the HKSAR is an inalienable part of China. This lack of statutory framework for mutual legal assistance between Hong Kong and the mainland is the reason why no fugitive offenders have been handed over to the mainland to face justice - an unacceptable breach of the institutional arrangement of "one country, two systems". This insensible phenomenon also runs counter to the global trend of judicial cooperation among different jurisdictions and is undoubtedly a loophole in Hong Kong's legal system. So many fair-minded Hong Kong residents are rallying against making Hong Kong a "safe haven for criminal fugitives" and a "refuge from justice". It should be noted that judicial departments on the mainland have overcome various obstacles in existing laws to hand over more than 260 criminal suspects to Hong Kong to face trial at the request of their HKSAR counterparts over the years. Apparently a fair and reciprocal relationship in fugitive rendition and mutual legal assistance is still missing between the mainland and Hong Kong judicial institutions. In fact, in recognition of the need to establish official mechanisms for the HKSAR judiciary and its mainland counterpart to provide mutual legal assistance, the Basic Law of the HKSAR already stipulates in Article 95: "The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may, through consultations and in accordance with law, maintain juridical relations with the judicial organs of other parts of the country, and they may render assistance to each other." This provision not only authorizes the HKSAR to establish judicial cooperation with its counterparts on the mainland but also makes it a constitutional obligation the HKSAR must fulfill. In other words, the SAR government and LegCo are authorized and obligated by the Basic Law to pursue judicial cooperation and render mutual legal assistance with the mainland. It is unfortunate that the legislative process according to Article 95 of the Basic Law has been delayed for so long. Technically speaking, the proposed amendments to the two ordinances contain all the procedural safeguards necessary to ensure the basic rights and personal interests of Hong Kong residents not only in full respect to relevant United Nations conventions but also in compliance with the prevailing practice of mutual legal assistance in the international community. On top of all these safeguards, the proposed amendments have added eight conditions and "double approval" by a Hong Kong court and the chief executive for any criminal fugitive to be surrendered to the mainland. The same safeguards and extra legal protection apply to all individuals in Hong Kong. Simply put, the amendments are absolutely necessary, legitimate, reasonable, sensible and trustworthy. The author is a professor of law with the Peking University. This is an excerpt translation of a commentary he wrote for the Global Times published earlier this week. (HK Edition 05/31/2019 page13) Extradition law amendments essential for HK: Elsie Leung Updated: 2019-06-01 05:42 By Joseph Li in Hong Kong(HK Edition) Amendments to Hong Kong's extradition law are necessary, even though the proposal may not be perfect, said former secretary for justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie. Since the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has incorporated further amendments, the extradition bill is now acceptable, Leung said in an exclusive interview with China Daily. "It is not a perfect legislation, but it is better than no legislation," she said. "So we can see the Hong Kong government is flexible and not set in stone." "Earlier on, some people alleged that the amendment bill was ordered by the central government and nothing could be changed; now we can see that is not the case." On Thursday, Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu announced further amendments to the bill, which will be debated at the second reading stage in the Legislative Council on June 12. The amendments include: raising the threshold for the extradition of offenders for offences that carry a maximum penalty of three years of imprisonment to seven years of imprisonment, and that extradition requests from the Chinese mainland must be initiated at the central government level. Leung said amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance should be passed and come into effect as soon as possible. If the amended legislation proves effective, this will ease people's concerns. If necessary, the relevant legislation can be further amended, she ventured. Leung said she agrees with the SAR government that the primary purpose of the amendments is to deal with the Taiwan murder case. She also said it is necessary to plug existing loopholes because at present, there are no rendition agreements between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland and other parts of China. This makes it impossible for the rendition of fugitive offenders within one country. Even if the Taiwan murder case is set aside, she said, the existing extradition legislation should be amended to provide a legal basis for extradition arrangements with other jurisdictions which have not signed permanent agreements with Hong Kong. "There is no problem for the government to amend the law to handle the Taiwan murder case and plug a loophole at the same time," Leung said. "But some people oppose the amendment bill because of their lack of confidence and misunderstanding of the bill." In the absence of long-term agreements, request for surrender of offenders has to be made on a case-by-case basis by way of subsidiary legislation at LegCo. Yet as the process takes 28 to 49 days, police can do nothing during that period. This means the offender may be alerted and flee Hong Kong. She noted that a rendition agreement between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan was signed in 2009 after initial efforts by civilian agencies. 'Firewall' theory refuted Leung, who was secretary for justice from 1997 to 2005, said the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance was enacted in 1996 by way of localization of a similar ordinance in Britain. "The city had no time to enact brand new, comprehensive extradition legislation to cover the Chinese mainland because the government had many things to do at that time," she said. Leung added that there was no such thing as a "firewall" to deliberately separate Hong Kong from the mainland. Leung further rejected suggestions of "trying Hong Kong people in Hong Kong (courts)". "Whether a person's conduct amounts to an offense will be judged by the laws at the time and place where such conduct occurred. Related witnesses and evidence are normally available at that place," she explained. "In addition, Hong Kong does not have extraterritorial jurisdiction over criminal acts apart from a small number of offenses." Hong Kong should not release a serious criminal simply because there are no extradition agreements. "Otherwise, Hong Kong will become an asylum for fugitive offenders," she noted. "It is Hong Kong's duty to amend the existing law. If Taiwan refuses to take back the alleged murderer after Hong Kong has amended the law, it is their business. Even if Taiwan refuses to accept the fugitive offender this time, there may be future cases where Taiwan asks Hong Kong to surrender fugitive offenders." joseph@chinadailyhk.com (HK Edition 06/01/2019 page4) Despite the campaign against the consumption of tobacco, the number of Nigerians who smoke cigarettes stand at about 3.1 million, the Paediatric Association of Nigeria has said. The organisation put the daily number of Nigerian smokers at 2.4 million and warned that by 2030, it had been estimated that about eight million persons worldwide would die annually from tobacco use. According to PAN, smoking has a record of causing respiratory tract infections, decreased lung function, asthma attacks, ear infections and tooth decay. Others included sudden infant death syndrome, death from respiratory infection, asthma, cognitive and behavioural issues, including the likelihood of becoming smokers. The Technical Director of PAN and Chief Medical Director of Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos, Prof. Edwin Eseigbe, stated these in Abuja, while delivering a paper titled, Protecting the Nigerian child from tobacco use and smoke through anti-tobacco advocacy and capacity development. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Justice Mojisola Olatoregum of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday sentenced a former Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Calistus Obi to seven years imprisonment over N136 million fraud. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had preferred an eight-count charge against Obi, who was also a former Executive Director of the agency. He was charged along with one Alu Dismas, an aide to Patrick Akpobolokemi, a former Director-General of NIMASA. Also charged are two companies, Grand Pact Ltd. and Global Seal Investment Ltd. The judge had discharged the defendants on counts one and three of the charge. However, Obi was sentenced on six counts. In each of the count, he is sentenced to seven years imprisonment, making it a total of 42 years. Obi is to serve the six charges concurrently, meaning he is to spend seven years imprisonment. Also, the court granted him an option of fine for each of the count charge. In five of the counts, he is to pay a fine of N7 million each as an option not to go to jail, while on count five, he is to pay a fine of N10 million. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Former Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says the strides recorded by President Muhammadu Buharis government could hardly be achieved by any other nation. He stated this during a recent interview at his office in Abuja, the nations capital. This government is doing something that I dont think many if any nation has done before. They are building the entire infrastructure at the same time ports, airports, rail, roads, power, all simultaneously at the same time. Often times, what most countries do is to finish one then go to the other. And it is because we have outgrown our infrastructure as a nation. And that is why you will see the commitment of the President to projects like the second Niger bridge, the Igbodo-Ogoni bridge, the Mambilla power plant, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, all of these is going on at the same time, he stated. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The new Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said that his church, the Cathedral of St Peter, Aremo in Ibadan, Oyo State, would, henceforth, be the official church for all government activities in the state. Governor Makinde disclosed this during a thanksgiving service held for him by the church. He said it was the prayers of the churches and those who wanted him as the governor that were answered. Now that your prayers have been answered, Im here and ready to serve the people. implore the church to keep on praying for my administration to succeed, he said. He promised to run a transparent and open government. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates A Senior Secondary one student of Sedar College, Baruwa, Lagos, has committed suicide after she drank insecticide, sniper. The victim, Favour Ekemedili was said to have committed suicide on May 30, 2019. Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana said on 30 May, 2019 at about 17:50hrs, the Ipaja Police Station received a complaint from Sedar College, Baruwa that on the same date at about 9:00am one Favour Ekemedili, an SS1 student complained of severe stomach ache and was rushed to the school sickbay. The School bay immediately moved her to General hospital which in turn referred her to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital where she was admitted for medical attention. Her parents were contacted by the School Authority. She died at about 6.00pm while receiving treatment. Her friends, who witnessed the incident stated that, the stomach ache started when the girl took Fanjuice. That on a close check on the bottle of the juice, it was discovered that the bottle contained sniper chemicals not juice. The chemical substance has been taken for laboratory testing. Homicide detectives from the State Criminal Investigation Department are investigating the case, he said. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Mr. Phan Dinh Trac, who is also permanent deputy head of the Central Steering Committee on Corruption Prevention and Control and the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, met Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Jose Ramon Machado Ventura during the visit. He said the Party, State and people of Vietnam will do their best to further deepen traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between the two Parties, States and peoples founded by Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Fidel Castro. At a working session with Second Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba Jose Ramon Machado Ventura (Photo: VNA) The official affirmed Vietnams consistent stance on supporting the just revolutionary cause of Cuban people and the fight for immediate and unconditional end to economic, trade and financial embargo against their country. Machado Ventura, for his part, lauded Vietnam for its readiness to share experience in diverse areas with Cuba and work with the country in joint activities to strengthen bilateral ties. As Vietnam is stepping up reform and Cuba is updating its socialist-oriented socio-economic development model, he suggested facilitating regular visits at all levels and sharing experience in State leadership, socio-economic management and Party building. During the stay, the Vietnamese Party official also held talks with head of the CPC Central Committees Department of Organisation and Cadre Policy Aberlado Alvarez Gil, during which both sides discussed specific measures to further promote comprehensive and effective ties between the two Parties and countries in the near future. The guest also met bilaterally with Vice President of the Council of State and Comptroller General of Cuba Gladys Bejerano Portela, Chief Justice of the People's Supreme Court Ruben Remegio, and leaders of several other ministries and agencies. The two sides shared experience in internal work, corruption prevention and control, law building, judicial reform, political security and social safety and order. While in Cuba, the Vietnamese delegation laid wreaths at monuments dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh and national hero Jose Marti, visited an elementary school named after Vietnamese hero Nguyen Van Troi and several economic and tourism establishments in Matanzas province./. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 3) San Miguel Corp. (SMC) revealed plans to submit an unsolicited proposal to build a bus terminal along a road linking the north and south expressways to serve commuters entering Metro Manila. The listed conglomerate confirmed that it will soon submit the proposal to the Department of Transportation to operate a "bus and foot terminal" along the connector road for the North and South Luzon Expressways. This terminal "will allow provincial buses and UV Express vans to drop off passengers to decongest traffic at the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA)," the firm said on Monday. SMC President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said that they are eyeing a joint venture with the government. His pitch comes as the Metro Manila Development Authority wants to ban provincial buses along EDSA, which is the busiest thoroughfare in the capital. READ: EDSA provincial bus ban postponed indefinitely MMDA The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board also mulled converting UV Express vans into a point-to-point service, although this was strongly opposed by commuters. The bus terminal pitch follows other unsolicited proposals floated by Ang. SMC has received original proponent status to build a new international airport in Bulacan, while Ang also announced that they will be asking permission from the government to build a new water source to supply to Metro Manila. San Miguel wants to place the integrated terminal above the four-lane NLEX-SLEX Connector Road that currently connects C3 road in Caloocan City to Sta. Mesa, Manila. This will be linked to the elevated Skyway Stage 3 road being constructed by SMC's unit, Citra Central Expressway Corp. Eyed completed by December, the third phase of the Skyway project will connect the SLEX via Makati to the NLEX entrance in Balintawak, Quezon City, allowing cars entering the metro to directly cross to the other expressway without passing through EDSA. Ang is targeting to complete the terminal by March 2020, which they expect to serve up to 1,000 buses at any time. In an important ruling protecting public health, a federal judge in Miami on Monday backed the Food and Drug Administration in its campaign to rein in stem cell clinics offering unproven and potentially hazardous stem cell treatments of a long list of diseases. Judge Ursula Ungaro handed a major defeat to U.S. Stem Cell Clinic, which has been fighting an FDA complaint that it was illegally administering therapies labeled stem cell treatments. She found that the FDA had acted properly in deeming the clinics purported stem cell treatments illegal, and issued an injunction against the continuation of the treatments. The ruling is subject to appeal. The firm has claimed that its clinics have shown positive results in treating diabetes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinsons disease, brain trauma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and even had produced increased libido in male patients. None of those claims has been scientifically validated. Advertisement We continue to see companies and individuals use questionable marketing campaigns to take advantage of vulnerable patients and their families. FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless U.S. Stem Cell and its chief science officer, Kristin Comella, had responded to the FDA complaint by asserting that its treatments fell outside the agencys jurisdiction. The firms method involves removing body fat from a patient by liposuction, treating it to extract what it says are stem cells, and reinjecting the extracted fluid into the patient. The firm argued that because it is merely treating patients with their own tissues, its method fell within an exception from FDA regulations for minimally manipulated tissues or substances. The FDA said the product was sufficiently altered to make it a drug and as U.S. Stem Cell used it, an illegal drug. To enforce its ruling, the FDA sued U.S. Stem Cell last year. U.S. Stem Cell and Comella have been prominent adversaries of FDA regulations. Their histories reflect the questionable behavior of the entire field. As we documented last year, Comellas claimed doctorate in stem cell biology was issued by the Panama College of Cell Science, a nonaccredited virtual university offering a three-year online PhD at a bargain-basement price of $2,950 a year $2,700 if paid in advance. U.S. Stem Cell has been sued over a series of procedures in 2015 reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2017. The clinic treated three women for macular degeneration, an eye condition, by injecting liposuction-derived stem cells directly into their eyeballs. The procedure produced catastrophic damage to the patients vision, including blindness in at least one case. Thomas Albini, the Miami ophthalmologist who examined the women after their treatments, told an FDA workshop in 2016 that the procedures demonstrated a complete lack of regard to the patient safety and to any sort of scientific integrity. Judge Ungaro in her ruling sided entirely with the FDA, which could strengthen the agencys hand as it pursues enforcement against other clinics in this burgeoning field. Just last week, the agency placed an Arizona-based clinic chain on notice that it was giving patients unapproved treatments. We continue to see companies and individuals use questionable marketing campaigns to take advantage of vulnerable patients and their families with unproven claims about their unapproved stem cell products, FDA Acting Commissioner Ned Sharpless said in announcing the action against R3 Stem Cell of Scottsdale. The reality is that at this time, there isnt enough evidence to support the use of stem cells for purposes other than reconstitution of blood formation and the immune system. Ungaros ruling could bode well for the FDAs lawsuit against California Stem Cell Treatment Center and Cell Surgical Network, which are headquartered in Rancho Mirage and associated with more than 100 clinics nationwide. The agency charged the network with similar violations of federal law, and the clinics have responded also by claiming that their treatments are exempt from its regulation. That case is pending in federal court in Riverside. Mark Berman, the co-owner of California Stem Cell Treatment Center and Cell Surgical Network, sounded a defiant note after Ungaros ruling was handed down. He said the procedures his firms perform are surgical rather than involving drugs subject to FDA oversight. We want to go to trial, he told me. Trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 at the federal courthouse in Riverside. The public is being bamboozled by the FDA. The FDA in an emailed statement called the Florida case an important victory in the FDAs work to protect the public health. We will continue to promote the sound and scientific development of regenerative medicine products, but we will not tolerate those in this field who try to skirt the law and put patients in harms way. It is unclear whether Ungaros injunction against U.S. Stem Cells continued treatments will go into effect immediately. She based the injunction on the reasonable likelihood that the clinics would continue to violate the law without it. They have not ceased performing the treatments despite the FDA warning and failed to comply with the agencys directives to tighten their quality control, which the agency said could expose patients to contaminated treatments, she observed. The clinics responded not by bringing their practice into conformity with current good manufacturing practice, as is required of drug manufacturers, but by arguing that they were exempt from FDA regulation. U.S. Stem Cell could not be reached Monday for comment. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. Weve been told over and over again that Winston Churchill is one of President Trumps heroes. While we doubt that Trumps worldview has room for any heroes other than himself, he certainly has made a show of Churchill idolatry. As one of his first acts upon assuming the presidency, Trump signed an executive order restoring a bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. (During the Obama administration, it had been supplanted by a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. and relegated to a spot in the private residential wing of the White House, giving rise to one of the right wings ginned-up controversies of the Obama years.) For the record: A previous version of this column erroneously dated the Lend-Lease Act as 1932. Trump is said to be a great admirer of Darkest Hour, the 2017 film about the earliest stage of Churchills term as prime minister and his challenge to Adolf Hitler. During Trumps last visit to Britain, his hosts tried to impress him with a state dinner at Blenheim Palace, Churchills birthplace. On this trip, the Queen gave him a first edition of the abridged version of Churchills history, The Second World War. (What, he couldnt be expected to read all six volumes?) To think you can make a man richer by putting on a tax is like a man thinking that he can stand in a bucket and lift himself up by the handle. Winston Churchill on tariffs Advertisement Yet what seems to be missing from Trumps skin-deep admiration of Churchill is any awareness of the iconic British political leaders actual policies. Nothing illustrates that as well as their divergence on the issue of tariffs. Churchill established his political career partially on opposition to tariffs. At the turn of the last century, trade protectionism favoring goods from the British Empire at the expense of every other exporting nation had become central to the platform of the Conservative Party, of which Churchill was a rising figure. After having first aligned himself with a splinter caucus within the Tories devoted to free trade, Churchill, in a spectacular parliamentary step in 1904, crossed the floor of the House of Commons to sit with the anti-tariff Liberal Party. Churchill attacked the Tory program of imperial preference with all the oratorical vigor he would become famous for. He predicted that it would lead to commercial disaster. He saw tariffs clearly as a tax on the working class. High protective tariffs, although they might increase the profits of capital, are to the poor and the poorest of the poor a cursed engine of robbery and oppression, he said in a 1904 speech. (These quotes and others by Churchill are drawn from the superb new biography by Andrew Roberts, Churchill: Walking with Destiny. The tariffs helped no one but the entrenched manufacturers whose goods were sheltered by the tariff barriers, Churchill said, levying a withering broadside at the protectionist argument that the benefits would trickle down to the rank and file. To think you can make a man richer by putting on a tax is like a man thinking that he can stand in a bucket and lift himself up by the handle. Churchill predicted that tariff reform that is, the abandonment of free trade in favor of protectionism would mark the end of a Conservative Party built on principled governance. A new party will arise like perhaps the Republican Party of the United States of America rich, materialist, and secular whose opinions will turn on tariffs, and who will cause the lobbies to be crowded with the touts of protected industries. He described the pro-tariff Conservative wing as a party of great vested interests.; corruption at home, aggression to cover it up abroad; the trickery of tariff juggles, the tyranny of a party machine; sentiment by the bucketful, patriotism by the imperial pint; the open hand at the public exchequer; [expensive] food for the million, cheap labor for the millionaire. Sound familiar? As Churchill had seen, the Tories protectionist program brought them electoral disaster though it never was implemented. The end of Arthur Balfours Conservative government in 1905 ushered in 17 years of Liberal Party rule. To be fair, however, Churchill proved to be flexible on the tariff question, as he was on many other issues in his political life. In 1924, with the Tories back in power, he was lured back into the party by being offered the post of chancellor of the exchequer, the second most powerful position in the government, with the expectation that he would back off his position on free trade. This he did, introducing what Roberts calls very modest tariffs to protect producers in the empire sugar from the West Indies, tobacco from Kenya and Rhodesia, wine from South Africa and Australia as well as tariffs on luxury imports including cars, silk and movies. His rationale for the latter was that the government desperately needed the money: We cannot afford to throw away a revenue like that. He threw in his lot with the pro-tariff side even more during the Great Depression. As Roberts observes, with unemployment reaching 2.5 million he put reality ahead of economic dogma. In 1931 a coalition government placed tariffs on all imports, part of an economic recovery program that also included suspending the gold standard. The protectionist period ended in 1942 under pressure from the U.S., which demanded its reversal as part of the price of the lend-lease agreement, which provided Britain, then at the very end of its fiscal rope and facing the threat of invasion by Hitlers Germany, with the war materiel and funds needed for its defense. Churchills about-face on tariffs cant be taken as an endorsement of Trumps policy of picking fights with every major trading partner of the U.S. and imposing tariffs via tweet-fueled fiat. Churchill comprehended the economics of tariffs perfectly well; he never displayed Trumps ignorant view that theyre a tax on the exporting country, rather than on ones own consumers. When he abandoned his free-trade convictions, he did so when confronted with a genuine geopolitical and economic disaster the worst, in fact, that Britain ever faced. Is America in the same fix today? Obviously not. If theres an economic crisis, its entirely of Trumps making. If theres an economic rationale for Trumps tariffs, its invisible. If theres genuine principle underlying Trumps economic policy, he hasnt set it forth. Churchill understood the damage protectionism could wreak on the world order and on domestic politics. His description of a political party hollowed out by corruption, sanctimony and faux patriotism, determined to impoverish the working class in order to enrich its rich patrons, was as prescient a description of todays GOP as a soothsayers. Would Churchill have felt honored by Trumps ostensible devotion? If the news could penetrate Churchills grave a mile or so from Blenheim, the betting here is that his shade would rise in furious protest. Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com. Return to Michael Hiltziks blog. The mall is now a warehouse, and Blackstone Group is betting $18.7 billion on the shift. Thats how much the New York investment manager is paying for 179 million square feet of urban logistics properties the warehouses used by Amazon.com Inc. and other retailers to fulfill orders from online shoppers. The deal with Singapores GLP, the second-largest owner of U.S. logistics real estate, will almost double Blackstones U.S. industrial footprint. The rise of Amazon and other e-commerce companies has increased the need for warehouse space by retailers seeking to expand their digital operations and cut delivery times. That shift toward online shopping is also shaping the fortunes of industrial landlords, with demand especially high in large metropolitan areas where e-commerce has taken off fastest. This type of transaction may further validate what the public markets seem to have been saying for quite some time: Well-placed industrial real estate assets continue to be sought after by institutional capital, said J.T. Deignan, head of real estate equity capital markets at Mizuho Securities USA. Advertisement The properties being acquired by two Blackstone investment vehicles total about 1,300 and are in high-growth markets such as greater Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, New Jersey and Portland, Ore., according to a person with knowledge of the deal. Others are in Dallas-Fort Worth area, Chicago, central Pennsylvania, Atlanta and south and central Florida, said a person familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because the information isnt public. Amazon and Whirlpool Corp. are the biggest tenants; others include FedEx Corp., Home Depot Inc., LOreal, United Parcel Service Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Tesla Inc., according to the companys website. The acquisitions include 231 properties with a combined total of 17.7 million square feet in the Inland Empire and Orange County, according to GLP. The Inland Empires Riverside and San Bernardino counties make up one of the most hotly demanded industrial property markets in the country. Inland Empire vacancy remained under 4% for the last 11 quarters even though more than 60 million square feet of new space hit the market in that time, according to real estate brokerage CBRE. The region has long been a key logistics hub for companies distributing goods arriving through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach but has seen an explosion in demand in recent years from e-commerce sellers such as Amazon as well as old-line retailers such as Nordstrom and Walmart that are beefing up their online sales. In the first quarter, the market showed no signs of deceleration due to impressive demand levels, CBRE said in a report. The portfolio acquisition comes amid a flurry of warehouse deals. Blackstone, the worlds biggest alternative asset manager, has made both purchases and sales in the sector, including the $7.6-billion takeover of Gramercy Property Trust in October. Also last year, Blackstone acquired Canyon Industrial Portfolios last-mile properties for $1.8 billion, Canadas Pure Industrial Real Estate Trust for about $2.6 billion and more than 100 warehouse assets from Harvard Universitys endowment for $950 million. Blackstone isnt alone in making big wagers on the continued growth of e-commerce. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has been buying Amazon shares, with Warren Buffetts company disclosing last month that its bet on the internet giant totaled $860.6 million at the end of March. Jennifer Bartashus, an analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence, said much of the investment in internet commerce these days focuses on the last mile or expediting products bought via the internet to a persons house. Its become a key for driving revenue growth. Making the shopper journey easy, with transparency into order and delivery status, is critical to success, she said. Companies that build engaging experiences for their customers will be rewarded with loyalty and increased spending. Online shopping in the U.S. is climbing. Retail e-commerce sales for the first quarter totaled $137.7 billion, an increase of 3.6% from the last three months of 2018, U.S. Commerce Department data released in May showed. Total retail sales, meanwhile, were estimated at $1.34 trillion, virtually unchanged. Blackstone, founded in 1985 by Stephen A. Schwarzman and Peter G. Peterson, has grown to become one of the dominant buyout firms alongside the likes of KKR & Co. and Carlyle Group. In April, the firm reported its assets under management crossed half a trillion dollars, to $512 billion, for the first time. The firm is seeking $5 billion for its latest real estate debt fund, a person familiar with the matter said last month. It has also been raising a $25-billion buyout fund, which would exceed Apollo Global Managements $24.7 billion fund for the industry record. Blackstone triumphed in an auction for GLPs assets that drew bids from Prologis Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Inc., according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Melissa Sachs, a spokeswoman for Prologis, declined to comment. A representative for Brookfield didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Logistics is our highest conviction global investment theme today, and we look forward to building on our existing portfolio to meet the growing e-commerce demand, Ken Caplan, the global co-head of Blackstone Real Estate, said in a statement. Perlberg, Tan and Vercoe write for Bloomberg. Times staff writers Laurence Darmiento and Roger Vincent contributed to this report. Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business section. Im Business columnist David Lazarus, and heres a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week. The Dow fell 354 points after President Trumps threat to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods to as much as 25%, but the market is likely not done coming to terms with the news. As the Times Editorial Board commented: Not only do many U.S. manufacturers supply chains run through Mexico especially in the auto industry but Mexico is the top importer of U.S. goods. Those sales could slump if Mexico retaliates with tariffs of its own. LOOKING AHEAD Advertisement Cranking it out: Factory orders, a key metric of economic activity, will be released Tuesday. In March, new orders for manufactured goods rose $9.3 billion, or 1.9%, to $508.2 billion. Beige Book: The Federal Reserves latest Beige Book comes out Wednesday. The April snapshot of regional economic activity found slight-to-moderate growth, with sluggish sales for both general retailers and auto dealers. Jobs market: The jobs market takes the spotlight Friday. April saw especially strong numbers, with 263,000 new hires and the unemployment rate falling to 3.6%, the lowest level in a generation. Heroic efforts: The early buzz hasnt been great, but X-Men: Dark Phoenix arrives Friday with hopes of keeping this wheezing superhero franchise alive. Im more intrigued by Late Night, starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling as a struggling TV host and her first female writer. Hijinks ensue, but with a cast like this, theyre probably worth watching. THE AGENDA Mondays Business section heads into the pasture to reveal a system of Moneyball for cattle using DNA tests and statistics to improve the quality of livestock. Back in the day, the eye of the stockman was all we had, says one industry player, and now we have high-powered analytical tools and can make progress so much faster. STORY LINES Here are some of the other stories that ran in the Times Business section in recent days that were continuing to follow: Escalating war: The U.S.-China trade war heated up when the Asian country said that it will establish a list of unreliable entities that damage the interests of its domestic companies. China also hinted at cutting off the supply of rare earth materials used in a variety of processes and goods. The moves were widely seen as a response to a Trump administration decision to blacklist Huawei Technologies from getting access to chips and other key parts from American suppliers. Second front: President Trumps decision to impose tariffs on all goods imported from Mexico unless authorities there stop migrants from illegally crossing into the U.S. drew broad criticism, including from business leaders who warned it could disrupt the economy and raise prices on a broad variety of consumer goods from avocados to autos. Mega merger: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is proposing a tie-up with French automaker Renault that would create the worlds third-biggest carmaker as manufacturers scramble for scale to tackle an expensive shift to electrification and autonomous driving. The transaction would be structured as a 50-50 ownership through a Dutch holding company, the Italian American automaker said. No so far away: The $1-billion Star Wars: Galaxys Edge attraction at Disneyland that opened last week may have set a new standard but it will cost you, plenty. Think $8 blue milk, and $6,615 for an adult-size Stormtrooper outfit. There are only two rides but five shops, a cantina and four restaurants where you can shell it out in the far reaches of Anaheim, where dollar bills are gladly accepted. Abortion furor: During the weeks after Georgias Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed a new restrictive abortion law, it appeared the top corporate figures in Hollywood were prepared to sit on the sidelines as the court system wrangles with the matter. Now, under pressure from actors, producers and directors, Netflix, Disney, NBC Universal and studios said they would rethink filming in the state. WHAT WERE READING And some recent stories from other publications that caught our eye: Its Tariff Man! The New York Times impressively explains President Trumps fascination with tariffs in the form of a comic-book origin story. Mr. Trump, then the host of The Apprentice, saw winners and losers and the United States was losing. Click here: The Wall Street Journal outlines the fine art of getting internet users to click on things. For years, tech companies have used design tactics to prompt users into actions that benefit the company but not necessarily the user. Around Silicon Valley, some call these methods growth hacking or persuasive design. Critics use a different termdark patterns. False hope: Bloomberg Businessweek delves into studies showing that some medicines dont work or may be harmful to patients. Drugs with unproven effectiveness sell false hope to desperate patients, who are likely paying thousands of dollars out of pocket for them. Sock it to me: From Wired, the tale of a Los Angeles company, Gumball Poodle, and its Trump-themed socks. The socks went viral, and suddenly Gumball Poodle was competing with tons of Chinese knockoffs. To make matters worse, Amazon had chosen one of the frauds as the default seller, shutting Gumball Poodle out. Well-rounded: Is it better to be really good at one thing or pretty good at lots of things? The Atlantic chats with the author of Range, a book that explores the importance of trying and sometimes failing at lifes many opportunities. Among other things, research has shown that quitting something thats unrewarding or unfulfilling and moving on to something thats a better fit makes people happier. SPARE CHANGE The New York Times Tariff Man saga provides a timely reason to ask which superhero movie has the best theme music. Im thinking John Williams Superman theme is one of the best. Danny Elfman nailed a suitably spooky tone for his Batman theme. Hans Zimmer and DJ Junkie XL came on strong for the Wonder Woman theme. But the one that I think really stands out is Alan Silvestris Avengers theme, which hits all the right notes, especially when the fanfare kicks in. For the latest money news, go to www.latimes.com/business. Mad props to Laurence Darmiento for helping put this thing together. Until next time, Ill see you in the Business section. For years, Tesla Inc. has hauled in revenue by selling credits to other carmakers that need to offset sales of polluting vehicles to U.S. consumers. These sorts of transactions have largely been shrouded in secrecy until now. General Motors Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles disclosed to the state of Delaware earlier this year that they had reached agreements to buy federal greenhouse gas credits from Tesla. Although the filings are light on detail, they havent been reported on previously. They also represent the first acknowledgments from carmakers that theyre turning to Tesla for help to comply with intensifying U.S. environmental regulations. The deal with GM will come as a surprise to those who thought years of sales of plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volts and all-electric Chevy Bolts would leave the largest U.S. automaker in the clear with regard to regulatory compliance. But although sales of those models have put GM in a position where it doesnt need extra credits today, demand for its battery-powered vehicles is dwarfed by demand for its gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs. And the company wants to bank the credits for future years when emissions rules get tougher especially if a Democrat beats President Trump in 2020. This might not be a bad hedge, said Mike Taylor, the founder and president of Emission Advisors, a Houston-based environmental credit consultant and broker. If a Democrat gets elected in 2020, GM may need the credits, and prices may go up. Advertisement The filings dont give specific terms of Teslas credit sales to GM or Fiat Chrysler, whose past purchases of credits havent been disclosed directly but could be inferred from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports. A Tesla spokesman didnt immediately comment. GMs agreement to buy greenhouse gas credits was dated Feb. 25 and reported to Delaware the following day. Patrick Morrissey, a GM spokesman, said the company was buying the credits as insurance against future regulatory uncertainties. In four separate filings, Fiat Chrysler disclosed agreements to buy credits from Tesla that were reached in 2016, 2018 and earlier this year. Eric Mayne, a spokesman for the Italian American automaker, said U.S. standards were getting stricter at a pace that far exceeds the level of consumer demand for electric cars that is required for compliance. Until demand catches up with regulatory requirements and there is regulatory relief, Mayne said, we will use credits as appropriate. 2015: Elon Musks growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies Tesla has generated almost $2 billion in revenue from selling regulatory credits since 2010. Its home state of California has a mandate that requires carmakers to sell zero-emission vehicles, or ZEVs, in proportion to their share of the states auto market, which is the largest in the country. If manufacturers dont sell enough non-polluting vehicles, they have to purchase credits from competitors like Tesla to make up the difference. A similar credit system is administered at the federal level by the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. GMs credit purchases illustrate how challenging the U.S. fuel efficiency requirements are getting, even for automakers that are adding more zero-emission vehicles to their lineup. In March, Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra announced the company would spend $300 million and add 400 workers at its plant north of Detroit where the Chevy Bolt is built to add production of another fully electric model. The crowd-sourced, social media swarm that is betting Tesla will crash and burn Although all automakers complied with U.S. rules in model year 2017, most large manufacturers cashed in credits to get there, the EPA said in a March report. Of all the credits held by the industry at end of the 2017 model year, more than 90% are set to expire at the end of 2021 if not used, according to the agency. Teslas sales of regulatory credits have been limited to the U.S. and California, but it also has opportunities ahead to generate revenue from Europe, which is implementing tougher emissions regulations. In April, Fiat Chrysler said it would pool its fleet with Teslas to comply with European Union standards. During a call with prospective investors in Teslas offerings of new equity and convertible bonds earlier this month, Chief Financial Officer Zachary Kirkhorn said credit sales would be a more meaningful part of Teslas business in the coming years. In addition to reporting $216 million in first-quarter revenue from the sale of regulatory credits, the carmaker disclosed in an April filing that it had booked $140 million in deferred revenue related to credit sales. Its unclear from the filing whether that revenue relates to the U.S. agreements that Tesla reached with GM and Fiat Chrysler, or the EU deal with Fiat Chrysler. Tesla hasnt reported deferred revenue from credits in past quarterly or annual financial filings. Lucas Hnath, part of a bumper crop of playwrights rethinking the parameters of American drama, has written a play about his mother that is rife with contradictions. Dana H., which is having its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre while Hnaths Hillary and Clinton is on Broadway and his wildly successful A Dolls House, Part 2 is being produced across the nation, is composed from interviews yet is stranger than most fiction. Hnath uses not only his mothers actual words but also her recorded voice, yet her character remains elusive. But the most curious incongruity is the one that makes me want to see this fascinating 75-minute play a second time: Its impossible to sort out fact from falsehood in Danas story, yet by the end a truth as profound as it is slippery is revealed. Dana H. tells a story of trauma, terror and the way victimization continues even after the threat of violence has subsided. It dramatizes the inherent challenge in giving testimony to experiences so overwhelming that they undermine the ability to translate memory into coherent narrative. Advertisement The play recounts the months-long ordeal in which Dana, a chaplain working on a psych ward, was abducted and abused by an ex-con named Jim, whom she had been counseling while he was recovering from a brutal suicide attempt. Timelines and geography are fuzzy; details dont add up. One of the unfortunate legacies of trauma is that it turns the victim into an unreliable narrator of her own experience. But what might seem like an investigation into what happened to Hnaths mother, a vetting of her tale, turns out to be something more complicated. Dana H. is a sly referendum on how we process a survivors story. Our resistance is as much a subject as Danas wobbly act of remembering. The production, directed by Les Waters with unflagging concentration, is unorthodox to say the least. Andrew Boyces scenic design is a fluid cross between an analysts office and a shabby motel room evoking Florida interstates and dubious drifters. The play unfolds as a dialogue between Dana and Steve Cosson, the artistic director of the Civilians, who interviewed Hnaths mother. Cosson has a wealth of experience with what his company calls investigatory theater, and Hnath may have felt that a more objective witness might elicit a fuller version of his mothers testimony. The title, Dana H., has the ring of a Freudian case study, and a delicate mother-son dynamic lurks in the background of a story Dana believes may be too disturbing for Hnath to psychologically handle. His active, artful silence haunts the piece. For most of the play, Deirdre OConnell, who plays Dana, is alone onstage. Dressed in red and black, she comes across as an attractive middle-aged woman with a healthy concern for her appearance. The manuscript she clutches and occasionally consults from her chair is her own rendition of the events that she finds so hard to keep straight. Deirdre OConnell plays Lucas Hnaths mother, lip-syncing with near-perfect accuracy to a recorded interview of Dana Higginbotham in Dana H. at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. (Craig Schwartz) Dana H. is a sly referendum on how we process a survivors story. OConnell is one of the underrecognized great talents in the American theater. An Obie-winning veteran who worked for several seasons at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, shes a playwrights actor if ever there was one, able to make the divergent styles of Sam Shepard, Maria Irene Fornes, Annie Baker and Lisa Kron seem tailor-made for her lived-in qualities. Ill admit my heart sank momentarily when I was reminded as I entered the theater that OConnell would be lip-syncing to an audio track of Hnaths mothers voice. But my fears of a gimmicky performance were instantly dispelled once the play began. The track provides both Cossons questions and Danas responses, but its nearly impossible to tell that OConnell isnt speaking Danas story. In an uncanny feat of acting, OConnell makes not only every word but every hesitation, stammer and punctuating laugh her own. Her gestures when shes not speaking seem to be the only gestures possible in the moment. Sound designer Mikhail Fiksel and illusion and lip sync consultant Steve Cuiffo contribute to the productions seamlessness. Hnath, a formalist with a heart, has constructed a theatrical experience that operates on two levels: the raw material of his mothers testimony and the artistic filter that edits, arranges and keeps at a slight intellectual remove what were hearing. The jumps in the track are audible as the harrowing story unfolds of how Jim kidnapped Dana. Described as a monstrous figure in prisoner tattoos, this hardened felon convinces Dana that he is part of the underground Aryan Brotherhood, whose power intimidates even law enforcement. TONY AWARDS: Why Hadestown is the best musical of the year After bashing her in the face and controlling how and when she receives medical treatment, Jim perversely sets himself up as her protector, the only person who can keep her and, in a menacing innuendo, her family members safe. Slowly and systematically, she becomes brainwashed, accepting his vision of the world as her sense of helplessness grows more complete. The drama is fueled in part by the question of how Dana eventually escaped her living nightmare. But the conflict that gives Dana H. its expansive dimension exists between the audiences skepticism and Danas own unreliability. Dana sprinkles in remarks about her past her dabbling in satanism, for instance that complicate our trust. Her psychologist mother, she tells us, was convinced that Dana was evil from the age of 3 and sanctioned the beatings that scarred her childhood. None of this is elaborated or integrated. Hnath doesnt want us to resolve our doubts. They are part of his mothers story. Frustration builds as Dana fails to take advantage of opportunities to get away from Jim, but the psychology of her situation is difficult to imagine. The tendency to blame the victim as a way of making the world seem less dangerously anarchic becomes a tempting defense for the audience even though its painfully evident the way trauma draws further trauma. Violators detect vulnerability, sensing their violence wont be unfamiliar. The abnormality of the situation keeps other people at bay. Not even the police want to get involved. The gender politics of Danas victimization isolates her further. SORRY, L.A.: Why you wont see Heidi Schreck on tour in the What the Constitution Means to Me Dana H is divided into three parts: A Patient Named Jim, The Next Five Months and The Bridge. The story, accelerating in a frenzy that shakes up not only the staging but our hope in definitive answers, leaves us wondering perhaps as much about what Dana didnt reveal as what she did. In The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, psychiatrist Bessel Van Der Kolk defines soul murder as the loss of ability to trust our memories and be able to tell them apart from our imagination. This description of trauma seems painfully applicable to Danas case, though Hnath offers an alternative perspective in The Bridge section. In talking about her later work with hospice patients, Dana reveals how she helps the dying ease their journey to the other side. Eliciting their visions, she provides them with a comforting story that blurs the distinction between truth and fiction. Or rather she finds in what remains partly incommunicable the correspondence between them. At the curtain call at Sundays opening, Dana Higginbotham took a bow alongside OConnell. Together with Hnath, they have made a profound contribution to the theater of trauma. ===== Dana H. Where: Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd, Culver City When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays; ends June 23 (call for exceptions) Tickets: $25-$79 (subject to change) Information: (213) 628-2772 or centertheatregroup.org Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (no intermission) It turned out not to be a horrendous year for new Broadway musicals, if you disqualify King Kong, lower your IQ for The Cher Show and bring earplugs to Be More Chill. The Prom, a campy musical about Broadway troupers on a social justice mission in the Midwest, was giddy fun until it went fishing for genuine feeling and reeled in earnest predictability. Aint Too Proud The Life and Times of the Temptations, which I caught at the Ahmanson last summer on its groove train to New York, made up in showmanship what it lacked in behind-the-hits drama. Tootsie, the rare musical thats as clever as its movie source, could give The Book of Mormon a run for its guffaws. I didnt make it to Beetlejuice, because life is short and hotels are expensive, but director Alex Timbers can always be counted on for quirky color. These four Tony-nominated musicals would seem to make a perfectly respectable crop. But the show that redeemed the year for me is Hadestown, which gracefully extends the unexpected pathway of the last four best musical winners: Fun Home, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen and The Bands Visit. Nominated for 14 Tony Awards, the most of any production, Hadestown should, if theres any justice in the Broadway universe, take home the evenings top prize. Advertisement Based on the 2010 concept album by Anais Mitchell, this folk opera with a New Orleans soul is quite simply one of the most exquisite works of musical storytelling Ive seen in my more than 25 years as a theater critic. Directed by Rachel Chavkin with all the ingenuity she brought to her previous Broadway game-changer, Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812, the production harmonizes its elements into a Wagnerian dream of a total artwork. WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME: Why Heidi Schreck is revising her play after Broadway Emily Dickinson once observed that remorse for the brevity of a Book is a rare emotion. These words sometimes come back to me as I glance at my watch during a show that cant figure out how to pull itself together. The storytelling in Hadestown occasionally sputters, but I never wanted the evening to end if only to bask in the perfect marriage of music and scenic motion. As entrancingly mercurial as the score, Chavkins staging casts a spell that liberates us from earthly time. An interweaving of two myths about lovers, Orpheus (Reeve Carney) and Eurydice (Eva Noblezada) and Hades (Patrick Page) and Persephone (Amber Gray), the show invites us to take part in a sacred ritual, a collective retracing of archetypal patterns. Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada (Matthew Murphy) ALSO: Tony nominations led by Hadestown, Aint Too Proud and Tootsie For those needing a refresher on their ancient legends, Orpheus, who can enchant even stones with his lyre and singing voice, fell in love with Eurydice, who was bitten by a snake on their wedding day, causing Orpheus to try to rescue her from the underworld. Hades, god of the dead, abducted Persephone, whose mother (goddess of the harvest) wielded her powers to ensure that her daughter would at least be able to return to Earth for half the year, leaving the other months in gray barrenness. No, love doesnt have an easy time in the ancient world. In Mitchells contemporary reworking, Pages Hades gives off a predatory chill with his Leonard Cohen-esque rumbling. Grays Persephone has the sultry, somewhat strung-out air of a jazz diva who can still access her heart beneath the weary cynicism. Carneys Orpheus and Noblezadas Eurydice are like shell-shocked millennials still shaking their heads at the world they inherited. But the originality of the musical goes beyond its mythic update. Ranging freely across disciplines, Hadestown braids influences from across the artistic spectrum. The moonlit music occasionally evokes Spring Awakening in its moody choral moments. The presence of a slick narrative preacher-guide, Andre De Shields summoning all his feline elegance in the role of Hermes, rapturously brings back Lee Breuer and Bob Telsons The Gospel at Colonus. And the flair with which ancient myth is dispersed across its medium recalls the cross-cultural cinematic swirl of Marcel Camus 1959 film, Black Orpheus. A cabaret tapestry unfolding with dreamlike freedom, the musical has been faulted for its patches of narrative fuzziness. Some have complained that the young lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice, arent compelling as central characters and that they are given less texture than Hades and Persephone, whose parallel subplot steals the show. Patrick Page and Amber Gray. (Matthew Murphy) This folk opera with a New Orleans soul is one of the most exquisite works of musical storytelling Ive seen in my more than 25 years as a theater critic. I have a different take on Hadestown, which isnt a book musical in the traditional sense. Mitchell, who wrote the show, finds integration through the music. The narrative is subsumed in the score. And the genius of the work what transforms it from a concept album to a full-fledged theatrical musical is how the sound is scenically animated. A certain distance from characters is par for the course in archetypal material. Are we meant, for instance, to psychologically doubt the way Romeo capriciously falls head over heels for Juliet after the way hes been pining away for Rosaline? The truth resides in the outline. The details of Orpheus and Eurydices courtship arent as important as the universal rhythms of their attachment. Not every work has to stand the test of realism to convey reality. Chavkin, whose direction is part of the authorship of Hadestown, foregrounds the ensemble nature of the musical. Hermes mediates the tale; Persephone and Hades extend and complicate it. A chorus of Fates reflects on the goings-on like whispering inner voices and an onstage band provides waves of music for all to ride on. The audience, too, is implicated, as it is for us that these tragic old stories are being resurrected in new clothes. There is no fourth wall. The barrier between the stage and the audience is lifted even as we look on in awe. This is theater as rollicking church. (Praise Dionysus!) Its an old song/And were gonna sing it again, intones Hermes with evangelical fervor in the opening number. Passive viewership is not an available option. Hadestown has been evolving since receiving its world premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in 2016. A production at Londons National Theatre prepared the way for Broadway, where I finally encountered the show at the Walter Kerr Theatre. I cant wait to lose myself again in laughter when Toostie goes on tour. And I look forward to spending more time with the hilariously hapless Broadway rescue squad of The Prom. But in its supple convergence of story and song, Hadestown represents a step forward for the art form. Chavkin paints with Mitchells palette, integrating the author-composers colors with those of her seamless company. David Neumanns choreography blurs the distinction between dance and gesture with neo-Fosse nonchalance. Carney, Noblezada, De Shields, Page and Gray are as distinctive as musical instruments in a small orchestra. The luminous design team has earned its raft of Tony nominations in a production that scenically never misses a beat. If I seem love-struck, theres a reason: In its trip down to hell, Hadestown is the one show that transported this Broadway theatergoer to heaven. TONY AWARDS: Why Constitution and not The Ferryman should win best play The next big Disney director could be one short film away from their big break via Disney Launchpad: Shorts Incubator. The inaugural program will give six filmmakers from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to produce short films for the studio behind the $1.3 billion-grossing Black Panther and $1.1 billion-grossing Captain Marvel. The Launchpad program will consider applicants from underrepresented communities including but certainly not limited to women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, various religious groups, military veterans, people with disabilities, and others, according to a Disney press release on Monday. We want these six directors to really represent the voices of the global audience, Julie Ann Crommett, vice president of multicultural audience engagement, told The Times. Our goal is to have a reflection of the world as it is in the voices of these directors. Earlier this year a USC Annenberg study found that women directed only 4.3% of top-grossing films from 2007-18. Of 2018s top 100 films, only four were directed by women. UCLAs 2019 Hollywood Diversity Report found that minority directors comprised only 12.6% of 2017s top films despite representing 39.4% of the population. Advertisement Disneys upcoming film slate includes Frozen 2, directed by Jennifer Lee; Mulan, directed by Niki Caro; Marvels Eternals, directed by Chloe Zhao; Avengers spinoff Black Widow, directed by Cate Shortland; and The One and Only Ivan, directed by Thea Sharrock. Applications are now open for Disney Launchpad, whose participants will be provided development and production budgetary resources by the studio, paired with Disney creative executive mentors and tasked with creating original live-action short films. Launchpad shorts could also be distributed on the Disney+ streaming service, which debuts in November. The theme of this years program is Discover. Shorts must line up with the studios core brand values and can potentially be developed into future long-form or episodic Disney projects. Unlike many studio diversity initiatives, Disney Launchpad is not aimed at first-time directors, but rather experienced filmmakers poised to make the leap to studio filmmaking. Theres that earlier stage of a directors journey where maybe theyve made some things independently, maybe theyve done commercial work, but they havent really broken into the studio system as such, said Crommett. We see Launchpad essentially as a launchpad for a director to catapult into the studio system in a really organic way, which is by actually making something with us, in this case a short film, and going through the studio system to do it, she added. American Film Institute will provide supplemental educational support, and participants will receive a stipend for the duration of the program. At the Walt Disney Studios, we believe that great stories come from everywhere, and we are committed to telling inclusive stories and working with filmmakers who bring diverse perspectives to the table, Alan Bergman, co-chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, said in Mondays press statement. The Disney Launchpad gives us a platform to empower a new generation of filmmakers to share original stories that resonate with our global audience and reflect the world we live in. The seven-month program is open to the public as well as employees of the Walt Disney Co. and its affiliates and will be based out of the Disney Studios in Burbank. Directors must submit samples of their previous work, an original script for their potential Launchpad short, along with a lookbook, a resume and a personal statement. The deadline to apply at launchpad.disney.com is July 2. jen.yamato@latimes.com @jenyamato The 20-foot chrome head of Vladimir Lenin springs from the Mojave Desert. Follow a driveway past a small cyan-colored lake ringed with palms and stocked with carp, past prefabricated homes and an artist shed made of 17 wooden doors nailed together, and there is Chen Weiming, fitting treads on a large replica of a military tank. More than 120 miles east of the San Gabriel Valley, with its vast strip malls and temples and restaurants anchoring Southern Californias largest Chinese American community, the 62-year-old sculptor is building his tribute to Tank Man, the still unidentified man who in 1989 stared down a line of Chinese tanks during the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Chen is among a group of Chinese dissidents using sculpture to draw attention to human rights abuses committed by the Chinese government and memorialize its victims. Advertisement They have staked their hopes in the California desert on a 36-acre plot along Interstate 15 large enough to meet their ambitions but cheap enough to accommodate their limited finances. The only Chinese characters in sight are a fleeting blur stamped on tour buses hurtling between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. When Chen and his volunteers moved in three years ago, locals were skeptical and just a bit fearful, said Lise King, a Yermo resident who has helped Chen. Lenins giant chrome head didnt help. There was a lot of concern that communists were moving in, King said. Far from celebrating communism, Chen said he plans to enclose Lenins head with a cage to show that his doctrine is imprisoning. The dissidents have named the plot Liberty Sculpture Park. Zhou Fengsuo, one of the student leaders at Tiananmen Square, envisions building a museum there and a 200-foot rendition of the Goddess of Liberty, the statue that protesters fashioned in the square from plaster, papier-mache and plastic foam 30 years ago. The park is home to three sculptures so far: a bust of Crazy Horse; a statue of Li Wangyang, a Chinese dissident imprisoned for 21 years after the crackdown at Tiananmen; and the number 64, which represents the month and day when the Chinese government sent tanks and troops into Beijings central square. Students and other protesters had gathered there for months to call for democratic reforms. The exact number of people killed when the government quashed the protests has never been determined, but estimates range from the hundreds to low thousands. On Monday, the eve of the 30th anniversary of the crackdown, Chen will unveil Tank Man. He has built the man: 1,300 pounds of concrete, painted a deep bronze, briefcase in the left hand and a shirt in the other, staring ahead at where a tank should be. But only two weeks before, Chen learned the tank hed arranged to purchase from the United Kingdom for $30,000 shipping not included would arrive late, sometime in mid-July. Unveiling Tank Man without the tank the vanguard of a line of tanks that the mystery man had confronted in real life was not an option for Chen. So he built one himself. With recycled steel, wood, fiberglass and plaster, he cobbled together an olive green replica tank. He used plastic foam for the treads, painted an inky purple. Chen Weiming stands beside his sculpture of Tank Man, the unidentified man who stared down Chinese tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Chen, a Chinese native who holds New Zealand citizenship, purchased his artist compound in Newberry Springs, population roughly 3,000, three years ago for $300,000. For eight months out of the year, he builds sculptures for the desert park. During the other four months Chen works for survival, he says, making busts and statues that he sells. He left China for New Zealand in 1988, one year before Tiananmen. He has created statues that stand in New Zealand, India and Hong Kong, including a replica of the Tiananmen Square protesters Goddess of Democracy that was confiscated in 2010 by Hong Kong police on the 21st anniversary of the crackdown. Chens volunteers live on the property in prefab homes, a camper and stables on whose walls rusted riding gear still hangs. Chinese ballads are piped across the compound from a pair of massive, crackling speakers. Some volunteers stay for a few days. Others, like Feng Wenyao, stay longer. Feng, 38, has spent the past month building a website for Liberty Sculpture Park. Fengs goal, he says, is to counter the stranglehold the Chinese government holds on information about Tiananmen Square. He was 8 years old when the crackdown happened. He heard about it first on an American radio channel. When he later heard the official government account, he knew its not the truth. Feng left his hometown in southeast China 13 years ago. He believes China is less democratic than in 1989. Thirty years passed, and most people in China havent seen change, he said. Feng has spent a month at Chens desert compound. After seeing Tank Man unveiled, he will return to his job as a plumber in San Francisco. Guo Jianlin, too, will return to his job and his family after the unveiling. Guo, 47, is from Beijing, where he works as an engineer. He has spent half a year in the desert. Government officials in China know what hes doing, he said. Through his wife, they have warned him. But Guo believes helping Chen build his sculptures is the best way he knows to tell the world what happened in Tiananmen Square. My own children, they dont know, Guo said. Not all of the volunteers are Chinese or Chinese American. King helps Chen as a liaison to the surrounding community. King was studying in Germany when the Chinese government suppressed the protests at Tiananmen Square and didnt learn of it until she saw a poster of Tank Man several years later. I didnt know what it was, she recalled. You see the man, you see the tanks, and youre concerned. It telegraphs a sense of urgency. She hopes the image, in the form of a sculpture, will open the eyes of locals and motorists flying down I-15. In Yermo, the interstate is like a conveyor belt of potential customers and converts. Chens statues come into view after billboards plugging Peggy Sues 50s Diner; they are followed by 10 wooden signs delineating the Commandments and a prayer hotline. They say 75,000 people travel up and down that highway each day, King said. For Zhou, the student leader at Tiananmen Square, the traffic is a boon and the land was affordable. But the desert holds its own appeal. Thats where we are, in Chinas pursuit of democracy, he said. For 30 years, we have kept the flame alive in the desert. Its beautiful and wild and isolated, and thats our situation. Zhou is now 51, the president of Humanitarian China, an advocacy organization. He is thinking about what the world will know of Tiananmen Square when those who witnessed it are gone. Maybe the statues, on this forlorn stretch of earth along the highway, will make it harder to forget. Joe Rodriguez was a teenager when he first embraced the slur. For years, Mexican Americans of low social status like him were called Chicanos. In March 1968, the 15-year-old sophomore joined hundreds of other Garfield High School students in a protest against discrimination and unequal conditions at Los Angeles schools in what came to be known as the Chicano blowouts. Soon Rodriguez, a fourth-generation Mexican American, declared, I am Chicano. Today, however, many of the children and grandchildren of those who marched half a century ago find themselves in a debate over the role of words like Chicano in the fight for rights in the age of Trump. Advertisement The uproar began in March, when leaders of MEChA Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, founded as a national Mexican American student group after the blowouts voted 29 to 3 to drop any trace of the word Chicano. They also supported removing Aztlan, the name of the mythical ancestral home of the Aztecs in what is now the U.S. Southwest. Supporters of the change said the two words were too Mexican-centric and excluded the LGBTQ population, non-Mexican Latinos, indigenous people and other groups. In a statement days later, the group used gender-neutral terms like Mestizx (for mestizo), reflecting just how much the student organization had evolved. As it is, MEChistx members who are not Mexican-American are often victims of xenophobia from Chicanx MEChistxs, and Indigenous and Black MEChistxs are often subjected to anti-Indigenous and anti-Black violence by Mestizx Chicanx MEChistxs, the statement said. (Los Angeles Times) The vote inspired fierce debate on social media but, in some ways, was not surprising. In the late 1960s, the Latino civil rights movement was fueled mostly by the American-born children of Mexican immigrants. MEChA was at the forefront of the struggle, pushing for the establishment of Chicano and ethnic studies programs across the country. Though people of Mexican origin still make up the majority of Latinos in the U.S., immigration from that country has slowed, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Meanwhile, the number of immigrants from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras has risen. Sheriffs deputies form a line across the street at Garfield High School during a student demonstration March 5, 1968. Similar confrontations occurred at other schools during the Chicano blowouts. (Joe Kennedy / Los Angeles Times) The name change wont take effect until MEChA representatives meet again next year to vote on an alternative. But within days of the decision, San Diego States MEChA chapter separated from the national body. In a statement, UCLAs chapter announced it also was seceding from the national organization and would keep Chicanx and Aztlan in its name. What happened is tantamount to me going to a Black Lives Matter organization and complaining that theyre xenophobic and racist because they dont talk about brown lives and that they should change their name to All Lives Matter, said Adrian Alvarez, 56, who joined MEChA while at UCLA in the 1980s. Hes now an activist with Union del Barrio, a national human rights organization headquartered in San Diego. But Julissa Ruiz Ramirez, a student at Cal State Stanislaus, said the organizations original name does not reflect the experiences and contributions of activists who dont identify as Chicano or Chicana or Chicanx. We believe that its time, 50 years later, to come back together again to change and transform MEChA, said the 20-year-old secretary of her schools chapter. Not to change what our purpose is, what our vision is, which is the true liberation of our people from oppression. This March 1968 photo provided by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center shows students from Roosevelt High School gathering during the East L.A. walkouts. (Devra Weber / UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center) MEChA isnt the only Latino organization to wrestle with changing its name along with the times. Students at Columbia University are petitioning to rename its Raza Grad, a ceremony honoring students of Latin American descent, to something more inclusive. In 2017, the National Council of La Raza became UnidosUS in an effort to attract millennials after years of defending itself against critics who decried the term la raza, which literally translates to the race but more accurately means the people. Over the years, many have accused MEChA, La Raza and their siblings of being anti-white and dedicated to racial separatism. But the whole reason MEChA was created was to make sure we dont lose those connections to the Mexican community, said Irene Monica Sanchez, 36, a professor at Bard College in Los Angeles who also teaches high school Chicano and Latino studies. Adrian Alvarez of Inglewood, a member of MEChA at UCLA in the 1980s, opposes the organizations move to change its name. (Gina Ferazzi / Los AngelesTimes) To Rudy Acuna, 86, a Cal State Northridge professor emeritus often called the father of Chicano studies, the students who voted in favor of the name change meant well but did so out of ignorance. The name change is not based on history, he said, arguing that in its early days, MEChA didnt shun people. I never thought it was being exclusive to join a Chicano organization. I never felt that I was not interacting with other groups. MEChA arose in a turbulent period. In 1969, students drafted the organizations manifesto and declared that MEChA would be the student branch of the Chicano movement, so that young Mexican Americans could be themselves, learn their history and embrace their culture. Disillusioned by the Vietnam War and feeling stuck in a permanent ethnic underclass, second- and third-generation Mexican Americans followed the example of their radicalized white and black counterparts in groups like Students for a Democratic Society and the Black Panther Party. In the summer of 1972, members of the Brown Berets a group that emerged during the Chicano movement went to Santa Catalina Island, planted a large Mexican flag on a tower and claimed the land, declaring that it had never officially been surrendered to the U.S. after the Mexican-American War. Eventually there were hundreds of MEChA chapters in high schools, community colleges and universities. Members of the group held their own graduation ceremonies and conferences, and raised money to help one another fulfill education goals. Luis Gonzalez, a member of MEChA at Cal State L.A., supports the name change and says criticism from older generations of activists is par for the course. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Luis Gonzalez, a Cal State L.A. undergraduate student and Mechista, as members of the group are called, said every generation gets second-guessed by the ones that came before. When these old-school activists were our age, I feel like their parents or even their elders were denouncing their identity as being Chicano, the 20-year-old said. Even in its early years, MEChA was not immune from internal criticism. Some members felt the organization was not only exclusive but sexist. Vickie Castro, a self-described original Mechista and leader of the East L.A. walkouts, opposes the name change but vividly remembers that women in the organization were assigned gendered tasks. We were always working behind the scenes, said Castro, 73, who would become the second Latino elected to the Los Angeles Board of Education. We were always the secretaries. If there was a party, we were the ones organizing it. We prepared the meals and wrote agendas. Vickie Castro was one of the leaders of the student walkouts in 1968. She said that women in the early days of MEChA were often assigned gendered tasks. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) About 50 current and former Mechistas, activists and professors recently attended a meeting at Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School in South L.A. to discuss the name change. Before the meetings end, they talked about creating an alumni association to build dialogue between current and former MEChA members. Most who showed up opposed the name change. Among them was Jocelyn Ruiz, 22, UCLAs current MEChA chair. By seceding from the national organization, she said, the UCLA chapter will lose a vast network of support. Even so, she said, becoming more autonomous and independent will allow members to take back the power on our campus to make sure were utilizing resources to the most benefit of our youth. To many students of Central American descent, however, the change is long overdue. As an undergraduate student at UC San Diego, Elisabeth Villalta a Salvadoran American who grew up in Fontana said she never felt like the universitys MEChA chapter reflected her familys experiences. (They fled war and political turmoil and had to cross three borders to get to the U.S.) The focus of the groups leaders on Mexican issues and culture, the 23-year-old said, just bled into every aspect of the club, whether its how things were run what kind of food they have at the event, what kind of music they played. The voices of others in the Latino and Central American communities were overwhelmed, Villalta said. Alexandro Jose Gradilla, 49, a Cal State Fullerton associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies, thinks MEChAs shift in perspective is good because organizations have to be fluid and constant. They have to meet the needs of the current political period theyre in, as opposed to the period where they were founded, he said. Decades after he proudly embraced being called Chicano, Rodriguez, now 67, said that whatever those in the current fight for identity choose to call themselves, he hopes young Latinos dont forget the struggles of the Chicano movement. I suppose we old Chicanos should share in the blame by letting this history slip, he said. A man was killed Sunday night when he was hit by an Amtrak passenger train near North Hollywood, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Spokesman Brian Humphrey said the train, which had 126 passengers aboard and was headed for San Diego, struck the man about 7:15 p.m. near the Coldwater Canyon Avenue crossing. The man, who wasnt immediately identified, died at the scene. Humphrey said witnesses reported the man was pushing a shopping cart across the train tracks when he was struck. Lights were flashing, bells were ringing and the safety gates had come down across the crossing, witnesses said, but it was too late. It wasnt clear why the man was on the tracks, Humphrey said, but its easy to underestimate the speed of a train. Advertisement People can think a train is moving 15 miles an hour when its moving 50, he said. No description of the man was available and, as of 10 p.m. on Sunday, Humphrey said no one had come forward to identify him as a family member or a friend. andrea.castillo@latimes.com | Twitter: @andreamcastillo Police continued searching Monday night for the suspect in a shooting that left one person wounded earlier in the day at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance. When initial reports came in about shots fired, many feared it would be another mass shooting at another place people assumed was safe to frequent and enjoy with family and friends. But within about an hour, authorities said there was not an active shooter, and rather, it appeared to be an isolated incident. The Torrance Police Department responded at 2:56 p.m. to reports of shots fired at the large mall at 3525 Carson St. Advertisement Upon arrival, they found one victim with a gunshot wound. The person was taken to a hospital and is expected to recover. No further details have been made available about the victim. Authorities said a preliminary investigation identified the suspect as a male Latino between 20 and 25 with a shaved head, wearing a black shirt and checkered shorts. Torrance Police Sgt. Ronald Harris said authorities believed there was only the one victim in the shooting. The motive for the shooting is unknown, he said. Law enforcement sources said that shots were fired near the malls food court and that one person was injured. A video posted to social media showed a person bleeding on the floor of the shopping center as other mallgoers appear to be trying to stop the bleeding. A source said police believe the gunman either fled or was hiding in the mall. Police departments across the South Bay helped Torrance police at the mall, Hawthorne Police Chief Michael Ishii said. Law enforcement agencies spent hours clearing the mall, going store to store to check possible hiding places and retrieving those sheltering in place. Shoppers said the mall was evacuated, but some shoppers and workers remained barricaded inside until authorities could reach them and give them the all clear. Outside the mall, employees and customers lingered, waiting to be picked up or for the evacuation to be lifted. Some mall doors remained open for a short while after the shooting, and bystanders lounged by the doors inside the mall. A group of people were temporarily locked inside a restaurant. Employees said they heard one loud bang before police rushed into the mall, minutes later. Claudia Barrera, an employee at a skincare boutique, said she heard the sound, followed by two people running into her store to tell her there had been a shooting. She and other employees locked the doors. About 15 minutes later, officials in SWAT gear evacuated everyone in the boutique. People stormed out, she said. Less than five minutes later, Torrance Police Department was [at] the doors. Shana Alexander, who works at the Body Shop, said she heard one loud shot. An alarm came over the speaker system telling people to leave the mall, she said. Everyone started running out, Alexander said. She said about 50 officers were inside, and employees at nearby shops barricaded themselves until police escorted them out. Robert Reyes, 47, of Bell said his older sister was inside the mall when she heard gunfire. Reyes said his sister was hiding with several other people, including children, inside a closet in a makeup store. She just grabbed my niece and started running, and she went into the first store that she saw, he said. Olivia Campbell, 23, had just left after grabbing lunch at the food court when she saw about 15 people running out of the mall. Two people almost got hit by cars trying to flee, she said. I literally just missed it, which is crazy, Campbell said. You think about all the people you saw in the food court before it happened. Times staff writers James Queally and Richard Winton contributed to this report. An Irvine man who had kill lists of prominent Jewish figures pleaded guilty Friday to charges related to an anti-Semitic plot against three congregations in Orange County. Nicholas Wesley Rose, 28, was convicted on one felony count of carrying a loaded firearm that was not registered to him and three misdemeanor counts of violation of civil rights in connection with threats against two churches and a synagogue in Orange County because of their ties to the Jewish community. Rose was sentenced to two years and three months in the Orange County Jail, one year in a residential mental health treatment program and five years probation with GPS monitoring. He also is required to stay 500 yards away from his victims and cooperate in his mental health treatment. RELATED: Anti-Semitism is on the rise in America. The head of the Anti-Defamation League explains why Advertisement There is no place for hate, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement. He is a danger to society and every resident of Orange County should be aware of the threat he poses. Rose was arrested in April 2018 after his parents contacted police with concerns about their sons violent anti-Semitic threats, according to the Orange County district attorneys office. Police found white supremacist and anti-Jewish writings linked to Rose including a list of steps titled Killing my first Jew during a search of his apartment. Note cards describing a church and a synagogue in Irvine, along with a church in Lake Forest, also were found. Police said Rose researched the three houses of worship and visited them between December 2017 and April 2018. RELATED: Anti-Semitic fliers found near San Fernando Valley schools. Police call it a hate crime In Roses car, police discovered hundreds of rounds of .22-caliber ammunition, a shovel and a sleeping bag. Investigators said Rose also conducted extensive internet searches of white supremacy ideology, anti-Semitism and the effective range of a silenced .22-caliber long-range rifle. When faced with complaints earlier this year from city workers about rats infesting L.A. City Hall, most city officials said little about whether the problem was connected to several homeless camps right outside. But a newly uncovered report from a pest control company hired by the city has raised fresh questions about whether officials wrongly downplayed that possibility during discussions at City Council meetings. CatsUSA Pest Control, brought in to assess areas outside City Hall and nearby buildings, warned that homeless people create harborage for rodents, according to the report issued Dec. 28 and obtained last month through a public records request by a frequent critic of City Hall. The company said it found poor sanitary conditions including leftover food, human waste and hypodermic needles and recommended that the city clear away the homeless population living in the Civic Center. Advertisement The findings were a topic of internal discussion for staffers at the Department of General Services, the agency that maintains city buildings. The day the one-page report was issued, a maintenance official sent an email to the departments general manager, Tony Royster, describing the filth that had accumulated in the pits that surround City Hall, which are covered by metal grates. The homeless are using the grated areas above the pits as their bathroom and relieving themselves, wrote David Costa, building construction and maintenance superintendent. This is also attracting the rats. Custodial will need to do some hazmat cleaning of the grates and the pits. There are even hypodermic needles being tossed in the pits along with human waste and other garbage. Two months after the report was issued, officials in the Personnel Department told council members they believed the increase in rat activity was triggered by the demolition of Parker Center, the former L.A. Police Department headquarters on Los Angeles Street. They delivered the same message to city workers in a letter sent the same month. Councilman Joe Buscaino, who has criticized the city over its handling of sidewalk cleanups of homeless people, was the only council member to argue during council meetings that the camps attract vermin. He said he was unaware of CatsUSAs findings until he was contacted by The Times last month and said he always viewed the encampments, not Parker Center, as the reason for the surge in rats. At the onset of this mess, I saw a correlation between the rat infestation and these encampments surrounding the Civic Center, Buscaino said. Ive worked skid row as a police officer. Ive done cleanups as a council member. The Department of General Services said in an email to The Times that it responded to the CatsUSA report by ordering regular cleanups of the sidewalks around City Hall and nearby municipal buildings. Department officials didnt directly mention the homeless encampments, or CatsUSAs recommendation to clear them, at any of three council meetings devoted to discussing the rat infestation earlier this year. Asked why that information wasnt presented at the Feb. 8 meeting the first one Royster told The Times that his agency had been asked to talk about strategies for addressing the rat problem. The discussion therefore primarily focused on the plans and steps taken by [various city departments] to comprehensively address this problem on the interior and exterior of City Hall and surrounding area, Royster said. Discussions with the council were based on observations by CatsUSA and county health officials that identified burrows, trash from uncovered dumpsters, debris from homeless encampments, unsecured food and overwatering of plants as possible sources of rodents, Royster said. Cleanups of homeless camps currently take place every weekend in the Civic Center and include the disposal of hazardous materials, the removal and storage of items owned by homeless people, and the power washing of sidewalks, said Elena Stern, spokeswoman for the citys Bureau of Sanitation. Royster said General Services also does daily cleanups. City agencies cant permanently remove homeless people from the areas around City Hall because they have a legal right to be on the sidewalks during certain times. On Sunday, Council President Herb Wesson declined to comment on the CatsUSA report, saying he hadnt seen it. However, at a council meeting on the rat issue four months ago, he cautioned the public against blaming homeless individuals for the problem. I really want us to get to the facts, Wesson said. I do not want to have people who are unfortunately living on the streets blamed for something that they might not have anything to do with, but theyre just an easy target. The report was included in a larger trove of city correspondence about the citys pest problem that was obtained by Eric Preven, a member of the Studio City Neighborhood Council. Preven secured the records through the California Public Records Act and shared them with The Times. The documents provide a window into the alarm from city employees over rat sightings, rodent droppings and other pest-related issues. On Dec. 28, one exasperated department head emailed General Services noting that her staff had removed food and plants, but had discovered that rodents also were eating paper. In my 31 years, I have never seen anything like this, wrote City Clerk Holly Wolcott. I again have to ask if efforts can be increased. The documents also show there were pest complaints rats, mice or fleas made at about 20 different locations within City Hall for a five-month period through February. Preven said the report he obtained and the conditions it describes show a clear need for public restrooms to be installed outside City Hall. Its the only humane, hygienic thing to do, he said. Since the rodent issues were identified, city agencies have trimmed trees in the Civic Center and removed vegetation. Those efforts have been carried out amid larger concerns about the spread of disease in downtown and other neighborhoods, as Los Angeles County prepares to reveal its annual point-in-time report on Tuesday that will probably show an increase in the number of people living on the streets. Last month, state officials fined General Services and the LAPD after uncovering a rodent infestation and other unsanitary conditions at the agencys Central Division station in skid row. General Services has filed an appeal. The LAPD said one of its employees at the station has contracted the strain of bacteria that causes typhoid fever, although its unclear how the worker became ill. County health officials also declared a typhus outbreak last year in downtown L.A. and one Los Angeles city employee, Deputy City Atty. Elizabeth Greenwood, has filed a $5-million legal claim against the city, saying she contracted typhus while working in her office at City Hall East. Greenwood said she believes she contracted the disease from a flea. Typhus can be spread to humans through flea bites or contact with the feces of infected fleas; its symptoms include a rash, fever and fatigue. Asked about the December report from CatsUSA, Greenwood said through her attorney that the city did not take seriously the recommendations of its own pest control firm. Ms. Greenwood believes weekly cleaning of the trash and human waste is not sufficient, said Gayle Eskridge, Greenwoods lawyer. Ms. Greenwood states that the trash, urine and feces are occurring on a daily basis. In a separate report issued in February, CatsUSA said it found no evidence of fleas inside City Hall or other municipal facilities. The report was posted on the councils website, unlike the one issued two months earlier about unsanitary conditions in the Civic Center. dakota.smith@latimes.com Twitter: @dakotacdsmith Gary Coleman, who soared to fame in the late 1970s as the child star of the hit sitcom Diffrent Strokes and whose post-TV-series life included a stint as a shopping mall security guard and an unlikely run for California governor, died Friday. He was 42. The diminutive Coleman, whose adult height was 4 feet 8 inches, died at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo after suffering a brain hemorrhage earlier this week, according to a statement from hospital spokeswoman Janet Frank. A resident of Santaquin, Utah, Coleman had been hospitalized Wednesday and lost consciousness the next day. He was taken off life support Friday, the hospital said. Born with failed kidneys, Coleman had undergone two transplants by age 14 and his growth was permanently stunted by the side effects of dialysis medications. Advertisement He was a precocious, chubby-cheeked elementary school student living in Zion, Ill., when a scout for TV producer Norman Lear spotted him in a Chicago bank commercial. The exceptionally bright, talented and self-confident Coleman was 10 when Diffrent Strokes debuted on NBC in 1978. As the lovably outspoken 8-year-old Arnold Jackson, he was the comedic centerpiece of the series about two Harlem sons of a black housekeeper whose white boss, a wealthy widower, takes them into his Park Avenue penthouse after her death and later adopts them. The cast of the sitcom, which ended its eight-season run in 1986 after switching to ABC, included Conrad Bain as the wealthy Philip Drummond; Todd Bridges as Arnolds older brother, Willis; Dana Plato as Drummonds daughter, Kimberly; and Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett, Drummonds new housekeeper. Its appeal rests chiefly on Gary, a black Pillsbury Doughboy, tiny and cuddly with a face like a pincushion, The Times Howard Rosenberg wrote in 1979. At 50 pounds and belt-buckle high, hes small enough to be a Christmas tree ornament. But from his mouth come words well, you just have to be there. In a 1979 TV Guide article headlined Small Wonder, Coleman was described as having the comic delivery of Jack Benny, Groucho Marx and Richard Pryor. When he walks onto a stage, something has happened, and you feel it, Lear told TV Guide. Thats called presence, and its rare. Many important actors, even stars, dont have it. Gary does. The scene-stealing Coleman quickly became a pop-culture icon, whose recurring line Whatchoo talkin bout, Willis? became a national catchphrase. Praised by comedy legends Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, Coleman was in big demand for TV talk shows. He more than held his own during his first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1978, which led Carson to jokingly ask his young guest, What night are you available for guest host? At the height of his TV series success, Coleman reportedly earned $64,000 per week and is said to have made $18 million during his TV heyday. That included income from movies such as On the Right Track and Jimmy the Kid and TV movies such as " The Kid With the Broken Halo and The Kid With the 200 I.Q. as well as the animated series The Gary Coleman Show. Born Feb. 8, 1968, Coleman was the adopted son of W.G. Willie and Edmonia Sue Coleman, who, according to a 1990 Times article, brought him home from a Chicago hospital when he was four days old. It was not until 18 months later, The Times reported, that the Colemans were told that Gary had been born with one atrophied kidney and that the other would soon fail. In 1989, Coleman sued his parents and his former business manager, Anita DeThomas, for allegedly stealing more than $1 million from him. The Colemans and DeThomas countersued for defamation and breach of contract. The legal battle ended in 1993 when, Variety reported, a Santa Monica Superior Court judge awarded Gary Coleman $1.28 million and ruled that his parents and manager had wrongfully profited as his guardians and managers during five years while he was a minor. Colemans acting career as an adult fell far short of his Diffrent Strokes glory days. He made only occasional guest appearances and had mostly small roles in films and TV movies. Coleman, who filed for bankruptcy in 1999, also worked as a commercial pitchman, was hired to have his likeness and voice used in a mature-rated video game and ran a video-game arcade in Marina del Rey, among other things. The adult Coleman also had a few encounters with the law that put his face back in the news, including allegedly punching an aggressive and much-larger female autograph hunter in the late 1990s, for which he was fined and ordered to take anger-management classes. In February, he accepted a plea deal in Utah on domestic violence charges stemming from an incident the previous year between him and his wife, Shannon Price. Coleman was fined $595 and ordered to take classes on avoiding domestic violence. Colemans profile as a former child star reached its peak in 2003, the year he gave permission to a Bay Area alternative weekly newspaper to jokingly nominate him for governor in Californias gubernatorial recall election. He was among 135 candidates in the election, a colorful field that included L.A. billboard queen Angelyne, comedian Gallagher, Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt and porn star Mary Mary Carey Cook. A New York Times writer wrote that Coleman had become the poster child of the California freak show that is the governors recall election. Coleman, the Washington Post reported, has walked a line of believing in his own legitimacy and mocking it. My slogan, Coleman told the Post, is Im the least qualified guy for the job, but Id probably do the best job. Coleman, an independent who later appeared on CNN to say he was endorsing fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, received 12,683 votes, placing eighth in the race that saw Schwarzenegger elected. I want to escape that legacy of Arnold Jackson, Coleman told the New York Times during his run. Im someone more. It would be nice if the world thought of me as something more. Coleman is survived by his wife and parents. Senior Mexican officials launched an urgent campaign to stop President Trumps latest tariff threat, telling the administration Monday they were doing their part to stem migration through their territory and that taxes on trade would only hurt both nations economies. Marcelo Ebrard, Mexicos foreign minister, said he was confident an agreement could be reached with the U.S. but that punitive tariffs would backfire by increasing the large numbers of Central American migrants attempting to cross the border between Mexico and the United States. Trump last week stunned Mexicans and members of his own Cabinet by announcing he would slap a 5% tariff on goods imported from Mexico starting June 10, increasing in 5% increments steadily until October, unless the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador stops the flow of migrants into the U.S. Ebrard, speaking to reporters in Washington, did not outline new proposals to present to Trump administration officials but instead warned of dire consequences with Trumps proposal. Advertisement Tariffs, along with cuts of financial aid to northern Central American countries, Ebrard said, would be counterproductive, would not address migration flows and could reduce Mexicos capacity to give alternatives to migrants. Over the last couple of years, most of those migrants have been Central Americans fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala and claiming asylum from persecution in the U.S., which is legal under U.S. law. Illegal immigration from Mexico, itself, has declined sharply from earlier levels. Trump, however, blames Mexico for failing to close its southern border to the Central Americans. Mexico is one of the United States largest trading partners, and tariffs would hike prices for consumers on a wide range of products, including automobiles, washing machines, avocados, fresh fruits, clothing and beer. The president has also announced plans to cut financial aid to the three countries, known as Central Americas northern triangle, where violence and poverty have robbed many residents of a future. Mexico says those policies are misguided. Echoing Lopez Obrador, Ebrard said the focus should be on root causes of migration and finding ways to build up economies and security in Central America. He also said Mexico was already taking the measures the Trump administration had demanded of it, including the acceptance of migrants back into Mexico from the U.S. to await the adjudication of amnesty claims a process that can take well over a year and the rounding up and deportation of thousands more. U.S. officials said Mexico could do a lot more, especially on its porous southern frontier. Punitive actions alone wont work; its not working, Ebrard said. We already have made a great effort. Without those efforts, Ebrard and his team said, a quarter of a million migrants could enter the U.S. over its southern border this year. The Mexican argument picked up some support Monday from a leading Republican, Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. I appreciate President Trumps unwavering commitment to securing our southern border and enforcing our immigration laws, Cornyn said in a statement. But its important to remember that any actions that we take to secure our southern border must also keep in mind the important role that Mexico plays in the economy of the United States. Ebrard arrived in Washington late Friday and spent the weekend huddled with other members of his government to plot strategy. He is accompanied by Mexicos economy minister, Graciela Marquez; agriculture minister, Victor Villalobos; and several officials from the foreign ministry. Meetings were planned Monday with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, acting head of the Department of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Ebrard said he intended to meet with Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo on Wednesday when Pompeo returned from a state visit to Britain. The State Department, however, has not confirmed that, and nothing appears on the secretarys schedule for that day. Also absent from Washington are Trump, who is in Britain, and Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and advisor, who has frequently served as interlocutor between Mexico and the White House. Ebrard made hurried phone calls to Pompeo and Kushner on Friday, ahead of his trip to Washington, and hoped to enlist them to persuade Trump to back down on the tariffs. On Sunday, however, Trumps chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, insisted that the president was deadly serious about the tariffs and that he expected at least the first round of 5% to go into effect. Ebrard was just in Washington two weeks ago, when he thought he and U.S. officials had agreed on development plans for Central America that now seem doomed. Asked what strategy he could employ now, he said: Diplomacy; we have 200 years of diplomacy with the United States. We need to continue doing exactly what we were doing just last week, said Jesus Seade, deputy foreign minister for North American affairs. This is an enormous boulder in our path and will jeopardize both our economies. Ebrard would not discuss concessions that his government might be willing to make, except to say Mexico continued to oppose being declared a safe third country, which would require those seeking asylum in the U.S. to make their applications in Mexico without ever reaching U.S. territory. The Trump administration has been advocating that idea because it likely would dramatically decrease the number of asylum cases. Ebrard and his team echoed the assessment of GOP lawmakers and others who warned the tariff dispute hurts chances to ratify the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, drafted as an updated version of NAFTA and championed by Trump. Lopez Obrador so far has not responded in kind to Trumps threatening tone, insisting that despite the presidents belligerent rhetoric, the Mexican government wants to remain a friend to the United States. We are not going to get caught up in a confrontation, Lopez Obrador repeated Monday in Mexico City. We continue considering the U.S. government to be a friend of the government of Mexico, and I want to continue being a friend of President Donald Trump. The two have never met, but Trump is said to admire what is sometimes described as Lopez Obradors iconoclastic style. He came to office in December. His predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto, suffered in both popularity and credibility for his dealings with Trump, when he was not seen as being sufficiently tough in front of Trumps insults and challenges. Lopez Obrador, by contrast, has extremely high approval ratings, allowing him more maneuvering room than Pena Nieto. To Lopez Obradors credit, he immediately worked to reduce the tensions, Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia risk assessment group, reported Monday, fresh from meetings in Mexico City. Lopez Obrador is not wanting a fight that he has no capacity to win and will only hurt his economy further. For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Its Monday, June 3, and heres a quick look at the week ahead: On Monday, actress Lori Loughlin will have a hearing in a Boston courtroom regarding her role in the college admissions scandal. The Full House actress and her husband previously rejected a plea deal. Also Monday: Apple will hold its developer conference, and rumor has it the company will announce the end of iTunes. Per Los Angeles Times business reporter Wendy Lee, who will be at todays event, Apple has been building out its services business, as iPhone sales decline. The majority of Apples sales still come from iPhones, and the company has been under pressure to innovate and diversify its revenue streams. On Tuesday, Los Angeles voters will vote on Measure EE in a special election. The parcel tax, which requires two-thirds voter approval, would raise funds for L.A. schools. (Heres what The Times editorial board had to say about Measure EE.) Advertisement On Wednesday, the Bakersfield City Council will decide if the Central Valley city will add In God We Trust decals to police patrol cars. In April, the nearby city of Delano voted to add the slogan to police vehicles. Delano is believed to be the first California city to do so. Pride Month officially began on June 1, and the massive L.A. Pride Parade will be held Sunday in West Hollywood. (The San Francisco Pride Parade doesnt happen until the end of the month). And now, and heres whats happening across California: TOP STORIES The U.S. government has been using unreliable dental exams to hold teen migrants in adult detention. Under the Trump administration, the use of dental exams to help determine the age of migrants has increased sharply. Los Angeles Times A top White House aide confirmed that President Trump is deadly serious about imposing a 5% tariff on Mexican goods, a move that could have a major impact on consumers. Los Angeles Times What causes wildfires? From power lines to fireworks, heres an in-depth look at what caused 10 of the deadliest and most destructive wildfires in California history. San Francisco Chronicle Get the Essential California newsletter L.A. STORIES The northern half of the Blue Line a rail line that ferries riders from downtown L.A. to Long Beach has shut down for four months for repairs. The southern half of the line, which just reopened, had closed for the previous four months. The full train line is scheduled to reopen in September. Curbed LA Here are five L.A. book events to kick off your summer reading. Los Angeles Times Barcelonas Primavera Sound festival will come to Los Angeles in 2020. Los Angeles Times Heres how What the Constitution Means to Me, the years most unconventional Broadway play, will change for its Los Angeles debut. Los Angeles Times Stacy Ju, left, and Kwihn Pham in the Dragon Fruit Pool in the Tropical Desert Oasis room at the World of Fruit pop-up. (David Karp / For The Times) The Times sent the worlds foremost fruit expert to inspect L.A.s new, Instagram-pandering fruit museum. Los Angeles Times Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times. IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER As Mexico cracks down on migrants, more are risking the dangerous train known as La Bestia. Los Angeles Times POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT The California Democratic Party has elected L.A. labor leader Rusty Hicks as its next leader. Hicks succeeds former party Chairman Eric Bauman, who resigned after a series of sexual harassment allegations. Los Angeles Times The state party convention doubled as the largest single gathering of 2020 presidential candidates to date. The weekend offered a rare chance for Californians to see the candidates up close, and to be courted by them. Los Angeles Times Gov. Gavin Newsom signaled opposition to tightening vaccination rules. A bill making its way through the state Legislature would tighten school immunization law. San Francisco Chronicle The process for presidential hopefuls to get on Californias primary ballot essentially all comes down to the discretion of Californias secretary of state. Heres how that mysterious process came to be, and why it might change. Los Angeles Times Plus: The new, crucial role the California primary could have in 2020, explained. Vox THE ENVIRONMENT Disturbed by the alarming number of dead gray whales washing up on West Coast shores, federal officials have declared a wildlife emergency. Mercury News A deep dive on how California became far more energy-efficient than the rest of the country. According to a new NRDC report, if the rest of the nation had improved as quickly as California has between 1975 and 2016, U.S. greenhouse gases would be almost 25% lower. Vox CALIFORNIA CULTURE Yosemites free shuttle system, which carries more than 3 million park visitors annually, has been facing major problems. San Francisco Chronicle A 19-year-old Fresno woman whose social media feud allegedly led to four separate drive-by shootings in September 2018 will stand trial. No one was injured in the shootings. Fresno Bee Members of the Mexican American student organization MEChA voted this spring to change the more than 50-year-old organizations name to be more inclusive. The name change has sparked a heated debate between older civil rights leaders and present-day university activists. Los Angeles Times Gov. Newsom bought the most expensive home sold in Sacramento so far this year. Sacramento Bee From abandoned mine inspector to fly breeder, here are five unusual jobs performed by a few of Californias roughly 230,000 state workers. Sacramento Bee A backpack containing the only copy of his PhD thesis was stolen from a biological anthropologists car in Santa Rosa. Fox KTVU CALIFORNIA ALMANAC Los Angeles: partly sunny, 69. San Diego: partly sunny, 69. San Francisco: partly sunny, 65. San Jose: sunny, 80. Sacramento: sunny, 91. More weather is here. AND FINALLY This weeks birthdays for those who made a mark in California: Actress and U.N. special envoy Angelina Jolie (June 4, 1975), Snap Inc. co-founder Evan Spiegel (June 4, 1990), developer and philanthropist Eli Broad (June 6, 1933), Rep. Ken Calvert (June 8, 1953) and USC mens basketball coach Andy Enfield (June 8, 1969). If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.) 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. This weekend, for just about 48 Cinderella hours, California was transformed. The state has long been an afterthought in picking the nations presidents, watching nose-to-the-glass as others with a fraction of the population Iowa, New Hampshire, next-door Nevada get smothered with attention. All that changed as the spring convention of California Democrats drew 14 White House hopefuls to this charming and clamorous city at the entrance of the Golden Gate. Blink and you could have been in Des Moines, or Concord, N.H. Advertisement Only weirder. Candidates trawled the conference rooms and hotel suites where delegates gathered, made breakfast appearances and hung out at late-night parties, seeking the support of women, environmentalists, gay and lesbian activists, union members. It was, to Californias great distinction, the largest single gathering of 2020 presidential candidates to date. The White House hopefuls speechified, shook hands, hugged, smiled for selfies and signaled to neglected California Democrats simply by being here that they and their home state matter very much. Even if it doesnt often feel that way. California Democratic Party elects new chair to lead an organization pushing further left For Regina Q. Banks, attending her first state party gathering, the rare burst of attention was wonderful and wonderfully validating. Theyre here. They came to see me, said Banks, 40, who works for a faith-based group in south Sacramento County. California is a state that matters all of a sudden because of the way we moved our primary. They all realize I vote here in California and now we can be in the vanguard of the blue wave, as opposed to just the ATM. (For decades, the extraction of cash from California has been a major ongoing political industry.) Though Banks is leaning toward Kamala Harris, the home-state U.S. senator, she added winkingly, I can be wooed. As part of its perennial effort to gain relevance, California has moved up its 2020 presidential primary, again. This time the date is March 3, which places it squarely after the four earliest-voting states: Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. Never mind that 13 other states, as well as Democrats living abroad, will cast their ballots on the same day, or that delegates will be awarded in a way apportioned among candidates rather than given as a lump sum to the winner that will lessen Californias impact and dilute its import. California being California, the state is simply too populous, its donors too deep-pocketed, its natural beauty too alluring for the candidates not to appear especially with dozens of national political reporters on hand. (Many would doubtless have passed on a weekend in, say, Omaha.) The gathering of 5,000 devout party loyalists and their guests was also a matchless opportunity to start building the cogs that power a political campaign the people that are willing to get on the phone passing out fliers, doing voter registration, said Ed Emerson, a longtime Democratic strategist from Sacramento. To find those people at your core, this is where you find them. Theyre here. They came to see me. Democratic convention delegate Regina Q. Banks As polite guests, the candidates graciously acknowledged their host. There was plenty of congratulation for Californias walloping performance in the 2018 midterm election, when Democrats nabbed seven seats to help seize control of the House. A handful delivered more specifically tailored remarks. Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro addressed the states housing affordability crisis. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., noted his recent Los Angeles appearance in support of the citys Proposition EE, the parcel tax on Tuesdays ballot that would boost school funding. Apart from that, there was little to distinguish the speeches from those the candidates might have delivered in Sioux City, Iowa, or Keene, N.H. No mention of the controversial Delta Tunnel water project, the problem-plagued bullet train, Disneylands opening of Star Wars: Galaxys Edge. (A demonstration inside the George R. Moscone Center by professional sex workers in leather and fishnet stockings and a protest outside by anti-circumcision activists in fake-bloody trousers did, however, remind passersby this was indeed San Francisco.) No matter. The chance simply to see candidates up close in the flesh, as it were, was a revelation for California activists more accustomed to glimpses on television or via the internet. The vibe is different when you meet somebody, said Darlene Elliot, 52, a policy analyst from Riverside. She paid close attention to how the candidates kept their poise as they were peppered with questions while roaming the convention hall an insight into their character she feels she cannot get from watching on TV. For me, its really about a person coming from empathy and understanding, but also being very grounded in who they are, said Elliot, who was also leaning toward Harris but remains open-minded toward others. On Sunday, the last three of the presidential hopefuls spoke, addressing a crowd considerably thinner than the turnout for Saturdays 11-candidate parade. Bernie Sanders, who maintains strong residual support from his 2016 run, was enthusiastically greeted as he swiped at former Vice President Joe Biden, the front-runner, who skipped the convention. The path to victory in 2020, Sanders said, does not include finding middle ground, as Biden suggested, on issues like climate change and immigration. After dazzling debut, Kamala Harris falls from top of presidential pack For a second day, delegates displayed their strong leftward tilt by booing one of the more moderate contestants, former Maryland Rep. John Delaney, when he declared Medicare for all a proposal to expand the availability of healthcare bad policy and bad politics. Shouting to be heard over the din, Delaney told them, This is a battle of ideas, my friends. It was similar to the contempt that greeted former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on Saturday and had the same effect: Two candidates in the middle taking on the left in San Francisco no less and drawing notice they otherwise would never have gotten. Will California continue to attract this much attention? Its June of 2019, said Gale Kaufman, who has spent decades managing California Democratic campaigns. Theres a first impression everyone wants to make, but right now thats all. Is it a one-day little schmooze or part of an ongoing engagement? We wont know that for a while. Subscribe to the Los Angeles Times 2020 election calendar feed Shortly after noon Sunday after the last die-hard delegates had left the convention hall, the microphones were stilled and the floor was littered with stepped-on signs California had already begun its transformation back to political pumpkin. Buttigieg planned to stick around Monday, traveling to Fresno to meet voters and hold a town hall on MSNBC. Biden is expected to return soon to shake the money tree. But the fading focus was unmistakable. Soon, 17 Democratic presidential contestants plan to be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the state Democratic Partys annual Hall of Fame dinner. Thats three more than California managed. mark.barabak@latimes.com @markzbarabak More than 300 years ago, Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, whose whiskered visage virtually defines the image of the 18th century pirate, ran his flagship aground near Beaufort, N.C. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal involving that ship to resolve a question of alleged 21st century piracy: Can the state of North Carolina be sued for taking someones copyrighted work? At issue in the case, brought by a videographer who has filmed the wreckage of the Queen Annes Revenge since it was discovered in 1996, is a broad question of whether authors, musicians, video producers and others may sue a state agency and collect damages if the government makes use of their works without permission. The high court has created a broad sovereign immunity shield that protects states from many types of lawsuits. In this case, the Recording Industry Assn. and experts in copyright law are urging the justices to shrink that shield, at least in copyright cases. Advertisement Recent rulings have left states free to infringe copyrights with impunity, with nothing to deter them from that bad behavior, the recording industry said in its brief supporting the appeal. Digital piracy of sound recordings and musical works, including by states, can be quick and easy to accomplish. The case began with the discovery of the wreckage of Blackbeards flagship, which sank in November 1718 and was found by a private research group in 1996. A model of Queen Annes Revenge, flagship of the 18th century pirate Blackbeard, at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, N.C. (David Zucchino / Los Angeles Times) The discoverers hired Frederick Allen and his Nautilus Productions to film the wreckage and the salvage operation. His videos were copyrighted, but in 2013, North Carolinas Department of Natural and Cultural Resources began posting the videos online. Allen and the state entered into a settlement that paid Nautilus $15,000, but according to the videographer, the state violated the agreement by converting his works into public record materials that were free to all. Allen sued the state for copyright infringement and won before a federal judge. But the 4th Circuit Court based in Virginia ruled last year that the state and its officials were immune from such claims. In 1990, Congress passed a law to protect copyrights from infringement by state agencies, but a few years later, the Supreme Court handed down a series of rulings that gave states sovereign immunity from being sued for damages in federal courts. One of those decisions, Florida Prepaid vs. College Savings Bank in 1999, threw out patent and copyright claims against a Florida agency. The 4th Circuit cited that decision in blocking the videographers suit over Blackbeards ship. His lawyers argued in their appeal that the Constitution gave Congress the power to protect the work of authors and inventors. The decision by Congress to enact a federal law allowing the suit to go ahead should override a states claim of immunity, they said. The Supreme Court announced Monday it had voted to hear the case of Allen vs. Cooper in the term that begins in the fall. More stories from David G. Savage President Trump did not act like a man about to be honored by the queen until he came face to face with the 93-year-old British monarch Monday afternoon. For three hours between his morning arrival at Stansted Airport and a formal welcoming ceremony just after noon, Trump set a cantankerous tone for his five-day European trip, tweeting out a series of attacks and complaints. In a city and country where he is already deeply unpopular, the president at times personified a familiar stereotype: the rude American abroad. Trump was, by contrast, gracious in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, whom he praised as the embodiment of duty and patriotism. But even in Buckingham Palace, the toasts at the evenings State Dinner carried an unmistakable hint of tension into the gilded Banquet Hall. Advertisement Days away from the 75th anniversary of D-day, both the president and the queen lauded the shared history of the Allies victory. And they praised shared values. But their points of emphasis noticeably differed. Trump emphasized freedom, sovereignty, self-determination [and] the rule of law as common values. The queen spoke about the importance of the postwar alliances that many here and elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S. say Trump has seemed intent on weakening. After the shared sacrifices of the Second World War, Britain and the United States worked with other allies to build an assembly of international institutions, to ensure that the horrors of conflict would never be repeated, she said. While the world has changed, we are forever mindful of the original purpose of these structures: nations working together to safeguard a hard-won peace. For the monarch, who by tradition and habit avoids political controversy, the language seemed pointed. If Trump took the point, he did not show it. Seated beside the queen in a black tuxedo with a white bow tie, Trump appeared to enjoy the ceremony. During his time away from his hosts, however, he remained focused on politics and perceived enemies, domestic and foreign. Before Air Force One had touched down, Trump attacked Londons mayor, Sadiq Khan, as a stone cold loser. In a second tweet, he likened Khan to our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC [Bill] de Blasio and mocked the London mayors height hes about 5-foot-6 before noting that that he was glad to be visiting. Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she speaks with President Trump during a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019. (Adrian Dennis / AFP/Getty Images) In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now! he wrote. After being flown from the airfield northeast of London to Winfield House, the U.S. ambassadors residence here, for some downtime ahead of afternoon ceremonies, Trump continued to tweet, claiming that tariffs were forcing China to pay billions to the U.S. and carping about his limited television options. Just arrived in the United Kingdom, he tweeted. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesnt owner @ATT do something? That led to a second tweet in which Trump appeared to recommend a boycott of a major American company, saying that if people stopped using AT&T a company that employs more than 100,000 Americans CNN might be forced to make big changes. Once the ceremonies began outside Buckingham Palace, however, the president was all smiles as Marine One delivered him and First Lady Melania Trump to the grand lawn, where he was greeted by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and led up the steps to the greet the waiting queen. Cannons fired in a ceremonial welcome salute, and dignitaries stood and watched as the Grenadier Guards, wearing the traditional red coats and bearskin hats, marched in formation before playing the U.S. national anthem. At one point, Trump and Prince Charles walked among the guards for an official inspection. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, right, look out of a window at Buckingham Palace during the visit of President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on June 3, 2019. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images) Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, senior advisor Stephen Miller and U.S. Ambassador Woody Johnson were among those watching the ceremonies from a palace balcony. The queen presented Trump with the abridged, single-volume version of Winston Churchills multibook series, The Second World War, as well as a boxed set of three royal pens. Its commonly known that Trump seldom, if ever, reads books. To some watching back in the U.S., the queens steadfastly apolitical and polite persona stood in stark contrast to her guest of honor, however well mannered he appeared in her presence. An important Presidential responsibility is to represent the American people overseas with dignity, tweeted R. Nicholas Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO. Trump has failed this straightforward duty in the first hour of his State Visit to the U.K. How pitiful. Trumps day of official festivities also included a private lunch with the queen, a visit to Westminster Abbey and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, and tea with Prince Charles and Camilla. The president briefly went back to Winfield House to rest before returning to Buckingham Palace for the official state banquet and a reception to follow, and almost immediately returned to Twitter with an announcement that the trip was going really well and a bleat about the negative media coverage he was anticipating. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic, Trump tweeted. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong. Havent seen any protests yet, but Im sure the Fake News will be working hard to find them, he wrote. Great love all around. Also, big Trade Deal is possible once U.K. gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk! Advocates of Brexit have long argued that Britain could sign a separate trade deal with the U.S. if it pulls out of the European Union. Skeptics in Britain question whether Trump can be trusted to negotiate a deal and stick to it. The pageantry and pleasantries somewhat mask Trumps deep unpopularity with much of the British population. According to a new poll, fewer than 1 in 5 people in Britain believe the United Kingdom still has the special relationship with the U.S. that this state visit is meant to commemorate and solidify. Trump has celebrated the countrys 2016 Brexit vote. But even if the U.K. turns away from Europe by leaving the EU and negotiating its own trade deal with the U.S., significant daylight still separates the two nations, which have taken opposite positions on climate change and the Iran nuclear deal, among other things. Khan, knowing that a quarrel with Trump probably will boost him politically, took advantage of the international platform the presidents attack provided him, releasing a two-minute video in which he spoke directly to the camera and the visiting American. If youre watching this, your values and what you stand for are the complete opposite of Londons values and the values in this country, Khan said. We think diversity is a strength. We respect women. And we think theyre equal to men. We think its important to safeguard the rights of all of us, particularly vulnerable and the marginalized. Marine One lands as President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2019. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) The president, who will meet with outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday, has shown little compunction about involving himself in Britains current political soap opera, a two-month process that will conclude with the election of Mays successor. Over the weekend, Trump referred to the American-born Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, as nasty in an interview with the British tabloid the Sun after being informed that she had criticized him during the 2016 campaign, two years before she wed Prince Harry. Once the article was published, Trump, who also said he thought she would make a very good American princess and wished her success, blasted the reaction to his comments and claimed not to have called her nasty. The Sun released an audio recording of the interview proving that he had. Even before these latest barbs, Trump was deeply unpopular in London. He steered clear of the city during his first visit to Britain in July, meeting with May at Chequers, an estate outside the city, and stopping by Windsor Castle to meet the queen. That visit sparked protests across the city, and this weeks trip is seeing more of the same. Beyond the inflatable Baby Trump balloon that Khan approved for flying again over Parliament Square on Tuesday, marchers are expected to fill the streets around Buckingham Palace. Some already gathered outside the palace gates on Monday, a mix of tourists, intrigued onlookers and both Trump supporters and protesters. One man wearing a silver crown held up a large sign that read: Welcome President Trump. Its creator, 65-year-old William Bort, said that the world has changed for the better since Trump became president. He needs to know there are many, many people here in Britain who like him, Bort said. A short distance away, Emma Lavender, 46, a stone carver, held up a sign with a photo of a snake that said: PM [Prime Minister] May he is not your friend. He is dangerous. She said she felt compelled to come because Trumps visit has deeply upset her. She said she fears it will only serve to create a deeper rift in an already fractured British society. Bringing a polarizing figure here when our own society is under such stress with its own polarization is not going to help, Lavender said. We need a general election, we dont need a state visit. One group that has risen to prominence with a social-media and billboard-focused campaign criticizing pro-Brexit politicians calls itself Led by Donkeys. It has made a point of reminding Trump of the criticisms that Conservative Party figure Boris Johnson leveled at him in 2016 by projecting a video of the comments onto the side of Elizabeth Tower, which surrounds Big Ben. In those comments from a television interview, Johnson, then the mayor of London, categorized Trump as one who, like terrorists, seeks to divide people; derided his stupefying ignorance; and said he was clearly out of his mind and unfit to serve as president. Johnson later went on to be foreign minister under May, quit the government in a fight over Brexit policy and is now running to be Mays successor. As Brexit politics have hardened, Johnson and Trump have formed a friendly relationship. Over the weekend, Trump seemed to endorse Johnsons bid to be the countrys next prime minister. I think Boris would do a very good job, Trump said. I think he would be excellent. He added: He has been very positive about me and our country. Special correspondent Christina Boyle contributed to this report. The latest from Washington More stories from Eli Stokols People with a DNA mutation that reduces their chance of HIV infection may die sooner, according to a study that suggests tinkering with a gene to try to fix one problem may cause others. The study authors cited the case of the Chinese researcher who tried to produce this mutation in twin girls before their birth in an attempt to reduce their risk for HIV. His work, which produced the first gene-edited babies, was widely condemned as unethical and risky, and the new paper illustrates one reason for concern. You should consider all the effects of mutations you induce, said Rasmus Nielsen of UC Berkeley, senior author of the paper published Monday by the journal Nature Medicine. Nielsen acknowledged that his result could not be applied directly to the two girls in China. For one thing, his study focused on a sample of people in the United Kingdom who might have different genetic backgrounds than the Chinese girls. Advertisement In addition, the people he studied had inherited a specific mutation. The Chinese scientist tried to create the same mutation but failed. The girls now carry different alterations in the same gene. The gene is called CCR5. When it is working normally, it lets certain cells of the immune system display a protein on their surfaces. HIV has co-opted that protein to use as a doorway to infect those cells. The mutation prevents that protein from appearing, and thus sharply reduces the risk of HIV infection. Past studies have suggested that carrying the mutation has some drawbacks, including a heightened risk of death from flu. Nielsen and Xinzhu Wei, also at UC Berkeley, studied data on about 400,000 people whod signed up between 2006 and 2010 for the UK Biobank, which collected extensive information on them and is following their health. They compared people who carry the mutation in both copies of their CCR5 gene to those who carry it in just one copy or neither, and looked for deaths recorded through February 2016. About 4,000 participants carried the mutation in both copies, of whom 151 had died. The analysis focused on deaths between ages 41 and 76. The study found that participants with the mutation in both copies had a death rate that was 21% higher than that of the others. A second analysis showed that at the time participants signed up for the biobank, when their average age was about 57, there were fewer people with the mutation in both copies of the gene than one would expect another sign of a higher rate of early death. The researchers were unable to get information on the causes of the deaths, so they have no firm explanation for the difference in mortality, Nielsen said. But the heightened risk of death from flu may have played an important role, he said. He also said the size of the difference would probably differ in other groups of people. Philip Murphy, an immunologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md. who was not involved in the new study, said the work provided the first peek at the mutations effect on mortality from all causes over a wide swath of the lifespan. Thats a big deal, he said. Nielsen said the study does not apply to another form of gene therapy that differs from what the Chinese researcher did. Some scientists have been inactivating CCR5 in blood cells of people already infected with HIV, to help keep the virus under control. In that situation, having the disabled gene is probably an advantage, Nielsen said. James Riley, who researches that strategy at the University of Pennsylvania, agreed. Riley says his work affects only a tiny fraction of blood cells, while people in Nielsens study with the higher mortality rate had CCR5 shut off in every cell of the body. The director of the NIAID, Anthony Fauci, said Nielsen and Weis study did not apply broadly to gene-editing experiments currently underway. Researchers are mainly focused on replacing a defective gene with a working one, or eliminating a harmful one. In contrast, the people in Nielsens study were living without a normal, working version of a gene the condition the Chinese researcher sought to produce. Fauci said the work was more a lesson that genetic protection against one thing could raise vulnerability to something else. Malcolm Ritter is a writer for the Associated Press. Growing up in Fairbanks, Alaska, Nathan Baring has seen the signs of a warming world all around him. The winters have begun to lose their infamous chill. Thawing permafrost is shifting the ground beneath his feet. And some years, there isnt even enough snow to ski. If you have eyes and you walk out your back door, you can see the changes that have taken place over only my short childhood, said Baring, 19, who already has six years of climate activism under his belt. So when lawyers asked Baring if hed like to sue the federal government for failing to tackle climate change, he readily agreed. When I started, I didnt have the right to vote, Baring said. This legal avenue was what I saw as the most effective way to put myself out here. Advertisement Nathan Baring, 19, one of the plaintiffs in Juliana vs. United States, in his bedroom in Fairbanks, Alaska. (Robin Loznak / Our Childrens Trust) The case, Juliana vs. United States, alleges that the U.S. government has violated the rights of 21 young Americans by permitting and in many cases, subsidizing the continued use of fossil fuels that cause climate change. Juliana is the first lawsuit to argue that theres a constitutional right to a safe and livable climate. Experts say its an ambitious and unprecedented tactic, and many were surprised that the case has made it this far. Its a novel legal claim, said Ann Carlson, a professor of environmental law at UCLA. The suit has seen its share of twists and turns since it was filed in 2015. It survived numerous attempts by the Obama and Trump administrations to have it thrown out, although the courts removed the president from the list of defendants in 2018. The case still targets a slew of executive branch organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and the Office of Science and Technology Policy. A trial was originally slated to begin in federal district court in February 2018 but was postponed until the fall. Then the government made an eleventh-hour plea to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to dismiss the case. They declined, but encouraged the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to consider the governments objections. The Trump administration has pulled out all the stops, legally, in trying to prevent the trial, said Michael Gerrard, the director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University who is not involved in the suit. Now its fate lies with three judges in Portland, Ore., who will decide if the case has enough legal merit to proceed to trial. On Tuesday, lawyers for Baring and the other young plaintiffs will try to convince them that it does. (The hourlong hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube starting at 2 p.m. Pacific time.) For starters, they will have to refute the governments argument that the plaintiffs dont have standing to sue. To do that, they must show that the plaintiffs have been harmed by the governments actions (or in this case, its inaction), and that the court can do something to remedy the problem. A group of young plaintiffs cheer outside the federal courthouse in Eugene, Ore., after a hearing. (Robin Loznak / Our Childrens Trust) The plaintiffs have a long list of injuries. When a massive storm dumped heavy rains on southern Louisiana in 2016, Jayden Foytlins house flooded with storm water and sewage. For months afterward, she and her family slept in the living room of their damaged home because the bedrooms werent safe. (The house is still undergoing repairs.) Others have suffered from respiratory problems because of increased wildfire smoke and longer pollen seasons. Many cite threats to their family farms, to staple foods such as salmon, and to the landscapes where they hike, camp and hunt. Almost all say they have suffered psychological distress as a result of the changing climate. Levi Draheim, 11, has recurring nightmares that his hometown of Satellite Beach, Fla. a low-lying barrier island will be washed away by rising seas. Without changes, Im afraid I will lose my home and that my nightmares will become real, he wrote in a recent declaration to the court. The lawyers for the plaintiffs must link these injuries to climate change and show that the U.S., which has produced roughly a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions, bears at least some of the blame. Attorney Julia Olson hugs one of the young plaintiffs outside the federal courthouse in Eugene, Ore. (Robin Loznak / Our Childrens Trut) Our theory is that the federal government is substantially responsible, said Andrea Rodgers, a senior attorney for Our Childrens Trust, the Oregon organization representing the young plaintiffs. Rodgers and her colleagues dont expect the judges to rule on these questions now. They just want a chance to present their evidence in court. Were hoping that they affirm the district courts findings that there are questions of fact that need to be resolved at trial, she said. Both sides have recruited leading climate scientists and economists to bolster their cases, should that day ever come. Numerous environmental groups and public health experts have also filed amicus briefs on behalf of the plaintiffs. Climate scientist James Hansen greets well-wishers as he enters the courthouse for a hearing in the case of Juliana vs. United States at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. Hansen serves as the guardian of future generations, who are also plaintiffs in the case. (Robin Loznak / Our Childrens Trust) In Tuesdays hearing, the judges may also focus on whether the courts can deliver what the plaintiffs ultimately want: an order compelling the federal government to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Government lawyers have long maintained that climate policy should be left to Congress and the executive branch, and independent experts say the courts may not be comfortable exerting such power. (The government would have the freedom to come up with its own plan, which would probably require an overhaul of countless federal policies, including fuel economy standards and the tax code.) The plaintiffs have also asked the court to issue an injunction to stop the federal government from issuing new leases for coal mining and offshore oil and gas activity, and to delay approval of any new fossil fuel infrastructure, until the trial concludes. That highlights for the court how just expansive this legal case is and makes it difficult for the court to ignore the magnitude of the claim, said UCLAs Carlson. She thinks the plaintiffs have a strong case for standing. And if the three appeals court judges agree, that could bolster the prospects of future climate lawsuits. On the other hand, if the young plaintiffs cant prove standing in this case, it will be hard for plaintiffs to establish it in others. That would leave the government essentially immune from being sued for policies involving climate change, Carlson said. (In the past, the courts have granted standing to states.) Next, the judges will have to consider whether the plaintiffs have a valid case. The plaintiffs lawyers have built their case for a constitutional right to a safe and livable climate on the 5th Amendments due process clause, which protects the right to life, liberty and property, as well as the public trust doctrine, which holds that the government has a duty to protect shared resources such as shorelines and bodies of water for the benefit of all people. Attorneys for the government did not respond to requests for comment, but in court filings they deny that the right and the doctrine exist. Plaintiffs alleged fundamental right to a livable climate finds no basis in this nations history or tradition and is not even close to any other fundamental right recognized by the Supreme Court, Justice Department lawyers wrote in a brief this year. Courts have never weighed the question before, so there is no clear precedent. Carlson said the judges who will hear the case in Portland are likely to be sympathetic to the fact that young people will bear a greater burden from climate change. And she said there is a compelling logic to the argument. If the Constitution doesnt protect your right to live in an environment that will protect your life, then what does it protect? she said. Kelsey Juliana, the lead plaintiff in Juliana vs. United States, speaks outside the U.S. Supreme Court. (Robin Loznak / Our Childrens Trust) Should the judges rule in favor of the plaintiffs, they will finally get their trial in the district court in Eugene, although its unclear when. If the judges side with the government, the case could be dismissed. Alternatively, they could narrow the scope of the case and allow only some parts of it to proceed, Gerrard said. It could take months for the judges to issue a decision. Theres no real telling and theres no deadline, he said. But no matter what they decide, experts say the case probably will be appealed to the Supreme Court. That would mean more delays for the plaintiffs, who say they are tired of waiting for climate action. I am impatient because Im a kid, Levi wrote in a recent court filing. This is something that should have been done before I was even born because my government has known about climate change for so long. Levi Draheim, 11, one of the plaintiffs in Juliana vs. United States, rides on the shoulders of co-plaintiff Aji Piper during the Peoples Climate March in Washington, D.C. (Robin Loznak / Our Childrens Trust) But Baring thinks the timing is auspicious. While the case has been working its way through the courts, young activists such as Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg and social movements such as Extinction Rebellion have drawn global attention to climate change. The conversation worldwide is really shifting, Baring said. This is kind of our moment. When the Orange County Buddhist Church was established more than 80 years ago, it was a refuge for Japanese immigrants and their families. Especially after World War II, when 120,000 people of Japanese descent were held in concentration camps, the church was a place of safety, where the community could practice and preserve many of the religious rituals of its ancestral land. But as Buddhism has gained popularity in the United States, the historically Japanese temple in Anaheim has become increasingly diverse, so that today an estimated one-quarter of OCBC congregants are not Japanese. In addition to a growing number of white practitioners according to the Pew Research Center, 44% of American Buddhists are white OCBC is now also home to a burgeoning group of Latino Buddhists. What many people like about Buddhism is that we dont have a lot of rules about how you should live your life, said the Rev. Jon Turner, a minister at OCBC. We dont have a lot thats black and white. So if you dont fit the mold in Christianity, where do you go? A lot of times theyll come to Buddhism as an alternative. This was the case for Hector Ortiz, who grew up Baptist, but as a gay man struggled with his churchs teachings on sexuality. Buddhism seemed like a better fit. For me, spiritually, what makes sense is that Im responsible for my own actions and how I interpret the world, (as) opposed to looking to others for happiness or seeking it outward, Ortiz said. I was drawn to the personal responsibility, seeking happiness inward and the acceptance. It felt like a place I was arriving home to, spiritually. But becoming Buddhist didnt mean leaving everything from his religious past behind. Ortiz plays piano and cello for OCBCs weekly services something he used to do at the Baptist church he attended as a child. It was a nice crossover for me, he said. Ortiz, who is Mexican American, also sees similarities between his heritage and Japanese culture. Both are family-oriented, he said, which served as a bridge for him when he started attending the temple a decade ago and didnt know much about the customs. The Orange County Buddhist Church in Anaheim is an historically Japanese temple in Anaheim that is becoming increasingly diverse. (Photo by Scott Smeltzer) For Andy Saldana, it was familiarity with Japanese culture that came first. After marrying a Japanese American Buddhist woman three decades ago, Saldana, who is Mexican American and was raised Protestant, started going to Buddhist temples for weddings and family events. In the 1980s, he was stationed in Japan for two years as a Marine and went to Buddhist festivals and temples almost every week. So Saldana was already familiar with Buddhism when he joined OCBC five years ago, a decision he said was based in part on the religions emphasis on inquiry. When I grew up, 17 years in the church, you werent allowed to ask things, he said. You werent allowed to question the religion, the books, the teachings anything. Its sacrilege. But in Buddhism, you should be questioning. Turner said that OCBCs long history has helped it draw a diverse group of practitioners. Since the temple has been in Orange County for several generations, it primarily operates in English, unlike many other Buddhist temples in the area that serve newer immigrant communities and conduct services in languages such as Chinese or Vietnamese. We try to have a form of Buddhism thats Americanized so it appeals to a fourth-generation Japanese person and also a Latino coming to the temple for the first time, Turner said. We have to be able to reach both or were not going to be able to make it. OCBC teaches Shin Buddhism, the most widely practiced denomination in Japan. Marcia Taborga, whose family is from Bolivia, said that while Buddhism is a break from the Catholicism she grew up with, in some ways, the religion of her upbringing prepared her for OCBC. Rituals, prayers and the idea of taking things on faith were easier for her because she was familiar with these practices in Catholicism, she said. I was totally surprised that I would have to take anything on faith in Buddhism, she said. But I was OK okay with that, and I think part of that came from Catholicism. Despite these connections between Buddhism and Catholicism and the budding congregation of Latinos at OCBC Buddhism is still rare in the Latino community. According to the Pew Research Center, Latinos make up 12% percent of the American Buddhist community, but Joe Garcia, a Mexican American who has been attending OCBC for five years, said that Latinos generally dont have much exposure to Buddhism. I dont think its on most Hispanics radar that its even a possibility, said Garcia, who is married to Taborga. And yet I know that in the United States, theyve been largely moving away from Catholicism, some of them in droves. They end up going to Protestant denominations or dropping out of religion altogether. So I wish there was a way that more Hispanics could be exposed to Buddhism to give them an alternative. Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil is a contributor to Times Community News. In this season of scholarship-giving, no entity is more generous than Glendale Community College. Last Wednesday, 76 scholarships were awarded to 118 deserving students. According to Lisa Brooks, executive director of the Glendale College Foundation, $764,000 in scholarships has been awarded during the past three years. A busy Glenoaks Ballroom was the scene of the colleges honors and awards banquet. Bouquets of spring flowers graced every table. William Melikyan, president of the Associated Students organization, welcomed the audience of some 250 students, their guests, faculty members and administrators. David Viar, the colleges superintendent/president, introduced Vahe Peroomian, president of the board of trustees. He, in turn, introduced the rest of the board. Attending were Tony Tartaglia, vice president; Armine Hacopian, clerk; and members Yvette Davis and Ann Ransford. Melikyan is also the boards student member. The scholarship-giving kicked off with 11 inaugural awards announced by Tzoler Oukayan, new dean of student affairs at the school. One of those was the Jessica Gillooly Scholarship for a U.S. veteran. Jessica Gillooly, a retired faculty member, presented the scholarship named after her to Bryan Lee. Peroomain presented the Peroomian Family Women in Science Scholarship to 19-year-old Melania Boghozian. Shortly after Boghozians award came her mothers honor. Anita Davoodi was awarded the $400 Geraldine Manus Anson Scholarship for a reentry student. At nearly 50 years old, Davoodi decided to go back to college after emigrating to the United States from Iran in 2014. She and her daughter study together, get all As together and have taken some classes together. Davoodi is working toward a certificate in real estate. Congratulations must be given to Aida Avanousian, student affairs manager, for planning the scholarship recipient-selection process and coordinating the banquet with Andre Manukyan, student activities coordinator. Oakmont League of Glendale hands out scholarships Members of the Oakmont League of Glendale decided they couldnt be left out of the scholarship-awarding business. On May 22, during their last meeting of the 2018-19 year, more than 70 members, guests and students were present to share in the delight of honoring nine scholarship winners at the Oakmont Country Club. Lydia Brown-Trout, scholarship chair, presented the scholarships. Local high school recipients were Richard Mirozian from Glendale High, Aleksandra Duek from La Canada High, George Bandek from Clark Magnet High, Rebekah Alfred from Hoover High and William Ozeas from Crescenta Valley High. The students each received $1,000. Another $3,000 was divided up among the students colleges. Glendale Community College scholarship winners were Siona Ptetrosian, Rita Bilamejian and Michelle Garabetian. Ninette Simonian could not be present. They also received $1,000 each. The colleges fine arts department donated another $2,000 to fine arts student Ptetrosian. After a short business meeting, Nina Ratliff and Judy Mendicina installed the 2019-20 board of directors. The board includes Alison Weir, president; Sharon Swinford, first vice president-programs; Shauna Lehmann, second vice president-membership; Ellen Farewell, third vice president-philanthropy; and Carol Eldred, fourth vice president-social. Charitable awards were presented to the Hillside School and Learning Center in La Canada, Glendale YWCAs Camp Rosie, Glendale Community Colleges disabled students program services as well as the colleges Food for Thought pantry. Accepting the pantry award was Stella Fejtek on behalf of Ellen Oppenberg. There are thousands of college students nationally who dont have money for food, Fejtek said. The charitable awards totaled $20,500. League members are looking forward to their 80-year anniversary celebration on June 22. Ruth Sowby Rands may be reached at ruthasowby@gmail.com. Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber. Sunday marks the centennial of Armistice Day a World War I ceasefire signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 and a ceremony at Lanterman House aims to commemorate the historic occasion. The special event takes place Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the museum grounds, 4420 Encinas Drive, in La Canada, and includes a flag ceremony, student performances, recitations and free tours of Lanterman House. There, a mini-exhibit of local artifacts from the World War I era will be displayed. Laura Verlaque, executive director of the museum, said the goal of the event is to shed light on the citys own historic ties to the international conflict once billed as the war to end all wars. I hope this will be a day people can come into Lanterman House and reflect on the legacy of the war, Verlaque said. Valley Sun columnist Joe Puglia, who organizes the citys annual Memorial Day Service, was enlisted by Verlaque to help plan the commemoration. Puglia described the era as a time of great nationalism, during which young men were eager to fight for their country. You had these great armies the Germans, the French, the British, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Union they built these massive forces, and when you have that youve got to use it, he said. It was a brief time in world history where it was beautiful to die for your country. Though America did not deploy troops until 1917, young men nationwide signed up to serve. Among them was Lloyd Lanterman, who graduated from Glendale High School in January 1918 at age 21 and arrived five months later at Riversides March Air Field to begin his military service as a chauffeur for the Armys Flying School detachment. An archived image of Lloyd Lanterman, pictured sometime around 1918 at the age of 21, when he enlisted for service during World War I. (Tim Berger / La Canada Valley Sun) A diary entry starting July 1, 1918, from Lloyd Lanterman. (Tim Berger / La Canada Valley Sun) Lanterman House archivist Julie Yamashita uncovered a diary recording a moment of the mans brief service, beginning with June 25, 1918, arrival and describing a brief quarantine from influenza. Arrived at Field with folks, a hot day, Lanterman wrote in his first entry. Enlisted, was given bed and bedding. Made a mattress of straw; quite a change from home, you bet. Information on former La Canada residents Willard Griswold Barnum and Howard Omar McMullin who both died from illness before they saw battle and whose names are inscribed on the WWI plaque in Memorial Park will also be on display. Even though they didnt die in combat, they did serve their country and they did die for their country, Verlaque said. For more, visit lantermanfoundation.org. sara.cardine@latimes.com Twitter: @SaraCardine You dont need to hang 10 to enjoy the art of surfing in a less-visited region of Oahu. Actual surfboards will replace artist Eduardo Boliolis usual canvases for his Life on Board exhibit, opening June 22 at the Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina. Admission will be free. Bolioli, a Uruguay native who divides his time between South America and Oahu, is the hotels artist-in-residence. His works depict his experiences living in west Oahu, an area also known as the Leeward Coast. I think West Oahu remains like the old Hawaii in many ways, he said. Its not touristy. Its more adventurous. Its more localized.Thats what inspires me. Advertisement Boliolis newest exhibit will contain roughly 15 boards, rejects from the Surfboard Factory Hawaii, a popular manufacturer in Kapolei. Working in the factorys paint shop, the artist is repurposing the boards into colorful works of art. I paint mostly about life. There is always a life element in there, whether its a fish or a whale or a dolphin or a diver, Bolioli said. Its how I relate to it, how I see things and what I admire about it. Boliolis visions primarily of life in the ocean are also the inspiration behind West Side Stories, his current collection of traditional, framed artwork on display at the resort through June. Life on Board will continue until late October. West Oahu begins roughly 30 miles from the Waikiki resorts. travel@latimes.com A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington was shown in state media on Monday enjoying a concert alongside leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean publications on Monday showed Kim Yong Chol sitting near a clapping Kim Jong Un and other top officials during a musical performance by the wives of Korean Peoples Army officers. Kim Yong Chol has been North Koreas top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo since the two countries entered nuclear talks early last year. He traveled to Washington and met President Trump twice before Kim Jong Uns two summits with Trump. South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo last week cited an unidentified source to report that Kim Yong Chol had been sentenced to hard labor after the collapse of the second summit in February over what the Americans described as excessive demands by North Korea for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Kim Jong Un since then has said the United States has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations. Advertisement Chosun Ilbo also reported that senior envoy Kim Hyok Chol, who was involved in pre-summit working-level talks with American officials, was executed with four other officials from the Norths Foreign Ministry for betraying Kim Jong Un after being won over by the United States. South Koreas government and media have a mixed record on tracking developments among North Koreas ruling elite, made difficult by Pyongyangs stringent control of information. Seouls spy service has said it could not confirm the newspapers report, while the presidential Blue House declined to comment. Security forces attacked the camp at the center of Sudans protest movement, opening fire, torching tents and killing at least 13 people in an assault Monday that swept away the months-long sit-in demanding the military yield power, witnesses and protest leaders said. Protesters were seen in videos posted online running through streets lined with tents, heads down and ducking as the sound of gunfire filled the air. Smoke rose from the sit-in, located outside the military headquarters in the capital, Khartoum. One video showed policemen swarming around a protester sprawled on the pavement, beating him with sticks. By midday, security forces controlled almost the entire camp, pushing out protesters and sealing off the area, two activists said. Other forces attacked similar sit-ins in Khartoums sister city Omdurman and the eastern city of al-Qadarif, activists said. Advertisement The assault appeared to be a coordinated move to crush a protest movement that in April forced the military to remove Sudans strongman, Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, after 30 years of rule and then stayed in the streets to keep up pressure on the generals who took his place. This is a critical point in our revolution. The military council has chosen escalation and confrontation, said Mohammed Yousef Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals Assn., which has spearheaded the protests. Those are criminals who should have been treated like al-Bashir, he said. Now the situation is either them or us, there is no other way. For months, tens of thousands in the camp and other protest sites have been demanding a speedy transition to civilian rule. Tensions have mounted as negotiations between protest leaders and military officials yielded little progress. The talks focus on the makeup of a transitional sovereignty council that would run the country for the next three years. Protesters demand the military have only limited involvement in the council, but the ruling generals have resisted relinquishing power. The assault on the protest camp came a day before Muslims mark the Eid holiday ending the month-long fast of Ramadan. Just over a week earlier, the head of the military council ruling Sudan, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, met with his two top allies, the president of Egypt and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. Those leaders backed Bashirs removal and have thrown strong support to the military council. They are also deeply opposed in general to street movements along the lines of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. The militarys only comment on the morning assault came in televised remarks by Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the military councils spokesman. He said the forces were targeting an area near the sit-in where authorities have alleged criminal activity takes place. He did not say if the militarys goal was to break up the entire sit-in camp. Mondays attack began in the early morning. Dura Gambo, an activist, said large numbers of troops had besieged the sit-in area and arrested protesters trying to leave. They have used the heavy rain yesterday and moved in the early morning to disperse people, she said. Amal Zein, another activist, said security forces set fire to the tents in sit-in area. They are surrounding the sit-in from all directions, she said. The Sudan Doctors Committee said medical personnel and injured people were trapped in clinics in the area, and demanded that they be allowed to leave. Wounded people are lying on the ground [in] the reception area as there are not enough beds, said Azza Kamel, a doctor at the Royal Care hospital. An Associated Press journalist heard gunshots and explosions and saw buses and soldiers on foot blocking roads leading to the protest site. Civilians were not allowed to walk in the streets, including women and children. Videos circulating online appeared to show protesters standing at low brick barricades in the street, then being driven back by walls of blue-clad security forces carrying sticks. Hundreds of people were arrested, according to Zein and another activist, Hisham Shalabi. Photos posted online from the scene showed dozens of men and women lined up on the pavement, sitting or lying face down, under guard by troops, apparently under arrest. The breakup of the sit-in threatens to escalate the struggle between the protesters and the military to a new, more volatile level. Until now, negotiations over the transition had kept a tenuous level of peace. But after Mondays attack, protest leaders suspended the talks with the military council and called for a general strike and total civil disobedience. The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters in the negotiations, called for toppling the military council and urged people to take to the streets in protest. The embassies of the United States and Britain expressed concern about reported attacks on civilians. The U.S. Embassy in Sudan called on Sudanese security forces to stop what it said were attacks against protesters and other civilians. The embassy said via Facebook that apparent attempts to move against the protest camp in the capital are wrong and that it holds the countrys Transitional Military Council responsible for the attacks. Ifran Siddiq, the British ambassador in Sudan, said he is extremely concerned by the heavy gunfire he had heard from his official residence in Khartoum and the reports that Sudanese security forces were attacking the protest sit-in site. No excuse for any such attack, he said on Twitter. The Chinese-controlled internet is already a world apart from that used by the rest of the globe, split by censorship that blocks users in China from accessing many of the apps and websites used daily in the U.S. and elsewhere. Now those separate worlds may split even further, as the trade and tech war escalates, supply chains decouple, and distrust between the U.S. and China grows. Staff writer Alice Su in The Times Beijing bureau and Los Angeles-based columnist Frank Shyong, who previously covered the San Gabriel Valley and the Chinese community in Southern California, discuss what its like to live and work between the two worlds. Q: What is the internet like in China? What does bifurcation look like? Alice Su: You cant access most things from China. You need to use a virtual private network, or VPN, to open Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter; the same goes for apps. Recently we bought a Chinese phone to use as a burner; it cant download Western apps. Advertisement It was a big deal this month when Google announced it wouldnt provide the Google Play store to Huawei phones, but in China, most phones already cant access the store. You cant download Gmail, Google Maps or any of those apps. If I want to access a Chinese site such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I have to turn off the VPN because if Im on Western internet, I cant open the Chinese site. I dont know if you can open the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site in L.A., but here in Beijing, Im always turning the VPN on and off to see the Chinese version of things and then go into the version the Western world sees. In China, everybody uses the social media app WeChat. You need to have WeChat or Alipay set up to order food or call a Didi, the Chinese version of Uber. But these apps only work with Chinese bank accounts. You can also use WeChat to pay your utility bills, book a hotel, give to charity, reserve a flight or buy a movie ticket. There are strict regulations now on ID verification that werent there a few years ago. Many apps ask you to take a selfie holding a passport next to your face and also send a picture of the passport to the app. Frank Shyong: Its like youre immigrating on their internet too, like youre passing through customs to go on their internet. AS: You can think of it as the apps needing to make sure everyones using real IDs, because there are so many scams in China. But another way to think about it is that everything you do is saved on your device, linked to your face, location, bank account and ID. Its one more trove of information for government surveillance, in addition to the cameras and facial recognition technology already set up all around. Q: What about members of the Chinese community in the U.S.? Are they using a Chinese version of the internet? FS: Everybody who speaks Chinese in L.A. that I ever talked to adds me on WeChat. There are restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley that take WeChat Pay now. Theyve been taking Alipay for a long time. When Im using internet in the U.S. to cover the Chinese community, Im on the U.S. internet, just in the Chinese language part of it. This is sort of a bifurcation thats self-created. A parallel Chinese-language Internet helps immigrants navigate life in America Entrepreneurs in the San Gabriel Valley developed ETAcar, which is Chinese-language Uber, or 2redbeans, a dating service. Instead of Yelp theres Chihuo, a foodie site. There are also websites like ChineseInLA.com and newspaper sites. Theres a message board service, MITBBS, and its popular with alumni organizations of major Chinese and Taiwanese universities. AS: Why do people use WeChat in the U.S. to talk to each other when they have iMessage and Facebook? FS: Its what they use to talk to all their Chinese friends. So if youre on iMessage, only your Chinese friends and family in the U.S. are on that. You cant message everyone at the same time. Q: Does information flow or manipulation thereof affect the way people understand the news? AS: In China, the majority of news is state media, state news. Everything is kind of the same. You see the same headlines in 10 different papers. Theres this joke that if you read or watch the news, its always 20 minutes of good news about China and 10 minutes of bad news about the rest of the world. People make fun of it, but it does affect their worldview. I hear Chinese people say all the time, Its really safe here. If youre going to the U.S., theyll warn, Be careful, its dangerous. What distinguishes WeChat and Alipay from things like ChineseInLA.com is that the Chinese government has access to the apps from China. In China, theyre obviously censored and everyone knows. Its a common experience to post something and in 10 minutes it disappears, because its sensitive. Or sometimes you attempt to post something, but it wont post. In some cases, people self-censor, refraining from sharing anything sensitive. Q: One fear Americans may have is about the Chinese governments reach into Chinese tech and media, whether its to censor information, spread propaganda or spy on users. Do you see that happening? FS: Its tough to say. I havent personally observed any censorship, but you do hear rumors claiming Chinese censors influence some Chinese-language newspapers in the U.S., or that some local WeChat-based site is started by a former intelligence official. You do observe editorials in some Chinese-language newspapers taking pro-China stances and criticizing the U.S. The rumors are all but unverifiable, but they are persistent. Those closely following the divide in the Chinese American community over affirmative action have speculated privately that Chinese national interests may be involved in shaping Chinese American political identity. That cant be eliminated as a possibility, but I think theres another factor to consider: Chinese immigrants, depending on when they arrived, come from different historical and political eras of China, which could lead to contrasting political identities here in the States. AS: Researchers say WeChat censors chats differently depending on where the user registered the account. Chinese accounts are more censored than foreign accounts, but even if a Chinese account later updates to a foreign phone number, itll still be censored as if it was in China, according to researchers at the University of Torontos Citizen Lab that have analyzed WeChat censorship trends. If a U.S. account sends sensitive messages to a group with Chinese accounts, the Chinese users wont receive them. All censored articles are erased from WeChat everywhere, so you wont be able to see them even from U.S. accounts. Q: What about in China? Whos on VPN? AS: One thing Chinese people are concerned about is that theres no good search engine in China. Theres Bing, but more people use Baidu and the results are often really bad. People searching for cures for diseases would get ads for fake medicine. A lot of information on there is not verified and you have no way of knowing if its true. In terms of politically sensitive information, you cant get it. Unless you have a VPN, which in the past you could download in China. But nowadays you cant get one unless you bought and installed it outside China. You cant find straightforward information about, say, the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square unless you really go out of your way. If you search on Baidu, youll only find a brief official explanation saying there were anti-party and anti-socialism riots. There are people who are climbing over the firewall and using VPN, but its a minority. And state media such as New China News Agency and the Global Times use Twitter and Facebook for propaganda. I dont know if theyre using VPN or have special access, but they post on banned social media platforms all the time. Bing comes back online in China, but there are more questions than answers Q: As information worlds split and distrust between the U.S. and China grows, what does that mean for your job as a journalist straddling both sides? FS: It just makes it all the more important to tell stories. As human beings we tend to fill the void left by the absence of truth and facts with even scarier fictions. But explaining the motivations that exist on both sides of a cultural divide can bring us closer together. The current state of U.S.-China affairs doesnt help. But the risk for xenophobia existed before this political situation; people of Chinese descent have faced hostility, seen by some in the U.S. as perpetual foreigners or as competing for the same economic opportunities. Now there are new wrinkles to this, based on new kinds of nationalism. For me, when I think about split information worlds, I think about the ways that all the different communities of Los Angeles use the internet. All these unique apps and websites are a reflection of fascinating diversity as well as persistent language barriers. Going on the internet of Chinese immigrants or the internet of Japanese or Filipino immigrants is just more evidence that there are all these conversations occurring that were not really aware of in English-speaking Los Angeles. Here, the dividing line is language, and the segregation is somewhat voluntary. These are just people trying to interact in a modern society, to use tech and apps tailored to their needs. Its a reflection that theres another universe. You go into the San Gabriel Valley, go on Valley Boulevard, and it already feels like youre in a foreign country. Then you go on the internet and its a foreign internet. The news people read, the algorithms guiding them, the apps they trust, the way they use social media, what kinds of news goes viral its all really different. AS: Youre reporting on a separate world thats voluntary and self-created. I need to be careful to point out that the world Im reporting in is controlled. Huawei without Google: Does the Chinese telecom giant have a backup plan? I might be interviewing a lot of Chinese people and the majority might think in a certain way. If Im quoting something from the social media platform Weibo, I need to be aware that much of that is carefully manufactured. Theres also a separate Chinese world here, but the reason its separate is because theres a party and government thats directing it, laying down the boundaries and deciding what can or cant be said. Thats tricky. Sometimes Ill see on Twitter, maybe a Chinese person says what they think and gets accused of being controlled by the Communist Party. But their opinion may also just be a product of the environment theyre in and based on the only information available to them. I dont want to invalidate their opinions, but want to make readers aware of the context. BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Argentine activists on Tuesday were launching a renewed effort to legalize elective abortions in the homeland of Pope Francis after narrowly falling short last year. Lawmakers said they would introduce a bill to legalize abortion for pregnancies up to 14 weeks. A similar measure last year passed the lower house of Congress but was defeated in the Senate under heavy opposition by religious organizations. Full Article Controversial Nollywood actor Uche Maduagwu, who is fond of addressing the personal issues of fellow colleagues on social media has once again addressed actress Tonto Dikeh in a post shared on his Instagram page. The actor who presented himself to have a better understanding of what a good woman should look like in a marriage, made a comparison between teen actress Regina Daniels who is married to billionaire Ned Nwoko, and Tonto. Maduagwu stressed in his post that Tonto should learn how to become a good wife from Daniels, adding that although she is young, she is never one to go unclad on social media. He went on to claim that there was no way Dikeh could be lucky enough to find a wealthy husband after the way she dragged her ex-hubby, Olakunle Churchill on social media, adding that several cosmetic surgeries could not help her secure a life partner. READ ALSO: Billionaire Ned Nwoko allegedly leaked photos of Regina Daniels The actor while concluding his rant, prayed his fellow colleague to stop insulting her former lover and also desist from her relationship with close friend and cross dresser, Idris Okuneye popularly known as Bobrisky. See his post below: PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group Meanwhile, Legit.ng gathered that the Nollywood actress recently held an interview in which she talked about her life, music and acting career among other things. On her outburst directed at her ex-hubby, she revealed that she held zero regrets and could not have gone about her decisions in any other way. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng We have upgraded to serve you better Should Tonto Dikeh have blasted her ex-husband online? Nigerians react | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - A transformer cable thief identified as Peter Abah has been nabbed and arrested by Rapid response Squad (RRS) in Lagos - Reports claim that Abah had been previously jailed for stealing solar panels and now was caught with electrical cables concealed inside a wheelbarrow - The 32-year-old cable thief admitted to the theft of cables in Ikeja area of Lagos Reports reaching Legit.ng reveal that a certain Peter Abah has been nabbed and arrested by the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos, for stealing electrical cables. It was gathered that the 32-year-old was nabbed around Mobolaji Johnson Road in Ikeja, Lagos, with cables which he admitted stealing from a new mounted transformer in the area. Reports reveal that Abah was previously jailed for stealing solar panels and was only recently released from Badagry prison in December 2018. It appears the Peter is on his way back after being nabbed for robbery of government property. READ ALSO: Regina Daniels dad, uncle and mum clash as they reveal messy family secrets on social media Did you know? NAIJ.com (naija.ng) is now-> Legit.ng We have updated to serve you better. Meanwhile, Social media is currently buzzing with reactions following the news of how a man was caught stealing and rather than handing him over to the police or carry jungle justice, the residents made him clean their gutters. Like the popular saying goes; 99 days for the thief, one day for the owner and in this unfortunate thief's case, the owner's day is one he will definitely not forget in a hurry as many hope it will be life changing for him. PAY ATTENTION: Get your daily relationship tips and advice on Africa Love Aid group PAY ATTENTION: Read best news on Nigeria's #1 news app Robbers Return Firearms to Nigerian Police (Crime News in Nigeria) | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - Actress and ex-AGN president Ibinabo Fiberesima has come out to give her two cents on the controversy surrounding Regina Daniels' marriage to Ned Nwoko - According to her post, neither Regina nor Nwoko should be criticized for their choices as neither one of them was forced into the union - She went on to urge Shan George to apologize to Ned Nwoko for her recent post in which she insulted him Ibinabo Fiberesima is the latest Nollywood celebrity who has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Regina Daniels' marriage to billionaire Ned Nwoko and she had quite a lot to say about the couple and Nigerians who have been criticizing them. According to her, Regina Daniels does not deserve to be insulted and mocked for the choice she made considering she is an adult who was neither forced by her mother or Nwoko to get married to him. Fiberesima went on to describe Ned Nwoko as a kind and generous philanthropists who through his generosity, has help a lot of people across the world. READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (former NAIJ.com) In the post below, she vouched for Ned Nwoko and described him as a kind and generous person. She went on to state that she sees nothing wrong in the two getting married as long as they've found happiness in each other. Read post below: READ ALSO: Lady reveals how her ex sent her money after she blocked him everywhere In the post below, she described Regina Daniels as a humble and decent girl and her mother, Rita Daniels as the true definition of a strong African woman who would do anything to ensure her children get the life they deserve. She also went on to state that Nigerians didn't have this much to say when Rita Daniels was struggling in the industry with Regina. See post below: PAY ATTENTION: Get the Latest Nigerian News on Legit.ng News App In the final post, she called out actress Shan George, who had taken to social media to blast Ned Nwoko. According to Shan George, Nwoko is a shameless and disgusting man who marries children and spends money on greedy actresses. To this, Fiberesima expressed her disappointment at the actress. She went on to advise Shan George to apologize to Ned Nwoko. See post below: HELLO! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better. Is it possible for money to buy love? | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng - Senior civil servants of the SEC staged a protest over move to reinstate Gwarzo who was suspended over alleged financial misappropriation - The workers shut down the headquarters over the return of the suspended SEC director-general - Gwarzo had challenged his suspension which was later dismissed by the court Workers at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have started a demonstration and shut down the commissions headquarters over alleged move to reinstate Munir Gwarzo as director-general. Gwarzo was suspended by the then minister finance, Kemi Adeosun, over alleged financial misappropriation. Daily Nigerian reports that the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria of the SEC locked up offices in protest over the reported move to reinstate Gwarzo. READ ALSO: Senator Shehu Sani reacts to Pastor Kumuyis call to Nigerians not to attack Buhari Gwarzo had challenged his removal in court and according to PM News, the National Industrial Court in Abuja, on Thursday, May 30, ordered the immediate reinstatement of Gwarzo. Kado, who dismissed three issues raised by defence counsel through their preliminary objection, ruled that the suit was not status barred. He held that since there was a cause of action in the claimants suit, he (the claimant) had the right to commence the suit by way of originating summon. Kado further held that the issue in dispute was not about the position of the claimant as the DG of the Commission, the bone of contention was who had the power to suspend him. Justice Sanusi Kado, in his judgment, held that the minister of finance lacked the power to suspend the DG. READ ALSO: NAIJ.com upgrades to Legit.ng: a letter from our Editor-in-Chief Bayo Olupohunda Meanwhile, the senator representing Kaduna central, Shehu Sani, advised the federal government to obey the order of the National Industrial on the director general of SEC. On his Twitter page on Friday, May 31, the senator said that the SEC's director general, Gwarzo, should be reinstated with immediate effect. NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng: Same great journalism, upgraded for better service! Nigerians set 2nd term agenda for President Buhari | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng Forget the Sands. Bethlehems casino has a new owner and a new name: Wind Creek Bethlehem. Wind Creek Hospitality closed on its $1.4 billion purchase of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem on Friday on the heels of its Wednesday approval by Pennsylvania gaming regulators. The Sands has been one of Pennsylvanias top-performing gaming halls since it opened 10 years ago. The 183,000-square-foot casino on former Bethlehem Steel Corp. plant land will now be known as Wind Creek Bethlehem. It is the Alabama-based American Indian tribes largest holding, in sharp contrast to prior owner Las Vegas Sand Corp. The tribe has earmarked $15 million to rebrand the property in the coming months. Wind Creek plans to invest about $340 million updating and expanding the property, according to a news release. The gaming arm of the tribe plans to immediately add a second 300-room hotel tower next to the casino and about 42,000-square-feet of event space. The possibility of New York City legalizing gaming in the coming years potentially jeopardizes the robust busing program that Sands built from the ground up in Bethlehem. The tribe plans to transform the property into a tourist destination to stay competitive in an ever-tightening gaming market. To attract families and non-gamblers, Wind Creek is eying the historic but crumbling No. 2 Machine Shop for a 300,000-square-foot adventure and water park and planning a third 400- to 450-room hotel next to the adventure park. Wind Creek has earmarked about $100 million for the project and is searching for a partner to come up with the remaining $150 million needed. All of the Sands roughly 2,500 employees will retain their jobs -- including Sands Bethlehem President Brian Carr -- and become Wind Creek employees. One of the things that drew us to this property is the quality and experience of the service-minded employees, Wind Creek President/CEO Jay Dorris said in a news release. Each of the nine executives has accepted a multi-year contract with us and we hope that all team members want to continue their work here as part of the Wind Creek family. We will need them as we grow the offerings of Wind Creek Bethlehem." Wind Creek funded the sale with a mix of cash on hand and new debt financing via Credit Suisse. The tribe anticipates the money the Bethlehem casino brings in will allow it to pay down debt on an accelerated basis. This is only the second time the tribe has taken out a loan to fund the expansion of its gaming footprint from Alabama. The property includes a 282-room hotel, 3,000 slots and electronic table games, 200 table games, several restaurants, an outlet mall and event center. Wind Creek is introducing its rewards program in Bethlehem and online. The program offers travel perks to Wind Creeks two resorts in the Caribbean: Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino and Renaissance Curacao Resort and Casino. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A 73-year-old Easton woman is accused of attacking her husband, leaving him severely wounded and surrounded by glass and puddles of blood. Easton police were called for a reported domestic assault a little before 9 p.m. Thursday, at the couples home in the 1300 block of Washington Street. Martha Files, who turns 74 tomorrow, said she struck her husband in the head with a flashlight, but police said she also hit him with a large glass vase and cut his arms with a kitchen knife. Please dont let her kill me, the man reportedly told officers. Files was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault and harassment. She was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail. Police said the victim had cuts and wounds on his head, face, arms and shoulders, and had blood and broken glass around him on the floor. A large broken vase, a flashlight and a knife all had blood on them and were collected as evidence. The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment, police said. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Easton Area High School senior William W. Timmann spoke his mind about his parking fine without saying a word. He let his payment do the talking for him. He handed in a $10 bill and a $5 bill to pay the fine Friday for illegal parking at the school in Palmer Township. On each bill in red marker he wrote Fk Easton. This was his way of voicing his opinion to the school, said the boys father, William E. Timmann. The family from Easton has had ongoing disputes with the Easton Area School District. Despite his high grades and advanced curriculum, Wililam W. Timmann was in danger of not graduating because he refused to take the Keystone Exams. The state assessment isnt mandated by Pennsylvania until 2022, but Easton Area High School still requires all of its graduating seniors to pass them. Timmann said he learned about two to three weeks ago that the requirement would be waived for his son and he would be allowed to graduate. Timmann shared the story about the parking fine and Superintendent John Reinharts response to it because he feels the school district has mistreated his family and continues to mistreat it. He wants the school district to reimburse him for three classes his son took at Northampton Community College while enrolled at Easton Area High School. We were always promised the school would cover his dual enrollment, Timmann said. Reinhart didnt respond to an email seeking comment. Timmann shared an email Reinhart sent to him, other high-level administrators and everyone on the school board. Attached to the email Reinhart sent Friday was a photo of the tainted money. Reinhart wrote: Your son paid his parking fine this morning. Thank you for doing so. The bills submitted by him are pictured below. In spite of the years of disrespect my staff members have had to endure from you, they have remained professional and caring regarding your son. We all join together in wishing him great success in the future. -John Reinhart Timmann said the years of disrespect Reinhart alludes to concern a longstanding dispute going back to third grade over the appropriate level of math education for the younger Timmann. The teen gets straight As in math and solid grades in his other subjects, his father said. He took 14 Advanced Placement exams and earned scores that will allow him to get college credit for 13 of the exams. The Timmanns want reimbursement for three community college classes: differential equations, macroeconomics and introduction to business. Timmann said students get assigned parking spots at Easton Area High School. His son said his spot was a long walk away so he parked closer illegally. He got away with it for a few days and the third or fourth day he did it and they nailed him, the father said. He said he dealt with his son accordingly regarding the ticket. When asked to elaborate, he said he made the boy pay the fine with his own money. He said he wishes the boy had given him a heads up before he paid the fine in his unconventional way but understands why the boy did it. What do you do for a kid whos been screwed around so much? the father said. He said his son has been accepted at West Chester University. He has enough advanced placement credit to graduate in two and a half years. Rather than graduate early, the boy is going to bulk up his courseload and try to get both his bachelors degree and a Master of Business Administration degree in four years. That way he can use his undergraduate grants and scholarship toward the advanced degree. Hes got his plans, his career, everything set. Hes already looking well into the future, the father said. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. The tiny white-flecked black nymphs showed up around mid-May in one Bethlehem backyard, right about where the adults of their ilk had swarmed the grapevines last fall. Scraping egg masses off the nearby maple tree apparently didn't do the trick to eradicate them. Theyre the spotted lanternfly, and theyre back tightening their grip on southeastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey. It's the early nymph, or instar, stage crawling around now. By July, the mostly-black-with-white-spot bodies will molt into a pattern of red, black and white. The adult form that hops around, hitching rides and laying eggs, can be found from mid-summer into December. How can we kill them in the nymphal stage? Amy Korman's glad we asked. "The only good one is a dead one and I applaud everybody's efforts to help with the spotted lanternfly effort, but we want to be smart in doing so," said Korman, a Ph.D. Penn State Extension educator in Lehigh and Northampton counties. The spotted lanternfly poses a significant threat to $18 billion worth of Pennsylvania agriculture products, including the grape, hops, tree-fruit, hardwood and nursery industries. Its piercing-sucking mouthpart damages plant-hosts by feeding, and the insects excrete sugary waste called honeydew that fosters sooty mold that, in turn, can keep plants from photosynthesizing. The Lehigh Valley is within Pennsylvanias quarantine area, where a free permit is now required for businesses that move products within or out of the zone. Tree-banding works to trap the nymphs as they crawl up trunks to feast on soft, new growth. This is a non-insecticidal method of killing them, and it doesn't have to be anything fancy: a strip of duct tape wrapped around the trunk with the sticky side out will do the trick, Korman said. Those who buy sticky tree bands made just for killing lanternflies can limit their effect on other, more beneficial insects by cutting them in half width-wise. Also, chicken wire wrapped around the sticky band will help prevent birds and other animals from getting stuck. But what about if the nymphs are in, say, a honeysuckle bush that doesn't lend itself as well to tree-banding? You could try mechanical control, i.e. swatting them. Or you can try chemical control. I like to recommend that people try the softer/safer pesticides first because insects are small and actually many of these products will work, and if one does not have the most significant of infestations that may be all that they need, Korman said. My job is to always walk people off the chemical precipice. Chemicals are very important, its a very important tool in the toolbox that we need to have in the toolbox, but we need to manage it carefully. The life cycle of the spotted lanternfly, left to right, from an egg mass found September-June, early nymph found late April-July, late nymph found July-September and adult found July-December. (Egg mass photo courtesy PennState Extension and others courtesy Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture) First and foremost, Korman said to read the label of any pesticide and follow the instructions for use. For light infestations, she suggests trying an insecticidal soap or neem oil. 'Stronger' pesticides that contain active ingredients like carbaryl, bifenthrin and zeta-cypermethrin and very effective but they are more toxic/environmentally harsh," Korman cautioned. Theres no evidence that detergent-based sprays are effective, and they could end up harming plants, she said. If the choices are between taking action and doing nothing, the latter means we will have lots of spotted lanternflies. "It's really the most cautious and wise use or making a decision on what works for you in your landscape," Korman said. Here is more information courtesy of the Penn State Extension on combatting the spread of the spotted lanternfly: Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. The wrap session of the schools and business partnership programme which was run in association with Kildare Village was held in Kildare Town Community School on Monday, May 13, last from 12-1pm. Students put on a fantastic display of song, music, art and presentations to show their appreciation to the directors of Kildare Village for the programme. Over five sessions, the students benefited from hospitality skills, CV preparation and customer service workshops, mock interviews and presentations from career professional in areas as diverse as IT, hospitality, retail management, brand management, visual merchandising, law, accountancy, store management and tourism. Students also availed of work experience over the Easter holidays. MC for the event was Tom Mason who introduced each speaker and thanked the company on behalf of the school. Student Raygina Thompson spoke about how the programme had contributed to her self confidence and given her the ability to make a power-point presentation in front of her peers and other adults. Orla ODwyer from Business In The Community said that the programme with Kildare Village is one of the most successful of all the programmes that she coordinates. Kildare Village director Maureen Bergin said what a pleasure it is to work with the school and how her colleagues enjoy the project and benefit from it themselves. Motorists using the M7 between Naas and Newbridge will be able to move freely from July onwards. That is according to Kildare County Council official Peter Minnock, who defended the progress of the project to widen the road to three lanes on either side at a Naas Municipal District meeting recently. He said the project is significant in scale and size and is absorbing 43% of the budget for motorway road improvements. Mr Minnock added that health and safety issues have to be dealt with as the work proceeds and there will always be unforeseen issues. He said the project is being completed in a safe manner and he described the prospect of the work being completed in April as an ambition. Those involved with the project are to be complimented,said Cllr Seamie Moore, who said the widening is a massive project and is ahead of schedule overall. KCC official Evelyn Wright said it was her understanding that nothing had gone substantially wrong with the project and a considerable amount of public services and lighting had to be accommodated. The contractors have indicated that they will achieve substantial completion by the end of July. The contractor had also indicated that they expect to have three lands available between Junction 8 (Johnstown) and Junction 10 (Naas south) in advance of this date. And if the three lanes become available for use on parts of the road, the existing temporary speed limit will be reviewed in conjunction with the gardai, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the contractor. Ms Wright also said the public will be kept informed in advance of any changes. Approximately 54 acres with a derelict residence and yard at Blackshade, Longwood, Co. Meath. Read also: See more Kildare stories Coonan Property Maynooth, Celbridge and Naas are delighted to have sold this superb holding of 54 acres with derelict residence and yard at Blackshade Longwood at public auction on Thursday, May 16 in the Glenroyal Hotel Maynooth Co. Kildare at 3 pm. The property has the added benefit of a fully intact derelict residence with a haybarn/cattleshed and a range of out houses. The lands have been very well maintained laid out in grass and very well fenced throughout. The lands consist of good quality free draining lands and are ideal for any farming or equestrian enterprise. To a full room the auction bidding opened at 360,000 and three bidders quickly brought the bidding to 480,000. At this point the auctioneer adjourned and spoke with the vendors. It was decided then to place the property on the market. The bidding quickly took off between the final two bidders and reached an impressive figure of 675,000 and the hammer dropped. The highest bidder was a local farmer and the under bidder was a solicitor acting on behalf of a client. Located about 5 km from Longwood village and about 12 km from Trim 12 km the lands are less than an hours drive from Dublin city and airport. For further details contact Philip Byrne of Coonan Property Maynooth on 01-6286128 Ireland West Airport were delighted to welcome the first scheduled service from Cologne with Ryanair to the West of Ireland last Saturday, June 1. Between June and September Ryanair will operate direct flights to and from Cologne every Tuesday and Saturday. Cologne is Germanys fourth largest city and the largest city of the State of North RhineWestphalia. Centred on the left bank of the Rhine, Cologne is regarded as Germanys capital of carnivals reflecting the lifestyle of its inhabitants, who make Cologne the incredibly energetic spot that it is. Cologne is ideally located just an hours train journey from Frankfurt and only 90 minutes from Brussels providing easy onwards travel options for visitors. This new service is a major boost for tourism in the West and North West regions of Ireland as it provides the only direct access to the West Coast from the North Rhine-Westphalia region. Germany is the third-largest market for tourism to the island of Ireland with a record year forecasted in 2018 of over 650,000 German visitors with 50% of German holidaymakers visiting the West and North West of Ireland during their stay. On hand to greet arriving passengers were representatives from the Gourmet Greenway Food Trail who provided samples of delicious locally produced cuisines. The food trail has been devised by the Mulranny Park Hotel, in association with Mayo food producers, to showcase the wonderful artisan food in the vicinities of Mulranny, Newport, Westport and Achill. Accompanying passengers on the first flight from Cologne were a selection of media representatives from some of Germanys biggest media organisations who will be taking part in a 3 day familiarisation trip around the West and North West of Ireland during their stay. Speaking at the launch, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport said We are delighted to welcome the first service from Cologne with Ryanair today. German holidaymakers are Irelands most active visitors, exploring our historical sites and engaging in multiple events/activities such as hill walking and hiking while on the island, which ties in perfectly with the airports location as the Western gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way and Irelands Hidden Heartlands. "We thank Ryanair for their continued support and their vote of confidence in the airport and we hope the service will attract the full support of all in the region as it will require even greater effort on all our behalfs to ensure the route is a success and is maintained for the longer term and can lead to further expansion into Germany and beyond in the coming years. Eimear Ryan, Sales and Marketing Executive, Ryanair, added Were pleased to officially launch our new twice weekly service from Ireland West Airport Knock to Cologne. To celebrate the start of this new route, we are releasing seats on sale from just 19.99 for travel in June and July, which are only available for booking on the Ryanair.com website until midnight Thursday (6 June). Since these amazing low prices will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto www.ryanair.com now and avoid missing out. Welcoming the first German visitors to touch down off the flight last Saturday, Michael Ring, Minister for Rural & Community Development said, "Today brings more good news for Irish tourism as we welcome German visitors to the West of Ireland with Ryanair on their first flight from Cologne. Germany is the third-largest market for tourism to Ireland with over 300,000 Germans visiting the West and North West of the country annually. "This new direct service will provide a major tourism boost for the region as it brings visitors to the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way and Irelands Hidden Heartlands. For regional Ireland, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism for rural Ireland." For further airport information log onto www.irelandwestairport.com; and for information on fares and to book flights log onto www.Ryanair.com. THE CHIEF executive of Limerick City and County Council has been called on to make a public statement about a important and vital arm of local government which has lain dormant for more than a year. Last February, the Limerick Public Participation Network (PPN) was stalled as an internal audit was carried out after issues arose in relation to governance and decision making processes, the council previously confirmed. In a letter to Conn Murray, seen by the Limerick Leader, a number of concerned members of the Limerick PPN have outlined that they believe numerous efforts to hold a full meeting between all PPN members have been thwarted. The letter states: We write as concerned former representatives of member organisations of the Limerick PPN trying to revive this important and vital arm of local Government which has lain dormant for well over a year now. This has denied the community and voluntary, social inclusion, and environment sectors of our society the input to local Government that the PPN was designed to provide when first set up, the group adds. The concerned PPN members want issues with the PPN to be brought out in the open and discussed in a transparent manner, the letter also outlines. We would now call for you as the chief executive of Limerick City and County Council to make a public statement in relation to this matter by facilitating the setting up of a full Plenary Meeting of the PPN, the letter states. And addressing it with a detailed account of the events surrounding this matter and making yourself available to answer questions from the floor from Members of the PPN. While the PPN is independent of the local authority, it receives its public funding from LCCC. Last year, Limerick PPN did not receive 50,000 in funding available from the Department of Rural and Community Development. A further 30,000, available as a contribution from Limerick City and County Council (LCCC) was also not fully availed of, a LCCC spokesperson confirmed. Recommendations were given to the PPN secretariat following the completion of the audit last year, the letter states, however the full findings of the report has not been shared with the group. The letter adds: The report of the Auditor and their terms of reference should be made available to all members of the Secretariat to enable it to make a full report to the plenary meeting also. The council did not respond to a request for a statement at the time of going to press. DOLAN's Presents has been highly-praised for its festive Live at the Docklands concert series, which was attended by thousands of music fanatics over the June Bank Holiday. The Atlas Avenue venue hosted a vast array of acclaimed musicians over the course of the eagerly-awaited three days. Ska legends Madness, with support act Touts, kicked off the sensational weekend with their much-loved hits, including One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers and the show encore Night Boat to Cairo. Jenny Greene and the RTE Concert Orchestra captivated the sold-out marquee on Saturday evening, with special guests Gemma Sugrue and Maverick Sabre. The Coronas always deliver when in Limerick. Danny OReilly and the lads brilliant. Including the surprise at the end. Come back! @TheCoronas #Limerick pic.twitter.com/36ING2xK5k Conor Dooley (@conordooley) June 2, 2019 On Sunday, Dolan's Presents issued an alert that the opening times were to be postponed due to adverse weather conditions. But despite the elements, thousands enjoyed the Docklands' grand finale, featuring a talented line-up of Ryan McMullen, Thanks Brother, Josh Grey and headliner The Coronas. There was huge praise for the concert series on social media throughout the weekend. It was pure class - I felt like I was back in secondary school! #Madness https://t.co/uQxOEnDg6Z Maurice Quinlivan TD (@QuinlivanTD) May 31, 2019 Shannon Foynes Port Company tweeted: "As the curtains come down on a fantastic weekend festival of music. Congratulations to the team @DolansPresents. Looking forward to 2020." Public figure and former secretary general of the Department of Finance, John Moran described the Jenny Greene performance as "superb". "Even the rain could not dampen a fabulous concert. Such a fresh retake on RTE symphony. I say move them to Limerick if Dublin do not want to finance them," said the Land Development Agency chairperson. Dolan's Presents took to Twitter to thank the thousands who attended the concerts over the Bank Holiday weekend. "Thanks to everyone who came out and made the inaugural #LiveAtTheDocklands @Limerick_ie Concert Series such a massive success!" In the first week of September 2018, electric vehicle major Tesla was rocked by a series of unusual events that culminated in a not-so-happy ending for the pioneering carmaker. First, a couple of C-suite executives announced their resignations. Second, a video surfaced online showing CEO Elon Musk smoking marijuana while recording a podcast. Teslas stock took a massive beating and plunged over 11% within a week. Less than two months later, however, a more positive incident went largely unnoticed. The company turned its first profit in two years, riding on the Model 3s popularity. Tesla made $311 million, more than in any other quarter in the companys history. In reaction to this news, Teslas stock soared over 9% on a single day. The genesis of this second event was Musks announcement in April 2018 that he would manufacture Model 3 cars round the clock to meet the companys production target. When this proclamation was made, engineers at alternative data company Thasos began to watch. Thasos circled Teslas 370 acres in Fremont, California, on an online map, creating a digital corral to isolate smartphone location signals that emanated from within". Thasos, which leases databases of trillions of geographic coordinates collected by smartphone apps, set its computers to find the pings created at Teslas factory, and shared the data with its hedge-fund clients, showing the overnight shift swelled 30% from June to October. Thasos utilized a new modelgenerating data from smartphone location tagsto demonstrate that Tesla was adding more firepower to its workforce with the intent to meet its promised production targets. After scrubbing the data to eliminate personal information, Thasos shared it with hedge funds, helping them in their decision-making process. The jury is out on whether such data is beneficial to traders, and concerns over privacy violations obviously remain. While regulations will likely catch up, the truth is that we live in a data-rich world, and such experiments will become commonplace. The real question is: How much of the decision-making process in your organization today is influenced by real-time data? IBMs report, 10 Key Marketing Trends For 2017, pointed out that over 90% of the data in existence had been created in the past two years. With IoT, 5G and other technological advancements, this growth in data will accelerate. Given this reality, it is increasingly important for executives to be comfortable with data and seek out new sources of information, such as the one provided by Thasos. Here are three levers to lead in the data-driven age: Develop an insights-driven mindset In her book Powerful, ex-Netflix executive Patty McCord points out that while the decision to develop the blockbuster House of Cards series was in part informed by data about the shows star being popular with Netflixs viewers, it was also dependent on ace director David Finchers vision for the show. The head of content at Netflix stresses that insights from data analysis complement his teams decision making, but certainly dont dictate it. Put differently, an insights-driven mindset is all about developing a unique point of view by connecting the dots of data, personal experience and intuition, and using each one of those to arrive at an informed decision. (Re)framing the problem Asking the right questions and democratizing data can improve efficiency. An example is Unilevers partnership with Microsoft to enable AI-assisted decision making for its various business functions. In the past, Unilever had IT experts or business analysts comb through data. Now, with the help of Microsofts tools, it is able to put dataand Unilever has collected a lot of it over the yearsin the hands of employees who need it to make forecasts, efficiently and accurately. This is reframing the problemits not only about looking back and learning from the past, but also using data to proactively learn in the present and to predict the future. Storytelling As leaders begin to get comfortable with data, it is essential for them to communicate complex situations in a simplified manner so that others within and outside the organization can comprehend, respond and contribute to the ongoing changes. Storytelling as a tool allows leaders to do thisanalyse, synthesize and communicate data-driven decisions effectively to those around them for the best results. The data-driven transformation of diverse corporations ranging from FMCG to airlines is already underway. As the world around us reshapes itself into this new reality, how will you adapt and respond? Rajiv Jayaraman is the founder and CEO of learning and assessments platform KNOLSKAPE, and the author of Clearing the Digital Blur. Subramanian Kalpathi is senior director at KNOLSKAPE and the author of The Millennials: Exploring the World of the Largest Living Generation. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics In a surprise move, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free travel on the Delhi Metro and DTC buses for women commuters. Stating that womens safety is of top importance to the Aam Aadmi Party, Kejriwal said that the measure enhance the security of public transport in Delhi. He added that it was aimed at the economically weaker sections of women who could not afford the high fares of Delhis buses and Metro trains. The last time the latter were raised to boost revenues, Kejriwal had made his displeasure clear. The idea has left opinion divided on social media, with many grumbling about the financial hit to be taken by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, a half-half joint venture of the central and Delhi governments. The cost of the scheme will be borne entirely by the AAP government, Kejriwal assured such critics. While some wonder about the affordability of such a subsidy, however, others are delighted by what they see as a clear case of affirmative action in favour of women. As some have pointed out, womens safety in getting around the city was a key demand of the angry demonstrations held after the infamous Nirbhaya" gang rape in Delhi. Protestors also wanted public transport to be available round-the-clock, a suggestion that appears to have fallen on deaf ears, alas. While free rides for women would help those who cannot afford anything except relatively risky modes of transport, how the Delhi governments new move increases the safety of the rest remains unclear. So, what gives? The AAP government has just suffered a stunning blow in the Lok Sabha elections, winning only one of the 40 seats it contested. With only months to go for state polls, this proposal is what many suspect: a pre-poll freebie. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics Scalpel. Check. Sponge. Check. Fire extinguisher...check? When you think about the risks of surgery, "fire" usually doesn't come to mind. But that's what happened to a man in Australia who experienced a "flash fire" in his chest cavity during emergency heart surgery, according to a new report of the case. While fires during surgery are rare and chest cavity fires even more unusual the case "highlights the continued need for fire training and prevention strategies" during surgery, study lead author Dr. Ruth Shaylor, of the Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine at Austin Health in Melbourne, Australia, said in a statement. In particular, doctors should be aware that certain circumstances during surgery including the presence of high oxygen levels together with sources of heat can increase the risk of fires. In the new case, a 60-year-old man needed surgery to fix a life-threatening tear in his aortic artery the main artery in the chest that carries blood out of the heart. The man had previously been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a chronic lung disease. [27 Oddest Medical Case Reports] During the surgery, doctors noticed that the man's right lung was stuck to his sternum, or breastbone, and some lung tissue had become overinflated. These areas are known as "bullae," and are often caused by COPD. Doctors tried to avoid the bullae as they opened the man's sternum to access his chest. But despite a careful effort, the surgeons punctured one of the bullae, causing air to leak out of the man's lung. When this happened, doctors needed to give the man a higher dose of supplemental oxygen to prevent breathing problems. Later in the surgery, doctors used an electrocautery device, which heats tissue with electricity, to stop blood vessels from bleeding. Suddenly, sparks from the electrocautery device ignited a fire on the surgical gauze. The fire was quickly extinguished with saline (salt water), without injury to the patient, Shaylor said. Despite the fire incident, the rest of the man's surgery went well, and doctors successfully repaired the aortic tear. The man's case will be presented this week at the Euroanaesthesia Congress, the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology in Vienna, Austria. Although rare, fires during surgery can happen indeed, about 600 surgical fires occur each year in the United States, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. There are three critical "ingredients" for a surgical fire: The first is the presence of an "oxidizer," including supplemental oxygen; the second is an ignition source, such as an electrocautery device; and the third is a fuel source, including surgical gauze, sponges or drapes, or even the patient's hair and skin, according to the FDA. Most surgical fires happen when there are high oxygen concentrations in an environment as was the case for this patient. The oxygen itself does not burn, but it lowers the temperature at which a fire can start. In other words, things that don't usually burn may ignite in the presence of high oxygen levels, the FDA says. Chest cavity fires appear to be particularly rare, with only seven previous cases reported in the medical literature, the authors said. All of these seven cases involved the presence of dry surgical materials (such as sponges or gauze); electrocautery devices and increased supplemental oxygen concentrations; and all of the patients had COPD or preexisting lung disease, Shaylor said. "Surgeons and anaesthetists need to be aware that fires can occur in the chest cavity if a lung is damaged or there is an air leak for any reason, and that patients with COPD are at increased risk," Shaylor said. Originally published on Live Science. Editor's Note: This story was updated on Monday, June 10 at 4:45 p.m. E.D.T. In the new HBO miniseries "Chernobyl," Russian scientists uncover the reason for an explosion in Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which spewed radioactive material across northern Europe. That reactor, a design called the RBMK-1000, was discovered to be fundamentally flawed after the Chernobyl accident. And yet there are still 10 of the same type of reactor in operation in Russia. How do we know if they're safe? The short answer is, we don't. These reactors have been modified to lessen the risk of another Chernobyl-style disaster, experts say, but they still aren't as safe as most Western-style reactors. And there are no international safeguards that would prevent the construction of new plants with similar flaws. [Images: Chernobyl, Frozen in Time] "There are a whole number of different types of reactors that are being considered now in various countries that are significantly different from the standard light-water reactor, and many of them have safety flaws that the designers are downplaying," said Edwin Lyman, a senior scientist and the acting director of the Nuclear Safety Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists. "The more things change," Lyman told Live Science, "the more they stay the same." Reactor 4 At the center of the Chernobyl disaster was the RBMK-1000 reactor, a design used only in the Soviet Union. The reactor was different from most light-water nuclear reactors, the standard design used in most Western nations. (Some early U.S. reactors at the Hanford Site in Washington state were a similar design with similar flaws, but were fixed in the mid-1960s.) Light-water reactors consist of a large pressure vessel containing nuclear material (the core), which is cooled by a circulating supply of water. In nuclear fission, an atom (uranium, in this case), splits, creating heat and free neutrons, which zing into other atoms, causing them to split and release heat and more neutrons. The heat turns the circulating water to steam, which then turns a turbine, generating electricity. In light-water reactors, the water also acts as a moderator to help control the ongoing nuclear fission within the core. A moderator slows down free neurons so that they're more likely to continue the fission reaction, making the reaction more efficient. When the reactor heats up, more water turns to steam, and less is available to play this moderator role. As a result, the fission reaction slows. That negative feedback loop is a key safety feature that helps keep the reactors from overheating. The RBMK-1000 is different. It also used water as a coolant, but with graphite blocks as the moderator. The variations in the reactor design allowed it to use less-enriched fuel than usual and to be refueled while running. But with the coolant and moderator roles separated, the negative feedback loop of "more steam, less reactivity," was broken. Instead, RBMK reactors have what's called a "positive void coefficient." When a reactor has a positive void coefficient, the fission reaction speeds up as the coolant water turns to steam, rather than slowing down. That's because boiling opens up bubbles, or voids, in the water, making it easier for neutrons to travel right to the fission-enhancing graphite moderator, said Lars-Erik De Geer, a nuclear physicist who is retired from the Swedish Defence Research Agency. From there, he told Live Science, the problem builds: The fission becomes more efficient, the reactor gets hotter, the water gets steamier, the fission becomes more efficient still, and the process continues. Run-up to disaster When the Chernobyl plant was running at full power, this wasn't a big problem, Lyman said. At high temperatures, the uranium fuel that powers the fission reaction tends to absorb more neutrons, making it less reactive. At low power, though, RBMK-1000 reactors become very unstable. In the run-up to the Chernobyl accident on April 26, 1986, operators were doing a test to see if the plant's turbine could run emergency equipment during a power outage. This test required running the plant at reduced power. While the power was lowered, the operators were ordered by Kiev's power authorities to pause the process. A conventional plant had gone offline, and Chernobyl's power generation was needed. "That was very much the main reason why it all happened in the end," De Geer said. The plant ran at partial power for 9 hours. When the operators got the go-ahead to power most of the rest of the way down, there had been a buildup of neutron-absorbing xenon in the reactor, and they couldn't maintain the appropriate level of fission. The power fell to nearly nothing. Trying to boost it, the operators removed most of the control rods, which are made of neutron-absorbing boron carbide and are used to slow the fission reaction. Operators also reduced the flow of water through the reactor. This exacerbated the positive void coefficient problem, according to the Nuclear Energy Agency. Suddenly, the reaction became very intense indeed. Within seconds, the power surged to 100 times what the reactor was designed to withstand. [Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster 25 Years Later (Infographic)] There were other design flaws that made it difficult to get the situation back under control once it started. For example, the control rods were tipped with graphite, De Geer says. When the operators saw that the reactor was starting to go haywire and tried to lower the control rods, they got stuck. The immediate effect was not to slow the fission, but to enhance it locally, because the additional graphite at the tips initially boosted the fission reaction's efficiency nearby. Two explosions rapidly followed. Scientists still debate exactly what caused each explosion. They both may have been steam explosions from the rapid increase in pressure in the circulation system, or one may have been steam and the second a hydrogen explosion caused by chemical reactions in the failing reactor. Based on the detection of xenon isotopes at Cherepovets, 230 miles (370 kilometers) north of Moscow after the explosion, De Geer believes that the first explosion was actually a jet of nuclear gas that shot several kilometers into the atmosphere. Changes made The immediate aftermath of the accident was "a very unnerving time" in the Soviet Union, said Jonathan Coopersmith, a historian of technology at Texas A&M University who was in Moscow in 1986. At first, the Soviet authorities kept information close; the state-run press buried the story, and the rumor mill took over. But far away in Sweden, De Geer and his fellow scientists were already detecting unusual radioactive isotopes. The international community would soon know the truth. On May 14, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev gave a televised speech in which he opened up about what had happened. It was a turning point in Soviet history, Coopersmith told Live Science. "It made glasnost real," Coopersmith said, referring to the nascent policy of transparency in the Soviet Union. It also opened a new era in cooperation for nuclear safety. In August 1986, the International Atomic Energy Agency held a post-accident summit in Vienna, and Soviet scientists approached it with an unprecedented sense of openness, said De Geer, who attended. "It was amazing how much they told us," he said. Among the changes in response to Chernobyl were modifications to the other RBMK-1000 reactors in operation, 17 at the time. According to the World Nuclear Association, which promotes nuclear power, these changes included the addition of inhibitors to the core to prevent runaway reactions at low power, an increase in the number of control rods used in operation and an increase in fuel enrichment. The control rods were also retrofitted so that the graphite would not move into a position that would increase reactivity. Chernobyl's other three reactors operated till 2000 but have since closed, as have two more RBMKs in Lithuania, which were shut down as a requirement of that country entering the European Union. There are four RBMK reactors operating in Kursk, three in Smolensk and three in St. Petersburg (a fourth was retired in December 2018). These reactors "aren't as good as ours," De Geer said, "but they are better than they used to be." "There were fundamental aspects of the design that couldn't be fixed no matter what they did," Lyman said. "I would not say they were able to increase the safety of the RBMK overall to the standard you'd expect from a Western-style light water reactor." In addition, De Geer pointed out, the reactors weren't built with full containment systems as seen in Western-style reactors. Containment systems are shields made of lead or steel meant to contain radioactive gas or steam from escaping into the atmosphere in the event of an accident. Oversight overlooked? Despite the potentially international effects of a nuclear plant accident, there is no binding international agreement on what constitutes a "safe" plant, Lyman said. The Convention on Nuclear Safety requires countries to be transparent about their safety measures and allows for peer review of plants, he said, but there are no enforcement mechanisms or sanctions. Individual countries have their own regulatory agencies, which are only as independent as local governments enable them to be, Lyman said. "In countries where there is rampant corruption and lack of good governance, how can you expect that any independent regulatory agency is going to be able to function?" Lyman said. Though no one besides the Soviet Union made RBMK-1000 reactors, some proposed new reactor designs do involve a positive void coefficient, Lyman said. For example, fast-breeder reactors, which are reactors that generate more fissile material as they generate power, have a positive void coefficient. Russia, China, India and Japan have all built such reactors, though Japans is not operational and is planned for decommission and Indias is 10 years behind schedule for opening. (There are also reactors with small positive void coefficients operating in Canada.) "The designers are arguing that if you take everything into account, overall they're safe, so that doesn't matter that much," Lyman said. But designers shouldn't be overconfident in their systems, he said. "That kind of thinking is what got the Soviets into trouble," he said. "And it's what can get us into trouble, by not respecting what we don't know." Editor's Note: This story was updated to note that most, but not all, of the control rods were removed from the reactor, and to note that some early reactors in the United States also had a positive void coefficient, though their design flaws were fixed. Originally published on Live Science. Diminishing federal funds for Texas districts migrant education programs has affected both LISD and UISD, limiting the scope of their services. The amount Congress appropriates for the U.S. Department of Educations migrant education program is stable at $374,751,000, but funds appropriated to Texas have been decreasing, said an agency spokesperson in an email to LMT. The Texas Education Agency notified school districts in April about restricted funds for the program in response to less families enrolling. These families migrate within the U.S. or from elsewhere for work, and the program helps their children transition into public school and overcome social, cultural and language barriers. When state agencies apply for federal grants, they can include several initiatives, such as family literacy training, intervention for at-risk youth and English language acquisition. READ MORE: Laredo ISD graduate shares story behind viral video of meeting on international bridge Awards were rewarded based on the funding formula in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which was reauthorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act passed in 2015 and thus created a new formula. Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, state awards were based on 2000-01 child counts. Starting with fiscal year 2017s awards, the awards under the new act are based on the average number of eligible migratory children ages 3-21 residing in that state in the preceding three years. It is also based on the number of those eligible migratory children who received program services in the summer and or intersession programs by the state the previous year. Because TEA reported significant decreases in the number of eligible migratory children identified and the number of migratory children served in summer/intersession periods since 2001, there have been decreases in TEAs MEP awards since FY 2017, said a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson in an email to LMT. More Information 2019-20 2018-19 2017-18 2016-17 Amount Amount Enrollment Amount Enrollment Amount Enrollment UISD $150,813 $304,686 131 $444,280 142 $605,551 239 LISD $105,916 $177,533 56 $230,591 78 $267,712 134 See More Collapse Due to diminishing federal funds, United ISD officials said it will no longer have a migrant student program administrator. READ MORE: Local war veterans receive high school diplomas at Laredo ISD graduation The UISD superintendent proposed a reduction in force to eliminate its migrant program administrator position, which the board approved last month. The district also notified the affected administrator about this change. It has nothing to do with performance of the individual but has to do strictly with funding that is not provided by the government, UISD Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources David Garcia said. UISD received $304,686 in state funds for its migrant program for 2018-19. Next year, it expects to receive about $150,813. In 2017-18, LISD had about 78 migrant students enrolled as of October 2017. For 2018-19, LISD had 56 students as of October 2018. LISD Administrator of Federal Programs Oralia Hinojosa-Cortez said over the years the number of students in the program has steadily decreased. For the last years, weve been decreasing (in students) every year, thats been the trend, said Oralia Hinojosa-Cortez, LISD Administrator of Federal Programs. A majority of students coming in to LISD come from other states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and North Dakota, LISD Migrant Coordinator Yolanda Mendoza said. They also come from other Texas cities, and the district works with the students previous school district to catch them up. LISD received $177,533 for 2018-19, and the planning amount it expects to receive is about $105,916 pending the final amount. Because of decreased funding, Cortez said the program cannot have as many instruction interventions for students, but they still adequately get the help they need. Retired teachers will visit LISD campuses and tutor students who typically enroll during the school year and may be behind on academics and the states testing schedule. Consultants will also help students with workshops if they do not do as well on the state assessments. The benefits have always been there, but if we have less money then we have to limit our resources, Cortez said. The TEA this year received $47.1 million for its migrant program, but it is expected to receive about $42 million next year from the federal government. During a Region One Education Service Center training in October, staff were told the number of eligible migratory children in Texas has declined by 36.3 percent from 2011-12 to 2016-17. UISD Federal and State Programs Executive Director Alicia Carrillo in an email response told LMT that eligible families could be fearful of enrolling or are unaware of the program. Undocumented families fear keeps them from signing forms, (its a) lack of trust, she said. (Other reasons include) possible annual migrant survey inaccuracies, communication barriers, lack of district internal processes or need for improvement on processes; lack of community-based recruitment and lack of understanding of the Migrant Education Program. Carrillo also said parents may refuse to be identified as migrants because of the news and rhetoric surrounding immigration. With the current immigrant crisis, the media interchangeably uses the terms migrant and immigrant, causing parents to refuse to be identified, she said. Cortez said she believes there are less migrant students enrolling because Laredo simply does not have those jobs anymore. A lot of the families are not migrating anymore like in the past, and a lot of the jobs they would do are done by machines, so theres less jobs available for them, she said. Mendoza also said migrant families have better prospects after receiving an education and so they no longer need to migrate for work. I also believe another reason is this program was really well created to the point that those migrants and those migrant families that actually got a diploma, they continued their education because they got a lot of opportunities, Mendoza said. They break the cycle of migration because they have acquired higher education. Students qualify for the program if a family member works or actively seeks employment within the past three years in these fields: Agriculture Crops Dairying or Dairy Farming Fishing/Fish Farms Livestock Production Cultivating or Harvesting of Trees Poultry Production and Processing Initial Processing (canning) Texas enrolls about 31,000 migrant students and is the countrys fourth-largest migrant program. It is also home to the countrys largest interstate migrant student population, according to the TEA. Lisa Dreher can be reached at 956-728-2567 or lisa.dreher@lmtonline.com KINGSTON - Plattekill Historical Preservation Society will host a free event at the Matthewis Persen House, 74 John St., Kingston, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. It will include an informational display on 18th- and 19th-century rural cemeteries. Plattekill is home to 19 known burial grounds, with most being long since abandoned and overgrown. View maps and meet with members about their efforts to revitalize the forgotten sites. To all those individuals interested in beginning a career in the cosmetology field, this is their opportunity to obtain the necessary information of what this career entails. Laredo College is preparing to expand its career opportunities and obtain full accreditation to open a Level 1 Certification Cosmetology Program. They encourage all the interested participants to get informed on all the aspects of this program. To enroll in the program once registration opens, those interested must attend one of the two informational sessions provided by the college free of charge. The sessions will take place on June 5 at the Eloy Garcia Building, room 130. The first session will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the second session will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Advising for the Cosmetology Program will also take place from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Prospective students will be able to learn more about the program goals and objectives, such as the items that will be taught in the courses, how to prepare for the TDLR State Board Exam and about the necessary tools and equipment needed for the program. Other items to be discussed in the session are admission details and entrance requirements such as the 10th grade level reading assessment and the level of education completed such as high school diploma or GED. The LC Cosmetology Program is in its final phase and ready for students to learn all about hairstyling, hair-cutting, hair coloring, manicure, pedicure, nail enhancements, makeup applications and other related services. This program will enable future cosmetology professionals to gain first-hand learning experience of operating a salon. As mentioned by Dean of Community Education Sandra Cortez, "Laredo College is very excited to be offering this program, the students that register for the fall semester will be the inaugural group receiving their Certificate Level I in Cosmetology, this will prepare the students to enter the workforce and be part of the beauty industry." For more information on the sessions to register for the program, you may contact us at 956-721-5374. To a certain generation of Houstonians, this time of year brings thoughts of season passes, mini loaves of Mrs. Baird's bread and Marvel McFey. This month marks the 51st anniversary of AstroWorld's opening. And even though it closed nearly 15 years ago, the memories seem just as strong today as those mornings when we boarded the parking lot tram that took us across Loop 610 to the park. QUIZ: How well do you know your AstroWorld rides? The park was the brainchild of Astrodome mastermind Judge Roy Hofheinz. The family owned the park until 1975, when it was sold to Six Flags. Over the years many beloved rides would be added to the park, including the Texas Cyclone (1976), Thunder River (1980), Bamboo Shoot (1969), XLR-8 (1984), Sky Screamer (1983), Looping Starship (1986) and Greezed Lightnin' (1978). WaterWorld opened next door in 1983. Southern Star Amphitheater, a concert venue, opened in 1985 and hosted numerous top entertainers in the years before the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion opened. Selena, AC/DC, Bob Dylan, Wham!, the Beach Boys and the B-52s appeared on its stage in the '80s and '90s. Then there was Videocity, the 1980s dance club near Texas Cyclone. You might recall that for a time, KPRC (Channel 2) had a show from there that aired after "Saturday Night Live." ARCHIVE DIVE: Throwback Thursday to Houston's past And just because summer ended and the kids went back to school didn't mean the fun had to end. Who can forget Fright Fest (earlier known as Fright Nights) during the weekends in October and Holiday in the Park around Christmas? (Remember when Robert Englund, as Freddy Krueger, appeared at Fright Nights in the late 1980s?) This year, memories of Astroworld popped up again after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner appeared onstage at Travis Scott's show at Toyota Center to announce his interest in bringing a theme park back to Houston. (Scott was touring to promote his hit album "Astroworld.") Will those plans will come to fruition? We'll see. This article was updated to reflect that Southern Star opened in 1985. J.R. Gonzales, a third-generation Houstonian, covers local history with an eye toward the people and events that have mostly been forgotten to time. Follow him through Bayou City History on Facebook and Twitter. He can be reached at 713-362-6163 or john.gonzales@chron.com. The Texas National Guard soldier who took meth from a seizure at the World Trade Bridge has been sentenced to prison. Edwin Baez, 22, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine on Dec. 13, according to court documents. Judge Diana Saldana sentenced Baez on May 14 to six months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. Baez is no longer with the Texas National Guard, military officials said this week. The case unfolded on Aug. 21 when Homeland Security Investigations special agents were called to the Laredo Medical Center. A guardsman assigned to the World Trade Bridge had been admitted for a drug-induced emergency. Special agents discovered that Baez was involved in a theft of drugs from a previous U.S. Customs and Border Protection methamphetamine seizure. READ MORE: PD: Woman arrested for dragging 4-year-old daughter At LMC, special agents interviewed other guard members and discovered that Baez called in sick. A fellow guardsman then took him to the emergency room. A toxicology report revealed he had cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and benzodiazepines in his system, states the plea documents. Guard sergeants went to Baezs room at the Courtyard Marriott on 2410 Santa Ursula Avenue. The sergeants found in Baezs suitcase a sandwich bag containing a white powdery substance and drug paraphernalia. Confronted with this information, Baez then allegedly confirmed he stole meth from a World Trade Bridge seizure and consumed a portion of it in his room, court documents state. He then allegedly agreed to speak to special agents. He admitted that on Aug. 1 while working at the World Trade Bridge, CBP intercepted a load of methamphetamine concealed in the edges of art frames. Baez stated that he and other guardsmen were tasked with inspecting the frames. READ MORE: PD: Man charged for family violence and terroristic threat During the inspection, Baez and another guardsman talked about what it would be like to take a seized bundle. Later, Baez took one frame and placed it inside the dumpster where he could access it later without the CBP officers noticing, states the affidavit. Baez returned on Aug. 20, and noticed the frame was still in the dumpster. Baez waited for the right opportunity, took one bundle from the frame and hid it in his backpack, court documents state. Baez left the remaining three bundles with the frame in the dumpster. Baez took methamphetamine to his room and consumed some of it. He began to feel sick shortly after, states the affidavit. The weight of the meth found in Baezs room was 190 grams, authorities said. Special agents later recovered the remaining three packages of meth from the dumpster at the World Trade Bridge. The weight was 798 grams. Sheriff Martin Cuellar does not see how a border security bill that wouldve given him technology did not pass the senate during the 86th Legislature. At the end of the day, Im a little bit upset because of how it happened. We got cut off. At the end of the day, you know who loses: Not the city, not the county, the community loses. We couldve had money to provide more security, Cuellar said. HB 4306 would have allowed border security infrastructure enhancement projects and the creation of a fund to pay for those projects. That could have included Cuellars proposal of Operation Border SMART, which stands for Strategic Mobile and Response Team. The operation is an alternative border security measure to a wall with layers of defense, technology and boots on the ground to target hot spots. Cuellar has been seeking funding for this project over the last few years. READ MORE: "El Chapo" mother says US approved visa to visit drug lord My job as the sheriff as the chief law enforcement officer of the county is to protect the community, he said. But special interest groups are to blame for not having the project come to fruition, the sheriff said. Cuellar, who is not against growth, added that special interest groups wanted something else other than border security. Cuellar pointed out that his office is working with a handful of cameras placed in hot spots. Footage has recorded illicit activity, according to the Sheriffs Office. Staff from State Rep. Kyle Biedermanns office recently visited Cuellar and saw firsthand what the project was about. In a statement, Biedermann vowed to continue working on border security. (Gov.) Abbott stated that securing the Texas/Mexico border is a top priority and urged the legislature to pass my border security bill, HB 4306. This bill passed the House 100-38, was supported by both Republicans and Democrats, and would have enhanced border security to help keep our citizens safe. Unfortunately, it died in the Senate. I will continue to work across the aisle on this important issue, he said in the statement. When it rains, it pours. That has definitely been the case for many local farmers who are wrapping up a particularly challenging planting season. The Texas Panhandle has experienced some unusually wet weather this spring, much of which has come in the past two weeks. According to the Texas Alliance for Water Conservation, our region generally receives approximately 18.5 inches of rainfall annually. But already this year some locations in our area are reporting up to 10 inches of rain, with as much as 4 inches from last week's downpour (PivoTrac Rain Page - www.pivotrac.com). With more wet weather still to come, many local farmers are looking ahead at how this stormy spring will be affecting their crops. Cotton is one of the most common crops in Plainview and the surrounding communities because of its resistant nature and general tolerance of droughts, followed closely by corn and sorghum grain. But these hardy plants have been no match for the intense rain, sizeable hail, high winds and blowing sand and dirt that this spring has delivered. In addition, unseasonably cold temperatures also continue to threaten crops. Cotton is usually planted when days are consistently warmer, as any temperature below 60 degrees can send the cotton into "cold shock," or an effective shutdown of the plant's systems. Recent nighttime temperatures in our area have dipped into the 50s, causing a significant crop loss for some. Now many local farmers are finding themselves replanting their crops under pressure in order to meet crop insurance deadlines. For Hale County, cotton should be planted by June 5 in order to meet planting deadlines, with late planting until June 20, according to Farm Bureau Insurance Company. This leaves farmers with a relatively small window of opportunity. The Hale County AgriLife Extension Service, located in Plainview, offers support and assistance for growers in the region. They recommend replanting before this weekend's storms, if possible, so seeds are protected underground in the event of any hail. As we look ahead to yet another week of unpredictable spring weather, one thing is certain: West Texas farmers are as hardy as the crops they grow. And despite the challenges of this planting season, local farmers remain optimistic that their yield will be great and their year a success. Chicago Pardeep Singh Kaleka has surveyed the landscape of an America scarred by mass shootings. Seven years ago, a white supremacist invaded a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and killed six worshippers among them Kaleka's father, who died clutching a butter knife he'd grabbed in a desperate attempt to stop the shooter. Now, whenever another gunman bloodies another town, Kaleka posts a supportive message on social media. Then later, either by invitation or on his own initiative, he'll journey to the community to shore up others who share his pain. He's been to Newtown, Conn. Charleston, S.C. Pittsburgh. "We've become kind of a family," Kaleka says. It's true. The unending litany of mass shootings in recent years the latest, on Friday, leaving 12 dead in Virginia Beach, Va. has built an unacknowledged community of heartbreak, touching and warping the lives of untold thousands. All the survivors, none of them unscathed. The loved ones of the living and dead. Their neighbors, relatives and colleagues. The first responders, the health care workers, the elected officials. The attacks have changed how America talks, prays and prepares for trouble. Today, the phrases "active shooter" and "shelter in place" need no explanation. A house of worship will have a priest, a rabbi or an imam and maybe, an armed guard. And more schools are holding "lockdown drills" to prepare students for the possibility of a shooter. Post-traumatic stress disorder was once largely associated with combat-weary veterans; now some police and firefighters tormented by the memories of the carnage they've witnessed are seeking professional help. Healing centers have opened to offer survivors therapy and a place to gather. Support groups of survivors of mass shootings have formed. Mayors, doctors, police and other leaders who've endured these crises are paying it forward offering comfort, mentoring and guidance to the next town that has to wrestle with the nightmare. Former Oak Creek Mayor Stephen Scaffidi, who'd been on the job just four months at the time of the 2012 Sikh temple attack, remembers a call that night from the mayor of Aurora, Colo., where 12 people had been fatally shot at a movie theater less than three weeks earlier. "He gave me the best advice I could ever receive in that moment: 'Be calm. Reassure your community. And only speak to what you know. Don't speculate, don't pretend to be an expert on something that you're not,'" Scaffidi recalls. Last year, two days after the fatal shooting of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Christine Hunschofsky, mayor of Parkland, Fla., met the mother of a 6-year-old killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School who offered a road map into the future. "She forewarned me of many of the things that we would encounter," Hunschofsky recalls. "She said at first it will seem like everyone comes together. Then it seems like a tsunami that hits the community. People become very divided. This is all normal after a mass trauma." Three months later, it was Hunschofsky's turn. She sent a message to the incoming mayor of Santa Fe, Texas, where a school shooting left 10 dead. "She told me this is not going to be the hardest day and harder days are coming," recalls Mayor Jason Tabor. "'Prepare for that.' She was 100 percent right." The two mayors have since become fast friends and Hunschofsky visited Santa Fe. "We're bonded for life," Tabor says. Mass shootings account for a tiny percentage of homicides, but their scale sets them apart. In 1999, the Columbine shooting shocked the nation with its unforgettable images of teens running from the school with their hands up scenes repeated in other similar attacks years later. Today, the public sees and hears about these events as they unfold, through live-streamed video or tweets. Each tragedy is horrifying, but the sense of it-can't-happen-here has worn off. "We're a desensitized society," says Jaclyn Schildkraut, a criminologist at the State University of New York at Oswego. "There is an element of mass shooting fatigue where we've gone from ONE MORE," she says, her voice rising with exasperation, "to add another one to the list. Everybody immediately goes for the gun argument ... and maybe throw a little mental health in there, but we really don't have a consistent, prolonged conversation about these events and how to prevent them." Studies have offered some hints of their emotional wallop. The National Center for PTSD estimates 28 percent of people who have witnessed a mass shooting develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about a third develop acute stress disorder. Laura Wilson, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia conducted a meta-analysis an examination of data from 11 studies of PTSD symptoms among more than 8,000 participants who ranged from those who'd witnessed shootings to those who just lived in the communities in a 20-year period. She found the greater the exposure someone who was at the scene or who lost a friend or family the greater risk of developing PTSD. But, in her work, Wilson has found other factors, too, including previous psychological symptoms and a lack of social support, also played a role in increasing the likelihood. "Mass shootings are a different type of trauma," Wilson says. "People are confronted with the idea that bad things can happen to good people. ... Most people have a hard time reconciling the idea that a young, innocent person made the good decision to go to school, was sitting there, learning and was murdered. That does not make sense to us. ... It just rattles us to our core." And yet, some people don't fully appreciate the lasting psychological wounds of those who escaped physical harm. A study conducted by a University of Nevada-Las Vegas professor after the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting that left 58 people dead found PTSD levels for those at the concert remained elevated at least a year later. Most of these people had a friend, family member or co-worker asking as early as 1 months after the event why they were still troubled. "Almost everyone had someone say, 'Get over it. Why are you letting this bother you?'" says Stephen Benning, a psychology professor who conducted the research. Those kinds of remarks were associated with increased levels of PTSD, which lasted longer than depression. April Foreman, a psychologist and board member of the American Association of Suicidology, likens exposure to mass shootings to a flu epidemic that affects the entire community in different ways. "When we have these mass casualty events it's like an outbreak of a virus," she says. "Some people might be immune or not susceptible to that strain. Some people are going to get a little sick, some people are going to be very sick. Some people might have compromised immune systems and if they're exposed they have a very high risk for life-threatening illness. Suicide is like the extreme outcome." The pack of Democratic presidential contenders has taken different tacks on whether it makes sense to appear on Fox News, with some accusing the conservative network of being unfair and others welcoming the chance to speak to its large viewing audience. On Sunday night, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York did both: While headlining a town hall event broadcast live from Iowa, she attacked the network for its coverage of late-term abortion, which led to some spirited sparring with the event's host, Chris Wallace. Gillibrand, who has struggled to stand out among the crowded Democratic field, used a question about abortion rights to criticize what she characterized as "a false choice and a false narrative" that Fox News has created on the issue. "I want to talk about the role Fox News plays in this, because it's a problem," Gillibrand said, taking issue with the frequent use of the term "infanticide" by the networks's hosts and guests. "Infanticide, it doesn't exist," Gillibrand said, at which point Wallace cut her off. "Senator, I just want to say we've brought you here for an hour," he said. "We have treated you very fairly. I understand that, maybe, to make your credentials with the Democrats who are not appearing on Fox News, you want to attack us. I'm not sure it's frankly very polite when we've invited you to be here." "Instead of talking about Fox News, why don't you answer Susan's question?" he continued, referring to the audience member who posed the question on abortion rights. Gillibrand promised she would make her point in a "polite" way and then returned to her criticism of "Fox News" for its focus on "infanticide." "It doesn't happen. It's illegal. It's not a fact," Gillibrand said. "And I believe all of us have a responsibility to talk about the facts." The town hall in Dubuque produced some other animated exchanges, including one in which Wallace asked Gillibrand to explain a December tweet in which she said the future was "female" and "intersectional." "We want women to have a seat at the table," Gillibrand said. At that point, Wallace retorted: "What about men?" "They're already there - do you not know?" Gillibrand replied, generating applause from the audience. "It's not meant to be exclusionary; it's meant to be inclusionary," Gillibrand said. "All right, we're not threatened," Wallace replied, and the event moved on. Three other Democratic candidates have appeared this year at town-hall meetings hosted by Fox News: Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has declined to appear, branding the network a "hate-for-profit racket." Sen. Kamala Harris of California has also declined. The Democratic National Committee has also announced it will not allow Fox News to host any of its presidential candidate debates this cycle. The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting a far-reaching review of how Boeing certified the 737 Max system that has been involved in two crashes, going beyond the typical low-profile assistance they provide in foreign accident probes. The investigation, which is more extensive than has previously been reported, could result in safety recommendations that would have significant implications in the way aircraft are certified in the wake of the grounding of Boeing's best-selling jetliner after the crashes in Ethiopia in March and in Indonesia last October. "We're going to follow the facts wherever they lead," said NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss. "We've traveled. We've collected data. We've conducted interviews." NTSB investigators held multiple interviews with Boeing and Federal Aviation Administration officials earlier this year to gather information on how a flight-control system that was automatically driving down the nose on both planes, according to a person familiar with the probe who wasn't authorized to talk about it. The safety board has no regulatory power, but it can make non-binding recommendations if it finds that there were lapses in the approval process or there were other safety issues. Those recommendations have in the past led to congressional action or regulatory changes, and can have greater effect in high-profile cases such as the one involving the 737 Max. The model was grounded by the FAA on March 13, three days after the second fatal crash in less than five months. In both accidents, which killed a total of 346 people, a software add-on to the flight controls was automatically and repeatedly commanding the planes to dive as a result of a malfunction. Pilots were eventually overwhelmed by the system and the planes dove at high speeds, killing all aboard. The NTSB works on dozens of international investigations each year and normally performs its work in the background. By treaty, nations in which a plane crashes are in charge of the investigations and the safety board's role is to assist. But the agency has occasionally used foreign cases as a platform for recommendation letters to manufacturers and regulators. "Because the United States is the state of design and certification of the aircraft involved in these accidents, we are examining relevant factors in the U.S. design certification process to ensure any deficiencies are captured and addressed, including by NTSB safety recommendations, if necessary," NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said in written testimony before the House aviation subcommittee on May 15. He said the agency may end up issuing recommendations, something it has done a handful of times in foreign accident investigations. In March 2009, for example, the NTSB issued an urgent safety recommendation to the FAA seeking a redesign of a Rolls-Royce Holdings engine on Boeing's 777 following a crash- landing in England a year earlier. Ice had formed in the engine's fuel system on Jan. 17, 2008, causing both power plants to lose thrust and the jetliner to land in a field short of a runway at Heathrow Airport. In spite of such previous cases, the NTSB's power to conduct investigations in foreign accidents isn't as clear as in domestic crashes, in which the agency has broad legal authority. Indeed, there has at times been tension in recent months between FAA and NTSB as the safety board explores the 737 Max, according to the person familiar with the probe. Boeing is working with the FAA, which regulates aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, to update the plane's software and training requirements. The FAA must approve those fixes before agreeing to allow the plane to resume operations. In the wake of the grounding, numerous investigations and review panels were initiated. The U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division has begun an inquiry and subpoenaed records on the plane. The Transportation Department's Inspector General, which is assisting in the criminal investigation, has begun a separate review of how the plane was certified. In addition, the DOT has a blue-ribbon panel examining certification and the FAA's use of Boeing employees to conduct some safety assessments. A panel known as the Joint Authorities Technical Review, made up of experts from nine other countries, is reviewing the 737 Max's certification. A Technical Advisory Board will also review Boeing's proposed fix before FAA gives its approval. "We continue to fully support the investigating authorities," Boeing spokesman Charles Bickers said. The NTSB's work assisting the Indonesian and Ethiopian authorities has been under a treaty known as Annex 13. In that agreement, the country in which an aircraft is designed and built has the authority to participate in an investigation. "This is consistent with our Annex 13 responsibilities," Weiss said of the NTSB work on the 737 Max. "If we find areas of interest or concern that could lead to safety improvements and recommendations, we have pursued those areas in past investigations." WOOD RIVER Emergency officials are asking the public to stay off the levees in Madison County. After meetings between Madison County Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wood River Drainage and Levee District and Metro East Sanitary District, all agreed and safety measures were implemented to protect the levee system throughout the county. There is no trespassing on the levees, said Tony Falconio, logistics coordinator for Madison County EMA, said. Local law enforcement, Madison County Sheriffs Department and the Illinois National Guard will be patrolling and monitoring the levee system. If you are not authorized to be on the levee system, you will be asked to leave, Falconio. Only authorized personnel will be allowed on the levees, he said. People will be asked to leave and if they chose not to leave law enforcement will be notified. The no trespassing rule applies to all pedestrians, bicyclists and any type of motor vehicle. These steps are being taken as a preventative measure to ensure that the integrity of levee system is maintained. Chairman Kurt Prenzler called for the National Guard to make sure the levees remained protected. A detachment of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 123 Field Artillery Regiment arrived Saturday and by Sunday they were on the levees. There are soldiers at various points along the levee keeping an eye on things as well as making sure people stay off the levees, Prenzler said. Prenzler approved the use of county funds for increased patrol by Madison County Sheriff deputies to support the effort of the National Guard. MESD Director Stephen Adler said that he is asking people not to go around barriers to check out the rising river or to even cross to go fishing This is not the time for sightseeing or anything else, Adler said. Alton Police Chief Jason Simmons also reminded people visiting downtown Alton to see the flood to stay clear of the floodwall. There were reports of people climbing on the wall; anyone caught going beyond the yellow caution tape will be arrested for criminal trespassing. Falconio said for the most up-to-date information from the county, visit the EMA Facebook page at facebook.com/MadCoEMA/. People can also sign up for emergency alerts through the countys CodeRED system at www.co.madison.il.us/. RTHK: Setback for Swedish prosecutors in Assange case A Swedish court has rejected a prosecutor's request to detain Wikileaks founder Julian Assange over a 2010 rape allegation, but ruled he is a suspect in the case and can be questioned. The Uppsala district court said that the fact that Assange is currently in prison in Britain means he doesn't need to be formally detained in Sweden - dealing a blow to prosecutors hoping for a speedy extradition. . "As Julian Assange is currently serving a prison sentence, the investigation can proceed with the help of a European investigation order, which does not require Julian Assange's detention [in Sweden]. The court therefore does not find it proportional to detain Julian Assange," it said. Eva-Marie Persson, Sweden's deputy director of public prosecutions, said she has not decided whether to appeal. However she said she would issue an order to interview Assange, but had not decided on when. Assange's lawyer in Sweden said his client would "be happy, we are happy" to learn he won't be extradited. Assange had been living in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in political asylum since 2012. However he was evicted on April 11, and immediately arrested by British police. He is currently serving a 50-week prison sentence for jumping bail in 2012. He is also fighting extradition to the United States, which accuses him of violating the Espionage Act by publishing secret documents hacked from the Pentagon containing the names of confidential military and diplomatic sources. (AP, AFP) This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. At the event (Source: Internet) The event was co-hosted by the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam, the Belgian Development Agency and the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investments Department of External Economic Affairs. The sides reviewed important cooperation milestones since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1973. Two-way trade hit EUR2.8 billion (USD3.1 billion) in 2018 while Belgian investors have poured more than USD900 million in Vietnam. Many Belgian firms have contributed to Vietnams sustainable development via building green industrial zones. Bilateral collaboration between Vietnam and Belgium in the future will focus on education, agriculture and environment technology, it was heard at the seminar./. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Local News, Crime, Press Releases By Long Island News & PR Published: June 03 2019 Melquisedec Sanchez-Hernandez, 17, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini announced the indictment of an MS-13 gang member for the shooting death of Emilio Sanchez-Maldonado, 17, in East Patchogue on July 2, 2018. Melquisedec Sanchez-Hernandez, 17, is charged with Murder in the Second Degree, an A felony. He has been identified by law enforcement as a member of the MS-13 street gang. When it comes to MS-13, youre either with them or against them, and that was certainly the case here, District Attorney Sini said. The defendant gunned down the victim simply because he felt slighted and took issue with the victims new friends. This was yet another senseless tragedy at the hands of this gang. At 3:32 a.m. on July 3, 2018, Suffolk County Police officers from the Fifth Precinct responded to a residence on Hampton Ave. in East Patchogue after Sanchez-Maldonados body was discovered by his father outside of their home. The victim had sustained several gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. An investigation by the Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad determined that Sanchez-Hernandez allegedly murdered Sanchez-Maldonado on July 2, 2018. Sanchez-Hernandez was arrested on May 20 and provided a videotaped confession to detectives. Sanchez-Hernandez told police that he and Sanchez-Maldonado, who were both students at Bellport High School, had been friends, but that Sanchez-Maldonado started hanging out with a new group of friends who did not like Sanchez-Hernandez. The defendant stated he went to the victims house on the night of the murder to confront him about issues with his new friends. Sanchez-Hernandez also told police that he contacted the victim on the night of the murder using a fake social media account, pretending to be female, to get the victim to come out of his house. When the victim came outside, Sanchez-Hernandez fatally shot him. Sanchez-Hernandez was previously arrested in Virginia on Oct. 27, 2018, on charges relating to the attempted murder of a rival gang murder in the 18th Street gang. The defendant posted bond in Virginia and was out of custody when he was arrested in Suffolk County for Sanchez-Maldonados murder. Sanchez-Hernandez was arraigned on the indictment today by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice William J. Condon and was remanded without bail. He is due back in court on June 25. If convicted, Sanchez-Hernandez faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Kearon, of the Homicide Bureau. Lebanon is undeniably the country of all contradictions. We pass laws that we refuse to respect. Only the ones that serve the interests of some people get applied. The anti-smoking law is a perfect example. Just take a stroll through restaurants and cafes that serve shishas: there, non-smokers have no place. We are looked at as if we just landed from another planet. And if we dare protest, we are made to understand that over there, the smokers are the ones that rule, the ones who are in their right, Georges says, letting his anger and indignation show. The Tobacco Act, Law 174, came into effect almost seven years ago, on Sept. 3, 2012. But the law was only strictly enforced for four months. By Christmas and New Years that year, it was already being widely ignored. The backslide began when then Minister of Interior Marwan Charbel implied during a TV interview that police would be flexible about enforcing the law during the holiday period. After the holidays, enforcement never picked back up, despite pressure from civil society. Many activists believe that there is a lack of political will to address the issue and that the minister of tourism, Avedis Guidanian, fears that enacting the ban will harm the tourism sector. Guidanian did not respond to LOrient-Le Jours (OLJ) repeated attempts to reach him for comment. (Read also : In Lebanon, teenage tobacco use is skyrocketing) The implementation of law 174 falls under the jurisdiction of four ministers: healthy, economy, tourism and interior. According to Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani: the enforcement of this law needs firm on-site monitoring, which must be done mainly by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the Internal Security Forces. Unfortunately, smoking isnt an issue which is taken seriously. Meanwhile, the health bill related to this problem is quite high. A specialized unit Fadi, the head waiter at one of Beiruts upscale restaurants, is asthmatic. Everyday at work he is exposed to smoke from hundreds of cigarettes and cigars. At the beginning, the law was respected here, even more so after the restaurant was fined a penalty of 1 million LBP (about $666), Fadi says. Unfortunately, we were quick at breaking it, like everything else in this country. To the displeasure of not only the non-smokers who complain because they can no longer enjoy their meals, but also of the employees who are suffocating. The problem is that smokers have no awkwardness or guilt whatsoever. They are not even aware that they are poisoning us. Often, they even wait for us to start serving to send their cigar smoke in our direction. When Fadi returns home at night, he can feel the tobacco smoke clinging to his skin. Even after taking a shower, I keep feeling it in my nose and throat. I have to take some medication in order to feel better. In the morning, the restaurant smells highly of smoke. Even if we air the premises, the smell of old tobacco sticks to the walls and the furniture. Members of Parliament must exercise their mission of supervision and regulation, says Rania Baroud, coordinator of the national campaign for the application of the Law 174. Each law will always be challenged and disputed by people whose interests are to take advantage of the prevailing chaos. Lets use the example of electricity. The owners of the generators will no doubt be affected if a plan providing power 24/7 is set up. If they were to contest this plan, would the government take their demands into consideration and ensure that the law protects their rights? This would be outrageous, no? However, in the case of the application of the anti-smoking law, the state is much more concerned with the interests of the restaurants, pubs and cafes, than with the health of its own citizens. For Baroud, proper law enforcement would result in the creation of a specialized unit within the police with unified standards, including an approach on how to draw the fines and penalties. During the short period of time the law was enforced, fines were often drawn up using the name of foreign employees serving shisha rather than the name of the venues, she explains. As a result, we could not trace the fines back to the real person or venue that was responsible. 8,000 fines within a four months period Currently, there are rumors circulating that, instead of reinstating the ban, an amendment to article 5 of the law is being considered that would restore smoking and non-smoking areas in restaurants, an idea that anti-tobacco activists fiercely oppose. This is not the first time they are trying to amend it, says Rima Nakkash, coordinator of the control research group at the American University of Beirut. A first attempt took place in 2012, well before [the law] came into effect. But this option is unlikely because Lebanon must comply with the regulations of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that it has approved. Experience has shown that Law 174 can be applied, according to Nakkash, if the decision-makers are willing to do so. During the roughly four months the law was implemented, around 8,000 fines were issued against offenders. Certain parts of the law are also still being applied, such as a ban on advertising on tobacco products and of sponsorships from the tobacco industry, Nakkash explains. With regard to the warning messages, it was planned to limit them initially to written texts. Now, we should move to using shocking and daring images, which have proven to be efficient in deterring smokers. But the implementing decree has not yet been published, she adds. No decisions have been made yet on what to do about the lackluster enforcement of Law 174, according to Georges Okais, a member of the parliamentary committee responsible for monitoring law enforcement. We have no prejudgments. We are still in the process of collecting ideas, Okais says, noting that the commission has identified 52 laws, divided into three categories, that have not been implemented. The first category covers laws that require the creation of oversight bodies. We sent questions via the Parliament to the relevant ministries. The answers are starting to come in, says Okais. The second category contains laws that require specialized application decrees, such as the food safety Law. In order to develop them, we will refer to international experts, Okais continues. And the third category involves laws that have either been partially enforced or applied in such a way that contradicts their initial intent, such as Law 174 or the Road Safety Act. We have not decided what to do next, Okais says. What is certain is that decisions will be made in order to respect Lebanons commitments to ratified international conventions and public health. We will rely on real-life experiences so that the amendment, if it is made, will allow for a better enforcement of the law. (This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour on the 31st of May) Tim Cook is due to hit the stage to kick off the WWDC keynote in just a few short hours, and the rumors are still trickling in. And as always, the last-minute rumors are the juiciest. Heres the latest weve heard: No new hardware: This isnt a rumor so much as an inference. Whenever Apple launches new products for sale, it takes down its store six or so hours ahead of the event (see every iPhone keynote as well as WWDC 2017). But as of 9:00 AM ET, Apples online store remains operational, suggesting that there wont be anything to browse or buy after the keynote. Regardless, we still hope well be getting a glimpse of the new Mac Pro. No more iTunes: Its been heavily rumored that Apple is finally going to bust up iTunes on the Mac this year to follow the iOS lead, and we have more evidence that Apple is actually going to be retiring the iTunes name once and for all. Over the weekend, some obsessive Redditors noticed that Apple cleared out all content from its Facebook and Instagram pages, a sign of an imminent purge of the longtime brand. Also, Craig Hockenberry of Iconfactory noticed that some music-related itunes.apple.com links are beginning to redirect to music.apple.com. Deprecating the iTunes behemoth makes sense, but wed be lying if we said we werent a little sad to see it go. Speculation around a new codename: Bloombergs Mark Gurman has already been behind some of the biggest Apple leaks of the past few yearsincluding many leading up to todays eventso whenever he has some insider info, we take notice. On Sunday, he posted on Twitter an interesting rumor regarding the codename Tinker was floating around tonight ahead of WWDC. He notes that it could be significant, could be minor, but it certainly adds some intrigue to the big show. Dark mode is real and its spectacular: Its all but confirmed that Apple is going to be releasing a new dark mode in iOS 13, but we promise to act surprised when it shows up on one of the slides. The latest evidence comes courtesy of leaker Ben Geskin, who shares a screenshot of the new Reminders app dressed all in black. The app is one of the ones tipped to get an overhaul in iOS 13, and it looks quite a bit different here, with a cleaner interface that resembles the Home app. WWDC swag from Apple: Apple always likes to reward developers who spend a couple grand on a ticket to WWDC, and this years goodie bag contains some cool stuff, including a reversible jacket with a collage of Apple-inspired emoji and icons, and magnetic pins with a Tim Cook Memoji and an exploding skull head. Apple Store screenings: Once again, select Apple Stores equipped with video walls will be hosting a live stream of the WWDC keynote beginning at 1:00 PM ET, so if youre near one, you can join in the fun. MacRumors reports that the Apple Stores in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY, University Village in Seattle, Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, NC, Carnegie Library in Washington, D.C., and SoHo in New York City will be among the locations participating, but we recommend calling your local Apple Store to check before heading down there. iOS to become iPadOS for tablets: Were all expecting Apple to reveal some big changes for the iPad in iOS 13, and developer Steve Moser has found references to a new name too: iPad OS. In a tweet citing a string of text referencing Apples software program, Apple refers to. iPadOS among the usual suspects: iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. 5-best-thumb 1. INTA 2019: Be a little less lawyerly, says Johnson & Johnson counsel The most popular story came from the INTA 2019 Annual Meeting and focussed on comments from Johnson & Johnsons trademark counsel David McDonald. Talking about the need for in-house lawyers to focus on the wider needs of the business, he said: Rarely are we performing our roles in a vacuum. 2. Fordham Conference: Outside counsel are an an extension of your brand Also popular was our report from the Fordham Conference at the start of the month. In-house counsel from Google and other companies discussed how they work internally and with external counsel. 3. From AI to visual display: report sheds light on US patent filing trends Third on the list was our analysis of a report by law from Harrity & Harrity which concluded that artificial intelligence and blockchain are increasingly prominent in the portfolios of the USs top 300 patentees. 4. Survey: In-house TM counsel must embrace a more business mindset The fourth most-read article covered the results of Managing IPs survey of in-house trademark counsel. The survey found that counsel are increasingly expected to play the role of business partner but are largely embracing this change. 5. From Brexit to social media: six key issues affecting IP and fashion Finally, readers enjoyed our report on the key issues affecting IP and fashion where in-house counsel at Ted Baker and specialist fashion lawyers shared their tips with us. The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws. 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs. Share this article Jesus Navas struggling to come to terms with Reyes' death: It's hit me really hard LaLiga Played together at Sevilla Jesus Navas and several other former Sevilla players have paid tribute to Jose Antonio Reyes after he was killed in a car accident. Reyes came through Sevilla's academy system and became an integral part of the club over two spells with his hometown team. "It's hit me really hard. I spoke a lot with him, with his family. It's been really tough," Navas said at Reyes' wake at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. "I've been through so many things with him that are going to make this much harder to sink in. I was very close with his family... I don't know what to say. "I always watched him to get better, it was incredible to train and play with him. We've been through so much, we roomed together, family moments... "He was always there if you needed something. He called me 'my kid'. All the youngster watched him. He had it all." Vitolo played alongside Reyes for three years at Sevilla, winning three Europa League titles together. "For Sevilla, Jose meant everything. The Sevilla fans have to feel proud of him," Vitolo said. "Personally, I feel very proud to have roomed with him, to have done many things together. Alberto Moreno and I were always with him. "It's a very difficult moment. It's a shame that people like Reyes pass away. He brought a little bit of joy to everyone, it's a shame." Moreno revealed a t-shirt with a picture of Reyes and him during Liverpool's Champions League celebrations in Madrid on Saturday. "Alberto, him and me, especially when I first arrived, we were always together, getting along well. "It was a great gesture that Alberto remembered him during the final yesterday. This shows what a great person Alberto is and how much he loved Jose Antonio." Ivan Rakitic was another player that played alongside Reyes during his second spell at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. "We couldn't believe it," he said. "We were thinking that it wasn't true. It left us in a state of total shock. "The first thing that we wanted to do was think about his wife, his parents, his children, the people that were close to him. We want to give them support and help them in any way we can. "I was here when he returned home and I had the feeling on the very first day that he'd come back as the boss of everything, he managed everything. "He had lots of affection everywhere, at the training ground, the stadium, it was the return the captain. "We got along really well, we were very close. I'm proud to have been able to spend so much time with him, winning titles... "I was thinking that he'd come out of it and I'd go and give him a hug. I'm really sorry because it's really affected me." Some people find their way on the straight and narrow in church. Others pack up their things and move to another city, ready to begin life anew. Glen Dowell, a Henry County resident, set his life on a positive course during his time in the Western Virginia Regional Jail in Salem. Sitting in a cell, Dowell said he took a good, hard look at his life and considered the decisions that got him to a low point. I looked at myself. Im not proud to say it, but Ive spent 16 years in a penitentiary, Dowell said. At one time, Dowell said, he was a happy husband. Then drugs crept into his life. My wife and I split up because of the way I was living, Dowell said. Doing drugs broke up my marriage. I knew it was my fault. Thinking of the woman he vowed to love and cherish, Dowell said he chose to make a change. I wanted to do something positive, hoping to get her back, Dowell said. When Dowell got transferred to the Western Virginia Regional Jail from the Henry County Jail because of overpopulation, he heard about a class called Changing Offender Behavior. It teaches you different ways to stay away from drugs and the things that help you get on them thats people, and things, Dowell said. It lets you know the warning signs. It has anger management, if you need it. Split up into 46 sessions that each last 30 minutes, this 23-week course isnt for the faint of heart. Youve got to show youre serious, Dowell said. Out of 850-some inmates, only 53 have completed the program. Im the only one from Henry County. Once inmates complete the Changing Offender Behavior program, they enter a 3-week course called the Wellness Recovery Action Plan Program. You learn the different outlets you have and how to transition into society in a positive way, Dowell said. You learn about community help. Its a lot of good information. Upon completion of the two courses, Dowell earned certificates for each. These grant-funded programs also allocate money for people who reenter society following incarceration. Once you complete that, you get up to three months rental assistance. If youre behind on your electrical bill, you can get help with that, Dowell said. They give you a change of clothes. You get a $50 gift card to Walmart and a $30 gift card to Krogers. The perks of finishing the program helped ease Dowells mind as he set out on a renewed path. I hate to say it, but I was selling drugs, and I was hustling before the program, Dowell said. Now, I dont have to break the law to put money in my pocket. When Dowell returned to Henry County, he connected with Piedmont Community Services, a public, non-profit organization that provides services to children, adults and families with mental health, substance abuse and intellectual disability needs in the counties of Franklin, Henry and Patrick and in the city of Martinsville. Identifying triggers Dowell attends classes provided by Piedmont Community Services three days a week. The additional training teaches students techniques to avoid relapses. A trigger is a trigger, said Valerie King, the substance abuse mental health nurse at Piedmont Community Services. Certain people, certain environments. We teach how to cope with it. King works with a variety of people battling addiction, including individuals others may never suspect. Addiction is not just a stereotype, King said. Its not just smoking pipes and sharing stuff. A lot of it is addiction by accident. The opioid and opiate crisis threatening the Martinsville area likely originated out of innocence. We had a lot of factories, a lot of manual labor. And when you have manual labor, you have injuries, King said. Back in the day, the doctors would put you on pain pills. No one realized what we were doing. The people Ive met, theyre excited about life. Theyre excited about recovery. Theyre looking ahead, King said. Ive seen such great success stories. Im as proud as anybodys parent. When anyone comes and sits in my chair, that person means something. The nonprofit offers a variety of services, but a persons success ultimately depends on their own inner fortitude. To move forward and succeed, youve got to want it, King said. We will work hard, but youve got to work hard. Dowell echoed the sentiment. First, youve got to really put it in your mind that youre serious, Dowell said. Its a lengthy process, but theres help out there that can get you where you want to be. Piedmont Community Services assisted Dowell not only through providing additional classes, but also by helping him find a medication that worked well for him, Suboxone. It keeps the urges and cravings away, Dowell said. They really stood by me The program also helped him create meaningful, positive relationships with area professionals cheering on his success, including a probation officer, a substance abuse coordinator, a community recovery specialist and King. I wouldnt be where Im at without those people, Dowell said. They really stood by me. Having people who support those battling addiction is a key step in the recovery process. You say, I can see the devastation. Why are you hanging out with those same friends? Why cant you kick drugs? Why, why, why, why, why? King said. When people experience relapses, friends and family often dont understand the issue but its a problem that impacts many members of the community. In church, everybody sitting there knows someone with an addiction, King said. We need to take away the stigma that comes with addiction. King urged community members to take advantage of the multitude of preventive programs available through Piedmont Community Services. She also encouraged bosses to allow employees who are trying to beat addiction a flexible schedule, so that they could attend classes. Dowell advised those battling addiction to seek help. Drugs are nothing but a dead end road, Dowell said. Youll either end up in prison or dead. Determined to not be a statistic, Dowell took control of his life and turned it around. Hes now on a path toward success, thanks to his hard work and dedication. Dowell now looks forward to a bright future, away from drugs. I hope I can get a good job and stay off drugs, Dowell said. I want to be a positive person and an asset in the community. Baystate Health has received $3.95 million from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to build units for clinical trials in Springfield and at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield that will increase local patients access to groundbreaking drug therapies, medical devices and electronic technology thats now only available in Boston or New Haven. Baystate competed for the funding with 44 other proposals from around the state. The 11 proposals selected will receive a total of $30.95 million. Baystate is itself contributing $550,000, according to a news release. A Monday morning news conference had Mark A. Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health, recalling his experience as a young doctor treating AIDS patients. He remembers getting the letter telling him hed be authorized to start prescribing AZT, the first drug to treat AIDS, on an experimental basis. Its about hope for patients, Keroack said. And hope for the economic future of the region and the state. With more than 300,000 biotechnology workers, Massachusetts employs more people in the field than any state but California, said state Sen. Eric P. lesser, D-Longmeadow. But they are concentrated almost entirely in Boston and its suburbs. And that isnt sustainable, said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center president and CEO Travis McCready. You cant cram an entire industry inside (Route) 128, McCready said following the press conference. If we try and keep the cluster centered on Kendall Square, it will collapse under its own weight. So the Life Sciences Center, reauthorized by the legislature with an additional $31 million in state money, is committed to fostering life sciences work all over Massachusetts. None of the other 49 states are doing that, he said. None of the other 49 states will fund this kind of investment in biotechnology outside of the urban center. We look for opportunities to connect the latest scientific advancements with economic development, he said. And to connect with workforce development, said Dr. Peter D. Friedmann, chief research officer for Baystate Health and associate dean for research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate. He pointed to partnerships with Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College, Westfield State University and UMass. Theyll create a certification in clinical research programs to train staff. He said he hopes to have 40 to 50 people working in clinical trials at Baystate in three years, a four- or five-fold increase over the staff in place now. Those workers will include doctors, nurses and lab technicians. It allows us to attract the best talent, he said. People who want access to our great, diverse, urban and rural population of patients. Research might be in new medications, Friedmann said, or in implantable devices. Increasingly, we are seeing advancements in technology, like apps or wearable technology that can help improve health, Friedmann said. A reminder on your watch that tells you to stand up and move around. The trials would be available to people with cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and other ailments, he said. Im an addictions researcher, Friedmann said . I could help research new therapies for addiction. Doctors can conduct such research form a regular clinic or office, he said but its hard. The centers at 3300 Main St. in Springfield and at the Greenfield hospital will have offices, exam rooms, consultation rooms where patients meet with researchers, a phlebotomy section for taking blood samples of test subjects, and a laboratory for working with biological samples, Friedmann said. And if someone needs infusion for a cancer treatment, they would continue to do that at our cancer center, Friedmann said. The satellite unit in Greenfield will be built after the Springfield center. It will give researchers access to a rural population. That can be a tough task for researchers based at major medical institutions in big cities. Keroack emphasized that Baystate is one health system and that it is important to bring resources to hospitals outside of Springfield when the opportunity exists. Baystate Health has about 30 clinical trials going on right now. Friedmann said he hopes to expand that number five-fold by 2023. SPRINGFIELD The owners of Springfield Plaza think housing might be a viable redevelopment option for at least parts of the sprawling 72-acre complex in the citys Liberty Heights neighborhood. That property needs to transition into uses that are more in demand, said Charles Irving, president of Boston-based Davenport Companies, one of the owners of the plaza and the company that takes the lead in managing the property. Retail is suffering. Irving said hes already talking with city officials about plans for the plaza, at 1225-1395 Liberty St., and he expects to have a plan developed by the end of summer. While the plans could still change, Irving said he anticipates building new structures on Springfield Plaza property where there are no buildings now. That way he could meet a demand for housing and provide a customer base for retailers and service providers in the plaza. Irving hopes to convert empty retail space to office use. The plaza has already seen part of a former movie theater repurposed for a Registry of Motor Vehicles branch and an indoor trampoline park. "That's one thing I can offer office tenants, almost unlimited parking," he said. Kevin Kennedy, the citys chief economic development officer, said Friday that the city is working with Irving and his group. Shopping malls or plazas must adapt to the changing retail climate. The owners are thinking creatively about the future, Kennedy said. Its important for the city to recognize the need for change. The Eastfield Malls owners are still working on their proposal to convert that property to a mixed-use village in the city complex called Eastfield Commons. A Chicago-area developer is working on a deal to buy Vibra Hospital on State Street and covert it to housing. Springfield Plaza was Springfield Airport from 1929 to 1955 and home base for the Granville Brothers and their Gee-Bee Aircraft, which dominated high-speed air races in the 1930s. The plaza once boasted a J.M. Fields Department store. But recent years have been tough. The Kmart closed in 2017 and is still vacant. The Savers secondhand store closed earlier this year along with a Payless Shoe store and there seems to be little demand for the empty retail space in a plaza that totals more than 400,000 square feet. Springfield Plaza has a Rockys hardware store, a Stop & Shop and Plaza Liquors, along with recently added OReilly Auto Parts. An office tower at Springfield Plaza has been vacant for years, serving now only as a home for communications antennae. Irvings company broke ground last week on a CVS drugstore at the Davenport Square project on Main Street near MGM Springfield. Davenport has two other residential projects in Springfield in the pipeline: the redevelopment of the Willys-Overland building at 151-157 Chestnut St. and a recently purchased downtown building on nearby Lyman Street. Work hasnt begun on either of those projects, but Irving said to expect a groundbreaking at Willys-Overland soon. As some readers may know, my musical past has some firm roots in Holyoke. My former band, Cardiac Kids, was based there, so it familiar territory for me. So when Jamie Kent recently wrote to me about a new record he produced, I was happy to see it was by Holyoke native Fran OConnell, and features Cardiac Kids drummer Rich Adelson, who is now OConnells regular beatkeeper. Kent produced the record half in his new Nashville digs and half at Sonelab in Easthampton. [Fran] has made some pretty big strides the past couple of years, and the stories behind some of these new songs are pretty damn vulnerable, Kent said of the new material. The record will be celebrated at a release party on Saturday, June 15, at The Warehouse? in Holyoke. After losing his mayoral race in 2015 and the sudden, unforeseen death of his brother, OConnell found himself in a dark place. This led him to his guitar and a pad of paper, where he found that writing songs was the greatest healing tool he had. My world had become a microcosm of everything happening in our country. Too much fighting and too many things trying to pull me apart from the people and things I love most, OConnell said. I needed an outlet to express how I really felt, and music was it. He then turned to Kent to help him hone the songs into a cohesive record. When Franny played me these songs, I thought that I hadnt heard something this vulnerable and honest in a really long time, Kent said. I was honored to help Fran build recordings that would honor the songs, and enhance their emotion. The songs span subjects from love to childhood trauma to his time serving in the Army. I think after the mayoral race, I really felt a good deal of judgement and division amongst so many people that I grew up with and have loved my whole life. The album and its title (I Am You) are my way of healing personally, but also my attempt at trying to heal the divide within my community, OConnell said. The release party will feature OConnell and his band (featuring Adelson, Joe Boyle, Dave Stern, Dinah Steward, and Beau Sasser). Peter Newland will open the night at 7 p.m., and tickets are available in advance at www.frannyo.com. The Wherehouse? is at 109 Lyman St. in Holyoke. Scouting report The Outcrops bring their wide musical smorgasbord of rocknroll, blues, funk, R&B, old country and jazz to the Theodores stage on Thursday night. Theodores is at 201 Worthington St. in Springfield. The Healys with Charlie Bongiovi are slated to perform at Donovans Irish pub at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield on Friday night. Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon joins forces with Jeremy Clyde of Chad & Jeremy for a June 14 show at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton. Do you have a cool event coming up at a local club? Send me a note about it at least two weeks in advance to geolenker@yahoo.com and Ill try to get it in this space. ALADDIN - TWO AND A HALF STARS - (PG) Guy Ritchie directs this live action version of the popular Disny animated tale. Will Smith takes on the role of the genie who transforms a poor boy into a charming prince in order to marry the beautiful princess, Jasmine. (128 min.) AVENGERS: ENDGAME - THREE STARS - (PG-13) The grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios grand conclusion to twenty-two films. Endgame, at its best moments, carries the thrill of classic comic-book twists and reversals. (181 min.) DARK PHOENIX - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) In this latest chapter in the X-Men saga, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force during a rescue mission in space. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful, but far more unstable. (120 min.) DETECTIVE PIKACHU - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG) A neutered Ryan Reynolds tries hard but cant make this live action-meets-animated movie gel. Its plodding and listless and really not funny or smart enough. Live-action feature film adaptations of video games have proved a dicey proposition in the past. For every Mortal Kombat theres a Prince of Persia. This one just feels like a venal money grab from a mega corporation. (104 min.) GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Big on special effects, but light on story, Godzilla takes on Mothra, Rodan, and the three-headed King Ghidorah in this sci-fi monster yarn. (123 min.) THE HUSTLE - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway star as a pair of con artists plying their trade in a seaside town in the south of France in this uninspiring comedy. (93 min.) THE INTRUDER - ONE AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) The thriller stars Michael Ealy and Meagan Good as a young couple who move into their dream home in Napa Valley after chancing upon a seller: the mysteriously eager and mysteriously clingy retiree and widower played by Dennis Quaid. (101 min.) JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM - THREE STARS - (PG-13)Assassin John Wick (Keanu Reeves) returns in the third installment of the action franchise with a $14 million price tag on his head and bounty-hunters on his trail. (131 minutes) LATE NIGHT - THREE STARS - (R) Smart, timely, and brought to life by a terrific cast, Late Night with Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling is a workplace comedy with a lot of heart and just as many laughs. (102 min.) LONG SHOT - THREE STARS - (R) A romantic comedy with a political edge starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, as a woman with presidential ambitions falling for her speechwriter. (155 min.) MA - TWO AND A HALF STARS - (R) Octavia Spencers performance overpowers many of Mas flaws, but uneven pacing and a labored story keep this thriller from fully realizing its unhinged potential. (110 min.) ROCKETMAN - TWO AND A HALF STARS - (PG-13) Like its flamboyant subject, this Elton John biopic is outfitted to the nines in dazzle and verve, even if its gotten all dressed up with nowhere to go but the most conventional places. (120 min.) TOLKIEN - TWO STARS - (PG-13) A worthy biopic of the author, but it lacks the imagination required to truly do its subject justice. (111 min.) (Star ratings based on The Washington Post, Associated Press, Rotten Tomatoes aggregation and Advance Digital reviews) The YMCA of Greater Westfield held their Totally 80s Party fundraiser was held at Westfield State University 17-year-old Methuen high school student is being treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder after he was shot while sitting in a car, then pushed from the vehicle. Methuen police said the boy was discovered lying in the street when police responded to an emergency call to Davis Street at about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, reported. The victim was transported to Lawrence General Hospital but later flown by helicopter to Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston. Police said no suspects have been identified, but they did say they are searching for a small, dark-colored car. An attorney for actor and sexual assault defendant Kevin Spacey made explosive allegations against the Cape & Islands District Attorneys Office in a court hearing Monday, claiming that prosecutors have known since 2017 that Heather Unruh deleted text messages from her sons phone before turning it over to state troopers. Standing next to a silent Spacey, who made an unexpected in-person appearance at the Nantucket District Court hearing, attorney Alan Jackson read from a newly disclosed report from the trooper who acquired the alleged victims phone in November of 2017. Heather informed investigators she had gone through the phone to remove anything related to anything she described as related to [the alleged victims] fratboy activities, " the report said, according to Jackson. Prosecutors then went a year-and-a-half without sharing that exculpatory information had been deleted from the phone, Jackson alleged. Are you kidding?" he said in court. Prosecutors have since turned over a forensic report on Unruhs sons phone. At Mondays hearing, Jackson claimed that report was insufficient, asking a judge to give him full access to both Unruh and her sons cell phones so the defense could conduct an independent examination. And he doubled down on allegations that Assistant District Attorney Michael Giardino had falsely told the defense that prosecutors did not have possession of the phone or its information, forcing them to waste time and money filing motions until the DAs office admitted otherwise in April. That is absolutely unacceptable. Its outrageous, And it should never ever happen in a court of law," Jackson said. He told an officer of the court me something that was completely false. Cape & Island First Assistant District Attorney Brian S. Glenny disputed Jacksons claims, saying prosecutors had been willing to share information but that the defense had delayed on agreeing to a protective order. He did not address Jacksons allegations about the deleted texts, saying that could be argued in a future motion. The commonwealth categorically denies that there was any affirmative, conscious misrepresentation made at any time by ADA Giardino," Glenny said, arguing that Jacksons public outrage was for the benefit of the media. If I got caught like the commonwealth got caught, I would say its a miscommunication too," Jackson replied. "But its absolutely not true. Spacey was charged with sexual assault in January following allegations that he groped the 18-year-old son of former WCVB news anchor Heather Unruh during a night out at Nantuckets Club Car bar and restaurant in 2016. Unruh publicly accused Spacey of the assault in a 2017 press conference, leading to an investigation by the Massachusetts State Police. Spacey was first publicly accused of sexual assault by Star Trek: Discovery actor Anthony Rapp, who said in the midst of the #MeToo movement in 2017 that Spacey made sexual advances to him in 1986, when Rapp was 14 years old. A dozen men in total have accused Spacey of sexual misconduct, though the allegations from Unruhs son are the only ones thus far to lead to criminal charges. Unruhs son told State Police that on Spacey assaulted him on July 7, 2016, when Unruhs son was working as a bus boy at the Club Car restaurant and bar. According to prosecutors, Spacey groped the alleged victim without his consent after buying him drinks all night. A state police report filed in Nantucket District Court said that the case against Spacey includes Snapchat video of the actor allegedly touching the front of the alleged victims pants. Jackson argued in court that the information received so far shows that Unruh and her son cherry-picked or manipulated texts when sharing them with investigators. He cited one example, saying that at 1:41 a.m. that morning Unruhs son responded to his girlfriend urging him to leave with the following messages: Should I actually? Help. Picture." When he shared the phone with police, Jackson said, only one word from that communication remained: Help. Another pretrial conference in Spaceys case has been scheduled for July 8. SPRINGFIELD Life sciences startups in Springfield, Amherst, Pittsfield, Lowell and Worcester can now get as much as $250,000 in early investment money through a new program announced Monday by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center. The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center said its new Seed Fund will have $1 million available in its first year. The funding is available in convertible notes, a form of short-term debt that converts into equity in the company in conjunction with a later funding round. With convertible notes, the investor is paid back with a share in the company. information on applying is available at masslifesciences.com/programs/seedfund. It's a rolling fund, so as startups pay back the money, they'll full the fund back up with money, said Massachusetts Life Sciences President and CEO Travis McCready. He announced the new funding, details are available here, at a tour of the Springfield Innovation Center on Bridge Street, home to Valley Venture Mentors which helps new companies grow and get startup funding just like this. McCready also announced Monday a $3.94 million Massachusetts Life Sciences grant to Baystate Health for clinical trials centers in Springfield and at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield. This is part of the equation, he said. Its great to have these anchor institutions doing (multidisciplinarian) medicine. Its great to do the workforce investment in our high schools, vocational technical schools and community colleges. But in order to generate true self-sustaining economic returns you also have to have entrepreneurship." The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center's goal is to spread the Commonwealth's growing life science's industry Massachusetts has more life sciences workers than any state except California out beyond Boston. "This will allow us to invest in startup companies that will probably spun out of places like Baystate Medical Center," McCready said. The cities where the funding is available Springfield, Lowell, Worcester, Amherst and Pittsfield all have some of the key ingredients already, said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center Spokesman Joseph P. Sullivan. The Life Sciences Center included Amherst on the list cities because of the work already being done at UMass Amherst in these subject fields and the availability of incubator space for labs and offices. VVM and the help it provides startups is a big reason why Springfield is on the list, McCready said. VVM moved into the innovation center this spring. At VVM, we work with startups from all industries and recognize the critical role that seed funding plays in the success of high potential ventures, said VVM CEO Kristin Leutz. For this reason, we are very excited about Mass Life Science Center's new Seed Fund. The life sciences in particular are strong in Western MA with many world-class learning institutions here in the region that create opportunities to bring scientists' brilliant work into practical application in business. We are proud for the part that we can play in helping support the life sciences in entrepreneurship. The Life Sciences Center received a $300,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Commerces Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the launch, scale, and formation of the fund. As a requirement of this grant, the $300,000 in federal funding must be matched with additional funding. SPRINGFIELD The Pioneer Valley Transit Authority showed off its new $55 million, state-of-the-art operations and maintenance center on Cottage Street Monday, saying the facility enhances its mission of providing vital transportation to the region including thousands of low-income riders. State and federal legislators, area mayors, representatives of state and federal agencies, and PVTA officials were among the dozens of people attending the ribbon cutting ceremony. "We're very excited," PVTA Administrator Sandra Sheehan said. "The drivers, staff and everyone have been very pleased. We are going to be able to create efficiencies by operating out of this facility. We were at a very small location. It was overcrowded and its configuration was less than ideal." The relocation in April was the culmination of nine years of planning, design and construction, Sheehan said. Construction funds were provided by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, with the Federal Transit Administration funding pre-construction costs. Mayor Domenic J. Sarno congratulated PVTA on its new facility, saying transportation is extremely important for people needing to get to work, school, appointments and other destinations, and extremely important for workforce development. U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal said the most important efficiency in life is the ease in which we get from one point to another. "And that is part of the mission statement of the PVTA," Neal said, citing Monday's event as "a day of achievement" and the culmination of a team effort by involved officials. State Sen. Eric Lesser said the PVTA is the second largest transit system in Massachusetts behind the MBTA in Boston. The new facility is about serving vulnerable communities and about doing the most to catalyze communities and provide opportunity to lift people up, Lesser said. "Two thirds of the riders of the PVTA are low income, more than 60 percent are men and women of color, and more than 60 percent, if this ride was taken away, if this access were restricted would have no other way to get around," Lesser said. The PVTA had been operating out of the Springfield Street Railway Trolley Barn in the North End for the past 44 years. While the trolley barn was just 78,000 square feet, the new facility is 225,0000 square feet and is located on 18 acres of land. The general contractor was Fontaine Brothers Inc. of Springfield. State Reps. Carlos Gonzalez and Bud Williams were among legislators who said the PVTA serves a large number of low-income riders who need the bus service for work, school, doctor appointments and other vital needs. "This is about the quality of life, quality of health, quality of employment opportunities, economic development for many of the residents that I represent," said Gonzalez, of Springfield. "Low income community folks need to have transportation and affordable transportation to get to all those appointments that are important to their lives." Gonzalez also saw regional transportation system as a key component to fighting poverty. And what does that have to do with the price of Corona in Texas? One imagines some wiseacre White House aide asking that question after President Donald Trump decided, from out of the blue, to slap tariffs on all exports from Mexico unless the government there greatly stems the flow of immigrants to and across our nation's southern border. That there's no causal or logical connection between one and the other seems not to have occurred to Trump, however. Or to bother him. Because he loves tariffs, and threats of more tariffs. The latest plan -- and to call it a plan is to give it much more credit than it deserves -- Would impose a 5 percent tariff on all exports from Mexico beginning on June 10, with an additional 5 percent to be added each month up to 25 percent -- unless Mexico substantially ends the flow of migrants. And how would success be measured? By Trump, and Trump alone. Which goes a good distance toward explaining why the president so loves tariffs and threats of tariffs. A few numbers tell a nightmarish tale. Last year, Mexico's exports to the United States totaled some $371 billion. Add 25 percent to that, and you are talking nearly $93 billion. Call it a tariff, or call it a levy, but what it is, at the end of the day, is a needless tax on American consumers. It's $93 billion out of the pockets of people in our nation who drink beer or buy automobiles or eat foods of all sorts. Imagine Trump's revamped 2020 re-election campaign slogan: Make America more expensive again. Seems a bit lacking, doesn't it? It's always possible, of course, that the whole thing is a threat that will never come to pass. One could imagine Trump announcing that he's had a "very beautiful" conversation with Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, that great progress has suddenly been made, and that the threatened tariffs will be put on hold for 60 or 90 or 120 days or some such. Unless he changes his mind and decides to slap them on again sooner, of course. Because of what's been happening at the border, don't you know. Trump has taken two things that are unrelated, linked them, at least in his own mind, and wants to pull all the levers himself, based on little more than his own feelings. This is no way to run trade policy. Or immigration. If only our federal government had a coequal branch -- an elected legislative body, say -- that could stop the nations chief executive from acting unilaterally on this. Oh, wait -- theres the Congress, which could do just that. If Republicans in the Senate grew a spine. If you think Google is your buddy, you'd do well to think again. In fact, the ubiquitous search giant is more like a high-school bully who is the son of an unimaginably rich couple of know-it-alls who repeatedly told their kid that his privileged, entitled upbringing placed him out of reach and beyond reproach. Forever and ever, amen. But privilege may get one only so far. The company that most folk think of as Google is just one of the entities under the umbrella of its parent, Alphabet Inc. But what a company it is. The old threat from the tough guys -- I know where you live -- has been rendered obsolete in our era. These days, Google knows where you go, what you read, who your friends are and what they care about, what you may be thinking of purchasing -- and all of that is just for starters. Back in 2011, when the Occupy Wall Street protests began in Lower Manhattan, protestors focused, in part, on the outsized powers of the nation's largest financial institutions. Their fears seemed, at minimum, not unfounded. There were a small number of unelected, unaccountable people operating beyond the reach, and the understanding, of the masses over which they exerted such control. How quaint that all seems now. Unlike Google, the Wall Street giants didn't know your every thought. Taking on Google will be no mean feat. Though the Justice Department has lots of lawyers and great power, it begins to seem so very puny when placed beside Google. Which only starts to explain the problem. There was a time when AT&T seemed out of reach, too. After all, the telecom giant had been thought of by many as the telephone company. But the Justice Department didn't sit pat, worked its antitrust magic, and the competition and innovation we all now take for granted was the result of splitting up the phone company. Imagine the same sort of thing happening with Google and its many online variants. Google is today's telephone company, the Ma Bell of our era. The battle wont be an easy one, but its one thats got to be fought. There will never be another generation quite like the Greatest Generation, but there are ways all of our current generations can be better. We can start by learning the lessons that were taught on June 6, 1944, when Allied forces landed on the shores of Normandy, France to rescue Europe from the grip of the devil. The soldiers who died on D-Day, and those who survived, were answering a greater call than that for immediate glory. They were not putting their lives on the line for the sake of a better economy, a better paycheck or a nicer home or car. They understood there were values much greater and more intrinsic at stake. They were fighting for freedom, the right to live and the right for future generations to have opportunities that many of them products of a previous world war and a devastating Great Depression did not. This years 75th anniversary of D-Day is especially poignant as the number of survivors is reduced each day. By the 80th anniversary in 2024, the youngest D-Day survivor would be 98. Soon after that, they will all be gone. Those who remain admit concern they will be forgotten. Sadly, they are correct. Historys great battles and greater causes were all followed by societys promise they would never be forgotten, only to be consigned to the pages of history, limited to documentaries, on target-audience cable channels or movies that take liberty with the truth, and removed from ordinary public awareness and understanding. But the soldiers of D-Day were fighting for intangible causes, and therein came their strength. They were not fighting for a specific demographic group, geographic region or segment of America. They were not defending the values of the Democratic or Republican Party or any single ideology. They believed that America lived under one umbrella, one where jostling and disagreement naturally occurred underneath, but where our ultimate causes and goals were common. The heroes of D-Day were not perfect; within their ranks was prejudice, self-interest and bias because these soldiers were human, and those are traits of the human race. Yet they were able to put it aside for one glorious battle of an epic war. They saw the greater good and the bigger picture. In todays fractured America, dominated by petty insults and self-interest from all segments and political divisions, we have lost sight of the power in that. Yet that is the power of America, and it has carried us through many crises and tragedies. The optimists believe it will do so again, but those optimists seem few and far between and as their voices are drowned out by the bitterness, anger, resentment and snark from all directions. Instead of being guided by that noise, we should listen to the echoes of D-Day and those who served many knowing it could be their final day on Earth. They understood that all the infighting must cease at some point for the cause of a greater good, and that this could be done even in a nation of diversity, disagreement and ethnic, religious, geographic and political divisions. That was the soul of their greatness. It can still be the soul of ours. We dont have to be the Greatest Generations to do it, we must only be willing to follow their example and not keep settling for what we are settling for now, which is far less than the best we can be. President Donald Trump called for a boycott of AT&T, the corporate owner of cable news station CNN, in a tweet on Monday saying the network paints a false picture of the United States. Trump has often butted heads with CNN during his presidency, frequently saying the network covers his administration unfairly and distributes fake news. I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldnt they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad! Trump tweeted Monday morning. The president tweeted from the United Kingdom, where he will meet with heads of state this week. Gov. Charlie Baker has ordered flags in the commonwealth be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims killed in the shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center May 31. All American and commonwealth flags will be lowered to half-staff at all state buildings beginning immediately and ending at sunset on Tuesday, June 4. This includes flags at the main or administrative buildings for all public institutions in the commonwealth, state-owned or state-controlled buildings and state military installations. Police say that on Friday Dewayne Craddock, a longtime city employee, killed 12 people before he was shot by officers in Virginia Beach. At a glance, it looks like a memory stick. Eonsmokes Instagram page has multiple posts featuring long sticks with the USB cable, which are actually e-cigarettes. In a Jan. 15, 2018 post, cited in a lawsuit filed Thursday, the caption reads. Mom! Its a USB Drive!! That Instagram post is one of several examples the Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office cited in its lawsuit against Eonsmoke LLC, alleging the New Jersey-based e-cigarette company is targeting underage consumers for its nicotine products. For years, medical researchers and government agencies have argued against marketing tactics that they say draw consumers to e-cigarette products, including advertising flavored products. But Attorney General Maura Healeys lawsuit filed last week in Suffolk Superior Court is one of several complaints nationwide that point to social media marketing as part of the problem. According to a 2018 U.S. Surgeon Generals advisory, e-cigarettes have become the most commonly used tobacco product among young people, its use increasing 78 percent among high school students compared to a year earlier. The advisory states that an average of 1 in 5 high school students and 1 in 20 middle school students use e-cigarettes, which can lead to nicotine addiction and affect their neurological development. Healeys lawsuit estimates that tens of thousands of minors in Massachusetts are using e-cigarettes, a state where the minimum age to buy tobacco products is 21. The lawsuit argues that many young people believe these products are simply flavored water due to online marketing strategies. Eonsmoke stopped selling its vaping products in Massachusetts in September. The Massachusetts Attorney Generals Office had sent a cease and desist letter alleging that Eonsmoke had violated state law by selling to minors, noting that the company had no age verification program on its website until August and that it sold vaping products online without verifying the customers age. Healeys lawsuit focuses on Eonsmokes advertising company, arguing it still marketed its products in Massachusetts. The lawsuit claims that Eonsmokes Instagram posts mix product promotions with references to popular culture, memes, profanity and sexual imagery. Some examples include a reference to the Simpsons character Ralph Wiggum in a Feb. 25, 2018, post and a photograph of an M&Ms wrapper and e-cigarette with hashtags such as #dankmemes" and #college." Then theres the Instagram post where the vape is concealed as a USB drive. One user comments on the Instagram post that he told his father the vape was a USB drive, and he actually fell for it. Its unclear how old the user is. Eonsmoke did not respond to requests for comment from MassLive. Michael Tolmach, Eonsmokes cofounder and CEO, told the Boston Globe in an e-mail last week that the company has concerns about youth vaping but had not reviewed Healeys complaint. Healey argues that Eonsmokes marketing strategy relies on hashtags that are popular with young consumers, including #vapetricks" and smok. The lawsuit focused on not only the use of these hashtags but how many likes the posts get. They range from the USB drive posts 404 likes to another post featuring social media celebrity Steve Emerson getting more than 22,000 likes" on the Eonsmoke Instagram page, according to the lawsuit. By tagging its posts with these hashtags, Eonsmoke knows or should that it will reach a youth audience by placing its advertising into the stream of posts on the pages of followers of those hashtags, many of whom are underage," Healey argues. Eonsmokes campaigns featured other internet celebrities, but Emerson came under scrutiny for his YouTube videos featuring his JUUL vape and allegedly downplaying the effects of vaping and addiction. Emerson has thousands of Instagram followers and YouTube subscribers. Soon after those YouTube videos, Emerson starred in more than 30 video advertisements for Eonsmoke, including the one that got 22,000 likes. MassLive has reached out to Emerson requesting comment. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey filed a lawsuit against Eonsmoke, LLC, alleging they're targeting underage consumers on social media. In a meeting with MassLive and Republican reporters, Healey said that the e-cigarette industrys advertising strategy is even worse than the tobacco industrys efforts a generation earlier. You can say that Big tobacco, back when they were doing stuff in the 50s 60s and 70s, maybe they didnt have all the science in ... big tobacco was making efforts to grow their market by making it look appealing and healthy even," she said. The reason I say its worse in some sense, we know the effects of nicotine on developing brain function and lungs on 12, 13 and 14 year olds, she added. For this company and companies out there in this space, to go ahead and try to target and really exploit the vulnerable is wrong. The Massachusetts attorney general isnt the first to make this argument, though they have mostly been directed at the another e-cigarette company named JUUL Labs. North Carolina filed a lawsuit against e-cigarette company JUUL in Durham County Superior Court earlier this month, alleging that JULL is targeting young consumers and downplaying the impact of nicotine. That complaint says that JUUL has deliberately chosen social media platforms and marketing strategies that appeal to underage consumers, including featuring young models and social media influencers" who are popular among teenagers. A federal class-action lawsuit filed by the parents of a Florida teen also argues JUUL took a page out of the Big Tobacco" advertising strategy. The lawsuit states that these techniques include viral marketing campaigns involving social media influencers and colorful ad campaigns that promote the products as cool or attractive. Erin and Jared NesSmith allege that their daughter, only identified as A.N., started having seizures as a complication of nicotine ingestion, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. JUUL representative Ted Kwong told the Herald-Tribune that the product is only intended for current adult smokers. We do not want nonnicotine users, especially youth, to ever try our product, he said. JUUL had already come under fire for targeting young people with flavored e-cigarettes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent more than 1,300 warning letters and fines to retailers who illegally sold JUUL and similar products to minors in September 2018. The agency had also sent letters to several companies, including JUUL, requiring them to send documents that would help explain the reportedly high rates of use among young consumers and the youth appeal. JUUL said it was pulling its flavored products from stores and was pledging $30 million for an advertising campaign that aims to combat underage use of nicotine vaping products. Healeys lawsuit accused Eonsmoke of appealing to JUUL customers by promoting flavored products that are compatible with the other companys devices, using hashtags such as #juulnation," #juulgang and juulmemes. Healey argues the result is that students are exposed to vaping products with nicotine as early as middle school. She said she has heard from teachers, school nurses and principals who say the products are prevalent in their classrooms. The play is to create a whole new market of consumers and that market is really young people, she said. SPRINGFIELD Sunday turned out to be a good day to paint the town red - and blue and green and yellow. Despite an initial forecast that called for rain by midday, there was plenty of time for artists and members of the community to put colorful designs and scenes on large exterior walls downtown, courtesy of Fresh Paint Springfield, a mural festival running through June 8. The goal is to transform 10 nondescript buildings into a free walkable outdoor art gallery, according to organizers. Thirty-five nationally-recognized and local mural artists have joined in the effort, using 1,500 cans of spray paint and 500 gallons of liquid paint. In all, more than 20,000 square feet of murals will be painted. On Sunday morning, not every mural site was a palatte of activity. Every artist has a different process and a different level of complexity, and a different process. said Todd Harris, of 42 design fab in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield, who was helping to coordinate the logistics for Fresh Paint Springfield. Some artists needed to show up early ... putting their headphones on and painting, so they can go much faster. Several artists have gotten a head start, while others are just getting their feet on the ground now, he added. Harris said a large mural on State Street under the Interstate 91 underpass was created by Springfield artist John Simpson, who has been at it for a week or so. The mural depicts Dr. Seuss and his characters. In the vicinity of Main, Hampden and Taylor streets, Raysa Raquel, Sharon Gonzalez and Salome Cortes, of Colectivo Morivivi from Puerto Rico, worked on two murals, one of which showed large expanses of ocean. Its about the community of Puerto Ricans in Springfield, Raquel said. This represents the view people are seeing as they are leaving their island. The artists, who said they have been working on the murals all week, said the artwork on Taylor Street interacts with another mural across the street on Hampden Street, which shows the view Puerto Ricans see when they arrive in Springfield or any other city in the United States. Its looking into the window of a Puerto Rican home, and shows what you have to leave, and what you have to adapt to, Gonzalez said. At Tower Square Park on June 1, artists began painting small murals that will be installed throughout Springfield during the summer. Paint parties at the park will continue on June 5 and 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. The family of Cleucilene Alves da Silva is searching for answers after the 41-year-old was slain Friday night in what loved ones call an unspeakable act of aggression. Antonio Lucas, who is charged with murder in the stabbing death of Alves da Silva, told police at the scene of the crime on Friday that he was upset with his former girlfriend and stabbed her with a kitchen knife, according to court documents. A GoFundMe page set up by friends remembers Cleo" as a woman of faith, a dedicated mother and a faithful friend. Cleo became another victim of domestic violence. Her life was taken brutally, the fundraiser reads. The Brazilian community shook with this tragic and unbelievable news. We are all still trying to understand and accept her abrupt departure. Lucas, 40, was arraigned Monday in Worcester District Court on the murder charge through a Portuguese interpreter. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf and he was ordered held without bail. His case returns to court July 11. Prosecutor Michael McHugh called the case one of domestic violence. Alves da Silva was identified as the victim of the stabbing by her son. Lucas was interviewed and stated that he was upset with the victim so he stabbed the identified female victim using a kitchen knife, court documents read, adding that Lucas and Alves da Silva previously dated. Worcester police were dispatched to 27 County St. just after 9 p.m. Friday for a report of a stabbing. When officers arrived, they were flagged down by witnesses who said a friend was a stabbed inside the residence, according to police and court documents. Officers saw Lucas exiting the front door, court documents read, with red and brown stains on his shirt and pants. The stains were consistent with blood, according to court documents. Lucas was placed in handcuffs. There was a large amount of blood on the floor near the front door, court documents read, and a trail of blood drops led officers through the living room and toward a stairway to the basement. In the basement, officers found the victim suffering from numerous stab wounds, court documents read. Alves da Silva was pronounced dead at 9:22 p.m., McHugh said. The medical examiner has accepted the case and will determine a cause and manner of death. Two witnesses identified Lucas as the person who stabbed Alves da Silva, court documents read. Blake Rubin, Lucass defense attorney, said his client is a U.S. citizen who works as a landscaper. The victims son, Lucas Silva, said in an interview that his mother moved to the United States from Brazil 14 years ago. She worked as a housekeeper. With hope in her heart - something we can all relate to - she decided to try a better life in the United States, leaving her two children in Brazil 14 years ago, the GoFundMe page reads. A fighter, she finally managed to reunite with one of her boys - Lucas - a year ago. Thanks to her relentless effort, Lucas now lives in the United States and enjoys the dream she has always had for her small family. The GoFundMe page has raised $3,694 of a $25,000 goal as of Monday morning. Her enthusiasm and positivity was contagious, she simply loved life and had big dreams for her and her beautiful children Lucas Getulio da Silva, 21 e Philipe Getulio da Silva, 18, the page reads. As a community, we have a duty to unite and help her family with all the support they need. Being young and full of life, Cleo and her children did not expect or even plan for such an event," the page continues. "A funeral in this country is expensive, but we can alleviate some burden with donations to the family in order to properly honor her memory. A 51-year-old Leominster man with a reported strangulation fetish pleaded guilty to an involuntary manslaughter charge in court after he admitted to strangling 42-year-old Corrinna Santiago with a necktie during sex just under two years ago. James P. Vaillancourt was facing a murder charge, but his defense lawyer and prosecutors agreed that the charge would be reduced to involuntary manslaughter. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker sentenced Vaillancourt to serve 15-to-17-years in prison on Monday in Worcester Superior Court. He was given 694 days credit for the days he remained in custody while his criminal case was ongoing. Search warrants filed in the criminal case show Vaillancourt told a nurse he drove around for two days in July 2017 while Santiago lay dead inside his home. Massachusetts State Police Trooper Douglas Grout said in the search warrant that Vaillancourt entered the Leominster Hospital Emergency Room on July 9, 2017, and said he needed to speak to the police. Special prosecutor John H. Melander Jr. said Vaillancourt told the hospital staff that He hurt someone. Vaillancourt said he drove around for two days, unsure what to do. The prosecutor said days prior, Vaillancourt and Santiago met at his apartment at 69 Walnut St. in Leominster. The two consumed drugs and alcohol. Vaillancourt said he then blacked out. He awoke to find Santiago on the bedroom floor. Vaillancourt then left instead of calling anyone to get help for Santiago, Melander said. He drove around for two days until going to the hospital. Corrinna L. Santiago in a Facebook photo Police found Santiago dead on the floor in an upstairs bedroom at the home. She was covered with a sheet and was partially nude. A man's necktie was tied in a knot and found around Santiago's neck, investigators said. Melander said Santiago was killed during sex and Vaillancourt should have known the risk he put Santiago in as he indulged in his fetish. Santiagos mother, Virginia Santiago, said in a statement read by the prosecutor that Vaillancourt ripped her future away from her and her family. Santiago was never able to see her daughter graduate from college or her oldest daughter get married. She was never able to see her first grandson be born. Having her killed in the way she was killed, put a hole in my heart that will never heal, Virginia Santiago wrote. Investigators learned about Vaillancourts strangulation fetish after interviewing former girlfriends. On July 12, 2017, troopers spoke to an ex-girlfriend of Vaillancourt. The couple dated for two years. The woman told investigators that the couple had sex involving choking. "Approximately 14 times she participated in Vaillancourt's fetish to choke his female partner," Grout wrote. "She stated Vaillancourt often used a scarf or necktie to choke her." Vaillancourt had told people he was worried someone was going to get hurt during his fetish acts. He even told a former girlfriend he had been fantasizing about what would have happened if he hadnt stopped choking her," the search warrant affidavit said. Thursday, June 6 will mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the first day of the Allied invasion of Normandy in France during World War II. On that day, the Allied troops embarked on the greatest military invasion in world history. The Allied soldiers fought a massive bloody battle against the Germans starting on June 6, 1944 but were ultimately successful in the struggle to liberate Europe from the tyranny of Adolf Hitlers Third Reich. The Germans would surrender to the Allies in May 1945. To remember the 75th anniversary of D-Day, Historic Carson House is sponsoring a commemorative event to honor those veterans from McDowell County who served in World War II Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} On Thursday at 1 p.m., the historic house and museum will host World War II veterans, their families and guests for a patriotic program, reception and exhibition of artifacts and memorabilia. The event feature students from the McDowell High Chorus, the McDowell High NJROTC, the Greenlee Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the American Legion Post 56 and local officials. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. In this latest report on Disc Grinder Market the market size is expected to scale up to USD BN by the end of financial year 2025. This report valued the market at USD BN in 2018. After evaluating the various market drivers and market restraints the report expects a % of CAGR across the study period. The report takes a deep dig in the market with detailed analysis on the Revenue, Production, and Capacity from 2013 to 2025. The report also studies the marketing pricing, trends and extrapolates the growth rate for the next six years. The manufacturers data covered in the report assists in understanding the competitive scenario along with planning the capacity expansion plans. The latest developments such as the organic and inorganic growth adopted by the key players mentioned in the report, throws light on the strategic planning of the competitors, thus assisting in taking informed decisions. Ask for free sample report of Disc Grinder market @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-41902 This study also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. The following manufacturers are covered in this report: Bosch Stanley Black & Decker Makita TTI Hitachi Hilti Wurth Fein Dongcheng Tools Positec Machinery Devon Ken Tools Guoqiang Tools Boda Bosun Disc Grinder Breakdown Data by Type Electric Disc Grinder Pneumatic Disc Grinder Disc Grinder Breakdown Data by Application Metal Processing Wood Processing Construction Others Disc Grinder Production by Region United States Europe China Japan Other Regions Access Report and Full Table of Contents of @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ip/41902-disc-grinder-industry-market-report Table of Contents - Snapshot Chapter 1 Study Coverage Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Breakdown Data by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Breakdown Data by Product Chapter 5 Breakdown Data by End User Chapter 6 North America Chapter 7 Europe Chapter 8 Asia Pacific Chapter 9 Central & South America Chapter 10 Middle East and Africa Chapter 11 Company Profiles Chapter 12 Future Forecast Chapter 13 Market Opportunities, Challenges, Risks and Influences Factors Analysis Chapter 14 Value Chain and Sales Channels Analysis Chapter 15 Research Findings and Conclusion Chapter 16 Appendix Buy Full Research Report @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/buy-now-41902 About Us: is a Global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. is proficient in providing syndicated research Report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains. Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed. For More Details: E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.com Phone: +91-90-28-057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. In this latest report on Portable Electric Scooter Market the market size is expected to scale up to USD BN by the end of financial year 2025. This report valued the market at USD BN in 2018. After evaluating the various market drivers and market restraints the report expects a % of CAGR across the study period. The report takes a deep dig in the market with detailed analysis on the Revenue, Production, and Capacity from 2013 to 2025. The report also studies the marketing pricing, trends and extrapolates the growth rate for the next six years. The manufacturers data covered in the report assists in understanding the competitive scenario along with planning the capacity expansion plans. The latest developments such as the organic and inorganic growth adopted by the key players mentioned in the report, throws light on the strategic planning of the competitors, thus assisting in taking informed decisions. Ask for free sample report of Portable Electric Scooter market @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-41903 The following manufacturers are covered in this report, with sales, revenue, market share for each company: IO Hawk Segway Jetson Megawheels Glion Scooters Xiaomi Golabs Inc SWAGTRON MERCANE, Inc Market size by Product 250W 500W Others Market size by End User Children Adult Market size by Region North America United States Canada Mexico Asia-Pacific China Access Report and Full Table of Contents of @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ip/41903-portable-electric-scooter-industry-market-report Table of Contents - Snapshot Chapter 1 Study Coverage Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Breakdown Data by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Breakdown Data by Product Chapter 5 Breakdown Data by End User Chapter 6 North America Chapter 7 Europe Chapter 8 Asia Pacific Chapter 9 Central & South America Chapter 10 Middle East and Africa Chapter 11 Company Profiles Chapter 12 Future Forecast Chapter 13 Market Opportunities, Challenges, Risks and Influences Factors Analysis Chapter 14 Value Chain and Sales Channels Analysis Chapter 15 Research Findings and Conclusion Chapter 16 Appendix Buy Full Research Report @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/buy-now-41903 About Us: is a Global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. is proficient in providing syndicated research Report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains. Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed. For More Details: E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.com Phone: +91-90-28-057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ Technological innovation and implementation have scored well for dental industry and North America acts as the core for such research & developments. The North America dental equipment market is touted to reach USD 5,107.2 million by 2023 with a CAGR value of 6.23% during the forecast period (2017-2023), claims Market Research Future (MRFR) in a holistic report on the same. Growth of this North America dental equipment market can be attributed to better infrastructure that diagnose problems at an early stage and provides cure accordingly. On the flip side, the North America dental equipment market can get bogged down by poor reimbursement policies. Avail Free Sample Copy enabled with Complete TOC at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4625 Dental Equipment Market Insight: Major companies rely on strategies that include new product launch, merger, collaboration, acquisition, and other methods to take the North American dental equipment market forward. For instance, Institut Straumann AG acquired 30% stake from their biomaterials partner Botiss medical AG. Dentsply Sirona recently took over OraMetrix with an aim to improve their technological setup which can surely propel the North America dental equipment market. Some of the major players in this North American dental equipment market are Patterson Dental (US) Henry Schein (US) Dentsply Sirona (US) 3M (US) Straumann (Switzerland) Danaher Corporation (Switzerland) PLANMECA OY (Finland) Carestream Health Inc. and Biolase Inc. Dental Equipment Market Segmentation: The North American dental equipment market can be segmented by products, applications and end-user. Product-wise, the North American dental equipment market is segmented into Dental Radiology Equipment- Intra-Oral X-Rays Extra-Oral X-Rays 2d Imaging CBCT And Others Dental Sensor Dental X-Ray Sensors Phosphor Plate Sensors. Dental Hand Pieces Electric Hybrid And Air Driven CAD/CAM Software And Equipment Dental Chairs Electric And Hydraulic Dental Lasers Lasers for Soft Tissue And Lasers for Hard Tissue Casting Machines Injection Casting Machine Vacuum Casting Machine And Centrifugal Casting Machine. and others. Browse Complete Premium Research Report at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/north-american-dental-equipment-market-4625 Based on application, the North American dental equipment market is segmented into examining the mouth and teeth, scaling or professional cleaning of teeth, cavity removal, placing and condensing filling materials, carving and finishing dental fillings, and others. Based on the end-user, the North American dental equipment market is divided into hospital, dental clinics, dental laboratories, and others. Dental Equipment Market Regional Analysis: The North American dental equipment market has the U.S. in forefront where people have invested substantially in the healthcare sector and gaining much from it. Almost 77.4% of the regional market share can be attributed to the U.S. The region always embraces new products and research & development flourishes owing to this. Major international companies are based out of this region which gives the region leverage to profit more. Insurance companies are working round-the-clock promoting healthy living. The budget for health care in the U.S. holds 16% of the total GDP which can be taken as a signifier for the increasing sale of the dental equipment market. Canada is also contributing considerably in the North American dental equipment market growth. Inquire for an Exclusive Discount at https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/4625 Key Findings: Dental radiology equipment segment accounted for the largest market share of 32.6% in 2016. This market is expected to reach USD 1,577.7 million by 2023 by 2023 Dental Sensor segment is expected to be the second largest market which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.45% during the forecast period 2017-2023 during the forecast period 2017-2023 On the basis of region, U.S. accounted for the largest market share of 77.4% in the North America dental equipments market in the North America dental equipments market The North America dental equipments market is expected to reach USD 5,107.2 million by 2023 About Market Research Future: MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Global Healthcare Information Governance Solution (IGS) Market- Overview Healthcare information governance solution enables effective management of healthcare information. It involves processing, controlling, and retrievals of information in a suitable format when required. Information governance enables an organization to become adaptive and responsive to the changing demands of the market demands. One of the major goals of the information governance in healthcare is to centralize the fragmented data so as to increase its accessibility, thereby, relaxing the work flow. FREE SAMPLE COPY OF Healthcare Information Governance Solution (IGS) Market Research Report- Global forecast till 2023 @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/757 Factors such as growing stringency of regulations, rising noncompliance costs, and advancements in the processing power are driving the healthcare information governance solution (IGS) market. On the other hand, high costs for the information governance systems, cultures of secrecy, and traditional organization structures may restrain the market growth during the forecast period. The global healthcare information governance solution (IGS) market is growing with a sound pace. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the global healthcare information governance solution (IGS) market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The market is projected to demonstrate a sound growth by 2027, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value with a striking CAGR during the anticipated period (2017 2027). Global Healthcare Information Governance Solution (IGS) Market- Competitive Analysis Dell Inc., HP Autonomy, IBM, Symantec Corporation, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, nThrive, Inc, Veritas Technologies LLC, Information Governance Solutions, LLC., FTI Technology LLC, iDiscovery Solutions, Inc. are some of the prominent players at the forefront of competition in the Global Healthcare Information Governance Solution (IGS) Market and are profiled in MRFR Analysis. Characterized by the presence of several well-established and small players, the global healthcare information governance solution (IGS) Market appears to be highly competitive and fragmented. International players are expanding their footprint in the developing economy, making it difficult for regional vendors to compete with them, especially in terms of features such as product portfolios, quality, and pricing. The market is witnessing intensified competition which is expected to get more intensified further during the forecast period. The intense competition prevalent in the market dictates the consolidation among marketers. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, and product launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. In September 2016, Dell Inc. acquired EMC Corporation and created a unique family of businesses that would provide some of the essential infrastructure for organizations, so as to build their digital future, transform IT and protect their most important information assets. This combination created a $74 billion market leader with an expansive technology portfolio that could solve complex problems for customers in the industrys growing areas of hybrid cloud, software-defined data centre, converged infrastructure, platform-as-a-service, data analytics, mobility and cyber security. In November 2016, nThrive Inc., acquired Adreima, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based provider of patient-centered, clinically-integrated revenue cycle services that help patients find coverage and meet their financial obligations, while partnering with health care providers to optimize revenue cycle functions. In November 2016, Symantec Corp. and LifeLock, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement for Symantec to acquire LifeLock for $24 per share or $2.3 billion in enterprise value. The deal was approved by the boards of directors of both companies. In July 2017, Google acquired Halli Labs, a very young start-up based in Bengaluru, India, that was focused on building deep learning and machine learning systems. Global Healthcare Information Governance Solution (IGS) Market- Regional Analysis On the regional backgrounds the Americas leads the healthcare information governance solution (IGS) market owing to a well-developed healthcare sector and presence of the developed technologies like U.S. and Canada which have technological backgrounds for facilitating the market growth. Europe is second in the market. Healthcare in Europe is provided through a wide range of different systems which run at the national level. These systems have huge amount of database which require database management and protection. This makes the market to grow within the region. The Asia Pacific region is the fastest growing region due to the developing economies like India and China. The Middle East and Africa have the least market share, especially due to the presence of poor economies within the African region. Intended Audience Pharmaceutical Companies Biotechnological Institutes Government and Private Laboratories Research and Development (R&D) Companies Medical Research Laboratories Market Research and Consulting Service Providers TABLE OF CONTENT Chapter 1. Report Prologue Chapter 2. Market Introduction 2.1 Definition 2.2 Scope Of The Study 2.2.1 Research Objective 2.2.2 Assumptions 2.2.3 Limitations Chapter 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Primary Research 3.3 Secondary Research 3.4 Market Size Estimation Chapter 4. Market Dynamics 4.1 Drivers 4.2 Restraints 4.3 Opportunities 4.4 Challenges 4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators 4.6 Technology Trends & Assessment Chapter 5. Market Factor Analysis . OBTAIN RESEARCH REPORT DETAILS WITH TOC @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/healthcare-information-governance-solution-igs-market-757 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. Contact Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Primary Cells Market Overview The global primary cells market to exhibit a strong growth between 2018 and 2023. Market Research Future (MRFR) reports that the global primary cells market is poised to at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.5% during the projection period. Advanced and safe mechanical or enzymatic method are used to isolate cells from human or blood cells. Primary cells are engaged in a vast category of cell-based research owing to their pertinent cellular functions. Get Free Sample PDF @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/6296 Increased research activities focused on biopharmaceutical discovery and biotechnology, increased investment in cancer research, growing demand for monoclonal antibodies and higher healthcare expenditure are some of the key factor influencing the global primary cells market. Primary human cells are preferred over cell lines which also remains a positive factor. Unlike endothelial cell lines, endothelial cells retain most functional markers. Primary cells being a novel technology is relatively more expensive. At the same time, issue of cell contamination is yet to be effectively addressed. Primary Cells MarketCompetitive Landscape Some of the leading companies operating in the global Cell Biologics (US), ZenBio, Inc. (US), ALLCells (US), Axol Biosciences (UK), Thermo Fisher Scientific (US), Merck KGaA (Germany), Lonza (Switzerland), American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) (US), Promocell (Germany) and STEMCELL Technologies (Canada). Primary Cells Market Segmentation The global primary cells market has been segmented into origin, type, and end user. The market on the basis of origin has been segmented into skin cells, hematopoietic cells, gastrointestinal cells, liver cells, lung cells, renal cells, heart, skeletal and muscle cells, and others. The market on the basis of type has been segmented into human primary cells and animal primary cells. On the basis of end-user, the market has been segmented into research institutes and life science research companies. Enquire @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/6296 Global Primary Cells Market: Regional Segmentation Based on region, the market has been segmented into Europe, Americas, the Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Asia Pacific (APAC). The Americas cells market cover both South America and North America. The Europe primary cells market covers Eastern Europe and Western Europe. Key countries covered in the Asia Pacific primary cells market include China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and India. In terms of revenue, North America and South America collectively dominate the global primary cells market. Some of the key factors supporting the growth of the market in Americas include strong government backing for R&D, easy access to latest medical technologies and increased prevalence of cancer. Data released by National Cancer Institute revealed that nearly 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were recorded in the US in 2016. Europe in holds the second spot in terms of value. Healthcare remains a major area of focus for the EU. Over the years, several policies have been launched to improve health care services in the region. Advanced countries in Europe present attractive growth opportunities for market players. In 2016, the gross domestic expenditure on R&D activities was more than Euro 33 Bn as per the office for National Statistics. APAC is viewed as an emerging market for primary cells. The healthcare sector in APAC is witnessing tremendous growth, which is translating into opportunities for market players. Rising number of cancer cases, introduction favourable policies and pharmaceutical outsourcing are some of the factors supporting the market growth in APAC. Spending on medical science R&D institutes have surged in countries such as China and India, which is paving the way for the market to growth. The market in MEA is also expected to grow at a healthy pace but from a lower base. Many of the countries in MEA face issues such as underdeveloped healthcare infrastructure, limited access to services, etc. Table Of Content Report Prologue Market Introduction Research Methodology Market Dynamics Market Factor Analysis Global Primary Cells Market, By Origin Global Primary Cells Market, By Application Global Primary Cells Market, By Type Browse Full Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/primary-cells-market-6296 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members. Contact: Market Research Future Office No. 528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com by Ray Schultz , June 2, 2019 Gmail service went down in the UK and the Northeastern and Southwestern U.S. on Sunday afternoon, according to downdetector. But it appeared to be coming back in some areas. The problems began at 2:53 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon, and seemed to spike around 5 p.m. Of over 5,000 reports coming in to downdetector, 51% cited log-in difficulties, 42% were for failure to receive messages and 6% cited website problems. Gmail down in Ontario, Canada, writes one user in a message posted shortly after 6 p.m. Down in London even though status page suggest(s) its US only, writes another. Other users say Gmail isnt working on their iPhone, mail app on Mac or Outlook. One report came from as far afield as Indonesia. Attempting to log in in New York, a user received an error message: The server encountered a temporary error and could not complete your request. Moments later, the person was able to log in and send emails. Then it went down again. advertisement advertisement Another user says service is back up in San Diego. UPDATE, MONDAY MORNING: Google says it has resolved the issues that started on Sunday, affecting Google, G Suite, Google Cloud and YouTube. It blamed high levels of congestion, according to media reports. However, problems began again Monday morning, starting at 12:57 a.m., according to downdetector. I am at school trying to get ready to teach and I cannot access my calendar or my google drive, writes one user on downdetector. Your not the only ones with issues, I have same problem with gmail and google drive not loading...... should be an interesting day, writes another. UPDATE, MONDAY AFTERNOON: Problems have continued into Monday afternoon, hitting a peak around 4 p.m. ET, according to posts on downdetecor. "Gmail page will not load for last few hours," writes one user in a comment posted at around 4 p.m. ET. "Gmail not sending in NW Florida since 2:00 PM," writes another. Another Gmail user writes, "Since 7 am. PT: Taking forever to load and once loaded, no new emails arrive and cannot open or delete emails. Can get emails on iphone.": by Alex Weprin , June 3, 2019 Nielsen is expanding its measurement of YouTube. The measurement firm has announced a deal with Google to expand its Digital Ad Ratings measurement of YouTube to 26 new countries. Those countries include some major markets such as India, Mexico, Brazil, New Zealand, and Turkey. Nielsen first began measuring YouTube via DAR in 2017, exclusively in the U.S., and has been expanding it ever since. At its Brandcast event last month, YouTube said that it would participate in Nielsens Total Ad Ratings product. Many major advertisers are global in scale, and have been seeking cross-border measurement options to more efficiently allow them to buy in multiple regions. While Google offers its own measurement offerings, many brands rely on third-party solutions to supplement the in-house measurement. The Nielsen DAR product delivers age and gender demographics for YouTube, alongside reach, frequency and gross rating points. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, June 3, 2019 Lawmakers in Maine have passed a privacy bill that would require Internet service providers to obtain consumers' opt-in consent before drawing on their web activity for ad targeting. The measure, which awaits Governor Janet Mills' signature, largely re-creates a set of privacy rules passed in 2016 by the Federal Communications Commission, but revoked by Congress the following year. The Maine law, which would take effect in 2020, specifically prohibits broadband carriers from using, disclosing, selling or permitting access to customer personal information without people's explicit consent. The law also would prohibit carriers from either refusing service to people who don't consent to tracking or charging different rates to people based on whether they consent to tracking. The law's definition of personal information is relatively broad. It includes web-browsing history, precise geolocation information, IP addresses and device identifiers. advertisement advertisement If enacted, the Maine bill will only apply to companies that offer broadband access, like AT&T, and not to so-called edge companies like search engines or social networking platforms. The broadband industry (and other business groups) have often argued that internet access providers shouldn't be subject to tougher privacy rules than companies like Facebook or Google. But privacy advocates have countered that there are good reasons to treat Internet service providers differently -- including that ISPs have access to more information about subscribers' Web activity than any one content company, social media service, or ad network. If Mills signs the bill, Maine will join California in attempting to regulate online privacy. California's new privacy law, set to take effect next year, applies to a broader range of companies than the Maine measure. But California's measure takes an opt-out approach -- often seen as more business-friendly than the opt-in regime created by the Maine law. The California law allows consumers to learn what personal information about them is held by businesses, request deletion of that information, and to opt out of its sale. Dan Jaffe, executive vice president for government relations at the Association of National Advertisers, says the move in Maine shows a need for a national privacy law. It's another example of how we're going to get a totally balkanized regulatory framework, Jaffe says. He adds that a multitude of state laws will create an ever-greater regulatory nightmare for people who are operating on the internet. This drip by drip approach to privacy is going to be counterproductive for everybody, he says. by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, June 3, 2019 Century-old, family-owned luncheon meat company Carl Buddig and Company has launched a multichannel campaign that aims to reposition the brand to appeal to todays on-the-go, traditional-meal-averse consumers. The campaign spanning digital, mobile, TV, video, radio and in-store was created with Fusion92, a longtime roster agency for the Buddig company that was already digital agency of record for Buddigs other brands (including Old Wisconsin Sausage, Kingsford Ribs and BBQ Meats), and was recently named AOR for the Buddig brand. The entire ad buy is being executed digitally to allow for hyper-targeting consumers based on behavior and location, according to the company. The creative highlights Buddigs variety of sliced-to-go meats, in newly redesigned, convenient for any hour packaging. advertisement advertisement Three 15-second videos/TV spots offer humorous vignettes in which people of various ages realize that they dont have to wait until lunchtime to eat lunch meat. In one, Dad (above) and other family members discover the joys of night-owl sandwich eating. In another, Grandpa literally breaks with traditional lunchtime hours. The third (below) features hungry stomachs conversing through growls. While Buddig has continued to see growth through its focus on serving families, it understands that both families and how people consumer media have changed, says Buddig Executive Vice President Tom Buddig. This new campaign allows us to streamline the way we reach our consumers, by focusing less on demographics and more on their lifestyles. Essentially, were meeting our consumers where they are, with the right medium and message for them. Meatitative radio spots will ask listeners, What is the meaning of lunch? To highlight the products versatility across dayparts, hundreds of different headlines are being used on digital video and banner ads. Social media posts feature snackable food, photography and videos. Researchers already know that menopause affects the heart, but a new study suggests that changes start to take place in the years leading up to this phase. The study findings could change how doctors administer hormone replacement therapy. Share on Pinterest New research suggests that changes in heart health may occur sooner than scientists previously believed. The older a person gets, the more likely they are to develop heart disease. However, the risk of the condition which is the biggest killer of women in the United States increases even more during menopause. Experts believe that this is due to a drop in the levels of estrogen, as this hormone helps the arteries function properly. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is one way to treat the symptoms that this decline causes, but the fears surrounding this treatment have not subsided since decades-old research suggested a link to heart issues and cancer. The American Heart Association (AHA), for example, caution against using the therapy to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. A 2017 JAMA study found that women who took HRT tablets were no more likely to die of cardiovascular disease, cancer, or another cause within 18 years than women who did not take them. Despite this, people are still reluctant to try the treatment. Mimicking the perimenopausal period New findings suggest that HRT may be effective in protecting the heart, but not when people take it after the menopause, as is currently the norm. The new study, which appears in Acta Physiologica , focused on what happens to the heart during the years leading up to menopause. This period is called perimenopause. Previously, researchers only studied menopausal or postmenopausal hearts because scientists were unable to replicate the perimenopausal stage in mice. That changed when a team from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada found a way to achieve this. We could induce instant menopause in lab mice by removing their ovaries, but that doesnt recapture the gradual change of menopause, says senior author Prof. Glen Pyle. We now have a lab animal model in which we can make a mouses ovaries fail slowly over time to mimic the gradual transition to menopause seen in women. Testing the timing hypothesis As a result, a group of mice entered menopause slowly over 4 months. Their hearts appeared to look normal and function in the same way, but markers of stress appeared. So, its like a house that looks fine, but theres a leak in the foundation. The changes are hidden, but they are there, notes Prof. Pyle. The team administered drugs mimicking estrogen to the mice during perimenopause. Prof. Pyle states, We wanted to test the timing hypothesis: the idea that theres a window of opportunity for taking estrogen so that we could see if we could identify that window and determine how menopause impacted the response to estrogens. When they examined how the mices hearts responded to the estrogen, the researchers noted small but significant variations that indicated molecular changes in this vital organ. According to Prof. Pyle, this showed that the heart had fundamentally changed [] during the perimenopausal period. One can never get enough of a lot of things in life and one of them is definitely Keanu Reeves. He may play a badass as John Wick, but in real life, he's the kinda guy who'll buy ice-cream that he doesn't need, just so he can autograph the receipt that comes along with it for a fan who isn't carrying a pen or paper. Yeah, that happened. Lionsgate One of the nicest chaps in Hollywood, Keanu has a separate fandom of his own. From a secret role in 'Toy Story 4' to him wanting a second part to 'Constantine', to him even announcing 'Bill and Ted's' return in the summer of 2020, with Alex Winter, Keanu is really happening at 54 and we love him for being so humble and yet so talented. Did you know there was an entire festival dedicated to the man called KeanuCon? And why shouldn't there be? He's the nicest man alive! Pintrest That's why perhaps Marvel Studios has its eyes on Keanu and wants him to be a part of their Universe. Although Keanu did turn down the role of 'Yon-Rogg' in 'Captain Marvel', 2019 because he was busy with 'John Wick', rumour has it that he is going to be a part of Marvel's next upcoming film, 'The Eternals'. Although the film is set to release by 2020, it's entirely under wraps right now, as you know how secretive Marvel is about their upcoming stuff. But we do know it'll be directed by Chloe Zhao and is rumoured to star Angelina Jolie (woohoo) as the protagonist along with Richard Madden and Kumail Nanjiani. Although we aren't sure what role Reeves is going to be considered for in 'The Eternals', we do know the negotiations between Reeves and the Studios are underway, according to the fan-site MCU Cosmic. So, basically, 'The Eternals' are a genetically-altered race of super-beings, the results of 'celestial experiments', who live for thousands of years. This should be a fun watch! "Your reaction about not being familiar with The Eternals is perfect, because most people weren't familiar with Guardians [of the Galaxy] and believe it or not there were people that were not familiar with Avengers or with Iron Man. So for us, its finding great stories whether people have heard of them or not and bring them to the big screen in as amazing a ways as we can. Eternals are one group, but we like the idea of introducing an ensemble, doing an ensemble movie from the start, as opposed to building up as we did with the first Avengers. More like Guardians, not tonally, but in terms of introducing a new group of people." Kevin Feige, Marvel Producer told a popular international publication. Marve Comics Sounds like the movie will have one hell of a cast. But all we want to do is watch Keanu in a Marvel movie, the one thing in his life he's yet to do and we can't wait to see him do that! We have all heard someone, somewhere, at some point in time say that 'home is where the heart is'. And if we come to think of it, there really isn't a greater truth than this. We might be living in the most luxurious mansion with truck-loads of cash stashed away in the lockers, and yet all that pales if your friends and family are not there to share it. It is really the little things that matter. So when 11-year-old Polish-origin Alicja Wanatko, who had been living in Goa with her mother Marta Kotlarska, found out that they were blacklisted from India for 'overstaying', and had no option but to leave India, she took this step. please help Honoreable Prime Minister of India, you are our only hope! We are praying to God you see tweet or emails I have sent. My daughther since 25 April can not go to school due to ban which was issued not due to our fault. @narendramodi @iAmitabhSoni @RajuPushola https://t.co/mDKxifaWK2 pic.twitter.com/iTrIRVSvzb Marta Kotlarska (@KotlarskaMarta) June 2, 2019 The incident left the girl heartbroken who had come to think of Goa as her home. Upon their failure to return to India following multiple trials, Alicja finally wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking their help to come back to India where they have left their lives behind. In a tweet addressed to PM Modi and S Jaishankar, Alicja shared a page-long, handwritten letter where she requested them to allow her and her mother to come back to India, the place they call home. the letter my daughther who is out of school due to lack of action from MHA officers has written to Honoreable Prime Minister of India for help in our case @narendramodi pic.twitter.com/PVIolpD9Ez Marta Kotlarska (@KotlarskaMarta) June 2, 2019 Alicja wrote in the letter that she first came to India as a 6-year-old five years ago, and has been living in Goa ever since. She further added that India is where all my friends, my animals, my school and my happiness still is. Sharing her personal turmoil she wrote that after her father left her and her mother, the pair had been trying to rebuild their lives in India. She also wrote about her fascination with Hindi, her visit to various Hindu pilgrimages and also the fact that she misses her school and her cows at the animal resource centre where she volunteered. please help us @narendramodi @PMOIndia she is out of school and very distressed about her schooling next year. India is the place we call home. https://t.co/7EA3raLWP6 https://t.co/mDKxifaWK2 pic.twitter.com/kWNoUuWWJF Marta Kotlarska (@KotlarskaMarta) June 2, 2019 The anxiety and despair of being away from home in Hindustan is evident in Alicja's letter, and we hope the External Affairs Ministry as well as PM Modi will come to the aid of this distraught family who have found a home in India. We hope Alicja and Marta are allowed back in India very soon. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today announced his proposal on making bus and metro services free for women in Delhi. This plan, if implemented, will cost the government around Rs 700-800 crore in a year. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal: On all DTC buses, cluster buses and metro trains women will be allowed to travel free of cost so that they have a safe travel experience and can access modes of transport which they were not able to, due to high prices. pic.twitter.com/KVqEWDIJAS ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 The AAP chief further explained that this scheme is being put in place but not being imposed on anyone and that women are free to pay for the ticket if they want. The reactions to his announcement have been splashing all over the internet and, of course, the men of this city have a lot of thoughts. Arvind Kejriwal announces free travel for only WOMEN on all DTC buses, cluster buses and metro trains. Meanwhile Delhi men : pic.twitter.com/4bKqM05O0Z Tweetera (@DoctorrSays) June 3, 2019 Have you heard this? Is imposition of #FreeRideForWomen in Delhi a gettable task? His handle says " " But in reality this insane showcases Gender Inequality while PM Modi schemes Nari Shakti for making women equally skilled like men. Shame!#DelhiMetro pic.twitter.com/ywUHz985Vn Santh Kumar (@santhgogikar) June 3, 2019 Delhi Men - All set for Metro ride. #DelhiMetro pic.twitter.com/l36Mqm2JxP Kamlesh Dixit (@kash2312) June 3, 2019 The most obvious question that arises from this proposal is the lack of equality, a feeling that resonates with everyone right now wondering why a gender bias has been put in place here. And Equality goes for the toss... A girl carrying an iPhone, Gucchi bag, posh clothes will travel for free and a handicap will make his efforts to buy tickets and stand in a metro while the girl is chilling and sitting on the chair #DelhiMetro Sidharth Dash (@Sidharth_dash) June 3, 2019 According to Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal: "Safety of Women is inversely proportional to Travel Cost in #DelhiMetro and Buses" Vivek Jaiswal (@vivekjaiswal_93) June 3, 2019 If you feel everyone are equal, so why are you divide humanity in gender. Why every decision is based on gender/caste @ArvindKejriwal #DelhiMetro pic.twitter.com/6zHV9x5zw7 Manoj kumar (@maankumararena) June 3, 2019 Talking about the strong women of this city, they feel that they can pay for their own ticket and the government should focus on providing them a safer environment instead. #Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal thinks the INDEPENDENT WOMEN of Delhi can't pay their fare. Instead of this they should do something for the safety, of the women, which is in danger in the capital. Best example of vote bank politics. #DelhiMetro Shraddha singh (@shraddha_singh7) June 3, 2019 @AAP will crush #DelhiMetro eventually....just for votes.#Freebies hinders development. Metro needs money to function to maintain itself. I'm perfectly capable to pay for it and I'll. https://t.co/I0CnFF1Hke Ankita Singh (@DelhiteAnkita) June 2, 2019 With all due respect, women in Delhi didn't ask for a free pass to ride when they voted for Kejriwal ji, they had voted for the safe environment promised to them. https://t.co/5AtSuFKFzt Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) June 3, 2019 Stop being so regressive @arvindkejriwal. While Women can afford their tickets, what they require is safety. Only exemption made should be for the economically weaker sections without the gender discrimination. #DelhiMetro Geetika Swami (@SwamiGeetika) June 3, 2019 the AAP government feels that this move is a step and an investment towards women safety, but the majority of the population in Delhi, including the women, refuse to agree. While his intentions might be well, one cannot help but also agree with the people that the women of this city need safety first, not free metro rides. While the Civil Services are the most honorary posts to hold in the country, a lot of people miss their chance to be a part of the services because the examinations held by the UPSC aren't easy at all. And even though we have 4 attempts to pass these exams, sometimes, making it through those 4 times is improbable. Lakhs of people apply every year for the civil service examination and only about 1% of them get through. But for some people, cracking these exams and becoming an IPS officer at the age of 20 was a piece of cake. How, you ask? One would imagine he's a child prodigy to sit for the exam once and come out with flying colours and become an officer of the law, but little do we know, it was all a big farce and he actually wasn't a qualified IPS officer. Facebook Meet the 20-year-old Abhay Meena, who posed as a high ranking IPS officer with a fake ID and credentials, a social media personality and a motivational speaker, all rolled in to one. He was recently arrested by Special Operations Group, Delhi and we're sad he misused a prestigious position to actually con the nation. Meena, who has indeed failed class 12th, claimed to have cracked the IIT and the UPSC examination in the first try itself, becoming an PS officer at a really young age. Because of this, he was often invited to institutions, fashion shows and parties to give motivational speeches as a chief guest, where he would wine and dine and con people in to believing in his hard work. So much so, he would meet police officers at these events and laud them for their great work, ironically. I mean you really have to have some cheek to pull off such an intrinsic lie, and fool people. Facebook He was finally caught when someone noticed his police card, in which the word branch was spelled as 'branche' and capital as 'capitol'. After investigating his records further, he was finally arrested by the SOG from his apartment in Jagatpura. Meena tried intimidating the officers by boasting about his influences but clearly, that didn't work as he's under arrest currently. Apparently, Meena used to drive around in a car which has a 3-star police plate affixed on the bumper and a 3-star credential is only reserved for a DG or an Additional DG (ADG) rank. So, clearly he was misusing that too. Times of India After wining and dining at expensive hotels, without paying the bills and showing off his ID wherever he would go, Meena is currently at the Pratap Nagar Police Station eating only 'jail ka khaana'. We feel this is grave disrespect for officers who've actually worked hard to crack civil service exams and have come all the way, with their hard work to stand where they do. It's also grave disrespect towards all the people who spend days, weeks and months preparing for these examinations and burning the midnight oil to serve the country. And here we have a man, who'd been conning his way through, making people believe he did what he did through his hard work. Up until recently, I thought these things could only happen in movies like 'Catch Me If You Can' or 'Bunty Aur Bubli', but people actually grow up in reality to become con artists and we hope he's the only one, who has pulled off such a stunt. The US now requires almost every applicant for a new visa to provide social media account names for the past five years. The new mandate covers a lot of selected services and potential visitors and residents can volunteer to mention their social media details if it isn't mentioned in the form. Reuters Apart from social media details, applicants also have to provide past email addresses and phone numbers apart from other details such as travel statuses. For now, diplomats and officials are exempt from these requirements. Reuters The new mandate will affect millions of visitors each year and if not followed immigrants could face serious immigration consequences if caught lying. There's no way to say if this new mandate is will be an effective measure but only time will well. Whether you are a big fan of this mandate or not, the privacy of your social media accounts is now at stake and could pose as a barrier for users who do not wish to share information with government entities. Reuters The mandate comes as a measure to prevent terrorism as these details were previously required for people who visited terrorist-controlled territories. The aim of this mandate is to identify visitors and verify extremists who may have discussed ideologies online. The new rules will apply to almost all applicants for immigrant and non-immigrant visas and the department estimates that it would affect 710,00 immigrant visa applicants and 14 million non-immigrant visa applicants. This will also include those who plan to visit the US for education or business. Source: ABC News Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith (Photo: VNA) PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the two countries governments, ministries and agencies are actively implementing agreements reached by their leaders with initial positive results, citing examples of key infrastructure works such as Vung Ang port and the Vientiane Hanoi highway. Vietnam is willing to share national development experience with Laos, he said. The host expressed his delight at growing bilateral ties, especially the celebrations of anniversaries important to both countries in early 2019 such as the 70th anniversary of Traditional Day of Volunteer Soldiers in Laos, the 60th anniversary of the opening of the western branch of the Truong Son trail and the 65th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu victory. He suggested that the two sides enhance the sharing of experience in Party building, thus improving bilateral ties in diverse areas. Sisoulith, for his part, said the Lao government, ministries, agencies are seriously fulfilling tasks set by the two nations leaders, adding that most Vietnamese-funded projects in Laos are being carried out in schedule and the Lao government has also offered support to Vietnamese projects in Laos. He thanked the Vietnamese government for assisting Laos in its national development cause via specific cooperation mechanisms. He emphasized that infrastructure connectivity projects between the two countries are important to bilateral economic exchange, as well as to economic cooperation along the East-West Economic Corridor./. Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos will meet today, at 12:00 p.m., with the Most Reverend Makarios, Archbishop of Australia, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos will travel to Cyprus on Tuesday, 4 June, to participate in the first joint Trilateral Ministerial Meeting between Greece, Cyprus and Armenia, along with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, and Armenia, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan. The three Foreign Ministers, along with their delegations, will discuss regional matters, focusing mainly on the latest developments in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean, such as the illegal actions by Turkey in the Cypriot EEZ, the situation in Caucasus and the Western Balkans, the EU-Armenian relations, as well as Diaspora and energy issues. The possibilities for reinforced cooperation in fields related to security and stability will also be discussed, in the context of international organisations and among the three countries in particular. Earlier the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs will meet with N. Christodoulides, while he will also participate in a courtesy meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, N. Anastasiades. On the same day and upon his return to Athens, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will have a working dinner with his Armenian counterpart. Regional and international matters, as well as ways to further consolidate bilateral relations in areas of mutual interest, will be discussed. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. In this latest report on Reversing Cold Mills Market the market size is expected to scale up to USD BN by the end of financial year 2025. This report valued the market at USD BN in 2018. After evaluating the various market drivers and market restraints the report expects a % of CAGR across the study period. The report takes a deep dig in the market with detailed analysis on the Revenue, Production, and Capacity from 2013 to 2025. The report also studies the marketing pricing, trends and extrapolates the growth rate for the next six years. The manufacturers data covered in the report assists in understanding the competitive scenario along with planning the capacity expansion plans. The latest developments such as the organic and inorganic growth adopted by the key players mentioned in the report, throws light on the strategic planning of the competitors, thus assisting in taking informed decisions. Ask for free sample report of Reversing Cold Mills market @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/download-sample-41904 This study also analyzes the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. The following manufacturers are covered in this report: SMS Group ANDRITZ Group CMI Group Ishikawajima Heavy Industries Wuye Group Primetals Technologies Danieli Electrolux Professional AG Fagor Arrasate S.Coop. Fives DMS MINO SPA Reversing Cold Mills Breakdown Data by Type Single-stand Reversing Cold Mills Two-stand Reversing Cold Mills Other Reversing Cold Mills Breakdown Data by Application Steel Alumiliun Othr Reversing Cold Mills Production by Region United States Europe China Japan Other Regions Access Report and Full Table of Contents of @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ip/41904-reversing-cold-mills-industry-market-report Table of Contents - Snapshot Chapter 1 Study Coverage Chapter 2 Executive Summary Chapter 3 Breakdown Data by Manufacturers Chapter 4 Breakdown Data by Product Chapter 5 Breakdown Data by End User Chapter 6 North America Chapter 7 Europe Chapter 8 Asia Pacific Chapter 9 Central & South America Chapter 10 Middle East and Africa Chapter 11 Company Profiles Chapter 12 Future Forecast Chapter 13 Market Opportunities, Challenges, Risks and Influences Factors Analysis Chapter 14 Value Chain and Sales Channels Analysis Chapter 15 Research Findings and Conclusion Chapter 16 Appendix Buy Full Research Report @ https://www.decisiondatabases.com/contact/buy-now-41904 About Us: is a Global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. is proficient in providing syndicated research Report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains. Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed. For More Details: E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.com Phone: +91-90-28-057900 Web: https://www.decisiondatabases.com/ In latest fake holiday news, June 17 is National Eat Your Vegetables Day. And while you should eat your vegetables every day, if you do it on Sunday you can post a photo with #EatYourVegetablesDay. Luckily, the big day falls during farmers market season so you don't have to scarf down frozen peas or pretend french fries are a vegetable. You can actually get some good, fresh local produce. Click through the slideshow to see when and where local farmers markets are open. If you want to dine out, head to one of the area's longest-standing vegetarian restaurants, Bloodroot. The feminist vegetarian restaurant and bookstore in Blackrock just celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017. Back in the late '70s, the owners, Selma Miriam and Noel Furie, held women's nights on Wednesdays to allow all women, including lesbians, to dine in an inviting and comfortable setting. They also developed a still-standing practice of requiring guests to pick up their own food at the counter and clear away their dirty dishes to establish equality between staff and guests. Miriam threw out most of the restaurant rule books from the day Bloodroot opened in 1977, starting with the "experts'" belief that location might be the single most important element in building a strong customer base. The eatery is on a dead-end street near Black Rock Harbor, far from any foot traffic that might be found on the busier avenues in the neighborhood. From the beginning, Miriam knew the restaurant would rise or fall based on word of mouth from customers willing to go out of their way for a meal. The success of the restaurant has been fueled by the publication of two well-reviewed cookbooks (a third is in the works) and a yearly calendar that collects some of the tastiest recent recipes (the 2017 edition has just been published). MIDDLETOWN A double murder in an idyllic planned community on the outskirts of the city nearly 26 years ago will catapult Middletown onto the national stage this week. Investigation Discovery channels Diabolical true crime documentary series, airing Tuesday night, will feature the events surrounding the 1993 criminal homicides of a convicted killers ex-lovers new flame and her nephew in an episode called Recording Evil. Middletown police detectives got a big break in the case of the killings of Patricia Lynn Steller and her nephew Ronald King, as their slayings were recorded on Stellers answering machine. Spurned lover Janet Griffin was convicted in 1999 of killing Stellar, the lover of her former girlfriend who lived in the Wesleyan Hills community, and King. Griffin, 72, is serving a life sentence in Niantic prison. Her accomplice, Gordon Butch Fruean, served 30 years in jail for his role in the crime. The two, who lived and commuted to work together at Wesleyan University, waited for Steller to return from work, shot her three times and King once, court documents said. Griffin made a mistake thinking a small-caliber pistol would kill them, according to retired police detective and former states attorney investigator Robert Barone, who worked with now retired officers Rick Sienna, Wayne Linares, Dave Visconti and Noel Perez to solve the case. Barone was interviewed for the Investigative Discovery show. An actor portrays him in re-enactment scenes. Sgt. George Dingwall, who died in 2000 during pursuit of a robbery suspect, and Officer William Hertler, who is still on the job, also worked the case. When detectives arrived at the scene of the 1999 crime, they were shocked at what they saw. It was a mess. There was blood all over the place. Lynn was lying on the ground next to the wall, King was lying on the ground next to the kitchen counter. I get a chill up my back saying it now, Barone said. The crime sent shock waves through the community near the Durham line, Siena said. Suddenly, there was a home amongst their neighborhood that has a gruesome double homicide. Everybody was understandably concerned for their familys welfare and safety, Siena said. They were under great pressure from the public and higher ups to find the killer. Who would have ever thought a cassette tape would have recorded the entire murder? People were alive, pleading for their lives. Somehow, during the attack, the memo function on the answering machine was activated and the entire murders caught on audiotape, Barone said. Police never determined how that happened. It was the most incredible thing to hear: No, Janet, no! No, Janet, no! The defendant shot Steller once and King three times. When the gun had been emptied, the defendant, realizing that the victims were still alive, asked Fruean for assistance. Fruean took a butchers knife from a knife block located on the kitchen counter and handed it to the defendant, who proceeded to stab Steller and King several times, according to court documents. Police had no idea who committed the crimes. There wasnt a lot to work with, he admitted. Hes (Perez) listening to the cassette tape. He looked at me, turned around with kind of weird look on his face, Siena said. Listen to this and tell me what you hear. What do you think that is? Perez asked him. Siena put the headphones on. I looked at him. I took them off and I said Noel, I think thats the homicide taking place. They heard Griffin yell to Fruean, get me something, Siena said. That something turned out to be the knives. She wasnt satisfied. We could hear Butch get me a knife, and then rummaging through knife door. Thats not good enough. Get another one, Griffin could be heard ordering Fruean . We looked at each other and said, This is the case. We just broke it open. The victim was pleading, Siena recalled. She did some things to [Steller] that were really gruesome. Griffins daughter, who was never prosecuted, had driven her mother and Fruean to the scene, but denied knowing what was about to happen, Barone said. Later, Siena returned to the scene, found Stellers address book and rifled through the names. He found a card that read Janet G. and a number from the Rutland, Vt., telephone exchange. Police there confirmed Janet G. was Griffin, and found multiple domestic reports involving both her and Fruean. When police went to Rutland, where both Griffin and Fruean lived, to question him, they were surprised when he opened the door. He was a wimpy guy. Very thin, very small she used him because she probably felt the only way to get into the house was through a dog door, Barone said. When they found Griffin in Vermont, she cooperated with officers, including allowing them to take her blood to match against the DNA found at the scene; she had a deep cut in her palm. Under interrogation, Fruean broke and gave up where the gun had been dumped: in the water behind the old Cypress Grill, now Sliders, on South Main Street. The police scuba team recovered the weapon. Griffin, meanwhile, would not admit her involvement. She claimed her hand was cut while she was unscrewing a light bulb. Soon after, a blood test proved she had lied. Neither Griffin nor Fruean had criminal records. Griffin was a Girl Scout leader and mother. This love triangle just pushed her over the edge, said Barone, who admitted this was the most satisfying arrest. Griffin, under stress from the questioning, put her head down on the table in the interrogation room. The only thing she said about her involvement was I couldnt kill anybody, Barone said. Its a cliche but a textbook case when it comes to investigating a homicide, Siena said. Not one person in the detective bureau failed to carry their weight in this case. We all worked collectively and with some difficult challenges. We got a little bit of information and we kept building after that: the name Janet on a tape to a Janet G. in a book to the physical evidence at the scene we collected, it perfectly tied those two individuals to the crime, Siena said. Its sad this is what people do in the world. If a relationship doesnt work out, you dont kill somebody. I just dont get it. HARTFORD Environmentalists are not happy with the latest plastic bag tax and ban included in the budget proposal, because it exempts so-called compostable bags and prohibits towns from enacting or enforcing previously enacted bans. Lori Brown, executive director of the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CLTCV), urged people Monday to contact the governors office to raise objections. Rep. Joe Gresko, D-Stratford, also voiced his displeasure about the change to House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz. We have to fix this, Gresko said. Also unhappy is Sen. Christine Cohen, D-Guilford, co-chair of the Environment Committee. I thought we had appropriately collaborated with legislators, environmentalists, municipalities and retailers to come up with agreed upon language and this was not it, Cohen said. She said shes unhappy with the exemption of compostables, unhappy with municipalities being preempted by state law, even with stricter bans, and unhappy with the language disallowing retailers/municipalities from charging for paper. Brown believes their best shot at changing it is by contacting the governors office. Tell him not to exempt compostable bags from the plastic bag ban and not to preempt towns from passing their own, stronger bans. The clock is ticking and we have to act now, Brown said in an email. The budget imposes a 10-cent tax on single-use plastic bags provided at the point of sale until June 30, 2021, and bans them beginning July 1, 2021. The tax and ban applies to single-use checkout bags, which are plastic bags with a thickness of less than four mils that are provided to a customer at the point of sale. The bill also prohibits stores from charging a fee for single-use paper bags provided to customers at the point of sale, overriding any special act, municipal charter, or ordinance. That part of the bill has kind of blindsided those who favor the plastic bag ban, Amanda Schoen, deputy director of CLTCV, said Monday. Across the state, Hamden, Mansfield, Middletown, New Canaan, New Britain, Norwalk, Stamford, Weston, Greenwich, and Westport have passed bans on single-use plastic bag. Schoen said by her count about 30 towns across the state are in the process of either finalizing or getting close to finalizing their own bans on plastic bags and/or charging fees for their use. Asked where she thought the initiative came from to ban towns from taking stronger action than the state, Schoen said: Thats a good question but added that there were plenty of lobbyists, primarily those who were pushing for the combustible bag exemption, that could be behind the sudden language change. The language in the Democrats budget contrasts with the bill the Environment Committee approved in April, which would prohibit stores from providing and/or selling plastic single-use carryout bags at the point of sale. It would also require any paper single-use carryout bag to be 100% recyclable and have at least 40% post-consumer recycled content. Paper bags will also be required to conspicuously display, please reuse and recycle this bag, on the bag. The bill passed the Environment Committee by a bipartisan 25-4 vote, but has been on the Senate calendar since April 11. EAST HAMPTON Epoch Arts cast of the 2019 Mainstage Theater Production, Shadows of Truth, will be presented at the arts center, 27 Skinner St., East Hampton, June 7 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. The students are excited to share this original play. Travel with us into a world where four tribes have lost the meaning of character and sacrifice. Each year the tribes offer up in thanksgiving their horns, which naturally fall off each year, said Elizabeth Namen, director of Epoch Arts. The Festival of Horns has always been a time of reflection, pruning of character, a time to show growth in character and truth. But over the years, the festival has lost its meaning, the true story, and has become a time of showing off their horns, how big they've grown, whose is better and more importantly, whose have not grown. As the tribe of Umami grows in strength, its leader, Ozora, bullies others to become like her. In a violent attempt to demean some and overtake others, Ozora subtly becomes the new face of the festival and anything that stands in her way is held captive. As the life of a prisoner is at stake, the true meaning of sacrifice, is finally shown. Tickets to Shadows of Truth are $10 and reservations are encouraged. Call 860-365-0337 or email elizabeth@epocharts.org. To learn more about Epoch Arts and its programs for children, youth and adults, visit www.epocharts.org Saint Lawrence Strawberry Festival & Auction KILLINGWORTH Saint Lawrence Church, 7 Hemlock Drive, Killingworth, hosts its annual Strawberry Festival and Tag Sale on Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The festival features Strawberry Shortcake, a food tent with pulled pork sandwiches, fried dough, burgers, hot dogs and other treats. There will also be a tag sale, bake sale and activities for children including face painting, games and popcorn. This year the church is offering vendor spaces; for information, contact stlawrencec@yahoo.com or visit www.stlawrencechurch.com. Students can apply now for scholarship CENTERBROOK/OLD LYME Musical Masterworks and Community Music School are accepting applications for the third annual scholarship to honor the memory of Nancy D. Thomas, a well-known and beloved piano instructor with Community Music School for 30 years and initiated the Kindermusik program and Kate's Camp for Kids at CMS. She influenced the lives of many young musicians and inspired their talents. Thomas also was on the staff of Musical Masterworks for almost 25 years. The scholarship will provide a one-time award of tuition for a middle school student to take music lessons, 30 minutes each, for one full academic year (34 weeks) at Community Music School. The five-year scholarship was established in 2017 and will be awarded annually for the next two years. To be eligible, the candidate must be a student of classical voice or instrumental music and reside in Middlesex County or New London County. Interested students must complete an application and submit an audio recording of two pieces of classical music in contrasting styles as well as a written recommendation. A three-member jury comprised of representatives of both Community Music School and Masterworks will review applications. The application deadline for the scholarship is June 24, and the scholarship recipients will be notified mid-summer. To obtain an application, contact Community Music School at 860-767-0026. Parenting classes to begin in June ESSEX Middlesex United Way and Tri-Town Youth Services are providing scholarships for the upcoming Circle of Security Parenting Classes at the Sound Counseling Center in Essex. The classes are designed to increase parents and caregivers understanding of their childrens emotional needs and how to respond wisely to difficult behaviors while building your childs sense of security, and are designed for parents and caregivers of children 0 to 12 years of age. All parents and caregivers are welcome. Classes are now forming for June and will be held on Wednesdays, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. for six weeks Call or email to register: 860.608.5474 or soundcounselingcenter@gmail.com The classes will be held at the Sound Counseling Center, LLC, 16 Saybrook Road, Essex. Summer production registration open CHESTER Madhatters Theatre Company is now accepting registration for their summer production of Alice in Wonderland. The production will be presented at Chester Meeting House, Aug. 5-9, and registration is open to ages 6-16 years. To register or for further information, email: madhattersctc@aol.com or call 860- 395-1861. www.madhatterstheatrecompany.com Veterans memorial pavers available for purchase HARTFORD Flag Day, June 14, is the deadline to submit orders for the next set of walkway pavers to be placed at the Connecticut State Veterans Memorial. The granite memorial is in Hartfords Minuteman Park on Capitol Ave. and Broad St., across from the William A. ONeill State Armory and the Legislative Office Building. The outdoor memorial is openaround the clock, 7 days a week. Each paver costs $200 and can be engraved with the name of a U.S. veteran, with his or her rank, branch of the military, and the specific years of service and conflict, if desired. Towns/cities can also purchase pavers with their town/city name engraved in honor of those who have served or serve within the town/city. All 6 x 12 pavers will be engraved in upper case block letter-style in three lines of 15 characters per line, including spaces. All verbiage will be approved by the Connecticut State Veterans Memorial, Inc. For a 6 x 12 walkway paver order form, visit the memorials website, www.CTHonorsVets.org or call 860-616-3603 and ask for Tammy Marzik. The next order of pavers will be sent for personalized engraving and will be placed in time for 2019s Veterans Day on Nov. 11. To obtain a form to order a 6 x 12 engraved walkway paver and get more information about the Memorial, visit www.CTHonorsVets.org or call 860-616-3603. Like a scorpion, a legislatures sting lurks in its tail end. With only a few days left in the 2019 regular session, Connecticut must be wary lest it get struck once again. Some poison to Connecticuts economy is already flowing. The General Assembly has passed legislation increasing the states minimum wage to $15 over a four-plus year period. This will mean big raises for some of the working poor, but lost jobs and decreased hours for many others, and the demise or departure of struggling local or globally competitive businesses. Beware of even more, however. Aside from the great question of tolls, which we and many others have discussed in great detail elsewhere, the legislature is poised to add a whole host of new taxes and fees that will wreak further havoc on family finances and the states economic future. The Finance Committee has proposed increasing taxes on Connecticuts highest taxpayers with a 2 percent surcharge on capital gains. You might think that this doesnt concern you. It does. A handful of wealthy families have released a letter urging the state to tax them more while, history and economics demonstrate a far, far higher number of high-tax families will be pushed to lower-tax jurisdictions. This will leave more for the rest of us to pay, and ensure yet another round of tax hikes just a few years from now. That committee has also proposed a host of tax increases that will raise the price of almost everything you do. Higher taxes on dry cleaning, dining out, prepared meals, drink purchases (of both the hard and soft varieties), downloads, uber trips, paper or plastic grocery bags, interior design, parking, movie tickets, and more. Then theres paid family and medical leave. This proposal starts with a $340 million tax increase hardly chump change. But the benefits, as currently designed, are so generous that even conservative estimates of use rates indicate that the payroll tax will soar far above this initial base. The higher it gets, the more people will feel entitled to take time themselves, which will set off a vicious spiral. The result will be yet another massive tax for Connecticut workers to pay to subsidize their co-workers time off. The total packages (including tolls) again, using conservative estimates would result in tax increases of between $2 billion and $3 billion per year once fully implemented. Connecticut just cant bear that weight. Were being asked to may be required to pay so much more because our elected officials will do nothing to cut the costs of government. Almost all of the governors touted cuts arise from spreading out massive pension debt payments an extra 15 years into the future. This gives us a little breathing room at this end, but it makes the total debt much larger, and does nothing at all to lower the running costs of government costs and cost structures that are driving Connecticuts economy into the ground. In real tragi-comic style, just about the only cut that the governor and the legislature appear to have agreed on so far is yet another cancellation of the mandatory, biennial tax incidence report, which shows the effect of past and current tax policy on the people of Connecticut. These reports would demonstrate beyond cavil that the Malloy-Lamont tax-hike series has and will push high taxpayers out of state, crush the middle class, shutter struggling businesses, hurt Connecticuts economic dynamism and competitiveness and keep anyone with options from moving to our beloved but foundering state. The state has refused to produce the mandated study since December of 2014. Its trying to dodge its responsibility again in 2020. We all know that Connecticut is the only state not to have recovered yet from the Great Recession. We all know why. The state refuses to admit it, so it can keep making the mistakes that got us here in the first place. Watch carefully these final days of the legislative session, and be active voters in your attempts to keep Connecticut from another body blow. A legislatures sting is in its tail. Scott Shepard is Policy Director for Yankee Institute, a Connecticut-based conservative think tank. Since the news of a recent murder by stabbing on Virginias section of the Appalachian Trail (AT), theres been mass concern about the assurance of safety along the path. Hidden in the subtext of this story we find gross negligence of the local authorities who were made aware of the erratic behavior of the man accused of murder, 30-year-old James Jordan of Massachusetts, weeks before the incident but Im not going to dig into that. We could also examine the several more viable ways to die in the woods that should concern you more than the infrequent (though tragic) killings on the trail Ill do a bit of that. But Id be remiss if I passed up the opportunity to discuss the ways in which even injury on the AT is privilege that has historically been inaccessible to people of color or the working class. Access to outdoor recreation is mired in a history of extreme oppression, so much so that living outside in a tent for six months on the AT is extreme sport reserved for the privileged. Connecticuts Appalachian Trail spans 51 miles through the northwest corner. It starts on Hoyt Road in Wingdale, NY and ends at Bear Mountain in Salisbury at the Massachusetts border. Its not the longest or most difficult section of the trail, but it has dangers that typically surprise most thru-hikers. This past Memorial Day weekend, I set out complete the 26 miles I had left of Connecticuts section of the trail, which connects us to Maine and Georgia through 2,190 miles of varied terrain and weather. I fell short by eight miles due to obstacles that had nothing to do with murder. About seven miles into my trek I ran into a ridge runner, an Appalachian Mountain Club employee whose job is to patrol the trail, assist hikers where needed, act as a first responder in times of crisis and clear out any potential hazards on the trail. In hindsight, the fates may have seen fit Id cross his path. The information he gave me, terrifying as it was, was imperative to my making it out alive. This is not hyperbole. In my conversation with the ridge runner, I learned that rattlesnakes have made a home at the top of Ten Mile Hill at Schaghticoke Mountain. My husband is from Wyoming and was raised at the base of Yellowstone National Park, so the rattlesnakes didnt stir him a bit. But Me? Im from New Haven where our green spaces have coin-operated binoculars and definitely no snakes. Once we got to the top of Schaghticoke Mountain, the idea of crossing paths with a snake had faded and Id completely forgotten the earlier warning to keep my eyes peeled. It was this level of blissful ignorance that made the rattle we heard just feet from the trail so jarring. Admittedly, I froze and tried to grasp hold of any memory of the safety protocols to utilize when interacting with a snake. I came up short, only able to recall pieces of episodes of the Wild Thornberrys, which did not help. My husband, however, exhibited little to no fear. I later realized his calm was because the knowledge he had casually acquired about rattlesnake behavior gave him a level of security that I simply could not muster. Where the snakes more than 6-foot-long and 6-inch diameter through me into a panic, Jesse knew that adult snakes of that size are actually less dangerous than smaller ones. Later when we saw a smaller one directly on the path, my panic caused trembles that disabled my steps. Then, Jesse noticed that the snake was sunbathing and deemed it safe for us to pass, reminding me I probably wouldnt die but Id feel like it. This years killing is just the 10th to occur on the trail over the last 45 years, making your chances of death by murder while hiking very low. But with 7,000-8000 people a year being bitten by venomous snakes your chances of death by rattlesnake are considerably higher. In either case, though Ive spent the last 15 years honing my inner outdoorsmen, Im still inequitably ill-equipped to handle most trail-related dangers. Dehydration and fatigue, two of the most cited reasons people drop out of their thru-hike, are ultimately why we cut our trip short. My inner-city upbringing has been a disadvantage in my reacquaintance with nature. More so, the history of restricted access to outdoor recreation that blacks have faced is present in every black outdoor enthusiasts life today. The history of blacks and swimming may by the clearest depiction of this. Decades of being kept out of swimming pools and public beaches have led to a drowning epidemic in the black community in which black kids ages 11-12 are 10 times more likely to drown than white kids. This disparity is not about ability. Its about how intergenerational lack of access to swimming pools creates an almost inherited fear of water and unawareness of safe practices. Theres a learning curve for every historically disadvantaged group who is interested in reacquainting with nature. It produces a range of effects from crippling discomfort in water to a dangerous inability to navigate basic hazards like poison ivy and wildlife. It starts when inner-city kids spend summers playing neighborhood kickball while rural and suburban kids are learning what plants to avoid and how to leave no trace. Once internalized, the divide becomes greater as our interests naturally deepen in the activities to which weve been exposed. If youre able to overcome all of that, once in the outdoors, navigating other peoples perception of how much you belong on the trail may also be a barrier. Intergenerational poverty has also held many people back from hiking the AT. It takes the average hiker about six months to complete the trail. That means anyone who embarks on a thru-hike needs to give up steady employment for half a year for what basically amounts to a bucket list item. Working class people may find it difficult to justify doing that, since bills and debts dont pause because youve decided to head to the trail. In a 2018 survey of 310 people who hiked on the AT, hikers ranged from ages 17-78 with the average age being 34. The vast majority (95 percent) identified white, six hikers identified as Hispanic, three hikers as Asian, four as multiracial, one as Native American/Alaska native/Hawaii native, and one as black. Nearly half of those surveyed said they spent more than $6,000 on their entire trip. This does not include lost wages, child care, missed payments, late penalties or interested accrued on unpaid student loans. Even my 3-day trip cost more than $100 on camp food and supplies. If extrapolated over 183 days, I wouldnt have been able to afford it. Cost hasnt slowed interest in the trail though. Per recent estimates, the number of hikers attempting a northbound thru-hike had more than doubled, increasing from 1,460 in 2010 to 3,735 in 2017. But since a history of oppression eventually graduates to a lack of interest and fear, people of color and from working class communities arent rushing to the trails at the same rates as wealthier Americans. The luxury that exists in being able to quit a job you probably hate, accrue a 6-month savings or be sponsored and supported by relatives while on the trail is one reserved for a privileged few. But it shouldnt be because reducing the barriers to exercise and physical activity can help reduce common health risks experienced by the same demographics left out of the outdoor recreation story. For low-income communities, access to green spaces can reduce depression. For people of color, historically high rates of obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure can all be treated with a dose of the outdoors. Learning curve aside, Ill be finishing my final eight miles this summer. Ill be a bit more prepared than last weekend though, because dying on the AT is kind of a weird privilege. Mercy Quaye is a social change communications consultant and a New Haven native. Her column appears Mondays in Hearst Connecticut Media daily newspapers. Contact her at @Mercy_WriteNow and SubtextWithMercy@gmail.com. How to Absorb the Marine Corps into the Army and Navy For decades, the U.S. Marine Corps has attempted to tweak its force structure to enhance performance within a constrained... A 7th Infantry Division soldier serving on the U.S. southern border was found dead in Arizona. The soldier's identity will not be released until next of kin are notified, but the body was found June 1 near Nogales, about 65 miles south of Tucson, according to Maj. Mark Lazane, a spokesman for U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the mission to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southern border. The death is under investigation, but "no foul play is suspected," Lazane said. The case is also being investigated by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department and the FBI because the federal land where the soldier was found falls under their jurisdictions, he added. Soldiers from the 7th ID at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, are among the more than 2,000 U.S. military personnel participating in the mission to support border patrol agents in an attempt to prevent migrants from crossing over illegally. In April, two soldiers patrolling along the southern border in Texas were stopped and questioned by Mexican troops. The handful of Mexican troops pointed their rifles at the U.S. soldiers, believing that they had crossed the Mexico border. However, the American troops were north of the border, and the Mexican troops left. The mission, which mostly involves logistics, aviation and surveillance support, is authorized to continue through September. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Retired Master Chief Petty Officer Ken Falke, a 21-year combat veteran of the U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal community, is the chairman and founder of Boulder Crest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides PTSD treatment to veterans, first responders and their families. Josh Goldberg is the executive director of the Boulder Crest Institute for Posttraumatic Growth. May is Mental Health Awareness month and provides us with an excellent opportunity to talk about a much-discussed, but often misunderstood subject that affects every human on the planet. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but let us speak a hard truth: All of us will experience many ups and downs in our life. We will come to know trauma and triumph, success and struggle, pain and purpose. The question isn't whether we will be visited by struggle in our lives -- the question is whether we can learn to struggle well, in the face of these inevitable ups and downs. As a society, we think about mental health in binary terms. Either someone is OK or they are not. If they aren't OK, and they seek help, they are normally diagnosed, and their symptoms of distress are treated with a combination of talk therapy and medication, with the goal to make them feel less uncomfortable. Success is regarded as a meaningful, albeit often short-lived, reduction in their symptoms. Unfortunately, this approach is proving ineffective or inaccessible for far too many people -- particularly those within the military and veteran community. In part, it is because this approach is based on a false notion that traumatic experiences and times of struggle diminish us and our future, and that the best option is to accept that the remainder of our lives are destined to be filled with less joy, connection, growth and fulfillment. Boulder Crest's breakthrough Warrior PATHH program is the first-ever initiative designed to cultivate and facilitate Posttraumatic Growth (PTG). PTG is most simply explained in the words of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Other veterans service organizations (VSOs) are leaning into this area of growing importance for veterans' mental health. Wounded Warrior Project, another VSO that provides direct programs and services for wounded post-9/11 veterans and their families, recognizes the importance of Warrior PATHH and the value of an approach based on PTG. Since late 2018, it has provided valuable support for Boulder Crest's breakthrough program. For most people, the idea that the term "posttraumatic" can be followed by anything positive, much less anything other than Stress Disorder, is stunning. However, Posttraumatic Growth is a decades-old science and reflects the trajectory of human history dating back to as long as humans have been on the planet (otherwise, we would be extinct). We experience trauma, work to make sense of our experiences, and transform loss into gain, pain into purpose, and struggle into strength. No one knows this better than combat veterans. In the 2,500-year-old words of the Athenian general and philosopher Thucydides, "We must remember that one [man/woman] is much the same as another and that [he/she] is best that is trained in the severest school." In more recent years, retired Gen. Jim Mattis weighed in with a similar perspective: "If you assume that there is something wrong with people -- if you do it long enough -- expectations are very strong. There's also something called Posttraumatic Growth, where you come out of a situation like that and you actually feel kinder toward your fellow man and fellow woman. You're actually a better husband, father -- you actually have a closer relationship with your God. Although if we tell our veterans enough that this is what is wrong with them, they may actually start believing it. I would say that there is one misperception of our veterans, and that is that they are somehow damaged goods. I don't buy it. And while victimhood in America is exalted today, I don't think our veterans should join those ranks." For far too long, civilians have regarded combat veterans as a protected class, a group to be pitied for what they had to see and do, and who will inevitably struggle -- never fully able to make the journey all the way home from the battlefield. As an organization dedicated to supporting and training combat veterans and their families, we know that this story is false. In truth, no one is stronger or more capable than combat veterans -- not despite their experiences, but because of them. Combat veterans -- and those who support, guide and assist them -- have a tremendous opportunity. They can change this narrative and become the leaders for a different way of addressing mental health. A narrative that says that trauma will impact all of us at some point in time and that we all have the capacity to learn how to transform that struggle and challenge into strength and growth. The idea that struggle is inevitable and valuable is baked into the life of any warrior. Thucydides said so 2,500 years ago, and Gen. Mattis three years ago. Warriors represent the strongest and best among us. When we forget that, so do they. -- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said on the Sunday TV talk shows that a junior staffer made the request to the military to hide the destroyer McCain from President Donald Trump's view and would not be fired for doing it. "That's not an unreasonable thing to ask" that the president be spared having to see a warship with late Sen. John McCain's name on it, given the enmity between them, both personally and politically, Mulvaney said on NBC-TV's "Meet The Press" program. "The president's feelings toward the former senator are well known," he said. Consequently, it would be "silly" to fire anyone for a well-meaning attempt to avoid the possibility of riling the commander in chief on his visit to Japan last week, Mulvaney added. Related content: On "Meet The Press" and "Fox News Sunday," Mulvaney sought to explain what may have gone through the mind of a junior staffer after spotting the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer McCain near the amphibious assault ship Wasp, which Trump visited on his trip to Japan. "The fact that some 23- or 24-year-old person on the advance team went to that site and said, 'Oh my goodness, there's the John McCain. 'We all know how the president feels about the former senator. Maybe that's not the best backdrop. Can somebody look into moving it?' That's not an unreasonable thing to ask," Mulvaney said on "Meet The Press." The Navy on Saturday confirmed receiving a request to "minimize visibility" of the McCain during the president's visit. The ship was originally named for the senator's father and grandfather, both admirals. The senator's name was added upon his death last year. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told reporters traveling with him in South Korea on Sunday that he did not expect to ask for an Inspector General's report on the incident, The Associated Press reported. He said he also is considering issuing guidance to the military to avoid similar incidents, according to the AP. Shanahan said he had spoken to McCain's widow, Cindy, but did not characterize the conversation. In remarks carried by C-Span, Trump told reporters at the White House last week that whoever asked the military to keep the McCain out of his sight was "well meaning." "I don't know what happened. I was not involved. I would not have done it," he said. "Somebody did it because they thought I didn't like him [McCain]. "To me, John McCain -- I was never a fan, but I would never do that," Trump said. "They were well meaning, I will say," he said of whoever made the request. "I don't know anything about it." -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Summer vacations can be very expensive, especially if you travel without a budget. Many summer travelers let their financial guards down during vacations, and identity thieves have begun to notice. In fact, as many as 9 million Americans are victims of identity theft each year, and the summer time is peak "hunting season" for thieves, reports the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). "The summer vacation season remains a close second to the winter holiday season as being one of the most lucrative times for ID thieves to strike an unsuspecting consumer," says Jim Stickley, co-founder of TraceSecurity, in a press release. If you and your family plan to travel this summer, here are TraceSecurity's top ten tips to help you protect your identity: 1. Bring Travelers checks. Leave personal checks at home. 2. Only bring the credit cards you intend to use and never use your debit card as a credit card while traveling. 3. Write down the phone numbers of the credit cards you're using in case you lose them or they're stolen. 4. Limit your exposure by removing anything from your wallet or purse that you won't need while on vacation. 5. Use hotel registered Wi-Fi or land lines and don't access websites that contain your personal financial data or other confidential information. 6. Avoid carrying large amounts of cash and use traveler's checks when possible. 7. Exchange currency before you travel. 8. If you're using an ATM, use machines located inside, not outside, of a building. 9. Keep all of your receipts from your vacation. 10. When you return home from your trip, be sure to review all banking and credit card statements thoroughly. If you think your identity was stolen during your summer vacation, call your credit card companies and bank immediately. The FTC recommends ID theft victims file a complaint to your financial institutions over the phone and in writing. For more advice on preventing identity theft, visit Military.com's Finance Center. Get the Latest Financial Tips Whether you're trying to balance your budget, build up your credit, select a good life insurance program or are gearing up for a home purchase, Military.com has you covered. Sign up for a free membership and get the latest military benefit updates and tips delivered straight to your inbox. We sometimes get asked by our loan candidates about if they can use their VA loan as an investment. While the answer to this question depends on what you consider an investment, I can share how I used my VA loan as an investment. Multi-Family Homes The VA loan can be used to purchase up to a 4-unit house so long as it is owner occupied. These homes are also known as multi-family dwellings, and can be referred to as 2, 3, or 4 family houses. These homes are typically separated units with each functioning as a separate apartment. In 2008 I used my VA loan to purchase a 3-family home in Massachusetts with 2 out of the 3 units rented out at $1,250 per unit for a total of $2,500 per month that I was collecting in rent. I moved into the 3rd unit and my monthly principle & interest, taxes, and insurance payment to the bank was approximately $2,700. Through this arrangement I was able to own a home and only pay $200 ($2,700-$2,500) a month towards my monthly payment. This gave me the opportunity to have my tenants pay down my mortgage while I lived almost free in my home. Fast forward to 2012 and I now live in another home but still own the 3-family and have it fully rented out and clear over $1000 a month in rental income after accounting for my fixed expenses. Below are some basics to consider. It is important to note, though, that being a landlord is an entirely different topic and not for everyone. Also, like most investments and being a homeowner, there is risk, so it is important to do your homework. Identify the area you are interested in buying: If you are interested in generating rental income it is important to look at areas that have low home values with higher rental amounts. The lower the cost of the home the lower your monthly payment amount. The higher the market rents are in the market then the more that your tenants will contribute to your payment and more of your money that you'll keep. Start looking at homes: Any realtor can set you up with Multiple Listing Services (MLS) updates based on your criteria that you tell them. Also, a good realtor knows markets that would best suit your criteria and can guide you in were to start looking. You tell them the area that you are interested in looking at, your price range, and types of homes (single family, 2, 3 or 4 family units). Then, you will start getting emails with homes that meet your criteria that if you want can start scheduling a viewing. Know your costs: The amount that you will be paying monthly is your principle, interest, taxes, and insurance is what you should focus on. You can use VA Loan Captain's Payment Calculator and input different scenarios to see what your payment would be. There are also other costs such as water/sewer that I typically allocated $100 a month for. Also, there are costs for maintaining any home single or multi-family which you will need to consider and depends on the age and condition of the property. Know your rents or potential rents: You can ask your realtor what the average rents are in the market that you are looking at. For example if average rents in the market for 1-bedroom apartments are $1000, and the units in the multi-family home that you are looking is average to what is available market, then you can use that to determine what you could charge if the units are vacant; or, what you could charge if there are tenants already in but paying a lower amount. Other considerations: If you go this path you will be a landlord which is something that is a small part-time job and not for everyone. Having some basic knowledge on appropriately screening applicants and knowing the state law will go a long way. Basic items for screening applicants include doing a credit check and collecting and calling references. Overall, using a VA loan to purchase a multi-family was a great experience that has now set me up with a solid cash flow positive investment. While this was beneficial, it required a lot of work and learning along the way. Ready to Make That Investment? Whether you're looking at a single-family home, or multi-unit investment, the first step in the VA loan process is to line up rates from lenders. Get started today with our loan finder: we'll match you with rate quotes from up to five lenders, no credit check required. Key Select Mineral List Type Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Dana Chemical Elements List of minerals for each chemical element H Hydrogen H Opal var. Opal-AN SiO 2 nH 2 O H Gypsum CaSO 4 2H 2 O H Opal SiO 2 nH 2 O C Carbon C Aragonite CaCO 3 O Oxygen O Opal var. Opal-AN SiO 2 nH 2 O O Gypsum CaSO 4 2H 2 O O Aragonite CaCO 3 O Opal SiO 2 nH 2 O Si Silicon Si Opal var. Opal-AN SiO 2 nH 2 O Si Opal SiO 2 nH 2 O S Sulfur S Gypsum CaSO 4 2H 2 O S Sulphur S 8 Ca Calcium Ca Gypsum CaSO 4 2H 2 O Ca Aragonite CaCO 3 References Sort by Year (asc) Year (desc) Author (A-Z) Author (Z-A) Other Databases Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality New Hebrides Plate Tectonic Plate This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary. Yasur, the best-known and most frequently visited of the Vanuatu volcanoes, has been in more-or-less continuous strombolian and vulcanian activity since Captain James Cook observed ash eruptions in 1774.This style of activity may have continued for the past 800 years.Yasur, located at the SE tip of Tanna Island, is a mostly unvegetated 361-m-high pyroclastic cone with a nearly circular, 400-m-wide summit crater.Yasur is largely contained within the small Yenkahe caldera and is the youngest of a group of Holocene volcanic centers constructed over the down-dropped NE flank of the Pleistocene Tukosmeru volcano.The Yenkahe horst is located within the Siwi ring fracture, a 4-km-wide, horseshoe-shaped caldera associated with the eruption of the andesitic Siwi pyroclastic sequence.Active tectonism along the Yenkahe horst accompanying eruptions of Yasur has raised Port Resolution harbor more than 20 m during the past century. How to use the mindat.org media viewer Click/touch this help panel to close it. Welcome to the mindat.org media viewer. Here is a quick guide to some of the options available to you. Different controls are available depending on the type of media being shown (photo, video, animation, 3d image) Controls - all media types Zoom in and out of media using your mousewheel or with a two-finger 'resize' action on a touch device. Use the mouse or your finger to drag the image or the view area of the image around the screen. < and > at the left and right hand side of the screen move forwards and backwards for the other images associated with the media you selected. Usually this is used for previous/next photo in a gallery, in an article or in search results. Keyboard shortcuts: use shift + the left and right arrow keys. < and > in the bottom center are used for switching between the photos of the same specimen. 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The 3D images can be viewed in several ways: - without any special equipment using cross-eyed or parallel-eyed method - with stereoscope - with anaglyph glasses. - on a suitable 3D TV or monitor (passive 3D system) For details about 3D refer to: Mindat manuals: Mindat Media Viewer: 3D To enable/disable 3D stereo display of a compatible stereo pair image press the 3 key. If the left/right images are reversed on your display (this often happens in full-screen mode) press the 4 key to reverse them. Controls - photo comparison mode If a photo with activated comparison mode is opened in the viewer, the button appears in the bottom right corner giving access to "Comparison mode settings" menu. Several layouts are supported: slider and side by-side comparison with up to 6 photos shown synchronously on the screen. On each of the compared photos a view selector is placed, e.g.: Longwave UV . It shows the name of currently selected view and allows to select a view for each placeholder. Summary of all keyboard shortcuts ALLEN PARK -- With Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones still banged up, the Detroit Lions have bolstered their depth at receiver by signing Brandon Reilly at the outset of mandatory minicamp. Linebacker Juwon Young was cut in the corresponding move. Reilly has bounced around the league a bit since going undrafted out of Nebraska in 2017, including a pair of previous stints with Detroit. He was signed to the practice squad late last season, then inked a futures deal in January before getting released last month. But with Golladay and Jones still nursing injuries that have held them out of most team drills available to reporters during OTAs, Detroit could use the extra body when minicamp opens on Tuesday. Another receiver, Tommylee Lewis, wasnt at last weeks OTA that was open to reporters. ROSCOMMON COUNTY, MI Police are looking for information regarding a hit-and-run in Northern Michigan. Troopers from the Michigan State Police Houghton Lake Post are investigating the crash that occurred on M-18 near Waco Road in Roscommon County around 4:25 p.m. on May 30. According to police, a bicyclist reported he was riding northbound on M-18 when a vehicle struck him with its passenger side mirror. The cyclist believed the car was a black 1990s or early 2000s Pontiac Bonneville or a similar style vehicle. The passengers side mirror and housing were broken off from the car as a result of the crash, police said. The cyclist received non-life-threatening injuries from the impact. Anyone with information on this vehicle or its driver is asked to contact the MSP Houghton Lake Post at 989-422-5024. A Detroit man is facing charges of firing a shot in a structure and carrying a concealed weapon without a permit after he allegedly fired a shot inside of shopping mall of the Las Vegas Strip on Memorial Day. While he is still facing those charges, 24-year-old Hasean Quinn had 13 other charges against him of assault with a weapon dropped during a court appearance Friday, according to the Associated Press. Quinn has been in custody since the incident which occurred at the Fashion Show mall. Police said the gunshot sent shoppers into a panic and caused a heavy police response. No one was injured in the incident, but the judge handling the case referenced the pandemonium caused by the gun shot. The mall is roughly two and a half miles from the site of a the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history which took place in October 2017. Quinn is expected to plead not guilty to the remaining charges, according to his lawyer Lisa Rasmussen. She went on to say she hopes to resolve the case before it goes to trial. Quinn is being held on $25,000 bail. High levels of PFAS were found in food offered for sale on supermarket shelves in 2017 during the first federal food tests for the chemicals. The Food and Drug Administration conducted market basket testing in mid-Atlantic states, looking for 20 types of PFAS, according to a new report from the Associated Press. The FDA so far has not released the results, the AP reported, though agency officials did disclose information on slides during a presentation in late May in Finland. From the report: PFOS, an older form of PFAS no longer made in the U.S., turned up at levels ranging from 134 parts per trillion to 865 parts per trillion in tilapia, chicken, turkey, beef, cod, salmon, shrimp, lamb, catfish and hot dogs. Prepared chocolate cake tested at 17,640 parts per trillion of a kind of PFAS called PFPeA. The FDA presentation also included what appeared to be previously unreported findings of PFAS levels one spiking over 1,000 parts per trillion in leafy green vegetables grown within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of an unspecified eastern U.S. PFAS plant and sold at a farmers market. The results are notable in part because the Environmental Protection Agency suggests 70-ppt as an unenforceable lifetime health advisory for drinking water. The EPA also announced early this year that will consider new drinking water limits as part of a new approach to the chemicals, which affect the drinking water of at least 110 million Americans. That approach by the EPA signals a significant new approach to PFAS as the nation escalates its concerns about them - but the agency also has been criticized for the pace of change. It could still be years before the EPA issues enforceable guidelines. Michigan, in the meantime, lowered its health screening levels for five types of PFAS earlier this year and it is moving toward setting a maximum contaminant level for drinking water. The state tested all public water supplies in 2018, and it continues to try to reduce the chemicals from ground and surface water. Scientists continue to revise some of their advice about the per- and poly-fluorinated compounds that have been linked to cancer, liver disease, endocrine disorders and other adverse health effects. One example in Michigan is PFAS foam on Michigan lakes and rivers, with state health officials now advising people to avoid foam and shower after touching it. The presence of PFAS in food and food packaging remains in the early investigative stages for many scientists. "Drinking one glass of contaminated water is unlikely to be associated with health risks, as is eating one slice of contaminated chocolate cake, East Carolina University toxicologist Jamie DeWitt told the Associated Press. Individually, each item is unlikely to be a huge problem, but collectively and over a lifetime, that may be a different story. Read the full report. HOLLAND, MI Two longstanding, family-owned businesses are teaming up to create a Michigan-inspired ice cream. Germack Honey Roasted Peanut is honey based and includes a peanut butter swirl alongside honey roasted peanuts from Germack Pistachio Company of Detroit, the oldest roaster of pistachio nuts in the United States. Its the latest flavor in Hudsonville Ice Creams Michigan Artisan Collection, a collection of flavors that representative of the best parts of Michigan with ingredients sourced from local artisan partners from across the state. The flavor will be available to sample for free while supplies last at a special tasting event at Germacks historic Eastern Market location, 2509 Russell St, in Detroit, beginning at 11 a.m. on June 8. Germack is known for so many incredible nut and coffee products, which meant we did taste testing on many different delicious flavor combinations before we landed on this new Honey Roasted Peanut flavor, said Kinsey MacDonald, a product developer with Hudsonville Ice Cream. The honey roasted peanuts from Germack stand out in our creamy honey ice cream and it is sure to be a favorite flavor this summer. With their commitment to an original time-honored roasting process, Germack embodies exactly the type of partner we want to work with as part of the Michigan Artisan Collection, highlighting the best flavors of our home state in every scoop. Hudsonville Ice Cream rolling out new lineup of dairy-free ice cream In addition to the free sampling opportunity on June 8, the Germack Honey Roasted Peanut flavor will be available in limited quantities at select scoop shops across the state, beginning June 9. Like other flavors in the Michigan Artisan Collection, this flavor is expected to sell out quickly. complete listing of shops is below. Our family began roasting nuts and seeds in Detroits Eastern Market in 1924, and for 95 years we have been loyal to the City of Detroit and the state of Michigan, said Frank Germack, co-owner of Germack Pistachio Co. We are so proud to serve our community, and to partner with Hudsonville Ice Cream for this years Michigan Artisan Collection is a meaningful way for us to celebrate our rich history this year. We hope everyone will stop by our shop on June 8 to taste this flavor for themselves. The Michigan Artisan Collection was launched in 2018. Previous flavors include Bowermans Blueberry Donut, Sweetie-Licious Pie Surprise and Ferris Coffee Caramel Cold Brew. Where to find Germack Honey Roasted Peanut: Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the suspect will be released from custody. DETROIT -- A suspect arrested last week in connection with the disappearance of a 5-year-old Detroit boy will not be charged with kidnapping after the Wayne County Prosecutors Office declined to press charges. According to Fox 2 Detroit, the office decided it did not have enough evidence to prosecute the suspect. The suspect allegedly took the boy from outside of his home last Thursday in the 19400 block of St. Marys road on the citys west side. Police arrested the male suspect Friday and twice submitted evidence to the prosecutors office hoping to have the man charged. The boy, Marcus Pruitt was found safe roughly 14 hours after he disappeared and officers reported he suffered no injuries while he was gone. During a press conference earlier in the day Monday, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said he did not know when or if charges would be formally brought against the suspect -- whose name is being withheld pending formal charges -- or why charges have yet to be filed. We dont chargeIm not at liberty to say something is lacking," Craig said when asked if something was missing preventing charges being filed. Craig went on to say the case has been turned over to the Wayne County Prosecutors Office. He also said video footage showed the suspect taking the boy from outside the home and that he was unaware of any connection between the suspect and Pruitts mother. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined with 51 other attorneys general to encourage the U.S. Department of Education to automatically forgive federal student loans of permanently disabled veterans. In a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Nessel and other attorneys general called on the department to develop a process to automatically forgive federal student loans of permanently disabled veterans. In the interim, they wrote, the department should stop debt collection efforts targeting disabled veterans and remove negative impacts of their student loans from their credit reports. Disabled veterans are already guaranteed student loan forgiveness, but currently the department requires them to apply for that forgiveness. The departments requirements may prove insurmountable obstacles to relief for many eligible veterans due to the severe nature of their disabilities, the attorneys general wrote. They cited Department of Education statistics showing more than 42,000 veterans with more than a collective $1 billion in student loan debt are eligible for total and permanent disability, or TPD, discharges, but fewer than 9,000 had applied for the discharges as of April 2018, and more than 25,000 were in default. Although we hope that the number of eligible veterans requesting TPD discharges has increased significantly in the interim, these initial numbers tend to confirm that the current approach is inadequate, the attorneys general wrote. Permanently disabled veterans face substantial challenges every day. After risking their lives for this country, its our duty to support them in every way we can, Nessel said in a statement. Ensuring the burden of federal student debt is automatically lifted off their shoulders is the least we can do. Other states and territories whose attorneys general signed onto the letter include: Alaska, Alabama, American Samoa, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Some nightly closures will return to the Detroit-Windsor tunnel as crews work to put the finishing touches on a two-year, $22 million renovation project. These closures come after a period of returned 24/7 service at the tunnel, and are set to resume between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays starting June 24. These nightly closures are currently scheduled to last through July 19. According to a news release announcing the update, the tunnel will remain open June 24 for a fireworks display on the Detroit River, and on July 4-6 for Independence Day. Related: Gordie Howe International Bridge, now $4.4B, to open in 2024 The work on the international tunnel is mostly complete, but these nightly closures are needed to complete some remaining ancillary work. This project was co-funded by the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel LLC and Windsor-Detroit Borderlink Limited. We know that thousands of people rely on the tunnel every day, and we would like to thank them for their patience and understanding during this important renovation work, Neal Belitsky, president of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, said in the release. This work was important to ensure that the tunnel will continue to be the premier gateway between Windsor and Detroit for years to come. The renovation project has revolved around replacing the 88-year-old tunnels concrete ceiling in addition to other infrastructure improvements. Its estimated the international tunnel sees about 12,000 daily customers in addition to 4 million annually. Related: New US-Canada bridge is about friendship, says governor at groundbreaking During construction, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel between the U.S. and Canada has had open hours from 5:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day. The tunnel has a lease with Detroit through 2040, and has invested $65 million in infrastructure, service and safety improvements since entering its agreement with the city back in 1998. Multiple road work projects are scheduled to start on Monday, June 3 in parts of 5 mid-Michigan counties. Crews will begin some parts of a $2.3 million resurfacing project on 3.6 miles of Dort Highway in Genesee County, from Interstate 75 to Hill Road, set to include joint repairs and resurfacing of ramps. Single-lane closures in each direction will take place overnight from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m., according to the Michigan Department of Transportation. Some of the work will be left undone and completed later in the year as part of the Dort Highway extension by the Genesee County Road Commission, from southbound I-75 to Baldwin Road, that includes three roundabouts. Two of the roundabouts are being located where Dort Highway currently ties into southbound and northbound I-75 and one where the highway would extend south across Cook Road. Dort Highway currently ends west of I-75. In Bay and Saginaw counties, lane closures will be in effect on M-13 between Interstate 75 near the Zilwaukee Bridge and McGraw Street in Bay City as part of a $5.6 million Michigan Department of Transportation project along a 5.5 mile stretch of road. The work expected to conclude by mid-October will include pavement resurfacing, curb and gutter improvements, joint repairs and new pavement markings. The project is hoped to increase the lifespan of M-13 and traffic will continue during construction with traffic regulators. Work is also scheduled to begin on resurfacing approximately 1.5 miles of M-61 from M-18 to Bowery Street and M-18 from Maple Streets to 1st Street in the city of Gladwin in Gladwin County. The $759,837 investment by MDOT includes resurfacing, concrete curb and gutter, sidewalk and joint repairs, ramp improvements to compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and drainage improvements. One lane of M-61 will stay open in each direction throughout the duration of the project -- meant, in part, to create a smoother driving surface -- estimated to be complete by August 2019. A culvert repair beginning on M-30 north of Estey Road in Gladwin County will require closing M-30 and detouring traffic via Knox Road, Shock Road, and Van Dyke Road until the weather-dependent work is completed on or about Thursday, June 6. Single-lane closures are part of repairing and rebuilding nearly 4.5 miles of I-69, from Bath Road to east of M-52 in Shiawassee County during a $5.8 million MDOT project set to begin Monday. Traffic will be maintained with single-lane closures in each direction and traffic shifts throughout the duration of the project -- set to wrap up by September 2019 -- to improve drainage and prevent future deterioration of the road. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- For close to a decade, overcrowding has been an issue on the Route 50 bus line students use to get from Grand Valley State Universitys Allendale campus to downtown Grand Rapids. GVSU President Thomas Haas and then-CEO of The Rapid Peter Vargas sought a solution amid growing ridership for years. Both were present Monday, June 3 to see their efforts take one step closer to reality as the first Laker Line bus was unveiled. The Laker Line is a 13-mile bus route from downtown Grand Rapids to GVSUs Allendale campus. Its 60-foot-long buses will fit 50 percent more riders and promise a more efficient commute along M-45/Lake Michigan Drive for a projected 10,000 to 13,000 daily riders. Mondays unveiling of the first of 13 Laker Line buses was part of a celebration to acknowledge last months kickoff to construction of the new bus stops along the Laker Line route -- formerly Route 50. It was at least eight or nine years ago, we saw the number of students continuing to use this capacity and going back and forth between the campuses, Haas said. And as we continue to grow downtown, with six of our eight colleges calling Grand Rapids home, we needed to serve them. This is so rewarding and so fulfilling for all of us here; the faculty, staff, students thatll be impacted, and those in the neighborhoods along the way. Construction on the 14 bus stations along the Laker Line route will continue throughout 2019 and into spring 2020 before the bus line is expected to begin serving the community in August 2020. The new transit system will replace The Rapids existing Route 50. Itll hold up to 30 more riders at a time than the current 40-foot buses, and is being advertised as having better schedule consistency and shorter ride times. Bus frequency is also expected to increase on nights, weekends and during the summer season. The route will begin at GVSUs Kirkhof Center in Allendale, travel north to Lake Michigan Drive and east to downtowns Fulton Street and Monroe Avenue intersection. There, buses will transport passengers north to Michigan Streets Medical Mile before terminating at Lafayette Avenue. Buses will complete a return loop to GVSU. Travel time between the Kirkof Center to the Pew Campus in downtown Grand Rapids is expected to be 25 minutes -- five minutes faster than Route 50. Like those along the Silver Line route, the Lake Lines bus stations will have elevated platforms for quick and universal access. Theyll also have pre-boarding fare collection and real-time information systems to indicate when the next bus is coming. Kentwood Mayor and The Rapid Board Chairman Stephen Kepley said hes excited for not only a higher quality experience for bus riders, but also well lit stations that are safer for the riding community. The $70 million Laker Line project is funded with $56.4 million in federal dollars and about $14 million from the Michigan Department of Transportation. GVSU will provide 50-60 percent of the estimated $3.5 million in operating costs, while the rest is covered by MDOT. Thats the same funding arrangement currently used for Route 50. Previously, the grand opening for the Laker Line was aimed for May 2020 but was pushed back to August 2020. The Laker Line buses will be articulated accordion-style vehicles powered by compressed natural gas. Haas called Mondays unveiling so satisfying and said he was glad Philomena Mantella, GVSUs next president as of July 1, was able to see the results of community partnerships, which he called the DNA of West Michigan." What an amazing moment to come into the city and come into the university," Mantella said. "Im so thankful for getting this done. This is so important to our city and our community and our university. GRAND RAPIDS, MI A man wanted for absconding on parole surrendered to police after a three-hour stand-off on Sunday, June 2. A 911 caller reported around 6:15 p.m. that a Michigans Most Wanted was on a porch, armed with a handgun, in the 1100 block of Jefferson Avneue SE. When police arrived, the 35-year-old suspect ran into a multi-unit residence and tried to run out of the back. Police identified the man as the parole absconder. The suspect, with a gun, ran back into the residence when he saw police. Grand Rapids police shut down the area to pedestrians and vehicles and called in the Special Response Team, crisis negotiators and detectives. After three hours, the suspect finally left the home and was arrested without further incident. No one else was inside the home. Police thanked a brave anonymous caller the arrest. ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI A man who was under the influence of marijuana when he caused a crash that killed a newlywed couple was sentenced Monday, June 3, to seven years, two months in prison. The mothers of the victims shared their devastation in emotional statements to a judge before Jacob Scot Damron, 22, was sentenced to the maximum penalty under advisory sentencing guidelines. Logan Allbaugh, 24, and Hannah (Kwekel) Allbaugh, 22, died in the crash last July at M-40 and 128th Avenue, south of Hamilton. Stephanie Allbaugh-Murray, who was 18 when she had her son, said she knows no life without him. In a way, they grew up together. As a teen and young adult, he spent a lot of time with her. He wasnt afraid to show how much he loved her, she said. The last time they were together, he hugged her and told her he loved her. He said, Ill see you soon. Except he didnt. It was the last time I saw him. I never knew the world could be so dark. My son is dead. How can that be? My son is dead. She and her husband, Joe, were at home when Holland police officers showed up. An officer apologized. There was no easy way to say it. Her son and daughter-in-law had just died. Her husband had to quickly notify family. She couldnt even say the words. She was devastated and numb and wanted to wake up from the nightmare. She kept waiting for her son to show up. I simply couldnt accept such a vibrant light could be gone, she told Allegan County Circuit Judge Margarez-Zuzich Bakker. She said her son and daughter-in-law had were in love and wanted to raise a family. Allbaugh-Murray said the pain and nightmare is always with her. In her thoughts, she sees images of the mangled wreckage. She imagines their broken bodies. Now, she just tries to get through the day. She worries when her two other children go out. What if this is the last time I see them, too? Logan Allbaugh had a younger brother and sister. He was their hero and best friend, their mother said. The couple were married June 23, 2018. The crash happened July 17, 2018. The couple met at youth group. He was a graduate of Hamilton High School. She graduated from Zeeland West High. They had a home in Allegan. I know the way she made his face light up, his mother said. Damron earlier pleaded no contest to two counts of operating under the influence causing death. He had used marijuana he had a medical-marijuana license and taken a prescription anti-depressant before the July 17 crash. Jacob Damron He failed to yield for a stop sign on 128th Avenue. His vehicle hit the couples vehicle on M-40. Their vehicle spun and was hit by an oncoming vehicle, sheriffs deputies said. Prosecutor Myrene Koch said tests showed Damrons vehicle was going 63mph when it crashed. Damron did not remember passing the stop sign. He had earlier experienced zoning out," she said. It was not an accident that happened to Logan and Hannah. It was a decision made solely by Jacob Damron, she said. Defense attorney Matthew Antkoviak said his client is remorseful and blames himself for the crash. His client read letters that the victims families and friends wrote to the court and he understands the devastation he has caused. He said his clients crime was a negligent act, rather than intentional to cause harm. Damron said: Im truly sorry for the tragedy and tremendous loss. He vowed to improve his life to honor those lost. The judge said Damron didnt set out to harm anyone but he put others in danger by driving under the influence of marijuana. Its a drug, and today, its proven to be a lethal one, Zuzich-Bakker said. The judge, a former prosecutor, said that in this day and age, drivers known the dangers of driving while impaired, whether by alcohol or drugs. Ive seen too many deaths in this courtroom. Im seen too many grieving families. Her courtroom was packed, with many having to stand for the sentencing hearing. Sara and Aaron Kwekel addressed the court before sentencing. Their daughter married her best friend, her mother said. "Hannah and Logan were beautiful people, she said. Their wedding was holy joy. Just weeks later, police told them their daughter had been in a bad crash and did not survive. They asked if she was alone. The officer said, Im so sorry. Logan didnt survive, either, she said. There is not a word to describe that pain. Not one word, she said. It was hard to accept they were gone. Now, she said, there are no grandchildren, no more I love yous, no more hugs, no more visits, no more of their laughter. The families are left with sadness, pain and anger, she said. This is the nightmare we wake up to every morning. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Attorneys for the families of those murdered in the 1987 Alpine Manor killings say the recent remorse of one of the two women responsible is nothing more than an act to get paroled. She obviously read the reports -- why (the parole board) denied her before -- and determined that she had to show some remorse, otherwise they never were even going to consider her for parole, said John Engman, an attorney for the families and the son-in-law of a woman who was killed in Alpine Manor. I dont believe this remorse is real. Kent County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Rossi heard those claims and other arguments Monday, June 3, as he weighed whether to uphold or overturn the Michigan Parole Boards decision to release Catherine Wood. The parole board granted Woods request for parole in 2018, but it was appealed by families of her victims. Rossi concluded the hearing saying hell issue a written decision at a later date. Beyond upholding or overturning the parole release, Rossi also has the option to request more information, such as a more recent risk assessment or psychological evaluation, before he makes a ruling. If the parole boards decision is overturned, Wood will likely be out of prison in about two years, having served about 32 years. Her maximum release date, though short of her 40-year sentence, is June 6, 2021 because of credit for good behavior and previous jail time. Good behavior credit was done away with in 1998 but still applies to those who earned it. Any bad behavior will forfeit all or a portion of that credit. Wood admitted to helping her co-worker and lover, nursing aide Gwendolyn Gail Graham, smother and kill five patients at Alpine Manor Nursing Home in Walker in 1987. Wood said her role in the killings was to act as a lookout or divert attention while Graham killed the incapacitated patients. The killings were intended to bind their love. Graham is serving life in prison without chance of parole after a jury convicted her on five counts of first-degree murder, thanks in part to Wood testifying against her former lover. Wood pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. Since 2005, Wood has been up for parole eight times. Engman read snippets from each of those denials for parole during the Monday hearing. Reasons for those denials, according to Engman, ranged from Woods lack of remorse, her failure to take responsibility for the killings and be transparent about them and her inability to convince the board she no longer posed a threat to society. It wasnt until 2016 that Wood began expressing full remorse for the slayings, he said. Engman argued, in part, that Wood shouldnt be paroled because the scorecard determining eligibility for parole does not account for the heinousness of the crime: a serial killing. While the scorecard gives negative points to a potential parolee if they participated in more than one killing, it doesnt give further deductions for multiple homicides, he said. For example, a dozen slayings counts the same as two killings on the scorecard. Roland Lindh, the court-appointed attorney representing Wood, argued that while Engman could have a valid point, the decision before Rossi is not about the integrity of the parole boards guidelines. By the states parole guidelines, Wood meets eligibility for release, he said. He said attorneys for the families are attempting to have the case and sentence relitigated. Their argument is that because of the crime she should never be eligible for parole, Lindh said Its the law that she is eligible (for parole). This courtroom isnt a place to change the law. An attorney for the parole board was in court Monday as well to argue the boards decision should be upheld. If Rossi overturns the parole board decision, Lindh claimed it would bring society one step closer to past times of frontier justice, where mobs would storm jails and lynch inmates. Days before the hearing, on May 31, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed a brief opposing Woods release, saying the parole board decided eight previous times to not release her given the severity of her crimes. Nessel, in the brief, wrote she believes Wood is still a threat to society and is not remorseful for her crimes. Because the brief was filed so late, Rossi said he would not take it into consideration when deliberating. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker did not oppose the parole boards decision, writing previously that his office reviewed the Parole Boards decision and found no basis for an appeal. GRAND RAPIDS, MI The fiancee of Quinn James, who was convicted of raping and killing a high school student, was sentenced to probation after lying to police about James crimes. She got five years probation and credit for more than five months of jail time already served. James killed East Kentwood High School sophomore Mujey Dumbuya last year. Hes also been convicted of raping her in 2017. Tiara Burnett, 27, was sentenced Monday, June 3 in Kent County Circuit Court on a charge of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators. Burnett entered a guilty plea before Judge George Quist on April 8, when prosecutors recommended that she serve no further jail time if she successfully completes five years of probation. She already spent 169 days in jail awaiting disposition of the case. Obstruction of justice has a five year maximum penalty. Taking into account that Burnett had no prior record, Quist sentenced her to five years of probation and 169 days of jail time, which will cancel out the time she has already served. Burnett told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press that she was OK with Mondays sentencing, and that 60 months of probation is better than jail time. This whole situation was upsetting and messed everything up for me, she said. I want to apologize to the family for their loss, and also Im very upset and hurt about the whole situation. Im still dealing with the issues but in time things will get better. The family of Dumbuya was not present at Mondays sentencing. James, 44, is serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of first-degree premeditated murder, felony murder and conspiracy. He is also serving 20 to 30 years in prison for raping Dumbuya. He raped her during the summer of 2017 while she dated his fiancees nephew, who was living with James and Burnett in Wyoming. Dumbuya was last seen Jan. 24, 2018, going to the bus stop for school. Two Western Michigan University students found her body four days later in the woods near North Prairie Avenue. GRAND RAPIDS, MI Visitors now have another hotel to stay at in downtown Grand Rapids. A grand opening is being held this morning for a 130-room AC Hotel by Marriott at 50 Monroe Ave. NW. Built inside a restored 127-year-old building that formerly housed a TGI Fridays and offices, the seven-story hotel has a sleek lobby, with dark-tiled floors, hardwood walls and an Art Deco inspired bar. General manager Ryan Schmied said he wants guests to feel that theyre entering a hip space, a happening place. Schmied worked for 14 years in Miamis hospitality industry before moving to Grand Rapids to help open the new hotel. The hotel, managed by Grand Rapids-based AHC+Hospitality, opened its doors late last month and thus far hasnt had any trouble filling its rooms, Schmied said. On Friday, May 31, the hotel whose rooms average about $200 a night was nearly at capacity. When you enter this lobby and you realize the price youre paying, you see the quality of the room, the quality of the service, the beverage and food (options), I just feel were over-delivering on every note, Schmied said. The hotel is the first AC Hotel by Marriott in Michigan. Rick Winn, president of AHC+Hospitality, which also manages the JW Marriott, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and Courtyard by Marriott, said the new hotel will provide additional space for groups and trade associations visiting Grand Rapids for conventions and trade shows. It will bring excitement to that corridor with 20 Monroe Live, he added, referring to the nearby live music venue. The building is owned by CWD Real Estate Development, the largest property owner in Grand Rapids. CWD bought the property in 2012 and began renovations in 2017. Prior to the renovations, the building was connected to an adjacent structure at 37 Ottawa Ave. NW. The buildings were separated during construction. Workers also stripped the exterior metal panels and glass, which had been added to both buildings in the mid-1980s. Now, the original brick used to construct the buildings more than a century ago can once again be seen. It felt like the building could breathe again, Winn said. Bringing things back to their original historic charm, I think, enhances the city and peoples experience. The hotels bar is located directly in the lobby and is not walled off by any doors, a feature thats designed to give the lobby a lively feel, Schmied said. The bar features a selection of Spanish wines, as well as local spirits and beer from businesses such as Founders Brewing Company, Brewery Vivant and Long Road Distillers. Customers can order small plates such as warm olives with citrus and spices and cubed fried potatoes with aioli. The hotel also features a $15 European breakfast bar with a variety of items such as freshly sliced prosciutto, espresso, cereal, fruit, yogurt, fresh bread and croissants, as well as a dish featuring cheese, prosciutto, eggs and garlic aioli. The hotels price falls between the luxury JW Marriott and the Courtyard by Marriott, Schmied said. The AC Hotel by Marriott is among a growing number of hotels opening in downtown Grand Rapids. In April, a 250-room Embassy Suites by Hilton hotel opened at 710 Monroe Ave. NW. And two other hotels a 146-room Marriott Residence Inn and a 160-room Hyatt Place Hotel are also under construction. A hotel is also planned as part of the roughly $140 million Studio Park project south of the Van Andel Arena. JACKSON, MI A driver who crashed into a garbage truck and killed a sanitation worker last year has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge. Kenneth Eggleston, 56, pleaded to one count of moving violation causing the death of Justin David Pratt, 27. Eggleston entered the plea in 12th District Court on May 23 before Judge Daniel Goostrey, according to court records. Eggleston faces up to one year in prison, a fine of $2,000 or both. His sentencing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on July 10. Eggleston was driving a pickup truck and pulling a pop-up camper when he crashed into a Modern Waste truck on Sept. 18, 2018. The crash pinned Pratt, a Modern Waste employee, between the trucks, according to police. Pratt was taken to Henry Ford Allegiance Health, where he died of his injuries, police said. Neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash, police said. Pratt was a decorated Marine Corp veteran and a father of two children, and was remembered for his dedication to family. Pratts funeral procession was escorted by a large fleet of sanitation and roadside work trucks on Sept. 23, 2018. RAISIN TWP., MI A house fire in Raisin Township killed two boys from Ohio on Sunday, Fire Chief Jeff Hannah said. Firefighters were dispatched for a possible lightning strike that started a fire just before 1 a.m. June 2, in the 3800 block of Black Highway, Hannah said. A 9-year-old and 15-year-old boy were taken from their grandparents house with severe burns covering their bodies and taken by ambulance to the University of Michigans C.S. Mott Childrens Hospital, where they died, Hannah said. The National Weather Service said the last lightning in the area was at 11 p.m. June 1, so that has been ruled out, Hannah said. Michigan State Police are assisting in the investigation, which is ongoing. There were no immediate signs of a suspicious cause, Hannah said. The driveway to the house was about 1,000 feet long and it was narrow and muddy, which made it difficult for firefighters to reach the fire, Hannah said. First responders were meeting Monday, June 3 to discuss the fire with the critical stress debriefing team from Lenawee County, which includes mental health professionals and social workers, Hannah said. GRASS LAKE, MI Two Grass Lake High School girls are sharing valedictorian honors after finishing with identical GPAs. They also share DNA. Identical twins Kayla and Maria Bolton, 18, each earned a 4.425 GPA to lead their graduating class of 66. The next highest GPAs belong to fraternal twins Connor and Barrett Bagby, 17. Kayla and Maria delivered their co-written speech at graduation on Sunday, June 2. "We hear a lot, 'You were only valedictorian because you had someone to just split all the work," Maria said. "Which is not true." Theyre not often much help to each other when studying, Kayla said, since they usually understand the same topics and need help with the same things. "Then, we just ask Connor and Barrett," Maria said. The sets of twins have known each other since elementary school and all four are going to the University of Michigan this fall. Each set of twins are the only children in their family. Both mothers are named Kelly, both fathers are named John. Kayla and Maria will study business, as they plan to open multiple businesses together. Theyve been plotting their ideas for years, including starting a business to flip houses. Theyre commuting from home this fall. Connor is in the business administration program at U of Ms Ross School of Business, while Barrett is in nursing and plans to go to grad school to be a nurse anesthetist. While the twins have different interests and career paths, they want to room together in the dorms. Being fraternal twins, the Bagbys say it's not too tough to be seen as their own person. "We're not so much twins as we are brothers that were born at the same time," Connor said. Each have thrived in their own paths, with Connor earning honors with Model United Nations and Barrett earning 12 varsity letters and qualifying for state finals in wrestling. "People have misconceptions," Barrett said. "It's not like in movies, we can't communicate telepathically." The Boltons might be a little closer to telepathy. They say they find themselves with the same thoughts, often making eye contact across the room, when it happens. But they can still quip back and forth like normal siblings. "I think it's just by nature that I seem like the older twin," said Maria, the elder by three minutes. "In her mind," Kayla said. "I feel like I take over the older sister role with protecting her more," Maria said. Kayla disagreed. "I drive you to school," Maria said. "I drive you home from school!" Kayla said. Another point about being a twin the Boltons and Bagbys agreed it was easier to find their way into trouble, having a sibling of the same age. The Bagbys tell a story from their youth, when they tied two battery-powered cars together, got in them and drove them in opposite directions. It didn't end well. When the Boltons were young, Maria went into a closet and snatched all the medicine she could find. I took it into the closet and told Kayla to come with me. We sat in the toy box and just ate all the medicine, Maria said. We ended up having to go to poison control Thats a prime example of us being troublemakers together. Their mothers understand it can be tough for twins to be compared to each other their whole life, but say the deal comes with a built-in companion for each twin to lean on. "One mom told me something (when I was pregnant) that I think about a lot," Kelly Bagby said. "Part of the thing about having twins is accepting they'll never need you more than they need each other." The sets of twins and their parents met in elementary school and followed each other from school to school. Their parents have photos of the four kids posing together from when they were little. While the Boltons and Bagbys are the only twins in their class, they had another twin to look up to their middle school and high school social studies teacher Joel Cook. He's also an identical twin. Joel Cook, now a principal at East Jackson Community Schools, is a twin to Michigan Center Schools superintendent Brady Cook. Joel Cook cracked jokes at awards nights, saying the Boltons and Bagbys were further proof that "twins are just smarter," Kelly Bolton said. With their accomplishments, its hard to disagree. KALAMAZOO TOWNSHIP, MI -- A new car wash and oil change facility plans to move onto the former Davenport University property at 4123 W. Main St. in Kalamazoo Township. Drive and Shine, a chain of car washes based in Mishawaka, Indiana, hopes to be up and running on the site by fall 2019, Kalamazoo Township Planner Patrick Hudson said. The planning commission is still reviewing a revised site plan for the property, Hudson said. The company negotiated a purchase agreement with Davenport, Hudson said, but the transaction itself has yet to be made. The university confirmed the pending sale of the property. The former Davenport building was torn down last month. The building was used as Davenports Kalamazoo location before the university restructured in July 2015. The Grand Rapids-based university also has campuses elsewhere in the state, including in Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Midland, Holland and Traverse City. Due to declining enrollment, Davenports Kalamazoo and Flint hubs merged with local community colleges. Davenport now has a local presence in the Kalamazoo area at Kalamazoo Valley Community College and in Flint at Mott Community College. The university moved out of the facility on West Main Street and onto KVCCs Texas Township campus in 2015. Drive and Shine has applied for a building permit for the new car wash, but it has not yet been granted, Hudson said. The company offers detailing, washing and oil changes to patrons, according to its website. The same company faced backlash from some citizens in the area while proposing a separate Drive and Shine location near the corner of Drake Avenue and Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo. Some residents expressed concerns the development would negatively impact the Asylum Lake Preserve located nearby. Later, the companys CEO expressed opposition to a moratorium on development and a new policy restricting construction planned in areas of the city defined as natural features. On May 20, the Kalamazoo City Commission approved the Natural Features Protection Overlay District . A representative from Drive and Shine could not be reached for comment. KALAMAZOO, MI -- A long-standing Kalamazoo bakery is for sale. Both locations of MacKenzies Bakery, on Harrison Street and West Main Street, are currently on the market with a listing price of nearly $1.3 million, according to a listing by Kalamazoo Commercial Real Estate. Described as a turnkey business opportunity, the $1,275,000 listing includes the business, both properties and all fixtures, furniture and equipment. The business specializes in baked goods, including artisan breads, cupcakes, donuts, pastries, sandwiches, smoothies, coffee drinks, wedding cakes and more.MacKenzies starting baking in Kalamazoo in 1980, but has roots in the region spanning back to the 1920s. The three-generation family business began when Nona MacKenzie and Henry Woods Cap MacKenzie began selling baked goods and produce from a roadside stand on M-140 between South Haven and Covert. Nonas grandson, John MacKenzie, would carry the family tradition forward and, with his sister, Mary, open the first MacKenzies Bakery in Kalamazoo in 1980. Later that decade, MacKenzies Bakery opened a second location in Portage. MacKenzies opened its newest building, on Harrison Street near downtown Kalamazoo, in 1998. The Portage location closed its doors in 2018. The bakerys donuts were chosen by the staff at the Kalamazoo Gazette in 2014 for MLive.coms Michigans Best Doughnut search. The business has been up for sale for a couple of years already, John MacKenzie said in an interview with MLive. MacKenzie, 71, said he is ready to retire. Im ready to go do something else, MacKenzie said. The business has served the community for nearly 50 years, but there is not a fourth generation interested in carrying on the family tradition. While waiting to sell, MacKenzie will continue at the helm of the business. Though its likely a new owner would change the name, MacKenzie hopes to see the bakery continue serving sweet treats to the community. Id hate to see it disappear," MacKenzie said. MUSKEGON, MI The developer behind 100 residences and 341 hotel rooms in downtown Muskegon waited 20 years to invest in the city. The former Muskegon Mall in downtown and the Sappi Paper Mill on Muskegon Lake made the area unattractive for investment, said Jon Rooks, owner of Parkland Properties. By 2009, two decades into Rooks career, both obstacles were removed and he was ready to take another look at Muskegon. Now, Rooks is all in. His latest project is the $8 million renovation of the Holiday Inn, which will take its new name - Delta Hotels by Marriott - on Tuesday, June 4. I drank the Kool-Aid, Rooks said to explain his love of Muskegon during a recent interview with MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. His Muskegon development projects range from repurposing old, abandoned buildings to erecting new housing to purchasing and renovating hotels. He describes the Holiday Inn renovation as one of the riskiest and longest return-on-investment projects hes ever done, but also one of the most rewarding. He sees the hotel that he purchased in 2013 as a boon to Muskegons growing tourism industry and a catalyst to the convention center in the works next door. He first invested in Muskegon when he purchased the old Hackley Union National Bank building in 2008 and then the Shoreline Inn hotel and surrounding property during summer 2009. During the 10 years that followed, Rooks invested millions of dollars in Muskegon, resulting in the turnaround of the Shoreline Inn, the rise of the Terrace Point Landing neighborhood, the renovation of the old bank into Highpoint Flats apartments, the repurposing of the Central Fire Station and Masonic Lodge, and the renovation and upcoming brand change at the Holiday Inn. Jon Rooks has been instrumental to the revitalization of downtown Muskegon the past decade, said Dave Alexander, executive director of Downtown Muskegon Now. He took us to new levels of redevelopment. ... What Jon Rooks has built and recreated in downtown Muskegon will be with this community for the next three or four generations. And that is a very good legacy. The Muskegon Mall was demolished in 2003, leaving a 23-acre sandlot where the downtown had been before the mall was built in the 1970s. Sappi Paper Mill closed in 2009. It was demolished from 2012-17 and is now the site of the ambitious Windward Pointe residential, commercial and recreational development. While the mall and paper mill closures were considered negative at the time, they created the need for Muskegon to reinvent itself. Skipping over Muskegon Rooks was an early adopter in downtown Muskegons renaissance, despite skipping over the city for 20 years starting in 1998 when he focused his development in the White Lake area, Spring Lake, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids and surrounding townships. Muskegon met all his criteria - next to a lake connected to Lake Michigan and within an hour drive from Grand Rapids - yet Rooks continued to look past it until 2008, he said. In 2003, he started renovating century-old buildings in downtown Grand Rapids. He compares Muskegon today to where Grand Rapids was from 2003-08. Theres an opportunity to invest ahead of the curve, or at the right point in the curve, and watch things go forward at a higher velocity than they had before, he said. Now hes selling off Grand Rapids assets to finance Muskegon investments, Rooks said. Hes so sold on Muskegon thats hes made the area his home. Rooks also made Muskegon the home of his business when he renovated the former Central Fire Station near downtown Muskegon into offices for Parkland Properties. His involvement in the downtown went beyond work when he purchased the former Masonic Lodge on Clay Avenue and donated it to Muskegon Community College. Its now part of MCCs downtown campus and bears the name Rooks|Sarnicola Entrepreneur Institute. Hotel turnaround While the old bank building was Rooks first downtown Muskegon purchase, the Shoreline Inn was his first project. Rooks investment at the Shoreline Inn meant the lights stayed on during the Great Recession. He purchased it when the former owners were on the brink of foreclosure. It was a time when few people would have invested, Alexander said. He saw great opportunity in Muskegon when others didnt or didnt have the stomach for uncertainty, Alexander said of Rooks. He saw Muskegons possibilities and was willing to make a bet on its future. Jon helped Muskegon believe in itself. All kinds of concepts were considered for the Shoreline, from condos to senior living, but the community wanted a hotel, he said. I was overwhelmed by the care and interest of the community, Rooks said. In four years, visits to the hotel went from 19,000 to 55,000 people annually, Rooks said. Remodeling the entire 11-story building, upgrading much of its infrastructure and hiring an expert manager were behind its success, he said. "It was a great turnaround experience and very rewarding because we were making it profitable and having a big impact on the community, he said. Room to build The Shoreline Inn purchase included The Lakehouse restaurant, Terrace Point Marina, 11 acres of property that is now the site of Terrace Point Landing homes and another five acres thats still undeveloped. The Terrace Point Landing project began to rise in 2015. When its finished, there will be 70 homes on the development. At least 43 lots are sold, including all 28 on the Muskegon Lake waterfront. We hit the nail on the head, Tom Monette, one of the Realtors handling sales at Terrace Point Landing, has said about the development. "Everyone seems to like what we have to offer The 28 waterfront condominiums are single-family structures. The remaining 42 condos are duplexes. Foray into apartments Condos were something Rooks had experience with. Apartments were not, he said. Thats one of the reasons it took a decade to redevelop the former Hackley bank building, which sat virtually untouched and for sale for most of the time he has owned it. One of five historic structures saved when the Muskegon Mall was demolished, the building reopened as Highpoint Flats apartments in May 2018. Construction began in 2017 - nine years after Rooks purchased the building. During the nine years between Rooks purchase of the bank and the start of construction on the apartments, he was hoping someone would buy the building. In hindsight, Muskegon wasnt ready for a market-rate apartment building until recently, and the timing of the project worked out well, Rooks said. The apartments were leased quickly, and work now is focused on opening commercial spaces on Highpoints first floor. Those will include BoomTown Market convenience store and Family Financial Credit Union. Reviving a downtown Of all the work hes done in downtown Muskegon, Rooks sees the Holiday Inn soon-to-be Delta Hotel as the most impactful. I thought it would lead to a revival in this area with the rest of West Western Avenue, he said of the 2013 purchase of the 200-room hotel at the corner of Western and Third Street. We hoped for a downtown convention center, and we knew Muskegon needed a new hotel to make that happen. The Delta Hotel is expected to serve users of the $19.5 million, city-owned convention center, which is expected to be built on Fourth Street between West Western Avenue and Shoreline Drive. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held on May 8. With the hotel connected to the convention center, Rooks is the largest financial stakeholder in the city project. The hotel is expected to offer additional breakout space for convention center patrons. An additional 4 percent room tax -- on top of the countys 4 percent room tax -- on the Delta and Shoreline Inn, will be used to help pay off bonds to finance convention center construction. Renovating and rebranding the Holiday Inn are part of the deal to make the convention center plausible, Rooks said. The renovations are expected to make the hotel practically new. The hotel - including lobby, meeting spaces, rooms, restaurants, fitness center and pool area - will be new from floor to ceiling when its finished, Rooks said. That means replacing walls, floors, ceilings, every piece of furniture and every light fixture. Its the biggest renovation of the hotel in 30 years. Two new restaurants, Timbers 939 and The Mill, and a Starbucks are expected to open at the Delta in June. The impact could be akin to what the Amway Grand Hotel did as a catalyst for development in downtown Grand Rapids, Rook said. Its going to be the longest rate of return I can imagine on anything Ive done, Rooks said of the hotel renovation. But its also more rewarding because of the impact it will have on the community. SAGINAW, MI When police executed search warrants at three Catholic Diocese of Saginaw properties last year during an investigation into claims of sexual abuse of minors, documents show they seized nearly 60 items of evidence. Among them, located in the bottom drawer of a filing cabinet at diocese headquarters, was a file labeled victim list. That information is contained in search warrant paperwork detailing what police seized during the March 2018 raid. The paperwork was recently unsealed and copies were obtained by MLive and The Saginaw News. The list of confiscated property shows investigators took 57 items during the search of three locations - former Bishop Joseph R. Cistones home at 32 E. Corral Drive in Saginaw Township, the Saginaw Diocese offices at 5800 Weiss St. in Saginaw Township and the rectory at Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption at 615 Hoyt St. in Saginaw. The items included computers, flash drives, expense accounts, internal memos and boxes containing the personnel files of now-convicted Rev. Robert J. DeLand Jr., three other priests and one deacon. The police paperwork does not explain the contents of the victim list file seized by investigators. The majority of evidence police seized has been turned over to the Michigan Attorney Generals Office, which is currently investigating all seven Catholic dioceses in the state on sex-abuse claims dating to the 1950s. As part of that investigation, law enforcement in October executed search warrants on each diocese in Saginaw, Detroit, Marquette, Lansing, Kalamazoo, Gaylord, and Grand Rapids. Attorney General Dana Nessel said she anticipated the states investigation would take in the neighborhood of two years. On Friday, May 24, Nessel announced her office was charging five priests with a combined 21 counts of criminal sexual conduct. None of them were assigned to the Saginaw Diocese. Four of the men were arrested at various places throughout the country while the fifth awaits extradition from India. Searches and suspensions At the time of the 2018 raid, police provided the Saginaw Diocese with copies of the search warrants and a tabulation of items seized, but not the affidavit giving details to support the search warrant. That document by Detective Scott Jackson outlines the probable cause for the searches and outlines allegations against the five clergymen. Of the five, three have been suspended by the diocese DeLand, the Rev. Ronald J. Dombrowski and, most recently, the Rev. Dennis Kucharczyk. The last was suspended on May 19 after the diocese said it received information from law enforcement regarding an allegation of misconduct involving a minor that occurred many years ago. Dombrowski and Kucharczyk have not been criminally charged and the other two have not been criminally charged or named by the diocese. Saginaw County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark J. Gaertner said although DeLands case was prosecuted, there was not sufficient evidence to charge the other four named in the search warrant affidavit. Erin Looby Carlson, director of communications for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw, said the church learned about the abuse allegations against Kucharczyk after the affidavit was unsealed. In March 2018, law enforcement provided the diocese only with names, not specific information or allegations, she said. The affidavit, which contained the details behind the search warrant, was not made available to the diocese. The affidavit was sealed by the court and the diocese attempted repeatedly over the next 15 months to have access to the affidavit. Gaertner said the court order prevented any further sharing of information at that time. Once its sealed, its under court order that nothing is to be revealed, Gaertner said. I cant violate a court order. Once the diocese learned the details of Kucharczyks alleged misconduct, it removed him from ministry and notified the Michigan Attorney Generals Office, Looby Carlson said. Elsewhere in the search warrant affidavit, Jackson wrote that on March 21, a priest who had previously worked in Saginaw told detectives a nun had been assigned by Bishop Cistone to the secure second floor of the Mary of the Assumption rectory and was going through files. This concerned detectives due to the past documented history of Bishop Joseph Cistone either covering up allegations of abuse and/or being involved in and/or the party to the destruction of evidence of crimes. Police arrested DeLand on sexual abuse charges on Feb. 25, 2018. The diocese suspended DeLand and on March 17, 2018, issued a press release on its website stating it was suspending Dombrowski due to an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor. The diocese, with the help of private investigator, also conducted an internal investigation in 2009 regarding the deacon and the fourth priest named in the search warrant affidavit. The affidavits account differs from the dioceses findings, Looby Carlson said. The diocese in 2009 informed the deacon it would not be ordaining him as a priest. He then left America to return to his native country, where he does serve as priest, Looby Carlson said. The Saginaw County Prosecutors Office handled the prosecution of DeLand, 72, who was charged with several counts related to the alleged abuse of two teens and one man. A jury on March 21 acquitted DeLand on some of the charges, but he later pleaded no contest to three charges. On April 25, Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson sentenced DeLand to two to 15 years in prison. DeLand is currently incarcerated the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center in Jackson. Democratic presidential hopeful Jay Inslee will visit Detroit Tuesday to discuss his agenda to address climate change and provide clean water and tour polluted areas of the city. Inslee, Washingtons Democratic governor, made environmental action the top policy priority of his 2020 presidential campaign. Inslee will meet environmental justice leaders at the Kemeny Recreation Center at 11 a.m. and participate in a walking tour of Detroits 48217 zip code, the most polluted zip code in Michigan, according to a release from the campaign. Among a crowded field of Democrats seeking their partys nomination in 2020, Inslee is positioning himself as the strongest voice on environmental action. The 68-year-old Democrat called climate change the most urgent challenge of our time." Inslee recently unveiled detailed plans to achieve zero emissions in various sectors of society by 2030 and invest $9 trillion in clean energy jobs during the next decade. The plans aim to set clean energy standards for new buildings and vehicles and create jobs. The enormous climate agenda also acknowledges communities of color, low-income families and indigenous people are disproportionally impacted by pollution and climate change. Inslee plans to discuss environmental justice in Detroit, where residents face a legacy of pollution from factories and steel mills, an oil refinery, truck traffic and other causes for concern. Inslee said rates of hospitalization and cancer are much higher in southwest Detroit compared to the rest of the state due to poor air quality. Inslees campaign has generally struggled to gain traction, polling toward the bottom of the two dozen candidates running for the Democratic nomination. He recently hit the Democratic National Conventions 65,000 individual donor requirement to participate in the first debate on June 26 and 27. Inslee could face an uphill battle to attract voters in Michigan, where early polling also shows him at the bottom of the pack. Tuesday will mark his first campaign stop in the state. A recent poll of 600 Michigan voters by Vanguard Public Affairs and Denno Research found support for Inslee was at less than 1%. The Great Lakes state is a key part of the Democratic Partys strategy to defeat President Donald Trump, who won Michigan by a narrow margin in 2016. The president is also focused on keeping Midwest states, but Democrats think they can prevent his re-election by winning back Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is also making her first Michigan visit Tuesday, with two public stops scheduled in Detroit and Lansing. Warren is generally polling in third place, behind U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Vice President Joe Biden. Before becoming governor, Inslee served in the Washington state House of Representatives. He was elected to represent Washington in the U.S. House from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1999 to 2012. Between terms in Congress, Inslee served as regional director for the United States Department of Health and Human Services under then-President Bill Clinton. In a campaign video published on March 1, Inslee presented himself as a career advocate to prevent climate change. Inslee said he enacted policies as Washington governor that make the state a national leader in clean energy, clean air and clean water. LANSING, MI -- Michigan farmers will keep their tax incentives if they build commercial solar panels on land set aside for agricultural use. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Gary McDowell announced Monday that participants in the states Farmland and Open Space Preservation Program can add solar panels to their land. The MDARD program provides tax incentives to property that block non-agricultural development for a minimum of 10 years. There are 3.4 million acres of farmland enrolled in the MDARD program, making land scarce for developers searching for farmland to build large solar array projects, according to a Monday release. Wind turbines and cell phone towers were allowed to be placed on land in the program, but farmers had to end their contracts with the state before enter commercial solar leases. Ending the agreement early meant repaying the last seven years of tax credits with 6% interest. The administrative decision will not result in a loss of useable farmland, McDowell said in a statement. Instead, it ensures Michigan farmland is preserved so we can continue to feed our communities while also balancing the need to develop renewable energy sources," he said. Whitmer expressed a commitment to meet a growing demand for clean renewable energy sources. She said investments in renewable energy protect the states environment while providing Michigan farmers with a new way to make money and boost economic development. The Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, Michigan Agri-Business Association and Michigan Conservative Energy Forum celebrated the new revenue stream for farmers. They said rural communities will benefit from jobs and economic boosts that come with solar installations. Solar energy provides farmers, agribusinesses and farm communities with a steady source of tax revenue while preserving farmland for future generations, said MABA President Jim Byrum. Michigan League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Lisa Wozniak said the new rules will remove barriers for solar development in rural communities. ""At a time when big utility companies like DTE and Consumers Energy are laying out their long-term energy plans, this order will remove barriers to solar energy and provide opportunities to aggressively follow through on their own clean energy goals, Wozniak said. The decision is a result of a process Whitmer began by convening a task force of agricultural and conservation partners. The group was charged with determining how renewable energy could be a part of the larger farmland preservation effort. This is an exciting new opportunity for Michigans farmers to diversify while they continue to face challenging circumstances, McDowell said in a statement. The policy also puts in place conditions to ensure the land is returned to a condition that allows for agriculture production after solar panels are removed. The landowners must sign an amended agreement that guarantees these conditions are met. Sites that add solar panels must also meet pollinator habitat standards designed by researchers at Michigan State University. Michigan Environmental Council Agricultural Policy Director Tom Zimnicki said the protection for pollinators reduces threats to food production for crops like apples, blueberries and cherries. The executive decision is an "all around win for Michigan, Zimnicki said. "The pollinator habitat requirement of this executive decision is an important step for ensuring food production, and hopefully serves as a model to other states for how renewable energy, pollinator habitat, and agriculture can coexist for the betterment of everyone, Zimnicki said. MDARD has added 212,691 acres to the farmland preservation program since 2014. An estimated $53 million in tax credits were issued in 2018. LANSING, MI -- The husband of Democratic presidential hopeful and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg will attend a private fundraiser for Democrats in Ingham County next week. Chasten Glezman, 29, is a Michigan native who grew up in Traverse City before marrying Buttigieg. He will attend the Ingham County Democratic Partys annual fundraiser dinner at the University Club of Michigan State University on June 13, with tickets going for $80 to $1,250. This dinner helps the local Democratic organization collect resources for the upcoming election. Most of the funds raised in 2018 were used to assist get out the vote efforts for U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, according to a statement from Ingham County Democratic Party Chair Chris Swope. Slokin was also invited to attend the fundraiser. The event will be emceed by Kelly Rossman-McKinney, communications director for Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel. Glezman would be the countrys only first man in the White House, husband to the youngest and only candidate in the 2020 race. A 2018 New York Times report on couples marriage noted Glezman left his parents home in Traverse City shortly after disclosing his sexuality to his family at the age of 18. Glezman received a bachelors degree in theater and global studies from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and masters degree in education from DePaul University. He was a drama teacher in Milwaukee, Chicago, South Bend Public Schools and Montessori Academy at Edison Lakes in Indiana. Though Buttigieg, 37, entered the race without much name recognition, polling shows hes since leapfrogged over more experienced Democrats seeking the presidency. The two-term mayor of South Bend Indiana and U.S. Navy Reserve veteran positioned himself as a millennial with a fresh vision for the country. Buttigieg promises to bring policy issues hes implemented in South Bend to the national stage, particularly investment in advanced industries, data, technology and higher education. Buttigieg has yet to campaign in Michigan, despite the state attracting a flurry visits from several other candidates. Buttigieg finished fourth among the crowded Democratic field in a poll of 600 Michigan voters conducted by Vanguard Public Affiars and Denno Research. Buttigieg picked up the support of 5% of survey participants, finishing behind former Vice President Joe Biden, who has yet to visit Michigan, and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Michigan is set to be a battleground for Democrats seeking their partys nomination in 2020. Republican President Donald Trump also targeted Michigan as a key part of his re-election campaign, striving to hold on to Midwestern states he captured in 2016. Warren is scheduled to visit Lansing and Detroit Tuesday. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is also planning a campaign stop in Detroit Tuesday. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made campaign stops in Michigan earlier this year. by Jessie Blaeser By the end of Mount Everests 2019 climbing season, 11 people died attempting to summit the mountaina four-year high. Watchdogs blame weather conditions and overcrowding on the mountain for the fatalitiesthey believe this years record number of Nepalese climbing permits contributed to the deaths and say permits should only be awarded to experienced hikers. Others argue that the hikehowever dangerousshould be open to all. What do you think? In order to begin climbing Mount Everest in Nepal, hikers must obtain a permit. The Nepalese government awarded a record number of Everest climbing permits this year381 to be exactand it looks forward to awarding more in the future. NPR notes the current prerequisites for these permits: Foreign climbers must pay a fee of $11,000 for a spring summit of Everest and provide a doctor's note attesting to their fitness. According to government officials, bad weather during climbing season left just a few days for most climbers to summit. There are other factors beyond climbing permits for why the mountain seems overcrowded and particularly unsafe; permit numbers alone are not to blame. According to Time, Nepal does not cap the number of permits it awards, nor does it control the pace of expeditions. Granted, Mount Everest is obviously a large mountain, but climbers only have a few weeks in which conditions are ideal for summiting. The more permits the government awards, the larger the pool of climbers trying to summit, leading to dangerous pileups. Time explains why pileups are so deadly: Because of the altitude, climbers have just hours to reach the top before they are at risk of a pulmonary edema, when the lungs fill with liquid. Waiting in line to reach the top of a mountain is a recipe for disaster. In order to avoid these crowds, governments should enforce prerequisites for climbers based off of their experience. Climbing Everest is an elite activity, not a bucket-list item for tourists. Once only accessible to well-heeled elite mountaineers, Nepals booming climbing market has driven down the cost of an expedition, opening Everest up to hobbyists and adventure-seekers. Nepal requires climbers to have a doctors note deeming them physically fit, but not to prove their stamina at such extreme heights. According to Time, the Mount Everest climbing industry provides major support for the Nepalese economy. Nepal, one of the worlds poorest countries, relies on the climbing industry to bring in $300 million each year. Economic support should never come at the cost of human life, but the Nepalese side of the mountain has been open since 1985. As climbers and guides learn more about the mountain, more people want to attempt it themselves. The recent narrative of overcrowding paints one side of the story for Everest this season. Safety should always be the top priority, but when it comes to implementing a cap on permits or requiring a certain amount of experience from climbers, Nepal must look at the full picture. #Everest unfairly trashed via viral image of traffic jam on May 22 2019. Below are REAL photos of my climb to #Summit on May 15. Devoid of jams & I spent an HOUR at summit. With only a 3-4 day weather window & ~300 #EverestSummiteer annually, jams will exist. Spread the truth! pic.twitter.com/wwrhSlP5hL Karma Tenzing (@karma10zing) May 28, 2019 Expedition companies, which lead groups of climbers up dangerous peaks like Everest, require a certain amount of experience before climbers can join. CNNs Nicole Chavez spoke with Gordon Janow, a director at Alpine Ascents International, on the matter: Most climbers spend months or even years before even thinking about making it to the Himalayas. Janow said his guides only take climbers to Everest who have successfully reached one or two other challenging peaks. With this in mind, its hard to believe that those issuing permits to climb Mount Everest would not do the same. Chavez confirmed that Nepal does not require climbing experience with Danduraj Ghimire, the director general of Nepals Tourism Department: While most expedition companies review their clients' experience before helping them get a permit, Nepal does not currently require proof of climbing experience for those climbing Everest, Ghimire said. It's really weird that people need to be told that you should have climbing experience to try and climb Mt. Everest. And it's appalling that inexperienced climbers are causing such havoc at the top of the world. roxane gay (@rgay) May 29, 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. An explosion in Kabul has targeted a bus carrying the employees of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission, ToloNews reported on Monday. The Interior Ministrys spokesman Nasrat Rahimi confirmed that a magnetic IED blast targeted the bus in Darul Aman road near the American University of Afghanistan at around 1:30pm. He added that casualties were feared as a result of the explosion. The bus was hired by employees of the commission but it was not owned by the government organization. The attack comes a day after four explosions happened in Kabul on Sunday. Blast targets bus carrying govt employees near American University in Kabul report Blast targets bus carrying govt employees near American University in Kabul report Source : RT - Daily news As the US-China trade war continues to escalate, Beijing and its energy giants appear to be bracing for a worst-case scenario where the spat would drag on for years and possibly result in Chinese foreign oil supply stifled. The idea that the worlds top oil importer could see some of its overseas crude supply blocked has always been an unthinkable notion, but now some analysts and Chinese industry executives suggest that China should prepare for the very worst of the worst, such as its oil supply impacted by a lengthy trade dispute. China is now looking at its oil supply situation from the worst-case scenario, like what the US has done to Iran, Laban Yu, an analyst with Jefferies Group LLC in Hong Kong, told Bloomberg. Obviously, China believes now more than ever that similar US sanctions against a whole country could happen to China. Also on rt.com China rebuffs US penalties threat for allowing ship with Iranian oil to enter Hong Kong Chinese oil industry executives said this past week that Chinas oil industry must have a contingency plan in case the trade war takes another turn for the worse. According to Bloomberg, Wang Yilin, chairman of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), told employees to prepare for a protracted trade conflict, while Fu Chengyu, former chairman at Sinopec, said that China should be ready for the extreme and far-fetched case that its oil supply could be blocked in the short term. Industry executives also stressed the need that China should work to achieve energy self-sufficiency, which, according to Fu, has become an urgent reality. Chinas oil import dependence is at 70 percent currently, so it cant achieve this self-sufficiency in a decade or two, even if it were to start steadily reversing its declining oil production and tap more shale oil and gas resources. Read more on Oilprice.com: How clean is freedom gas? Over the past year, Chinas biggest energy producers have started to tap more tight oil and gas wells, aiming to increase domestic oil and natural gas production at the worlds largest crude oil importer. A PetroChina test oil well at a shale field in western China could finally mean a strong commercial potential for shale oil for the first time in the worlds top crude importer, Morgan Stanley said earlier this year. The shale boom in China, however, would be just a fraction of the US shale revolutionMorgan Stanley expects Chinese shale oil production could reach between 100,000 bpd and 200,000 bpd by 2025, which is nothing compared to the millions of barrels of oil pumped in the United States every day. Also on rt.com South Korea switches to Russian crude to replace banned Iranian supplies According to analysts at S&P Global Platts Analytics and Wood Mackenzie, China is set to miss its 2020 shale gas production targets, due to complex geology, low well productivity, marginal economics, and infrastructure constraints. Energy independence is still a far-fetched idea in Chinas case. Equally far-fetched is the idea that the fallout from the trade war could result in stifling Chinese oil imports, according to Neil Beveridge, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co in Hong Kong. Read: more on Oilprice.com: Why oil majors are going all-in on US shale It only happens when both countries are going into war. Cutting off oil supplies to China to some extent is equal to a declaration of war, Beveridge told Bloomberg. China, however, appears to be filling in its strategic petroleum reserves in recent months, as it has been boosting oil imports by 10 percent while refining output has been growing at five percent, according to the analyst. Also on rt.com One country that could win big from the US-China trade war Due to the trade spat, over the past few months China has also only sporadically bought crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United Statesa sharp reversal from the booming Chinese imports of American energy at this time last year. There were even some months where China purchased no US crude oil at all, according to EIA data. It has also drastically reduced LNG imports from the US as China has a 10-percent import tariff on American LNGa tariff set to rise to 25 percent on June 1. Even those Chinese buyers that have continued to purchase US LNG are now looking to swap American cargoes for cargoes from nations not subject to tariffs, traders with knowledge of the plans told Bloomberg earlier in May. With the trade war heating up, China appears to be rallying all means and resources available to reduce the role of the US in its economy and economic growth, as Beijing has lost trust in the United States both as a supplier and an export market, Jefferies Groups Yu told Bloomberg. This article was originally published on Oilprice.com NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is in Skopje for a two-day visit before North Macedonia officially becomes the alliances 30th member by the end of the year. Stoltenberg arrived on Sunday afternoon and will meet the Balkan countrys leaders on Monday, AP said. NATO member states and North Macedonia signed an agreement last February, clearing the way for membership. The move came after North Macedonia and Greece inked a deal in June last year that ended a decades-long bilateral dispute. Athens had blocked its neighbors membership to NATO since 2008, objecting that the name Macedonia implied territorial claims on Greece. NATOs Stoltenberg visits Skopje as alliance clears way for N. Macedonia membership NATOs Stoltenberg visits Skopje as alliance clears way for N. Macedonia membership Source : RT - Daily news Iran will suffer dire consequences if it threatens Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu warned as he ordered illustrative air raids in Syria, reminding voters in the looming snap elections of his firm stance on the occupied Golan Heights. In a rare public acknowledgement of Israeli cross-border operations, Netanyahu on Sunday boasted of personally ordering airstrikes against Syrian military positions. As a demonstration of Tel Avivs readiness to respond with great force to any aggression, the IAF pounded Syrian armys artillery batteries, observation posts and air defense units, killing 3 soldiers and wounding 7 others in retaliation for two rocket allegedly launched from the Syrian side. While we do not make light of Iran's threats, neither are we deterred by them because anyone who tries to hurt us will be hurt far worse. Mere hours after Netanyahus passionate speech, Syrian Arab Air Force Tiyas Airbase was targeted in another air raid. At least one Syrian soldier was killed and two others wounded in the attack which military sources also blamed on Israel. Also on rt.com 1 killed in Israeli missile strike on Syrian airbase in Homs, day after IDF raids Damascus, which views the raids as a blatant violation of its sovereignty, repeatedly accused Israel of helping and boosting the morale of the remaining terrorists in Syria. Sundays raid too corresponded with successive terrorist attacks in the northern suburbs of Hama and Idlib, Sana reported. Israel seems to have intensified its cross-border intrusions, inspired by the US President Donald Trumps recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, while the rest of the world continues to dispute the occupation, analysts told RT. Israel responded so quickly because they want to preserve the status quo of the Israeli occupation, Ali Rizk, a Middle East-based journalist and writer told RT. Israel has no right to be on the Golan Heights in the first place. Also on rt.com Israeli jets & combat helicopters strike Syrian artillery, air defense units IDF Observers agree that the raids could be interpreted as campaign stunt to boost popularity of Netanyahu and his Likud party, who are running for re-election in September, after failing to form a coalition government for the first time in Israeli history. Netanyahu is on solid ground when it comes to his security policy and dealing with threats. He enjoys broad support both from the left and the right on this matter, political analyst, Mitchell Barak told RT. Also on rt.com Very nice: Netanyahu pleased with Trumps approval of Israel map including occupied Golan Heights Not many countries would follow the US in recognition of Jerusalem and the Golan heights, Rizk added. These steps taken by Washington benefit primarily Netanyahu still he is up for re-election anyway. We see a continued campaign of strikes, counter-strikes and retaliation. Both sides play more for politics; it is not only the Israeli side, journalist Martin Jay told RT. Israels enemies would not be there in the first place if not for the US foreign policy failures. Also on rt.com End of Bibis era? Bleak prospects for Netanyahu as Israels embattled PM faces snap elections Like this story? Share it with a friend! Saudi Arabia criticized Qatar on Monday for rejecting the outcome of recent Mecca talks on regional tensions with Iran, while the UAE accused Doha of backtracking on the summits conclusions. Doha, which attended the three meetings in the holy city, said on Sunday it rejected the outcomes as it had not been properly consulted, AFP reported. Qatars foreign minister said on Sunday that the concluding statements of the summits were ready in advance and we were not consulted on them. Qatar has reservations on the Arab and Gulf summits because some of their terms are contrary to Dohas foreign policy, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani told the Al-Araby broadcaster. The statements at the summits condemned Iran but did not refer to a moderate policy to speak with Tehran, Al-Thani said in remarks reported by Al Jazeera television. Saudi, UAE slam Qatar for rejecting outcome of Mecca talks on Iran Saudi, UAE slam Qatar for rejecting outcome of Mecca talks on Iran Source : RT - Daily news Donald Trump has boasted about US shipments of freedom and opportunity abroad now in liquid form as Washington continues to persuade its allies half across the globe to buy its overpriced liquefied natural gas. The first shipment of LNG has just left the Cameron LNG Export Facility in Louisiana, Trump said on Twitter. Not only have thousands of JOBS been created in USA, were shipping freedom and opportunity abroad! Trump unironically branded LNG exports as true harbingers of freedom, as Washington struggles to capture European market through demonizing its competitor Moscow. Russias EU partners, especially Germany, however, refuse to bow to US pressure, arguing that Russian pipeline supplies are much more economically feasible. Also on rt.com Shhh. It's not fracking, it's freedom gas. Last year, American molecules of freedom were exported to 28 nations, with South Korea, Mexico, Japan, and Chile being the top destinations. China, which also got a taste of the freedom gas was the third largest importer, but that might soon change as cheaper Russian gas is about to start flowing through Gazproms Power of Siberia pipeline by the end of this year. Also on rt.com Beijing wants more Russian gas as Gazproms mega pipeline to China nears completion Like this story? Share it with a friend! Multiple US Air Force aircraft, including a B-52 strategic bomber, have joined USS Abraham Lincoln carrier in the Arabian Sea for a complex simulated strike operations exercise to get ready to take on Iran on first notice. The drills witnessed F/A-18 Super Hornets, MH-60 Sea Hawk helicopters and E-2D Growlers from the USS Abraham Lincoln mastering joint maneuvers to improve their operational tactics in several warfare areas, US Naval Forces Central Command said Sunday. Among other joint training evolutions, the US Air Force participated in strike coordination and reconnaissance exercises. The training the air wing conducted with the B-52 today is an incredible demonstration of how our military can rapidly join capabilities to enhance our lethality and our ability to respond to any threat when called upon, commander Carrier Air Wing Seven, Capt. William Reed noted. Also on rt.com Iran shattered US psyops and dried up its capacity for war, says head of Irans Rev Guards Abraham Lincoln Carrier strike group and American strategic bombers were sent to the Persian Gulf last month after the US accused Iran of plotting to destabilize the region. Tehran had been downplaying the buildup of US forces near its waters, but said that its Navy is prepared to repel any Washington-led aggression should a conflict break out. Also on rt.com Tehran ready for possibility of war with US, but hopes for dialogue Iran's deputy FM Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! Israel's Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (L) arrives to attend the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, on June 2, 2019. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday fired his justice and education ministers, days after the parliament called for early elections. (Xinhua/JINI/Yonatan Sindel) JERUSALEM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired on Sunday his justice and education ministers, days after the parliament called for early elections. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Xinhua that Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and Education Minister Naftali Bennett, two pro-settler former allies of Netanyahu, were dismissed. The move was widely reported in Israeli media but no official statement was issued by the Prime Minister's Office and no explanations were made. Bennett and Shaked issued a joint statement, saying they "thank the Israeli public for the rare privilege we have had to serve as education and justice ministers." They added: "All we did was for the good of the State of Israel and its citizens." Last Wednesday, the Israeli parliament, or the Knesset, voted to hold early elections, less than two months after the previous elections. The move was promoted by Netanyahu's Likud party after he failed to form a governing coalition. Shaked and Bennett, two hawkish and popular politicians, formed a new party before April's elections but failed to pass the electoral threshold. However, they remained in their offices in the interim government. They did not say whether they will run also in the upcoming September's elections. 3 1 [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] Representational image (Maxpixel) JPMorgan Chase just had to cough up $5 million to settle a case alleging that the corporation refused to give its male employees the same chance as its female employees to attend to their new-borns. According to a Marketwatch report, the settlement is believed to be the largest amount ever paid for a parental-leave bias case. This case could also make other firms question and review their own family leave policies. The settlement amount will be distributed among all the male employees who felt they faced discrimination vis-a-vis the paid leave allotted to them by virtue of being primary caregivers. The case goes back to 2017, when Derek Rotondo, one of the firms employee, was preparing for the birth of his second child. He had sought a 16-week paid leave by virtue of being a primary caregiver. Notably, Chase had just expanded its paid parental leaves from 12 to 16 weeks, a few months before Rotondo sought his offs. The companys human resources representative, however, told Rotondo that only women are considered to be primary caregivers. Therefore, if he wanted such leaves, he would have to submit documents stating his wife is medically incapable of taking care of the infant. He was finally granted only two weeks leave. Thereafter, he filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Later, JPMorgan Chase granted him the full 16-week off and also clarified that its parental leave policy was not gendered. Not satisfied with the deal, Rotondo took up the fight for a larger cause. He approached the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to make sure that no other father was discriminated against either. This is not the first time that a fight for equal parental leaves has been taken to the court. In 2018, Estee Lauder had to shell out more than $1 million to settle a similar lawsuit. In 2015, Time Warner also had to settle a similar case filed by a CNN journalist who had sought a change in its leave policy to make it gender-neutral. Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra maybe even the rest of India are in the grip of what people call the tanker-mafia. To understand this better, lets focus on Mumbai. This is because Mumbai is a big city. It generates a great deal of money. It consumes a lot of water. And, numbers for water related to this city are available. Three anecdotes tell the story quite succinctly. Rewind to 2014. Devendra Fadnavis became the chief minister of Maharashtra. He announced a stop to tankers. In Marathawada, tankers were almost abolished. Today, it is back to the future. Almost 6,200 tankers over 10 times their original number -- traverse the same regions from where they were abolished. Fast forward to last fortnight when a 16-year-old carrom player was run over by a water tanker in Mumbai. Then, do a casual search on Google or Bing on water tanker and deaths, and you will be surprised to know the large number of deaths water tankers cause in Mumbai and all over India. Do a fact check. Stand atop a foot over bridge at any busy intersection in Mumbai. Look out for water tankers. Observe the manner in which they cut across traffic lanes, and sometimes even traffic signals, in Mumbai. The traffic cops, despite their hi-resolution cameras, turn a blind eye to these infractions. Why? The answer is simple. Tankers spell money. This is often in collusion with the authorities of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) and the police (the elected bodies are often silent conspirators as well). It is not unusual to find relatives of state authorities and even politicians owning and running fleets of tanker trucks. Naturally, then, the police are urged not to delay tankers with inspections or prosecution notices because each tanker must complete anywhere between 10 and 40 trips each day. In cities like Mumbai, tankers run on all 365 days of the year because municipal authorities ensure that water does not reache houses and slums in adequate quantities, thus making them depend on the water tanker service. In Mumbai alone, the tanker business generates revenues of well over Rs.1,000 crore each year (see chart). This number is an understatement, as the second chart will show. Ironically, the source of water for the tankers is often the municipality itself. When it comes to private business at the cost of the exchequer, the speed, efficiency and the coordination are amazingly efficient. The bigger picture for Mumbai Now, forget the simplistic picture. This is because Mumbai could be deploying a lot many more tankers and generating a lot more of unaccountable money each day. That could explain why the MCGM staff ensures that adequate water does not reach houses and slums. And, the best proof of the diversion of water can be found in the huge number for non-revenue water (NRW or the water which disappears and cannot be accounted for because of either evaporation or distribution losses or even theft). For this, we need to go to the table which gives us the total water available to Mumbai from its entire catchment area. According to a compilation by the USAID in October 2016 on pg 24, "The total surface water potential of MHA is estimated to be 10,439 million cubic meter (MCM) at 75% dependability (or depth) and 7.869 MCM at 90% dependability. . The table alongside has the first set of numbers drawn from this report. The NRW is pegged in Mumbai at around 30 percent. The state government has set a target to bring this down to 15 percent. Even then, the NRW is quite high. The most efficient states have an NRW of not more than 5 percent. What does the 15 percent additional NRW translate in to? For this, check out the figures in the table on Mumbais water profile. It becomes clear that Mumbai has access to around 8,043 MCM of water from its catchment areas and lakes (Vaitarna, Ulhas, Patalganga and Amba). Of this, around 2,185 MCM is earmarked for irrigation. That leaves the city with 5,858 MCM. At 15 percent, the NRW accounts for around 2,407 million litres daily. That is enough water for 240,740 truck trips. Assuming the lowest charge that trucks charge per trip for delivering 10,000 litres of water (Rs.2,000), the trucks could be making as much as Rs.48 crore per day. That means annual earnings of Rs.17,574 crore. Discount this number further the way you want, and still you end up with numbers that exceed around Rs.8,000 crore to Rs.10,000 crore. And, this is from Mumbai alone. Now, thanks to the drought-like conditions, another 6,200 tankers have been pressed into service in the drought prone areas. Add to this the tankers that ply in other cities Nagpur Pune, Nashik, Aurangabad and others. Then consider the numbers for other states as well. It then becomes clear why the water tanker mafia becomes extremely important to the political and bureaucratic grease machinery that exists in India. It also partly explains why everyone loves a drought. There is so much more money to be made. The next article shall talk about how the best plans for water irrigation, water conservation and water harvesting are frustrated by money-making lobbies in the state. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More It was a roller coaster ride for traders as the month of May started muted with nine straight consecutive sessions of fall but then bulls took control in the last 10 days to push Nifty towards a record high of 12,041. Rollovers in derivatives for June series were slightly better than the previous few months indicating the return of confidence among the investor community. For the month, Nifty rose 1.48 percent while Sensex rallied 1.7 percent in the same period. Benchmark indices might have registered minor gains but the big move was seen in the broader market. As many as 80 stocks in the S&P BSE 500 index rose 10-30 percent in May including Inox Wind, Can Fin Homes, BEML, Ujjivan Financial, SpiceJet, Bajaj Finance, SBI, Birla Corporation, PNB Housing and Edelweiss Financial Services. The Union Budget will be presented on July 5, I&B Minister Prakash Javadekar announced at a press briefing after the first Cabinet meeting concluded on May 31. Snapping its three-session losing streak, the rupee on May 31 rose 17 paise to close at 69.70 against the US dollar on weakening of the greenback in overseas markets and easing crude oil prices. On a weekly basis, the rupee declined 34 paise. On the institutional front, FPI were net buyers in Indian markets for Rs 676 crore while the DIIs were also net buyers for Rs 394 crore, provisional data showed. Big news: India's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.8 percent in January-March, official data released on May 31 showed, confirming fears of a slowdown, as the new government assumed office amid expectations of a wide-ranging policy impetus to turnaround the economy that is nursing multiple pain points. The growth in GDP was slowest since 2014-15. The figures highlight the challenges newly appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would face. Some good news: Indias infrastructure output grew 2.6 percent in April from a year earlier, government data showed on May 31. Infrastructure output, which comprises eight sectors such as coal, crude oil and electricity, accounts for nearly 40 percent of Indias industrial output. The fiscal deficit for 2018-19 came in at 3.39 percent of GDP, marginally lower than 3.4 percent estimated in the revised estimates of the Budget, mainly due to an increase in non-tax revenue and lower expenditure. Technical view: Nifty formed a bearish candle with long lower shadow on the daily scale while small bullish candle on the weekly scale. During the week, the index gained 0.66 percent. The market consolidated between 11,800 and 12,041 and requires a decisive breakout on the higher side to extend its gains, suggest experts. If the index fails to hold above 11,858-11,900 on a closing basis, then further selling pressure could be possible. Three levels: 11830, 11858, 12041 Max Call OI: 12500, 12000 Max Put OI: 11500, 11700 Stocks in news: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on June 1 reported a 22 percent decline in sales at 1,34,641 units in May. The company had sold 1,72,512 units in May 2018, Maruti Suzuki said in a statement. Auto major Mahindra and Mahindra on May 31 reported 3 percent decline in total sales at 45,421 units in May. The company had sold 46,848 units in the same month last year, M&M said in a statement. Suzlon Energy's consolidated net loss for the March quarter narrowed to Rs 294.64 crore from Rs 469.85 crore a year ago, mainly due to lower expenses. Technical recommendations: We spoke to Angel Broking and here's what they have to recommend: Godrej Consumer: Buy| LTP: Rs 688.05| Target: Rs 760| Stop loss: Rs 648| Upside: 10 percent Raymond: Buy| LTP: Rs 828| Target: Rs 897| Stop loss: Rs 804| Upside: 8 percent : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Since the election results, Nifty has been forming a high wave candle pattern of the range of about 430 points. Bank Nifty has followed suit with a wide range of about 1,500 points. Through RSI, the momentum indicator has moved above 60 levels, there are divergences visible on weekly and monthly charts on both indices. This could be a sign of impending weakness, especially considering that the price has formed indecisive candle patterns on weekly charts. An analysis of price movement post election results for the last three instances reveals an interesting structure. Whenever the price has moved in a big range on the results day forming a high wave candle pattern, the subsequent price action for almost over the next three months has been restricted within this range. One can thus expect a range movement in both the indices in the ensuing quarter, with the respective highs of 12,070 and 31,780 holding good for some time now. Also, ADX, the trend strength indicator, is sloping up at present. Once its slope begins to turn down from its current levels, that would signal an end to the current uptrend for the time being. While a majority of the sectoral indices formed bearish price patterns last week, the stocks in the IT sector told a different story. A few stocks such as Infosys, Wipro and HCL Technologies are poised for an upmove in the coming days. Infosys Weekly Chart We notice a bullish engulfing pattern formed in the weekly chart of Infosys after taking support at 38.2 percent retracement of the short downtrend. One could consider going long at current levels with a stop loss below Rs 700 for a target of Rs 802. Wipro Weekly Chart Wipro formed a bullish candle pattern while RSI took support at 60 levels the lower support zone for a bullish market. This could be a low-risk opportunity for a long trade with a stop loss below Rs 279 for a target of Rs 306. HCL Technologies Weekly Chart HCL Tech too has formed a bullish candle pattern at Fibonacci support zone of 50 percent retracement of the last downswing. Here too, one could go long with a stoploss below Rs 1,050 for a target of Rs 1,220 on the upside. The author is Trading Coach and Founder of Malkans View. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More In the last 15 days, not just the benchmark indices but the broader market has also performed well. Nifty and Sensex have hit their respective all-time highs and Nifty Midcap index has risen 8 percent and Smallcap index has gained 9 percent since May 15. This is contrary to the trend in the last one year during which Nifty spiked 12.5 percent but the midcap index was down 5 percent and smallcap index had plunged 16 percent. Experts opine that the broader market will continue to buck the trend. "While the benchmark indices are trading at peak valuations, BSE Midcap index is still trading nearly 18 percent below its peak level, which leaves enough room for appreciation," Jayant Manglik, President - Retail Distribution, Religare Broking told Moneycontrol. He said midcap counters with valuation comfort, improving earnings prospects, prudent management and healthy balance sheet can certainly be considered for investment purpose for mid to long-term investment horizon. Manglik further said that taking a stock specific view rather than timing the markets would certainly be a prudent approach now. Vinod Nair, Head Of Research at Geojit Financial Services has a similar opinion and said since the valuation of mid and smallcaps is below the long-term averages, they are bound to outperform. "Broadly, the overall mid and smallcaps are likely to outperform the market while select bottom-up story and sectors like finance, infrastructure, chemicals, cement and industry oriented can do better," he added. Here are 10 mid and smallcap stock where brokerages initiated coverage with a buy call: Brokerage: Nirmal Bang Tata Chemicals: Buy | Target: Rs 749 | Return: 18 percent The recent decision of Tata Chemicals, an Indian salt and soda ash giant, to hive off consumer business is positive as this transforms the company into a focused chemical and speciality company. The growth from speciality including nutrition and silica will likely gather momentum from FY21 based on the new capacity being set up at a cost of Rs 570 crore. The crop protection chemicals (CPC) subsidiary, Rallis India, is the weak link that could surprise on the upside based on its impressive portfolio including new products launched in the past two years. Sustained operational gains, cost leadership, and high capacity utilisation should support healthy EBITDA margin in Tata Chemicals' chemistry products. We expect a re-rating in the stock based on volume growth prospects in chemicals and speciality, after the Rs 2,400 crore capex. We initiate coverage on Tata Chemicals with a buy rating and a SOTP-based target price of Rs 749. Brokerage: IDBI Capital Cera Sanitaryware: Buy | Target: Rs 3,471 | Return: 16 percent It is a leading bathroom solutions provider in India and is amongst the top three players of the organised sanitary ware market, with a market share of 15 percent. We estimate net sales/EBITDA/PAT to grow at a CAGR of 14.0/17.7/18.6 percent over FY18-21E. Kajaria Ceramics: Buy | Target: Rs 759 | Return: 18 percent With a capacity of 68 mn sqm, it is the largest player in the domestic tile industry and ninth largest tile manufacturer globally. The company offers 2,800 SKUs in ceramic tile/PVT/GVT and 250 SKUs in sanitary ware and faucet segment. We expect the company to clock net sales/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 11.5 /13.2 /16.7 percent over FY18-21E. Somany Ceramics: Buy | Target: Rs 576 | Return: 32 percent It is one of the largest players of the domestic tile industry with a capacity of 63mn sqm (includes owned, JV/Associate and outsourced capacity). The company is present across ceramic, PVT, GVT and has also forayed into sanitary ware (FY10) and Faucet ware (FY11). The managements thrust on increasing share of value-added products in total sales has been instrumental behind healthy sales growth over the years. We forecast net sales/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 8.9/6.5 /10.6 percent over FY18-21E. Brokerage: HDFC Securities Maithan Alloys: Buy | Target: Rs 900 | Return: 36 percent Manganese alloys are critical for steel manufacturing translating into a large globally addressable market for Maithan. Company's customers include marquee domestic/global steel majors, with most of them being repeat customers. The company produces around 1 percent of total global manganese alloy supply, which means there is little offtake risk. This, coupled with the fact that Maithan is amongst the lowest cost producers in the world, makes them amongst the last men standing in case of any global commodity downturn, especially steel. It is also noteworthy that China discourages the export of manganese alloys (seen as energy intensive). We initiate coverage on Maithan Alloys with a buy rating and a target price of Rs 900 (base case) based on conservative assumptions. Our upside (and downside) cases yield target prices of Rs 1,500 (and Rs 375). Brokerage: Ventura Securities Maharashtra Seamless: Buy | Target: Rs 595 | Return: 30 percent With the acquisition of United Seamless Tubular, MSLs total capacity stands augmented to 900,000 MTPA. This acquisition is quite opportune considering the fact that we are at the cusp of a turnaround (given the improving procurement from the E&P segment and anti-dumping duties on Chinese seamless pipes). Hence, we expect net revenues to grow at a CAGR of 34.9 percent to Rs 7,127 crore during FY18-22E. With EBITDA per ton expected to be rangebound (Rs 13,000-15,000 per ton), we estimate an EBITDA CAGR of 42.1 percent to Rs 1,267 crore and net earnings CAGR of 47.4 percent to Rs 784 crore over the same period. At the CMP of Rs 458, the stock currently trades at the P/BV of 0.68x FY22 earnings. We initiate with the buy for a price objective of Rs 595 (0.85x FY22). Ratnamani Metals & Tubes: Buy | Target: Rs 847 | Return: 15 percent We expect RMTLs sales volumes to grow at a CAGR of 17 percent to 4.11 lakh ton between FY18-22E. We expect further improvement in the realisation by around 3.0 percent CAGR to around Rs 95,000 per ton by FY22. As a result, revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.6 percent to Rs 3,997 crore during FY18-22E. Similarly, the EBITDA per ton is expected to remain in the range of Rs 13,000-14,000, leading to an EBITDA CAGR of 23.8 percent to Rs 482 crore. The stock is currently trading at the FY22 forwarded P/E of 11.4x. We are valuing RMTL at FY22 P/E of 15x at the target price of Rs 1,114. Welspun Corp: Buy | Target: Rs 192 | Return: 34 percent WCL is expected to witness a strong performance across its threegeographies India, USA and Saudi Arabia. With the Saudi Arabia businessturning EBITDA positive in FY20 and increased order inflows in the USbusiness, the Indian operation will no longer be the only business driver for WCLs consolidated business in the coming years. We expect the company to be net debt free by FY20 and the PAT to grow at a CAGR of 55.8 percent to Rs 870 crore by FY22. The stock is currently trading at the FY22 forwarded P/E of 4.4x. We are valuing WCL at the FY22 P/E of 6.5x at the target price of Rs 192. Jindal Saw: Buy | Target: Rs 119 | Return: 33 percent JSAW is a well-diversified domestic & global play in the metal pipe industrywith a considerable presence in SAW (20 lac MTPA capacity), Seamless (2.5 lac MTPA capacity) and DI (10 lac MTPA capacity) pipe segments. Easing debt burden and strong margin profile improved interest coverage from 1.89x to 2.05x during H1FY19. JSAW management has guided for the net debt to come down to Rs 2,500 crore by FY21 due to improvements in the working capital cycle and annual debt repayment of Rs 250 crore. At the CMP of Rs 83, the stock currently trades at adjusted P/BV of 0.33x FY22 on a standalone basis. The adjusted BV is at Rs 238 per share (BV ofstandalone = Rs 251 per share less negative BV of its subsidiaries = Rs 13). We initiate with a buy for a price objective of Rs 119 (0.5x FY22). Brokerage: SMC Global Institutional Equities Hi-Tech Pipes: Buy | Target: Rs 410 | Return: 27 percent We have valued Hi-Tech Pipes on EV/EBITDA multiple and valued it at discount (25 percent) to its peer APL Apollo Tubes as the later continues to have a lion's share in the industry, followed by better financials and prudent management. While this valuation gap may persist over time, Hi-Tech Pipe's growth is expected to be impressive (revenue/EBITDA/PAT CAGR of 18 /23.3 /39.4 percent). We, therefore, value the stock at 6x EV/EBITDA on FY21E EBITDA of Rs 1,13.6 crore, indicating an upside of 29 percent from current levels. We initiate coverage with a buy rating on the stock. The views and investment tips expressed by brokerages and experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Nalanda Capital is rallying Mindtree investors to get L&T to pay a better price for the IT company, as per a report in The Times of India. Nalanda Capital has touched base with some global investors who back funds that invest in Indian stocks, asking them to hold on to Mindtree for better value. Pulak Chandan Prasad, Nalanda Capital's founder, believes that L&T's offer of Rs 980 per share downplays Mindtree's valuation, the report said. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story. L&T's hostile takeover possibly threatens Nalanda Capital's investment model, since it typically bets on the mid-cap companies and supports the incumbent management. Nalanda Capital owns a 10.6 percent stake in Bengaluru-based Mindtree, making it the companys largest institutional investor. Also Read: L&T's open offer for Mindtree shareholders faces delay Prasad has so far not responded to a request for comment by The Times of India. "Prasad, with a penchant for holding on to firm opinions, is working on insulating his thesis," a source told the paper. L&T had earlier this year bought a 20 percent stake in the IT company from VG Siddhartha and Cafe Coffee Day. Since then, it has bought more Mindtree shares from the open market, bringing its current stake to 28.88 percent. Mutual Fund schemes invested in bank stocks delivered the highest average return of 5.81 percent across all categories in the month ended May 31, as per Value Research, a mutual fund research firm. BSE Bankex rose 7.21 percent during the review period. Among the top three funds in May, Reliance Banking Fund gave returns of 6.95 percent, Sundaram Financial Services Opportunities Fund gave returns of 6.32 percent and LIC MF Banking & Financial Services Fund delivered 6.29 percent returns. Bank stocks rose last month on expectations of a stable government at the Centre. Among the banking pack, shares of Federal Bank rose 16 percent, while those of State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda went up 14 percent. Private sector banks such as ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rose 4 percent and 5 percent, respectively. In the last year, the category has delivered 12.10 percent average returns. Bank Stocks Outlook The profitability of private banks is expected to improve given that the resolution of non-performing assets (NPAs) is progressing, albeit slowly and the banks have made requisite provisioning, asset managers say. Incremental slippages are contained as asset quality improves. Further, with a stable government at the Centre and if the monsoon is 'normal', the economic engine is likely to roll faster creating an improved demand environment and better capacity utilisation. "Private Banks within financials have been gradually gaining market share from PSU banks over the last two decades, which is a structural trend that is likely to continue going forward as well," Karthikraj Lakshmanan, Senior Fund Manager-Equities at BNP Paribas Asset Management India said. Private banks are equipped with capital and better access to the markets for additional capital if needed, besides stable management, focus on retail business and fee income leading to better return ratios, Lakshmanan added. Fund managers also pointed out that the banking space has the potential for high growth for the next three to five years as well. This is due to the lower credit costs for corporate banks and higher retail growth, but only as long as the retail credit cycle continues to on the good wicket it has been in the last many years. While private banks valuations have moved up, they are not too expensive from the past average basis considering the strong growth potential in the next few years. Let us imagine two different scenarios playing out in a room filled with around 100 people. Scenario A You make a statement that the length of the Nile is 6,650 km and then ask the question, What is the length of the river Ganga? Scenario B You make a statement that the length of the Narmada is 1,289 km and then ask the question, What is the length of the river Ganga? It may surprise readers to know that in Scenario A, the average figure of the guesses made by the 100 people in the room would be significantly higher than that of the average of the guesses made in Scenario B. The correct answer in this case is 2,620 km according to Wikipedia, but that is not the point. Readers may wonder how people could guess so differently in the two scenarios. After all, most people would know that Nile is the longest river on earth and that the Narmada is much smaller than the Ganga and that the length of one river has no connection with the length of any other river. The answer to this question lies in a tendency called the anchoring effect. Anchoring means that the mind latches on to any given number relevant or irrelevant and holds on to it. Instead of the length of the Nile and Narmada, we could well have used two phone numbers or PIN codes and the effect would have been the same! Street vendors, home-makers and kids understand this aspect quite well. If the street vendor quotes a very high price in the beginning, the chances are high that the final negotiated price may also be high. Home-makers also understand this and negotiate accordingly. Kids tend to make unreasonable demands and later settle for 'reasonable' concessions, which otherwise would seem completely unreasonable. Real estate agents and jewellery salespersons tend to show outrageously expensive stuff deliberately, so that they later seem very reasonably priced in comparison. The anchoring effect has very important implications for finance and investments. For example, the 52-week high/low prices or the all-time high /low prices of stocks create important anchoring biases. A stock that has fallen 40 percent from its peak seems cheap. A stock that has doubled in value from its 52-week low price seems expensive. A P/E (price-to-earnings) ratio of 40 seems cheap, when in the recent past the same company may have traded at a P/E ratio of 80.Investors should keep in mind that, in 2017, there was a very strong increase in valuations that was being paid for small and mid-caps, NBFCs (non-banking finance companies) and consumption-related stocks. It does not pay to be anchored to those high prices or multiples. The biggest gains in equity investing come about when earnings growth as well as re-rating of valuation multiples happen in tandem. The biggest losses come from a fall or disappointment in earnings combined with a valuation de-rating. Anchoring can happen on two fronts. It can happen in estimating a sustainable growth rate for a business as well as reasonable valuation multiples. It pays to remember than when developing countries have GDP growth rates of four-to-eight percent and the developed world has growth rates of 0-4%, no company can grow at a pace of 30-40 percent perpetually. There may be a short span of time for which companies can sustain high growth rates. Ultimately, countervailing forces such as the base effect, competition and anti-trust regulations kick in. Recently we have noticed that some fancied consumption stocks reported somewhat disappointing earnings. This underwhelming show has caused the stocks to correct quite a bit and prices are now significantly lower compared to their all-time highs. A stock falling 30-40 percent is no reason to buy it. You need to study and understand the long-term growth rates and valuation multiples. The multiples enjoyed by companies during the last three-to-four years may not be representative of the fair multiples for stocks that fall under any of the three themes of small and mid-caps, NBFCs and consumption. It has been famously said, A stock that falls 90 percent from peak is a stock, which first fell by 80 percent and then further fell by half! Radhika Gupta For many years, the word that has gripped us in the mutual fund industry is consolidation. Increasingly, a large market share will shift towards a select five to ten players, making it difficult for younger entrants to make a mark in this space. This belief is not surprising in the mutual funds space, where a wide distribution network has power, massive marketing budgets have might, and longevity has value. Even as the new entrants join the business, many emerging AMCs (asset management companies) have been absorbed through M&As (mergers and acquisitions) by larger players, adding to this belief. I do believe, however, that times have changed. This trend too will change. Increasing competition is not just healthy for the mutual fund industry, as the regulator has often mentioned, but is now inevitable. The core of the mutual fund business involves managing money; the quality of products and the consistency of performance, given the mandate, are important too. Market regulator SEBIs moves around mutual fund schemes re-categorisation have now created a level playing field for products across AMCs. The advantages derived from legacy approvals in schemes are no longer there and mandates are now much more sharply defined, especially in equity funds, resulting in a product universe that is much more true-to-label. In this context, younger AMCs enjoy the advantage of having relatively smaller sized schemes. A mid-cap scheme with a corpus of Rs 1000 crores offers far more flexibility to the fund manager than an equivalent scheme of Rs 10,000 crores. Additionally, there is the advantage of a much better liquidity profile, which matters in the mid and small cap space. A smaller multi-cap fund, can truly be dynamic and shift between small, mid and large caps, depending on market conditions, compared to a Rs 20,000 crore multi-cap behemoth that is expected to generate alpha. Also, younger AMCs usually run fewer schemes, as they arent constrained by past baggage. Every additional product consumes bandwidth, and a smaller basket lets the fund manager focus on doing a good job in the few funds that really count.Strong Marketing and distribution networks have always given an edge to large AMCs. Building a brand and distribution network across India involves huge budgets and decades of investment. However, in a digitally savvy world, where the social media has become more powerful and quality content finds traction very quickly, brands can easily establish themselves quickly, both in the eyes of the distribution community and the investor, especially if they find a new niches to dominate in. The Indian advisor and investor have also evolved and will continue to progress on what they want from a brand quality products, consistent performance and excellent service. Globally, consumers have embraced the idea of high-quality boutiques in many spheres food, hospitality, travel, services, and thus asset management will be no different. The new regulatory framework around expense ratios will also give younger AMCs commercial competitiveness with advisors, increasing their reach.It is no secret that asset management margins are shrinking, in India and across the globe. The cost structures of the past may not be sustainable in the new regime. Younger AMCs do not carry the legacy of a large headcount and branch presence and can effectively use digital tools and technology to attain a large part of the reach. The lack of legacy will also encourage innovation, which is indispensable in the asset management space. For instance, a younger AMC can choose to experiment with a different pricing structure in the large-cap space, while a large AMC cannot because of its large existing investor and distribution base. Innovation and quicker execution of ideas will increasingly become competitive advantages, which younger AMCs can capitalise on. For many years, younger AMCs have waited in the wings, while building up very high-quality teams and track records, for the winds to shift in their favour. Today, the evolution of the investor, improvements in technology and social media, and significant regulatory developments, have made that shift happen. From a world of consolidation, we now move to more competition, a breakout moment for younger AMCs, who may just be able to say, Hamara Time Aa Gaya (our time has come). File image Union Minister and RPI (A) chief Ramdas Athawale urged ruling TRS and YSR Congress in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh respectively to join the BJP- led National Democratic Alliance for development of the states. Though the present NDA's strength in Lok Sabha was 353 and there was no necessity for support from any other party, for the development of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states, both TRS president K Chandrasekha Rao and YSRC chief Y S Jaganmohan Reddy should and join NDA, he said here. The BJP chief Amit Shah has announced if any other party wants to join NDA our doors are open. This is my suggestion to KCR (as Rao is referred to) and Jagan to support leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modiand NDA. To support or not to support is for them to take a decision, he told reporters. The Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment said the Central government was committed to the development of both the states. Describing Modis leadership as "very strong", he said despite the attacks by several opposition parties, the prime minister led the NDA to an emphatic win. Asserting that there was no meaning to form another gatbandhan (alliance) now, he appealed to KCR and to support the NDA. Athawale dismissed opposition's allegation that the NDA government would change theConstitution, saying Modi himself had said a tea-seller would not have become the Prime Minister had Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution hadnot been there. The Opposition has no other issue left and hence been making such allegations, he added. The RPI (A) leader also said Modi was not against the Muslim community, pointing to his address to the NDA MPs on his agenda to study the problems of minorities. Replying to a question on the damage caused to a statue of Ambedkar here in April, Athawaleexpressed his displeasure and said he would write to the Municipal Commissioner to get the matter solved. The statue, removed by the civic staff after being installed in Hyderabad without permission, was allegedly carried in a garbage truck and found damaged. Two people, including the truck driver, have been arrested. File image The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on June 3 barred S R Batliboi & Co LLP, one of India's leading chartered accountancy firms, from taking up statutory audit of commercial banks for one year on account of lapses in an audit assignment. The one-year period starts from April 1, 2019, the RBI said in a release. In June 2018, RBI had put in place an enforcement action framework in respect of statutory auditors for the lapses in the statutory audit of commercial banks. "...on account of the lapses identified in a statutory audit assignment carried out by the firm, M/s S.R.Batliboi & Co. LLP, Chartered Accountants, it has been decided that RBI will not approve the said firm for carrying out statutory audit assignments in commercial banks for one year starting from April 1, 2019," the release said. It further said the action taken in the matter has been communicated to the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). ICAI, which functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, regulates the profession of chartered accountancy in the country. The Reserve Bank release, however, did not disclose the details of the lapses by S R Batliboi & Co LLP. Representative Image The spat between smart wearables maker GOQii and Walmart-owned Flipkart has taken a fresh twist with Mumbai City Civil Court asking Flipkart's sellers - Retailnet and Tech-Connect - to stop selling GOQii products. GOQii had sent a legal notice to Flipkart, claiming it had to suffer huge losses due to deep discounts offered on the e-commerce platform. In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Vishal Gondal, founder, GOQii, talks about the spat with Flipkart even as he declined to go into the details since the matter is sub-judice. A. When we work with marketplaces and if there is any discounting done, it is done with our approval. We even contribute marketing dollars to a lot of these things when there is Diwali or some kind of a sale. So that is a standard practice. What happened in this case is not discounting. Instead our product GOQii Vital which is worth Rs 1,999 was suddenly being sold at 65-70% discount for Rs 999. This was even cheaper than our manufacturing price. And because of this, we have lost business. Online business for GOQii is just 30%. 70% of our business is coming through offline. We have insurance companies, banks etc. All these clients buy from us in bulk. Then we have distribution partners. Today, everybody goes to Flipkart and Amazon to compare prices. Most customers check the prices online before purchasing offline. Now whoever will find the price on Flipkart at Rs 999 will think he is being fooled offline. Due to the huge disparity in prices, we had issues. Our partners and customers started feeling cheated. We tried our level best to try and convince Flipkart to take the offers down. That is when we approached the court and got an injunction on these sales. Unfortunately, we are now seeing consumers posting on social media sites photos of damaged seals, products being sent with empty boxes, etc. We have announced that any customer suffering after buying from Flipkart will get a replacement. It is a nightmare for a startup. On one hand, I am having my existing customers and partners and distributors cancelling orders and on the other, my brand is getting damaged. Q. Do you have any numbers in terms of people coming forward and complaining about fake products? A. GOQii has received many complaints. They are on Twitter but a lot of complaints may have gone to Flipkart directly. We don't know the extent of this because we don't have the visibility. I can only tell you what has been posted on Facebook and Twitter. Q. While All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA) has been crying foul over the business model and structure of online marketplaces in India, this is the first time a prominent brand has taken a step forward, claiming that marketplaces are funding discounts. A. Very frankly, we did not want to do this. We were caught in a situation where our business was under threat and we had no other option left. We don't have resources to fight a multi-billion dollar company. Q. So, overall the discounts have been in the range of 65-70%. A. More in certain cases. After the court's order, it has stopped. A. Merchants clearly don't have millions of dollars to fund it (discount) from their pockets and neither do startups like us. So, the discounts were given by players with deep pockets. Giving discounts is not wrong but this is predatory pricing. A. We don't control the pricing but when such discounts are given, we have an issue. India is going to be a big market for e-commerce. Government should make sure that the consumer's interest is protected. While large companies have billions of dollars, small and medium enterprises don't have resources to fight. Later this week, Flipkart is expected to file its reply. We need to start accessing our damages and hopefully figure out a way to claim that. Paytm is in talks to acquire insurance platform Coverfox for $100-120 million, as per a report in The Economic Times. The paper quoted sources who said the board is in the final stages of formulating the all-cash deal, which if approved, will be the largest acquisition for Paytm and put it in direct competition with PolicyBazaar currently the market leader. A key restriction for the deal may be SoftBank Vision Fund's stake in PolicyBazaar. The Japanese bank is also one of Paytm's parent One97Communications' foremost financers. Paytm Money was launched in late 2018 with 25 Asset Management Companies (AMCs). The company has gradually integrated with all retail investor focused AMCs in India and now has achieved the unique status of being the only online platform that offers investing in all 40 AMCs, the latest additions being Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund & ITI Mutual Fund. File image: Twitter/@PawarSpeaks The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is set to demand additional seats from the Indian National Congress for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls, according to a report by Mumbai Mirror. The development comes days after the two parties -- part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) -- faced a drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The state is expected to elect the new Legislative Assembly in October. NCP has reportedly claimed that it is the big brother in the state as it has more Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Lok Sabha than the Congress. The party secured more seats than the Congress in both, the 2014 and 2019 general elections in the state. The Sharad Pawar-led party met on June 1 to analyse its performance in the recently concluded general election. They also strategised for the state polls. The newspaper report, citing a former minister and a senior NCP leader, suggests that Pawar had made it clear that they want an alliance with the Congress for the state election, but on their terms. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. In the recently conducted general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Shiv Sena bagged 23 and 18 seats in Maharashtra, respectively. Congress and NCP won one and four seats, respectively. Asaduddin Owaisis All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) managed to wrest Aurangabad and Congress-supported independent candidate Navnit Ravi Rana emerged the winner in Amravati. Maharashtra has a total of 48 Parliamentary constituencies. On May 30, Congress President Rahul Gandhi met Pawar at the latter's residence in Delhi and is learnt to have discussed the current political situation with him. Pawar was in the Congress before he floated the NCP in 1999. Details of the meeting were not immediately available. Meanwhile, Maharashtras Revenue Minister and BJP leader Chandrakant Patil said his party and the Shiv Sena will share equal number of seats in the upcoming Maharashtra polls. He added that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was the 'natural choice' of the people, the BJP and the Sena for the top post again. Patil said the two parties would contest 135 seats each in the 288-member House and leave 18 seats for other allies. Some of BJP-Senas other allies include Union Minister Ramdas Athawale-led Republican Party of India (Athawale). Representative image: Pixabay/kshelton The Centre may scrap fee subsidy in top educational institutions like IITs and enable a direct transfer to eligible students. The government is also planning to set up a national crowd-funding platform to help students and colleges raise funds, The Economic Times reported. One of the programs the government is evaluating for this feat is Each One, Teach One, a nationwide movement which urges each family to help at least one student. Donations via this project will be facilitated through a national digital platform to connect interested people with students and institutions. It aims to raise Rs 25,000 crore to support over 10 lakh students. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. Ten expert groups from the Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry's Education Quality Upgradation and Inclusion Programme (EQUIP) have recommended these projects. At the helm of these groups were people like former revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, Rediff founder Ajit Balakrishnan and former Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan. EQUIP was designed to improve higher education institutions in India. It already has the approval from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and may be taken up by the Cabinet within the first 100 days of the government. The Draft National Education Policy, released last week, also sees a lot of issues EQUIP is trying to address. The draft advised a fee regulation in schools and institutes of higher education but also mentioned that scholarships and policies were necessary to help disadvantaged students. One of EQUIP's expert groups has recommended huge government funding linked directly to students. It recommends reimbursing a student's fee directly in his account through a direct benefit transfer instead of subsidising the institute. The group has also called for a full tax exemption for donations, made through these portals for education, to encourage more people to take it up. It has also advised for philanthropy offices to be established in all colleges and easier rules to be set up for foreign donors. Search operations to locate the missing AN-32 aircraft are underway as the Indian Air Force (IAF) is coordinating with Indian Army, various government and civil agencies, Media Coordination Centre of the IAF has tweeted. "Search operations will continue from air and by ground parties of Indian Army through the night", the tweet said further. Earlier, media reports suggested having spotted the wreckage of AN-32 near Payam in Arunachal Pradesh. However, the IAF has denied those claims. IAF is coordinating with Indian Army, various government and civil agencies to locate the missing aircraft. Search operations will continue from air and by ground parties of Indian Army through the night. 4/4 Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 3, 2019 13 people eight belonging to the crew and five passengers are believed to be on board the missing aircraft. The aircraft had gone missing hours after it took off from Jorhat, Assam for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh. The Indian Air Force has confirmed in their tweet that the aircraft was airborne on June 3 at 12.25 pm. The aircraft was last in contact with the ground agencies at 1.00 pm. Since the aircraft did not reach the designated destination, overdue action was initiated by IAF. The IAF has launched C-130J, AN-32 and Mi-17 and Indian Army ALH helicopter on a search mission to locate the missing AN-32 aircraft. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, taking cognizance of the incident, spoke to Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria, and prayed for the safety of the crew and passengers on board the missing aircraft. He tweeted: Spoke to Vice Chief of @IAF_MCC, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria regarding the missing IAF AN-32 Aircraft which is overdue for some hours. He has apprised me of the steps taken by the IAF to find the missing aircraft. I pray for the safety of all passengers on board. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 (This is a developing story. More details awaited) Representative image: Pexels/Pixabay Want a gun license? Plant trees and shoot a selfie -- this is the new rule in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior-Chambal region, known for its infatuation with firearms. An exception will be made only if the license is sought because of an immediate threat to the applicant's life. "Gun license seekers will need to plant at least ten saplings. If the person does not own land, the administration has earmarked revenue land where he or she can plant saplings," said Gwalior district collector Anurag Choudhary. Mere planting would not suffice, though. The applicant will be required to take care of the saplings for a month, click a selfie with them immediately after planting and a month later, and attach the pictures with the application. To further verify that the condition has been fulfilled, a report will be sought from the Patwari, a local government official, the collector said. The condition will be relaxed only if the license- seeker is facing an immediate threat to life. In such cases, she or he would be required to plant saplings after getting the license. "We are also thinking of making tree plantation a condition for issuing permissions for petrol pumps and stone crushers. After all, it will make the environment better," Choudhary said. By effecting a 40 per cent change in the composition of his team of ministers after the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have shown that he would harbour less patience and wield greater authority for getting results in the second tenure of his government. As the huge mandate has placed immense expectations on his deliverables, Modi will ensure that things get done in the government by persons whom he thinks are right for the job. Unlike the first tenure when paucity of talent haunted his choices, Modi has shown that there is a serious intent on his part to make do with men and women who he thinks can bring early results on issues of governance. This approach goes beyond just installing Amit Shah as home minister in his debut role in the Union Cabinet, or moving Nirmala Sitharaman from defence portfolio to take charge of finance. Rajnath Singhs shift from the home ministry to the defence ministry was largely the result of Modi placing responsibility on Shah to deliver on BJPs set of promises on improving the internal security situation by better, efficient and modern policing to begin with, followed by ways to deal with contentious but crucial issues (for BJP) such as Article 370, checking illegal migration through border states and stamping out terrorist modules. Speculations centred on Shah getting either the finance or home portfolio. Business circles were surer of Shah being in the finance ministry than elsewhere as they counted on his tenacity for hard work and details to set right ills plaguing the economy. However, Modi felt Sitharaman was the best person to handle matters in place of Arun Jaitley who had opted out on health grounds. It was not without significance that Modi chose to drive down to call on ailing Jaitley a day before the PMs new team took oath of office. Jaitley is understood to have shared with the PM his views on possible successors who could carry forward whatever he had left behind. After discussions with Jaitley, Modi appears to have narrowed his choice of having someone who would understand without loss of time the demands of the current economic situation and not be subject to any outside influence, and tackle the demands of the job without any eyebrow being raised. Modi made Sitharaman Indias first full-fledged woman defence minister and chose to bestow the honour of being the countrys first full-fledged woman finance minister too. However, she would have work hard to deliver on poll promises, arrest the slowdown and boost both consumption and investment. Her first budget, on July 5, would have to be the governments first vision statement, reflecting its ambitions for the next five years. She would have to oversee further simplification of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with lesser rate slabs, address the liquidity woes of the non-banking finance companies (NBFC) sector, and on the whole, boost demand. Modis decision to shift Singh from home portfolio to defence was no less challenging. With an annual budget of more than Rs 4 lakh-crore, the ministry of defence has had a host of issues to grapple with including a call on restructuring the 1.3 million-strong Indian Army, inducting critical military equipment and usher in a new concept called the integrated battle groups. Singh will need to push the MoD to move faster on acquiring six new submarines, 400 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, 57 jets for the Navy, 800 helicopters for the Army, Navy and IAF, new warships and unmanned aerial platforms. Defence PSUs have been plagued by indigenous R&D issues and production programmes that cause only acquisition delays. Sitharaman was already tackling these issues on a priority basis but Singh may have to show more political will and skills in the transformation of his ministry. Modis choice of S Jaishankar, the former foreign secretary, as his new external affairs minister came as a big surprise. It was one name that has won wide acclaim and acceptance as the perfect candidate to replace Sushma Swaraj who did not contest the Lok Sabha elections. In the three years that he was foreign secretary, Jaishankar helped navigate Modis diplomacy, including the critical face-off with China at Doklam in Bhutan in 2017. After Modi became Prime Minister, Jaishankar, then Indias ambassador to the United States, oversaw Modis passage from a decade-long visa ban on him by the US to a popular leader who won respect and attention from the White House. Today, Indias ties with the US are again strained by a host of problems, including Washingtons decision to withdraw the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status given to India, ban on purchase of Iranian oil, defence equipment from Russia and telecom equipment from China. On the positive side, Jaishankar understands Modis desires better than anyone to put the India-US relationship on a firm footing while balancing ties with China and Russia. Modis trust in Jaishankar has grown over the years. What about other men and women in Modis team? The return of Nitin Gadkari as road and surface transport minister, Piyush Goel as railway, and commerce minister, Smriti Irani as women and child development, and textiles minister, Ravi Shankar as law and justice, communications and IT minister were on the expected lines. Interestingly, Modi found Narendra Singh Tomar as his best bet to be agriculture minister who will handle an integrated agriculture and rural development ministry, tasked with modernising agriculture, ending distress among farmers while doubling their income. A surprise entry was that of former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank as HRD minister who has his task more than cut out. Education is one area where Modis attention has hitherto been seen as wanting focus because of serious challenges ahead. Listing 75 milestones that India will achieve till 2022, when the nation celebrates 75 years of independence, Modi had got the BJP to make a slew of announcements in the 2019 manifesto ranging from a pension scheme for traders to promises to make an investment of Rs 25 lakh-crore to improve the productivity of the farm sector. These milestones broadly cover seven areas agriculture, youth and education, infrastructure, railways, health, economy, good governance, inclusive development, women and cultural heritage. One presumes Modis selection of 24 Cabinet ministers, nine ministers of state with independent charge and 24 ministers of state has a lot to do with implementing these milestones, which are crucial for the BJPs continued electoral success. Ministries have been told take the milestones as targets and work out day-by-day plan. Allies within the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have only got token representation, thanks to BJPs huge mandate. Given this, an ally such as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has preferred to not accept a symbolic presence at Modis high table. In picking some leaders from the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Haryana (the last three states go to assembly polls in November), Modi has also sent a message about BJPs political priorities. Sumanth Raman With the swearing-in of the Narendra Modi ministry for its second term the focus was on the representation given to various parts of the country, particularly the south. The lack of elected representatives from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala meant that the party had to find other ways of filling in the slots. In Kerala they went with their former state BJP chief V Muraleedharan who was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra. However, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh went unrepresented, well, sort of. Technically both finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and external affairs minister S Jaishankar are Tamil. However, neither of them have been elected from the state ever. While Jaishankar also needs to be accommodated in the Upper House soon, Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. Tamil Nadu has always enjoyed a fair share of representation in the Union government and during the UPA regime, disproportionately so, for there were at one point of time, 10 Union ministers from the state during UPA-1. With AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam's (OPS) son being the lone NDA winner from Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha elections, the choices before the BJP were limited. The AIADMK though, has members in the Rajya Sabha and among its members R Vaithilingam has been a state minister in the past and is a party senior. The grapevine has it that it was the tussle within the AIADMK with OPS pushing for his son and the party, including Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami, wanting Vaithilingam in the ministry that led to no representative from the party taking oath on May 30 as a consensus could not be arrived at. To be fair, OP Raveendranath Kumar is a newcomer to Parliament while Vaithilingam is a party veteran of sorts and it is understandable why most in the AIADMK felt he would be the right choice. There is now talk that the BJP will persuade the AIADMK to give up one of its Rajya Sabha seats that it can win in the elections due later this month to accommodate S Jaishankar. Six seats from Tamil Nadu fall vacant and the AIADMK and DMK can win three each. While the DMK has pledged one seat under a pre-poll pact to MDMK leader Vaiko, AIADMK has promised one seat to PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss. So each party can get two of their own members into the Upper House and it remains to be seen if the AIADMK will be willing to cede one of those two seats for Jaishankar. There is also talk that the Congress may ask the DMK to give one of its seats to accommodate former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. There is also the possibility that the BJP could get one of its own state party leaders into the ministry and get them into the Rajya Sabha from a Hindi belt state. That is what they did years ago when S Thirunavukkarasar was made a minister in Vajpayee's government. He was made a Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh. Senior party leader L Ganesan was also made a Rajya Sabha MP from Madhya Pradesh though he was never made a minister. Sitharaman during Modi 1.0 took an active interest in the affairs of Tamil Nadu and helped out during Cyclone Ockhi through the defense ministry which she then headed. She also made regular visits to the state and helped bring the defense corridor to Tamil Nadu. The fact, however, that she was elected to the Upper House from Karnataka means that she has to toe that state's line on the emotive Cauvery issue and that is why her credentials as a representative of Tamil Nadu interests continue to be questioned by Opposition parties in Tamil Nadu. Telangana, which elected four BJP MP's, got one of them, Kishan Reddy, the state party chief who was elected from Secunderabad, inducted into the ministry as MoS home. However, there was no major NDA partner in Andhra Pradesh and with no BJP member being elected the state goes unrepresented. Given the rapport that the BJP now seems to enjoy with Jaganmohan Reddy it is quite possible that the Reddys YSR Congress Party could be invited to join the NDA and a member from that party be given a Cabinet berth. The challenge for the BJP in states such as Tamil Nadu is not so much the representation given in the ministry in Modi 1.0 the party had a minister from Tamil Nadu, Pon Radhakrishnan who lost the election this time as it is in assuring the people that it is not a party of Hindi speakers out to impose its language and culture on the Dravidian population. They did not help their cause by not bringing any large project to Tamil Nadu in the last five years. This time Nitin Gadkari has promised that the Godavari-Cauvery link project will be taken up soon and this will to a large extent alleviate Tamil Nadus water woes. It is by the delivery of such schemes that the BJP will hope to win hearts and minds in Tamil Nadu. By swiftly defusing the Hindi imposition issue (which was in the draft National Education Policy) by stating no language will be imposed, the BJP is showing that it may be learning from its past mistakes. How soon will they be able to breach what is perhaps the last remaining fortress resisting their surge is a moot question. Diesel has had a rough ride over the years, with an emissions scandal rocking a global automaker a few years ago even as closer home, carmakers fear that the upcoming BS-VI standard would make manufacturing diesel vehicles far too costly. But Mahindra & Mahindra, whose forte is producing sturdy diesel SUVs, is not giving up on the fuel. The company has pumped in more than Rs 1,000 crore into upgrading eight engines (including those used for powering commercial vehicles), 16 platforms and 35 variants to BS-VI standard. M&M MD Pawan Goenka justified the investment, saying that concerns over the high cost of diesel vehicles under the new emission standard are overblown. The statement comes after car market leader Maruti Suzuki said in April that it will phase out small-engine diesel models before April 2020 as the cost to upgrade them to Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) standard is too high to be viable. Maruti Suzuki had indicated that the price increase in diesel models will widen the gap between petrol and diesel to around Rs 2.5 lakh, much higher than the current gap of Rs 1 lakh. Maruti is phasing out diesel variants of several models such as Brezza, Baleno, Swift, Dzire and Ignis. But Goenka said that the impact will not be "as high as indicated by some companies." The only diesel passenger vehicle that we are not upgrading to BS-VI is the KUV100. That vehicle, which is powered by a 1.2-litre diesel engine, will be available in only petrol form, said Goenka. We believe that in the passenger vehicle space, the 1.2-litre will be difficult to justify from the cost proposition. But for 1.5-litre engines, especially for SUVs, it will still be desirable. Most carmakers are phasing out the 1.2-litre diesels, added Goenka. Diesel forms a major portion of sales for M&M, unlike other companies where petrol model sales now are more than those of diesel models. For instance, for the newly-launched XUV300, 75 percent of sales were from diesel variants. But so far, Maruti is the only carmaker to have abandoned diesel models for the mass market segment the car. That leaves plenty of room for players like Hyundai, Tata Motors and Mahindra to improve their market share. These three together control more than 30 percent of the market for diesel models in the diesel segment. Tata Motors recently said that it will continue to provide diesels in its portfolio alongside petrol, electric and CNG. While the country's second-largest carmaker Hyundai has declared that about 35 percent of 15,000 bookings received for the newly-launched Venue SUV are for the diesel variants. More than 90 percent of M&Ms passenger vehicle portfolio is made up of utility vehicles. Even as it remains positive on diesel, over the past years, the company has also added petrol engines as an option in almost each of its new launches. Going forward, a petrol option will also be seen on the Scorpio and XUV 500 models as well, the popular SUVs that have been sold only in diesel thus far. Commenting on the Hindi language imposition row, senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor said on Sunday that the solution to the three-language formula was not junking it altogether but implementing it in a better way. A draft of the National Education Policy was released last week. It sparked a huge debacle in Tamil Nadu for promoting Hindi as a mandatory third language in all schools across the country. Most parties in Tamil Nadu, including the DMK, were up in arms against the three-language formulas continuation with added features. They claimed it was tantamount to forcing Hindi language on the rest of India and wanted it to be junked, reported The Indian Express. Even the CPI(M) had raised its voice against Hindi being thrust upon the non-Hindi speaking states. It is of the opinion that it will lead to feelings of linguistic chauvinism, which may prove detrimental to Indias unity. It added: We are of the firm opinion that the opposition is not to any particular language but for ensuring the opportunity for all Indian languages to develop and thrive. Tharoor is of the opinion that the three-language formula, which goes back to the 1960s, should not be scrapped but implemented properly. The MP further added: Most of us in South India learn Hindi as a second language but nobody in the North is learning Malayalam and Tamil. Noticing the nation-wide furore over the draft policy, the Human Resource Development Ministry issued a statement to clarify what had gone public on Friday was only a draft of what could be implemented. The final education policy will come into force only after incorporating public feedback, and suggestions and remarks of state governments. The notice read: Government under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi is committed for equal development and promotion of all Indian languages. There will be no imposition of any language in educational institutions, nor discrimination against any language. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Monday that Delhi women will soon be able to travel free of cost on all public transport. The declaration made by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief is yet to get a nod from the Centre. The move will cost the state government Rs 700 crore yearly. Govt officials have been given a weeks time to prepare the blueprint, following which it will be presented to the cabinet. Kejriwal mentioned that if women, who can anyway afford these transportations, do not want to avail the offer, they would be free to buy the tickets. I agree free transportation does not mean safe travel... Also DTC and delhi metro run in losses and after this decision they will further go down... Late..Night Kinng (@Desi_White007) June 3, 2019 Free ride for women in Delhi metro & DTCs is a wonderful idea by @ArvindKejriwal Education, Hospitals, Electricity & such should be the only issues people should care about. Hope so they will. Kitty Behal (@kittybehal10) June 3, 2019 How will Delhi metro ensure that only women are getting free rides. Specialized cards? What if a man uses that card? Will there be guards at entry point checking that only women are using it? How will it work? Kunal (@kcunal) June 3, 2019 Didn't Delhi metro increased ticket prices last year to meet the maintenance cost ? Now imagine the only globally acknowledge modern infrastructure we have gonna let 40% consumers travel for free ? Makes sense ? I don't think so & I think I am feminist but not impractical. Pratap Mishra (@prat7u) June 3, 2019 So how does women traveling Delhi-gurugram work? Purple (@Dafruity) June 3, 2019 Much needed and good move and that to timely.Why not announce free rides throughout the Indian sub continent?Anyways he is not financing nor paying wages to the staff maintaining the Metro? Jagadish M (@JMohan4) June 3, 2019 This is rubbish! When metro fares were hiked @ArvindKejriwal ran naked shouting @BJP4India raised the fare and he wasnt empowered to prevent the hike. Now how is he empowered to waive fare for women? Need an answer from @AamAadmiParty #DelhiMetro #AAPKaFreebie Nationalist View (@ravinc1812) June 3, 2019 @ArvindKejriwal ,good thot ; but too late ; also bcos of revenue loss , the quality of services should not go down ; anyway DTC services are Rakhi Sunil Kumar (@rakhisaha13) June 3, 2019 Good move ... Elections are approaching.. N.Kumaran (@NKumaran13) June 3, 2019 very bad move..@ArvindKejriwal stop treating us with freebie commodities. We need safe delhi ..can you do that? Soni Sinha (@ssinha_jsr) June 3, 2019 The news spread like wildfire and the social media platforms were abuzz with discussions weighing the pros and cons of the move. Most users on Twitter questioned the feasibility of such a scheme, while a lot of men raised concerns over such a discriminatory policy. A Swedish court will hear arguments on June 3 to decide whether prosecutors can proceed to request Julian Assange's extradition from the UK, after a 2010 rape probe was re-opened in May. Swedish deputy director of public prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson filed a request with the Uppsala District Court to have Julian Assange arraigned in his absence on May 20. Detaining someone in their absence is a standard part of Swedish legal procedure if a suspect is outside the country or cannot be located. The Australian whistleblower, who holed himself up in the Ecuadoran embassy in London for seven years to avoid a British extradition order to Sweden, was arrested by British police on April 11 after Ecuador gave him up. He was subsequently sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for breaching bail conditions when he took refuge in the embassy. Following his arrest Swedish authorities reopened a 2010 rape investigation, which had been closed in 2017 with the argument that as Assange could not be reached it was not possible to proceed with the probe. Sweden's prosecution authority did not want to comment on the likelihood of the court granting the request for a detention order. However, in 2010, when Sweden's then director of public prosecutions Marianne Ny requested Assange's detention from Stockholm's district court, a detention order was issued. Although at that time the investigation also included three cases of sexual harassment and unlawful coercion, all have since reached their statute of limitations. If the Uppsala court also grants the prosecutor's request, Eva-Marie Persson has made clear she intends to issue a European Arrest Warrant "concerning surrender to Sweden". Such a request will, however, have to compete with an extradition request from the United States, where he is facing a total of 18 charges, most of which relate to obtaining and disseminating classified information over the publishing of military documents and diplomatic cables through the website WikiLeaks. "In the event of a conflict between a European Arrest Warrant and a request for extradition from the US, UK authorities will decide on the order of priority. The outcome of this process is impossible to predict," Persson said when the request to issue a detention order was made. The decision of whether to extradite him to the United States or Sweden would rest with the UK interior ministry. On May 30, a scheduled hearing on the US extradition request in London was pushed forward with chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot referring to Assange was "not very well," and stating that the next hearing could be held at Belmarsh prison, where Assange is serving his sentence. The day before WikiLeaks expressed "grave concerns" over the condition of the organisation's founder and said he had been moved to the prison's health ward. "During the seven weeks in Belmarsh his health has continued to deteriorate and he has dramatically lost weight," WikiLeaks said in a statement. Earlier in the week Assange's Swedish lawyer, Per E Samuelson, also unsuccessfully requested the Uppsala District Court to postpone the Swedish hearing, citing difficulties he had preparing the case with his client. Samuelson told AFP that he had met with Assange in Belmarsh's health ward on May 24, but had been unable to discuss the case properly since "it was difficult to have a normal conversation with him". The United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, Nils Melzer, on May 31 said the drawn out different legal processes against Assange amounted to "psychological torture". State-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) is diversifying into more civilian areas to spur its corporate growth in fiscal 2019-20, a top company official said on Saturday. "As diversification into non-defence opportunities will drive our growth, we are entering into more verticals in the civilian sector, including space electronics, solar, homeland security, smart cards, telecom, railways, civil aviation, fuel cells and lithium batteries," BEL Chairman M.V. Gowtama told reporters here. Though the city-based defence behemoth caters largely to the Indian armed forces, including the army, Navy and Air Force, it has been foraying into more civilian space for diversification and broad-basing its business, rolling out electronic voting machines (EVMs), solar panels for intelligent traffic management signals and set-top boxes for direct-to-home digital broadcasting services. "We supplied over a million EVMs and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units to the Election Commission for conducing the recent Lok Sabha elections across the country. Our machines were used in 400 of the 542 parliamentary seats. The order contributed Rs 2,600 crore business in fiscal 2018-19," Gowtama said. "The poll panel also used EVMs and VVPATs made by the Hyderabad-based state-run Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL) in the remaining 142 parliamentary seats," he said after presenting the financial performance of the 'Navaratna' company. The company will supply more EVMs and VVPATs to the states where assembly elections are due later this year or early next year. The orders will be for new machines and upgraded versions to replace the older voting machines. "We expect orders worth Rs 600 crore from the states to supply EVMs and VVPATs in this fiscal (2019-20) and more orders from other states where assembly elections are due." Of the Rs 51,798-crore order book value the company has for this fiscal, around 50 per cent of it (Rs 25,000 crore) is from the Navy, Rs 9,000 crore from the Army, Rs 7,000 crore as annual management contracts (AMCs) and upgrades and Rs 3,000 crore from civilian sector. "Our capital expenditure for this fiscal will be Rs 660 crore for new facilities in Hyderabad plant, Palasamduram in Andhra Pradesh's Chittoor district, Bengaluru, Bhatinda in Punjab and Jodpur in Rajasthan," said the Chairman. A portion of the capex will also be spent on modernising the plant machinery to overcome obsolescence, which is rapid in the electronics domain. In the defence business, the company received orders for supplying the long range surface-to-air (SAM) missiles for the Navy's Project-17A class Shivalik stealth frigate, integrated perimeter security system for the air force, home land security system for naval airfield and naval equipment (war reserves) and setting up of weapon repair facility at naval shipyards. "We have also got export orders valued at $117 million (Rs 807 crore) for making vacuum interrupters, X-ray parts, transmitting tubes and EMI (electro-magnetic interference) filters," added Gowtama. Disclaimer: Information, facts or opinions expressed in this news article are presented as sourced from IANS and do not reflect views of Moneylife and hence Moneylife is not responsible or liable for the same. As a source and news provider, IANS is responsible for accuracy, completeness, suitability and validity of any information in this article. The ASX 200 recorded a 1% rise over the last month, perhaps the most notable winner being Lynas Corporation Ltd [ASX:LYC] with a 54% gain. Today we will be looking at some of the lesser known stars, and what has been driving the best performing stocks on the ASX for May. From AI to lithium, there were a handful of big winners that had major share price gains during this period. Nerve regeneration Orthocell Ltd [ASX:OCC] share price has stellar month Orthocell shares had an excellent month, up 258.33% at time of writing. Much of this movement can be traced back to an 8 May announcement that revealed that four patients had successfully completed a nerve regeneration clinical trial. The trial was designed to test the efficacy of its CelGro product which is a collagen medical device platform for soft tissue regeneration and repair. AI enhanced pain assessments Painchek Ltd [ASX:PCK] shares respond to deal Painchek shares had a strong month as well, with a 207% gain in a 30-day window, at time of writing. Playing a key role in its rise was an announcement that the company had signed an agreement with a UK-based software company for the distribution of its artificial intelligence (AI) enhanced product. Paincheks product for mobiles and tablets is designed to identify the presence of pain in dementia sufferers by looking at micro-expressions people who suffer from this disease are not always able to effectively communicate that they are in pain. More ASX-listed AI stocks are discussed in this free report. IoT sensors CCP Technologies Ltd [ASX:CT1] share price doubles CCP has had a middling year, but a good month (up 200% at time of writing). The Internet of Things (IoT) technology company markets its smart sensors for temperature-controlled environments. In May it announced a deal with a US casino which it anticipates will boost revenue by around 10%. It also announced shortly thereafter it had successfully completed a trial at Monash University for a new premium monitoring solution for biological assets. Major new lithium discovery shares of Liontown Resources Ltd [ASX:LTR] shoots up 175% Liontown shares have almost doubled in value in the past month, up 175%, at time of writing. This comes on the back of a big lithium find in at their Kathleen Valley lithium-tantalum project in Western Australia. This was followed by a record intercept at the same project adding further impetus to Liontowns share price. If you are interested in lithium plays, you can learn more about how to invest in the exciting resource in this report. Regards, Lachlann Tierney For Money Morning When Cornelius Vanderbilt was just 15, he spotted a Periauger (a 2-mast sail boat capable of transporting goods and passengers along the New York waterfront) that was up for sale. Not having the funds, he requested his mother to lend him $100. That was a lot of money in the early 1800s, so she drove a hard bargain. Before his birthday, which was a few weeks away, he would have to plough, harrow and plant an uncultivated 8-acre plot of land. If he fulfilled that condition, he would get the money. Do note, it was a loan, not a birthday gift. He quickly enrolled the help of some neighbourhood boys and set out to accomplish the task. He succeeded, got the money and bought the boat. Years later, he would comment that he never felt as much satisfaction, even when he made $2 million on a deal, as he did on that bright May morning when he hoisted the sail, put his hand on the tiller and took his boat out to sea. Vanderbilt began to ferry passengers to and fro across New York harbour. Within a year, he repaid the capital with an additional $1,000 gift to his mother. The Commodore In 1812, when the U.S. and Britain went to war over maritime and trade rights, Vanderbilt procured the contract to supply the forts stationed in New York Harbour. The British blockaded New York harbour and the U.S. army needed someone to carry provisions to the fortifications protecting the city. His small fleet of ships ferried food, munitions, and soldiers to the American forts. His activities during the war earned him the nickname The Commodore, a moniker that stuck throughout his life. He worked hard, lived frugally, saved profits which were invested in other boats. By the time he was 24, he was worth $9,000 and owned several boats. He also took an interest in ship design and proposed modifications and design changes to boat builders. When commercially viable steamboats arrived in New York, Vanderbilt realized that the future belonged to these vehicles independent of wind and tide. He set out to teach himself all that could be learned about this new mode of transport. He also wanted to learn how to handle these volatile vessels, which would explode if too much pressure built up in the boilers. Since he could not afford to buy or make one, it entailed no longer running his own show. He opted to work as a captain for attorney Thomas Gibbons steamboat ferry service. He negotiated a payment of $60/month as the flat remuneration and half of the profits from the business. After a successful run, he and Gibbons decided to run a ferry service from New York to New Jersey. Gibbons financed the building of a new and large steamboat, designed and commanded by Vanderbilt. This fares on this boat were priced extremely low to undermine the competition, but the price of food and drinks were raised to compensate. While this is not the right place to detail down the very engaging drama that ensued as the monopoly operating the service (with state backing) tried to shut them down and get him arrested, it is worth noting that by 1829 Gibbons fleet had over 70 steamboats in operation. Vanderbilt, who by then accumulated $30,000 of capital, decided to venture out on his own. Typical to his style, he engaged in fierce price wars with all competitors. In the New York to Albany run, he pitched a battle with the Hudson River Association, a cartel of steamboat owners. The ensuing price war lasted for a few years with Vanderbilt eventually offering free passage on his boat, with extremely high costs of food and drink. He was losing money, but so was the association. Eventually, they blinked first and offered him $1,00,000 with an annual payment of $5,000 to leave the Hudson River for a period of 10 years. Naturally, he accepted and turned his attention to other waterways. By the middle of the century, he was recognized as the greatest ship owner in the U.S. The discovery of gold in California gave rise to the Gold Rush. But travel was not easy. To reach California, people would sail around Cape Horn (South America) or sail to Panama and then take a ship to San Francisco. Ever the opportunist, he felt there had to be a better route (this was before transcontinental railroads). If a steamboat could sail the San Juan River that connected Lake Nicaragua with the Atlantic, the route to the Pacific would be shorter and less arduous than the ones being taken. He backed his instincts and constructed a special steamboat to overcome the rapids, sand bars and rocks. This venture began to earn him a $1 million every year. The Colossus of Roads In October 1833, he took his first train ride. The locomotive powered up to 25 mph and derailed, throwing him down a 35-foot embankment and giving him three broken ribs and a punctured lung. He was not put off that easily. He realized that railroads were not simply carrying passengers to embarkation ports, but would soon compete directly with shipping lines. He set out to build a railroad empire. He noticed that the New York and Harlem Railroad was poorly run and generated scant revenues. But he also noticed that it was one of the only two railroads with direct access to Manhattan. He began to buy the stock which wavered between $8 and $15 a share. The more it dipped, the more he bought. The stock price eventually galloped ahead. The other stock he purchased was the Hudson River Railroad, with a laughable short track of 140 miles, but direct access to Manhattan. He invested in the New York and Erie railroad, acquired the Canada Southern Railway, amassed a railroad empire with the first complete service between Chicago and New York, and eventually earned the moniker Colossus of Roads. Learning from the tycoon In The Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt, he is described as wantonly cruel to many of those closest to him, deeply committed to his own erotic pleasures outside of marriage, devoid of manners and charity. He was also famed for his ability for expressive profanity. But he possessed a furtive genius for making money. Cornelius Vanderbilt, the wealthiest men in America at one time, built his fortunes on the transportation revolution - owning and operating railroads and steamboats that changed the face of America. He reportedly accumulated a $100 million fortune by the time of his death in 1877 - more than was held in the U.S. Treasury at the time. 1. He was singularly focussed. Being a school drop-out, he never let his lack of education come in the way. He never let his emotions or ambitions get the better of him. He once confessed that he has been insane on the subject of moneymaking all his life. 2. Frugality was one of his most potent weapons. He understood the folly of extravagance. He told his son that any fool can make a fortune, but it takes a man of brains to hold onto it. He controlled his money, he never let his money control him. He always looked for value when he spent. He invested wisely. He personally invested millions in building Grand Central Station, one of the largest train depots in the world. 3. He shunned debt. He never lived beyond his means. Was never in debt. Never bought on credit. By being better capitalized than other steamboat and railroad operators, Vanderbilt could absorb losses much more comfortably than competitors who had banks and bondholders breathing down their necks. 4. He saw disruption as an opportunity. He never let disruption get the better of him, instead he seized it with both hands. The steam engine was one of the most disruptive wealth-building advancements of the 1800s. Later, it was rail transportation. 5. He was focussed on his delivery. He knew that if he met a need, he would make money. In his case, it was to make travel easier. One of Vanderbilts quotes underscores his penchant for giving consumers a better deal: I have always served the public to the best of my ability. Why? Because, like every other man, it is to my interest to do so. 6. Competition never fazed him. The Stonington Railroad served as a critical link between New York and Boston. Steamboats would depart Manhattan, drop passengers off in Stonington, at which point they'd board a train for the remainder of the journey. Stonington Railroad teamed up with Vanderbilt's competitors to offer lower consolidated fares for the trip, thereby threatening the Commodore's steamship lines in the area. Vanderbilt resorted to the cut-throat rate war. Stonington Railroad's stock plummeted. As the stock collapsed, he began to pick it up and eventually seized five seats on the board in 1846. His coup was successful. A broker in Vancouver who was suspended over a decade ago has been slapped with an order to cease and desist activities by the Financial Institutions Commission (FICOM) after arranging $511.6 million in mortgage loans. Jay Kanth Chaudhary was also found to have a vast network of registered submortgage brokers that operated together between 2009the year after his license was suspendedand 2018. Vancouver police and FICOM staff entered Chaudharys premises and seized his computers and documents, the latter of which included a spreadsheet with 875 files worth $5.28m in client fees and $642,344 in referral fees paid by the registered submortgage brokers who submitted the applications to lenders on his behalf, according to a FICOM notice posted online last week. Chaudhary was first suspended in 2008 after lenders raised concerns about his conduct. The latest notice alleges Chaudhary fooled borrowers into believing he was a broker who dealt with lenders directly. Moreover, hes accused of collecting referral fees and submitting false or altered documents to brokers who filed on his behalf. Two Permian Basin cities 17 miles apart are among the six lowest unemployment rates in the nation during the month of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Midland remained in fourth for the third straight month, even as the metropolitan statistical areas unemployment rate dropped from 2.1 percent in March to 1.7 percent in April. An Odessa woman serving 15 years for conspiracy charges related to marijuana has petitioned U.S. President Donald Trump for a sentence reduction. A petition was filed on Crystal Munozs behalf by Texas A&M Universitys Criminal Defense Clinic in November and supplemented with additional information in March. Munoz was found guilty of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute in 2008 when she was 25 years old, according to the petition filed with the U.S. Office of the Pardon Attorney. She was pregnant at the time and later forced to give birth shackled, for most of the labor, to a hospital bed, the petition states. She also left behind a 5-month-old daughter and her husband when she was sent to Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth. Now, after serving 11 years of her sentence, Munoz has asked for the second time for it to be commutated. She also petitioned President Barack Obama for commutation in 2013; it was denied in 2016. Munozs case gained national attention at the time of her first petition, largely due to features in Vice and Rolling Stone. According to those publications and her petition, Munozs role in the drug ring she was convicted of leading was limited to drawing a map that showed checkpoints along the Mexican border. She drew the map as a favor to a friend who helped her with car repairs and didnt realize what it would be used for, the petition states. Several other members of the drug organization cooperated with the government and testified against Munoz, according to the petition. She was convicted of intending to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana, despite none being seized from her personally. Munozs conviction for drugs that werent found on her person is a result of conspiracy laws, said Amy Povah, founder of CAN-DO Justice Through Clemency. Povah is a clemency recipient herself, and has worked with Munoz and many others who are seeking or have received clemency. She described conspiracy charges as one of the best-kept secrets in the countrys war on drugs. Theres really nothing much protecting you from a prison cell these days, Povah said. When the word a co-conspirator, or a former friend [testifying against you] is all it takes to convict, they dont have to have tangible evidence. Povah said she believes Munozs first petition was denied because of flaws within the Office of the Pardon Attorney, which she and other activists claim is inherently biased because it falls under the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors have the final say, Povah said. In their minds, they see it [clemency] as a failure, because most of them were trained to force everybody to take a plea. She said media coverage sometimes makes matters worse by painting law enforcement and prosecutors in a negative light. If you tell your story and the story sort of insults the prosecutor, that doesnt help anybody and the goal is for that person to go home, Povah said. On the other hand, if thats really what happened, how do you tell your story? However, without media coverage, prisoners have little chance of catching the pardon attorneys attention, she said. If youre quiet and you dont have any visibility, your odds of walking out of there are also bleak, Povah said. Povah said she had been hopeful Munoz would be released under the Obama administration. That administration made clemency of non-violent drug offenders a priority and granted clemency to almost 2,000 of those prisoners, far more than any previous administration. But thousands of petitions were also denied without explanation. Povah said she has met with the Trump administration and has high expectations that they will finish the job. As of May, the administration has granted clemency to 12 people but Povah points to passage of the First Step Act, a bipartisan prison reform bill, as evidence of more to come. The FSA largely dealt with sentence reform and had no effect on sentence commutations or pardons. It did prohibit inmates from being shackled while giving birth, which Povah said she advocated to be included in the bill and used Munozs case as an example for its necessity. Munoz will stay in prison four more years if she doesnt receive clemency. Povah said Munoz will keep fighting for her release, so she can be reunited with her daughters, now 10 and 11 years old. Its an insult that shes already lost countless evenings to tuck them into bed, to be there when theyre sick to celebrate their birthdays with them, to make their favorite food, Povah said. A mother will do whatever she needs to do, she said. ALBANY Assembly members Phil Steck and John McDonald have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a ban on outside income that could prevent many from serving in the Legislature. The restriction, which takes effect next year, would prohibit lawmakers from holding any additional jobs with a fiduciary responsibility. The anti-corruption measure was implemented by a special compensation commission created by the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo as a trade off for a $50,500 increase in annual base pay for lawmakers. The complaint is available on Capitol Confidential. In order to continue serving in the Assembly, Steck said he would need to walk away from his practice as a civil rights attorney. McDonald said he would need to divest his ownership of the family-run Marra's pharmacy in Cohoes, where he also works as a pharmacist. McDonald previously told the Times Union he'll "figure something out" to retain his seat, while Steck said he might consider leaving public office. Passive income, such as certain investments or rental property earnings, will still be permitted as outside income. There is an exception for physicians. Otherwise, any outside income must be capped at $18,000 annually. Steck, a Colonie Democrat, maintains that his law practice has never interfered with his legislative and government duties. "The public sees the full disclosure I make of my clients and income every year," Steck said. "The outside income issue has been raised by my opponents, and I have nonetheless been re-elected." McDonald, a Cohoes Democrat, said his role as a licensed pharmacist and business owner allows him to bring a unique experience and insight to the Assembly. "These rules would encourage only those who have made a career of government or politics to run for office," McDonald said. "We would lose many legislators with very valuable experience." Nearly a quarter of state lawmakers could be forced to give up their outside employment or divest from their businesses before the end of the year if they want to hold their seats, according to an analysis by the good government group Common Cause New York. Sen. George Amedore, a Rotterdam Republican who runs a home-building company, and Sen. Neil Breslin, a Bethlehem Democrat and attorney, would also need to give up their private employment if they want to continue to serve next year. The restriction on certain types of outside income is already being challenged in state Supreme Court, and there is another court case objecting to the creation of the compensation commission and its actions. The federal complaint was filed by Steck and McDonald in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, a Westchester County Democrat, is also listed as a plaintiff in the complaint, which argues that the outside-income restrictions violate their constitutionally protected rights to free speech, due process and equal protection. The legal challenge contends the restrictions penalize certain types of income, take effect in the middle of a term of office, and were implemented without giving lawmakers an opportunity to weigh in on the changes. The complaint notes that similar income restrictions were not applied to agency heads or statewide elected officials, including Cuomo, and would merely cap passive income, such as investments and rental properties. They also claim the commission was never granted the authority to address outside income restrictions, and that it's sole job was to consider the appropriate salaries for elected officials. Albany County Legislator Joseph O'Brien is also listed as a plaintiff in the complaint on the basis that the restrictions allegedly limit his options as a voter by discouraging candidates with certain types of income. David.Lombardo@timesunion.com - 518.454.5427 - @poozer87 HOUSTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States and China need to resolve their trade issues before both economies get hurt, a U.S. market expert said here Saturday. U.S.-China trade tensions can be detrimental to both economies, and they need to be resolved as soon as possible, said Carl Larry, market development manager of Refinitiv, a global provider of financial markets data, information, and technology. He made the remarks on the sidelines of the 2019 Southern-U.S. China Summit, which was co-hosted by Houston Tsinghua Alumni Association and Peking University Alumni. "If the U.S. can't maintain growth because we have issues with our trade partner, the second largest economy in the world, then we'll see the negative impact," he told Xinhua. "Knowing the way business works, I think we'll stop before we get to that point," he added, expressing optimism about the two sides resolving the row soon. "Once we resolve our issues, I think China and the America will have a really good path through economic growth," he said. In the latest flare-up of U.S.-China trade tensions, Washington increased additional tariffs on 200 billion U.S. dollars' worth of Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent on May 10, and has threatened to raise tariffs on more Chinese imports. In response, China raised additional tariffs on a range of U.S. imports on June 1, and has vowed to "fight to the end" to safeguard not only its own rightful interests but also the norms of international relations and the free trade system. Themed "Tsinghua University and Peking University, Jointly shoulder the Responsibility of the New Era," the one-day meeting was dedicated to celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 40th anniversary of China-U.S. diplomatic relations. The event attracted around 200 scholars, business representatives, and alumni of Tsinghua and Peking -- the top two universities in China -- to discuss education, energy, health care and investment among other subjects. [ Editor: Zhang Zhou ] A television anchorman pleaded guilty Monday to possessing child pornography and was sentenced to five years in prison. Gerry Grant agreed to the plea after pretrial motions, one day before his trial was scheduled to start. If convicted, he could have faced up to 10 years in prison. Prosecutors had planned to present audiotapes and videotapes that they say depicted Grant talking in graphic terms about having violent sex with children, according to court records. The documents state that Grant told a prostitute, Heather Powell, that he once paid "extra" to have sex with a girl, 8 or 9 nine years old, in Mexico and that he molested a lost child in a vacant hospital room, the San Antonio Express-News reported in Monday's editions. He also told Powell about his desire to lure a "Hispanic girl from the city's West Side" with ice cream, then kidnap and sexually assault her, according to transcripts quoted in the state's notice of intent to introduce evidence, filed last week. At one point, according to the transcript, after talking about the proposed assault, he wonders aloud, "How do I get away?" The document is filled with the excerpts from Grant's conversations with Powell that police say they caught on tape as part of an undercover police sting. The conversations took place in a hotel room where Grant met Powell, whom he had been seeing for about nine months, according to records. The trial was postponed at least twice after Powell was shot and left partially paralyzed in an unrelated incident. Grant was arrested Oct. 16, 2000, while he was on his dinner break from KSAT-TV. Police charged him with one count of possession of child pornography, accusing Grant of buying four photographs of children ages 6 to 12 in sexually explicit poses. At a February 2001 news conference, Grant issued a public apology and acknowledged buying the photos. "I am sorry for the shame and humiliation I have brought to the people I love," he said then. "I know that I have also let down the people of San Antonio. I have thrown away both my good name and my entire career forever." KSAT initially placed Grant on leave, pending the trial's outcome, but later did not renew his contract as a weekend anchor. Mexico is kicking off the construction of its 150 billion peso ($7.7 billion) oil refinery amid a call by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for the country to become self-sufficient in energy production. The nation depends too much on buying foreign gasoline, the president, commonly known as AMLO, said at an event Sunday in Paraiso, Tabasco, where the seventh refinery will be built. The bidding process for the six phases of the refinery begins at the end of June. The leader also used the platform to rally the country after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened in the past week to slap a 5% tariff on all goods from Mexico if it doesnt curb an unprecedented surge in migrants over the U.S. border. The Mexican peso slumped and was the worst performer among major global currencies in the past week. EARLY DAYS: Mexico's new president takes nationalist tone on energy during first 100 days in office AMLO, who sending a delegation to Washington this week, said Mexico wants to continue to be friends with the U.S. and reiterated his countrys good relations with its northern neighbor. However, he also said that Mexico isnt a colony of any foreign country. The president of Mexico wants to continue being a friend of President Donald Trump. But above everything, Mexicans are friends of the people of the United States, AMLO said to cheers from crowds that had gathered at the Dos Bocas port following a critical tweet from Trump. To them, I dedicate this message from Paraiso, Tabasco. We want nothing and nobody to separate our beautiful and sacred friendship. Refinery Targets AMLO reiterated that the refinery will be inaugurated in three years, adding that it will be built by the government rather than a third party. CRACKDOWN: AMLO's corruption focus adds to anxieties of energy firms, investors Last month, the Mexican leader handed the project to Petroleos Mexicanos after he canceled a tender when the bidders failed to meet his ambitious three-year timeline and stay within the $8 billion budget allocated for it. While the Dos Bocas refinery has 50 billion pesos in initial resources allocated for the year, the project may be problematic for Pemex, the worlds most indebted oil major. The state-owned oil companys six refineries are currently processing at about 35% of their capacity.Refinery upgrade projects that began in the early 2000s have yet to be completed. Another much-lauded plan to build a refinery in Tula, Hidalgo, for $12 billion was scrapped by the previous administration five years after it was announced. Pemexs existing refineries are in such poor shape that they lose more money the more crude they process. The Salina Cruz, Minatitlan and Madero plants all have been offline intermittently in the past several years, which Pemex has said is due to extended maintenance or because of operational problems. The proposed Dos Bocas plant was one of AMLOs campaign pledges and he pushed the project through a public consultation after taking office in December. 2019 Bloomberg L.P. This article, Google Cloud issues take down YouTube, Snapchat, Gmail and more, originally appeared on CNET.com. Having trouble with YouTube or Gmail ? A apparent Google Cloud outage could be why. Google Cloud has been experiencing widespread problems Sunday, taking YouTube, Snapchat , Gmail, Discord and a host of other popular apps and services down across the eastern United States. Screenshot by CNET Google pointed to "high levels of network congestion in the eastern USA, affecting multiple services in Google Cloud, G Suite and YouTube." "Users may see slow performance or intermittent errors," the company said in a statement around 2 p.m. PT. "We believe we have identified the root cause of the congestion and expect to return to normal service shortly." Google's status page for Cloud confirmed the company was having issues with the service as of 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. The search giant marked Google's Cloud Compute Engine and Cloud Networking services as suffering outages on its status dashboard. YouTube seemed to be working on the West Coast, with CNET reporters able to access the video streaming site just fine. A CNET editor on the East Coast, however, noted that he was encountering issues. One video, for example, was inaccessible for about 15 minutes. Google Cloud is the company's hosting platform, similar to Amazon's Amazon Web Services and Microsoft's Azure. In addition to powering its own services, other companies such as Snapchat and Uber, rely on Google's infrastructure to provide the backend for their apps and platforms. News of the outage quickly spread across social media, with #YouTubeDOWN and #snapchatdown rising to the top of Twitter's Trending Topics section as users voiced their frustrations. #YouTubeDOWN *snapchat goes down and everyone freaks out* well at least things cant get any worse Youtube: pic.twitter.com/zT1Eg7OdQN soph (@sophiavespolii) June 2, 2019 When half the internet is getting Thanos snapped #YouTubeDOWN Matthew (SergeantM) (@SergeantM_YT) June 2, 2019 Apparently its not just YouTube and Snapchat That has gone down.#YouTubeDOWN #snapchatdown pic.twitter.com/pneVxUXGZv Jack Scantlebury (@JackScants) June 2, 2019 Other services that rely on Google Cloud for hosting, such as Uber, Rocket League, and Discord, also seemed to be experiencing issues as a result of the apparent outage. Thank you for letting me know, though I'm sorry for the trouble! It looks like there might be a little hiccup with the Google Cloud server! You can keep an eye on their status page here: https://t.co/89IJWp8mRd Thank you for your patience as this gets resolved! Discord (@discordapp) June 2, 2019 Hey there! A widespread Google Cloud outage is affecting access to Rocket League servers. Please stay tuned to our social media channels for any updates regarding this when Google Cloud service returns to normal. Rocket League Help (@RL_Support) June 2, 2019 Downdetector.com, which monitors network issues, showed widespread issues for the East Coast of the US as well as in parts of Europe for YouTube and Gmail. Originally published at 1:20 p.m. PT. Update, 2:25 p.m. PT: Adds comment from Google and background on Google Cloud. Matthew Busch, For The San Antonio Express-News / For The San Antonio Express-News While on tour in San Antonio, comedian Steve Martin couldn't resist taking a crack at the "fantastic" Alamo. Before the "Steve Martin & Martin Short" hit the stage at the Majestic Theatre on Saturday, Martin strolled through downtown, visiting tourists site like the Alamo. Martin shared a photo on Twitter of the downtown gazebo, tweeting "In San Antonio, just saw the Alamo. So fantastic!" RELATED: George Lopez returns to San Antonio for shows at the Majestic Theatre Several followers noticed Martin didn't actually picture the Alamo in his post, tweeting about the misunderstanding. "Sir, that's a gazebo," @AndrewJoePotter tweeted. Others chimed in on the joke. RELATED: Comedian Hari Kondabolu praises 'basement' San Antonio comedy club, despite 'absurdity' "Remember the Gazebo!" @JamesIrwin5326 said. Shortly after the post, Martin tweeted a picture of a chair, joking it was the Alamo again. "Sorry, earlier tweet turns out not to be the Alamo. Here is a correct photo of the Alamo," The "Three Amigos" actor tweeted. The follow-up tweet left several fans in the comments laughing along with Martin. RELATED: Top ten comedy moments in San Antonio "This is why I love Steve Martin and have since I was a little kid... his humor is always spot on," @SenatorSpoon tweeted. Considering Martin was born in Waco and has performed in San Antonio before, he definitely knows what the Alamo looks like, which is why the joke took off and made the Twittersphere laugh. After the show on Saturday, @MarthaLaine86 tweeted a photo of the Majestic Theatre, thanking Martin and Short for a "memorable evening" on Twitter. RELATED: HBO to film an episode of stand-up comedy series 'Entre Nos' in San Antonio Martin retweeted her tweet with a quote about the Majestic Theatre. "This is actually the theatre we played tonight in San Antonio. The blue sky is an illusion. We are indoors." Martin said on Sunday. After the retweet, many commented about the "beautiful majestic" and thanked the two comedians for "a great show." Priscilla Aguirre is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre The original San Antonio Mamas Cafe location on the Northeast Side has been temporarily shuttered, but there are plans for a quick rebirth under the watch of owner and founder Cappy Lawton. Lawton and his family started the neighborhood restaurant at 2442 Nacogdoches Road, just outside Loop 410, 38 years ago. For the past 30 years, other operators ran the restaurant, through the Lawton purchased the land and building 15 years ago. The Cleveland and Tarkington communities are hosting events this month to support the victims of a violent shooting spree in the area last week. Church That Cares is hosting a We Care Prayer Vigil on June 3 after the four residents, including a deputy, were shot in the midst of a crime spree that occurred on May 29. The vigil will be held at 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Church That Cares, which is located at 21 County Road 2281, Cleveland TX (Tarkington Prairie). The crime spree may have started as early as May 28 when Pavol Vido shot and killed a woman who worked for B Dependable Plumbing as their secretary, Liberty County Sheriffs Office Capt. Ken DeFoor said at a news conference. Vido shot two more men who worked at the business the next morning. He eventually shot Deputy Richard Whitten in the neck during a shootout at a nearby business. The one-hour vigil is to pray for Whitten, the community and first responders, according to the church. First responders and the community are welcome to come for the prayer. There will be coffee and baked good in the CTC Family Life Center for all first responders following the vigil. On Thursday, authorities said Whitten was in stable condition and surrounded by family. He was upgraded to critical condition on Friday. Trinity Armory in Cleveland will also host a benefit for Whitten from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on June 22. This benefit is to help raise money for the loss of income, out of pocket medical expenses and for his family during his road to recovery. According to Trinity Armory, 100% of the money raised will be donated to Whitten and his family, per the benefit Facebook page. marcus.gutierrez@chron.com VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - After an unremarkable career spent tending the water and sewer systems beneath this city of 450,000 residents, DeWayne Craddock quit on Friday morning. The engineer for Virginia Beach's municipal government informed his bosses in an email that he was resigning, city officials said. But Craddock made one last visit to the drab brick building where he worked and methodically killed his colleagues. Investigators, Craddock's former co-workers and residents of this stricken oceanside community continued Sunday to grasp for clues to what precipitated the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since November. Armed with two .45-caliber pistols, at least one of them equipped with a sound suppressor and extended magazine, Craddock killed 12 people before dying in a gunfight with police. Some killers leave behind manifestos, YouTube videos or social media profiles that display a mind moving inexorably toward violence. What Craddock left was a resignation letter, according to city officials, and a work history that gave no hint of his intentions. "Right now we do not have anything glaring," Police Chief James Cervera said at a news conference Sunday. He cautioned that investigators are still trying to determine a motive. Officials would not discuss what Craddock wrote in his resignation, but a person familiar with the email said it was short and there was "nothing out of the ordinary." "He merely submitted his two weeks' notice," said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. "There was no foreshadowing of anything that resulted the rest of the day." City Manager Dave Hansen said "a very thorough review" of Craddock's personnel file had revealed no problems. "To my knowledge, the perpetrator's performance was satisfactory," Hansen said, adding that Craddock "was in good standing within his department . . . there were no issues of discipline ongoing." The mystification behind that coolly bureaucratic assessment is shared by others who knew Craddock. A 40-year-old veteran of the Virginia Army National Guard, in which he served for six years as an artillery cannon crew member, Craddock had a shaved head, bodybuilder's physique and cameras in the windows of his house on a peaceful cul-de-sac. Christi Dewar, a public utilities account clerk for the city who worked across the hall from Craddock, said she knew of no incidents or arguments involving Craddock in the days before the shooting. "There was absolutely no warning whatsoever," Dewar said. A 2003 report in Dolan's Virginia Business Observer said Craddock had joined a consulting firm called MSA and was a project engineer. Firm partner Scott Acey declined to comment Saturday beyond confirming that Craddock worked for the company for three to four years before going to work for Virginia Beach. Shortly before Craddock began Friday afternoon's massacre, he was in the office bathroom, brushing his teeth, said city engineering technician Joseph Scott, who recalled exchanging pleasantries with him. "Hi, how you doing? Any plans for the weekend?" Scott recalled saying. "That was pretty much it. Then we went our separate ways." Not long afterward, about 4 p.m., officers received calls about a shooter in Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, a cluster of government offices just east of a golf course in this sprawling city that has a suburban feel. The police headquarters is at the municipal center, and two detectives quickly entered the building, followed by a pair of K-9 officers. On Sunday, Cervera spoke of the challenges the officers faced as they ventured inside the building, a hivelike complex that was built in the 1970s and whose interior has since undergone additions and renovations. "It's a maze where the workers are," Cervera said. Without a clear idea of the shooter's whereabouts, officers entered that maze, eventually encountering Craddock on the second floor. A protracted firefight ensued, and at 4:19 p.m. one officer was hit but was saved by his protective vest. Craddock, cornered in an office, began firing through the door. Police ultimately broke down the door and began trying to save the life of Craddock, who was wounded. He was taken to a hospital and died. Between the time police were called to the scene and the time Craddock was subdued, 36 minutes had passed, officials said. Craddock had killed 12 people - among them the mother of a 22-month-old, civil servants at the end of three-decade careers, a bagpipe enthusiast, an immigrant from Belarus who helped his friend with yardwork - in what authorities described as an indiscriminate killing rampage. His first victim was a contractor in the parking lot, there to file a permit. The second was a woman on her way out of the office. Craddock, who was still an active employee, was able to use his badge to gain access to the building's second floor, where most of the killings occurred. Within about an hour of the initial attack, Cervera said, all of the wounded had been transported for emergency care. In addition to those killed, four people were wounded and hospitalized. All have undergone surgeries, officials said Sunday. "They are progressing, and our prayers are with them," said Hansen, the city manager. Authorities identified those killed as Virginia Beach residents Michelle "Missy" Langer, Ryan Keith Cox, Tara Welch Gallagher, Mary Louise Gayle, Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Katherine Nixon, Joshua Hardy and Herbert "Bert" Snelling; Chesapeake residents Laquita Brown and Robert "Bobby" Williams; Norfolk resident Richard Nettleton; and Powhatan resident Christopher Kelly Rapp. Officials said they were still piecing together Craddock's whereabouts and timeline on Friday. It was not clear when and where he picked up the guns before the massacre began. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said his two pistols were legally purchased in 2016 and 2018. They found another legally purchased firearm at his home and a second gun that investigators were working to trace. At the scene of the shooting, police found a sound suppressor, commonly known as a silencer, and extended magazines. At Sunday's news conference, city officials disclosed that Craddock resigned Friday morning but did not share details of how or why he did so. "He notified his chain of command that morning," Hansen said. "My understanding is he did that via email." The municipal center will remain closed Monday, but Virginia Beach's other city offices will be open. All Municipal Center buildings other than Building 2, where the attack took place, will reopen Tuesday. "Our recovery is underway," Hansen said. "Our grieving is underway." But as church services and vigils were held Sunday across Virginia Beach, the state's largest city and a tourist destination where jets from the naval air station regularly roar overhead, many residents said they were still struggling to come to terms with what had happened. Hundreds gathered Sunday morning near the iconic Neptune sculpture on Virginia Beach's sandy coast for an evangelical service hosted by Trinity Church. Patty Richards said she had been praying since she heard that people had been shot at the municipal center not far from her house. Her husband, a contractor, had planned to go to that building on Friday for a permit but put it off until Monday. Richards, a former critical cardiac nurse at a nearby hospital, said she understood too well what the medical professionals treating the victims would be facing. "I know about that kind of pain," she said. Cassandra Ellis, 47, stopped at the grocery store with her boyfriend for a dozen roses - one for each victim - adding them to the stack of flowers left in front of the Police Department. "I go on my Facebook feed and that's all there is," Ellis said. "The vibes, the emotion is totally different. We're in a deep place, a bad place." It was the deadliest shooting in the city's history, and the latest in the series of American gun massacres that now arrive with numbing frequency. The Virginia Beach shooting was the deadliest in the United States since a November shooting at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, in which 13 people, including the gunman, were killed. Robert Richardson, 39, a retired Navy veteran, said he had been drawn to the tightly knit community in Virginia Beach. "It has a big-city feel, but it doesn't act like a big city," he said. On Sunday, Richardson brought his four children to see the flowers at the police station. "My kids go to school a block down the road," he said. "I fear for my kids when they go to school." Richardson said he lived through the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2014 and never thought he'd see another workplace slaying like that one. Now that more have taken place, he can't say he's surprised. "If we didn't learn from Sandy Hook, where all these innocent children died, we'll never learn," he said. - - - The Washington Post's Moriah Balingit, Rachel Chason, Alice Crites, Jim Morrison, Gregory S. Schneider, Julie Tate and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report. AUSTIN Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill into law banning red-light traffic cameras in the nations second-largest state, but two local cities could keep them for decades under existing contracts. The ban takes effect Sept. 1 but cameras can remain active until a citys current contract for the system expires. In the San Antonio area, only the suburban cities of Balcones Heights and Leon Valley use them. Leon Valley amended its contract with American Traffic Solutions in May to extend it from 10 year to 20 years, which could keep the cameras in place through May 2038 despite the new law. Red-light cameras take images of vehicles entering intersections when red stoplights are lit. Drivers are usually fined $75-$100. Nearly 50 Texas cities use the cameras, including Balcones Heights and Leon Valley. RELATED: Leon Valley police to install 3 more red light cameras as chief touts program's success Critics say red-light cameras are unconstitutional and contribute to traffic accidents. Supporters say red-light cameras help make streets safer and generate funds for cities and other government entities. Former Balcones Heights Police Chief Darrell Volz has said the cameras are a force multiplier for the small department, helping the department stretch its resources. He said the city has had a 70 percent reduction in the number of accidents since installing the cameras in 2007. Leon Valley, which first installed 11 cameras in January 2018, added three more in March. The city has issued 61,737 citations from February 2018 to February 2019, according to a presentation Police Chief Joseph Salvaggio made to the City Council in May. The city has credited the cameras with reducing the number of accidents by 43 percent in the first 10 months of use. The citations have brought in $900,000, Salvaggio said in December. While half the money goes to the state, the remaining money helped pay for four traffic officers, freeing up the departments other officers for other duties, he said. The new law also prevents counties and Texas officials from refusing to register a vehicle because of unpaid red-light camera tickets. The mother of a San Antonio man accused of injuring King Jay Davila and faking a kidnapping to disguise the babys death is a manipulator who orchestrated the cover-up scheme, according to the mothers niece. Beatrice Sampayo, 64, has been indicted on a charge of tampering with evidence as part of the cover-up. Her son, Christopher Davila, 34, is accused in the death of King Jay. He had claimed to be the babys father. On ExpressNews.com: Police say grandmother lied in past and poses danger to community Sounding angry, Elizabeth Sampayo, 38, told media gathered in the 227th state District Court for a hearing Monday that the elder Sampayo was the mastermind of what police say was a fake kidnapping to throw off investigators when Davila reported the baby missing in January. Shes a manipulator, Sampayo said of her aunt. Elizabeth Sampayo said that when she was a child, she and her cousins would be left in Beatrice Sampayos care and the woman would give the children tranquilizers so she could get her chores done. Shed give us Xanax to clean the house, Elizabeth Sampayo said. Davila, Elizabeth Sampayos cousin, initially told police King Jay was in the back seat of his car when it was stolen from a gas station. Police quickly grew suspicious of his account. Days later, Davila led authorities to the childs body, which had been put in a backpack and buried in a field on the Northeast Side, according to court records. Davila said he had been caring for King Jay when the baby accidentally fell off a bed while in his car seat. He said he was afraid to seek help for the baby. Davila is engaged to King Jays mother, Jasmine Gonzales. Both claimed Davila was the father, but Gonzales later admitted in court that he is not. She recently gave birth to another boy and says this one is Davilas. On ExpressNews.com: Family members indicted in connection to King Jays case Elizabeth Sampayo said she believes Davila, her cousin, called his mother when he realized King Jay was dead. She was adamant that Beatrice Sampayo put the rest of the events into motion. You have no idea what youre dealing with here, Elizabeth Sampayo said of her aunt. She said Torres, 45, her cousin, was goaded by their aunt into helping Davila. Torres was captured on video in January, according to an arrest affidavit, getting into Davilas car at the gas station and driving it away, making it appear to was stolen with King Jay in it. Like Beatrice Sampayo, Torres and Davila were indicted in April on charges of tampering with evidence. Davila faces additional charges, including injury to a child causing severe bodily injury, a first-degree felony. He remains in jail. Elizabeth Sampayo appeared to question her aunts frailty. Beatrice has been sick since before I was born, she said. Im 38 years old. Shes been dying all my life. When asked if reports that Beatrice Sampayo is battling terminal cancer are true, she replied, maybe. She said King Jays death has split the family. Beatrice Sampayo and Torres had court hearings scheduled before Judge Kevin OConnell on Monday, but both cases were reset. On ExpressNews.com: Little boys death tearing family apart, uncle says Beatrice Sampayo, who is out on bond and used a wheelchair, covered her face from media as she left the courtroom. Her attorney, Melissa Lesniak, left the courtroom without comment. Torres attorney, Karl Basile, declined to comment on Elizabeth Sampayos allegations against her aunt. Basile said its too early in the case to weigh any plea agreements regarding Torres role. Neither the state nor I are in a position where we can discuss any type of agreement, or what were going to do with the case other than just further our investigations and come back and talk some more later, he said. Torres is being held in the Bexar County jail on a $250,000 bond. Davila has a trial setting this morning in the 227th state District Court. 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 A San Antonio police officer opened fire on suspects in a stolen vehicle at a Northwest Side hotel Monday morning. Three people were taken into custody at the Rodeway Inn and Suites on Laureate Drive after the incident was reported around 8:40 a.m., police confirmed. No one was injured in the shooting. Patrol officers discovered a stolen black sedan in the hotel parking lot. The driver and passenger door were both open when two officers approached it, Police Chief William McManus said. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox The driver allegedly backed up, trapping the officers between the sedan doors and the patrol car, which was parked behind the stolen vehicle. An officer with 11 years of experience fired one shot as they were being trapped in, McManus said. The bullet struck the car. The driver of the car was armed with a pistol and had a felony warrant, McManus said. When officers searched the hotel room connected to the vehicle, they discovered narcotics and a third suspect, who also had a felony warrant. Police also found a woman in the room with two young children, ages 2 and 3, McManus said. The officer who fired his gun will be placed on administrative duty while the case is reviewed by police and the district attorney's office. Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | fsabawi@mysa.com | @FaresInSA A man was killed after he was struck by a train on tracks on the West Side near downtown Sunday afternoon, San Antonio police said. Officers responded to the tracks about 1:20 p.m., SAPD spokesman Officer Doug Greene said. TWO people died on the spot while another one succumbed to injuries while admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital after a pirating Toyota Wish they were travelling in veered off the road and hit a tree near Lupane. Officer Commanding Police Lupane District, Chief Superintendent Edgar Dhliwayo confirmed the accident. He said preliminary investigations show that the driver was speeding when the accident occurred at the 152km peg between Lupane and Kenmaur along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road. The vehicle was heading towards Lupane from Bulawayo with five passengers on board when the accident occurred last Friday. I can confirm that police attended to an accident where two people died on the spot while three others were rushed to St Lukes Hospital. One of the three who is a 50-year-old woman was transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo due to the seriousness of head injuries she sustained and she died on Saturday, he said. Fire fighters from Bulawayo fire brigade used bold cutters to rescue the 50-year-old woman who had been trapped in the wreckage, The Chronicle heard. She was rushed to St Lukes Hospital before being transferred to Bulawayo where she died on Saturday. The driver, who is from Bulawayo is reportedly in critical condition in hospital after fracturing ribs and an arm. We think the driver was speeding. On approaching the 152km peg he allegedly lost control of the vehicle which then veered to the left. The driver tried to control it back and it veered to the right and hit a tree killing two people on the spot, he said. Chronicle Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News THE case of Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa and former adviser to the President, Christopher Mutsvangwas son, Neville, who is allegedly running an illegal foreign currency trading business, has spilled into Parliament, where an opposition senator grilled Finance minister Mthuli Ncube over the reports. This comes in the wake of the arrest of five Zimbabwe Republic Police officers on charges of robbing a money changer of US$11 000 despite receiving a US$3 000 bribe to release US$200 000 they had confiscated after a raid of Avenues offices reportedly belonging to Neville and his associates. Midlands senator Lillian Timveous grilled Ncube over the issue, saying: We have been following the news and Mutsvangwas son was caught with over US$200 000, (in a case where) he is allegedly dealing in illegal foreign currency business. When the police apprehended him, he was found with US$200 000 and what is the Minister of Finance going to do to stop such illegal activities? Ncube said he could not respond to an issue which was already before the police. He also failed to further explain what should happen to illegal foreign currency dealers. The issue is before the police, which really means they are dealing with it. In a sense, the Minister of Finance has no role because the law enforcement agents have already started their process and they are dealing with the matter. Obviously, we will also watch the space to see how that is concluded. The police are doing their job, Ncube said. The five police officers Tafadzwa Chidawa (31), Edward Selemani (33), Sydnie Mugambiwa (32), Tendai Mangena (37) and Richard Majome (34) appeared before Harare magistrate Barbara Mateko, who remanded them to June 19 on $100 bail each. Ironically, on Tuesday at a post-Cabinet briefing, Mutsvangwa threatened to name and shame sharks behind illegal foreign currency dealings while also attacking an insurance giant. In 2018, President Emmerson Mnangagwas government amended the Exchange Control and Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act through a statutory instrument, which prescribed 10 years imprisonment for illegal foreign currency dealers in an effort to stop illegal money deals. On Thursday, when Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya appeared before Parliament, he said there was a lot of indiscipline in the country, which had given rise to the illegal parallel market on foreign currency. Who is that one so rich that they can move the rate of exchange? Who is that person who has the RTGS dollars for them to have the exchange rate going up? Mangudya had queried. Black market rates were hovering around 800% to the United States dollar. Meanwhile, Ncube was also grilled in Senate by Matabeleland North senator Phyllis Ndlovu over the RTGS dollar. Ndlovu said people in rural Zimbabwe did not even understand the term RTGS dollar. Is it feasible for you to translate that into indigenous languages so that people understand what RTGS is? Ndlovu asked. Ncube said there was no need to translate the RTGS dollar to the indigenous languages of Zimbabwe. Real Time Settlement System (RTGS) is actually our dollar. You just tell the people that RTGS is our dollar, just that. They can pay through Ecocash and swipe, while others may use the bond notes. The bond notes and RTGS are equal. This is our position as government. There is no need for us to explain that in indigenous languages. It is just our dollar , Ncube said. NewsDay Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Gogo Dhliwayo of Halale Village in Matopo wept piteously as a witch hunter, popularly known as Siziba, ransacked her thatched hut purportedly looking for goblins, which he said were stashed somewhere in her hut. The day of cleansing was marked by a lucid sky, with the sun dispensing its slight golden rays on villagers backs as they vacated their homesteads and streamed to gather at Gogo Dhliwayos homestead. All eyes were glued on Siziba and two other witch hunters as they came out of Dhliwayos hut with a clay pot smeared with fresh blood and a sack which they claimed had goblins inside. Siziba and his colleagues locked fiery eyes with the suspected witch. They seized Dhliwayos swelling arms and dragged her, at the same time ordering her to confess that she was a witch. One witch hunter was armed with a knife; the other held a razor blade. Before she could evaluate her strengths, estimate the probabilities and ponder her alternatives of escape she tumbled to the ground with a thud. They tossed her body about and she rolled on the ground. They held her arms, squeezed her into the ground and forcibly slit her forehead with the razor blade. Panting heavily, her head tilted sideways, her face rumpled in soreness and surrender; blood oozed from her forehead and stained her yellow blouse. Some spectators ululated in applause. They celebrated the incision on the womans forehead. A wound signifying that she was a witch. The crowd traversed from where it stood and moved closer to the old woman who heavily sucked in air, while dribbles of sweat rolled down her cheeks. She summoned her guts and vehemently denied the accusations. I am a devout Christian. I do not possess such kinds of things, please leave me alone, Dhliwayo said, her voice packed with a tone of insubordination; her fists clasping and unclasping. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Instead, an elderly man, who was part of the crowd shouted: Old woman shut up, if you were clean Siziba would have proved it. Before anyone could comprehend what was taking place the witch hunters returned to Dhliwayos hut. After a few minutes they ducked under the door chasing a brown snake about 10 cm long. The snake slithered wrestling for its life as they picked it and stashed it into the sack. These goblins and snakes all belong to Dhliwayo. She is responsible for all the calamities that have befallen her family and the death of fellow villagers. If I am to destroy them I need a cow to do so. If you do not want me to kill them, they will kill you because they are angry for being paraded in the public, Siziba said, while pointing his red cloth wrapped sword at the objects. After failing to withstand the pressure and verbal insults from her relatives and other villagers, Dhliwayo was left with no option, but to part with one of her three cows. This is not about the predicament of Dhliwayo only, but a number of villagers have fallen victim to the demands of witch hunters, popularly known as tsikamutandas, who have wreaked havoc in most of Zimbabwes rural areas, where they claim to cleanse homesteads and villages from evil. After the cleansing ceremonies the tsikamutanda demands hefty tokens of appreciation that include cattle, money or goats before threatening those who fail to meet their demands with death. Due to fear, victims often comply and this has left a number of villagers poorer after losing their livestock to the witch hunters. Sigola Village Head, Mehluli Ndlovu said there was a need to regulate the practice of healing and said the ever increasing number of tsikamutandas was fuelled by the current harsh economic conditions. Tsikamutandas are ever increasing because they know that they get benefits such as livestock and cash in the event that they expose a witch or wizard. In most cases, it has turned out that the witch hunters are fake and falsely claim to possess powers to trick people. Despite the psychological effects that are left imprinted on the victims minds, it has turned out that some tsikamutandas do physically abuse their accused targets through flogging them among other ways of forcing them to accept that they are witches, said Ndlovu. In an effort to ban tsikamutandas Ndlovu and other village heads no longer allow tsikamundas in their villages so that ordinary people are not manipulated into parting with their livestock and money. A few months ago, Chief Marova from Bikita, after realising that people were being divided and robbed in broad daylight by witch hunters, banned them from his area. This was after they left families ruined as all of a sudden, the magic of these tsikamutandas had uncovered witchcraft that had allegedly led to grandfathers eating their own grandchildren and women keeping pythons, goblins and other creatures that emit smoke upon being struck with the witch-hunters spear. These efforts have yielded positive results, as villagers now engage their traditional leaders when the tsikamutandas arrive and then drive them out of the area. However, in some cases, some traditional leaders have reportedly been at the forefront of inviting witch hunters on the pretext of cleansing the land. It has turned out that these traditional leaders are conniving with the witch hunters, who in turn share the loot with them in the form of livestock or money. BMetro Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Zanu PF Bikita East constituency is accusing MDC Alliance Ward 15 Councillor Samson Dzinodya of hijacking the Nerumedzo Clinic project. The ruling party has since prepared a report to counter Dzinodyas own version of the story which implicates the areas Member of Parliament (MP) Johnson Madhuku. Dzinodya was recently quoted in the media accusing Madhuku of sending three ruling party youths and two police officers to stop the construction of a toilet at the project site. In their report dated April 29, the Zanu PF leadership in the area, however, accuses Dzinodya of hijacking the project which they claim was initiated by the ruling partys former MP, the late Kennedy Matimba in his personal capacity. Mr Dzinodya came in as the new ward 15 councillor after the 2018 harmonised elections and hijacked the project which was not a project by his predecessor, the Zanu PF councillor Cde Ishmael Kanjera. Dzinodya stole our bricks and used them to build a toilet at the site. This is a parallel and impermissible project, reads part of the report, which also makes it clear that they want Dzinodya to pay for the bricks. Dzinodya, however, said the cement was bought using money from the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) that was availed by parliament to Matimba. The bricks were moulded using CDF and I am surprised by Zanu PFs actions because this has nothing to do with politics or personal gains but this is the development that the people of Zimbabwe need. People of Nerumedzo village walk for 11km to Silveira Hospital or Negovana Clinic for treatment, said Dzinodya. TellZim News has also learnt that Matimba had made an agreement with Chief Nerumedzo and his local traditional leaders to build Nerumedzo Clinic. Matimba made an internal agreement with Zanu PF youths to mould concrete bricks and provide free labour so as to construct the clinic as a way of campaigning for the ruling party. The late MP promised to provide $1 300 towards the training of the 26 youths who had volunteered to do the job. Matimba later died before releasing the money and current MP Johnson Madhuku took over and promised to pay the money in full thereby making the project a Zanu PF property. Zanu PF youths have since barred Dzinodya from constructing the clinic. TellZim Breaking News via Email Loading... Related Zimbabwe Latest News Jerri-Lynn here. Surprisingly, this Common Dreams post doesnt include a link to the New York Times article it analyzes, which discusses the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) decision to blacklist vendors who work with anyone who challenges a sitting member of the House Democratic Caucus. Here it is: Insurgent Democrats, Many of Them Women, Worry a New Party Policy Will Block Them. By Eoin Higgins, staff writer, Common Dreams. Originally published at Common Dreams Progressive Democrats are going on record with their displeasure over the establishment higher-ups decision to protect incumbents, a reflection of the partys division over a vendor blacklist. The only time they support getting more women is when male incumbents leave or die. Lizz Winstead On Sunday, The New York Times published an article from reporter Jennifer Steinhauer in which a number of the partys rising stars took public positions against a March decision by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) to blacklist vendors who work with anyoneincluding primary challengerswho run against an incumbent Democrat. As Common Dreams reported at the time, the policy says the DCCC will not conduct business with, nor recommend to any of its targeted campaigns, any consultant that works with an opponent of a sitting member of the House Democratic Caucus. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.), who won her seat by beating fellow political newcomer Mary Glassman in a primary contest for retiring Rep. Elizabeth Esty in 2018 before winning the general election, said that the policy is choking off the possibility of fresh ideas and and a new generation of leaders. If I waited my turn, I wouldnt be here, Hayes told the Times. There is a gatekeeper mentality that sometimes can diminish new ideas. That point was echoed by Steve Welchert, a spokesperson for Crisanta Duran, who is challenging Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) in next years primary. It is having a chilling effect on everyones capacity to move forward, said Welchert, who also called the DCCC policy bullying. Other Democrats Steinhauer spoke to were more specific in their criticism, citing the partys incumbent bench of white men as the main thing that will be protected by the new rules. Two-thirds of the caucuss longest-serving members are white, and two-thirds are men. It is hard enough for challengers, for a lot of reasons, said the consultant, Amy Pritchard, who worked last year for Representative Ayanna Pressley, Democrat of Massachusetts, in her successful campaign to defeat a 10-term Democratic incumbent. And this policy is a bridge too far. Id like to see a majority of women in Congress, and its not going to happen with this policy. . The new policy will most likely block candidates seeking to follow in the footsteps of Ms. Pressley, who is black, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is of Puerto Rican descent, both of whom defeated veteran white male Democrats last year, Michael Capuano and Joseph Crowley. Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead, in an angry tweet, sounded off on the policy. The only time they support getting more women is when male incumbents leave or die, said Winstead. Do I have this right- Dem incumbents are mostly men. A woman who would like to primary a seat. If she shows she could win, is a better choice, will get no financial support from @DCCC? That says the only time they support getting more women is when male incumbents leave or die https://t.co/lQnAUoqvZ1 Lizz Abortion AF Winstead (@lizzwinstead) 2 June 2019 It makes sense that the incumbent faction would try to block the challengers, writer David Menefee-Libey said on Twitter, adding that he was referring both to candidates and the entrenched consultant class that runs Democratic campaigns. Menefee-Libeys read was similar to that of NBC News reporter Jonathan Allen, who put the DCCC action in the context of where the organization gets its moneyand who it protects. Theyre not necessarily the same people, said Allen. The DCCC is an incumbent-protection organization funded in part by member dues, Allen said. But, over time, its budget has grown as a result of fundraising outside of members and their big-dollar supporters. So, theyre now asking grassroots to fund incumbent-protection services. Thus far the policy has only been softly enforced, but its had an effect. In April, Common Dreams reported that Marie Newman, an Illinois Democrat challenging anti-choice incumbent Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), was having trouble finding people to work on her campaign due to the blacklist. Earlier that month, a story at The Intercept showed the same issue was being navigated by McKayla Wilkes, who is running to replace longtime Democrat Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Progressive challengers like Marie Newman will see more of this cronyism, said Progressive Change Committees Marissa Barrow. But, Barrow said, the progressive grassroots will have their backs. Luxury cinemas are fighting Netflix with steak tartare, expensive booze, and gourmet popcorn Fast Company This Tuesday, a US Federal Court May Decide the Fate of the Climate TruthOut Ralph Nader: American Society Is in Rapid Decay TruthDid What Can You, the Individual, Do to Fight Air Pollution? The Wire Marijuana advocates hit unexpected roadblocks The Hill Its a miracle: Helsinkis radical solution to homelessness Guardian Chess piece bought for 5 then left in drawer turns out to be medieval treasure worth 1m Independent Hillary Clinton Testing Hollywood Waters With Planned Production Company & Studio Deal Deadline Waste Watch Texas struggles to keep pace as thirst for water intensifies Fort Worth Star-Telegram Extreme weather has made half of America look like Tornado Alley WaPo The Economic Cost Of Devastating Hurricanes And Other Extreme Weather Events Is Even Worse Than We Thought International Business Times Syraqistan Protesters shot as Sudan military tries to clear Khartoum sit-in Al Jazeera North Korea 2020 737 MAX Venezuela Class Warfare Guillotine Watch China? India Julian Assange Trump Transition Antidote du Jour (via) See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Yves here. The US military, having gotten mired in a series of neverending but costly misadventures in the Middle East, is now proposing to double down on failure, or at best mediocrity. Even though though US forces are badly overextended, the National Defense Strategy for 2020 proposes reorienting military spending not for regional conflicts but for taking on great power aggression frontally. This of course means China above all others. Readers will likely wince at Klares efforts to depict a war with Iran as a cakewalk: Make no mistake: if President Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack Iran, it would do so and, were that to happen, there can be little doubt about the ultimate negative outcome for Iran. That presumptuous assessment misses that the US could come out as big a loser. It has been clear for quite a while that Iran would target the sitting duck of Saudi oilfields, as well as block the Strait of Hormuz, and is believed to have amassed enough well-bunkered missile capacity to survive a first strike and turn the Middle East into a conflagration. The point is that if this is what the US officialdom and the military actually believes, God help us re the accuracy of their assessment of our ability to take on China. Now having said that, China is very dependent on ocean-bound trade; no wonder the Belt and Road initiative is such a big strategic priority. If the US can and would interfere with shipping before the Belt and Road is far enough along to be a significant channel for imports and exports, the US could in theory hamstring China. But what might China do in response? And if containing China was a priority, why did we sit pat as they created new facts on the ground by creating artificial islands in the South China Sea so as to legitimate their claims about the extent of their territorial waters? In other words, this looks like a justification for bigger and better pork. Michael T. Klare, a TomDispatch regular, is the five-college professor emeritus of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and a senior visiting fellow at the Arms Control Association. His most recent book is The Race for Whats Left. His next book, All Hell Breaking Loose: Why the Pentagon Sees Climate Change as a Threat to American National Security, will be published later this year. Originally published at TomDispatch The recent White House decision to speed the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group and other military assets to the Persian Gulf has led many in Washington and elsewhere to assume that the U.S. is gearing up for war with Iran. As in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, U.S. officials have cited suspect intelligence data to justify elaborate war preparations. On May 13th, acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan even presented top White House officials with plans to send as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East for possible future combat with Iran and its proxies. Later reports indicated that the Pentagon might be making plans to send even more soldiers than that. Hawks in the White House, led by National Security Advisor John Bolton, see a war aimed at eliminating Irans clerical leadership as a potentially big win for Washington. Many top officials in the U.S. military, however, see the matter quite differently as potentially a giant step backward into exactly the kind of low-tech ground war theyve been unsuccessfully enmeshed in across the Greater Middle East and northern Africa for years and would prefer to leave behind. Make no mistake: if President Trump ordered the U.S. military to attack Iran, it would do so and, were that to happen, there can be little doubt about the ultimate negative outcome for Iran. Its moth-eaten military machine is simply no match for the American one. Almost 18 years after Washingtons war on terror was launched, however, there can be little doubt that any U.S. assault on Iran would also stir up yet more chaos across the region, displace more people, create more refugees, and leave behind more dead civilians, more ruined cities and infrastructure, and more angry souls ready to join the next terror group to pop up. It would surely lead to another quagmire set of ongoing conflicts for American soldiers. Think: Iraq and Afghanistan, exactly the type of no-win scenarios that many top Pentagon officials now seek to flee. But dont chalk such feelings up only to a reluctance to get bogged down in yet one more war-on-terror quagmire. These days, the Pentagon is also increasingly obsessed with preparations for another type of war in another locale entirely: a high-intensity conflict with China, possibly in the South China Sea. After years of slogging it out with guerrillas and jihadists across the Greater Middle East, the U.S. military is increasingly keen on preparing to combat peer competitors China and Russia, countries that pose whats called a multi-domain challenge to the United States. This new outlook is only bolstered by a belief that Americas never-ending war on terror has severely depleted its military, something obvious to both Chinese and Russian leaders who have taken advantage of Washingtons extended preoccupation with counterterrorism to modernize their forces and equip them with advanced weaponry. For the United States to remain a paramount power so Pentagon thinking now goes it must turn away from counterterrorism and focus instead on developing the wherewithal to decisively defeat its great-power rivals. This outlook was made crystal clear by then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in April 2018. The negative impact on military readiness resulting from the longest continuous period of combat in our nations history [has] created an overstretched and under-resourced military, he insisted. Our rivals, he added, used those same years to invest in military capabilities meant to significantly erode Americas advantage in advanced technology. China, he assured the senators, is modernizing its conventional military forces to a degree that will challenge U.S. military superiority. In response, the United States had but one choice: to reorient its own forces for great-power competition. Long-term strategic competition not terrorism is now the primary focus of U.S. national security. This outlook was, in fact, already enshrined in the National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, the Pentagons overarching blueprint governing all aspects of military planning. Its $750 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2020, unveiled on March 12th, was said to be fully aligned with this approach. The operations and capabilities supported by this budget will strongly position the U.S. military for great-power competition for decades to come, acting Secretary of Defense Shanahan said at the time. In fact, in that budget proposal, the Pentagon made sharp distinctions between the types of wars it sought to leave behind and those it sees in its future. Deterring or defeating great-power aggression is a fundamentally different challenge than the regional conflicts involving rogue states and violent extremist organizations we faced over the last 25 years, it noted. The FY 2020 Budget is a major milestone in meeting this challenge, by financing the more capable force America needs to compete, deter, and win in any high-end potential fight of the future. Girding for High-End Combat If such a high-intensity war were to break out, Pentagon leaders suggest, it would be likely to take place simultaneously in every domain of combat air, sea, ground, space, and cyberspace and would feature the widespread utilization of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and cyberwarfare. To prepare for such multi-domain engagements, the 2020 budget includes $58 billion for advanced aircraft, $35 billion for new warships the biggest shipbuilding request in more than 20 years along with $14 billion for space systems, $10 billion for cyberwar, $4.6 billion for AI and autonomous systems, and $2.6 billion for hypersonic weapons. You can safely assume, moreover, that each of those amounts will be increased in the years to come. Planning for such a future, Pentagon officials envision clashes first erupting on the peripheries of China and/or Russia, only to later extend to their heartland expanses (but not, of course, Americas). As those countries already possess robust defensive capabilities, any conflict would undoubtedly quickly involve the use of front-line air and naval forces to breach their defensive systems which means the acquisition and deployment of advanced stealth aircraft, autonomous weapons, hypersonic cruise missiles, and other sophisticated weaponry. In Pentagon-speak, these are called anti-access/area-defense (A2/AD) systems. As it proceeds down this path, the Department of Defense is already considering future war scenarios. A clash with Russian forces in the Baltic region of the former Soviet Union is, for instance, considered a distinct possibility. So the U.S. and allied NATO countries have been bolstering their forces in that very region and seeking weaponry suitable for attacks on Russian defenses along that countrys western border. Still, the Pentagons main focus is a rising China, the power believed to pose the greatest threat to Americas long-term strategic interests. Chinas historically unprecedented economic development has enabled an impressive military buildup that could soon challenge the U.S. across almost all domains, Admiral Harry Harris Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM) and now the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, typically testified in March 2018. Chinas ongoing military modernization is a core element of Chinas stated strategy to supplant the U.S. as the security partner of choice for countries in the Indo-Pacific. As Harris made clear, any conflict with China would probably first erupt in the waters off its eastern coastline and would involve an intense U.S. drive to destroy Chinas A2/AD capabilities, rendering that countrys vast interior essentially defenseless. Harriss successor, Admiral Philip Davidson, as commander of what is now known as the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, or USINDOPACOM, described such a scenario this way in testimony before Congress in February 2019: Our adversaries are fielding advanced anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) systems, advanced aircraft, ships, space, and cyber capabilities that threaten the U.S. ability to project power and influence into the region. To overcome such capabilities, he added, the U.S. must develop and deploy an array of attack systems for long-range strike[s] along with advanced missile defense systems capable of detecting, tracking, and engaging advanced air, cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic threats from all azimuths. If you read through the testimony of both commanders, youll soon grasp one thing: that the U.S. military or at least the Navy and Air Force are focused on a future war-scape in which American forces are no longer focused on terrorism or the Middle East, but on employing their most sophisticated weaponry to overpower the modernized forces of China (or Russia) in a relatively brief spasm of violence, lasting just days or weeks. These would be wars in which the mastery of technology, not counterinsurgency or nation building, would so, at least, top military officials believe prove the decisive factor. The Pentagons Preferred Battleground Such Pentagon scenarios essentially assume that a conflict with China would initially erupt in the waters of the South China Sea or in the East China Sea near Japan and Taiwan. U.S. strategists have considered these two maritime areas Americas first line of defense in the Pacific since Admiral George Dewey defeated the Spanish fleet in 1898 and the U.S. seized the Philippines. Today, USINDOPACOM remains the most powerful force in the region with major bases in Japan, Okinawa, and South Korea. China, however, has visibly been working to erode American regional dominance somewhat by modernizing its navy and installing along its coastlines short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, presumably aimed at those U.S. bases. By far its most obvious threat to U.S. dominance in the region, however, has been its occupation and militarization of tiny islands in the South China Sea, a busy maritime thoroughfare bounded by China and Vietnam on one side, Indonesia and the Philippines on the other. In recent years, the Chinese have used sand dredged from the ocean bottom to expand some of those islets, then setting up military facilities on them, including airstrips, radar systems, and communications gear. In 2015, Chinas President Xi Jinping promised President Obama that his country wouldnt take such action, but satellite imagery clearly shows that it has done so. While not yet heavily fortified, those islets provide Beijing with a platform from which to potentially foil U.S. efforts to further project its power in the region. These bases appear to be forward military outposts, built for the military, garrisoned by military forces, and designed to project Chinese military power and capability across the breadth of Chinas disputed South China Sea claims, Admiral Harris testified in 2018. China has built a massive infrastructure specifically and solely to support advanced military capabilities that can deploy to the bases on short notice. To be clear, U.S. officials have never declared that the Chinese must vacate those islets or even remove their military facilities from them. However, for some time now, theyve been making obvious their displeasure over the buildup in the South China Sea. In May 2018, for instance, Secretary of Defense Mattis disinvited the Chinese navy from the biennial Rim of the Pacific exercises, the worlds largest multinational naval maneuvers, saying that there are consequences for that countrys failure to abide by Xis 2015 promise to Obama. Thats a relatively small consequence, he added. I believe there are much larger consequences in the future. What those consequences might be, Mattis never said. But there is no doubt that the U.S. military has given careful thought to a possible clash in those waters and has contingency plans in place to attack and destroy all the Chinese facilities there. American warships regularly sail provocatively within a few miles of those militarized islands in what are termed freedom of navigation operations, or FRONOPS, while U.S. air and naval forces periodically conduct large-scale military exercises in the region. Such activities are, of course, closely monitored by the Chinese. Sometimes, they even attempt to impede FRONOPS operations, leading more than once to near-collisions. In May 2018, Admiral Davidson caused consternation at the Pentagon by declaring, China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States a comment presumably intended as a wake-up call, but also hinting at the kinds of conflicts U.S. strategists foresee arising in the future. The Navys War vs. Boltons War The U.S. Navy sends a missile-armed destroyer close to one of those Chinese-occupied islands just about every few weeks. Its what the U.S. high command likes to call showing the flag or demonstrating Americas resolve to remain a dominant power in that distant region (though were the Chinese to do something similar off the U.S. West Coast it would be considered the scandal of the century and a provocation beyond compare). Just about every time it happens, the Chinese authorities warn off those ships or send out their own vessels to shadow and harass them. On May 6th, for example, the U.S. Navy sent two of its guided-missile destroyers, the USS Preble and the USS Chung Hoon, on a FRONOPS mission near some of those islands, provoking a fierce complaint from Chinese officials. This deadly game of chicken could, of course, go on for years without shots being fired or a major crisis erupting. The odds of avoiding such an incident are bound to drop over time, especially as, in the age of Trump, U.S.-China tensions over other matters including trade, technology, and human rights continue to grow. American military leaders have clearly been strategizing about the possibility of a conflict erupting in this area for some time and, if Admiral Davidsons remark is any indication, would respond to such a possibility with considerably more relish than most of them do to a possible war with Iran. Yes, they view Iran as a menace in the Middle East and no doubt would like to see the demise of that countrys clerical regime. Yes, some Army commanders like General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the U.S. Central Command, still show a certain John Bolton-style relish for such a conflict. But Iran today weakened by years of isolation and trade sanctions poses no unmanageable threat to Americas core strategic interests and, thanks in part to the nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration, possesses no nuclear weapons. Still, can there be any doubt that a war with Iran would turn into a messy quagmire, as in Iraq after the invasion of 2003, with guerrilla uprisings, increased terrorism, and widespread chaos spreading through the region exactly the kind of forever wars much of the U.S. military (unlike John Bolton) would prefer to leave behind? How this will all play out obviously cant be foreseen, but if the U.S. does not go to war with Iran, Pentagon reluctance may play a significant role in that decision. This does not mean, however, that Americans would be free of the prospect of major bloodshed in the future. The very next U.S. naval patrol in the South China Sea, or the one after that, could provide the spark for a major blowup of a very different kind against a far more powerful and nuclear-armed adversary. What could possibly go wrong? Everyones favourite food secrets are back for a fifth season! Go behind the scenes of the factories churning out delicious sweets, old-time classics and the new generation of artisanal treats. Wednesdays from 9:30pm AEDT. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised North Macedonias journey towards European and transatlantic integration during a visit to Skopje on Monday (3 June 2019), saying: NATO membership will bring greater security and prosperity for all the people of North Macedonia. At a press conference with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, Mr. Stoltenberg also highlighted that foreign investment in North Macedonia has increased over threefold in the last year, saying security is the foundation of prosperity. Mr. Stoltenberg praised the courage and determination shown by both Skopje and Athens to resolve the countrys name issue through the historic Prespa Agreement. He said he looked forward to welcoming North Macedonia as the thirtieth member of the Alliance: Throughout NATOs history, our open door policy has been a success, strengthening our Alliance and contributing to Euro-Atlantic security. You will soon be part of that success. He urged the country to continue reforms, including on rule of law, security and intelligence, and in the defence sector, saying Continuing the pace of reforms is important, as you prepare for full membership. We will continue to support you on this path. The Secretary General arrived in Skopje on Sunday with the North Atlantic Council, NATOs decision making body, which includes the ambassadors of all 29 Allies. This is the first ever visit to North Macedonia by the Council, which held a joint meeting with members of the government to discuss progress in accession preparations, reforms, as well as the situation in the region. While in Skopje, Mr. Stoltenberg is meeting with President Stevo Pendarovski, Prime Minister Zaev and the President of the Assembly Talat Xhaferi. The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet the President of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Tuesday, 4 June 2019 at NATO Headquarters. The President will also attend the NATO-Ukraine Commission. Media Advisory 16:45 Joint press point by the NATO Secretary General and the President podium in the Agora Last pool movement from Public Square / ground floor, next to the Press Shop, will be at 16.35 The press point will be streamed live on the NATO website. Still and video images will be available on the NATO website after the event. Broadcast quality B-roll will be available on NATO Multimedia portal (http://www.natomultimedia.tv/), please register for access. Accreditation Media permanently accredited at NATO Media representatives in possession of permanent NATO media pass can access the NATO HQ directly by tapping their badge at the turnstiles (NATO HQ Guard House South - GHS, media entrance, NATO Headquarters, Boulevard Leopold III 1110). Ad-hoc accreditation (day-pass) Media representatives not permanently accredited and wishing to attend the event are invited to request ad-hoc accreditation directly at NATO HQ Guard House South (media entrance) on Tuesday 04 June 2019 starting from 13:00 (Brussels time). They will have to present a proof of ID/passport and a valid press card (provided by a recognised national professional body of a NATO country i.e. Government, Professional association, Union of journalists). starting They will have to present a proof of ID/passport and a (provided by a recognised national professional body of a i.e. Government, Professional association, Union of journalists). Media representatives not in possession of a valid press card (provided by a recognised national professional body of a NATO country i.e. Government, Professional association, Union of journalists) are invited to send a signed letter from their editor to the NATO Accreditation Office to NatoAccreditations@hq.nato.int no later than Tuesday 04 June 2019 at 12:00 noon (Brussels time). Please type UKR in the subject line of the message. Security Procedures A security check will take place and all equipment and personal effects carried onto the site will be examined by security personnel. Media representative are therefore encouraged to arrive with sufficient lead time to allow for security proceedings. CONTACT POINTS Overall Coordination Mrs. Alina Coca Coca.alina@hq.nato.int Telephone: +32 (0)2 707 1465 Accreditation Mr. Angelo Pacifico NatoAccreditations@hq.nato.int Tel: +32 (0)2 707 83 46 TV & Radio arrangements on site and via satellite Mr. Henk Dekens dekens.henk@hq.nato.int Tel: +32 (0)2 707 50 51 Mr. Serge Bosmans bosmans.serge@hq.nato.int Tel: +32 (0)2 707 50 03 Mr. Eric Morel morel.eric@hq.nato.int Tel: +32 (0)2 707 12 87 NATO Video on demand NATOChannel content@natomultimedia.tv +32 (0)2 707 12 27 +32 (0)2 707 12 27 Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @jensstoltenberg) (Natural News) Would you eat something from a container labeled Explosives or Petroleum Products or Pesticides? We didnt think so, but you do, and probably daily, if you live in the United States and eat non-organic bread. You might as well be digging into one of those bio-hazard containers when you open that bread bag and grab a few slices, or get that conventional burger, hot dog, bagel, pizza, chicken sandwich, quesadilla, or sub roll. The dough conditioners are industrial applications used to keep it all white, soft and fresh looking, but the short-and-long-term health implications you dont even want to hear about, much less incur. Potassium bromate (an oxidizer also called bromate flour) helps bread rise while fueling cancer cells of the kidneys and thyroid. Azodicarbonamide (ACA or AZO), the chemical compound used to make those bubbles in plastic and foam, is also used to bleach bread white. The human consumption implication? Again, cancer. BREAD CHEMICALS: Brazil, China, and European Union ban obvious cancer-causing industrial chemicals from their bread Most humans would object to eating industrial chemicals, if they knew about them in the first place, and had any self-control and value of life. Its just plain common sense, but who really knows the truth here in the U.S.A., where the FDA and CDC do the exact OPPOSITE of what they are supposed to do, which would be to keep consumers safe and healthy. Here, the FDA and CDC collude with big business and purposely approve and help promote food and medicine that contain known carcinogens, nervous system disruptors, and cancer-causing agents. In other major developed nations around the globe, the governments regulatory agencies guard the health of their citizens, but in the USA, its a huge money maker to fool consumers into eating chemicals and then taking chemical medicine for the pain, anxiety and anguish. In China, the U.K., and Brazil, they outlaw chemicals in bread, and have done so for decades. Mountains of scientific evidence prove chemicals in food cause cancer and dementia. That goes for bleach, pesticides, and foaming agents. Still, the FDA lies and says theyre too broke to examine the problems. Wait, what? Thats what youre paid to do. McDonalds, Wendys, and Subway already ADMITTED they were using questionable chemicals in their bread for years The big guns had to remove the AZO (Azodicarbonamide) chemical from their bread formulas thanks to the Food Babe Vani Hari, whos relentless assault of paperwork and research forced them to fess up and lose some of the cancer food, but most fast food is laced with pesticides that kill weeds, bugs, rats and humans anyway. So theres that. How many companies have phased out deadly bread chemicals? We may never know, because the FDA promotes them, lying and claiming theyre generally recognized as safe. By who, the people that already died of cancer from eating them? Whos in compliance now? The CDC wont help either. They approve mercury in vaccines and recommend them for 6-month-young infants and pregnant mothers. What a farce. Regulatory agencies in the U.S.A. are paid NOT to look into dangerous ingredients in common foods, including bread, grains, pasta, childrens cereals and infant formula. The Biotechnology industry led by Bayer/Monsanto also runs the FDA with former CEOs, VPs and lobbyists who love FDAs open door policy. U.S. bread is LOADED with pesticides, bleach, and GMOs. BHA and BHT preservatives in bread lengthen shelf life while shortening human life, but the FDA doesnt care at all Subject to strict restrictions overseas, BHA and BHT are commonly used in baked goods here in America. While causing cancer tumors in humans and lab-tested animals, these chemical food agents keep mold from growing so quickly on bread, making the most popular bread companies a fortune. In so many words, these companies couldnt care any less about their consumers health, since they know good and well theyre killing them softly with chemicals (pun intended). Maybe thats why they call it Wonder bread, because you have to wonder what happens to your health after you eat it. Industrial food agents are just like canola oil, they never spoil because theyre not really food, theyre chemicals. Thats why nearly every pre-mixed salad at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and Wegmans is loaded with canola oil. Its all about the money. Then, the FDA always lies and says theres not enough BHA, or BHT, or bleach, or canola acid (rape seed oil), or AZO to make you sick or give you cancer. Really? How does the FDA know how much of these chemicals 200 million Americans are eating daily? Last we heard, they were so broke they couldnt research chemicals in our bread, so how did they find the money, time, and research hours to know all this? Maybe GRAS doesnt really stand for generally recognized as safe but rather generally recognized as sickening. Tune in to FoodSupply.news for updates on how the FDA undermines public health and fuels disease and disorder in this country. Sources include: TheGuardian.com TruthWiki.org NaturalNews.com FoodSupply.news FoodBabe.com (Natural News) If you still believe that the Democrat Party is first and foremost concerned about protecting and defending America, put that idea completely out of your head. Its demonstrably false. If Democrats arent thwarting every single effort by the Trump administration and most Republicans to shore up security along the U.S.-Mexico border and shut down the importation of potentially dangerous migrants, they are activity undermining the president of the United States as he and his national security team attempt to deal decisively with an avowed adversary: Iran. In May 2018, reports noted that John Kerry, who succeeded crooked Hillary Clinton as head of the State Department, had been in frequent contact with the leaders of the terrorism-supporting Iranian regime as POTUS Trump was considering pulling the United States out of the nuclear deal. (Related: Kerry whines after Trump pulls U.S. out of horrible Iran nuke deal and POTUS back-hands him.) At the time, Trump blasted Kerrys actions as blatantly illegal, per the Logan Act, which is a single federal statute making it a crime for a citizen to confer with foreign governments against the interests of the United States, an online description of the law states. Specifically, it prohibits citizens from negotiating with other nations on behalf of the United States without authorization. Now, thanks to reporting from The Daily Beast, we learn that a cabal of former Obama administration officials has been in regular contact with the Iranian regime, undermining the Trump administration: As the Trump administration sent warplanes and an aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf, a small group of former Obama administration officials reached out to their contacts in the Iranian government, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Their message to Iran: Dont take Trumps bait. Stay calm. Iran is our enemy, flat out this behavior is treasonous In addition, the website noted that congressional Democrats were in on the meddling and counseling as well: Three Obama officials who worked closely on the Iran nuclear deal, one of whom is still in touch with Iranian government officials, traveled to Capitol Hill to brief congressional Democrats about the situation. Its not just about what they were saying to the Iranians, an aide told the Beast. Its about what they were saying to their political allies back here in the U.S. Their strategy was to divide and isolate the Trump administration just as the Trump administration was trying to re-establish deterrence with Iran. In the current highly partisan political environment, the only safe course is to signal national unity and they contributed to eroding that at home and abroad. Keep in mind that the United States isnt at war with Iran, of course, but in many ways we are competing with Iran and, as the 2018 National Defense Strategy (pdf.) notes, Iran has been identified by the Trump administration as an adversary: China and Russia challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity. They are determined to make economies less free and less fair, to grow their militaries, and to control information and data to repress their societies and expand their influence. At the same time, the dictatorships of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran are determined to destabilize regions, threaten Americans and our allies, and brutalize their own people Iran is a declared enemy of the United States. It doesnt matter whether John Kerry, Barack Obama, Democrats, or other former Obama administration officials think so. POTUS Trump is president now and he gets to make those determinations, The National Sentinel reports. If what these people are doing apparently in cooperation with Democrats on Capitol Hill doesnt amount to treasonous behavior or some other violation of U.S. law, there is no such thing. The Trump administration has to move against this cabal, legally, as it must also move against the Spygate conspirators who sought to depose our duly-elected president. Read more about the illegal deep state activities to undermine the Trump White House at DeepState.news and WhiteHouse.news. Sources include: DailyBeast.com TheNationalSentinel.com NewsTarget.com (Natural News) We saw it coming years ago when the Obama regime deployed the Justice Department and various federal agencies to target politically incorrect industries using Operation Choke Point, and weve seen it continued by virtue-signaling corporations like Dicks Sporting Goods: The Left has launched a full-out assault on the right to sell and market firearms, since they cant get rid of the Second Amendment. The Obama regime is no more, but the Marxist assault against guns and gun rights has continued as Left-wing tech firms increasingly employ economic terrorism and discrimination by threatening and punishing companies that continue to do firearms-related business. As reported by Ammoland, the latest is Salesforce, a Silicon Valley giant that is now demanding all clients using their cloud-based customer relationship management services stop selling popular AR-15 rifles (and other gun-related gear) or give up using their software. The San Francisco tech giant boasts of a full suite of software as a service (SaaS) solutions to help customers manage their current customer base and use advanced analytics and marketing automation to acquire new clients. Salesforce has over 100,000 users with some spending over $1,000,000 a year on the services, Ammoland reports. Salesforce has placed gun retailers in a difficult position, and purposefully so. Retail outlets like Camping World Holdings is nearly completely dependent on Salesforce software platforms in order to get items shipped and out for marketing purposes. Unless the company, parent of the Gander Mountain brand, ceases and desists in selling the popular semi-automatic, magazine-fed rifles, then Salesforce will boot them off the platform when their contract runs out, Ammoland reported. The company has also banned the sale of 80% lowers, barrel shrouds, and flash hiders, the website reported. Any rifle chambered in .50 BMG, and the round itself, is also forbidden. Most bizarrely the company has banned the sale of stocks with thumb holes, but it is still OK to sell pistol grips for semi-automatic rifles. Marc Benioff, the current CEO of Salesforce, founded the company in 1999, and hes 100 percent anti-gun. Ammoland noted that on February 15, 2018, he tweeted, The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in America. Ban it. (Related: U. of Utah removes gun-shaming teaching assistant following absurd creation of Second Amendment Zone.) This is economic discrimination, plain and simple: Where is the Justice Department? Because thats what authoritarian Leftists do: They dont compromise, accommodate, or care what the Constitution says. Ban, censor, and extinguish rights they dont agree with is all they understand. And yet, POTUS Donald Trump is a tyrant? The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in America. Ban it. pic.twitter.com/WSueCvR2iJ Marc Benioff (@Benioff) February 15, 2018 Benioff has also donated large amounts of money to anti-gun organizations, including a $1 million donation to March for Our Lives, Ammoland noted thats the group Parkland, Fla., student-turned-anti-gun lunatic David Hogg used, along with the deaths of his fellow classmates, to jumpstart his activism career. Clearly, he also caved to the lunatic Left. Benioffs company was seeded with money from early investors like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, John Crump, writing for Ammoland, noted. Without question, this is economic discrimination of the highest order, and whats more, the Left-wing activist CEOs have no problem admitting that their actions are indeed targeted specifically at retailers who are selling a legal, constitutionally-protected item firearms. We have hate speech laws penalizing and imprisoning Americans for saying things some merely find uncomfortable. We have laws on the books protecting every kind of lifestyle sexual and otherwise imaginable under the sun. We have statutory law banning discriminatory practices based on race, creed, skin color, sex, religion, ethnicity, and so forth. We have constitutional amendments recognizing and protecting equality. So how is it that a company can so blatantly discriminate against another firm for selling a legal product? Where is the outrage? More importantly, where is the Trump Justice Departments Civil Rights Division and their legal team? Seems like a clear-cut case of product discrimination to us. Read more about the anti-gun Leftist tech giants working to crush the Second Amendment at TechGiants.news and SecondAmendment.news. Sources include: Ammoland.com WashingtonExaminer.com TheNationalSentinel.com (Natural News) Supporters of POTUS Donald Trump have stuck with him through thick and thin but are increasingly fed up with the way hes been treated by the deep state and by anti-American Democrats in Congress. So theyre standing up and saying enough is enough. That includes members of Rolling Thunder, an advocacy group seeking to bring about full accountability for prisoners of war and missing in action service members of all U.S. wars. In fact, the groups co-founder, Vietnam vet Artie Muller, 74, said his organization of a half-million-plus riders, most of whom are military vets and who have traveled to Washington, D.C., on each Memorial Day since 1987, says members will once again besiege the nations capital if arrogant little b**ch House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tries to impeach the president. As reported by the U.K.s Daily Mail: The Rolling Thunder ride draws more than 500,000 riders, largely military veterans, each Memorial Day, but next year Americans will see multiple local events instead of one giant demonstration that snarls traffic and would bring the nations capital to a standstill if it werent held on a holiday. That could change, however, depending on what Pelosi does. Muller, in a speech on the National Mall last week, said he believes returning to D.C. en masse, and on choppers along with other supportive patriots in response to a move to impeach President Trump could make lawmakers uneasy enough to drop the notion. He also said that Pelosi, who represents a small, uber-Left-wing district near San Francisco, should nevertheless lose her seat for presiding over several investigations that are designed to do nothing more than make the remains of POTUS first term nightmarish. I would like to see Nancy Pelosi and her hypocrites work on the POW issue instead of bulls***ting [and] aggravating the President of the United States, whos doing a fantastic job, Muller told the crowd. More than a million Americans would show up at least Hitting on Rolling Thunders principle objective bringing attention to claims that foreign governments have hidden the fate of many American soldiers who were either prisoners of war or declared missing in action Muller said, When the hell are they going to wake up? Its not their children, their mothers, their fathers that are left behind in the POW camps. I think hes doing a great job, and I wish Nancy Pelosi and her cronies would get off his back, Muller told the Washington Examiner. He added that he believes if Pelosi moves to impeach then his group will be joined with not just bikers, but patriotic Americans. He said he appreciates the fact that POTUS speaks the truth as president, regardless of who it upsets, and that he considers Pelosi to be an arrogant little b**ch. Same with Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi should open up their closets and put some charges against them, he added. (Related: Lindsey Graham: No Democrat will win nomination without calling for POTUS Trumps impeachment.) Francis Mac MacDonald, who presides over the Rolling Thunder affiliate in Virginia, told the Washington Examiner that he and most of our chapter would certainly ride in defense of POTUS Trump. He added, however, that it would be in a personal capacity because he does not allow religious and political talk among his chapter because he seeks unification around a core set of ideals. The presidents support among Rolling Thunder and associated biker organizations not outlaw bikers is heavy. If Pelosi and Democrats were to move to impeach the president, a Rolling Thunder-led siege of D.C. could draw as many as 1 million Americans. And it should at least that many. We cant let the Deep State depose our duly-elected president, because well turn into nothing more than a very large banana republic if we do. Read more about how the Deep State plots against POTUS Trump at DeepState.news and Trump.news. Sources include: WashingtonExaminer.com DailyMail.co.uk TheNationalSentinel.com What to Know The child was found, partially covered by a blanket, about 10:35 a.m. Monday behind the mortuary. The 8-month-old's mother said the baby's father was playing with the girl and accidentally dropped her. An autopsy was pending. The girl's father, a person of interest in her death, was still at large Wednesday. The Northern California father of an infant found dead behind a mortuary in Southern California surrendered at the U.S.-Mexico border after a week of a statewide manhunt, authorities said Monday. Alexander Echeverria, 22, was taken into custody at the border in San Diego County, the Sacramento Sheriff's Department said. He surrendered himself to federal agents with his attorney present at 12 p.m. He was taken to a jail in San Diego. NBCLA Eight-month-old Alexia Rose Echeverria was discovered dead in a car seat, partially covered by a blanket behind a mortuary in the 10300 block of Alondra Boulevard in Bellflower, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A growing memorial at the Southern California site continued to display stuffed animals and hand-written notes for the baby girl in the week after she was found. The search for Alexander Echeverria began after the child's body was discovered May 27. It's believed the child had died in Sacramento, and was driven to the Los Angeles area, Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said in an earlier report. The baby's mother told media in Northern California she heard from another family member that the death was an accident, and Echeverria panicked, thinking no one would believe it was not an intentional death. His brother had been told that Echeverria had allegedly dropped the child while throwing her in the air, and slipped, the baby's mother told news outlets. Detective Sgt. James Wilcox with the Child Abuse Bureau said in a Monday news conference that Echeverria was taken into custody heading from Mexico back into the United States Monday at noon. Authorities said he was cooperative during the process. Echeverria also had an arrest warrant out for domestic violence related charges, Sacramento Sheriff's officials said. Autopsy results were still pending, but authorities said her death was not due to natural causes. The teachers union made a counter-offer Sunday in the ongoing labor talks with the New Haven Unified School District, "in an effort to end this 10-day teacher strike," according to a Facebook post. The counter-offer includes a 6% salary increase over two years, restoration for the days on strike and opportunities for retiring teachers to earn a full year of credit toward their retirement, the NHTA said. "We want to end this strike, and this bargaining team has made considerable movement," NHTA President Joe Kue Angeles. "The proposal falls within the recommendation of the neutral fact-finding report, which was put together by an experienced, conservative fact-finder." Both sides have moved from their original positions. Teachers originally asked for a 10% pay hike over two years then proposed cost-of-living adjustments of 3.7% for this year and 3.26% for next year. The district originally countered with a 1% raise for 2019-2020 and a one-time 3% payment, along with an additional raise of up to 1% if it was able to add up to $2 million to its budget. The district's latest offer was a 3% increase for this year and a 2% pay hike in January 2020, according to district officials. District officials say they cannot afford to meet the teachers' demands without needing to make significant cuts elsewhere in the district. Pointing to the 44 million Americans who owe more than $1.5 trillion in student loan debt, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin on Monday pushed for legislation that would wipe away a student loan borrower's debt if they declare bankruptcy. The measure, titled the Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019, looks to eliminate part of the bankruptcy code that makes student loans nondischargeable, "allowing these loans to be treated like nearly all other forms of consumer debt." "Filing for bankruptcy should be a last resort," Durbin said in a statement, "but for those student borrowers who have no realistic path to pay back their crushing student loan debt, it should be available as an option to help them get back on their feet." Durbin pointed to the history of the bankruptcy code, noting that before 1976, federal and private student loan debt were fully dischargeable, meaning they could be wiped out under a bankruptcy discharge. Credit card debt and medical debt, for example, can both be discharged through the bankruptcy process, while child support payments, alimony, overdue taxes and criminal fines cannot. By 1998, federal student loans were made nondischargeable in bankruptcy, and in 2005, private student loans were included nondischargeable. "As a result, student borrowers who find themselves unable to repay their loans are now saddled with this debt for life," Durbin said. "Our nation faces a student debt crisis, and its time to restore the meaningful availability of bankruptcy relief to student loan borrowers, he said. The measure was introduced last month by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Jerrold Nadler and John Katko. Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth cosponsored the Senate bill. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tapped a familiar name as her new head of the Chicago Board of Education, announcing former state Sen. Miguel del Valle as her pick for the position on Monday. "The strength of our schools lies in their diversity, which is why we've announced a new board with strong representation to reflect the diverse voices of the students, families, teachers and staff of who they serve," Lightfoot said in an emailed statement announcing her selection of del Valle and six other members of the board. Del Valle was the first Latino elected to the Illinois Senate, where he served from 1987 to 2006. He then served as City Clerk of Chicago until he unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2011. He is a CPS graduate and the former vice chair of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Del Valle endorsed Lightfoot's run for mayor on March 26, ahead of the runoff election, saying in a video posted to her Facebook page that he saw "an opportunity for dramatic change in the city of Chicago" with her candidacy. Lightfoot campaigned in part on changing CPS' leadership structure to a fully elected school board, but publicly rejected a bill in the legislature to create a board with 21 elected members, rather than the current seven. She reiterated her campaign promise to shift to an elected board in announcing her appointees, saying the new members would serve as the city "continues to work towards a fully independent, elected school board." The six other board members Lightfoot chose to serve with del Valle included: Vice President Sendhil Revuluri, a CPS local school council (LSC) member who previously worked in the district's Office of High School Teaching & Learning; Dwayne Truss, a CPS graduate and LSC member who most recently ran for 29th Ward alderman; Elizabeth Todd-Breland, a CPS parent, LSC member and assistant professor of history at the University of Illinois at Chicago; Lucino Sotelo, a CPS alum and parent who has previously been a board member for City Year Chicago; Luisiana Melendez, an associate clinical professor at Erikson Institute; and Amy Rome, a former principal of the National Teachers Academy who has worked for the district for more than 20 years. Lightfoot also announced that Dr. Sybil Madison would join her administration as deputy mayor for education and human services. Madison is a research associate and lecturer at Northwestern University and directs Chicago City of Learning. "I want to thank our new board members who through their expertise and experience as teachers, administrators, parents, and proud CPS graduates, will ensure all students in all parts of the city have access to high-quality education," Lightfoot's statement Monday ended. The appointments came as the Chicago Teachers Union contract is set to expire. An extra-alarm fire destroyed a banquet hall early Monday in northwest Indiana. Firefighters were called about 2:45 a.m. for reports of the blaze at the Allure on the Lake banquet hall, 526 Indian Boundary Road in Chesterton, Indiana, according to Chesterton Fire Department Shift Captain Rudy Jimenez. They arrived to see fire coming through the roof. The fire is out, but crews were still at the scene looking for hotspots as of 8:30 a.m., Jimenez said. No injuries were reported, Jimenez said. An attached hotel, which had between 50 and 60 people inside, was evacuated when the fire broke out, according to Jimenez. Firefighters were able to stop the fire in a hallway that connected the two buildings and prevent it from spreading to the hotel. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Sunday services brought smiles and relief to the members of Faith United Church of Christ in Hammond Indiana, after days of cleaning up a mess left behind by vandals. Its marvelous," said Janice Barney, a church council member. "Look at the miracle here today." A second congregation, Rehoboth Worship Center, also uses the church for its Sunday services. Its pastor said both congregations worked together to make sure services were held Sunday. The devastation was really hard, but restoration came, said Pastor Alfred Windom. We feel like the enemy wont get the glory. God will get the glory out of this. Early Wednesday, vandals broke-in through the churchs back door and wrote satanic messages, damaged bathrooms, broke a display case, trashed an office and flipped over the churchs pipe organ. According to the church members, the organ lost a lot of its quality sound and replacement parts may no longer be made for the decades-old instrument. The church organist is now performing music solely on a piano that luckily, was not damaged. The Hammond Police Department has since arrested Aaron James Vanoppens, 23, and Nicholas Dylan Reding, 22. Both have been charged with one count each of burglary and institutional criminal mischief. The two charges are felonies in Indiana. Moreover, donors provided new bathroom equipment to the church, according to the members. Security camera footage from inside the church was available as evidence. The "evil and selfish" Minneapolis man who threw a child over a third-floor railing at the Mall of America was sentenced to 19 years in prison on Monday, NBC News reported. Emmanuel Deshawn Aranda, 24, looked straight ahead or down throughout most of the short sentencing hearing and declined to address the court when Hennepin County District Judge Jeannice Reding offered him that opportunity. Aranda pleaded guilty last month to first-degree attempted murder, in connection to the April 12 attack in Bloomington, Minnesota, that nearly killed a 5-year-old boy. Aranda approached the youngster at random, picked him up and hurled him over a third-floor railing before fleeing the scene, authorities said. He was captured aboard a light rail train. Court documents are revealing more information on the case of a mother of five from New Canaan who has been missing for more than a week, including that blood was found at the home of Jennifer Dulos and that items tossed in garbage receptacles were found to contain her blood. Jennifer Dulos, 50, has been missing since May 24 and police have been searching for her. Over the weekend, police arrested her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, and his 44-year-old girlfriend, Michelle C. Troconis, and both have been charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution in the first degree in connection to the missing person case. Both appeared in court on Monday, where bond was set at $500,000. Newly released court documents say that New Canaan Police who responded to Jennifer Dulos Welles Lane home to investigate her disappearance found several bloodstains on the garage floor and on a vehicle parked in the garage as well as multiple areas of blood splatter. Later on that Friday, officers found Jennifer Dulos black SUV abandoned on Lapham Road by Waveny Park in New Canaan, around three miles from her home. On May 25, the day after Jennifer Dulos disappeared, investigators made brief contact with Fotis Dulos. To date Dulos has declined to cooperate with the investigation, court documents state. The two have been going through a divorce. In the initial 2017 affidavit, Jennifer Dulos wrote that she was terrified for (her) familys safety and said her husband has a history of controlling, volatile and delusional behavior. But in a court filing from his attorney, Fotis denied those allegations. And the day before being served with divorce papers in June of 2017, he called 911 with his own concerns. Im worried about my wife and kids because they left to go to New York and I havent been able to get in touch with them, Fotis said in a 911 call. Jennifer moved from their shared home in Farmington to New Canaan around the same time she filed for divorce. The court documents released Monday also include details on where Fotis Dulos' cell phone and vehicle were believed to be after his estranged wife disappeared. They say his cellphone left his Farmington home on May 24 and travelled to the area of 80 Mountain Spring Road, where it remained from 1:37 p.m. until 3:38 p.m., then back to his Farmington home at 4:17 p.m. Fotis Dulos' cell phone returned to Mountain Spring Road at 5:21 p.m., then to his home at 5:34 p.m., court documents say. This past Sunday, Connecticut State Police were seen searching at a home on Mountain Spring Road in Farmington linked to the Fore Group, which Fotis Dulos owns, but they did not release details about if the search was connected to the missing person case. The arrest warrant application for Troconis says that around 7:10 p.m. on Friday, May 24, Fotis Dulos phone travelled to the area of Albany Avenue in the North End of Hartford and surveillance video showed him return home around 8:10 p.m. Investigators obtained surveillance camera footage from Hartford Police and video of a black Ford Raptor that matched characteristics of Fotis Dulos vehicle, court documents state. That truck stopped at more than 30 locations along a four-mile stretch of Albany Avenue, between Baltimore and Edward streets. The videos also show a man matching Fotis Dulos description place several garbage bags in various trash receptacles and some of the discarded items appeared to be stained with blood, according to details from the arrest warrant application. One video clip also showed a woman whose appearance was consistent with Troconis lean out of the passenger seat of the pickup and either put something on the ground or pick it up, according to police. Another video showed a man put something into a storm drain grate, the documents state. An item police removed from a grate was a FedEx box containing two Connecticut license plates that had been altered and the actual plates were canceled on a 2007 Chevrolet Suburban owned by Dulos, according to police. While searching trash receptacles, police found garbage bags with clothing that appeared to be stained with blood, a kitchen sponge that had blood-like stains and other items, according to court documents. The items were sent to the state police lab for testing, which revealed that they found Jennifer Dulos blood, court documents state. Fotis Dulos and Troconis both appeared in court on Monday. What to Know Police have arrested the estranged husband of a missing Connecticut mom, as well as his girlfriend, in connection with her disappearance Jennifer Dulos, a 50-year-old mother of five, disappeared on Friday, May 24, after dropping her kids off at school Her husband and his girlfriend have both been charged with tampering with physical evidence and hindering prosecution, police said The estranged husband of Jennifer Dulos, a missing New Canaan woman, and his girlfriend appeared in court Monday after being charged with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution in the first degree in connection to the missing person case and bond was set at $500,000 for both of them. Fotis Dulos, 51, and his 44-year-old girlfriend, Michelle C. Troconis, were arrested over the weekend. If they post bond, they will be subject to GPS monitoring and will be required to turn in their passports. They have also been ordered to have no contact with each other or the family of Jennifer Dulos. Troconis has already surrendered her passport and her attorney said they might post bond today. Jennifer Dulos, a 50-year-old mother of five children, has been missing for more than a week and there has been no sign of her since Friday, May 24. She dropped her children off at the New Canaan Country School that morning. After that, she missed several appointments before friends reported her missing around 7 p.m., according to police. Later that day, officers found her black SUV abandoned on Lapham Road by Waveny Park in New Canaan. By Wednesday, May 29, the search for the missing mother intensified at the popular park in New Canaan. That day, officers said they were treating this as a missing person case, while also launching a criminal investigation to determine if Jennifer had been the victim of foul play. On Thursday, May 30, six days after Jennifer vanished, police said the search expanded across the state line to a property in Pound Ridge, New York. Based on facts and evidence gathered during the criminal investigation, police said arrest warrants were completed for 51-year-old Fotis Dulos and 44-year-old Michelle C. Troconis. The arrest warrants were reviewed by a State's Attorney and a Superior Court Judge, who found probable cause and signed both warrants, authorities added. According to court documents, Troconis is Fotis Dulos' girlfriend. The pair was taken into custody in in Avon around 11 p.m. Saturday and were transported to New Canaan Police Headquarters for processing. Over the weekend, Fotis Dulos and Troconis were held on $500,000 bond. Jennifer and Fotis Dulos have been going through a divorce and Jennifer had moved from their shared home in Farmington to New Canaan around the same time she filed for divorce. NBC Connecticut obtained court documents from the divorce case and in the initial 2017 affidavit, Jennifer wrote she was terrified for (her) familys safety and said her husband has a history of controlling, volatile and delusional behavior. But in a court filing from his attorney, Fotis denied those allegations. And the day before being served with divorce papers in June 2017, he called 911 with his own concerns. Im worried about my wife and kids because they left to go to New York and I havent been able to get in touch with them, Fotis said in a 911 call. On Sunday, Connecticut State Police were seen searching at a home on Mountain Spring Road in Farmington linked to the Fore Group, which Fotis Dulos owns. Authorities have not released details about if the search was connected to the missing person case. As the criminal investigation progresses, authorities said additional criminal charges are expected. Jennifer is still and the search for her is ongoing, police added. On Sunday following the arrests of Fotis Dulos and Troconis, Jennifer's family spokesperson released a statement saying in part, "We have no comment at this time. Just urging people to please respect the privacy of Jennifer's family and friends." Anyone with information is asked to contact New Canaan Police Tip Line at (203) 594-3544. The Connecticut House passed a two-year $43 billion state budget deal reached by Democrats. Lawmakers voted 86 to 65 in favor of the budget. While majority Democrats say the proposal puts the state on a path to fiscal stability, Republicans are calling it a "hodgepodge of ideas" that raises taxes. House Majority Leader Matt Ritter notes the bill sets aside $2 billion in a budget reserve account; addresses a hospital lawsuit and reschedules teacher pension payments. We got a good honest budget, said Gov. Ned Lamont earlier in the day Monday, [The budget] lives within our means, that doesnt increase tax rates, and allows our towns and municipalities to plan moving forward, keeps faith in the most vulnerable, puts money into education. I think its something we should be proud of. The two-year spending and taxing plan amounts to about $43 billion. It includes a new one percent sales tax on prepared meals and beverages served in those establishments, a higher fee for trade in vehicles paid to the state by car dealers, a 10 cent fee for plastic bags, and other new enforcements of the sales tax. Gov. Ned Lamont had proposed a wide-scale broadening of the sales tax, removing exemptions worth tens of millions of dollars, but Democrats in control of the General Assembly did not like that idea, instead targeting wealthier residents in specific ways. There will be a higher tax on homes sold worth over $1 million, and there is a new tax on pass-through entities, the same entities that saw tax breaks under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress. Those people are still getting a break, even with the new tax, said Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, (D Berlin). Republicans, for the first time in years, did not present an alternative budget. Sen. Len Fasano, (R North Haven), the top Republican in the Senate, said any calls from Gov. Ned Lamont for Republicans to join budget discussions were disingenuous, at best. I dont know what table hes talking about, Fasano said. It certainly wasnt the budget table. Fasano described the budget as disgusting, referring to numerous individual projects in districts or appropriations to individual organizations. He said if a budget is considered a list of priorities, then Democrats he said are favoring organized labor rather than regular residents. There is no increase for social services, he said, So, we did union contracts of $100 million and we couldnt find $1.1 million so that the people in the elderly facility couldnt keep $70 in their pocket. The budget also includes a landmark deal with hospitals around Connecticut, for them to end their lawsuit, and for the state to provided just less than $200 million for Medicaid payments. The agreement is meant to calm the political waters between hospitals and the executive branch, which were strained under the previous Malloy administration. Any criticism coming from Republicans, Democratic leaders say is without merit, because of the fact that they did not provide an alternative. You can jab at us, you can poke at us, and I will just go back and say, you didnt even propose a budget, and if you think all of these cuts are so easy, you didnt even propose one, said Rep. Matt Ritter, (D Hartford), the House Majority Leader. On the issue of transportation, tolls are not included in the budget, though Gov. Ned Lamont said Monday he intends to call lawmakers into special session to come up with a toll plan after the regular session concludes Wednesday evening. Republicans have accused Democrats of sweeping close to $200 million out of the Special Transportation Fund in the proposed budget, a charge Democrats deny. Lamont said of getting lawmakers to side with him on tolls, I dont want you guys to duck the most important decision we can make. How do we fix the transportation system and get this state moving again. The budget now goes on to the Senate. A 56-year-old woman is dead and four others wounded after a Sunday night gun battle at a South Dallas car wash, police say. At a Monday afternoon news conference, Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall said 40 shell casing were recovered from shots fired by multiple suspects. "We too are concerned," Hall said about this and other recent violent crimes. Police were called just before 10 p.m. Sunday to Jim's Car Wash, at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Myrtle Street, just a few blocks from Fair Park. Police said 56-year-old Sheila Sanders died in the shooting, and three men were shot and wounded. Police said the wounded men are in stable condition. Authorities said a fifth person was apparently trampled by a crowd and also injured. Sanders was the wife of a car wash worker according to Gary Adams, who also works at the car wash. Adams said Sanders was an innocent victim. "She's a real good friend of mine. She didn't bother nobody," Adams said. Tire marks on Martin Luther King Boulevard in front of the car wash were left behind from the wild driving Adams said is common on Sunday nights at the location. "They was doing 360s and stuff, earlier. Law never showed up to break the crowd down," Adams said. Hall shared surveillance video from a police camera posted in front of the car wash. People could be seen scattering as the shooting began from outside the car wash property, but many did not run. Hall said it showed that people in the area are not surprised by gunfire. Police were not present at the car wash until after the shooting. "They try to make it seem like the car wash is the problem. The car wash ain't the problem. The problem is out in the streets," Adams said."The whole community. It's trouble." Dallas City Council Member Kevin Felder said the murder demonstrates why he has fought to close the car wash. "This is not an isolated incident. There've been other incidents over the years. And so I think this community is tired of it. They let me know that when I first came into office," Felder said. Earlier this year, the city's Board of Adjustment voted to declare that the car wash has an "adverse effect" on nearby properties. The board meets again on June 19 to decide on the date for permanent closure. Hall said detectives would welcome help from the public to find suspects in this shooting. A $5,000 Crime Stoppers reward is being offered for anyone offering information that leads to an arrest and indictment. Tips can be made to 214-373-8477. The shooting comes after a month in which police saw a spike in murders, leading them to boost the number of detectives in the homicide unit. The Dallas police force is currently around 700 officers smaller than it was in 2011. Crime and police staffing is a key issue in the Dallas mayoral runoff election Saturday. Candidate Scott Griggs, currently a member of the city council, spoke about what he considers a crisis. "We are experiencing a public safety crisis and I will address this public safety crisis. We are down to 2,900 officers," Griggs said. In 2011, city records showed the police department had 3,690 officers. At the forum, candidate Eric Johnson, a State Representative, agreed with the need for more police officers, but rejected Griggs' assessment of the situation. "I beg to differ with the characterization of our city being in a public safety crisis right now," Johnson said. "Crime goes up and down. It spikes in the summer. We know that. But, I take issue with our city being in a public safety crisis. I don't think that's good for business at all." Hall said she had several programs in place to address summer crime and that detectives would work hard to solve these murders. Experts say coastal flooding associated with May storms that buffeted other parts of Texas stranded about 100 endangered green sea turtles along the Gulf shore. Jesse Gilbert with the Texas State Aquarium Wildlife Rescue Center said Monday that the young turtles "couldn't beat the waves" last month and were pushed onto Padre Island National Seashore. Officials transported the turtles to the aquarium in Corpus Christi for rehydration and rest. About 80 were returned to the Gulf of Mexico last Thursday. Gilbert experts most of the remaining turtles to be released this week. About a half-dozen young turtles typically wash ashore each month during spring. The National Weather Service on May 12 began issuing what became 11 days of coastal flooding advisories about strong southeasterly winds linked to storms farther north. MORE: Sea Turtle Nesting Season Thousands of members of the LGBTQ community and supporters flocked to Fair Park to celebrate Dallas Pride Sunday afternoon. Organizers promised a bigger, bolder and brighter show in a new location. "The parade this year is 50% bigger than last year. That just shows you what we really have in common here and how much we're really doing," said Christian Minnicks, one of the float judges. There were major changes to the parade this year. Organizers moved the Pride parade from September to June and they moved the location from Oak Lawn to Fair Park. "It's growing every single year," one parade-goer said. "Thousands and thousands of people are coming, more every year and honestly Oak Lawn just wasn't enough." Organizers said they moved the date to allow Dallas to join other major cities that celebrate Pride in the month of June. Dozens of parade floats made their way through the cheering crowds. Companies big and small showed their support for their employees and others in the LGBTQ community. Rachel Callicoat said she brought her wife and family in from Oklahoma, as she's done for many years. "We live in Oklahoma, in very rural Oklahoma," she said. "So to have the ability to come to Pride and share this with them here, so that they have a place to feel safe, is so important to us." Dallas police did not report any problems or arrests. A transgender woman from El Salvador seeking asylum in the U.S. died on Saturday in a Texas hospital four days after being released from custody, officials and advocates said. Johana Medina Leon, 25, complained of chest pains and was brought to Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. That same day, ICE said she was processed for release on parole. Medina Leon died on the first day of pride month, NBC News reports. Medina Leon, who was known to friends as Joa, had been detained in the U.S. since mid-April. On May 18, Medina Leon received a positive credible fear finding, ICE said. Advocates told NBC News Leon was seeking asylum in the U.S. as a transgender woman. Medina Leon was being held at Otero County Processing Center, a private detention center in New Mexico where the ACLU and the Santa Fe Dreamer Project recently alleged poor treatment of and "unconscionable conditions" for LGBTQ immigrants. In a letter sent to ICE, the groups said "ICEs practices at Otero have created an unsafe environment" for the LGBTQ detainees in Otero. Medina Leon fell while in ICE Custody, where she also tested positive for HIV. A long-delayed $19.1 billion disaster aid bill sailed through the House on Monday and headed to President Donald Trump for his expected signature, overcoming months of infighting, misjudgment and a feud between Trump and congressional Democrats. Lawmakers gave the measure final congressional approval by 354-58 in the House's first significant action after returning from a 10-day recess. It was backed by all 222 voting Democrats and 132 Republicans, including the GOP's top leaders and many of its legislators from areas hit by hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires. Fifty-eight Republicans voted "no," including many of the party's most conservative members. Trump hailed passage of the bill, tweeting, "Farmers, Puerto Rico and all will be very happy." The president also suggested, incorrectly, that the bill would now see action in the Senate. That chamber had already passed the bill by a sweeping 85-8 vote on its way out of Washington May 23, a margin that reflected a consensus that the bill is long overdue. But conservative Republicans in the House held up the bill last week, objecting on three occasions to efforts by Democratic leaders to pass the bill by a voice vote requiring unanimity. They said the legislation which reflects an increasingly permissive attitude in Washington on spending to address disasters that sooner or later hit every region of the country shouldn't be rushed through without a recorded vote. Along the way, House and Senate old-timers seemed to outmaneuver the White House, though Trump personally prevailed upon Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., to drop a bid to free up billions of dollars for dredging and other harbor projects. The measure was initially held up over a fight between Trump and Democrats over aid to Puerto Rico that seems long settled. "Some in our government refused to assist our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico who are still recovering from a 2017 hurricane. I'm pleased we've moved past that," said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y. "Because when disaster strikes, we shouldn't let a ZIP code dictate our response." The measure also faced delays amid failed talks on Trump's $4 billion-plus request to care for thousands of mostly Central American migrants being held at the southern border. The sides narrowed their differences but couldn't reach agreement in the rush to go on recess, but everyone agrees that another bill will be needed almost immediately to refill nearly empty agency accounts to care for migrants. "We must work together quickly to pass a bill that addresses the surge of unaccompanied children crossing the border and provides law enforcement agencies with the funding they need," said top Appropriations Committee Republican Kay Granger of Texas. "The stakes are high. There are serious life or death repercussions if the Congress does not act." The measure is largely the same as a version that passed the House last month. Republicans opposed it for leaving out the border funding. Among the reasons was a demand by House liberals to block the Homeland Security Department from getting information from federal social welfare authorities to help track immigrants residing in the U.S. illegally who take migrant refugee children into their homes. As the measure languished, disasters kept coming with failed levees in Arkansas, Iowa and Missouri and tornadoes across Ohio just the most recent examples. The measure is supported by the bipartisan party leadership in both House and Senate. The legislation is also being driven by Florida and Georgia lawmakers steaming with frustration over delays in delivering help to farmers, towns and military bases slammed by hurricanes last fall. Flooding in Iowa and Nebraska this spring added to the coalition behind the measure, which delivers much of its help to regions where Trump supporters dominate. The bill started out as a modest $7.8 billion measure passed in the last days of House GOP control. A $14 billion version advanced in the Democrat-led chamber in January and ballooned to $19.1 billion by the time it emerged from the floor last month, fed by new funding for community rehabilitation projects, Army Corps of Engineers water and flood protection projects, and rebuilding funds for several military bases, including Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. Many Republicans opposed funding to mitigate future disasters as part of rebuilding projects when Superstorm Sandy funding passed in 2013, only to embrace it now that areas such as suburban Houston need it. Democrats, for their part, held firm for what ended up as roughly $1.4 billion for Puerto Rico, letting Trump feud with the U.S. territory's Democratic officials for weeks and deflecting political blame for stalling the bill. The Texas Legislature just wrapped up its 2019 session, and lawmakers from North Texas passed bills expanding medical marijuana, protecting the freedom of information, banning red light cameras and tackling the backlog of untested rape kits. North Texas has 35 House members and nine senators who represent a huge swath of the state, spanning across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and from Falls to Fannin County. These lawmakers filed about 15%, or 1,700, of the 10,877 bills and resolutions filed this year. Go here to read the rest of the story from our media partners The Dallas Morning News. What to Know Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. As long as you're in line before 8 p.m., you can still vote Use the ballot lookup tool below or visit the LA County elections division to find your polling place Los Angeles County voters will cast ballots Tuesday in municipal and special elections. Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Below, you'll find election day resources, including links to county elections offices and helpful tools to find your polling place. Register to Vote The voter registration deadline in California is 15 days before Election Day, so registration for the June election has passed. You can still register for the next election or "conditionally" register at a county elections office or vote center. The ballots will be processed once the county elections office completes voter verification. What If I Just Moved? If you already updated your address with the Department of Motor Vehicles or US Postal Service, your registration will automatically update. If not, click here to register. I'm Not Even Sure I'm Registered It's ok, the California Secretary of State has you covered. Just click here to check on your voter status. Find Your Polling Place Click on the link to your county elections office below to find your polling place. vit.load({ modal: true, officialOnly: false, title: 'Voting Information Tool', subtitle: 'Enter your address to find out your polling place and ballot information', width: '640px', height: '480px', colors: { 'header': '#229acd', 'landscapeBackgroundHeader': '#228a9d' }, language: 'en', }); What If My Name Isn't on the Official Polling Place List? Voters who believe they've registered, but arrive at a polling place only to find they're not on the official voter registration list can cast a provisional ballot. The same is true for vote-by-mail voters who did not receive a ballot or forgot to bring it to the polling place. Provisional ballots go into a special envelope, and they're counted after it's confirmed that you're registered to vote. Find out how to check your provisional vote's status here. What If I Changed My Name? You'll need to re-register. Ideally, you'd first update your California driver's license or ID with the DMV. What is LA County's June Election All About? Two measures appear on the June 4 ballot -- A and EE, which is probably the one you've heard the most about. It has to do with a tax the LAUSD says it needs to pay for improvements. Watch the videos below to learn about Measure EE. Voters also will decide the Senate District 33 Special Election. Tracy Hernandez is the Founding CEO of the Los Angeles County Business Federation. BizFed represents some 400-thousand employers in LA County. She tells NBC4s Conan Nolan why Measure EE is a bad idea. She is critical the way Measure EE was rushed to the June ballot. Plus, she says the measure has no reforms, no guarantees any of the money... Once on opposite sides, now together to fight for Measure EE. Austin Beutner is the Superintendent for LAUSD. Alex Caputo-Pearl is the President of United Teachers LA. Measure EE would bring half-a-billion dollars into the school coffers, but at what price? A tax hike of 16 cents per square foot on business and homeowners throughout LA. NBC4s Conan Nolan talks... Something Didn't Seem Right at the Polling Place Do you know about California's Voter Bill of Rights? If you feel like your right to vote was violated or any of those conditions were not met, you can contact the Secretary of State. You won't find a lot on Tuesday's ballot, but there's a measure that could have a significant impact on taxpayers within the area of the Los Angeles Unified School District. It's one of the stories we're featuring today on NBCLA. Measure EE: What You Need to Know About the LAUSD Parcel Tax A school parcel tax measure called Measure EE is on the ballot for Los Angeles Unified School District voters in LA County on Tuesday. Here's what to know about Measure EE. A school parcel tax measure called Measure EE is on the ballot for Los Angeles Unified School District voters in LA County on Tuesday, June 4. NBC4's Conan Nolan explains Measure EE. California Woman Killed in Virginia Beach Shooting Was a 'Shining Star' A Bakersfield woman who was among those killed in the Virginia Beach mass shooting was remembered by family members and co-workers as a shining light who guided others in the right direction. About Katherine Nixon. [NATL] In Photos: Remembering Victims of the Va. Beach Shooting Quest Diagnostics Has a Warning for 12 Million Patients Quest Diagnostics, one of the biggest blood testing providers in the country, warned Monday that nearly 12 million of its customers may have had personal, financial and medical information breached due to an issue with one of its vendors. Here's what to know. July Film Fireworks at Hollywood Forever Cemetery The July 2019 Cinespia schedule was just released. It starts July 3 with "Mad Max: Fury Road." Here's the rest of the July lineup. [LA Gallery updated 7/26/19]Check Out These Free or Cheap Things to Do in Los Angeles Indian air force pilots spotted at least five bodies Monday in the Himalayas near the border with China and Nepal while searching for eight climbers, including two Americans, who went missing in an avalanche while attempting to chart a new route on India's second-highest mountain. Dr. Vijay Kumar Jogdande, a civil administrator in the northern state of Uttarakhand, said the bodies, which he believes are those of some of the missing climbers, were identified using high-resolution photographs taken from a military helicopter before a rescue operation was suspended for the day because of heavy snowfall and high winds. It is not yet known if the bodies spotted Monday are those of 63-year-old Anthony Sudekum and Ronald Beimel, identified by Jogdande as the two missing American citizens. Sudekum is a medical doctor from Defiance, Missouri, according to his family. An operation to find the other three mountaineers will resume Tuesday, Jogdande said, cautioning that they may have been buried in an avalanche that struck the section of the mountain where they were climbing earlier this week. Government officials are consulting the Indian army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police on how to retrieve the bodies from a summit on Nanda Devi East, a twin peak of Nanda Devi, India's second-highest mountain. "We want to retrieve bodies as early as possible, [but] we have to plan this," Jogdande told NBC News. "The people involved in the rescue mission, their safety is also a very important factor." Jogdande said a team was assessing the feasibility of sending a mountaineering team to the site where the bodies were spotted, which is at an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,404 feet). "Both the terrain and the weather make safety a real issue," he said. "There is always a fear that people going for the rescue may get stuck there." The team, led by British climber Martin Moran, began its ascent May 13 of the previously unclimbed 6,477-meter (21,250-feet) peak on Nanda Devi East, according to Moran Mountain, Moran's Scotland-based company. The team includes four Britons, two Americans, an Australian and an Indian liaison officer. The team had last been in touch with base camp on May 26, according to four members of their expedition who had remained there, hemmed in by the heavy snowfall and rescued Sunday. The four-member team at base camp, all British nationals, was led by 44-year-old Mark Thomas. The other three members were Zachary Quain, 32, Kate Armstrong, 39, and Ian Wade, 45. Amit Chowdhary, spokesman for the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, said the missing climbers' location was known up to May 26. He said they had been in radio contact with the other four expedition team members. Chowdhary said when the Thomas-led team was no longer receiving radio updates from the other expedition team, Thomas went to look for the missing climbers the next day. Jogdande said Thomas and the three others received first aid at a hospital in the town of Pithoragarh and were later released. It was not immediately clear why Moran chose to summit the unclimbed peak. Maninder Kohli, a mountaineer and foundation member, said Moran was known for his passion for trying new peaks. "It's also possible that if the other members of the group were less experienced, and knowing how challenging Nanda Devi East is, that Martin thought this peak would be a kind of rehearsal that would acclimatize them for the harder task," Kohli said. India does not allow climbers on the Nanda Devi peak. They are allowed only onto its slightly lower twin Nanda Devi East, which together stand in the center of a ring of peaks. Climbers describe it as diabolically difficult. "In comparison with Nanda Devi East, Everest is a picnic," Kohli said. "Those who climb Everest wouldn't even be able to place a foot on it. Only the most technically competent can attempt it." While Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, has legions of followers, Nanda Devi, which means "bliss-giving goddess," has its own aura among hardcore mountaineers because so few have managed to reach the summit and many others have died trying. Tenzing Norgay, the first man to climb Everest along with Sir Edmund Hillary, described Nanda Devi East as the toughest peak in the Himalayas. Since so few have managed to climb it, the mountain has remained pristine, unlike littered and congested Everest. Kohli said Nanda Devi East is avalanche-prone and has frightening terrain with "razor-thin edges" and 914-meter (3,000-foot) plunges. "At one point along this narrow slippery ridge, you come to the Three Pinnacles. These are three huge towers of ice, one after another, that rise at 90 degrees in front of you. You have to pass them to get back onto the ridge," Kohli said. For Hindus, the lofty majesty of the Himalayas makes them the abode of the gods and, therefore, sacred. Legend has it that Nanda Devi, the presiding goddess of the region, was a princess who, while trying to escape a prince who was pursuing her, scaled the peak and became one with the mountains. Getting to the starting point of the trek to the top alone is grueling. It involves a six-hour train journey from New Delhi, India's capital, to Kathgodam railway station in Uttarakhand. From there, it is a 10-hour drive up to Munsiyari, located at 2,290 meters (7,513 feet), where tourist lodges are available and where mules can be hired to carry the equipment. From Munsiyari, trekkers walk 90 kilometers (56 miles) to the Nanda Devi Base Camp, a journey that takes them through forests, glaciers and waterfalls, as well as ravines over the thundering Gori Ganga River. In a statement to NBC News, Sudekum's daughter, Lucy Sudekum said the family is still clinging to hope that "good news might arrive." "While we are deeply saddened by the events in the Nanda Devi region, our hope and optimism in this dark moment is buoyed by the knowledge that our dad was a highly experienced climber and outdoorsman and an accomplished medical doctor well trained in emergency medical care," said Lucy Sudekum. "It is with knowledge that, if he and his team members were swept by an avalanche, survivors may be in an unexpected location below the fan of the avalanche, which could be very difficult to search properly under current conditions." Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow, India, contributed to this report. An 81-year-old former Miami-Dade County School Board member was taken into custody Sunday after a shootout with Pembroke Pines police officers, a high-speed chase and a SWAT standoff, officials said. According to police, the incident started around 4 p.m. in the parking lot of the Pembroke Lakes Mall outside the AMC movie theater over a parking spot. That's when the suspect fired shots at the victim's car, shattering her rear window. The suspect was identified as 81-year-old Solomon Stinson, who is a former member of the Miami-Dade County School Board. Officials said Stinson took off in a car, and police saw him shooting at others on Flamingo Road and Johnson Street. A chase ensued northbound to Sheridan Street and Flamingo Road. When they got to Sheridan and Flamingo, Stinson exchanged gunfire with police. None of the officers were struck. Stinson then got back into his car and fled westbound on Sheridan. That's when he lost control of his car at 150th Avenue and Sheridan. Stinson then got out of the vehicle and fled on foot. A SWAT team caught up to Stinson but he was unwilling to surrender, officials said. They approached him and took him into custody using a "less lethal weapon," officials said. Stinson wasn't injured by the gunfire, police said. No officers or civilians were injured in the incident. Additionally, Pembroke Pines police say Stinson was involved in an aggravated assault in Miramar. In that incident, a woman approached his vehicle in a residential community. Stinson pointed his gun at the victim, as he drove through her neighborhood, officials said. Stinson faces charges including attempted homicide, and aggravated assault with a firearm. Attorney information wasn't available. Records showed Stinson began with career with Miami-Dade Schools in 1960 as a teacher at Holmes Elementary School. He was also principal of North Glade Elementary from 1970 to 1973. Stinson was elected to the school board in 1996, and retired in 2010. An investigation is now underway into the shootings. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Longtime Local 10 News anchor and reporter Todd Tongen has died at age 56, WPLG reported. Tongen's wife was out of town and unable to reach him, and had called a friend to check on him, the station reported. Police later found him, and a cause of death was unknown. Tongen joined WPLG in December 1989 after working in radio in his native Minnesota and in Colorado. He worked as a weatherman at stations in Colorado and Arkansas before coming to South Florida. His most recent role at WPLG was as weekend morning co-anchor. He leaves behind a wife and two sons. California on Monday became the latest state to sue the pharmaceutical company behind the painkiller OxyContin, alleging it falsely promoted the drug as not addictive even as it emerged as one of the most widely abused in the U.S. State Attorney General Xavier Becerra accused Purdue and its former president, Dr. Richard Sackler, of stoking the crisis with irresponsible practices. "Purdue and the Sacklers traded the health and well-being of Californians for profit and created an unprecedented national public health crisis in the process," Becerra said at a news conference. "We will hold them accountable." America's most populous state is the latest to file a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma as the country grapples with a rising number of fatal drug overdoses linked to opioids. Maine also sued Purdue Pharma and members of the Sackler family on Monday, alleging they committed unfair and deceptive business practices in violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. Opioids were involved in more than 47,000 fatal overdoses during 2017 alone, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. Purdue and other opioid manufacturers are facing lawsuits from state and local governments over the marketing and promotion of opioids. In a statement Monday, Purdue Pharma and former directors of the company denied the allegations in the California lawsuit and vowed to defend against the "misleading attacks." It noted that OxyContin represents less than 2% of total opioid prescriptions and is still approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its intended use as a painkiller as prescribed by doctors and dispensed by pharmacists. "The state is seeking to publicly vilify Purdue and its former directors while unfairly undermining the important work we have taken to address the opioid crisis," the statement said. Purdue stopped marketing OxyContin to doctors last year. It settled a lawsuit by the state of Oklahoma in March for $270 million. The company previously said it is pursuing several options, including bankruptcy, which could upend pending litigation by state and local governments across the country. At least a dozen other states have sued at least one member of the Sackler family over the toll of opioids. What to Know The estranged husband of a missing Connecticut mom, as well as his girlfriend, did not enter pleas at their arraignments Monday Jennifer Dulos, a 50-year-old mother of five, disappeared on Friday, May 24, after dropping her kids off at school; she remains missing FBI evidence teams flocked to Waveny Park again Monday; it's near the spot where the missing woman's abandoned black SUV was found UPDATE: Search for Missing Mom Turns to Hartford Waste Facility The blood of a missing Connecticut mother of five has been found on various items tossed in different locations, and blood spatter was found in her home, an arrest affidavit for the estranged husband charged in her disappearance reveals. The document says the items left by Fotis Dulos, who has been in the midst of a contentious divorce and child custody battle with missing mother of five Jennifer Dulos, were found inside five trash bins and tested positive for his wife's blood. Jennifer Dulos vanished more than a week ago, on May 24, after dropping her kids off at school. Her husband and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, face evidence- and prosecution hindering-related charges in her disappearance. They did not enter pleas at their initial arraignment on Monday, and the prosecutor said additional charges were expected. According to the affidavit, when police responded to Jennifer Dulos' residence after she was reported missing, they found several stains on the garage floor and a vehicle parked in the garage with what appeared to be bloodstains as well as evidence of attempts to clean the crime scene. Surveillance video captured a man matching the appearance of Fotis Dulos placing garbage bags "at over 30 locations along a more than four-mile stretch of Albany Avenue" in Hartford, with Draconis in a pickup truck. Clothing and other items with "blood-like" stains were recovered inside the garbage bags and were submitted to the Department of Emergency Services and Public Portection Forensic Laboratory and were found to contain Jennifer Dulos' blood, according to the affidavit. Still, there has been no sign of the mother. A judge Monday kept bail for both Fotis Dulos and Troconis at $500,000, despite attorneys' efforts to get that amount reduced. Troconis posted bail, while Dulos remained behind bars. Both defendants agreed to GPS monitoring and to surrender their passports under the bail conditions. Neither of their attorneys spoke publicly and no pleas were entered. Both defendants are due back in court next week. Earlier, neither Fotis Dulos, wearing an orange jumpsuit, nor Troconis, who had on a long-sleeved striped shirt, said anything as they were led to police vehicles ahead of their arraignments. Troconis hung her head as she was lead, handcuffed, into the car. Jennifer Dulos was reported missing around 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 24, after she missed several appointments. She had been driving a black 2017 Chevrolet Suburban, which was later found abandoned on Lapham Road, near Waveny Park, a site flooded by FBI investigators with evidence markers for at least the third time on Monday. Investigators have also searched a home in Farmington where Jennifer Dulos and her children, who range in age from 8 to 13 and include two sets of twins, had lived until about two years ago. She and the children left the Farmington home, about 60 miles north of New Canaan near Hartford, around the time Jennifer Dulos filed for divorce in June 2017. Fotis Dulos has continued to live at the Farmington house. Court documents filed in the divorce case say Jennifer Dulos feared Fotis Dulos would harm her in some way in retaliation for her filing for divorce. Jennifer Dulos had primary custody of the children, with their father getting to see them every other weekend. Fotis Dulos was asking the divorce case judge to grant him custody of the children. In a motion filed last week, he said the five children are staying with Jennifer Dulos' 85-year-old mother in New York City and are being protected by an armed bodyguard. A hearing in the divorce case is scheduled for Wednesday after being postponed last week. A 23-year-old man was killed early Sunday in a fireworks accident in New Jersey, officials said. Antonio Ortiz was pronounced dead shortly after 1 a.m. in Newark, Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said. Police responded to a call of a man who burned his fingers with fireworks, Ambrose said. They found Ortiz, who also suffered internal injuries, they said. It wasn't clear what kind of fireworks were involved and the exact cause of death was pending an autopsy. What to Know A New York school district has finished installing a facial recognition system intended to spot potentially dangerous intruders However, state officials concerned about privacy say they want to know more before the technology is put into use Education Department spokeswoman said employees plan to meet with Lockport City School officials about the system being tested this week A New York school district has finished installing a facial recognition system intended to spot potentially dangerous intruders, but state officials concerned about privacy say they want to know more before the technology is put into use. Education Department spokeswoman Emily DeSantis said Monday that department employees plan to meet with Lockport City School officials about the system being tested this week. In the meantime, she said, the district has said it will not use facial recognition software while it checks other components of the system. The rapidly developing technology has made its way into airports, motor vehicle departments, stores and stadiums, but is so far rare in public schools. Lockport is preparing to bring its system online as cities elsewhere are considering reining in the technology's use. San Francisco in May became the first U.S. city to ban its use by police and other city departments and Oakland is among others considering similar legislation. A bill by Democrat Assembly Member Monica Wallace would create a one-year moratorium on the technology's use in New York schools to allow lawmakers time to review it and draft regulations. The legislation is pending. Lockport Superintendent Michelle Bradley, on the district's website, said the district's initial implementation of the system this week will include adjusting cameras mounted throughout the buildings and training staff members who will monitor them from a room in the high school. The system is expected to be fully online on Sept. 1. "Much to our dismay, school shootings continue to occur in our country," wrote Bradley who did not respond to email and telephone messages Monday. "In many cases, these shootings involve students connected to the schools where these horrific incidents occur." The $1.4 million Canadian-made Aegis system, funded through a state technology bond, is designed to enable security officers to quickly respond to the appearance of expelled students, disgruntled employees, sex offenders or certain weapons the system is programmed to detect. Only students seen as threats will be loaded into the database. Administrators have said it could thwart shootings like the February 2018 attack in which expelled student Nikolas Cruz is charged with killing 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. "This would have identified (Cruz) as not being able to be in that building," Tony Olivo, a security consultant who recommended the system for Lockport, told The Associated Press last year. Officials said the district is the first in the country to adopt the Aegis system. But the New York Civil Liberties Union said it has no place in schools. "The Lockport School District has barreled ahead with implementing invasive surveillance technology in its schools with little regard for student privacy and civil rights," education counsel Stefanie Coyle said. With the swipe of a pen, Gov. Greg Abbott officially put the brakes on red light traffic cameras in Texas. Saturday, he posted a video to social media showing him signing House Bill 1631 into law, banning the controversial devices statewide. For Arlington, Texas, resident Kelly Canon, it was a moment six years in the making. "I was just ecstatic," Canon said. "I was over the moon. It's been wonderful." She first became aware of the cameras in 2013, when she received a citation in the mail. Upset that she was sent a $75 ticket for something she wasn't sure she actually did, she embarked on a campaign to do away with the cameras -- first in her hometown. Fellow activist Faith Bussey quickly joined her. "It's a due process issue," Bussey said. "We spoke to thousands of people who weren't the ones driving when they got the ticket -- somebody else was driving. They had to take off time from work to go and fight the ticket. And it's a civil process, not criminal -- so you can't face your accuser." In 2015, they successfully got the cameras banned in Arlington. And ever since then, they've been frequent visitors to the capitol in Austin, urging state lawmakers to outlaw the devices everywhere. "I was repeatedly told this bill is dead," Bussey said. "And then all of a sudden, it moved." After stalling each of the last two legislative sessions, this year the bill, carried by Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R-Bedford), passed overwhelmingly in the State House and Senate -- with the support of more than 100 co-sponsors from both parties. But not everyone is celebrating. Local law enforcement was among the most vocal supporters of the cameras, insisting they made a real difference at the intersections where they were installed. The chiefs of both the Bedford and Plano Police Departments said as much during recent interviews with NBC 5. "We have seen a dramatic reduction of intersection accidents," Bedford Police Chief Jeff Gibson said. "That means less people are getting hurt traveling our roadways." "The worst impacts we see other than head-on are side impacts," Plano Police Chief Gregory Rushin said. "So those are things we're trying to prevent. And this is what red light cameras do." Because the bill was passed with more than two-thirds support by both chambers, the ban becomes law immediately. However, a provision allows cities to keep operating the cameras until their contracts with vendors expire. Some communities have begun negotiations to terminate the deals earlier. The law also prevents county tax assessor-collector offices from blocking a citizen's vehicle registration because of unpaid red light camera tickets. I just signed the law that bans red light cameras in Texas. #txlege pic.twitter.com/AyF28hxGwO Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 1, 2019 To read more detailed information about what the bill entails, visit the Texas Legislature Online. Thirty years since the Tiananmen Square protests, China's economy has catapulted up the world rankings, yet political repression is harsher than ever. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims are held in re-education camps without charge, student activists face relentless harassment and leaders in the beleaguered dissident community have been locked up or simply vanished. Religious groups face ever greater pressure to conform, and a web of mass surveillance is bolstering a system many call totalitarian. It's a far cry from the hopes of the idealistic student demonstrators, and a level of control far beyond what many imagined possible, even after the army's bloody crushing of the protests on the night of June 3-4, 1989. Critics say the Tiananmen crackdown, which left hundreds, possibly thousands, dead, set the ruling Communist Party on its present course of ruthless suppression, summary incarceration and the frequent use of violence against opponents in the name of "stability maintenance." "The June 4 incident changed the direction of Chinese history," said Zhang Lifan, who in 1989 was a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "The narrative that China would grow strong and normal, become a stable country through a process of political reform, was destroyed." Chinese officials routinely respond to questions about the suppression by pointing to the economic progress China has made. In the three decades since the protests, China has risen to become the world's second-largest economy and is forging ahead in areas from high-speed rail to artificial intelligence and 5G mobile communications. China's navy now sails around the globe, its space program has launched half a dozen crewed missions and its sprawling cross-border infrastructure projects are extending its influence from Nairobi to the Netherlands. Politically, however, the state has never been more repressive. Restrictions on freedom of speech have been extended from publishing into social media, and the slightest act of perceived defiance can prompt a near instantaneous response from the authorities. The sprawling domestic security apparatus operates with impunity, coerced confessions are broadcast on state television and prison sentences are handed out on the flimsiest of charges, including "picking quarrels" and "incitement to subversion." Calls for even moderate reforms have been attacked or just ignored. An attempt to introduce grass-roots democracy at the village level years ago foundered after the Communist Party refused to concede even a modicum of control. Deliberative bodies at all levels are filled with party appointees who vote how they're told, and the national legislature is a mere rubber stamp body, re-electing president and party head Xi Jinping last year by a margin of 2,970 to 0. Regarded as China's most powerful leader in a generation, Xi took the opportunity to amend the constitution and remove presidential term limits, making him president-for-life if he so chooses. While the party is believed to be rife with power struggles, Xi's ongoing anti-corruption campaign and the threat of heavy prison sentences keep his opponents in check. In the wake of the Tiananmen crackdown, efforts to supervise the party's workings and control corruption through the media and public oversight were lost, Zhang said. While it ushered in the era of new party leader Jiang Zemin under which the economy grew, graft also became endemic, faith in communism was exhausted and interpersonal relationships revolved around sheer personal gain, essentially finishing off what the violent, radical Cultural Revolution had begun almost 20 years earlier, he said. "The moment the government ordered its army to fire on its own people, it lost its legitimacy," said Rowena Xiaoqing He, a former protester who created a course on Tiananmen at Harvard and is a current member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. "Of course, those in power can easily manipulate history and twist our memory. But that kind of manipulation and suppression of history is always followed by distortions of all kinds social, political, psychological," He said. "It is indeed impossible to understand today's China without understanding the spring of 1989." Speaking at a regional defense forum in Singapore on Sunday, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe defended the government's response to the protests, drawing the stock link to China's post-1989 development. "How can we say that China didn't handle that Tiananmen incident appropriately? There is a conclusion of that incident, that incident was political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy," Feng said. An editorial Monday in the official Communist Party newspaper Global Times' English edition said the 1989 "riot" had "immunized China against turmoil" and blamed veteran student leaders and foreign politicians of using the anniversary to attack China. The editorial made no mention of the military crackdown or subsequent repression. Given that unbending official line, hopes for a re-evaluation of the crushing of the 1989 protests seem incredibly distant, despite the lack of any direct personal connection to that decision among the current ranks of leaders. Revisiting the episode, meanwhile, could undermine party prestige and authority among a younger generation who know only relative prosperity and little or nothing of the events of 1989. While China has sought to rally the public with appeals to patriotism and the ideals of the communist revolution that swept the Communist Party to power in 1949, their belief system seems hollow at the core. In an ironic twist, the Communist Party seems truly disconcerted by young people who remain true believers in Marxism for China. A harsh crackdown on members of the Marxist student society at prestigious Peking University is one of the most extreme examples of the regime's insecurity and willingness to trample basic human rights. The school, whose Communist Party secretary its top leader was recently replaced by a former head of the national spy agency's branch in Beijing, has stood by as security agents have beaten, harassed and forcibly removed students who joined in the club's activities, including seeking solidarity with workers by joining them on the assembly line. "I think the government has been very concerned about another round of student activists staging mass demonstrations. That's why they are being so nervous about students getting involved in protest," said Patrick Poon, China researcher for Amnesty International in Hong Kong. China's domestic security spending now outstrips its defense budget, constituting an ever-growing strain on finances as the economy slows from double digits to just 6.6% last year, a three-decade low. In addition, 20% of the defense budget is spent on the People's Armed Police, the internal security force. Yet more initiatives are in the works, in particular the "social credit" system of mass date collection that monitors every citizen's digital, economic and social behavior and can limit access to everything from job offers to train tickets. Still, China ranks far down in global rankings for political stability and absence of violence, below countries such as Sri Lanka, Greece and Moldova in 2017. Numbers of protests listed as "mass incidents" run into the tens of thousands each year. With the party having shut off all channels for organized opposition or even calls for inner-party reform, Zhang, the scholar, says he sees only two scenarios under which China might be able to "overturn the verdict" on Tiananmen. One would be during a time of supreme economic and political confidence, offering a chance to "pay off this historical debt," he said. The other would be in the case of an existential crisis, when the regime was "grasping at straws." The opportunity for the first option has already passed because of constant infighting for political influence and the economy on decline, partly because of the trade war with the U.S., Zhang said. The second scenario "has yet to come to pass." Despite the setback it dealt to Chinese political reform, the crackdown may have had a salutary effect on events elsewhere, hurrying the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall the same year and the dissolution of the Soviet Union soon after, Zhang said. "So even though the Chinese people didn't benefit from it, the rest of the world felt the impact," he said. Associated Press videojournalists Alice Fung and Emily Wang contributed to this report. Mexican officials have copied a page from President Donald Trump's playbook in recent days, taking to Twitter to communicate that they are working flat-out to de-escalate tensions over immigration and avoid punitive tariffs on all Mexican exports to the U.S. Announcements of meetings in Washington, selfies and carefully crafted messages of optimism for cool-headed discussions are some of the tactics on display in social media to respond to an economic and diplomatic emergency that few anticipated. Trump's threat on Thursday to impose tariffs to pressure Mexico to do more to curb the flow of migrants came the same day that Mexico declared it would begin the process of ratifying the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade. Many are questioning the legality of mixing immigration policy goals with trade retaliation, and U.S. business groups are already considering legal action against the proposed tariff, arguing that the countries both produce for each other and together. "Almost everyone was caught flat-footed," said Antonio Ortiz-Mena, an international trade consultant based in Washington with the Albright Stonebridge Group who represented Mexico as part of the team that negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement in the early 1990s. Ortiz-Mena said he spent much of the weekend on phone calls and crafting strategies to advise clients in the U.S.-Mexico supply chain on how to navigate the situation. His advice to Mexican officials would be to stay calm and show good faith by ratifying the USMCA trade deal. "We're neighbors. We're not going anywhere," Ortiz-Mena said. Mexico overtook Canada to become the top trade partner for the U.S. in April. And Mexico's message has been consistently friendly. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico won't panic, signing off on a Thursday letter to Trump as "your friend" and repeating that his country doesn't want this confrontation, much less a trade war. There has also been some expert trolling. Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard posted a picture of himself at a Mexican airport Friday waiting to depart for Washington via Houston, with a Huawei-branded cellphone charging station behind him. The subtle implication: If the U.S. pushes Mexico away, China, a geopolitical and economic adversary, could move in to fill that space. Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said she will meet with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington on Monday. Ebrard said a delegation he is leading will hold talks Wednesday with one headed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Ebrard said Mexican Agriculture Minister Victor Manuel Villalobos also is to meet with his U.S. counterpart, Sonny Perdue, as tariffs would "severely" affect the U.S. agricultural sector. The objective is for the U.S. to avoid "shooting itself in the foot," Ebrard said. Mexico is the top export market for U.S. corn and pork, and Mexico supplies one out of three fresh fruits and vegetables consumed in the United States. Tariffs on Mexican agricultural exports are seen raising the cost of avocados, tomatoes and berries for U.S. consumers. Over the weekend, Mexico's economy minister joined what Mexican Twitter users have dubbed the "Ebrard Selfie Challenge," posting pictures of herself smiling next to the U.S. commerce secretary at the inauguration of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele. The Mexican strategy of killing with kindness has been met with skepticism and increasingly harsh words from Trump. "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border," Trump tweeted Sunday. "Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years. We want action, not talk." That followed an earlier tweet in which Trump labelled Mexico an "abuser" that takes but never gives to the U.S. He threatened to lure U.S. companies and jobs back via tariffs unless Mexico stops what he called an "invasion" of drug dealers, cartels, human traffickers, people smugglers and immigrants. The addition of drugs to the complaint adds another layer of complication to negotiations. "It's asking the impossible," said Maureen Meyer, director for Mexico and migrant rights at the Washington Office on Latin America, a group that researches and advocates for human rights. "It certainly overlooks how much Mexico is trying to cooperate with the U.S." Mexican authorities have raided migrant caravans traveling through the country's southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca this year. They have deported thousands of migrants and frustrated thousands more who wait endlessly for permits that would allow them to travel legally through Mexico. Meyer expects U.S. officials will again push this week for Mexico to sign onto a "Safe Third Country" agreement, which would designate Mexico as an adequate waiting spot for migrants wishing to claim asylum in the U.S. She said Mexico should stand firm and resist because it lacks the financial and human resources to process thousands of refugee cases, even if it were willing to do so. A complete militarization of Mexican borders is also a very tall order. Just as the Mexican border with the U.S. has proven porous, Mexico's southern border with Guatemala features dense jungle and a river that makes it difficult to patrol. Over the weekend, The Associated Press witnessed migrants arrive in small batches by raft at Tapachula, a border town in Chiapas. Federal helicopters, boats and police were not patrolling the Suchiate River as they have in the past to halt caravans. But the AP also has seen a migrant woman and two children pulled from a bus in recent days to be transported to a detention center. Residents of Tapachula are routinely asked to show ID while riding public transportation as officials search for migrants without permission to be in Mexico. There were few migrants in the streets or camping in the public parks of Tapachula. Those passing through Mexico without transit visas have opted to maintain a low-profile over the past weeks as Mexico seeks to detain and deport more migrants and to draw attention to those efforts. The National Migration Institute tweeted a picture Saturday of a plane transporting 64 Cubans back to their country from the Gulf state of Veracruz. Trump says he will impose a 5% tariff on Mexican goods beginning June 10 as a way to force the government of Mexico to keep mostly Central American migrants from crossing into the U.S. He says that until he is satisfied with Mexico's results, the import tax will be increased five percentage points every month through October, topping out at a total tariff of 25%. Yet there are no concrete benchmarks for Mexico to prove that it is stemming immigration flows. Mick Mulvaney, acting White House chief of staff, said on "Fox News Sunday" that Trump is "deadly serious" about imposing tariffs on imports, adding that "there's no specific target, there's no specific percentage" that Mexico needs to hit. "They have to get dramatically better and they have to get better quickly," Mulvaney said. Lopez Obrador said Mexican officials will try to better communicate their immigration efforts in Washington this week. He issued a memo to "the people" of the U.S. on Sunday saying he wishes to remain Trump's friend and professing that Mexicans are their friends, too. He closed the letter by saying: "Let nothing and nobody separate our beautiful and sacred friendship." Associated Press photo journalist Marco Ugarte contributed to this report. A young black bear enjoyed some recreation time in Bethlehem this morning while local police officers worked to corral the furry visitor. Residents told police that the bear was going through peoples yards near Cloverleaf Street and Melrose Ave in Bethlehem. Officers tracked down and eventually tranquilized the bear, but not before making a statement to local residents about whose turf they were living on. After the bear spent the morning climbing over fences and spending time in the warm weather, it apparently became hot and even decided to take a dip in a nearby swimming pool says Bethlehem Police Chief Mark A. DiLuzio. Thats where these photos came from. Photos courtesy of Sgt. Boddie, Officer Brylewski and Officer Kovacs (Photos shared by Bethlehem City Police, and courtesy of Sgt. Boddie, Officer Brylewski and Officer Kovacs.) After the bear was corralled and tranquilized in a residents yard, it was happily relocated to North Central Pennsylvania where pools are called swamps and there are hundreds of acres of woodland for the bear to roam. The bear was not injured. A towering, out-of-control cruise ship rammed into a dock and a tourist riverboat on a busy Venice canal on Sunday morning, injuring five people, officials said. The collision sparked new calls for placing restrictions on cruise ships in the famed city. The crash happened about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) on the Giudecca Canal, a major thoroughfare that leads to St. Mark's Square in the northeastern Italian city. The MSC Opera cruise ship, apparently unable to stop, blared its horn as it slammed into the much smaller River Countess boat and the dock as dozens of people ran away in panic. In videos of the crash, people were seen rushing to disembark from the moored riverboat over a short gangplank, and at least two people were left caught on the walkway as the vessel was dislodged from the pier. Elisabetta Pasqualin was watering plants on her terrace when she heard warning sirens and stepped out to see the crash. "There was this huge ship in a diagonal position in the Giudecca Canal, with a tugboat near which seemed like it couldn't do anything," she said. She described the ship "advancing slowly but inevitably towards the dock." She said "the bow of the ship crashed hard into the bank with its massive weight crushing a big piece of it. Sirens were wailing loudly; it was a very dramatic scene." When the cruise ship rammed the riverboat, she said the smaller vessel looked like it was "made of plastic or paper" rather than steel. Local officials said five women aboard the riverboat were injured. They said one was released immediately from a hospital, while four others were advised to remain under medical care for a few days. Earlier, medical authorities said four of the women an American, a New Zealander and two Australians between the ages of 67 and 72 were injured falling or trying to run away when the cruise ship rammed into the River Countess. Venice is a tremendously popular site for both tourists and cruise ships, especially during the summer tourist season. The cruise ship's owner, MSC Cruises, said the vessel was about to dock at a passenger terminal in Venice when it had a mechanical problem. Two tugboats guiding the cruise ship into Venice tried to stop the MSC Opera, but they were unable to prevent it from ramming into the riverboat. "The two tugboats tried to stop the giant and then a tow cable broke, cut by the collision with the riverboat," Davide Calderan, president of a tugboat association in Venice, told the Italian news agency ANSA. Calderan said the cruise ship's engine was locked when the captain called for help. Italian media posted an audio clip of the MSC Opera's pilot telling emergency officials that the ship experienced a loss of controls and "activated all the procedures to avoid what in the end happened, which was an impact." On an audio clip, the pilot said anchors were dropped and that tugboats connected to the ship's bow and stern took maneuvers to stop the ship. "Here on the bridge, we don't understand what happened," the pilot is heard saying. An investigation was launched. The collision froze boat traffic in the busy canal, and forced another MSC cruise ship to drop anchors in front of the historic city as it waited for the damaged vessels to be removed. Coincidentally, this famous maritime city on Sunday was celebrating an ancient tradition called the "Marriage of the Sea," which features processions of boats. But the crash forced parts of the celebration to be canceled, Italian media reported. Following the collision, calls for banning cruise ships in Venice, long a source of contention in the over-extended tourist city, were renewed. For many, the crash served as a wake-up call. Opponents say cruise ships are out-of-scale for Venice, cause pollution, endanger the lagoon's ecosystem and a danger. "Obviously, we've seen today that our worst fears have come true," said Jane Da Mosto, an environmental scientist and executive director of We Are Here Venice. Her group backs efforts to ban cruise ships from Venice. "There were 111 people on the river cruise boat that the big ship crashed into. They could have all died," she said. She said the cruise ship could have plowed through the concrete embankment and "hit houses, monuments and crowds of people." "The port authority, the government ministers, the other institutions have often tried to ridicule the resistance movement against the cruise ships, saying that an accident like this could never occur," she added. "The government shouldn't be so weak in giving in to the pressure of the lobby groups, like the cruise ship companies." The collision came four days after a river cruise ship collided with a sightseeing boat carrying South Korean tourists in Hungary's capital, killing seven and leaving 21 others missing. Not everyone in Venice is opposed to the cruise ships. Pasqualin, the woman who witnessed the collision, counted herself among those prior to Sunday's crash. "I've always been positive about the ships, but I have to admit I've started to change my mind now, because this was a tragic, terrible and dramatic scene," she said. Italian officials said the collision underscored the need to ban cruise ships from using the busy Giudecca Canal, but they stopped short of calling for a ban on cruise ships. "Today's accident in the port of Venice proves that cruise ships shouldn't be allowed to pass down the Giudecca anymore," said Danilo Toninelli, Italy's transport minister. "After many years of inertia, we are finally close to a solution to protect both the lagoon and tourism." The MSC Opera was built in 2004. It can carry over 2,675 passengers in 1,071 cabins. According to its sailing schedule, it left Venice on May 26 and traveled to Kotor, Montenegro, and Mykonos, Santorini and Corfu in Greece before returning Sunday to Venice. The U.S. government said Monday that it won't build President Donald Trump's border wall on the site of a historic cemetery that might have required the exhumation of graves. In a statement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would "avoid" the Eli Jackson Cemetery in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley while "still meeting Border Patrol's operational requirements for border wall." "It has never been CBP's intent to disturb or relocate cemeteries that may lie within planned barrier alignment," the agency said. "Understanding the historical and cultural resources that may lie within planned barrier alignment has always been part of CBP's public and stakeholder outreach process." CBP issued the statement in response to an Associated Press story about the cemetery, one of two 19th century burial sites established by the sons of Nathaniel Jackson, who settled along the Rio Grande in 1857, nine years after the river became the U.S.-Mexico border following the Mexican American War. Congress has already funded construction in much of the Rio Grande Valley, where the government says it needs additional barriers to stop human and drug smuggling. Due to flooding concerns and land rights, much of the wall in the region would be built well north of the river and still leave area for people crossing illegally to reach the United States. Jackson's descendants have sued the government and led a campaign to stop construction at the sites. "It's a very good day for us as it relates to the Eli Jackson cemetery," said Sylvia Ramirez, one of Jackson's descendants who has helped lead her family's opposition to the wall. Ramirez has previously met with Border Patrol agents who she said indicated they would take her family's concerns into account, but never directly promised that the wall wouldn't be built on the cemetery. But Ramirez added that CBP's statement "doesn't answer all our questions by any means." She said she wanted to know if the family's other burial site, the Jackson Ranch cemetery, would also be protected. She was also concerned CBP might still seek to build a wall nearby, which could still cause flooding or environmental damage. "There are less destructive ways for the government to meet its security goals," she said. As Democrats agonize over a spate of state laws restricting abortion rights and even a potential reversal of Roe v. Wade, one 2020 presidential candidate is putting an ambitious, long-shot plan to reform the Supreme Court front-and-center of his campaign, NBC News reports. Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has talked about his plan to overhaul the high court since his first days as a candidate. In short, it calls for expanding the number of justices from nine to 15, with five affiliated with Democrats, five affiliated with Republicans, and five apolitical justices chosen by the first 10. Buttigieg hasnt ruled out other possibilities for court reform, but says the 15-justice plan is the one that I find most intriguing. Supreme Court experts, though, have raised concerns about whether the proposal is constitutional, as well as whether it could backfire by reinforcing the perception that there are Republican and Democratic justices. In an NBC News interview in front of the Supreme Court, Buttigieg said he would support whatever Supreme Court reform will depoliticize this body and stop the court from being viewed as an almost nakedly political institution. A businessman who helped broker a meeting between an ally of President Donald Trump and an official of the Russian government has been arrested on child pornography charges, federal prosecutors disclosed Monday. George Nader, a witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation who is mentioned in his 448-page report, was arrested Monday after he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, NBC News reports. Federal prosecutors say Nader had been questioned on an unrelated matter after he arrived in the United States at Dulles airport from Dubai on Jan. 17, 2018. Federal officials seized his three cellphones, one of which they later found contained images of the sexual exploitation of boys as young as 3, court papers say. Nader had been questioned by Mueller's team in 2018 about his role in arranging a meeting in the Seychelles islands between Erik Prince, a Trump supporter and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' brother, and Kirill Dmitriev, the chief executive officer of Russia's sovereign wealth fund and a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitriev wanted to meet with the Trump transition team. Mexico launched a counteroffensive Monday against the threat of U.S. tariffs, warning not only that it would hurt the economies of both countries but also could cause a quarter-million more Central Americans to migrate north. A high-level delegation from the Mexican government held a news conference at the embassy in Washington, making the case against President Donald Trump's threat of imposing a 5% tariff on Mexican imports by June 10. It is unclear what more Mexico can do and what will be enough to satisfy the president. "As a sign of good faith, Mexico should immediately stop the flow of people and drugs through their country and to our Southern Border. They can do it if they want!" Trump tweeted Monday from London. Trump's Republican allies warn that tariffs on Mexican imports will hit U.S. consumers, harm the economy and jeopardize the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade pact that the White House wants Congress to approve. "This calls into question our ability to pass the USMCA, much less get it passed by Canada and Mexico," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. The GOP senator said he couldn't imagine the hit to the economy if the tariffs rise to 25%, as Trump has threatened. "I don't even want to think about it," he told reporters Monday. "We need to put our heads together and try to come up with a solution." Trump all but taunted negotiators for a quick resolution. "Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border," he tweeted Sunday. "Problem is, they've been 'talking' for 25 years. We want action, not talk." But Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard replied Monday that both countries working together is "the best way to do it." Mexico said it will only go so far to avert the duties, and absolutely ruled out a "third safe country" agreement that would require asylum seekers to apply for refuge in Mexico first. "There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity," said Mexico's Ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena. Barcena said Mexico has taken steps to offer migrants visas in Mexico, and "without Mexico's efforts, an additional quarter-million migrants could arrive at the U.S. border in 2019." Barcena said Mexico has accepted 8,835 returned migrants as of May 29, and they are now waiting in the country for an asylum hearing in the U.S. courts. The tariff threat comes just as the administration has been pushing for passage of the USMCA, which would update the North American Free Trade Agreement. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross met Monday with Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez. Afterward, Ross said the two had discussed the tariffs and the "next steps" for the trade pact. "I reiterated the president's message that Mexico needs to do more to help the U.S. address immigration across our shared border," Ross said in a statement. Delegations led by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard will also meet in Washington. Marquez told reporters her team is assessing potential reprisals in case the diplomatic efforts do not bear fruit this week. "We will have to make a strategic plan to take into consideration many elements," she said. Agricultural trade between the United States and Mexico was worth about $130 million a day last year, according to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Victor Villalobos. A 5% U.S. tariff would decrease that trade by $3.8 million a day, he said. Trump has been here before, issuing high-stakes threats, only to back off come crunch time. Trump claims Mexico has taken advantage of the United States for decades but that the abuse will end when he slaps tariffs on Mexican imports. His frustration with the flow of migrants is nothing new, but it's a subject he often returns to, as he did last week after special counsel Robert Mueller's rare public statement on the Trump-Russia report. The president said last week that he will impose the tariffs to pressure the government of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to block Central American migrants from crossing the border into the U.S. Trump said the import tax will increase by 5% every month through October, topping out at 25%. It swiftly refocused attention on the border issues. Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, said on "Fox News Sunday" that the president is "deadly serious." Still, Mulvaney acknowledged there are no concrete benchmarks being set to assess whether the U.S. ally is stemming the migrant flow enough to satisfy the administration. "We intentionally left the declaration sort of ad hoc," he said. "So, there's no specific target, there's no specific percentage, but things have to get better," Mulvaney said. "They have to get dramatically better and they have to get better quickly." GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, called the tariffs a "mistake" and said it was unlikely Trump would impose them. Republicans on Capitol Hill and GOP allies in the business community have expressed serious unease with the tariffs. Some see this latest threat as a play for leverage and doubt Trump will follow through. Earlier this year, Trump threated to seal the border with Mexico only to change course. Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted that the situation at the border was "unsustainable." But he said he was "hopeful this can be resolved" without Trump using his authority to impose tariffs. Republicans have repeatedly tried to nudge Trump away from trade wars and have specifically questioned the White House's ability to rely on executive authorities to impose some of them as national security issues. At the same time, Trump's efforts to revamp immigration laws have drawn little support in the Congress. "I think what the president said, what the White House has made clear, is we need a vast reduction in the numbers crossing," Kevin McAleenan, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said on CNN's "State of the Union." Mulvaney, who also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," said Mexico could take various steps to decrease the record numbers of migrants at the border. He suggested the Mexican government could seal its southern border with Guatemala, crack down on domestic terrorist organizations and make Mexico a safe place for migrants seeking to apply for asylum. Economists and business groups are sounding alarms over the tariffs, warning that they will impair trade and increase the costs of many Mexican goods that Americans have come to rely on. But Mulvaney played down those fears, saying he doubts business will pass on the costs to shoppers. "American consumers will not pay for the burden of these tariffs," he said. AP correspondent Mark Stevenson contributed to this story. Survivors of the Parkland shooting spoke in La Jolla Sunday, promoting their book Glimmer of Hope, which details the foundational story of March for Our Lives and the students behind it. On February 14, 2018, 17 people were killed when a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Brendan Duff and Sofie Whitney are both survivors and attended the Garfield Theatre in La Jolla with March for Our Lives. They talked about how they were scheduled to speak at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center in La Jolla before the shooting in Virginia Beach and the Chabad of Poway. They reminded the crowds that the shootings are another reminder gun violence is a problem. It was awful like it was my worst nightmare, it's everyone's worst nightmare, Whitney said. Whitney was a senior at MSDH and was in drama class, rehearsing for an upcoming performance when she heard the fire alarm. We walked out for the fire alarm after the song was over and we heard gunshots, and I remember not even thinking and just running back in the room," Whitney said. After that happened it changed everything for me. It changed my outlook on life, on what I wanted to do and what was important to me and what I valued and what I wanted to come out of my career and my future." The survivors wrote a chapter together that is featured in the book. "It's about how we can galvanize our peers and how it takes a generation and focus on being able to create the change we all want to see, Duff said. Duff had graduated from MSDH when the shooting happened, but his brother was a freshman. That feeling of not being able to reach my brother, having him not answer is enough to drive me to want to do this for a very long time until we see significant change, so people don't have to do that," Duff said. Both Whitney and Duff said they're working on getting students who are eligible to vote registered because it's important to teach students the importance of voting. A Louisiana Catholic school principal has been arrested after visiting a strip club while on a school field trip to the nation's capital. Diocese of Baton Rouge spokesman Dan Borne says Michael Comeau was arrested early Thursday in Washington, D.C., where he was with students from Holy Family Catholic School, a K-8 school in Port Allen. According to an arrest report, officers were dispatched to Archibald's Gentlemen's Club on a complaint about "an intoxicated man refusing to pay his bill." The Advocate reports the 47-year-old faces charges of public intoxication and possession of an open container of alcohol. It was unknown if he has an attorney. Borne says Comeau has resigned. An interim principal will be appointed. Comeau also resigned from his position as a reserve Brusly Police officer. A former Stafford County official was among the 12 people killed Friday when a Virginia Beach city worker opened fire in a municipal building. Christopher Rapp was a former Stafford County director of Public Works. In a statement Saturday, county leaders praised his kindness. "On behalf of the Board of Supervisors, I express our utmost condolences to Chris' family, friends and coworkers. He was a kind man who treated everyone with dignity and respect," said Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Gary Snellings, Hartwood District. "Our hearts go out to Virginia Beach at this time of unimaginable tragedy and we will support them as they move towards healing and peace." Stafford sadly announces that former Dir. of Public Works, Christopher Rapp, was a victim of the Virginia Beach shooting. A memorial service for Chris and the other victims will be held on Wed., June 5, 2019, at Stafford's Armed Services Memorial.https://t.co/m75qV7Nh7l pic.twitter.com/5tWtof8Cuq Stafford County (@staffordvagov) June 1, 2019 Stafford County will be providing onsite counseling for employees on Monday. Rapp had been working for less than a year as an engineer for the Virginia Beach city government. He also played music with a band called the Tidewater Pipes and Drums, which he joined them after moving from Stafford County, his friends said. Rapp performed with the group at the Central Virginia Celtic Festival and Highland Games last October and marched with them on St. Patrick's Day. "Chris came to Tidewater last fall but already had experience playing the bagpipes, so he jumped right into the band circle and started contributing immediately," a statement from the band said. "Chris was reserved but very friendly, quietly engaging members one-on-one after our weekly practices," the statement from the band continued. Rapp's bandmates say they will play at his funeral. In addition, Stafford County will hold a memorial service for Rapp this Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Stafford Armed Services Memorial. What to Know Anne Arundel County Police say a man with a knife was shot by a police officer Friday night Prince George's County Fire Department says suspect is a volunteer firefighter Authorities in Maryland say a volunteer firefighter was shot by a police officer Friday night after he allegedly refused to drop a knife. The volunteer Prince George's County firefighter was taken to a local trauma center with a life-threatening gunshot wound and is in critical condition, county fire officials said. His name has not been released. The incident began when the Anne Arundel County Fire Department rushed to the scene of a possible crash involving a pedestrian about 10 miles west of Annapolis shortly before 9:45 p.m. Friday, Anne Arundel County Police said in a news release. When the fire department crew arrived, they were confronted by a man who was armed with a knife, police said. Rescuers called police, who say the man wouldn't drop the knife and get on the ground as ordered. Police say the officer fired a single shot at the suspect. There were no injuries to those fire or police personnel. Prince George's County Fire said Saturday afternoon that the suspect in the case is a volunteer firefighter. Anne Arundel County is handling the investigation, Prince George's fire officials said. The officer involved is a 20-year-veteran department veteran. The Anne Arundel County Police Department said Saturday that the unnamed suspect will be charged with seven crimes, including assault and reckless endangerment. Federal and state investigators are now taking a closer look at double dipping allegations in the Town of Hingham, multiple sources tell the NBC10 Boston Investigators. The developments come in the wake of an NBC10 Boston investigation, which uncovered records that appear to show two high-ranking employees paid to be two places at the same time. The U.S. Attorneys Office recently asked for many of those same records, sending out subpoenas for documents that, if the case proceeds, could possibly be presented to a criminal grand jury. The Massachusetts Inspector General also is requesting documents related to the controversy. Spokespeople for both agencies would neither confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. In April, the NBC10 Boston Investigators first uncovered the alleged double dipping by Town Engineer Roger Fernandes and his assistant engineer, Harry Sylvester. Time-stamped photos depict the Hingham employees working in Quincy for Fernandes private consulting company in 2018 during hours they would normally be on the clock for their full-time jobs. On several occasions, town records show Sylvester took a sick day while working for Fernandes private company. Those same records also indicate Fernandes reported working a full shift in Hingham on the same day he billed for at least eight hours of consulting work in Quincy Fernandes was placed on paid administrative leave the day after the investigative report aired. Several days before the report was published, Sylvester filed for retirement. Fernandes denied any wrongdoing and Sylvester never responded to our requests for comment. Joe Stigliani, a former Hingham DPW supervisor who worked nearly three decades for the town, had a strong reaction when he first saw the NBC10 Boston investigation. I was shocked and outraged, said Stigliani, who is now retired. Its tough as a taxpayer, but its also tough as a past employee because I know what it will do to the current employees who are working hard. It certainly doesnt help morale. Stigliani even penned a recent editorial in the Hingham Journal, demanding a strong response from town leaders. He said he was glad to hear the situation caught the attention of outside agencies. I think its very important because I think it shows this type of behavior wont be tolerated, Stigliani said. And to not pursue it fully sends the wrong message and does not discourage anyone. The news was also a reassuring to long-time Hingham resident Judy Kelley, who helped organize a petition that asks town leaders to save public funds and cancel an agreement with a private investigative firm to look into the matter. Kelley believes the investigation should be left to state authorities. According to the agreement obtained by NBC10 Boston, the Town of Hingham is paying Matthews & Matthews, LLC $175 per hour for one investigator and $300 per hour for two investigators to look into the allegations. Kelley said she gathered 180 signatures in a week and plans to present it at the next Board of Selectmen meeting. Its a terrible waste of taxpayer money, Kelley said. We want them to take action and not let someone sit on paid leave while they drag their feet with a private investigator. Hingham town leaders have not responded to multiple NBC10 Boston requests for comment about the federal and state investigations, along with inquiries about the status of their own internal review. After first showing Town Administrator Tom Mayo the photos and other evidence in April, NBC10 Boston asked if the situation should be referred to public authorities. Well take appropriate action, Mayo said at the time. Well do our review and the State can do what it needs to do. The City of Quincy cancelled the consulting contract with Fernandes days after NBC10 Boston first started asking questions. Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@nbcuni.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or connect on Facebook. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe speaks at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore on June 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said here on Sunday that China and the United States should follow the consensus by the two heads of state and promote a China-U.S. relationship featuring coordination, cooperation and stability. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States, and the bilateral relationship grew steadily in the past 40 years, despite all the ups and downs, said Wei in a speech at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue. "The most valuable lesson we have learned from the four-decade-long relationship is that cooperation benefits the two sides while confrontation hurts both," he said. The Chinese minister said the militaries of the two countries have agreed on many important issues through continued communication, including agreements on making their relationship a stabilizer for the overall relations, and maintaining regular communication on the strategic level. Wei said that he had a candid and practical discussion with U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan on Friday, and they reaffirmed the importance of maintaining communication and developing a constructive military-to-military relationship. In terms of managing risks and preventing conflicts, Wei said China and the United States recognize that military conflicts or even a war between them would bring disasters to both countries and the world. "It takes two to cooperate, but only one to start a fight," he said. "We hope that the U.S. side will work with us towards the same goal, follow the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, and steer the China-U.S. relations in the right direction." Wei leads the Chinese delegation at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue, which opened Friday to discuss the security situation and challenges in the Asia-Pacific. Officially known as the Asia Security Summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue has been organized and convened annually by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Singaporean government since 2002. Lawyers for 19 parents, including Hollywood actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Gianulli, learned Monday that their clients will have to appear back in federal court in Boston in July. The judge wants to be able to speak with them to ensure they're clear about information and procedure moving forward. The parents have not accepted plea deals. All have waived their right to appear in court. Dozens of wealthy parents are accused of bribing their children's way into elite universities. Some parents allegedly paid to have their children recruited as athletes to get admitted into their university of choice, while others allegedly paid to have their children's entrance exam scores altered. Loughlin and Giannulli were accused of agreeing to pay $500,000 in bribes to the University of Southern California to have their daughters admitted as part of the crew team. Neither girl rowed. The attorney for Massachusetts millionaire John Wilson was also in court Monday. Prosecutors say Wilson paid $120,000 to get his son into USC as a member of the water polo team. And he also allegedly has been trying to work deals to get his daughters into Stanford and Harvard. Fifty people have already been charged in connection with the scheme. Several others have already brokered plea deals -- just today, a former soccer coach at the University of Southern California became the latest to accept one. Massachusetts attorney Ed Ryan believes some of the parents could have a strong case at trial, but it will be a complicated one to get through. "I think there are some serious and legitimate legal questions involved in this case," he said. Prosecutors said today they've already turned over 3 million pages of evidence to defense attorney's already. Prosecutors further raised concern over possible conflicts of interest, suggesting some of the defense teams are representing multiple people involved in the case. "There could be other firms that were involved early on in this case that represented other people who aren't charged, or were involved in other facets of the case," Ryan said. Business owners in one New Hampshire city are speaking out, frustrated that after years of selling CBD products, their city leaders are now cracking down telling them its illegal. You can still find CBD oil in Rochester, but its the edible products that city leaders say are illegal. So now, the owner of Puglife Vape and Smoke in downtown has a whole box of products she cant sell. Its been a nightmare, Heather Sondrini said. Lets just say that. Sondrini opened Puglife two and a half years ago. But now, the rules are changing, or rather, the enforcement is. Its a weird, fine line, because theyll let me do oil and pet oil, but they wont let me do edibles, Sondrini said. Rochesters Zoning Director James Grant says under the Food and Drug Administration, the hemp extract called Cannibidoil, or CBD, is not an approved food additive. Grant says that means its technically illegal to sell foods infused with CBD. Grant admits its a confusing issue, but a couple months ago, when city leaders confirmed with the state that CBD food items are illegal - they started enforcement. Its what we do, its our job to do that, we have to ensure the safety of our residents here in Rochester, Grant said. Sondrini says edibles were a big part of her business and a huge draw for customers, who she says are now shopping where theres no enforcement. Ive already lost 10 to 15 percent of my business, easily, Sondrini said. People just go to the next town over. Her neighbor, Fresh Vibes Cafe is also losing revenue. Owner Kris Enis has stopped selling her popular CBD coffee and nixed her first-in-the-state CBD infused lunch menu. I think its ridiculous, Sondrini said. Its little things like this that make me want to move out of this town unfortunately. Enis was only available to talk over the phone. She tells us she is now working with lawmakers to get CBD edibles legalized across the state. The makeup of the commission that promotes Maine's wild blueberries is going to be changed to do a better job of touting the state's important agricultural crop. The Legislature approved a proposal to increase the number of members on the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine from eight to 10 and encourage participation from different sectors of the industry. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills recently signed the proposal into law. The commission's role is to coordinate promotion, education, policy, research and development of wild blueberries, among Maine's best known crops. The industry has faced low prices to growers and declines in the size of the harvest in recent years. The proposal states that five members of the commission must be representatives for growers, potentially including organic growers and members of tribal groups. A New Hampshire man has been charged with stabbing a former girlfriend in the head, face and body multiple times. Police said the woman, who was stabbed seven times, was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries Sunday. The woman told police she had broken up with the man and that he was no longer welcome at her apartment in Manchester. The man, identified as 27-year-old Carlos Alden, of Manchester, was arrested on charges of attempted second-degree murder and assault. Police also recovered a large knife. Alden was being arraigned Monday afternoon. He was assigned a public defender. A Rhode Island coin dealer serving a 660-year prison sentence for laundering more than $135 million for a Colombian drug cartel is requesting compassionate release. The Providence Journal reports that 61-year-old Stephen Saccoccia argues that he qualifies for early release under the First Step Act, a new federal sentencing and prison reform law, because his crimes were not violent and he's been a model prisoner. He says his age and various ailments including ongoing prostate problems, arthritis and degenerative vertebrae, qualify him for compassionate release. Federal prosecutors said in court papers filed last week that the Cranston man's age and ailments don't meet the compassionate release threshold, and that for five years Saccoccia helped ensure the financial success of a violent drug cartel. Saccoccia is 27 years into his sentence. A 17-year-old high school student is in critical but stable condition after he was shot and pushed out of a moving car in Methuen, Massachusetts on Sunday afternoon. Methuen police said they rushed to a stretch of Davis Road after a 911 caller reported that a teen had been pushed out of a moving car and was in the street. Police responded to find the 17-year-old with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The victim was brought to Lawrence General Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, was stabilized and then brought to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Police don't believe the victim's injuries were caused by the fall from the vehicle, as it was likely traveling at a low speed. No arrests have been made. Methuen police are investigating along with state police. They said they are looking for a dark-colored sedan and do not believe it was a random incident. "It appears that they were familiar with each other in some capacity," Methuen police Lt. Michael Pappalardo said. "We're trying to piece together all aspects and potential witnesses, as well as suspects, in this incident." The shooting victim was a student at Methuen High School. The school superintendent put out a statement saying "The entire school community's thoughts and prayers are with the young man who appears to have been a victim of gun violence yesterday." Neighbors said they were shocked at the shooting, as the incident happened right in the middle of the day. "It's a nice neighborhood," said Holly Janco, who runs a group home nearby. "It's sad, it's sad. I feel bad for the victim, his family and everybody involved. It's terrible. I'm a mom myself, so I can't even imagine." The states attorney in Vermonts Orleans County described a weekend post-prom party as nightmarish, saying a teen girl was strangled and suffered other attacks at the hands of a fellow party guest. The suspect is denying the allegations. Mike Davis, 18, of North Troy, cried as he heard accusations that he turned prom season into a nightmare for a 16-year-old girl in Vermonts Northeast Kingdom. Prosecutors said Davis was at an after-prom and graduation party this weekend at a home in Newport Town when he put another party guest in a chokehold to the point where she passed out. The two had known each other since middle school, according to an affidavit filed in the case. "This very easily couldve been a homicide case," Orleans County States Attorney Jennifer Barrett said to the judge during Daviss arraignment Monday. "Strangling somebody until they lose consciousness is a really significant assault." Davis is also accused of unwanted kissing, punching the girl in the arm and leg, and biting her neck. Defense attorney Gertrude Miller entered not guilty pleas on Daviss behalf to two misdemeanor assault charges and one felony charge of aggravated assault. Community members were saddened to hear investigators say this happened at one of the most special times of the year for so many teens. "Its too bad," Theresa Gray of Newport said of how she read news reports about the case. "I was actually shocked when I read it, Im not going to lie. I mean, whod thinkthe prom?" According to police paperwork, Davis told detectives he was just being playful, and thought he was only placing his arm loosely around the girls throatnot strangling her. He was adamant in a police interview that no assault took place, but investigators noted the underage suspect was drinking alcohol at the prom party, as was the alleged victim. Later in the interview, Davis acknowledged he could have underestimated his own strength, police said. The suspect told a state trooper he did not recall the girl losing consciousness. Davis admitted to not releasing the hold on the girl immediately when being asked, the trooper wrote in paperwork filed with the court. The girl called her mom to be picked up from the party early Sunday because she had become so uncomfortable, court paperwork detailed. While the states attorney wanted to see Davis jailed until at least his next hearing, Judge Scot Kline released him on a 24-hour curfew, plus other conditions. Those conditions include an order that Davis not contact the girl from the party. Kline also demanded Daviss mom or her boyfriend keep tabs on Davis by staying home with him all day. After the arraignment, necn asked Davis and his mother for comment about what happened at the end-of-school-year party, but they declined to answer. "Have a good night," the suspect said to reporters while leaving court. Before his release, the suspect got a stern warning from Judge Kline, who said there could be very serious legal consequences if he violates his curfew. Street food, live music and champagne being promised NEWBURY is to host its first-ever Prosecco in the Park festival this summer. The weekend event will feature pop-up bars selling Proseccco, Champagne, gin and beer, with street food stalls, outdoor films and live music. It will launch this summer at Northcroft and Goldwell Parks. The festivals, designed for families, will entertain festival-goers with the latest film screenings for all ages. Event organiser Matt Bates said: To add Newbury to the 2019 summer tour, I couldnt be more excited. Weve invested heavily in a large screen as well as building three of the most incredible bars on the boutique festival scene The Cocktail Box, The Craft Beer Bunker and the all-new Gin House to accompany our stunning Mobile Prosecco and Champagne Bar the largest in the UK. We will now include a heap more street food outlets as well as a lot more cover for people should they need shade from the summer sun or liquid sunshine. Prosecco in the Park will feature eight screenings of films, including Bohemian Rhapsody, A Star is Born, The Greatest Showman and Mary Poppins Returns. Northcroft and Goldwell Parks will burst into life as doors open at 5pm on Friday, August 23, kicking off with A Star is Born, followed by four screenings on Saturday and three on Sunday. The festival is scheduled to take place between August 23 and 25. General admission tickets start at 10 for adults. Children aged 12 and under can enter free. To book tickets, view the film list, venues and prices, head to www.proseccointhepark.co.uk 'He's a unifier.. but more importantly, I think he has a real plan for the future NEWBURY MP Richard Benyon is backing his friend and neighbour Kit Malthouse to become the countrys next Prime Minister. North West Hampshire MP Mr Malthouse, who is the current housing minister, has thrown his hat into the ring after Theresa May announced that she will stand down on June 7. Mr Malthouse is one of 12 Conservative candidates to have entered the Conservative leadership contest so far. Speaking to the Newbury Weekly News, Mr Benyon said: I have been speaking with my parliamentary neighbour Kit Malthouse because I think he represents a new generation of thought in the Conservative Party. Hes a unifier and has proved his ability to bring people together on the issue of Brexit, but more importantly I think he has a real plan for the future. Ive been talking to him for some years about the future, about how we as a party can make ourselves more relevant to young and old, urban and rural in England or any other part of the union and I think he has a real vision that I find very attractive. Its early stages of the campaign, but I have told him that I will support him. Mr Benyon, who backed Mrs May to be the next party leader following the referendum result in 2016, said of the announcement that she is standing down: Im sad. Nobody could have tried harder than she to find a solution to this, and for her premiership to end this way is just really sad. The Prime Ministers voice cracked towards the end of her resignation speech last Friday as she spoke of having had the opportunity to have serve the country that she loves. I thought her speech outside Number 10 was very moving, Mr Benyon said. Whatever your view is of Brexit or this Government or your politics you would have to have a heart of stone not to feel sad for her. Mr Malthouse, who backed Leave in the EU referendum, put forward the failed Malthouse Compromise in March, which proposed to delay Brexit until May 22 to enable a managed no-deal Brexit. The compromise would have also renegotiated the Irish backstop and replaced it with a free trade agreement using technology to avoid customs checks on the Irish border. The transition period would also have been extended until December 2021 to provide added time for a new trading relationship to be agreed. Mr Benyon abstained from voting on the comprise when it went before MPs for indicative votes in March. When asked why he abstained, he said: I am a good friend and admirer of Kit Malthouse, but I dont think his option will work because the EU has said it wont work, therefore I was not going to support it and I didnt want to vote against it as I think Kit has done a good job of bringing people across Parliament together. It came down to the Government motion as amended. I couldnt vote against that and I couldnt vote against him and his amendment, which meant voting against my party whip. Mr Benyon said: I supported the process, unfortunately his compromise was not picked up by those who needed to pick it up for it to become a reality, but it was a remarkable piece of diplomatic manoeuvring and I was admiring of it at the time. BRIDGEPORT The city school board will meet Wednesday to continue whittling away at its projected 2019-20 budget deficit and trim a list of candidates for interim schools superintendent. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m., in Room 305 of City Hall. While the school board had been working to close a projected $10.5 million budget deficit, it could turn out to be smaller based on the budget expected to be approved by the General Assembly by the end of its session on Wednesday. Last week, came word that the budget would include $40 million more than previously planned for education. Specifics were not provided, nor a formula for distribution. So far cuts made by Bridgeports Board of Education have not sat well with those affected. The district has said among other things that it will increase walking distances without bus transportation for middle school students and cut a number of assistant principals, including two at the Fairchild Wheeler interdistrict magnet school complex. The school board remains millions away from closing the gap. Following the budget meeting, the board plans to meet at 7 p.m. to discuss 12 candidates who submitted applications for the job of interim superintendent. School Superintendent Aresta Johnson leaves at the end of July. Board Chairman John Weldon would not say who the candidates are. Our ad told candidates that their identities would be kept confidential unless they were selected as a finalist candidate to be interviewed, Weldon said in an email Its only fair we abide by what was indicated to them when they applied. Weldon said the 12 run the gamut from some who are certified to be superintendents in Connecticut to those who have no experience in the role. The board indicated it preferred but was not requiring a superintendents certificate for the interim role, which could last a year, depending on the districts search for a permanent replacement for Johnson. Weldon said the names and resumes of finalists for the job would be made public. The board wants someone selected this month. lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media NEW HAVEN The Long Island Sound Coast Guard is searching for the owner of a vessel found adrift Saturday in New Haven Harbor. The barge, a green 20-foot center console, was located near the east break wall. WATERBURY The irony carries great economic consequence: Once engines of Connecticut's prosperity, the state's former factories have long been massive liabilities for struggling cities. Connecticut has found a path to get these sites back into use, and it's fueled with taxpayer money. Polluted industrial sites litter Connecticut's struggling cities. Hulking, deserted and crumbling complexes attract crime, trespassers, illegal dumping and sometimes suspicious fires become spectacular and dangerous blazes. These sites also hold captive desperately needed space for development which would bring new jobs and tax revenue. Developers have shied from sites that need environmental cleanups which often costs millions of dollars. But in the past 15 years, Connecticut has developed programs to tip the scales, making these properties worth a second look. It's created liability relief to shield municipalities and developers from responsibility for pollutants dumped by past owners. Over the past decade, the state also has pumped more than $206 million into grants and loans for brownfield cleanups. Developers and other funding sources, which could include federal and private dollars, have paired that with $3.2 billion, said Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development spokesman James Watson. That means an investment of $15.50 for every dollar spent through the brownfield programs, Watson said. In Bridgeport, an investor behind the redevelopment of the American Graphophone Co. block claims his company has been able to raise $33 for every $1 the state has invested. The roughly 5.5 acre area originally hosted manufacture of graphophones one of the earliest mass produced players of recorded sound. That and later uses led to a mix of toxins in the buildings and the grounds. Corvus Capital Partners is turning it into a mix of 277 affordable apartments, commercial space and a charter school. GRANTS AND LOANS Total grants and loans distributed from the state's brownfield program between July 1, 2009, and Dec. 1, 2018: Bridgeport: $16.5 million Hartford: $25.1 million New Haven: $16.5 million Stamford: $15.8 million Waterbury: $8.4 million See More Collapse It's a roughly $150 million development, said Gary Flocco, a managing partner with Corvus. It was made possible with $3.7 million in low-interest loans and grants from the state. Their money gives us the ability to clean up the sites which gives the bank the comfort level to move forward with us not only banks, but other agencies and other funding sources, Flocco said. If it wasn't for the state brownfield program it would be very difficult to do the type of developments we do. Flocco's site is highly visible, perched along Interstate 95 and a passenger rail line. He said the site's transformation is creating an advertisement for Bridgeport's potential from what had been a visible sign of failure. Their cleanup costs aside, brownfields often have a lot going for them, said Rick Dunne, executive director of the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments. Many sit in prime locations along rail and highway corridors, next to rivers, near downtowns, often served by industrial-grade power, water and sewer utilities, Dunne said. Those advantages, on their own, haven't been enough to inspire redevelopment. Many brownfields have sat idle since the 1970s and 1980s, Dunne said. All of that infrastructure the taxpayers paid for long ago, Dunne said. And what have we done since we built all that infrastructure for those factories? Connecticut has tried to prosper by sprawling out into greenfields, farmlands and wooded areas, and building new utilities to get out to that. Those new utilities and roads may be built initially by developers, but maintenance eventually falls onto the backs of taxpayers and utility ratepayers, Dunne said. Its a bad bargain all around when all of this precious real estate is sitting there and ready to go, Dunne said. It's the lost opportunity for the last 40 years of having all this great infrastructure in all the right places. State lawmakers and business advocates have developed tools to tempt developers, like Corvus, into brownfields. In addition to loans and grants, the state has developed liability protections for new owners of industrially polluted sites. If new owners perform cleanups overseen to state standards, they can't be sued by the state if pollution from prior owners is later found to have migrated off site. A city's ability to turn around brownfields is partially in its own hands, depending on how ambitious leading officials care to be in tackling the often complex, costly and time-consuming problem. Market values make a big difference. Stamford, a resurgent city, has used its coast and proximity to New York City to draw developers. Ultimately, brownfields are driven by the market. If a developer can tackle the cleanup and still make a profit, then the deal makes sense, it pencils, as Dunne says. In Stamford, the value of the new development is greater than the cost to build it, Dunne said. The closer you get to New York, the more true that is, so, for Stamford, it's true, Dunne said. For Norwalk it's true. For Bridgeport, less true, but for other reasons. For Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford these reasons include high tax rates and struggling public schools, Dunne said. It takes a little more convincing to get people to invest in those cities because they have systemic problems, Dunne said. Connecticut's economic struggles can sap the value of land deals and incentive to tackle dirty sites, said David Hurley, an environmental consultant on the General Assembly's Brownfields Working Group. We have the broad economic issues in the state that we need to address, and at the same time the ability to clean up the brownfields is key to us seeing investment in the state, Hurley said. Those sites aren't going to get cleaned up unless we have an economic climate in which there is demand. Those cities along the Interstate 95 corridor and the Amtrak passenger rail have an edge over places like Waterbury, Torrington and New Britain, Hurley said. At multiple sites in Waterbury, Mayor Neil M. O'Leary's administration had opted to take on the role of developer to kick-start reuse of these properties. The city has acquired massive polluted sites and is using state and federal money to clean them in hopes of redevelopment. This is possible because of the liability relief adopted by state lawmakers, O'Leary said. These buildings have been sitting not for years, but for decades and longer because up until legislation that reduced liability to the cities that acquire them, you couldn't possibly market them, because the return on the investment was always in the negative, O'Leary said. The return on the investment with public money is in the negative too, let's be honest, the mayor said. But at least the federal and the state government has recognized the only way you are going to get this. It's a slow crawl. The Cities Project, a collaboration between CT Mirror, Connecticut Public Radio, Hearst Connecticut Media, Hartford Courant, Republican-American of Waterbury, Hartford Business Journal, and Purple States, will publish periodic articles exploring challenges and solutions related to revitalizing Connecticuts cities. Send comments or suggestions to ehamilton@ctmirror.org. A Painesville man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a February 2018 shooting outside of a Painesville Township bar. Eugene Wade III, 27, was previously found guilty by a Lake County jury on 11 of the 14 charges he was facing related to the Feb. 12, 2018 incident. Assistant Lake County Prosecutor Rocco DiPierro Jr. said that Wade fired shots at a car leaving the 520 Fairport Nursery Road bar. Three people were in the car at the time of the shooting. One woman was taken to the hospital after being struck in the leg by a bullet, according to the Lake County Sheriffs Office. The jury in April found Wade guilty of four counts of felonious assault, two counts of discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premise, two counts of having a weapon under disability, one count of illegal possession of a firearm in liquor permit premises, and two counts of carrying a concealed weapon. They found him not guilty on three counts of attempted murder. Lake County Common Pleas Court Judge Vincent A. Culotta sentenced Wade June 3 in a packed courtroom. Extra chairs were brought in to fit Wades supporters. Those who spoke on Wades behalf described him as a good-hearted person who helped to take care of his ill mother and helps at-risk youth. He takes care of me, hes been a rock for me and I know whats in his heart, Wades mother said. She added she wanted for her son to have a chance to prove that hes a good person. Wade too asked for leniency to prove not only to (Culotta), but to my daughter, to my family and my community that I can be an upstanding citizen. I am a good man your honor, he told the judge. I have made mistakes as all people do. Please dont allow my past mistakes to define me. Defense attorney Timothy S. Deeb was seeking a 13- to 15-year sentence for Wade, who faced a minimum of 12 years in prison. Prosecutors were seeking a 25-year prison sentence. It is very clear that there are a lot of people in the world who love the defendant and support him, and its not what the defendant could have done or could do, or his capacity for good, DiPierro said. From the perspective of the state of Ohio, its about the defendants actions, about his conduct. Wades 20-year sentence runs consecutive to a current sentence he is serving. In July 2018, Wade was sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to cocaine trafficking and possession of heroin. Mr. Wade might have a lot of good qualities, we heard from a lot of good people today about those qualities Im not going to sit here and argue with anybody but theres also a lot of bad, dangerous, violent qualities that hes been exhibiting for years, Culotta said. Multiple times. This isnt the first time those qualities and tendencies put a lot of people in the community at risk. Its got to stop. Astrocytes are overtaxed neurons' pit crew. The brain cells collect damaged lipids secreted by hyperactive neurons, then recycle those toxic molecules into energy, researchers at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus report May 23, 2019, in the journal Cell. It's a mechanism to protect neurons from the damaging side effects of overactivity. And it's another important role for astrocytes, which support neurons in various ways. When a neuron fires fast and furious, lipid molecules in the cell get damaged and can become toxic. While most kinds of cells sequester excess fatty acids away or feed them to mitochondria to prevent buildup, neurons don't seem to rely on those tricks. Instead, "neurons unload some of the burden to astrocytes," says study coauthor and Janelia Group Leader Zhe Liu, who worked closely with Maria Ioannou and Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, a senior group leader at Janelia. "For a long time, people have suspected there was some mechanism like this. The new work shows how this process actually happens." The finding arose from a curious observation: Overactive neurons release damaged fatty acids bundled up in lipid particles. People didn't think that neurons could secrete those lipid particles." Zhe Liu, Study Coauthor and Janelia Group Leader But stimulating mouse neurons in a dish led to the buildup of fatty acids and, eventually, lipid particle release, the team showed. Then, nearby astrocytes engulfed the particles and amped up the activity of genes involved in energy production and detoxification. Astrocytes feed neurons' off-loaded damaged lipids to their own mitochondria, converting waste into energy, Liu concluded. Tests in mice showed a similar response. After a lesion to the brain that mimics a stroke - a huge stress to neurons - neurons increased production of proteins involved in transporting fatty acids out of the cell, and fatty acids built up in astrocytes. This pathway for clearing toxic molecules from neurons might be damaged in Alzheimer's patients, Liu proposes, though that hasn't been thoroughly investigated. A next step, led by Maria Ioannou in her new lab at the University of Alberta, is to examine what's different about this mechanism in cell culture and rodent models of Alzheimer's disease. Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Journal reference: Ioannou, M. et al. (2019) Neuron-Astrocyte Metabolic Coupling Protects against Activity-Induced Fatty Acid Toxicity.Cell. doi. org/ 10. 1016/ j. cell. 2019. 04. 001 The largest randomized trial involving smoldering multiple myeloma suggests that lenalidomide, a cancer drug, may delay the onset of myeloma symptoms, according to Mayo Clinic researchers. The study was conducted by the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and funded by the National Cancer Institute. The findings, to be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, are in line with a smaller trial in 2015 by researchers in Spain. "In conjunction with the Spanish data, this trial may support a change in clinical practice," the study says. At present, the standard of care for smoldering multiple myeloma is observation without therapy. We found that treatment of smoldering myeloma delays progression to symptomatic myeloma and can prevent damage to organs that occurs in multiple myeloma." S. Vincent Rajkumar, M.D., a Mayo Clinic hematologist and senior author of the trial The study featured 182 patients, 92 of whom received the drug, which is known by the brand name Revlimid. The 90 other patients did not receive the drug but were observed, as in common practice. Almost half of the patients receiving the drug responded to therapy, while no change was reported among observation patients. Serious adverse events occurred in 28 percent of patients on lenalidomide, but Dr. Rajkumar says those events were considered manageable. The results, in combination with the findings in the 2015 Spanish study, support a change in the standard of care for intermediate and high-risk smoldering myeloma patients, says Dr. Rajkumar. "We show that it is possible to delay progression to multiple myeloma, a serious cancer with significant morbidity, by early therapy administered when the disease is still asymptomatic," he says. The Spanish study involved two drugs -; lenalidomide and dexamethasone, a steroid -; and it was not clear whether the beneficial effect was due to the drugs independently or in combination. The present study, which is under review for publication and involved researchers from around the U.S., shows that lenalidomide alone has a similar effect of delaying disease progression. Sagar Lonial, M.D., of Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, is the study's lead author. The 55th annual American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, which runs May 31June 4, is the largest meeting of international oncology clinicians, allied staff and researchers. Source: Mayo Clinic Today the New England Journal of Medicine published the first results of a phase III international clinical study called TITAN (National Clinical Trials Number 02489318), which evaluated the effectiveness and safety of a new drug, apalutamide, to treat advanced prostate cancers. This publication accompanies a presentation today that outlines the study results at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Researchers found that treatment with apalutamide significantly improved overall survival, with a 33% reduction in risk of death compared to standard-of-care therapy. Additionally, this study showed apalutamide significantly delayed disease progression and increased the amount of time until a patient has to receive chemotherapy. Neeraj Agarwal, MD, a prostate cancer physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and professor of medicine at the University of Utah (U of U), was member of the international steering committee for the trial and the second author on the publication. The study was led by Kim Chi, MD, medical oncologist with the British Columbia Cancer Agency and associate director of clinical research at the Vancouver Prostate Centre in Canada. The trial included participation of 230 institutions worldwide and enrollment of more than 1,000 patients on the trial. According to Chi: This is a major study that showed, for the first time, significantly improved overall survival and delay of disease progression with this novel class of drugs known as 'potent and direct androgen receptor inhibitor' in men with advanced prostate cancer." Chi and Agarwal believe the results of this study may change the way a vast majority of men with advanced prostate cancers are treated. This study underscores why clinical trials are so vital to improving cancer care. The clinical trials process allows us to identify more effective treatments, evaluate them in a controlled setting, and bring results to our cancer patients. Based on the results of this study, we are hopeful that apalutamide will garner approval for newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer by the United States Food and Drug Administration in the coming months." Neeraj Agarwal, MD, a prostate cancer physician-scientist at Huntsman Cancer Institute This study was built upon prior evaluations of apalutamide (trade name ERLEADA). The aim was to conduct a large-scale assessment of apalutamide when used in combination with the standard-of-care treatment for men with prostate tumors that have spread to other parts of the body. Apalutamide belongs to a class of drugs that inhibit the normal function of androgens like testosterone. These drugs act by blocking androgen receptors, which are part of the sophisticated machinery used by cells in many normal biological processes, including regulation of testosterone levels. Scientists began evaluating the relationship between prostate cancer and the androgen receptor several years ago, as it was believed that disruption of these interactions allowed prostate cancer cells to grow out of control. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men. While survival is nearly 100% for men with early stage prostate cancers, the five-year survival rate for men with prostate tumors that have spread to other parts of the body is only 30%, according to the American Cancer Society. Men with advanced forms of prostate cancer are typically treated with drugs that work to significantly lower testosterone levels, which slows disease progression. This study evaluated the combination of apalutamide plus the testosterone-reducing drugs. Agarwal worked with colleagues from five continents to coordinate the sophisticated scientific review necessary to evaluate study results. Patients who received apalutamide plus standard-of-care therapy had significantly improved outcomes versus patients who only received the testosterone-reducing drug. After reviewing the early results, an independent data monitoring committee recommended that all participants in the study receive apalutamide plus the standard treatment. Before apalutamide, other strategies to improve the survival rates for prostate cancer patients included chemotherapy and abiraterone, a drug that blocks testosterone production by prostate cancer cells, alongside long-term treatment including steroids. "With the potential approval and availability of apalutamide, we may have an option that will allow us to avoid the side effects of chemotherapy and long-term steroid use in our patients with advanced prostate cancer," said Agarwal. Source: Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah Journal reference: Chi, K.N. et al. (2019) Apalutamide for Metastatic, Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer. New England Journal of Medicine. doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1903307. A new technology that increases the safety and precision of spinal fusion surgeries while reducing the time needed for the procedure now is available at Rush University Medical Center. Called the Mazor X Robotic Guidance Platform, the technology combines imaging prior to surgery and image guidance during the procedure, which enhances surgical planning and precision. Spinal fusion is used to relieve pain and other symptoms for conditions including tumors, fractures, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis and degenerative disc disease. During spinal fusion, vertebrae (the bones of the backbone) are fused together, eliminating motion between the vertebrae. A key and time-consuming component of correcting deformity is correctly and safely placing the screws in the spine that fuse the vertebrae. This system makes that part of the procedure more efficient and helps with the accurate placement of these screws." Dr. Christopher DeWald, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Rush University Medical Center Rush is the first hospital in Chicago to use the robotic platform, which has an imaging component that provides a customized 'blueprint' of a patient's spine along with detailed locations for spinal screws. The robotic platform attaches to the operating room table as well as the patient and includes a robotic arm that helps guide the surgeon as he or she places the screws into the proper locations. "Because the robotic system makes placing screws more efficient, I am able to focus on different aspects of the procedure, such as deformity correction and decompression of nerves. The entire surgery can be completed in a shorter period of time," DeWald said. Another benefit of robotic spinal fusion surgery is it decreases both a patient and surgeon's exposure to radiation, because the surgeon can depend less on X-ray imaging for guidance during surgery. The technology allows for the images taken during surgery to be matched with a computerized tomography (CT) scan taken prior to the procedure with submillimetric accuracy. The robot is able to match the patient's position during surgery with the pre-operative CT scan. "The robotic arm moves into position to help me place the screws based on the plan I created before surgery," DeWald said. "This tool gives me the ability to optimize the size of the screw for each individual patient. An increased level of safety for the patient is always the primary focus and reason for utilizing tools and technology such as the robot." DeWald is one the first in his practice and among the first in the country to use the Mazor X stealth edition of the robotic system in spinal surgery. To date, he has performed more than a dozen procedures to correct spinal deformity procedures using this technology. "My partners and I are able to utilize this technology for any procedure requiring screw placement or pre-operative planning for the patient's sagittal alignment. In addition to deformity correction, we're able to use the robot for degenerative lumbar fusions and fracture stabilization," he said. Other spine surgeons at Rush also been trained to use the Mazor robotic technology, including Drs. Howard An, Matthew Colman, Gregory Lopez and Kern Singh. With its permanent accessibility, increasing flood of information and constantly changing technologies that humans have to familiarize themselves with, digitization is fundamentally changing society and individual lives. These changes come with both opportunities and risks for health. The risks of using digital technologies and media include stress, burnout, depression and other health impairments. However, stress can also have positive, stimulating effects that need to be promoted. Technological design is well advanced, so digital technologies and media can also preserve and promote human health by including artificial intelligence, adaptivity and interactivity. In a joint project, research groups from the universities of Augsburg, Bamberg, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Munich and Wurzburg are now investigating how a healthier use of digital technologies and media can be achieved. The Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts is funding the ForDigitHealth research network with around 3.35 million euros. The project is scheduled to run for four years. The Wurzburg subproject The Department of Developmental Psychology (Prof. Dr. Gerhild Nieding and Dr. Wienke Wannagat) at Julius-Maximilians-Universitat (JMU) Wurzburg is involved in this project. The two scientists' research deals with extended media literacy in children and adolescents, which includes so-called metacognitive and cognitive self-regulatory abilities that are assumed to protect against digital stress. These abilities include, for example, the knowledge that a smartphone present on the desk can distract from homework and the ability to regulate one's own behavior based on this knowledge. The long-term goal is to develop and evaluate training approaches that will enable children and adolescents to use digital media and technologies in a healthy way. In previous work, the JMU scientists have shown that media literacy in pre-school children, adolescents and adults is related to academic and health-related variables: the greater the media literacy, the better the skills in areas such as reading and mathematicsand the lower the risk of developing an internet or video-gaming addiction. Since the beginning of 2019, the department has also been developing a computer-based training program aimed at promoting media sign literacy skills in kindergarten children. The children learn about the typical characteristics of films, comics and other media. This is important because media sign literacy is a prerequisite for later media literacy, as the researchers explain. The German Research Foundation is funding this project. The aims of the ForDigitHealth network According to Professor Henner Gimpel of the University of Augsburg, spokesman for ForDigitHealth, "in their everyday lives, many people experience for themselves that digital technologies not only offer support but also sometimes seem to have taken complete control over their lives. They notice this, for example, when they are overwhelmed with all the e-mails at work, or when they find themselves constantly checking their phone for new messages or comments on a previously posted picture." The aim of the network is to scientifically evaluate how the increasing presence and use of digital technologies and media affect our health especially with regard to the development of positive and negative stress. In addition, prevention and intervention approaches are to be developed and evaluated. In this way, the research network aims to contribute to an appropriate, conscious and health-promoting use of digital technologies and media. Experts from the fields of medicine, psychology, computer science, business informatics and communication science are working on these questions. The eleven individual projects deal with theories of stress, methods of stress assessment, and fundamental ethical and legal aspects. They also evaluate how digital technologies and media differentially affect specific social groups, including children, adolescents and employees. In addition, different areas and contexts of life are taken into account, such as the family and the workplace. The aim is to explore how digital technologies and media are used and experienced in different everyday contexts and, in particular, how this affects the mental and physical health of various groups of people. Bavaria's Science Minister Bernd Sibler commented: Health research is futurology! The research network ForDigitHealth investigates crucial questions that are highly relevant for a healthy life with digital media. In the age of digitization, it is very important that we use digital media confidently and autonomously. It is also crucial to be aware of how digital media influence our daily lives and our health." Public events and blog Through public events, a scientific blog and research exchange among the network of cooperating partners and interested parties, the research association aims to contribute to social debates through its findings. As rural hospital closures roil the country, some states are banking on a Trump administration proposal to change the way hospital payments are calculated to rescue them. The goal of the proposal, unveiled by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma last month, is to bump up Medicare's reimbursements to rural hospitals, some of which receive the lowest rates in the nation. For example, Alabama's hospitals most of which are rural stand to gain an additional $43 million from Medicare next year if the federal agency makes this adjustment. "We're hopeful," said Danne Howard, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the Alabama Hospital Association. "It's as much about the rural hospitals as rural communities being able to survive." The proposed tweak, as wonky as it is, comes with considerable controversy. By law, any proposed changes in the calculation of Medicare payments must be budget-neutral; in other words, the federal government can't spend more money than previously allocated. That would mean any change would have a Robin Hood-like effect: increasing payments to some hospitals and decreasing them to others. "There is a real political tension," said Mark Holmes, director of the University of North Carolina's Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. Changing the factors in Medicare's calculations that help hospitals in rural communities generally would mean that urban hospitals get less money. The federal proposal targets a long-standing and contentious regulation known in Washington simply as the "wage index." The index, created in the 1980s as a way to ensure federal Medicare reimbursements were equitable for hospitals nationwide, attempts to adjust for local market prices, said Allen Dobson, president of the consulting firm Dobson, DaVanzo & Associates. That means under the current index a rural community hospital could receive a Medicare payment of about $4,000 to treat someone with pneumonia compared with an urban hospital receiving nearly $6,000 for the same case, according to CMS. "The idea was to give urban a bit more and rural areas a bit less because their labor costs are a bit less," said Dobson, who was the research director for Medicare in the 1980s when the index was created. "There's probably no exact true way to do it. I think everybody agrees if you are in a high-wage area you ought to get paid more for your higher wages." For decades, hospitals have questioned the fairness of that adjustment. Rural hospitals nationwide have a median wage index that is consistently lower than that of urban hospitals, according to a recent brief by the Sheps Center. The gap is most acute in the South, where 14 of the 20 states account for the lowest median wage indices. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that the index may not accurately reflect local labor prices and, therefore, Medicare payments to some hospitals "may not be appropriately" adjusted for local labor prices. More plainly, in some cases, the payments are too low. In an emailed statement to KHN, Verma said the current wage index system "has partly contributed to disparities in reimbursement across the country." CMS' current proposal would increase Medicare payments to the mostly rural hospitals in the lowest 25th percentile and decrease the payments to those in the highest 75th percentile. The agency is also proposing a 5% cap on any hospital's decrease in the final wage index in 2020 compared with 2019. This would effectively limit the loss in payments some would experience. Dobson, a former Medicare research director, said he expects "enormous resistance." (The CMS proposal is open for public comment until June 24.) HHS Secretary Alex Azar, foreshadowing how difficult a change could be, said during a May 10 Senate budget hearing that the wage index is "one of the more vexing issues in Medicare." It's problematic, agreed Tom Nickels, an AHA executive vice president, noting in an emailed statement that there are other ways "to provide needed relief to low-wage areas without penalizing high-wage areas." It's this split that appears to be dictating the range of reactions. The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association's Michael Sroczynski, who oversees its government lobbying, questioned in an emailed statement whether the wage index is the correct mechanism for providing relief to struggling hospitals. The state's hospitals have historically been at the higher end of the wage index. In contrast, Tennessee Hospital Association CEO Craig Becker applauded the proposed change and said the Trump administration is recognizing the "longstanding unfairness" of the index. Tennessee has been among the hardest hit with hospital closures, counting 10 since 2012. In Alabama, where four rural hospitals have closed since 2012, Howard said that without the change she "could see a dozen or more of our hospitals not being able to survive the next year." Indeed, Howard said, hospitals in more than 20 states could gain Medicare dollars if the proposal passes and "only a small number actually get hurt." Kaiser Health News asked the Missouri Hospital Association, in a state where most hospitals do not stand to gain or lose significantly from the rule change, to calculate the exact differences in hospital payments under the current wage index formula. Under the complex formula, a hospital in Santa Cruz, Calif., an area at the top end of the range, received a Medicare payment rate of $10,951.30 or 70% more for treating a concussion with major complications in 2010, compared with a rural Alabama hospital, at the bottom end, which received $6,441.76 to provide the same care. Even more, MHA's data analysis showed that the lower payments to Alabama hospitals have compounded over time. In 2019, Medicare increased its pay to the hospitals in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville area for the same concussion care. It now stands at $13,503.37 a nearly 23% increase above the 2010 payment. In contrast, rural Alabama hospitals recorded a 3% payment increase, to $6,646.80, for the same care. For Alabama, addressing the calculation disparity could be "the lifeline that we've been praying for," Howard said. A team of Japanese scientists has used facial recognition technology to develop an automated system that can predict when patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at high risk of unsafe behavior such as accidentally removing their breathing tube, with moderate (75%) accuracy. The new research, being presented at this year's Euroanaesthesia congress (the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology) in Vienna, Austria (1-3 June), suggests that the automated risk detection tool has the potential as a continuous monitor of patient's safety and could remove some of the limitations associated with limited staff capacity that make it difficult to continuously observe critically-ill patients at the bedside. Using images we had taken of a patient's face and eyes we were able to train computer systems to recognize high-risk arm movement." Dr Akane Sato from Yokohama City University Hospital, Japan who led the research "We were surprised about the high degree of accuracy that we achieved, which shows that this new technology has the potential to be a useful tool for improving patient safety, and is the first step for a smart ICU which is planned in our hospital." Critically ill patients are routinely sedated in the ICU to prevent pain and anxiety, permit invasive procedures, and improve patient safety. Nevertheless, providing patients with an optimal level of sedation is challenging. Patients who are inadequately sedated are more likely to display high-risk behavior such as accidentally removing invasive devices. The study included 24 postoperative patients (average age 67 years) who were admitted to ICU in Yokohama City University Hospital between June and October 2018. The proof-of-concept model was created using pictures taken by a camera mounted on the ceiling above patients' beds. Around 300 hours of data were analyzed to find daytime images of patients facing the camera in a good body position that showed their face and eyes clearly. In total, 99 images were subject to machine learning--an algorithm that can analyze specific images based on input data, in a process that resembles the way a human brain learns new information. Ultimately, the model was able to alert against high-risk behavior, especially around the subject's face with high accuracy. Various situations can put patients at risk, so our next step is to include additional high-risk situations in our analysis, and to develop an alert function to warn healthcare professionals of risky behavior. Our end goal is to combine various sensing data such as vital signs with our images to develop a fully automated risk prediction system." Dr Akane Sato The authors note several limitations including that more images of patients in different positions are needed to improve the generalisability of the tool in real life. They also note that monitoring of the patient's consciousness may improve the accuracy in distinguishing between high-risk behavior and voluntary movement. People admitted to NHS hospitals with a cardiac arrest over the weekend do not face a higher risk of dying compared to those admitted during the week, according to new research presented today at the British Cardiovascular Society (BCS) Conference in Manchester. The research led by Dr Rahul Potluri, founder of the ACALM study unit at Aston University, investigated 4,803 people going to hospital with a cardiac arrest. The team looked at five-year survival for people suffering a cardiac arrest and being treated in an NHS hospital. They found that there were no differences in survival for those admitted on the weekend. The research was adjusted to account for external factors which could influence death rates, such as age, gender, ethnic group, and the most common causes of death in the UK. A cardiac arrest is when an electrical fault in the heart occurs, causing it to suddenly stop pumping blood round the body. The chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are around 1 in 10, but with swiftly-administered CPR and the use of a defibrillator, a huge difference can be made to the chances of survival. This study follows on from work previously presented at the BCS conference suggesting that there is a 'weekend effect' in people going to hospital with heart failure or atrial fibrillation, the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm. However, the presence of cardiac arrest teams working 24 hours a day, all year round, could be responsible for the same standard of care and outcome of those suffering a cardiac arrest whether they are being treated in the week or at the weekend. Dr Rahul Potluri, Clinical Lecturer in Cardiology at Aston Medical School, said: No matter which day of the week someone goes to hospital with a cardiac arrest, they have the same chance of survival, and that should be hugely reassuring to the public. By no means is the weekend effect a blanket phenomenon. We know that it does exist for people affected by other heart conditions. It's therefore important to tease out who is affected by the weekend effect through research in order to ensure that specialist healthcare services are delivered when and where they are needed most." Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation said: This is a success story, and shows the life saving importance of specialist teams working in the NHS. A cardiac arrest is a medical emergency and statistics show that for every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, a person's chance of survival decreases by around 10 per cent. If you see someone who has suddenly collapsed and is unresponsive, it is vital that you call 999 and start administering CPR immediately to increase their chances of survival. When the emergency services arrive, you can rest assured that you've done your bit and the specialists are ready and waiting to take over." Dr Shajil Chalil, Consultant Cardiologist at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and co-author, said: On World No Tobacco Day, the American Thoracic Society, alongside members of the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), calls for renewed efforts to strengthen the implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in all countries, in order to work towards achieving the United Nations (UN) Global Goals for Sustainable Development to ensure a healthy life and promote well-being for all, at all ages. Tobacco contributes to millions of deaths globally each year, and smoking tobacco cigarettes is the main cause of many lung diseases. Approximately half of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) deaths and 8 out of 10 cases of lung cancer are attributable to current and past smoking, tobacco also fuels the global epidemic of tuberculosis. Professor Tobias Welte, current president of both FIRS and the European Respiratory Society (ERS), explains: Tobacco smoking is without doubt the single most important risk factor for respiratory disease. We know what is effective in reducing the rates of tobacco smoking: high prices on tobacco; legislation to protect children and adults from second-hand exposure; strict marketing bans; regulation of tobacco products, packaging and point-of-sale displays; raising public awareness; and limiting interactions between public officials and the tobacco industry. But to further encourage all current smokers to quit so that we can reduce morbidity and mortality from smoking over the next two decades and beyond, these tactics must be combined with effective and free smoking cessation services, which ideally includes professional counseling and free or subsidized smoking cessation medication. The WHO says the speed of action to decrease tobacco demand (and consequent death and disease) is failing to keep up with global and national commitments to reduce the proportion of people who smoke tobacco by 30 percent by 2025, and warns that if current rates continue, the world will only achieve a 22 percent reduction by 2025. To work towards the UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development for further implementation of the WHO FCTC, FIRS calls for stronger efforts to: Increase taxes and prices on tobacco products Implement plain/standardized packaging and/or large graphic health warnings on all tobacco packages Improve public access to free smoking cessation services Enact and enforce comprehensive bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship Eliminate exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke in all indoor workplaces and public places, and on public transport Implement effective mass media campaigns that educate the public about the harms of smoking/tobacco use and second-hand smoke. Tackling tobacco is key to reducing morbidity and mortality from lung disease across the world, which is why we must continue combining our efforts to maintain pressure upon policymakers, to educate the public, and to encourage and support smokers to quit. A Liberty University graduate and Nigeria native was ordained as a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond on Saturday. The Rev. Tochi Iwuji, 39, moved to Lynchburg as a deacon in 2014, according to a news release from the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. At LU, he obtained a graduate degree in pastoral counseling in 2015. He found a spiritual home at Lynchburgs St. Thomas More Catholic Church, where he celebrated his first Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday, according to the diocese. What sustained me was the love from the parishioners at St. Thomas More in Lynchburg. They showed me love that I told myself, This is where I am meant to be, he said. Before coming to the U.S., Iwuji studied with the Claretians, a missionary group in Nigeria, for two years, the diocese said in the release. I make an effort to make sure Im not in the way, that I am not putting myself out there as Jesus, but that they (the people) could see some light and find what theyre looking for, who is Jesus, Iwuji said. Reach Rachel Mahoney at (434) 385-5554. Rachel Mahoney covers courts for The News & Advance. Reach her at 434-385-5554. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Town of Duck in the Outer Banks of North Carolina has been named one of "America's Top 10 Best Beaches" and one of the country's "Best Coastal Small Towns," but the OBX town has been in the news for a different reason in the past week: its beach access. The 3.7 square mile town nestled between Corolla and Southern Shores boasts a public park, a public boardwalk and even public beaches, but apparently there's one critical thing that isn't public anywhere in Duck: beach access points. According to the Town of Duck's website, all of the oceanfront land in the town is private property, with most of it governed by one of dozens of subdivision homeowners associations and all of it - 100% of it - is private, with signs posted at the access points warning beach-goers to stay away if they're not a resident or renter of one of the homes within the subdivision. So, while the beaches in Duck are public - and maintained in part by the tax dollars of the roughly 400 year-around residents, according to the Town of Duck's website, only those in oceanfront communities can legally access or grant access to the beaches. The whole issue came to a head last week when a Duck business owner and beach rights advocate was arrested for trespassing as he attempted to access the beach in Duck. On Wednesday, May 29, at approximately 8:00 a.m. Robert E. Hovey was taken into custody and charged with second-degree trespass (N.C.G.S. Section 14-159.13) in the location of Seabreeze Drive, Duck said in a public statement. Hovey filmed and posted on social media the incident in which two beach access residents confronted him for attempting to access the beach and subsequently called police, at which point Hovey was arrested. The post was viewed thousands of times and the Town of Duck responded by issuing a statement amid calls to boycott Duck beaches. The town has since updated its website with a FAQ section about the beach access and the town's ability to create a public beach access point, which it seems like the town does not have. Duck is not the only Outer Banks town without public beach access; its neighbor, Southern Shores, also doesn't offer any public beach access. Corolla, N.C., does though. Is Joe Biden Hillary Clinton or George W. Bush? The first, most obvious and literal answer is, hes neither. Hes Joe Biden, one of the most known and familiar personalities in American politics. Matt Continetti, editor of the Washington Free Beacon, recently asked Is Biden the new Hillary? Trump plans to wage the same sort of campaign against Biden that he did against Hillary Clinton in 2016, Continetti wrote for National Review. Back then, Trump defined Hillary as the candidate of entrenched interests who used a long career in politics for familial gain. He highlighted Clintons support for the 1994 crime bill and for NAFTA and TPP, driving wedges between the former secretary of state and important Democratic constituencies. And he went after Hillarys foreign-policy credentials, painting her as an interventionist who had weakened Americas standing in the world. Continetti is surely correct that this is Team Trumps game plan. Both D.C. scuttlebutt and public reporting suggests that they see Biden as the biggest threat to Trumps re-election prospects. Thats certainly borne out in the polls, which show Biden leading Trump by 8 points (according to the Real Clear Politics average). Bidens lead in some crucial states is even more worrisome for Trump. A recent Quinnipiac poll had him ahead by double digits 53 percent to 42 percent in Pennsylvania. Biden has a 10.5 percent lead in Michigan, 8 percent in Wisconsin (though polling there is sparse) and 4 percent in Ohio and is tied in Florida according to the RCP average. Trump won the Electoral College by taking a handful of states out of the traditional Democratic column with razor thin margins. Its insanely early, but the scary part for Trump is Biden is not only wildly beating the other Democrats in the field, hes also outperforming Clinton at a comparable time in 2015. And this points to a possible flaw in the effort to turn Biden into another Hillary. Clinton ran as an experienced Washington hand, Continetti notes. But, After 16 months of Trump attacks, 77,000 voters in three states denied her the presidency, he adds. The same could happen again to a nominee easily caricatured as the epitome of Beltway cluelessness. What looks like Joe Bidens greatest strength electability born of experience may also be a debilitating weakness. Maybe. But while Trumps attacks on Clinton were surely effective at times, Trump was aided enormously by the fact that Americans, particularly Republican and Republican friendly ones, were skeptical or outright hostile to her already, thanks to decades of experience with, and criticism of, her. Trump didnt define Clinton as much as she did. Moreover, implicit to her campaign was the promise of both a third Obama term and a restoration of the Clinton dynasty. Trump did not need to work all that hard to convince voters exhausted or frustrated by the Obama years or disdainful of Clinton Inc. to vote against her. Biden occupies a different space, psychologically and politically. Theres a lot of conventional wisdom in Washington that the early frontrunner always loses. And thats true except when it isnt. In 2003, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean dominated the polls. Then he lost Iowa, screamed and eventually skulked away. But in 1999, George W. Bush dominated the polls and, except for a brief scare from Sen. John McCain in the New Hampshire primary, essentially cruised to victory. A key part of Bushs early success, not just in polls but in fundraising, stemmed from the fact that he was promising a Bush restoration. Indeed, some of his early approval ratings were a direct result of nostalgia for his father, with whom he shared a name. Also, he was offering a referendum on the incumbent president and the scandals and partisanship that defined the end of his administration. He vowed to restore honor and dignity to the Oval Office and to be a uniter not a divider. The very different context notwithstanding, this is pretty much Bidens campaign message. The ideological, activist and Twitter-obsessed base of the Democratic Party may not like Bidens pitch. But it sure looks like rank-and-file Democrats do, particularly African American women who may see in Biden something of an Obama restoration. Of course, Biden can blow it, as he did the two previous times he ran for president. But counting on the past repeating itself is a good strategy only when you pick the right example from the past. Goldberg is an editor-at-large of National Review Online and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Email him at JonahsColumn@aol.com. Kang saves the Marvel Universe and sets up a host of 2022 stories in Timeless #1 A whole host of teases for the future of the Marvel Universe including (again) the return of that long-awaited British superhero Japanese Army Fires Howitzers on Australian Soil The page you requested is only available to subscribers. 1. If you are a Premium Service subscriber, please log in here to access this story: Log-in : Password : 2. If you are not a subcriber, you can: -- buy access to this page: unlimited access for seven days costs 3.00 EUR + VAT (at 20%) if applicable. Clicking on the "Ok" button below will place the item in your shopping cart and return you to our home page, where you will be able to select additional stories. -- select additional stories and services from our home page and pay for them at the same time. -- see your shopping cart. You can also see the contents of your shopping cart at any time by clicking on the "Order" tab on the navigation bar at the top of any page, or by clicking on the "Your order" light blue link in the top right-hand corner of our home page, immediately under the log-on box. The 10 best last-minute Christmas Disney gifts, from t-shirts to Lego Gifts Christmas Disney gifts are still available if you move fast, and we've got recommendations on which ones to go for (Newser) A prank called "heartless" and "disgusting" has now earned its perpetrator jail time and a hefty fine. YouTuber ReSetreal name Kanghua Renhas been given a 15-month jail sentence by a court in Barcelona, Spain, and has to fork over $22,300 to a homeless man after Ren recorded himself offering the man an Oreo cookie, which he'd injected with toothpaste to replace the cookie's usual filling. The verdict handed down Friday also calls for the 21-year-old to take down all of his social media accounts for five years. The New York Times notes Ren had been dared to carry out the prank, which took place in early 2017, by one of his followers; the homeless man threw up after eating the cookie. Newsweek reports Ren went back to record at least two more interactions with the man before a bystander finally called the cops. story continues below The homeless man, IDed as a 50-something Romanian migrant named Gheorge L., tells El Pais via Newsweek that he'd "never been treated so poorly while living on the street." Ren's defense to the court: "I do things to mount a show. People like what is morbid." The judge wasn't having that, saying Ren had made nearly $2,500 in ad revenue from the video. In her ruling, Rosa Aragones also noted, "This was not an isolated act," citing other videos Ren had made targeting "easy or vulnerable victims." In the now-deleted video, Ren says he "may have gone a bit far" but says the one "positive" was the toothpaste would help the man's teeth: "I don't think he has cleaned them since he became poor." Justice likely won't be literally served: Ren probably won't end up behind bars, as the law in Spain typically suspends sentences under two years if the crime wasn't violent and the perp is a first-time offender. (A prank by a Wendy's worker was deemed "totally unacceptable.") (Newser) "Milkshaking" politicians as a form of protest may have crossed the Atlantic. Police say a 25-year-old woman was arrested Saturday after throwing a drink at Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz as he left a town hall event in Florida, the Daily Dot reports. Activist Jordan Uhl tweeted video of the incident, saying "Matt Gaetz got milkshaked in Pensacola." Video shows a cup hitting Gaetz on the right arm, though it's not clear if any of the liquid landed on him, the New York Daily News reports. The suspect, Amanda Kondratyev, is a Democrat who unsuccessfully ran for Gaetz's seat in 2016. She was charged with battery and released on $1,000 bond, reports the Pensacola News Journal. "Clearly it takes more than a drink to slow down our great team," tweeted Gaetz. (Nigel Farage complained about his security team after he was milkshaked in Britain last month.) (Newser) The estranged husband Jennifer Dulos said she was "terrified" of has been arrested in connection with her disappearance, and warrants in the case detail some grim evidence. Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, were arrested Saturday night and charged with tampering with or fabricating evidence and hindering prosecution, the Stamford Advocate reports. Jennifer Dulosa Connecticut mother of five who has been engaged in a bitter custody battle with Fotis Dulos since filing for divorce two years agohas not been seen since she dropped her children off at school in New Canaan on May 24. Her black Chevy Suburban was found near a recreational area that night. story continues below Warrants for Fotis Dulos, 51, and Troconis, 44, say police observed what the Hartford Courant calls "stains and splatters" inside the garage upon visiting Jennifer Dulos' New Canaan home the evening of May 24. Blood and evidence of a clean-up job were found inside the home the next day. "Investigators came to the consensus that a serious physical assault had occurred at the scene, and Jennifer Dulos was the suspected victim," the warrants state. Footage captured by surveillance cameras in Hartford on May 24 show a Ford Raptor pickup truck stopping more than 30 times over the course of four miles to dispose of items in garbage containers that were subsequently recovered by law enforcement. Clothing and kitchen sponges marked with Jennifer Dulos' blood were found in the bags, reports the AP. Based on the footage and cellphone data, police believe Fotis Dulos, who drives a Raptor, and Troconis dumped the items. He's being held on $500,000 bond; Troconis posted bail. At a church vigil Sunday in New Canaan, Aaron Cooper, the head of New Canaan Country School, said the community is "heartbroken" and described the five children as "beloved members of our school community," CNN reports. (Jennifer Dulos had described her estranged husband as "controlling, volatile, and delusional.") (Newser) Rhode Island's Roman Catholic bishop on Sunday defended a tweet urging Catholics to not support or attend LGBTQ Pride Month events, saying it was his obligation to teach the faith "clearly and compassionately, even on very difficult and sensitive issues." Diocese of Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin sparked a backlash beginning Saturday when he tweeted, "A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ 'Pride Month' events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children." The posting spurred rebukes by thousands of people who replied on Twitter, including actors Mia Farrow and Patricia Arquette, the AP reports. Many invoked the scandals of clergy sexual abuse of children in the church. story continues below "This is pure ignorance & bigotry," Farrow wrote. "Ignore this hate-filled hypocrite. His mind set leads only to suffering. He brings to mind those priests who molested my brothers. Of COURSE we should embrace our LGBTQ brothers and sisters and children. Jesus spoke of love." The diocese on Sunday released a statement by Tobin. "I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community," Tobin said. "That certainly was not my intention, but I understand why a good number of individuals have taken offense. I also acknowledge and appreciate the widespread support I have received on this matter." Tobin is a conservative bishop who has said that he was aware of incidents of sexual abuse reported to church officials while working in Pennsylvania, but that it wasn't his job to deal with them. (In 2013, he said Catholics should think twice before even attending same-sex weddings.) (Newser) A Minnesota teenager who killed a former police officer and his university professor wife after being distracted by her phone has been sentenced to 60 days in jailand 25 speaking engagements on the dangers of distracted driving. Callison Mae Olson, now 18, was 17 at the time of last June's deadly crash in Elk River. Police say she was driving a pickup on a rural road when she picked her phone after it buzzed and swerved into oncoming traffic, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. She hit the Harley-Davidson being driven by Steve Nanney head-on, killing the 51-year-old former Blaine police officer and his wife, Susie Nanney, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota who was also 51. story continues below Olson pleaded guilty to one count each of criminal vehicular homicide and reckless driving. Police say that after consulting the Nanney family, they decided to drop two additional counts, WCCO reports. Olson, who was ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution, will be allowed to serve her jail time in stretches of 20 days a year over the next three years. She was also sentenced to three years of probation, and will not be allowed to drive during that time. Steve Nanney served 10 years with the Blaine department, the last three of them as a school resource officer, and dedicated many hours to volunteering with Special Olympics Minnesota. Susie Nanney's work at the University of Minnesota Medical School focused on improving children's health and nutrition. (Read more distracted driving stories.) (Newser) A senior North Korean official who had been reported as purged over the failed nuclear summit with Washington was shown in state media on Monday enjoying a concert alongside leader Kim Jong Un. North Korean publications on Monday showed Kim Yong Chol sitting near a clapping Kim Jong Un and other top officials during a musical performance by the wives of Korean People's Army officers, the AP reports. Kim Yong Chol has been North Korea's top nuclear negotiator and the counterpart of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo since Kim Jong Un entered nuclear talks with the US early last year. He traveled to Washington and met President Trump twice before Kim's two summits with Trump. story continues below South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo last week cited an unidentified source to report that Kim Yong Chol had been sentenced to hard labor following the collapse of the second summit in February over what the Americans described as excessive North Korean demands for sanctions relief in exchange for only a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities. Chosun Ilbo also reported that senior envoy Kim Hyok Chol, who was involved in pre-summit working-level talks with American officials, was executed with four other officials from the North's Foreign Ministry for betraying Kim Jong Un after being won over by the United States. Seoul's spy service has said it could not confirm the newspaper's report, while the presidential Blue House declined to comment. (Read more North Korea stories.) 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(Newser) President Trump began his state visit to the UK on Monday by insulting London's mayor on Twitter minutes before his plane landed. Sadiq Khan "who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly 'nasty' to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me," Trump tweeted. He added that Khan reminds him of "very dumb and incompetent" New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, "only half his height." "In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. Landing now!" A spokesman for the mayor, who has described Trump as part of a global far-right threat, said the "childish insults" should be beneath the president of the United States, the Independent reports. story continues below Trump, who landed at Stansted Airport around 9am local time, plans to attend a ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Monday before meeting Prince Charles for tea, the BBC reports. In the evening, the president and Melania Trump will attend a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. On Tuesday, he will hold a joint news conference with Prime Minister Theresa May, who is stepping down on Friday, reports the New York Times. Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets during the visit, which is being boycotted by members of the opposition Labour Party, the Guardian reports. (Trump has denied calling Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, "nasty," although the Sun has audio of the interview.) (Newser) The news about eight missing climbers in the Indian Himalayas took a grim turn Monday when Indian pilots spotted five bodies amid evidence of an avalanche. High winds and snow kept rescuers from getting to the spot to search for the other three, but one official said the odds of anyone being found alive is "almost zero." Two Americans, four Brits, an Indian, and an Australian who'd returned to climbing after a 17-year hiatus were on the expedition. The Americans have been identified as Anthony Sudekum, 63, of Missouri, and Ronald Beimel, 34, of Los Angeles. Details and developments: Missouri surgeon: Sudekum is a hand surgeon based in O'Fallon, Mo., reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Sudekum is an avid climber, and his practice posted online on May 10 that he'd arrived in India to climb Nanda Devi East mountain. No details were immediately available about Beimel. Sudekum is a hand surgeon based in O'Fallon, Mo., reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Sudekum is an avid climber, and his practice posted online on May 10 that he'd arrived in India to climb Nanda Devi East mountain. No details were immediately available about Beimel. No permission? The climbers were indeed in the region of Nanda Devi East, one of India's highest peaks, but the group's Facebook post says they were attempting to climb a slightly smaller, unnamed peak when they went missing. Indian authorities said the group didn't have permission to do so, reports CNN. Had authorities known they were going up the unnamed peak instead of Nanda Devi, they "would not have given permission," says Pithoragarh District Magistrate Vijay Kumar Jogdande. story continues below Australian woman: Among the missing is Ruth McCance, an experienced climber from Sydney. Her husband tells the Sydney Morning Herald that she was well-prepared and that, "for her, it wasn't about ticking a box. She has a real passion for the mountains and being out in wild environments." Among the missing is Ruth McCance, an experienced climber from Sydney. Her husband tells the Sydney Morning Herald that she was well-prepared and that, "for her, it wasn't about ticking a box. She has a real passion for the mountains and being out in wild environments." In her words: McCance herself wrote in 2016 that she had stopped climbing at age 30 before resuming nearly two decades later. "As much as I loved it and saw others climbing safely and well, I became overwhelmed by the risks involved, so I stopped," she wrote. "At 47 I have started climbing againI've changed my mind." Her husband tells the Guardian the change of heart came because she realized how important climbingand the testing of her own limitswas to her very being. McCance herself wrote in 2016 that she had stopped climbing at age 30 before resuming nearly two decades later. "As much as I loved it and saw others climbing safely and well, I became overwhelmed by the risks involved, so I stopped," she wrote. "At 47 I have started climbing againI've changed my mind." Her husband tells the Guardian the change of heart came because she realized how important climbingand the testing of her own limitswas to her very being. 2nd group: The climbing group, led by the Moran Mountain adventure company, originally had 12 members. (Leader Martin Moran of Britain is among the missing.) They reached their second base camp on May 22 and began to push for the summit. However, deputy leader Mark Thomas and three others turned back because of harsh weather and returned to the camp on May 25. Those four have been rescued, reports the BBC. An avalanche is believed to have occurred after the smaller group returned to camp. The climbing group, led by the Moran Mountain adventure company, originally had 12 members. (Leader Martin Moran of Britain is among the missing.) They reached their second base camp on May 22 and began to push for the summit. However, deputy leader Mark Thomas and three others turned back because of harsh weather and returned to the camp on May 25. Those four have been rescued, reports the BBC. An avalanche is believed to have occurred after the smaller group returned to camp. The bodies: Helicopter pilots spotted five bodies on the general path the expedition had been on. "Four bodies can be seen together and a fifth slightly away from the others," Indian official Jogdande tells Reuters. "We are trying to retrieve the bodies. We believe the other three will be nearby." (Meanwhile, the son of legendary climber Sir Edmund Hillary says his father would be appalled at the congested conditions on Everest .) (Newser) A 17-year-old girl who calls herself "an unwavering advocate for the marine life and the animals who live in the water" was attacked by a shark at North Carolina's Atlantic Beach Sunday. Paige Winter suffered "deep lacerations to her leg, pelvic and hand areas," per fire department officials, but on Sunday night, the medical center treating her said she was in good condition, WCTI reports. A GoFundMe campaign set up for Winter says "amputation of the left leg above the knee was inevitable," but that has not been verified. The center's statement also notes that Winter "wishes for people to continue to respect sharks in their environment and their safety," and the GoFundMe campaign ends with this line: "She wants everyone to know that sharks are still good people." (Read more shark attack stories.) (Newser) Kevin Spacey unexpectedly showed up in a Nantucket courtroom Monday for a pre-trial hearing in the groping case against the actor, a surprise considering the 59-year-old actor was not required to attend the hearing and has generally tried to avoid appearing at the courthouse. Spacey's lawyer asked for access to the cellphone of the man who says Spacey groped him at a bar on the Massachusetts resort island in 2016, and in court accused prosecutors of withholding information and asked the judge to set a trial date ASAP as Spacey is "suffering" from the lack of a resolution. The judge said the earliest a trial will start would be the fall, WCVB reports. Also revealed during the hearing: No surveillance footage exists from the bar on the night in question, CNN reports. story continues below Spacey spoke only in whispers to his lawyers during the hearing, and did not address reporters outside the courthouse. His attorneys have been questioning the accuser's credibility, filing court documents Friday alleging that the man deleted text messages that will support Spacey's insistence that he engaged only in "consensual flirtation" with the man, who was at the time an 18-year-old busboy at the restaurant and bar where the assault allegedly occurred, and also that he provided screenshots that only showed information backing his story. They want a "complete and unaltered" forensic copy of the accuser's phone, as well as his mother's phone, as they say it contains information relevant to the case. The next hearing is scheduled for July 8. (Read more Kevin Spacey stories.) (Newser) She was both a mom and a nurse, but authorities say an Oklahoma woman endangered her 10-year-old daughter's life by inventing serious illnesses from the girl's very first weeks of life. Alisha Newman, 34, has been charged with felony child abuse amid accusations that she suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, reports BuzzFeed. The details: Six states: Newman allegedly made up ailments about her daughter in six statesOklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Tennessee, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was taken into custody after bringing her daughter to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. At that point, after years of what authorities say were unnecessary medical treatments, the girl was genuinely ill, suffering from acute renal failure, acidosis, and organ damage. Newman allegedly made up ailments about her daughter in six statesOklahoma, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Tennessee, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She was taken into custody after bringing her daughter to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. At that point, after years of what authorities say were unnecessary medical treatments, the girl was genuinely ill, suffering from acute renal failure, acidosis, and organ damage. The ailments: Over the years, the girl had two pacemakers and a feeding tube installed, and authorities say it's because Newman kept providing false information to doctors at different facilities. At various times, she has claimed her daughter had ailments including dysautonomia, muscular dystrophy, mitochondrial disease, hypertension and hypotension, and severe dysmotility, per the Journal Sentinel. Doctors at the Wisconsin hospital were suspicious because tests on the girl ruled out diagnoses the mother kept insisting she had. story continues below As an infant: The criminal complaint against Newman says she convinced a hospital to place a feeding tube in her daughter at 11 weeks, even though the hospital could not corroborate the vomiting and feeding issues Newman described. Essentially, they trusted her judgment. The criminal complaint against Newman says she convinced a hospital to place a feeding tube in her daughter at 11 weeks, even though the hospital could not corroborate the vomiting and feeding issues Newman described. Essentially, they trusted her judgment. The pacemaker: A hospital installed a pacemaker in the girl at age 2 even though its own heart exam came back normal. This was based on the medical history provided by the defendant, combined with a single report of the primary pediatrician of a low heart rate, per BuzzFeed. Later, Newman saw to it that her daughter had a skin port installed for what she claimed was an immunoglobulin deficiency, says the complaint, even though that ailment was never diagnosed. And on and on. A hospital installed a pacemaker in the girl at age 2 even though its own heart exam came back normal. This was based on the medical history provided by the defendant, combined with a single report of the primary pediatrician of a low heart rate, per BuzzFeed. Later, Newman saw to it that her daughter had a skin port installed for what she claimed was an immunoglobulin deficiency, says the complaint, even though that ailment was never diagnosed. And on and on. Jail time: Newman faces up to 27 years in prison and $75,000 in fines. In court, she appeared to mouth the words, "Help me" to her husband, who was sitting in the gallery, reports Fox6. The complaint suggests she suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which one person exaggerates or makes up ailments about another. Her daughter has not been named, and details about her current condition were not available. Newman faces up to 27 years in prison and $75,000 in fines. In court, she appeared to mouth the words, "Help me" to her husband, who was sitting in the gallery, reports Fox6. The complaint suggests she suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which one person exaggerates or makes up ailments about another. Her daughter has not been named, and details about her current condition were not available. So many questions: At American Thinker, John Foley writes that the case raises a lot of disturbing questions about accountability and the US health care system in general. But he starts with starts with a few basic ones about the specific case, including, "Weren't the physicians who treated this child capable of seeing that the child was essentially healthy?" (Boy underwent 13 surgeries. Police say they weren't needed .) (Newser) The search for Maleah Davis has come to a close. Police on Monday confirmed that human remains found in a garbage bag along an Arkansas road last week are those of the missing Houston 4-year-old. Click2Houston reports a cause of death has yet to be determined. Activist Quanell X had earlier said that during a jailhouse visit with suspect Derion Vence, Vence confessed to killing Maleah and told Quanell where the body was located. "All I can say is he told me it was an accident, and that she is dead and where he dumped her body," Quanelll said of Vence, the ex-fiance of Maleah's mother. story continues below In a statement, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo wrote that his department "will not rest until justice is served in this case." While saddened, he said "we are heartened by the fact this sweet child can now receive the proper burial she deserved and that those who knew and loved her most desired." The Houston Chronicle reports the Harris County District Attorney's Office is now expected to charge Vence with murder; he is currently jailed on a charge of tampering with a corpse. (Read more Maleah Davis stories.) (Newser) A dispute involving the pirate Blackbeard's sunken ship is on deck for the Supreme Court's next term. The justices said Monday they will hear arguments in the fall in a copyright case involving the Queen Anne's Revenge, which was discovered off North Carolina's coast in 1996. The case pits the state of North Carolina against a company that has documented the ship's recovery. The ship is the property of the state, but under an agreement, North Carolina-based Nautilus Productions has for nearly two decades documented the ship's salvage. In the process, the company copyrighted photos and videos of the ship. The dispute and the history, per the AP: story continues below In 2013, the state and Nautilus resolved one copyright dispute over photos the state posted on the website of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, which oversees the ship's recovery and preservation. The sides reached a settlement agreement in which neither side admitted wrongdoing. But Nautilus later sued after the state posted a handful of Nautilus videos on a state YouTube channel and used a photo in a newsletter. In 2015, state lawmakers passed a law that made shipwreck videos and photographs in the state's custody public records. In its lawsuit, Nautilus argued the law should be declared unconstitutional. A trial court initially allowed Nautilus' lawsuit to go forward. The judge pointed to the federal Copyright Remedy Clarification Act, a 1990 law that allows private parties to sue states for violations of federal copyright law. North Carolina appealed, arguing that the federal law was unconstitutional and it was immune from being sued. An appeals court agreed, and now the Supreme Court will decide whether the lawsuit can proceed. The Queen Anne's Revenge was originally a French ship when Blackbeard, the Englishman Edward Teach, captured the vessel in the fall of 1717. He armed the ship with 40 cannons and made it his flagship. The following year, Blackbeard was sailing north from Charleston, South Carolina, when the ship went aground in what's now called Beaufort Inlet. Blackbeard abandoned the ship. Five months later, members of the Royal Navy of Virginia killed Blackbeard at Ocracoke Inlet. (Read more Blackbeard stories.) Sorry! This content is not available in your region Mumbai: More than one-fifth of automotive dealers in the country expect reduced earnings in the year ended March 2019 over a year-ago period amid the industry reporting some 5 per cent growth in vehicle sales during the period, the report said recently. The domestic automotive industry saw a marginal increase of 5.1 per cent at 26,267,783 units in the financial year ended March 2019 as compared to 24,961,312 units sold in FY18, as per industry body SIAM. The industry produced a total 30,915,420 vehicles including passenger and commercial vehicles, three and two wheelers and quadricycles in April-March 2019 as against 29,094,447 units in the same period of 2017-18, registering a growth of 6.26 per cent. "More than one-fifth population (21 per cent) of dealers across the three automotive segments --passenger vehicle, commercial vehicle and two-wheeler -- expect their financial performance to be poorer in the fiscal year ended March 2019 compared with FY18," according JD Power- FADA India Dealer Satisfaction with Automotive Manufacturers Index (DSWAMI) StudySM, released Friday. The study was conducted by JD Power in partnership with Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA). There are around 15,000 automobile dealers pan-India, as per FADA. According to study, among those who expect a poorer performance this year, 71 per cent said that they did not achieve their revenue target for the year. "The automotive industry, especially the passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments, are facing serious headwinds due to several external challenges on the revenue side," said Kaustav Roy, director and country head, India, JD Power. "Additionally, an increase in the cost of doing business have also affected the dealers outlook and financial performance. Strategic use of the various business levers, with a strong focus on customer retention, hold the key to long-term sustainability," he added. Dealership business is facing its toughest challenges in recent times and the entire business model needs an overhaul to keep up with the changing dynamics of our trade, said Ashish Harsharaj Kale, F A D A President. "We are hopeful that the findings of the survey will act as a beacon for the entire automotive eco-system, leading towards a healthier business environment for the industry, especially for the automotive dealer fraternity at large," he said. Online purchase of vehicles is seen as an important future trend by almost one-third (31 per cent) of all dealers across the three segments, as per the study, indicating that digitalisation will lead the way. In addition, as many as 43 per cent of dealers believed that investment in digitalisation is likely to bring about a reduction in manpower costs for their business. Besides, the study also suggested that the dealers are looking for more collaboration as 10 per cent of the respondents felt that it was not easy to do business with their original equipment manufacturer (OEM). These dealers have satisfaction scores that are, on average, 247 points (on a 1000-point scale) lower than those who find it easy to do business with their OEMs, it said. The study also found that on average, as many as 85 per cent of dealers believed that they definitely will continue to work with their automaker for the next two years. Washington: Donald Trump stepped up his attacks on Mexico over immigration Sunday as a top aide warned that the US president is "deadly serious" about slapping tariffs on imports from the southern neighbour. The attacks came despite efforts at conciliation by Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who said Saturday that US officials were willing to "reach agreements and compromises." "People have been saying for years that we should talk to Mexico. The problem is that Mexico is an 'abuser' of the United States, taking but never giving," Trump said in a series of tweets Sunday. Unless Mexico stops the "invasion," he warned, he would use tariffs to bring back "companies and jobs that have been foolishly allowed to move South of the Border." Trump's surprise threat Thursday to slap tariffs on all Mexico imports, beginning at five per cent on June 10 and rising to as high as 25 per cent, shocked Republican allies in Congress. It also rattled world markets, already shaky over trade war fears. The New York Times reported that the move -- pushed by immigration hardliners -- was opposed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, a key White House intermediary with Mexico. But Mick Mulvaney, the White House chief of staff, said Trump was "absolutely deadly serious" about proceeding with tariffs. "I fully expect these tariffs to go into at least a five per cent level on June 10," he said on "Fox News Sunday." The number of migrants reaching the US border is "huge, the situation is real and the president is deadly serious about fixing the problem," he said. Mulvaney said Kushner and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would meet with Mexican representatives in Washington this week, as would Lighthizer, to spell out what the Mexicans could do to avoid the tariffs. In Mexico, Commerce Secretary Graciela Nunez said she would meet in Washington Monday with her US counterpart Wilbur Ross after the two met at the swearing-in in San Salvador of El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who meets with Pompeo on Wednesday, led a delegation to Washington on Friday. "There is willingness on the part of US government officials to establish dialogue and reach agreements and compromises," Lopez Obrador told a news conference in Mexico City on Saturday. He said he doubted the tariffs would ultimately take place. "It is in everybody's interest to reach an agreement," he said. US officials are insisting Mexico act more aggressively to stop migrants moving through the country from Central America long before they reach the US border. Kevin McAleenan, the acting secretary of homeland security, said Trump wants "a vast reduction" in the number of migrants reaching the border. He said the US wants Mexico to intercept migrants on its southern border with Guatemala, taking action against what he described as cartel-owned bus lines moving them north, and coordinate with US authorities on asylum. "At any given moment we have 100,000 moving through Mexico. There are transportation choke points. There are natural choke points," McAleenan said on CNN's "State of the Union." "These crossings into Mexico are happening on a 150-mile stretch of their southern border. This is a controllable area. We need them to interdict these folks before they make this route all the way to the US," he said. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Cutting across party lines, several noted politicians, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav, former Bihar CM Rabri Devi, state Congress president Madan Mohan Jha and RLSP leader Bishen Patel on Monday attended an Iftar party thrown by Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi at his residence in Patna. The gathering comes amid reports of strain in ties between the JD-U and the BJP following the former's decision to opt out of the newly formed Narendra Modi government. Upset over BJP's offer to allocate only one Cabinet berth to JD-U, Bihar CM and party chief Nitish Kumar announced his decision not to join the Modi government 2.0. In the meantime, Kumar's attendance in Manjhi's Iftar event has given a further boost to the speculations of early fissures in the NDA. Though the Bihar CM has repeatedly stressed that there is no 'resentment' between the allies, speculations have been rife that Kumar may snap its ties with the BJP and join hands with the RJD-Congress-led Grand Alliance in Bihar, like he did in 2013. Political leaders at Jitan Ram Manjhi's Iftar party in Patna Asked whether there is any possibility of Kumar's comeback in the Bihar Grand Alliance, Manjhi clearly stated that currently he has no differences with the Bihar CM and the 'mahagathbandhan' will later discuss the matter. Former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi, who was also present at Monday's Iftar event held at Manjhi's Patna residence, did not elaborate much on Kumar's return, but said only 'mahagathbandhan' will take a decision on whether it will forge a new alliance with the Kumar-led JD-U or not. The opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar comprises the RJD, Congress, RLSP, HAM (S) and former Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP). In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the JD-U won 16 seats in Bihar, while the BJP bagged 17. In its worst ever performance since 1997, the RJD drew a blank in the general elections wherein the Congress bagged one. Bihar has a total number of 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. Despite being a part of the NDA, the JD-U was also not part of the last central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJP, however, is sharing power in Bihar with its leader Sushil Kumar Modi as the state's Deputy Chief Minister. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Taking a dig at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her reaction to the slogans of Jai Shri Ram, Minister of State (MoS) in Narendra Modi Cabinet and BJP parliamentarian from Asansol, Babul Supriyo, on Monday said that Didi (Mamata) was rattled by the saffron partys presence in the state and advised her to take a break for few days. She is an experienced politician but her behaviour is abnormal and bizarre. She should keep in mind the dignity of the post she holds. She should take a break for a few days. She is rattled by BJP's presence in Bengal, ANI quoted Supriyo as saying. The BJP leader said that something was not well with the West Bengal chief minister and that Get Well Soon cards will be sent to her from his constituency. She is the cause for so many memes on social media, it is not good for anyone. From my constituency Asansol, we will send 'Get Well Soon' cards to Mamata Banerjee. Something is definitely not well with Didi, and she needs to answer that, he said. On Thursday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee lost her cool when her cavalcade was interrupted by some men chanting Jai Shri Ram in an area falling under 24 Parganas. Confronting the group, she said, These are all outsiders and BJP people, they are criminals and were abusing me. They are not from Bengal. Threatening her rivals, the Chief Minister even improvised an iconic Mithun Chakraborty dialogue from movie MLA Fatakeshto and said, I know all of them. I am challenging you all. Do you remember the dialogue of Mithun Chakraborty? 'marbo ekhane.. laash porbe... (Will thrash you here, corpse will fall) no I cannot talk about corpse, I will say 'marbo ekhane ... bichar hobe okhane (I will thrash you here and you will get justice there). In response to Banerjees reaction, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to send 10 lakh post cards with "Jai Shri Ram" written on them to her residence. BJP state president Dilip Ghosh said the more Trinamool Congress chief protests against the chant the more public support she would lose in the state. BJP national general secretary and Bengal minder Kailash Vijayvargiya also slammed the West Bengal chief minister and asked her if chanting Jai Shri Ram was a crime in Bengal. "She doesn't get angry at Bangladeshi infiltrators, Rohingyas, murderers, and rapists. But she gets angry at young men who chant 'Jai Shri Ram'. Is chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' a crime in Bengal?" Vijayvargiya said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In an exceptional move, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party president Jaganmohan Reddy on Monday announced salary hike for Asha workers in the medical and health department by over 300 per cent. The salary has been revised from the existing Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000. The development comes within just two days of Reddy's swearing-in as the second Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh after bifurcation. It was one of Reddy's poll promises which he made ahead of Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections. "Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has increased the salaries of Asha workers in medical & health department from existing Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000," the news agency ANI reported. Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has increased the salaries of Asha workers in medical & health department from existing Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/Mg4l61Aldj ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 It has been a quite long time that the Asha workers have been demanding higher wages and better working conditions in the state. In the last few years, the agitated workers staged several protests across Andhra Pradesh, but the previous TDP government seemed to be least bothered when it came to revision of wages for them. While Asha workers in Kerala and Telangana were being paid Rs 7,500 and Rs 6,000 respectively, the government of Andhra Pradesh was not responding to the pleas of the workers for revision of their wages. READ | Andhra top cop shunted out as Jagan Reddy takes charge as CM Seeking to cool frayed tempers, the Central government had, in September last year, announced the doubling of routine incentives to the Asha workers. As many as 10,63,670 ASHAs and ASHA Facilitators were also covered under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. The government had then also increased the routine and recurring incentives from Rs 1000 per month to Rs 2000 per month to benefit 10,22,265 ASHAs. In October 2018, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had approved an increase in supervisory visit charges for ASHA Facilitators from Rs 250 per visit to Rs 300 per visit for 2018-2019 to 2019- 2020. The hike benefitted over 40,000 workers. Reddy, who led his YSR Congress Party to a thumping victory in the recently concluded Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections, was sworn in on Thursday as the chief minister of the state. The 46-year-old took the oath in Telugu at 12.23 pm amid thunderous cheers by scores of party leaders and workers in a brief ceremony at the IGMC Stadium in Vijayawada. READ | Will keep reminding PM Modi of Andhra Pradesh's special status: Jaganmohan Reddy The YSRCP emerged victorious in 151 of the 175 Assembly seats in the state. It also won 22 of the 25 parliamentary constituencies in the this Lok Sabha elections, which took place along with Assembly polls in the state. Reddy's party decimated the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), headed by N Chandrababu Naidu, who became the first chief minister of the state after it was bifurcated to carve out Telangana five years ago. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday issued a show-cause notice to its Gujarat MLA Balram Thawani who was caught on camera thrashing a woman NCP leader, and asked to respond in three days. The BJP MLA, Balram Thawani, was caught on camera thrashing and kicking NCP woman leader Neetu Tejwani, who had approached him for resuming water supply to her locality in Ahmedabad district. Thawani, who represents the Naroda Assembly constituency in Ahmedabad, has apologised over the incident. The NCP on Monday condemned the assault on its woman leader and asked if "jungle raj" prevailed in the neighbouring state even as the opposition party called for the legislator's arrest. NCP's chief spokesperson Nawab Malik, however, said an apology was not going to suffice in such a matter and that the law must take its course against the ruling party MLA and his supporters. "BJP leaders and their supporters have become uncontrollable after the party's poll victory. A woman has been thrashed. Is it some jungle raj?" Malik asked. "We demand that a case be registered and the MLA arrested. Apologising won't suffice, it is no petty matter. The law should take its course," he added. Malik warned the Sharad Pawar-led the party would stage protest if Thawani was not arrested. Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar and party MP Supriya Sule, too, condemned the incident. Taking to Twitter, Pawar attributed the incident to the frenzy caused by power. Sule said violence is not acceptable in a democracy. "In a democracy every individual has the right to protest, and the use of violence to quell the voice of opposition is unacceptable...," Sule said in a tweet. Latching onto the incident, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde of the NCP alleged the BJP government's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' scheme, aimed at empowering girls, was a "pretence". Munde said Thawani's attitude showed the "BJP's culture" and called for his suspension. The video of the incident, which took place Sunday, went viral on social media. The ruling BJP said it condemned the incident and had asked Thawani to apologise. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A BJP worker, who had gone missing since Saturday was found dead in West Bengals Basirhat. The victim has been identified as one Ajay Mondal. The 36-year-old was reportedly hacked to death. His bruised body with multiple injuries was found in a roadside canal at Bajitpur on Sunday morning. The police said that the body has been sent for autopsy to know. Earlier, another BJP worker was stabbed to death in West Bengal's West Burdwan district on Thursday, police said. Sushil Mondal, 49, was killed allegedly by a Trinamool Congress activist following an altercation over putting up BJP flags at Panduk village under Ketugram police station limits. Local TMC leaders, however, claimed Mondal was a victim of the party's internal feud. Police said Mondal's wife has lodged a complaint against three persons who are on the run. West Bengal has witnessed widespread tension since the Lok Sabha Elections were announced in March earlier this year. Sporadic violence was reported during the 7-phase-long polls across state. Both the BJP and Trinamool have blamed each other for the bloodbath. It should be noted that family members of over 40 BJP workers, who were killed in political violence in West Bengal, were also invited for the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on May 30 last month. It was the very reason for which Mamata Banerjee had turned down the invite and said that the BJP was trying to politicise the oath-taking ceremony. The rift has only deepened since the May 23 verdict which saw the BJP creating history in Bengal. The saffron party won 18 seats in the state with ruling Trinamool Congress getting 22 seats. The double-digit growth has given the BJP every reason to cheer. How important is the Bengal win was reflected in BJP chief and Union Home Minister Amit Shahs victory speech at party headquarters in New Delhi on May 23. The highly-polarised elections in Bengal saw many firsts also. In an unprecedented move, the Election Commission of India had barred campaigning a day early, before the seventh and final phase, after a bout of clashes led to the damage of property, including a bust of reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Five bodies out of eight missing mountaineers, including seven foreigners, were sighted during a massive rescue mission near Nanda Devi East peak in Pithoragarh, according to news agency Reuters. The eight mountaineers were reported missing since May 25. Authorities had earlier managed to rescue four other climbers from the UK, stuck up near base camp of Nanda Devi East peak in Pithoragarh. Pithoragarh District Magistrate VK Jogdande said the four UK climbers were spotted 21 kilometers beyond the base camp and rescued during a sortie undertaken to locate the missing eight-member team led by well-known UK climber Martin Moran. Two sorties were conducted on Sunday to locate Moran's team, said Jogdande, adding more sorties would be held on Monday to search them. ITBP: Equipment and bodies seen in open/ partially buried in snow through aerial view (Helicopter) today near the unclimbed peak where the 8 missing mountaineers who were reported heading towards Nanda Devi East at around 20000 ft pic.twitter.com/KXwmSqx5OU a ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 The four UK mountaineers rescued on Sunday told authorities that when they last got in touch with Moran's team on May 24, they were heading for some peak other than Nanda Devi East. Moran's eight-member team went missing on way to the 7,434-metre-high Nanda Devi East peak in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district. Moran's team includes three climbers from the UK, two from the US and one from Australia, besides an officer from the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, New Delhi. The eight missing climbers were Martin Moran, John McLaren, Richard Payne and Rupert Havel from the UK, Anthony Sudecam and Rachel Bimmel from the US, Ruth Macrain from Australia and IMF's Chetan Pandey. The district administration launched the search operation after people at the base camp alerted authorities late on Friday night. The team is said to have been missing since May 25 when it was supposed to return to the base camp, Jogdande told reporters on Saturday. The route to the peak begins from Munsiyari about 132 km from the district headquarters. (With PTI inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Maharashtra government has transferred IAS officer Nidhi Choudhari, who had posted a controversial tweet on Mahatma Gandhi, from the BMC office to the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, and issued a show cause notice to seeking explanations from her. The Mumbai woman IAS officer's tweet has triggered a row by calling removal of Mahatma Gandhi's statues from across the world, including his images from the Indian currency notes. Demanding that institutions and roads named after the Father of the Nation be renamed, she also "thanked" his assassin Nathuram Godse. After the controversy, Choudhari, posted as Deputy Municipal Commissioner in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said on Saturday that the tweet was "sarcastic" and it was "misinterpreted". The controversial tweet has since been deleted. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) demanded her suspension for the "derogatory" tweet about Mahatma Gandhi and "glorification" of Godse. In her tweet posted on May 17 along with the picture of Mahatma Gandhi's mortal remains, Choudhari had written, "What an exceptional celebration of 150th birth anniversary year is going on. High time we remove his face from our currency, his statues from across the world, rename institutions/roads named after him! That would be a real tribute from all of us! ThankU#Godse for 30.01.1948." On Saturday, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad demanded strict action against Choudhari by suspending her. "She glorified Godse by posting a derogatory tweet about Gandhiji. This shouldn't be tolerated," he said. Claiming that Mahatma Gandhi's 'My Experiments With Truth' is her all-time favourite book, Choudhari said that her tweet was "misinterpreted." "Those who have misinterpreted my tweet of 17.5.2019 should go through my timeline. Even past few months tweets would be self explanatory. I am deeply hurt and saddened by misinterpretation to a tweet written with sarcasm. "I would never insult GandhiJi. GandhiJi is Father of Our Nation & in 2019 all of us must do our little bit to make this country better. Hope those misinterpreting my tweets would realise the sarcasm in it," she said on Twitter on Saturday. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. CHESTER Delaware County Council and the county Redevelopment Authority launched an initiative for Qualified Opportunity Zone investment in the county with a stakeholder education meeting Thursday morning. More than 50 persons representing government, business, labor and non-profit interests visited Talen Energy Stadium for a three-hour program outlining the federal tax incentive. This facility (Talen Energy Stadium) would not have been built without economic development programs this is another of those opportunities, said county council Chairman John McBlain in his opening remarks. I pledge to you that the County of Delaware is open for business. The opportunity zones were created as part of the Federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 to provide incentive for private investment in targeted census tracts. The incentive allows taxpayers with capital gains to invest them in equity funds for business development in the zones with deferred, or potentially complete forgiveness of, federal taxes on gains from the investment. According to data presented by event speaker Tim Wachter, of the Erie, Pa.-based Knox Law Public Strategies, unemployment rates are 1.6 times higher in opportunity zone census tracts than the average U.S. census tract, with median family incomes 37 percent lower than their respective areas or states median. Average poverty rates are more than 32 percent, compared to an about 17 percent for the average tract. Opportunity zone designation fell to each states governor, with the Wolf administration designating six census tracts in the county. Four in the southern section cover Chester for the length of the city bounded by the Delaware River to West Sixth Street; the Central Business District and central city from Madison to Kerlin streets and Sixth Street to Interstate 95; and the boroughs of Trainer and Marcus Hook. In the eastern section of the county, two zones cover the Baltimore Avenue corridor of Clifton Heights and Lansdowne. I think its a valuable tool that could very well be the catalyst for finally getting this development done, because you can bring investors in that are going to save money, said Pat Killian, director of the Delaware County Commerce Center, following the forum. Speakers for the event included Wachter and representatives of the Ridge Policy Group, a Washington, D.C.- and Harrisburg-based government relations firm founded by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge. Knox Law Public Strategies and the Ridge Policy Group have been contracted by the county Commerce Center for consulting and lobbying services, respectively. At the end of last year it became obvious to us that we needed some assistance, said Killian. Following a request for proposal in February, six-month contracts were awarded in April to both firms, according to Killian. The decision came as President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December 2018 creating the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, comprised of the heads of roughly 15 federal departments and agencies and chaired by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, to identity and streamline federal resources applicable to opportunity zones. (Council agencies) are all considering roughly 150 actions to better target streamline and coordinate these federal programs in opportunity zones, HUD Regional Administrator Joseph J. DeFelice, of the Philadelphia office, told the audience as he referenced an April order from Trump creating a council action plan. Currently federal agencies direct and target their programs according to many different priorities and requirements. This lack of coordination and targeting leads to cumbersome applications, gaps in knowledge, waste and widely disbursed and ineffective benefits, he said, quoting the April order. The Thursday forum began the process of educating stakeholders in the opportunity zone tax policy, federal council member agencies and overlapping state benefits. One of the challenges that municipalities and counties face in doing this is (the tax incentive) is not a program, said Wachter. We dont often have site control; were not serving as developers; were only facilitators, he said, noting the importance of stakeholder education to ensure that those with site control and developers and business owners are engaged and want to be aggressive about (investment). Wachter said the next steps will be to gage feedback from Thursdays program and develop a plan specific to Delaware County. Well see what percolates up to the top, he said. Then we can craft a program or a policy initiative around that to support it and help facilitate the investments. New Delhi: One terrorist was killed, and weapons and warlike stores were recovered during an encounter with security forces in Shopianas Mool Chitragam area of Kashmir on Monday, said the Indian Army, adding that the operation is over. The police earlier in the day said two people were killed in a brief shootout with the Army in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Army had laid a checkpoint at Moolu Chitragam in Shopian in the early hours. A private vehicle jumped the checkpoint. Terrorists got out of it and opened fire, they said. A The security personnel retaliated, leading to the death of two persons, the police said. A The bodies have been taken to district police lines for identification. Earlier, two terrorists were killed in an encounter in Dragad Sugan area of Jammu and Kashmiras Shopian district. Additional reinforcements of Army and Special Operation Group of police were rushed to the encounter site. On Thursday, two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Danger Pora area of Sopore in Baramulla. Armyas 22 RR and SOG launched a cordon-and-search operation at Bunpora area of Danger Pora village following specific information about the presence of the terrorists inside a residential house. The authorities had suspended internet services in Sopore town as a precautionary measure in wake of the search operation. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today visited the Siachen glacier and Srinagar to review security preparedness along the borders with Pakistan as well to take stock of anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir. In his first visit after taking charge of the defence ministry, Singh first travelled to the Siachen Glacier - the world's most dangerous battlefield -- where he also interacted with field commanders and soldiers. The defence minister was accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Singh took to Twitter and shared photos from the snowy battlefield. Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour. I am proud of all Army personnel serving in Siachen who are leaving no stone unturned to defend our motherland. I am also proud of their parents who have sent their children to serve the nation by joining the Armed forces. I will personally send a thank you note to them, he added. Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice, he said on micro-blogging site. From Siachen, Singh will go to Srinagar where Northern Army Commander Lt General Ranbir Singh and Leh-based 14 Corps Commander Lt General YK Joshi are scheduled to brief him about the security scenario along the borders will Pakistan as well as on the anti-terror operations, official sources said. In the morning, Singh first arrived at the high-altitude airfield in Ladakh from where he will travel to the Kumar post. Then, the defence minister went to to Siachen glacier where he interacted with Army's field commanders and soldiers, the sources said. The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. India and Pakistan started deploying troops at the strategically key glacier in 1984. Sources said the defence minister was given detailed and specific presentations on functioning of 14 Corps and 15 corps including the Army's overall preparedness to deal with any possible eventualities and misadventure by Pakistan. The Army's 14 Corps guards the Line of Actual Control with China as well as the Line of Control with Pakistan. The Srinagar-based 15 Corp is mainly tasked with carrying out anti-terror operations in the Kashmir valley. The defence minister is scheduled to return to New Delhi on Monday evening. (With agency inputs) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: After a gap of over three months, Etihads Abu Dhabi to New Delhi flight became the first to fly through Pakistani airspace. India and Pakistan had closed airspaces following the Indian Air Forces (IAF) strikes at Balakot on February 26. Etihad Airways EY224 entered India from Gujarat after flying through Pakistan at 5.34 p.m., four minutes after one route between India and Pakistan was opened for flights from Pakistan, The Hindu quoted a senior official of the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA) as saying. The airline operated an Airbus A321 aircraft. It departed from Abu Dhabi at 3.10 p.m. and landed in New Delhi at 7 p.m. It was able to save 40 minutes in flight duration compared with the re-routed flight it has been operating due to airspace curbs, according to aviation website flightradar24.com. On Friday, the Indian Air Force in a tweet wrote: "Temporary restrictions on all air routes in the Indian airspace, imposed by the Indian Air Force on 27 Feb 19, have been removed." For Pakistani passengers to reach these destinations - Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok - they had to take connecting flights from the Gulf. Airlines from central and west Asia now take much longer routes. For example, Delhi-Astana flight took three extra hours while Delhi to Moscow flight took more than two additional hours. Pakistan also had fully closed its airspace on February 27 following an IAF strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot. On March 27, it opened its airspace for all flights except for New Delhi, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. On May 15, Pakistan extended its airspace ban for flights to India till May 30. As a result of the ban, foreign carriers using Indian airspace have been forced to take costly detours because they cannot fly over Pakistan. The closure mainly affects flights from Europe to Southeast Asia. The flights from Europe and the US flying in and out of New Delhi have been the worst hit. Thousands of travellers suffer flight cancellations, delays and soaring ticket prices due to Pakistan's decision to close its airspace for flights to and from India. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: At least two terrorists were killed on Monday in an early morning encounter which broke out in Molu-Chitragam area of Jammu and Kashmiras Shopian district. The identity of the terrorists are yet to be ascertained.A The patrolling party of Armyas 44 RR was moving in armoured vehicles when terrorists fired towards the vehicles, according to sources. #Visuals Jammu & Kashmir: One terrorist killed in exchange of fire between security forces and terrorists in Molu-Chitragam area of Shopian district. (Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/SY6t65TowP a ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 Earlier, two terrorists were killed in an encounter in Dragad Sugan area of Jammu and Kashmiras Shopian district. Additional reinforcements of Army and Special Operation Group of police were rushed to the encounter site. On Thursday, two terrorists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Danger Pora area of Sopore in Baramulla. Earlier, Armyas 22 RR and SOG have launched a cordon-and-search operation at Bunpora area of Danger Pora village following specific information about the presence of the terrorists inside a residential house. The authorities had suspended internet services in Sopore town as a precautionary measure in wake of the search operation. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government on Monday relented to the pressure and tweaked its draft education policy following protests over a three-language plan that made it compulsory for children of the south Indian states to learn Hindi. A controversy broke out all over India, especially in most parts of Tamil Nadu, with political leaders from across party lines strongly opposing the alleged 'Hindi imposition' by the newly sworn-in government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In keeping with the principle of flexibility, students who wish to change one or more of the three languages they are studying may do so in Grade 6 or Grade 7, so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages...," says the revised draft. In the National Education Policy 2019 draft, unveiled on Friday, a new three-language formula was recommended. Under the new formula, children in the southern states were required to compulsory learn Hindi. However, the move met with severe criticism from people and political leaders across the party line. In Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin's DMK warned of a language war over the issue. Recalling the anti-Hindi agitations beginning as early as 1937 in Tamil Nadu, DMK chief MK Stalin said that since 1968 the state was following the two-language formula of learning only Tamil and English. Stalin said that the they would never tolerate imposition of Hindi. Parties including the CPI and BJP's ally in the Lok Sabha elections, the PMK too alleged the recommendation on the three-language formula was "imposition of Hindi" and demanded to scrap it. Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan said "be it language or a project, if we do not like that, it should not be forced on us". He said his party would pursue legal options against the move. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A brilliant engineering graduate, who went on to become chief of ISIS Kerala module and was popular on social media for his prolific propaganda messages, has been reportedly killed in the US bombings in Afghanistans Khorasan Province. According to a Times of India report, news of Rashid Abdullahs death was confirmed by a cryptic Telegram message. He is no more, said the message by an ISIS recruit. The report said that the ISIS leader, who was from Keralas Kasaragod district, had disappeared from the social media in last two months. The US bombings were reportedly carried out in Khorasan Province a month ago, the TOI report said. Abdullah was the ring-leader of the module who had taken 21 people including his wife to Afghanistan to live the ISIS way of life. The TOI report said that the probe agencies revealed that Abdullah and his group had travelled from India to UAE and then from there to Tehran to finally reach Afghanistan. Total three Indian brothers, two Indian ladies and four kids got killed, the Telegram message reportedly said about Abdullahs fate. In April this year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Sunday had searches at three places in Kerala as part of its investigation into the ISIS Kasaragod module case. The probe agency said in a statement that it carried out the searches at the houses of three suspects -- two in Kasaragod and one in Palakkad. It said that mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, pen drives, diaries with handwritten notes in Arabic and Malayalam, DVDs and books of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik, besides untitled DVDs, CDs with religious speeches, books of Syed Kutheb were seized during the searches. Meanwhile, the coastal areas of Kerala have been put on high alert after an intelligence report said 15 Islamic State terrorists had set off from Sri Lanka for the Lakshadweep islands on boats, police sources said. Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels. The sources said, though, such alerts are "usual practice", this time they have a specific information about the number of terrorists. Following the input, the Indian Coast Guard has deployed its ships and maritime surveillance aircraft around the Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands territory and borders with Sri Lanka in an operation to thwart any attempt by the ISIS terrorists to enter Indian waters. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The Special CBI Court on Monday allowed Rahul Gandhis brother-in-law Robert Vadra to travel abroad for medical treatment. However, the court said that Vadra cant travel to London, he can go to the US and Netherlands. Vadra withdrew his travel request to London. Court has said in case any look out circular is issued, it will remain suspended during this period. Last week on Wednesday, Vadra had submitted a written affidavit in a Delhi Court seeking permission to fly abroad. In the affidavit, Vadra said that he was suffering from tumour in intestine and needed to fly abroad for treatment. Appearing in the court on his behalf, lawyer KTS Tulsi said that his client has taken different opinions for two hospitals. Though the doctors have not spoken about need of surgery, however, they have advised Vadra to go to London for further treatment. Tulsi also said that his client is a law-abiding citizen and despite no warrant or summon, he had returned to India on time to join the investigation. However, the Enforcement Directorate has said that the probe is at crucial juncture and custodial investigation is needed. The ED also said that ailment can be treated in India and Vadra should trust the medical facilities in the country. The hearing was going on as the ED issued a fresh summon to Robert Vadra, brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, to appear before it Thursday in connection with a money laundering case linked to purchase of alleged illegal assets abroad, officials said. They said Vadra has been asked to depose before the investigating officer of the case at around 10:30 am at the agencys office here. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) only last week moved a court here seeking cancellation of the anticipatory bail given to Vadra in this case and the Delhi High Court had then issued notice to him seeking his response. The ED, which had grilled Vadra over a dozen times in this case, had told the Delhi HC that it required Vadras custody as he was not cooperating in the investigation and and the trial court had not discussed the gravity of the offence in its order that gave relief to Vadra, husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi. The ED case against Vadra relates to allegations of money laundering in the purchase of a London-based property located at 12, Bryanston Square worth 1.9 million GBP (British pounds), which is allegedly owned by him. The agency had told a Delhi court that it has received information about various new properties in London which belong to Vadra. These include two houses, one worth 5 million GBP and the other valued at 4 million GBP, six other flats and more properties. Vadra has denied the allegations of possessing illegal foreign assets and termed them a political witch hunt against him. He said he was being hounded and harassed to subserve political ends. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In a heart-winning move, H Vasanthakumar, the newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) from Kanyakumari on Monday announced that he would donate his entire salary and all other reimbursement received as a parliamentarian from the government for the sake of poor people and their education. The Congress leader had donated his salary and reimbursements for poor even when he was an MLA from Nanguneri Assembly segment in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to news agency ANI, Vasanthakumar said, "As an MLA, I had given my salary and all other reimbursements from the government for the poor people's education. I will do the same now as a Member of parliament". "This is my principle and I have always done this," he added. Tamil Nadu: Newly-elected Congress MP from Kanyakumari, H Vasanthakumar, announces that he will donate the salary he'll receive as a parliamentarian to the poor and for education. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/bFaRTKkl1Y a ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 The Congress MP has recently stepped down as an MLA from Nanguneri Assembly seat following his victory in the Lok Sabha election from Kanyakumari parliamentary constituency. In a thumping performance, Vasanthakumar had defeated BJP leader and former Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan in Kanyakumari by a massive margin of 2,46,136 votes. In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Radhakrishnan defeated the millionaire businessman by a margin of 1,28,662 votes to bag the Kanyakumari seat. Kumar, who owns a popular consumer durable retail chain in Tamil Nadu, had declared a total asset of Rs 412 crore in his nomination papers. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: A BJP lawmaker has sparked a massive controversy after a video went viral that showed him kicking a woman protester in stomach on Sunday. The video captured by some locals surfaced online on Sunday and instantly went viral. The lawmaker has been identified as one Balram Thawani. The BJP MLA from Gujarats Nardoa, Thawani was seen kicking the woman in stomach even as she screamed and wreathed in pain. The woman has also been identified. I had gone to meet BJP MLA Balram Thawani over a local issue but even before hearing me he slapped me, when I fell down he started to kick me. His people also beat up my husband. I ask Modi ji, how are women safe under the BJP rule, asked Nitu Tejwani from hospital bed. After the brazen act was captured on camera, Thawani first said that he did it in self-defence and that he was hit first. But after the issue ballooned into major controversy, he said that changed the track and said, I got swayed by emotions, I accept the mistake, it was not intentional. I have been in politics for last 22 years, such thing has never happened before. I will say sorry to her. Slamming the BJP for its lawmakers brazen behaviour, Asaduddin Owaisi tweeted: Balrams Dear Leader, one Mr @narendramodi said he gives a suraksha ki guarantee to Muslim women Kathua, Unnao, Muzaffarpur sheter home & this case are all evidence of how the PM says something & but lets his party folks do the exact opposite Indeed, (BJP se) Beti Bachao! The is not the first time that a politician has been caught on camera abusing a woman. In January this year, former Karnataka chief Minister Siddaramaiah was seen attempted to snatch the mic from a woman complainant, which resulted in her dupatta being pulled off. "The incident happened in an attempt to stop a party worker's long speech at a meeting in Varun today. It was by accident. I have known that worker for 15 years; she is like my sister," Siddaramaiah had later clarified on Twitter. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. San Francisco: Apple is seen as a prime target for retaliation over US moves against the Chinese tech giant Huawei, but the roots planted by the company in China should help it weather the storm, analysts say. While Beijing may take aim at Apple in the countries high-stakes trade war, experts believe that the companys size, cachet, and years spent cultivating business relationships in China should protect it from any direct retaliation. As the US pounds on Huawei, Apple is the likely target for China to pound back, technology analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group said. As the trade war accelerates, then Apple and Huawei are the two firms likely to get the damage, he said. Huawei has been thrust to the center of escalating tensions between the worlds two top economies, which have exchanged tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars in two-way trade. President Donald Trumps administration has infuriated Beijing by blacklisting the smartphone and telecommunications company over worries that China uses it as a tool for espionage and allegations of breaking Iran-related sanctionscharges the company has denied. Trump has said that Huaweis fate could be included in any deal to resolve their trade war, but such a deal has proved elusive, and in the interim, tensions remain high. The company is considered a national treasure in China, and Apple has similar status in the US, said Enderle. It is always difficult dealing with companies considered national treasures, he said. There is certainly a risk of this escalating beyond reason. - Points in Apples favor - But Apple has various factors in its favor. Increasing costs or crimping production for Apple directly in China could cause self-inflicted wounds, since much of the companys manufacturing is done there and jobs could be lost, analysts say. Playing into nationalist sentiment that shunning Apple is a sign of Chinese loyalty is something the government could get away with, Enderle said. But boycotts of Apple products that began in China last year due to the USs treatment of Huawei had no meaningful impact on the American company, according to Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi. And in a Bloomberg interview on Monday, the chief executive of Huawei said he was against the idea of calling for a boycott of Apple products in China. At the end of the day, there is a lot that Apple is doing in China from an economy perspective that helps China, Milanesi said. I struggle to see China using Apple as a way to retaliate against the US. On its website, Apple says it has created five million jobs in China, three million of which were related to contractors and investment. A million of those jobs were its staff, and about 1.8 million were through the App Store ecosystem for developers who make digital content or services for its mobile devices, the company said. And while hampering Apple product production in China would hurt that countrys economy, forcing up the price of iPhones exported to the US would not be much of a political blow against the Trump administration, according to Forrester analyst Frank Gillett. The Chinese government is more likely to target the Trump base, Gillet said. Hitting a California-based company doesnt seem to give them a lot of leverage, it makes more sense to go after agriculture and everyday stuff. Analysts also noted that Apple chief Tim Cook ran supply chain logistics for the company before succeeding the late co-founder Steve Jobs at the helm in 2011. Tim Cook knows the culture in China and has worked very closely understanding how to tread carefully to make more of an impact there, Milanesi said. Cooks supply chain expertise also makes him an ideal executive to figure out ways to move manufacturing out of China if the need arises. Apples rise to one of the worlds most valuable companies has involved cultivating strong relationships with Asian suppliers and manufacturers such as Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group and Pegatron. Everybody and their brother is trying to find ways to ship manufacturing out of China, Enderle said. Tim Cook was a logistics guy, so if anyone can do this well it should be him." KATHMANDU, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) completed the reconstruction of a quake-damaged school in Nepal on Sunday. At a special function organized at the school in Lalitpur district, CFPA, a Chinese non-governmental organization, handed over the new building to Mahendra Adarsha Vidyashram in the presence of students, teachers, local leaders and media. Mahendra Adarsha Vidyashram, founded in 1958, is a well-known public school in the Kathmandu valley which mostly educates children from low-income families. Of the two buildings damaged during the devastating earthquake in 2015, one has been constructed under the Chinese support while the school management committee is constructing another. Expressing appreciation to the Chinese organization for helping the education of disaster-hit country, the school officials said such assistance will boost the people-to-people ties. "The school building will contribute to quality education of students and produce capable manpower for the country," Pampha Bhusal, a member of parliament, told Xinhua after the handover ceremony. Bhusal, who is also the head of school management committee, said that the assistance will enhance friendly relations between the two neighbors and people. The construction of the new two-storey building began in April last year. The rebuilding project was implemented by local organization Safa Sunaulo Nepal. NEW CANAAN The disappearance of a mother of five has shaken the quiet community that has been hoisted into the national spotlight for the past week. Hundreds gathered Sunday night at St. Marks Episcopal Church in vigil to Jennifer Dulos, and some reacted to the arrests of her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, in connection to her disappearance. I know her mother (Gloria Farber). ... I am praying that she can survive this. Her father who died two and a half years ago, he was concerned about their relationship back then. He had made every effort he could to provide for her and her sister. We will wait for the facts to come out. We dont know what happened. ... Her father expressed concern to me about her marriage back then and it sounded just horrible. He was probably right to be concerned. Gregory Mears I dont want to assume anything. I just hope the police continue doing their work and find Jennifer. And I hope the children are protected and safe. I know they are being loved. I know the community has come around them and opened their hearts to them. Laura Davis It needs to unfold. Despite everything, it needs to unfold. Eugenie Diserio I hope and trust the police are doing everything they can. BWM Dentsu and its PR arm, Haystac launched Project Revoice with the ALS Association in the US and MND Australia. The challenge As a collaboration between BWM Dentsu, Haystac, Lyrebird, Finch, Rumble Studios, Space 66 and the ALS Association, it took a year to bring this revolutionary speech synthesis project to life. In the past, people with ALS could use pre-recorded messages to communicate, but the BWM Dentsu Group worked with Canadian software partner Lyrebird to create a complete voice clone. The groundbreaking initiative introduced a breakthrough in speech technology for people living with ALS (Motor Neuron Disease), enabling those who lose the ability to talk, to continue speaking in their own authentic and personal voice. The campaign To launch the initiative, Project Revoice gave Pat Quinn, co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, his voice back. Pat did not record (or bank) his voice before ALS robbed him of his ability to speak. Using footage from his many Ice Bucket interviews, the team were able to re-build his voice. This allows Pat to speak freely and naturally in his own voice, rather than a machine voice, when linked to his eye reader assistive technology. The man who gave ALS a voice now has his own voice back. The results This new breakthrough will change the future of personal communication for people who are diagnosed with ALS from here-on, says Brian Frederick, Executive Vice President of Communications, ALS Association. Project Revoice is now working to encourage MND and ALS communities around the world to record their voices so they can be digitally recreated in the future using this innovative new voice cloning technology. EAST HARTFORD - Two people are dead after a fiery crash on I-84 that involved four vehicles including three tractor-trailer trucks and a school bus Monday morning. State Police did not identify which drivers died until their kin are notified. Sgt. Dwight Washington said there were no children on the bus at the time of the crash. Two tractor trailers and the bus were fully engulfed in flames when state police arrived. One tractor trailer hit the back of the truck ablaze, but the driver was able to detach the cab. Preliminary indications show the school bus was rear-ended, by one of the tractor trailers, state police said. The crash, reported around 5 a.m., closed all westbound lanes of I-84 between Exits 55-56. The highway is expected to be closed at least until early afternoon. Just before the morning commute, state police urged drivers to seek alternate routes to downtown Hartford. Another problem is possible damage to a bridge at the accident scene which could cause longer delays and lane closures. State Department of Transportation officials were not able to examine the roadway until the crash investigation is completed, said DOT spokesperson Kevin Nursick. "The investigation takes priority," Nursick said. "We have completely destroyed vehicles. Police need to do accident reconstruction before we can do any assessment." Nursick is hearing from emergency officials that it may be six to hours before the DOT can take a look at the roadway. A cause for concern is that the heat from the fire damaged the asphalt, he said. We'll have to assess whether or not there is damage that will require us to make repairs before cars can go on the roadway, Nursick said. Nursick is hoping the roadway will be open for evening rush hour even if the DOT has to make temporary repairs. A Maryland couple was found dead at a resort in the Dominican Republic. According to the country's national police, Edward N. Holmes, 63, and Cynthia A. Day, 49, died from respiratory failure. A statement from the Dominican Republic National Police said an autopsy concluded that the couple had respiratory failure and pulmonary edema, a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs. Hotel staff members found the two unresponsive in their room after the couple missed the scheduled checkout time Thursday. They were supposed to fly back home the day they were found. "We are deeply saddened by the incident at one of our hotels in La Romana, Dominican Republic, and want to express our deepest condolences to their family and friends," Bahia Principe Hotels said in a statement. Police said they also found blood pressure medication in the room. The couple had been staying at the resort since May 25. This report originated from WBAL-TV. The following arrests were reported by the Danbury police department on June 3, 2019. May 29 A 60-year-old Stamford man was charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault, three counts of breach of peace, and first-degree criminal trespassing. May 30 A 46-year-old New Haven man was charged with manufacturing or possession of burglar tools, two counts of fifth-degree larceny, and conspiracy to commit a crime. A 27-year-old New Haven man was charged with manufacturing or possession of burglar tools, fifth-degree larceny, and two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime. A 19-year-old Golden Hill Road man was charged with negligent homicide. A 24-year-old Golden Heights Road man was charged with three counts of risk of injury to a child, 13 counts of sexual contact with a victim under the age of 13, six counts of first-degree sex with a victim under the age of 13, and two counts of fourth-degree sex with a victim under the age of 15. May 31 A 33-year-old Merrimac Street man was charged with sale of a narcotic substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, and three counts of risk of injury to a child. Whether President Donald Trump should be impeached for obstructing justice is taking up all the oxygen related to Special Counsel Robert Muellers now-concluded report of his two-year investigation. But another aspect of the 448-page, two-volume report is much more damaging to our democracy and every American should be alarmed the Russians interfered with our presidential election. Let that sink in. Congress has an obligation to pursue obstructions by the president outlined in the Mueller report; Americans have an obligation to take seriously the Russian threat to the core and integrity of our ability to decide who leads our country. While political views will differ on the extent of Trumps attempted interference with the investigation, there can be no other interpretation of the Russian conduct. Mueller, in a nearly 10-minute statement Wednesday on his findings as he departed from public service, was lucent. Russian intelligence officers who are part of the Russian military, launched a concerted attack on our political system. The indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cybertechniques to hack into computers and networks used by the Clinton campaign. They stole private information and then released that information through fake online identities and through the organization WikiLeaks. The releases were designed and timed to interfere with our election and to damage a presidential candidate, Mueller said. Based on his investigation, 13 Russians and three Russian agencies were indicted by grand juries. Whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians in 2016 does not obviate the basic premise that a foreign power tried to interfere in our presidential election. What should be done, other than the courts dealing with those charged? Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill proposed investing in the states cybersecurity infrastructure, a necessary step. Connecticut must commit to protecting our elections from foreign governments, and we must do it now, she said, and we agree. The threat is real, serious, and current. But how much do the American people care? U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, in saying why Mueller should testify before the Judiciary Committee of which the Connecticut senator is a member, had a withering take on Americans interest in substance. Most Americans will never read the report and many will not see or hear his nine-minute statement, Blumenthal said. Not nine minutes? People spend more time than that watching cute cat videos on YouTube. Certainly a foreign government meddling in our election no matter who won is more important. Perhaps refresher civics classes are in order. Dont let politics cloud your thinking. Be skeptical of inflammatory social media posts. Be informed. Heres Muellers brief statement. (https://nyti.ms/310zFq8) Read for yourselves. And let his words chill you: I will close by reiterating the central allegation of our indictments, that there were multiple, systematic efforts to interfere in our election. And that allegation deserves the attention of every American. Pay attention. Banner ads are the fuel that drives the Internet. Every website needs a way to pay for its hosting and development costs, a way to compensate the owner for his or her time and energy. Most websites use banner ads to pay the bills. Most website owners lack the coding skills to create ads from scratch: You have to fall back on the default Google ad editor or use graphics software. Animated ads are impossible unless you have an extensive coding background. Enter Bannersnack Static and animated responsive banner ads without any coding knowledge. Creating Your Banner Ads Bannersnack uses professionally designed templates that make it simple for anyone to design their own banner ads, even ones with fancy slide-in or fade-in transitions and animations. You can take one of the many Bannersnack ad templates and personalize it in a few minutes. Screenshot source Use your own fonts, images, and CTAs, rearrange ad elements using the drag & drop interface, and set up transitions and animations for eye-catching animated banner ads. You have the option of using the default transitions in your animated ads, or of setting your own transitions using sliders that are simple to understand. Of course, you can start from scratch without a template if you prefer, but template personalization will be much faster for most users than starting with an empty box on the screen. Banner Ad Sets If you need one banner ad, you will almost certainly need multiple sizes to use in various positions on your web content and on your social channels. The recognition effect that comes from using variations of the same banner ad everywhere helps potential customers to recognize your branding everywhere they see it. If you use Bannersnack, you can turn one design into a whole set of 30 or more ads in a few seconds using the companys Screenshot source Check out this Youtube demo of the Resize feature. You can stipulate any standard size web banner ad, Facebook header or even your own custom sizes. All you need to do is to set three templates; one square, one horizontal and one vertical. You can tweak the layers in your base templates, but this is not usually necessary. These three templates will be used to generate the complete range of sizes you need. All Bannersnack ads are responsive so they work well on phones and tablets as well as laptops and smart TVs. You can download your code in multiple formats, including AMP HTML if you have a Pro or Plus subscription. AMP HTML will mean your ads load faster, especially on mobile devices, and Google will possibly rank your site higher in search results because of its shorter load time. Once you see how quickly you can generate complete sets of ads, you will want to design more ad sets for your other products because doing so no longer requires you to invest a week of your life to generate ten banner ads in different formats. A/B Testing Your Ads You will want to run A/B split tests to see which ads are most effective in your niche. Your Bannersnack subscription includes that. Test static vs animated ads. Test different CTA placements and wording. Test different transitions and animations. Constant split testing is the best way to maximize your ROI on your advertising spending. Banner Analytics You get banner analytics included in premium Bannersnack subscriptions. These include heatmaps and CTRs to help you perfect your banners. Bannersnack Plans Screenshot source The Bannersnack plans shown above are for individuals, Different plans are available to agencies. You need the Pro or Plus plans to access banner sets and the Magic Resize features. Only these higher-priced plans include the analytics and split testing you will need if you are serious about making money from your website investment. In Short You have two possible ways to design your banner ads: * One at a time using graphics software that takes you an hour for each one * Multiple ads simultaneously using Bannersnack in ten minutes per set An individual Pro Bannersnack subscription is only $18 per month (paid annually). It should save you many hours every week, and allow you to do most of your banners ads without employing a professional designer. Philippines meat association concern that ASF-related recalls could affect local meat The Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. (PAMPI) has expressed concerns that locally-produced meat products may be affected due to recent recall orders issued for pork products from countries where the outbreak of African swine fever have occurred, BusinessWorld reported. The Philippines' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently ordered the recall and seizure of meat products imported from ASF-infected countries like China, Hungary and Russia. As a result, Felix O. Tiukinhoy, president of PAMPI, had asked the FDA to be "cautious and specific in its pronouncements as they have led to confusion and uncertainty among consumers." According to Tiukinhoy, the Philippines does not import meat products from "(most) of the ASF-infected countries." "Recall orders should be product-specific, identifying the brands and countries of origin, instead of general statements that are not helpful to consumers but are prejudicial to local manufacturers," he said in the statement. PAMPI members would also be able to assist local supermarkets in separating local meat from those which are imported, he added. The Philippines has responded to recent ASF outbreaks by imposing measures to prevent the entry of the disease into the country, including submitting a request for a two-month suspension of pork imports form ASF-affected countries. Although the move could potentially cause rising pork prices, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Pinol expressed the country's priority to keep ASF from harming the Philippines' hog sector. - BusinessWorld At the 4th Mission Innovation (MI) Ministerial meeting, Mission Innovation (MI) [European countries, Canada, China and the USA] members announced bold new projects and collaborations that will push clean energy research and innovation forward with the aim of bringing affordable, reliable clean energy to communities around the world. Canada announced Breakthrough Energy Solutions Canada, a new initiative with Breakthrough Energy, which will support Canadian firms avoid the valley of death and commercialize their technologies to reach domestic and global markets with low carbon solutions. Additionally, the European Commission announced the launch of Breakthrough Energy Europe, a 100M fund that will help bring to market new clean energy technologies. Launched at MI-3, MIs Avoided Emissions Framework showcased 100 solutions that have the potential to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions almost 3 billion tonnes of CO2 per year by 2030. A new goal of bringing 1000 solutions to MI-5 was also announced. Smart Grids At MI-4 (May 28, 2019), the Smart Grids Innovation Accelerator (SGIA) was presented to MI Ministers by Italy, with the strong support of China, India and IC1 members. Co-leads: China, India, Italy Participants: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States World electrical energy consumption is increasing at the rate of 1.4%/year, with an associated increase in greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions that are negatively affecting the climate around the globe. Thus, a fundamental transformation of the worlds power systems is under way to deliver zero-emissions power to an increasingly electricity-hungry world. For example, eighteen cities in the United States have committed to maximizing the amount of energy they use from renewable energy, up from 25% today. Meeting this challenge requires a transition from the power grid that today relies on coal and gas power plants, to a future grid that can be largely powered by decentralized renewable energy sources, and which can dynamically adjust supply and demand in order to handle the intermittency of solar and wind power. While the challenges are significant, so are the opportunities. By 2040, it is expected that zero-emission energy sources will make up 60% of installed capacity. Wind and solar will account for more than 60% of the new power generating capacity added worldwide. This represents more than 8 terawatts of generation capacity and about 7 trillion USD of the $11 trillion USD invested.3 CO2 Capture Globally, the total CO2 capture capacity of the 22 current projects (in operation or construction) is about 40 million tonnes per annum. The IEAs Energy Technology Perspectives report released in 2016 estimates that CCUS could provide 12% of the GHG emission reductions in the power sector needed to meet a 2C scenario by 2050, or about 3.5 gigatonnes of abatement per year. In this scenario, 6.4 gigatonnes of CO2 are captured in 2050 in the power and industrial sectors combined. Ben Lambert / Hearst Connecticut Media NORTH HAVEN Seven people, including a child, were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after an 18-wheeler collided with a CT Transit bus in North Haven, according to the town fire department. The fire department released word of the crash on Twitter at 12:07 p.m. WEST HAVEN Five city restaurants received failing grades in the latest round of health inspections, including a popular mom-and-pop pizzeria and an eatery that has since closed. Per state Department of Health regulations, any establishment fails if it receives a score lower than 80 out of 100, or if it receives a four-point violation, as those are the most serious in terms of risk for food-borne illness. FAQ: Restaurant inspection rules in Connecticut West Haven Chief Sanitarian Luci Bango said all the four-point violations were corrected on the spot and the restaurants remained open. One of the reasons in West Haven for a four-point violation was dented cans; Bango said those are an issue because a dent can be caused by bacteria such as botulism. Restaurant managers said cans often arrive dented on delivery because theyve been dropped in transport, but theres no way for the inspector to discern whether that is what happened, he said. Another common violation but not a four-pointer is that brooms and mops are on the floor and not hanging. Bango said that rule exists so the items can dry properly. There are two inspectors in West Haven for close to 300 establishments. Here is a list of restaurants that failed the latest inspections in West Haven, according to the health department: Chipotle The Mexican grill at 354 Saw Mill Road was inspected May 7 and scored a 95 but had a four-point violation for not having the guacamole at a cool enough temperature, according to health department records. The only other violation was not having a waste bin at the hand-wash sink. A man who identified himself as the manager, but declined to give his name, said, The problem is corrected we have nothing to say. Crown Chicken & Fish The restaurant at 403 Saw Mill Road, inspected March 6, scored an 82, but had a four-point violation for dented cans, according to health department records. The eatery also received points off for uncovered food items; unlabeled food items; a broom and mop not hanging; no soap or waste bin at the hand-washing sink; wastewater stored in a mop bucket; and a moist towel not in sanitizing solution, according to health department records. Upon reinspection on March 25, it passed with a score of 89. Among the violations during reinspection were: exposed raw chicken in a walk-in cooler; hot water issues in bathrooms and hand-wash sinks; no hair restraints on the cook; and a measuring cup laying in container of rice, according to health department records. The manager/owner could not be reached for comment. Michaelangelo Pizza and Subs The popular pizza place at 425 Derby Ave. was inspected March 14 and failed with a 78 that included a four-point violation, for not having shellfish, finfish, meat or poultry showing it was USDA approved, according to health department records. The eatery was cited for uncovered food items; a broom not hanging; not having a tag on shellfish, specifically, clams; having food in contact with the surface of can opener; inadequate sanitizing soap; wiping cloths not in sanitizing solution; water temperature thats too hot in bathrooms; and no hair restraints on kitchen workers, according to health department records. The restaurant passed upon reinspection March 26 with a 91, but still had uncovered food items; food in contact with the surface of can opener; and, in addition, unlabeled food items, according to health department records. A person who identified himself as the manager of the restaurant gave a telephone number for the owner, but he did not return a phone call. Stewarts All-American Restaurant The restaurant at 340 Saw Mill Road, which only opened a few years ago in the spot once occupied by Friendlys, unexpectedly closed its doors recently, which was not related to the failing results of its April 12 inspection. . A notice put out by the company said it is reorganizing and will reopen under different management. The restaurant scored an 82 on April 12, but had a four-point violation for dented cans, according to health department records. Other violations included a broom that was not hanging; water too hot in bathroom sinks; no sanitizing solution at the front counter; an uncovered dumpster; wiping towels that were not in sanitizing soap; and food contacting the surface of an unclean microwave oven, health department records show. By May 1, upon reinspection, the score went up to 91 with no four-point violation and the eatery passed, but the inspection showed some violations continued, including: moist towels not in a sanitizing sink; food contacting the surface of an appliance; and a mop not hanging. It also upon reinspection had no waste bin at the hand-wash sink; had an unclean hand-wash sink; and a build-up of ice in the reach-in freezer, according to health department records. No one from the restaurant could be reached for comment. Tom and Pats Pizzeria The popular mom-and-pop pizzeria at 9 Prospect Ave. was inspected May 22 and received a four-point violation for improper storage, labeling or use of toxic items, health department records show. Other violations included: an unclean slicer; open doors; unclean filters in a hood; two unlabeled sauces without a date in a cooler; sanitizer that is too strong; a restroom door that is not self-closing; and not using a scoop with a handle for cheese, health department records show. A person who identified himself as the manager took a message for the owner, but the phone call was not returned. Editors note: This story has been updated to correct a listing for Tom and Pats Pizzeria. The establishment did not have have meatballs stored at the wrong temperature. NEW HAVEN Police are searching for a person of interest in connection with the Saturday robbery of a Webster Bank in Westville Village. Capt. Anthony Duff said police are looking to locate Darryl D. Henry, 55, who also is wanted on charges of third-degree robbery, second-degree larceny and third-degree assault in an unrelated case. Henry was identified as a person of interest after the bank robbery Saturday by detectives with the robbery/burglary unit, Duff said. Officers responded to the Webster Bank at 894 Whalley Ave. soon after 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Duff said. Arriving officers were told a man carrying a backpack jumped the counter and demanded money. After opening several teller cash drawers, the man took cash and stuffed it into his backpack. The man jumped back over the counter and exited the front entrance of the bank, Duff said. Investigators canvassed the neighborhood and located money stained with a bright red dye from a dye pack taken with the cash. On nearby Austin Street, detectives also impounded a vehicle believed to have been used by the suspect. Witnesses described the robber as an older black male with glasses, a black and gray beard, and last seen wearing a black jogging outfit. Police still are investigating two recent bank robberies, committed by suspects fitting similar descriptions, Duff said. Both the Wells Fargo branch at 391 Foxon Blvd. and the Key Bank at 201 Grand Ave. were robbed by a man that jumped the counter, Duff said. The Wells Fargo was robbed twice once on April 27, then again on May 10. The Key Bank was robbed on May 14. Wells Fargo has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man that robbed the Foxon Boulevard branch, while the Connecticut Bankers Reward Association has put forward $500 for information leading to the arrest of whoever robbed the Key Bank, Duff said. Anyone who sees Henry or the man in the surveillance photograph, which stems from the April 27 robbery, is ask to call 911 or the New Haven Police Department at 203-946-6316. william.lambert@hearstmediact.com NEW HAVEN Community members piled into the ordinarily sleepy Board of Education Finance Committee meeting Monday to protest the recent decision to cut 53 teacher jobs and reassign those teachers to new schools and to issue demands that included replacing the superintendent of schools. The meeting, which started after more than 100 people rallied outside the Board of Education headquarters on Meadow Street, took place in the same room where about 30 of those teachers met with human resources officials last Thursday to learn more about their fates. We were all older. People are afraid, said Career High School teacher Bob Osborne, one of the 53 teachers whose job was cut, addressing the rally crowd about what that Thursday meeting was like. Your seniority counts for nothing, absolutely nothing. They can do this to anybody in the system. NHPS Advocates, a community group that has butted heads with school board members and district leadership over cuts for the almost two years it has existed, organized the rally and made five demands of the school board. The fifth and final demand was to appoint new district leadership, including replacing Superintendent of Schools Carol Birks. Board member Ed Joyner, the only member left on the board who did not vote to hire Birks in 2017, publicly stated his support of hiring a new superintendent. Clearly when you have a person leading you in the wrong direction, you cant follow her, he said. Student board member-elect Lihame Arouna said students have noticed how much teachers have moved out of buildings in the last year, beginning with a decision last summer to cut the guidance and library media departments. Right now, student voice should be the priority, she said. Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School senior Benie NSumbu said a creative writing teacher, one whom she credits as being pivotal to her development as a writer, would be cut from an already austere writing department in the school. She said she recalled Birks beginning her tenure by promising to put students first. She lied; I didnt believe her then and I dont believe her now, NSumbu said. She is not putting kids first. Hours before Mondays demonstration, Birks sent an email to explain last weeks news. The purpose of this letter is to reassure the students, families, faculty, staff, and the general public that although our revenue streams have declined, you have my relentless commitment to ensure that we work collaboratively with the Board of Education and all stakeholders to build on our past successes, and not compromise the academic programming and social emotional learning supports that we provide to our students, the letter said. Birks said fiscal realities in the state, city and district require critical decisions to place the district on the path of continuous improvement. The primary focus is children and academic achievement, she said. On Thursday, May 30, 2019, 53 teachers were advised that teaching positions at their current school sites were being reduced due to enrollment numbers. These teachers were not informed that they were losing their jobs, but in fact that they will be offered opportunities to interview and or be placed in a role within our school District that is aligned to their teaching certifications, the letter said. Several teachers told the Register they first learned their positions were eliminated via email on May 29, before they learned from their principals. Birks closed the letter by advising that the maximum class size is 26 for kindergarten through second grade and 27 for third through twelfth. She said decisions about administrator jobs will be made once the district learns its final funding allocations from the state. Finally, as a District we will continue to work closely with the Board of Education to align our human capital and fiscal resources to positively impact students experiences while focusing on being fiscally responsible, Birks said. You have my commitment to continue to propel our District forward focused on equity, collaboration and innovation. At the finance meeting, which started at a delayed time because of the rally, Birks redirected questions asked of her by committee members to members of her staff. Human Resources Director Lisa Mack said there are 80 true vacancies and the 53 teachers whose jobs were cut will be placed in those positions. I was taken aback that as the chair (of the Finance Committee) that I didnt know, board member Joe Rodriguez told Birks. Board President Darnell Goldson said reassigning teachers had been discussed in broad terms, but he had never seen a specific plan. He said Birks had called him hours before the teachers met with human resources, but he was unclear that occupied jobs would be cut from schools. Assistant Superintendent of Schools Keisha Hannans explained to committee members that, although the impact of cutting the positions was not comprehensively vetted by central office staff, the decisions were made faithfully by building administrators. I understand the principals are being blamed for this, Goldson said. We have to trust our school leaders, Hannans said. New Haven Federation of Teachers President Dave Cicarella sent two letters to teachers in the time since last weeks announcement: on Friday, he warned against misinformation and gossip, reassuring members that the positions were eliminated through attrition and no one had yet been laid off. This is a sacrifice for the teachers being re-assigned but as a union we must protect everyones job, junior and senior teachers alike, he wrote. By Monday, Cicarella had copied his membership on a memo he sent to the unions executive board Sunday. In that memo, he warned that the union had been fractured by infighting over 20 years ago, urging the membership to stand together calmly, without spreading misinformation about the nature of the position eliminations. Publicly chastising and criticizing the decision makers we wish to win to our side is counterproductive, he wrote. Although Cicarella told the Register on Thursday before teachers to be reassigned had met with human resources that he found the process to be less callous than other districtsthat keep teachers in the lurch about their futures until the end of the school year, in his Sunday memo he called for the unions executive board to draft a letter to district leadership asking for central office to find alternatives and to reduce the administrative workforce proportionally to teachers. NEW HAVEN South Haven? But how could that be when what lies (sort of) south of New Haven is Long Island Sound? (And you would have to get through the harbor to hit the Sound?) Well, apparently South Haven was an idea that had its day, at least according the the New Haven Museum (and Register reporting). It turns out, according to museum folks, the Morris Cove section of New Haven wanted to secede from the city in 1959 to become a breakaway town called South Haven. Related: Revival of Morris Cove Day in New Haven brings back memories This historic topic came up for a reason as this summer will feature Fitness Walks with a Historic Twist at Pardee-Morris House and that means a guided tour with more fascinating facts from New Havens shoreline history while getting or keeping fit, according to a release. Shana Schneider, founder of the Fitstyle Your Life approach to fitness, will explore The Cove on this briskly paced Fitstyle tour at 9:30 a.m. June 29. or 9:30 a.m. August 17, the release detailed. Further, a special Fitstyle Morris Cove Walking Tour with Kids will be held, also at 9:30 a.m. on July 13. (Rain dates for all Morris Cove walks are the following Sunday, at noon.: Tickets are $10 and available here. (There sill be no charge for children accompanied by a parent or guardian on the Fitstyle Walking Tour with Kids.) According to organizers, Schneiders route is so interesting walkers may forget theyre exercising and the pace will be kept to about a 20-minute mile, leaving from the Pardee-Morris House. (Yes, museum organizers remind you, thats the house that was built circa 1750 and burned by the British during their raid on New Haven in 1779.) During the walks there will be tons of historic highlights along with the fitness information, the release noted. The walk will pass Lighthouse Point Park. But back to that bit about South Haven. According to Register reporting in 2009, this all came about over sewers and the Annex. (Squeezed between the Quinnipiac River on one side and East Haven on the other, and bordered on the north and south by Fair Haven Heights and Morris Cove.) The story shared in 2009 says: In 1958, New Haven wanted to install sewers in the Annex and charge residents $15.57 per foot of sewer line. Folks in the Annex didnt take kindly to that plan. What followed was almost like a series of dominoes falling: the Fairmount Association (the Annex governing body) protested the sewer assessment; New Haven said its bonding company suddenly realized the Annex paid a lower tax rate and wouldnt agree to further bonding unless there was a change in the Annexs status; the city offered to lower the sewer assessment if the Annex would become part of New Haven; Annex residents said no. It formed a sort of camaraderie among us, Deb Townshend said at the time of the story. The old Yankees and the newer Italian-Americans, we formed a united front. At that point, the loyal Fairmounters went out and raised money to hire lawyers, Henry Townshend said, also in 2009. However, in January 1959, New Haven asked the state to step in and fold the Annex into the city proper. Predictably, Annex residents (think independent streak) went ballistic. Hundreds began talking about forming their own city, called South Haven. There were signs that people put up around the neighborhood, saying, South Haven, Deb Townshend said in 2009. Then despite a protest in which hundreds of Annex people took buses to a public hearing of the Legislative Committee on Cities and Boroughs in Hartford, state legislators voted to force consolidation. Gov. Ribicoff signed the measure into law, effective June 1, 1959. So South Haven, like Brigadoon, faded into memory. Related: A family reunion in Morris Cove brings glimpses of forefathers The Pardee-Morris House is at 325 Lighthouse Road, in New Haven. Built by Amos Morris around 1750, the house was burned by the British during their raid on New Haven in 1779, and rebuilt and expanded by the Morris family. In 1918, William S. Pardee, a descendant of the Morris family, willed the property to the New Haven Colony Historical Society, today the New Haven Museum. For a list of summer events at the Pardee-Morris House, visit: http://newhavenmuseum.org/visit/pardee-morris-house/. For New Haven Museums event calendar: http://newhavenmuseum.org/visit/events-calendar/. For more information about the New Haven Museum, visit www.newhavenmuseum.org or facebook.com/NewHavenMuseum or call 203-562-4183. The Museum thanks UI/Lighting Up the Arts; The Howard Gilman Foundation; East Shore Management Team; DeCola Family; Knights of Columbus, Rodrigo Council #44; and Morris Cove neighbors for supporting the 2019 summer season. NEW HAVEN A study released today by the University of Connecticuts Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity found a correlation between weight-based bullying of LGBT youth and substance abuse and poor mental health. Lead researcher Rebecca Puhl said the study is among the first to explore the link between these factors. This study is really the first large-scale evidence of the relationship between weight-based teasing and bullying and adverse health behaviors in sexual and gender minority youth, she said. Although there is a wide body of research into how sexual and gender minority youth have worse mental health outcomes and higher rates of substance abuse such as a 2008 report published in the journal Addiction on 14 studies, concluding that on average lesbian, gay and bisexual youth were on average 190 percent more likely to use tobacco, alcohol or illicit drugs Puhl said the effects of how weight-based victimization could exacerbate the issues for sexual and gender minority youth had not been explored. Using data collected from 17,112 teenage respondents to an online survey, Puhl and co-researchers Mary Himmelstein and Ryan Watson found that more than half of respondents indicated they had been subjected to weight-based bullying or teasing from their peers and/or their families. Within their lifetimes, 55.6 percent reported their had consumed alcohol, 27.1 reported consuming alcohol in the last 30 days and 9.6 percent reported binge drinking in the last 30 days. However, those who reported weight-based victimization from their families were 27 percent more likely to have done binge drinking in the last 30 days and were 23 percent more likely to have smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days. Additionally, sexual and gender minority youth experiencing weight-based victimization had overall lower self-rated health outcomes such as depressive symptoms, self-esteem and perceived control over stressors than sexual and gender minority youth who did not report weight-based victimization. A Rudd Center study released in February also concluded that sexual and gender minority youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience weight-based victimization regardless of their body weight. Whether they are being teased for a higher or lower body weight, theyre both vulnerable to these health consequences, Puhl said. Puhl said most of her recommendations from the study center around education: both in educating families about the harm done by weight-based teasing and bullying and creating more comprehensive anti-discrimination policies in schools. In New Haven, an LGBTQ Youth Task Force formed about one year ago, and its members have visited Board of Education members to make recommendations to create more inclusive schools. Members have urged the school board to create policies that fundamentally respect and acknowledge sexual and gender minority identities. Its bigger than just bullying, said Fair Haven Middle School teacher David Weinreb, a task force member at a school governance committee meeting on May 28. A 14-year-old doesnt necessarily know what their legal right is and doesnt know how to ask for it, said member Kelly Wuzzardo. Puhl said the studys findings could also better inform medical care of sexual and gender minority youth. Theres also an implication for clinicians and health care providers working with youth or adolescents to assess for weight-based victimization experiences, she said. Puhl said she believes longitudinal studies should be a future inquiry. This was a one time-period study, she said. But we need to understand what this means for health over time. It was the last day of school when a bus aide had Lisa Money pull the bus over to the side of a muddy country road in Franklinville. Ms. Marie was her name thats all Money can remember. She got off the bus on that rainy day in 2009 and waded into the middle of a field filled with tall grass and weeds on Tuckahoe Road. Money followed the woman, but she didnt see anything, not even the tombstones of Civil War soldiers that Ms. Marie wanted her to notice. They were members of the 22nd United States Colored Troops (USCT). She said, Im showing this to you because people have forgotten about it and nobody is doing anything, so I thought if I told, youd do something about it," said Money, recalling their conversation. Money, a Sicklerville resident who no longer drives a bus, did something selfless. She appointed herself caretaker for this small burial ground, which also contains veterans from World War I and World II. After every winter, Money and her daughter, Faith, cut the grass, pulled weeds and lugged large branches to the side of the road. This year, though, she was getting tired, and needed more help with the upkeep. And, she wanted to honor the soldiers with some kind of sign to tell their story. Tombstone of Andrew Jackson, a member of the 22nd United States Colored Troops. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)(Barry Carter NJ | Advance Media) The troop was organized at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia in 1864, and over 681 men in the regiment were from New Jersey. Robert Bowell, an American Civil War Reenactor for the 22nd USCT, said they were the first troops to enter Richmond, Virginia at the fall of the Confederacy and they escorted President Abraham Lincoln to the Confederate White House. During the welcome home parade, he said the 22nd USCT was the only black regiment invited. Days later, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth and the troop took part in the search for him. (Lincoln, who was impressed by their service with him in Richmond, had previously requested that the troop be part of his funeral procession.) Many in the area didnt know this troops history, let alone that they were buried in Franklinville, until Money began to talk about them. The Gloucester County Veterans Advisory Council took an interest when Money told the group about the cemetery and asked for funding to erect a historical marker. One of its members, Robert Jonas, put her in touch with the Gloucester County Institute of Technology, which was looking for a service project. Thirty students from the school volunteered to clean up the cemetery in April -- cutting down old trees, putting in new ones and painting the fence. Money figured some kind of dedication would be appropriate as word spread about the cemetery. Lisa Money, of Sicklerville, speaks at dedication ceremony to honor the 22nd United States Colored Troops. Her daughter, Faith Money, next to her on the right. Both women took care of the cemetery where the soldiers are buried in Franklinville (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)(Barry Carter NJ | Advance Media) That happened this past Saturday during a memorial ceremony in which the cemetery was named the Buffalo Soldiers 22nd Regiment United States Colored Troop to pay tribute for their sacrifice. None of the Civil War troops are Buffalo Soldiers, the all-black 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments who were formed a year after the Cvil War ended in 1865. Harris Grant, president of the New Jersey Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, said he was honored to have the burial ground named after the organization when Money reached out to him. The call went out to its members and they came from northern, central and southern New Jersey. Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York members showed up, too. About 100 people gathered at the dedication, which featured a gun salute from members of the 22nd USCT re-enactment group, the 7th NJ Volunteer Infantry and another regiment from Pennsylvania. We dont like to see any soldiers in the past forgotten," Bowell said. Its a great opportunity to remind people of the sacrifices that they made." A Camden color guard from The American Legion Hudson-Adams Carpenter Post 473 was on hand for the somber remembrance. Robert Costello, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator, dressed as the president and delivered remarks about the war. Members of the New Jersey Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club bow their head during dedication ceremony to honor the 22nd United States Colored Troops (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)(Barry Carter NJ | Advance Media) Moneys daughter, Faith, became emotional, telling the crowd she dreamed of this day. I cant stop shaking because my heart and my spirit is just proud and its just screaming," she said. Thank you, God, for allowing everyone like this to come together." Speakers praised Money and her daughter for making people aware of the cemetery when they quietly began to look after it. Passersby would stop and ask what Money was doing and she would explain. They caught the attention of Dave Faubell, who owns an adjacent farm and helped them clear the brush. He grew up there, and said many cemeteries in the area were once maintained by churches. This one, he said, was cared for by a church in Williamstown until the late 1960s or 1970s. Im so grateful that somebody took an interest." he said. Theres a spiritual connection to living next to hallowed ground." Its sacred for Money, too. Shes been to Washington, D.C, and has seen their names on the wall at the African American Civil War Museum. In some way, Money said she feels like the soldiers chose her to care for their resting place. I cant explain it. I dont know what kept me going," she said. I just did it. I didnt I think about stopping." Everyone should be glad you didnt, either, when you followed Ms. Marie off that bus. A Camden color guard from The American Legion Hudson-Adams Carpenter Post 473 participates in dedication ceremony to honor the 22nd United States Colored Troops. (Barry Carter | NJ Advance Media)(Barry Carter NJ | Advance Media) Read More Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. New Jerseys highest court on Monday upheld a probation sentence for a woman who fled the scene of a fatal accident while driving on a suspended license. Susan Hyland was admitted to a state drug court program over the objection of prosecutors following the Pennsauken Township crash, which took the life of 16-year-old Quason Turner. In a unanimous ruling that attorneys say will curtail challenges raised when judges divert people into drug court programs, the state Supreme Court found the five-year term of probation was within the bounds of state law. According to court records, Hyland struck and killed Turner on Route 130 in March 2016, fleeing the scene. The womans niece, who was a passenger in the car, secretly called 911 to report the accident, the records show. At the time, Hyland already had a slew of arrests and convictions and told police she fled because her license had been suspended for a long time. She admitted to drinking half a pint of vodka earlier in the day and a court-ordered evaluation later found she suffered from five substance abuse disorders. Hyland sought entry to drug court, a treatment-focused alternative to prison for people who commit crimes while in the grip of addiction. Prosecutors in Camden County opposed her admission, arguing the fact that she fled the scene of a serious accident meant she posed a danger to the community. According to court records, Hyland, now 44, was previously convicted of six offenses in state Superior Court and eleven in municipal court, including burglary and drug distribution. She pleaded guilty in 2017 to a range of charges, including knowingly leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident. The trial judge sentenced her to five year of probation as part of the drug court program. Prosecutors lost an appeal, and the state Supreme Court took up the case. Writing for the court, Justice Lee Solomon noted the state Legislature gave judges greater discretion to place the person on special probation when it passed laws establishing drug court. The court found the sentence was within the bounds of the discretion of the judge, who weighed the unique characteristics and circumstances of the case. The ruling solidifies that drug court sentences can only be appealed in strict circumstances in which the sentence runs afoul of the state law. Jennifer Kmieciak, a deputy attorney general who represented the state, said in a statement prosecutors pursued the challenge to Hylands sentence to clarify its right to appeal drug court sentences. A spokeswoman for the Camden County Prosecutors Office, which brought the charges, declined to comment on the ruling. Tamar Lerer, an assistant deputy public defender who represented Hyland before the court, said the ruling was significant in that it strictly limits prosecutors ability to appeal drug court sentences. Lerer said Hylands admission to drug court had been put on hold during the lengthy appeals process, causing "a significant delay in receiving the services she should have received. Society as a whole benefits when people are getting the treatment and supervision they need as soon as they can get it, she said. "The opinion today makes that possible. CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the term of probation. It was five years, not five months. S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A former state Superior Court judge who served a federal prison sentence for raping a boy in Russia, and bringing back a tape of the act, cannot get his state pension for his years on the bench, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Monday. Stephen W. Thompson, 72, who presided over cases in Camden County from 1989 until shortly after his arrest in 2003, renewed his effort to receive his pension when he was released from federal prison in 2014. Since then, his pension, which would have been $51,916 annually, has been before a state pension board, which decided on forfeiting it, and the states administrative law courts - where Thompson once served - which upheld the decision Thompson then appealed to the Superior Courts Appellate Division, arguing it was wrong for the board to eliminate his pension because his crime occurred just before his retirement, and that time period should be used to calculate how much pension to lose - not the entire benefit. The appeals decision, which summarized Thompsons career - from wounded and disabled Vietnam War veteran, to Haddon Township municipal prosecutor and judge, then judge in the state Office of Administrative Law before becoming a judge in the Superior Court in Camden County - said evidence in the investigations against him show Thompson was involved with child pornography, in the early 1970s. Thompsons misconduct was not confined to the last two years of his judicial service, the appeals decision said. And, he used his state-issued laptop to download and store pornographic images of children and to arrange his encounter in Russia, in 2002, the decision says. "Thompsons misconduct related to and touched upon his office because he used a judiciary-supplied laptop to engage in his criminality. Thompson used the laptop to orchestrate his fateful trip to Russia, the appeals judges wrote. They went on: Thompsons misconduct tarnished the image and integrity of the judiciary of this State...The vileness, depravity, moral turpitude, and gravity of Thompsons misconduct is obvious. The sustained nature of his misconduct over several decades renders his entire judicial service dishonorable. The decision concludes, We have little difficulty in upholding the Boards decision to totally forfeit his judicial retirement benefits. Thompson for years was known for his military service that left him disabled. He volunteered for the U.S Army in 1968 after graduating from college and arrived in Vietnam as an infantry platoon leader in the summer of 1969. That same month, he lost his right leg, bladder and genitals in a friendly fire burst of 20 automatic gunfire rounds at close range, prior news stories and the decision describe. He was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry and a Purple Heart and underwent years of complicated surgeries and recoveries that nearly killed him. He then went to law school. Authorities arrested Thompson in 2003, and he went to trial in 2005, arguing he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a brain injury from his combat injuries, and his interest in child pornography and young boys was a desperate quest to reclaim his lost virility. The jury convicted him in 2005 of exploitation of a child and found him not guilty by reason of insanity for possession of child pornography. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison the following year. He was later disbarred as well. Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Rutgers University should restore funding to its student newspaper after it violated the constitution by allowing students who dont like what the paper publishes to vote to defund it, a First Amendment group claims. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) on Monday called for Rutgers to restore more than $500,000 to The Daily Targum, which lost its student fee funding through a referendum last month. That referendum violated the constitution because it let students decide how public money is spent based entirely on whether they agree with what a student group does, said Adam Goldstein, a program officer at FIRE, a non-profit free speech advocacy group. Students, including a conservative group that dismissed The Daily Targum as fake news, arent legally allowed to defund a public university newspaper just because they dont agree with the content, he said. Rutgers cannot permit any student group to lose funding because someone didnt like what they published, and thats all a referendum is: a hecklers veto with extra steps, Goldstein said. FIRE cited a 2000 Supreme Court decision involving the University of Wisconsin that found public universities can require a student to pay fees to support student groups whose beliefs are offensive to the student. That ruling also established that the method for deciding if a group gets student funding at a public college must be viewpoint neutral. The university must immediately reverse course and implement a funding process that doesnt subject student newspapers, or any other student organization, to layer upon layer of impermissible viewpoint discrimination, Goldstein said. FIRE asked Rutgers to restore the funding and find a legal way to fund the paper through student fees. It did not directly threaten a lawsuit but suggested it would be easier for Rutgers to address the issue than risk litigation. The university received the letter from FIRE on Monday and will take a careful look at what the organization said about the referendum process, spokeswoman Dory Devlin said. The Daily Targum began printing at Rutgers in 1869 and became independent of the university in 1980. Since then, students have paid a fee each semester, and the paper was required to win a student referendum every three years to continue getting funding. Since 2017, the Rutgers Conservative Union (RCU) has promoted a #DefundTheTargum campaign, dismissing the paper as fake news and accusing it of left-leaning political bias, Goldstein said. The student group said its goal was not to destroy the paper, but to give more freedom and more choice to the already over charged Rutgers student. This year, The Daily Targum failed the gain the necessary 25 percent of votes to continue the $11.25-per semester fee, gutting the paper of close 70 percent of its budget. The paper launched a GoFundMe page that has raised about $15,000 in donations. It has yet to announce how it will offset the lost funding. The $11.25 refundable fee, paid in the fall and spring, was factored into the $14,975 the average Rutgers New Brunswick student paid in tuition and fees last school year. Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Together, they have claimed legions of fans. In March, they earned their first No. 1 song as a group on the Billboard Hot 100. But it hasnt always been smooth travels for New Jerseys Jonas Brothers. Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas grew up in Wyckoff and Little Falls and rose to fame when they were still children, thanks to a Disney record contract. Starting in 2011, the group went on a hiatus, at first to pursue solo careers. Then, in 2013, the group split over that old chestnut creative differences. The Jonas Brothers officially reunited this year with the release of the single Sucker" in March (which became their first No. 1). The music video for the song, who co-stars their significant others, has claimed more than 145 million views on YouTube. Its been full speed ahead ever since. On Tuesday, Amazon will release the behind-the-scenes Jonas Brothers documentary Chasing Happiness. This summer, fall and winter, the group is on a Happiness Begins world tour, which stops in November at the Prudential Center in Newark and Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. In a May episode of Billy on the Street," Billy Eichner welcomed the trio and zestfully harassed New Yorkers about the Jonas Brothers being back. The same month, Joe Jonas, 29, surprised all the celebrity watchers and married Game of Thrones star Sophie Jonas in a Las Vegas ceremony after the Billboard Music Awards months after Nick Jonas, 26, tied the knot with Priyanka Chopra with multiple ceremonies and parties in India and beyond. (Kevin Jonas, 31, married his wife Danielle in 2009. They have two daughters. We were not supposed to get outta Jersey, said Nick Jonas in the trailer for the Chasing Happiness (see clip below), which traces the groups beginnings. The story also delves into the Jonas family, including the brothers father, Kevin Sr., who was the pastor of a church in Wyckoff. It was Nick Jonas who suggested the brothers go their separate ways, career-wise. Apparently, the process of making the film is part of what drew the brothers back together. In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning, Nick expanded on that whole creative differences explanation that was given for their extended hiatus. To call it creative differences is almost too simple," he said. I think a lot of people lost the appetite for what we were putting into the world. So, you know, we were putting up shows that werent selling. We were making music that I dont think we were all super-proud of, and it wasnt connecting. And on top of that, the root of all these real issues was that our relationship was becoming strained. And so, I had a very tough conversation with them where I laid it out for them: I said, You know, I feel like the Jonas Brothers should be no more and we should go on individual journeys. Didnt go so well! As part of the same interview, the Jonases were asked if they had considered calling it quits beyond their break of five-plus years. Oh, absolutely, said Joe. I checked out in my mind that that was it. Theres gonna be no more brothers, ever. And I feared that, you know, they would never speak to me again, for real, yeah," Nick said. And it took a couple of months of tricky conversations and navigating all that for us to be able to reconnect just as family again. Regardless of the obstacles of the past, they seem to want to make it stick this time around. "I think this time around were gonna do it right, Joe said in the interview. "Theres not gonna be secrets between us. Theres not gonna be second-guessing. Were not gonna be sitting around trying to call it off. Were gonna just keep this thing going. Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Q. My father died without a will. He had a timeshare. I didnt claim the timeshare in probate and I had no interest in it. The timeshare company was notified of his death, but they keep sending letters to him. Whats my responsibility here? Beneficiary A. Were sorry to hear about your father. Some timeshare owners love their week or two away, while others find the ongoing expenses not worth it. When a timeshare owner dies, the timeshare typically becomes part of the deceased owners estate, said Shirley Whitenack, an estate planning attorney with Schenck, Price, Smith & King in Florham Park. Therefore, she said, the contractual obligations of the timeshare owner become the responsibility of the next-of-kin or the beneficiaries of the estate. The executor or administrator of the estate should read the timeshare contract to determine the financial and legal obligations under the contract, she said. You didnt say where the timeshare is. Thats important because the laws pertaining to timeshare agreements and inheritances vary from state to state, Whitenack said. But heres whats important: Next-of-kin and estate beneficiaries can decline an inheritance, including a timeshare, typically by signing and filing a disclaimer document. If the timeshare is disclaimed, it would go to the next individuals or entities with a right to inherit, she said. If payments are not made on the timeshare, fees and penalties may accrue and the property manager might institute legal proceedings against the estate. However, Whitenack said, if the property is disclaimed by all of the heirs, the property manager would probably foreclose on the timeshare and any accrued debt would have to be paid through estate assets, if any. The foreclosure should not affect the credit of those who disclaimed the timeshare, she said. Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com. Karin Price Mueller writes the Bamboozled column for NJ Advance Media and is the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Follow NJMoneyHelp on Twitter @NJMoneyHelp. Find NJMoneyHelp on Facebook. Sign up for NJMoneyHelp.coms weekly e-newsletter. The family of an ICE detainee who died while in custody at the Hudson County jail has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the mans death was the result of inadequate medical care at the facility. Carlos Bonilla, a 43-year-old father of four, died June 10, 2017 following a two-month stint in ICE detention at the jail in Kearny. He is one of 17 people who have died at the jail since 2013, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday. Mr. Bonilla died from complications of cirrhosis, a treatable condition (the defendants) knew about but failed to evaluate and treat despite their knowledge and Mr. Bonillas repeated requests for medical attention," according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of Bonillas family. The devastatingly inadequate medical care defendants dispensed to Mr. (Carlos) Bonilla is not an anomaly at Hudson County Correctional Center," the complaint states. Bonilla, a resident of Long Island who lived in the United States for 25 years, owned and operated a construction company when he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Central Islip, New York on April 1, 2017. He was taken to the Kearny jail, which houses immigration detainees under a agreement between Hudson County and the federal government. The suit seeks a jury trial and it names Hudson County, the jail, and CFG Health Systems the facilitys medical care provider at the time as defendants. The complaint also names Evelyn Bernardo, Claudette Blake, Tammy Cooper, Daisy Doronila, Dr. Paul Ittoop, Jane Lowe, Teresa OBrien, Myriam Sterlin, Eric Taylor and unnamed parties as individual defendants. The suit claims that from day one medical staff at the jail knew Bonilla suffered from cirrhosis and its complications but failed to evaluate and treat the liver condition, even though they were aware he had been previously treated for the illness. The suit alleges medical providers at the jail created a system in which Bonilla was evaluated and treated by nurses who were unqualified to do so. The medical providers also failed to create a treatment plan for Bonilla, did not provide medications previously prescribed to treat his illness and related complications, and failed to provide or arrange for specialty care, the lawsuit states. At the jail, doctors and administrators have abdicated their responsibility to provide medical care to the facilitys nurses, regardless of a patients condition, diagnosis, or need for a doctors care, the suit alleges. "This has left nurses to provide (or fail to provide) care far beyond their qualifications Spokespeople for Hudson County and ICE declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation. CFG Health Systems did not respond to an email and telephone message seeking comment. According to the lawsuit, two days before his death Bonilla had slurred speech, was dizzy, stumbling, and reported having diarrhea when he was taken from his cell to appear in immigration court. He was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was found to be suffering from blood clots in his throat, bloody stool, weakness, and other conditions, the suit says. Bonilla was dead two days later, the suit says, adding that his children were 8, 17, 21, and 24 years old at the time of his death. The suit states the county, jail, and CFG had a custom of providing inadequate medical care at the jail. In March 2018, after mounting public outrage over deaths at the jail, Hudson County terminated its five-year, 29-million-dollar contract with CFG, which it entered into in 2016, the suit says. The suit also notes that Hudson County has contracted with ICE to incarcerate people at the jail since 1996 and in 2017 alone, Hudson County made eight million dollars in profit from this lucrative contract. This unfortunate tragedy has resulted in many reforms at HCCC when it comes to the quality of care provided to inmates and detainees at the facility," Hudson County Freeholder Bill ODea said. "Particularly, now the director of corrections does not wait for pre-approval from ICE before sending detainees out to hospitals for procedures. In late 2018, the county created the Hudson County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Advisory Board to examine the medical and mental health services offered to regular inmates and immigration detainees at the county jail and to implement improvements. The nine-count civil suit filed by the nonprofit New York Lawyers for the Public Interest and Dechert LLP seeks damages of various forms, costs, and legal fees. JERSEY CITY A 60-year-old man was found on the city's west side early Sunday morning with stab wounds, cops say. Police were called to the area of West Side and Harrison avenues, near Lincoln Park, just before 1:30 a.m. and found the victim with multiple stab wounds, according to police spokeswoman Kim Wallace-Scalcione. He was transported to Jersey City Medical Center and is now in stable condition. He is expected to be released, Wallace-Scalcione said. Police later arrested 55-year-old Gregory Lott and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a weapon, she said. Prior the incident, Lott and the victim has had a verbal and physical alteration at another location, Wallace-Scalcione said. Corey W. McDonald may be reached at cmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @cwmcdonald_. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. A Jersey City man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the murder of a 20-year-old man he shot in the neck in 2016. Hudson County Superior Court Judge Mirtha Ospina meted out the life sentence to David Cooper, 28, who was convicted earlier this year of the homicide of Ahmin Colclough. At trial, the Hudson County Prosecutors Office presented evidence that Cooper fired a 9mm bullet into the back of Colcloughs neck on Forrest Avenue on Sept. 19, 2016. A jury convicted Cooper in March after 90 minutes of deliberating. Cooper also received seven years for two weapons offenses, although those sentences will run concurrent to the life sentence, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. He was additionally sentenced to five years in state prison for unlawful possession of a weapon and five years for an aggravated assault for his role in two separate incidents, one in 2016 and another in 2017, Suarez said. These prison sentences will run concurrent to one another and would only be served if Cooper was ever paroled. EDITORS NOTE: The billion-dollar medical marijuana, hemp and legal weed industries offer an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern N.J. history. NJ Cannabis Insider features exclusive, premium content for those interested in getting in on the ground floor or expanding their operation. View a sample issue. After years of having one of the more constrained medical marijuana programs in the country, New Jersey is on the cusp of an expansion that could add dozens of new businesses to the industry. The state Department of Health on Monday revealed plans to license as many as 108 new medical marijuana businesses, adding to the 12 medical marijuana providers already approved by the state. Six of those businesses are licensed and operational, while the other six were selected last year but have not been licensed. While this move signals strong intent from the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy to grow a program that has seen marijuana supply shortages and long lines for patients, it will likely still be months before any of these new businesses would be up and running. This expansion effort could also be further complicated by an ongoing effort in the state Legislature to expand the medical marijuana program through that body. So far, lawmakers have been unable to do so, prompting the governor to use his executive authority to add businesses. We are at a point where patients just cannot wait any longer for easily accessible, affordable therapy," state Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal said. "This request for applications allows for specialization of businesses to increase medical product in our state. The Health Department will start accepting applications for the new licenses on July 1 and will accept them through Aug. 15. The department did not say when it would announce the new licensees. This is the first time the state will issue separate licenses for growers, processors and retailers. All six of the businesses already in operation are vertically integrated, meaning they all grow, process and sell marijuana in-house, as are the six providers selected last year. Now it will be possible for a license holder to sell marijuana without also having to grow and process it. #MedicalMarijuana patients in NJ cant wait any longer for more accessible, affordable therapy. Announcing a new RFA for: 24 cultivators 30 manufacturers 54 dispensaries Up to 108 new endorsements are in play. Applications available 7/1. More: https://t.co/XupMSii6eR Shereef Elnahal, MD (@ShereefElnahal) June 3, 2019 The Health Department will license as many as 38 marijuana businesses in the northern region of the state, up to 38 in the central region of the state and 32 in the southern region of the state. Of those 108 licenses, the DOH said it wants as many as 24 growers, 30 processors and 54 retailers. Since Murphy, a Democrat, took office, the number of patients in New Jerseys medical marijuana program has ballooned, from less than 17,000 to nearly 50,000. Murphy said Tuesday this expansion will address the rapidly growing patient need for medical marijuana in New Jersey, making the program more accessible to more patients and ensure a high-quality supply to meet demand at lower prices. Our goal is to ensure a medical marijuana program that is as robust as it is compassionate, the governor said at an unrelated news conference in Hackensack. Murphy has made it a priority of his administration to add patients and grow the program, but so far he has only been able to modestly expand the number of providers. One reason for that is he was waiting for the Legislature to pass a package of marijuana reform bills earlier this year. That package included marijuana legalization and expungement reform, which would allow people to clear old pot convictions from their records, on top of medical marijuana expansion. But the Democratic-controlled Legislature couldnt get it done at the end of March, prompting Murphy to pursue medical expansion on his own terms. But as the Health Department prepared to announce this expansion, the Legislature again picked up its medical marijuana bill. The state Assembly approved the expansion bill two weeks ago and the Senate passed it last week, though the Senate made some tweaks that mean the plan has to get Assembly approval again before the bill would go to the governor for a signature. Murphys team told NJ Advance Media that if the Legislature does pass a medical marijuana bill soon, this application process could be amended so that it would fit into the parameters of the bill. Another option could be speeding up the application process to avoid a conflict with the medical marijuana bill, should it pass the Legislature. However, even if lawmakers dont pass a bill, its unclear how quickly the businesses chosen in the process could be open. Its been six months since the DOH picked the six new medical marijuana providers and those are still some ways off from opening. In the meantime, New Jerseys medical marijuana program will continue growing. Its now at more than 47,000 patients and will hit 50,000 in the coming weeks. EDITORS NOTE: A previous version of this story said that the Murphy administration would amend the application process if a medical marijuana bill passes the Legislature, but that is just one of the administrations options. NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this story. Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. EDITORS NOTE: The billion-dollar medical marijuana, hemp and legal weed industries offer an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern N.J. history. NJ Cannabis Insider features exclusive, premium content for those interested in getting in on the ground floor or expanding their operation. View a sample issue. Hours after the state Department of Health unveiled a plan to grow New Jerseys strained medical marijuana program, the state Senate president bashed the move, furthering a feud thats seeping into everything in Trenton. Stephen Sweeney, New Jerseys most powerful state lawmaker said Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, is undermining efforts to expand the medical marijuana program through the state Legislature. A bill to do that is just a vote in the state Assembly away from landing on the governors desk for a signature, but Murphy has not said hed endorse the plan. Once again, the governor is ignoring the hard work of the Legislature and the agreement between the Senate, the Assembly and the administration on this issue," Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said in a statement. The legislation that is in the process of being approved by both houses is a direct reflection of that agreement and now the governor wants to preempt what is a thoughtful plan to expand medical marijuana in an effective and responsible way. On Monday, the Department of Health announced that it would soon be accepting applications for up to 108 new medical marijuana businesses, adding to the 12 providers that have already been approved by the state. Only six of those providers are currently open. While the bill before the Legislature also would add many new medical marijuana businesses, it would do so in a different way. The Legislatures plan calls for a Cannabis Regulatory Commission to oversee the industry and make rules about how many businesses would be allowed. The commission has long been a point of contention between the governor and the Senate president. But any businesses added in the expansion announced Monday by the Health Department would be under control of that agency until a new law is passed, which irked Sweeney. This immediate and uncontrolled expansion could be destructive to what is a newly expanding marketplace, the Senate president said. The legislation calls for the oversight board to use its expertise in deciding how to increase the number of facilities to best serve consumers and their medical needs." Meanwhile, New Jerseys second-most-powerful lawmaker, state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin,, also said Monday hes disappointed by Murphys move. For over a year, the Legislature has worked tirelessly with this administration in an effort to create a responsible and accessible medicinal cannabis market, Coughlin, D-Middlesex, said in a statement. The Legislature understands the obstacles many suffering from critical and chronic illnesses are facing and will undoubtedly remain committed to move forward with legislation that will expand access to medical cannabis in a safe, accessible, and regulated market, the speaker added. Murphy has shown some patience in his push for a more robust medical marijuana market. He stalled on expanding the program while the Legislature debated a trio of marijuana reform bills. Those bills would have legalized marijuana, along with growing the medical program and making it easier for people to clear marijuana convictions from their records. The Legislature was set to vote on those bills on March 25, before Sweeney pulled the plug the day of the vote, once it became clear the Senate did not have enough support to pass the legalization bill. Later the same day, Murphy said he would expand the medical marijuana program himself. We have put off (responding) to the enormous demand for medical marijuana. We have resisted granting more licenses, the governor said in March. But Sweeney and other top lawmakers were able to convince the governor to wait, as they tried to reach a consensus on legalization. So Murphy did. But his patience wasnt without limit, and after Sweeney announced last month that the effort to legalize marijuana in the state was dead, the Murphy administration began readying the expansion plan that was released on Monday. The administration said Monday that there was no need to continue delaying medical expansion. Patients cannot continue to wait for access to life-changing medical treatment, and todays announcement is an important step toward ensuring sustainable and affordable access," said Alyana Alfaro, the governors press secretary. The Department of Health is overseeing the expansion of the Medicinal Marijuana Program to ensure that it is done responsibly and in a way that puts the needs of patients first. Alfaro added that, despite what Sweeney said, there was no agreement with the governor as the bill was written. So this appears to be another chapter in what has become a long feud between Murphy and Sweeney, one that has permeated everything from taxes to economic incentives and one that seems to be turning rather nasty. The governor shouldnt be ignoring what is a good plan and he shouldnt be ignoring the agreement he has with the Legislature, Sweeney said Monday. "Thats a bad practice and is becoming a bad habit of his. NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report. Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A former New Jersey State Police trooper once assigned to then-Gov. Chris Christies security detail has lost his appeal after being fired for shoplifting from a Pennsylvania Cabelas. In a decision handed down on Monday, the Superior Court of New Jersey upheld William Carvounis termination from state police for misconduct. A message left for Carvounis attorney was not immediately returned. Acting Superintendent Patrick J. Callahan made the final decision in May 2018, and Carvounis appealed. Carvounis faced the misconduct charges after he was charged with shoplifting from the Berks County Cabelas sporting goods store in 2014. Carvounis was visiting the store with a friend in January 2014, when surveillance cameras recorded him hiding items in the pockets of his cargo-pants, switching the packaging on a pair of binoculars to make them cheaper, and taking the tag off of a cap and wearing it as he walked to the stores checkout. Police said he bought about $200 in merchandise, but tried leaving the store with an additional $277.38 worth of items without paying. Carvounis was stopped as he tried to leave by Cabelas employees and a Tilden Township police officer. Carvounis initially denied the thefts, and then reportedly said he was part of the governors security detail and he needed to purchase (the items) himself due to budgetary cutbacks. Carvounis asked the Tilden officer for a break, specifically for professional courtesy in the matter, according to court records. Carvounis was charged with two counts of retail theft, and was eventually allowed to enter a first-time offender program called Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. He completed the program in August 2014, and the charges were expunged from his record. Carvounis was suspended without pay, and then charged with violating three of the Division of State Polices rules and regulations. Following hearings in the summer of 2015, an administrative law judge found Carvounis guilty of two of the charges, violating laws in the U.S. and using or attempting to use an official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages. The judge found a "more appropriate penalty was for Carvounis to be suspended until she issued her decision on April 5, 2018, court papers state. The next month, Callahan accepted the two guilty findings, but rejected clearing Carvounis of discrediting himself or the division of state police, and determined Carvounis should be fired. Carvouniss appeal claimed the termination was shocking to ones sense of fairness, among other arguments. The three-judge panel disagreed, and said the acting superintendents actions were supported by substantial, credible evidence in the record, including testimony about Carvounis shoplifting from the store, his falsely claiming the stolen items belonged to him, claiming the stolen items were needed for work due to budgetary cutbacks and then asking for special treatment because he was a trooper. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. Two years after racist campaign flyers circulated in a New Jersey town, officials are taking an unusual step to try to answer the lingering question: who sent them? The flyers which arrived in Edison Township mailboxes less than a week before November 2017s Election Day featured photos of school board candidates Jerry Shi and Falguni Patel, stamped with the words deport and Make Edison Great Again! Shi, who is Chinese-American, and Patel, who is Indian-American, previously told NJ Advance Media they have no knowledge of who sent the flyers. Both won the school board election. Concerned Edison officials appealed to the state Attorney General to investigate who was behind the incident. In August 2018, NJ Advance Media reported that the Attorney Generals office was quietly investigating the incident, identifying at least one person of interest but no clear suspects. When asked for an update on the investigation on Friday, a spokesperson said he could neither confirm nor deny if it existed. Unsatisfied with the lack of an answer from the state, the township council in Edison made the somewhat unusual decision in late February to form a Committee of the Whole -- a legislative body that can investigate the incident through a series of public hearings. A local government can form a Committee of the Whole when everyone on the council is interested in an issue, Marc Pfeiffer, Senior Policy Fellow at Rutgers, said, as is the case in Edison. Under New Jersey law, a Committee of the Whole can subpoena people to interview them about the incident in question, Pfeiffer said. Those interviews must be conducted in a public setting. (Its often a little less formal than normal council meetings; some groups might not record minutes or open up for public comment, he said.) Edisons Committee has already tried issuing a subpoena to Patel. She refused to come in, and her lawyer said she already cooperated with the Attorney Generals investigation. The Committee then withdrew its subpoena, John OReilly, Patels lawyer said. The Committee had two meetings in April, which were both highly attended by the public. There, councilmen questioned people about the flyers. They brought in Postal Inspector David Comer on April 23, who provided documentation of what he discovered concerning how the flyers were mailed, including the fact that whoever sent them tried to mail about 1,000. But, other people were no-shows, causing some councilmen-turned-amatuer-investigators to feel frustrated. We are not the FBI up here, said Robert Diehl, who is one of three councilmen leading the Committee. He urged everybody who has anything to share to come forward so they could get to the bottom of it. Councilman Samip Joshi revealed that the Committee recently subpoenaed a bank account that may be associated with a person who paid for the stamps on the flyers. But they havent received any information back from the bank yet. It is unclear what happens if a person or an entity ignores a subpoena from the Committee, Pfeiffer said. If a court issues one, the person who ignores the subpoena can be held in contempt of court, which would put sanctions on that person. But a Committee of the Whole isnt a court, and its power is limited, Pfeiffer said. If and when the Committee does find answers, the same group of people can turn back into their roles as normal councilmen and refer their findings to a law-enforcement body like the county prosecutors office or the State Attorney General, according to Pfeiffer. However, it is unclear what, if any, criminal or civil charges the people who sent over the flyers would face. Joshi said it is possible they could be charged with breaking election laws, since they failed to note on the flyer who paid for it. Cassidy Grom may be reached at cgrom@njadvancemedia.com Follow her at @cassidygrom. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A 62-year-old man was struck and killed along Route 73 in West Berlin early Sunday morning, according to police. The crash took place just after 1:30 a.m. near Katherine Avenue. William Curtis, of West Berlin, was walking southbound when he was struck by a vehicle traveling the same direction, police said. He lived about a half mile south on the 400 block of Route 73, according to police. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact police at 856-767-5878, ext. 219. Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. For years he dumped. Now hes been ordered to clean up his mess. A state Superior Court judge in Morristown ordered Monday that Joseph Wallace the man who spent years building a seven-story-tall mountain of dirt and debris on his property in a quiet residential neighborhood in Vernon Township to halt work and remediate the site. Citing clear and convincing evidence of irreparable harm, Judge Maritza Berdote Byrne ordered Wallace to immediately halt the importation of all material to his property, turn over information about what exactly is in the pile and clean up any material that is considered solid waste. Our efforts to tackle the 75-foot soil pile in Vernon are part of our overall commitment to dropping the hammer on polluters across the state," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said. "Today, we welcome the court order prohibiting the owner from receiving new material, and requiring the owner to test the site and remove all solid waste materials on that property. This is a positive step for the state and the residents of Vernon. Since at least 2011, Wallace has had dump trucks bringing material from mostly unknown sources to his property on Silver Spruce Drive, a private road in a quiet residential neighborhood. NJ Advance Media detailed the activity in an in-depth report published in February. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection took Wallace to court after determining in February that he used his property to run an illegal solid waste facility. A consent order with Wallace allowed state officials to come onto the property and test the pile in March. Results of that testing, released in April, showed the pile to contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs,) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the pesticide chemical chlordane all at levels above the states standard for residential soil. PAHs are classified as probable human carcinogens, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PCBs are also linked cancer, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as pregnancy complications and other health effects. Exposure to chlordane, according to the CDC, can have a variety of effects on the human nervous system. Under the new court order, Wallace must do the following: Within 10 days, provide the NJDEP with information about all the material he has brought onto his property since 2009. Within 60 days, determine what in the pile is considered solid waste, give the NJDEP a cost estimate for removing that waste, place funds in escrow to pay for that waste removal, create and implement a soil erosion plan for the property and apply for a stormwater permit. Within 120 days, remove and properly dispose of any solid waste material on the property. Wallace had been scheduled to appear in court last week, but that was cancelled after he and his lawyer failed to file timely opposition. Byrne instead decided the case without an oral argument. Jeffrey Patti, Wallaces lawyer, said he will be filing a motion to stay the enforcement action of this order until the conclusion of the states case against his client. Patti also said he will request that the states case be put on hold until a second case, involving dozens of municipal violations related to Wallaces pile, is resolved. Our position was, and is, the matter should be stayed pending the outcome of the municipal court matters, Patti said. Vernon Mayor Harry Shortway praised the courts decision and pushed the state lawmakers to act on proposed legislation designed to prevent situations like this from occurring in the future. This is a victory for Vernon Township in our efforts to protect our residents, environment and water sources, Shortway said. But it is only another step in ending the greed of dirty dirt brokers and their affiliates at the expense of the residents living in rural New Jersey. We must continue our efforts to stop these unscrupulous activities by making such behavior criminal. Town demands resignation The new court order comes just days after the Vernon Township Council passed a resolution calling for the resignation of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine McCabe. The resolution was amended by the council just before voting to also call for the resignations of Mike Hastry, the NJDEPs head of solid waste enforcement, and Kerry Pflugh, the NJDEPs director of local government assistance according to the New Jersey Herald. The resolution blames the NJDEP for allowing Wallace to continue dumping on his property despite being aware of the situation. Complaints about Wallaces actions at the Silver Spruce property date back to 2009. McCabe became the head of the NJDEP in January 2018. Read Byrnes full decision against Wallace below: Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. A New Jersey woman convinced a senior citizen to wire her $6,200 by making up a story about a relative in trouble, authorities said. Greisy Breton, 40, of Cherry Hill, is charged with theft for taking part in the phone scam, the Passaic County Prosecutors Office said in a statement Monday. Breton talked the Texas resident into sending the money into a bank account in Paterson that she controlled, officials said. Breton was arrested Wednesday and released with a summons. She is due in court June 12. Senior citizens are cautioned not to wire, transfer or send money to strangers as a result of telephone solicitation, the prosecutors office warns. The targets of the scams are usually told a grandchild or other relative needs money to be bailed out of jail. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters UPDATE: The boys were found safe on Sunday evening. Police had been searching for two boys who were reported missing in Sea Girt on Sunday afternoon. The boys, Adam Thoms, 13, and Alex Thoms, 15, are brothers and were last seen on Washington Boulevard in Sea Girt at around 1 p.m. on Sunday, according to information from authorities. They had been seen heading toward the beach. Authorities said the boys had no money or cell phones. A Sea Girt Police Department dispatcher had said Sunday evening that the whole department was out searching for the boys. Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. By Joseph Catania Debra, a 53-year-old single mother of three, worked as a nanny in New Rochelle, N.Y., according to the Stanford Social Innovation Review. In one day, her employer turned her life upside down. On this day, she was experiencing painful back spasms. She accidentally dropped a painkiller on the floor. Her employer came home that same day, found the pill and told her to leave immediately. They thought she was on drugs and dangerous. Just like that, without any notice, severance or other job protections, Debra was unemployed and immediately in crisis, according to the Review. Debras story, along with that of other domestic workers, was described in a recent New York Times Magazine feature article. The article highlighted a movement led by the National Domestic Workers Alliance or N.D.W.A, which is led by the tireless organizer, Ai Jen Poo. The N.D.W.A, established in 2007, has been organizing domestic workers to build a constituency that aims to right the wrongs of history. Now they are asking Congress to establish a domestic workers bill of rights. This legislation would finally end the legacy of exclusion created in law during the New Deal. Sadly, these wrongs that domestic and agricultural workers continue to face today are based on race and gender, rooted in the dual threats of racism and sexism. Since the 1930s, our federal government has excluded these workers from basic protections of labor and employment laws and standards, many of which we take for granted such as the minimum wage, overtime, sick leave and meal breaks. Why were these workers excluded from labor protections? During New Deal negotiations, members of Congress from Southern states refused to support President Franklin D. Roosevelts (FDR) proposals for new labor laws if they included agricultural and domestic workers. Both were largely African-American at the time, especially in the South. And domestic workers were mostly women. So FDR excluded them from the legislation to satisfy the Southern Democrats, who held enough power in Congress to stall the entire New Deal. Few Americans realize this unjust legacy continues today. The federal government also excludes agricultural and domestic workers from the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which guarantees employees the right to organize and collectively bargain over their wages and working conditions. Live in workers are excluded from the overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The protections of the Occupational Safety and Health Act do not apply to domestic workers and neither do other federal anti- discrimination laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. All of these laws generally only cover employers with multiple employees, typically more than 15. Today, there are more than 2 million domestic workers in the United States, mostly women of color and immigrants. They are house-cleaners, health aides, and nannies like Debra, who work in private homes, mostly invisible, with more than 70 percent making less than $13 an hour. Too many experience wage theft. Too many face sexual harassment and abuse. Nannies like Debra have the lowest hourly wage among domestic workers, a median of $9.80. Most domestic workers do not have health care, sick or vacation days or get the hours they need to support their families. More than half of domestic workers cannot make ends meet. A quarter of domestic workers make less than the minimum wage. They are some of the most isolated, vulnerable and exploited workers in todays economy. Yet, their work makes the work of others possible. Their work is vital because so many families rely on them to take care of their children, clean their homes, and care for their elderly and sick parents and grandparents. Can a country as wealthy as ours continue to accept this injustice? Would we accept this if the workers were mostly white? Or mostly men? So, what can be done? As a start, Congress must pass the National Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, the direct result of N.D.W.As indefatigable organizing, and will soon be introduced by Senator Kamala Harris (D-California) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington). The entire New Jersey delegation should sign on to sponsor this legislation. Moreover, it is the responsibility of all self-proclaimed progressive white Americans, who benefit in any way from the undervalued labor of domestic workers, to support gender and racial equality by calling their U.S. representative and asking them to co-sponsor the bill. We have waited far too long and now have an opportunity to be the generation that ends this unjust legacy of exclusion. We must translate our ideals in to real policy changes that benefit all Americans, particularly those like Debra. Amid the hateful, divisive and false rhetoric about immigrants, we can respond by doing the right thing and being the country we promise to be in our most venerated documents. Domestic workers today do the work many of us want to avoid. They deserve the same labor protections everyone else gets. And the opportunity to achieve economic security. Southern Democrats do not control Congress, but the legacy of exclusion continues. It is time to end it. Perhaps we do need a wall. But this will be a border wall of grateful Americans who greet immigrants coming to America to build a better life. They will be there to simply say, Welcome, friends. And thank you. Joseph Catania lives in Montclair and is a longtime activist, an online graduate student and works for 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. His opinions are his own and not representative of the union. Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow us on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and on Facebook at NJ.com Opinion. Get the latest news updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. WASHINGTON Rep. Chris Smith has spent his decades in Congress fighting anti-Semitism. He authored the law creating the U.S. State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and this years bill giving the special envoy the rank of ambassador. He held nine hearings on anti-Semitism as chairman of the House Foreign Relations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the issue. And he co-chairs the Houses Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism. Nevertheless, Smith, R-4th Dist., is a strong supporter of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose political party last year demonized Hungarian-born Jewish financier George Soros and was called reprehensible by Anti Defamation League President Jonathan Greenblatt for its utilization of anti-Semitic tropes" as it romped to victory. This is pure anti-Semitic conspiracy theory and the Orban government basically ran an entire election campaign on that, said Rob Berschinski, senior vice president for policy for Human Rights First, an advocacy group that pushes the U.S. to lead on human rights issues. There are certain law and policymakers on the rightward end of the American political spectrum who are willing to at least overlook some aspects because they feel common ground on some of the social issues that the Orban government supports, said Berschinski, whose group has received four grants totaling $1.2 million from Soros Open Society Foundations. Smith said there was nothing to overlook concerning Orban. Smearing somebody is the worst thing you can do, particularly with anti-Semitism, Smith said. Hes not anti-Semitic. His government is not anti-Semitic. Smith, who once likened Orban to President Ronald Reagan, attended a March Make Families Great Again event in Washington with Hungarian officials, members of President Donald Trumps administration, and Christian conservative leaders. Meeting @RepChrisSmith on the margins of the Make Families Great Again conference pic.twitter.com/AOtlgBPKOQ Katalin Novak (@KatalinNovakMP) March 15, 2019 "#Hungary is a beacon of hope. Thank you to PM #Orban that he is a friend of families" - @RepChrisSmith at the 'Make Families Great Again conference pic.twitter.com/sgGs1rZZje Katalin Novak (@KatalinNovakMP) March 14, 2019 Orban has sought to encourage more births and discourage abortions by offering financial incentives for families with multiple children. Meanwhile, he has mirrored Trump by taking a hard line on immigration, refusing, for example, to admit Muslim refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East. It is certainly true that conservative policies on abortion and other matters related to the family and to birth rates are one important part of the Orban governments so-called Christian nationalism, said Paul Hanebrink, a Rutgers University history professor who has studied Hungary and anti-Semitism. Mary Alice Carter of Maplewood, executive director of Equity Forward, said Smiths support of Orban shouldnt be a surprise. People that are so focused on outlawing abortion will go to any length at all costs in order to do so," said Carter, whose advocacy group supports reproductive rights, including abortion and birth control. Smith said he investigated the allegations of anti-Semitism during a February 2013 hearing of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that he chaired. The bottom line is Ive had the hearings, I did the due diligence, because that smear was around years ago," he said. Its a perpetual smear that continues to 2019 and I think its outrageous. Nevertheless, Orbans re-election campaign last year was criticized for his use of traditional anti-Semitic tropes of the all-powerful Jewish outsider as he attacked Soros. In a report on its website last October, the ADL referred to Orban when it said the vehemence of the anti-Soros campaign is chilling" and reminded many observers of Nazi-era propaganda used to stir up hatred and violence against Jews. And Greenblatt said at a Council of Foreign Relations forum in February that the Orban governments demonization of Soros and their utilization of anti-Semitic tropes is reprehensible. Smith said attacking Soros doesnt equal anti-Semitism. It has nothing to do with anti-Semitism and thats where the smear comes in, he said. I dont like a lot of things that Soros does either and Im not anti-Semitic. Orban also has come under fire for what he has called illiberal democracy, using his political partys huge parliamentary majorities to take control of most of the countrys media and the judiciary, and to attack independent groups such as those funded by Soros. Orban actually attended the Soros-funded Central European University as a young man. The authoritarians use George as a convenient scapegoat," said Laura Silber, a spokeswoman for Soros Open Society Foundations. In reality, its not an attempt to discredit George Soros. Its an attempt to discredit the organizations and the values he stands for. Of further concern is Orbans close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country intervened in the 2016 U.S. election in support of Trump, according to U.S. intelligence agencies and special counsel Robert Mueller. Anyone who is concerned about, or believes in, advancing the cause of democracy in Central Europe should be flatly opposed to Orban, said Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., a former U.S. assistant secretary of state. He is, willingly or not, part of Putins project of restoring authoritarianism and dividing people on the basis of nationality, race and religion that is directly opposed to American interests and values. U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, signed a bipartisan letter urging Trump to discuss Hungarys downward democratic trajectory during the meeting. Trump did not. I know hes a tough man, but hes a respected man," Trump told reporters at the White House before meeting with Orban. And hes done the right thing, according to many people, on immigration. Orban used the White House platform to defend his policies. 'From the people, by the people, for the people,'Orban said. This is the basis for the Hungarian government. So, its a government which is elected by the Hungarian people several times, so we are happy to serve our nation." Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. The Affordable Care Act, the landmark but politically polarizing federal health care law, one day could be struck down in court, or cut off of funding by President Donald Trumps administration. Gov. Phil Murphy and the Democrats who control the New Jersey Legislature say they are not going to wait to see whether this doomsday reality, as the governor describes it, comes true. Starting Monday, they will start taking action on more than a dozen proposed laws giving the state control of the online health marketplace now run by the federal government and replicating its popular patient protections, such as preserving coverage of people with pre-existing conditions. A hearing on the bills, announced Friday at a press conference with Murphy and legislators at St. Josephs University Medical Center in Paterson, is scheduled for 1 p.m. before the state Senate Commerce Committee in Trenton. State Sen. Nellie Pou, D-Passaic, one of the prime sponsors, said the legislation will preserve the security people have come to know by having insurance coverage. Some 800,000 people in the state are covered by the ACA, or Obamacare. While not every New Jerseyan has health insurance coverage, there are a lot more people covered now because of the Affordable Care Act. However, this life-saving federal program is now on the ropes because of the whims of the oval office," Pou said in a statement after the press conference. "We have a duty, as public officials, to maintain the standards, protections and options for all of our state residents, regardless of who is in Washington D.C. Most of the bills simply replicate the Affordable Care Act for the state of New Jersey, while others build on the Murphy administrations pledge to support womens reproductive health. One bill requires contraceptives be covered for free. Another requires coverage of breast pumps and other devices and services which support breastfeeding. The Affordable Care Act remains the law of the land despite a Dec. 14 federal court ruling declaring it unconstitutional. A Texas court found that by changing the tax code in 2017 and repealing Congress authority to fine people who dont buy a health insurance policy, the law is no longer enforceable. That decision is expected to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, a process that could take a year or more. Legal experts have cast doubt that the ruling will stand. There were 255,246 people in New Jersey who signed up for coverage this year, a 7 percent drop from 2018, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Trump administration attributed a nationwide decline in enrollment to a better economy and low-unemployment rate, while health policy experts said the decision to shrink the open enrollment period to six weeks was to blame. The bills also protect the part of the landmark health care law that led to a major expansion of Medicaid, the insurance program for the poor. About 500,000 New Jerseyans obtained coverage through Medicaid. Heres a breakdown on the ACA package. S3802: This bill allows that adult children may remain on their parents health coverage until they turn 26. S3803: This bill requires all health insurers to provide free preventive health screenings and vaccinations, in an another replication of the ACA. S3804: This would require insurance cover all FDA contraception for females without a co-pay. The legislation would not recognize the religious or philosophical objections of prescribers and pharmacists. S3805: This mandates coverage of breastfeeding expenses including counseling and a breast pump. S3806: This establishes an open enrollment period for the states existing Individual Health Coverage Program. S3807: This creates the state-based exchange with money controlled by the Department of Treasury. S3808: This prohibits insurance carriers from offering basic and essential plans that they do not contain the 10 benefits required under the ACA, such as maternity care, substance abuse treatment and mental health treatment and prescription drugs. S3809: The bill creates a more rigorous review process for carriers which seek more than a 10 percent annual rate increase. S3810: This prohibits the existing state Small Employer Health Benefits Program from charging people more for coverage based on their gender, and mitigates the impact age has on rates charged by the New Jersey Individual Health Coverage Program. S3811: This defines a small employer for the purposes of health coverage as a company with two to 100 employees. S3812: The bill would require large insurance carriers to report their medical loss ratio to the state to prove they are spending at least 85 percent of premiums on medical-related expenses and keeping no more than 15 percent on administration, fees and profits, a standard set by the ACA. Policyholders would receive a credit if carriers keep too much money. S626: The bill prevents carriers from denying a policy holder coverage because of a pre-existing medical condition. S49: This gives the Department of Banking and Insurance authority to operate a state based exchange and merge it with the Medicaid program, also known as NJ FamilyCare, and the state-run Individual Health Coverage Program and the New Jersey Small Employer Health Benefits Program. S3813: This would make it illegal for health care facilities and providers from discriminating against people by gender, race, sexual orientation, disability and others who are coverage by the state Law Against Discrimination. New Jersey has already requested permission from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to take control of its health exchange, now found at healthcare.gov. Murphy estimated the state could be at the helm within two years. This would put the state in control over how it spends the $50 million it sends to Washington D.C. now to run the exchange, and how the open enrollment process is handled, Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride said. We can take control back and provide the services all of the residents in New Jersey deserve, Caride said. Raymond Castro of New Jersey Policy Perspective praised the proposed bills, saying they would be welcome news to hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans whose health care has been threatened by the Trump administration and his enablers his Congress. States that have their own marketplace have been more effective in making plans more affordable, promoting more transparency and accountability, enrolling more consumers, and offering more choices, Castro said. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. WASHINGTON How much more would New Jersey consumers and businesses pay if President Donald Trump follows through with his threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods? Try $222 million at first. And it could reach $1.1 billion if Trump ratchets up the tariffs gradually to 25 percent over the next several months, according to a new study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nations largest business lobby. Its going to be an increase in costs for New Jersey businesses and consumers, said Tom Bracken, president of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. Its going to get passed on. Trump on Thursday announced he would declare an emergency and impose tariffs on Mexican imports in response to immigrants coming from Central American into the U.S. He criticized what he called Mexicos passive cooperation and said the country could easily halt the illegal flow of migrants, including by returning them to their home countries. The tariffs would begin at 5 percent on June 10 and gradually increase to 25 percent on Oct. 1. The Chamber of Commerce, which long has been critical of Trumps trade policies, said Mexico imports $4.4 billion in goods each year to New Jersey. Thats 14th highest among the 50 states. Mexico is making hundreds of billions of dollars for many, many years," Trump told reporters at the White House Sunday. "And they have to do something about the border. Everyone is coming through Mexico including drugs, including human trafficking and were going to stop it or were not going to do business and thats going to be it. Its very simple. Bracken questioned the move. Im not sure what this does for the migrant issue, he said. I just dont know why you try to solve that with this. Mexico is sending a big delegation to talk about the Border. Problem is, theyve been talking for 25 years. We want action, not talk. They could solve the Border Crisis in one day if they so desired. Otherwise, our companies and jobs are coming back to the USA! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2019 At the same time, New Jersey businesses exported almost $3 billion worth of goods to Mexico last year, their second-biggest market behind Canada and an increase of 5.4 percent over 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A Mexican retaliation to the tariffs would hurt those businesses, said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., a member of the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee. This is not a solution to the problems of people coming into this country undocumented, said Pascrell, D-9th Dist. We have trade chaos. Its going to harm everybody in New Jersey. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters. Rutgers will host a large continent of visitors this week, beginning with Virginia Tech transfer Bryce Watts Monday night. Watts, whos been at Virginia Tech since 2017, entered the transfer portal Thursday. A former Rutgers commit from Toms River, Watts can really run, has game experience, and, allegedly, a situation which could result in a hardship waver if he were to come home. Additional targets taking unofficial visits include the following juniors: Timber Creek (Erial, N.J.) cornerback Tarheeb Still and Robert E. Lee (Jacksonville, Fla.) defensive end Ralph Mency Wednesday and St. Clairsville (Ohio) offensive guard Javon Lyons Friday. Lawrenceville (N.J.) offensive tackle and Rutgers legacy Christian Forbes is tentatively scheduled to visit Rutgers early next week, along with his dad. This weekends official visitors include Willingboro (N.J.) wide receiver Chris Long, Gulliver Prep (Miami, Fla.) defensive tackle Westley Neal, Irwin County (Ocilla, Ga.) athlete Jamorri Colson and Dearborn (Mich.) defensive tackle Ali Saad, all of which begin their visits Thursday. The No. 23 recruit in the NJ.com Top 50, Long has visited Rutgers three times over the last two weeks and appears to be trending towards the Scarlet Knights. A 5-11, 315-pound three-star, Neal has 18 offers, including Boston College, which is considered one of his favorites. Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, West Virginia and plenty other big time factories have offered. Colson holds 21 offers, including Auburn, Mississippi State, Nebraska, South Carolina and Tennessee. Hes a 5-11, 170-ppound three-star with elite twitch. Saad is tentatively scheduled to visit, but hopes to make the trip. A 6-4, 255-pound three-star recruit, he holds 21 offers, including Boston College, Indiana, Minnesota and Northwestern. Todderick Hunt may be reached at thunt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TodderickHunt. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook. As a longtime resident of Wenonah who raised a family here, I take strong exception to the editorial In N.J. town, charity helps the homeless to stay away, in the June 2 South Jersey Times. Your attempt to represent the population of Wenonah as a group of rich, cosseted elitists who are without compassion was wildly off base. If taking pride in ones home and community and holding patriotic celebrations on certain holidays are somehow akin to being bigoted, then perhaps we have run afoul of the Times definition of righteousness. How ironic that an anonymous benefactor who wishes to preserve a church (after it was disclosed that the building might become a day center for homeless families) is questioned on his motivation, and then advised how to better spend his money. There are boundless numbers of hypocritical super wealthy elites in this country right now that you could root out, although with some difficulty. The same people who lecture us on our shortcomings and how we should live are not easily approachable in their walled estates. I advise the editorial board to confront them instead of besmirching people who are living quiet, productive lives in a small town in southern New Jersey. Louise A. Master, Wenonah Immigrant workers inundate our cities The Democrats want a new body politic. They want more foreign-born voters who will go along with their political designs. A lot of American men are conservative and vote Republican. They don't like big, authoritative government. They have always had a healthy suspicion of government. It was men from the Western Hemisphere who rejected Marxism and who defeated international communism. I say, make government smaller and lower everyone's taxes. But the leadership of both major political parties does not want to make government smaller. Our cities are inundated with immigrant workers who are dependent on the welfare state and the bureaucracy. There's big money in poverty, so the bureaucracy welcomes more poor people from other countries. It's not fair to make current residents pay for this with their taxes. Greedy employers have grown rich on the exploitation of foreign labor. They expect the taxpayers to subsidize this labor. Republican Gov. Chris Christie was the first to make New Jersey a sanctuary state, even though he rejected that terminology. Democrat Phil Murphy, the current governor, simply formalized the policy and announced it. I wouldn't be surprised to find that foreign-born non-citizens are voting. Last year, someone registered to vote in my name. After looking at the fraudulent form, I can presume that they did not know English. If anyone doesn't believe me, check wit with the Gloucester County Board of Elections. I think there's a problem with mail- in voter registration and mail-in ballots. But, Democrats don't care. I think they want foreigners voting illegally, because that group would probably vote for Democrats. Lee Lucas, Gibbstown Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com The Yankees and free agent starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel have started talking dollars but, right now, one side thinks the other doesnt make sense. Thats according to MLB Networks Jon Heyman, who said that Keuchel and the Yankees were apart on money. Yankees say Keuchel would have to shave his signature beard if he signed w/them, and hes said hes willing to do so. However, the Yanks considered favorites to sign DK w/ Braves and Cards as of early today still were thought apart on $. Twins, Crew, Rays other possibilities. Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 3, 2019 Keuchel becomes free of draft pick compensation at 12:01 a.m. Monday. The 31-year-old lefty turned down a $17.9-million qualifying offer from the Astros in the offseason. As a result, any team wanting to sign him before Mondays MLB Draft would be required to forfeit a top pick. Keuchel, by the way, has a ridiculously huge beard, and hes said hed be willing to shave it to join the Yankees, according to Heyman. Could the Yankees use him? Sure. First, theres the too-true cliche of, you cant have enough pitching. How that applies to the Yankees is simple: They dont have enough sure bets to stay healthy. Ace Luis Severino (right lat strain) hasnt pitched all season and though hes due back after the All-Star break, thats a vague target. CC Sabathia has been on the injured list twice. James Paxton spent a month there and his sore left knee, which has inflammation around its MCL, still isnt completely healthy. And Masahiro Tanaka isnt a stranger to the IL. A refresher on Keuchel: The 31-year-old is a two-time All-Star and 2015 Cy Young award winner. (Hes also got five Gold Gloves, for what its worth.) Hes battle-tested, having come up big in the postseason. In 2018, Keuchel went 11-12 in 34 starts for the Astros, posting a 3.74 ERA. Keuchel is a groundball specialist who doesnt get a ton of strikeouts and relies big-time on command of the strike zone. Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook. NEW YORK -- Three of the Yankees injured young stars are headed to Tampa to take the next steps in their roads back. Setup man Dellin Betances, first baseman Greg Bird and right fielder Aaron Judge will all start working at the teams complex on Monday, manager Aaron Boone said before Sundays series finale against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Here is where the Tampa-bound trio, and the rest of the injured Yankees, stand at this point: RF Aaron Judge: Judge continues to make progress, Boone said, and the fact he is going to Tampa is a positive sign. But the Yankees still dont know when he will be back from his left oblique strain. Hes close. Hes doing really well. He hit a little bit in the cage today, Boone said. I still dont necessarily have a timeline. But its going well. RHP Dellin Betances: Betances threw another bullpen session Sunday as he works his way back from a right shoulder impingement. Betances is close to facing live hitters, but Boone said hes not sure if he will do that the next time he throws or if there will be one more bullpen session in Tampa beforehand. That (live batters) will be in the mix down there, assuming he keeps progressing, Boone said. Hes getting close to that point. 1B Greg Bird: Bird said he has been running on a anti-gravity treadmill and hitting off a tee. The next step in Tampa should be running outside, which he said he expects to happen in about a week. Bird said he is still dealing with pain as he works his way back from a left plantar facia tear. DH/OF Giancarlo Stanton: Stanton had a day off Sunday, but he ran outside on Saturday, did defensive drills and hit. Boone said he hopes to have a clearer idea about when Stanton, already in Tampa as he deals with a left calf strain, could be back later this week. Once he gets through the last running phase, then hell be ready to really ramp up and get into live pitching, Boone said. Then well be able to start talking about a rehab assignment. I feel like he is getting close to that. He is able to do quite a bit right now. LF Clint Frazier: The Yankees got a scare when Frazier took a fastball to his left elbow on Saturday night, buts OK and in the lineup Sunday. He has a little swelling in there, its a little stiff when he flexes and stuff like that, Boone said. "But I think hes doing all right. IF Troy Tulowitzki: The Yankees dont know when the veteran will start playing rehab games, but Boone said he is close to all the way back from a left calf strain. Tulo is doing pretty well. We are just kind of weighing when we want to get him going at that next level, starting the rehab game process," Boone said. Were kind of working through that with him right now. Hes doing pretty well and is pretty much over the injury. SS Didi Gregorius: Gregorius remains scheduled to make his season debut in Cleveland during the upcoming road trip, Boone said, after having Tommy John surgery last October. James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook. New Orleans police are investigating after a man was shot and killed late Sunday (June 2) in the New Orleans East neighborhood of Little Woods. The shooting was reported near the corner of Bunker Hill Road and Yorktown Drive, police said. The man was shot to the body and brought to a local hospital via EMS, police said. The shooting was originally reported as having injured the man, but police later reported the man had died. The mans age was not immediately available. With Leah Chases death late Saturday (June 1), New Orleans lost an acclaimed, beloved chef and restaurateur, but friends said Sunday that her influence extended beyond the food in her Treme restaurant. Although former New Orleans Mayor Marc H. Morial said Chase offered up the most delicious fried chicken, fried shrimp and fried oysters known to humankind, he described her as one who brought people together, who was bigger than a chef or restaurant because of her activity in civil rights and the arts. In addition to feeding Morial and his family for years at Dooky Chases Restaurant, Leah Chase was one of the first major contributors to the 1977 mayoral campaign of Dutch Morial, Marc Morials father, when, the younger Morial said, he was a long-shot candidate. He would go on to become New Orleans first black mayor and served two four-year terms. Leah Chase, a longtime family friend, always pushed you to continue what you were doing, said Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League. She was a splendid person and a natural New Orleans treasure. I think her impact is incalculable, the food scholar Jessica Harris said. She crosses so many strata. Shes just amazing. Leah Chase was a legend, an icon and an inspiration, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a statement. It is impossible to overstate what she meant to our city and to our community. She was a culture-bearer in the truest sense. We are poorer for her loss, and richer for having known and having loved her. On Sunday, bouquets were placed at the doorway to the Orleans Avenue restaurant. During the years when segregation was the rule, Dooky Chases was not only the only white-tablecloth restaurant for the citys black residents and visitors, but also a place where black and white New Orleanians mapped their strategy for the civil rights movement when interracial meetings were illegal. Leah Chase started working at Dookys in 1946, shortly after marrying Edgar Dooky Chase Jr. God gave her a place to be. She made it what it is, said Marcelle Bienvenu, a food writer, cookbook author and culinary instructor at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux. Many times, she said serving people, making them feel comfortable and giving them her good food, made her feel better. The restaurants role in the drive for racial equality was a major selling point when the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. promoted the citys 300th birthday last year. Mark Romig, the organizations president and CEO, gave the family a framed copy of that advertisement. With Chases death, we lost a giant, Romig said Sunday, but Leah will continue to inspire us to be better people. Her work in the movement made us all so proud of her and what New Orleans is capable of, said JoAnn Clevenger, owner of The Upperline Restaurant. She set such a high bar, she said. She made it possible for other people to speak up and be brave. The legacy that she leaves will never fade because it can make us all stronger and more brave in speaking up when we see that a voice is needed to set the path toward righteous behavior. She set the path. Its up for all of us to continue. The Jim Crow years were tough. So were the months after the one-two punch of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up When Bienvenu told Chase she was ready to give up after those storms, she said this was Chases reply: You cant give up. I cant stop. I owe so much to my community. As the years went on, Bienvenu said Chase kept on going. I can sit in a wheelchair, and I can walk in a walker, she said Chase told her. I can still go. And she encouraged others, including Nina Compton, the James Beard Award-winning chef who owns two New Orleans restaurants. Compton, who said Chase reminded her of her grandmother, said Chase told her: Nina, Im so proud of you. You have to make it because in a male-driven society like the restaurant business, there arent many women, and there arent many women of color, and you have to make it. You have to succeed. But there was more to Chase than the full-speed-ahead businesswoman who ran a kitchen for more than 70 years. David Johnson, the New Orleans Museum of Arts publications director, said he could always count on Chase for humor and hospitality, not only for customers but also for national celebrities who showed up at her kitchen. He remembered Chases encounter with Julia Child when Chase was on Childs television show. Since it happened when blackening food was popular, Child asked Chase if she blackened her food. No, I do not burn my food, Chase replied. The only thing blackened in my kitchen is me! She was unfailingly gracious and upbeat, possessing the most wonderful attribute to see only the good things, Bienvenu said. This was obvious at the restaurant, at the many public appearances she made and at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State, said Bienvenu, a faculty member. She was a great mentor to our culinary students, Bienvenu said. Every time she came to visit, she was always so encouraging to them. .. She was an inspiration to all of our students. She had this positive energy at all times, Compton said. The most important thing is that she touched people in such a positive way. She left a mark. Her lifelong grace was incredible, Harris said, and it extended to her final months. She kindly gave us time to know she was going, Harris said. This is a story about bodily functions. It is also a story about how, in the right circumstances, someone can move to New Orleans and unknowingly end up living down the block from one of the busiest bars without igniting a controversy. And this story starts with poop. About a year after Serra Miller and her husband, Wesley Miller, moved into their rental home on Tchoupitoulas Street, they soon discovered they were the victims of a dog poop bandit. Every morning as they started their days, the pair would find a stinky pile of excrement in their yard, but they couldnt figure out who owned the defecating dog. The last straw came when Serra was getting in her car to head to work and slipped in one of the sordid mounds. So, they bought a camera and stuck it on the front of their house to catch the wily pooper. They quickly nabbed the culprit a neighbors dog escaped its yard nightly but the true discovery came once the smart home app attached to the camera clued the Millers into a whole new world of their front yards nightlife. You see, the Millers live just a few doors down from F&Ms Bar in the only house on the block with a yard. For the patrons of the bar thats an Uptown staple of collegiate life, this yard is apparently quite an attraction. The camera app, which notifies Wesleys phone whenever someone enters the yard, quickly started pinging away. There are the ladies who huddle down to Girl Scout it next to the Millers cars. There are the dudes who convince a love interest to make out, their backs pressed against the Millers fence. There was also the guy a couple weeks ago who strolled past the picket fence, stripped his shirt off and promptly fell asleep in the grass. We knew a little bit about F&Ms, but we didnt know the extent of the drunken shenanigans that happens, Serra said. That was a little bit of a surprise. But Serra, who works for a local marketing and advertising firm, and Wesley, whos in residency at LSU, knew social media gold when they saw it: They turned the security camera footage into an Instagram account, complete with cheeky captions. The account, @MyPoorTrashCan, chronicles the microcosm of New Orleanian nightlife that lands in their yard, and though its a reasonably small account with fewer than 1,500 followers, its reputation obviously gets around. Videos pop up occasionally of folks walking past who purposefully wave to the camera. The reason I have so much fun with My Poor Trash Can is I have to be so buttoned-up on my professional accounts, Serra said. But I can be looser on an account about peeing. The activity in Millers yard every night usually doesnt bother the pair; they typically dont hear the silliness, though they are a little uneasy about discovering how often folks amble onto their porch. Theyd also appreciate it if their wobbliest visitors took certain care when their stomachs churn. Its the inevitability of living that close to such an old bar, Serra said. The peeing bothers me a lot less than the vomit. A new survey shows average teacher pay in Louisiana is 12th of 16 states in the South, which raises doubts on whether Gov. John Bel Edwards will deliver on his pledge to get salaries to the regional average by the time he leaves office in 2024. Linda Wood cast an eye toward the water being pumped into the street from her basement and voiced the thought of just about everyone in this Council Bluffs neighborhood along the Missouri River. I hope its not going to get as bad as 2011, she said Saturday as she stood on the front porch of her home a couple of blocks from the levee. Throughout the neighborhood, the results of busy sump pumps could be seen in the crystal-clear groundwater flushing out of pipes and into gutters. The water table thats forcing water into basements and crawl spaces hasnt risen this high since the historic, summerlong Missouri River flood eight years ago, residents say. The Missouri River is rising because of heavy rain runoff and increasing releases from upstream dams. And now the effects are showing up in the Omaha metro area. Interstate 29 is again fully closed from northern Council Bluffs to Loveland, Iowa. Interstate 680, which links northern Omaha to Iowa, has closed. That brings to six the number of Missouri River crossings that are closed between Omaha and St. Joseph, Missouri, according to state roads officials. Only five crossings remain open four in the Omaha area and one at St. Joseph. South of Omaha, on the Iowa side, residents are preparing to evacuate if need be. North of Omaha, the Omaha Public Power District has shored up the flood defenses of the now-shuttered Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station. OPPD spokeswoman Paula Lukowski said the utility left in place the fortifications made during the March flooding and since shored them up in anticipation of the river rising again. The Missouri River is expected to rise another half-foot or so this week. On Saturday, the Army Corps of Engineers increased releases from Gavins Point Dam to 75,000 cubic feet per second, more than double what is normal for this time of year. During spring flooding, releases briefly reached 100,000 cubic feet per second as a result of the historic bomb cyclone that triggered a sudden flush of combined snowmelt and rain runoff. This years releases from Gavins Point are the second-highest since the dam went into operation in the early 1960s. Past high-release years were 2011, the year of summerlong flooding, when releases reached 160,000 cubic feet per second, and 1997, when outflows from Gavins Point peaked at 70,000 cfs. Releases from Gavins Point are expected to stay high into the fall and will be at 75,000 cfs or more for the next three weeks, which is the extent of the corps forecast for dam releases. On Saturday, the river was at 30.6 feet in Omaha. Its projected to rise to 31.3 feet this week. What happens after that will depend on rainfall. Although the river is high in Omaha and Council Bluffs, its not as high as it was during this springs flooding, when it crested at 34.41 feet on March 17. In 2011, the river reached 36.29 feet in Omaha and was high all summer as the corps drained record amounts of water from behind their six massive upstream dams. Those conditions arent expected to repeat. Snowpack, while above normal and still melting, isnt at record levels. And theres space available behind the dams to meter out runoff. The dams have about 31 percent of their flood storage space left. Missouri River bridges that remained open Saturday in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area were Interstate 480, Interstate 80, the Veterans Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 275 and the Bellevue Toll Bridge. Farther south, U.S. Highway 36 linking St. Joseph, Missouri, and Elwood, Kansas, was open. Additionally, U.S. Highway 30 at Blair, Nebraska, remained open Saturday. Bridges that have been closed: I-680 in northern Omaha; U.S. Highway 34 linking southern Bellevue and Glenwood, Iowa; the Plattsmouth Bridge; Highway 2 linking Nebraska City and Sidney, Iowa; U.S. Highway 136 linking Brownville, Nebraska, and Rock Port, Missouri; and U.S. Highway 159 at Rulo, Nebraska. In addition to the closure north of Council Bluffs, I-29 is closed from U.S. Highway 34 near Glenwood to just north of St. Joseph. For an updated list of closings, visit safetravelusa.com. KHARTOUM, Sudan Security forces attacked the camp at the center of Sudan's protest movement, opening fire, torching tents and killing at least 13 people in an assault Monday that swept away the months-long sit-in demanding the military yield power, witnesses and protest leaders said. Protesters were seen in videos posted online running through streets lined with tents, heads down and ducking as the sound of gunfire filled the air. Smoke rose from the sit-in, located outside the military headquarters in the capital, Khartoum. One video showed policemen swarming around a protester sprawled on the pavement, beating him with sticks. By mid-day, security forces controlled almost the entire camp, pushing out protesters and sealing off the area, two activists said. Other forces attacked similar sit-ins in Khartoum's sister city Omdurman and the eastern city of al-Qadarif, activists said. The assault appeared to be a coordinated move to crush a protest movement that in April forced the military to remove Sudan's strongman, Omar al-Bashir, after 30 years of rule and then stayed in the streets to keep up pressure on the generals who took his place. "This is a critical point in our revolution. The military council has chosen escalation and confrontation," said Mohammed Yousef al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals' Association, which has spearheaded the protests. "Those are criminals who should have been treated like al-Bashir," he said. "Now the situation is either them or us, there is no other way." For months, tens of thousands in the camp and other protest sites have been demanding a speedy transition to civilian rule. Tensions have mounted as negotiations between protest leaders and military officials yielded little progress. The talks focus on the makeup of a transitional "sovereignty council" that would run the country for the next three years. Protesters demand the military have only limited involvement in the council, but the ruling generals have resisted relinquishing power. The assault on the protest camp came a day before Muslims mark the Eid holiday ending the month-long fast of Ramadan. Just over a week earlier, the head of the military council ruling Sudan, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, met with his two top allies, the president of Egypt and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. Those leaders backed al-Bashir's removal and have thrown strong support to the military council. They are also deeply opposed in general to street movements along the lines of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings. The military's only comment on the morning assault came in televised remarks by Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the military council's spokesman. He said the forces were targeting an area near the sit-in where authorities have alleged criminal activity takes place. He said people from there into the main protest site, leading to clashes. He did not say if the military's goal was to break up the entire sit-in camp. Monday's attack began in the early morning. Dura Gambo, an activist, said large numbers of troops had besieged the sit-in area and arrested protesters trying to leave. "They have used the heavy rain yesterday and moved in the early morning to disperse people," she said. Amal al-Zein, another activist, said security forces set fire to the tents in sit-in area. "They are surrounding the sit-in from all directions," she said. The Sudan Doctors' Committee said medical personnel and injured people were trapped in clinics in the area, and demanded that they be allowed to leave. "Wounded people are lying on the ground the reception area as there are not enough beds," said Azza al-Kamel, a doctor at the Royal Care hospital. An Associated Press journalist heard gunshots and explosions and saw buses and soldiers on foot blocking roads leading to the protest site. Civilians were not allowed to walk in the streets, including women and children. Videos circulating online appeared to show protesters standing at low brick barricades in the street, then being driven back by walls of blue-clad security forces carrying sticks. Hundreds of people were arrested, according to al-Zein and another activist, Hisham Shalabi. Photos posted online from the scene showed dozens of men and women lined up on the pavement, sitting or lying face down, under guard by troops, apparently under arrest. The break-up of the sit-in threatens to escalate the struggle between the protesters and the military to a new, more volatile level. Until now, negotiations over the transition had kept a tenuous level of peace. But after Monday's attack, protest leaders suspended the talks with the military council and called for a general strike and "total civil disobedience." The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters in the negotiations, called for toppling the military council and urged people to take to the streets in protest. The embassies of the United States and Britain expressed concern about reported attacks on civilians. The U.S. Embassy in Sudan called on Sudanese security forces to stop what it said were "attacks against protesters and other civilians." The embassy said via Facebook that apparent attempts to move against the protest camp in the capital are "wrong" and that it holds the country's Transitional Military Council responsible for the attacks. Ifran Siddiq, the British ambassador in Sudan, said he is "extremely concerned" by the heavy gunfire he had heard from his official residence in Khartoum and the reports that Sudanese security forces were attacking the protest sit-in site. "No excuse for any such attack," he said on Twitter. Magdy reported from Cairo A park ranger leads a Pickett's Charge program. NPS Photo May 31, 2019 Contact: Jason Martz, 717-338-4423 Gettysburg, PA A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 992,025 visitors to Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site in 2018 spent $64 million in communities near the two parks. That spending supported 812 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $87.5 million.Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world, said Acting Superintendent Kristina Heister. We are delighted to share the story of these places and the experiences they provide.National park tourism is a significant driver in the national economy, returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service, and its a big factor in our local economy as well. We appreciate the partnership and support of our neighbors and are glad to be able to give back by helping to sustain local communities.The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was conducted by economists Catherine Cullinane Thomas and Egan Cornachione of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The report shows $20.2 billion of direct spending by more than 318 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 329,000 jobs nationally; 268,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $40.1 billion.Lodging expenses account for the largest share of visitor spending, about $6.8 billion in 2018. Food expenses are the second largest spending area and visitors spent $4 billion in restaurants and bars and another $1.4 billion at grocery and convenience stores.Visitor spending on lodging supported more than 58,000 jobs and more than 61,000 jobs in restaurants. Visitor spending in the recreation industries supported more than 28,000 jobs and spending in retail supported more than 20,000 jobs.Report authors also produce an interactive tool that enables users to explore visitor spending, jobs, labor income, value added, and output effects by sector for national, state, and local economies. Users can also view year-by-year trend data. The interactive tool and report are available at the NPS Social Science Program webpage: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/vse.htm To learn more about national parks in Pennsylvania and how the National Park Service works with Pennsylvania communities to help preserve local history, conserve the environment, and provide outdoor recreation, go to www.nps.gov/ Pennsylvania. Anyone who's been around the Northwest Indiana arts scene for any length of time likely has seen the work of Miller-based artist Corey Hagelberg. His black-and-white prints, woodcuts and sculptures that often address environmental degradation in Northwest Indiana have appeared in venues like the Marshall Gardner Center for the Arts, the Lubeznik Center for the Arts, the White Ripple Gallery, the Hammond Arts Center, the Porter County Museum and the Miller Bakery Cafe. Now he's landed his first solo show at the Brauer Museum of Art at Valparaiso University. Hagelberg's "No Beauty in This" will be displayed from May 30 through Aug. 4 at the art museum at 1709 Chapel Drive in Valparaiso. "The show at the Brauer combines woodcuts and sculptures together that go back to 2005 and were created as recently as last year," Hagelberg said. "I really want to create an environment that causes the viewer to think about their own ideals and how art has the ability to create tremendous beauty to cover up ills in our world, to distract from problems and solutions. While art might be beautiful, it can be a distraction." The sculptures were made with recycled material Hagelberg has gathered in his personal life. ST. JOHN In her four years of high school, Lake Central graduate Olivia Longo sat at a different lunch table every day. At one of the state's largest high schools which graduates nearly 800 students this year Longo said her classmates were sometimes surprised, but always welcoming of the new face. It was this same acceptance the Lake Central graduate encouraged her classmates to take with them through life in her introductory remarks Sunday afternoon. "That is what I want for all of you as you move from our house, our Lake Central house, into the world that you include everyone at your table," Longo said. "We all have something to contribute." Longo, who has Down syndrome, was one of several student speakers to address Lake Central's graduating Class of 2019 during its commencement ceremony Sunday. Her pitch to fellow students to make the world a more inclusive place received a standing ovation as the 791 graduates prepared to walk the stage in the high school's gymnasium. MUNSTER The Department of Education is investigating possible racial discrimination in the School Town of Munster, an education department spokesperson confirmed. The federal department's Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation based on race/color harassment on March 4, the department spokesperson said in a statement provided to The Times on Monday. The Office of Civil Rights is an arm of the Department of Education that provides guidance to federally funded schools and processes claims of discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age. More information on how the Office of Civil Rights investigates complaints of discrimination can be found on its website. Munster superintendent Jeff Hendrix said that the district has responded to a claim made with the Office of Civil Rights and has provided information for the office's investigation. However, in a 3-0 decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that the immunity law does not apply to the gun manufacturers' supposedly illegal marketing and sales practices alleged in Gary's lawsuit, including condoning straw purchases, failing to restrict sales to corrupt dealers and making false claims about gun safety. "To the extent that the alleged damages may result from and the requested injunctive relief may relate to unlawful conduct, they are not barred by the immunity statute," wrote Judge Terry Crone, a South Bend native, on behalf of the appellate court. The gun manufacturers now have until late June to decide whether to seek review of the appellate decision by the Indiana Supreme Court. Messages left for attorneys at the Merrillville law firm Burke Costanza and Carberry, which represents several of the gun manufacturers, were not immediately returned. State Sen. Jim Tomes, R-Wadesville, sponsor of the 2015 statute, said he fully expects the latest court ruling will be appealed. "I'm sure everybody involved in this won't just sit still," he said. "I hope it does get put to rest." LAKE STATION A Lowell man was arrested at a bar on Decatur Street in Lake Station after fighting with a state trooper during a traffic stop, according to an Indiana State Police news release. Edward E. Wilber, 49, was stopped about 1:50 a.m. Saturday by Indiana State Trooper Eric Mardry, who had been off duty at the time in a semi-marked police car, the release stated. Madry said he saw a black Ford pickup drive through a stop sign at Locust Avenue and Randolph Street in Gary. Madry pulled the vehicle driven by Wilber over and noticed he refused to show his hands or obey various commands, the release stated. After being asked to exit the truck, Madry said Wilber began yelling, "Hoorah," multiple times as he got out of the vehicle. He then proceeded "aggressively" toward the trooper. Wilber punched Madry in the shoulder, according to the release. The trooper said he put the man into a partial arm lock, but Wilber broke away, got into his truck and fled. Madry followed Wilber about six miles until he ran from the pickup into a wooded area near the 2700 block of Clay Street in Lake Station, the release stated. Officers found a semi-automatic handgun on a bed near the girl's body and suspected crack cocaine and a razor blade on a saucer in plain view on a bedroom dresser, court records state. Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said last fall Gary police bungled a search warrant, preventing his office from prosecuting Edwards. Carter later said his office was looking at other avenues for possibly admissible evidence. During Fowler's plea hearing May 6, Rooda said he was aware of a federal investigation of Edwards. A review of the case showed Edwards was more culpable than Fowler for Jayla's homicide, he said. Police have said they suspect one of Jayla's siblings accidentally shot her with a gun left unsecured in the bedroom. No federal charges had been filed against Edwards as of Monday, online records showed. CROWN POINT The Lake Court House Foundation has announced this years Patriot Award winners after its first-ever public nomination process. We wanted the community to have a role in identifying honorees, Carrie Napoleon, managing director of the Lake Court House Foundation, said in a news release. It was very exciting to see the nominations. The public helped find nominees we may not have known about. Veteran and former Crown Point mayor James Forsythe was named the 2019 military Patriot Award winner. Forsythe is a U.S. army veteran of World War II and the Korean War. The 94-year-old is a member of the Crown Point VFW and American Legion and has actively been involved in other veterans events and causes. The military honor was granted to a current or former resident of Lake County who currently or previously served in a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It was also required for the individual to have gone above and beyond in their service, either on duty or in the service to their community upon their return home. Businessman and philanthropist Richard Schweitzer received the citizen Patriot Award. Kathy Powers, curator of the Dyer Historical Society Museum, says that when her son John was working on his Eagle Scout project, one of the things the troop did was to clean the monument. John is 51 and he was in middle school at the time, she says. They pulled a lot of weeds. Keeping up the monument continues. Several years ago, the Gibson Woods Chapter of the Wild Ones, an organization that promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices, did plantings the way that would have met with approval from Jensen. He only used native plants in his design, says Pat Rosenwinkle, president of the Gibson Woods Wild Ones, noting the group had to submit its landscaping plan to the Indiana Department of Transportation for approval. Their plantings include Rattlesnake Master, purple coneflowers, wood sedge, wood oats, wild quinine, short aster, Jacob's ladder, arrowwood shrub, witch hazel, ninebark and spice bush. Some plants aren't up yet, and some we may have to replace, says Rosenwinkle. CHESTERTON Portage attorney Ken Elwood is among the people left scrambling Monday in the wake of an overnight fire that destroyed the popular lakeside wedding venue The Allure on the Lake. Elwood said his 27-year-old daughter, Stephanie Tyrka, was scheduled to be married at the site Sept. 28 after having made the reservation a year ago. "We had heard good things about it," Elwood said. But the site was even more meaningful in that it was where Elwood and his wife, Edna, were married 20 years prior. Elwood said his wife was making calls Monday morning to weigh their options, with the priority being finding another venue for the same date. But recognizing that September is a popular wedding month, he acknowledged the day of the nuptial may have to be changed. Natalie Finnegan, a manager at The Allure sites in Chesterton and LaPorte, said she and others had been working hard Monday calling around to other venues to help couples make alternative plans for their weddings. The priority, she said, has been on the most immediately scheduled weddings at the destroyed Chesterton location, including the ones planned for next weekend. CLEVELAND An Indiana company is raising the ire of its neighbors in the Buckeye State with its marketing of an unscented Ohio candle with th A Portage man remains hospitalized after his motorcycle collided with a car in Hobart over the weekend, police said Monday. The wreck occurred at approximately 6:00 p.m. Saturday on County Line Road, just south of 37th Street, Hobart police spokesman Capt. James Gonzales said. According to police, the car made a right turn from 37th Street onto County Line Road and then stopped to make a left turn into a parking lot. The driver of the car told police the motorcycle attempted to pass them on the left hand side, either to avoid a rear end collision or to pass the car. Responding officers arrived at the scene to find that Portage Fire Department medics treating the motorcycle driver, who was lying in a grassy area on the east side of County Line Road, Gonzales said. The motorcyclist was described as a 29-year-old male, but his name has not been released. He was transported to Methodist Northlake Hospital and then airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago for further treatment, Gonzales said. The extent of the mans injuries is unknown, Gonzales added. On May 29, a letter writer from Whiting suggested we all get behind President Donald Trump since he feels the president has been vindicated by the (Special Counsel Robert) Mueller report. First off sir, did you read the Mueller report? The report itself, not the summary written by (Attorney General William) Barr? Although the report was not able to tie Trump to the Russians, it clearly stated he was in no way exonerated either. In addition, the report gave 10 instances of obstruction. And finally, as Congress continues in their constitutional duty of oversight, he won't allow any of his current or former staff to comply with congressional subpoenas. This in itself is obstructing an investigation. My next question would be, how can anyone support this abomination of a president? He's actively tried to take health care away from millions, he's disrespected and insulted our brave military personnel, sided with dictators over our own intelligence, has undone environmental protections intended to preserve our planet, has alienated our closest allies and lied over 10,000 times! I could go on and on. We as Americans committed a major blunder in 2016 and cannot afford to repeat it! Mike Hacker, Highland Love 3 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SHIJIAZHUANG, June 1 (Xinhua) -- A development plan for Xiongan New Area in north China was open on Saturday for public comments and suggestions, which will last for one month. The design and planning of China's millennium green city featuring innovative development was jointly made by 24 well-known planning and design teams around the world. They were selected by the Chinese government from 400 international urban design and consultancy institutes and companies. China announced plans in 2017 to establish the Xiongan New Area, located about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing. The construction is scheduled for this year. There are two designing plans for the building. One is for the first construction area, or the startup area, designed for taking over Beijing's functions nonessential to its role as the national capital. The planned start-up area is 38 square km, including 26 square km of urban construction land. The 11-chapter plan sets overall development requirements, and details of urban layout and land use including greening space, public services and housing, transportation system, infrastructure and urban safety system. The plan for a larger area, about 198 square km, is divided into 12 chapters, including general requirements, functional layout aimed at building a beautiful, natural, ecological environment for Xiongan with a safe and green urban water system, and blueprints for development of high-end and high-tech industries. It sets a tone of encouraging high-quality shared public services, a green and efficient transportation system, green and intelligent municipal infrastructure, and boast a modern security system. A 40-member technical team composed of professionals from the Xiongan New Area planning research center and China Academy of Urban Planning &Design is responsible for consulting public opinion on the planning. Xiongan spans three counties in Hebei Province-- Rongcheng, Anxin and Xiongxian. Now work is underway to lay the underground pipelines and water, power, gas infrastructure of the area, which is expected to cover 1,770 square kilometers, roughly the size of Shenzhen. Construction is slated to begin soon in the Rongdong area, a 13-sq-km residential area that is expected to be home to 170,000 people to the east of Rongcheng County. This is a story of the biggest story of its day, a crime that set a high-water mark for depravity, an urban atrocity that caused existential hand-wringing for Americas biggest city. It was a story that over 30 years changed from solid to liquid to gas, all but vanishing. When They See Us, a four-part series premiering May 31 on Netflix directed by Ava DuVernay, is based on the lives of five men who were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison as teenagers for gang-raping and nearly killing Trisha Meili, a woman who was jogging in Central Park in 1989. Their convictions were vacated in 2002, and the city paid $41 million in 2014 to settle their civil rights lawsuit. Hated by one generation as brutalizers, they were hailed by the next as the brutalized. [The Central Park Five discussed When They See Us with their onscreen counterparts.] In the series, these events are fictionalized, lightly but not trivially. With the license of imagination, it follows the boys as they turn to men, and opens interior spaces personal torments, family turmoils, prison torture, the sustenance of odd friendships to which daily journalism has little access, and in which it has scant interest. Few crimes leave permanent marks on anyone other than the people involved. From its first moments, the Central Park case had been a global cultural phenomenon, its meaning debated and anguished over by urban scholars, politicians, ordinary citizens. A real estate developer, not widely known outside New York in 1989, used it for one of his earliest forays into civic affairs, placing full-page ads to proclaim his fury. You better believe that I hate the people who took this girl and raped her brutally, that developer, Donald J. Trump, said at a standing room-only news conference. You better believe it. Three months ago, Democratic Party leaders took a stand: Fox News, President Trumps favorite channel, and a reliable soapbox for attacks on liberals, was barred from participating in the partys 2020 presidential debates. The move would ice out the network derided by critics as state TV from influencing the outcome of the Democratic primary. Things have not exactly gone to plan. By Sunday, the centrality of the Rupert Murdoch-controlled network to the partys presidential contest was all but assured, as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York became the fourth Democratic contender to sit for a Fox News town hall. [On Fox News, Kirsten Gillibrand Talks Abortion, Al Franken and More] Julian Castro, the former housing secretary, goes on Fox News next week. Pete Buttigieg, the South Bend, Ind., mayor, earned a standing ovation (and a presidential put-down) for his Fox News town hall last month. And candidates with dismal poll numbers are taking steps to woo the networks bookers, viewing Fox News appearances which tend to rate higher than town halls on rivals CNN and MSNBC as an efficient and buzz-making path to raise their profiles. Aides to Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City, who scorched the Murdochs last year for creating hatred and negativity and changing our political landscape for the worse, recently approached the network. We want to talk to all voters about why the mayor is the best candidate for working people regardless of what news channel they watch, a de Blasio spokeswoman, Olivia Lapeyrolerie, said on Sunday. WASHINGTON The Trump administration considered imposing tariffs on imports from Australia last week, but decided against the move amid fierce opposition from military officials and the State Department, according to several people familiar with the discussions. Some of President Trumps top trade advisers had urged the tariffs as a response to a surge of Australian aluminum flowing onto the American market over the past year. But officials at the Defense and State Departments told Mr. Trump the move would alienate a top ally and could come at significant cost to the United States. The administration ultimately agreed not to take any action, at least temporarily. The measure would open yet another front in a global trade war that has pitted the United States against allies like Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan, and deepened divisions with countries like China. It would also be the end of a reprieve for the only country to be fully exempted from the start from steel and aluminum tariffs that Mr. Trump imposed last year. The White House declined to comment. But the Trump administration has fiercely criticized past administrations for making concessions on trade policy to accomplish foreign policy goals. Mr. Trump has said the approach has left the United States in the position of subsidizing the world, weakening American industry and pushing factories and jobs overseas, and has pledged to rework Americas trading relationships. As Caroline Light, a gender studies professor at Harvard, told The Washington Post in 2015 after Trump called Hillary Clinton a nasty woman during a presidential debate, this labeling dates to colonial times when a nasty woman is one who refuses to remain in her proper place, as defined by men. One who challenges male authority. There is no way to review the way Trump has spoken of and treated the women to whom hes been attracted to or those with whom he has disagreed, and see anything other than sexism and misogyny. Lest we ever forget: Trump was caught on tape bragging about sexually assaulting women and boasting: When youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Lest we forget: Over 20 women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct. We now know for a fact that he paid off two women porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal to prevent them from disclosing during the campaign their allegations of sexual encounters with him. Lest we forget: Buzzfeed reported in 2016 that some contestants in the 1997 Teen USA competition complained that Trump walked into the dressing room while contestants some as young as 15 were changing. In a 2005 exchange on the Howard Stern show about the prospect of having sex with Miss Universe and Miss USA contestants, CNN reported this passage: Well, Ill tell you the funniest is that before a show, Ill go backstage and everyones getting dressed, and everything else, and you know, no men are anywhere, and Im allowed to go in because Im the owner of the pageant and therefore Im inspecting it, Trump said. You know, Im inspecting because I want to make sure that everything is good. This says nothing of Trump allowing Stern during another interview to refer to his daughter, Ivanka Trump, as a piece of ass, and Trump himself saying of her during that interview that Shes actually always been very voluptuous. And then, there are all the ways that he has attacked the women who have dared to stand up to him Hillary Clinton, Carly Fiorina, Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters, Elizabeth Warren, Frederica Wilson, and the list goes on attacking their looks or calling them in some way feeble, of mind or body. The Chinese student protests in the spring of 1989 are remembered mostly for how they ended the bloody military assault around Tiananmen Square in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed. But the pro-democracy movement spread far beyond Beijing before it was crushed. More than 1,000 miles away in Chengdu, a sprawling metropolis in southwest China, as in scores of other cities across the country, young workers and students concerned with corruption and unemployment gathered to demand accountability and democracy. News cameras from around the world recorded the Tiananmen crackdown, but there were far fewer journalists in these other cities. In Chengdu, however, was a 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan who was in the region conducting research and sent dispatches to a newspaper in Detroit. That student, Andy Levin, was elected to Congress in November and now represents Michigans Ninth District. On the 30th anniversary of the protests, we asked Mr. Levin to shake out his old notebooks and share his memories. His account has been edited and condensed. GATINEAU, Quebec The widespread killings and disappearances of Indigenous women and girls in Canada are a genocide for which Canada itself is responsible, a national inquiry concluded in its final report on Monday. Indigenous people from across Canada cheered, and raised fists and eagle feathers, as the leader of the inquiry announced the reports findings at an emotional ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, that was attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Most in the audience were in traditional Indigenous dress and held red flowers in remembrance of the women. Some in the crowd were relatives of the disappeared and dead, and were so overcome by emotion that they had to be led away in tears by health care workers. But despite Mr. Trudeaus assurances in his remarks that his government would take action on the reports 231 recommendations including changes to police practices and the criminal justice system some Indigenous people expressed skepticism that the report would make much of a difference. Whats Streaming VOX LUX (2018) Stream on Hulu. Natalie Portman plays Celeste, a pop star whose success was born from tragedy. As a teen in 1999, Celeste survived a school shooting and was discovered after she sang at the memorial service. With the help of her sister (Stacy Martin) and manager (Jude Law), Celeste rockets to fame. But by 2017, overcome by scandal, her career is in a nose dive. As Celeste prepares for her comeback, she gives in to fits of rage and faces the challenges that come with fame and motherhood. Written and directed by Brady Corbet, the film was chosen as a New York Times Critics Pick by Manohla Dargis, who wrote in her review, Portmans performance puts an exclamation point on Celestes every gesture, word and saunter. Portman also sings original songs written by Sia. BLITZED: NAZIS ON DRUGS (2019) Stream on Acorn TV. Narrated by Steven Berkoff, this one-hour documentary explores how drugs played a role in World War II. Theodor Morell, Adolf Hitlers personal doctor, gave the Nazi leader daily drug cocktails and fed the troops methamphetamine. The film looks at whether and how drugs affected the wars outcome. Whats on TV Good Monday. (Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.) Regulators kick off battles with Big Tech Google and Amazon have thrived over the years as American regulators largely kept their distance. That may be changing, the NYT reports. Regulators are getting tactical. The two federal agencies that handle antitrust issues are divvying up oversight of two dominant tech companies: Unnamed sources say that the Justice Department is taking Google and the Federal Trade Commission is handling Amazon. With Amazon, some consumer groups and vendors have complained that its powerful e-commerce platform edges out new competition, particularly as the company enters into new business lines like groceries and fashion. With Google, the Justice Department is exploring an investigation of the advertising and search business, according to several people with knowledge of the discussions. PARIS As Renault board members prepared to meet on Tuesday to consider a merger with Fiat Chrysler, the French government was scrambling to ensure that it would have influence over a proposed tie-up that could significantly change the balance of power in the global auto industry. And another interested party to the potential deal Nissan, Renaults main partner in a 20-year-old car alliance said Monday that a merger would require a fundamental review of the existing relationship to ensure that its interests were protected. The cautious approach by two influential stakeholders means that the board of Renault, one of the crown jewels of French industry, wont strike a deal Tuesday but rather decide to begin formal negotiations. A merger with Fiat Chrysler would create a behemoth that would displace General Motors as the third-largest car company in the world, behind Volkswagen and Toyota. French Finance Ministry officials met with the chief executives of both companies in Paris in recent days in a bid to ensure the role of government, currently Renaults largest shareholder, in a combined company, according to a person with knowledge of the meetings, who requested anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions. Ichiran, the ramen chain founded in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1960, is known not just for the quality of its tonkotsu broth, but also for its individual booths, allowing for sequestered slurping. That goes for one that just opened in the Times Square area at 152 West 49th Street. But now you can also slurp in the privacy of your home with their ramen kit. It contains three servings of noodles, dried broth base and spice mix. Just add water, but consider bolstering the soup with chopped scallions, chunks of tofu, boiled egg, mushrooms, slivers of pork or chicken, and other ingredients. Ichiran ramen kit, $29, ichiranusa.com/store. Gravity is no longer a political issue By Michael R Shannon Good news for the suicidal or just plain idiotic who plan on visiting one of Americas outstanding national parks this summer. One can now make a mistake and fall befuddled, surprised or screaming to your death off one of our scenic cliffs without any worries that your demise will be drawn into some sordid political drama with lugubrious MSNBC or CNN performers piling on. Take 69yearold Cynthia Ackley who NBC News tells us died after experiencing a 200foot fall from the Grand Canyons South Rim. In April 2019 its just another unfortunate tourist death that occurred after getting too close to the edge. Ms. Ackleys body was retrieved at what was no doubt colossal taxpayer expense, shes pronounced dead and life, for the rest of us, goes on. That would not have been the case if Cynthia had taken her header in January. During that month her death would have been deemed a national disgrace. A stain on the American social fabric and recriminations would have been flying as fast as the Opposition Media could type stories or fulminate on the airwaves. Why the difference between an accidental death in January and an accidental death in April? Two words: Donald Trump. January was the month of the government shutdown. The Washington Post (better known as the WoePost for the dolorous tone of most of its news) practically transformed itself into the Shutdown Privation Report. I marked Peak Privation on the day the WoePost actually ran a headline that read: Three dead in national parks as shutdown wears on. And Trump may as well have pushed the tourists off into space because he received all the blame. The Orange Outrage in his usual sloppy, haphazard fashion shut down the government, but he forgot to disconnect gravity. Tourists who fell off cliffs received 100 percent of the effect of their fall. The WoePosts hysterical Juliet Eilperin wrote, Three days after most of the federal workforce was furloughed on Dec. 21, a 14-year-old girl fell 700 feet to her death at the Horseshoe Bend Overlook, part of the Glen Canyon Recreation Area in Arizona. The following day, Christmas, a man died at Yosemite National Park in California after suffering a head injury in a fall. On Dec. 27, a woman was killed by a falling tree at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which straddles the borders of North Carolina and Tennessee. Even trees attack when Trump shuts down the government. She also pointed out that during the 1995 and 2013 shutdowns Clinton and Obama both closed national parks. Not out of a concern for safety but because, as Eilperin admits, it was a way to punish Republicans by denying people with enough common sense to not to fall off a cliff access to the parks for which their tax dollars pay. Diane Regas, president of the Trust for Public Land, even sent a letter to Trump begging him to close the deadly, malevolent landscape.I think we all know that not having bathrooms is a nuisance. What I think people forget is, not having adequate sewage treatment can be dangerous, Regas explained. Something tells me shutdown deaths werent caused by tourists losing their balance while pooping off the edge of a cliff because the Porta Potties were full. Today the shutdown is over. The parks are fully staffed and everything is back to normal. Park visitors are barcoded as they enter and assigned a personal guide. Extrastrength invisible fences keep daredevils away from dangerous overlooks. And roving teams of rangers on the lookout for fence jumpers patrol the canyon floor with nets to catch the falling. Or maybe not. NBC News reports that after Ackleys death, there are no new warning signs [and] park staff were not paying extra visits to warn thrill-seekers to back up from the rims edge. People walk behind the railings, over the top of railings, hang their feet over the edge. So more signs is not necessarily going to encourage more safety, John Quinley, a National Parks Service spokesman, said. The truth is gravity works regardless of whether or not government employees are getting timely paychecks. People will risk death in an effort to shoot that selfie with the exciting frisson of potential death regardless of who occupies the Oval Office. The only difference is if one falls to his death today the leftist stenographers in the OpMedia will leave the family in peace instead trying to turn a familys private sadness into a public political attack. The dead have served their purpose and have been discarded by what passes for our news media. Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at mandate.mmpr (at) gmail.com. He is also the author of Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!). Home< The recipe comes from Ms. Ramirez, who is known to stop by the kitchen to make sure the chicharron tastes good. Her quality control is working: The pork is deeply seasoned, and saucy without being soupy. Ms. Ramirez will turn 72 in September. As she spends less time in the restaurant, more of the kitchen duties fall to Mrs. Vargas and two of her daughters, Amy and Abby. Occasionally, the three generations tend the restaurant side by side. (Mrs. Vargass husband, Daniel Vargas, helps out when he isnt driving for Uber.) Its worth noting that Mrs. Vargas will customize any pupusa with the ingredients on hand. Sauteed mushrooms and flecks of prickly jalapeno sheathed in more of that buoyant cheese was one rewarding ensemble. If any cheese escapes, as you secretly hope it does, it may bubble and burn on the griddle, turning into coins of chewy cheese-candy. No pupusa is complete without the curtido, a perky cabbage and carrot slaw, an essential palate cleanser. Mrs. Vargas stores hers in an oversize plastic tub, where the sharp edges of vinegar and oregano mellow as they age. Less necessary is the hot sauce, a merciless blend of chile de arbol and water. Its easy to fixate on pupusas, but the name of the restaurant promises more. Mrs. Vargas makes a small selection of tamales and tacos (Mr. Vargas is Mexican) filled with richly seasoned meats. The crisp-edged chorizo is so popular that she is thinking of offering it in a pupusa. An ever-changing daily special is also available. On one of my visits, there was carne asada; the voluptuous strip of charred beef was remarkably well-seasoned and juicy. Depending on the day, the glass case in the spare dining room will display a different assortment of desserts. When Ms. Ramirez has been in the kitchen, there is usually a bin of flat, golden loaves. These are Salvadoran quesadillas: cheesy, pound-cake-like delights that outshine those other quesadillas in every way. The results were not what anyone expected: Cindys boys were not related to the other children. As it turned out, the sperm bank had sold her sperm not from the man she had carefully selected, but from a completely different donor. She discovered the identity of the man whose sperm she was given, and learned that his medical history was far from pristine. A grandmother had died of brain cancer at the age of 60, and a grandfather had suffered with Alzheimers. Another grandmother had died of heart disease. I felt like they tainted the gene pool for my kids, Cindy said of the sperm bank. (She asked that her full name be withheld to protect the privacy of her children.) I didnt choose someone who has a history of brain cancer in the family. I would never have chosen this donor. They should be ashamed to even have this donor on the website. There are no national statistics on the number of children born through artificial insemination each year, although some experts have estimated the number may be as high as 60,000. And no one tracks the number of people who find that the sperm they purchased is not from the donor they chose. This essay, by Narain Dubey, age 17, is one of the Top 12 winners of our Sixth Annual Student Editorial Contest, for which we received 10,509 entries. We are publishing the work of all the winners and runners-up this week, and you can find them here as they post. Excerpts from some will also be in the special Learning print section on Sunday, June 9. _________ Breaking the Blue Wall of Silence: Changing the Social Narrative About Policing in America As a child, I thought of police officers with veneration if I saw a cop in the park, I felt safer. I told myself that when I got older, I would be wearing the badge too. At 12 years old, I learned about police brutality. When I first saw the video of Eric Garner being thrown to the ground by police officers, I thought it was a movie. Despite knowing that the officers were at fault, I refused to change my internal rhetoric; I thought the media was only portraying the bad side of the people I saw as heroes. If you dont know about grapes in the microwave, you havent been keeping up with the internet. All right, so were going to do this grape in a microwave experiment. For 20 years, people have been microwaving two grape halves connected by a bridge of skin to create sparks, light, plasma! Well, theres a lot of juice from these, actually. A plasma is a superheated gas in which electrons have been stripped from the molecules. Lightning is a common example. So how do you get that from grapes? Amateur explanations focused on conducting electricity between the two halves. The skin bridge was the key. Or was it? Scientists who have now investigated the grape plasma phenomenon in depth say, no, you can use two whole grapes as long as they touch each other. And the explanation has to do not with conductivity, but with microwaves being trapped inside each grape. Heres what happens. The wavelengths of microwave radiation are about five inches. But water, which is what grapes are made of, compresses these wavelengths to about a half an inch. Thats about the same size as the grape. So the microwave radiation bounces around inside the grape and concentrates in the center. Thats called resonance. With two grapes, or two spheres of a hydrogel mostly water, but no skin the concentration is where the two meet. Theres such a strong electromagnetic field at that spot that it sparks a plasma by stripping an electron off a sodium or potassium molecule. That triggers a cascade of other atoms in the air, losing electrons as they absorb microwave radiation. But thats not what really excited the scientists. They were interested in the hot spots where the grapes meet. You can see them in red. Microwaves in that region were about 80 times smaller than in air. That was a real surprise to the scientists because water worked on microwaves in a way that had never been seen. Now if a substance could be found that would do that with visible light, which is so small its measured in nanometers, that could have great implications for microscopes, research in computer chips and other areas. So never assume a party trick is just a party trick, not if it involves a microwave. O.K., that was awesome. LOS ANGELES The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will continue to use its honorary Oscars to emphasize inclusion, announcing on Monday that statuettes would go to Geena Davis, the Italian writer-director Lina Wertmuller and the Cherokee-American actor and activist Wes Studi. They will be joined by the enigmatic filmmaker David Lynch at the academys Governors Awards. The annual ceremony will be held Oct. 27, a month earlier than usual to avoid the expected late-in-the-year opening of the academys museum. John Bailey, the academys president, said in a statement that the recipients had devoted themselves to a lifetime of artistic accomplishment and brought outstanding contributions to our industry and beyond. Davis, 63, an Oscar winner for her supporting role in the 1988 romantic drama The Accidental Tourist and a nominee for Thelma and Louise (1991), will receive the academys Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. That honor, last given in 201 5 to Debbie Reynolds, will recognize the work Davis has done over the decades to fight gender bias on and off the screen in Hollywood, the academy said. Her story is a familiar one in the gig economy era: She works several odd jobs like delivering food for Grubhub and UberEats, or helping people with their tax returns. But Danielle happens to have a full-time job: She is a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society in New York. The same goes for Julia Boms, a colleague who began working at Legal Aid last year. On any given day, Ms. Boms might be found in an arraignment court, handling a misdemeanor case. On weekends, she might be tending bar a past-life job she thought she had left behind. She is committed to sticking with Legal Aid. A lot of people are like, In a few years, youll go private, said Ms. Boms, 28. But I went to school to do this. [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.] On the night that Jennifer Dulos was reported missing from affluent New Canaan, Conn., the police found blood stains and spatters at her home that would lead them to conclude she had been the victim of a serious physical assault, according to arrest warrants released Monday. The police later discovered through cellphone records that on that same night, May 24, Ms. Duloss estranged husband and his girlfriend had driven to Hartford, where surveillance cameras had recorded them tossing bags and other items into trash cans as they drove through the city, the warrants said. Donald M. Fraser, a former Minnesota congressman whose hearings exposed a conspiracy by South Korean intelligence officials and the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in the 1970s to buy political influence in America and manipulate United States foreign policies and currency laws, died on Sunday at his home in Minneapolis. He was 95. A spokesman for Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis confirmed the death. A liberal Democrat and protege of Hubert H. Humphrey, the former Minnesota senator and vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson, Mr. Fraser served eight terms in the House of Representatives, from 1963 to 1979. Like Humphrey, he also served as mayor of Minneapolis, in his case for a record four terms. In the House, he established a strong record on human rights, foreign aid and environmental conservation. (He was an avid canoeist into his 80s, frequenting the Boundary Waters area of northeast Minnesota.) He was also one of the nations most outspoken opponents of American involvement in the Vietnam War. But he was best known as chairman of a panel whose hearings in 1977 and 1978 concluded that the Korean Central Intelligence Agency and Mr. Moon the Korean businessman, self-proclaimed messiah and founder of the Unification Church had conspired to bribe American officials to influence national policies and illegally raise and move millions of dollars across international borders. Juliann Bluitt Foster, an African-American woman, became a dentist at a time when only about 2 percent of dental school graduates were women and maybe 2 percent of that 2 percent were African-American, said Dr. Jeanne Craig Sinkford, a former dean of Howard Universitys dental school. Dr. Bluitt Foster made it her goal to change that. She would become a leader in the field, mentoring students and using her own career path as an example of what they could achieve, first as director of the dental hygiene department at Northwestern Universitys dental school in 1967, then as assistant dean, associate dean of admissions and associate dean of student affairs. (The school closed in 2001.) She was also the first woman to lead the American College of Dentists, a professional organization headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., outside Washington. She was appointed in 1994, when the organization was 75 years old. This article is part of David Leonhardts newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it each weekday. The Supreme Court may be on the verge of issuing its most nakedly partisan ruling since Bush v. Gore. Based on their questions during oral arguments this spring, the courts five Republican-appointed justices seem open to allowing the Trump administration to add a new question about citizenship status to the 2020 census. Experts say that the question would reduce the participation of Latinos in the census, and, in turn, increase the political power of heavily white regions, which lean Republican. [Listen to The Argument podcast every Thursday morning, with Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and David Leonhardt.] Its important to understand that there is no larger conservative principle here. The court wouldnt be ruling in favor of, say, a fetuss right to exist or a businesss right to avoid regulation. Instead, a Republican-dominated court would be accepting obvious lies from the Trump administration in order to help the electoral fortunes of the Republican Party. Its an alarming situation, both for the state of American democracy and the credibility of the Supreme Court. This morning, I want to explain how we got here: 1. Republican Senators, led by Mitch McConnell, stole a Supreme Court seat. When Antonin Scalia died, in early 2016, McConnell refused to consider any nominee from President Barack Obama. Once Donald Trump won the presidency and nominated Neil Gorsuch, the Senate confirmed him. (Trump later nominated Brett Kavanaugh to replace Anthony Kennedy , which didnt affect the courts partisan balance, because Ronald Reagan had chosen Kennedy.) Marlows chains By Dr. Robert Owens To paraphrase scripture as presented in the Message we see that not only has the Church become Israel many have become spies only pretending to be Christians, who slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are who seek to pervert the freedom from religious legalism Christ gives us. They want to build their own kingdoms and feather their own nests by bringing others into the same religious bondage they drag around like Marlows chains through a life that reeks of the grave. Now the paraphrase of Romans 2:17-29: If youre brought up Christian, dont assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because youre an insider to Gods revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know Gods revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? Im quite serious. While preaching Dont steal! are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? It is the same with adultery. And it is the same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, Its because of you Christians that the outsiders are down on God, shows its an old problem that isnt going to go away. Baptism, the ritual that marks you as a Christian, is great if you live in accord with Gods law. But if you dont, its worse than not being baptized. The reverse is also true: The unbaptized who keep Gods ways are as good as the baptized in fact, better. Better to keep Gods law unbaptized than break it baptized. Dont you see: Its not the submerging in water that makes a Christian. You become a Christian by who you are. Its the submerging of your heart in God, not the water on your skin that makes you a Christian. And the recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics. Not only are we warned to avoid the legalism of religion we are specifically warned about false teachers and wolves disguised as Christians who seek to build their own kingdoms and lead others astray. At the end of the book of Romans Paul warns us; One final word of counsel, friends. Keep a sharp eye out for those who take bits and pieces of the teaching that you learned and then use them to make trouble. Give these people a wide berth. They have no intention of living for our Master Christ. Theyre only in this for what they can get out of it, and arent above using pious sweet talk to dupe unsuspecting innocents. And in Philippians 3:17-19 Paul tells us; Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. Ive warned you of them many times; sadly, Im having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christs Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. Im not knocking anyones beliefs or their traditions. What I am doing is trying to warn those who want to follow Christ. We cant let anyone, anything, or the peer pressure of any community fool us into elevating a system of man over the freedom of Christ. We should ask ourselves, How can customs, traditions, holidays, and ceremonies transplanted from paganism to attract or mollify converts as faith in Christ was spread, sometimes by the sword, across barbarian Europe after the fall of Rome save us? Anything that obscures the fact that its by faith alone that were saved and by obedience alone were changed is something holding us back from becoming what God created us to be. Once again turning to Paul, the Apostle of the heart set free, we find in Galatians a stunning rebuke of those trying to turn a living faith into a religious structure. In Chapter three he says, What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. After faith comes were free. Holding on to the structure of religion may make following easier but making ourselves a slave to it doesnt set us free. And Christ came to set us free. Remember whatever is not of faith is sin and no one can snatch us out of the hand of God but we can sure jump. Dr. Robert Owens teaches History, Political Science, and Religion. He is the Historian of the Future @ http://drrobertowens.com 2019 Contact Dr. Owens drrobertowens@hotmail.com Follow Dr. Robert Owens on Facebook or Twitter @ Drrobertowens or visit Dr. Owens Amazon Page / Edited by Dr. Rosalie Owens Home< In 2015, 21 young people from around the country and various walks of life sued the federal government over its role in creating a dangerous climate system that violates their right to an environment capable of sustaining human life. The Trump administration has sought to have the case dismissed, and on Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is scheduled to take up the question of whether it can proceed. As former surgeons general of the United States, we were responsible for providing Americans with the best scientific information on how to improve their health and protect against illness and injury. Because climate change represents a profound threat to the publics well-being, we support the Juliana 21, named after the lead plaintiff, and believe their case should go to trial. Even in this time of deep social and political division, individuals of good will can agree on certain fundamental premises. Investment in public health is one of them. The country has eliminated polio, reduced cancer death rates and raised life expectancy over time. Now, as the country faces the potentially catastrophic consequences of climate change, the country needs to understand the public health implications of a warming climate. Progress has been fitful in educating and mobilizing elected officials to address climate-related threats to health and safety. A rising generation, frustrated with the wholly inadequate response, is demanding better. The Juliana 21 are making their case in a campaign they call Our Childrens Trust. Their lawsuit aims to compel the federal government to act in their best interest, to secure the right to a safe climate and healthy atmosphere for all present and future generations. To the Editor: Re President Trumps Visit to Queen Mixes Pageantry With the Petty (nytimes.com, June 3): As President Trump saunters thuggishly through Buckingham Palace, it is clear this state visit by an American president is like no other. The sense of curiosity and abiding respect the arrival of the leader of the free world normally inspires here is entirely absent. There is instead a simmering undercurrent of dislike and a dull contempt that is unprecedented. One sees it on the faces of dignitaries and the public alike. There is no pleasure anywhere in this, just stress. It seems merely an ordeal the country must navigate with some grace until he flies off to bother someone else. Mike Galvin Winchcombe, England To the Editor: Here s some unsolicited advice for President Trump on his state visit to the United Kingdom: When attending D-Day celebrations in Britain and France, please dont claim that the landing would have gone much better if you had been in charge. I trust that you did not try to walk ahead of the queen, or use your elbows on her. Royal status aside, shes a frail old lady and isnt up to being on the line of scrimmage. When you are dining with the royal family, try not to treat the beverage glasses like a sippy cup, using both hands. It behooves you to leave domestic politics at home. Please try to remember that you represent your country, not yourself. Finally, do not offer unsolicited advice. Stephen Landers Stratford, Ontario To the Editor: God help us! Our president chooses to use his invited visit to London to insult its mayor as a stone cold loser . Could we have a worse representative of American values? The man is all about himself, period. Come 2020, I am going to vote for Santa Claus, someone who travels the world amiably. Philip McBride Johnson Fernandina Beach, Fla. There is precedent for the Department of Justice to focus action on areas that are aligned with the countrys foreign policy priorities. In 1988, the Justice Department indicted President Manuel Noriega of Panama and members of his inner circle when relations between Panama City and Washington were breaking down. More recently, the Justice Department indicted and sought to extradite Huaweis chief financial officer as the United States was speaking out about security threats posed by Huawei technology and by China. There is speculation in Washington that sealed indictments of members of Mr. Maduros inner circle already exist and that the Justice Department is waiting for the right moment to release them. The time is ripe to pursue new indictments against members of the Maduro regime. That doesnt apply just to the United States, though it has stronger intelligence abilities that allow us to have a better sense of who may be committing what crimes. Countries like Colombia, where many Venezuelans have fled; Peru, where Venezuelan refugees have become victims of trafficking; and Argentina, whose criminal justice system has one of the broadest legal definitions of prosecuting crimes against humanity, should all be investigating whether Maduro associates have committed crimes within their jurisdictions. Some would argue that bringing criminal charges against members of Mr. Maduros team is futile. Surely they will not be extradited to the United States or anywhere else. While that may be true, there is still weight in such actions. First, the judicial systems in the United States and many other countries in the Americas are still respected as being independent of the executive branches of those countries. While there is precedent for the Justice Department to focus on United States foreign policy interests, there is still an important separation between sanctions, which can be done at the whim of the executive branch, and indictments, which require evidence to be presented in a court of law. Indictments are issued only if enough evidence exists to convince an independent court of law. The #MeToo movement is the culmination of decades of agitation around the pervasive problems of sexual assault and harassment. Rich and famous sexual predators have been brought down by the courageous stories of women who are finally being believed. In this climate, Mr. Garrow seems to want his own Me first spotlight by getting out in front of an unsubstantiated story, but the problem is this: He presumptuously tells his version of stories of women who never themselves acknowledged being victims or survivors. We cannot put the F.B.I.s words in their mouths and call it justice. If in 2027 when the full F.B.I. tapes are released there is credible and corroborated evidence that a sexual assault occurred and Dr. King was somehow involved, we will have to confront that relevant and reprehensible information head-on. But we are not there. Meanwhile, to accept highly suspicious evidence as fact and to dress it up with a litany of salacious anecdotes is to complete the job J. Edgar Hoover failed to do two generations ago, when he dedicated himself to denigrating Dr. Kings life and work. Mr. Garrows piece also names numerous black women, most of them dead, who were allegedly Dr. Kings willing romantic partners, delving into their private lives without their consent or any compelling reason. This is as reckless and unethical as the actions of newspaper tabloids that circulate titillating gossip to sell papers. Given the expressed mission of the agency to thwart Dr. King with one agent going so far as to urge him to kill himself we have to wonder where fact ends and fiction begins in the reports that Mr. Garrow cites. He knows that the F.B.I. went to great lengths in a ruthless effort to undermine Dr. King, whom they feared was a puppet of Communist operatives. He writes about this in his 1981 book on the subject as have many others, and yet now he accepts these F.B.I. summaries as having passed the smell test. Ella Baker, who worked alongside Dr. King for many years, warned us of the dangers of putting individual leaders on pedestals. They are human beings like the rest of us. We can criticize their failings and still find value in their contributions, so long as we are learning lessons and not looking for someone to worship. Again, we must draw a hard line between charges of extramarital affairs and the charge of egging on a rapist. The bottom line is Dr. King was not a saint nor a savior, but one man embedded in a larger movement that made a powerful impact on this nation and the world. At a time of resurgent white nationalism, Dr. Kings message of racial and economic justice, and the movement that he built alongside thousands of other imperfect people, is still vitally important. We have to grapple with his full legacy, whatever it turns out to be and however uncomfortable it makes us. But Mr. Garrows account of F.B.I. spying and half-baked findings does not give us the information we need to do this. Sadly, conservative pundits have already taken the story and run with it, true or not. What historians do know for sure is this: Dr. King was a radical visionary of a more just society, a powerful, committed and eloquent voice for freedom, justice and equality, principles that are under full-scale assault at this moment. How unfortunate that the legitimacy of his entire legacy, and by extension the movement of which he was a part, is being called into question in such a sloppy manner today. How disturbing that the vitally important issue of sexual violence is being deployed and distorted in the process. All of this in this crucible moment, what Dr. King referred to in his own time as the fierce urgency of now. Barbara Ransby (@BarbaraRansby), a professor of history, gender and womens studies and African-American studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, is the author of Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement, Eslanda and Making All Black Lives Matter. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And heres our email: letters@nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. President al-Assad says that the attacks are necessary because terrorists use hospitals as arms depots (an unfounded claim); he also says that most of the bombs that do hit hospitals are errant. But Susannah Sirkin, the policy director of Physicians for Human Rights, believes that the bombings are systematic, amounting to crimes against humanity. She says that since 2011, her organization has documented 566 individual attacks on about 350 Syrian health care facilities. More than 890 medical personnel have been killed, some in attacks on the medical facilities where they worked. What explains such an extensive and cruel campaign? In President al-Assads mind, somewhere along the line, opposition became a synonym for civilians, many of whom dont support either side but just want to stay alive. The most threatening way you can terrorize a population is to bomb hospitals and kill doctors. And by killing doctors, who are often the community leaders, you can break down society faster and force surrender quicker. You kill the very people who can heal a community. When they kill one doctor, they kill 1,000 civilians, Dr. Hallam said. And there is another reason for the attacks. In an isolated villa on the grounds of the United Nations in Geneva, war crime investigators are methodically going through thousands of hours of video recordings of bombings taken by civilians. This evidence will be used to build cases in war crimes tribunals. By killing doctors, the Assad regime and its Russian allies destroy further evidence and witnesses. It is the same reasoning behind so-called double-tap bombings, often deployed by Russian forces in Syria. Many rescue workers record their work the famed White Helmets attach cameras to their bodies to document an attack and their response. As they get to work, though, another round of bombing begins, aiming to kill the very workers trying to save the victims of the original attack. President al-Assad is intent on ending the war by taking the last piece of Syria to resist his control Idlib. That is why so many hospitals in the area have been attacked over the past month. Minjian historians are less elitist. They earn their own money or benefit from independent think tanks or patrons, and they write about local or specific subjects: migrant workers, victims of the Mao era, targets of religious persecution, dispossessed farmers the silent majority, according to the novelist Wang Xiaobo. These thinkers are aided by technology. Bill Clinton famously quipped that trying to control the internet was like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall, but China, like many other countries, has controlled it to some extent. Yet technology does play a huge role in the persistence of memory. Its through digitized movie cameras that Mr. Hu and Ms. Ai can make their documentary films at affordable prices, and through the Web that they can upload them. Those films may be blocked in China, but they are accessible to the tens of millions of Chinese thought to use VPN software to bypass government controls. Simpler technologies are also extremely effective. Remembrance, an independent history magazine, has published widely on some of the most sensitive issues in recent Chinese history using a modern form of samizdat. Its articles are collated into a PDF and emailed to friends and supporters. They, in turn, forward the document by email or via messaging services like WeChat. Issues are archived on websites overseas, accessible to anyone in China with a VPN. As for Tiananmen, the grass-roots historian Liao Yiwu has just published in English a book of interviews, Bullets and Opium: Real-Life Stories of China After the Tiananmen Square Massacre, that challenges how we think of those events. (I wrote the introduction.) While the protests are often portrayed as a quixotic battle by romantic students, Mr. Liao shows that it was working-class Beijingers who made the supreme sacrifice: throwing their bodies in front of the tanks to protect the students and the cause they represented. On Friday, the Hong Kong-based New Century Press published unseen top-secret documents of a key meeting of the Chinese Communist Party that took place two weeks after the massacre. The documents show how top officials groveled before the supreme leader Deng Xiaoping, promising to support his decision to use force and to depose Zhao Ziyang , a moderate leader. History is also written with the smallest of gestures. Every spring I make a small trip to the Babaoshan cemetery in the western suburbs of Beijing to pay respects to two victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre: Wu Xiangdong, a 21-year-old fatally shot by troops on the night of June 3-4, 1989, and his father Wu Xuehan, who died of grief six years later. I never met them, but I knew the vivacious Xu Jue, Xiangdongs mother and Xuehans wife. The police would sometimes escort her to the cemetery, sometimes try to prevent her from making the journey at all. She usually succeeded and in front of her husbands grave would always place 27 flowers. Four lines of the poem inscribed on the back of Xuehans tombstone explain, in a code of sorts, both the cause of his death and Xu Jues ritual: Eight calla lilies Nine yellow chrysanthemums Six white tulips Four red roses Eight, nine , six, four. Year, month, day. June 4, 1989. Two years ago, Ms. Xu died of cancer, at 77. Both years since, Ive made the trip to the graves, thinking someone ought to put out the flowers. Each time, the 27 flowers were already there, tied in a neat bundle. Someone remembered. Someone always remembers. Ian Johnson, a Beijing-based writer, won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his China coverage. His most recent book is The Souls of China: The Return of Religion After Mao. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. Wed like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here's our email: letters@nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. REEDS BEACH, N.J. On a recent spring day at this remote beach, hundreds of shorebirds flapped frantically beneath a net trapping them on the sand. Dozens of volunteers rushed to disentangle the birds and place them gently in covered crates. On a nearby sand dune, teams of scientists and volunteers attached metal leg bands, plastic tags and tiny radio transmitters to birds of three species. They were weighed and measured, and then released. The operation is part of an annual catch of migratory shorebirds that stop on the beaches of the Delaware Bay, a globally important bird habitat, to gorge on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs. The stopover strengthens the birds for the long-distance migration to the Canadian Arctic, their breeding grounds, from as far away as southern Chile. With fresh information on the birds weight and health, the scientists will be able to judge whether these species are getting enough food to reach their breeding grounds, and whether their populations are stable. N atural wine, by most accounts, has roots in the 1980s, when experimental winemakers in Frances Beaujolais region, like Marcel Lapierre, were inspired by the work of Jules Chauvet, a chemist who studied low intervention viticulture. Made from organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, with little to no intervention during production, these beverages defy conventional winery practices, which often rely on chemical manipulation, additives, fining and filtration to produce a desired taste. Now, what started as a passion project for a few wine geeks has set into motion an international countercultural movement driven by local flavors and mutual obsession. And around it, a D.I.Y. space has flourished. Along with pop-up tastings and international fairs, there are also a handful of zines that aim to make natural wine as fun to read and talk about as it is to drink. For the curious newcomer The Wine Zine The refusal to repeat a suspects name is not universal. At the news conference following the shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last fall that left 11 people dead, for instance, the authorities said the suspects name multiple times. And some people believe that decisions by law enforcement to avoid naming assailants make little difference, particularly for relatives of the victims. Not saying his name is not going to take away anything that happened, said the Rev. Sharon Risher, whose mother died in the attack on a church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015. Ms. Risher said that she makes certain to mention Dylann Roof, the gunman who was sentenced to death in January 2017, during speeches because you need to know who he is and when this name comes up, the evil this person caused. But the approach to not name suspects has recently been more widely embraced, said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum, as chiefs and sheriffs have come to recognize that mass shooters often kill for the sake of attention. The sense is that is part of the reason these people do this, so lets not feed into that, Mr. Wexler said. Explicit evidence of fame seeking exists for nearly half of the deadliest mass shootings since 2010, according to Adam Lankford, a criminology professor at the University of Alabama, who presented his data at a National Science Foundation workshop in April. His research found that 90 percent of high-fatality shootings have some circumstantial evidence of a desire for attention. The evidence supporting these types of strategies is stronger than ever before because we have more cases and more data, Dr. Lankford said. And law enforcement is also increasingly desperate to do something that would make a difference. Several law enforcement officials said that their departments have no official policy to avoid uttering a suspects name. But it has become the custom, or in some cases, an instinct. At a news conference following the shooting at a manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Ill., last February that left five people dead and five officers wounded, Kristen Ziman, the citys police chief, avoided naming the killer more than once. It is too early to tell whether this years slow and steady devastation in the Midwest will reach the levels of a quarter century ago. But already, the situation is drawing comparisons from federal weather officials to the catastrophic events of 1993 and is sending shivers of recognition down the spines of many who survived them. Through April and May, people who live along the Mississippi have repeated the same rituals that they did then, the grind of filling sandbags, monitoring the crest of the river and anxiously watching the rain, which has fallen at historic levels. Levees have been breached in the last several days, forcing sudden evacuations, making roads impassable and leaving part of one town on the Mississippi underwater. More rain is expected in towns along the river later this week. Edward Clark, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations National Water Center, said that 2019 and 1993 have many of the same alarming ingredients: an especially rainy fall the year before, a wet winter and heavy rains in spring. Throughout the Midwest, soils are saturated, making it difficult for farmers to plant crops. Areas from Oklahoma to Illinois received record rainfall in the last month. Rivers are brimming over, backyards are swamped and fields are filled with water that has nowhere to go. In 1993, the heavy precipitation continued all the way through June, Mr. Clark said. In 2019, we are projecting that there will be likely above-average precipitation over the same areas of the country that are already experiencing flooding. That means that June and July, if they are as rainy as expected, will mean more water, more pain, more destruction. Memories of the summer of 2004 in Poland By Mark Wegierski I still have distinct memories of my trip to Poland during the summer of 2004, fifteen years ago. Poland had just joined the European Union, on May 1, 2004. I recall that I flew into Warsaw from Toronto on a direct flight from Polish Airlines LOT on the night of June 4, 2004. The flight left Toronto airport at about 10:30 P.M. Toronto time, and reached Warsaw by about 1:30 P.M. Warsaw time on June 5 (in the afternoon). My female relative was waiting with a compact but elegant Peugeot 206 to take me directly to Ciechocinek. Ciechocinek lies about 200 kilometers north-west of Warsaw, near Torun, the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, in the Kujawy-Pomorze (Kuyavia-Pomerania) region or voivodeship (wojewodztwo). It is a spa and resort town of about 14,000 permanent residents, known for its unique titration towers large wooden structures with thick layers of bramble, through which water from the salt springs is filtered, producing a healthy microclimate which approximates that of sea-air. We drove from the airport through most of Warsaw, again a beautiful city, despite the depredations of World War II. Warsaw was almost entirely destroyed by the German occupiers, in the wake of the tragic Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Over 240,000 Poles perished in the Uprising, and the remaining population was deported to concentration camps. In contrast to the doomed-from-the-outset Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 -- when the Soviet front was hundreds of miles away, and all of Poland was being ground down under German occupation -- the Soviet armies had actually reached the east bank of the Vistula (the main city of Warsaw is on the west side) in August 1944. At Stalins orders, the Soviet forces simply stood by, allowing the heavily-armed Germans to crush the Uprising over more than two nightmarish months. The Germans methodically reduced the city to rubble, beginning with the venerable, several-centuries-old Royal Castle. The city was painstakingly rebuilt after the war, brick by brick. In fact, the Royal Castle was rebuilt from old plans and fragments only in the 1970s. The rebuilding of the Royal Castle was one of the high points of pride of Poland under Communist Party chief Edward Gierek, when it seemed that greater prosperity was in the offing for the country. Nevertheless, the comparatively sunny Gierek period was followed by the arising of the Solidarity independent trade union movement, when all of Poland hungered for freedom, truth, as well as improved economic and working conditions. As I left Warsaws Okecie airport, the first thing that caught my eye as we went along a wide boulevard, were the sexy European-style billboard advertisements, as well as the campaign posters for the Euro-Parliament elections, being held on June 13, 2004. Poland had joined the European Union in that year. We then followed a highway, whipping by occasional Baroque palaces and churches, 1920s and 1930s Neoclassical buildings, 1950s socialist-realist office-buildings, and a series of brand new major corporate towers. Then, driving through a massive new tunnel constructed with large turbo-fans to disperse the gas-fumes, we reached the Vistula Highway (Wislostrada), which is located alongside the Vistula River, with the rebuilt city of Warsaw to the west. The well-known landmarks of Warsaw the Royal Castle, the Old Town (Starowka), the so-called New Town (dating from the eighteenth century), appeared in succession as we drove by. One also still sees very prominently in the skyline, the huge Palace of Culture and Arts, built in the early 1950s on the orders of Stalin, in the socialist-realist quasi-Neoclassical style. Poles understand very well that architecture is the most political of the arts, and that the building of the Palace of Culture in the early 1950s was meant to emphasize that Poland was a satrapy of the Soviet Union. Varsovians have grown somewhat more comfortable with the monumental building, now that the Soviet empire is no more. Quickly reaching the city outskirts, we saw a series of small factories and warehouse stores as we moved deeper into the verdant Polish countryside. My relative is an excellent driver, and we quickly passed through a series of small towns and villages with tongue-twister names. I recall passing along the huge bridges near Modlin, which was a major fort and point of desperate resistance in September 1939. Poland was attacked by virtually the entire German army and air force. The isolated and under-equipped Polish armed forces, actually held out against the German avalanche almost as long as the Great Power of France in 1940. Subsequent to defeat in the field, the Poles would organize one of the bravest and most active Resistance movements in Europe, in conditions of one of the most savage, inhuman occupations in history. Nazi Germany aimed at the annihilation of the Polish state, nation, and culture, planning to exterminate all the more educated and cultured people, destroy or plunder physical representations of Polish culture such as art, book, or archival collections, and reduce whatever population remained to abject, brutal, slave-labour. The massacres of the Polish population began from the very first days of the war. One example of the ferocity of the occupation-regime is that the Germans would typically execute fifty or even one hundred Poles at random for every German soldier or official killed. Few non-Polish people are aware today that at least three million Christian Poles perished as a result of the genocidal policies of the Third Reich. We eventually reached Plock, seeing its finely-preserved Old Town in the distance, crossing the Vistula River on a large bridge at one of the rivers widest points. The ecological situation of the Vistula has markedly improved in the post-Communist period. As we drove further the four-lane highway narrowed to a two-lane highway with a wide paved shoulder which requires a skillful driver to pass by slower-moving vehicles. Eventually, after a hard drive of about three hours, we reached Nieszawa, a picturesque small town on the Vistula, where my relative lives. Despite its small size (about 2,200 people), the town has a very long history, stretching back to the fifteenth century. My relative quickly fixed supper, which consisted of pork medallions, a salad with fine dressing, and excellent, new potatoes from Polish farmers fields. She then drove me to Ciechocinek, which is about 10 kilometers away, leaving me at the spa called Pod Tezniami (By the Titration Towers) -- which is one of the best spas in Ciechocinek, and, in fact, has won awards as one of the best spas in Poland. The spa aspires to world-class standards. I thanked my relative profusely, and then quickly checked into the spa, settling into my comfortable room. I had previously visited Ciechocinek on earlier trips to Poland, so I was quite familiar with the town, and the rhythm of life in the spa, which is determined by the curative procedures (zabiegi) one undergoes. I choose a program of individualized exercise, automated hydromassage, and dry massage each single procedure costing (at that time) about 20 zlotys (about CAN$8). The stay at the spa (including excellent meals served buffet style) cost about 180 zlotys a day (about CAN$75). However, it should be noted that visitors to international hotels in Warsaw and other big cities are certainly charged much higher, world rates. (An earlier version of this article has appeared in Polonez: Canadian-Polish News (1-15 September 2007), p. 11.) Mark Wegierski is a Toronto-based writer and historical researcher. Home< WASHINGTON In rare public remarks, Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday dismissed what he called this rumor that I was retiring. I have no idea where this stuff comes from, he said. Justice Thomas, in a relaxed and reflective mood, was interviewed by David Rubenstein, a financier and philanthropist, in the Supreme Courts courtroom as part of a series of lectures sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society. I really dont have a lot of stress, Justice Thomas said cheerfully. I cause stress. Justice Thomas, 70, joined the court in 1991 and is now its longest-serving current member. Political scientists say he is the most conservative justice in the Supreme Courts modern history. He often writes concurring and dissenting opinions that are joined by no other justice. So far this term, he has called for the court to reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark libel ruling, and argued that the fight for abortion rights shares roots with the eugenics movement. WASHINGTON A Congress that has struggled all year to legislate returned Monday to face two urgent deadlines that, if not met, could lead to a disastrous default on the federal debt and to automatic spending cuts that would sweep like a scythe through the military, federal health care and other popular programs. In October or early November, fiscal analysts predict that the Treasury will run out of room to borrow money to keep the government operating, a catastrophe that could damage the stability of the United States economy and force the government to default on its debt. That is about the same time that back-to-back budget deals would expire and strict spending caps enacted in 2011 would come back into force, automatically cutting military and domestic spending across the board by $125 billion. Lawmakers say they need to act now, before recesses in July and August, to avert a crisis. But so far, a divided Congress has found even usually easy things hard like passing disaster relief. This has been an issue of great concern, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader, said in an interview. This is the first time Congress has approved a broad disaster relief package since February 2018. The measure passed Monday will address disasters in the year since: hurricanes in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas, wildfires in California, and floods in the Midwest. Across both chambers, there was widespread relief that the House had finally passed the measure, capping off one of the most laborious approval processes for emergency relief in recent memory. The package, which was left off legislation that ended the countrys longest shutdown earlier this year, was stymied for months as lawmakers squabbled over how much money to allocate to Puerto Ricos hurricane recovery over the presidents opposition. Democrats in both chambers were adamant that the commonwealth, which does not have voting representation in Congress, needed more money. Those who have endured devastating natural disasters deserve to know that the federal government will not leave them to meet these challenges alone, said Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the majority leader. The administrations request for supplemental aid at the border, which included $3.3 billion to feed and care for migrants in custody and staff processing centers, further complicated negotiations. While Republicans pushed for that aid to be included, it was ultimately left out and is likely to be taken up separately or added to another spending bill. The appropriated resources will begin to provide necessary aid and relief to the millions of Americans around the country struggling from the devastation caused by natural disasters, said Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader. However, its unfortunate that Democrats dragged their feet for so long and yet still refuse to address the humanitarian and national security crisis taking place along our southern border. WASHINGTON A cooperating witness in the special counsel investigation into Russian election interference has been charged with possession of child pornography, according to court documents unsealed on Monday. George Nader, a Lebanese-American businessman who acted as an informal adviser to the United Arab Emirates powerful crown prince, was arrested on Monday after he landed at Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to a Justice Department news release. The child pornography charges were unsealed after his arrest. According to the court documents, Mr. Nader was caught early last year with iPhones containing sexually explicit videos of young boys. The phones were discovered after he was stopped by federal agents at an airport and questioned about his efforts to arrange meetings between intermediaries from several foreign governments and Trump transition officials in the weeks after the November 2016 election. Mr. Nader had traveled to the United States to attend a party at Mar-a-Lago celebrating President Trumps first year in office. Mr. Nader received partial immunity in exchange for his testimony, and he ended up spending hours before a grand jury being questioned by prosecutors working for the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. WASHINGTON House Democrats said on Monday they would vote next week to hold Attorney General William P. Barr and the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II in contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas related to Robert S. Mueller IIIs report, even as they announced a new series of hearings meant to refocus attention onto its findings. The twin announcements were the partys latest attempts to kick-start stalled investigations into accusations of malfeasance by President Trump and his administration and to try to force key witnesses resisting their oversight demands into compliance. But they also underscored that in the face of Trump administration opposition, House lawmakers have been left with few good options to investigate accusations that could eventually lead to impeachment. This administrations systematic refusal to provide Congress with answers and cooperate with congressional subpoenas is the biggest cover-up in American history, and Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight on behalf of the American people, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the No. 2 House Democrat, said as he announced the contempt votes. The first of the new hearings, scheduled for next Monday before the House Judiciary Committee, is not exactly the showcase Democrats had hoped for. Rather than questioning Mr. Mueller, the special counsel, himself or Mr. McGahn, for that matter the committees first star witness will come from another era and presidential scandal entirely: John W. Dean of Watergate fame. Still, the session will allow lawmakers on the panel traditionally charged with carrying out impeachment proceedings to fully air Mr. Muellers findings for the first time. What was in those posts? The first post that really struck me was a meme that I have seen numerous times since, that shows a police dog being restrained by an officer with its teeth bared, raring to chase after something. And the caption is, I hope you run, he likes fast food. If there was one, that was the image that made me think: I want to know how widespread this is. And maybe it was the fact that it was a meme. Im almost positive that that guy didnt create that meme, right; he got it from somewhere. And how many officers came by that meme and shared it? I still dont know the answer to that question. How did you do the project? The goal was to take a systemic look at a small number of departments. We went and got the roster, the publicly available roster of all the police officers in those jurisdictions. Then we searched Facebook for folks that had the same name and location as folks on the rosters. Obviously, that wasnt enough there are a whole lot of people with each of those names so when we got a person who appeared to be an officer, we took that profile and looked specifically for some sort of verifying information. The most common piece of verifying information was simply, works at Philadelphia Police Department, works at Dallas Police Department. A lot of people didnt list an employer. For those folks, the next most common way we verified someone was with a picture of that officer in uniform. We made a list of all the people we verified, and we reviewed all of the public posts made by those people. What were the criteria you used to determine whether or not a particular post or comment should be flagged? A second failed bill would have barred voter registration drives from paying workers based on the number of new voters they sign up, and make it a misdemeanor punishable by a jail sentence to knowingly miss the deadline for submitting new voter registrations. Voting rights advocates called the bill a response to a 2018 registration drive that signed up some 190,000 new voters. Gov. Doug Ducey signed another bill that requires so-called emergency voters to sign an oath under penalty of perjury that they are experiencing a genuine emergency and are not casting an early ballot simply out of convenience. It also takes away county election officials power to designate the location of emergency voting centers, giving that authority to elected county supervisors instead. Senator Ugenti-Rita, who sponsored the bill, called it an effort to bring uniformity and transparency to a haphazard, little-publicized service. But it is universally seen as a Republican swipe at the Democrat who was elected in 2016 to run elections in Maricopa County, the third-largest voting jurisdiction in the nation and home to about 60 percent of the Arizonans who voted in the November election. That official, Adrian Fontes, was falsely accused by prominent Republicans of abetting fraud, after he set up five emergency voting locations in the county last fall and allowed some 2,500 people to cast ballots without certifying that they had genuine emergencies. Ms. Ugenti-Rita said Mr. Fontes placed the centers in predominantly Democratic areas, a charge others say is dubious; one center was in Scottsdale, an affluent, deeply Republican part of the county that Ms. Ugenti-Rita represents. Under the new law, the location of future emergency centers in the Phoenix area will be chosen by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, an overwhelmingly Republican body. That is no small irony: When the bill was before the legislature, supervisors in the states 15 counties opposed it. County supervisors have no expertise in the area of elections, said Jen Marson, the executive director of the Arizona Association of Counties. It seems like an odd choice to us. Dr. Ana Radovic, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UPMC Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh, an adolescent medicine specialist who does research in mental health services, said that only about a third of teenagers with depression get treatment, and it can take a long time. At a clinic that serves teenagers who are severely depressed or suicidal, she began doing interviews about how they were using social media, and found she was hearing both positive and negative stories. For example, there was one teen who shared with me that she enjoyed following a band that she liked on Instagram, and it made her feel better, Dr. Radovic said. And then all of a sudden she saw a picture of the band member self-harming and cutting her arm. Other adolescents talked about finding help through online groups perhaps they found support through L.G.B.T.Q. sites which they didnt find at home with their families or about being talked out of suicidal thoughts on Reddit. Its a balancing act for some of these teens, finding help and support online but not being able to filter out the negative things, Dr. Radovic said. And a great deal of that balancing act may have to do with how teenagers are feeling before they go on social media, which then affects what they do on their devices, as well as how they react. Kids who are already feeling depressed have a negative cognitive bias, which affects how they interpret what happens on social media, Dr. Radovic said: Its a complex relationship, where you start off, what happens to you online, how you interpret what happens to you. Tips for Parents to Help Their Struggling Teens Card 1 of 6 Are you concerned for your teen? If you worry that your teen might be experiencing depression or suicidal thoughts, there are a few things you can do to help. Dr. Christine Moutier, the chief medical officer of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suggests these steps: Look for changes. Notice shifts in sleeping and eating habits in your teen, as well as any issues he or she might be having at school, such as slipping grades. Watch for angry outbursts, mood swings and a loss of interest in activities they used to love. Stay attuned to their social media posts as well. Keep the lines of communication open. If you notice something unusual, start a conversation. But your child might not want to talk. In that case, offer him or her help in finding a trusted person to share their struggles with instead. Seek out professional support. A child who expresses suicidal thoughts may benefit from a mental health evaluation and treatment. You can start by speaking with your childs pediatrician or a mental health professional. In an emergency: If you have immediate concern for your childs safety, do not leave him or her alone. Call a suicide prevention lifeline. Lock up any potentially lethal objects. Children who are actively trying to harm themselves should be taken to the closest emergency room. Resources If youre worried about someone in your life and dont know how to help, these resources can offer guidance:1. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) 2. The Crisis Text Line: Text TALK to 741741 3. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Teens are really driven by their peers, really rewarded by peer interactions, Dr. Radovic said. Theyre exploring their identity, being creative, and sharing things that theyve done, but its difficult for them to filter out the negative, she said, and even more so when they are already vulnerable. There are changes that tech companies could make in how social media works, Dr. Radovic said, which might reduce some of those negatives and change the online experience. For example, Instagram is looking at doing away with likes in a pilot program in Canada, to reduce social pressure and comparisons. There are ways to make things safer, she said, and even helpful; social media could play a part in the safety plans that teenagers make to handle suicidal feelings, if they come. On the other hand, Dr. Radovic said, theres more and more evidence about sleep and suicidality, with poor sleep a risk factor. And a new report from Common Sense Media emphasizes the ways that mobile devices have invaded our bedrooms, with both teenagers and their parents reporting waking up to check their devices, and using them right before falling asleep and first thing on waking up. JOHANNESBURG A South African farmer whose vineyard in the Stellenbosch wine region had been occupied by shack dwellers since last year has been shot and killed in his home, heightening tensions amid a contentious national debate over the ownership of land. Four men entered the house of the farmer, Stefan Smit, on Sunday evening before killing him, said Lt. Col. Andre Traut, a police spokesman. Mr. Smits home is about 30 miles east of Cape Town, in South Africas most famous wine region. Mr. Smits wife and a family friend were both present during the attack and survived, Colonel Traut said, adding that the suspects fled with personal belongings. But it was too soon to say whether the killing was related to the dispute over land or was a random criminal act. The killing of Mr. Smit, 62, a prominent white farmer whose family has grown grapes for generations, immediately drew strong reactions from groups representing white farmers and white-minority rights. Sudans security forces stormed a major protest camp in the nations capital of Khartoum on Monday, killing an estimated 31 people and wounding hundreds, protest organizers said, in a day of violence that plunged the countrys once-hopeful revolution into chaos and uncertainty. The dawn raids, led by a paramilitary unit notorious for atrocities in the western region of Darfur, appeared to signal that the military was intent on breaking the pro-democracy movement that galvanized Sudan following the ouster in April of the longtime dictator and president Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Soldiers fanned out across the city from first light, opening fire on protesters, burning their tents and thrashing civilians with sticks. The brutal crackdown came days after the collapse of power-sharing negotiations between civilian and military leaders over who should run Sudan during a planned transitional period. On Monday that transition was cast into doubt as Sudan lurched toward the kind of bloody authoritarianism that quashed the Arab Spring in 2011. The crackdown confirmed protesters fears that Sudans military, backed by the wealthy rulers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, was never serious about its claims to support civilian rule. Inheritance welfare leftists The effluent of generational wealth and privilege By Mark Alexander Founder John Adams, before serving as vice president to George Washington and following him as our second president, was a Boston lawyer and Revolutionary War leader. In 1774, on the insistence of his second cousin Samuel Adams (my favorite of the Founders after Washington), John Adams played a key role in the drafting of the letter of grievances to King George III. A year later, it was Adams who nominated Washington as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. And in June of 1776, Adams organized and chose the Committee of Five who would draft our Declaration of Independence: Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Adams himself. Bookending his Revolutionary War role, in 1783 Adams was appointed the American commissioner to negotiate the Treaty of Paris, ending the hostilities between Britain and the newly formed United States. The treaty was signed on September 3, 1783, and American independence was officially recognized. Countless volumes have been written about Adams, perhaps the best being the 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning epic John Adams by historian David McCullough, which was also the basis for an acclaimed documentary series. Adams, who was also father to our sixth president, John Quincy Adams, is frequently and fittingly quoted in The Patriot Post, and even a cursory review of his quotes in our Founder's Quote Database reveals his timeless wisdom. But for as long as I've been a student of American history and its relevance in the present, particularly the history of our Founders and the extraordinary legacy of Liberty they bequeathed to us, there has been one quote from Adams that always caused me consternation. In May of 1780, before the pivotal battle of Kings Mountain and the surrender of British commanding general Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail in which he asserted: "I must study politics and war, that our sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. Our sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain." In the context of his time, I understand the sentiments expressed by our esteemed Founder, but later generations proved the substance of his words wrong. It was assumed by Adams that successive generations would be imbued with the patriotic virtues required to sustain Liberty. But there is no such inherited legacy, as Thomas Paine noted in his 1776 pamphlet, Common Sense: "When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary." And on the degrading influence of generational wealth on virtue, Alexander Hamilton wrote, "As riches increase and accumulate in few hands, as luxury prevails in society, virtue will be in a greater degree considered as only a graceful appendage of wealth, and the tendency of things will be to depart from the republican standard." In his day, Adams's words were shaped by a desire for peace and prosperity, for the ability of his sons to be free not to focus on war-fighting but on the sciences, that their children might be free to focus on the arts. The problem with his wish is that thegenerations following those who have sacrificed much to sustain Liberty know progressively less about the cost of sustaining that Liberty, and they tend to consider it a hereditary right rather than a responsibility. The consequence is a spiral into the fatal cycle of democracy, which follows this sequence: from bondage to faith; from faith to courage; from courage to Liberty; from Liberty to abundance; from abundance to selfishness; from selfishness to complacency; from complacency to apathy; from apathy to dependence; from dependence back into bondage. This cycle is perpetuated by an abject ignorance of generational history no sense of the price paid for freedom. The great 18th-century philosopher Edmund Burke observed, "The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion." Indeed, that delusion is dependent on erasing the knowledge of the past. As 20th-century philosopher George Santayana concluded in his treatise, The Life of Reason, "Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." English writer and dystopian philosopher Aldous Huxley put it more succinctly: "That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history." James Madison's Supreme Court justice, Joseph Story, warned, "Let the American youth never forget, that they possess a noble inheritance, bought by the toils, and sufferings, and blood of their ancestors; and capacity, if wisely improved, and faithfully guarded, of transmitting to their latest posterity all the substantial blessings of life, the peaceful enjoyment of liberty, property, religion, and independence." Like Liberty, a dollar earned and a dollar inherited are both dollars, but a dollar earned has a very different value to its holder than a dollar inherited. Among the most influential in each generation are its wealthy. This would include the creators of wealth, but mostly it's those in succeeding generations who inherited their wealth and its commensurate privilege. They are from "families of means," not fortune-builders but fortune-spenders, disconnected from the challenges and difficulties most often associated with wealth creation. I've written at length about notable politicians who were what I call "inheritance welfare leftists" those who inherited their wealth and, by extension, the opportunity and class standing it provided. They are beneficiaries of generational privilege, dependent on financial inheritance and no longer embodying the essential spirit of the self-reliance that created that wealth the self-reliance that forms the core of American Liberty. The resulting "dependence ethos" is virtually indistinguishable from the dependence ethos of those who have been generationally inculcated with the belief that they're dependent upon welfare handouts from the state. Though markedly dissimilar in terms of their power and influence, the underlying difference between inheritance welfare liberals and generations of poor welfare recipients is that the former depend on investment and trust distributions, while the latter depend on government redistributions. The most influential inheritance welfare politician of the 20th century was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who seeded the so-called "Great Society" and the modern welfare state, effectively enslaving generations of poor people. Of course, it's not a universal truth that all who inherit wealth and opportunity are condemned to a welfare mentality. In some cases, the first generation has inspired the succeeding generation to work hard to invest their lives rather than spend their lives. But in most cases, by the third generation of those who are painters, poets, musicians, and engrossed in the arts, they have little if any attachment to that first generation. They place little value in their grandfathers' sacrifices to establish and maintain Liberty and the privilege they enjoy. They form today's "investor class," who put their time and resources into political and social causes that are antithetical to Liberty and free enterprise. Because they have little sense of self-reliance and are dependent on the labors of others, they become advocates for the dependence of others. They are the primary benefactors of today's Democrat Party, which is devolving into a socialist party as it attracts ever-greater legions of "useful idiots." Ironically, these wealthy elite fund the front lines of class-warfare cadres, the effluent of generational privilege, who hate the very same inheritance welfare benefactors who gave them rise. I should note that generational welfare-inheritance influencers are not always leftist protagonists. Some also form the core of establishment Republicans. The common denominator between wealthy leftists and establishment Republicans is that both groups are very disconnected from the bedrock grassroots Americans upon whom they're utterly dependent for their existence. John Adams's wisdom on Liberty has been timeless and enduring, but his assertion about the sequence of generational beneficiaries of what was earned by previous generations has proven to be deeply flawed. Finally, as it relates to the inheritance of Liberty, this just-past Memorial Day, I offered some advice to those who genuinely want to demonstrate their gratitude to all who gave the last, full measure and paid the highest price for their Liberty. I likewise thanked active-duty and veteran military personnel for the freedom they have, and continue to defend, at great cost. That advice: Strive to be, first and foremost, an American citizen worthy of their sacrifice. Tragically, most young people have no context for understanding what it means to be "an American citizen worthy of their sacrifice," because their Liberty and privilege was inherited, not earned. Consequently, their ideas have been largely shaped by self-centered social and academic influencers who not only take Liberty for granted but who embrace the statism that progressively suppresses it. Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. Home< Mr. Lopez Obrador and officials in his delegation to Washington say they are optimistic about reaching a deal with the Trump administration. The Mexican president suggested over the weekend that he was willing to reinforce the governments migration-control strategies as long as human rights were not violated. But on Monday, Mexicos ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena, said there was a limit to the Mexicans flexibility in the negotiations. And the limit is Mexican dignity, she said. Mr. Lopez Obrador has for months been pushing a strategy to address the migration crisis by attacking the root problems that are compelling people to leave their homelands. Supporters of the approach hope the United States will become a major donor and participant. But Mr. Trump has instead moved to cut aid to the three Central American countries that send most of the migrants trying to cross the United States southwest border. Last week, the Trump administration signed a two-year agreement to deploy up to 80 agents from the Department of Homeland Security to Guatemala to help train its law enforcement officials and conduct investigations aimed at stemming illegal migration. But analysts wonder whether the American offer will extend much further. Lopez Obrador is right that the only long-term solution for stopping out-migration from Central America is to invest in security and prosperity in the countries of origin, Mr. Selee said. But its unclear whether his government will put serious resources into this, and even less clear if the Trump administration will help. President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines said at an event in Tokyo that he had cured himself of homosexuality with the help of beautiful women. Mr. Duterte volunteered the remarks on Thursday at a speech to a Filipino crowd. In the speech, part of which was provided to reporters afterward, he also appeared to try to insult Antonio Trillanes, a senator who is a prominent critic of Mr. Dutertes antidrug crackdown, by saying the lawmaker is gay. Mr. Trillanes, in a statement provided by his spokeswoman on Monday, said, By admitting his gay past, I am beginning to be suspicious of the true nature of Dutertes seeming obsession towards me. Its also entirely possible that his strongman projection is just a front, Mr. Trillanes said. Whatever, such comments by Duterte show how perverted and sick his mind is. COLOMBO, Sri Lanka All nine Muslim ministers in Sri Lankas government and two Muslim provincial governors resigned on Monday as the fragile, Buddhist-majority country grappled further with the communal backlash of the Easter Sunday bombings that killed as many as 250 people. The resignations were in response to a hunger strike by an influential Buddhist monk, Athuraliye Rathana, who said he would fast to death unless the countrys president removed three senior Muslim officials the two provincial governors and one of the ministers that he accuses of having ties to the suicide bombers who targeted churches and hotels. The eight ministers not targeted by Mr. Rathana announced their resignations in what appeared to be an act of solidarity with the three officials accused by the monk, who also serves as a member of Parliament and an adviser to the president, Maithripala Sirisena. BEIJING He has become a global symbol of freedom and defiance, immortalized in photos, television shows, posters and T-shirts. But three decades after the Chinese Army crushed demonstrations centered on Tiananmen Square, Tank Man the person who boldly confronted a convoy of tanks barreling down a Beijing avenue is as much a mystery as ever. In an age of cyber-sleuthing and intense media scrutiny, it has become almost impossible for historical figures to remain anonymous. But 30 years later, Tank Man is still a source of enduring fascination and intrigue. Tank Man was photographed on June 5, 1989, in the immediate aftermath of a deadly government campaign to clear Tiananmen Square of protesters. Stifling censorship has enforced a silence over those who try to keep alive the memory of the protests and massacre, and has scrubbed the internet in China of virtually any references to the upheavals. The country has become increasingly authoritarian under Xi Jinping, the leader of the ruling Communist Party, whose administration has rounded up rights lawyers, labor activists, students and Muslim ethnic minorities. Ive felt increasingly isolated, Mr. Zhou said in an interview in Beijing ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown. Not many people care about June 4; young people dont even know about it. He was speaking in a cafe in north Beijing where other customers, eyes often fixed on their phones, seemed a world away from the talk of demonstrations and bloodshed. Mr. Zhous daily reality is a stark reminder of how successfully Chinas ruling Communist Party has married economic growth with authoritarian rule over the past three decades, resoundingly rejecting calls for greater political freedom. But even more unexpected to Mr. Zhou were the troubles in Western countries that he admired as models of liberal democracy. The political divisions under President Trump and Britains Brexit shambles showed that even mature democracies could fall prey to dangerous populism and demagogy, Mr. Zhou said. This is Mohammad Ilyas. He lived in eastern Afghanistan. He was eight years old when an airstrike killed him inside his home last fall. His six brothers and sisters were killed, too. So was their mother, Amina, and four young cousins. Twelve dead in total, an entire immediate family gone, except for one person the husband and father, 39-year-old Masih Mubarez. Its a familiar story for civilians caught up in the 18-year war. Mubarez has searched in vain for answers about his familys deaths. He went public with his plight. A U.N. statement pointed toward American responsibility, but the answers never came. Along with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, we investigated the airstrike. We wanted to find out who was behind the attack and how complicated it would be to get answers. Our own analysis of the airstrikes aftermath led us to the U.S. military. The U.S. denied the strike, later admitted it. But even today, it still hasnt acknowledged civilians were killed. Mubarezs story shows just how hard it can be to find the truth when your family is killed in Afghanistan. Heres how it unfolded. The airstrike on the family home happened here, in a remote area southwest of Kabul. Mubarez survived because he was 1,000 miles away in Iran, working illegally. It was the only way he could earn money. Mubarezs wife Amina called him on the morning of the airstrike, seven hours before she would be killed. Already, something was wrong. Their home was in an area mostly controlled by the Taliban. The Afghan military, backed by the U.S., is fighting to get it back. One Afghan army raid there a few months earlier was captured on camera. Amina told her husband that a raid similar to this had just taken place in their village. She said foreign soldiers were there, too, speaking English. That phone call was the last time Mubarez and Amina ever spoke. The raid was part of an operation to free Afghan army soldiers from a Taliban prison. The prison was just 200 yards from Mubarezs house. This is the home before it was destroyed. Here are the living quarters. The family was in there when the bomb struck the morning after the raid. Photos we obtained show fragments of the weapon that was used. The twisted metal holds several clues, including a square pattern of four bolts on a tailfin. Weapons experts said this construction is only used in one type of aerial weapon a JDAM. JDAMs are devices with fins that fit onto the backs of bombs to steer them and make them more accurate. We then traced an ID number on another piece of debris to a U.S.-based company that manufactures parts for guided weapons. So we knew the weapon, but we still needed to figure out who launched it. There are just two forces conducting airstrikes in Afghanistan the Afghan government and the United States. But only U.S. warplanes are capable of carrying JDAMs. Two weeks after the airstrike, the U.S. military said it could find no connection between an American operation and the deaths of Mubarezs family. Five months after the airstrike, the U.S. denied that any strike ever took place in the area of Mubarezs home. But thats not the story Mubarez tells. When we recently gave the U.S. military the precise coordinates of the Mubarez home, their story changed. They now admit to striking it. They say it was done in self-defense because of sniper fire coming from the house. Taliban fighters often use civilians as shields against American airstrikes. But the U.S. military denies that any civilians were killed in the airstrike. We spoke to a medical analyst who concluded that the familys corpses show injuries consistent with the effects of an explosive blast. That leaves Mubarez still with lots of questions, but with no one to take responsibility for killing his family. Italys leading political powers may not have Giuseppe Conte to push around anymore. That was the message Mr. Conte, Italys prime minister, sent Monday as he delivered an ultimatum to the populist governments warring coalition partners. In a remarkable prime time news conference, he told them that if they didnt stop paralyzing the government, and derailing sensitive financial negotiations with the European Union, with their perpetual bickering, political point scoring and media propaganda, he would walk and bring the government down with him. Im not here just to scrape by or drift, Mr. Conte said, demanding a clear and unequivocal choice from the coalition partners as to whether they wanted to stay in power or not. Mr. Conte, who is widely considered a puppet of his deputy prime ministers, Matteo Salvini, of the anti-immigrant League party, and Luigi Di Maio, of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, pulled his only string to get the Italian government on some sort of track. BAGHDAD The French government came under criticism Monday from human rights advocates as Iraqi terrorism courts completed the trials of 11 French citizens and one French resident, sentencing all of them to death for support of the Islamic State. Human rights advocates believe that the Iraqi law, which criminalizes belonging to a terrorist organization, falls short in delivering justice because it does not consider the underlying crime. By failing to address that, both the rights of the accused and the victims get short shrift, said Belkis Wille, the senior researcher for Iraq for Human Rights Watch. You dont have a real examination of what the defendants did, Ms. Wille said. Some of them were war criminals but you have a trial and conviction and sentencing without anyone finding out what war crimes they were implicated in. Student life at New York Citys specialized high schools in the 1980s and 90s. Donna Lennon will never forget when she learned she had won a seat at Stuyvesant High School, one of the nations most revered and selective public schools. Ms. Lennon was sitting in English class in mostly low-income and black East New York, Brooklyn, in the spring of 1981 when a guidance counselor delivered the good news. The class erupted in cheers. I couldnt speak, said Ms. Lennon, now 51 and a lawyer. Four years later, she graduated from Stuyvesant then one of the citys three specialized high schools alongside Dianne Morales, who said it was a diamond in the middle of the desert for students like her. Ms. Morales, who is Puerto Rican and grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, crammed for exams and completed hours of homework each night, sometimes on long commutes, alongside classmates from every corner of the city. All of New York City was new to me, she said, remembering that she was exposed to loft parties in SoHo and friends luxurious apartments near Washington Square Parks grand marble arch. At Stuyvesant, Ms. Morales, now the chief executive of a nonprofit, said she learned there was so much more out there for me. In interviews, more than a dozen black and Hispanic students who graduated from New York Citys specialized high schools from 1975 to 1995 described the schools as oases for smart children from troubled neighborhoods. But the alumni said they were anguished that the schools have since lost nearly all of their black and Hispanic students. Black and Hispanic enrollment in the specialized schools has plummeted over the last 40 years. White enrollment has also fallen while Asian enrollment has ballooned. Among the most drastic shifts: Brooklyn Technical High Schools black population dropped to 6 percent in 2016 from 51 percent in 1982. The city has designated five additional test-in specialized high schools since 2002, bringing the total to eight, in an attempt to integrate the elite schools. But even those schools have seen a decline in black and Hispanic enrollment over the last decade, which undercuts the idea that simply adding more elite schools will shift demographics. Black and Hispanic students currently represent 70 percent of the school system, but make up just 10 percent of the enrollment in the specialized schools. When Ms. Lennon found out in March that only seven black students had scored high enough on the specialized school entrance exam to receive an offer to attend Stuyvesant, she logged onto the schools alumni Facebook page. There, she found her own white and Asian classmates arguing that the decline was because black children did not work as hard as other students, or because their parents did not care as much as others did. Its not like Im new to being black I understand stereotypes exist, Ms. Lennon said. But this felt different. People are ignoring history, she added. No one is asking, What has happened? A black student groups shrinking presence in the Stuyvesant yearbook through the years 1975 U.N.I.K.U.K.U., the black student union, was Stuyvesants most active ethnic group in the mid-1970s. 1982 By this year, the group had changed its name to the Black Students League and reported an upsurge in popularity. The group planned to direct its new strength outside the school by providing tutoring and taking political action. 1993 As the Black Students Leagues numbers dwindled, it modified its mission to become a support group and an open forum for black students. 2018 The Black Students League and Aspira, the Hispanic student group, were featured together. What we lack in numbers, we make up for in drive and heart, the yearbook caption reads. As a teenager, Thomas Colon proudly wore his Bronx High School of Science jacket on the subway and in his South Bronx neighborhood. He borrowed slang from classmates from all across the city and, for the first time, relished being around students even smarter than he was. How racist can you be when the first black kids you meet are in your advanced calculus class? said Mr. Colon, 58, who is Puerto Rican and now retired from a career in finance. That was the real beauty of the school. Since Mr. Colon graduated in 1978, the specialized school admissions process has been transformed by changes in the citys demographics, its public school system and the culture around the schools entrance exam, which is at the center of the debate over the future of the elite schools. For years, most who took the admissions test had little to no preparation. Today, test prep is a rapidly expanding local industry. At the same time, many accelerated academic programs in mostly black and Hispanic neighborhoods have closed as Asian immigrants have embraced the specialized high schools as tickets out of poverty. And in a school system that remains severely racially segregated, many black and Hispanic students have been left in struggling middle schools that sometimes do not even notify them that the elite schools exist. Mayor Bill de Blasios proposal to scrap the decades-old admissions test has sparked an intense backlash and a renewed fight over how to integrate the citys deeply divided school system. Stuyvesant has had the smallest percentage of black and Hispanic students of any city high school in recent years. The mayors proposal would replace the exam currently the sole means of gaining admission to the schools with a system that offers seats to the top-performing students from every city middle school. If his plan is approved by the State Legislature an increasingly dim possibility the specialized schools would be nearly 50 percent black and Hispanic, and Asian students would lose about half their seats. That would be a significant blow to the Asian students, most of them poor, who have replaced white students as a majority in the specialized schools. From 1970 to 2011, the number of Asia-born immigrants living in New York City increased about eightfold to 843,000 from 105,000. The Asian population of the specialized schools includes Asian-Americans and Asian immigrants. Though immigration from Latin America and Africa has also increased significantly in the same period, that influx is not reflected in the specialized schools makeup. By 2011, New York was home to about 984,000 first-generation immigrants from Latin America and roughly 128,000 immigrants who were born in Africa. Much more has changed since New Yorks most prized public schools began to look less like the city school system as a whole and the explosion of test preparation may be the biggest shift. When I heard about all the test prep courses, I thought, if that was me, there was no way I could have afforded that, said Dr. Danielle Elliott Range, who grew up in public housing in Far Rockaway, Queens, and graduated from Stuyvesant in 1989. Dr. Range, now 47 and an associate medical director at Duke University Medical Center, said she sometimes went hungry over the weekend, between school lunches. Today, it is almost unheard-of for a current student to not have prepared for the test often at one of the prep centers whose presence in New York City has doubled in the past decade, to 436 in 2017. At Kaplan, a top prep chain, the most basic offering for the specialized school exam is eight group prep sessions for $1,000. The centers have cropped up to prep students for the SAT, the specialized school test and other high-stakes exams. Some even offer summer classes. The Bronx, home to the highest concentration of black and Hispanic students, has the fewest test prep centers. There is a debate over whether the city should expand prep or move away from a focus on standardized exams. As test prep has become all but a prerequisite over the last decade, advanced academic classes have evaporated for many black and Hispanic students. When Ademola Oyefeso saw that only a tiny number of black and Hispanic students were admitted to the specialized schools this year, he said he was twice mad. Mr. Oyefeso, 41, who now works in politics, graduated from Brooklyn Tech in 1995. I was upset for those kids, because thats not the experience I had, he said. And I was mad because, as a parent, I wondered how many black and brown kids were just left on the table because their parents didnt know how to get you into gifted and talented. Mr. Oyefeso, like nearly all the other alumni interviewed, attended an accelerated middle school. A select few middle schools send a large share of students to specialized high schools. Note: Of 594 middle schools, 121 received more than five admissions offers to specialized high schools. Schools with fewer than five offers are not shown because detailed data for these schools was not made available. About 10 years ago, Michael R. Bloomberg, then the citys mayor, implemented a citywide test-based threshold for gifted and talented programs in an attempt to diversify them but the programs soon shed even more black and Hispanic students. Last year, there were nearly twice as many students in gifted and talented programs in District 2 which includes mostly wealthy and white Manhattan neighborhoods as there were in the Bronx, the citys poorest borough. The Bronx has a total of nine gifted and talented programs, while District 2 alone has eight. Students enrolled in gifted and talented program by school, 2017-18 100 50 500 Bronx District 7 36 students enrolled Manhattan District 2 1,894 students enrolled Queens Brooklyn Staten Island Students enrolled in gifted and talented program by school 50 100 500 Bronx District 7 36 students enrolled Manhattan District 2 1,894 students enrolled Queens Brooklyn Staten Island Some families believe that expanding gifted programs to every neighborhood will help integrate schools. Others argue that the programs exacerbate segregation. Hundreds of charter schools have opened as gifted programs have closed, absorbing tens of thousands of black and Hispanic students into academically rigorous classrooms. Though some charter students outperform their white suburban peers on state exams, that has not always translated into success on the specialized school test. Since charter students sometimes cannot afford prep or are not steered towards the specialized schools, charters track record on elite school admissions has raised questions about whether preparation specific to the entrance exam can outweigh academic prowess or performance on other standardized tests. Specialized school offers to charter students would more than double under Mr. de Blasios plan. Prep for Prep, a training program that helps high-performing black, Hispanic and Asian students get into prestigious New York private schools, accepts only about 200 students a year. Some have argued that Prep for Prep recruits smart black and Hispanic students who might have otherwise attended a specialized school. But even if every Prep for Prep student were accepted into a specialized high school, they would still represent only a small fraction of the schools 5,000 or so offers for freshman seats. A page from the 1982 Stuyvesant yearbook poked fun at the entrance exam. Leonard Noisette, who graduated from Stuyvesant in 1975 and works in philanthropy, remembered walking to elementary school just three blocks from his childhood home in Jamaica, Queens. That school helped prepare him for the middle school gifted program that he was bused to in another part of the borough. By the time he got to Stuyvesant, which he said he remembers very fondly, he couldnt help but think of the mostly poor and black classmates he had left behind in Queens. Written by ACM A pleasant open day at the Council of Europe May 5th 2019 Anniversary of the Council of Europe 1949-2019 Article Patrick Bracker ----------------------------------------------------- (NDLR: Viewpoints published here do not necessarily reflect "Eurofora"s ideas. + 4 Translations, in English, German, Italian and French, are provided herewith) . ----------------------------------------------------------- Visitors were invited to a fun treasure hunt to discover the places and the different aspects of the house. Find elements of the construction, in the time frieze or on the large pan-European map or even in the heart of wall tapestries, decode a name, or find the number of pillars that support the hemicycle, locate values and answer some rebus or research in the area. At each stage of the treasure hunt, there was a growing public interest in the Palace's treasures, including the discovery of gifts made over the years by Member States to the Institution. The visitors' efforts were rewarded with gifts: by passing by to present the result of their research at the dedicated stand, where the charming hostesses of the Council distributed bags or magnets, pens or posters in addition to their good advice and lovely smiles. The courageous visitors could then go to the European Court of Human Rights to continue their journey of discovering the jewel of the Council of Europe. Through this playful game, geography, art, values or reflection constitute a set of realities experienced on a daily basis by the actors of Greater Europe and the staff of the Council of Europe. Exhibitions showing the Institutions many activities over the past 70 years, such as the Landscape Convention or the exhibition summarizing the important stages of European integration. For this 70th anniversary 1949-2019, many interested visitors and enthusiasts came in large numbers, a great pan-European success in a friendly atmosphere! --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ein angenehmer Tag der offenen Tur beim Europarat. Die Besucher wurden zu einer lustigen Schatzsuche eingeladen, um die Orte und die verschiedenen Aspekte des Hauses zu entdecken. Finden Sie Elemente des Baus, im Zeitrahmen oder auf der groen paneuropaischen Karte oder sogar im Herzen von Wandteppichen, entschlusseln Sie einen Namen oder finden Sie die Anzahl der Saulen, die den Plenarsaal stutzen, Werte lokalisieren und auf einen Rebus oder eine Forschung in der Region antworten. In jeder Phase der Schatzsuche wuchs das offentliche Interesse an den Schatzen des Palastes, einschlielich der Entdeckung von Geschenken, die die Mitgliedstaaten im Laufe der Jahre an das Organ gemacht haben. Die Bemuhungen der Besucher wurden mit Geschenken belohnt: Sie kamen vorbei, um das Ergebnis ihrer Forschung auf dem eigenen Stand zu prasentieren, wo die charmanten Hostessen des Rates neben ihrem guten Rat und ihrem schonen Lacheln auch Taschen oder Magnete, Stifte oder Poster verteilten. Mutige Besucher konnten dann zum Europaischen Gerichtshof fur Menschenrechte gehen, um ihre Reise zur Entdeckung des Juwels des Europarates fortzusetzen. In diesem spielerischen Spiel bilden Geographie, Kunst, Werte oder Reflexion eine Reihe von Realitaten, die von den Akteuren des Groraums Europa und den Mitarbeitern des Europarates taglich erlebt werden. Ausstellungen, die die vielfaltigen Aktivitaten des Instituts in den letzten 70 Jahren zeigen, wie die Landschaftskonvention oder die Ausstellung, die die wichtigen Phasen der europaischen Integration zusammenfasst. Zu diesem 70-jahrigen Jubilaum 1949-2019 kamen begeisterte und interessierte Besucher in groer Zahl, ein groer paneuropaischer Erfolg in einer freundlichen Atmosphare! ------------------------------------------------------- Una piacevole giornata di apertura al Consiglio d'Europa. I visitatori sono stati invitati ad una divertente caccia al tesoro per scoprire i luoghi e i diversi aspetti della casa. Trovare elementi della costruzione, nell'arco temporale o sulla grande mappa paneuropea o anche nel cuore degli arazzi delle pareti, decodificare un nome, o trovare il numero di pilastri che sostengono l'emiciclo, localizzare i valori e rispondere a qualche rebus o ricerca nell'area. In ogni fase della caccia al tesoro si e registrato un crescente interesse del pubblico per i tesori del palazzo, compresa la scoperta dei doni che gli Stati membri hanno fatto nel corso degli anni all'istituzione. Gli sforzi dei visitatori sono stati premiati con regali: passando a presentare il risultato della loro ricerca presso lo stand dedicato, dove le affascinanti hostess del Consiglio hanno distribuito borse o magneti, penne o poster, oltre ai loro buoni consigli e sorrisi. I visitatori coraggiosi potrebbero poi recarsi alla Corte europea dei diritti dell'uomo per continuare il loro viaggio alla scoperta del gioiello del Consiglio d'Europa. Attraverso questo gioco ludico, la geografia, l'arte, i valori o la riflessione costituiscono un insieme di realta vissute quotidianamente dagli attori della Grande Europa e dallo staff del Consiglio d'Europa. Mostre che illustrano le numerose attivita dell'istituzione negli ultimi 70 anni, come la Convenzione sul paesaggio o la mostra che riassume le tappe importanti dell'integrazione europea. . Per questo 70 anniversario 1949-2019, i visitatori entusiasti e interessati sono arrivati in gran numero, un grande successo paneuropeo in un'atmosfera amichevole! ---------------------------------------- Une agreable journee porte ouverte au Conseil de lEurope. Les visiteurs etaient invites a un jeu de piste ludique pour decouvrir les lieux et les differents aspects de la maison. Trouver des elements de la construction, dans la frise temporelle ou sur la grande carte paneuropeenne voire au cur de tapisseries murales, decoder un nom, ou trouver le nombre de piliers qui soutiennent lhemicycle, localiser des valeurs et repondre a quelque rebus ou de recherche dans le perimetre. A chaque etape du jeu de piste, se developpait linteret accru du public aux tresors du Palais, avec notamment la decouverte des cadeaux faits au fil des annees par les Etats membres a lInstitution. Les efforts des visiteurs etaient couronnes par loctroi de cadeaux : en passant presenter le resultat de leur recherche au stand dedie, ou les charmantes hotesses du Conseil distribuaient outre leurs bons conseils et ravissants sourires, des sacs ou des magnets, des stylos ou des posters. Les visiteurs courageux pouvaient ensuite se rendre a la Cour Europeenne des Droits de lHomme pour continuer leur chemin de decouverte du joyau du conseil de lEurope. A travers ce jeu ludique, la geographie, lart, les valeurs ou la reflexion constituent un ensemble de realites vecues au quotidien par les acteurs de la Grande Europe et les personnels du Conseil de lEurope. Les expositions montrant les activites multiples de lInstitution depuis 70 ans, comme la convention sur le paysage ou lexposition recapitulant les etapes importantes de la construction europeenne. Pour ce 70eme anniversaire 1949-2019, les visiteurs enthousiastes et interesses sont venus en nombre, une belle reussite paneuropeenne dans une ambiance conviviale ! Lanett Police Department >Towaski Harris, 27, of Opelika, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. >Second-degree theft of property was reported in the 4600 block of 24th Street Southwest. Valley Police Department >Breaking and entering of a vehicle and fourth-degree theft of property were reported in the 5900 block of 22nd Avenue. >Third-degree burglary and first-degree theft of property were reported in the 100 block of Sydney Street. >Willie J. Williams, 61, of Valley, was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. >Michael Scott McClellan, 36, of Valley, was arrested and charged with second-degree receiving stolen property. Auburn Police Division >Second-degree criminal mischief was reported in the 100 block of South Debardeleben Street. >Theft of property (unlocked vehicle) was reported in the 200 block of Harmon Drive. Written by ACM *Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- While France currently Chairs not only the PanEuropean CoE, but also the "G7", and even UNO's Security Council, its hyperactive Minister for Equality of Women/Men and No Discrimination, Marlene Schiappa, replying to "Eurofora"s Questions, stressed the Need to enhance Global Cooperation for respect of such Human Rights, including in notorious cases of Massive Commercial Exploitation of Poor Women for Surrogacy in some Countries accross the World, (f.ex. India, etc). Significantly, Minister Schiappa said that in Reply to our Questions at a Press-point following the Official Opening in Strasbourg of a CoE's fully booked Conference on International Cooperation for Women's Rights, co-organized Together with UNO's Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Dubravka Simonovic, and saluted by CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland. In order to Advance "Beyond" some Problems, Questions and Controversies unfortunately hampering yet the full functioning of CoE's special "Istanbul" Convention on "Domestic Violence", (as CoE Assembly's President, Liliane Maury Pasquier, Experienced Swiss MEP and former Chair of the Socialist Group, had characteristicaly urged, already during relevant Debates at the World Forum for Democracy of 2018 in Strasbourg, See, f.ex.: .., etc), CoE has nowadays Established an "International PLATFORM of Experts against Violence on Women", Headed by UNO's Rapporteur, Miss Simonovic, (Comp. Supra). This "Platform" Gathered Together, Yesterday and Today in Strasbourg, Leading Senior Officials from 7 or 8 relevant Organisations accross the World, including, f.ex., the "Committee for elimination of Discrimination against Women" (CEDAW), the above-mentioned "Istanbul Convention" on "Domestic Violence against Women", the "African Commission on Human and People's Rights"' Rapporteur on Women's Rights in Africa, UNO's "Working Group on Discrimination against Women, in Law and Practice", the "Follow-up Mechanism to the Belem do Para Convention (MESECVI), and the "Inter-American Commission on Human Rights"' Rapporteur on Women's Rights, (etc). The Head of EU's Delegation to the CoE, Meglena Kuneva, also took part in the work of that International Conference, Later-on this Afternoon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- => Questioned by "Eurofora" whether she expected some "Interesting Perspectives from such International Cooperations", in order to Protect Women, Minister Schiappa was adamant : - "Yes, Certainly !", she Replied Positively from the outset. - "That's precisely why we wish that Europe Cooperates with the UN and Others", accross the World, for Women's Rights, he told us. - "By the way, you can see that even those who are Against Womens' Rights, know how to Leave aside all their Ideological, Political, Economic, or Other Differences, in order to act all Together against Womens' Rights !", Schiappa Denounced. >>> - "That's one reason more, for which we believe that it's Important for all European and International Organisations, States, NGOs, Experts, etc., which Help and Defend Womens' Rights and Equality between Women and Men, to also Unite Together, Leaving aside any smaller Differences that they might have between them Elsewhere, in order to stand firm, all together on what is Essential (matters most)", she stressed in Reply. ----------------------------- + Moreover, "Eurofora" raised also a Question "on Equality", concerning an Issue which is not always on Establishment Medias' Limelights, but, nevertheless, is Important for Human Rights, and, it seems, quite WideSpread nowadays accross the World, particularly in Countries like India and various Poor Countries : That of Massive Commercial Exploitation of Poor Women for Surrogacy, (i.e. in order to bear a Pregnacy and give Birth to a Child destinated to Other Persons, Strangers to her, through Technically Asssisted, Artificial Reproductive Methods). - What do you think that it could be done in order to Help those Women ?", we asked Schiappa. - After taking a moment to Think, and Verify that "Eurofora" spoke, indeed, about Exploitaton of poor Women, in case of Surrogacy, alias "Surrogate Mothers", (Comp. Supra), the competent French Minister reacted Positively and practically : - "Against the Commercial Exploitation of Women, in cases of Surrogacy, "We (French Presidency of the CoE, G7, UN SC, etc) are very much Committed" on that, she stressed. - F.ex., among others, "there is also an Inter-Ministerial Mission against Human Trafficking of Women, which, naturally, may usefully act on that matter" too. "Thank you very much", Saluted, in fine, Minister Shiappa, before Leaving CoE's Building with a Smile ... ------------------------------------ - The Fact that PanEuropean CoE's Organisation, particularly through also various Conventions open to signature and ratification by Other, Non European Countries, and its Annual "World Forum for Democracy" (organised in Strasbourg, each November), (etc), currently seeks, in Growing Cooperation with the EU, to Develop and Enlarge also a kind of "Global View", throughout the World's various Continents, including on Women's Rights, was Confirmed, in Reply to an Earlier Question by "Eurofora", also by the Experienced CoE's Director for Democratic Governance, Claudia Luciani, during a previous Press Conference at Strasbourg's Press Club. It was on this occasion, f.ex., that, while we asked, f.ex., about Fresh Data concerning Womens' Rights also in Countries such as China, etc., Luciani agreed, but Pointed also to India, and other Countries, (f.ex. Pakistan, etc), in this regard. + But a main Concern of the CoE Nowadays, in these regards, appears to be, particularly, to Focus also on "Implementation" of Women's Rights, World-wide. - "Whenever we (CoE) have certain Legal Standards, normaly we could and should Implement them", stressed, as a matter of General Principle, CoE's Director General for Democracy, Snezana Samardzic-Markovic, in Reply to a relevant Question by "Eurofora". Smiling, she diplomatcally avoided, however, to explicitly Reply also to a subsequent Question, on whether CoE really had, already, Sufficient and Clear "Legal Standards" to aply also on the Atrocious phenomenon of Many Poor Women over-Exploited for Massive Surrogacy Business, (sometimes in conditions worse even than animals) in some Countries, as f.ex. also India, etc, according to many NGO's Denonciations, in Scandalous situations against basic Human Dignity, as numerous Videos show at the Internet... ---------------------------------------------------- + Meanwhile, Marlene Schiappa didn't ommit, however, also to publish at her Twitter Account, a Statement by French President Emmanuel Macron Denouncing "the Violence which Attacked" many innocent Civilian People "on the Streets" of nearby Lyon City Today, where an "Explosion Wounded" reportedly 13 persons, ...9 of whom (i.e. the Majority) were Women, including a Young Girl aged Only 10 y.o... - Macron had already Spoken, Earlier Today, about a Brutal "Attack", while the French Police in Paris had just Started Official Investigations, reportedly for Criminal Actions with a Nail Bomb Explosion, aimed at "Murder", in relation with "Terrorism". And, by another Astonishing Coincidence, indeed, Many among the recent years' Islamist Terrorist Attacks have Curiously Targetted, often, much More ...Women (even Old Ladies Aged 90 !), than Men ! F.ex., inter alia, also at a series of Knife-Attacks at the Street in Helsinki ; inside a Shopping Center at Washington State, by an armed Young Turk; or the unique Killing of Only an American Lady, earlier out of the Brittish Museum in London ; the DeCapitation of 2 Scandinavian Tourists Women in Morocco ;(etc), Not to Forget the Different, but also Violent Massive Aggressions, including Thefts, Sexual Attacks and/or Rape, by Groups of Thugs against several Hundred of unprotected Young Women and Girls in Koln (Germany) during the New Year's eve, on January 2016, which provoked a Worldwide Scandal, and a "Hot" and Long Debate at CoE's Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg, calling for Sanctions of all those responsible, for Attacking or Abandoning all those Women withOut Any Protection at all, (and even ...Blocking the only available Public Transport means, it seems), resulting into Toppling the Government of RNW Laender, shortly afterwards, (See, f.ex.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/coeforenquiryandjusticeonmobviolentattacksagainstwomen.html, http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/coetodebatewomensmassaggressionsandattemptstohidethetruth.html , etc). Curiously, indeed, it's Not only the infamous Mass Kidnapping of 1.000 Young African Girls by "Boko Haram"'s Terrorists (notoriusly affiliated with ISIS), and/or the Massive Deprivations of Liberty for Brutaly kidnaped, Yazidi and other Women in Syria/Iraq by ISIS, followed also by systematic Exploitation as "Sex Slaves", and other Inhuman/Degrading Treatments, as Denounced at the CoE and EU Parliament in Strasbourg, by 2 or 3 Victims who managed to Escape, later-on, Urging for "Justice" to be done, (Comp., inter alia, also, f.ex.: ... etc). Indeed, Timely, that Lyon's Bomb Attack Today, indirectly but clearly, reminded also the Fact that Real Protection of Women's Rights, particularl against the Worst forms of Brutal Violence, has become, recently, an astonishingly Growing Issue, particularly Out at the Streets, and especially in certain Countries accross the World. (../..) --------------------------------------------------------- *** (NDLR: "DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora"s Donors/Subscribers, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version, might be published asap. +Fast Translation from the Original in French. ) *** Kebingungan dan kesulitan mencari dan bingung ketika memilih situs judi slot online gacor di tahun 2021? Sekarang anda sudah berada di situs slot gacor yang tepat untuk bermain judi slot online. Dengan permainan slot online yang seru untuk dimainkan, dan di menangkan, tanpa perlu takut isi dompet anda terkuras. Tiap game slot gacor yang ada di ICONBAZAAR punya variasi kemenangan tersendiri dalam bermain. ICONBAZAAR hanya memberikan game slot online yang paling populer dan terbaik. Game slot online tergacor yang menantang dan menyenangkan bagi para pecinta game slots didalam melakukan betting. ICONBAZAAR juga telah memiliki jutaan member yang aktif setiap harinya untuk melakukan putaran mesin slot online. 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Kumpulan daftar game judi online ini menjadi nilai tambah bagi para pemain judi didalam menentukan daftar situs judi slot online terpercaya, terbaik nomor 1 di tahun 2021. 3 June 2019 OECD Conference Centre, Paris PODCAST: European Commission anti-trust chief Margrethe Vestager met with Clara Young following the conference to discuss the bigger picture of digital competition. While the advent of the digital economy has generated new opportunities around the globe, it has also given rise to certain challenges for policymakers. One such challenge is developing the right approach to promoting and protecting competition in digital markets, which has been identified as a priority for the 2019 G7 French Presidency. With a view to informing the G7 Finance Ministers discussions on these issues, this event promoted an exchange of views and experience between policy makers, academics and competition authorities. To support the G7s discussions, the Autorite de la concurrence, the OECD, Banque de France and the French Ministry of Economy and Finance organised a high-level Conference on Competition and the Digital Economy. Download the special address from Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finance, France (in French) Read the special address from Margrethe Vestager, European Commisser for Competition Download the Co-chairs' summary of the Conference See Pictures of the conference The discussions were dedicated to: Data and competition Digital innovation and competition Regulatory challenges for competition policy VENUE OECD Conference Centre CONTACT Enquiries relating to this event can be addressed to Angelique Servin. Agenda and Speakers Download the agenda Telecharger le Programme Reiko Aoki [Bio] Commissioner, Japan Fair Trade Commission Johannes Laitenberger [Bio] Director-General of the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), European Commission Caron Beaton-Wells [Bio] Professor, Competition Law, Melbourne School of Law Gabriella Muscolo [Bio] Commissioner, Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) Matthew Boswell [Bio] Commissioner of Competition, Competition Bureau Canada Andreas Mundt [Bio] President, the Bundeskartellamt, Germany Andrea Coscelli [Bio] Chief Executive, Competition and Markets Authority, United Kingdom Noah Phillips [Bio] Commissioner, Federal Trade Commission, United States Ariel Ezrachi [Bio] Slaughter and May Professor of Competition Law, University of Oxford Carl Shapiro [Bio] Professor, Department of Economics, University of California Berkeley Andrew Finch [Bio] Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, Department of Justice, United States Hal R. Varian [Bio] Chief Economist, Google Sylvie Goulard [Bio] Deputy Governor, Banque de France Achim Wambach [Bio] Chairman of the German Monopolies Commission, President of ZEW Leibniz-Centre for Economic Research Read Also OECD work on Digital Economy - more details on the discussion Digital Economy, innovation and competition - more details on the discussion OECD best practice roundtables on competition More OECD work on competition When the UNs Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar completed a 444-page report last year documenting atrocities committed by security forces against Myanmars ethnic Rohingya minority, its experts reported to the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, the Security Council, and a global audience via the media. Last month, the missions Experts took it upon themselves to report to the Rohingya themselves. On a May 5 visit to Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, FFM Chairman Marzuki Darusman and Expert member Christopher Sidoti met with scores of refugees the majority of whom had fled an explosion of violence in Myanmars troubled Rakhine State two years ago. Among those present were witnesses, survivors and community leaders who had contributed vital testimony to the report. The meeting marked the first time the Experts were able to formally brief them, and the first time the Rohingya were able to pose questions of their own. Most of those present asked about the slow pace of justice and said they were desperate to return home. Trapped inside a vast network of camps that have become the largest refugee settlement in the world (900,000 people), they complained they were being excluded from discussions over their future by governments and humanitarian organizations. One man stood up to ask about some of the greatest challenges the exiled Rohingya now face: access to education, and jobs. Our concern is whats going to happen to the next generation, he said. If were stuck here what will happen to them? A few minutes later, a woman stood up to thank the Experts for taking the time to listen. In Myanmar we never had the chance to speak about our rights and our demands, she said, and even here in the camps women especially dont have that opportunity. The woman said the FFMs report had helped inform the world about the indescribable violence the Rohingya community had experienced. She added: we would like to know, how can this type of suffering be stopped from happening again? A Unique Opportunity Investigative missions established by the Human Rights Council report primarily to UN member States in Geneva and New York. But because the FFMs mandate was extended an additional year it expires in September 2019 the Experts had the opportunity to go back and meet with those they reported on. For us, this was the most important report back weve done, Sidoti said. Our report was the product of what they told us. Theirs are the stories we told. So we wanted to ensure that after their cooperation with us we had an opportunity to tell them what we found and what we recommended and whats going to happen from here. I hope very much that as a result of our experience this will become standard for Human Rights Council investigations, Sidoti said, shortly after FFM staff handed out summarized copies of their 2018 findings. The mandate given to the investigative teams should require a report, not just to UN mechanisms, but also to the affected communities. During their visit, the Experts held two meetings in the refugee camps, one exclusively with women. They also met with Rohingya on the Bangladeshi side of a strip of land at Konarpara, which straddles the Myanmar frontier, and heard new testimony from recent arrivals. The trip was part of a 10-day journey through the region that began May 3 and ended with the Experts urging the international community to cut all financial ties to Myanmars military, saying its commanders needed to be isolated and brought before a credible court to answer charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Relaying the Rohingya Message The Experts September 2018 report documented the systematic violation of human rights of ethnic groups across the country, including in Kachin and Shan States. But the report focused heavily on military clearance operations in Rakhine State that started in August 2017, during which Myanmar security forces killed thousands of Rohingya civilians, raped and sexually abused women and girls and set their homes ablaze. The violence forced more than 700,000 Rohingya from the country, most to Bangladesh. During their meetings in Bangladeshs Kutupalong camp, some of the refugees asked what would happen next. Darusman, who leads the FFM, assured them the Independent Mechanism for Myanmar, which was established by the Human Rights Council last year, would inherit their work and begin preparing case files for potential prosecution of alleged perpetrators of some of the gravest crimes under international law. Darusman also said he would relay their concerns to the Human Rights Council in Geneva when they present their final report in September. After leaving Bangladesh, the Experts also met with representatives from Kachin, Shan and Chin communities in Malaysia. It is important to us to ensure we can also report back to other ethnic groups whose testimonies we reflected in our report to the Human Rights Council last year. The plight of the Kachin, Shan and Chin communities remains of serious concern to the FFM, Expert member Radhika Coomarswamy said. 3 June 2019 The Tyrannosaurus rex is enshrined in pop culture and, well, natural history as one of the most fearsome beasts to ever walk the earth. So its no small thing to say youve seen the most terrifying member of the most terrifying species. Next week, the Durham Museum opens its newest exhibit, Tyrannosaurs: Meet the Family, which explores the unique T. rex characteristics and showcases the dinosaurs newly revised family tree. The centerpiece of the exhibit is Scotty, a replica skeleton of a beast scientists are calling the largest T. rex ever discovered. Now, seeing the cast in place, I think its astonishing to see that something that large once roamed freely around the Earth, said Jessica Brummer, spokeswoman for the Durham. The fossilized Scotty skeleton, named after the celebratory scotch paleontologists drank after finding the bones, was first discovered in Saskatchewan, Canada, in the 1990s. Earlier this year, in a paper published in The Anatomical Record, scientists declared the dinosaur had a higher body mass than all other known T. rex specimens. An Omaha man with a long history of lewd conduct and indecent exposure in the Omaha metro area was sentenced Monday in Sarpy County for being a habitual criminal. Nathaniel J. Dixon, who turns 33 on Saturday, was found guilty by a jury of being a habitual criminal, committing burglary and felony theft by receiving stolen property. Sarpy County District Judge George Thompson sentenced Dixon to 10 years without parole for the charge of being a habitual criminal. Dixon also was sentenced to 10 to 20 years on each count of burglary and felony theft. Those terms will follow his completion of the 10-year sentence for being a habitual criminal and will be served at the same time. Dixon will be eligible for parole after serving five years of the burglary and theft sentences. In all, Thompson said, Dixon will spend at least 15 years in prison. In January, Dixon was sentenced to six months in the Douglas County Jail for indecent exposure, at least the third time he has been sentenced for that offense or lewd conduct. A review of Nebraska court records found numerous instances of Dixon being arrested for lewd conduct or indecent exposure, including several incidents in public libraries. He also has served four prison sentences for felony theft as well as several terms in county jails for misdemeanor theft. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Written by ACM *Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- A Good Surprise of these 2019 EU Elections (in Addition to an UnExpected Record-High Turnout), is that the Winner, Frontrunner "SpitzenKandidate", German MEP Manfred Weber, from the ChristianDemocrat/EPP Group (the Biggest), in his 1st Tweet after the Vote, felt that an Important Priority was to point, indirectly but surely, First of all, at his "Eurofora" Project Interview, that he had given us recently, at EU Parliament's Spring Plenary Session in Strasbourg, last April 2019 : - Nowadays' Electoral Results "show us that European Democracy is Alive", (with a much Stronger Turnout than iniially expected), "and that", (in particular), "Citizens want to be more Involved in the Decisions about the Future", Weber stressed, this May, significantly. - So, "Together, we want to Form a(n EU) Commission for the People !", he vowed now. ------------------------------ These Key Points obviously referred to what he had Promised, in Reply to a relevant "Eurofora"'s Question last April : - Indeed, "Europe must be in the Hands of (EU) Citizens !", Weber had told us then, (See: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/topeucandidateweberoneuroforaproject.html). - It's "Not Just about Bureaucrats, Technicians, or Politicians alone : It's (now) More up to the (EU) Citizens", as he had stressed. >>> - "So, we (EU) have to Look for Modern Bases, in order to Involve People", President Manfred Weber had, in concreto, Urged then. - And, in real Practice, indeed, the "Internet offers Opportunities to increase Participation of (EU) Citizens", as he had Agreed with "Eurofora". - "Eurofora" had asked Weber whether the recent Problems attested in Many Countries in the World about Citizens' Distance or even mistrust vis a vis Public Institutions, should be Faced in Europe also by Activating a largely untapped yet Potential of EU's Lisbon Treaty to Develop "Regular Dialogue" between "Civil Society" and "European Institutions" on their main "Actions", particularly by using the Simple and Easy Links nowadays offered by Internet TeleCommunications, with Regular Debates Before important Decisions are taken, which affect People's Lives and/or Society at large. => Indeed, Modern Web Technologies give a Chance to put Europe at Citizens' hands, instead of just Bureaucrats, and we must explore this potential in the foreseable Future, had Replied in Substance to our Question about "Eurofora"s Project, the President of EU Parliament's Biggest Group, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, German MEP Manfred Weber, who became, Now, Elected also as "SpitzenKandidate" (Top Candidate) for the Next EU Commission's Presidency in the period of 2019-2024. ----------------------------------------- + A more or less Similar Positive stance, as far as the main Idea to use, inter alia, also Lisbon Treaty's above-mentioned untapped Potential for EU Citizens' Regular Dialogue with EU Institutions before important Actions, (Comp. Supra), has been Expressed, inter alia, also by French President Emmanuel Macron, f.ex. in a Reply that he gave to "Eurofora"'s relevant Question, only one year ago, at Nearby Saint-Die, just after having Launched the EU Citizens' Public Consultations on Europe's Future, at neighbouring Epinal, during a Trip to Vosges Mountains, coming straight through on the Vosges' Mountains, from a previous important Speech in EU Parliament in Strasbourg, Focused, precisely, on Public Debates for crucial Decisions on shaping Europe's Horizon, (See, among others, also, f.ex.: ..., + ..., ..., etc). ++ This move was at a Straight Line, already with Macron's landmark Speech, symbolically given at Acropole's Historic "Pnyx" Rock, in Athens, as early as since Back on September 2017 (See: ...), including about Public and even Critical Dialogue with the People before Key Decisions, (which was, notoriously Followed by a presentation of his Proposals for Europe's foreseable Future, Soon After, at Sorbone University in Paris) : A Line of thought which had, in fact, Started since the Pre-Electoral Campaign for the French Presidency, (concerning that Key-point about Listenin to the People at First, Before taking Important Decisions), from the Beginning of October 2016 in Strasbourg's Congress Center... => Nowadays, in view of several Crucial Choices that the EU has to make Soon, for the Next 5 Years, Weber, (Speaking in Brussels Yesterday Evening, together with the Experienced President of the ChristianDemocrat/EPP Party, Joseph Daul), has just Expressed his Readiness to Agree some pertinent "Compromises", particularly "with the Center", i.e. precisely, Macron's Liberals. >>> The Point is, for Macron, that, given now the Results of these May 2019 EU Elections, (See: ..., etc), Liberals canNot form any Majority, inside EU Parliament, if they Limit themselves Only to the "Left" Side of the Political Spectrum, because the European People have just Voted a Majority for the Right (Comp. Supra) ! Moreover, in Addition, in case of a forthcoming "BREXIT" around October 2019, it's Only the Liberal and the Socialist Groups who are due to Lose a Number of MEPs, while, on the Contrary, EPP's ChristianDemocrats have Nothing to lose by that... => In Consequence, (and regardless of any Other, eventual, Diversion, including, naturally, probable attempts by Anti-European "Submarines" to slyly Weaken and/or DeStabilize EU's Franco-German core, by provocations and/or false appearances, at any hollow pretext), certain Strategic Compromise Deals, between Macron and Weber, etc., are Naturally of the Highest Importance for Europe. + AnOther Trend, currently is, Nowadays, to also forge a kind of "Unity of the Right", to which the European People, have just Voted a narrow but real Majority, (See Facts at: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/macronforcitizensdebatesalsoafter2019.html, etc). Whatever might be the Path that will be followed in fine by our Political Leaders, at any case, "Eurofora" would naturally be glad and constructive, if our main Project (Comp. Supra) might, eventually, Help to SaveGuard and/or Develop further Europe's Democratic Cohesion. --------------------------------------------------------------------- + ADDE, NDLR : - WHY "EUROFORA" WAS PUSHED TO DECLINE Presidents' DAUL's + WEBER's nice INVITATION TO BRUSSELS : * At the Last Minute, "Eurofora" was, UnExpectedly, pushed to Decline a Kind Invitation by EPP's President Joseph Daul, and "SpitzenKandidate" Manfred Weber, to participate at the Exceptional "Election Night" event, organized at a Symbolic Hotel (See Infra), near the EU Parliament. In fact, everything was Ready, Both for going to Brussels, or Staying in Strasbourg, (with 3 relevant Events, by the Press Club, an Invitation by "Grand East" Region's Prefecture, and at EU Parliament's building here). But, suddenly, at the Last Minute, the UnExpected Bloody Nail Bomb Islamist Terrorist Attack cowardly Targetting 14 Civilian People, including even a Girl aged only 10 y.o., (some of whom had to be Operated at the Hospital, under General Anesthetics, in order to pull at least a Part of 11 Metal Pieces thrown in their Body by that Nail Bomb Explosion, reportedly Made to Kill), Changed Everything : - Indeed, at First, we were Obliged to Watch out and be Ready for any possible important Development concerning Nearby Lyon City, during 2 Crucial Days before that Exceptionally Important EU Election. (And a Strange Secrecy and/or Delay f.ex. Both on the Bloddy Nail Bomber's Identity revelation to the Public, and on the Final Qualification of that Explosion wih 14 Victims, as an eventual Accident or Islamist Terrorism, etc, obviously Destroyed a lot of precious Time: Comp. f.ex. .. , etc). It was any Journalist's elementary Duty, particularly after many Recent Years of Deadly Islamist Terrorist Attacks at the Heart of Europe, cowardly Targetting numerous innocent Victims, (including, Most Recently, even here, in Strasbourg, last December 2018, during EU Parliament's Session), with the notorious Consequence to provoke Widespread Popular Concern, as EU Citizens felt a Vital Need to be Safely Protected. - To this is added also a personal Concern, (particularly at this area of Franco-Germano-Swiss Borders, too often Hit by various Deadly Terrorist Attacks around it, for years, particularly between 2015-2019, including Bloody Gun Shootings right in front of our Family Home nowdays, but also considering many Other, f.ex. Airplane incidents, Capital Cities targetted, etc), which has pushed, as a matter of General Principle, to seriously Restrict Many, otherwise Interesting, Trips in Europe (even, once, at Nearby Stuttgart !)and/or the World, during Recent Years : Including, f.ex., inter alia, also some Interesting Invitations for Conferences to New Delhi (India), Shanghai (China), New York and/or Chicago (USA), etc. That's why "Eurofora" sincerely Thanks Presidents Daul and Weber for their Kind and Interesting Invitation to Brussels, and Wishes them the Best, for themselves and our Europe ! NB=> By the way, Daul and Weber had, Significantly, Chosen for that Exceptional Meeting/EU Election Night of May 26, to organise it at an Hotel named .... "RENAISSANCE" ! -- What a Symbol for Macron of 2019, and some others, (f.ex. Sarkozy of 2/7/2007)... (../..) Omaha police announced an arrest Sunday in connection with the shooting of a 40-year-old man in north Omaha. Willie Hatten, 40, was taken to Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition, although police said his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening. A hospital spokeswoman said Sunday that Hatten's condition has been upgraded to serious. Police said Sunday that a 16-year-old male has been arrested in connection with the shooting that occurred just before 11 a.m. Friday near 24th Street and Kansas Avenue. The teen was booked into the Douglas County Youth Center on suspicion of first-degree assault, use of a weapon to commit a felony, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Staff writers Alia Conley and Kevin Cole contributed to this report. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Reece Ristau Reece covers Omaha City Hall, including the City Council and Mayor's Office, and how decisions by local leaders affect Omaha residents. He's a born-and-raised Nebraskan and UNL graduate. Follow him on Twitter @reecereports. Phone: 402-444-1127 Follow Reece Ristau Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Two more bridges in the area of the Niobrara River that were damaged in the March floods are heading toward reconstruction, with a goal of opening temporary access to Highway 12 by Aug. 15. The Nebraska Department of Transportation awarded a $44.17 million contract to rebuild and repair the Highway 12 bridge over the Niobrara River west of the town of Niobrara and the Highway 12 bridge over the Mormon Canal, which is just west of the Niobrara River bridge. The contract follows the authorization of work on the Highway 281 bridge over the Niobrara River south of Spencer. Hawkins Construction Co. of Omaha received both construction contracts. Alfred Benesch & Co. is designing the Highway 12 work. The Highway 281 project is a $25.47 million contract; Olsson has been a consultant on the work. Northeast Nebraska continues to have numerous highway routes cut off by flood damage. Boyd County Sheriff Chuck Wrede, in an interview last month, said residents were frustrated by the ongoing road closures and long detours, and gas stations and other businesses were hurting, too, from the lack of traffic. A 20-year-old man was flown to an Omaha hospital Sunday with serious injuries following a one-vehicle crash just south of Plattsmouth. Charles I. Null of Plattsmouth was taken by helicopter to the Nebraska Medical Center, according to a Cass County Sheriffs Office report. A hospital spokeswoman said no information on his condition is being released. Investigators said Null was southbound on Rock Bluff Avenue just north of Horning Road about 10:30 a.m. when the vehicle left the road and crashed into a tree before rolling over in a pasture on the west side of the road. The sound of the crash alerted nearby residents, who went to investigate and found the vehicle. Plattsmouth Fire and Rescue used extrication equipment to remove Null, who was not wearing a seat belt, from the vehicle. Deputies temporarily shut down Rock Bluff Road for the medical helicopter and the removal of the vehicle. Kevin Cole Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Bacon is a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Mike Gwin, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the group that helps Democrats get elected to Congress, said Bacon was tweeting cavalierly about war in the midst of a diplomatic standoff. He doesnt have the judgment needed to represent Nebraska in Congress, Gwin said. President Donald Trump has made confronting Iran a cornerstone of his foreign policy and is squeezing its economy to force it to roll back its ballistic missile program and support for groups such as Lebanons Hezbollah, which the U.S. deems a terrorist organization. Tensions between the two countries have increased in the past month. On May 8, Irans president signaled that stockpiles of nuclear material would soon exceed limits after the U.S. revoked waivers permitting it to be shipped abroad. That declaration was made on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. decision to unilaterally exit the nuclear accord and reimpose sanctions, including on vital oil exports. Videos circulating online appeared to show protesters standing at low brick barricades in the street, then being driven back by walls of blue-clad security forces carrying sticks. Hundreds of people were arrested, according to al-Zein and another activist, Hisham Shalabi. Photos posted online from the scene showed dozens of men and women lined up on the pavement, sitting or lying face down, under guard by troops, apparently under arrest. The break-up of the sit-in threatens to escalate the struggle between the protesters and the military to a new, more volatile level. Until now, negotiations over the transition had kept a tenuous level of peace. But after Monday's attack, protest leaders suspended the talks with the military council and called for a general strike and "total civil disobedience." The Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters in the negotiations, called for toppling the military council and urged people to take to the streets in protest. The embassies of the United States and Britain expressed concern about reported attacks on civilians. Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News. President Donald Trump's approach to trade policy had set new benchmarks of incoherence and irresponsibility even before his threat to impose escalating tariffs on imports from Mexico -- but this latest maneuver takes the cake. The administration plans to harm businesses north and south of the border, and to impose additional new taxes on U.S. consumers, not to remedy a real or imagined trade grievance but to force Mexico to curb migration to the U.S. This is a radical and disturbing development. The administration is invoking a law that allows it to impose emergency economic sanctions. It's safe to say that Congress never envisaged that those powers would be used in a case like this. Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who has supported many of Trump's previous moves on immigration, said it plainly: "This is a misuse of presidential tariff authority and counter to congressional intent." It's also, by the way, a straightforward violation of U.S. commitments under existing trade treaties. In effect, even the pretense that the U.S. is adhering to a legitimate, rule-bound trade policy has been all but abandoned. Tom Mackland, Council Bluffs Farmers need the help The Nebraska Legislature ended its session this year with two bills left unsettled. The farmers, who endured floods and terrible weather this year as well as President Donald Trumps tariffs, want some property tax relief. The corporate world, which has enjoyed many tax incentive programs since 1985, is back and pushing for more incentive programs. In my opinion, the farmers need property tax relief this year and, if not, then next year. I have always wondered why businesses cannot survive without some sort of government welfare program to help them. The largest groups on welfare in this country are large corporations that continually go to the trough looking for more. The Trump tax plan was nothing more than a giveaway to the mega donors who support the Republicans in their elections. The farmers will have to struggle to get back on their feet from storms, floods and Donald Trump. The UK Serious Fraud Office fined FH Bertling Ltd 850,000 ($1 million) Monday for bribes to secure contracts in Angola. The investigation and prosecution focused on Germany-headquartered FH Bertlings involvement in an oil project in Angola and employees bribing a local state oil company official to secure $20 million in shipping contracts, the SFO said. The SFOs criminal investigation into corruption at FH Bertling began in September 2014. The first charges were announced in July 2016 and involved the two separate Jasmine and Angola cases, according to the SFO. In total, 13 individuals were charged as part of the SFOs investigation into the company. Nine were convicted of one of more charges, and four were acquitted. In January, three executives FH Bertling Group pleaded guilty to paying around $445,000 in bribes to help Bertling win a freight forwarding contract with ConocoPhillips worth $20 million for the Jasmine North Sea oil project. Bertling executives bribed ConocoPhillips employees to approve and pay Bertlings inflated invoices. The Sonangol bribes helped Bertling win and keep a freight and forwarding contract from 2004 to 2006 worth about $21 million. Stephen Emler, FH Bertlings former CFO, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for the North Sea bribery plot and concurrently to 18 months for bribery at Angolas state oil company, Sonangol. Elmer was also fined 15,000 ($19,300). Giuseppe Morreale, Bertlings managing director for London, was sentenced to 15 months for the North Sea bribery plot and concurrently to two years in prison for the Angola schemes. He was fined 20,000 ($25,700). Colin Bagwell, FH Berlings former managing director and chief commercial officer, was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined 5,000 ($6,430). Christopher Lane, the former logistics lead at ConocoPhillips, was sentenced to six months in prison and placed under a 28-day electronic curfew order. The prison sentences for Emler, Morreale, Bagwell, and Lane were all suspended for two years. In October 2017, three other former Bertling executives each received 20-month prison sentences and 20,000 ($25,700) fines. The prison sentences were suspended but the defendants were disqualified from serving as directors of UK companies for five years. Bertlings UK unit, FH Bertling Ltd, pleaded guilty in August 2017. The UK unit stopped doing business and went into liquidation. ______ Harry Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog. Celebrating Pride: Google doodle takes you through LGBT history Feature oi-Deepika S It's Pride month, and with 2019 the 50th anniversary of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender identities, often collectively known as Gay Pride or LGBT Pride, communities across the world are celebrating the eventful month. Today's Google doodle celebrates 50 years of Pride with an interactive video, by taking us through five decades of Pride history-all told through the lens of a growing, evolving, and international Pride parade! Below, Doodler Nate Swinehart shares more on the making-of today's Doodle, as well as what the project means to him. The Pride Parade is a symbol of celebration and liberation for the entire LGBTQ+ community. From its early days of activism on Christopher Street in New York City, to the worldwide celebrations of today, it has empowered and given voice to a bright and vibrant community. Doodler Nate Swinehart shares more on the making of Doodle for May 6 including what the project is meant to him. The 1969 riots began at the Stonewall Inn, a bar on Christopher Street in Manhattan. Disputes exist in the LGBTQ community about how exactly the riots began, but it is agreed that they were the result of police raiding the bar for activity then considered criminal. The month of June was chosen for LGBT Pride Month to commemorate the Stonewall riots, which occurred at the end of June 1969. As a result, many pride events are held during this month to recognize the impact LGBT people have had in the world. Brenda Howard is known as the "Mother of Pride", for her work in coordinating the first LGBT Pride march, and she also originated the idea for a week-long series of events around Pride Day which became the genesis of the annual LGBT Pride celebrations that are now held around the world every June. Additionally, Howard along with fellow LGBT rights activists Robert A. Martin (aka Donny the Punk) and L. Craig Schoonmakerare credited with popularizing the word "Pride" to describe these festivities. As LGBT rights activist Tom Limoncelli put it, "The next time someone asks you why LGBT Pride marches exist or why [LGBT] Pride Month is June tell them 'A bisexual woman named Brenda Howard thought it should be.'" Two Presidents of the United States have officially declared a Pride Month. First, President Bill Clinton declared June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month" in 1999 and 2000. Then from 2009 to 2016, each year he was in office, President Barack Obama declared June LGBT Pride Month. Donald Trump became the first Republican president to acknowledge LGBT Pride Month in 2019, but he did so through tweeting rather than an official proclamation. Beginning in 2012, Google displayed some LGBT-related search results with different rainbow-colored patterns each year during June. In 2017, Google also included rainbow coloured streets on Google Maps to display Gay Pride marches occurring across the world. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, June 4, 2019, 1:38 [IST] Ajit Doval back as NSA clearly indicates national security supreme for Modi India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, June 03: Ajit Doval will continue to serve as India's National Security Advisor for the next five years. He was also given a Cabinet rank by the government in recognition of his contribution to national security. Doval had largely shaped India's national security policy in the past five years. One of the key areas of focus was Kashmir, where one got to witness his famous doctrine in force. The policy largely moved away from the Track-II talks and thanks to this we witnessed an iron fist policy in which the separatists of Kashmir were completely sidelined. In the next five years, one would get to witness the continuation of this policy and security experts say that there would be a solution in place soon. Ajit Doval to continue as NSA with Cabinet rank Although there was plenty of criticism for the manner in which the Kashmir issue was handled, the government decided to go ahead with its policy. An senior official in New Delhi explained that talking to the separatists was not an option. It is not as though they would tow the line of the Indian government had we tried speaking to them, he also said. The approach towards the Kashmir problem was based on the Doval doctrine. He had made it clear that there was no need to overreact as these troublemakers could not sustain beyond a point. The broader message that Doval was sending out is that appeasement will not work and if these people in the Valley do manage to sustain beyond a point then there would be a price to pay. The other challenges would include those in West Bengal and Kerala where the problem of radicalisation is immense. One could expect a road map on this in the next five years. Last year, it was also decided to revive the Strategic Policy Group (SPG). The SPG apart from being the main mechanism for inter-ministerial coordination, will also form the national security policies based on the integration of inputs. This group headed by Doval also includes the Niti Ayog, Vice Chairman, the cabinet secretary, RBI Governor, three military chiefs, Home Secretary, finance and defence secretary. The Strategic Policy Group would also have the secretary of Defence Production and Supplies, scientific advisor to the Defence Minister, and secretary cabinet secretariat. Officials from the departments of revenue, space, Intelligence Bureau and energy too would be part of the group. In the recent days we have seen a lot of changes being made in the office of the National Security Advisor. In the past there was just one NSA, but today there are three deputies. The creation of a Defence Planning Committee under the National Security Advisor was also another major development. The DPC was formed to facilitate a comprehensive and integrated planning for defence related matters. With Doval at the helm, the message that was being sent out is that national security is of utmost importance. With him back as the NSA, it is clear that he will continue from where he had left off. Modi-Doval 2.0: The agenda on internal security for the next 5 years Doval was appointed as the NSA in 2014. He previously served as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau in 2004-05. It was under his supervision that both the surgical and Balakot strikes took place. On 30 May 2014, Doval was appointed as India's fifth National Security Advisor. In June 2014, Doval played a crucial role in ensuring the secure return of 46 Indian nurses who were trapped in a hospital in Tikrit, Iraq. After family members lost all contact from these nurses, following the capture of Mosul by ISIL. Doval, on a top secret mission flew to Iraq on 25 June 2014 to understand the position on the ground and make high-level contacts in the Iraqi government. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 16:59 [IST] Amarnath Yatra 2021: Registration of pilgrims to start from April 1, How to do online? We will soon take decision on conducting Amarnath Yatra: Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha Amarnath Yatra cancelled for 2nd year in a row due to Covid-19 fear; Online 'Aarti' for devotees Amarnath Yatra: First litmus test for Amit Shah India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, June 03: The 46-day-long Annual Amarnath Yatra will begin from July 1, the day of Masik Shivratri, and would conclude on August 15, the day of Shravan Purnima. According to the officials, over 1.10 lakh devotees have registered for this year's annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas. Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Paul Malik had launched last week an online registration process for pilgrims. Malik on Saturday briefed Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the security situation in the state, which is currently under the president's rule. Home Minister Amit Shah pays tribute at National Police Memorial During the 15-minute meeting, the Governor apprised the Home Minister about the preparation for the Amarnath Yatra. According to the sources, Shah has told J&K Governor to leave no stone unturned in conducting terror free Amarnath Yatra. "Conducting Amarnath Yatra peacefully is the top priority for the Centre. Shah also realises that it will be the first litmus test for him. The importance of the Yatra for him could be gauged by a fact that his meeting with J&K Governor was fixed on the day when he assumed the charge of Home Ministry," says the source. All the security agencies, army, and paramilitary forces have heightened the vigil and Shah is being briefed about the preparations on a regular basis, adds the source. The government is also aware that the annual pilgrimage has always been on the radar of the terrorists and it has become extra cautious after the Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019, in which a convoy of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was attacked by a local Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber Adil Ahmad Dar. Forty CRPF personnel and Dar were killed in the attack. Since Amarnath pilgrims also use road transport, the Centre and J&K Administration are taking all possible measures to thwart any Pulwama type attack, say sources. The Amarnath Yatra has come under terror attack four times in the past. On 10 July 2017, eight Hindu pilgrims on the way from Amarnath Temple were killed in a terror attack. Day one at Home Ministry, Shah discusses internal security, counter-radicalisation On August 6, 2002, terrorists from al-Mansuriyan, a front group of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, killed 9 pilgrims and injured 30 near Nunwan pilgrimage base camp. On July 20, 2001, a terrorist threw two grenades and fired indiscriminately on a pilgrim night camp at Sheshnag Lake en route Amarnath shrine, killing at least 13 and injuring 15 pilgrims. On August 2, 2000, Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists killed at least 32 people and injured at least 60 people in a two hour long indiscriminate shoot out at Nunwan base camp in Anantnag district. India would be unlocked in a staggered manner: Here is what the govt is planning Get used to the idea that area wise lockdowns will continue for more time Govt invites farmers for talks again at a time and date of the unions choosing Centre relents, says Hindi not compulsory India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, June 03: Amid massive uproar in Tamil Nadu over the three language formula proposed in the draft National Education Policy, the Union Government has reportedly agreed to the demands of not making Hindi compulsory. A row erupted after it emerged that the draft New Education Policy requires schools to include Hindi, English and a regional language in the curriculum. "No language will be imposed on any state": HRD ministry amid uproar in Tamil Nadu over Hindi Parties in Tamil Nadu including the DMK on Saturday strongly opposed the three language formula. DMK strongly opposed the three language formula's continuation proposed in the draft National Education Policy alleging it was tantamount to "thrusting" Hindi and wanted it junked. As per reports, the Centre has now agreed to not make Hindi compulsory in the new draft. Students can change one of their three languages. The DMK had demanded the Centre to reject the draft recommendations which, the party claimed, was "imposition" of Hindi under the garb of three-language formula. DMK had said that the party MPs would voice their strong opposition in Parliament as soon as the House was convened. Explained: What is three language formula in draft education plan? Union HRD Ministry on Saturday assured that "no language will be imposed on any state." "Committee has submitted its report to Ministry, it's not the policy. Public feedback will be sought, it's a misunderstanding that it has become a policy. No language will be imposed on any state," HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal told ANI on Saturday. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 12:29 [IST] Complete probe in Muzaffarpur shelter home case in three months: SC to CBI India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, June 03: The Supreme Court has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to complete its probe in the Muzaffarpur shelter home case within three months. The CBI had moved the court seeking six months time to complete the probe. The court had in May asked the agency to file a status report by June 3. This is an extremely urgent matter the court had remarked. Brajesh Thakur, alleged mastermind and strongman in the case, was charged with serious charges under the POCSO Act, including Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault). Thakur and the employees of his shelter home, as well as Bihar department of social welfare officials, were charged with criminal conspiracy, neglect of duty, failure to report the assault on the girls. Giriraj Singh shares stage with Muzaffarpur Shelter Home case accused in Begusarai The other 20 accused were charged with criminal conspiracy to commit rape and penetrative sexual assault against minors. The offence carries punishment of minimum 10 years and maximum of life imprisonment. On February 7, the Supreme Court ordered authorities to transfer the case from Bihar to a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Saket District Court complex in Delhi, which would conclude the trial within six months by holding preferably day-to-day hearing. Several girls were allegedly raped and sexually abused at an NGO-run shelter home in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. The issue had come to light following a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). PM Modi's niece gets mugged in Delhi, snatchers run away with 56k cash How Shah brought the best minds together and restored peace in North East Utilise all private, public facilities to ramp up vaccine production: PM Modi after review meet Doubling farmers income by 2022: Challenges before Tomar India oi-Hardeep Singh Bedi New Delhi, June 03: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the responsibility of doubling farmers' income by 2022 to Narendra Singh Tomar by appointing him as Union Agriculture Minister. The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) 2019 manifesto promised to double farmers' income by 2022, with 2015 being the reference year. Tomar has assumed the charge in the backdrop of large-scale agitations across the country due to farmimg distress in the last few years. In last year's assembly polls, the BJP tasted defeat in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh largely because of farming distress in the states. Pepsico India withdraws all cases against Gujarat potato farmers Tomar will have to carry forward the work in this regard by the previous Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. The ministry had invited various suggestions but none of them suggested foolproof roadmap to achieve it. The Government constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee to examine issues relating to doubling of farmers' income and recommend a strategy to achieve doubling of farmers' income in real terms by the year 2022. In order to realise net positive returns for the farmer, schemes like Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme; Neem Coated Urea (NCU); Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY); Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY); National Agriculture Market scheme (e-NAM); Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY); National Food Security Mission (NFSM); Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH); National Mission on Oilseeds & Oilpalm (NMOOP); National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); National Mission on Agricultural Extension & Technology (NMAET) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) are being promoted and implemented in a major way through the States/Union Territories. In addition, schemes relating to tree plantation (Har Medh Par Ped), Bee Keeping, Dairy and Fisheries are also implemented. All these schemes are implemented to enhance production and productivity of agriculture and thereby enhance the income of farmers. The All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey says that the average monthly income per agricultural household in 2015-16 was Rs 8,931. Farmers will become lethargic says Manohar Khattar on loan waiver According to some experts, doubling this figure by 2022 would require farmers' incomes to increase between 13 per cent and 15 per cent every year. The Niti Aayog has put forth a four-point action plan to double the incomes of India's farmers. (i) remunerative prices for farmers by reforming the existing marketing structure, (ii) raising productivity; (iii) reforming agriculture policy; and (iv) relief measures. One of the biggest challenges for Tomar will be to popularise Crop Insurance Scheme among farmers. For this, he will have to convince farmers that crop insurance scheme is not only beneficial for the companies but also for farmers. The advantage for Tomar is that he is also Rural Development and Panchyati Raj Minister as most people associated with the farming sector reside in rural areas. All eyes will be set on Tomar whether he is able to fulfill the dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or not. If he is successful then his stature will definitely increase in the Modi cabinet. If he's not then it will not only cost him dearly, but also to Prime Minister Modi. Is ministerial berth to Apna Dal president main issue behind differences between them? How a jail meeting is giving shape to the Grand Alliance in Bihar Get ready for another Nitish dhoka says RLD chief warns BJP India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, June 03: Former BJP ally and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief Upendra Kushwaha Sunday cautioned the saffron party that Nitish Kumar will "betray" it and it should be ready for "Dhokha number 2" from the JD(U) president "I want to tell BJP people that Nitish Kumar has been known for disrespecting the people's mandate. Betraying people's mandate and alliance partners are his old habits...BJP people should be ready to witness 'Dhokha number 2'," Kushwaha told reporters here. "Aisa koi saga nahi jisko Nitish ne thaga nahi (There is nobody who has not been cheated by Nitish)," he said. This idiom will be translated into action here soon and hence the BJP should remain "cautious", he said. Kushwaha was talking to reporters here after a meeting of his party to discuss the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. Kumar had snapped ties with the BJP in June 2013 after Narendra Modi, the then Gujarat chief minister, was made the saffron party's campaign committee chairman for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kumar later joined hands with the RJD and Congress to form Grand Alliance in Bihar which won the last state elections. However, in July 2017 Kumar brought down the Grand Alliance government as he pulled out of the grouping. But within hours, he joined hands with the BJP and became chief minister again. Kushwaha said Kumar remarks that the JD(U) would not join the Modi cabinet reminded him of 'sour grapes'. Upendra Kushwaha warns against vote tampering, threatens bloodshed Asked as to why he thought his party and the Mahagathbandhan were routed in the Lok Sabha polls, the RLSP chief claimed that the BJP's top leadership "misled the people of the country as part of their conspiracy to deflect attention from actual issues" and people voted on non-issues. "We have learnt a lesson and will be cautious and aware of their (BJP's) conspiracy in elections." Replying to another query, he said that the RJD-Congress-RLSP-HAM Grand Alliance in Bihar is united and will remain so in future. Asked if he though Tejashwi Yadav was responsible for Grand Alliance's defeat in Bihar, Kushwaha said one person cannot be held responsible. The former Union minister termed the Bihar CM's decision to fill 32,000 posts of teachers in the state's secondary and higher secondary schools as an "eye-wash". The decision would not bring quality education in state-run schools, he said. Kumar should alter the selection procedure and appoint quality teachers through examination held either by Bihar Public Service Commission or any other specialised body, he said. Kushwaha, however, extended his support to Kumar for getting special category status accorded to Bihar. If the state government forms a delegation of political parties or chalks out any programme, the RLSP would extend it support for the cause, he added. India believes there is urgent need for major reforms in WHO: Harsh Vardhan Harsh Vardhan applauds 'White coat warriors' for going beyond call of duty to attend to patients Harsh Vardhan comes on a bicycle to take charge of ministry India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, June 03: Delhi MP Dr Harsh Vardhan, who was appointed as the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology, Earth Sciences in the Modi 2.0 Cabinet, on Monday took charge of the ministry. Surprising thing is that, Vardhan who has been vocal about pollution problem in Delhi, came on a bicycle to the ministry. Vardhan, who handled three portfolios in the last NDA government and initiated a crucial national programme to tackle air pollution, made his way to the Narendra Modi cabinet for a second consecutive time when he took oath last week. Vardhan was appointed Minister of Health and Family Welfare during the Modi government's first stint in 2014 and later, given the charge of the Ministry of Earth Sciences and Ministry of Science and Technology. Modi Sarkar 2.0: Know your Cabinet Ministers In May 2017, he was given the additional charge of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change following the death of Union minister Anil Madhav Dave. The sixty-four-year-old was re-elected to the Lok Sabha from the Chandni Chowk seat, winning it by a margin of over 2 lakh votes this time. Vardhan as an environment minister initiated the Green Good Deeds Movement in 2018 in which he appealed to organisations and the people to take small positive actions to strengthen the cause of environmental protection. Under his leadership, the environment ministry also launched the National Clean Air Programme that aims to reduce toxic particulate matter by 2024. In this regard, plans for 84 cities are ready and the committee formed for has already met and taken stock of the situation. Vardhan was at the forefront of the battle against tobacco and drug abuse and was instrumental in the enactment of several laws including the Delhi Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places and Non-Smokers Health Protection Act to tackle these problems. An MBBS and MS from GSVM Medical College in Kanpur, from where he specialised in ENT, Mr Vardhan did his schooling in the Anglo-Sanskrit Victoria Jubilee Senior Secondary School in Daryaganj, Delhi. China must be and will be reunified: Chinese defense minister SINGAPORE, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Sunday reiterated China's firm position on Taiwan, warning against any forces' attempt to separate the island from the country. The Taiwan question bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and China must be and will be reunified, said the minister during a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue being held here. "If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs for national unity," said the state councilor. Wei said no attempts to split China shall succeed and foreign intervention in the Taiwan question is doomed to failure. "Any underestimation of the PLA's (People's Liberation Army) resolve and will is extremely dangerous," he said. "We will strive for the prospects of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and greatest efforts, but we make no promise to renounce the use of force. Safeguarding national unity is the sacred duty of the PLA," he noted. Officially known as the Asia Security Summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue has been organized and convened annually by the British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies and the Singaporean government since 2002. At the event this year, defense ministers, policy makers, experts from about 40 countries gathered here from Friday to Sunday to discuss security issues in the Asia-Pacific. LevelTen Energy, a Seattle, WA-based renewable energy procurement platform, raised $20.5M in Series B funding. The round, which brings the companys total investment to $27.3m, was led by Prelude Ventures, with participation from Constellation Technology Ventures, the venture investing arm of Exelon Corporation, Equinor Energy Ventures, Total Ventures, Avista Development, Element 8 Fund, Founders Co-op, Techstars Ventures and Wireframe Ventures. As part of the financing, Tim Woodward, managing director at Prelude Ventures, will join LevelTen Energys board of directors. The company intends to use the funds for new headcount, product development, and international expansion. Founded in 2016 by Bryce Smith, CEO, LevelTen Energy is a renewable energy procurement platform that reduces the cost, complexity, and risk of renewable energy power purchase agreements through analytics, aggregation, and process best practices. A Techstars accelerator alum, the company launched the LevelTen Marketplace, which provides rich data and deep analytics on nearly every utility-scale clean energy project under development in North America in 2018. Later, LevelTen Energy launched an RFP Automation Tool and Dynamic Matching Engine, which enable companies to find, evaluate, and procure power from new renewable projects faster, more easily and with less risk. To-date, Fortune 500 companies have procured more than $1 billion dollars of renewable energy through the LevelTen Energy platform. FinSMEs 03/06/2019 Nipah Virus: Will get a report on possible impact and take action to control- Karnataka CM High alert in Kerala as man tests positive for Nipah virus India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Kochi, June 03: A high alert has been issued in Kerala on Monday after a 23 year old patient admitted in an isolation ward tested positive for Nipah virus. State health minister, K K Shailaja said that the initial tests conducted on the patient at a hospital in Ernakulam showed that he was positive to Nipah. Six persons who were in contact with the man have also been quarantined as the government opened an emergency control room. The man was admitted after he complained of fever that was persistent. He also complained of headache for ten days. He had contracted the fever when he had gone to Thrissur. A high alert has been declared in Thrissur as well. Nipah: 17 picked virus from first victim says report Nipah is a virus that causes high fever, headache and also coma in extreme cases. It is spread by fruit bats. It may be recalled that an outbreak of Nipah had claimed 17 lives last year, including that of a nurse who had treated one of the patients. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 12:12 [IST] All Air India employees to be retained for one year: Govt This is daylight highway robbery of national assets, Sitaram Yechury on Air India returning to Tatas Procurement of expensive aircraft parts to be done after approval of senior official: Air India Hole detected on Air India plane with 225 on board after it lands in US India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, June 03: In a massive security breach, a crack was found in an Air India flight which landed in San Francisco, US, today after arriving from New Delhi. The flight carrying 225 passengers had crack on the bottom-right corner of the aircraft near one of the entry doors. "Boeing B777 aircraft, VT-ALH, arrived in San Francisco. During walk-around inspection on arrival, a small cut or a crack was found on the bottom right corner near the entry door of AI-183 flight," Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar told news agency ANI. There was no cabin de-pressurisation on the Delhi-SFO flight, one of the longest non-stops in the world in terms of distance flown. IAF's An-32 aircraft with 13 onboard goes missing, search ops launched Air India is trying to get help from the local Aircraft Maintenance Repair (AMR) Agencies for the repair, he added. According to the reports, Air India has started an internal investigation into the incident. Sources told news agency ANI that "crew members of the aircraft are to be questioned regarding the massive safety lapse." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 21:46 [IST] Income source unknown, but Zakir Naik got crores of rupees to draw Muslim youth to terror India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, June 03: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has learnt that controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik had moved funds to the tune of crores of rupees despite not having a known source of income. The ED says that he had moved more than Rs 49 crore to bank accounts in India. "Zakir Naik, an Islamic preacher who keeps travelling around the world to deliver speeches, does not have any known source of income through any known source of employment or business. Even in such a situation, he has managed to transfer Rs 49.20 crore to his Indian bank accounts," the ED said. ED sources tell OneIndia that Naik's organisation, Islamic Research Foundation has received crores of Rupees from various persons. There are many who have donated in excess of Rs 50 crore and we are in touch with the banks to identify these donors, the ED official also said. He received crores of rupees for his speeches that spread hatred and incite Muslim youth to take up terrorism, the probe by the ED also found. Ready to return to India if not arrested till conviction: Zakir Naik The Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), Mumbai-based charity trust promoted and controlled by Naik, "allegedly received funds in the form of donations and zakat (a form of alms giving in Islam) from domestic as well as overseas donors from countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Malaysia among others, the ED probe has also learnt. The probe further found that the IRF had maintained several bank accounts in which the funds would be deposited by donors. These bank accounts are held with Citi Bank, DCB Bank Ltd and Union Bank of India. Most of the amounts received by IRF are in the form of donations or zakat from domestic as well as overseas donors. The funds are received through banking channels, the ED probe further found. Most of the funds were used to conduct peace conferences. It was during these conferences that provocative speeches were made and religious conversion into Islam were encouraged. Naik is facing the heat from various agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in inciting Muslim youth to take up terrorism. Naik's name has cropped up several times since the Dhaka attack and those involved had said that it was his speeches that inspired them to take to terror. Recently Nashidul Hamzafar, a 26 year old management student from Kerala's Wayanad was arrested by the NIA after he became one of the first ISIS recruits to be deported from Afghanistan. During his interrogation, he details the role played by Islamic preachers such as Naik and what sort of an influence they had on him, which ultimately prompted him to join the ISIS. Hamzafar says that he was not attracted to the ISIS ideology for long. I found them to be too brutal and the outfit only scared me, he says. My ambition was to pursue my education and find a good job in Dubai. A lot changed when one of his friends, Shihas sent him an audio clip regarding the Islamic State. My perception towards the outfit changed. Dubious transfers of Rs 64.86 crore get mention in ED chargesheet against Zakir Naik Then I began listening to audios of Zakir Naik, Noman Alikhan among others. Their speeches inspired me and my approach towards life changed. Going by his statements, it becomes clear that the likes of Zakir Naik through his Islamic Research Foundation and the Kerala based Peace Educational Foundation have played a huge role in the radicalisation of youth in Kerala. Israeli I-Derby ER: Will it enable IAF Sukhois to take on AMRAAM armed PAF fighters India oi-Vikas SV New Delhi, June 03: The aerial dogfight on February 27 in Nowshera sector brought to fore the vulnerability of the IAF fighters against the Pakistani jet armed with US-made AIM-120 C5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM). On February 27, 2019, a formation of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) fighters which included US made F-16's approached the LoC to attack military targets in India. The IAF reportedly scrambled eight fighter planes, including two SU-30MKI jets to intercept the Pakistani formation. IAF was stunned by use of AIM-120 C5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) by Pakistan. The long range missile was fired from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. IAF Abhinandan Varthaman gets 'Falcon Slayer', 'AMRAAM Dodgers' patch to mark F-16 kill IAF's Sukhoi-30MKI (Su-30MKI) air superiority multipurpose fighter jets are armed with Russian-made R-77 missiles. The IAF then realised that the Russian R-77s, did not have the range to counter the Pakistani fighters. The range of Russian missiles is believed to be approximately 80 kilometres. Reports say that two SU-30MKI's managed to dodge the AMRAAMs which were fired at close to their maximum range of 100 kilometres. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was looking to modernise its Sukhoi-30 fleet, and that gathered significant pace after the February 27's dogfight with PAF F-16s. The IAF has now decided to re-arm frontline Sukhoi-30 fighters with Israeli Derby air-to-air missiles. I-Derby ER (extended range) beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) would eventually replace Russian-made Vympel R-77 (AA-12 'Adder') AAMs by 2021-22, claims a report in Jane's. IAF has already successfully tested the BrahMos hypersonic cruise missile for a ground attack role on the Su-30MKI platform. The integration of I-Derby ER is expected to make Su-30MKI's air superiority role complete. No bugs in MRI scan, but doctors find IAF Pilot's lower spine, rib injured The fire-and-forget I-Derby ER missile features a software-defined radar seeker and a dual-pulse solid rocket motor. Another advantage of the I-Derby ER is its ability to lock onto targets before and after launch, enabling the aircraft to engage targets at all ranges. The main challenge, however, is integrating the I-Derby ER missile into the Russian fighter. An NDTV report says that the I-Derby missile is a considerably more advanced that the missiles presently in service with the IAF. With a range of beyond 100 km, the I-Derby ER said to be significantly better than Russian-made R-77s. Kerala hit by another Islamic radicalisation wave: Time to act, its now or never Kerala ISIS module head killed in Afghanistan India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, June 03: The head of the Kerala Islamic State module is believed to have been killed in Afghanistan. Rashid Abdullah, the leader of the module is said to have died after random bombing by the US forces. The Indian agencies are in the process of verifying the information. The news relating to his death was made known after an unknown ISIS operative had sent out a message out on Telegram. Abdullah it may be recalled had led 21 people from Kerala to Afghanistan in 2016. He had also taken along with him his wife Ayesha. They had travelled first to UAE and then to Tehran before reaching Afghanistan. Modi's Bengal action plan: Wipe out JMB-ISIS and radicalisation The Kerala ISIS module is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It was found that the group that travelled to Afghanistan had joined the ISIS. Agency sources tell OneIndia that the intent was to train there and then return to India and carry out attacks. Kerala: Messi fan who went missing after Argentina loss found dead near bridge in Kottayam Kerala woman with rare bone disorder appears for UPSC CSE Prelims 2019 with oxygen cylinder India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, June 03: A rare bone disorder coupled with a respiratory condition requiring external oxygen support has not deterred 24-year-old Latheesha Ansari of Kottayam from setting her eyes on the UPSC CSE Prelims 2019. On Sunday, she appeared for the Preliminary Civil Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission here, on a wheelchair and an oxygen cylinder beside her. Latheesha, who was diagnosed with 'type II Osteogenesis Imperfecta', (brittle bone disease) after birth also suffers from pulmonary hypertension since over a year due to which she needs an oxygen cylinder always beside her for respiratory needs. The short-statured IAS aspirant had to be carried to school by her father due to her condition, father Ansari, who hails from Erumeli in Kottayam, said. Thanks to the intervention of Kottayam District Collector P R Sudheer Babu, a portable oxygen concentrator was provided to her inside the examination hall. NEET 2019 result to be released on this date A portable equipment would be provided to her free of cost for which tender process had been completed, the collector told PTI when contacted. Her parents had travelled to the examination hall with an oxygen cylinder. Latheesha, who appeared for the examination at a centre here, told PTI that she had been preparing for the examination since the past one and half years and hoped that her efforts would prove fruitful. Latheesha, who has completed her M Com degree, has chosen Malayalam as the optional subject for the examination. Latha Nair of Amritavarshini, a charitable Society working for children with the rare genetic disorder, said the UPSC needs to provide better facilities for IAS aspirants like Latheesha. She needs about Rs 25,000 a month for a medical needs, Nair said. The examination, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), was held in 72 cities across India on Sunday. PIL in SC challenges Centre's ordinances on powers to extend tenure of Directors of CBI, ED 'Look out Chandrababu', warns YSRCP leader; says 'thieves will not be spared' India oi-Vikas SV Amaravati, June 03: After YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government reversed previous Chandrababu Naidu government's order revoking the general consent given to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to carryout probe in the state, YSRCP leader Vijayasai Reddy has said that thieves will not be spared. In a veiled warning, he also said "Look out Chandrababu". Chandrababu Naidu government issued order on August 3, 2018, and withdrawn "general consent" to the CBI to operate in Andhra Pradesh. Rules state that CBI can enter other states with the "general consent" of their government. That permission was withdrawn by Naidu government which essentially meant that the CBI could not "interfere" in any case in Andhra Pradesh. Vijay Sai Reddy took to his official Twitter handle confirming that Jaganmohan Reddy will issue directions to the state bodies to allow the CBI to conduct probes in Andhra Pradesh without any prior permissions from the state government. Robert Vadra granted permission to travel abroad In his post, he wrote, "Chandrababu banned CBI, he prevented I-T raids, he questioned how ED comes in the state. Now Jagan has issued orders allowing the CBI into the state. CM made it clear that thieves will not be spared. Look out Chandrababu." The latest decision by Jagan is a reversal of an earlier order given by his predecessor and Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu in November last. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 17:21 [IST] Rajnath Singh to DGDE: Roads, buildings in defence cantonments named after Brits should be renamed Next CDS of India: Rajnath Singh to receive list of probables soon India tells France, have the political will, ability to counter misadventure by China Want to manufacture BrahMos so that no country has audacity to cast evil eye on us: Rajnath Singh 'Nation will remain indebted to martyred soldiers': Def Min Rajnath Singh in Siachen India oi-Vikas SV Srinagar, June 03: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who visited the Siachen glacier today, said that nation will always remain indebted to the services and the sacrifices of soldiers guarding the borders of the country. Rajnath Singh, who has been appointed as the defence minister in Modi 2.0 government, paid tributes to the martyred soldiers. "I salute your spirit, your valour from the bottom of my heart. Jawans and officers in the Armed forces have a sense of pride, that is the strongest sentiment in the heart of any human," he said in a tweet. Rajnath Singh wants presentation on security challenges "Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice," he added. Paid tributes to the martyred soldiers who sacrificed their lives while serving in Siachen. More than 1100 soldiers have made supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/buWxgv6Nmg Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) June 3, 2019 Army chief General Bipin Rawat also accompanied Singh, who was on Saturday briefed by top officials on the functioning of the ministry. The glacier, a 76-km river of slow moving ice, is of extreme strategic importance to India. Army officials say that as long as the glacier is under India's control, the Pakistani army cannot link up with the Chinese and pose threat to the Ladakh region. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 17:43 [IST] No appeasement in Kashmir: When Modi said no NICO to Mehbooba India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, June 03: Over 100 terrorists have been gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir by the security forces in 2019 alone. Officials say that this year, the call to impose NICO of non-initiation of combat operations in the Valley during the Ramzan has been ignored by the Narendra Modi government. Mehbooba Mufti had sought that NICO be imposed in the Valley during the Ramzan month, but the call was turned down by the government. The government argues that due to the non-imposition of NICO in the Valley, the situation has been by and large peaceful. Moreover several terrorists including important ones such as Zakir Musa have been gunned down. Trial in Kathua rape and murder case nears completion Last year, the forces were able to kill only 11 terrorists during the Ramzan month and this was largely due to the imposition of NICO. The idea is to ensure that there is no let up and operations continue unabated. Last year we noticed that due to the imposition of NICO, terrorists including the foreign ones were able to re-group. This had also led to big attacks in the Valley and the security forces were largely targeted. It also gave terror groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad to revamp itself and also stage attacks such as the one in Pulwama. Officials explain to OneIndia that there should be continuity in operations, especially in the wake of several intelligence reports clearly stating that Pakistan is making efforts to ramp up the infiltrations. In such a situation, there cannot be an appeasement policy in place and NICO is not the answer, the officer further said. J&K: Terrorists hurl grenade at NC leader's house in Pulwama There is an unwritten rule among terrorists that no attacks shall be carried out during the Ramzan month. However the terror groups in the Valley have changed that rule and used the month to scale up attacks. Those coming from abroad should adhere to Centre's guidelines on self-observation: Kerala Health Minister Kerala hit by another Islamic radicalisation wave: Time to act, its now or never Kerala Cong chief warns Shashi Tharoor: Fall in line or will be removed from party Punished for praising PM Modi: Congress expels two time MLA AP Abdullakutty India oi-Vikas SV Thiruvananthapuram, June 03: The Kerala unit of the Congress has expelled AP Abdullakutty, a two time MLA from the grand old party, for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This comes a week after Abdullakutty showered praise on Modi and claimed that the Prime Minister follows the "Gandhian model of development" in a Facebook post. Abdullakutty's Facebook post had left the grand old party fuming and Congress' Kerala president Mullapally Ramachandran had sought an explanation from Abdullakutty. Even senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan, who was recently elected to the Lok Sabha, said the act of praising PM Modi by any congress worker cannot be accepted and was wrong. Resignation not the solution: Kerala Congress on Rahul's offer to quit Abdullakutty was in the CPI (M) till 2009. He was sacked from the party for praising Modi who was then the Gujarat chief minister. He later joined the Congress. In a Facebook post, titled "On Narendra Modi's impressive victory", he said the secret of the PM's success was that he had adopted Gandhian values. He also lauded the Ujjwala Yojana in which the government's aim was to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women of BPL families. "Mahatma Gandhi had told social workers that when you formulate a policy, you should remember the face of a poor man whom you have met. Modi implemented it accurately," Abdullakutty said in his post. Congress' VM Sudheeran has called Abdullakutty an opportunist for praising Modi and said that his statement is a hint that he won't remain in the party. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 14:53 [IST] UK-based venture capital firm MMC Ventures has launched the 52m MMC Greater London Fund as part of the Mayor of Londons new initiative the Greater London Investment Fund. The MMC Greater London Fund (GLF) will enable investment into innovative, high-potential digital companies in London to accelerate their growth with valuable connections, resources and experience. It will invest at Seed and Series A. The new fund will primarily back companies already based in London and also seek investments in businesses either relocating to London or opening or expanding an office in London, providing local support to the business and any co-investors. It targets investments in businesses founded or run by individuals from under-represented groups including female entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of minority ethnic groups, and those with disabilities, in partnership with the Mayors team. The new fund will invest in sectors that align with the Mayors Economic Development Strategy including: Advanced Urban Services, Cultural and Creative Industries, Financial and Business and the Circular Economy. MMC has already made its first investments through the fund backing: AI video synthesis platform, Synthesia, as part of a $3.1 million funding round, and yulife the life insurance business in a $12.6m Series A. In addition, MMC has also created a pre-seed program the MMC Greater London Lab that will work alongside angels, seed funds, incubators and programs of different types. FinSMEs 03/06/2019 Sadananda Gowda terms Grama Vastavya a 'gimmick, hints at BJP's alternative plan in Karnataka India pti-PTI New Delhi, June 03: The BJP as the single largest party in Karnataka would find an "alternative" if the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition collapses on its own, Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers DV Sadananda Gowda said Monday. Asserting that there would be no politics on development, he said ministers from Karnataka in the Modi administration would work in the interest of the state. "Let them (Congress-JDS) do whatever they want here (in the state), we are in favour of the development of the state, we will not make any attempts to topple this government. If it falls on its own, we are not responsible," Gowda said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, "if they (Congress- JDS government) fall on their own, we as a party, as a single largest party- it is our responsibility to find an alternative.With that political view we are working." From Rajasthan to Karnataka: Congress on the edge post poll debacle Dismissing the charge that the BJP was trying to weaken the coalition government, the saffron party's state president BS Yeddyurappa too on Friday had said central leaders have asked the state unit not to indulge in any activity to "destabilise" the H D Kumaraswamy ministry. The coalition's worries have multiplied after the BJP's spectacular win with 25 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in its pocket, leaving a mere one seat each to the Congress and JDS, which, despite a joint fight, were swept away by the Modi wave. Calling the "Grama Vastavya" initiative of Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy a "gimmick," Union Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Monday said it was a ploy to shift focus from the 'bickerings' in the Congress-JDS coalition. Sadananda Gowda's comments come a day after Kumaraswamy announced he would resume his "Grama Vastavya" (village stay) programme to find out challenges the state's rural areas are facing. "Earlier, he (Kumaraswamy) used to go to villages and stay there, but none of the villages had been taken care of by the then government, and now, he faces a big challenge of saving his crumbling government, therefore he wants to shift focus from it," the Union Minister told reporters in Bengaluru. HD Kumarswamy will start his Grama Vastavya (staying in villages) from June 21 and will first visit Gurmitkal in Yadgir district. The chief minister had initiated the programme to interact with villagers during his previous tenure as chief minister, which lasted from February 2006 to October 2007. 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 Congress prime opposition to BJP in UP, will win without SP, BSP alliance: Ajay Kumar Lallu SP, BSP will fight together for social justice: Akhilesh India pti-PTI Lucknow, June 03: The Samajwadi Party will fight for social justice together with the Bahujan Samaj Party, said SP chief Akhilesh Yadav Monday, hours after BSP supremo Mayawati expressed dissatisfaction over the poll performance of the alliance between the two parties. "We and Bahujan Samaj Party will fight for social justice together," said Yadav, addressing a public meeting here during his first visit to the constituency after declaration of the Lok Sabha poll results. BSP chief Mayawati earlier told her party workers in New Delhi that the Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Uttar Pradesh was due to the "poor performance" of the alliance with the SP. She also asked her party leaders and workers to prepare to contest the assembly by-elections on their own, raising questions over the future of the 'gathbandhan'. Split in SP-BSP alliance? Mayawati may go solo in UP assembly bypolls Addressing the public meeting in Azamgarh, Akhilesh Yadav, however, defended the poll performance of the alliance, saying that the Lok Sabha poll battle this time was of a different kind, which he could not understand. "It was a race between Ferrari and a cycle (the SP's election symbol). Everybody knew the Ferrari will win. The Lok Sabha elections were not fought on issues, it was fought on something else," said Yadav. The SP chief also subtly blamed media for his party poor performance in the polls. "Tell me who was seen on televisions everyday? They penetrated into our brains. They played with our minds with TV and mobile phones. This was a different kind of battle, which we could not understand. The day we understand this, we will emerge victorious," he said. Conceding that his party's "opponents are very strong", the former UP chief minister said he would try to counter them through social alliance. "Our party may have lost the elections, but we throw an open challenge to rival parties that they compare the developmental works done during their regime with those done in our tenure. Their work will not be able to stand in front of ours," he said. Before Akhilesh Yadav's public meeting in Azamgarh, an SP spokesperson said the party was "waiting" for the BSP's "official stand" on whether to continue with the alliance or not. The Samajwadi Party's statement followed Mayawati's direction to her party leaders to prepare to contest the coming assembly bypolls on their own. "No one has got the official stand of the BSP regarding the alliance. We are waiting for an official statement," SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI earlier. Earlier, in her party workers' meet, Mayawati had asked her party leaders not to depend on the alliance to win votes but work to expand the organisation. According to some of those present in the meeting, Mayawati also referred to the family feud in the Yadav clan, saying the Akhilesh Yadav-led SP could not transfer the community votes to the BSP in the just-concluded Lok Sabha polls. She said the SP could not even save its "family seats". "These are all hearsay. What was the matter of discussion has to be understood," the SP spokesperson said. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will take a decision on the developments once he comes to Lucknow from his parliamentary constituency Azamgarh, Chaudhary said. PTI Sultanpur will answer why I was not made minister: Maneka Gandhi India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, June 03: The people of her constituency will explain why she was not offered a ministerial berth said Maneka Gandhi who was elected from Sultanpur. Thanking the people for voting her, Maneka Gandhi who visited her constituency for the first time after the Lok Sabha elections said that reporters could get an answer from the people of the constituency as to why she was not included in the government. When asked why her son Varun Gandhi was not made a minister, she said," acha toh hum chalte hain." The development comes in the midst of reports that Maneka would be appointed protem speaker in the new Lok Sabha. Keep the faith, we are with her in this struggle: Subramanian Swamy to Kangana Ranaut PM Modi should make Nitin Gadkari in charge of war against Covid: Subramanian Swamy Subramanian Swamy seeks probe by SC Judge into helicopter crash that killed CDS Bipin Rawat, others Swamy urges PM to allot land for construction of Ram temple India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa New Delhi, June 03: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allocate land in Ayodhya for building the Ram temple and also declare the Ram Setu a national heritage monument. In a letter to Modi, Swamy said the government required no permission from the Supreme Court to allocate land for constructing the temple as it was taken over by former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's dispensation in 1993. The Ayodhya land dispute is pending in the Supreme Court. In January, the Modi government filed an application in the apex court, seeking its nod to return over 67 acre surplus land around the disputed area to its original owner, Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, a trust formed for construction of the temple. Swamy, in his letter, said the government's submission in the court was made "erroneously" as it required no permission because the land remained in its possession. The government needs no permission from any authority to allocate land to anybody in public interest, he claimed. He also demanded that the Ram Setu be declared a national heritage monument. Trial in Kathua rape and murder case nears completion India oi-Oneindia Staff By Anuj Cariappa Srinagar, June 03: The trial in the case of rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir is nearing completion nearly a year after it began at a court in Punjab's Pathankot, officials said on Sunday. Defence lawyers are likely to complete their final arguments on Monday, followed by a brief concluding statement from the prosecution team led by J K Chopra, they said, adding that the verdict is expected thereafter. The day-to-day in-camera trial began in the first week of June last year at the district and session court in Pathankot after the Supreme Court directed that the case be shifted out of Jammu and Kashmir after lawyers in Kathua had prevented crime branch officials from filing the charge sheet in the case. A political turmoil was witnessed in the Jammu region last January after the Jammu and Kashmir Police's crime branch took over the case and arrested eight people, including a juvenile and two police officials who were accused of destruction of evidence. The case became a bone of contention between then ruling alliance partners PDP and BJP. The BJP had to sack two of its ministers, Chowdhury Lal Singh and Chander Prakash Ganga, for participating in a rally of Hindu Ekta Manch in support of those arrested by the crime branch in the case. The crime branch arrested village head Sanji Ram, his son Vishal, juvenile nephew and his friend Anand Dutta, and two special police officers Deepak Khajuria and Surender Verma. Head constable Tilak Raj and sub-inspector Anand Dutta, who allegedly took Rs 4 lakh from Sanji Ram and destroyed crucial evidence, were also arrested by the crime branch. Kathua rape case: SC issues notice to J&K government over alleged torture of witness Talib Hussain Charges of rape and murder were framed by the district and sessions judge against seven out of the eight accused. The trial against the juvenile is yet to begin as his petition regarding his age is to be heard by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. In its May 7 order, the apex court said, "The pivotal fact around which the controversy centres, is abduction, rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl. An FIR was lodged at Hiranagar Police Station, Kathua...The investigating agency, namely, the Crime Branch, which took over the investigation on 22nd January, 2018 from the local police has already filed the charge-sheet on 9th April, 2018, in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kathua in the State of Jammu and Kashmir." However, the country's topmost court did not say anything about handing over the case to the CBI and rather transferred the trial to the District and Sessions judge in Pathankot in Punjab, 30 km from Kathua. "The learned district and sessions judge, Pathankot, shall himself take up the trial and not assign it to any additional sessions judge and shall fast-track the trial and take it up on day-to-day basis so that there is no delay in trial," the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had said in April last year. All the accused, barring the juvenile, have been shifted to Gurdaspur jail following an intervention by the Supreme Court which also restricted appearance of the defence lawyers and limited it to one or maximum of two per accused. The crime branch had submitted the charge sheet in the crime on April 9 before the Kathua court. The case hit the headlines after lawyers tried to prevent the police from filing the charge sheet. According to the charge sheet, the eight-year-old girl, who was kidnapped on January 10 this year, was allegedly raped by in captivity in a small village temple in Kathua district after having been kept sedated for four days before she was bludgeoned to death. The abduction, rape and killing of the child was part of a carefully planned strategy to remove the minority nomadic community from the area, the 15-page charge sheet says. During trial, the prosecution presented opinions of doctors to suggest that an overdose of sedatives, forcibly administered to the victim before murder, could have led her into "coma" (loss of consciousness). The crime branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police had sent a sample of viscera to examine the effect of "mannar" candies (believed to be local cannabies) and "Epitril 0.5 mg" tablets for further opinion to a forensic laboratory. The crime branch had decided to seek further medical opinion after it was claimed by the accused people and their lawyers in the court as well as on social media through their supporters that it was virtually impossible that the eight-year-old girl could not have cried for help when such an alleged brutal attack was happening on her. The doctors after examining the viscera, which contains internal organs of the body, specifically those within the chest (as the heart or lungs) or abdomen (as the liver, pancreas or intestines), opined that medicine administered to the victim contains Clonazepam salt and has to be administered under medical supervision keeping in mind the age and weight of the patient. "Considering her (victim) of 30 Kgs body weight, the therapeutic dose of 0.1 to 0.2 mgs per day divided in three dose for patient (is recommended)," it said. "She was forcefully administered five tablets of Clonazepam 0.5 mg each on January 11, 2018 which is higher than the safe therapeutic dose. Subsequently more tablets were given...the signs and symptoms of an overdose may include drowsiness, confusion, impaired coordination, slow reflexes, slowed or stopped breathing, coma (loss of consciousness) and death," the opinion of the doctor had said. Vistara sets to launch international flights India oi-PTI New Delhi, June 3: Domestic airlines Vistara, which has been serving the Indian skies for more than four years, plans to launch international services in the second half of 2019. A joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, Vistara might also look at starting medium and long-haul flights, depending on approvals, amid the grounding of Jet Airways. "We see India as a growing market. We are here for the long term," Vistara CEO Leslie Thng said on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of airlines' grouping IATA on Sunday. Without providing specific details, he said the airline plans to start international operations in the second half of 2019. It had planned to launch overseas flights in the first half of this year. Currently, Vistara has more than 22 planes and operates around 850 flights every week. Last month, the carrier announced it would take on lease four Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft and two A320 neo planes. Abu Dhabi celebrates Modi's swearing-in, lights up Adnoc tower In 2018, Vistara placed its order for purchased and leased aircraft totalling 50 from the Airbus A320neo family, including A321neos. These would be for domestic as well as short and medium-haul international operations, with deliveries scheduled between 2019 and 2023. Further, the carrier has bought six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that are scheduled to be delivered between 2020 and 2021. These would operate long-haul international operations. Thng said, Vistara can start short-haul flights but would need more time for long-haul ones. "If we do get the necessary rights, we do have a plan in place on how do we plan to operationalise it but I will not be able to share too much detail...," he said. According to him, the airline would look at options to deploy the right type of aircraft provided it gets the necessary flying rights. When asked about possibility of advancing deliveries of planes, Thng did not offer any comment. He said the airline is always talking to aircraft manufacturers on various issues. The grounding of Jet Airways in April has resulted in significant capacity reduction in the domestic market. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 11:30 [IST] Why smoking prevails over its awareness in India India oi-PTI New Delhi, June 3: Tobacco kills more than 1 million people each year in India (home to the second greatest number of smokers in the world behind China). Additionally, tens of millions use deadly smokeless tobacco products. These are harsh realities. There is nothing positive about tobacco consumption. In fact, approximately 130 million people ages 15 and older in India currently smoke and roughly half of all adults are exposed to second-hand smoke at home. While no organ is immune to the destructive effects of tobacco, it has the worst impact on the lungs. What may start as an innocuous cough can soon evolve into asthma, and eventually fatal and disabling diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of deadly lung and respiratory diseases, says Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell, Founder &CMD, Avesthagen Limited. According to a Global Burden of Disease study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, of the more than 8 million deaths attributed to tobacco use in 2017, 2.88 million of those deaths were from chronic respiratory diseases; tracheal, bronchus and lung cancer; and tuberculosis. Up to 60 percent of total cancers among males in India are tobacco-related. The 20th annual edition of the World Health Organization's (WHO) global tuberculosis report revealed India had more deaths from tuberculosis (423,000) in 2017 than any other country in the world. Smoking allowed only in 'standing rooms': Karnataka Govt to bars, pubs WHO, governments and health NGOs use May 31, World No Tobacco Day, as an opportunity to urge smokers to quit and to encourage their loved ones to provide them with the needed support to succeed in quitting. Why does tobacco have such a strong hold on the Indian population? Poverty and economic burden of tobacco Tobacco consumption thrives in India's poor communities and incurs social and economic costs. Women, men and children in these communities consume some of the world's cheapest and most readily available smokeless tobacco products and bidis. Legislation The Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003 banned the sale, use and advertisement of tobacco and tobacco products, including: cigarettes, cigars, bidis, cheroots, pipe tobacco, hookah, chewing tobacco, pan masala and gutka near educational institutions. It also mandated statutory warnings be displayed on all tobacco products. Laws on the books though do not translate into laws on the streets! Tobacco control policies don't address the realities of India Pack warnings don't work. Most cigarettes in India are sold singly. Bans on sales of bidis to children are not effective when a significant percentage of the sellers are kids seeking cash for food. Tax increases on combustible cigarettes drive cigarette smokers to cheaper bidis. The guidelines developed by the WHO are based on the experiences of countries where sophisticated and well-funded enforcement structures exist. They need to be adapted to the reality of India's streets. This two-year-old needs two packs of cigarettes every day, else he gets upset Awareness about the negative effects of tobacco consumption is weak Public awareness that smoking is harmful is lower in India than in 12 other countries surveyed in 2017. Just less then 70% of smokers thought their habit was harmful compared to 85-95% in other countries. Further awareness of the potential benefits of e-cigarettes was also lowest by far with 57% of people believing e-cigarettes were more or equally harmful as cigarettes. It's important to address these misperceptions. Health professionals have the responsibility of communicating the real risks to their patients. India needs to push for comprehensive policies that truly reflect the realities of the smoking population and the tobacco ecosystem we have here. Lack of support for innovations in cessation and harm reduction solutions Supporting smokers in quitting or switching to reduced-risk products is the most effective way to cut rates of tobacco-related deaths and diseases. Indian governments and organizations need to further support and fund the research and development of additional smoking cessation and harm reduction methods. The innovation pipeline for new smoking cessation products is sparse. There's a great opportunity to better leverage today's technology to develop solutions that will help smokers quit. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, June 3, 2019, 16:16 [IST] World UFO Day 2021: What is a UFO? Who started it and when is it celebrated? Mysterious objects spotted in Chinese skies: UFOs? Alien spacecrafts? International oi-Vikas SV Beijing, June 03: A mysterious object was spotted on the sky across several Chinese provinces and many are claiming that it was a UFO or Unidentified Flying Object. UFO refers to any flying object an observer cannot readily identify and many people link it to extraterrestrial spacecraft or alien sightings. UFOs have perplexed and fascinated people for decades and there are also long-standing stigmas associated with UFO sightings. Chinese social media is abuzz with netizens claiming to have spotted an unidentified flying object (UFO) across multiple provinces of China when the Navy was conducting military exercises, a PTI report said while quoting Chinese media. Mysterious light appears on California sky, leaves many puzzled; What is it? The reports of the UFO sightings came from Shandong, Shanxi, Hebei and Henan provinces. Some netizens said it was not the first time they have spotted seeing such an object in the sky. Residents across several Chinese provinces took to social media claiming that they have spotted an UFO with a glowing fiery tail streak across the sky, the Global Times reported. This phenomemenon has left the UFO enthusiasts are excited. In December last year, a ring with a tail shaped mysterious light that appeared over Sacramento and the Bay Area in California left many puzzled. This has left many Northern Californians guessing what the mysterious object might have been. The streak was primarily seen over Northern California but people also saw it as far away as Nevada and Oregon, said reports. A few weeks ago, a bright blue light was observed over Texas, and similarly left many puzzled. As far as China UFO sightings are concerned, some netizens speculated that the mysterious object could be related to the military exercises in the Bohai Sea, such as a submarine-launched ballistic missile test. No official explanation has been given so far, the report said. Last year in February, two pilots flying two different planes reportedly spotted a mysterious object flying high above Arizona, the USA's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. It was the pilot of a Phoenix Air flight who initially reported about the sighting. He asked the control whether anything passed his plane to which the former responded 'no'. The air traffic control than asked the pilot of an American Airlines flight which was flying next to the first plane to confirm if he spotted anything flying over him. UFOs have been subject to investigations over the years that varied widely in scope and scientific rigor. Governments or independent academics in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Peru, France, Belgium, Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, Spain, and the Soviet Union are known to have investigated UFO reports at various times. Will come back to haunt you: Jaishankar in veiled reference to Pakistan Uniquely skilled diplomat Jaishankar's appointment as EAM welcomed by Indian-Americans International oi-Vikas SV By Vishal S Washington, June 03: The Indian-American community heaped praises on S Jaishankar, a retired diplomat who was appointed as the External Affairs Minister in the Modi 2.0 Cabinet, saying he will be a great asset for India. Several Indian-Americans in Texas welcomed the appointment of Jaishankar as the External Affairs Minister, saying he was instrumental in negotiating India's civil nuclear agreement with the US. The 64-year-old former foreign secretary's appointment to the key post is seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attempt to add further strategic heft to India's external engagement. Proud to follow in Sushma Swaraj's footsteps: Jaishankar in first tweet as foreign minister "Houston was the first city he visited when he was appointed India's Ambassador to the US in 2013," Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) Founding Secretary/Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia said. During his trip, Jaishankar had said that Houston has a special relationship with India as its trade with the country is about USD 8 billion, more than some countries, he said. "The Chamber looks forward to welcoming him back to Houston on the Chamber's 20th anniversary this year," said Chamber President Swapan Dhairyawan. Jeff M Smith, research fellow at South Asia-Heritage Foundation and author of 'Cold Peace: China-India Rivalry' and 'Asia's Quest for Balance' tweeted: "I've sung his praises before and I'll do it again: S Jaishankar is a uniquely skilled diplomat. Having him in the cabinet will be a great asset for India, for Modi 2.0, and for India's relations with both China and the US". S Jaishankar takes oath; Why he can be crucial for India's international relations External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in his first official Twitter post, said on Saturday that he was "proud to follow on the footsteps" of his predecessor Sushma Swaraj. Jaishankar, considered an expert on China and the US, served as foreign secretary from January 2015 to January 2018 and both he and Swaraj were credited for bringing vibrancy in India's foreign policy. He was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. The deal, initiated in 2005, took several years to craft, and was signed by the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh in 2007. What's driving the Wireless LAN Controller Market Trend? Belden, Cisco, ALE, TP-Link, Allied Telesis, Dell, D-Link, Fortinet, Huawei, Extreme Networks, HPE, Juniper Networks, ZTE, Zyxel, Netgear, Ruckus Networks Wireless LAN Controller Market https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/2057049/?utm_source=Openpr.com-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/check-for-discount/2057049/?utm_source=Openpr.com-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/wireless-lan-controller-market?utm_source=Openpr.com-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-wireless-networking-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025?utm_source=Openpr.com-SP https://www.marketstudyreport.com https://www.marketstudyreport.com/blog The integrated WLAN controller market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 9% over the forecast timeline. The demand for integrated WLAN controllers will surge as the manufacturers are integrating controller capabilities into the network devices such as switches and routers, enabling enterprises to use a single device for management and control of the entire network. Integration of security functionalities such as intrusion prevention and encryption into network devices will also provide security for business-critical wireless LANs.Request a sample of this premium report at:Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Controller market is projected to surpass USD 3 billion by 2025. Factors such as evolving enterprise requirements to manage their widespread and complex LAN infrastructure in a cost-effective manner and growing usage of cloud-based WLAN controllers to enable easy management of network devices will lead to the WLAN controller market growth. Increasing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) demands is putting strain on the enterprises to secure and manage their networks. This fuels the need for WLAN controllers with advanced security features such as web filtering, antivirus security protection to secure their Wi-Fi networks.Organizations of all sizes are rapidly shifting towards cloud-managed WLANs to have a centralized control over the networking elements such as firewalls, routers, switches, gateways and other devices, seeking centralized policy controls. By using cloud-WLANs, they can easily manage their entire WLAN infrastructure and can scale their networks to accommodate new devices as per their needs. For instance, Aruba?s Cloud Wi-Fi solution helps distributed organizations to get up to 10times faster Wi-Fi connections than other cloud W-Fi solutions. With the growing affinity towards cloud-based applications, the demand for cloud-manged access points will also rise over the forecast timeline.Europe WLAN controller market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 5% from 2019 to 2025 due to increasing usage of wired and wireless devices backed up by internet penetration and growing adoption of cloud-based solutions to enhance the manageability of network infrastructure. The European technology companies are collaborating with cloud solution providers to accelerate wireless adoption for enterprise customers. For instance, in April 2018, Atos, a global leader in digital transformation, partnered with Google Cloud to support wireless needs of enterprise customers in the areas such as hybrid cloud, data analytics & machine learning and digital workplace. In February 2019, Intracom, a global telecommunication systems and solution vendor launched Virtualized Wi-Fi Service Platform for AOTEC (National Association of Telecommunication Operators) to centrally manage their wireless networks. This launched helped the company in offering seamless wireless connectivity to enterprises across the Spain.Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Controller market is projected to surpass USD 3 billion by 2025. Factors such as evolving enterprise requirements to manage their widespread and complex LAN infrastructure in a cost-effective manner and growing usage of cloud-based WLAN controllers to enable easy management of network devices will lead to the WLAN controller market growth. Increasing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) demands is putting strain on the enterprises to secure and manage their networks. This fuels the need for WLAN controllers with advanced security features such as web filtering, antivirus security protection to secure their Wi-Fi networks.The integrated WLAN controller market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 9% over the forecast timeline. The demand for integrated WLAN controllers will surge as the manufacturers are integrating controller capabilities into the network devices such as switches and routers, enabling enterprises to use a single device for management and control of the entire network. Integration of security functionalities such as intrusion prevention and encryption into network devices will also provide security for business-critical wireless LANs.Large enterprises in the WLAN controller market held a dominant share of over 60% in 2018 and are expected to maintain their leading position over the forecast timespan. Widespread adoption of BYOD in the enterprises and surge in the usage of networking devices such as access points and routers to establish high connectivity among the companys internal departments will contribute towards the adoption of WLAN controllers. Wireless controllers enable them to manage their complex network setups and improve security through embedded security functionalities in such devices.Request a discount on standard prices of this premium report at:Organizations of all sizes are rapidly shifting towards cloud-managed WLANs to have a centralized control over the networking elements such as firewalls, routers, switches, gateways and other devices, seeking centralized policy controls. By using cloud-WLANs, they can easily manage their entire WLAN infrastructure and can scale their networks to accommodate new devices as per their needs. For instance, Aruba?s Cloud Wi-Fi solution helps distributed organizations to get up to 10times faster Wi-Fi connections than other cloud W-Fi solutions. With the growing affinity towards cloud-based applications, the demand for cloud-manged access points will also rise over the forecast timeline.The companies present in the WLAN controller market are focusing on strategic initiatives such as collaborations and new product developments supported by product innovation. The established players are developing innovative WLAN offerings to support the changing demands of the enterprise networks. For instance, in April 2019, Cisco launched Wi-Fi 6 to help enterprise customer in adoption of wireless connectivity. This launch helped the SMEs in rapid deployment of WLAN technology. In January 2019, Extreme Networks introduced new 802.11 ax Wi-Fi access points to enable enterprises increase their wireless capabilities. The six new access points comprised the company?s ExtremeMobility 500 series and are part of Extreme?s Smart OmniEdge solution. In September 2017, Proxim Wireless partnered with ViTEL, a distributor specialized in industrial communication and security solutions in Germany, Asia and Turkey to accelerate the adoption of outdoor and indoor wireless solutions. The company provides W-Fi solutions which enable reliable and high-performance network infrastructure at low costs.Table of Contents:Chapter 1. Methodology & Scope1.1. Methodology1.1.1. Initial data exploration1.1.2. Statistical model and forecast1.1.3. Industry insights and validation1.1.4. Scope1.1.5. Definitions1.1.6. Methodology & forecast parameters1.2. Data Sources1.2.1. Secondary1.2.1.1. Paid sources1.2.1.2. Public sources1.2.2. PrimaryChapter 2. Executive Summary2.1. WLAN controller industry 36 degree synopsis, 2014 - 20252.1.1. Business trends2.1.2. Regional trends2.1.3. Type trends2.1.4. Enterprise size trends2.1.5. Application trendsChapter 3. WLAN Controller Industry Insights3.1. Introduction3.2. Industry segmentation3.3. Industry landscape, 2014 - 20253.4. Industry ecosystem analysis3.5. WLAN architecture3.6. WLAN technology evolution3.7. Technology & innovation landscape3.7.1. Voice Over WLAN (VoWLAN)3.7.2. Cloud managed WLAN services3.8. Regulatory landscape3.8.1. 802.11ac standards3.8.2. Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP)3.8.3. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)3.8.4. 3GPP Release 133.8.5. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20023.8.6. WLAN Authentication and Privacy Infrastructure (WAPI)3.9. Industry impact forces3.9.1. Growth drivers3.9.1.1. Increase in number of wireless devices3.9.1.2. Rapid adoption of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend3.9.1.3. Demand for continuous coverage for enterprise networks3.9.1.4. Increasing demand for easy and cost-effective deployment of enterprise WLAN3.9.2. Industry pitfalls & challenges3.9.2.1. Network traffic bottleneck3.9.2.2. Dependency on a single device for network coverage in case of lightweight access points3.10. Porter's analysis3.11. PESTEL analysis3.12. Growth potential analysisChapter 4. Competitive Landscape4.1. Introduction4.2. Company market share analysis, 20184.3. Competive analysis of major WLAN controller market players, 20184.3.1. Cisco Systems Inc.4.3.2. Hewlett Packard Ebterprise (Aruba Networks)4.3.3. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.4.3.4. NETGEAR4.4. Competive analysis of other promionent players, 2018More Details on this Report At:Related Report:Global Wireless Networking Market Size, Status and Forecast 2019-2025The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Rest of World. Annual estimates and forecasts are provided for the period 2018 through 2025. Also, a five-year historic analysis is provided for these markets. Market data and analytics are derived from primary and secondary research. Before the invention of the wireless LAN WLAN, people want to communicate and communicate through the network. We must first use the physical cable - copper strand to form an electronic operation path. In order to improve the efficiency and speed, then the optical fiber was invented. When the network has developed to a certain scale, it is found that this cable network is very difficult to be set up, disassembled or restructured on the original basis, and the cost and cost are very high, so the networking mode of WLAN emerges as the times require.About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study Report LLC4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog: , . . , - , , , ... Dehydrated Food Market 2018-2028 | General Mills Inc., House Foods Corp., Nissan Food Holdings Co. Ltd. https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=4257 https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=4257 Global Dehydrated Food Market: OverviewThe demand within the global dehydrated food market has been rising on account of key advancements in the food industry. Removing the water content from food items to increase their shelf life is a key hack used by the food industry in the contemporary times. Hence, the demand within the global dehydrated food market is projected to trace an ascending trajectory in the years to come. Dehydrated food serves the advantage of easy storage which had played a pivotal role in popularising dry food products.Get Sample Copy of the Report @The food industry has witnessed an expansion in its product portfolio in recent times, and a number of dry food items have been added to the sleeves of retailers. The dynamics of the global dehydrated food market are such that a slight change in the strategies of one market vendor would invite a response from other market players. Owing to the aforementioned factors, the global market for dehydrated food is projected to accumulate voluminous revenues in the years to come.The global dehydrated food market can be segmented on the basis of the following parameters: type, distribution channel, and region. Owing to the wide product portfolio of the global dehydrated food market, it is essential to familiarise with the aforementioned segments.A report on the global dehydrated food market is a comprehensive analysis of the forces that have aided market growth in recent times. Furthermore, the report is fragmented into multiple segments in order to offer a sane level of understanding to the readers. The geographical dynamics of the global dehydrated food market have also been included in the report.Global Dehydrated Food Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe demand within the global dehydrated food market has been rising on account of the health benefits served by dried food items. Furthermore, preservation of meat products is also done by removing the moisture from the products which is another propeller of demand within the global dehydrated food market. Dehydration of fruits is done to prepare fruit biscuits, chips, and other similar products which is projected to reek of growth within the global dehydrated food market.The growth of the global dehydrated food market also hinges on advancements in the restaurant business. Besides this, dehydrated food does not lose its nutritional value after losing moisture which is a key standpoint from the perspective of market growth. Medical practitioners recommend dehydrated food items to children which is also a pivotal driver of demand within the global dehydrated food market in recent times.Request TOC of the Report @Global Dehydrated Food Market: Regional OutlookThe demand within the market for dehydrated food in North America has been rising on account of the availability of dried food items across retail outlets in the US and Canada. Furthermore, the demand within the market for dehydrated food in Asia Pacific has risen due to the ever-expanding population in India and China.Global Dehydrated Food Market; Competitive LandscapeSome of the key players in the global dehydrated food market are General Mills Inc., House Foods Corp., Nissan Food Holdings Co. Ltd., and Ting Hsin International.About TMR Research:TMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050 By 2024, corporate sector of Digital Banking Market to observe 6%+ gains |By Key Vendors: Finastra Fiserv, Temenos, Backbase, Oracle, SAP SE, Intellect Design Arena, Kony, BNY Mellon https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/2651 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/digital-banking-market https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/2651 https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/dynamic-application-security-testing-dast-market https://www.gminsights.com http://algosonline.com/news The corporate sector in Digital Banking Market is predicted to see exponential gains over the forecast timeframe. The increasing competition among Fintech players is the primary factor driving the adoption of digital banking in the corporate banking sector. Moreover, the integration of advanced analytics technologies such as Big Data to manage the assets, will reduce the risks and extract consumer insights, encouraging the adoption of digital solutions.Request for a sample of this research report @Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis: Appway Backbase BNY Mellon CREALOGIX ebanklT ETRONIKA Fidor Solutions Finastra Fiserv Halcom D.D. ieDigital Intellect Design Arena Kony NETinfo NF Innova Oracle SAB SAP SE Sopra TCS Technisys Temenos WorldlineThe increasing adoption of mobile & online banking platforms is also propelling the market growth. As the adoption of smartphone and internet services across the countries is increasing, consumers prefer mobile applications and websites to access their banking accounts. Furthermore, the integration of the advanced technologies, such as AI and blockchain, into the banking is also fostering market growth.Browse Full Report:The supportive government initiatives and policies across the countries are also promoting the adoption of digital banking solutions. The governments are constantly working on delivering banking services via the internet to reach remote areas. The digitalization & demonetization policies launched by the government will also encourage the adoption of digital banking solutions.Transactional services account for more than 90% share in the digital banking market. The market growth is credited to the growing adoption of electronic & mobile payment solutions. As the younger population across the countries is increasing, the demand for faster, convenient, and safer payment solutions is also rising. This is encouraging banking institutes to develop their own mobile & online platforms and provide services on the digital channel to gain customer loyalty and reduce the churn rate.Retail banking holds over 75% share in the digital banking market. The market is driven by the rising adoption of the internet and smartphones across the countries. As the adoption of the internet services and smartphones is increasing, and the information is easily available to customers, the buying of consumers is increasing. This is forcing banking institutes to provide a better customer experience and reach customers on their choice of the channel. Moreover, the increasing adoption of mobile and electronic payment solutions and the attractive offers and incentives offered by the payment solution providers are also the major forces accelerating the adoption of digital banking.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Asia Pacific is dominating the digital banking market with over 60% stake in 2017. The growing penetration of internet services and the adoption of smartphones are supporting market growth. Moreover, the digitalization initiatives launched by the government of emerging economies including India and China will also foster the demand for digital banking.Digital Banking Market is anticipated to surpass USD 9 trillion mark by 2024 due to the rising investments in the Fintech market. Fintech has emerged as the most disruptive technology and venture capitalists and angel investors are investing billions to take advantage of the lucrative market. The banking institutes are also collaborating and investing in Fintech companies to develop their own digital solutions for customers to meet the consumer requirements.The key vendors operating in the digital banking market are Backbase, BNY Mellon, Appway Crealogix, EdgeVerve Systems, ebanklT ETRONIKA, Finastra, Fiserv, Fidor, IE Digital, Halcom Intellect Design Arena, NETinfo, NF Innova, Kony, SAB, SAP, Oracle, Sopra, TCS, Technisys, Tagit, Worldline, and Temenos.Browse Related Report:Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, China, India, Japan, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, GCC, South Africa), Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 2024About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog: Generic Drugs Industry Infrastructure Growth and Development 2018 to 2026 : TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL, MYLAN N.V., NOVARTIS INTERNATIONAL AG, PFIZER, Generic Drugs www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-pdf/1084 https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1084 Generic drugs market growth is buoyed by increasing number of patented expiries for drugs each year. According to the IMS data small-molecule products worth US$ 121 Bn are expected to lose patents in developed markets, such as U.S and Europe between 2014 and 2018. The IMS also forecasts that biologic products valued at US$ 48 Bn are expected to lose patent protection over the next three years i.e from 2017 and 2020, which is expected to drive growth of the generic drugs market. Global generics market is highly competitive with many Asia Pacific companies entering the developed markets such as the U.S., Germany, France, and UK. Recent past has witnessed spurt in mergers and acquisitions between generic drug manufacturers, with major players focusing on enhancing their product portfolio through such inorganic strategies. For instance, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Pvt. Ltd., Pfizer, Inc., Mylan, Sun Pharmaceutical, and Fresenius Kabi entered into acquisitions to increase their revenue share in the generic drugs market.Download the PDF brochure:Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries strengthened its position in the generic drugs market through acquisition of the generic segment of Allergan, plc for US$ 40.5 billion in August 2016. This resulted in significant growth in revenue contribution of its generic drug segment, pegged at US$ 9.5 billion in 2016.Mylan ranks second in the list of generic drug manufacturers, and this is due to the acquisition valued at US$ 7.2 Bn of Swedens Meda by Mylan, in year 2016. This also aided Mylan to increase its sales of over-the-counter drugs and expand its presence in new emerging markets such as China, Southeast Asia, Russia, and the Middle East.SandozNovartis Groups business segment dealing in generic medicinesreported rampant growth of 9% Y-o-Y in 2016, in sales volume, with revenue pegged at US$ 9 Bn. However, it was partially offset by a 6% erosion in price. Pfizer is at the fourth position (US$ 4.6 Bn revenue in 2016). Pfizer acquired Hospira in 2015, in order to increase its product portfolio of both generic and branded products. Pfizer offers over 220 injectable medications, plus other off-brand products, which is expected to aid in gaining high revenue in near future. Patent loss of Viagra in 2017, will lead to significant generic competition from Teva and Mylan.Fresunius Kabi, a generic arm of the Fresenius German Healthcare Group, reported a 4% growth in revenue from the U.S. in 2016 driven by strong sales of sterile injectable drugs. In 2017, the company entered into agreement to buy Akorna generic drugs manufacturerfor US$ 4.5 Bn, further strengthening its position in the market. For Endo Pharmaceuticals, till 2014, the generic segment did not generate significant revenue. However, following its acquisition of Par Pharmaceutical in 2015, revenue of Endo Pharmaceutical increased by 12.2% from 2012-2014. Following the acquisition, Endo enhanced its product portfolio with the addition of around 100 products, which also included profitable generic products.Increase in number of competitors for generic drugs market put the pressure on manufacturers of pricing. Moreover, price celling actions by respective governments is further aggravating the profit margins of generic drug manufacturers. Considering the challenges of pricing pressure as generics outfits feel the pinch with thin margins, the market is expected to exhibit steady growth in the future.Being a very lucrative market with a number of patent expires in the near future, it is essential for competitive analysis for market players. This could aid one in devising a unique strategy and process to sustain in this highly competitive generic drugs market.Request For Sample Copy of This Research :Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.com The former Fred Meyer on Southeast Foster Road and 82nd Avenue will open its door as Shun Fat Supermarket on June 14, according to a post from the California grocery chain on Facebook Saturday. New Store Grand Opening! June 14, 2019!! Come check out our newest store in the heart of Portland, Oregon. Posted by Shun Fat Supermarket on Saturday, June 1, 2019 The Fred Meyer closed in January of 2018. Portland businessman Terry Emmert bought the property several months later and announced his plans to open a branch of Shun Fat in the space. The original opening date was set for January of 2019, according to KOIN. Shun Fat was founded in 1993 in California and has 14 locations in California, Nevada and Texas. According to the companys website, the chain sells imported groceries from places like China, Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Mexico. No one at the supermarket in Portland was available to talk about the opening on Monday afternoon. Portland police have linked a 23-year-old man to two shootings after matching a casing from the gun he was arrested with to multiple bullet casings recovered from the two crime scenes, according to court records. John Coleman Hardaway Jr. is accused of two counts of attempted murder with a firearm, four counts of unlawful use of a firearm, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was arraigned on the allegations Friday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Police said they seized a Ruger 9mm from the passenger side door of a pickup truck that Hardaway was driving on Jan. 31. Police arrested Hardaway then, accusing him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The truck belonged to his girlfriend, who police say allowed officers to search the vehicle, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hardaway denied the gun was his, according to police. Police test fired the seized 9mm handgun and then submitted images of the shell casings into a national database maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. On Feb. 1, the national firearms agency alerted Portland police of a match between the casings from the gun seized and shell casings recovered from a Dec. 1, 2018 shooting on Northeast Wygant Street and a Jan. 25 shooting on North Willis Boulevard. Video surveillance images from the December shooting revealed that at least one person fired shots at a passing car. No injuries were reported. In the January shooting, a home in the 4300 block of North Willis Boulevard was struck by bullets about 8:20 p.m. One penetrated the kitchen window, police said. No one was hit. A witness reported hearing the gunshots and seeing two men running westbound on North Willis Boulevard before getting into a pickup truck, the affidavit said. Further investigation revealed Hardaway posing with the seized Ruger 9mm in several videos he posted on his Snapchat social media account, deputy district attorney Parakram Singh wrote in the affidavit. Hardaway is in custody at the Multnomah County Detention Center, being held on $530,000 bail. Hes due back in court June 10. -- 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. A Texas man who helped run an illegal pill mill in Portland, recruiting some customers from Narcotics Anonymous meetings and others from a homeless shelter, was sentenced Monday to nine years in federal prison. Osasuyi Kenneth Idumwonyi , 56, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute or dispense Oxycodone. Idumwonyi, along with nurse practitioner and co-conspirator Julie DeMille, opened the Fusion Wellness Clinic across from the Multnomah County probation office at 1320 S.E. 122nd Avenue in January 2015. Patients initially paid only cash, $200 a visit. The clinic quickly grew out of that space and moved to a larger office at 2442 N.E. 101st Ave. in April 2015, operating there until the two were arrested in July 2016. Prosecutors urged a stiffer sentence for Idumwonyi, noting he had engaged in similar behavior for two years in Houston before joining DeMille in running the Portland clinic. DeMille was sentenced in March to four years in prison. Your behavior in this case is reprehensible, U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones told Idumwonyi. The fact that you preyed on these hopeless, helpless people is just terrible. The Oxycodone distribution is a killer. The clinic had no business bank account, never issued checks to employees and didnt report wages to state or federal authorities, according to prosecutors. Idumwonyi also extorted pills from the clinics own patients, acquiring hundreds of the Oxycodone pills to feed his girlfriends opioid addiction, according to the government. His girlfriend needed hundreds of milligrams of the pill a day to stave off withdrawal symptoms. He bought pills from at least 15 patients of the clinic, sometimes by waiving their $200 appointment fee in exchange for receiving the drug, and other times by paying the patients for each pill received, according to prosecutors. Idumwonyi occasionally asked DeMille to increase the doses and quantities of drugs for certain patients, especially those from whom he was secretly acquiring pills. Idumwonyi had previously recruited DeMille to work with him in Texas, and when DeMille moved to Oregon, she recruited him to assist her. He remained in Houston, commuting to Portland each week. Osasuyi Kenneth Idumwonyi, 56, must turn himself in to U.S. Marshals Service on July 8 to start serving a nine-year federal prison term. "Idumwonyis misuse of his position as manager of the (Fusion Wellness Clinic) to buy pills or, in some cases, extort patients into giving him a portion of their pills also distinguishes him from DeMille, Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Ratcliffe told the court in a sentencing memo. Idumwonyi, dressed in a dark suit, said he recognizes now that he could have used better judgment. He said he was led astray by his desire to try to help his former girlfriend. I just want to apologize for this whole situation, he told the judge. Under a plea deal, Idumwonyis defense lawyer Lynne Morgan supported the nine-year sentence. Idumwonyi also was ordered to pay $294,000 in restitution, the amount investigators traced in illegal proceeds to Idumwonyis bank accounts. Idumwonyi had one prior conviction in Texas in 2000 for selling stolen computers. DeMille, 60, was sentenced two months ago and ordered to pay $43,126.00 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. She became Oregons first medical professional to face federal sentencing for unlawfully prescribing opioids. One of the patients told investigators that going to the clinic was like getting food stamps because it meant hed be getting money from selling a portion of his pills and getting high from using the others, according to Ratcliffe. The judge was prepared to order Idumwonyi to be taken into custody Monday, but his defense lawyer, with the Ratcliffes support, urged that he be allowed to surrender to prison in Texas. The judge agreed, ordering Idumwonyi to turn himself in to the U.S. Marshals Service in Houston by 2 p.m. on July 8. Idumwonyi is one of 22 defendants linked to the case. Beside DeMille and Idumwonyi, the only other defendant to receive prison time is Ruben Lewis, who was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. Most of the other defendants, considered low-level drug runners or addicts, received either probation, diversion or had their cases dismissed, according to court records. -- 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. Authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of a 20-year-old who walked off the grounds of the Camp Florence Youth Transitional Facility Saturday night and was last believed to have jumped off a bridge into the Siuslaw River to escape from staff, according to the Oregon Youth Authority. Brandon Hansen had been committed to the custody of the Oregon Youth Authority since January 2017, on a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Hansen left the grounds of the facility about 8 p.m., when he told staff he was going to check on the dogs at the property who are trained by youth offenders for adoption. Theres no fence or security around the perimeter, and Hansen just walked off, according to Benjamin Chambers, a youth authority spokesman. Staff located Hansen on a nearby bridge but he appeared to jump into the river before he could be caught, Chambers said. Police and the U.S. Coast Guard searched the area but were unable to locate him. Authorities are searching for Brandon Hansen, 20, who escaped from a youth transitional facility in Florence Saturday night. We sincerely hope Mr. Hansen is all right and want to locate him quickly to ensure his safety, Chambers said, in a prepared statement. If members of the public encounter the youth, please call 911. Hansen was transferred to Camp Florence Youth Transitional Facility from MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility on May 23. Camp Florence is one of four transitional facilities designed to prepare youth for their return to the community, and the least secure, according to Chambers. Transitional camps have lower security than youth correctional facilities as theyre reserved for youth who have made significant progress in their treatment and reform plans. Oregon Youth Authority will be conducting an internal review to determine if any procedures or policies should be changed to prevent future escapes. Escape is always a risk in our facilities and OYA adheres to mandatory procedures and protocols to minimize that risk,'' Chambers said. "We will be undertaking an internal review to determine which, if any, procedures can be changed to prevent an incident like this from happening in the future. -- 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. A 51-year-old Washington County inmate died at a hospital Saturday of an undisclosed medical condition, according to the sheriffs office. Monty Lewis, of Aloha, was taken to the Tuality Community Hospital from Washington County jail about 12 p.m. Saturday and died several hours later. When Hillsboro police initially took Lewis to Washington County jail to be booked on a domestic violence harassment allegation Friday, he displayed "signs of distress'' and the jail refused to accept Lewis until he was examined at a hospital, according to the sheriffs office. Yet Lewis refused medical treatment and was returned to the jail. Its unclear if a nurse at the jail examined Lewis or if he received any medical care. The jail is staffed by onsite medical personnel 24 hours a day. About 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, Lewis told jail staff he wasnt feeling well. Medical staff in the jail quickly determined his medical condition was declining and called an ambulance. He died several hours after arriving at the hospital, according to the sheriffs office. The Washington County Sheriffs Office did not disclose Lewis cause of death. -- 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. Subscribe to get the Morning Briefing newsletter delivered to your email inbox weekdays at 7 a.m. Todays stories CONSTRUCTION GRIDLOCK: The Portland area is in for a years-long stretch of freeway, bridge and street projects surpassing $1 billion in scope. Read more. JOBS CUT: Stimson Lumber said it would lay off 60 workers near Forest Grove and blamed the cost of doing business in Oregon. Read more. WHALE DEATHS: The federal government is investigating a spike in gray whale deaths on the West Coast. Read more. SAWMILL DEAL: Newly filed court documents provide previously undisclosed details about the Oregon Department of Justices intense investigation into a botched multimillion-dollar tax credit deal. Read more. KYRON HORMAN: The missing boys mom will make an important announcement on Tuesday, the ninth anniversary of his disappearance. Read more. WILSON POOL: A 22-year-old waterslide is out of commission for the summer after vandals set it on fire in late April. Read more. JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT: An Oregon district attorney says a lawmakers appointment to bench was political payback, a charge the governors office called preposterous. Read more. 100 DEADLIEST DAYS: What parents need to know about summer, teens and cars. Read more. Snap of the day Mark Graves/Staff An estimated 300,000 parade-goers packed downtown Portland Saturday night for the annual Rose Festival Starlight Parade. The electrified parade traveled about 2.25 miles, lasted over two hours and included hundreds of illuminated entries. One local high schools marching band didnt make to the parade because its bus didnt show up. More news Portlands Apple store reopens: Heres whats new I scratched my itch: Walmart blaze causes $8.9 million damage, authorities say Karissa Fretwell: What we know about the kidnapping, double-murder case Blue tide returns to Oregon Coast as countless jelly-like creatures wash ashore Child escapes cougar attack in Washington mostly unscathed Dear Abby: Wife gets the cold shoulder from woman who is overly warm with husband Ask Amy: Is it OK to cut ties with dying relative? Carolyn Hax: Am I making major decisions on a whim or based on a mood? Find more at oregonlive.com Only in Oregon OREGON CAVES: A look inside the marble halls beneath the Siskiyou Mountains. Read more. Todays comics Click here to see today's comics Todays obituaries Click here to find area deaths reported recently Today in history AROUND THE WORLD: On June 3, 1989, Irans spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, died. On the same day, Chinese army troops began their sweep of Beijing to crush student-led pro-democracy demonstrations. By Christine R. Costantino, Edwin A. Harnden and Jim White Costantino, Harnden and White are writing on behalf of the Oregon State Bar, the Citizens Campaign for Court Funding and the Nonprofit Association of Oregon The legislative session is winding down and Oregon legislators are making tough budget decisions that support the states priorities for the next two years. In looking toward solutions to Oregon's greatest challenges, we must first acknowledge that virtually all of the state's priorities ultimately converge in one place: our court system. Whether it is a child welfare case, a criminal charge, an eviction proceeding, a domestic violence protective order, or a child support matter, each day Oregon courts see scores of people impacted by a lack of education, trauma, behavioral health challenges, and poverty. These are many of the same clients that our nonprofit community serves every day, which is why many of our community partners rely so heavily on our courts. Judges and their staff strive to address each case, and each person, in a manner that considers root problems such as mental health or family violence, so that people get the tools and resources to care for themselves and their families. Meanwhile due to the priority nature of cases involving personal safety, many Oregon businesses see their civil disputes languish to a degree that hampers sound business planning and efficient management. Oregon courts have the expertise and the desire to help, but the reality is that they currently struggle just to keep the doors open. Only one circuit court in the state is open from 8am to 5pm each day. All others must close public-service counters and phone service for several hours and all day in some counties due to reduced staffing caused by a lack of funding. When people cant answer phones or attend to those at the counter, we harm victims and others who are in desperate need of court services. Share your opinion Submit your essay of 750 words or less on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification. Courts have lost more than 12 percent of staffing statewide during the last decade. Reductions in staffing have harmed services in our communities. Courts have fewer employees to serve people in treatment courts, the 80 percent of people in family law cases who dont have a lawyer, and people who are just trying to get access to the courts to resolve an immediate problem. Reduced staffing has also harmed courts ability to collaborate with stakeholders to identify ways to improve our justice system and case outcomes. Long-term solutions to the states greatest challenges require the collaboration of all three branches of government, and adequate funding for all three branches. They also require the collaboration of our community and business leaders, many of whom have stepped up to support court funding. Over two dozen of our local leaders have joined together to form the Citizens Campaign for Court Funding, which has advocated for a fully functional court system throughout the 2019 session. We are asking our legislative leaders to ensure that courts are well-funded so that they can play the critical role they were meant to play in Oregons justice system. Now is the time to structure a system that can solve our greatest challenges. Fund Oregon courts. Let them help to address the challenges plaguing our communities. It is essential to our success. Susan McLain McLain, D-Hillsboro, represents House District 29 in the Oregon Legislature Recently, I have heard from seniors in my district who are looking for easier ways to access critical services like medical care, grocery stores and other necessary errands. My friends and constituents have asked me how to use rideshare services when public transit and other transportation options are unavailable or inaccessible. Some seniors didnt think they would be able to navigate the apps or understand the process, but with a little help from friends, children and grandchildren, they have been able to greatly improve their mobility through rideshare services. Now more than ever, Oregonians are turning to rideshare as an efficient, reliable and affordable transportation option. Unfortunately, the benefits that rideshare has brought to cities such as Portland, Eugene and Corvallis aren't available to all Oregon communities and the thousands of tourists who come to explore our state's natural wonders and local businesses in places like The Gorge and along the coast. A recent statewide poll found that 82 percent of Oregon voters support a framework that would allow ridesharing across the state. Further, 91 percent said rideshare is beneficial to Oregon because it offers an easy alternative to people who are intoxicated or unable to drive, reducing the amount of impaired driving. With such strong public support for ridesharing, it is time that state legislators move forward to extend ridesharing to all of Oregon. This effort to create statewide rideshare legislation has been years in the making, includes multiple stakeholders from both urban and rural communities and is an issue that rises above party politics that too often dominate the Legislature. Share your opinion Submit your essay of 750 words or less on a highly topical issue or a theme of particular relevance to the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and the Portland area to commentary@oregonian.com. Please include your email and phone number for verification. After listening to stakeholders, experts and city officials, I authored House Bill 3023A that establishes centralized, statewide licensing and consistent safety standards for rideshare companies, drivers and vehicles in Oregon. This legislation will improve transportation equity across the state, by bringing an additional transportation option to cities large and small. Because not every community will have the same needs, nor will every city have the capacity or desire to individually work with ridesharing services to create its own regulations, the legislation gives cities a level of flexibility to manage local streets, enforce local code and develop new options to better serve Oregonians with disabilities. HB 3023A requires safety measures and oversight of ridesharing services including insurance requirements, vehicle safety and environmental standards, driver background checks, records and data, and accessibility and equity. In short, this legislation helps streamline s the process of regulating ridesharing for drivers and governments, while keeping safety at the forefront. With the legislative session quickly drawing to a close, it is important that legislators act quickly to ensure equal and consistent access across Oregon to Lyft and Uber. Its past time that all Oregonians enjoy rideshare, not just the big cities. Many Oregonians have been following the news on Oregon House Bill 2883 and the deadline is rapidly approaching. We need to lead the way in getting rid of one time use products that pollute our environment. As a mother of two I never thought I would be in the position of trying to preserve the health of our world and the precious creatures that live here. Its not enough just to control what you purchase and consume, its time to raise your voice in open support for change. The whole nation has taken note of Maine and Maryland passing similar bills statewide. While disappointed we could not be the first state to ban polystyrene, our progressive environmental ways will most likely allow us to be the first west coast state to pass the ban. The bill has passed the House and the environmental committee, but it still has the daunting task of getting put to a vote in the Senate. Our time is running out! If our legislators do not act before the end of June, this bill will more than likely be tabled for a whole legislative session. Write, email, tweet and take action for change today and encourage your legislators, friends and family to do the same. Steps for true change are within our grasp, stand together for action today. Support House Bill 2883 and ban foam cups and containers here in Oregon. This ban will not only affect Oregon in a positive way but help prevent the pollution of our world's beautiful oceans. Rachael Marie Noa, Eugene The Oregon Legislature has approved a bill that would bar landlords from holding minor marijuana convictions or medical marijuana use against prospective tenants. The bulk of Senate Bill 970 prohibits the owners of manufactured home parks or marinas from interfering with a residents choice of real estate agent or subletting the unit while its up for sale in certain cases. But the marijuana provisions apply to all rentals across the state. The bill passed with little discussion in either chamber. After winning approval in the House last week, it next heads to Gov. Kate Browns desk for signing. State law already specifies that landlords may only consider criminal convictions only if they will negatively affect the rental property or others living there. Rental Housing Alliance Oregon, a statewide landlords group, opposed the marijuana provisions of the bill, saying it singled out landlords while exempting other types of background checks, such as for employment. Asking the landlord, who must make decisions impacting an entire community of people, to ignore convictions others can consider is wrong and something we urge you not to do, Ron Garcia, the groups legislative chair, wrote in a letter to the Senate Housing Committee. Senate Bill 420, which would allow Oregonians to set aside convictions for marijuana offenses that are no longer crimes, is headed for a final vote in the House this week. Members of the Portland City Council are also taking aim at rental screening criteria. The council is weighing an ordinance that would push landlords to be more forgiving of previous convictions or poor credit. -- Elliot Njus enjus@oregonian.com; 503-294-5034; @enjus Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox. SALEM Oregons revenge porn law is on track for an update that would better reflect how people use technology. The existing law, passed in 2015, made it a crime for people to post intimate images online without the consent of the person in the photo. The goal of the original statute was to prevent people from humiliating their former romantic partners by spreading nude pictures of them around the web. But the current law only applied to images posted on an internet website, which created a significant loophole. Namely, that websites are not the only tool that people have when it comes to embarrassing their ex-lovers. Other dissemination methods we have investigated include text messaging, email and hand delivering printed images to neighbors, said Jonathan Funkhouser, a detective with the Lake Oswego Police Department, during testimony. The subjects in these images can be just as humiliated, if not more, than the subjects in images disclosed through an Internet website. House Bill 2393 would close that loophole by removing the requirement that the offending images are posted on a website. It would apply to any distribution of those images, including through technologies that have not yet been invented. The bill would also give victims the right to sue the offender for up to $5,000. The measure specifies that if the intimate images are distributed by a minor, then the minors parents are on the hook for the potential civil settlement. The criminal penalties created by the 2015 law would still apply: A misdemeanor for the first offense, and a felony for subsequent convictions. House Bill 2393 passed the Oregon Senate 28-0 without debate on Monday and now heads to the governors desk. When things get lost or stolen, sometimes they are never found. But when Midland resident Debbie Hepinstall got a call that her late husband's memorial bench had been found more than 30 miles from where it was placed, she was in shock. A few weeks ago, two Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) employees were working on the Zilwaukee Bridge in Saginaw when they saw a bench floating in the river down below. David Schwab and Rick McKeage, transportation maintenance workers for MDOT, said they usually keep an eye out for foreign objects in the river when they're working and when they saw the bench they decided to investigate. When they pulled it out of the river, they realized it was no ordinary bench. Rather, it was a memorial bench engraved with the name Gary Hepinstall and "Home of the free because of the brave." When they saw that they knew they needed to help return it to where it belonged, especially with Memorial Day just around the corner. "I figured somebody up above was looking out for him to let us see that bench and get it back to him," McKeage said, and Schwab said he had the same thoughts. So, Schwab and McKeage said they loaded up the bench and took it back to the MDOT maintenance shop to let it dry off before cleaning it. "It had a lot of things on it -- it was pretty nasty when we found it and so we let it kind of dry out so we could power wash it, clean it up to return it," Schwab said. In the meantime, Schwab said he began to research where the bench had come from. He said he found the obituary for Hepinstall online and read that he had been a reserve deputy for the Midland County Sherriff's Department, so he gave the office a call. After a bit of phone tag between an administrative assistant and family members, Debbie Hepinstall, Gary's widow, called Schwab and found out what happened. She said she never even knew the bench was missing from its place at the Chippewa Nature Center. She was shocked. "In some ways I'm glad that I didn't (know) -- that the nature center hadn't notified me -- because then I guess I would have been always wondering where it had gone," she said. Then going another step further, Schwab and McKeage got their supervisor's permission to personally return the couple-hundred-pound bench to Midland. "We wanted it to get back to where it started out," Schwab said. "That was it, cut and dry." He added, "It feels good to help a family that would have lost that piece of their loved one if you will." Hepinstall said she was overwhelmed with emotion and amazed with the kindness of Schwab and McKreage. The day the bench was returned was an emotional afternoon for her, she said. "It was certainly a delightful outcome for me and my family," she said. "That way, now that the bench has been returned, my family and I can continue to honor my late husband's life and legacy." Now the bench is back where it belongs; however, the cause of how it went missing is still unknown. Hepinstall said she had the bench made in 2013 after her husband, who was a sergeant in the First Calvary Division in Vietnam, died in 2012. And she had it installed along Meadow Mouse Trail at the Chippewa Nature Center, a place she and her husband frequented. The bench had been chained down and Hepinstall was told it was located in one of the highest points of the park. So, the chances that it was simply carried away by flood waters alone was unlikely. Dennis Pilaske, executive director at the Chippewa Nature Center, said the bench went missing in mid-to-late-March. He said a maintenance crew member had seen a bench floating down the river at that time, but that the water was too cold and it was too dangerous to retrieve it. In addition, the center received a call confirming a bench had been seen floating in the river. "It looked like someone might have tossed it in the river because it was up on such high ground," he said. However, the bench didn't suffer any visible defacing and a police report was never filed, Pilaske said. Staff at the nature center were hoping the bench would be recovered once the water went down and the weather warmed up, but they were preparing to replace the bench, he added. "We were just thrilled that the MDOT workers were able to find it and retrieve it and that the bench is reinstalled and reattached to the ground in a great spot along the river," Pilaske said. "So, we're really pleased with how everything ended." And after doing some calculations using an app on his phone, Schwab said the bench had traveled about 36 miles down the river, traveling through four different water systems - the Pine, Chippewa, Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers. "It sure is an interesting way to remember that we're all connected from the communities via the rivers," Pilaske said. Random acts of kindness happen all the time, but they just go unnoticed, said Jocelyn Hall, communications officer for MDOT. She said a lot of the maintenance staff do things like this every day out in the field without ever expecting positive credit, because to them it's just part of doing their job. "This probably seems like something that's a little bit extra special, and to them it probably is a little bit extra special, but they do make an effort to do this kind of stuff on a regular basis," she said. "And we're fortunate to have some really phenomenal staff that work for us that go above and beyond every day to help the public in any way that they can." Out of 25 businesses targeted in an alcohol compliance check conducted by the Midland Police Department last week, one local establishment failed by selling alcohol to underage buyers. Northern Market & Party Store, located at 6700 North Saginaw Road, was the only business to fail the check. Representatives for Northern Market did not return a call seeking comment. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services urges Michigan residents to know the warning signs and resources available to prevent suicide. In 2017, suicide was the second leading cause of death in Michigan for ages 15-34. "Learning the warning signs of suicide can help raise awareness about suicide prevention and provide loved ones with the proper help," said Robert Gordon, MDHHS director. "Talking with family, friends and neighbors about this important topic is essential as we try to get help to those who need it." Warning signs for those at risk of suicide include: Feelings of hopelessness. Threatening to or talking about wanting to hurt oneself. Loss of interest in activities. Withdrawal from friends and family. Change in eating and sleeping habits. Talking about being a burden to others. Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs. Displaying extreme mood swings. Looking for a way to kill oneself. The recently updated MDHHS Suicide Prevention website https://bit.ly/2TAwlgF has a variety of resources and information for individuals who are having thoughts of suicide or know a loved one who is in crisis. These resources include a communications toolkit, a county map of coalitions and crisis lines, fact sheets, trainings and information about the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If you are in a crisis, or know someone who needs help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). If you are interested in getting involved in suicide prevention, visit Michigan.gov/suicideprevention to find out more about local suicide prevention coalitions across the state. Students in grades 5-8 at St. John's Lutheran School recently presented a biographical report in a "live wax museum." After reading books and articles about a famous person in history, students were required to dress up as the character and recite a brief historical account of the individual, while standing with a timeline they created and a few props. Spectators had the opportunity to wander through the museum (the gym) and press a button to make the characters come to life. Students dressed as heads of state, artists and authors, influential athletes, inventors and innovators. The project was organized by St. John's ELA teacher, Alyssa Nett, as part of an English-Literature class. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Navy announced on Monday that it had rescued 85 migrants on a makeshift rubber boat 75 miles northwest of the southeastern city of Khoms, the second rescue operation in less than 24 hours, In a statement, the Libyan Navy's official information office said 75 men, five women and five children were rescued on Sunday by a patrol team from the Central Coast Guard Brussels, Belgium (PANA) - On the occasion of International Day of Peacekeepers, Belgian Foreign Minister, Didier Reynders, has paid tribute, to 100,000 men and women from 22 countries "serving with dedication under the flag of the UN'' Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) The coordination office of the National Coalition against Expensive Life, Corruption, Fraud and Impunity and for Liberties (CCVC) on Monday called on the Burkinabe authorities to immediately open investigation into the death last Friday of two members of the Democratic Organisation for Burkina Youth (ODJ) in the north of the country Log on if you are already subscribed or Subscribe... Port Louis, Mauritius (PANA) Mauritius on Monday opened a Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Unit, the first of its kind that aims to provide a treatment programme for detainees addicted to tobacco at the Eastern High Security Prison in Melrose, in the centre of the island, PANA reported from here Dakar, Senegal (PANA) Senegalese President Macky Sall announced in Dakar on Monday his decision to have soon a bill passed to criminalise rape and pedophilia, calling on his compatriots to denounce perpetrators of violence against women and youths Bloomington-Normal Galleries, museums University Galleries of Illinois State University; 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Thu., 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri., noon-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; Uptown Station, 11 Uptown Circle, Normal; rotating exhibits in three galleries; free; 309-438-5487. IWU Merwin and Wakeley Galleries; school hours, noon-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun., 7-9 p.m. Tue.; 302 E. Graham St., Bloomington; rotating exhibits; free; 309-556-3391. Jan Brandt Gallery; 1305 Morrissey Drive, Bloomington; Studio and gallery showcasing Brandt's work, also visiting artist exhibitions; 309-287-4700. McLean County Arts Center; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tue., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri., noon-4 p.m. Sat.; 601 N. East St., Bloomington; rotating exhibits, sales, rentals, art classes and lectures; free; 309-829-0011. McLean County Museum of History; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. (until 9 p.m. Tue.), 200 N. Main St., Bloomington; permanent and rotating exhibits; adults $5, seniors $4, students, children under 12 and members free; 309-827-0428. Prairie Aviation Museum; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thu.-Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun., 2929 E. Empire St., Bloomington; permanent and rotating exhibits and displays with aerial history themes; adults $5, ages 6-11 $3, 5 and under free; 309-663-7632. Exhibits McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington; through July 12; multi-exhibit reception, 5-7 p.m. June 7; "Pure Color," Illinois Prairie Pastel Society; "Amble," Deana Moore Schoolcraft and David Stratton; "Strings and Hollows," Paul Klee and Nisa Blackmon; "Melanated," Shane-Jahi Jackson. Steampunk Accessories and Art Shop; through early June, Inside Out Accessible Art, Bloomington; part of "Cogs & Corsets: A Steampunk Happening," June 7-9. "Preface"; through July 9, Jan Brandt Gallery, 1305 Morrissey Drive, Bloomington; opening reception, 2-4 p.m. May 19; contact janbrandtgallery@gmail.com for viewing appointments; Brandt and Sara Quah; collaborative process of beginning a children's book. Here and Now, paintings by Doug Johnson; through July 9; Jan Brandt Gallery, Bloomington; opening reception 2-4 p.m. May 19. Illinois Prairie Pastel Society juried exhibition; through July 12, McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington. Deanna Moore Schoolcraft and David Stratton; through July 12, McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington; reception: 5-7 p.m. June 7; prairiescapes. Pedal Power!; through spring 2020, McLean County Museum of History; exhibit of vintage pedal cars from the collection of Bruce Callis. ImagineAir; Children's Discovery Museum, uptown Normal; permanent exhibit shows power of wind, wind energy, aerodynamics, fluid dynamics; $7 for age 2 and older, $3 for Museums for All passholders; free, CDM members. Challenges, Choices & Change: Working for a Living; McLean County Museum of History; highlights more than 80 local workers and their daily on-the-job experiences. Challenges, Choices and Change: Making a Home; McLean County Museum of History; permanent exhibit exploring experiences of people from around the world who made McLean County their home. Abraham Lincoln in McLean County; McLean County Museum of History; permanent exhibit on Lincoln's life in Bloomington. Challenges, Choices and Change: Farming in the Great Corn Belt; McLean County Museum of History; permanent exhibit on McLean County's agricultural history. Central Illinois Galleries, museums Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sun., 212 N. Sixth St., Springfield; Lincoln-themed exhibits, historical displays, special events, more; adults $12, seniors and students $9, ages 5-15 $5, under 5 free; 217-558-8844. Amity Township Museum; 1-3 p.m. first Sunday of month or by appointment, 510 Main St., Cornell; displays and artifacts relating to history of Cornell and Amity Township; free; 815-358-2973. Contemporary Art Center of Peoria; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., Riverfront Arts Center, 305 S.W. Water St., Peoria; rotating exhibits in two galleries; free; 309-674-6822. Dickson Mounds Museum; 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, 10956 N. Dickson Mounds Road, Lewistown; displays, special exhibits; free; 309-547-3721. Eureka College Burgess Hall Art Gallery; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. weekdays and by appointment on weekends, third floor of Burgess Hall, Eureka College, Eureka; rotating exhibits; free; 309-467-6866. Lincoln Heritage Museum; 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 1-4 p.m. Sat., Lincoln Center at Lincoln College, 300 Keokuk St., Lincoln; Lincoln-era items, audiovisual displays, tours, exhibits, more; adults $7, children/tours $4; 217-735-7399. Museum of the Gilding Arts; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sun., April-Oct., and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sun., Nov.-March, 217 N. Mill St., Pontiac; displays, history and hands-on exhibits dedicated to the art of gilding and gold leafing; free (donations welcome); 815-842-1848. Peoria Art Guild; Foster Arts Center, Harrison and Washington streets, Peoria; rotating exhibits, gift shop; free; 309-637-2787. Peoria Riverfront Museum; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Wed. and Sat., 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thu.-Fri., noon-5 p.m. Sun., downtown riverfront Peoria; permanent and rotating exhibits, planetarium shows, Giant Screen Theater and events; $9-$11 (free parking in museum garage); 309-686-7000. Pontiac Community Art Center; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., noon-4 p.m. Sun., 209 W. Madison St., Pontiac; rotating exhibits; 815-419-2472. Simpkins Military History Museum; 1-5 p.m. Tue., Thu., Sat., or by appointment; 605 E. Cole St., Heyworth; permanent and rotating military history exhibits; free (donations accepted); 309-319-3413. Time Gallery; Fondulac Bank, 201 Clock Tower Drive, East Peoria; 309-467-2331 U of I Krannert Art Museum; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. (until 9 p.m. Thu. during fall and spring semesters), closed Sun., 500 E. Peabody Drive, Champaign; paintings, porcelain, historical artifacts, traveling art exhibits; $3 donation suggested; 217-333-1861. Exhibits Souvenirs & Shadows; through June 29, Pontiac Community Art Center, Joe Bailey Gallery, Pontiac; artist: Abigail Szunyogh; panting, drawings. Life on the Titanic; through Oct. 31, Pontiac Museum Complex, 110 W. Howard St., Pontiac, second floor; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Nine Days in April: The Lincoln Assassination and the Press; Pontiac Museum Complex, 110 W. Howard St., Pontiac, second floor; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. American Decoy: The Invention and 10 Medical Inventions That Changed the World; Peoria Riverfront Museum. 60 Years Military Souvenir Collecting; special exhibit; Simpkins Military History Museum, Heyworth; celebrating 60 years of collecting military items and 40 years of an established museum (30 years at present location). "The Art of the Brick"; Peoria Riverfront Museum; LEGO art exhibition. Da Vinci the Genius with The Secrets of Mona Lisa; opens Nov. 16, Peoria Riverfront Museum. See if you dont find some of these points as odd. For instance, who comes up with the mashup of syllables to form the names of the never-ending parade of new medications? Trulicity? Skyrizi? Duaklir Pressair? Mavenclad? Those all are actual medicine names, but those last two may have been inspired by Game of Thrones. It must be some computer algorithm that generates pharmaceutical names I cant believe some guy named Jeremy does it. Speaking of medicine, there wouldnt be much advertising on TV it werent for the galaxy of pills. Can you remember the time when pharmaceuticals couldnt be advertised on television, and we actually had to rely on a doctor to tell us which ones were best for us? The pill commercials do command my attention, however. I smirk at the line in each one that says Dont take Amberdasterol if you are allergic to Amberdasterol. Well, thats pretty obvious, isnt it? Plus, how would you know you were allergic its a brand-new drug. I assume lawyers told the drug-makers to put that line in, but it still does sound stupid. One of these days, Id love to time how many seconds in a one-minute ad that they talk about the side effects of a medication, compared to the time mentioning its benefits. And when you consider the deluge of drug commercials, doesnt it seem as though were a pretty sick country? On a more positive note, its a testament to mans creativity that there are so many shapes for pasta. When we were growing up, we just knew about spaghetti and macaroni. Spaghetti, of course, spawned SpaghettiOs (dont try to tell me you didnt eat those). Macaroni demanded cheese, sometimes Velveeta, sometimes the powdered stuff in the foil packet. Oh, we did have lasagna once in a while. But it was just another noodle to us kids. Somewhere along the way, the world of pasta opened up to us. Ravioli, vermicelli and ziti, oh, my! Fettuccine and linguine and rotini; the mind boggles. One estimate (from the internet, so you know its true) is of 350 types of pasta in the world. You have to be fairly sharp to know a tortelloni from a tortellini (the tortelloni are larger). Its just remarkable that flour and water (or flour and eggs) have been mixed into such a dazzling array of deliciousness. But if its variety youre after, Oreo is a success story. Time was that the Oreo concept was simple as can be two chocolate wafers, hugging a creamy white filling. All you cared about was whether to dunk it in milk, take it apart and make it last longer, or just wolf it down and snatch another before Mom saw you. Now, the Oreo universe is vast. You have the double-stuf (their spelling) variety, available in peanut butter, original, cool mint (plain mint would be dull, after all), chocolate creme and birthday cake. Youve got your minis and Oreo Thins and reduced-fat variety (if youre trying to fool yourself into thinking youre being good). Choose fudge-covered minis if youre wanting it both ways. If you pick up golden Oreos, I contend youve strayed too far from your Oreo roots. Nabisco takes note of the holidays, spiffing up the Oreo creme with orange for Halloween and red and green for Christmas. Not content with being the premier cookie brand, Oreo has branched out to ice cream, candy and cereal. There are green tea Oreos, if youre ever in Japan or China. But if youre traveling in China, you should take a walk down the wild side of the grocery aisle and pick up "Hot Chicken Wing Oreo" and "Wasabi Oreo." Wikipedia says the Oreo, in all its incarnations, is the best-selling cookie in America. I wonder how the humble chocolate chip cookie would stack up, if you totaled up all the different brands. The makers of M&Ms are no slouches, either. The Mars company bagged up the first milk chocolate nummies in 1941, but just sold them to the U.S. military throughout World War II. The peanut variety followed, and later, peanut butter. Pretzel makes sense, I guess. Now, civilization has advanced to the point that its ready for coffee nut, gingerbread. hazelnut spread and birthday cake. Google long enough and you discover a jalapeno flavor. My question is: Do people wind up buying more total M&Ms with all of the flavors, or do they just choose crispy instead of almond? Weve gone through lots of M&Ms and Oreos here: Thank goodness for Amberdasterol. Dick Zaker is a retired Herald & Review senior copy editor. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 DWIGHT A Dwight Township High School teacher is facing a charge of criminal sexual assault by an authority figure involving an underage student. Kathy Patten, 34, was arrested by Livingston County sheriffs deputies Friday evening and formally charged in Livingston County Circuit Court on Monday morning. Court documents indicate $2,500 cash bond was posted for her release. The administration was made aware of a rumor involving a student and a teacher and took immediate action to investigate, which led to contacting the Dwight Police Department and the Department of Children and Family Services, Dwight school Superintendent Richard Jancek told The Pantagraph. The safety and welfare of our students, as well as protecting the rights of our staff, are priorities of our school district. "Due to this being an ongoing investigation and a personnel matter, no further comments will be made at this time, he added. The charge involving a minor between the ages of 13 and 17 is a Class 1 felony. Patten is due in court July 2. "The charges involve an underage male victim who is a student at the Dwight High School," said Livingston County Sheriff Tony Livingston. "The investigation is ongoing with additional charges possible." Patten is a family and consumer science teacher at Dwight. She also leads the Dwight Township High School chapter of Family Career and Community Leaders of America, a nonprofit national career and technical student organization for high school students interested in family and consumer sciences education. She could not be reached for comment by The Pantagraph on Monday. Photos: 2018-19 McLean County jail mugshots Contact Kevin Barlow at (309) 820-3238. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_barlow Sign up for our Crime & Courts newsletter Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. BLOOMINGTON Lydia McIntyre and her sister, Harper, made a new friend on Sunday, as did several other families throughout Bloomington-Normal. Dozens of kittens and cats were adopted at different events over the weekend, including a Kitten Yoga class and an all-breed cat show. Lydia, 11, and Harper, 10, of Hudson, were among the participants at the Kitten Yoga class at My Loveable Angels at 605 S. McClun St. in Bloomington on Sunday. Were excited about getting a new kitten, said Lydia. And the yoga is fun, too. Kim Hayes, a volunteer with My Loveable Angels, led the yoga class. Yoga with gentle animals is known to lower your stress levels, she said. Its a good mix. There are all kinds of animal yoga events such as puppy yoga and goat yoga. It is a good way to introduce people to kittens and help them find good homes. The animal rescue was founded by Michelle Masi, but operates on the strength of volunteers, said Anna Paxton, also a volunteer with My Loveable Angels. Everybody has a blast and we all love animals, she said. At the Interstate Center in Bloomington, more than 130 cats participated in the Cat Fanciers Association Midwest Regional, said Regional Director Mary Auth. Cat owners representing at least eight states attended the show. This is the first time we have had it in Bloomington in probably 12 years or so, she said. I picked Bloomington-Normal because it is centrally located and it is easy to travel to. Lisa Tee, owner of Purrtopia Exotics in Minneapolis, was among those who traveled the farthest. I grew up showing cats and different shows, but when I got older, I got away from it a little bit, she said. But now I am back doing it because it is something I love. These shows are much more about the cats, which we all love, but I have made some great friends during these shows and many are here for this one. There were agility demonstrations and the Humane Society of Central Illinois used it to have an adoption day. There were more than 30 different breeds of cats in the show on Saturday and Sunday. The breeds include Persians, Maine Coons, Siamese and Cornish Rex. Local exhibitors competed in the Household Pet competition. Not everyone who attended the show was there to present their cat in the competition. Margo Whitaker, 12, of Bloomington and her family attended the show for a variety of reasons. I would like another kitten, she said, even after her mother, Rhonda, reminded her that they have three cats, Fluffy, Snowball and Bobbi-Ann, at home. I still would like an orange one, she said. Every cat is different and I dont think we have enough. I would like a new one because I want to take care of him. Gene Schofield of Bloomington brought his seven-year-old granddaughter, Kimberly, to the show. I cant yet get into any of my fields because of the rain, so, she wanted to come here, he said. Ive always loved cats myself. So, she gets her love for kittens and cats honestly from the family. Leah Clayton, 14, of Normal, said she came to the show because she is thinking about showing her cat, Shadow, next year. I have read a little bit about it and I think it would be a lot of fun, she said. Her mother, Jamie, agreed. I think showing cats and all of the dedication it takes is something that more young people need to be involved with, she said. It teaches kids how to take care of animals and the competition is good for everyone. Contact Kevin Barlow at (309) 820-3238. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_barlow Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. SPRINGFIELD Illinois lawmakers are in line for a $1,600-a-year pay hike after what was described as a paperwork mix-up that wasn't reversed. The House approved a $39.9 billion budget and adjourned Saturday night without taking action on a measure that would have prohibited a 2.4% cost-of-living increase in legislators' base $67,836 salary, or about $1,600. It would be the first pay increase for legislators since 2008 and would take effect July 1 if Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs the budget agreement. The Senate met Sunday afternoon and was scheduled to take up final pieces of the spending plan, which also include $45 billion in infrastructure improvements and billions of dollars of increased taxes and fees to finance it. House Majority Leader Greg Harris, a Chicago Democrat, would not say why the House didn't vote on the separate salary-freeze legislation, noting only that the budget bill included appropriations to cover the COLA, or cost-of-living adjustment, and that the overall plan underwent committee and House-floor examination. The COLA issue arose Friday night as the Senate debated budget-implementation language. The sponsor, Chicago Democratic Sen. Heather Steans, was surprised to learn that an agreed-to freeze on COLAs was absent from the legislation. Democrats remedied the omission by adding the prohibition to another bill they sent to the House, but the House took no action. "You should go and ask the House why they didn't pass the bill that we sent them," Steans said. "Most folks get annual cost-of-living increases in their jobs, or are evaluated for them. It's not an outrageous expectation that more than once in a 10-year period we'd get them." Steve Brown, spokesman for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, said he was unaware of a pay increase. He said the budget included an increase in reimbursement for legislators' district office expenses. Rep. David McSweeney, a Republican budget hawk from Barrington Hills, was incensed. "Illinois citizens are sick and tired of secret insider budget deals that enrich Springfield politicians at the expense of hardworking taxpayers who are getting hit with massive tax increases," said McSweeney, who voted "no" on the budget. The salary freeze plan that the Senate sent to the House required only a vote to concur. Rep. Thaddeus Jones, a Calumet City Democrat, filed a motion to non-concur in the freeze. Calling the motion for a vote would have forced House members to vote in favor or against rejecting the freeze. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 SPRINGFIELD Illinois dioceses have condemned the General Assemblys passage of an abortion repeal-and-replace measure headed for the governors desk. Both chambers approved the Reproductive Health Act, which proponents and opponents agree will be the most liberal reproductive health care law in the nation, during the final days of the legislative session. Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement he will sign the bill. In Illinois, we trust women to make the most personal and fundamental decisions of their lives and now, that will be the law of the land, even as its under threat in other states, Pritzker said. But Cardinal Blase Cupich, head of Chicagos archdiocese, said in a statement Saturday that the acts passage marks a sad moment in our history as a state. We have worked to make the case for a consistent approach to human dignity in Illinois and will continue to do so even as elected officials single out unborn persons for particular disregard, he said. It remains our hope that Illinois will eventually distinguish itself as a safe place that welcomes not only those seeking a new life or second chance, but also the most vulnerable among us who deserve a chance at life. Joliet diocese Bishop R. Daniel Conlon called the Reproductive Health Act a horrific piece of legislation; Rockford diocese Bishop David Malloy called it horribly misnamed; and Springfield diocese Bishop Thomas John Paprocki said in a statement lawmakers passed the bill in a gravely immoral action. Following are the complete statements released by Illinois dioceses: Statement of the Archdiocese of Chicago The passage of Senate Bill 25, eliminating even the minimal limitations on abortions under previous law marks a sad moment in our history as a State. We have worked to make the case for a consistent approach to human dignity in Illinois and will continue to do so even as elected officials single out unborn persons for particular disregard. It remains our hope that Illinois will eventually distinguish itself as a safe place that welcomes not only those seeking a new life or second chance, but also the most vulnerable among us who deserve a chance at life. We are resolved to let women and families in the Chicago area know they have alternatives to abortion. We will continue to provide help during their pregnancies and throughout their journey as parents. Our ministry in Cook and Lake Counties has taught us that when teenagers in underserved communities experience an unplanned pregnancy without proper support, the consequences for the health and well-being of mother and child can be grim. But, we have also seen that a brighter outcome is possible when support is provided. Catholic Charities and its partners serve hundreds of young women and developing families every year. They nurture the mother and therefore the baby by providing classes in health and child development. They encourage the new families toward independence by providing childcare and making referrals for education, housing and employment. As a young woman, served by a Catholic agency said, It was like a second family when I came here. My Doula took me to doctors appointments, explaining what all the papers and procedures meant, how my baby was developing, the changes my body was going through and how to eat and exercise to stay healthy. Today, her son is thriving in the organizations early childhood program and its family support program helps her stay on track with personal goals. She will begin a bachelors degree program this summer. With loving encouragement, she has turned stressful circumstances into a positive, hopeful future for herself and her son. Women have a real choice when they are given the support they need to bring their children into the world and parent them, supported by a society that truly values them. We will give that support to all who seek it in the hope that by offering them a choice, we will build stronger families and a better Illinois. The Diocese of Belleville has not released a statement as of Sunday, June 2. Statement of the Diocese of Joliet The misnamed Reproductive Health Act, Senate Bill 25, is a horrific piece of legislation that will lead to more children dying through the violent act of abortion, even at a point when they are able to survive outside the womb. Science indicates that life begins at conception, and to deny the life of certain human beings at young ages is an attack on human rights. No persons life should be in jeopardy simply based upon his or her age. Only in the womb do our laws allow some humans to be accorded the full rights of personhood and some not. Additionally, this legislation is not in the best interest of women as it removes abortion clinics from regulations for serious medical procedures. The Church is committed to upholding the dignity of women but does not believe that abortion is a solution when challenging situations arise. Rather, working towards a society where both mother and child are cared for is the true path of justice and compassion. I am aware that some of the legislators who voted in favor of this legislation believe that it violates their own conscience. Yet, for them party loyalty, even on such a weighty moral issue, has seemingly trumped conscience. Abortion is an illogical and inconsistent policy for anyone who stands for human rights. To allow one person to decide whether another person lives or dies is even more capricious than the death penalty or war. Ironically. as Illinois expands the legal and even constitutional right to abortion, many of its neighboring states have moved to restrict abortion. Clearly, we are a divided society on this issue. The Catholic Church stakes its position on the ultimate belief that God creates every human person and endows each of them with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Diocese of Peoria has not released a statement as of Sunday, June 2. Statement of the Diocese of Rockford Today is a dark day in the history of the State of Illinois. With todays vote by the Illinois Senate to approve the horribly misnamed Reproductive Health Act, that body has declared that abortion in Illinois is a fundamental right. This legislation strips the unborn of any protection or rights under the law, and demonstrates a grievous disregard for the care and human solidarity we owe to the most vulnerable among us. This legislation disregards the advances of science that demonstrate the development and the shared humanity of unborn children. In the face of this reality, our State will allow abortion at any time during the 9 months of pregnancy for any reason. It also mandates the cooperation of those who support the gift of life by requiring all insurance plans subject to regulation by the State of Illinois to cover abortion services. This action takes us one step further down the path which devalues our shared humanity and the dignity we bear as human beings from our creation. The State of Illinois and we as its citizens are better than this. I thank all who have called, written or visited their legislators to express opposition to this terribly misguided legislation. I urge that we continue to pray, to lobby and most especially to teach our children, the next generation, that respect for the right to life must be rebuilt and reclaimed in the years to come. Statement of the Diocese of Springfield (This statement is in response to the Houses passage of the Reproductive Health Act on May 28. Andrew Hansen, Bishop Paprockis spokesperson, said this is the relevant statement to use in response to the Senates approval of the measure as well.) "I condemn the gravely immoral action of the Illinois House of Representatives in passing Senate Bill 25, labeled with a highly misleading title as the Reproductive Health Act, purporting to declare abortion a fundamental right. Christians have rejected the practice of abortion from the earliest days of the Church. Children are a gift from God, no matter the circumstances of their conception. They not only have a right to life, but we as a society have a moral obligation to protect them from harm. Legislation that deprives children of legal protection before they are born, allowing for the murder of children at any stage in the womb, even up to the moment of birth, is evil. I pray for our state legislators, entrusting them especially to the intercession of Saint Thomas More, a public servant who preferred to die at the hands of civil authorities rather than abandon Christ and the Church. May we also keep unborn babies and newborn infants, as well as all mothers, in our prayers and work to improve the dignity and quality of life of all people, especially the most vulnerable. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 100 years ago June 3, 1919: This was a Jesse James-style train robbery: two men robbed the crew of an Illinois Central freight train, getting $250 and a gold watch. Sheriff Spafford believes they are the same guys who robbed a jewelry store in Clinton because the times match up. 75 years ago June 3, 1944: Sgt. William Protz of Waynesville has won two medals while serving: the Air Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Protz is in an air commando unit somewhere in India. His father, Howard Protz, still lives in Waynesville. 50 years ago June 3, 1969: Normal Mayor Charles Baugh has been trying to get reimbursed for time he spent on town administrators duties when the position was vacant. Baugh wanted to be compensated for pay lost on his day job while he ran the town government. City Council turned him down, 6-0. 25 years ago June 3, 1994: As a five-month experiment, GTE says telephone users will have to dial 10 digits instead of seven for long distance within the same area code. The three-digit area code must be added to the call. This is somehow tied to the explosion of fax machines and computer modems. Compiled by Jack Keefe; jkeefe@coldwellhomes.com. Weve written a fair bit about beer festivals, in the course of the last few years. As the growth of the craft beer segment has slowed to a crawl, and a certain amount of enthusiasm seems to have leaked from the scene, one of the casualties seems to have been a loss of interest in the good old fashioned, traditional beer fest. When we say beer fest in this context, were talking about those classic, gather a bunch of breweries together in a park and sell tickets, tokens, etc style events. For a lot of us, they were one of the primary ways we first sampled the lineups of many breweries from outside our native distribution networks. But as the average craft beer consumer has matured, and fewer converts come to craft beer for the first time, those same festivals have a tendency to seem a bit less attractive, for a number of reasons. Weve sampled those beers. Weve stood in those lines. Weve put up with the ticketing hassles, and the indignant beer geeks and the haphazard organization. But there is one corner of the beer festival universe where enthusiasm still runs rampant, and that is the increasingly popular Invitational. As we wrote about in covering the inaugural Far & Away Invitational Beer Festival hosted by Chicagos Half Acre in 2018, this style of festival focuses on quality of experience over accessibility or massive outreach. The result: Smaller lineups of more sought-after breweries, making for a highly curated experience. Ticket prices are higher, but crowds are smaller, and those who pay the price are treated to a veritable smorgasbord of world-class beerand usually plenty of food and perks as well. The concept has been adopted everywhere, from Half Acres festival in Chicago to similar fests in New York, Florida, North Carolina, California and Georgia. It feels like a true solution to beer festival banality. And arguably, the inspiration behind it all has been (and continues to be) the Firestone Walker Invitational, held each year on the first weekend of June in Paso Robles, CA. Here, in my fifth consecutive year in attendance, I walked away as amazed as ever by not only the sheer quality of the beer lineup on display but also with how smoothly and intuitively the festival is run. Tickets arent cheap, but truly memorable experiences rarely are. And in a somewhat depressive climate for craft beer, the fact that there are still people pounding at the doors for entry into the FWIBF proves just how desirable that experience continues to be. Here, then, are 15 of the most memorable beers from the 2019 festival. Looking at the beer list for the festival, ones eyes tend to be drawn to all the expected places. To the DDH hazy IPAs. To the giant pastry stouts. To all the outrageously sought-after wild ales. But the more I walked around the festival grounds in 2019, the more certain I became that it was pilsner ruling the day. Granted, the pilsner from any given brewery was rarely the thing that was expressly bringing patrons to the booth, but they instead became the beers we gravitated toward. Seemingly every brewery was rocking an unheralded pilsner, and they were almost universally outstanding examples of the style. In fact, I would hazard to say that the 2019 FWIBF might stand as one of the low-key greatest collections of pilsners ever assembled in one place, featuring world-class examples from all the following: The Bruery Revolution Brewing Garage Project Firestone Walker Green Cheek Beer Co. Birrificio Italiano pFriem Family Brewers Jacks Abby Russian River Mahrs Brau Burial Beer Co. Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project Highland Park Brewery And folks, thats just the pilsners I had a chance to trynot even all the pilsner that was present at the event. Notable among it all was the continued emergence of so-called Italian style pilsner, in reference to Italys Birrificio Italiano, whose use of European dry hopping in dry, crisp pilsner is credited with inspiring Firestones own, much-beloved Pivo Pilsner. And indeed, that beer, Birrificio Italianos Tipopils had a place of honor (and increasing buzz/street cred) at the festival. The fact that Im leading this list off with pilsner speaks to the moment its having here. And because Im sure people would prefer I pick a favorite, allow me to lump some praise on one pilsner in particular. Revolution Brewing Keller Pils There were practically too many keller, zwickel or otherwise unfiltered lagers at the 2019 FWIBF to count, but I was particularly taken by this muscular, doughy pilsner from Chicagos Revolution. The unfiltered version of their already excellent Rev Pils is a wonderfully deep beer, presenting big yeasty/bready notes on both the nose and palate, supported by floral and slightly green/resinous hop impressions. Theres a particularly rustic quality to the malt profile herehints of hay and barn make me say thatthat remind me of the malt bill you might almost expect to taste in something like a grissette, except supported by those wonderfully delicious noble hops. Truly, a beer worth appreciating a liter at a time, although it was hardly alone in that capacity as a pilsner at this festival. All hail pilsner, etc. Its almost become a given that every year, something from New Zealands Garage Project is going to appear on this list, to the extent that I wondered if maybe I should just disqualify them in advance this year, but their beerand especially their presentationis just too damn good to ignore. Suffice to say, these guys are geniuses when it comes to the concept of festival presentationthey understand what it is to hype up the crowd and offer some kind of experience that will be almost impossible to replicate. This year, it was via a collaboration with their neighbors in the next booth, The Bruery, who combined with Garage Project to create a single beer, Half a Brain. And yes, thats a reference to the Rupert Holmes song Escape, much better known to the world as The Pina Colada Song. This beer is a fruity, decadently sweet pineapple sour created by Garage Project, which was accentuated perfectly by a burst of coconut beer-flavored foam applied to each glass by The Bruery, who presumably made an intensely flavored coconut beer and then adjusted their lines in such a way as to apply dense foam to each glass. In conjunction, this mixture tasted exactly like the best pina colada youve ever hadirresistibly over the top and impossible to dislike. You have to take your hat off to these guys, because every year they find a way to raise the bar. Just look at that irresistible FOAM. The name of this beer refers to an intent on the part of The Rare Barrel to genuinely blur the lines on what can be considered beer and wine. As a result, its made with up to 50 percent sauvignon blanc grape must as fermentables, placing it into some kind of classification limbo. Given that information, the most surprising thing to me in consuming Blurred SB is that I still really wouldnt have mistaken it for something other than beer. I feel like mouthfeel is probably key heredespite deriving so many of its fermentables from grapes, Blurred SB retains a very beer-like mouthfeel, no doubt thanks in part to its carbonation level. It packs some wonderful flavors of white grape, kiwi, lychee and grapefruit citrus into a package that is supported by moderate tartness, a dry finish and lingering hints of oak. In description, this is one of The Rare Barrels most experimental beers, but in execution its actually one of their most refreshing and accessible. As I observed at last years festival, and as we confirmed the last time we blind-tasted IPAs, Orange, CAs Green Cheek Beer Co. is our pick for the brewery making the best non-hazy IPAs in the country right now. That isnt to say they cant make a delicious hazy IPA, but this brewerys mastery of clear IPA is on another level, and we hope that a bunch of other places are studying what theyre doing and discovering the tools to bring on the next clear IPA renaissance. This year provides proof as well that it doesnt even need to be one of the Green Cheek IPAs were familiar with in order to get excited. Last year it was the brands Radiant Beauty that had me in a tizzy; this year its the significantly different Happily Deceased West Coast IPA. This crystal clear beauty is hopped with Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin, providing an interesting contrast between tropical fruit (mango), passionfruit, white wine and no shortage of resinous, green character as well. Firm bitterness is also present (remember when that was a given?), but it stops short of itensity. Its just a lovely beer that presents extremely lush but distinct hop flavors, without all the muddled, yeast-derived notes weve come to expect in the style. I sincerely hope we see more IPA like this in the next year. Apparently, its made a big impression on some folkslike this YouTube songwriters who composed a 3:30 minute song entirely about Happily Deceased. As the time of this writing, it has 5 views. Honorable mention: Green Cheek was also pouring a lovely helles (Oaked Just Right) that has the neat distinction of being briefly aged in the same barrels that Firestone Walker uses to age their classic Double Barrel Ale. The love affair between FW and Green Cheek this year was cute to see. For whatever reason, when I looked at this beer name, I was absolutely convinced that it would be pronounced Pear-Son, and that it would be a pear beer as a result. As it turns out: No, thats not right, and why did I make that assumption? Im still not sure, but what this actually turns out to be is a celebration of all things peach-related from Georgia. The house mixed culture from Creature Comforts already has a pronounced stone fruit character, which is perhaps why this ultimately works so beautifully and seamlessly. What stands out in this wild ale is the wonderfully soft mouthfeel and sheer gentleness of its acidity. That isnt to say that this beer is lacking for tartness in any respectit simply demonstrates the difference between expertly made beers with a degree of tartness and ones where that sourness takes on a much more harsh, garish quality. This is just a celebration of the fresh, fuzzy, juicy flavors of a perfectly fresh peachnot overly sweet or artificial, but delicate and understated. In a word, authentic. Tennessees Blackberry Farms made a welcome first appearance at this years FWIBF, presumably in recognition of the fact that theyve been one of the very best American brewers of classic-style saisons for many years now. If you have any doubt of that, go out and get a Saison DuPont, and compare it side by side with Blackberry Farms Classic Saison. The results will be more than favorable, and thats more or less the best compliment I can give to a saison. En Honneur de Toi, on the other hand, is more of an attempt at producing a mildly imperialized take on that style of saison, albeit with a somewhat bigger hop rate that features the Comet hop. The result is a big, beautiful, complex ale that is yeast forward on the nose, bringing expansive herbal, spice and tropical fruit notes into play. I get plenty of pineapple here, and a gingery spice, but the ABV is also high enough that it accentuates the slightly toasty/bready malt character of this saison as well. Hints of booze contribute a slightly vinous character to the fruity flavors, making for a burly saison that is slightly more decadent than the Classic, while still falling in a fairly drinkable ABV range at 8%. Its a beautiful beer. One of the more oddly striking sights of the 2019 FWIBF was seeing the Half Acre representatives pouring this beautifully purple sour from clear 750 ml glass bottlessomething you dont realize looks weird until you see it. As it turns out, the brewery is experimenting with how UV light/sunlight affects packaged sours in ways that might actually prove advantageous to the profiles of certain beers, so there you go. Regardless, I honestly didnt perceive any lightstruck quality on Bon Hutrather, I was just struck by how delicious this blend of blueberry, plum and black currant fruit is. The brewery took two-year-old base sour and re-aged it for six weeks on a collection of dark fruit, pulling off one of the festivals prettiest-looking beers in the process. This is brimming with berry complexity on the palate; slightly jammy, but benefitting from a sense of tannic dryness on the tongue as well. Slightly vinous and wine-like, I can see why the brewery used grenache grapes as a touchpoint. Solidly tart, but not overtly sweet, it was right up my alley. For as often as I am critical of poorly done, overplayed NE-IPAs these days, its nice to get the occasional reminder of why this is a style that so many are chasing after in the first place. To be perfectly honest, Im not always a huge fan of Trilliums house styleI often find their DDH IPAs to be overwhelmingly green or grassy in comparison with say, Tree Housebut the DDH Congress St. the brewery was pouring at FWIBF this year could not have been more perfectly pleasant. It was the kind of beer that justifies why people drive across country to buy cans of hazy IPA. If they were all this good, I wouldnt have any complaints about the style. DDH Congress St. doubles down on the beauty of the Galaxy hop, delivering a hedonistic amount of citrus (especially orange/tangerine) juiciness, supported by peach and mango. Unlike so many others in the same mold, this beer doesnt feel choked by grassy/leafy trub, or yeastit genuinely comes off as juicy, something that must be harder than many of us expect to achieve, given how many other beers are trying to replicate it and failing. This is clean, soft of mouthfeel and only moderately sweet in terms of residual sugar. Its right in the center of the bullseye, and even if I keep railing against bad NE-IPA, this is a style I want to continue to exist. I just wish more of them were like this. Although I was staying away from giant, barrel-aged beers more than usual during this years FWIBF, its not like I was going to avoid them entirely, right? Especially when they come from a brewery with as much mastery over extracting flavors from barrels as Jackie Os. Apple Brandy Brick Kiln is a beastly English barleywine, weighing in at 11.6% ABV, given a lengthy 16-month rest in apple brandy barrels before being unleashed on the world. As is so common with Jackie Os, you know that they gave this one exactly as long in the barrel as it needed. These dudes? They dont rush this stuff. This beer is massively flavorful, swimming in maple syrup and toffee caramelization. Deep, deep maltiness shines through the barleywine base, with dark toasted bread crusts and dark fruit flavors of plum and raisin. It reminds me quite a bit of Revolution Brewings much-loved Straight Jacket barrel-aged barleywine, a beer that once won our barleywine blind tasting, and Brick Kiln is very much in the same mold. This is deeply contemplative, brandy snifter beer that demands a long drinking session to really savoralthough its wonderful to have at a festival like the FWIBF, that isnt truly its natural habitat. This is a beer you pour before putting on a Criterion Collection blu-ray of some classic film noir like The Third Man. One masterpiece demands another. While Im at it, here are a few barrel-aged monster beer runner ups: WeldWerks Rye Vanilla Medianoche, Half Acre Double Barrel Benthic, Three Floyds Dark Lord (still a classic). Not all the best beers of this festival had to be the most bombastic or exceedingly complicated. Which isnt to say that barrel-aged saison isnt a thing of complexity, which it is. But Sante Adairius presents this passionfruit saison with a particular degree of focus that I couldnt help but admire. Passionfruit is a bit of a tricky flavor. In an array of other tropical fruit notes, it can get kind of lost. On its own, it can be mis-identified as peach, apricot or other stone fruits, as it shares some of the same characteristics. This beer captures the inherent nature of passionfruit in a way that is much more precise and clean and distinctive than you usually find. Its refreshing, but substantialyoud certainly never know that it was 7.5% ABV, thats for certain. Lightly tart and refreshing, it carries through a very subtle ribbon of oakiness into its finish, while primarily being a celebration of the beauty of passionfruit. Needless to say, if I had regular access to this in cans, Id be consuming an irresponsible amount of it. So its probably better that I dont. Standing in line for the Side Project booth, especially once non-media attendees start entering the grounds, might be the time of this festival where youre most likely to hear insufferable, indignant beer geeks in a huff about one thing or another. This year, at 11 a.m., it was angry geeks pissed off that certain breweries strongest and rarest beers werent already pouring for their first tastes of the day. What do you mean, I have to drink regular old DARK LORD? Wheres the Marshmallow Handjee?!? Whaddya mean, Side Project only has beautiful wild ales on? Youre saying I cant pound some Derivation as the first taste of the next six hours of festival drinking?!? Youre saying we should leave some beer for the schmucks with regular tickets?!? Which is to say: Dont be like these bros. These fests shouldnt be about ticking off the rarest collection of shit you can say youve ticked off, they should be about appreciation of the greatest beers. And really, even in a field of exemplary wild ales, does Side Project make anything more perfect than their classic Saison du Ble? Its a beer that once placed #1 in a Paste blind saison tasting for a reason, combining the best aspects of modern American mixed culture wild ales with the flavors of classical Franco-Belgian saison. White grape and sweet-tart Meyer lemon meets with soft, bready wheat flavors and perhaps a tiny hint of vanilla, marrying beautifully with brettanomyces funk and earthy complexity. Its a beer that will be eternally in fashion, and well be happy to keep singing its praises. The rest of yall can keep bitching about access to prestige stouts. The festivals annual collaboration beer between Firestone Walker and one other brewerythis year its Cigar Cityhas never been a let-down in the past, but 2019s offering was particularly unique. And when I say unique, I mean it in the sense of I dont think Ive ever had a beer quite like this before. Los Lenadores starts with a base of imperial brown aleits a different beer from Firestone Walker Bravo, I askedwhich is aged in high-rye bourbon barrels from Four Roses. Were off to a good start here already, but where things get really interesting is the additional aging this beer does on rare African and Brazilian hardwood varieties, in the form of spiralsthe varietals are known as African Padauk and Brazilian Amburana. These spirals take what Im sure would have been an excellent barrel-aged imperial brown ale and transform it into something totally different. Infused with exotic wood spirals. The end result, on first sniff, is incredibly reminiscent of an oatmeal raisin cookie. It is absolutely redolent of a variety of warm, aromatic spices: Cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, ginger. And then you realize that there were no dry spices involved in this beers creation. Somehow, it has derived all of those spice notes from the wood, in a manner that is entirely unlike any kind of wood-aged beer Ive tasted before. I can only assume that after tasting this, other breweries will be scrambling over each other to investigate the properties of these rare (and surely expensive) hardwoods, but man, its a worthy field of experimentation to be sure. And hell, I havent even mentioned the wonderful malt complexity of this beer, or the expertly (and almost disturbingly) well hidden booze, for a 11.6% ABV product. Los Lenadores is a marvel. Firestone honorable mention: Of all the other stuff pouring at the Barrelworks booth (it was a lot), I was also taken with Violet Underground, a novel beer making use of golden raspberries to deliver intense raspberry fruitiness without the expected pinkish hue. Also: This beer is made with candied violet petals, which might be the most fanciful ingredient of the festival. Nectarines dont seem to get quite get as much play in beer as other stone fruit varieties like peaches and apricot, despite their similarity, and I wonder if this is because their character is a bit more delicate and difficult to capture in a way that is both authentic and crowd-pleasing. Regardless of the reason, Ive had a good number of nectarine beers over the years, but it seems like they rarely impress in quite the same way as their peach or apricot cousins. It was nice, then, to see Casey come through with a beer that really made nectarine a star in the same way that other wild ales have captured the vibrancy of peach or apricot. This is a big, assertive onepuckering tartness that is more bracing than a similar beer such as Creature Comforts Pearson from earlier on this list, with more of a lactic presence. Thats not a downside; it simply plays to a slightly different crowd that is seeking a more assertive form of tartness. Certainly, the sourness is well matched by a slightly decadent, fruity sweetness, and an unexpectedly creamy texture. This is a bombastic, fruity sour overall, and one that is very much in the mold of what is being sought after by a lot of drinkers right now. Once again, its time to give credit where credit is due, when it comes to properly executed NE-IPAs. To put it simply, theres a reason why some breweries like Other Half rise to the top of the heap, even when so many others are trying to replicate the same style. Put this beer into a blind tasting, and it will rise above the rest of the group, because it actually achieves what most of the examples of this style are trying to do. Broccoli Reserve is massively juicy, with huge, engrossing flavors of peach, pineapple and sticky resin. Its a good reminder that you can in fact make a NE-IPA that has a ton of green and resin flavors without it also losing track of the juiciness, or manifesting the hop burn mouthfeel that now plagues the style. This beer is juicy, moderately sweet, low in bitterness and more drinkable than 90 percent of the imitators. It is, in short, what NE-IPA is supposed to be. Accept no substitutes. If we could somehow hold NE-IPA to this standard, wed be better off for it. Its always fun at a festival when you hear a beer description and actually have to stop for a second to think Have I ever had anything like this before? A huckleberry sour? Uh Im not sure? And so obviously, Ill be tasting this. The results are much more complex and nuanced than I was initially expecting. It tastes like a melange of every dark berry/black fruit variety you can think of, although the one note in particular I keep returning to is that of pomegranate, followed by fresh wildflowers, and backed by moderate to high tartness. And yet, the light color tricks the brain into repeatedly thinking this cant have just tasted the way it tasted, right? Its an alluring contradiction. Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident beer guru. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing. In November of 2017, Apples policy chief, Cynthia Hogan, wrote a letter to Senators Patrick Leahy and Ted Cruz asserting that Apple is convinced that Apple can best promote fundamental rights, including the right of free expression, by being engaged even where we may disagree with a particular countrys law. This was in response to a years worth of reports about how Apple was bowing to the authoritarian states authoritarianism, amid growing criticisms of the companys deafening silence as the revelations continued to pour in. A new report from Wired makes it clear that these problems did not remain in 2017, and Apples letter to the Senate did not tell the whole story. Per Wired: Apple and Microsoft censor information in China as a condition of accessing the countrys lucrative but circumscribed population of more than 800 million netizens. For Microsoft, that means keeping content the government deems sensitive out of Bing search results and off of its business networking site LinkedIn. Apple polices its app store differently in China than in other parts of the world, at the governments direction. The company has said that it removes VPN apps that could be used to bypass Chinas so-called Great Firewall, which blocks access to many overseas sites. A tool launched in February by Greatfire.org, which monitors Chinese censorship, indicates that anonymity tools and apps about Tibet and Falun Gong that are available in versions of the app store around the world do not appear in Chinas. Now, this is anything but a simple case, because even a multinational corporation as powerful as Apple can only have so much sway over a sprawling government like Chinas. Apples claim that they can promote fundamental rights while still disagree[ing] with a particular countrys law sounds nice in theory, but when we change it from particular country to China, the harsh reality becomes much more difficult to deal with. China is an increasingly bellicose authoritarian state which has built the most comprehensive surveillance network imposed on a citizenry in mankinds history, and they are currently housing over one million Muslims in concentration camps. If China was not a central cog in the global economy, and was a much less powerful state like Rodrigo Dutertes Philippines, they would be considered more of a global pariah than a key player in global relations. This is a problem for states to solve, not companies. But companies like Apple still have an immense amount of power in this ordeal. China makes $8.46 billion off the iPhone, and Apple is a major customer of their endless line of electronics gulags. If Apple truly did want to try to change government policy so as to allow apps about Tibet and Falun Gong in to their app storelike they are in app stores around the worldthey have leverage against the Chinese government. Granted, moving production of Apples core businesses from China to another country would be unbelievably expensive, but Apple is sitting on $225 billion in cash that has been growing for some time, and if they are serious about trying to force political change upon authoritarian China so as to make their Chinese market more like the rest of their markets around the world, they have the cash on hand to finance a political line in the sand. Expecting companies to stand up on principle is naive and unrealistic. Thats not what capitalism is aboutthe market is simply a vessel from which to extract revenue. Apple profits immensely off of China and vice versa, and so long as profits are the primary motivation here, nothing will change. The Chinese government will not let U.S. companies like Apple or Microsoft run their business the way they want to, and the fact that these companies are kowtowing to Chinese censorship tells you all you need to know about where all the power (and willpower) lies in this dynamic. China knows that by threatening Apple and Microsofts bottom lines with a ban like Facebook received, they can keep tech companies in line with their authoritarian policies. At the end of the day, if profits are threatened, capitalism has taught us that the market will not hesitate to sacrifice moral codes in order to preserve this golden calf. Again, making China less authoritarian is not Apple and Microsofts jobbut if the international community ever does want to get serious about trying to make China into a state that doesnt have millions in concentration camps and 1.3 billion under oppressive surveillancethese companies are going to be a central part of the fight, given how close a relationship they have with the Chinese government. Diplomacy is an incredibly nuanced (and oftentimes superfluously stupid) dance between multiple countries that takes years of planning, conspiring and investment. China is accelerating in this dramatically authoritarian direction because no one has demonstrated any will to stop their worst instincts this century, and perhaps in a more boldly democratic world, the Chinese surveillance state would be blunted by international efforts to free the Chinese people from the Great Firewall. Given how incredibly dependent Chinese manufacturing is on the U.S. consumer market, we have a lot of power if we ever wanted to try to squeeze some democratic progress out of them. But alas, we have Donald Trump as president, so any moral authority the American state has on this topic is far, far less than what Apple and Microsoft have. Like the U.S. and the rest of the world, China is hurtling towards a more authoritarian future, and all our companies know how to do in this situation is make money off of our rapidly deteriorating dystopia. Jacob Weindling is a staff writer for Paste politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling. Last Thursday CNBC reported that "Tech giants, civil society groups and Ivy League security experts have condemned a proposal from Britains eavesdropping agency as a serious threat to digital security and fundamental human rights. In an open letter to GCHQ (Government Communications Headquarters), 47 signatories including Apple, Google and WhatsApp have jointly urged the U.K. cybersecurity agency to abandon its plans for a so-called ghost protocol. It comes after intelligence officials at GCHQ proposed a way in which they believed law enforcement could access end-to-end encrypted communications without undermining the privacy, security or confidence of other users. Details of the initiative were first published in an essay by two of the U.K.s highest cybersecurity officials in November 2018. Ian Levy, the technical director of Britains National Cyber Security Centre, and Crispin Robinson, GCHQs head of cryptanalysis (the technical term for codebreaking), put forward a process that would attempt to avoid breaking encryption." If you're open minded, you could read two reports published by the Lawfare Institute. Lawfare has a blog dedicated to national security issues in cooperation with the Brookings Institution, an American think tank in Washington, D.C. Its stated mission is to provide innovative and practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans." You could read that essay by Ian Levy and Crispin Robinson titled "Principles for a More Informed Exceptional Access Debate," here. Another essay published on the same day is titled "Perspectives on Encription and Surveillance" by Daniel J. Weitner that you could read here. At one point in Levy and Robinson essay they write: "Were not talking about weakening encryption or defeating the end-to-end nature of the service. In a solution like this, were normally talking about suppressing a notification on a targets device, and only on the device of the target and possibly those they communicate with. Thats a very different proposition to discuss and you dont even have to touch the encryption." It's a reasonable argument and yet if privacy has become a selling point of a company, there can be no debate. And that's where we are today. Below is the full open letter to GCHQ to which Apple is party to. Coalition Letter to GCHQ_on Ghost Proposal May, 22, 2019 by Jack Purcher on Scribd On May 9th Patently Apple posted a report titled "With Apple leading the way, Google & Microsoft attempt to Redefine their Companies as True Advocates of Privacy." Some of the work that Apple is doing is admirable and appreciated by all. Where some disagree is in Apple and other tech companies not willing to work with law enforcement on a number of fronts in order to stop criminals, terrorists, human traffickers, pedophiles, drug dealers, MS 13 gang members and the like. Some say that privacy is a human right. Perhaps, if you believe that those who kidnap children and then sell them into slavery are human. If you had a child abducted and learned that they're now in Asia somewhere working in prostitution, would you still want these animals to be protected by Apple and Facebook's WhatsApp? I highly doubt it. And yet one report claims that 3,287 people are sold or kidnapped into slavery every day. A 2012 report noted that the U.S. State Department claimed the count is roughly 600,000 to 800,0000 people that are trafficked across borders every year. Apple and the silicon valley coalition behind the open letter to the GCHQ have a number of great points but they also dumb down the issue. A one point towards the end of their argument they state that "Any proposal that undermines user trust penalizes the overwhelming majority of technology users while permitting those few bad actors to shift to readily available products beyond the laws reach." Dumbing it down to make people believe that it's only a few "bad actors" is a mindless argument. It's not just a few bad actors, it's about the amount of damage these so-called actors/criminals inflict. The Human trafficking numbers represent only one of many categories of crimes that law enforcement is attempting to stop. What the GCHQ is proposing is akin to wiretapping that has been around for decades. Law enforcement didn't use that tool against everyday citizens but rather major crime entities and spies. Apple is doing some great work in exposing how ad companies are tracking us to the extent that they do and so forth is admirable and appreciated. Securing Apple Pay is another winner. Yet sowing the level of fear as they do against law enforcement as evil doers is unfortunate. It's turned the privacy issue into the modern day golden calf. In the end, there's no doubt that the privacy issue is a divisive one and one that will continue to be with us for many years to come until Congress does its job and passes new laws. That's not going to happen under its current leadership. Both sides of the issue happen to have strong arguments. With that being said, expect Apple to double down on all things privacy during tomorrow's WWDC keynote. 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: Jitan Ram Manjhi, the former Chief Minister of Bihar and leader of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) on Thursday led a march to the Raj Bhawan to protest the NDA rule at the Center as well as in Bihar accusing them of allowing prices of essential items to skyrocket since the Narendra Modi government came into power four years ago. Manjhi, who has been struggling to find his foot in the state politics after walking out of the NDA earlier this year only to join hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), accompanied by other party leaders like Brishan Patel, Mahachandra Singh, and Danish Rizwan, led the 'Akrosh Rally', from Ram Ghoolam Chowk near Gandhi Maidan. Despite attempt to stop the procession from moving forward at the Dak Bungalow Crossing and then again at the Income Tax Roundabout, the rally managed to reach the Governor's mansion where Manjhi handed a letter of his complaints to the Governor's Secretary Vivek Kumar Singh. Talking to the reporters, Manjhi said that the entire nation was reeling over high prices of petrol and diesel that should have one price throughout the country and should be brought under the GST rules to stop dealers from price gouging. "We are trying to save the people of India while the NDA leaders are busy trying to figure out a seat-sharing formula ahead of the next year's Parliamentary elections. If Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is even slightly concerned about the people of Bihar, he should join me in our protest against the Modi government at the Center. Amit Shah, instead of finding solutions for our struggling farmers, is only worried about strengthening the NDA," the former Chief Minister said. Referring to today's NDA meet at Gyan Bhawan in Patna where members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal U, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) gathered to show unity within the alliance despite rumors of cracks, the HAM leader said that while the people of Bihar are starving in the need of two square meals, the NDA leaders were having a feast at the tax-payers' cost to strategize on how to retain power in the state. Patna: Following the beating of a shop-owner in Bhikhna Pahari under Kadam Kuan police station on Thursday night, residents in the area blocked the road on Friday morning and pelted stones at the notorious Patel Chhatrawas leading to a violent clash between the students and the local residents. As reported, some students living in the Patel Chhatrawas beat up the owner of a 'lassi' shop who was identified as Bittu. The miscreants also hit Bittu on his head with glasses and bottles causing injury to him. When a relative of Bittu tried to intervene, he was also roughed up by the lodge residents. Accusing the students of terrorizing small business-owners, the protestors on Friday morning demanded arrests of those who beat up Bittu the night before. As the crowd gathered outside the lodge, someone lobbed a crude bomb causing a panic in the area. Though no one was injured in the incident, a police vehicle was hit by a flying shrapnel making a small dent. To keep the incident from further escalating, authorities summoned anti-riot gears including the Vajra vehicle as shops downed their shutters to avoid being the target of arsonists or vandals. After much efforts, the situation was finally brought under control. Authorities carried out raids in the student lodge but guilty students had already vacated their rooms and had gone underground. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said police was gathering surveillance footages from the area to identify the miscreants. No one knows exactly what happened in an 11th-floor room at Harrahs Resort Atlantic City, but one Pa. man is dead and his brother is charged with murder. The crime was uncovered last week when there was a call for a medical emergency Tuesday afternoon in the room occupied by two Philadelphia area brothers. Responders found the body of 32-year-old Joseph Villante, who had suffered numerous injuries, including blunt force trauma to the head, the Associated Press reports. But his older brother, 38-year-old John Villante, returned to Philadelphia. On Thursday, however, the alleged crime caught up to him, as New Jersey authorities filed murder charges in the case. Villante was taken into custody in Philly, where he is being held pending transfer back to New Jersey, the AP reports. There was no immediate word on any motive in the case, nor what may have led up to the brutal and deadly beating among two brothers. Its an annual summer tradition at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. On National Flip Flop Day, the national chain will give away free 16-ounce Sunshine smoothies to all customers who wear flip flops. This years promotion will take place 2-7 p.m. June 14. Tropical Smoothie created Flip Flop Day in 2007 to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Proceeds from the promotion benefit Camp Sunshine, which is based in Casco, Maine and provides support to families with children facing a life-threatening illness. The camp has offered help to more than 50,000 individuals from all 50 states and 27 countries, according to its website. Tropical Smoothie serves dozens of smoothies as well as food including flatbreads, wraps, bowls and sandwiches. Sunshine smoothies are made with mango, banana, orange, pineapple and orange juice. Locally, find the restaurants at 4635 High Pointe Blvd. in Swatara Township, Strawberry Square in Harrisburg, 169 W. Chocolate Ave. in Hershey and 3601 Market St. in Hampden Township. Competitive eater George Chiger came to Dutch Wonderland hoping for a second chance to compete on the Coney Island stage. And he got it. Chiger, of Poconos Pines, consumed 31.5 hot dogs in 10 minutes to win one of eight qualifying contests being held around the country for the Nathans hot dog eating competition on July 4 in Coney Island, New York. Chiger, a ski lift mechanic who is ranked no. 18 in the world in competitive eating, ate 31.5 hot dogs. No women competed in this qualifier. The Budweiser Clydesdales are returning to central Pennsylvania this summer. The team of famous horses, the symbol of Anheuser-Busch since 1933, will be visiting Brewery Products at 1017 N. Sherman St. in York from June 11-16 with several appearances including parades. The schedule is: June 11: Public Viewing from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Brewery Products. June 12 : Public Viewing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Brewery Products. Food Trucks Have Lunch with the Clydesdales, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Open House Tours from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Parade through York City & PeoplesBank Park. June 13: Public Viewing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Brewery Products. Food Trucks "Have Lunch with the Clydesdales, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Open House Tours from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. June 14: Public Viewing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at Brewery Products. Food Trucks "Have Lunch with the Clydesdales, 10 .m. -3 p.m. Open House Tours 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Clydesdale Flag Day Parade in Dallastown. Same route as Halloween Parade. More information to follow. June 15: Public Viewing Hours 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Single (1) horse appearance at Public Viewing Hours 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Single (1) horse appearance at BAPS Motor Speedway from 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. during the pre-party of Fathers Day Monster Truck Mania June 16: Public Viewing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Single (1) horse appearance at Public Viewing from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Single (1) horse appearance at Battlefield Harley-Davidson in Gettysburg from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. All food during the lunches will be available for purchase from several food trucks including Brickers French Fries, Mad Dash Grilled Cheese, Smoothie King & Georges Famous BBQ. In 2017 the horses appeared in Annville, Lebanon County. Canadians of Scottish descent brought the Clydesdales to America in the mid-1800's. Today, the giant draft horses are used primarily for breeding and show. According to Anheuser-Busch, horses chosen for the Budweiser Clydesdale hitch must be at least 3 years old, stand approximately 18 hands or 6 feet at the shoulder, weigh an average of 2,000 pounds, must be bay in color, have four white legs, and a blaze of white on the face and black mane and tail. A gentle temperament also is important because the horses hitch meet millions of people each year. A single horse will eat as much as 20-25 quarts of feed, 40-50 pounds of hay and 30 gallons of water per day, according to Anheuser-Busch. Each hitch travels with a Dalmatian. In the early days of brewing, Dalmatians were bred and trained to protect the horses and guard the wagon when the driver went inside to make deliveries. Police have declared the impalement of a 13-year-old boy this weekend an accident, according to a press release. Tre J. Hartman, 13, of Winter Haven, Florida, was visiting relatives in the 1000 block of East Philadelphia Street, York, over the weekend, the coroner said in an earlier release. At 1:32 a.m. Saturday, police said they were called to the home and found the teen with a puncture wound to his neck. Hartman was transported to York Hospital for treatment, but succumbed to his injuries, police said. Following the autopsy, police consulted with the York County District Attorneys Office, and determined that there was nothing to indicate anything criminal in nature in the case, police said. Our investigation determined that this incident was an accidental self impalement, police said. A Bethlehem resident spotted a bear swimming in a backyard pool as the animal likely was looking to escape the heat, city police said. The Bethlehem Police Department shared photos on Facebook of the trespassing bear as it swam in the large, in-ground pool. Police Chief Mark DiLuzi said city officers were called early Sunday to the area of Cloverleaf Street and Melrose Avenue for reports of the bear rummaging through yards and climbing over fences. Officers located the black bear in a yard, the chief said. The high temperature in Bethlehem Sunday was 80 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. There were no reported injuries to the animal or any humans. The skinny dipping bare, .... I mean bear, was corralled by Bethlehem officers and Pennsylvania Game commission officers, the chief, poking fun, stated in the Facebook post. The bear eventually was tranquilized and relocated to a north central portion of the state. DiLuzio jokingly posted the area is where pools are called swamps and there are hundreds of acres of woodland for the bear to roam. "Thank goodness this was a black bear, not a Panda. If it was a Panda, there would have been panda-monium, " DiLuzio added. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. As demand for donated breast milk grows across the state, Pennsylvania lawmakers are considering imposing new regulations and inspection requirements on milk banks. A bill passed in the state House of Representatives on Monday by a 191-1 vote would require the state Department of Health to license milk banks and would mandate that milk banks must medically screen donors, pasteurize donor milk and conduct post-processing tests for bacterial cultures. The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Donna Oberlander, R-Clarion County, would also create licensing fees and prohibit the sale of human milk by unlicensed milk banks. Oberlander said the bill is about ensuring the safety of newborns. House Bill 1001 seeks to ensure that medically fragile newborns receive the best quality human milk, so that they can not only survive, but thrive, she said. Banked donor milk is evolving in Pennsylvania, and nearly 95 percent of level three and level four NICUs thats the neonatal intensive care units are using it for their at-risk infants. Human milks banks are used to feed babies when a mother cannot supply her own breast milk, or when a newborn is hospitalized because of low birth weight and a mother cannot constantly be in the hospital to feed her child. Nearly 14,000 babies are born prematurely in Pennsylvania each year, according to the March of Dimes. However, some raised concerns about the bill. Rep. William Kortz, D-Allegheny County, who cast the lone dissenting vote, said although the legislation is well-intentioned, he still worries there are safety concerns that are not being addressed. One of the concerns is the test for opiates, he said. Im getting confusing signals as to whether there will be a test or will not be a test. Sadly to say, in todays society we have an epidemic of opioids. Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, said she supports the bill, but has concerns that the regulations could make it more difficult for women to donate milk and be financially compensated for it. As we talk about a growing industry that can help many of our families here in PA, I caution that we are careful to make sure we are considering all of the issues and factors that are before us, she said. The focus on breast milk in the past has focused on things like health risk and such, but has not looked at exploitation or the economic inequities that are involved. The 75th anniversary of D-Day is Thursday. Here are three area events commemorating it. The 75th VE (Victory in Europe) Day Commission will assemble in Gettysburgs Lincoln Square at 5 p.m. Thursday for a program to commemorate D-Day. The event will include military music beginning at 4:30 and then the program, which will include a presentation of the colors, an invocation, and an address by Carol Hegeman, executive director of the Eisenhower Society. After other remarks, it will end with Taps. The National Park Service is holding special ranger programs and talks throughout the week of June 18 at the Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg, focusing on Gen. Eisenhower and other aspects of the D-Day invasion. Among the programs will be the one on Thursday, when Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel will present a special walking tour of the Soldiers National Cemetery. His tour will focus on the service members buried in the cemetery who lost their lives during D-Day and the Normandy campaign. Meet at the Taneytown Road entrance to the cemetery. The week-long commemoration will end with another special program starting at 5:30 p.m. June 8, when park rangers and military veterans will explore the stories of some of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country during World War II. Meet at the Taneytown Road entrance to the cemetery. You can find more at www.nps.gov and at this link to a story published by PennLives Sean Adams, which posted June 1. Joe Drake, 95, of Hawley, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday at the meeting of the Central PA WWII Roundtable. Hawley native Joe Drake served as sergeant with Company A, 2nd Ranger Battalion. One of his outfits most famous exploits was climbing the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on June 6, 1944. Drake, however, arrived a few weeks after the initial Normandy landings and helped to clear out remaining pockets of German soldiers in the vicinity. In Monessen, a small city in Westmoreland County, officials meet monthly to conduct city business. They take votes, pay bills and ensure the city continues to operate unimpeded. One seat in the room, however, is perpetually empty. Mayor Matt Shorraw has not attended a meeting in more than a year. Rep. Justin Walsh, R-Westmoreland County, introduced a bill that aims solve that problem for both Monessen and other cities, townships and boroughs across the state. The legislation would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to allow municipal elected officials to be removed if they fail to attend more than 50 percent of scheduled meetings each year. Currently, it is difficult to oust local officials in Pennsylvania, which does not allow recall elections referendum votes that allow voters to remove an official from office before the end of their term. According to Rep. Robert Freeman, D-Northampton County and minority chair of the House Local Government Committee, some municipalities previously had charters imposing penalties on local officials who failed to meet their responsibilities. However, in 1995, the state Supreme Court ruled that such charters and codes were unconstitutional. The only means of removing an official from office is through the process described in the state constitution. Since the changes were made to the various codes, the only way to remove a municipal official is through the impeachment process, which is typically reserved for crimes, Freeman said. The new bill aims to provide another way. If an official failed to reach the attendance quota, the other members of the governing body could pass a resolution ordering the municipal solicitor to file an action in the court of common pleas to remove the absent official. Although Monessens situation was Walshs initial impetus for putting forth the bill, he said it is not the only case of local officials neglecting their duties. Across the state there have been many cases of elected officials refusing to attend regularly scheduled public meetings and perform the duties that they were elected to carry out, Walsh wrote in the bills memorandum. This legislation will provide a much needed tool to municipal governments to deal with elected officials that refuse to do the job that they were elected to perform. And when officials fail to meet their responsibilities, their constituents suffer. Councils and boards cannot pass measures and agreements without a quorum present. Walsh said this inhibits local government from operating efficiently. When elected officials decide they arent going to go to meetings, it puts more delegational responsibilities on the other officials, Walsh said. The bill, which has gained support from several Republican lawmakers across the state, will be moved out of committee in June, according to Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams County, who chairs the House Local Government Committee. Moul said he supports the bill, especially after hearing from other representatives with similar problems in their own districts. Its probably something that should be addressed, he said. You have people who get elected and then they realize its not for them or they get their agenda through and just collect checks." Because the bill aims to amend the state Constitution, legislation would need to pass two consecutive sessions in the General Assembly without getting amended. After that, it would go to voters in a statewide referendum to be ratified. The last amendment to the state constitution was in 2017, when voters approved allowing the Legislature to pass a law that exempts residents from paying property taxes on their homes. Jack Murray, president of the New Cumberland Borough Council, said its impossible for elected officials to be informed if they are not attending meetings. People run for public office and say they want to give back to their community, he said. What they dont always understand is that giving back requires a lot of work. While Amy Sturges, director of governmental affairs for the Pennsylvania Municipal League, also thinks something should be in place for situations where municipal elected officials are not performing their duties, she has some concerns about the legislation. Sturges said the bill might make it easier for political rivalries to play a role in removing officials. Its still keeping the function of bringing the claim for removal in the local government, she said. There needs to be a way to remove it from the local political structure and set a standard to determine whether someone has a legitimate absence. Murray, who has been on the council for 44 years, has rarely seen members skip meetings without a good reason. Still, he said having an established process to remove officials if they do not meet their responsibilities is important. To me, its a responsibility and a job, he said. I consider it something I have to take seriously because Im spending other peoples money. Judge William T. Tully set a court date Friday to consider a request to appoint a receiver to take over the Harrisburg School District. Tully set the hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday in courtroom eight at the Dauphin County Courthouse in response to a petition filed Monday by the state education secretary. Education Secretary Pedro Rivera petitioned the court to appoint a receiver, citing the failure of district leaders to achieve the districts mandated academic and financial goals. Instead, Rivera wrote in his petition, district officials have taken actions that are at odds with the recovery plan. Under Pennsylvania law, the judge had seven days to set the hearing upon receiving the states petition Monday. After the hearing Friday, Tully must make a decision to grant or deny the petition for receivership by June 17, which is the date of the next scheduled school board meeting. The court shall grant the receivership unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the petition for the appointment of a receiver is arbitrary, capricious or wholly irrelevant to restoring the school district to financial stability, according to Pennsylvania Statutes, Title 24. If Tully grants receivership, he would: Declare the school district to be in receivership for a period of three years, subject to extension State the criteria upon which the order is granted. State findings of fact to support the order. Appoint the individual named in the petition to be the receiver, but the court may reject the appointment for any reason. If the court rejects the recommended appointment, the court may name a receiver or order the secretary to submit an alternative appointment. Direct the receiver to implement the financial recovery plan attached to the petition. Rivera already has recommended that the districts current Chief Recovery Officer Janet Samuels be appointed as receiver and Samuels has agreed to take the job, if appointed. The receiver would take over day-to-day operations of the school district from Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney, but the school board would remain in place for its taxing authority. School board members recently voted to increase property taxes to try to help balance next years budget. Riveras petition pointed out a series of academic failures, where the district has not met goals, including lifting third graders math scores to 62 percent scoring as proficient. Instead, just 16.5 percent of third graders were proficient in math, according to the latest statewide tests. At the high school, the district was supposed to raise proficiency rates for algebra, literature and biology to 41.2 percent, 48.1 percent and 34.9 percent, respectively. Instead, those scores were 7.1 percent, 9.3 percent and 13.6 percent, respectively. The district has been under state supervision in the recovery program since 2012. The districts recovery plan was last updated in 2016 and is due for another update. If Tully agrees to receivership, Harrisburg would become only the third district in the state to be taken over by a receiver. The York Township man accused of stabbing his wife and her mother Saturday was also involved in a fatal crash that killed a woman and a dog on Interstate 83 May 24. The York Area Regional Police Department charged Nikhil Mukund Dev, 43, with attempted homicide in the stabbing that occurred around 9:38 p.m. June 1 on Woodspring Lane in York Township. Police say he is the same man who was involved in the fatal York County crash. In the stabbing case, police say Dev had been watching a movie on television with his wife when he, for reasons investigators do not know, went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and started stabbing her. When his mother-in-law tried to intervene, he stabbed her, as well, police say. Officers found both women outside of the home, bleeding from stab wounds. They were rushed to the hospital, and Dev was charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and simple assault. In the crash, which occurred in the southbound lane at mile marker 4.2 in Shrewsbury Township, state police say Dev lost control of a Toyota Rav4 and struck a GMC Sierra, driven by 40-year-old Alesander Alicea, of Colonial Beach, Va. This caused Alicea to lose control and hit an embankment, rolling the vehicle and ejecting passenger Namitha Alicea and a dog, both of whom were killed, police say. Alesander Alicea, as well as Dev and his passenger, 38-year-old Madhura Dev, were injured and transported to the hospital. The crash is under investigation. Key state policymakers hailed the decision by the state Department of Education on Monday to ask for the court to appoint a receiver to take over running the troubled Harrisburg School District. They remain convinced this is the best course of action for the districts future and the children it serves. The school district has been in financial recovery status since December 2012. It has been working with state-appointed chief recovery officer Janet Samuels, who the education department is asking the court to consider appointing as the receiver. In that position, she would assume all the responsibilities of the school board and recovery officer with the exception of setting tax rates. The elected school board would retain that power. The timing of request for a state takeover appears to relate to a desire to have a receiver in charge before the now-lame duck school board members, who were voted out in last weeks primary election, hold their next scheduled meeting on June 17. In its petition, the department requested receivership because the district has failed to show meaningful progress toward student achievement targets, hire a qualified business manager, reduce staff absenteeism and exercise proper controls over fiscal matters. Given that and other troubles the district that serves 6,500 students has encountered, Republican and Democratic lawmakers as well as state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale stand behind the education departments decision to let the state takeover. Sen. John DiSanto, R-Dauphin County, called it a necessary step. Over the last few years there has been a steady stream of troublesome developments in the district, including personnel and fiscal management, lack of academic achievement, and failure to comply with Department of Education directives. Its clear to me that they need additional assistance and leadership to improve the financial condition and academic performance of the district, he said. Today is the first step in allowing the state to provide this support," DiSanto added. "This action and the school board election this year give me renewed hope that the district will improve over time. Not only is this important for current students and their families, but it will enhance the prospects of Harrisburg to attract the residents and economic development necessary to further strengthen the citys fiscal health. Rep. Patty Kim, D-Dauphin County, pledged to work hard with the newly elected school board members and community to allow it to have a say in the school districts operation in a receivership. She also endorsed the recommendation for Samuels to be appointed receiver. officer. Dr. Janet Samuels has already established ties within the local school district, ensuring that no one has to wait for another look at how important the recovery plan is and allowing us to move forward quickly, with minimal classroom interruptions, Kim said. Changes were needed in the Harrisburg School District, and I know that by working hard together, we can take the Harrisburg School District to a unified and stronger future for our children and generations to come. Likewise, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said its unfortunate that this step is necessary for the district but its become very clear that dysfunction within the Harrisburg school district must end because the districts students and taxpayers deserve better. DePasquale said he continues to review additional options involving the district, which is currently being audited by the education department. "I believe that some level of independent oversight is critical to the districts financial recovery and Ill be exploring additional steps in the near future, he added. The court has seven days to hold a hearing and then 10 days to grant or deny receivership. If the court approves the petition, the judge at that time will either accept the departments recommendation for a receiver, name another individual, or direct the department to submit an alternative appointment. A receivership is granted for a three-year period, but the secretary of education can petition the court for additional three-year extensions. For Gov. Tom Wolf, spokesman J.J. Abbott said the top priority is ensuring students in Harrisburg get a high-quality education. He said the departments petition to the court was not taken lightly. However, he said, despite being in recovery status since 2012, the district has been unable to address substantial financial and administrative problems. The students, parents and teachers of Harrisburg deserve a better educational experience. (This story has been updated to include the comment from Wolf spokesman J.J. Abbott.) Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy. Everything you need to know to start your day. Sign up for Good Morning, Pennsylvania. Several current and future Harrisburg school board members say they are furious that the state is moving to take control of their district. They just emerged from a hard-fought primary, convincing voters to oust four incumbents and choose five new faces to run likely unopposed for the open seats in November. But now, the board members and candidates are being told they may not even get a chance to fix their districts woes. The department of education filed papers Monday with Dauphin County Court, asking the court to appoint a state receiver. A receiver would take day-to-day control away from the board. I was hoping the state would give the newly elected board the opportunity to right this ship that has been sinking, board member Carrie Fowler told PennLive. Board members arent the only ones who will be stripped of their power, one candidate said. The voices of the citizens who voted in a new school board will now be silenced, Jayne Buchwach said. Dauphin County Court has scheduled a hearing on the request for Friday. It has 10 days to grant or deny receivership. That means board members could lose their power before their regularly scheduled June 17 meeting. If a judge grants receivership, the Harrisburg school board would only retain its taxing power, but lose control over operational decision making. Receivership will last a minimum of three years, so board members elected to four-year terms may only have one year to lead. And that assumes Harrisburg exits receivership, which could be renewed for another three years. "Losing local control of our public school system is silencing the community that clearly stated loud and clear on May 21 they wanted change, Fowler said. We flipped the board and elected highly qualified and educated board members. Probably one of the most diverse boards ever to be elected in Harrisburg with lots of talent and unique skill sets. Board President Danielle Robinson, whose views dont often align with Fowlers, said the district isnt going to back down. "The district will not go into receivership without a fight, Robinson said. Under Pennsylvania law, the judge must appoint a receiver unless the court finds clear and convincing evidence that the petition for the appointment of a receiver is arbitrary, capricious or wholly irrelevant to restoring the school district to financial responsibility," according to the court petition. Gerald Welch, one of five Democrats who won a spot on the November ballot, said hes livid Harrisburgs leaders believe receivership is the answer. The state asking for local authority to make decisions over elected school board members "is not a good thing, he said. But the current board has been blatantly goading the state department of education to take receivership, so it shouldnt be a surprise, Buchwach said. Steven Williams, another Democratic candidate, said receivership isnt ideal" but at least its temporary. The new board will have an opportunity to work with the state to make positive changes, Williams said. "I know none of us wants to be another board that simply tries to fight the state. The state Department of Education on Monday filed a request with the Court to appoint a receiver to take over the troubled Harrisburg School District. The state filed the petition in the Court of Common Pleas and recommended the districts current Chief Recovery Officer Janet Samuels be appointed as receiver. The judge, however, will have the final word on who is appointed. The drastic action wasnt a complete surprise as Harrisburgs mayor and lawmakers previously had publicly called for a state takeover of the district. But it had been unclear whether Gov. Tom Wolfs administration wanted to take over the district, as prior state takeovers havent ended successfully. The move comes one week after the school district abruptly terminated the contract of the districts interim human resources director, who had been working for months to straighten out the office, which had been plagued in disarray. The state action also comes on the same week that state auditors were expecting to deliver a potentially scathing preliminary audit report. District officials and a majority of school board members originally refused to cooperate with the state auditors. From the time the petition is filed, the court has seven days to hold a hearing and 10 days to grant or deny receivership. If the court approves the petition, the judge at that time will either accept the departments recommendation for a receiver, name another person, or direct the department to submit an alternative appointment. The timing of the process could result in a receiver in place before the next scheduled school board meeting on June 17, which would prevent school board members from taking any further action. The receivership petition comes just more than a week after a local primary election where all of the incumbent school board members were voted out. That means a change in the majority of the school board was imminent after the fall election, but the current lame duck school board would remain in control until December, barring receivership. The petition filed by Education Secretary Pedro Rivera said he is seeking appointment of a receiver because of the districts failure or refusal to implement the recovery plan. Specifically, he said the district had failed to: Meet or even make meaningful progress toward established targets for student achievement Hire and retain a chief financial officer and qualified business manager Develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the excessive staff absenteeism Exercise appropriate administrative controls by maintaining an accurate staff position file, resulting in, among other things, the district improperly providing health care benefits to former employees at at cost of more than $700,000. The petition notes that under Pennsylvania law, the judge must appoint a receiver unless the court finds clear and convincing evidence that the petition for the appointment of a receiver is arbitrary, capricious or wholly irrelevant to restoring the school district to financial responsibility. The school district has been under a less restrictive form of state supervision since 2012 with a state-assigned chief recovery officer. School board members recently have not been listening to the chief recovery officer, creating additional conflict. The way receivership works in Pennsylvania, the receiver would essentially be a CEO, grabbing most of the controls currently held by Superintendent Sybil Knight-Burney and the elected school board for a term of at least three years. Employees and elected and appointed officials of the school district have a duty to comply with the receiver, and the authority of these individuals to exercise power on behalf of the school district is largely suspended. Harrisburgs mayor and lawmakers had publicly called for a state takeover of the district in April. Those public calls came after the school board voted against cooperating fully with state auditors who wanted unfettered remote access to the districts electronic finance system. The state audit was prompted by a series of financial scandals in the district including embezzlement and over-hiring teachers. School district receivership has been invoked only two times so far in Pennsylvania under the 2012 law - in Duquesne City in Allegheny County and Chester-Upland in Delaware County (Corbetts administration also petitioned to have York school placed under a receiver who proposed putting that districts operations under the management of a for-profit charter school company in late 2014, but it went back into recovery status before anything happened after a court challenge and a change in stance by incoming Gov. Tom Wolfs administration.) Papenfuse previously said he is hoping Harrisburg can be the state school receivership laws first major success. The second-term mayor, leading a city that he likes to say is in the midst of a renaissance, said his mission in seeking a state takeover is to keep the struggling Harrisburg schools - riven at the top by factionalism and management missteps - from stunting the citys momentum. With a large student population and decent local tax base to build off, Papenfuse said he thinks appointment of a receiver could provide the stronger, professional hand to save it from the administrative and political dysfunction he believes has been holding it back. Saying it is stunning to think that Harrisburg School District is in worse financial condition today than it was when it entered financial recovery in 2012, the president of the districts teachers union called the states decision to take over the district unavoidable. Harrisburgs students deserve a world class education, said President Jody Barksdale in a written statement. As hardworking educators, we come to school every day ready to help our students succeed. Unfortunately, because of a long-standing lack of leadership from the district and school board, there are many problems in our school district that we simply cant solve alone. The state takeover doesnt happen immediately. The state filed papers Monday asking Dauphin County Court to appoint a receiver to take control of the district. The state has seven days to hold a hearing on the request, and 10 days to grant or deny receivership. Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera suggested that Janet Samuels, the districts state-appointed chief recovery officer, be appointed the receiver. She has been with the district since September 2018, and has been working with a committee, district administrators, school board members, and the community on the schools amended recovery plan. Dr. Janet Samuels has been working to address these challenges since she was appointed chief recovery officer last fall," Barksdale said. HEA members look forward to continuing to work with her to make Harrisburg schools the best they can be. Rivera, as well as state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, has increasingly applied pressure on district leaders to work with the state on completing the recovery plan. But a majority of school board members have ignored warnings, and have refused to discuss the districts progress. Rivera said he filed for receivership because of the districts failure or refusal to implement the recovery plan. Mayor Eric Papenfuse, who in April called for the district to be placed into receivership, said he is thankful Gov. Tom Wolf, and Rivera, made the difficult but necessary decision. I believe receivership will allow the Harrisburg School District to address its many systemic problems and provide brighter futures for the next generation of city youth, Papenfuse said. Under Pennsylvania law, the judge must appoint a receiver unless the court finds clear and convincing evidence that the petition for the appointment of a receiver is arbitrary, capricious or wholly irrelevant to restoring the school district to financial responsibility," according to the petition. The districts 500 teachers have been working without a contract for nearly a year. Attorneys representing the union and the districts chief negotiator have been in discussions about a new contract. There is no change to any contract at this time, and negotiations will continue under the districts current recovery plan, said Pennsylvania State Education Association spokeswoman Lauri Lebo. Our top priority always is to prepare our students for a bright future," Barksdale said. We are hopeful that receivership will finally provide us with the leadership our school district needs to ensure every student gets the education they deserve and has a bright future awaiting them after graduation. A fifth migrant child dies while in custody of the U.S. Border Patrol. Like most Americans, I am shocked and saddened by the images of desperate migrants arriving by the thousands at the U.S. Border. In response to the crisis, President Trump announced in March that the U.S. would halt all foreign aid to Central America. This decision is not only inhumane, it is misguided and counterproductive. Many people are fleeing problems that U.S. foreign aid helps to combat: violence, disease, hunger, and poverty. Removing this humanitarian aid will only make the problem of immigrant flight worse. Organizations like International Justice Mission (IJM) have leveraged U.S. aid to support the Guatemalan public justice system in tripling arrests for child rape. When communities are safe, families are more likely to stay there. The administration should make an exemption for humanitarian aid to Central America and Congress should hold them to this. American border security and the lives of some of the most vulnerable children in the world are at stake. We must act now and provide the assistance where it matters the most - in their home countries. Ann Michael, Derry Township, volunteers as a Pa. volunteer team leader with International Justice Mission. Those who say thoughts and prayers are no longer enough are right. We said that in October after the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We all came together to cry, to call for action and to push for the problem of gun violence to be taken seriously. But not much has happened nationally or locally to address what is clearly one of the most urgent matters of our day. So, were calling for our political leaders to step up and address the problem now. The President of these United States should summon a task force of the nations leading experts on gun violence, mental health, safety and security to come up with solutions for what is clearly an American problem? But if the President wont do it, Governor Tom Wolf should take the lead and show the nation how its done. We should organize our own non-partisan task force here in Pennsylvania to bring together top law enforcement, mental health professionals and others to bring together the best minds we can muster to tackle one of the most difficult issues facing our country. Thoughts and prayers are great. Keep sending them up to the good Lord. But they are no longer enough. We need to take some action now to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We all can agree on one basic issue: we have a problem. We may not agree on the cause of the problem whether the easy availability of the most powerful guns on the planet, rampant untreated mental health issues, or a combination of both. But we can agree its time for everyone to stop pretending this all is an aberration in time and will go away soon. The shooting in Virginia Beach is just the latest manifestation of our problem in this country, and more beautiful people will die unless we do something about it. This combination of photos provided by the City of Virginia Beach on Saturday, June 1, 2019 shows victims of Friday's shooting at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Va. Top row from left are Laquita C. Brown, Ryan Keith Cox, Tara Welch Gallagher and Mary Louise Gayle. Middle row from left are Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Joshua O. Hardy, Michelle "Missy" Langer and Richard H. Nettleton. Bottom row from left are Katherine A. Nixon, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Herbert "Bert" Snelling and Robert "Bobby" Williams.AP Another 12 people are dead and four are wounded, the latest casualties of mass shootings in our country that have brought terror to schools, colleges, shopping centers, theaters, newspaper offices, government buildings and even places of worship. It was only a few months ago that a gunman opened fire inside a California bar and grill and claimed another 12 lives. In April, the mayhem could have been much worse when a gunman with a semi-automatic rifle opened fire inside a synagogue in Poway, California. A couple embrace near a growing memorial across the street from the Chabad of Poway synagogue in Poway, Calif., on Monday, April 29, 2019. A 19-year-old gunman opened fire on Saturday as about 100 people were worshipping exactly six months after a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing one and injuring more. (AP Photo/Greg Bull) APAP And we all remember when tragedy struck right here at home in Pittsburgh. It has to stop, said Rabbi Ron Muroff at a PennLive Readers forum shortly after the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. Because lives are on the line. But just a few months later, were saying the same thing again. The Tree of Life synagogue at the intersection of Shady and Wilkins Avenue, in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood. (John Altdorfer/Zuma Press/TNS) TNSTNS Its beginning to look like every few months, well face the same story. Are we becoming numb the unspeakable suffering plaguing our communities? What will it take for us to demand our political leaders -- Democrats and Republicans -- take seriously the problem of gun violence and solve it? Moms Demand Action hold common sense gun law rally at Pennsylvania state capitol in April 2019. "We dont have to live like this, said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, as she sent out condolences last week to yet more people devastated by gun violence. But if we dont have to live like this, why do we? Why do people in the richest nation on earth, with some of the smartest people on earth, tolerate the very real possibility that they, their son, daughter or granddaughter will go to work, to church to just out to dinner and meet an assault rifle? Mourners pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)AP After the murder of 50 people in the Christchurch mosque shooting in New Zealand, the country took swift action. New Zealanders didnt just cry and pray. They did something. Within six days of the shooting, they banned military-styled, semi-automatic firearms and high capacity magazines. And they began a buy-back program to get them off the streets. Meanwhile, here at home, we continue business as usual, as if nothing has happened or ever will happen again. Watts and her colleagues at Moms Demand Action are right. We dont have to live like this. And we dont have to die like this, either. Christmas bird count results in over 3,000 birds, 54 species counted The Petoskey Christmas bird count was conducted on Tuesday, Dec. 14 with counting occurring from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bischofsmutze North Face, new mixed climb established by Vittorio Messini, Matthias Wurzer, Hans Zlobl 03.06.2019 by by Planetmountain Mountaineering in East Tyrol: Austrian alpinists Vittorio Messini, Matthias Wurzer and Hans Zlobl have made the first ascent of Kitchen Window, a 'severe mixed climb' up the North Face of Bischofsmutze in Austria. Bischofsmutze is the first summit of the so-called Spitzkofelturme, the series of towers that form one of the most evocative skylines of East Tyrol. The mountain is famous for its important, albeit at times loose, alpine ridge climb. The north face of Bischofsmutze dominates the Lienz basin and the small village Leisach. Thanks to this rainy and snowy spring numerous lines of ice formed across the Lienz Dolomites, including the very obvious line up Bischofsmutzes north face. Hans Zlobl, Matthias Wurzer and Vittorio Messini all observed the conditions independently, as indeed many other mountaineers did across East Tyrol, and it was a coincidence that the day before the ascent they discussed the line. The prolonged, atypical cold at the tail end of the had finally made it come into condition. The following day they trio set off determined to complete the climb. After pedalling up with their e-bikes and walking through the wild and steep walk Spatenbach cauldron, the ascent began in earnest. At the start they followed small gullies and chimneys, then they made a long and exposed transverse at half-height. Here they wondered whether the snow would hold and if it provided adequate protection. Everything ran smoothly though and, despite some long runouts, they managed to follow the natural line rightwards. This section of the route is probably shared with"Direkte Nordwand" - a summer rock climb first ascended in 1940. Finally, via a ramp, they reached the pre-summit of Bischofsmutze and, having made their way around the south tower, they finally reached the main summit by following the east ridge. Abseils were then made down the gorge that separates Grauer Turm from Bischofsmutze and after scrambling down this another three abseils deposited them close to the start of the route. On what was probably one of the last cold days of this winter season the three climbers managed to experience another small adventure, right above the city The 500m new route has been called Kitchen Window as it can been seen directly from Zlobls kitchen and has been graded M5/6. Links: FB Vittorio Messini, Grivel, Salewa Sunday Briefing: Yet Another Big Weekend for Andras Nemeth June 03, 2019 Matthew Pitt Hungarian superstar Andras Nemeth enjoyed yet another big Sunday only a week after banking more than $475,000 from a Natural8 High Roller event. While this weekend was not as big in terms of numbers, Nemeth took down a major event at PokerStars and reached the final table of another Natural8 $5,000 buy-in tournament. Sunday 500 at PokerStars Date June 2nd Buy-in $530 Guarantee $100,000 Entrants 248 Prize pool $124,000 ITM 31 Andras probirs Nemeth took down the Sunday 500 at PokerStars to pad his bankroll with $23,843. Nemeth was one of 248 entries in the $530 buy-in Sunday 500 and was the last man standing in the competition. The Hungarian found himself heads -up against Brazils Renato bauruzito Valentim and it was a battle he emerged victorious from to resign his South American opponent to the $17,906 consolation prize. Earlier at the final table, Mexico-based grinder ROFLshove ran out of steam and busted in ninth place for $2,412 and was followed to the rail by GamadGADOL and mraink of Malta and Canada who walked away with prizes of $3,212 and $4,278. Romanias Nedelcu Narcisus90 Narcis was the next to fall, his sixth-place finish banking him $5,696 with Corlusion fell in fifth place for $7,584; the final finishing position not to pay out five figures. Polands PAX176 busted in fourth place for $10,999 with the penultimate elimination being that of Preben prebz Stokkan which was worth $13,448. Place Player Country Prize 1 Andras probirs Nemeth Hungary $23,843 2 Renato bauruzito Valentim Brazil $17,906 3 Preben prebz Stokkan United Kingdom $13,448 4 PAX176 Poland $10,099 5 Corlusion Mexico $7,584 6 Nedelcu Narcisus90 Narcis Romania $5,696 7 mraink Canada $4,278 8 GamadGADOL Malta $3,212 9 ROFLshove Mexico $2,412 $109 Sunday Million PokerStars Date June 2nd Buy-in $109 Guarantee $1,000,000 Entrants 8,984 Prize pool $1,000,000 ITM 1,610 Brazilian players dominated the latter stages of this weeks Sunday Million with five of them reaching the nine-handed final table and one of them being crowned champion. Entry figures for this weeks $109 buy-in tournament were the lowest they have been since the switch from a $215 to $109 buy-in, probably because of the ongoing World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. The field of 8,984 left an overlay of $101,600, much to the delight of the 1,610 players who cashed in the event. Rafael LiroLa Lopes Monteiro was the first Brazilian to bust, his ninth-place netting him $8,367. KaikeSilva fell next and collected $11,530 for their eighth-place finish, while KKing James saw their tournament come to an abrupt end in fourth place for $41,575. Third place and $57,290 went to igoretH10 of Brazil to leave Russias evgeny0777 and Matheus pimenta7 Pimenta to battle heads-up for the title and a six figure prize. It was the South American who came out of the battle unscathed to collect $108,784, leaving the Russian to scoop $78,944. Place Player Country Prize 1 Matheus pimenta7 Pimenta Brazil $108,784 2 evgeny0777 Russia $78,944 3 igoretH10 Brazil $57,290 4 KKing James Brazil$41,575 5 Coco de Coc Germany $30,171 6 Eerie123 Russia $21,895 7 Taitensens Germany $15,889 8 KaikeSilva Brazil $11,530 9 Rafael LiroLa Lopes Monteiro Brazil $8,367 Sunday High Roller Gladiator at partypoker Date June 2nd Buy-in $2,100 Guarantee $150,000 Entrants 90 Prize pool $184,500 ITM 12 Over at partypoker, two big progressive knockout tournaments produced some large scores. The $2,100 buy-in Sunday High Roller Gladiator surpassed its $150,000 guarantee by $34,500 when 90 entries were processed. Team partypokers Jeff JeffGross Gross navigated his way to the eight-handed final table but was the first player to be eliminated, his eighth place securing a $4,735 payday. Gross was joined on the rail soon after by Swedish legend Niklas Drulitooo Astedt whose seventh-place exit banked him a total of $8,094. Finlands rdcrsnn finished in sixth place but won more than the fifth-place finisher morant3 of Ireland thanks to the bounty element. The Finn walked away with a $12,419 haul while the Irish player locked up a prize worth $9,997 in total. Brazils Gustavo Quatroe3ehFLIP Mastelotto ran out of steam and crashed out in fourth place for $13,529 and when ojanOmaha of Sweden exited in third place for $15,079, a one-on-one encounter between SpiritDNA of the United Kingdom and Denmarks x_zola25 began. SpritDNA came out on top to bank the top prize of $18,106 plus $28,284 worth of bounties for a combined prize worth $46,390, while x_zola25s total prize weighed in at $25,700. Place Player Country Prize Bounty Prize Total Prize 1 SpiritDNA United Kingdom $18,106 $28,284 $46,390 2 x_zola25 UDenmark $18,088 $7,612 $25,700 3 ojanOmaha Sweden $12,717 $2,362 $15,079 4 Gustavo Quatroe3ehFLIP Mastelotto Brazil $8,804 $4,725 $13,529 5 morant3 Ireland $6,847 $3,150 $9,997 6 rdcrsnn Finland $5,135 $7,284 $12,419 7 Niklas Drulitooo Astedt Sweden $4,157 $3,937 $8,094 8 Jeff JeffGross Gross Canada $3,423 $1,312 $4,735 Sunday Gladiator at partypoker Date June 2nd Buy-in $320 Guarantee $150,000 Entrants 625 Prize pool $192,500 ITM 80 The $320 buy-in edition of the Sunday Gladiator had a larger prize pool than its $2,100 buy-in bigger brother thanks to 625 players taking part and creating a pot with $192,500 in it. Eighty players were paid, but nobody got their hands on more than the eventual champion, Swedens STORTjavlaGL. The Swedes first-place finish saw them win $13,544 from the main prize pool and $19,782 from the bounty prize pool. A large part of that substantial bounty payment stemmed from busting boulton1994 of the UK heads-up, which left the Brit to add $16,364 to their lifetime winnings. A special mention has to go to the player who busted in sixth place. The UKs king_of_tainha netted $3,309 worth of bounties during the tournament and only the champion managed to secure more. Place Player Country Prize Bounty Prize Total Prize 1 STORTjavlaGL Sweden $13,544 $19,782 $33,326 2 boulton1994 United Kingdom $13,525 $2,839 $16,364 3 vuks0n Canada $9,178 $2,303 $11,481 4 PaquesigasCerdo Poland $6,318 $2,648 $8,966 5 arczi999 Poland $4,418 $3,008 $7,426 6 king_of_tainha United Kingdom $3,210 $3,309 $6,519 7 runningtheworld United Kingdom $2,312 $355 $2,667 8 Blocs Canada $1,641 $1,513 $3,154 $20,000 Sunday Challenge at 888poker Date June 2nd Buy-in $109 Guarantee $20,000 Entrants 250 Prize pool $25,000 ITM 27 A field of 250 entries took part in this weekends $20,000 Sunday Challenge to ensure the guarantee was surpassed by $5,000. All but two of the players who reached the final table turned their $109 into a four-figure prize, those player being Maltas PumpySouyon and Canadas soHORNY1984. Charlie chazcombes Combes netted $1,000 for his seventh-place finish and the prize money escalated quickly from there. DrunkSpewer won $1,250 before ZDamian collected $1,500 for their fifth place finish. Macchow saw their tournament end abruptly in fourth for $2,187 with the UKs xxAYADxx being the penultimate elimination, their third place locking up a $2,937 prize. This set up a heads-up battle between Stappy21 of Denmark and TheColdCallr. The Dane couldnt quite get the job done and they fell at the final hurdle. Their untimely demise saw them have to make do with the $3,875 consolation prize, which left the champion to bank $5,375. Place Player Country Prize 1 TheColdCallr $5,375 2 Stappy21 Denmark $3,875 3 xxAYADxx United Kingdom $2,937 4 macchow Canada $2,187 5 ZDamian $1,500 6 DrunkSpewer Malta $1,250 7 Charlie chazcombes Combes United Kingdom $1,000 8 soHORNY1984 Canada $750 9 PumpySouyon Malta $500 $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep at 888poker Date June 2nd Buy-in $215 Guarantee $100,000 Entrants 480 Prize pool $100,000 ITM 45 The $100,000 Sunday Mega Deep returned after the XL Inferno enforced an hiatus. It attracted a 480 strong field to the 888poker tables. Nobody at the final table won less than $1,750 and the top three finishers each won at least $11,000. Gregorypek34 and pokerJoe332 were the first casualties of the nine-handed final table; they won prizes worth $1,750 and $2,400. This duo was then joined on the sidelines by Madalina084 of Moldova who collected $3,400 and by DvaBe from the Ukraine whose sixth-place finish was worth $4,400. The next two players to bust were Waldolcimonj and xane7a who saw their $215 investment swell to $5,700 and $8,250 respectively. Third place and the first five-figure prize of the night, namely $11,000, went to WowAceDude of Sweden. Heads-up saw two players from Latin America trade blows for the title. Mexicos REFpussy couldnt quite defeat Brazils rmilheiro so had to make do with a $14,500 score, while rmilheiro now has $19,350 more in their 888poker account than they did 24 hours ago. Place Player Country Prize 1 rmilheiro Brazil $19,350 2 REFpussy Mexico $14,500 3 WowAceDude Sweden $11,000 4 xane7a Malta $8,250 5 WadoIcimonj $5,700 6 DvaBe Ukraine $4,400 7 Madalina084 Moldova $3,400 8 PokerJoe332 Croatia $2,400 9 gregorypek34 United Kingdom $1,750 Sunday Blade $5K at Natural8 Date June 2nd Buy-in $5,000 Guarantee $50,000 Entrants 34 Prize pool $161,500 ITM 5 While on his way to winning the PokerStars Sunday 500, Andras Nemeth, unfortunately, burst the money bubble in the first of two Sunday Blade $5K events at Natural8. Nemeths demise meant the surviving five players were guaranteed $10,151 for their efforts. This is the sum Olekonjole of Austria won when they lost all their chips to fall in fifth. The Austrian got some company on the rail in the shape of Mexicos godiswithme! who netted $16,127. $25,621 went to third place finisher HectorHermano of Finland and despite there being a $28,100 difference between first and second place, no deal was struck. The lack of a deal meant PyramidOfSkulls was awarded $40,705 for their second place exit, while the UKs chan593, a regular in these high stakes games, locked up the $68,893 top prize. Place Player Country Prize 1 chan593 United Kingdom $68,893 2 PyramidOfSkulls Canada $40,705 3 HectorHermano Finland $25,621 4 godiswithme! Mexico $16,127 5 Olekonjole Austria $10,151 Sunday Blade $5K at Natural8 Date June 2nd Buy-in $5,000 Guarantee $100,000 Entrants 30 Prize pool $142,500 ITM 4 The second Sunday Blade $5K drew in a field of 30 who created a $142,500 prize pool shared among the top four finishers. Chan593 won the earlier edition of the Sunday Blade $5K for $68,893 and added $14,871 more to it with a fourth-place exit in this event. The UK player was joined by Andras PokerBluff1 Nemeth whose third place bust out netted him $24,197 to go with the similarly sized prize he won at Pokerstars. Again, no deal was discussed heads-up so Joeri_van_Heeten of the Netherlands banked an impressive $64,059 for their victory while the runner-up, SasukeUchiha of Canada, saw $39,371 deposited into their Natural8 account. Place Player Country Prize 1 Joeri_van_Heeten Netherlands $64,059 2 SasukeUchiha Canada $39,371 3 Andras PokerBluff1 Nemeth Hungary $24,197 4 chan593 United Kingdom $14,871 The Stars Group is a majority shareholder in iBus Media 2.7k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard The New York Times has deemed Rachel Maddow too opinionated and is refusing to let their reporters go on her MSNBC show. Vanity Fair reported: Enrich said yes, but after mentioning the planned appearance to the Timess communications department, he was told he would have to retroactively decline. The reason? The Times was wary of how viewers might perceive a down-the-middle journalist like Enrich talking politics with a mega-ideological host like Maddow. . Its not just Maddow. The Times has come to prefer, as sources put it, that its reporters steer clear of any cable-news shows that the masthead perceives as too partisan, and managers have lately been advising people not to go on what they see as highly opinionated programs. Its not clear how many shows fall under that umbrella in the eyes of Times brass, but two others that definitely do are Lawrence ODonnells and Don Lemons, according to people familiar with managements thinking. Hannitys or Tucker Carlsons shows would likewise make the cut, but its not like Times reporters ever do those anyway. Im told that over the past couple of months, executive editor Dean Baquet has felt that opinionated cable-news show are getting, well, even more opinionated. It is important to remember that The New York Times and Washington Post were considered to be on the ropes before Donald Trump won the 2016 election. The Times and The Post were elevated by Trump and his antiquated thinking about media. The biggest newspapers in the country have made a ton of money off of Trump, which is why they are reluctant to see him lose in 2020. Longtime media watchers have heard this argument about Maddow before. NBC News used the excuse that Maddow is too partisan to deny her the job of hosting Meet The Press. No one shows more respect for reporters and their work than Rachel Maddow, so The Times isnt telling the truth. The reality is that The New York Times needs to keep its symbiotic relationship with Trump in place. The newspaper doesnt want their reporters going on any channel that might provoke Trump to cut off or cut down their access. The New York Times wants to have it both ways. They want to appear to be challenging Trump with their reporting, but they dont want to alienate him too much. If The Times keeps this dumb policy in place, they will lose a great platform for promoting their work. It is a dumb move, and it shows why they could be back on the path to extinction after Trump is gone from the White House. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 3.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Fox News is telling their viewers that anti-Trump British protests have people in them who are really pro-Trump. Fox News claims anti-Trump Brits are pro-Trump Fox and Friends sold the myth that there is no way of knowing how many pro-Trump people are at the protests: Fox & Friends continues to insist that Trump has popular support in the UK: "As Kevin Corke accurately pointed out a little while ago, 250,000, it would be hard to tell who were pro-Trump and who were anti-Trump. There are people on both sides of the aisle." pic.twitter.com/BDPUKHRjk8 Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) June 3, 2019 Fox News White House correspondent Kevin Corke said, Yeah, do keep this in mind though guys. A lot of those demonstrations will also include pro-Trump folks out there who, a great many of them feel like he is simply not getting his fair share in the media here. Video: Fox News White House correspondent Kevin Corke: "A lot of those demonstrations [in London] will also include pro-Trump folks out there who, a great many of them feel like he is simply not getting his fair share in the media here." pic.twitter.com/x7JejlLb50 Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) June 3, 2019 It is no wonder that Trump misses Fox News so much. They are his daily dose of delusion. Fox Newss reporting is propaganda. It is clear that most of the people in Britain dont want Trump in their country. Trump is getting the red carpet treatment from the Royals, but he has not been greeted like most American presidents have been in the past. There are going to be protests. They will be substantial, and it is certain that the overwhelming majority of those protesters will be opposed to Donald Trump. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook 1.5k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Jared Kushner refused to say that Trump is a racist, and wouldnt answer when asked if he thought birtherism was racist. Jared Kushner wont say that birtherism is racist Jonathan Swan of Axios asked Kushner about Trump racism and birtherism on Axios on HBO. Kushner first denied that Trump is a racist, You cant not be a racist for 69 years, but then run for president and be a racist. What Ill say is that when a lot of the Democrats call the president a racist, I think theyre doing a disserve to people who suffer because of real racism in this country.. Swan asked Kushner if birtherism was racist, then the wheels fell off. Kushner answered, Um, look, I wasnt really involved in that. Swan pressed, I know you werent. Was it racist. Kushner repeated, I wasnt really involved in that. Swan asked again, and Kushner said, Look, I know who the president is, and I havent seen anything that was racist. Video: Kushner non-answer speaks volumes It is easy to say that racism is wrong. Birtherism is wrong, but it is impossible for this administration to directly denounce racism because Donald Trump and his policies are racist. Kushners Ive never seen Trump be racist line doesnt hold up because Swan didnt ask him if he had ever seen Trump be racist. The question was about birtherism being racist, and the presidents son-in-law danced and dodged without giving a straight answer. There is a mountain of evidence in Donald Trumps past that he is a racist, so the idea that he hasnt been a racist for 69 years is utter nonsense. Trump launched his presidential campaign by calling Mexicans rapists. As president, Trump has called black and Latino majority countries, shitholes. Trumps racism isnt up for debate, and his son-in-laws refusal to admit the truth isnt fooling anyone. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council have jointly released a circular on improving the system of administrative adjudication and strengthening related work. According to the circular, administrative adjudication refers to the act of administrative organs which adjudicate the civil disputes that are closely related to administration. With higher efficiency, lower costs and easier procedures, administrative adjudication can help facilitate quicker solutions to disputes, and serve as an important method to handle civil disputes, the circular reads. More efforts should be made to improve the administrative adjudication of disputes in areas such as the ownership of natural resources, infringement of intellectual property rights and government procurement, according to the circular. It asks for more application of modern information technology in administrative adjudication, as well as further legislation to regulate the system of administrative adjudication. The circular also calls for better mediation work in administrative adjudication, suggesting the establishment of one-stop service platforms in fields that see more civil disputes, to reduce people's burdens when protecting their rights. Moreover, the circular calls on local authorities to improve the ranks of those engaging in administrative adjudication, with more supervision, examination and guidance from superior administrative organs over their subordinates in terms of the work. The Ministry of Justice should also strengthen its coordination and supervision of the work in administrative adjudication, organize evaluations of the implementation of the circular, and provide timely suggestions, according to the circular. 5.9k SHARES Facebook Twitter Whatsapp Pinterest Reddit Print Mail Flipboard Trump arrived in the UK and promptly threw a fit, because he had to watch CNN, and couldnt get Fox News. Trump is mad because he cant watch Fox News Trump tweeted: Just arrived in the United Kingdom. The only problem is that @CNN is the primary source of news available from the U.S. After watching it for a short while, I turned it off. All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S. Big ratings drop. Why doesnt owner @ATT do something? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 I believe that if people stoped using or subscribing to @ATT, they would be forced to make big changes at @CNN, which is dying in the ratings anyway. It is so unfair with such bad, Fake News! Why wouldnt they act. When the World watches @CNN, it gets a false picture of USA. Sad! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019 Trump is meeting with the USs closest ally, and he is preoccupied with the fact that he cant watch Fox and Friends and his pal Sean Hannity. How is the president going to know what to do if Fox News is not there to advise him through his television? Trump gets his information from Fox News Donald Trump doesnt read. He prefers that his briefings be told to him, like a person who is ashamed to admit their illiteracy, but Trump isnt illiterate. He is thoughtless and lazy. Trump gets his information from the personalities on Fox. The Commander In Chief is representing our nation overseas by ranting about CNN on Twitter. Trump also managed to call for a boycott of a major global news organization because he doesnt like their coverage. Trump proved London Mayor Sadiq Khan correct. A fascist has invaded the UK, and he deserves a boot over the border, not the red carpet. For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group. Follow Jason Easley on Facebook , Cookies . cookies. Charleston, SC (29403) Today Mostly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 76F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Rain showers early becoming more intermittent overnight. Low 64F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Could the Med City have another chance at snagging "the Big One" that got away? The Destination Medical Centerinitiative and its Discovery Square subdistrict aimed at fostering bioscience business development could make Rochester attractive to a booming firm with more than 2,000 employees that chose Madison, Wis., over Rochester back in 2009. Exact Scienceslicensed technology from Mayo Clinicin 2009 and 2012 for Cologuard, an FDA-approved DNA test for colorectal cancer. The test is based on research by Mayo Clinics Dr. David A. Ahlquistand his laboratory. Exact was originally based in Boston, and Rochester officials at one point hoped the firm would move here. However, Madison, Wis., gave the company $1 million to entice the growing company to move its headquarters there in 2009. The popularity of Cologuard has grown to where its common to see cutsey TV commercials touting it. Exact Sciences reported $454.5 million in revenue in 2018, up 71 percent from 2017. ADVERTISEMENT Exact Science is a prime example of the type of job-generating company that Rochester and Mayo Clinic have been trying to lure to town or grow here for years with the Minnesota BioBusiness Centerand various incubators. The company has grown a big footprint in Wisconsin and is wrapping up construction of a second multi-million lab in the Madison area, where most of its workforce lives. However, Rochesters opportunity could be at hand. Exact Sciences is looking to build a third lab, just as the company is working on new products with Mayo Clinic. CEO and chairman Kevin Conroydescribes the proposed third site as focusing on research and development. The companys media team confirms Exact Sciences is looking to base this lab outside of Wisconsin, though they will not name potential sites under consideration. Local leaders wont say if they are pursuing the project, though DMC EDA executive director Lisa Clarkeand the developer of the 89,000-square-foot One Discovery Squaresay they are aware of Exact Sciences and its activity. While its not known if Rochester is vying for the new lab, it is clear that Exact Sciences has been deepening its ties with Mayo Clinic. Dr. Paul Limburg, a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist, was named co-chief medical officer for cancer detection for Exact Sciences in early 2018. He and Mayo Clinic have financial interest in Exact Sciences. Exact Science recently reported optimistic study results of a new blood test to detect pancreatic cancer. The test was developed with Mayo Clinic. Exact Sciences and Mayo Clinic are collaborating to identify biomarkers for 15 of the deadliest cancers, such as pancreatic and esophageal. ADVERTISEMENT It seems possible that "the Big One" could be swimming back to Rochester, and it might even jump into the boat. 1994 25 years ago U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders told members of the St. Paul and Minneapolis synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America that churches must become more involved in the welfare of children. Elders addressed about 1,200 delegates at St. Peters Gustavus Adolphus College. Gov. Kikuji Sasaki and his delegation of Akita Prefecture in Japan toured the city of Rochester and met with business and community leaders throughout city. 1969 50 years ago Buy-Rite Realty has an attractive split foyer home in northwest Rochester priced at $29,800. The home has air conditioning, carpet and drapes, a patio deck and a 2-car garage. ADVERTISEMENT Probably for the first time in history, the city will issue a one-day, 3.2 beer license for the Greek Orthodox Church in Rochester. The license is proposed for the Greek Festival at the Olmsted County Fairgrounds scheduled for July 20. 1944 75 years ago Approximately 100 German prisoners of war are expected to be kept at the old CCC camp in Whitewater State park this summer. It is proposed that the prisoners be used by the Lakeside Canning company plant at Plainview during the corn pack season. Army medical officers assigned for training at the Mayo Foundation will be leaving Rochester later this month. Additional groups of officers will come here for study of anesthesia and plastic surgery. 1919 100 years ago A large crew of workmen have arrived from division headquarters for the purpose of remodeling the Rochester railway station. Work to be done includes new floors, improving the platform, renewing the woodwork, and making the place brighter and more convenient. Two Rochester young ladies are to receive degrees at the commencement exercises at the University of Minnesota on June 19. They are Miss Elizabeth Baihly and Miss Lois Huney. About 625 students will receive degrees. ROLLINGSTONE Historic Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Rollingstone will celebrate 150 years of serving the community with Mass and a potluck dinner on June 15. Built by immigrants from Luxembourg and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the church was established in 1869. Mass will be celebrated by Diocese of Winona-Rochester Bishop John Quinn beginning at 4:30 p.m. Following Mass, a potluck dinner and program will be held next door at the Holy Trinity Community Center. Hot pulled-pork sandwiches, beverages, and dessert will be provided. Documents, pictures, and artifacts from 1869 to the present will be on display. Past and present parishioners, the community and anyone from the area is invited, including Holy Trinity school attendees, teachers/nuns, staff, priests, and anyone with a connection to Holy Trinity. There is no charge for the event, although a free-will donation will be taken and is appreciated. BEMIDJI Two regional experts on wolves will discuss the impact of the removal of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Bemidji Public Library. Barry Babcock of Laporte and Robert J. Shimek of the White Earth Reservation will be talking about the removal of the gray wolf and the impacts of a possible recreational hunt season on the population of wolves in Minnesota. According to figures from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the states wolf population in 2018 remains above the states minimum goal of at least 1,600 wolves. The debate of recreational hunting of wolves comes after a proposal by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make hunting and trapping of wolves legal again after July 15. The proposed law plans to restore the rights of management back to the states and tribes after the removal of their endangered protections. ADVERTISEMENT Babcock is the founder of the grassroots organization Jack Pine Coalition and a regular witness on wolf issues at the state Legislature in conjunction with the non-profit group Howling for Wolves. Shimek will speak about the importance of the wolf to the Anishinaabe culture and spiritual beliefs. Forum News Service This past January, Garry Nims and Patrick Belcher became roommates. Patrick, who is 30 years old, looks after Garry, 72. Patrick helps Garry with transportation, cooking and other tasks. And the two of them often hang out together. Garry says hes really connected with Patrick, who had worked as a care provider in a group home for several years. "Were good friends with each other, Patrick and I have been," Garry said. Garry and Patrick were brought together by a new program called Rumi, launched last summer by Bridges Minnesota. The company operates group and other homes for people with intellectual, developmental and other disabilities whose incomes are low enough to qualify for the state to pay for their care. Rumi uses the internet to match people who have physical or mental handicaps with roommates who are also caregivers. Its a model that can provide substantial financial benefits for caregivers, more choice and independence for the disabled and significant financial savings for the state. ADVERTISEMENT Garry said he is free to do what he wants, and hes living in his longtime home in south Minneapolis. "Lived in the same house for 53 years," he said. "I love this place." Patrick said that he and Garry took to each other quickly. "Its been going pretty good," he said. "We havent had any snags at all. I dont watch TV a whole lot, and I got the feeling that Garry had to share his TV before, so I think were loving that relationship." Blake Elliott, vice president of disability services at Bridges Minnesota, said about 19,000 Minnesotans live in group homes for the disabled but that arrangement is not a good fit for everyone. And its often hard to find openings in group homes. With Rumi, interested caregivers undergo criminal and other background checks. Then prospective roommates check out each others profiles and preferences online. They follow up with face-to-face meetings with possible matches. If a caregiver and a person needing care figure they would be a good fit, Rumi helps them iron out living and financial arrangements, care plans and other details. In a typical group home, four disabled people live together with 24-hour care or supervision. With Rumi, Elliot said, care can be tailored to an individuals needs, potentially saving the state millions of dollars a year in subsidies. The roommate model also pays off better for caregivers, who earn about $12.50 an hour on average in Minnesota. Pairing caregivers with disabled roommates lets them both split housing costs. And it boosts caregivers incomes, thanks to federal tax law. Elliot said caregivers leasing or renting an apartment or home with the person in their care are not subject to income taxes for that work. ADVERTISEMENT "Thats a huge financial difference from a compensation standpoint that we hope and we think ultimately yields a higher quality of caregiver that is more experienced, more trained, more professional, more committed to staying in this arrangement for a longer time period," he said. Winna Bernard, a Washington County social worker, said a client of hers has thrived since he got a roommate. "Its like night and day," she said. "Hes just so happy. He is just doing fabulous and hell be able to stay in this home now as long as he wants, which is somewhat rare in our world." Bernard said its a big deal for the disabled to be able to develop a long-term relationship with a caregiver. Another important benefit is that the disabled get to make more decisions about their lives. "Where do you want to live?" she said. "Who do you want to live with? Do you want pets? These are questions that folks dont get asked. Its usually: Heres a spot. What do you think?" The state of Minnesota believes the Rumi approach has a lot going for it. "This is certainly a model that we want to see," said Alex Bartolic, director for disability services at the Minnesota Department of Human Services. "Weve done research around the country and have found that models like this have been highly effective, particularly for people who havent always wanted to live with other people, where that has not been the best setting for them," she said. ADVERTISEMENT Rumi has connected two dozen roommates so far and hopes to match as many more the rest of this year. The traditional view of rural America is of a red barn, dairy cows grazing in the pasture, and family members working side-by-side. That slice of nostalgia is getting more and more difficult to conjure up as major changes rock the dairy industry. Small family dairy farms are apparently on the way out, according to Census of Agriculture figures released in April. But while the number of dairy farms is decreasing, the number of dairy cows is increasing. For example, in 2002 there were 9.1 million dairy cows in the U.S. In 2017, there were 9.5 million dairy cows. Meanwhile, the number of dairy farms has decreased from 91,989 in 2001 to 54,599 in 2017. ADVERTISEMENT In other words, fewer farms are milking more cows. Bigger and bigger dairy farms and herds seem to be the future of the industry. Here in the Midwest, the number of dairy cows in Minnesota has decreased 4.3 percent, while the number of dairy farms has dropped by 44 percent. However, in both Iowa and Wisconsin, the number of cows has increased while the number of farms has decreased, mirroring the nationwide trend. "Its definitely a sign of consolidation," Dave Buck, Goodhue County dairy farmer and president of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association, told Agri News. "And the driving factor of this is economics." There is economy in scale in the dairy business. Hence, farms and herds keep getting bigger. Minnesota dairy farms of 50 or more cows have nearly doubled, going from 65 15 years ago to 115 in 2017. At the same time, medium-size dairy farmers are faced with having to hire farm workers in a tight labor market and with shrinking dairy prices. Smaller farms can hold on with all family members at work. But, Buck said, too often one adult member of the family has to work off the farm to secure health insurance. Is it too late to reverse these trends? Immigration reform could ease the labor issue, and an improved health care system would benefit farm families. To attain those and other positive reforms, though, dairy farmers and their organizations need to campaign intelligently at state and national levels of government. Otherwise, the culture farmers cling to, and the way of life they love, is facing a slow demise. The traditional view of the American farm will be more and more rare. Two former senators, the Office of Civil Defense chief, two mayors and the current chief of staff for the governor of Guam have written letters in support of a lenient sentence for a former Guam Homeland Security employee who pleaded guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. Ricky Q. Sanchez was employed at GHS when he was indicted on March 16, 2016 on allegations that he conspired with others to distribute 5 grams of methamphetamine between March and December of 2014. Sanchez entered a plea of guilty on May 2, 2016 and agreed to cooperate with authorities in their ongoing investigation. Sanchez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. His prominent friends have written letters to Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood of the District Court of Guam asking her for leniency in his sentence. In response, community activist Ken Leon-Guerrero sent an open letter to the chief judge calling for the maximum sentence to be imposed. Their pleas for leniency for a person who willfully abused his position gut the credibility of law enforcements effort to stop this plague on our people," Leon-Guerrero wrote. All the letters that ask (for) mercy on his behalf for his family, ignore the impact his actions had on the community. What mercy did he, or any other drug dealers involved, show for the families now destroyed as a result of methamphetamine addiction? Tony Babauta, whose letter is dated Aug.15, 2017, which is before he became chief of staff for Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, wrote that he has known Sanchez for many years and considers him a dear friend. I have spoken to Ricky about the crime which he has pleaded guilty and genuinely believe he understands the gravity of his actions, wrote Babauta. I appreciate every consideration of leniency, or probation. Charles Esteves, then Civil Defense administrator, wrote an Aug. 1, 2017 letter praising Sanchez for being a very supportive employee who performed all his assigned duties. I strongly advocate against the use, abuse, trafficking and selling of illicit substances, wrote Esteves, who added: if given a second chance, Im sure Ricky can prove himself to be a positive contributor to our island." Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares wrote, I know (Sanchez) is truly sorry for what he has done. Agat Mayor Kevin Susuico said Sanchez has been an awesome role model for his home village. Former Guam Sen. Frank Blas Jr. wrote, Im sure (Sanchez) truly regrets his actions ... I humbly ask for your lenient consideration. Former GHURA Director and Sen. Marcel Camacho wrote leniency will allow (Sanchez) to pay time to society for his actions (and) eventually get back to helping his family. Sentencing for Sanchez is set for June 25. Guilt Plea According to the plea agreement a friend arranged to put Sanchez in contact with Francisco Arias who agreed to mail the meth to Sanchez at the Department of Homeland Security. Sanchez never met Arias. He only had phone contact with him, according to the plea agreement. Arias made to mail meth to the Homeland Security address in Agana Heights. The first attempt failed because the address was wrong. The package was seized by postal inspectors in Nevada. It was found to contain about 27 grams of 100% pure methamphetamine. The second attempt succeeded, and the package was delivered to Homeland Security. The plea agreement does not say how much meth was in the second package. According to the plea agreement Sanchez admitted her was supposed to receive a package containing methamphetamine but he could not remember who he was supposed to give the package to. Sanchez said he expected to receive between $500 to $1,000 for receiving the package. Writings on the Wall As we move forward into the new year, we have a lot to be thankful for. One key advantage of the pandemic is that it has made us focus on our Read more Lansdowne poet Janie McNeil will be accepting some big-time hardware from West Chester University this week. McNeill will accept two awards at the universitys 24th annual Poetry Conference, which runs June 5-8. Its the nations only all-poetry writing conference dedicated to formal poetry, and it draws renowned poets, plus teachers of poetry, lovers of poetry and student poets. One highlight will be when recipients of four poetry awards read their winning poems at a celebratory ceremony on Wednesday, the opening day. McNeil won two awards first place and second place in one of the contests. It was fantastic to win both awards, said McNeil, who learned the news via e-mail. The competition was stiff. The universitys Poetry Center, which sponsors the awards to recognize excellence in poetry, was flooded with hundreds of submissions from 65 colleges and universities across the country. McNeil is one of two WCU students to receive a poetry award. The other recipient is Alec Costanzi. This is the first time in seven years that any student from WCU has won. McNeil took on an extra challenge when she applied for two of the awards, which require original poems written in Spanish or translated from English into Spanish. McNeil gamely took on the challenge, writing her poems in English and then translating them into Spanish. I had to focus on pieces that would translate well into Spanish, she said. She used her own knowledge of Spanish but also used Google and turned to several friends fluent in Spanish. It was a little intimidating but not daunting, said McNeil, who will be reading both poems at the event. One poem, titled The Birth, has an especially unusual theme. Its written from the perspective of an unborn child, having the responsibility of being born thrust upon it, she said. The first line reads, I didnt ask to be born. its not at all political, said McNeil. Although not a mother herself, Ive written a lot of pieces from the perspective of a child, she said. You dont have to be a mother to hold motherhood as sacred. Writing poems is hardly a new activity for McNeil. I wrote my first poem at age six, she said. Ive always considered myself a writer. I could no more stop myself from writing than I could stop myself from breathing. Her poems have appeared in various publications, including the Pittsburgh Press, Au Courant and the former Labyrinthe, a womans newspaper. Although poetry and other creative writing have been a constant in her life, she could not support herself writing poetry. Instead, shes had a varied and extensive work history before coming to West Chester University. After high school, she first attended the University of Pittsburgh. But I couldnt afford my meal plan and books, she said. My best friend had joined the army and I figured, Ill join too and get money to go to college.' But, McNeils plan involved a long detour. She served three years of active service, one year in the reserves and one year in the national guard and is now an Army veteran. Next, she worked with mentally challenged individuals for five years. Then came a full time 6-year stint as a bartender plus two other jobs on the side. McNeil left her bartending job to work for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections at Graterford, serving as a block sergeant . Finally, when she retired, it was time to pursue her long postponed goal of attending college, especially since the VA offered to sponsor her education at West Chester. Shes now a junior, majoring in English with creative writing as a minor. At age 56, shes hardly the typical college junior. But McNeil approaches her studies with enthusiasm and focus after all these years of postponement. I want to broaden my boundaries so I can learn as much as I can about creative writing, McNeil said. Shes entirely comfortable interacting with students who are decades younger. I love my creative writing courses. McNeil said. We read and critique our work, and its wonderful to participate and interact with the other students. A resident of Lansdowne for 24 years, McNeil is involved in poetry activities beyond the classroom, including a group known as the The Four Ps. It stands for People, Potluck, Poetry and Prose, McNeil said about this group of writers who meet regularly in Upper Darby and listen to each others work. Now, shes looking forward to her first WCU Poetry Conference starting Wednesday, which features an array of events, including a keynote address from American poet David Yezzi, plus eight workshops led by nationally recognized published poets. Of course, a personal highlight will be the ceremony on Wednesday when McNeil and other award recipients will read their winning poems. This is a high accolade that validates me as a poet, said McNeil. Its thrilling, and Im very happy and proud to be recognized with these awards. The Aquarium of the Pacific is at 100 Aquarium Way in Long Beach. Holiday season hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 29-30; and Jan. 1-9, 16, 22-23, 30: Visit www.aquariumofpacific.org/. The White House has announced that President Trump will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Arthur Laffer, one of the principal pioneers of supply-side economics. Naturally the usual suspects are upset, like the Washington Post and Slate, both of whom offer up some of their best ventriloquist journalism: The so-called mainstream of the economics profession will never forgive Laffer (and his precursors and collaborators such as Robert Mundell and Jude Wanniski) for the temerity of suggesting that maybe cutting taxes is a good idea, and moreover, for being persuasive about it. I think I can fix these headlines. How about this for a more accuracy: Trump Recognizes Arthur Laffer for His Contributions to Growth and Prosperity: Paul Krugman Hardest Hit. In fact, shouldnt someone call the NY police to do a welfare check on Krugman and his cat? Chaserthis pic is a little fuzzy, but Ill take it: Historian and Spectator USA Life & Arts editor Dominic Green interviews historian David Garrow on his most recent findings deriving from recently disclosed documents reflecting the FBIs surveillance of Martin Luther King. I have embedded the podcast below. In his related Spectator USA column, Green asks whether media outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic, and the Guardian suppressed and/or disparaged Garrows findings for ulterior purposes. If anyone would know whereof he speaks, Garrow would. He is a principled man of the left and perhaps the worlds foremost scholar on King and the FBI. Garrows column on the newly disclosed documents appeared last week at the UKs Standpoint under the heading The troubling legacy of Martin Luther King. After reviewing Garrows recent findings, Green writes: No less appalling, if true, is Garrows claim that senior editors, almost all white and male, overruled their frequently female and non-white staff when it came to publishing [Garrows] findings. Naming the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian, and the Atlantic, Garrow alleges that the editors are afraid of being attacked as racist by Twitter mobs a theory that seems to be confirmed by the Posts attack on Garrow. We might add that King is sacred to liberalism perhaps so much a saint that the prelates of the press are covering up his feet of clay. Whether caused by misplaced paternalism, cowardice, or simple partisanship, this is a dereliction of journalistic duty. Its hard to imagine the same newspapers demurring from running transcripts involving Richard Nixon or Donald Trump. You will want to check out Garrows Standpoint column, Greens Spectator USA column, and the Green/Garrow podcast below. This is all of it not merely of historical interest, though it is certainly that. It is also of current interest in several respects including Garrows discussion of James Comey at about 12:00 of the podcast. Thirty years ago today Deng Xiaoping ordered the use of force to commence against the demonstrators in Tiananmen Square seeking liberalization of the Communist regime. So we learn from Andrew Nathans behind-the-scenes account published by Foreign Affairs as The new Tiananmen Papers. Based on previously unpublished documents, Nathans article has been made temporarily paywall-free so you can share it with your family, friends, and colleagues, according to the magazines email alert. At City Journal Maura Moynihan reminds us in Tiananmens shadow that June 4 marks the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre[.] Getting a jump on the anniversary this weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an excellent collection of articles in its Review section. Gerard Bakers column In 1989, the U.S. Decided to Let Beijing Get Away With Murder reminds us of the heartbreaking scene: There are many enduring images of the pro-democracy demonstrations by Chinese students in Tiananmen Square in the spring of 1989: the bloody denouement, of course, with its scenes of carnage; the heartbreaking sight of one man bravely standing unarmed and pacific in front of a Peoples Liberation Army tank. But for Americans, perhaps the most powerful and recognizable visual at the time was the image of the Goddess of Democracy, the makeshift statue constructed by the students and placed directly across from the portrait and mausoleum of Mao Zedong. Though student leaders insisted it wasnt intended as a replica of the Statue of Liberty, the resonances were too obvious to be missed by most Americans who watched. The lady with the lamp held aloft evoked Americas unique role in promoting the rights and aspirations of people around the world yearning to breathe free. If the students had been hoping that a nation that had rhetorically championed the universal human right to freedom would stand in solidarity with them while they were brutally crushed, they were sorely disappointed. Though President George H.W. Bush initially denounced the crackdown, suspended arms sales to China and announced some other sanctions, the administration decided early on that it wasnt going to allow Tiananmen to become a turning point in U.S. policy. It became clear that the official response would be essentially to pretend that nothing had happened. Now is the time to look beyond the moment to important and enduring aspects of this vital relationship for the United States, President Bush said just a few days after Tiananmen. The decision to continue business as usual sparked strong opposition in Washington. In Congress, Democrats and some Republicans pushed for sanctions and a more confrontational stand against Beijing. As the world (outside China) marks the 30th anniversary this week, has the U.S. position at that moment stood the test of time? The decision to go softly on the butchers of Beijing was premised on two main arguments, both of which turned out to be flawed. Baker doesnt consider the alternatives. Indeed, he acknowledges that [t]heres no way to know if a more robust response to the events of 1989 would have changed things much. His conclusion nevertheless seems inarguable: [B]y its own lightsthe aim of encouraging China to become a more open, democratic, liberal societythe decision to let Beijing get away with murder 30 years ago has been an abject failure. PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 17:46:39 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 460 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 2019 graduating class of Liguori Academy proves unique model for retaining students works in area best known for rampant drug use, poverty, and traumatic violencePHILADELPHIA, PA / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2019 / Beating all the odds, 23 high school students from one of the most blighted neighborhoods in America are members of the 2019 graduating class of Liguori Academy, which celebrates its commencement today and tomorrow. The graduates, who learned through a unique and structured academic approach that offers real-time digital monitoring of their performance, reside in or near the Kensington section of Philadelphia, known for rampant drug use, severe poverty, and violence.One student, Nathan, who braves a commute that brings him in contact with drug markets each day, scored in the 98th growth percentile for reading and the 78th percentile for achievement, putting him well above his peers. Nathan will be the first member of his family to attend community college this fall. Commenting on his graduation, Nathan said, "In America, your zip code shouldn't determine your fate, but it often does. Thanks to the boundless love I received at Liguori Academy, it didn't determine mine." "When we founded Liguori Academy three years ago, our mission was more than a just a school," said Mike Marrone, the President of the school. "We've provided a home for our students where they can feel safe and achieve a better future, something a lot of them don't have at home," he concluded."We see incredible progress across the board in our students," said Principal Rebecca White. "The academic results are exemplary, but knowing that these students are breaking the system around them is the biggest reward." Liguori Academy is an independent, non-profit, private high school serving grades 9-12, with two distinct programs: a private school funded largely by individual donors, and the accelerated learning program called Fortis, funded through a partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, serving students who are over age and under-credited, providing them the chance to complete their high school education. The student population is comprised of 60% minorities, with 71% of students' families with incomes falling below the 185% federal poverty level threshold.About Liguori AcademyWith a mission to prepare future leaders through individualized learning in a community that offers boundless opportunities, President Mike Marrone opened Liguori Academy in September of 2016. A high school located in the Kensington community of Philadelphia, Liguori offers a curriculum that is individualized and personalized to each student. Aiming to serve students from the underserved communities in Philadelphia, Liguori has grown from a 35-student school, to a school that now offers two programs to nearly 180 students. Liguori Academy is a register 501(c)3 non-profit organization.CONTACT:Mark SerranoW 571-223-0042M 703-727-4940serrano@ proactivecommunications.com SOURCE: Liguori Academy PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 12:05:50 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 440 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2019 / CubicFarm Systems Corp. ("CubicFarms" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received conditional approval to list the common shares of the Company on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") as a Tier 1 issuer. The listing is subject to the Company fulfilling certain requirements of the TSXV in accordance with the terms of its conditional approval letter dated May 30, 2019. The Company anticipates that the common shares will trade under the trading symbol "CUB".The Company will proceed expeditiously to satisfy these conditions and management is confident that all conditions for listing will be met. Upon obtaining final approval, the Company will issue a further press release to inform shareholders when it anticipates that its common shares will commence trading on the TSXV.Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.About CubicFarmsCubicFarm Systems Corp. is an Agriculture Tech and Vertical Farming technology company that utilizes revolutionary, patented technology to cultivate high-quality produce. Founded in 2015, the company's mission is to provide farmers around the world with efficient growing systems capable of producing predictable crop yields. Using its unique undulating growing system, CubicFarms solves the two main challenges within the indoor farming industry: high electricity and labour costs. Currently, CubicFarms cultivates living lettuce, living basil and microgreens at its own facility in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia and is partnering with other farmers to establish facilities around the world.For further information: info@ cubicfarms.com , 1-888-280-9076.Cautionary Notice Concerning Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company satisfying the conditions required to complete the listing of its common shares on the TSXV. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions (including the receipt of regulatory approvals) 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. There can be no assurance that the listing will be completed as currently planned or at all. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.SOURCE: CubicFarm Systems Corp. PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 10:15:24 Press Information Trends Market Research One Vincent Square, Westminster, London Ethan Taylor T L 2033221521 email https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com # 738 Words One Vincent Square, Westminster, LondonT L2033221521 "With the growth of the fast food Industry the fast food packaging material has also witnessed rising demand. The fast food industry has been innovating in the presentation as well as packaging of the food. The rise in the food delivery business has also helped the rapid growth in the demand of the wrapping materials. The wrapping material used are in the various forms and uses materials such as paper an paperboards, plastic films, molded plasticwares etc depending on the suitability of the food to be packaged. Functional properties such as low diffusion of the packaging material in the food, ability to keep food fresh for a long period of time, easy disposability, use of virgin material or food grade material, us of nontoxic materials and biodegradability are the things that the fast food industry is looking for as for them brand is very important.It is extensively used for fast food packaging at quick service restaurants, full-service restaurants, cafes, and other institutions. Paper-based wrapping papers utilize raw materials such as kraft paper and specialty papers such as greaseproof papers, wax-coated papers, and foil papers. These papers are available in a variety of thicknesses ranging from less than 8 microns to more than 20 microns. Primary end uses for fast food wrapping paper are sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, chicken, and other snack foods.Get More Information about Fast Food Wrapping Market : https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3119 As the busy lifestyle put constrain on cooking the fast food sector has grown prominence. Developing countries such as India and China are being invaded by global fast food chains and there number of outlets are increasing. And since they maintain global standards for their food packaging, these companies source the material from certified and standard packaging material manufacturers and which is driving the market.The biggest factor that can impede the growth of the market is the government regulations over the use of packaging material and thus the wrapping material manufacturers has to continuously innovate to remain in compliance with the govt norms. Again the growth opportunities are in the APAC countries and also in terms of new technology development. Investment R&D is the key and commercialization of the patented packaging technology will give the manufactures competitive edge over the others.Some of the global fast food or quick service chain restaurants are the largest consumer of these materials and some of them are Subway, McDonalds, Starbucks, KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Dunkin' Donuts, Hunt Brothers Pizza, Wendy's, Orange Julius, etc.Request for Table of Contents: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/requesttoc/3119 The paper-based fast food wrapping paper segment dominates the global market and is due to the biodegradable nature and vast uses in the packing of pizzas and burgers. North America and EU stands ahead of other regions due to different eating behavior as burgers and eating in fast food chains became a daily routine which is not the case with Asian countries.Some of the key players in the global fast food wrapping paper market include Berry Global, Inc., Delfort Group, Georgia-Pacific LLC, Twin Rivers Paper Company, Hindalco Industries Limited, Huhtamaki Oyj, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Limited, Amcor Limited, Mondi Group, Reynolds Group Holding Limited, Thong Guan Industries Berhad, The Clorox Company, United Company RUSAL Plc, Hulamin Limited, Anchor Packaging Inc., Harwal Group, Oji Holdings Corporation, S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc., Nordic Paper AS , Advanced Coated Products Ltd. (The Food Wrap Co.), Pudumjee Paper Products Ltd. , KRPA Holding CZ, a.s., BPM, Inc., Seaman Paper Company, and Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc.Report Description: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/fast-food-wrapping-market About Us:Trends Market Research is one of the leading digital services provider and a result-oriented company based in U.K... We are a team of enthusiastic-driven individuals with top notch skills in SEO, Market research. Trends Market Research is a one stop shop to all your business needs. We help you thrive and succeed. We provide research solution.Our digital and enterprise research assurance solutions are ideal for Automotive & Transportation, Electronics & Semiconductor, Chemicals & Materials, Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices, Food & Beverage and Industrial Automation as well as all type of other leading industries verticals. We offer a vast line of in-depth study of industry trends including customized & client oriented specific requirement.Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited KingdomEmail: sales@ trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com Follow me on : https://trendsreseach.blogspot.com/ PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 14:35:35 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 407 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Howard Wilner is an Executive in the automotive industry and the President of Automax Preowned, a preowned industry leader for over 30 years with four locations throughout Massachusetts. As the CEO of Automax Preowned, Howard Wilner has seen the company grow by over 13% in sales in 2010. Prior to joining Automax Preowned, Howard Wilner spent seven years as the President of Marlboro Auto Exchange.FRAMINGHAM, MA / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2019 / Howard Wilner and the team at Automax Preowned are excited to announce they sponsored the 2019 Relay for Life in Natick, Massachusetts. The American Cancer Society's annual Relay for Life is a 24-hour fundraising and relay event where participants fundraise and walk a track to help raise money for the American Cancer Society and its mission to help eliminate cancer.The Natick Framingham Sherborn Ashland Holliston Relay for Life is on Saturday, June 8, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to midnight at Natick High's Memorial Field.Each year, over 2,500 Relay for Life Events are held across the country to support and celebrate survivors and their caregivers as well as honor those who have passed away or who are currently fighting cancer. The funds raised through this event go toward groundbreaking cancer research, patient care programs, and much more. Howard Wilner and the team at Automax Preowned understand the importance of furthering research and working toward a cure for cancer, which is why they are happy to announce they will be sponsoring a Relay for Life in Natick, Massachusetts.Howard Wilner is a dedicated community volunteer and considers it his duty to give back to the community which has served him so well. He holds a degree in business administration and general management from Massachusetts Bay Community College.Automax Preowned has helped thousands of clients obtain financing and to purchase a preowned car, when they otherwise may not have been able to. They have an expert service department which is always ready to serve you in multiple languages and across its four convenient locations in Framingham, Attleboro and Marlborough. Automax Preowned is the largest car dealership group of its kind in New England. Under Howard Wilner's expert leadership, Automax Preowned recently purchased 408 Maple St Marlboro and built a new building which will be the site of their new state of the art service facility.For more information on the relay for life, visit:Relayfor Life of Natick Framingham Sherborn Ashland HollistonFor more information on Automax Preowned, visit:SOURCE: Automax Preowned In the innovative business landscape of Switzerland, professionals of all types are turning to mindfulness to build the emotional intelligence skills they need to thrive in high-stress situations. Born at Google, and based on neuroscience research, the Search Inside Yourself Certified Program teaches mindfulness to enhance the emotional intelligence and performance of leaders and employees. Register now for early bird pricing PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 13:14:19 Press Information Mindleader 13 Oberdorfstr Michelle Ithen Event Administrator 798914558 email https://www.eventbrite.de/e/search-inside-yourself-siy-certified-program-geneva-tickets-53850405011 # 336 Words 13 OberdorfstrEvent Administrator798914558 In the innovative business landscape of Switzerland, professionals of all types are turning to mindfulness to build the emotional intelligence skills they need to thrive in high-stress situations.Born at Google, and based on neuroscience research, the Search Inside Yourself Certified Program teaches mindfulness to enhance the emotional intelligence and performance of leaders and employees.For the first time, Geneva-based professionals, practitioners, and students will be able to attend this groundbreaking event without having to leave their city. Mindleader is bringing the Search Inside Yourself Certified Program, a two-day public mindfulness program, to Geneva on June 27-28.Search Inside Yourself CEO Rich Fernandez recognizes that todays generation of leaders needs new tools for coping with the mounting stress of a non-stop world.Organizations and individuals are seeing the enormous benefits mindfulness training brings including greater focus, resilience, and agility in the face of challenging situations, Fernandez said.The Search Inside Yourself program was created at Google in 2007. The program proved so popular among Google employees that there was a six-month waiting list to take the program.In 2012, the Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI) was founded as an independent non-profit to bring practical mindfulness to millions of people around the world. SIYLI now offers the science-based Search Inside Yourself program via public programs as well as within companies and organizations.Search Inside Yourself teaches the emotional intelligence skills needed to intensify focus, manage stress, harness creativity, and improve resilience. Participants have come from a diverse range of backgrounds including non-profit managers, government employees, college students, meditation and mindfulness practitioners, and corporate executives.Over the course of the two-day event, a series of targeted intensive sessions lay the foundations for healthy mental habits that sustain optimal professional performance and personal well-being for years to come. The Geneva program is taking place at Webster University, a venue optimized for focused learning and networking.SIYLI Presents: Search Inside Yourself 2-Day Certified ProgramTime: 9:00am-5:30pmDate: June 27-28, 2019Location: Webster University, Route de Collex 15, SwitzerlandRegistration: Mindleader.org Beethoven statues in Bonn : Ludwigs disappear from Bonns Munsterplatz Bonn 75,000 visitors came to the art event on the Munsterplatz in Bonn in the last few weeks. Now the figures are being handed out to their owners. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken Things were very busy on the Munsterplatz shortly before the end of the installation Ludwig von Beethoven Ode to Joy. The last of the 75,000 visitors clambered over the wooden slats with the figures. The first buyers and sponsor Ashok Sridharan received their own Beethoven. By purchasing a statue, they had financed the event and made it a citizens project. The next collection dates will be announced shortly. Beethoven wanted everyone to have access to his music, said Stephen Eisel, chairman of the Citizens for Beethoven Association. The installation achieved this. The reaction was often: Hes finally smiling, said artist Ottmar Horl. We chose the right place and the right city for the event. Karina Krober from the City Marketing Bonn Association praised peoples commitment. Citizens had taken extra holidays to help out. Purchasers should now send photos with their own Ludwig to City Marketing. PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 23:01:50 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 664 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2019 / Primary Energy Metals Inc (CSE: Prim FSE: 1WZ:GR OTC: PEMTD-0) ("Primary" or the "Company") the Company is pleased to announce that Joel Shacker has been appointed as CEO and President replacing Patrick Morris who will remain as a director of the company. In related news the company has appointed Szascha Lim as Chief Financial Officer of the Company following the resignation of Geoff Balderson.Mr. Shacker has worked extensively in the cannabis and finance space over the past six years and sat on the board of directors for the publicly trading cannabis lifestyle company Weekend Unlimited Inc. He has been in charge of leading the expansion into international cannabis markets and has overseen and developed operations from the ground up. He entered the cannabis space by founding a cannabis extraction company which specialized in licensing proprietary formulas to producers. Mr. Shacker holds an Honors Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School specializing in finance and has also served as Chief Operating Officer of CanPac Investment Corp and as an Associate at Stadnyk and Partners. Ms. Lim has been working with public companies in an accounting capacity for several years.The board thanks Patrick for his contributions to the Company in his capacity as CEO and President and his continued support as a director. The Company would also like to thank Mr. Balderson for his support and contribution to Primary Energy Metals Inc. and wish him well in his future endevours.About Primary Energy Metals Inc.PRIMARY ENERGY METALS INC. (CSE: Prim FSE: 1WZ:GR OTC: PEMTD-0) is a listed company of the Canadian Stock Exchange.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORSJoel ShackerCEO and PresidentTelephone: +1 778-735-1000E-mail: info@ primaryenergymetals.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.Forward Looking StatementsCertain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward- looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co- operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.SOURCE: Primary Energy Metals Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 23:03:02 Prosafe SE (Prosafe, Oslo Stock Exchange ticker PRS) and Floatel International Ltd (Floatel") have today signed an agreement to merge their respective businesses. The aim is to create a more robust company with improved services and geographical presence, able to sustain a prolonged cyclical downturn and challenging markets for offshore accommodation. Prosafe SE, Stavanger, is a leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels (flotels) listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, and, like Floatel International Ltd, Bermuda, delivers offshore accommodation to clients in the oil and gas industry worldwide. In a merger of equals, Prosafe will acquire Floatel with consideration in Prosafe shares, whereby Floatels principal shareholders will become large shareholders in Prosafe. - The need for consolidation in oil services is well known. We consider this transaction not only strategically sound, but also necessary to adapt to the significant changes in our markets and competitive landscape in recent years, says Glen Ole Rdland, chairman of the board at Prosafe SE. A merged company will have the most modern and flexible fleet in the global market, with lower costs, increased geographical presence and a strengthened customer offering. If all conditions are met, including clearances from competition authorities in Norway and the UK, required consents from its creditors and shareholder approvals, the transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019. Reduced activity, increased competition Driving the motivation to merge are the fundamental and lasting changes in the market for offshore accommodation vessels in the wake of the oil price drop in 2014. Lower activity in exploration, production and maintenance, combined with extensive efficiency improvements among the oil companies has led to significantly intensified competition for beds at sea. - 2014 was a paradigm shift that triggered an unprecedented downturn and lasting changes in the oil industry. We also face far tougher competition than before, due to a considerable overcapacity of both drilling rigs and supply vessels that are now being used as temporary accommodation. This situation is expected to continue, says Rdland. - A combination of Prosafe and Floatel will also be able to offer a better product to the customers, through a more flexible and geographically diversified fleet. We will to a greater extent offer the right capacity at the right time in all central regions for offshore oil and gas, says Rdland. A large and versatile fleet Prosafe owns and operates a total of nine vessels, each with a capacity of 300-500 beds, and has options for delivery of two newbuilds over the next five years. Floatel's fleet counts five units, each with capacity of 440-550 beds. A merged company will at the outset have the bulk of its activity in the North Sea and Brazil. Prosafes current contracts on the Norwegian continental shelf expire during the first half of 2019, while Floatels contracts in the same region expire in Q3 2020 including options. Rdland emphasizes that the main point of the transaction is to create a company that is better equipped to compete in the global market, especially in less mature regions where demand for flotels is still growing. Audiocast An audiocast will be held at 10am CEST on Tuesday 4th of June 2019 where the transaction will be presented by Peter Jacobsson, Glen Rdland and Jesper Kragh Andersen. The audiocast can be followed live by clicking on the webcast link on the front page of www.prosafe.com or www.floatel.bm Stavanger*), 3 June 2019 Prosafe SE For further questions, please contact: Glen Ole Rdland, Chairman of Prosafe: + 47 907 41 662 Peter Jacobsson, CEO of Floatel: +46 768 56 3618 Jesper Kragh Andresen, CEO of Prosafe: +47 51 64 25 00 / +47 907 65 155 *) Prosafe SE is in process of moving its legal domiciliation to Norway (head-office in Stavanger) prior to the consummation of this transaction. ***** Key transaction highlights include: The merger will create the worlds largest offshore accommodation company, combining Prosafes existing nine semi-submersible vessels and options for two newbuild semi-submersible vessels with Floatels five semi-submersible vessels. The combined company will be positioned to take advantage of further operational efficiencies as well as enhanced global reach from an enlarged fleet. The combined entity will be better positioned to sustain a prolonged cyclical downturn, with challenging market outlook and falling utilization and reduced hook up and commissioning work. For the year ended 31 December 2018, the combined company had revenues of more than USD 600m and an EBITDA of more than USD 300m. The combined entity is anticipated to realize significant cost and efficiency synergies. Combined firm contract backlog at 31 March 2019 is approximately USD 225m. In addition, Prosafe recently announced a three-year contract for the Safe Eurus in Brazil which adds about USD 80m to the contract backlog, while Floatel has recently been awarded a 4-month extension at Martin Linge which adds a further USD 22m to the contract backlog. The transaction is an all-share merger of equals and will be implemented through issuance of new shares in Prosafe as consideration for all ordinary shares in Floatel. After completion, Prosafe and Floatel shareholders will, on a fully diluted basis (including Prosafe convertible bonds and Prosafe warrants), own 55% and 45% of the combined company's equity, respectively. The name of the combined company will be Prosafe SE, and the shares of the combined company will continue to be listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under ticker code PRS. The transaction is unanimously supported and recommended by the board of directors of the two companies. Transaction details Pursuant to the transaction agreement, the transaction will be structured as a transfer of 100% of the ordinary shares and management warrants in Floatel to Prosafe, against consideration to the shareholders in Floatel in the form of 79,991,178 new shares (the "Consideration Shares") to be issued by Prosafe. The number of Consideration Shares is based on an agreed exchange ratio of 55/45 (Prosafe/Floatel) on a fully diluted basis and includes 2,017,469 warrants to be issued to the management of Floatel as replacement of existing management warrants in Floatel. Total number of ordinary outstanding shares in Prosafe following the transaction will be 159,837,921, and the total number of shares on a fully diluted basis will be 177,758,173. No agreements have or will be entered into in connection with the transaction for the benefit of the board of directors of either company. In addition, the Floatel shareholders will be allocated new non-voting, non-interest bearing conditional preference shares. The conditional preference shares shall entitle the holders to have a preferential right to receive dividends, up to a total maximum value of USD 20m and such dividend may be adjusted downwards to a minimum value of USD nil depending on the outcome of the Westcon case. These preference shares will be cancelled once the Westcon case is concluded and any dividend has been paid. The combined companys largest shareholders will be FELS Offshore Pte. Ltd., funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (Oaktree) and HitecVision, which, respectively, will hold approximately 22%, 19% and 16% of the shares on a fully diluted basis. Post completion, these shareholders have agreed to a 12-month lock-up of their shares. The transaction will imply a business combination between Prosafe and Floatel, with Prosafe after completion of the transaction remaining listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The transaction will not trigger a mandatory offer pursuant to the Norwegian take-over rules. The companies will seek required consents from their creditors to the business combination. No material amendments are intended to be requested from the respective creditor groups other than what is required to effectuate the combination. As such the current financing structure for both companies will be kept intact and separate. The creditor process will be carried out based on the principle of equal treatment between the Prosafe creditors and the Floatel creditors. Therefore, the transaction will be carried out so that Prosafe will remain as the listed group holding company for Floatel and Prosafe. To provide for such structure, a demerger of certain Prosafe assets will be carried out to a newly incorporated and wholly owned subsidiary of Prosafe. The new subsidiary will, inter alia, accede as debtor under the existing Prosafe debt. Existing secured creditors in Prosafe and Floatel will continue with the same security structure as they have today. In addition, Prosafe SE, being the ultimate holding company, will be co-borrower for all existing secured debt in Prosafe and Floatel. The companies firmly believe that the positive effects of the merger described above also will benefit the creditors of the combined entity. Board of Directors It has been agreed that Glen Ole Rdland, Chairman of Prosafe SE, will become chairman of the combined company. FELS Offshore Pte. Ltd. and Oaktree will nominate one board member each. Timing and conditions precedent Completion of the transaction remains subject to certain conditions, including: 1. Approval by the shareholders of Prosafe by 2/3 majority at an extraordinary general meeting in the company expected to be held later in 2019; 2. Approval from applicable competition authorities; 3. Approvals as required under all material agreements of the companies, including creditor approval under both companies' financing arrangements; 4. No material adverse effect with respect to the respective businesses having occurred. Subject to completion of all conditions precedent, the parties expect that the transaction will complete by end Q3 2019. The transaction is subject to a long stop date of 31 December 2019. ***** About Prosafe Prosafe is a leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker code PRS. For more information, please refer to https://www.prosafe.com/ About Floatel Floatel International owns and operates five semisubmersible accommodation vessels, all vessel where delivered within the period 2010 to 2016. Floatel has two bond issuances listed on Oslo ABM with ticker code FLOAT02 and FLOAT03. For more information, please refer to http://www. floatel.bm ***** IMPORTANT INFORMATION This release does not constitute an offer, invitation or solicitation of an offer to buy, subscribe or sell any shares in the companies. The distribution of this release in certain jurisdictions is restricted by law. This release is not for distribution or release, directly or indirectly, in or into any jurisdiction in which the distribution or release would be unlawful. Matters discussed in this release may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of the companies and/or the industry in which they operate. Forward-looking statements concern future circumstances and results and other statements that are not historical facts, sometimes identified by the words "believes", expects", "predicts", "intends", "projects", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "foresees", "anticipates", "targets", and similar expressions. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release, including assumptions, opinions and views of the companies or cited from third party sources are solely opinions and forecasts which are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from any anticipated development. Neither the companies nor any of their subsidiary undertakings or any such person's affiliates, officers or employees provides any assurance that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors, nor do any of them accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. The companies assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or to confirm these forward-looking statements to our actual results. This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act Attachment PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 15:01:16 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 299 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 3, 2019 / RESAAS Services Inc. (TSX-V: RSS, OTCQB: RSASF), a cloud-based technology platform for the real estate industry, will present at the 6th Annual Montreal Capital Conference on June 8th 2019.The conference introduces select growth-stage companies to active top-level capital finance individuals through scheduled one-on-one meetings. Participants on the investor side include top brokers, portfolio managers, institutional investors and high net worth individual investors active in growth stocks and looking for new opportunities for themselves and their clients.The event will feature senior participants from Raymond James, Haywood Securities, Industrial Alliance, PI Financial Corp., GMP Securities, Sprott Private Wealth, Canaccord, Mackie Research, AlphaNorth, Echelon and Gravitas Securities.Tom Rossiter, President and CEO of RESAAS, will be available for one-on-one meetings to discuss the Company's significant recent news, growth trajectory and strategy for the year ahead.To arrange a one-on-one meeting with the Company, please contact investors@ resaas.com About RESAAS Services Inc.RESAAS is a cloud-based technology platform for the real estate industry that enables real estate brokerages, franchises and associations to bring real-time communication, new business opportunities and unique data to their agents on a global basis.Visit www.resaas.com for more information.For further information contact:Tom Rossiter, CEORESAAS Services Inc.Tel: +1 (604) 558-2929 Email: investors@ resaas.com The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.The statements made in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that may involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results could differ materially from RESAAS Services Inc.'s expectations and projections.SOURCE: RESAAS Services Inc. Telemedicine Market PR-Inside.com: 2019-06-03 09:24:52 Press Information Trends Market Research Contact Us: One Vincent Square Westminster, London SW1P 2PN United Kingdom Phone: +442033221521 Email: sales@trendsmarketresearch.com Website: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com email Published by Ethan Taylor +44-631-787-4201 e-mail https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com # 620 Words Contact Us:One Vincent SquareWestminster, London SW1P 2PNUnited Kingdom Phone: +442033221521Email: sales@trendsmarketresearch.comWebsite: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.comEthan Taylor+44-631-787-4201 Telemedicine technology conceivably focuses on the elderly, the underserved along with their caregivers, people with chronic ailments, dependents and employees and fitness-oriented people. The implementation of telemedicine is expanding around the world. This can be ascribed to its capacity to enhance the nature of care, get to patients in rural networks, lessen hospital admissions and readmissions, upgrade patient engagement and improve time administration and accommodation. Telemedicine, in addition, addresses the doctor shortage worldwide. The increasing prevalence of chronic ailments, rising elderly populace, and growing healthcare services costs are aspects of driving this market. As of now, mHealth (mobile health) is considered to be the biggest utilized telemedicine. With the wide assortment of versatile health apps accessible in the market and novel mobile therapeutic devices that are customer friendly, currently, patients are relied on technology to screen and track their health.Get Sample Copy Of The Report@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3331 Telemedicine exploits fast strides in the communication innovation in order to enable healthcare experts to give financially savvy effective healthcare, distance-learning to the patients, supervision, decrease wastage and requirement for physical appointment, increasing proficiency of healthcare specialists time and others. In general healthcare system incorporation as well as cutting the shortage of healthcare experts through the world is another circumstance of the innovation. The drivers for the telemedicine market increase in the demand for healthcare services in rural areas, rise in government initiatives to cater the health needs of the rural population, availability of well-developed information technology infrastructure, rising number of telemedicine services provider and others.On the other hand, the absence of reimbursement, administrative issues, absence of physician knowledge and acknowledgment poor connectivity in underdeveloped regions, high installation cost, poor quality networks particularly in emerging nations all over the world, absence of awareness and others are a few of the aspects constraining the expansion of the telemedicine market.In the year 2016, GlobalMed took on TreatMD. TreatMD had assisted GlobalMed to associate physicians and patients all over the world. The deal was believed to generate synergy among direct-to-customer telemedicine technologies of TreatMD together with the client to client established GlobalMed technology for telemedicine. During the same year, Medvivo one of the prominent telemedicine companies took on Expert 24 with a chief goal of enlarging its regional distribution in addition to product lines all the way through the United States, Europe, and the UK.Request For Report Discount@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/discount/3331 In November 2017, BioTelemetry, Inc., reported its contract with Apple Inc. to allow for services for cardiac monitoring in alignment with the Apple Heart Study. Again during the same period, Telcare, (a division of BioTelemetry) the producer of the worlds first FDA-authorised cellular-enabled blood glucose monitor, came into a strategic partnership with Onduo, a combined venture made by Sanofi as well as Verily (an Alphabet company). Under this combined venture, Telcare is considered to function as the provider of remote blood glucose systems as well as the ensuing data for patients recruited in Onduos groundbreaking program for diabetes management.Increasing the amount of virtual medical centers in addition to the growth of remote clinical enterprises are a few of the trends which have been discovered in the worldwide telemedicine market. In rural areas shortfall of physicians is believed to put forward fresh prospects for the expansion of the telemedicine market, worldwide. A few of the prominent companies functioning in the telemedicine market globally are AMD Telemedicine, Philips healthcare, Cardio Net Inc. McKesson Ltd., along with GE Healthcare Ltd. On account of the rising potential in the developing nations, for instance, Russia and Brazil, the foremost market players are concentrating on increasing their services in these regions.Report Analysis@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/telemedicine-market Nigerian musicians, Saheed Osupa, Shina Peters, Sikiru Agboola and Tolu Obey, son of legendary Juju artist, Ebenezer Obey, discussed the future of Yoruba music at a recent event in Lagos. The gathering, which was tagged Roundtable, is an annual discourse aimed at promoting intellectual discussions amongst key stakeholders in the Fuji, Juju and Afro hiphop genres. The annual event heralds Ariya Repete competition, a talent hunt competition for budding Yoruba musicians. Moderated by leading on-air personality, Adebayo Faleke, the Roundtable panelists included a blend of veteran and young talented musicians. The experts discussed the evolution of indigenous Yoruba genres of music while highlighting the roles played by the older and younger generation of artists. The exciting roundtable conversation was an eye opener as the artists shared various insights into the past and potential future of their industry. The new generation indigenous musicians were represented by the likes of Sound Sultan and renowned music producer, ID Cabasa. Other invited artists and guests at the event included Muyiwa Osinake; renowned dancer, Adebayo Ijodee; Segun Nabi, and Champion Kunle Opio. They all shared their knowledge and views on how to enrich the fusion, which has come to bridge music genres in the industry. Discussing the topic One Culture, One Voice, New Sound, Sound Sultan and other members of the panel highlighted the ingenuity of Sir Shina Peters. Sound Sultan said, Although SSP sings majorly in Yoruba language, he has been able to infuse English language into his music, which ultimately helped his music cross over to the wider and diverse Nigerian audience. This is one skill any aspiring Yoruba musician must adopt. The fusion of various musical genres in Nigeria was another core area of the discussion. Osupa expressed delight at how the blend of traditional and contemporary genres have not only changed the direction of Nigerian music but also the perception of its listeners. He added that the development is bridging the gap between the old and new generation of Yoruba music lovers. The panelists also beamed the spotlight on the evolution of indigenous genres of music, highlighting the roles played by both the older and younger generation of artists while highlighting the huge potential of the industry in years to come. The gathering also served as the perfect platform to announce the return of the 2019 edition of Ariya Repete which would kick off on June 11 with a number selection parties to be held in the south-western states. The Senior Brand Manager of Goldberg & Life Lager, Maria Shadeko, the organisers of the event, who spoke at the session expressed delight at the return of the talent hunt. She said the 2019 edition of Ariya Repete will be the first ever to be aired on television with the aim of reaching an even wider audience. This might be particularly exciting for fans of the show as this edition would also see the introduction an all-new Afro Pop category. Kim Jong Chol, a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has appeared in public, according to state-run media despite a widely repeated South Korean report that he had been sent to a labour camp after a failed summit with U.S. President Donald Trump. Jong Chol acted as Jong Uns top negotiator in discussions with the U.S. about North Korean nuclear disarmament ahead of Februarys summit in Hanoi, which ended prematurely with no agreement. A South Korean newspaper reported earlier that he had been purged and another top official, special envoy to the U.S. Kim Hyok Chol, had been executed over the failure. But official North Korean news agency KCNA published a report on Monday saying Jong Chol attended a dance performance with Jong Un a day earlier. Hyok Chol was not listed among the attendees. Such reports of purges have been proven wrong in the past due to the secretive nature of the North Korean state it is difficult to confirm them. In April, South Korean media reported that Jong Chol had been removed from his post as negotiator but there has been no official confirmation from Pyongyang. Mondays KCNA report referred to him simply as a leading official of the ruling Workers Party. (dpa/NAN) British Airways on Monday resumed flight operations to Pakistan, 10 years after halting the service in the wake of a suicide bombing that killed more than 50 people at Islamabads Marriott Hotel. Footage of a Boeing 787 jet with some 240 passengers on board landing at the capitals new airport was aired by local TV channels. Several government ministers and the British high commissioner were on hand to welcome the flight. I am happy that British Airways has landed in Pakistan after 11 years, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said in a video message. Todays Pakistan is more safe, secure and peaceful, Mr Khan said. The security situation has since improved due to successive military operations against the militants. Britains flag carrier is back, Thomas Drew, the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, said in a video message shared via Twitter. It is of course a tribute to the great improvement to the security situation in Pakistan in recent years, Mr Drew added. British Airways will be operating three flights a week to Pakistan, said Farah Hussain, a spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). (dpa/NAN) The Jigawa State school for the blind has become virtually unattended with an official suggesting visually impaired children prefer begging to school. The school was founded in 2013 to cater for blind children across the state. The boarding school, located at Limawa community in Dutse Local Government Area, is for the enrollment of blind children for basic-level education. The school, located in the state capital Dutse, has 66 pupils formally registered, said the vice-principal, Husseini Mahmud. However, the official added that only 10 pupils who reside nearby appear for schooling. Mr Mahmud said currently there are four students at the junior secondary section, while there are six pupils at the primary section. In Nigerias public education system, junior secondary and primary schools form basic education. The junior secondary school students will move to the senior section after they finish their junior secondary, said Mr Mahmud. Officials Give Reasons Explaining the reason for low attendance, the director of works at the state basic education board, Alhassan Marke, said, Probably because of the lucrative nature of begging in our society, or because an educated blind man has not been a model in the society. I doubt if there are ten blind people working in Jigawa State. The major challenge for the school of the blind is enrolment. Were doing our best, we will not relent in our efforts. Some of the blind people see the school as alien. Most of them see themselves as people destined to beg for survival. Mr Marke, A director for works, Jigawa SUBEB He lamented the development, despite a concerted effort by the state government and critical stakeholders being put in place to enlighten the blind about the existence and imperative of the school in the state. However, the schools vice principal, Mr Mahmud, told reporters that although the school is a boarding school, there is no provision for feeding the students. This may have discouraged the target children from attending, he said. Mr Marke claimed that the school has all the needed teaching materials for the blind children since inception. But he said the remaining registered students living across the state are not attending because there is no feeding in the boarding school, confirming the vice principals concern. We have accommodation for students and teachers. What probably makes the other students stay away from school is because the government is yet to commence feeding in the boarding school. In Jigawa State, there is free education for people living with disabilities from primary school up to university level. Also, the feeding for the school of the blind is also free. Premises of Jigawa school for the blindPremises of Jigawa school for the blindPremises of Jigawa school for the blind Grasses occupy the schools premises The management of the school is proving difficult over time because there is no subvention from the authority. The major constraints for the proper functioning of the school are feeding and inadequate manpower, Mr. Mahmud, the schools vice principal, said. Yet, PREMIUM TIMES spoke with visually impaired teenagers who vow to swim against the tide and fulfil dreams through education. Maryam Adamu, 16-year-old and visually impaired, told PREMIUM TIMES that she was enrolled as a primary school pupil in 2013 and is now in Junior secondary school class two. She said, my ambition is to further my education and to come back to the school and teach because I learned that there is a dearth of teachers in the school. Walkway for the blind students inside the school premises Also, Ayuba Ismail, 13-year-old junior secondary school class two student, said: My ambition is to further my education to become a degree holder and teach. Causes of blindness. Abdullahi Idris, an optician at the Rasheed Shekoni specialist hospital, said child blindness in the state is 1.2 per 1000 live births. He said causes of blindness in Jigawa State are glaucoma, cataract, scar, and sexually transmitted diseases, among others. Advertisements A new granding machine provided by government abundant at the schools premises for about a year Also, the states Desk Officer of the not-for-profit German Base Mission, Abalis Dasat, said the agency has carried out 906 cataract surgeries on pupils and students of primary and junior secondary schools in the state. He added that a total of 764,504 school-aged children have undergone eye defect screening in the state. Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has declared that the state government may soon start implementing death penalty on bandits informants in the state. Zamfara already has a law mandating death penalty for bandits. Hundreds of people have been killed and kidnapped by bandits in Zamfara and neighbouring states in the past year. The governor announced his stance on Sunday when he visited Lilo village of Wonaka district in Gusau local government area of the state. He was at the village to sympathise with the people over Saturday night bandits attack on the community which resulted in the death of eight persons and left 18 others with bullet and knife wounds. He said the government would not tolerate some citizens supporting bandits to carry out their criminal activities while pretending to be good fellows. We are going to send an executive bill to the state house of assembly immediately after the inauguration of the lawmakers and l want to assure the good citizens that if the bill is passed, it will be implemented to the letter, he said. The governor cautioned the Civilian Joint Task Force members to avoid taking the laws into their hands, saying that his administration would not tolerate extra judicial killings As JTF members, you have no right to kill anybody; enough is enough, as from today, government will not allow extra judicial killing. It is very sad, so regrettable the way our people are being killed every day, it is very unfortunate that we took over this government in the midst of serious security challenges not only in Zamfara but also all over the country. If you arrest any bandit, you should hand them over to the appropriate authorities; this administration has made adequate arrangements to tackle insecurity, all what we need is support and prayers. He said his government had provided more equipment for the security agencies to carry out their duties effectively. Security agencies are now monitoring phone calls in this state, I am therefore appealing to the bandits to repent or face the consequences of the law. Earlier, the Emir of Gusau, Ibrahim Bello, thanked the governor for the visit and called for more support to government and security agencies in tackling the problem. Mr Bello appealed to communities to continue to support government with prayers to succeed in fighting banditry. The governor, who was inaugurated on May 29, donated N5 million to the families of the deceased and directed the office of the Secretary to the State Government to take care of the medical bills of all the injured persons. (NAN) Some officials of the Nigerian Police Force on Monday stormed the head office of Nigerias oil and gas firm, Oando Plc. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that about a dozen police officers were sighted at the companys head office at Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Monday. The development comes in the wake of a directive by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, which ordered the companys Group Chief Executive Officer, Wale Tinubu, and other affected board member to resign. On Sunday, SEC also disclosed that it had set up an interim management team to oversee the affairs of Oando. Further to our press release on Oando Plc, dated May 31, 2019, the commission hereby informs the public of the constitution of an interim management team headed by Mr Mutiu Olaniyi Adio Sunmonu CON, to oversee the affairs of Oando Plc, and conduct an Extraordinary General Meeting on or before July 1, 2019 to appoint new directors to the board of the company, who would subsequently select a management team for Oando Plc, SEC said in a statement. On Monday, our correspondent also gathered that some staff of Oando were denied access to the office. Efforts to speak with Alero Balogun, Oandos spokesperson, were unsuccessful Monday afternoon. Last Friday, SEC announced the conclusion of its investigation of Oando and ordered Mr Tinubu and other affected board members to resign. The regulator also barred Mr Tinubu and the Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Omamofe Boyo, from being directors of public companies for a period of five years. Planned hotel near Beethovenhalle : This is why there are explosions on Erzbergerufer Ein Bagger legt eine 1,5 Tonnen schwere Gummimatte uber die Locher mit den Dynamitstangen. Foto: Benjamin Westhoff BONN The demolition work for a new hotel close to the Beethovenhalle in Bonn is continuing after a forced break. An excavator with a huge bit had caused gas pipes to vibrate to such an extent that the pipes could have leaked. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken This bunker is tougher than expected. In the middle of February, the Becker construction company from Oberhausen had to temporarily stop demolition for a new hotel building at Erzbergeufer. Site manager Uwe Groh and his team have been back on the site next to the Beethovenhalle since 13 May. The forced break was for the following reason: further demolition works heading away from the Rhine bank by an excavator with a huge bit had caused nearby gas pipelines belonging to Stadtwerke Bonn to vibrate to such an extent that SWB employees, who carried out continual measurements, declared a pipe could leak. The replanning took three months. Now there is a new man at the construction site between the riverbank, Theaterstrae, Windmuhlenstrae and An der Windmuhle. Rolf Wunderlich, an explosives expert from the German Explosives Union based in Huckeswagen, is a key part of the new concept. Twice a day, with the help of construction workers, he drills holes in the uppermost ceiling of the former air-raid shelter. The steel-reinforced concrete is 1.30 metres thick. Then Wunderlich pushes sticks of dynamite, delivered daily from a secure location, into the holes. On this day, he fills eleven holes with 6.6 kilogrammes of explosives. The excavator then lays 1.5 tonne rubber mats made from used car tyres over the explosive contents. You can see the reason for this protective cover daily at 10am and 2pm. At these times there is a rumbling after Wunderlich has first given the signal with a horn and the traffic in the immediately adjacent streets has been halted for a short time. The heavy rubber mats lift a little with the detonation and then the construction workers can again remove blown up pieces of the ceiling. Groh estimates this will continue until July: twice daily explosions on workdays, clear construction rubble and so on until the upper ceiling is removed. Residents were informed of the detonations after consultation with the city. According to Groh and the press office, there have been no complaints so far. The former bunker builders cast a false ceiling underneath, but the demolition company can cut through the 35 centimetres with so-called shears. The foundation of the bunker will remain. Also the outer walls, says Groh. The future hotel building that Landmarken AG plans to construct in time for the Beethoven Anniversary 2020 will be built on top of it. According to Landmarkens press officer Kolja Linden, the third quarter remains the target despite the delays. President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Inspector-General of Police, the Ministry of Justice and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to work out modalities for the implementation of the report of the Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) within three months. A press release signed by the deputy director of information at the State House, Attah Esa, said Mr Buhari gave the directive on Monday while receiving the 2804-page report from the Panel headed by the Executive Secretary of NHRC, Tony Ojukwu, at the State House. The report of the panel is in four volumes. It has among other recommendations the dismissal of 37 police officers from the force and the prosecution of 24 officers. The panel also directed the IGP to unravel the identity of 22 officers involved in the violation of human rights of innocent citizens, while the police were directed to pay compensation of various sums in 45 complaints and tender public apologies in five complaints and to obey court orders in five matters. The Panel recommended the establishment of State and local government police and the renaming of SARS to Anti-Robbery Section (ARS), which was its original name, and to make the section operate under the intelligence arm of the Police. Responding, President Buhari said, inter alia: I am very happy with the work of the Panel and thank the Panel members for working hard towards the realisation of the Presidential Directive. I believe that the Report of the Panel and recommendations contained therein would go a long way in redressing the grievances of the complainants, ensure accountability on the part of the Police Officers in discharging their responsibilities and facilitate the various Police reforms being introduced by this administration. I want to assure you and all Nigerians that this Administration will continue to fulfil its obligations of promoting and protecting human rights of Nigerians, and will give the National Human Rights Commission all the support required to ensure full implementation of the recommendations contained in its Report. In addition, we will strengthen the operations of the Commission to enhance its effectiveness and capability to resolve cases of human rights violations. This administration is conscious of the role the Commission plays in ensuring security and stability in the nation through the resolution of complaints of human rights violations, which if neglected, could result into major security challenges. As you are aware, I have recently approved the reconstitution of the Governing Council of the Commission. The names of the Council members will be submitted to the National Assembly for confirmation before the inauguration of the Council in line with NHRC Act, 1995 (as amended). I want to thank the Panel once more, and hereby direct that since the recommendations of the Commission that constituted the Panel are enforceable as decisions of the Court, that the Inspector General of Police and the Solicitor General of the Federation/Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice meet with the Commission to work out the modalities for the implementation of the Report within 3 months from today. A Federal High Court on Monday sentenced Callistus Obi, a former Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), to seven years imprisonment for a N136 million fraud. Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, in Lagos, however, gave Mr Obi an option of N42 million fine. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Mr Obi on an eight-count charge of fraud along with one Alu Dismas, who was an aide to a former Director-General of NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi. Also charged were two companies, Grand Pact Ltd. and Global Seal Investment Ltd., as third and fourth defendants. On May 23, the court convicted the defendants after it found them guilty of allegations contained in the charge. Delivering the sentence, Mrs Olatoregun held that it was not in doubt that the prisons were congested and unconducive, which necessitated consideration of a non-custodian sentence. She, however, reiterated the need for punishments to send warning signals and consequently sentenced the convicts to seven years imprisonment with an option of N7 million fine on count two, and seven years imprisonment with an option of N7 million on count three. The judge punished the convicts with seven years imprisonment with an option of N7 million on count four. She ordered the companies to pay a fine of 10 million each on count five but made no forfeiture orders against them. On counts six, the court sentenced Mr Obi to seven years imprisonment with an option of N7 million fine. She also sentenced him to seven years imprisonment with an option of N7 million fine on count seven while on count eight, she sentenced him to seven years imprisonment with an option of N7 million fine. The court held that the terms of imprisonment shall run concurrently, while the fine shall be computed cumulatively. EFCC had closed the case for the prosecution on Jan. 31, 2017, while the defence filed a no-case submission. The court, however, dismissed the no-case submission on Feb. 21, 2017 and ordered the defence to open its case. According to the charge, the convicts committed the offences on Aug. 5, 2014. The prosecution said that they conspired to convert the money from NIMASA, with the knowledge that same were proceeds of stealing. The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 15 and 18(a) of the Money Laundering Prohibitions (Amendment) Act, 2012. (NAN) An army commander and six soldiers are currently missing after two bases of the Nigerian military in Borno State came under Boko Haram attack on Saturday, with one soldier feared dead. There was also a loss of unquantifiable combat equipment in the wake of the terrorists offensive, PREMIUM TIMES has been told. The terrorists attacked troops of 192 Battalion deployed to Delwa Village, along Maiduguri-Damboa Road in Konduga Local Government Area, and their colleagues attached to 242 Battalion in Marte LGA towards Lake Chad, according to army sources. The two attacks appeared coordinated as they were unleashed about the same, 6 p.m. on Saturday. Saturdays incidents followed an earlier attack, on May 22, on an army base in Gubio LGA of Borno State. The Gubio attack was on the camp housing the Nigerian Army 5 Brigade and the 159 Task Force Battalion, and it left at least one soldier killed and three others injured. But despite the attack suffered on May 22, the army chief, Tukur Buratai, insisted that Boko Haram had been defeated in a statement last Thursday just two days before the latest attacks. The terrorists, who attacked the 192 Battalion reportedly launched from Alagarno forest in Damboa LGA in four Armoured Personnel Carriers and 12-gun trucks. Although the troops were initially dislodged, reinforcement from Maiduguri, about 30km away, helped them retake the base after the terrorists had withdrawn. However, despite retaking the base, one yet-to-be-named soldier was killed, while six others, also not named yet, became missing. Also, the terrorists burnt a T55 armoured tank, made away with two gun trucks, a canter truck, one armoured personnel carrier, mortal gun and unquantifiable ammunition, sources said. Reorganisation of the camp is currently ongoing, said a military source with knowledge of the development. He added that a commanding officer and many soldiers were missing in action. The other attack suffered on Saturday left the troops of 242 battalion in Marte completely dislodged with no reinforcement unlike the Delwa incident, our source said. It was said to be a much easier operation for the Boko Haram as they had enough time to cart away arms and ammunition. Following the dislodgement on Saturday, 15 soldiers later appeared in Dikwa, the brigade headquarters on Sunday. The commanding officer and many soldiers were still missing on Sunday. Army spokesperson, Sagir Musa, did not confirm the incidents when reached on Monday. Army authorities are usually known to downplay losses on their part during confrontations. The North-east has been rocked by an unending insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced many over the years. One of Nigerias foremost human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has questioned the decisions of some courts who award fines and punishments to litigants in public interest cases. Mr Falanas statement is coming shortly after a Federal Capital Territory High Court ordered the punishment of a man, Tochi Micheal, over allegations that the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko, falsified his age. According to Mr Falana, the decisions of courts to punish public interest litigants amounts to an attack on public interest litigation in the country. The FCT High Court presided over by a judge, Danlami Senchi, had in a judgement on May 31 dismissed a motion by Mr Micheal, seeking the removal of the acting CJN over alleged falsification of age. According to the applicant, Mr Mohammed lied on oath when he claimed to have been born on December 31, 1953, instead of December 31, 1950. Mr Michael who alleged that Mr Tankos credentials indicated that he was born in 1950 accused the acting CJN of breaching the codes of the judicial profession and liable to being dismissed from office. In a judgement, however, Mr Senchi struck out the suit and accused Mr Michael of acting with a motive to scandalise Mr Tanko. According to the report published by the News Agency of Nigeria, the FCT High Court ruled that Mr Senchi provided no evidence to support his claims against Mr Tanko which were regarded by the court as blatant falsehood. Mr Senchi said the applicant lacked the locus standi, or right, to institute the suit and requested the registrar of the Supreme Court to commence legal action against Mr Michael. Mr Senchi also ordered the applicant to pay a fine of N10 million within three weeks, as a deterrent to other such applicants. But in a statement by Mr Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he described such punishments in public interest cases as illegal, unconstitutional and an outright violation of the applicants right to a fair hearing. In recent times, some High Court Judges have been reported to have imposed fines ranging from N5 million to N10 million on concerned citizens whose cases were struck out for want of locus standi. With respect, the renewed attack on public interest litigation by judges cannot be justified under the Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. Specifically, the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 have enjoined judges to encourage public interest litigation in promoting the human rights of Nigerian people. Mr Falana questioned the constitutionality of dismissing a suit on the grounds of locus standi. He said that the doctrine has since been abolished with regards to human rights. Ex abundanti cautela, the doctrine of locus standi has been abolished in the area of human rights by Order III of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009. Since access to court has been guaranteed by sections 6 and 36 of the 1999 Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act it is illegal and unconstitutional to impose fines on aggrieved citizens who approach the courts to challenge the illegal official policies or unconstitutional legislations under the current democratic dispensation. As far as the law stands, no judge has the power to order a litigant to pay costs outside the ambit of the Rules of the respective High Courts. Even in the award of costs litigants and their counsel are given a fair hearing by judges. Why then are fines imposed on litigants or lawyers without allowing them to make any representation? I wish to state that no judge is empowered by the Constitution, High Court Law or Rules of Court to impose fines of N5 million or N10 million on a litigant who has not been tried and convicted for committing a criminal offence in Nigeria. Mr Falana said the Supreme Court had set aside the doctrine of locus standi to pave the way for public interest litigation. He called on judges to, desist from striking out or dismissing cases which are filed to challenge impunity of public officers in Nigeria. Have you been wondering why the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives held plenaries on Thursday, May 30, a day after the inauguration of the President and state executives? Are you surprised both chambers will still hold plenaries (valedictory session) one more time before the expiration of the 8th assembly? Then this explainer would be a piece of good information for you. Inaugurated on June 9 2015, both houses of the National Assembly are expected to sit for four years, according to the Constitution. The Constitution also recognises May 29 as hand over date for new governments in Nigeria. The date has been there since the return to civilian rule in 1999. However, despite the inauguration of the president, the Senate and House of Representatives continue to hold plenaries. Constitutional provision According to the 1999 Constitution, the two arms of the National Assembly still stand open until the last day of a four-year period of legislative sitting. Section 64(1) of the Constitution allows the legislators to sit beyond the date of presidential inauguration so far it does not extend beyond the first day of inauguration. The section reads, The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each stand dissolved at the expiration of a period of four years commencing from the date of the first sitting of the House. Going by this section, the National Assembly can still sit until at least June 9, the date the first sitting was held in 2015. Only in rare cases can the National Assembly sit beyond this time. According to the Constitution, If the Federation is at war in which the territory of Nigeria is physically involved and the President considers that it is not practicable to hold elections, the National Assembly may by resolution extend the period of four years mentioned in subsection (1) of this section from time to time but not beyond a period of six months at any one time. Even with the completion of a four-year tenure, members of the National Assembly do not have the power to convene or inaugurate themselves. The Constitution provides that the president will have to issue a proclamation before the two houses hold their first session. This proclamation could only come after the president himself is inaugurated. This power is derived from section 64(3) of the Constitution. Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the person elected as the President shall have power to issue a proclamation for the holding of the first session of the National Assembly immediately after his being sworn in, or for its dissolution as provided in this section. President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to issue a proclamation for the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly to hold on June 11, 2019. The Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned until Friday, hearing in a suit challenging the eligibility of Femi Gbajabiamila to vie for the position of speaker of the House of Representatives in the incoming 9th National Assembly. Justice Inyang Ekwo adjourned the suit, following the prayer of Philip Undies counsel, Olasupo Azeez, that the defendant was yet to be served with the originating process. Mr Azeez, earlier prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable the plaintiff regularise the processes before the court and to serve all the defendants by way of substituted means and it was granted. Mr Undie in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/539/2019 is challenging the eligibility of Mr Gbajabiamila on the grounds that he has a criminal allegation in the state of Georgia, U.S. Other defendants in the suit are the House of Representative, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). The plaintiff in the suit said that Mr Gbajabiamila ought not to be allowed to contest for the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives based on information that he had been criminally convicted by the Supreme Court of the State of Georgia. (NAN) The Police on Monday said they had arrested 38 suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and gun runners in different parts of the North Central, North East and North West zones of the country. Force spokesman and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Frank Mba, disclosed this while addressing journalists in Abuja. He said the suspects were arrested by police operatives attached to the Special Tactical Squad (STS) and Intelligence Response Team (IRT). According to Mr Mba, 20 AK47 rifles, 11 dane guns, four pump action rifles, 10 automatic pistols, 6, 000 live ammunition and two vehicles were recovered. He said the arrest was in continuation of the Operation Puff Adder recently launched to tackle the security challenges on the Abuja-Kaduna highway and the country in general. Mr Mba said members of a syndicate, which specialised in smuggling weapons into the country, were among suspects arrested. The spokesman said the syndicate smuggle the weapons from North Africa, Burkina Faso and Benin Republic. They conceal the weapons inside hide and skin, second hand clothing and yam flour, he said. He said the criminals had also devised a means of concealing weapons inside toys, urging members of the public to bear with the police when carrying thorough checks on vehicles. When you see policemen checking items like that please dont blame them, he said. Speaking to journalists, one of the suspects, said he had killed several kidnap victims who could not pay ransom. He said his job was specifically to prevent the victims from escaping from his custody. Mr Mba said the suspects would be charged to court on completion of investigation. (NAN) Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday, advised President Muhammadu Buharis wife, Aisha, to engage her husband privately and raise her concerns about the governments policies. Mrs Buhari has publicly criticised many of the policies of the government headed by her husband, who just won a second term in office, several times in the past, including threatening not to work for his reelection bid. Mr Obasanjo is also a known critic of Mr Buhari, whose reelection bid, he opposed. The former president, who commended Mrs Buhari for speaking out, said she should also engage her husband in pillow talk. Mr Obasanjo gave the advice when the editorial board of Pen-pushing Platform, led by Funke Fadugba, paid him a visit at his residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. Mr Obasanjo, while addressing the visitors, advocated for more advocacy and sensitisation to get the desired change in the country. He said the media should play a crucial role in nation-building hence should not shirk its responsibilities. We have to put all things on the table to address these problems. Mind you, we have to be sincere and genuine with ourselves, he said. It is nice that presidents wife is talking. I think she did well, (but) maybe she should also have pillow talk with the president. I believe every Nigerian family, individuals, groups are entitled to livelihood. It is the responsibility of all to make sure we have a dignified life. Earlier, Mrs Fadugba said the visit was to inform the former president of the programme of events for its third anniversary scheduled to hold July 19. She said the anniversary lecture with the theme, Political Evolution and Multi-party Democracy: Education to the Rescue has become imperative in view of the developments in the country. With the statements by the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, these are commendable efforts, but, one wonders what is really happening. The lecture, it is our belief will go a long way to bring the change this country deserves, she said. Meanwhile, the event, which holds on July 19, at the Marque events centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Library, is expected to have the wife of the former president, Bola Obasanjo, as chairperson. BEING THE INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY DR.ABDULLAHI UMAR GANDUJE, OFR, EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF KANO STATE ON WEDNESDAY,MAY 29,2019 AT SANI ABACHA STADIUM, KOFAR MATA, KANO PROTOCOL Today, I just performed the revered duty of oath-taking as re-elected governor of Kano state. It is the will of Allah the Almighty and support of the good people of Kano State, that my destiny to become the Governor of our dear State for Second term is being realized. You will recall that at my swearing-in as the Governor of our dear state on May 29, 2015, I stated the driving policies of this government in my maiden address, which would be predicted on continuation, consolidation, fine tuning of ongoing critical infrastructural projects embarked upon by the previous administrations and to further initiate more people oriented policies and programs for the overall development of our dear state. As we collectively face the challenge to make Kano a better place to live in, we must not forget that elections are over. It is now for us to work and make sure that everybody counts. I shall run an open government of inclusion that will not leave anyone behind. No matter your political affiliation, we will make Kano work for you. In four years, we literally showed our people the texture of unprecedented infrastructure development projects spread across the state. In particular, the road projects embarked upon up the ancient city with different locations across the state. OUR AGENDA FOR THE NEXT LEVELS As a government, we have a clear vision of what we plan to do in the next four years. It is to enthrone a legacy of prosperity for all our people. We are committed to the building and consolidation of a state in which there shall be effective health and educational systems, a flourishing agriculture and agribusiness sector, integrated rural development, renewed urban infrastructure, more employment opportunities, enhanced security and peace to bolster economic growth and development. EDUCATION In line with our earlier position in my victory speech, Government will make Basic and Post Basic Education Free and Compulsory to all Citizens of Kano State while on the other hand Tertiary Education will remain highly subsidized. In the same vein Education is today declared free at all levels for all the physically challenged persons including Tertiary institutions. Detailed policy guidelines from Government for the implementation of the free education policy will be provided in due cause. HEALTH SERVICES The present administration has noted with concern the prevalence of cancer scourge among our people especially women. Thousands of patients are dying yearly due to lack of medical facilities for the detection and treatment of cancer disease In this respect, the present administration has approved the establishment of the State Cancer Treatment Center and has awarded a contract of N2.4 billion naira for the Ultra Modern project at Muhammad Buhari Specialist Hospital. The center will be first of its kind in any public hospital. Government has established the State Contributory Healthcare Management Agency to sustain the gains made in all public health interventions and even pushing the boundary further with a view to include the private sector participation and free medical services for the vulnerable. WATER SUPPLY Our policy on water supply will include continued implementation of the 5 year development plan. With the passage of the Water and Sanitation Law, we will ensure complete overhaul of the state Water Board to serve only Greater Kano Which will also be commercialized and named Kano state Water Corporation. A new company will be floated to be known as Kano State Small Town Water Supply Agency (RUWASA) is to continue its role as water supplying agency to communities which population do not exceed 2,000. As part of our collaborative effort, the state government has secured a facility of 64.5 million Euros from a French Development Agency as approved by the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council and endorsed by Mr. President. All arrangements have been concluded for the take-off of the project this year. AGRICULTURE As part of the efforts to boost agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers, this administration will create enabling environment for collaboration with relevant stakeholders to undertake some interventions. Counterpart funding in the sum of N700 million in the implementation a five-year statewide World Bank assisted Agro Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support Project (APPEALS). The programme is aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity of small and medium scale farmers and improves value addition along priority value chain of participating state. The sum of $500 million will be committed for the implementation of five year Islamic Development Bank to execute the state Pastoral Development that seeks to contribute to poverty reduction and strengthening food and nutrition security of vulnerable population in the state through sustainable development of livestock and crop selected value chain. As part of effort to boost cotton production in the state, the state government will inject the sum of N1.89 billion for the execution of four year plan in 32 local government areas selected for increased production of the commodity. Advertisements WAR AGAINST DRUG ABUSE In pursuit of its relentless fight against the menace of drug abuse, particularly among the youth, the state government has, over a period of time, burnt hundreds of millions of Naira worth of fake and illicit drugs. As part of a holistic approach to effectively deal with the menace, the state government has concluded arrangements to establish the state Drug Abuse, Research and Treatment Agency. Relevant laws will be forwarded to the Honourable Kano State House of Assembly for consideration. PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED The government of Kano State is among the very few states that have adopted the law that seeks to guarantee the fundamental human rights of people living with disabilities, where they could participate in activities in their societies without any discrimination. With the passage of the law, a commission to cater for people with special needs in the state will soon be established. SECURITY The security challenges in the state must be faced squarely. In order to have an overview surveillance of the entire state, our administration has started the construction and equipping of a security Control Center at Bompai, Kano State Police Command Headquarters. In conjunction with security agencies, community policing structure will be put in place to face security challenges at neighbourhoods.The Government is pressing button in eradicating Daba, Jagaliya and Zaman Majalisa by youths through rehabilitation and empowerment programs. STATE ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS Kano State remained the only state that has a functional anti-corruption agency and the Commission is fully provided with its requisite without any interference in order to operate in line with its Federal sister agencies of EFCC and ICPC. This prompted us to employ 145 new staff and train them at EFCC Academy and ICPC Anti-corruption Academy respectively. Despite the effort of fighting corruption by the State Government the corruption is fighting back; nonetheless this will not shift our focus in maintaining the attitude of zero tolerance which led us to prosecute some high ranking officials and some are still under investigation and when completed the matter will be taken to court for adjudication. INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT In our efforts to have even development of the state, an integrated rural development scheme will be pursued to address rural access roads, affordable housing units and establishment of farm settlements for maximum agricultural production. In addition, the recently established four (4) new emirates will serve as a spring board for the development of additional cities in Kano. In due course, theyll be provided with necessary infrastructure facilities to depict modern city outlook. CONCLUSION Let me restate that I am indeed humbled by your abiding faith in me and my deputy to get us re-elected. I am profoundly grateful. I would like to call on you all to support our efforts of taking Kano to a higher level. I am of the firm belief that we have the potentials in terms of human and material resources to excel in all aspects of lives in this country. Permit me to also appreciate the speaker, Kano state House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Kabiru Alhassan Rurum and the entire members of the state Assembly; our Distinguished Senators and members of the House of Representatives. Let me use this opportunity to also appreciate my deputy, Alhaji Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, who stood by our mandate through thick and thin. I have to thank and appreciate the State Chief Judge and the state Grand Khadi for their support and maintaining the integrity of Kano Judiciary. Once again, I thank the good people of Kano State for the confidence reposed in our party. We shall not disappoint you. Wassalamu Alaikum Warahmatullah. Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara on Sunday led security agencies in the state on an operation against bandits in their bush camps and hideouts near Wonaka town in Gusau Local Government area of the state. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the governor was accompanied by his deputy, Mahadi Aliyu-Gusau, and heads of security agencies in the state on his way to Lilo community in Mada district of Gusau Local Government Area. Bandits had on Saturday attacked Lilo community which resulted in the killing of eight persons while 18 others were injured. The bandits were chased away at their camps during the governors unannounced visit to the area. They abandoned their hideouts and crossed a near by river and disappeared from the operatives who were on the governors motorcade. The governor said, As Chief security officer of the state, l have to show a good example, I have no option than to lead security agencies for this operation. As a leader, I have to show commitment to my people toward addressing this problem. The entourage also included the Emir of Gusau, Ibrahim Bello, Secretary to the State Government, Bello Bala, State Chairman of People Democratic Party (PDP), Ibrahim Mallaha, and other top government officials in the state. The District Head of Wonaka, Kogo Balarabe, thanked the governor for the visit. Mr Balarabe said, We are happy with this visit, for over eight years, we have no any concern from the authorities like this, we cannot express our feelings today. We are happy with the efforts of government, we thank security agencies intervention during yesterdays attacks which helped in containing the situation, he said. The Chairman of Vigilante Group in the area, Sani Danmudi, appealed to government for more intervention to address the security challenges in the area, saying that many villages in the area had been sacked by the bandits. (NAN) The Ilopangos volcano eruption (also known as Tierra Blanca Joven or TBJ) occurred approximately 1,500 years ago. Pyroclastics currents were dispersed over much of the present territory of El Salvador and a volcanic ash column reached a height of 49 km, according to a new research published recently in Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. Dario Pedrazzi, researcher at the Institute of Earth Sciences Jaume Almera of the CSIC (ICTJA-CSIC) is the lead author of a research that, by means of analysing the TBJ ash (tephra) deposits, has reconstructed the eruptive process of what is thought to be the largest explosive eruption occurred in Central America in the Holocene (last 10,000 years). The TBJ eruption was initially studied several years ago, but such a complete stratigraphic study hadnt yet been carried out and the physical parameters were not defined. The volcanic products dispersion was neither determined, said Dario Pedrazzi. This new study presents a complete stratigraphic description and the extent of the pyroclastic deposits of TBJ eruption, which are still present all over El Salvador and in some neighbouring countries. The study also describes the physical parameters of the different phases of the eruption that generated the surveyed deposits. This research was carried out with the collaboration of researchers from the Centro de Geociencias of the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) and the Division de Geociencias aplicadas del IPICYT, Mexico; the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Italy; the Oxford University, UK; the Oregon State University, USA and the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales de El Salvador (MARN). The authors of the study conducted a detailed field mapping of an area of about 200.000 km2 during three field campaigns in order to reconstruct the stratigraphy of the TBJ deposits and the relationship with other eruptive deposits. What called our attention was the thickness of the pyroclastic deposits. Some of them were up to 70m thick and reached distances of at least 40-50 km from the vent. We shouldnt forget that San Salvador City and its metropolitan area were built over the pyroclastic deposits originated during TBJ eruption, explains Dario Pedrazzi. Researchers measured 82 stratigraphic sections all over El Salvador Country, but they finally focused on 21 outcrops. They collected nearly 200 samples from all the outcrops that were analysed afterwards in the MARN and UNAM laboratories to obtain the parameters needed to develop numerical simulations. With all this data available, the authors of the study were able to reconstruct the TBJ eruption dynamics. They could identify a total of 8 units in the deposits that correspond to the different phases of the eruption. It was an eruption that started with pyroclastic surges in a very specific area. Then, there was a shift in the eruptive dynamics, characterized by ash fallout, and then it shifted again to another phase driven mainly by pyroclastic flows, said Pedrazzi. According to the researcher, the eruption reached its climax with a series of pyroclastic flows probably linked to a caldera collapse. In the last phase, all the materials ejected previously were deposited by fallout mechanisms. Some of these materials were transported and spread by the dominating winds and they reached distances as large as 100 km from the vent, especially fine grain ashes. Thanks to the numerical simulations conducted, the authors of the study were able to estimate that during the final phase of the eruption, the column of volcanic ashes and gases (co-ignimbrite plume) reached a height of 49 km. Moreover, they calculated that the total bulk volume of ejected material was about 60 km3 of magma (30 km3 dense rock equivalent, which is the original volume of erupted magma), corresponding to a 6.8 magnitude eruption. The study notes that the Mayan populations living in the region would have been considerably affected and that the communities living in the territory within 50 km from the Ilopango Caldera were the ones who suffered a more direct impact. However, indirect effects on the social, economic and political systems derived from the eruption probably affected a much wider area of Central America. According to the researchers, this study represents the first and necessary step towards improved volcanic hazard assessment for the region to mitigate volcanic risk for the large number of communities living around Ilopango Caldera, an active volcano whose last eruption was in 1879. It was then when some domes (Islas Quemadas) were formed inside the caldera. About 3 million people live currently within 30 kilometres of the caldera. The previous eruption occurred 8,000 years before TBJ eruption. The returning time of the last eruptions are shorter if we compare them with the first ones, occurred about 1.5 million years ago, although the volume of material ejected during the most recent eruptions is smaller, said Dario Pedrazzi. The Ilopango Caldera is located less than 10 km from San Salvador City, the capital of El Salvador, and it forms part of Volcanic Arc of El Salvador which includes a total of 21 active volcanoes, being one of the most active segments of the Central America Volcanic Arc. This work is part of a project founded by CONACYT and lead by Dr.Gerardo Aguirre Diaz, UNAM researcher. The project is focused in the study of the Ilopango Caldera and its goal is to determine the potential hazard of volcanic supereruptions in Central America. Reference: Pedrazzi, D., Sunye-Puchol, I., Aguirre-Diaz, G., Costa, A., Smith, V., Poret, M., Davila-Harris, P., Miggins,D., Hernandez, W., Gutierrez, E. (2019) The Ilopango Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption, El Salvador: Volcano-Stratigraphy and physical characterization of the major Holocene event of Central America. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 377, 81-102. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2019.03.0060377-0273 Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by ICTJA-CSIC. The original article was written by Jordi Cortes. The battle for the control of the Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has moved to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court would also determine who is the rightful senatorial candidate between Ovie Omo-Agege and Otega Emerhor. The Cyril Ogodo-led faction of the party has asked the apex court to set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal which had sacked it and reinstated Jones Erue leadership as the executive committee of the party in the State. The Court of Appeal had in a judgment delivered by Justices Jimi Olukayode Bada, Chidi Nwaoma Uwa and Muhammed Shuaibu on May 19 set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, Asaba Division, which had upheld the Ogodo-led Executive Committee as the authentic leadership of the party in Delta State. It would be recalled that the Federal High Court, Asaba Division, had on March 18 sacked the Jones Erue-led executive of the party in Delta State. The court had also voided the participation of Mr Omo-Agege and Great Ogboru as the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidates in the 2019 elections in Delta. The courts decision followed the case filed by the Cyril Ogodo-led faction of the party, urging the court to recognise it as the authentic APC executive in Delta State. The Ogodo-led faction had also urged the court to sack the Erue-led executive which produced Mr Omo-Agege and Mr Ogboru as the partys candidates. The court in its judgement similarly upheld the full template of the Ogodo factions candidates, including Pat Utomi, Otega Emerhor and Ima Niboro as the partys authentic candidates in the just concluded elections. The Ogodo faction fielded Olorogun Emerhor for the Delta Central Senatorial District election and Mr Niboro for the Ughelli North/South/Udu Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives. However, not satisfied, the Erue-led faction of the party and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had gone to the Court of Appeal to challenge the decision of the lower court. The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision allowed the appeal and restored the Erue-led leadership on the grounds that the matter was filed out of time and therefore statute barred. In the unanimous judgment delivered on March 17 and read by Justice Chidi Nwaoma Uwa, the court held that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit as it bordered on an intra-party matter. The court stated that the failure of the respondents to file their suit within 14 days of the issue complained of (pre-election) extinguished their rights. But in a swift reaction, the Ogodo-led State Executive Committee of the party through their counsel, O.J Oghenejakpor, in an appeal at the Supreme Court asked the apex court to set aside the judgment of the appellate court on the grounds that the justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they held that the appellants have abandoned their preliminary objection and thereby refused to entertain the preliminary objection properly raised before them and ended up striking same out without considering it. The appellants also contended that the justices of the Court of Appeal misdirected themselves in law in their consideration of the cause of action of the appellants when they held in pages 17-18 of the judgment in part thus, It is clear that the crux of the suit at the lower court is the status of the Executive of 4th respondent (APC) at the State, Later cal Government and Wards levels in Delta State. The positions sought to be declared as authentic, legal and valid are various levels of political party (4th respondent and 1st defendant at the trial) officials in Delta State. It is not a suit in respect of the selection or nomination of a candidate of a political party for election who were to be sponsored by the 4th respondent. It is a case purely concerning members of the State Executives of the 4th respondent in Delta State. The appellants further averted that their claim as disclosed from the record of appeal was a complaint against the breach of the APC Constitution, APC guidelines for the conduct of primaries, Electoral Act 2010(as amended) and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 by the respondents which has vested them with a cause of action. The appellants further contended that the lower court by limiting its consideration to reliefs 1-6 of the statement of claim amounted to a denial of fair hearing. They stated that the lower court took a one-sided view of the case and ignored to positively look at the case of the appellants and the findings of the Federal High Court made in respect of the issues placed before the trial court. The appellants maintained that the Court of Appeal erred in law when they entertained the appeal of the 1st respondent and allowed even when the 1st respondent failed to lead any evidence at the trail court in support of The averments contained in its statement of defence. They asked the apex court to allow the appeal in its entirety, an order setting aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal including the order as to costs and and order affirming the judgment of the Trail Court. Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has proclaimed the 9th Rivers State House of Assembly, urging the lawmakers to work for the development of their constituencies and the state. Mr Wike made this known at plenary while performing the constitutional responsibility as assigned by Section 105 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). Mr Wike urged the legislators to cooperate with the executive arm to ensure the implementation of policies and programmes for the good of Rivers people. As we usher in the new term of this August House, I pray and hope that your deliberations will be constructive, democratic, progressive and people-oriented. And that you will continue to strive hard with total commitment and sense of accountability and facilitate the implementation of our policies and programmes to enable us set new benchmarks for development and shared prosperity for our people. On this positive note, it is my singular honour and privilege to officially proclaim the first session of the 9th Legislative Assembly of Rivers State, he said. Similarly, the Clerk of the House, Standford Oba, administered the oath on the 32 elected lawmakers, which amongst others included: Ikunyi-awaji Abani (Andoni state constituency, tewart Linda (Okrika) and Oguguo Anselem (Ikwerre). The Clerk also supervised the election of two principal officers of the house the Speaker and his deputy and also administered oaths on them. Christian Ayankwu, who represents Ogba Egbema constituency 1, during the election of the speaker of the House, nominated the former Speaker Ikunyi-awaji Abani of Andoni constituency to continue a second term as speaker and the nomination was unanimously supported by all 32 members. The nomination of Edison Ehie representing Ahoada East constituency 2 by Major Jack Akuku Toru 1 for the position of the Deputy Speaker, also recorded a unanimous support by members. In his acceptance speech, the speaker thanked members for the trust and honour done him and promised to run a participatory legislative house. I wish to assure you that the 9th assembly shall adopt participatory and collaboration, my administration shall entrench participatory assembly as no one man is entitled to the monopoly of knowledge, he said. (NAN) Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has suspended financials transactions involving all government parastatals in the state. The governor said his predecessor, Rochas Okorocha, did not hand over documents, detailing the current financial status of the state to the new administration, prompting him to give the directive. All financial institutions that have a relationship with Imo State Government should not honour any withdrawal instruction by cheques, transfers or in any form, Mr Ihedioha said, according to Vanguard newspaper. No financial mandates, ISPOs or any form of financial instruction should be treated. All outstanding financial instructions already with banks and financial institutions should be put on hold. This directive covers all the accounts of ministries, departments, parastatals, local government councils, quasi-government agencies and all revenue generating organs of government. Banks and non-bank financial institutions are to take note and ensure compliance, as the state government will not be responsible for any disbursement, effected contrary to this directive, the governor said. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Okorocha in his last day in office assured Imo people that he was leaving a credit balance of N42.5 billion for the incoming administration. Mr Ihedioha is yet to directly contest the amount Mr Okorocha allegedly left for him. However, in his directive, the governor said, the government that ended was not prepared to hand over or ready to receive us. Mr Ihedioha also said his administration is, having difficulties operating from Imo Government House now. Imo Conundrum Mr Okorocha and Mr Ihedioha had been on warpath especially since the formers anointed candidate, Uche Nwosu, lost to the latter in the state election. Mr Okorocha was absent during Mr Ihediohas swearing-in ceremony last Wednesday. A day after the swearing-in, pictures and videos showing buldozers demolishing Akachi one of the many statues and tourists centres built by the former governor. Several media reported that the destruction of the monument was ordered by Mr Ihedioha. But his special adviser, Steve Osuji, according to The Cable, denied such reports, saying the governor gave no such order. He suggested that angry residents who saw no significance in the monument, attempted to pull it down. Mr Ihedioha had in his inaugural speech said Mr Okorochas had in his eight-year stint as governor degraded and destroyed most of our institutions and values The governor promised to remedy the damages. As the 9th Ondo State House of Assembly is set for inauguration on Monday, the race for the speaker of the house has become keener with high-powered lobbying at the government and party levels. The All Progressives Congress (APC) won overwhelming majority of seats in the bloody May 9 elections and will be producing the leadership of the house for the first time through a rancour-free process. The party has 23 of the 26 members of the house. The PDP parades two members, while the Zenith Labour Party has one. Since the PDP lost the governorship election in 2016, the APC had swelled its number in the house and leadership changes had been rancorous. The last effort to change the leadership through an impeachment met with stiff opposition and was violently quelled with the instrument of state. However, the battle for the speakership is a straight fight between the incumbent, Bamidele Oleyelogun, representing Ifedore constituency, and Sunday Olajide, who represents Akure South constituency-2. Both are returning and ranking members of the house from the central senatorial district to which the seat has been zoned by the ruling party. The state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, is from the Northern Zone and the deputy governor, Agboola Ajayi, hails from the southern senatorial district. The consensus that the speaker should emerge from the central zone has made it easier for the management of any possible crisis. Although officials of the state government denied that Mr Akeredolu had any interest in who becomes the speaker, PREMIUM TIMES can report that the state government prefers Mr Oleyelogun to continue in the role due to his loyalty since he became speaker. In spite of that posture, pressures from Akure community are mounting for Mr Olajide to take the seat. The argument in favour of Mr Olajide is that the capital, which is the largest voting bloc in the state, should be honoured with the speakership slot. Indigenes of Akure under the aegis of Akure Rebirth Group (ARG), have argued that the state capital has not had its fair share in the political configuration of the state despite its ever-increasing population and voting strength at every election. The groups coordinator, Fanibuyan Olamide, while stating the position of the group, said since the return to democracy in 1999, Akure had been clamouring for fair treatment in the sharing of major political positions both at the federal and state levels. There is no need to play an ethnic card but to come to terms with realities and qualities of what it deserves, he said. It is expedient to state that the entire Akure community is resolute in her bid to support Hon. Sunday Olajide to clinch the position of the speaker which is zoned to the central senatorial district The Akure community recognises the selection of a speaker as an exclusive business of the Honourable members which should be devoid of any external interference. Despite the arguments in his favour, Mr Olajides bid may suffer a setback because the Secretary to the State Government, Ifedayo Abegunde, is an indigene of Akure, weakening the argument that Akure had not been fairly treated in the share of political power in the state. Mr Olamide has argued that the SSG was an appointee of the governor and not an elected officeholder, which would not affect the balance of power among the three senatorial zones. It is however imperative for the community to call the attention of the Honourable members to what is just, equitable, fair and of good quality, which will further enhance and prompt good representation and a purpose-driven Assembly, he said. On the other hand, a group known as Ondo Central Youth Vanguard from the six local government areas in the central senatorial district, is backing Mr Oleyelogun to continue as Speaker. The groups coordinator, Biodun Adejuwon, had noted that examining the performance of Mr Oloyelogun in the last two years as speaker, he had surpassed his predecessors and deserved to be the speaker for another term, Oleyelogun is a servant leader, humble, loyal and a patriot to the core. Oleyelogun leadership is selfless service to the people and Ondo state people need to appreciate a life of service, said Mr Adejuwon. Oleyelogun should continue to support Arakurin Akeredolu in his mission to turn Ondo state into a business hub. Mr Oloyelogun is also receiving backing from another group, The Ondo Concerned Citizens, which passed a vote of confidence in him and endorsed him to continue as speaker of the house. He (Oleyelogun) deserves the endorsement of all APC leadership in Ondo state in order to move the state forward geometrically, said Clement Akeroro, President of the group. Advertisements Since Oleyelogun assumed the mantle of the assembly leadership, he subscribes to the principle of separation of powers as it was advocated by John Locke and propagated by Montesquieu in 17th century. Besides these contenders, Samuel Aderoboye, from Odigbo constituency-2 and the incumbent Deputy Speaker, Iroju Ogundeji, have both shown interest in the race. Although their candidatures have not been well promoted, it is the fears of keen watchers that since the governor, who singlehandedly ensured their election, would be interested in who will work for his second term bid, it would be too early to underrate anyone. It was gathered that the governors second term bid and the factor of loyalty would be strong determining factors in who becomes the next speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly. Speaking on the contest for the coveted office, the state chapter of the APC says it is only interested in ensuring that the speakership is retained in the Central Senatorial District. Alex Kalejaye, the Publicity Secretary of the party, told PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, that with the partys comfortable majority in the house, there would not be any problem getting the needed leadership at the house. The APC is not interested in any particular candidate, but it is interested in ensuring that the Central Senatorial Zone produces the speaker, while the deputy will come from the southern zone, he said. We are still discussing and we are sure that before the inauguration tomorrow, we will come up with something. Commissioner for Information, Yemi Olowolabi, also denied that Mr Akeredolu was interested in any particular candidate. The governor is a lawyer and he believes in the separation of powers, Mr Olowolabi said, He will not interfere in who becomes the speaker. He will tomorrow(Monday) inaugurate the assembly and that is all he would do and nothing more. A Nigerian senator has a piece of advice for his fellow politicians: you cannot continue to steal public funds when the nations economy is dying. The senator, Ben Murray-Bruce, representing Bayelsa state, said in a Twitter post, May 24, One thing Nigerian politicians must understand is that you can make much more money through legitimate business from a growing economy than you can make stealing from a dying economy. Mr Murray-Bruce added in the tweet, No one loves poverty. But corruption isnt the answer. Create wealth and itll circulate to you. Mr Murray-Bruce is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition party in Nigeria. Nigerias earning from oil and gas alone was $509.02billion between 1999 when democratic rule was restored in the country, and 2013, according to BudgIT, a civil society group. But a large chunk of Nigerias earnings over the years is said to have been stolen by corrupt public officials, leaving the country to gasp for economic survival. Mr Murray-Bruces Bayelsa State and other states within Nigerias Niger Delta region have suffered long years of deprivation, neglect, and environmental pollution, despite producing the oil and gas which sustain the countrys economy. There have been accusations and counter-accusations between Mr Murray-Bruces PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on who should take the blame for Nigerias economic woes. They said you are hungry. You are hungry because they stole the money. If the money was here, you wouldnt have been hungry. We got in and saw the challenges. We never knew they had stolen all the money. We thought they had a conscience to leave some money behind, Rotimi Amaechi, a member of the APC and Nigerias minister of transportation, said December, last year, during his partys presidential campaign in Uyo. You know, the difference between us and the other party (PDP) is that they are not saying that they are not corrupt. They say we are corrupt, but APC is also corrupt. They agree that the president (Buhari) is not corrupt. What they are saying is those around the president are corrupt. But they agree that they are corrupt. We are saying as APC that we are not corrupt and that we are fighting corruption. Whether you are APC or PDP, when you are corrupt we will fight you, Mr Amaechi said. But Mr Amaechi himself, interestingly, had been a PDP member for the greater part of his political career, before he defected to the APC just before the 2015 general election. Mr Murray-Bruce is not returning to the ninth Senate. The senator of late has been expressing his frustration with the Nigerian system, including the Senates refusal to pass a bill he sponsored which would have facilitated the use of electric cars in the country. The world has moved to electric trains and Nigeria is borrowing billions of US Dollars from China to build diesel-powered trains. I weep for my country. Those trains are going obsolete. It is like taking a bank loan to buy a VCR cassette company. Who still uses cassettes in 2019? Why borrow almost $10 billion from China to build railways for obsolete diesel-powered trains when some Western nations will even pay us to take their obsolete diesel trains? Do we think? Every sensible country is running to electric. We are running to petrol and diesel! the senator tweeted, using his Twitter handle @benmurraybruce. The senator, on Sunday, tweeted about abolishing visa for foreign nationals with Nigerian origin. It is silly to require diaspora Nigerians and their children with foreign passports to obtain visas to visit Nigeria. We are the world headquarters for extreme poverty. They dont need us. We need them. If I had my way, anyone with Nigerian origin should come to Nigeria visa-free! he tweeted. The Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), says it has flagged off an intensive waste evacuation operation tagged, Lagos at 4 am, to address the menace of improper waste disposal in the metropolis. Obinna Onyenali, LAWMA Public Relations Officer, said in a statement on Monday in Lagos that the early morning operation was to fast track the clearing of waste from the streets of Lagos and restore environmental sustainability. We have embarked on this operation to restore the State to the path of cleanliness and environmental sustainability. This is in furtherance of the executive order against indiscriminate waste dumping recently signed by the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu. This early morning operation starts by 4 am. At this time, we roll out our operational vehicles at strategic locations across the metropolis to sanitise the environment and mitigate waste challenges, he said. Mr Onyenali added that the authority would not leave any stone unturned in its quest to clean up black spots across the state. He said Lagosians should support effort of the state government by shunning the habit of dumping refuse indiscriminately, adding that they should patronise PSP Operators in charge of collecting refuse in their area. Mr Onyenali also said the authority was committed to tackling the challenge of environmental degradation in Apapa area which had become inaccessible to refuse evacuation trucks. He said that the task of restoring the environment in Apapa was one of the authoritys priority, so as to make the environment liveable for residents and businesses. Mr Onyenali attributed the deplorable state of Apapa environment to the takeover of the area by articulated vehicles which blocked the roads and made it difficult for LAWMA trucks to operate. He said, however, that the authority would intensify efforts to clear backlogs of wastes dumped within the Apapa environment as traffic situation in the area improve. (NAN) The Ondo State House of Assembly said on Monday that it passed 45 bills in the last four years. The Speaker of the house, Bamidele Oleyelogun, made this known during the last plenary and send forth ceremony organised for the lawmakers in the 8th assembly in Akure. Mr Oleyelogun said the members of the 8th assembly meritoriously served their 26 constituencies across the state between 2015 and 2019. He commended the harmonious relationship between the executive and the legislature in the state and expressed hope that the incoming legislators would improve on the achievements of outgoing one to move the state forward. We have done excellently well and to the best of our capacity in passing different bills that have impacted the lives of the people of the state. A great number of resolutions were equally passed. Our public hearing was reasonable enough by taking cognisance of suggestions of all the stakeholders without any bias, he said. One of the lawmakers, Gbenga Akinsonyinu, representing Ondo Constituency 2, appreciated the privilege given to him by his people to serve. Mr Akinsonyinu urged the incoming ones to make more efforts to sponsor reasonable bills that would promote the socio-economic activities of the state. The house was dissolved after the Majority Leader, Gbenga Araoyinbo, representing Akoko North West 2, moved the motion, which was seconded by Ayodeji Iroju, representing Odigbo 2. (NAN) Shina Olukolu, the Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, sais 29 members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), have been arrested for hooliganism and attempted forceful take-over of the leadership of the union. Mr Olukolu made this known on Monday in Ibadan while addressing journalists on the activities of the command. According to him, on May 29, Dauda Adisa reported to the police that some hoodlums attacked the office of Abideen Ejiogbe, the state chairman of the NURTW at the Orita-Challenge motor park in Ibadan. Adisa said the hoodlums, who came in two Micra cars, three buses and a Previa car, shot into the air and wounded some members of the union with cutlasses. He was able to identify two of the hoodlums, who were later arrested. In addition, other suspects with failed attempts to extend the violent disturbance of public peace to other areas were arrested, he said. Mr Olukolu noted that the remaining suspects were nabbed at the entrance of the venue of the inauguration of the state governor, Seyi Makinde. He said dangerous weapons such as guns with live cartridges, cutlasses, sharp knives, charms and weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, were recovered from the suspects. He alleged that the suspects aimed at using the recovered arms to attack members of the public during the inauguration ceremony. Mr Olukolu warned other members of the union planning to foment trouble at motor parks to have a rethink, saying the security operatives would deal decisively with erring members. He said that NURTW had been proscribed in the state and warned that they should steer clear of motor parks. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Monday signed the N873.5 billion 2019 Appropriation Bill of the state into law, promising that his administration would strive to fully implement it. The governor assented to the bill and three others at the Lagos House, Alausa-Ikeja. He assured the states residents that all the machinery of the government would be deployed for the implementation and performance of the budget. He also said the budget would focus on the completion of abandoned projects in the state. Mr Sanwo-Olu expressed the confidence that the budget would not only deliver life-impacting projects but would also impact massively on the lives of the residents. He commended the lawmakers for being partners in the development of the state. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the House of Assembly had on April 29 passed into law the appropriation bill for N852.316 billion presented to it by the immediate past governor of the state, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Feb.5. The house approved N393, 841, 387, 020 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for recurrent expenditure and N479, 691, 073, 705 from Development Revenue Fund for capital expenditure. The budget size totalling N873, 532, 460, 725, is N21.216 billion higher than the budget size presented by Ambode. The 2019 budget is N287.68 billion lesser than that of 2018 which stood at N 1.04 trillion. The budget has a capital expenditure of N479 billion and a recurrent expenditure of N393 billion. The capital to recurrent ratio of the budget stands at ratio 55 to 45. The governor also signed three other bills into law. The new laws also signed by the governor are the Neighbourhood Watch law, the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission Amendment law and the Domestic Staff Service Provider law. (NAN) An Ikorodu Magistrates Court in Lagos State, on Monday, ordered the remand of an unemployed 35-year-old Emmanuel Mesaiybe for allegedly raping a seven-year-old girl. News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police charged Mr Mesaiybe, whose address was not provided, with indecent assault. Chief Magistrate F. A. Azeez did not, however, take the plea of the defendant. Mrs Azeez ordered the police to duplicate the case file and send it to the office of the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecution for legal advice. She then adjourned the case until July 25 for mention. Earlier, the Prosecutor, John Iberedem, told the court that the accused committed the offence on Thursday, at Lanre Akinjobi Str., Butterfly Estate, Owutu area of Ikorodu, at about 3: p.m. Mr Iberedem alleged that the accused unlawfully had carnal knowledge of the minor, contravening provisions of Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 as amended. NAN reports that the defendant is liable to life imprisonment if found guilty of the offence. (NAN) VENTNOR Walking to school will soon be a lot safer in the island community as the city will use a $207,000 grant for traffic and pedestrian The Lighthouse International Film Festival on Long Beach Island tries this weekend to live up to the billing given to it last year by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. The festival starts Thursday and runs through Sunday. The weekend will be packed with 143 feature-length films, documentaries, shorts and episodic content accompanied by networking events, said Christine Rooney, the festivals managing director. We seek out the best films for our audience, Rooney said. We have had Oscar-nominated films. We have had films that have gone into theaters and that are on Netflix and On Demand. During its 11 years, the festival has been screening more films each time, and this year is no exception, Rooney said. Every year, the films grow in prestige, and there will be more filmmakers, cast and crew over 100 individuals in attendance than ever before, Rooney said. The festival has the goal of screening independent films that are thought-provoking, unique and address the issues of today, Rooney said. Party affiliation is a public record, so people need to consider if they are comfortable with that party designation, Froonjian said. The new rules on mail-in ballots created a lot of confusion in last Novembers general election. People who had gotten mail-in ballots ignored them, and went to the polls to cast votes only to be told they were on the mail-in list so they couldnt vote by machine. Instead, they filled out provisional votes by hand, which were counted only after election workers made sure the voter hadnt returned the mail-in ballot. Use of the paper mail-in ballots, which hit a high of almost 12,000 of 96,000 votes cast in Atlantic County last November, has been increasing since the state allowed anyone to request one for any reason staring in 2005. In 2017, the last time there was another big City Council primary in Atlantic City, a total of 1,166 mail-in votes were cast countywide 944 in Atlantic City and almost all on the Democratic side. In addition to Atlantic City, there are also contested local races in Mullica Township, Folsom and Buena Vista Township. Atlantic County Superintendent of Elections Maureen Bugdon said there are 151 voting districts in the county, each of which receives two voting machines. Her office is responsible for maintaining, checking and delivering the machines. The same number of machines go out for the primary as for general elections, she said. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. 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. SOMERS POINT Six local police and fire departments honored a Philadelphia firefighter, who died during a weekend triathlon, with a ceremonial escort to an area hospital Monday. Dennis McDaniels, 36, of Philadelphia, suffered a heart attack during the initial swimming portion of the Escape the Cape triathlon Sunday, the Delaware River and Bay Authority said. Monday morning, the Somers Point, Ocean City, Margate, Linwood and Cape May fire departments along with the Somers Point Police Department organized the end of watch escort from Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May Court House to Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, where the body would undergo an autopsy. According to authorities, McDaniels was found unresponsive in the water during the Olympic swim portion of the race. He was given CPR and transported to Cape Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Ocean City Fire Chief Jim Smith said the departments organized the drive to act as an extended family for the firefighter. We wanted to pay our respects to our fallen brother, Smith said. ATLANTIC CITY It has been six months since federal authorities raided the home of Atlantic Citys mayor, and the public still has no idea why the resorts highest-ranking elected official could be under investigation. The silence continued at the half-year mark, and it is unclear whether Mayor Frank Gilliam Jr. is still part of an active federal investigation. +11 FBI raids Atlantic City mayor's house, state monitoring situation ATLANTIC CITY Federal authorities searched the home of Mayor Frank Gilliam Jr. for more th FBI Supervisory Special Agent Jessica Weisman declined to comment on the matter when contacted last week. Weisman cited a long-standing policy that prohibits the bureau from either confirming or denying the status of a federal investigation. Gilliam, 49, did not respond to several attempts to contact him for this story. Atlantic City mayor's legal issues taint political future ATLANTIC CITY One day after being involved in a fight outside a casino nightclub, Mayor Fr On Dec. 3, nearly a dozen FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation Division agents executed a search warrant at Gilliams Ohio Avenue home. After nearly four hours, federal investigators left the house with cardboard boxes and computer equipment, which were transported to the FBI office in Northfield. Authorities have given no indication about what they were looking for at Gilliams home or what was taken as evidence. Gilliam has rebuked any attempts to speak about the situation. Instead, their bills are designed to fix the states fiscal crisis, restore stability to its pension system, and save taxpayers billions of dollars. Chief among the proposals, which Sweeney has spent the past year promoting around the state, are: Create a hybrid pension plan for non-uniformed government employees who are new hires or have less than five years of service. Their first $40,000 of income would earn a traditional defined-benefit pension, and income above that would earn defined contributions with a guaranteed 4 percent annual rate of return and possible higher growth. Merge the high-cost School Employees Health Benefits Plan into the State Health Benefits Plan, and shift all public employees from Platinum-level health care plans to Gold plans upon the expiration of current contracts. Public employers would be required to offer Bronze-level plans that charge employees no monthly premium. Require school systems to develop regionalization plans to merge all K-4, K-6 and K-8 districts into K-12 regional school systems, and to coordinate curriculums and schedules of schools. 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. NANNING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- A seminar for investment in Indonesia was held Friday in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Nearly 100 enterprises and chambers of commerce from Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian and Guangxi participated in the event. Ikmal Lukman, deputy chairman of the Indonesia Investment Coordinating Board, said at the meeting that various reform measures had been taken to provide with convenience for Chinese investors who set up businesses in Indonesia. An online single submission (OSS) system was launched last year by the Indonesian government, which integrated the resources of the central and local governments and allowed investors to apply for relevant licenses on one single platform. "I believe it will save investors a lot of time," Lukman said. Indonesia has been working on improving its policies on foreign investment since 2009, Lukman said, noting that the country was more investor-friendly in terms of tax deduction and exemption on import goods. Huang Weimin from the China-ASEAN Expo Secretariat, said that the seminar was the first of a series of activities that will be held by Indonesia as the Country of Honor for the 16th China-ASEAN Expo, to be held from Sept. 20 to 23 in Nanning. The seminar focused on promoting investment cooperation between the two sides in the fields of industrial parks, infrastructure, manufacturing and agriculture, Huang said. China is the largest trading partner of Indonesia, with bilateral trade reaching 77.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, according to the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Guangzhou. The new 'Village Green' campaign reinforces the Group's proposition of being more than 'just a hotel', and instead a unique hotel offering that truly embeds itself in and amongst the local community. To celebrate this, and the opening of its 30th hotel in Bristol, Village Hotel Club united its ambassadors for the first time, providing people with a behind-the-scenes look at a 'Day in the Life of a Village Hotel Club'. The star-studded event showcased how Village Green has something for everyone, whether it is fitness classes inspired by Mo's own training, tips and tricks from top business leaders or giving hospitality students a flavour of what it's really like behind closed doors of a hotel kitchen. Unveiling the Ambassadors Sir Mo Farah Community Fitness Ambassador As Britain's most ever track athlete, Sir Mo Farah will take on the role of Fitness Ambassador, based on the shared belief with Village that good physical fitness and emotional wellbeing are at the root of healthy communities. As part of this, Sir Mo is calling for greater access to fitness facilities for local communities, especially in hard-to-reach areas, with Village Gym staff pledging time and expertise to help children from the local community. To launch this, Sir Mo met with a number of local schoolkids from Little Stoke Primary School, surprising them by joining in with their fitness class and giving them fun tips for staying fit and healthy. Alongside this, and to inspire and motivate all ages to take care of their health, Sir Mo launched the new MOTION fitness class at the event for Village Gym members, inspired by elements of his own training programme. Sir Mo will also launch a huge fitness challenge later this year, to be announced in the coming months. Baroness Karren Brady CBE Local Business Ambassador Formidable business woman Baroness Karren Brady CBE is joining forces with Village Hotel Club to help nurture and grow local businesses across the country, with the launch of "VWorks" Village's work space that supports and promotes the needs of local businesses by offering places for local people to work, connect and network. Karren kicked off the Group's new series of business seminars to be hosted by influential business leaders, with an inspiring talk at Bristol, live streamed to the other 29 Village Hotels, where she spoke about both her journey to the top of the business world, and how she's stayed there. She also launched the VWorks Awards, coming soon in the Autumn, alongside a pitch-style competition which will celebrate local businesses and inject much needed funds and investment into winners. Candice Brown Food & Drink Ambassador Great British Bake-Off winner Candice Brown is joining forces with Village Hotel Club to launch Village Hotel Club's new 'Hospitality Heroes' initiative. This is a new commitment by the hotel group that will see each Village Hotel offer skills, employment and mentoring to local communities in catering and hospitality skills. This kicked off in Bristol for the first time, where Candice opened the kitchen of the hotel to local hospitality college students from South Gloucester College, enabling them to put their studied theory into practice. With lucky guests honoured as the first taste-testers, Candice will also launch 'Candice's Afternoon Tea' this Summer a bespoke menu curated by Candice, that will be available every Saturday across Village Hotel Clubs in the UK. What is the Village Green initiative? Village Hotel Club isn't just any hotel. With state-of-the-art gym facilities with thousands of local members, VWorks Village's flexible work space - and our vibrant Village Hotel Pub & Grill, this distinctive hotel concept seeks to be more than just a place where people come to stay but a hub for the local community too. This commitment to the local community is reflected in the chain's 'Village Green' initiative, which sees its hotels commit over 30,000 hours per year to volunteering in the local community. In addition to this, each gym team also dedicates one day per month to supporting local sporting groups or events as part of its wider pledge to encourage health and wellness in the community. Now with the new Village Green ambassadors onboard, the initiative is set to reach even more people and help communities around the UK. Gary Davis, Executive Chairman at Village Hotels comments: "We are thrilled to have Sir Mo, Baroness Karren Brady CBE and GBBO winner Candice on board here at Village Hotel Club. With their wealth of experience, they were the perfect people to champion our community hubs. We remain passionate about serving the communities we operate in and hope that our new Village Green programmes, co-created with our new ambassadors, will help upskill and inspire people - putting us at the heart of local life right across the country." Mo Farah, Village's new Community Fitness Ambassador, said: "Obviously fitness is a huge part of my life, and as a dad of four, it's important to me that I pass on this mentality to my kids, so we all reap the benefits of being as active as possible. That's why I am working with Village Hotel Club and Village Gym as its Community Fitness Ambassador to motivate communities around the UK from kids to mums and dads and everyone in-between - to get fit and active. Ultimately I want to see even more gyms and fitness centres open up to the community and think about how they can pass on their expertise in the same way that Village is doing." Candice Brown, Village's Food and Drink Ambassador, said: "I have always been involved in the world of hospitality, from growing up in pubs to watching my grandmother baking and cooking. I realise now how lucky I am to have been immersed in this world from a young age, and the impact that has had on my career, from winning Bake Off in 2016 to now owning and running my own pub. That's why I am working with Village Hotel Club as its Food and Drink Ambassador and launching "Hospitality Heroes" a new mentoring scheme which will see myself and Village chefs work with catering students around the UK to develop their skills. This partnership will give me the chance to work with young people all over the UK and hopefully instil some of the same passion that I have for this industry." Paul Roberts, CEO of Village Hotel Club, said: "I've long championed entrepreneurs and SMEs, making it a priority through my career to ensure that the concerns of small business owners are listened to at the highest levels and that they receive all the support they need to prosper. Small businesses are the backbone of the UK economy, and in these uncertain times, we need to champion their success more than ever before. Village Hotel's shared working spaces or VWorks clubs, are often in smaller or out of town locations, outside the bigger business centres and cities, where businesses may not always receive the support that they need. Together we will work with these local businesses all over the UK, offering opportunities to connect, network and inspire to ensure ongoing prosperity." To find out more, visit: www.village-hotels.co.uk About the Village Hotels group: The Village Hotels group consists of 30 hotels across the UK. Village offers more than just a bed for the night. Our comfy rooms come with big beds, great showers and innovative in-room technology. We offer a state-of-the-art gym, indoor pool and a Village Pub & Grill serving delicious food all day. Meet at VWorks, Village's work space, where we offer an office away from home, with flexible work areas and meeting rooms, with various membership options available. About Village Green Village Hotel Club launched its community initiative, Village Green in September 2018. As part of this, it committed to contribute 30,000 hours per year to volunteering in the local community. Recognising that local community is key to every business, each hotel now also dedicated one day per month to supporting local sporting groups or events as part of its wider commitment to encourage health and wellness in the community. In addition to this, each hotel also encourages 10 employees per month to spend a day with any charitable or community project they wish. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/896505/Village_Hotel_Club_Ambassadors.jpg Related Links http://www.village-hotels.co.uk/ SOURCE Village Hotel Club VANCOUVER, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Alexco Resource Corp. (NYSE AMERICAN: AXU; TSX: AXR) ("Alexco" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation as sole bookrunner (the "Underwriter"), pursuant to which the Underwriter has agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 6,500,000 common shares (the "Offered Shares") at a price of US$1.00 per Offered Share for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately US$6,500,000 (the "Offering"). The Company has granted the Underwriter an over-allotment option (the "Over-Allotment Option"), exercisable in whole or in part, on and for a period of up to 30 days following the Closing Date (as defined below), to purchase up to an additional 975,000 Offered Shares (the "Underwriter's Option Shares") on the same terms and conditions as the Offering. The Company shall pay the Underwriter a commission equal to 7.0% of the gross proceeds of the Offering, including proceeds received from the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, plus issue non-transferable common share purchase warrants in an amount equal to 4.0% of the number of Offered Shares sold in the Offering (the "Underwriter Warrants"). Each Underwriter Warrant shall entitle the Underwriter to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of US$1.00 for 12 months from the Closing Date (as defined below). Gross proceeds from the sale of the Offered Shares will be used to fund continuing development of the Keno Hill Silver Project and for general corporate and working capital purposes. The closing of the Offering is expected on or about June 7, 2019 (the "Closing Date") and is subject to regulatory approval including that of the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American. The Offering will be made by way of a prospectus supplement (the "Prospectus Supplement") to the Company's existing Canadian base shelf prospectus (the "Base Shelf Prospectus") and related U.S. registration statement on Form F-10 (SEC File No. 333-227024) (the "Registration Statement"). The U.S. form of Base Shelf Prospectus is included in the Registration Statement. The Prospectus Supplement has been filed with the securities commissions in each of the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Manitoba and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The Canadian Prospectus Supplement (together with the related Canadian Base Shelf Prospectus) is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The United States Prospectus Supplement (together with U.S. Base Shelf Prospectus and the Registration Statement) will be available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Canadian Prospectus Supplement (together with the related Canadian Base Shelf Prospectus) may be obtained, when available, upon request by contacting the Company or Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation in Canada, attention: Equity Capital Markets, 181 University Avenue, Suite 1500, Toronto, ON, M5H 3M7, email: [email protected] ; the United States Prospectus Supplement (together with the related United States Base Shelf Prospectus and the Registration Statement) may be obtained, when available, upon request by contacting the Company or Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., Attention: Equity Capital Markets, 499 Park Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York, 10022 or by email at [email protected]. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor will there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The securities being offered have not been approved or disapproved by any regulatory authority, nor has any such authority passed upon by the accuracy or adequacy of the Prospectus Supplements, the Base Shelf Prospectuses or the Registration Statement. About Alexco Alexco owns the majority of the historic high-grade Keno Hill Silver District in Canada's Yukon Territory. Alexco also operates a wholly-owned subsidiary business, Alexco Environmental Group, that provides mine-related environmental services, remediation technologies and reclamation and mine closure services to both government and industry clients in North America and elsewhere. Some statements ("forward-looking statements") in this news release contain forward-looking information concerning the Offering and the use of proceeds thereof, plans related to Alexco's business and other matters that may occur in the future, made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed Offering, anticipated closing of the Offering, potential exercise by the Underwriter of its option to acquire Underwriter's Option Shares and anticipated use of proceeds. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to regulatory approval of the Offering; actual results and timing of exploration and development, mining, environmental services and remediation and reclamation activities; future prices of silver, gold, lead, zinc and other commodities; possible variations in mineral resources, grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; First Nation rights and title; continued capitalization and commercial viability; global economic conditions; competition; and delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development activities. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that management believes are reasonable at the time they are made. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, Alexco has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, the assumption that regulatory approval of the Offering will be obtained in a timely manner; all conditions precedent to completion of the Offering will be fulfilled in a timely manner; Alexco will be able to raise additional capital as necessary, that the proposed exploration and development activities will proceed as planned, and that market fundamentals will result in sustained silver, gold, lead and zinc demand and prices. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Alexco expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. SOURCE Alexco Resource Corp. Related Links www.alexcoresource.com SANTA FE, N.M., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- American contemporary artist Brad Bealmear of Santa Fe, New Mexico will be donating 300 abstract expressionist works to public art museums in all 50 US states and in countries around the world during 2019/20. The works on paper are from Bealmear's series "New Atmosphere Y." The artist's recent works have been compared in feeling to paintings by J.M.W. Turner and Zao Wou-Ki, both historic atmospheric artists. New Atmosphere Y 8 by Brad Bealmear. From the 300-work series "New Atmosphere Y" spotlighting climate change. The series is being donated to the world's public art museums. New Atmosphere X 1 by Brad Bealmear. From the series "New Atmosphere" spotlighting climate change. The 300-work series-in-progress "New Atmosphere Y" is being donated to the world's public art museums. "'New Atmosphere Y' derives from Homo sapiens' effects on the environment; our planet and its life. Will the environment become toxic to us and all life, or will we suddenly metamorphose to slow and reverse the damage and horrific extinctions already underway? This should be the primary question as we realize our missteps as a species, but instead groups and individuals are involved in escalating parasitic self-serving battles worldwide - very much including the United States." the artist said recently in a studio interview. A New Mexico native, Bealmear lived in New York City as an advertising photographer for two decades, his clients including Tiffany & Co. and other luxury firms. However, sensing rapidly-impending environmental problems and wishing to make a statement of some kind, he left NYC in 2006 to return to Santa Fe. In 2014 Bealmear sold his photo gear to concentrate entirely on painting. "My message throughout has been largely environmental, but it took a few years of painting to discover that abstract expressionism allows me to throw my philosophic concerns passionately and directly into the work. I hope that humanity steps back, recognizes reality and sets to work detoxifying the planet, respecting and ending harms to all forms of life." he says. "But it's becoming very hard to imagine that happening." Brad Bealmear is represented by Saatchi Art (http://Saatchiart.com/bradbealmear). His work has been included in US exhibitions and may be found in private collections internationally. Contact: Brad Bealmear, 505 577-3127, [email protected], http://bradbealmear.com SOURCE Brad Bealmear TORONTO, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (DML: TSX, DNN: NYSE American) is pleased to announce that the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission ("CNSC") and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment ("SK MOE") have accepted the Provincial Technical Proposal and Federal Project Description (the "Project Description") submitted by Denison for the In-Situ Recovery ("ISR") uranium mine and processing plant proposed for the Company's 90% owned Wheeler River Project ("Wheeler River" or the "Project"). Denison is also pleased to announce that it has executed a series of Memoranda of Understanding (the "MOUs") with Indigenous communities in support of the advancement of the Project. View PDF version David Cates, President and CEO of Denison commented, "Acceptance of the Project Description by the regulatory agencies is a critical first step for the development of the Wheeler River Project. The Company is excited to continue working with Indigenous communities, regulatory agencies, and the public during the environmental assessment process to achieve the Company's objectives of advancing Wheeler River through the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA"), regulatory approval, and feasibility study processes. Successfully engaging, and entering into MOUs with local Indigenous communities, ahead of the initiation of the EIA process, signals strong support for the advancement of Wheeler River in future years. We look forward to building on the relationships that we've established over the past several years to develop a collaborative vision for the future of the Project." Project Description Acceptance of the Project Description is the first formal step to officially commence the EIA process in accordance with the requirements of both the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (Canada) ("CEAA 2012") and The Environmental Assessment Act (Saskatchewan). The Project Description outlines the major components of the Project and the potential interactions with the environment. The executive summary of the Project Description is available in English, French, Dene and Cree on the Company's website at www.denisonmines.com. The CNSC and the SK MOE are expected to carry out a coordinated Federal-Provincial EIA that will follow the spirit of the Canada-Saskatchewan Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation (2005), to the extent possible. The cooperation agreement allows for the production of a single Environmental Impact Statement for the Project (the "Project EIS"), which is intended to present the findings of the EIA in accordance with the requirements of both levels of government. A successful EIA process is critical to securing the approvals necessary to develop and operate a mine in Canada. The Company identified the EIA process as a key element of the Project's critical path. Accordingly, Denison plans to initiate various studies and assessments as part of the EIA process, which is intended to culminate in the preparation of the Project EIS. The EIA is a planning and decision-making tool, which involves predicting potential environmental effects throughout the project lifecycle (construction, operation, decommissioning and post-decommissioning) at the site, and within the local and regional assessment areas. The EIA objectives are to minimize or avoid adverse environmental effects before they occur and incorporate environmental factors into decision making processes. In addition to predictions made, effective monitoring programs will be developed based on results of the assessments and implemented as part of the "plan, do, check, act" style system for continual improvement and adaptive management. The EIA work builds upon the comprehensive environmental baseline dataset Denison has prepared for the Project, and feedback collected from engagement activities completed to date. Environmental Advantages of the Proposed Wheeler River Project After careful consideration of the strong economic results produced by the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"), prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 for the Project in late 2018, Denison and the Wheeler River Joint Venture ("WRJV") approved plans to initiate the EIA process as well as the engineering studies and related programs required to advance the development of an ISR mining operation, highlighted by the high-grade Phoenix deposit, with an on-site processing plant (see Denison's news release dated December 18, 2018). As outlined within the Project Description, the Company's evaluation of the ISR mining method has identified several significant environmental and permitting advantages particularly when compared to the impacts associated with conventional uranium mining in Canada. The Project's ISR mining operation is expected to produce no tailings, generate very small volumes of waste rock, and has the potential for low volumes or possibly no water discharge to surface water bodies, as well as the potential to use the existing power grid to operate on a near zero carbon emissions basis. The proposed use of a freeze wall, to encapsulate the ore zone and contain the mining solution used in the ISR operation, streamlines the mining process, minimizes interaction with the environment, and facilitates controlled reclamation of the site at decommissioning. Taken together, the Project has the potential to be one of the most environmentally friendly uranium mining and processing operations in the world. Owing largely to these benefits, engagement with local Indigenous communities, the public, and federal and provincial representatives, to date, has been encouraging regarding the use of ISR mining. Community Support As reported within the Project Description, Denison has executed a series of MOUs, in support of the advancement of the Project, with a number of Indigenous communities who assert that the Project falls partially or entirely within their traditional territories, and where traditional land use activities are currently practiced within the local and regional area surrounding the Project. These non-binding MOUs formalize the signing parties' intent to work together in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation in order to collectively identify practical means by which to avoid, mitigate, or otherwise address potential impacts of the Project upon the exercise of Indigenous rights, Treaty rights, and other interests, as well as to facilitate sharing in the benefits that will flow from the Project. The MOUs provide a process for continued engagement and information-sharing and establish a platform to identify business, employment and training opportunities for the parties with respect to the Project. About Wheeler River Wheeler River is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region, in northern Saskatchewan including combined Indicated Mineral Resources of 132.1 million pounds U 3 O 8 at an average grade of 3.3% U 3 O 8 , plus combined Inferred Mineral Resources of 3.0 million pounds U 3 O 8 at an average grade of 1.7% U 3 O 8 . The project is host to the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, discovered by Denison in 2008 and 2014, respectively, and is a joint venture between Denison (90% and operator) and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited (10%). A PFS was completed in late 2018, considering the potential economic merit of developing the Phoenix deposit as an ISR operation and the Gryphon deposit as a conventional underground mining operation. Taken together, the project is estimated to have mine production of 109.4 million pounds U 3 O 8 over a 14-year mine life, with a base case pre-tax NPV of $1.31 billion (8% discount rate), Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 38.7%, and initial pre-production capital expenditures of $322.5 million. The ISR operation planned for the Project includes the mining of the Phoenix deposit, which is estimated to have a stand-alone base case pre-tax NPV of $930.4 million (8% discount rate), IRR of 43.3%, initial pre-production capital expenditures of $322.5 million, and industry leading average operating costs of US$3.33/lb U 3 O 8 . The PFS is prepared on a project (100% ownership) and pre-tax basis, as each of the partners to the WRJV are subject to different tax and other obligations. Further details regarding the PFS, including additional scientific and technical information, as well as after-tax results attributable to Denison's ownership interest, are described in greater detail in the NI 43-101 Technical Report titled "Pre-feasibility Study for the Wheeler River Uranium Project, Saskatchewan, Canada" dated October 30, 2018 with an effective date of September 24, 2018. A copy of this report is available on Denison's website and under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. About Denison Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. In addition to its 90% owned Wheeler River Project, Denison's Athabasca Basin exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering approximately 310,000 hectares. Denison's interests in the Athabasca Basin also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture ("MLJV"), which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest and Midwest A deposits, and a 66.51% interest in the J Zone and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. Each of Midwest, Midwest A, J Zone and Huskie are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride. Qualified Persons The disclosure of scientific and technical information regarding the Wheeler River Project in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dale Verran, MSc, P.Geo., Pr.Sci.Nat., the Company's Vice President, Exploration, a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of the applicable United States and Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans', 'expects', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes', or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur', 'be achieved' or 'has the potential to'. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: development and expansion plans and objectives, including the results of the PFS and plans for the EA and other regulatory and feasibility study processes for Wheeler River; expectations regarding Denison's community engagement and MOUs with local communities; and expectations regarding its joint venture ownership interests and the continuity of its agreements with its partners. Statements relating to 'mineral reserves' or 'mineral resources' are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the mineral reserves and mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future. Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and results may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 12, 2019 under the heading 'Risk Factors'. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this news release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation. Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources and Probable Mineral Reserves: This news release may use the terms 'measured', 'indicated' and 'inferred' mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms have been prepared in accordance with the definition standards on mineral reserves of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum referred to in Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Mineral Disclosure Standards ("NI 43-101") and are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") does not recognize them. 'Inferred mineral resources' have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. References to estimates of mineral reserves in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The definition of probable mineral reserves used in NI 43-101 differs from the definition used by the SEC in the SEC's Industry Guide 7. Under the requirements of the SEC, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve" unless the determination has been made, pursuant to a "final" feasibility study that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. Denison has not prepared a feasibility study for the purposes of NI 43-101 or the requirements of the SEC. Accordingly, Denison's probable mineral reserves disclosure may not be comparable to information from U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. SOURCE Denison Mines Corp. Related Links http://denisonmines.com/s/Home.asp TEWKSBURY, Mass., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Employers looking to boost workplace morale may want to consider hiring from a new pool of talent: one with wagging tails, fur and four legs. A new survey from Wellness Natural Pet Food found that 65 percent of American pet parents believe that having pets in the workplace would benefit company culture. That same survey revealed that not only are pets beneficial to morale, but may help with recruitment and employee retention: Is your office Fido-Friendly? 65% of American pet parents believe that having pets in the workplace positively benefits company culture, according to Wellness Natural Pet Food who just announced its third annual list of Americas Most Pet Friendly Companies in celebration of Take Your Dog to Work Day. 75 percent of respondents believe that pets would diffuse a stressful situation in the workplace in the workplace 59 percent feel they would get to know their colleagues better if there were pets present if there were pets present Nearly half of dog owners say that "pet perks" are important when considering a job offer, with one in five millennial pet parents noting specifically that being able to bring their dog to work is important when considering a job offer "Studies have shown how pets can have a positive impact on our own health and wellbeing from lowering resting blood pressure to reducing stress but now people are thinking about how those benefits translate to the work environment," said Dr. Danielle Bernal, staff veterinarian with Wellness Natural Pet Food. "With more companies realizing that pets can improve the working experience, more are going above and beyond to cater to our new furry officemates and make sure they are happy and healthy from 9 to 5." For the third year in a row, Wellness Natural Pet Food is honoring those who set the bar high for pet-friendly workplaces by curating its list of America's Most Pet Friendly Companies, released in celebration of Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 21. America's Most Pet Friendly Companies of 2019 include: Amazon ( Seattle, Wash. ) Amazon takes the pet-friendly office to a whole new level as there are as many as 6,000 dogs in the Seattle -based headquarters on a given day. The company has been dog-friendly since its creation but has amped up their dog-friendly culture by creating multiple dog parks, including a doggie deck, for pups to stretch their legs and providing treats at every reception desk in their buildings. Harpoon Brewery ( Boston, Mass. ) Featured for the second consecutive year, Harpoon Brewery welcomes dogs on a daily basis where they can lounge in the office or explore the Boston Seaport for a walk by the water. In 2018, Harpoon hosted the first-ever "Dogtoberfest," which allowed Boston pet parents to bring their dogs along for an afternoon of beer tasting just for the humans, though! Trupanion ( Seattle, Wash. ) A leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs, Trupanion is all about pet perks for its employees, too! Dogs are frequent visitors in the office, so the company has a team of in-house dog walkers to keep pooches moving as well as a Pet Program Manager and a Pet Emergency Team who work together to ensure that all four-legged friends are safe during the workday. Trupanion also supports pet parents by offering a pet bereavement benefit which includes three days of paid leave should their pet pass away. Ben & Jerry's ( Burlington, Vt .) Employees at Ben & Jerry's love their dogs almost as much as they love ice cream and their office is a place where "K9-5ers" are always welcome! The company's "Canine Culture Committee" works hard to ensure that the 35-40 office dogs are happy and healthy by inviting in veterinarians to speak about behavior and training tips to educate pet parents. Dogs start the work day with a dog treat from the front desk on the way into the office. The only "work" they must do is enjoy plenty of play time and naps talk about a sweet deal! Contently ( New York, N.Y. ) Dogs have a permanent place on the employee roster at Contently, a leading content marketing platform company. On any given day pups can be found roaming the halls or curled up on conference room floors. Employees are encouraged to bond over pet parenthood through the company's "Contently-Canines" Slack channel where pet parents can exchange photos, ask for advice and coordinate dog-sitting when it's needed. These pet parents have each other's backs and Fido's too! Procore ( Carpinteria, Calif. ) Procore employees love their pups! The dog-friendly office has free treats and water bowls around campus and outdoor lawns to ensure pups have playtime too. Dogs and employees alike are a big fan of the frequent company "pawtys" otherwise known as dog-friendly happy hours. Employees who are pet parents also enjoy pet insurance as a benefit. Ticketmaster ( Los Angeles, Calif. ) Ticketmaster employees are welcome to bring their dogs to the office. To show additional support for pet parents, the company offers pet insurance as a benefit, so employees don't have to worry about coverage for Fido. PetSafe ( Knoxville, Tenn. ) As one of the most trusted pet brands globally, it only makes sense that the PetSafe headquarters would be filled with the employees' pets. PetSafe pups get a special first look at all of the company's latest innovations, often testing new toys, treats, fountains and more before anyone else to help inform research, planning and design. Because PetSafe is dedicated to creating "best moments" between pets and their owners, having pups at the office every day serves as the perfect reminder of its overarching purpose. TripAdvisor ( Needham, Mass. ) TripAdvisor employees never have to leave their fur babies at home! The company's headquarters is known to have dogs walking around the office, creating a fun, pet-friendly working environment for all employees. Purely Elizabeth ( Boulder, Colo. ) Purely Elizabeth, a leading natural foods brand offering groundbreaking and delicious gluten-free products, strives to support employees however they can which includes pet parenthood! The company encourages pet parents to spend more time with their dogs by introducing a pet-friendly culture where dogs are always welcome. Office pups enjoy lounging in the sun by the windows and are spoiled with treats! Take Your Dog to Work Day is an annual event first established by Pet Sitters International, Inc., and celebrated by offices across the country. To check out Dr. Bernal's best practices for a pet-friendly office and learn more about the survey results, visit https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/. About Wellness: At Wellness, we're a family-owned company of pet parents on a mission to raise the bar in pet food, because we believe the right choice at mealtime forms the foundation of a long, happy life together. That's why we do things the right way, not the easy waywe are 100 percent focused on natural nutrition all the time, crafting our pet food and treats recipes that are carefully sourced and thoughtfully prepared. That means we use the finest, natural ingredients, ensure the highest quality standards and create delicious recipes pets crave to make every mealtime count. Like you, we know that our pets provide us unconditional love, and providing uncompromising nutrition is one way we can do the same for them. To learn more about Wellness Natural Pet Food, visit wellnesspetfood.com and Facebook.com/WellnessPetFood, and find Wellness on Instagram and Twitter: @wellnesspetfood. SOURCE Wellness Natural Pet Food The production of the Haval F7 marks a significant milestone as the automaker's first full-process mass-produced vehicle manufactured overseas. The Haval F7 is also the first vehicle to leverage Chinese research and development on a multinational scale with full-process production conducted both in China and Russia, ushering in Haval's Globalization 3.0 era. "With the Tula Factory, we are helping stimulate local economic development as part of the Belt and Road Initiative," said Wei Jianjun, Chairman of Great Wall Motor Company Limited. "I believe our globalization strategy has the potential to go beyond opening international markets - it will propel Haval to be a key player on the global auto stage." With investment totaling over US $500 million, the Tula factory is GWM's largest overseas investment project to date and China's first full-process offshore vehicle factory. With an annual capacity of 150,000 units, the factory covers all production stages including pressing, welding, painting and integrated assembly. The factory also has parts on-site and quality control will be conducted locally. In line with Haval's vision to localize 65% of production, over 90% of the plant's 800 employees are local and is expected to grow to 1500 by June 2019. As Tula's most significant industrial project, the factory will boost the local economy by RMB 3 billion (US $430 million) forecasted in domestic revenue and taxes. Products from the factory will also be exported to neighboring countries, bolstering Tula's foreign exchange income. The Tula factory heralds Haval's Globalization 3.0 era, leveraging the Belt and Road Initiative to champion sustainable development through global distribution while exporting China's manufacturing and technological advancements worldwide. In addition to providing a full-process mass-scale factory to service the expanding Russian market, Haval's factory acts as a joint resource for other automakers with OEM parts, complete knock-down and assembly to reduce costs and minimize investment risks. Located in Uzlova Industrial Park in Tula, Russia, the factory is strategically positioned near Russian economic hubs including Tula, New Moscow, and Moscow. Haval's factory will serve as a base for development into Central Asian and Eastern European markets, including the adjacent countries of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova. About Haval Haval SUV, part of Great Wall Motor Company Limited, is China's No. 1 SUV brand and a fast-growing global SUV manufacturer. Independently operated since 2013, Haval, as the No.2 Most Valuable SUV of Brand Finance Auto & Tyres 2017 and No.16 in the 100 World's Most Valuable Automobile Brands of Brand Finance Auto & Tyres 2018, creates world-class SUVs for Chinese and overseas customers, combining a high level of production with innovative and sustainable technologies. The brand launched its Globalization 3.0 strategy in 2019 with the opening of the Tula factory in Russia, China's first full-process overseas vehicle factory. For more information, please visit http://www.haval-global.com/ SOURCE Haval Related Links http://www.haval-global.com/ TORONTO, June 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aguia Resources Limited (ASX: AGR, TSXV: AGRL) (Aguia the Company) advises that the Australian Government Takeovers Panel (the Panel) has made a Declaration of Unacceptable Circumstances in relation to the actions of certain Aguia shareholders regarding circumstances arising out of the recent requisition of two shareholder meetings. Two Extraordinary General Meetings have been scheduled to address two separate meeting requisitions (Requisition Notices) under section 249D of the Corporations Act from three Shareholders who purport to directly own approximately 5.3% of the Company's Shares: Kemosabe Capital Pty Ltd., Henderson International Pty Ltd. and Messrs David and Harry Shearwood (the Requisitioning Shareholders). At the meetings, Aguia shareholders will be asked to consider resolutions to remove four of the current directors of the Company (Diane Lai, Brian Moller, Paul Pint and Alec Pismiris) and appoint four new directors (David Shearwood, Christine McGrath, Jonathon Guinness and Martin McConnell). The meetings are scheduled to take place on June 11, 2019 and June 17, 2019. Aguias Board of Directors believed that circumstances surrounding the receipt of the Requestion Notices from the Requisitioning Shareholders meant that, amongst other things, certain Aguia shareholders had failed to disclose the full details and associations of the parties involved with the Requisition Notices. The failure to disclose such details and associations may have given rise to a contravention of the Corporations Act and the Board of Directors considered that, in order to ensure trading of Aguias shares and the exercise of voting rights took place in an informed market, it was in the best interests of Aguias shareholders to make an application to the Takeovers Panel to review the circumstances. On Friday, May 31, 2019, the Panel made a Declaration of Unacceptable Circumstances. On examination of structural links and correspondence, the Panel found that certain persons were associated for the purpose of controlling or influencing the composition of the Aguia Board. This included associations amongst some of the following: Richard McGrath (founder of Kemosabe Capital Pty Ltd.); David Shearwood (until recently, listed as a representative of Kemosabe on the Kemosabe website); Peter Curtis (CFO of Lowvix Pty Ltd., a company controlled by David Shearwood); Christine McGrath (sister of Richard McGrath); David Buckland (an associate of Richard McGrath, David Shearwood and Peter Curtis); and, Henderson International Pty Limited, collectively the Associated Shareholders. The Panel has found that the Associated Shareholders failed to lodge a substantial holder notice disclosing their voting powers and associations (a requirement of the Corporations Act). As such, Aguia shareholders were not made aware that these persons were associates for the purpose of controlling or influencing the composition of the Aguia board ahead of the requisitioned meetings. The Panel has made orders requiring disclosure by way of a substantial shareholder notice and has accepted an undertaking from Kemosabe that it will write to all of its clients that hold Aguia shares in relation to the requisitioned meetings. The letter from Kemosabe to its clients is required to state the background to Kemosabes requisitions and reasons behind the requisitions, that despite any recommendations that Kemosabe might make with regard to the resolutions to be considered at the meetings all voting decisions are ultimately up to the client and that the Panel has required Kemosabe and the other Associated Shareholders to lodge a substantial shareholder notice disclosing these associations. In November 2017, Aguia entered into a marketing arrangement with Kemosabe to promote Aguias stock and extend Aguias reach to its existing and prospective Australian investor base in exchange for which Aguia paid Kemosabe a monthly fee. Messrs McGrath and Shearwood have spent an extensive amount of time with Aguia management and travelled to site in Brazil. They have advised Kemosabe clients to participate in Aguias private placements as recently as March of this year and to buy Aguia shares on the ASX. Kemosabe was paid commission for the clients participation in various Aguia placements. In total, Kemosabe has billed Aguia A$195,846 in commissions and A$155,000 in monthly marketing fees. Aguias Executive Chairman Paul Pint commented, We are satisfied with the decisions of the Panel and agree that it is of utmost importance to all Aguia shareholders to understand the associations between the Requisitioners and certain other shareholders. It is regrettable that this group of shareholders has failed to make the appropriate disclosure prior to this declaration of unacceptable circumstances by the Panel. I was just in Sydney in early April along with our Technical Director Fernando Tallarico. We had the opportunity to meet with numerous Kemosabe clients to provide an update on Aguias successes so far this year and we were encouraged by the enthusiastic reception we received. We also spent a great deal of time one-on-one with Messrs McGrath and Shearwood and had the opportunity to speak with Bruce Henderson by phone. None of these individuals mentioned their concerns at that time and in fact seemed to have a very positive outlook about Aguia. We were completely shocked to receive the meeting requisitions seeking to replace the majority of the current Board shortly thereafter. We strongly encourage shareholders to vote against the resolutions that have been proposed by the Requisitioning Shareholders. Votes for both meetings can be lodged at www.linkmarketservices.com.au for ASX shareholders and at www.voteproxyonline.com for TSX Venture shareholders. We greatly appreciate the support of our shareholders during this challenging period and look forward to getting past the current uncertainty to continue building value for shareholders through the advancement of Tres Estradas and Rio Grande Copper. If you have any questions or require assistance lodging your votes, please dont hesitate to contact us at: myaguia@aguiaresources.com.au For fu r t h e r i nf o r m a t i o n , p l e a s e c o n t a c t : Justin Reid, Managing Director E: jreid@aguiaresources.com.au Spyros Karellas, Investor Relations North America E: spyros@pinnaclecapitalmarkets.ca T: +1 416-433-5696 Released through: Ben Jarvis, Six Degrees Investor Relations: +61 413 150 448 Follow Aguia on Twitter: @ Aguia_Resources A b o u t A gu ia : Aguia Resources Limited, (Aguia) is an ASX and TSX Venture listed company whose primary focus is on the exploration and development of mineral resource projects in Brazil. Aguia has an established and highly experienced in-country team based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil with corporate offices in Sydney, Australia. Aguias key projects are located in Rio Grande do Sul, a prime farming area which is 100% dependent on phosphate imports. The Rio Grande phosphate deposits exhibit high quality and low cost production characteristics, and are ideally located with proximity to road, rail, and port infrastructure. Aguias experienced management team has a proven track record of advancing high quality mining assets to production in Brazil. Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and Australian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding Tres Estradas and Rio Grande Copper, the mineral resource estimates, production targets, the anticipated timetable, permitting, forecast financial information, bankable feasibility study and ability to finance the project, and the prospectivity and potential of the mining claims. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com , on the ASX website at www.asx.com.au and on the Company's website at www.aguiaresouces.com.au. These risks should be considered carefully. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Persons reading this news release are cautioned that such statements are only predictions and there can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, estimates, options, future events, results or otherwise and does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. NEITHER THE AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGE, TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR THEIR 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. LONDON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The House of Garrard, the longest serving jeweller in the world, continues its association with the British monarchy and this evening a number of its historic pieces from the Royal Collection were worn by HM The Queen and HRH The Duchess of Cambridge at the State Banquet in honour of the US President. HM Queen Elizabeth II wore a suite of ruby jewels crafted by Garrard. The Burmese Ruby and Diamond Tiara was commissioned by The Queen herself in 1973 to include rubies gifted to her on her marriage from the people of Burma. The 96 rubies are a symbolic gesture, as rubies in Burmese culture protect from illness and evil, in this case to protect the wearer from the 96 diseases that can afflict humans. The rubies and diamonds are set in a series of rose motifs inspired by the Tudor Rose, the heraldic symbol of Britain. The tiara was complemented by earrings and a necklace, which were originally purchased from Garrard by Queen Victoria in 1854 and featured opals, before being altered by Queen Alexandra to instead contain rubies. While touring the Royal Collection with the US President and First Lady earlier in the day, HM The Queen also wore the Cullinan VI and VIII brooch crafted by Garrard in 1911, and at the start of the State Visit, greeted the US President wearing the Round Cambridge Emerald brooch. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge chose the Lover's Knot tiara. Originally designed for Queen Mary in 1913, the tiara consists of diamonds and a collection of 19 hanging pearls set in silver and gold. The House of Garrard received its first royal commission in 1735 for HRH Frederick, Prince of Wales. Garrard was appointed the first official Crown Jeweller in 1843 by Queen Victoria and has since served every successive monarch, creating many beautiful pieces that remain in the Royal Collection today. For further information, please contact Madeleine David at Garrard or Alix Turpin or Georgie Farley at Cultural Communications, [email protected], +44 (0) 796995-6278, +44 (0) 7497-123619, +44 (0) 7809-427420 SOURCE The House of Garrard BOSTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the global leader in storage and information management services, today announced the publication of the 2018 edition of its Corporate Responsibility Report. The report, now in its sixth annual edition, offers a comprehensive summary of the company's progress towards realizing its commitments to key Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program goals across its global business portfolio. The full report is available for download on Iron Mountain's Corporate Social Responsibility portal. In particular, the sixth edition gives an overview of two priority public commitments Iron Mountain made in June 2018: RE100 Membership Iron Mountain joined the RE100 Initiative, committing to source 100% of its electricity demand from renewable energy sources by 2050. Despite seeing electricity consumption significantly increase since 2016, due to the significant growth of its Data Center business, Iron Mountain increased the amount of renewable energy used across the company from 30% in 2017 to 69% in 2018; notably, that 69% usage rate includes a 100% utilization rate for Data Center operations worldwide in 2019. Iron Mountain joined the RE100 Initiative, committing to source 100% of its electricity demand from renewable energy sources by 2050. Despite seeing electricity consumption significantly increase since 2016, due to the significant growth of its Data Center business, Iron Mountain increased the amount of renewable energy used across the company from 30% in 2017 to 69% in 2018; notably, that 69% usage rate includes a 100% utilization rate for Data Center operations worldwide in 2019. Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Approval Additionally, Iron Mountain announced its commitment to set an aggressive science-based target for carbon reduction by the end of 2019, in accordance with goals for decarbonizing its operations worldwide, and in line with the global goals of the Paris Climate Accord. This commitment was recognized and approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which helps companies determine how much they must cut emissions to do their part to address climate change, to calculate and approve a reduction in carbon from current levels. Along with those public commitments, this year's edition of Iron Mountain's Corporate Responsibility Report offers updates on several priority areas of the company's ESG focus, including environmental impact measurements; employee safety metrics; data privacy best practices; training on, and awareness of, ethics and anti-corruption matters; innovating on solutions that deliver positive customer impacts; and inclusion and diversity. These areas each produced impactful results, including: Reductions in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions Year over year (2017 to 2018), Iron Mountain significantly reduced its GHG emissions by 41%, a result of its continued commitment to adopting and utilizing energy from sustainable and renewable sources across its operating portfolio. Of note, Iron Mountain utilized 607,749 megawatt hours of renewable energy in 2018, an increase of 497,103 megawatt hours over 2017 levels. Year over year (2017 to 2018), Iron Mountain significantly reduced its GHG emissions by 41%, a result of its continued commitment to adopting and utilizing energy from sustainable and renewable sources across its operating portfolio. Of note, Iron Mountain utilized 607,749 megawatt hours of renewable energy in 2018, an increase of 497,103 megawatt hours over 2017 levels. Employee safety improvements - In 2018, Iron Mountain achieved an enterprise-wide TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate, a standard measurement used by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to assess a business' safety performance) of 1.5, outperforming a target of 1.74. Lastly, Iron Mountain continued its journey towards helping its Data Center customers better understand their energy impacts with the launch of Green Power Pass, an industry-endorsed, fully-transparent option for companies that wish to claim greenhouse gas or CO2 reductions with the green power they consume at Iron Mountain data centers. Green Power Pass (GPP) allows Iron Mountain's customers to certify that 100% of the energy they use at Iron Mountain Data Centers comes from renewable sources, helping them to avoid complex carbon offsetting or renewable credit processes to meet their own sustainability targets. "Thanks to the dedication of our people at Iron Mountain, our progress and continued focus on ESG is increasingly integrated into the way we do business," said William L. Meaney, president and chief executive officer, Iron Mountain. "This edition of our Corporate Responsibility Report, our sixth year of ESG reporting, shows the progress we've made. While we're proud to recognize these achievements, we understand that the expectations of our customers, shareholders, current and prospective employees and the general public continue to rise. Our achievements and those expectations inspire us to meet the challenges ahead for our company, our industry and the world in which we operate." Iron Mountain's Corporate Sustainability Report follows the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Reporting Guidelines, a widely used standard that provides a framework for reporting and tracking progress. To read the report, visit Iron Mountain's corporate responsibility portal at http://www.ironmountain.com/About-Us/Corporate-Social-Responsibility.aspx. About Iron Mountain Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), founded in 1951, is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 225,000 organizations around the world, and with a real estate network of more than 90 million square feet across more than 1,450 facilities in approximately 50 countries, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of valued assets, including critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts. Providing solutions that include information management, digital transformation, secure storage, secure destruction, as well as data centers, cloud services and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps customers lower cost and risk, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and enable a more digital way of working. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information. Media Contacts: Christian T. Potts Iron Mountain (617) 535-8721 [email protected] SOURCE Iron Mountain Incorporated Related Links https://www.ironmountain.com WASHINGTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a conversation with AJC CEO David Harris, presented today to the AJC Global Forum his views on U.S.-Israel relations, Israel-Diaspora relations, the Iranian threat, the peace process, anti-Semitism, and new diplomatic opportunities for the Jewish state. Netanyahu, who personally delivered a powerful address a year ago to the AJC Global Forum, when the organization's signature annual event convened for the first time in Jerusalem, recorded a conversation with Harris in his Jerusalem office on key issues for world Jewry in advance of the 2019 Global Forum, taking place this week in Washington, D.C. The interview took place before the dramatic news on May 29 that Israelis would go back to the voting booths in September. "On the whole, I think that it's a very good time in U.S.-Israel relations," said Netanyahu. He cited the Trump Administration's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan, the decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, new diplomatic opportunities for Israel in the Muslim world, and prospects for moving the peace process forward in tandem with a new American peace plan. The prime minister addressed the issue of traditional bipartisan support for Israel, amid indications that Israel may become an issue of division between American political parties. "I don't think there's a big difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party as I have known it over the years on these issues," said Netanyahu. On the Democratic Party, specifically, "the people that I know there are staunch supporters of Israel, and I hope it will remain the same," he said. "If it changes that obviously will concern us. I think it should concern everyone." To illustrate the bipartisan U.S. support for Israel, Netanyahu pointed out that while he had "differences with President Obama, at the same time the two of us signed a memorandum of understanding that enabled Israel to get very generous American military assistance over the next decade. And I'm very appreciative of that." On Iran, Netanyahu said emphatically that the regime "is very dangerous," even more so after reaping monetary benefits from the easing of sanctions after the Iranian nuclear agreement was signed in 2015. "They took the money and then proceeded to build an empire, from Iran to Iraq to Syria, where they're trying to move their army, through Lebanon, through Gaza, Islamic Jihad, which is their direct proxy, through Yemen," he said. "They're just enveloping the Middle East in tentacles of aggression." Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Netanyahu emphasized the necessity for Israel to remain in charge of security in all the area west of the Jordan River. "It's about 40 miles at its widest point, about the size of the Beltway of Washington, D.C.," he said. Israel cannot allow what happened in Gaza to "happen in the center of the country in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). That will spell the end to Israel," said Netanyahu. "That is the main issue. It's not the only issue, but it's the main issue that I raise continuously with successive administrations, including this one." "Israel will have to have the overriding security responsibility, both for our sake, the security of Israel, but paradoxically also for the security of the Palestinians," said the prime minister. "If we don't maintain that responsibility, the Palestinian Authority will be overthrown in two seconds by militant Islam." Netanyahu spoke optimistically about "Israel's expanding diplomatic horizons," notably with Muslim countries. "Israel used to be this tiny country as a sort of dead end in the Middle East. And now, it's becoming a world hub of technology, of innovation, of tremendous success," he said. Arab countries, he said, are "moving faster to a different appreciation of Israel. First, they don't see Israel any longer as their enemy, but as their indispensable ally in standing up to Iranian aggression and even, I would say, beyond that, to joining to achieve technological progress in their respective countries." Netanyahu praised "AJC for the work that you did, making a lot of connections that we needed when we didn't have the kind of open channels that we have today." As but one example, he noted that "AJC may well have been the pioneers in creating ties to Azerbaijan." On an issue of heightened concern to many American Jews, the state of Israel-Diaspora relations, the prime minister was sympathetic. "Our whole purpose is to be a home for all the Jews who want to see Israel as their home," he said. "Israel should be connected to the Jewish people around the world. It should be a place where they can come and live if they so choose, to be a place that welcomes them in any case because we have a great common history and a common destiny in many ways. The more we can keep this bond, the better it is both for Israel and Diaspora Jews." But the prime minister also called on Jews living in the Diaspora to maintain that connection, too. "If you want to maintain your Jewish identity, then you have a stake in the State of Israel because Israel is the great guarantor of Jewish identity," said Netanyahu. "If you're interested in Jewish identity, support Israel." Turning to the issue of rising anti-Semitism, the prime minister acknowledged its "enduring resilience" after nearly 3,000 years. "The way to deal with anti-Semitism is to fight it. Will you eradicate it? No. We haven't eradicated anti-Semitism in the Middle East, but we're here thriving, growing. That's something that we have to do for Jews worldwide," said Netanyahu. The AJC Global Forum, taking place June 2-4 in Washington, D.C., is the advocacy organization's signature annual event, bringing together nearly 2,500 civic, political, and Jewish leaders from across the United States and 50 countries around the world. SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org "Now armed with Wyndham's substantial scale, distribution and resources, La Quinta by Wyndham is just beginning to scratch the surface of its growth potential," said Tom Barber, Chief Global Development Officer. "We're seeing increased interest from developers and guests around the world as we expand the brand in strategic markets, leveraging our scale and global reach to capitalize on the brand's international potential in destinations with strong demand for upper-midscale lodging - like the Dominican Republic - meeting the needs of the growing traveling class of 280 million households seeking trusted, value-driven travel experiences." Dominican Republic Debut The development agreement with Caribbean developer Profusion Group marks the first executed deal outside of the U.S. for La Quinta by Wyndham since Wyndham acquired the brand and outlined its strategic international expansion plans. The newly signed deal calls for eight new construction La Quinta by Wyndham hotels in the Dominican Republic over the next five years, four of which are slated to open in 2021 and will be managed by Wyndham's growing international management arm. The new hotels will open in top destinations with emerging need for select-service accommodations as alternatives to the island's upscale all-inclusive resorts, as well as in up-and-coming cities with growing hotel supply needs. Barber added: "With a top-performing Caribbean economy and millions of annual visitors, the Dominican Republic attracts a variety of travelers seeking the exceptional value, service and quality for which La Quinta by Wyndham is known in the U.S. We are committed to working with passionate, like-minded partners like Profusion Group to introduce the brand to new markets - and new travelers - around the world." "The Dominican Republic's leading position in the Caribbean's hospitality sector, combined with Wyndham Hotels & Resorts' leadership team, a strong and sustainable economy and growing middle class will add to La Quinta by Wyndham's fast growing footprint," said Edward De Valle II, CEO of Profusion Group. The agreement complements the brand's existing portfolio of 14 hotels in Latin America and the Caribbean. In early 2018, the brand debuted in Santiago, Chile, and Leon, Mexico. Fast-Growing Footprint La Quinta by Wyndham continues its growth in the U.S., welcoming nine new hotels in April and May 2019 including locations in Branson, Missouri; Flagstaff, Arizona; Spring and San Antonio, Texas; Perry and Brunswick, Georgia; as well as Clovis, San Bernardino and San Luis Obispo, California. Since its acquisition one year ago, the brand has executed nearly 30 franchise agreements and opened more than 20 hotels as part of the Wyndham Hotels & Resorts family. New construction development is a major force behind the brand's growth trajectory, accounting for approximately 90 percent of the 260 hotels in its pipeline as of March 31, 2019. Much of that growth is anchored by the brand's Del Sol prototype, which combines dynamic design elements with guest-centric offerings while helping to maximize revenue-per-square-foot for developers. As part of its comprehensive new construction growth strategy, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is applying La Quinta's design expertise to its other brands, starting with economy leader Microtel by Wyndham which announced its new Moda prototype design earlier this year. In April, the brand was successfully integrated to Wyndham's cloud-based, state-of-the-art technology platforms in what Wyndham Hotels & Resorts believes was one of the largest same day migrations in the history of the hospitality industry. It was also integrated into the award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program, adding 13 million new members and growing membership by approximately 20% to 75 million members. The brand also launched its first integrated marketing campaign since it was acquired by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, "Tomorrow You Triumph," which captures business travelers' unique experiences, highlighting La Quinta's key business amenities that help deliver what guests need to succeed while traveling. The first national television spot, "Screensaver," began airing in early April and hones in on the benefits Wyndham Rewards loyalty members can reap just by staying with La Quinta. ABOUT PROFUSION GROUP Profusion Group is a company dedicated to the development, investment and asset management in the Tourism and Hospitality sector. The firm's target markets are concentrated in the Caribbean and North Latin America (LACAR) with a primary emphasis in the Dominican Republic. Through its highly qualified professional team, Profusion Group seeks to generate value in each of its activities, thus maximizing risk-adjusted returns for its investors. ABOUT LA QUINTA BY WYNDHAM With more than 915 destinations in North and Latin America, the upper-midscale La Quinta by Wyndham brand is a bright spot in every travelers' journey. Whether traveling for business or leisure, guests can rest assured, relax, and recharge thanks to the brand's Bright Morning Bed, free Bright Side Breakfast, spacious in-room work areas, pet-friendly rooms and free high-speed internet. For more information, visit www.lq.com. Like and follow La Quinta on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. For more information on developing a La Quinta by Wyndham hotel, click here. ABOUT WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: WH) is the world's largest hotel franchising company, with approximately 9,200 hotels across more than 80 countries on six continents. Through its network of approximately 812,000 rooms appealing to the everyday traveler, Wyndham commands a leading presence in the economy and midscale segments of the lodging industry. The Company operates a portfolio of 20 hotel brands, including Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Microtel Inn & Suites, La Quinta, Wingate, AmericInn, Hawthorn Suites, Trademark Collection, and Wyndham. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts is also a leading provider of hotel management services, with more than 400 properties under management. The Company's award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty program offers over 75 million enrolled members the opportunity to redeem points at thousands of hotels, vacation club resorts and vacation rentals globally. For more information, visit www.wyndhamhotels.com. SOURCE Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Related Links https://www.wyndhamhotels.com WASHINGTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Three members of Congress, addressing the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Global Forum today, announced the launch of the bipartisan Black-Jewish congressional caucus. The caucus's creation follows on a January meeting with AJC's National Leadership Council, where Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) spoke about the urgent need to bring together African-Americans and Jews. Caucus co-founders, in addition to Lawrence, are Reps. Will Hurd (R-TX) John Lewis (D-GA), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL), and Lee Zeldin (R-NY). Reps Lawrence, Zeldin and Wasserman-Schultz addressed the AJC Global Forum on behalf of the five co-founders. "The African-American and Jewish communities have a history of standing together for the promotion of social justice and civil rights. There are very few segments of America that have invested themselves in these struggles as much as these communities," said Lawrence. "To encourage and nurture this unique partnership, I have formed the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations with the hopes of strengthening the trust and advancing our issues in a collective manner." The Black Jewish Caucus will assemble politicians from both communities, and both sides of the aisle, to learn from each other and advocate for joint concerns. The Caucus will: Raise awareness of each community's sensitivities and needs, in Congress and around the country. Provide resources to members of Congress to empower them to bring African-American and Jewish communities together, combating stereotypes and hate and showcasing commonalities. Support stronger hate crimes legislation and advocate for increased government resources to confront the threat of white supremacist ideology. Support legislation and work to expand access to democracy and protect election integrity. "For generations, the Jewish and African-American communities have stood together, helping each other overcome their greatest challenges and triumphing in the face of sweeping discrimination, all while securing a brighter future for all Americans, but our work is not yet finished," said Congressman Zeldin. "It is clear our communities are still the target of hate and discrimination, and we will not stand idly by. It's an honor to join my colleagues to further defend and promote this profound relationship through the formation of the Black-Jewish Caucus." AJC has long advocated for promoting pluralism, the quintessential American value, and partnered with a broad range of ethnic and faith leaders to continuously strengthen our nation's commitment to that ideal. Our specific work in advancing civil rights and Black-Jewish relations began well over a century ago and has continued ever since. The Black-Jewish Congressional Caucus joins the Latino-Jewish Congressional Caucus, Latino-Jewish Leadership Council, and Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council. "The Jewish tradition teaches that it is incumbent upon us to speak out and act against injustice. African American and Jewish communities have a long, shared history of confronting discrimination and racism in the United States, and the rise of white supremacy threatens both of our communities," said Wasserman Schultz. "The Caucus will build upon our common fight for a better world, while raising awareness in Congress about the issues facing our communities. My hope is that generations to come will live in an America without anti-Semitism, racism, intolerance, and hatred." The AJC Global Forum, taking place June 2-4 in Washington, D.C., is the advocacy organization's signature annual event, bringing together nearly 2,500 civic, political, and Jewish leaders from across the United States and 50 countries around the world. SOURCE American Jewish Committee Related Links http://www.ajc.org New Orders, Production, and Employment Growing; Supplier Deliveries Slowing at a Slower Rate; Backlog Contracting Raw Materials Inventories Growing; Customers' Inventories Too Low Prices Increasing; Exports Growing, but Imports Contracting TEMPE, Ariz., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in May, and the overall economy grew for the 121st consecutive month, say the nation's supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business. The report was issued today by Timothy R. Fiore, CPSM, C.P.M., Chair of the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Business Survey Committee: "The May PMI registered 52.1 percent, a decrease of 0.7 percentage point from the April reading of 52.8 percent. The New Orders Index registered 52.7 percent, an increase of 1 percentage point from the April reading of 51.7 percent. The Production Index registered 51.3 percent, a 1-percentage point decrease compared to the April reading of 52.3 percent. The Employment Index registered 53.7 percent, an increase of 1.3 percentage points from the April reading of 52.4 percent. The Supplier Deliveries Index registered 52 percent, a 2.6-percentage point decrease from the April reading of 54.6 percent. The Inventories Index registered 50.9 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the April reading of 52.9 percent. The Prices Index registered 53.2 percent, a 3.2-percentage point increase from the April reading of 50 percent. "Comments from the panel reflect continued expanding business strength, but at soft levels consistent with the early-2016 expansion. Demand expansion continued, with the New Orders Index strengthening, but remaining in the low 50s, the Customers' Inventories Index remaining at a 'too low' level, and the Backlog of Orders Index contracting for the first time since January 2017. Consumption (production and employment) continued to expand, resulting in a combined PMI contribution of 0.3 percentage point. Inputs expressed as supplier deliveries, inventories and imports were lower this month, primarily due to inventory softening and supplier's continuing to deliver faster, resulting in a combined 4.6-percentage point reduction in the Supplier Deliveries and Inventories indexes. Imports contracted for the second straight month. Overall, inputs reflect supply chains' ability to respond faster and indicate that supply managers are closely watching inventories. Prices remain at a relatively stable level. "Respondents expressed concern with the escalation in the U.S.-China trade standoff, but overall sentiment remained predominantly positive. The PMI continues to reflect slowing expansion," says Fiore. Of the 18 manufacturing industries, 11 reported growth in May, in the following order: Printing & Related Support Activities; Furniture & Related Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Textile Mills; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Computer & Electronic Products; Chemical Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; and Machinery. The six industries reporting contraction in May listed in order are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Petroleum & Coal Products; Wood Products; Paper Products; and Fabricated Metal Products. WHAT RESPONDENTS ARE SAYING "Ongoing tariffs [issue is] impacting costs and influencing supplier realignment on country of origin. Border issue is causing delays in imports from Mexico ." (Computer & Electronic Products) ." (Computer & Electronic Products) "The threat of additional tariffs has forced a change in our supply chain strategy; we are shifting business from China to Mexico , which will not increase the number of U.S. jobs." (Chemical Products) to , which will not increase the number of U.S. jobs." (Chemical Products) "Sales continue to decline. Volumes are off, [and] profits haven't decreased in proportion to sales. Higher-margin vehicles continue strong sales, but low- to mid-range sales are down." (Transportation Equipment) "Sales remain strong. Labor remains tight. Tariffs are having a significant impact on cost of goods. No impact on where we buy our goods." (Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products) "Business is continuing to grow and expand. The pressure for driving out costs has increased significantly, and my company is facing major changes over the next several years to remain cost competitive." (Miscellaneous Manufacturing) "The threat of a 15-percent increase on Section 301 tariffs is a concern. Although the potential has been around for months, the recent deadline was not expected. We had calculated and communicated the potential cost impact to our leadership." (Petroleum & Coal Products) "Weather in the middle of the country has slowed construction and infrastructure projects." (Nonmetallic Mineral Products) "Business continues to be very strong. Our company and our supply base continue to be challenged getting manpower for production. Key commodity costs like steel have continued to come down. Lead times with suppliers have stabilized after moving out two to three times what they were a year ago. Supply base performance has improved over the last 90 days and stabilized." (Machinery) "Newly increased tariffs on Chinese imports pose an issue on a number of chemicals and materials that are solely produced in China . We are expecting increases in raw materials starting June 1 ." (Plastics & Rubber Products) . We are expecting increases in raw materials starting ." (Plastics & Rubber Products) "General slowing due to inventory correction." (Primary Metals) MANUFACTURING AT A GLANCE May 2019 Index Series Index May Series Index Apr Percentage Point Change Direction Rate of Change Trend* (Months) PMI 52.1 52.8 -0.7 Growing Slower 33 New Orders 52.7 51.7 +1.0 Growing Faster 41 Production 51.3 52.3 -1.0 Growing Slower 33 Employment 53.7 52.4 +1.3 Growing Faster 32 Supplier Deliveries 52.0 54.6 -2.6 Slowing Slower 39 Inventories 50.9 52.9 -2.0 Growing Slower 17 Customers' Inventories 43.7 42.6 +1.1 Too Low Slower 32 Prices 53.2 50.0 +3.2 Increasing From Unchanged 1 Backlog of Orders 47.2 53.9 -6.7 Contracting From Growing 1 New Export Orders 51.0 49.5 +1.5 Growing From Contracting 1 Imports 49.4 49.8 -0.4 Contracting Faster 2 OVERALL ECONOMY Growing Slower 121 Manufacturing Sector Growing Slower 33 Manufacturing ISM Report On Business data is seasonally adjusted for the New Orders, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries Indexes. *Number of months moving in current direction. COMMODITIES REPORTED UP/DOWN IN PRICE AND IN SHORT SUPPLY Commodities Up in Price Aluminum*; Dairy Products; Electronic Components (10); Integrated Circuits; Nylons; Printed Circuit Board Assemblies; Solvents; Steel* (9); and Steel Products*. Commodities Down in Price Aluminum* (2); Caustic Soda (2); Memory (2); Natural Gas; Polypropylene (3); Scrap Metal; Soybean Products; Steel*; Steel Hot Rolled (2); and Steel Products* (5). Commodities in Short Supply Aluminum Products (3); Capacitors (2); Electronic Components (13) and Integrated Circuits. The number of consecutive months the commodity is listed is indicated after each item. *Indicates both up and down in price. MAY 2019 MANUFACTURING INDEX SUMMARIES PMI Manufacturing expanded in May, as the PMI registered 52.1 percent, a decrease of 0.7 percentage point from the April reading of 52.8 percent. This is the lowest reading since October 2016 when the index registered 51.7 percent. "This indicates growth in manufacturing for the 33rd consecutive month. The PMI continued a period of expansion softening which began in August 2018. Softening this month was primarily due to inputs supplier deliveries and inventories. Three of the big six industries expanded," says Fiore. A reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally contracting. A PMI above 42.9 percent, over a period of time, generally indicates an expansion of the overall economy. Therefore, the May PMI indicates growth for the 121st consecutive month in the overall economy and the 33rd straight month of growth in the manufacturing sector. "The past relationship between the PMI and the overall economy indicates that the PMI for May (52.1 percent) corresponds to a 2.7-percent increase in real gross domestic product (GDP) on an annualized basis," says Fiore. THE LAST 12 MONTHS Month PMI Month PMI May 2019 52.1 Nov 2018 58.8 Apr 2019 52.8 Oct 2018 57.5 Mar 2019 55.3 Sep 2018 59.5 Feb 2019 54.2 Aug 2018 60.8 Jan 2019 56.6 Jul 2018 58.4 Dec 2018 54.3 Jun 2018 60.0 Average for 12 months 56.7 High 60.8 Low 52.1 New Orders ISM's New Orders Index registered 52.7 percent in May, which is an increase of 1 percentage point when compared to the 51.7 percent reported for April, indicating growth in new orders for the 41st consecutive month. "Customer-demand expansion strengthened marginally compared to April, with four of the top six industry sectors expanding. New order activity was relatively stable, with companies shifting from 'percentage higher' to 'percentage same,' " says Fiore. A New Orders Index above 52.5 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Census Bureau's series on manufacturing orders (in constant 2000 dollars). Of 18 manufacturing industries, 12 reported growth in new orders in May, in the following order: Furniture & Related Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Plastics & Rubber Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Machinery; Chemical Products; Transportation Equipment; and Fabricated Metal Products. The four industries reporting a decline in new orders in May are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Primary Metals; and Paper Products. New Orders %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 26.9 56.7 16.4 10.5 52.7 Apr 2019 31.0 50.2 18.8 +12.2 51.7 Mar 2019 37.2 49.8 13.0 +24.2 57.4 Feb 2019 28.2 57.8 14.0 +14.2 55.5 Production ISM's Production Index registered 51.3 percent in May, which is a decrease of 1 percentage point when compared to the 52.3 percent reported for April, indicating growth in production for the 33rd consecutive month. "Production expansion continued in May, but at a slower pace compared to April. Production output was not able to improve customer-inventory positions but was able to contribute to backlog orders reaching contraction territory," says Fiore. An index above 51.7 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Federal Reserve Board's Industrial Production figures. The 11 industries reporting growth in production during the month of May listed in order are: Furniture & Related Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Plastics & Rubber Products; Chemical Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Fabricated Metal Products; and Transportation Equipment. The four industries reporting a decrease in production in May are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Primary Metals; and Paper Products. Production %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 25.4 54.9 19.7 +5.7 51.3 Apr 2019 30.4 51.5 18.1 +12.3 52.3 Mar 2019 30.8 54.8 14.4 +16.4 55.8 Feb 2019 26.0 59.5 14.5 +11.5 54.8 Employment ISM's Employment Index registered 53.7 percent in May, an increase of 1.3 percentage points when compared to the April reading of 52.4 percent. This indicates growth in employment in May for the 32nd consecutive month. "Employment continued to expand, and at marginally higher levels compared to April but the index recorded the single biggest gain of the five PMI subindexes. Comments received include hiring of recent college graduates, increases in temporary labor to support seasonality, and in some cases, deferring hiring due to economic uncertainty," says Fiore. An Employment Index above 50.8 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on manufacturing employment. Eleven of 18 manufacturing industries reported employment growth in May, in the following order: Textile Mills; Printing & Related Support Activities; Furniture & Related Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Paper Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; and Machinery. The two industries reporting a decrease in employment in May are: Primary Metals; and Fabricated Metal Products. Employment %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 23.1 63.6 13.2 +9.9 53.7 Apr 2019 19.6 68.0 12.4 +7.2 52.4 Mar 2019 24.9 63.7 11.5 +13.4 57.5 Feb 2019 18.2 68.7 13.2 +5.0 52.3 Supplier Deliveries The delivery performance of suppliers to manufacturing organizations slowed in May, as the Supplier Deliveries Index registered 52 percent. This is 2.6 percentage points lower than the 54.6 percent reported for April. "This is the 39th straight month of slowing supplier deliveries, with the index indicating a period of supplier delivery improvement after four months of stability, but with higher stress. Supplier deliveries are improving, with many respondents noting more readily available supplier inventory, faster supplier response times, and generally suppliers 'catching up' despite land- and river-transportation bottlenecks. Supplier deliveries recorded their lowest level of difficulty since October 2016, when the index registered 51.5 percent," says Fiore. A reading below 50 percent indicates faster deliveries, while a reading above 50 percent indicates slower deliveries. The seven industries reporting slower supplier deliveries in May listed in order are: Plastics & Rubber Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Primary Metals; Computer & Electronic Products; Machinery; and Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products. The four industries reporting faster supplier deliveries in May are: Wood Products; Textile Mills; Paper Products; and Transportation Equipment. Seven industries reported no change in suppliers' delivery performance in May as compared to April. Supplier Deliveries %Slower %Same %Faster Net Index May 2019 11.0 82.9 6.1 +4.9 52.0 Apr 2019 18.0 73.6 8.4 +9.6 54.6 Mar 2019 16.4 76.9 6.7 +9.7 54.2 Feb 2019 16.6 77.3 6.1 +10.5 54.9 Inventories* The Inventories Index registered 50.9 percent in May, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the 52.9 percent reported for April. "The index expanded for the 17th consecutive month but neared contraction levels compared to the previous month. Inventories were depleted relative to production, thanks to production output strength and despite suppliers delivering faster. Inventory expansion continues but remains at low levels. The index recorded its lowest level since October 2018, when it registered 50.7 percent. Many respondents noted that they are watching inventories closely and, in some cases, 'managing down,' " says Fiore. An Inventories Index greater than 44.3 percent, over time, is generally consistent with expansion in the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) figures on overall manufacturing inventories (in chained 2000 dollars). The six industries reporting higher inventories in May listed in order are: Printing & Related Support Activities; Textile Mills; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Paper Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; and Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products. The five industries reporting a decrease in inventories in May are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Computer & Electronic Products; and Transportation Equipment. Seven industries reported no change in raw materials inventories in May as compared to April. Inventories %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 18.8 64.3 16.9 +1.9 50.9 Apr 2019 20.5 64.8 14.7 +5.8 52.9 Mar 2019 18.4 66.9 14.7 +3.7 51.8 Feb 2019 20.0 66.8 13.2 +6.8 53.4 Customers' Inventories* ISM's Customers' Inventories Index registered 43.7 percent in May, which is 1.1 percentage points higher than the 42.6 percent reported for April, indicating that customers' inventory levels were considered too low. "Customers' inventories are too low for the 32nd consecutive month, remaining below preferred levels. The index registered its highest level since April 2018, when it registered 44.3 percent. The 'too low' status continues to indicate future production growth potential," says Fiore. The four industries reporting customers' inventories as too high during the month of May are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; Primary Metals; and Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components. The 11 industries reporting customers' inventories as too low during May listed in order are: Textile Mills; Petroleum & Coal Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Machinery; Computer & Electronic Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Paper Products; Transportation Equipment; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Chemical Products. Customers' Inventories % Reporting %Too High %About Right %Too Low Net Index May 2019 81 10.5 66.5 23.0 -12.5 43.7 Apr 2019 78 10.5 64.2 25.3 -14.8 42.6 Mar 2019 80 6.8 71.7 21.4 -14.6 42.7 Feb 2019 74 4.3 69.4 26.3 -22.0 39.0 Prices* The ISM Prices Index registered 53.2 percent in May, an increase of 3.2 percentage points from the April reading of 50 percent, indicating raw materials ticked up following a month of unchanged activity. "Prices rebounded in May, as price issues remain in electronic components, food ingredients, wood products and other areas, which are offset by steel and aluminum declines. Shortages continue for electronic components and integrated circuits," says Fiore. A Prices Index above 52.5 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index for Intermediate Materials. Six of the 18 industries reported paying increased prices for raw materials in May in the following order: Printing & Related Support Activities; Petroleum & Coal Products; Chemical Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Machinery; and Transportation Equipment. The five industries reporting a decrease in prices for raw materials in May are: Wood Products; Paper Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Primary Metals; and Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products. Seven industries reported no change in raw materials prices in May as compared to April. Prices %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 22.0 62.3 15.7 +6.3 53.2 Apr 2019 19.0 62.1 19.0 0.0 50.0 Mar 2019 19.1 70.5 10.5 +8.6 54.3 Feb 2019 20.0 58.9 21.1 -1.1 49.4 Backlog of Orders* ISM's Backlog of Orders Index registered 47.2 percent in May, which is 6.7 percentage points lower than the 53.9 percent reported in April, indicating order backlogs contracted for the month. "Backlogs shrank during May, due to production output being able to exceed new order intake rates. Backlogs recorded their lowest level of performance since October 2016, when the index registered 45.8 percent," says Fiore. The 10 industries reporting growth in order backlogs in May listed in order are: Textile Mills; Printing & Related Support Activities; Furniture & Related Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Computer & Electronic Products; Machinery; Paper Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Fabricated Metal Products; and Chemical Products. Six industries reported a decrease in order backlogs during May listed in order are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Transportation Equipment; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing. Backlog of Orders % Reporting %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 88 21.7 51.1 27.2 -5.5 47.2 Apr 2019 89 24.1 59.8 16.2 +7.9 53.9 Mar 2019 86 19.0 62.8 18.2 +0.8 50.4 Feb 2019 88 23.4 57.8 18.8 +4.6 52.3 New Export Orders* ISM's New Export Orders Index registered 51 percent in May, 1.5 percentage points higher compared to the April reading of 49.5 percent, indicating that new export orders grew after one month of contraction. "New Export orders rebounded from last month's contraction, with many respondents noting trade and Brexit issues as reasons for increased activity. Three of the six big industry sectors contributed to the expansion," says Fiore. The five industries reporting growth in new export orders in May are: Wood Products; Chemical Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing. The eight industries reporting a decrease in new export orders in May listed in order are: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Primary Metals; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Furniture & Related Products; Paper Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Transportation Equipment; and Computer & Electronic Products. New Export Orders % Reporting %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 77 13.6 74.6 11.7 +1.9 51.0 Apr 2019 78 9.1 80.8 10.1 -1.0 49.5 Mar 2019 78 10.7 82.0 7.3 +3.4 51.7 Feb 2019 78 11.8 82.2 6.1 +5.7 52.8 Imports * ISM's Imports Index registered 49.4 percent in May, a decrease of 0.4 percentage point when compared to the 49.8 percent reported for April, indicating that imports contracted in May for a second consecutive month. "Imports contracted for the second straight month, with many respondents reporting continual draw down of existing inventories and less of a dependence on overseas sources as primary reasons," says Fiore. The four industries reporting growth in imports during the month of May are: Wood Products; Miscellaneous Manufacturing; Fabricated Metal Products; and Chemical Products. The seven industries reporting a decrease in imports in May in the following order: Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Petroleum & Coal Products; Primary Metals; Paper Products; Transportation Equipment; Machinery; and Computer & Electronic Products. Seven industries reported no change in imports in May as compared to April. Imports % Reporting %Higher %Same %Lower Net Index May 2019 84 10.7 77.4 11.9 -1.2 49.4 Apr 2019 85 12.5 74.4 13.0 -0.5 49.8 Mar 2019 82 12.0 78.2 9.8 +2.2 51.1 Feb 2019 80 16.6 77.5 5.9 +10.7 55.3 *The Inventories, Customers' Inventories, Prices, Backlog of Orders, New Export Orders and Imports Indexes do not meet the accepted criteria for seasonal adjustments. Buying Policy Average commitment lead time for Capital Expenditures decreased by one day in May to 145 days. Average lead time for Production Materials increased by one day to 72 days. Average lead time for Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) Supplies was unchanged from April and stands at 35 days. Percent Reporting Capital Expenditures Hand-to-Mouth 30 Days 60 Days 90 Days 6 Months 1 Year+ Average Days May 2019 21 4 12 15 28 20 145 Apr 2019 22 4 9 20 23 22 146 Mar 2019 20 5 9 18 26 22 150 Feb 2019 18 3 13 20 26 20 146 Production Materials Hand-to-Mouth 30 Days 60 Days 90 Days 6 Months 1 Year+ Average Days May 2019 11 32 27 17 9 4 72 Apr 2019 11 31 30 16 8 4 71 Mar 2019 11 33 28 17 8 3 68 Feb 2019 10 37 24 17 9 3 68 MRO Supplies Hand-to-Mouth 30 Days 60 Days 90 Days 6 Months 1 Year+ Average Days May 2019 36 40 17 4 2 1 35 Apr 2019 38 37 16 6 2 1 35 Mar 2019 35 39 17 7 2 0 34 Feb 2019 34 45 15 4 1 1 33 About This Report DO NOT CONFUSE THIS NATIONAL REPORT with the various regional purchasing reports released across the country. The national report's information reflects the entire U.S., while the regional reports contain primarily regional data from their local vicinities. Also, the information in the regional reports is not used in calculating the results of the national report. The information compiled in this report is for the month of May 2019. The data presented herein is obtained from a survey of manufacturing supply executives based on information they have collected within their respective organizations. ISM makes no representation, other than that stated within this release, regarding the individual company data collection procedures. The data should be compared to all other economic data sources when used in decision-making. Data and Method of Presentation The Manufacturing ISM Report On Business is based on data compiled from purchasing and supply executives nationwide. The composition of the Manufacturing Business Survey Committee is stratified according to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and each of the following NAICS-based industry's contribution to gross domestic product (GDP): Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Textile Mills; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Wood Products; Paper Products; Printing & Related Support Activities; Petroleum & Coal Products; Chemical Products; Plastics & Rubber Products; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Primary Metals; Fabricated Metal Products; Machinery; Computer & Electronic Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Transportation Equipment; Furniture & Related Products; and Miscellaneous Manufacturing (products such as medical equipment and supplies, jewelry, sporting goods, toys and office supplies). The data are weighted based on each industry's contribution to GDP. Beginning in February 2018, computation of the indexes is accomplished utilizing unrounded numbers. Survey responses reflect the change, if any, in the current month compared to the previous month. For each of the indicators measured (New Orders, Backlog of Orders, New Export Orders, Imports, Production, Supplier Deliveries, Inventories, Customers' Inventories, Employment and Prices), this report shows the percentage reporting each response, the net difference between the number of responses in the positive economic direction (higher, better and slower for Supplier Deliveries) and the negative economic direction (lower, worse and faster for Supplier Deliveries), and the diffusion index. Responses are raw data and are never changed. The diffusion index includes the percent of positive responses plus one-half of those responding the same (considered positive). The resulting single index number for those meeting the criteria for seasonal adjustments (PMI, New Orders, Production, Employment and Supplier Deliveries) is then seasonally adjusted to allow for the effects of repetitive intra-year variations resulting primarily from normal differences in weather conditions, various institutional arrangements, and differences attributable to non-moveable holidays. All seasonal adjustment factors are subject annually to relatively minor changes when conditions warrant them. The PMI is a composite index based on the diffusion indexes of five of the indexes with equal weights: New Orders (seasonally adjusted), Production (seasonally adjusted), Employment (seasonally adjusted), Supplier Deliveries (seasonally adjusted), and Inventories. Diffusion indexes have the properties of leading indicators and are convenient summary measures showing the prevailing direction of change and the scope of change. A PMI reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining. A PMI above 42.9 percent, over a period of time, indicates that the overall economy, or gross domestic product (GDP), is generally expanding; below 42.9 percent, it is generally declining. The distance from 50 percent or 42.9 percent is indicative of the extent of the expansion or decline. With some of the indicators within this report, ISM has indicated the departure point between expansion and decline of comparable government series, as determined by regression analysis. The Manufacturing ISM Report On Business survey is sent out to Manufacturing Business Survey Committee respondents the first part of each month. Respondents are asked to ONLY report on information for the current month. ISM receives survey responses throughout most of any given month, with the majority of respondents generally waiting until late in the month to submit responses in order to give the most accurate picture of current business activity. ISM then compiles the report for release on the first business day of the following month. The industries reporting growth, as indicated in the Manufacturing ISM Report On Business monthly report, are listed in the order of most growth to least growth. For the industries reporting contraction or decreases, those are listed in the order of the highest level of contraction/decrease to the least level of contraction/decrease. Responses to Buying Policy reflect the percent reporting the current month's lead time, the approximate weighted number of days ahead for which commitments are made for Capital Expenditures; Production Materials; and Maintenance, Repair and Operating (MRO) Supplies, expressed as hand-to-mouth (five days), 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, six months (180 days), a year or more (360 days), and the weighted average number of days. These responses are raw data, never revised, and not seasonally adjusted since there is no significant seasonal pattern. ISM ROB Content The Institute for Supply Management ("ISM") Report On Business (both Manufacturing and Non-Manufacturing) ("ISM ROB") contains information, text, files, images, video, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, applications, and any other materials or content (collectively, "Content") of ISM ("ISM ROB Content"). 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Report On Business, PMI, and NMI are registered trademarks of Institute for Supply Management. Institute for Supply Management and ISM are registered trademarks of Institute for Supply Management, Inc. About Institute for Supply Management Institute for Supply Management (ISM) serves supply management professionals in more than 90 countries. Its 50,000 members around the world manage about US$1 trillion in corporate and government supply chain procurement annually. Founded in 1915 as the first supply management institute in the world, ISM is committed to advancing the practice of supply management to drive value and competitive advantage for its members, contributing to a prosperous and sustainable world. ISM leads the profession through the ISM Report On Business, its highly regarded certification programs and the ISM Mastery Model. This report has been issued by the association since 1931, except for a four-year interruption during World War II. The full text version of the Manufacturing ISM Report On Business is posted on ISM's website at www.ismrob.org on the first business day* of every month after 10:00 a.m. ET. The next Manufacturing ISM Report On Business featuring June 2019 data will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET on Monday, July 1, 2019. *Unless the New York Stock Exchange is closed. Contact: Kristina Cahill Report On Business Analyst ISM, ROB/Research Manager Tempe, Arizona +1 480.455.5910 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Institute for Supply Management Related Links http://www.ism.ws OSLO, Norway, June 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Resoptima announced today the opening of a Houston office with Allan Rydahl as General Manager for the Americas. Following last year's openings of Resoptima's London and Kuala Lumpur offices, this move is part of Resoptima's goal to achieve global support for its growing client base. Allan Rydahl - GM Resoptima Americas Atila Mellilo, Chief Executive Officer of Resoptima, explains, "Our clients operate globally, and Houston is a central corporate decision hub that is strategic for us in expanding our new reservoir modeling technology. Allan strengthens our team with his broad experience which aligns with Resoptima's core value of delivering successful outcomes to clients." With Houston as a touchpoint for the Americas, Allan Rydahl will be leading the region as General Manager. Allan has worked in the oil and gas industry for 25 years in technical and managerial positions and was a key contributor to the growth of the Americas divisions of Calsep and SPT Group. For the last five years, he worked in leadership roles within Schlumberger (SIS) as Services and Operations Manager for the United States and Canada. Allan will contribute greatly to Resoptima's business with his diverse knowledge of the region and connections within the business. Allan Rydahl adds, "I am excited to join a company that combines the industry focus on digitalization with true physics-based modeling. Resoptima has unique subsurface modeling technology that is changing the mindset of how we approach developing and managing our reservoirs. This will have a tremendous impact on decision-making processes and unlocking unrealized value across assets. I look forward to being part of growing Resoptima and helping our clients succeed." Resoptima is an independent technology company committed to driving value for the upstream oil and gas industry through effective reservoir management software solutions and services. For more information about Resoptima and its solutions, please visit www.resoptima.com. Related Images allan-rydahl.jpg Allan Rydahl Allan Rydahl - GM Resoptima Americas Related Links Resoptima SOURCE Resoptima DENVER, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SM Energy Company (the "Company") (NYSE: SM) today announces that the Company's Board of Directors has appointed Herbert S. Vogel to the position of Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Vogel joined the Company in 2012 and has served in the role of Executive Vice President Operations since August 2014. Mr. Vogel has 35 years of experience in the oil and natural gas business. President and Chief Executive Officer Jay Ottoson comments, "Herb has done an exceptional job leading our operations team through a multi-year portfolio transition, and he has been instrumental in building and retaining our highly valued technical teams that have positioned SM as a top operator within our core areas. We congratulate Herb on this well-deserved promotion!" ABOUT THE COMPANY SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in onshore North America. SM Energy routinely posts important information about the Company on its website. For more information about SM Energy, please visit its website at www.sm-energy.com . SM ENERGY INVESTOR CONTACT Jennifer Martin Samuels, [email protected], 303-864-2507 SOURCE SM Energy Company Related Links http://sm-energy.com MUSCATINE, Iowa, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- World's Best Cat Litter is launching its largest charitable push to date by promising to donate up to one million pounds of litter to shelters if cat lovers share the hashtag #giveacrap on social media. The campaign, which runs throughout June's Adopt-A-Cat month, is part of the brand's annual GiveLitter initiative which makes it easy and free for people to donate much-needed litter to shelters across the United States. Supporters will be asked to simply share the hashtag #giveacrap on their social media, along with a picture of their cat. For every post, World's Best Cat Litter will donate one pound of its high-performance corn litter. Supporters can also participate by going online (www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/give-a-crap) and wrapping a photo in a custom #GIVEACRAP photo frame and sharing it on social media. For every share of the custom frame, World's Best Cat Litter will donate five pounds of litter. "Each year more than three million cats land in the care of hardworking shelters. They need a place to go before they go to a good home," said Jean Broders, senior brand manager, Kent Pet Group. "World's Best Cat Litter isn't just a name on our bags it's a commitment to being the type of brand that stands behind the beliefs of cat lovers. We know they want the best for these shelter cats and we're giving them a million reasons to feel good about showing it." This year's GiveLitter initiative has identified 20 shelters who were eager to participate and grateful for the timing of the donation. Sandra Harrison, Executive Director of Kitten Rescue in Los Angeles, CA, is especially thankful for the delivery. "Kitten Rescue is so excited to be part of this year's GiveLitter campaign! We are grateful to have been chosen and value our partnership with World's Best Cat Litter," said Harrison. "Over the years World's Best Cat Litter has donated thousands of pounds of litter to our shelter. The money that we have saved from not having to pay for litter has enabled us to use those resources to pay for food and medical care for our cats." About GiveLitter: Launched in 2010, GiveLitter has supported animal shelters and cat adoption by donating litter to shelters across the country. This annual charitable initiative involves World's Best Cat Litter partnering with customers to help get the word out about animal welfare issues, promote pet adoption, and donate free cat litter to shelters. The GiveLitter program is an active, ongoing effort, and every purchase of World's Best Cat Litter helps support shelter cats. For more information about GiveLitter, visit www.worldsbestcatlitter.com/donate-cat-litter . About World's Best Cat Litter: World's Best Cat Litter is a family of natural cat litters that harnesses the power of naturally absorbent corn to guarantee outstanding odor control, quick clumping and easy scooping. Offered in a variety of clumping formulas and sizes, the litter is available online and in PetSmart, PETCO, Target and select Walmart stores, and other leading pet and grocery stores nationwide. World's Best Cat Litter is produced by Kent Pet Group, headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa. Visit www.worldsbestcatlitter.com SOURCE World's Best Cat Litter Related Links http://www.worldsbestcatlitter.com FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 02, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avoya Travel, one of the travel industrys most innovative brands, today kicks off its 12th annual Avoya Conference with attendance by Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network, industry leaders, supplier partners and support staff. After opening at the Hyatt Regency Miami, the event returns to sea for the first time since 2014 onboard the newly renovated Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas 4-night Caribbean sailing. Avoyas program will highlight record Network success and showcase the companys continuing innovation and position as the industrys number one vacation platform for Independent Agencies, travel customers and supplier partners. The 2019 Avoya Conference is set to celebrate the companys incredible momentum, including another record double-digit sales growth year in 2018 and more than 20% year-over-year growth of new Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network. Even more impressive, a record number of Independent Agencies will be awarded for achieving $1 million or more in annual sales, with the top producing agency growing sales over 30 percent to reach a remarkable $6.5 million. Looking to Avoyas future will be a key focus of the conference program. The companys senior leadership, including Co-Presidents Jeff and Michael Anderson, will reveal successes and new initiatives from Avoya 2025. Avoya 2025 is the companys aggressive five-phase growth plan that was first unveiled at Avoyas 2018 conference. Among the announcements will be new brand updates, technology enhancements, powerful business intelligence sharing, and Network developments, all designed to further improve vacation planning efficiencies and accelerate Independent Agency sales and incomes in 2019 and beyond. Avoya has crafted a high-powered line-up for its 2019 event with inspirational keynotes from industry leaders, including Adolfo Perez, Senior Vice President at Carnival Cruise Line; Dondra Ritzenhaler, Senior Vice President at Celebrity Cruises, Nikki Upshaw, Senior Vice President at Oceania Cruises, Vicki Freed, Senior Vice President at Royal Caribbean International; and many more. Attendees will also have access to connect with each other during dynamic workshops, an exclusive tradeshow, inspirational general sessions, educational workshops and several networking events. During the Avoya Conference there will be multiple opportunities for attendees to learn more about how Avoya gives back to organizations like World Vision and Make-A-Wish and how they can get involved. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to participate in an event honoring the companys late founders, Pal and Pat Anderson, with a Chairmans Walk for Sea Turtles event in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund. A highlight for attendees is to be among the first onboard the newly renovated Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas and to experience the recently-opened Perfect Day at CocoCay, a private Caribbean destination exclusively for Royal Caribbean guests. The Avoya Conference is an exciting time to celebrate our record-setting accomplishments in sales and Avoya Network growth, while also wowing our stakeholders with innovative updates and Avoya 2025 achievements, said Jeff Anderson, Co-President of Avoya Travel. This years event is special for many reasons, including offering Independent Agencies in the Avoya Network the opportunity to be among the first travel professionals to experience exciting additions to the industry with Royal Caribbeans recently renovated Navigator of the Seas and new Perfect Day at CocoCay. The 2019 Avoya Conference is held June 2-7, at the Hyatt Regency in Miami, Florida, followed by a 4-night Caribbean sailing on the newly renovated Royal Caribbean Navigator of the Seas. To follow live conference updates, join the conversation on social media at #AvoyaConf2019. To learn more about opening an Independent Agency in the Avoya Network, visit www.JoinAvoya.com. About Avoya Travel Avoya Travel is a family-owned company with a longstanding reputation for being one of the worlds most innovative marketing and travel technology companies. As an American Express Travel Representative for more than 30 years, and one of their largest sellers of cruises and tours, Avoya is deeply committed to Integrity and Professionalism, service and value in every aspect of planning cruises and vacations. Through an elite network of independently owned and operated travel agencies, Avoya provides exclusive discounts, amenities and first-class customer service to travelers worldwide. Cruise lines and travel partners recognize this, as Avoya has received numerous accolades, including being repeatedly named Travel Partner of the Year by Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruises, American Express, Oceania Cruises, MSC Cruises and more. Today, Avoya is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, with support offices throughout the United States. Travel agency owners, travel professionals and others interested in owning and operating their own travel business should contact Avoya Travel at 800-521-2597 or visit www.JoinAvoya.com. Travelers interested in booking their next vacation with Avoya Travel, should call 800-753-1463 or visit www.AvoyaTravel.com. WASHINGTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 40 executives from more than 14 Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) member companies will meet with members of Congress on legislative issues affecting the livelihood of wholesalers during their Annual Legislative Fly-In on June 3-4 in Washington, D.C. The Fly-In will begin with an evening reception and dinner with a presentation by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Tom Reed (R-NY), co-chairs of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, followed by a full day of meetings on Capitol Hill to discuss important legislative issues, including support of H. Res. 285, a bipartisan resolution supporting America's independent alcohol distribution system, pass-through tax rates, full funding for trade practice enforcement by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), and initiatives to fight impaired driving. Rep. Stephanie Murphy and members of the House Blue Dog Coalition will address attendees during a luncheon Tuesday and the Fly-In will conclude with WSWA's Toast to Congress reception on Wednesday, June 5. "Our Fly-In enables multigenerational family-owned businesses to come to Washington and bring the story of how America's wine and spirits wholesalers have helped set the global standard for the wine and spirits industry," said WSWA President and CEO, Michelle Korsmo. "It's critical that members of Congress understand the importance of the alcohol industry's three-tier system and that they have a good understanding of issues that affect wholesalers' businesses. As the glue between producers and retailers, wholesalers play a vital role in the safety and prosperity of the alcohol industry and their livelihood must be protected." "WSWA is the voice of wine and spirits wholesalers nationwide, making the annual fly-in a great opportunity to spend time with elected officials and discuss our priorities with them," said Sydney Ross, WSWA Chairman and co-CEO of Great Lakes Wine and Spirits in Highland Park, Michigan. "Collectively, America's distributors have helped create the global standard for a wine and spirits industry through the three-tier system. As I always say, if it ain't 3-T, it ain't me," he added. WSWA members will meet with members of Congress and staff from more than 150 Congressional offices including: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), and others. WSWA members attending the legislative Fly-In include: Allied Beverage Group; Breakthru Beverage Group; Empire Merchants, Godfrey & Kahn SC; Great Lakes Wine & Spirits; Heidelberg Distributing Co.; LibDib (Liberation Distribution, Inc.); Major Brands, Inc.; Moon Distributors, Inc.; Republic National Distributing Company; Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits; The Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio; Wine & Spirits Distributors of Indiana; Young's Market Company. Wine and spirits wholesalers employ 88,000 Americans across every state and congressional district who earn a collective $7.5 billion in annual wages as part of an industry that generates $77.5 billion in tax revenue each year. Since 2016, wholesaler jobs have increased 19 percent and collective wages paid have increased by $1 billion. To learn more about WSWA's Fly-In and legislative priorities, please click here. To learn about the economic impact of wine and spirits wholesalers nationally, or by state, congressional district, state senate district, or state house district, click here. WSWA is the national trade association representing the wholesale tier of the wine and spirits industry, dedicated to advancing the interests and independence of wholesalers, distributors and brokers of wine and spirits. Founded in 1943, WSWA has more than 370 member companies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and its members distribute more than 80 percent of all wine and spirits sold at wholesale in the U.S. Visit www.wswa.org to learn more. Michael Bilello / [email protected] / 202-243-7506 SOURCE Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America Related Links www.wswa.org NEW YORK, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Over 31 furious days in May, Reader's Digest collected more than 1,000 stories of places across America where people are kind and civility is winning as part of its third annual search for the "Nicest Places in America." Now, a panel of judges will convene to choose the Nicest place in every state; and on June 21, Reader's Digest will reveal the 50 Nicest Places in America. With a final tally of 1,077 stories, an increase of 140% over 2018, it's clear that Americans are more eager than ever to move past the current climate of conflict and focus on the positive. "Since launching Nicest Places in 2017, the number of submissions has ballooned, with so many people hungry to tell us their stories of helping neighbors, welcoming strangers, and pulling together when times are tough," said Reader's Digest Editor-in-Chief Bruce Kelley. "I can't wait to share these uplifting and inspiring stories with our readers." A panel of eight experts in "nice" will work with the Reader's Digest editorial team to select the 50 finalists, one in each state. Then, America will vote on which place will get a cover story in the November issue of Reader's Digest magazine. Nine others will also be featured. The judges: Claire Babineaux-Fontenot , CEO of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization and second largest nonprofit. , CEO of Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization and second largest nonprofit. David Brooks , Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times and Executive Director at the Aspen Institute, where he leads Weave: The Social Fabric Project. His latest book is "The Second Mountain." , Op-Ed columnist for The and Executive Director at the Aspen Institute, where he leads Weave: The Social Fabric Project. His latest book is "The Second Mountain." Gary Dixon , President of The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK) and The Foundation for a Better Life. , President of The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation (RAK) and The Foundation for a Better Life. Sarah Friar , CEO of Nextdoor, the world's largest social network for neighborhoods. Nextdoor enables local conversations, building safer and stronger communities. , CEO of Nextdoor, the world's largest social network for neighborhoods. Nextdoor enables local conversations, building safer and stronger communities. Bruce Kelley , Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest Editor-in-Chief of Reader's Digest Steven Petrow , an award-winning journalist and book author who is best known for his Washington Post and New York Times essays on civility and manners. , an award-winning journalist and book author who is best known for his Washington Post and essays on civility and manners. Madeline Rogero , the 68th Mayor of Knoxville, Tennessee , and the first woman to hold the office. Knoxville is home to Yassin's Falafel House, the 2018 Nicest Place in America. , the 68th Mayor of , and the first woman to hold the office. is home to Yassin's Falafel House, the 2018 Nicest Place in America. Geri Weis-Corbley , Known as 'The Good News Guru', Geri Weis-Corbley is the founder of Good News Networkthe #1 website (and app) that delivers positive news from around the worldand author of a new book, "And Now, The Good News." To determine the winner, Reader's Digest editors will consider the voting tally, the judges' input and other relevant factors including, but not limited to, the embodiment of the spirit of the people in the place. This year, Reader's Digest is teaming up with Nextdoor, the social network that helps neighbors around the world build real-world connections, stay informed and lend a helping hand to neighbors in need. Launched in 2017, the search for Nicest Places has resulted in thousands of stories of a kinder America. In 2017, the heartwarming story of the winning place, Gallatin, Tennessee, was of a growing city struggling to heal painful racial divides when faced with tragedy. In 2018, the winning place told the story of Yassin Terou, a Syrian refugee whose falafel restaurant has become an engine of kindness and charity in Knoxville. Reader's Digest is partnering with local and national organizations to drive the Nicest Places search. Partners include Nextdoor, Feeding America, Catholic Charities, BYUtv's Random Acts, National Association of Counties, Urban Libraries Council, Kind Campaign, American Booksellers Association, Weave, and the Good News Network. About Reader's Digest Reader's Digest, a Trusted Media Brands, Inc. brand, simplifies and enriches consumers' lives by discovering and expertly selecting the most interesting ideas, stories, experiences and products in health, home, family, food, finance and humor. Reader's Digest is available online at RD.com; in print; via digital download on iPad, mobile apps and tablets; and can be accessed via its social media channels: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. About Trusted Media Brands, Inc. Trusted Media Brands, Inc. comprises a network of engaged, active readers who genuinely connect with its blend of uplifting and enduring expertly-curated family, food, health, home improvement, finance and humor content digitally, via magazines and books, social media, and events and experiences. Founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace as Reader's Digest Association, one of the first user-generated content publishers, Trusted Media Brands, is headquartered in New York City. For more information, visit TMBI.com. About Nextdoor.com, Inc. Nextdoor ( nextdoor.com ) is the world's largest social network for the neighborhood. Nextdoor enables truly local conversations that empower neighbors to build stronger and safer communities. Today, neighbors rely on Nextdoor in more than 230,000 neighborhoods around the world in the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Australia, with many more to come. For additional information visit nextdoor.com/newsroom . Media Contact: Becky Wisdom, [email protected] 646-518-4224 SOURCE Reader's Digest Related Links http://www.rd.com SYRACUSE, N.Y., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Samsung continues a streak of dominating all brands in the overall reliability of its computers on the market with Lenovo coming in second and Apple devices dropping in reliability among consumers. Samsung's steady increase seems to be due largely to the company's dedication to ensuring the reliability of its computers via rigorous testing before release. This includes an extensive battery of tests for every computer made before going on the market. Lenovo, now the PC market share leader, simply makes desktops and laptops which, while not the cheapest, are known for being higher quality than their price tag would suggest. It has proven itself with its IdeaPad and ThinkPad laptop lines, and its various Chromebook versions are highly touted by Laptop Mag, CNET, Paste, and Engadget as exceptional. The reliability of Apple computers continues to be good, but it dropped to fifth place because Samsung, Lenovo, and others got better. This is something for Apple purchasers to consider, as Apple computers are the most expensive. Dell takes a dramatic fall in reliability amongst all brands. For the most part, Dell's desktops are cheap because they use cheap parts. They are consistently prone to both hardware and software issues. Its XPS laptop line is excellent, but the more affordable Inspiron line suffers from a consistent need for computer repair. "Samsung demonstrates computer reliability at an amazing level, especially considering the size of their market share and diversity of their product line. Lenovo has come back from a third tier market share holder to become the number one in PC market share for 2019, an incredible feat especially since their computer reliability is second only to Samsung," says David A. Milman, RESCUECOM CEO. Which brands should I look for when shopping for new tech and which brands should I skip? Samsung is once again the top choice for computers and, given the facts, Lenovo computers would also make an excellent choice. Microsoft has accomplished the nearly impossible, coming from almost last place in both market share and reliability to hold a strong market share and a bronze medal in computer reliability with its "Surface" line of computers. While Samsung's overall reliability beats Microsoft's, and it has several of the top laptops on the market, the best laptop you can buy is the Microsoft Surface Book 2 . Are there other brands worth considering? Acer is always a solid brand, this year now tops in computer reliability improvement with a very reasonable price tag. Along with affordable desktops and laptops, Acer now has the Chromebook 11, considered one of the best 2-in-1s on the market and amazingly affordable. Considering Apple's fall from grace, the question to ask is whether Apple has really slipped or others have risen. The answer, surprisingly, is Apple has fallen. The combination of an average RESCUECOM Computer Reliability report score and a notoriously steep price tag does not bode well for their future. Keep in mind $1,000 is the lowest you will pay for a new Mac and it will be their lowest end of last year's model. Expect to shell out close to $3000 for the latest extremely powerful, portable, and fast MacBook Pro. Though Apple's cult-like following continues to buy without complaint, the question is, will that continue as their computer reliability spirals downward? Asus computers come in on the lower end in reliability but remain extremely "affordable," A.K.A. cheap. Still, you should consider paying a bit more for the Zen Book 3, which has rave reviews from Digital Trends, PC Mag, and Tom's Guide as well as being a Computer Shopper editor's choice. Brand U.S. Computer Market Share Computer Repair Share1 Reliability Score2 Reliability Grade3 1. Samsung 6.4% 1.21% 529 A+ 2. Lenovo 24% 7.51% 319 A- 3. Microsoft 4.1% 1.42% 288 B+ 4. Acer 7.2% 4.45% 162 B- 5. Apple 7.1% 7.69% 92 C 6. Asus 2.3% 3.11% 74 C- 7. HP 22.8% 36.36% 63 D 8. Dell 17% 29.84% 57 D- 1 Brand's percentage share of calls into RESCUECOM 1-800-RESCUE-PC call center 2 Calculated percent of computers on the market against number of repair calls per brand. 3 Assigned by RESCUECOM to simplify the reliability scoring system. Contact: David Milman 315-882-1100 [email protected] SOURCE RESCUECOM DUBLIN, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Flight Simulator Market by Platform (Commercial (NBA, WBA, VLA), Military (Helicopters, Combat, Special Mission Aircraft), UAV), Type (FFS, FTD, FMS, FBS), Training (Virtual, Line), Solution (Product and Service), Region - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The flight simulator market size is projected to grow from USD 5.7 billion in 2019 to USD 7.7 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period. The market is driven by various factors, such as the rising demand for commercial pilots to meet growing fleet sizes, adoption of virtual training to ensure aviation safety, and the need for cost-cutting on pilot training. However, the longer product lifecycle and lack of interoperability are limiting the overall growth of the market. Based on type, the Full Flight Simulators (FFS) market is estimated to account for the largest share of the flight simulator market in 2019 Based on type, the Full Flight Simulators (FFS) market is estimated to account for the largest share of the flight simulator market in 2019. The FFS segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period because these simulators have navigation and flight control systems on a motion platform and can also be used for both, primary and regular training. Based on solution, the products segment estimated to account for the major market share in 2019 Flight simulator hardware is designed to integrate with fixed or mobile platforms. This enables flight simulators to be more user-friendly. Also, rise in the demand for sophisticated and modern flight simulator hardware components is expected to drive the demand for the products segment, which is, in turn, is driving the demand in the flight simulator market. Continual upgrade of hardware components from different pilot training institutes is another factor driving the growth of the products segment North America estimated to account for the largest share of the flight simulator market in 2019 North America has the highest simulator utilization rate. High demand for air travel, which is the major reason behind the increased need for pilot training, is expected to boost the flight simulator market. Also, the presence of OEMs in the region is also supporting the growth of the market in North America. OEMs in the region are partnering with airlines to secure their market positions within the North America region, thereby leading the North America region. The leading simulator manufacturers are majorly from North America, namely, CAE Inc. (Canada), L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (US), FlightSafety International (US), and Boeing (US). Market Dynamics Drivers Growing Demand for Pilots in the Aviation Industry Acceptance of Virtual Pilot Training to Ensure Aviation Safety Need to Reduce Cost of Pilot Training Restraints Longer Product Lifecycle Lack of Interoperability Opportunities Development of Simulators for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Technological Advancements Flight Simulators for Air Accident Investigation Challenges Difficulties By Manufacturers in Keeping Pace With Advancements in the Aviation Industry Industry Trends Mapping of Key Simulator Manufacturers and Their Core Competency Areas Classification of Airborne Simulation Systems Based on Their Application Areas and Training Purposes Technology Trends Full Combat and Mission Training in A Dome Trainer Environment Night Vision Training Systems Real-Time Computer Image Generation Optimal Motion-Cueing Technology Reconfigurable Flight Simulation and Training Technology Use Cases for Flight Simulators Smart Simulation With Digital Twin Simulation in IoT Importance of Simulation in IoT Functions of Simulation in IoT Smart Simulation With Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Companies Mentioned Airbus Group N.V. Avion Group CAE, Inc. Collins Aerospace Elite Simulation Solutions Flightsafety International Frasca International, Inc. Indra Sistemas Sa L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. Precision Flight Controls, Inc. SIMCOM Aviation Training Thales Group The Boeing Company The Raytheon Company TRU Simulation + Training For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/90hn7t Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Highlights: 42% investigator-assessed ORR achieved in patients with advanced PEComa a rare sarcoma with no currently approved therapy First prospective clinical study in advanced PEComa shows durable responses with nab-sirolimus with a manageable safety profile 62% of all responding patients continue to remain on therapy American Society Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Oral Presentation highlighted efficacy, safety and mutational analysis data from pivotal AMPECT study US FDA New Drug Application expected to be submitted late 2019 or early 2020 nab-Sirolimus leverages proven nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab) technology PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Aadi Bioscience, Inc (Aadi), a privately held clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, today released preliminary data on the ongoing nab-sirolimus (ABI-009) registration trial (AMPECT) for Advanced (metastatic or locally advanced) Malignant PEComa (perivascular epithelioid cell tumor) - a rare form of sarcoma for which there is no currently approved therapy. Nanoparticle albumin-bound sirolimus (nab-Sirolimus), an mTOR inhibitor, received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Dec 2018, "for the treatment of patients with advanced (metastatic or locally advanced) malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa)." The AMPECT trial was conducted at 9 U.S. sites and enrolled 34 adult patients, with 31 confirmed as PEComa by a central pathology laboratory. PEComa origin sites in these patients included the uterus, pelvis, retroperitoneum, lung, kidney, liver, brain, muscle, ovary, aorta and small bowel. These data, demonstrating a 42 percent confirmed investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) across advanced PEComas originating in various tissues, were released in an oral presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2019 annual meeting in Chicago (abstract 11005). AMPECT Principal Investigator Andrew Wagner, M.D., Ph.D., from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, said nab-sirolimus had delivered consistent and durable responses in advanced PEComa patients. "These responses were achieved with a manageable safety profile," Dr. Wagner said. "We saw a majority of the responding patients achieving a response by their first assessment at 6 weeks following initiation of therapy. Cytotoxic chemotherapies and other drugs approved for treatment of advanced sarcomas show only marginal benefit in PEComas. Activation of the mTOR pathway is common in PEComa and case reports have shown activity of mTOR inhibitors [1]. We are encouraged by the outcomes in this first-ever prospective clinical trial in advanced PEComa." "The Aadi Bioscience team is proud to have contributed to this important study presented at ASCO," said Neil Desai, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aadi Bioscience. "We are grateful to the patients, families, and clinical trial teams who help push the boundaries of available care through their participation in clinical trials. These results are an important milestone in the ongoing development of nab-sirolimus across a wide range of diseases and therapeutic indications that are driven by mTOR activation and for which there is a need for new therapies." Dr. Desai added: "Results from the AMPECT study will serve as the basis for the ABI-009 New Drug Application (NDA) for nab-sirolimus, which the company expects to submit to the FDA in late 2019 or early 2020. The primary analysis for the NDA will rely upon central, independent radiology review, which will be performed in the second half of 2019. The company plans to release these data at a scientific meeting, which will also include additional patient follow-up, before the end of 2019." Key Data Presented at ASCO The primary efficacy outcome measure for the analysis presented at ASCO is investigator-assessed objective response rate (ORR) as measured by RECIST v 1.1. Key secondary endpoints include duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), PFS rate at 6 months (PFS6) and safety. The data presented at ASCO employed a May 10, 2019 data cut-off, summarized below, was based on response assessments as performed by each respective clinical trial site (local, investigator-assessed radiology). A separate response assessment performed by independent radiologists, not yet completed, will be required to support global regulatory filings. Consistent with agreements with the FDA, advanced PEComa patients enrolled in the Phase 2 trial (AMPECT) contributed to the efficacy analysis. The data presented are based on 34 patients evaluable for safety and 31 patients evaluable for efficacy per defined criteria in the protocol. Enrolled Patients with Confirmatory Response Data Available (n = 31) Objective Response Rate (ORR = all PRs) 42% (95% CI: 25% 61%) Stable Disease 35% Disease Control Rate (PR+SD) 77% Progressive Disease 23% Sixty-two percent of patients (8/13) with responses are continuing on treatment which include 3 patients on therapy for more than 1 year and 3 patients on therapy for more than 2 years. Median DOR has not been reached; median time to response is 1.4 months (95% CI: 1.3, 2.7). Median PFS is 8.4 months (95% CI: 5.5, --), PFS rate at 3 months (PFS3) is 80% (95% CI: 60%, 90%), PFS6 is 61% (95% CI: 41%, 76%), and 32 percent of all patients enrolled remain on treatment. For reference, per a meta-analysis of 10 years of phase 2 trials in advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS) published by the EORTC STS and Bone Sarcoma Group [2], the PFS3 and PFS6 are widely accepted as a meaningful measure of activity of drugs in STS and may be utilized to determine acceptable criteria of benefit. Drugs yielding a PFS rate of 40% at 3 months and 14% at 6 months are considered to be 'potentially active' in advanced STS [2]. A protocol prespecified exploratory mutational and biomarker analysis was available for 25 patients on the AMPECT trial. Mutational status of the suspect genes TSC1 or TSC2 in the mTOR pathway were analyzed for association with patient response outcomes. Mutation or deletion of TSC1 or TSC2 (no overlap) occurred in 5 (20%) and 9 (36%) patients respectively, while 11 (44%) patients had no alterations in TSC1 or TSC2. Responses occurred in 9/9 (100%) patients with TSC2 mutations, 1/5 (20%) patients with TSC1 mutations and 1/11 (9%) of patients with no mutations in TSC1 or TSC2. The safety data presented at ASCO was available for all 34 patients treated on the AMPECT trial. The most common treatment-related hematologic adverse events of any grades included anemia (47%) and thrombocytopenia (32%) and the most common nonhematologic treatment-related adverse events of any grades included mucositis (74%), rash (65%), fatigue (59%), nausea (47%), and diarrhea (38%). Most of these events were grade 1 and 2, were manageable with dose modifications and no grade 4 events were observed. Twelve patients (35%) required dose reductions due to adverse events. Two patients (6%) discontinued nab-sirolimus due to an adverse event. The AMPECT Phase 2 registration trial for Advanced Malignant Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumors completed enrollment in late 2018. Aadi previously received agreement from the FDA that this open label study in approximately 30 efficacy evaluable patients with a primary endpoint of independently reviewed objective response rate could support the submission of an NDA for approval to treat this rare disease. About Aadi Bioscience and nab-sirolimus (ABI-009) Aadi is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company led by Dr. Neil Desai, an inventor of ABRAXANE and the albumin-based technology platform. Aadi's lead product nab-sirolimus (sirolimus albumin-bound nanoparticles for injectable suspension, ABI-009) is an mTOR inhibitor complexed with human albumin that has significantly higher tumor accumulation, mTOR target suppression and improved efficacy over other mTOR inhibitors in preclinical models. mTOR as a therapeutic target is well recognized in oncology, however Aadi aims to develop the full potential of albumin-bound sirolimus in therapeutic areas and diseases that are driven by mTOR activation and where the mTOR inhibitors have not or cannot be effectively exploited due to problems of pharmacology, effective drug delivery, safety or effective targeting to the disease site. These indications include oncology, cardiovascular, CNS, mitochondrial disease and diseases of ageing. Aadi's ongoing and planned clinical trials include Oncology (first-line treatment of advanced colorectal cancer with respect to PTEN status, pediatric tumors, advanced sarcoma, newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma, advanced neuroendocrine tumors), Cardiovascular indications (pulmonary arterial hypertension), CNS indications (surgically refractory epilepsy) and Mitochondrial disease (Leigh Syndrome). About PEComa Perivascular epithelioid-cell tumors (PEComa), defined by the World Health Organization as 'mesenchymal tumors composed of distinctive cells that show a focal association with blood-vessel walls and usually express both melanocytic and smooth muscle markers,' are a rare subset of soft-tissue sarcomas, with an undefined cell of origin. Malignant PEComas may arise in almost any body site (typically the uterus, retroperitoneum, lung, kidney, liver, genitourinary, and gastrointestinal tract) and can have an aggressive clinical course including distant metastases and ultimate death. Cytotoxic chemotherapies typically used for sarcoma show minimal benefit and there are currently no drugs approved for this disease. Malignant PEComas have been shown to frequently harbor mutations in the TSC1 and/or TSC2 genes that result in the activation of mTORC1 pathway. Therefore, mTORC1 signaling is a promising therapeutic target for malignant PEComa. # # # Aadi Contact: Nancy Jorgesen Email: [email protected] website: www.aadibio.com References: [1] Wagner et al. 2010. J Clin Oncol 28(5): 835-840 [2] Penel et al. 2011. Ann Oncol 22(6): 1266-1272 The AMPECT study was funded in part by a grant from the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development (OOPD). ABRAXANE is a registered trademark of Celgene Corporation SOURCE Aadi Bioscience, Inc KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AccessIT Group, an industry-leading cybersecurity firm, is pleased to welcome and announce the appointment of Robert Reilly as the new Vice President of Sales. Reporting to Joseph Luciano (CEO), Robert will be assuming responsibility for the AccessIT Group sales organization. As the VP of Sales, Robert will align the sales organization around the company's go-to-market strategy and growth opportunity. "We are enthusiastic about Bob coming on board," said Joe Luciano, Chief Executive Officer of AccessIT Group. "His years of experience and his network in the cybersecurity market space will be another asset to add to AccessIT Group's very skilled team." Robert brings more than 10 years of cybersecurity sales and leadership experience to AccessIT Group. Most recently he served as Director of Sales for ePlus and, prior to that, helped grow sales at both Akibia and IGX Global. In Robert's former roles, he focused on helping the companies by understanding their organizational goals, strategies and objectives and executing on go to market strategies, talent acquisition and expansion into new markets, both domestic and international. Impressively, during his time at IGX, Robert helped grow revenue 30-50% year-over-year, which in turn led to the acquisition of IGX by ePlus in 2015. Robert joins AccessIT Group today, June 3rd. Joseph Luciano, CEO and current VP of Sales, will begin to shift his focus solely to his responsibilities as CEO. AccessIT Group is looking forward to Robert's contribution to the growth an expansion of the company. AccessIT Group specializes in delivering and supporting advanced cybersecurity solutions. The company offers best-of-breed technologies from the industry's leading security solution providers. AccessIT Group was named North America's first Four Star Elite partner by Check Point in 2014 following more than 10 years of platinum partnership. In addition to its strong Check Point expertise, AccessIT Group's other strategic partners include; F5, Gigamon, CyberArk, Symantec and Tenable. The company also offers a complete offering of professional services ranging from design and implementation to cybersecurity compliance and training. SOURCE AccessIT Group Related Links www.accessitgroup.com IRVINE, Calif., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AIVITA Biomedical, Inc., a biotech company specializing in innovative stem cell applications, announced today that Chief Medical Officer Dr. Robert O. Dillman presented clinical data on melanoma patients treated with patient-specific vaccines on June 1 at the 55th Annual Meeting of ASCO in Chicago, Illinois. The data is being published concurrently in the journal Melanoma Management. The abstract and publication describe survival data for 72 patients pooled from two Phase 2 trials. In the first trial conducted in 54 patients, the projected median overall survival was 54% at a time when median follow up was 4.5 years (Dillman et al. Cancer Biother Radiopahrm 2009;24:311-319.). Actual 5-year survival was 50% once all patients had been followed a minimum of five years. In the second Phase 2 trial patients were randomized for treatment with either their patient-specific dendritic cell vaccine (DCV) or patient-specific tumor cell vaccine (TCV). In both treatment arms the source of antigen was autologous tumor cells that were self-renewing in cell culture. Median overall survival was better in the DCV-treated patients: median survival 40.3 vs 20.5 months, 3-year actual survival of 61% vs 25% (p=0.018), and a 70% reduction in the risk of death (p=0.0053) [Dillman et al. J Immunother Cancer 2018;6:19.] The data for DCV-treated patients was pooled in order to address questions related to survival of specific subsets of patients [Dillman et al. Melanoma Manag 2019]. All patients had been followed for five years. The data showed that for melanoma patients who had recurrent Stage III disease that was not measurable at the time DCV-treatment was initiated, the 5-year survival rate was 72%. In melanoma patients who had previous Stage IV melanoma but did not have measurable disease at the time of treatment, the 5-year survival rate was 53%. Patients with measurable Stage IV melanoma had a median survival of 18.5 months with a two-year survival rate of 46%, which compares favorably to results achieved with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors in similar patients. AIVITA is currently conducting three clinical studies investigating its platform ROOT OF CANCER therapy in patients with ovarian cancer, glioblastoma and melanoma. AIVITA uses 100% of proceeds from the sale of its ROOT of SKIN skincare line to support the treatment of women with ovarian cancer. About ROOT OF CANCER AIVITA's treatment is a platform technology applicable to most solid tumor types and consists of autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor antigens from purified autologous self-renewing tumor-initiating cells. OVARIAN CANCER: AIVITA's ovarian Phase 2 double-blind study is active and enrolling approximately 99 patients who are being randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either the autologous cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy or autologous monocytes as a comparator. Patients eligible for randomization and treatment will be those (1) who have undergone debulking surgery, (2) for whom a cell line has been established, (3) who have undergone leukapheresis from which sufficient monocytes were obtained, (4) have an ECOG performance grade of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky score of 70-100%), and (5) who have completed primary therapy. The trial is not open to patients with recurrent ovarian cancer. For additional information about AIVITA's AVOVA-1 trial patients can visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02033616 GLIOBLASTOMA: AIVITA's glioblastoma Phase 2 single-arm study is active and is enrolling approximately 55 patients to receive the cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy. Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) who have recovered from surgery such that they are about to begin concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy (CT/RT), (2) for whom an autologous tumor cell line has been established, (3) have a Karnofsky Performance Status of > 70 and (4) have undergone successful leukapheresis from which peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained that can be used to generate dendritic cells (DC). The trial is not open to patients with recurrent glioblastoma. For additional information about AIVITA's AV-GBM-1 trial please visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03400917 MELANOMA: AIVITA's melanoma Phase 1B open-label, single-arm study will establish the safety of administering anti-PD1 monoclonal antibodies in combination with the cancer stem cell-targeting immunotherapy in patients with measurable metastatic melanoma. The study will also track efficacy of the treatment for the estimated 14 to 20 patients. This trial is not yet open for enrollment. Patients eligible for treatment will be those (1) for whom a cell line has been established, (2) who have undergone leukapheresis from which sufficient monocytes were obtained, (3) have an ECOG performance grade of 0 or 1 (Karnofsky score of 70-100%), (4) who have either never received treatment for metastatic melanoma or were previously treated with enzymatic inhibitors of the BRAF/MEK pathway because of BRAF600E/K mutations and (5) are about to initiate anti-PD1 monotherapy. For additional information about AIVITA's AV-MEL-1 trial please visit: www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03743298 About AIVITA Biomedical AIVITA Biomedical is a privately held company engaged in the advancement of commercial and clinical-stage programs utilizing curative and regenerative medicines. Founded in 2016 by pioneers in the stem cell industry, AIVITA Biomedical utilizes its expertise in stem cell growth and directed, high-purity differentiation to enable safe, efficient and economical manufacturing systems which support its therapeutic pipeline and commercial line of skin care products. SOURCE AIVITA Biomedical, Inc. DALLAS, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Arfinn Med, the free online EMR portal for licensed clinicians to share and report medical cannabis efficacies, will host a live one-hour webinar titled "The Endocannabinoid System and the State of Current Research." The webinar, designed for physicians, will cover recent data and insights on the health benefits of medical cannabis, side effects of cannabis and CBD, along with the effects of cannabis on the endocannabinoid system. The free webinar will take place on Tuesday, June 18 at 11:30 a.m. CDT and will feature insights from medical cannabis expert and member of the Physicians CBD Council, Dr. Dung Trinh, as well as Arfinn Med's CEO and founder, James West. Space will be limited to allow for discussion. To register for the webinar, visit https://arfinnmed.com/webinar/. Dr. Dung Trinh currently serves as Chief Medical Officer and staff physician at Irvine Clinical Research and is the founder of the TongueOut Corporation, which provides complimentary medical relief to children around the world. Additionally, Dr. Trinh is a member of the Physicians CBD Council which promotes medical research for therapeutic opportunities with cannabis. In addition to his passion for philanthropy and education, Dr. Trinh is also an expert on memory loss and brain health and is a board member at Alzheimer's Orange County. "I'm thrilled to be partnering with Arfinn Med for this webinar and educational opportunity," said Dr. Trinh. "Incorporating the platform's data with my research will provide physicians with in-depth insights on the benefits and side effects of medical marijuana and the future of prescribing it to patients." Arfinn Med is a free EMR platform that is designed for licensed medical professionals to track, report and share HIPAA-compliant benchmark data for prescribing medical cannabis to patients. The platform addresses the demand for real-time data surrounding treatment plans and efficacies of the growing medical marijuana industry. "Patients and physicians are constantly looking for updated education on prescribing medical marijuana," said Arfinn Med CEO James West. "Dr. Trinh is a seasoned expert and through his research and our data, we aim to further physicians' research on medical marijuana dosing in order to improve treatment plans and patient outcomes." The webinar is free to attend and to register for the webinar, visit www.arfinnmed.com/webinar/ or email [email protected]. For more information about Arfinn Med, visit www.ArfinnMed.com. About Arfinn Med Arfinn Med is the first clinician-based medical professional and patient efficacy portal for medical cannabis treatments. Launched in January 2019, the free collaborative portal allows medical professionals to register, share, research and communicate about the best efficacy practices for medical cannabis. Arfinn Med is designed to connect medical professionals via the portal to educate and provide physicians with benchmark data and industry trends to lead to effective treatments for patients. For more information and to register for free, visit www.arfinnmed.com. Media Contact: Bolt Public Relations (469) 340-7368 [email protected] SOURCE Arfinn Med Related Links http://www.arfinnmed.com OGDEN, Utah, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AvantGuard Monitoring officially released its mobile app for dealers, further demonstrating the company's resolve to provide industry-leading solutions to its customers. The AvantGuard Mobile App is a tool for business owners and technicians to create, manage, and test accounts outside the office and especially in customers' homes. It has several key features, including customizable default settings, location-based account lookup, multi-zone testing, and test history review. In addition, the app is capable of managing the entire testing process, from the beginning to its finish, all without the technician having to call a central station operator. "We made a conscious decision from the very beginning to have the most capable, and user-friendly app in the industry," said Justin Bailey, President of AvantGuard. "Our primary goals were to provide advanced features, and make the testing process more efficient for technicians." Bailey continues, "Before we began building the app, we reached out to our customers and asked them what they liked about their existing account management tools, and what they would like to have. After that, we blended all of those things together in a single tool." Some of the app's features, like the location-based account lookup, come from suggestions that dealers made in the form of "wishes" through AvantGuard surveys. A few dealers said they would like to simply have the account appear when they arrive at the customer's house. Now, it is a reality. Another feature of the app that comes from dealer feedback is the ability to set customized, default settings for technicians who regularly perform the same type of tests on accounts. In addition, dealers can manually select individual zones to place on test, or place the entire system on test, making the entire testing process as simple or complex as the technician wants. Rich Watts, VP of Information Technology at AvantGuard said, "From the beginning, the AvantGuard app was designed to make our customers' lives easier and more efficient... After the hard work my team has put in, I am more than excited to unveil a tool that will help make our dealers' lives easier." The AvantGuard Mobile App is available for download through the Apple Store as well as the Android Marketplace. Learn more about the AvantGuard Mobile App at agmonitoring.com/mobile-app Contact: [email protected] SOURCE AvantGuard Monitoring Related Links www.agmonitoring.com LONDON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Three recent aviation and automotive scandals that caused significant damage to global companies' reputations and stock prices could have been foreseen by monitoring disclosure on material ESG issues. According to a new analysis by Datamaran , the leading solution for non-financial risk management, many corporate scandals share a common cause: bad governance that results in a lack of transparency. In the new analysis, Datamaran shows that by tracking transparency on issues that are material to the company, it's possible to see red flags before a scandal happens. For example, if product safety is important to a company, noticing that the company did not disclose information related to its governance and practices around product safety, especially if its competitors did, could be a cause for concern. "Scandals are often the visible outcome of a governance failure, and both have material financial consequences, making transparency important for investors in particular to take notice of," said Donato Calace, Director of Accounts and Innovation at Datamaran. "If a company doesn't have a strong materiality process, with board oversight and ongoing monitoring, that could signal that they don't have the proper governance controls and procedures in place. This could be a red flag, signalling a potential scandal." The analysis covers three recent corporate scandals, involving the largest aerospace company and two leading car manufacturers . Following two tragic plane crashes, the multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes faced reputational damage and a fall in stock value. The German automaker faced public judgment when it was shown to have cheated on emissions testing. And most recently, the Japanese automobile manufacturer's scandal involving fraud committed by senior executives revealed a major governance failure. In all three cases, the companies had failed to report material information related to the scandals in the preceding years. The aerospace company almost never refers to product and service safety when compared to its peers, the German car manufacturer lacked transparency around air emissions, and the Japanese automobile manufacturer had the lowest, or near lowest, transparency of all the major car manufacturers around governance issues. A lack of transparency is therefore an indicator of a potential forthcoming scandal, and it can be used to a company's advantage by ensuring all relevant material topics have been highlighted through a materiality process provided it's robust, data-driven, timely and regular. A company that fails to identify its key material issues is more likely run into controversies and scandals, which can lead to adverse campaigns from NGOs and activists. And a reduction in trust can lead to the withdrawal of investors, and a drop in share prices. Donato Calace added: "Our study has revealed that when it comes to materiality analysis, no news is definitely not good news. When a company directly refers to a particular concept regularly and discusses it in detail in its reporting, this is a clear sign that the issue is at the forefront of its corporate consciousness - and is far more likely to be taken seriously. When a company fails to disclose sufficient information on their governance and practices for a particular issue, they're either unaware of it or they're uninterested. Either way, that can be a serious danger for any business." Conversely, a company with solid governance, as signalled through a robust and ongoing materiality determination process, is less risky; it has more stable cash flows, less stock price volatility and less exposure to governance failures and scandals. The study is available here: https://www.datamaran.com/materiality-reputation-report/ About Datamaran Datamaran is the global leader in Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for non-financial risk management. Datamaran enables a business process for continuous issues monitoring fully owned by the sustainability and risk teams. It harnesses technology to support decision-makers with an improved materiality analysis process one that seamlessly integrates into Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and corporate strategy. Datamaran's global clientele of blue-chip companies have replaced the dated and expensive manual processes used for benchmarking, materiality, and non-financial risk analysis as well as issues monitoring. The insights Datamaran users gather are used across multiple business teams (governance, risk, compliance, sustainability) to identify and monitor risks and opportunities and to inform corporate strategy. www.datamaran.com For more information: Elina Yumasheva, Datamaran +44-2077029595 [email protected] SOURCE Datamaran Related Links www.datamaran.com German English Basel, Switzerland, June 3, 2019 Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) reported today the phase 1 data from an ongoing study with the oral formulation of its novel tumor checkpoint controller, BAL101553, in brain cancer patients with progressive or recurrent glioblastoma, or high-grade glioma. The data were presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, USA, on June 2nd, 2019. Results were based on 25 patients dosed in an open-label phase 1 study to explore once-daily oral BAL101553 as a single agent in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor,1 and patients with high-grade gliomas. BAL101553 was well tolerated and showed clinical activity, with a long-lasting confirmed partial response in one patient whose glioblastoma had been rapidly progressing on two lines of prior therapy. Tumor tissue analyses showed strong expression of the microtubule plus-end binding protein 1 (EB1), which has previously been identified as a potential predictive biomarker of tumor response to BAL101553 in preclinical glioblastoma models.2 In addition, five further patients experienced stable disease as a best response. In preclinical models, BAL101553 has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier3 with antitumor activity in a panel of brain cancer models.3, 4 Dr. Marc Engelhardt, Basileas Chief Medical Officer, said: The safety profile of oral BAL101553 and the signals of clinical activity in glioblastoma patients whose cancer progressed after prior therapy are encouraging. We continue to escalate the dose in the ongoing phase 1 study with the goal to establish a maximum tolerated dose for the oral formulation in glioblastoma, while also exploring whether EB1, or other biomarkers, may have clinical utility for patient stratification." Basilea anticipates that the study will reach its primary goal, the definition of a maximum tolerated dose, in 2019. Two additional clinical studies with BAL101553 are ongoing: a phase 1 study in combination with standard radiotherapy in newly diagnosed glioblastoma, conducted in collaboration with the Adult Brain Tumor Consortium (ABTC) in the U.S., and a phase 2a expansion study, in which BAL101553 is administered as a weekly 48-hour intravenous (i.v.) infusion in patients with recurrent glioblastoma and in patients with platinum-resistant or refractory ovarian cancer.5, 6 For derazantinib, Basilea's most advanced oncology drug candidate, data from a post-hoc analysis from a previously completed non-comparative phase 2a study7 were published in abstract form. The results from this analysis indicated that the antitumor efficacy of derazantinib in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), a form of biliary duct cancer, with FGFR2 gene fusions who received derazantinib in a post-second line setting was similar compared to patients who received derazantinib as first or second-line treatment. This suggests that derazantinib could be an effective treatment option at both early and later stages of the disease. BAL101553 poster at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting Phase 1/2a study of once daily oral BAL101553, a novel tumor checkpoint controller (TCC), in adult patients with progressive or recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) or high-grade glioma. Juanita Suzanne Lopez, Rebecca Sophie Kristeleit, Robert Rulach, Noor Md Haris, Mariana Scaranti, Paul James Mulholland, Donna Crawford, Saira Bashir, Caterina Aversa, Alison L. Hannah, Stephanie Anderson, Marc Engelhardt, Thomas Kaindl, Patrice Larger, Phil McKernan, TR Jeffry Evans, Ruth Plummer; Abstract 2025, Poster Board #214. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02490800 Derazantinib abstract at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting Derazantinib (DZB) provides antitumor efficacy regardless of line of therapy in patients (pts) with FGFR2-fusion positive advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA). Michele Droz Dit Busset, Bassel F. El-Rayes, William Proctor Harris, Nevena Damjanov, Gianluca Masi, Lorena Rimassa, Sherri Bhoori, Monica Niger, Nicola Personeni, Fadi S. Braiteh, Sara Lonardi, Stephan Braun, Marc Engelhardt, Mikael Saulay, Brian E. Schwartz, Julia Kazakin, Walid Labib Shaib, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, Kyriakos P. Papadopoulos; Abstract e15607. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01752920 For further information, please visit https://meetings.asco.org/am . About BAL101553 Basilea's oncology drug candidate BAL101553 (the prodrug of BAL27862)8 is being developed as a potential therapy for diverse cancers. The drug candidate is currently in phase 1/2a clinical evaluation. In Switzerland, a phase 2a expansion study is exploring the drug in recurrent glioblastoma and platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients using weekly 48-hour infusion. In the UK, a phase 1 dose escalation with daily oral administration is ongoing in patients with progressive or recurrent glioblastoma or high-grade glioma. In the U.S., a phase 1 study is being conducted in collaboration with the Adult Brain Tumor Consortium (ABTC), in which BAL101553 is explored in combination with radiotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma who have a reduced sensitivity to chemotherapy with the standard-of-are drug temozolomide. In preclinical studies, BAL101553 demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo activity against diverse treatment-resistant cancer models, including tumors refractory to conventional approved therapeutics and radiotherapy.9, 10, 11 BAL101553 efficiently distributes to the brain, with anticancer activity in glioblastoma models.2, 3, 4 The active moiety BAL27862 binds to the colchicine site of tubulin, with distinct effects on microtubule organization,12 resulting in the activation of the "spindle assembly checkpoint" which promotes tumor cell death.13 About derazantinib Derazantinib (BAL087, formerly ARQ 087) is an investigational orally administered small molecule panFGFR kinase inhibitor with strong activity against FGFR1, 2, and 3. FGFR kinases are key drivers of cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. FGFR gene alterations, e.g. rearrangements, amplification or mutations, have been identified as potentially important therapeutic targets for various cancers, including intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), urothelial, breast, gastric and lung cancers.14 In these cancers, FGFR gene alterations are found in a range of 5% to 30%.15 Basilea in-licensed derazantinib from ArQule Inc. in April 2018. Derazantinib has demonstrated antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile in previous clinical studies, including a biomarker-driven Phase 1/2 study in iCCA patients,7 and has received U.S. and EU orphan drug designation for iCCA. About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of products that address the medical challenges in the therapeutic areas of oncology and anti-infectives. With two commercialized drugs, the company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com . Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements, such as "believe", "assume", "expect", "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical studies for product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations +41 61 606 1102 media_relations@basilea.com investor_relations@basilea.com This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com . References 1 B. M. Alexander, T. F. Cloughesy. Adult Glioblastoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2017 (35), 2402-2409 2 R. Berges et al. The novel tubulin-binding checkpoint activator BAL101553 inhibits EB1-dependent migration and invasion and promotes differentiation of glioblastoma stem-like cells. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2016 (15), 2740-2749 3 A. Schmitt-Hoffmann et al. BAL27862: a unique microtubule-targeted agent with a potential for the treatment of human brain tumors. AACR-NCI-EORTC conference 2009, abstract C233; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2009, 8 (12 Supplement) 4 A. C. Mladek et al. The novel tubulin-binding 'tumor checkpoint controller' BAL101553 has anti-cancer activity alone and in combination treatments across a panel of GBM patient-derived xenografts. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2016, abstract 4781 5 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0325029 6 ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02895360 7 V. Mazzaferro, B. F. El-Rayes, M. Droz dit Busset et al. Derazantinib (ARQ 087) in advanced or inoperable FGFR2 gene fusion-positive intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. British Journal of Cancer 2019 (120), 165-171 8 J. Pohlmann et al. BAL101553: An optimized prodrug of the microtubule destabilizer BAL27862 with superior antitumor activity. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2011, abstract 1347; Cancer Research 2011, 71 (8 supplement) 9 A. Sharmq, A. Broggini-Tenzer, V. Vuong et al. The novel microtubule targeting agent BAL101553 in combination with radiotherapy in treatment-refractory tumor models. Radiotherapy Oncology 2017 (124), 433-438 10 G. E. Duran et al. In vitro activity of the novel tubulin active agent BAL27862 in MDR1(+) and MDR1(-) human breast and ovarian cancer variants selected for resistance to taxanes. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2010, abstract 4412 11 F. Bachmann et al. BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862): A unique microtubule destabilizer active against drug refractory breast cancers alone and in combination with trastuzumab. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2014, abstract 831 12 A. E. Prota et al. The novel microtubule-destabilizing drug BAL27862 binds to the colchicine site of tubulin with distinct effects on microtubule organization. Journal of Molecular Biology 2014 (426), 1848-1860 13 F. Bachmann et al. BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862): the spindle assembly checkpoint is required for anticancer activity. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2015, abstract 3789 14 R. Porta, R. Borea, A. Coelho et al. FGFR a promising druggable target in cancer: Molecular biology and new drugs. Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology 2017 (113), 256-267 15 T. Helsten, S. Elkin, E. Arthur et al. The FGFR landscape in cancer: Analysis of 4,853 tumors by next-generation sequencing. Clinical Cancer Research 2016 (22), 259-267 Attachment SAN DIEGO, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A San Diego Navy wife and self-described "mom-trepreneur" is a little busier than usual today after her product, "The Baby's Brew," received over $5,000 in Kickstarter funding in its first 72 hours. Alaina Rockwell came up with the idea for a portable, battery-operated bottle warmer while she was raising her infant daughter during her husband's deployment. The Baby's Brew is the worlds first battery powered bottle warmer. Making life easier for those on the go parents. Our bottle warmer has 3 temperature settings making it perfect for breastfeeding and formula parents The Baby's Brew is the most portable bottle warmer on the market! Made of all food grade materials and automatic shut off makes our bottle warmer one of the safest ones on the market! "We were always on the go and finding a way to warm formula or breast milk was such a hassle," says Rockwell. "I looked everywhere online for a portable solution, but there was nothing there and that's when 'The Baby's Brew' was born!" "The Baby's Brew" is a battery-operated bottle warmer that quickly (but not too quickly!) raises the temperature of milk or formula to three specific temperatures, ranging from body temperature to a "warm enough for the pickiest of babies"45C (113F). The warmer gets 3-4 uses per charge long enough for just about any day outing. In addition to the warmer, "The Baby's Brew" also comes with a special formula dispenser that serves up one scoop (8-10g) of formula per button push, perfect for parents on the go. Rockwell spent about a year prototyping and testing "The Baby's Brew" before launching the Kickstarter. She gave away 100 prototypes to new parents in the San Diego area so they could test the product out and give feedback. "My husband was military and has been deployed for the past year," writes Amber L., one of the mothers who tried out "The Baby's Brew." "I wanted to bring my son to see him pull in on the ship. However, the wait time is always unknown. 'The Baby's Brew' allowed my son to be there and see his dad for the first time!" The "The Baby's Brew" is available for pre-orders now, with the first orders to be shipped in July of 2019. Alaina Rockwell is available for interviews or demonstrations. To schedule an interview, email [email protected]. Contact: Alaina Rockwell Email: [email protected] Phone: (619)289-0582 SOURCE The Baby's Brew Related Links https://www.thebabysbrew.com Named "Lunchtime Anytime," the new campaign approach allows Buddig to hyper-target consumers based on behaviors and location, because the advertising buy, even for television, is being executed digitally. The fully integrated national campaign includes touchpoints in digital, mobile, TV, video, radio and in-store. Additionally, the creative strategy is rooted in consumer insights around variety of products and usage occasions, trust and an on-the-go lifestyle, which means everything has a purpose and connects to consumers, no matter where they are in their journey. "As a third-generation, family-owned company, we have carved out a unique niche in our category, by placing a premium on family. Our approach has served us well, as we have seen continual growth," says Tom Buddig, EVP of Marketing, Buddig. "However, we're at a turning point with the brand and understand the dynamics of how 'family' is defined has changed, as well as how we all consume media. This new campaign allows us to streamline the way we reach our consumers, by focusing less on demographics and more on their lifestyles. Essentially, we're meeting our consumers where they are, with the right medium and message for them." The campaign launch will kick off with new packaging (already available in some markets), a refreshed website and TV commercials debuting June 3. The creative for this campaign is an evolution from the company's past human-contact approach and introduces humor into the mix. Three new :15 spots titled "Stomach Growls," "What Time Is It?" and "Grandfather Clock" show the hilarious possibilities of what happens when we re-think lunchtime with Buddig. Each digital touchpoint features a vibrant, daypart-specific design system inspired by the new packaging that will have consumers looking at Buddig and lunchtime in a new way. Dynamic video and banner ads feature hundreds of headlines, meal occasions and snack variations to show the value of Buddig through variety, social media posts center around tasty but accessible "snackable" content complete with custom food photography and videos, and a handful of "meatitative" radio spots will have listeners asking, "what is the meaning of lunch?" "Lunchtime Anytime is the brainchild of our agency Fusion92," added Robert Gay, VP of Marketing, Buddig. "We were at a point where we realized it was time to reposition consumers' perception of our brand and asked all of our agencies to bring us their best. Fusion92 developed this strategic and fully integrated campaign. We have such high confidence in their work and how much they understand our business, that we recently named them our official agency of record." "We pride ourselves on delivering real-world business results for our clients and we measure our success by our clients' success," said Matt Murphy, Founder & CEO of Fusion92. "We really know the Buddig brand and given everything we know about modern consumer behavior through digital, and the shift in the marketing channels to hyper-targeted and high quality, we know there's no better time to refresh and re-introduce the brand to the market." Fusion92 has been a roster agency for Carl Buddig and Company for more than 10 years. As a digital-first agency, Fusion92 has incrementally taken on additional responsibilities until recently being named the agency of record for the Buddig brand. The agency remains the digital agency of record for Carl Buddig and Company's other brands, including Old Wisconsin Sausage, Inc. and Kingsford Ribs and BBQ Meats. About Carl Buddig and Company Carl Buddig and Company, based in Homewood, Illinois, has been feeding family traditions for over 75 years with the very best in taste, variety and convenience. Owned and operated by the third generation, the company is proud to have welcomed fourth-generation Buddig family members to the business in recent years. Carl Buddig and Company is the parent company of great-tasting Buddig lunchmeat, Old Wisconsin hardwood-smoked sausage and snack products and pre-cooked ribs and barbecue entrees under the Kingsford brand. To learn more, please visit www.buddig.com and www.oldwisconsin.com and www.KingsfordBBQMeats.com. About Fusion92 Founded in 1999, Fusion92 is a Chicago-based independent marketing innovation agency that focuses on helping growth-stage and Fortune 500 companies across a number of industries, including financial services, CPG, telecommunications and automotive. As a full-service agency, Fusion92 partners with its clients on consumer engagements that span both traditional and digital media, leveraging its talents in creative, user experience, design, technology and media. Learn more at www.Fusion92.com. "Lunchtime Anytime" Campaign Credits CLIENT: Buddig Tom Buddig, EVP Marketing Robert Gay, VP Marketing Amy Krider, Buddig Brand Manager Carrie Komers, Assistant Brand Manager AGENCY: Fusion92 Josh Hurley, ECD Eric Wolinsky, CD John Deluca, ACD Kyle Gunby, Copywriter JK Lyons, Associate Copywriter Tony Lazzeretti, Associate Copywriter Priya Chugh, Art Director Hillary Dado, Art Director Anwar Khuri, Executive Producer Andrea Horn, Integrated Producer Sam Pulling, Project Manager McKenzie Closen, Account Director Sarah Lackore, Account Manager John Geletka, SVP Agency Services Ben Cox, VP Strategy & Insights Meghan McCarthy, SVP Media & Activation Services Marcella Dulac, Media Director PRODUCTION COMPANY: MINIMAL Nic Iyer, Director Will Meyers, Executive Producer John Condne, Executive Producer Kris Rey-Talley, Head of Production Mia Reggi, Line Producer EDITORIAL: Optimus Angelo Valencia, Editor Matt Glover, Editor Tim Cahill, Editor Emily Hayes, Assistant Editor Joanna Wood, Sr. Producer Brian Hrastar, EP/Managing Director Glen Noren, Director of Finish Paul Galati, Colorist Marina Killion, Senior Audio Engineer SOURCE Fusion92 Related Links http://www.fusion92.com WASHINGTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the House of Representatives to formally investigate and censure California Congressman Duncan Hunter for publicly admitting to indiscriminately firing artillery at civilians while serving as a Marine in Iraq and posing next to dead enemy combatants in violation of the U.S. code of military conduct. In an interview for Barstool Sports' Zero Blog Thirty podcast, Hunter admitted to allegedly killing possibly hundreds of civilians, including women and children, by indiscriminately shelling the Iraqi city of Fallujah: "I was an artillery officer and we fired hundreds of rounds into Fallujah, killed probably hundreds of civilians, if not scores, if not hundreds of civilians. Probably killed women and children if there were any left in the city when we invaded. So do I get judged too?" Last week Hunter admitted during a town hall in San Diego to privately taking pictures and posing next to dead combatants: "Eddie did one bad thing that I'm guilty of too taking a picture of the body and saying something stupid... I've taken pictures just like that when I was overseas a lot of us have done the exact same thing." According to the Defense Department's Law of War Manual, "The respectful treatment of the dead is one of the oldest rules in the law of war. Enemy military dead must be protected from disrespectful or degrading acts." Hunter's claim of posing next to dead combatants like trophies would violate the U.S. military code of conduct. However, Hunter may not be prosecuted by the U.S. military because his possible crimes do not fall within the statute of limitations. "Hunter's shameless defense and normalization of war crimes is an insult to both the victims of war crimes and those who honorably served in our nation's military," said CAIR Director of Government Affairs Robert McCaw. "Speaker Pelosi and members of the House of Representatives must thoroughly investigate Congressman Hunter's own self-admitted war crimes and censure him if these claims are proven to be true." Hunter made the two separate confessions while defending Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, who is scheduled to stand trial in the coming weeks for shooting unarmed civilians and killing a wounded captive with a knife while in Iraq. According to two officials, President Trump has requested the paperwork needed to pardon several service members. CAIR has publicly stated that such a pardon would "dishonor" both the victims of those crimes and soldiers who served honorably. SEE: CAIR Says Possible Pardons for Servicemen Accused of War Crimes Would 'Dishonor' Both Victims and Military While running for re-election in 2018, Hunter promoted Islamophobic political attacks and anti-Muslim conspiracy theories targeting his Christian opponent of partial Palestinian decent was a "security risk" that had "ties to terrorism" and was "trying to infiltrate the U.S. government." SEE: New Duncan Hunter Ad: Democratic Foe is 'Security Risk' Tied to Muslim Terrorists CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. La mision de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprension del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos. CONTACT: CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected] SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Related Links http://www.cair.com Available in a variety of flavors, gummies are the latest addition to the Company's expanding line of CBD hemp-extract products. They are available for purchase through Charlotte's Web online store today, and begin shipping this week to retailers within the Company's growing network of more than 6000 locations across the United States. "Gummies are a very popular edible format as a result of convenience and measurable consumption," stated Kelsey Morrison, Associate Director of Product Development at Charlotte's Web. "This new delivery format from Charlotte's Web provides an easy bite-sized way to ingest full-spectrum hemp-extract CBD." The market for gummy vitamins for wellness is a global phenomenon, forecasted to rise at a CAGR of 5.2% between 2017 and 2025 according to Transparency Market Research and reaching US$4.17 billion by 2025. CBD gummies specifically have gained significant popularity lately as more people learn about CBD and its potential health benefits. In 2018 "CBD gummies" ranked as the third most searched term in the food category on Google. "Our customers have been asking for gummies and we are excited to bring this new format to our product portfolio," said Deanie Elsner, CEO of Charlotte's Web. "When developing this product line, our product sciences team wanted to ensure that our gummies would be differentiated and thoughtfully formulated to be as effective as possible. As a result, we've created superior formulations that pair our high-quality hemp extract with supporting botanicals to provide enhanced results." The gummies feature Charlotte's Web whole-plant hemp extract made from the Company's proprietary hemp genetics that people know and trust. Charlotte's Web extracts contain a full-spectrum of 80+ naturally occurring phytocannabinoids plus terpenes and flavonoids. In addition, the three varieties of gummies are uniquely formulated and enhanced with functional herbs and botanical supplements that work in synergy to further support a targeted wellness focus. Charlotte's Web developed three gummy CBD options: Charlotte's Web SLEEP: CBD + Melatonin to support restful sleep with 10 mg of CBD and 3mg of melatonin. (Raspberry flavor) CBD + Melatonin to support restful sleep with 10 mg of CBD and 3mg of melatonin. (Raspberry flavor) Charlotte's Web CALM: CBD + Lemon balm + L-theanine to support everyday stresses and feel relaxed, but not sleepy with 10 mg of CBD, 50mg of L-theanine, and 75mg of lemon balm. (Lemon Lime flavor) CBD + Lemon balm + L-theanine to support everyday stresses and feel relaxed, but not sleepy with 10 mg of CBD, 50mg of L-theanine, and 75mg of lemon balm. (Lemon Lime flavor) Charlotte's Web RECOVERY: CBD + Ginger + Tumeric For exercise and active lifestyles to support healthy inflammatory response and promote joint strength with 10 mg of CBD, 25mg of ginger, and 50mg curcuminoids. (Ginger flavor) The launch of the gummies line follows the recent expansion of its CBD pet line as the Company broadens its product offerings. Visit the online store to view or purchase Charlotte's Web gummies today. Charlotte's Web continues to blaze new trails, harnessing its brand leadership advantage as the digital marketplace leaders open up to ecommerce and digital advertising for hemp extract products. "In addition to availability through our retail channels and online store, we are launching a pilot digital marketing program through Google, and are also working to make our products available on Amazon," added Ms. Elsner. About Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc. Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc. is the market leader in the production and distribution of innovative hemp-derived cannabidiol ("CBD") wellness products. Founded by the Stanley Brothers, the Company's premium quality products start with proprietary hemp genetics that are responsibly manufactured into hemp-derived CBD extracts naturally containing a full spectrum of phytocannabinoids, including CBD, terpenes, flavonoids and other beneficial hemp compounds. Industrial hemp products are non-intoxicating. Charlotte's Web product categories include CBD Oil tinctures (liquid products), CBD capsules, CBD topicals, as well as CBD pet products. Charlotte's Web hemp-derived CBD extracts are sold through select distributors, brick and mortar retailers, and online through the Company's website at www.CharlottesWeb.com. The rate the Company pays for agricultural products reflects a fair and sustainable rate driving higher quality yield, encouraging good farming practices, and supporting U.S. farming communities. Charlotte's Web is a socially conscious company and is committed to using business as a force for good and a catalyst for innovation. The Company weighs sound business decisions with consideration for how its efforts affect its employees, customers, the environment, and the communities where its employees live and where it does business, while maximizing profits and strengthening its brands. The Company's management believes that socially oriented actions have a positive impact on the Company, its employees and its shareholders. Charlotte's Web donates a portion of its pre-tax earnings to charitable organizations. Shares of Charlotte's Web trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol "CWEB" and are quoted in U.S. Dollars in the United States on the OTCQX under the symbol "CWBHF". As at May 24, 2019 Charlotte's Web had 39,772,154 Common Shares outstanding and 138,332.38 Proportionate Voting Shares convertible at 400:1, for an effective equivalent of 95,105,106 Common Shares outstanding. Forward-Looking Information Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the public documents of the Company available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE Charlotte's Web Holdings, Inc. CHICAGO, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Brilliant, an award-winning direct-hire, contract and consulting firm specializing in accounting, finance and information technology, has been named a 2019 Honoree of the Crain's Chicago Business Fast 50. This is the fifth consecutive year for the firm to make the list. The annual Fast 50 recognizes Chicago-based businesses, both public and private, with remarkable revenue gains over a five-year period. The order of rankings will be revealed during a luncheon on Friday, June 21, 2019, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile on Michigan Avenue. "A huge part of our success is the caliber of our team members and their high-energy sales drive," says Kathy Spearing, President of Brilliant. "We have been fast-growing since our inception and these past five years have shown that we are not slowing down. We are honored to be recognized in this capacity for a fifth time and cannot wait to hear our ranking." In 2015, Brilliant was No. 1 on Crain's Fast 50. In 2016, Brilliant came in at No. 15. In 2017, the firm ranked No. 21 and No. 34 in 2018. Brilliant sets itself apart from other firms by its specialization, localization and its mission to make people's lives better including their candidates, clients and colleagues. To learn more about Brilliant, visit www.brilliantfs.com. About Brilliant | Connecting People and Opportunities Brilliant is an award-winning direct-hire, contract and consulting practice specializing in accounting, finance and information technology for the Greater Chicago, South Florida and Dallas-Fort Worth labor markets. The firm represents high-quality accounting, finance and information technology talent throughout all industries. Many of Brilliant's team members include former hiring managers, and accounting and finance professionals from the Big 4 accounting firms, as well as other leading professionals in the industry. Since its inception in 2009, Brilliant has received various awards including Forbes America's Best Professional Recruiting Firms three years in a row including No. 2 in 2018, Forbes America's Best Executive Recruiting Firms in 2017, Crain's Chicago Business Fast 50 for five straight years including No. 1 in 2015, Staffing Industry Analysts Fastest-Growing U.S. Staffing Firms for four straight years including No. 2 in 2015, ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Talent for North America four years in a row, Inc. 5000, Best Places to Work South Florida in 2017 and 2019, 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For five straight years, and others. To learn more about Brilliant, visit www.brilliantfs.com, call 312.582.1800 or follow @BrilliantFS on social media. Contact: Laurie Vicente; Sr. Director of Marketing, Brilliant, [email protected] or 312.582.1812 SOURCE Brilliant Related Links http://www.brilliantfs.com NEW YORK, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CICC US Securities, the US broker dealer of China International Capital Corporation ("CICC"), announced today that it is expanding its strategic advisory business with the hiring of Zahid Ahmed as a Managing Director in its New York office. Mr. Ahmed will focus on advising consumer companies and private equity firms. "The addition of a Managing Director of Zahid's caliber to our team reflects the firm's ongoing commitment to grow our presence in North America and enhance our cross-border advisory capabilities," stated Steven Foland, Head of Banking at CICC US Securities. "We are looking forward to leveraging Zahid's market presence and significant expertise in the consumer industry to further meet the needs of our clients." Mr. Ahmed has 19 years of experience in investment banking. Prior to joining CICC US Securities, Mr. Ahmed was a Managing Director at Perella Weinberg Partners in New York. Mr. Ahmed was a senior member of Perella Weinberg's advisory team and Consumer and Retail Group for 10 years. While at Perella Weinberg, Mr. Ahmed led the firm's retail investment banking practice in North America. Earlier in his career, he worked at Trimaran Capital Partners and Deutsche Bank. Mr. Ahmed began his investment banking career at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Ahmed received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Vassar College, where he graduated with honors and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. About China International Capital Corporation Limited China International Capital Corporation Limited (CICC, 3908.HK) is China's first joint-venture investment bank. Since inception in 1995, CICC has always been committed to providing high quality value-added financial services to our clients. We have established a full-service business model consisting of investment banking, equities, FICC, wealth management and investment management on the basis of strong research coverage. Headquartered in Beijing, we have established subsidiaries in Mainland China, branch companies in major cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen, and over 200 securities branches in 28 provinces and municipalities across China. CICC has also actively ventured into overseas markets and has established offices in Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, London, San Francisco and recently Frankfurt, to help clients in both domestic and overseas markets fulfill their strategic goals. SOURCE China International Capital Corporation Limited LONDON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CloudSense, the world's #1 media sales solution on Salesforce, today announced its global partnership with Ad-Juster, the world's only third-party reporting and discrepancy management tool. The partnership provides customers an out-of-the-box integration to Ad-Juster FlowIQ from the CloudSense platform. Using CloudSense and FlowIQ, media organizations can maximize end-to-end campaign efficiency and profitability by centralizing first and third-party performance data in one place, Salesforce. Today's publishers rely on proliferating channels, platforms and third-party products to reach their fractured audiences. This shifting landscape, combined with shrinking margins, makes cutting waste, championing accuracy and mitigating revenue leakage priorities for any modern publisher to maximize ad sales profitability. With CloudSense, media companies can extend Salesforce's leading CRM through an intelligent Order Management System (OMS) that seamlessly integrates with ad servers to provide a single, centralized cloud-based ad platform. This platform offers a real-time view of commercial and customer data, empowering media owners to sell and deliver cross-media advertising campaigns quickly and accurately. Ad-Juster FlowIQ reports on discrepancies between advertiser and publisher delivery data to automate campaign reconciliation. Using Ad-Juster, digital publishers can collect exactly what they have sold faster. By combining CloudSense and FlowIQ, publishers can centralize all sales, delivery and billing data for campaigns in one platform. With all data flowing into Salesforce, publishers have a master system of record and a single advertising hub to work from. Commenting on the partnership CloudSense's CMO, Josh Morse, said, "In an increasingly competitive market, CloudSense empowers media organizations to live up to their promise and deliver what they've sold to advertisers. Now, in partnership with Ad-Juster, we can help digital publishers build deeper trust with advertisers' by ensuring billing and revenue reconciliation is as accurate as sales and delivery." "Combining CloudSense and FlowIQ will give publishers a centralized platform that prioritizes automated processes, right from the sale to revenue reconciliation. This partnership will help digital publishers make massive strides with accuracy and efficiency, as well as offering a complete picture of their revenue throughout the ad lifecycle," stated Ad-Juster's CMO, Dan Lawton. About CloudSense CloudSense's smart sales and delivery platform is built to handle complex media sales. We free your enterprise to innovate commercially, increase revenues and provide exceptional ongoing customer experiences on Salesforce. About Ad-Juster Ad-Juster is a market-leading SaaS provider of unified data reporting and analytics for digital advertising. Since our founding in 2007, we have worked closely with over 150 blue-chip publishers, agencies, ad-tech platforms, and ad networks to deliver a digital advertising measurement product line to streamline workflows, overcome billing discrepancies, optimize programmatic performance and maximize revenue. For more information on Ad-Juster, visit www.ad-juster.com. SOURCE CloudSense Related Links https://cloudsense.com Bithumb Global is a digital asset exchange launched by Bithumb to reach markets outside of Korea, where market penetration ranks among the highest in the world. It provides fiat-to-crypto pairings and supports multiple fiat currency and stable coin conversion and trading. The Crypto.com Chain Token (CRO) powers a high-performing native blockchain powering Crypto.com Pay which allows users to pay or get paid in crypto, anywhere. While customers reap generous cashback rewards through Crypto.com Pay, merchants also benefit from greatly reduced processing fees and near instant settlement. Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com, said: "We are pleased to be one of the first tokens to be listed on Bithumb Global. Bithumb is a leading exchange and we are grateful for their support of our vision of cryptocurrency in every wallet." Javier Sim, Director of Bithumb Global Holdings, said: "The launching of Bithumb Global is a key milestone in Bithumb's vision to expand globally, and as such, Bithumb Global will channel our combined resources to provide first-class products and high-quality digital asset trading services to users around the world. We are pleased to have Crypto.com's CRO as one of our first tokens listed." About Bithumb Global Bithumb Global ( www.bithumb.pro ) is an innovative digital asset exchange launched by Bithumb. Since 2017, digital assets were growing globally, but the fastest growth took place in South Korea, where market penetration ranks among the highest in the world and traders are more active in trading. Bithumb.com processes trades of more than 13,000 bitcoins per day in 2018, accounting for about 10% of global Bitcoin trading volume. Bithumb was also the largest market for Ethereum trades, accounting for about 44% of the Ethereum trading volume. Bithumb Global is already established in 10 countries (including the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong) while being fully compliant with local regulations. Bithumb Global can provide a safe, reliable and efficient deposit and withdrawal services to millions of users around the world. About Crypto.com Crypto.com was founded in 2016 to accelerate the world's transition to cryptocurrency. Key products include: the Crypto.com Wallet & Card App, the best place to buy, sell, and pay with crypto, the MCO Visa Card, a metal card with no annual fees, and the Crypto.com Chain, which enables users to pay and be paid in any crypto, anywhere, for free. Crypto.com is headquartered in Hong Kong with a 130+ strong team. For more information, please visit: www.crypto.com . For press enquiries, please contact: The Hoffman Agency [email protected] SOURCE Crypto.com SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cypress Creek Renewables today announced leadership changes to support the next stage of the company's growth. The Cypress Creek Board has appointed Sarah Slusser as chief executive officer and as a director on the board, Rebecca (Becky) Cranna as interim chief operating officer and Kim Oster as interim chief strategy officer. As part of these leadership changes, Matthew McGovern and Michael Cohen have stepped down from their management responsibilities. Ned Hall, who joined the Cypress Creek Board in 2018, succeeds Ben Van de Bunt as chairman of the board. "I want to thank Matthew, Michael and Ben for their contributions to Cypress Creek. Through their vision and tenacity, Cypress Creek has celebrated significant accomplishments, including creating one of the largest solar companies in the US," said Hall. "I would also like to express the entire Board's deep appreciation for the hard work employees at all levels have put in to make Cypress Creek the leading solar company it is today. Your skills, commitment and passion are key competitive advantages for Cypress Creek and the Board is honored to support the next stage of sustainable growth." Slusser, Oster and Cranna will work with Cypress Creek's board, senior management and teams across the company, to build on its successes of developing 3.7GW and building 2.2GW of solar projects in less than five years. This new leadership team, all of whom are partners at Point Reyes Energy Partners and worked together at AES for over a decade, brings to Cypress Creek broad industry experience and a proven track record of creating value in their former leadership roles throughout the energy sector. They each have more than 25 years of experience in the power business, have together developed or financed 5GW of renewable energy projects, and have held senior executive positions at companies, including AES, First Solar, Silver Ridge, TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global. Their expertise spans development, finance, construction, operations and asset management, giving them a comprehensive understanding of Cypress Creek's business and the broader industry. "The Cypress Creek team has built a remarkable foundation," said Slusser. "Becky, Kim and I are excited to lead the company during this next chapter and to build on this strong foundation to achieve top- and bottom-line growth and continue to drive the expansion of solar power across the US. We look forward to partnering with the senior management team and all employees across the company to pursue opportunities that create value for Cypress Creek, its customers, vendors, financing partners, communities and landowners." About Sarah Slusser Slusser is an expert in power markets, with 30 years of development, finance and operations experience. She is a Partner in Point Reyes Energy Partners and an accomplished investor and officer of public and private companies, having led investments of $3 billion across the electric sector. During her 21 years at AES, she rose to be a senior officer and built and ran the Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean division. Slusser co-founded GeoGlobal Energy, a geothermal company in the US, Chile, and Germany, which was sold to its investor. Slusser graduated from Harvard University with Honors and received an MBA from Yale School of Management. About Kim Oster Oster is a founding partner of Point Reyes Energy Partners and the former regional head and Vice President at First Solar. She has over 30 years of experience in the power sector having successfully developed and financed over $4.5 billion of power projects. Oster spent over a decade at AES where she successfully led the development and financing of over 600MW of power projects and transacted several M&A transactions. Oster graduated from Williams College and Yale School of Management with an MBA, and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies with an MES. About Becky Cranna Cranna's 26 years of energy experience spans multiple continents, with executive roles in finance, operations, and risk management. She is a Partner in Point Reyes Energy Partners, and previously was the CFO for TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global, both public companies. Previously, Cranna led Asset and Risk Management and operations for TerraForm Power's 2,972MW fleet of solar and wind plants. Cranna was also CFO of Silver Ridge Power, a portfolio of 52 solar plants totaling 522MW in 7 countries, with both operations and finance responsibilities. Cranna was at AES for 17 years, including as the VP responsible for the credit review function, and other roles in greenfield development and M&A. Cranna graduated from Stanford University with Honors. About Ned Hall Hall is a global senior executive leader with over 35 years of experience in all facets of the energy industry. He brings to Cypress Creek a deep understanding of international energy markets, power generation technologies and commercial structuring. Hall spent 25 years of his career with AES Corporation, where he was a member of the AES Executive Leadership Team and served as Chief Operating Officer of global generation. He serves as Chair of the Cypress Creek Board, Vice Chairman of Japan Wind Development Company and as a Non-Executive Director of Globeleq, a leading independent power producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Hall has previously served on the boards of General Cable, TerraForm Power and Green Conversion Systems. About Cypress Creek Renewables Cypress Creek develops, builds and operates solar facilities across the United States. With 2.2GW of solar built and 3.7GW developed in more than a dozen states, Cypress Creek Renewables is one of the country's leading solar companies. For more information about Cypress Creek Renewables, please visit www.ccrenew.com. About Point Reyes Energy Partners Point Reyes is a renewable energy advisory and development company with clients in the commercial, industrial and utility sectors. The founders have broad experience in renewable power including greenfield development, financing, M&A, and executive management and over 30 years they have transacted more than $16 billion in power projects, please visit www.pointreyesenergy.com. Media Contact Ally Copple, Cypress Creek Renewables 919.921.8702 [email protected] SOURCE Cypress Creek Renewables Related Links http://www.ccrenew.com IRVING, Texas, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Darling Ingredients Inc. (NYSE: DAR) (the "Company") today announced that management will participate in two upcoming investor conferences. Randall C. Stuewe, Darling's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present at the Bank of America Future Fuels Conference in London on June 12, 2019 in a panel discussion, Feedstock & Technology Is There Enough Waste in the World, on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. BST. Additionally, Mr. Stuewe will participate in the 5th Annual ROTH London Conference, June 17-19, 2019, at the Intercontinental Hotel, London. Mr. Stuewe is scheduled to host one-on-ones throughout the day on Tuesday, June 18th. Mr. Stuewe will be joined by Brad Phillips, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Melissa Gaither, Vice President Investor Relations and Global Communications. The investor presentation is accessible via the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at http://www.darlingii.com. About Darling Darling Ingredients Inc. is a global developer and producer of sustainable natural ingredients from edible and inedible bio-nutrients, creating a wide range of ingredients and customized specialty solutions for customers in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, pet food, feed, industrial, fuel, bioenergy and fertilizer industries. With operations on five continents, the Company collects and transforms all aspects of animal by-product streams into useable and specialty ingredients, such as gelatin, edible fats, feed-grade fats, animal proteins and meals, plasma, pet food ingredients, organic fertilizers, yellow grease, fuel feedstocks, green energy, natural casings and hides. The Company also recovers and converts recycled oils (used cooking oil and animal fats) into valuable feed and fuel ingredients and collects and processes residual bakery products into feed ingredients. In addition, the Company provides environmental services, such as grease trap collection and disposal services to food service establishments and disposal services for waste solids from the wastewater treatment systems of industrial food processing plants. The Company sells its products domestically and internationally and operates within three industry segments: Feed Ingredients, Food Ingredients and Fuel Ingredients. For additional information, visit the Company's website at http://www.darlingii.com. For More Information, contact: Melissa A. Gaither, V.P. Investor Relations and Global Communications Email: [email protected] Phone: 972-717-0300 5601 N. MacArthur Blvd. Irving, Texas 75038 SOURCE Darling Ingredients Inc. Related Links http://www.darlingii.com OTTAWA, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A report released today by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) finds that Canada has made more progress in the past three years in protecting its ocean territory than ever before in the countrys history. Weve gone from being one of the worlds laggards - at just over one percent of our ocean territory protected in 2016 - to more than eight percent by 2019. This puts us on a realistic track to reach 10 percent by 2020. We congratulate the federal government (and its many partners, including Indigenous peoples, provincial and territorial governments) on this effort, says CPAWS National Oceans Program Director Sabine Jessen. Among ten countries with the largest extents of ocean territory, Canada now is 7th in terms of proportion protected, so there is still significant work to do to catch up to the international leaders like the UK, Chile and Australia. Canada made a commitment to protect 10 percent of its ocean territory by 2020 when it signed on to the latest UN Convention on Biological Diversity in 2010. However, in early May the International Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released a report showing that species rates of survival have rapidly worsened in the past few decades. In response, Jessen says that Canada now needs to set a larger goal of protecting 30 percent of its ocean territory by 2030. Thirty percent is the minimum that scientists recommend we protect to give marine species the best possible hope of survival. As we document, this goal is absolutely achievable for Canada, given the amount of preliminary work that has already occurred to identify future marine areas for conservation. Eventually we need to get to 50%. What is required is the political will to keep moving forward. We already know that Canadians strongly support increasing the level of ocean protection, says Jessen. The CPAWS report contains a detailed blueprint for how Canada can achieve 30% ocean protection by 2030. CPAWS also congratulates the federal government for amending its policies and rules for new marine protected areas this year to ensure that all harmful practices to wildlife are prohibited within their borders. This policy change was long overdue and were extremely pleased to see it happen. We are strongly recommending that the government apply these new policies and rules to all of Canadas existing marine protected areas and refuges, adds Jessen. Canada has one of the largest ocean territories and the longest coastline of any nation, bordering the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic oceans and covering nearly six million square kilometres. As Canadas voice for wilderness, CPAWS has been a strong advocate for improved marine protection for the past 25 years, working in partnership with all levels of government, community groups, Indigenous Peoples and scientists. CONTACT: Sabine Jessen CPAWS National Director, Oceans Program (604) 657-2813 or sjessen@cpaws.org View full report at cpaws.org. Photos available upon request. ALBANY, New York, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The global digital talent acquisition market registered a CAGR of 8.6% between 2019 and 2027. The digital talent acquisition market is projected to be driven by growing innovations and technological advancements. As the Big Data analytics industry swiftly grows to include mainstream customers, technologies such as Hadoop and cloud solutions are in demand and they have growth potential. Thus, it is expected to boost the digital talent acquisition market in the near future. The global digital talent acquisition market is expected to reach US$ 85.15 Bn by 2027 from US$ 44.08 Bn in 2019. The new generation of advanced technology and accessibility of data continues to drive the demand for digital talent and services within the enterprises, thereby continuously pushing up demand for digital talent acquisition market. Request PDF Sample of Digital Talent Acquisition Market: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=66857 The digital talent acquisition market in North America is anticipated to expand at a rapid pace during the forecast period, followed by Europe. North America remains the leading market for digital talent acquisition, with revenues in 2019 estimated at US$ 15.08 Bn. Growth in data volumes drives analytical skills as well as requires software specialists. Therefore, exponential growth in data volumes is likely to drive the digital talent acquisition market in the region. Asia Pacific is projected to lead the global digital talent acquisition market during the forecast period. This is attributable to increase in digitization initiatives by governments across the region and rise in the demand from other regions as well. Digital Talent Acquisition Market Definition The digital talent acquisition market report provides analysis of the global digital talent acquisition market for the period 2017 2027, wherein 2018 is the base year and 2019 to 2027 is the forecast period. Data for 2017 has been included as historical information. In this report, we analyze the challenges that organizations are facing to acquire the right talent that can cope with the rapidly changing digital world, and also how much organizations are ready to spend on their workforce in order to train them and fill the digital gap. The digital talent gap is broadening and every organization is acknowledging it. More than 50% of organizations agree that the digital talent gap is hindering their digital transformation plans, and that they are either losing their competitive advantage due to lack of digital talent or they are working toward it by educating their workforce. Get PDF Brochure this Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=66857 Key Growth Drivers of the Digital Talent Acquisition Market Growing Innovations and Technological Advancements - Several technological advancements in Big Data analytics such as IoT and Hadoop are extensively impacting organizations across industries and thus driving the demand for digitally skilled workforce. This is propelling the growth of the digital talent acquisition market across the globe. - Several technological advancements in Big Data analytics such as IoT and Hadoop are extensively impacting organizations across industries and thus driving the demand for digitally skilled workforce. This is propelling the growth of the digital talent acquisition market across the globe. High Demand for Technical and Developer Skills - The key driver in shifting to a digital workforce is reduction in cost, time, and enhanced quality through the elimination of errors. The key driver in shifting to a digital workforce is reduction in cost, time, and enhanced quality through the elimination of errors. Exponential Growth in Data -An enormous amount of structured and unstructured data is available in firms due to increased Internet adoption and they need digitally skilled people to manage the same. Ask Our Industry Expert: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=ASK&rep_id=66857 Analysis of Percentage of Digital Talent, by Major Countries - Digital Talent Acquisition Market: India has the highest proportion of digital talent, while the global average is 56%. has the highest proportion of digital talent, while the global average is 56%. Proportion denotes the percentage of digital talent out of 100 in that particular country. Key Challenges Faced by Digital Talent Acquisition Market Players Limited awareness regarding benefits of digital skills is hampering the development of digital talent. Several end-users are still not aware of the importance of digital skills. Despite the evolution of technology, adoption of tools related to digital skills still remains challenging. Therefore, it is restraining the growth of the digital talent acquisition market. Resistance to change is another crucial factor which is hindering the growth of the digital talent acquisition market. This is primarily because people do not easily change and are not ready to move away from their comfort zone and learn new technologies. Request a Discount on this Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=D&rep_id=66857 Digital Talent Acquisition Market Competitive Landscape In January 2019 , Hortonworks, Inc. merged with Cloudera, Inc. With this merger Cloudera, Inc. plans to combine assets and technical expertise in order to provide certifications and create a public cloud-like experience everywhere. , Hortonworks, Inc. merged with Cloudera, Inc. With this merger Cloudera, Inc. plans to combine assets and technical expertise in order to provide certifications and create a public cloud-like experience everywhere. In 2017, Accenture acquired data analytics company Search Technologies. Accenture is expected to combine the analytical technologies of Search Technologies with its AI and data analytics capabilities. In May 2018 , IBM announced the acquisition of Armanta, Inc., a provider of analytics and aggregation software to financial services firms. The acquisition is expected to enhance the company's portfolio and help it acquire digitally trained employees. Digital Talent Acquisition Market - Company Profile Snapshot Accenture PLC: Founded in 1989, Accenture is a global professional services company, offering wide-ranging services and solutions in the fields of digital, consulting, strategy, operations, and technology. The company partners with Fortune Global 500 companies to drive innovation in order to improve the way the world lives and works. IBM Corporation: Founded in 1911, IBM Corporation is a multinational company that manufactures and markets products such as computer hardware, middleware, and software along with hosting and IT consulting services. The company offers AI-powered talent management solutions with the help of IBM Watson. Other solutions offered by the company include IBM digital analytics, IBM Kenexa talent acquisition suite, IBM Kenexa talent framework, and IBM Kenexa LCMS (learning content management system). Cloudera, Inc. (Hortonworks Inc.): Founded in 2008, Cloudera is an enterprise data cloud company empowering people to transform data into actionable insights through an integrated suite of data analytics and management products. Cloudera delivers the platform for machine learning & analytics optimized for the cloud. Other major players operating in the global digital talent acquisition market and profiled in the report include Skillsoft Limited, Engaging Ideas Pvt. Ltd., The Training Associates Corporation, Data Science Council of America, BrainStation Inc., SAP SE, and Oracle Corporation. Companies are shifting toward AI and machine learning and upscaling their skills to gain a competitive advantage in the digital talent acquisition market apart from maintaining their position in the market. Browse More: IT & Telecom Research Reports Upstream Petrotechnical Training Services Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/upstream-petrotechnical-training-services-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/upstream-petrotechnical-training-services-market.html Smart Classroom Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-classroom-market-2018-2026.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-classroom-market-2018-2026.html Streaming Media Device Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/streaming-media-device-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/streaming-media-device-market.html Machine Learning as a Service Market - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/machine-learning-as-a-service-market.html About Us Transparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals. Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories. TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision." Contact Mr. Rohit Bhisey Transparency Market Research State Tower 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY - 12207 United States Tel: +1-518-618-1030 USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453 Email: [email protected] Website: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com Research Blog: http://www.europlat.org/ SOURCE Transparency Market Research JACKSON, Miss., June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE: EGP) announced today its recent business activity. In late April, EastGroup Properties, Inc. (the "Company" or "EastGroup") acquired Logistics Center 6 & 7, which contains a total of 142,000 square feet of multi-tenant business distribution space in two buildings in Dallas. The buildings, which are located in a master-planned park on DFW International Airport-owned property with a 40-year ground lease, were developed in 2018. The buildings were 19% leased at the time of acquisition and are currently 56% leased. The value-add property was acquired for $13 million, and the Company estimates its total investment in the property, including improvements during the lease-up phase, will be approximately $15 million. In May, the Company closed the acquisition of Airways Business Center in Denver for $48 million. The 100% leased, four-building complex includes 382,000 square feet in the airport submarket of Denver. Also in May, EastGroup sold Altamonte Commerce Center, an eight-building complex containing 186,000 square feet in Orlando. The buildings were sold for $14.9 million, and the Company will record a gain on the sale during the second quarter of 2019; the gain will not be included in funds from operations. During the first two months of the second quarter, EastGroup started construction on four development projects totaling 523,000 square feet. The projects, which are located in Orlando, Ft. Myers, Houston and Phoenix, are 22% pre-leased and have projected total costs of $50 million. As disclosed in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2019, EastGroup has been involved in an action against the Company and certain of its executive officers relating to the Company's November 2016 purchase of a land parcel. A mediated resolution of the dispute was reached during the second quarter. The Company estimates the resolution of the matter will reduce its projected 2019 Net Income Attributable to Common Stockholders and Funds from Operations Attributable to Common Stockholders by a range of $0.01 to $0.02 per share. During the first two months of the second quarter, the Company issued and sold 428,341 shares of common stock under its continuous equity program at an average price of $113.17 per share, providing gross proceeds to the Company of $48.5 million. EastGroup Properties, Inc. is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 15,000 to 70,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 43 million square feet. EastGroup Properties, Inc. press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net. SOURCE EastGroup Properties Related Links http://www.eastgroup.net Companies and culinary collaborators including Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza, Dana's Bakery, Alessi, Amazon, PopSockets, and AirAsia, as well as (RED)'s chef ambassadors are coming together to help raise money and awareness for the fight, because AIDS is still a crisis and a preventable, treatable disease that killed more than 1 million people last year. Doubling impact, every dollar raised during June will be matched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, up to $150,000. Throughout the month of June and in the lead-up to the Global Fund's Sixth Replenishment in October, food fans can get involved the following ways: Blaze fires-up the fight! Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza will offer its' signature Red Vine pizza as the '(RED) Vine' in each of the company's 330 restaurants throughout North America, donating $1 each time a guest enjoys a signature (RED) Vine pizza and a cold drink, contributing up to $50,000 to (RED)'s fight against AIDS. In addition to generating funds for (RED), guests will earn double flames on each order of a (RED) Vine and drink when they scan their Blaze Pizza app. Crafted with dough made from scratch in-restaurant daily, Blaze Pizza's (RED) Vine features fresh ovalini mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, Parmesan, basil, red sauce and is topped with an olive oil drizzle. Blaze offers a selection of cold drinks, such as its signature Blood Orange Lemonade, seasonal aguas frescas, and a variety of fountain drinks. EAT (RED) SAVE LIVES takes to the skies AirAsia has partnered with (RED) Chef Ambassador, Hong Thaimee, to bring a brand new delicious (RED) Burger to the Santan inflight menu this summer. With a sauce and patty inspired by Hong's Chiang Mai roots served on a fluffy, beetroot bun, a portion of each burger sold will go towards the Global Fund. (RED) chef ambassador, Hong Thaimee, said; "I recently traveled with (RED) to see Global Fund programs at work in Zambia - and the impact is really remarkable. When you meet mothers, whose children have been born HIV-free thanks to the life-saving pills funded by (RED), the importance of supporting this fight becomes clearer than ever. So, I'm really excited to be teaming up with (RED) and their partner, AirAsia, with my very special burger that will raise money to help save more lives." What is black and white and (RED) all over? For the second year, Dana's Bakery is turning (RED) to support the fight to end AIDS. Turning their delicious black and white cookies '(RED)' for the month of June, for every box of six black and white cookies purchased, Dana's Bakery will donate $2 to the Global Fund, and $5 for every box of 12. Available now online at https://www.danasbakery.com/ Tasty T-shirts that help save lives A new range of food-inspired (RED) t-shirts are available exclusively at Amazon.com/RED. Featuring motifs including 'Lettuce beet this', the t-shirts cost $30 and generate enough to provide 36 days of life-saving HIV medication. PopSockets Foodies can now purchase colorful, bold (EGG)RED, (AVOCADO)RED and (DONUT)RED grips from PopSockets, priced at $15, with 50% of the sale price being donated to fight AIDS. Available online at https://www.popsockets.com/ these PopGrips are perfect for helping capture all those Instagram-friendly culinary moments. Alessi For those looking to spruce their kitchen style and accessories this summer, fans of Alessi's stylish culinary products can support the fight by shopping the (ALESSI)RED collection on Amazon.com/RED and Alessi.com. Their collection includes special editions of two of the most popular icons, the Anna G. and Alessandro M. corkscrews, as well as a special edition of their Mediterraneo fruit basket, Diabolix bottle opener, and more! Contact: [email protected] SOURCE (RED) Related Links http://red.org The Polish research community will have access to the highest-quality research published in Elsevier journals and titles by its society partners. As part of the agreement, Elsevier will also help the Polish consortium, led by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM), University of Warsaw (UW), to support Open Access publishing. "We're delighted to reach this agreement with Elsevier as it enables access to the high-quality research that is vital for our students and researchers. It will advance our ambitious research agenda," said Dr. Marek Michalewicz, Director at ICM, UW. "In addition, through the inclusion of an open access component, we have made important steps towards enabling Polish research to gain free accessibility and visibility." Access to Scopus and SciVal will support Polish research in benchmarking its performance against more than 10,700 research institutions and their associated researchers from across the world, supporting the quality of Polish academic programs. "We look forward to continuing to support the Polish research community as it carries out its vitally important work," said Gino Ussi, Elsevier's Executive Vice President. "Elsevier's approach has been to engage with ICM to understand its specific objectives and to work closely with its team to create an innovative agreement. "This new national license supports the Polish research community by providing access to the highest-quality research while enabling it to manage the Polish research landscape strategically. The license will also help Poland achieve its ambitious Open Science objectives." About Elsevier Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps scientists and clinicians to find new answers, reshape human knowledge, and tackle the most urgent human crises. For 140 years, we have partnered with the research world to curate and verify scientific knowledge. Today, we're committed to bringing that rigor to a new generation of platforms. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect , Scopus , SciVal , ClinicalKey and Sherpath . Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell , 39,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy . Elsevier is part of RELX Group , a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. www.elsevier.com Media contact David Tucker, Global Communications Elsevier +44-7920-536-160 [email protected] SOURCE Elsevier and ICM HOUSTON, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- EnergyFunders, an innovative digital energy investment platform based in the energy capital of Houston, is officially joining the ranks of large, publicly traded oil and gas operators who operate in advanced shale plays like the Permian and Bakken. "EnergyFunders will be the very first online funding platform to finance the development of a shale play through public retail financing," said Reed Stiles, Vice President of Upstream for EnergyFunders. "Typically, shale play projects could only be accessed by investors who were already very well connected in this space. Even the wealthiest investors would need specific industry connections to get a seat at the table. We're proud to reach this milestone." Casey Minshew, CEO of EnergyFunders added, "We are excited at the tremendous growth we have achieved in the last couple of years. The development of these shale plays has driven America's energy independence and we thought it was time to provide potential investors with unprecedented access to these projects. Instead of buying public oil and gas companies' stocks, investors can invest directly in wells, where oil and gas operators invest alongside them. EnergyFunders owns a share in the well, just like our investors, so we're focused on presenting top-tier opportunities for investors." With the growth of the EnergyFunders platform and new access to unrivaled opportunities, EnergyFunders announces its strategic partnership with the financial platform Rocket Dollar. This allows Rocket Dollar members and new investors with EnergyFunders to roll over a 401(k) or IRA to invest in oil and gas. Rocket Dollar allows individuals to establish a self-directed 401(k) or IRA for alternative investments in assets such as oil and gas. All the information reviewed about potential investments is presented on its platform to its users in a transparent, data-driven platform. Earnings are only made when the investor gets paid from the oil and gas production, not before. About EnergyFunders Founded in 2013, EnergyFunders provides access to direct oil and gas investments via its online platform. The platform presents details about all projects and allows smaller investments spread over more projects to give investors control over their portfolios. Its mission is to give transparent access to drilling investments traditionally reserved for the wealthy or industry insiders. Contact: Casey Minshew, [email protected] SOURCE EnergyFunders Related Links https://www.energyfunders.com BEDMINSTER, N.J., June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matinas BioPharma Holdings, Inc. (NYSE AMER: MTNB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Jerome D. Jabbour, Chief Executive Officer , has been invited to present at the 9th Annual LD Micro Invitational investor conference on Tuesday, June 4th at 1:20 PM PT. The event is being held on June 4-5, 2019 at the Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel, in Los Angeles, California, and is one of the nation's largest independent conferences for small/micro-cap companies, with more than 1,000 attendees. As part of his presentation, Mr. Jabbour will provide a corporate update and will discuss MAT9001, the Companys proprietary prescription-only omega-3 fatty acid-based composition. Matinas is initially developing MAT9001 for the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia ( 500 mg/dL). Leveraging the support of a world class team of external scientific and clinical advisors and internal clinical and regulatory expertise, Matinas has put in place a streamlined clinical development program for approval of MAT9001, while also planning several additional studies designed to highlight the differentiating features of MAT9001 relative to the leading therapies in this space. Additionally, Mr. Jabbour will discuss the Companys differentiated lipid nano-crystal (LNC) drug delivery platform, which offers an oral and intracellular drug delivery solution with potential advantages for a range of therapeutics, including oligonucleotides and other nucleic acid polymers, proteins, peptides, vaccines and small molecules such as amphotericin B, which comprises the Companys anti-infective pipeline candidate, MAT2203. In January 2019, Matinas announced its first research evaluation with an undisclosed top global pharmaceutical company aimed to evaluate synergistic effects of its LNC platform delivery technology with the Companys partners nucleic acid polymer technology. Matinas recently announced its second research collaboration with ViiV Healthcare, a global specialist HIV company established in November of 2009 by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) and Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) dedicated to delivering advances in the treatment and care for people living with HIV and for people who are at risk of becoming infected with HIV, to evaluate the use of Matinas LNC platform delivery technology in the antiviral space. A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available on the Events page of the Investors section of the Companys website ( www.matinasbiopharma.com ). A webcast replay will be accessible for 90 days following the live presentation. About Matinas BioPharma Matinas BioPharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on creating value through the streamlined development of MAT9001 for the treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic conditions and the application of its lipid nano-crystal (LNC) platform technology to solve complex challenges relating to the safe and effective delivery of small molecules, gene therapies, proteins, peptides and vaccines. The Company is actively pursuing the development of MAT9001 with the support of a world-class team of clinical key opinion leaders and regulatory consultants. MAT9001 is a prescription-only omega-3 fatty acid-based composition, comprised primarily of EPA and DPA, under development for hypertriglyceridemia, which has shown superiority versus Vascepa (icosapent ethyl) in reducing serum triglycerides, Total- and Non-HDL-Cholesterol, apolipoprotein CIII and PCSK9 levels. In addition, the Company's proprietary, disruptive technology utilizes lipid nano-crystal cochleates to encapsulate small molecules, nucleic acid polymers, vaccines and other medicines potentially making them safer, more tolerable, less toxic, and orally bioavailable. For more information, please visit www.matinasbiopharma.com and connect with the Company on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook . Matinas Forward-Looking Statements: This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including those relating to the Company's strategic focus and the future development of its product candidates, the anticipated timing of regulatory submissions, the anticipated timing of clinical studies, the anticipated timing of regulatory interactions, the Companys ability to identify and pursue development and partnership opportunities for its products or platform delivery technology on favorable terms, if at all, and the ability to obtain required regulatory approval and other statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "could," "believes," "estimates" and similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our ability to obtain additional capital to meet our liquidity needs on acceptable terms, or at all, including the additional capital which will be necessary to complete the clinical trials of our product candidates; our ability to successfully complete research and further development and commercialization of our product candidates, including MAT2203 and MAT9001; the uncertainties inherent in clinical testing; the timing, cost and uncertainty of obtaining regulatory approvals; our ability to maintain and derive benefit from the Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP), Orphan and/or Fast Track designations for MAT2203, which does not change the standards for regulatory approval or guarantee regulatory approval on an expedited basis, or at all; our ability to protect the Company's intellectual property; the loss of any executive officers or key personnel or consultants; competition; changes in the regulatory landscape or the imposition of regulations that affect the Company's products; and the other factors listed under "Risk Factors" in our filings with the SEC, including Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Except as may be required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to such forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Matinas BioPharma's product candidates are all in a development stage and are not available for sale or use. Investor Contact Matinas Biopharma Jenene Thomas Jenene Thomas Communications, LLC Phone: +1 (833) 475-8247 Email: mtnb@jtcir.com Source: Matinas BioPharma Holdings, Inc. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES LONGUEUIL, Quebec, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reunion Gold Corporation (TSX-V: RGD) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has closed a first tranche of its previously announced private placement offering (the Offering). The Company issued 9,473,684 common shares at a price of C$0.19 per share for proceeds of approximately C$1.8 million. The common shares issued are subject to a hold period expiring October 1, 2019. The Company has applied for and received consent from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV) to a 30-day extension to close a second tranche. See the Companys news release issued on April 17, 2019 for further information about the Offering. Cautionary Statement The Offering is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals including the final approval of the TSXV. The common shares issued under the Offering have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the common shares in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This news release contains certain forward-looking information about the Companys plans to complete a second tranche of the Offering. There can be no assurance that it will be completed as proposed or at all. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. About Reunion Gold Reunion Gold Corporation is a Canadian exploration company focused on acquiring, exploring and developing gold projects in the Guiana Shield, South America. The Companys common shares are listed on the TSXV under the symbol RGD. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Companys website (www.reuniongold.com). For further information, please contact: REUNION GOLD CORPORATION Rejean Gourde, President & CEO David Charles CFA, Investor Relations Telephone: +1 450.677.2585 Email: info@reuniongold.com Chicago, IL, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As reported on Thursday April 4th, 2019 by Waterstechnology.com, Bloomberg will be closing down the SSEOMS product line in the next two years. For many this means a new system is needed, and TMSBD, InfoReachs sell-side EOMS, is poised to offer solutions for those that desire a dedicated Sell-Side EOMS product. InfoReach TMSBD offers no upfront costs and a one month trial for customers transitioning to the system. We want to give people the opportunity to see what we have to offer without a big commitment getting in the way of the transition said Allen Zaydlin, InfoReachs CEO. No Upfront Cost No Commitment No IT Burden TMSbd is a global multi-asset order and execution management system designed for sell-side operation. InfoReach is integrated with multiple market data providers, including Bloomberg B-Pipe, SAPI, and Bloomberg Terminal. Additionally InfoReach is integrated with Bloomberg for IOIs and for order entry from EMSX and Tradebook. The InfoReach Sell Side solution comes with the same support and flexibility that InfoReach has brought to bear for its clients throughout their 20+ years of experience. With systems designed for scalability and configuration, InfoReach is able to on board and meet the needs of new clients efficiently and effectively, making TMSbd the perfect system for any firm, whether in need of replicating an existing workflow or looking to implement a new one from scratch. The bar is set high for anyone that wishes to compete with the customization capabilities of InfoReach and its robust offering of products. Request a demo About InfoReach InfoReach is an independent provider of multi-asset broker-neutral software solutions for electronic trading, including OMS and EMS platforms for global equities, futures, options, forex, and fixed income. InfoReach team delivers high-performance technology with high-touch support. The buy-side and sell-side client systems are tailored to accommodate current and future needs. They are configurable to deliver unique adaptations without adding development time and costs. For more than 20 years, InfoReach has helped clients to improve their trade execution process and performance with efficient design and support of consolidated trading tools and global connectivity network.InfoReach is a privately-held company headquartered in Chicago, with offices in New York and Amsterdam. For more information, visit www.inforeachinc.com. For announcements and more information follow us on Twitter @InfoReach and check our blog. PASADENA, Calif., June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wetzels Pretzels is a brand born from the Southern California lifestyle that has cultivated fans for more than 20 years thanks to its scratch-made pretzels, fresh lemonade and craveable Cin-a-Bitz. Building on that fan passion and the brands ability to cultivate fanatics from coast to coast, Wetzels Pretzels vice president of franchise development, Doug Flaig, will be hosting exploratory meetings with qualified multi-unit operators in Atlanta June 27 and 28. Wetzels targeted growth plans for Atlanta and the surrounding area come on the heels of another banner year for the company, which included consistent, industry-leading sales growth as well being recognized as a growth concept by publications like Entrepreneur Magazine and Franchise Times. Beyond Wetzels Pretzels sales momentum, company leadership view Georgia and the greater Atlanta area as a fantastic growth opportunity thanks to the states strong GDP growth, new-business-friendly climate and low corporate tax rate. Currently, the brand has the following real estate opportunities available: Mall of Georgia Cumberland Mall North Georgia Premium Outlets Perimeter Mall Wetzels Pretzels menu items sit at a fantastic intersection of being quick, affordable snacks that are made from scratch with limited ingredients, exactly what todays consumers are looking for, said Jennifer Schuler, Wetzels Pretzels CEO. This brand is positioned for immediate and long-term growth thanks to operational simplicity, unit size flexibility and the corporate teams core focus on franchisee profitability. We believe there is a tremendous opportunity across Atlanta and look forward to partnering with operators to bring this beloved West Coast brand to life throughout the area. Beyond traditional mall buildouts, Wetzels Pretzels is able to capitalize on various nontraditional locations as the brand offers a variety of build-out options to accommodate most any space, including both baking and non-baking kiosks, as well as remote units that can supplement a traditional in-line location. Its a concept that can truly fit anywhere there is appropriate space. Those interested in learning more about Wetzels Pretzels can contact Flaig to schedule an initial discussion at 805.616.9799 or doug@wetzels.com . Alternatively, operators who are looking to expand or diversify their holdings can visit Wetzels Pretzels franchise site . About Wetzel's Pretzels Armed with a vision and a tasty recipe for soft pretzel perfection, Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel opened the first Wetzel's Pretzels bakery in Redondo Beach, Calif., in 1994. Long lines of hungry customers soon formed, attracted by mouth-watering soft pretzels that were hand-rolled, baked fresh and served hot from the oven. As word spread about these golden-on-the-outside pretzels, the company added additional offerings to its menu. Today, Wetzel's Pretzels has grown to more than 340 fresh bakeries across the United States and around the world, including premier locations at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. Every Wetzel's Pretzels bakery adheres to the original vision of its founders; that each super-premium pretzel will be crafted from fresh dough and baked in-store consistently throughout the day, to ensure a delicious offering for each consumer, regardless of when the craving for a pretzel strikes. For additional information on Wetzel's Pretzels or franchise opportunities, please visit the website , call (626) 432-6900, "Like" them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Instagram . Media Contact: Josh Levitt Canvas Blue for Wetzels Pretzels 949.215.1438 JLevitt@canvasblue.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/40cf045d-8141-448e-8c5c-39dd9776b2fc POST FALLS, Idaho, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mountain America Credit Union is pleased to announce its newest location in Post Falls. The Post falls Branch is located at 1729 E. Seltice Way, Post Falls, Idaho. A Grand Opening celebration will be held on Saturday, June 8, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jason Steenstra manages the Post Falls branch. Steenstra joined Mountain America in 2010 and has been in the finance industry for 9 years, most recently serving as the Idaho Falls branch manager since 2016. Jason now calls Post Falls his home with his wife and three boys. He is excited to be part of the Post Falls community and raise his family in the beautiful Inland Northwest. Being new to the area, I am excited to spread the vision and values of Mountain America while serving our current membership and adding new members to Northern Idaho, Steenstra said. We have hired an amazing staff that is eager to serve the Post Falls community and surrounding areas. In addition to being open on Saturdays, the Post Falls Branch provides a wide range of financial products and services, including traditional savings, insurance, investments, auto and RV loans and a full array of mortgage loans and services. Mountain America also offers the innovative MyStyle CheckingSM account with customizable rewards. Being federally chartered, Mountain America provides an additional broad assortment of services, including real estate and business lending. About Mountain America Credit Union With more than 820,000 members and $8.5 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union assists members on the right path to help them identify and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile banking technology, over 90 branches across five states, thousands of shared-branching locations nationwide and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain Americasafely guiding you forward along your financial journey. Learn more at macu.com . Media Contact: Angie Nelson 208-493-0131 anelson@macu.com The history of Arctic ecosystems as a guide to the future How are tundra ecosystems impacted by grazing and climate change, and how will future changes to the Arctic affect the living conditions of its residents? These questions are being addressed by an international research collaboration between environmental genomics, ecology and anthropology in a project coordinated by Junior Professor Laura Epp from the University of Konstanz. The researchers will combine ancient DNA from sediment cores with current ecological data and anthropological studies. The knowledge gained will be transferred into the communities of the studied areas. Over the next three years, the project "Future ArcTic Ecosystems (FATE)" will be supported with a total of around 1.7 million euros through the BiodivScen ERA-Net COFUND programme, launched by BiodivERsA, the European network on biodiversity and ecosystem services, as well as the Belmont Forum, an international partnership that mobilizes funding of environmental change research. The researchers will perform a long-term study of Arctic ecosystems reaching from the last ice age to current developments and generate results that are relevant for current land use. "Local inhabit-ants have a legitimate interest in knowing what is happening, both economically and climatically. Using the different sets of information, we will develop scenarios of how ecological changes in the Arctic will progress", says Laura Epp, who moved from the Alfred Wegener Institute in Potsdam to the Limnological Institute of the University of Konstanz in 2018. The Arctic is particularly affected by climate change. Although the region is only sparsely populat-ed, the impacts are very serious for its inhabitants. At the same time, grazing and a changed graz-ing pressure also have a large impact on the vegetation. Large mammals have been important herbivores in the tundra for a long time. During the ice ages, mammoths and woolly rhinos grazed on the ice-free areas of the Arctic tundra. Today, reindeer, which are economically highly relevant, make up the major part of the large mammals. The project consortium encompasses teams from seven countries - Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Canada and the USA - and uses a new method to reconstruct the environment of the past based on DNA from sediment samples. To collect these samples, which act as an archive for DNA traces, sediment cores are extracted from lakes. The oldest DNA traces in sediments ever found are from beneath a glacier and about half a million years old. Usually, Laura Epp examines sediments on time scales of millennia. In another future project, she plans to go back around 16,000 years and study sediments of Lake Constance from the final stage of the last ice age. Some of the Arctic samples in the current project will be tens of thousands of years old. Laura Epp's team for Environmental Genomics and the collaborating research teams will look for DNA traces of vegetation and mammal populations in the sediments. Through this collaboration, the project consortium will work on samples from all parts of the Arctic. For plants, the method has been well established and can be used for a detailed description of the vegetation. With as little as around two grams of Arctic sediment, 30 to 40 different plant species can be identified. Principally, this method of examining DNA from sediment samples can also be used to trace back mammals over the millennia. "We know that for plants, genomic palaeo-environmental methods are very reliable. However, before we can analyse populations of large mammals, we need to refine these methods and, for example, include DNA from fungi living on mammal dung. This will give us entirely new insights", says Laura Epp. The information from millennia-old sediments is supplemented by ecological data that ecologists have collected on grazed and non-grazed areas of the Arctic over several decades. This will un-cover the short-term developments and can reveal mechanisms of change. The data sets from both time scales are then combined and analysed. In addition, anthropologists work with a num-ber of Arctic communities, especially with "stakeholders" of reindeer herding, such as members of the reindeer herding community, local decision makers and politicians. They are interviewed in detail about reindeer herding and environmental changes they have noticed over the past few decades. This knowledge in combination with the scientific data will be used to predict future developments and develop scenarios for future ecosystems. BiodivERsA is a European network of national and regional funding organizations promoting pan-European research on biodiversity and ecosystem services and offering innovative opportunities for the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity. One major aim is to tailor the Bio-divERsA-funding programme to the requirements of society and political practicability, so that research results and new knowledge can be used for future developments. ### Key facts: International research collaboration on the interplay of climate and grazing in shaping tun-dra vegetation Interdisciplinary collaboration between ancient environmental genomics, ecology and an-thropology Junior Professor Laura Epp, Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, is project coordinator Studies in tundra areas of Scandinavia, Siberia and North America Supported with a total of 1.7 million euros through the 2017-2018 Belmont Forum and Bi-odivERsA joint call for research proposal, under the BiodivScen ERA-NET COFUND pro-gramme, and with the funding organisations DFG (DE), ANR (FR), NFR (NO), AKA (FI), FORMAS (SE), NSERC (CAN) and NSF (USA). Information on the funding program at https:/ / www. biodiversa. org/ 1324 Project duration until 2022 Note to editors: Photos are available for download here: https:/ / cms. uni-konstanz. de/ fileadmin/ pi/ fileserver/ 2019/ Bilder/ die_geschichte_arktischer_oekosysteme. jpg Caption: Juniorprofessorin Dr. Laura Epp https:/ / www. campus. uni-konstanz. de/ piipe/ preview/ Ei9oU15661557395681 https:/ / cms. uni-konstanz. de/ fileadmin/ pi/ fileserver/ 2019/ Bilder/ die_geschichte_arktischer_oekosysteme_1. jpg Copyright: Samuel Roturier https:/ / cms. uni-konstanz. de/ fileadmin/ pi/ fileserver/ 2019/ Bilder/ die_geschichte_arktischer_oekosysteme_2. jpg Copyright: Florian Stammler Contact: University of Konstanz Communications and Marketing Phone: + 49 7531 88-3603 Email: kum@uni-konstanz.de This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe speaks at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue held in Singapore on June 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey) SINGAPORE, June 2 (Xinhua) -- "While striving for common prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, we must respect the core interests and accommodate the security concerns of all," said Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe during his speech at the 18th Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday. "We in China do not covet the interests, nor envy the development, of others. However, we shall never give up our legitimate rights and interests," Wei added. "No country should ever expect China to allow its sovereignty, security and development interests to be infringed upon." This was the first time for a Chinese defense minister to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue after eight years. Wei's honesty, frankness and not shying away from harsh questions gave delegates a good impression, said Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. COOPERATION BENEFITS CHINA, U.S. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and the United States, and the bilateral relationship has been steadily growing in the past 40 years, despite all the ups and downs, Wei said. "The most valuable lesson we have learned from the four-decade-long relationship is that cooperation benefits the two sides while confrontation hurts both," the defense minister said. Wei's speech mentioned the essential part of China's policy on the United States, that is "fighting but not breaking," said Li. "We've seen the fighting, but Wei also emphasized cooperation, which is very important to all, so that regional countries don't have to choose sides." During his speech, Wei noted that the two militaries have agreed on building their relationship into a stabilizer for the overall relations, maintaining regular communication on the strategic level, and managing risks and preventing conflicts. "The two sides recognize that military conflicts or even a war between them would bring disasters to both countries and the world," he said. "It takes two to cooperate, but only one to start a fight." Wei's speech echoed U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan's remarks a day ealier on building a bilateral military relationship as a stabilizer for the overall relations, said Francois Heisbourg, a senior adviser for Europe of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). "So I think maybe the two militaries have some scope for a degree of maintaining normality in relations. But that will depend on the political development," he added. All participating defense ministers and other delegates to the dialogue were glad to hear from Wei that the Chinese military will interact more with the U.S. military and develop a better relationship, said Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen. "This is good news for all of us," Ng said. "From the Singaporean perspective, both sides strengthening interaction will help lower risks and reduce misjudgement for either party." ASIA-PACIFIC SECURITY At the event this year, over 600 defense ministers, policymakers and experts from about 40 countries gathered from Friday to Sunday to discuss security issues in the Asia-Pacific. "We should respect and accommodate the legitimate security concerns of one another," Wei said. "China understands and respects the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries, and supports the social systems and development paths they independently choose." "The minister has systematically elaborated China's concept on international security order, world peace and stability, regional security and safety, and explained some of China's specific actions, these have yielded positive results," said Li. For one, Wei refuted the allegation that China is militarizing the South China Sea islands and reefs. "It is the legitimate rights of a sovereign state to carry out construction on its own territory. China built limited defense facilities on the islands and reefs for self-defense," he said. "Where there are threats, there are defenses." The current situation in the South China Sea is improving towards greater stability, Wei said. Over 100,000 ships sail through the South China Sea each year and "none has been threatened." Wei talked about progress being made between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries in negotiating the Code of Conduct and "we look forward to the outcome of that," said Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research. However, "there are always people trying to rake in profits by stirring up troubles in the region," Wei said, adding that in recent years, some countries outside the region have come to the South China Sea to flex muscles, in the name of freedom of navigation. "The large-scale force projection and offensive operations in the region are the most serious destabilizing and uncertain factors in the South China Sea," he said. Wei also talked about China's choices of peace and development, openness and inclusiveness, win-win cooperation, and mutual understanding among civilizations, as well as its commitment to regional and world prosperity and stability. China has been playing an increasingly important role in the Asia-Pacific's security, and there are different kinds of security mechanisms in the region, said Zhou Bo, director of the Center for Security Cooperation at the Office for International Military Cooperation of the Chinese Defense Ministry. "That's why Wei reiterated that every security mechanism needs to be open, inclusive and transparent." "We want China to have military capability in order to contribute to the maintenance of world peace. And we also want a strong Chinese military in order to enhance China's role in peacekeeping efforts worldwide and we want that to happen," Banlaoi said. Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, director general of the Institute of National Security Studies of Sri Lanka, said: "China's strategy is an inclusive strategy, trying to bring all nations together and trying to create a shared value." TAIWAN QUESTION On China's core Taiwan-related issues, Wei reiterated China's firm position and warned against any forces' attempt to split the island from the country. The Taiwan question bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and China must be and will be reunified, Wei said, adding that "if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs for national unity." The defense minister said no attempts to split China shall succeed, and that foreign intervention in the Taiwan issue is doomed to fail. As for Shanahan's remarks on Saturday, in which he said the United States will offer necessary support to Taiwan according to the "Taiwan Relations Act," Wei said, "We can find no justifiable reasons for the U.S. to interfere in the Taiwan question by its domestic law." Li said Wei's remarks on Taiwan were firm and tough, and reflected China's determination that there is no room for compromise on the issue. Wei also made it clear to the United States not to go too far on Taiwan, Li added. Heisbourg noted Wei's speech was "very impressive," adding that Wei "said twice 'at all costs' for national unity. This will be taken seriously by the audience." Officially known as the Asia Security Summit, the Shangri-La Dialogue has been organized and convened annually by the British think tank IISS and the Singaporean government since 2002. BROOKFIELD NEWS, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Office Properties Inc., a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners L.P., today announced the quarterly dividend rate on its Class AAA Preference Shares, Series S (Series S Shares) (TSX: BPO.PR.S). The dividend is paid at an annual rate, calculated for each quarter, of 3.48% over the annual yield on three-month Government of Canada treasury bills. The actual quarterly dividend rate in respect of the July 1, 2019 to September 30, 2019 dividend period for the Series S Shares will be 1.303120% (5.17% on an annualized basis) and the dividend, if declared, for such dividend period will be $0.32578 per share, payable on September 30, 2019. About Brookfield Office Properties Brookfield Office Properties Inc. is a subsidiary of Brookfield Property Partners L.P., one of the worlds largest commercial real estate companies, with approximately $85 billion in total assets. For more information, please visit www.bpoinvestor.com . Brookfield Contact: TORONTO, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- African Gold Group, Inc. (TSX-V: AGG) (AGG or the Company) is pleased to announce that Mr. Stan Bharti has been appointed the chairman of the board of directors and interim President & CEO of the Company. Mr. Bharti is a professional engineer, international financier, and seasoned entrepreneur. He has more than 30 years of experience in business, finance, markets, and operations. He has amassed over $3 billion worth of investment capital for the companies that he has worked with. Mr. Bharti has been pivotal in acquiring, financing, restructuring and building dozens of established companies and bright start-ups throughout North America, South America, Africa and Australia. Mr. Bharti replaces Mr. Andrew Cheatle, who has been the President & CEO of the Company for the past year. Mr. Cheatle has been instrumental in assisting the Company with completing the gap analysis for the Kobada Project in Mali and in restructuring the capital structure of the Company. I would like to thank Mr. Cheatle for his leadership and contributions to the Company during a time of difficult capital markets, said Mr. Bharti, The board and I wish Mr. Cheatle all the best in his new ventures. Mr. Cheatle said, It has been a pleasure to advance the Company and its Kobada Gold Project to this point. With the current financing underway, the Company will, upon completion of the financing, be well positioned to act upon the gap analysis to complete a feasibility study that supports a 100,000 ounces of gold per year project. I am also honoured to have appointed Dr. Andreas Rompel as Vice-President Exploration. Dr. Rompel is a renowned structural geologist whose skills and previous experience in the geology of West Africa will further enhance the Companys growth. Dr. Rompel is a seasoned exploration professional with three decades of mining and exploration experience in a wide range of roles from President & CEO to Country Manager and Corporate Development. Dr. Rompel has also worked in a variety of commodities, including precious metals and base metals as well as coking coal and cobalt. For more than a decade Dr. Rompel evaluated capital projects within Anglo American and was on the board of Spectrem (an Anglo American Company) as Technical Director. He has worked in many countries on several continents and has well developed multi-linguistic skills. The Company is also pleased to announce that it has appointed Kenny Choi as the Corporate Secretary of the Company. Mr. Choi is a corporate lawyer who is corporate secretary and legal consultant to various TSX and TSX Venture listed companies in the mining and technology industries. He was previously an associate at a large Toronto corporate law firm, where he worked on a variety of corporate and commercial transactions. Mr. Choi studied at Western University, where he obtained a Juris Doctor from the Faculty of Law and an Honours Business Administration degree from the Ivey Business School. Mr. Choi Replaces Mr. Damian Lopez, the former Corporate Secretary of the Company. Stock Option Grant The Company has granted a total of 3,050,002 stock options to certain officers, directors and consultants of the Company pursuant to the Companys stock option plan. The stock options vest immediately and may be exercised at a price of $0.225 (the closing price of the common shares of the Company as of the date of this press release) per option for a period of five years from the date of grant. This grant of options is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. About African Gold Group African Gold Group is a Canadian listed exploration and development company on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX V:AGG) with its focus on developing a gold platform in West Africa. Its principal asset is the Kobada Project in southern Mali. For more information regarding African Gold Group visit our website at www.africangoldgroup.com . For further information please contact: Stan Bharti Interim President and Chief Executive Officer (416) 861 2267 Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the future plans or intentions of the Company. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, geopolitical and social uncertainties; the actual results of exploration activities; regulatory risks; risks inherent in foreign operations; and other risks of the oil and gas industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. HOUSTON, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) ("Targa" or the "Company") announced today that representatives from the Company will participate in investor meetings at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Energy Credit Conference on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 in New York City. A copy of the slides used for the conference meetings will be available in the Investors section of the Company's website at www.targaresources.com, or by going to http://ir.targaresources.com/trc/events.cfm. About Targa Resources Corp. Targa Resources Corp. is a leading provider of midstream services and is one of the largest independent midstream energy companies in North America. The Company owns, operates, acquires, and develops a diversified portfolio of complementary midstream energy assets. The Company is primarily engaged in the business of: gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting and selling natural gas; transporting, storing, fractionating, treating and selling NGLs and NGL products, including services to LPG exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling and selling crude oil. For more information, please visit the Companys website at www.targaresources.com . Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, factors and risks, many of which are outside the Companys control, which could cause results to differ materially from those expected by management of the Company. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, weather, political, economic and market conditions, including a decline in the price and market demand for natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, the timing and success of business development efforts; and other uncertainties. These and other applicable uncertainties, factors and risks are described more fully in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Contact the Company's investor relations department by email at InvestorRelations@targaresources.com or by phone at (713) 584-1133. Sanjay Lad Senior Director, Finance & Investor Relations Jennifer Kneale Chief Financial Officer MELBOURNE, Australia, June 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clean TeQ Holdings Limited (Clean TeQ or Company) (ASX/TSX:CLQ; OTCQX:CTEQF) today confirms that it has commenced a partnering process for its wholly-owned Sunrise nickel, cobalt and scandium project located in central New South Wales (Sunrise Battery Materials Complex or Sunrise). Todays announcement follows numerous inbound enquiries from a range of parties in the electric vehicle supply chain in relation to both project level ownership, long-term offtake and other financing arrangements. Following preliminary discussions with a range of parties, Macquarie Capital has been appointed to run a partnering process for Clean TeQ to consider divesting an interest of up to 50% in the Sunrise Battery Materials Complex, in combination with long-term offtake. Sunrise is a globally significant nickel-cobalt-scandium resource with existing Ore Reserves calculated in accordance with JORC and NI 43-101 that support a 40-plus year mine life and a first quartile cost position, with life of mine average C1 cash costs of negative US$1.46 / lb Ni (after by-product credits).1 Once in production, Sunrise will be one of the worlds largest integrated suppliers of high purity battery grade nickel sulphate and cobalt sulphate, the key raw materials in the production of cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. It will also provide one of the largest and most secure sources of cobalt supply outside of Africa. Mr Sam Riggall, Chief Executive Officer of Clean TeQ, said: Clean TeQ is delighted to be working with Macquarie Capital to finalise the funding for the Sunrise Battery Materials Complex. The Board and major shareholders of Clean TeQ are highly supportive of finding the right partner, be that a strategic customer or an operating miner, to develop this globally strategic asset. With approximately A$150 million invested by Clean TeQ in the project to date, a solid foundation has been built for the successful and rapid delivery of this project. Sunrise is uniquely positioned to benefit from several macroeconomic themes including the electrification of transport driving cobalt and nickel demand, a global shortage of Class 1 nickel sulphide deposits and increasing customer requirements for auditable, sustainable supply chains. Sunrise has been designed as a fourth-generation pressure acid leach plant which incorporates key learnings from past nickel laterite projects. Critically, Sunrise is unique among nickel laterite projects given its high cobalt content, low acid consuming elements, simple mining operations and favourable location within a safe and established mining jurisdiction. The Sunrise Battery Materials Complex is one of the few development-ready large-scale nickel and cobalt assets in the world. Clean TeQ has made significant progress in moving the Sunrise Battery Materials Complex towards construction. Key milestones include: A completed Definitive Feasibility Study in June 2018 which demonstrated outstanding project economics, including an NPV of US$1.4 billion and annual average nickel and cobalt production of 19,620 tonnes and 4,420 tonnes over the first 10 years 1 ; ; The appointment of four leading global banks as Mandated Lead Arrangers to progress a project debt facility targeting at least 50% of the total funding requirement for the project; A binding 5-year offtake agreement signed with Beijing Easpring for approximately 20% of nickel and cobalt sulphate production from Sunrise; A signed Heads of Agreement for a fixed price EPC (Engineer-Procure-Construct) contract with Metallurgical Corporation of China; Successful completion of multiple pilot plant programs demonstrating the robustness of the process flow sheet; Receipt of all key permits and approvals for a 2.5 million tonnes per annum operation, including the grant of Mining Leases covering the project area; Maintaining excellent community relations and government support in a well-known mining region which is in-close proximity to the electricity grid and with road and rail access in place; The grant by the NSW State Government of a 3.2 gigalitres per annum ground water allocation for the project; Good progress on front-end engineering and design (FEED) undertaken during 2019 by over 150 engineers in Australia and China, including activities supporting tendering for long lead items, procurement and site project delivery; and, Confirmed Sunrise as the worlds largest potential source of scandium for the development of new generation light weight alloys and solid oxide fuel cells. In 2018 scandium (and cobalt) was declared by the US Department of the Interior a mineral commodity which is critical to the economic and national security of the United States. Clean TeQ intends to conclude the partnering process in the second half of 2019 to align with a final investment decision planned for 4Q 2019, with construction to commence shortly thereafter. Clean TeQ will continue to keep shareholders apprised of the process in accordance with its continuous disclosure obligations. For more information, please contact: Clean TeQ Ben Stockdale, CFO and Investor Relations Macquarie Capital Russell Keating, Executive Director +61 3 9797 6700 +61 3 9635 8476 __________ 1 As detailed in the Sunrise Definitive Feasibility Study (for full details see the Clean TeQ announcement of 25 June 2018) and Sunrise Nickel Cobalt Project, New South Wales, Australia NI 43-101 Technical Report, with an effective date of 25 June 2018 (announced on 7 August 2018) as filed on www.sedar.com. About Clean TeQ Holdings Limited (ASX/TSX: CLQ) Based in Melbourne, Australia, Clean TeQ is a global leader in metals recovery and industrial water treatment through the application of its proprietary Clean-iX continuous ion exchange technology. For more information about Clean TeQ please visit the Companys website www.cleanteq.com . About the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project Clean TeQ is the 100% owner of the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project, located in New South Wales. Clean TeQ Sunrise is one of the largest cobalt deposits outside of Africa, and one of the largest and highest-grade accumulations of scandium ever discovered. About Clean TeQ Water Through its wholly owned subsidiary Clean TeQ Water, Clean TeQ is also providing innovative wastewater treatment solutions for removing hardness, desalination, nutrient removal, zero liquid discharge. The sectors of focus include municipal wastewater, surface water, industrial waste water and mining waste water. For more information about Clean TeQ Water please visit www.cleanteqwater.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this news release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, the Clean TeQ Sunrise Project, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as may, would, could, will, intend, expect, believe, plan, anticipate, estimate, scheduled, forecast, predict and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the Companys current expectations regarding future events, performance and results, and speak only as of the date of this new release. Readers are cautioned that actual results may vary from those presented. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Clean TeQs management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believe are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information or statements including, but not limited to, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, or delays in the development of infrastructure, and the failure of exploration programs or other studies to deliver anticipated results or results that would justify and support continued studies, development or operations. Other important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements also include those described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recently filed Annual Information Form available under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release. ORE RESOURCES AND RESERVES Description GIS 03 June 2019: A Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Unit, which is the first of its kind and aims a t providing a treatment programme for detainees addicted to tobacco, was inaugurated today at the Eastern High Security Prison in Melrose by t he Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr Anwar Husnoo. In his address, Dr Husnoo highlighted that the Tobacco Cessation and Prevention programme is a rehabilitation programme which has as objective to help detainees to be free from tobacco addiction. It also encourages them to gain greater self-awareness to live a tobacco free life, and prepare their re-entry in the community with the support of stakeholders, he added. The Minister reiterated Governments commitment to leave no stone unturned in the fight against tobacco addiction and lauded the initiative of the Mauritius Prisons Service in paving the way for the adoption of a more concerted, comprehensive and sustained approach to address the tobacco problem. The Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, h e said, is working in close collaboration with the Prisons Department to give the right support to detainees who are addicted to smoking. Speaking about tobacco use, Minister Husnoo underlined its negative and significant impacts on health, especially on the lungs. T obacco smoking, he stated, is the leading cause of respiratory problems such as asthma resulting in painful coughs and breathing difficulties. Tobacco use, he underscored, is responsible for more than seven million deaths worldwide every year while for Mauritius, some 1 000 deaths are caused annually. He also recalled that it has been more than four months now that cigarette smoking has been banned in all prisons within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Mauritius. For his part, the Commissioner of Prisons highlighted that Prisons and medical staff of the Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Unit have received specific trainings to implement the necessary measures and actions to encourage and support detainees to adapt to a tobacco free lifestyle and ensure monitoring and evaluation. The Unit, Mr Appadoo pointed out, will help the Prisons Department achieve its goal as t he Mauritius Prisons Service envisions a safer Mauritius through best correctional practice. The Prisons Department also has as mission statement to keep detainees in safe and humane custody and help prepare them for a useful release, he further indicated. The Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Unit The setting up of this Unit is in line with Governments objective to improve the quality of life and ensure the well-being of Mauritians. It aims at providing support and counseling to help detainees q uit smoking and adapt to a tobacco free lifestyle. According to statistics, about 90% of detainees across Prisons in Mauritius were addicted to tobacco and for the last three years, nearly Rs 85 million was spent only on tobacco for detainees. Description GIS 03 June 2019: Mauritius received several awards for excellence during the 26th edition of the World Travel Awards (WTA) Africa and Indian Ocean 2019 , held on, Saturday 01 June 2019, at the Sugar Beach Hotel, Flic en Flac. The awards are namely: Indian Ocean 's Leading Airline, Indian Ocean's Leading Airport, Indian Ocean's Leading Tourist Destination, Indian Ocean's Leading Wedding Destination and Indian Ocean's Leading Beach Resort amongst others. The Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Ivan Collendavelloo, the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, the Minister of Tourism, Mr Anil Gayan, and other dignitaries were present at the Award Night. Some 160 delegates from 20 countries and several international press were also present. In his keynote address, the Deputy Prime Minister said that Mauritius is very proud and honoured to host the WTA Africa and Indian Ocean Award 2019, adding that it will showcase our multifaceted country in all its glamour. The WTA, he underlined is an effective means to continuously raise the standard of excellence as it rewards countries for their highest performance in the African and Indian Ocean regions. Speaking on the tourism sector, he said that it is now evolving in a new environment in the face of globalisation and innovation and is pinned on product differentiation, speed, quality, flexibility, service excellence, and creativity and innovation. He thus stressed on the need for Mauritius to harness its strengths and resources to exploit opportunities in the face of technology and innovation in order to build a more creative and sustainable tourism industry. He recalled that in 2016, Mauritius introduced the Hotel Classification System based on star rating with a view to strengthen the overall image of Mauritius as a quality destination as well as to reinforce tourist confidence and satisfaction. The Deputy Prime Minister also made a comparison of the share of tourist arrival between African countries and the European countries and said that Europe capture around 50% of the total world tourism while Africa share stands hardly at 3%. He made an appeal to countries of the African continent and the Indian Ocean region to unleash their full potentials as they are endowed with a variety of world class tourism assets which are: coastal resorts, wildlife safari, heritage sites, sporting events, cultural extravaganzas and architectures. For his part, Minister Gayan said that the WTA is a symbol of quality recognition which has been bestowed on Mauritius and that it will help to further increase Mauritius visibility on the international tourism market. He further spoke of the diverse cultural plurality that exits in the country adding that Mauritius, also known as the star and key of the Indian Ocean for its cultural diversity, will remain the link between continents and oceans in the Indian Ocean. World Travel Awards WTA was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the WTA brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire. Nominees this year range from a broad spectrum of categories namely: Aviation, Tourist Attractions, Car Hire, Cruise, Destinations, Hotels & Resorts, Meetings & Events, Travel Agencies, Tour Operators and Travel Technology, amongst others. Leah Chase with Barrack Obama. Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty images Leah Chase, the great New Orleans chef, died on Saturday at the age of 96. Called the Queen of Creole Cooking, she was inarguably her citys most celebrated culinary figure and one of this countrys most important. Her Dooky Chases Restaurant is an institution, not only for its excellent versions of Creole food but also for the role it played in the civil-rights movement and the place it has it held in New Orleans since. Chase was born in Madisonville, Louisiana, and came to New Orleans to attend high school. She worked jobs including waitressing and managing two boxers before marrying Edgar Dooky Chase Jr., whose parents owned a po-boy shop and lottery. They would take over the business and transform into the now renowned sit-down restaurant. She started serving Creole and more New Orleans dishes like chicken Creole, shrimp Clemenceau, and gumbo. Dooky Chases became both famous for serving exemplary versions of staple dishes like fried chicken as well as bringing ones like gumbo zherbes into the spotlight. The Chases also turned their restaurant into what was, back then, New Orleans first and only white tablecloth establishment for African-Americans in a city plagued by segregation and Jim Crow. Speaking to the Associated Press a few years ago, Chase talked about her experience working in a fancy French Quarter restaurants and thinking, why we cant have that for our people? The significance of Dooky Chases goes well beyond what was served on its plate. In the 1960s, the restaurant became a gathering place for civil-rights activists to strategize. As Leah told the BBC in 2016, they would eat gumbo, and talk about what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. The Chases went against segregation laws and hosted white and black activists together, hosted NAACP meetings, nourished Freedom Riders, and others. She also sent food to jailed activists. Those civil-rights movement activists included Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall. Over the decades, the restaurant has hosted a pantheon of other African-American cultural and political figures including James Baldwin, Beyonce and Jay-Z, the food historian Jessica B. Harris, Reverend Al Sharpton, and President Barrack Obama. It has also effectively doubled as a gallery of African-American art, and Chase sat on the board of the New Orleans Museum of Art. She was also the first president of the Southern Foodways Alliances board of directors and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation. The restaurant was nearly closed forever in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina, during which it was heavily damaged and flooded. Chase was already 82 at that time, but she and her husband committed to reopen the restaurant, living in a FEMA trailer for an extended period of time. It reopened in 2007. The following year, thenpresidential hopeful Barrack Obama stopped by and famously got his hand slapped away by Chase when he tried to add Tabasco to her gumbo. As Chases legend grew over the decades, she would be enshrined in art: in Ray Charless Early in the Morning, as the inspiration for Princess Tiana in Disneys the Princess and the Frog, and in Beyonces Lemonade. Dining at Dooky Chases is to be steeped in history; as Harris wrote earlier this year, it has become a witness to an era. Leah Chase may be gone, but Dooky Chases remains as that witness. Ms. Leah Chase, Queen of Creole Cuisine RIP. A Restauranteur, Civil Rights Leader, and World Renowned Chef. Her restaurant Dooky Chase is where the Civil Rights Movement strategy was continuously coordinated. The destination of the Freedom Riders, Creation of SCLC. American Icon pic.twitter.com/7u27IFs5yC Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) June 2, 2019 Who will call hot sausage #chaurice now that #leahchase is gone? Who but Leah Chase is responsible for the resurgence of #gumbozherbes? Lolis (@LolisEricElie) June 2, 2019 Leah Chase was a legend, an icon and an inspiration. It is impossible to overstate what she meant to our City and to our community. At Dooky Chases Restaurant: she made creole cuisine the cultural force that it is today. pic.twitter.com/MSFaNdLvsx Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) June 2, 2019 Deeply saddened by news of the passing of legendary chef Leah Chase. Ms. Chase did more than just cook she sought to mend divisions by bringing people in to break bread together. She was a very special kind of activist. My prayers are with her loved ones at this difficult time. Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) June 2, 2019 Saddened to learn of the passing of Leah Chase. I was with her family earlier this year and I send them my deepest condolences. They spoke of her civil rights activism, love of family, and passion for food. The Queen of Creole Cuisine will be dearly missed. pic.twitter.com/Vou1wEUXaA Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 2, 2019 Saddened to hear of the passing of the legendary Leah Chase at 96 years old. This is a photo of Aisha and my daughters Dominique and Ashley with her in her New Orleans Resturant #DookyChase. May she Rest in Power pic.twitter.com/NGbUTXQPg4 Reverend Al Sharpton (@TheRevAl) June 2, 2019 Leah Chase was a national treasure. Civil rights leader, rebel, chef, activist, leader, icon, incredible human. What a massive loss to the world. Love to her family and to New Orleans. https://t.co/KNB5HwTQcJ Kat Kinsman (@kittenwithawhip) June 2, 2019 Ive never met a more accessible genius than Mrs. Leah Chase. https://t.co/qNZZqqnn0V Jarvis DeBerry (@jarvisdeberry) June 2, 2019 Cooking food that people want to eat gives you power. As you read the obits and remembrances, keep your eye on what Leah Chase chose to do with her power--when segregation limited her choices, and later. https://t.co/Unboawvn1P Pete Wells (@pete_wells) June 2, 2019 An unspeakable loss https://t.co/6Q4K7TWAMR Brett Anderson (@BrettEats) June 2, 2019 Leah Chase was one of my heroines; her passing leaves a huge hole in the world. I've alway loved this piece Lolis Elie wrote about her for Gourmet:https://t.co/kM9AQrm7dk ruthreichl (@ruthreichl) June 2, 2019 I wouldn't wish the kind of secular sainthood Leah Chase bore in this city on anybody. From a distance, I sometimes worried it was unfair. But it's hard to imagine anybody wearing it with more strength or grace. Brett Martin (@brettmartin) June 2, 2019 Who is ever ready for such a transition. Its devastating even though we know this is how it ends. Im just grateful. Holding her loved ones close. I hope theres Crown Royal with 7up waiting for you, Mrs. Chase. When I get myself together, Ill have a glass too. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/FFDQ9esDMd Osayi Endolyn (@osayiendolyn) June 2, 2019 An icon of New Orleans, Ms. Leah Chase, chef, civil rights leader, and activist whose legendary restaurant, Dooky Chase was the headquarters for the civil rights movement in the 60s has passed away at 96. She was the Queen of Creole cuisine, and was royalty in every sense pic.twitter.com/mmWrsE57Dr Al Roker (@alroker) June 2, 2019 So many talented, dope black food pros in this photo. RIP Leah Chase. pic.twitter.com/714DVmQlZW Angela Davis (@TheKitchenista) June 2, 2019 Leah Chase was a New Orleans treasure ... That smile. ....just thinking.. I never once remember seeing her without it. She was the queen of creole cuisine...but Ill remember her hugs... she hugged you the way your mom would. New Orleans will never be the same pic.twitter.com/Fp4zwnUpeT Hoda Kotb (@hodakotb) June 2, 2019 Chef Leah Chase, civil rights activist and legendary 'Queen of Creole Cuisine,' dies at age 96https://t.co/bmRFA3Oayt Thanks to People like her, we become a better Nation! At @WCKitchen we will pay respect to your legacy of Feeding and healing one meal at the time! Jose Andres (@chefjoseandres) June 2, 2019 It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of legendary chef #LeahChase. Her family just released word that she has died. Yall, Ms. Chase was one of my favorites. Anytime I would visit New Orleans 1/ pic.twitter.com/5KUqvvb5LB rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) June 2, 2019 I cant adequately capture my sadness in a tweet and its not possible to convey chef Chases impact on an entire city in written form. My heart hurts for New Orleans and black ppl everywhere who held her close as a symbol of integrity and courage. korsha wilson (@korshawilson) June 2, 2019 Today we mourn the loss a true New Orleans icon, Mrs. Leah Chase...Owner and Chief chef of Dooky Chase Restaurant. A world renowned must eat destination for residents, Tourist, Stars, Royalty and United States Presidents! RIP Mrs. Chase! pic.twitter.com/5ykm9A3pYp Sen. Troy A. Carter (@tcartersenate) June 2, 2019 Rest in peace to the New Orleans legend, Leah Chase. She inspired me to be the best and make no excuses. pic.twitter.com/b7Ot1nibGn Aaron Sanchez (@AaronSanchez) June 2, 2019 We can't talk about Civil Rights in this country without recognizing Leah Chase's contributions. In her way, she sustained a movement and will forever be remembered not only as the matriarch of Creole cuisine, but as a freedom icon.https://t.co/ZGH8o6SQm9 Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 3, 2019 The food world, yes, but the world as a whole, too, has lost a great light in the passing of Leah Chase. But because of the person she was, so many others have shined and will continue to do so in her honor. https://t.co/XGrEpPKgCi #LeahChase Aaron Hutcherson (@thehungryhutch) June 2, 2019 Thomas Keller. Photo: JB Lacroix/WireImage Today, chef Thomas Keller, his restaurants Per Se and the French Laundry, and two employees of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group are expected in court to face a lawsuit from a former employee who says she was unjustly pushed out after she announced her pregnancy. According to the $5 million lawsuit filed in Napa County Superior Court, Vanessa Scott-Allen began working at Kellers New York restaurant Per Se in 2011 and worked her way up to head waiter at the restaurant. In January 2016, she visited the French Laundry and while there expressed interest in a transfer to the California restaurant, a prospect that was greeted with enthusiasm by general manager Michael Minnillo. A month later, Scott-Allen officially began the internal transfer process and discovered at the same time that she was pregnant. In an email dated March 1 to HR head Julie Secviar, Minnillo writes, Apparently she is pregnant. She never mentioned this to me. I am confused how to proceed. Secviar responded: Well, unfortunately not much we can do. What was committed verbally or in writing? From that point on, Scott-Allen says the company began to push her out: On March 7, she was asked to sign a Notice of Resignation, which, by making it appeared as if shed quit, caused her to lose her health insurance. But three days later, on her last day at Per Se, an internal message with a picture of Keller and Scott-Allen was circulated with the message: Thank you Vanessa! May your warmth, grace and impact shine just as brightly at TFL (the French Laundry) as it has here. When Scott-Allen went to the French Laundry in April 2016 for what she describes as a sham interview, she was asked about her pregnancy, including whether she could do the job in her condition, when she planned to go on maternity leave, and how long her maternity leave would last. Soon after, she was told that there was no position available for her and, in a formal letter from co-defendents Minnillo and Secviar, that she would not be offered a job. (Minnillo apparently admitted to all of the above in a deposition.) This is one of the last bastions where it is OK for women to be discriminated against, Scott-Allens attorney Carla Minnard told the Associated Press. They found out she was pregnant and figured out a way to backpedal. National HIV Commission Kicks off Voluntary Counselling and Testing In Wau "There are some people who will not give blood for a sick relative because they fear once blood is taken, it would have to be tested for HIV/AIDS, By James Deng Dimo Wau 03, June, 2019 [GURTONG] - The National HIV/AIDS commissioner, in collaboration with Wau State Ministry of Health and with a support from the USAIDS today launched a massive voluntary HIV/AIDS testing and counselling awareness. The awareness was launched at Wau main stadium, targeting all forces, which include the Police, Fire Brigades, Wildlife & Prison Services as well as the SSPDF. Speaking during the event, Wau State Minister of Health, who represented the states governor at the launching, James Patrice Ibrahim said it was very important not only for the especial forces to know their status but also for each and every citizens in the state. The minister also said that the testing centres have also been allocated outside the town at the military bases. On this occasion, I would like to thank the commission of HIV/AIDS in South Sudan and to thank the soldiers, police and other forces. We in South Sudan fear HIV/AIDS. People dont want to be tested. There are some people who will not give blood for a sick relative because they fear once blood is taken, it would have to be tested for HIV/AIDS, said the state minister of health. But, he added, we need to call upon people to go for testing because testing can make you aware of your status. We cannot take you by forces but you just have to go and be tested. I have seen good courage from the civilians and soldiers that have come for testing. Some of the police who spoke to Gurtong during the testing welcomed the move, describing it as an helpful idea for a police to know his or her status for protection. One policeman said: My name is Simon Bol Riek, a corporal in police. I want to tell my colleagues in police in Wau State, the HIV/AIDS testing is another way for protection of especial forces. People should be organized to know their health status within the communities in the state. For sure the test for HIV has a great value for the local community as well as the whole of South Sudan. I want to send my message to my colleagues in the police, rank holders and juniors, that they should come for testing at Wau Stadium. See&C, a Rochester, Minnesota music collaboration between Chanou and Chad Hewitt, have released an EP titled 'Swords to Shovels', produced by Matt Pattrick and assisted by session musicians Jasper Nephew and Alex Young. The title is derived from Isaiah 2:4 "they shall beat their swords into plowshares". In a world of constant peace, weapons are useless and reformed into something useful. Chanou grew up in the jungles of Laos. War forced his family into a refugee camp and they later legally immigrated to the United States. Music is an important part of his Lahu culture and journey. A big part of Chanou's life is spending time with his wife, kids, and extended family. He is also a great chef who co-owns Hog Thai Catering in Rochester. Tragedy was the catalyst for Chad's songwriting of the music for See&C. Writing the lyrics and music was part of the process of finding meaning and hope. Outside of playing music and spending time with his wife and kids, Chad works as a computer engineer. Tags : See&C. See&C new ep Swords to Shovels Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan meets with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin, Germany, May, 31, 2019. Wang Qishan paid a visit to Germany from Thursday to Sunday at the invitation of the German Federal Government. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) BERLIN, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan paid a visit to Germany from Thursday to Sunday at the invitation of the German Federal Government. During his visit in Berlin, Wang met with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Heiko Maas separately. When meeting with Steinmeier, Wang said that China and Germany were both major world economies and major countries with great influence. The relations between the two countries have gone beyond bilateral scope and bear global significance. Wang said in recent years the high-level contacts were frequent, and the cooperation in all fields has been constantly deepened, adding he is willing to push for new development of the all-around strategic partnership through his visit. Noting the ties between China and Germany is currently facing a new situation, Wang called on the two countries to set a model of win-win cooperation for the world through deepening collaboration, to bring stability to the world through guiding the China-EU cooperation, and to strength the power to safeguard multilateralism through boosting global governance. For his part, German President Steinmeier said that the current international landscape is complicated and turbulent, and multilateralism is under threat. He noted that Germany highly values the ties with China, adding Germany is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with China at all levels, and to continue the pragmatic cooperations in Industry 4.0 and in other fields. Germany and China, and Europe and China, should join hands to maintain the world peace and stability, free trade, and existing international orders, Steinmeier added. When meeting with Merkel, Wang said China sticks to peaceful development, and will through steadily deepening reform and opening up, solve the existing problem of imbalance and insufficient development to meet people's desire for a better life and to fulfill the promises of the party and the government to the people. Wang said China cannot develop itself in isolation from the world, nor can the world develop without the 1.4 billion Chinese people, and China advocates countries to together build a community of shared future for humankind. Facing the profound and complex changes in the international situation, China always insists on doing its own share firstly, staying calm and clear-headed, showing composure, shouldering responsibility and reacting rationally, he noted. Wang called on China and Germany, as all-around strategic partners, to strengthen cooperation in building a more fair and reasonable global governance system, and to jointly face the uncertainties. The Chinese vice president also said that China has always viewed Europe from a strategic height and with a long-term vision, and firmly supported the European integration. Wang added that China is a trustworthy partner for Europe to have dialogue on an equal footing. Chancellor Merkel said Germany appreciates China's great achievements in economic development and believes that China can definitely achieve the ambitious goals of eradicating poverty and finishing building a moderately prosperous society on schedule. Facing the current complex and volatile international environment in which various new problems emerge, Merkel said, Germany is always committed to safeguarding the principle of multilateralism and the existing international order. She noted that Germany advocates to strengthen international coordination and collaboration through dialogue, disagrees with the action of exerting threat and pressure to solve problems. She believed that Germany and China, as well as Europe and China, share broad consensus on a wide range of issues, expressing Germany's willingness to strengthen communication, exchanges and cooperation with China, and to improve global governance system jointly with China. When meeting with Heiko Maas, Wang said China and Germany share common interests in many fields such as deepening pragmatic cooperation, safeguarding multilateralism and free trade, improving global governance and promoting world peace. Looking to the next stage of the bilateral relations, Wang advocates that both sides should set the right direction for the Sino-German, Sino-European win-win cooperation, encourage the enhanced exchanges in ideology, talents as well as science and technology, cement the friendship between the two peoples, and to inject more positive energy into the world. Echoing Wang's comments, Maas said Germany is willing to strengthen strategic communication and cooperation on multilateral issues with China, as well as to jointly tackle global challenges, safeguard multilateralism and international order, promote the liberalization of international trade. During his visit to Germany, Wang also met with mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher and Bavarian governor Markus Soeder and visited the port of Hamburg. Before his tour to Germany, the Chinese Vice president also visited Pakistan and the Netherlands. If most of the spending increases are carried out at the beginning of the electoral term and employment fails to increase as desired, the government will find itself in a tough spot midway into the term, highlighted Olli Karkkainen, an economist at Nordea. THE DRAFT GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME leaked to Iltalehti on Sunday seems to be based on the expectation that economic growth will exceed forecasts, view economists. Based on the information available right now, it is the biggest question mark and risk to the governments stability. Karkkainen stated on Twitter on Sunday that he is concerned especially about reports that the government has factored in the employment impacts of various transport infrastructure projects that only provide a temporary boost to employment. Sami Pakarinen, the chief economist at the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), on Sunday reminded that gross domestic product growth fell well short of expectations between January and March. The output grew by 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter and 1.2 per cent from the previous year in the first quarter, according to Statistics Finland. The growth rate of employment will slow down along with the economy. What is noteworthy is the recent trend of the employment rate: adjusted to seasonal variation, the rate has stood at 72.4 per cent since December. That's for five months straight. The trend has to be reversed. Otherwise the 75 per cent target will slip out of reach, he tweeted. Reports from the newly concluded coalition formation talks indicate that the government is intent on increasing the ranks of the employed by 60,000 and raising the employment rate to 75 per cent by 2023. The employment growth has been estimated to cover 1.9 billion euros of the budget deficit. Pakarinen on Sunday declared that an increase of 60,000 in the number of the employed will not suffice to meet the employment rate target. Weaker growth will inevitably be reflected in expectations, making it difficult to break the spiral. A formulaic calculation shows that 60,000 employed people will not be enough for a 75 per cent rate. The need right now is around 74,000. The number of open jobs is 65,000, he said. Karkkainen, in turn, reminded that some of the measures set forth in the government programme will have a negative impact on employment, thus further raising the need to take action to promote employment. Aleksi Teivainen HT Source: Uusi Suomi The board of directors for Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity was one of many groups to scoop some dirt with a gold shovel to honor the occasion. Matt Russert from U.S. Rep. Richard Neal's Office. Mayor Linda Tyer. A crowd gathered for the groundbreaking. Berkshire Gas President Franklyn Reynolds. City Councilor Melissa Mazzeo, Mayor Linda Tyer, Matt Russert, and state. Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier. Community Development & Housing Program Manager Justine, Valli, Director of Community Development Deanna Ruffer, and Tyer. Valli and Reynolds. Representative from Greylock Federal Credit Union. Valli and Lori Gazillo from Berkshire Bank. The contractors heading the homebuilders blitz. Representatives from Pittsfield Schools who will have students working on the site. Habitat staff. PreviousNext Habitat Breaks Ground on Long-awaited Gordon-Deming Project Executive Director Carolyn Valli said the construction will feature a series of firsts. PITTSFIELD, Mass. It'll be a series of firsts for Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity when it builds six net-zero energy use condominiums on land on Deming Street. It is the first such project for the organization. It is the first time it had used a panel-build day. It is the first time a bank is financing the project. And it is the first for a "homebuilders blitz." The project has been long-awaited but finally broke ground on Friday. "Habitat brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope and nobody does that better than the Berkshires," Executive Director Carolyn Valli said. The project began in 2009 when Berkshire Gas donated the parcel at the intersection of Gordon Street. The company owned a building there that was later demolished. The grass has since grown back and the parcel has been just lawn for years. "When Berkshire Gas was first contemplating donating this parcel, then-Mayor [James] Ruberto was quick to suggest Habitat for Humanity as the beneficiary. Standing here some 10 years later, we could not be happier with that suggestion and with our decision to offer this parcel to Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity," said Berkshire Gas President Franklyn Reynolds. "The work of Habitat and its legion of dedicated volunteers is a story well know both here in Berkshire County and across the United States. We could not be more thrilled to be a small part of that story here in Pittsfield." A plan began to come together. Instead of using the land to build just one home, the project's scope expanded to essentially creating a miniature village. Habitat built the structure of a homeowners association. And worked out how the development would be managed and maintained. But there was one large missing piece. "We have been working on this project for 10 years and every time we crunched the numbers, and I'm creative, we don't have enough for the infrastructure," Valli said. The project will need a new road and water system for fire suppression. White Engineering kept working on the design to make the ends meet but it kept falling short every single time. Valli was then sitting at a housing training with Community Development & Housing Program Manager Justine Dodds. The two started talking about the state's MassWorks program that funds infrastructure projects. Valli's ears perked up as she wondered if the state would fund the proposed village. Dodds wasn't so sure but she said she'd ask. It wasn't that long afterward that Valli was attending her daughter's wedding and her phone rang. Dodds apologized for interrupting the wedding, but she found out that the project was eligible. And that the deadline was imminent. Valli got through the ceremony and quickly put together the application and sent it in. "There was not a person in city government that didn't say, let me help you design it, let me really make an impact on it," Valli said. In November 2017, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito strolled into City Hall with a $425,000 check in hand to fund that infrastructure work. And then there was the financing of the homes themselves. Valli said Habitat has typically held the mortgages and so every project is essentially raising the money for a house over and over again. For this, it had to be done another way. Valli said Greylock Federal Credit Union designed a product to get the homes financed at a "generous rate." Permitting created another snag. The land is by the river so there are wetlands issues that had to be addressed. But, it was too tight after the structures and roads were put in. Habitat had to purchase a small chunk of land and turn it into wetlands to replace what is being lost. During all of this, there was an itch to get working and the materials were all lined up. Gary Levante of the Berkshire Bank called Valli and asked if his 150 volunteers would be of any assistance. Valli questioned him how long? Would it be over the course of a month, a year? One day. Habitat's staff got together to figure out if they could handle something like that and a "panel build" was suggested. In June 2018, Berkshire Bank closed its local branches and sent the employees to the shopping plaza on Merrill Road where owner Mike Panek had donated a large vacant store for Habitat to build and store all of the walls needed. The volunteers then went to task and constructed all of the panels. "We are going to see walls go up like that," Valli said of how that pre-work will help the construction. Now all of that is out of the way. The city awarded the infrastructure contract and Habitat can get to work. Construction will hastily advance this fall and four of the six units will be built by local trade companies. Allegrone, Pariseau Heating and Colling, RAM Electric, Tatro Flooring, White Engineering, and WJ Blueprint are all doing a "homebuilders blitz" to put up those units in one week. "They're not doing it alone. They are looking for partners in the trades," Valli said, adding that particularly they are looking for electricians and HVAC people to assist in the September project. State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier says Habitat for Humanity is one of her favorite organizations because of the work it does. One of the other two units will be done through the Women Built program Habitat has been doing for a few years and the other will be constructed with yet another first. Habitat is organizing a "Build and Repair Corps"program. The program is for workforce development with cohorts of people interested in the trades to take a 10 1/2 month training program to get them on the path to get trades licenses. Valli said that will also dovetail with a repair program the organization is looking to launch to help existing homeowners fix up their homes. It had taken some time and it had taken a number of partners. But that is what makes Habitat so special for state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier. She admires how industry, government, volunteers, banks, and services -- even education is playing a part as Taconic High School's vocational programs are getting involved with this build -- came together for a common goal. "Habitat represents the very best of our community," Farley-Bouvier said. Farley-Bouvier said such projects don't just help one person but everybody. She said the homes provide a stable place for families and stronger families are better for the entire community. "We know that a stable home in a great neighborhood is a foundation for a family," Farley-Bouvier said. Matt Russert from U.S. Rep. Richard Neal's office said such projects address a big need in not only the Berkshires but America. He said a third of Americans are paying more than 30 percent of their income to housing and in rural areas that number climbs to 50 percent. "We know that this is putting downward pressure on low-income Americans and squeezing out the middle class of the opportunity of homeownership," Russert said. "A home can be a pathway out of poverty for some families, provide financial independence, freedom, stability, and security. Today we break ground of a project that flies in the face of this issue." Mayor Linda Tyer has a long-lasting memory dating eight years prior to Berkshire Gas' donation. It was the day she purchased her first home. She remembers that feeling of excitement and thrill of becoming a homeowner. It is something she believes everybody should have the ability to feel. "Homes and houses and safe places for families, no matter what your life's circumstances are, create that safe haven that every family, every child ought to have. Without Habitat we would not be able to make these great strides," Tyer said. And soon, six other families will have that feeling for the first time. The panda-featured silver coin issued to commemorate the 2019 FIP General World Stamp Exhibition [Photo: pbc.gov.cn] BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank issued a panda-featured silver coin on Thursday to commemorate the 2019 FIP General World Stamp Exhibition. The silver coin will be legal tender in China, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website. The front side of the coin features the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the highlight structure of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, along with the country name, year of issuance and the Chinese name of the exhibition. A mother-and-son pair of pandas is on the reverse side of the coin, together with the English name of the exhibition, the PBOC said. The silver coin, which is 40 mm in diameter, contains 30 grams of pure silver and has a face value of 10 yuan (about 1.45 U.S. dollars). The maximum circulation of the coins will be 20,000, according to a central bank statement. The 2019 FIP General World Stamp Exhibition will be held in the central Chinese city of Wuhan from June 11 to June 17, showcasing at least 4,700 framed sets of stamps, 2,500 of which are from overseas exhibitors. China joined the FIP, the international association for stamp collectors and philatelists, in 1983 and hosted the world stamp exhibition in 1999 and 2009. New Delhi, June 3 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a state visit to the Republic of Maldives on June 8 at the invitation of Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives. This will be the first overseas visit of Prime Minister Modi after his re-election, the Ministry of External Affiars said in a statement. The visit is reflective of the new momentum in high-level exchanges between India and Maldives. Earlier, President Solih had made a State visit to India in December 2018. Prime Minister Modis forthcoming visit will provide an important occasion to review the recent developments in bilateral relations and exchange views on issues of mutual interest with the objective of further strengthening the special relationship between the two countries. Prime Minister Modi will also visit Sri Lanka on June 9 at the invitation of Maithripala Sirisena, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The visits to Maldives and Sri Lanka will demonstrate the priority India attaches to its Neighbourhood-First Policy and the SAGAR Doctrine. We Must Confront the Ultranationalist, Reactionary Movements Growing Across Globe By Noam Chomsky June 02, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - In April, Noam Chomsky visited his hometown of Boston, where he was a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for more than half a century. He now teaches at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Over 700 people packed into the Old South Church to hear him speak. "The Middle East alliance consists of the extreme reactionary states of the regionSaudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt under the most brutal dictatorship of its history, Israel right at the center of itconfronting Iran." NOAM CHOMSKY: If youll indulge me, Id like to start with a brief reminiscence of a period which is eerily similar to today in many unpleasant respects. Im thinking of exactly 80 years ago, almost to the day, happened to be the moment of the first article that I remember having written on political issues. Easy to date: It was right after the fall of Barcelona in February 1939. The article was about what seemed to be the inexorable spread of fascism over the world. In 1938, Austria had been annexed by Nazi Germany. A few months later, Czechoslovakia was betrayed, placed in the hands of the Nazis at the Munich Conference. In Spain, one city after another was falling to Francos forces. February 1939, Barcelona fell. That was the end of the Spanish Republic. The remarkable popular revolution, anarchist revolution, of 1936, 37, 38, had already been crushed by force. It looked as if fascism was going to spread without end. Its not exactly whats happening today, but, if we can borrow Mark Twains famous phrase, History doesnt repeat but sometimes rhymes. Too many similarities to overlook. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter When Barcelona fell, there was a huge flood of refugees from Spain. Most went to Mexico, about 40,000. Some went to New York City, established anarchist offices in Union Square, secondhand bookstores down 4th Avenue. Thats where I got my early political education, roaming around that area. Thats 80 years ago. Now its today. We didnt know at the time, but the U.S. government was also beginning to think about how the spread of fascism might be virtually unstoppable. They didnt view it with the same alarm that I did as a 10-year-old. We now know that the attitude of the State Department was rather mixed regarding what the significance of the Nazi movement was. Actually, there was a consul in Berlin, U.S. consul in Berlin, who was sending back pretty mixed comments about the Nazis, suggesting maybe theyre not as bad as everyone says. He stayed there until Pearl Harbor Day, when he was withdrawnfamous diplomat named George Kennan. Not a bad indication of the mixed attitude towards these developments. It turns out, couldnt have known it at the time, but shortly after this, 1939, the State Department and the Council on Foreign Relations began to carry out planning about the postwar world, what would the postwar world look like. And in the early years, right about that time, next few years, they assumed that the postwar world would be divided between a German-controlled world, Nazi-controlled world, most of Eurasia, and a U.S.-controlled world, which would include the Western Hemisphere, the former British Empire, which the U.S. would take over, parts of the Far East. And that would be the shape of the postwar world. Those views, we now know, were maintained until the Russians turned the tide. Stalingrad, 1942, the huge tank battle at Kursk, a little later, made it pretty clear that the Russians would defeat the Nazis. The planning changed. Picture of the postwar world changed, went on to what weve seen for the last period since that time. Well, that was 80 years ago. Today we do notwe are not facing the rise of anything like Nazism, but we are facing the spread of whats sometimes called the ultranationalist, reactionary international, trumpeted openly by its advocates, including Steve Bannon, the impresario of the movement. Just had a victory yesterday: The Netanyahu election in Israel solidified the reactionary alliance thats being established, all of this under the U.S. aegis, run by the triumvirate, the Trump-Pompeo-Bolton triumviratecould borrow a phrase from George W. Bush to describe them, but, out of politeness, I wont. The Middle East alliance consists of the extreme reactionary states of the regionSaudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt under the most brutal dictatorship of its history, Israel right at the center of itconfronting Iran. Severe threats that were facing in Latin America. The election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil put in power the most extreme, most outrageous of the right-wing ultranationalists who are now plaguing the hemisphere. Yesterday, Lenin Moreno of Ecuador took a strong step towards joining the far-right alliance by expelling Julian Assange from the embassy. Hes picked up quickly by the U.S., will face a very dangerous future unless theres a significant popular protest. Mexico is one of the rare exceptions in Latin America to these developments. This has happenedin Western Europe, the right-wing parties are growing, some of them very frightening in character. There is a counterdevelopment. Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece, a very significant, important individual, along with Bernie Sanders, have urged the formation of the Progressive International to counter the right-wing international thats developing. At the level of states, the balance looks overwhelmingly in the wrong direction. But states arent the only entities. At the level of people, its quite different. And that could make the difference. That means a need to protect the functioning democracies, to enhance them, to make use of the opportunities they provide, for the kinds of activism that have led to significant progress in the past could save us in the future. This article was originally published by "Democracy Now" - 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 June 02, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has compared the language used by Donald Trump to rally his supporters to that of the fascists of the 20th century in an explosive intervention before the US presidents state visit to London that begins on Monday. Writing in the Observer, Khan condemned the red-carpet treatment being afforded to Trump who, with his wife Melania, will be a guest of the Queen during his three-day stay, which is expected to provoke massive protests in the capital on Tuesday. Khan said: President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years. Khan, who has had a feud with Trump since becoming mayor in 2016, adds: This is a man who also tried to exploit Londoners fears following a horrific terrorist attack on our city, amplified the tweets of a British far-right racist group, denounced as fake news the robust scientific evidence warning of the dangers of climate change, and is now trying to interfere shamelessly in the Conservative party leadership race by backing Boris Johnson because he believes it would enable him to gain an ally in Number 10 for his divisive agenda. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter On Saturday Trump defied diplomatic convention which dictates that leaders do not weigh in to the domestic politics of other nations, particularly ahead of visits, by backing Johnson to succeed Theresa May in an interview with the Sun. He also used the interview to describe the Duchess of Sussex, as nasty. In another interview in the Sunday Times he said he would want to know Jeremy Corbyn before sharing American intelligence and suggested Nigel Farage negotiate with Brussels if the EU failed to give Britain what it wants. Mel Stride, the newly appointed Commons leader, made clear his surprise at Trumps comments, saying that while the president was entitled to his opinion, he would not be picking the next British prime minister. Corbyn said: President Trumps attempt to decide who will be Britains next prime minister is an entirely unacceptable interference in our countrys democracy. The next prime minister should be chosen not by the US president, nor by 100,000 unrepresentative Conservative party members, but by the British people in a general election. Jo Swinson, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: It shouldnt come as a surprise that Donald Trump backs Boris, theyre cut from the same cloth. Boris Johnson is what youd get if you sent Donald Trump to Eton. Theyre both unqualified to lead, both revel in offending people and both represent the strain of nationalism and populism that we need a liberal movement to stand up to. In May 2016 Trump challenged Khan to an IQ test, after the mayor said the presidents views on Islam were ignorant. Then, following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough market in 2017, the president accused Khan of pathetic behaviour. In July last year Trump said Khan had done a very bad job on terrorism. Organisers of the protests on Tuesday say they will register their anger both against Trump and his wider views, including those on Brexit, which the US president has made clear he supports. Alena Ivanova, a campaign organiser for Another Europe is Possible, said: Tuesdays protests arent just about Trump, theyre about Trumpism a politics of racism and bigotry. Trump is part of a global nationalist surge, and Brexit and its cheerleaders are the British franchise of it. Like Trump, Brexit is a threat to our basic rights and freedoms, and promises a future of division, despair and rightwing economics. At least 250,000 people are expected to turn out in central London at 11am, on a route between Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square, when Trump meets Theresa May in Downing Street. Organisers of the rally claim that US officials have pressured the Metropolitan police to impose an unprecedented exclusion zone around Trumps route to keep him at a distance from the public. One plan is for a cage or pen to hold demonstrators on Whitehall about 70 metres from Downing Street to keep them out of earshot during Trumps meeting with May. They get to choose who goes in and who goes out , which is a totally ridiculous proposition on our right to protest, said Asad Rehman of the Stop Trump Coalition. The giant Trump baby blimp is expected to be deployed in Trafalgar Square, but only if the fundraising page for charities against the politics of hate and division reaches 30,000, organisers say. This article was originally published by "The Guardian" - 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 MILLBROKK, ON (June 3, 2019)- Most local racers begin their career in an entry level division, then advance through the ranks as their confidence builds and their skills develop. Steve Powell chose a different path, starting his vocation in the headline Late Model ranks at Peterborough Speedway. From an inexperienced rookie back in 2016, Powell has gained poise and self-assurance to the point of becoming one of the Central Ontario raceways drivers to watch just three years later. The 43-year-old Millbrook, Ontario native has surrounded himself with some of the best known names the area has available to assist with his racing development. Combined with the seat-of-the-pants knowledge he was able to acquire on a week-to-week basis, Powell was able to bring his #72 machine home with a third place finish in the final 2018 point standings. Even with that level of success, the driver says hell never stop learning and trying to make things better. Ive been very lucky to have some good friends like Dave and Derek Lynch working with me throughout my career. Theyre great when it comes to set-up ideas and suggesting changes we can make. Theyve likely forgotten more than most people will ever know about Peterborough Speedway, Steve Powell said. We have a very competitive field in the Late Model division, but its also a closely knit group. For the most part, everyone seems to get along and is always willing to help someone out. At the Saturday, May 18th season opener, Powell showed-up with a fresh, new look to his equipment. During practice, he put the piece through its paces, turning some solid laps around the tight, tricky bullring on Mount Pleasant Road, looking for the comfort level that would lead to a solid start to the 2019 schedule. The teams hard work obviously paid-off, as the driver scored the first checkered flag of his career during the nights opening heat race. Even though things didnt go exactly as planned with the car loaded into the hauler before the feature event Powell was still pleased with the way his season got rolling. Picking-up my first ever racing win with a new car on the opening night of the year was a real shot in the arm for our team, Powell said. The car felt great during the pre-race practice sessions and I had a good feeling of how the night could go. Its a long season and we have some excellent notes to build on. I cant wait to get back on the track to see if we can take care of some unfinished business. Steve Powell offers special thanks to his girlfriend Jamie-Lynn Hayes for her support and encouragement. In the shop and at the track, the car is prepared and maintained by Blain and Isaac Delyea and the drivers father, Brad Powell. To keep up-to-date with the teams progress during the year, head to www.peterboroughspeedway.com. For the 2019 season, #72 Late Model program is proudly backed by M & C Hydraulics, Cooper Glass, Custom Mobile Wash, J.J. Stewart Motors, Webb Transmission and Dart Heating & Air Conditioning. Prepared by Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports 613.968.6410 PETERBOROUGH, ON (June 3, 2019)- By its nature, the sport of short track stock car racing can be defined as a rough and tumble as sometimes, even aggressive spectator attraction. Saturday, June 8th fans at Peterborough Speedway will get the chance to see the softer side of Canadas Toughest 1/3-Mile Paved Oval as the track plays host to an Autism Awareness Night. President of the Canadian National Autism Foundation Tina Fougere says its all about enjoying a night of family fun for a great cause. Kids Race is all about accepting our loved ones with autism, Fougere said. We couldnt ask for a better place in Central Ontario to host our special event. The wonderful people at Peterborough Speedway have opened their doors and more importantly, their hearts to our cause. Kids Race was started in 2010 as an idea to create a new platform for autism research and awareness. It wasnt too long after speaking with and working alongside track owners, officials, drivers, crews and fans that a common bond was formed. Everyone associated with the event quickly realised that passion, dedication, family and a love for what they do is something everyone shared. Peterborough Speedway owner/promoter J.P. Josiasse says that Autism Awareness Night is an informative and educational event for everyone who comes through the gates. Our drivers, teams, crew members, sponsors and fans are quick to throw their support behind a worthwhile cause, Josiasse said. Even if a member if your family hasnt been affected by autism, you probably know someone who has. Whatever we can do to help the Canadian National Autism Foundation is a win-win for everyone involved. On track action for Saturday, June 8th at Peterborough Speedway will feature the home track Battlefield Equipment Rental Bone Stock, Jiffy Lube Mini Stock, KOD Disposal Super Stocks and Late Model divisions, as well as the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series, with kids rides at intermission. Pit gates will open at 2:30, with the general admission grandstands unlocked at 5:00 and the green flag waves at 6:00. To learn more about Kids Race, visit www.kidsrace.ca or call 888. 977.RACE (7223). The Canadian National Autism Foundation web-site is www.cnaf.net. Full schedule details and the latest news can always be found by logging onto www.peterboroughspeedway.com, liking the Peterborough Speedway page on Facebook or following the track on Twitter. Fans can also download the free app on your Smartphone. Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports 613.968.6410 WASHINGTON, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The United States is now requesting nearly all visa applicants to submit their social media information in stepping up the security screening of prospective immigrants and travelers. The additional information for the background scrutiny include social media usernames, email addresses and phone numbers used in the previous five years. Visa applicants also have to report international travel and deportation status during the same period, as well as whether their family members have been involved in terrorist activities. "National security is our top priority when adjudicating visa applications, and every prospective traveler and immigrant to the United States undergoes extensive security screening," the U.S. State Department said. "We are constantly working to find mechanisms to improve our screening processes to protect U.S. citizens, while supporting legitimate travel to the United States." The new visa policy, first proposed in March 2018, has just taken effect after approval of updated application forms. The only exemptions are certain diplomatic and official visa applicants. The policy applies to virtually all applicants of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, including on the purpose of business or education. The U.S. State Department estimates it would affect 710,000 immigrant visa applicants and 14 million nonimmigrant visa applicants each year. Similar measures in the past only targeted about 65,000 applicants categorized into extra scrutiny each year, such as those with a history of travelling to terrorist-controlled areas. The U.S. State Department said the list of social media, which comprises 20 social media platforms of ASKfm, Douban, Facebook, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, MySpace, Pinterest, QZone, Reddit, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Tumblr, Twitter, Twoo, Vine, Vkontakte, YouKu and YouTube, may grow in the future. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Sen., speaks to the audience of womens rights activists at the closing of the 2019 Womens March Iowa at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines on Jan. 19. Women still do not represent 51 percent of elected leaders in this country. Imagine just for a moment what America would look like if it did. Imagine what would be possible. Do you think we would still be fighting tooth and nail for basic reproductive freedoms in this country? No. Do you think that wed be hesitating to pass a national paid leave bill, equal pay for equal work, affordable day care, universal pre-K? No. Do you think it would be so hard to end sexual violence in our military, on college campuses and in society in general? No. And finally do you think our senate would be causing a vote on denying womens reproductive care when they should be opening the government and giving paychecks to the 800,000 workers who have gone without their pay this week, Gillibrand said. Latest HUAWEI Computer Posts Islamabad 2021 Huawei is the leading smart phone manufacturing and it gained so much popularity across the world that it has become the technology giants across the world. Huawei has started the internship program 2019 all over Pakistan in its Huawei ICT academies and it has provided the internships to the students from 3 months to 6 months. Huawei Starts Internship Programs 2019 All Over Pakistan. The students can get hands-on experience what they like to work in one of the leading tech giant of the world, which is the part of their internship program. Huawei has made the commitment to build the diverse pool of the future leaders in ICT and the internship vacancies can give the skills to the graduating students with such things, which are necessary for them to get the chance to start their working in the industry. The internship has the purpose to provide the potential interns with combination of personal core and professional skill training. The candidates should ensure to win the graduate internship at Huawei, you should ensure that you are able to demonstrate. 1. Decision Making Skills 2. Excellent communication skills and great time management 3. Capability to carry out multi task work and they can handle the work under pressure environment. 4. You should ensure that you can deal with high paced environment or you have the adaptability. As part of their internship drive, Huawei visited UET Taxila and FAST and they will also visit all ICT academies during June. The live interviews of the candidates will be held at Huawei ICT academies and students, which will be offered on spot internship opportunities. It is the great opportunity for the students, who have completed their education recently and now they are learning new skills and they are working with leading ICT provider and it also gives the exposure to tools that are at their disposal and they work on global scale by carrying out different projects in Pakistan and also in the Middle East region. It is the integral part of the individual development and the progress of others with the exploration of new ideas and brought them to use highly talented resources and teaming them up with our personnel to plan and implement the new strategies so that they can get targets. Cpl. Steven Cayen from 17 Wing Winnipeg assists evacuees from Pikangikum, Ont. who were relocated to Winnipeg because of forest fires burning in Northern Ontario, as part of Operation LENTUS on Sunday, June 2, 2019. A wildfire that has forced about 2,000 people from their homes in northwestern Ontario has begun to slow its spread, officials said Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO--Cpl. Darryl Hepner, 17 Wing Imaging Dominik Lesniewski and Catherine O'Sullivan look at their home from across the street as roofers put tarps over damage to their roof caused by a tornado in the Ottawa suburb of Orleans, Sunday, June 2, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang On March 19, 2019, the Beilun District of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, joined hands with the United Arab Emirates Hug China executive committee to hold the Hug China: Dubai in the Eyes of Chinese People photography exhibition at the Beilun China Port Museum. The exhibition is free to the public. (Photo by Chen Zhangkun and Jia Qifan from Peoples Daily Online) Philip Xue is a frequent flyer to Dubai from Beijing. In his eyes, Dubai is a city that surprises him every time. Dubai gives me a different impression every time, even if it has not been long, the twenty something white-collar worker told the Global Times on May 29. I can often see new construction completed and new construction starting. Dubai is becoming more and more tolerant as you can work and communicate with people from all over the world, he said. Dubai, one of the seven emirates comprising the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has seen soaring numbers of tourists from China in recent years after the UAE announced it would grant visa-free entry for Chinese citizens. According to local tourism bureau data, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Dubai in 2018 reached 875,000, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. China is the fourth-largest source of visitors, following India, with more than 2 million visitors, Saudi Arabia and Britain. In order to better attract Chinese tourists, Dubai has established strategic partnerships with brands such as Huawei, Tencent, Fliggy, Alipay and Ctrip to launch digital services to enhance the tourist experience of Chinese tourists in the city. With the support of the government, Alipay can be found everywhere in Dubai, including malls, cafes, restaurants and major attractions. Visitors can scan a QR code to automatically convert to payment in renminbi, Chinas currency, according to the days exchange rate. In July 2018, China and the UAE pledged to boost bilateral cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative as they agreed to lift bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. China maintained its position as Dubais biggest trade partner in the first half of 2018 with a total trade volume of 69 billion dirham ($18.8 billion), Xinhua News Agency said, citing local media. Steen Jakobsen, assistant vice president of Dubai Business Events (DBE), said that Dubai was the fourth most-visited city in 2018, with 15.9 million international overnight visitors and almost 117,000 hotel rooms booked. According to its tourism strategy, the city hopes to attract 25 million visitors per year by 2025 and to become the top destination for global travel, business and events. DBE, the citys official convention bureau, secured a total of 261 successful bids for meetings, conferences and incentives in 2018, which are set to attract an additional 153,640 delegates to Dubai over the coming years, according to a note sent to the Global Times. The bureaus said the number of event bids won represents a 24-percent increase from 2017 and will deliver an estimated economic impact of approximately 1.2 billion dirhams to the city. This success also marks a 62-percent increase from the previous year in the number of delegates set to visit Dubai based on event bids won, signifying a shift toward larger-scale events and further cementing the emirate as an attractive global business destination. Reuters reported on May 27 that Dubai could attract 11 million foreign visitors to the Expo 2020 world fair, with overseas visitors accounting for almost 71 percent of the total expected at the event. Expo 2020, which starts in October 2020 and runs for six months, is expected to add 122.6 billion dirhams to the UAEs economy between 2013 and 2031, Reuters said, quoting a study conducted by consultancy EY. However, the sun-soaked city in the Gulf is trying to present a new look to the world, from a global tourism and events destination to a smart city. Lorne Riley, director of corporate communications with Dubai Airports, said technology and environment are key considerations in the airport construction, and technology will be at the core of these changes, such as smart gates to reduce transaction times from minutes to seconds on average across the airport. Smart Dubai, a technology-supported transformation project, has a vision to make Dubai the happiest city on Earth as the city has been leading technological innovation in government for over a decade. The department is working to transfer 100 percent of the governments applicable internal transactions and public services to digital platforms by December 12, 2021, according to a note sent to the Global Times. The department said its goal is to leverage emerging technologies such as block chain, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and open data sharing to continue to increase the efficiency of government services to create a better experience in the city and expand this framework to the private sector so that all residents, business owners, city leaders and even tourists can benefit. Gao Feng, spokesperson of Chinas Commerce Ministry, holds a press conference on Thursday, May 30 in Beijing. (Photo by Shen Weiduo from Global Times) Beijing will continue to protect the legitimate rights and interests of all foreign companies in the country despite the US crackdown on Chinese technology enterprises such as Huawei, a Chinese official said on Thursday, May 30. When asked about whether China will impose certain restrictions on US technology giant Apple Inc. during a regular press conference, Gao Feng, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, said that all foreign companies legitimate rights and interests will be protected by the Chinese government. We will unswervingly deepen reform, expand openness, and strive to create a stable, transparent, fair, and predictable first-class business environment globally for all types of enterprises, Gao said. The comments came amid escalating trade tensions between the worlds two largest economies, and the US Commerce Departments decision to add Huawei - the largest telecoms equipment provider and second-largest smartphone vendor in the world - to the Entity List, which identifies organizations and individuals considered to be a significant risk to US security and foreign policy. A group of US high-technology companies, including Google, Intel and Qualcomm, recently said they would move to cut off their supplies and services to Huawei, casting a shadow over the global supply chain and affecting the future of technology. Trade talks between China and the US are on hold. Talking about the status of the trade talks, Gao took a firm stance on Thursday, stressing that China will not compromise on its principles for a trade deal and said that China bears no blame for a delay of the trade negotiations between the two sides. Its the fluctuating attitude of the US that hinders the good atmosphere for trade negotiations. He further noted that the progress of China-US trade talks depends to a large extent on the attitude and sincerity of the US side as consultations are only possible on the basis of equal treatment and mutual respect. Artist Ci Kim poses in front of his coffee stain works on display at his 10th solo exhibition "Voice of Harmony" at Arario Gallery Cheonan in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Courtesy of Arario Gallery By Kwon Mee-yoo Some people might think lightly of Ci Kim's dedication to art as the hobby of a millionaire, but he shows how art can be cherished and can enrich one's life in his monumental 10th exhibition "Voice of Harmony" at Arario Gallery Cheonan, opened in May. Also known as Kim Chang-il, Kim wears multiple hats a self-made millionaire, art collector and self-taught artist. "My double-facedness torments me and I often had fits or scream alone in my Jeju residence. I am a keen but timid person and everything I hear sounds like the beat of music. When the sound became dissonant, I get stressed and sometimes I destroyed canvases," Kim said. Even his family opposed him collecting and practicing art, blaming art for his agony. "As time passed, I got used to the discord and the sound in my head started to harmonize and I felt like a maestro. That is why I named this exhibit Voice of Harmony, so audiences can listen to the harmony of life and soul," Kim said. "The process of art is healing for me. This is the unearned income of art." It has been 16 years since he held his first solo exhibition in 2003 and now he holds solo exhibitions almost every two years. "I cannot work on the same theme for over two years. I just can't stand it," he explained. "Untitled" 2018 by Ci Kim / Courtesy of Arario Gallery For his 10th exhibition, Kim brought out some 100 works, ranging from paintings and sculptures to photographs, and neon light and readymade objects. For Kim, all kinds of trivial objects around him can be art. A new series of works revealed at this exhibition consists of coffee stains on canvas. "My doctor told me that caffeine is not good for me, but I tend to buy large cups of coffee. I drink a little coffee and the rest usually ends up on my studio carpet, already stained and smudged," Kim said. "The coffee stains struck my mind and I experimented scattering coffee on canvas, strong and weak." Kim works with a wide range of materials as he seeks to amplify what he wants to express. The artist placed frozen blueberries on canvas to create darkened dots and traces, taking inspiration from his kitchen. He also mixed acrylic paint and adhesive to maintain the smooth and shiny surface that acrylic paint has before it dries. "It is interesting to explore because each material gives a certain finish and texture," he said. Installation view of Ci Kim's "Voice of Harmony" at Arario Gallery Cheonan / Courtesy of Arario Gallery Kim's bronze sculptures are hyper-realistic. He picked up a weathered piece of polystyrene in front of his Jeju studio and reproduced it in bronze. At first glance, it is difficult to tell whether it is polystyrene or bronze. "I want the viewers to think about the boundary between reality and illusion." In terms of business, Kim is a man of resource. He began with a small stall at a bus terminal in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province and developed his business. He now owns the terminal, a department store next to it, as well as art galleries and museums in Seoul, Jeju and Cheonan. "I started collecting art in 1978 and it changed my life completely. So I established Arario Gallery to discover new artists and change their lives," Kim said. Kim shared his solo exhibition space with 19-year-old art student Song Ji-min, a painter and photographer. "Song has this suppressed desire for expression, which is necessary in order to produce art. I bought one of her paintings for my collection," Kim said. Installation view of Ci Kim's "Voice of Harmony" at Arario Gallery Cheonan / Courtesy of Arario Gallery Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol delivered a keynote speech at the BOK 2019 International Conference at the Plaza Seoul, June 3. Courtesy of BOK Financial Services Commission Choi Jong-ku, third from left in the front row, applauds with lawmakers and financial executives at the opening of an event promoting big data in finance at the Korea Federation of Banks, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap By Park Hyong-ki The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the state-run Korea Credit Information Services (KCIS) will open a new database called CreDB as part of steps to boost big data analysis, the regulator said Monday. They will enable fintech startups and financial companies to gather and sample personal data on as much as 2 million people from the CreDB to analyze and study financial patterns. Data on bank loans and credit card spending will be open for access. The companies can then develop their own credit models, which they can further develop later on to integrate with future services. For now, they are forbidden to use the data for target marketing. "We will push forward to spur big data innovation in finance," FSC Chairman Choi Jong-ku said at an event to promote big data in finance. "First, we need to earn people's trust in the sector's use and transactions of data." The KCIS manages financial data of over 40 million people. The regulator will not allow companies to take the data outside the country. However, it will let them gather bigger samples and integrate them with data from Statistics Korea, the National Tax Service and the National Health Insurance Service. Also, it will move to provide "virtual data" to universities for research purposes to foster data scientists in the latter half of the year. Analysts say it was imperative for Korea to create an ecosystem in big data as its competitiveness in the area falls far behind the United States and China. "Companies will need to form alliances and partnerships in data mining and analysis under a sustainable ecosystem," said Choi Chang-hui, a researcher at the Korea Insurance Research Institute (KIRI). Without such an ecosystem, the country will not be able to move on to the next step in developing an ecosystem for machine learning and artificial intelligence, analysts say. The Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development ranked Korea's use of data for analysis 31st out of 63 countries last year. China ranked 12th. The United States was the No. 1 followed by Singapore. The FSC has acknowledged the country does not have the environment, system and human capital to allow data to flow and be analyze freely in the market. This why it is falling behind the United States and China, which have progressed in developing new industries using artificial intelligence, from using big data, it noted. "Big data will bring forth the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will then be converged with artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the internet of things," said Lee Tai-ki, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute of Finance There are still limits to using and managing data under the cloud computing system for global companies, given that data created and generated here cannot leave the country, analysts say. MetLife Korea CEO Song Yong-rok, center, cuts a cake with employees at an event celebrating MetLife Korea's 30th anniversary, at the Oak Valley resort in Gangwon Province, May 24. The event was held a week ahead of its founding day, which falls on June 1. / Courtesty of MetLife Korea By Kwak Yeon-soo Noh Hyung-joo, the plastic surgeon at The Class & Mizain Plastic Surgery The Viking Sigyn ship is moored after the collision with the sightseeing boat Hableany in Budapest, Hungary, May 30. AP-Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwan In the aftermath of the last week's sinking of a sightseeing boat on the Danube River at Budapest that killed Korean passengers with several missing, the Korean foreign affairs ministry has reportedly asked the Hungarian government to seize the large cruise vessel involved in the collision. An official told Korean media outlets Monday that the ministry had ordered the South Korean Embassy in Hungary to "renegotiate" with the European nation's government for provisional seizure of the Viking Sigyn that hit the sightseeing boat Hableany from behind. The measure means the Korean ministry wants to keep the ship until the two countries finish investigating the accident and start discussing compensating Korea for the victims seven killed, 19 missing as of Monday and seven rescued. Two Hungarian crew are also missing. Members of a South Korean rescue team search an area on the Danube River near the Hungarian Parliament building, Monday, where a sightseeing boat capsized Wednesday after being hit by a larger vessel. AP-Yonhap By Park Ji-won A body believed to be that of a missing Korean tourist was found 100 kilometers away from the site of the deadly sinking of the sightseeing boat, Hableany, on the Danube River in Hungary, a government official said Monday (local time). Song Shun-keun, the leader of the government response team and a defense attache at the South Korean Embassy in Budapest told Korean reporters: "Hungarian officials said a man's body which appears to be a South Korean aged between 55 and 60 was found in Harta, 102 kilometers from the accident. An identification check is underway. He added, "Local Hungarians reported finding the body to local police, and officers there retrieved it." The Hungarian government is in the process of verifying the victim's identity, he said. The discovery comes five days after a larger sightseeing vessel collided with the Hableany, Wednesday, killing seven Korean tourists and leaving 21 others missing. Seven were rescued. Two Korean and two Hungarian divers conducting a joint test dive at 9:00 a.m. Monday but came back empty-handed, according to the government and Hungarian authorities. Strong currents continue to hamper search and rescue operations as they have since the boat sank. Earlier in the day, the Hungarian Magyar Nemzet daily reported that four bodies had been found 20 kilometers from the sinking site over the weekend. However, local and South Korean officials said they had no information and were unable to confirm the report. The Hungarian government, meanwhile, announced that it would seek to promptly raise the submerged boat as soon as possible, although Seoul wants more search operations conducted by its divers. During a joint press conference with Song, Janos Hajdu, head of Hungary's Counter-Terrorism Center who is heading up the search operation, made it clear that his government was strictly prohibiting divers from entering the sunken boat as it was unnecessarily risking their lives. Hajdu said the wreckage was located at a depth of nine meters, about 3 meters deeper than previously announced. Song, later added that the operation to raise the Halbeany was expected to begin as early as June 5, with a view to completion by June 9. Song said that while he respected the Hungarian government's decision to raise the ship rather than conducting diving operations, he had requested that it reconsider its decision, so as to allow South Korean divers to look inside the sunken boat for bodies. President Moon Jae-in said Monday (KST) that his government would take all possible measures, and cooperate with the Hungarian government, to discover the cause of the accident. By Yi Whan-woo Norwegian Ambassador to Korea Frode Solberg, sixth from left, and U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris, fourth from left, with other dignitaries during the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition about the Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (NORMASH)at the War Memorial in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, May 28. / Korea Times photo by Yi Whan-woo By Yi Whan-woo Wars, according to Norwegian Ambassador to Korea Frode Solberg, are terrible and often demonstrate the worst of mankind. But wars also can bring out the best of mankind in courage, compassion and friendship. The Norwegian Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (NORMASH) undoubtedly demonstrated the best of the mankind during the 1950-53 Korean War. Placed under the Eighth U.S Army, the field hospital consisted of doctors, dentists and nurses who volunteered to come to Korea. They treated more than 90,000 patients, including soldiers and civilians, during NORMASH operation from 1951 to 54. To better preserve the story of NORMASH and Norway-Korea relations, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Korea is hosting a photo exhibition at the U.N. Hall of the War Memorial in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The exhibition from May 28 to June 30 marks the 60th anniversary of a diplomatic treaty between Norway and Korea. It features about 60 photos, some previously unpublished, as well as samples of Norwegian newspapers, government documents and war artifacts. The exhibition has seven themes in accordance with the timeline. It begins with how Norway decided to join U.N. forces and moves on to the dispatch of three Norwegian ships to Korea MS Reinholt, MS Beljeanne, and MS Belocean, the opening of NORMASH, transport of wounded soldiers from the battlefield, overall medical activities, daily camp life and the post-war period when NORMASH, along with Denmark's Jutlandia hospital ship and Sweden's Red Cross hospital inspired the establishment of the National Medical Center in 1958. The exhibition also features the personal photo collection of the late Inger Schulstad, one of the few female surgeons during the Korean War. She was a member of the third contingent of NORMASH and worked there from May to November 1952. "This year we are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries,"Ambassador Solberg said during the opening ceremony of the exhibition at the War Memorial, May 28. "But the starting point of our close relations, our friendship, was many years before." He referred to arrival of first members of the NORMASH to Korea in May 1951. "This evening we are marking such a special story and a special friendship, he said. "We are honoring NORMASH, and as part of that, the close relations that were built between Korea and Norway from 1951." Solberg spoke highly of Schulstad for making sure "Norwegian women made an important contribution" during the Korean War, saying "records show that Schulstad was a skillful, popular and well-respected surgeon." The opening ceremony attracted ambassadors and other members of the U.N. coalition during the war, including the United Sates, New Zealand, Thailand and Turkey. Korean representatives included National Medical Center President and CEO Chung Ki-hyun. By Yi Whan-woo Saudi Arabia is stepping up efforts to upgrade services for pilgrimage to its holy mosques in Mecca and Medina. The Center for International Communication (CIC) under Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Media said last week said it had launched an "Enriching Hajj and Umrah Experience" program aimed at increasing the number of pilgrims to 30 million by 2030. The program is part of efforts to implement Vision 2030, an economic reform plan to shift Saudi Arabia away from its dependence on oil and diversify its economy. King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman initiated the Middle East kingdom's program. The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca during the last month of the Islamic Calendar. It is also a mandatory religious duty for Muslims to be carried out at least once in their lifetime as long as they are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey. The Hajj this year is from Aug. 9 to 14. Umrah is known as the lesser pilgrimage that can be completed at any time of the year. "With the ambitious objective of reaching 30 million Umrah visitors annually by 2030, the program's mission is to achieve a quantum leap in every service provided to visitors of Saudi Arabia, whether coming for the Hajj, Umrah, or simply to experience the unparalleled Islamic and national heritage in the kingdom," the CIC said. It also said the program aimed to provide "spiritual fulfillment and memorable experience at the fingertips of all Muslims globally." "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia takes its responsibility of hosting the two holiest sites for all Muslims with the utmost care and devotion. Everyone in the kingdom considers it an honor to serve our visitors," it added. The country examined 192 relevant locations and interviewed and surveyed more than 20,000 Muslims from 20 countries. The country will also introduce e-visas, online reservation of accommodation and online information about its rich Islamic heritage. The CIC said mega infrastructure investment projects over the past decade would help give visitors "a world-class experience." Overcrowding has been a problem during the Hajj. To avoid this, the country will introduce digital technology customized for crowd management. "Predictive technologies will enable the creation of the safest and smoothest possible experiences for visitors," the CIC said. "We are proud to be at the forefront of this transformation." Georgian Ambassador to Korea Otar Berdzenishvili talks about the 28th anniversary of Georgia regaining independence from the Soviet Union, during a reception at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul on May 29. / Embassy of Georgia By Yi Whan-woo Georgia is seeking to expand its tourism campaign in Korea, with the number of Korean tourists to the Caucasus country increasing by 112.2 percent during 2017-18, says Georgian Ambassador to Korea Otar Berdzenishvili. The campaign will include six direct charter flights between the countries this year, a showcase of Georgian wines at Seoul International Wines and Spirits Expo 2019 this month and a travel program to be aired by TV station KBS, also this month. "Tourism is another outstanding example of Georgia-Korea's successful cooperation," Ambassador Berdzenishvili said during a reception to mark the anniversary of Georgia's independence from Soviet rule in 1991. He added that cooperation in energy and other economic sectors had also been "growing steadily." Hanjin Travel, one of Korea's largest tour agencies, and Korean Air operated maiden charter flights between the Georgian capital of Tbilisi and Incheon three times last year. This will increase to six flights this year, because of Koreans' increased interest in Georgia. Berdzenishvili encouraged guests to watch the KBS travel program, saying, it "will virtually take you to our beautiful country." He stressed that Georgia would take part in the Seoul International Wines and Spirits Expo for the first time. The expo will take place from June 20 to 22 at COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul. Interest in Georgia's winemaking tradition also led LG Household and Health Care, one of Seoul's leading healthcare and cosmetics product companies, to offer products made from the organic grape seeds from Georgia. Berdzenishvili also said the two countries offered a "vivid example of strong partnership in the energy sector." He referred to Korea's state-run water management company K-Water carrying out the Nenskra hydropower project with an investment of more than $1 billion. He said he appreciated Korea being one of the first countries in East Asia to recognize Georgia's independence, establishing diplomatic relations in December 1992. He said Georgia's strategic location "paves the way to expand existing cooperation" in the frames of President Moon Jae-in's New Northern Policy aimed at bolstering relations with Russia, China and other northern nations. "Today, Georgia is the leading country in the region with its efforts towards democratic development and economic transformation," he said. "We have created a free, open and inclusive society, firmly determined to integrate into the European and Euro-Atlantic communities." Among guests at the reception were ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps, K-Water CEO Lee Hak-soo and Yoo Seung-hee, a ruling Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and chairwoman of the Georgia-Korea Interparliamentary Friendship Group. The first democratic republic of Georgia was established in 1918 and lasted until the Red Army's invasion in 1921. Georgia regained its independence after the Soviet Union's bloody suppression of Georgians calling for independence in Tbilisi in 1989 and the collapse of the union in 1991. Flags of different countries and regions stand at a square of the CIIE venue National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).(Photo by Yang Hui from Global Times) A total of 38 foreign-invested projects worth 49.2 billion yuan ($7.12 billion) landed in Shanghai on May 30, a development that analysts said indicates the success of Chinas efforts to attract foreign capital and the latters confidence in the worlds second-largest economy. Covering such sectors as financial services, food, vehicles and biomedicine, the projects were collectively signed at a hotel in Shanghai, according to a report of thepaper.cn on May 30. Despite the ongoing China-US trade war, eight US companies showed up on the project list, including California-based OmniVision Technologies, which announced it would increase investment by $20 million in its semiconductor program in its Shanghai facility, said the report. Other US companies are engaged in the consumer goods, new material, auto components and medical care sectors. With Chinas further opening-up in the financial sector progressing, more foreign companies can hold controlling stakes in their joint ventures in China. Both US-based JPMorgan Chase and German insurer Allianz have invested in Shanghai to gain a foothold. JPMorgan Chase announced in March that it received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to establish a new majority owned and controlled securities company in China - JPMorgan Securities (China) Co - the first securities company in the country controlled by foreign capital. Separately, China granted Allianz permission last November to set up the first wholly foreign-owned insurance holding company. From a medium- and long-term view, the Chinese markets stability and huge potential are advantages based on its mature supply chain, manufacturing and marketing, Wang Jun, deputy director of the Department of Information at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, told the Global Times on Thursday, May 30. Wang noted that foreign companies are still voting with their feet to invest in China although the escalating China-US trade war might pose some concerns about their strategy. Data from Chinas Ministry of Commerce showed earlier this month that newly foreign companies in China stood at 13,039 from January to April this year with investment of 305.24 billion yuan, up 6.4 percent year-on-year. The US remains a major source of investment in the Chinese market, up 24.3 percent on a yearly basis. Actual use of foreign capital in the countrys high-technology industries climbed 43.1 percent year-on-year, said the ministry. Foreign investments that cater more to the nations industrial policies in pursuing high-quality economic development are very attractive for China, according to Wang. Li Xiaogang, director of the Foreign Investment Research Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times Thursday on May 30 moves by the US to block the supply chain for Chinese technology companies cannot dent the countrys long-term direction in strengthening its fundamental technology research and realizing self-sufficiency. Since some Western countries have posed obstacles for Chinese companies in going global for technological partnerships or mergers, we can introduce more such high-tech related companies from around the globe, said Li. Chinas door will be opened more widely because of US protectionism, he added. Shanghai, the center of Chinas Yangtze River Delta region, has the best business environment in the country to make foreign investors settle and stay, Li noted. Data from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce showed that the city attracted 2,051 additional foreign-invested projects in the January-April period this year, up 52.3 percent year-on-year. The total contract value recorded $17.59 billion, an increase of 21.3 percent from the previous year. Foreign companies output accounts for about 27 percent in Shanghai and the figure is forecast to climb in the next few years, said Li, as he suggested establishment of an ecosystem for those companies to better pursue their interests in China. Overall, Chinas business climate and protection of intellectual rights have improved in recent years, he said. Teslas Gigafactory in Shanghai is highly likely to bring in more electric vehicle suppliers from overseas, according to Li. Tesla announced on May 29 that the long-awaited made-in-China Tesla Model 3 will be available for orders on May 31. Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo shakes hands with acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at the beginning of the ROK-U.S. bilateral defense talks held at the ministry compound in Yongsan, Seoul, Monday. The transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) and the relocation of the ROK-US Combined Forces Command (CFC) topped the meeting's agenda. Yonhap CFC to be moved to Camp Humphreys By Jung Da-min, Joint Press Corps Seoul and Washington agreed Monday to name a South Korean four-star general to lead the combined forces command (CFC) here, according to the defense ministry. They also agreed to relocate the command's headquarters, now at the U.S. Forces Korea's Yongsan Garrison base in Seoul, to its Camp Humpheys base in Pyeongtaek, citing operational efficiency. The agreements were reached between Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo and his counterpart acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan in Seoul. Shanahan later visited President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae for talks on the alliance and issues regarding North Korea's denuclearization, weeks ahead of a summit between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for the end of June. During the meeting at the presidential office, Moon and Shanahan reaffirmed the principle that the international sanctions against North Korea should be kept in place until there was significant process in the denuclearization process. "The ROK-US alliance is the most important thing in pursuing complete denuclearization and building a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon said, adding that humanitarian aid to the North was also important while asking for cooperation on this from the U.S. President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap At the defense ministers' meeting, Shanahan and Jeong agreed on the early transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) of Korean forces to Seoul, and the relocation of the South Korea-U.S. CFC to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, as opposed to the defense ministry compound in Yongsan, Seoul, which was discussed last year. Screen capture from the widely circulated CCTV footage of a man who tried to slip into a woman's apartment as she entered her home. / Captured from YouTube Women speak up on facing sexual assault on their doorsteps By Lee Suh-yoon A viral video clip of a man trying to slip into a woman's home in Sillim-dong, Seoul, has sparked a flood of harrowing testimonies from Korean women, who say stalking and sexual assault by strangers is a real and widespread problem, especially for women who live alone. Some of them reached out to The Korea Times to share their accounts. "I have had several instances where drunk men have followed me to the front door. I literally had to run inside the building while keeping a male friend on the phone," Kang Joo-eun, 25, a university student living in Sillim-dong, said, Friday. The video clip, tagged #failedrape, was first posted on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon, after the disturbing event was caught on a surveillance camera outside the woman's home early in the morning of the same day. In the footage, now shared over 58,000 times on Twitter, a young woman steps out of the elevator and taps on a keypad lock to enter her apartment. As the door is about to shut behind her, a man in his 30s steps out of the still-open elevator and extends his arms toward the door a second too late. Agitated, he paces around the locked door, pushing at the door handle and keypad. In the extended version of the video footage, later released by local broadcasters and YouTubers, the man loiters in front of the door for 10 minutes. He even shines his cellphone flashlight at the keypad in the dark, trying to make out the woman's fingerprints. Police said the man also threatened the woman, saying he would force the door open if she did not let him in. The man, surnamed Cho, turned himself in to the police after the video went viral and he discovered the police were trying to identify him. Cho, who had no prior ties with the targeted woman, followed her from the streets. He pressed a higher number in the elevator to trick her into thinking he was going to a different floor, according to the woman's testimony. By Lee Gyu-lee Police have arrested a man for allegedly strangling a woman at a motel in Osan, Gyeonggi Province, where they had checked in on Sunday. Osan police said the man, in his 30s, admitted killing the woman after police apprehended him at a highway rest area near the motel at 9:10 a.m. Monday. The woman's body showing clear signs of strangulation was found on Sunday night. The suspect reportedly told police he and the woman had met through a mobile chatting app. He claimed he killed the woman "in a fit of anger" provoked by an unexplained clash, police said. They did not give further details. Police said the pair checked in at the motel at 5:22 p.m. on Sunday. Shortly afterward, the victim texted her friend, "The man I came to the motel with is strange," and gave the motel's location. The friend phoned police, who found the body at 8:37 p.m. Police will conduct an autopsy soon. By Bahk Eun-ji Incheon District Police Office said Monday it is investigating the death of a seven-month old girl who was found dead at home after allegedly suffering a reaction to dog scratches. The baby's parents claim she died the day after one of their dogs scratched her. According to the office, the girl's grandfather called police when he discovered the dead girl at her home at around 7:45 p.m. Sunday. The grandfather said he visited the house because he couldn't contact the parents, and found her alone there. A seven-month-old girl was found dead at her home in Incheon, and the parents claimed she died a day after their dog had scratched her, police said Monday. /Korea Times file By Kim Hyun-bin Korean Air will take a more aggressive approach in dealing with local low-cost carriers (LCCs) as competition in the local market has become fiercer and budget carriers' growing presence is starting to take a toll on full-service carriers' market share. "So far, we have been very passive in dealing with the LCCs and they have been taking over our market," Korean Air Chairman Cho Won-tae said during a press conference on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) at COEX in Seoul, Monday. "We have been watching the market in Korea and have discussed the issue, and we concluded we can't ignore the situation anymore and need to take a more aggressive approach toward LCCs." Cho Won-tae, Chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air By Jung Min-ho After years of criticism from animal rights groups, the largest dog meat market in Busan will close next month. According to Busan Buk-gu Office, all 19 dog meat sellers at Gupo Livestock Market have agreed to shut down their businesses by July 11. In return, the district office promised to give about 3.1 million won ($2,700) to each of them every month until December 2020 to help them make a new start. After announcing its urban planning project to turn the market area into a park last October, district officials tried to persuade the sellers for months to open different types of businesses in other areas. Animal rights activists welcomed the agreement. "We wholeheartedly welcome and support the district office's effort to end the trade of dog meat in Korea," four animal rights groups, including Korea Animal Rights Advocates, said in a joint statement. "It is a big step forward, but Korea still has many such markets, including Chilseong Market in Daegu We will continue to work with everyone to end the practice of eating dog meat." Kim Yong-chang, right, a former member of the U.S. 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, testifies about the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980 during a press conference at the National Assembly in this May 13, file photo. Korea Times file By Park Ji-won Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has indicated the government may ask the United States to share classified documents concerning the 1980 May 18 Gwangju Uprising, and may create another fact-finding committee to uncover details of the incident. Lee said Monday that he mentioned this during recent talks with Rep. Chun Jung-bae of the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP). The issue may be discussed topic at the planned summit between President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump in late June, the lawmaker said. In a press release, Chun said Lee reacted positively to the idea of requesting Washington, through diplomatic channels, to hand over classified documents on the uprising. "The government will be look into ways to ask for classified reports from the U.S. concerning the May 18 Democratization Movement," Lee was quoted as saying by Chun. "The disclosure of previously unreleased information can be carried out under the U.S.'s domestic laws and procedures. But, the government will have to discuss through diplomatic channels the release of some U.S. government documents on the May 18 movement that remain sealed." When asked whether he would suggest President Moon bring up the sealed documents issue during the summit with Trump, Lee said the government would first review the sensitive and important matter. The move comes after Kim Yong-chang, a former member of a U.S. military intelligence unit, spoke critically of former President Chun Doo-hwan last month in various media outlets. Based on intelligence he gathered at the time, Kim claimed that Chun, a military general who seized power in a military coup, ordered troops to shoot protesters during the uprising, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. Kim claimed he saw Chun visit Gwangju secretly by helicopter, May 21, 1980, the day a major massacre occurred, and meet with four military commanders. Since that massacre, bereaved family members have been asking for a fact-finding mission to find the people responsible for the killings. The PDP's Chun sent a list of questions to the Office of the Prime Minister after Kim's testimony that he considered the U.S. documents necessary to find out the truth. According to Chun, the U.S. government disclosed some documents on the May 18 movement following a freedom of information request by U.S. reporters in 1993 and 1994, and also delivered copies to the foreign ministry here in 1996. In 1997, Washington also made public documents exchanged between the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Seoul between 1979 and 1980. In 2017, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) also disclosed some of its reports on the uprising. Regarding the creation of another fact-finding committee, Lee said, "Based on the special law on fact-finding about the May 18 Democratization Movement, the government may launching an investigative committee." "During talks with Washington, we may consult closely with private experts," he added. Kim Sang-mook, third from left, KOTRA's Executive Vice President for Economic Cooperation and Trade Affairs, speaks during a panel discussion at The International Symposium on Korea-Cambodia Economic Cooperation, held at the National Assembly, Monday. From left are Seo Jung-soo, dean of Keimyung Adams College; Choi Kyung-hee, a researcher at Seoul National University's Asia Center; Kim; Ty Sokyun, a member of Cambodia's National Assembly; Long Dimanche, Cambodia's Ambassador to South Korea; and Yim Leat, a member of Cambodia's National Assembly. By Kim Bo-eun Officials and academics from Korea and Cambodia discussed furthering economic cooperation at a symposium hosted by The Hankook Ilbo and The Korea Times, Monday. The event was held as the Moon Jae-in administration is seeking to strengthen economic and political ties with countries in Southeast Asia. Dignitaries attending the event included ruling Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Lee In-young; Seong Kyoung-ryung, chairman of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences; Chea Samnang, director of Cambodia's deputy prime minister's Cabinet; and members of Cambodia's National Assembly, Ty Sokhun and Yim Leat. "The countries are economic partners with a mutually beneficial relationship," Rep. Lee said at event held at the National Assembly. He commented that bilateral ties have strengthened since a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen took place in March in Phnom Penh. "The current administration is focusing on Southeast Asia, in order to establish a long-term cooperative relationship for co-development and prosperity," Seong said in a keynote speech. Seong noted Cambodia is a strategic partner in economic cooperation given it has recorded an average annual GDP growth of 7 percent since 2012. The Cambodian National Assembly's Ty said, "After establishing relations in 1997, developmental cooperation has been growing well in many aspects." He noted trade between the countries has seen rapid growth, reaching $747 million in 2018. Foreign direct investment from Korea to Cambodia between 1997 and 2018 through 214 projects reached $4.5 billion. "The government is drafting a new law on special economic zones to attract more investors including those from Korea," Ty said in a panel discussion that followed. Kim Sang-mook, KOTRA's executive vice president for economic cooperation and trade affairs, said, "When we decide on which country in the region we want to invest in, we consider its growth potential and policies on foreign companies." "Cambodia is a promising country because of its low entry barriers for foreign companies." Cambodia has open investment laws in most sectors, 100 percent foreign ownership is allowed. Kim said because the infrastructure and construction sectors are growing fast, these present opportunities for Korean businesses. Cambodian Ambassador to South Korea Long Dimanche emphasized the bilateral ties between the countries, noting the presence of Cambodians here. There are around 60,000 Cambodians in Korea, including migrant workers, women married to Koreans, and students studying here. Dimanche said the workers and students are learning skills in Korea that will heighten Cambodia's competitiveness. "The Hankook Ilbo organized this symposium with the Democratic Party of Korea's subcommittee so that discussions could take place on the economic cooperation pledged by the leaders of Korea and Cambodia in March this year," Hankook Ilbo President Lee Joon-hee said. Kim Yong-chol, in the white circle, watches an arts performance with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, fourth from left, in this photo released on Monday by the North's Korean Central News Agency. The photo came amid rumors of him being purged after collapsed nuclear talks in Hanoi. Yonhap By Park Ji-won North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched an art troupe's performance, along with his top aides, including Kim Yong-chol, who was rumored to have been purged after the no-deal summit in Hanoi, Pyongyang's media reported Monday. The leader attended the show "given by amateur art groups of the wives of officers of units of the Korean People's Army (KPA) selected in the seventh round of the second-term contest of art groups of KPA officers' wives," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He appeared with his wife Ri Sol-ju and other top officials, including Kim Yong-chol, the North's counterpart to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in denuclearization negotiations with the U.S., the KCNA revealed. U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe react during delivering a speech to Japanese and U.S. troops as they aboard Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's (JMSDF) helicopter carrier DDH-184 Kaga at JMSDF Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, May 28. AP-Yonhap By Kim Yoo-chul North Korea rejected a summit proposal by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, calling the suggestion a "brazen-faced" move, Monday. A spokesman from the Korea Asia-Pacific Peace Committee said: "If Japan wants to talk about 'the right judgment and decision,' then that's exactly what we want to tell them," citing recent remarks by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono. Kono hinted at supporting "sanctions-easing" only after the North made "the right judgment and decision," The spokesman continued: "Now, Japan is required to make a bold decision. They need to write a new history, and admit to the wrongdoings that Japan committed. The thickness of the skin of Abe's group is like a bear's paw as Japan wants to hold a summit with us without preconditions." The remarks, made in an interview with the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), were released Monday. A payload stands ready at a test site in a workshop of the SASC China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology. Photo: Wechat account of China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology China's new payload for its Long March-3A launch vehicles with all core materials manufactured domestically will hopefully usher in a new era where all launch vehicles use homegrown fairings, the state space vehicle developer said on Sunday. The new Long March 3-A payload fairing with a diameter of 4.2 meters was designed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)'s China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and has been delivered, according to a company statement published on its official WeChat account on Friday. "Previous payload fairings with a diameter of 5 meters were built with imported materials," read the statement. "The materials, especially the core materials, used this time for a new type of payload fairing were completely domestically made, laying a solid foundation for applications for all the country's launch vehicles." The payload fairing is the nose cone of a carrier rocket, explained Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based expert in space exploration technology. It "is designed to protect the spacecraft or payloads like the satellite it is carrying to survive the challenges including dynamic pressure and aerodynamaic heating during the launch process through the atmosphere," he told the Global Times on Sunday. The core materials are made from homegrown polymethacrylimide (PMI), a light and stable material with heat-resistance and noise cancelling capabilities, allowing full wave penetration that enables spacecraft including satellites to receive and send radio signals, according to the statement. "The homegrown PMI is already as good as imported in terms of mechanical and processing properties, and it offers what it takes to manufacture full-wave fairing," Gao Kun, project chief engineer and CASC official, was quoted as saying in the statement. Gao vowed to promote the use of more new materials to build full-wave payload fairings for all the country's rockets. Asiana Airlines headquarters in western Seoul. Korea Times file By Kim Hyun-bin Asiana Airlines is receiving applications for voluntary retirement and unpaid leave from its employees, as the airline focuses on cutting costs. The measures come two weeks after Kumho Asiana Group, the parent group of the country's second largest carrier, decided to sell the debt-ridden airline to avert a liquidity crisis. This could also be the start of large-scale restructuring at the company. According to Asiana officials, Wednesday, the airline has begun accepting voluntary resignations from senior employees. "On Tuesday night, Asiana announced it would receive applications for voluntary retirement from employees with over 15 years at the company. Workers eligible include office employees and those in the sales and airport service departments," an official said. In addition, the airline is encouraging employees to go on unpaid leave to help the company save costs. The leave targets office workers mainly, excluding personnel related directly to safety and aircraft operations, such as pilots, flight attendants and mechanics. Employees can take leave of between 15 days to three years. "We are expanding the application scope for unpaid leave, which we have already been carrying out in line with efforts to cut costs," the official said. The voluntary retirement and unpaid leave are part of measures announced by company CEO Han Chang-soo to regain market confidence and garner support from creditors. In early April he pledged to sell assets to secure liquidity, reduce flights on unprofitable routes, reduce the fleet size and realign business organizations. Toward that end, the airline conducted minor restructuring recently by integrating teams for greater efficiency from 224 teams in 38 divisions to 221. Last week, the airline also announced it would halt operations to three unprofitable destinations Khabarovsk and Sakhalin in Russia by September, and Chicago by late October. Sakhalin had the lowest seat occupancy rate of 56.8 percent followed by Khabarovsk with 63.9 percent, compared to Asiana's 84.8 percent overall average occupancy. Since late 2015, the carrier, hit with a financial crisis, has suspended other unprofitable routes it reassigned routes to Hiroshima, Takamatsu and Shizuoka to its budget unit, Air Seoul, and halted flights to Vladivostok, Bali and Yangon. Some aviation experts also predict Asiana may reduce the use of large planes such as the A380, which will reduce the number of flight personnel needed. In mid-April, Kumho Group decided to surrender its 33.47 percent stake in Asiana in exchange for a creditors' rescue package worth 1.6 trillion won. Asiana's sales account for nearly 60 percent of Kumho Group's total. SK, Hanwha, CJ and some other conglomerates have been mentioned as potential buyers for the carrier. Market watchers say the airline may be valued at between 1.5 trillion won and 2 trillion won. Hungarians gathered outside the South Korean embassy in Budapest on Friday (May 31) to pay tribute to 28 tourists feared dead after a boat accident on the Danube River. Seven South Koreans were confirmed killed and seven rescued when their pleasure boat struck a cruise liner in heavy rain on Wednesday (May 29). Another 21 people were still missing and feared dead, 19 of them South Korean. Attendees of the small memorial lit candles and tied messages to the fence of the South Korean embassy. Earlier on Friday, South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha flew to Budapest to observe the recovery operation, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced a full investigation into the disaster. A crane ship was docked near the wreck in preparation for recovery operations, but divers found strong currents made it impossible for rescuers to reach the hull on Friday. (Reuters) By Halima Bhaimia There is a saying that if you truly desire something and work hard to get it then the whole universe starts to act in ways for you to get what you desire. And it did for me. This is my story of how I fulfilled my dream of earning my first trip to Korea. It all began a long time ago. It was around 2010 when I got to know about Korea and started to develop an interest in its amazing and unique culture. Since then there was no looking back. With each passing day my interest in Korea kept growing more and more. Korea to me was my dream and my passion. A beautiful country with which I have fallen in love with my heart mind and soul, a country that is a beautiful merger of modern and traditional culture. A country immensely blessed with nature and breathtaking scenery. A country where there is so much to see, learn and explore. Like every fan I too dreamed of visiting Korea. But I wanted my first trip to Korea to be special. I wanted to earn my trip by my hard work and effort. And one day finally I got an opportunity. It came in form of the 1st Chennai King Sejong Institute Korean Speech Contest. Being a student of the institute I was able to take part in it. This opportunity was everything I could wish for, not just winning a trip to Korea, but also a great platform to showcase my Korean skills and my love and passion for Korea. The topic of the contest was "Korea's Treasure" and the winner of the contest would win a seven day trip to Korea to participate in a King Sejong Institute training program. The moment I heard the topic I knew what I wanted to talk about The Heroes of Korea. Korean ancient history is beyond fascinating and the heroes of Korea are a source of great inspiration for people to follow all over the world. In my speech I spoke about two heroes of Korea who I really admire and get inspiration from they are King Sejong the Great and Admiral Yi Sun-sin . In my speech I spoke about how King Sejong created the Korean alphabet, Hangul, so that all his people irrespective of which class they belonged to would be able to read and write easily. Hangeul is the greatest gift he bestowed upon his people and the generations to come. Next I spoke about Admiral Yi who fought at sea with just 10 ships and defeated an enemy who had ten times more in number. He never gave up and fought until the end and created a miracle. We learn a very important lesson from Admiral Yi that in life no matter how hard a situation is, if we do our best and do not give up then there is hope. If anyone where to ask me what is the most precious treasure of Korea? Then what would my answer be? My answer would be its people. A person who loves his country and its people, and works toward their welfare and development, a person who wants to protect his country and its people, a person who is ready to sacrifice his life for his country and its people. The people who have such dedication and devotion toward their country and its people are the real precious treasures of Korea. This was my speech for the contest, and I was really happy to have been given such an amazing opportunity as I was able to share my thoughts and views with everyone. And when the results were announced it was a moment I can never forget in my life, the moment my dream came true by winning the speech contest and earning my trip to Korea. It was exactly as I wished for and much more. Dreams do come true !!! Halima Bhaimia (halima_ss501@hotmail.com), based in Chennai, India, runs the blog, "Halima's Korean World," for sharing her experiences related to Korea. She is also studying the Korean language at the Chennai King Sejong Institute and was recently appointed as an honorary reporter for the Korean Culture and Information Service. By Tong Kim President Trump's undercutting of his national security adviser, John Bolton, at a recent press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, regarding the characterization of the short-range missiles that North Korea launched on May 4 and 9 sent a conflicting message to the world on U.S. policy on North Korea and spread speculation on Bolton's longevity in his job. After Trump tweeted on May 25, "North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me," Bolton said the North fired ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. resolutions. In the Tokyo news conference, Trump said in Bolton's presence, "My people think it could have been a violation of U.N. resolutions I view it differently. I view it perhaps he (Kim Jong-un) wants to get attention, and perhaps not. Who knows? It doesn't matter." That evening Bolton skipped an imperial dinner hosted by the newly enthroned Japanese emperor. Bolton has been a controversial advocate for military action against North Korea. Trump pursues dialogue with the North as a signature initiative. Bolton has been opposing negotiations with the North. Pyongyang holds him and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accountable for dissuading Trump from accepting their proposal for dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear complex in return for a major sanction relief in Hanoi in February. The North has called for the exclusion of Pompeo from future U.S.-North Korea talks. Pyongyang does not spare its derogatory diatribe against Bolton. In the past, it called him "human scum." On May 27, Pyongyang's foreign ministry renewed their disparaging attack on Bolton, invoking his own words that he played the role of "a hammer to shatter the 1994 Agreed Framework." This time Pyongyang called him "a well-known anti-DPRK war maniac." Interestingly enough, the South Korean defense ministry has maintained an ambiguous position on the short-range missiles in question, without calling them ballistic missiles. The ministry said that the missiles started off on a ballistic trajectory, and dropped vertically to a lower altitude to travel horizontally like a cruise missile. The U.S. defense department has called them ballistic missiles. In the United States, the president makes foreign policy decisions, not the national security adviser, or the secretaries of state or defense who also advise the president and carry out decisions that the commander-in- chief makes. When Bolton took his job last year, he said that the views he had expressed as an individual do not matter, and what matters are statements and policy the president makes. As Bolton appears to be a national security adviser with a track record of hawkish views and a penchant for blunt talk, it is not a surprise there have been some cases of friction with a contending secretary of state or defense on national security issues. The New York Times reported on May 27 "Trump is not fond of Bolton," and quoted Trump as making fun of Bolton's "militant reputation" in private: "If it was up to John, we would be in four wars now." Bolton eliminated top policy meetings of department secretaries that used to be called "the principals' committee," (the PCs), replacing them with paper meetings of distributed documents, with the national security adviser providing briefings on issues to the president. Under the new system, Bolton no doubt is in the best position to control policy issues, an advantage over the agency chiefs. Trump is ultimately responsible for success or failure of U.S. policy. If Trump believes Bolton's role of bad cop compliments his role as good cop, it will not work on North Koreans. They want to know what exactly Trump wants to do with them. They want Trump to ignore his advisers, who stick to an unrealistic strategy of forcing them to surrender their nuclear and missile programs that they believe ensure their survival. In fairness to Trump, despite his unpredictability of what he might do next, he appears genuinely interested in keeping his campaign pledges including a resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue. By now, he knows what Kim Jong-un wants and what prevents him moving forward towards denuclearization. If Trump believes his own people are a bigger impediment to a peaceful path to denuclearization than Kim or his militant subordinates are, he could end-run his advisers or he may have to consider getting rid of them. Trump should do something constructive during Kim's waiting period, ending at the end of the year, beyond which nobody knows what Kim might do. Tong Kim (tong.kim8@yahoo.com) is a Washington correspondent and columnist for The Korea Times. He is also a fellow at the Institute of Corean-American Studies. By Andrew Hammond European presidents and prime ministers began their own "game of thrones" last week to select key EU positions that will shape the continent well into the 2020s.Up for grabs are top jobs, including the European Central Bank chief and European Commission president, but the wrangling has been complicated by the European Parliament (EP)election results which presaged a more fragmented political landscape. Take the example of the European Commission president role, widely seen as the most important in Brussels. While the post was discussed by national leaders at Tuesday's summit, it is the EP which may now have significant opportunity to influence the choice in the coming weeks. This is because the EP forged an agreement before the last election in 2014, for the first time ever that the choice of candidate for president to succeed Jose Manuel-Barroso should be nominated by the voter bloc that secures the most seats. While national governments have ultimate power over the appointment, the legislature's voice was louder than ever on the important decision to select Jean Claude Juncker, the previous head of the right-of-center European People's Party (EPP), who has held the post for the last half decade. Yet the EP results, from the biggest multi-country election in the world, sent out a mixed message which has clouded the picture.This saw gains for anti-integration parties, but also centrist liberals and greens too, resulting in a more fragmented legislative landscape. As in 2014, the EPP finished first, albeit with a significantly reduced number of seats. And, while its candidate to replace Juncker the German Manfred Weber is now in a good position and backed by Angela Merkel, his elevation is by no means a foregone conclusion. This is partly because several leading European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, have indicated that they are lukewarm or outright opposed, to Weber's appointment. Weber's prospects are also not helped by the fact that the EPP was one of the clear losers in the EP election alongside the center-left Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).These two powers, which have largely held sway in the Parliament since it became directly elected in 1979, lost their, collectively held, previous majority of EP seats. Take the example of Germany where Merkel's center-right Christian Democrats (part of the EPP) got 28 percent of the vote its worst-ever performance in EP elections. Meanwhile the center-left Social Democrats (part of the S&D) also did poorly, coming third with 16 percent. Elsewhere, euroskeptic parties made clear gains in some countries, including the extreme-right The League in Italy, Fidesz in Hungary, and the U.K.'s Brexit Party. Yet, at the same time, the pro-EU greens, and the centrist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) also won many seats too, with the inclusion of Macron's En Marche! to its group. The weak result for EPP and S&D reflects the very clear disenchantment of millions of people with the status quo. This has been driven by wide-ranging factors, including disquiet with long-established national political parties and systems, concern over immigration, and discontent over the post-2008 economic downturn and subsequent austerity measures. Yet, despite this context, and the high profile that euroskeptics enjoyed in this year's elections, there will be disappointment within their ranks that more gains have not been secured. Part of the reason for this was the marshalling of centrist, liberal forces, including moves by the strongly pro-EU Macron who depicted the contest as a choice "for" or "against" Europe. These same parties also sought to capitalize on the fact that Eurobarometer surveys last year found more people than ever consider their country's membership of the EU to be a good thing (62 percent).This was the highest figure in a quarter of a decade, with 68 percent of people believing that their nation has benefited from EU membership. Another striking element of the 2019 EP elections was the relatively strong average turnout of almost 51 percent of the 350-million electorate. This 20-year high figure comes in the context of previous major voter discontent and apathy in EP ballots that has been fuelled by the fact that the Parliament, specifically, is generally not trusted by many on the continent for whom Brussels seems very remote to their day-to-day lives. Voter turnout at EP elections before 2019 was a picture of decline, slipping from 62 percent in 1979 to a record low of 42 percent in 2014.Indeed, in some countries, turnout only just got into the double digits five years ago. And this apathy was apparent despite the steadily growing powers enjoyed by the EP. Originally created in the 1950s, it assumed enhanced political legitimacy assuming significant new powers, including potential veto over annual EU budgets, and the capability to amend or block a wide range of draft laws devised by the European Commission. Taken overall, voters have delivered a mixed message that has fragmented the legislative landscape that may now make it significantly harder to carve up top EU jobs. Nonetheless, the preponderance of power continues to be held by a moderate majority, despite gains by some euroskeptic parties, with the bolstering of the center ground by the resurgent greens and liberals. Andrew Hammond (andrewkorea@outlook.com) is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics By Michael McGough Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had barely breathed his last in February 2016 when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced that the Republican-controlled Senate wouldn't act on any replacement proposed by President Obama. "The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice," McConnell said. "Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president." As the Los Angeles Times noted in an editorial at the time, McConnell's justification for keeping the Scalia seat open was "self-serving sophistry." We added: "The American people do have a voice in any nomination Obama makes. They 'spoke' when they elected him to a second term that has 11 months remaining. His authority to nominate Supreme Court justices is no more diminished by his supposed lame-duck status than any of his other constitutional powers." Alas, McConnell's stonewall held. Because the Senate refused to act on Obama's nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to succeed Scalia, the seat was held open until a new president, Donald Trump nominated Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, who was confirmed largely on party lines. It was obvious from the start that McConnell's invocation of the "principle" that Supreme Court seats shouldn't be filled in an election year was bogus. Now it develops that it was a principle he's willing to abandon to serve his party's interests. Last Tuesday, McConnell was asked at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in Paducah, Ky., about the possibility that a Supreme Court justice might die next year. The questioner asked: "What will your position be on filling that spot?" Ted Barrett of CNN reported on what happened next: "The leader took a long sip of what appeared to be iced tea before announcing with a smile, 'Oh, we'd fill it,' triggering loud laughter from the audience." It was a Mr. Burns moment that has brought cries of "Hypocrisy!" from McConnell's critics. His spokesman and defenders in the media argued that no hypocrisy was involved because the actual "principle" guiding McConnell is that Supreme Court nominees shouldn't be confirmed in an election year in which the Senate and the White House are controlled by different parties. McConnell did float this alternative justification in an interview in March 2016, telling reporters: "You'd have to go back to 1888 _ you do remember Grover Cleveland, right? _ to find the last time a vacancy created in the Supreme Court in a presidential year was confirmed by a Senate of a different party." The fact that McConnell offered shifting rationalizations for his obstructionism doesn't alter the fact that stonewalling Garland was a nakedly partisan power play. Principles and precedents had nothing to do with it. Partisanship had poisoned the Supreme Court confirmation process long before Scalia died. But in blocking any consideration of Garland, McConnell escalated the conflict to the political equivalent of DEFCON 1. He escalated it even further when he engineered the end of the filibuster on Supreme Court nominations to secure Gorsuch's confirmation. (In that instance, he was following the example of former Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, whose party ended the filibuster for lower-court appointments.) To accuse McConnell of hypocrisy, a venial sin committed by most politicians, obscures the fact that he is guilty of the mortal sin of violating a political and constitutional norm and exacerbating a partisan war over Supreme Court nominations that shows no sign of abating. It's McConnell's fault that some Democratic presidential candidates are considering the terrible idea of increasing the number of seats on the Supreme Court to compensate for the seat "stolen" from Obama in 2016. McConnell should think about that as he sips his iced tea. Michael McGough is a senior editorial writer of the Los Angeles Times. His commentary was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. By Gwynne Dyer Another of the five-yearly anniversaries has rolled around, and it's time to write another think-piece about the long-term meaning of the massacre on Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. But 30 years later, what is there left to say? Great changes were already underway in the Communist-ruled parts of Europe in 1989. Mikhail Gorbachev, the reformist Soviet leader, visited Beijing after the students had taken over the square in late April, and he obviously thought that the same process was underway in China. Maybe it was, but it was violently aborted and it has still not recovered. That's not what people thought at the time. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of students were killed on the square the soldiers burned the bodies in a massive pyre right on the square, so there was never an accurate count. Hundreds or thousands more died elsewhere, because similar demonstrations were put down in every major Chinese city. And we all thought: This will never be forgotten. The students weren't counter-revolutionaries. Their hero, the man whose death they were honoring when they occupied the square, was Hu Yaobang, a lifelong Communist, a veteran of the Long March, who simply believed that it was high time to ease up on the controls four decades after the Communists took power in China. For that Hu, then general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, had been forced into retirement by the party's hard-liners in 1987. But everybody knew what he wanted, and when he died two years later the students came out to demand it again: government accountability, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and free trade unions. The dominant conservative faction in the Chinese Communist Party responded by killing them, and then set out to erase all popular memory of what had happened. It can't be done, said all the journalists outside China: They will never be forgiven. The crowds will be back on the streets one of these days, and there will be a great reckoning and radical change. Well, not. Thirty years later, most Chinese millennials are ignorant of exactly what happened in 1989. The older generation remember, but they dare not mention it in public and they are a dwindling minority. Journalist Louisa Lim has accurately described contemporary China as the "People's Republic of Amnesia." Why did this happen, and has the notion of a freer future really gone down the memory hole in China? Start with the fact that the Soviet Union was 72 years old in 1989, whereas the Chinese People's Republic was only 40. That extra generation meant that there was nobody still in power in Russia who had actually ordered the deaths of thousands of people. Not only the revolutionary generation but also the Stalinist generation were gone, and by the 1980s the career Communists who had climbed the greasy pole of power were mere bureaucrats. They thought they were hard men too, but in fact they weren't anything of the sort. A few of them tried to carry out a coup and restore Communist rule in 1991, but they were actually trembling with fear as they spoke on TV, and they were seen off in a couple of days. Whereas China's rulers in 1989 still had lots of hands-on experience with killing people. Some of them, like Hu Yaobang and his successor Zhao Ziyang, were genuine idealists who felt that the party's controls must be loosened now that the revolution was an accomplished fact. Zhao actually went to the square at dawn on May 19 and addressed the students, urging them to hold fast to their demands. "We are already old, we do not matter anymore," he told them but Zhao already knew that he had lost the argument, and that the Communist Party leadership had decided to clear the square by force. He had also been stripped of his own position, and would live the last 15 years of his life under house arrest. The actual massacre was delayed for a further two weeks because the soldiers in Beijing had been fraternizing with the students and could no longer be trusted to kill them. It took two weeks to replace them with fresh troops who knew nothing about what was happening in Beijing and would obediently kill the "counter-revolutionaries." So Communist dictatorship survived in China while it peacefully expired in Russia. It still looks solid today: The current leader, Xi Jinping, has just effectively declared himself president-for-life. But Communist rule in China has now reached the magic age of 70. Is it immortal? Probably not. Communist rule in the Soviet Union would probably have survived if the economy had been growing strongly. What brought it down was the insolence of absolute power combined with an abject failure to deliver the goods economically. The Chinese Communist regime is very insolent, but it will probably survive as long as it delivers the goods. However, China has a market economy now, and market economies have recessions. The official Chinese growth rate is still 6 percent, but the real rate of growth has already fallen to somewhere between 3 percent and zero. The next five or 10 years should be quite interesting. Gwynne Dyer (gwynne763121476@aol.com) has worked as a freelance journalist, columnist, broadcaster and lecturer on international affairs for more than 20 years. He is the author of "Growing Pains: The Future of Democracy (and Work)." Rival parties should stop stubborn war of words The ruling and opposition parties, having spent the past two months in an aimless vicious verbal duel, are yet to find an exit from their extreme confrontation. Therefore, according to the National Assembly Law, an extraordinary session must be convened this month. However, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition Liberal Party of Korea (LKP) are still pitted against each other over various political issues. At stake are the controversial "fast-track" bills on electoral reform and the realignment of investigative power between the prosecution and the police, which the LKP is all out to stop. First, the opposition party should return to the Assembly, regardless of its demand that the ruling party withdraw the fast-track bills as a condition for the normalization of the Assembly. The DPK can convene the special session alone. But normal operation of the Assembly sessions requires an agreement with the LKP on the agenda and proceedings of the meetings. Without the cooperation of the conservative opposition party, it is obvious that the special session, even if convened unilaterally, will be paralyzed. There are many urgent issues that should be resolved immediately for national security and the economy. In particular, the economy shows no signs of an early recovery, with people, particularly those in the low-income brackets, complaining of worsening living conditions. Time is running out. The political world has no more time to waste. Legislative efforts are imperative to help solve pending issues. The rival parties should stop their stubborn war of words and normalize parliamentary operations at once. The ruling party needs to provide a chance for the LKP to return to the Assembly by such means as to promise that the Election Law will only be revised through an agreement by all parties on the floor. The LKP should also change its hardline stance of fighting against the government and ruling party outside the Assembly. It should go back to it to discuss all the problems the nation is now facing. Jeep's Grand Cherokee SUV / Courtesy of FCA Korea By Baek Byung-yeul The Grand Cherokee, a premium Jeep SUV, has been a top choice for SUV lovers here with its refined look and excellent off-road prowess. The vehicle is also gaining popularity among working mothers who are looking for a practical, spacious and city-friendly SUV, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Korea said Monday. A working mother in her 40s said she'd decided to purchase the Grand Cherokee. She said sedans are more comfortable in terms of driving comfort and fuel efficiency, but SUVs are more practical as they can load more and are convenient for outdoor activities such as camping with family at the weekend. "I didn't want to buy an SUV that was too common. While looking for new SUV models in the market, the Grand Cherokee caught my eye. I am satisfied with the Grand Cherokee because it is not too gaudy or flashy like other SUVs and it's faithful to the original function of the SUV," she said. Like the working mom, FCA Korea said a growing number of consumers are putting Jeep SUVs such as the Grand Cherokee first on their list when looking for new vehicles. "Thanks to the soaring popularity of SUVs here, many consumers are putting SUVs first on their car purchasing list. And many of them, who are tired of SUVs made by European premium brands, are thinking of buying Jeep SUVs," FCA Korea said. "Jeep SUVs are appealing to consumers with their modernized outlook, high off-road capabilities, handsome cabins and improved fuel efficiency. Our SUVs have become popular choices," the firm added. FCA Korea said the Grand Cherokee could be the best choice for drivers who put safety first. "The Grand Cherokee has more than 70 safety features including anti-lock braking, electronic stability control and electronics roll mitigation systems," the firm said. Since it was first introduced in 1992, the Grand Cherokee has been a trailblazer in the premium SUV segment. Jeep has evolved the SUV model through generations and has sold more than 6 million Grand Cherokees throughout the world. Jeep's Grand Cherokee SUV / Courtesy of FCA Korea A model of an Airbus A380 airliner is displayed at Asiana Airlines headquarters in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Monday, when its parent company Kumho Asiana Group announced it will sell the carrier to cope with a liquidity crisis. Yonhap Hanwha, SK, CJ mentioned as potential buyer of Korea's No. 2 carrier By Nam Hyun-woo Former Kumho Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo Consumers experience a smart watch that measures the heart beat on the 2019 China Brand Day. (Photo/Gu Yang) The 2019 China Brand Day was held recently in Shanghai as part of Chinas efforts to pursue high-quality development, during which Fiyta, Shanghai, Ezon and other Chinese independent brands showcased their clocks and watches, China Economic Net reported on May 30. China has formed an industrial manufacturing system centered on high-precision manufacturing. At the same time, it has developed into the most competitive clock and watch manufacturing base and a key part of the industry around the world, said Wang Mengjin, advisor for the China Horologe Association. China is getting stronger in the sphere of clock and watch industry development, said Wang. Under the impact of mobile phones, the watch market experienced a downturn for a short period and then it was revived after finding a new positioning. China became the largest watch and clock supplier globally in 2018. Statistics from the China Horologe Association indicate that the country produced 650 million watches and 430 million clocks last year, accounting for 83 and 91 percent of the global totals respectively. China is the largest market for watches and clocks, consuming 100 million watches and 40 million clocks worth 100 billion yuan at least each year, said Wang, adding that the Chinese market is expected to enlarge continuously with the national economic growth and accelerated consumption upgrading. Wang said that many Chinese brands have the capability of independent innovation. Their products feature various looks, functions and cheaper prices. In addition, they also provide many timing instruments for aviation, aerospace and national defense. In terms of the high-end brands, China still has a long way to catch up with those in Switzerland. Despite this situation, China is in fact the only country that can produce top mechanical watches except for Switzerland. In the next phase, China will pay more attention to branding and upgrade from the low end of the global value chain to the high end, said the advisor. By Kwak Yeon-soo Samsung Engineering shares plunged Monday after the company revealed that a consortium led by Saudi Arabian company Al-Toukhi had filed an international arbitration complaint against it for a canceled desalination plant. The shares fell 9.9 percent to 15,050 won ($12.7) Monday from last Friday. At one point, the stock fell as low as 14,500 won during trading, the lowest since June 20 2018. In a regulatory filing, the Samsung Group construction unit said its consortium partners Al-Toukhi and Vision asked the Dubai International Financial Center and London Court of Arbitration to arbitrate a canceled construction project, in which the company was chosen as bidder in 2012 by the state-run Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi companies are reportedly demanding about $607.7 million in compensation nearly 70 percent of the capital owned by Samsung Engineering. The power generation and seawater desalination plant project in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, was halted after the SWCC changed turbine specifications and canceled the project in January 2017. At the time of the cancellation, the 1.6 trillion won project was about 55 percent completed. After terminating its contract, the SWCC signed a deal with China's Shandong Electric Power Construction Corporation III to complete the plant. In November 2017, Samsung Engineering asked the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to begin arbitration proceedings against Saudi Arabia. Samsung Engineering dismissed Al-Toukhi's claims, saying the SWCC was to blame for the discontinuation. Samsung said it would file a countersuit. "The claimant argues that the cause of the project's termination lies on us, but we think their argument is weak and unjust," a Samsung official said. "Therefore, we will file a countersuit in August." Despite the plunge in shares, market watchers said the dispute was unlikely to hurt investor sentiment because there were other positive turnarounds this year. "The general outlook is pretty positive given that it [Samsung] is likely to win several contracts, including Algeria's HMD Refinery and the U.S. PTTGC petrochemical plant," a KB Securities analyst said. By Jung Min-ho A former Japanese vice agriculture minister, 76, has been arrested on charges of stabbing his "hikikomori" son to death. According to Sunday, Hideaki Kumazawa, also a former ambassador to the Czech Republic, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing his son, Eiichiro, 44, with a kitchen knife at home in Tokyo a charge he reportedly admitted. Kumazawa said he had an argument with his son over noise outside. When police arrived at the home in Tokyo's Nerima Ward after receiving Kumazawa's call, the son was bleeding from multiple stab wounds. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Kumazawa told the police that his son confined himself at home for many years and recently showed violent behavior toward his family. "I think (the family) moved here about 10 years ago, but I have never seen the son," a man, 86, who lives in the neighborhood, was quoted as saying. Kumazawa joined the agriculture ministry in 1967 and became a vice minister in 2001. After stepping down the following year, he served as Japan's Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2005-08. The Sri Lanka delegation, presenting the country's first report under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, briefed the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the panoply of laws and executive and policy measures adopted by Sri Lanka to safeguard the rights of children and to ensure the wellbeing of children. Emphasizing that most of such measures even preceded Sri Lanka's ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Mrs. Dharshana Senanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, at the head of Sri Lanka's delegation, clarified With the ratification of the Optional Protocol, the national laws have been further strengthened in such a manner as to cover all elements of the offences stipulated in the Optional Protocol. The delegation elaborated on legal and regulatory reforms such as the formulation of a Child Protection and Justice Bill on par with international standards, intended to better address the concerns related to children in conflict with law or in need of care, and the establishment of guidelines for the operation of day-care centers. Outlining the promotional and preventive activities undertaken by Ministries and other agencies in Sri Lanka to advance the best interest of the child, the delegation drew attention to the role of National Monitoring Committee (NMC) as an inclusive and robust monitoring mechanism. Responding to questions raised by the Committee, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative in Geneva, Ambassador A.L.A Azeez apprised the Committee on the progress made in the implementation of national action plans. specially with regard to the rights of children as well as on the multi-stakeholder approaches adopted for their development and follow up. The Sri Lanka delegation comprising representatives of the Attorney General's Department, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), the Department of Probation and Child Care, Ministry of Justice and the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Geneva highlighted the best practices adopted by the Government through its various agencies to effectively enforce the rights and obligations under the Convention and its Optional Protocols, particularly in the areas of prevention, prosecution, promotion and protection. Enhancing training and capacity building for officers including on gender sensitive approaches, and awareness raising and partnership with all stakeholders to prevent abuses of children remained among national priorities aimed to advance the objectives of the Optional Protocol, the delegation recalled. A strong emphasis was made on Sri Lankas continuing commitment to improve the quality of data management related to issues covered by the CRC and its Optional Protocol and integration of gender in Sri Lanka's SDG vision and programmes. Commenting on the implementation of the Optional Protocol, the Committee's Rapporteurs for Sri Lanka Review, Mr. Assane Thiam and Ms. Mikiko Otani appreciated Sri Lanka for the constructive spirit in which it engaged with the Committee, and for the positive measures taken to advance the objectives of the Optional Protocol. They, along with other members, expressed hope that Sri Lanka would do more in areas such as developing disaggregated data, necessary for targeted socio-economic measures and interventions. Members of the Committee expressed sympathies for the loss of innocent lives and injuries caused by terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday, which included the killing of around 50 children, and wished the country and people speedy recovery. Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to UN Geneva 24th May 2019 Health Have Fun With 2 Crank Manual Hospital Beds 2 crank manual hospital beds 03.06.2019 06:31:43 - This 2 function manual crank hospital beds will enable the suffers to relieve some how limitation. (live-PR.com) - Every one who works for the family will do work on commercial firm.We strive to work hard daily for the corporation profit booming.If there is a person who need ours additional energy to relieve the suffer pain.He or she maybe are older aging or paralyzed.The caused reason will be whatever will be,however;every one of us will face it when our - Every one who works for the family will do work on commercial firm.We strive to work hard daily for the corporation profit booming.If there is a person who need ours additional energy to relieve the suffer pain.He or she maybe are older aging or paralyzed.The caused reason will be whatever will be,however;every one of us will face it when our age is being increased and body anti-immunity is being faded. Many people dont recognize that people living with disfuction lose the power to manage fuctions like leg or hand movement efficiently,even walk on daily routine. Some might even believe that not having the ability to walk is that the worst a part of paralysis. However complications that impair autonomic fuctions dramatically have an effect on quality of life and independence, also as cause tremendous medical challenges like infection and pain. What is spinal cord injury? SCI is caused by external injury or whatever bumping contributed to a bad stiulation,which makes nerves lost of ability to send and receive messages from the brain. Several perceive that SCI affects quality and movement.The systems that control sensory and autonomic functions would be impaired at some how. What is the distinction between an entire injury and an incomplete injury? You may have detected the terms incomplete and complete accustomed describe a paralysis injury. An incomplete injury implies that theres movement or sensation below the extent of injury.Even alittle movement or faint sensation indicates the spinal cord wasnt entirely cut off and a few signals have gotten past the injury.An entire injury means the individual has no sensation or movement below the level of injury. An injury level is often outlined by the bone wherever the injury occurred. living with disfuction suggests that living while not the power to manage nerve,defecation,temperature,and sexual perform.These secondary complications of disfuction will dramatically have an effect on health and quality of life.Oftentimes,secondary complications of disfuction are often dangerous. There is a a hospital beds for home use to assist the suffers who needs caregivers timely,and make little free time for caregivers available. There is a 2 crank manual hospital bed designed for home use,the manual crank system can be application of back and knee up & down function,offering the comfort posture for the individual.It is cheaper compared with full electric type,as there is no powered engine. As our bodies grow and become a lot of fragile, comfort becomes a large priority.This is often why we are eager to get a sense of comfort in our homes that we are at our happiest moments.Having a medicare hospital bed in your house is unbelievably advantageous particularly for those who are bed ridden or sick from a process.This 2 function manual crank hospital beds will enable the suffers to relieve some how limitation. Hospital beds supply countless benefits over regular beds that create it essential for patients who are bed ridden. The beds maximize comforts for patients who use them for an extended period of your time and their customized options create adjusting specific function of backrest or knee up & down of the bed to be very easy. Furthermore, having a hospital bed at home is very helpful for adult youngsters with the responsibility of taking care of their oldsters at home.Cheap medical beds home use with the addition of these that are designed specifically to be used at home will offer nice benefits for caregivers and also patients. This 2 cranks manual hospital bed is a manual crank system offering function of back and knee up & down.More over the medical adjustable bed is independent castor locking system.Once the nurse steps on the any of castor braking padel,the whole medical bed will be motionless. As it is a type of cheap medical bed compared to full electric hospital bed,it can be application of medical bed for home use on purpose of saving finance budget. As a leading medical beds suppliers,we concentrate on the design and manufacturing of kings of adjustable beds and accessories for aged care,home care and hospitals. we cater for all orders,and are enthusiastic about delivering the most effective service and price throughout distinctive care, caring for your independence. The 2 crank hospital beds home use details you can click here for ours complete tpe of hospital beds series,please visit age is being increased and body anti-immunity is being faded.Many people dont recognize that people living with disfuction lose the power to manage fuctions like leg or hand movement efficiently,even walk on daily routine. Some might even believe that not having the ability to walk is that the worst a part of paralysis. However complications that impair autonomic fuctions dramatically have an effect on quality of life and independence, also as cause tremendous medical challenges like infection and pain.What is spinal cord injury?SCI is caused by external injury or whatever bumping contributed to a bad stiulation,which makes nerves lost of ability to send and receive messages from the brain. Several perceive that SCI affects quality and movement.The systems that control sensory and autonomic functions would be impaired at some how.What is the distinction between an entire injury and an incomplete injury?You may have detected the terms incomplete and complete accustomed describe a paralysis injury. An incomplete injury implies that theres movement or sensation below the extent of injury.Even alittle movement or faint sensation indicates the spinal cord wasnt entirely cut off and a few signals have gotten past the injury.An entire injury means the individual has no sensation or movement below the level of injury. An injury level is often outlined by the bone wherever the injury occurred.living with disfuction suggests that living while not the power to manage nerve,defecation,temperature,and sexual perform.These secondary complications of disfuction will dramatically have an effect on health and quality of life.Oftentimes,secondary complications of disfuction are often dangerous.There is a a hospital beds for home use to assist the suffers who needs caregivers timely,and make little free time for caregivers available.There is a 2 crank manual hospital bed designed for home use,the manual crank system can be application of back and knee up & down function,offering the comfort posture for the individual.It is cheaper compared with full electric type,as there is no powered engine.As our bodies grow and become a lot of fragile, comfort becomes a large priority.This is often why we are eager to get a sense of comfort in our homes that we are at our happiest moments.Having a medicare hospital bed in your house is unbelievably advantageous particularly for those who are bed ridden or sick from a process.This 2 function manual crank hospital beds will enable the suffers to relieve some how limitation.Hospital beds supply countless benefits over regular beds that create it essential for patients who are bed ridden. The beds maximize comforts for patients who use them for an extended period of your time and their customized options create adjusting specific function of backrest or knee up & down of the bed to be very easy.Furthermore, having a hospital bed at home is very helpful for adult youngsters with the responsibility of taking care of their oldsters at home.Cheap medical beds home use with the addition of these that are designed specifically to be used at home will offer nice benefits for caregivers and also patients.This 2 cranks manual hospital bed is a manual crank system offering function of back and knee up & down.More over the medical adjustable bed is independent castor locking system.Once the nurse steps on the any of castor braking padel,the whole medical bed will be motionless.As it is a type of cheap medical bed compared to full electric hospital bed,it can be application of medical bed for home use on purpose of saving finance budget.As a leading medical beds suppliers,we concentrate on the design and manufacturing of kings of adjustable beds and accessories for aged care,home care and hospitals. we cater for all orders,and are enthusiastic about delivering the most effective service and price throughout distinctive care, caring for your independence.The 2 crank hospital beds home use details you can click here www.hospitalbedscn.com/2-cranks-adjustable-medical-bed-for-home-use/ for ours complete tpe of hospital beds series,please visit www.hospitalbedscn.com Press Information: henan kangli medical equipment technology co.,limited Pharmaceutical industrial park, Tanyin county, Anyang City, Henan Province, China. Contact Person: tony xu manager Phone: 008615514831900 eMail: eMail Web: http://https://www.hospitalbedscn.com 03.06.2019 06:31:43 - Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party. Cars / Yachts The cover story of Yacht Style Issue 47 focuses on the vast array of sailing and power catamarans in todays market, from France and around the globe. Jun 03, 2019 | By Kevin Green As if sailing catamarans werent gaining enough market share, power catamarans are now proliferating and offer todays buyer a wide choice from entry-level boats to mini superyachts, all featuring those key catamaran features of spaciousness and fuel frugality. Spaciousness can mean three levels of living spaces if a flybridge model is chosen, while hull specialisation in powercats means these boats are increasing in efficiencies, with some models offering semi-displacement modes for higher performance. For sailing catamarans, a significant trend is the increasing performance of cruising boats, as witnessed by the worlds largest builder Groupe Beneteau bringing out its new Excess brand. For speedsters, developments in foils dominate the high-performance boats while increasingly automated systems allow bigger multihulls to be managed by fewer people, even down to an experienced couple who want the luxury of a floating apartment without the fuel bills or loss of privacy that crew bring. The headliners among the big sailing cats launched over the last year include the stylish Sunreef 80 from Poland that I enjoyed helming along the Riviera, the truly glamorous Alegria 67 from French builder Fountaine Pajot, and the fast McConaghy MC60 from the renowned Australian-owned builder with a big production facility in China. Another major development is Excess, an entirely new catamaran line from Groupe Beneteau designed by VPLP (Van Peteghem, Lauriot-Prevost). Intended as a sportier version of market leader Lagoon, the new brand will debut at this years Cannes Yachting Festival in September with the Excess 12 (38ft) and Excess 15 (48ft), to be followed by the 11, 13 and 14 models. So, it was interesting to meet up with the prolific design duo, Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot-Prevost, to discuss the multihull scene and specifically their Excess designs. Most catamarans are centred around being comfortable, while there are also extreme-performance versions, so we conceived Excess as being in the middle ground between them, Van Peteghem told me at this years International Multihull Boat Show at La Grande Motte. SHOWBOATING Boat shows are an ideal place to explore new vessels and quiz their builders, so the Singapore Yacht Show in April and the big European ones are good indicators of where the market is heading. The beating pulse of multihulls is most acutely felt at the sectors largest show at La Grande Motte, near Montpellier on the south coast of France. Its an event I attend annually to meet with designers, builders and buyers. This is ground zero for the multihull industry which France dominates, representing 75 per cent of the global market, with about 850-900 boats annually from giants Lagoon, Fountaine Pajot, Catana (Bali) and others. Only South Africas Robertson and Caine, builder of Leopard catamarans, is a serious contender, although China-based Aquila is now building almost 100 powercats a year. This year the Bali 4.3 MY power catamaran was among the premieres at La Grande Motte, where her bigger sister, the 5.4, was crowned 2019 Multihull of the Year (40-50ft). Having sailed the Bali 5.4 for 400 miles during a delivery last year, I found it a comfortable and functional boat with the brands renewed emphasis on performance proving successful. Another winner was the 40 Open Sunreef Power that took out the power catamaran award. Inspecting Sunreefs brand-new 60 sailing cat at La Grande Motte again confirmed for me the high standard of finish and engineering on these Polish-built yachts, which have also made good headway in Asia. Interestingly, Multihull of the Year (under 40ft) was the niche sailing trimaran from Danish builder Dragonfly with its redesigned 32 model. Given that trimarans are the fastest vessels on the planet, the 32 is an ideal starter boat for those with a need for speed. Powercats are a definite hit with the global buyer and Fountaine Pajots new MY40 launched at Boot Dusseldorf in January earned a lot of attention in Singapore as it has four large cabins and a flybridge, backed by the builders vast experience in building powercats that few yards can match. The brands new 45 sailing catamaran will make its world debut at Cannes this year and feature a semi-flybridge that ensures the steerer is secure yet creates a third level of lounging space when at anchor. Conventional diesel power will end one day, so renewable energy, and hybrid power, as found on the Silent 55 that also made its Asia debut in Singapore is leading this trend. Having sailed several of these Silent models over the years, Ive witnessed the development in lithium-ion battery technology and massive increase in solar-cell efficiencies shown on these Austrian-built boats. A Lagoon Seventy7 sailing catamaran was even on display in Singapore on its way to China, two years after the models first-ever hull made its way to its owner in the Philippines, confirming that Asia has a big appetite for the larger models. Gossip on the marinas is that Lagoons 630 powercat will be replaced by a new 60, which, given the strong fan base of the former, should interest those who enjoy superyacht features at production prices. MAKING A BIG SPLASH The Sunreef 80 that dominated the multihull display at Cannes last year ticks many boxes for a sailing catamaran and I found it an interesting boat to take to sea. All navigation takes place on the flybridge, electric winches ensure the large sail area is manageable and twin helms let the steerer see across the vast foredeck. The saloon is devoted to entertaining as the galley and crew quarters are below in the aft part of the port hull. Opposite, to increase privacy, the owners suite shares the starboard hull with a forward guest cabin, with a third double in the port hull. Customisation is a key selling point for Sunreef, so owners can specify their own decor and an alternative layout with galley upstairs. The aft deck is sheltered by the flybridge overhang with wide steps leading to the water on each hull, while the bow area is another voluminous lounging space. Auxiliary power comes from two 225hp engines plus bow thruster and optional tankage (6,000 litres), which make the 80 ideal both for bluewater sailors and shoreside entertainers. In light winds, I alternated between both headsails and full main to push the big cat along. All lines ran easily and the only reason to leave the flybridge was to trim the genoa, which was at deck level. She felt and looked like a superyacht and theres more to look forward to as its sister ship, the 80 Sunreef Power, will debut at Cannes this September. It shows a much sleeker profile than earlier models and will have an immense flybridge for elevated navigation and a lounge with spa pool. Sunreef has also revealed a concept for a 120ft power catamaran, which has been designed in-house to meet the growing interest for multihulls in the superyacht segment. Inspired by the supercar industry, the lines of the 120 Sunreef Power are both elegant and sporty, with numerous chrome elements and LED accents. Not to be outdone, Fountaine Pajot had its own new grand bateau at La Grande Motte, showing an Alegria 67 after the model made its Asia debut at Singapore earlier in the month. We wanted to build a floating five-star hotel, Helene de Fontainieu told me as we walked around her companys flagship catamaran. They have succeeded, especially when you consider the jacuzzi on the vast bow cockpit and the highly functional flybridge navigation area with twin helms and lounge. The 63-footer is ideal as a crewed vessel because of a commercial-standard galley in the hulls and the dedicated entertaining space in the saloon. Good news for petrol heads is that she comes in a powercat version as well, with twin 300hp shaft drives. Note: Part 2 coming soon Email subscribe@lux-inc.com for print subscription enquiries or subscribe to the Magzter version at: www.magzter.com/SG/Lux-Inc-Media/Yacht-Style/Fashion/ WASHINGTON, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) announced Sunday that it had lifted restrictions on employees of Huawei and its affiliates to edit and peer-review IEEE's research papers. The move came after the New York-based international technical organization decided Wednesday to bar Huawei staff from participating the research paper peer-review process because of the U.S. Department of Commerce's export control restrictions on Huawei. The IEEE's initial restrictive approach triggered extensive criticism from the international research community. The China Computer Federation said Thursday that it would suspend cooperation with the IEEE's publications division. In the new statement, the IEEE said employees of Huawei and its affiliates may participate as peer reviewers and editors in its publication process as it has received the requested clarification from the Department of Commerce on the application of the export control restrictions to the IEEE's publication activities. All the IEEE members, regardless of their employers, can continue to participate in all of the activities of the IEEE, according to the statement. Again every index/sector is showing the steepest negative divergence since 1980, the furthest my charting service takes me back. I cannot tell you how serious a warning this is in my work. I wrote about it in March. This is the Third Blown Bubble by the Fed this century lending to the probability it will take a decade or more to recover. The current data point that has me most concerned is my original Flush in The Fall call could occur sooner. This unease revolves around the conversation of the talking heads/pundits on the tube of late. Folks who run big money say they have already raised cash and are ready to hit the sell button quicker than James Holzauer. This kind of talk does not usually occur until we are 15-20% in the hole. That evidence appeared in Fridays action, post Mex tariff news, stocks opened -280 Dow points bounced for most of the day and then closed on the lows -370. Sellers did not get prices wanted throughout the day so piled in at the close. Look for more of that in the coming weeks, maybe this week? So any type of angst will probably escalate the selling which can often feed on itself. I thought the PPT would show last week and maybe they did with no success? I believe there are too many sellers and their support is better spent at lower levels, maybe much lower? In 2001 Charles Schwab did a town hall ad telling investors and clients Just relax. This is the Wall St. mantra fed to their advisors and clients while their trading desks are selling like mad men. Interestingly I could not find the ad, probably scrubbed because of how embarrassing in retrospect. I did find the SNL parody of it, very funny and true. WHAT TO DO? The Wall St. Advice mantra of Buy and Hold, We are in it for the long term has cycled to an end for now. We will probably have a 5-10+ year trading range market after we bottom in the next couple of years. Well executed tactical/dynamic strategies will outperform. I have suggested to those who have 401ks and IRAs to shift to Government Bonds and Money Market for now and lets see how the dust settles. No tax consequences there. The action in May is clearly suggesting the June Swoon follow on? This is not a forever call. Usually before a market recovers from deep corrections a bottoming pattern forms providing decent re-entry points. The Monthly Negative Divergences are pointing towards a 40-60% correction over the next 12-24 months. If Im wrong we just wait for bottoming patterns. I did call a bottom a week after the actual low this past January 2nd, so it can be done. Obviously no guarantees. Many advisors/pundits say No one can time the market which is code for I dont have a clue on how to time the market. It is not easy, but current indicators are obviously very compelling. Sorry for the length, but these are critical times. It is better to be informed than afraid. Whatever you do dont forget my disclaimer. Final Thought My father was a successful businessman, but was ruined by the 29 crash. A big stockbroker jumped off the ledge and landed on his pushcart. Jackie Mason(Remember him- still alive) More later, Max Power https://maxpowerinvesting.com Disclaimer: Remember everything I said could be wrong, the market always has the last word. Im Max Power and welcome to my site. I have been in the investment arena for over thirty years and charting the markets for twenty. I am convinced all financial market analysis; cyclical, fundamental, quantitative, seasonal, etc. will inevitably reveal technical supply and demand patterns via charts. Copyright 2019 Max Power - 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. Is Silver The Sleeper Rally Setup Of A Lifetime? Our research team believes Silver could be the Sleeper Rally setup of a lifetime for investors if the global economic cards continue to get scattered and crumpled over the next 10+ years. The recent rally in Gold got a lot of attention last Friday (the end of May 2019). We had been warning about this move for the past 8+ months and generated an incredible research post in early October 2018 that clearly highlighted our belief that Gold would peak above $1300 early in 2019, then stall and move toward $1270 near April/May 2019, then begin an incredible upside price rally in June/July/Aug 2019. We couldnt have been more clear about this prediction and we posted it publically in October 2018. See This Previous Gold Forecast Snapshot Now, our research team is going to share with you some incredible insights into what may become the most incredible trade setup weve seen in the past 12+ years the Sleeper Silver Setup. Going all the way back to the early 1970s, when the Hunt Brothers ran most of the metals markets, we can see the incredible price rally in Silver from $1.28 per ounce to nearly $41.50 in late 1979. This move setup with a very simple pattern a high price breakout in 1973 that broke a sideways price channel and initiated a nearly 6+ year rally resulting in an incredible 3142% price increase from the lows. Could it happen again? Well, after this incredible price peak, the price of Silver languished and moved lower, eventually bottoming in 1991 near $3.50. After that bottom setup, the price of Silver setup another sideways price channel and traded within this range until a 2004 High Price Breakout happened AGAIN. It seemed inconsequential at the time a rogue high price near $8.50. Maybe that was it and maybe price would just rotate lower back to near the $4.00 range?? This High Price Breakout setup an incredible price rally that resulted in a continue price advance over the same 6+ year span of time. This rally was not as big as the 1974 to 1979 price rally in percentage terms, but it was much bigger in terms of price valuation. The 1979 price peak ended at $41.50 and resulted in a $40.25 price increase whereas the 2011 price peak resulted in a $46.32 price increase. Will it happen again in our lifetime? As incredible as it might seem, we believe Silver is setting up another High Price Breakout pattern that should conclude within the next 2 to 4 months with a price high near $22.50 to $24.00 (see our proprietary Fibonacci price modeling projections below). After this peak is reached, hold on to your hat because we believe the upside price rally could mimic past rallies and attempt to immediately move the price of Silver to well above $85 per ounce. Ultimately, we can only guess as to where the top of this move may end but we can safely estimate it will likely top somewhere between $90 and $550. This, of course, will require some type of major bear market is other asset classes and possibly some global crisis but we believe it is very possible in due time. Our predictive modeling systems will help us determine where the actual price peak will be as this unfolds over time. And there you have it one of the most incredible trade setups youll ever see in your lifetime. Yes, it may happen twice in your life or more, but we believe this setup in Silver is just weeks or months from initiating the next upside price leg (the High Price Breakout) and we are alerting you now to be prepared. UNIQUE PHYSICAL SILVER OPPORTUNITY: We should start to see money flow into the safe-haven assets like the Utility sector, bonds, and most importantly precious metals. I anticipated this and our XLU utilities ETF taken with members was a quick 3.11% winner. Our VIX ETF trade also hit our 25% profit target within a few days of entry. Now, I have a few silver rounds here at my desk I am going to give away and ship out to anyone who buys a 1-year, or 2-year subscription to my Wealth Trading Newsletter. You can upgrade to this longer-term subscription or if you are new, join one of these two plans listed below, and you will receive: 1-Year Subscription Gets One 1oz Silver Round FREE (Could be worth hundreds of dollars) 2-Year Subscription Gets TWO 1oz Silver Rounds FREE (Could be worth a lot in the future) I only have few silver rounds Im giving away so upgrade or join now before its too late! SUBSCRIBE TO MY TRADE ALERTS AND GET YOUR FREE SILVER ROUNDS! Chris Vermeulen www.TheTechnicalTraders.com Chris Vermeulen has been involved in the markets since 1997 and is the founder of Technical Traders Ltd. He is an internationally recognized technical analyst, trader, and is the author of the book: 7 Steps to Win With Logic Through years of research, trading and helping individual traders around the world. He learned that many traders have great trading ideas, but they lack one thing, they struggle to execute trades in a systematic way for consistent results. Chris helps educate traders with a three-hour video course that can change your trading results for the better. His mission is to help his clients boost their trading performance while reducing market exposure and portfolio volatility. He is a regular speaker on HoweStreet.com, and the FinancialSurvivorNetwork radio shows. Chris was also featured on the cover of AmalgaTrader Magazine, and contributes articles to several leading financial hubs like MarketOracle.co.uk Disclaimer: Nothing in this report should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. Technical Traders Ltd., its owners and the author of this report are not registered broker-dealers or financial advisors. Before investing in any securities, you should consult with your financial advisor and a registered broker-dealer. Never make an investment based solely on what you read in an online or printed report, including this report, especially if the investment involves a small, thinly-traded company that isnt well known. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report has been paid by Cardiff Energy Corp. In addition, the author owns shares of Cardiff Energy Corp. and would also benefit from volume and price appreciation of its stock. The information provided here within should not be construed as a financial analysis but rather as an advertisement. The authors views and opinions regarding the companies featured in reports are his own views and are based on information that he has researched independently and has received, which the author assumes to be reliable. Technical Traders Ltd. and the author of this report do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any content of this report, nor its fitness for any particular purpose. Lastly, the author does not guarantee that any of the companies mentioned in the reports will perform as expected, and any comparisons made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect. Chris Vermeulen Archive 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. Big Developments in Americas 5G Rollout Stock Investors Need to be Aware of My longtime readers know 5G is the most disruptive force of the decade. In short, 5G will supercharge Americas wireless networks. It will give us internet speeds 1,000x faster than todays. This will open up a whole new world of disruption. Think of 5G as a tool that will enable tomorrows disruptive businesses, one of which I revealed in my free special report, The Great Disruptors. For example, how many of the following do you use? Music streaming services like Spotify YouTubes video streaming Ride-hailing from Uber Amazons online store The last wireless upgrade4Gis the driving force behind them all. 4G arrived in the early 2010s and brought us much faster speeds. With that came the ability to do things like watch movies, stream music, or shop from anywhere on your phone. 4G allowed disruptors like Google (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN), and Netflix (NFLX) to flourish. From 2010 to today, their stocks grew 325%, 1,350%, and 3,825%. 5G will be MUCH bigger than 4G. 4G was an upgrade. 5G is a total overhaul. Its going to enable transformative disruptions like self-driving cars and remote surgery. Today, Ill tell you about two big new developments in 5Gand what they mean for investors. Quietly, 5G Is Driving One of the Biggest Disruptions of 2019 As you may have heard, the US Government recently banned Chinese telecom giant Huawei from doing business in the US. I warned back in February this was likely to happen. My prediction ruffled some feathers. Huawei reps even contacted me to insist I was wrong! Huawei is the worlds second-largest phone maker, behind only Samsung. It stands accused of placing secret backdoors in its equipment. If true, these backdoors allow the Chinese government to spy on Americans who use Huaweis gear. Huawei is a private company. It has no publicly-traded stock. But its ban rocked markets all the same... You see, Huawei buys a ton of parts from American companies. It bought $20 billion worth of computer chips from US companies last year, according to investment bank Evercore. US chipmaker Qorvo (QRVO) gets 13% of its revenue from Huawei... Radio-frequency firm Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) counts Huawei as its third-largest customer... And facial recognition company Lumentum (LITE) gets almost 20% of its sales from Huawei. As you can see in this chart, all three stocks tanked on the news. While the Huawei ban is terrible for companies that sell to it, its GREAT for companies that compete with it in 5G. Nokia and Ericsson Will Take the Lead in the 5G Race Huawei is the worlds largest maker of 5G infrastructure. It had secured $100 billion worth of 5G contractsmore than five times any of its rivals. But with Huawei all but banned from the Western world, those contracts have been torn up. Only two other companies can step up to fill the void: Nokia (NOK) and Ericsson (ERIC). You can see in this chart that both stocks jumped when Huaweis ban was confirmed... and theyve continued to march higher. The Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Is a Big Deal If you live in America, I can almost guarantee you use one of four carriers: AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), T-Mobile (TMUS), or Sprint (S). These four have the US cell market on lockdown. They own 98% of the $260 billion/year market. The US government has always been leery of letting phone companies grow too powerful. If too much power concentrates with too few companies, they can take advantage of customers. When the old AT&T got too big back in the 70s, the government broke it up into seven smaller companies. The government has also blocked several phone company mergers. In 2011, it shot down AT&Ts attempt to buy T-Mobile. So, many investors were caught off guard when the US government all but approved a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile. Sprint and T-Mobile are Americas third- and fourth-largest cell companies. Together, theyll form a new supercarrier with 136 million customersmaking it a close third to Verizon with its 155 million customers. The stocks of all four US cell companies jumped higher on the news. Sprint shot up 25% in a single day. With this merger, three companies will effectively control the whole US cell market. Why would the US government allow this? It all comes back to 5G... The US government, and the Trump administration in particular, have been adamant that the US be first in 5G. In April Trump said: The race to 5G is a race America must win. A 2019, GSM Association report estimates US cell companies will have to spend $100 billion over the next two years to get America 5G ready. In short, T-Mobile and Sprint didnt have the cash to build their own 5G networks. So theyre joining forces to build one giant network. According to one estimate, the merger will boost the number of 5G markets Sprint and T-Mobile can serve by 8x. Think of 5G Like Gravity As we all learned back in school, gravity is an invisible force that pulls objects toward each other. The earths gravity keeps your feet planted on the ground and makes apples fall from trees. Like gravity, 5G is a hidden force affecting everything right now. Its a key reason why the US government blacklisted Huawei. Its why the government made the unusual move to greenlight the Sprint / T-Mobile merger. And keep in mind, the 5G buildout is still only in first gear. 5G will cause massive disruption as it comes online in the next couple years. By Stephen McBride http://www.riskhedge.com 2019 Copyright Stephen McBride - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. How Foolish We All Are About China And Life While I will let the real analysts debate about how we should handle our trade deal regarding China, I am only here to discuss the sentiment around the China deal. This past week, I have seen many posts like this one: We wouldn't be down at these relatively low levels had China settled with Trump. Guaranteed. The posters logic works like this: The market has been dropping ever since the China deal fell apart. So, it is clear that the cause of the drop is the China deal debacle. And I am quite certain that almost all of you think in this exact same way. I mean it so logical, right? Well, it sounds logical only if you ignore facts that blow this logic out of the water. Consider that the S&P500 rallied 9% in 2018 during the heart of the trade war with China. With each escalation, we saw the markets continue higher and higher. How could that even be possible based upon the logic everyone seems to espouse today? Now, I am quite certain there will be some of you that will try to explain away this clear lack of consistency. And, you would likely be those with the best blinders in the room. But, how can a person who is viewing the market through the lens of intellectual honesty come to such a conclusion? If the China trade war clearly causes declines in the market, then this would be true all the time. And, the fact that we saw a 9% rally (which, at the time, had many scratching their heads) should make everyone question the basis for such an assumption. Back in 1940, Ralph Nelson Elliott noted the following about causation for market moves: The causes of these cyclical changes seem clearly to have their origin in the immutable natural law that governs all things, including the various moods of human behavior. Causes, therefore, tend to become relatively unimportant in the long term progress of the cycle. This fundamental law cannot be subverted or set aside by statutes or restrictions. Current news and political developments are of only incidental importance, soon forgotten; their presumed influence on market trends is not as weighty as is commonly believed. In fact, he went so far as to state that: At best, news is the tardy recognition of forces that have already been at work for some time and is startling only to those unaware of the trend. And I think this China trade war is providing factual support for Elliotts understanding of markets. As I have been outlining over the last few weeks, the market has a set up in place that is similar to what we experienced in the fall of 2018, in January of 2016, in August of 2015, and in August of 2011, with it most resembling the market action of late 2015 into early 2016. And, this past week, the market stepped through that trap door. Now, this does not mean I am guaranteeing you a market crash. Rather, this simply suggests that the conditions are in place for one to occur. And, should the market continue down through the 2720-35SPX region early in the coming week, we are well on our way for such an event. You see, as I try to explain to those willing to listen, there is nothing definite in life. Well, as a former tax attorney, I recall an old joke: There are three things that are definite in life death, taxes, and tax reform. But, I digress. Since there is nothing truly definite in life, we have to view markets through the lens of probabilities. This means that while I have a pattern that is currently following through based upon its initial set up, I have to be mindful that this can change. So, I need to know what signals to look for to provide me with a warning that the market will not follow through in the current set up. As I write this article late Saturday night as a bit of a diversion for myself, I simply want to provide goalposts for you to follow in the coming week. 2735/40SPX is our support just below where we closed on Friday. We next need to see the market break strongly through that support to maintain our crash scenario. However, if the market is unable to do so, and rallies back through the market pivot (2770-2800) we outlined to our members, then it tell us that the immediate crash set up has been postponed, and the market will see another higher retracement before we see another downside set up take hold in the coming weeks/months. But, overall, my expectations remain that the market will likely see lower levels in the coming months before we are ready for the rally I expect to take us to the 3500-4000 by the 2022/23 time frame. Lastly, since I have been writing about life, I want to take a moment to remind all of you how precious life truly is, and it must not be taken for granted, for it can be taken from you within an instant. On Friday, while we were in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, my wife had a freak accident which caused a traumatic brain injury. While I am sitting here in the ICU in Idaho as she is sleeping, thanking G-d for bringing her to a point where we are now quite hopeful, I want to remind those of you who read my articles to always focus on what is most important in life. I would also beseech those of you so inclined to say a prayer for my wifes recovery. I would greatly appreciate it. And, please take a moment this weekend to recognize what is truly important in your life. We too often take it for granted. Avi Gilburt is a widely followed Elliott Wave analyst and founder of ElliottWaveTrader.net, a live trading room featuring his analysis on the S&P 500, precious metals, oil & USD, plus a team of analysts covering a range of other markets. He recently founded FATRADER.com, a live forum featuring some of the top fundamental analysts online today to showcase research and elevate discussion for traders & investors interested in fundamental rather than technical analysis. 2019 Copyright Avi Gilburt - All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors. 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication. In Defence of Marxism is committed to safeguarding your privacy. 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Please let us know if you have any queries or concerns whatsoever about the way in which your data is being processed by emailing the Data Protection Manager at webmaster@marxist.com A little formula in first days of life may not impact breastfeeding at 6 months A study has lodged a new kink in the breastfeeding dilemma that adds to the angst of exhausted new parents: While most newborns lose weight in the first days of life, do you or don't you offer a little formula after breastfeeding if the weight loss is more than usual? For years, the answer has been "no," as infant formula was seen as a deterrent to breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age, and continuing breastfeeding until 12 months while transitioning to solids. But according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, just over one-third of infants in the United States are breastfeeding at 12 months. The answer is no longer clear-cut, say researchers of the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals - led study, publishing in JAMA Pediatrics on June 3, 2019. It depends on breastfeeding duration goals and attitudes, and needs to be balanced against the risks that newborns face in the first days of life when their weight is dropping. In the study, the researchers tracked the long-term feeding habits of 164 babies born at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals and Penn State Children's Hospital. The infants had been breastfed between 1-to-3 days old, and their weight loss had been in the 75th percentile or above for age. Half of the mothers added syringe-fed formula after each breastfeeding, which stopped when the mother's milk came in at two-to-five days after delivery. The other half had continued to breastfeed exclusively. Marital Status, Breastfeeding Goals Are Factors in Weaning The researchers found that at 6 months of age, the infants in the supplemented group were as likely to breastfeed as those who had exclusively breastfed. But by 12 months of age, that had changed. In the supplemented group, 21 of the 12-month-olds (30 percent) were still breastfeeding, versus 37 of the infants (48 percent) in the non-supplemented group. The disparity between the two groups was less marked when the researchers accounted for married status and longer breastfeeding duration goals, both of which are associated with longer-term breastfeeding. "The results suggest that using early, limited formula may not have a negative impact on infants, but it may alter maternal attitudes toward breastfeeding," said first author Valerie Flaherman, MD, a pediatrician at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals and associate professor in the UCSF departments of pediatrics, and epidemiology and biostatistics. While limited formula in the first days of life did not seem to change feeding habits among newborns that were exclusively breastfed, "it's possible that supplementation reduced commitment, by the mother or other family members, to avoid it later in infancy," she said. An earlier study of the same 164 infants, also led by Flaherman, found that the supplemented newborns may have been at lower risk for hyperbilirubinemia, a condition that leads to jaundice and may be caused by inadequate nutrition. Of the five infants readmitted to the hospital by 1 month of age, four were in the non-supplemented group. "Our study's results show that early, limited formula may have significant benefits as well as risks for subsequent breastfeeding duration," said Flaherman. "Counseling that implies all formula is harmful would be inaccurate and may be detrimental to long-term breastfeeding success," she said. However, if formula is used in the first few days after birth to prevent hyperbilirubinemia or dehydration, "it should be discontinued as soon as possible, since ongoing use at 1 week of age indicates a mother is at high risk of early breastfeeding cessation." Senior author Ian M. Paul, MD, of Penn State College of Medicine, emphasized that a "rigid, one-size-fits-all approach" was inappropriate. "Guidelines for care and standards set by hospital accreditation agencies should consider these data and how best to support babies and their mothers," he said. ### Co-Authors: Michael Cabana, MD, of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals and Charles McCulloch, PhD, of UCSF. Funding: Healthcare Resources and Services Administration/Maternal Child Health Bureau. Disclosures: Cabana has served as a paid consultant for Nestle; Paul has served as a paid consultant for Johnson & Johnson and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. About UCSF: UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top-ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, translational and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises three top-ranked hospitals - UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland - as well as Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, UCSF Benioff Children's Physicians and the UCSF Faculty Practice. UCSF Health has affiliations with hospitals and health organizations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF faculty also provide all physician care at the public Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and the SF VA Medical Center. The UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program is a major branch of the University of California, San Francisco's School of Medicine. Please visit http://www. ucsf. edu/ news . Follow UCSF ucsf.edu | Facebook.com/ucsf | YouTube.com/ucsf This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. China never backtracks on its words. From June 1 on, the countrys imposition of additional tariffs on 60 billion dollars worth of US imports will take effect, as a counter-measure against Washingtons move to increase tariffs on 200 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent. China has also released a message to the world that it will establish a list of unreliable entities based on relevant laws and regulations. Foreign enterprises, organizations and individuals that do not comply with market rules, violate the spirit of contract, block or cut supplies to Chinese firms with non-commercial purposes, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises, will be added to the list of unreliable entities. China strikes back at what that makes it suffer. It is imperative to take decisive counter-measures as the US has undermined Chinas industrial chain and supply chain security by adding more Chinese high-tech firms on the Entity List. Chinas Foreign Trade Law clearly stipulates that in the event that any country or region applies prohibitive, restrictive or other like measures on a discriminatory basis against China in respect of trade, China may, as the case may be, take counter-measures against the country or region in question. The countrys Anti-monopoly Law and National Security Law also provide legal support for its counter-measures against the US. Obviously, Chinas decision to establish the list of unreliable entities is a strong fist against the hegemonic moves of the US, and it is absolutely lawful! In retrospect, the world could find that it was the US backtracking and extreme pressure on China that had frustrated the consultation process of the 11 rounds of China-US high-level economic and trade consultations. On the contrary, China always adheres to principles and keeps it bottom line. In the face of rounds of tariff-driven attacks from Washington, China fought back with composure and dignity. When Washington expressed its willingness to talk, China earnestly engaged in the consultations with greatest sincerity. As the US initiated the trade war unilaterally, China was forced to take counter-attacks while remaining calm. Facts speak louder than words. The US, which has repeatedly adopted unilateralism and protectionist practices recklessly and arbitrarily, has plagued the world. The international community generally believes that through taking counter-measures, China is not only safeguarding its legitimate rights and interests, but also maintaining multilateralism and the global free trade system. China has always had the sense of justice and followed the trend of the times. It has become an international consensus that Chinas development and growth brings peace and prosperity to the world, not the risk of conflict. The US cannot expect to always be at the top in technology, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told a conference in Tokyo on Thursday. The Malaysian Prime Minister also called on countries to handle their relations with China, which is becoming increasingly stronger, through dialogue. Countries with different ideologies must get along well with each other, he said, warning that conflict between the US and China would only lead to greater destruction. Indeed, if the US is obsessed with unilateral trade moves, it will only be hit by greater destruction. According to US media reports, Washingtons trade policy has put American farmers on the verge of financial collapse. Wall Street has also fallen victim to Washingtons unstable trade policy, as the escalation of the trade war has wiped out more than $1 trillion of stock market value. Research carried out by US scholars on trade conflicts between 151 countries (34 developed countries included) from 1996 to 2014 has found that trade protectionism could create greater impact on developed countries. Therefore, it is totally groundless for some US politicians to assume that China will suffer heavier losses in trade disputes. Strategic misjudgment is a big mistake in the arena of international relations. For the United States, what is really dangerous at the moment is not its trade deficit, but how it sees the issue. Some US politicians should open their eyes to see the fact that the world is not what theyve imagined and China is never a country they should underestimate. It is unpredictable how far some US politicians will go toward the wrong direction, but it is clear that China has enough strength, confidence, determination and willpower to fight the trade war to the end. Victory will eventually belong to the party that upholds justice. There is an old saying in China that a wise man can be ruined by his own wisdom. This proverb is perfect to describe some politicians in the US who think they are always right and clever. In the early days of the trade war, some US politicians claimed that trade wars are good and easy to win, and believed that they could force others into making concessions through exerting extreme pressure. The US politicians took backtracking as the art of trade, and abused state power to smear and suppress foreign enterprises. They also made up the accusation against China of stealing intellectual property rights and renewed the controversial "clash of civilizations" idea. The world has seen through the tricks some American politicians have played. The so-called victory over trade war is self-deception and creates negative impact for the world. The US politicians have set a bad example to the world by making people become more aware of the stubbornness of Washington, more determined to focus on their own affairs and more motivated to create a better future with strong willpower and growing strength. Washingtons self-righteousness is nothing more than an attempt to gain more benefits through playing tricks. However, it has neglected the fact that the trade war it provoked with the world could backfire itself. Research from the International Monetary Fund reveals that US importers almost entirely bear the cost of tariffs, which are then passed on to the consumers. Washingtons assault on Huawei has led to a blow that battered US technology shares. The stocks of multiple American firms fell sharply as a consequence of the cold war in technology argument hyped up by some US politicians. Some narrow-minded US politicians honor hegemony rather than rules, and worship interests instead of ideals, believing that coerce and exert extreme pressure on China will come to a good end for them. The US government frequently adopts national security reviews in the trade battlefields worldwide, said Bloomberg, pointing out that this practice will lead to a bad precedent and the US will inevitably hurt itself. This is indeed the case. The US has repeatedly challenged the current multilateral international order and become the biggest destroyer and the most unstable factor in the current international system. People of insight from all over the world have appealed for justice, sternly criticizing Washington for a series of conducts that go against the trend of the time. The arrogant and unconstrained hegemonic behaviors of the US earn little support and will only be answered with stronger counter-measures. American mathematician John Tukey said that if everyone wants to maximize their own interests, they will end up with a lose-lose situation. What lies behind Washingtons self-righteousness is nothing but zero-sum game mentality. However, the US has underestimated the ability and determination of other countries to protect their core interests. A number of countries have taken counter-measures against the US for provoking trade disputes and prosecuted the latter at the World Trade Organization. The US has miscalculated thinking that it could intimidate China by imposing tariffs on Chinese products worth hundreds of billions of US dollars. In a world where countries are interdependent on each other, it is extremely stupid for the US to believe that a trade war is easy to win and its opponents are easy to lose. Washington has underestimated the wisdom, strategies and willpower of its opponents, which will only lead to the escalation of chaos and crises, said the German newspaper Der Spiegel. History has told us that true wisdom comes from win-win cooperation, and there is no future for self-righteousness and a beggar-thy-neighbor approach. When the interests of all countries are closely intertwined and the fate is closely related, cooperation is much needed for mankind to cope with risks and challenges, Jeffrey Sachs, an economics professor at Columbia University, said in his book A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism. The US government, which acts willfully by adopting the America First strategy, and intentionally sabotaging international rules, has exposed its obsession with American exceptionalism. Such toxic concept and practices are not only harmful to the US, but also very dangerous to the world. Cooperation leads to win-win results while confrontation leads to lose-lose situations. For China and the US, cooperation is the only right choice. If the politicians of the US cannot see the historical trend and remain addicted to self-righteousness, their tricks such as provoking confrontations, intimidating and pressuring, and escalating conflicts, will lead nowhere. (Zhong Sheng is a pen name used by People's Daily to express views on foreign policy.) [June 03, 2019] Teramount and Hisense Sign a Collaboration Agreement JERUSALEM, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Teramount, the enabler of scalable optical connectivity, and Hisense Broadband Multimedia Technology, a leader in optical modules, signed yesterday a collaboration agreement at a ceremony held in Tel Aviv as part of a visit to Israel of a delegation from the city of Qingdao. The agreement was signed between Dr. Wei-Ping Huang, Chief Scientist of Hisense Broadband, and Hesham Taha, CEO of Teramount. Hisense and Teramount will work together on incorporating Teramount's patented PhotonicPlug technology, which enables connecting fiber to silicon using standard equipment, into Hisense's next generation of optical products. "As optical solutions for data centers and other markets continue to require higher speeds an higher bandwidth, connecting fiber to Silicon is one of the main challenges of the industry," said Dr. Huang, Hisense Broadband Multimedia Technology. "Teramount's PhotonicPlug provides an innovative solution to this challenge." "We are excited to partner with a world-class industry leader such as Hisense Broadband Multimedia Technology and to collaborate towards implementing advanced optical solutions which are necessary to support the growing bandwidth and requirements of many industry segments," said Hesham Taha, Teramount CEO. Teramount's PhotonicPlug technology enables scalable optical connectivity by supporting high-throughput, high-density attachment of optical fibers to silicon, which is critical for next generation transceivers, co-packaged optics for switches, and laser integration in data centers, communications, and other markets. Contact: Hesham Taha Chief Executive Officer Teramount Ltd. +972-54-699-8599 [email protected] www.teramount.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/teramount-and-hisense-sign-a-collaboration-agreement-300860431.html SOURCE Teramount Ltd. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. A study tour, a trip, a visit the charming landscape and the lovely people of China have brought many unforgettable memories to people who traveled there. China has changed enormously since reform and opening-up and more and more foreigners choose to travel and live in China. Departed from Fengqing, Amy Lyons arrived at Mengding, a border town locates in the far Southwest of Yunnan province, China. Invited by the locals, she experienced the biggest festival of the Dai ethnic minority, the Water Splashing Festival. Dress up in colorful Dai clothes, dancing and singing and pouring water to loved ones and friends. Its the best way to wash away the dirt and sorrows from the past year, and ensure good luck in the coming year! Covelli Enterprises, the largest franchisee of Panera Bread, launched a fundraising campaign Monday to support relief efforts in the Dayton area following the Memorial Day tornado outbreak. The Chip in for Dayton campaign will be run at nearly 100 Panera Bread locations in Dayton, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky and Central Ohio. During the fundraising campaign, 25 cents from every cookie sold at those Panera locations will be donated to the Greater Dayton Disaster Relief Fund of The Dayton Foundation. Covelli is also raising funds at its Dayton and central Ohio locations during the entire month of June through its Change Roll-up campaign. Covelli also donated 35,000 bottle of water to The Foodbank on May 31st. Were doing all we can to help the situation in our Dayton-area neighborhoods, and we invite all other community stakeholders to do the same, Sam Covelli, owner and operator of Covelli Enterprises, said. Our goal is to give the people in the region as many ways to get involved in the relief effort as possible. We want the families affected to know they have our support and they are not alone in this. The Chip in for Dayton campaign is good for any kind of cookie sold at Panera. Miao Xiaohong, one of China's second batch of female pilots. [Photo/CCTV] An 82-year-old Chinese female pilot has set a record in the country's aviation industry after flying a small plane for 40 minutes in Beijing on Tuesday. Miao Xiaohong, one of China's second batch of female pilots, controlled the Tecnam P2010 plane to take off, turn, climb, dive and land safely at the Shifosi Airport in Pinggu district in Beijing. A trainer accompanied her. After stepping down from the plane, Miao, who has retired for 30 years, told her former colleague who accompanied her at the airport that she felt it was great, and that her heartbeat was normal and suitable for flight. BERLIN A leash law requiring an electronic collar or a leash on public property, with some exceptions for parks, is being considered by the Town Councils ordinance committee. The initiative was prompted by two lawsuits against the town stemming from dog bites. It is designed to make sure dogs are kept under tighter control in neighborhoods and sidewalks. The sticking point is whether to carve out exceptions for some town parks. The town currently uses the state requirement that dogs be under the control of the owner when in public, which has been interpreted to include an owner being able to give verbal commands to an unleashed dog. At a recent ordinance committee meeting, discussion focused on park exceptions and requiring leashes and electronic collars. Most of the focus was on Bicentennial Park, which is popular with dog owners. According to the minutes of the May 14 commission meeting, panel member Joann Angelico-Stetson was in favor of requiring leashes at Bicentennial Park. I'm a dog owner too, have been since I was a kid but I believe a dog has to be leashed for a variety of reasons," she said. The committee largely ruled out creating a fenced in area at Bicentennial Park where dogs could be kept off-leash after some dog owners said they feel some people dont watch their pets as closely once they are in an enclosed area. As soon as you fence in an area, its a whole different dynamic, said Lori Odischoo, one of a group of dog owners that attended the May 14 meeting. dleithyessian@record-journal.com 203-317-2317 Twitter: @leith_yessian SOUTHINGTON Members of the Community Committee to Save Bradley rallied this weekend at the Southington Historical Society in an effort to keep Bradley Hospital open. Committee spokesperson Bonnie Sica said the rally was designed to make sure the public knows that Hartford HealthCare is considering razing the building and replacing it. It isnt until the wrecking ball is here...and everyone will say Oh my God. How did that happen? Sica said. Hartford HealthCare officials announced last year that plans under consideration for the Bradley campus included razing the century-old building and replacing it with a health care campus. Hospital group officials said that the old building doesn't lend itself to a cost-effective renovation or the best medical practices. No decisions have been finalized and the future of the campus is still under consideration. Hartford Healthcare Director of Communications Shawn Mawhiney said Sunday there are still no concrete plans for the hospitals future at this time. As soon as we have a concrete plan we want to share it with our staff and we want to share it with the Town Council, he said. On Saturday, about a dozen group members carried signs that read, Save Bradley and urged passing drivers to honk their horns in support. After Sica gave a speech about the committees mission to save the hospital, the group marched toward the hospital. Resident John Randall said the hospital holds a special significance for him because it is where his mother died. What is really important is that personal touch, Randall said. When residents dont have a local hospital he feels a sense of community is lost. Growing up in a community where you have your own hospital is just part of the whole flavor of growing up in this community, Randall said. Mawhiney said Hartford Healthcare remains committed to Southington and pointed to the numerous facilities and programs offered in town, including a new program for opioid addiction. Were trying to meet people in their healthcare journey at the right place and were going to continue doing that in Southington, Mawhiney said. Sica said she hopes these rallies show there is a lot of support for this keeping the hospital. We dont want to give up our community hospital, she said. jroman@record-journal.com By PTI NEW DELHI/BERNE: Amid a continuing crackdown on Swiss bank account holders with suspected illicit money, Switzerland has stepped up its process to share details of such individuals with Potluri Rajamohan Rao being the latest Indian national to get a notice in this regard. At least 14 Indians, with accounts in Switzerland-based banks, were issued notices by the Swiss authorities last month, in which they have been given one last chance to appeal against sharing of their details with India. According to officials, many more such notices are in the offing in the coming weeks as India has sought details about a large number of Indian clients of Swiss banks who are suspected to have indulged in illicit financial activities. The latest such notice was issued to one Potluri Rajamohan Rao on May 28, asking him to file an appeal, if any, within ten days in connection with the 'administrative assistance' sought by the Indian authorities. In the preceding week, at least 11 such notices were issued on a single day, May 21, to various Indian clients of the Swiss banks, as per the Swiss government gazette notifications. Switzerland has been striving hard to re-establish its global financial centre position after clamping down on secrecy walls of its banks and there has been a significant surge in the number of cases where it has initiated process to share information on Indians with Swiss bank accounts. Except for his date of birth (July 15, 1951) and his Indian residency, the notification issued by the Federal Tax Administration, Switzerland, did not disclose any further details of Rao. However, officials said Rao has been associated with various businesses in southern states of India, including in the telecom business. An analysis of the notifications issued by the FTA, the nodal department for sharing of information on foreign clients of Swiss banks, shows that the Swiss government has stepped up its efforts in sharing such details with a number of countries in the recent months, but the surge in India-related cases is noticeable in the past few weeks. However, the gazette notifications of the Swiss government has redacted full names for several of them while making public only their initials besides the nationality and the dates of birth. The Indians whose names have been mentioned in full also included Krishna Bhagwan Ramchand, Kalpesh Harshad Kinariwala, Ratan Singh Chowdhury, Kuldip Singh Dhingra and Anil Bhardwaj. However, no further details have been disclosed about them as well. In these notices, the individuals or their authorised representatives have been asked to file their appeals, if any, within 30 days (10 days in some cases) with necessary documentary proof to support their case against providing 'administrative assistance' to India, which broadly means sharing of their banking and other financial details. Several of these names are said to have figured in the leaked HSBC lists and Panama papers which allegedly contained names of Indians with Swiss bank accounts and are being probed by Indian authorities in alleged black money cases. While some notices were issued in April also, Switzerland had issued such notices in March to Mumbai-based Geodesic Ltd and its three directors (Prashant Sharad Mulekar, Pankajkumar Onkar Srivastava and Kiran Kulkarni), as also to Chennai-based Aadhi Enterprises Pvt Ltd, who are being probed by the Indian authorities for alleged money laundering and other financial irregularities. Switzerland was widely known as an alleged safe haven for black money before it bowed down before the global pressure and agreed to bring down the famed secrecy walls that had historically surrounded the Swiss banks, provided the requesting country gave proof for financial irregularities done by the concerned person or the company. Along with several other countries, India has also been making use of this change in the stance of Switzerland by seeking details of suspected black money hoarders in Swiss banks and it has already got back information in a large number of cases in the last few years. While the Swiss government documents did not disclose specific details related to the information and assistance sought by the Indian authorities regarding these Indian companies and individuals, such an 'administrative assistance' follows submission of proof about financial and tax-related wrongdoings and typically involves sharing of information relating to bank account details and other financial data. While Switzerland has always denied being a safe haven for black money, it has begun sharing details for last few years with several countries including India after submission of evidence about financial and tax-related wrongdoings of the clients of Swiss banks. Besides, a new framework of automatic information exchange has been now put in place and the details can be accessed under the new system from this year. According to Switzerland's State Secretariat for International Finance, the global standard for the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) on financial accounts is expected to increase the transparency and prevent cross-border tax evasion. The global standard makes provision for the mutual exchange of information on financial accounts between states and territories that have agreed among themselves to the AEOI. Besides Switzerland, over 100 states and territories, including all major financial centres, have declared their intention to adopt the standard. Iffath Fathima By Express News Service BENGALURU : In perhaps a first-of-its-kind initiative, the South Division of Bangalore City Police has opened libraries in each of the 17 police stations under the division. A brainchild of K Annamalai, Deputy Commissioner of Police, South Division, the move is a bid to enable police personnel deployed at the stations to gain more knowledge about various subjects. It is good to learn more, no matter which position you are at and how old you are, Annamalai told CE. The aim of this initiative is to make cops become more learned, smarter and well-rounded. I have noticed that some of the head constables require more knowledge and having books at their disposal will help them inculcate a reading habit. During their free hours, they can come to the library and flip the pages of books. It also acts as a stress-buster and a lot of them have already started using the facility, he added. About 20 books on various topics have been placed on bookshelves of the library in all the 17 stations. The collection of books, given by Annamalai himself, consists of books dealing in subjects such as are law and order, or history, besides novels and autobiographies in English and Kannada. Annamalai is also urging other citizens to donate books to these libraries. People from the city can donate books either directly to the police station or even at the office of DCP South, and from here it will be transferred to the different stations, he added. The Jayanagar Police Station has got about 230 books now. We have got 150 books from the Central Library while 77 books were donated by Sapna Book House. A couple of residents from nearby localities acame and donated a few books as well, said Yarriswamy, a police inspector at the station. Most police persons have already started reading the books, and express their happiness with the DCPs move. Every day, more than 10 constables are seen engaging themselves with books. This has been very helpful for us. Whenever we get free time, we come to the library and start reading books. Thanks to Annamalai sir, we can gain more knowledge on various topics, Raghu, head constable at JP Nagar Police Station, told CE. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Time and again, people have turned to unconventional options to treat various ailments. These treatments might not have the approval of doctors, but that has not deterred users from giving them a try. Here is a look at some animal oils available online, which purportedly have a range of benefits - from treating body aches to removing unwanted hair. However, none of them are said to be clinically proven, and they create demand for unethical products that use animal fats. Emu Oil: Emu Oil is said to treat body aches, minor wounds and is also used as a moisturiser. It is extracted from the fat deposits present in the bird. Sheetal Kumar, manager at RK Emu Farm, says: Emu oil is used for joint pains, and as hair oil. But its demand is more in the international market. Explaining the oil extraction technique, he says: Meat and oil can be extracted from the same bird. After the bird is killed, their fat is extracted and then processed into oil. One bird, which might weigh between 35-40 kg, will give 5-6 litres of oil. We pack and sell the oil in 50ml and 100 ml bottles. Sri Lakshmi Kolluri, a dermatologist, says: Emu oil is supposed to treat body aches, but I am not sure. It definitely has use for the skin. People should consult doctors before using such products.Horse oil: When you step into the recently-opened Miniso stores, which is a Japanese brand, you cannot help but notice all the beauty products with horse oil in them. According to a popular lifestyle website, Horse oil and horse oil products have been used for centuries in the far East for treating mild skin complaints, such as burns, cuts and eczema. Being derived from fat, its no surprise that horse oil contains an essential fatty acid called linolenic acid but more so than in cows and sheep. Linolenic acid is thought to have anti-inflammatory properties and helps to maintain and repair the barrier of the skin. By doing this, its going to keep moisture in, and the bad stuff out. Brands selling the product maintain that the oil is extracted from horses that are killed for meat, and no animal is killed exclusively for the oil.Ant egg oil: This purportedly removes body hair permanently. The use of this oil is said to have originated in Turkey, where it was used to reduce the appearance of body hair for men, women and children. Animal rights Pravallika, founder and chairperson, Compassionate Society for Animals, says: By its name, its easy to guess that this new wonder beauty product (with horse oil) is derived specifically from the fat of the horse. Using fat from animals isnt new. Animal byproducts have been used in beauty for centuries with ingredients like gelatin and lanolin common in many commercial formulas. Unlike lanolin, which can be extracted from sheep wool without harming the sheep, horse oil is solely a byproduct from horse meat production. Horse oil and horse oil products have been used for centuries in the far East for treating skin complaints, such as burns, cuts and eczema. The products, however, are not proven to be helpful. Though the brands say that the animal components are mere byproducts, they undoubtedly create a market for products that may lead to animal cruelty. OMJASVIN M D By Express News Service CHENNAI: With scorched lands and rapid depletion of groundwater, pursuing agriculture in Gudapakkam, Meyyur, and Nemam in Tiruvallur district now seems like a distant dream. It has been more than six months since 500 acres has seen any activity. The water level has gone below 160 feet, says M B Venkatesan (66) of Meyyur, who owns four acres in which he grew paddy, watermelon and groundnuts. One tonne of melon was sold for `5,000 and in one acre we got 15 tonnes, he said adding that though there was not much rain last year they still had enough groundwater. If it rains, we just need 70 days to cultivate watermelons, he said. Unlike farmers from Nemam who have borewells (up to 60 feet), farmers from the other two villages grow only rainfed crops and also depend on Gudappakkam and Nemam lakes, which now run dry. The cost of sinking a borewell ranges between `1.5 and 2 lakh. Nobody in our village can afford it, he said. In Gudapakkam, a village that has 2,400 households, paddy is the staple crop. In one acre, we used to harvest 20-30 bags (each weighing 35-40 kg) in two months, with one bag selling between `900 to 1,000, said Ramamoorthy C (50) adding that last year they harvested two crops. Gudapakkam also suffers drinking water problems. Usually, we get drinking water from tankers from Nemam, but for the past six months, we are using borewells (120 feet) and the water is bitter. We are forced to buy water cans for `25 while some make use of panchayat taps, said S Sreenivasan (43). He is one of the farmers who has given up on farming and has gone on to earn a living elsewhere. Today I drive commercial vehicles (vans or buses) for a living, he said. Cattle problem Since Gudapakkam and Meyyur do not have resources to maintain cattle, they let them loose to graze in the fields of Nemam, some four km from Gudapakkam. This has irked the local farmers. We fear to sow paddy because cows in large numbers stray in our fields and destroy the crops, said Suresh R (49) of Nemam, who has fenced eight acres of his land at a cost of `25,000. However, the current situation at Nemam is no different as it has been two months since any cultivation has taken place. The youth from Meyyur and Gudapakkam now work as labourers, while some old farmers remain unemployed. Only if it rains and the Nemam and Gudapakkam lakes get full our livelihood will be safe, says Venkatesan.Tiruvallur experienced sporadic rain on Wednesday which brought some cheer to the farmers. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Located along the coastline of Tamil Nadu, the scintillating beaches in Chennai are said to be among the most beautiful in the country. However, they are also the most vulnerable because of reckless human intervention. In a move to raise awareness about ocean pollution, the Covelong Point Surfing School in association with the Coast Guard held a stand up paddle rally from Besant Nagar Beach to Marina Beach on Saturday. The rally was flagged off by GS Sameeran, director, TN Fisheries department. C Sylendra Babu, Director General of Police, Southern Railway was seen encouraging the paddlers.The total distance is about nine kilometres and it will be covered in 45 minutes. We chose the stretch between Marina Beach and Besant Nagar Beach particularly because these two waterbodies are frequented by thousands daily. When we did a trial sail on Friday, we found so much of garbage, predominantly consisting chips and biscuit packet wrappers, in the waters. It is high time, the public understand the repercussions of ocean pollution, said Murthy Megavan from Covelong Point Surfing School, who is the organiser of the event. Apart from ocean pollution, the rally was also held to spread awareness on Stand up Paddle (SUP) Boarding as a sport. Sekar Pachai, a homegrown champion, who represents India in the world games said, SUP is an offshoot of surfing that originated in Hawaii. Unlike traditional surfing where the rider sits until a wave comes, stand up paddle boarders stand on their boards and use a paddle to propel themselves through the water. In Chennai, about 50-60 people are practising the sport professionally.Anybody interested can learn it at the Covelong Point Surfing School. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police claimed to have busted an international syndicate dealing in stolen mobile phones after it arrested seven gang members and confiscated 311 mobiles worth more than Rs 60 lakh. The gang members were arrested after the Interstate Cell Crime Branch received information about a group of people involved in snatching high-end mobiles phones and selling them in Nepal as their demand had gone up there. A probe revealed that the stolen mobile phones were taken across the border by road, road, making use of the regular bus services between the two countries. The IMEI search of stolen snatched mobile phones is restricted to India, so stolen mobile phones are taken across the border to be disposed of. According to the police, the accused Mukesh Kumar (38), Naresh Kumar (27), Rajan (28) and Gopal Pathak (31) would buy phones from Rohit (23) and other habitual snatchers and pickpockets. The consignments were then handed over to Naresh Kumar (30), who oversaw the logistics of taking the gadgets to Nepal. Another key player was Ram Singh (58), a resident of Kathmandu, who facilitated the movement of these consignments from Delhi to Nepal. Singh was also responsible for payment for these phones through illegal channels of monetary transactions. The gang was busted during an investigation into a complaint about snatching of a mobile phone that took place in Connaught Place, Rajesh Deo, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), said. It was found that some of the gang members had worked in Gaffar Market for the last couple of years as mobile phone repairers. However, due to regular raids by police agencies and a decline in the prices of mobile phones, their business of repairing and reselling mobile phones had gone downhill. The IMEIs and details of recovered phones are being uploaded on the Delhi Police website for members of the public to locate their phone. CAIRO, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Experts in the Islamic world spoke highly of Chinese President Xi Jinping's message on enhancing cooperation between China and Islamic countries. Xi sent a congratulatory message on Friday on the opening of the 14th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi city of Mecca. In his message, Xi said China attaches great importance to the friendly relations with Islamic countries and looks to the OIC as an important bridge for cooperation between China and the Islamic world. Xi also said that China stands ready to work with the Islamic countries to enhance political mutual trust and promote practical cooperation and dialogue among civilizations, to jointly create a better future for the friendly ties between China and the Islamic world and to contribute to advancing the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. Abdullah Al-Salloum, a Kuwaiti economist, said Xi's message is "classic in diplomacy." "Xi's message speaks of values that we all should encourage," he said. Iraqi political analyst Nadhum al-Jubouri said "China is a country that respect its commitments and abide by its neutrality." He said the message shows the Chinese president's "wisdom and successful leadership." Improving relations, mutual understanding, support and cooperation is "the best way to serve the interests of the Islamic peoples and Chinese people," al-Jubouri said, stressing closer ties between Islamic countries and China are also important for the global development with the spirit of "tolerance, brotherhood and peace." He called upon Islamic countries to cooperate more with China, and expressed the wish that China will further support Islamic countries and help them overcome economic crises. Al-Jubouri hailed the Belt and Road Initiative as "a brilliant idea," saying it shows China's determination to support other peoples within balanced relations of mutual trust in order to create "a harmonious and interactive world that believes in common destiny and better future." Adnan Abu Amer, head of Department of Political Science and Media at Ummah University in Gaza city, said China can help find out appropriate solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli issue. "The most important thing is that China believes in the principle of partnership, understanding and friendly relations far more than control," he said. The large trade volume between China and Islamic countries determines that China would care much about what happens in the region, said Samy Kamhawy, an expert in Chinese affairs from Egypt's largest daily newspaper Al-Ahram. He said that the OIC needs to promote cooperation between the organization members and China through international deals and joint work. He believes China will have a unique role to play among the Islamic countries, as it could work as a mediator to help settle problems that occur from time to time among Islamic countries. "China ... can play a big role via its diplomatic policies to help reduce the differences and ease the tensions in the region," Kamhawy added. Nasser Bouchiba, president of the Africa-China Cooperation Association for Development, said: "I would like to remind you that respect is a cultural characteristic in China, and this has always been observed since the beginning of exchanges with Arab and Muslim traders back in the eighth century." Bouchiba said President Xi's message on the OIC summit is therefore "a continuation of China's great esteem and respect for the Muslim world." Swetha Kadiyala By Express News Service KOCHI: Search 'mental health issues among youngsters' on Google and you will come across hundreds of articles detailing scholarly research and blog posts narrating personal stories that paint a grim picture of the situation. A recent study published in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology shows the proportion of individuals suffering from adverse psychological distress has grown 52 per cent in teens and 63 per cent among young adults over the past decade in the US. Closer home, the situation is not much different. While India has the largest youth population in the world, the number of people under the grip of depression is equally proportional. According to the data released by the Department of Psychiatry at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences last year, depression figures in the country have risen rapidly in the last 10 years with 50 per cent of the youth affected under the age of 14 and 75 per cent under 25. IllusEXPRESS The fact of the matter is that the young generation now has really poor frustration tolerance because we have made them ill-equipped to handle the challenges posed by the fast-paced, technologically advanced world of today. The exponential rise in the use of smartphones and thereby social media is proving to be detrimental. Depression among youngsters has become so common that I encounter a case or two every day, says Dr John C J, a prominent psychiatrist and senior consultant at Medical Trust Hospital. Research points to how in-person real-time conversations being taken over by the virtual space lead to a sense of disorientation and loneliness among teens and young adults. "It was in the second year of my college that I realised I was depressed, I had been feeling dejected much before. Moving to the city after school, leaving behind my friends and family took a toll on me. I also lost a friend around the same time and it acted as a catalyst to worsen my mental state. Getting out of bed and going to college seemed like too much effort so I stopped attending classes. I did not have the inclination to talk to anyone or go out with friends but looking at their pictures hanging out together on Instagram made me feel unwanted and lonely. This was the lowest point of my life. After graduating college, I decided to take a year off and seek medical help," says Saumya (name changed), a student from Thrissur who is currently pursuing her MA from St Teresa's College. The acceptance to seek help is comparatively higher among the younger group, there is an expressive need to share their distress. Unlike the older generation, the young dont consider it as a stigma. However, the probability of discontinuing therapy or treatment is also more," points Dr John.Saumya underscores the importance of seeking medical help and being consistent. "I didn't want to waste precious years of my like feeling hopeless. I am in a much better place right now emotionally, counselling helped me a great deal," she adds. There are many misconceptions about taking anti-depressants but not everyone is prescribed pills. "Counselling therapy suffices in most cases, only people suffering from major depressive disorder need medication. The drugs in the market today are advanced enough to cause fewer side effects," observes Dr John. By Express News Service KOCHI: The worse fears on the resurfacing of the Nipah disease in Kerala seem to be coming true with the state health minister KK Shailaja on Monday saying that the youngster, who was admitted to a private hospital in Kochi, is suspected to have contracted the deadly virus. The 23-year-old man from Vadakkekara grama panchayat in Ernakulam district has been admitted to the isolation ward of the private hospital after he showed symptoms of Nipah. District medical officer Dr M K Kuttappan said a high-level medical team is meeting in Kochi. We can confirm Nipah only after the meeting, he said. Speaking in Thiruvananthapuram, Shailaja said it was a suspected case of Nipah. The Minister is likely to reach Ernakulam by afternoon, it is learnt. The virus, which first broke out in northern parts of Kerala in 2018, had claimed 18 lives. Officials said samples have been sent to Manipal Institute of Virology and Kerala State Institute of Virology and Infectious Diseases (KSIVID) in Alappuzha. ALSO READ: All you need to know about Nipah that claimed 18 lives last year Sources at the Ernakulam district administration said no confirmation has been received from the labs yet. Only after getting the report from the labs we will be able to comment. The information will be passed to the media either way, said a top officer on the condition of anonimity. Meanwhile, Ernakulam District Collector is conducting a meeting with the health officials to make precautionary arrangements if Nipah is confirmed. Its true that an isolation ward has been set up at the Kalamassery Medical College. The meeting is mainly to discuss the arrangements, he told Express. DMO Kuttappan said the youth, who had gone for an internship at Keltron in Thrissur, returned home after he fell sick. The fever persisted for more than 10 days and some of the symptoms were of Nipah. He is now being taken care of in an isolated ward of the private hospital. By Express News Service Mouni Roy is no longer a part of Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Bole Chudiyan. Produced by Woodpecker Movies, the romantic comedy is being directed by Nawazuddins brother Shamas Nawab Siddiqui. Although the film was expected to go on floors this month, it was announced on Friday that Mouni will not be involved with the project. This was followed by a statement by producer Rajesh Bhatia accusing the actor of unprofessionalism and disregarding a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The actor, director, Kiran (Bhatia, co-producer) & I as producers and content head did our best to reason out with her about lack of her professionalism and dedication but she suddenly lost cool and was ill-tempered, Rajesh said. The producer added that the film will go on floors as scheduled and Mouni will be replaced by a new actor. Woodpecker Movies stays fully invested in the project and will go ahead with the film with a new heroine, he said.On the other side, Mounis spokesperson refuted the allegations saying they do not wish to indulge in mud-slinging. Rajesh Bhatia is now claiming that Mouni is not a professional, whereas there are several emails and text messages proving otherwise, which we will be happy to share. Even the contract isnt signed because of the discrepancies in it, the spokesperson said, adding that the actor wishes to maintain her silence.A popular television star, Mouni Roy made her full-fledged Bollywood debut in Gold. She was recently seen in the spy-thriller Romeo Akbar Walter. Her upcoming projects include Made in China and Brahmastra. Gopinath Rajendran By Express News Service For a director who has done films across genres and given at least one film a year for a decade, it is surprising that the sequel bug has bit director Vijay quite late. The filmmaker, who started the year with Watchman, has now finally done his first sequel Devi 2 which follows the story of Krishna (Prabhudheva) and Devi (Tamannaah) from the 2016 horror comedy, Devi. A sequel is only possible when the first film has done well with the audiences, says the filmmaker. Excerpts from a conversation. Devi ended with plenty of scope for a sequel. Was this the plan all along? We knew there was scope for the second part while completing Devi. But we did not want to start the film immediately without a proper idea, and thats why I started Lakshmi with Prabhudeva instead of Devi 2. Once we got the idea, we loved it and so did the producer. Devi 2 is a proper sequel a continuation of the first part with the pivotal characters retained. Devi 2 is grander and has more characters, does it not? Of course, we wanted to improve in every aspect. The subject demanded more grandeur. That said, content matters most as no one is going to discuss the scale of the film. If content works, everything we else will work too. Even Baahubali, for example, apart from the extravagant shots and VFX, became a huge hit, only due to its story. The story of Devi 2 also demanded the inclusion of more characters. Devi was released in Hindi as Tutak Tutak Tutiya, apart from in Tamil and Telugu. Why has Devi 2 not been released in Hindi? A Hindi version makes the release wider, but for that to happen, we have to make sure that the Tamil and Telugu versions also get released simultaneously. If you remember, we had confirmed October 7, 2016, as the release date for Devi in Hindi, and so, were not able to change the dates for the Tamil and Telugu release. This caused us to get released alongside Remo and Rekka. After Devi and Lakshmi, you are collaborating once again with Prabhudheva... He is a phenomenal actor and there are so many things we can learn from his experience. From the days of Kadhalan and Gentleman, his energy has stayed the same till now. When we had asked you how you were able to make so many films, you had said that editing alongside shooting helps. But for a new project to take off immediately after another, arent there many other influential factors? When I finish one film, even as it is in the post-production stage, I move on to the next project. So, it is easier for me to do films at a fast rate. For me, once the shooting is over, the creative process ends, and after that, only dubbing and improvisation work remains. That can be called a creative process too, but it is also mechanical. Is it a conscious decision to dabble in multiple genres? I learn something new from each of my films, and I do not want to become someone who can only do a certain type of film. So yes, it is a conscious move to do different films. That is also a reason why I didnt do Devi 2 immediately after Devi. Does your longevity in the industry add any pressure? I see every film of mine as my first, and this is an attitude I have always had. As a continuation of my previous answer, the genre itself becomes new each time, and so the treatment varies. Working with new cast and crew members also gives me a sense of excitement. So, I do not carry the baggage of my previous films. An idea can fail, but a filmmaker cannot. My intention has always been to do sensible films. If a film does not do well, it upsets me. I make sure I try to get to the bottom of it and figure out what went wrong. But today, external factors, such as the time of the release and audiences mood, also play a major role. I believe in what Priyadarshan sir often tells, Take success to your heart and failure to the brain. Never interchange. How is your Jayalalithaa biopic, Thalaivi, coming along? I am totally involved with the pre-production work for the film. It will go on floors from July. I am also doing Karu in Hindi, and once I wrap up Thalaivi, I will get on with the remake. If you have to do a sequel to another film of yours... Thalaiva. Its just an idea now though. By PTI NEW DELHI: A Boeing 777 aircraft of Air India has been grounded as a small crack was observed on the bottom right corner of one of its entry doors after the plane landed at San Francisco airport in US, the airline said Monday. The national carrier said it has made alternative arrangements for 100 of the total 210 passengers who were supposed to take the return flight on the same aircraft. "B777 aircraft, VT-ALH arrived in SFO (San Francisco) on AI 183. During walk around inspection on arrival, a small cut /crack on bottom right corner of left side #2 entry door (sic)," said an Air India spokesperson. "Air India is trying to get help from the local Aircraft Maintenance Repair Agencies for the repair, failing which men and material would be sent from India," the spokesperson said. Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar to ANI: Boeing B777 aircraft, VT-ALH arrived in San Francisco on AI 183. During walk around inspection on arrival, a small cut / crack on bottom right corner of left side to entry door. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/dYC23otPI7 ANI (@ANI) June 3, 2019 The Delhi-San Francisco flight has the code of AI183, while the return flight has the code of AI184. "In AI 184, there are 210 pax (passengers). Out of which 50 are shifted to AI174. 50 are shifted to other airlines. About 25 pax are cancelled their journey by own. Remaining pax are undecided," the spokesperson added. Just like AI184, the AI174 flight is also a non-stop Air India flight from San Francisco to Delhi. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: A woman in Assam has been sent to a detention centre for illegal immigrants as the police apparently mixed up her name Madhubala with Madhumala. Madhubala Mandal (59) was picked up by the police from her home in 2016 and sent to a detention centre for illegal immigrants in Kokrajhar on the charge that she is a foreigner. She is still languishing there. The three-year-old case, which went unnoticed, has suddenly come to the fore after retired Army officer Md. Sanaullah was declared a foreigner and sent to a detention centre. The Foreigners Tribunal had on March 5, 2016 issued a notice to Madhumala Das, wife of Makhan Nomo Das, of No 1 Bishnupur village in Assams Chirang district suspecting her to be a foreigner. The Tribunal asked her to depose before it on April 4 the same year and prove with documentary evidence that she is an Indian. However, soon the police picked up Madhubala Mandal, also of the same village, and sent her to the detention centre. According to locals, Madhumala Das and her husband Makhan Nama Das died long before the notice to the former was issued by the Foreigners Tribunal. Bhasani Mandal, whose husband is Madhubalas brother, said her sister-in-law had been forced to suffer as the police made a grave mistake. Records in various documents, including PAN card, suggest the victims name as Madhubala. The Foreigners Tribunal had issued the notice in the name of Madhumala Das but the police arrested Madhubala and sent her to the detention centre, Bhasani told The New Indian Express. She said she had come to the village following her marriage over 30 years ago and she knew Madhumala. I knew Madhumala Das although I cannot recall if I ever met her husband. They died many years ago. The couple had a son, named Mantu, who was trampled to death by an elephant. Mantus child and his wife now live elsewhere, Bhasani said. The police denied any gaffe in the case. When the case was initiated, she was married to one Das. Following the death of her husband, she got married to one Mandal. Due to the change in her title, people are saying they are two different persons. When she was caught, it was verified, Chirang Superintendent of Police Sudhakar Singh said. However, Bhasani categorically said that Madhubala married just once. Her husband Ramakanta Mandal died a few years ago. Their only daughter is deaf and dumb. It is a clear case of goof-up. As we are poor, we havent been able to arrange a lawyer to fight our case in the court, she added. Mayank Singh By Express News Service Contrary to earlier reports which stated that wreckage of a missing Indian Air Force AN-32 transport aircraft which went missing was found near Payam in Arunachal Pradesh, the IAF on Monday evening clarified that no wreckage has been spotted so far. IAF's transport aircraft with eight crew members and five passengers aboard went missing on Monday afternoon. There is no news of the officials and crew members who were on board. The IAF has launched Sukhoi-30 fighters and C-130 Special Operation aircraft on a search mission to trace the ill-fated aircraft. Several leads from the ground about the possible location of the crash site were followed but no wreckage was found. The IAF said in a statement that search operations will continue from air and by ground parties of Indian Army through the night. The aircraft was heading from Jorhat in Assam to Menchuka in Arunachal Pradesh. The transport aircraft took off from Jorhat at 12.25 pm but lost touch with the ground agencies after the next 35 minutes. Some reports of possible location of crash site were received, however, no wreckage has been sighted so far. 3/4 Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) June 3, 2019 Sources informed that "An AN-32 aircraft of IAF got airborne today from Jorhat at 1225 hrs for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground. The aircraft last contacted ground agencies at 1300 hrs, thereafter there has been no contact. Since the aircraft did not reach the airfield, overdue action was initiated by IAF." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who was on his first visit to Jammu and Kashmir after taking over two days ago, spoke to IAF vice chief, Air Marshal Rakesh Singh Bhadauria and took stock of rescue operations. IAF chief B.S Dhanoa was to be in Sweden on a four-day visit. The Deputy Commissioner of newly-created Shi Yomi district in Arunachal, Mito Dirchi, said there were some reports of a crash in the jungles of the district. "We have sent a team for search which includes SP and some villagers. But we have not found any wreckage. We are going to search the areas tomorrow morning again." The Air Force has employed all available resources to locate the aircraft. Radar pictures are being studied and the helicopters have been put into action, the sources added. Earlier in July 2016, another AN-32 had gone down into the Bay of Bengal with its 29 passengers onboard. It was going from Chennai to Port Blair. Russian manufactured AN-32s were inducted in early 80s and around 100 are serving with the Air Force. (With online desk inputs and agencies) Kumar Vikram By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Filling vacancy in various government departments is going to be one of the top priorities of the Modi government. The government is analyzing the vacancies in all the central ministries and departments and the recruitment process will start over the next few months. The BJP government had to face constant criticism from the Opposition over the job crisis during its previous term. As the Modi government, in its present term, gets down to business, one of its key priorities will be solving the jobs conundrum. With the unemployment rate at a 45-year high, the government doesnt want to be seen to be sitting on the crisis. Earlier, the Department of Personnel and Training had issued instructions to all ministries and departments to constitute an in-house committee to identify vacancies, study the root cause of the crisis and initiate measures to weed out factors resulting in such vacancies. The vacancies are to be filled up through a special recruitment drive. The government had sought details of vacancies by June 30, 2019. Sources claimed that the DoPT has received details on vacancies from various ministries and after getting all the details it will prepare a final report. Sources also said that the recruitment process for nearly 75,000 government posts may be initiated in the next few months. Staff Selection Commission, one of the main recruitment bodies, might be asked to begin the process of recruitment and holding examinations. There are lakhs of vacancies in central government departments and ministries all across the country. Latest official data on vacant posts says, The number of vacant posts of Central Government Civilian Employees as on March 1, 2016 in Group A, Group B (Gazetted), Group B (Non-Gazetted) and Group C (Non-Gazetted) was 15284, 26310, 49740 and 321418, respectively. There are thousands of other vacant positions in various public sector units and public sector banks. The recruitment process for these may also be fast-tracked. Officials said in a major infrastructure push, the length of highways with be doubled to 2 lakh km in the next five years, new roads will be built, the number of smart cities will be increased beyond 100 and delayed projects will be fast-tracked. Good news on the job front soon? Sources claimed that the DoPT has received details on vacancies from various ministries and after getting all the details it will prepare a final report. The process for filling up nearly 75,000 vacant posts maybe initiated in the next few months. Pranab Mandal By Express News Service KOLKATA: A Muslim youth broke his fast so that he could donate blood to a seven-year-old girl, suffering from thalassemia, in West Bengals Nadia district. The region on the Indo-Bangladesh border has witnessed sharp polarisation on religious lines among the electors in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. Osman Gani Sheikh did not think twice when he received a call from the girls father, a stranger, who was in dire need of A-positive blood.I mentioned my contact number on Facebook profile and said if anyone needs blood, he or she can contact me. I had to break my fast to save the girls life. I did not think twice. It is because I had to run from pillar to post to collect blood for a relative in 2016. Since then, I decided to donate blood, said Osman, a post-graduate student of history. Fish vendor Gautam Dass only child Rakhi has been suffering from the disease for three years. He took his daughter to the Krishnagar district hospital where the doctors told him that she was in need of immediate blood transfusion. The father was desperately looking for a donor. A youth living in the same area as us informed us about Osmans Facebook profile. He also gave his contact number, said Gautam. I received the call on Friday night. He was crying and requesting me to save his daughter, said Osman, who is in his early 20s. Osama reached Krishnagar on Saturday. I was fasting. The doctors told me I would not be allowed to donate blood. They suggested I eat biscuits and water. I had no option but to break my fast, recounted Osman. Schindranath Sarkar, the superintendent of the hospital, said the girls health would have been deteriorated had she not received blood immediately. Gautam said he would never forget Osmans help. Osman is also the group admin of a Whatsapp group of blood donors. The group has over 1,000 members from all over Bengal. By IANS PUNE: Police in Pune have booked some activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) for taking out a procession in which girls were seen firing air guns and brandishing swords, an official said on Monday. The procession was taken out from Ankush Chowk to Thackeray Maidan in Nigdi area on the outskirts of the city from 5 p.m. till 10 p.m. on Sunday. A police official, Vikas N. Dudhe, has lodged a complaint against VHP activists including local unit President Sharad Inamdar, district chief Dhanaji Shinde, Nitin Vatkar and another 200 odd unidentified persons. According to the FIR, Dudhe said that in the procession, at least four girls were illegally carrying air guns and another five had swords. Dudhe said that in order to maintain law and order, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police had banned all types of dangerous weapons from May 21-June 3 and the VHP procession had flouted the police orders. No arrests have been made in the case so far. This incident coincides with a row erupting in a private school in Thane, run by a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator, in which students have allegedly imparted training in weapons handling. While the police have claimed that the weapons were models, activists have contended that attempts were being made to dilute the case as it involved an influential ruling party legislator from Mira Road town, Narendra Mehta. Between May 25 and June 1, the Bajrang Dal had organised a weapons training camp in the Seven Square Academy, a CBSE-affiliated school, and the matter came to light after a student Prashant Gupta posted some pictures of the camp activity. In a memorandum submitted to the Assistant Superintendent of Police Atul Kulkarni last week, the Democratic Youth Federation of India demanded a thorough probe into the incident, seizure of the arms and their forensic analysis and the booking of Mehta and others. Netflix has announced that it will be producing its third Arabic original series and its first venture into Egyptian drama with Paranormal (Ma Waraa Al-Tabeea), to be directed by Amr Salama and produced by Mohamed Hefzy. The series is based on the best-selling books by late novelist Ahmed Khaled Tawfik. The horror stories are set in the 1960s in Egypt -- where the show will be filmed -- and follow the character of Dr. Refaat Ismail as he encounters various supernatural events, mostly inspired by Egyptian folk tales and mythology. The high-profile duo Salama and Hefzy last collaborated in the 2017 on the award-winning movie Sheikh Jackson. "It was my dream to adapt Paranormal by the late author Ahmed Khaled Tawfik and turn it into a drama ever since I wanted to be a filmmaker," Salama said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. The director added that he wants to present the books in a new light, while still keeping their essence. Paranormal is the third Middle Eastern Netflix original series following two series from Jordan; 'Jinn', and 'Al Rawabi School for Girls,' which was produced with a fully female Arab cast and crew. Netflix's first Middle Eastern project was the Arabic stand-up comedy Adel Karam: Live From Beirut, while its first Middle East acquisition was in 2016 with the Emirati feature Zinzana. For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArtsand on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture Search Keywords: Short link: By PTI SRINAGAR: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti Monday described Pakistan as a "stakeholder" in "Kashmir problem" and batted for involving it too to solve the tangle. She also accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of resorting to "brute force" to "quick fix" the problem, which, she said, would be "ridiculously naive". "Since 1947, Kashmir has been looked through the prism of security by successive governments. It's a political problem that needs a political redressal by involving all stakeholders inc (including) Pak," Mehbooba Mufti Monday. "Expecting a quick fix through brute force by newly appointed HM is ridiculously naive," she added. Shah on Monday took stock of the country's internal security situation at a meeting in New Delhi where the Union Home Minister was apprised of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir too, particularly in its border areas. By PTI SRINAGAR: Two days after taking charge as Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh on Monday visited Siachen, the world's highest battlefield, and interacted with soldiers guarding the border beyond the heights of 12,000 ft. Singh, who was accompanied by Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat and General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command Ranbir Singh, saluted the valour of the soldiers and said he will personally send a thank you note to their parents for letting them serve the nation. "Our soldiers in Siachen are performing their duty with great courage and fortitude even in extreme conditions and treacherous terrain. I salute their vigour and valour," the Defence Minister tweeted. He also laid a wreath at the Siachen war memorial. "I am proud of all Army personnel serving in Siachen who are leaving no stone unturned to defend our motherland," Rajnath Singh said. "I am also proud of their parents who have sent their children to serve the nation by joining the armed forces. I will personally send a thank you note to them," Singh said. The Siachen Glacier in the Karakorum range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. The Defence Minister said more than 1,100 soldiers have made the supreme sacrifice defending the Siachen Glacier. "The nation will always remain indebted to their service and sacrifice," he said. In his first visit outside Delhi as defence minister, Singh also reviewed security preparedness in Siachen with top field commanders of the area. Later, Singh arrived at the headquarters of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps at Badamibagh Cantonment here for a briefing on India's preparedness to deal with any possible eventuality or misadventure by Pakistan. Singh's predecessors like Sharad Pawar, George Fernandes, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nirmala Sitharaman too had visited Siachen. Fernandes, as defence minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, once sent two senior bureaucrats of his ministry to Siachen glacier when he came to know that they had held back a file on purchase of snow bikes for soldiers deployed there. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: The rift between BJP and JD(U) in Bihar's NDA seemed to be ever-widening at the iftar party, hosted by LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan on Monday. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi (of the BJP) reportedly did not greet each other. This comes amid reports of disputes between the two allies. Host Ram Vilas Paswan sat between them and kept speaking to the leaders as they allegedly remained in stony silence. Speculation about the began after Nitish Kumar stood up to leave the iftar party and shook hands with all present there but allegedly did not even smile at Sushil Kumar Modi, who had stood up in decorum when Kumar got up from his seat. "It was clear how the rift is getting wider by the day over mere denial of some ministerial berths", according to few some leaders from both parties present at the iftar function, preferring anonymity. READ HERE | JDU, Bihar BJP leaders skip each other's Iftar parties in Patna Meanwhile, some reliable sources said that a new third front may see the light in Bihar ahead of the next state assembly elections with JD(U) distancing from NDA and the Congress and the HAM distancing from the Mahagathbandhan. "Though it would be premature to speculate, nobody can rule out the possibility of the JDU, the Congress and the HAM coming together to form the new third front", a local leader quipped. Meanwhile, Former state CM and HAM party chief Jitan Ram Manjhi made a surprise entry at the party. READ | In a first, Lalu's RJD invites BJP leaders for Iftar party on June 2 at Rabri Devi's residence At another iftar party, hosted by the HAM, on Monday, former CM Rabri Devi and leaders of both NDA and the Mahagathbandhan were present. Responding to a query, Devi said that the 'return' of Nitish Kumar to the Mahagathbandhan would require a collective prerogative of leaders of alliance leaders. She didn't sound negative over Kumar's alleged comeback. On Sunday, it was reported that BJP leaders had given a miss to the yearly iftar hosted by JDU. Similarly, no JDU leader was seen at the iftar' hosted by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi. Bihar's iftar parties have gained traction this year after JDU refused to be a part of the Union Cabinet. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on cabinet expansion: Vacancies from JDU quota in the cabinet were empty so JDU leaders were inducted, there is no issue with BJP, everything is fine pic.twitter.com/376FlJVdFF ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2019 However, Nitish Kumar has repeatedly denied any misunderstanding between the NDA allies. NDA has made a clean sweep in the state in the recently held Lok Sabha polls winning 39 out of 40 seats. (With ANI inputs) By ANI NEW DELHI: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Rajiv Mehrishi has been elected to the position of External Auditor of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for a four-year-term from 2020-23. The election was held in the 72nd WHO Assembly in Geneva on May 23 where the CAG was elected with a majority (90 out of 162 votes) in the first round of voting itself, according to an official release. Apart from India, others competing for the position were the Auditors General of Congo, France, Ghana, Tunisia and the United Kingdom. Mehrishi will take over from the incumbent External Auditor of WHO, the Supreme Audit Insitution of Philippines. This is the second major international audit assignment for the CAG this year following his selection to the post of External Auditor of Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome earlier this year in March 2019. The CAG of India is currently also on the Board of Auditors of the United Nations and Vice Chair of the UN Panel of External Auditors. Mehrishi attended the 6th Global Audit Leadeship Forum (GALF) in Shanghai on April 8-9. GALF is a select group of 24 major SAIs, who meet annually to discuss current and emerging issues of concern and explore opportunities to share information and work. The discussions in the 6th GALF meeting focused on "Big Data and Auditing" and "Improving Publoic Accountability through Environmental Auditing". Delegates from 15 countries including India participated in the meeting. They agreed to strengthten bilateral and multilateral exchanges in the rfield of audit using big data and leveraging the work of INTOSAI working grojup on Big Data to share best practices and step up in the training, knowledge and talent base. Ashok Warrier By A new government has been formed and the dust is settling down. And now, it is time for a hard-nosed appraisal of some of the challenges and opportunities that the Centre faces.Corporate India has welcomed the results and wants the government to focus on reforms, growth and jobs. The Centre will have its work cut out on both domestic and foreign policy fronts. I shall restrict myself to decisionssome requiring immediate attention and some pending for a whileand challenges, and opportunities on the international economic front which may have a collateral bearing on the domestic sector and vice versa. Iranian oil and Russian hardware: The US has been tightening the screws on the countries importing oil from Iran. The US deadline for waivers of sanctions on countries importing oil (from Iran) ended on May 2. Oil accounts for roughly 30 per cent of our import bill and 80 per cent of Indias oil is imported. India had recently promised Iran (during Iranian foreign ministers visit to India last month) that the new government would take a decision on the matter of importing oil from Iran. For India, ceasing to import oil from Iran (which roughly accounts for 10 per cent of our crude supplies) soon after stopping imports from Venezuela would be a huge blow. The US sanctions on the upcoming S-400 missile defence purchase from Russia would be another area of concern. One of the immediate challenges before the new government is negotiating these two tricky situations. The US and tariffs: President Donald Trump has been threatening India with retaliatory tariffs on account of tremendously high tariffs imposed by India on some US products. Trump has also taken India off the list of countries which have been given preferential trade benefits. This will affect Indian exports to the tune of $5.6 billion. India recently decided to extend its deadline to retaliate with higher tariffs against US products like almonds, walnuts and pulses. The new government would need to tread carefully and see how best Americas concerns over trade deficit with India and Intellectual Property Rights are addressed without compromising Indias interests and its friendship with the US. The ongoing trade war between the US and China are not going to make things any easier. FTAs with Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and EU: The RCEP comprising the 10 ASEAN countries and their six FTA partnersIndia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand has been under negotiations for a while now. Indian experts have not been particularly upbeat about this mega agreement as India is reported to have a trade deficit with as many as 11 RCEP countries and a deal like this, it is felt, will only add to the woes of the domestic manufacturers even though it would give greater access to Indian goods and services to the RCEP markets. Indias negotiations with the EU for entering into an FTA has been going on for more than a decade. The new government would have to see how best to get the agreements with the EU and RCEP off the ground. India taking a lead in resuscitating/reviving institutions like the WTO: Former Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu had said India would like to see the WTO continue as an engine of growth. India had taken the lead in drawing up an agenda factoring the issues and concerns of the developed as well as developing countries for discussions on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2019. As for e-commerce, India has opposed any move to draw up rules relating to this outside the ambit of WTO and has insisted that the current multilateral programme on e-commerce under WTO should be taken to its logical conclusion. The new government would need to revisit and review its position on issues like e-commerce which seem to be gaining resonance amongst countries. It is important to list out a few issues and try working on them through diplomatic and other channels before the WTO Ministerial Conference in June 2020. The new government would need to continue furthering its economic engagements including attracting investments and technology from countries such as Japan, France, Germany and the UK. It will also be required to handle the fallout on India (dumping of steel by China for instance is already being voiced as a matter of concern) of the ongoing US China trade war. Global economic headwinds, growing protectionism, a severely threatened and hampered trade body (WTO) fast losing its relevance, a full blown trade war between the worlds two largest powerhouses, US and China, and a fast deteriorating situation in West Asia are hugely daunting challenges for a developing country like India poised to take a leap of faith. The new government, buoyed as it would be, by the sheer strength of the mandate, would be better equipped to deal with the above issues and also the myriad other challengesboth domestic and internationalincluding the pursuing of trade policies geared towards increasing the countrys share of world exports to 3.5 per cent by 2020 (as was spelt out in the mid-term Review of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020) and attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which should be easier with a stable government at the Centre. A clear and aggressive Trade Policy would be just the recipe which an aspirational New India requires. Ashok Warrier Former Ambassador of India to DRC Email: ashokwarrier27@gmail.com The US has now shut down a tariff-free route for around 2,000 kinds of products that India exports to America. US President Donald Trump has sent a loud and clear message to New Delhi: India cannot hope that business will run as usual. China and Mexico were slapped with punitive tariffs for not agreeing to US demands on market access. Analysts feel he will not spare the Europeans either. With the US presidential elections coming next year, Trump seems to be in a hurry to rewrite trade rules to brighten up his image. The Trump administrations consistent message is that New Delhi should address Washingtons trade concerns despite Indias status as a quasi-ally of the US in its trade war with China. Indian officials are used to giving some concessions to western demands for market access while trying to build tariff walls to protect Indian manufacturers. When Trump complained that India was imposing high taxes on Harley Davidson motorcycles, India tried to mollify him by cutting tariffs to 50 per cent. Trump bitterly complained about how his India continued to impose high taxes on Harley imports, while the US did not tax Indian motorcycles at all. Trumps move can be met by either retaliation or by a rethink on Indias policy. Retaliation however would be difficult if not impossible given the fact that the US is Indias largest export destination. India can argue that it has to be given some concessions as the US just stopped the waiver of sanctions for countries importing oil from Iran. But such arguments had better traction with the previous Obama administration and not so much with Trumps. Possibly, the need of the hour is smart thinking. India has to open up its market far wider to address Americas concerns and the design for such tariff cuts can be tailored so that goods meant for the rich are allowed in with greater ease thus opening up a small but rich market, while the far larger mass market remains protected by tariff and quality control measures. By IANS VISAKHAPATNAM: Amid uproar over the draft National Education Policy that recommends making the teaching of Hindi compulsory up to class 8, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday urged all stakeholders to go through the entire report, instead of reacting hastily. ALSO READ | Karnataka CM opposes three language policy, says one language shouldn't be imposed on others "I urge everybody... don't be hasty before coming to conclusions. Go through entire report, study, discuss and analysis and react so that government can act after the discussions," he said while addressing the "Industry Academy Interaction for Improvement of Quality of Academics" organised by the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE) here. He said that the core issues of education agitating minds of the people were very important and they deserve attention by all concerned. "In our country some people for political or other reasons have the habit of immediately saying something by seeing newspaper headlines," he said in an obvious reference to reaction by political parties from Tamil Nadu, which alleged that the proposed policy is aimed at imposing Hindi. "We should not be seen quarrelling on languages," he remarked. ALSO READ | 'Imposing Hindi like setting a warehouse on fire': Tamil Nadu opposes Centre's three-language policy Venkaiah Naidu suggested that north Indians should learn one south Indian language and south Indians should learn one north Indian language for national integration. He pointed out that draft policy proposed that children up to class five at least and ideally up to class eight must be taught in their mother tongue. "Children are able to understand basics better in mother tongue. Learning English is also required but that should be after laying the foundation," he said. He lauded Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao for announcing that Telugu will be a compulsory subject and advised the Andhra Pradesh government to think of making Telugu compulsory as an official language. Naidu said many graduates were ending up "neither here nor there" by forgetting their mother tongue in the craze for English but lacking communication skills even in English. Calling for revamping the entire educational system, he said it should ensure industry and academy interface, academy and agriculture interface and reduction of syllabi for children as they were carrying loads of books and some of them ending up with cervical or orthopaedic problems. ALSO READ | Imposing three language formula will lead to linguistic chauvinism: CPM Reducing the load of school bags, promoting yoga and sports, inculcating morals, scientific and rationale temperament, history and the contribution of the freedom fighters should become part of the curriculum, he suggested. He also called for establishing a symbiotic relationship between academia and the industry to create an ecosystem for innovation to thrive and generate employment for the youth. Pointing out that the Indian universities did not figure in the top 100 ranking global universities, the Vice President urged universities and educationists to introspect and improve the standards. Observing that India was once known as 'Vishwaguru', he said that India must once again become the global hub for knowledge and innovation. Jayanth P By Express News Service VIJAYAWADA: The State government, which is looking at revenue augmentation to ease its debt burden, is likely to come up with a new sand policy. With the existing free sand policy introduced by the previous TDP government, resulting in State losing a revenue of Rs 500- Rs 600 crore, benefiting neither consumers nor the exchequer, the State government is mulling a fresh policy that could create a win-win situation for both the parties. Sources in the government said that implementation of a better sand policy was one of the points of discussion during the review meeting held by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy with Revenue and Finance departments. There was no specific discussion on sand policy, but it was suggested that sand was also a source for revenue generation. The officials were asked to come up with novel ideas for revenue augmentation, a source said. The free sand policy was introduced in early 2016 by the TDP government, in a bid to bring down the burden on consumers by withdrawing cess. Only transportation charges are being collected from consumers, as per the policy. However, the previous TDP government had come under scanner as sand was sold at exorbitant prices and also for allegedly failing to control illegal mining. The term free sand itself is misleading. As per the policy, only the cess that was being levied was removed, resulting in a loss of Rs 500- Rs 600 crore to the government. But, the transportation charges have to be paid by the consumer, a top-ranking official observed. State may follow TS sand policy However, the regulation is poor and the prices have skyrocketed from Rs 2,000 per truckload to over Rs 10,000 as the transporters formed a syndicate and dictated the price. As a result, neither the consumers nor the exchequer have benefitd. So, there is a need to change the policy, he added. If the government decides to levy higher seignorage charges, the revenue generation can go up multifold. Sources further added that if the government were to introduce a fresh sand policy, it would examine the policies of other States. The official observed model being implemented in Telangana could be adopted by the State government. In the neighbouring State, the Telangana State Mineral Development Corporation engages the contractors (through competitive bidding). Then, the sand would be sold through the corporation. We can adopt this as the exchequer will get its revenue and the consumer price can also be regulated. Other State policies also can be studied, the official suggested. Not free The free policy introduced in early 2016 by the TDP government, lifted cess on sand to lighten the burden on consumers. Only transportation charges are being collected from consumers. However, it has failed to benefit both State and people as price skyrocketed from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 per truckload Anusha Ravi By Express News Service BENGALURU: When Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy met Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday, there seems to have been some sibling revelry. For, the conversation went from sir to brother. Kumaraswamy was in Delhi to impress upon Rahul not to quit his post. What followed was a 30-minute discussion on politics, electoral defeat and the need for Rahul Gandhi to continue as party president. This is perhaps the first time that the two leaders discussed at length and it came at a time when Rahul Gandhi had refused to meet even his own party leaders. The serious discussion then suddenly veered towards Kumaraswamys habit of addressing those around him as brother. The news of brotherhood perhaps spread to New Delhi too with Rahul asking Kumaraswamy why he doesnt refer to him as a brother, in his quintessential style. Why do you keep calling me sir? Please call me brother. I dont like you calling me sir so many times, Rahul is said to have told Kumaraswamy leading to laughter during an otherwise rather serious meeting. Then the brother took a back seat and Kumaraswamy is said to have given him some advice. Apart from assuring that the coalition was safe in Karnataka and that the Congress leaders were doing all they could to set things right, Kumaraswamy is said to have advised Rahul not to lose heart. No Cong without you at helm, HDK to Rahul There have been times when our party was reduced to 3-4 seats. My father lost an election in Hassan soon after he stepped down as Prime Minister. I have lost many elections myself. A loss doesnt mean we have to stop our journey. We have to move forward, Kumaraswamy is said to have told Rahul Gandhi. The Congress boss who is adamant on quitting the post assured Kumaraswamy that he was going nowhere but would be part of Congress in Parliament but would prefer if someone else led the party for now. More advice to the brother followed. No one in the Congress party will listen to anyone except leaders of the Gandhi family. It has almost become a part of Congress culture and only you can take it forward. There is no Congress without you at the helm, Kumaraswamy said to have told Rahul Gandhi. Ever since the Congress and JDS coalition government came to power in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy has met Rahul Gandhi at least four times but Thursdays meeting was like none other. This was a national election but we are still strong at the regional level. We just have to move forward. It is okay to lose elections, not okay to lose heart, Kumaraswamy is said to have told Rahul Gandhi in parting. By Express News Service KOZHIKODE: A special session of the state Assembly should be convened to decide on the contours of the law to be enacted on the Sabarimala issue, according to BJP state chief P S Sreedharan Pillai. As has been the case in West Bengal, the Marxists are headed towards their demise in Kerala. The Assembly should make use of its powers to enact laws, he told reporters here on Sunday. In an apparent dig at the powers be, Pillai said the Supreme Court should be apprised of wisdom dawning late for those in government on the Sabarimala issue. He called upon the government to withdraw cases filed on trumped up charges against those who staged protests for protecting the faith. According to the BJP state president, the CPM is not revealing the real reason behind the LDFs humiliation in the Lok Sabha elections. The emergency summits come against the backdrop of attacks on tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and drone strikes on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi headed Thursday morning to Saudi Arabia for Arab summits convened in the holy city of Mecca to discuss regional security, his spokesman said. The Gulf kingdom is holding two emergency Arab summits Thursday to discuss tensions with Iran against the backdrop of attacks on tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and drone strikes on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Riyadh accused Iran of ordering the drone strikes, but Tehran denies any involvement in the incident Qatar, which is facing a Saudi-led economic and political boycott from Arab states including Egypt, has been invited to the summit. El-Sisi is expected to give an address during the Thursday gathering on ways to preserve security and stability in the region and bolster Arab cooperation, spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. El-Sisi will also take part in another summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Friday in Islams holiest site. The Egyptian president is planned to hold a number of bilateral talks with Arab and Islamic leaders on the sidelines of the two gatherings. Search Keywords: Short link: Anuja Susan Varghese By Express News Service KOCHI: Central Kerala is in the grip of a Nipah scare after preliminary findings by the Virology Institute, Alappuzha raised the suspicion that a youngster, admitted in a private hospital with fever, might have contracted the deadly virus. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Health Minister KK Shylaja said that though the initial medical tests at the Virology Institute suggested a suspected case of Nipah, a final confirmation can only be made after the results from the National Virology Institute, Pune are received. She urged people not to panic and said the government has taken all precautions to contain the spread of another possible outbreak. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a separate statement, said the government was closely monitoring the situation. "Kerala's health network is capable of handling any emergencies. While we need to be cautious, there is no cause for panic. We have ramped up a series of measures to tackle the problem," he said. Officials said isolation wards have been created at three Medical Colleges in the state - at the Ernakulam (Kalamassery), Thrissur and Kozhikode medical colleges. Nipah Virus: All you need to know of the newly emerged viral disease The Health Minister, along with a 10-member team, has reached Ernakulam to monitor and assist the team from ground zero. A six-member medical team from Kozhikode, comprising three doctors and medical staffs, have also arrived at the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital. The virus, which first broke out in Kozhikode and other nearby districts of Kerala in May 2018, had claimed 18 lives. A 23-year-old man from Vadakkekara grama panchayat in Ernakulam district has been admitted to the isolation ward of the private hospital after he showed symptoms of Nipah. The youngster, who had gone for an internship at Keltron in Thrissur, returned home after he fell sick. The fever persisted for more than 10 days and some of the symptoms were similar to those caused by the Nipah virus. He is now being taken care of in an isolated ward of the private hospital. Thrissur District Medical Officer KJ Reena said the youngster, a student of a self-financing engineering college in Thodupuzha, was running a fever when he reached Thrissur. She said the officers are monitoring all the 22 persons who came in contact with the Nipah-suspected patient while he was in Thrissur. "As of now, there is no cause for concern. We got in touch with the six persons who are from Thrissur, and all are doing fine. The other 16 persons have gone back to their homes at other districts. We are checking if they have any symptoms too," she said. Sources at the Ernakulam district administration said no confirmation has been received from the labs yet. Only after getting the report from the labs will we be able to comment. The information will be passed to the media either way, said a top officer, who wished not to be named. Meanwhile, the Ernakulam District Collector is conducting a meeting with the health officials to make precautionary arrangements if Nipah is confirmed. Its true that an isolation ward has been set up at the Kalamassery Medical College. The meeting is mainly to discuss the arrangements, he told Express. Minister C Raveendranath, Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden and MLA S Sharma have also reached the hospital. By Express News Service BHUBANESWAR: With most of the senior leaders of State BJP still camping in Delhi, election of a leader of the newly-elected legislators in the 16th Assembly will take some time. For the first time, the Assembly will see BJP playing main opposition after dislodging Congress to the third position in the recently held elections. Election of the BJP legislature party leader here will be a mere formality as the decision will be taken by the partys Parliamentary Board, the highest decision making body in the matter of party affairs, sources said.As per norms, Speaker will recognise leader of the legislature party that has won at least 10 per cent of the total Assembly seats as the Leader of Opposition. With BJP winning 23 seats, it has the number to stake claim for the post. A date for the meeting of the newly-elected members of the party will be decided next week when senior leaders of the party including the two Union Ministers - Dharmendra Pradhan and Pratap Sarangi - are expected here, sources said. In all probability, the leader of the BJP legislature party will be someone from Western Odisha. Senior BJP leader KV Singhdeo was the legislature party leader in the last Assembly. After his defeat, Bhawanipatna MLA Pradip Naik and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra have emerged as front runners for the post. I will discharge whatever responsibility the party will give me. The BJP will play an effective Opposition in the Assembly and ensure that the State Government is accountable in the matter of governance, Mishra said. Mishra, however, said he is not sure when the legislators meeting will take place. It will be know only after all the leaders return from Delhi.With the election of Surya Narayan Patro as Speaker, the 16th Assembly is all set to commence its first session sometime in the second week of June. The first session will be important as State Government will place it full budget for the current financial year. By Express News Service NAGAPATTINAM: Coastal Security Group (CSO) on Saturday busted a racket involving the storage and smuggling of 2,410 kg of sea cucumbers (Kadal Attai) valued at Rs 1 crore. The smugglers were planning to sell the sea cucumbers to international customers from Nagapattinam. A CSG team busted the racket near Nagapattinam in a late night operation on Saturday. The sea cucumbers were preserved in cold storage and being loaded onto vehicles. Marine police arrested two persons allegedly involved in smuggling, The primary suspect, T Murugandham, had been collecting sea cucumbers from fishermen, who unintentionally or intentionally catch them along with other fish. He had collected 4 to 5 kg from each of his suppliers and had slowly accumulated more than 2,410 kg over a period of eight months. They were planning to take the sea cumbers to Tuticorin to be shipped foreign countries where there is heavy demand, P Raja, a Marine police investigating officer told Express. According to police, they received information about smuggling activity taking place from a shed near Akkaraipettai. A team led by Raja responded and caught the two persons loading the cold preserved echinoderms onto their vehicles to be taken to Tuticorin. The arrested include the mastermind, Muruganandham (47) and a vehicle driver named N Rajukumar (32) from Nagapattinam. The police seized at least 61 sacks of sea cucumbers. They were charged under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. There is a ban on catching Sea cucumbers. However, they are smuggled to countries like China, Thailand, Korea and Japan. The seized sea cucumbers were handed over to Forest department officials in Nagapattinam. It is learnt that the sea cucumbers would be destroyed after seeking permission from a magistrate. Investigations are is underway to find links of the smuggling suspects. SP, CSG, Dr R Chinnasamy from Chennai also arrived in Nagapattinam to join the investigation. He said stringent action would be taken against smuggling and engaging in the illegal trade of sea cucumbers. By Express News Service TIRUNELVELI/VIRUDHUNAGAR/CHENNAI: NTK chief Seeman told media persons here on Saturday that his party would not allow the imposition of Hindi by the Central government in Tamil Nadu. Saying that Tamil was several thousands of years older than Hindi, he wondered how the Centre could take a move towards imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states as various states in the country were created on the basis of language to protect regional languages and the culture of people of a particular region. The Centre should give us a valid reason for imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking states. If it tells us that the imposition is for employment opportunities, we might ask why then that the people of northern states are coming to Tamil Nadu in search of jobs, Seeman said. He, however, said that he was not against Hindi being an optional subject in Tamil Nadu, but was against the language being made a mandatory subject. He blamed the AIADMK government in the State of being supportive of all the decisions taken by the BJP government at the Centre, adding that the Tamils could have expected a stronger reaction from the State government had the chief minister been M Karunanidhi or J Jayalalithaa. Pointing out that the new Central government did not give a cabinet berth to Tamil Nadu, Seeman said that politicians like Tamilisai Soundararajan, Pon Radhakrishnan, and C P Radhakrishnan should have been made a cabinet minister, he said. Addressing a gathering of thousands of cadre, the NTK chief thanked the 16.5 lakh voters who had voted for his party. He added that a large number of Tamils voted for the DMK, fearing that a split in the votebank would lead to a victory for the BJP in the State. I staged several protests against Sterlite Copper, nuclear power generation project and the methane exploration project, but the people did not vote for my party, he rued. Govt firm on two-language policy: Dairy minister Milk and Dairy Minister KT Ranjenthra Bhalaji assured that Hindi language imposition would not happen in Tamil Nadu. Addressing media persons during a marriage function in Sivakasi on Sunday, the minister said that the government led by AIADMK was firm on its two language policy stand and that it would not allow Hindi language imposition in the State. If Hindi is made compulsory in the State, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami will fight against it, he said. Speaking on the election results, the minister said, People supported DMK as they believed in its false promises. But they will realise the valuable service rendered by the AIADMK government and will support the party in the local body election. TNCC warns of protests TNCC has warned the Centre that protests will be held in Tamil Nadu if it is adamant on imposing Hindi on the State. In a statement, KS Alagiri said the draft new education policy had created turmoil in the State. As per the policy, making Hindi compulsory from Standard VI went against former PM Jawaharlal Nehrus assurance that English and Hindi will continue to be used in the country. Stalin congratulates Sonia Gandhi Chennai: DMK president MK Stalin has congratulated Sonia Gandhi on becoming the leader of Congress parliamentary party. In a Facebook post on Sunday, he said on behalf of DMK he was conveying his heartful wishes. Local body polls: Reservation of wards notified Chennai: The State government has taken yet another key step towards conducting civic polls by notifying reservation of wards for general category, SC/STs and women in urban local bodies. Official sources said Greater Chennai Corporation has submitted a notification to the State Election Commission. Will meet Amit Shah for farm loan waiver Tiruchy: Farmers leader P Ayyakannu said he will meet Amit Shah this month to demand farm-loan waiver. In a meeting with mediapersons, Ayyakannu said that properties of farmers were being auctioned off due to failure of loan repayment. By Express News Service PUDUCHERRY: Amidst boycott by the entire opposition, VP Sivakozhunthu assumed office as Speaker of the Territorial Assembly on Monday after he was elected unopposed on the previous day. Prior to his elevation as Speaker, Sivakozhunthu held the post of the Deputy Speaker for three years, after he became an MLA for the first time in 2016.R K R Anantharaman, a member of Speakers panel, who presided over the House on Monday, announced the election of Sivakozhunthu unopposed as he was the only nomination filed when the filing of nomination came to a close at 1200 hours on Sunday. The opposition did not put up any candidate to contest for the Speakers post. Following this Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, his cabinet colleagues and DMK legislature party leader R Siva led Sivakozhnthu to his chair. The entire opposition comprising AINRC, AIADMK and BJP boycotted the Speakers election. Congress MLA and Parliamentary Secretary to CM K Lakshminarayanan also stayed away, after the party preferred to elect Sivakozhunthu over him, despite him being a former minister and a four-time MLA. The opposition parties objected to the election held at short notice and maintained that it was against the law. They demanded the postponement of the election and that it be conducted after giving adequate time to the members. The opposition had submitted a memorandum to Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi seeking to cancel the election. But the Speakers election was held as scheduled. They maintained that it was a murder of democracy as adequate time was not given to the members. The Chief Minister, however, appealed to the opposition parties to attend the session. He also cited instances from the past when the Speaker election was held at short notice. Reminding the Leader of Opposition N Rangasamy and opposition parties, Narayanasamy said that in 2011 when Rangasamy was in power, the election of Speaker was conducted on June 29 after announcing it on June 26, 2011, and told them not to forget this precedent. Earlier the CM, his Cabinet colleagues and the entire ruling party members including the independent member from Mahe, Ramachandran and the new DMK member Venkatesan who was elected from the Thattanchavady Assembly constituency in the by-election held on April 18 greeted the Speaker. Accepting the greetings of the members, Sivakozhunthu assured that he would conduct the House upholding democratic principles in an impartial way. He also corrected Agriculture Minister R Kamalakannan who said that former PCC president and former parliament member P Shanmugham also held the post of Speaker here. Sivakzhunthu said that it was not the former PCC member, but was Muthialpet MLA Shanmugham. Later he adjourned the House sine die. AIADMK may take legal action Puducherry: AIADMK legislature party leader A Anbazhagan said the party would initiate legal action against the Speaker election in consultation with its high command. After boycotting the election, he said that as per rules, the Speaker election needed to be notified 14 days before the election. He charged that the government had violated the rules by notifying election on Saturday and closing the nominations by 1200 hours on Sunday. Even in elections conducted by the Election Commission, no nominations are collected on Saturday and Sunday. The act of the Congress government here amounts to a murder of democracy, he said. By Express News Service NALGONDA: The Telangana government has decided to increase the allocation for midday meals in government schools across the State, starting from this academic year. Reportedly, the rising prices of essential commodities and vegetables is being termed as the reason for hike in the agency rates. Earlier, the State spent Rs 4.13 per primary school student which has now been increased by 22 paise to Rs 4.35. As for the high school students, the State has upped the price of one midday meal per student from Rs 6.18 to Rs 6.51. The State government has also directed the concerned agencies to provide two eggs to high school students every day. In Nalgonda district, the midday meal scheme is being implemented in 1,450 government schools. While the State government is supplying BPT rice for meals under the scheme. About 1,11,616 students are benefiting from the scheme of which 54,348 belong to Classes 1 to 5 while 34,825 studies in Classes 6 to 8 while the 22,443 studies in Classes 9 and 10. Speaking to Express, the district education officer, A Sarojinidevi informed that, the State government has increased the rates for the midday meals scheme in the State. The scheme is being successfully implemented in the district and we are regularly supervising the works to ensure quality food for the children. The agencies organisers are also providing quality food to students. Meanwhile, owners of the midday meal agencies welcomed the decision of increasing the rate per meal under the school. Pranab Mondal By Subhash Das, a primary school teacher with a monthly salary of Rs 24,000 and burgeoning treatment expenses for his child had always voted for the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from his early teens. His political affiliation was unwavering till the change of guard in 2011, which he remembers as momentous. His political preference underwent a sea change. And as Mamata Banerjee climbed to power at the head of the revolutionising Trinamool Congress, promising equity, equality and justice, Das became a Mamata bhakt. He preferred the trend joined Trinamool, the grassroots party, as he believed it to be. It was a mishap in Dass family that changed the 49-year-old mans political choice once again. This time he voted for the BJP and joined those who took over the Trinamool party office near his house at Duttapukur in North 24-Parganas district, around 40 km from Kolkata. The locals handed over the building to the CPI(M), to whom it rightfully belonged. The Trinamools twin flowers were painted out; the Red of CPI(M) re-emerged with the flags and buntings and the Red and the Saffron coloured flags co-exist at Duttapukur. The shift from Trinamool to BJP was as momentous as in 2011,says Das. All people changed to Saffron, as they had to Trinamool then. Whats the big deal? He recalled: A few months ago, my son Sharad fainted at home. He was diagnosed as suffering from a neurological disorder. I had to retrieve my meager savings in the bank to take him to Christian Medical College in Vellore for treatment. I had to take loans, borrow money from my relatives for his treatment. When I heard that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had refused to allow Prime Minister Narendra Modis Ayushman Bharat scheme in West Bengal, I was shattered. She has no family. But did she ever consider our poor standards to ponder how it would have helped a father like me, struggling hard to see his 12-year-old son smiling again? I decided to vote for the BJP, said Das. Das, who was a polling staff in last years panchayat elections and was allegedly manhandled at a counting centre by Trinamool agents despite being a party man, is one of the millions of faces whose support to BJP relatively a new entrant to competitive politics in West Bengal helped it win big in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls. The CPI(M) suffered a steep decline of 23% in its vote share as even Left supporters, who had voted for their party in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, decided to opt for the BJP in 2019 to be rid of the Trinamool cadres depredations and violence at the village and small town levels. From red (Left) to green(TMC) and again to saffron (BJP) the changes in Dass political journey as an elector is reflected on the walls of hundreds of party offices across the state since the Lok Sabha elections result was declared. Active and passionate Trinamool activists and cadres surrendered the party assets to BJP leaders and welcomed them to their homes. At places where the ruling Trinamool resisted and wont give up, its ex-cadres helped the BJP take them over. At some places, they returned the party offices captured by Trinamool in 2011 to the CPI(M). In other places, the BJP, finding itself in possession of such property, promptly made it over to the CPI(M) with commoners milling around and celebrating the occasion. At each place, the refrain was the same we are happy to be rid of Trinamools corruption and high-handedness of its agents. However, there were post-poll clashes too and more than 200 incidents have been registered, mostly over the issue of taking control of the party offices. CM Mamata Banerjees direction to her party cadres to recapture the party offices to return them to the rightful owners also triggered clashes and three persons have died post the election results. The party office that Trinamool had taken over from the CPI(M) in 2011 at Mahishda, the ancestral village of Dipak Adhikary, who was elected from Ghatal Lok Sabha seat with a margin of 1,08,000 votes, was abandoned despite the party candidate securing a victory. A day after the election result was announced, no one was seen in the one-storey building that used to be the most favoured destination for local party workers. Trinamools symbols had been erased overnight and the building white-washed by locals. Hours after the election result, a group of men came and tied BJPs flags to the trees near the party office. Sensing a backlash, Trinamool men abandoned their office. It is a re-run of 2011 when the red flags of CPI(M) were replaced overnight and Trinamool had covered the building with their party flags, recalled Mohammad Asif, a resident of the area. Elaborating on what triggered post-poll violence in the rural pockets of Bengal, a former zonal committee member of the CPI(M) who joined the BJP said Trinamool is resisting change because the power of being a ruling partys cadre member secured their livelihood. The commissions collected money from even beneficiaries of government schemes, right from a widow to a homeless poor. That secured their bread and butter. Each panchayat spends several crores a year and these Trinamool satraps lived on the commission they collected from the poor beneficiaries of the schemes. Faced with an uncertain future, they are not ready to retreat, he said. Office politics Offices bearing party flags in remote pockets of Bengal are considered as a symbol of the organisations strength and penetration at the grassroots level. The CPI(M) had set up more than 7,000 party offices for its committees at local and zonal levels and for other mass organisations across the state during its tenure. Local trivial issues used to be sorted out at the party offices by summoning the two rival groups or individuals. After the change of guard in the state in 2011, a number of CPI(M) party offices were allegedly taken over by Trinamool activists-often ex-party members. The partys leadership had to shut many offices after suffering a sharp decline in its membership which also triggered a massive loss in levy collection. Daily and regular expenditures of party offices used to be maintained with the levy collection. The flow of funds started drying up. We had no option left but to shut down a large number of party offices. The Trinamool took over many others that we abandoned, said a CPI(M) leader in Kolkata, preferring anonymity. The BJP has taken over more than 200 party offices from the Trinamool and nearly 150 of them were returned to the CPI(M). The saffron party, however, described it as a fall out of common peoples anger against the Trinamool.Electors, who found themselves abused by Trinamool agents have found a new political force to take refuge under. They had suffered from the Trinamools torture and corruption and are now retaliating. The Trinamool cadres are abandoning the party offices which they had forcibly taken over from the CPI(M). Now the Left is taking control of the abandoned offices, said BJPs state president Dilip Ghosh. Refuting BJPs hand behind recapturing party offices, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakrabarty said, This is a false propaganda. Trinamool supporters have realised that the peoples verdict has gone against them. They are leaving the party offices which used to be owned by our party and we are taking possession. By PTI HOUSTON: Several Indian-Americans in Texas have welcomed the appointment of S Jaishankar as the External Affairs Minister, saying he was instrumental in negotiating India's civil nuclear agreement with the US. The 64-year-old former foreign secretary's appointment to the key post is seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's attempt to add further strategic heft to India's external engagement. "Houston was the first city he visited when he was appointed India's Ambassador to the US in 2013," Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) Founding Secretary/Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia said. During his trip, Jaishankar had said that Houston has a special relationship with India as its trade with the country is about USD 8 billion, more than some countries, he said. "The Chamber looks forward to welcoming him back to Houston on the Chamber's 20th anniversary this year," said Chamber President Swapan Dhairyawan. I've sung his praises before and I'll do it again: S. Jaishankar is a uniquely skilled diplomat. Having him in the cabinet will be a great asset for India, for Modi 2.0, and for India's relations with both China and the U.S. https://t.co/HUtvZXLdjX Jeff M. Smith (@Cold_Peace_) May 30, 2019 External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in his first official Twitter post, said on Saturday that he was "proud to follow on the footsteps" of his predecessor Sushma Swaraj. Jaishankar, considered an expert on China and the US, served as foreign secretary from January 2015 to January 2018 and both he and Swaraj were credited for bringing vibrancy in India's foreign policy. He was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. The deal, initiated in 2005, took several years to craft, and was signed by the UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh in 2007. Reporter Tim Mitchell is a reporter at The News-Gazette. His email is tmitchel@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@mitchell6). Speaking at the annual Egyptian Family Iftar banquet, President El-Sisi said no one can impose anything on the Palestinians against their desires; the president also addressed a range of domestic issues Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi refuted on Sunday evening rumors on the so-called "deal of the century." Addressing the annual Egyptian Family Iftar banquet in the holy month of Ramadan, President El-Sisi said said that no one can impose a situation on the Palestinians against their desires and wishes. "We, in Egypt, do not talk on behalf of the Palestinians about a matter which would not satisfy them," the president asserted. The region is currently witnessing one of the most difficult situations, but Egypt is safe thanks to Allah and the Armed Forces, the president pointed out. Addressing his comments to the Egyptian people, El-Sisi asked: "People wonder what is the story, what does Sisi intend to do, and is he going to give something to someone!" The president answered: "Nobody can do anything that you do not want done. Can you imagine that I would ever let go [of our rights]. Why would I do that! We are honest and honorable! Nobody can do anything without you. Nobody can divide us." Addressing the citizens from Sinai who attended the Iftar, El-Sisi said "You would never give up anything to anyone!" On domestic issues The president said it is only appropriate to include the families of the martyrs of the armed forces and police who sacrificed their lives for the country in tonight's events. In his speech, the Egyptian president spoke about the current development projects in Sinai, saying that Egypt had spent EGP 400 billion on infrastructure projects to improve living standards in the peninsula. He described the development of the region as a miracle. The development plan includes building new roads, constructing desalination plants and factories, carrying out land reclamation and setting up educational institutions, the president added. He also spoke about other development projects in Egypt, including in Luxor and Cairo. Regarding rumours about Luxor's Kebash Road, the president said the government had allocated a large sum of money to develop the road. He said that the village encroaches on archaeological lands, adding that its residents will be compensated. Speaking about the health sector, the president hailed positive initiatives launched by the government in the sector over the past 18 months, saying they were widely acclaimed by different international health institutions. He announced the government would start implementing a comprehensive health insurance programme in five governorates. This unique programme is aimed at enhancing health care services for citizens, the president added. Around 51 million citizens have been screened for hepatitis C virus and non-communicable diseases, the president noted. The president also called for testing of newborn babies to make sure they are not in need of cochlear implants. With regard to an initiative to end patient waiting lists, the president said around 200,000 patients have undergone urgent surgeries at hospitals, adding that the state seeks to provide the best health care services for all citizens. He pointed to the government's administrative reform plan, especially in the New Administrative Capital, adding that there is a new programme to develop the state's administrative apparatus in accordance with scientific studies. Moving to education, he said that reforming the country's education requires tremendous efforts, costs, and preparations to achieve a better future. He urged parents and students to trust in efforts exerted by the Egyptian state to develop the educational system. "Over the past 50 years, the educational system has produced graduates who only sought to be employed without any motivation for development," El-Sisi said. The president said that thousands of schools need modernisation, stressing the current pace of reform by the education ministry will lead to a better level, but needs more time. Speaking about the economy, the president thanked the Egyptian people for bearing the heavy burden of the reforms implemented over the past eight years. "Egypt will remain strong and make progress as long as Egyptians are united to overcome this difficult phase of economic reforms and achieve all their aspirations," he said. The president added that he always bet on the awareness of the Egyptians and their understanding of the facts, pointing out that the Egyptian people managed to go through all obstacles and challenges. Search Keywords: Short link: Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021 Financial Secretary Paul Chan Hong Kong is surely the place to be when it comes to financial services. Earlier this year, the Global Financial Centres Index placed Hong Kong as the world's third most competitive financial services centre, just behind New York and London. And, earlier this month, Hong Kong was named the world's most open economy in the Legatum Institute's inaugural Global Index of Economic Openness. The London-based institute examined the economic systems of nearly 160 economies, measuring how well each enables trade, competition and productivity. No one does it better than Hong Kong. Our financial services sector accounts for about 18% of Hong Kong's gross domestic product. And let me add, our life insurance business is a critical component of that. Much more than a business, life insurance helps enable the financial and emotional well-being of individuals. To that end, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is also working to better the retirement lives of our citizens. Last month, we introduced a policy allowing tax deductions for qualifying deferred annuity payments as well as voluntary contributions to mandatory provident fund schemes. Through this policy, we hope to encourage our working population to make early retirement savings, to cope with the financial risks that longevity can bring. Longevity is part of Hong Kong's future. Indeed, our 65-and-over population is projected to more than double in the next 20 years. We expect the new policy to raise retirement planning awareness, which can in turn expand retirement planning. And that can also benefit the insurance industry as a whole. The Government is committed to making life better for the people of Hong Kong at every stage of their lives. And I look forward to working with the life insurance sector to achieve that goal. Financial Secretary Paul Chan gave these remarks at the 17th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress 2019 Hong Kong on May 30. Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung today said the Government will fully co-operate with the Legislative Council in its vetting of the fugitive bill. Mr Cheung made the statement after the LegCo Secretariat received more than 200 amendments from legislators to the bill. He noted the LegCos summer recess will start in mid-July and hoped legislators could handle the issue in a practical manner. Mr Cheung also pointed out there is an urgency to pass laws that would allow the Government to engage in a formal dialogue with Taiwan authorities regarding the homicide case. Financial Secretary Paul Chan will depart for Russia on June 5 to attend the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. The forum will be held between June 6 and 8. It offers a global platform for members of the business community to meet and discuss key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole. Mr Chan will return to Hong Kong on June 9. Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau will act as Financial Secretary during Mr Chans absence. It was a dream come true for more than 50 young women from disadvantaged backgrounds who received certificates yesterday after undergoing a special training programme in tourism and hospitality, courtesy of First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa. The skills they received will empower and capacitate them to be self-reliant. Amai Mnangagwa facilitated the skills mentorship programme through her charity organisation, Angel of Hope Foundation, whose main focus is to uplift lives of disadvantaged children and other vulnerable members of society. For the success of the programme, Angel of Hope Foundation partnered with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority and National Parks. The mentorship programme involved theoretical training in various companies that included ZimParks, Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe (CAAZ), Air Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), Wild Travel Africa, Rainbow Towers and Holiday Inn, where the young women were exposed to learning in the hospitality industry. The young women, who were drawn from Harare, Bulawayo, Mashonaland East and Mashonaland West provinces, could not hide their joy after they received their certificates from the First Lady, who was accompanied by Environment, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister Prisca Mupfumira and Women Affairs, Gender, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni. Addressing the graduates at State House, Amai Mnangagwa said the initiative was in line with her foundations objective of empowering girls and women from marginalised communities and investing in their development. The mentorship programme is aimed at empowering young women by exposing them to an opportunity they otherwise would not have had, she said. The mentees were taught the methods and procedures that are fundamental in the successful running of the hospitality industry. They also participated in a hospitality and tourism solutions dialogue hosted by Africa Works Institute which aimed at equipping them with skills that would aid in securing job opportunities in different sectors. This entire mentorship programme equipped the young women with a set of transferable skills and some notable experience that make them employable for the future jobs. The First Lady urged the graduates to continue improving themselves academically to match the industry trends. She said she had plans to expand the mentorship programmes to include other industries such as industry and commerce, mining and agriculture. I am appealing to companies that are involved in these trades to allow us to mentor the vulnerable young women in their workplace, said the First Lady. Please think of these ladies when you have openings in your organisations as our ultimate goal is that they find jobs or start their own businesses. Amai Mnangagwa thanked organisations that took part in training and mentoring the young women during the programme, adding that they helped build their self-confidence, broadened their horizons and exposed them to new experiences. Among the graduands were orphans from childrens homes who narrated their ordeals and thanked Amai Mnangagwa for the new lease of life. Buhle Moduma (19) said her mother abandoned her when she was two months old and since then she has been staying at Khayelihle Childrens Home. I am greatly humbled and wish to express my gratitude to Amai for this opportunity. She has given us hope and indeed she is an Angel of Hope, she said. I passed my Ordinary Level and with this certificate I am going to start hunting for a job. My wish is to further my studies. If I get a job, I will use my salary to look for accommodation because now that I am over 18 years, I am supposed to leave the home and make room for others. Nyasha Moyo (20) said she lived on the streets of Bulawayo for a long time following the death of her mother when she was eight years old. She said the abuse she endured at the hands of her father and stepmother forced her to flee home in Gweru and she ended up on the streets of Bulawayo before she was taken to a home by a Good Samaritan. With this mentorship programme, my future is now bright, she said. If it was not for Angel of Hope who gave me this opportunity, I would not be where I am today. I am also supposed to leave the home and my prayer now is to find a job so that I can fend for myself. The Zimbabwe Sugar Association (ZSA) has urged members of the public not to hoard sugar because there are enough stocks to meet local demand. last Friday, ZSA chairperson Mr Muchadeyi Masunda said that the country has sufficient sugar stocks to meet national requirements. In a statementlast Friday, ZSA chairperson Mr Muchadeyi Masunda said that the country has sufficient sugar stocks to meet national requirements. As ZSA we urge all retailers and wholesalers to continue behaving responsibly. We also advise our valued customers that the industry will continue to deliver sugar nationwide to meet normal domestic requirements, he said. We also wish to reassure our valued customers and stakeholders that the Zimbabwe Sugar Industry has sufficient stocks to meet the national requirements for both industrial and household grades of sugar to the next season, We urge players in the sugar trade to behave responsibly as there are no sugar shortages in the country, he said. Mr Masunda also said as an association they noticed an abnormal surge in the demand for sugar throughout the country. There has been an abnormal surge in demand for sugar throughout the country resulting in artificial shortages due to speculative activities by some unscrupulous traders and that was a result of panic buying by customers as from May 16, 2019, he said. About 80 percent of Zimbabwes sugarcane crop is produced by two large estates, namely Triangle Sugar Estate and Hippo Valley Estate with the rest coming from private farmers and newly resettled farmers. Fairbanks, AK (99707) Today Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. Morning high of 8F with temps falling to near -5. Winds light and variable.. Tonight A few clouds. Low near -15F. Winds light and variable. The Miles of Smiles 36 aid convoy arrived in Gaza Strip via the Rafah border crossing on Monday to deliver a second batch of medical aid to Gaza's health ministry. The aid includes 100,000 IV units, which will secure the needs of the health sector for three months, Khaled Youssef, the coordinator of the convoy in Europe, said on Monday. It is part of the humanitarian aid which has been provided by the Miles of Smiles convoy since the start of May, according to the head of the convey, Essam Youssef. The first delivery arrived in Gaza in early May and comprised 200,000 IV units. Search Keywords: Short link: Boko Haram terrorists have reportedly captured Marte, the headquarters of Marte Local Government Area of Borno State. Daily Trust re... Boko Haram terrorists have reportedly captured Marte, the headquarters of Marte Local Government Area of Borno State. Daily Trust reports that the insurgents stormed the Marte military base, 153 Task Force Battalion, shooting sporadically and in the process razed everything. It quoted a military source as saying on Monday: The insurgents seem not to have intended harming any civilian, but only to capture the town; so they stormed the military base, taking troops there unawares at about 6pm (Sunday) much less than an hour to break fast time. We engaged them in a fierce encounter for about an hour. Initially, we were about getting victorious over them, but they overpowered us, and all troops in the burning base were set asunder, with all of us fleeing in all directions in the bush. I can tell you that we were about defeating them; but God knows the tactics they later deployed and the defeat turned against us; we all fled; they are in control of the town now. According to another fleeing source, casualty figures cannot be confirmed on both sides, with all of us fleeing in all directions into the bush, and many of us finding their way to Maiduguri, and majority still roaming in the bush. Many of us who are lucky to find our way to Maiduguri or any safe community will elope to their home states across the country to relieve themselves of the trauma. This development is coming days after Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, the Chief of Army Staff, declared that Boko Haram has been defeated. British Airways on Monday resumed flight operations to Pakistan, more than ten years after halting the service in the wake of a suicide... British Airways on Monday resumed flight operations to Pakistan, more than ten years after halting the service in the wake of a suicide bombing attack that had killed more than 50 people at Islamabads Marriott Hotel. Footage of a Boeing 787 jet with some 240 passengers on board landing at the capitals new airport was aired by local TV channels. Several government ministers and the British high commissioner were on hand to welcome the flight. I am happy that British Airways has landed in Pakistan after 11 years, Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan said in a video message. Todays Pakistan is more safe, secure and peaceful, Khan said. The British carrier had suspended operations in 2008 after the deadly Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad in which over 50 people were killed. The security situation has since improved due to successive military operations against the militants. Britains flag carrier is back, Thomas Drew, the British High Commissioner in Islamabad, said in a video message shared via Twitter. It is, of course, a tribute to the great improvement to the security situation in Pakistan in recent years, Drew added. Reno Omokri says even if offered the position of Vice President, he will never accept any appointment from President Buhari. Reno Omokri says even if offered the position of Vice President, he will never accept any appointment from President Buhari. According to Reno, he believes President Buhari is not mentally capable of leading a country like Nigeria. Reno made this known in an exchange he had with one of his Instagram followers. See screengrab below President Buhari's senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu has shared an article to explain to Nigerians what... President Buhari's senior special assistant on media and publicity, Garba Shehu has shared an article to explain to Nigerians what his boss really went to do at the OIC summit that held in Saudi Arabia recently Below is his explanation... On Friday, President Muhammadu Buhari delivered the address of 16 African nations who are members of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), making it the third time a Nigerian leader will speak at the OIC. Late President of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru YarAdua and his successor, Dr Good luck Jonathan had attended previous meetings. The just concluded 2019 meeting held in Makka, Saudi Arabia, is significant as it marked the 50th anniversary of the organization. As with most issues in Nigeria, there will always be individuals and groups who will disagree with the President. For some, there are good reasons for doing this while for others it is like sports; they enjoy going the opposite direction. And for another set, it is personal. No matter what President Buhari does, they will never be pleased with him. When the President decided to attend the OIC meeting, he knew some people will raise dust. But guided by the overall national interest, which always governs his actions, he preferred not to worry about the storms. The criticisms of his attendance by some, including cultural organization, Ohaeneze and Christian Association of Nigeria are not new or unexpected. For those who know President Buhari, these tantrums dont make him angry, in the full understanding that when the critics take time to read or see the outcomes, they too will be glad that the decision taken to be present at the key strategic gathering. Interestingly, the major takeaways from this meeting were concerns expressed daily by Church leaders and Imams. The issues deal directly with safety, peace and prosperity of the nation and its citizens. It is noteworthy that President Buhari, leading other African leaders, got key support for many issues of concern or interest to Nigeria and African continent at the meeting. Top on the list is strong condemnation of terrorist acts. The meeting agreed that fighting terrorism is a major priority, resolving to work together to prevent and suppress terrorist acts through strong international solidarity and cooperation in full recognition of the UNs central role in that regard. In the specific case of countries of Lake Chad Basin facing grave security challenges and vicious insurgency arising from Boko Haram terrorism and insurgency, members agreed to increase humanitarian aid. To this end, the regional humanitarian office of the OIC in Niamey, Niger Republic will be upgraded to a Regional Representative Mission to mobilize political commitment and undertake development and humanitarian activities. President Buhari equally got reassuring support for recharging of Chad Basin, a goal he has consistently promoted on the global stage. The Lake had shrunk to 10 per cent of its size due to effects of climate change, with dire economic consequences for many. The OIC members assured that they will support the ongoing project of recharging the lake, in view of the socioeconomic benefits to neighbouring countries. Reducing poverty and hunger was also discussed extensively. Members saw the need, and made strong commitments to assisting less privileged member-countries to tackle poverty and hunger. To this effect, members that had not pledged to the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development were asked to do so and those that pledged contributions deemed to be low in view of current reality were requested to increase. The solidarity fund aims to reduce poverty among member-states by promoting pro-poor development and human development. The Islamic Organisation for Food Security was charged to address challenges of agriculture, rural development and food insecurity. Soon, there will be a framework for development of OIC renewable energy in terms of both access and distribution. Another important achievement by the African group in particular was by way of establishing an economic assistance program for them and other less privileged OIC countries to cope with economic development challenges. In area of finance, development and trade, the meeting commended the Islamic Development, IDB, for the model it operates that promotes competitive development among members, developing infrastructure and promoting the private sector. Going forward, OIC members agreed to boost trade with a target of 25 per cent trade exchange. To push this, a frame work for Trade Preferential System will be worked out. Another vision of President Buhari which got attention and support at the 14th Summit in Makkah is on environment. Members will promote environmental education because it will help countries to deal with degradation. The meeting agreed that this will also raise health standards. The OIC meeting encouraged members to take necessary steps in promoting science, technology and innovation with the aim of addressing global challenges linked to issues of environment, climate change, human health, energy sources and water resources. The summit agreed to hold a second science and technology summit in 2020 at Uzbekistan. At the conclusion of the meeting, there was a resolution to support the G5 Sahel countries (Niger, Chad, Mali, Burkina Faso and Mauritania, established in 2014) in their efforts to fight terrorism and ensure development. In an age in which the leading religious establishments are fighting moral decadence and collapse of marriage institution, the OIC meeting, understandably agreed to promote family welfare, preserve values of marriage and family institutions. To achieve this, new strategies will be worked out for marriage and family institution empowerment and value preservation. Nigeria, a country with bubbling and versatile cultural heritage, stands to gain from measures that will support cinematic productions, including a planned launching of an OIC film festival. In this regard, the leaders commended the Secretariat for the initiative of the OIC Film Award for Peace and Co-existence which debuted in February this year at the African Film and TV Festival at Ouagadougou, Mali. The leaders accepted a recommendation by the Council of Foreign Ministers for the setting up of a unit for youth issues that will focus mainly on their empowerment. There was a landmark adoption of a plan for women advancement with implementation mechanisms. There will be an OIC Women Consultative Council that would, among other issues, seek to strengthen the marriage institution, and discourage marriage of underage girls. The robust, and well attended meeting, touched economic and social issues affecting members, relying on the strength of collective efforts to find immediate and lasting solutions. The meeting agreed to come together and end terrorism; support members that are behind in economy and development; empowerment of youths through knowledge and entrepreneurship, and advance the cause of women. Other significant gains include discouraging marriage of underage girls; increasing trade and investment; promoting science, technology and innovation; promoting culture; financing development and preserving the marriage institution. Arresting climate change, sustaining advocacy on the issue of Palestine, and working together for peace, security and co-existence were also addressed. The Imo state governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has given the immediate past Governor of Imo, Rochas Okorocha up to midnight of Tuesday June 4... The Imo state governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has given the immediate past Governor of Imo, Rochas Okorocha up to midnight of Tuesday June 4, 2019 to do a proper handover to his government. Ihedioha spoke at the Government House in Owerri, during the swearing into office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Uche Onyeaguocha and Chief of Staff, Chris Okewulonu. The governor afterwards ordered the Permanent Secretary and Head of Service, under Okorocha, to quickly prepare all the necessary documents and hand them over to the SSG, and Chief of Staff, before tomorrows midnight. The governor also wanted Imo people who desired to have a feel of the dilapidation in the Government House at the moment, to feel free to do so. Ihediohas warning is coming days after it was reported in Vanguard that he claimed that it has been very difficult for him as governor to operate from the current Imo state Government House and in addition, he did not have documents to work on as a governor. As it is now, Ihedioha is yet to make public where he will be operating from to administer his official duties as the governor of the state, for the meantime. Ihedioha briefly said: I direct Head of Service and Permanent Secretary, to ensure a complete handover of all government properties, the last administration utilised on behalf of Imo people to SSG and Chief of Staff of Imo state government. I want the process to be completed by midnight tomorrow. I spoke to Imo people that we will start work, we will resume work. We will give no excuses of not performing. We will give dividend of democracy irrespective of the status of the state of facilities I inherited. Babatunde Fashola, former minister of power, works and housing, has commended President Muhammadu Buharis administration for the strides recorded so far. According to Channels Television the former minister described the achievement of this government as one of a kind, saying perhaps only a few or no other government has recorded such feat. Fashola was quoted as saying instead of engaging in one activity at a time like different nations, Buharis government engaged in several infrastructural projects simultaneously. This government is doing something that I dont think many, if any nation has done before. They are building the entire infrastructure at the same time ports, airports, rail, roads, power, all simultaneously at the same time, he was said to have told reporters in Abuja. Often times, what most countries do is to finish one then go to the other. And it is because we have outgrown our infrastructure as a nation. And that is why you will see the commitment of the president to projects like the second Niger bridge, the Igbodo-Ogoni bridge, the Mambilla power plant, the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, all of these is going on at the same time. He added that Buhari would deliver more dividends of democracy to Nigerians during his second term. John Oyegun, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the ... John Oyegun, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has described former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the kind of leader Nigeria needs, saying his words are infinitely weighty and cannot be ignored. In an interview with New Telegraph, Oyegun said Obasanjos comment on Islamisation and Fulanisation might have been dramatised. While delivering a lecture on May 18 in Delta state, Obasanjo had said the Boko Haram crisis had become an agenda for West African Fulanization, African Islamisation. The comment sparked reactions among Nigerians with many describing the statement as inciting. But Oyegun said Obasanjo is addressing an issue that is with us. He said while he may not tag the crisis as Islamisation, there is no question at all that it calls for worry because these people exist virtually in every state of the federation and, very soon, it would lead to unpleasantness in all over the country. Well, I respect him. Every nation needs a man like that just like the peoples SAN, Chief Gani Fawhemi and a lot of activists. What is happening is that because of his status, his experience, his background, what he says becomes infinitely weighty and cannot be ignored, Oyegun said. I just told you that this issue of so-called Fulani herdsmen and the copy cats that have followed it has to be addressed. So, the issue has to be addressed. I wouldnt give it the kind of Islamization tag that is given to it, but there is no question at all that it calls for worry because these people exist virtually in every state of the federation and, very soon, it would lead to unpleasantness in all over the country. So, the issue has to be addressed and, as I told you that as far as I am concerned, it would be one of the first priority of the next level administration. He also asked the ruling party to get rid of godfathers, saying godfatherism is one of the major challenges the APC is facing. He called on the ruling party to embrace internal democracy. I think the basic problem we have all over is the godfather thing. Internal democracy simply means that if 10 people want to vie for an office, so be it. Let the electorate decide. But when party leaders are the ones deciding who is fit or who is not fit, that becomes a problem, he said. That is the decision of the electorate. And when they start displacing persons with their friends and other undesirable inducements, that is totally unacceptable. The damage it does is that you are destroying the belief of the electorate in due process. So, it becomes more difficult to accept the result of an election. So, the damage is intense and I pray that our politicians will see the need for a proper internal democracy and allow due process and allow the people to thoroughly decide. Reno Omokri, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday, faulted the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, for criticis... Reno Omokri, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, on Sunday, faulted the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, for criticising President Muhammadu Buhari for attending the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit a day after he was inaugurated into office for a second term. The President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, on Saturday berated President Muhammadu Buhari for attending the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit 24 hours after his inauguration. CAN insisted that Buharis attendance at the OIC was unconstitutional and confirmed worries about the alleged Islamisation agenda. In a statement by his Media Aide, Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the CAN President said as Buhari begins his second term in office, he should have a blueprint for the security challenges facing the country as well as avoid lopsided appointments in every facet of the government, especially in the appointment chief security officers. But reacting, Omokri, in a tweet said CAN was wrong for attacking Buhari, adding that ex-President Goodluck Jonathan is a Christians but attended OIC meetings. He wrote: It is wrong for CAN to condemn @MBuhari for attending Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meetings. Ex-President Jonathan is a Christian, but attended OIC meetings. I dont like OIC. But I accept that Nigeria is multi-religious #FreeLeahSharibu #RenosDarts Clerics on Sunday warned youths against the use of trending s3xual booster called Kayan Mata, saying that it has spiritual implicati... Clerics on Sunday warned youths against the use of trending s3xual booster called Kayan Mata, saying that it has spiritual implications. Some of them who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said that in spite of the fact that some couples believed its helping their marriages, it has future repercussions. Speaking on the effects of using such products, Reverend Joshua Aribisala of the Tabernacle of Glory Church, warned users that theres always a price for using such products. I have heard so much about this Kayan Mata, so many married women in my church have come to ask me if using it tampers with their faith. Due to this many questions, I decided to look into the whole Kayan Mata thing and I discovered that some of these sellers invoke demons to make their products effective. An example is one blue eye bead that they claim gives protection, the blue eye bead is an amulet that was forged by calling on spirits to grant the user protection. However, the devil does not give without taking, the originator of this amulet had to give a sacrifice to the spirits she invoked. These things definitely have spiritual implications that may not manifest until much later in the users life. Aribisala went further to narrate the experience of one of his church members who was given a waist bead by her friend as gift before her wedding. She found out that for the period she kept the waist bead on, she enjoyed good sexual relationship with her husband but the moment she decided to do away with it, her husband suddenly no longer found her attractive and refused to sleep with her. Now, she had no idea the waist bead was the cause of her problem until her friend confessed that she had bought the waist bead from one of these Kayan Mata vendors on social media. She claimed the waist bead possessed some hypnotic qualities and that the woman should have allowed it to break on its own instead of destroying it herself, so you can imagine the mess she is in, he said. High Chief Kukoyi Ijakande, a practising traditionalist, said that there is spiritual implication in using such products. I am a High priest of Ifa and Orunmila teaches us that whatever you get forcefully will not last, alot of these Kayan Mata products, though are made with herbs, are concocted calling on spirits that could be dangerous. When you use products that are said to bond you to your husband forever, dont you know that the bonding goes beyond the physical realms? Some women have altered their husbands destinies through the use of these products, they call on spirits to keep their husbands tied to them and in return the spirits begin dining on the husbands ethereal form. Or when a woman uses a kajal guaranteed to get her anything she wants, the day she gets tired of the man, he might run mad, every spiritual action has a reaction, he said. He, however, appealed to people especially women to stop using such items for their husbands because it might affect them on the long run. Also, Imam Yakubu Umar said that spiritual leaders had always warned against the use of such products but because of the rate some men cheat on their spouse, women still use such products. He said that those products would definitely have their repercussions in the future but some men wont stop cheating on their spouse and women who dont want to lose their homes engage in it. According to him, everyone should seek the face of God for mercy and forgiveness of sins because alot is happening in this present generation. According to Mrs Rekiya Adamu, a 63-year-old housewife, the purpose of Kayan Mata has been defeated. During my days as a young newly married lady, Kayan mata was used to sweeten the marriage bed. It used to be a means to get sexual satisfaction for both the husband and wife, but now, there are different spiritual manipulative tools that people claim is Kayan Mata. They have bastardized the whole purpose with some sellers of the new ones even going as far as invoking spirits into those products. She however, said that some Kayan Mata were made from natural products like nuts and seeds. Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and President Donald Trump of the United States have been engaging in a war of words over the latter... Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and President Donald Trump of the United States have been engaging in a war of words over the latters visit to the United Kingdom. On Monday, Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived the UK for a three-day visit, where they were received at Buckingham Palace by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Charles wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. Criticising the visit in an op-ed for the UK Guardian newspaper, Khan wrote that Trump was an increasing threat to global peace. Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than seventy years, Khan wrote. He said Trump and other far-right politicians are intentionally pitting their own citizens against one another, regardless of the horrific impact in our communities. TRUMP REPLIES: YOURE A STONE COLD LOSER Trump took to Twitter to call out the London Mayor in his predicted manner. Sadiq Khan who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly nasty to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom, Trump tweeted. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me. Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job only half his height. In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom, and am looking very much forward to my visit. On Tuesday, the US President is scheduled to meet with Theresa May, the outgoing British Prime Minister, before travelling on Wednesday to Portsmouth, on the south coast of England, and on to Paris, France. New genetic weapons challenge sickle cell disease HOUSTON - (June 3, 2019) - Help for patients with sickle cell disease may soon come from gene editing to fix the mutation that causes the disease and boost the patient's own protective fetal hemoglobin. New research shows that using CRISPR-Cas9 and a corrective short DNA template to repair the sickle cell mutation in a patient's hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) could be efficient and safe. Bioengineer Gang Bao of Rice University's Brown School of Engineering conducted the research in collaboration with Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University. The revelation is one of several in a new study led by Bao and Vivien Sheehan, an assistant professor at Baylor and a member of the sickle cell program at Texas Children's Hematology Center. The open-access study appears in the Oxford Academic journal Nucleic Acids Research. Sickle cell disease, which affects about 100,000 Americans and millions worldwide, is a painful and often fatal inherited condition. A single mutation in hemoglobin subunit beta (aka beta-globin) forces normal, disc-shaped red blood cells to stiffen and take characteristic "sickle" shapes. These cells can damage vessel walls and clot small blood vessels, stopping the delivery of oxygen to tissues. Today, some people afflicted with the disease are treated with stem cells from a matched, related donor, an option researchers says is available to fewer than 15% of patients. A better strategy would be modifying the patient's own hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), an option theoretically available to every patient because there would be no risk of rejection. Ideally, stem cells isolated from the patient's bone marrow would be gene-edited and tested, and chemotherapy would be used to reduce the patient's stem cells to make room for the edited cells. Bao said the corrected cells would then be implanted back into the patient, where they could proliferate and spawn healthy blood cells. For the new study, and for the first time, Bao and his team tested patient HSPCs in rodents and demonstrated that a fraction of the gene-edited cells from patients could survive and function for about 4 months. These stem cells were from the peripheral blood of five patients and the bone marrow of two patients with the disease, all obtained by Sheehan. The Sheehan lab characterized the type of hemoglobin made by the edited cells and showed that gene editing can provide enough protective and normal hemoglobin to prevent sickling, even under the severe hypoxia that promotes sickling. Early tests using wild-type Cas9 protein - the "scissors" that target and cut specific sections of DNA - from Streptococcus pyogenes led to stem cells with high levels of unintended DNA edits. These off-target edits included large chromosomal deletions and inversions that could cause disease. In a second round of tests, the Rice lab adopted a more recent "high-fidelity" version of Cas9 developed by Integrated DNA Technologies. That led to significantly reduced off-target edits, Bao said. Not all the stem cells isolated from a patient with the sickle mutation are fixed by gene editing. At best, according to experiments by the Bao lab, it fixed up to 40% of them. In another 50% of cells, DNA was cut and not repaired by the corrective DNA template, but that appeared to boost the stem cells' expression of fetal hemoglobin (HbF), a type made by a different gene that does not carry the sickle mutation and is normally turned off a few months after birth. Fetal hemoglobin is known to mute the effects of sickle cell disease. Bao suspects that if the expression of fetal hemoglobin in edited cells persists, 90% of the stem cells from patients will either have the sickle mutation fixed, or have sickling prevented by fetal hemoglobin. "Our hope is that if we take out a fraction of HSPCs from a patient's bone marrow and damage the remaining ones, then edit the HSPCs and deliver them back, the combination of gene-corrected and HbF-expressing cells will be enough to cure the disease," Bao said. That 10% of stem cells continued to produce sickle cells should not be a big concern, he said. "The good news is that normal red blood cells have a lifespan about nine times that of the sickle cells," Bao said. "That means over time, the majority of the red blood cells would be normal cells. That's the scenario we would like to see." The researchers don't yet know if cutting beta-globin to boost fetal hemoglobin levels would provide a long-lasting benefit or whether it risks inducing beta thalassemia, a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin. "There is a risk, and we need to understand it better," Bao said. It is also unclear how many stem cells must be edited to provide long-term relief to a patient. "We don't know what percentage of the HSCs with gene correction could effectively treat sickle cell disease," he said. "Some people say just a few percent, and some say 5-10%. My guess is around 5% would be sufficient, but the exact percentage could only be established through clinical trials." The road to human trials may still take some time, Bao said. "Technology-wise, we are ready to do a clinical trial," he said. "But just getting approval for a trial will require a lot of resources. We need to compile the data and do additional experiments to address the safety issues." ### Rice graduate student So Hyun Park and research scientist Ciaran Lee are co-first authors of the paper. Co-authors are Rice research specialist Timothy Davis; postdoctoral associates Yankai Zhang and Alireza Paikari and instructor Alicia Chang of the Texas Children's Hematology Center/Baylor, and research instructor Daniel Dever, undergraduate fellow Joab Camarena, graduate student Wai Srifa and Matthew Porteus, a professor of pediatrics, of Stanford. Bao is the Foyt Family Professor of Bioengineering at Rice. Sheehan is an assistant professor of pediatrics-hematology/oncology and hematology at Baylor. The research was supported by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, the Chao Physician-Scientist Award, the Stanford Maternal and Child Health Research Institute, the Amon G. Carter Foundation, a Laurie Kraus Lacob Faculty Scholar Award in Pediatric Translational Research, and the Sutardja Foundation. Read the paper at https:/ / academic. oup. com/ nar/ advance-article/ doi/ 10. 1093/ nar/ gkz475/ 5506860?searchresult= 1 . This news release can be found online at https:/ / news. rice. edu/ 2019/ 06/ 03/ new-genetic-weapons-challenge-sickle-cell-disease/ Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Related materials: Laboratory of Biomolecular Engineering and Nanomedicine (Bao lab): http://bao. rice. edu Vivien Sheehan: https:/ / www. texaschildrens. org/ research/ laboratories/ vivien-andrea-sheehan-md-phd Porteus Lab: http://med. stanford. edu/ porteuslab. html Rice Department of Bioengineering: https:/ / bioengineering. rice. edu George R. Brown School of Engineering: https:/ / engineering. rice. edu Images for download: https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2019/ 06/ 0603_SICKLE-1-WEB. jpg Rice University graduate student So Hyun Park prepares an experiment in the lab of bioengineer Gang Bao, in the background. The lab is working toward help for patients with sickle cell disease through gene editing. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2019/ 06/ 0603_SICKLE-2-WEB-1. jpg Rice University researchers, from left, So Hyun Park, Gang Bao and Timothy Davis, are advancing gene-editing techniques to help patients with sickle cell disease. They are part of the team that discovered an unexpected boost in fetal hemoglobin production, which mutes the effect of the disease. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2019/ 06/ 0603_SICKLE-3-WEB. jpeg An illustration shows the process by which a patient's own hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) can be removed, their genes edited and the corrected hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) returned to treat sickle cell disease. (Credit: Illustration by Gang Bao/Rice University) Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Editor's note: Links to an illustration and high-resolution images for download appear at the end of this release. David Ruth 713-348-6327 david@rice.edu Mike Williams 713-348-6728 mikewilliams@rice.edu This story has been published on: 2019-06-03. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The State Information Service (SIS) stressed that Human Rights Watch (HRW)s Report on Sinai is full of lies and fabrications on the situation in Sinai. In its official detaied response to the report, the SIS said the HRW once again circulates lies regarding the human rights situation in Egypt, a pattern the international organization is used to when it comes to human rights in Egypt. In September 2017, the HRW issued a report claiming there are 19 cases of torture in Egyptian prisons without providing any real evidence. The Egyptian prosecutor general, in turn, investigated those allegations and found that they were not true, SIS said. In 2018, the HRW issued a variety of unfounded statements and made a report on the human rights situation in Egypt, including a report on Khaled Hassan, a defendant being prosecuted for his affiliation with Daesh's Wilayat Sinaa, it also said. They claimed he disappeared and was subjected to torture but later on all their claims were proved to be untrue, it added. In 2019, the HRW once again made a report on May 28 regarding the situation in northern Sinai, it said. The report contained false allegations and was based on unreliable sources, sources that are in constant enmity with the Egyptian State and are deliberately attempting to distort the image of Egypt, it added. It noted that the report included many alleged cases that are entirely unsupported by any real evidence as if this report is made to be read by amateurs. That's why the Human Rights Unit of the State Information Service prepared this detailed comprehensive response to the report which refutes these allegations, SIS said. As for the interviews included in the HRW report, the report claimed that 54 interviews were conducted with local residents in Sinai without clarifying many essential points to show their authenticity, SIS added. It pointed out that the report said these interviews were conducted with Sinai locals either in Egypt or living abroad but it failed to uncover the identity of the interviewees "which makes us wonder why their identity was kept anonymous". The report also did not refer to any interviews that were conducted with any Egyptian official or a government source in or out of Egypt, SIS said. "It did not show us the method by which they conducted the interviews either they were made through Skybe or social networking tools." Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts ambassador to Addis Ababa Osama Abdel-Khalek said that Ethiopian authorities, with the assistance of a specialised international team, is still working to identify the victims of Ethiopian Airlines crash that killed 157 passengers, including six Egyptians, last March. In a statement to Al-Ahram Arabic news website, Abdel-Khalek said that completing the identification process, which involves DNA testing, may take another few weeks. The ambassador added that the remains of the victims will be handed over to the families once the identification process is complete, and that their personal belongings will be handed over during the upcoming weeks. On Sunday, Egypts foreign ministry said it is following up on the process to identify the six Egyptian nationals who died in the crash. The identification process involves experts from Ethiopia, Interpol, and other specialised international bodies. Last March, a Boeing 737 MAX airliner crashed minutes after take-off in Ethiopia, just few months after 189 people were killed on a Lion Air 737 MAX which plunged into the ocean off Indonesia under similar conditions. The two crashes later led to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX over safety concerns. Egypts Minister of Defence Mohamed Zaki met on Thursday in Cairo with Rwandas Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Richard Sezibera to discuss bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest. The ministers discussed the threats to the safety and stability of countries in the region, as well as the prospects for cooperation in defence and security. The Rwandan FM praised Egypt and its political leaderships support of their brothers in the African continent, especially during Egypts chairmanship of the African Union in 2019. The Egyptian minister of defence hailed the deep-rooted historical relations between Egypt and Rwanda, expressing Cairos desire for further cooperation on all levels. The meeting was attended by a number of Egyptian Armed Forces commanders and the ambassador of Rwanda in Cairo. Search Keywords: Short link: A doctors' committee says 13 were killed and more than 100 injured in evacuation of sit-in site; the military council says it remains committed to talks Sudan's public prosecutor has set up a committee to investigate violence at the main protest site outside the Defense Ministry headquarters in Khartoum, state news agency SUNA said on Monday. A doctors committee close to the protest movement in Sudan reported that 13 people had been killed and more than 100 injured during violence as security forces evacuated a sit-in camp outside the Ministry of Defence in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Monday morning. The representatives of the protest movement, the Alliance of Freedom and Change (AFC), and the TMC had been negotiating over the issue of civilian-military representation in power during the interim phase following the army's ouster of president Omar Al-Bashir amid mass protests against his 30-year-old rule. The Transitional Military Council (TMC) had offered to let protesters form a government but insisted on maintaining overall authority during an interim period. Demonstrators want civilians to run the transitional period and lead Sudan's 40 million people to democracy. Talks were suspended on Monday.. Thousands of young men and women have been taking turns to camp outside the Ministry of Defence, a focal point of anti-government protests that started in December. The doctors committee reported a "large number of critical casualties and urged the Sudanese people to aid the injured, also called for "urgent support" from the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organisations. The military councils spokesman, Lieutenant General Shams El Din Kabbashi, said the raid targeted criminals and that the protesters were safe. The protest camp has not been dispersed, Kabbashi said. The security forces were trying to disperse unruly (elements) in the Colombia area, near the protest site, and some of these elements fled to the protest site and caused this chaos. The council was still committed to a political settlement and was ready to resume talks on a civilian transition soon, Kabbashi added. After news of the evacuation spread, protesters poured into the streets in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman, on the opposite side of the River Nile. Television footage showed black smoke rising from tents, apparently torched by the raiding during evacuation. Demonstrators blocked roads with rocks and burning tyres, witnesses said. Demonstrators, some waving Sudanese flags, hurled stones at security forces, who charged amid sounds of intense gunfire. A Reuters witness saw troops wielding batons deployed in central Khartoum and close roads. Bridges over the Nile have also been blocked. There were no signs of any security forces in Omdurman. Meanwhile, The Umma Party, the country's oldest opposition party, called for nationwide protests. The United States, Britain, African Union, United Nations and the European Union expressed deep concern about the situation and called for restraint and the end of violence. Search Keywords: Short link: French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that Oct. 31 should be the "final" deadline for Britain's much-delayed withdrawal from the European Union. Macron was among those EU leaders opposed to granting Britain a long extension of its date for divorce when it was moved from March until the end of October. "I think this is the final, final deadline because I don't want to have the new Commission and this new executive to deal with (this)," he said, referring to the naming of new heads of major EU institutions. "I think it is a big mistake to procrastinate." Macron was speaking in English at the Elysee palace in Paris with members of the International Monetary Conference. "I do believe we now have to implement the British people's decision. Except if the British people themselves decide something else," Macron said. "That's why I was always pictured as the tough guy in the room on this Brexit issue. But I do endorse such a role." However, Macron left the door open for another extension of the Brexit deadline if Britain decided to ask for time to launch a second Brexit vote. "It's feasible if we have the perspective of either a new referendum or a totally new scheme which would be acceptable for the 27 and our negotiator." Macron also described any possible British attempt to try and renegotiate the current deal to remove the so-called "Irish backstop" as a "non-starter". Search Keywords: Short link: Helios Investment Partners and the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund have acquired 96.7% of Misr Hytech Seed International, one of the Middle East and Africas largest independent seed companies. According to the press release, Misr Hytech Seed International provides farmers with high-performing seeds that are adapted to the Egyptian market through its Hytech brand. The statement added that Misr Hytech has a strong portfolio of proprietary germplasm across key crops in Africa and the Middle East, which will be used to support the companys expansion across the continent. Founded in 1993, Misr Hytech develops and produces hybrid seeds of white corn, yellow corn, grain and fodder sorghum, sweet corn, and vegetables in Egypt We are very excited about the great potential of this investment in contributing to the betterment of the Egyptian agricultural landscape," James Harmon, the chairman of EAEF, was quoted as saying. The company, with its strong base in Egypt, is uniquely positioned to establish itself as a leading seed company in the emerging seed markets of Africa, said Suri Sehgal, founder of Misr Hytech. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt's recently established sovereign wealth fund has been admitted to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds as an associate member, the planning ministry said on Monday. In doing so the Egypt Fund will agree to abide by the principles and practices for the governance, investment and risk management of sovereign wealth funds known as the Santiago Principles, the ministry said. The fund will create commercial partnerships with other sovereign funds and financial institutions to fulfill its mandate consistent with best practices with regards to environmental and social responsibility and rules of governance, it also said. Associate membership of the IFSWF is granted for up to three years, and is for institutions in the early stages of becoming a sovereign wealth fund. The Egyptian fund was created by law 177 of 2018, with articles of association issued in February of this year. The fund is the first of its kind in Egypt, and it was established to contribute to the sustainable economic development of the country by managing its assets and maximising their value for future generations. We are delighted to welcome the Egypt Fund to the IFSWF. As an associate member, the Egypt Fund can benefit from the diverse collective experiences of IFSWFs members as it applies the Santiago Principles to its own unique circumstances," Majed Al Romaithi, chair of the IFSWF, was quoted by the website of IFSWF as saying. "We hope that these interactions will enable the Egypt Fund to establish processes and practices to the highest international standards, which in turn, will enable it to successfully fulfil its mandate. Planning Minister Hala El-Saaad, who is interim CEO of the fund, said its membership of the institution sends a positive message to potential investment partners. "We are striving to create a strong sovereign fund that will independently and efficiently contribute to the Egyptian economys sustainable growth and investment. The Egypt Fund will work towards implementing international standards in transparency and ESG while pursuing investment opportunities, she said. Search Keywords: Short link: Commissioner Cagle focuses on Precinct 4s flooding problems Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle knows all about the pain that comes from floodwaters. When I talk about the impact of flooding on human lives, I understand, Cagle said. He then clicked to a PowerPoint photo of debris, trash, mildewed clothing and spoiled furniture in front of a home flooded two years ago by Hurricane Harvey. That was my home. I know what it was like, Cagle told attendees of the Lake Houston Chambers May 28 luncheon, State of the County, at the Club of Houston. On the positive side, Cagle pointed to Harris Countys robust economy, saying that the commissioners court is trying to keep ahead of all the growth. He offered a quick engineering history lesson, mentioning how the Romans centuries ago built roads to improve drainage during heavy rainstorms. Weve finally caught up with the ancient Romans, Cagle said, referring to rebuilding Hamblen Road in southwest Kingwood which he believes could provide better mobility and improve drainage. There are only three entrances into Kingwood, he said, all potentially blocked by train tracks, but some residents object to improvements to the road. If you support a better Hamblen Road that includes better drainage and a bridge over the tracks, contact Houston City Councilmember Dave Martins office and let him know because there still are Kingwood residents who object, Cagle said. He said it would be impossible to make Harris County flood-proof. Without going into the other problems that caused flooding for the first time in north Kingwood, I can tell you that youre going to have problems when 6.5 inches of rain falls in 45 minutes, he said, and when we try to make an area flood-proof, we create other problems. Water flows downhill and thats why we must focus upstream and downstream. Of 236 flood-related projects funded by the voter-approved $2.5 billion bond, Cagle said 146 already are underway and all the projects are to be completed in 10 years. He applauded Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo for taking what he called the NASA Approach to completing the countys many flood projects. NASA didnt do everything itself to get our space program underway. They contracted with the best companies and then managed the managers to get a man on the moon, he said. With this NASA approach, maybe we can get the job done in five years instead of 10. Also speaking at the luncheon was Matt Zeve, deputy executive director of the Harris County Flood Control District, who focused on two issues important to Kingwood residents. Zeves staff recently finished a walking assessment of water channels in Kingwood. Hes also requested authorization from the City of Houston to access and begin work on Taylor Gully which flooded Elm Grove Village during the Mothers Day Flood. I understand how residents feel when we say were conducting a study, Zeve said, but FEMA has awarded us a grant to study the upper San Jacinto River watershed to help us figure out what flooding we can control. Weve got all this water flowing through Kingwood to Lake Houston and, at this time, Lake Conroe is the only waterway we can control. Zeve praised Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board No. 10 and chairman Stan Sarsman for partnering with the flood district to financially assist studying how to prevent future flooding. Everything we do, the projects were working on and the cost, is on our website, Zeve said. You can even discover which watershed you live in at hcfcd.org. The June chamber luncheon, the annual State of the State, will summarize legislation affecting Lake Houston that was passed in the recently adjourned Texas Session. At press time, a date and location had not yet been determined. For more information and to register, visit lakehouston.org. In today's 23AndMe obsessed culture, it was only a matter of time before someone revealed that Kim Kardashian is technically a Scottish monarch. As dedicated fans will know, the Kardashian Jenners have long been fascinated with their highland ancestry so much so that Kourtney's daughter Penelope's middle name is literally "Scotland." Now journalist Craig Williams has taken the time to painstakingly research their family tree. The results are a little surprising. According to Williams, the Kardashians have links to the McGregor clan Kris Jenner's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather was Thomas MacGee, a Scot who emigrated to the United States in 1670. Other distant Scottish relatives include the "outlaw and folk hero" Robert Roy MacGregor, as well as the first King of Scots, Kenneth MacAlpin. The latter link technically means the Kardashians can claim royal descent. "I had no idea they would be linked to such a towering figure from Scottish history," Williams explained to local newspaper The Daily Record. "As the MacGregors claim direct descent from Scottish kings, maybe Kim could have a claim on the throne." Meanwhile, my Scottish family tree literally reveals that I descend from a family of loyal servants. Fitting. Kim Kardashian has already responded to Williams' discovery by retweeting a Daily Mail article about it. She used three crown emojis. Put down the bagpipes and bow down. The Miss India beauty pageant, which has spawned celebrated names in Bollywood like Priyanka Chopra, is getting heat for its lack of diversity. After The Times of India released a photo of this year's top 30 contestants, the internet was flooded with angry users slamming the annual beauty competition for primarily featuring fair skinned contestants and pointed out how all 30 girls looked "the same." "They all have the same hair, and the same skin colour, and I'm going to hazard a guess that their heights and vital stats will also be similar" one user pointed out. "So much for India being a 'diverse' country." Another said, "Why do all the finalists 'look the same'? One of most ethnically diverse countries in the world, but India is still obsessed with being 'fair and lovely.'" Publications like BBC and CNN have weighed in on the issue. In a statement issued to BBC, Miss India's grooming expert Shamita Singha noted that the original photos of the girls were retouched since they looked like "plastic." She added that the Photoshop team was instructed to not change the skin tones and that both the publication deadline and the newspaper print were to blame for the ultimate result. "This is not the skin tones of the actual pictures," Singha said, further defending the pageant by pointing out past winners with darker skin. Radhika Parameswaran, a professor at Indiana University's Media School, told CNN that Indian beauty pageant contestants looked to match reigning Eurocentric and western beauty ideals. "[They] have to emulate Western beauty standards to win," she said. "Colorism and racism are Siamese twins and cannot be separated." India's cultural obsession with lighter skin tones is no secret. "Fairness" creams have long been some of the most successful cosmetic products in the country. But the obsession is best reflected within numerous matrimonial ads for prospective brides that insist girls applying for arranged marriages should have "fair skin" as a standard of beauty. Twenty-five years ago, I moderated the panel discussion on the Palestinian economy at the international economic summit in Casablanca, Morocco.I was there in my capacity as co-chair of Builders for Peace (BfP), a project created by Vice-President Al Gore to help grow the Palestinian economy in support of the still-fledgling Oslo peace process. I learned a great deal both at the Casablanca Summit and in my more than three years with BfP and it is from that vantage point that I want to comment on the Trump Administration's proposal to sponsor an economic "workshop" in Bahrain. In short, I believe this effort will fail, not because the Palestinians won't participate. It will fail because of the reason why Palestinians won't participate. They know that without sovereignty and independence they cannot grow their economy. The Trump team would have been well advised to learn from and not ignore this lesson that Palestinians could have taught them. I first saw this lesson play out in Casablanca. When we arrived there, in January of 1994, we found the atmosphere to be quite heady. Government and business from around the world were there. In addition to the top echelon of the Clinton Administration, BfP had brought a delegation of American business leaders. Arab governments and investors were there in full force; as were the Israelis - who were demonstrably excited to be welcomed, for the first time, in an Arab capitol. At times, it became almost comical to watch Israeli businessmen spotting an Arab in a thobe and then run up to them to have a picture taken to send home. The Palestinian leadership were there and were feeling optimistic about their prospects for achieving a Palestinian state within the five-year window projected by Oslo. They were, therefore, eager to begin building the structures of their state and securing the investment needed to create businesses and jobs that would enable them to develop an independent economy. During the first decades of the Israeli occupation, Palestinians had lost access to much of their water and arable land, been cut off from one another by a harsh occupation regime, and had also been cut off from the outside world. As a result, the territories had undergone a process of de-development and had become increasingly dependent on the Israelis. Israeli businesses dumped products in what had become for them a captive market. Palestinian businesses, where they existed, could only have access to the outside world if they traded through an Israeli middleman. And the single largest source of employment for Palestinians were low-paying, often humiliating, day-labor jobs in Israel. Our efforts were encouraged by a World Bank study which argued that with investment and access to external markets the Palestinian economy was ready to take off. The US had already pledged $150 million a year for five years to support the Palestinians, with other nations following suit. My panel featured three Palestinian ministers all with economic portfolios who laid out in some detail what they felt was needed to help them grow. At the end of the session, I was approached by a young American, who asked excitedly if I would introduce him to the Palestinian ministers. He told me that he had just been awarded a USAID grant for around $10 million to help train Palestinians in entrepreneurial skills. When I relayed his request to the Palestinians, they were furious. One said to me "No one consulted us as to what we needed. Our people don't need to be trained on how to do business. We need capital to be invested in our small business sector and we need the freedom to do business." I experienced variations of this same frustration with supply-driven instead of demand-driven aid throughout my tenure at BfP. In our first year, we brought two delegations of American business leaders to meet with Palestinians to discuss investment and partnership possibilities. The projects that were hatched during our first visit were ultimately aborted when the American side realized that they could not freely import raw materials and export finished products without securing either an Israeli partner (which added unacceptable costs) or Israeli permission (which was not forthcoming). As I expressed it then "we had the horses at the gate, but the gate never opened." Even US government efforts were blocked. On one occasion I fielded a troubled call from an official at the Department of Agriculture. They had appropriated funds to ship bulbs to Gaza's farmers in order to assist them in developing an export capacity. He reported to me that the bulbs had been sitting in the port for months and had rotted. The Israelis wouldn't let them in. What we discovered, in part after then Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown convened a roundtable discussion with Israeli and Palestinian government and business leaders, was that the Israelis simply didn't want the competition that might result from the emergence of an independent Palestinian small business sector. The Israelis were more interested in protecting their small businesses, than they were in seeing the Palestinians grow and become independent. Brown was even forced to tackle the Israelis resistance to surrendering to Palestinians the franchises that Israelis had secured allowing them to market American products in the West Bank and Gaza. These areas represented but a small percentage of the Israeli GDP - but the Israelis didn't want to give up their economic control. I accompanied Brown on another visit where we convened a meeting to hear the concerns of Palestinian business leaders. The meeting was held in East Jerusalem's Ambassador Hotel (before Congress bowed to Israeli pressure and barred US officials from meeting Palestinians in Jerusalem). Part way through his opening remarks, many Palestinians began to leave. Brown turned to me and asked whether it was something he had said that caused this exodus. I left the room and met a number of those who had departed. They showed me their travel permits that had been granted by the Israeli occupation authorities allowing them to cross the checkpoints and come into Jerusalem. The permits were for a three-hour visit. Because these Palestinians were mostly from Ramallah or Hebron and because of the long lines at the checkpoints entering and exiting they were afraid that if they missed the deadline for returning they would be denied future travel permits. A year and a half after Casablanca, a second summit was convened in Amman, Jordan. One important component was missing from the 1995 gathering Palestinians weren't there. Israel had instituted a closure of the West Bank and Gaza in the wake of a massacre committed by an extremist Israeli settler at the mosque in Hebron. Then Prime Minister Rabin, fearing Palestinian retaliation, closed the territories and banned travel. The Amman Summit was a disaster without the Palestinians. It was, as I remarked at the time, as if the Palestinians had opened the door to the Arab World, the Israelis had entered, and then promptly closed the door behind them. Frustrated by this lock out, I convinced some of our BfP delegation and a few US government representatives to go to Jerusalem to convene a rump session and invite the Palestinians to join us. The night of the meeting, we, Americans and Israelis, sat for hours waiting for the Palestinians to arrive. A US consular official passed me a note saying, "I bet it's damned Arafat who refused to allow them to attend." A few minutes later we received a phone call from the Palestinians. They had been stopped at a checkpoint and the Israelis were refusing to allow them to enter. Even after we put an Israeli cabinet minister and a US official on the phone, the occupation authorities refused to budge. Much has changed in the intervening years, mostly for the worst. West Bank Palestinians have lost more land and settlements and Jewish-only roads have cut the territory into small pieces; Palestinians, in what is called "East Jerusalem," have been completely severed from the West Bank; and Gaza, under the control of Hamas, is being strangled by an Israeli blockade. Given these conditions, the Palestinian economy has deteriorated even further, becoming dependent on external aid to underwrite a swollen public sector or day labor jobs in Israel or in Israeli settlements. Under these circumstances, what the Palestinians need more than anything is freedom from Israeli control and the independence they need to grow their economy. A recent World Bank study says that the Palestinians would triple their growth rate if the barriers to free trade were removed. This said, the attempt to convene an "economic workshop" without first guaranteeing that Palestinians will have freedom and independence - is destined for failure. We've been down the road paved with false promises before and have found it to be a dead end. Because freedom isn't being discussed and Palestinians see no commitment to independence on the horizon the US summit in Bahrain will be a nice show but it won't make a difference. As the old adage goes "you can't put the cart before the horse" it just won't go. Search Keywords: Short link: Kasapreko company limited, one of the leading and most successful beverage producing company in Ghana emerged among the Top 25 most admired brands in Africa. This was announced at the 7th annual Brand Africa report in Belgium on the 24th May 2019. Kasapreko company limited is the only Ghanaian business that made it to the top 25 most admired brands in Africa, according to the report unveiled by Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in partnership with Geopoll , Kantar, Brand Leadership and Africa Business Magazine. Brand Africa 100 is a Pan Africa survey and ranking of Africas best brand developed by Brand Leadership. The rankings are based on comprehensive survey by Geopoll, a global leader in providing high quality market research in emerging markets and strategies analysis weighted by consumer admiration and Kantar, the world leading Data, Insight and consulting firm. Kasapreko Company Limited beats brands such as Amarula, Jumia , Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Star Beer, Kwese among others in the categories of Alcoholic Beverages, Retail, Aviation, Food , Media and Personal Care. Commenting on the award, Mr. Richard Adjei, Managing Director of Kasapreko said , This honour is dedicated to the hard working staff of the company, Key distributors and partners for their continues support and growth to the organisation. He also thanked the customers and consumers of kasapreko brands on the continent which has seen the company been ranked as the most indigenous Ghana beverage provider in Africa. Mr. Gerald Bonsu, the commercial Director also added that the companys brand portfolio holds the most loved brands such as Alomo Bitters, Storm Energy Drink, Awake Purified Drinking Waater , K20 Whiskey, sold in the world. Mr. Bonsu assured that the Flagship brand of the product of KCL , Alomo Bitters is in its 20th Anniversary. Alomo Bitters which is a scientifically formulated herbal alcoholic beverage has met all international students selling in many countries across the world. Kasapreko Company limited is a multi National total beverage company having with product line categories such as Water, Wine, Cuder, Liquor and whiskey. The company has bagged several awards including West Africa Business Excellence Awards, Export Manufacturing company of the year, Alcoholic Bitter of the year (Alomo Bitters, Manufacturer of the year (Kasaperko Company Limited) , Best Local Tax Compliance Company of the Year by Ghana Revenue Authority, ISO Certified Company and Ghana Club 100 among others ... Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Nine years ago, two unlikely lunch partners sat down at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha, Nebraska. One, Warren Buffett, was a regular there. The other, Jay-Z, was not. The billionaire and the rapper ordered strawberry malts and chatted amiably, continuing the conversation back at Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway offices. Buffett, then 80, walked away impressed with the artist 40 years his junior: Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than Ill ever teach in. For a young person growing up, hes the guy to learn from. This moment, which was originally captured in our 2010 Forbes 400 package, made it clear that Jay-Z already had a blueprint for his own ten-figure fortune. Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational, he said. Read Full Story .... forbes.com >>> : Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The University of Cape Coast (UCC), has instituted a robust plagiarism software' to promote academic integrity and excellence beginning 2019/2020 academic year. The initiative, according to the University is geared towards reducing plagiarism in the arena of Postgraduate education and increase the potency and originality of research output. Professor Ghartey Ampiah, the Vice Chancellor of the University announced this at the 17th Session of the 51st Congregation convened for graduands of the School of Graduate Studies. A total of 1,183 students consisting of 495 graduates trained through the University's Distance programmes from six regional Centres located in Tamale, Sunyani, Kumasi, Accra, Takoradi, and Cape Coast graduated. Prof Ampiah said: "In our quest to become the powerhouse in the arena of Postgraduate Education, the School of Graduate Studies commissioned a draft Committee to draft a plagiarism policy for the University." "I am happy to inform you that the policy has been accepted and approved by the Academic Board for implementation in the 2019/2020 academic year." Towards the smooth implementation the software, the Vice Chancellor indicated that staff and Postgraduate students were being trained on the use of the 'Turnitin software'. Besides that, the University was also working hard to expand infrastructural facilities especially its e-library facilities on and off campus to enhance graduate studies and research. In addition to that, he announced the resumption of work on the School of Graduate Studies building which had been stalled due to lack of funds. He gave the assurance that the University was hopeful and confident in its capacity to further expand Graduate education, adding that "with the current graduate enrollment of 7,381 in the various Postgraduate disciplines, we hope to increase enrolment year-by-year and make delivery more flexible." Dr Sam Jonah, the Chancellor of the University, encouraged the graduates to be bold, creative and innovative to give meaning to their certificates. They should also return to support their Alma Mater to serve as an encouragement to others to emulate. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The National Union of Ghana Students have called on government to as a matter of urgency, take some proactive actions to rescue BECE candidates in Chereponi. Two ethnic groups in Chereponi, the Chokosis and Kokombas have over the past few weeks, attacked unsuspecting residents of the rival faction, maiming them and displacing hundreds of fleeing women and children. These unfornate incidents, have led to a situation where students in the area, especially BECE candidates feel unsafe and unstable even as they prepare for their final exams. With only a week more for the Basic Education Certificate Examination to begin, the National Union of Ghana Students believes that a lot more needs to be done immediately, to take away the fear and panic that has currently engulfed the students. They recommend, that government as a matter of urgency, transfer all the BECE candidates within the conflict zone to a more peaceful and safe community nearby. They also recommend, that extra classes are organized for these candidates, to be able "to make up for the uncompleted topics within the syllabus" and further get the the candidates counseled, to put them in the right state of mind, ahead of the exams. They expressed optimism, that if government considers these recommendations, it would give the students the opportunity to write their exams in peace. Read full statement below; NUGS CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO TAKE PROACTIVE ACTIONS TO RESCUE BECE CANDIDATES IN CHEREPONI At this momentous time in our lives, where education is seen as the key to success and a developmental tool for every developing country, we write with profound resentment with regards to the plight of the Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE) candidates within the Chereponi District in the Northern Region. As a result of the recent cleavages between the two major ethic groups within the said district which has led to mass wanton destructions, candidates preparing for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) slated to begin on the 10th of June are in great panic and fear. The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) therefore wishes to call on government to take the following proactive measures: 1. The BECE candidates within the conflict zone should be transferred to a more peaceful and safe nearby community. 2. They must be provided with counselling sessions, to ensure that they have a psychological serenity ahead of their exam. 3. There should be an organized special extra classes for the students in order to ensure that the candidates make up for the uncompleted topics within the syllabus The NUGS secretariat firmly holds to the belief that, these measures would deem the BECE candidates within the affected areas fit and in good standing to write their exams successfully without any fear and panic for their lives. It is our hope that the government would consider these measures as soon as possible to give these students equal opportunity to write their exams in peace as their other colleagues in other parts of the country are enjoying. Aluta Continua Victoria Ascerta Signed...... Walker Obeng Darkoh Press & Info. Secretary 0242763736 Sanctioned by; Gombilla S. Mohammed President 0200608218 Source: Richmond Eduku Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Womens Commission of Private University Students Association of Ghana (PUSAG), Mavis Boatemaa has donated assorted food items worth over GH4, 000 to Kids with Autism at Dzowulu special school in Greater Accra. Mavis Boatemaa, National Womens Commissioner of PUSAG, made the donation to the authorities of the school on Thursday 30th May, 2019. The items comprise toiletries, groceries, drinks, cooking oil, flour, rice, and other items to support children living with autism. In an interview after the presentation, Miss Boatemaa stated that her core mandate as a commissioner is to reach out to the needy and the marginalized in society, thus we decided to come around, show some love, spend the day with them, talk to them, pray with them, and give them the little we have, just to make them feel that even though they are not well, we still have them in our minds. She advised that as human beings we are sometimes confronted with so many issues such as this but we need not to be disappointed but accept the situation and rather treat them as one of us. She therefore urged individual and other institutions to follow suit and make it a habit to donate in season and out of season. Mr. Kenneth Kwame Kuko, Senior House master who received the items on behalf of the School thanked Miss Mavis Boatemaa and her team for their kind gesture and prayed for Gods blessings upon them. Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/Peacefmonline/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Member of Parliament for the Bawku Central Constituency, Mr Mahama Ayariga says he won't be able to honour a court summons by the Office of the Special Prosecutor because Parliament will be sitting on that day. Mr Ayariga in a letter addressed to the Special Prosecutor (SP), Mr Martin Amidu and dated Sunday, June 2, said he can't honour the Tuesday, June 4 summons and can only be present in court on any other day that does not coincide with Parliamentary sittings. He further warned that any conduct by the SP which impedes or obstructs his right to Parliament on that day will amount to Contempt of Parliament. The legislator said he was not enthused about abandoning his parliamentary duties to respond to what he described as an "inappropriately timed invitation". Mr Ayariga said he had sighted a letter to the Speaker of the Parliament, Mike Oquaye and copied to himself which requests that he be released for arraignment in court, however, he contends that the Speaker was not vested with the powers to release a sitting MP from sittings. "My inability to honour your invitation is because Parliament is in session and will be sitting on that day Tuesday 4th June 2019," Mr Ayariga's letter sighted by Graphic Online reads. "The Parliament of Ghana, when in session, sits on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and any other day appointed by the Speaker that is not a public holiday. I can come to court on any other day when Parliament is not sitting. "The constitutional right of a Member of Parliament to represent his or her constituency in Parliament and to participate in proceedings and vote will be abridged if an effort is made to compel that person to respond to an invitation that will take that person out of Parliament at a period when the House of Parliament is in session and sitting. It will equally constitute an abridgement of that constitutional right of a Parliamentarian if, by your deliberate conduct, a Parliamentarian is rendered unable in anyway to be in the House during any of the periods and days when Parliament is sitting. "Assuming that I even want to honour your invitation, given the high office in whose name you act, I will have to seek and obtain permission from the Rt. Hon Speaker to be able to do so. Unfortunately, I am not enthused about abandoning my parliamentary duties in response to your inappropriately timed invitation Absenting myself from sittings of Parliament for a certain number of days, without the Speaker's permission, could be grounds for my removal from Parliament. This is trite constitutional law". Mr Ayariga also urged Mr Amidu to seek an interpretation at the Supreme Court relative to the powers of the Speaker. "For the avoidance of doubt, be informed that any conduct on your part that in any way impedes or obstructs my right to be in Parliament on 4th June and represent the good people of Bawku will amount to Contempt of Parliament. I believe you have read article 122 of the Constitution of Ghana. The language of article 122 does bind even the Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament and your letter invites him to engage in an unconstitutional conduct for which he can also be cited for contempt of Parliament. "I only just returned this morning from Abuja in Nigeria where I was attending the ECOWAS Parliament as a member of Ghana's delegation to that Parliament Accept this as part of my initial response to your letter to the Rt. Hon. Speaker which you graciously copied me. I will in the course of the week write to you again responding to some substantive matters contained in those letters. Epistle writing runs through our blood and it will not be wrong to say you have passed on the trait to me your true son". SP charges on Ayariga Per a leaked charge sheet signed by the Special Prosecutor, Mr Martin Amidu, on March 22, 2019, he is also facing charges including four counts of fraudulent evasion of customs duties and taxes, dealing in foreign exchange without licence and transfer of foreign exchange from Ghana through an unauthorised dealer. Mr Ayariga has denied all charges. Read Mr Ayariga's letter below; Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The appearance of a wrong logo on the cover page of the strategy document for Ghanas top-notch dream policy, Ghana Beyond Aid, has stocked trouble, an embarrassing development attracting a swift apology. Not even attributing the blunder to a Kenyan source spared the committee in charge of managing the Presidents pet project harsh language from observers. The committee apologizes unreservedly to the President and the nation for this error and takes full responsibility for it, Dr. Eric Yeboah, Secretary to the committee, wrote. For those waiting to grab copies of the document, they would have to tarry a while as the committee has announced plans to replace the logo before mass circulation. The Apology It has come to the attention of the Ghana Beyond Aid Committee that the commissioned photograph on the cover page of the Ghana Beyond Aid Strategy Document, outdoored on May Day by the President of the Republic of Ghana emanates from Kenya. The committee apologizes unreservedly to the President and the nation for this error and takes full responsibility for it. We are ensuring that the cover page of the document is replaced before bulk copies are printed for widespread circulation. We regret this error, once again. The document will guide our nation towards an irreversible pathway of progress and prosperity, and the committee encourages all stakeholders to support the implementation of its contents. Designers Apology The Ghana Beyond Aid Committee, DAILY GUIDE learnt, is demanding an apology from the Kenyan designer for the embarrassment it has caused. The concern was addressed to a certain Richard Bansah, the Kenyan designer. It queried the Kenyan for what it described as his lack of professionalism and demanded an apology to the President for the embarrassment caused. Kumbungu Member of Parliament (MP), Ras Mubarak, in a letter, described the blunder as embarrassing to the nation. You were commissioned to produce an original artwork that reflects the vision of the Ghana Beyond Aid and the highlights of the charter and strategy document. This artwork was used as the cover page of the document. You were required to produce an original piece of artwork, you, however, used a picture of Dawit Insurance Building in Nairobi, Kenya, and presented it to the committee as though it was your original artwork. This singular work of indiscretion and lack of professionalism has brought embarrassment to the President, the Ghana Beyond Aid Committee and its chairman. You are, therefore, required to provide an explanation and a formal apology to the Ghana Beyond Aid Committee. This is an urgent matter and you are required to treat it as such, it said. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Bishop Kwaku Opoku Sarpong (Bishop OP), founder and leader of Christ Mediation Church International located at Pankrono, Kumasi in the Ashanti Region of Ghana is set to receive doctorate degree award in recognition of his outstanding leadership, loyalty to the call to the Christian Ministry and determination in pursuing the core values of CHRIST to mankind by Vinnytsa State Pedagogical University in Ukraine on June, 13th at the University of Ghana campus (Lagon). In a colourful ceremony held at Christ Mediation Church International last Wednesday to present a citation to the man of God to officially announce the day and date for the award, Mr. Isaac Rockson, Communications Strategist, who spoke on behalf of the University announced that, the university through its research team in Ghana (Bureau of Research on Governance, Commerce and Administration) has recognized the gross conveyance of the Gospel with meekness and humility for the past four years that the research team monitored his church activities. According to him, the research team during its study discovered that Bishop OPs aptitude and caliber depicts the Christ-like nature a few men exhibit. He said, Bishop OPs boundless vision as a great man of God has transformed many lives, giving hope, fulfilling purposes and gratifying his ministry with signs and wonders. Adding that, the man of God has built an educational complex and kept supporting the poor and needy in the society. Stressing that Bishop OPs commitment, dedication and sense of humor is unmatched. The "VINNYTSA STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY", today, recognizes your valor of spirituality. After assessing your achievements in Ghana and beyond, the VINNYTSA STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY confers upon you a Doctorate of Philosophy (Honorary Degree) under the auspices of the "CONFEDERATION OF GOVERNANCE ASSESSMENT INSTITUTE" COGAI. VINNYTSA STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY'. He concluded. Source: Thebroadcasteronline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Suhum Assembly in the Eastern Region, Margaret Darko, has threatened the life of a Crusading Guide journalist, Alex Boye. She has also insulted the journalist for questioning Government on the bad nature of roads within her municipality. The journalist was at the Meet-The-Press series held recently by the Information Ministry, and addressed by the Local Government Minister, Hajia Alima Mahama in Accra. Mr. Boye during the question time asked why the Suhum Assembly is not working on the poor roads in the village precisely Abenabu where he hailed from. The MCE who is found of attacking journalists on Sunday evening called the reporter via telephone to threaten his life. She, again let a certain man who claimed to be a BNI officer in Suhum to call the reporter to question him on why he asked that question at the forum. Source: Daily Guide Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video New Vodafone Chief Executive, Patricia Obo-Nai, has pledged the companys commitment to the socio-economic development of Ghana. During a courtesy call on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, at the Jubilee House, Patricia reinforced Vodafones determination to lead the digitalisation drive in Ghana, ensuring that no one is left behind. She said Ghana remained a very important market for the global telecoms giant and Vodafone Ghana will play an integral role, in the nations growth agenda. Patricia was appointed CEO following the end of tenure of the previous Chief Executive Officer, Yolanda Cuba. Her appointment comes with Vodafones drive to push the boundaries of innovation, especially for targeted customers whilst positioning Vodafone as a key challenger in the market. Patricia told the President that: Ghana will continue to be very important to our long-term strategy and aspirations. Our brand promise of delivering an exciting future continues to drive our awareness and leadership in new trends in digitalisation and technology such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Again. Government's agenda in the mobile payments sector has been nothing short of impressive and as a leading telco, we are committed to deploy our platform, innovative products and services in support of governments agenda. The new CEO was appreciative of governments commitment to Vodafone Ghana as a 30% shareholder and was optimistic that with the current level of commitment from both the ministries of Finance and Communications, Vodafone Ghana has no choice but to grow in market share and other areas of operation. The Board Chairman of Vodafone Ghana, Dr. Kobina Quansah, was appreciative of the opportunity to meet with the President and to introduce the new CEO to him. He was confident of Vodafone Ghanas readiness to be more competitive in the market, given the current strong working relationship between the two shareholders Vodafone Group (70%) and the Government of Ghana (30%). The President expressed appreciation for the visit, adding that government as a shareholder in the company, will support Vodafone Ghana to ensure that the company becomes more profitable and successful. He spoke about governments determination to deploy technology in various areas of the economy in a way that adds value and enhances efficiency. He encouraged Vodafone to come out with solutions that will ensure that it is a worthy partner of government in this regard. Present at the meeting were the companys Board Chairman, Kobina Quansah, Director for External Affairs, Gayheart Mensah and a Deputy Chief of Staff at the Presidency, John Jinapor. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video